" "She is here."" " Shit, that can't be good." "They still can't see me." "It's hard to hear everything they're saying, but it's definitely a queen." ""Assembly has begun."" "Well, Cochise was right." "And if it is their queen, putting her in harm's way seems like an all-in maneuver for the Espheni, doesn't it?" "Like a move to set up a checkmate." " Ben, I'm calling it." "We're done." " No, no, we're not even close." " What?" " One more time." "We still don't know the exact location." "We're gonna have that one last..." " Are you listening to yourself?" " She's right." "No more." "No!" "Ben, no, no, no." "It doesn't matter how quickly you cool down, okay?" "It's destroying your homeostasis, your organ function." "No." "There's no other choice." "Dad's right." "At the very least, we have to figure out where this queen is hiding." "If what I'm hearing is true, the overlords are gonna be dug in..." " Ben!" "Hey!" " Stop!" "Ahhh!" "Come out of there!" "Stop!" "More people will die if I don't!" "I have to do this!" " Hey." " The 9th Carolina." "The 9th Carolina is crossing the Elizabeth River at 0830." "They're hauling ass." "Impressive." "We expect them to merge with us here on I-95." "Remind them." "2nd Mass is moving out in 24 hours." "So, if Ben's right and there is a queen, where exactly is the tip of our spear gonna wind up on this map?" "He hasn't been able to exactly pinpoint her location yet." "How's he doing?" "Getting his strength back." "Working on his argument to go back in." "Got a stranglehold on him, is what it's got." "I say we blow the Espheni hub-of-junk to kingdom come before it hurts anyone else." "Well, we're keeping Ben and everyone else away from it for now." "Gentlemen, I have some good news." "Found an external transmitter in the Humvee." "Linked it to our systems connector." "It just boosted our signal." "So we can communicate with a larger number of militia directly." "Without having to use the Volm as a middle man." "That is a big step." "The scramble beacon it found should keep the Espheni from deciphering our frequency." "Forty-two militias." "All seeking further instructions from Tom Mason." "Starting to have the feel of a real invasion." "Well, better be real." "We don't know what the hell we're walking into tomorrow." "What should I tell them, Tom?" "Attention." "This is Tom Mason." "Tom Mason of the 2nd Massachusetts." "And we are now in complete control of our own communications network, and there's more to come." "Soon, we'll have more intel that will affect the plan, but for now, stay on your present course of action." "Take up positions one mile outside of D.C. and await target information." "What we're about to embark on is massive, unpredictable." "If you're anything like me, there's some fear and trepidation, and that's okay." "But don't let your feelings turn to doubt." "We are so close." "Belief in what we're doing will get us there." "Damn." "Matt, where you going with that fuel barrel?" "Colonel Weaver wants them all brought out for loading." " Be careful with it." " All right." "Don't just stand there, Dad!" "The tide's going out!" "Hurry!" "Convince them to let me back in." "Please." "Ben," "I know from personal experience, spikes don't make you invincible or entirely stable." "I learn something new every time, things that can't be ignored." "The Overlords were making references to the Nazca Lines, remember?" "Peru, yeah." "The myth that aliens are responsible for the geoglyphs there, it's not a myth at all." "God, none of that is worth killing yourself over, Ben." "The Volm have been tracking that area for months." "They still don't understand its relevance." "It represents something important to them, Maggie, and I know it's connected to what's going on in D.C." "You were willing to do anything to take out your spikes, right?" " Yes." " That's how I feel about this." "Hello?" "All right!" "Why am I here?" "Talk to me." "That beamer attached to it, that's the one that Lexi and I flew to the moon, right?" "The one where you found me, the one where you took me." "To be accurate, we saved you." "When acquiring other forms of life, we determine their value to the Dorniya and utilize them accordingly." "Utilize them accordingly?" "A new Espheni presence has made it increasingly difficult to communicate." "Yes." " A queen." " The queen." "She does not arrive until there is a confidence that they have won." "Confidence that they've won?" "We're winning." "This isn't over." "You don't understand, Tom." "They destroyed us." "I am all that remains of our race." "And I have vowed to take thorough action to honor it." "What is that?" "Now with the presence of the queen, an opportunity has presented itself." "Using this capsule will unleash a weapon." "That's what you've been working on." "That's why you need me." "I forged a mutual trust with you, a soldier who has proven himself capable of delivering it." "If I take that to the queen, what will happen?" "It will exterminate all of them, rid your entire planet of Espheni for all time." "Take this offering and find her." "I will do my best to lead you." "Tom, this is the time to trust the very thing that paralyzes you." "Hey, Evelyn, what do you think of your first patrol?" "It's pretty exciting, huh?" "Yeah." "Beats washing sweaty camp clothes." "You, uh, look good with a gun." "You know, I mean, in a weird way." "I'm trained now." "It's not an accessory." " You're relieved, Ev." " Thanks." "Shift's over." "See you later." " Have fun on patrol." " Yeah." "I'm sure you're thrilled with her replacement." "I probably owe you an apology." "About what?" "About what happened between your brothers." "I'm sure you had to deal with the fallout." "I need you to know that it's the last thing that I wanted in the world." "We got enough problems." "Was there anything about amnesty in the new world order?" "Think you could pencil it in on that list of yours?" "Sure." "I'll try to make a spot." "Affirmative." "Map reference J146." "I repeat, Juliet-1-4-6." "Can anybody hear me out there?" "Please respond." "Roger that." "This is 2nd Massachusetts." " Please identify yourself." " Oh, my God." "A voice." "Hello?" "Hello?" " Hey, get a location." " Where are you?" "Do you know?" "I'm in an abandoned house in Georgetown, near the Whitehurst Freeway." "We were headed to the rendezvous." "Militia walked right into them." "Skitters." "I got separated." "She's stuck right in the middle of it." "Her best bet is to hunker down and hope they pass through." "Is anything near you?" "Something to barricade yourself?" "I'm in a kitchen with my only radio." "They're breaking in!" " Is there a refrigerator near you?" " Yes." "Get inside." "Pull everything out." "Shut yourself inside." "Right now." "Do it." "There's no..." "Hello?" "Miss, talk to me." "If you can't talk, key your radio." "Hello, Miss?" "It's bad out there." "Do you think we'll surprise the Espheni in D.C.?" "I guess we'll find out tomorrow." "Matt, careful!" "Easy." "Slow down." "Lexi." "Matt?" "Oh, my God." "Matt." "Step away from her." " She's messed up bad, Maggie." " No, we are not gonna fall for this again." "Step away, Matt." "I know." "I know what you're feeling." "Please." "Please don't." "What if she's returned?" "Like my father?" "Forget it." "She's not who you want her to be." "No." "This isn't up to you." "You don't get to decide this." "I'm walking her to the gate." "Come on." " All right." "Get everything." " Okay." "Open the gate!" " Lexi?" " Mom, it's you." "Somehow I knew, I knew where to find you." "Everybody, stand back!" "Matt, she's an Espheni plant just like Captain Marshall." " No." " Colonel Weaver, no." "Dan, let's wait for Tom to get back." "Let's discuss this together." "Secure her." "A four-man escort." "Matt." "Put a hood over her head." "I don't want her looking at this camp." "Mom!" "Mom, please." "With Katie, there were lapses, but they weren't easy to spot." "The Espheni change just enough to make them mission-effective, and somehow leave intact what made them special to us." "Is this what the war looks like now?" "I think I liked it better the other way." "I know." "It's hard to see her in any form." "Just knowing what she really is now," "I..." "No, I'm gonna be okay." "I'm okay." "Just..." "What if it's just for intel?" "She could be a safer alternative." "Don't count on it." "Katie was real to me." "Living, breathing, until the rug got pulled." "We can't let anything compromise our mission to D.C. tomorrow." "Don't introduce even a possibility of Lexi to your mind, to your heart." "I don't know how to do that." "Yeah, you do." "You can." "I never thought when we said our goodbyes, that this would be possible." "What are the Espheni doing in Washington, D.C.?" "What's there for them?" "I don't know." "When I was with them, there was no talk of anything like that." "I need some treatment right now, Mom." "Don't call me that." "You're Espheni." "Don't think for a second I care about your medical needs." "Lexi died at that power core." "She's not coming back." "That should be true, Mom, but it isn't." "Look." "Please." "Hold my hand." "I've said my goodbye." "Open the gate!" "That better be the last fever dream excursion you take, my friend." "We need to talk right away." "What's wrong?" "What happened?" "You've got people asking a lot of questions." "I'd be asking them, too." "Like why are you here?" "How did you find us?" "I was waiting for the big bang." "That final moment." "And it never came." "Big bang?" "You mean the power core." "The moon." "Instead, there was Mom, standing beside me." "We were watching the explosion from outside the ship." "She told me everything was gonna be okay." "You didn't answer my question." "How did you get here?" "Something pulled me from that ship." "Then there was water." "Waves and waves of water." " Drowning?" " Yes." "But it wasn't a dream or a vision." "I was living it, like I hadn't died." "Then I hit the rocks." "It doesn't help me, does it?" "To get you to believe." "Your willingness to help us will decide that." "If you are who you say you are, tell me." "In your time with the Espheni, did they ever mention a higher being?" "Something that controlled all of them." "The physical abilities I had when I was with them then, they're gone now, Dad." "I'm sorry." "I don't care about your powers." "I'm asking about your memory." "What do you remember?" "They would refer to something higher, like humans would, a god." "From what we gather, a queen has arrived here in the States." "A queen?" "You know this?" "Yes." "That's not good, Dad." "That's not good at all." "The queen is a real thing, not an object of faith." "That presence, the arrival of this queen means only one thing to the Espheni." "Their objective has changed." "Changed how?" "From invasion to occupation." "Look, she knew." "She knew everything." "She knew how it felt, things that made me think I was crazy." "To hear her describe it made it real." "Why are we even entertaining this?" "It's obviously a ploy to cut our legs out." "I agree." "We just don't know what she's capable of." " What did Ben say?" " He doesn't know." "But he had no idea with Katie either." "Somehow the Espheni have found a way of getting around that kind of detection." "Her blood tests came back normal." "What if she was sent to us, but not by the Espheni but by the Dorniya?" "No." "No way." "Why would they save her and then just wait so long to bring her back to us?" "Why wouldn't they just tell you that right there on the beach?" "The Dorniya said that when they acquire a new life form, they determine its value and then they use it accordingly." "It said that, "I will do my best to lead you."" "So maybe Lexi's here to help me deliver this." "Deliver what?" " What is that?" " It's a weapon." "To deliver the Espheni queen and wipe them out." "Wipe them out?" "What are we talking here?" "If this goes right to her, every one of them, everywhere." "So you can see why I'm not gonna assume anything if there's even the slightest chance that Lexi could be used as some kind of important tool." "No, that's not what you're saying." "What you're saying is that she was saved." "I just can't go down that road again." "I won't survive it." "There are a lot of ways that this can trip us up." "I get that, believe me, but I'm not gonna just look the other way." "It's reckless, Tom, all of it." "You're bending the rules to suit you." "I mean, this is more than just a leap of faith." "Fine." "I'll do it." "Come on." "I'll..." "No, no, no." "I'll take the lead." "Ugh!" "I'm sick of this shit!" " You okay?" " Yeah." "It didn't penetrate the glove." "Well, I'm guessing that's the stuff they want me to deliver." "We need to test it." "How?" "On what?" "I don't know, but we cannot take that with us until we know more about it." " How do we know it'll work on the Espheni?" " We don't." "Not yet." "Toying with alien elements that don't even exist on our periodic table." "How's she gonna find a needle in a haystack when she doesn't even know what the needle looks like?" " That's..." " Did you guys find something?" "We're keeping it under wraps right now, Marty." "You mentioned the periodic table." "I thought maybe I could help with whatever it is." "Your work experience is in a brewery, right?" "It is, yes." "I'm not quite sure how that helps, Marty." "I was the contracted taste engineer." "Biochemist." "Follow me." "Dad, my dad, wanted you to have these medical supplies." "Not Mom?" "She's the doctor." "Weird thing is, the muscles, my skin, I have all the built-in human limitations." "The way it's supposed to be." "It feels good." "Does it still weigh on you?" "The spikes?" "I mean, I know what I look like right now, but you..." "I've seen better days." "I think I had actually forgotten what a few of those human limitations felt like." "We have all had to become so distrustful in order to protect ourselves..." "I don't know who you are, really." "Part of me..." "It's like I need to apologize to you for not being the one to go on" " that mission to the power core." " No, Ben, don't..." "Just a part of me." "The rest fears you haven't come back and that what I see is just another threat to all of us." "And I am so tired of that." "Just go, Ben." "Have you seen Lexi yet?" "You know, after everything that happened to Weaver, and all I've been through," "I'm not quite ready to invite her to the family picnic." "Right or wrong, she's got powers that terrify everybody." "Nobody knows what it means that she's here right now, and if for some reason I'm wrong," "I'll be the first one in line to apologize to her." "So, you're saying that you might have handled it differently, you know, bringing her back to the base?" "I would have, yeah." "So if you had stumbled upon Dad out in the woods, after we all thought that he died, if he needed you, would you have just left him behind?" "This has nothing to do with Dad." "Dad has never betrayed us." "Lexi is half Espheni, Matt." "Yeah, I know all that, okay?" "But turning my back on her in that moment just didn't seem right." "Is it safe?" "Can we take it with us?" "That stuffjumped out of that capsule, hit that rat in a second, and it was dead instantly." "And this is test subject number two." "The mucus it excretes is nasty stuff, and it replenishes on its own." "I think your Dorniya friends underestimated the danger of their secret weapon." "If it does take out the Espheni, it can take all of us out with them." "They never told me." "They have me delivering this, knowing what it can do?" "Why would they do that?" "Because they have their own agenda, Tom." "They're using you because of your value to them." "I mean, you said it yourself." "This has always been about avenging their genocide." "They don't care about us." "Or, quite simply, they do not realize." "How could they possibly know any part of this formula could be harmful to a human being?" "You're giving the Dorniya the benefit of the doubt too?" "How do we limit the damage to just the Espheni?" "Can we even do that?" "We test for viral pathogens and pray it's something we're familiar with." "Acts of prayer aside, yes, successfully altering this material depends on whether it has any proteins similar to your own." "Right." "We're leaving for D.C. in the morning." "If this is a magic bullet, and this could save lives, we have to try it." "Anything that can be used, we're gonna take with us." "Think outside the box." "Good, Butterfield." "All our militias are en route." "We leave in the morning, or we're the last to arrive." "What we need is a backstage pass to the queen, and I think Lexi might be it." "You know that this if this mission fails, the curtain falls, maybe for good." "I'll tell you what I think you should do." "You should test that Dorniya venom on that Espheni in the brig pretending to be Lexi," " and we set sail." " I hear what you're saying." "I'm not ready to make that call." "We've brought in what's left of a militia from South Carolina." "They lost a dozen men to Skitters 15 miles south of here." "They're in dire need of medical attention." "Any advanced transmissions from this unit?" "Nothing." "They're without a radio." "Welcome to the 2nd Mass, soldiers." "We have protocol that dictates all newcomers disarm before being debriefed by base command." "Look out!" "Take cover!" "Go!" "Ah!" "Nice place you got here, Mason!" "I like what you've done with it!" " Like a bad penny." " Impeccable timing." "Guess you're not the only crazy son of a bitch with nine lives!" "Ahhh!" "Whoo!" "Kind of poetic, don't you think?" "Storming the castle to overthrow King Mason!" "For the last time, Pope, walk away!" "There's too many innocent people between us to resolve our issues!" "Innocent people?" "Sorry, brother." "They're all gone." "Help me!" "Hold on!" " Ahhh!" " Anthony!" "Come on!" "Let's get in!" "Come on!" "I'll help you up!" "Hurry up!" "Hurry!" "So that's it, huh, Pope?" "Everybody's the enemy?" "Just Pope against mankind!" "No, Tom!" "Just you!" "And whatever else gets in my way!" " See those barrels?" " Yeah, man." "Ahhh!" "So long, Pope." "Emmett is still patching people up." "And that guy, Anthony, looks like he's gonna be okay." "Hal was telling me Anthony and Pope, at one time, they were important to the 2nd Mass?" "Yeah, at one time, they were." "So what's our plan in the morning with Lexi?" "I don't know." "There was a time where I thought I was a pretty good judge of people." "The good ones, the bad ones, the Popes, the Anthonys." "I think this war has taken that ability from me." "No, no, no, no." "Just listen to your gut." "Your gut always knows." "My gut's been trained to be suspicious." "What do you think?" "Who do you think's in the brig?" "I'd love to think it's my sister, you know?" "That she's the one who's gonna lead us to the queen." " It would be fitting, wouldn't it?" " Yeah." "Especially if she experienced that same, uh," "Dorniya rebirth that you did, but I don't think she's in there." "But you know where to find me if you need me." "I love ya." "You guys have a good one." ""At the foot of the giant." What the hell does that mean?" "The foot of the giant." "57 minutes." "All is well." "So when the other rat's immune system became aware of the Dorniya virus, it mounted an inflammatory response that resulted in death?" "Correct." "But with the alteration I made, enzymes from the human red cells will bind to it and block that action." "Knock on wood." "If we're right, Martin, this is huge." "Yeah." "It's working the same way fermentation enzymes work on yeast back at the brewery." "Did you ever think your beer would save the world?" "It was good." "None of you would even be in this position if it wasn't for me." "I destroyed the Espheni power core." "Me!" "And this is my welcome back?" "Can you guys give us a minute?" "We're at a crossroad." "I understand the Espheni." "Isn't that a valuable enough asset?" "Yes." "And you could still be critical to our objective." "I've been given some time back, Dad, a chance to fight for more, experience the life you gave me the way I was meant to." "We've both been given a second chance." "It's important that we make it count." "So this little guy has been struck twice, and still nothing." "You think the same applies for us?" "Maybe." "When this thing snatched our new formula back into its capsule, it suddenly became nonlethal." "How do we know this does not disrupt the ingredient lethal to the Espheni?" "We don't." "Not yet." "Anne!" " Ben?" "What's wrong?" " There's a Shadow Plane." "Dad." "It's about Dad." "You can't face the queen." "There has to be another way." "Why would you say that?" "Didn't you just tell me that you didn't know anything about her?" "Didn't you just say that?" "All Espheni learn her objective about coming back." "Coming back, what, to life?" "To Earth?" "She's been here before?" "A long time ago." "The Nazca Lines." "It has to do with the Nazca Lines, doesn't it?" "Ben said that he overheard the overlords saying that they represented something important." "Why would you keep that from me?" "Please, Dad." "My head, my whole body hurts." "I need Mom." " Let him go!" " Tom!" "Tom!" " Just throw it!" " Dad!" "My God, it worked." "How many of you are there?" "Answer me!" "How many more in Washington?" "We're on to you." "It's the Overlords." "I heard them." "The Espheni were coming for you." "We're not the only ones looking for the head of the snake." "Sorry, Tom." "How are you holding up?" "I don't think I've ever felt more terrified in my entire life." "That's all of us." "You know, I regarded her as the enemy, just like you and everybody else." "Yeah." "Just thought that if" "I could keep my emotions in check and I could get her to confide in me, that she could be a valuable resource." " Yeah, yeah." " I just started thinking that maybe she could be more than that." "The Espheni are getting better and better at it, because all they got left is smoke and mirrors." "You know, if we're not successful, people like you and me are never gonna be able to trust each other again." "That's why I don't plan on losing." "At the foot of the giant." "Ben said he heard several of them repeating this, over and over again, like a marching order." "To some kind of meeting place." "At the foot of the giant." "The Lincoln Memorial." "The queen is located at the foot of the giant." " Abraham Lincoln's statue." " Well, I'll be." "You were very reckless." "I'm very proud of you." "That is where we need to be." "You always been good to me, Colonel." "I'm sorry." "I was wrong for following Pope." "I lost my way with him, and I didn't see it until it was too late." "Look, if you left me behind, I wouldn't blame you." "I don't deserve to be traveling with y'all." "You won't last alone out here with a clipped wing." "No weapons." "I'm gonna have somebody on you full-time, and when I feel the time is right, you'll assist the Maryland on our western flank." "How did you know?" "Well, there was no way for sure we could know if the virus was gonna work." "No, I mean about Lexi." "I didn't know." "I wanted to be wrong, more than anything." " What was that?" " That's the Espheni hub." "If there's even a chance that it's a homing beacon," "Colonel Weaver doesn't wanna bring it with us." "Well, we don't want them to use it again." "That's for sure." "Hey, uh, Dad, I'm sorry about bringing her back." "Hey, we got a big piece of the Espheni puzzle." "We wouldn't have if you hadn't." "Attention all militias, this is Tom Mason." "Our persistence has paid off once again." "Guesswork is over." "We now have a specific target." "I repeat, we now have a..." "They're headed right for us." "ENGLISH" "English SDH"