Earth: Final Conflict s03e13 Episode Script
Subterfuge
Previously on Gene Roddenberry's Earth Final Conflict: The Resistance will be crushed once and for all.
- I'm already collecting names.
- Good.
And if some of them lead back to Da'an, so much the better.
T'than, are you here in your official capacity as War Minister? No, I have come to remove Zo'or as Leader of the Synod.
Zo'or turned responsibility for terrestrial security over to me.
Zo'or's sphere of influence is unravelling, Agent Sandoval.
It is wise to know when to move out of harm's way, and with whom you may find shelter.
Sha'bra! I will not support you.
To the contrary, Zo'or, I vigorously oppose your plan to give President Thompson a seat on the Synod.
That is a gross mischaracterization, Ram.
As Latin American Companion, you lack a grasp of my global agenda.
I merely suggest the American Leader be an advisor to the Synod, certainly not a member.
Summon my Protector, Colonel Tonio Arias.
- Colonel Arias, a word? - Of course.
- Has your Skrill been functioning normally? - Perfectly, why? Agent Kaszkovny in Moscow told me his Skrill has been unresponsive.
This raises serious questions about the symbiotic relationship between Protectors and their Skrills.
Certainly.
Yours appears to be fine, let me know if this Skrill causes problems.
Very well.
Your truculence forces me to conclude that you have become T'than's pawn.
You're influenced by his ambition.
I am no one's pawn, my only influence is from the Commonality.
I, however, share T'than's opinion that your progress with humanity is stalled.
A situation that must be rectified.
We have a process error.
They're caught in the ID pathway.
I'm losing them.
They are gone.
Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Photography, I understand.
But there seems to be dissonance between the concepts of accurate representation and subjective interpretation.
Art is the world, or in this case the Taelon, as interpreted by the artist.
Hopefully that interpretation gives the viewer some kind of insight.
This is truly a human idea.
But as it is a gift form President Thompson, I will gladly submit.
- Miss Hanna Klein, I am honored.
- Thank you.
Pretend I'm not here, I wouldn't want to interrupt you or anything.
Oh, the Major has cleared my calendar.
So, I'm completely at your disposal.
Hi, I'm Liam Kincaid, I really admire your work.
I'm still not used to all of the attention.
I had to ask a cab driver tell me find the Guggenheim for my show last week.
I was there.
- Checking me out? - No, no.
To the contrary, he was seeing how I might relate to the process.
To my knowledge, this is the first time a Taelon has been captured by your art form.
- Fractal sculpture, to be precise.
- Please, elaborate.
It's simple, really.
I'm going to do a pointless map of the body, create a sculpture of you on your home world, which will relate and respond to the viewer in, I hope, a thoroughly Da'an-esque way.
Da'an-esque Intriguing.
Shall I sit? Are you alright? A slight disturbance in the Commonality.
- Do you want some time alone? - Yes, that would be useful.
- Please, excuse me, Ms.
Klein.
- Of course.
He's very fortunate to have you.
What makes you say that? Just a sense.
Call it artistic insight.
I need to rely on my intuition, don't you? - Da'an trusts you as an ally.
- It's my job.
No, no.
I saw how you immediately understood the situation and what he needed.
To do that with an alien is impressive.
We spend a lot of time together.
Excuse me.
Get up here right away, Major, a Companion is dead.
- Who? - Ram, the Latin American Companion.
When? We got confirmation about 30 seconds ago.
That's all we've got, the usual bio-sensory and energy-monitored telemetric.
I am sending the disk to the lab in Quantico for analysis.
I've never seen a portal accident like that, they just disintegrated.
How well did you know Antonio Arias? Casually, we've attended a few security seminars together.
He seemed like a solid guy, dedicated.
He was with Ram for three years, I just pulled his e-jacket.
Only one negative report in all that time.
Which was? Ram put a note in the file last month that Arias was insolent.
We need a crash course of his life, I want every angle covered.
I spoke with the Portal Authority.
Until they confirm the exact cause of the accident, they're not ready to accept responsibility.
Somebody better accept responsibility, a Taelon is dead! What could be so important, Zo'or, that you interrupt my meditation? Ram is dead.
A mishap in ID space.
Dead? Impossible.
It was barely a disturbance in the Commonality.
A weak response to the loss of a weak Taelon.
I realized, of course, he was your ally.
Ram's loss shifts the balance of power in the Synod in your favor.
I trust that had nothing to do with his sudden demise? You overestimate my abilities.
I have yet to control time and space.
There's nothing here.
No evidence of Tonio Arias here whatsoever.
Nobody's this neat.
We're calling in a possible homicide.
- Based on what? - Look at this.
The Quantico lab step-framed the disk and computer enhanced the video.
That's Arias.
It appears he was holding something that generated a vortex in the ID field that caused a catastrophic disruption.
Until the lab finishes its work, put Antonio Arias' name on your short list of suspects.
The US Portal Authority released a preliminary report blaming the tragedy on the fluke failure of a switching module.
They continue to insist that portal travel is the safest transportation on Earth.
Occasional grisly death.
It may not have been an accident, Renee.
Sandoval thinks Tonio caused the explosion using some kind of a disruptor weapon.
They're thinking murder? Murder suicide? Except that Tonio was an implant.
A properly functioning CVI would've prohibited him from murdering Ram no matter how he felt.
Well, our intelligence has speculated that the CVIs could be failing.
Arias' meltdown could be the result.
Are you alright? Genuinely concerned.
Thank you.
Pretend I'm not here, I wouldn't want to interrupt your day or anything.
We run a little thick, are we? Da'an trusts you as an ally.
It's my job.
- It's my job.
- No, no.
It's more than just a job, Liam.
Pupil contraction abnormal.
Blood pressure up on your retina.
Vocal cord constriction.
More than just a job, by a long shot.
All Taelons joined me in mourning the pass of your beloved Companion.
- What have you got on Arias? - No much, his place was pristine.
His bank accounts were closed, the fridge was empty, no files on his hard drive, like he was never coming back.
Could a detail man have come in and mopped up the scene? Possibly, but that implies wider conspiracy.
I haven't seen a trace of one.
There wouldnt be.
Ram was a loud component of the Commonality, and we fell his loss as acutely as you.
You're not moving fast enough with Kincaid.
Damn it.
- Not a knock? - Your next contact is tomorrow? Yeah.
We're getting together so he can give me discs of the home world.
I have 6 contingencies built into my schedule.
As long as you can keep the real Hanna Klein on ice.
I can hold her for another 48 hours.
Kincaid has Resistance sympathies, I'm certain of it.
And he's in intimate contact with Taelons daily.
Time is of the essence.
Do whatever you need to do.
Sex is not the answer with this guy, if it was, I'd use it.
I'm not certain you're right, and I can't for you to be wrong.
Getting inside a man's head is my forte, Sandoval.
Sometimes I need to get between his sheets, sometimes I need to be his friend, and sometimes I need to steal his heart.
But no matter what, I do it, so don't second-guess me.
By the time I'm done with Liam Kincaid, he will have told me every secret he ever knew.
"And with the shutdown of the commercial portal network, the US Portal Authority estimates losses to be within the 10 million dollar range with no end in sight".
It's music to my ears.
I take it you're not holding Portal Authority stock.
No, it's not that, it's just the more money they lose, the more valuable my services become.
What are you talking about? It's my new consulting gig with the Portal Authority.
You? Excuse me, but who do you run to whenever you need the best? So, they want you to tell them how the portals could be sabotaged so they can build in safeguards and get the portals back online? Exactly.
Perfect, we need the same information to figure out what killed Ram.
Well, there's one difference, one big difference actually, the Portal Authority is paying me.
Well, this disc contains all data from the accident downloaded directly from the mother ship's portal recorders.
I assume this could help you find the answers the Portal Authority is looking for.
What if you found out Zo'or? Well, my theory is that the accident was caused by a gravitational disruption that pulled Ram and Tonio out of stasis, and exposed them directly to inter-dimensional space.
And when that happens The scrambled molecules of whoever's in the ID slip-stream splatter across the universe.
Nice image.
What could cause that kind of disruption? I don't know, I just thought it this morning.
Progress report, Major.
I'm back in DC, I just finished my interviews with Tonio Arias' old squadron.
It was a dead end.
Then the answer must lie in San Salvador.
Get back down there, I'll meet you in half an hour.
Nice to see you.
Is this still a good time to talk about Da'an? Unfortunately no, I've just been called back to Central America.
Oh, Hanna Klein, I'd like you to meet a couple of friends of mine.
Augur, the proprietor of this establishment, Renee Palmer of Doors International.
Hanna is creating the fractal sculpture of Da'an.
Hello.
Can we meet when you return to Washington? I look forward to it.
Excuse me, please.
Actually, you know, I've met Da'an a couple of times myself.
Arias paid off all his credit cards.
Even wrote letters to some estranged friends, apologizing for whatever problems they'd had.
Tying up all the loose ends.
It still looks like he killed himself.
You found nothing to contradict the classic behavior for suicide preparation.
Except for one thing, a note or something to explain why he did it.
What are you doing, Major? We've run down every lead and come up empty.
If there's anything to explain Tonio's behavior it's probably right here.
His architectural plans to this house.
I'm trying to determine if What is it? That wall is 18 inches too close.
These are Resistance communicatees.
Oh, he wasn't just reading this garbage.
This is an anti-Taelon article that he wrote.
And a schematic of the mother ship portal with plans to disrupt the ID slip-stream.
- A smoking gun.
- Apparently.
But no explanation about how he disrupted the portal.
Where are your people in figuring out how Arias did it? Some theories, nothing hard and fast yet.
Probably a diary.
Encrypted, naturally.
Rodriguez, tag this and get it to FBI cypher unit immediately.
I'll take a crack at it as well.
You're duplicating the efforts of a unit that is eminently more qualified to break this encryption then you are, Major.
- It's a waste of time.
- It's my time.
- You know her? - Hanna Klein.
She's creating the fractal sculpture of Da'an.
Were you able to dig up anything relevant on Hanna Klein? Well, it wasn't her bio, but take a look at this.
Remember the portal disasters? Although several hundred casualties have resulted because of the blackouts, We're told that most people are heeding the warnings to stay inside their homes.
Hanna's father was an ID technician on the front lines during the crisis.
He was one of the first people to die.
She has a strong motive to hate Taelons, Liam.
Her relationship with Arias can be a coincidence.
They had to be working together or - She was using him.
- Where's Sandoval on all this? He assigned me to get close to Hanna.
Find out about her relationship with Arias without confronting her directly.
He'd like to bust her whole organization, not just her.
Hanna could be one of us.
She could lead Sandoval right to the Resistance.
I never show anyone works in progress.
Never? It's rough.
No.
It's actually quite remarkable.
Thanks.
- Would you like some wine? - That would be great.
So, how did you get to be a Companion Protector? I've been a soldier all my life, banged around a bit after the SI War, till the Taelons arrived, then I knew I'd found my calling.
And that was it? I mean You never had any doubts? Well, no real doubts.
And any lingering questions were answered as soon as I became a Protector and got to know the Taelons.
So, are you the only artist in your family? Is everything alright? Yeah.
Yeah, thanks.
It was my dad.
He was the artist.
He's dead now.
- Oh, Hanna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - No, no, it's alright.
He was an ID technician, who was killed during the energy mite infestation of the portals.
Most people would've hated the Taelons after that.
I did, at first.
But with a little bit of time to put into perspective I think I've got a better handle on it now.
It had to be tough.
My father was very proud of the work he did on the portals.
In my heart of hearts I don't believe he'd have blamed the Taelons for what happened.
I have to honor that.
I understand.
Shall we talk about Da'an? Sure.
Sweetheart, are you finished yet? Yes.
The specs for the ID portals are completed.
The optimal location for the portals is there and there.
- Excellent.
- But I am constrained to point out that I cannot guarantee your safety with the portals that close in proximity to each other.
I understand.
Start working on recreating the exact conditions that existed when the accident occurred in the mother ship portal.
Augur, if I obey this command, I'll be putting you in grave danger.
This causes a dilemma for me.
You're a hologram, you don't have dilemmas.
Good point.
I will reject your proposal to the Synod that the Taelons be brought together on Earth.
Surely you cannot be suggesting that we allow the drain on the Commonality to continue.
That is exactly what I am suggesting.
What I am learning from these inferior beings is that their individuality strengthens them.
Your comment is invalid on its face.
How can we learn anything from inferior beings? Did you not know about the humans' ability to break the programming of the CVIs by calling upon extreme emotions directed against the Taelons? Where do you think that power comes from? Even wild animals have the ability to break the yokes of their oppressors.
That does not warrant emulating them.
Humans are beholden only unto themselves.
They act of individual free will, not the compulsion of a commonality.
The strength of the Taelons lies in the common purpose.
That is a core of the Commonality.
What you are suggesting is blasphemy.
No.
The Commonality is our weakness.
We are running from the Jaridians because they are not bound by a commonality.
They are individuals like the humans.
- I told you I wanna file my report now.
- Which will say what? That Kincaid has shown absolutely no leadings towards the Resistance.
All indications are he is, as he seems, a loyal and effective Companion Protector.
That finding is premature.
I went to great lengths to detain the real Hanna Klein.
You are on this case until I say you're not, understand? Perfectly.
My report won't change.
You're not being aggressive enough in forming your relationship.
Kincaid will only show his Resistance leadings if he trusts you completely! You don't get it, Sandoval! Liam is not the kind of man who is going to respond to a woman pursuing him aggressively.
You have another 12 hours until they release the Klein woman.
Use every second of it.
Give me your arm.
What for? It's a GPS locator.
I wanna know exactly where you are at every moment.
You have a problem with that? This is my operation.
If it's blown, I'm on the line.
You're on the line? You FBI types You think you live on the edge? Give me a break! I've been Sector Delta for 8 years.
You go home to dinner, TV.
I don't have a home.
- Alright.
Hanna - Who's Hanna? I don't have an identity.
I'm just a covert asset you requisition like a a box of paper clips.
If this thing gets blown, all you have to do is requisition another.
No one knows me.
Not even you, Sandoval.
Because that is who I am.
No one.
I don't exist.
There's no record of me anywhere.
And that is the price I am willing to pay to serve my country.
How about you, FBI? Ramp up to 20% of capacity on the ID simulator.
May I once again draw your attention to the danger? - No, you may not.
- Fine, have it your way.
Don't push your luck.
Okay, let's recreate the accident.
You have the data, right? Please, let me try it first, without full inter-dimensional immersion.
Alright, alright.
Get Liam! - What's going on? - I can't disengage the ID field.
- You've got to get him out of there now! - My God.
You alright? Oh, I'm demanding a bonus from the Portal Authority.
I'll take that as a yes.
I understand your gift, why you are able to capture your subjects so completely in your art.
Tell me.
You are a good listener.
I get a lot of practice.
It's critical in my line of work.
Where's Major today? He is continuing his investigation into the tragic death of Latin American Companion.
It must be difficult to become a Companion Protector.
I know it's a highly coveted position.
Indeed.
And we have been fortunate.
Members of your species, who have come forward, are of the highest caliber.
I imagine they pass some serious tests before you accept them.
There are basic physical and psychological criteria that must be met, before an applicant can even be considered.
Then each Taelon must personally approve his own Protector.
What convinced you that Major Kincaid was the right man? I relied on a very human construct.
Intuition.
Considering the stakes, that sounds pretty unscientific.
Liam is unique.
I've never had one moment of a doubt about it.
I am traveling to the Washington embassy.
Prepare a shuttle.
You are seeking an alliance with Da'an to oppose me.
Obviously, Zo'or.
If I am to alter your misguided course for our species, I need Da'an as an ally.
The Synod endorsed my leadership of Taelons over Da'an unanimously.
Align yourself with whomever you please.
It will have no effect on me or the Taelons.
- Your operative is in place? - Absolutely.
Agent Sandoval, escort the War Minister to the Washington embassy.
He is most certainly entitled to that degree of respect.
Certainly, Zo'or.
Well, at least I proved my theory.
You can disrupt the flow of ID space.
Oh, the Portal Authority's gonna pay through the nose for that tidbit.
Lucky you even have a nose left.
So, you're saying that the ion beam form my pistol weakened the ID field, - And your system reversed the effect? - Yep.
.
Sandoval's leapt through a wall encoding Tonio's diary.
What a shock! I did.
Although I must admit even the FBI should've been able to decipher this.
"As ever, palace intrigue occupies Ram's every waking thought".
"Can't wait to get back, pick up where I left off with Hanna".
- "Her last kiss held a world of promise".
- Antonio, world of promise "October 8, 9 am.
HK, Hanna Klein" I saw her that morning.
Hanna was with him the day he died, this confirms it.
We have to assume she was part of the plan to kill Ram.
Da'an! Hello.
Sorry I missed you.
Leave a message, or, if it's urgent, I can be reached at the Taelon embassy in Washington.
I'll join you in a moment, I need to attend to Do not bother.
Your presence is totally unnecessary.
- Where is Da'an? - He was called to the mother ship.
Security breach! All personnel to their stations! Get the War Minister out of here, use the portal.
I'll secure the embassy.
Quickly, Minister, this way.
T'than, don't go with her! Hanna! Major, no! We have a problem.
Major Kincaid is with them.
Portal are malfunctioning again.
What's going on? Oh, drop the act, I know about you and Tonio.
- Who is Tonio? - The Latin American Protector.
You remember, the guy you seduced.
I never met any Latin American Protector.
How do we get out of here? - What is it? - Sandoval put a locator in my arm.
What are you doing? Overloading it.
I lost them.
He's alive.
- No, I'm not gonna make it.
- Hold on to me.
I'm sorry.
Liam, I Why? It gratifies me that you were not a victim of the assassin Hanna Klein.
We are alone, Da'an.
You may shed the pretense.
Zo'or is the assassin among us.
And when the time is right, I will make him pay dearly for it.
As I feared.
The Commonality is so weakened one Taelon may kill another.
What does this portend for the future of our species? There's no need to speculate.
By his example, Zo'or has shown us what we will become if we eschew the Commonality.
You can no longer evade the issue of allegiance, Da'an.
She never had a chance.
That chip Sandoval put in her arm was designed to kill her after it disrupted the portal.
Guatemalan Federal Police turned the real Hanna Klein over to the American Embassy yesterday.
With their apologies.
Some mix up on a drug charge.
That's a hell of a scheme.
T'than was always the target, Hanna just a setup.
And if it had worked as planned, no one could've laid it at Sandoval's door.
- Motive? - My bet is political assassination.
T'than is openly challenging Zo'or.
Are you sure Sandoval didn't leave a loose thread somewhere? It was all smoke.
Good analyst.
Sandoval told me Tonio was insolent to Ram.
My word against his.
Who closed his account and walled up Tonio's stuff? - Who did any of it? - Sandoval.
Good's good.
Whoever you were, Hanna, you were damn good.
Axarion
- I'm already collecting names.
- Good.
And if some of them lead back to Da'an, so much the better.
T'than, are you here in your official capacity as War Minister? No, I have come to remove Zo'or as Leader of the Synod.
Zo'or turned responsibility for terrestrial security over to me.
Zo'or's sphere of influence is unravelling, Agent Sandoval.
It is wise to know when to move out of harm's way, and with whom you may find shelter.
Sha'bra! I will not support you.
To the contrary, Zo'or, I vigorously oppose your plan to give President Thompson a seat on the Synod.
That is a gross mischaracterization, Ram.
As Latin American Companion, you lack a grasp of my global agenda.
I merely suggest the American Leader be an advisor to the Synod, certainly not a member.
Summon my Protector, Colonel Tonio Arias.
- Colonel Arias, a word? - Of course.
- Has your Skrill been functioning normally? - Perfectly, why? Agent Kaszkovny in Moscow told me his Skrill has been unresponsive.
This raises serious questions about the symbiotic relationship between Protectors and their Skrills.
Certainly.
Yours appears to be fine, let me know if this Skrill causes problems.
Very well.
Your truculence forces me to conclude that you have become T'than's pawn.
You're influenced by his ambition.
I am no one's pawn, my only influence is from the Commonality.
I, however, share T'than's opinion that your progress with humanity is stalled.
A situation that must be rectified.
We have a process error.
They're caught in the ID pathway.
I'm losing them.
They are gone.
Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Photography, I understand.
But there seems to be dissonance between the concepts of accurate representation and subjective interpretation.
Art is the world, or in this case the Taelon, as interpreted by the artist.
Hopefully that interpretation gives the viewer some kind of insight.
This is truly a human idea.
But as it is a gift form President Thompson, I will gladly submit.
- Miss Hanna Klein, I am honored.
- Thank you.
Pretend I'm not here, I wouldn't want to interrupt you or anything.
Oh, the Major has cleared my calendar.
So, I'm completely at your disposal.
Hi, I'm Liam Kincaid, I really admire your work.
I'm still not used to all of the attention.
I had to ask a cab driver tell me find the Guggenheim for my show last week.
I was there.
- Checking me out? - No, no.
To the contrary, he was seeing how I might relate to the process.
To my knowledge, this is the first time a Taelon has been captured by your art form.
- Fractal sculpture, to be precise.
- Please, elaborate.
It's simple, really.
I'm going to do a pointless map of the body, create a sculpture of you on your home world, which will relate and respond to the viewer in, I hope, a thoroughly Da'an-esque way.
Da'an-esque Intriguing.
Shall I sit? Are you alright? A slight disturbance in the Commonality.
- Do you want some time alone? - Yes, that would be useful.
- Please, excuse me, Ms.
Klein.
- Of course.
He's very fortunate to have you.
What makes you say that? Just a sense.
Call it artistic insight.
I need to rely on my intuition, don't you? - Da'an trusts you as an ally.
- It's my job.
No, no.
I saw how you immediately understood the situation and what he needed.
To do that with an alien is impressive.
We spend a lot of time together.
Excuse me.
Get up here right away, Major, a Companion is dead.
- Who? - Ram, the Latin American Companion.
When? We got confirmation about 30 seconds ago.
That's all we've got, the usual bio-sensory and energy-monitored telemetric.
I am sending the disk to the lab in Quantico for analysis.
I've never seen a portal accident like that, they just disintegrated.
How well did you know Antonio Arias? Casually, we've attended a few security seminars together.
He seemed like a solid guy, dedicated.
He was with Ram for three years, I just pulled his e-jacket.
Only one negative report in all that time.
Which was? Ram put a note in the file last month that Arias was insolent.
We need a crash course of his life, I want every angle covered.
I spoke with the Portal Authority.
Until they confirm the exact cause of the accident, they're not ready to accept responsibility.
Somebody better accept responsibility, a Taelon is dead! What could be so important, Zo'or, that you interrupt my meditation? Ram is dead.
A mishap in ID space.
Dead? Impossible.
It was barely a disturbance in the Commonality.
A weak response to the loss of a weak Taelon.
I realized, of course, he was your ally.
Ram's loss shifts the balance of power in the Synod in your favor.
I trust that had nothing to do with his sudden demise? You overestimate my abilities.
I have yet to control time and space.
There's nothing here.
No evidence of Tonio Arias here whatsoever.
Nobody's this neat.
We're calling in a possible homicide.
- Based on what? - Look at this.
The Quantico lab step-framed the disk and computer enhanced the video.
That's Arias.
It appears he was holding something that generated a vortex in the ID field that caused a catastrophic disruption.
Until the lab finishes its work, put Antonio Arias' name on your short list of suspects.
The US Portal Authority released a preliminary report blaming the tragedy on the fluke failure of a switching module.
They continue to insist that portal travel is the safest transportation on Earth.
Occasional grisly death.
It may not have been an accident, Renee.
Sandoval thinks Tonio caused the explosion using some kind of a disruptor weapon.
They're thinking murder? Murder suicide? Except that Tonio was an implant.
A properly functioning CVI would've prohibited him from murdering Ram no matter how he felt.
Well, our intelligence has speculated that the CVIs could be failing.
Arias' meltdown could be the result.
Are you alright? Genuinely concerned.
Thank you.
Pretend I'm not here, I wouldn't want to interrupt your day or anything.
We run a little thick, are we? Da'an trusts you as an ally.
It's my job.
- It's my job.
- No, no.
It's more than just a job, Liam.
Pupil contraction abnormal.
Blood pressure up on your retina.
Vocal cord constriction.
More than just a job, by a long shot.
All Taelons joined me in mourning the pass of your beloved Companion.
- What have you got on Arias? - No much, his place was pristine.
His bank accounts were closed, the fridge was empty, no files on his hard drive, like he was never coming back.
Could a detail man have come in and mopped up the scene? Possibly, but that implies wider conspiracy.
I haven't seen a trace of one.
There wouldnt be.
Ram was a loud component of the Commonality, and we fell his loss as acutely as you.
You're not moving fast enough with Kincaid.
Damn it.
- Not a knock? - Your next contact is tomorrow? Yeah.
We're getting together so he can give me discs of the home world.
I have 6 contingencies built into my schedule.
As long as you can keep the real Hanna Klein on ice.
I can hold her for another 48 hours.
Kincaid has Resistance sympathies, I'm certain of it.
And he's in intimate contact with Taelons daily.
Time is of the essence.
Do whatever you need to do.
Sex is not the answer with this guy, if it was, I'd use it.
I'm not certain you're right, and I can't for you to be wrong.
Getting inside a man's head is my forte, Sandoval.
Sometimes I need to get between his sheets, sometimes I need to be his friend, and sometimes I need to steal his heart.
But no matter what, I do it, so don't second-guess me.
By the time I'm done with Liam Kincaid, he will have told me every secret he ever knew.
"And with the shutdown of the commercial portal network, the US Portal Authority estimates losses to be within the 10 million dollar range with no end in sight".
It's music to my ears.
I take it you're not holding Portal Authority stock.
No, it's not that, it's just the more money they lose, the more valuable my services become.
What are you talking about? It's my new consulting gig with the Portal Authority.
You? Excuse me, but who do you run to whenever you need the best? So, they want you to tell them how the portals could be sabotaged so they can build in safeguards and get the portals back online? Exactly.
Perfect, we need the same information to figure out what killed Ram.
Well, there's one difference, one big difference actually, the Portal Authority is paying me.
Well, this disc contains all data from the accident downloaded directly from the mother ship's portal recorders.
I assume this could help you find the answers the Portal Authority is looking for.
What if you found out Zo'or? Well, my theory is that the accident was caused by a gravitational disruption that pulled Ram and Tonio out of stasis, and exposed them directly to inter-dimensional space.
And when that happens The scrambled molecules of whoever's in the ID slip-stream splatter across the universe.
Nice image.
What could cause that kind of disruption? I don't know, I just thought it this morning.
Progress report, Major.
I'm back in DC, I just finished my interviews with Tonio Arias' old squadron.
It was a dead end.
Then the answer must lie in San Salvador.
Get back down there, I'll meet you in half an hour.
Nice to see you.
Is this still a good time to talk about Da'an? Unfortunately no, I've just been called back to Central America.
Oh, Hanna Klein, I'd like you to meet a couple of friends of mine.
Augur, the proprietor of this establishment, Renee Palmer of Doors International.
Hanna is creating the fractal sculpture of Da'an.
Hello.
Can we meet when you return to Washington? I look forward to it.
Excuse me, please.
Actually, you know, I've met Da'an a couple of times myself.
Arias paid off all his credit cards.
Even wrote letters to some estranged friends, apologizing for whatever problems they'd had.
Tying up all the loose ends.
It still looks like he killed himself.
You found nothing to contradict the classic behavior for suicide preparation.
Except for one thing, a note or something to explain why he did it.
What are you doing, Major? We've run down every lead and come up empty.
If there's anything to explain Tonio's behavior it's probably right here.
His architectural plans to this house.
I'm trying to determine if What is it? That wall is 18 inches too close.
These are Resistance communicatees.
Oh, he wasn't just reading this garbage.
This is an anti-Taelon article that he wrote.
And a schematic of the mother ship portal with plans to disrupt the ID slip-stream.
- A smoking gun.
- Apparently.
But no explanation about how he disrupted the portal.
Where are your people in figuring out how Arias did it? Some theories, nothing hard and fast yet.
Probably a diary.
Encrypted, naturally.
Rodriguez, tag this and get it to FBI cypher unit immediately.
I'll take a crack at it as well.
You're duplicating the efforts of a unit that is eminently more qualified to break this encryption then you are, Major.
- It's a waste of time.
- It's my time.
- You know her? - Hanna Klein.
She's creating the fractal sculpture of Da'an.
Were you able to dig up anything relevant on Hanna Klein? Well, it wasn't her bio, but take a look at this.
Remember the portal disasters? Although several hundred casualties have resulted because of the blackouts, We're told that most people are heeding the warnings to stay inside their homes.
Hanna's father was an ID technician on the front lines during the crisis.
He was one of the first people to die.
She has a strong motive to hate Taelons, Liam.
Her relationship with Arias can be a coincidence.
They had to be working together or - She was using him.
- Where's Sandoval on all this? He assigned me to get close to Hanna.
Find out about her relationship with Arias without confronting her directly.
He'd like to bust her whole organization, not just her.
Hanna could be one of us.
She could lead Sandoval right to the Resistance.
I never show anyone works in progress.
Never? It's rough.
No.
It's actually quite remarkable.
Thanks.
- Would you like some wine? - That would be great.
So, how did you get to be a Companion Protector? I've been a soldier all my life, banged around a bit after the SI War, till the Taelons arrived, then I knew I'd found my calling.
And that was it? I mean You never had any doubts? Well, no real doubts.
And any lingering questions were answered as soon as I became a Protector and got to know the Taelons.
So, are you the only artist in your family? Is everything alright? Yeah.
Yeah, thanks.
It was my dad.
He was the artist.
He's dead now.
- Oh, Hanna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - No, no, it's alright.
He was an ID technician, who was killed during the energy mite infestation of the portals.
Most people would've hated the Taelons after that.
I did, at first.
But with a little bit of time to put into perspective I think I've got a better handle on it now.
It had to be tough.
My father was very proud of the work he did on the portals.
In my heart of hearts I don't believe he'd have blamed the Taelons for what happened.
I have to honor that.
I understand.
Shall we talk about Da'an? Sure.
Sweetheart, are you finished yet? Yes.
The specs for the ID portals are completed.
The optimal location for the portals is there and there.
- Excellent.
- But I am constrained to point out that I cannot guarantee your safety with the portals that close in proximity to each other.
I understand.
Start working on recreating the exact conditions that existed when the accident occurred in the mother ship portal.
Augur, if I obey this command, I'll be putting you in grave danger.
This causes a dilemma for me.
You're a hologram, you don't have dilemmas.
Good point.
I will reject your proposal to the Synod that the Taelons be brought together on Earth.
Surely you cannot be suggesting that we allow the drain on the Commonality to continue.
That is exactly what I am suggesting.
What I am learning from these inferior beings is that their individuality strengthens them.
Your comment is invalid on its face.
How can we learn anything from inferior beings? Did you not know about the humans' ability to break the programming of the CVIs by calling upon extreme emotions directed against the Taelons? Where do you think that power comes from? Even wild animals have the ability to break the yokes of their oppressors.
That does not warrant emulating them.
Humans are beholden only unto themselves.
They act of individual free will, not the compulsion of a commonality.
The strength of the Taelons lies in the common purpose.
That is a core of the Commonality.
What you are suggesting is blasphemy.
No.
The Commonality is our weakness.
We are running from the Jaridians because they are not bound by a commonality.
They are individuals like the humans.
- I told you I wanna file my report now.
- Which will say what? That Kincaid has shown absolutely no leadings towards the Resistance.
All indications are he is, as he seems, a loyal and effective Companion Protector.
That finding is premature.
I went to great lengths to detain the real Hanna Klein.
You are on this case until I say you're not, understand? Perfectly.
My report won't change.
You're not being aggressive enough in forming your relationship.
Kincaid will only show his Resistance leadings if he trusts you completely! You don't get it, Sandoval! Liam is not the kind of man who is going to respond to a woman pursuing him aggressively.
You have another 12 hours until they release the Klein woman.
Use every second of it.
Give me your arm.
What for? It's a GPS locator.
I wanna know exactly where you are at every moment.
You have a problem with that? This is my operation.
If it's blown, I'm on the line.
You're on the line? You FBI types You think you live on the edge? Give me a break! I've been Sector Delta for 8 years.
You go home to dinner, TV.
I don't have a home.
- Alright.
Hanna - Who's Hanna? I don't have an identity.
I'm just a covert asset you requisition like a a box of paper clips.
If this thing gets blown, all you have to do is requisition another.
No one knows me.
Not even you, Sandoval.
Because that is who I am.
No one.
I don't exist.
There's no record of me anywhere.
And that is the price I am willing to pay to serve my country.
How about you, FBI? Ramp up to 20% of capacity on the ID simulator.
May I once again draw your attention to the danger? - No, you may not.
- Fine, have it your way.
Don't push your luck.
Okay, let's recreate the accident.
You have the data, right? Please, let me try it first, without full inter-dimensional immersion.
Alright, alright.
Get Liam! - What's going on? - I can't disengage the ID field.
- You've got to get him out of there now! - My God.
You alright? Oh, I'm demanding a bonus from the Portal Authority.
I'll take that as a yes.
I understand your gift, why you are able to capture your subjects so completely in your art.
Tell me.
You are a good listener.
I get a lot of practice.
It's critical in my line of work.
Where's Major today? He is continuing his investigation into the tragic death of Latin American Companion.
It must be difficult to become a Companion Protector.
I know it's a highly coveted position.
Indeed.
And we have been fortunate.
Members of your species, who have come forward, are of the highest caliber.
I imagine they pass some serious tests before you accept them.
There are basic physical and psychological criteria that must be met, before an applicant can even be considered.
Then each Taelon must personally approve his own Protector.
What convinced you that Major Kincaid was the right man? I relied on a very human construct.
Intuition.
Considering the stakes, that sounds pretty unscientific.
Liam is unique.
I've never had one moment of a doubt about it.
I am traveling to the Washington embassy.
Prepare a shuttle.
You are seeking an alliance with Da'an to oppose me.
Obviously, Zo'or.
If I am to alter your misguided course for our species, I need Da'an as an ally.
The Synod endorsed my leadership of Taelons over Da'an unanimously.
Align yourself with whomever you please.
It will have no effect on me or the Taelons.
- Your operative is in place? - Absolutely.
Agent Sandoval, escort the War Minister to the Washington embassy.
He is most certainly entitled to that degree of respect.
Certainly, Zo'or.
Well, at least I proved my theory.
You can disrupt the flow of ID space.
Oh, the Portal Authority's gonna pay through the nose for that tidbit.
Lucky you even have a nose left.
So, you're saying that the ion beam form my pistol weakened the ID field, - And your system reversed the effect? - Yep.
.
Sandoval's leapt through a wall encoding Tonio's diary.
What a shock! I did.
Although I must admit even the FBI should've been able to decipher this.
"As ever, palace intrigue occupies Ram's every waking thought".
"Can't wait to get back, pick up where I left off with Hanna".
- "Her last kiss held a world of promise".
- Antonio, world of promise "October 8, 9 am.
HK, Hanna Klein" I saw her that morning.
Hanna was with him the day he died, this confirms it.
We have to assume she was part of the plan to kill Ram.
Da'an! Hello.
Sorry I missed you.
Leave a message, or, if it's urgent, I can be reached at the Taelon embassy in Washington.
I'll join you in a moment, I need to attend to Do not bother.
Your presence is totally unnecessary.
- Where is Da'an? - He was called to the mother ship.
Security breach! All personnel to their stations! Get the War Minister out of here, use the portal.
I'll secure the embassy.
Quickly, Minister, this way.
T'than, don't go with her! Hanna! Major, no! We have a problem.
Major Kincaid is with them.
Portal are malfunctioning again.
What's going on? Oh, drop the act, I know about you and Tonio.
- Who is Tonio? - The Latin American Protector.
You remember, the guy you seduced.
I never met any Latin American Protector.
How do we get out of here? - What is it? - Sandoval put a locator in my arm.
What are you doing? Overloading it.
I lost them.
He's alive.
- No, I'm not gonna make it.
- Hold on to me.
I'm sorry.
Liam, I Why? It gratifies me that you were not a victim of the assassin Hanna Klein.
We are alone, Da'an.
You may shed the pretense.
Zo'or is the assassin among us.
And when the time is right, I will make him pay dearly for it.
As I feared.
The Commonality is so weakened one Taelon may kill another.
What does this portend for the future of our species? There's no need to speculate.
By his example, Zo'or has shown us what we will become if we eschew the Commonality.
You can no longer evade the issue of allegiance, Da'an.
She never had a chance.
That chip Sandoval put in her arm was designed to kill her after it disrupted the portal.
Guatemalan Federal Police turned the real Hanna Klein over to the American Embassy yesterday.
With their apologies.
Some mix up on a drug charge.
That's a hell of a scheme.
T'than was always the target, Hanna just a setup.
And if it had worked as planned, no one could've laid it at Sandoval's door.
- Motive? - My bet is political assassination.
T'than is openly challenging Zo'or.
Are you sure Sandoval didn't leave a loose thread somewhere? It was all smoke.
Good analyst.
Sandoval told me Tonio was insolent to Ram.
My word against his.
Who closed his account and walled up Tonio's stuff? - Who did any of it? - Sandoval.
Good's good.
Whoever you were, Hanna, you were damn good.
Axarion