7152764JOHN F. KENNEDY: Many years ago...
the great British explorer
George Mallory...
who was to die
on Mount Everest...
was asked why
did he want to climb it.
He said,
"Because it is there."
Well, space is there,
and we're going to climb it.
And the moon
and the planets are there.
And new hopes for knowledge
and peace are there.
And, therefore,
as we set sail...
we ask God's blessing...
on the most hazardous
and dangerous...
and greatest adventure
on which man has ever embarked.
Thank you.
I hereby declare
this new world...
a colony
of the Terran Confederation.
With the charting of
the fourth pulsar this year...
the Pilgrim explorers are
becoming a discussion point.
We are gathered here
to celebrate Dr. Peter Anthony.
His invention of the Navcom A.I.
is possibly the most important
development in space travel...
of the last century.
Finally, we can navigate
almost any jump...
in known space with confidence.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I give you Dr. Peter Anthony.
Coming up on the far side...
Looks like maybe
three or four kilometers long.
Copy that, Sparrow. Proceed.
It's like nothing
I've ever seen before.
Wait.
Something's going on here.
With escalating
tension in the Vega sector...
the whole Confederation
is on a knife edge.
Will these unprovoked attacks
continue?
Will the diplomatic probes
be successful?
We can only hope...
I regret to report...
that all diplomatic avenues
with the Kilrathi...
have been exhausted.
It is now clear
they have no interest...
in coexisting with us
or any other race.
It is my sad duty
to inform you...
that as of 6 a.m. this morning...
we are formally at war
with the Kilrathi.
God help us all.
T.C.S. Vanguard
now clearing outer marker.
Course four-six-niner,
logged for the Charybdis quasar.
Ready to receive Navcom
coordinates for the jump.
Roger that. Transmitting now.
Have a safe trip back to Earth.
Freighter Delta.
Losing elevator-effect thrust.
Request trajectory.
T.C.S. McClellan
requesting flyby.
I got one-nine-zero bogies inbound.
Vector three-seven-four,
attack formation.
Status!
Forty Kilrathi ships
coming to bear, Admiral.
They're powering weapons.
The Iowa's gone! And the Kobi.
We have a station breach!
Levels seven, eleven,
and thirteen.
They're headed towards
command and control!
Destroy the Navcom A.I. Now.
Self-destruct malfunction.
Command codes
have been overwritten.
Station breach, level six.
Station breach, level two.
Command center breach imminent.
Prepare a drone.
Get me a coded channel.
This is Admiral Wilson...
Pegasus station
commanding officer.
Forty Kilrathi capital ships
are closing.
Station has been breached.
They want the Navcom.
Repeat--they want the Navcom.
The station has been breached.
They want the Navcom.
Repeat--they want the Navcom.
The Pegasus Navcom.
My God, if they have it...
What's the fleet's position?
We're spread out
all over the sector.
The earliest our advanced
elements can reach Sol...
is forty-two hours...
and that is taking risks
with the jumps, sir.
Give me the Vega and Sol sectors.
Estimated Kilrathi fleet's position.
Projected time of travel
to Earth, forty hours.
Locating main Confederation fleet.
Estimated time to Earth space,
forty-two hours.
A mere two hours could decide
the outcome of this war.
Signal all ships
to mark our course...
and make full speed for Earth.
I need to know what
the Kilrathi are up to, Richard.
Do we have any more ships
left in Vega?
Just one, sir. The Tiger Claw.
But she's beyond the range
of our communications...
and a drone will take
two days to reach her.
Who's this?
It's a requisitioned
merchantman...the...
Diligent.
The Diligent.
Yes, sir.
Captained by James Taggart...
at present en route
to the Tiger Claw...
with two replacement pilots--
First Lieutenants Todd Marshall
and Christopher Blair.
Open a secure channel
to the Diligent immediately.
I want to speak
with