This week, thanks to an inopportune breakdown, Tiny finds himself among a bunch of prisoners. Alas, there's a Spectra plot afoot to take these men and put them into the ranks of the Spectran military (many of which were there before). G-Force steps in to save the day with more peeks into the team dynamic.
The Other Jason's write-up is here: https://www.battleoftheplanets.info/ep42.html
E42: Prisoners in Space
Act One
7-Zark-7 is processing or scanning the universe for alien invaders, but right now, everything is quiet. Zark is in his Ready Room reading a book – in about two seconds. After all the engineers Department of Ultracybernetic Engineering programmed him that way. But they forgot a tieline to the dictionary and it takes Zark 15 minutes to look up a word he doesn't know. Zark makes his way through the vacuum tube back to Nerve Center. After he says reading is a great way to relax before flying to his monitors. Zark then mentions that he hopes Tiny has relaxed because the pilot is on a two-week furlough. Zark says he would rust clean away after two weeks of doing nothing.
On a road in the middle of nowhere, a prison van drives and stops when Tiny thumbs for a ride. Tiny tells the guards that his van broke down "a couple of miles back" and he's been walking for three hours without seeing any other cars. He says there should be surfers being so close to the beach. The guards agree to give him a ride but he has to jump into the back. Tiny opens the back door only to see a group of prisoners but a guard forces him in When Tiny hesitates. Zark is unhappy about the turn of events and explains that Tiny doesn't have his wrist communicator because he's on vacation. Once Tiny is inside, the prison van continues its journey that includes a causeway that disappears at high tide. The van parks in a courtyard of a prison!
Zark explains Barracuda Island is a maximum-security prison surrounded by water and special equipment is needed to scale the outer walls. Once Tiny is out of the van, he tries to convince the guards he's not a prisoner but they don't buy it. He also fights off some guards but the trouble only begins. Everyone who was in the prison van are actually Spectra agents and they take over the prison! Tiny wonders what Spectra is up to. The Spectran agents take over the prison in quick order even with over 300 guards. The prisoners demand their release and the Spectran agents oblige opening the cell doors allowing the prisoners to run amok.
Chief Anderson puts out an emergency call to G-Force. Mark is the first to respond at Center Neptune. The chief informs Mark of Spectra's mass break at Barracuda Prison and their plan to move the prisoners to another planet. Mark says the idea "sounds crazy." Chief Anderson reminds Mark that most of those prisoners were caught by G-Force and their mission is to stop the mass move. Mark says they'll go in.
At the prison, the lead Spectran agent tells the prisoners that for most of them it'll be returning home. For the rest, it's a fresh start and freedom. One of the prisoners asks why they should trust Spectra because no one looks out for prisoners like them. The lead agent answers that Spectra has use for their unique talents and they'll be well paid. Tiny decides that he'll play along for now and make a break for it later.
The prisoners agree and the agents tell them to be at the east wall in a half-hour to be issued their new uniforms. The prisoners celebrate including one who punches the wall leaving a dent in the cement. Another prisoner comments if they had known he was that strong, they wouldn't need Spectra. Meanwhile, the lead agent tells Tiny that he was impressed and they can find several places for him. Tiny says he doesn't have anything to do for another week and thinks about his van being in a 'no parking' zone.
At Center Neptune, Chief Anderson briefs Mark that Zark has discovered that Tiny is at Barracuda Island. Not only does the team need to stop the move, but they also need to rescue their teammate. Mark cracks, "In other words, a routine assignment." Later, Mark meets up with the rest of the team with photographs of Barracuda Island. Jason briefs them that whoever thought to build the prison the way they did, didn't encourage "the drop-in trade." He also points out that the prison is only accessible twice a day at low tide. Princess holds up a picture, pointing to the road. "You're saying we use the main road, be daring and pray a lot." Mark agrees, but shows them the old prison site not far from the current one. It was "ripped apart" due to a "killer hurricane" but it is connected by another causeway. Mark suggests they use that island for whatever ideas they have. Jason remarks, "I'm glad you're not thinking of a frontal attack." Princess agrees with the "ingenuity" tactic rather than daring.
Mark says they need to get to the prisoners first because a Spectra sub will be there at six. He adds they need the tide to stay out long enough for them to load and they will need to pretend to be from Spectra but there's no time to prep. Princess says she's been making recordings of various Spectran voices that include about an hour of Zoltar – just what Mark needs. Later, the three teammates unveiled a camouflaged Phoenix that Jason hopes stays on. He points out that all the lifting surfaces have been covered and it won't be easy to fly, even for an experienced pilot. Mark, in disguise and using Zoltar's voice, makes his teammates jump when he states, "Which Mark is not." Keyop calls him an "ugly Zoltar" while Princess thinks he's kind of cute. Mark only hopes he can fool the agents in the prison. Princess encourages him with the thought that they probably have never seen Zoltar.
On Barracuda Island, a prisoner goes out to meet some of the gulls that are flying around. Two of the birds even sit on the man's shoulder. Tiny likes the man because he's been able to stay cheerful. Meantime, Mark launches into his role using Zoltar's voice and launching the Phoenix. The ship lurches under him as he tries to regain control while Jason says this was exactly what he was afraid of. Princess now recognizes the problem. Mark is able to straighten the ship out as Jason grouses about Tiny being thrown into jail.
Inside the prison grounds, the prisoners have been issued green goon uniforms but Tiny's uniform is too small as it rips in several places. The lead Spectran is happy with the results and the sub is scheduled to meet them in one minute. He leads the men out in order to board the craft. Meantime, Jason, Princess and Keyop watch the men escape onto the causeway and run to a nearby control center where they can monitor everything. Jason deploys the stage settings to be used. Mark has been successful in herding the men onto the Phoenix, which Tiny sort of recognizes. Tiny knows it's not Zoltar who's taking them to "Spectra." Also, the submarine is just about at Barracuda Island but it's behind schedule. It's too late as the last of the men board the disguised Phoenix. Mark, as Zoltar, explains the change in plans and a direct flight to Spectra would be best. The lead Spectran says he never got word with "Zoltar" saying he dispatched the astrogram himself. Just then Tiny shows up and "Zoltar" tells him to lose some weight and to be more prompt.
Act Two
Zark is at his monitors griping about his Master Telecomm Contact with the Phoenix going bad at the most inopportune time. He has to switch to his Auxiliary Monitor but it needs to be cleaned first but it's impossible since a pair of young robots snuck in and waxed it last Halloween. Zark needs to contact Mark, who is doing a good job impersonating Zoltar. Zark is worried whether Mark will be able to fool everyone that they're actually traveling to Spectra.
Mark runs to the bridge and lifts the Phoenix off the ground. He barely takes off then submerges the Phoenix into the water. Tiny gripes about the bad pilot while Zark says he had input to scheme. As soon as the Phoenix leaves, the submarine surfaces and lands. The captain sees the tire tracks and realizes someone beat them to the prisoners! They take off not realizing what is happening.
Mark lands back where he started as curved screens are placed beside the Phoenix and Princess begins a film of underwater scenes passing by the ship. The engines continue to run as this happens so that the prisoners believe they are flying. Zark claims this plan is his and the team is "following it to the letter." Mark, as Zoltar, informs the passengers the flight will be five hours to their first refueling stop.
The real Spectran submarine approaches the Spectran underwater base as the captain gripes that can't be done by airplane. Meanwhile on the Phoenix, Mark releases a gas on the passengers to make them fall asleep. Tiny holds his breath wondering why they're putting everyone to sleep and who is the guy pretending to be Zoltar? Mark enters the passenger compartment to up all the watches showing that five hours has passed when it actually hasn't. Tiny watches Mark do this and know he's not on Spectra's side.
The Spectran captain who was supposed to pick up the prisoners notices something odd at the prison such as new buildings he's never seen before. He orders the goons to get a landing party together. Meanwhile, the prisoners are waking up on the Phoenix with different footage playing outside the windows. Their naps felt like five minutes but the watches say five hours. Tiny knows Spectra wouldn't land in the middle of an alien city and wonders if he hasn't stumbled onto something. Mark then enters the passenger compartment telling the men they've had to land on an alien planet but he's using his own voice! As the landing party nears the "buildings" are movie sets. On board the Phoenix, Mark keeps using his natural voice telling the prisoners they'll be staying overnight and taking on supplies. The lead Spectran agent questions Mark who repeats what he just said.
In the control room, Jason, Princess and Keyop watch it all go down. The lead Spectran agent knocks Mark out when they go to the bridge. The agent unmasks Mark and says you have to be born mean to be Zoltar. The landing party breaks into the control tower and find it abandoned – sort of. Jason says, "I wouldn't say gone, exactly." A fight ensues with the team members showing some nifty moves including Princess knocking a goon with her hip, Jason landing on the shoulders of a goon and flipping him into some others, and Keyop twirling one by the leg. Jason captures this last one forcing him to tell the captain that the base is clear for him to enter. The goon does that and the captain agrees.
The prisoners make a run for it off the Phoenix after Mark's deception is revealed. Tiny and the prisoner who dealt with the gulls decide to make a run for it. They escape to the back of the sets where Jason and Keyop set out to stop them. Before Tiny can identify himself, Jason fires his cablegun and knocks Tiny out. The other prisoner runs back while Jason helps Tiny to his feet and apologizes. Princess alls them over when she sees that a bomb has been set near Mark. As the prisoners keep running, the team boards the Phoenix and Jason knocks the bomb away from Mark neutralizing the threat.
After reaching the courtyard do the Spectrans and the prisoners realize they have gone absolutely nowhere. The captain and the landing party enter just prior to the prisoners only to have a barred door slam down behind them. Zoltar's voice calls out to them over loudspeakers and he calls them all fools because they fell into a trap. The prisoner who punched the cement earlier finds the same thing, taking off his goon mask in disgust. The prisoner with the birds, returns to the wall even when the guards warn him not to go there. The birds fly down to him and he knows he still has them. The team is ready to go with Keyop calling out "All aboard!" Mark tells him that Tiny will be along in a minute but the pilot contemplates his friend before boarding.
The Phoenix shakes off her disguise and the team heads back to Center Neptune. Zark rides up and down the vacuum tube for a few minutes. It shakes up his Oscillator Relays and calms his Thermostor, which are both good. He goes to his Ready Room for a ten second oil break grateful for Spectra's defeat but his Thermostor starts pumping like mad when he thinks about Spectra coming back.
This plot summary Copyright Bobbi Baker ©2021. No reproduction of any kind without permission.
