Victory goes to those
Who are willing to fail."
Lambert Krill
Executed
CY 689
"The Test" is episode 10 of Season 5.
Synopsis[]
Beka Valentine and Doyle are aboard the Eureka Maru, listening to Virgil Vox when they see what appears to be an orb of energy fly out of a Route of Ages portal. It changes course, and comes towards them, buffeting the ship with a shower of charged particles it trails behind, and pauses just outside their window. It emits a dark cloud of fearful memories over Beka, who recovers only after it streaks down towards Seefra-1.
Dylan Hunt is playing cards with on old man named Prieus when Beka interrupts him, and tells of the energy orb, now headed straight for them. Dylan looks out the front door and watches the orb burn down the main street and into the Oasis Bar, narrowly missing Prieus before punching through the back wall. Dylan peers through the hole in time to see a dark figure emerge from the orb. He runs outside to follow the figure, but only gets a few glimpses before he disappears.
The next day in the Oasis Bar, Dylan and Beka discuss the orb, while a fierce storm brews outside. Beka's worried, as her last experience with the Route of Ages got her possessed by the Spirit of the Abyss. She also blames Dylan for being stranded on Seefra.
Dylan is searching for the stranger in the storm. Trance Gemini is more interested in using the portal to leave this system. At the Oasis Bar, Beka refuses to eat the bland food given her. Beka tells Dylan to show more self-interest. Dylan says she's lost interest in others.
Seamus Harper is in negotiations with Prieus over something he claims will make them both wealthy. The old man drops an unimpressive piece of cloth into his hand and Harper is skeptical, until it dissolves into a puddle of clean water. Harper says the water's pure, unlike the "radiation rain" which appears once in a blue moon. But the possible rainstorm kicking up might negate the whole deal, so he holds off on deciding.
Telemachus Rhade and Beka watched the conversation and when Harper's not looking, follows Prieus outside. Dylan finds Harper nervously hurrying down the street. He tries to talk, but Harper impatiently moves on. Dylan looks down quizzically at the water print left on his jacket and doesn’t see Beka in the shadows quietly cursing Prieus’ name after witnessing the water exchange. As Dylan continues down the street looking for the stranger from the orb, he comes across Prieus lying in the street and mortally wounded. He whispers something into Dylan’s ear and dies.
The next day, the storm shakes the bar as asteroids hurl by. Dylan is accosted by Beka and Harper, who want to know what the old man said before he died.
Dylan says the man said nothing, and wonders what he was selling which could interest the crew so much. The 3 remain silent, unwilling to give up any information on their business with him, when the stranger walks In. Dylan talks to him about leaving the system but the stranger says the cost is high, and he'll decide who'll go. Trance tells Dylan she's sensing the crew's fear and their loss of unity. Dylan realizes the crew has fallen apart. Dylan says "you have to destroy the village to save it." Dylan's willing to take the gamble of letting him finish what he started in order to save the crew.
The Stranger interrogates Rhade, Harper, and Beka. Rhade is a narcotics smuggler, contract assassin, and a stone-cold killer. The Stranger is the "Judge, Jury, and Executioner". Beka is an arms dealer/smuggler for rebels, attempted to overthrow the Tech Police, and sold narcotics. Harper is terrified of the Stranger's personality.
Dylan steps in and orders him to leave his friends alone. The Stranger declares them as a useless group, but offers a deal: Dylan must kill Prieus’ murderer in exchange for the stranger to show them the escape route. Rhade, Harper, and Beka don't like the deal but they know they can’t overpower the stranger. He can manipulate their worst fears. Dyan tells Trance the stranger must be allowed to play his cards. Dylan agrees to be the "executioner" if the stranger agrees to be the "travel agent".
He comes to each of them and, channeling Prieus’ energy, shows a hologram of their personal dealings with Prieus. Rhade arguing with him in the alley and throttling him before dropping him motionless on the ground over a broken deal gone wrong. Beka threatening him with her handgun over a late delivery. Harper conspiring when Prieus shows him the cloth which turns to water. The stranger knows how badly Harper wanted it, and the threat that he might give it to someone else is a clear motive.
Intermixed between the interrogations are conversations between the crew over who'll die and who'll escape. Trance tells Dylan the crew's "sowing the seeds of their own destruction".
Rhade conspires with Beka about seeking out whatever device Prieus used which turned matter into water, the same way he conspired with Harper when Beka was undergoing her inquisition. The stranger appears out of nowhere, sickened that the 3 off them would conspire with each other against their friends. Dylan steps in to put a stop to it. He knows who really killed Prieus, just as the stranger does, but demands first to know where the stranger is from. He's not surprised when the stranger tells them he's from the future. Everyone's shocked when Dylan admits to the murder and the stranger shoots him. The crew watches helplessly over his body as Trance pleads for them to do something. When she asks the stranger to help, he says she needs patience. The rest of the crew blame themselves for standing by and doing anything while Dylan was killed. They understand how self-centered they've become in Seefra.
Harper, Beka, Trance, and Rhade all stand over Dylan, paying their last respects when he suddenly gasps for air and opens his eyes. He tells them to check on Prieus and when they pull back the shroud, the stranger's lying there. Dylan tells them what Prieus whispered: he's a fellow Paradine sent by Dylan from the future to help him keep his crew together. He was their test and proof that they need each other to survive, now and in the future. When Harper tries to recover the body, it vanishes and in its place is a glass cube, containing what looks like a swirling galaxy. He recognizes it as a massive energy source, perhaps what he used to turn matter to water. Rhade asks Harper if it's more than enough to power the Andromeda Ascendant; Harper says it can. With that, Rhade addresses Dylan as "Captain," then by his name. Dylan mentions that he almost sounds like the old Rhade, full of hope and happiness. Beka mentions to Dylan that he finally got his wish; a way to power Andromeda. Dylan says he has what he needs: his crew. They all join hands as a team. Doyle comes in, telling them the storm has passed, and asks if she missed anything. Dylan replies she did not, and she joins her hand with the others.
Trivia[]
- The crew turns on each other in anger and desperation.
- “The Test“
- “What Will Be Was Not“
- “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” is a misquote of the quote “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”; said by Peter Arnett after the battle for Bến Tre.
- The title quote refers to accepting a short-term defeat to avoid a long-term defeat.
Quotes[]
- Dylan: "You have to destroy the village to save it."
- Trance: "Dylan you have got to stop them. They are sowing the seeds of their own destruction."
Production Information[]
| Production Number: | 510 |
| Aired: | January 7, 2005 |
| Writer By: | Scott Frost |
| Directed By: | Brad Turner |
| Created By: | Gene Roddenberry |
| Developed By: | Robert Hewitt Wolfe |
| Executive Producers: | Majel Roddenberry Josanne B. Lovick Adam Haight Kevin Sorbo Bob Engels |
| Producer | Sherry Gorval |
| Production Designer | Brian Kane |
| Intro | The Universe is a dangerous place. But in our future my crew and I fight to make it safe. I am Dylan Hunt, Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, and these are our adventures. |
Starring[]
Regular Cast[]
- Kevin Sorbo as Dylan Hunt
- Lisa Ryder as Beka Valentine
- Steve Bacic as Telemachus Rhade
- Gordon Michael Woolvett as Seamus Harper
- Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini
- Lexa Doig as Rommie
- Brandy Ledford as Doyle
Guest Star[]
- Jim Byrnes as Virgil Vox (voice)
- Bill Mondy as Stranger
- Frank C. Turner as Prieus
- Michasha Armstrong as Alien