SeaQuest 2032 (1993–1996): Season 1, Episode 12 - Better Than Martians - full transcript

Have you ever looked up at the night sky
and dreamed of flying to another planet,

sitting on top of a thundering rocket
as the Earth fell away beneath you?

If there were no other reasons
than to go into space

the awesome challenge
would have been enough.

It's part of
why we went to Mars.

Some say the high cost of our mission
would have been better spent at home.

Thousands of causes are more worthy
than mapping Mars's polar icecaps.

I understand the concerns

but I also see advances from our mission
benefiting everyone on Earth.

One thing's for certain, though.

Just the thrill of what we did
can galvanize



an entire generation
of explorers and scientists.

And think what they might
be able to accomplish.

After decades of research,

$400 billion and two years since
lifting off from Earth

the first manned mission
to Mars is about to come home.

Now, all activity here on Earth
has come to a virtual halt.

Much as it did when the Wayfarer's
commander, Scott Keller

took his first historic step
on the Red Planet nearly one year ago.

Twenty-four months ago,
the two-man, two-woman

Mr. Ortiz, Mr. O'Neill,
we're about ready for

In less than one hour, its descent
slowed by three giant parachutes

the Wayfarer capsule will triumphantly
glide into the Atlantic Ocean

its 80-million-mile
roundtrip voyage complete.

Represented by the world's
four preeminent space programs



the Mars mission symbolizes
a global cooperative commitment

to learning more about our planet as
well as the rest of the solar system.

Lead by American Commander,
Scott Keller

the Wayfarer team has now spent three
straight years together.

After being selected from hundreds of
highly qualified astronauts and scientists

the crew endured one year of rigorous
training in Houston and Florida

before taking off
on their historical voyage.

The world awaits for
the Wayfarer crew to emerge

- from their capsule with answers
- Jonathan, are you looking?

To the mysteries about the Red Planet
which have intrigued scientists

as well as laymen
for hundreds of years.

Now, if you look up
into the sky

This re-growth
is spectacular, Nathan

but shouldn't we
be getting back?

There's one more slope
of the reef I want to see.

I think it's what you don't want to see
that's keeping you out here.

Your professional opinion is I can't stop
history just by avoiding it?

I think that's
the way it works, yes.

All right. All right, let's go back.

That reef has grown all the way back.
There is life everywhere.

People have done
a terrific job.

Many fish. Good food.

Oh, yeah? Everybody's got
their own agenda.

I suppose we better go and see
how your friend is getting on.

I suppose.

The world's in love with space travel
again. There goes our funding.

They'll trade living reefs
for a few alien rocks.

The pendulum swings both ways.
It'll come back again.

- Mr. O'Neill.
- Here, Captain.

- What do you say we listen in
on my old friend, Scott. - Aye, sir.

Tapping into
secure transmission.

Roger, Mission Control.
Beginning deorbit burn-flight route.

Corning back at you, 16804429.

I've reloaded new coordinates.
We match perfectly.

- You copy, Houston?
- Roger. You guys look sweet

on a cross-range re-entry
at 938 miles.

We're showing AV Bay Fan Alpha hot.
See what you can do.

Roger, Mission Control.
AV Fan Alpha switched off.

Speed, 17,000 miles per hour.

We're captured by atmosphere,
0.05 gravity and building.

The orbit angle of attack,
minus 0.35 degrees.

We're beginning ionized burn.

Nice flying, Scott.
We've got a circuit breaker on R-7.

We'd like you
to push back in.

I see it, Houston.
Freon loop on Bravo engaged.

Engaging Bravo.
That's a roger.

Got a problem here, Scott.

- Stuck thrust on four.
- Re-engage.

- No response. - Stabilize.
- Too late!

- Houston, we're tumbling.
- No response at stick.

- Shutting down thermal hydraulics.
- Switching to rate gyros.

- Inertial platform engaged.
- Talk to me, Wayfarer.

Come on, Scott-man.
Pull her out.

Eight ball's gone crazy!

We're losing
control authority.

We've lost you on our screens,
Wayfarer.

Do you copy?
Come in, Wayfarer.

Scott, are you there? Scott?

As a matter of fact,
we're told everything is going A-okay.

The 21st century.

Mankind has colonized the last
unexplored region on Earth: the ocean.

As captain of the seaQuest
and its crew, we are its guardians.

For beneath the surface
lies the future.

We're not getting any concrete
information from Space Command yet

but I've got to speculate
that Wayfarer's crew is dead.

I don't know how to put into words
what I'm feeling at this moment.

To have such a triumph
turn so quickly into tragedy.

- We're standing by for further
- Ready, Mr. O'Neill?

- Aye, sir, on screen.
- How bad is it, Bill?

Cmdr. Keller got some
semblance of control 30 miles up.

- We estimate they hit at six times
the safe velocity. - Where?

They crashed in the Andaman Sea off
Burma. That's why I'm calling you.

That'll take us 10 hours to get there.
Why don't you send some jet copters?

The capsule sank on impact.

We don't know exactly
where or how deep

but we have reason to believe
that some of them are still alive.

A signal buoy popped to the surface
1O minutes ago.

It's attached to the capsule by wire
and can only be activated manually.

Nathan, we have no
recovery assets in the area.

- We'll plot a course immediately.
Prepare to get underway. - Aye, sir.

Nathan, you'll be entering Montagnard
Confederation waters.

- You'll have to go on military alert.
- Why?

What, we'll radio ahead.
It's a rescue mission.

- Ah, Capt. Bridger.
- Mr. President.

Captain, I'm sure you're aware
of Southeast Asia's bitter war

over ocean-floor
mineral rights.

Every vessel passing through the area
gets fired on by one side or the other.

- We're prepared for that.
- I've received assurances by all sides

that no one will stand in your way

but this is now
a military recovery.

Sir, with all due respect,
our mission

Your vessel's been loaned
to me for the next 10 hours.

Hell, it was our tax dollars
that built you.

- There were some private grants.
- Just do it my way.

- Any questions?
- No, sir.

I've given the United States
my assurance.

Thank you for your
kind advice, gentlemen.

Why must you always be
so hardlined, Tran?

Mr. President, I do not
trust the United States.

It's a new world, Tran.
You must wake up to that.

As young boys, even living
in different countries

we shared the same experience.

The Americans tell us they will leave
in two years. They mean 20.

They say two hours.
They mean two years.

I promised not to impede
their search.

Hardly an invitation
to colonialism.

Without overtly interfering,
I'd like to find the capsule first.

But why, Mr. President?

It's time the Montagnards
made headlines

without death and destruction
as the banner.

Now, go and rescue
the astronauts.

Yes, sir.

Okay, people, what do we have?

Well, we got a rough idea of
where the capsule went down.

GPS satellite has it in the mid Andaman
Sea, right in the middle of a war zone.

They're drifting due west in the Indian
countercurrent at 5 knots.

- Intercept course already plotted.
- Make way, full speed.

We do still have teams out
studying the reef.

We'll send a launch out until we return.
Prepare the hyperbaric chamber.

We'll have to put those core samples
into quarantine.

- Lt. Krieg?
- Yes, sir.

You're going to be in charge
of the rescue effort.

- Check with medical on supplies.
- Right away.

- Lt. O'Neill? - The Wayfarer's backup
radio has a sub-surface capability.

High frequency,
narrow band, short range.

I could deploy the WSKRS in a curved
hydrophone array. If we stack the signals.

Give it a shot once
we get further up the Sumatra coastline.

- And bone up
on your Montagnard dialects. - Aye, sir.

- Darwin help.
- Yes.

We have a long way to travel,
but I have no doubt that you will.

Chief.

As of this moment,
we are on military alert.

Aye, Captain.
Hold it, private.

Bring your teams to Full Alert.

- Cap torpedo one to full charge.
- Aye, sir.

All stations ready
at Full Tactical Alert.

Captain,
I've got the Wayfarer.

I know somebody's listening,
so pick up the phone.

This is command capsule Wayfarer
calling anybody who's out there.

Wayfarer, we read you. Your signal
sounds like you're underwater.

Yeah, that's funny
you should mention that.

You have
a very familiar voice.

It's Nathan Bridger, Scott.

Oh, God.

Don't tell me we crashed
near your island hideaway?

- I'm on the seaQuest now.
- What happened?

It break down,
they had to bring you back to fix it?

Well, under the circumstances, I don't
think you have much to crow about.

What are you talking about?

Eighty million miles,
this is our first little fender bender.

I bet you run into things with that
submarine of yours all the time.

- Nice to hear your voice, Scott.
- Well, likewise, Nathan.

- Tell me you're close by.
- I can't.

- We're about eight hours away.
- Oh, boy.

- Where's everybody else?
- We're it.

What's your status?

Petrovich's got
a lot of broken bones.

The rest of us are banged up
pretty good, too.

We got a slow leak and this water's
getting awful cold.

Great,
just give us the details.

We're about 4O feet deep.

Flotation collar only partially deployed.

It's all that's keeping us
from going to the bottom.

I'm in your world now, Nathan.
You got any ideas?

You could bleed some of your
pressurized air into the cabin.

- It'll keep the water from seeping in.
- And when we run out?

- I'll rescue you.
- Yeah.

- And never let me live it down?
- Not a chance.

Now listen carefully.
I want to put some of my people on.

Wait a minute. Before you go,

- what's the security clearance
on your crew? - You can speak freely.

Well, we took a lot of geologic
core samples all over the Martian surface.

Of course.
Any signs of life?

In a big way.
Yuwenia Bentleyi.

- Lucas, what is Mars?
- It's another planet.

It's kind of like
a new island.

- How far is island Mars?
- Too far for you to swim. That's for sure.

About a $100 trillion away.

We're a fine pair
of scientists, aren't we?

Life is discovered on another planet,
and we're both miserable.

What's your excuse?

I remember seeing you
on TV years ago.

- You saw me on TV?
- Mmm-hmm.

Lobbying the Appropriations Committee
to try and finish building seaQuest

and you nearly lost
to Space Command.

There was one senator who wanted
to build an orbiting brewery.

Futurists.

It was a bad day all around.

I remember, after the testimony,
Carol and I went out to dinner

just to be alone,
get away from it all

and that was the night
we got the call

that our son, Robert,
had been killed in action.

I never went back
to that shipyard.

Let me show you
what your friend Scott found.

Meet Yuwenia Bentleyi.

- Sounds like a ballerina.
- Yeah, but she's a snail.

No, she's a primeval earth mollusk.

I assume that your friend
found fossils of similar creatures.

I figured he'd find algae
or other microorganisms.

This kind of evolution proves that there
was water on ancient Mars

for a considerable period of time.

You gotta hand it to him, Scott.

Bridge, what the hell's
going on here.

Reverse engines!
Still determining, Captain.

Contact lost
with lead WSKR, sir.

- Freeze WSKRS, Mr. Ortiz.
- Frozen, sir. All-stop on EVAs.

- All stop on main drive.
- It's a minefield, Captain.

We're in the middle
of a minefield.

Sub-surface mines.
The bottom's freshly disturbed.

- Somebody just buried them.
- Who?

An unidentified submersible
is leaving the other side of the minefield.

- No acoustical match to our library.
- Keep track of him as best you can.

Cap, those are KSL-8
anti-submarine detonators.

- They're pressure-wake activated.
- Who uses those in this area?

- Everybody.
- Captain.

- Should I put divers out to disarm the
mines? - No, we'll just lose time that way.

- We can back away
and re-route north. - No.

The shortest distance
between two points.

We'll have to make sacrifices
to clear the minefield

starting with the WSKRS.

Now, now, we'll buy you
new toys once you get to Pearl.

- Yes, sir.
- Here's what we're going to do.

We're going to send a WSKR
out, blow up the minefield

- and then move forward behind it.
- Captain?

Cmdr. Keller.

Go ahead, Cmdr. Keller.
You're patched in.

- How you doing, Nathan?
- Great. How are you, pal?

This pressurized air business is slowing
the water down, but it's a losing battle.

Well, if it looks like
you're going to sink,

abandon the capsule.
We'll find you topside.

I can't move Petrovich,
and I'm not gonna leave him.

Besides, we haven't felt
Earth's gravity for two years.

Muscle atrophy would leave them too
weak to free swim to the surface.

I'll go and speak to him.

I'll drive faster, Scott.

Commander, Dr. Westphalen.
Tell me a little about your condition.

- Any signs of nitrogen narcosis?
- None.

- Good. Hypothermia?
- Water temperature's dropping rapidly.

All right, here's what
I want you to do.

- We're through the minefield.
- Any WSKRS left? - No, sir.

- How are you holding up?
- I'm all right, sir.

They died a good death.
We're in open water.

Let's dive into the nearest trench.
Take us off the map.

Then, you two are gonna come out
of that trench in a launch

carrying about 200 feet
of reflective streamers.

We're gonna make
a really big signature.

So anybody tracking us
will think we're the seaQuest?

- Yes, exactly.
- Got you, Captain.

Now, you can play havoc
with their 12-mile limit if you want to

but just buy me time
so we can slip out.

- Yes, sir.
- Aye, sir.

Any luck?

Well, I made it all the way through to
the Montagnard president's summer home

and, nearest I can figure it,
why should they talk to you

when they can scream
at our president?

Tell them,
if they want to skip the middleman

- we can clear up this disagreement.
- Aye, sir.

This isn't my best language.

- Just don't insult their grandmothers.
- Aye, Captain.

Please, you're out of your mind.
I don't agree with you at all.

What are you talking about? We command
the 2 most modern ships ever built.

I don't know about you,
but the older I get

the more I measure my accomplishments
by how much they cost.

Yeah, well, you're talking
families and normal lives.

- Ambition eats those for breakfast.
- No, I'm talking cold, hard cash.

- Well, here we go again.
- Look,

I applaud
your finding life on Mars

but you always knew
it was there.

The building blocks are universal,
and atoms do tend to combine.

- Trophy to prove a thesis. - What are
you doing down here in the ocean?

You go out, find little critters,
put them in a jar,

hold them up to the light
and you go, "Whoopee! Neat!"

Them little critters have great
implications for mankind.

So do the little critters on Mars. Only
you have to go out there to find them.

I know what kind of life
you're really dreaming about finding

but until we learn to travel
at the speed of light

Yeah, I know. It's all one
spectacular waste of money.

$400 billion for a snail.

Nathan, if the world
is captivated by it

they'll allocate the funds
for more research.

- He wants more.
- Hey, Nathan, if you don't rescue me,

you're gonna lose your
major competition for taxpayer dollars.

Don't think it hasn't crossed
my mind, Scott-man.

It's getting ugly here,
Jonathan.

We've got nine ships
following us around,

and everybody's targeting
everybody else.

Just another half-hour, Katie.
Keep up the good work.

SeaQuest out.

You know, my father fought alongside
the Montagnards in Vietnam.

- Those are some tough people.
- Smart, too.

Looks like a few of them
aren't chasing us anymore.

Well, why don't
we cross over their 12-mile limit

and see if we can't get them interested
again, Commander?

You got it, Chief.

We've got their signal buoy
locked in at 3O miles,

but, without WSKRS, we can't pinpoint
the capsule itself until we're closer.

Steam on in, fellows.

We got a nice little indoor
swimming hole here.

Hang in, Scott.
We're almost there.

Release the rescue launch.

Roger, Commander.
Rescue launch on the move.

I can't wait
to talk to these guys.

Damn. Forgot my camera.

I mean, they lived
on Mars for a month.

- We lived down here
for longer than that. - Not the same.

No, I agree. You can hardly compare
hurtling through space in a closet

with building
a livable habitat underwater.

The whole of my professional life
is at the end of a funding yo-yo,

and I sense the money that I need
to complete my work going elsewhere.

Tell you what.
When we get to the capsule

what do you say we mess
with their snail samples?

- In what way?
- I don't know.

Make escargot.

Unidentified sub approaching
at 18 degrees, sir.

- Is it the one that laid the mines?
- Hard to tell.

They're putting
out a lot of extra noise.

They don't care if we know where they are
so long as we don't know who they are.

Target solution on the intruder.
Lock in and flood all tubes.

The seaQuest beat us there.

Mr. President,
they are aiming at our rescue sub.

Well, we gave it a good try.

Be supportive
in any way we can.

They're turning, sir.
Showing tail.

Stand down
from targeting sweep.

- Nice job.
- Thank you, sir.

- SeaQuest, we got trouble here.
- What is it, Lieutenant?

We found Wayfarer's signal buoy
on the surface, sir

but it's not attached to anything.
There's no capsule here.

What's he talking about, Nathan?
Where the hell are you?

In the wrong place, Scott.

- Commander.
- Something's locked onto us.

- Torpedo dead ahead.
- Evasive maneuvers! Chief.

What do you mean,
"it broke off"?

The currents in this area are westward,
and that's the way the beacon went.

- And that's what we followed.
- Then where the hell am I?

Cmdr. Ford here.
There's a freak sub-surface current

running in the opposite direction.
You were swept up in that.

- Are you sure?
- We're locked onto your radio signal now.

You're on our navigation screens,
and you're 120 miles away.

You want to tell me
about negative buoyancy again?

This won't happen.

Don't make any more promises
you can't keep, Nathan.

I've got three of the bravest people
here. They've been to Mars and back.

Now, don't you let them die in your
dinky little saltwater pond.

Just keep broadcasting, Scott.
Forty minutes.

Captain, there's been no signal from
Cmdr. Hitchcock or Chief Crocker

since the launch went down and they
were inside Montagnard territory.

- Have the UEO send out
search choppers right away. - Yes, sir.

SeaQuest calling UEO command.

I don't care if you have to burn down the
Engine Room and melt the drive train.

Get this boat
to those astronauts.

I know you have problems
I don't understand

but I was told those astronauts
would be safe by now.

Mr. President, Capt. Bridger has already
explained about the sub-surface currents.

I'm not interested
in explanations.

I assumed that you would take
these things into consideration.

And what the hell was that decoy stunt
into Montagnard territory?

I'm in the middle of a tactical maneuver.
There are lives at stake.

That's what
dictates my actions.

Don't give me attitude,
Captain.

The question is, does your dislike of the
space program play a part in this?

Come on, you jerks!

- Lucas!
- I'm sorry, Captain.

I was just flipping
through the communications band.

- I thought this is a secure channel.
- It is, sir.

That's the Wolenczak boy
I've been telling you about.

How can they possibly think
you screwed up on purpose?

Lucas, thank you.
That's enough.

Mr. President, I'll pretend
the question wasn't asked.

I'm sorry, Captain.
We'll let you get back to your work.

Thank you.

So what do you think?

- Sir?
- The beacon.

Am I so petty that I refused to anticipate
something going wrong?

Come on, Jonathan.
Level with me.

Do you doubt yourself because
others do or because you do?

I know I'm not perfect,
and today it really worries me.

Then I think you already know
the answer to that question.

If you'd deliberately left
your friend out there to die

you wouldn't have the courage
to ask yourself that.

Thanks.

Okay,
let's nail this puppy down.

There are 3 Montagnard anti-submarine
ships dead ahead on the surface.

- Our present course will take us directly
beneath them. - I know that.

Tell me about the submarine.

There's too much
extra noise to make a positive ID

but I'm guessing
she's a German-made Santa Rosa attack

- or an Italian Torino class.
- How fast is she moving?

- Well within either's range.
- Depth?

Both boats can go that deep.

- Retreat path?
- Due east towards the coast.

Dove into a trench.

Just as if she knew
her way around, huh?

Like a Montagnard would.
And they buy Santa Rosas.

Captain,
Montagnard President Hoi Chi.

Thank you for taking our call,
Mr. President.

Your lieutenant
intimated trouble if I didn't.

I think we already have that,
sir.

Despite what your president intended
steaming around like a colonial power

only inflames my enemies.

I apologize for our behavior.

We should
never have been on military alert.

And how does your hindsight explain
breaching our 12-mile limit

with a sea launch?

My responsibility as well,
born of circumstance.

What could possibly motivate you
to breech international law?

Sir, are you aware of an unidentified
submarine dogging our progress?

- My military keeps me informed.
- It's your vessel, sir.

They're planting mines
in front of us.

They've charged us
aggressively more than once.

Should that prove true, Captain,
then I would be one to apologize.

What does it matter now? You have your
astronauts. Why not leave our waters?

I don't have them, sir.
They're drifting towards your shore

and their time is running out, and I need
to know that you won't interfere.

- I can't allow it.
- Are you threatening me?

I'm informing you.

It's been a painful day
for all of us

but I can offer you
a small reprieve.

- Chief.
- Commander.

They're fortunate.
Only minor injuries

and they will be my guests
until you send for them.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, it was the only way
to slow them down.

You do not make policy!

Mr. President, you wanted
a public-relations coup.

I tried to give it to you.

All right,
maybe there's still a chance.

- Where is your submarine?
- Heading east, ahead of the seaQuest.

Mr. President, we should be very close
to the capsule now.

If we can rescue them first, no one will
remember what happened before

but, General Tran, do not
interfere with seaQuest.

If she's there first,
back off.

ETA, 20 minutes
to Wayfarer.

Cmdr. Keller says
they're starting to sink, sir.

- We gotta push it.
- I'm over specs now.

Unless you mix helium into your space
suits, oxygen toxicity is inevitable.

So we got air, but it's gonna kill us
if we drop below 300 feet.

That's about the size of it,
Commander.

Popping to the surface is out
of the question now, right?

An uncontrolled ascent
would cause an embolism to the brain.

The bends.

You got a lot of ways
to die down here.

Any more you'd like to tell me about?

Unidentified torpedo targeting
us head on from 7 miles away.

We're traveling towards it
at 3 miles a minute.

- Evasive maneuvers?
- Negative. Maintain course and speed.

Mr. Ortiz, hone in
on our torpedo's frequency.

- Prepare countermeasures.
- Countermeasures.

This is Lt. Krieg.
We are under attack.

Brace for collision.
Prepare to crash dive.

Incoming torpedo at 4 miles,
Captain.

Countermeasure loaded
and ready in Tube 1.

- Break it down for me, Mr. Ortiz.
- Three miles and still closing.

Two miles.
One and a half, sir.

Twenty seconds to impact.

- One mile.
- Fire.

Fire!

- Trailing torpedoes, sir. Half-mile
- Crash dive.

Dive! Dive!

Second torpedo clear.
One to go.

No airtight breach, but they got a piece
of rudder and propulsion.

Our speed's plummeting.

Continue on
with whatever we've got.

Commence repairs immediately.

Scott, you still there?

Listen, we're dropping.
The water's rising.

When I put on
my helmet, we cannot talk anymore.

I'm sorry about before.

I always get a little cranky
after a long trip.

I'm sorry, too.

Well, I know you did
the best you could

so don't you carry this around
with you when it's over.

Okay? Did I tell you
that Marcy had a baby?

No.
Well, congratulations, Grandpa.

Claire Mars.

Born two days after we landed
on the Red Planet.

I've never seen her in person.

I kind of hate the idea
of her growing up

without someone
from our generation getting in her face.

- Don't worry. I'll find her.
- Thanks.

One other thing
I have to ask you.

Nathan, this is gonna be
a little harder for you.

You don't even have to ask.

The core samples will get to Space
Command. Don't worry.

Okay.

Did I ever tell you
why I chose the space program?

No, Why?

Because I knew it would be the only way
I could get above you.

Steady as she goes, Scott.

I'll see you around, Nathan.

Faster, damn it.

Mr. Ortiz.

Adjust two degrees starboard.
Descend to 330 feet.

Adjusting 2 degrees starboard,
descending to 330 feet.

What's the point?
They're past the depth for oxygen toxicity.

- He knows, Doctor.
- Lt. Krieg?

I'm right behind the probe,
Captain. I can see its taillights.

There it is.

Something's different.
Check the schematics.

It's gone. The compartment
holding the Martian core samples is gone.

What? Where is it?

- Maybe it broke loose during re-entry.
- Or on impact.

I don't care about that now,
people.

The hatch was blown
from the inside, sir.

They did the only thing
they could, tried to swim to the surface.

Their own air
was choking them.

I would've done
the same thing.

Our search crews are out.

The Montagnards are helping
on the surface but, so far,

no bodies have been found.

I am sorry about
the astronauts,

but the priority now
is the core samples.

They represent the efforts
of 10,000 scientists.

Yes, sir.
I'll be finding them for one in particular.

Sir, the compartment could've broken
loose at any point during re-entry.

We can work backward
from the point of splashdown

but it's still
a needle in a haystack.

We'll have to fine-tune our equipment
down to the scale of a container.

I don't know if side-scan
sonar will pick up an object that small

- without WSKR enhancement.
- Ultramafic rock.

Sorry, I was just
thinking out loud.

Captain, really,
we are quite busy here.

Sir, I'd like to hear
what he has to say.

Didn't Wayfarer take a couple
of core samples from the Tharsis Bulge?

- Yes.
- One from Mars' biggest volcano

Olympus Mons, and one from a huge
meteor strike near the equator.

- Ultramafic rock.
- It's loaded with magnetic minerals.

If you calibrate a magnetometer
for the dense material

the samples will show up
on the ocean floor like a beacon.

Good work, son.

Okay, we'll put all the magnetometers
we have on the launches and Sea Crabs.

- Coordinate the search.
Tight-grid pattern. - Done.

Come on, smarty-pants.

Let's turn the boat around, and we'll
retrace the capsule's drift pattern.

Aye, sir.

Captain?

I'm all right.

- Mr. President.
- Commander.

I understand
we rescued you just in time.

- You're in my will.
- No, no.

Just include me
in your book, favorably, of course.

- No other way, sir.
- Mr. President.

Can you hold off notifying the seaQuest
and space command for a little while?

Why? They should know
their people are safe.

Let me take them
to a hospital, cover our bases.

Mr. President,
I need one hour.

Commander,
I leave you in good hands.

Commander, where are
the core samples you took on Mars?

- When we reached you,
they were gone. - You're kidding?

Not in my repertoire.

- Where are they?
- I don't know.

That container can't be opened
except under quarantine conditions.

I will not presume.
lam a businessman, Commander.

Ransom?

Ultimately it will be called
a finder's fee.

- Seven-figure finder's fee, huh?
- Maybe eight.

I knew your sub couldn't be seaQuest.
They were too far away.

So I blew the explosive bolts
and jettisoned the container.

So it sank at the point
where we saved your lives?

- Yeah.
- Thank you, Commander.

You are a hero.

Keep them in the infirmary
until I notify you.

Incommunicado.

All right, here we go.

Krieg says that the core samples
are in a case wedged down in the ravine.

Well, Schwartz and Vosko have passive
flotation lifts for either end.

Well, don't detach them
until we've checked the case.

If it's leaking, we'll have to quarantine
the whole area before moving it.

Understood. Let's go!

I am sorry about Scott,
Nathan.

I'm sure he'd be very glad
that you're personally doing this.

I owe him that.
I owe him a lot more.

How so?

Well, for 3O years, we challenged each
other, goaded each other.

The irony is that one of the reasons I
built this tub was to stay ahead of him.

I wonder how much of you
he took with him to Mars.

- Bridger ready?
- Yes, you know what you have to do?

- Darwin understand.
- All right.

Try and keep it steady.

What I wouldn't give
to examine these core samples.

You want to open it here or
wait until we get to seaQuest?

Movement at 9 o'clock.

Divers. Arm your weapons.

No. No, don't provoke them.
Just wait, all right?

- Attaway, pal.
- All right, Darwin.

- Now, Commander. Take them.
- You men take either flank.

Thank you, my friend.

Let's go.

You're going to kill us,
aren't you?

The mountain road that leads to the
hospital is a very treacherous one.

I wish you good luck.

Perhaps you would
feel better if I drove

but I'll be too busy
with the court martial.

I'm deeply disappointed
in you, Tran.

After all these years

to put your greed over the half-billion
people in our Confederation.

Those are UEO officers.

They will escort you
and your crew to the seaQuest.

My contrition is feeble

but heartfelt, Commander.

They're safe, Captain,
and I owe you an apology.

Accepted, Mr. President.

Once the astronauts
are safely aboard

I'll have my navy escort you
to international waters.

Since it was your efforts
that resulted in the Wayfarer's rescue

I wondered if you wouldn't mind hosting
the press conference

announcing their safe return?

My people would consider it
an honor, sir.

We'll patch them up
and send them on.

I promise you. You'll have access to
everything we've brought back from Mars.

The man's a saint, even though
he is in the wrong profession.

I'll have her up
on my next mission. You watch.

- You're looking much better.
- Well, better than my crew,

- but I'm told they're gonna be fine.
- No more torpedoes?

No more torpedoes.
Things are looking up.

- I don't believe it.
- You've been away two years.

- This is Darwin.
- Hello, Darwin.

Scott-man.

This is what you spend
all your money on?

Dollar for dollar,
he's better than a Martian.

God, look at me.

I got the most important press
conference of all time waiting

and I'm in a wheelchair, in my bathrobe,
and you had to rescue me.

Hey, I'll let you do
all the talking.

- Thanks, Nathan.
- My pleasure.

Welcome home.

Hello, I'm Bob Ballard from the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Research carried out in space
not only investigates other planets

it tells us a great deal
about Earth.

In August of 1992,
the TOPEXIPoseidon satellite

was launched into orbit,
circling Earth every 112 minutes

at an altitude of 850 miles.

Using a radar altimeter,
this satellite is now mapping

the great mountain ranges
beneath the sea.

Join us on the next exciting
episode of seaQuest DSV.