The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 2, Episode 18 - The Light Brigade - full transcript

Jump point epsilon
is secure,
Roger,

This is the captain,

A few minutes ago at 0900 hours

the fleet passed
jump point epsilon,

We are now in enemy space

and proceeding
under standard acceleration,

For security reasons,

the objectives of this fleet
have remained secret,

We're going after
their home world,

This ship carries
the most powerful weapon

ever built by man,
a sub-atomic warhead,



A doomsday bomb,

It took nearly
all of Earth's resources

to create
this ultimate weapon,

As you know, humanity is
at the brink of defeat,

Men of
the light brigade,

the tide has turned,

In six hours,
a fleet of nine warships,

manned by 600
of the best young men

the United Nations
of Earth can offer,

is launching
a surprise attack

and will destroy
the enemy's home world,

I'm proud to say
the light brigade

will deliver the warhead

that wins this war
once and for all,



Know that God is on our side,

For our enemy is godless,

Know that the millions
who have died will be avenged,

Know if we lay down our lives
in the coming battle,

it won't be in vain,

for we will have ensured

the very survival of humanity,

I'll read you
a passage from the poem

for which this ship was named,

Captain,
we're pickup up

multiple hits
on radar!

Sweet Jesus!

Sound general quarters!

General quarters!
General quarters!

All hands
to battle stations!

What's happening?

We're
under attack,

Increase speed
to emergency flight,

Get those control rods out,

Prepare
for maximum acceleration,

Set a course
for the enemy home world,

Launch extra fires!

All batteries firing well,

They knew we were coming,

Incoming missiles!

Brace for impact!

Engineering to bridge,

Engines at 110%,

at 1,5 gs acceleration,

Chief, we've got
containment failure,

I'm going
to the next compartment,

Keep up this acceleration!

Aye, sir,

I'm trying to help!

Man your post!

But he's dying!

Get back!

You can't leave him!

Man your post!

There is nothing wrong
with your television,

Do not attempt
to adjust the picture,

We are now controlling
the transmission,

We control the horizontal

and the vertical,

We can deluge you
with a thousand channels

or expand one single image
to crystal clarity

and beyond,

We can shape your vision

to anything our imagination
can conceive,

For the next hour,

we will control
all that you see and hear,

You are about to experience
the awe and mystery

which reaches from
the deepest inner mind

to
the outer limits,

Warriors may be forged
in the fires of battle,

but heroes are discovered
in the most unlikely of places,

Light brigade!

You're
accelerating up...

I'm in engineering, wedge one,

The engineer is dead,

What do I do?

Can anyone hear me?

Light brigade!

The reactor rods are maxed out,

The hydraulics are off line,

Tell me what to do!

Turn it off!

It's the link
to command,

They can't hear us,

Skokes,

Shine that over here,
will you?

Pretty cool?

You heard an Exeter fighter

trying to hail command deck,

Why aren't
they responding?

Maybe they can't,

Maybe they're knocked out,

Maybe they're dead,

No,

What's our status?

It doesn't matter,

Just answer the question!

Our radiation badges
are in the black,

We've taken a lethal dose,

It's not immediate,
I need to know what happened,

The reactor vented radiation

into the next compartment over,

You can see

everyone there is dead,

This was our last chance,

We've lost the war,

I don't want to hear that,

We've still got a job to do,

Yes, sir,

I'm sorry,

I'm just really, really scared,

How long
have we been at flank speed?

I don't know,

I got knocked unconscious,

I don't know
how long I was out,

I remember
feeling kind of weightless

and then
suddenly heavy,

We're still accelerating,

That tell you something?

If they could have stopped us,
they would have,

What are you saying?

That we got through?

Yeah, we're headed
towards their home world,

We're on target,
a few hours out,

That's not much time,

For what?

To complete the mission,

We could be
the only people alive,

How can we complete it?

Keep the reactors on line
until we reach the target,

or we die trying,

Is that clear?
How are we...?

I said is that clear?!

Yes, sir,

What happened?

The brigade
is still

headed towards
our target,

Do you hear me?

We can still
use this bomb,

And the fleet?

We got the bomb,

Nothing else matters,

My leg!

Easy,

Boramir,
hang in there,

I want you there
to celebrate our victory,

How did a cadet
get assigned to
the brigade?

My father sits
on the undf council,

You're a councilor's son?

He pulled
some strings,

Got me assigned
to the fleet,

Why would he do that?

To be one
of the 600,

You know,
one of the heroes,

I don't have time to wait

for you to grow up,

Do as I say,
and you might be a hero,

Yes, sir,

Check the engineer's board
for red lights,

All right,

Ready?

We must
slow the engines,

Help me
get the rods in,

You know a lot

about this weapon
the captain was talking about,

I thought
everyone knew about that,

Everything fore the mess deck
is off limits to repows,

Reinstated P, O, W, S,

I lost my security clearance
when I lost this,

They do that?

Yeah, they did,

Tell me what you know
about the weapon,

Just one of them
could destroy an entire planet,

It breaks
the bonds

that hold matter together,

How do you know all that?

Before I left, they blasted
one of the Martian moons,

Lit up the sky

three nights
in a row,

You saw that?

You couldn't miss it,

I thought they were
bombing the Mars colony

and would come after us,

Then I saw my dad,

He was looking up

like he'd seen the most
beautiful thing ever,

Did he say how to arm it?

No, he never talked about that,

Most of the time,
he didn't talk at all,

All
the control rods

in the other compartments
are at max,

We got to slow down,

These engines weren't built

to handle
acceleration for long,

Closing these will help,

Glad he's on our side?

Okay, there's
three other compartments,

We'll do the same thing
in one of these,

or this whole ship
will blow itself up,

They knew,
didn't they?

That we were coming,

Yeah, they must have,

The fleet
was supposed

to be a secret,

That's for the officers
to decide...

If they're still alive,

Our job
is to complete our mission,

What was that?

Maybe someone's
coming to help,

Maybe we've
been boarded,

By who?
The enemy?

Maybe,

Stand back,

Damn,

Who are you?!
I'm a weps!

He's chief
weapons officer,

What are you doing down here?

I thought I was
the only survivor,

Why did you come here?

To complete the mission!

What are you doing?

Why haven't you closed
those control rods?

He thought
you were the enemy,
Ever seen
the enemy?

Yes, sir, I have,

Do I look like the enemy?

No, sir,

You open that bulkhead,

we'll be flooded
with radiation,

We must try, No, sir!

If we don't get inside,
the war is over!

You understand
the stakes?

We are
the last chance!

You do what you're ordered to,
Is that understood, soldier?

Sir, that compartment's
contaminated,

If you open up that door,
we will be dead within 30 seconds!

Who'll complete
the mission then, sir?

Can you detonate that bomb
now from here?

No,

Till they arm it
from the bridge, it's useless,

May I suggest that
we depressurize the compartment,

vent the contaminated air
into space

with the fire suppression
system,

We return through the conduit...

Through the escape hatch,

We slow
the ship,

head
for the bridge,

We'll be exposed to lethal doses
of gamma radiation,

there's no question,
but we'll survive

long enough
to complete the mission,

But let's get to it,

We don't have much time,

Yes, sir,

"Theirs was not
to reason why,

Theirs was but to do and die,"

It's from
the charge
of the light brigade,

the poem the captain...

I never read it,

Let's move out,

Was the bomb hurt

in the assault?

No, it's the ship's
most protected part,

I was checking it

when we got attacked...
It got

knocked out on the second hit,

So did we,

I couldn't get through
to command,

Radiation?

Everybody was dead
at their stations,

It's the same
on every deck

between here
and command,

Gunnery, maneuvering,

Neutron bombs,

Yeah, damn handy things,

Doesn't destroy the ship,
kills the crew,

They used them
to capture ships before,

How come we're still alive?

I was working
inside the warhead casing,

You must have been
shielded by the reactor,

Okay, let's go,

Damn, red light,

You can override it?

Yeah, gimme a minute,

We need to arm the warhead,

We must move in and out fast,

Every second down there
is an hour off your life,

Yes, sir,
I go too,

You up to it?

It's been opened to space,

When the hatches open,
there's going to be a hurricane

like you've
never seen,

I go,

All right, Weps?

Almost there,

Okay, ready,

If we don't make it...

You will
if I must get you myself,

If anybody tries to board,

detonate that warhead,
take them with you,

You'll make it!

All right,

Hang on to something,

One! Two!

Three! Go!

I can't budge it!

Push!

Whatever you guys do,
hurry up and get out of there!

Let's go!

Go! Go! Go!

Boramir,
get out there!

What are you doing?!

It's the only way!

There's too much
air pressure!

You don't know that!

Must close it from inside!

You can't do this!

He's right...
We'll never close it

from up here!

The door is caught!

It's too heavy!

Go! Go!

Come on!
No! Boramir!

Come on!

No!

Go back to a vacuum
in a few seconds,

He won't suffer long,

That's a hero,

Let's go,

We're
slowing down,

I can feel it,

We're
slowing down

to one g
of acceleration,

The engine
should maintain

this speed
to the target,

We'll be there
in a couple of hours,

We better
get going before

this radiation sickness
sets in,

It's a way to go yet,

All right,

"Into the valley of death,"

Shouldn't we have
turned back there?

We can't get through
the starboard access,

That half
of the ship

was cooked
by the neutron bursts,

Too hot
with radiation,

How are we getting
to the command deck?

Through the core,

That's impossible!

Not impossible,
Just stupid,

There's an access
on every deck,

It's two feet from
the particle stream,

How do you think
I got down here?

I trusted you
back there,

You trust me now,

All right,
listen up,

Stay in close
to the wall,

The magnetic bottle

will make you want to jump
out of your skin,

Stay looking
at the ladder,

What about
the fuel pulses?

Every eight seconds,

It flashes
from the emitter,

Stay close
to the wall,

What happens
if we don't

get out the way?

The magnetic bottle
is designed

to contain
the particle beam,

It won't stop you,

Pulses are how hot?

10,000 degrees,
give or take,

I'd definitely
stay out of the way,

You ready?

Okay,

Follow me,

I can't
go in there,

Come on, hero,

Nothing can
stop you now,

No...

I'm going
to be sick,

Radiation... It's going to get
worse before it gets better,

Your brains
are going to feel scrambled,

But keep moving no matter what,

I never thought
I'd see this,

Congratulations,

You just
became sterile,

I hope I didn't ruin
any family planning,

I can feel the heat,

Think about
something else,

Keep moving,
You're falling behind,

I can't stop thinking,

How did they know
we were coming?

They always know,

Maybe they captured a scout
that knew about the fleet,

My dad thought
that they had spies,

On Earth?

Never seen
one of them before, have you?

I know they're
big monster-looking things

with scaly lizard skin,

green blood and weird eyes,

You figure
they'd stand out in a crowd,

Maybe they surgically altered
themselves to look like us,

We know
their medicine

is superior
to ours,

Yeah...
Like everything else,

I got to rest,

Everyone in undf
had to pass a retina scan,

I thought that was
just for us repows,

Listen, I've been close
to these sons of bitches,

You know how much bigger
they are than us?

They're seven, eight feet tall,

Not their females,
The kid's right,

When I was
A P, O, W...

I spent some time
with one, female,

They're a lot
smaller than us,

How did you get out?

Boramir led a raid
on the prison,

It was on a small moon
cut right out of rock,

All I know is
boramir got me out,

And now he's dead,

All right, what's
done is done,

Point is, if we drop that
warhead on their home world,

we win, and they lose,

It all comes down to that,

Just one more deck,

We're almost there,

Let's move out!

I can't focus,

Hang in there, kid,

My head,

Got to try

going through
the second time,

Is that the way
to command?

All we have to do now...

Are you all right?

Started already,

God... I'm sorry,

I... I can't help myself,

It's not your fault,

We'll all be like that soon,

Just hang in there,

The equipment
looks intact,

That's good,

What?

My father didn't lose his hair
till he was 50,

I can see the humor,

Can you
override that?

It's secure from inside,

So we can't
get in?

I didn't say that,

There's an access through here,

Too tight for me,

One of you
should make it,

Okay, I'll go,

You're
way too sick,

So are you,

There's another access door
on the other side,

Unlatch it from underneath,

When you get inside,
just open the hatch,

I can do it,

Okay, hero,

"Half a league...

"Half a league...

"Half a league onward,

All in the valley of death
Rode the six hundred,"

This your first time
above the engineering deck?

Yeah,

How long you been
aboard
the brigade?

Since
the shakedown,

Two months,

I haven't been
able to fly

an Exeter fighter
since I lost my hand,

You?

I arrived
with the bomb

just before
we shipped out,

Hey, weps, once
we're in there,

how do we arm
this thing, anyway?

Sorry, I have
to do it myself,

Security precautions,

It'll be
the end of us,

No...
It's just that

I got something
you don't,

"'Forward the light brigade...

Charge for the guns!' he said,"

You don't trust him,
do you?

Let's just say
I don't like cadets,

Why?

'cause he's
a last-minute
replacement?

The only man
I ever trusted

just died trying
to complete this mission,

I did it,

I got through,

Way to go, kid,

Cadet, gimme a hand,

Take him,

Got him,

I told you,

I got something you don't,

It's an ocular interface,

Your daddy told you?

No, I just knew

they were
working on it,

It transmits and receives data

through
the optic nerve,

Just arm the bomb,

Wait,
I got a problem,

What?

Can't make that connection,

Weps, keep trying,

Weps, keep trying!

Don't give up!

Break! Break!

Weps! Weps!
What happened?

Data stream was corrupted,

Random... Light, blinding noise,

Did you arm the bomb?

There's nothing I could do,

When they attacked us,
one of those explosions

must have generated
a massive e-impulse,

The interface was overloaded,

Are you just giving up?

I'm saying it's over...
It's all over,

the war,
the mission,

the whole damn human race,

It's over,

God,

Come to
think of it,

God wasn't with us
after all,

Maybe he created
them first,

We were
supposed to win,

This fleet was supposed
to turn the tide,

We didn't
have a chance,

My father said...

Your father was
fooling himself,

We all were,

I know from experience,

I served aboard
the general Patton,

But that was
a disaster,

Yeah, tell me about it,

I thought she was lost
with all hands,

All but one,

I was outside the ship
in a maintenance tug

when the enemy cruiser
showed up,

We were on the far side
of the sun,

We didn't think
the enemy knew we were there,

We were 29 ships,

among them was
the flagship of the fleet,

against one enemy cruiser,

They taught us that

that fleet was attacked
by a superior force,

It was,

A force of one

that moved among our ships
like a wolf among lambs,

And I watched from a distance
as one by one

they all charged
into their own slaughter

until only
the Patton
was left,

And I thought to myself,

"Now... now the wolf
Will be punished, "

But our best ship
of the line

died with the rest,

Her blood stained the stars
in a ball of red fire,

We were supposed to turn
the tide that day too,

You can't win
if you give up the fight,

Haven't done
enough, have I?

There's no way,
It's over,

There's
always a way,
What is it?

Can you detonate it?

No, to arm it,
I need the computer,

Can you fix the computer?

We've only got
a couple of hours,

We have a few hours,

It's over, skokes,

Tell me
what you need!

A miracle,

Listen to me,

They detonated a nuclear warhead
500 meters from this ship,

generating
an electromagnetic pulse

that fused all the circuits
in the main computer,

It's pointless!

Listen,

Light brigade!

Please!

Emergency!

Skokes!

What are you doing?

Light brigade, please!

What are you doing?

That ship was 100 parsecs away,

They can't help us,
This can,

He's right,

Why are those circuits working?

Communications has extra
Shielding against r, F,, right?

Maybe that's enough,

It's a snowball's chance
in hell,

It's better than waiting to die,

You don't have
to access the entire computer,

just the weapons systems,

Put this in,

You don't give up,
do you?

No,

My brother
was like that,

My father
gave a speech

at a war rally
last year,

He said that humanity
would triumph

so long as
we had hope,

He said that

in everyone
there was a hero

and that
in our darkest hour

that hero
would rise up

and we would
honor them always,

You don't understand,

I've got a war to win,

I don't have time
to get sentimental,

We're dying now,
the three of us,

Hand those
over to the weps,

Now!

Yes, sir,

It's a good thing you didn't
drop the one we needed,

Your dad would have been
proud of you, kid,

We're running
out of time,

We'll be over
the target soon,

Almost there,

There, it's all I can do,

Skokes,

If I can't make it...

Tell me
what to do,

Go to the payload bay,

Before you open the doors,
you must type in a password,

It's "John",

That's my name,

This key initiates
a 30-second countdown,

John...

Don't give up
this time,

Okay, you son of a bitch,
let's dance,

I'm in,

Accessing weapons system,

Locating warhead,
arming sub-routine,

Uploading command,

Waiting for verification,

The warhead is armed,

You did it,

Way to go, John,

Wait a minute,

Something
doesn't look right,

You... You're one of them,

Open the door!

Go to hell!

Open the door!

Your father was right,

We had spies everywhere,

We changed ourselves
to look like prisoners

and allowed
ourselves to be rescued,

Some have been able
to change back,

The retina tests
were the hardest part,

We had to use
the prisoners' eyes to ensure

we'd pass,

Most of our spies are female,
about my size,

Boramir was my mate,

We were rescued
from a prison together

and waited for an opportunity
like this one,

Looks are deceiving,

You're not getting
to that warhead, hero,

I need to get
into the payload bay!

Get out of my way!

No! Let go!

Get out of my way!

They're trying
to board the ship,

Keep moving,

Got to keep moving,

"Cannon to the right of them,

"cannon to the left of them,

cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered,"

"Stormed at
with shot and shell,

"boldly they rode and well,

"into the jaws of death,

into the mouth of hell,"

30 seconds to launch,

25 seconds to launch,

20 seconds to launch,

15 seconds to launch,

10 seconds, 9,

8, 7,...

You came through
the jump point,

What's going on?

My God,

... 2, 1, launch,

Cadet, answer me,

What did you do?

My God,
skokes turned the ship around,

What did you do?

He turned it toward Earth
while we were unconscious,

My God,
he turned the ship around,

The greatest horror of war

is the fateful transformation
of our children into heroes.