Episode 1

It is a beautiful and peaceful day on Neri’s island. She is following her daily routine getting for food and wetting down before going out into the sea to play with her friend Jali. They fool around for some time before Neri dives to a small air-filled underwater cave hidden deep within the labyrinth of the coral reef. There she chalks up one for a passed day on her calendar which is grouped in bundles of seven for one week each.

Far away Jason, Brett and Dianne enjoy their vacation in a big hotel complex when Dianne gets a phone call from Winston asking her to immediately return to ORCA without giving any reasons. Disappointed to break off their holidays Brett and Jason come along.

On their arrival on ORCA via helicopter Winston welcomes them and reports that the foundations for the planed underwater city are to be build into the coral reef which will cause great damage to fauna and flora there. During the ride with the turbolift down Dianne asks who is responsible for this decision and before Winston can answer the doors open on the Alpha level.

Brett is shocked to see many personal in UBRI uniforms around and Winston explains that they have got the responsibility to build ORCA City. Brett is very angry because of their earlier bad experiences with UBRI concerning the hunting of Mera, Neri and Jali. Even before going to their quarters Dianne visits the newly installed sea deck of ORCA and forbids any further material transports to the building site for the time being.

She decides to dive with Jason to check on the construction site herself. They explore the nearby shallow water reef before going deeper where the foundations are being prepared. On the building site Dianne asks one of the workers to escort Jason to ORCA because he is running short of air.

On the way Jason gets trapped under a collapsing floodlight. The worker can’t free him on his own and swims for help. Jali notices the danger Jason faces and calls for Neri who rushes to help. She arrives just in time before the pressure in Jasons scuba equipment gets too low for him to breath.

Arriving on ORCA Dianne is informed by the Commander about her son’s accident and that rescue teams are on the way.

Neri frees Jason and takes him to the nearby under water cave. She is very concerned but Jason calms her down and tells her that he has joined the ORCA cadet training program and Dianne is the new environmental officer, responsible for the sea and reef around ORCA. Neri insists upon talking to her about the danger for the reef and Jason replies they already know. Before he heads back to ORCA Neri warns him to take care: “Be careful when surfacing Jason. Remember your are not like me.” – “Neri, no one is like you…”

On ORCA the rescue teams return without finding Jason but before the Commander can send someone else, the boy surfaces and Dianne blocks all questions about his sudden return. When they are alone Jason affirms that it was Neri who helped him.

Later he and Brett visit her island to celebrate their return and Neri urges Jason and Brett to swear to do everything to protect the reef.

Back on ORCA Brett meets a strange boy, Benny, at the galley who is doing studies even in his spare time because his parents insist on him to do so. Brett introduces himself and promises Benny that he is going to help him enjoy his time.

Meanwhile Dianne and Jason prepare to enter the ORCA court to complain about the danger for the reef if the foundations are not moved to another place. On their way they meet Dr. Hellegren (chief of UBRI) and his assistant in chief Keller who informs her Boss that UBRI’s lawyers are worried to lose against Dianne. Hellegren promises that there will be a little “accident” soon with a special mining explosive – erasing all live around the breeding grounds so there will be no reason any more to relocate the foundations.

During the trial Dianne praises the wealth of the oceans and its benefits for mankind. Dr. Hellegren conters with the enormous costs the movement of the foundations would cause – “just because of a few fishes?” The tribunal comes up with its decision: The foundations have to be removed to protect the reef!

Outside three UBRI divers deliver the sonic grenade with a delay detonator in the reef and escape – unseen Neri is spying on them. She takes the grenade, follows the group and returns it to their rightful owners who only just made their escape before the detonation.

Badly shaken they manage to return to ORCA – the reef is ok. Dr. Hellegren is very angry and intercepts Jason and Brett in a corridor and advises them not to interfere with him again otherwise they would deeply regret it.

The two boys return to Neri’s island and warn her that UBRI is now on ORCA permanently and she has to be very careful to stay out of sight.

Later they watch from an ORCA window the depths of the ocean and talk about their hopes that Neri’s Island will stay as beautiful as it is forever. At the same time Neri is enjoying the sunset from the beach of her island.

Episode 2

It is another calm day on Neri’s island. Jason and Brett have joined her for a visit and Brett suggests to go to the other side of the island where the wrecked spaceship is buried. Neri does not want to go but Brett manages to convince her that she must not be afraid. Brett’s enthusiasm gets a bad hit after he has dug several holes on the beach but has found nothing what looks like an entrance and Jason reminds they have to return. Neri agrees and advises them to hurry because she can sense a storm is rising.

Back on ORCA Jason has his first day in his cadet training. His class is told to choose partners to work with for the rest of the training. The teams form quickly with two people remaining: Jason and a girl: Sallyanne – they form the last group. They also get to know Dave Hartley first diving officer and his assistant: Morgan Claybourne – a very disciplined young woman.

In the corridors of ORCA Benny sees a girl – Morgan’s sister – who has a major argument with her mother and Morgan because she did not do her work.

In the galley Brett warns Benny that it is not good for him to learn so much when the girl from the corridor – Cassandra – breaks in by sitting down at their table without asking. Brett brushes her off very coldly but Benny introduces them. Cass tells them she hates the place and wants to be somewhere else. Brett agrees with Benny that ORCA is not that bad except for the cannibals who live on the surrounding islands. Cass gets angry and runs off on the pontoon for the little sailing boats up there. Brett warns her about the rising storm but she doesn’t believe him because of the cannibal story.

She gets a boat and sails off but after a while she has to realize that the sea becomes to rough for her small ship and she has to look for shelter. Her mother gets worried and informs Cmdr. Wellington that her daughter is missing. He orders a search for Cass with support from the mainland.

Meanwhile the girl has landed on a nearby island – Neri’s Island – and walks around in the thunderstorm to find a save place for the rapidly nearing night.

The next morning Neri finds a tree cut down by a lightning and hidden beneath it a hatch which can only be a part of the buried spacecraft. She opens it but the way is blocked by a metal grill that is too narrow for her to pass.

The rescue teams are still on the lookout for Cass who has slept somewhere in the jungle of Neri’s Island. She wanders around in the hope to find a short rope to fix the sail of her boat.

Neri has swum to ORCA to tell Jason and Brett about her discovery and the boys decide to go to her island immediately – almost running into Dr. Hellegren and Keller. Jason tells Neri about the newly installed sea deck as an easier way for her to access ORCA. Neri is thrilled by the new possibility and swims home.

On the island Cass discovers Neri’s camp and finds her fishing spears and some knives made of sharp mussel shells – reminding her of Brett’s lie(?) about the cannibals… In fear she hurries away to her boat but on the way she witnesses Neri’s arrival from nowhere out of the sea and her meeting with Jason and Brett in the Zodiac. Cass follows them and as soon as she is sure that there is no immanent danger she sneaks back to Neri’s camp and gets a rope to fix her sail.

Meanwhile Jason throws a stone through the hatch and they have to realize the ship is flooded so they will have to get out the water first if they want to enter the ship.

In her camp Neri notices that she has had a visitor and they follow the trace leading through the jungle to the beach. They arrive just in time to see Cass sailing off in her boat. Shocked she might have heard everything and will report to ORCA Neri rushes into the water to intercept the boat while Brett and Jason go to get the Zodiac.

When Neri surfaces in front of Cass she tries to escape but is hit on the head by the sail and falls into the water. Neri rescues her and Brett and Jason take the unconscious girl on board their boat. Before they can decide what to do one of the search boats arrives on the scene and Neri hardly manages to get away without being seen.

Back on the mainland Dr. Hellegren visits his daughter Lena in a high society boarding school. She begs for his permission to stay with him during her vacation but he tells her he has a lot of work and would not be able to take care for her. Lena keeps begging and Hellegren finally agrees to think about it.

Meanwhile on ORCA Jason and Brett eagerly await word from the doctor who is working on Cass until Dave arrives and calls them in for a few questions. Worried they enter the medical section but are told that Cass has lost all her memories starting with her leave from ORCA.

In their quarters Brett celebrates but Jason reminds him the doctor said Cass could regain her memory at any time – so from now on Brett will have to be her best friend to be in range when it happens. Brett is “thrilled” but agrees for Neri’s sake.

On her island Neri is watching the hatch.

Episode 3

Jason, Brett and Neri secure the entrance against being blocked by sand from the nearby beach. Brett suggests to dive in with scuba equipment but Jason thinks it would be too dangerous and insists on returning to ORCA where he thinks he can organize a pump.

On the bridge he scans the stocking list and finds a suitable device when Dave comes in on him and wonders why Jason is interested in pumps. Jason gives an innocent answer and gets the information that UBRI possesses the pumps Jason is looking for.

On her island Neri has tied a liana to the grill and tries to tear it away but it rips apart leaving the grill unharmed and Neri lying on her back – realizing that she has to wait for Brett and Jason.

On ORCA Cass exchanges the signs for the toilets and Brett “accidentally” enters the Lady’s room… He is rigorously thrown out and Cass gets a good laugh – Brett promises revenge. In the galley Brett complains to Jason about him always having to hang around with Cass which is really going to drive him crazy. Jason reminds him of Cass’ maybe temporary amnesia and tells him he found the pump he was looking for – they will have to “borrow” it from UBRI.

With the end of her shift Dianne returns to her quarters and to her surprise she finds her sons already in their beds. After some delay for security the two boys get up again – still fully dressed – and sneak into the UBRI section of ORCA to look for the pump. (Commentary: The scene where Jason wears these IR glases is really quite cool! m.r.) They enter a storage room and look around as Brett drops some device. A guard enters the room and the two narrowly make their escape by hiding within one the air-channels of the room. They find the pump and get away with it.

The next day they take it to Neri’s Island and start to pump out the water before returning to ORCA to get some material in order to fix the leak.

In the galley Brett urges Cass to tell Benny and him about the things she did before her time on ORCA. She tells them her story but becomes suspicious by their intense interest. When she wants to get up she realizes that Brett has put some glue to her chair. She tears herself free ripping apart the back of her trousers – making herself an object for ridicule to the rest of the kids in the galley.

Jason and Sallyanne are called to the bridge for an intermediate exam. Dave teases Morgan because her uniform is just 99.9% clean instead of 100% as usual when a fire breaks out in one of the engineering sections. Dave and Morgan are distracted by another problem ordering Jason and Sallyanne to take care of the fire. They manage to get the fire down and HELEN affirms the end of the simulation. Morgan chews them out because in reality their efforts would have caused the death of all the personnel within the section – they failed.

Defeated they leave the bride and Sallyanne apologizes to Jason for being responsible for their failure. Jason calms her down by saying they are a team and will be prepared better the next time.

At UBRI headquarters Kellar reports to Dr. Hellegren they developed a new device which allows them to examine every sonic eruption on Earth. She stresses that it would be possible to even analyze eruptions that happened in the past – like the landing of the spacecraft that took Neri and Mera back to her homeworld… Hellegren agrees to get the scanner when his daughter calls him on the phone. Kellar leaves and Lena begs again for her father’s permission to stay on holiday with him. Hellegren promises to think it over again and visit her the next day.

The next morning Neri checks for the still working pump and Dr. Hellegren visits his daughter and tells her he has organized some vacation in a skiing site for her but she insists on staying with him. He replies he has a lot of work to take care about. Lena keeps on begging and Dr. Hellegren finally agrees to handle it.

Morgan is very angry at Cass because it was her fault her uniform was not perfect and claims for her to set it right again. Cass swears she will get what she wants… She asks Brett and Benny for help to play a trick on her sister Morgan. Brett is thrilled but Benny denies his help at first. Brett nearly forces him in finally.

On the island Neri sees that the pump has finished its task and runs off to tell her friends.

On ORCA Cass prepares one of the fire quenching devices in a turbo lift with detergent when Benny warns them Morgan is about to arrive. Quickly the gang rushes off to to be in place when the lift reaches its destination. They arrive just in time to see the lift doors open releasing a flood of soap foam into the corridor. Morgan is covered with foam as well as: Cmdr. Wellington…

In the galley Jason is training the security rules of ORCA with Sallyanne when Neri enters the room. He quickly apologizes himself and rushes off to talk with Neri who tells him the ship is empty and they can make their try. Jason goes to seek for Brett and the necessary equipment. He finds his brother in one of the corridors where he is cleaning the floor under Morgan’s watchful eyes – he is out of order for some time. Jason tells him to follow as soon as he can and leaves.

He cuts the grid with a laser-cutter and he and Neri enter the ship with a rope.

Morgan finally is satisfied and allows Brett and Benny to go but not her sister.

Meanwhile Neri and Jason scout through the ship. Everything is slippery and covered with remains from the years under water. Before taking a closer look around they decide to search for the leak and seal it so the water will not flood the ship again. They find and fix it.

Brett arrives and gets down by himself. On a ramp he slips and glides to a lower deck. Neri hears him shouting and they go back to look for him. They find the ramp and follow the way down. They enter a kind of laboratory where even some lights are still working. They follow the dim glow and find a coffin made of glass with the perfectly conserved body of a young man in it. Jason takes a closer look and notices breathing movements – he is alive!

Episode 4

With a mixture of shock and fascination the friends stare at the young man who has survived in his chamber despite the long time and the flooding of the ship for years. Neri wants to wake him up but they can’t find any way to do it so Jason suggests to break the coffin. Brett goes up to the beach to look for some piece of wood to do it. Neri and Jason continue to examine the chamber and discover that the man permanently gets detailed information on the Opal Planet – the Earth! Brett returns and while he and his brother try to find a way to open the chamber Neri touches a plate on the wall in the back of the lab.

To Jason’s and Brett’s surprise the coffin opens without them having done anything. Neri rejoins them and touches the young man’s forehead just saying: “Awake.” He opens his eyes and says something in an unknown language. Neri asks whether he knows the earth-language and her repeats slowly: “My name is … is Kal.”

On ORCA Cass and Benny are having lunch at the galley. Cass teases Benny because she thinks that Larissa – one of the other ORCA girls – has a crush on him and leaves quickly wishing him “good luck” because Larissa comes over to Benny and confesses she can’t await the beginning of their vacation. She suggests they could spent some time together then. She “notices” his minilaptop and gets the idea he could take it to school with him tomorrow so the final exam would be easier… Benny refuses and Larissa keeps begging, using all her charms, he could at least lend her his disk so she can use it in her terminal but he still says no.

On board the spacecraft Neri, Jason and Brett help Kal to get a bit settled. He remembers Neri as a child and Jason asks if his parents had been on the craft – Kal acknowledges. Neri tells him that the two of them are the only survivors of the crew which he accepts with no sign of shock or grief – he just asks her to show him the Opal Planet. “Mother and father have passed Kal. This ship crashed here on the Opal Planet. No one is left, only me and you.” – “So they have passed… (Neri nods) You show me Opal Planet.” – “Yes. Come.”

They bring him up to the beach where he walks around and proofs a very detailed knowledge of the Earth’s general data. He knows the quantity of the Earth’s population and wants to know where the other people are and Jason explains that this is just a small island inhabited by Neri alone. Kal wants to see the place where she lives and rushes away as soon as she points the direction. On their way Jason tries to get to know what Kal remembers about his past but he is more interested in his immediate surroundings.

In Neri’s camp she and Jason discuss what they are supposed to do with Kal and Neri insists that she is now the only family he has and so he has to stay. Jason fears there will be some problems but reluctantly agrees. He returns to ORCA with his brother as the evening draws near.

At UBRI headquarters Dr. Hellegren complains to Kellar about Dr. Bates always interfering with his construction of ORCA City which causes great disturbances of his time tables. The surprising appearance of Lena who has to take matters concerning her vacation into her own hands ends their discussion. Dr. Hellegren orders his car and they drive to his house. He allows his daughter to stay over night but insists upon her to leave for her planned vacation the next day. She keeps on begging she wants to stay with him as he is the only family she has left. Hellegren reacts angry and says they will discuss the subject the next day finally.

On ORCA Brett and Jason exchange their thoughts about Kal. Brett is very impressed but Jason is worried about his lack of emotions and wonders what problems may be ahead. They decide not to talk to anybody as long as they don’t know more about the young man.

The next morning Neri introduces Kal to Jali and invites him to take a swim with her.

Dr. Hellegren is having breakfast with his daughter and tries a last time to convince her to go on her already arranged vacation. But she still wants to stay with him and assures him she will not be bored if he is not at home because she wants to prepare herself for a special computer course the next term at her school. Finally Hellegren agrees to let her stay – Lena is overjoyed.

On ORCA it is the day of the big exam and the teacher hands out the questions. Without him noticing Larissa gets Benny’s disk out of his laptop and inserts it into her own terminal. The teacher discovers it and disqualifies her from the exam. She recognizes the disk belongs to Benny and asks whether he gave it to Larissa which he denies. The teacher also adds theft to Larissa’s offences so the punishment will be more severe – to protect her Benny changes his mind and says he gave her the disk. As a result they are both disqualified – but not punished any further.

In the galley Brett and Cass ask Benny for his reasons for protecting Lairssa – he replies being disqualified from an exam for cheating is one thing but thrown out of school because of theft something else. Suddenly Jason appears and calls Brett they have to go.

On the island Kal asks Neri if Jason and Brett will visit them again and she assures him they will be coming soon. While she is preparing something to eat Kal wanders around to explore the surrounding jungle. The two boys arrive at Neri’s camp and ask about Kal. She replies he was around just a minute ago and they start to look for him. They find him six meters above the ground hanging at a branch trying to talk to a bird. Neri calls him and he jumps down without hesitation greets Jason and Brett the way Neri told him to do and goes on ahead to Neri’s camp leaving the two brothers speechless behind.

In the camp they have to discover that Kal does not know the meaning of fear. He has begun to prepare his own place to sleep on the ground. As Jason’s asks why he does not take a tree like Neri he replies that on the Ocean Planet the women are the dominant group and the men have to submit. The boys are shocked.

Back home on ORCA they discuss what to do next. Jason claims that a guy who does not know any fear, posses extraordinary physical capabilities and who thinks women a superior to men would be one hell of a problem if he manages to leave the island…

There Neri says Kal good-night from her tree while he stays down on the ground.

Episode 5

The next day Neri sits with Kal at her camp fire and teaches him more of the earth-language. When she pulls a stick out of the fire Kal touches it despite her warning he would hurt himself as if he wanted to discover the feeling “pain”. Neri goes on with telling Kal about the fruits on the island and again Kal proofs a very detailed knowledge of certain themes when Neri shows him a banana: He knows where it comes from and explains the meaning of “banana-republic” and “banana plug” – but he has never eaten a banana before…

At the galley Cass gives her omelet to Brett – only when he tries to transfer it to his plate he has to realize that it is glued to Cass’ plate and the galley is shaking with laughter. Brett and Jason leave to visit Neri on her island.

On their arrival Brett is still furious and thirsts for revenge when suddenly Kal appears out of nowhere with an arm full of fire wood greeting them friendly before going towards Neri’s camp. The girl is happy that she is not lonely any more. “Hey, you still got us!” Jason reminds her.

On their way to the beach Kal turns in the direction of swamp land and Neri calls him back. She tells him that it is “bad land” and very dangerous so he must not go there without her. Kal is not afraid but very curious – “like a child” Brett comments.

He and Jason return to ORCA and Neri wants to visit the construction site to check on the work.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house the Dr. complains about Lena producing chaos througout the house. He tells her that he will be back late this day because he has to go to ORCA. Lena persuades him with all her charms (again) to allow her to come along.

On the island Neri tells Kal she has to go to ORCA. His eyes light up: “I go, too!” Neri forbids him to come and just says “later” when he demands an explanation. She wants him to stay on the island in the meantime. “You say, I’ll do.” Kal promises. Neri laughs and swims off.

On ORCA Brett has thought of a way to take revenge on Cass: He has prepared a chocolate cream with an air-sensitive chemical which will blow up when getting into contact with oxygen. Benny is worried that it might hurt Cass but Brett can’t be stopped. At the galley Cass is very suspicious but can’t resist the sight in her bowl. Just when she is about ram her spoon into the dessert her sister Morgan takes it off her hand claiming she eats too much. After a short argument Cass leaves and Morgan sits down greedily starting for the cream. But when she gets the first piece it plops up right into her face – again the galley is shaking with laughter…

Morgan drags Brett, Cass and Benny to the Cmdr. to decide about their punishment. In rage she suggests a very dirty and inconvenient job which gets her a soft reprimand: “If I want your opinion Cdt. Claiborne, I’ll ask for it.” With that she is dismissed. Wellington asks Hartley what he thinks should be done with the kids and he votes for a diving training since they seem to have too much spare time. Benny begs for permission to think about it. “Do you prefer the alternative?” the Cmdr. replies. He doesn’t…

After all: Diving with dolphins is fun Brett claims! Only before they are allowed to enter the water they have to learn three books of theory and security rules “forward and backward” Hartley demands…

Meanwhile Neri checks on the construction site where everything is proceeding on schedule.

On the island Kal chases a butterfly not noticing that he enters the swamp land. He trickles and falls into a river. On the other side he spots a crocodile lying in the sun. He tries to befriend it when it enters the water and starts coming at him. Kal thinks it to be funny and starts going at it, too. Neri arrives on the scene and warns Kal the crocodile wants to eat him. “Eat?” Kal asks a bit concerned. “Like banana?” Just in time Neri throws a liana over a branch and manages to pull Kal out of the water until he hangs half half a meter above the crocodile – joking.

Lena arrives with her father on ORCA. Dr. Hellegren has to go for his work and tells his daughter she may look around for herself. She finds the galley and tries to get something to drink out of the service machine but doesn’t have the right ID-credit card for it. Brett comes by and invites her on his card. Lena joins him at a table with Jason, Cass and Benny. At first she introduces herself just as Lena but when Cass asks whether she is on ORCA for a visit she explains that her father’s organization is responsible for building ORCA City. She says her full name: Lena Hellegren. The room temperature drops several degrees and Jason excuses himself. When Lena asks about his reaction Brett just replies her father does not have many friends on ORCA and runs off also.

Lena follows him and manages to intercept him in one of the turbo lifts. It gets stuck because of Sallyanne who makes a hasty decision during a simulation play on the bridge. Brett realizes that he will not get away without any further explanation. He tells Lena about the chasing and capturing of Charley one year ago.

In the afternoon Neri complains to Jason that Kal is learning fast about the practical things of life but not the “things of the heart” – emotions. She asks him to talk to Kal about it – immediately.

Jason tries his best to explain to Kal that it is necessary to do something for other people sometimes. Kal does not fully understand: “First friend, … then Kal?” But before Jason can specify what he means Kal wants Jason to talk about ORCA. The boy has to admit it can be reached by boat and when he and Kal get the waverunner back into the water Kal asks whether he can come along. Jason denies with the warning that nobody on ORCA must be allowed to know about his existence. Jason drives off with Kal on his tail.

Meanwhile Brett, Cass and Benny are about to have their first dive in the shallow water and leave ORCA on a small boat. They enter the water and swim through the labyrinths of the reef unknown that they are closely watched by Kal from the distance. Kal notices the boat on the surface, curiously he climbs aboard. Jali has observed his actions and informs Neri who rushes to get him before he is seen by anybody.

Morgan remarks that Benny starts to get tired and Dave sends him back to the ship. As he arrives he witnesses a young man at the controls playing with the walky talky. Suddenly the stranger finds another switch and the engines roar up. Neri surfaces out of Benny’s sight and gestures Kal to jump off the boat. Just in time he manages do submerge before the alarmed dive party arrives on the scene. Of course Morgan thinks that Benny turned the engines on and does not believe his story of a strange young man out of nowhere. Neri is very angry with Kal and commands him never to leave the island again if she does not allow him to do so and Kal promises to obey.

On ORCA Benny insists upon keeping up his story about the young man. He does not know where he came from but he saw where he went – into the ocean. Nobody believes him except for Brett who takes Jason aside and tells him it must have been Kal.

Late in the evening the two boys try to sneak into their quarters but are intercepted by Dianne who knows that her sons know more than they say and demands an explanation. There is no escape and they have to tell everything.

Episode 6

The next day, Jason and Brett visit Neri’s Island again. While Brett helps Kal to collect some wood for the camp fire, Kal shows a great interest in ORCA and asks Brett if he can come to ORCA, too. Brett replies “maybe someday”.

Meanwhile Jason is complaining to Neri about Kal having escaped from the island. She answers that Kal is very interested in ORCA and Jason suggests to do something to distract him. Neri remembers the other thing Kal is very interested in: The fallen starship. Jason is thrilled and they decide to go there at once.

On ORCA Dianne is called to the bridge where Cmdr. Wellington tells her frankly that Winston is not qualified for the job as Dianne’s assistant, because he can neither dive nor even swim and the work as Environmental Officer on ORCA includes work under water. With an angry glance to the grinning Kellar next to the Cmdr. Dianne grumbles that someone has done a good job of research in Winston’s personal records. But Dianne mustn’t worry: UBRI has agreed to help out with replacement personnel from her organization…

Back at the lab Winston is in a deep depression because of his discharge. Even in the galley it is the theme of the day. Brett claims that UBRI can’t do this but Hartley reminds that the qualifications for environmental officers demand the ability to swim. Benny asks if Dave is familiar with a special paragraph in the ORCA regulations saying that a person who is not qualified for his job may keep it if he can gain the required abilities in an appropriate time. Dianne says she is convinced that Winston will learn to swim very fast – with the right teacher! All eyes turn to Dave Hartley who finally agrees with a nod.

Neri has gone with Kal to the buried spacecraft and entered the main bridge. Kal leads her through a small passageway they did not discover before and they find themselves in large room with strange interior. Kal explains that this was his parents’ place of work. They look around and Kal touches a contact at one of the walls and a golden device sinks down from the ceiling.

Dianne informs Cmdr. Wellington about their proposal regarding Dr. Seth and reluctantly the Cmdr. agrees to give Winston one week to learn how to swim and dive – not one day more. If he doen’t manage to make it within the given span of time he has to go.

The lessons start immediately with Winston having his first hard basic exercises in the moonpool on the lower sea deck of ORCA. On their way down Jason and Brett meet Neri who tells them that she and Kal have discovered something strange on board the ship. The boys quickly say good-bye to Winston and follow Neri to her island.

At UBRI headquarters Kellar informs Dr. Hellegren that the computer analysis of the sonic data has produced no result of landing spacecraft but an interesting pattern some 15 or 20 years ago. Hellegren decides to go after the data himself.

On board the fallen ship Jason and Brett speculate about the meaning of the strange machine. “Thing head … helmet” Kal helps out. Neri starts to put it on but Jason stops her because they don’t know what it will do to her and even Brett supports him. Neri refuses claiming she is not afraid with her friends around. She puts the device on her head.

Within seconds a section of the wall lights up and the image of a woman in a white dress forms from the darkness. “My mother” Kal explains from behind the group. The woman begins to speak in the language of the Ocean Planets’ people and Neri translates her words for Brett and Jason. It becomes clear that they have discovered the log recorder of the starship and are currently listening to one of the last entries before the impact on Earth.

The ship’s engine systems were damaged in an accident shortly before arriving at their final destination – the Earth. The ship is incapable of landing properly instead it will crash-land on the surface. The woman is concerned about her son, Kal, and says they have prepared a special chamber in the hope Kal has better chances to survive. They beg for any survivor who may find this record to take care for Kal.

After that the woman explains that there is a very important mission: Anyone who discovers this message has to take the crystal to get further instructions. The last seconds of the ships fall approach and the message ends leaving a very tired Neri and the shocked boys behind.

Jason is worried about Neri and puts an arm around her shoulder to sooth her. Kal steps to a wall and touches a control panel. A slider emerges with a large crystal on it. Neri places the crystal on a pillar in front of the monitor and puts on the helmet again.

The woman reappears and begins to speak: There is a very difficult and important mission ahead which Neri’s father was supposed to fulfill… Before the ship started on its voyage to Earth nine pieces of a special machine were sent to earth on remote control. They fell to the surface and have to be found and put together to form a powerful sphere – the Synchronium. It will help to repair the damage the Earth People have done to the oceans. If this is not done soon the oceans will die and with it the Earth. The planet will leave its orbit around the sun and someday collide with the Ocean Planet itself. The woman’s last words present a warning: The Synchronium can save the planet but in the wrong hands it will produce chaos and a catastrophe far beyond the worst nightmares…

Unfortunately the detector which is supposed to help finding the scattered Synchronium parts was irreparably damaged in the crash and is useless.

On the beach Kal seems to be in deep thoughts so Neri asks him whether he is thinking of his mother. Kal nods but says in a tone that carries only few emotions that he just saw her image – she died a long time ago. Neri agrees – but seems worried about Kal. Jason and Brett discuss what they have seen. Neri decides that their mother must not know about this because she is in enough trouble already holding back UBRI. The search for the Synchronium is her mission alone. Brett remembers Winston and has an idea.

Back on ORCA they tell Winston that Neri will be nearby when he has to show the Cmdr. his new swimming capabilities. Neri tells Kal to stay on the island while she swims to ORCA to help her friends. The Cmdr., Hartley, Dianne and the others gather on the pontoon to witness the test while Neri is waiting out of sight. Winston jumps into the water and starts to swim to a nearby buoy. Suddenly Kal appears and Neri surfaces under Brett’s position, informing him she has to leave to take Kal back to the island – unaware of this Winston keeps swimming… He makes it back and the Cmdr. nods: He passed the test!

At UBRI headquarters Kellar informs Hellegren about the pattern in the sonic eruptions and he decides that this could be interesting for his organization…

Neri is very angry with Kal because he disobeyed again. Kal tries to defend himself that he was just curious and Neri comments: “You are like a baby.” She explains that she has to complete her fathers’ mission now and this is more important than anything else – even Kal. “No!” He says quietly but Neri does not hear it.

When Jason and Brett come to visit her the next day she persuades them to help her with the search for the Synchronium. Jason and Brett agree but are sure they will not find anything.

In the evening in the privacy of their cabin Jason says that he does not think this “mission” will turn out to be anything serious. No one is interested in these things. Unknown to him the UBRI computers are hard at work…

Neri stands in the shine of a camp fire at the beach and swears to her dead father that she will find the hidden Synchronium.

Episode 7

Neri is collecting food from a tall tree while Kal is toying around, asking her to tell him everything about ORCA. She says it is like a big space craft – just under water. Kal is surprised that the Earth People like to live under the water as they are creatures of the land. When he asks if the explored land is not enough Neri explains the humans are also looking for food and raw materials in the oceans and are wrecking them while doing so. She reminds Kal that they have to look for the Synchronium.

On ORCA it is a big day for Brett, his friends and especially Winston – it is the day of their diving exam. Winston is very scared and convinced that he is going to fail although all his friends try to cheer him up. In the galley Brett, Jason and Cass are discussing the importance of this exam as it is Winston’s last day if he wants to stay on ORCA.

A girl – Marica – from Jason’s class shows up and starts a flirt with Jason. Suddenly her boy-friend (Butch) appears out of nowhere – very big and very annoyed… Hastily Jason retreats.

On the island Kal keeps asking Neri about ORCA which seems to him like a military organization. She says it is very important for the personnel of ORCA to keep discipline in order to cope with the dangers in the oceans. She excuses herself and heads to the beach. Kal follows but she says him to stay behind. Neri promises to return before midday. Reluctantly Kal obeys. She swims off and sneaks aboard the station.

She finds Brett and Jason in their quarter and asks if they have already found out anything about the Synchronium. Jason denies and excuses themselves with a lot of work. Neri is very disappointed that they did not keep their oath. With combined efforts Jason and Brett manage to convince Neri that they did not forget her and they will look for the Synchronium, soon.

In the lab Winston is still worried about the exam and Dianne suggests that Neri could help him. She decides to give up her appointment with Kal and agrees to stay nearby.

Meanwhile Kal is playing with a huge sand crab. When he looks up, he concludes from the sun’s position that it is midday. As Neri did not show up he feels free to go out and scout around for himself…

He encircles ORCA and watches two divers leave the station from the lower sea deck. As soon as they are out of sight, he enters. In the pool he looks around – “ORCA..!”. He finds a uniform and starts to explore the corridors.

For Winston it is time for his exam and with Dianne he heads towards the turbo lift to the pontoon where the boat is waiting. They meet a “friendly smiling” Kellar which assures Dr. Bates they are up to something.

Kal has entered a class room where Morgan is “advertising” for a physical training course – as nobody seems to be interested she almost blackmails the pupils and suddenly there are lots of “volunteers”. Kal also raises his hand. They head for the gym hall and Morgan takes their names.

Benny, Brett and Cass are waiting in one of the corridors for the time to their test to pass. Cass mentions she has had some nightmares lately as Brett gets a glimpse of Kal in a passing lift. He runs off and calls Jason who at once comes to help search for Kal.

In the gym hall Kal is working on a machine for testing his physical condition. Morgan checks the results and is shocked – no one has ever reached such excellent figures before. When she looks around Kal has disappeared and instead Jason and Brett show up to ask for him. Morgan orders them to get Kal back to her as soon as possible – otherwise she would be very angry…

On the pontoon Winston is feeling more and more sick and asks Neri again if she will be out there. “Maybe, maybe not,” she replies and gestures. Winston does not understand and she repeats the gestures and explains: “Believe in yourself!”

Jason and Brett finally localize Kal in the galley – in a conversation with Marica… The two boys approach the table and try to get Kal away by saying he is new on ORCA and they have to show him around. Marica says good-bye and reminds Kal of their date at 1600 hours. Brett has to go and leaves Jason and the problem behind.

At UBRI-central Dr. Hellegren and Kellar find Lena in one of the control rooms searching the computer archives and listening to the whale songs, recorded by Dr. Bates a year before. Hellegren says he made the study on the humpback whale long ago and mentions a strange girl who knew everything about it but is now gone. Kellar is quite upset about Lena snooping around in top secret data and decides to return her back home.

On ORCA Jason joins Kal in his date with Marica and does everything in his power to mess it up – with great success. In the End Marica leaves – really pissed off… Jason is happy but before he can enjoy his victory Morgan appears and takes Kal with her saying she expects to see him now constantly for the lessons.

Meanwhile Brett, Cass and Benny are celebrating their success as it is Winston’s turn now to enter the water. He submerges and follows Dave in a short distance as he sees Neri behind some corals waving at him. He looks around and starts to panic until suddenly Neri is next to him – repeating the gestures she explained to him. Winston calms down – he succeeds and even enjoyed the dive! As the boat heads home towards ORCA Neri surfaces in the backsea and Winston shows her “o.k.”. The Cmdr. is informed about the success and her expresses his honest congratulations to a very proud Winston who may now stay.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Kellar warns Lena to forget everything she saw and not to spy on things she is not supposed to see. “To know nothing is better… than to know… too much!” She says threatening.

Dr. Bates is annoyed that her sons did not tell her that Kal has been aboard and insists upon them getting him to her lab the next time he is around.

On the island Neri is very angry with Kal but he defends himself and claims he obeyed. He had waited until midday before he went to ORCA. Neri warns him that not all the people on ORCA are as friendly as Jason and Brett. But Kal wants to return!

Meanwhile the two boys are discussing ways to deal with the problem ahead. Jason says they have no choice: Kal is officially enlisted and they have been seen together with him. Morgan would be about to ask some very inconvenient questions if Kal does not show up for the lessons. Their only chance now is to keep the damage as little as possible and to watch every step Kal does. Brett: “That’s a nightmare!” – “You can say that again,” Jason agrees.

Episode 8

To keep Kal occupied Jason and Brett decide to take him to their mother’s lab and introduce him to her and Winston. The two are pleased and Kal shows a lot of interest in the lab’s equipment although he remarks that some of it appears rather “primitive” to him. Dianne agrees and says they want to learn from their civilization. She begs Kal to help her with some tests and he agrees.

Meanwhile Neri is informed by Charley that UBRI divers are preparing some massive explosives on the construction site. In horror she rushes to ORCA to inform Dianne. In the lab she and Winston discuss Kal’s strange behavior as if he wasn’t present when Neri hurries in and tells them about the explosives.

Dr. Bates gets very angry – now she knows what UBRI had in store for them. She calls the Cmdr. and demands a tribunal decision about the case. But despite of all her good arguments the tribunal decides to allow UBRI to continue their work but under strict conditions. The preparations are completed and the divers clear the area.

Meanwhile Jason, Brett, Neri and Kal are sitting on the beach of the island and Jason and Neri discuss the tribunal’s decision. Kal warns Brett to move away from under the palm tree because a coconut is about to hit him on the head. Brett does not believe him but marks the place he was sitting and joins Kal. A few seconds later the nut falls – directly into the marked area. Brett and Jason are speechless and ask Kal how he knew that. “It’s very easy,” Kal simply replies.

The explosives detonate and instantly Neri jumps up. She looks onto the sea and claims that something terrible has happened and the Synchronium has become more important than ever! Jason tries to calm her down by reassuring her they will try to find it. But they don’t know where to start looking for it. Kal remarks someone might have seen the falling pieces and reported them as strange lights or things like that. Brett and Jason agree and Jason asks Kal why he did not say so before. “You did not ask!” is the answer.

In HELEN’s central interface room, Brett and Jason try to access some of her data banks but are unable to make full use of the computer’s capabilities and have to remain to its basic search routines.

The following night Neri sleeps very bad and wakes up several times in fear.

Jason and Brett inform Dianne about Neri’s concern and she promises to go out with Winston to take a closer look. Meanwhile the two boys return to HELEN and check on the results of their search. There is nothing and they expand the period of time for the search up to 20 years.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house the Dr. is about to say good-bye to his daughter as he has to leave for work. Lena asks if she someday will get to know what he is really doing at UBRI. Hellegren replies there are no secrets at UBRI because they are under public observation and she only needs to ask: “I have nothing to hide from you!” He leaves and Lena returns to her computer looking at the monitor where a massage is flashing beneath her request to enter the UBRI data banks: “Access denied, enter password!” Nothing to hide…

On the lookout for Brett and Jason Neri visits Winston in the lab. He tells them the boys left for HELEN’s central core and the girl leaves to join them. Just as they enter HELEN reports a possible hit. Brett gets very excited but Jason warns him they don’t know the exact point of its impact. Kal watches the beginning of the decent and points out a place on the map. “Target there!” He claims. They decide to give it a try.

While they are collecting their equipment Neri tells Kal he has to stay on ORCA while Brett adds he has to go to the Biorobic lesson he enlisted. Quite cool Neri commands him to return to the island after the course and leaves with Brett and Jason on her tail. Kal stays behind – not very pleased.

The three young people fight their way through heat and dust on their way to the place of the impact. Neri gets weak from the lack of water but urges her friends to go on. Just before she breakes down she hears the sound of falling water nearby and the party takes a rest giving her time to wet down and recover.

On ORCA Cass and Benny are talking about their private problems with their families. To change the subject Benny suggests to play some games. “What? Tri-Gammon? (a 3-dimensional version of Backgammon) Benny, you are junior champion – I won’t stand a chance!” Cass replies. Benny grumbles that all his training was in vain because now he is champion no one wants to play him a game any more. Suddenly Kal shows up: “I play!” Benny is overjoyed and asks if he knows the game. Kal denies but claims he learns fast.

The three explorers have reached the designated area: The top of a huge cliff with an impressive view on a forest beneath them. Neri spots a place where no trees are growing and she and Brett begin their way down while Jason stays behind to secure the ropes.

The news of Benny having found a partner for a game has spread quickly among the young ORCA crew members and a large crowd has gathered. Benny completes the preparations and opens the game. After some moves he has to realize that despite Kal’s inexperience he is far from being an easy opponent…

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Lena’s search for the password is almost discovered by her father who has returned to get some discs he has forgotten. She asks why some areas of the archive are secured. The Dr. replies that it is just some old data – nothing of any interest only being stored in case it might be of any use some day. He leaves and Lena stares at four flashing lines demanding input.

On the way down the cliff Brett almost slips but is saved by Neri. Jason joins them and they continue without any further problems.

In the galley the unbelievable happens: Kal beats Benny by far. The audience is speechless as the (ex)champion admits his defeat and congratulates the winner. Kal says he has to go and runs off leaving many open mouths behind.

Meanwhile the party has made it safely down the cliff and discovers a small capsule half buried in the ground. Neri opens it and takes out a shape of a green blue color. With a bright proud smile she raises it above her head where it glitters in the sunlight.

Dave intercepts Dianne in one of ORCA’s corridors to tell her that he doesn’t agree with UBRI’s actions either. Dianne is grateful for his support and calls for her sons who are just about to enter the turbo lift. They excuse themselves and say they have some business to do. Dianne nods but stays suspicious.

Lena is still staring at the flashing cursor as she sees her photography on the desk and in a sudden inspiration she types: “LENA”. The monitor clears and a new message appears: “Loading data…” She gets full access to the files and begins to scan the entries.

On the island Jason, Brett, Neri and Kal have gathered at the beach around the Synchronium. Jason warns Neri that they were lucky this time but can’t be sure if it will happen again. But Neri is optimistic and decides to continue the search. “But today we celebrate!” Brett demands. She agrees and they attack the prepared picnic. (ORCA vs. UBRI – 1 : 0)

Episode 9

Neri is toying with her friend Charley. She dances with him through the depth before she says good-bye and swims to the small cave hidden deep within the labyrinth of the reef.

Meanwhile Jason and Brett are preparing a dive to join her. As they are about to enter the moon pool Winston and Dianne surface and report they have found nothing suspicious regarding Neri’s fear about the explosions on the construction site. Winston asks to join the boys but Jason denies because he should not “exaggerate for the time being”.

The boys arrive at the cave where Neri already awaits them eagerly and impatiently asks about their progress with the search. She urges the two to go on, because she can sense the oceans are beginning to change. Jason has training so Brett has to carry on with the search on his own.

On the island Kal curiously watches the Synchronium and asks Neri about it. She takes the piece and steps into the pool at her camp. As the Synchronium touches the water it boils up and the nearby waterfall increases its flow tremendously.

UBRI has continued its computer analysis of recorded sonic eruptions and discovered a promising trace in a nearby desert. Dr. Hellegren sends Kellar to check for the piece and bring it to UBRI.

Brett has found the same trace and in his euphoria calls for Jason on the bridge – breaking right into an emergency simulation… Confused Jason types a wrong order into the computer and instead of sealing the “damaged” sector he floods it – and with it half the station (simulated of course).

As soon as he can leave he starts with Brett to Neri’s island chewing out his brother on the way. They tell Neri about the new hint and ask for Kal’s exceptional abilities to locate the exact point of impact.

UBRI has reached the approximated site and starts to scan the area with special metal detectors.

Dr. Hellegren and his daughter have arrived on ORCA and Lena goes for the galley to look for Brett or Jason. Already there Brett and Kal are sitting at a table where Brett instructs the boy on things he has to know about UBRI and other things. At a table nearby Cass and Benny are wondering about the stranger and Benny recognizes his opponent in Tri-Gammon. Lena enters and immediately goes to Kal and Brett, saying she wants to talk with him. Brett denies and runs off to meet with Jason who waits with Neri in one of the storage rooms of ORCA. They get the necessary equipment and leave for the mainland.

As Neri arrives at the beach the two boys are already waiting for her. They are accompanied by three camels – the best way to travel in the desert…

Feeling a bit lonely (and curious) Lena joins Kal who is sitting alone at his table, too. They start a conversation and Lena gets to know that Kal is a friend of Brett. But before they can go on, Lena is called by one of UBRI’s people because her father wants to leave. Delighted that he has found a possible new friend Kal offers to come along.

Kellar informs Hellegren they have found the piece and the Dr. orders her not to touch anything and hurries out of his office to join the team in the desert. He finds his daughter at the turbo lift in a conversation with Kal. Not very pleased Hellegren orders one of his men to take his daughter home reminding her she is not supposed to “talk with strangers”. When she looks back Kal smiles, waves at her and leaves.

Brett, Jason and Neri have reached the desert by now and the two boys are worried about Neri being off the water for such a long time now and offer her to go on alone so she can return. As expectable Neri vigorously denies and they continue their way. Suddenly they spot a helicopter flying by in a distance – it seems to be heading in the same direction…

The Dr. approaches the digging site and Kellar leads him to the fallen capsule. Carefully he opens the heavily damaged pod and takes out the piece. “I’ll study it very closely,” he promises to Kellar and very satisfied he flies with the helicopter towards UBRI-central. Kellar leaves with all the personnel to get the transporters in order to salvage the capsule and the equipment.

Neri, Jason and Brett arrive but all that is left is the empty hull of the capsule. “It’s gone.” is all Neri says before turning around and walking away. Kellar returns with trucks to retrieve the equipment left behind – and the boys get to know their opponents: UBRI – again…

They try to make their escape on the camels but Kellar follows them in a Jeep chasing them across the dunes. But she gets stuck in loose sand and has to watch helplessly and furiously as the kids get away.

Back on ORCA Brett and Jason learn that Kal had a conversation with Lena Hellegren and warn him about her and her father. “Lena is nice,” Kal defends his new friend before he leaves to return to the island.

At UBRI-central Hellegren has discovered that the strange material has a very strong effect on water and is now convinced that it can only be from another world although Kellar still has her doubts. Hellegren orders the reopening of the “Ocean Girl” archive, showing Kellar some of the data they have about Neri. Unseen Lena has entered the lab and hears parts of the conversation. When she announces her presence Kellar quickly erases the monitor – not quick enough… Before he leaves Dr. Hellegren orders Kellar to “take care of the young intruders.”

On the island Neri, Brett and Jason discuss how UBRI knew about the Synchronium and they have an opponent now. Neri warns her friends again that Synchronium in wrong hands would be disastrous. “And Hellegren’s hands are wrongest.” Brett summons their fears.

Episode 10

Another peaceful day. Jason and Brett have come as usual to visit Neri on her island. As they arrive Kal passes them in a hurry and dives to get his morning swim before they can do anything about it. The two boys and Neri walk along the beach and talk about UBRI continuing the blasting for the construction of ORCA City and Neri urges her friends to go on looking for the other pieces. Jason tries to persuade her to be patient and warns her not to leave the piece they have lying around. She claims it is save in her nest but as Kal emerges from the ocean she has an idea and says she knows a place where no one will find it. Brett asks but she just shakes her head. “Sshhht, not tell Kal … Safer!” As soon as she is alone she takes the Synchronium and takes it to the cave in the reef.

As Brett enters the galley Cass and Benny are playing Tri-Gammon and Cass asks where he was. Brett tells some lies as Benny’s father shows up and calls off his son who was supposed to be learning in his cabin by now. Cass pities her friend for having such “slavedrivers” as parents.

In the corridor Benny’s father chews out his son for being behind his lessons insteat of ahead, as he ought to be. Benny defends himself that he wants to spend some time with his friends and his father replies that he does not like his choice of friends – especially “the born rebel” Cass.

Meanwhile the girl is walking through some of the lower corridors of ORCA as she believes to see a shadow rushing to shelter as she approaches. Slowly she steps closer but doesn’t find anything.

The next day at the galley she mentions the incident to her friends but the boys don’t believe her and joke about a ghost being on ORCA and speculate about its origin “someone who was poisoned by the ORCA-food…” Cass gets angry and promises to prove it. Jason leaves and reminds Brett to go on with HELEN.

As he has left Benny tells Brett about a sunken treasure ship he read about and asks Brett if he wants to search for it with him and his friend agrees.

On his way to the central computer room Brett meets Neri who asks again about their progress with the search.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house the Dr. tells Lena he will be on business for the night. She wants to know where Kellar is in the meantime and he replies she has some work at UBRI-central.

That night Cass continues her search for the “ghost”. As she enters a storage room a little boy hurries for cover behind some shelves but has to realize that he has been spotted.

In the galley Benny and Brett invite Cass to join them in their search for the treasure ship but she denies. “Ghost-hunting?” Brett teases but Cass says she just wanted to “put them on” but should have known they wouldn’t fall for it. She takes some food she still has on her plate and goes leaving two suspicious friends behind but the two are to busy with their own plans – gold-hunting…

Cass returns to the storage room and gives the food she brought along to the boy, Ryan, she found there. While he eats she learns from him that he swum to ORCA from a passing boat as his parents tried to emigrate to Australia. Cass is very impressed by the boy’s courage to do this – and even at night! He tells her that in his country there are “no jobs, no food – very poor.” Cass wonders what she is supposed to do now. As Ryan worries she might tell someone about him she calms him down and promises to keep his presence a secret until she knows what to do. “You are a good buddy.” The boy replies happily. Cass warns him not to leave the room and starts to leave but Ryan holds her back glad he has someone he can talk to and as she realizes how important it is to him she stays.

Meanwhile Brett has prepared the Zodiac and meets with Benny at the elevator who proudly shows him a special metal-detector (very expensive piece of equipment).

On the bridge an officer of the internal security shows last night’s surveillance recordings to Cmdr. Wellington: A young boy sneaks through the corridor unaware of the monitoring camera above him… Cass’ friend is discovered and the Cmdr. orders security personnel for an all-out search. Meanwhile the subject of the search has fallen into a deep sleep of exhaustion. Thoughtful Cass watches her new friend before silently leaving the room.

At UBRI headquarters Lena enters the main control room and is informed by a woman that this is a restricted area for “authorized personnel only.” Lena says she lost an earring when she was around the last time with her father and wants to look for it. Unwilling to get into trouble with her boss the woman allows her to search for it and goes.

In the meantime Brett and Benny have completed their final diving-trip for this day without any success. As they take off their scuba equipment Benny accidentally hits the detector, it falls back into the water and sinks before he can retrieve it. In panic Benny puts on his mask again and jumps after it before Brett can stop him. As he takes a look at his gauges he realizes that his tanks are almost empty – and Benny’s must be exhausted, too. Worried Brett watches the emerging bubbles and hopes for the best.

Benny keeps on going deeper and deeper until the pressure in his tanks is insufficient for the present depth. The boy tries to reach the main valve but it is useless. Before he can think of anything else he loses his conscience.

In horror Brett has to watch the bubbles stop coming up but he can’t follow his friend to save him because he doesn’t have enough air even for the first meters. Nearby Charley has noticed the trouble and calls for Neri who rushes to help. She finds Benny and returns him to the surface. The boy was lucky and only got some water down his throat and soon regains his conscience. As his vision clears he sees Brett and a girl who has not been on the boat before. Brett introduces Neri but Benny is too worried about the detector to think about Neri’s sudden appearance on the boat out of nowhere.

“You wouldn’t want to do us another huge favor, would you?” Brett asks. In complete disbelief Benny watches Neri jump back into the water returning the detector from the sea bottom. Unfortunately it has crushed into a rock on its way down and is now heavily damaged.

On their return to ORCA Brett tells Benny everything about Neri and Kal. As they arrive they are welcomed by Dave Hartley: “Good afternoon, gentlemen… Now about that detector…” Brett urges Benny not to tell anyone anything about Neri and Kal because they would lock them up like animals in the zoo to examine them. And on top of it they need Neri for a job that could affect the safety of the whole world. Benny does not know what to do and can only think of the mess he got himself in.

Meanwhile Winston accidentally enters the storage room where Ryan is hiding and discovers him. Just as he steps out of his hide Cass enters and has to realize the game is over. As they discuss what to do now Ryan panics and runs out of the room – directly into the arms of two passing security people. Helplessly Winston and Cass watch Ryan being led away to the Cmdr. Cass tries to help him but is powerless as Cmdr. Wellington calls the emigration office.

After that he questions Benny about the “borrowed” detector and asks how he recovered the sunken device without any air and any help. In the background Jason and Brett are sweating blood and water but after a long silence Benny admits that he “lied” to hide his carelessness: The detector did not fall off the boat but was damaged while he was working with it on the ocean bed. As punishment he gets 40 points off his account and no further access to any equipment store. On their way back to their quarters Benny’s father is chewing out his son (again…). He points at Ryan “Imagine what this boy would give for what you have got… you are so privileged!”

Cass is very depressed about her friend leaving and promises to find out where he is going in order to write him – they will meet again someday. Sadly she follows him to the turbo lift and watches him go. Winston tries to console her by telling they have to hope for a better future but Cass just excuses herself and walks away.

Jason and Brett thank Benny for him keeping Neri’s secret and tell him he now is one of the very few people knowing about Neri and Kal.

Unknown to them another person has joined this exclusive club: Lena has gained access to the Ocean Girl data files of UBRI and watches an image of Neri emerging from the water, waving at the camera with a desperate look on her face unfolding on the screen… (ORCA vs. UBRI - 1 : 1)

Episode 11

Silently Kal sneaks on board ORCA and walks through the corridors to meet with his class. On his way he watches two young crew-members in a corner – deeply involved in a passionate kiss.

As he is back on the island he asks Neri about the strange thing he saw. Neri laughs and explains Kal the meaning of kissing. This leads to a discussion about emotions in general. Kal is confused and asks if emotions are always good. Neri denies and admits there are some that are very unpleasant – like loneliness and fear.

The following night Cass experiences fear as she wakes up because she had one of her nightmares again. Concerned her mother enters the room the girl is sharing with her sister Morgan who is “thrilled” to be awakened by Cass again. For a change the mother is on Cass’ side and Morgan suggests her sister to tell them about her dream. It is always the same: Cass is on a strange island, a girl is frightening her, she runs away and then… nothing. Morgan advises her not to watch too many horror videos. “The only horror in my life is having to share this cabin with you!” Cass angrily replies. The rest of the night passes without further horror.

During breakfast Benny asks Brett and Jason when they are going to take him to Neri’s Island like they promised as they have to witness one of the new boys aboard, Moose, taking away the food of some smaller kids. Brett gets furious but Benny does not want him to change the subject. Jason tells them to go alone while he continues the search for new pieces. Benny worries about them not finding the way back but Brett calms him down by showing his new satellite-navigator. Unfortunately Moose sees it, too, he always wanted to have such a device… On their way to the pontoon the boys have an unpleasant confrontation with an unkind (because sleepy) Cass.

Meanwhile Jason has finally another promising hit. He loads down all details he can get and leaves for Neri’s Island. There, Benny is very impressed by Neri and Kal but insecure how to behave until Neri invites him to eat with them. Benny asks Neri about the Synchronium and promises to help – although it seems a bit risky to him. “Good feeling?” Kal asks. “Very unpleasant…!”

UBRI has found another trace for a piece in their archives and decide to go for it the next day. It appears to lie somewhere beneath the continental socket in the ocean.

Jason arrives and proudly presents his new trace. He loads up a map of the estimated area of impact and Kal locates the exact spot after taking a short glance at the screen. Jason has to go for his training and Neri decides to look for the Synchronium on her own as Brett and Benny also have to return. Kal wants to come along with them. Neri allows him to accompany the boys but tells him he has to be back before sundown.

Somewhere underway the engine dies and Benny and Brett are stranded in the middle of nowhere. They ask Kal to pull them to ORCA but he says he has to go if he wants to be back on the island in time, waves at them and jumps into the water. As they are still wondering what to do, Neri emerges next to the boat reporting she did not find the capsule and will go on tomorrow. On her way back Charley told her about the boys’ problem. She dives to tug them back to ORCA. “The whale spoke to her?” Benny is speechless. “Yes, so what?” Brett replies.

In the galley Moose “asks” Cass to deliver a message: He wants to talk to Brett – as soon as possible. Bad luck for Brett: As he walks back to his quarters he runs into Moose and his gang of “friends”. Moose demands Brett’s navigator (a birthday present from his mother) as a sign of his friendship – otherwise he will have a big problem. He has time until 1500 hours the next day. The rest of the evening Brett is distracted and thoughtful and does not take part in the usual evening chatting of the family but goes to bed early – to his mother’s surprise. In the cabin he stares at his Navigator uncertain what to do.

The next day, Kal has returned to ORCA to attend another day with his class but before Brett gives him a special lesson: The boy is still furious about Kal letting them down the other day. Jason calmly tries to explain to Kal the meaning of loyalty and the need to help people in trouble.

At UBRI-central Dr. Hellegren has calculated the exact point of impact in a deep trench in the continental socket. They will need special equipment to salvage the capsule out of the extreme depth.

Meanwhile Neri has found the pod with the help of Charley but as she tries to dive down to get it the pressure becomes too great even for her extraordinary capabilities and she has to draw back. She swims to ORCA in the hope to get some reinforcements. Jason is worried about Neri’s safety but she claims they have to go on. She wants Jason to come along to guard a life line in order to pull her up in case she looses her conscience on the way down. Reluctantly Jason agrees but insists upon Brett joining them for further support.

In the galley Cass tries to apologize to Brett and Benny for her being in a bad mood for the last days. The boys accept it and Cass tells them about her nightmares. Benny and Brett exchange a glance: It can only be Neri’s Island. As she talks Cass looks at Brett strangely. There is more in her dream: Two boys and one of them seems to resemble Brett… Hastily her friends try to divert her from these “dreams” – Cass seems to regain her lost memory. Brett has to go to meet with Jason and as he passes Moose reminds him of the ultimatum.

UBRI completes another blasting and Dianne and Winston angrily notice on their equipment that as usual the strength is higher than UBRI had announced but within the permitted boundaries. Dianne starts having some doubts whether they are chasing shadows but Winston claims they always could rely on Neri’s presentiments.

Jason, Brett and Neri have reached their destination and Jason hooks the life-line to Neri’s waist. “Jason, if I do not return, take care for Kal…” With this Neri submerges leaving a very concerned friend behind. She swims deeper and deeper. Worried her friends watch a gauge on the winch passing 140m – beneath the continental socket but Neri is going on. She swims on deeper although her head begins to spin and ache but she can already see the capsule below encircled by Charley.

Jason starts to dress up in order to follow Neri commanding his brother to pull the girl up as she must not be allowed to go any deeper. As Brett starts to turn the winch back he has to realize the rope is not pulled straight any more. Jason hurries but just as he is about to enter the water an exhausted but proud Neri surfaces behind the boat holding another piece of Synchronium in her arms. Brett spots a rapidly approaching ship on a direct collision course – UBRI! Neri escapes with the piece and quickly Jason starts the engines and the small boat roars off home – leaving the huge slow vessel far behind. Angrily Kellar orders one of her divers down to look around although she is afraid they are too late.

On ORCA Brett proudly tells Benny and Kal about the successful operation. “You have good feeling?” Kal asks. “A very good feeling!” Brett nods – changing his mind immediately: Moose and his gang are blocking the corridor ahead. As Brett does not want to turn over the navigator to Moose the boy decides that Brett is dead threatening Benny and Kal to go their ways in case they don’t want some serious trouble, too. Obediently Kal turns around and leaves but Benny – terrified as hell but determined – stays.

Moose gets very impatient and starts to take actions against Brett who still refuses to give Moose the requested object. Kal returns, gets Moose by his shirt and lifts him without problems several centimeters in the air demanding the boy to stop hurting his friend. As his “friends” flee in panic Moose agrees to leave Brett alone for it was all just a joke. Brett and Benny are praising Kal for his help which makes Kal feel very loyal and very good!

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Kellar reports that they arrived too late and the ORCA kids now have got the capsule. She demands to take some immediate actions against these disturbances once and for all. The Dr. asks if it can be done without raising any attention and Kellar promises to figure out something. Neither of the two has noticed Lena who’s heard the whole conversation from up the stairs. Once more she starts wondering if everything at UBRI is in accordance with the laws and public interest.

In the privacy of their cabin Brett tells Jason that he is worried about Cass talking about her dreams of the island and Neri. Jason assures him that nobody would believe her. He asks Brett that the next time he has trouble with someone like Moose he should inform him. Brett tells his brother about Kal’s help and is surprised that Jason is not as happy as he should be. He is worried that Kal could be influenced by someone like Moose and nobody knows what would be the result.

On the island Kal sits with Neri at the beach and tells her about the good feeling he had when helping his friend. He thinks emotions are very interesting and he wants to experience them all. (ORCA vs. UBRI - 2 : 1)

Episode 12

Neri is sitting at a small pool in the jungle of her island as a splash near her position makes her smile: “I thought you were going for breakfast!” She laughs. “You know I was?” Kal asks. “Stones don’t fall from trees!” – “Oh…” The boy appears with an arm full of fruits and Neri thanks him. Kal does not understand and so Neri explains to him the feeling of gratitude.

On ORCA Sallyanne tells Benny that today is an important day for the recruits: It is their first practical helicopter-lesson. The girl seems relaxed and happy but Jason excuses himself and leaves the galley. Outside he takes a deep breath and wipes away the sweat on his forehead…

Brett and Benny meet a sleepy Cass in the corridors – her nightmares have kept her up again. Again she tells Brett one of the boys seems to resemble him.

Meanwhile Dave Hartley gives last preflight instructions to the cadets. Sallyanne is the first to go and Jason becomes more and more nervous.

On the island Kal finds Neri sitting on a large rock and asks if she is not feeling well. The girl admits she is sad because she misses her father. Kal is surprised that he does not miss his dead parents and Neri shows him the medallion her father gave to her long ago and says it always reminds her of him. Kal seems confused but Neri feels better and they return to her camp.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Lena is about to visit a scientific auditorium as her father asks her why she seemed distracted for the last few days. She starts to explain what the problem is but is interrupted by a call from Kellar who starts to report about a possible solution for “the small problem” but stops as she notices Lena’s presence behind Hellegren. The girl pretends to go but hides behind a screen and listens to Kellar’s report: She suggests to “get rid of those kids” and mentions some problems they had earlier with the Alien and the whale. She asks for a meeting to discuss the matter with the Dr. in person to prevent the possibility of being monitored. Hellegren agrees and tells her to come to his house fast, because he wants to get finished before his daughter returns…

On ORCA a proud Sallyanne returns from her flight and tells about her successful lesson. Jason is next to be and reluctantly he enters the turbo lift up to the pontoon. Hartley gets them up in the air and invites Jason to take over but the boy pants he can’t.

Back on ORCA Morgan is very angry and tells Jason that if it comes to her he should be dismissed from the training because of his lack of courage. Hartley commands Morgan to take up the next cadet and asks Jason what the problem is. Jason is ashamed and admits he is worried about making a mistake thus causing the death of all the people on board the helicopter. Dave cheers him up and offers him a second chance when he thinks he is ready.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Kellar suggests to allure at least one of “the ORCA kids” to a place where they are undisturbed to get to know everything they know about the alien material and convince them to give up their search for it. Kellar asks what they should do if they deny and the Dr. permits more drastic actions to stress UBRI’s demands… They decide to use the ORCA-news network to broadcast a faked message to gain their attention. Unknown to them Lena has heard the whole conversation.

On the island Neri tells Kal she has to go to ORCA and is surprised about him not asking permission to join her. Instead the boy asks about her pendant and tells her he thinks his parents gave something like that to him and he wants to go to the ship to look for it. Neri agrees and leaves. At the beach she welcomes Benny and Brett and sends the two boys to the ship as she has to visit the construction site.

Meanwhile Kal has entered the ship and returns to the chamber he slept in for such a long time. On top of the capsule he finds a strange device which produces some weird but solemn sounds. Benny and Brett find him in deep thoughts playing a strange, sad music. To Brett’s (and Kal’s) great surprise the alien boy is crying! Brett explains Kal the meaning of crying and the boy guesses that the memories of his dead parents make him feel like this and goes on playing his music.

On ORCA Brett tells his brother about Kal and Jason is more and more worried because Kal is starting to develop feelings on his own without guidance which could result in unpredictable problems.

Suddenly the two boys are all ear: The speaker of the ORCA news reports that a group of scientists have found out that some 18 years ago an unknown object has fallen onto Stokes Island.

Very contempt Dr. Hellegren switches off the TV not noticing his daughter’s strange expression.

The next day Brett urges Jason to go to the island but his brother denies because he has training and Brett decides to go with Neri.

At Dr. Hellegren’s house Lena desperately tries to make a decision: Finally she takes her father’s ID-card and goes for the next shuttle to ORCA.

On Stokes Island Kellar impatiently waits for the things to come but Dr. Hellegren calms her down convinced the boys will come! He is right: Brett and Neri are on the way.

Meanwhile Lena has arrived on ORCA and locates Jason and Sallyanne in one of the corridors. She tells him about the trap her father has set but Jason does not believe her. But as Lena mentions two strange girls and a machine her father wants to get his hands on Jason is convinced… But the time is short and there is no chance to intercept his brother in time except for using a helicopter. Jason rushes up to the bridge and tells Hartley that he is now ready to do the test but Dave can’t leave and assigns Morgan to go along.

In the meantime Kellar and Dr. Hellegren watch Brett’s approach towards their position…

Jason and Morgan are already in the air and Jason takes over command to fly them to Stokes Island. Despite Morgan’s protests he passes his brother’s boat several times until finally Brett realizes what his brother wants to tell him and turns back to make his return to ORCA leaving a very angry Kellar behind who suspects a traitor within UBRI.

Jason is being chewed out by Hartley for his irresponsible behavior and told he has to repeat the test. A very upset Morgan promises a very hard test but is send away by Dave. As soon as she is out of sight his tone gets much more friendly: “At least you’ve proofed to yourself you can do it. … It must have been an interesting flight – I would have loved to join…”

After that Jason takes his brother to the waiting Lena to thank her for what she has done. She begs the boys to tell her about Neri but they deny and take her to the next shuttle to the mainland. Unknown to them they are being watched by a woman of UBRI’s crew who immediately reports back to a very pleased Kellar.

On the island Jason and Brett tell Neri everything about Lena and the trap wondering what UBRI has next in store for them as they want all the Synchronium. (ORCA vs. UBRI - 2 : 1)