Retribution (Part II)

Written by J.Michael Straczynski

"You were saying?"
"Later.It can wait."

- Pilot and Jon

Bolstered by his ace in the hole of knowing the frequency of the transit gates used by Power, Dread addresses his forces in what he sees to be a decisive battle against Power, but now conducted on his terms.

Meanwhile, at the Power Base, Power visits Pilot's quarters. Their conversation belies an intimacy and closeness that up till now, has been hinted at only as Power tells Pilot how much she is appreciated. Pilot shyly replies, "I couldn't have done it without you....you and the rest. You're my family". They pause for a moment, uncertain of what the other is about to say before Pilot says she has something she's wanted to tell him for a long time.But before she can continue they are interrupted by Scout reminding Power it is time to leave. Power turns back to Pilot to ask what she wanted to say. Pilot changes her mind and decides that whatever it is, 'it can wait'.

The team fly to meet Locke, the data springer introduced in the episode New Order.He has new information for the team on weapons and troop movements as well as inside knowledge that Dread has captured a resistance leader known as Cypher [See And Madness Shall Reign].Concerned, Power accepts the disk containing the information from Locke and disappears, after Locke warns they have less than an hour to rescue Cypher. As Power and his team move off, from the shadows emerges a Overunit, to congradulate Locke on his 'performance'. Dread has utilised Locke's children as a bargaining chip to gain the cooperation of Locke to trap Power.The plan is to lure Power away from the base so that Blastarr and his platoon of troopers can enter the transit gates to the Power Base.

Power decides to dispatch Pilot to the Power Base to decode the data on the disk while he and the rest of the team head out to rescue Cypher. Power lingers as Pilot prepares to ride the Skybike back to the Base. He tells Pilot that he hopes to continue their talk. Pilot does not look him in the eye, but nods and mounts the bike to leave.

The Jumpship exits a transit gate only to be ambushed by Blastarr and his ship, which cripples the Jumpship with several quick but powerful laser blasts. The damaged Jumpship begins to fall out of the air. Power frantically orders Hawk to get them back into the gate but Hawk is unable to. The ship is forced down while Power watches in horror as Blastarr enters the gate. Power's thoughts are immediately for Pilot. As the Jumpship crashes onto the ground, Power tries to raise Pilot on the radio but the communications systems are out. Nor can he use the XT-7 to get back to the base. A frustrated Power orders Scout to get to work on getting the ship air borne again. But there's more bad news - troopers have appeared outside. An angry Power grabs Tank to provide cover while Hawk and Scout work to get the ship up in the air again.

Meanwhile, Pilot discovers that the disk to be decoded is empty. She doesn't have to wait long to figure out what is going on as the intruder alert sounds and she heards Blastarr and the troopers begin to blast their way through the base. Pilot nervously orders Mentor to seal the blast doors in the hope that that will delay them. A messages comes through from Power and a frantic Pilot tells him they are under attack. Seemingly shocked that it has come to all of this, Power orders Pilot to initiate the auto-destruct mechanism and leave immediately. Pilot wants to grab the spare suits first and then leave, but Power orders her to leave immediately.

Pilot starts backing up Mentors systems and stuffing the suits into a bag. She grabs the back up tape and sets the auto-destruct sequence. She activates her Power suit. She has four minutes to exit the base before the whole place goes sky high. Meanwhile, Blastarr and the troopers are working their way through the base, systematically destroying everything in sight - they shoot up Pilot's quarters, destroying all her possessions.Alerted to the auto- destruct sequence, Blastarr makes for the control room and destroys the console, interrupting the auto-destruct sequence.

Elsewhere, Scout has managed to fix the ship. Power and Tank retreat into the ship and take off, headed for the Power base. At the base, Pilot is alerted to the failure of the auto-destruct. She immediately sets the skybike on auto-pilot and straps the bag containing the suits and the back-up of Mentor on the bike. It takes off without her. She confronts Blastarr. Pilot's suit is no match for the superior firepower of the Bio-Dread and it doesn't take much for him to deplete her Powersuit and force her into retreat, badly injured. She crawls through the bodies of Bio-Mechs into a room which houses the computer controls over the Power Base energy source.

Onboard the Jumpship, Power contacts Pilot by radio again. She barely manages to warn him to stay clear. The auto-destruct has failed and she has no choice but to blow the base's power source manually. Power tries to persuade her not to sacrifice herself, telling her that 'there is another way of doing it.' But he doesn't fool Pilot who knows that there is no other way, and that she will sacrifice herself in the process. In that brief moment, she tells Power what she has wanted to say to him all along, that she loves him and tells him "Do think of me sometimes". The blast doors behind her blow open and Blastarr demands her surrender. Staring the Bio-Dread in the face, she tells him pointedly to "Go to Hell" and keying in the command, blows up the base.

From a distance, the Jumpship hears the blast. An anguished Power screams "No!" before burying his face in his hands in tears. The rest of the team sit there, unable to believe what has happened. A moment of silence passes before the Jumpship's computer indicates a Skybike entering the vicinity.

In a quiet spot, Hawk unpacks the contents of the bag strapped to the SkyBike, finding the Powersuits and the back up of Mentor. Power stands a little distance away, staring into nowhere. Tank vows revenge on the 'Metal monsters' declaring 'they'll pay for this, all of them'. Power tells his team that they must leave immediately.

We end with a montage of shots capturing the essence of Power and Pilot's relationship - the moment in the desert during 'Judgment', Pilot asking Power "what was the first thing you taught me when you freed me from the Dread Youth?" in 'Gemini and Counting' and finishing with the slow dance in 'Retribution Part I'.

Comment

This is probably one of the most powerful,emotional sci-fi goodbyes I've ever seen - far superior to the death of Tasha Yar on ST:TNG. J.Michael Straczynski is a great writer because he had the guts to kill off a major character in the series - well, he's a great writer for other reasons too, but this stands out in my mind because it goes against every rule in the book. I think I agree with David Stagers though that Straczynski didn't create us a Captain Power universe where only the good guys win. He made it a little bit more real because in the Captain Power universe, even heros, even loved ones die, that war is not discriminating. That in the real world, people on both sides are sacrificed.

Straczynski doesn't let us down. Pilot doesn't just die.She dies heroically, destroying the Power Base so it does not fall into enemy hands. It was a valiant end for a gutsy heroine and befitting Pilot's character - in other words, she died well. And she got to tell Jon how she felt, how we all knew she felt. Her death was not without meaning one way or the other and even if she never got to find out how Jon felt about her because she told him what was in her heart's heart.

There's a little bit of the feeling that we get coincidence after coincidence happening, accidents of time and place which really result in what happens - this episode is a classic case of every 'what if' could have resulted in a different ending - plenty of 'inexplicable oddities'. But I think that people remember Captain Power and remember this episode particularly because of the effect it had on them - how much it shook them and moved them. Pilot's death might have been contrived and coincidence, but that doesn't detract from the raw emotional feelings it gives rise to.

Some minor points: Dread is about to make the transition to his new body as Overmind tells him "it is time". He was to transfer his consciousness to a fully mechanised body.

Watch out for...

Useless Trivia

Inexplicable Oddities

1