Script for Blake

by Chris Boucher

(c) 1981 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a complete dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1992 by Micky DuPree and Betsy Ramsey.

Dramatis Personae

Kerr Avon
Vila Restal
Del Tarrant
Dayna Mellanby
Soolin
Orac
Slave
Roj Blake
Deva
Arlen
Klyn

Uncredited:

Male voice

	[Scorpio launches from the Xenon base.]
TARRANT	All main drives and boosters running. [Explosions detonate the Xenon base. Scorpio leaves orbit.]
SLAVE	All explosive devices have functioned correctly, Master. The base complex has been totally destroyed.
AVON	Thank you, Slave.
VILA	I never liked that place anyway.
SOOLIN	Especially not once the wine ran out.
DAYNA	You know, I still don't think Zukan told the Federation.
VILA	About the wine?
DAYNA	About the location of the base.
TARRANT	Why not? Wouldn't you expect someone who'd betray his own daughter to betray everything else?
AVON	And if he didn't, one of the others will, sooner or later.
SOOLIN	Sooner, definitely. Your anti-Federation alliance wasn't worth spit without Zukan.
AVON	A slight exaggeration.
SOOLIN	You think so?
AVON	Nobody is indispensable.
SOOLIN	You needed a figurehead. He was it. Or am I wrong?
AVON	You are right. But then figureheads aren't too difficult to come by. Any idiot can be one.
DAYNA	Heh. On your feet, Vila. This could be your big moment.
AVON	Any idiot within reason, that is.
TARRANT	You going to tell us what we've got planned, Avon?
VILA	We know what we've got planned. Running away is what we've got planned.
DAYNA	A strategic withdrawal is what we've got planned.
VILA	There's a difference?
TARRANT	Oh, yes. A strategic withdrawal is running away -- but with dignity.
VILA	So lay in a course and let's get the dignified hell out of here.
TARRANT	That isn't the plan anymore, though, is it Avon?
AVON	I think we can do better.
VILA	Does that mean safer?
AVON	In the end, winning is the only safety.
VILA	It doesn't mean safer. I didn't think it would.
TARRANT	So what does it mean?
AVON	It means I think we can find ourselves another figurehead, someone we can use to unify and expand the Rebel Alliance.
SOOLIN	Just like that.
AVON	More or less. He is strongly identified with rebels, you see, and very popular with rabbles. They will follow him, and he will fight to the last drop of their blood. [smiles] Idealism is a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use.
DAYNA	Someone like you.
TARRANT	So where do we find this useable idealist?
AVON	According to Orac, he is on a frontier planet called Gauda Prime.
SOOLIN	Gauda Prime?
TARRANT	You know it?
SOOLIN	Yes, I know it. It's a bad place to be. No self-respecting idealist would be found dead there.
AVON	I imagine that is what HE is trying to avoid: being found dead anywhere.
TARRANT	Look, are you going to stop playing games and tell us who it is, Avon?
VILA	It's Blake, isn't it? You think you've found Blake. [Avon turns away and smiles.] [Sitting beside his campfire, Blake hears a noise and looks up. He moves to lean against a tree.]
BLAKE	Whoever you are, I'll share the food. So long as you stop skulking about out there. [noise repeats] You're not exactly stealthy, are you. I've heard quieter troop transporters.
ARLEN	[O.O.V.] You're looking in the wrong direction.
BLAKE	I know. But at least you're out in the open now, aren't you. [Arlen bounds into the clearing, pointing a gun at Blake.]
ARLEN	If this is a trap, you won't live to see it sprung.
BLAKE	Where did you get that gun?
ARLEN	I won it in a lottery. What do you care?
BLAKE	I don't, so long as it wasn't issued to you.
ARLEN	It's Federation.
BLAKE	That's what I mean.
ARLEN	Do I look like one of theirs?
BLAKE	[walking back to campfire] I can't really tell anymore. [looks back to Arlen] You hungry?
ARLEN	Yes.
BLAKE	So am I.
DAYNA	But Servalan told us he was dead.
AVON	And you believed her?
DAYNA	Well, she had no reason to lie.
AVON	She doesn't need one. It comes quite naturally to her, like breathing.
TARRANT	The last time you went after Blake, it was a trap. We were lucky to get out.
VILA	Cally didn't get out.
DAYNA	And Blake wasn't even there.
VILA	Never had been.
AVON	Do you take me for a fool?
SOOLIN	Only a fool would go to Gauda Prime without a very good reason.
AVON	[activating Orac] Orac, what proof do we have that Blake is on Gauda Prime?
ORAC	That is where his trail ends.
TARRANT	What trail? Explain.
ORAC	The chain of cause and effect amounts to a trail, if you can follow it.
VILA	I can't even follow you.
ORAC	Everything has an effect on everything else around it. It is not easy to trace one line through the pattern of infinity, but in this case, I have. Blake is on Gauda Prime.
TARRANT	How long have you known?
AVON	[smiles] Long enough.
DAYNA	Before Zukan.
AVON	Oh, yes. And the answer to your next question is, yes, I would have left Blake where he was and said nothing if things had gone according to plan.
TARRANT	Oh, I must try and work that into the conversation when we meet him.
VILA	If we meet him.
SOOLIN	Still not convinced?
VILA	You tell me what a line through the pattern of infinity is, and I'll tell you whether I'm convinced or not.
BLAKE	You sure they were bounty hunters?
ARLEN	Well, it's not my irresistible charm that keeps them coming.
BLAKE	How long have they been tracking you?
ARLEN	Long enough. You ask a lot of questions.
BLAKE	Try answering one occasionally, maybe I'll stop.
ARLEN	I've got a better idea. [rises] Thanks for the food. You can keep the Federation gun as payment.
BLAKE	There's no charge.
ARLEN	Arlen pays her debts.
BLAKE	I'll keep the gun. [Arlen backs away from the campfire. She whirls. A bounty hunter jumps out in front of her with a knife and she shoots him. Two more bounty hunters move in. She shoots the first, but the second shoots her in the leg and she drops her gun. She tries to reach it as the bounty hunter approaches. Blake shoots the bounty hunter.]
ARLEN	Give me my gun, and get down, quick. I think there were four of them tracking me.
BLAKE	There were. And then there was one.
ARLEN	You scum!
BLAKE	Don't bother calling me names, girl. Not after the killing you've done. [She tries to reach her gun again but Blake kicks it away.] There's a premium for bringing you back alive, but I'll kill you if I have to. The price for you dead isn't bad, but I'm not a greedy man.
VILA	I can't see Blake doing anything like that.
ORAC	My interpretation of the data leaves little room for error.
VILA	Hunting people for money? Not him.
TARRANT	Avon?
AVON	Why ask me?
DAYNA	Because you and Vila know him. We don't. Could he be a bounty hunter, do you think?
AVON	Does it matter?
TARRANT	Well, it might. There's still a price on our heads from the old days.
SOOLIN	Not on G-P, there isn't.
VILA	G-P?
AVON	I imagine that is what the locals call Gauda Prime, [to Soolin] your home planet.
SOOLIN	I grew up there, yes. But for a home you need a family and mine were murdered when the Federation declared Gauda Prime an Open Planet.
AVON	A general suspension of the penal code.
SOOLIN	That's right.
DAYNA	You mean there's no law at all?
SOOLIN	It's the fast way to get resources exploited, in this case mineral resources.
DAYNA	I don't understand.
VILA	Neither do I. How does junking the law speed up mining?
SOOLIN	G-P was an agricultural world. The settlers were sent there to grow crops, raise timber. They were farmers, my family among them. They were given title to the land.
AVON	And then somebody discovered there was more profit under the ground than there was on top of it, only the farmers were in the way, and the law was on their side. Hence the Open Planet designation.
TARRANT	What, get rid of the law you get rid of the problem? [To Avon] You seem to know a lot about it.
AVON	Orac is an excellent research tool. Do you imagine I would take us in blind?
TARRANT	You've done it before.
DAYNA	What happened to your family?
SOOLIN	When the mining corporations moved in, the farmers moved out. Those that didn't were murdered.
VILA	And it wasn't even a crime.
SOOLIN	Oh yes, it was a crime all right. It just wasn't illegal.
VILA	That's what I meant.
SOOLIN	I hope so.
TARRANT	Planet must have been a draw for every crook and killer in the quadrant.
AVON	A lot of people made a lot of money.
SOOLIN	Some even lived to enjoy it.
AVON	I imagine they are the ones who now want the planet returned to normal legal status.
SOOLIN	You're not serious.
AVON	Orac?
ORAC	A formal application was laid before the High Council on Earth within the last thirty days. I could get you the exact date --
SLAVE	Uh, I don't wish to interrupt, Master --
ORAC	Then kindly don't.
SLAVE	I wasn't talking to you.
ORAC	You were attempting to override a superior system. Be silent. [continues] -- the exact date, if you wish. But the importance of the application lies not in its exact date, but in its general requirements.
TARRANT	Which are?
ORAC	That the citizens of Gauda Prime put their house in order. Law must be established before the benefits of law can be restored.
AVON	It is the day of the bounty hunter. [cut to close-up of Vila] Thieves, [cut to close-up of Dayna, pan to Soolin] killers, [cut to close-up of Tarrant] mercenaries, [cut to close-up of Avon; he smiles] psychopaths, are as unwelcome now as the farmers once were. [Scorpio's alarm goes off.]
TARRANT	Slave, what's wrong?!
SLAVE	Well, nothing is actually wrong, sir, yet.
AVON	Explain the alarm, Slave. [Alarm cuts out.]
SLAVE	I had to get your attention, Master, and I was forbidden to speak unless spoken to.
AVON	All right, you're spoken to. What is it?
SLAVE	I beg to advise you, Master, that we're approaching the planet Gauda Prime. And Scorpio is under attack! [An explosion rocks the flight deck.]
ARLEN	How much further to your flyer? [Blake gestures her on with a wave of his gun; after a few paces, she stops again] I can't walk any further.
BLAKE	Yes, you can.
ARLEN	Why don't you just kill me?
BLAKE	I told you. You're worth more alive. [Arlen whirls, swinging the stick she is using as a cane at Blake. He sidesteps, and she falls and gives a yelp of pain.]
BLAKE	Get up, girl.
ARLEN	Arlen. My name is Arlen.
BLAKE	That's the name they're paying for.
ARLEN	That's right. I made them pay for it. So use it, scum.
BLAKE	Blake. My name is Roj Blake. [Explosions are continuing to rock Scorpio.]
VILA	Who the hell are they?
DAYNA	Who the hell cares?
VILA	They could be making a mistake.
SOOLIN	It doesn't seem to affect their aim. [Cut to shot of gunships pursuing and firing on Scorpio.]
AVON	Burnout on drive two. Overall power loss is thirty-two percent.
TARRANT	Alignment on three and four is drifting.
AVON	This won't hold it for long.
TARRANT	Have we shaken any of them off?
SOOLIN	[looking at monitor] Not exactly.
VILA	Not remotely. There's four more coming on zero two three.
DAYNA	And two more on the reciprocal bearing.
SOOLIN	They'll have us in strike range in twenty-five seconds.
TARRANT	We're running out of options. [Gauda Prime appears on the main viewscreen.]
AVON	Powerdive the atmosphere. Fake it. Make it look as though we're out of control.
TARRANT	I may not have to fake that.
AVON	Do it!
TARRANT	All right, everybody, stand by for a rather sudden visit to Gauda Prime. [The gunship pursuit falls off as Scorpio makes a run for the planet.]
SOOLIN	They're not following us down.
DAYNA	They're breaking away, all of them.
VILA	They're falling for it.
TARRANT	So are we.
AVON	It was a calculated risk.
DAYNA	What's wrong?
AVON	There isn't enough power to get us back out.
TARRANT	Or enough control to land.
VILA	You mean we really are going to crash?!
SOOLIN	No wonder they were convinced!
VILA	There must be something we can do!
AVON	I'll accept suggestions!
VILA	How does "Abandon ship!" grab you?
TARRANT	Well, it's a neat trick if you can do it!
VILA	We can use the teleport!
AVON	He's right.
DAYNA	What, at this speed?
AVON	Do you want to wait around until we hit something soft? Come on, you're wasting time.
SOOLIN	Another calculated risk?
DAYNA	Try and get the sums right this time.
AVON	Are you ready?
VILA	No, but do it anyway!
AVON	Good luck! [Vila, Dayna and Soolin teleport to the planet surface and start to run. On Scorpio, Avon prepares to move Orac.]
AVON	Orac, on my order I want you to operate the teleport.
ORAC	Very well. But the previous coordinates can only be matched approximately.
AVON	[picking up Orac] Come on, Tarrant. [heads toward teleport]
TARRANT	I can't.
AVON	What?! [approaches Tarrant]
TARRANT	If I leave the controls for a second, she'll flip over and break up.
AVON	[puts Orac down] Slave, take over the flight controls.
SLAVE	I am most humbly sorry, Master, but I can find no flight controls.
TARRANT	It dropped below his tolerance a couple of minutes ago. It's only a computer, Avon. It takes talent to fly a dead ship. Look, there's nothing you can do. You're not a good enough pilot.
AVON	I can see that.
TARRANT	So get the hell out of here, will you? There's no point in both of us dying.
AVON	[picks up Orac again and makes his way to the teleport area] Are you ready, Orac?
ORAC	Of course I am.
AVON	Then do it! [dematerializes] Goodbye, Tarrant. [Avon rematerializes on the planet, and kneels to shield Orac.]
TARRANT	Slave, any crash systems still functioning, put them online.
SLAVE	Yes, sir. Am I to understand that you are going to try and ground the ship, sir?
TARRANT	I'm going to turn it first. [On the planet surface, Vila, Soolin and Dayna continue to run. Vila dives for cover.]
SLAVE	The ground is very close, sir.
TARRANT	I know that! [Scorpio crash lands on Gauda Prime. Tarrant screams.] [Avon stands and looks at the woods all around him. He picks up Orac.]
AVON	All right, Orac, where is the nearest settlement and how do I get to it? [Blake empties a pouch of jewels into his hand, chuckling. Arlen can be seen on a large viewscreen behind him.]
DEVA	Checks are finished. She is who you say she is.
BLAKE	I wouldn't have brought her in if I hadn't made sure.
DEVA	Yes, you're good at this, aren't you.
BLAKE	I'm still alive.
DEVA	According to HER, three of your erstwhile colleagues no longer share that happy condition.
BLAKE	[puts the jewels back into the pouch] HAPPY condition?
DEVA	She says YOU killed one of them.
BLAKE	So?
DEVA	[deactivates viewscreen] Was it necessary?
BLAKE	Yes, Deva, it was necessary. [removes his gun, setting it on the console]
DEVA	One bounty hunter killing another?
BLAKE	It's a competitive profession.
DEVA	That isn't funny.
BLAKE	Neither was Tando.
DEVA	Tando?
BLAKE	Um hm.
DEVA	Ohhh. Oh, it was Tando you killed.
BLAKE	Does it make a difference?
DEVA	He's worse than the people he hunted.
BLAKE	He didn't have a price on him, though, did he?
DEVA	It was only a matter of time.
BLAKE	Isn't everything? Who's next on the list?
DEVA	Uh... [hands him some perspex squares]
BLAKE	Thank you. [The intercom beeps.]
DEVA	[into intercom] Deva.
KLYN	It's Klyn.
DEVA	[V.O.] Yes, Klyn?
KLYN	We've been tracking a ship that tried to run the blockade.
DEVA	[V.O.] Did it get through?
KLYN	There was a full squadron of gunships on its tail when it hit the atmosphere.
DEVA	It didn't, then.
KLYN	Bits of it, maybe.
DEVA	What was it? Do you know?
KLYN	A planet hopper from the scope reading. Might have been Wanderer class. We estimate it must have crashed somewhere in Plantation Five. Do you want a search patrol sent out?
DEVA	Uh, no, just log it.
KLYN	[V.O.] Right. [intercom link breaks]
BLAKE	Chalk up another one to law and order.
DEVA	Smuggler, do you think?
BLAKE	Something like that. Do you know it's getting so you can't make a dishonest living on this planet anymore?
DEVA	That is the object of the exercise.
BLAKE	Hm. I wonder if those gunships challenged him before they opened fire.
DEVA	I doubt it.
BLAKE	Hm? Uh, these two. [hands him two of the perspex boards; Deva punches some buttons] Plantation Five, did she say? [picks up his gun from the console]
DEVA	Yes.
BLAKE	I might just take a swing out in that direction, see if there's anything left.
DEVA	You'll be wasting time.
BLAKE	I'll bear that in mind. [puts his gun back in his belt] [A card comes out of the computer. Deva reads it and hands it to Blake.]
DEVA	Last known locations and probable movements for both subjects, and official authorization to hunt them.
BLAKE	Thank you. [Another card comes out; Deva takes it and reads it.]
DEVA	Hm. You've been given a temporary appointment as a law enforcement officer.
BLAKE	That central computer doesn't care who it makes respectable, does it?
DEVA	It's an inferior model, I'm afraid.
BLAKE	I'll be in touch if I find that ship.
DEVA	Time really is getting short, you know. The representative from the Federation High Council could come at any moment. We can't afford mistakes.
BLAKE	I wasn't intending to make any. [exits]
DEVA	[over the intercom] The bounty hunter is on his way up. Make sure his flyer is fueled and ready to leave, will you?
VOICE	Right. I'll check it. [link breaks]
DEVA	[activates viewscreen] Arlen. Have you anything to say before I decide what to do with you?
ARLEN	I have information.
DEVA	What information?
ARLEN	For my life.
DEVA	What information?
ARLEN	It's about the man who brought me here.
DEVA	What about him? [Blake enters the tracking gallery just as a console alarm goes off.]
BLAKE	Problem?
KLYN	Someone's operating a distress beacon. It's on the official frequency.
BLAKE	Nothing in it for me, then. Outlaws tend not to use distress beacons. [Klyn smiles; Blake chuckles.]
ORAC	I assume you have given some thought to how you will explain your presence here, not to mention my impersonation of an official distress beacon.
AVON	[sitting against a tree, gun in hand] Just keep sending, Orac. I don't particularly want to spend the night out here.
ORAC	You may have to. There is very little daylight left, and search parties are unlikely to operate in this terrain at night.
AVON	[rising] Stick to the distress beacon, Orac. When I want your impersonation of a pain, I'll let you know. [Avon picks up Orac and heads through the woods, first walking, then running.] [It's night. Dayna, Soolin and Vila break into a deserted, rundown shack in the woods.]
VILA	Oh, charming. Really charming.
DAYNA	Oh, stop moaning, Vila.
SOOLIN	It's better than spending a night in the open.
VILA	Are you serious? The state the roof's in, it's the same as spending a night in the open.
DAYNA	Well, if you'd prefer the trees, feel free to go. Don't let us stop you.
VILA	I'd prefer a city, but I'd accept a town. In fact, I'd settle for some indication that we weren't the only people left alive in this miserable tree sanctuary.
DAYNA	Look, why don't you go and collect some firewood, hm?
VILA	Because it's dark out there.
SOOLIN	Surely you're not afraid of the dark.
VILA	Only when it's unilluminated. What's that?
DAYNA	All right, Vila, you've made your point.
VILA	No, listen. [flyer becomes audible]
DAYNA	What is it?
SOOLIN	Flyer, coming fast.
VILA	Flyer, as in transport?
SOOLIN	As in transport.
VILA	Well, let's get out there and attract their attention.
DAYNA	No --
SOOLIN	Wait a minute, Vila.
VILA	What do you mean, wait! That's the sound of civilization.
SOOLIN	Not necessarily!
VILA	It's got to be better than this!
DAYNA	Vila!
SOOLIN	I wouldn't bet my life on it! [They scramble for cover as the flyer approaches, seems to hover for a moment, then departs.]
VILA	They might have been friendly.
DAYNA	They might have come to apologize for shooting down Scorpio, but it doesn't seem likely, does it.
VILA	All right. So who do you think they were, Soolin?
SOOLIN	I've no idea, Vila. But one thing I do know: if you want to survive on this planet you have to assume that everyone is out to get you.
VILA	I always assume that wherever I go.
SOOLIN	The difference is, on Gauda Prime you'll be right. [Meanwhile, Tarrant lies unconscious in Scorpio's wreckage.]
SLAVE	Sir? Are you still not awake, sir? I would be most grateful if you could try to stir yourself and listen to my report. My emergency power cells are virtually exhausted, I'm afraid. There is a flying vehicle approaching, sir. I'm sorry, but I will have to close down now. Crash damage and power loss make it impossible for me to continue. May I express the humble hope that the same is not true for you, Tarrant. [A flyer approaches and fires into the wreckage. Tarrant crawls away from the blasts.]
BLAKE	[O.O.V.] Lie still.
TARRANT	Who's that?
BLAKE	Let them think you're dead. Plasma ammunition is scarce. You're lucky that you weren't hit. They won't want to waste any more.
TARRANT	Who are they?
BLAKE	Gun runners.
TARRANT	[to himself] Gun runners? [to Blake] Why would gun runners be shooting at me?
BLAKE	They're not. They're shooting at me. [Blake fires at the flyer. It crashes and burns.] [While Vila is feeding sticks into the stove, two gun-toting bounty hunters enter the shack. One attracts Vila's attention, and when he turns away, the other knocks him unconscious. The two bounty hunters prepare to club the sleeping Soolin and Dayna with their gun butts.]
AVON	[O.O.V.] I wouldn't do that, if I were you. [From the doorway, Avon shoots one of the bounty hunters. The second one fires at him and misses. Avon shoots him.]
DAYNA	What happened? Avon?
AVON	The fire was stupid. Putting Vila on guard was suicidal. What's the matter, is staying alive too complicated for you?
SOOLIN	It's beginning to look that way. How did you get here?
AVON	I teleported and I walked, just like you did.
SOOLIN	Is he dead? [Vila moans.]
DAYNA	No more than usual. He'll recover. What about them?
SOOLIN	They're dead, all right. [Avon retrieves Orac from the brush where it's been hidden.]
VILA	What hit me?
DAYNA	Don't worry, Vila, they went for your least vulnerable spot.
VILA	Oh, my head.
DAYNA	Exactly. So who are they?
AVON	Bounty hunters. I did warn you there were a lot of them about.
DAYNA	You didn't say the woods were full of them.
SOOLIN	Do you know how they found us?
AVON	They have heat tracers in their flyer. At night the equipment is sensitive enough to pick up normal body heat within a radius of two miles. You can imagine what they made of that. [indicates the stove]
ORAC	Their inboard computer almost rejected the data as too gross to be correct.
SOOLIN	Did you find out what they were doing in this area, Orac?
ORAC	They came to investigate my distress signals, naturally.
DAYNA	Naturally. You wouldn't have set us up, by any chance, would you, Avon?
SOOLIN	Now that is an unattractive idea. I really could be quite annoyed if I thought we'd been the bait in a trap you'd laid for them, Avon.
VILA	Where's Tarrant?
AVON	I had no idea it was you. And it shouldn't have been. As a matter of interest, you've been walking in the wrong direction if you want to get out of this forest.
VILA	I asked where Tarrant was.
AVON	Still, that's no longer a problem. [nudges one of the bounty hunters with his foot] We just inherited a flyer.
VILA	Avon, if you're here, and Orac's here, how did Tarrant get off the ship? [Avon gives Vila a hard stare.] [Blake examines a teleport bracelet. Tarrant drinks something and coughs.]
BLAKE	You feeling better?
TARRANT	A little.
BLAKE	[tries on the bracelet] Whose ship is this?
TARRANT	Why? You thinking of making an offer for it?
BLAKE	[discards the bracelet] Want to tell me your name, then?
TARRANT	Not particularly.
BLAKE	Hm. I did just save your life.
TARRANT	You just saved YOUR life. It was you they wanted, if you remember.
BLAKE	Actually, uh, [fishes out pouch] it was these they wanted. [tosses the pouch; Tarrant catches it] They had some quaint idea I was going to pay for consignment of arms in advance. [Tarrant pours some gems out and looks at them] I had some quaint idea they were trying to cheat me.
TARRANT	[replaces the gems in the pouch] Yes, well, it's difficult to tell who you can trust these days. But as tests go, isn't THAT [indicates Blake's gun, which is beside him] and THIS [holds up pouch] a bit obvious? [tosses pouch back; Blake catches it]
BLAKE	Maybe. It's getting light. Shall we go? [Blake extends his hand and Tarrant takes it. Blake pulls him up. Tarrant stumbles and grunts.] [It's daylight. Avon, Dayna, Soolin and Vila head down a trail.]
VILA	Why did they land it so far away?
SOOLIN	Presumably they thought the noise would alert someone.
AVON	In your case, they could have put it down on the roof without any trouble.
ORAC	Avon, the other flyer has just lifted off.
DAYNA	The other flyer? What other flyer, Avon?
AVON	Our guide. Come on, we don't want to lose him. [Tarrant and Blake are aboard Blake's flyer, in flight.]
TARRANT	So how far is this base of yours?
BLAKE	We'll be there soon enough.
TARRANT	We'd be there a lot sooner if your computer stuck to direct line of flight. Is the constant change of direction for my benefit?
BLAKE	No. [Avon and company board the flyer.]
ORAC	The other flyer appears to be maneuvering to conceal its true course.
VILA	Because of us?
AVON	Not unless the pilot is clairvoyant.
DAYNA	Well, why, then?
ORAC	From the programming of the inboard computer, it is standard procedure.
AVON	Just keep monitoring. [The flyer lifts off.]
TARRANT	A random program.
BLAKE	It's an old smuggler's trick.
TARRANT	Did you learn it from an old smuggler?
BLAKE	No, from a young one, actually. Her name was Jenna.
TARRANT	What happened to her?
BLAKE	She tried to run the blockade once too often. Happens to all of them eventually.
TARRANT	You made the capture?
BLAKE	Nobody made the capture. She hit the self-destruct. And when it blew, she took half a squadron of gunships with her. Brace yourself.
VILA	How does it feel to be home?
SOOLIN	I wouldn't know.
ORAC	The target flyer has entered an underground silo.
AVON	Can you pinpoint it? Exactly?
ORAC	I can do better than that.
DAYNA	Aren't you always?
ORAC	My capacities are frequently underutilized, it's true.
AVON	Just tell us what you're offering, Orac.
ORAC	When we reach the appropriate coordinates, I can simulate the necessary signals to open the silo and allow this flyer to enter.
DAYNA	Oh, sounds good.
VILA	No it isn't. Sooner or later we're going to drop into one of these holes in the ground and never come out.
AVON	Sooner or later, everyone does that, Vila. [In the tracking gallery, Blake and Tarrant approach Klyn, who is watching a monitor.]
BLAKE	You still on watch?
KLYN	I decided to stay on. There's too much activity up there somehow.
BLAKE	Like what?
KLYN	I don't know. It's not something I can pin down precisely. One or two transports have crossed without clearance, some flyers that weren't planned for the area, that sort of thing. Could be the Federation's observer's finally arrived, of course.
BLAKE	Yes, that's probably it. [Blake and Tarrant head down the corridor toward Deva's office.]
TARRANT	Gauda Prime seems to give law and order a certain priority.
BLAKE	You could say that.
TARRANT	Is that the main control center?
BLAKE	Deva can tell you more about that than I can. [They enter Deva's office.]
DEVA	Well, now, bounty hunter, that was a short trip even by your standards.
BLAKE	Short, but profitable. [grabs Tarrant's gun] Even by my standards.
TARRANT	Was it something I said?
DEVA	Who is he?
BLAKE	His name is Tarrant. [to Tarrant] Your flight computer mentioned it whilst you were unconscious.
DEVA	Tarrant...
BLAKE	No, I wouldn't run it through the computer just yet, Deva. You see, this one has a very high Federation price on his head.
DEVA	Are you sure?
TARRANT	Oh, give the man credit for knowing his trade, dirty though it is.
BLAKE	He also has several associates with Federation prices, and one of them is particularly valuable.
TARRANT	And all of them are particularly dead.
BLAKE	In which case, that other flyer was merely a coincidence. A coincidence, however, that might just have analyzed a random flight program?
DEVA	And the significance of that is...?
BLAKE	A very useful device called Orac. Why don't you sit down, Tarrant? If it is Avon, we shouldn't have much longer to wait.
TARRANT	[to Deva] Doesn't it occur to you to wonder where he's got all this information from?
DEVA	Give the man credit for knowing his trade.
TARRANT	Oh, surely you're not that naive.
BLAKE	You're wasting your breath, Tarrant. [The intercom beeps.]
DEVA	[into intercom] Yes?
KLYN	[V.O.] There's a flyer just put down in the silo. It had all the right signals, but it isn't one of ours.
BLAKE	Let them through.
DEVA	[into intercom] Let them through. [intercom link breaks] Is that wise?
BLAKE	We don't want them damaged, do we? Get me one security guard. I'll deal with it.
DEVA	[into intercom] Send a security guard to my office, will you?
TARRANT	[to Blake] What on earth happened to you?
BLAKE	Oh, most of it wasn't on Earth, Tarrant. Not what happened to me. [Arlen enters, Blake turns, Tarrant kicks the gun out of Blake's hand, shoves him into Arlen, and bolts out of the room, strongarming Deva on the way.]
ARLEN	Do you want him killed?!
BLAKE	No, of course not! When he knows as much about this as you do now, he'll join us, like you did.
ARLEN	He passed the test, then.
BLAKE	I'm satisfied.
DEVA	These stupid games you insist on playing, Blake, will get someone killed eventually.
BLAKE	I have to test each one myself.
DEVA	No, you don't have to! I set up systems for that. I broke the security codes on their central computer. I got us access to official channels, information, everything we could possibly need! You don't need to be involved at all.
BLAKE	All right, I find it difficult to trust. It's a failing, I admit--!
DEVA	And any one of our people could select the people you've collected. You don't need to do the bounty hunter routine, either!
BLAKE	Indulge me.
DEVA	Do I have a choice?
BLAKE	Oh, there's always a choice, Deva.
DEVA	Not for me, there isn't. I said I'd follow you, and I will, until the Federation's finally destroyed. But if you're killed, where does that leave us?!
BLAKE	With a base, the beginnings of an army!
DEVA	All of it useless if you're not there to lead it.
BLAKE	[removes his gun, setting it on the console] You worry too much, Deva.
DEVA	Somebody has to.
ARLEN	It might be an idea for somebody to start worrying about the one we just lost.
BLAKE	Why? He isn't armed.
ARLEN	I didn't notice that slowing him up.
BLAKE	That's true. Relax, Deva. Nobody's indispensable. [Blake and Arlen exit.] [Tarrant enters the main tracking gallery.]
KLYN	Hey, you. Wait a minute! [Tarrant chokes her into unconsciousness. He's attacked by a technician who has just entered. The alarm starts to go off. Avon, Soolin, Dayna and Vila enter, sans Orac. Avon is carrying a long-barrelled gun. Soolin shoots Tarrant's assailant. Dayna reaches Tarrant first. They all gather around him.]
AVON	I'm glad you made it.
TARRANT	So am I. Avon, I think he's here. [Avon and Vila look at each other]
KLYN	[into intercom] Security personnel to main tracking gallery. Security personnel to main tracking -- [Avon shoots her with his long gun. Blake and Arlen enter. Avon brings the rifle to bear on Blake. Arlen is armed; Blake is not.]
TARRANT	Is it him?
VILA	It's him.
TARRANT	He sold us, Avon. All of us. Even you. [Avon lowers the gun and approaches Blake.]
AVON	Is it true?
BLAKE	Avon, it's me, Blake. [starts to move forward]
AVON	Stand still! [Blake does] Have you betrayed us? Have you betrayed me?!
BLAKE	Tarrant doesn't understand!
AVON	Neither do I, Blake!
BLAKE	I set all this up!
AVON	Yes!
BLAKE	[starts forward again] Avon, I was waiting for YOU. [Avon brings the gun around and fires. Blake is visibly hit. Avon fires again. Blake continues his approach, and Avon fires a third time. Blake stops, but is still standing. Avon swings the gun up to point at Blake's face. As his knees begin to buckle, Blake grabs Avon's arms.]
BLAKE	Avon... [He collapses; Avon lets him go. Blake falls at Avon's feet.]
DEVA	[rushing in] Blake! They've found us! The base is under -- [stops cold at the sight of Blake] Arlen, what happened?
ARLEN	HE happened. [camera indicates Avon; Arlen shoots Deva and he collapses] Be so kind as to drop your guns, all of you. [Three Scorpio guns hit the floor in short order. Avon is still staring at Blake's lifeless body and takes no notice whatsoever. An explosion is heard in the distance.] You and this nest of rebels are now prisoners of the Federation. Your friend Blake said he couldn't tell anymore who was Federation and who wasn't. He was right. He couldn't.
TARRANT	[smiles] You're a Federation agent?
ARLEN	I'm a Federation officer.
VILA	Oh, now, look, I've never been against the Federation. [crosses over to Arlen] I mean, I've only ever been along for the ride. I'm not even armed. You can't kill me. I'm completely harmless and armless. [Dayna goes for a gun. Arlen shoots her. Dayna falls back into Tarrant's arms. He lays her down. Vila whacks Arlen and she falls unconscious. Vila picks up Arlen's gun.]
VILA	[to Arlen] Sorry. [Shots or explosions are now heard nearby. Vila is shot in the back by a Federation trooper. Soolin shoots a trooper, but is shot herself. Tarrant also shoots a trooper, and heads toward Avon.]
TARRANT	Avon! [Tarrant is shot by a trooper. Avon looks up from Blake's body as additional troopers enter the room. Avon watches as the troopers form a rough circle around him. He looks back down at Blake and then straddles Blake's body. He looks up. The alarm stops. Avon slowly raises his weapon. He smiles/ grimaces. Cut to credits as the first of several shots rings out.]

Script Index

Back to B7list page