"Marshall your forces,
O great Generals.
The cost of victory
exceeds the cost of defeat."

Joheean Koll
Wars of the Ramavin Frontier
CY 459

[Outside the saloon]

(Hunt is test firing a gun at a bottle.)
HARPER: What did I tell you guys?
RHADE: A usable weapon. Better than most of what this system has to offer.
(More bottles die.)
HUNT: Well, very accurate and very fast.
HARPER: Yeah, that's because it doesn't rely on expanding gas propulsion, which is like trying to control an explosion.
RHADE: Where did you get it?
HARPER: Got it from a guy who got it from a guy who got it from another on one of the outer planets. Clever, huh?
RHADE: I'll stick with what I have.
HARPER: All right. I know it's not pretty, Rhade. It doesn't go with your pants. But it's not the weapon I'm after here, it's the crystal. Come on, guys, let's face it. If we're ever going to get out of here, we need two things. Money and power.
HUNT: I take it this crystal provides the power.
HARPER: Yeah, that's the gold mine right there. Now you just witnessed a demonstration of how much energy a tiny fraction of that crystal can hold. Now, extrapolate it to a macroscopic scale. (to Rhade) Think bigger.
HUNT: Andromeda.
RHADE: So you can convert the ship to operate on this power source.
HUNT: Let's do it.
HARPER: Great! Now, there's just one catch. The crystal comes from a mine on Seefra Eight, a place called Cutter's Grove. Owner's a guy named Cutter. Miners are in hock to him so deep they never get out, and he doesn't like visitors. However, I hear he's always looking for muscle heads to help keep his workers in line.
(Hunt and Harper look at Rhade.)

[Cutter's Grove]

(A shanty town. The people in overalls all have burns or other scarring on their skin.)
HUNT: Excuse me, I seem to have gotten lost. I was wondering if you could
(The man pushes Hunt away, very forcefully.)
HUNT: Okay, don't ask for directions in this town.
(The man comes after him with a shovel.)
HUNT: What the hell is the matter with you? You know, this isn't necessary.
(A crowd gathers, then a healthy man approaches with two bodyguards, who have respirator masks dangling around their necks.)
HUNT: Okay, now you're pissing me off!
(The healthy man shoots Hunt's attacker with the same style gun as Harper was demonstrating.)
HUNT: I er, have no idea what that was about.
CUTTER: That's the Surog. They don't need a reason.
HUNT: Well, thank you.
CUTTER: Welcome to Cutter's Grove. I'm Cutter. Now get out.
HUNT: I can see why you don't get a lot of visitors.
CUTTER: We're not looking for visitors.
HUNT: Fine, but I'm just here on business. The name's Dylan Hunt.
CUTTER: Dylan Hunt. You don't say? I recently heard about you.
HUNT: Good or bad?
CUTTER: If you have business here, it's with me.
(A guard is using a whip to sort out the workers.)
RHADE: Keep in line! Move! Eyes down. Eyes down!
(He is masquerading as a guard. Their eyes meet as he walks past.)
RHADE: Keep in line!
GUARD: Pick it up!
HUNT: It doesn't seem like your work force is willing to work.
CUTTER: Dylan Hunt, I hear, is always concerned for other people's well-being. That is a weakness.
HUNT: They'd be more effective if you treated them well.
CUTTER: I count on them to dig. They count on me for food and a decent place to live. In return I look after their families. It's a perfect social contract.
HUNT: Yes, sounds perfect.
CUTTER: The mines are toxic. But not for the Surog. They're born out there. Toxins in the quartz don't affect them.
HUNT: Don't effect them, huh? How fortunate for you. Anyway, like I said, I'm here on business for what you've got right there.

[Saloon]

(Harper is building a still.)
HARPER: The moonshine's connected to the pressure shunt. The pressure shunt is connected to the synic lead. The synic lead is connected to the quartz frame. Ha! Ladies and gentlemen! Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. Honoured guest, may I present a work of subtlety, beauty, and grace.
DOYLE: Thank you.
HARPER: The still!
DOYLE: Oh.
HARPER: Never before has an acuity of genius been given to someone so capable of delivering. Starting from nothing, transforming it into an ever-changing, once in a lifetime experience.
DOYLE: Better top the buildup.
HARPER: Moonshine, like old Pappy Harper used to make. The old fashioned kind, but better. The machine shrewdly extracts an adaptable brew that aligns itself to any palate via sub molecular taste bud readers. It's a chameleon of flavour, irresistible to anyone that tries it.
(Sounds like the premise of the Heart of Gold's Nutrimatic Drink's Dispenser.)
DOYLE: So the prices are headed up.
HARPER: Way up! With no end in sight.
(But when he turns the quartz frame on, nothing happens.)
DOYLE: And obviously no beginning.
HARPER: Ha, ha, ha. Laugh it up. Too bad for you I made it so you can't drink, otherwise you'd be the first to see what I'm talking about. All right, watch, and be humbled.
(He fiddles around with the contraption tries again. The second time it sparks.)
DOYLE: Ooo!
(Then it explodes, blackening Harper's face.)
DOYLE: Harper! Harper, are you okay?
HARPER: Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Ow!
(He removes a piece of crystal from his dirty arm.)
DOYLE: Is it getting infected already?
HARPER: Nah, it's fine. Here. This will kill anything.
(He pours alcohol from a bottle onto the wound, then takes a drink.)

[Cutter's Grove]

CUTTER: You see, most people in this backwater system are afraid of progress, but this little baby right here is the wave of the future. That's the equalizer.
HUNT: Yeah. I take it they're selling pretty well?
CUTTER: It sells itself. So once your neighbour has one, you've got to have one. How many do you need?
HUNT: I'm not here for the weapons. I want the quartz.
CUTTER: Okay. Well, that's not for sale. I don't need competition, especially from you.
HUNT: I'm not interested in competing with you. I need it to fix my ship.
CUTTER: Well, I told you it's not for sale, but you can earn it.
HUNT: I'm listening.
CUTTER: I want to build this town into something more than a mining camp.
HUNT: Yeah?
CUTTER: Law and order. Peacekeeping. Bringing a civilization to this wild frontier, that's a reality, right?
HUNT: You want me to keep the Surog in line.
CUTTER: That's the deal. Or no deal.

[Pay desk]

(The miners bring boxes of quartz in return for bags of presumably food and other goods. Hunt follows one of the miners.)
HUNT: That's a nice necklace. Hey, hey. Relax. I'm not trying to take your necklace. I just wanted to make a little conversation.
(The miner walks on, hugging his bundle, and stopping once to look back at Hunt. Hunt follows at a discreet distance.)

[Command]

(Doyle is walking along a darkened corridor, activating the lights as she goes.)
TRANCE: Dylan sent her?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: That is correct.
TRANCE: Just because she hasn't been here before, I don't understand why you feel weird about it.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: I cannot say I do either. But I do sense an urgency. She's docked and headed to Command.
TRANCE: On screen.
(They both watch Doyle activating the ship's systems as she gestures.)
TRANCE: Oh boy, there's trouble.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: Yes.
TRANCE: I see what you mean.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: It's not entirely inappropriate. There's something moving in me which defies explanation. I've never (pause) Analysis incomplete.
(Command powers down.)

[Edge of town]

(Hunt is still following the miner, ducking out of sight from time to time. Then he pulls his forcelance on Rhade, who is also following.)
HUNT: You're losing your touch. I heard you.
RHADE: I'll have to keep that in mind. How did negotiations with Cutter go?
HUNT: Ah, it's kind of what we expected. Won't sell me quartz but hey, he offered me a job.
RHADE: I assume you accepted.
HUNT: Only way to get in. What did you find out?
RHADE: Well, Cutter's guards are loyal and very nasty. He pays them well. And they love keeping Surog in submission. We don't talk and don't think.
HUNT: Rhade, there's something more to them.
RHADE: Oh, here comes the crusade.
HUNT: We can't just turn a blind eye.
RHADE: You can't, I can. I'm here for one thing the crystal we need to power up Andromeda. If the Surog miners can't help us out, then we do it ourselves and forget about them.
HUNT: I can't do that, now that I've seen the Surog. They deserve a better life.
(Some of Cutter's guards approach.)
HUNT: (sotto) We need a new plan.
RHADE: (sotto) Listen, Dylan, be careful. (normal) Don't leave town without permission. That's an order.

[Command]

(Doyle enters and the systems power up.)
DOYLE: Trance. Dylan thought I should help you work on deciphering the Methus diagram.
(Doyle taps a panel and Command powers down, then up again. And down again.)
HOLO-ROMMIE: Welcome to the Andromeda Ascendant. I am
DOYLE: a holographic Artificial Intelligence.
HOLO-ROMMIE: Not so artificial that I fail to recognise the tone of your voice.
DOYLE: What tone? All I said was holographic Artificial Intelligence.
HOLO-ROMMIE: Tone meaning attitude. The underlying emotion of sarcasm.
TRANCE: There's work that needs to be done here, guys.
HOLO-ROMMIE: I control all functions on this starship. You may access me at points which I determine and mediate.
DOYLE: On the other hand, I have a body and am free to walk around.
HOLO-ROMMIE: Then you are also free to leave and not come back.
(The two women try to outstare each other.)
TRANCE: Okay, I'm going to the SEC. You can call me when you're friends, okay? Okay.
(Trance leaves.)
DOYLE: I'm Doyle. 
HOLO-ROMMIE: And I am the Andromeda Ascendant.
(The power keeps going on and off.)
DOYLE: We must work this out.
HOLO-ROMMIE: At some point, yes.

[Cutter's Grove]

(Hunt stops by the miner he had followed previously.)
HUNT: How you doing? Remember me? My name's Dylan.
(The miner looks at Hunt.)
HUNT: Look, I want to help you. Understand? You don't have to be Cutter's slaves. I can get all of your people out of here. What's your name?
ZERON: Zeron.
HUNT: Zeron. See? I knew you could talk.
(Cutter, Rhade and guards come round the corner.)
CUTTER: Some of you didn't bring in your quota. Two will go back to work until the crates are filled. That one, and that one.
(The indicated miners are grabbed by the guards. Zeron leaps on the back of one. Rhade punches him in the face. Zeron rushes forward again and Cutter shoots him. The miners all attack the guards.)
CUTTER: Shoot them!
(Hunt shoots a gun out of a guard's hand.)
HUNT: Not a good idea.
CUTTER: You work for me, and I decide who lives and who dies.
HUNT: Not today.
CUTTER: It's your choice, Dylan Hunt. The Surog or you.
(Rhade aims his gun at Hunt.)
CUTTER: Well, what will it be? Their lives or yours?
HUNT: Mine. Let them go.
CUTTER: I'm a man of my word. Go!
(The miners run away.)
CUTTER: Get his weapon.
(Hunt holds out both his forcelances to the guard, who gets zapped by them. The same with the next guard who tries to pick them up.)
HUNT: They're a little bit touchy.
RHADE: Idiots.
(Rhade uses a piece of cloth to pick them up.) 
CUTTER: Put him in lockup.
RHADE: (sotto) Pretty good, huh?
HUNT: I wouldn't go into acting if I were you.
RHADE: What?
(Rhade opens a manhole cover, and three large spiders skitter away from the light.)
HUNT: You've got to be kidding me.
RHADE: That's all there is. Sorry.
(Hunt slides down into the hole, and Rhade closes the cover.)
RHADE: Except for the one with the window.
(Later, Rhade is walking with Cutter.)
CUTTER: I could replicate these.
RHADE: Like the man said, but look don't touch.
CUTTER: It's odd, here I am trying to tame a wilderness, improve lives. I thought Dylan Hunt was the same.
RHADE: Not everyone understands that to build a strong society the weakest have to be eliminated.
CUTTER: I want Dylan Hunt dead.
RHADE: One problem. His friends. They'll want to know what happened to him.
CUTTER: I've had enemies before.
RHADE: Well, from what I've seen, I wouldn't recommend going up against his friends with combustion weapons.
CUTTER: You have a better idea?
RHADE: If Dylan would take one chance too many, odds might catch up with him. I don't think anyone would be surprised.
CUTTER: You're suggesting an accident.
RHADE: I'm suggesting be patient.
(As a guard walks by Hunt's manhole, the lid flies open and Hunt knocks him out. Then he drops the hapless man into the hole and shuts the lid.)
HUNT: Now I know why they call it a manhole.
(Later, elsewhere -)
GUARD: Hunt escaped. He's gone.
CUTTER: Assemble a team. Make sure he doesn't beat the odds.

[Saloon]

(Harper is working on his quartz frame, again, this time in full protective gear. It is still sparking at him. The wound made by the crystal is itching.)
BEKA: Harper! What are you hiding there?
HARPER: Nothing. What are you doing here?
BEKA: What do you mean, what am I doing here? We had a date. You were supposed to do something about the uneven flux resistance on the Maru. Preferably before I go careening into one of these damn suns.
HARPER: Right. You still owe me for a silicon realign job.
BEKA: Yes. And you will get your money as soon as I get paid for the Jabox job. Come on, it's the Maru. Do it for sentimental reasons. Do it for twenty percent interest.
HARPER: Okay! Now you're talking my language. But my still, Model Two, comes first. As soon as Dylan returns with what I need, I'm back on the case. I am going to be beating them away.
BEKA: Right. But until then, you owe me a flux job.
(She grabs his injured arm.)
HARPER: Ah! Ooo, ooo, sensitive skin.
BEKA: So, er, what's with the helmet? 
HARPER: Long story.

[Forest]

(Hunt leaves town and walks through a layer of low lying mist. After a few steps he starts to cough. He carries on, but gets dizzy and finally passes out. Later, he wakens to find a woman massaging his throat with oil. The mist is gone.)
TOLEK: Wait. You need rest.
HUNT: Sorry. I, er, I. Who are you?
TOLEK: I am Tolek. This is Lon. We found you in the caves. There is a force in you to be trusted, protected. Breathe deeply. It will heal the damage inside. This oil counters the poison from the quartz. You're lucky you only breathed it. It would have killed you, but slowly.
LON: Tolek's medicine saved you.
HUNT: I hope I can return the favour.
(A figure in a guard's cape approaches.)
RHADE: Thought you might be in need of some assistance. Should have known you'd make other arrangements.
HUNT: It's all right, Rhade. Rhade's a friend. This is Lon and Tolek. They saved my life.
RHADE: A gift.
(Rhade throws Hunt a bundle. His forcelances.)
LON: What's that?
HUNT: That's an equalizer.
(Someone shoots at them.)
HUNT: Down. Duck. You stay here.
GUARD: Circle around. That's it. Move in.
(Gunfight.)
GUARD: Keep firing! There! There on the left! I got him. Watch out. Shoot. Come on! Come on, move. Argh!
(The fight ends. Hunt goes to inspect the carnage. The last guard appears, then falls with a gurgle . Lon has used a blowpipe.)
HUNT: That's a nice shot.
TOLEK: Instant death. Contains a special poison. Well done, Lon.
HUNT: So much for superior technology.
TOLEK: This way.

[Maru engine room]

(In flight.)
HARPER: Okay, what are the readings on the er. The up and down thing?
BEKA: The vertical?
HARPER: Right.
BEKA: Spiking at plus or minus five.
HARPER: Okay, so, er, magnetic interference. We need more magnetic interference!
BEKA: We have plenty of interference, Harper. That's kind of the problem.
HARPER: Right. Of course. Insulation? We need insulation.
BEKA: Did you sleep enough?
HARPER: Yeah! Yeah. Why?
BEKA: I don't know, you're just not your usual quick and quippy self.
HARPER: Oh, I'm just trying to concentrate, you know? Oh! What are the readings on the vertical?
BEKA: They're spiking! At plus or minus five, I said. Forget this. I'm going to go get a roll of insulation.
HARPER: Yeah, yeah, good idea. Take your time.
(Beka leaves, and Harper scratches his arm.)
HARPER: Oh, finally.
(Harper takes off his shirt to reveal that his arm and half his back is covered with the same marks as the Surog miners.)

[Surog village]

RHADE: You're Surog, all of you here.
LON: Yes.
RHADE: But you have no skin lesions that I can see, and you can speak.
HUNT: So what happened to the others is from mining the quartz.
TOLEK: Those who work in the mines go through drastic changes. First the skin, finally the mind. The madness takes each in turn.
RHADE: Sounds like radiation poisoning.
HUNT: Sounds like it's time to rethink working the mines.
TOLEK: Food is scarce, Dylan.
LON: Those who go to the mines are our strongest, our bravest.
RHADE: Have any come back?
TOLEK: The miners die, the children live.
HUNT: Not any more. As of today, everyone lives.

[Corridor]

TRANCE: It seems to be, I guess I would say, unavoidable.
DOYLE: I'm sure Andromeda and I will work it out.
TRANCE: And what about me?
DOYLE: How do you mean?
TRANCE: Well, Dylan didn't really send you to help me figure out the Methus diagram. I don't have a clue what it means, and he knows that. I used to know. I used to know just about everything, apparently, but I didn't say much about it, and I don't know why.
DOYLE: So why did he send me?
TRANCE: I think it was to see how Andromeda would react, which goes back to what we were saying before.
DOYLE: Right. So the only unavoidable conclusion to draw is since I'm built from Rommie, that I am Rommie but not. And what about you?
TRANCE: Well I don't know. Dylan says he thinks that I'm the problem, but how am I the problem?
DOYLE: I don't know. And that is a problem.
TRANCE: Yes, we're going to have to think about that one.
DOYLE: Or maybe it will all just come clear, like it does sometimes.
TRANCE: Now that sounds like me. But you're Rommie.
DOYLE: Right. But not.

[Surog village]

HUNT: Tolek, I know that this sacrifice is part of your culture, but change is also part of life.
RHADE: Sorry to interrupt.
HUNT: Excuse us.
RHADE: Been trying to contact Beka, but the atmosphere here is too charged. Communication is limited to the surface and low orbit.
HUNT: Well we need the Maru, so do what you can. I'm going to try to convince the Surog that it's time to leave this planet.
RHADE: Actually I do have an idea.

[Cutter's Grove]

CUTTER: Make sure all the crystal is loaded onto the StreamFan. I'll take it out to the factory myself, first light.
(The guard leaves Cutter. Rhade follows him.)

[Surog village]

TOLEK: It's going to be hard to convince the entire village to leave. This life is all they know.
HUNT: We need to get somewhere safe.
TOLEK: I feel safe here with you.
HUNT: I can't stay here forever.
TOLEK: Why not?
(Tolek kisses Hunt.)
HUNT: Look, even if I could stay, it doesn't change the fact that you have to leave this place. You have to get away from these mines.
TOLEK: I was afraid to think of leaving, but you've convinced me. I can imagine a future, not just for my people, but for myself.
(They kiss again, then go into a tent. Lon watches them, then looks at his blowpipe and quartz tipped dart.
Later, Hunt leaves the tent and uses his communicator.)
HUNT: Rhade, check in if you're in range.
(Suddenly there is a dart in his chest. Hunt pulls it out and collapses. He sees Lon approach, arm raised.)
HUNT: Damn!
TOLEK: No! What are you doing?
LON: He wanted to take you away.
TOLEK: He wanted to take us all away, to save us.

[Tolek's tent]

TOLEK: He did a shameful act. He tried to kill you. I'm sorry. But you are a lucky man. You have a force of light in you.
HUNT: I think it's the oil that you put on me that saved my life again. As for Lon? Oh, he's young. He just wanted to protect you.

[Cutter's Grove]

CUTTER: The StreamFan, gone.
GUARD: Just before dawn.
CUTTER: Rhade never returned from his mission. He's been tricking me from the start, he and Dylan Hunt working together. That means they're still out there somewhere, on my land. Somebody's keeping them alive. Get the men. Put all the Surog into the mines. Anyone who resists, dies. We're not coming back until Dylan Hunt is dead.

[Eureka Maru]

BEKA: I have to make a living, Rhade, and carting refugees around isn't exactly profitable.
RHADE: Come on, a one day job, max. Ferry the people from the surface of the planet to the Andromeda. Then, they're not your problem any more.
BEKA: They're already not my problem.
RHADE: You can't just turn a blind eye on this.
BEKA: You're starting to sound just like Dylan. Oh my God, you really are.
RHADE: It's not intentional, believe me.
BEKA: I know. It's just what always happens. He turns everyone into an idealistic idiot. Including me. All right. One day.

[Surog village]

HUNT: I understand that your traditions honour those who give their lives in the mines so that their families can live. And I applaud their devotion. But I won't applaud their sacrifice. Not when there are other options. You've all become slaves to the mines, even those of you who stay here. It's time to break those chains. My ship can take all of you to where there are no mines to destroy your families. Free land, where you can earn a living without sacrificing your health or sanity. Listen to me. This is the chance to truly honour your fallen ancestors. Please, let me help you.
TOLEK: I am going with Dylan. Who else will go?
(A long pause.)
LON: I will go. Dylan Hunt faced death to offer us this chance. I was death's instrument, and death did not take him. Now, I ask his forgiveness. I offer him my support. We honour the miners who give everything so that we can survive. Now it's our turn to risk everything in a new place, for them!
(Cheers.)

[Maru engine room]

(Harper is itching and scratching.)
RHADE: So Beka told you we're going to Seefra Eight.
HARPER: Yeah. She also told me we're picking up a load of refugees? Not exactly the cargo I had in mind.
RHADE: What can I tell you. We got to improvise.
(Rhade notices Harper's skin.)
RHADE: What the hell happened to you?
HARPER: Nothing. Just a little mishap I had with the project.
RHADE: Maybe you should take a rest.
HARPER: Maybe you should mind your own business. Trying to work here, looking over my shoulder. Let's see.
RHADE: Dylan, we have a medical alert here on the Maru.

[Surog village]

HUNT: Only what you can carry. We won't have a lot of time once Cutter spots my friends landing here.
(Hunt picks up the healing oil.)
TOLEK: We won't need that any more.
HUNT: Yeah, but I have a friend who does. Now we're all done.
TOLEK: Will we be able to take everyone?
HUNT: We won't leave anyone behind who wants to come. My concern is the miners. We have to convince them in a hurry that it's time to leave, and I've seen what happens when they get angry.
TOLEK: Every one of them has someone they love here. We'll make them understand.
HUNT: I hope so.

[Eureka Maru]

BEKA: Dylan, we're in orbit above you.

[Surog village]

HUNT: Good. Right on time.

[Eureka Maru]

RHADE: Maybe not. There's a mass of armed men heading right for your position.

[Surog village]

HUNT: We have to move. Cutter's on the attack.
(A short time later.)
GUARD: Nothing. We searched everywhere.
CUTTER: No one.
GUARD: No. Not a soul.
CUTTER: It's like they knew we were coming.

[Forest]

LON: Leave it. Just leave it.
TOLEK: There's nothing we can do. We're outnumbered
HUNT: We still have the advantage. They have to find us, and we know exactly where they are. Go on. We'll catch up with you later. Beka, new pick up location.
BEKA [OC]: I got it.

[Eureka Maru]

BEKA: If I had missile power, I'd fire a couple right into that column of men.
HARPER: If we had missile power, I'd rig us a, a, what do you call it? A resonance thingamajig. Drop it on what's his name's head. KaBOOM!
RHADE: If I had a hold full of charged quartz, could we have missile power?
HARPER: You got a hold full?
RHADE: About fifteen crates. Can you use it?
HARPER: Try and stop me!

[Cargo hold]

(Harper works on the remains of his quartz power unit, originally intended for the still.)
RHADE: Now Cutter will know what it's like to be bullied.
HARPER: Come on, focus. I can do this.
(It still won't work.)
HARPER: PE power conversion on the fly. Any old second hand tech can do this. Why can't I? Why can't I think straight?
RHADE: It's the crystal, Harper. Move away. Let me finish.
HARPER: Back off, Nietzschean.
RHADE: Harper, you're not well. Move away.
HARPER: Get your hands off of that. That's mine!
(Harper breaks a short plank across Rhade's back, then tries punching him. Rhade grabs his hand and squeezes.)
RHADE: Harper.
(Harper bites Rhade and gets a headbutt in return that knocks him out.)
RHADE: Settle down.

[Outside the Maru]

(The Maru has landed and the Surog are boarding.)
BEKA: We've got lots of room for everyone. Move to the back of the ship. The very back of the ship.

[Cutter's Grove]

GUARD: They all left. The Surog, the miners, they're all gone. The whole town is empty.
CUTTER: Where did they go?

[Outside the Maru]

(Tolek and Hunt are last to board.)
CUTTER: Hunt! Why are you doing this? I was making a civilized place here.
HUNT: Civilized for whom? Look, this place is poisonous. I don't recommend hanging around.
CUTTER: I made my home here. I staked my claim and I'm not going to let anybody take that from me.
HUNT: No one's trying to take it from you, believe me. It's all yours.
(Hunt turns away so Cutter draws his gun. Hunt spins and shoots him.)
HUNT: It's your choice. You can stay or you can come along.
(The guards put down their weapons.)
HUNT: Good choice.
(The guards enter the Maru, and she lifts off.)

[Maru engine room]

(Harper is tied to the catwalk railing while Hunt rubs the oil onto him.)
HARPER: I'm gonna, I'm gonna crush your your skull like a, like a, like a what do you call it? I'm gonna
(Harper passes out.)
HUNT: He'll be all right now. We just made it. How are we on weapons?
RHADE: We're there. I'm arming.
HUNT: Target the mines.
RHADE: What?
HUNT: It's the only way.
RHADE: Locking on.
HUNT: Fire.
(Five missiles impact the area of the mines, causing massive explosions.)

[Outside the saloon]

BEKA: Why do you think the Vedrans created those crystals?
HARPER: Well
BEKA: Maybe it was their version of banking power. Maybe they thought they'd need it some day.
HARPER: Or
BEKA: Or, maybe they were using it as some form of toxic waste management.
HARPER: That stuff would have made me rich.
RHADE: That stuff would have made you a madman, who, thankfully, wouldn't have been able to talk.
HARPER: All of you, shut up. You're awfully quiet, boss.
HUNT: Back to square one. No crystals, no power source.
HARPER: No power source, no Andromeda.
BEKA: No Andromeda, no way out of this system.
HUNT: Well, we didn't have a choice. We'll bring her back to life somehow.