Starring:
Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue, Doctor Gold, Destiny Angel & Harmony Angel.
It has been three weeks since Spectrum lost contact with the last remaining humans on Mars, and Captains Scarlet and Blue, Doctor Gold and Destiny and Harmony Angels have been sent to establish what exactly has happened. None of them are optimistic about the scientists' chances, and when Elysium base fires missiles at the spacecraft, they fear the worst.
The craft is hit, and the two Angels manage to crash-land on the surface of Mars. The shuttle is irreparable, and the oxygen supply won't last long enough for a rescue mission to reach them. The only chance of survival lies at Base Elysium. With 20 miles to cover, they break the Bison out of the damaged storage bay and set off across the hostile terrain.
The crew come across a Bison from the base that has been in the wilderness for some time. Scarlet and Blue investigate, and find that three of the scientists from Elysium perished inside it when the oxygen ran out. Scarlet realises that they were trying to escape from the base, but knows that Elysium is still their only chance at surviving on Mars.
The base appears to be completely deserted when the Bison reaches it, but the team soon find signs of a fight. The base is full of dead scientists, and Dr. Gold is puzzled by the multiple causes of death. Blue and Scarlet find that the communications equipment has been sabotaged, and the Angels quickly discover that the base's shuttle has been similarly affected.
When they return to the base, Destiny is attacked by a mechanical device from under the sand. The others manage to free her, and a huge mechanical monster emerges. The automaton is protected by a forcefield, and fires at the three Spectrum officers. Scarlet attempts to draw its fire, allowing the women to run to safety, but the creature fires its laser at Harmony. Scarlet disables it for long enough to reach Harmony, and he carries her to safety whilst Destiny continues to fire at it.
Back inside the base, Scarlet discovers that the robot is a piece of equipment used by the scientists to collect samples - Remote Acquisition Technology, or RAT for short. It carries every piece of equipment that it might need to collect rock samples, including lasers and a saw, and under Mysteron control has become the ultimate killing machine.
Harmony's life support was destroyed when she was shot by the RAT, and without the facilities on Skybase, Dr. Gold cannot do anything to save her. She will certainly die before the rescue shuttle can reach them.
Destiny reveals that there might be a way to restart the systems on the base shuttle, but it involves a risky trip back to the crash site. Without any other solution, Scarlet orders Destiny to go back for the equipment, whilst he and Blue attempt to defend the remainder of Elysium base from the RAT, which has just gained entry to the base...
As Scarlet and Blue stalk the RAT, Scarlet reveals his plan - which involves using Blue as a decoy whilst he jumps onto the RAT and fixes a charge to its main CPU.
Scarlet is distracted by a voice at the crucial moment, and the RAT attacks Blue. Quickly, Scarlet leaps from the gangway he was hiding on and tackles the RAT. The robot uses a shoulder-mounted laser to attack Scarlet with, whilst it utilises its saw to attack Blue, who manages to hold off the attack with his rifle. Scarlet managed to plant his charge and jump away. The RAT abandons its attack on Blue as it attempts to remove the mine from its 'head', but it is not successful.
As Blue extracts himself from beneath the wreckage of the RAT, he notices a plaque attached to the machine, bearing the designation 'RAT 2'. There is another machine, as yet unaccounted for.
Back in the control room, Scarlet finds the tracking system that the scientists used to control the RATs from. The tracking system is still operational, and Scarlet quickly realises that it has followed Destiny back to the crash site.
Destiny reaches the shuttle safely, and Scarlet orders her to stay put. He is following on a Skyrider.
The RAT cuts a hole in the roof of the shuttle, but Destiny manages to repel it by blasting it. Scarlet quickly catches up and lures the RAT after him, away from the shuttle. The shuttle is balanced on the edge of a precipice, below which is a river of molten rock. The RAT latches onto the Skyrider, which crashes, throwing both Scarlet and the RAT over the edge. Scarlet manages to grab the edge of the cliff and begins to climb to safety. What is left of the RAT has other ideas, and clamps a line around Scarlet's ankle, pulling itself out of the canyon. As Scarlet tries to free himself from the RAT's grip, he hears the voice that has been haunting him throughout his time on Mars. The Mysterons threaten to destroy him, but he defies them and manages to sever the cable connecting him to the RAT, then dislodge its grip on the cliff-face.
Destiny manages to bring the base shuttle back into working order, and the crew manage to escape from Mars.
Quotable Scarlet
(Describing the plan)
Scarlet: If I can get on it, I can fix a charge.
Blue: Uh-huh. How are you going to do that?
Scarlet: Well, I was planning to use you as bait.
Blue: Oh. Nice.
(After the plan works)
Scarlet: Are you okay?
Blue: Next time, you play bait!
Scarlet: You got it.
The Mysterons: Scarlet, you are ours. We made you, and we will destroy you.
Scarlet: Maybe, but not today.
Trivia
This is the only episode in which Colonel White does not appear in person - he is only seen on a video screen at the start of the episode. He is the only character other than Scarlet to be seen in all twenty-six episodes.
Episode Rating: 
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Reviewer's Rating: 4/5
Another great episode, fortunately lacking the nauseating interactions of Scarlet and Destiny. Again, the fact that it was aired out of sequence is evident; this time in the easy camaraderie of Scarlet and Blue. Blue's (understandable) mistrust of Scarlet has vanished without explanation and is replaced with groan-worthy exchanges instead.
Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Dominic Lavery
Animated by Scarlet team
Transmission date: 5 March 2005
Appears on DVD 1
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