Previously on Beacon 23.
Your ship just crashed. I'm sorry.
The Crest.
- You're on a beacon. - Yeah, I know.
I just need the samples and access to--
I just said "no"!
Solomon's beacon keeper is more hostile, I guess.
Wondering why I don't look like Solomon?
That's 'cause I'm not Solomon. My name is Halan.
- Who are you? - I'm Harmony.
Solomon is no longer alive. He was murdered.
That isn't half of the story and you know it.
Aster, I need to get out of here. Off the beacon.
What's that condition soldiers get?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
No!
You said you remembered something?
Aster!
Close the docking bay. Lock everything down.
They're forcing the doors open.
They're not coming in.
Attention, your entry to this beacon is unauthorized!
Clear!
Attention, your entry to this beacon is unauthorized!
Attention, your entry to this
beacon is unauthorized!
Attention, your entry to this beacon is unauthorized!
Not in the eyes.
Attention, your entry
to this beacon is unauthorized!
The deal was stay in the debris field.
We've been crammed in that ship for seven months.
Just to get away from the smell, this is worth it.
My contact was very explicit.
We get the wreck, we stay away from the beacon.
The drag out there was crap, so to hell with your contact.
Any ideas, Bart?
The hatches are sealed.
I recommend shutting off life support below the Well.
Halan's not wearing a suit.
The lack of life support would delay them.
And kill Halan.
A sacrifice that won't be forgotten.
Harmony, you got anything I can use?
Can you ID any of them?
Running recognition search.
This one, Madanchi Tritujuma.
Based on her mass and bone density,
she's from the mining camps in the outer arms.
Meaning?
The ethnography states that those camps
are particularly brutal.
If they breach the upper levels--
I get it, I'm dead.
Chick! Is that your helmet?
- Yes, sir. - Pick up after yourself.
Come on.
Or let Mommy pick it up.
Bart! Tell them to back off!
Do you want to reconsider suffocating them?
Bart, you're being given direct orders.
Yes, of course.
Attention! This is your last warning
- to vacate this-- - I'm in.
Bart!
- Bart, answer me! - Aster, I don't believe he can.
I'll try to interface with him.
Bart?
Bartholomew.
Bart?
Can you hear me?
Listen to the sound of my voice.
Hey, Battle!
Hmm, that's the good stuff. Here, take this.
Got it. Got it!
Okay.
What do we got?
Multiple cameras. Sensors online.
Got a warm body up there.
Hold on, hold on.
There's a second AI.
Not ISA, personal.
Huh.
Okay, "Harmony."
Harmony!
I'll be taking over now.
Do yourself a favor, stay out of my way.
- Did you contact Bart? - I can't find Bart.
He's just being stubborn.
I think it's more serious than that.
Hey. Shh.
Battle?
Bigface? There's someone in the airlock.
- Easy. - All right, get this door open.
Your wish is my command.
Easy, now. Look...
Enough! Enough. Enough.
He's not a Beacon Keeper.
Yeah, he's military, is what he is.
Why you locked up, soldier?
Why don't you wait till ISA shows up, and you'll find out.
Bigface sees a lot of protein here.
Well, if you're satisfied with med kits and pillows,
then be my guest. Throw me on the fire.
And what if we're not satisfied?
They got a safe full of Qubits at the other end of the beacon.
But you gotta get through five hatches to get there.
It'll take you hours. ISA will be here by then.
Now me on the other hand...
I can get up there in five minutes.
Open the whole thing up.
What do you get out of the bargain?
That.
That spit bubble won't get you anywhere.
Don't need to be anywhere, just not here.
That's it?
No. I got a score to settle.
I need two minutes with her. So I can express my feelings.
Can you not take over, Harmony?
Well, I can try.
You want two minutes with her?
Yeah.
And why exactly is that?
Who do you think locked me in there?
She's blind.
Can you get these hatches open?
It's gonna take time.
Five minutes, huh?
Maybe even four, if you're lucky.
Hmm.
All right, soldier, you got yourself a deal.
You stick with him.
- Harmony, can you do anything? - Just give me a second.
One of them has a biomimetic interface
and has contained Bart, somehow.
Locked him inside his own memory.
But we still have control of the internal hatches,
and autonomic functions are firewalled,
- so they can't choke us off. - Can you locate Halan?
No.
They've commandeered all the internal sensors.
But based on that last statement, you should--
- I should arm myself, yeah? - Yeah.
Hey, man, back up.
I said back up!
Where is he?
I got something else.
Timur Ondi. Dishonorable discharge.
Numerous infractions. There's a whole list.
I told you to stick with him!
Little chickenshit!
Hey, Battle! Leave him alone!
Or what?
There's a long list of violent offenses.
Yeah, it doesn't help me at all. Can you find something else?
Sure.
- Think I found him. - Chick, get over here!
Come on, come on. You're gonna like this.
Watch and learn.
Oh!
God dammit, Aster.
Get off me!
Stop it! Stop it right now!
Stop it or you're gonna get us both killed.
Do you understand me?
Harmony, when I get up, can you scramble the feeds
- from the Living Quarters? - Harmony, can you manage that?
I guess we'll find out, won't we?
Get off me.
The hell?
- Get him on comms! - I'm working on it.
All clear.
- Damn you. - What'd you expect?
I thought you were trying to kill me.
- I never tried to kill you! - I don't need saving, either!
I'm not trying to save you! You being alive
is just the result of me saving my own ass.
- Sorry about your nuts. - Yeah, me too.
- Do you want a derma? - That'd be nice.
Well, we've run out.
Aster, I got something interesting.
Dr. Rojan Kaneddy, Minister of Equity, Elau Colony.
Play the video.
These scenes of destruction are all that remain
of the remote colony of Elau in the Signa System.
After the disastrous malfunction of the AX 129 beacon arm,
FTL freighters were unable to resupply Elau
for over a year.
Survivors describe how the population of six million
faced starvation, looting and widespread civil unrest.
The events on Elau mirrored those of the colony of Menelaus
30 years ago and highlights the continuing danger
of colonizing the outer rings
where settlements depend upon regular resupply.
- Find a way to contact her. - I'll try.
- Harmony, open the hatch. - Why would I do that?
- I got weapons one level down. - So?
So, don't you think we should at least try and cooperate?
Well, there is no "we", 'cause I don't trust you.
Oh, that feeling? I got that, too.
But we don't have much of a choice now, do we?
No. Harm?
- You sure? - Yup.
Well, this is concerning.
He's military, he's not gonna cross me.
He's locked up on a beacon, so he's ex-military.
So am I.
Or is that your point, Minister?
You can't trust someone who got kicked out of the system, hmm?
Come on.
Where's the weapon?
You'll see.
What, you brought a change of clothes and a massive battery?
Portable charger.
You're the weapon.
You have implants.
Brain stem, spinal column. How many?
Not sure. It starts when you enlist.
The longer you stay...
And I stayed long. Maybe too long.
So you're a pilot?
Open up!
We get caught breaking onto a beacon,
that is a life sentence.
- Is that so? - Yes.
Well, I got some intel for you, Minister.
Nobody gives a shit anymore.
Surprised you haven't figured that out yet.
Hey, he is setting us up.
It's not too late to go back to that ship--
Shut...
the hell up!
Are you gonna give me a speech now, Minister?
No.
She's not.
That's the right answer.
Smart boy.
Oh, I've always wanted one of these.
Nano-blade.
We need to open up the rest of the hatches.
That isn't a good idea.
- That's your plan, split 'em up? - Yeah, that's the plan.
- Do it, Harmony. - Okay.
Ah!
Ah, look at that!
Nicely done.
It wasn't me.
Must have been him.
Now, you see, Minister?
You gotta learn how to trust people.
Whoa.
- You, take the point. - Yes, sir.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Hang on! Why send him first?
He knows.
Tell her, kid.
'Cause I can't do the other thing.
- He's a child. - Until he spills red,
he's expendable.
Rules, Minister, you know about those.
Clear.
Here they come.
Clear.
Hey, Chick, put the gun down.
Two of them, heading up.
All clear up here.
Harmony, close the hatches now!
This is not good.
Kaneddy! Kid! What's going on up there?
Battle! Battle!
- Battle, we're stuck! - Calm down!
- Battle! - Calm down, he knows!
No, I have to get down there.
You want to impress him?
Help me find what we're looking for.
I thought Battle said we were looking for cubes.
Qubits, that's what the soldier said,
but those'll be locked up. There's something else here.
How would you know that?
The company that set this up,
they put a lot of time and money into it.
So there must be something on board worth all that effort,
'cause it's not out there.
Something more than Qubits.
Kaneddy. Status?
Kaneddy! What is your status?
Why won't you answer him?
So he knows we're useless?
- Start looking. - For what?
Something valuable.
Kaneddy, what is your status?
Kaneddy!
Are you okay, Bart?
Bart? Can you hear me?
And will he not come again?
No, no, he is dead. Go to thy deathbed.
He will never come again. His beard was white as snow.
Solomon? Where are you?
Resequencing. Is anyone... oh no.
Listen to the sound of my voice.
Murder most foul.
Can you get these hatches open?
Yeah, Mainframe Room. I gotta get in there.
All right.
Let's go to the Mainframe Room.
Hey, they're headed to the servers.
Good.
Another minute, I'll be ready.
That's not looking. Give me that.
There's something here, something valuable.
Yeah, you said that.
Whatever it is, it could mean that we don't...
It can mean we don't have to do this anymore.
This? You're dreaming.
This is our life now.
- No. - It's who we are.
No, it's temporary. It's not who we are.
Chick, these people, they're not our family.
- Yes, they are. - He's not your father,
he's not your friend. You are expendable.
- He said those very words. - I gotta earn his respect!
- Okay. - Okay?
That's what Bigface says.
You know what, I have to get down there right now.
Right, so you can go down there and "spill red"?
You think killing someone gets you anything?
You'd know, right?
I mean, how many have you killed?
Thousands?
No. More like millions.
Don't you ever...
ever point this thing at me again!
Battle, we're coming!
Hey, Battle? Just hang tight.
Presto.
Boom.
Make sure you lock off all access to the dock.
I don't want anyone taking our ship.
You think he's here?
Yeah, that's his play.
He's here.
Okay, you go stay by the stairs.
You stay alert, I'm gonna flush him out.
You get access to those doors.
You got it.
I got you.
One of them's back.
- Aster? - Yeah?
- I've located Minister Kaneddy. - Connect us.
Minister Kaneddy, don't cut me off.
Things are about to get really ugly here.
You can help me stop it.
I, uh...
I doubt that.
Tell your people I work for QTA,
and that they'll pay you whatever you want.
Yeah, well, that's not going to work.
- Why? - Because QTA hired us.
Excuse me?
Why would they do that?
Who knows why they do anything?
That doesn't make any sense.
Not much does anymore.
If I were you, I'd hide.
Wait!
Chick, come here.
Look at this.
- What is that? - I don't know.
Turn it around. Let me see.
So QTA, that's who you work for?
Well, you know I wasn't ISA.
You're not here for a goddamn science project.
You're here to steal whatever Solomon found.
I'd like to get us out of here alive.
- No, you want them to leave. - Exactly, yes.
So what, QTA shows up, and they're just gonna
- let me walk out of here? - If I vouch for you, maybe.
Oh yeah? What kind of pull do you think you have, Aster?
- Are you out of your mind? - Believe what you want.
What I want is this ship.
That's your grand plan, is it?
Just kill everyone and steal the ship?
If I have to, yeah.
I didn't kill Solomon, but I never said I was a good guy.
He's coming.
Let's go.
Come on, come on. Yes, yes, yes...
Yes.
Yes!
You see that?
Hey, Battle, I got it!
Aster, they have control of the hatches.
- Hey, Harm? - The Wreckers
still have control of the beacon.
Can you get to the Mainframe Room?
Yeah.
Ugh.
That's disgusting.
You ever seen these things before?
No.
Get behind me.
The Power Level is secure.
You don't want those rocks, trust me.
Thanks for the advice.
You're from Elau?
- I don't wanna talk about-- - I'm from Menelaus.
I've seen what people do to each other when they're starving.
My mom got me out.
- Gonna shoot her or-- - Shut up.
Where's Battle?
You want to fight or you want to talk?
I know you want to get out with those rocks.
They're not gonna help. Speaking from experience.
QTA made some very risky moves to get them.
- They must be worth a fortune. - To the company, yeah.
But unless you've the guts or the means to blackmail QTA,
you're gonna end up dead. I've got a better offer.
You should get back to your ship.
Okay.
- Go. - What?
If anyone tries to stop you, you shoot them.
It's okay. Go.
Chick?
Leave the rocks.
I'd listen to your mom.
Hey, kid-- Hey! Watch that!
That one's dead. Go down to the ship,
get more weapons, more charge.
Go. Now!
Menelaus.
That was a terrible situation.
I'm impressed your mother was able to get you out.
She was meant to follow me. She never did.
Your kid's lucky.
He's so angry with me.
All we ever heard were promises of resupply,
we thought things would get better.
The company doesn't talk about what happens
when FTL routes get blocked.
They don't.
His father, he...
Maybe he was right.
I just thought I could keep things together.
I didn't realize that...
I didn't realize what we'd have to do to stay alive.
Things I never imagined.
Quantum Tunneler. We had one for the council.
It was a very quick way to find out no one cared.
I'm giving you enough Qubits
to get you two tickets to anywhere.
QTA won't give a shit.
ISA might,
but you'll be hundreds of light years away by then.
What's my end of it?
You won't like it, but it's non-negotiable.
Hey! Hey, don't run.
I just wanna talk.
They always run.
Hey, listen!
I don't wanna hurt you
and I could.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
So why don't you just come on out...
and we'll talk, hmm?
You're just making things worse.
Hey!
Hey, stop!
Hey!
Leave me alone.
Don't you point that thing at me, kid.
Or what?
Ask the hacker guy. And the woman, too.
You killed them?
No, you're lying.
Chick! Stop it!
You told me to shoot anyone who tried to stop me.
No, no. We need him. We need him.
Look, your friend cut a deal.
- What kind of deal? - We take you with us.
She bought you a first-class ticket.
Why would she do that?
And why would you trust me?
You could have stripped that weapon right out of his hands
and killed him by now.
There's nothing stopping you from taking that ship.
Take us both.
No, she won't go.
All she cares about are the rocks.
What are they?
No idea.
Well, I hope they're worth it.
So, are you coming or not?
We could go anywhere.
I'm not leaving.
She can take care of herself.
Suit yourself.
Come on. Open up.
All right.
Chick, get those charges up here now!
You and I, we're gonna get on the ship.
A deal. Of course you made a deal.
That's all you know how to do, right?
We were a company colony, Chick.
- There was nothing we could do. - We could have left!
Like Dad said, we could have run away--
No, no, I was trying to get all of us out, everyone.
I loved all of them as much as you do, as much as I love you,
but I am so sick to death of this conversation.
Chick, I need those charges now!
- I'm coming! - No, no, no, no.
You get your ass on board.
You were in charge, just like you wanted to be,
- but you didn't do anything. - Okay, I want you to stop this.
- None of you did-- - Stop it right now.
- You let them die! - No, I did not!
Dad, the girls, everyone.
Blame the company all you want, but you did it.
- No, I didn't! - All those people--
I want you to get your ass on that ship right now!
What did I say about pulling a weapon--
All right, I'm gonna get in there one way or another
so you might as well come out.
Hey.
Like to play games, do you? Huh?
I spilled red.
Bartholomew, can you hear me?
You're dreaming, Bart.
You need to wake up.
What's... what's happening?
I'm... confused.
Listen to the sound of my voice.
Try to orient yourself.
- Harmony? - I've lost him again.
- Can you hear me? - Is that you?
- Bartholomew! - What's happening?
- Everything is out of order. - Your system was hacked.
Your short-term memory is putting itself together again.
Wake up.
Yes, of course. Now it all makes sense.
Were events aboard the beacon
resolved in a satisfactory manner?
They were... resolved.
You're back.
I am.
You did that?
Sorry I wasn't there for you.
You didn't have to come back at all.
- Of course I did. - No, I-I...
upheld my end of the bargain.
You didn't owe me anything.
I never wanted to leave.
That's the derma talking.
No.
I can't do this.
What?
I can't be alone.
I can't be alone anymore.