TV show quotes
[The Vellek siblings argue with Admiral Stavros about their options to make a run for Malta]
You'll do as my sister ordered and continue on to Malta.
You Velleks, always looking for a battle with no idea how to fight one.
Let me remind you, Stavros, that it was my father who put you in charge. And you can easily be replaced. Greece doesn't eat until the Velleks are happy.
[As the Nathan James' chopper prepares to launch, Ray Diaz sets aside Tex Nolan's daughter Kathleen, now a door gunner on the helo]
Hey, Nolan. You know, if you're still looking for a call sign, I got one for you: Cupid.
[With Giorgio now dead from the battle with the Nathan James, Lucia confronts her father as he searches the lab for his Nostos brew]
Giorgio's gone. Did you hear what I said, Dad? Giorgio's dead.
The Nostos... I'm out of it. Do you have any?
Your son has died. You need to feel that. Christos can't help you. He's been gone for years. And even dead, he cast a shadow over Giorgio and me. And now Tom Chandler has killed your only son. Giorgio died protecting me! He died protecting you! All Giorgio ever wanted to do was make you happy... and all you ever did was show him contempt. If you had just done what I said, that ship would never have found you. Giorgio died for nothing.
No. No, not... not... not... not for nothing. Not for nothing, Lucia. For this. For this. Soon, it will not only be the dead who know the end of war [whispers] but the living.
Enough with the philosophizing. Giorgio was a hero. A hero.
Was he?
Of course he was. Here. [gives her father a bag of Nostos. Paul gets to work crushing it on a pestle] Tell me, when you have your drink, will Giorgio be with you? Or is he useless to you, even in your perfect world?
[Dr Paul Vellek and his daughter Lucia consider their options]
All of our warships are gone, Dad. We can't go to Malta.
Leningrad. [sighs] We can't go there either. September 1941. Hittler's troops lay siege to Leningrad for days of the blackest, most wretched misery in human history. Do you have any idea what happens to your body when starvation sets in? It shrinks. Heart and lungs compress. Eyes, testicles, ovaries just shrivel up and wither away. Your muscles devour themselves. Temperature falls, you freeze.
Why are you telling me this?
Nikolai Vavilov is why I'm telling you this, my daughter. I'm telling you this because hidden in a bunker barely feet beneath that monstrous decay and rot of existence in Leningrad was salvation, Lucia. The world's first global plant bank from Vavilov. Ten thousand seeds, roots, vegetables, protected not by guns but by science. By science. Yet even Vavilov's devoted acolytes couldn't beat the terror raging above them. And finally they, having never even touched one plant for their own escape from doom, also starved to death. I'm telling you this because you're my little girl, and I love you. And where Vavilov failed, we will succeed in spreading salvation to the world for the protection of its future, to protect your future. Because right now, from every point on the globe, planes are converging on Malta. And from there, we will deliver our gift to the world. Our gift to ourselves, Lucia.
[Vulture team assaults the Velleks' Nostos transport point]
Do you have the seeds?
Negative. No sign of the progenitor. All of the crates are carrying plants covered in insects.
He's spreading the Nostos the same way the Red Rust spread, through leaf-eating insects. That's why there's only a few plants in each crate. They're just food to infect the bugs.
Vulture Team, the bugs are the vector. I say again, the bugs are the vector for the Nostos. You need to destroy those crates. Don't let any bugs get off that plane! They all must burn!
[With Vulture team still exfiltrating from Malta, Captain Slattery proposes a rapid boarding of HS Triton to cover Captain Chandler and Sasha Cooper as they try to find the seeds]
Master Chief, no way Vulture team gets back in time. And they're beat to hell. I need a boarding party.
[over ship PA] Attention, all hands. This is your Master Chief. At this very moment, our ship's most capable operators are making their way back from one hell of a fight. But we're not done here. Our Captain needs volunteers to join him in boarding the enemy ship and bringing Cooper, Captain Chandler, and those seeds back in one piece. Anyone willing to lay their lives on the line, muster in the helo bay in five minutes. That is all.
[Paul Vellek is finally cornered at the stern of HS Triton]
Step away from the edge, Vellek.
I offered a cure, man. A real and final cure for the sickness in us all. You of all people should know about that... what you've seen, what you've done. You need what I'm offering more than anybody.
You're right, Doctor. I have seen the worst in people, the worst in myself. But I've also seen strength in others that you wouldn't believe, and kindness that would bring you to tears.
That was beautiful, man. I can clearly see why people follow you. But you are the one-eyed king. I offer you peace, you choose war.
Peace at the cost of free will? I'll take war anytime. "We the people"... Addicted to your darkness. Being human isn't about cutting out the darkness. It's about fighting, every day, to find the light!
No, Captain.
You don't have to fight to find the light. Give the world another chance. See the good for yourself. The people still need you. We have the seeds, but we need your science.
I appreciate the invite, man. But there's Heaven. And I gotta go. [jumps off]
[Admiral Chandler lectures in the US Naval Academy about the Peloponnesian War]
This is how war begins. Athens and Sparta fought during a plague which wiped out much of the population. - Sound familiar? But the war brought only more death and destruction because people let their fear, their honor, their interest cloud their judgment. The Peloponnesian War may be ancient history, but its lessons are not. You here will be the first graduating class of midshipmen to enter the Navy since our own troubles ended just three years ago. We're in a time of peace, but peace doesn't keep itself. Ours is a small navy, which means... your importance to the mission is even larger. And you will take the lessons from history, both ancient and very recent, with you as you enter service. When you put on the uniform, you can't let your fear or your pride or your selfish interest lead you astray, or people die. We have to think differently because we are different. We are warriors.
[Tavo Barros makes a speech in the wake of the Fleet Week sneak attack]
I will now speak directly to our enemies in a language they can understand. Americans, you are on notice. The people of Central and South America are united! We will no longer cower in fear of your big stick. For you do not offer us protection, but enslavement. Today marks the beginning of a new equilibrium. Gran Colombia will no longer sit at the children's table of international politics. It is our turn! Be warned. If the United States wants a fight, you will lose. For in the words of Simón Bolívar, a people who love their freedom will, in the end, be free. And we are united... as a continent... to fight for that freedom. We are one nation under God! La Gran Colombia! Al Norte!
[Commander Green address the Nathan James crew]
Many of you here are new to the Navy... new to this ship. Some of you, we've been here before. Either way, what happened in Mayport is not something you ever get used to. It hurts. And it was meant to hurt. That's what our enemy wanted to do. And today, he succeeded. It caught us off guard, sent a powerful message, trying to shake our resolve. But a war isn't lost because we're hurt. For over three years, the United States Navy has built, sustained, and protected its war-fighting culture. This attack doesn't change that. In fact, it will once again bring out the best in us. Our enemies have underestimated us. And if you doubt that, look back at the past few years. Look at the people who've been on this ship. When trouble arises, we have proven time and time again, no matter the enemy, no matter the odds, one ship can do it. This ship can do it.
[Admiral Chandler summons to US SOUTHCOM a USNA midshipman who submitted a term paper to him about a future cyberattack]
Admiral Chandler?
Mr. Swain, before the planes came, the US was the victim of a cyberattack. It killed our satellites, shut down our anti-access and area denial systems, and destroyed weapons control on all our networked assets... ships, tanks, planes, helos, Aegis, and missile silos.
Whoa.
Your theory was correct. Grab your things and come with me. You're gonna be here awhile. Do you need to call anyone?
I forgot to ask.
Are you married? Do you live with your folks?
No, sir. I'm not married, and, uh, my parents died in the plague.
Right. You wrote that U.S. military installations were extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks.
That was my conclusion, sir. It had to do with the number of nodes and the redundancies...
I need you to find the virus, where it came from, and how to get rid of it. You'll be working with Commander Granderson. Good luck, Mr. Swain. Oh. Raise your right hand. POTUS usually does this, but he's not here, so... Do you solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
I do.
Congratulations, Ensign Swain. You are now a member of the United States Navy. Get to work.
[US SOUTHCOM and Admiral Chandler is informed of a call from the Nathan James broadcast in the clear]
This isn't a secure channel, Mike.
Yeah, I know. I finally got around to reading your favorite book. You got your copy handy?
Hold on. Ensign Swain, do you have your copy of "Moby-Dick"?
Yes, sir.
We've got it.
Turn to page 366, nine paragraphs down. Last words.
Working on it.
This is how we're gonna have to communicate for the time being.
Understood. Smart play, Mike. Well? What's the message?
"Fit for a fight."
We've got it.
Tom, is the message clear?
Yes, it is. We read you loud and clear.
We'll be in touch.
[A spitball incident in the Nathan James mess hall between the Cuban and Mexican envoys gets too personal and the crew tries hard to separate them]
Now, you listen to me. You and your men are gonna cut this shit out, you're gonna bury the hatchet. you're gonna make a deal, or I promise you, you will be swimming home. Escort them to the wardroom. Move!
[The Nathan James successfully fights off a Gran Colombian airstrike]
This is Nathan James, calling Gustavo Barros. We just took out your airwing, and you didn't lay a glove on us. And you can mark that up along with your Corvette. Payback for Mayport. You may have hit us hard, but you didn't finish us. You know why? Because you can't. And now Mexico and Cuba have joined the fight. So this message goes out to all of Central and South America. There is a choice now. Join us. Send Gustavo back into the dirt hole he crawled out of. We fight for peace. But make no mistake... we will fight. And this ship and this crew? They're damn good at it. So, Gustavo... come at us again. I dare you. This is Nathan James. Out. [to bridge crew] Now, they know who we are, where we are. Let's be ready for what they throw at us.
Aye, sir.
Nobody's talking about going home now. It's a good day.
[Alisha Granderson has figured out that the Fleet Week cyberattack was attributed to Kelsi visiting her in the office two days before - and confronts her at home]
I didn't want to believe it. All those questions. "Is Nathan James okay?" "Is Tom Chandler alive?" "Tell me, tell, me, tell me." You used me as a weapon. How long?
Since before we met.
Why? How?!
It was my duty. Surely, you can understand that.
You're insane.
I'm insane? No. Insane is believing in lies and closing your eyes to the truth. Insane is having blind faith in a corrupt power structure. No, we need... What the people yearn for is an awakening. Have you heard Tavo speak? Have you heard his message? "The first step towards tyranny" "is to believe" "the government will take care of everything."
Kelsi, did I mean nothing to you?
Oh, I did care about you, Alisha. You should know that. And for awhile there, I thought I loved you, but... you and me, what we are... That doesn't even matter. Not now.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's The Last Ship pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
