Original subtitles

Outpost Zeta, come in.

A 3W4.

Outpost Zeta, do you read me?

Outpost Zeta, do you read?

Answer.

Reply.

Outpost Zeta, reply.

When?

At 0833, commander.

We're coming up on it now.

No response whatsoever.

Hello, can you hear me?

Uh, we need to run a line and see what kind of luck

he's having with the contact.

Nope?

No luck so far.

We've been trying to reach Zeta for 24 hours.

Commander Craig, we have a single lock on data, sir.

We're initiating communication.

Outpost Zeta, this is Commander Craig.

Respond.

Answer me, damn you.

Answer me.

Sir, shall I maintain a signal watch?

Sir?

Yes.

Set a monitor on the Zeta frequency…

And all emergency frequencies as well.

Automatic record mode from now until I tell you to stop.

Anything that even remotely sounds like it comes from Zeta, call me…

24 hours.

Understand?

Yes, sir.

Keep on it for 24 hours.

And, uh, get back to me if you have any response from Zeta.

Keep up the good work.

Arnie, keep trying to set an active com link.

Four more hours, to 9:45.

Yes, sir.

Come in.

Commander?

I thought you might be able to use this.

Mary, what are you still doing here?

You should have gone home hours ago.

But I'm glad you didn't.

Thank you.

You're welcome, sir.

I made an idiot of myself this morning, Mary.

No one faults you for it, sir.

I do.

We all know the situation on Outpost Zeta.

We all understand.

What is the situation on Outpost Zeta, Mary?

Do you know?

Does anyone?

We are the pathfinders.

We go in first.

We make it safe.

We clear the way for the rest of the Starfleet to follow.

And sometimes, we die…

12 this time, Mary, 12 in three months.

The first team functioned for two years without any sign of trouble

and then that six.

The rescue team went out, three more.

The second rescue team, three more.

And now, they're gone.

Now, what's going on out there, Mary?

What's on that godforsaken piece of rock?

We don't know that they're dead.

There could be any number of reasons why they can't communicate.

No.

After a while, you get a feeling for a situation like this one.

I feel that Zeta is a graveyard.

But feelings don't count.

We've got to know.

Pull the signal red volunteer files, Mary.

Have them on my desk first thing in the morning.

I'm gonna have to pick out some other people

who don't mind getting themselves killed in that godforsaken planet.

Good morning, gentlemen.

As you know, we have a problem with Base Zeta.

A pathfinder team was deployed on June 14, 2100.

The team functioned without mishap for roughly two years.

And then on May 10th of this year, for no apparent reason,

we lost contact with them.

The establishment of a secure base there

will be critical to our explorations in sector 7.

There is no other Earth-type planet within light-years of Zeta.

Now, based on your reports and observations submitted

by your pathfinders, we had anticipated beginning to deploy men

and material within two months.

Colony ships were to follow within six.

Are you saying that won't be possible?

It may not.

Without knowledge of what has happened to those men and women

that we've already sent in, I cannot recommend

proceeding with Base Zeta.

Now, we need to find the answer.

Exactly how do you intend to do this, commander?

And how quickly?

We need that planet.

Yes, sir.

Well, I've assembled a signal red assignment team.

As captain and commanding officer, Clark Young.

38 years old, veteran of the Sirius and Pleiades Campaigns.

Battle citations include three star clusters, medal of honour.

Biologist Carol Cisco.

40 years old, intellectual rating genius level.

Responsible for stopping the epidemic on Aldaberan 6.

The virus thing that wiped out the entire star base?

Yes, sir.

Engineer Paul Cary.

35 years old, joined Starfleet 2087.

Uh, medical doctor Linda Saunders.

She's 32.

This will be her first signal red assignment.

Especially recommended for her abilities as a diagnostician.

There will be two security officers aboard.

Chief Officer Sigmund Stewart.

40 years old, commander of the ground campaign against the Vegans.

Numerous citations for valour, also Medal of Honour winner.

Our second security officer is Gore Stat.

A 10-year veteran, presently holds rank of star sergeant major.

Ranked first in his division in both armed and unarmed

combat, a record of…

Thank you, Mary.

Gore's reputation also precedes him.

Well, you've chosen well, commander.

Thank you, sir.

When will this suicide mission of yours be ready for liftoff?

My, um, special assignment team will be

ready to lift off within 72 hours…

With your approval, gentlemen.

Of course.

Approved.

Approved.

Now, listen.

Don't fail us.

Young.

Hello, Carol.

Yes, sir.

Clark.

Where's that 50 you owe me from that last mess I got you out of?

I'll tell you what. Double or nothing.

All right.

You can bet your life on it.

- Very interesting, very good. - Thank you.

Cary, good to see you.

At ease.

Clark, good to see you again.

Good to see you, commander.

Sigmund.

Commander.

Gore, how's the family?

Doing fine, sir.

Cary, how are you?

Fine, sir.

Good to see you.

Carol, I'm glad you're shipping with us again.

Commander, I hope this is not a long voyage.

I was at a crucial stage with some microbe experiments that promised

to revolutionise my whole…

I hope it won't be either, Carol.

Well, I hope so too.

And Dr. Saunders, welcome to the pathfinder group.

Thank you, sir.

You know, for a first mission, you drew a tough one.

I'll manage, sir.

Yeah, I trust you will.

Please, uh, sit down.

You have all received a preliminary briefing on the situation at Zeta.

So I won't go into any more detail now.

All available information has been programmed

into your ship's data bank.

You will have an opportunity to study the data on the way out.

I want to remind you now that this is a mission

of the highest potential danger.

Your presence here is voluntary.

If anyone wishes to withdraw, you may

do so now without any prejudice.

Very well.

Zeta is important to us.

It's our stepping stone to a new sector of the galaxy.

We must find out what has happened to the previous crews

and bring it to a halt.

As this is a signal red assignment, Mary

has drawn your last wills and testaments

from the file for your review.

If there are any changes, please make them before you leave today.

Also, the standard Starfleet life insurance policies

have been drawn against your lives.

Please fill in the appropriate spaces for beneficiaries

and sign them.

Any questions?

Very well.

You will lift off at 0700, August 22nd, just

a little over 36 hours from now.

I wish you the…

I wish you the best of luck.

Good luck.

Oxygen levels set to normal atmosphere.

Loading bay hatches, locked and secure.

Ignition sequence start in five seconds.

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

The mission sequence begun.

Ion accelerators approaching maximum.

At critical now.

Take us out, Mr. Cary.

Aye, sir.

Coming up on 65950, mark.

Is everybody OK?

Ugh, I'm getting too old for all this foolishness.

Every time out takes a little bit more of this old body of mine.

Well, your old body has about two days to get the creaks out of it,

Paul.

We make planet fall in 40 hours.

Now, we got a lot of work to do by then.

All right.

To begin, let's ease off on formalities.

First names make life a lot easier and save time.

Second, Gore, after this initial briefing,

I want you to draw up a watch schedule

for the remaining approach time.

Uh, eight hours on and eight hours off.

Roger.

Now, I want you all to get as much rest as possible.

There's no telling when we're gonna get another chance.

We found Zeta in the usual way.

A remote probe sensed an oxygen atmosphere,

touched down, and began sending back basic planetary data.

We believe it was destroyed shortly after that by volcanic activity.

Then a manned mission was sent in, began to survey the planet.

And, uh, when preliminary data indicated habitation possible,

a pathfinder group was sent in.

Did the first survey ship have any problems?

No.

But it was only on the surface for a week.

And there was no trouble with the original pathfinder mission either.

Zeta's an important planet to us.

We haven't had too many opportunities to observe planets

in their early stages of formation.

But it… but it's more than that.

With Zeta as a star base, we can leapfrog from here to who knows.

They want construction ships on Zeta in two months,

workers and colony ships in six.

Well, who are they gonna get to colonise that?

It has a very odd look to it.

What's causing it?

A tremendous amount of fumes and vapour in the air.

As you'll see when we land, your eyes

will have some adjusting to do.

We're dealing with a lot of irritants.

Eyestrain goes with the territory.

Zeta's also somewhat larger than Earth,

so the gravitational pull is gonna be stronger.

You'll feel weak until you adjust.

All hope abandon ye who enter here.

What was that, Linda?

Oh, I'm sorry, captain.

Daydreaming.

No.

What did you say?

Oh, it was just a few lines from an early Earth poet named Dante.

It was a work he called Hell.

Zeta's an Earth-type planet.

Now, I stress the word type.

The air is bad.

There's a lot of vapour, nitrogen, and oxygen

in roughly Earth-like proportions.

The volcanoes are pumping out carbon monoxide, carbon

dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen, hydrochloric acid,

and hydrofluoric acid.

And no preservatives?

Yeah, with no preservatives.

It's toxic.

But it's survivable.

Are you sure?

Our grandparents survived it 100 years ago.

I think we can handle it.

In the 20th century, they lived with it all the time.

What are you talking about? I…

That's what they called smog.

Smog.

But on Zeta, it's worse than it ever got on Earth.

You'll be all right as long as you don't do anything too strenuous.

But heavy activity'll leave you gasping, choking.

You may even pass out.

What? No sex?

Gentlemen, come on.

All right.

For safety's sake, everybody will be required to wear

breathing helmets and oxygen tanks.

Uh, Stewart, will you outline the security cautions?

Certainly.

As the situation develops on Zeta, we will adapt our behaviour

to meet the situation.

Initial procedures are these.

No one is to be alone at any time…

No one.

All personnel will wear sidearms at all times.

If anything appears, oh, out of the ordinary,

communicate with Gore or myself immediately.

No travel outside the compound unless we know about it.

We want to know where you're going and how long

you'll be there… no exceptions.

And, of course, no travel outside at night at all.

You see, we're totally interdependent on this mission.

One breach of any of these rules may be fatal to all of us.

Therefore, there must be no breaches.

Questions?

Sigmund, how do you expect us to get any work done wearing guns all

the time and not going anywhere?

Dr. Cisco, if these precautions are not followed,

you may not live to do any work at all.

I don't understand what you're trying to say.

Listen.

I've had problems with you before.

We don't know what we're up against on Zeta.

And until we do, these procedures will be followed.

Mr. Stewart, if I may suggest a few changes in your procedures,

I think that…

Doctor, if you required open heart surgery,

would you trust me to perform the operation?

No, certainly not.

Why?

Because you wouldn't know what you were doing.

And you'd probably kill me.

For exactly those same reasons, doctor,

you'll follow the security arrangements

made by Gore and myself…

To the letter.

All right. OK.

Look.

One last point, one that may be very important,

is the layout of Outpost Zeta.

Automatic pilot, officer.

You have control.

Acknowledge.

What do we got, Gore?

Not sure, sir.

Maybe a ship.

Looks small, though.

Set an intercept course.

Aye, sir.

Defence screens?

Primed and ready, sir.

Fire control?

Armed and ready, sir.

Captain, can you tell what it is yet?

If we can get a visual.

Gore, try the forward scanners, maximum.

Magnify.

It's an emergency beacon, sir…

One of ours.

Looks like it's orbiting around Zeta.

Maybe from the planet, or…

Is she transmitting?

Nothing, sir.

Could be her solar panels are down, though.

All right.

Let's get her aboard and pull the tape.

All right.

Let's see what we've got.

Here's the capsule.

All right.

Let's hear what's on the recording.

This is the last.

We didn't know.

Starfleet, listen.

Stay out of this hellhole.

It's not worth the…

the air is…

Not much time.

Don't send more people here to… they'll… they'll just

end up like the rest, all emptied out and…

My god, listen.

They just had time to…

To send it off before…

Before what?

And that noise in the background, any ideas?

Well, it sounded like escaping gases of some kind, perhaps

volcanic activity.

Then they may have been trapped by an explosion.

But that doesn't explain emptied out…

Or anything else, for that matter.

Plus, there are no burn markings on the inside of the beacon.

If there'd been an explosion, I'm sure there would be.

And these strange markings in here, though.

Carol, you have the facilities to analyse that.

Captain, there won't be any need for Carol to spend time on this.

After a while, you get to know the way blood dries in space.

Still, let's check it.

Certainly.

If it's blood, I want to know if it's human.

All right.

Planet fall will be at 1500 hours.

Let's all do our homework.

How are we doing, doctor?

Well, I don't know.

It's… the biological data seems so thorough and so complete.

Yeah.

But what?

Well, it's hard to believe that on a planet like Zeta there's no life.

Gore, what do you think?

Are we really in as much danger as Mr. Stewart seems to believe

we are?

Well, was the… uh, the blood on the satellite human, doctor?

Yes.

Yes, it was.

Well, I think we have to be very, very careful down there.

Don't worry about it.

We'll be able to take care of it, whatever it is.

Is that what you live for, Stewart?

The guns?

It's what I do, Cary.

I'm good at it.

And I'm careful.

That's why I'm still alive.

Well, I'm thrilled for you.

You sure the guns are gonna be enough?

They usually are.

Oh, about these guns.

Yeah?

One of them's yours.

What?

Want me to show you how to use it?

No.

I think I can handle it.

Thank you.

That means you're gonna have to find another place

- to hang that tool belt of yours. - Oh, no, no, Stewart.

The belt stays on.

I'll hang one of those little blowtorches

on it if it'll make you feel any better.

But the belt stays on, thank you.

As you wish.

Oh, good.

All right.

How long, captain?

10 hours.

10 hours till what?

I wish I knew.

Why did you take this assignment, Linda?

You know the dangers that go with signal red assignments.

Well, when I was not more than five years old, my grandfather…

Oh, he was on the first Venus project in mission control.

He sat outside with me one night.

And we sat there.

And one by one, he pointed out all the stars in the sky…

Venus, Mars, Polaris, Regulus, Altair.

Oh, god, it was magic.

And I said, Grandpa, can I go there someday?

And he said, yes, if you really want to, yes.

So it… it doesn't matter what project it is, captain…

Signal red or any other kind.

I live for this.

You may die for this, Linda.

Maybe.

But I wouldn't regret it…

Not a minute of it.

How about you, Captain Young?

Oh, I…

I have no home, at least not in the sense

that most people use the word.

My, uh… my home is where I belong…

Here.

We're two of a kind, aren't we?

Yeah.

I believe we are.

Go ahead, Captain Young.

Commander, we have visual contact with the outpost.

We're presently 120 units up, 30 minutes from planet fall.

The outpost and the three ships seem to be secure.

You've received no communication?

Well, in a way, sir, we have.

We took aboard a planetary beacon that was in a high orbit.

We've prepared a complete report.

Prepare to receive high-speed transmission.

Transmit when ready.

Reception acknowledged.

This will be our last transmission for a while, commander.

Request permission to land.

Permission granted.

Need I say be very careful?

No, sir, you needn't.

But you know that I will.

Be very careful, commander…

All of you.

Good luck.

Thank you, sir.

Communication link terminated.

I'll have that transmission transcribed, commander.

Immediately, please.

Mary?

Tell me what can we do that we haven't already done?

Nothing, sir, nothing at all.

Hold her steady, Gore.

Are you reading the outpost landing beacon?

No, sir.

I'm not getting anything at all.

I know it should be there, but.

All right.

I'm gonna take her in on manual.

Release the automatic sequencer, Paul.

You have control, sir.

Acknowledged.

We have touchdown.

All landing gear sensors indicate solid contact.

Nicely done, captain.

Well, thank you, Paul.

You're most welcome.

All right.

Secure ion accelerators.

Secured.

Power down.

Powered down.

Let's go.

Preliminary readings.

Atmosphere within marginal limits.

Wind and temperature, satisfactory.

Automatic sensors report no anomalies.

Thanks, Linda.

Captain, Linda, Cary, travel with Gore.

Dr. Cisco with me.

Stay close.

No detours for any reason.

Put your helmets on. All right.

Is everybody ready?

Yeah.

Let's go.

Really crappy place this is.

We didn't come here for a party.

Let's just get the job done and get out of here.

That's strange.

What is it?

Well, just for a moment, I felt kind of strange, as though, uh,

someone was watching me.

Crazy.

It must be this place.

Captain, you hear that?

Listen carefully.

You can just make it out.

Yeah.

That kind of sighing sound we heard on the tape.

I can't tell where it's coming from.

Maybe it was a natural volcanic sound.

We'll see if we can find it later.

Try the lights.

Right.

Good.

Cover me.

You're covered.

Look at this.

What happened in here?

I don't know.

Check the oxygen support system.

Right.

There.

It's functioning.

OK.

Come on.

Captain, the oxygen support system is activated.

Good. Check the doors.

Right.

Please, everybody be careful.

Yes, sir.

Cisco, wait.

You can take your helmets off.

The air is OK.

You've got your work cut out for you, doctor.

What do you mean, Mr. Stewart?

You got some autopsies to perform…

11 of them.

Oh my god.

11, just 11.

Why aren't there 12?

There's something wrong with their uniforms.

Look at the stomachs.

Gore, Sigmund, take this one to the sealed lab.

I'll make it my medical bay.

And you better find something to put it in.

I don't know what's gonna happen if you just try and pick it up.

There's a stretcher in the mess hall.

I'll get that.

Did you know him, captain?

Yeah.

He was the leader of the first rescue expedition.

And he's my squadron leader at Altair Four.

Well, I've got my work cut out for me.

What do you think of this hole in the fence, Paul?

I don't know.

Look.

At first glance, it looks like a chunk of lava

rolled down sloping and punched through.

But look at the way the wires are broken on the end.

It looks like the sound… it looks like it

was made from the inside out.

Another piece of the puzzle?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I'll see if I can find some material here

in the bay to patch it.

If not, I'll get something onboard ship.

Either way, I'll get it fixed up.

All right.

But, uh, do it tomorrow.

It's dark now.

And I don't want anybody out on the surface.

I'm glad you said that.

Because I don't want to be out there either.

What, uh, Linda and Carol have found

is that this thing seems to be some kind of a dissolving process

that starts with the soft tissues.

The, uh, blood was drained from all the bodies…

Also the contents of the abdominal and thoracic

cavities, also the organs, the lungs, everything, the brains too.

There's just nothing there.

Are all the bodies the same?

No.

There are three stages of decomposition.

The stages correspond exactly to the mission personnel.

The first mission, five out of the six, showed the most deterioration.

Five?

Who's missing from that group?

Dr. Christopher, the geologist.

The three men, first rescue mission, showed less deterioration.

And the second mission, less still.

But, uh, whatever this thing is, it attacks the soft tissues.

And then it moves on to the firmer cells.

Maybe in time, even the skeletons would go.

We… we don't know.

What's in the tray?

Well, we don't know that either.

Carol and Linda took these from the bodies.

We think they have something to do with the dissolving process.

These came from the first five bodies,

these from the first rescue mission, and these last three

from the second rescue mission.

We don't have any idea what they are or what they do, if anything.

Is there anything we can do now?

Not really.

All we can do is just watch and wait.

Carol and Linda are running some more tests back in the natural lab.

After they get done with those, we'll send

a preliminary report back to Earth.

Until then, all we do is just stay alert and stay alive.

Linda?

Linda, come here.

Did you notice these marks?

No.

No, I hadn't.

They almost look like tracks of some kind, don't they?

Yes, they do.

And most of them seem to be leading to the outside wall here.

What do you think could've caused this?

Do you think it could be animal?

Well, I suppose it could be.

That's odd.

What?

Do you smell fresh air?

Yes, I do.

But I wonder where it could be coming from.

I don't know.

I don't understand it.

Linda, I think we should get some samples of this stuff.

All right.

I'm going to, uh, check the lava vent outside.

You be careful.

You don't have your oxygen on.

You're beginning to sound like our friend Sigmund.

Well, here goes.

No.

Carol!

Carol!

For the thousandth time, I don't know.

A shape.

What kind of shape?

Fangs?

Claws?

You must've seen something.

Nothing.

Just a hulking kind of shadow that…

All right.

That's enough for tonight.

I'm just trying to get some information from her.

I know, Sigmund.

I know.

Captain, it's my fault. I should have

anticipated we'd come under immediate attack

and set the perimeter defences.

Dr. Cisco is dead.

And it's my responsibility.

No, Sigmund.

The point is not to go around blaming ourselves or each other.

The point is not to let it happen again.

Paul?

Yeah?

First thing tomorrow morning, I want you to set

up the dimensional laser fence.

Sure.

But that's not the problem.

See, the fence is… the system is operating way below maximum.

And I can't get it back up to normal levels.

We're gonna have to watch our consumption,

or we're gonna blow the entire system.

Well, can't you reroute it someway?

It's not just the rerouting.

See, that fence draws an awful lot of power.

Yeah, I could…

I should be able to integrate the emergency power system so

that if the fence does go down, we'll

only be open maybe 5 or 10 seconds.

Or, yeah, I could cross the mains so they'd

kick back in if it does go down.

I'll have to rewire the fuses, though, so that if they go out,

the one…

Paul, Paul, just do it, OK?

Any way you can.

OK.

And second thing, patch up that hole in the natural lab.

OK.

Linda, are you all right?

Oh, yes, sir.

It's just when I saw Carol, it…

Don't dwell on it.

Is your report to Starfleet ready?

The preliminary report is ready to send, yes.

I just have to add the latest events.

Good.

All right.

As soon as it's ready, give it to Paul to tape and transmit.

Paul?

Mm?

You take the first watch with Sigmund, 12:00 to 4:00.

Gore and I will take 4:00 to 8:00.

Uh, also, get a beacon ready to launch.

And get Linda's data into orbit as soon as possible.

OK.

And everybody, keep your weapons fully charged and close by.

It looks like we're gonna need them.

Damn it.

Stewart, no.

There.

And now, we have four.

He may have been cold and uncaring.

But we fought together more than once.

And we nearly died together more than once.

Now… probably the best soldier Starfleet ever had.

Whatever did this to him will pay for it.

All right.

We have two priorities.

First, defence.

It's getting near dawn.

OK.

First light, Gore and I will get the fence up.

OK.

Second, the outpost logs.

Linda and I will start going through them day by day.

Yeah.

There might be an answer in there as to what's happened.

Is happening.

One thing we know, those track-like markings that Carol

and I were sampling the night that she died, they seem to be a trail

of some kind left by this thing.

When it's fresh, it leaves sort of a silvery look,

like we saw next to Carol and Sigmund's bodies.

It dries very quickly.

If you see the silvery markings, it means it's a very fresh trail.

I want you all to make yourselves as comfortable as you can.

The night comes very quickly.

And if that thing tries anything tonight,

we'll have a much better chance together.

That's the last of the lasers.

You want to start setting up the fence now?

No, no, no.

I want to go back to the ship once more

and get that stuff I'll need to fix the hole in the natural lab.

I'll need a, uh, welding torch, a few other things.

Come on, Gore.

We both need the exercise, a nice brisk walk in the countryside

to cheer you up.

Yeah, cheers.

Where do we begin?

We've got nearly two years of material here.

Yeah, I know.

We don't have time to go through it all.

Let's start by dropping the first year.

Then, if we have to pick it up later, we can.

Here.

You take the scientific journals.

I'll take the daily event logs.

Hey, Gore, where you going?

Hey, Gore, wait.

Gore!

Linda, it'll be all right.

Did you see them?

All of them, emptied out from the inside…

All of them.

Yeah.

I saw them.

You wanna take a break?

No.

No.

There's something out there that's trying to kill us.

And I'm not gonna let it.

Get back to work, captain.

There's not much time.

Yes, ma'am.

Gore.

They found life.

What?

Linda, what did you say?

They found life on Zeta, at least evidence

that there was life here once.

Here.

Look at this.

"Found at the edge of a massive spatter cone, charred bone

fragments of numerous small animals, unfortunately not enough to make

identification or drawings."

Let's see.

Here.

Look.

"Found an almost complete skeleton.

Teeth indicate parallel to herbivore."

So there must have been plant life here as well.

"Also found what may be a gastrolith

in the abdominal cavity."

What's a gastrolith?

It's a stone in the stomach.

Animals sometimes swallow it to help their digestion.

Let's see.

"Skeleton back to lab for cleaning, preserving, and tests."

So they must all still be here.

Should we look for them?

No, not yet.

We're dealing with more than a small animal,

so it's got to be something else.

Here.

You keep working in this log.

I'll look up the same date in mine.

We'll see what happens.

This may be what we're looking for.

Captain, it's here.

It's all here.

They did find life on Zeta.

Not only did they find life, but they nourished it and made it grow.

Gore, behind you!

What were they, Gore?

Animals?

Vegetables?

I don't know.

But you were following a trail.

I think they laid that trail for you.

I think the first one brought you in here

and waited until you got close enough to jump.

These things think, Gore.

All right.

I'll buy that.

And the second one, he followed me in.

Or it was already here, sitting tight until you went by,

then waiting to slam the door on you if it had to.

I guess I kind of screwed up the plan by opening

fire from as long range as I did.

Either way, it's getting late.

And I don't think I want to be out here when it gets dark.

Come on.

Let's go.

Where'd you come from, anyway?

I saw you heading out. I shouted at you.

But you didn't hear or didn't listen.

I figured you might need some company.

So I came along for the ride.

I'm glad you did.

I owe you one.

Nah, we're even.

The second one might've ripped me open.

You can buy me a drink when we get back to Earth.

OK, buddy?

They were sectioning the gastrolith

when Dr. Murray, the physicist, noticed it was very different

from the rest of the lava.

And she opened it up with a carbon saw.

And when she was taking the two halves out of the saw,

she cut her finger.

She says here that the sawed gastrolith

was as sharp as a razor's edge.

Some blood fell on both halves of the rock.

And the rock absorbed it.

And it started to grow.

Good lord.

It was such a little thing…

I mean, a cut finger.

When they saw what was happening, they decided to experiment.

They began feeding it.

It was a curiosity, just a wild curiosity.

And nobody knew a thing about it?

No.

They never said a word about life on this planet.

Why?

I think I can explain that.

I know… I knew Jack Mann, the expedition leader, pretty well.

We shipped together on a Jupiter expedition about two years ago.

He was the type of man who liked to hold everything in until he

was absolutely sure of his ground.

And then he'd let it all out at once for the biggest possible impact.

He knew how to make news…

And a reputation.

Well, it might console him to know he's gonna be in the headlines

again.

This is gonna be a very, very big story…

If we ever live to tell it.

Come on.

Back to the books, Linda.

"They grew quickly, gained what is probably

their full adult size in six weeks.

Diet, exclusively meat."

"Seemed to possess a considerable intelligence.

They show a remarkable trust and apparently no fear of us whatever."

"Test proceeding on schedule.

Not yet determined biology of the beast.

X-rays may show internal physiology and organs, if any.

Externally, they are amazing.

Could we make use of these things?

Perhaps a source of labour?

Must explore that possibility.

Partners?

Servants?

Where would they fit in?"

They killed one.

They what?

How?

They don't know how.

It may have been the x-rays.

Or possibly, it was kept inside the outpost too long and suffocated.

When they started an autopsy on the…

…dead one, the other came into the sealed lab where they were

working and pushed up against the body,

as if it was trying to wake it up.

Kept that up for about 10 minutes.

And… and they say here that it went crazy.

It rushed around the lab, scuttled into the corridor,

and went into the natural lab door.

They opened the door for it.

And it went straight for the mesh wall, and broke through it,

and disappeared.

A hole they never fixed.

Three days after that, Kayward, the biologist, vanished.

From this account, the beast did too.

They hunted him for two weeks, found his equipment south of the outpost,

but no sign of him.

An eye for an eye?

Did they kill him?

I mean, are these things capable of feeling grief and anger?

A desire for revenge?

Maybe.

They finally gave up on the hunt for Kayward.

Missing.

We heard that last part.

Make that confirmed dead.

Found him about 1,000 metres Northwest of here at a volcano.

Northwest?

But I thought they were…

Now, obviously, they… They can move their victims.

Remember how the bodies were spread out in the natural lab?

Linda, keep digging.

Now, you two, tell me exactly what you were doing.

"Probable cause of beast's death, asphyxiation.

Zeta's air is tolerable for humans for short periods of time.

It works the same way for the beast in our atmosphere.

Oxygen does to them what CO2 does to us"…

They think.

Listen to this.

The one that left reproduced.

About a month after it disappeared, it came back with a small one

beside it.

They think it was some kind of asexual fusion, like an amoeba.

Jeez.

Does that mean we have two of them to deal with?

Yeah, we saw two.

There may be more.

No, there's no way of knowing at this point.

Let's assume two.

Paul, what's the status on the directional fence?

Well, I've got two more stations to instal.

Gore, come with me.

We'll finish that.

Paul, I want you to do whatever rewiring you have to do

to get that fence operational.

I'm nearly finished.

Paul, when you're finished, get a report together

with the information that Linda's found so far.

Get a capsule, and get it in orbit.

We've got to get that information to Earth as soon as you can.

"Our peaceful coexistence seems to have re-established itself.

So we are adapting to accommodate them.

Today, installed a special low-touch plate in the natural lab

so they can come and go as they please."

It's done.

At least we'll be safe for the night.

I hope so.

Captain?

What, Gore?

Do you think we'll make it through the night, sir?

Well, yes, of course.

Don't you?

No, sir.

But I think we'll go down in style.

Well, I hope you're wrong, Gore.

I hope you're wrong.

We should do a sweep, make sure we haven't locked one of those things

in with us.

It means separating.

I think it's worth the risk.

Well, let's test the fence as we go.

"It's becoming more difficult to determine who are the testers

and who are the experiments.

We are all acquiring a strong sense of being intently studied.

The beasts have a capacity for learning.

And they are learning quickly.

They watch us… always.

They analyse.

They think."

How's it going?

Well, they're definitely vulnerable to Earth atmosphere.

You see, they exhale a mixture of gases

as waste products that's very close to what we breathe.

They need a mixture of volcanic byproducts to survive.

And the key element may be sulphur.

Sulphur?

Now, Dr. Mann guessed, in spite of the outpost philtre system,

enough Zeta air must be getting through to keep them alive for up

to something like two hours.

Two hours?

Without that trace of their natural air,

they would last only about 30 minutes…

In a heavy oxygen atmosphere, much less.

How about that?

So in other words, they eliminate what we would think was fresh air?

Yes.

And that explains what Carol and I smelled in the natural lab

the night she was killed.

As in, we take in a lot of nitrogen,

but we get rid of most of it.

So they can't live on oxygen?

Yes.

We couldn't live in a nearly total nitrogen atmosphere either.

So the same goes for them with oxygen.

Gore, that sighing sound we heard on the emergency beacon and then

on the way in.

It was breathing.

And we thought it was coming from the volcano.

That means the man who made that last tape was being attacked.

But why?

That's the big question.

Did they ever find out why these things kill?

If so, I haven't found it yet.

It has to be in there.

Don't worry.

We'll find it.

All right.

Linda, I want you to take a break.

We're gonna have to be on watch 24 hours…

Six hours on, and six hours off.

I'll take the first shift, sir.

And I'll join him.

I want to keep an eye on that rewiring we did.

It's using a lot more juice than I thought.

I'll tell you we have got to keep everything

turned off as much as possible.

That alarm system is really hot.

If anything penetrates it, we're gonna know about it.

What is it?

I don't know.

Something hit the fence, but there's nothing on the cameras.

OK.

But keep an eye on it for a couple more minutes.

I'll be in my bunk.

Shout if anything happens.

I think this is gonna be a very long night.

They're wearing us down.

They're just picking at us.

This filthy, stinking kind of beast.

They're thinking on it.

Oh, yeah.

Just picking at us, just waiting for us to make a mistake,

like the stinking, rotten…

Cary, Cary.

They know what…

- It's not gonna do us any good. - I know.

I know. I know.

Not you, not any of us.

I know.

What do you want?

Damn you.

What do you want?

Why do you want to kill us?

Talk to me.

Linda.

We know you're out there. We know you're there.

Why…

That's enough.

Now, shut it down, Dr. Saunders.

And I mean right now.

I'm sorry.

It's just that I didn't know all this was gonna happen.

I know.

Nothing for us to do right now except just

hang on and try and pull ourselves out.

We can.

It's just that right now, it doesn't

seem like we have much of a chance.

No, no.

These… these things are vulnerable.

They can be hurt.

They can be killed.

We just have to figure out a way to…

To trap them so that we can.

There's always a catch, isn't there?

Busy night, huh, Clark?

How many more to come?

Not many, Paul…

With any luck, not any.

We're down, but not out.

Our defences are up.

And we can prevent any attack.

Can we?

We're rabbits trapped in a hole with dogs sniffing all around us.

Even rabbits have teeth, Linda.

You've been studying the test data.

Where can we hurt these things the easiest?

Well, lasers will stun them, but it won't kill them.

Um, heat, well, enough flame will do the job.

But I don't know how much.

They've been living on this planet so long they would've

adapted to the high heat by now.

I think our best bet is the air they breathe.

They can't take Earth air for any length of time.

Well, let's think about that one.

We have the main lab down the hall that can be hermetically sealed.

If we can get those things in there, fill it full of oxygen,

they'd suffocate, right?

Ah, that's an awfully big if, captain.

That means opening up the outpost deliberately

and letting those things in here.

No, sir, I, uh…

I think that's very dangerous to send out an invitation like that.

Yeah.

But there's no reason for that.

We've got three sealed labs outside right now.

The spaceships?

Yeah.

Except for the one we need to get home,

the other three are expendable.

Commander Craig would love to hear you say that.

Wait a minute.

Now, you say we have three traps going?

OK.

How do we spring them?

What do we use for bait?

Well, the bait part is easy.

- It's me. - No.

No.

It's gotta be that way, Linda.

Excuse me, captain.

She's right.

You're needed here.

And besides, I'm the one with the score to settle.

Don't make me pull rank on you, Gore.

No, sir, I won't.

It's my job.

Yeah, you're right.

All right.

The object is to lure that thing out there and keep it in the spaceship

until it suffocates.

Now, how do we do it?

Paul, we, uh…

We can activate the mechanisms on our ships by remote control,

can't we?

Yeah.

And the outer door, the airlocks, latches, sure.

Captain, you notice one of the ships

still has her cargo ramp down.

Yeah, yeah.

It's probably because the guy who sent up the emergency beacon

didn't have time to close it up.

OK.

Try this.

I go inside that ship, up the cargo ramp,

turn the oxygen feed up to full.

After that, I get in one of the airlocks and shut myself in.

When the beasts are inside, I shout.

Then, from the control panel here, you

shut the ramp by remote control.

I blow the airlock and bail out.

It's clean, simple.

Yeah.

It may be too simple, Gore.

How do you make it from here to the ship alone?

That might not be so easy.

No.

It might not be.

So you'll have to keep the cameras here on me as best you can

and watch.

I don't think I like it, Gore.

Well, I don't think that matters much, sir, with all due respect.

Cary, I'd like to have a micro camera on my helmet.

Ready?

As I'll ever be.

All systems check out, Clark.

Now.

Good hunting.

Please be careful.

Anything?

Nothing.

There… I think.

Yes, yes, there, for sure.

That would put it about 150 metres distant at 5 o'clock.

Can't see it, captain.

Was that a definite contact?

No, no, no.

Keep me posted.

Picking anything up?

The same?

Definite now.

Maintaining your speed, the same distance.

Now it's moved to 7 o'clock.

Can you get a clear view of the thing?

No.

It's like some chunk of lava decided to get up and move around.

It's a perfect camouflage.

And this light is no good.

Gore, pick up the pace.

It's closing in now, about 40 yards behind you, 9 o'clock.

Hurry up, man.

It's about 100 metres to go, captain.

Am I going to make it?

Yes, yes.

You're gonna make it.

It's not coming any closer now.

Good.

Hey, by the way, just heard you say the target is out here.

Confirm the sighting for me.

How many are on my tail?

We can only confirm one, Gore.

But I'm sure they're both out there.

Yeah, I wish I were.

There.

I think I saw one of them by the ramp door.

Careful, Gore.

Don't let it cut you off.

Gore, what happened?

I slipped on something.

I'm all right.

Gore, there's a fresh trail from one of the beasts.

It must be in the ship.

Get out of there.

One of them is coming at you.

Gore?

Gore, what's happening?

It sounds like he's in an airlock.

But why can't we see him?

I'm out now.

I'm on the surface.

I'm heading back.

My laser's out of power.

My leg, it hurt when I landed.

Watch them for me.

Gore, I have them both on the screens.

And they're moving after you fast.

Keep moving.

And watch the fence as you approach it.

We'll power down as soon as you hit it.

I don't think…

I don't think I'll make the fence, captain.

Try, Gore.

You will.

What happened?

Not much.

A crack in the lava tripped me up.

Gore, we lost the picture for a while.

But we've got it back.

I'm…

I'm done, captain.

No, Gore. No.

You're almost home.

Keep going, man.

Keep going, man.

I don't know if I can do him any good.

But I'm gonna try and give him some cover fire.

Watch the fence.

I'll be busy.

Come on, Gore.

Come on.

Now, captain.

Well, they're too smart for us, captain.

What do you want to do now?

I don't know, Gore.

I never expected them to anticipate so far ahead.

They outguessed us, set a trap for you.

And it almost worked.

I think the only reason you did make it was that oxygen you did

get turned on slowed them down…

Just a bit, but enough so they couldn't catch up with you.

Well, that rules out using the ships.

You know what that means.

No.

What does that mean?

You wanna invite them in?

Hey, come on in. Have a seat.

Have a cup of coffee.

How's the weather?

Here's my throat.

The air, if you pardon the expression,

has gotten to you, Gore.

What's that supposed to mean, Cary?

You got a better suggestion? Spit it out.

Yeah, I got a better idea.

Come on. Come on.

Come on, you guys.

Cut it.

Haven't we got enough trouble without fighting between ourselves?

Is he all done?

Mm-hmm.

How does it feel, Gore?

Yeah.

You know, I had so many places it could hurt.

Why don't you take a break, Gore?

You took a beating out there…

Internally and externally.

Why don't you lie down for a couple hours and recharge your batteries?

You'll need it.

And that goes for you too, Captain Young.

And don't argue.

Doctor's orders, gentlemen.

Just do it.

So that's it.

That's why.

What the…?

What is it, Paul?

What's happening?

You know, we been running on the ragged edge

ever since we turned on that fence.

Come on.

You've got to.

Come on.

Unless that thing's sitting right on top of the fence,

I think we're OK.

Yeah, well, let's hope so.

Linda, what did you find out?

Well, the lab test results, it's all in here.

They ran a final series of tests on one of the beasts.

They got it into the sealed lab, closed the door,

and then filled the lab with a high percentage of oxygen mixture.

And then what happened?

The beast became comatose.

They sliced off pieces of living tissue.

Then, they reintroduced Zeta air into the lab.

And the beast revived.

Right away, it headed towards the natural lab, met the other.

And they both left the compound.

Now, the first pathfinder group had been feeding

these things for quite some time.

So they probably built up a store for themselves

that will last them quite a while.

What about the living tissue samples they took?

What happened to them?

They surgically removed the enzyme from it.

And its metabolic rate slowed right down.

It seemed to go into a kind of hibernation.

It didn't die exactly.

It just went dormant.

And when they added a drop of blood to the tissue, it revived.

When the tissue sample became dormant,

was there any exterior change that took place?

Yes.

It took on kind of a pebbly surface, a glossy black crust.

It was probably some kind of protective crystallisation.

That's right.

Then that thing that they found was nothing more or less than an egg.

And sitting back at the sealed lab, we've got 11 more…

One out of each body.

Linda, how long was that thing gone when it disappeared

after the first one died?

They said about a month.

From the time we first lost contact with Zeta through the two

rescue missions until now, it's been just a little over four weeks,

hadn't it?

My friends, that means that there are five more back at the lab

waiting to hatch.

And half a dozen more ready.

Come on.

Gore, cover me.

Gore, stop fire.

Can you see them?

Watch yourself.

Oxygen, use the oxygen. Spray it in his face.

Spray it in his face.

Watch it.

Gore, come on.

No, get out.

Save yourself.

That's one of them.

But he was right.

I'm sorry, Gore.

You were right.

Power.

Damn, the other one must've cut the power.

Come on.

I've got maybe four or five seconds left.

And then, we're down to one gun, Linda's.

And that's not gonna do us much good.

I don't know what will.

That thing's got us boxed in.

And there's only way out of here… down that hall.

Maybe not, captain.

If you can buy us maybe 30 seconds, I might

be able to get us out of here.

The vent shaft?

We can get through, I think.

But it can't.

I'll have to go first because there's

a atmosphere philtre halfway up.

And the surface is a great bloody grid.

We'll need air.

Here.

Keep it away from me.

Hold your fire.

Here, Cary.

Take this.

There's not much time.

There's no time for that now, doctor.

We're not finished yet. Get in the shaft.

No.

- …in the black hole. - Come on.

Go.

- Paul, your helmet. - I'll get it.

I'll get it. Now, come on.

You can't make it to the ship without it.

I'll get it when we get out.

Come on, Saunders.

I'm coming.

My god, my… my breathing tube, it's ripped.

It's all right. Breathe easy.

You can share mine.

Hurry up.

I can't hold this thing all day.

Give me a hand.

Paul, get your helmet.

My helmet.

Oh my god.

Cary.

It got him.

But I don't see him now.

Isn't it gonna come after us?

God, what's it doing?

Come on. There's no time to think about it.

We gotta make it to the ship.

I won't…

I won't ma… without some air, I won't…

I won't make it.

There it is.

For some reason, it stayed with Cary's body for a few minutes,

maybe to feed.

But it's after us now.

See what it's doing?

It won't let us reach the ship.

It's driving us towards this volcano.

We'll be trapped.

It's closing in.

What can we do?

Listen to me.

We've only got one chance.

I'm gonna show myself as a target.

I'll lead the beast right over to the edge of the volcano.

And I'll try to take it into the firepit.

And I might have to go with it, Linda.

No.

No, please don't.

There must be some other way, something else we can do.

It'll kill you just like the rest of them.

No.

There is no other way.

As soon as I start moving to the crater rim, make for the ship.

The beast will follow me.

And that should give you time to lock yourself in.

Now, trade oxygen tanks and tubes with me.

You're gonna need the air more than I am.

Don't.

Don't argue.

There's no time.

And that's about it, commander.

We'll be reaching warp speed soon and heading home.

You've done well,

Captain Young, and you, Dr. Saunders.

My congratulations to you both.

Be prepared for a long, long debriefing when you return.

Oh, we rather expected it, sir.

Well then, I won't disappoint you.

Once again, a job well done.

Thank you, commander.

Communication terminate.

There'll be no more beasts anyway.

Will there?

No.

They're both dead.

The eggs are destroyed.

If there are any more eggs left on Zeta,

they'll lie dormant for a long, long time.

According to Mann's studies, there hasn't

been a living animal on the surface of Zeta in 100,000 years…

Until we came.

No, no plant life, no animals, no enzyme, no beasts.

So the supply ships and the colonists will start coming in?

In about two months.

The first thing they're gonna have to do is bring in three extra crews

to get those ships back and to take the bodies home.

Yeah.

What does it matter?

Two months, six, a year?

Zeta'll keep.

It's safe now.

Captain?

Yes, doctor?