A bonus double-set of Starhunter Redux action this week as we bring to the close of our series 1 coverage as Dante learns the old adage, “sometimes wanting is better than having.”

Kenneth and Eugene discuss.

Travis – Episode Synopsis

We start following the events of the previous episode, although many hours or days have elapsed.  Dante has Caravaggio using a probe to see if they can pick up the trail of the Raider shuttle that has taken Percy.

Dante, a man whose life has been defined by the grief of the death of his wife, Penny, and the abduction of his son, Travis, at the hands of the Raiders, is barely holding it together.  He has still apparently not heard Percy’s original message left with Caravaggio about her returning soon.

Hours after her departure, Percy is allowed to send Dante a message telling him she’s OK, and she gives a cryptic message to Dante about searching his quarters.

Dante searches and discovers two things – first that his Penny Walkman, the device he uses to communicate with an imperfect facsimile of his dead wife, is missing and – second, that there is a small vial of something left behind.  They quickly figure out it must be seeds that his old friend Marco was trying to smuggle.

Percy has an audience with Zefram the “leader” of the Raiders, who turns out to be Travis Montana.  He’s… weird.  Different.  Cleary influenced by the Divinity Cluster.  He claims to be able to see all of time.  He wants to consult with his mother through the Penny Walkman, unfortunately, while he has the device, Dante keeps the data disc on his person at all times.  The device is useless without Dante.

Research turns up connections with those seeds and the Orchard.  They appear to be a planetary atmosphere seeding project that could terraform any dead moon or lifeless body.  The Raiders want them.  Dante bargains the seeds with Senaca, of the Raiders, who gives all the appearances of actually being the leader of the Raiders.  Senaca is also the man Zefram calls “father.” 

Dante meets Zefram and they use the Penny Walkman, plus a little Divinity Cluster magic, to talk with the real Penny, who, it turns out, was both an evil, immoral Orchard researcher, and, seemingly, the only Orchard operative that wasn’t permitted human subjects – so, she experimented on herself, accidentally contaminating her unborn child, Travis, now Zefram, which explains why he’s “special.”  The news that his wife was just as awful as the rest of them crushes Dante, but hey, par for the course, right?

Zefram sees everything, he says, but clearly he doesn’t.  He has a plan.  Senaca has a plan, too, it involves killing all the other Montanas, and also using the seeds to colonize the Earth.

Now that Dante has found Travis, Tosca is on the way, so Lucretia comes to the rescue Dante and Percy.  Zefram knows Senaca will kill Dante and Percy, so, he goes with them to keep them safe.

Resurrection – Episode Synopsis

Eccleston’s back and he’s doing a lame open mic rendition of the classics, that is until it becomes a magic act and he disappears in a puff of smoke.  Novarre and Tosca now know that Eccleston is back.

The Raiders are attacking and crippling the Trans-Utopian, but suddenly, they break off their attack.  Senaca has made a deal with Tosca to allow the Orchard to capture and extract Zefram.  Senaca proceeds towards Earth to release the seeds and terraform Terra.

Zefram sees what will happen.  Millions on Earth will die.  With their main engines damaged, and communications out, they can neither get there in time nor call ahead to warn the Earth.

Percy is taking this whole “Dante’s got his son back and he’s Raider scum” rather poorly.  Lucretia tries to lend her an ear, but Percy is still just a bitch to her.  Also, she’s a bitch to Zefram, and she does her usual, I can’t really be bothered to try to fix the ship properly nonsense.  She is an unchanging constant in this mixed-up universe.

Perhaps that’s why Eccleston choose to materialize in her quarters and proceeds to tell her nothing, before disappearing again.

Meanwhile, Dante, captaining a crippled ship and incapable of stopping anything that’s happening is reminded that’s not good enough by Zefram, and so they get into a fight.  That was fast.

Percy tries to tell Dante about Eccleston, but, he doesn’t believe it.

Lucretia manages to send a high-security warning to Novarre, but Tosca hears it, too.  Travis tries to talk to Percy, but, she hates him, he’s Raider scum.

Dante and Percy have a brief talk about her problems and Dante finally decides it time she moved on.  Keeping it classy, Dante.  You’ve finally got your son back, your adopted daughter can just go away now.

Lucretia decides to join the Resistance.  Wait.  There’s a resistance?

Eccleston shows up again and this time Percy brings him to Dante and Zefram, he Vulcan mind melds them and explains, more or less, that the aliens behind all this will soon resurrect into the entire human race, and, he’s decided that’s a bad thing.  They warp drive to Earth, just in time for

(A) Lucretia and Novarre (AKA the Resistance) to be captured by Tosca, with Novarre being killed (maybe)

(B) The Raiders arrive to terraform the Earth

(C) Tosca to order first the capture of Zefram and destruction of the Trans-Utopian and all aboard her

(D) Dante and Zefram making a suicide run on the Raiders in an attempt for Zefram to use his Divinity Cluster powers to “think away” the seeds

And 

(E) Failing the capture of Zefram, Tosca’s forces launch a lethal missile attack on the Trans-Utopian, with Percy and Eccleston aboard.

How do all these threads turn out?

Lucretia remains a prisoner

The Raiders seed the Earth

Zefram completely fails to save the Earth with his magic, but he does manage to transport Dante back in time to the last moment he was a happy man

Eccleston manages to use his powers to transport the Trans-Utopian somewhere tied with the concept of whatever Percy loves most.

…and in the final scene, Dante, Penny and 10-year old Travis are in their home, together, one happy family.  In a poor man’s Twilight Zone twice ending, this is the moment the Raiders arrived  and it starts all over again.  The end.