You might say reality is
the result of complex
negotiations between the
observer and the observed.
But that is simply a
point of view

Michio Von Kerr,
The Apotheosis of Reason,
CY11542

[Andromeda Ascendant]

ANDROMEDA [OC]: Intruder alert. Code red. Intruder alert. Officers down. Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Code red. Intruder alert. Code red. Intruder alert. Officers down. Code red. code red.
(The Andromeda Ascendant is tumbling out of control. Beka is dead in Command, Tyr is lying amongst other bodies in a corridor. Harper has apparently been electrocuted in a machine shop, and Hunt's corpse is leaning against a catwalk railing. One of the invaders throws Rommie down into the slipstream core and sets the controls. The Andromeda Ascendant goes KaBOOM!)

[Nowhere]

(In a featureless environment, Trance is apparently tending a bonsai.)
TRANCE: Okay, that did not work. Let's try again.
(She cuts off a branch. The events we just witnessed reverse themselves.)

[Command]

(The Andromeda comes out of slipstream.)
BEKA: Well?
HUNT: Well what?
BEKA: I have been tweaking the bio-feedback on the navigational control. Did you notice how much smoother the ride was?
(Bump.)
BEKA: Oops.
HUNT: I noticed that.
BEKA: Yeah.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, I'm detecting an object to starboard. Three metres long. Distance fifteen LS and closing. Speed, fifty PSL.
BEKA: Fifteen LS? That's a sneaky object.
HUNT: And fast. Andromeda, define object. Is this an asteroid, a comet, what?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Unknown. It is non-responsive to hails and exhibiting hostile behaviour.
TRANCE: It's on an intercept course.
BEKA: If this thing hits us at that speed
HUNT: Hmm. Evasive manoeuvres. ECM to maximum.
TRANCE: No good. It's still gaining.
HUNT: You're kidding. All right. Defensive missiles, tubes one through five. PDLs on standby.
BEKA: Is that really necessary?
HUNT: It's chasing us. That is rude. Let's teach it some manners.
ROMMIE: If you please, sir, the target is locked.
HUNT: Thank you, Rommie. Fire.
ROMMIE: The missiles have intercepted the target, and the target is still there.
HUNT: We missed?
ROMMIE: I didn't miss. The missiles intercepted the target and then kept going, as if it was never even there in the first place. And now, it's gone completely.

[Machine shop]

(As he is climbing down a ladder, the door opens and the invader from the opening scene is there.)
HARPER: Er, guys, did we invite any guests onboard recently?

[Command]

HUNT: Not again.

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Because I've got one standing right in front of me. About eight foot twelve

[Command]

HARPER [on viewscreen]: Not much into conversation.

[Machine shop]

(The invader rips the cover off a wall panel.)
HARPER: Hey! Whoa, whoa. Hey, I just got that fixed.
(And starts ripping out the innards. Harper goes for a weapon.)
HUNT [OC]: Harper, back off.

[Command]

HUNT: Security force is on its way. Let them handle the intruder.

[Machine shop]

HARPER: All right. Make sure you tell them to use excessive force.

[Command]

TRANCE: Dylan, please, it's incredibly dangerous. We have to stop it. Trust me.
HUNT: Tyr, meet with the security team on deck twelve.
TYR: Trust me.
(The Scourge, which is what the invader is called according to the cast list, disappears in front of Harper's eyes.)

[Command}

BEKA: Dylan?
HUNT: Yeah.
BEKA: I've got something weird here.
(The Scourge shoots Beka in the back and vanishes.)
TRANCE: Beka!
(The scene freezes and Trance walks in front of the picture that includes herself.)
TRANCE: Why come here to kill Beka? Does it know that she's the one?

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: Or is it just making calculations?
(She cuts another branch off the little tree.)
TRANCE: Let's find out.

[Command]

(Reverse events again.)
TRANCE: Beka!
BEKA: Dylan?
HUNT: Yeah.
BEKA: I've got something weird here.
HARPER: Er, guys, did we invite any guests onboard recently?
ROMMIE: And now the target is gone completely.
HUNT: Fire.
ANDROMEDA: I'm detecting an object to starboard.
(And resume forward play.)
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, I'm detecting an object to starboard. Three metres long. Distance, fifteen LS and closing. Speed, fifty PSL.
BEKA: Fifteen LS? That's a sneaky object.
HUNT: And fast. Andromeda, define object. Is this an asteroid, a comet, what?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Unknown. It is non-responsive to hails and exhibiting hostile behaviour.
TRANCE: It's on an intercept course.
HUNT: Hmm. Evasive manoeuvres. ECM to maximum.
TRANCE: No good. It's still gaining.
HUNT: Okay. Defensive missiles, tubes one through five. PDLs on standby. Fire.
ROMMIE: The missiles have intercepted the target, and the target is still there. And now, it's gone completely.
HARPER [OC]: Er, guys?

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Did we invite any guests onboard recently? Because I've got one standing right in front of me.

[Command]

HUNT: Not again.
HARPER [OC]: Five feet twelve, not much into conversation.

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Hey, hey, leave that alone. I just got that fixed.
HUNT [OC]: Harper, back off.

[Command]

HUNT: Security is on the way. Let them handle the intruder.
TRANCE: Maybe we should step back. Give it some space.
TYR: I'll agree. We have no idea what it will do next. We might wait.
HUNT: And let it do god knows what to our internal systems? I don't think so. Tyr, meet with the security team on deck twelve.
TYR: That's a plan as well.
HUNT: Harper, hold your position. Security is on the way.
HARPER [on viewscreen]: Make sure you tell them to use excessive force.
HUNT: Andromeda, any luck analyzing our intruder?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: I'm sorry, Dylan. My internal sensors are returning the same infeasible target solutions.
ROMMIE: It doesn't make any sense. That thing is either here or it's not. It can't be both.
HUNT: Keep trying.

[Machine shop]

(The Scourge moves on to the AP rods.)
HARPER: Oh, for Pete's sake. All right.
(Harper starts shooting. The energy bolts have no effect on the Scourge.)

[Command]

HUNT: Harper, what's going on down there? Mister Harper? Tyr, report.
(The viewscreens go blank.)
HUNT: Rommie, get that transmission back.

[Machine shop]

(The Scourge points its arm at Harper, who surrenders.)
HARPER: Just kidding?
TYR: Hold it.
(It kills Harper and vanishes.)

[Command]

BEKA: Dylan?
HUNT: Yeah.
BEKA: I've got something weird here.
(The Scourge appears behind Beka.)
HUNT: Beka, get down!
(And starts shooting as Beka dives to one side. The Scourge absorbs the shots in its hands and returns fire. Rommie joins in.)
HUNT: Tyr, get back up here.
(Beka uses her gun, too.)
ROMMIE: Right. Time to pick on somebody your own size.
(The Scourge slaps Rommie and sends her flying across the deck.)
(Tyr and the security team enter.)
HUNT: Tyr, switch to plasma bursts.
(They do, and the Scourge vanishes.)
HUNT: Beka, you okay?
BEKA: Yeah. Swell.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Dylan, I'm afraid I have bad news.
ROMMIE: Harper.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: He is still alive, but I'm afraid there is little I can do.
HUNT: Understood.

[Med deck]

BEKA: I've seen Harper through some pretty bad scrapes, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. I've lost crew before. I still have nightmares about the day Vexpak died. Somehow, this is different.
TRANCE: Well, Harper is still alive. I haven't given up on him yet, and neither should you.
BEKA: I know. I just er, I can't get over the feeling that it should be me on that table, not him.
TRANCE: There's a way that this won't happen to any of you.

[Command]

ROMMIE: I've been analyzing the microfragments from our intruder, and what I've found is. Well, it's weird.
HUNT: Define weird.
ROMMIE: Well, for starters, this armour is ancient. My best estimate is that it's over twelve thousand years old.
BEKA: So this thing has been running around since before the birth of the old Commonwealth?
ROMMIE: Not quite, which brings us to the weird part. These fragments are getting younger by the second. They appear to be moving backward through time.
HUNT: Well, that's not weird, that's impossible.
BEKA: Could you have made a mistake?
ROMMIE: No.
BEKA: Okay, smarty chips. Say you're right. Say this thing is moving through time in reverse. What do we do now?
HUNT: That's the problem. It knows what we're going to do before we do it.

[Med deck]

ANDROMEDA [OC]: Harper's vital signs are becoming unstable.
TRANCE: No. Harper! No!
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Respiratory failure. Cardiovascular failure.
TRANCE: No, please!
ANDROMEDA [OC]: EEG is negative. Harper is dead.

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: No!
(Time reverses as she replaces the branches on her bonsai.)

[Med deck]

(Expanding to four screens, presumably equaling the four times Trance tries different ways to save Harper.)
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Harper's vital signs are becoming unstable.
TRANCE: No.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Harper's vital signs are becoming unstable. Respiratory failure.
TRANCE: No.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Respiratory failure. Harper's vital signs are becoming unstable. Cardiovascular failure. Cardiovascular failure. Cardiovascular failure.
TRANCE: No!
ANDROMEDA [OC]: EEG is negative. Harper is dead. Harper is dead. Harper is dead.
TRANCE: No! I can't save you, I can't.
(Trance tries pruning a different branch.)
TRANCE: No!
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Cardiovascular failure. Harper is dead.
TRANCE: No!
(Time reverses again.)
BEKA [OC]: Say this thing is moving through time in reverse.
HUNT [OC]: It knows what we're going to do before we do it. Beka, get down!
ROMMIE [OC]: It doesn't make any sense. That thing is either here or it's not.
HARPER [OC]: Just kidding?
HUNT: Fire.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: I'm detecting an object to starboard.

[Command]

ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, I'm detecting an object to starboard. Three metres long. Distance, fifteen LS and closing. Speed, fifty PSL.
BEKA: That's one sneaky object.
HUNT: And fast. Andromeda, define object. Is this an asteroid, a comet, what?
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Unknown. It is non-responsive to hails and exhibiting hostile behaviour.
TRANCE: It's on an intercept course.
HUNT: Okay. Defensive missiles, tubes one through five. PDLs on standby. Fire.
ROMMIE: The missiles have intercepted the target, and the target is still there. And now, it's gone completely.
HARPER [OC]: Er, guys, did we invite any guests onboard recently?

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Hey, hey, whoa, I just got that fixed.
HUNT [OC]: Harper, back off. Security's on the way.

[Command]

HUNT: Let them handle the intruder.
TRANCE: Harper, no! Just get out of there.

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Trance, what?

[Command]

HUNT: You heard the lady, Mister Harper. Get your butt out of there.
(The viewscreens go blank.)
ROMMIE: The intruder is systematically shutting down my diagnostic sensors. Not just on deck twelve. I've got blind spots all over the ship, mainly in sensitive areas.
BEKA: That thing is making one hell of a mess. It's actively covering its tracks. Now we're going to have to uncover them, the hard way.
HUNT: Tyr, dispose of our intruder by any means necessary.

[Corridor]

TYR: Maintain fire discipline, and control your
(Both security guards are shot by the Scourge, then it tesseracts close to Tyr. It gets his gun off him.)
TYR: Do you think you're the first one to try and kill me? You'll have to work harder.
(The Scourge dodges Tyr's knife thrusts, then they go hand to hand. It lifts him up by the neck and breaks it.)

[Command]

(The whole fight was on the viewscreen.)
HUNT: God help him.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: The intruder has appeared in the slipstream core. It's slaughtering the crew and overriding the core systems. I can't
(The Andromeda goes into her fatal tumble.)
TRANCE [OC]: No!
(She tries pruning a different branch. Time rewinds.)
BEKA [OC]: It's actively covering its tracks. Now we're going to have to uncover them.
HARPER: Trance, what?
TRANCE: Harper, no. Just get out of there.
HARPER: Er, did we invite any guests onboard recently?
ANDROMEDA [OC]: I'm detecting an object to starboard.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, I'm detecting an object to starboard. Three metres long. Distance, fifteen LS and closing. Speed, fifty PSL.
BEKA: That's one sneaky object.
HUNT: And fast. Andromeda, define object. Is this an asteroid, a comet, what?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Unknown. It is non-responsive to hails and exhibiting hostile behaviour.
TRANCE: It's on an intercept course.
BEKA: If that thing hits us at that speed.
HUNT: Hmm. Evasive manoeuvres. ECM to maximum.
TRANCE: No good. It's still gaining.
HUNT: Fine. Defensive missiles, tubes one through five. PDLs on standby.
TRANCE: You're wasting your time.
HUNT: All right, Trance. No games, no riddles, no cryptic hints from possible futures. Tell me what you know.
TRANCE: That thing out there wants to kill us. And nothing you can do will destroy it, believe me. Now, I don't know what this creature is or why it is doing this, but I do know that it can tesseract through space, and move backwards in time, so that it knows our next move before we even make it. Now, all I can tell you is to get Harper out of there, get Beka to move away from that pilot's station, and to tell everyone onboard to set their forcelances to full plasma blast, because that is the only thing that will even begin to slow this thing down. That's all I know.
HUNT: Thank you, Trance. That was admirably straightforward. Beka?
(Beka leaves the pilot's station. The Scourge drops down and flattens Hunt, then breaks his back and vanishes.)
HARPER [on viewscreen]: Er, guys, did we invite any guests onboard recently? Because I've got one standing right next to me. About eight foot twelve, not much into conversation. Hey, hey, hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa, I just got that fixed.

[Corridor]

(Trance walks slowly whilst everyone else runs.)
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Intruder alert. Crew down on the Command deck. Intruder alert. Crew down on deck twelve. Intruder last seen on deck sixteen.
BEKA [OC]: Attention, all hands. Form squads and attack the intruder.
TRANCE: Too late. Tyr.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Intruder alert. Intruder in the slipstream core. Evacuate. Warning. Exotic matter pulser has been activated. Uncontrolled slipstream event in progress.
(Rommie runs past.)
BEKA [OC]: All hands, abandon ship.
TRANCE: Hope.

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: Harper. I just don't see any other way.
(Time reverses.)
TRANCE: Too late. That's all I know.

[Command]

HARPER [OC]: Er, guys?

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Did we invite any guests onboard recently?

[Command]

HARPER [on viewscreen]: Because I've got one standing right in front of me. About eight foot twelve

[Machine shop]

HARPER: Not much into conversation. Hey, hey! Leave that alone. I just got that fixed.
HUNT: Harper, back off.

[Command]

HUNT: Security is on the way. Let them handle the intruder.

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: If there was any other way, but I still don't see it.

[Machine shop]

(The Scourge goes to the AP rods.)
HARPER: Oh, for Pete's sake. All right.
(And starts shooting.)
HARPER: Just kidding?

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: If I had more time, I. I just don't see it. All I can see is death.
(The tree regrows a severed bough.)

[Med deck]

TRANCE: No.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Harper's vital signs are becoming unstable.
TRANCE: Come on.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Respiratory failure.
TRANCE: No.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Cardiovascular failure.
TRANCE: No!
ANDROMEDA [OC]: I'm sorry, Trance.
TRANCE: Harper.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Harper is dead.
TRANCE: Harper. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

[Command]

HUNT: I can't believe he's gone. Poor Harper. Tell me that this all works out okay, Trance, that it means something in the end.
TRANCE: I wish I could do that, but I can't. It's from the future. That's all I can say. How do you live with it?
HUNT: Live with what?
TRANCE: Choosing one life over another. I know I've done it before, Dylan, but never when the loss of life has really just killed me inside. This is tearing me apart.
HUNT: We control our own choices, Trance. Nothing else. The rest? The rest is fate.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, it appears that the creature has resumed its sabotage of the ship.
HUNT: All hands, this is the Captain. Code black. Battle stations.
(Later -)
TRANCE: Still nothing.
HUNT: Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Keep scanning.
BEKA: Okay, that's it, I'm doing this in person.
HUNT: Beka, it would be safer if you stayed. Trust me. Status?
ROMMIE: We've got something. Deck forty, section seven.
HUNT: Tyr, talk to me.

[Corridor]

TYR: Moving into position and awaiting orders.
HUNT [OC]: Stand by.

[Command]

HUNT: Trance? If there's anything I need to know, now is the time.
(Trance shakes her head.)
HUNT: Fine.

[Corridor]

HUNT [OC]: Tyr, secure slipstream core, and keep your eyes open. I'm about to make our visitor reappear. Go.

[Slipstream core]

(An anonymous crewman is working there.)
TYR: The core appears to be unthreatened. Go away.

[Command]

HUNT: Clear the deck.

[Slipstream core]

TYR: Acknowledged.

[Command]

HUNT: Captain Valentine, what is our distance to the nearest slip point?
BEKA: Er, seven light seconds. Why?
HUNT: Andromeda, count it down for me. Prepare to open a portal on zero.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Acknowledged.
BEKA: Excuse me? We think this thing is messing with our slipstream drive, right?
HUNT: Yeah.
BEKA: And now we're going to slipstream.
HUNT: That's the plan.
BEKA: Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?
HUNT: A problem?
BEKA: A problem like fiery screaming death.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Five light seconds.
HUNT: That would be a problem.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Four light seconds. Three light seconds.
BEKA: Just checking.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Two light seconds.
BEKA: For old time's sake.
HUNT: For old time's sake.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: One light second. Zero. Initiating slipstream event.
(In slipstream.)
BEKA: We're not dead.
ROMMIE: Don't be so surprised.

[Slipstream core]

TYR: All right, we have an intruder.

[Command]

HUNT: Really. On screen.
(On the viewscreen, Tyr shoots at the Scourge.)
BEKA: It's not tesseracting.
ROMMIE: Maybe it can't.
TRANCE: The slipstream.
HUNT: Space and time don't mean much here. There's no place for our friend to go to. He is stuck with us.
BEKA: Er, he's not the only guy who doesn't know where he's going. Whatever he did to our biometric feedback relays, we're flying blind.
HUNT: No, we aren't. I have you.
BEKA: The Maru.
HUNT: That's right. Tow the Andromeda out of slipstream, only on my command.
BEKA: Okay.

[Slipstream core]

TYR: All right, don't hold back. Plasma bursts, now.
(One guard dies. Tyr and the other guard run out of power.)
TYR: You, go. I won't ask you a second time.
(The second guard leaves. Tyr attacks the Scourge with his knife, and loses.)

[Command]

HUNT: Tyr.
TRANCE: It's opening up a slip portal inside the Andromeda.
ROMMIE: We'll be destroyed.
HUNT: Beka.

[Corridor]

BEKA: Almost there. Think good thoughts

[Command]

BEKA [OC]: And I'll have us out of here before you know it.
HUNT: It's going to be a bumpy ride, so stay sharp. I'm about to eject the exotic matter pulser.

[Corridor]

BEKA: What's that? You're saying you've gone totally nuts?

[Command]

HUNT: It's the only way to stop it.

[Corridor]

HUNT [OC]: Without the pulser, he can't overload the core.

ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Captain, the slipstream event sequence is not complete. You have time to stop it, but you'll have to go to the core, as I've lost control of that part of the ship.
(Tyr is not dead. He shoots at the AP control desk with a gauss gun, destroying it.)
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Captain, we appear to be in the clear. Tyr stopped the overload sequence. We appear to be in the clear.
HUNT: Where there's life, there's hope.

[Slipstream core]

TYR: If you want to kill me, I'd prefer you give it some real effort and stop wasting my time.
(A mini-slipstream appears and destroys the Scourge.)

[Command]

ANDROMEDA [OC]: Warning. Uncontrolled slipstream event in progress.

[Nowhere]

TRANCE: That was it. The last scenario. Our last hope, and we failed. Oh, I wish I had more time. If only I had more time to find that perfect possible future. All I have is reality, and reality is never perfect. There is one more way. One true thing to trust. Dylan.
(Trance takes the final branch off the bonsai tree and time reverses.)
HUNT: I'm about to eject the exotic matter pulser. It's the only way to stop it.
BEKA [OC]: It's not tesseracting.
TRANCE: The slipstream.
HUNT: Space and time don't mean much here. There's no place for our friend to go to.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Initiating slipstream event.
HUNT: Trance, if there's anything I need to know, now is the time.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: I'm detecting an object to starboard.

[Command]

HUNT: Evasive maneouvers. ECM to maximum.
TRANCE: No good, it's still gaining.
HUNT: You're kidding. All right. Defensive missiles, tubes one through five. PDLs on standby.
BEKA: Is that really necessary?
HUNT: Well, it's chasing us, and that is rude. Let's teach it some manners.
ROMMIE: If you please, sir, the target is locked.
HUNT: Thank you, Rommie. Fire.
ROMMIE: Missiles have intercepted the target, and the target is still there.
HUNT: We missed?
ROMMIE: I didn't miss. The missiles intercepted the target and then kept going, as if it was never even there in the first place. And now the target is gone completely.
TRANCE: Dylan, please. It is extremely dangerous. We have to avoid any confrontations between this creature and the crew. Trust me.
HUNT: Can't shoot it, can't shake it. Fine. Take us to slipstream.
BEKA: Slipstream, here we come.
HUNT: There. See how easy that is? Problem solved.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Dylan, we have a problem.
HUNT: What, another one?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: There's an intruder in the slipstream core, and it's killing people. The intruder is attempting to initiate an overload in the core.
BEKA: We'll be destroyed.
HUNT: Understood. Tell Harper to try and reverse it. Beka, you have the conn. The rest of you, stay at your posts and await orders.

[Corridor]

HUNT: Harper, I'm heading for the core. If you can't stop the overload, I'm going to have to eject the pulser.

[Conduit]

HARPER: Yeah, I'm doing what I can, but this thing works faster than a Mobian pleasure bot, which, let me tell you, is fast. A little too fast,

[Corridor]

HARPER [OC]: If you know what I
HUNT: Harper, concentrate!

[Conduit]

(Harper jacks into the computer systems.)
HARPER: Right, concentrating. Ah, no good. I'm locked out of the slipstream core's control systems.

[Corridor]

HARPER [OC]: I can't do anything from here.
HUNT: That's not very good news.
HARPER [OC]: Yeah?

[Conduit]

HARPER: well, uh, how about this? Even if I were in the core, I couldn't stop the overload sequence. It's too far gone. I figure in about less than a minute, we're all going to take a slip route to the Pearly Gates.

[Corridor]

HUNT: You did what you could.

[Slipstream core]

HUNT: Now I'll do what I can.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Dylan, what are you doing?
HUNT: You know what I'm doing.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: You'll be killed.
HUNT: It's not like we have a lot of options, Andromeda. I have to do this.
(The hull of the Andromeda opens to show the slipstream outside.)
ANDROMEDA: Dylan, the core will not eject. The intruder has overridden all manual systems.
(The Scourge attacks Hunt and throws him over the side. While Hunt is hanging on to the railing, the Scourge works the controls. Unseen, Hunt gets to his forcelance and extends it, shove it into the Scourge's chest and sends him falling into oblivion. Trance grabs Hunt's arm just before he loses his grip and helps him back towards the catwalk, where he can reach to close the hull.)

[Command]

BEKA: This is going to be ugly, but you know what they say. Any slip you can walk away from is a good one.
(The Andromeda reenters normal space.)

[Slipstream core]

(Hunt is back on the catwalk.)
HUNT: Didn't I order you to stay on the Command deck?
TRANCE: Yes.
HUNT: Well, thank you for completely disobeying me.
(The Scourge reappears.)
HUNT: Oh, I'm having a really bad day.
(Trance gets her forcelance and it disappears.)
ANDROMEDA [OC]: The intruder has appeared off our starboard bow. It's vectoring away from us.
TRANCE: It's gone. For good, I think.
HUNT: How can you be sure?
TRANCE: Because, from its perspective, it still hasn't found us yet.
HUNT: Excuse me?
TRANCE: It's a long story.
HUNT: I can't wait to hear it.

[Hunt's quarters]

HUNT: So, you experience a million possible futures in the time it takes me to blink my eyes, and each one of them looks, feels, sounds, smells, and tastes as real as the conversation we're having right here, right now?
TRANCE: In a word, yes.
HUNT: Wow. All right, here's my question. If that's true, if each one of those futures is indistinguishable from each other and from reality on a quantum level, Trance, how do you know that any of this is real?
TRANCE: I don't.