| Our Mortal Enemy is Captain Carter | |
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| Directed by |
Akira Takahashi |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | |
| Air Date (JP) |
December 27, 1980 |
| Air Date (UK) |
January 22, 1983 |
| Previous episode | |
| Next episode | |
Our Mortal Enemy is Captain Carter, or Our Mortal Enemy is Captain Custer (宿敵はカスター大尉 shukuteki wa kasutā taii) in original Japanese, is the twelfth episode of Star Fleet. It aired on December 27, 1980 on Fuji TV in Japan, and January 22, 1983 on ITV in the UK.
Plot Summary[]
 Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
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After returning from their last mission, Shiro, Lee, Hercules and Dr. Benn are all shocked, having come to the realization that Carter is now serving the Alliance. They are interrupted when they receive yet another distress signal, this time from an Alliance Termoid soldier - Crewman 0171 - in an astrofighter who is under heavy fire from several other astrofighters. The crew deduce that the soldier must be a defector and the boys go out in the Dai-X fighters to eliminate the fighters, taking the injured soldier onboard.
Makara is angered to learn of the deserter, and Captain Orion blames Carter for the soldier escaping (Crewman 0171 being one of his Carrier crewmen). But Carter reveals that it is all part of his plan and the crew member was in fact a Trojan Horse, letting X-Bomber rescue the soldier so that they can destroy X-Bomber from within.
Back on X-Bomber, the Soldier is treated in the Medical Bay. Dr. Benn hopes to get what information that the Soldier may have. Lamia is left to tend to the Soldier. The soldier regains consciousness and breaks out of the medical scanner booth, kidnapping Lamia. He makes his way to the engine room with Shiro, Lee and Hercules in hot pursuit. The soldier shields himself from Shiro using Lamia and locks himself in the engine room. He starts to plant explosive charges.
While the boys try to cut through the door with a laser, Lamia tries to talk the soldier out of committing suicide but fails. Suddenly an enraged Kirara drops from the ceiling right on top of the surprised soldier and violently pummels him. With the soldier pinned down, Shiro and the others storm into the engine room and defuse all the bombs. They take the beaten soldier to the sick bay to do some further tests and find that Carter implanted a bomb inside of his body in case of betrayal. The crew is forced to eject him in a pod to save the ship.
Shiro and Dr. Benn realize that only Captain Carter could have provided the information that allowed the soldier to breaks out of sick bay and find the engine room. Angered, Shiro decides to hail Makara's ship via video communication and demands to speak to Carter, challenging him to a duel. Despite P.P.A's protests, Shiro takes Braincom out without telling the others. Makara orders Carter out, saying that he can redeem himself for the failure of the Trojan Horse by killing Shiro, therefore demoralizing X-Bomber's crew.
Shiro ignores attempts by Lee to contact Braincom, and engages Carter in his Imperial Fighter. Carter gets the first hit on Braincom as Shiro is reluctant to engage, but Shiro manages to return fire and hit Carter's ship, mortally wounding it. Carter crashes on a near planet and Shiro lands to see if he survived the crash.
Although Carter survives, his Alliance impact becomes detached and falls off. Carter regains his consciousness and he reverts back to his normal mental state. But unfortunately, the deeds under brainwash also manage to survive in his memory. Carter is angered, and starts slamming his Imperial claw implant against a rock. Carter demands that Shiro finish him off for what he's done, not wishing to continue life knowing he's a traitor. Shiro refuses, but Carter forces his hand by firing on him and Shiro is forced to kill him in self defense. Shiro holds the dying Carter in his hand, and with his last breath Carter tells Shiro "good shooting" (referring back to the flashback in Episode 5).
Quotes[]
- Captain Carter - "Damn Makara! Damn her! Damn The Imperial Alliance! The things they made me do! Why?! Oh, why?!"
- Shiro Hagen - "Don't make me!"
- Captain Carter - "Shiro - good shooting."
Voice Cast[]
Main Cast[]
Secondary Cast[]
| Character | Japanese Voice | English Voice | French Voice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Termoids | Masaharu Satō | Jacob Witkin | Michel Elias |
Equipment Used[]
Earth Defence Forces[]
Imperial Alliance[]
- Imperial Battlecruiser
- Imperial Carrier Craft
- Imperial Fighters
Trivia[]
- Stock footage from Scramble X-Bomber and The Mysterious Ship, Skull is used
- Footage from the latter is unedited. In the original episode, a snow filter was added over the sequence of the Dai-X components taking off.
- In Japan, it is after this episodes airing that the series was cancelled, meaning there would be no second season.
- The deserting crew members number; 0171 may be a reference to Star Trek, a numerical anagram of 1701, The Enterprise's registry number.
- In the English version, a bit is trimmed of Carter falling after Shiro shoots him. In the original, Carter stays standing for at least 10 seconds before falling to the ground, the English version trims it so he falls immediately after being shot. However, the full scene appears in the flashback in Episode 13.
- This is the final episode in France to have its original voice cast. After the hiatus the series went on after this episode, some voice actors did not return.