I've come for you.
- I'll kill them all to get you. - No!
A space-age vampire stalks a lonely space station,
and Buck must race to prevent Wilma from joining the ranks of the undead.
You stand between me and something I want.
You were attacked by corpses.
Something somewhere is draining their souls.
- Wilma. - It felt so good.
Wilma, no!
The year is 1987,
and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes.
In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William "Buck'"Rogers,
are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life-support systems.
And returns Buck Rogers to Earth.
500 years later.
Leaving stargate.
Destination on screen.
Punching in coordinates. Engaging autopilot.
- And that's it. - That's it.
I tell you, Wilma. You ought to get one of these for yourself.
Well, it's one thing to get one. It's another to have time to enjoy it.
What about the controls in the shuttle compartment?
They're exactly identical to these.
- You see, you're learning to fly two ships for the price of one. - Yeah.
Coming up on Theta Station. Prepare for docking.
Oh, thank goodness.
I heard that.
Twiki, are you still upset because you're not going to visit Genesia with us?
Who, me?
After all, Twiki, the last time you and Hieronymus Fox got together,
he almost punched out your capacitors.
Kid can't take a joke.
Besides, you really need to get that faulty microdisc of yours repaired,
and Theta Station is the best compufacturing facility in the quadrant.
Yeah, you don't want to go blowing a tube next time you're out boogie-ing with your girlfriend Tina, do you?
Gimme a break, will ya?
Uh-oh. Whoops!
Whee!
So, I finally get to meet the Buck Rogers.
Wilma has told me so much about you, I feel like I've known you for centuries.
- Yes, well, she's warned me about you as well. - Oh?
How are you, Commander Royko?
I'm good. It's nice to see you again, Wilma.
Oh, uh, this is our ambu-quad, Twiki.
You'll be working on him while we're gone.
Give me five, my man.
Yes, of course.
Be cool, big daddy.
He's not exactly your average ambu-quad, is he?
- No, he isn't. - Hmm.
How long did Dr. Huer say he'd be with us?
Five days. That should be more than enough time to repair that faulty disc.
Uh, actually, I think I could get it done right now.
- Then you wouldn't have to leave him here. - No. We wouldn't want to rush it.
Besides, who knows? We may get tired of Genesia...
all that luxury and entertainment... and we might just come back for him early.
You know what "fat chance" means, bub?
Commander?
Repeat. Station to craft. Do you read?
- How long have you been tracking it? - Since it left the stargate, sir.
The computer can't identify it, and I can't seem to raise it on subspace.
You better keep trying, because if it doesn't change course, it's gonna hit us.
Theta Station to approaching craft. Do you read?
Station to craft. Come in, please.!
You are on a collision course with Theta Station.
Modify your course and acknowledge.
Approaching craft, please acknowledge.!
It's no use. It's gonna hit.
Divert as much power as possible to the meteor deflectors in Sectors "G," "H" and "I."
Secure the sectors.
Alert.! Alert.! Collision imminent.!
Evacuate Sectors "G, '" "H, '" "I. '"
Collision imminent. Alert.! Alert.! Collision imminent.
Alert.! Alert.! Stand by for impact.
All code red units move to Sector "H" with emergency equipment.
Emergency. Emergency. Code red units report to Sector "H. '"
It's embedded itself right into the station.
Fortunately, our exterior hull has a self-repairing core,
so we're in no danger of losing our atmosphere to space.
However, internal atmospheric integrity has been lost.
Which means the air from that ship...
wherever it came from, whatever it's carrying... is mixing with ours.
The damage has been done. All we can do is assess it.
- Need any help, Commander? - All I can get.
You've got it.
Doc, what about casualties? None.
This sector was cleared just in time.
- Dr. Ecbar, Colonel Wilma Deering, Captain Buck Rogers. - Hello, Doc.
Scanners show any life-forms aboard?
I can't be sure of my readings. Could be some form of magnetic field interfering.
Sounds like the best thing we can do is go down and take a look.
Commander, if you're afraid of contamination, we've already been exposed.
- We have nothing to lose by going inside. - You're right, of course.
Put this on.
Twiki, you wait here till we get back, all right?
You don't have to tell me twice.
Class "G" cargo freighter.
About 20, 30 years old, from the look of it.
This looks like it must be the crew's quarters.
The bridge must be above us and to the right.
Hold it.
- Servo drone. - We'll pick it up later.
Let's go.
Technically, the hull seems to be secure.
Here we go.
Doc, number one.
Here's number two!
Doc, you better take a look at this.
Well, we found number three.
I think it's more like number nine. I found a whole sick bay full of bodies back there.
You think some kind of disease is responsible for this?
I'm gonna have to declare a quarantine.
Until we find out exactly what it is we're dealing with here, no one leaves or enters the station.
I'm sorry, Buck, Wilma. We understand.
Well, from the looks of things, she was the last to go.
Maybe this will tell us what happened here.
This is the log of the I. S. Demeter, bound for Tazwell.
With eight crew, one passenger,
returning from Deneb 5, having delivered a shipment ofbarbarite.
Log update. 52 hours from Stargate 9.
The passenger, Helson, has been found dead in his quarters.
Cause of death unknown.
His servo drone, some sort of personal data storage unit,
was found beside him, deactivated.
Update.
Thirty-seven hours from Stargate 9. Now three crew members are dead.
Cause unknown.
The rest of the crew is tense, irritable.
We're experiencing some power shortages in some areas of the ship.
No explanation.
Twenty-four hours from Stargate. Two more dead.
After exhibiting bizarre behavior.
And suffering hallucinations.
The paramed thinks the deaths are due to EL-7,
although I'm certain we decontaminated properly when we left Deneb 5.
Seventeen hours from Stargate. The paramed's dead.
There are only two of us left, and we've got to stick together.
I've set the autopilot for Stargate 9.
It's the only thing we can do.
Pearson is dead. And now it's after me.
And it's coming!
Stay away! Please.
Who are you?
No! Please, no!
What is EL-7?
Virus.
It was rampant in the Deneb system till they discovered a vaccine.
It's highly contagious and works fast.
Fever, mental deterioration, hallucinations,
convulsions, death.
She wasn't hallucinating.
- She was terrified. - What do you say, Doc?
- I'm sorry. - Do you think it is EL-7?
I can't tell without running more tests.
But we'd best assume the worst.
I have serum here to counteract the virus, but I'll need more.
If it's not already too late.
Start inoculating with what you got, Doc.
I'm gonna contact Earth for more serum.
Hey.
Wilma, you okay?
Mm-hmm. Fine.
Why don't you go down to the lounge and get something to eat.
I'll join you there later, all right?
Sure.
Uh... Um...
Twiki, go pick up that servo drone and take it back to my cabin.
See if you can get it working again.
Maybe it can tell us something about what went on on the Demeter.
I better start the inoculations. Doc, wait.
You aren't telling us everything, are you?
It sounds... What? Crazy?
Look, Doc. You're not hallucinating. No virus works that fast, and you know it.
Now, tell me.
The people on this ship are not dead.
They're not alive, of course, but they're not dead either.
It's as if their spirit,
the energy force, if you will,
is drained from them.
These discolorations...
They're on all the bodies.
Are you trying to tell me these people are victims of some kind of vampire?
Vampire? I don't understand.
I'm not sure I do either, Doc.
It doesn't like me.
That's all there is to it.
If it's possible for a botanical organism to feel,
then this plant knows hate.
Come now, Doctor. Surely you're overstating the matter.
No, I don't think so.
I fed it. I watered it. I've done everything Buck told me to do when he gave it to me.
I've even begun to talk to it.
And this is how it shows me its gratitude.
Subspace message coming in from Theta station, Dr. Huer.
That must be Buck and Colonel Deering.
Maybe you better hide the plant. Oh! Good heavens!
Well, hello, Buck, Colonel Deering. Are you enjoying your trip?
Not quite, Doc. We stopped over on Theta Station.
To drop Twiki off for repairs, and now the whole place.
Has been quarantined for something called EL-7.
EL-7?
Is the station's medical complex working on a vaccine?
There's some on the way. It should be here within 24 hours.
Look, Doc. Would you do me a favor?
The quarantine was caused by a freighter, the I. S. Demeter, colliding with the space station.
There's something not quite kosher about it.
For one thing, a small drone in the freighter.
Was shut down for some reason other than EL-7.
Yeah, Twiki's trying to repair it now.
Listen, Doc. The drone belonged to a passenger named Helson...
William Helson of New London.
Could you run an I. D. Scan on him and get me the data back as soon as possible?
No problem at all, Buck. Great.
You can contact us through Commander Royko's office. Rogers out.
Well, if you have no objections, Doctor,
I'll take you down to the data banks where you can locate that information for them.
No objections at all, Dr. Huer.
Oh, if I might make a suggestion,
perhaps you'd consider having an agro-drone.
Come and look at your rather depressed piece of flora.
Dr. Theopolis, I'm surprised at you.
Buck left that plant in my care.
Bringing in an agro-drone would be a blatant admission.
That I can't cope with Buck's 20th-century naturalism.
- Yes, sir. When would you like the drone to look at it? - Immediately.
How do you like your food discs... fried or sautéed?
I'm not very hungry.
Well, I can't say that I blame you.
Sautéed food discs are not exactly my cup of tea either.
You know, that's the fourth joke you haven't even smiled at.
You're doing terrible things to my self-confidence.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand why I feel this way.
Ever since we entered that freighter,
for the first time in my life.
I could feel death as a tangible presence.
I wasn't gonna... Say anything about this till we had more evidence,
but, uh,
Dr. Ecbar... Feels that those bodies on board that ship are not really dead.
He thinks they're in some kind of cellular suspension.
I think a being,
not a disease, is responsible.
Maybe that's what you're picking up on somehow.
Or maybe just the effects of EL-7.
No, no, no. Don't even start thinking like that.
I'll get you another drink.
Here we go.
What?
This is Dr. Ecbar. Please page Commander Royko.
And have him join me at sick bay.
What are you doing here?
Who are you?
Stay away!
Dr. Ecbar just paged me. I'm on my way to sick bay. You care to join me?
Sure.
Oh, my God. Is he dead?
The disease must have reached its critical stage right after he called for me.
How can you be so sure it was a disease? He may have been attacked.
Will you wake up, Rogers?
Look at his body. He died of cellular disruption, like the others.
How do you explain those discolorations on his neck?
I can't explain them. Neither could he.
He told me about your theory. Vampires?
You keep them to yourself, Captain.
Well, your passenger, Helson, was a bounty hunter from Cygnus 5...
Specializing in alien fugitives.
A guy like that can make a lot of professional enemies.
Yes. Well, here's the curious part, however.
Helson only became a bounty hunter in the last five years.
Before that, he was an agro-station farmer.
Until his wife and family died under rather mysterious circumstances.
How, uh... Mysterious?
Well, they died in a shuttle accident. Their bodies were never recovered.
Helson was the only survivor, so he was tried.
And acquitted for their murder.
But afterwards, he vowed vengeance on what he said killed them...
something called a "vorvon."
Vorvon? What kind oflanguage is that from?
Dr. Theopolis is continuing his computer search right now.
Great. Thanks, Doc.
Try to get back to us as soon as possible, okay? Rogers out.
I can't get over it, Dr. Huer.
The agro-drones told me there was no hope for that plant.
But you managed to nurse it back to full health.
I didn't know you had it in you.
Yes, well, thank you.
You, uh, purchased a new one, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
Well, one philodendron looks rather like any other philodendron.
At least, I certainly hope so.
Let's hope Buck thinks so.
Helson may be the key.
I'm gonna go back to the cabin and see how Twiki's coming along with the repairs on that drone.
I think he may be able to tell us what really happened to the crew on board the Demeter.
Are you okay?
I was thinking...
Buck, have I been acting rationally?
Of course you have.
You don't have EL-7. There has to be another explanation.
A psychotic killer? I think I'd prefer EL-7.
That's the Wilma I know.
Glad you think so.
I'm not even sure I recognize myself.
Boo.!
Bright, Twiki. Really bright.
I'm sorry, Buck.
Apology accepted. Did you get this thing fixed?
Yep, I got the little twerp fixed.
How's it work? Top button on the left.
All right. Now we're gettin' someplace.
We are? Yeah. This has to be the last thing the drone recorded for Helson.
So, after all these years.
We meet face-to-face, Vorvon.
Who's he talking to? Quiet, Twiki. Quiet.
- You killed my family. - Mmm.
He's hallucinating. Royko was right. It was EL-7.
But this... Stop! That wasn't a hallucination.
If you die, I die...
He sure wasn't killed by the flu.
No, he certainly wasn't.
He was murdered.
By something invisible to electronic surveillance.
A vorvon?
He was using something to ward it off.
I'm gonna go back on board that ship and find it. I'll be right back.
I hope so.
You stand between me and something I want very much.
Don't worry. This won't be very painful.
Take it from him.!
Take it easy, Buck.
You're all right.
Hey. Don't try to sit up.
How do you feel?
Like I just went the distance with Mohammed Ali.
They're here.
Ecbar and the people from that ship... They're the ones who attacked me.
You were attacked by corpses?
None of them were really dead. Ecbar was right.
Something or someone is draining their souls.
Making them into puppets.
Look, Commander,
I must be bruised over every square inch of my body.
Are you gonna try to tell me that I hallucinated a fight with these people?
Convulsions and blackouts are pretty common with EL-7.
Twiki! I'll get him to bring that servo drone. We'll play its recording for you.
Uh-oh.
Oh, no.
He got to it.
I only left it for a minute.
Commander, you can believe what you want. I don't really care.
All I want right now is an aspirin.
I got a headache that goes all the way down to my toes.
He's asking for a painkiller. I'll get it.
Look, Buck,
I'm responsible for this station.
I've got a hundred people under me.
It's my job to know what's going on around here.
El-7 is the only thing that makes any sense.
Yeah, well, I'm gonna contact Earth again.
Maybe Dr. Huer can come up with something else that makes sense.
Okay. You do that.
Meanwhile, I've got some unpleasant work to do.
Just before we found you, I was told they'd discovered three bodies in Sector "G."
- What's that? - Well, if my hunch is right,
the 25th-century equivalent of the cross.
I'm gonna go back to my cabin and use the vid-phone. I'll go with you.
That's all right, Wilma. I'll be fine.
I'll meet you later in the lounge, all right? Okay.
According to Dr. Theopolis's computer scan,
the word "vorvon" originated on a planet.
In the Rumaine star system,
and it refers to, uh...
Go ahead and spit it out, Doc. I asked for it, remember?
Yes, well, it refers to a half-dead creature.
Who drains the living soul from its victims.
- A space-age vampire. - It's only a myth, you know.
Don't I wish.
Did you come up with anything in your research to explain what this is?
Yes. It's an ancient power lock.
Legend has it that it's the only thing that will ward off a vorvon.
Except it doesn'tjust seem to be a legend, does it?
No, it doesn't. I've seen it, Doc.
That's him.
It's said that it only appears in this form to its intended victims.
Buck, I'm going to dispatch a fighter squadron to Theta Station immediately.
Now, Doc, by the time they'd get here, it'd be too late.
Well, I can hardly sit here while you and Colonel Deering...
Doc, there just isn't time.
Now, according to the legend, is there any way to destroy one of these creatures?
The power lock can hurt it momentarily,
but the only thing that can destroy it is a tremendous overload of power.
Just like Dracula couldn't stand the light of day.
Creating an explosion that large on a space station is, of course, out of the question.
Light of day.
Doc, I've got an idea.
Well, I was rather hoping you'd say that.
Rogers out.
I've had better conversations with a Roto-Rooter, you know.
All right.
In order to leave, Mr. Vorvon, you're gonna have to take the first ship in launch position.
This one.
And when you do, you're gonna be in for a little surprise.
They don't call 'em stargates for nothin'.
Now what?
I've come for you.
- What's with you? - Twiki, don't you see him?
I want you.
See who?
You're the only one I want. Twiki, can't you hear him?
I'll kill them all to get you.
No. Leave 'em alone.
Leave me alone!
Wilma.!
Buck? Buck?
Buck!
You may come to me now.
No!
Buck.! Buck.! Royko.!
Buck! Royko!
Buck.!
Now you're all mine.
- Stay away from her. - Aah!
Wilma.! Watch it.! Drop it, Buck.!
- What? Commander, I... - I said, drop it.
- Look, Commander... - Stay where you are.
Commander, the creature, the vorvon...
It was after me! Buck scared it off.
I'm sorry, Buck. I know it's not your fault.
It's the virus.
But you're becoming dangerous. I can't have you running around loose on this station.
Commander, if you lock me up, it'll kill all of us.
Please, Commander, you don't understand what you're doing!
Commander, listen to me.!
Please.! This is serious.!
Please!
Commander, you're making a mistake!
He was telling the truth!
Something did attack me.
I'm sure you believe that.
I'm really sorry, Wilma,
but your friend has become a danger to us all.
And so have you.
I'm not gonna lock you up with him,
but, uh, I will have to confine you to quarters.
Sure. Maybe I am dreaming all this.
I don't know.
Maybe it is up to me to end this nightmare.
Come on. Let's get some rest.
It's okay, Buck. It's only a sedative.
It'll make you feel better. No, Commander.
Before you use that thing, just do me one favor.
Just one.
Please talk to Dr. Huer.
Just talk to him.
That's right.
There's no need to run.
You'll let them go...
Buck, Royko?
You won't hurt them? Once I have you,
I'll need no one else for a long, long time.
Buck? Buck, can you hear me?
Wilma. You all right?
There is an alien on board... a vorvon.
I know.
Wilma...
How'd you get past the guards? Oh, I drained them.
Stole their essence.
It felt so good.
It was so easy.
Wilma, no!
Oh, yes.
Plead with me.
I like the taste of fear best of all.
You tricked me!
Wilma, please, let me help you.
I don't want your help!
I like being this way.!
I wanna stay this way! Wilma...
I've failed! Buck knows about us now.
Tell me what to do. Nothing more we can do.
There are other worlds... ripe, living worlds...
that can be ours for the taking.
Think of it... millions of souls withering in your hands.
Remember how sweet their fear can taste?
How strong it makes you feel?
Yes! Oh, yes!
What happened to her? The vorvon got to her. Come on. We've got to go after her.
Wait a minute. I may need this.
That's it. Let's go!
Wilma!
You'd better alert Security. We're gonna need reinforcements. Come on!
So much for reinforcements.
Let's go!
You know how to operate this ship?
Yes. He showed me how. Considerate of him, wasn't it?
Security to Corridor 12, Sector "A. '"
Too late. They've gone. Commander, we've got to stop them.
Relax, Buck. I'll send a squadron after them. You don't understand.
I booby-trapped my ship. If we don't stop 'em before they get to the stargate, they'll both die.
Starfighter in pursuit. The fools. Destroy it.
It could be Buck. I said, destroy it.!
I... I...
No.
No. No!
What's happening?
Wilma? Wilma, can you hear me?
- Buck, I've lost control of the ship! - I've preprogrammed the guidance computer.
You're gonna crash right into that star if you don't hit the "separate'"switch in front of you.
You'll have 20 seconds to get back into the shuttle compartment before the ship divides.
Now, hurry.!
Buck, it's been a nightmare.
I feel so ashamed.
Forget it, Wilma.
It's over. Let's go home.
Well, for a man just recently returned from the undead, you're looking pretty good, Doc.
Thank you, I think.
When the vorvon was destroyed, all his victims were freed.
From their state of cellular suspension.
I feel rather like that Lazarus person you told me about, Buck.
Yes, well, thank you for checking in, Commander. I'll speak with you again later.
Huer out.
Well, I don't know about you people,
but I'm starved.
If anybody's interested, dinner's on me.
- Well, thank you. - We'd love to.
Good. Uh, you know, there is one thing I'm curious about.
- Yes, what is it? - Uh, maybe you could tell me.
How that India rubber plant turned into a Ficus benjamina.
You know, I've been raising plants for years, and I've never been able to do that.