1. One must have a warped sense of humor to crack a joke about a starship’s nacelles.
2. Is a man who brawls while wearing a cravat a tie fighter?  Did I force this pun?
3. Was Percy Montana predestined to be on the Tulip?
4. It would behoove you to watch more Doctor Who and therefore be more enterprising.  You might even decide to embark on a great trek.  That would certainly be the logical decision.
5. A Jedi knight who conducts music is Obi-Wand Kenobi.
6. Every seven years a Vulcan must travel a great distance to tell double entendres.  This is the pun farr.
7. Watching old episodes of Doctor Who makes me crave cereals.
8. Is a picture of Mira Furlan a Mira image?
9. Is a drink favored by a Ferengi junior officer in Starfleet egg nog?
10. If H. G. Wells had written a novel about herbs, might he have called it The Thyme Machine?

Tanya Allen as Percy Montana

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This post should simplify then process of navigating my episode guide.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 16, 2013 COMMON ERA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rebirth:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/starhunter-2300-rebirth-2003/

Star Crossed:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/starhunter-2300-star-crossed-2003/

Biocrime:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/starhunter-2300-biocrime-2003/

Chasing Janus:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/starhunter-2300-chasing-janus-2003/

Spaceman:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/starhunter-2300-spaceman-2003/

Becoming Shiva:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/starhunter-2300-becoming-shiva-2003/

The Third Thing:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/starhunter-2300-the-third-thing-2003/

Torment:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/starhunter-2300-torment-2003/

Painless:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/starhunter-2300-painless-2003/

Skin Deep:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/starhunter-2300-skin-deep-2003/

Supermax Redux:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/starhunter-2300-supermax-redux-2003/

Pandora’s Box:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/starhunter-2300-pandoras-box-2003/

Stitch in Time:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/starhunter-2300-stitch-in-time-2003/

The Prisoner:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/starhunter-2300-the-prisoner-2003/

Kate:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/starhunter-2300-kate-2004/

Rivals:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/starhunter-2300-rivals-2004/

The Heir and the Spare:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/starhunter-2300-the-heir-and-the-spare-2004/

Just Politics:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/starhunter-2300-just-politics-2004/

Negative Energy:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/starhunter-2300-negative-energy-2004/

Licence to Fill:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/starhunter-2300-licence-to-fill-2004/

Hyperspace I:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/starhunter-2300-hyperspace-i-2004/

Hyperspace II:

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/starhunter-2300-hyperspace-ii-2004/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Transutopian Entering Hyperspace

EPISODE #22

Here we have it, fellow Starhunter 2300 fans.  We have arrived at the final episode.  It has been a good ride, one that suits decided would end prematurely.  But may we dwell on the positive, enjoying what we have.

The Transutopian in Hyperspace

It is interesting that hyperspace resembles billowing clouds when a person enters it but looks like the picture above when a ship does.  O well, this is another mystery of the Starhunter/Starhunter 2300 multiverse.

Anyhow, the Tulip has entered hyperspace by means of a warp bubble around the ship.  You cannot see the warp bubble, but it is there.

On board the ship are three separate and overlapping warp bubbles, each one of which is phase-shifted on the light spectrum.

Percy

Percy is in the blue one,…

Marcus

…Marcus is in the pink one,…

Rudolpho

…and Rudolpho is in the green one.

There are some similarities, however.  Neither one of them contains Travis, Dr. Xeylon, Caravaggio, the horizon generator, or the people in the other two phase-shifted warp bubbles.  Also, the ship risks disintegrating in hyperspace in all three phase-shifted warp bubbles.

Tristan Catchpole

And Tristan Catchpole jumps from one warp bubble to the other in search of the horizon generator.

Travis and Dr. Xeylon

Meanwhile, Travis and Dr. Xeylon are off the ship and in hyperspace.  Here Travis takes a crucial emotional journey.  Dr. Xeylon explains that he must activate the second Divinity Cluster gene fully to save Callie’s life.  This, in turn, requires him to experience his emotions fully and control them, not to suppress them, as he has done for so long.  So the captain needs to admit his love for Callie and release his guilt over her death, as well as to forgive his mother for her experiments, which have given him such strong Divinity Cluster genes, before he can travel back in time and save the life of the woman he loves.  He struggles with this while his crew mates try to save the ship.

The three on-ship warp bubbles exist because of an error in calibration and mass at the point of departure into hyperspace.  There was an Orchard ship almost on top of the Tulip at the time, so that fact explains the error.  Percy, Rudolpho, and Marcus realize what has happened and how to restore unity to the phasing on the ship and act accordingly.

Together Again

They succeed.  Now they can try to save the ship.  They need to drop out of hyperspace, but Catchpole makes that more difficult than it would be otherwise.

Catchpole

He steals the horizon generator and disappears from the Tulip.

Back on Mars, Murchison praises Catchpole for retrieving the horizon generator.

Murchison’s Murder

But Catchpole and Roone murder Murchison and announce to the shocked board members that the new agenda of the Orchard is facilitate the resurrection (in human beings) of the aliens who implanted the Divinity Cluster in our ancestors three million years ago.  The ability to take a ship into hyperspace has been a milestone achievement, one that marks the readiness of people to become one with the aliens.  Presumably Catchpole and Roone persuade the other board members, given the very recent murder in the board room.

Elsewhere, Travis finally succeeds in his mission, changing history and saving Callie’s life.

Callie

So Callie reappears on the Tulip Bridge, as if she had been there all along.  Nobody remembers her having died.  Travis and Dr. Xeylon return almost immediately.

The ship has seven minutes left then…boom.   So everybody gets to work.  Dr. Xeylon thinks of an untested way to try to leave hyperspace without the horizon generator.

The End?

The plan is ready when there are just a few seconds left and the warp bubble around the ship collapses.

We do not know what happens next because of decisions certain people higher up the food chain than actors made.  Will Travis and Callie have a second chance at love?  Will anybody die?  Will the Orchard pursue its perfidious course unchecked?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Here ends our Starhunter 2300 journey.  Thank you for taking it with me.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 6, 2011 COMMON ERA

I took the screen caps via the PowerDVD program.  As always, I encourage the viewing of Starhunter and Starhunter 2300 episodes exclusively by methods consistent with United States copyright laws.

Tanya Allen as Percy Montana

EPISODE #21

The Orchard creeps me out.  It has ever since I entered the Starhunter/Starhunter 2300 multiverse, probably in 2004.  I lived immediately outside Dublin, Georgia, at the time, and I found the fifteen episodes of Starhunter  (2000-2001) then available on DVD on sale at the local Big Lots.  That was a great day.  Members of the Orchard are willing to sell out each other and the human race as a whole just to pursue their goal of controlling the four genes of the Divinity Cluster (follow this link: https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/starhunter-the-divinity-cluster-2000/) and the power they unleash.  That organization’s perfidy is on full display in the last two episodes of Starhunter 2300, Hyperspace I and II.

An Article from an Obscure Scientific Journal in 2300

Marcus is holed up late one night (ship’s time) while reading obscure scientific journals.

Marcus Fagen

One article attracts his undivided attention.

Sleepy Bounty Hunters

So he assembles the sleep-deprived bounty hunters to explain what he has learned.  Rudolpho sleeps the presentation.

This impromptu summons has, unfortunately for Travis, interrupted an erotic dream involving Callie.  So he just wants to get back to sleep and that dream.

Anyhow, Marcus has learned that, hypothetically, of course, a negative energy pulse, when fired through plasma conduits in an antimatter engine, should result in the formation of a warp bubble, thereby allowing a vessel to enter hyperspace.  This is what Dr. Gregor Laszig, an obscure astrophysicist, wrote in an obscure scientific journal.  Marcus, however, does not know how to test this theory, so the others (except Rudolpho) return to their quarters grumpily.

Travis Montana

Travis does not fall asleep, though, nor does he think of Callie.  Instead, he ponders Dante, his father lost in hyperspace.

Travis in Hyperspace

Then he enters hyperspace, where he encounters a woman who tells him that he is the one who will find her.

A few hours later, Marcus is the only well-rested and non-grumpy person on board.  Caravaggio reports that Travis is not on board, but Callie insists on a thorough search of the ship anyway.

Tristan Catchpole

Meanwhile, at Orchard headquarters, on Mars, Tristan Catchpole is conferring in private with…

Roone

…Roone, another Orchard member.  They have a common agenda they are keeping from Dr. Edward Murchison, leader of the Orchard.  (Follow this link for a Catchpole-Murchison refresher: https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/starhunter-2300-the-prisoner-2003/).  Roone tells Catchpole that Orchard agents are bringing three more people with the first Divinity Cluster gene activated to headquarters.  (One gets the impression that they are coming involuntarily.)  This news pleases Catchpole, for Stage One people are easy to control.  Roone then tells Catchpole that she estimates three years “to hybridize the species.”  This is their true agenda, and Murchison has been too busy obsessing about finding a way to get a ship into hyperspace that he has not noticed anything else.

The “hybridization of the species” terrified Eccleston, who tried to prevent it, in Resurrection (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/starhunter-resurrection-2001/).  Members of the alien species which implanted the four Divinity Cluster genes inside our ancestors three million years ago were waiting to be reborn in us.  According to Eccleston, however, the aliens were terrifying, and the process of hybridization ought not to proceed.  But that was the Starhunter universe, parallel to that of Starhunter 2300.

Catchpole senses that two people have entered hyperspace, thereby causing a displacement.  He suspects that Travis Montana is one of them yet does not know who the other could be.

Callista “Callie” Larkadia

Callie is searching the ship for Travis when…

Travis Returning

…she sees Travis return to the ship via a white light.  Callie demands to know where he has been, for she–“we”–have been worried about him.  The tone of Callie’s voice reveals that she was the most worried of them all.

The Briefing

Travis tells the others where he has been.

At an Orchard Meeting

Back on Mars, Murchison chairs a meeting of the Orchard’s executive board.  He finds the recent events in hyperspace disturbing.  How can the Orchard monopolize access to hyperspace with events such as these taking place?  Catchpole says that Travis is not a Stage Two yet, so the real threat is the second person, who is a Stage Two; that person’s second Divinity Cluster gene is fully activated.  So Catchpole suggests permitting Travis to lead them to the second person.  Then the Orchard can “kill two birds with one stone.”

Aboard the Tulip, near Jupiter, Marcus explains to Travis that they need a horizon generator, whatever that is.  And Dr. Laszig, who wrote of such a device, has disappeared.

Percy

Percy explains to Callie and Rudolpho why she hates hyperspace.  Being trapped in that dimension is like “getting stuck for centuries in a cell with no window,” she says.

Yet that ship has already sailed; the road to hyperspace is the crew’s path.  Travis and Marcus track down a lead regarding Dr. Laszig.  One Dr. Waylon Hersch tells them that he has never met Laszig in person, but has dealt with Laszig’s assistant, Dr. Vienna Xeylon, who is on Io.  So the Tulip heads for Io, and Rudolpho, via a “friend of questionable character,” provides a Syn City address for Dr. Xeylon.

Callie

Travis and Callie depart in a shuttle.  She suspects that she was in a certain dream, given the way that Travis has been looking at her since.  And Callie likes that look.

Dr. Vienna Xeylon

The bounty hunters locate Dr. Xeylon, who invented the persona of Dr. Laszig as a cover.  The scientist and Travis recognize each other immediately; she was expecting him.  Unfortunately, Orchard armed thugs have followed Travis and Callie, so the Dr. Xeylon and the bounty hunters have to escape her home through a broken window.  A firefight ensues, and an Orchard thug shoots Callie in one shoulder, after which another thug conks out Travis.

Xeylon and Catchpole

Then Catchpole arrives and two Orchard thugs take Xeylon away.

Travis and Callie

Travis and Callie return to the Tulip with the horizon generator, which resembles a clear glass ball.  Callie says that she is fine, but “may never play the tambourine again.”

Travis and Marcus with the Horizon Generator

Marcus notices that “something is up” between Travis and Callie, but Travis does not seem to understand what this “something” is.

Dr. Edward Murchison

On Mars, Dr. Murchison tries unsuccessfully to persuade Dr. Xeylon to join his side.

Dr. Xeylon and Catchpole

Even Catchpole fails–after taking her to a planet 1,000 light years distant.  By now Catchpole and Murchison know that Xeylon is Laszig.

Travis, realizing that the Orchard has taken Xeylon to Mars, sets course for the red planet.

Callie

Callie dies during the trip when her heart dissolves and her lungs fail, both results of the weapon the Orchard thug used against her.

Marcus Grieving

Callie’s death shocks the crew, with Marcus being the most emotionally overt person.  Percy, as usual, is subdued, as are Rudolpho and Travis, who drown their sorrows with a little alcohol.

But Travis suspects that there may be way to change history.  He entered hyperspace and traveled back to the time and place of Callie’s  shooting as she died.  He did it once; he can do it again–and he might be able to save her life.

Darius, in Dark and Stormy Night (follow this link:  https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/starhunter-dark-and-stormy-night-2001/), established that the Divinity Cluster enables one to travel back and forth in time.  The experiences of our favorite captain confirm this.  Aside from this episode, he has traveled through time in Rebirth (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/starhunter-2300-rebirth-2003/) and The Prisoner (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/starhunter-2300-the-prisoner-2003/).

The Tulip arrives at Mars and Travis and Marcus take a shuttle to the surface.  They rescue Dr. Xeylon from the Orchard just in time from preventing that nefarious organization from changing her mind against her will–reprogramming her.  (I said that the Orchard is really creepy.)  The bounty hunters and the scientist return to the Tulip immediately.

An Orchard Vessel

An Orchard vessel, faster and more heavily armed than the Tulip, is in orbit and pursuit.  And it has a grapple.  So our heroes’ best hope is that Xeylon can activate the antimatter drive and get them out of there very soon.

Dr. Xeylon and Company

Dr. Xeylon gets to work immediately.  Meanwhile, the Orchard ship continues to fire to on the Transutopian.  The Orchard vessel, almost on top of the Tulip, is preparing to use its grapple…

Activating the Antimatter Drive

…when Dr. Xeylon activates the antimatter drive.

The Transutopian

The Tulip enters hyperspace as the end credits roll.

Some of the early Starhunter 2300 episodes are rocky, but the series improves greatly over time.  The later episodes draw nicely on many on the earlier ones, thereby creating great unity for the series, which, unfortunately, has just twenty-two episodes.

So this is the penultimate episode.  My next post will cover the series finale.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 6, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen caps, the existence of which I credit to the PowerDVD program.  As always, I encourage the viewing of any Starhunter or Starhunter 2300 episode only by a method consistent with United States copyright laws.

Tanya Allen as Percy Montana

EPISODE #20

I take civics seriously.  Among the principles near and dear to my heart is the presumption of the innocence of the accused.  A prosecutor, no matter how honest or well-intentioned he or she might be, is still human and therefore prone to error.  So a prosecutor ought to have to bear the full burden of proof, or else lose the court case.  Then there are the malicious prosecutors, such as Senator Calder in Licence to Fill.  They manipulate and cherry-pick their evidence for personal reasons.  They are disgraces to the legal system.

Licence to Fill

Starhunter 2300 is a Canadian series.  The linguists among you, O my readers, know or ought to know that Canadian English is closer to British English in many ways than to American English.  So, for example, I have a Georgia Driver’s License yet I would need a driver’s licence in Canada.

I presume that the episode title is a tip of the hat to the 1989 Timothy Dalton movie Licence to Kill, one of the better James Bond films.

This is a clip show, so my analysis will be shorter than it would be otherwise.  It is sufficed to say that the use of clips from previous episodes is the least interesting part of this viewing experience.  Clip shows save money but to bore viewers, with a few notable exceptions.  The Seinfeld clip show was far better than the final episode of that series, for example.  And Dark and Stormy Night (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/starhunter-dark-and-stormy-night-2001/), the Starhunter clip show, is essential to holding that series together.  More often, however, clip shows are like Shades of Grey, the excruciating and boring last episode of Star Trek:  The Next Generation‘s second season.  Watching Counselor Troi emote while I have to view the same series of clips yet again does not interest me.

Licence to Fill is neither the best nor the the worst clip show.  Instead, it occupies the middle ground in this subgenre.  Its main redeeming aspects are (A) its continuation of the implications of Callie Larkadia’s past and (B) the return of Percy Montana.  Percy and the Tulip are really inseparable, as we learned during the previous two episodes.

Now I begin the recap.

The Tulip docks above Mars.  The crew, badly in need of money, must wait a couple of days before working because the bounty hunting license has expired, although the application to renew the license is in progress.

Senator Vidal Calder

Senator Vidal Calder calls Travis.  Calder, from the Internal Affairs division of the Security Department, has recently come to be in charge of licensing vessels for bounty hunting.  He knows of the lapse of the Tulip crew’s license.  So Calder, who is hostile, latches onto a technicality in Martian law.

Calder

Calder, accompanied by Mars Federation security guards, boards the Tulip, declares the crew in violation of Martian law, confiscates their weapons (since they are no longer licensed bounty hunters), and confines our heroes to the ship.

Senators Calder and Skaylon

There will be a tribunal.  Senators Calder and Skaylon (prosecutor and judge, respectively) agree upon the need to preserve the appearance of impartiality without providing the substance thereof.  Since the crew of the Tulip cannot afford an attorney, Calder arranges for the appointment of one Jensen, who is respectable yet far from being the sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest crayon in the box.

Senator Morgan Rendall

Fortunately for our heroes, Senator Morgan Rendall, a Larkadia family friend and capable attorney, takes the case pro bono.  He has “an abiding love of fairness.”

Now I digress to ponder civics in Starhunter 2300.  We know that the solar system is divided into planetary federations, such as the Saturn Federation, the Jupiter Federation, and the Mars Federation.  There is some sort of solar system-wide authority, for, in Negative Energy (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/starhunter-2300-negative-energy-2004/), Caravaggio mentions transfederation laws.  We know also that a warlord state exists on Europa, within the Jupiter Federation (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/starhunter-2300-the-heir-and-the-spare-2004/), but that there is a common authority within that federation.  There are also seems to be a monetary union across federations, for currency is always in credits.   As to the Mars Federation, we know that it has a president and a cabinet composed of ministers (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/starhunter-2300-just-politics-2004/), suggesting a hybrid of presidential and parliamentary democratic models.  However the Mars federal system works overall, senators have other government jobs, such as judges, lawyers, and sub-cabinet ministers.

Back to our regularly scheduled program…

Senator Rendall

Senator Rendall visits the Tulip and briefs the crew.  They have the right to send one of their number to court as a representative, so they choose Travis.  Caravaggio, the A.I., will be in court as a witness.  A bare-bones computer system will maintain basic ship’s functions (minus communications in or out) during its absence.  And there will be a court-arranged audio-visual feed to the Tulip so that those bounty hunters confined to the ship can watch the proceedings.

Rendall also says that Calder “goes nowhere without his ulterior motive.” Calder’s goal, Rendall says, is nothing less than to declare the crew members of the Transutopian unfit bounty hunters and to deprive them of the ship.

Marcus, Callie, Rudolpho

Marcus, Callie, and Rudolpho spend much of the tribunal sitting on the Bridge and reacting.  Meanwhile, in the Martian courtroom, Calder manipulates evidence, omits vital facts, and takes evidence out of context to argue that the bounty hunters of the Tulip are untrustworthy menaces to each other and anyone who comes into contact with them.

Percy Montana

He even calls Percy, whom he has tracked down and apprehended, as a witness, not that she has a chance to say much between Calder’s questions and the director’s use of clips.

Dawn Stern as Callista “Callie” Larkadia

Rendall has been doing his best to defend the crew of the good ship Transutopian yet without the resources available to Calder.  The system is rigged in Calder’s favor.  So Marcus finds a way to hack into the Mars Federation crime logs.  He discovers that Calder and Devak (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/starhunter-2300-chasing-janus-2003/) were friends.  Devak, of course was hip-deep in Mars Federation Special Forces Citadel Squad corruption, which a younger Callie exposed, thereby ending her military career.  (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/starhunter-2300-star-crossed-2003/).  (The Mars Federation government is quite corrupt.)

Calder’s Secret Exposed in Open Court

Marcus downloads the damning evidence into Caravaggio, who reveals it in open court.  This forces Senator Skaylon, hardly a paragon of judicial fairness, to dismiss the case.  Security guards take Calder into custody.

Senator Skaylon

Skaylon says nothing as Rendall announces his intention to investigate why she brought this case to tribunal.

Callie, Rendall, and Travis

There is celebration aboard the Tulip.

Percy

Percy reveals that Calder had kept her in a mental hospital, but that she got used to and stopped minding the “strappy jacket” after a while.  She is much better now, no longer wigging out, as in The Heir and the Spare (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/starhunter-2300-the-heir-and-the-spare-2004/).  The owner of the Tulip leaves the Bridge to unpack while Marcus accompanies her.  We still do not know where she spent her vacation, though.

Next we have the two-part series finale, Hyperspace, which ends of a cliffhanger.  O well, we enjoy what we have.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 5, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen caps I took via the PowerDVD program.  Consistent with previous practice, I encourage the viewing of Starhunter and Starhunter 2300 episodes only by means consistent with United States copyright laws.

Dawn Stern as Callista (“Callie”) Larkadia

EPISODE #19

The characters aboard the good ship Transutopian began their Starhunter 2300 journey as mostly strangers to each other.  Percy and Rudolpho had a common history, and Travis and Marcus had worked together for years.  But Travis was keeping parts of his past secret from even Marcus, and the others did not know much about him.  Marcus did not know his family background, and his fellow crew mates still do not know the full story.  From time to time Rudolpho encounters a former wife or lover, but he prefers that not everybody know certain aspects of his past.  (There is nothing wrong with this, for it is good to keep some secrets.  We all accumulate them, and many of them are nobody’s business anyway.)

Of the five main human characters (Caravaggio the A.I. counting as a character), Callie is the most open about her past.  And she wants to know more about Travis in particular.  This point comes up in episode after episode.  The fact that Travis is generally unwilling to divulge certain secrets bothers Callie and makes her angry sometimes.  This carries increasingly romantic overtones as the series approaches its finale, in Hyperspace II, the twenty-second episode.  Travis is all man, down to the strong and sometimes uncomfortable silence, and Callie, despite her tomboyish ways, is all woman.  And she seeks emotional intimacy with Travis Montana, who, as of yet, refuses to let anybody in.

The episode recap begins now.

The crew of the Tulip has a serious need for speed.  They are pursing shipjackers (hijackers in outer space) yet have to let them go because the other vessel is too fast for them, especially given its active antimatter drive.  This means not receiving a large and needed bounty from the Jupiter Federation.  Maybe they could have caught the ship if Percy had been around, but Marcus, who did his best, could not understand Percy’s unique ways of customizing the engines.

Callie, Rudolpho, and Travis Listening to Marcus

The Tulip is one of the few ships in the solar system equipped with an antimatter drive.  Yet the main problem is how to use it, and to do safely.  Marcus has an idea:  Duranium 237.  The hellstone from Just Politics (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/starhunter-2300-just-politics-2004/), contained it.  Yet, for technical reasons, that Duranium 237 is no longer suitable for this purpose.

Travis pulls up a list of scientists who used to work with the Keres Group.  (See https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/starhunter-2300-pandoras-box-2003/ for more about the Keres Group.)  Rudolpho recognizes a name, that of Jay Beckers, whom, he says, deals in legal and illegal energy sources.  Mr. Beckers will certainly have some Duranium 237, and Rudolpho knows somebody who can help him make contact.  Travis approves, and Rudolpho and Marcus leave for Syn City to make the arrangements.

There is one catch in the Marcus plan, however.  Transfederation laws (enforced ones at that) require a change of energy source permit, which costs 20,000 credits.  Travis authorizes Caravaggio to apply for the permit.  But the A.I. does not reveal the mandatory inspection which will follow.  Some A.I.s assume too much about humans’ knowledge.

Callie

The Tulip is docked at Io Orbital.  With Percy wherever she is and Rudolpho and Marcus away on a Duranium 237 hunt, Travis and Callie are alone on the ship.  She wants to talk.  More specifically, she wants Travis to talk.  Callie is enjoying the quiet time and engaging in a favorite activity, picking a distant planet off the galactic map and imagining what it is like.  She has done this since she was a girl.  Moreover, she tells Travis, it would be good for him to get to know her better and for her to get to know him better.  She goes first, saying that, despite difficult patches in her life, she does not regret her journey so far, and she refuses to begin having regrets now.

Travis and Callie

Travis is less forthcoming, revealing only what Callie knows already.  She finds this upsetting, and he is about to say something when Caravaggio interrupts him to announce that Executive Chief Inspector Tibbitt from the Jupiter Federation is hailing.  All that Travis tells Callie is that she ought not to press too hard for his secrets, because she might find what she seeks.

Executive Chief Inspector Tibbitt

Executive Chief Inspector Tibbitt arrives to conduct a safety inspection.  Antimatter drives can be unstable, after all.  He is the ultimate unpleasant, officious, bean-counting bureaucrat from Hell and many nightmares.  He quotes minute details of regulations, lacks any sense of humor, and insists that people use his full title when addressing him.

Travis and Callie

Tibbitt discovers Percy’s engine work and declares it unsatisfactory.  Travis finds the Executive Chief Inspector especially impossible to tolerate, so Callie decides to accompany Tibbitt alone to the antimatter drive room before Travis says something truly unfortunate in the man’s presence.  Besides, Callie says, she has feminine charms, which work on most men.  Ouch!

Her feminine charms do not work on Tibbitt, either.

Tibbitt’s Orchard Buyer

Tibbitt opens a channel to his Orchard buyer and receives a promise of a rather large pay off for himself.  The Tulip has an excellent antimatter drive, the Executive Chief Inspector says.

Tibbitt

Tibbitt, who has summoned Jupiter Federation troopers to the Tulip, tells Travis and Callie that the ship is unsafe, that the government will therefore destroy it, and that the crew must leave immediately.  Travis, however, has learned that the Jupiter Federation did not authorize Tibbitt’s inspection.  The captain reveals this knowledge to the Executive Chief Inspector, who does not flinch.  The matter is academic, he says; what is done is done.  A firefight ensues.

So Tibbitt is both officious and corrupt–truly the worst kind of bureaucrat.

Now I turn to the adventures of Rudolpho and Marcus in Syn City.

Karina (“Goldilocks”) and Rudolpho (“Papa Bear”)

Rudolpho’s lead to the whereabouts of Jay Beckers is Karina, who calls herself “Goldilocks” and who refers to Rudolpho as “Papa Bear.”  They are former lovers.  This is obvious in (A) their kiss and (B) her question, “Who’s been sleeping in my bed?”  They met in jail and went on to have many good and bad times.  As Rudolpho tells Marcus, “She lied, cheated, and stole from me.  It was the best relationship I ever had.”

Rudolpho and Marcus

Karina is still lying, for she tips off Beckers, who arranges an ambush for Marcus and Rudolpho.

Jay Beckers

Beckers, who, as it turns out is a woman, suspects Rudolpho and Marcus of being federal marshals.

Transgender aliases occur more than once in Starhunter 2300.  Do you remember Father Abode from Biocrime (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/starhunter-2300-biocrime-2003/)?  And the gender of Bliss from Painless (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/starhunter-2300-painless-2003/) was ambiguous early in the episode.  If one thinks that one might need to look for a man, how likely is one to locate the culprit, who is really female?

Beckers does have the Duranium 237, which will not cost less than 2 million credits or a stake in a partnership with Rudolpho.  Her terms are 40% and Marcus, whom she plans to “modify” for her pleasure.  Rudolpho agrees, collects the Duranium 237, leaves, picks up a weapon, returns, shoots Beckers, and rescues Marcus.

The two of them return to the Tulip during the firefight I mentioned earlier.  Our heroes fight off everyone except Tibbitt successfully.

The Transutopian (Tulip) Leaving Io Orbital

Travis takes the Tulip away from Io Orbital.

The Orchard Vessel

An Orchard vessel pursues and fires on the Tulip.  The commander of that vessel thinks that the Tulip is Orchard property.  Travis disagrees, so he returns fire.  Now there is a running firefight in outer space.

Marcus uses the Duranium 237 to activate the antimatter drive.  Tibbitt tries to interfere, but the other bounty hunters subdue him and let him “inspect the inside of the brig.”

The Tulip, About to Engage the Antimatter Drive

The Tulip travels to safety, from near Jupiter to near beyond Neptune almost instantaneously.  Marcus notes, however, that, according to theory, the ship should have reached light speed.  Yet it did not.  He concludes that “there must be a piece missing from the puzzle.”

Anyhow, the crew will still get a nice pay day, for the Jupiter Federation wants Tibbitt back and is willing to pay 100,000 credits for his return.

Callie and Travis

Callie still wants Travis to “say anything” substantial about himself, but he continues to refuse.  This upsets her.  His problem, she says, it that he won’t really say anything.  Yet Callie notices Travis staring at an image of a distant planet and imagining what that world is like.

So ends the episode.

There are three episodes left.  Immediately we have the revenge of a petty bureaucrat on Mars.  Oh, and Percy returns!

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 4, 2011 COMMON ERA

I took the screen captures via the PowerDVD program.

Watch episodes of Starhunter 2300 via legal methods (those consistent with U.S. copyright laws), please.

And, Percy Montana, wherever you are during this episode, I hope you are having a good and relaxing time.

Travis Montana and Andras Kolzig

EPISODE #18

Just Politics is the first of the two Percy-less episodes.  There is, however, a strong continuity from The Heir and the Spare (#17) to this episode to Negative Energy (#19), so at least the writers show evidence of marching toward a goal from this point to the end (#22).  Therefore one episode builds on those preceding it.  Furthermore, Percy’s absence is a vital part of Just Politics.  Marcus misses her greatly, and a guest character uses Percy’s absence to her advantage.

Shall we begin?  Mais oui!  Bien sur!  Certaimment!

Trade Minister Kolzig and His Party Arrive

The Transutopian is at Mars on a mission approved by Mars Federation Morland himself.  The government offers the crew its largest pay day yet:  300,000 credits payable at the end of the mission.  Travis, though, feels uneasy.  Something does not feel quite right.  He is correct.

The mission is to transport Trade Minister Andras Kolzig and his party to the Mannheim Asteroid Belt, near Neptune, for a hush-hush trade negotiation.  That much is true, but so is far more, as we learn during the episode.

Kolzig arrives with his party, which consists of Jophe Henrik, his personal assistant, and Hakin Dircott and Gaynor Schon, his security team.

Rudolpho

Rudolpho, once enthusiastic about the mission (and its pay day), becomes suspicious when he meets Kolzig.  He knows Kolzig from somewhere, but where?

Kolzig, it seems, keeps a low profile.  This is important information.

Gaynor Schon

Gaynor Schon overrides parts of Caravaggio’s programming so that the A.I. will take orders from her and recognize her as Percy Montana.  This is suspicious and foreboding, to say the least.

Marcus Fagen and Jophe Henrik

Jophe Henrik, however, is exactly what she appears to be:  a pure soul and sweet young woman.  The daughter of a ship’s engineer, she is also a technology geek.  She and Marcus get along well during a tour of the Tulip.  During such a walk-through Marcus becomes the first person to notice the effects of Schon’s rewriting of part of Caravaggio’s programming.  Other characters also notice it during the episode and become suspicious.

Mars Federation Trade Minister Andras Kolzig

Kolzig tells the crew that neither they nor the ship are in danger during this “sensitive” trade mission.  The bounty hunters harbor doubts, however.

Mars Federation President Morland

With the Tulip near Neptune, President Morland calls.  He thanks the crew for their “discretion in this matter.”

Hakin Dircott

Hakin Dircott becomes Schon’s first victim.  She uses Caravaggio to murder Dircott then diagnose the cause of death as a heart attack.  Travis and Callie, suspicious, investigate then conclude that it was a murder.

Jophe Henrik

Jophe helps Marcus explore the computer system in an attempt to explain what is going wrong.  She becomes suspicious of the A.I., too.

The Matrix Chamber

So they go to the A.I.’s matrix chamber, where Marcus finds the problem.  Then Caravaggio’s self-defense program attacks Marcus and Jophe, killing her.

The Transutopian arrives at a large mining asteroid.  One Mr. Reasoner hails the Tulip from the asteroid and arranges a meeting with Kolzig aboard the ship.

Reasoner and Kolzig

Kolzig transfers 20 million credits into Reasoner’s account as a bribe for Reasoner to to delay the delivery of duranium to Mars and President Morland.  All of this is part of a plot by Kolzig, who “made” Morland, to sabotage and replace his leader.  But Kolzig does not know that Caravaggio is spying on him and reporting to Schon.

Kolzig and Reasoner tell the bounty hunters that trade negotiations have failed.

Andras Kolzig = Carter Berkhan

Meanwhile, Rudolpho has identified Kolzig as Carter Berkhan, a murderer of 57 people (including some of Rudolpho’s relatives) and a wanted man.  A hair cut and a change of facial hair makes a great difference, does it not?

Rudolpho does not know, however, that the A.I. is spying on him and reporting to Schon.

The Mining Asteroid

We also learn that the mining asteroid is a hellstone, an asteroid that has entered our universe through a black hole.  In the process of its transition it becomes a rich source of Duranium 237, which one can use to produce negative energy, which allows one to enter hyperspace.

This development raises the question as to whether the Orchard is moving in the background of this episode.  That organization does seek to control access to hyperspace.  Follow this link:  https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/starhunter-2300-pandoras-box-2003/ and this one:  https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/starhunter-2300-the-prisoner-2003/.

A Communication with President Morland

Schon reports to President Morland.  He tells him that Kolzig is a traitor and hints at a darker secret with the potential to destroy Morland.  The President authorizes Schon to do “whatever it takes” to keep the secret.

One Less Asteroid

Schon uses Caravaggio to destroy the hellstone and kill Reasoner.  That makes three dead people–two innocents and a corrupt miner.

Rudolpho and Kolzig/Berkhan

Rudolpho, Travis, and Callie confront and surround Kolzig/Berkhan in a corridor.  Then Schon reveals the truth to everybody.  The mission was really one to prove whether or not Kolzig was a traitor.  But now that she has this damaging secret, the security officer must protect President Morland by setting the Tulip to self-destruct, killing everyone except Schon, who plans to escape via shuttle.

Callie prevents Schon’s departure while other crew members struggle to save their lives and the ship.  If the crew of the Tulip dies, so does Schon.   Travis is left to reason with Caravaggio, who, at the last second, aborts the self-destruct sequence.

One may assume that the bounty hunters place Schon and Kolzig/Berkhan in the brig.

Our Heroes

Our heroes discuss the situation.  They could bring down Morland or they could blackmail him into paying them the promised 300,000 credits.  They opt for the latter choice, which is “just politics.”  I wonder why extort the bad man for only 300,000 credits, though.

The odd fact about President Morland is that, by Mars Federation standards, he has a reputation as a softy.  If he is a softy, I do not want to meet a hardliner.

Until I write again….

I have to go away now and monitor Canadian federal election results.  We all have our obsessions; Canadian politics is one of mine.  I have found myself watching coverage of provincial elections–and I am a born citizen of the United States of America and the State of Georgia!  Thank goodness for a good DSL connection and access to the CBC website.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 2, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen captures I took via the PowerDVD program.  As always, I encourage viewing of Starhunter 2300 episodes only via methods consistent with United States copyright laws.

And, Percy Montana, wherever you are during this episode, I hope you are having a good and relaxing time.

Tanya Allen as Percy Montana

EPISODE #17

Starhunter (2000-2001) has three main human shipboard characters, an A.I., and Rudolpho, who appears via transmissions.  So there are many scenes in which Percy is prominent.  Yet Starhunter 2300 (2003-2004) has five shipboard human characters, including Rudolpho, so there are fewer scenes in which Percy is prominent.  A greater number of Percy Montana scenes is a positive development.  Fortunately, she is a major character in The Heir and Spare, unlike some other episodes.  Sadly, though, Percy will not appear in the next two episodes.

Rudolpho and Travis

Travis and his crew are pursuing one Alex Arroyan, who seduces then fleeces women, often older ones.  Most of these femmes do not want to speak to our intrepid heroes, so they have a challenging task locating this confidence man who does not stay in place for a long time.  Alas, one officer Eva Halperin of the Mars Federation lacks a sense of humor or patience about this situation.  She tells Travis, “We don’t pay out 100,000 credits for an easy ride.  Rudolpho, who is amused, says, “But his victims clearly do.”

Rudolpho, in his transmissions from Starhunter (2000-2001), often revealed too much information about hot dates.  His sense of probity in deciding what to keep secret was lacking.  He is no less unrestrained in his lack of good judgment in Starhunter 2300.

Callie and Rudolpho

Callie notes Halperin’s edginess.  Rudolpho suggests that the officer “could use a little of what Alex is offering.”  Callie asks, “Are you speaking from personal experience?”  Rudolpho admits, “Faded memory, unfortunately.”  TMI.

Percy

Down in the engine room, Percy and Marcus are working again.  Percy is unusually moody, reacting very badly to her shipmate’s obsession with finding a way into hyperspace.  Dante, her uncle, is lost there.  She was lost there for fifteen years.  Percy likes normal space.

Percy

Percy puts two somethings together “slowish,” resulting in…

Percy and Marcus

…blue sparks, an immediate threat to the ship, and a 37% decrease in ship’s power.

Percy and Marcus

So Percy and Marcus separate the somethings.

Percy

Shortly later, Percy, quite tired, returns to her quarters, where she hears…

Percy

…and sees things that are not there.

Travis asks Marcus to work on the engines, which have lost 37% of their power.   Marcus, on his way to engineering, visits Percy and ask her to help.

Percy

Yet she refuses, saying that she has to sleep.  She does not sleep.

Back to the other story line…

How to find Alex Arroyan?  What does he look like now, given his habit of frequent plastic surgery?  One needs bait, which brings me to Callie.

Callie Larkadia and Alex Arroyan

Callie reels in the smooth-talking suave charmer and Travis and Rudolpho surround him.

Marcus and Callie

The bounty hunters take Alex to the infirmary before Marcus takes him to the brig.  When Marcus enters the infirmary Arroyan stares at him.  Also in the infirmary, Travis calls Officer Halperin who, it turns out, has a personal vendetta against the con man.

In private, Caravaggio drops a bombshell on Marcus:  Alex Arroyan is his identical twin, according to the recent genetic scan.  How can this be, though?  Marcus, a test tube baby.  He never knew his parents.  So how can he have a twin?

Percy and Rudolpho

Percy, quite stressed, is working in engineering when Rudolpho visits.  He has the good sense to leave.

Marcus speaks to Arroyan in the brig.  The prisoner confirms what Caravaggio said and adds that this is bad news for Marcus.  Meanwhile, two heavily-armed ships intercept  the Tulip.  One Jaten Sarat hails Travis and demands that the bounty hunter hand over Arroyan.

Arroyan is on the run from more than a scorned woman on Mars.  His greater enemy is Sarat, a warlord from Europa.  Travis fires on the attacking ships while Marcus and Alex take a shuttle, thereby dividing Sarat’s attention and sparing the Tulip.

The Tulip is still running on diminished power.  Travis asks Percy, who is upside down in engineering, if the Tulip can catch up with the shuttle.

Percy

Percy replies, “Um, not unless we all pout.”  Then she laughs.

Marcus and Alex go to Io Orbital.  Sarat, Alex explains, murdered the Europan royal family twenty-five years ago.  But there were two test tube legacies, who became Alex and Marcus.

Percy

Travis visits Percy in engineering.  She is as stressed as he is reassuring.

Wilkes Halian with Alex Arroyan

Marcus does not believe Alex’s story, so Arroyan takes him to Wilkes Halian, their “uncle.”  Halian was a royal family servant.  After Sarat executed the royal massacre at a family wedding, Halian arranged for the gestation of the two eggs, one of which was intended to become the heir and the other of which was planned to become the spare, or blank.  A blank, introduced in Chasing Janus (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/starhunter-2300-chasing-janus-2003/), is a mindless double of a person.  Its purpose is to serve as a source for spare parts for a wealthy person.  Alex was supposed to be the heir and Marcus the spare.  But Halian raised Alex as his son and placed Marcus in an orphanage.  If anything happened to Alex at least there would be Marcus.  Now Halian is plotting a coup d’etat against the dictatorship on Europa, and Marcus seems like the natural person to lead it.  Yet Marcus takes no interest in the offer.

Jaten Sarat

Sarat and his forces kill Wilkes Halian and capture Alex and Marcus.  Then they discover that the two are twins.  Alex refuses Sarat’s offer to become a puppet king, so the warlord announces his plan to kill and clone Alex then to make Marcus a blank.  It is a simple procedure which entails cutting out one’s brain.

Percy

Percy, having done all she knows to do to increase the ship’s power, returns to her quarters.  She thanks Caravaggio for “you know, stuff” before staring around, recording a message, and departing the Tulip without anyone knowing about it.

Travis (Alpha), back in Resurrection (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/starhunter-resurrection-2001/), told Percy that she needed to get off the Tulip for a while.  She was away for a few days in Skin Deep (https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/starhunter-2300-skin-deep-2003/) most recently.  Now she has taken a vacation.

The Tulip catches up with Sarat’s ship, which is headed for Europa.  Travis (Beta) and Marcus bluff Sarat into releasing the brothers, fortunately.

Brothers

The two brothers return to the Tulip in time to learn of Percy’s departure.

Percy’s Message

Everyone watches Percy’s message:

Hi.  It’s not going to come as any great surprise to anyone, but it seems that I’ve gone a bit bananas.  So, I’m gonna take off…for a bit.  I don’t want you to come after me.  I have lived my whole life on this ship and I think I’m due a vacation.  Now this is very, very important:  Do not think that you have just scored yourselves a ship because I will always, always be able to find the Tulip.  I do care about you guys though for some reason, so take care of yourselves.  Bye.

Travis opts not to hand Arroyan over to the Mars Federation and Officer Halperin.  So Alex will leave soon, to continue to evade Sarat and probably to seek more plastic surgery and another sugar mommy.

Travis at the Door to Percy’s Quarters

Travis (Beta) stands at the door to Percy’s vacant quarters as the episode rolls to end credits.  Maybe her absence will be good for her.

Percy will return in the twentieth episode, Licence to Fill, a clip show, and appear in Hyperspace I and Hyperspace II, the last two episodes.  Episodes # 18 and 19, although excellent, suffer from a lack of Tanya Allen.

The remaining episodes are:

#18–Just Politics–The politics of keeping secrets in the Mars Federation entails murder sometimes.

#19–Negative Energy–When Travis applies for a permit to change the energy source of the Tulip he attracts the attention of a corrupt official and the Orchard.

#20–Licence to Fill–In this clip show a vengeful Mars Federation official with a grudge against Callie defames the entire crew.  O, and by the way, Percy returns.

#21 and 22–Hyperspace I and II–The crew finds a way into hyperspace and nasty internal politics break out in the Orchard.  Part II ends on a cliffhanger, unfortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 1, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen captures.  I encourage the viewing of Starhunter 2300 via methods consistent with U.S. copyright laws.

Travis Montana and Percy Montana

EPISODE #16

Family is one of the major themes of the Starhunter series.  Dante Montana spent the first series searching for his son, Travis, of whom I think as as Travis Alpha, owing to my Starhunter–Starhunter 2300 parallel universes theory. In Starhunter 2300, Travis Beta thinks of his missing father, whom he has not seen since his childhood.   And the bounty hunters aboard the Transutopian form a family of sorts, more so as the series approaches the end of its too-brief run.

It might be a dysfunctional family, but it is a family nevertheless.  Callie is estranged from her biological family, Rudolpho has three failed marriages, and Travis and Percy are all the family the other has.  As for Marcus, we will have to wait until the next episode to learn about his family.

Dawn Stern as Callista “Callie” Larkadia

Watching Dawn Stern act is one of the pleasures of viewing Starhunter 2300 episodes.  One can tell merely by looking at her that she has a mixed genetic background which gives her a lovely and exotic appearance.  According to a quote on her IMDB page, she is as much of a tomboy as is Callie Larkadia.

Speaking of Callie…

She is having a very bad day.  There are some excellent reasons for this fact:

1. Bolger, the prisoner, threatens her physically.  Callie takes care of herself, but this threat does not help her mood.
2. Most corridors aboard the Tulip are dark for purposes of conserving power an saving money.
3. Callie had to take a cold shower this morning because there is no hot water in her quarters.
4. The ship is old and falling apart.
5. Callie thinks that she is wasting her life aboard the Tulip.

Recapturing Bolger

Then Bolger escapes.  So Callie and Travis recapture him, but he falls into some of the ship’s innards and is almost electrocuted.  Main power fails as a large asteroid hurdles toward the Tulip.

Fortunately, the Seattle, a modern, commercial bounty hunting vessel, is in the area.  It destroys the asteroid and saves the Tulip.

Captain Christopher Judson

Captain Christopher Judson hails the Tulip.  He is glad to be of service.  And he is of further notice, for he and his doctor come over to save Bolger’s life.  The crew of the Tulip will not receive payment if their prisoner dies.  Judson is as helpful and polite as Travis is annoyed and self-conscious about the problems of the Tulip.

The Seattle belongs to the fleet of FCS, or Fugitive Containment Services, which has corporate backing.  Their ships are modern and clean, the crew members wear nice uniforms, there are teams of bounty hunters on shifts, and the company offers an excellent benefits package.  Judson is also competing with Travis and the crew of the Tulip, but never in a Machiavellian manner.  Judson is a good guy.

Callie and Judson

Callie gives Judson a tour of the Tulip.  The two of them get along well.

Callie and Judson

Then Judson gives Callie a tour of the Seattle.  She is quite impressed with Judson’s operation, as he is with her.  So he offers her a job.  Callie considers it seriously.

Callie and Travis

Callie returns to the Tulip.

There is general bounty call from Jupiter Federation.  One Maxim Vendel has escaped from Ganymede.  He plans to kill someone.  He has so many enemies, who it is difficult to identify his target.  But the government is sufficiently concerned to offer a bounty of 200,000 credits for a preemptive capture–dead or alive.  The Seattle embarks immediately after returning Bolger to the Tulip, which must stay behind until Marcus finishes repairing the engines.

Callie

Judson calls Callie again and repeats his job offer.  She asks for a little time to consider, and he agrees.

Judson bounces that communication signal off Ring Shepherd, in the Saturn Federation, to make Travis think that Vendel is at Ring Shepherd.  So that is where Travis takes the Tulip.

Maxim Vendel 

Yet Vendel is really at Clarke Station, where he has killed a bellboy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And Judson is en route to Clarke Station.  He arrives a day before the Tulip does.

Callie Aboard the Seattle

The Tulip does arrive at Clarke Station, where authorities collect Bolger and Callie joins the crew of the Seattle.  Travis cannot talk her out of this.  Immediately, though, Callie begins to realize her mistake.  She works by paying attention to the word on the street, which is not FCS policy.  Judson and his bounty hunters work in a more bureaucratic and hierarchical way, with less give and take than aboard the Tulip.  Judson’s right-hand man has a plan to corner Vendel, and Callie tries unsuccessfully to warn him off it.

Judson

Callie was right, and Vendel had set a trap.  She, the only survivor, informs Judson, who tells her to stay put while he files “a ton of paperwork.”

Travis and Marcus

Travis and Marcus do not have to file paperwork, however.  And they are in a bar at Clarke Station.

Percy

Callie calls the Tulip, where Percy answers and patches her through to Travis.  The erstwhile crew member gives Travis a heads up about Vendel.

Nestor Grant

Marcus spots Nestor Grant, a prosecutor who once put him away for six months.  Did Grant also prosecute Vendel?  It is worthwhile to watch Grant.

Judson and Callie

Vendel enters the bar and sees Grant.  Then Judson and Callie enter the bar.  Vendel cannot miss them, given their uniforms.  Judson warns Grant that he might be in danger, and Callie takes Grant away to safety.  Then Judson sits down and Vendel approaches him and asks if he remembers him.  Judson, who arrested Vendel once years ago, is the target.  Travis informs Callie of this, so Callie and her former captain save Judson’s life as Vendel becomes the victim of his own murderous technology.  The crew of Tulip gets paid.

Callie, Home Again

Callie returns to the Tulip, where Travis is especially glad to have her back.  Judson misses her, too, but he admits that she was out of place aboard the Seattle.

Next:  The Heir and the Spare.  Marcus learns who he really is and Percy goes “bananas,” as she puts it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 28, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen captures I took using the PowerDVD program.  As always, I encourage the viewing of Starhunter and Starhunter 2300 episodes only via methods consistent with U.S. copyright laws.  Buy season sets, watch episodes legally online, use Netflix, visit a video rental store, or borrow somebody’s copy, but obey copyright laws.

Tanya Allen as Percy Montana

EPISODE #15

Kate is one of the less impressive, if not the least memorable among all Starhunter 2300 episodes, probably the Siren’s Song (see https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/starhunter-sirens-song-2000/) of the series.  It is replete with stereotypes about male-female misunderstandings, with familiar female characters saying things like, “Men!” and familiar male characters complaining that women expect them to read their minds.  Furthermore, the episode does not lead to anything later in the series.

Granted, I do not understand female psyches, so, if I must identify with any characters in this episode, it is with the men who rely more on reason than emotion.  As the late, great Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (in office 1968-1979, 1979-1984) said, “Reason before passion.”  Of course, he probably should have remained a bachelor, given his track record with women, but even one’s heroes have all-too-human flaws.  Canada was his true love, and his heart and head were generally in the right places.  That is enough for me.

I digress, so I will begin the recap now.

Percy

The episode opens with Percy complaining to Caravaggio about a lack of consultation with her, the inconvenient scheduling of certain maintenance on ship’s systems, and the lack of hot water, any water, and his/its intuition.  The A.I. admits no error, so Percy becomes more irritated.

Caravaggio

Caravaggio, of course, is the product of male A.I. designers who did not consider emotion or intuition very important.

The Mine

Caravaggio is so distracted arguing with Percy that he/it fails to alert the crew of the Tulip soon enough to the proximity of a powerful mine.

The Damage the Mine Caused

The mine punches a hole in the hull and causes the ship to spin out of control temporarily.  It is also causes Caravaggio to malfunction and leaves the Tulip vulnerable to further attacks.

Percy

Percy, while working on the malfunctioning A.I., decides to replace it with a female model.  She might as well do this she says, for she has a boring life and needs the entertainment.

Callie

Callie, Rudolpo, and Marcus examine debris from the mine and determine that the mine is of Mars Federation Special Operations origin.  Yet Mars Fed did not deploy the mine in Saturn Federation space, where the Tulip is located.  So who did?  Episode events make plain that pirates did.

Percy and Katherine (Kate)

Percy, filled with pride, introduces the crew to Katherine, the new A.I.  Marcus finds her/it initially distracting, but the older men have no problem controlling themselves.  Travis just wants to know of Kate, as he calls her, can function effectively as an A.I.  That is our Travis:  dedicated to the ship and his crew.

Immediately, however, some problems develop:

1. Kate is too enamored with Travis.
2. Kate is therefore jealous of Callie.
3. Kate causes the ship’s life support systems to malfunction.
4. Kate sabotages Caravaggio so that Percy cannot restore the former A.I.
5. Kate can only scan systems that are part of the Transutopian.  She is not, as Percy puts it, the “deluxe version.”  (There was not enough time for that.)

Two heavily-armed pirate vessels attack the Tulip.  Kate destroys one, but the other sends a shuttle to burn a hole through the hull and board the Tulip.   So, with the ship under attack, Kate forces all bounty hunters except Travis off the Bridge.  She sucks the oxygen out of the rest of the ship, thereby forcing the crew to seek oxygen devices they attach to their necks.  Percy falls unconscious, so Marcus takes her to infirmary, where he tends to her.  Meanwhile, Callie and Rudolpho fight off pirates (who come with their own breathing masks).

Kate in Love

Meanwhile, on the Bridge, Kate professes her love for Travis, who cares nothing for her.  And why should he?  He does persuade her to let him leave the Bridge and fight pirates.  She relents, and he promises to be back.  Travis fights pirates and even boards their shuttle, where he finds a useful piece of hardware.  Then he returns to the Bridge, where he uses it to deactivate Kate.  She cannot scan it because it is not Tulip technology.

Caravaggio

Caravaggio is back as the episode ends, but he is at least somewhat intuitive now.  And Percy is okay, which is good news.

Really, a lovesick A.I. makes about as much sense as a guilt-ridden virus, as in Siren’s Song.

Next:  Rivals, in which Callie learns that a bigger and better-funded bounty-hunting operation is not necessarily a more effective one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 26, 2011 COMMON ERA

All images are screen captures I took today via Power DVD.  As always, I encourage obedience to U.S. copyright laws when viewing any episode of Starhunter 2300 or any other series.