05x09 - Courage

[bunniefuu]

Previously, on "The Last Ship".

If we work with the rebels,
take control of the island,

we can us it as a staging ground.

We take Cuba... we can win this w*r.

Your leg or your life?!

We're under att*ck and require
immediate assistance.

I swore an allegiance to my president.

You may have hit us hard,
but you didn't finish us.

Come at us again, I dare you.

That was a dumb thing you did.

You could have k*lled yourself.

I didn't.

We have an invasion to plan.

- [GRUNTS]
- ,

, , , .

Rest. [LAUGHS]

Thanks.

You watch.

When I get my new legs fitted,

start doing laps around this place.

When you get your new legs
fitted, I'm taking you home.

Did you get my dress whites?

I want to look sharp for the fellas

when I see them on the James tomorrow.

My first time back on board since my...

Eric. The James is gone.

Mom and I went down to the pier
this morning

to deliver USO packages
before I came here,

and the ship isn't there.

What?

There were a bunch of other
family members down there,

as surprised as we were.

Please, please don't be upset.

I... I know you... you had
your... your heart set on going,

and...

Are you okay?

It's on.

The invasion... this is it.

D-Day's coming.

The fact that we got out
without anyone knowing

means we got a sh*t to win this thing.

KARA: Attention all hands.

This is your captain.

We have now crossed
south of the th parallel.

In addition to the Marines onboard,

we have more following us
on USS Michener.

It's our job to see to it

that they make it safely
to their destination.

From this moment forward,
all contacts...

surface, subsurface, and airborne...

are to be considered hostile.

The battle before us

will most likely
alter the course of the w*r.

The conflict that began in Mayport

will end on the beaches
of South America.

And we will be victorious.

That is all.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Fresh intel from the rebels.

There are now two divisions of troops

stationed in Panama
at the mouth of Gatun Locks.

It's about , men.

How? There's no way they rebuilt
the bridge at the Darien Gap.

He must have pulled troops
off the front lines

in Mexico and Nicaragua.

The canal is Gustavo's center of
gravity, and he knows it.

He's hunkering down, waiting for us.

In view of this intelligence,

the planned-on landing
on the outskirts of.

Colon, Panama, will not work.

- So we pivot.
- Where?

Where's a soft spot?
Where do we land? Costa Rica?

CHANDLER: Based on
Dr. Montano's w*r plans,

Gustavo likes to hang back
until he's certain

of where we're striking,
and then mount a counterattack.

Yes, sir.
That's the Marines' experience.

So any beach we choose will feel
like a soft spot at first.

So we don't waste our energy
getting bogged down

in a protracted land engagement

when we're outgunned and outmanned.

We go with the beach that leads
us straight to the king.

What do we know of Gustavo's
defenses in Colombia?

Armando's rebels reported
peculiar troop concentrations

here, here, and here.

That's the area where Gustavo was born.

A town called Rubi.

I bet he's there now.

There are several options
for beaches to hit.

The most obvious ones here and here

are most likely heavily mined
and protected.

There is a beach area here.

Locals call it Playa Roja.

Red Beach. It's small,

a little steep and rocky
for an amphibious landing.

Which means it's probably less guarded.

So we'll make our landing there,
take out any troop bases,

fight our way to Rubi,
and take out Tavo.

Sir? Ma'am, we had eyes on our
Panama landing for weeks.

We had every detail
of that place mapped out.

No one's sending any Marines in
without a solid plan, Colonel.

We'll send in a recon
and surveillance team

to give us a complete picture
of the beach.

If that checks out, come morning,

we're invading Colombia.

Navy and Marines, side by side.

I'll brief the team, sir.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

HECTOR: Tavo.

The Americans have been planning
an invasion from Cuba

for months now.

But now they know that

they are not strong enough
to take Panama.

They are going to look for
a place less strongly defended.

We need to protect our base
in Colombia.

- At the expense of the canal?
- Forget the canal.

They cannot thr*aten the canal
with two or three ships.

They are going to try to win
with a single strike.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

We do agree, Tavo.

We all agree that we are vulnerable.

But it is up to you.

Either we move our troops
back to Colombia,

or we find someplace safe to move you.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Then what do you want to do?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

miles to the Colombian coast.

I wonder how many shifts Gustavo's got

patrolling between here and there.

Two, maybe three.

Losing that Mexican oil terminal
had to slow him down.

- What's wrong?
- That beach.

We don't have any larger scale
charts of our landing zone?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

You... you look different
than the first time we met.

You were haunted.

Or maybe hunted.

This is what w*r has done to you.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Cool movie projector. Old-school.

Yeah, my old man sent it to me.

He teaches film appreciation
at my old high school.

Hi, Dad. Hi, Cherry Hill.

Dad wanted students to see films
as they were made.

On film.

So that's what we're gonna do.

We got a classic tonight.

These guys are about to storm
the beaches of South America.

A lot of them probably
won't come back alive.

You think they're in the mood
for a movie?

Well, that's sort of the point.

The way I see it,
I'm just lucky to be alive.

The virus, famine.

The w*r.

Everybody I know is dead
except for these guys.

You know what I'm talking about?

People are freaking out at home
right about now.

NINA: Should they be?

I don't know. Maybe.

I mean, if we lose down here,

there's not much to stop
the enemy from...

I don't know.

Moving in.

So yeah, freaking out
sounds about right.

You ever get afraid?

Afraid, sure.

Fear is something you carry around

with the rest of your gear.
You know, it's, uh...

It's a lot like my boy Miller
used to say.

You know, you, um...

When you're on a mission
and your pack gets too heavy,

you got to dump the stuff
that's useless,

and fear is just one of those things.

Where's Miller now?

♪ ♪

Is this gonna get broadcast?

Yes, of course.

What's up, Miller?

Do your reps and don't get lazy.

I'ma see you stateside.

And if you're out of shape,

I'm gonna kick your ass.

♪ ♪

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

_

_

This man makes battle decisions

based on seeing a bird in the sky.

It's his wife.

He executes loyal officers

based on his fortune teller's reading.

Hector, how many of our troops
have to die for this...

for this madman?

Gentlemen, please, have some respect.

- He brought us this far.
- You started this.

And now you're afraid
to pull the trigger?

What is your problem?!

I have known this man my whole life.

We were kids together.

The man you knew is gone.

General, you know this is true.

He is a danger to us all now.

Every hour we wait

is another hour he puts our
entire continent at risk.

I say we vote.

Here and now.

♪ ♪

All right.

Raise your hands if you agree.

♪ ♪

_

At the Commanding Officer's dinner,

Gustavo Barros will die.

Admiral, I have something at SLQ- .

Bearing?

- - .

Set general quarters.

Aye, aye, sir.

All hands set general quarters.

Michener on semaphore reports contact

at - - relative bearing.

Gator, calculate range.

Calculating.

With current bearing lines,

I have them at miles.

Contact?

Didn't expect he'd have ships
patrolling this far north.

Maybe he has a fleet
bigger than we figured.

I have two ships.
Noviembre- class corvettes.

Doing a crossing pattern
up ahead, separating now.

Sentries stalking the waters,
looking for us.

Stop the ship. All stop.

Bridge, T.A.O....
Admiral's orders, all stop.

All stop.
Zero turns, port and starboard.

I can't see them.
They're still over the horizon.

Gator, any sign they heard us?

GATOR: No deviation from
established tracks as yet.

Speeds are unchanged.

MAN: Admiral's on the bridge.

How the hell are we gonna
get past these guys?

If it was just us, we might be
able to slip through,

but with the Michener behind us...

It's like wearing a big
flashing sign, "We're here."

We can't let them know we're here.

Even if we sink them,

they'll radio back to Gustavo
that we're coming.

The invasion's off.

Ideas?

Sirs, ma'am.

If we calculate

a moving plot of the area of
awareness of each ship,

and we slip along
the edges of the two zones

by starting and stopping,
veering sharply,

and occasionally going backwards,

I think we can just miss each one.

It's like "Frogger."

The old video game?

All right, tell Michener
to tuck in behind us

as close as they can. Course?

- - .

- O.O.D., I have the conn.
- Aye, captain has the conn.

- Helm, set course - - .
- Aye, ma'am.

Setting course - - .

Signalman, alert Michener
to come yards astern.

Aye, sir.

We're gonna Frogger.

First ship approaching CPA
in one minute.

Slow her down. Trail shafts.

Aye, aye, ma'am.

[POWERING DOWN]

What's your current wind?

Sir, knots on the port beam.

If we slow down any more,
we're gonna start to yaw,

and then we'll be presenting

a great big radar reflection to them.

Let her skid if the wind
starts to turn her.

Aye, aye, sir.

I've got a light on the horizon,
dead ahead.

GATOR: That's them,
but they're passing.

They're passing CPA in seconds.

Now seven, now five.

KARA: Take your rudder left degrees.

Aye, aye, ma'am.

Rudder's left degrees.

Passing on my mark.

Now!

But here comes the second one.

Back one-third now!

Signalman, tell Michener
to back off one-third.

Yes, sir!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

That was way too close.

Second vessel is passing CPA...

Now.

KARA: All ahead full.

Aye, aye, ma'am. All ahead full.

[ENGINES POWERING UP]

I think it worked.

They didn't see us.

Helm, come to course - - .

Aye, ma'am. Setting course - - .

Nice job.

[EXHALES]

GUSTAVO: I've thought it over, Hector.

And I've made my decision.

We're going to move a battalion
of troops back to Colombia.

Conchita showed me the signs,

and they're auspicious
for moving in this direction.

Please send my thanks to your oracle.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

_

[CHUCKLES]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

_

_

_

Thank you.

For everything.

Of course.

Always.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪ ♪

Sorry, ma'am, this is off-limits.

No cameras.

CHANDLER: Unlike our initial
target in Panama,

this beach hasn't been mapped closely.

And it's right in Gustavo's backyard.

I want intel on the surf,
the sand, and the landing area.

We need to know if and where the
enemy has placed g*ns or troops.

A few hundred souls
will be storming that beach

tomorrow before dawn.

I don't want any surprises.

- Are we clear?
- ALL: Yes, sir!

Green, Burk, Wolf, you'll be
headed back to the ship tonight.

Good luck and see you in a few hours.

Kandie, Barco, you're staying
ashore to set targets.

Stay safe, stay quiet.

See you at dawn.

♪ ♪

Got your swim legs?

You know I do.

What is it?

This is my last mission.

I mean it.

After this,

after we do what we came here to do,

I'm out. I'm done with w*r.

And if after all this,

you and Frankie can stand being
around whatever's left of me,

I'd love to come home.

You mean that?

What do you say, Captain?

We'll talk about it when you come back.

Okay.

You just make damn sure you come back.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Gear up, rookie.

We're out of here.

♪ ♪

Bird is away.

Can we reach them on one watt?

Yes, sir! For another minute or two.

Brawler, this is Nathan James.
You got your radio on?

Nathan James, we are currently
six miles from target.

Horizon's clear.

Try to keep that bird in
one piece till you get back.

Copy that, sir.

Unless you see something
that threatens the mission,

go radio silent now.

Godspeed. Nathan James out.

Going zip lip now, sir.

Catch you on the flip side.

T.A.O., mark the time.

Recon team will drop in three minutes.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

SLIDER: Drop zone in seconds!

Gonna have a -foot jump.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

My grandfather piloted
a landing craft into Normandy.

A year later, he joined
the th Fleet in the Pacific.

And here we are,
doing it all over again.

History tends to repeat.

A lesson you can share with your
class next semester, professor.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NISHIOKA: They should be
on the beach by now.

♪ ♪

This is Cobra One,
commencing periphery scout.

Cobra Two and Four,
establishing hide site.

Cobra Three and Five
commencing hydrographic survey.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

WOLF: That's right, boys.

Just another night at the beach.

♪ ♪

Cobra Team, this is Cobra Five.

Well, the good news is, so far,

everything is consistent with
what we've expected to find.

Copy that, Cobra Five.

And the bad news?

Well, so far, everything is consistent

with what we expected to find.

We have steep inclines

and various near-surface obstructions.

I'm gonna suggest the Admiral
rename this operation.

"Less Than Ideal."

WOLF: This is Cobra One.

I've got two observation posts
with machine-g*n placements.

Looks like . s.

meters apart.

and yards from shore.

A dozen or so m*llitary-aged
males standing watch.

Some kind of makeshift barracks
on the bluff.

Hard to tell how many more
could be up there.

Copy that, Cobra One.

- Ready?
- Ready!

Cobra Two, antenna is set.

Establishing connection
with Navy Spear.

I count swell periods of
five to seven seconds.

Direction is north, northwest.

It's gonna be a bumpy climb
up the beach.

I got the pucks.

XO, you all right?

[SIGHS]

It's so beautiful here, man.

It's peaceful.

It's hard to believe how different

this place is gonna be in a few hours.

Let's go.

♪ ♪

Navy Spear, this is Cobra Four.

Drinks are on the house. Over.

Cobra Four, this is Stonewall Six.

Go ahead with sit rep.

Two anti-air a*tillery pieces.

Half a dozen men with AK- s.

Change of command TBD.

Regular patrol every minutes.

Conbeachrep consistent with
previous satellite imagery.

Coral outcroppings and obstructions

currently being marked in
the water with infrared pucks.

Cans.

Hear that?

Marking.

I'm sorry, sir.
I'm not hearing anything.

- A vessel, sir?
- The battleship.

No sign of her since the spring.

She's back.

[SONAR PINGING]

Enhancing low frequencies.

Maybe they cut their engines, sir.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Admiral, surface contact
on passive bearing - - .

Now - - .

- Unable to identify on SLQ- .
- There is a ship out there.

Damn, it's right between us
and our team on the beach.

- Sonar?
- I have it.

Scanning profiles now.

It's a corvette.

They followed us south?

No, sir. Previous contacts
were Noviembres.

This... this is an Espora class.

Another ship.

This far east of Panama?

There's no sign they've changed
course or speed.

I don't think they've seen us yet.

Even if we stay at Emcon Alpha,

chances are she'll find us
or Michener very soon.

We move, we're found out,
and the operation is blown.

We stay put, same outcome.

And Cobra team is stranded
on the beach.

We have to be ready to fight.

CIC, bridge.

Enable all manual bypass
settings for weapons.

T.A.O., aye, dispatching now.

Don't energize until my command.

Worse comes to worst,

we're gonna have to sacrifice
Nathan James to save Michener.

Keep those Marines on mission.

By that time, Gustavo's entire
army will be at the beach.

There won't be any mission.

Uh, ma'am?

Sirs?

If I may?

I think I know a way
for us to stay invisible.

Jamming? They'll sense that.

Sir, I can do it
without them even knowing

that their system's being jammed.

- How?
- Send out the helo,

align it with their bow, and
emit a custom-coded HF signal.

Now, the software doesn't
k*ll the radar entirely,

but it creates a loop,
giving them false imagery.

Software? I never heard of it.

Uh, it's new, sir.

And full disclosure, untested.

I started developing it
in my JMO course

before we got called up.

Kind of a pet project.

Show us.

Mother, this is Brawler.

Radar jammer on board.

We are ready for action.

NISHIOKA: Copy that, Brawler.

So, once the HF signal's
picked up on enemy radar,

they won't be able to see us,

even though our helo's
right in front of them?

Yes, sir. I've only been able to
test this on commercial radar,

but it was designed to operate
above , megahertz.

It'll render, sir.

I know it.

We good?

Going in low, slow, and without a glow.

Let's hope this nerd
knows what he's doing.

Here we go, girls!

Mother, we are seven mikes to target.

ZOTTI: The entire w*r effort
is riding on

an untested invisibility cloak.

This programmer hasn't failed us yet.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

The corvette's still in its
standard search pattern, ma'am.

Good. Let's hope
we can keep it that way.

Helo should be coming up on
corvette's radar range soon.

Brawler, Mother.

Initiate jamming sequence.

[BEEPING]

Uh, Ensign?

Shouldn't this thing be
whooshing or something?

Negative, ma'am.

Don't worry. It's engaged.

DANNY: I marked three areas
of obstruction.

IR signals are set to turn on
just before we launch.

We got about a dozen pucks left.

Let's carve out a lane for the tracks.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Mother, this is Brawler.
We are in position.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Here she comes.

♪ ♪

And we're live, Mother.

Corvette should be
panning the helo as we speak.

Is it working?

Yes, sir, Admiral. It should be.

Monitoring the corvette's
HF chatter now.

They're silent. No alerts, no alarms.

♪ ♪

We're drowning in radar right now.

I can't believe they can't see us.

I got something!

♪ ♪

Biologicals.

[GASPS] Dolphins.

♪ ♪

Corvette is changing course.

Toward Nathan James.

Prepare to drop Emcon Alpha!

SASHA: Hold on.

They're talking.

Gran Colombia Reina, reporting in.

Minor adjustment
to avoid marine interference.

Resuming the search pattern.

NISHIOKA: Nathan James is now
clear of enemy ship.

The jamming worked.

Sir? If you don't mind my saying,

you sailors sure know how
to put on a show.

Just another day at sea, Colonel.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[ENGINE RUNNING]

sh*t.

Cobra Team, we have a contact.

♪ ♪

[CREAKING, CRASH]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

_

_

_

_

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Should we engage?

Negative.

We can't give up our position.

They can handle it.

♪ ♪

Come on, boys.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Oh, no.

They found the marker!

♪ ♪

_

_

♪ ♪

Fernando.

_

Fernando?

[WATER SPLASHES]

_

- [g*n COCKS]
- _

You take the forepeak.
I'll clear below aft.

♪ ♪

[RADIO CHATTER IN SPANISH]

[CLICK, WHOOSH]

[GASPS]

[GRUNTS]

[COUGHS]

[SOBS]

[COUGHS]

Okay, Burk!

You okay?

Come on, man. You got to get up.

[GRUNTS]

- Come on.
- [GRUNTING]

Come on. I got you.

[GROANING]

God damn, Danny.

Oh, God damn.

[GRUNTING]

Come on, Burk.

Hey, stay with me now.

- Burk.
- [COUGHS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Burk.

♪ ♪

[TRAIN PASSING IN DISTANCE]

[TRAIN CROSSING DINGING]

Hector! Brother!

Welcome.

Come in.

Felipe already started. He's hungry.

But we can eat now.

Sit.

The generals, unfortunately,
won't be joining us.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

_

Sí, Tavo.

Tavo, what is going on?

Bad news, Hector.

The generals?

They were plotting against me.

Who, Tavo?

Eat, Hector.

Gazpacho shouldn't be allowed
to warm to room temperature.

It's good.

There must be a mistake.

You're telling me there was
a coup amongst my generals?

Your generals?

I hope they aren't
your generals, Hector.

No.

They're cowards.

And I warned you against them.

_

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Are you sure?

I've known these men a very long time.

I would have heard something.

There is no mistake, Hector.

So you have proof?

Conchita saw it.

In the cards.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[LAUGHS]

_

Tavo.

_

_

_

We cannot play with men's lives.

These cards cannot always be trusted.

They confessed.

Chacon, Bianchi, Rodriguez,
Munos, Moreno.

Every single one of them.

Oh, my God.

But it doesn't matter, not really.

All I wanted to know...
the only thing I asked them

before I removed their intestines was,

did Hector know?

Of course, none of them gave you up.

But they gave each other up real quick.

But you?

Not you.

Then I started feeling bad.

For doubting you.

It's... it's okay.

No, no, no, no.

With all the pressure
from the w*r, I've...

I know I've gone a little crazy.

And I'm sorry about that.

You don't have to apologize, Tavo.

I support you. Always.

Of course you do. Of course, I know.

That is why I want you
to lead the investigation

to see just how far down
this conspiracy goes.

I want it torn out by the roots!

Sí, Tavo.

I will handle it personally.

Like always.

Like always.

Conchita.

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

Hector, my friend.

My brother.

[TRAIN PASSING IN DISTANCE]

If you're gonna s*ab a man in the back,

the least that you can do
is look him in the eye!

[GRUNTS]

Tavo.

♪ ♪

Dios...

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Viva Tavo.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

MAN: You can wear your uniform
home, but not longer than days.

MAN # : Suppose they
paid you off in South.

AFRICA. MAN # : And you
went home on foot.

They can't tell you how to go home.

You can go home on a pogo stick.

You got to think of your mother.

The regulations clearly state...

That only applies to Marines.

You ain't really a Marine anymore.

Besides, the regulations
is very elastic.

I was even a colonel once
for a couple of days.

And a brig hound
for a couple of months.

Back it up seconds, please.

: .

You're sure that's the correct marker?

Admiral Chandler says

he heard the battleship
between these frames?

I'm positive, ma'am.

I've studied the recording
from end to end,

and I can't find anything.

♪ ♪

NINA: Guess Gator's got the right idea.

Try and keep their minds off things,

even just for a few hours.

So, tell me, Admiral.

What's going through your head
on the night before D-Day?

Nathan James.

The ship?

The sailor. Ship's namesake.

Captain Nathan James
skippered a PT boat

during the w*r in the Pacific.

His fleet was decimated.

His boat was all that was left standing

against nine Japanese destroyers.

The boat sank beneath him.

Not before he stopped
the enemy's advance.

He single-handedly saved

a fleet of newly repaired
American destroyers

coming out of Pearl Harbor

carrying thousands of sailors
into the fight.

Captain James said, "w*r is a beast."

It appears in many forms.

Sometimes it's the beast
you face head on,

out on the field of battle.

As equals.

Sometimes the beast hides out.

Lurking somewhere in the deep,
biding its time

"until, when your guard is
dropped, it comes for you."

"Bloodthirsty and merciless."

"And it drags you under.

On any given day, you never know
which beast you're gonna face."

Which beast is it for you, Admiral?

MAN: All aboard!

MAN # : I knew the Marines
could do almost anything,

but I never knew they could do
anything like this.

You've got no idea.

["HALLS OF MONTEZUMA" PLAYING ON FILM]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

["HALLS OF MONTEZUMA" FADES OUT]

[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[PROJECTOR WHIRS, CLICKS]