The Dorcons

Plot
The Dorcons -the most powerful race in the galaxy - demand that the Alphans hand Maya over to them. Koenig refuses, until Moonbase Alpha is savagely attacked and invaded! Then, having let them take Maya, he makes a desperate attempt to save her...

Prologue
Alpha's sensors have detected an alien object in their west quadrant, readings indicate a power source, but no life signs. As they monitor it for any signs of danger, they detect a sudden energy build up. It fires a beam that penetrates Alpha's defensive screens easily. The beam scans Command Center, passing over the now immobilized Alphans, and causing the computers to short out. Maya watches in dismay, as she is unaffected by the mysterious paralysis holding the rest of the crew. When the beam reaches her, it changes intensity, inflicting tremendous pain. As Maya collapses, the hold over the rest of the Alphans is released. They rush to help Maya.

Act One
When she comes to, she tells them that it was a mind probe. They maintain a watch on the alien probe, while trying to communicate with it. Suddenly it converts to energy, and back to matter in a different and larger form. Maya recognizes the ship as belonging to the Dorcons, and begins to panic. She tells them that Dorcons are enemies that Psychons fear most. Tony tries to comfort her, saying that she will be safe on Alpha, she tells him that they can't stop the Dorcons, as they are the most powerful race in the galaxy.

On the Dorcon ship, Alpha's signal is received, and the Archon is notified. His nephew, Malic suggests using force to take the Psychon, while his Consul, Varda, suggests reasoning with the Alphans. Believing Malic has ulterior motives, the Archon rejects his suggestion in favor of Varda's. She contacts Alpha requesting that Maya be handed over to them. Koenig refuses, and Varda suggests that he reconsider before she has to demonstrate her power. Koenig orders surface lasers and combat Eagles to the ready. Varda tells him that resistance is futile.

Maya asks Koenig to hand her over before they kill everyone. Koenig has Tony secure the base against attack. While waiting for the Dorcons to make a move, Koenig asks Maya what they want her for. She tells him that they don't die the way other races do. Their brainstems cease to function. The Dorcons learned that Psychon brainstems last forever. She tells him, they will not leave without the last living Psychon.

Act Two
The Dorcons begin their attack. The Alphans counter, with everything they have, to no avail. The laser batteries are wiped out, an Eagle lost, and the base in ruins, without so much as a scratch on the Dorcon ship. In the heat of the attack, one Alphan tries to force Koenig to hand Maya over to the Dorcons at gunpoint. His gun is taken away forcibly, and Maya begs Helena to use it to kill her, stating that the Dorcons would leave.

She asks Helena if she wants to see her end up a living husk. Helena waivers but hands the gun to John. He has Alibe contact the Dorcons. He tells Varda that if she doesn't stop the bombardment, he will kill Maya. Varda has no choice but to comply. She has Maya's location identified, and gathers a boarding party. Charging their Meson Converter, Consul Varda and her men prepare to transport down to Alpha to take Maya by force. Detecting the energy build up, Maya transforms into another Alphan before they arrive.

Act Three
When Varda does not see Maya she asks Koenig where she is. Hoping that they won't be able detect her in current form, Koenig remains silent. Varda tells him that she has painful means to find her, and proceeds when Koenig refuses to help. Ultimately she locates Maya who, as warned, suffers under the beam until she returns to her normal shape. Varda's troops take Maya into the transporter beam and up to the Dorcon ship. Varda apologizes for things going as they did, but tells Koenig his people will be left in peace, and follows them into the beam.

Koenig races into the beam before they can shut it off, and is transported to the Dorcon ship. Where he is immediately caught. The Archon tells Varda to kill him, but having given her word that no one else would be harmed, she asks to send him back to Alpha. He is placed behind a forcefield until the Meson Converter coils can recharge to transport him back to Alpha. Maya is taken to be prepared for the brain-stem transplant surgery that will make the Archon immortal.

Malic hears that the Psychon has been captured and approaches Consul Varda. He tries to convince her to let the Archon die, so that he may replace him as his rightful heir. Varda refuses, believing that Malic would bring misery and war to the people of the Dorcon empire. He tells her she will regret her decision and leaves. Varda alerts security, to deny Malic access to the Archon. When Malic realizes what she has done, heads to the main control room where Koenig is being readied for transport. Varda leaves to gather the Archon for the surgical procedure.

When the converter is charged Koenig attacks his guards, but before he can escape, Malic enters the room. The guards who are just recovering tell him to kill Koenig. Malic takes aim, and fires... ...at the guards! Malic tells him he is free. Koenig asks why he is helping him, but Malic only tells him to help "the Psychon" before he changes his mind. Koenig leaves, and Malic notifies security that Koenig has killed his guards and is loose on the ship.

Act Four
Varda wakes the Archon, from his "old man's dream of death", to arrange his immortality, just before she receives news of Koenig's escape. She requests the Archon's leave to handle it, but he wants her with him. She orders Koenig killed on sight. Koenig searches for Maya managing to avoid the Dorcon guards, until he gets pinned down in a corridor. Malic kills the guard and directs Koenig to the operating room. With time running out, Koenig has no choice but to "trust" him. As Koenig heads in the direction indicated, he is forced to climb into the air ducts to avoid detection. Malic goes to the operating room where the transfer is about to begin. He kills the "doctor" and, just as Koenig arrives to watch, the Archon.

Koenig breaks out of the air shaft to free Maya when Malic shuts off the restraining beam. Malic pulls his weapon, but Maya changes into a creature and over powers him. She and Koenig head for the transporter. They are caught by Varda and her men, who anticipated their destination when Malic informed the ship that Koenig killed the Archon and freed the Psychon. Koenig tells Varda that it was Malic that killed the Archon. She immediately realizes that he is telling the truth. She grabs a weapon and tries to shoot Malic, but he is too fast.

He fires first, and her shot goes wide destroying the antimatter shields. Koenig and Maya run for the transporter beam and teleport back to Alpha as the ship starts to break up around them. Their "welcome back celebration" is cut short by the violent destruction of the Dorcon ship. They watch in awe as it tears itself apart before finally exploding into nothingness.

Epilogue
Koenig remarks that Consul Varda was quite a woman, after all, to antagonize Helena. After Alan brings coffee to Koenig and Maya, Tony asks Maya if she has any other secrets in her Psychon past that they should know about. To which she replies "That's a very highly improper question to ask any lady...".

Background
Shooting script titled The Return Of The Dorcons dated 19th October 1976

Shooting script titled The Dorcons dated 17th November 1976

Line amendments dated 30th November 1976 changes Sahn to Alibe and deletes Fraser

Filmed in 7 December- 23 December 1976.

Original Title Return Of The Dorcons

International Titles

Sets

 * Int. Command Centre
 * Int. Alpha Corridor
 * Int. Alpha Corridor Outside Airlock 2
 * Int. Travel Tube
 * Int. Weapons Section
 * Int. Eagle Pilot Section
 * Int. Dorcon Stateroom
 * Int. Dorcon Operations Area
 * Int. Dorcon Corridor
 * Int. Dorcon Ventilation Duct
 * Int. Dorcon Transfer Room

SFX
The Dorcon probe and the Dorcon battleship were built by Martin Bower. The probe was built in 2 days. The battleship has jam labels on the domes to resemble a fly's compound eye. The underside of the domes were slide projector carousels split in half. The front and back parts were made from a teasmade.

Science
The brainstem comprises the medulla oblongata (regulating reflex activities including respiration and heart beat), the midbrain and the pons.

Transplant surgery for immortality was also used in Mission of the Darians. If you transplant part of the brain are you the same person? Fetal cells are used to regenerate damaged adult brains.

Mesons. Koenig thinks they are faster than light, and they are a means to convert energy into matter and back again. Mesons are actually unstable elementary particles inbetween electrons and protons; they decay via lighter mesons and muons (heavy electrons) into electrons. They were first observed in cosmic rays. They are not faster than light

The raw materials of the ship are: 'Carbon/ Hydrogen/ Argon/ Rebillum'. Carbon and hydrogen are the building blocks of organic chemicals. Argon is an inert gas. There is no such substance as Rebillum. Strangely there is no oxygen (for atmosphere) or any metals (iron, aluminium or titanium for the ship's structure).

Continuity
Chronology: 2409 days after leaving Earth orbit (Tue 18 Apr 2006)

Alpha Personnel: 2 fatalities, Thompson, another pilot.

Alpha Technology: The fixed laser cannons are seen. They are also in The Metamorph, Seed of Destruction, The Beta Cloud and The Bringers of Wonder - Part 1. In addition two new designs are seen: one is a Deltan gun from The Last Enemy (salvaged from wreckage?), the other is a new design.

Eagles: Four combat Eagles incl. Eagle 4 are destroyed

Maya transformations: Ape-lizard animal, Alphan girl, dove (partial transformation).

Planets: None

Aliens: Archon, Varda, Malic from planet Dorca

Props: The Archon's throne was used as Arra's throne in Collision Course and Companion's bed in The Infernal Machine. His chair is a design normally seen in Alphan living quarters (the ribbon chair, designed by by Pierre Paulin). On either side of the throne are obelisks previously seen in A Matter of Balance and Devil's Planet.

Dorcon consoles are reused from The Last Enemy and The Metamorph.

The base of the meson convertor is revamped from Psyche in The Metamorph.

Dorcon corridors are revamped from The Metamorph, One Moment of Humanity and Devil's Planet.

The Dorcon laser sights are identical to the Alphan laser sights seen in War Games.

The laser control from The Exiles is seen on Koenig's desk.

Laurence Harrington appeared as another Alphan, Jackson, in Journey to Where.

Errors
As three of the four Eagles veer off, the two that fly to the right of the screen briefly merge.

When the guards flee and the Alphans escape, Varda's body is on the floor. In the next scene, her body has disappeared. Thanks to Thomas.

Observations
The script direction for Malic: "A handsome, cruel faced youth, whose darting furtive eyes and nervous movements betray his disturbed state of mind. This is Malic, in appearance an alien Caligula." Caligula (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, born A.D. 12, died A.D. 41, emperor A.D. 37-41, reportedly killed the previous emperor, Tiberius, and declared his will null and void on the grounds of insanity so that he would be sole heir. Among his more notorious later acts was making his horse a consul. His remark "Those about to live salute you!" is a reference to Suetonius in Life Of Claudius (c 120 AD): "Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant" (Hail, Emperor, those about to die salute thee", the salute of the gladiators before they fought to the death).

Archon. "A frail, elderly aristocrat". "It is suggested that Archon should be pronounced as in 'March On' to avoid any confusion with The Mark of Archanon" (sic) The name Archon is also used in Voyager's Return. The name is from the Greek "archos", ruler. The Archon was the chief magistrate in Greek city states, circa 1000-683 BC. Athens had 3 annually elected Archons in a governing council, the most powerful being the Eponymous Archon.

Consul is the title of the two chief magistates in ancient Rome, the most powerful office in the republic, controlling the treasury, civil officials and army. In the French republic of 1799-1804, the 3 highest officials had the title Consul. The first Consul was Napoleon Bonaparte.

The name Dorcon indicates the Dorian people who gave ancient Greece its strong military traditions (see also Mission of the Darians).