That's the Old Ball Game/Tears of a Rugby Player

That's the Old Ball Game

A battle is in progress.  Hawkins calls Voltron and tells them that they've now engaged with the Drule's main supply base.  The Drule ships move to withdraw, and Hawkins hold the team back.

On the ground, there are some Drule survivors who missed the last evacuation shuttle.

The Drule commander calls Hazar to tell him that he wants to begin the counterattack.

On the planet, GG supply ships float overhead as GG construction crews are working on repairs.  Jeff and Hawkins discuss the possibility that the main Drule attack force may have held back in nearby space.  The Alliance crews are salvaging what they can from the base.  Troops watch over Drule troops.  Jeff and Cliff bring Hawkins to speak to Lt. Antor, an officer.  They tell the officer that his men will be left at the base with supplies.  Antor thanks them.

Hazar, Borgam, and Dorma discuss this turn of events.  Hazar resists the thought of an attack due to the potential number of Drule survivors.  Hazar wants them to focus on finding anew planet.  Captain Danton is to continue looking for new planets, not to reoccupy the base on planet Erby.  Borgam says he understands, but he is less than thrilled.

The Alliance fleet lies in the bay near the Drule base.  Lisa and Ginger share a drink, and Wollo asks them about the prisoners.  Crick comes by looking for Jeff, who is talking to the Drule lieutenant.

Jeff wants to know why the Drules are wasting so much time fighting when they should be looking for a new planet (it's the transient sun theory again).  Antor says Drule propaganda claims the Galaxy Alliance is out to rule the universe.  Crick tells Jeff that he fears an attack.  Jeff and Anton shake hands.

Denton and Borgam doubletalk their way around Hazar's orders not to attack the supply base

Back on the planet, the Alliance crews and the Voltron Force are all playing rugby.  Fitting, 'cuz Dai-rugger basically means "Big Rugby player," and there are 15 players on a rugby team.  Oh, and you can tell it's rugby and not badly animated football because they actually show a scrum.  Antor requests that his men be allowed to play.  Hawkins calls it football and Jeff calls it spaceball.  And Ginger is very enthusiastic in cheering on Antor.  Hawkins watching the game impassively.  In mid-game, Crick's premonition gets stronger.  Then the alarm sounds.  The crews scramble to stations.  Jeff and Anton have a moment, and Jeff hopes someday all games will be as peaceful as this was.

The Voltron force launches and combines into their subunits. The Drule POWs watch them leave from the abandoned rugby field.

The Voltron teams lead the escort ships to meet the drule ships.  Denton's XO informs him, and he divides his forces--one to attack the ships, one to attack the base.

On the rugby field, some of his troops try to convince him to escape, but Antor knows that rescue is out of the question.  Then the explosions begin.  The Voltron force are surrounded by chariot fighters.  Denton's second group reaches the supply base as the Explorer and the Alliance fleet launch.  Antor and his men watch.

Antor's men race to the approaching ships, but they are shot down.  The second attack group disgorges tanks.  The Explorer is wrapped on in the battle when a robeast explodes out of the sea and confronts the Explorer.  Hawkins recalls the Voltron force as the robeast forces them into the water.

Drule tanks overrun the base as the robeast stands on the Explorer flight deck and pounds the bridge with beam weapons.  The Voltron teams knock it over just in time.

Dorma tells Hazar of Denton's attack, and Hazar is enraged.

The teams separate, the reform as Voltron.  They land near the ruins of the base, and the robeast follows.  They drop kick the robeast, and it hits them with a beam weapon.  Voltron takes to the sky to evade it as tanks roll by.

Antor and his men watch the battle from the ruins, then Antor leaps out of the protection and picks up the rugby ball.  While he's in the open, Voltron and the robeast fly by, and a stray shot hits the area in which they're hiding.  Voltron knocks the robeast out of the sky with the solar combat spears, and then forms the blazing sword.  Kaboom.

Denton orders his fleet to concentrate on the Explorer to avenge the destruction of the robeast.  The Explorer opens fire, and Voltron takes his own toll on the fleet.

Hazar vents to Dorma about the constant fighting and his captains' blind ambition.

The base is in even more ruins.  Ginger and Murdock look over the destroyed "androids."  Jeff find the "wounded" Antor with the rugby ball.  Jeff says he's run for his ship to take him back to the Explorer.  We get a shot of the bridge, and then the same footage from the lounge, where they talk about Antor in sickbay.  Hawkins tells them that Antor will be okay over the PA.  Jeff comes back and says Atnor's beaten him in armwrestling.  Cliff wishes all disagreements could be decided that way.  Then Cliff gives us a Voltron commercial.

Tears of a Rugby Player

A fight is raging over a Galveston outpost.  Dairugger and Alliance fighters are strafing the installation as burning Galveston ships crash to the planet surface.  The ships withdraw and Ise tells Aki to let them go.

Galveston survivors are held under the guns of Alliance troops.

Captain Danton can not raise the supply base, and has Lando, his XO, send a recon shuittle.

The Alliance forces are busily salvaging the base, and Ise is concerned that with the fleet split three ways, they won't have the strength to counter a major attack.  The salvage operation continues, and Alliance troops guard the Galveston survivors as Alliance supply ships lift away from the planet.

Walter, Aki, and Ise meet with Antonov, one of the Galveston officers.  They tell him that his troops will be left on the planet with supplies.  He agrees.

Raucher, Teles, and Sirk discuss the failure of Emma's operation and the depth to which the Alliance forces have struck.  Teles is hesitant to recapture the base because he does not want to risk the lives of Galveston survivors.  Raucher does not want to compete with the Alliance in the unexplored territories, but Teles says that the only thing keeping Earth from the Galveston homeworld is letting them explore.  Raucher grudgingly agrees to keep Danton back from attacking.

Keats is having a premonition.  Aki and Antonov discuss the continued fighting.  Keats appears, and says he has a premonition.  Antonov says an attack may be coming, and implies that many Galveston commanders do what they want.

Speaking of which, Raucher tells Danton Teles orders them to head into unexplored territory.  However, they agree to ignore Teles' orders and Danton deploys his forces for a pincer attack.

The Alliance troops and the Rugger teams are playing rugby.  Antonov looks on.  Eventually, he meets Ise on the bridge and tells him of a similar game on Galveston.  The two sides of combatants meet for a game while Danton's attack fleet approaches.  Then the Rugger bridge crew pick up Danton's fleet and an alert is called.  Antonov is left looking forlorn on the rugby field.

The Rugger teams deploy in subunits to support the Allied fleet.  The ships close in on Danton's fleet.  Danton is pleased they took the bait.  On the rugby field, Antonov picks up the rugby ball and his men try to talk him into stealing weapons.  Antonov questions whether this is really a rescue operation, then walks away.  And stops suddenly when the explosions begin.

The Rugger teams are fighting through charioteers and Aki rallies them toward the flagship.  Danton is notified that his detached mechanized force will soon reach the base.  Antonov and his men watch the Rugger Guard and escorts launch.  Danton orders his detachment to drop tanks and attack the Rugger guard from behind.  The Galveston troops see their ships come over the horizon.  One of Antonov's soldiers urges him to take action now--and the Galveston capitol ships begin killing the surviving troops.

The Rugger Gaurd's main engines are damaged, and a battle attacker bursts out of the see and attacks the Rugger Guard, driving it back to the ocean's surface.  The Rugger teams break off their attack and move to assist the Rugger Guard.  Tanks overrun the base, killing indiscriminately while the Rugger Guard fends off the battle attacker.  Then the Ruggers arrive.

Sirk rushes in to Teles' office to warn him that Danton has initiated an attack.  He is not pleased.

The battle attacker launches after the rugger teams, who separate and reform into Dairugger.  Dairugger and the battle attacker trade fire, and Dairugger tries to lead it away from the main battle.  Antonov is killed by a stray blast.  Dairugger finishes the battle attacker fairly easily.

Danton's XO informs him of the loss of the battle attacker.  He orders his remaining fleet to charge the Rugger Guard.  Ise orders all guns to concentrate on the flagship.  Dairigger begins to slice through the fleet, and Danton dies.  Writhing in blazing agony.

Back at HQ, Teles is informed that Danton's fleet is annihilated, and the surveying is delayed yet again.  Sirk announces that the Earth fleet is retreating, but Teles says that still gets them nowhere.

Chukker and Patty look out over the dead Galveston troops and are shocked that Galveston will kill their own men.  Antonov is pretty clearly dead, and Aki is pretty clearly grief-stricken.  He picks up the rugby ball and runs off while the soundtrack of the rugby game plays, and he kicks the ball in anger, drops to his knees, and grieves in a way that WEP couldn't show.