The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 2, Episode 9 - Trial by Fire - full transcript

And so, my fellow
Americans, I ask that we break
down the walls that divide us,

not just for your own sake,
but for friendship's sake,

And for those Americans in
need who seek but cannot
find friendship,

I ask, "Let me be
your friend,"

This is the night, Elizabeth,
It's a dream,

You want me to pinch
you, Mr, President?

No, I'm wide-awake,

Maybe later?

On the theme of friendship,
let's go to our friend John...

I've got a lot of
promises to keep,

And you will, Mr, President...



or you'll have to answer
to the First Lady,

and 300 million new friends,

What the hell is going on?

What...

Driver, where are
you taking us?

We have an
emergency situation,
Mr, President,

Traveler
arriving at foxhole,

Mr, President,
my name is Tarkman,

I served as
President Burns'
national security adviser,

I know who you are!
I want to know what this
is all about, right now!

Sir, we have an emergency
situation, not much time,

What emergency?

If you and the First Lady
would come with me, please?

Right now, sir,



Mr, President, approximately
an hour ago,

NORAD spotted a bright object
headed toward the Earth from
the outer solar system,

We've estimated its
speed at roughly half
the speed of light,

What is it?
A comet? Meteor?
And what is this place?

We don't know what the
object is yet, sir, Please,

We're taking you to the
emergency command bunker,

It's the only one deep enough
in D, C, to provide you with
some protection,

- Protection?
- Yes, ma'am,

Anything that big moving
that fast should wipe out

most of the life on the
planet in one shot,

How long?

It's about
100 million miles away,

That gives us
roughly 30 minutes,

30 minutes?
My God, man, to do what?

I wouldn't know, sir,
That's up to you,

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...

Is man the center
of the universe,

made in the image
of his god?

Or is mankind merely
the temporary occupant
of an insignificant world...

about to be extinguished?

How far down
are we going?

Hopefully far enough, sir,
Several hundred feet,

We were caught between
administrations,

None of your Cabinet
have been sworn in yet,

so the only people
we have available

are myself and members
of the transition team, sir,

I understand,

- We've only had
about an hour...
- An hour?

It took almost that long
to establish the object

as a threat, sir,
because of the speed,

What could be
more of a threat?

We are doing the best
we can with the time
we've got, sir,

We've managed to get
President Burns' junior
science adviser Janet Brevson,

The commander of the
military space program,
General Covington,

- he's on his way,
- Those are 2 people
we want,

Unfortunately,
the former sec def
and sec state

are vacationing
in Hawaii, sir,

- That would be the
secretaries of defense...
- And state,

- Don't patronize
me, Mr, Tarkman,
- Yes, sir,

Sorry, sir,

Ten-hut!

As you were,

This place was made
to fight a nuclear war,

This bunker goes
back to Eisenhower,

It's been updated
over the years,

That's it there,
up on the screen,

- The object,
- Yes, sir,

How much time?

-17 minutes,
- What about Kyle?

He's on a ship in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean,

What's going
to happen to him?

Sweetheart, please,

With all due respect,
it's very important the
President be fully briefed,

If you'll take a seat, please,

Can anybody tell me
what it is yet?

We know it's not a comet,

We've also ruled out
asteroid and meteor,

Janet Brevson, sir,

Professor James
couldn't be reached,

so I'm afraid
you're stuck with me,

You're sure it's not a comet?

Too fast, I can't think
of any natural object

capable of reaching
that speed,

Miss Brevson, I'd rather
know what it is than what
it isn't,

We are still
gathering data from all
around the world, sir,

Do you at least know
where it's going to hit?

- You don't know that either,
- No,

Somewhere in the
eastern hemisphere,

There's just too
many variables, sir,

1/10 of 1% error
could move ground zero
from Japan to Europe,

But not the United States?

No, sir,
But that won't matter,

I'd say it does,

What he means, sir,
is that there's no place
on Earth

that will escape the shock
of the impact,

- We're talking about
9,5 earthquakes,
- The dust cloud...

The shroud of dust and
debris will block out
sunlight for years,

Most of those who
survive the impact will
freeze in the dark,

Those who manage to
find shelter from the
cold will starve,

Mr, President, we do
have several months' worth
of stores in the bunker,

That's some comfort,
Mr, Tarkman,

Ten-hut!

Mr, President, sir,

- General Covington,
- C-in-C Space Com, sir,

Since your defense
secretary's not yet in place,

I will have to report
directly to you,

We have to secure
the facility, Mr, President,

I have just spoken
with NORAD and SAC,

and they concur that
you should order our
conventional forces

to Defcon 3,

We're not at war,

I understand that, sir,
but we need to get
our communications...

General, do
we have anything

that can knock the object
out before it hits,

like the Patriot missiles
during the Gulf War?

Mr, President,
the object's kinetic
energy's beyond...

Stop! From now on,
when I ask a question,

I want to hear
plain English back,

Is that clear to everybody?

I don't have time to wait
for the translation,

Now, can you or can you not
shoot it down?

No,
It's too big, too fast, sir,

All right,
What can we do?

I need you to authorize
a Defcon change,
Mr, President,

How is increasing
our military readiness
appropriate?

With respect, sir,
maximizing survival
after impact

will depend
on communication,

We're sitting on
a trillion-dollar system

that was designed to work
during a nuclear war,

but it's got to be up
and running before impact,

That means going from
defense condition 5
to 3 now,

Then do it,

How much time?

3 minutes to impact, sir,

Have the American
people been warned?

No, sir,
But given the amount
of time we have left...

Make time, The people
at least deserve to know
what hit them,

Sir, but it will only cause
panic in the streets,

Just do it,

Yes, sir,

Patch me in,

This is General Covington,
We have a go for Defcon 3,

General, sir, we've got
a hot line message from
the Russian president,

Go ahead and read it,
I believe it's addressed
to me,

"Authenticator
Charlie Tango Alpha,

"President Halsey,
I'd hoped our first
correspondence

"would be in
congratulations of your
great political victory,

"Instead, I fear these
words may be our last,

"We can only pray that
God placed the moon among
the stars in the firmament

"for this very day,
President Yuri Karpov,"

What's he talking
about, the moon?

- I wouldn't know, sir,
- I would,

The Russians got their data
sooner because they can
confirm it optically,

Our mass estimates
were way, way off,

It changed course
when it swung by Saturn,
This thing is incredibly...

In English, Miss Brevson,

We're now estimating
a 90% probability

that it's going
to hit the moon,

Tarkman, put our
announcement about the
end of the world on hold,

20 seconds
to lunar impact,

I'm scared, Charles,

10 seconds
to impact... 9!

8, 7...

6, 5...

4, 3, 2, 1...

impact!

Well...

do all new presidents
get to go through this?

Or is this just
a special occasion?

If anybody has a cigar...

Hold it!
Hold on a second!

2 of our satellites have
detected a heat signature
coming from space,

It...

Confidence is high that
the object that hit the
moon...

originated from
an approaching spacecraft,

This isn't over,
This is not over,

This is a National
News Network update
with Rosalind Ashcroft,

From the President
failing to show up at
his own inaugural ball

to the spectacular and
mysterious explosion on
the far side of the moon,

it's been a most unusual
inauguration day, wouldn't
you say so?

That's quite
an understatement,

It appears that the Earth
has just survived

what might be termed
a near miss by a comet
or asteroid,

And yet there's been
no official comment

by the new administration,

Well, they'll be...

I want to make a statement
before the media gets
ahead of us,

Mr, President, all this
speculation could cause
a panic

if they beat us to the punch,

... from
an unnamed Russian source,

Looks like they already have,

So is this second
point of light...

The Russians
have sold the pictures
to the highest bidder,

How much time?

They're slamming
on the brakes pretty hard,

Less than 24 hours
before they're on top of us?

Yeah,
Decelerating at 75 Gs,
It's incredible,

And they still haven't
made any attempt
to communicate?

None, sir,

I want to go back
to the White House

and make a speech
from the Oval Office,

No, sir,

You should stay right here,

The American people
cannot think I'm hiding out
on the eve of first encounter,

Anything you broadcast
to the American people

will be picked up by
the aliens just a few
minutes later,

compromising
your exact location,

After that demonstration,
I think we can assume...

Wait a minute,
What demonstration?

If dropping that
object on the moon

wasn't a demonstration
of power and superiority,
I don't know what is,

But surely
that's the point,

You don't know,

You can't assume
they're hostile, can you?

I mean, it didn't
strike the Earth,

Mr, President,
the far side of the moon
is probably still molten rock,

We estimate it's been knocked
at least 2-4 degrees out
of orbit,

That means the tides
will be severely affected,

Who knows what will happen
to the global climate,

The moon could still
smash into the Earth
for all we know,

Hell, maybe they even missed
the first time,

No, I've spoken to
NASA and JPL,

We're feeding them
real-time telemetry now,

The object's velocity
was a factor of the
alien ship's velocity...

Miss Brevson...

In English, sir,
they are slowing down,

Maybe they just let the
object go like the spent solid
rocket motors on the shuttle,

We're still talking
guesses here,

Educated guesses, sir,

As the First Lady pointed out,
if the aliens wanted to kill
us, they could have,

They did not miss,

What about the timing
of the attack,

the transition between
administrations?

Come on,

You're assuming aliens,
who could obviously
crush us like ants,

have carefully planned their
foot-stomping for a time
the ants aren't ready,

Mr, President, that is absurd,

No, I agree with the general,

Well, this is a damn
testosterone festival,

No, Wait a minute, Janet,

These aliens have come
a long way, light-years,

They could have
communicated with us
at any point en route,

They chose to
announce their arrival

by showing us how easily
they could destroy us,

Now you're guessing,

I don't think so,
The coincidence is too much,

Inexperienced
incoming president
known to be a dove,

short on foreign policy...

Mr, Tarkman, this is no time
to play politics,

Sit down,

It's time I spoke to
the American people,

And the aliens,

True, but for the
moment, the message
is one and the same,

General, is this facility
equipped to broadcast
an announcement?

Technically, yes,

I assume you don't object
to my making a statement
from a hardened bunker,

No,

Now, General,
is there anything else
we need to discuss?

Intelligence, sir,

We need to gather
everything we can
on these aliens,

How?

All we have between us
and them is a ring of
spy satellites

in geosynchronous orbit,

I want to use our deep radar
to get an idea of what's
inside those ships,

The Hubble's being
aligned now,

Let's see if we can
get that on the feed,

Yes?
General Covington here,

Thank you,

My people can now
identify 6 distinct plumes
from as many spacecraft,

- A... an armada?
- Yes, sir,

What's the status
on the shuttle?

We got lucky,
The newest in the fleet,
Midway, is already on the pad,

-10 hours,
- Good,

Space command has a top
secret anti-satellite weapon

designed to fit inside
the shuttle's payload bay,

I've already ordered it
flown there,

General, this is
a conventional weapon?

No, sir,

I wasn't aware that we had
such a nuclear weapon
in our arsenal,

No, sir,
As I said, it's top secret,

We've not yet had the
opportunity to brief you...

Such a weapon is
in flagrant violation
of international treaty,

Yes, sir, it is,

It's also the only chance
in hell we'll get

to shoot back
if it comes to that,

But won't
sending a weapon into space

send the aliens
the wrong signal?

Please,

Ma'am, they blow up
the moon,

and you are worried
about us sending
the wrong signal?

Mr, Tarkman,

Let the President
do his job,

Mr, Tarkman!

Sir, with respect,
President Burns
would never...

President Burns is
no longer president,
I am,

And if you can't
accept that...

- I can,
- If you cannot,

you're welcome to
step back out through
that door right now!

My wife and child are
somewhere on the other
side of that door, sir,

I'd consider it a favor,

People, I realize I am not
the man you would have
chosen for this job,

Need I confess,
you're not exactly who
I had in mind either,

But until there is
a resolution to this,

I am asking for your...

Friendship?

Your help,

General,

Sir,

Actually, sir, I liked the
whole friendship thing,

I almost voted for you,

Well, ha ha!

That's almost flattering,
Miss Brevson,

General, we will not install
the nuclear missile aboard
the shuttle

until we've properly
determined the aliens'
intentions,

That will jeopardize
the launch, sir...

That is my decision,

Very well, sir,

I...

I hope you'll accept
my apology, Mrs, Halsey,

My reputation for speaking
my mind precedes me,
Mr, Tarkman,

Well, still, I...

Our son is somewhere
on the other side of
that door, too,

I know how you feel,

NORAD has
an urgent message we'd
like to conference in,

Standing by,

Mr, President, General
Moorhouse, deputy C-in-C,

Must be a hell of
a first day on the job, sir,

You're a master
of understatement, General,

Sir, we have detected
what appears to be
a laser beam

directed at one
of our primary comsats,

The source seems to be
the alien armada,

Now, the satellite's still
working, but it's heating
up pretty fast,

Are you saying
one of our satellites
is under attack?

Yes, sir, And if it keeps
heating up at this rate,

our conversation's
going to be cut pretty short,

I estimate we have approx...

Re-establish contact,

Sir, I think the aliens'
intentions are becoming
pretty damn clear,

All right, load the damn
nuclear missile aboard
the shuttle,

Very good, sir,

Because we have
the option doesn't mean
we have to use it,

Not without your order,
Mr, President,

And so,
my fellow Americans,

I have faith
in both God and in you,
the American people,

that we will shine and rise
to this wondrous, momentous
occasion

first contact with
another world,

I will speak to you again
when we've established
communications,

Until then, have faith,
have hope, and God bless,

And we're clear,

Thanks,

Will the aliens be
able to pick that up?

We're boosting the signal
with radio telescopes,

but I just don't see
how they could penetrate

the arc of interference
generated by their engines,

If they wanted to talk,
they wouldn't be taking out
our communications satellites,

But that's what
I don't understand,

Sound military doctrine,

first make the enemy
deaf and blind,

Yeah, but it only makes
communication inconvenient,
What's the point?

Hang on, We just
got NORAD back,

Roger that, Coming in,

We've established
a land link, Mr, President,

There shouldn't be
any more interruptions,

How many satellites
have been knocked out?

Just the one
communications sat,

You should also know, sir,
that the Russians have placed
their strategic rocket forces

on their highest alert,

One of our listening posts
picked up the chatter,

Is this in response to our
going to Defcon 3, General?

No, sir, Our alert
was strictly conventional,

The Russian's
strategic missile force...

Is a nuclear deterrent,
So why?

Can their land-based
ICBMs reach space?

No, sir,
No more than ours can,

Keep me informed, General,

Yes, sir,

I thought they were
destroying all of
their weapons,

- I thought the treaty...
- It's a show of force,

For whose benefit?

The aliens,

The Russians are sending
the signal they're not willing
to give up

their particular piece
of real estate without
a fight,

They still have
the teeth for it,
Trust me,

Or they're trying to
guarantee themselves a seat
at the bargaining table,

- Airman?
- Sir?

Take this down
for me, please,

President Karpov,

you have brought your
strategic nuclear forces
to a state of readiness,

Since these weapons are
incapable of reaching space,

what are your intentions?

Moorhouse here,

- Send that,
- Sir,

Another satellite's
under attack, sir,

Is there anything
we can do?

Well, I suppose we could
shut it down and play dead,

but this one's not heating up
nearly as fast, though,

Sir, I have
a Dr, Norris at NASA

who insists
on speaking with you about
what the alien laser means,

Put him on, then,
We all want to know,

Mr, President,
the laser is not a weapon,

The frequency's all wrong,
It's a message laser,

They're trying to communicate,

The first laser was
too powerful, so they've
reduced the intensity,

and that's when
I realized that the beam
was digitally modulated

on our own
video encryption coder,

Could you say that again,
sir, in plain English?

They're trying to
talk to us with light,

So what does
the message say?

I have no idea,
but I can show it to you,

You're going to die
when you see this,

I sincerely hope not,

My God,

Well... I never thought
I'd see the day,

They want to talk with us,

She's right,

Us, The Russians and the
Chinese aren't going to
like being left out,

It doesn't matter,
They're trying to communicate,

They may have said
"Surrender or die"
for all we know,

We need to find out
what the message means,

In English, Yes, sir,
We're working on it,

I want a reply
as soon as possible,

We're working on
that, too, sir,

I think we should share
the alien's message

with the rest of
the international community,

May I ask why?

Because I don't think
it was intended for
just me, Mr, Tarkman,

They chose
an American satellite
by which to communicate,

I say that means
they want to deal
with our president,

They're assuming
he speaks for the
whole planet,

That's one
of the most egocentric,
jingoistic comments

I've ever heard,

Why? They're the ones
who made it impossible

for the rest of the world
to pick up the messages
except for us,

Mr, President, we just
received another hot line
message

from the Russian president,

Shall I read it, sir?

"President Halsey,
the Russian parliament

"has concluded that these
aliens are as belligerent
as they are powerful,

"It has therefore been
determined that any incursion
into our airspace

"will be met with
maximum force,

"I ask that the great American
people join in our stand with
the same resolve,

"May God protect us all,
President Yuri Karpov,"

You know what that gives us?

Carte blanche to put
our nuclear forces on
alert, Defcon 2,

- No,
- To keep our options
open, sir...

That would remove options,

The Russians will see it
as a sign of solidarity, sir,

We will not... I repeat, not...
be putting our nuclear
forces on high alert,

The aliens
would never know...

Last night, you suggested
that the aliens knew what
I'd had for breakfast,

No, sir, I did not...

Now you're convinced we can
ready 5,000 warheads around
the world

without them noticing,
Which is it, general?

Now, here's what
we're going to do,

We're going to release
the aliens' message for
the entire world to see,

You are going to arrange
for me to broadcast a reply,

and I'm going to
speak to them,

Do you have a problem
with any of that, General?

No, sir,

Good,

Man got elected
with the words "Let me
be your friend"

and then promptly disappears
the moment there's a crisis,

What is President Halsey doing
about this alien threat?

That is what we in the
Congress want to know

and that is what the
American people want to know,

But what are you
doing about the situation,
Congressman?

Well,
let me tell you something...

I'm about to reply
to the aliens' message

without the faintest idea
what I'm replying to,

Isn't there almost as much
meaning in the gesture

of communicating
as in the words themselves?

That's a good thought...

in the midst of this
bad dream,

You want me to pinch you?

Yes,

Sir, I thought you
might like a cup of coffee,

Excuse me,

That's all right, Mr, Tarkman,
I can get it myself,

- Sir, we think we may have...
- Hang on, I want to watch
this,

... of what
appears to be a message
recently sent

by the aliens to
U, S, authorities,

I think... Yes, I think
we have that for you now,

I'd better get ready,

Sir, we should have telemetry
from the deep-radar satellite
now,

It's in position to
scan the alien ships,

Well, the main thing is,
will they hear me?

We think so,

We're going to bounce
the signal off a satellite
as it passes by,

As long as it works,

Mr, President,
NASA has a theory

as to what the object was
that struck the moon,

They don't think it's
a weapon at all, sir,

- They think it's
something wonderful,
- And what's that?

A quantum singularity,-

It's a mini black hole,

What does that do for us?

Well, it does
nothing for us, sir,

but it would have provided
an inexhaustible power supply
for the aliens' trip here,

How is that wonderful?

Because it means it wasn't
a show of force,

It might even be a gift
so that we can travel
to the stars someday,

Miss Brevson...

No, we don't know,
We're guessing,

But we shouldn't
jump to conclusions,

I agree we shouldn't
jump to conclusions,
one way or the other,

Ready when you are, sir,

Friends, welcome,

I am President
Charles Halsey,

and I speak on behalf
of the American people,

We are a world
of many nations,

Many of our
leaders, including myself,
are wary of your arrival,

But we do not yet understand
the message you have sent us,

Though we welcome you
to our world,

we ask that you remain
in orbit

until we have established
diplomatic relations,

I want to make this clear:

any incursion
into our atmosphere
may be met with force,

We can only hope and
pray that this day will
be celebrated

as the day our 2 worlds,
divided by a sea of stars,

became friends,

Very nice, sir,
Should have been
a speech writer,

There just may be
a job for you here
after all, Tarkman,

It's going out to the
media services simultaneously,

The aliens should pick up
the signal in a few seconds,

You always sweat
when you're on camera,

You don't approve,

Of drawing a line in the sand?

I think you know me
better than that,

- I had to do it, Elizabeth,
- What happens if they
cross it?

They won't,

What if they do?

Then they would have anyway,

Mr, President,

They should,
be entering orbit about now,

We'll know in a few minutes
or so if that's where they
intend to stay,

General, if this were
an invasion force,

what would you expect
the next move to be?

Send a scout to
test our defenses,

locate command
and control, cut it off,

Then?

Kill it,

Sir, assuming
the glass is half-full for
just a second,

we should consider plans
for a summit meeting

between yourself
and the alien representative,

We'll see, Mr, Tarkman,

We'll have to allow the
Russians a voice of some
kind now obviously,

The Chinese, too, probably,

Another message
coming in from the aliens,

Didn't think
they'd be responding to
my message this quick,

What was that?

One of the
alien ships has broken
formation,

and it's coming in hot,

To test our defenses,

We estimate it will enter
the atmosphere over the
Pacific Ocean in 3 minutes,

General Covington,

Sir?

Order our nuclear
forces to Defcon 2,

Yes, sir,

The alien ship should hit
the ocean about 200 miles
north-east of Hawaii,

Sir, when the time
comes, I'll require you to
authenticate the launch codes,

I've been briefed on
the procedure, General,

Hopefully, it won't
get that far,

They've defied your warning,

They may not have understood,

We're getting a picture
from one of the spy
satellites,

Let's see it,

Panning Comsat R
22 degrees,

If those aren't
warships, I don't know
what the hell is,

You don't know,

We've got
a navy helicopter off
a destroyer

within a few miles
of the landing site,

The alien ship should hit
the ocean in 10 seconds,

9, 8, 7, 6...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

We're getting telemetry from
the deep-radar satellites,

It hit the water
at almost mach 5,

Sir, the alien
ships have a liquid interior,
probably water,

My gosh, Of course,
They want the oceans,

- What are you saying?
- They're not air-breathers,

What about that message?

They were clearly
not underwater,

Then that can't be
what they look like,

What are you saying?
The image they sent was fake?

The background was
digitally altered,

What don't they
want us to know?

You spoke
in front of a curtain,
What's the difference?

Wait, It's possible they
need a liquid interior
to decelerate,

like oxygenated...

No, no, Listen,

They live in water,
They want our oceans,

They just took out
the deep-radar satellite,

Mr, President, you
need to authenticate
the launch codes now,

Why do they want to
destroy our satellites?

Because they had to be
trying to communicate
again with us, sir,

No, You have to assume
they're hostile now,

We've got another hot line
message coming in, sir,

"President Halsey,
Russia is a sovereign
nation and will remain so,

"I warn you we will
brook no capitulation
with conquerors

"and will consider
capitulation of our freedom
as an act of war,

"President Yuri Karpov,"

If we try to make friends
with the aliens, we're at
war with the Russians,

They left no room for doubt,

The Chinese and French
are now on full nuclear alert,

They declare they will
do everything necessary
to ensure their sovereignty,

Send a hot line message
to the Russian president,

We value our freedom
as much as they do

but will resort to fighting
only when absolutely
necessary,

Mr, President,
the launch codes,

It may not come to that,

These are the actions
of invaders,

The leaders of the world
seem to agree with that,

I don't care
what the leaders of
the world agree to,

The aliens sent us
false images of their
appearance, Now, why?

I want that translation...

They destroyed our satellites

and now they've landed
a ship at the bottom of
the ocean,

ignoring your clear
warning not to do so!

We don't even know
if they understood!

If we don't fight now,
this thing will be over
before it even starts,

That doesn't make sense!

They could've wiped us out
when this started!

Not without destroying
what they came for!

I want to wait
for the translation,

Mr, President...

Sir, in a few minutes,
the armada will be

within just a few hundred
miles of the shuttle,

They will be vulnerable
then and only then,

You're asking me to launch
a pre-emptive...

No, sir!
They crossed the line!

The President's first
words were "welcome,"

They may have thought
they were invited,

What if the
pre-emptive strike fails?

Then at least the Russians
will know we're with them,

and we can fight them off
together wherever they land,

If you try to cut a deal
with these aliens,

the Russians will
see that as capitulation
and will launch at us,

Don't think they can't
or won't do it,

I need time,

What if all they want
is a place to live?

Ma'am, with all due respect,
that's just wishful thinking,

Mr, President,
we're running out of time,

Unless you act right now,
I will be forced to resign,

He's made his
decision, General,

Yes, I have,

What attack option
do you recommend?

No,

I recommend a submarine launch
from Pearl...

a simultaneous attack
from the shuttle,

Do it,

Yes, sir, This way, sir,

Sir, the numbers on the
card you carry with you

must match those
I have in my hand,

Only you know
the appropriate line,

Will you read it aloud,
Mr, President?

Yes,

3-5-9...

1-3-7-2,

I confirm your
identification code,

The code word for the attack
option you have chosen
is dagger,

Yes, All right,

Mr, President, you will
have to give the order

to the shuttle commander
personally, He's standing by,

Commander...

this is the President
of the United States,

It's an honor to
speak with you, sir,

I wish I didn't have
to ask you to do this,

I understand, sir,
We all do,

I'm authorizing you
to launch the missile,

Code word dagger,

We'll do a good job
for you... sir,

I know you will,

We have the alien ships
in sight, sir,

They're huge,
even from this distance,

Arming the missile... now,

I have a confirmed launch
from a Trident submarine
out of Pearl,

Estimated time of contact,
9-0 seconds,

Wait a minute,
I got a second launch
in the Bering Sea,

Must be a Russian sub
picking up our lead,

Aah! Aah! I can't see!

Shuttle just went off
our screens,

The shuttle's been
knocked out,

SLBN is off the screen,
Our bird has been destroyed,

Both submarines
have been destroyed,

Their laser
picked the missiles
right out of the sky,

I've got incoming,

2 objects leaving the armada,

Estimated time to impact,
1 minute, 45 seconds,

Where?

Moscow...

Here in Washington,

The leaders of the 2 countries
that attacked them,

We could try to
launch another,

No,

No, We've done enough,

1:15 to impact,

1 minute to impact,

Elizabeth,

I know,

You ran out of choices,

The rest of the world
will survive,

45 seconds to impact,

This just came in,

It was in English all along,

What was?

The alien message, sir,

30 seconds,

The computers
finally filtered out

the distortion of
a liquid environment,

What does it say?

It says...

"Let us be your friends,"

15 seconds,

10 seconds,

To those who would
fail to heed their own words,
be warned,

You never know
who's listening.