Original subtitles

Within three days, all the people on Earth will die.

Wilma's old flight instructor and his over-the-hill squadron

join with Buck to avert a terrible threat to Earth.

We're going to have to destroy that base and eliminate that nerve gas.

We've got to attack.

Wilmot, buck her down there. Do you know what pain is, Rogers?

The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes.

In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William Buck Rogers,

are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life

support systems and returns Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.

¶¶

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Decelerate east of stream.

Decelerate and we'll open fire.

Pulling out of range.

Decelerate at once. That ship has stolen property. Look at that whole ship move.

Where are they getting all that speed?

Maybe they know who's after them. Westlake, Clayton, clam up, will you?

What's a clam?

Never mind.

Colonel Deering, may I speak to you on the command frequency, please?

You've got your privacy, but what's the problem?

Wilma, I volunteer to train our two friends out there in flight maneuvers,

not chase procedures. They have no business being out here.

Yes, but it's easier for us to go after that freighter than it is for Dr.

Hewer to scramble pilots on the ground.

I know they're green.

That stolen freighter better be pretty important.

They're headed for Necrosis 4.

They're going inside that asteroid belt?

Affirmative, and if we don't catch up to them

now, we never will. Full speed, everyone.

I'm hit!

Hold it together, Clayton. Help's on the way.

Clayton, what's your damage?

Minimal, Captain.

Next time, Westlake, watch for a rear attack as well as a frontal.

Yes, Colonel. I'm going after them. I'm with you.

They followed the freighter into the asteroids.

Clayton, Westlake, fall back.

They're going in too fast.

What do we do now?

We go home.

What are you doing, Alicia?

Your mind is always off somewhere.

Five years I've owned you,

and you always seem to be dreaming with your eyes wide open.

If the market for Terran servants wasn't so depressed, I'd sell you in an instant.

Well, don't just stand there. Brush.

You were smiling.

You think I'm hideous.

You think you're better than me because you have two normal hands.

Yes?

Commander Corliss is back with the freighter from Earth.

Thank you.

Did you have any problems?

Security for the directorate hangar was designed

to protect the contents of the freighter, not the ship itself.

Hewlett did send four starfighters after me,

but they were destroyed when they tried to penetrate the asteroids.

When can we launch our attack?

Just as soon as the gas is loaded into the missile containers.

It's been three years since Wilma Deering's squadron tried to destroy us.

Three years.

And I dream about that cabin fire every night.

The flames.

As do I. We're going to pay them back.

Within three days, all the people on Earth will die.

You gonna try telling me that lousy stolen freighter

was worth the lives of those two cadets?

They were just kids. They had no business being out there. I tried telling you that.

I didn't want them hurt any more than you did, Buck.

I'm sorry. It's been a long day.

Buck, listen.

That freighter was scheduled to be flown into deep space and destroyed.

Now, you look at this and tell us if going

after that freighter was worth their lives.

This is a video inventory of what was on it.

20th century weapons, where'd they come from? From an arsenal,

discovered near the ruins of the country's ancient capital.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

You mean to tell me that those old weapons could possibly be a threat to Earth?

Those are nerve gas canisters, Wilma.

You drop one of those into our atmosphere, spread around with an air blast,

we'd all be dead within a week. Oh, boy.

Yeah, I'd call that a threat.

That freighter was headed towards necrosis four,

which means Corliss and Trent are probably responsible.

Which also means that nerve gas isn't just a threat.

They'll use it.

Because of me.

Let me explain, Buck.

Corliss and Trent are gunrunners.

They reportedly maintain a base in the necrosis asteroids.

Several years back, they sustained some rather

severe injuries while resisting arrest.

For which they swore revenge against Colonel Deering.

We're going to have to destroy that base and eliminate that nerve gas immediately.

How do we penetrate that asteroid belt without

ending up the same way Clayton and Wesley did?

Noah Cooper.

But he's retired.

Yes.

But he knows the necrosis belt even better than Corliss.

But, Doctor... You need a guide through those asteroids, Colonel.

Talk to him. That's an order.

Yes, sir.

I seemed a bit hard on her, didn't I?

Well, perhaps I was, but we've had this discussion before,

and when it comes to Noah Cooper, why don't you just sit and think very clearly?

I suggest you go with her, but before you do, let me give you a little background.

Colonel Deering's father flew with NOAA's Earth Space Marine Squadron.

And NOAA was her very first flight instructor.

He was very helpful to her in the early stages of her career.

Helped to develop her.

They formed a very deep bond of friendship.

And then the squadron got old.

Noah got old.

Last year, she had to give them their annual physical fitness test,

and she had to fail them.

All of them, including Noah.

And now you're asking her to ask him to come out of retirement.

You put her in a very difficult position, Doctor.

Perhaps.

But it's imperative.

Noah, help us.

I'll see what I can do.

Well, Tweaky, Captain Rogers seems to have his work cut out for him.

It's in the bag.

Pardon me?

Everything's copacetic.

Copa-what?

Forget it.

I trust Buck.

He should be here by 1800 hours. He spends a lot of time here.

It's not gonna be easy, is it?

Noah's just too old to go into space again.

Even in the 25th century,

they still throw people in the scrap heap because of their age.

Buck, I didn't want to ground him.

It's just that he wasn't capable anymore, and I didn't want to see him get hurt.

Well, my dearie.

Why, what? No hug? Since when did you greet me without a hug?

Oh, no matter what's happened, I still love you, Dizzy D. Remember that.

Dizzy D.?

Oh, hi. Name's Noah. As in Noah Cooper. Hi.

Name's Buck. As in Buck Rogers. I'm Buck.

Dizzy D.?

Oh, we've called her that since she was this high.

Used to hang around the ready room all the

time, get into everything, drove us dizzy.

So we called her Dizzy Deering, Dizzy D for short.

Now she's all grown up, old enough to take a man's silver eagles away from him.

Noah, I...

You ready to take your whippin' playing 10 and 11?

Sure, Red. Sorry, Dizzy D, but got a card game waiting.

Noah, I... And you know how important that kind of thing is to us older people.

Noah, would you please listen to me for a moment?

We gonna play in the dark, Red, or what?

I don't like parties, and I don't like presents, and most of all,

I don't like being reminded of how old I am.

But thanks. Thank you.

Well, as long as we're all here, Buck,

I'd like you to meet what's left of the 69th Earth Space Marine Squadron.

Sergeant Big Red McMurty.

How are you, Big Red? Nice to meet you.

Corporal Schultz, M.K. to most.

M.K.?

Lieutenant Harriet Twain.

Nice to meet you.

My husband, Eli.

Glad to meet you. Same here. That's Lucky, our mascot.

How are you, Lucky?

Oh, I'm Captain Buck Rogers. It's nice to meet all of you.

And, of course, you all know Colonel Deering.

Noah, I came here to ask you to guide a squadron

through the asteroids surrounding Necrosis IV.

We're going to destroy Corliss' base once and for all.

I can't. My peripheral vision is shot.

Remember, Colonel?

Now, wait a minute.

Look, I understand your feelings, Major, but that base has got to be destroyed.

You're not really gonna penalize all of Earth

for what Wilma did in the line of duty, are you?

All right, we'll do it.

And when I say we, I mean all of us, the Fighting 69th.

You know what we could do?

We can convert Seymour-class cargo sleds into Starbelly bombers.

That's the ship we used when we attacked that base years ago.

You give us 12 hours to equip these sleds with tail gun turrets,

Another 12 hours to train, and we can be attacking necrosis four in two days.

After which, we will all want our silver eagles back.

But you're all almost mandatory retirement age.

Well, then you'll look a day over 60.

Retirement is 85. 85?

That's the deal.

Either I lead my old squadron through those asteroids, or I lead nobody at all.

Then forget it. Corliss would cut you to pieces.

How much longer?

They just started loading the gas into the missile casings.

Foreman says they'll be ready in 48 hours.

I'll get word to our people on Earth that they have two days to evacuate.

You know, our spy in New Chicago is still trying to discern

how much the Defense Directorate has figured out.

You could know everything, and it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

They can't stop us now. It's only a matter of time before the Earth is destroyed.

Why, Alicia, you still have feelings for your home world.

Surely all your family must be dead by now. And if they're not, they soon will be.

Nine runs. You didn't hit the target once.

Well, I didn't see you do any better up there.

Yeah, and that was a safe and sane practice run.

What do we do when there are enemy fighters and pulsars screaming all around?

Maybe we should stick to throwing birthday parties.

Go on, get some rest. You still want to go with us, Buck?

Sure. Look, a bad dress rehearsal's always a good sign. Take it from me, I know.

Well, I monitored your runs. Nine runs, nine misses.

Yeah, well, don't say anything to them. I don't think they'd make things worse.

Noah is using 20-year-old cargo sleds, 30-year-old bombs, and 85-year-old pilots.

How can I make it worse?

Look, Wilma, when I was in the Air Force,

we had to dispose of a lot of surplus nerve gas. Believe me,

Noah's old-fashioned incendiaries are the best

way to deal with old-fashioned nerve gas.

Dr. Hewer was wrong.

Why don't you and Noah face up to that fact before you get yourself killed?

Why don't you be honest with yourself?

What do you mean?

You love that old man.

When you're so afraid he's gonna get hurt, he's filing your judgment.

There's a spy in New Chicago.

She says the defense directorate is planning a bombing

attack against us within the next two days.

A bombing attack? He was insane.

No.

He's desperate.

He knows that when and if the nerve gas leaves here,

his chances of destroying all of our ships before

they reach the Earth are practically nil.

How can he expect anyone to navigate the asteroids and bombers?

He just got a reminder of how difficult it is for starfighters.

Even if they were to penetrate the asteroids,

they wouldn't stand a chance against the pulsar batteries that surround us.

Their pilots are committing suicide.

Alicia, fill the commander's glass.

I'm sorry, am I interrupting you? Well, what do we have here?

A memory globe.

Probably the only reminder she has of her former world.

She's managed to hide it from me all these years.

Watch, Alicia.

Watch what's going to happen to your world.

Watch.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

You all know how important this mission is,

so there's very little left for me to say.

Excepting that I'll see you, all of you, when you get back.

Does Wilma know we're taking off tonight? Yes,

but she's been keeping pretty much to herself these days.

I must admit, I am surprised she isn't here to see you off, Buck.

Yeah, well, I guess she must have had other plans.

Uh, Noah, I've been dead-sent against your leading this mission all along.

I still am.

But it's because... because I didn't want to find

out what it would be like not to have you around.

And that goes for all of you, too.

So maybe you just better take me along.

I'd feel better if I could keep an eye on you.

Looks like I got myself a new coat.

Comfortable back there, Harriet?

I'd rather be dropping bombs. Piece of pacifier?

Thanks.

I'd like to thank you for setting me straight about how I feel about Noah.

I think nothing of it, Dizzy D.

All right, here comes the tough part, kids.

Getting through this is gonna make that bombing run seem easy.

Now stay close behind me and do exactly what I do.

Watch for falling rocks.

Enemy craft approaching. They're moving through the asteroids.

They attack force from Earth.

Yeah, there are only three of them.

Well, on the off chance they get through the asteroids, they won't get any further.

Ready the squadron.

Just a little further, kids. You're doing fine.

Reminds me of my playground back home.

Okay, start breathing again, everyone.

Stop breathing. We got company. Tight deformation. Look alive, tail gunners.

Got it.

I'm not old. They're shooting from their tails.

They've modified sled-class bombers with tail gun mounts.

Go beneath their fire. Attack their bellies. Yes, sir.

Low-level bombers.

They're ancient.

But they could conceivably fly in below our pulsar screens.

They'll never get that far.

Nice shot, Big Red. It looks like they're sending up reinforcements.

We'll retreat temporarily to the asteroids.

Bob, we're losing control. All right, hang on. All right, bring her up slowly.

Okay, all systems are turning to green.

Prepare to rendezvous with Noah.

She's a little sluggish, but I think we can finish the mission.

Surrender at once or be destroyed.

Proceed to vector 9, 4KV, coordinate C. We will tractor beam you into the hangar.

You hear that, Noah? They've been captured.

I heard.

What do we do, Noah?

What can we do? We've lost them.

We've lost him.

You wanted to speak with me, Dr. Hewer?

Yes, come in, please.

So do I. I just received a subspace message from Major Cooper.

He's about to start his bombing attack on Corliss' base.

I was under the impression they were to have done so by now.

Yes.

Well, they were engaged by enemy fighters as

soon as they broke through the asteroids, and they had to regroup.

They lost Colonel Deering and Buck.

Oh, my.

Major Cooper feels they're being held on the base.

He also knows he's going to have to go through with the bombing anyway.

Two chances left to destroy the nerve gas while it's still on the Croesus IV.

Frankly, I expected to have this chat right

after Major Cooper and the others took off.

You did call me in to discuss our alternatives,

should their mission fail. Did you not?

There's no harm in hoping that they'd be successful, is there?

There's little else we can do.

That's not quite true.

Come now, Dr. Theopolis.

Surely you don't think Corliss will send a

squadron to Earth to release the nerve gas?

He'll send his ships individually, and even though we destroy them all,

the odds are that one will come close enough to our atmosphere to poison it.

I was referring to the fact that we can and must take

steps to see that Earth's leadership survives.

Obviously, nerve gas will have no effect on us computers.

But as for you humans... Yes.

Yes, I know.

I know.

I'll alert maintenance to ready the Omega Complex, but in the meantime, you and I,

Dr. Theopolis, must decide which of Earth's population will live and which will die.

It's a dreadful task, but we must... Tricky, where are you going?

I know that, but... What was that all about?

He was upset that we're assuming that Captain Rogers is never coming back.

We really must continue, Dr. Hewer.

Fuel on time, Noah.

We've got to attack.

We can't. We'll mount Bucker down there.

And Corliss will be attacking Earth while we're sitting up here.

I've got to take that risk, Harriet.

You can't afford to.

Dr. Huard is counting on us.

That place is like an ammunition dump. If we bomb it,

Dizzy D and Buck won't have a chance.

Neither does the Earth.

Unless we attack.

The scanner indicates no movement outside the asteroids.

Terrans must be drifting around in orbit inside the belt.

Whatever's left of them, that is.

That's right. You haven't seen your handiwork, have you?

Take a good look, Colonel.

I'm sure you've heard how eager we've been to thank you. Ah!

Yes.

Welcome, Colonel Deering.

It's been a long three years.

You were smuggling weapons to hostile colonies.

It was my duty to try and stop you.

Who's your friend, Colonel?

Buck Rogers.

Roxanne Trent.

My pleasure.

Have you ever been in a fire, Rogers?

Or should I say, have you ever been on fire? No, I can't say that I have.

Do you know what pain is, Rogers?

There are all kinds of pain.

No.

I'm talking about a pain that's so intense the only

way you can stop it is to have its source removed. I had a toothache once.

If you had surrendered instead of remaining fugitives,

you could have been treated at any number of good clinics.

And spend the rest of our life in detention with no hope of revenge?

How you're going to wish we had surrendered, Colonel Deering.

Alicia, bring me the torch. I said bring me the torch!

Now that you've captured me, you have no reason to harm anyone else.

Let Buck go, and give up any idea you might have had of attacking Earth.

And let all that nerve gas go to waste.

Your grudge is with me.

Our grudge is with whomever we please.

And if the possibility of us murdering innocent

people upsets you, Colonel, all the better.

You're criminals.

You were smuggling contraband aboard your ship three years ago.

Those weapons were outlawed precisely because they were dangerous.

But all you cared about was the price the Altarians

were going to give you for those weapons.

Any weapons.

You didn't care how flammable or unsafe they were. Whether you admit it or not,

you deserved exactly what you got. Alicia, what are you doing?

She's talking.

She can't talk.

She doesn't have the mind for it.

She might not be able to hear, and she might not be able to speak,

but she certainly can't talk.

And she has a mind.

It's okay.

Get out of here.

It's all right, Roxanne.

They talk with their hands.

Behind his back.

And the Colonel?

What happened when you shot down our ship, girl, was this.

The cargo exploded.

I tried to seal off the cabin, fell into the hole and became a living torch.

Roxanne managed to pull me out finally. You can see for yourself at what price.

Of course, neither of you can ever understand what we went through. Unless,

of course, you were to go through it yourselves.

You will play me.

And Rogers will play Corpse.

No, look, let Buck go. Do whatever you like to me, I don't care. That's the point.

You care for him. Enough to beat the flames out with your bare hands.

Keep your hands to yourself, Wilma. You've got better things to do with them.

Commander, there's movement within the asteroids.

It looks like the Terrans are preparing to attack again.

I said a squadron to intercept them. Sir,

most of our remaining fighters have been armed with nerve gas missiles.

There are only two Earth ships left.

Our fighters should have no problem. Commander,

the Terrans' first attack left us with only four ships to spare.

We're out of time, Noah.

We've got to attack now.

Maybe Dizzy D was right.

You shouldn't have taken this assignment.

Yeah, maybe you're too old and too scared to do the job anymore.

Damn it, you old lover, too.

Of course we do, Noah.

Yeah, but we got work to do.

We're going down. Don't wait till the PCs are

up full, and you follow me in, Big Red.

Roger.

That's what a Marine likes to hear.

About to either be bombed or tortured.

Bet you've never been in this situation before.

No, I can't say that I have.

Sorry I got you into this.

Why sorry?

Never a dull moment with you, Wilma. That's why I keep you around.

Don't worry, we'll get out of this.

If you buy that, I've got a nice corner lot for you in Anarchy.

How'd you ever learn sign language?

Usually hand talking is only taught to children who are born deaf.

Someone taught me in the 20th century.

You've seen sign language before, haven't you?

Yes, but there's really no need to learn it since...

Deafness is usually cured in childhood with electronic surgery.

Where did you learn it, through a friend or a relative?

Friend?

She was a teacher. She taught handicapped kids.

I used to go along when she took them on field trips.

Don't look now, but I think we've got a visitor.

She's gonna help us.

We're to try to distract the guards and stay as close to the entryway as possible.

Well, I think that could be arranged.

It's true, she does.

You've got the cutest blue eyes.

Think there's any way we could get together?

When do you get off duty?

I'm talking to all three of you, you know.

She likes you.

You three have a date tonight?

All right, everybody, just keep it quiet.

Excitement's over.

Gentlemen, into the cell, if you please.

Well, Wilma, what do you think?

I think they should strip.

Wilma.

You heard what the lady said.

I'm not Tryon. I'm the only one left.

You said they were outnumbered two to one. The tail mounts the Terrans are using.

Computers in our fighters aren't prepared to deal with them.

Looks like one of their sleds have been damaged. I'm going after it.

Noah, how bad are your hits? Scorpion, 155 degrees.

Bring us around.

I can't sight him up.

He's closing in.

Good shooting, Harriet!

That's all of them.

Look at that.

Nothing but empty sky down there.

We got all of them.

Now we can start dropping some bombs.

Red, I want you to make the first run.

I have to make sure these controls are fully operational.

They've got pulsar batteries down there.

What we have to do is come in low enough to fly

beneath them. Long and low, that's our approach.

Once you're there, just let them drop.

I'm ready.

Just give me the go sign.

She'll understand, Noah.

They'll both understand.

You're clear, Big Red.

One of them is positioning itself for a bombing run.

Ready the pulsar batteries.

Lock in the compute defense system.

They'll never get close enough to bomb us.

Perhaps we should prepare an escape vessel.

Pulsar batteries deployed. The bomber's still coming. Do as you see fit.

Order the hangar crew to remove the gas missiles from one

of the fighters and prepare it for immediate launch.

Quickly.

Our sled is through that door. Now you two go first and take it easy, okay?

Both of you, come with me.

I said come with me.

Run!

Stop them!

Tell them to let her go.

Tell them to let them go. I have no qualms about pulling this trigger.

Neither do I, Rogers.

Steady.

Steady.

Steady, more left.

Stop humming.

More left.

Got it. Bomb away.

Bye, Dizzy D.

Get the message.

Wilma, get the door. You, get over there.

You missed.

It just stopped the humming. Who's humming? I'm not humming. Big Red to Mother One.

We saw Big Red. Come on back up. Now it's our turn.

Hold it steady.

We're almost there.

Second enemy bomber approaching.

I'm trapped in here.

Steady.

Noah, Harriet.

Yes, Eli?

I just wanted to say I... I love you both.

Rhyme away.

This one's gonna hit!

Noah, you did it! Noah Cooper, you did it!

Hey, keep it down out there.

Dizzy D. I mean, Colonel Derry. And friends.

You still think we're too old, Colonel?

Maybe I am, but you're certainly not.

Looks like you've got an apology coming, Major Cooper.

Noah?

Come in, Major Cooper.

Noah, why don't you answer me?

Welcome.

Welcome. Welcome home.

I just heard you destroyed the base. Congratulations, gentlemen.

Buck, Colonel, you should have sent me a subspace message.

I'd have had all the Federation leaders here to meet you.

All of Earth is eternally grateful. Glad to hear it.

Well, who is this we have here?

Oh, Doc, this is Alicia.

We picked her up on the way back.

It's a long story.

I'm very pleased to meet you.

Where's Noah and the Twains?

The base went up like a 50-megaton bomb.

We brought something Major Cooper asked for to be given to you on your return.

Tweaky?

Thank you, Tweaky.

Silver eagles.

Of course, you'll be reinstated to full active duty as soon as possible.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Ready approach on tube 101.

What's coming in at this hour?

69th squadron cleared for approach. Did he say 69th?

Sorry to be late.

Noah? Where'd he come from?

We got blown all the way back up into the asteroids.

We had a little trouble getting home, but we're all fine. Hot stuff.

As he dees around, I ask her if she still thinks I'm too old for this sort of thing.

Thank you.

Eli. Cheers.

Oh, I took it upon myself to update the directorate's

annual physical fitness test. I hope you don't mind.

No, no, not at all. You saved me the trouble of

doing it myself. Isn't that so, Dr. Theopolis?

Yes, indeed.

You want to dance, Wilma?

Thank you, No Twiki.

Ah, nuts.

Where's Buck? He's late for his own party.

Well, he said he had some business at the registry.

I think he's trying to find Alicia's parents.

Oh, he couldn't pull off a miracle like that, could he?

He could.

I know you're all wondering where I've been.

Five years ago, this young lady was kidnapped from her family.

May I present them to you?

You've been busy, haven't you? I certainly have.

I also drive by the medical directorate.

Alicia's scheduled for electronic surgery next month.

A little retraining, she'll be able to hear in no time at all.

That's nice. And is she going to have some adjusting to do?

Say, big fella, would you like to dance?

Sure, why not?

Great. Tweaky, I just found you a dance partner.

Well, can I leave?