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[Spaceship Zero] Q-Ship (actually updated 19 May 2007)
- Thread starter Capellan
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Capellan
Explorer
"The Targ Totality" - Part 14
The crew of the Pathfinder brace themselves for the assault of the Targ -
- and the bulkhead beside the onrushing soliders bursts inwards.
With a bellowing roar, the Shintrak storms into the hangar, ribbons of metal wall trailing from its claws. The mighty beast charges into the midst of the Targ soldiers, sending them flying in all directions. Onle a few of the aliens are still; on their feet. One raises his disruptor and puts a bolt straight into the creature's chest. The Shintrak snarls its anger and smashes the back of its claw into his face. The Targ flies bonelessly through the air and crashes down into a pile of crates and barrels.
"Run!" Fury's keen tactical mind immediately senses the best strategy.
No-one needs a second invitation. All three ambulatory crew members turn and bolt in unison, boots pounding as they race across the floor and up the Pathfinder's ramp. Archie, his remains cradled in Gustav's arms, comes along by default. S'Ondra, racing lithely with her long-legged stride, is the first into the ship. Gustav, puffing and blowing, is next, with Fury at the rear. The Captain is actually a champion sprinter, but there are certain ... perquisites ... to letting S'Ondra take the lead.
As Fury enters the ship, he skids to a halt and slaps the button to raise the ramp.
"Doc, get to the lab and see what you can do for Archie."he instructs, "Princess, I'll need your help on the bridge."
Gustav scurries off down the ship's corridor, while Fury and S'Ondra head forward.
"What do you need <i>me</i> for?"
"Someone has to monitor the drive systems and shields while I prep us for launch." Fury answers, swinging himself into the pilot's chair, "Doc's busy and Archie's not feeling himself, right now, so you're it."
"But I don't know anything about this stuff!" the Princess protests, staring at the huge array of gauges before her.
"Relax, a trained monkey could do it, remember?" Fury grins at S'Ondra's sour expression. The Princess is not amused to have her own words turned against her.
"Emphasis on trained." she retorts, sharply.
Fury's grin changes to a reassuring smile,
"Just watch the three large gauges in the middle of the console. If any of them go red, tell me which one, straight away."
S'Ondra looks suspicious,
"That's all?"
"Normally, no." Fury hands are busy on the ship's controls as he makes his answer, "The systems tech is supposed to fix those problems, not just report them. But we'd need a monkey with an engineering degree for that. How's everything look?"
"All green." S'Ondra reports, "But the one on the left is getting a little high."
"Thought it sounded like the Xenon flow was a little off." Fury nods, and makes some adjustments. "How about now?"
"All good."
Fury toggles the ship's intercom,
"Hold onto your microscope, Doc, we're getting out of here."
The Captain pushes forward on a lever and the low hum of the engines rapidly builds to a high-pitched whine. The entire ship starts to vibrate, rattling the crew in their launch seats. Just as the noise becomes unbearable, Fury slaps the main throttle to full, and the Pathfinder leaps forward, the thrust pressing everyone back into their chairs.
The ship rockets out of the hangar, flames blasting from the engines as it roars into the blackness of space.
"Hold tight, people! Things are about to get a bit bumpy!" Fury flings the ship sideways and down, then wrenches it back upwards again. Bursts of light flash through the cockpit viewscreen as the gun turrets on the Targ ship open up. Dozens of disruptor blasts tear the space around the Pathfinder, buffeting the ship like the explosions of missiles. Then the genuine missiles come snaking through the void, seeking out the white-hot flare of the Pathfinder's engines.
Fury is up to the task. He flips the ship end-over-end, masking the heat of the engines with the ship's bulk. The missiles lose tracking and speed by, detonating harmlessly as they strike the outer edge of Venus' atmosphere.
The Pathfinder corkscrews down after them, heat flaring off her gravitic shields as the Captain pushes his piloting skills to the limit.
And then, suddenly, the barrage of explosions end, and the ship is swooping down through the atmosphere, before levelling out only a hundred feet above the surface. Maintaining control with only one hand, Fury palms the intercom button,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Venus!"
"Vell done, Captain." Gustav answers over the intercom, "Vell done indeed."
"Father." S'Ondra leans over Fury to speak into the intercom, and the Pathfinder's course wobbles noticeably for a second, "How is Archie?"
"I haf managed to attach his cerebral cortex to the ship's power systems." Gustav responds, "Just a moment and I vill patch his voice synthesiser into ze computer ... like so ..."
"I'm filthy!" Archie's voice wails from the intercom, "Covered in sweat and flakes of skin and -" he is interrupted by a loud pop.
"As you can hear, he is quite fine." Gustav resumes, "I vill see what can be done about manufacturing a new body for him, as soon as we are able to set down somewhere safe. Do you have a landing site picked out, Captain?"
"Huh?" Fury's attention is split between the business of flying and the pleasure of S'Ondra's proximity. He has little to spare for the Doctor's question, "Uh ... yeah, Doc. There are some caves about forty miles north of this position. I'm going to put the Pathfinder down outside the largest and then taxi her in. That'll give us cover from any air sweeps the Targe might -" he stops abruptly. "Oh, hell."
"What's the matter, Captain?" S'Ondra asks, staring uncomprehendingly at the ship's flight instruments.
"I've got multiple shuttle launches from the Targ mother ship on radar." Fury answers, "Fourteen ... no, eighteen ... twenty ... twenty three confirmed launches."
"Are zey coming after us?"
"I doubt it, Doc." Fury shakes his head, "Given the size of their shuttles, that's enough ships to bring down over two thousand men. That's far more than they need for us. We're looking at a full-scale invasion of Venus."
Roll credits.
Next time, on "Q-Ship" ...
"The crew of the Pathfinder have secured the formula to defeat the space mould, but they now find themselves on a Venus that is swarming with Targ troops. As the natives are forced into concentration camps for re-education and enslavement, the four inter-dimensional travellers must embark on their most difficult assignment yet ..."
The screen dissolves into a montage of images, with a soft tune playing over it. Duh duh, Duh Darr Da-duh duh, Duh Duh, Duh Duh Duh, Duh Darr.
A large camp, surrounded by wire fences and ringed with watch towers. Vacant-eyed Venusians shamble around within the confines.
S'Ondra - daubed with the same designer dirt as her savage counterpart had in the opening episode - crouches beside a building along with a handsome young Venusian male. He is offering her a small flower.
A Targ scientist, fully clad in an encounter suit but obviously female for all that, stalks toward Doctor Gustav, who is manacled to a strange machine.
Fury sits in a featureless grey room, bouncing a small rubber ball against the opposite wall.
S'Ondra is caught in the glare of a spotlight as neon green disruptor blasts spray out of the darkness.
"Join us next time, on Q-Ship, when the crew of the Pathfinder must achieve: Total Escape."
The crew of the Pathfinder brace themselves for the assault of the Targ -
- and the bulkhead beside the onrushing soliders bursts inwards.
With a bellowing roar, the Shintrak storms into the hangar, ribbons of metal wall trailing from its claws. The mighty beast charges into the midst of the Targ soldiers, sending them flying in all directions. Onle a few of the aliens are still; on their feet. One raises his disruptor and puts a bolt straight into the creature's chest. The Shintrak snarls its anger and smashes the back of its claw into his face. The Targ flies bonelessly through the air and crashes down into a pile of crates and barrels.
"Run!" Fury's keen tactical mind immediately senses the best strategy.
No-one needs a second invitation. All three ambulatory crew members turn and bolt in unison, boots pounding as they race across the floor and up the Pathfinder's ramp. Archie, his remains cradled in Gustav's arms, comes along by default. S'Ondra, racing lithely with her long-legged stride, is the first into the ship. Gustav, puffing and blowing, is next, with Fury at the rear. The Captain is actually a champion sprinter, but there are certain ... perquisites ... to letting S'Ondra take the lead.
As Fury enters the ship, he skids to a halt and slaps the button to raise the ramp.
"Doc, get to the lab and see what you can do for Archie."he instructs, "Princess, I'll need your help on the bridge."
Gustav scurries off down the ship's corridor, while Fury and S'Ondra head forward.
"What do you need <i>me</i> for?"
"Someone has to monitor the drive systems and shields while I prep us for launch." Fury answers, swinging himself into the pilot's chair, "Doc's busy and Archie's not feeling himself, right now, so you're it."
"But I don't know anything about this stuff!" the Princess protests, staring at the huge array of gauges before her.
"Relax, a trained monkey could do it, remember?" Fury grins at S'Ondra's sour expression. The Princess is not amused to have her own words turned against her.
"Emphasis on trained." she retorts, sharply.
Fury's grin changes to a reassuring smile,
"Just watch the three large gauges in the middle of the console. If any of them go red, tell me which one, straight away."
S'Ondra looks suspicious,
"That's all?"
"Normally, no." Fury hands are busy on the ship's controls as he makes his answer, "The systems tech is supposed to fix those problems, not just report them. But we'd need a monkey with an engineering degree for that. How's everything look?"
"All green." S'Ondra reports, "But the one on the left is getting a little high."
"Thought it sounded like the Xenon flow was a little off." Fury nods, and makes some adjustments. "How about now?"
"All good."
Fury toggles the ship's intercom,
"Hold onto your microscope, Doc, we're getting out of here."
The Captain pushes forward on a lever and the low hum of the engines rapidly builds to a high-pitched whine. The entire ship starts to vibrate, rattling the crew in their launch seats. Just as the noise becomes unbearable, Fury slaps the main throttle to full, and the Pathfinder leaps forward, the thrust pressing everyone back into their chairs.
The ship rockets out of the hangar, flames blasting from the engines as it roars into the blackness of space.
"Hold tight, people! Things are about to get a bit bumpy!" Fury flings the ship sideways and down, then wrenches it back upwards again. Bursts of light flash through the cockpit viewscreen as the gun turrets on the Targ ship open up. Dozens of disruptor blasts tear the space around the Pathfinder, buffeting the ship like the explosions of missiles. Then the genuine missiles come snaking through the void, seeking out the white-hot flare of the Pathfinder's engines.
Fury is up to the task. He flips the ship end-over-end, masking the heat of the engines with the ship's bulk. The missiles lose tracking and speed by, detonating harmlessly as they strike the outer edge of Venus' atmosphere.
The Pathfinder corkscrews down after them, heat flaring off her gravitic shields as the Captain pushes his piloting skills to the limit.
And then, suddenly, the barrage of explosions end, and the ship is swooping down through the atmosphere, before levelling out only a hundred feet above the surface. Maintaining control with only one hand, Fury palms the intercom button,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Venus!"
"Vell done, Captain." Gustav answers over the intercom, "Vell done indeed."
"Father." S'Ondra leans over Fury to speak into the intercom, and the Pathfinder's course wobbles noticeably for a second, "How is Archie?"
"I haf managed to attach his cerebral cortex to the ship's power systems." Gustav responds, "Just a moment and I vill patch his voice synthesiser into ze computer ... like so ..."
"I'm filthy!" Archie's voice wails from the intercom, "Covered in sweat and flakes of skin and -" he is interrupted by a loud pop.
"As you can hear, he is quite fine." Gustav resumes, "I vill see what can be done about manufacturing a new body for him, as soon as we are able to set down somewhere safe. Do you have a landing site picked out, Captain?"
"Huh?" Fury's attention is split between the business of flying and the pleasure of S'Ondra's proximity. He has little to spare for the Doctor's question, "Uh ... yeah, Doc. There are some caves about forty miles north of this position. I'm going to put the Pathfinder down outside the largest and then taxi her in. That'll give us cover from any air sweeps the Targe might -" he stops abruptly. "Oh, hell."
"What's the matter, Captain?" S'Ondra asks, staring uncomprehendingly at the ship's flight instruments.
"I've got multiple shuttle launches from the Targ mother ship on radar." Fury answers, "Fourteen ... no, eighteen ... twenty ... twenty three confirmed launches."
"Are zey coming after us?"
"I doubt it, Doc." Fury shakes his head, "Given the size of their shuttles, that's enough ships to bring down over two thousand men. That's far more than they need for us. We're looking at a full-scale invasion of Venus."
Roll credits.
Next time, on "Q-Ship" ...
"The crew of the Pathfinder have secured the formula to defeat the space mould, but they now find themselves on a Venus that is swarming with Targ troops. As the natives are forced into concentration camps for re-education and enslavement, the four inter-dimensional travellers must embark on their most difficult assignment yet ..."
The screen dissolves into a montage of images, with a soft tune playing over it. Duh duh, Duh Darr Da-duh duh, Duh Duh, Duh Duh Duh, Duh Darr.
A large camp, surrounded by wire fences and ringed with watch towers. Vacant-eyed Venusians shamble around within the confines.
S'Ondra - daubed with the same designer dirt as her savage counterpart had in the opening episode - crouches beside a building along with a handsome young Venusian male. He is offering her a small flower.
A Targ scientist, fully clad in an encounter suit but obviously female for all that, stalks toward Doctor Gustav, who is manacled to a strange machine.
Fury sits in a featureless grey room, bouncing a small rubber ball against the opposite wall.
S'Ondra is caught in the glare of a spotlight as neon green disruptor blasts spray out of the darkness.
"Join us next time, on Q-Ship, when the crew of the Pathfinder must achieve: Total Escape."
the Jester
Legend
As always, great update!
But man, aren't there a lot of us jesters around here? Jeez....
But man, aren't there a lot of us jesters around here? Jeez....
Capellan
Explorer
DVD Trivia Extras
In the original script for the episode, Archie's body was not destroyed in the final battle. This element was added because the robot costume was so cumbersome and fragile that it was causing delays in shooting. The decision was made to rebuild the costume, and the script was altered in order to justify the planned changes in Archie's appearance.
In the 1950s radio series, the Targ were described as lizard-like, with grey-green scales. The TV show's did not have the time or budget to do this convincingly, so the producers elected to put them in 'environment suits', which were little more than wetsuits with various polystyrene accessories stuck on top.
In the scene where Fury says "They don't call me the best pilot in Space Force for nothing.", the script called for S'Ondra to reply: "No, they charge you five credits a time." The line was deleted from the episode prior to airing.
The Shintrak costume was of unusually good quality for the show. Fans of Doctor Who will know why: it's clearly a modified Sea Devil costume, without the armour and flashlight-style weapon.
In the original script for the episode, Archie's body was not destroyed in the final battle. This element was added because the robot costume was so cumbersome and fragile that it was causing delays in shooting. The decision was made to rebuild the costume, and the script was altered in order to justify the planned changes in Archie's appearance.
In the 1950s radio series, the Targ were described as lizard-like, with grey-green scales. The TV show's did not have the time or budget to do this convincingly, so the producers elected to put them in 'environment suits', which were little more than wetsuits with various polystyrene accessories stuck on top.
In the scene where Fury says "They don't call me the best pilot in Space Force for nothing.", the script called for S'Ondra to reply: "No, they charge you five credits a time." The line was deleted from the episode prior to airing.
The Shintrak costume was of unusually good quality for the show. Fans of Doctor Who will know why: it's clearly a modified Sea Devil costume, without the armour and flashlight-style weapon.
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Capellan
Explorer
Excerpted from Science Fiction Collector, February 2005
The BBC announced today that it would go ahead with a boxed set for the second half of Q-Ship, Season One. The 'Beeb' released the first half of the season - long thought to be lost - to a surprisingly strong reception in late 2003. The release of part two has been delayed for almost a year by licensing issues related to the abortive 1986 US version of the show.
Q-Ship: Season One, Part Two is due for release March 1st, 2005.
The BBC announced today that it would go ahead with a boxed set for the second half of Q-Ship, Season One. The 'Beeb' released the first half of the season - long thought to be lost - to a surprisingly strong reception in late 2003. The release of part two has been delayed for almost a year by licensing issues related to the abortive 1986 US version of the show.
Q-Ship: Season One, Part Two is due for release March 1st, 2005.
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
Capellan said:
Whoooo!
Capellan
Explorer
"Total Escape" - Part 1
The episode begins with the Pathfinder, hanging in darkness.
And then there is a flare of light, rising into the flickering glow of a campfire, and we see that the ship is not in space, but in the cavernous gloom of a huge stone cave.
We zoom in on the light, S'Ondra's face swimming into focus in the flames' red glow. She blows lightly, feeding larger twigs and sticks into the fire, until the glow brightens to a warm golden light. The princess nods in satisfaction, adds a few more pieces of wood to the flames, and then scoots back to sit on a rock next to her foster-father.
White light falls across the scene, then disappears again, as we hear the hollow sounds of Fury's boots on the ship's ramp.
"I still don't see why we're doing this." the Captain takes a seat on the opposite side of the fire. "We've got heat and light and food in the ship, you know."
"And it would be much cleaner in there." Archie's disembodied voice rises out of the darkness. The camera shifts downwards, and we see what looks like a builder-bot, crouched on the floor. Archie's cerebral cortex has been wired into the bot's back. His lights blink anxiously.
"The ship only has human food." S'Ondra picks up a long skewer with several red and purple objects stung along it, "And you should always cook ganarg and sopprik over real coals, for the proper smoked flavour."
"I can't wait." even in the reddish light, Fury looks a little green at the prospect.
"This is a most unsanitary area for cooking." Archie frets, "And I'm sure those flames aren't hot enough to properly kill any bacteria. If only I had my plasma burners -"
"Zere, zere Archie." Gustav soothes. He goes to pat the little builder-bot, but stops when it scuttles away with a nervous squawk.
"Doctor, your hands are dirty!"
"Sorry, Archie." Gustav wipes his hands on his smock, "Do not vorry, I will not touch you with zem. But as I was going to say, you must not vorry about your body, eizzer. Zis body you have is only temporary, until ze original builder-bot finishes ze new one for you."
"Your normal body is pretty big, old boy." Fury reminds the robot, "And the Doc thinks the bot will be finished in a week. That's pretty good, really. I mean, it takes nine months to make a new human, and they are much smaller than you are."
"It would be much quicker if robots made new humans. And far more sanitary."
"But much less fun." Fury grins. S'Ondra gives a snort.
"I doubt you would be so enthusiastic if your role in the process included the actual pregnancy and labour, Captain."
"Perhaps we should talk about what it is we will do about ze Targ." Gustav changes the subject, "Zey are conquering ze planet as we speak. How can we help ze Venusians against them?"
"We must organise my people." S'Ondra states firmly, "Train them into an elite fighting force, such as only Venusians can become, and drive the enemy from this world!"
"How will we arm them?" Fury asks, "Spears and clubs aren't going to do much good against disruptors, no matter how elite your Venusian fighters are."
"Ze builder-bot could make more advanced weapons." Gustav suggests, "Once it is done with Archie's new body, of course."
"How long will that take?" Fury asks, "And how well could the Venusians use them, once they were made? No offence to you, Princess, but the people on this world aren't exactly technological sophisticates."
"Based on known builder-bot capabilities, eleven disruptors could be manufactured per week." Archie advises, "Present data on Venusian and Targ technology indicates that Venus will be conquered within three days."
"We can't just give up!"
"No-one is suggesting we should, leibchen." Gustav rubs his wispy beard, "But it is a difficult conundrum we face, ja?"
A stone clatters in the darkness.
"What was that?" S'Ondra snatches up her heat lance and leaps to her feet, peering into the gloom beyond the fire's dim light.
Muffled sounds of movement in the darkness suddenly still.
"It must be the Targ." Fury hisses to the others, unclipping his atomic pistol as he does so, "Get out of the light. I'll try to draw them off with some covering fire."
"Wait, Captain."Archie extrudes a plastic nozzle from his makeshift body, "Sensors indicate high concentrations of dirt, grime and bacteria. The organisms that have entered the cave are Venusians."
The episode begins with the Pathfinder, hanging in darkness.
And then there is a flare of light, rising into the flickering glow of a campfire, and we see that the ship is not in space, but in the cavernous gloom of a huge stone cave.
We zoom in on the light, S'Ondra's face swimming into focus in the flames' red glow. She blows lightly, feeding larger twigs and sticks into the fire, until the glow brightens to a warm golden light. The princess nods in satisfaction, adds a few more pieces of wood to the flames, and then scoots back to sit on a rock next to her foster-father.
White light falls across the scene, then disappears again, as we hear the hollow sounds of Fury's boots on the ship's ramp.
"I still don't see why we're doing this." the Captain takes a seat on the opposite side of the fire. "We've got heat and light and food in the ship, you know."
"And it would be much cleaner in there." Archie's disembodied voice rises out of the darkness. The camera shifts downwards, and we see what looks like a builder-bot, crouched on the floor. Archie's cerebral cortex has been wired into the bot's back. His lights blink anxiously.
"The ship only has human food." S'Ondra picks up a long skewer with several red and purple objects stung along it, "And you should always cook ganarg and sopprik over real coals, for the proper smoked flavour."
"I can't wait." even in the reddish light, Fury looks a little green at the prospect.
"This is a most unsanitary area for cooking." Archie frets, "And I'm sure those flames aren't hot enough to properly kill any bacteria. If only I had my plasma burners -"
"Zere, zere Archie." Gustav soothes. He goes to pat the little builder-bot, but stops when it scuttles away with a nervous squawk.
"Doctor, your hands are dirty!"
"Sorry, Archie." Gustav wipes his hands on his smock, "Do not vorry, I will not touch you with zem. But as I was going to say, you must not vorry about your body, eizzer. Zis body you have is only temporary, until ze original builder-bot finishes ze new one for you."
"Your normal body is pretty big, old boy." Fury reminds the robot, "And the Doc thinks the bot will be finished in a week. That's pretty good, really. I mean, it takes nine months to make a new human, and they are much smaller than you are."
"It would be much quicker if robots made new humans. And far more sanitary."
"But much less fun." Fury grins. S'Ondra gives a snort.
"I doubt you would be so enthusiastic if your role in the process included the actual pregnancy and labour, Captain."
"Perhaps we should talk about what it is we will do about ze Targ." Gustav changes the subject, "Zey are conquering ze planet as we speak. How can we help ze Venusians against them?"
"We must organise my people." S'Ondra states firmly, "Train them into an elite fighting force, such as only Venusians can become, and drive the enemy from this world!"
"How will we arm them?" Fury asks, "Spears and clubs aren't going to do much good against disruptors, no matter how elite your Venusian fighters are."
"Ze builder-bot could make more advanced weapons." Gustav suggests, "Once it is done with Archie's new body, of course."
"How long will that take?" Fury asks, "And how well could the Venusians use them, once they were made? No offence to you, Princess, but the people on this world aren't exactly technological sophisticates."
"Based on known builder-bot capabilities, eleven disruptors could be manufactured per week." Archie advises, "Present data on Venusian and Targ technology indicates that Venus will be conquered within three days."
"We can't just give up!"
"No-one is suggesting we should, leibchen." Gustav rubs his wispy beard, "But it is a difficult conundrum we face, ja?"
A stone clatters in the darkness.
"What was that?" S'Ondra snatches up her heat lance and leaps to her feet, peering into the gloom beyond the fire's dim light.
Muffled sounds of movement in the darkness suddenly still.
"It must be the Targ." Fury hisses to the others, unclipping his atomic pistol as he does so, "Get out of the light. I'll try to draw them off with some covering fire."
"Wait, Captain."Archie extrudes a plastic nozzle from his makeshift body, "Sensors indicate high concentrations of dirt, grime and bacteria. The organisms that have entered the cave are Venusians."
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