Anything yet?
How about you?
Right.
I found a way in half an hour ago. I guess I just forgot to tell you.
- Silly me. - What did it say again?
I've already told you.
It says the same thing over and over again...
in the 40 different languages that I've been able to identify...
in the, what, 12 hours we've been working on this thing?
I don't care what your sources say about this being a place of healing.
- It's not worth our time. - Maximilian.
Nothing we've got can cut through it, we can't dig under it...
the walls go straight down for 50 feet, the only way in is to blow the doors...
and that'll just destroy anything of value on the inside.
- We really are... - Maximilian.
Now that I have your attention, be a good fellow and humor me.
What did it say again, precisely?
"Enter freely through the Path of Sorrows."
Thank you.
Waste not, want not.
So we've searched the area.
The only paths leading here are the ones we've made...
so I really don't know what this so-called Path of Sorrows...
is supposed to be.
All roads intersect with the Path of Sorrows.
Sooner or later.
Haven't you found a way in yet?
No. I have used every trick I know. I've tried everything.
So you've failed.
Have you ever failed before?
Has there ever been a time when it mattered to you desperately...
to find a way through a wall like this, and you failed?
- Yes. - And did someone's life depend on it?
- Yes. - And did you swear...
that you would never fail again in their memory...
and if so, how does that make you feel?
Stop.
Ripped By mstoll
Thank you.
Coming?
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 have to.
Who do you serve and who do you trust?
You know, what you did back there...
that was unfair.
We had to enter through the Path of Sorrows.
It had to be sincere, in case we were being watched.
That's not the point.
Look, you know me, Galen.
You know me like few ever have, or ever will...
and you used that knowledge unfairly.
No. What I said required no special knowledge.
We are, all of us, afraid of failing...
deep down, where we think no one can see it.
Tell me something...
have you ever apologized for anything you've done?
Just the once.
And, typically...
it came far too late to matter.
Over here.
What is it?
I'm not sure. I can't get through the outer shell.
I'm not picking up any other rooms or passages.
This would appear to be all there is.
It doesn't appear to be a mechanism of any kind.
More like a stasis bubble.
Stand by to jump.
- Now, get us the hell out of here. - It's coming in.
Captain?
Are you all right?
Yeah, fine.
Something inside there looked at me, and...
And what?
I'm not sure.
This is all there is. What do you want us to do with it?
We can't just leave it here.
If there is something alive in there...
it's trapped. No food, no water.
We're taking it back with us.
- Are you sure that's such a... - Now.
What's with him?
Haven't you noticed by now?
He never walks away from a distress signal...
or abandons someone who might be in trouble.
He never leaves anyone behind.
Why?
I don't know.
He never talks about it.
All decontamination protocols are applied.
Circle scans show no unstable particles...
Whatever's inside...
what if it's being held there against its will?
Maybe it's been imprisoned. It could be dying.
- That's what we're trying to determine. - I know.
It's just that...
It's nothing, sir. Good night.
Deck 14.
Flight deck's back that way.
I thought you said that you'd be leaving once we got what we came for.
Yes.
I did.
But you're not leaving?
No. I'm just here.
We, all of us, have to be somewhere.
This place seemed to be as good as any.
You mean, you've been riding around in here all night?
You like going nowhere at 120 miles an hour?
Of course. That is man's natural condition.
I was thinking about Matthew's reaction to the object we found.
He seems quite drawn to it.
He's curious.
I think people like him are born to ask questions.
That implies a directed universe.
There is no planning...
no design to our lives.
Odd.
Given your profession...
I figured you'd be the one person who'd believe otherwise.
I think this is where I get off.
Metaphorically, metaphysically...
and literally.
But do go on riding.
Go around enough times, and with any luck...
you might come to the same conclusions I have.
Good night.
I know you're in there.
Who are you?
I don't know what you're saying...
but I know what you're saying.
We're all in pain, one way or another.
At least, I've never met anyone who wasn't.
What, that's it?
You don't get the right answers, so you withdraw?
What do you expect?
The truth?
Great. So, if I say, "Yeah, I'm in pain"...
so what? What's it to you? You don't even know me.
- What the hell is it doing out here? - Unknown, sir.
There shouldn't be anything out here but us.
Damn it, something out here is shooting at us, Lieutenant.
Gideon. C Deck has been holed.
The automatic repair systems are shot, and we're losing pressure.
We need you to take an EVA team and fix it.
Aye, sir.
Moving 10 degrees off axis. Going to check out the damage.
Roger that.
Helm, this is EVA One. What the hell is going on?
Stand by to jump.
- Now, get us the hell out of here. - It's coming in.
No!
Computer.
Status. How much air do I have left?
Estimate remaining air supply at 30 minutes.
Open a channel.
Mayday.
I repeat, mayday.
This is Ensign Matthew Gideon of the Earth Alliance destroyer Cerberus.
To unidentified ships, I need your help. My ship has been destroyed.
I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know...
if you can understand me...
but in 30 minutes, I'll be dead...
and there will be no one left to speak for the people who died here.
You have to help me.
Don't go.
Rest.
You're safe now.
Who are you?
Galen.
- And this ship you allegedly saw... - I saw it. It destroyed my ship.
But you have no evidence and it doesn't match any known silhouette.
I know. It's... It may have been a first-contact situation.
Did Captain Ross invoke first-contact protocol?
I don't know. I wasn't there.
Then you say you were picked up by another unidentified ship...
- and that's how you got to Omega Seven? - I think so. It's...
I remember being picked up, but that's all.
He saved me. Said his name was Galen.
Human?
Maybe. I'm not sure.
President Clark wants this cleared up as soon as possible.
Our investigation indicates the Cerberus was destroyed...
when her jump engines malfunctioned.
- That's not true. I saw it hit. - What you saw...
or think you saw was the result of carbon dioxide poisoning.
- Shock. Trauma. - Then how did I get out of there alive?
I don't know, Ensign. That's for you to explain, not us.
I'll raise another 100.
Too rich for my blood, Lieutenant.
- I don't have 100. I've only got 50. - Stake's 100. Call or fold.
Would you accept some collateral?
It depends. What have you got?
I'm told it's old.
Real old.
Older than mankind, even.
I only got it a little over a year ago.
I was different then.
It's an apocalypse box.
Have you ever heard of an apocalypse box?
It gives you an edge.
It knows things no one else knows.
It's worth a lot more than what's here...
but I'd be willing to put it up for collateral...
if you'll accept it.
All right.
What have you got?
Sorry.
No.
It's all right.
It's over.
It's yours.
I don't have to...
You don't know what it's been...
It lies, you know? You know that? It lies.
You have to be very careful, because it lies.
Not all the time.
Just enough, so that you...
- Frederick, what happened? - He ran right in front of my skimmer.
I couldn't stop in time.
It's not my fault.
- You'll be okay. We'll get a doctor. - No.
No doctor.
I'm free.
Don't you understand?
I'm free.
There's no other way out.
You see...
You pulled that out of me.
Okay, now you know about the box and my ship.
What's next, blackmail? Selling the information to others? What?
Nothing.
He never leaves anyone behind.
He never talks about it.
Are you all right?
Is there anything that I can do to help?
Are you in any pain?
It's a great day for the PSI Corps, John. A great day for all telepaths.
We have struck deep at the Resistance and captured most of their leaders.
That's great, sir.
We weren't as polite with them as we might have been...
but when you have troublemakers pitting brother against brother...
telepath against telepath, it's a little hard to be sympathetic.
We expect to have this wrapped up in a few days.
Some of the top people in the Corps are coming here to oversee...
the final stages of the war...
so most of the PSI Cops have been reassigned to protective duty.
In their absence...
I need someone I can trust for a very special job...
and I believe that you are that person, John.
I'll do my best, sir.
I know you will, son.
This is a very special case.
One of the leaders of the Resistance.
She's a high-powered P-12.
Since all the PSI Cops of equal power are tied up...
we've got her on sleepers to control her abilities...
and make sure she can't influence anyone.
Most of the medical staff are P-1s and P-2s...
so I wanted someone a little stronger to administer the sleepers.
Once this is over...
we'll send her to the research facility at Syria Planum...
for further examination.
Give her the drug once every two hours...
until this is over.
Then we can turn our attention to our real struggle with the normals.
I'll check back with you later...
to make sure everything is okay.
Yes, sir.
Why are you doing this?
I'm not supposed to talk to you.
No, I suppose not.
Funny, isn't it?
An organization of telepaths and no one's allowed to think for themselves?
I know it's wrong to murder...
and that's what you and the Resistance have been doing.
You mean, like what you're doing to me now?
- I'm not... - You're an accomplice.
That makes you an accomplice.
They'll send me back, and they'll kill me...
and they'll keep killing anyone who opposes the Corps.
- That's not true. - No?
You have the clearance.
Check the status on the other Resistance leaders...
who've been sent back home.
They're dead. All of them.
- Maybe they deserved to die. - For what?
The crime of defending ourselves?
For trying to be free of the Corps?
Don't you ever want to be free?
Don't you dream of living the life you want to live?
Not imprisoned behind the Corps...
What if it's being held there against its will?
It could be dying.
Last night I checked the records.
Even slipped into a few files I'm not authorized to see.
Thought I'd go in and prove you wrong.
But I wasn't.
They're all dead, aren't they?
What are a few more lives, if the Corps goes on?
So what if you never breathe free for the rest of your life...
however long that is?
Because sooner or later, we'll win.
If you help them, my death...
and the death of everyone who follows me will be on your hands.
- There's nothing I can do. - Then don't do anything.
If you do nothing, you have nothing on your conscience.
Let whatever happens happen.
You don't have to help them.
John, good. I was looking for you.
Has the prisoner said anything to you?
No, sir. I mean, nothing important.
- Pleading for her life... - Yes. That's to be expected.
We just had a report from the field.
Our forces hit the main base for the Resistance...
but no one was there.
- Looks like it's been empty for days. - Then where are they?
I don't know, but this worries me.
It says they knew we were coming.
What are you up to?
- What do you mean? - Your base is empty.
The brass can't figure out what's going on.
Good. Then there's still time.
It was the only way to smuggle in a homing device.
You allowed yourself to be captured?
We knew they had a base, but we didn't know where.
We had to find out before we could make our final strike.
So I let them pull me in, hoping to get two minutes alone...
and hoping to find someone like you...
someone with a conscience.
The homing device has a telepathic trigger.
Only I can activate it. Then the others will come.
I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can.
All the important people in the Corps must be here by now.
We're out of time.
You asked if I ever had dreams about life outside the Corps.
Ever since I was a little kid...
I wanted to be in Earthforce...
to be on a starship, exploring the unknown.
But they don't let telepaths in the regular military.
They say there's nothing they can do.
There's always something we can do...
and you just did it.
Thank you.
Now go. Quickly.
Base under attack.
Live free, John. Find your dreams.
No one knows.
I've never told anyone.
I'm so ashamed.
I know you.
I know what you are...
what you are doing to the others.
And we are going to have a little talk...
you and I.
I've examined every record...
every story.
I know what you are.
You leech off other people's emotions.
You batten off sorrow and pain...
the way an insect feeds on the blood of others...
because...
you have no such feelings of your own.
Pleasing me has nothing to do with it.
If you disagree, then tell me.
You in your safe cocoon...
where no food, no water...
not even the outside air can reach.
Tell me.
What sustains you?
Forgiveness?
You live on forgiveness?
I'm not afraid of it.
Only amused at the absurdity of it.
Are you saying that I need you...
to forgive me?
I must forgive...
who?
There is no planning...
no design to our lives.
Galen?
Were you able to get through?
The ship's been destroyed.
I can't call out.
We're stuck on this miserable rock until the others come looking for us.
I'm going to walk to the nearest village.
With any luck they won't know about the trouble here yet.
- It's too far. - I have to try.
We were betrayed, Isabelle.
Sold out by three of our own kind...
lured here, stripped of everything that made us what we are.
There has to be a price.
And is that price that I should die here alone?
You won't die. I won't allow it.
Dearest Galen...
I had planned one day to make a tapestry for you.
A portrait of the universe...
with your picture...
and a microtext dot in the middle...
which would say:
"Center of the universe...
"I am here."
You'll get that chance. Now, you shouldn't talk like that.
I'm dying.
The wound is too deep.
It's my time.
Stop saying that.
I refuse to accept a universe...
that would choose to take you away from me...
now that we've found each other.
How improbable was it that we should meet...
and fall in love...
and spend even this short time together, Galen?
There is a design...
and we are as much a part of it as my love for you.
No one here can undo what has already been done.
Don't leave me to die alone.
I won't.
I'm cold.
Hold my hand.
Listen to me, Galen.
My dearest love...
you have made me happy...
and proud...
and I regret nothing.
My only regret would be...
if the fire that I see in your eyes now...
were to burn your soul to ash in the future.
Your soul is too beautiful for that.
You must learn one day...
to forgive God for his decisions.
I'm sure it would greatly relieve him.
If there is a purpose...
if there is a design...
if there is a way...
after I'm gone...
I will call to you...
and say your name...
and send you a message.
And you will know I was right...
as usual.
Kiss me good night.
Damn you for raising that up before me.
You want me to forgive God?
You want me to forgive the universe for taking the only thing in this world...
that really mattered to me?
There is nothing beyond.
Only the tricks that we play to persuade ourselves otherwise.
If I believed differently...
even for a moment...
then she died because someone...
somewhere decided that she deserved to die, and she did not.
But you do.
- You... - Galen!
You're not a murderer, Galen. Don't do it.
Prepare a shuttle for launch.
We're going to put this back where we found it.
May I ask why?
Because I don't think it belongs to anyone, least of all us.
I think it belongs to whoever needs to find it.
Interesting that you should say "whoever needs to find it"...
instead of "whoever wants to find it."
It's easier not to want forgiveness or to expect it.
You just keep trying to fix the mistake...
so we don't have to ask...
but you end up trying so hard to atone for one set of mistakes...
you overcompensate...
and make new ones...
and then you can never break out of the cycle.
You just keep going round and round.
No way out.
Nowhere to go.
It's a strange thing, Lieutenant.
I have trouble sleeping. I have...
for a long time.
I'm always waking up, walking around, looking at the clock.
Last night...
I slept right through.
First time in years.
Same here.
Maybe that's why he was left here...
as a gift to travelers.
Someone who would never know our names...
never judge, never condemn.
Only forgive...
and leave the rest to whoever came in the door...
to get better...
or walk away.
Maybe.
We should go. They'll be waiting.
You've been cleared for takeoff. You can leave at any time.
- Thank you. - Galen.
We received a message for you a little while ago.
- A message? - Yes.
That's not possible. How could anyone even know how to find me?
I don't know, but the message is incomplete.
It just says your name.
Mainly.
What do you mean, "mainly"?
It says your name and the word...
"love."
The rest of it just got lost in static.
- Could you tell where it came from? - No.
The computer said it didn't come from any specific location.
Just out there, in general, somewhere?
Yes.
Not possible.
I know.
If there is a purpose...
if there is a design...
if there is a way...
after I'm gone...
I will call to you...
and say your name...
and send you a message.
And you will know I was right.
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