The alien forces that attacked Earth struck without reason or provocation.
Although they were driven back by our forces...
on their way out, they left behind a biogenetically engineered virus...
that has completely penetrated the atmosphere.
As a result, Earth has been quarantined.
Repeat: Earth has been quarantined. Do not....
Break it up!
I said, break it up!
Up yours! We're not going to Earth, you hear that?
That's mutiny, mister. We have our orders.
I don't give a rat's ass about orders. You heard what she said.
Earth has been quarantined with some kind of a plague.
Now, me and the other guys, we were born on Mars.
It's not our problem.
We're not gonna let you take us back there and get us infected.
We'll take this ship if we have to.
Not a chance. You don't have enough people to even try it.
No? Who wants to die?
And who's with me? Come on.
Out of the way, Captain. This doesn't concern you.
- It's my ship. - You can't stop all of us.
No, all I have to stop is you. You're the mouth.
If you can't take me, you sure as hell can't take my ship.
You get past me, she's all yours.
Who's next? Anybody else?
Half of you are alive right now...
because of my command of this ship and the rest of this crew.
You gonna fall apart now?
Do you think I'm gonna let you get killed?
Now everybody get back to their stations, and I will forget that this ever happened.
Move it!
Stand down. Get him to the brig.
Have the doc check him over and make sure he's okay.
- You all right? - Yeah, I think so.
Held them off as long as we could till you could get here.
You did the right thing. This attack's got everybody in a panic. Yes.
We're approaching coordinates for Earth orbit.
Ready to jump to normal space, Captain.
Jump.
Let's take a look. See how bad this really is.
My God.
Who are you?
Matthew Gideon, Captain.
Attached to the Earth Alliance starship, Excalibur.
To find a cure to the Drakh plague before it wipes out all life on Earth.
Anywhere I ha ve to.
Who do you serve and who do you trust?
CRUSADE 1x01 "WAR ZONE" Subtitles subXpacio
With over 240 Destroyers lost in the battle...
lists of casualties are still being drawn up.
But current estimates place the death toll...
at between 6,000 and 7,000 killed in action.
President Susana Luchenko has called for a week ofplanetary mourning...
for the bra ve men and women who sacrificed their lives...
in the battle against the Drakh.
While there are countless heroes worthy of distinction...
Yes.
- Anything new? - Not much. It's a mess down there.
Everybody's trying to figure out what to do next.
What about the aliens that attacked? Anything more on them?
No, just a name: the Drakh.
But apparently some of our ships are still in pursuit.
They're hoping to capture a couple of them.
Damn it!
You know, this is one of those times I wish I was still on a Destroyer.
This ship was designed for exploration, not combat.
We got here as fast as we could. It was over before we even jumped.
- There was nothing you could've done. - That's not good enough.
How's Ens. James?
Doc checked him out, said he'll be fine.
He thinks you should put this attempted mutiny on the record.
Negative.
He was scared. Who could blame him? We were all scared.
I put him down because I had to. That's enough.
You're being a lot more merciful than he will.
His father's a high-ranking official on Mars.
He probably got on the line to his dad as soon as he woke up.
The political situation between Earth and Mars Colony is very sensitive.
Striking a crew member. They could turn and bring you up on charges.
We're in a state of planetary alert. Who's gonna care about-
- Captain, we've just received new orders. - It's about time. What are they?
We're to proceed immediately to Mars.
Mars?
Did they say what they want with us?
Not us, sir. You.
And so it begins.
Drakh ship is accelerating, making a run for it.
Comm. system's out. We're venting air on all decks.
We can't take much more of this.
Stay with her. Prepare to launch the distress beacon.
Tell them we've located a ship that attacked Earth, and pursued it.
We intend to force her down on the nearest planet.
Systems on overload, sir. Massive damage to reactors.
- Launch beacon. - Aye, sir. Beacon away.
Let's just hope someone else can finish what we've started.
Mr. Eilerson, you see that?
I see it. Might be a meteor, piece of space junk.
Send Jenson up to do a fly-over, check it out.
We have to go that way anyway in a few days.
Let's see if we can't find that damned underground city.
No reason we can't swing by, see if there isn't something of value.
Yes, sir.
That's the fun part about being an archeologist, Sam.
The present constantly getting in the way of exploring the past.
But who knows? Maybe we'll find something of value...
we can send back to the Corporation.
Nothing like the occasional surprise to keep things interesting.
Gideon is the wrong choice for this assignment. Do you understand?
- Sen. McQuate. - Capt. Gideon. Thanks for coming.
Mr. Ames, Military Liaison, Planetary Security.
Captain.
- Sir, I would like to explain- - In a moment.
I assume you've been briefed on the situation back home.
Well, you've only heard part of the story.
The planet is in a blind panic. Mass rioting across whole continents.
Doomsday cults springing up all over the place.
Earthgov's in chaos. Nobody's even coming in to work.
Hell, why should they? They'll all be dead in five years anyway.
- Five years? - That's just a guess, Senator.
The high-IQ boys back home figured it would take that long...
for the plague to adjust to our biology.
Once that happens...
every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth will die.
You know, Captain...
some folks think there might have been life on Mars once upon a time.
If they did exist, they left no sign.
We'll never know who they were, or what they did.
What songs they sang, what stories they told.
Mars is a dead world.
Can't imagine that happening to the Earth in a few years.
Can't imagine that happening at all.
Folks back home are doing everything they can.
But the odds of us finding a cure in the time that's left are just about zip.
We must look outside.
This plague didn't come out of nowhere.
Somebody out there somewhere has come across it before now.
Maybe some alien race we've never even met before can help us.
Or maybe the cure is buried beneath some ancient alien city...
forgotten under centuries of sand.
We need the right ship and the right person to find that cure.
The right ship is the Excalibur, prototype Destroyer, top of the line.
That person...
is you, Captain.
Well, I'm honored.
But why me? There are others just as qualified.
During your time captaining an Explorer class vessel...
you've come across more new alien life forms than anyone else in the fleet.
There are half a dozen captains riding Explorer ships.
The rest are either too old or too cautious.
You're a dangerous man when you want to be...
and right now we need a dangerous man.
So, are you up to the job?
Yes, sir. Will I be able to pick my own team?
Some, yes. Some, no.
This is a highly political situation back home.
We've had to make certain compromises to get this show on the road.
A lot of people will be looking over your shoulder on this one.
I understand, but just so we're clear...
once we go, this is my command. I'll do whatever's necessary.
If that means turning the entire galaxy upside down...
and shaking its pockets to see what falls out, that's what I'll do.
I'm not subtle or pretty, and I'll piss off a lot of people along the way.
But I'll get the job done.
Do whatever you have to do, Captain. Make sure Earth doesn't turn into this.
Base, this is Shuttle 2. Still no sign of that crash.
Coming around for... Just a sec.
Confirm, Base. I have visual lock.
It's definitely a ship. Origin unknown.
Relaying position.
Oh, hell.
I'm being fired upon. I repeat, I'm taking fire.
Evasive maneuvers.
I'm being fired upon. I repeat, I'm taking fire.
Evasive maneuvers.
That's when we lost contact.
Is there any way to get word back to the Company...
to tell them that we've got trouble?
Negative.
The atmosphere is too heavily ionized to get a signal out very far...
and the transport will not come back to pick us up for another two weeks.
We've been out of contact ever since we got here.
Until now, it wasn't a problem.
All right. What options do we have?
Just one. Move out before they come after us.
We don't know they're hostile.
They could have thought our ship was going to attack.
They didn't try to establish contact...
and they didn't wait to see what he was going to do.
They ambushed him and blew him out of the sky.
I don't know about where you come from, but where I grew up...
that's definitely considered hostile behavior.
Trace, give it a rest.
Look, they didn't send out a general distress signal.
That means they don't want anybody to know they're here.
Now that they know they've got company, guess what?
They'll come after us.
We can't just pack up an entire expedition. The hassle-
Is a hell of a lot less hassle than being dead.
I got plans for the weekend, and being dead ain't part of them.
I say we move everybody out...
maybe into those caves we saw down by the cliffs.
On foot? What about the shuttle?
We've only got one left, and it only carries four people at a time.
It'll take longer, and we might be seen.
Besides, I need it. I'm gonna take her up outside the atmosphere...
and send out a distress signal where somebody might pick it up.
It's also possible that the wrong people could hear you.
Whoever those aliens are, they probably sent for help before they crashed.
When that help gets here, you'll be the first target on their list.
I know.
But like I said, I don't plan on being dead anytime soon.
You just take care of these people and leave the rest to me.
And this is Capt. Matthew Gideon.
Captain, this is your team.
Dr. Emil Horst, Microbiology.
Dr. Elaine Moss, Pathology and Life Sciences.
We haven't selected an archeologist and a linguist yet.
And this is Dr. Sarah Chambers...
Medical Chief of Staff.
She'll be acting as your liaison with the rest of the team.
Just a minute, Senator. What team?
He didn't tell you?
Nobody's told me anything.
I've just been sitting here for a day-and-a-half, cooling my heels.
I've asked you four times to let me go back to Earth.
I have a sister back there. I want to see her.
The Earth is under quarantine. It's too dangerous.
Fine. I can live with that.
I can do a lot more good there than sitting around here on Mars.
No one's just going to be sitting around here, Doctor.
We have a very important job for you. For all of you.
We've held off in telling you about it until now for security reasons.
- But now that you're all together- - Excuse me.
Sir, there's been a problem.
She got away. Again.
Excuse me for a moment.
What's all this about? What mission?
Apparently, they've got some kind of prototype starship...
they think can help us find a cure to the plague offworld.
- We're the new crew. It's a- - Get your hands off me!
- Stop it! - Let me go.
- Get her. - I said, let me go!
It seems we've found her, sir.
- Are you Gideon? - That's right.
I'm supposed to be on your team. Tell them to let me go.
Pay no attention to her. Take her back to protective custody.
No, I am supposed to be on your team!
Damn it, let me go!
All right, everything's under control.
Just a sec. I wanna talk to her.
- Captain. - I said, I wanna talk to her.
- After the meeting. - One more thing.
I want my first officer John Matheson on the crew with me.
That's problematic. He's a telepath, after all.
There are sensitive feelings back home about that...
what with the recent unpleasantness.
He's followed all the new rules for telepaths to the letter.
He's the best first officer I've ever had. He's on the crew. Period.
Let's move it out, people. Just get your gear.
The Drakh killed my people, my entire world.
I came here during the war to stop them.
I know more about them than anybody else you'll find. I can help.
I agree, so what's the problem?
Our guest is a member of the Thieves Guild.
She has a record as long as your arm.
We've kept her in protective custody...
because we believe she might have some information which may be of use.
Besides, the presence of a thief...
would diminish the prestige and importance of the mission.
Captain, let me do this.
Yes, I'm a thief, and a damn good one.
You need to get inside something, get out, tunnel under, go around or through, I'm it.
You'll hit some strange places and will need a lockpick.
There isn't a lock made that I can't get through.
That we can vouch for.
My world is dead.
I don't have anywhere else to go.
- She's in. - Captain.
She's in, or you can get yourself another captain.
That's our ship.
- That's a ship? It's huge. -1.25 miles long.
The most advanced and fastest ship ever built by humans.
- It's beautiful. - It'll do.
Good to see you, Lieutenant. This is Dr. Sarah Chambers and Dureena Nafeel.
Dureena is a last-minute addition to the team.
Pleasure. Dr. Chambers, Ens. Rubino will show you to your quarters.
Thank you.
Thanks for the invitation. I wasn't sure they'd let me join-
It wasn't a problem. How are the new digs?
Great. She's quite a ship.
We're still screwing down some of the nuts and bolts...
but I think she'll be just fine.
I set the coordinates for the testing area.
It's well off the charts so we won't be disturbed.
Any other surprises I should know about?
- Not now. - What do you mean?
There was someone else who came with me.
I thought he would be on the mission.
- Where is he? - I don't know.
He disappeared shortly after we arrived.
I tried telling the others about him, but they wouldn't believe me.
If he wants to show up, he will...
in his own way and his own time.
Sir, engines are online. We can jump at any time.
Excellent, Lieutenant. Anything else?
Actually, yes.
I know you said it wasn't a problem getting me here...
and I hate to contradict a superior officer...
but I suspect my status as a telepath did come up.
John, you know what causes most problems?
Ambiguity. Not knowing which decision is the right one.
You're the best first officer I've ever served with...
and I consider you a friend, so there was no ambiguity.
And no problem.
Now stand by to jump to hyperspace.
Jump engines at your command, sir.
- Ready to jump. - Jump.
Ship?
Pursue.
Computer, status on our distress signal.
No contact.
Are we getting any signals at all?
Confirmed. Signal from distress beacon.
Wait. I thought we were the only ones sending out a distress signal.
Negative. Earthforce military beacon...
detected at coordinates 9 by 12 by 16.
Earthforce military beacon?
All right, listen. If we could hot-wire that beacon to our system...
could we have enough power to punch through a combined signal?
Unknown.
Unknown. Of course unknown.
Why the hell am I asking a machine for an opinion in the first place?
Set course for the beacon. Stand by to grapple and retrieve.
Confirmed.
Estimate we're two jumps from the testing ground, Captain.
ETA, 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Outstanding, Lieutenant. Made it in half the time.
Aye, sir. She's quite... Stand by.
We're getting a message from Mars.
Put it through to the conference room.
Captain, there's been a change in plan.
You are to proceed at top speed to Sector 85 by 4 by 20.
What's happened?
We had a Destroyer pursuing one ofDrakh warships...
which may have released the plague into the Earth's atmosphere.
We lost contact with them two days ago.
Apparently, they launched a distress beacon before being destroyed.
According to the modified beacon, the Drakh warship went down on Ceti 4.
Your ship is the closest one we ha ve to that sector.
We need you to get there as fast as possible...
to retrieve the ship and any survivors.
You said a modified beacon?
Apparently, there was an archeological dig...
which was sponsored by Interplanetary Expeditions...
which was in progress at the time of the crash.
One of them hot-wired the beacon to piggyback additional information.
So there may be civilians at risk?
Captain, right now we're all at risk.
Hello, Matthew.
I just wanted you to know that I'm here and I'm watching...
in case you should need help.
Who is this?
Ha ve you forgotten me so soon?
Sad, but the way of the world, I suppose.
Expect me when you see me.
What are...
Hello?
You'll have to let us know if the area around the ship...
- poses any risk of contamination. - I'll do my best.
What about the civilians down there? Any wounded?
Unknown. We've tried hailing them, but there's no response...
and there's nothing on our scanners.
Approaching Flight Deck.
This is where we get off.
You have the comm., Lieutenant. If any hostiles show up-
You'll be the first to know.
Good. Stand by for evac. I'll be in touch every half hour.
And check the comm. system again.
I want to know where that last message came from.
Aye, sir.
This is bad, all right.
We got trouble.
Let me guess. The aliens know where we are.
Maybe they're telepathic. Maybe they can sense our body heat.
They're minutes away from our position and we're all going to die soon.
How's that?
You always jump to the end of the story like that?
Why not? The story of my life.
intact, deserted for 10,000 years...
probably contains hundreds of patents that I can exploit...
and I'm gonna die.
I can appreciate dramatic irony as much as the next person...
but this is pushing it a bit.
Repeat. This is the Excalibur. Can you receive?
Yes! Yes, we receive.
This is Maximillian Eilerson of Interplanetary Expeditions.
Who are you? No, I don't care who you are. Where are you?
This is the cavalry, Mr. Eilerson.
We'd like to ride to the rescue, but we can't seem to find you.
We've moved into an underground cavern for safety.
Good. Keep this channel open. We'll home in on your frequency.
One small problem.
We have enemy forces converging on our location.
Confirmed, Mr. Eilerson. We have them on visual. Stand by.
Gideon to Fighter squadron. Did you get that?
Confirmed, Captain.
Clear the road, gentlemen.
Counselor L'shan to fleet.
The enemy has received reinforcements. They will be here soon.
Be at peace, Counselor L 'shan.
So will we.
Let's go, folks. Move it. Watch your step.
Mr. Eilerson.
Captain, thanks for coming. Now if we could-
I've been told you can lead us to the crash site.
Yes, in general terms.
But we can find it just as well from your ship.
- I know the way. I can show you there. - Not a good idea.
They've contacted their fleet, and we could have company anytime now.
How do you know that?
Because I intercepted and translated one of their recent transmissions.
You learned their language that fast?
It's a knack. It's like this place. I got the lights to work.
I found a system to shield it from outside detection.
- But now that you're here- - We're not leaving without that ship.
He can take us there, but I'll need you to translate whatever we find.
So that's the deal. Take it, or we leave you here.
You're bluffing.
I never bluff.
Any sign of contamination?
None so far. Seems to be clean of the virus...
but I suggest we keep the breathers on just to be safe.
What are we looking for?
Survivors and computers.
Anything to help us figure out what we're up against.
Here's one.
Food processor.
Yeah, looks like.
Very funny.
Down!
Captain!
Take cover! Cover!
They got us pinned down. We'll have to double back and get behind them.
I don't think that's possible under this kind of fire.
Where's Dureena?
Hold your fire!
- Captain. - Yeah.
We have enemy ships on approach. I think you better get up here.
They'll probably come down and take the ship.
Launch Fighters. Set up a killing zone at surface plus one mile.
We need to get up there. If we lose the Excalibur, we're screwed.
Besides, I just got this ship.
I don't wanna lose it my first week on the job. They'll dock my pay.
Captain, this is Trace. I can get you there. Meet me at the pickup point.
I'm on my way.
Wait, what about us?
They're protecting this place, so there's someone else here.
Someone in charge. Can you find him?
Not a problem. Do what you have to do. We'll take care of the rest.
I told you.
I will be here when you need me.
What the hell?
Don't complain. We can use all the cover we can get.
It'll keep the enemy from knowing how many of us there are.
He's here.
Last Cruiser is on an intercept.
She's gonna ram us. Forward guns out of commission.
Ready main guns. Prepare to fire.
Fire.
Enemy has been destroyed.
One minute to power rebuild.
Getting a signal from our team on the ground.
They've eliminated the opposition and captured the Drakh captain.
Mission accomplished.
No, not yet. The mission's just beginning.
But as first days on the job go, it wasn't too bad.
Tell them to come home.
What did he say?
It's rough. I've had to approximate a few things.
I'm still trying to figure out their use of the intransitive verb.
But basically, he considers himself a prisoner of war.
He says that he will not cooperate, and he will not betray his people...
and that he will not answer any questions.
That's fine.
For starters, we have his ship...
and once we've analyzed the delivery system...
used to drop the plague without infecting her crew...
we'll know how to contain this thing. As for him...
there are plenty of people back on Earth who want to talk to him.
They'll make sure he cooperates.
So you understand us.
Yes, we're sending you back to Earth.
And once there, you'll be exposed to the same plague you used on us.
So if we don't find a cure before the five years is up...
you go when Earth goes.
And when your world is gone...
who will support you?
Who will you serve?
Who will you be?
- Captain. - Lieutenant, good.
That shuttle pilot that brought me here, Trace?
He's good. See if he'd like to sign on. I think we can use him.
And send a message to Marsdome.
Tell them I want Mr. Eilerson on the team, as well.
Him?
Captain, from what I can tell, he's a pain in the ass.
Yes, he is...
but we're going to need a xeno-archaeologist and linguist.
And he knows his stuff.
He may be a pain in the ass, but he will be our pain in the ass.
Yes, sir. Captain, that message you asked about.
We tracked the source code to this location.
It's not far from here. Does it mean anything to you?
Yes.
I almost died there nine years ago.
Don't go.
Don't leave me here.
Set course for this sector. Let me know when we're ready to jump.
I'll be in my quarters.
And I just wanted to let you know what was going on.
I don't know when I'll be back.
Mom always said that, being the oldest, I'd have to look after everyone someday.
"Especially your sister Jenny. You know how she is. "
You came out just fine, Jen.
Now I have to do my part.
We'll be back when we've found a cure, and we will find it.
I wanna be there when my niece starts her first day of school.
- Send message. - Confirmed.
I remember you.
You're a Technomage.
You use technology to simulate the effects of magic.
You were leaving known space with the rest of your kind...
and you found me after my ship was destroyed.
You saved my life.
What are you doing here?
I was having too much contact with your kind.
They said I was endangering the others.
That I risked exposing our hiding place.
So they asked me to leave.
You've been watching me. Why?
I've been penalized before for helping other people.
I've been trying to decide whether or not I should risk it again.
If you were involved...
I would consider it...
if you should ask.
Then I'm asking.
With your skills, you could be a huge asset to us.
I'd like you to come with me.
What do you want?
To find a cure for the Drakh plague before it wipes out all life on Earth.
Where are you going?
Anywhere I have to.
Who do you serve and who do you trust?
I don't know.
Then I will go with you.
Subtitles subXpacio and TusSeries