Sometimes you can forget what we're fighting for...
and then with just one look...
I have to admit, it will be nice not to put on a flight suit for a week.
I can't wait to get home.
There it is. The Baja peninsula, San Diego.
I'm gonna meet my sisters at a little B and B in Coronado.
Gonna spend the entire liberty...
just sitting in the sand, drinkin' cold Mexican beer.
Look. There's Soldier Field. I swear.
I can see Marshall Horton blitzing and dropping Brian Paul in the backfield.
That's what I'm gonna be doing. My brother and me made up this game...
when we were kids called "Kill The Guy With The Ball".
You stand 50 yards apart, and one guy kicks a football to the other guy.
That guy tries to make it to the end zone while the other guy tries to tear his head off.
It's a thing of beauty, man.
He's thinking of enlisting.
It's weird.
All those times in the thick...
and I thought I'd never see my family again.
And here we are, so close to goin' home.
The secretary general will soon offer his congratulations...
Hey, Coop. You're welcome to come home with me.
It's the first snow in upstate New York.
Oh, God. It's beautiful.
No. There's nothing for me down there.
Originally signed in New Delhi...
the accord transformed the globe into a commonwealth of nations.
The celebration of the accord has great symbolic importance...
given the current tension among the nations...
who face staggering defeat by the Earth forces in the galactic conflict.
You can see... Well, somewhere among that group of people is the secretary general.
Leader of the world, Mr. Chartwell was here clearly...
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Get the gun!
A man has just fired a gun at Chartwell.
Oh, my God. There's blood everywhere.
- I've got him! - He's dead.
All hands, this is the commodore.
Due to the tragic events in New Delhi this evening...
this ship will assume red-alert status.
All leaves are canceled immediately.
We can fly faster than the speed of light...
control weather, create artificial life, and nothing ever changes.
No matter what we think, it's... it's all so out of our hands, isn't it?
How can one murderer change the world with the speed of a bullet?
You know, the last time this happened the killer wasn't even human.
A silicate shot President Young, '51.
It's a coward's move.
Makes me want to kill the guy who shot Chartwell.
Then you'd have to kill one of your own.
The guy that killed Chartwell was an InVitro, Luc Doc Tran.
No one knows why he did it.
It's true. Natural-borns are going down into Tank sections...
of New York and Miami lookin' for payback.
How would you know? They've instituted a communications blackout.
We were just on planet an hour ago.
We're replacements for the 58th that were lost on Banwell.
I'm Pisarek. This is Stone.
- That's Lieutenant Rick Cwirko. - I want you to know...
I put in seven requests for transfer to the 58th.
It's an honor to be assigned to the Wild Cards.
One I deserve.
What you deserve is a butt-kickin' for puttin' your gear on my rack.
Don't talk to me like I'm a rookie.
I flew 75 sorties over Orthos.
Ain't nothin' to dealin' with me, you don't get your gear off of my rack.
I would think you would cool your jets after what your kind just did to Chartwell.
Cooper.
This is real thoughtful of you, Hawkes.
You must have read my tedium breakin' up fights between you and West.
Get your gear off his bunk.
They've lifted the blackout for an hour.
Spencer Chartwell is dead.
A great warrior, a better man has fallen, and you're to pay your respects.
That's under my orders.
A flame begins its eternal burn this evening...
outside the Chartwell Ranch near Canberra...
where the slain secretary general will be laid to rest.
The plane carrying the secretary general's body is just landing.
Awaiting the body, under some controversy...
is the present undersecretary of the U.N....
representing the ultra-right-wing Identity Party Nationaliste...
from the nation of France, Nicholas Chaput...
France having recently seceded from the European Union.
- I don't know about this guy. - According to the U.N. Constitution, drafted in 2012...
until the electoral council can meet to elect a new secretary general...
Chaput, at the moment, is indeed the leader of the world.
Many have reacted against Chaput's positions...
on the escalation of the galactic conflict...
and his opposition to InVitro affirmative action.
- What this guy says makes a lot of sense. - Chaput's strongest challenge...
to the seat comes from the technologically developed superpowers...
led by United States Ambassador Diane Hayden.
Hayden herself is controversial for her stand in attempting a dialogue...
with the enemy in an effort to begin peace negotiations.
Until recently she served as a member of the Aero-Tech board of governors...
but resigned due to a potential conflict of interests.
Chaput, however, has been the champion of underdeveloped industrialized nations...
which make up a majority of the U.N.
An emergency meeting of the U.N. Electoral council will occur...
for security reasons, at an undisclosed location rumored to be off Earth.
Shuttles transporting the United Nations electorial council...
now arriving at bays 3, 5, 7, 12, 14 and 17.
Honor guard, stand by.
Welcome aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga.
I am Commodore Ross.
Lieutenants, escort the ambassadors to their quarters.
- Aye, aye, sir. - Aye, aye, sir.
Commodore.
May I ask how many InVitros are amongst the crew?
Two, sir. Lieutenant Hawkes and Colonel McQueen.
They are both fine officers.
Perhaps you are unaware that, before leaving Earth...
an order was issued that InVitros must submit to a loyalty test.
Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. I'll take that under advisement.
Lieutenant Wang.
Report to Loading Bay 5 on the double.
Inform Colonel McQueen I wish to see him in my quarters immediately.
Aye, aye, sir.
Welcome aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga, Ambassador Chaput. I'm Colonel McQueen.
Colonel, it's an honor to be amongst our fighting men and women.
Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.
Lieutenants, escort Ambassador Chaput to his quarters.
I was at the ceremony when the 58th received...
the Montgomery Star for the Battle of the Belt.
Allow me to personally congratulate you and offer my deepest thanks.
- Thank you, sir. - You weren't there.
Lieutenant West had six confirmed kills.
- You have the courage of de Gaulle. - Thank you, sir.
- Pardon me, Colonel McQueen. - Yes, Lieutenant.
Commodore Ross requests to see you in his quarters.
If you'll excuse me, Mr. Ambassador.
The lieutenants will show you to your quarters.
McQueen was supposed to be here.
Whoever's inside is gonna be ticked off.
Okay. I'm in.
This any way to treat a guest?
I shot you down on Bonwell.
You can trade in a '58 Mustang on this year's model.
That's the way you made us silicates.
Feliciti O.H. 519 was on Bonwell.
I am Feliciti 483. Lower model number, higher sticker price.
- Get the hell off my ship. - We were invited here by Diane Hayden.
That's not a good picture of me.
- Why would she ask you here? - We want to come back to Earth.
It's cold out in space.
Then I think you'd feel right at home.
Silicates love to gamble...
and I'm betting that you won't shoot an unarmed guest of Diane Hayden.
I killed you once, and I'd do it again.
If Hayden brought the silicates here, it wouldn't be in their interest to make any trouble.
They're capable of anything. Sabotage, assassination...
Gear up. Ross is sending us on assignment. Cargo pickup.
Cargo pickup? Leave that crap for the army.
Loading Bay 4 in 10 mikes.
Move.
How'd you get down here so fast?
Just gung ho for my first ride with the 58.
Hustle up. Let's get on board.
Colonel, I'm sorry. I tried.
Hold it right there, Lieutenant Hawkes.
- What the hell's going on here? - Colonel McQueen...
Lieutenant Hawkes, you are to be detained for loyalty questioning.
What is this? Just because they're InVitros?
This is a disgrace to them and to us.
Here are your orders.
Do not read them until an hour into your mission.
Commodore, if they're taken away, we don't board this ship.
Vansen, get on board.
I expect you all to do your duty.
58th clear to land.
If Chaput can detain McQueen and Coop for B.S. reasons...
he can do the same to any of us at any time.
No one said it was on Chaput's orders.
And how do we know that Hawkes and McQueen didn't do anything?
Hawkes went through the academy with us.
He never displayed suspicious behavior.
Well, there was that thing with the she-male magazine, but...
Okay, but he explained it.
And McQueen's our commander. I trust him.
- What's his first name? - What?
McQueen. What's his first name?
You guys are gonna trust someone on blind faith...
and you don't even know his first name?
One thing I always thought was weird was why an InVitro...
would rise so high in the military, something they hate.
- He risked his life for us. - I know. I trust McQueen.
But I learned firsthand what the Tanks are capable of...
when they had me thrown off the Tellus colony.
We're at war. The world is scared and growing divided.
Now, if you were a Tank, and after all the hell you've been through...
suddenly there was a window of opportunity to take over...
- wouldn't you do it by any means necessary? - You're both paranoid.
There's good reason to be.
- Lieutenant Vansen? - Yes.
This the 58th Squadron?
Yes.
Which cargo bay are you lookin' for?
661.
Cargo's waiting.
Ambassador Hayden.
Is your name and rank McQueen, T.C., lieutenant colonel?
- Yes. - Does T.C. stand for Tyrus Cassius?
I always thought T.C. stood for top cat.
Colonel, we're trying to calibrate the polygraph.
Please limit your responses to yes or no.
- Does T.C. stand for Tyrus Cassius? - Yes.
Is your InVitro identity gene pool 13C...
batch Kappa 9757, Anchorage facility?
Yes.
- Have you killed for your country? - Yes.
- Would you die for your country? - Yes.
Have you ever betrayed your country?
I won't answer that question.
How dare you ask me that.
Have you ever betrayed your country?
You know the answer.
Then you have nothing to fear in answering.
Only myself...
for answering it.
You will remain in detention until you respond.
What's it look like from here?
- Madam Ambassador? - The Earth.
It's like a masterpiece painting.
Deep blues, aquas, white clouds.
I was born blind... six months before they discovered the gene transfer cure.
With the help of the opti-scanner I can sense things...
but how do you describe it to someone who has never seen?
It makes me feel insignificant...
and supreme at the same time.
With all due respect, Madam Ambassador...
there will be nothing to describe if we surrender to the enemy.
You think communication is surrender?
Did they try to communicate with the Vesta and Tellus colonies?
You were on the Aero-Tech board of governors.
Don't the lives of the colonists mean anything?
We've seen them butcher our wounded begging for help.
The American Indians did the same thing.
At the time they were seen as aliens...
but we know they were defending their land that was being taken.
And as soon as they surrendered to the settlers, the slaughter never ended.
What were they to do?
They were against an enemy they knew they couldn't defeat.
"Insignificant and supreme."
Is your name and rank Hawkes, Cooper, first lieutenant?
This thing gonna shock me or something, I get a wrong answer?
Is your name and rank Hawkes, Cooper, first lieutenant?
Yeah. What the hell is this?
Just some questions. The same ones we asked Colonel McQueen.
McQueen did this?
Is your InVitro identity gene pool 16A...
batch Alpha... 3439...
the Philadelphia facility?
I guess.
Please limit your responses to yes or no.
Have you killed for your country?
No.
- Have you killed in battle? - Yes.
Have you killed a natural-born human?
No.
Have you ever killed a natural-born human in battle?
No.
Have you ever betrayed your country?
No.
Would you ever betray your country?
Hey. It betrayed me way before I was born.
Just a few more questions, Lieutenant.
We're approaching the Saratoga, but the navigation screen's got a glitch.
Solar flare?
No indication on the S.F.I.
It's gotta be the electronics. If we can't find it, we can't dock.
Everyone look for some kind of jamming device. Check your radio transmitters.
Got trouble.
What's wrong?
It's a radio-frequency-metered detonator.
My guess is that it's activated by the Saratoga's landing permission code.
- I've received the code already. - Then it's activated.
I got an idea.
It's probably designed to explode...
in the time it would take from code transmission to docking in the Saratoga.
We've got three minutes. Tell the pilot to alter its course from the Saratoga.
It's magnetically attached.
Disrupting the magnetics from the metal would break the detonator circuit.
- It would set it off. - Ma'am, there's space for one on the flight deck.
We got two minutes.
Docking sequence aborted.
You'll be safe up on the flight deck.
It just started its final cycle.
We've gotta get it off the ship now.
I need something made out of metal.
Don't disrupt the magnetic contacts.
Slide it over slowly.
I told the pilot to disengage from the flight arm in 45 seconds.
Air lock. Easy. Go easy.
The exterior air lock's gotta be opened from the inside.
Help me get strapped in.
All clear.
- Commence separation sequence. - Do not disengage!
Repeat! Do not disengage!
Good move, Cwirko.
Sit down.
Is everyone all right?
Are you all right, ma'am?
A little afraid.
What I'm afraid of is that this vehicle has been in the loading bay...
since before the assassination of Chartwell.
And it was under my guard the entire time at the moon base.
Which means the bomb had to be set by someone aboard the Saratoga.
Shuttle 3-4-niner, Landing Bay 7 is clear for your arrival.
Roger. Thank you.
And I thought security was tight at Heathrow.
- Are you all right, Diane? - I'm fine, Nick.
These marines should be given a medal... or a raise.
Diane, I'd like to offer the services of Thompson, my personal bodyguard.
Madam Ambassador, I am Commodore Ross.
Given the recent incident, I must insist upon marine guards as security.
Thank you both. I have never used security personnel.
- You need them. - Nick, I didn't say I didn't need them...
but if people can see a government official...
walking around without bodyguards, it makes them feel safer.
Madam Ambassador, under these circumstances...
No, gentlemen. That's final.
I am on board the U.S.S. Saratoga, the finest space carrier in our fleet.
If I can't be safe here, where would I be safe?
I'll show you to your quarters.
- I would like to see Colonel McQueen. - I'll escort you.
I understand he's being held because of Ambassador Chaput.
Thanks for the lift, and thank you, Lieutenant Cwirko.
No problem.
He's a jerk, but we can't forget he saved our ass.
Don't worry. He won't let us forget.
I was just thinking. Cwirko was in the loading bay...
inside the ship, before any of us got here.
Lieutenant West, do you have a few moments?
When I was detained in '31 for marching in an InVitro rights rally...
the bars were still quaintly made out of iron.
I guess no matter what material they're made from...
there will always be bars.
And loyalty tests.
These are strange days, Colonel. There are a lot of scared people.
And I must admit, with good reason.
And there are a lot of paranoid people with no good reason.
They believe what they feel.
To patronize them is a serious miscalculation.
To ignore them, to hope that they will go away...
is... very dangerous.
- So you stand up to them. - At the right time.
And you can't let them know you're doing it.
- I won't take the test. - Of course not. No one should have to.
And when I'm elected, no one will.
But to get elected...
If you make a fuss about releasing me...
or the Tanks on planet...
you risk losing something you want.
Something we want.
I notice you're on the other side of the bars.
If I am elected, I will personally turn the key that opens this door.
But until then...
my thanks for understanding...
my apologies for accepting...
and my respect...
for sacrificing an individual dignity for a greater cause.
And...
in case you ever question if you've done the right thing...
here is your answer.
Come in, Nathan.
It's hard to believe that one person could be in control of it.
For centuries men have tried through violent means.
But for the past few decades...
nine people have ruled the world.
As it should be, peacefully.
And in an hour... maybe two...
the 10th person will be elected to that position.
I wanted to talk to you, Nathan, because I can tell you are interested in the truth.
- Yes, sir. - I could see it in your eyes when we arrived.
You know how you can look into a person's eyes and know if they are a liar.
I confess I am aware of your situation...
unjustly removed from the Tellus colony by the InVitros...
and that you risk your life nearly every day...
in search of another life every bit as important as yours.
And that your brother, Neil...
after Chartwell was assassinated...
enlisted in the marines.
Soon he will risk his life every day in this war.
So I thought that you deserved to be aware of a certain truth.
A truth that is known by only a few...
and should remain so for obvious reasons.
Aero-Tech, the board of governors that had you removed...
the board upon which Diana Hayden sat...
that sent the Vesta colony...
that sent the Tellus colony...
that sent Kylen Celina to die...
they knew.
They knew the aliens existed.
We all believed we were alone in the universe...
but they knew they were there, and they knew what might...
what did happen.
I will do everything I can to defeat those responsible...
for what you now know.
And what will you do?
Lieutenant West, this election is a toss-up.
It will not be settled at tonight's session.
So, when the electoral council has recessed...
Mr. Chaput would like to meet with Ambassador Hayden...
to discuss give-and-takes.
It would be much better to do this privately...
no one having known the meeting occurred.
You're on watch on Level 10, Section A-13 tonight, aren't you?
Perhaps...
one hour after the session adjourns...
you could make sure the door leading to the hallway of the executive V.I.P. quarters...
is left unlocked.
Then continue your watch away from that area for 13 minutes.
Ambassador Chaput would be very grateful.
They said you answered the questions.
Why are you in here? Did you answer one wrong?
What'd they ask you?
Well, I... I lied to 'em about that guy I had to kill...
but I don't think they caught it.
I don't think that's what they were concerned about.
- Well, what's the deal? - It was a loyalty test.
Loyalty can't be tested by questions and answers.
I know. That's why I refused to answer.
True loyalty can only be demonstrated through the display of manifest actions...
often defiant... when confronted by insurmountable obstacles...
in the form of confrontational and irrational enemies.
Is there anything I can get you?
Want a book or magazine or somethin'?
Hawkes.
Tell Ross I want out of here.
I'll take the test.
Is your name and rank McQueen, Tyrus Cassius...
- lieutenant colonel? - Yes.
Is your InVitro identity...
gene pool 13-C, batch Kappa 9757, Anchorage facility?
Yes.
- Have you killed for your country? - Yes.
- Would you die for your country? - Yes.
Due to the importance of this decision...
Down. Get some.
- Get... - The council has been in closed-door sessions all day...
- Come on. - with the industrialized factions closely aligned with Chaput...
deadlocked against the nations supporting Diane Hayden.
The election is still too close for an F.T.N. projection.
The council will reconvene tomorrow, having adjourned about an hour ago.
You. You. You.
Down, down, down.
Down.
- Have you ever betrayed your country? - No.
- Would you ever betray your country? - No.
Were you aware of any plot to assassinate Secretary General Chartwell?
No.
Are you aware of any current plot to assassinate the present secretary general?
No.
Do you know of anyone thinking of assassinating the secretary general?
- Thinking? - Please limit your responses to yes or no.
How do I know what someone else is thinking?
Are you thinking of assassinating the secretary general?
No.
Are you thinking of assassinating the secretary general?
No. How could you ask that?
Have you ever had thoughts of assassinating the secretary general?
- Enough! - Commodore...
I said enough.
This is a good officer. This is a damn good man.
And I don't need your machines or your questions to know that.
- Commodore... - With my own eyes...
I have seen this man risk his life for me.
And he's seen me risk it for him.
No dial or meter can ever understand that.
And clearly neither can you witch-hunters.
- Sir, this is not your place... - This is my ship.
Now you get the hell off her.
Go! Go!
Rear cockpit fuel intake ruptured.
Do not engage with fuselage.
Rear cockpit fuel intake ruptured.
Do not engage with fuselage.
The operative has failed.
Shall we activate the backup?
Bam.
Bam. Bam.
What's goin' on here?
They tried to assassinate Chaput. The assassin's dead.
- Was it Hawkes? - Hawkes? It was Cwirko.
Where's Chaput?
We're scheduled to take off in 15 minutes.
We'll get you to a secure area on planet.
I forgot the Security Council reports.
You should board. I'll be right back.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
Cooper, listen. Drop the weapon.
I can't.
I want to...
but I can't.
They've done something to you.
I think it was when you took the loyalty test. They're making you do this.
What is it makes you fire?
An image? A sound?
I... I don't know.
If it was just the sight of him, he'd be dead.
Wh-What triggers you?
I don't know.
No. Don't go for your weapon.
Zip the suit up. Now.
No. Don't. I can't.
I think we passed your loyalty test.
What's going on in here?
It's all right, Sergeant.
Everything's all right.
Sorry. The door was unlocked.
If someone had got to Hitler...
or Stalin...
or Dr. Stranihan before he reprogrammed the A.I.'s...
how many more people would now be alive?
Wouldn't the world have been a better place?
That's for the world to decide.
Atten-hut.
Secretary General Hayden...
on behalf of the men and women of the U.S.S. Saratoga...
may I offer our sincere congratulations on your election.
Thank you, Commodore.
I will do everything I can to bring you all home soon... and with honor.
Lieutenant West...
because of your actions, the perpetrators of a hideous crime...
have been eliminated, and a life has been saved.
I'd rather have the truth than the medal.
Did Aero-Tech know? Did you know they were out there?
Watch your hands. Watch your hands.