_
Hold still, Jax.
I always seem to hurt you,
even when I try not to.
There's plenty of hurt to go around.
I can't believe Matta's gone.
We all have our... share of tragedy.
You went through the same thing with Greg...
and your parents.
Yeah, but Greg and my mom are still alive.
Matta's not coming back.
I don't even know what to say to Ralen.
This is all my fault.
Matta made her sacrifice for everybody.
So, we need to make sure that her sacrifice wasn't in vain.
We need to stop the final judgment forever.
I know. I just...
I wish I knew how.
We stick to the plan.
And knowing that your genome is made up of the DNA
of the five sentient races in the galaxy...
There's six races.
The Ancients must have created me with their DNA too.
Even if you are the key, Jax,
that doesn't mean it's gonna be any easier
to find this so-called Lost Race that the Ancients told you about.
But maybe the Lost Race's DNA is a combo of the ones
we already know about.
Sort of a common ancestor
to help us focus on our similarities,
rather than our differences?
Peace through DNA.
Maybe we're all cousins underneath the skin.
I know, it's silly.
No. It's hopeful.
What is that?
This doesn't make any sense.
All DNA: Human, Zatarian,
frog, bacteria is comprised of four bases.
Adenine, Guanine,
Thymine and Cytosine.
Well, then what is this one?
Xanthine.
Xanthine?
A primitive, nitrogenous base
that may have once been incorporated into
the ancient nucleic acids,
but if it ever was,
evolutionary processes removed all evidence of it.
How is that possible?
I told you they'd be someplace totally lame.
We've been looking all over campus for you.
We were supposed to have study group over an hour ago.
You stay with these guys. I'll go find Ralen.
No! No.
No?
No.
Ralen is grieving.
After the death of his wife in the shuttle accident.
I think maybe it's best if you let him be alone for a while.
Sure. I guess we just thought
he might want to be around people right now.
I think what he might want is time to grieve.
I think that's what we all need.
So, uh, what is this?
And why are you in the science lab?
Xander's helping me with a...
school project.
DNA with five bases instead of four?
Is this some kind of a joke?
I didn't know you knew so much about DNA, Zazie.
Yeah.
Maybe the two of you would want to take a run at this...
theoretical science puzzle?
For some extra credit, maybe?
Yeah... yeah.
Well... in that case,
we are so in.
I think we can both agree that we're happy
the anti-matter weapon is no longer a threat.
Well, yes, but "out of sight, out of mind"
is hardly the philosophy to adopt
when it comes to a super-weapon
that can wipe out entire solar systems.
CIS has devoted all our resources
to learning more about this device.
Is that the real reason you came to pay me a visit today, Admiral?
As delightful as it is to see you.
In part.
You have resources
that aren't open to Earth.
Parallax does a lot of business with the Zatarians
and the Sumi,
as well as out there,
on the Outer Rim
with the non-aligned worlds.
Are you trying to recruit me as an asset
to find out what they know?
I've always fancied myself as a debonair secret agent type.
So, will you do it?
For you, yes.
But there is something you need to know
regarding Donovan Osborn.
My predecessor as head of CIS has escaped,
and is a wanted fugitive.
So, I hope you're not going to plead for leniency on his behalf
- like everyone else. - Quite the contrary.
I want to warn you.
It wouldn't surprise me if somehow he were involved
in this recent attack on the Zatarians.
I don't see how that's possible.
Well, this story he's been peddling about some super-powerful alien race
that's threatening to annihilate our universe
is just sheer poppycock.
Have you ever heard of the tale of Jasper Maskelyne?
No.
Well, when the Allies gained intelligence
that the Germans were planning a massive bombing raid
during the Earth's Second World War,
he had the idea of turning off all of the lights in Alexandria,
and lighting up the Sahara desert.
That way, when the Germans came,
they would bomb the sand rather than the city.
What's your point, Harlan?
Misdirection is often the most effective tool in war.
Our mutual friend, Donovan Osborn, has gone rogue.
Operating in the shadows.
He does not trust you,
and he will do anything and everything he can to bring you down.
Thank you...
for entrusting me with this information.
Well, trust goes both ways, my dear.
Now, if there's anything else?
Not at the moment.
You've given me plenty to think about.
Donovan Osborn and I were friends for a long time
before we were enemies.
I know how he thinks.
If my men do find him...
You will let me know immediately?
But of course.
Where have you been?
I was just getting a snack.
Got it!
What did you "get" exactly?
Two genomic segments that repeat over and over
in an embedded pattern.
We got this one,
and this one.
I helped him.
- Any idea what they mean? - No.
But if you treat the nucleo-bases in each pattern
as a base-five numeral, it gives...
It gives you two numbers:
eight digits and seven digits, repeating over and over.
I gotta find Xander.
Did we get it right?
You nailed it.
What about our extra credit?
We nailed it.
Hey. Just on my way to the lab.
- What is it? What do the numbers mean? - They're celestial coordinates.
I don't believe it.
My DNA is a star map.
- Synced and corrected by martythecrazy - - www.addic7ed.com -
Please, Professor, reconsider.
We need you for the mission to find the Lost Race.
I'm afraid I must decline with thanks, Captain.
The Protector attack showed me that,
while still in my heart I am still that young soldier,
in my joints, I am very much an old professor.
I remember the Battle for Earth rather differently.
I remember that when we were sure that we would die,
when we had lost all hope, you stood fast.
You didn't flinch in the face of insurmountable odds.
The state of my knees
made running away out of the question.
Look, nobody knows more about first contact than you,
and this mission is entirely about first contact
with an unknown and a potentially dangerous alien race. Professor!
Perhaps I specialize in first contact
because no one invites me anywhere a second time.
Now, please...
You know, you're not my first choice for this mission.
At last you say something sensible.
You're my only choice for this mission.
You can see the empty blackness from here.
All of the stars we lost in the attack.
It's like a black scar across the galaxy.
Now everything's darker than it once was.
Did you see that?
What is that?
"Here there be monsters."
It's what the ancient cartographers used to write on maps
when they were charting places to which no one had ever been.
It's a warning
against the unknown.
Here there be monsters.
Well, I guess it's just the two of us... again.
You know, Ralen missed another class.
And we're the only ones there for study group.
Again.
Ralen hasn't been back to our dorm room either.
Yeah. He's been spending every free moment he has
holed up in the VR simulator.
- What are we gonna do about it? - Pay him a visit.
And if he doesn't want to see us?
Zaz, please. Come on.
I have a PhD in charm.
- No one can resist me. - If you say so.
Oh, I know so.
Alright.
What?
Uh, your gloss is smudged.
- You mind if I...? - Sure.
? Fall to you ?
? I'll fall to you ?
? Hold me up this time ?
? You're sinking in ?
And that's how I do.
I hate you!
No, you don't. You love me.
Now, come on, Ralen's waiting.
? To fall to you ?
Mrs. Duvall?
We regret...
We regret to inform you that your son,
Lieutenant Commander Zion Duvall was killed in action...
Killed in action.
Been killed in action.
His squad was ambushed
by a Zatarian patrol.
Your brother was a brave man,
and a great soldier.
Is that what men like you are supposed to say to people like us,
that he's brave?
That he's courageous?
You don't feel the war he died for was just?
Is war ever just?
Ah, you're an armchair philosopher.
No, I want to be an architect.
I want to be like my mother one day.
But now you're not so sure.
Why is that, son?
I don't feel like we build things in this galaxy anymore.
I think we just tear them down.
Oh, no. That's just a mistake.
Why don't you take Xander instead?
Now, you know that's not how this works.
Can't a mother try?
I don't want him anymore.
I want Zion back.
He was my favorite. He was my favorite.
Mum?
Well, there you go, Mum.
Safety's off.
Fire away.
Mum?
Fire away.
Mum?
You're right, you know.
Here there be monsters.
There he is.
Jett, Zazie.
Anything I can help you with?
I thought Matta was dead?
She is.
Welcome, Jett. Let's get naked.
- What the hell was that?! - I have no idea.
Ralen's conjured up his dead wife in virtual reality.
That's so wrong on so many levels.
What are we gonna do?
I don't know.
We can't... we can't just leave him in the VR simulator.
He's spending all his time in there, it's not healthy.
Zaz, he may never come out.
Who is it?
Housekeeping.
Matta?
You have to checkout, ma'am.
You have to leave.
Xander?
Sorry.
Couldn't sleep.
Bad dreams?
- Mmm. - Me too.
Apparently, we're not the only ones.
Everyone in the galley was talking about it.
- Oh. - It must mean something.
Mm-hmm. They're just dreams, Jax.
- They're natural. - You know they're not.
There is nothing natural about these dreams.
I can feel it.
There must be something causing them.
Something out here.
Here there be monsters.
Where is the Pandora?
Pandora? What's that?
You have her trapped.
Tell me, where can we find the box?
Lieutenant Martin Shral, serial number X5-3567.
Where did Osborn take the baby?!
? There is a girl named Pandora ?
? She scream ?
? And she cries ?
? She thinks ?
? She can save us ?
? But she too ?
? Will die ?
? Where she is ?
? Nobody knows ?
? Nobody but you ?
? Who we'll torture ?
? Until you do ?
Ralen?
Hey!
It's me, your, uh, charming and delightful roommate.
It's time to come out now.
Go away, Jett. Now is not a good time.
Uh, no.
No, you're gonna talk to me or I swear I will...
delete this entire simulation.
End this simulation,
and I will most assuredly snap your spine.
Okay then. Never mind.
Damn.
It's come to my attention that
some or all of you,
have been having vivid
and disturbing dreams.
I've spoken to Chief Medical Officer Orenstein about this,
and he has assured me that there is no medical reason
for us to be having these visions.
So, if we could all take a big, deep breath
and realize that,
troubling as they may be, these are just dreams.
And while they may be unnerving,
dreams can't hurt you.
Dismissed.
Aye-aye, Captain.
Thank you, Captain.
Do you really believe that?
Doesn't matter what I believe. What matters is that they believe it.
"Uneasy, lies the head that wears the crown," isn't that so?
Excuse me?
Being Captain,
you put up a brave front, Xander,
but this can't certainly be easy for you.
Perhaps we should talk about what goes on
inside of the head that wears the crown.
Perhaps we all should.
Fine, I'll go first, then, um...
My dreams were about my older brother.
When I was younger, he was killed
in the Zatarian war.
And my mother never got over it.
I always imagined that she wished that it had been me instead.
I haven't thought about it for many years,
because it has been too painful.
But lately, I haven't been able to get it out of my head.
Okay. I...
I dream that I'll fail.
That I won't be able to save the universe.
And I...
I dream that you'll kill me before I get the chance to.
I'm, uh, I'm afraid I shall disappoint you both.
Sadly, I'm one of those people
who doesn't remember their dreams.
Ralen.
Go away, Jett.
I can't do that.
You haven't come out in a day and a half.
I'm not leaving without you this time, buddy.
Alright, once more, because clearly you are an idiot.
This is where I choose to be.
This is the life
my wife and I planned for ourselves.
Away from Zatar,
from Earth, from everyone!
And I am not leaving her again!
I get how much more appealing fantasy is than reality.
I totally do.
And... this whole sim is sweet and everything,
there's just one little thing.
It's not real.
Thank you for the unsolicited advice, Jett.
Now, if you will excuse me.
Ralen...
Get your hands off me.
No.
People can get lost inside here, Ralen.
I'm not leaving without you.
Ralen! Listen to me.
I am not leaving her again!
? There is a girl ?
? Named Pandora ?
? She thinks ?
? She can save us ?
? But she too will die ?
Where is the Pandora?
Here there be monsters.
Tell me, where can we find the box?
Lieutenant Martin Shral, serial number X5-35...
Where did Osborn take the baby?
What did you tell the Zatarians?
She, too, will die.
Leave me alone.
? Nobody knows where she is ?
Captain, someone has entered the airlock.
I know what you did!
Open the door, Shral!
Open the door!
Warning. Depressurizing.
Open the door!
Professor Shral, please!
Please, Professor, open the door!
Open the door!
Depressurizing.
Professor Shral, open the door, please!
He's locked himself inside. He's running out of oxygen!
Depressurizing in five seconds.
- Open the door. - Five, four,
- Open it! Professor, please! - Five, four, three, two...
Airlock secure.
What the hell is going on, Professor?
Hey.
Hey, sweetie.
I want you to meet my good friend, Ralen.
Ralen...
this is my sister...
Sam.
Hey, Ralen.
Is your sister dead, too?
I didn't know.
Yeah.
No one else does.
We've all experienced loss, Ralen.
It becomes a part of us.
Never leaves.
It reminds us of who...
and what we've lost.
You can visit.
You just can't live there.
Right?
Are you seriously suggesting that you don't have any memories
from before you woke up in the airlock?
Hmm. As I... told you previously,
I don't remember my dreams.
Why don't I believe you, Martin?
I told you not to bring me on this mission.
You should have listened.
Xander, we've arrived at the coordinates,
but there doesn't appear to be anything there.
What is that?
Uh, well, at first we thought it was an asteroid belt,
and now we're not so sure.
That's the Melbourne.
We lost that ship in the Great Migration 150 years ago.
And that's not one of ours.
No. It's Sumi.
But a very old model class Sumi destroyer.
At least 100 years old.
What happened here?
I believe this is what the sailors
used to refer to as a "ship graveyard."
There's so many.
Sir, would you like me to hold position here?
No, uh...
get me a scan for habitable planets,
dioxygen atmospheres in this system, Lieutenant.
Aye-sir. I have readings on three.
One closer to their sun.
Surface temperature of 400 degrees Celsius.
Two gas giants further out.
No moons for either.
Wait. There has to be a planet there.
There's no way we came all this way for nothing.
We didn't.
It's right in front of our eyes,
even if we can't see it.
Lieutenant, I'm going to need a scan
on that debris field.
Is there a void in the center?
There is, sir,
but it's just empty space.
Gravity?
Precisely.
They may be able to mask their planet from us,
even hide from our instruments,
but they can't subvert the basic laws of the universe.
All those pieces of wreckage
are orbiting a central gravitational field.
But without instrumentation,
how do you propose we find the planet it's orbiting?
Oh, we don't. We're going to let gravity do the work.
We're going to fall.
Good news, there seems to be an atmosphere.
Let's just hope it's breathable.
Did we make it?
According to our instruments, we are still in orbit.
How is that possible?
There's a planet out that hatch with an oxygen-rich atmosphere.
And I'm gonna go out there.
Captain?
Xander, what if you're wrong?
I'm not wrong.
Guess we're not gonna die after all.
Yet.
I would never have left if you hadn't convinced me to.
It just felt so... good.
Most things that are really, really bad for you do.
Take it from someone who knows.
Thank you, Jett.
And thank you for trusting me with Sam.
Perhaps the Lost Race has evolved beyond technology.
Maybe they've created a civilization
in perfect harmony with nature.
The, uh...
most important thing in first contact
is to remain non-threatening.
Xander, perhaps you should stay back and
keep your hands visible at all times.
My words, in turn, will be less important
than my body language, which will be what, Cadet Zhou?
Submissive.
That'll be a first.
Greetings.
We come in peace.
This... can't actually be them.
Can it? It's a big planet.
There must be an actual advanced civilization around here somewhere.
No loud voices or quick movements, Xander, please.
You're coming across most threatening at the moment.
The dreams...
They can read our thoughts. They're telepaths.
They've been sending the dreams that we've been having?
If that's true...
why would they send those particular dreams?
Be careful what you say, Cadet.
Remember your training.
Don't you understand?
It doesn't matter what we say.
We can't hide behind our words here.
They see us for exactly who we are.
Now you have everything that you need.
What does that mean? This is only a shell.
Look, we need your help
to stop the Ancients from destroying the universe that we all live in.
Not a shell.
I think we need to give them some more time.
I don't know how much more time we have.
The Ancients made it clear that to save the universe,
we need to unite all the races.
But how are we supposed to do that when we have a race
that refuses to communicate?
I don't take this as a refusal.
There are cultural differences
in the pauses between communication.
Uh-huh, okay.
Well, this "cultural pause"
has now been well over eight hours.
So...
Let me try again.
Will one of you please come back with us?
It is extremely important,
not just for us, but for you as well.
Otherwise, I would never ask you to leave your own people.
Welcome, Zazie.
Hey.
How did it go with Ralen?
Is... is he okay?
Not exactly.
What do you mean, "not exactly"?
I appreciate what you did for me.
Thanks to you I now realize
that I cannot live inside a fantasy,
but I remain a man without a home.
And I must find a new one
if I am to start over.
A place where I belong.
Please do not come looking for me.
Goodbye, Jett.
I think the dreams killed them.
It certainly seems so. We nearly lost Shral.
The dreams must've made them turn on each other.
Sabotaged their own ships.
Why would the Lost Race do that?
They didn't seem vicious or evil.
Their dreams must be a defense mechanism.
Even an unintentional one, like the thorns on a rose.
Or hallucinogenic toxins on a frog?
Well, it must be how the Lost Race stayed lost for so long.
Anyone who gets close
loses themselves in the nightmare.
We did it.
Well, that's only because of you.
Why?
At what cost?
So much loss, and all we have to show for it is this shell.
What do the Ancients want from me?
Well, it must be important.
It's what they said you would need.
I guess we'll find out.
I tried to show them, but they do not see.
Then you must show them again.
They are an exhausting race.
And dull-witted.
Even so, if they do not learn
then they will cease to exist.
It is the way of things.
If they do not learn,
we will all cease to exist.
Where is the Pandora?
Osborn's bringing her to... to new Portland.
To be raised by his sister, Eve.
I'm sorry, Jax.
Please forgive me.
Enter.
Welcome, Xander.
I was worried a...
Shh.
- Synced and corrected by martythecrazy - - www.addic7ed.com -