- Lambda waves permeate Moonbase Alpha, causing instruments to malfunction and people to behave out of character. Crew member Sally dies in mysterious circumstances. Koenig is assailed by guilt-driven visions from his own past. It eventually becomes clear that the Lambda Variant has amplified psychic abilities on the base, in particular for Carolyn Powell, whose lover was previously Sally's boyfriend, and who is beset by jealous rage. Dr. Russell aids Koenig to overcome his own "ghosts", and prevent Carolyn from taking over the Moonbase.—don @ minifie-1, WRS
- As the moon passes through an empty sector of space, random Alphans begin suffering sporadic behavior disturbances and petty irritations. One such case is Sally Martin, one of Helena's aides, who has been ordered to work during her recreation period due to insubordination. As Sally's conducting inventory within Medical Stores, a sudden and invisible force rips through the door and into the room, killing her.
As an investigation begins, Commander Koenig is in an irritable mood, intense nightmares disturbing his sleep. Not only are members of Alpha's personnel out of sorts, but it turns out that some of their equipment has suddenly started malfunctioning.
Maya displays a sizable spiral ion-charged space phenomenon on the Big Screen hovering over the moon. According to their instruments, its electrical charge is too weak to harm anyone on the base, but Koenig remains skeptical of that analysis.
As Tony heads into the base's Recreation Area to inform a pair of Alphans as to the death of Sally Martin, two men are playing an electronic game. Carl Renton continues to win, infuriating his opponent, George Crato, who accuses the other of cheating. A further win by Renton causes Crato to become violent, so Tony physically restrains the aggressor, throwing him out of the room. Tony then approaches Carolyn Powell and Mark Sanders, informing them about Sally, whose death remains a mystery. Commander Koenig has requested that they report to him as part of the investigation.
Koenig and Maya have arrived at the Medical Center as Helena was wrapping up Sally Martin's autopsy. Helena reports that there were no marks on her body, which had somehow been shattered internally.
Tony arrives with Carolyn and Mark Sanders, so everyone except Helena seats themselves at a nearby conference table. Maya merely observes while the Commander and Tony conduct the questioning. It turns out that Sally Martin and Carolyn Powell had been roommates until Sally furiously moved out due to Carolyn seeing Mark immediately after he'd broken up with Sally. Also entering the discussion is a device Carolyn has been experimenting with which is capable of exerting tremendous internal pressure. Tony harshly presses her about it, earning her wrath, but she represses it.
After the interrogation ends and the couple have left the area, Tony states that he suspects Carolyn of hiding something. Koenig changes the subject, informing them that Alan Carter is investigating the mysterious circumstances of three-quarters of their Eagles suddenly being non-functional. Sabotage is suspected.
Tony later barges into Carolyn's laboratory, eyeing her large pressure device, suspecting that it was somehow involved in Sally Martin's death. Carolyn becomes furious when she catches him in there and a heated argument breaks out, culminating in her grabbing an object and smashing it into the device to prove that it isn't responsible for Sally's death by destroying it before the next murder occurs. Tony stops her as she confesses that she's expecting the next murder.
In the Engineering Section, Alan is interrogating Chief Engineer Pete Garforth within his lab, as for the past week, every Eagle repair job that's come through his hands has been followed by a malfunction. Pete points out the absurdity of him sabotaging the Eagles, as he's also an Eagle test pilot; he'd be risking his own neck. As a demonstration of what he's dealing with, Garforth explains that the atomic starboard engine sitting on his workbench operates perfectly sitting here, switching on the device to show Alan. He explains that when he refitted it back into the Eagle, it did nothing, shutting the device off. Since placing it back on his workbench, it's been functioning normally again. He's at a loss to understand it. A voice over the comm system requests Garforth's presence, so he exits his lab. As Alan heads for the corridor door, it closes in his face, then the atomic engine behind him activates by itself. Carter shuts off its switch, but not only does the motor continue to operate, it increases in intensity. Becoming alarmed, Alan tries to dislodge its power cord, but it fails to yield to his attempts. A warning sign then appears on the instrument panel reading "Critical Mass". He hits the Red Alert button on the wall, but nothing happens. Trying to alert the Command Center, neither his commlock nor the lab's communication post will activate.
In the Command Center, after studying the strange space entity looming over them, Maya informs the Commander that the electrical impulse emanating from it is growing stronger, affecting their instruments so badly that she's unable to achieve a proper reading. Koenig becomes convinced that the entity could be affecting both man and machine within the Moonbase. He then asks Tony and Maya to report to the Medical Center to pick up the latest autopsy report on Sally Martin.
On their way to Medical, Maya and Tony walk past Pete Garforth's lab and react to the loud engine whirring inside. Tony hits the button to open the door, but it fails to respond. Pounding on the door, Tony learns that Alan's trapped inside with an atomic motor about to erupt. Alan shouts for him to evacuate the area. Instead, Maya transforms into a gorilla and forces the doors open. Once inside, she throws Alan roughly away from the motor and rips the power cord out of it, finally deactivating it. When Alan explains what happened, they all agree on sabotage as the cause.
Back in Command Center, Maya announces that she's finally picked up something definitive from the space object. When she informs the others that it's sending out Lambda waves, Helena examines the readings and corrects Maya, stating that it's the Lambda Variant. She explains that the human brain normally swings between Alpha waves and Beta waves, but sometimes Lambda waves are thrown off. Very rarely, she explains, the Lambda Variant is given off. It was discovered during research on ESP and other paranormal powers of the human mind. She confirms that the Lambda Variant could be affecting their people. After Helena leaves to prepare tests, Commander Koenig silently wonders if that could be causing his nightmares.
Within the Recreation Area, Helena and Maya have been conducting various tests to check whether their people are experiencing abnormal mind powers. Mark Sanders seats himself at Helena's table and is asked to guess the symbols on the faces of the cards she's holding, while Carl Renton is asked by Maya to try and move a ball bearing inside a glass box with his mind. Pete Garforth is seated next and asked to psychicly bend a metal strip. Renton and Garforth are extremely successful. It's Carolyn's turn next.
Meanwhile, the exhausted Commander Koenig has retired to his quarters for a much-needed nap. However, his recurring nightmare returns, involving a man and a woman accusing him of being responsible for their deaths. Helena visits him, as he's now wide awake, and enthusiastically announces the results of her tests, revealing that a vast portion of their personnel are exhibiting unusual powers of the mind, particularly Carolyn Powell, Carl Renton, and Pete Garforth. Koenig seems distracted, explaining that he can't sleep. She hands him some sleeping pills, causing him to confess that he's afraid to sleep. Helena insists that he explain, so he reminds her that he'd previously told her (on "The Exiles") about how - as an astronaut cadet - he and his outfit were forced to abandon a group of scientists on a Venus space station, as they had contracted an unknown virus. They couldn't allow them to return to Earth and create an epidemic. Helena remembers the conversation, so Koenig fills her in on the rest; two of his team had arrived at the station ahead of them - Sam, his best friend, and Tessa, Sam's fiancé. They had also come down with the virus, so they too had to be left to die. Now, Koenig explains, every time he closes his eyes, the couple are standing in front of him, accusing him of killing them.
Mark Sanders has been avoiding Carolyn. When she finally catches up with him, he confesses that he can't shake the feeling that she has something to do with Sally's death. For starters, she lied to the Commander about not stealing him away from Sally. And now, he notices a change in her that he's unable to pinpoint. He informs her that he can't continue seeing her and says Goodbye. A look of vengeance comes across her face.
In Command Center, a visible explosion on the surface of the space phenomenon is seen on the Big Screen coinciding with Maya's instruments registering a sudden burst of energy coming from it.
As Mark walks down a corridor on his way to a Travel Tube, the lighting around him goes dead. An eerie wind fills the area. Concealed in a dark corner is Carolyn, possessing an evil smile. The same invisible force that had attacked Sally Martin now consumes Mark.
After the body of Mark Sanders has been brought to the Medical Center, Maya shows Tony the booth that has been installed within the Recreation Area. She explains that it's been set up to block the Lambda Variant, stating that whoever still maintains a rapport with the space entity while inside it will be a murder suspect.
Carolyn's holding a picture of Mark Sanders, speaking to it, telling him that she needed him, but he walked out of her life. She tells him he could've saved her, but bitterly states that now it's too late for everyone.
The three Alphans who had the strongest rapport with the swirling space entity have been invited for a further test. Carl Renton, Pete Garforth and Carolyn Powell take turns trying to use their remarkable mind power within the booth. It turns out that only Carolyn displays powers inside it, who uses those powers to hurl away the Alphans approaching her to take her into custody.
Meanwhile, Commander Koenig has locked himself in his quarters after the "spirits" of Sam and Tessa had confronted him in the Command Center while he was wide awake. Tony uses his laser to blast his door open; he and Helena finding him on the floor in a fetal position.
Carolyn saunters into Command Center, seating herself in Commander Koenig's chair. Alan approaches her, informing her that she's in the wrong place. She then uses her unstoppable powers to force him to leave the room, sending him to Flight Control. She then "freezes" the remaining personnel into human statues (as Zamara had done on "One Moment of Humanity"). Tony enters the room, quickly drawing his laser when he sees what's going on. She forces him to drop the weapon, drop to his knees and call her "Commander". She then laughs, triumphantly.
Helena has relocated Commander Koenig into the Medical Center, administered appropriate drugs, and now begins psycho-therapy in an attempt to release him from his "ghosts". She has her work cut out for her, as John is on the threshold of complete lunacy. During the lengthy session, Helena tries to make him aware that the Lambda Variant has caused him to use his own guilt to create the ghosts of Sam and Tessa. At the conclusion, Helena succeeds in having him confront the specters, declaring that the real Sam and Tessa knew that he had no choice but to leave them to die. His self-confidence returns, loudly announcing that he's not guilty. The spirits disappear. He then collapses with a mix of exhaustion and tremendous relief.
In the Command Center, while Carolyn's amusing herself by making Tony crawl to her feet, Maya enters. As she takes in the shocking scene, Carolyn orders her to entertain the crowd with one or two shape changes, but Maya refuses. Carolyn forces her to transform into a chimpanzee. After sufficiently amused, Carolyn has Maya change into a caterpillar, in which she traps the Psychon under a small plastic container so she and the others can be entertained by watching Maya suffocate.
With Koenig finally in his right mind, Helena informs him that he and Carolyn possess equal powers, but points out that she's very dangerous. She causes people to exhibit hatred, then she turns that hatred into violent physical force which she uses against them.
Sandra has been forced to robotically speak through the base's comm system to announce that Carolyn has taken over Command Center and requests the presence of Commander Koenig. Koenig accepts the invitation.
When Koenig and Helena enter the Command Center, they find Carolyn geared up, more than ready to ensure her position as the new Commander of Moonbase Alpha. Koenig retains a soft-spoken manner, informing her that her methods will no longer work, as they neither fear her nor reject her. When Helena tries to talk Carolyn into using her powers for the good of Alpha, Carolyn accuses them of trying to trap her; trying to steal her power. When Helena tries to explain, Carolyn "freezes" her, as the others have been, except for Tony and Maya. Carolyn then orders Koenig to kneel to the base's new Commander. However, Koenig continues to speak soft-spokenly, informing her that she can't harm them, as there is no fear or hatred for her to latch onto and use against them. Carolyn continues to order Koenig to hate her, but he remains calm. A wind develops within the room; her killing force. As it gains intensity, Carolyn loudly orders Koenig to hate her, but when he fails to, the force finally turns on her, pushing her against the wall. When she eventually collapses to the floor, Tony is able to remove the container off of the caterpillar, which instantly transforms into a panting Maya. The wind in the room ceases. The rest of the Alphans return to normal; Sandra drawing everyone's attention to the Big Screen. The entity has disappeared.
As the base returns to normal, none of the personnel are capable of paranormal activity. As for Carolyn, her mind has been wiped clean; Helena stating that she'll have to grow up all over again.
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