Co-Stars: Desmond Campbell (Rigna); J.C. Kenny (News Reporter); Dean McKenzie (Torin)

Originally Aired: 27-May-2002; Written by: Gil Grant; Directed by: Rene Bonniere

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The teaser begins in the War Room with an exchange between Mel and Cole about a book of pickup lines he’s reading. It’s sweet and becomes oddly romantic towards the end. Loved the expressions on both Adrian’s and Amy’s faces as Mel’s trying to figure out if she’s the one Cole’s interested in and Cole’s trying to figure out how he might stand with Mel after having backed off from the "distraction" of having a relationship with her just a short time ago ("Love, Cirronian Style") – and finding out that it’s more distracting to be living with her and not have a relationship!

[Note: The opening few moments of this episode are missing from my tape. The first three lines as shown here (in red) have been garnered from another source and may not be the complete text].

Mel: "Exactly!" Then uneasily, "Cole ... Is there something I should know about?"

Cole, somewhat defensive: "About what?"

Mel: "Well, is there ... someone you’re trying to impress? ... A girl you’re reading ... this book for?"

[Note: Mel uses the word ‘girl’ here. Is she perhaps thinking of Lontoria?].

Cole, very softly: "Yes."

Mel: "Oh ... What’s she like?"

Cole: "She’s very pretty ... intelligent ... very opinionated..."

Mel: "Well, she sounds like the kind of woman who wouldn’t fall for a pickup line..."

[Now she uses the word ‘woman’. It’s almost as if she’s afraid to even hope].

Cole: "So, what do you suggest?"

Mel: "That you just be yourself ... Maybe tell her ... how you feel about ... her..."

Cole: "You think that would work?"

Mel: "I think honesty is the way to go...."

If that pesky plot-point news broadcast hadn’t come on just then, Cole would probably have taken Mel’s advice. It certainly seemed as if he was considering how he might state it.

News Reporter: "These buildings are the latest in a series of properties purchased in this part of the City by Rector Corporation, a Chicago-based development group. Strangely, no plans have been made to put up any new structures on the properties and they’ve been vacant for months. And Rector Corporation remains strangely tight-lipped about the unusual situation. All attempts to contact company representatives at their offices have so far been unsuccessful."

[Note: The abandoned building artwork behind this supposed ‘live on the scene’ news reporter must be the most poorly done blue-screen effect in the history of special effects!].

———————————————————————

Cut to Zin in his offices, watching the same newscast that Cole is.

Torin, on phone: "I’ll tell him." He turns respectfully to Zin. "Our crew reached the core an hour ago ... We hit the same wall and couldn’t get through."

Zin: "Well, then. We have no choice ... We’ll have to go in."

They go into another office where Torin takes a futuristic-looking rifle out of a freestanding safe.

Zin: "Is it ready?"

Torin, handing him the rifle: "Navin made some final adjustments. It should..."

Zin, examining the rifle and cutting him off: "Oh, no. There can be no ‘should’."

Torin: "We’ll see for ourselves."

Zin, agreeing: "Go get Rigna."

Torin, going to speak with someone in the hallway: "Zin is ready to see you now."

Rigna, sauntering in: "Thanks a lot."

Zin, hiding the rifle behind the desk as Rigna comes in: "Rigna! ... How many Cirronians came down with us from Migar?"

Rigna: "Besides the Tracker? There was just Lontoria and myself."

[Why would Zin have a Cirronian working for him all along and not have taken advantage of his hyperspeed and energy abilities? This seems very odd. Cole even says a little later that he’s being wasted as a guard. But then, why hasn’t Zin been using him for anything else?].

Zin: "You know ... I ... I’ve always thought that was three Cirronians too many."

He picks up the rifle and shoots Rigna dead center in the chest while Torin passively watches. Rigna falls back, staggering against the doorjamb.

Zin: "Did you like it? ... It’s a new weapon we’ve developed. I’m afraid all of your Cirronian powers are gone."

As Zin talks, Rigna tries to ‘power up’ without any success beyond a very slight glow.

Zin: "You are as Human as Lontoria now ... If it will work on one Cirronian, it will work on others."

Rigna: "So, what use am I to you now?"

Zin: "Absolutely none ... There is one thing you can do for me, however."

Rigna: "What?"

Zin, pulling out a gun: "Die."

He shoots Rigna dead in the chest.

Zin, smugly picking up the rifle and admiring it: "So ... This is good ... This is very good..."

[Note: Torin’s name isn’t given in the episode, but it’s listed as being such in the guest cast].

———————————————————————

In the first scene, Nestov comes barging into the Watchfire. He has discovered that Zin now has a weapon that can permanently nullify Cirronian energies by extracting their negative particles of energy, turning them into normal Humans for good. And it can be used to kill Cole as well, not just incapacitate him.

Nestov: "Cole? ... Gotta see Cole! ..." He barrels through, hurrying toward the back. "Mel! ... Mel! ... Mel! ... It’s a matter of life or death! Where’s Cole? ... Mel! ... Mel..." He suddenly sees Bridget carrying a tray. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! ... You’re not Mel ... You are definitely not Mel ... I’m not saying that Mel isn’t a fine piece of Human workmanship, I’m just saying that you are ... definitely not Mel."

Bridget: "No, I’m Bridget. I’m just filling in."

Nestov, staring at her cleavage: "Yes, you are ... And you’re doing it quite nicely, might I add."

Bridget, laughing. "You said you needed to see Cole?"

Nestov: "Huh?

Bridget: "Yeah? So?"

Nestov: "Oh! Yeah! Right! Right!" He turns toward the stairwell, then turns back. "You know, there’s a saying where I come from, those who are so sure of what they need are usually in need of a drink."

Bridget, amused: "And where is it that you come from?"

Nestov: "Above here."

Bridget: "Waukegan?"

Nestov: "Way above Waukegan."

Bridget: "Well, what can I get you?"

Nestov: "I don’t know. I’m not really much of a drinker." Again he heads toward the stairwell, then rushes back. "Ahh! Double Bombay, rocks, two olives, splash of tonic and a water bag ... And you can put it on my tab. I have a house account."

Bridget: "Ah ... Mel didn’t say anything about house accounts..."

Nestov, backing up toward the stairwell: "Ah! Not to worry! ... I happen to be very successful! ... Oh, and by the way ... I’m Nestov."

He bumps into Mel at the door to the stairwell.

Mel: "And I’m Mel."

Nestov: "Oh. Hey."

Mel: "And I wish I could remember what it was I was going to tell you ... Oh! ... It’s coming back to me ... Oh, yeah! ... Leave!"

Nestov: "I gotta see Cole! It’s urgent!"

Mel: "It didn’t seem so ... urgent ... when you were introducing yourself ... to Bridget."

Nestov: "Aw, come on! You know what it’s like when I’m around beautiful women. It’s like a drug! ... Right now, more than anything, I need to see Cole."

Mel, protective: "Why?"

Nestov, looking around quickly: "Word is on the street that Zin’s got a weapon that could kill him."

Mel: "Nestov, that is not news! We already know about the artificial cold!"

Nestov: "No! This is something else, something different! Artificial cold weakens him, but only for a time. It can’t destroy him ... Zin has found something that will!"

Mel quickly leads him upstairs to the War Room.

———————————————————————

In the War Room…

Mel: "Cole! You’ve got to listen to this!"

Cole: "What is it?"

Mel: "Zin."

Nestov: "One of my guys on the inside gave some big information ... Man, I had to pay off this guy big time! Offset my winnings from the track last week..."

Mel, irritated: "Nestov!"

Nestov: "Right. Sorry ... Anyway, word’s going around that Zin’s found a way to take you out. For good, this time."

Cole, doubtful: "How is he planning on doing that?"

Nestov: "Supposedly, he’s created a weapon that extracts negative particles of energy."

Mel: "How does that affect you?"

Cole, with a sigh: "Well, you know that Cirronians are made up of opposite polarities."

Mel: "Yeah."

Cole: "Without the negative, there is no positive."

Mel, aghast: "You mean your Cirronian energy will be gone!?"

Nestov: "Yeah! It will leave him more or less Human."

Mel: "If he’s Human, then his life will be as vulnerable as one!"

Nestov: "Which is exactly what they’re counting on."

Cole: "Where is Zin keeping this weapon?"

Nestov: "Zin’s got a new base of operations. This office building in the Loop."

Cole: "Yeah, I know."

He heads for the door, apparently deciding that he’d better steal the weapon before Zin has a chance to use it on him.

Nestov, trying to stop him: "Oh, no! No! These - these guys have a hunk of muscle around! There’s no way you can get through them!"

Cole: "That’s why you’re coming with me."

Nestov: "Me? Uh, uh! I’m not coming! I’m acclimated to this body!"

Cole: "How acclimated, exactly?"

Nestov, snide: "How soon do you want to leave?"

Mel and Cole look at each other meaningfully, then he leaves with Nestov for Zin’s offices.

———————————————————————

In the alleyway outside Zin’s offices, Cole and Nestov are eyeing the posted guards from around a corner.

Cole: "Vardians."

Nestov: "How do you know?"

Cole: "If they were Desserians we wouldn’t see them, would we? ... Since they’re not wearing sunglasses or collars, Orsians and Enixians are out."

Nestov: "They’re not breathing like Nodulians ... What about you guys?"

Nestov: "Vardians! These guys can rip my head off with one finger! Forget it!" He moves to leave.

Cole, stopping him: "No, no, no! It’s all right. You just blend in and distract them and I’ll go do the rest ... They don’t see so well in the dark."

Nestov: "But it’s not dark in the alley."

Cole, zapping an electrical cable: "It is now."

The alley lights are out and Nestov has blended himself in with a brick wall.

Nestov, calling out: "Hey! Hey, losers! Over here! Hey, listen, I’m trying to find a phat club..."

Cole jumps them, Collects them both after a brief skirmish (although only the Collection of one of them is shown), and he and Nestov then sneak into the building.

Nestov, as they enter one of the offices: "What are you looking for exactly?"

Cole: "I don’t know! You’re the one who heard about the weapon!"

Nestov: "Doesn’t mean I know what it looks like!"

The two of them split up and start searching the office.

Nestov: "Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure ... it won’t be left out in the open ... Probably locked up in some kind of safe..."

Nestov, taking off his coat and laughing: "Typical Vardian design. I must’ve cracked at least a couple of dozen of these on Desseria."

Cole: "I thought your criminal skills were limited to con jobs."

Nestov, examining the sculpture: "Ah, just helping out a few friends who forgot the combination."

Cole: "All couple of dozen of them?"

Nestov, not responding: "Hmm ... Usually requires some sort of energy device to deactivate the lock..."

Cole: "Fine. What do you need me to do?"

Nestov, carefully feeling and listening around the sculpture: "Well, once I identify the combination points, I need you to just give a little juice when I point to the spot."

Cole: "Fine. Come on"

After a few moments they step back and wait.

Cole: "Several dozen, huh?"

The sculpture then vanishes like a holographic illusion, and the top of the sculpture’s base slides open. They both stare at the rifle, neither moving.

Nestov: "I don’t mean to rush you, big guy, but..."

Cole: "You’re not ... Grab it and let’s go."

Nestov: "Me? I’m not touching that thing!"

Cole: "Nestov, we don’t have time for games!"

Nestov: "Why do I have to touch it? You’re the one who has to get rid of it!"

Cole: "Yes, it’s supposed to affect me! I can’t take a chance on handling it!"

Nestov: "Oh! So I’m supposed to put my life at risk!? This thing is supposed to neutralize all your energies!"

Cole: "That’s right! Exactly! My energies! It was designed for Cirronians, not Desserians!"

Nestov: "How do you know that!? I mean, this thing is supposed to change all your negative particle impulses. What if it changes some of my impulses?"

Cole, nervous and impatient: "Well, maybe you should change some of your impulses! Like ... like keep babbling on like an idiot, for instance!"

Nestov: "Great! That’s very funny!" Cole starts to reach for his Collector in the small of his back and Nestov backs down. "Oh, all right! You don’t need to take out your Collector! I get it! ... But I’m not touching this thing with my bare flesh!"

Cole: "Then use your coat!"

Nestov: "I just bought this thing!" Cole steps threateningly toward him and again Nestov backs down. "All right!" Carefully, he wraps the rifle up in his coat.

Cole, resealing the safe: "Go!"

———————————————————————

Nestov, as they enter the War Room: "What shall we do now? Destroy it?"

Cole: "No. Zin will only create another one ... Put it on the desk. I have to understand the technology behind it, try to figure out a way to overcome its affects on me."

Nestov: "It’s gonna take some time."

Cole, his back to Nestov, fiddling with some machinery: "I know..."

Nestov, picking up the rifle: "And unfortunately, unless you’ve got something up your sleeve in, let’s say, two seconds, you’re out of time, Cole."

He fires the weapon, hitting Cole square in the back, and he collapses.

———————————————————————

A short time later Mel comes upstairs, finding Cole tied up to the legs of the bookcase in the living room.

Mel, rushing over to him: "Cole!? ... What’s going on!?!"

Nestov, popping up from the kitchen with the rifle trained on her: "Sit down next to him!"

Mel, to Nestov: "This is a joke ... right?" To Cole, "Right?"

Cole: "Mel. No."

Nestov: "What Cole’s trying to say is that I’m deadly serious! ... NOW! Sit down next to him!"

She doesn’t move from her crouch beside Cole.

Nestov: "No? ... I don’t know exactly what this thing will do to Humans, but I can imagine that it wouldn’t be pretty! ... So ... Sit down!" Mel does. Nestov points the rifle at Cole as he goes to her. "Don’t even think about moving! Don’t even think about it!!" To Mel, "Down!"

She lies down and he starts to tie her up.

[Ironically, although Nestov didn’t know it, the rifle could very well have harmed Mel because she has Cirronian energies].

Cole: "Nestov ... Why are you doing this? Nestov?"

Brief cut to Zin and company, loading supplies into a van.

Mel, angry: "I can’t believe this! ... He was a traitor all along, Cole!"

Nestov: "Will you tell her to shut up!? It’s not like I had a history of trust ... I was a con-man ... I was a con man in Migar ... When I got here, I took over the body of a Human con man ... I got a double helping, for God’s sake! Give me a break!"

Cole: "Nestov."

Nestov: "What!?"

Cole: "You just said it yourself. You’re just a con man. You’re not like them."

Nestov, grimly: "Sometimes it’s a gift."

———————————————————————

Nestov goes into the War Room to get the triangle.

Nestov: "Now ... If I was Cole, where would I hide it?" He starts searching amid the cables and wiring under the desk. "This shouldn’t be hard ... Think like a Cirronian..." He then realizes and gets up, looking around the room. "I’d hide it in plain sight..."

He spots it hanging on the post of some of Cole’s shelving and claims.

He then goes downstairs to unceremoniously evict the bar’s patrons and barmaids in the name of a health inspection and to await Zin’s arrival.

Nestov, vaulting the railing and giving a fingers-in-the-mouth whistle: "Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please! This will be Last Call, so drink up!"

Nestov, hustling people out: "Let’s go! Let’s go! Out! Out! Out! ... You! Definitely out! ... Good-bye! See you! ... Hello, lovely ladies, that includes you! Get out!"

Stubborn Man: "What’s going on? It’s too early for Last Call."

Nestov: "Too bad for you! Get out!"

Nestov, seeing another man starting to open a bottle and going over: "Now, wait a minute! You’ve finished your drink! Didn’t I tell you to move? Come on, man! Move! Out!"

Stubborn Man: "I paid for this drink and I’m going to take my time finishing it."

Nestov, coming back: "Oh, that’s fine, sir, but you’re going to have to sign a release. The Department can’t be held liable!"

Stubborn Man: "What Department?"

Nestov: "The Health Department! See, there’s this little problem with vermin infestation, huh? Let me take a little look here." He grabs the man’s bottle of beer. "Looks like a little cockroach made a little pit stop in your drink." He makes like to hand the bottle back as the man recoils. "You want it? Sure? No?"

Bridget, protesting: "Nobody said anything about a Department of Health inspection!"

Nestov, putting his arm around her and leading her to the door: "Now, how can we catch violations if we give you some warning? Huh? You’d just clean the place up! No, I don’t think so. Now, I’d suggest to you that you get out of here pretty quick because you wouldn’t want to be implicated in this sort of thing, huh?..."

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Mel and Cole are trying to free themselves...

Mel, seeing Cole swing his legs up until he’s nearly standing on his head: "What are you doing, Cole?"

Cole, grunting and pulling at the bookcase: "Moving this out ... Can you move this ... away from the wall?"

Mel: "What!?"

Cole: "If we can pull it away from the wall ... then we might be able to tip it and we’ll get free."

Mel: "Wait a minute ... What about just using your energy to melt the ropes?"

Cole: "I can’t do that. Zin’s device has ... stripped me of all my powers ... It feels so different, Mel. So strange. Is this what it’s like to be Human?"

Mel, grunting with effort: "Haa! ... I can’t believe he’s been lying the whole time! ... Remember that snowstorm? Remember how he conveniently forgot which ... sample belonged to which person when we were looking for the killer?"

Cole: "He may be self-serving, but ... I can’t believe he would’ve put us in any danger! ... Come on, Mel!"

Mel: "Oh! Careful! Are you sure you can move this thing without tipping it over?"

Cole: "I’m not sure of anything, Mel. I just think it’s better than lying here!" He manages to tip back the bookcase. "... Come on! Pull!"

Mel, pulling her ropes out from beneath the raised bookcase leg: "Aah! I got it!"

Cole: "Okay! Give me a hand!"

———————————————————————

Downstairs, Nestov puts a coin in the jukebox, saying to himself, "Always wanted to do this..."

[While he’s waiting, he’s decided to do his own strip dancing on the bar routine, a direct if unacknowledged homage to the oft-parodied scene of Tom Cruise in "Risky Business," a movie more than 10 years old at that time].

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Mel and Cole have just gotten themselves free of their bonds.

Mel, hearing the music from downstairs: "Do you hear him down there? I’m going to kill him!"

Cole, stopping her: "No, no! Wait, wait! Let’s find out what’s going on first ... You stay here."

He heads for the door, stumbles, nearly falls, Mel catching him as he sags against an occasional table.

Mel: "You’re too weak. I’ll go."

Cole: "No! No! It’s too dangerous!"

Mel, furious: "Yeah! For him! ..." Then she tries to reassure him. "I’m just going to go down there, see what’s going on. And I’ll be back in two minutes."

Cole, reluctantly: "All right ... Wait, wait, wait!" He hands her his Collector. "Take this ... If you get into any trouble, it might be effective."

Mel, hesitant: "I thought this thing was only activated by people with ... your ... usual energies."

Cole: "He might not remember that ... Go on."

Mel hurries downstairs with the Collector.

Cole leaning against a wall and grumbling: "Oh, being Human sucks!"

———————————————————————

Zin, unimpressed with the dance routine: "Nestov! Get down! This is not a game!"

Nestov: "Game? Oh, no. No." He jumps off behind the bar, clearly very nervous. "No!" He gives an unsteady laugh. "It’s not. No way. We’ve got plans. I take things very seriously here." He grabs a drink.

Zin, sneering: "Yes, I can see your total concentration, your high state of alertness."

Nestov, indicating his drink: "Oh, this? Aw ... this? This ... this is just something to calm my nerves here. It’s actually very pleasant." He holds out the glass. "Want to try?"

Zin: "I don’t drink."

[A great giggle a la "Forever Knight" as Zin raises a finger to his lips with a devilish glint in his eye].

Nestov, with a quick, nervous nod: "Of course you don’t."

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Cole is in the living room, blindly running his hands over his own face when Mel comes back up.

Cole: "Mel!"

Mel, frightened: "Zin is downstairs."

Cole: "With how many?"

Mel: "I don’t know ... With two men ... Or fugitives ... I don’t know!"

Cole: "What are they doing?"

Mel, becoming hysterical: "I didn’t stop to ask them, Cole! ... How do I know what they’re doing!? How do I know what any of them are doing!? I don’t even know what I’m doing!!"

Cole: "All right. Calm down, Mel."

Mel, ranting and pacing: "I don’t want to calm down, Cole!! I’m upset, okay!?! ... Zin is in my bar ... Nestov is a traitor ... nothing makes any sense anymore..."

Cole, realizing his Collector is glowing in Mel’s hand: "Mel..."

Mel: "... and all of a sudden you’re Human and I don’t know what’s going on!!"

Cole: "Mel..."

Mel: "What!?"

Cole, carefully reclaiming his Collector: "Be careful ... with that..."

A stunned Cole and a shocked Mel stare at each other in astonishment, amazement...

———————————————————————

Downstairs, Zin is in a hurry to get into the depths below the Watchfire where the item he’s been searching for since he arrived on Earth is hidden.

Zin: "Is everything ready?"

Nestov, finishing pulling his clothes back on: "I told you. You can count on me."

Zin: "For your sake, I hope you’re right. Of course, I assume you’ve taken care of the Tracker and his friend."

Nestov: "Absolutely 100% taken care of. You can do whatever you want here without worrying about a thing."

Zin: "Why don’t we just make sure?"

He signals one of his men to go check upstairs.

Zin, impressed: "And the Key?"

Nestov digs in his pocket and pulls out Mel’s grandmother’s metal triangle with another smile.

Zin, looking at him as though he may have seriously misjudged the Desserian: "Fine." He then calls out to his men, "Bring in the equipment!"

The goon who was first beginning to cautiously creep up the stairs comes back down, and two more guys start rolling in the equipment on dollies.

———————————————————————

Upstairs, Mel is sitting on the sofa. Cole is sitting on a stool staring at her in dumfounded wonderment. They’re both anxious. Here’s where Cole opines that Mel’s ancestors must have been part of a long-ago mythic Migar breeding program.

Mel, very edgy: "Stop staring at me!"

Cole: "I’m sorry."

Mel: "I feel ... so..."

Cole: "You’re not going to say ... ‘dirty’ ... are you?"

[Would Cole have even thought this might be the case if interbreeding between species was a normal and natural thing?].

Mel: "Cole! This is not funny!"

Cole" "Mel, I know –"

Mel: "I mean, one minute I’m a ... perfectly normal female Homo sapiens and the next minute I’m a ... Now I don’t even know what I am!" She sighs. "Maybe it was a mistake!? Maybe the Collector malfunctioned or..."

Mel: "Then ... what ... happened to me?"

Cole: "It was always part of you. You just didn’t know it."

Mel: "And you did?"

Cole: "There’s always a basis of truth to every myth and every legend."

Mel: "Meaning?"

Cole: "Meaning that explorers from the Migar Galaxy have been coming here for centuries. You know that."

[Note: The term "Migar Galaxy" was a gross scripting error here. A solar system is a star that has orbiting planets. A galaxy is a much larger unit composed of billions of stars and solar systems. And there are billions of galaxies in the universe. The terms are not interchangeable. Since both Migar and our Sun are stars with orbiting planets, they are both solar systems which are, in turn, a part of the galaxy we call the Milky Way. Therefore, it’s the Migar Solar System, NOT Galaxy].

Mel, reciting: "Yeah. And they were responsible for everything we thought was Humanly impossible ... Stonehenge ... the Pyramids ... Easter Island..."

Mel: "You weren’t serious about that, were you?"

Cole: "About what?"

Mel: "Never mind! ... Okay! ... So we’ve had a lot of visits from ... your ... people ... Explain to me how that results in ... well, this..."

Mel: "And?"

Cole: "The place must have been Earth ... And the two species must have..."

Mel: "Have?"

Cole: "Mated."

Mel: "You positive? I mean ... Is that ... physically ... possible?"

[Note: Neither Mel or Cole is referring to the physical act of sexual intercourse, but to the likelihood of their two different species not only being able to produce progeny from that intercourse, but fertile progeny to establish a continuing bloodline. After all, it’s already been shown that Daggon has changed his physiogeny (his body) into that of a normal Human male (his full monte strip in "Trust") which can become every bit as aroused as a normal Human male’s would to stimuli (the bathtub scene in ""Roswell") and positively reacts to Human female pheromones (the tag scene in "The Beast") and to Mel (their kiss in "Love, Cirronian Style"). While sex between a Human-morphed Cirronian and a Human should thus be possible, a Cirronian’s phylogeny – his inheritable DNA factors (sperm) – is an entirely different thing from his physiogeny and they will always be totally and completely Cirronian].

Cole: "It would seem so..."

They each in turn quietly say, "Whoa!" Then they stare at each other.

Agitated, Mel jumps up.

Cole: "What?"

Mel: "Coffee?"

Cole, confused: "No, thanks."

Mel: "Let me put some on anyway ... Maybe Zin will drop in." She flees for the kitchen.

Cole, following her: "Mel, this is not a coincidence ... You picking me up by the side of the road ... Your grandmother’s diary ... Her having a Vardian artifact..."

Mel, halting in her bustling about the kitchen: "You think my grandmother knew about this?"

Cole: "It would seem so ... Mel, you trusted me enough to let me in your life ... That was instinct, wasn’t it?"

Mel, grudgingly: "Yeah."

Cole: "Yes, it was in your blood. And now Zin is in the Watchfire looking for something ... It’s all part of something." He caresses her shoulders, runs his hands down her arms and squeezes her hands. "It’s all right." He turns and heads for his War Room.

[Some Science Notes: Mel is here revealed as having a shared heritage or whatever with Cole. This element was always part of the show, right from the first information posted on the "official" trackertv.com website. Most alien-type sci-fi shows seem to bring in some sort of a Human/alien connection so it’s not so far-fetched on that score – although the score itself is completely far-fetched. But why didn’t Cole know that Mel was part Cirronian or some such before? In other episodes, notably "Eye of the Storm," Cole said it was becoming harder for him to detect the presence of the escapees because they – and he – had been in Human form too long. Mel was born on Earth, has lived here all her life, and is perhaps part Human, hence to energy that he couldn’t detect. But from the very beginning he felt drawn to her for some reason. Why else would he seek her out for help in the Pilot?].

[It’s more fanfic and message board conjecture than anything else that it’s grandma who did the deed with a Cirronian, yet next to nothing substantive is really known for certain from canon. But NOTE Cole’s wording here, saying, "THE STORY GOES" and "THE TWO SPECIES MUST..." and twice saying, "IT WOULD SEEM SO." At this point, HE REALLY DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS and is merely recounting the story – which he knows as a myth or legend – as ONE possible explanation. Also note that "TO CREATE BLOODLINES" does NOT necessarily mean such had to have been done through hybridization!].

———————————————————————

Downstairs, Zin’s crew is busily drilling.

Zin, anxious: "How much longer?"

Computer Goon: "Just the last 500 feet. It should be just a few more minutes before we’re down low enough to check."

Zin: "Let me know the second we hit bottom."

———————————————————————

Cole is checking out a few things on his computer, trying to figure out exactly what Zin is doing and why, likely accessing the Knowledge. He stares at his screen in shock, murmuring, "Oh, no ... It can’t be..."

And now Cole gets to show Mel a thing or two in order to return him to his full Cirronian powers to foil Zin. This is a very sensual scene, yet not a sexy one. He goes into Mel’s bedroom, finding her staring at herself in her full-length mirror, not knowing whose reflection she’s seeing anymore.

Cole: "Mel, we have to go downstairs and stop him before he finds what he’s looking for."

Mel: "You are still too weak and I am way too jittery ... Maybe a little brandy would help..."

Cole: "I have an idea."

Mel: "You do?"

Cole: "Yes."

Mel: "What is it?"

Cole: "Give me your hand." Hesitantly, she does so. "It won’t hurt. I promise ... Place your hand here." He places her hand on his chest over his heart. "Like I did the first time we met..."

Mel, uncertain: "Okay."

Cole: "I re-energized your lifeforce then ... You can do the same for me."

Mel, shaking her head and pulling her hand away: "I don’t know how, Cole! I don’t know how!"

Cole, grasping her shoulders and gently smiling at her: "Mel ... You can do it. I know you can ... You can do it ... Give me your hand."

Again, he places her hand on his chest over his heart and holds it there.

Cole: "Close your eyes."

She does, swallowing hard. He places his other hand on her forehead. And then a little nervously, getting softer and quieter, he gently talks Mel through helping him, how she should reach for the energy deep within herself.

Cole: "Take yourself ... to another place ... another look inside you ... You have to look deep inside you, find that one thing you’ve always been afraid of ... Don’t be afraid of it ... Embrace it ... It’s yours ... Look at it ... It won’t hurt you ... That’s right ... Good ... Now feel it..."

Energy glows and jolts from Mel’s hand for a split-second, and Cole falls back, gasping, then he laughs, sighing with relief: "It worked."

[Note: Compare how Mel’s use of her energy is portrayed with the way Cole’s use of his has been portrayed. With Cole, any use of his abilities has always been shown as deliberate and well controlled. With Mel it was just a momentary jolt of power and one could feel the lack of control she had over it].

They’re both smiling now, both a little giddy.

Cole: "Need a cigarette?"

[One half expected Mel to finish the old saw and say, "Yeah. You?" and Cole to just nod].

———————————————————————

Downstairs, the Computer Goon tells Zin: "We’ve reached the core!"

Zin paces around the drilling rig, then steps back, telling the Computer Goon: "Go ahead."

He pockets the Ankh and steps onto the shaft’s floating central disk. In another sparkle of blue light he vanishes, heading down below to claim his prize.

———————————————————————

Nestov, to himself, examining two bottles of scotch, weighing one in each hand: "Let’s see ... seven years old ... thirty years old ... Well, I’m not too fond of kids..."

He tosses the seven-year bottle away, not even noticing that Cole is stealthily sneaking down from upstairs.

A quick reconnaissance, Computer Goon is leaning over his laptop on the retaining wall, Bar Goon is approaching Nestov, who’s behind the bar, and Door Goon is standing by the Watchfire’s front door.

Bar Goon, to Nestov: "What are you doing over there?"

Nestov: "Just taking care of my business ... Don’t worry about it, brother."

Bar Goon: "Zin told you to leave things alone!"

Nestov, becoming confrontational: "Yeah? Well, Zin’s not here right now ... So why don’t you focus on your job and let me deal with mine?"

Neither notice Cole pass by at zip speed, grab the Door Goon, and haul him back out of sight behind a pillar, presumably Collecting him.

Bar Goon: "Tell me ... What did it feel like ... betraying Tracker?"

Nestov, snide: "None of your business!"

Bar Goon, boasting: "You know ... I could’ve taken him."

Cole, zipping up behind him, Nestov gaping: "Now’s your chance."

Bar Goon spins around, drawing his weapon. Cole knocks it away and they skirmish for two seconds, then it’s over. He’s down and Cole Collects him.

Computer Goon, grabbing the knocked away weapon from off the floor and aiming it: "Tracker! Toss me the Collector!"

He doesn’t notice that Mel has just exited the stairwell behind him.

Cole looks at his Collector, shrugs, and tosses it high. Mel catches it.

Computer Goon: "Bad throw!"

Mel: "Actually, right on target."

He whirls, and Mel rams the Collector into his chest, Collecting him as he screams and Nestov gasps.

Nestov, quickly draining his glass: "That’s impossible! She can’t!"

He runs for the front door, Mel grimly going after him. Cole zips over and blocks his path as he vaults the bar.

Cole: "Where do you think you’re going?"

Nestov: "How did you get your powers back!?"

Cole moves to shield Nestov from Mel’s wrath: "Mel, give it to me."

Mel, taut: "Cole..."

Cole, quietly: "Give me the Collector."

Nestov, from behind Cole: "Good thing I tied those ropes loose so you guys could get out, huh?"

With a low growl, Mel tries to reach for him around Cole with the Collector.

Nestov: "Hey! Hey! Stop fooling around!"

Mel, seething: "I’m not fooling around, traitor!"

Nestov: "Zin made me do it! He said he would kill me if I didn’t help him!"

Cole: "I trusted you, Nestov."

Nestov: "And rightfully so! I did it for you!"

Mel, going for him again: "He’s lying!"

Cole, stopping her: "No, wait ... Think about it. He could have killed me back at Zin’s headquarters when we first got the weapon, but he didn’t..." To Nestov, "Why?"

Nestov, nodding: "Now you’re getting it! I knew you would figure out this whole thing along the way ... That was part of my plan! See, it wasn’t really a double cross..."

Cole, holding out a warning finger: "Uh, uh, uh, uh..."

Nestov: "I made Zin think that I was helping him ... But in reality, I was helping you! It was a patented Nestov triple-cross!"

Mel, not believing it: "Oh, come on!"

Nestov: "Come on? ... I love you guys! Here on Earth, you’re my family. I would never jeopardize that!" He moves around Cole to face Mel. "You don’t believe me? All right ... Take my lifeforce, then ... Go ahead."

In disgust at herself, unable to do it, Mel hands the Collector back to Cole.

Cole: "You still put us in danger."

Nestov: "No, I haven’t! All Zin’s going to do is leave with that thing."

Cole: "He’s going after the Stra’da-Brac."

He turns away and heads for the drill shaft, Mel following.

Nestov, disbelieving: "Wha?"

[Note: Mel looked like she really enjoyed Collecting that Vardian Computer Goon. This woman enjoys using that thing way too much! That look on her face when she took him, and then when she went after Nestov, was almost like raging bloodlust. Mel may very well be a very sweet and gentle person, but she certainly has been shown to have a temper and she definitely has her moments when she or her friends are put at risk!].

———————————————————————

At the bottom of the shaft, Zin has appeared in the anteroom by the Vault doors and starts to open them.

———————————————————————

Cole, Mel and Nestov are around the shaft’s retaining wall. Cole is examining the laptop’s readouts.

Mel: "How far down does it go?"

Nestov: "Maybe we should throw something down, see how long it takes to hit bottom."

Cole: "That’s a good idea. We can use you as a sounding device."

Nestov: "Ahh ... You’re joking, right?"

Cole, ignoring him: "There’s an energy transporter here."

Mel: "Where, exactly?"

Cole: "Inside the hole ... It’s like an elevator."

Mel: "But with no floor down there."

———————————————————————

Zin uses the Key and the doors to the Vault slowly swing open.

———————————————————————

Cole has the pedestal table upside down on top of the bar and is removing the base. Mel and Nestov are removing handles from the bar’s cabinetry.

Nestov: "The Stra’da-Brac?"

Cole: "Yes. The Universal Annihilator."

Nestov: "Oh, come on, man! You can’t be serious!"

Mel: "My God! Why would anybody create such a thing?"

Cole: "They were Vardians ... The story goes that the Migar Council ... was able to steal the device. They placed it inside a drone ship and sent it to the edge of the galaxy where supposedly it exploded harmlessly ... Or so they thought ... But the Vardians had switched the Brac with a replica ... and stored the real one away."

Nestov: "Sorry, Cole. You’re way off on this one. It’s just a myth.

Cole, muttering, more to himself: "Getting there..."

Nestov, handing his cabinetry handle over: "The Migar Council caught wind that they might have been duped, so they sent their people back to Varda to check it out. But the Vardians had shipped the device someplace far away for safe keeping until they..." Realization dawns. "Until they ... were ready to use it..."

Cole nods.

Mel, horrified, pointing down: "And ... and that’s..."

Cole, nodding again: "Exactly."

Nestov: "You’ve been sitting on a bomb that can wipe out the entire enchilada, not to mention the rice and beans on the side."

Mel: "Why here?"

Cole: "Why not? ... Earth was a sleepy little rock back then. It wasn’t technologically advanced and posed no threat to anyone else in the galaxy."

Nestov: "On top of that, it had some hot chicks! I mean, I heard that Cleopatra was once hot-hot-hot-hot mama! Whoowhoowhoo!" Both Mel and Cole glare at him and he quickly sobers. "... So, ah, what do you suppose Zin wants with that weapon?"

Cole: "What do you think? You know back on Varda they didn’t treat him with the kind of respect he thought he should have ... It ate away at him. My guess is, he wants to go back and gain their respect."

Mel: "By using a weapon that will annihilate everything in its path? He can’t do that!"

Nestov: "Well, why not? In the hands of a madman like Zin, anything’s possible."

Cole: "There’s one other problem ... That Brac is supposed to work on antimatter, which means if Zin takes it back through the wormhole, it could cause an energy backlash that could destroy the entire planet."

Mel, horrified: "Which planet?"

All three of them just look at each other.

Nestov: "But Zin would’ve thought of that!"

Cole, finishing attaching the handles to the tabletop: "He doesn’t care!"

———————————————————————

In the Vault, Zin has found the Stra’da-Brac and is whispering to it: "You’re beautiful..."

———————————————————————

Mel and Cole are binding Nestov spread eagle on the pool table.

Nestov: "Ahh! Ahhh! Do they have to be so tight? Come on, guys! It’s not like there’s anybody that’s going to find me! Just a little bit of trust! That’s all I’m asking!"

Cole, leaning over him: "Trust is like respect. It has to be earned."

Mel, worried, leading Cole off to the side: "Cole ... Is this going to work out?"

Cole: "I’m not sure..."

Mel, agonized: "Cole, I..."

Cole, smiling reassuringly: "You don’t have to say anything, Mel."

She places her hand on his chest, over his heart and he covers her hand with his own. Then, holding the tabletop like a shield, Cole dives head first down into the shaft, vanishing in sparkling blue light.

———————————————————————

Zin is leaving the Vault with the Stra’da Brac, quietly murmuring to it: "Oh, yes ... oh, yes."

He then sees Daggon standing in the anteroom waiting for him.

Zin: "I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Nestov."

Daggon: "That makes two of us." He drops his makeshift shield. "Put it back."

Zin: "You know I can’t do that."

Daggon: "You can and you will."

Zin, carefully placing the Brac on the floor: "This is about politics. It has nothing to do with you."

Daggon: "Don’t fool yourself, Zin. It’s about power."

Zin, circling to face him: "You’re a Tracker, Daggon. Stick to what you know."

Daggon, facing off with him and meeting the challenge: "I know you’d kill innocent lives with that thing and that’s something I can’t let you do."

Zin: "You Cirronians are all alike ... So naive ... Peace comes at a price, my friend." He points to the Brac. "This is the currency."

Daggon, astonished at the extent of Zin’s megalomania sickness: "Of what price? You want to hold everyone in Migar hostage with a weapon that can annihilate us all?"

Zin: "It’s my kind of peace."

Daggon: "You want to show them how great you are, Zin, do it another way."

Zin: "Another way ... Hasn’t spending time on this planet taught you anything? Humans are no different than me. They’ve been killing each other for centuries for power ... They call it war. It’s their means to an end."

Daggon: "They have a lot to learn, yes ... But they can still change."

[Note: Zin’s short pause after "But in the end..." might have been an in-joke reference to ‘Highlander’ in that they’d inevitably finish the line with "... there can be only one!"].

Daggon, now realizing that there’s only one way to stop him: "Take your shot!"

They fight with rapid martial arts moves and energy blasts (Daggon’s are white, Zin’s are red), Zin besting him not once, but twice. The first time Zin turns away from finishing him, even though he had him down and both know that he probably could have. The second time he has Daggon flat on his back and very seriously reeling.

Zin, with a snarl: "STAY DOWN!.." He straightens his tie. "This, my old friend, is what is meant to be!"

But still Daggon doesn’t stay down.

Daggon, revving his white light energy as Zin is reaching for the Brac: "The Humans have another saying as well ... It’s not in the stars to hold our destiny ... but in ourselves."

Daggon releases his power and blasts Zin through the Vault doors; they close and lock, entombing him alive as he’s screaming in horror, "NO! NO!"

[Note: Although Daggon seemed shocked by what he’d just done, never tick him off or put his back to the wall! That thing he did with revving his energy and blasting Zin into the Vault with it was just amazing! Don’t ever tick off Daggon, ‘cause Cirronians aren’t necessarily all about peace and love after all and they can and will kill if they have to!].

Daggon bends down and picks up the power device.

———————————————————————

In the tag, Cole comes in the Watchfire’s front door, pulling off his sunglasses. Mel is waiting for him at the bar with an overnight bag.

Cole: "The Brac’s in the car."

Mel: "Is it safe?"

Cole: "It should be."

Mel: "There’s a thermonuclear device capable of vaporizing an entire planet sitting in the back of my car ... Can you be a little more reassuring?"

Cole: "It will be fine."

Nestov, coming over and reaching for the overnight bag: "Let me help you with that."

Mel, snatching it away from him: "No! ... thanks..."

Nestov, as Mel and Cole start to walk out: "Try to kill someone just once and all of a sudden they want nothing to do with you..." Mel and Cole turn back toward him. "So, where you guys going to hide it?"

Nestov: "That’s cool."

Mel, to Cole: "What do we do with him?"

Nestov, contrite: "Look! Look! ... I don’t expect you to forgive me. I mean, I don’t even know if I can forgive myself."

Cole: "When I first met you, Nestov, I could have taken your lifeforce then."

Nestov: "Yeah?"

Cole: "But I trusted you ... The least you could’ve done was show me the same courtesy."

Nestov hangs his head in shame as Mel looks away, pained.

Cole, sighing and holding out a set of keys to him: "Open your eyes."

Nestov, taking the keys: "These are keys to the bar."

Mel: "Cole?"

Cole: "You keep the doors closed and don’t let anybody in."

Nestov: "Absolutely! No question!"

Mel, adding: "No matter what ... she looks like!"

Nestov: "All right!"

Cole: "And ... Don’t go anywhere because I’ll find you!"

Nestov: "Right! ... Well, good..."

Cole: "We’ll be back tomorrow."

Mel, as they start to leave: "Are you sure we can trust him?"

Cole, not trusting or foolish: "No. That’s why I locked the War Room."

At the door he stops and sighs.

Mel: "What’s wrong?"

Cole: "I think I’ve spent so much time and energy pursuing Zin ... Now it’s over it just ... feels so strange."

Mel, smiling: "You’re becoming more Human every day ... It’s perfectly normal."

Cole, ruefully: "Is that what it feels like?"

Mel: "Believe me, Cole, the work’s not over yet. You still have ... about 150 fugitives to capture?"

Cole: "Mmm. I know."

Mel: "You’re not going anywhere."

Nestov, interrupting: "You know, I’ve..."

Cole, as he and Mel leave: "No! Uh uh!"

Nestov, nodding to himself: "Right..."

************************