Star City (2026) s01e08 Episode Script

1
[Lakshmi] My daddy's pakoras are the best.
My mother used to take
an entire bowl of chutney
and then hide in the cupboard
so nobody would see him eat it.
My mother used to get so jealous.
And when we were younger,
she used to make these rotis with honey.
They were so sweet and soft,
and the honey would melt on the roti,
and you'd eat them
whilst you were studying.
Please stop.
You're just torturing yourself.
You're the one who keeps sending
that stupid code to nobody.
Unless you've found some magical
way to repair the comm systems.
[sighs] I don't know
why you bother, Sasha.
I just guess it might be nice to have
someone meet us when we land back home.
Would be a shame to have spent
nine months in this prison
only to die alone
in the middle of nowhere.
They won't be happy to see us.
- Valya said that--
- Don't say his name.
Sasha, what happened,
it wasn't your fault.
I told you,
I don't want to talk about him.
[alarm blares in distance]
[Valya coughs]
Fire's out.
[coughs] The depress
must have killed the flames.
- [Valya] Sasha! You all right?
- [Sasha] I'm okay. I'm okay.
I think the depress stopped
but there's another master alarm.
Check the panel.
[Valya] Atmosphere's compromised.
Pressure loss slowing,
but particulates dangerously high.
Lakshmi, make sure you check
the cabin pressure.
Tell me what it says.
413 millimeters of mercury and rising.
[Valya] Good, the depress has reversed,
but our flight computers,
it's completely fried. That's useless.
That means we can't talk
to Ground Control.
- We're fucked.
- [coughs]
[Valya coughing]
I'm sorry.
I never wanted this to happen.
- [Sasha grunting]
- [Valya grunting]
- Sasha!
- Traitor.
Sasha! Sasha, stop it! Stop it, Sasha!
Sasha, stop it! Sasha!
What is wrong with you, Sasha? Stop it.
Don't look at me!
What is wrong with you?
Stop it! Stop it!
- [growls]
- Get off!
[theme song playing]
[humming]
Hey! Hey, it's not ready yet!
Tastes ready to me.
If you eat it all before we sit,
we'll have nothing.
Come on, hey, we've made do before.
We can move on straight
to dessert after that.
What do you think? Hmm?
After supper,
we should walk past the pond again.
Hmm?
Those cherry trees are starting to flower.
[knocking on door]
What?
What now?
Someone is here to see you.
We're about to sit down to
have something to eat. I can't--
Hey, I'm sorry, Chief,
I would have called ahead, but
Sergei.
Come in, come in.
Mind your head.
Galina, Galina.
Look who's here.
So nice to see you, Comrade Nikulov.
And you too, Galina. You too.
Would you care to join us for supper?
Oh. Please.
We're allowed visitors until sundown.
Only if it's not too much
of an imposition.
- No, not with us.
- [Galina] No, not at all.
- There's something I need to--
- Mm-mmm.
Only, I hope you're feeling better.
Yes, yes, yes.
I'm-I'm feeling much better. Thank you.
Um, Galina, why don't you show Sergei
how you do your beautiful dumplings.
My favorite.
Yes, yes. Well, first,
you combine the flour and the salt.
And then
And then mix in an egg.
And-And the salt.
Keep mixing.
ALIVE
Making sure that the egg is well-mixed
before you add it into the flour.
Otherwise you might have some lumps.
So, you might need to add more
flour.
We made it to Venus, Galina,
can you believe it?
We made it to Venus.
Does anyone else know?
Cosmonaut Belikova, on Salyut-1.
She's the one who helped me confirm
where the signal came from.
Would you care for some more mushrooms?
Yes. Thank you.
They're on track to land in Kazakhstan
in less than three days time.
They can't land in the Soviet Union.
After what they've done,
they'll end up in prison or worse.
We need to find a way to
adjust their trajectory.
How? They'll have no propellant left.
[Chief Designer] Alter their entry angle.
If they can change their roll attitude
and come in steep enough,
the drag will cause them to alter
their course and land the craft elsewhere.
The slightest miscalculation--
I will get you the calculations, Sergei.
But you need to work out how to get them
to Venera without Star City finding out.
You can't be serious.
We've reached Venus?
Would the craft even be able to withstand
the increased thermal load on re-entry?
I don't know.
But they need our help.
I would myself
but I'm no longer assigned to a
to a console.
We'd be helping them get out.
Mironov
Yes, and he will pay
for that when they land.
But there's no reason that the other two
should have to suffer any more
than they already have.
The Chief Designer asked for you
specifically.
He's under house arrest, how can--
No, I saw him.
And look, he's gonna help us out
with the calculations, but we
we need you to transmit them
up to Belikova on Salyut.
Why?
Because anything that we send to Venera
from down here can be intercepted.
But there are points on Salyut's orbit
where they lose complete
contact with Star City.
- During loss of signal.
- Yes.
So Belikova can transmit freely to Venera,
as long as she's able to gain access
to their encrypted transmitter.
It's brilliant.
But it's also treason.
I don't
He mentioned me by name?
Yes.
By name.
[sniffles]
All right.
- For the Chief Designer.
- For the Chief Designer.
[Valya] Ah.
Oh, no.
Valya, what's wrong?
No, no, no, no.
[Lakshmi] Is everything okay?
I couldn't see it
until we were close enough to Venus,
but the outgassing
from the depressurization
just must have changed our trajectory.
Not much, but enough.
Valya, what do you mean?
Valya.
[Sasha] Valya, can you answer us, please?
We're gonna miss Venus.
What?
But if we miss Venus,
we can't turn back towards Earth.
No, we'll just, uh, keep on going
until we're pulled in
towards the sun.
Well, let's do another burn.
Correct our path.
We don't have any propellant to do that.
Valya, there must be something we can do.
[babushka] Ten kopeks.
These are soft.
The drought.
- There's always a drought.
- [groans]
- [Sergei] H-How much are these?
- Ten kopeks.
Do-Do you have any
do you have any fresh ones?
Let me go check the back.
[clears throat]
- Now leave him be.
- Galina, no.
Please.
If he gets pulled back into that world,
it will kill him.
[Stepanov] Salyut-1.
Star City, come in.
[Anastasia] Go, Star City.
[Stepanov] Our friend is requesting
you run a routine power cycle
on the UHF transmitter system.
Says you can run it
during the upcoming loss of signal.
Sending you the sequence momentarily.
[cosmonaut] Star City, Salyut-1.
Commencing surface photography
of suspected missile site 20-7-1-9-2.
[Stepanov] Comrade Belikova,
sending the sequence now.
[controller] Salyut-1, loss of signal
to commence in three, two, one.
All right, time for a break.
Let's eat.
TRANSMITTING
[machinery whirring]
- [grunts]
- Move, Sasha.
- What?
- What is that?
Is someone responding?
[machine beeps]
It looks like nonsense.
It's just probably
some random interference from--
Hang on.
What?
It's a message within the data.
From who?
The Chief Designer.
[chuckles] They know we're alive.
That we're coming back.
But wait.
He's saying landing in the Soviet Union
isn't safe.
It's a flight sequence.
A way to change our trajectory.
To land in Finland.
Finland?
[radio static]
Transmission's coming out
of the backup radio system.
[Anastasia] Venera, co
Come in.
Come in.
Come in, Venera.
- Come in.
- Stasia?
Sasha?
Is that you? [gasps]
Yes.
Yes, it's me.
Can't believe it's really you.
I wanted to make sure
you got the instructions.
Yes, we've got them.
We have to be quick.
They could be tracking
this frequency soon.
Am I
Am I ever going to see you again, Stasia?
Don't think about that right now.
You must stick to the plan.
Yes.
But if this all goes to plan
I'll be on the other side.
I know.
I have to go.
Goodbye, Sasha.
[line disconnects]
[Lakshmi] I'm sorry, Sasha.
[Sasha] We have to do this.
Or everything that happened,
it will have been all for nothing.
We'd better get started.
We're less than a day from entry.
I'll start redistributing weight.
Sewage tank's almost full anyways.
[monitor beeping]
Oh, shit.
Comrade Colonel,
we just received radio contact
[Lyudmilla] Come in.
Forgive me, Deputy Chairman,
but, to my ears,
it sounded like they've just told us
that the Soviet Union,
the greatest nation on this earth,
has successfully sent
our people to another planet.
To the workers of the Soviet--
No, no!
This is not a cause for celebration.
This is a national humiliation,
do you understand?
An American asset is on board that ship.
There is no glory here.
Only shame.
We have considered it before,
with Belikova.
When they land in Kazakhstan,
replace them all.
Then we take the credit for the mission--
There was no mission. It never happened.
Is that clear?
This comes directly
from General Secretary Brezhnev.
Apologies, Deputy Chairman.
Now, when they are secured,
I want them dealt with swiftly.
I will go to Kazakhstan personally
and take care of this, Deputy Chairman.
Very good, Chief Designer Petrovsky.
You must miss him terribly.
Yes.
And Anastasia?
Every day.
She's an incredible woman,
what she accomplished.
It's amazing you found each other
in the program.
[chuckles] It wasn't quite that simple.
Let's just say that
we were encouraged to be together.
I know the feeling. [chuckles]
Was your marriage arranged?
I mean, by your-your parents, or
Not exactly.
My family wanted me to marry someone,
just not my husband.
But I wanted to go to university.
I begged my father.
I don't know why he agreed.
- [chuckles]
- [chuckles]
[Valya] Is that where you met
your husband?
When you were at university?
Yes.
At the University of Hyderabad.
Was, um
was it love at first sight?
Hardly.
He was married.
- What?
- Yes. [laughs]
Though his wife was back at their home
in Delhi, so
So you
you had a-- He left his wife for you?
Oh, no. Um
No, uh, sh-she had passed before then.
We were just colleagues.
And then friends.
We talked, and met for lunch.
Nothing else.
But you loved him?
It grew, more and more, yes.
I tried to hide it from myself.
To convince myself I-I was being childish,
being selfish.
That it was simply a fantasy.
It started to feel as though
I was somehow responsible for her death.
That my feelings for him caused it.
It wasn't your fault.
How could it have been?
See, we believe our past deeds
can influence what comes in front of us.
So, I carry it with me
Her memory
and my guilt.
Or maybe we got what we deserved.
Dying out here. [chuckles]
[Valya] You're not gonna die.
I think there's a way we can still
use Venus to turn us back towards Earth.
But you said we didn't have enough fuel
to change course.
Venera doesn't.
The bathysphere.
Exactly.
If we fire the engine on the probe,
the one we'd have used to land on Venus,
you can produce enough force
to change our trajectory.
It's brilliant.
Yeah. But it won't work.
- Why not?
- Well, because the bathysphere's engines
are designed to fire automatically
once they're undocked.
To manually fire the engines ahead
of time, someone would have--
You'd have to be in the bathysphere.
No, but once the docking hooks are open,
you can't re-dock it.
It wasn't designed to--
It's a one-way trip to Venus.
- I'm going.
- Valya.
- Valya!
- Wait, Valya.
- Sasha!
- I won't let you do this!
Valya!
Open the door.
Don't do this!
Valya! Valya! No.
Open the door!
I need you to find Tanya,
and you make sure that she's all right.
No!
Promise me.
I promise you.
Do you have a moment?
I heard about Venera and wanted to help.
I checked with all the others about, um,
recordings of engineers that have been
flagged and one caught my attention.
Well?
Tell her what you told me.
I, uh, I was listening to Comrade Stepanov
and he's the one who's going to--
Head of the Salyut program, yes.
Get to the point.
Well, she mentioned
that he's changed his routine.
He's taking a different path to work.
He sometimes leaves
Ground Control at odd times.
Not so odd. He has a demanding job.
Well, that was my initial reaction
but we've monitored him speaking
to another engineer.
Um, one that had been flagged
for disciplinary action last year.
Who was he speaking to?
Um, he was in the calculations department,
but he used to be on a console
in Ground Control.
His name is Ser--
Sergei Nikulov.
Do you know him?
You can't just come over here
every five minutes.
What's the latest?
Are they on course?
She gave the coordinates to Venera.
Thank you.
[kisses] Thank you.
Please, leave me alone.
Comrade Nikulov.
Come with us.
Why are we here?
Follow me.
Chief! Ch-Chief! Chief!
Wh-What are you doing to--
Please, please stop! Please!
Okay, what do you want? What do you want?
What's going on with Venera?
I-I-I don't know
what you're talking about.
The capsule was destroyed last year.
I watched you destroy it.
- Carry on.
- No, no, no, no, no!
Please, whatever you need, I'll tell you!
Please just stop, please!
- Please, please! All right, all right!
- [grunting]
Okay, okay! Whatever you need,
whatever you need!
- I'll tell you, I'll tell you!
- Stop!
I'll tell-- I'll tell you. Okay. [pants]
- Come on.
- Okay.
Give me something I can work with here.
They ch-- They changed the landing site,
it was-- it was my idea.
It was nobody else's, it was mine.
It was my idea!
Nobody else was involved. Please!
Good. Where are they landing?
I don't know.
They wouldn't tell me.
- I can't get into Ground Control.
- Where are they landing?
I can't get in there! Okay?
Don't shoot him, please!
Okay, it's in Finland!
Okay? It's in Finland!
[groans]
It's in Finland.
It's just over the border from Vyborg.
Well done, Comrade.
Your contribution will be noted
for the record. Take him away.
Chief, I'm sorry. I'm s-- Chief!
Chief, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Please, I'm sorry!
[Lakshmi] We've got 63 minutes
until atmospheric interface.
[Sasha] Loading re-entry trajectory
program for Finland.
[system beeps]
Descent module configured
for separation and entry.
[system beeps]
[Lakshmi] It's time to begin
re-entry procedures.
[Valya] Beginning separation
of bathysphere.
[Lakshmi] The bathysphere
is nearly in position.
[Valya] I've reached the end
of the umbilical.
Beginning to burn the probe's engine.
[Lakshmi] The bathysphere engines
are changing our trajectory.
[Valya] Good.
Good, good.
Back on trajectory for Earth in three,
two, one
Shutting down probe engine.
- [beeps]
- [sighs, chuckles]
It worked, Valya.
We're back on course for Earth.
Good.
Now, I'm going to disengage the umbilical.
Valya, maybe there is a way that we can--
No, I'm going to complete the mission.
What mission, Valya?
- I'm gonna take her down to the surface.
- No. You-You--
Sasha, I'm taking her down
to the surface and that's it. Okay?
Do me a favor.
When you find Tanya, tell her
Oh, I love her.
Goodbye, Valya.
No. [stammers]
How could you let her do
something like that to someone like him?
[stammers] After everything
that he has done for this nation?
Sergei.
I
I don't under-- No, I don't. [stammers]
I-- I don't understand.
I-I just I just-I just saw you in--
No, I-I-I don't-- I-I just--
- [stammers]
- [Chief Designer] Now, now, now.
- This is what they do.
- No! I just-I just--
- I know, I know, I know.
- I just told them the landing--
No, no. [sobs] I'm sorry. [sobbing]
There now.
There now.
[sobbing] I'm sorry.
Everything's going to be all right.
Don't be sorry.
Everything's going to be all right.
- You look at me, look at me, look at me.
- [whimpers]
We sent human beings to Venus.
To Venus and back!
They can't take that away from us.
Never.
- [sniffling]
- Never.
Never.
[Radimir] They'll be coming
from this direction here after entry,
over Scandinavia and Western USSR
as they approach Kazakhstan.
I want troops just beyond
the landing zone here,
so they can move in immediately.
What if they try and run for it?
I don't think we have to worry about that.
They have been living in zero G
the last nine months.
They'll barely be able to stand
in full Earth gravity.
- Fish in a barrel.
- [laughs]
Yes.
[Lakshmi] Altitude now 122 kilometers.
Approaching entry interface.
[Sasha] Powering on RUS.
Selecting manual descent.
Call our altitude out as we go.
Got to keep us below the curving line.
Altitude 121 kilometers.
Detecting atmospheric drag.
Overload detected.
Deceleration is beginning.
Beginning manual ballistic descent.
You better hold on to something.
[grunting]
[Lakshmi] Decel now 2.5 gs
and climbing fast.
Our trajectory is starting to change.
Prepare for the g-spike.
[aircraft shudders]
Deceleration now 4.6 gs.
You're You're dipping a bit low.
[Valya grunts]
6.8 gs.
7.1 gs. Eight gs.
Need even more.
- We're rolling down.
- Ten gs.
Thirteen.
Just a little more.
W-We hit it. [strains]
We're on course.
Sir, the craft, it's
It's beginning to change course.
What do you mean?
The landing zone has shifted.
Where are they going to land?
- I-I don't
- Where are they going to land?
[rumbling]
[Sasha] Gs decreasing.
Everything looks good.
11.5.
- [grunts] Eight.
- [Lakshmi strains]
Entry rate is normal.
[grunts] We are on track for Finland.
[pilot] Missile away.
500 meters.
300 meters.
100 meters.
- [grunts]
- [groans]
What the hell was that?
- I don't know.
- [alarm beeping]
- Pull the chute!
- [exclaims]
- Pull the chute!
- [groans]
- I can't reach I can't
- [grunts]
I can't
[grunts]
- We're coming in too hot.
- Hang on!
Hang on! Brace.
[metallic rumbling]
[metal clanging]
[grunts]
We made it. [groans]
We're alive.
[Sasha] Not for long.
- Oh, shit.
- Uh [stammers] what do you mean?
Whatever hit us
threw us off our trajectory.
We've-We've-We've landed
in the Soviet Union.
We're still two kilometers
from the border.
We have to go. [groans]
[Lyudmilla] Where did they land?
They're within a 15 kilometer radius,
Comrade Colonel.
[radio chatter]
Get me to that capsule. Now.
No. No.
No. [sighs]
[Frolov] What is it?
[breathes shakily]
It's Sasha.
Uh, he's alive.
Their capsule just landed.
They're going to kill him.
They're going to kill them all.
We need to help them.
I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do,
Comrade Belikova.
But Our orbit is still close enough
to the landing site.
If we used our descent module we could
get down there in time to help them.
As you know,
we cannot use the descent module
for anything other than emergencies.
[chuckles]
[whispering] Thank you.
Salyut-1, Star City,
we're getting readings that
the evacuation capsule is being activated.
Is there a problem?
Negative, Star City.
Must be a malfunctioning sensor.
Uh, are you sure, Salyut-1?
All clear on our end, Star City.
- Yes. We need [speaks indistinctly]
- We can't cover any more ground.
- Chief Designer Petrovsky.
- What?
It's Moscow.
[clears throat]
- [Maxim] Petrovsky.
- Deputy Chairman.
You said you were going to handle it.
Uh, yes, Deputy Chairman. I, uh
[clears throat] I-I was
It appears they have changed course.
- I know.
- But do not worry.
- I will be en route very soon--
- Colonel Raskova is handling it.
Colonel Raskova?
- What do you mean?
- She's already at the border.
About to secure them. So, no need
to worry yourself about it anymore.
Thank you.
Sir, I, um
[soldier] Spread out! Watch the tree line!
[soldiers shouting]
They can't have gone far. Find them.
- [Sasha grunting]
- [Lakshmi grunting]
[shrieks]
[Sasha] Okay, grab onto me.
- Okay. Okay. Okay.
- Yeah.
Feels like a thousand kilos
pressing down on me.
[soldiers shouting in distance]
Do you hear that?
They're getting closer.
We gotta go. [grunts]
The border's just past that tree line.
[grunts]
Yulia!
[aircraft crashes]
[Anastasia groans]
Which way is to the border?
Fifteen kilometers, that way.
Fifteen?
Maybe 20.
[panting]
Does that truck work?
[Lakshmi panting]
I don't know how much further I can go.
[pants]
The border's just there.
It's just there. [pants]
[soldiers shouting in distance]
We have to go, Lakshmi.
We have to go now.
- Go. Go.
- [strains]
[soldier] Move forward!
- Sasha! [pants]
- [grunts]
Come on. Come on!
- [screaming]
- [Sasha] Lakshmi!
Come on. Come on, you can do it.
- You can do it. I know it.
- [screaming]
You can do it. Come on.
[soldiers speak Finnish]
[gunfire continues]
Come on.
- [groans]
- We're nearly there. We're nearly there.
- Hey! Hey!
- [groans]
Go, Sasha! Go!
- [soldier] Come over here!
- Come on, Sasha.
Go!
Go!
Go!
Take her.
- Take her, please.
- [groans]
[soldiers speak Finnish]
Go!
[children playing]
[scales playing on piano]
["Undun" playing on piano]
[piano fades]
[in French] Thank you.