Two separate political entities of both Earth and Mars, the Free Alliance and the Eastern Coalition, have been in a state of cold war for 30 years. Both are currently mining triradium, a radioactive material that could conceivably be used for weapons that could destroy an entire planet. Amidst fear on both sides, a giant explosion is seen to destroy Earth and sends shockwaves towards Mars, where bases operated by the Coalition and the Alliance are currently situated.
Opening narration
| "How far will mankind have to go before we realize that the only antidote to self-annihilation...is trust?" |
Plot
Colonel Samantha Elliot (Barbara Eve Harris) believes that the Coalition has been smuggling triradium and is responsible for the destruction of Earth. Major James Bowen (Adam Baldwin) does not believe that they should jump to conclusions, though his credibility is compromised by the fact that there has been an increasingly romantic relationship between him and Major Dara Talif (Joan Chen), the Coalition liaison officer at the base. As the Alliance prepares a strike, James fears that it will only result in a Coalition counterstrike and the destruction of all humanity.
As events transpire, bad decisions are made due to mistrust and lack of vital information. Things come to a head when the Coalition seemingly launches an attack on the Free Alliance, which is responded to with force, only for it to be revealed too late that the attack drone was in fact a refugee ship containing the survivors of the Coalition base which was destroyed in the initial shockwave. The ship responds by firing before its destruction, which leads to the eradication of the Alliance base, leaving only Bowen and Talif. As they explore the ruins searching for survivors, a transmission comes in from Earth - the explosion the Mars bases detected were not from a disaster on Earth, but on the Moon, where a Free Alliance base had an accident with an experimental anti-matter weapon, completely destroying the Moon, and causing devastation on Earth, but not complete destruction. The Coalition and Alliance have agreed to a permanent cease-fire as a response.
Closing narration
| "If mankind is to survive we must learn to trust one another... and that trust begins in the human heart." |
Notes
- This episode's story is continued in "The Human Factor (2002)" and is also connected to "Human Trials".
- This is the only episode written by Garth Gerald Wilson.
Cast
- Adam Baldwin as Major James Bowen
- Barbara Eve Harris as Colonel Samantha Elliot
- Gordon Currie as Stadetski
- Kevin McNulty as Commander-in-Chief
- Joan Chen as Major Dara Talif
- Jennifer Copping as Corporal Harrier
- Robert Luft as Corporal Charlie Edwards
- Mina E. Mina as Colonel Paz
- Brendan Stitchman as Private Juanas
- Winston Brown as Sergeant Nichols
- Rob Freeman as Captain Rosen
- Darryl Scheelar as Sergeant Laughton
- Kevin Conway as the Control Voice (voice)
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| Major John Skokes | "Quality of Mercy" • "The Light Brigade" | |
| Alien Infiltration | "Birthright" • "The Voice of Reason" | |
| Strong Brothers Investigate Conspiracies | "The Voice of Reason" • "A Special Edition" | |
| Dr. Theresa Givens' Time Machine | "A Stitch in Time" • "Better Luck Next Time" • "Final Appeal" | |
| Genetic Rejection Syndrome | "Unnatural Selection" • "Criminal Nature" | |
| The New Masters | "The Camp" • "Promised Land" | |
| Dr. Martin Nodel | "Double Helix" • "The Origin of Species" | |
| USAS | "The Joining" • "The Vessel" • "In the Blood" | |
| Earth Coalition-Free Alliance Conflict | "Phobos Rising" • "The Human Factor" • "Human Trials" | |
| Jack the Ripper | "Ripper" • "Better Luck Next Time" | |
| Nicholas Prentice | "Tribunal" • "Gettysburg" • "Time to Time" | |