Space: Above and Beyond s01e14 Episode Script

Level of Necessity

[Breathing Heavily.]
[Cooper Groans.]
It don't go through.
! You better start thinking positive.
I can hear those Chigs that ambushed us crawling up our six.
[Straining.]
I can't go further! I'm stuck! Then cut out the Lincoln Tunnel with your K-Bar, but go! [Explosions.]
- [Straining.]
- [Vanessa.]
Faster, Coop.
! The 23rd got butchered, man.
We'll be next.
Hey! It's opening! [Rumbling.]
- Coop! - [Nathan.]
Coop's down.
! The roof fell in.
! We gotta get him out.
He's got about 30 seconds.
All right, pass it back.
Pull on three.
- Rope's comin' back.
- Ready? One, two, three! - [All Straining.]
- Come on, push.
! - One, two, three! - [Paul.]
Pull.
! - One, two, three! - Pull.
! He's comin:! - [Shane.]
Help, Cooper.
! - Harder.
! One, two, three! [Panting.]
Shake it off.
Move out! We gotta find another way.
- Lightning.
- Charger.
I thought it was human breathing.
- It gets so you can hear an eye blink.
- The Chigs jumped us, sir.
- The other side of that crawl space.
- Who's in charge? - Me.
- We found a passageway before we heard you.
- Gather your people and follow me.
- Move out.
No! - We're not goin' in there.
- What information do you have to offer, Lieutenant? I don't know, sir.
I just feel it.
Something's wrong.
Sir, you gotta get out of there.
Now, sir.
! If I had more time, I would cite you for insubordination.
Lieutenant, get your men and fall in.
- Move out! - No.
- Please believe me.
- Hey, what's your beef? Captain Kremens gave an order.
Now, fall in, grunt.
! - Fall in, now.
! - [Vanessa.]
No.
- We're not goin'in there.
- There's a shaft that goes up.
[Explosions Continue.]
'Phousse, we have orders.
[All Yelling.]
Am I in trouble? [McQueen.]
Lieutenant, according to the others'reports you not only told Captain Kremens the tunnel was dangerous but you contradicted his orders and attempted to physically restrain the rest of the 58th from going down with him.
Those are some pretty extraordinary actions.
And I imagine they're supported by some equally extraordinary reasons.
Why did you refuse to go in that tunnel? What difference does it make, Colonel? - They're alive.
- Who? The 58th, or the 46th? Did you see the enemy? Were you alerted by something? Something you heard, something you smelled? No, no.
It was neither.
You're running out of senses, Lieutenant.
If you didn't see, hear or smell anything- Look, Colonel.
I don't want to sound like- I mean, I don't even know if- Sir I saw the 46th surrounded by these colors.
I know it sounds weird.
I mean, it was weird.
At first, I thought this was some new Chig weapon or maybe an electrical disturbance.
But no one else saw it.
And I-I had the strongest feeling that things were wrong.
- I had to say something.
- You had a gut feeling.
No, it was more than that.
I mean, it scared me.
What are you gonna write on the report? An explanation to explain the unexplainable.
I'll handle it.
Thank you, sir.
Sir? Do you think that there's something wrong- You were in a combat situation I understand the stress.
[Cooper.]
How do you figure 'Phousse knew? She must have heard something we didn't.
It's the only explanation.
You mean you've never had an intuition? - Like that? No.
- [Shane.]
Come on.
Didn't you ever think that you were gonna get a letter from an old friend someone you haven't seen in years, and then one day, you get it? [Paul.]
Once in Vegas at the craps table I just knew the dice was gonna come up six.
I had this little voice inside me saying, "Bet six! Bet six!" Sure enough, I rolled a six.
So I was listening the next time I heard that little voice saying "Bet four.
! Bet four.
!" Well, I sevened out.
That little voice cost me a lot of money.
I heard about this guy in the 3rd Marine Air Wing.
He had this dream.
Said he was gonna die in an airplane crash the next day.
So instead of going on his mission, he decided to take a sick day.
Went to get a haircut instead.
Well, his squadron came back unharmed, no problem.
But there was an accident on the base.
Seems this trainee pilot crash-landed and one of the buildings he took out was the barber shop.
I guess it was his time.
Nothing you can do to change that.
I don't want nobody telling me when I'm gonna go.
I'd ratherjust have it happen, then be all spooked up till the moment I die.
[Door Opens.]
- Hi.
- Hey.
Hey, 'Phousse.
Thanks for today.
I didn't do anything.
How'd you know? Look, it was just a feeling, okay? Haven't you ever had that feeling? [Lubin.]
Yeah, I've had that feeling.
There's a name for it.
It's fear.
But I fought through it and obeyed orders.
And if you'd done the same, maybe my squad wouldn't be dead.
Lubin, we are sorry that you lost your friends.
But you've been assigned to the 58th.
It's time to drive on.
It was a grenade.
They were caught in close quarters.
I'm not talking about the grenade.
I'm talking about her holding everyone back.
How do you know her delay didn't alert the Chigs? Give them enough time to set us up, huh? In my opinion, you should be held responsible for the deaths of my friends.
The deaths of the 46th.
[Woman Over Radio.]
Shuttle 831, you are clear for arrival on Pad 2.
It's to your left, sir.
- [Man.]
Did you file this, Colonel? - I recognize the typos.
I'd like to speak with Lt.
Damphousse.
I wasn't informed that anyone in my unit was under investigation.
I'm just here to conduct a preliminary inquiry.
My report doesn't suggest that she did anything wrong.
Colonel, if you don't mind I'd like to be present when you conduct your inquiry.
I'll speak to Lt.
Damphousse alone.
- Beautiful picture.
- Thank you.
Born in upstate New York.
Graduate cum laude from Cal Tech.
Joined the Corps at 24.
An engineer.
A problem solver.
Comfortable with the quantifiable.
That's kind of like me.
I'm an accountant by training.
People generally like you.
That's a nice thing, isn't it? You care about people, yes? I suppose.
You seem to know quite a bit about me, sir.
Yes.
I do.
There's one thing I don't know, however.
In the tunnels of Daedalus, why didn't you go in? I don't know.
Did it have anything to do with "anomalous intuition"? Who is he? Colonel Matt Burke.
I assume he's the unit inspector.
'Phousse didn't do anything wrong.
- We wanna speak up for her.
- Look.
Unit inspectors only care about the facts.
From what I know about what happened down there he'll attach a rational explanation to Damphousse's action even if he has to make one up, close the file and go away.
So, Lt.
West was 10 feet to your left.
- Yes.
- And where was Lt.
Vansen? Where she was when I told you ten minutes, 50 minutes, two hours ago, sir.
- Do you love your father? - What? Yes, I love my father very much.
Is it true that Lt.
Lubin was the last person from the 46th Squadron to enter the tunnel? Uh-Yes.
Uh-Yes.
At age 16 when you dyed your hair blonde, did your father hit you? No.
- Never? He never hit you? - Never.
Who told you- When the grenade exploded, did you rush into the tunnel to help? Yes.
Who told you I dyed my hair- Upon entering the tunnel, what was the first thing that you saw? I already told you this.
It was- It was just horror.
There wasn't enough of anyone left- - Did your father ever touch you? - What? - Did your father ever touch you sexually? - No! No! Of course not.
I believe you.
What the hell does any of this have to do with my actions in the tunnel? I'm happy to answer any official questions- There's only one more thing that I'd like to ask you to do, and then we're finished.
I don't feel comfortable.
It doesn't matter.
Focus on the target.
What target? Just tell me what you see.
I see two ping pong balls and some cotton over my eyes.
What do you mean? Simply focus on the images that come into your mind.
It's just black.
I see blackness.
Just black.
And-And there are forms of some sort.
Forms.
Or for- flying, maybe.
Yeah, through something.
No, over spires, maybe.
Yeah.
Like a spirit touching the sky.
It's like a free soul soaring.
Soaring.
A gift from God.
Sir, I'd like to take a break.
I'm so tired, I'm about to hallucinate.
Good.
What would you say if you saw someone bend a spoon just by staring at it? I'd say it was a trick.
Mm-hmm.
And if I were to tell you that there are people who can read any file in a locked cabinet without even opening the drawer? - What do you want from me? - What do you think about those people who claim to see the future? I think they're nuts.
That's what I do, Vanessa.
I work with nuts who have special abilities.
Do you believe, Vanessa that humans are actually capable of such things? I'm trained as an engineer.
Everything I've ever been taught tells me that those things are impossible.
That's right, Vanessa.
That's why you've been denying your anomalous intuition.
People used to think that the world was like this.
Flat.
Columbus knew it was round.
People think that time is like this- just a straight line.
We're blind to anything but the present.
But what if time were a circle, and you were at the center of it? And you could see any part that you turned toward.
What if you were another Columbus? What if you had psi powers? But I don't.
You saw this in your mind, Lieutenant.
You described it.
You saw this without the knowledge that you were even looking.
You have a gift, Vanessa.
I think that gift told you not to let the 58th go into the tunnel behind Captain Kremens.
I think that you can harness this gift to save lives.
No.
I can't.
This has never happened before.
It may never happen again.
You have the responsibility to find out if you can to help people, like the 58th before they die.
I can help you do that.
- A circle.
- Again.
This time, don't think about it.
Just act.
- Wavy lines.
- Again.
Don't think.
Just act.
Triangle.
Don't think.
Act.
Just act.
Don't think about it.
Just act.
- Green.
- No.
Again.
- Red.
- Don't think.
Act.
Act.
Just act.
Don't think about it.
Just act.
Just act.
Act.
Don't think.
Act.
Again.
Again.
Don't think.
Just act.
Don't think.
Act.
Sometimes I go to a place, and I feel I've been there before.
Déjá vu.
Doesn't exist.
Your dominant eye simply processes information more quickly than the other.
The slower half of your brain just thinks it's seen something before.
- Oh.
- Your gift- clairvoyant precognition- that's different.
It occurs when the adrenaline level produces enough epinephrine to inhibit the cognitive portion of your brain altogether.
You act without even thinking about it because you have no other choice: Because it matters: Because you've reached your level of necessity.
I just need to get you there.
You're going back to Daedalus.
Geosynchronous satellite LIDAR has discovered a kind of natural cavern approximately 400 meters beneath the surface.
We think it's their munitions depot.
Chigs use it to supply their forces inside our territory.
What we don't know is which tunnel takes you there.
Hunt it down.
Sir, when we're in those tunnels, we're not the hunters.
An APC will insert you at 0530 hours.
You'll be given detonators to use inside the caverns.
Once you set them, rendeyvous at the APC extraction point at precisely 1630 hours.
It's a hit-and-run.
Intelligence reports a Chig division is heading into this sector in 11 hours.
That's when we pull anchor.
- What other squadrons are going in? - Just the 58th.
The casualty rate's just too high.
- No kidding.
- More marines make for more targets.
This way, something moves, you'll know what it is.
But, sir, that's not part of our rotation.
We already served our time in hell.
You're four-for-four in the tunnels.
The brass figures you must know what you're doing.
I also have the following orders.
"Colonel Matthew Burke, Seventh Marine Air Wing "is temporarily assigned in a strictly observatory capacity to any and all missions of the 58th Squadron.
" Make it back.
You set this up.
Why? I have my reasons.
To test me for psi powers? Okay.
Then don't risk their lives too.
They're not your lab rats.
I'm doin' this to save lives, because I believe.
It wasn't always like this.
I was probably more like your, uh- like your Colonel McQueen without the ramrod.
You see, you tick off the old man's wife at a cocktail party and pretty soon you're no longer assistant chief of logistics, Omicron Sector.
[Chuckles.]
Oh, no.
Nope.
You've been promoted backwards.
Deputy director of Psi Ops with your own card table in the basement somewhere in Langley, Virginia.
Then I met some people- people who have what you have.
That thing that convinces me that life isn'tjust yes and no black and white, ones and zeros.
There's a whole other dimension out there.
When you're in the tunnels, you can see into it.
I wanna be there when you do.
Those tunnels are a crawling nightmare.
You have no idea what you signed up for.
I have an idea.
I just wanna see for myself.
Burke's crazy to go down there.
What can he possibly get from this mission? He's with Psi Ops.
What, you mean he's gonna try to read our minds or something? I can't believe that unit's still functional, especially after Karakoram.
- Why? What happened there? - [Paul.]
Back in 2052 the C.
C.
's and our own 3rd Armored were at a standoff across Hindu Kush.
It was winter.
The terrain was impassable.
And our troops should have never left their base in Pishour.
But General Dawson, the former head of the so-called Psychic Intelligence Unit ordered the 3rd Armored through the Ali Budu Pass.
He insisted the C.
C.
's would never expect it.
Well, they did.
the entire 3rd Armored, wiped out.
At his court-martial, they asked Dawson why he disregarded all standard military practice and common sense.
All he could say was, "I had a vision.
" So that's why he's talking to you.
'Phousse, are you psychic? No! No.
Back at the tunnels with Captain Kremens, did you have a vision? No! I'm not psychic.
Whatever it is you are, it's gonna get us all killed.
Lubin, we are going down there because we're marines and we're gonna do a job, period.
Whoa! 'Phousse, you don't have to prove anything, okay? Go ahead, Swami.
Hold up.
It's a psych trap.
Chigs figure we'll be so freaked out by seeing a body part we'll keep crawlin' on our bellies for the next three years.
Meanwhile, they'll save the real trap for someplace we don't expect.
Or maybe, that's what they want us to think.
Come on, 'Phousse.
We've been crawlin'forever.
Have not seen a booby trap yet.
No.
- I don't feel right.
- [Lubin.]
No kidding? We're in Chig territory Nobody feels right.
Admit it.
You're going slow 'cause you're afraid.
Okay, enough! The cavern is supposed to be about 200 meters below us somewhere.
We have to find a way down.
Lubin, you're so hot, lead.
Fine.
At the rate he's going, we'll be able to blow up the ammo dump and be home in time for dinner.
Lubin, stop! I see something.
L- I- No.
! Stop.
! [Screaming.]
Ooh! I hope the Chigs thought yourjoke was as funny as you did.
The point is the same.
If we slow down every time she cries wolf, we're all gonna be greased.
Move out.
What'd you see back there? Did you see the colors? I'm tired.
Lights are playing tricks on me.
It didn't mean anything.
You saw, you acted.
That's good.
Next time, tell me so I can record it.
You don't get it.
There's not gonna be a next time.
I don't want this responsibility.
Oh.
I dream about your responsibility, your gift.
Gift? The greatest liability to a marine is doubt.
That's what I have.
If that's a gift, you keep it.
No.
You'll use your talents, and I'll record them.
We've got to make the others believe.
But I have no idea of what to do or how to summon this thing.
And I'm not gonna be the one to slow us down or get us killed.
Everybody dies.
Not everybody sees.
I wanna see what you see.
That's really why we're down here- for you so you can believe.
The ammo dump's gotta be close by.
No.
No.
Something's- Something's wrong.
We're still 20 meters above target.
These tunnels aren't descending.
- [Clicking Noise.]
- Oh, man.
Chig booby trap.
It's not a mine! You saw this coming, didn't you, Vanessa? I don't know what I'm seeing anymore.
How about a trap door? It's a shallow trench, maybe four feet deep.
Looks clean.
Looks shallow.
- [Slicing Sounds.]
- [Screaming.]
- Get me out! - Damphousse! Compresses! - He's bleeding out! - [Screaming.]
Damphousse! Wang, compresses, morphine, now! Don't think.
Act.
- What do you see, Vanessa? - Damphousse.
! Flames of color on Shane.
Damn it, 'Phousse, why aren't you helping? Everywhere I look, I'm causing them.
Now they're on Nathan.
Now they're on Paul.
[Panting.]
Now they're on Cooper.
Who, Vanessa? Who do you see? I don't know.
Just that- - He's dead.
- Just that one more of us is gonna die.
Hold fire.
Tunnel's cold now! But something sure as hell cut up Lubin.
- So let's track it and kill it.
- There's not enough time.
We gotta rendezvous with APC at 1630.
- Well, then maybe we should start back.
- No.
We search out the ammo dump and destroy it.
The markers will make it easier to get back.
Shane.
I saw these colors, like I did with the 46th.
One of us is gonna die.
I don't wanna hear this.
- Look, Coop- - No, don't even look at me.
- I don't cause this.
- You can't stop it.
Your colors didn't save Lubin, and you want us to trust you now? - Well, I wasn't sure before.
Now I am.
- Stop it! Command knew when they sent us here that some may not come back.
Your vision doesn't change our orders.
We put our trust in training.
Everybody got that? You, especially.
Lt.
Vansen, I've recorded all of Lt.
Damphousse's visions.
So, my mission is completed.
Your orders are that you're an observer.
Now, lock and load.
Move out! [Shane.]
Chig prints.
- Damphousse.
! - Hold your fire! - A sentry? - Maybe for the ammo dump? Yeah, we must be close.
[Vanessa.]
Shane, this is it.
I know someone's gonna die.
- 'Phousse, look- - I'm trying to save us.
How? How? By telling us that somebody's gonna die? Even if we are trained to die, we have got to believe that we're gonna live.
Help with that.
Set your detonators.
Ten minutes, we meet back here.
Ready? Ready, hack.
[Gasps.]
- Eight minutes.
- We have plenty of time to get back to the tunnel by then.
- Move! - Wait.
Where's Vanessa? It was her that she saw.
- Wait! - The colors.
Vanessa! Aah! Burke! Aw, man.
Coop, one minute! - Come on, Burke.
Stay with us.
- Get him out of here! [Shouting, Indistinct.]
[Shouting Continues.]
[Coughing.]
I guess you were right.
Someone was gonna die in there.
No, not yet.
Come on.
Hold on.
I was, uh- I was flattered when you called me "one of us.
" I saw what you see.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
That'll be all.
This recorded my vision.
What do you wanna do with it? Well, if I can see people's deaths, maybe I'm responsible for stopping them.
Whoever gave you the power to see them may not have given you the power to stop them.
You're only so responsible, Vanessa.
And then, it's out of your hands.
[Vanessa's Voice.]
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

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