01x02 - Starling, D.S.V.

[bunniefuu]

♪ Once upon a future time ♪

♪ In a place called Stardust Bay ♪

♪ Countin' down to adventure now ♪

♪ Rockets on a mission, we're on our way ♪

♪ Space Racers ♪

♪ Surfing the solar winds ♪

♪ Space Racers ♪

♪ Together the fun begins ♪

♪ Way out where the planets, moons, and stars ♪

♪ All shimmer shine ♪

♪ Havin' a great time exploring ♪

♪ Space Racers ♪

Hey, wait for me!

[students chattering]

Gather 'round, cadets.

I know everyone's excited about Sandpiper's mission to Sedna,

but we've got wheel lunges today.

[Space Racers groan] Come on, Coach.

How can we think about doing exercises

when Sandpiper is scheduled to return any minute?

Sandpiper is so amazing. She's my hero!

Hey! I thought I was your hero!

I heard Sandpiper landed on Sedna

and she's bringing back core samples.

What is Sedna anyway?It's a dwarf planet.

About the size of Pluto's moon Charon,

but three times farther from the sun.

No one's been out that far before!

Oh, cool!

[enthusiastic chatter]

All right, all right. Settle down, kids.

I can see we're not gonna be doing any lug lifts today.

Sandpiper is one of Stardust Space Fleet's

greatest explorers,

holder of the Neptune Marathon record,

and returning from a deep space mission to Sedna.

In fact, she should be entering Earth's atmosphere right about now.

[alarm beeping] Ava: Attention, all personnel,

please report to Mission Control.

We have a Level One emergency.

[alarm continues to sound]

Uh, class is canceled.

Mayday! Mayday!

My thrusters are not responding!

Mayday! Mayday!

I have complete engine failure!

Repeat, engine failure!

I'm going down!

Sandpiper requesting assistance!

I need help!

We know she went down somewhere in the ocean

around this location.

Is her radio still transmitting?

No, we've lost all contact.

Well, let's go find her!

[revs engines] No, Eagle, wait!

There is an additional problem.

At the depth where Sandpiper went down,

the water pressure is too great

for any of us to withstand.

I don't understand. Isn't it just water?

Ah, but water is much heavier than air, cadet.

Our bodies can travel through the vacuum of space,

or with the weight of the air on us.

But if we go too deep under water,

the pressure is like having the entire ocean on top of you.

Here, I'll demonstrate what we're talking about.

Observe what happens to a barrel of fuel

as it sinks to the bottom.

See? The heavy weight of the water

creates pressure great enough to damage even a steel barrel!

If Sandpiper sank to the bottom of the ocean,

she could be seriously injured.

So we need to rescue her!

But how?

Ideas?

Suggestions, anyone?

I'm sure I could get to her with a tow line.

Too dangerous.

You saw what happened to the barrel.

Maybe if we lowered a long rope?

But we don't know her exact location.

Do we have some sort of special capsule for underwater missions?

We do.

I've been working on an experimental deepwater submarine

that's designed to protect us from intense water pressure.

There's just one problem... it's a scale model,

far too small for any of us to fit into.

Even for me?

Starling, are you okay in there?

Totally cool!

Starling, usually we would never ask a Junior Racer

to go on such a challenging mission.

But these are not normal circumstances.

Just tell me what to do, sir.

You'll need to find Sandpiper, attach a cable line,

and tow her back up to the surface.

Got it.

And we'll be with you the whole time

via the onboard video monitor and voice interface.

But there is no way for us to know

what you will encounter down there,

so you may have to adjust your plan

based on what you observe and learn.

Remember to keep your eyes and ears open.

Aye aye, sir!

Nervous?A little.

Don't worry, sprout, you'll do great!

According to my calculations,

Sandpiper probably drifted to this point here.

Eyes and ears open.

Got it.

[engine thrusts]

Are you ready, Starling?

Ready as I'll ever be.

Good luck then. Mission is a go.

Activate propellers.

It's getting darker.

That's because less sunlight

is able to get through the water.

Okay, Starling,

Now head toward Sandpiper's last known position.

It's completely dark down here.

How is the sub holding up?

Well, I'm hearing a lot of funny rattling noises,

but everything seems to be working.

If you run into trouble,

return to the surface immediately!

Uh, you're starting to break up.

Eagle: If you start to lose communication,

just remember, don't panic...[static]

Eagle?

Hello?

Ava?

Anyone?

Uhh.

♪ A friend is a friend is a friend ♪

♪ Friendly, friendly, friendly, friendly, friendly, friend ♪

Aaahhh! A sea monster!

Oh!

Ooh. It's just some seaweed.

Ah, it looks a little bit like Mr. Vulture.

Gotta stay calm.

Keep my eyes and ears open.

Uh-oh, what's this?

Rockets?

These old booster rockets must have splashed down

after separating from the satellites

we put into orbit.

There must be dozens of them.

I wonder how old they are?

Oh, this sure is scary.

I just wish I wasn't doing this on my own.

Ahh, Mr. Rocket Baby?

Who put you in here?

I hope she found Mr. Rocket Baby.

Eyes and ears open.

What do you see, Mr. Rocket Baby?

What's that? You see a clue?

Wait! I really do see a clue.

Paint chips!

Purple paint chips!

The same color as Sandpiper!

What's this?

Fuel?

I must be close now.

Sandpiper!

Ahh, Cadet! How did you find me?

We didn't know where you were!

I saw your paint floating in the water

and followed it to the cloud of fuel, which led me to you!

Oh, my gosh! I can't believe I'm really meeting

the famous Sandpiper! You are my total hero!

You're a role model to me and millions of...

Whoa. Whoa. Slow down.

Uh, first of all, what's your name, dear?

Starling. I'm a Junior Space Racer!

I like your little sub.

Thanks. I'm supposed to tow you to the surface.

Can you move?

I'm afraid that's a negative, Junior Space Racer.

My engines aren't working.

Oh, it's a good thing you landed on this ledge.

If you had fallen all the way to the bottom...

Well, let's make sure that doesn't happen.

How about that tow line?

We have to get it around your body.

Whoa! Easy!

The rock is giving way.

If I can't get the cable around you,

maybe you can just grab it?

No can do, Starling. My wings are broken.

I can't grab anything.

Uh, so what are we going to do?

We're going to have to work together

to come up with a new plan.

Okay, well, maybe I could repair your engines?

Not very likely.

Did you bring any spare parts?

No, I just have Mr. Rocket Baby.

[laughing] Okay. So have either of you seen anything useful?

Well, we saw a bunch of scary seaweed

that looked like Mr. Vulture.

[chuckles] Yes, I saw that, too.

But Vulture's head is bigger.

[laughing]

There was also a bunch of space junk

floating around in the water.

Wait. What kind of space junk?

Hmm. Uh, debris from satellites, some old tires,

a bunch of booster rockets.

Booster rockets?

Starling, you're a genius! A homemade evacuation sled!

We'll get you into the booster

and then I'll tow it to the surface!

Sounds like a plan!

You ready, Starling?

Ready as I'll ever be.

Here we go.

[grunts]

Ohhhh!

Uhhh...

It's heavy!

You can do it!

Come on! Pull!

Yay! It's working!

Oh, how long has it been?

Too long.

I hope she's okay.

Both: Starling!

Huh? What on Earth?!

Ava: Cadet Starling has returned

to the surface with Sandpiper.

Mission success!

Yay!

Diggity!

You did it, Starling!

Kept your eyes and ears open,

observed your surroundings,

followed the clues until you found Sandpiper,

and then created a tool to rescue her.

I'm very proud of you!Me, too.

I'm proud of me, too!

But I couldn't have done it without you and the whole team.

Oh, and Mr. Rocket Baby.

I never got a chance to thank you, Starling.

You're a very brave ship.

Well, I had to volunteer, you're my hero!

No, you're my hero!

[gasps]

[giggles]