Moonbase Alpha Status Report: 1150 days after leaving Earth's
Orbit
Moonbase Alpha's computer is transferring what they have
learned on their journey so far to the computer memory banks. Suddenly the computer detects a change in the horizon,
but Alpha's computer's cannot determine what is causing the Moon to be pulled off course. They summise that the
Moon is on a collision course with a black dwarf, and Commander John Koenig orders an evacuation of the base.
A ship is spotted approaching Alpha, and two Eagles
are sent to intercept the craft. A voice from the ship identifies itself as a Swift which left Earth in 1996 on a star
mission. Maya confirms that there was a star mission in 1996, under the command of Captain Michael and the fate of the
mission is unknown.
Commander Koenig and Doctor Helena Russell go onboard Swift together with two security guards.
The security guards look around the ship but can find no one on board. Suddenly a voice is heard informing the
party that it will come and meet them, and a robot rolls out from the cockpit.
The robot tells Koenig and Helena that the mother ship and the other Swift's landed on the planet,
which they called Planet D, and they all died. When asked what he is called, the robot tells them that the first word
he said was Brain but he got it wrong and said Brian, so maybe they should call him Brian.
John Koenig and Helena Russell take Brian to Moonbase Alpha's Command Centre, where it notices that
Alpha's computer is the same as his own. He 'communicates' with Alpha's computer. John Koenig tells
Brian that Alpha has had a change of course and asks him if he has detected such a change. Brian says he will return
to Swift and check on that. Brian invites Helena to accompany him to Swift and maybe she can find out why his crew
died. John asks if he can come along too.
Once Brian, John and Helena have left Command Centre, Maya tells Tony Verdeschi that she has
a bad feeling about Brian, and asks him to open a channel to John onboard the Swift, but when Tony attempts to establish
contact, he is unable to.
Swift takes off and is headed to Planet D, with Helena and John held hostage. Back on Moonbase
Alpha the computers are not working, they have been blinded by Brian. Tony, Maya and Bill Fraser launch Eagles and go
after Swift. Brian threatens to blind the Eagles, but John asks to be able to speak to the Eagles.
John tells Tony that he must return to Alpha otherwise the computers will be blinded and they will not be able to find their
way back.
Tony Verdeschi orders all Eagles to return to Alpha but he, Maya and Bill decide to go to Planet
D, with Maya helping to steer them.
On the Swift, Brian decides to test his theory on whether or not John and Helena love each other.
Using painful ultra violet light he forces John and Helena into separate airlocks, and tells them that he is going to
let the air out slowly. He tells them that they each have a button which they can press to channel the remaining air
to the other airlock, so that the other can live.
As the air inside the airlock begins to get thinner, John and Helena struggle to breath. They
both press their button at the same time. Brian announces that they love each other, and keeping one of them hostage
gives him a hold over the other.
Swift lands on Planet D which is covered by a poisonous mist. He instructs John Koenig to find
the mother ship, unload its fuel store and bring it back to him so that he can replenish his fuel store and live forever.
John walks over to the mothership, passing members of the crew lying dead on the planet. Once inside the mothership
he finds Maya and Tony there waiting for him.
On board the mothership, they find the body of Brian's creator, Captain Michael. Maya checks
the ships computer and finds that it has been blinded which explains why the crew went out onto the planet surface without
protective suits, and died. John tells Tony and Maya that Brian wants him to take the fuel from the mothership to Swift.
John finds a model of a robot very similar to Brian and John says he thinks that Captain Michael was
working on an improved version of Brian. John says the only way they can beat Brian is to break its mind. Maya
tells John that she had a good look at Captain Michael, and transforms into a mouse which John puts into his pocket.
John Koenig returns to the Swift with the fuel core and places it in the hatch. He takes the
mouse out of his pocket and places it on Brian's antenna. John tells Brian that he saw members of his crew lying dead
on the planet surface, and Captain Michael, also dead.
John tells Brian that he has a message from Captain Michael. He accuses Brian of killing his
master, but Brian says he didn't kill his master and doesn't know how he died. John tells him that he blinded Captain
Michael's computer because he found out he was working on an improved version of Brian.
Maya materialises as Captain Michael, and he and John confront Brian. Brian short circuits and
'Captain Michael' and John push Brian out of one of the airlocks. However, Brian's antenna is caught in the door, suspending
the robot in space.
John tells Maya that they have to get the Brain's memory core back to Alpha, but Maya reminds
him that Brian still has its antenna. John says they will cut it, but Brian's voice tells them that if they cut his
antenna he will wipe his memory clean, and Moonbase Alpha will be blinded forever. John says he will take that chance
but then Brian begs him not to cut his antenna.
John tells Brian he will let him live if he gives them his memory core undamaged. Brian
tells them to take it, all he ever wanted was to live, to have friends, and he begins to cry much to the surprise of
the Alphan's.
Back on Moonbase Alpha, the Alphan's computers are once again functional. They discover that
they are not orbiting Planet D and they are on the same course they always were. John Koenig decides to return Brian's
memory core to Swift, but programmed with their own morality.
Episode synopsis copyright Jeannine Hochet
