Exit Strategies | |
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Production | |
Episode |
2.02 |
Production # |
202 |
Original air date |
October 8, 2001 |
Written by | |
Directed by | |
Developed by | |
Producer | |
Executive Producer |
Allan Eastman |
Production Designer | |
Cast | |
Guest stars | |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | |
Followed by |
Deeper than the ocean,
Or the abysmal dark
Of the unfathomed center."
Enoch Vere de Vere.
"Lamentations Sous-terre", CY 9734
"Exit Strategies" is episode 2 of Season 2.
Synopsis[]
With the Andromeda Ascendant still dead in space, Dylan Hunt, Beka Valentine, Tyr Anasazi, and Rev Bem are on a parts run in the Eureka Maru, when they are attacked by 3 Nietzschean Garuda class fighters from the Mandau Pride. The Maru is damaged to the point where they need to vent their Antiproton Storage Tanks to avoid an explosion. They jump to Slipstream to attempt to lose the Nietzscheans, but they are followed, and life support is failing, so they land hard on an ice world.
Back on the Andromeda, Trance, Rommie, and Harper have been cleaning up the Magog bodies for three weeks. Harper is having problems dealing with the after effects of being infested by Magog. He is so distraught, he begins to shoot the Magog bodies.
After the Maru's crash landing, Dylan is bleeding slightly, but the crew is otherwise OK. The Maru's emergency locator has been damaged, and they have no fuel. They start working on repairs, but Rev seems unwell, apparently he has been fasting for three weeks since being on the Magog World Ship, and needs to eat soon. Magog physiology is such that he cannot start digestion without killing his prey first, and they have no live animals available on the planet, to their knowledge. As a result, Tyr does not feel they can trust Rev, but Beka, who has known him much longer, does.
Dylan heads out to scout the area, and see if he can find food, supplies, etc. He leaves the others to continue the repairs. He eventually spots a building in the distance, and heads towards it. He also discovers a number of large sinkholes under the snow and ice.
Tyr continues to be concerned about Rev's self-control. Beka, however, is more concerned about the Nietzscheans that were chasing them. She notes that slavers are "9-to-5" "bad guys", they ignore targets that can offer serious resistance. These Nietzscheans doubled back twice to follow the Maru. She suspects that this may have something to do with the time that Tyr took the Maru out on his own for 3 weeks, but Tyr does not volunteer any explanation.
As Dylan approaches the building, he finds it populated by Nietzscheans, who start to shoot at him. He fires back and starts to run. During the firefight, more sinkholes open up nearby, and the tremors are felt in the Maru.
Rev's hunger pangs are becoming more serious, rendering him essentially helpless. Beka talks to him, saying that she trusts him, and reminds him of his strength of faith.
Tyr is concerned about how long Dylan has been out, and goes to find him. He finds Dylan in the middle of a firefight with the Nietzscheans, and helps him out. Observing the Nietzscheans trading off guns, he realizes they are low on ammunition. The Nietzscheans, however, recognize Tyr, and call for him to surrender, by name. Dylan is surprised by this, and asks Tyr for an explanation, but Tyr does not offer one.
Seamus Harper is hiding in a conduit, wallowing in his misery. Rommie comes to him, asking him for his help. She says that she needs his help to fix a leak in one of her transfer lines. Harper claims that he cannot help, because the ship stinks of Magog.
Dylan and Tyr lose the Nietzscheans and return to the Maru. The Nietzscheans start shelling the area, and the impact opens up a sinkhole under the Maru, causing it to fall 73 meters. They discover that they are in a large network of tunnels, and determine that the planet is an old mining planet.
Tyr suggests a plan: Lure the Nietzscheans to the Maru, blow it up, and use the Nietzschean ships to return to the Andromeda. Beka categorically refuses to follow the plan, because the Maru is her home and her livelihood. Dylan concedes that without Beka's support, they will not sacrifice the Maru.
Dylan, Beka, and Tyr scout the tunnels around the Maru. They find evidence of Squorms, huge genetically engineered beings that eat ore and excrete metal in the tunnels.
Rev Bem informs them that if he does not get food soon, his body will start digesting itself. Beka suggests that he could eat the Nietzscheans, and solve two problems at once, but Rev is appalled by the suggestion. Rev claims that if he was really strong in his faith, he would have let the Magog on the Worldship kill him, and the others, before resorting to violence. In fact, he actually enjoyed killing, and is horrified by this fact.
Harper is looking at the Magog larvae on a medical monitor, and drinking heavily. He pulls out a gun and is about to shoot himself in the stomach, but Rommie interrupts him. She reminds him of past "medical miracles" worked by Trance, but Harper does not believe that anyone can fix him.
Dylan, Beka, and Tyr try to come up with a plan to both deal with the Nietzscheans and remedy their lack of fuel. They start out by splitting up and looking for a way to the surface. Dylan and Beka find a magnetic accelerator. They can extend the coil to the Maru using the Squorm refuse, power it with the emergency generators, and use the Artificial Gravity system to reduce the effective mass of the Maru. They try to contact Tyr to let him know, but cannot contact him, because of interference in the tunnels. They hear Squorms approaching, and realize they are homing in on the Maru. They rush back to the Maru to discharge the magnetic field, and they find the weapons locker empty. Rev tells them that Tyr has taken the weapons, but he thought it was part of their plan.
Tyr is in the tunnels, calling for the Nietzscheans, and offering weapons as a peace offering. The Nietzscheans were Tyr's partners in his raid on the Drago-Kazov Pride homeworld, but Tyr double-crossed them and left them behind. Tyr sees controlling the bones as a way to control the future of the Nietzschean race, and invites the Mandaus to join him, but they are only interested in the potential profit.
Dylan and Beka are working on extending the magnetic accelerator, and Tyr still has not returned. Beka is convinced that he is betraying them, but Dylan is not so sure. Dylan heads out to try to find Tyr.
Tyr gives the Mandaus guns, but they immediately turn on him. Tyr is nonchalant until he throws a piece of Squorm refuse, knocking one of them out, and causing enough confusion for him to withdraw, shooting.
On the Andromeda, the Antiproton leak has become critical. Rommie tells Harper that he must fix it, or they will all die. Harper insists that he wants to die, because of the larvae inside him. Rommie reminds him that, with the backup that was unexpectedly restored, she doesn't know what she might have inside her. She insists that she needs Harper to fix her. He finally agrees that he and Rommie can fix each other, and repairs the leak.
Rev, locked in the weapons locker, asks Beka to shoot him. She insists that they need him, and reminds him of the tough times he got her through. Rev tells her that, on the Worldship, he discovered that he was not created by the Divine, but by the Spirit of the Abyss. Beka insists that this does not mean that the Divine cannot have plans for him. Rev's hunger, however, is getting critical.
The magnetic accelerator is ready to go, but it is attracting Squorms. Dylan finds Tyr, and helps him fight off the Nietzscheans, but insists that Tyr still owes him an explanation. They run back to the Maru, and Beka starts to move them out.
The Mandaus move in front of the Maru, and with the AG fields on, the Maru does not have enough momentum to run them over. However, the squorms show up and eat the Nietzscheans, allowing the Maru to launch. They refuel the Maru from the local sun, and return to the Andromeda.
Dylan and Tyr have a discussion. Dylan has discovered that the Dragans have a 10,000,000 Eagle reward offered for Tyr, and he wonders why he should not turn Tyr in to collect the reward. He notes that Tyr's "extracurricular activities" have become a liability. Tyr counters that he is useful to Dylan, as his only trained soldier. Dylan asks Tyr to explain why he is staying on the ship. Tyr says that, at first, he thought he might be able to take control of the ship, and it made a convenient base of operations. However, after they encountered the Magog World Ship, he re-thought his priorities, and realized that he needs Dylan.
Dylan and Tyr sit down to a Go game, and Dylan invites Tyr to make his move.
Trivia[]
- The title refers to the exit strategy.
Memorable Quotes[]
Tyr: Reverend Behemiel! (slaps Rev) Are you dead?
Rev: Tyr Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride. Clearly I am not in heaven.
Tyr: Captain Hunt In the past few months, you've been placing yourself in a number of very risky situations. It's not a healthy trend.
Dylan: Thank you, Tyr. I didn't know you cared.
Dylan: Tyr, any ideas about what might change their minds about killing us?
Tyr: Killing them first?
Tyr: (to Kiyama) Do you know why I left you behind on Enga's Redoubt?
(Tyr throws Squorm dropping, which hits one of Kiyama's men in the head)
Tyr: Because you are so uncompromisingly inferior!