( A computer read-out displays page-upon-page of digital and diagrammatic information. The subject of the read-out is Herculania-class Battle Drones. A computer voice intones key details. )

Computer: The core of each drone is powered by pure plasma energy, the concentration of which can be reliably stored in such limited space. Power converters transfer this power in the form of thermal energy into the central distributor, which then redirects the power in second-long discharges to any systems in active operation. This discharge of thermal energy from the core to internal systems can be any current up to and including the equivalent of forty thousand kilowatts per second, dependent upon whichever systems are in operation. The power demands of each internal system are listed on-screen now...

( The screen is flooded with statistics far quicker than most minds could follow. Avon is seated in front of the screen, in his quarters. His eyes run over the screen rapidly, reading and digesting all the information without difficulty. )

Computer: Each drone is guided by a network of three Central Processing Units - an internal unit operating within the cerebral housing, a motivational guidance unit interfaced directly with the above from the upper torso, and a remote sub-beam access to the central guidance control net...

Avon: Hold.

( The computer read-outs pause. )

Avon: Where? Where is it?

Computer: Does not compute.

Avon: Where can we find the remote guidance control net? All we know is that it is an amalgamation of four dead human brains somewhere within Federation space. Where does it operate from?

Computer: Negative information.

Avon: Then speculate.

Computer: Unrecognised command.

Avon: ( Scowling. ) Then I'll have to ask Orac. Continue.

( Torpedo bay. All the crew bar Avon and Hailee are present, gathered round a torpedo launch tube. Orac is switched on. Soolin solemnly places a small casket into the tube.

Soolin: You could be aggravating, you could be foolish, and you were incapable of manners. But you were one of us, Farin. I never really understood what that phrase meant in the Past - "One of us" I mean. It sounded mindless, tribalistic. But I do know now, I know what needing people means, and that there's nothing wrong with it. And that's why I thought this was the least we could do. It's not much, a small memorial like this. But I know it's right.

( Nij Blake closes the tube and signals to Orac with a snap of his fingers. )

Orac: Does that gesture mean something?

Kyben: ( Angry. ) He means get on with it, Orac!

Orac: I must repeat my conviction that this procedure represents a gross misuse of vital resources that would serve the Liberator better if they were preserved for times of combat or...

( Blake pulls out Oracs key and hurls it aside. )

Nij Blake: I told you we shouldn't have brought this glorified radio along. He's got no sense of dignity. Launch manually.

Vila: All right.

( Vila heads over to the firing controls and operates them. After a moment, the tiny casket fires from the Liberator's launch tube and burns brightly as it flies into the vacuum, slowly fading into the distance as a faint speck of light. Vila, Soolin, Kyben and Blake bow their heads for a moment. Blake then retrieves Orac's key, shaking his head sadly. Kyben picks up Orac, then the four of them shuffle out. )

( Flight Deck. Hailee is at the controls, looking bored. Vila, Soolin, Blake and Kyben walk in. Kyben puts Orac down on the table in the pit. )

Hailee: Finished?

Soolin: Uh huh.

Hailee: Good, so we can get moving. We've wasted too much time as it is.

Vila: Why's a funeral a waste of time?

Hailee: Worry about the living first or there'll be a lot more funerals.

Kyben: Why are you always like this?

Hailee: Like what?

Kyben: Like death doesn't concern you.

Hailee: Does it have to?

Kyben: There you go again. You really think people are impressed that you don't care, don't you? We're not you know.

Hailee: Kyben, my own cousin tried to kill me the other day. Pardon me if I'm a bit too worried about avoiding death to worry about someone else's.

( Kyben sits in the pit, head in hands, and sobs slightly. The others look at him in astonishment. )

Soolin: Kyben?

Vila: What's wrong? I didn't think you even liked Farin.

Soolin: Mouth closed, Vila.

Kyben: ( Shaking his head, anguished. ) I can't deal with all this. I swear, one more death is all it'll take.

Nij Blake: One more death? For what?

Kyben: To send me right over the edge.

Hailee: What, and this is you sane is it? I only ask for information's sake.

Soolin: ( Putting a hand on Kybens shoulder. ) Shut up, Hailee...

Hailee: Don't tell me to shut up, bimbo.

Soolin: ( Hisses. ) I'll do a lot worse in a minute.

( Hailee flinches when she sees the look in Soolins eyes and falls quiet. )

Soolin: Kyben, what do you mean you can't deal with this? You're a doctor, you must have seen people dying all the time.

Kyben: ( Distantly. ) I... was a different person once. I was stronger. ( Narrows eye. ) Then I learned to care. I learned to value people. ( Very quietly. ) To value life.

( Kyben suddenly gets to his feet and storms out. The others exchange quiet looks of amazement. Avon walks in from the other corridor. )

Avon: I notice the level of conversation on this ship remains of the highest philosophical standard.

Vila: Oh joy, it's another edition of "Avons Comedy Hour."

Avon: With you as my special guest star? No wonder people keep trying to kill me. Whilst you have all wasted the last few hours mourning our dearly departed pyromaniac...

Hailee: Not quite all of us.

Avon: I have made use of that valuable time to assimilate the data weve obtained.

Vila: Oh that IS interesting.

Avon: Quite. The files contained no clear indication of where we should attempt to search for the control net. However, they should still be invaluable to the various resistance groups. This information and the vaccine for Pylene-50 should give us some bargaining power.

Vila: Oh? Think we can hold the Outer Planets to ransom?

Avon: Absolutely.

Soolin: Ransom? Why?

Avon: Vila is deeply concerned because weve run out of wine again. He wants us to restock as soon as possible, and if nothing else, blackmail can be quick.

Vila: Just thinking of the crew's morale.

( Avon glares at Vila for just a moment. )

Avon: I need Orac's assistance. Key?

( Blake hands over Orac's activator key. Avon slots it into place. )

Avon: Orac, the Liberator's computers have deciphered the information we required for the Herculania Battle Drones. This includes the exact sub-beam frequency for the guidance control net. Can you use this frequency to trace possible sources and destinations for the signals?

Orac: I am not a communications relay unit...

Avon: I'm not asking you to relay communications, I'm asking you to monitor information, like you normally do. Can you use the guidance net's communications to trace the source? That is all I'm asking, I expect an answer.

Orac: The answer is yes.

Avon: I thought it might be. Patch yourself into Liberator's database, assimilate all the information you require and begin.

Orac: Very we-...

( Avon unplugs Orac's key. )

Avon: We must be able to find something, even if it's only a relay point. There has to be something we can trace back to source.

Vila: Look at him, he's getting all fired up, bless 'im.

Avon: The thrill of the chase, Vila. And the reassuring knowledge that I can use expendable thieves as cannon fodder when we attack.

( Flotilla of Federation Pursuit ships orbiting the Earth's moon. On Pursuit One, Dev Tarrant and Commander Kreel are standing reading logistical data on a computer screen. Mutoids man the controls. )

Kreel: Conclusion: It can only be some form of cloaking device. I see no continuity in these sightings otherwise. I judge the Liberator cannot be reliably tracked under these conditions. Even the recent skirmish with its crew on Earth is of no indicative value.

Dev Tarrant: Agreed. Servalan's disappearance meanwhile has been total.

Kreel: I theorise she is in hiding while her allies continue her anti-Federation work. I maintain our best hope of reaching Servalan is through identifying her supporters in the Administration and the High Council.

Dev Tarrant: Very well. Although I imagine the President is already taking action in that regard. Whatever the case, neither the Administration nor the Council are under our present jurisdiction.

Kreel: So we treat the Liberator as priority?

Dev Tarrant: Indeed. It is after all, the symbol of opposition. Mutoids?

Mutoid 1: Yes Kommisar?

Dev Tarrant: Plot a course for the Zarnoq system, speed Time Distort Nine.

( The Flotilla moves out of orbit and into Space. )

( The Liberator crosses the Federation frontier and enters the Outer Planets. In the Medical Bay, Kyben is sipping an Adrenaline and Soma and looking very distressed. Soolin walks in and looks at him in alarm. )

Soolin: Kyben, you look like Hell.

Kyben: So that's what happens to Charm school dropouts.

Soolin: Yes, we become staters of the obvious.

Kyben: ( Takes another sip. ) I'm sure I'll live with it. Is there anything I can do for you?

Soolin: I just thought you should know, we've left Federation Space and we're heading into the Outer Planets. We're going to try and use the information we've gained to buy support from the Neutral planets.

Kyben: Support? From NEUTRAL planets? Avon has a funny definition of Neutral.

Soolin: Hysterical.

Kyben: Is that all you wanted to tell me? Why not just use the intercom?

Soolin: I was worried about you.

Kyben: ( Drains the rest of the glass and gives Soolin a slightly drunken look. ) I appreciate the thought, Soolin. But right now I need a whole lot more than worry.

Soolin: Like what?

Kyben: ( Sits on a couch and looks sorry for himself. ) Like out of here. Why did I defect? I had everything I could ever want with the Feder-...

( Soolin steps up to him angrily, grabs his face firmly in her fingers and twists it up to look at her. Kyben drops the empty glass in surprise. It shatters on the floor. )

Soolin: Don't you even go there, Kyben. You've nothing to be proud of from those days.

Kyben: And now? Jemecca's dead, Stella's dead, Farin's dead... at least when I was in the Medical Division I was saving lives, now I seem to be sacrificing them. What's there to be proud of in that, Soolin? I'm surrounded by the thing I hate the most.

Soolin: What?

Kyben: I'm surrounded by death. I can't cope... I don't deserve this.

Soolin: ( Shocked. ) Deserve? You did some unnecessary surgery a few years ago or have you forgotten?

Kyben: ( Quietly. ) No I haven't forgotten. I wish I could forget everything. ( Becomes tearful. ) I wish I could forget everything I've done. I wish I could forget everyone I ever knew. I wish I could forget everything I am. ( Whispers. ) I can't live like this.

( Soolin sits next to him and puts an arm round him. )

Kyben: Never mind what I deserve, Soolin. It's not about that. Im just not a soldier, I cant cope with all this death...

( Soolin and Kyben kiss. )

( Liberator arrives in orbit around the planet Craeus. On the Flight Deck, Avon, Vila and Blake are present, looking impassive, bored, and impatient respectively. A visual of the planet is on the main screen. )

Nij Blake: Doesn't look very promising.

Avon: Appearances can be so deceptive. There are so many things in the Galaxy that promise little, appear frail and valueless, but still prove to have their uses.

( Vila looks resentful when he realises Avon and Blake are staring at him. )

Nij Blake: ( Tries to hide a smile. ) I wasn't talking about what's on the screen. ( Holds up a data module. ) I'm talking about the readout on this. It says the population of Craeus is largely primitive, no real development since it was colonised in the twenty fifth century of the Old Calendar.

Avon: I'm aware of that. In fact there was serious regression there throughout the days of the First Empire right up until the start of the Atomic Wars.

Vila: How come?

Avon: It was settled by a number of devout religious groups. They spent years arguing with each other about which God was real, then years more FIGHTING each other about which God was real. About the only thing they could ever agree on was that technological development was not merely unnecessary but sinful. By the time the Holy War was over they'd all started working backwards through the realms of scientific achievement, until their whole world had entered the blessed state of total harmony with the Holiest One.

Vila: I love a happy ending.

Avon: Then you'll be disappointed here. Eleven years ago one of the Resistance groups not answerable to Bran Foster surrendered to the Federation, in the mistaken belief that they would be granted amnesty.

Vila: They sound naive.

Avon: Every one of the resistors was deported to Craeus. The Administrations intention was to execute the lot of them on arrival. A large number of the resistors escaped the massacre however and hid among the local populace. The Federation decided there was no need to slaughter anyone else as there was no way the resistors could get off the planet, so they just left. Thereafter the resistors brought their Unbelieving ways into Craeus' society and fighting broke out again, between the religious groups and the Technologists.

Vila: Sounds a bit like Chenga. Who won?

Avon: No idea. No one from off-planet's been near the place since before the Galactic War. I'm hoping the Technologists won, though. They're an obvious possible ally.

Vila: ( Nods wisely. ) Obvious.

Avon: ( Not even looking at Vila. ) You lost track of what I was saying ages ago, didn't you?

Vila: I can't help it, you're very dreary to talk to.

Avon: If you find talking to me dreary then don't talk.

Nij Blake: But that's the bottom line, we're here to get recruits from the Technologists?

Avon: Correct. The more I learn about the battle drones the more I'm convinced we need reinforcements before we can try to fight them.

Nij Blake: Former Federation resistors? Sounds reasonable.

( Hailee enters. )

Hailee: What's reasonable?

Nij Blake: We're going to make some new friends.

Hailee: ( Looks nauseous. ) Oh how wonderful. Lots of new little school-chums for you to play tag with, eh Blake?

( Blake looks annoyed. Avon and Vila smile. )

Avon: She takes my breath away sometimes. ( Opens comms. ) Soolin, meet us in the teleport section. ( Closes comms. ) Hailee, Blake, get the guns.

Vila: Does that mean I don't have to go down there with you?

Avon: Of course you're coming with us, Vila. I'm sure we'll need your remarkable diplomatic skills.

Vila: ( Unhappy. ) Oh. Well in that case, I'd love to tag along.

( The renegade Federation Ship Pursuit 5 plows through Neutral Space. On board, Servalan sits in the command seat. Norcris and two other Pirates are at the controls. )

Norcris: We'll be crossing into the Twelfth Sector in seventeen minutes, my Empress.

Servalan: Refreshing to be ahead of schedule for once. It's also surprising to find a bunch of mindless mercenaries are by far the most reliable servants I've ever had at my disposal.

Norcris: I thank you for the compliment, my Empress. But I still fail to understand why we are heading so far beyond the Federation's frontier.

Servalan: And I still fail to see why you need to understand.

Norcris: It might make our services in the name of our beloved Empress more effective...

Servalan: Unlikely. But I will reveal that even when I've possessed the most powerful weapons in the Galaxy, I've always looked for contingencies. This is one of them.

Norcris: Contingency, maam?

Servalan: That's right, Norcris. You see, for a very brief time I controlled the Liberator, but I knew even then that I might need a fail-safe plan in case I ever lost it. Now with the Liberator's rebirth, combined with knowledge I uncovered while I controlled her, I've learned exactly how to do it. We are about to claim the key to power untold. Ahead, Norcris. Ahead to Astro point-seven-eight-one.

( Pursuit 5 continues on its way. )

( Liberator teleport section. All bar Kyben are present. Avon, Blake, Soolin and Vila are kitted up, Hailee is sat at the controls. )

Avon: If Kyben chooses to grace you with his presence at some point he can take over here while you take the Flight Deck.

Hailee: Thanks. I'm wasted here.

Avon: Yes, I'm sorry you're having to descend to Vila's level...

Vila: Oy!

Avon: ...But I'm sure Kyben will fit the role just perfectly.

Soolin: Give Kyben a break, Avon.

Avon: He's taken a break that has lasted over five hours, Soolin. I don't think a few mild insults will do him any harm.

Soolin: Nor would leaving him alone.

Avon: ( Knowing look. ) Is that what you've been doing?

( Soolin looks embarrassed, then lines up in the teleport bay. )

Soolin: Let's just go.

( Avon raises his eyebrows slightly, then, he, Blake and Vila join Soolin in the teleport bay. )

Hailee: Ready?

Avon: And waiting.

( Hailee operates the controls and Avon et al vanish. )

( Surface of Craeus. Avon, Blake, Soolin and Vila materialise, draw their guns and glance about. After a moment they put their guns away. It is late evening here, and they are in a dark wooded area. The undergrowth has a reddish tinge to it. )

Avon: ( Into bracelet. ) Down and safe. We'll call in again when weve found a local settlement.

Vila: I hope there arent any of those Skar-things in this place.

Avon: Why would there be?

Vila: They would be. Just to annoy.

Avon: Where the annoyance you cause is incidental?

Vila: Yeah. ( Thinks for a moment. ) That was an insult wasn't it?

Avon: Yes.

Soolin: Yes.

Nij Blake: Yes.

Avon: According to the sensors on the Liberator there's a settlement about half a mile to the East. Let's move.

Nij Blake: How do we know if they're going to be friendly?

Avon: Without telepathic help there's no way we can know is there? Other than paying a visit of course. Come on.

( They all set off into the woods. )

( Liberator teleport section. Hailee is here twiddling her thumbs. Kyben walks in, looking haggard. )

Hailee: Where have you been sulking all day, you sissy?

Kyben: Shut up, Hailee.

Hailee: That's the second time someone's said that today...

Kyben: Well maybe it has a meaning. Like everyone wants you to stop talking for once. Try it.

Hailee: I don't take orders from you, Kyben, or your girlfriend.

Kyben: ( Narrows eye. ) Who?

Hailee: Kyben, I've seen the way you and Soolin have been fawning all over each other ever since she came out of the coma. It's really pathetic. The only thing more sickening is the way you keep pretending it's not true.

Kyben: ( Angry. ) Shut up anyway.

Hailee: What's eating you, Kyben? Withdrawal symptoms? Not operated on enough brains recently?

Kyben: I haven't shot anyone in a while ether.

Hailee: Is that what passes for a threat in your book?

Kyben: You can treat it any way you like. Now get out, it's my turn on duty.

Hailee: ( Getting up. ) Suits me. Seeing you're so eager, you can do a double-shift if you like. ( Heads for the exit. )

Kyben: If it means not having to talk to you for the rest of the day, I'll be glad to.

( Hailee exits. Kyben sits behind the console and buries his head in his hands. )

( Outskirts of a village on Craeus. Avon and the others are here at the top of a hill, looking down on the village below through electro-binoculars. The village is very rural in shape, size and character. A mixture of sturdy huts and a market square. The largest building is a modest chapel, at the heart of the village. The twilight is fading quickly. )

Vila: Primitive did you say? There are parts of the Animal Kingdom on Earth that are more advanced than this.

Avon: ( Nodding. ) All we'd need are a few sand dunes and we'd be looking at the Sarrans.

Nij Blake: They must be one of the religious groups down there.

Soolin: I'd say that's a good bet. Did Zen find any other settlements we can try? I don't think the people here are going to be very sympathetic.

Avon: There's another place a mile further along to the south. We'll skirt around the village and push on. As you say, the locals won't be too sympathetic, so I'd rather we didn't run into...

( A voice calls out from behind them. )

Stish 1: Hold it there!

Vila: ( Grimaces calmly, then turns and looks at Avon. ) That was a silly thing you just said y'know.

Avon: ( Looks back at him. ) Yes. I've obviously been talking to you too much.

( They all slowly turn to see three men dressed in medieval tabards and armed with crossbows. The crossbows are aimed at Avon. )

Stish 2: Who is you people? We don't knows you.

Avon: We're just travelers. We...

Stish 3: You's entruding on Stitenhame! Why is you here?

Vila: Intruding on what?

Stish 1: Stitenhame. Is you anti-stits? Who is you?

Avon: I'm sorry, we don't know what you...

( The three men walk closer. The leader grabs at Avon's gun. Avon tries to stop him but gives up when the other two wave their crossbows in his face. The leader pulls the gun from Avon's holster and examines it in growing horror and alarm. )

Stish 1: What is this?

Stish 3: It does looks like a wippon of some kind. Likes the ancients once created.

Stish 2: They is anti-stits! They must be.

( Soolin pulls out her gun but even before she can fire, Stish 3 grabs Avon and holds the crossbow to his head. )

Stish 3: Drop it. Drop the devil's tool, drop it!

Soolin: ( Aims the gun at the Leader. ) We outnumber you you know.

Stish 1: He'd be deaded soon as you's fires.

Soolin: ( Head on one sie. ) That's a shame. So would you though, I think that's a big consolation.

( Avon suddenly swings his elbows backwards and catches Stish 3 in the ribs. He springs to the side just as Stish 2 opens fire. The bolt misses Avon and buries itself in Stish 3's side. Stish 3 cries in pain. Blake leaps at Stish 2 with a snarl of relish and knocks him cold. Soolin drops to the floor and trips the Leader before he can fire. Throughout all this Vila has been on his knees covering his head with his hands. As soon as the fight ends he glances up, then stands, and dusts himself down. )

Vila: Wimps...!

Nij Blake: Thanks for your support, Vila.

Vila: You know me. One for all, and every man for himself.

( Avon picks up his gun and aims it at the Stish Leader. He is about to fire... )

Soolin: No!

Avon: Why not?

Soolin: They may know where we can find a Technologist camp.

( The Stish Leader looks at Stish 3. )

Stish 1: Anti-stit monsters! Sees what your foul tek-nollijy is done to him?

Soolin: I think it was your own weapons that did it, actually.

( Stish 3 whimpers with pain as he tries, unsuccessfully to remove the bolt. )

Stish 3: Help... please...

( The Stish Leader crawls over to his side. )

Stish 1: Oh, the blood... Great Gods Above, comes to our aid.

Avon: As a matter of fact, WE might be able to help him. But first you have to help us.

Stish 1: ( Stares at him. ) Why should I helps filthy anti-stit heretics like you?

Avon: I don't know what this thing you're calling us is supposed to be, but it doesn't sound very flattering.

Stish 1: It isn't.

Avon: Which means you're not being very wise. Not if you want your friend to survive. We can get him medical attention, or we can kill him. What would you like me to do?

( Liberator teleport section. Kyben is still sitting here looking depressed. )

Soolin: ( V.O. ) Liberator? Liberator, come in.

Kyben: ( Into comms. ) Liberator here, go ahead Soolin.

Soolin: ( V.O. ) Feeling any better?

Kyben: ( Into comms. ) No.

Soolin: ( V.O.) Good. We have a little job for you. Might cheer you up.

( Liberator Flight Deck. Hailee is at the helm, snoozing quietly. )

Kyben: ( V.O. ) Hailee. Hailee!

( Hailee wakes up. )

Hailee: Wh-what? ( Shakes her head to clear the cobwebs, then activates comms. ) What is it?

Kyben: ( V.O. ) Come to the teleport section, I need to go down to the surface. And bring me a clip-gun.

( Teleport section. Hailee is seating herself at the controls. Kyben is putting on his gun-belt and bracelet. He has a medi-kit at his feet. )

Kyben: Apparently the wound is so deep they need a professional. That's where I come in.

Hailee: Oo. "A professional," he says.

Kyben: It's what I am...

Hailee: I've got a my own ideas about what you are.

Kyben: Put me down about a hundred metres from them.

Hailee: Oh? Why? Don't you trust Avon?

Kyben: No of course not.

Hailee: All right, ya lousy chicken.

Kyben: Just teleport me.

Hailee: If you'd hurry up and get ready...

( Kyben grabs the medi-kit and steps into the teleport bay. )

Kyben: I'm ready!

( Hailee operates the controls and Kyben teleports out. )

Hailee: ( Shakes her head. ) Someone needs to relax a bit.

( Outskirts of village on Craeus. At the top of the hill, three stishes remain under Avon's armed guard. At the foot of the hill Kyben teleports in. He draws his gun and glances around, then puts it away again. He starts up the hill, furtively. At the top, Stish 3 is weeping with pain. There is a lot of blood flowing over his fingers as they clutch his wound. He has not been able to remove the crossbow bolt. )

Stish 1: The foul anti-stits does hurts us for being more righteous than they is...

Vila: Self-righteous you mean.

Stish 1: ( Angered. ) We is RIGHTEOUS! They is wrong. You is wrong! We fights them till they is made righteous or they is all dead.

Soolin: Sounds like a dictatorship to me.

Stish 1: The Gods does frown on anti-stition! We is not oppresses, we is right. We makes them right, we not lets them hurts us no more. We makes them makes us no deaded no more.

Soolin: ( Narrows eyes. ) They hurt you, did you say?

Stish 1: They hurts us. They says we's wrong. We is righteous!

( Soolin and Blake exchange blank looks. Avon and Vila walk off to one side. )

Avon: From what he's told us I think I can at least understand the expressions he uses.

Vila: You do?

Avon: Think. Even before the Federation outlawed them all, religions were seen by many people as a form of superstition. Presumably therefore, anti-stit is simply short for "Anti-superstition". They use the term to describe Unbelievers it seems. These people on the other hand do believe in God. Or Gods. They are superstitious, so their opponents in the Holy War nicknamed them stishes, or something similar, for short. The names simply stuck.

Vila: Ah. Well, I know whose side I'm on.

( Avon looks at him doubtfully for a moment. )

Vila: Well it's the same old story isn't it? People using their religious beliefs as an excuse to attack everyone else. Who needs a pack of religious fanatics?

Stish 1: We is NOT fanatics! We is righteous! We fights the not-righteous, till they lets us be righteous...

Vila: ( Rolls his eyes. ) So what's your idea of fanatics then?

Avon: ( To stishes. ) Be quiet. We can always send our Doctor back to the ship if you keep irritating us.

Stish 1: We no needs yours Doc-toring. We has faith in the Righteous ones, faith in the Gods Almighty...

Avon: Faith healing is aesthetically pleasing I cannot deny it. But in my experience, a poetry-recital will not help a man when he's bleeding to death. That bolt is dangerously-close to your friend's liver. He needs expert treatment and he needs it soon.

Nij Blake: Speaking of which, where's Kyben got to?

( Kyben is watching from behind some bushes about a hundred yards away. He is about to step out from the cover when a gun barrel points against his damaged cheek. He turns in alarm and raises his hands as he comes face-to-face with two women in Federation prisoner overalls. One of them removes his gun from its holster and hurls it down the hill. )

Chaesla: Well you can't be a stish. Not with those clothes. Or that gun.

Kyben: Who are you?

Chaesla: You can call me madam. And you will if you know what's good for you.

Ariadne: We can't carry on with this scout mission, Chaesla. Not with a prisoner in tow.

Kyben: Don't feel you have to take me prisoner.

Ariadne: I don't. I also don't feel I have to let you speak.

Chaesla: What's your name?

Kyben: If I told you I couldn't remember, would you believe me?

Ariadne: No...

Kyben: You would be difficult.

( Chaesla and Ariadne exchange irritated looks. Chaesla indicates the bracelet on Kyben's wrist. )

Chaesla: What's that?

( Chaesla grabs at the bracelet. Kyben tries to snatch away and press the teleport stud, but Ariadne steps forward and hand-chops his arm. Kyben snarls with pain. Chaesla removes the bracelet and examines it. )

Chaesla: Communicator?

Kyben: If I told you I couldn't remember...

Chaesla: Oh shut up. ( To Ariadne. ) What do we do with him?

Ariadne: Let's take him back to Teklair. The Commander may be able to get some answers out of him. Could be useful stuff. I think we'd all like to know what a stranger's doing on Craeus. Okay, Forgetful One, move.

Kyben: Look, I have something important to do. I'm a Doctor you see, I have to help...

Ariadne: Help yourself. By moving.

Kyben: ( Wants to argue further. Eyes the guns, thinks better of it. ) Where to?

Ariadne: ( Gestures downhill. ) Thataway. MOVE!

( Kyben glances over his shoulder to where his crew mates are still gathered, then staggers down the hill. The two women follow him, their guns never wavering from his back. )

( Hilltop on Craeus. Avon et al are still present. The injured stish is looking seriously pale and unwell. )

Avon: ( Into bracelet. ) The idiot. Did he think I was planning to shoot him?

Hailee: ( V.O. ) No one ever knows what you're thinking, Avon. He hasn't trusted you one bit since... you know...

Avon: ( Into bracelet. ) Yes, Hailee, I know.

Nij Blake: He should still be here by now. I mean it was only a hundred metres away. ( Into bracelet. ) We've got someone dying here, Hailee. When did you teleport Kyben down?

Hailee: ( V.O. ) At least ten minutes ago.

( Avon and Soolin glance at each other. Avon looks angry, Soolin looks worried. )

Avon: He could be playing games.

Nij Blake: He could be lost.

Soolin: ( Angered. ) He could be in danger!

( Kyben is marched into Teklair, a small oasis of technology on the edge of the wood. It is like a small military camp made up of moveable buildings. Cheasla shoves Kyben with excessive force towards the apparent Command Centre. )

Chaesla: Today, Kyben, today.

Kyben: You promised to be nice to me if I told you my name.

Chaesla: ( Shoves him again. ) You can complain to my boss about my outrageous bullying if you like. I'm sure hell give me a good telling off.

Kyben: Friendly is he?

Chaesla: As friendly as I'm gentle. ( Shoves him again. )

Kyben: ( Frowns. ) Oh good.

Ariadne: Keep walking, Kyben. That's the only way you'll keep us nice.

( They march him into the Command Centre. Within there is a great deal of radio equipment and some old fashioned weaponry, primitive by Federation standards, but advanced by those of Craeus. Behind an overlarge desk, of the type that inadequate leaders use to make themselves look important, sits a heavily scarred and weathered young man. His arms are clad in bandages that look like they have not been changed in years. His face is careworn and stained. )

Shivan: Back already, Chaesla? Who is this?

Chaesla: An off-worlder, chief. Interfered with the reconnaisance mission. We thought he might be useful though.

Kyben: How can I be use-...?

Ariadne: Anyone tell you to speak, Kyben? I didn't hear them.

Shivan: Kyben? Rak Kyben?

Kyben: You've heard of me?

Shivan: You deserted the Federation a few months ago. You're from the Liberator.

Kyben: ( Eyes the communications equipment. ) At least someone on this planet keeps in touch with the big wide world. Who are you?

Shivan: My name is Shivan.

Kyben: ( Skeptical. ) You? Shivan?

Shivan: You've obviously heard of my father. He was a Resistance Leader who was killed by Federation infiltrators when I was a teenager. As you may have gathered from my appearance, I nearly died with him.

( The Stish village. It is now very dark. Most of the huts have lit torches on the walls. Avon and Stish 1 are carrying Stish 3 between them into the centre of the village. The others follow behind. )

Avon: ( Grunting with exertion. ) I still say this is an absurd risk. We have no oblig-...

Soolin: The stishes will have an obligation to us, Avon. If we help save this man's life.

Avon: They'll despise us for carrying technology. What makes you so sure they'll be grateful?

Soolin: ( Shrugs. ) Faith?

Stish 2: You's hurries, you's hurries! Pleases. He is dies.

Vila: ( Sighs. ) We is hurriesing. I see education isn't the churchs highest priority on this planet.

Avon: We can't all be budding scholars like you, Vila.

Shaman: ( Out of shot. ) Who is you strangers?

( Soolin and Blake aim their guns in the direction of the voice. They see a tall, elderly man leaning on a mighty staff with a diagonal cross on it. Villagers step out of their homes onto the street, surrounding the group, watching the visitors in consternation. There is a brief silence as the two groups stare at each other. There are soon dozens of villagers in the square, some armed, all eyeing their visitors with fear. )

Vila: I think we've been spotted, Avon.

( Anti-stit Command Centre. Kyben is now seated opposite Shivan. Ariadne and Chaesla stand by the door, their guns still trained on Kyben. )

Shivan: Blake, Foster, Kasabi, Avalon... they were all deluded, Kyben. Avon may not have the principles I aspire to, but at least he lives in the real world.

Kyben: Real world?

Shivan: There is no destroying the Federation, and Avon knows it. I believed when I was young, because my father believed so passionately that he could win, that truth would win the day. But he died, died in a Federation lie. My inspiration was gone, Kyben. I never believed he could die, I never imagined a battle he couldnt win. But he lost and only then did I realise the truth. That the Federation cannot be stopped. I took command of his Resistance Force and I offered our surrender. We were exiled to this backward planet but at least we survived.

Kyben: I doubt your father would've approved.

Shivan: Don't imagine you can speak for my father, Doctor! He may have been misgudided but he wasn't unique for nothing.

Kyben: All right but I don't approve.

Shivan: Your opinion makes no difference to me. You've become as deluded as Blake was before you.

Kyben: I mean, Avon was hoping we could enlist your help. But from what you say, fighting the Feds isn't a big priority of yours anymore.

Shivan: Not even remotely. Even if it still means everything to you.

Kyben: It did. Once.

Shivan: ( Eyes him in surprise. ) You don't wish to be part of the Resistance either do you? I can tell.

Kyben: ( Forlorn. ) I hate the Federation. I hate it more than words can say. But... I'm not right for this. I'm not a fighter. I've seen so much struggle and death since I deserted. And I know that we're not going to win. I just know it.

Shivan: You see? You know it. You know the truth as clearly as I. Rebellion is futile, a suicidal gesture. I knew that surrender was the only way my people could survive. You're no fanatic and neither am I. ( Chuckles. ) I've found a new task on this world fighting against fanaticism. Fighting against the stagnation of religion.

Kyben: Meaning?

Shivan: Look at this place, Kyben. See the way the zealots of the various churches have held themselves and each other back, destroyed the treasures of knowledge and science. I will drag them kicking and screaming into the real world, Kyben.

Kyben: War you mean? You've declared another war?

Shivan: Exactly. We can't allow the primitives to keep on taking refuge in superstitious nonsense. We will educate the primitives about reality or if they won't accept we will have to kill them.

Kyben: ( Shocked. ) Kill them? You can't attack them with this kind of technology! Their weapons are useless, you'll slaughter them.

Shivan: They have to learn the truth, Kyben, as I did. And those who won't learn will be a hindrance to those who will, so they must be removed. Unpleasant, but all for the best.

Kyben: But... ( Nasty thought suddenly occurs. ) How long have you been at war?

Shivan: Since six months after the Prison ship left. At least ten years.

Kyben: ( Looks around, appalled. ) And?

Shivan: And what?

Kyben: And what's happened? Who's winning?

Shivan: We are, of course. We control practically the entire planet now. ( Looks puzzled by Kyben's concern. ) That village we found you in is the last stish settlement left on Craeus. It's a refugee point for the most superstitious fools of all. These ones' minds are so far closed they won't even accept that they're beaten, that their beloved Gods might let them lose the war. Even as their throwback culture collapses around them, they're convinced they will win, so on they fight. They'll all have to die.

Kyben: ( Looks ill. ) Their last refuge? Wh-... how many people have you converted?

Shivan: Hundreds. It's been a brutal, painful process educating these fanatics as to the lies of their beliefs, but it's worth it. We don't enjoy beating the truth into them, but once they finally accept...

Kyben: ( Angry. ) And how many have you killed?

Shivan: Well, it's unfortunate of course but...

Kyben: ( Furiously. ) HOW MANY?

( Ariadne and Chaesla look a little uncomfortable. )

Shivan: ( Startled. ) Well, must be at least a hundred thousand by now...

Kyben: ( Soundlessly. ) What...!

Shivan: Why are you so concerned? You're not religious are you?

Kyben: Of course I'm not!

Shivan: So what's the problem?

Kyben: The problem? The problem is genocide.

Shivan: Genocide?

Kyben: ( Stands up and leans closer menacingly. ) You're wiping out an entire culture. And you could wipe out an entire people.

( Ariadne steps forward and hits Kyben across the back of the head with the butt of her pistol. Kyben slumps across the desk. )

Shivan: I think he's one of them. Secure him in one of the training cells. We'll have to convert him.

( Village square. Avon, Blake, Soolin and Vila are completely surrounded by dozens and dozens of stishes. The shaman of the stishes raises his staff and chants unintelligibly to the stars. Soolin and Blake exchange uneasy looks. )

Shaman: "Urgg ghahl brorg siggim gharra larr gaara..."

Vila: ( Mutters. ) Well that's cleared that up...

( Avon nudges Vila to be quiet. Stish 1 gently puts Stish 3 on the floor, then scampers up to the shaman and kneels at his feet. )

Stish 1: O shaman, my greatness shaman! We findses the stranges. They's fights us. They's now helpses us. My brother is hurts. Need the Lords. Must helps us, the Righteous Ones, the Gods Almighty must saves my brother.

( The shaman places his palm on stish 1's head. Several of the people in the crowd gather round the injured man, lift him from the ground and carry him into the chapel. Some of them give the Liberator crew some unfriendly looks and push past them. )

Avon: ( Into bracelet. ) Hailee, we've met one of the Religious groups. We're not exactly flavour of the month around here but at least they're not attacking us.

Hailee: ( V.O. ) Any good news?

Avon: ( Into bracelet. ) I'll let you know.

( Prison block in Teklair. Kyben slowly comes round and sits up, rubbing the back of his head. The cell is small, the floor lined with soil. The door is just an old-fashioned barred gate. Chaesla is on guard duty, watching him uncertainly. )

Kyben: And I thought you were going to be nice.

Chaesla: I wasn't the one who hit you.

Kyben: You didn't try to stop her either.

Chaesla: Should I have?

Kyben: ( Shrugs indifferently. ) It would've been nice.

Chaesla: You really are whimsical aren't you?

Kyben: People tell me that all the time. You can't all be wrong I suppose. What's going to happen to me?

Chaesla: Shivan wants to convert you. I couldn't believe what you were saying in there. I thought you were supposed to be in the Administration, why would you become a stish?

Kyben: I'm not a stish.

Chaesla: So why did you say all those things?

Kyben: Because I don't like killers. What's he doing now?

Chaesla: Shivan? He's sent our assault force to secure the stish village.

Kyben: Wha-... no! My friends are there. I've got to warn them.

Chaesla: Oh come on, I'm not letting you out of the cell.

Kyben: You've got to.

( Chaesla merely folds her arms and taps her foot on the floor. )

Kyben: All right, give me back my bracelet, I'll contact them with that.

Chaesla: Not a chance.

Kyben: I won't tell them where to find me, I have to warn them...

Chaesla: Shivan didn't say you were entitled to...

( A laser bolt propels from Kyben's eye-patch and knocks the gun out of Chaesla's hand. )

Chaesla: Aaaa-...!

( Kyben starts firing bolts at the prison bars to try and melt them open, but the bars are too strong to cut that quickly. )

Kyben: Melt, damn you, melt!

( Chaesla scoops the gun off the floor and aims it at Kyben. )

ABOUT THE EPISODE