Pandora (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - full transcript
Jax and the team search for the lost alien race that is the key to saving the universe but are plagued by nightmares from their individual traumas and greatest fears.
♪♪
XANDER: Hold still, Jax.
♪♪
(WINCES)
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
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.
(SIGHS)
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.
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
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?
- (BEEPING)
- 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
some place totally lame.
We've been looking
all over campus for you.
We were supposed to have
study group over an hour ago.
- JETT: You stay with these guys. I'll go find Ralen.
- No!
No.
No?
(SOFTLY) 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.
XANDER: 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.
♪♪
LUCAS: 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.
ZAZIE: 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.
(EXHALES)
I gotta find Xander.
ZAZIE: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
(BELL TOLLING)
(CHATTERING)
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.
♪♪
(MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS)
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.
- (SCOFFS)
- 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?
(SCOFFS) Zaz, please.
Come on.
I have a PhD in charm.
- No one can resist me.
- (SCOFFS) If you say so.
Oh, I know so.
Alright. (SCOFFS)
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 ♪
♪♪
♪♪
(GASPS)
♪♪
Mrs. Duvall?
(MUFFLED) We regret...
(NORMAL VOICE) We regret to
inform you that your son,
Lieutenant Commander Zion Duvall
was killed in action...
Killed in action.
Been killed in action.
(SHARP BREATH)
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 brave?
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.
(CHORTLES) Can't a mother try?
I don't want him anymore.
I want Zion back.
He was my favorite.
He was my favorite.
He was my favorite.
- (VOICE ECHOES)
- Mum?
Well, there you go, Mum.
Safety's off.
Fire away.
XANDER: Mum?
(WHISPERING) 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.
♪♪
COMPUTER: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(MUZAK PLAYS)
Who is it?
(VOICE ECHOES) Housekeeping.
(VOICE ECHOES) Matta?
You have to checkout, ma'am.
(VOICE DEEPENS AND ECHOES)
You have to leave.
(GASPS SOFTLY)
(SCREAMS)
(GASPING)
(MAN WHISTLING)
(COMPUTERS WHIRRING)
(DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN)
Xander?
(CHUCKLES)
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.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(MEN SHOUTING)
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?!
(SHRAL GROANS)
MAN: ♪ There is a girl
named Pandora ♪
♪ She scream ♪
♪ And she cries ♪
♪ She thinks ♪
♪ She can save us ♪
♪ But she too ♪
♪ Will die ♪
- (EXAGGERATED SOB)
- ♪ Where she is ♪
- ♪ Nobody knows ♪
- (KNIFE SLASHING)
♪ Nobody but you ♪
♪ Who we'll torture ♪
♪ Until you do ♪
♪♪
(GASPS)
(PANTING)
(COUGHS)
(BREATHING SHARPLY)
♪♪
(ELECTRONIC WHOOSHING)
JETT: 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.
(ELECTRONIC WHOOSHING)
♪♪
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.
MAN: Aye-aye, captain.
WOMAN: Thank you, captain.
(DOORS CLOSE)
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.
♪♪
(CHATTERING)
(EXHALES)
JETT: 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.
JETT: No.
People can get lost
inside here, Ralen.
I'm not leaving without you.
Ralen! Listen to me.
I am not leaving her again!
♪♪
MAN: ♪ There is a girl ♪
♪ Named Pandora ♪
♪ She thinks ♪
♪ She can save us ♪
♪ But she too will die ♪
♪♪
MAN: Where is the Pandora?
Here there be monsters.
MAN: Tell me,
where can we find the box?
SHRAL: Lieutenant Martin
Shral, serial number X5-35...
MAN: Where did Osborn
take the baby?
(VOICE DISTORTED)
What did you tell the Zatarians?
MAN: She, too, will die.
Leave me alone.
♪ Nobody knows where she is ♪
♪ Nobody knows
where she is ♪
(ALARM BLARING)
Captain, someone has
entered the airlock.
(ALARM CONTINUES)
I know what you did!
JAX: Open the door, Shral!
Open the door!
COMPUTER: Warning.
Depressurizing.
Open the door!
(ALARM CONTINUES)
(MUFFLED) Open the door!
Professor Shral, please!
Please, professor,
open the door!
Open the door!
COMPUTER: Depressurizing.
♪♪
Professor Shral,
open the door, please!
He's locked himself inside.
- He's running out of oxygen!
- COMPUTER: Depressurizing in five seconds.
- Professor Shral! Open it! Professor, please!
- Five, four, three, two...
(PANTING)
Airlock secure.
What the hell
is going on, professor?
♪♪
(GRUNTS)
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
(PANTING)
♪♪
(GASPING)
(COUGHING)
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.
(SOFT CHUCKLE)
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?
SHRAL: 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.
SHRAL: 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.
(ENGINE POWERING UP)
(JAX SHOUTS)
♪♪
(THUDDING)
(PANTING)
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.
♪♪
(BELL TOLLING)
(CHATTERING)
I would never have left
if you hadn't convinced me to.
It just felt
so... good.
(CHUCKLES)
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.
(BABY CRIES)
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.
(SPEAKS TELEPATHICALLY) 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?
SHRAL: I don't take this
as a refusal.
There are cultural differences
in the pauses
between communication.
XANDER: 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.
♪♪
COMPUTER: Welcome, Zazie.
Hey.
How did it go with Ralen?
Is... is he okay?
Not exactly.
What do you mean,
"not exactly"?
(BEEPING)
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.
♪♪
(BEEPING)
♪♪
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.
GIRL: (TELEPATHICALLY) I tried
to show them, but they do not see.
WOMAN: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
MAN: Where is the Pandora?
(SHRAL SCREAMS)
Osborn's bringing her
to... to new Portland.
To be raised by his sister, Eve.
♪♪
I'm sorry, Jax.
Please forgive me.
(DOOR BEEPS)
Enter.
COMPUTER: Welcome, Xander.
I was worried a...
Shh.
♪♪
XANDER: Next time onPandora:
GREG: What happens on Las Venus,
stays on Las Venus, bro.
- XANDER: Greg?
- If you didn't know I was here, why did you come?
- For Ralen.
- Why the hell would Ralen come to Las Venus?
EMCEE: The Fighting Zatarian!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Your uncle has
a mission for you.
OSBORN: Princess Aleka claims
she has important information for us
about developments in the empire,
but she will be closely watched
by the Sumi secret police.
Impressive...
for a human.
♪♪
MAN: Kill, Ubu, kill.
Good fish.
XANDER: Hold still, Jax.
♪♪
(WINCES)
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
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.
(SIGHS)
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.
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
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?
- (BEEPING)
- 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
some place totally lame.
We've been looking
all over campus for you.
We were supposed to have
study group over an hour ago.
- JETT: You stay with these guys. I'll go find Ralen.
- No!
No.
No?
(SOFTLY) 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.
XANDER: 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.
♪♪
LUCAS: 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.
ZAZIE: 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.
(EXHALES)
I gotta find Xander.
ZAZIE: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
(BELL TOLLING)
(CHATTERING)
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.
♪♪
(MUSIC PLAYS ON SPEAKERS)
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.
- (SCOFFS)
- 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?
(SCOFFS) Zaz, please.
Come on.
I have a PhD in charm.
- No one can resist me.
- (SCOFFS) If you say so.
Oh, I know so.
Alright. (SCOFFS)
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 ♪
♪♪
♪♪
(GASPS)
♪♪
Mrs. Duvall?
(MUFFLED) We regret...
(NORMAL VOICE) We regret to
inform you that your son,
Lieutenant Commander Zion Duvall
was killed in action...
Killed in action.
Been killed in action.
(SHARP BREATH)
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 brave?
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.
(CHORTLES) Can't a mother try?
I don't want him anymore.
I want Zion back.
He was my favorite.
He was my favorite.
He was my favorite.
- (VOICE ECHOES)
- Mum?
Well, there you go, Mum.
Safety's off.
Fire away.
XANDER: Mum?
(WHISPERING) 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.
♪♪
COMPUTER: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(MUZAK PLAYS)
Who is it?
(VOICE ECHOES) Housekeeping.
(VOICE ECHOES) Matta?
You have to checkout, ma'am.
(VOICE DEEPENS AND ECHOES)
You have to leave.
(GASPS SOFTLY)
(SCREAMS)
(GASPING)
(MAN WHISTLING)
(COMPUTERS WHIRRING)
(DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN)
Xander?
(CHUCKLES)
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.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(MEN SHOUTING)
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?!
(SHRAL GROANS)
MAN: ♪ There is a girl
named Pandora ♪
♪ She scream ♪
♪ And she cries ♪
♪ She thinks ♪
♪ She can save us ♪
♪ But she too ♪
♪ Will die ♪
- (EXAGGERATED SOB)
- ♪ Where she is ♪
- ♪ Nobody knows ♪
- (KNIFE SLASHING)
♪ Nobody but you ♪
♪ Who we'll torture ♪
♪ Until you do ♪
♪♪
(GASPS)
(PANTING)
(COUGHS)
(BREATHING SHARPLY)
♪♪
(ELECTRONIC WHOOSHING)
JETT: 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.
(ELECTRONIC WHOOSHING)
♪♪
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.
MAN: Aye-aye, captain.
WOMAN: Thank you, captain.
(DOORS CLOSE)
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.
♪♪
(CHATTERING)
(EXHALES)
JETT: 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.
JETT: No.
People can get lost
inside here, Ralen.
I'm not leaving without you.
Ralen! Listen to me.
I am not leaving her again!
♪♪
MAN: ♪ There is a girl ♪
♪ Named Pandora ♪
♪ She thinks ♪
♪ She can save us ♪
♪ But she too will die ♪
♪♪
MAN: Where is the Pandora?
Here there be monsters.
MAN: Tell me,
where can we find the box?
SHRAL: Lieutenant Martin
Shral, serial number X5-35...
MAN: Where did Osborn
take the baby?
(VOICE DISTORTED)
What did you tell the Zatarians?
MAN: She, too, will die.
Leave me alone.
♪ Nobody knows where she is ♪
♪ Nobody knows
where she is ♪
(ALARM BLARING)
Captain, someone has
entered the airlock.
(ALARM CONTINUES)
I know what you did!
JAX: Open the door, Shral!
Open the door!
COMPUTER: Warning.
Depressurizing.
Open the door!
(ALARM CONTINUES)
(MUFFLED) Open the door!
Professor Shral, please!
Please, professor,
open the door!
Open the door!
COMPUTER: Depressurizing.
♪♪
Professor Shral,
open the door, please!
He's locked himself inside.
- He's running out of oxygen!
- COMPUTER: Depressurizing in five seconds.
- Professor Shral! Open it! Professor, please!
- Five, four, three, two...
(PANTING)
Airlock secure.
What the hell
is going on, professor?
♪♪
(GRUNTS)
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
(PANTING)
♪♪
(GASPING)
(COUGHING)
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.
(SOFT CHUCKLE)
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?
SHRAL: 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.
SHRAL: 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.
(ENGINE POWERING UP)
(JAX SHOUTS)
♪♪
(THUDDING)
(PANTING)
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.
♪♪
(BELL TOLLING)
(CHATTERING)
I would never have left
if you hadn't convinced me to.
It just felt
so... good.
(CHUCKLES)
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.
(BABY CRIES)
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.
(SPEAKS TELEPATHICALLY) 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?
SHRAL: I don't take this
as a refusal.
There are cultural differences
in the pauses
between communication.
XANDER: 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.
♪♪
COMPUTER: Welcome, Zazie.
Hey.
How did it go with Ralen?
Is... is he okay?
Not exactly.
What do you mean,
"not exactly"?
(BEEPING)
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.
♪♪
(BEEPING)
♪♪
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.
GIRL: (TELEPATHICALLY) I tried
to show them, but they do not see.
WOMAN: 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.
♪♪
♪♪
MAN: Where is the Pandora?
(SHRAL SCREAMS)
Osborn's bringing her
to... to new Portland.
To be raised by his sister, Eve.
♪♪
I'm sorry, Jax.
Please forgive me.
(DOOR BEEPS)
Enter.
COMPUTER: Welcome, Xander.
I was worried a...
Shh.
♪♪
XANDER: Next time onPandora:
GREG: What happens on Las Venus,
stays on Las Venus, bro.
- XANDER: Greg?
- If you didn't know I was here, why did you come?
- For Ralen.
- Why the hell would Ralen come to Las Venus?
EMCEE: The Fighting Zatarian!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Your uncle has
a mission for you.
OSBORN: Princess Aleka claims
she has important information for us
about developments in the empire,
but she will be closely watched
by the Sumi secret police.
Impressive...
for a human.
♪♪
MAN: Kill, Ubu, kill.
Good fish.