plague.
This mysterious trace element,
it's something that's got to be looked into.
No more than that.
The way things stand,
the Federation has to cover every possibility.
But Keller, now he strikes me
like a man who's scared enough.
They wrecked their ship on landing
and he was virtually alone.
He'd say anything to save his skin.
I've seen that kind of stuff
from dozens of people under torture.
Of course you just happened to be
passing the door when they said it.
I get results.
And I'll get results on Virn,
if there's any to be got.
At the end of those tapes
Keller is obviously dying.
He wasn't immune after all.
And he said the girl shot herself.
They were the last.
There won't be much left of them after five years.
Which makes you rather an odd choice
for this mission.
You think so?
Commissioner Sleer
in charge of the pacification programme?
There's nothing for you on Virn.
Unless someone thought I'd be lonely.
I'm sure you're accustomed to loneliness,
Investigator Reeve.
You must be alone such a lot.
(Electronic beeping)
Investigator.
- What?
- We're approaching the planet, sir.
That looks sick, too.
Could that virus still be active?
- You got your broad spectrum shots, didn't you?
- Yes, sir.
- And what about you, Madam Brainwasher?
- Do you suppose I'd be on this ship without them?
(Alarm blaring)
Can't you fly this thing, Chasgo?
Suddenly I think we must have hit
some kind of multi-gravitational field.
The instruments are going mad.
Investigator, you and the others
better get strapped in.
It's gonna be a hell of a bumpy ride down.
Bang!
- Well, quite, if Scorpio crashes on Virn.
- Keller's ship did.
And then there's always the virus,
which may not have died out.
Yes, not to mention the untraced life
Keller's computers registered.
A monster, perhaps.
- Hello, Avon. Nice day, isn't it?
- It's getting to be a wasted one.
I just don't want to die. Is that unreasonable?
- Yes.
- Yes.
You do understand the problem, don't you?
Orac has intercepted Federation transmissions.
We know what happened to Keller,
we know what happened on Virn five years ago.
We now know that the Federation
is interested enough
to send an investigator to the planet.
If there is the remotest chance
of there being anything of value on Virn,
do we want it for ourselves
or are we prepared
to let them get their hands on it?
- Put like that, I agree we go.
- And so do I.
Tarrant?
I don't think you're in any doubt
about my reaction.
All right.
- Vila may stay at home and mind the store.
- Oh, no. You're not leaving me here alone.
Orac, what's the situation now?
The last interception was of a routine signal
relayed from the transport.
The ship was approaching Virn.
Let's get going.
Fine landing, Chasgo.
You certainly put the lady out of business.
If there is anyone on this planet,
you'll have to leave them to me now.
Everything's in order here, sir,
though the instruments are still acting up.
We grazed our sides coming in.
I'd better check the engines.
We're supposed to be positioned
half a mile from Keller's base.
Well?
You felt what happened to the ship.
I barely held her.
The base is about five miles to the north.
Care to take a walk?
Can't trust anything else
with Virn's electromagnetic record.
Still, bullet can still make a mess of a man.
I might save one for you, Chasgo,
after that landing.
(Engine whirring)
(Rumbling)
Try your communicator.
Chasgo.
Can you hear me?
I can hear you.
Half the planet seems to have come down on me.
You've brought a sand slide down
on top of the ship. Congratulations.
I checked.
The area seemed stable.
- It shouldn't have happened.
- It did.
What are you going to do about it?
It's mostly sand, right?
I can run the motors again, quarter power.
That might shake us loose.
It had better.
Meanwhile, we'll make on for the base.
We've wasted enough time.
TARRANT: It certainly doesn't look very appealing.
Yeah,