- [first lines]
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: General Thompson, you don't understand. We are minutes away from a new destination with some good leads.
- General Thompson: I don't care what you're minutes away from. I have express permission from President Sheridan to use the Excalibur for this mission...
- [arguing about their new destination]
- Max Eilerson: Orion system? Theta 49? Looks incredibly dull.
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: This order came directly from Earthforce.
- Max Eilerson: Well, that would explain the dull part.
- Max Eilerson: [to Gideon] Must be difficult for you, being a career military officer, having to play the roles of jailer, ferryman, executioner. That's where we're different. I just do what I'm told. The corporation knows all, sees all, and tells very little. If we make a bad call, we can honestly say that we've acted in good conscience based on the information available. Absolution in absentia, the blessed state of being able to say, "It's not my fault."
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: Granted, I'm a bit eccentric, as captains go.
- Dureena Nafeel: Yeah. You gamble.
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: Yeah.
- Dureena Nafeel: Yeah. You cheat.
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: That's subjective.
- Dureena Nafeel: You never tell anyone the whole truth.
- Capt. Matthew Gideon: And who does?
- [last lines]
- Max Eilerson: [dictating] To close my report, I'd like to make one note for the record. That not all of the colonists on Theta 49 were killed in the explosion today. A detailed surface scan of the planet indicates that there is another race living there as well, suggest that the Corporation check it out one of these days.
- Computer: Report complete. Ready to send.
- [Eilerson hesitates, then touches the Delete-button instead of Save]
- Computer: Last entry deleted.
- Max Eilerson: To close my report, we found nothing of interest on Theta 49.