Ghost Fleet from another Planet/Spectres of the Binary System

Ghost Fleet from Another Planet

The Explorer approaches a binary planet system, a blue and green earthlike planet, and a large, red, lifeless planet.  On the lounge, the Voltron force watches the planetary approach.

And then strange burning ships drift into an intersecting orbit.  The radio operator gets no response from them on the bridge.  Hawkins orders the Voltron force to investigate.  They launch.  The burning ships drift for a few moments.  The teams separate and encircle the ships.  The ghost fleet responds by breaking off and leaving.  Jeff wants to go after them, but then Hawkins sends them down to investigate the planet(s).  We get more stock footage as they form the Stratofighter, the Turboterrain fighter, and the Aquafighter. 

Here the WEP dialogue diverges from the footage.  Jeff sends the various subfighters to their environments on the blue planet, but the aquafighter and turboterrain fighters are shown fliying to the other planet.  Professor Page is clearing looking at slides of the ghost ships, but they discuss the environment of the strange, deserted planet.

The sea and land teams explore the dead planet, and find nothing--desert and empty oceans.

The air team flies over the quiet other planet, and locates a landing position for the Explorer in a harbor.  The Explorer bridge crew prepare for the landing, but the ghost fleet reappears.  The fleet breaks off as the Voltron subteams land on the Explorer, and then it makes harborfall. 

At the Drule frontline base, Hazar watches the Explorer land.  Captain Rogar contacts Hazar--he's commander of the ghost fleet.  Hazar orders him to keep the explorer in the water.

On the Explorer, crewmembers are hanging out on the deck.  The three Voltron women are in the lounge.  Jeff, Cliff, and Crik are watching Dr. Page read slides of the water.  This planet is dying due to something in the water. 

Chip sits in the lounge playing cards with Hardware.  Cliff, Crik, and Jeff continue discussing, and then Cinda shows them that "automatic subs" (ones with clearly visible crews) are exploring the water.

Crewmembers on the deck see the ghost fleet return.  Then the camera does a cool, ominous pull back away from the harbor and waaay out into orbit as Mongo's fleet enters orbit.  He tells Rogar to blockade the Explorer in.  The Explorer sees the Drule ships arrive, and Hawkins orders a launch.  The Drules pound the Explorer back into the harbor.  Then the ghost fleet splashes down, trapping the Explorer in the harbor. 

Hawkins and Newley discuss strategy.  We see a shot of the Drule headquarters, and then Rogar laughs maniacally and launches fighters.

In the lab, Page is still examining.

The explorer tries to launch again.

Page: still examining.

Explorer: still fighting.

Page: Still examining--he has discovered microworms that live on both planets.  They killed the red planet, and are working on the current one.  Page tells Hawkins that these worms can eat through the hull.  Then Hawkins decides to launch the Voltron force.  They launch and approach Mongo's fleet.  Mongo's XO tells him that they can't let them form Voltron.  Mongo goes all Bond villain and explains about the microworms.  Meanwhile, the Voltron force is taking out the Drule destroyers one by one.  Rogar's fleet tries to block the Explorer in, but we see that they red thing on the front of the Ex is a pretty decent battering ram.

Mongo broods, then launches the robeast--a giant electrobeast that was clearly designed by the Invid Regiss.  Seriously.  Look at the thing.

The electrobeast lands on the Explorers flight deck as it lifts off again, but they try to drive it away with cannon fire.  It clutches onto the bow, then climbs back on board as the Explorer plunges toward the lake.  Jeff sees the fighting and they break away from Mongo's fleet and form Voltron.

Just as the electrobeast is about to smash the Explorer's bridge (and the bridge crew reacts terrifiedly), Voltron pounces on it.  The beast takes off with Voltron in pursuit.  The Explorer lifts off again, and Mongo orders a final bombardment.  Voltron plunges past the fleet, grappling with the electrobeast.  They fight on the ground.  This beast lasts a little longer than usual, showing a cool energy cannon and some rudimentary transformation capability.  But it doesn't last.  And then Voltron rejoins the Explorer.  Mongo watches his ships fall.  Then he withdraws while his XO says nonsense about not running.

The Explorer leaves the planet.  They must repair the damage done by the microworms.  Hawkins makes a speech as sections of armor plate break off from the hull.  Crew members go EVA to clean off them pesky worms.

Spectres of the Binary System

Two planets, one blue, one red and desertlike.  The Rugger guard approaches, and the bridge crew admire the beauty.  Asimov orders them to send a signal, in case of intelligent life.  The Rugger teams admire it, also--and then ghost ships appear.

Title card.

The ghost ships drift slowly toward the Rugger Guard.  The radio operator is frustrated by the non-response to hails.  Ise deploys the Rugger teams.  They launch and Aki wonders if they're really ghosts.  The ships break off when the Rugger teams flank them.  Then Ise orders them to investigate the planets, and they form their subunits.  Aki takes the nearer, more livelyl planet.  He sends the other two to check out the other planet, since that's where the ghosts seemed to originate from.

Dr. Search and Ise analyze the images of the ghost ships.  They're not in any ship recognition database.  The damage doesn't look like battle damage, however.

Keats and Walter investigate the dead planet.  And it's dead--empty desert, empty oceans.  And, again, goegeous backgrounds.  Aki on the other hand, is luxuriating on the living planet.  He points out a harbor where the Rugger Guard can splash down.  The ghost fleet reappears, and Asimov decides to set down.  The Rugger teams pass the ghost fleet as it breaks off again.  The Rugger Guard lands. 

At the Galveston frontline base, Teles watches the Rugger land.  Laurent, the captain of the ghost fleet, apparently has experience with the waters of these planets.

The Rugger Guard crew is sitting out in the sun on the flight deck.  The Rugger women are admiring the undersea view.  Dr. Search, Ise, and the team leadeers are looking at slides of the dead planet.  They can't figure out why this binary system is dying.

Mutsu and the robot play chess.  Keats is uneasy that they drove off the ghost ships.  They speculate that it belongs to Galveston, while a collection team sent by Dr.Search collects seawater and seabed samples.

Then the ghost fleet approaches again.  Ise decides to leave them alone--for the time being.  Then the awesome camera pullback to the approach of Drake's fleet in orbit.  Drake contacts Laurent and orders him to splashdown and blockade the Rugger Guard.  The Guard crew sees Drakes fleet and tries to lift off, but they're driven back into the harbor.  They try to evade them by going out to see, but the ghost fleet splashes down and holds them in. 

They realize that the ghost ships were Galveston ships after all.  Asimov decides to save using the Rugger team, and charges the ghost ships.  Damaged as they are, the ghost ships still have artillery and fighters.  Asimov orders return fire.  Then comes the quick cutting between the battle and Dr. Search's analysis.  And Search discovers steel-eating microbes.  The both planets are doomed, as is the Rugger Guard if it doesn't escape.  And that is what has damaged the ghost fleet.  The fight intensifies, and Ise deploys the Rugger teams to fight through the fleet above them.  They make a pretty big dent as Roche reports their attack to Drake.  And Drake is not pleased. 

Laurent charges through the water and turns his flagship perpendicular to the Rugger Guard.  Presumably, he dies as the Guard rams his ships aside.  This is what prompts Drake to send out the battlemachine.  It lands on the flight deck.  They drive it off, but it clings to the bow and sends the Guard back into the sea.  It climbs onto the flight deck.

The Rugger teams see the Guard's plight and form Dairugger.  The battle machine menaces the bridge, but Dairugger tackles it.  It flees and Dairugger pursues it right through the enemy fleet.  Drake sees them pass, and orders the bombardment of the Rugger Guard intensified.  Dairugger and the battle machine fall past them.  The battle rages on the ground, and Dairugger ultimately defeats the battle machine.

The direction of the action sequences is pretty spectacular in this episode.  The transitions between the various actors is pretty slick--from Dairugger to Drake to the Rugger Guard crew, and the fast cuts between the battle and Dr. Search.  This has always been one of my favorites.

Dairugger turns to the fleet and uses the Dairugger powerful attack, which was cut from Voltron.  This takes out more of Drakes destroyers, and he decides to withdraw, leaving the microbes to finish off the Rugger Guard.  However, the Guard launches, and the team clears the ship and begins repairs.