Lieutenant...
How would you handle this?
- We could try ignoring it.
- I see.
Pretend nothing has happened
and hope everything's
all right in the morning.
Just a thought, sir.
I've considered that.
Must be a better angle...
If they've lost their crew,
who's in control of that bucket?
Some guy by the name
of Ted Striker, sir.
Ted Striker.
- Do you know him?
- Never heard of him.
That's not exactly true.
We were like brothers.
We flew together during the war.
We were close, real close, until...
Until, sir?
Until that day over Macho Grande.
Over Macho Grande, sir?
I'll never get over Macho Grande.
Forget it, Lieutenant.
It wasn't a pretty picture.
What have you found?
These red lights keep
moving back and forth.
Aside from that, this thing seems
to have no function whatsoever.
It must have some function.
Why would the government put all
that money into a thing with lights?
Sir, these lights keep
blinking out of sequence.
What should we do about it?
Get them to blink in sequence.
- Rorshack, what do you got?
- What do you make of these?
That's a bird.
That's a horse with a hat on.
I pulled Striker's record. I don't
think you're going to like it.
It's worse than I thought.
They'll hit our atmosphere in three
minutes. How do you want to play it?
I want a 6-foot trench dug around
the base. Fill it with gasoline.
Get women and children to the shelters.
Contact the Japanese ambassador.
Rorshack, get me a complete file
on everyone who's seen "The Sound
Of Music" more than four times.
On second thought, kill those orders.
Down scope.
Fate can play a strange
game sometimes, Lieutenant.
Fate, sir?
Striker wipes out his entire
squadron over Macho Grande,
and now those people's lives up
there are in his hands.
I guess irony can be
pretty ironic sometimes.
But it's his ship now.
He's the top dog,
the big man,
numero uno honcho,
the head cheese.
I just hope he has
the right stuff. Up scope.
We have radio contact.
Yes, I'll take care of it right away.
We've had some problems with the ship.
If you're going to use
the washroom, please be careful.
I've been on my feet all day.
I sure could use a little breather.
Striker, this is Buck Murdock.
Do you read me?
I read you, Murdock.
Hope he's not still bitter
about what happened between us.
If not for those people,
I'd say let Striker go down
in a fiery mass of molten metal.
Striker, let's just pray
you don't screw up here
like you did over Macho Grande,
so just follow orders.
We've got you locked on beam.
Prepare to kill auxiliary engines.
Roger, Murdock.
All right, Striker,
kill the auxiliary engines.
Ted, the lever!
The lever just came off.
We're still at worp.
Try another lever.
There are no more
levers, just switches.
- No buttons?
- Just switches, lights and knobs.
Cut the bleeding-heart crap.
We've all got our switches, lights,
and knobs to deal with, Striker.
Down here, there are
hundreds and thousands
of blinking, beeping,
and flashing lights.
Blinking and beeping and flashing.
They're flashing and they're beeping.
I can't stand it any more!
They're blinking and beeping...
Sir! Sir, control yourself!
- Pull yourself together, sir!
- I'm all right.
All right, Striker.
You'll have to pull that lever
panel off. Do you understand?
Just rip it off.
Elaine, screwdriver.
OK, the panel's off.
Find a piece of metal and shove it in.
A piece of metal?
Any piece of metal will do.
I'd give anything to
get some metal up there.
Here we are surrounded
by metal, and it's useless.
Might as well write them off.
Let's close up the bridge.
Let's get outta here.
Close it up. Lights out.
Where am I going to find
a piece of metal here?
In space? At this hour?
Will this work, Ted?
Thanks.
Hold it, Murdock. I've got
something that might work.
- Wait.
- A bobby pin.
What the hell's a man
doing with a bobby pin?
Lights on.
All right, Striker, if a bobby pin's
all you got,