Andromeda (2000–2005): Season 3, Episode 17 - Vault of the Heavens - full transcript

Woo-hoo!

Nothing like a little victory
to relieve the night duty blues.

Now, if you're so sure
you can beat me
to the next slip point,

why don't we raise the wager?

Life, mine for yours.

I don't think so.

Let's just keep it at a simple,
and I use the term loosely,

gentleman's bet.

And in case
you didn't notice,
I've got a new ship now,

so prepare for a little
anti-proton fusion tank
spillover.

You mean Harper's afterburner?



Are you
out of your mind?

I thought it might be nice
to come up and see
if you wanted some company,

see if you were getting
into any trouble,
apparently you are.

Trance, you remember Agio?

Oh, from the Cygnus Drifts.

A group of Nietzschean Prides
who like to rule
their corner of the galaxy

like a gang of criminals.

At least we rule our corner.

See? He's such a bonehead.

Come on. Don't you wanna see me
beat him, just once?

Just to the next slip point.
I promise, that'll be it.

Dylan's gonna kill us.

Dylan won't know a thing,
and Andromeda
can't even hear us.

She's on a shipwide
diagnostic.



The Commonwealth
has issued cautions

when dealing with anyone
from Cygnus Drifts.

Their numbers
are growing.

I can always
hear you, Harper.

Yeah, well, I'm in command.

Dylan said, and I command
we give snobio a dose
of Harper's afterburner.

Trance, shut
the AP solenoid valve,
pretty please,

with a whole lot
of love on top.

Closing the AP solenoid valves.

Super-injecting
more anti-protons
into the accelerator tanks.

The mass in the tanks
is radically swelling.
They're approaching capacity.

What are you
trying to pull, child?

That's stallion to you,
and in answer to your question,

the sudden jump of mass
pouring into our core
under super pressure

will give us a super burst
of super speed.

Exceeding capacity.

Eat our protons.

Trance, open the valve, now.

Woo-hoo!

Agio is space dust.

Harper's afterburner,

acronym-o-nomically
known as,

HA! Take that, you loser.

What the...
The valve is wide open.

What? But it's supposed
to automatically re-close
to regulate the flow.

Well, it's not.
It's wide open,

and the spillover
is spilling over

right back into the tanks.

If fusion spills over
into those tanks,

we're gonna spill
into the great wide beyond.

Somebody has to wake Dylan.

I'm not waking Dylan.

Andromeda?
Don't bother.

I'm sure he's already awake.

Andromeda, please,
you've got to do something.

Andromeda.

What's going on?

Fusion from the core
is beginning to spill over

into the accelerator tanks.

Harper is in command
with Trance.

Oh.

All right, cancel the monthly
shipwide diagnostic

and report.

Oh, Harper.

It's a simple night shift.

Containing spillover
in the accelerator tanks.

Harper, what were
you thinking, racing me

out here far from known
Commonwealth space?
You two are lucky I don't...

I'm picking up a signal.
Attempting to identify.

It's coming from
the distant globular cluster,

far outside
commonly charted space.

A signal from that far away
would take thousands
of years to reach us.

Yeah, whoever sent it
is probably long dead.

No. The signal
is less than two hours old.

That's impossible.

Come to me.

Fire and ice.

Fire and ice.

Come.

The universe
is a dangerous place,

but in our future,

my crew and I fight
to make it safe.

I am Dylan Hunt,

Captain
of the Andromeda Ascendant,

and these are our adventures.

Spillover in the
accelerator tanks
has been contained.

Core is returning to normal.

- We're picking up clicks.
- I'm hearing a voice.

Well, these would be clicks.

Perhaps a signal
coming from here.

No, this is a voice.

It's a woman's voice.

She sound hot?

That globular cluster
is located in an area

nearly beyond
known space.

That cluster's gigantic.

Who knows what
could be there?
I say we don't go.

Maybe I'll take a back seat
in the decision-making today.

It will take us
4 days, 5 hours
and 15 minutes,

in and out of slipstream,
to reach there.

It could take even longer
to figure out which planet
orbiting what star

sent the signal.

And getting there will take us
straight through
Nietzschean-patrolled space,

which is to say
the occupied regions of
the surrounding galaxies

are crawling
with marauders.

Who is curious
about this voice?

I'm always curious
when I hear voices.

Finally, I'm not the only one
with voices in my head.

Sorry.
Dylan,

I am picking up
no audio signals.

Interesting.

So there's a mystery here.

You know, an adventure,
a new horizon. Huh?

Anybody want to investigate?

Fire, ice.

A cloud.

Dylan?

Fire and ice.

Rommie, are there
any two-planet systems?

You know, one fiery
and one frozen,

or maybe a stormy planet
with an icy moon?

Yes, there is.

One.

Ymir.

A giant fire-storm
of a planet

with an icy moon, Buri.

A cloud.

A cloud.

There is also a large cloud
of charged particles.

Of course there is.

Dylan, your knowledge
of the outer regions
is quite impressive.

Ymir.

Our destination.

Huh? Now who's with me?

All right, we'll vote.

All of those against?

All of those for?

Hmm.

I love democracy.

Any sign of
Nietzschean patrols?

No, I kept us
low and quiet.

They're still
out there, though.

All right, nice work.

Why don't you take a breather?
My turn.

Hold your water, cowboy.

"Cowboy"?

Ta-dah!

You made up a whole day.

I thought you
weren't interested.

Well, I did a little digging
in Andromeda' archives
on the way here.

The planet Ymir
is supposed to have
some pretty amazing auroras.

Colorful waves
of brilliant light

are said to wash over
the Ymirian atmosphere.

Astronomers think it happens

whenever the cloud
of charged particles
collides with Ymir's moon.

So the cloud and Buri
are on colliding orbits?

Every 800 years or so.

The last witness
of the Ymirian auroras

was about
750 years ago,

which means we could be
due for another collision

any time now.

The next collision
is going to occur
within 36 hours.

Coincidence?

I don't think so.

Somebody wants us to see this.

The signal just jumped
exponentially,

and, Dylan,
it's not coming
from Ymir.

It's coming from the moon.

Buri?

But it's frozen,
extremely inhospitable.

If anyone is down there,

what's gonna happen to them
when they get hit
with that cloud?

What's gonna happen to us
if we go down there?

Well, we've got
less than 36 hours
to find out,

and that signal is the key.

You have done well.

Now come to me.

Quickly.

You heard it.

Heard what?

The woman's voice.
You know, the whisper.

No.

Tyr, you have command.

On my way.

We are gonna go and find out
what's inside that moon

and who is inside my head.

I know you heard it.

No way.

Boss,
can we make this quick?

It's freaking cold.

Chasing delusions
into the middle
of a giant snowball.

Harper, stop whining
and keep walking.

This way.

Which way? Wait.

Huh?
I heard that.

- Me too.
- So did I.

Well, finally.

You call me crazy.

This way.

Maybe we're all crazy.

All right, which way?

It's kind of hard to tell
from a voice in our
freakin' heads.

It's kind of hard
to tell from a voice
in our freakin' heads.

This way.

There was
a life form inside.

There was more
than one of them.

What happened
to this one?

Whatever they are,
they're dying.

How long
do they have?

It's difficult to say.

Take a guess.

Not more than 30 hours.

Rommie, time until
our cloud hits?

Less than 32 hours.

Another coincidence.

Any luck deciphering
that signal?

Yes.

It's automated.

My guess,
timed by these beings

to go off when the cloud
approaches their moon.

Distress call.

If so,

then that cloud
is endangering them,

and we need to do something.

And if not?

Well, then, intervening
could be a big mistake.

It's never easy.

Tyr, we've determined
that the cloud

may be destructive
or even fatal

to the denizens of this moon.

I need you to prevent
their collision.

Dylan, even a slight diversion
of the cloud's course

could be detrimental
to this system,
possibly catastrophic.

Are you certain
you wanna do this?

No, but we don't have
the time to wait and see.

Divert that cloud, ASAP.

Just make sure
whatever you do
is undoable,

in case I'm wrong.

Acknowledged.

Well, Tyr,
how do you propose

we divert a giant cloud
of charged particles?

Improvise.

I don't know
if I'm getting the chills
'cause I'm shivering

or if I'm shivering
'cause I'm getting the chills.

The Vault of the Heavens.

Huh?

What?

Ymir.
Ymir?

I don't remember
the myth exactly,

but Ymir was born
of fire and ice,
like this system.

It's probably
why astronomers
chose the name.

Ymir's body
became all creation.

Ymir's skull became...

The Vault of the Heavens.

Mythology?

It's all Greek to me.

Come to me. Closer.

Am I the only one
who's starting to feel like
the kid in the fable

who's about to get cooked
by the witch and her coven?

Oven. He does have
a point though, Dylan.

How do we know
we're not walking
right into a trap?

Come down Closer.

Look, I, uh...

I don't know
how to explain this,

but I can somehow feel
that we're not really in danger.

And if you listen,

you'll feel it too.

This environment
has been prepared
specifically for us.

Well, you.

I've noted 11 different
unused atmospheric
venting systems,

each exhibiting deposits
of various trace elements.

The only venting system
being used is the one
providing oxygen.

Huh, great.

So the black widow
has made her web
nice and comfy for us.

I don't think
they would gone
to all this trouble

if they had intended
to harm us.

Thank you for answering.

We heard your call,

and we're here
to offer our help.

You came quickly.

You walked through
our unprotected territory

and took nothing.

I didn't even think of that.

You are worthy.

Thank you for coming.

It's our honor.

It's okay.

These access ducts were built
for lesser beings.

Are you sure you know
what you're doing?

If we're gonna push
that cloud out of the way,

I'm guessing we need to build
a gravity field generator.

By increasing
the size and power
of my point defense GFG,

you're decreasing
my engine power.

And with it, we should be
able to generate
enough artificial gravity

to push that cloud away.

In the next panel
to your left,

there's a set of cylindrical
multicolored cables

running into
a circuit terminal.

Disable the green one,

and be careful.

That panel is delicate.

What did you do?

Disabling the green cable.

No. You disabled output
to my shields completely.

My systems are disrupted.

I'm assuming
the jumpered gravitons

will successfully couple
with the cloud's particles.

It ought to push it
out of the way.

Assuming you can find a way
to jumper gravitons
to my shields

now that you've destroyed
that relay.

Just tell me when
we've entered the cloud.

Coming about
and entering the cloud.

Now or never, Tyr.

Activating shields.

Shields saturated.
Releasing the gravitons
and exiting the cloud.

Tyr?

Tyr?

At last.

Get out of my head.

Who are you?

I am
a queen, as you say.

The queen of my kind.

Your kind.

Your kind is dying.

And I must see to it
that they survive.

You are very strong.

You resist our power.

Of course I resist.
Now release me.

I am sorry.

I cannot.

It is my duty to see
that my race survives.

But I need one thing.

I need to procreate.

Now.

Oh.

That was interesting.

Did it work?

No. The cloud is still
on a collision course
with Buri.

Tell Dylan.
Communication with Dylan,

my avatar, and the rest
of the crew, for that matter,

has been cut off.
How much time
do we have?

Less than two hours.

Well, that was a painful
exercise in futility.

Destroy that thing.

Dylan ordered us
to divert that cloud
with minimal deviation,

not destroy it.

And I am countermanding
that order for his own good.

Dylan, as you just
informed me,

has been cut off
from communication.

Now, would you rather
ensure his safety

or wait for an order?

Hmm? Launch an EMP bomb

and detonate it
in the center of that cloud.

The Electromagnetic
Pulse Emitter
was severely compromised

by your jumper cable
attempt earlier.

I can't activate it.

Wait.
Yes?

I'm detecting a large
Nietzschean cruiser
coming from behind Ymir.

It's outfitted
with a highly volatile
gamma ray burster.

You speak my language.

I do not.

I can project
the meaning
of my thoughts.

Because your mind
can understand,

your mind interprets it
as your language.

Interesting language, however.

That's incredible.

Your strength is incredible.

Lesser men would not be able
to keep their right minds
right now.

You're much more...

solid...

than the average
carbon-based biped
of your stature.

I like it.

How is it that
you're so strong?

I, uh...

I come from a family
of heavy gravity worlders.

Family?

Mmm.

We do not have family at all.

If you were to strictly apply
that concept to me,

my family would be...

you.

Me?

You were the best specimen
of your race within reach.

We have taken
the carbon-based life form

for thousands
upon thousands of years.

We have come to depend on it.

So the right place
at the right time?

No.

The right man.

You have extremely high
serotonin levels
in your brain,

and the fluid
in your inner ear
has become unbalanced.

Somehow, these creatures
have managed to mentally
disorient you.

An extremely advanced form
of peaceful pacification,

I might add.

Uh, you know, look,
it's not that this
isn't an attractive offer.

It is. I'm honored,

but it's wrong to hold someone
against their will.

This is a weapon?

It's a...

Yes, it's very dangerous.

Look, why don't
you release me

and I will show you
how it works?

I cannot let you go.

There is no time
to find anyone else.

Besides...

I like you.

Thank you.

If you escaped...

I won't. I won't. I get it.
I want to help. Believe me.

But not like this.

The risk is too great.

You are too
important now.

Very soon,
a giant cloud of energy
will erase our moon.

Us.

When it does,
I must create.

Whatever race
I mate with,

that is what form my kind,
still in cocoons, shall take.

You and I will mate,

and my energy will be absorbed
through the cloud by my people,

so that they may
take shape and live,

until they grow
old and weary,

and return again
to their cocoons

to wait for it all
to happen again.

Huh. I thought the cloud
was killing you.

No.

The cloud enables us to live.

What would happen

if the cloud did not
embrace us?

That is preposterous.

We are psychically
intertwined with the cloud.

It is how we have evolved
over the millennia.

But if it were diverted
from its course

and did not collide
with your moon...

Then we would all die.

Ah.

The Nietzschean cruiser.

Perhaps our opportunity
has appeared
right along with it.

I wonder
how many more cruisers
are in hiding.

There's no telling
how long this one's
been there.

We may only need this one,
if you'll follow my lead.

I'm receiving a hail.

Tyr? Tyr Anasazi?

Are you still
humiliating yourself, Tyr?

Humiliating
Nietzschean people?

Are you still playing
second fiddle to that...

human?

To the Commonwealth?

Nietzschean Prides
have joined
the Commonwealth.

We do what we must,
for as long as it takes,

until the time comes
when we can do
what we have been waiting for.

I have an offer
for you, Tyr.

A private matter.

Request permission
to come aboard.

Well, I doubt our captain
would appreciate your presence

on board his vessel.

Now, about that moon...

This moon, this moon...

and particularly that cloud,

are under the protection
of the Drago Kazov.

They seem to have
some significant
interest in it.

The Drago Kazov?

Say goodbye
to your cloud.

Do it.
If you fire on that cloud,

I will be forced
to fire on you.

Oh, I'm sorry, machine.

Blood is thicker than wiring.

Gladly...

we do what we must.

He's launched
an EMP detonator.

It's speeding
toward the cloud.

Good.

Didn't see that coming,
did you? Gamma rays.

The most volatile energy
in the universe.

That blast,
two percent capacity.

Now, since you won't tell me
what's inside that moon,

I suppose I'm just gonna have
to beat it out of you.

One of us is going
to regret this.

The cloud.

Something has happened.

I changed its course.

You must put it back.

Restore communications
with my ship.

I cannot.

You must understand,

I do not have the luxury
of simply asking for a mate

and hoping
for an answer.

Our whole world
is at stake.

I cannot allow
for the possibility
of a refusal.

The wrong path
leads to the wrong end.

I will only help
if you release me.

You do not know
what it is like.

This cave is all
I will ever see

of the entire universe.

For hundreds of years...

I lay in my cocoon...

listening to space expanding,

feeling suns dying.

The music of the universe,
eternally.

I never experienced ambition,

fear,

dread,

curiosity...

until now
when I can finally see.

But all that I can see
is this cave.

What happens to you
when the cloud hits?

You and I become one,

and my energy is absorbed
through the cloud.

After that?

Can you really let my people
die on principle?

The entire race?

Can you?

The choice is yours.

I spy with my little eye
something that is...

White ice?

Okay, okay.

Oh, please.

I could obliterate
that inferior cruiser
with one Missile Salvo

if it were not for that
gamma ray burster.

My engines are at less
than one percent.

Every shot floods
the ship's systems

and renders me
unable to attack.

This pattern prevents me
from returning fire.

I register the recent trail
of a Nietzschean escape pod
entering Buri,

and scan of probability
of zero life forms
on board the cruiser.

Maybe the cruiser
is in command of itself.

That would explain
the obvious repeating
attack pattern.

My sensors are down
for 30 seconds after each hit
from the burster.

That's just enough time
for an escape pod to slip
onto the moon unnoticed.

The attack was just
a distraction.

An effective distraction.
I just experienced
my first hunch.

That Nietzschean
is already on the moon.

Freeze.
Don't move.

Stay right there.

Oh, my God,
you're hot.

Harper, Seamus Harper.
Nice to...

Seamus?

What they said.

Lower your weapons.

Dylan, you don't look like
you're in a position

to be giving orders.

I said, put your weapons down.

Here we go again.

Set me free.

The choice you make
is who you are,

and what kind of queen
you will be.

If you create
with me like this,

your people will absorb
the energy of an unjust act.

Instead, they could absorb
the energy of a fair
and honest queen.

You choose.

What kind of race
will you create?

Your kind.

I have restored
communication
with your ship.

You are free to go.

I'll meet you back
at the Maru.

But wait.

- Oh.
- No, no, no.

Aw, come on, boss,
don't we get to watch?

Ow! Ow!

Go easy on the threads.

Andromeda.

Return the cloud to its
original collision course
with the moon.

- There is one problem.
- It's been destroyed.

What?

Well, fix it, fast!

Correction.

Two problems.

I'm in the middle of a battle
with a Nietzschean cruiser.

Nice little dance
you've got going here.

Mind if I cut in?

Make that three problems.

I think it might be nice
to father my own race.

Oh, yeah,
I've been listening.

She's mine.

I'll blow up this whole moon
and everything on it.

Dylan,

the cruiser is powering up
its gamma ray burster

and focusing it on the moon.

I suggest you get
out of there.

Did you know that
the most energetic
eruption ever recorded

is a gamma ray burst?

Harnessing gamma rays
is a very volatile business,

and we only have
a few minutes

before the burster
can no longer be shut down,

and then this whole moon
and all these pathetic
worms infesting it,

will die.

Put down your Force lance.

What are you doing?

What are you, crazy?
We're all gonna die.

Eventually,
but not today.

Gamma ray weapons, huh?

You know, any captain
stupid enough

to arm a ship
with a gamma ray weapon

faces one major snag...

should it ever overload,
the ship literally vaporizes.

The interesting thing,
however,

is what is left behind.

Andromeda,
give us an example.

Acknowledged.

Gravitons should easily
overload that weapon.

We tried them once already.

Right solution,
wrong application.

The gamma ray burster
will fire in 14 seconds.

Thirteen seconds.

Sorry about your ship.

Six, five...

Incorporating the cruiser's
trajectory and velocity.

...four, three...

Orbit parameters complete.

Activating
the ramming field cushion.

Captain,
the charged particle
cloud is reforming.

It's approaching the moon.

It is time.

You heard the lady.
Goodbye.

Actually, I meant
to say good night.

So, uh...

How do we, uh...

do this?

I mean, I know
how I do it, but...

I'm sure like your average
carbon-based biped,

you'll get the hang of it.

I'm not your average
carbon-based biped.

Your people
will never be human

without humanity.

Thank you...

for helping us.

Thank you.

So...

you persuaded Dylan
to bring you on board

as his prisoner.

Congratulations.

And I see Dylan has taught you
to come when you're called.

Good boy.

You even let them
have you declawed.

Bone blades don't make
the Nietzschean.

But DNA does.

The constant effort
to evolve

through good breeding
and better engineering.

All of us on our own road
to genetic apotheosis.

A road marked by bones.

You're wasting my time.

Drago's bones.

The mummified remains
of Drago Museveni...

the only means to verify
the true identity

of the resurrected Progenitor
when he comes.

Until 18 months ago,

the bones were held
by the Drago-Kazov Pride

on Enga's Redoubt.

Held there
until they were stolen...

by you.

They never
belonged to you,

or the Drago-Kazov.

They belonged to all of us,

and we want them back.

We?
We!

The products
of Drago-Kazov aggression.

The bitter remains
of shattered Prides.

Like you, Tyr.

Survivors.

Superior.

The seeds of a better,
stronger race.

Like the seeds
of a Dragonia vine.

All you have
to do, Tyr,

is give us the bones.

They will become a banner
around which we rally
to destroy

the Drago-Kazov,

and build a great
Nietzschean empire

that our grandfathers
could only imagine.

And because you're
just so superior.

So superior,
you've become prisoner
aboard a Commonwealth vessel.

Imagine that.

Imagine.

If you change your mind, Tyr...

just look over your shoulder.

We're everywhere.

I thought perhaps
you might find this...

interesting.

Thank you.

Did Agio tell you
anything useful?

Only that he's a fool

and that he should have
died long ago.

Really?

Have you any intuition
about this?

Any sense? Any fear?

No.

I'm sorry
you're on your own.

Yes?

Andromeda reports
the moon is full of humans.

I'm having a hard time
getting my head around this.

Well, it's just
basic science, really.

See, auroras occur

when charged particles
collide with atoms

in the magnetic field
surrounding a planet.

Energy is released
in the form of light.

And the queen?

Okay. When the charged
particle cloud envelops Buri,

uh, a massive sheet of current
flows between Buri and Ymir,

bridging the two worlds
like an invisible flux tube.

Harper, this isn't science.

It's a miracle.

I know.

Boss, until today,
as far as I knew,

auroras did not give life.

It's incredible, isn't it?

Yes.

It's beautiful.

We are looking
at your myth, Mr. Harper.

The Vault of the Heavens.