SEASON 1

SEASON 2

SEASON 3

SEASON 4

SEASON 5

FIGHT THE FUTURE

SEASON 6

SEASON 7

SEASON 8

SEASON 9

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Shot of the shuttle passing over Canada. Ooh, I wonder if they can see my house from up there. Probably not. One of the astronauts reports hearing a weird noise, like something bumping against the ship. I guess we know where our ghost friend disappeared to. Some Lab Coat Guy runs upstairs to the data banks where Mulder is biting either his nails or sunflower seeds. He informs Michelle that there is an oxygen leak on board. Great.

Back in Mission Control, Scientist Guy says that there’s an oxygen leak in the main tank. One of the other dudes says that an astronomer in Winnipeg spotter a gaseous cloud trailing behind the shuttle. Exposition Mulder explains to Scully that this is the oxygen leaking out. Apparently the same thing happened to Col. Belt on one of his missions. Michelle asks where Belt is, and Scientist Guy says he doesn’t know. He was supposed to come in 90 minutes earlier for payload deployment. Meanwhile, the astronauts are asking how much oxygen they have left. She orders Scientist Guy to prepare a worst-case scenario. He says they have 30 minutes of backup oxygen.

Mulder and Scully go off in search of Col. Belt, because Michelle isn’t sure how bad the leak is. Scully says, “It’s an oxygen leak. Even I can figure out what happens when you run out of oxygen.” Well, yeah, Scully. I should hope so. You’re a DOCTOR. Or “medical doctor,” as she likes to say. Because when most people hear “doctor,” they immediately think Ph. D. in East Asian Studies. Mulder explains that Col. Belt will know better than anyone what to do since he’s been in that situation before. They arrive at his apartment but there’s no answer at the door. Scully says she’s going to go get security, when Belt opens the door, flushed and out of breath. When Mulder asks if he’s alright, he tells them that he was feeling well. Mulder informs him that he’s needed at Mission Control.

Back at Mission Control. We hear over the speakers or whatever that the shuttle is ready for re-entry. Belt puts on a headset and asks about condensation on the cabin. They say that the windows are getting steamed up. Ooh, sounds like somebody joined the 200 mile-high club. (I had to Google the altitude of a shuttle orbit). Actually, Michelle notes that it’s a sign of carbon dioxide build-up. Belt tells them to put on their spacesuits, depressurize the cabin, and vent the carbon dioxide. And then deliver their payload. Michelle looks shocked. “Those are men up there,” she says to him. Belt snaps at her, telling her she’s out of line, don’t tell me how to do my job, blah blah blah indignantcakes. He tells her that if her personal life is clouding her judgement and she can’t function, she should let other people handle the situation. So she puts down her headset and walks away.

Michelle runs down a hallway, crying like a 14-year-old girl. I have to say something here. I understand she’s upset about her fiancé and all, but come on. Stay there and do your job. What’s done is done, and your running away isn’t going to change anything. Prove Belt wrong. Show him that you can handle what’s thrown at you. You’re acting like such a stereotypical fragile girl who’s in luuurve </feminist rant>.

Mulder and Scully run after her. “They’re going to die!” she cries, saying that he put the payload ahead of their lives. Scully agrees with her, believing that Congress will kill the space program if the payload isn’t delivered. Mulder responds, “And you think killing those astronauts won’t have the same effect?” Exactly, Mulder. Scully believes that Belt knows something, and that he’s known all along. Michelle wants the shuttle pulled out of orbit. Mulder defends Belt to Michelle, and keeps touching her while doing this. Stop, dude. She’ll get the wrong idea. Mulder doesn’t believe Belt wants the astronauts dead. “How can you be sure that what he’s doing isn’t going to save their lives?” he asks.