(ethereal music)
(foreboding music)
(tense music)
- [Atlas] Why did you bring us
to this particle accelerator, Agent Morgan?
- [Agent Morgan] I'm looking for something.
- [Atlas] You were assigned to gather intelligence
on this world's military infrastructure.
Yet, we are 700 miles northwest of our intended target
of Washington, D.C.
The Ascendancy requires-
- I'm on a different mission now, Atlas.
(device warbling)
Activate Mag Boots.
- [Atlas] Mag Boots activated.
(water sloshing)
The annexation of Beta 76 is scheduled
to occur within the next 48 hours.
There are no other priority missions.
Do you care to explain?
- You're just gonna have to trust me.
(device warbling)
Boots off.
(water splashing)
(device warbling)
Activate Aqua Jets.
(tense music)
- Scans indicate a quantum signature from Alpha 1.
The accelerator must have obscured it.
Why would matter from our universe be here?
(device warbling)
What is the object?
It's design is not listed in my archives.
- Maybe those archives don't tell you everything.
(devices warbling)
Uh-oh, we got company.
- Five Ascendants and commandos from the Hellfighter squad.
Perhaps they're here to assist us.
- Uh, not likely.
(devices warbling)
- [Commando] Quantum signature detected, Major.
The component is directly below us.
- Why is it moving?
(devices warbling)
- Hellfighter, weapons free.
(water splashing)
(device warbling)
- Jones!
(exciting music)
- You are in possession of Ascendancy technology.
Stand down immediately.
(exciting music continues)
- [Agent Morgan] Boots off!
(Agent Morgan grunting)
Atlas, get me out of here.
- [Atlas] Hover mode activated.
(device warbling)
(explosive blasting)
(wood cracking)
Clearly, they have not been briefed
on your current objective.
- Yeah, I guess not.
(device warbling)
(horn honking)
Let me skip outta here.
- Without mission specifics, I'm unable to comply.
- Fine, then I'll do it blind.
- Wait, you can't.
(device warbling)
(exciting music continues)
(horn blaring)
- Where are we? - Gamma 89.
- Chinamerica, that's not where I wanted to be.
(metal crashing) (Agent Morgan grunting)
- [Atlas] Agent Morgan, calculating the topography
of the quantum universe is an essential element
of an escape.
You could've killed us. - Calm down.
We made it.
Traveling refinery.
That's something you don't see every day.
- [Atlas] This is a class 3 demiEarth.
It is listed as unfit for annexation.
We should leave immediately. - If you don't like it,
get us outta here.
(alarm sounding)
- I have detected four skip signatures.
- Dammit, they were close enough to track
our quantum residue? - Apparently so.
- Can you plot a skip they can't follow?
- They're too close.
- Then I'm gonna get a lot closer.
Go to sub mode.
(device warbling)
(lively music)
- He's gone under! - He can't stay submerged.
That sludge will eat him alive.
(Taylor screaming)
- Taylor!
- Dammit.
Stay on target.
- We are 20 seconds from hull compromise.
- Then it's time for some sky.
(exciting music)
(device warbling)
(explosive blasting)
- [Commando] He's gone, there's no way we catch him.
- We lost two good men today.
I'm not losing that component.
- Major Cartwright? - What?
- Based upon the skipflash,
the MetaCar appears to be damaged.
(Major Cartwright scoffing)
- This isn't over.
(device warbling)
(ominous music)
(device warbling)
(explosive blasting)
- [Agent Morgan] What the?
Where'd you bring us? - I'm not sure.
I was targeting Gamma 31.
A fungus Earth. - I'm not seeing
any mushrooms, I'm seeing dinosaurs.
Hell, I'm seeing dinosaurs riding dinosaurs.
- It would appear the asteroid extinction
never occurred on this world.
Evolution of large theropods continue to present day.
(creature grunting)
(alarm sounding)
Flight systems have been compromised.
We have to set down for repairs.
- Are you kidding?
Not down there.
(creature grunting)
(device warbling)
(creature yelling)
(creature grunting)
- Hostiles, primitive weapons, stay sharp!
(Nizbit yelling)
- [Commando] Nizbit!
- Bastards.
(creature grunting)
I'm hit.
(Major Cartwright grunting)
- [Commando] Major Cartwright!
(creatures growling)
Keep after him.
I've got this.
(creature screaming)
(device warbling)
(creature grunting)
- Who's next?
- You're right, I can't keep us in the air much longer.
We need, wait a minute.
Oh boy. - Perhaps it's time
for an evasive maneuver.
(creature shrieking)
- Okay then.
(creature shrieking)
(electricity bursting)
We're hit, time for that mushroom world.
Now, Atlas. - I calculate a 84% chance
of arriving safely at the target Earth.
- Better than a 100% chance of dying.
Do it!
(alarm sounding) (Agent Morgan grunting)
- [Commando] You know what, Major?
I think we're gonna have to let this one go.
(creature shrieking)
(tense music)
(explosive blasting)
- Prepare for impact. - Switch to hover mode.
(Agent Morgan grunting)
(electricity crackling)
Better get out there.
Check the damage. - Wait.
Unless you want to be eaten alive by fungal parasites,
use your EnviroSkin.
The entire atmosphere is full of deadly spores.
- Uh yeah, thanks for the heads up.
(devices warbling)
This NanoPad should take about five minutes to heal.
- [Atlas] In the mean time,
you owe me an explanation as to why
you were evading Ascendancy forces.
(pensive music)
- What do you know about the revolt of '88?
- The Futurists?
They were scientific dissidents.
Enemies of the state.
- My grandfather, Tobias Morgan, was one of them.
He hid the component I retrieved from the lake.
- Then he is a criminal of Alpha 1,
as you now appear to be.
- He is not a criminal and I can prove it.
Pull up a HaloMap of Chicago on Beta 76.
(device warbling)
My grandfather's been living in that world
for over a decade.
He designed a weapon that could stop The Ascendancy forever.
This component is the key to arming the device.
- You sound like a terrorist, Agent Morgan.
I will not be a party to sedition.
- Come on, Atlas!
You've been my assistant since I left the Academy.
We need to trust each other.
- If you wanted my trust, then why did you disconnect me
from the central cortex?
- I wanted you to think for yourself.
11 Earths conquered, tens of billions enslaved.
Do your own analysis.
- I suppose I couldn't until now.
I find it all quite confusing.
- You've been fed lies, just like the rest of us.
Skip us back to Beta 76, and I'll prove it to you.
(device beeping)
- If I discover that you're lying, I will lockdown
all systems, and skip us back to Alpha 1,
where you will be arrested and tried for treason.
- You could've done that all along.
Why didn't you? - Let's just say
there is something in my programming that's been nagging me
since my inception.
You may be onto something.
- Well then, there's only one way to find out.
(dramatic music)
(explosive blasting)
(mysterious, dramatic music)