Triage

No exit.

Chest needle.

Right now, goddamn it.

What the hell are you doing?

His lung collapsed. I'm relieving the pressure.

We bought him some time.

Get him to med bay and cut this goddamn suit off him

so I can see what I'm dealing with.

-Did we lose anybody? -Negative, Commander.

Commander Rossi? Houston's on the horn. They're plenty riled.

Yeah, so am I. On me.

The other Russian?

Didn't make it. Jason's bringing his remains in now.

Lopez and Bernitz are still out at the site.

What the hell happened out there?

We were giving them the warning

when they went for a crate that could have had weapons in it.

So we took them under fire.

What do you mean, "could have had weapons"?

Did they grab guns or not?

It happened fast.

We perceived a hostile intent, and we reacted.

They didn't have weapons, sir.

Turns out one of them was going for their translation card when I...

when I shot him.

Colonel Paulson, Major Webster,

are you sure there were no Russian weapons on-site?

Before I take this to the president, I need to know just how bad it is.

We're sure, ma'am.

I see.

And the cosmonaut, will he survive?

We don't know.

Okay. Keep us informed.

Will do.

Houston out.

This isn't good.

Wars have started over a lot less.

World War I started with a gunshot and killed 20 million people.

Well, if this turns into World War III,

20 million is gonna seem like a car accident.

You good, Trace?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Just...

How do you make it stop?

Just give it time.

The first violent acts on the moon

have been perpetrated by the United States of America.

US Marines, armed with automatic weapons...

took one of our mining sites by force

and shot two of our cosmonauts in cold blood.

But the Soviet Union will not be intimidated.

We have reliable intelligence that the next American Sea Dragon rocket

plans to deliver nuclear weapons to the moon.

We will not allow this.

If it attempts to do so, it will be destroyed.

Just how the hell do they intend to do that?

Shoot Sea Dragon down during the launch?

I don't think they have the ability to pull that off.

If they break our COMSEC,

they could veer it off course, sending it crashing into the ocean.

Sir.

A recon satellite just detected a launch from Sakhalin Island.

A missile?

No. It's their shuttle, Buran.

Guess the Soviets either fixed the problem or waited for warmer weather.

CIA says it's armed.

Armed?

To the teeth.

If Buran's overhead, they could bomb Sea Dragon 17 from orbit,

and we'd never see it coming.

And that's not all they can hit.

Let's go. They're tracking it at DODCOM.

Three hours and all Buran's done is dock with their space station.

Maybe we're overreacting.

It's their first shuttle flight.

It could have nothing to do with Sea Dragon.

Buran could just be running a docking test, like we do with Skylab.

I'd like to believe that.

But air force intel says they've been stockpiling fuel on that station.

And you didn't tell me?

Not relevant to NASA operations.

Our shuttles need to refuel before they burn for the moon,

-so they're maybe not testing anything. -General--

Buran's separated from Mir.

They're picking up substantial delta-V in the TLI window.

They're headed for the moon.

Buran could shoot down Sea Dragon before it enters lunar orbit.

Jesus.

The Russians are blockading the moon.

Come in.

Well, well, well, look who's got a new pair of spectacles.

Told you it would happen to you too.

Sit your ass down.

Just one of the many wonderful experiences

you're gonna enjoy in your golden years.

Hair loss, kidney stones, colostomy bags.

You done, Ed?

What do you want to talk to me about?

DOD is taking over your mission.

Apparently the Soviets have sent Buran to the moon to stop Sea Dragon.

I can't believe they're trying to pull this shit.

Do they really think we're sending nukes up there?

This entire blockade is just an excuse to cut off our people on the moon.

And we can't let that happen.

What else can you tell me?

Not much. DOD has locked this one down pretty tight.

What I do know is that they've moved your launch date up to the day after tomorrow.

Holy shit.

General Bradford will brief you on the details.

-Okay. -Godspeed, Ed.

Be safe up there.

We're taking Pathfinder to the moon?

That's the word from up on high.

We're going up against Buran.

Hell of a test flight.

Look, our nuclear engines are solid,

but there are still plenty of things that can go wrong.

I know, it's risky.

But we need to make the Russians think twice

about stopping Sea Dragon 17 from reaching the moon.

Pathfinder is the only ship that can do it.

So we're riding shotgun.

Exactly.

We'll rendezvous with Sea Dragon in Earth's orbit

and then escort her to Jamestown.

And if the Russians don't back down?

Then we will intercede.

Intercede. Right.

With radar-guided missiles, each carrying over a hundred pounds of high explosives.

Pretty convincing intercession. And our missiles have a longer range.

No. Okay, so, just to clarify,

is the plan for us to shoot down Buran before they fire at Sea Dragon?

If anyone fires, we've failed.

Our job is to discourage them from doing so.

So we're playing a game of chicken with missiles.

It's like LBJ said,

whoever controls the high ground of space controls the world.

Now... if you choose to remain on this mission,

we're wheels up to the Cape in four hours. Launch in 48.

-That's fast. -Yeah.

What are these for?

Well, if our return to Earth ends up in hostile territory,

we may need to defend ourselves.

You can't be serious.

The Russians do it. They have since the '60s.

Jesus.

And we can't let Pathfinder end up in their hands, so we'd need to destroy her.

Look, I realize this isn't what either of you came to NASA to do.

If you choose to drop out... I won't hold it against you.

I'm not gonna let you two face the Soviets with a subpar NERVA technician.

Just one thing, Ed.

What the Russians are saying about nuclear weapons aboard Sea Dragon 17.

Are there?

Look, I honestly don't know.

What you got, Nick?

A demand from the Russian commander of Zvezda.

He wants to send a team to recover his people.

Both of 'em.

He sounds pretty cranky.

Yeah, that's an understatement.

What should I tell him?

That his injured cosmonaut remains unconscious,

and I will consult my superiors concerning his request.

That's all? You sure?

Russians understand deferring to chain of command. It'll buy us time.

Be polite. But not too polite.

-Hey, babe. -Hey.

We should get going. That nurse said it would be good if we got there early.

Okay.

-You read the materials? -I did.

Pretty mind-blowing, don't you think?

That it is.

Okay. Out with it.

I don't know, just that injecting antioxidants into your eyes

seems a bit extreme.

Well, so is my glaucoma.

This is the first doctor who said he can help me.

-Not true. The others said-- -No, no.

The others said they could slow it down, not stop it. This guy is--

Is telling you exactly what you want to hear.

Okay, Wayne. Did you read the case histories?

Ninety-two percent of his patients recover their sight after just three treatments.

Molly, those are all anecdotal, okay?

He doesn't provide any supporting research,

no clinical trials, no peer-reviewed analysis by certified specialists--

Because the medical establishment is opposed to what he's doing.

And why do you suppose that is?

Because they don't want the competition?

Because all they think about is money?

As opposed to this guy, who wants ten grand up front and 15 after that

-and whatever the hell-- -Wayne, this is my first ray of hope.

You are not gonna piss all over it!

Molly, this guy is a charlatan.

-You don't know that! -I do. My father--

Your father was part of the medical establishment!

Okay. Just stop and listen to me for one moment, please. All right?

Look, I know you're scared,

but if you go down to this guy's clip joint in Juárez--

It's not Juárez. It's Guadalajara, okay?

It's not some sleazy border town.