In the Enemy Camp/Breakdown of the Space Talks

In the Enemy Camp

We zoom in on the planet from the last couple of episodes.  On the surface, a base is being built.  We hear a PA announcement that a shuttle with Hawkins aboard is arriving to meet Colonel Cross.  Inside the base, Cross and Hawkins debate the base and finding the Drule homeworld to begin negotiations.

In orbit, a shuttle leaves one of the support ships and approaches the Explorer.  From the lounge, Cinda observes that Hawkins is coming back.  Lisa surmises that he's disagreeing with the brass on the planet.  Then Hutch says something funny.  LAUGH.  IT'S FUNNY.

At Drule headquarters, Mongo, Brack, Nerok and Hazar debate what to do with the GG supply base.  Hazar wants negotiations, and Brack wants to drive them off the planet.

On the Explorer bridge, Hawkins and Newley sight the Drule fleet.  They put the Voltron force on alert.  Mongo's fleet approaches the meeting point.  They begin communicating with Mongo, and Mongo tells him that Hawkins isn't high-ranking enough to speak directly to Hazar, but Mongo is a valid representative.  Hawkins insists that they meet in person.  Mongo invites him to his ship.  Some of the Drules on Mongo's bridge wonder if the GG can be trusted.

Jeff, Crick, and Cliff offer to go with Hawkins.  He demurs, and boards his shuttle.  It approaches and docks with Mongo's ship.  While itis docking, Brack calls and says he's going to attack the planet.  Mongo is displeased.  Then Hawkins arrives.  The Drule honor guard looks a little freaky.

On the lounge, the Voltron force is worried.  On the bridge, they detect another enemy fleet approaching the planet.  Newley calls Colonel Cross, warning him.

Hawkins meets Mongo in his, *hirk* ready room.  Just as they sit down, an crewman rushes in and tells Mongo something.  Mongo reacts comically, screaming "WHAT!?"  He tells Hawkins they much speed up their talks.

In the lounge, Marvin says he's been gone a long time.  Then Shannon rushes in to tell them that enemy planes are approaching. There's a bunch of histrionics.

Hawkins proposes a joint exploration force with Mongo, who is hesitant.  Mongo points out the base they're building--Hawkins reveals that he's been against the base.  The two feel they are getting nowhere.

Brack, on the other hand, is almost to the planet.  The base is quiet; a crewman tells Colonel Cross that the Drules are approaching.  Cross is confident that the negotiations are in good faith; nevertheless, he contacts Brack.  Brack just mocks him and launches fighters.  Cross launches their fighters, and the battle begins.  Then a cool-looking quadrupedal robeast, flanking Drule tanks, lumbers towards the base.  The ships move to engage.

Mongo and Hawkins continue to negotiate.  Then a crewman tells them that Brack has attacked the base.  Hawkins is angry, then Mongo apologizes and they shake.

The Voltron force launches, passing Hawkins' shuttle.  Mongo orders his ship to leave--and to abandon Brack's fleet. Hawkins lands, and Newley orders them to launch the Voltron force.  And we see them launch.  AGAIN.  Hawkins reports the negotiations to Newley, and the radar operator tells them the robeast is destroying the base.

They form Voltron as they approach the planet.  On the planet, the robeast is taking out ship after ship while the tanks pound the base.  Finally, Voltron arrives.  Voltron starts things off with a super-energy blast, destroying the tanks and knocking the robeast back.  While Voltron engages the robeast, Cross' fleet starts turning the tide against Brack's fleet.  Brack refuse to retreat.

Voltron continues fighting the robeast, and, of course, finally defeats it (though this battle goes on a little longer than usual.  This is a tough robeast). 

Cross' fleet continues to push back Brack's.  Brack finally gives the order to retreat.  One of Cross' bridge crew cheers, but Cross is depressed that they had to resort to fighting.

In orbit, Hawkins stands in the observation corridor and broods about the nearness of a peace agreement.

Breakdown of the Space Talks

The support fleet has wasted no time in establishing a base on the stormy planet.  Work crews are all over quickly growing base.  On Hagi's bridge, Ise is explaining to him that this is a bad location for a base--it will look like an attempt to grab territory.  Hagi is unimpressed--he wants more aggressive measure taken.

On the lounge, the Rugger teams watch the approach of his shuttle.  They are mentall preparing themselves for more "life at sea."

At the Galveston frontline base, Teles tells his captains that the survey force from Earth wants peace talks.  Lafitte and Barataria want to destroy them for setting up a base on a planet they initially only wanted to land on for repairs.  Teles tries to reason with them, saying that the homeworld only has two years left.  Drake leaves to try peace talks with the Earth force.  Barataria and Lafitte leave to try more spying on the planet.  Then an adjutant calls Teles for an update to the homeworld.  Teles says there's nothing to report.

The Rugger Guard and Hagi's mobile support unit are moving out in the general direction of the Galveston base.  They come upon Drake's fleet.  They go to alert, but answer when Drake hails them.  He asks why they haven't left the planet.  Ise responds by asking where the homeworld is--he wants to discuss a joint survey force.  Drake says that he has authority over any negotiations.  Ise then offers to meet Drake on his ship.  Drake agrees.  He tells Roche it's his chance to learn about the Earthlings.  As Ise leaves, Aki, Walter and Keats offer to go, and then decide to be ready in case of trouble.

The shuttle launches.  As it approaches, Barataria calls Drake and tells him that he can do his thing, while Barataria will carry out an operation against the base.  Drake is angry, Barataria is unmoved.  Then Ise's shuttle docks.  He steps off of his shuddle surrounded by tense Galveston soldiers.

On the bridge, the radar operator sees another fleet approaching the planet.  Asimov tries to contact Hagi to warn him.

Roche brings Ise to Drake's office.  Just as they sit down, an adjutant appears and whispers something to Drake.  Drake reacts with an outburst, then tells Ise they'll have to make talks quick.  Drake kind of dances around the fact that his homeworld is going to explode and they need a new planet.  Drake also says if they want a joint force, the Earth fleet must withdraw from the planet as an act of good faith.

Barataria's fleet approaches the planet.  Hagi gets nervous and calls him.  Barataria mocks him, and orders the base destroyed.  He launches a fighter vanguard.  Hagi launches intercepters.  The battle begins.  It doens't seem to be going well for the interceptors.  Hagi resists the suggestion to throw his full fleet against them.  Then the Galveston battle machine and a ground force appears.  They trash the base ground installations.  Hagi finally relents and sends his fleet in.

On Drake's ship, Drake insists he can't discuss Galveston's problems.  Then they get word that a battle machine has been deployed on the planet.  Drake insists that this isn't what Teles wants at all.  Ise shakes hands with him, and prepares to go back to the Rugger Guard.

Aki is being impatient, as usual.  Walter isn't too happy with waiting while the base is being destroyed.  Ise's shuttle leaves and Drake orders his fleet back to base without assisting Barataria.  Asimov launches the Rugger team to bail out the support fleet.  They form Dairugger on approach to the planet.

The battle machine continues rampaging in the base.  Galaxy Garrison destroyers fire on it, but they lack the close combat capabilities to severely damage it.  Dairugger appears and Aki is angered.  He orders them to power up their component ships.  Hagi orders his fleet to concentrate fire on the battle machine--and then Dairugger appears, and he switches the target to the Galveston fleet.

Aki has them use the Miracle Beam to wipe out the tanks supporting the battle machine.  Barataria is dismayed that Drake's fleet just went home.  Dairugger engages the battle machine, and Hagi's fleet begins inflicting serious damage on the fleet.

Dairugger attacks the battle machine with the Electromagnetic Whip and the Dairugger Lance before finishing it off with the sword.  Hagi is left to survey the devastation of the failed peace talks.