Original subtitles

[Zero] Previously on Prisoner Zero...

This is Junior Cadet Tag Anaton to the Spire.

Mom! Dad!

The Imperium turned on us.

I have been cut off from the Imperium

and been dragged into a war that I didn't even know existed.

[Zero] The master transmitter.

[grunts]

All over the cosmos, people will start to wake up.

All these prisoners, they're all free of the Bioweve.

Again, I'm worried about Tag and Gem.

[Gem] 4-2 to me, Tag Anaton.

Kids, Zero. But for how much longer?

[mellow music playing]

[laughs boisterously]

You're going to hurt someone doing that.

Probably me.

Come on. Zero's found something.

Knowing him, it's probably going to be...

[Zero] Amazing.

This place has information on every citizen

who ever lived inside the dome.

What? You mean they know everything about everyone?

Not quite everyone.

See? There are gaps.

And that's what's really interesting.

I thought it was just a glitch, but it's the same in every dome,

on every world, every year for the last 10 years.

People just go missing at regular intervals.

-People? -Kids.

There's no record of anybody aged 13 to 18 anywhere.

So...what happens to them?

[Tag] I think I might know.

I can't be sure, but when I turned 13,

I was taken to be, um...inducted.

-"Inducted"? -Into the Academy.

They've got training centers everywhere.

So the Imperium round up all the kids. But why?

No idea. But I think it's about time we found out, don't you?

[Zero] A decade ago, the Imperium created the Bioweve,

a digital nightmare they wired into our brains.

They locked me away, stole my memories,

left me with nothing.

Then one day I was rescued and taken aboard the Rogue.

Now my friends and I are going to shut down the Bioweve

and free humanity.

Because I am... Prisoner Zero.

[theme music playing]

[Del] Is this the place?

[Tag] Sure looks like it. They converted moons all over.

They're pretty much the same wherever you go.

So what happens down there?

Like I said, they just take the kids and train them. It's our duty.

-It's your duty to fight? -To learn.

But, hang on,

if it's such a good thing to serve the "great Imperium,"

why not just invite the kids in?

Gem's right. Why all the secrecy?

Ah, what am I saying? This is the Imperium.

Of course there's more going on than meets the eye.

We should go down there.

We can't let the Imperium do this to kids.

You should save that anger, Gem. Use it against the Imperium.

Well...yes, but before anyone goes anywhere,

we need to know what it is we're up against.

No, I'm serious. Tag and me.

We're going down there, just the two of us.

No way. Zero, you can't let them go on their own

Listen, Del, we're talking about a world that's full of kids.

You'd stick out like a sore thumb.

But us? We can blend in better than anyone.

Now, remember, you're only there to gather information.

You keep in touch, whatever happens.

And if you do happen to get into any trouble...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know.

Jump straight back here.

What is it they say? "What goes down must come up"?

-No, wait... -We'll be fine.

We know what we're doing.

-Well, I know what I'm doing. -Hey!

Oh, and, uh...

And stick together.

-[Gem] Whoa! -You can say that again.

[Tag] It's an Imperium Initiation Tower,

where all the cool kids go for testing.

Testing?

Yeah. Didn't I mention that bit?

I aced it, of course.

-Of course you did. -I did.

Zero?

Zero, do you read me?

I can't get through!

Oh, yeah. Right.

Um...they put a dampening field over these moons.

Lets everyone in,

but means no-one can slip off-world without permission.

Which you didn't think to bring up before?

Great!

It also means we're trapped here, on our own, without backup

in the heart of the Imperium!

You're not scared, are you?

-No. -Great. Let's get inside, then.

[sighs]

[man over P.A.] Welcome, citizens.

Welcome, citizens.

Welcome, citizens.

Welcome, citizens.

Welcome, citizens.

So, you a 70 or a 30?

-I'm sorry? -You two, 70s or 30s?

Oh, come on! You must have heard the rumors!

Nope. What rumors?

You know, only 30% go through to the Academy.

-Everyone else goes... -Where?

That's just it, nobody knows.

I don't think anyone wants to know.

What the Imperium are doing out there, it's...

Wait.

Are you actually saying bad things about the Imperium?

What? What... No! No, I'd never do that.

I'd never speak ill of the Imperium. Never!

It's all right. We're here to help.

Taking out that transmitter must have worked.

They seem to know what's going on. They're waking up.

Not that it's made much difference.

The Imperium are still using them.

Yeah. Now we just need to work out why.

And what they're doing with the 70s.

[man over P.A.] Welcome, citizens.

Please, take your positions.

-What's going on? -Nothing, it's fine.

They're just isolation fields, that's all.

They stop people from cheating.

The examination shall begin shortly.

On behalf of the Imperium, good luck.

Communications have been disrupted. We've lost contact.

Guardian, boost the signal.

See if you can re-establish the link.

-Happy now? -What?

They're kids, Zero.

Kids.

When did you get the right to turn them into soldiers?

I need to protect them.

We're one step away from a war.

Your war. Not theirs.

They need to protect themselves.

They'd do anything for you and you don't even realize it.

Where's this coming from, Del?

They're just teenagers.

And you might get them killed.

Where do you think you're going?

To get them back.

[beeping]

Come on! You can do this.

[man over P.A.] The results will now be processed.

Uh, Tag...what's going on?

Why are we different colors? I thought you said you'd aced this!

Yeah, I did before.

This time, I decided to flunk it.

You flunked it?

Gotta find out what happens to the 70s somehow.

But, no! Wait, we were meant to stick together.

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

[man over P.A.] Prepare for relocation.

-Tag! -Bye, Gem.

Tag?

[man over P.A.] Prepare for relocation.

-Tag! -Bye, Gem.

[man] Hello, 70s. I'm your Overseer. You will call me sir.

You have been selected to serve on a Crucible World,

what you would think of as a slave world.

And don't expect to see your home worlds again

for a very long time.

[squeaking]

[snarls]

[man] So, to be absolutely clear,

do your duty for the Imperium

and maybe you'll survive.

For the next five years, this will be your home.

You will eat here, sleep here, work here.

Work? As slaves, you mean.

When did the Imperium start using kids to do their dirty work?

Since you became a 70.

Now, you have one hour before your first shift,

which will require a lot of hard work.

And looking at you lot,

that'll be something you're not used to.

Seventy percent of all the children in the Imperium...

and no-one has any idea?

[rumbling]

[electronic voice] Cadets can now collect their nanoblocks

from the relevant terminals.

Way ahead of you.

So what would Zero say?

Keep your head down, look for a way out

and, if you've time, track down Tag as well.

Oh, and don't draw attention to yourself.

[electronic voice] Greetings, and welcome to the Academy.

Each of you is privileged

to serve the Imperium... Imperium... Imper... Imper...

Oh. That's not good.

You, identify yourself.

I...well, I...

We have no record of you anywhere on the system. Who are you?

Sir, we've got another one.

And another.

Control. It's saying everyone's unidentified again.

We'll need a reset.

[electronic voice] Greetings, and welcome to the Academy.

Each of you is privileged to serve the Imperium.

[squeaking]

[grunts]

That Overseer wasn't wrong about hard work.

Argh!

Watch it. If that had splashed me...

Overreacting much?

There's gotta be some kind of way out of here.

Good luck.

They have guards on every exit, 24 hours a day.

There's no way out.

There's always a way out.

You think? Even the ventilation ducts are sealed.

Trust me, this lot don't leave anything to chance.

Sounds like you've tried everything.

I wouldn't say "everything."

Why, you think you can do better?

I'm Tag Anaton.

Of course I can do better.

And I'm Mica Tarrant and I'll hold you to that.

Yeah, I bet you will.

[giggles] Nice to meet you, Tag.

Now, come on, we have to at least look like we're working.

They don't like going near those things, do they?

[beeping]

[Gem] Bingo.

[alarm blaring]

[groans]

[Tag] Are you okay?

He'll survive.

If you hurt anyone like that again, I'll...

What?

[laughs] You'll do nothing.

That's why you're a 70.

I can still fight you.

Be careful, kid. People get hurt in a place like this.

Not everyone's able to hack it.

I'm not everyone.

Tag, look out.

[screams]

No, no, no! It hit me!

Argh! Get it off me! Get it off me!

Hey, watch it!

You two, get him out of here.

If even a drop of that had touched his skin...

Are you okay? Did that touch your skin?

A little, yeah, but it didn't hurt.

That big baby was making a lot of fuss about nothing.

Unless...

You ought to be more careful.

They don't play games.

Thanks, but you really don't need to worry.

I can look after myself.

Huh! Looked like it.

I wonder if that's why they use kids here.

-What? -Look, it reacts to something.

I thought it was their armor,

but that Trooper was freaking out about it touching his skin.

So? It didn't burn you.

No, but why not?

It's something to do with our age, being teenagers, I bet.

Hormones!

Yes, it could be our hormones protecting us.

Okay, if you're right, that's a clever bit of working out.

Gem always says I'm pretty smart.

She's not wrong.

Gem?

And who is Gem?

Um...just...just a friend.

So... I wonder what this stuff is? [sniffs]

Oh, wow! This is plasma-neutron fuel.

It's what?

Every starship in the Imperium uses this. It's worth a fortune.

How do you know that?

Oh, it's a long story.

Point is, it's just given me an idea.

Might be dangerous, though.

Dangerous? I like dangerous.

Good...because we're going to break out of here tonight.

[dramatic music playing]

Come on, Gem. This is what you're here for. Think!

If they've taken Tag someplace else,

there's got to be a record of it somewhere.

-[beeping] -Gotcha.

Hold it right there!

I... I'm warning you. I'm not going to come just quietly.

Oh, you never do anything quietly.

-Hello, Gem. -Zero!

You shouldn't do things like that.

Ow.

-Need a hand? -I'm fine, thanks.

Think I might have found what we've been looking for.

And what about Tag?

He's kind of what we're looking for.

Hmm, so much for sticking together, then.

Whatever. Look, I've pinpointed his Jump transfer.

Seventy percent of kids were Jumped onto a ship a few hours ago,

heading for the moon of Magog.

Why just 70%?

Because that's what they do, splitting everyone up.

Thirty percent end up at the Academy.

Seventy percent - who knows?

[alarm blaring]

Ah.

It was only a matter of time before they worked out where we were.

-We should get out of here. -Couldn't agree more.

Can't Jump back to Rogue. Dampening field.

You can Jump in but can't Jump out.

Which means...we need to do this the old-fashioned way.

Move!

Oh, we'll move, all right.

-You ready? -As I'll ever be.

Everybody run!

[gasps]

Troopers, we have slaves loose within the Crucible.

Repeat, slaves are loose. I need back-up.

Shhh!

That was close.

You would tell me if I were...pushing you too hard?

Dragging you into battles and things like this?

Whoa! What's brought this on?

Just, uh...thinking.

Firstly, not the time to be having this conversation.

And, secondly, coming here was my idea.

Gem, listen, most people your age should be out enjoying life,

not running from BAM blasts and fighting assassins.

Most people my age are either forced to be here at the Academy.

or dragged off to wherever Tag's gone.

-You know what I mean. -Actually, no, I don't.

Me, Bowi, Del, we chose to stay with you.

Chose to join your fight against Vykar.

And in the end, so did Tag.

-You know why? -Well, I...

Because it's the right thing to do,

for those kids back there and for everyone.

You're amazing, do you know that?

You're all amazing.

Huh! I'm very lucky to know you.

Yeah. Yeah, you are.

Now come on!

Argh! We don't have time for this.

Come out now, and I promise you won't be punished...much.

You have until the count of three to show yourselves.

One...two...

Argh! Argh!

[screams]

Oh, come on, it can't hurt that much.

The fuel is unrefined, you idiot.

Why do you think...

we use children to...

[growls]

[whirring]

-Seal all exits. -I'm afraid this might get bumpy.

Go for it.

Open fire!

[laser firing]

Come on. Come on!

Whoo-hoo! I can't believe we did that.

I can.

Now, then, where are we going?

Moon of Magog, moon of Magog.

Ah, there we are.

Guardian, it's Zero.

Teeniest change of plan.

Follow my lead.

[growls]

Come on, this way! Keep going guys.

[growls]

You do this sort of thing all the time, don't you?

-Not all the time. -[laughs]

But, yeah. Now and again.

And do you win?

I don't know yet.

So, what do we do if we get out of here?

When we get out of here.

If.

You think we can just walk out the door

and go back to whatever we did before?

We're not the only kids locked up here, Tag.

And even if we do get out, where are we meant to go?

I don't know where my family is.

For all I know, they wanted me to come here,

to do my duty.

We'll work something out, I promise.

One step at a time. Together.

And, hey, that way we both get a win.

Deal?

Deal.

-What do we do? -Now, we have to fight.

I can play this game all night, ladies.

[growls]

Sorry to crash the party. Now all of you, climb aboard.

You heard what he said. Move!

It's all right, they're here to help.

Sorry, and you are?

Mica Tarrant. Friend of Tag's. You?

Same. A friend.

Known him just a bit longer.

Oh, you must be Gem.

I think that's all of them. Time we were moving.

Ladies first.

I think my spaceship squashed your playmate, Tag.

Don't bank on it.

Take care of yourself, Tag!

What are you doing? Come with us!

It's okay. We're going to stay here, contact the other moons.

-And do what? -Oh, I don't know.

Maybe we can see if we can stir the other kids up.

Start a rebellion? Cool! That's...

Pretty smart. I know.

See you around, Tag Anaton.

Gem, you good to go?

Oh, this is not good.

Oil and water, never a good mix.

[shrieks]

Yeah, pretty smart.

[Zero] Are you okay, Tag?

It's just...look at it all.

I thought I'd saved the day,

saved all those kids.

But I didn't, did I?

You kept them alive.

That's all that matters.

But there are thousands of those Crucible prisons down there.

Thousands!

And this is only a single moon.

There must be a so many more across the cosmos.

Maybe millions!

Well, now we know what we've got to do,

find those kids and save them all.

Promise?

I promise.

[theme music playing]