-------------------The Perfect Warrior------------------------
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episode written by Mark Edens and Matthew Edens

Quick summary: Galba pretends, for the sake of Praetorius, to conjecture that the ExoTrooper they have captured is in fact Marsh masquerading as Takagi to avoid being taken to Phaeton (which is true because he told Marsh to). Praetorius has the Neo lord spare Marsh's life and taken to his cell. When Marsh is about to be taken to Phaeton, Galba helps him escape and get to Kaz's exofighter. He then contacts Able Squad, which is able to locate his position and proceeds to, along with Jumptroop Company Charlie, attack the brood complex. Marsh was since hunted down by Neo lords inside the complex, but was able to escape though it meant abandoning the exofighter. He makes his way to the geothermal processing plant and is able to destroy it, thereby destroying all the developing Neo lords as well. He is rescued by Stavrogan and DeLeon, while a bitter Praetorius is left to ponder future plans.

Significant events, revelations, and other notes:

Great Quotes: Long Synopsis:

The episode begins with a recap of events in the previous episode. Specifically the test of Alec DeLeon's new e-frame equipment, Galba's instruction to J.T. Marsh that he claim to be Kaz Takagi to avoid being sent to Phaeton, and Praetorius' telling Marsh that he will be placed in single combat with a Neo warrior.

As the episode itself begins, DeLeon is at the Antarctic camp trying to contact Marsh. When Yuri Stavrogan asks what he is doing, Alec says that, as best as he can explain it, his e-frame can contact other frames telepathically. Stavrogan asks if he has had any success, and Alec tells him that he had hoped J.T.'s frame was just powered down, but now believes it may be permanently "dead".

Inside the tunnels of the Neo sapien complex, the Neo lord hovers above Marsh's crashed e- frame, with him inside. As Marsh struggles to get out, the Neo lord lands in front of him. In an observation room Galba muses that the test may not have been fair, since the pilot was not in his own e-frame. (Takagi, whom J.T. is currently masquerading as, uses an exofighter. Galba knows he is Marsh, Praetorius believes him to be Takagi as he said.) Praetorius says that the Terran fought well enough. Galba then conjectures aloud that he perhaps fought too well, that the pilot may have indeed been familiar with the frame, and that he may in fact be J.T. Marsh.

This saves Marsh's life, for just as the Neo lord rips away part of the frame and lifts J.T., about to slit his throat with razor-sharp claws, Praetorius tells him to wait over a loudspeaker. He asks Galba why Marsh would claim to be someone else, and Galba pretends to guess that he may know what Phaeton has planned for him. "Imagine Phaeton's anger," says Galba, "if he is Marsh, and we allow him an easy end." The Neo lord still stands with his claws poised to finish Marsh, and Praetorius says that they will send the pilot to Phaeton City once the blizzard passes. Over the loudspeaker he instructs the Neo lord to return the Terran to his cell, and that Phaeton will know his identity. Somewhat displeased, the Neo lord carries Marsh off.

Now back in his cell, Marsh sees two Neo sapien guards arrive. They are taking him somewhere, and doing it in rough fashion. Galba awaits them, concealed by some canisters apparently connected to the piping along the tunnel walls and ceiling. The two Neo sapien guards follow Marsh, who at one point decides to make a break for it. Quite fortuitously it is at the same spot where Galba is waiting, and he is able to shoot both guards before they can react. Marsh slides along the ice floor to stop his momentum, and he looks up at Galba with some surprise. Galba tells him that the weather has cleared, and that a hoverplane is waiting to take him to Phaeton. Marsh asks if he can get him to the exofighter, and now Galba looks a little surprised.

They arrive in the hangar, and Galba tells Marsh that he does not consider himself a traitor, for if Phaeton continues to lead they will all be destroyed, Terran and Neo alike. He tells Marsh that he must lead his squad back to destroy the brood complex, but J.T. says, as he climbs into the exofighter, that he can do more damage from the inside. The cyberjack links, the exofighter powers up, and then takes off.

He transmits to Able Squad, who receives. He tells them that he is inside the complex, and that he will leave his comm system online, so that the jumptroops can home in on it. DeLeon tells him that the Neos could notice him too, but that he can track him even with those systems off.

Meanwhile one of the Neo guards awakens, and reports to Praetorius that the Terran has escaped, and that they were ambushed. The guard suggests that there may be a traitor inside. Praetorius orders the Neo lords released to hunt the Terran down, and that he will reveal the identity of the traitor once captured.

As the e-frames take off, Stavrogan contacts the jumptroops, asking them how soon they can be ready. Captain Avery Butler responds that they're always ready, and tells his company that they're going to go.

Meanwhile, Marsh is piloting the exofighter through the tunnels of the complex. A Neo lord clings to the roof at a point in front of him. Marsh shoots the ceiling, dislodging the Neo lord, who then lands on the exofighter, to J.T.'s surprise. The Neo attempts to claw his way into the cockpit, but J.T. is able to maneuver so that the Neo lord is knocked off by one of the tunnel sides. He continues on to where the tunnel connects to a larger area, where a few other tunnels are connected. Marsh looks at tunnel entrances on either sides, for there are none in front of him, and concludes he has reached a dead end.

Able Squad is closing on the target. DeLeon says he has locked onto Marsh's coordinates, prompting Stavrogan to order him to take the lead.

Marsh randomly decides to take the tunnel to his left. As he proceeds he see three Neo lords flying at him, two carrying RPGs. Marsh utilizes the exofighter's hologram, projecting it directly in front of him. A Neo lord fires at the hologram, though the explosion on the tunnel ceiling barely misses Marsh. The hologram gets deactivated at this point, and Marsh then shoots his way through the three, knocking them to the ground. One shoots a rocket at the exofighter, barely missing it. The subsequent explosion causes some shrapnel to damage the fighter. After smoking for a little while, the exofighter crashes. The Neo lords fly to it, and the one appears pleased.

Over the loudspeaker they then hear Praetorius order all warriors to the defense perimeter. In the control room one of the Neo sapiens reports that there is a small fast-moving group approaching, likely e-frames. He then, with some shock, notes that there are targets dropping from the sky. We see that it is a Pirate ship dropping jumptroops.

The one Neo lord throws down his RPG and says that he will finish the Terran. Marsh tries to get the main engines to fire, but has to settle for opening the cockpit and shooting at the Neo lord. The Neo lord apparently blocks the shots with his forearm. He tells Marsh that he cannot win, for, as a Neo lord, he was bred to fight. As the Neo lord tells him, "You are nothing but a genetic accident," Marsh notices some pipes immediately behind him. "Accidents happen," says Marsh as he blasts the pipes, which spew super-heated high pressure steam, scalding the Neo lord. Marsh activates the manual override to get the exofighter working again. He then fires the main engines on top of the Neo lord, prompting further shrieks of pain, and flies off.

Outside a firefight is in progress between Able Squad and some scorpion Neo warriors, who can apparently now shoot something from their stingers. The jumptroops are in the process of landing, and they join the fight, scoring some hits on the scorpion types. Some of the Neo lords attack from above, and, as Colleen O'Reilly wonders what they are, Stavrogan flies up to engage them. Yuri orders the e-frames to concentrate on the flyers, since the jumptroops can handle those on the ground. As he is saying this, one of the jumptroops, perhaps Longfeather, fires a missile into the field of the flying Neos, dispersing them.

Marsh is still flying through the tunnels, and he tries to contact Stavrogan. Yuri is, at the time, more concerned with a Neo lord that is dogging him, but someone does him a favor and blasts it off. Vince Pelligrino announces that he is moving in, and proceeds. Bronski and another jumptrooper or two go with him, but one gets hit and O'Reilly objects, telling Pelligrino that he has no support. O'Reilly then fires a spread of missiles at a Neo lord approaching Pelligrino from behind, but Vince gets caught in the explosion. Captain Butler then order him out of there, and Pelligrino complies.

Marsh is still attempting to contact Stavrogan. Yuri tells him to talk fast, and Marsh explains that he believes the Neos are using geothermal energy to heat the birthing chambers. He says that he will use the fusion pak in Takagi's fighter to blow up the thermal plant. Stavrogan doesn't like the idea, because, as he says, even DeLeon can't track an e-frame that doesn't have power. Marsh tells him to get the jumptroops to the evac shuttle, and take the squad into orbit. Yuri asks about what he plans to do, and Marsh just tells him not to try and rescue him, that he'll find his own way out. Still fighting, as he has been throughout the conversation, Stavrogan says, when prompted, that he understand's J.T.'s orders.

Marsh is still flying through the tunnels when he comes to a room with quite a few towers. Marsh fires of couple of missiles into the area, scattering a few of the Neo sapien guards on the floor. A couple of the others return fire, hitting the exofighter. Their hand blasters do little real damage, however, and Marsh shoots at them, prompting them to clear out. Marsh lands the exofighter near a fallen Neo, and exchanges shots with a couple more Neo guards as a few escape in an elevator. Marsh takes the fusion pak and gets out of the fighter.

In the observation room, Praetorius states his satisfaction with how the Neo lords are fighting, especially as compared to the Neo warrior broods. When the report comes in that the exofighter is attacking the geothermal plant, he is shocked.

Marsh sets down the fusion pak, and presses a couple keys. A timer starts, and he apparently has little over sixty seconds. He runs off, and picks up the blaster of a fallen Neo guard as he does. He reaches the elevator, and takes it upward. Some Neo lords approach the floor of the geothermal plant. While the timer is in the thirties, one Neo lord takes the time to disconnect some wires to the elevator, causing it to stop. He then lands on the top of it, and tears a hole in it with his clawed foot. The timer is now down to twenty, still beeping.

The other three Neo lords proceed to the floor, and look around. One spots the fusion pak, whose timer has by now reached nine. They approach the beeping pak, as their compatriot continues to tear away the roof of the elevator car. Just as a Neo lord is about to reach out for the pak, he sees it is down to one second, and it subsequently explodes. It is a tremendous explosion, rocking the elevator car. The Neo lord starts to lose his balance, dropping his weapon, and Marsh blasts him, which ensures his fall. But he rights himself and flies back up to face Marsh. Marsh notes that they don't give up, and the Neo lord tells him that they weren't bred to fail.

Just then some secondary explosions occur, and the blast is large enough to engulf the Neo lord. Inside the control room the monitors go blank, and Praetorius orders the emergency light switched on. Marsh is meanwhile able to get on the roof of the car and jump to grab hold of a ladder on the wall. He begins to climb his way up.

Outside one of the shuttles has arrived, and Butler orders his troops aboard. As they comply, he notes that most of the Neo lords have been blown back. O'Reilly asks Nara Burns where Marsh is, and she tells her he is still inside. Marsala notices some smoke in the distance, and DeLeon says it could be another way into the complex. Marsala politely makes it known to Takagi, who has been riding with him, that he should get out, since his seat may be needed.

Marsh has since reached a point where the wall is rock, not metal. He finds a crevice large enough to fit in, and apparently takes a rest. As Stavrogan, DeLeon, and Marsala proceed to the vent spewing smoke, Alec tells Yuri that he was ordered by J.T. to not risk the squad on a rescue. Stavrogan tells him that orders are subject to interpretation, and that he believes Marsh meant that he should not risk the whole squad. They land, and Yuri cuts a hole in the vent. He tells Marsala to keep the exit available, and he and DeLeon proceed inside. Marsala cloaks his e-frame, and begins to wait.

In the control room, Praetorius whines to Galba about how he created the perfect warrior, and one imperfect Terran has destroyed it all. A Neo sapien soldier reports that some intruders have broken into the main steam vent, and that the automated defenses are useless without power. Praetorius simply orders the Neo lords be sent there.

Yuri now uses his laser to cut a hole in the side of the vent, and he and Alec enter the chamber. Marsh has since continued to climb the ladder, and has reached the top. He is out of breath as he crawls onto level ground on his hands and knees. A Neo lord, the one with the RPG in the tunnel, hangs in front of him. He says he would have come down for Marsh were it not for the fact that he can no longer fly. His claws release their grip on the ceiling and he rights himself, and as he stands there it is easily seen that the wings on the right side of his body are missing. Marsh just responds, "Yeah? I've given it up myself."

Marsh tries to pull a gun on him, but the Neo lord just kicks it away. The Neo lord reminds Marsh that he told him he couldn't win, as he proceed to pick him up. "You may have destroyed one of my wings, but I still have one more than you." With that the Neo lord drops J.T. down into the chamber. Yuri then arrives, and jets past the Neo lord to catch Marsh. Alec lands behind the Neo lord, saying, "Warrior, for you the war is over." As the Neo lord wheels to take a swipe at DeLeon's frame, he blasts the ground beneath him, causing the Neo lord to fall down screaming into the smoking ruins of the plant. Marsh tells Stavrogan to watch out, and he is able to dodge the falling Neo lord. Marsh notes that Yuri disobeyed orders, prompting Stavrogan to ask if he is going to court-martial him. Marsh jokes that he might, but says they should get out of there first.

The evac shuttle has since lifted off, with Able Squad accompanying them. Inside Takagi reassures O'Reilly that they'll succeed in getting J.T. out. Some Neo lords take aim at the exterior of the steam vent, but Marsala decloaks and blasts them both from behind. The exiting ExoTroopers see the blasts occurring, but by the time they do exit no Neos are seen, prompting Stavrogan to ask about them. Marsh proceeds to climb into the rear seat of Marsala's e-frame and asks about casualties. Marsala says that there were losses among the jumptroops, but Able Squad only suffered equipment damage.

The e-frames take off, and Marsh opens a communication channel with Stavrogan. At first Yuri thinks it is going to be another order, and he jokingly complains about it. But Marsh simply thanks him for taking care of the squad.

Inside the complex, Praetorius and Galba view rows and rows of brood chambers with nearly developed Neo lords inside. The destruction of the thermal plant has apparently killed all of them, since Praetorius says that an entire army of the ultimate warriors has been destroyed. Galba asks how long it will take to rebuild the geothermal plant, but Praetorius says that they must built another birthing center exclusively for Neo lords and ensure that its location is kept a secret.

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