Pandora

He is the warrior's warrior,

an unstoppable killing machine.

A hero of the Earth-Zatarian War,

your undefeated champion.

Hoo-yah!

We don't know much about this mystery fighter,

but one thing's for sure, he won't last long against our champion,

so please welcome, and say sayonara to

the Fighting Zatarian!

Zatarians.

I hate Zatarians.

You have everything you need.

You have everything you need.

What do you need, roomie?

I don't know.

So... I saw Xander in the bar earlier...

alone.

Are you gonna tell me what's going on between the two of you?

Because, one day, you can't keep your mitts off each other,

and the next, you're locked up here in sol...

I really don't want to talk about Xander right now.

Okay.

Thank you.

Can we talk?

Do I have a choice?

It's about Ralen.

What about Ralen?

And you're sure that you have absolutely no idea where Ralen's gone?

No sign of him anywhere. Not even on the datastream.

It's like he completely wiped himself from existence.

He just doesn't want anyone finding him, that's all.

Ralen doesn't know what he wants.

He's in a lot of pain right now.

What are you looking for?

I need to access his recent monetary transactions.

That might give us some idea of where he's been.

How long do you think it'll take you to break that encryption?

Alright, done.

The last transaction he made was 777 credits

being deducted by Tian-V Spaceways three days go.

777 credits? Lucky us.

That exact fare buys passage to only one place in the galaxy.

Las Venus.

Wait. Ralen doesn't seem like the gambling type.

No, but if you want to leave behind everything you've ever known and start again,

it's a damn good place to start.

Hey, where are you going?

I'm going to find Ralen,

and I expect you to keep this between us, Cadet Annamali.

Yeah, I will...

if I can come with you.

No, I don't think that's gonna happen.

Look, he's my friend, too.

And he needs our help.

Come in.

An "F"?

Do you have any idea how long I studied for this?

- There's no way that I... - Please shut the door and take a seat.

No, this has to be a mistake, 'cause this is my favorite class and...

The door.

I really feel like I deserved...

an "A". I don't understand.

It's the only way that I could get you to come here without arousing suspicion.

Now, please, take a seat.

Okay.

What's this about?

How much do you remember about the Sumi Empire?

Mmm... just what I learned in Pevney's class.

Big, warlike,

very "grrrr."

I'm not sure "grrrr"

was the actual adjective Ellison used to describe them,

but I suppose "big, warlike and 'grrrr'"

- does seem to do them justice. - Okay, now you're just making fun of me.

Hardly. Your uncle has a mission for you.

- My uncle? - Mm-hmm.

He really left, huh?

Yes, but he's safe.

Out of prison and in the game.

But what does he want from me now?

We have a guest coming to speak on campus this week.

Princess Aleka.

She will be stopping by on Earth on her way back to Sumi,

where she will become the first wife of Prince Oren.

First wife? How many does this guy have?

While she's here,

she will be closely watched by the Sumi Secret Police.

I can't get close to her without arousing suspicion,

but you can, in order to obtain

some vital information for your uncle.

Okay, so, what, so I just bring her a wedding gift?

What do you think?

Oh, my God, you can't be serious.

- Have you ever known me to be otherwise? - No.

If there is to be lasting peace,

and we are to survive this reprieve

the Ancients have granted us,

the Sumi will need to be part of it.

In the past, Aleka has been

an excellent intelligence asset for your uncle.

Now she claims she has important information for us

about recent developments in the Empire.

- Any idea what those may be? - No.

That's what we need you to find.

So, are you in or out, cadet?

Stay close.

Las Venus is not the kind of place you want to be left wandering alone at night.

Once you get away from the resorts, this place can be pretty dangerous.

Yeah, I noticed. Those two scary dudes have been following us ever since

we started nosing around asking about a Zatarian.

Yes, thanks for that, Jett. I'm well aware.

What do they want?

If I were to guess, I'd say they want to kill us,

harvest our organs, sell them on the black market.

- Sorry I asked. - You're the one that wanted to be here.

Yeah, you'd better run, or we'll mess you up!

Oh, they don't teach that in class.

Yo, Cap, any chance you show me how to do that sometime? That was awesome!

No.

Drop it.

I got this!

Xander.

Greg?

Heard you were dead.

Heard you were expelled.

Thanks for that, both of you. Greg, what the hell are you doing here?

First, we thought you died Seahawk.

And then we find out that you're alive and well on Hypatia Prime,

and then you disappear from there only to show up here.

You can't tell Jax anything.

I don't want her to know that you ever even found me.

Jax has been worried sick about you ever since you disappeared without telling us anything.

She'd be more worried if she knew why.

Fine.

This stays between us.

Yeah. What happens on Las Venus, stays on Las Venus, bro.

- Jett, shut up. - What? Sorry.

Well... after I pushed Jax into the escape pod,

Captain Jaworski and I Seahawk

just in time before it blew up,

but we had no food and we had no rations.

To stay alive, we had to take Ryodyne.

Naturally, I got hooked.

Uh, Ryodyne?

It's a drug.

EarthCom used it covertly during the war to heighten the aggression,

and the abilities of the epinephrine levels of their soldiers.

It also happens to be highly addictive.

After you freed me from the Hypatia Syndicate...

I tried everything to break my addiction,

but nothing worked.

So, if... if you're a... a junkie,

why come to Las Venus?

I mean, it's not exactly a place for rest, recuperation, and detox.

That's a good question.

There's no restrictions on off-book research here,

and I have access to all the experimental drugs that I need.

We, uh, figured we'd make some cash to pay for what we needed to find a cure.

"We"? Who's "we"?

Lieutenant Commander Cade Collins.

Who's that?

He was the second in command Seahawk.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lieutenant

at a hospital on Earth.

He was also desperately trying to kick his Ryodyne addiction, but no luck.

So, you've been gambling here ever since.

Not exactly.

The lieutenant's been fighting in the arena.

And, as a doctor... of sorts,

I've been keeping him alive.

You... you can't be serious.

Greg, why didn't you call us? We could've helped.

I care for Jax too much.

I didn't want to ruin her perfect life with my problems.

I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, Greg,

but Jax's life is far from perfect,

and you're abandoning her when she needs you the most.

Jax abandoned me!

That's the Ryodyne talking,

not the man who was willing to give up everything to save the woman that he loved.

And where exactly did that get me?

- Greg, where the hell do you think you're going? - Oh, we're done here.

Well, you can't really think we're just going to let you leave

without at least finding out whether or not you're okay.

That's exactly what you're gonna do.

Well, I was taught to never leave anyone behind.

I am not some cadet under your command.

This may be hard for you to accept, but for once

this isn't about you, soldier boy.

Well, that might be true,

but either way, you're coming home with us.

Take a look around the bar.

All of these guys are fighters that I've nursed back to health,

healed their broken bones, patched back up myself.

I give the word,

and they're carrying you out of here on a stretcher.

Either way, you're leaving now.

Okay, okay, okay. Maybe... maybe we can take this down a notch, boys?

I really didn't come here to get all shot up, Cap.

Like you don't throw paint on the Mona Lisa, right?