The Last Precinct (TV story)

The Last Precinct is the twenty-fourth episode of K9. This episode saw much insight into Darius' backstory with the appearance of his father.

Synopsis
A vigilante group of former police officers discover that the Department are upgrading the CCPC's with alien tech and make a stand by holding Gryffen hostage. K9 and Starkey battle the intruders whilst Darius faces up to his past.

Plot
At Gryffen Manor, Gryffen is preparing a sample of mucus as Darius tells him he's not sure that it was a Jixen that was tailing them, as it was too fast. Gryffen shows the mucus to K9 who analyses it and confirms that it's loaded with enough Jixen pheremones to cover an thirty meter tall Kaldarean bedmite. A newsreport gains Darius' attention, it reports another attack on a CCPC in which one unit was held up and another kidnapped. Jorjie notices Darius' shocked reaction when it is announced that a group known as the Last Precinct have claimed responsibility. Gryffen calls Darius and says that if he can't keep his mind on the task at hand perhaps he can rustle up some tea and biscuits. As Jorjie observes Darius she asks him whats his obsession with CCPCs in newscasts lately. K9 tells Starkey it would be too hard to scan Darius for a social conciouss. Darius becomes frustrated and snaps at K9, Starkey tells Darius to calm down but he just gets even more angry, accusing them all of ganging up on him. Starkey confirms to K9 that he's hit a raw nerve, or circuit as K9 says.

In the garage, Mariah asks Darius if he's sure he doesn't want to talk to her. He thanks her then is shocked because she called him handsome. She says she means as in handsome cab driver and decides to be quiet now. Starkey goes to Darius and apologises for hitting a raw circuit, Darius regrets snapping at him. He says it's about the Last Precinct but it's old news to him, Starkey and Darius then hear the doorbell ring. At the front door, Gryffen is shocked to find two CCPCs accusing him of conducting illegal experiments and tells them they have the wrong house number. The head CCPC persists but Gryffen tells them to take it up with June at the Department. He closes the door on them, but the CCPC stops him and pushes him aside. As they enter the house, K9 finds something odd about the CCPC's energy signal, so much so that it shouldn't be functioning. The CCPC then uses a strange device which Gryffen recognises to be not standard issue, on K9, knocking him out. Gryffen determines he's not a CCPC and asks his identity, Jorjie uses her mother's override code, but the CCPC doesn't comply. Gryffen tries to protect Jorjie but is restrained by the CCPCs, the CCPC declares that they are all under house arrest as Jorjie calls for Darius.

The CCPC then takes off his mask, revealing him to be a Human called Halloran. He corrects Jorjie, telling her that only he's Human and his comrade is a CCPC, with a few minor adjustments. When Gryffen demands that they get out of his house, another Human Police officer with a CCPC upstairs questions him, saying that this is their house and always has been, explaining that he went through a secret entrance unknown even to Gryffen. He announces that this is the final stance of the Last Precinct when Starkey arrives with Darius, who is shocked to see the officer, just as he is to see Darius. Halloran asks him, referring to him as Sergeant Pike, if he knows Darius. Pike replys that he does, revealing that Darius is his son, shocking the team. At the Department Mobile HQ, Thorne watches as four CCPCs move towards the house. He then watches Pike's message to the Department, announcing that he commandeers this police station in the name of the Last Precinct. He gives several demands, first, the immediate deactivation of all CCPC units and second, that the CCPC cloning plant be shut down within 48 hours. As he makes his third demand, Thorne orders it to be shut off. The Department Technician protests but Thorne says it's on a loop. When Thorne makes a loop joke he is irritated that the only humourless thing he will say in his life is wasted on the technician, who didn't get it. June arrives asking what is going on, she is glad that Jorjie is at the library at the time of the hostage situation, Thorne's facial expression reveals that Jorjie is not at the library.

The CCPCs try to enter the mansion but are knocked out by a forcefield, June orders to override the mansion's security system, Thorne reveals that they've tried but the codes have been changed and are using the Department's own security systems against them. June asks if they could cut the mansion's power, Thorne says they've tried but can't, June tells the technician to get Pike on vid-link communication. In the mansion, the team are pushed together as K9 is still offline. June opens contact with Sergeant Pike, June determines that he was one of the officers dishonourably discharged two years ago and charged with tresspassing and resisting arrest. Pike argues that he was standing up for his rights. June cuts to the chase, she urges Pike to let the children go. Pike asks her if only let one go, who would she choose. She tells him she'd choose the girl, acting as if she doesn't know her, Pike reveals that he knows that Jorjie is her daughter. June warns Pike not to hurt her when he asks her who does she take him for, she replies a dangerous and disturbed fanatic who uses guerrilla warfare to achieve his goals and doesn't care who he harms in the process. Pike reveals that she backed the replacement of Human law enforcement officers with Cyborgs, June tells him that it was agreed by everyone in the Department but Pike argues that it doesn't make any difference and she approved the worst decision ever taken by the government. June has enough and terminates the transmission.

Pike is offended by June accusing him of being a fanatic but Gryffen says he should be flattered as he calls him a homeinvader at best, Pike argues that he can't invade his own home but Gryffen persists that this house belongs to him. Pike explains that before it was annexed by the Department, it was the last operational police station in London, the very one that he and his friends were dragged out of by the CCPCs for refusing to surrender their jobs to cyborgs. Darius reminds him when he walked out on him in the middle of the night two years ago, Pike walks off saddened as Gryffen comforts Darius. K9 reactivates and charges his photon beam, but fails to fire. Starkey is surprised that a terrestrial weapon was able to knock out K9, K9 corrects Starkey as he explains his living metal antibodies are able to deal with 99% of terrestrial weaponary whereas the weapon used on him is not completely of this Earth, or of this time. Pike reveals that the Department have been installing extra-terrestrial materials in the latest CCPCs for the past six months, while the Last Precinct have been harvesting it and putting it to their own use. Gryffen argues that June specificly opposes the use of alien technology in CCPCs. Pike opens up a CCPC and takes out an organic stalk which K9 detects an alien bio-mechanical component of an unidentified species. Pike explains it's unidentified because it's been altered by the Department, twisted and mutated to serve their purpose, he explains that there's one of these in the heart of every single Mark II CCPC.

K9 secretly informs Starkey his repairs are 60% complete. Pike decides that he can play at the Department's game as Halloran was able to utilise the Department's alien bio-tech, creating weapons for the Last Precicnt to use against them. He puts a green chip into the stalk as he explains that Halloran was one of the greatest forensic scientists in the world before he was tossed aside like a shoe. He then closes up the CCPC, he plans to show the world the CCPCs for what they really are, unreliable alien machines prone to malfunction at any moment. As Pike presses a slimy handprint on a CCPC's shoulder, K9 alerts them to unstable cybernetic bio-agent reaction and a level 9 bio-mechanial virus has been incubated. Halloran insists that it's not unstable, saying they conducted numerous tests and the virus is genespliced to override the Department's control and replace it with theirs. K9 says that even though it's their plan, it isn't working. Pike turns to Halloran who dismisses K9, Pike then orders Green Hand to initiate bio-mech transmission protocols. As he infects the other CCPC with the same virus, Halloran explains they will be disconnected from the Department's control, unresponsive and utterly useless except to the Last Precinct, Pike states it will give the Department no choice but to reinstate Humans into the police force.

K9 advises everyone to stay as far away from the infected CCPC as possible, K9's scan confirms they are unstable. The team move away, Pike decides to let them go but keep Gryffen as he'll give them all the leverage they need. Pike orders Halloran to take Gryffen upstairs, and release Green Hand into the CCPC ranks. In Darius' room, the team barricade the door, K9 informs Starkey his self-repairs are 80% complete. Darius warns it doesn't matter where they hide as he came here with his dad all the time.

Cast

 * K9 Mark 2 - John Leeson
 * Starkey - Keegan Joyce
 * Jorjie Turner - Philippa Coulthard
 * Darius Pike - Daniel Webber
 * Professor Alistair Gryffen - Robert Moloney
 * June Turner - Robyn Moore
 * Thorne - Jared Robinsen
 * Harry Pike - Chris Betts
 * Halloran - Lloyd Morris
 * Jason McNamara - Green Hand
 * CCPC - Josh Norbido
 * CCPC - Eugen Bekafigo
 * CCPC - Tyler Rostedt
 * CCPC - Simon Preston-Barnes

Production crew

 * Writer - Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause
 * Director - David Napier
 * Producers - Penny Wall, Richard Stewart, Simon Barnes
 * Executive producers - Jim Howell, Grant Bradley, Steve Robbins
 * Associate producers - Bob Baker, Paul Tams
 * Supervising producer - Dale Bradley
 * Co-Executive producers - Mark Blythe, Sam Tromans
 * Line producer - Pam Collis
 * VFX Director - David Napier
 * Series Production Designer - Jon Dowding
 * Episodic Designer - Adam Head
 * New K9 Design by - Paul Tams, Alex Kubalsky
 * Series Director of Photography - Ben Nott
 * Episodic Director of Photography - Tony O'Loughlan
 * Music by - Christopher Elves
 * K9 theme music by - Michael Lira
 * Editor - Patrick Stewart
 * Casting - Faith Martin and associates
 * Episodic casting - Lisa Maloney
 * Drama/Dialogue coach - Peter Kent
 * Story Producer - Greg Walters
 * Script Adaption - Michaelet O'Brien
 * Production Accountant - Pru Donovan
 * 1st Assistant Director - Peter McLennan
 * Script Supervisor - Sue Ketchington
 * Costume Designer - Joanne Thompson
 * Makeup Designer - Sharon Robbins
 * Puppeteer - David Pawsey
 * Location Manager - Charles Boyle
 * Sound Recordist - Ian Grant
 * B Camera Operator - Dan Maxwell
 * Gaffer - Steve Monk
 * Key Grip - Billy Harmer
 * Special thanks to - Space Furniture, Shredox, J. Barbour & Sons Ltd, Heath Williams at Firefly Lighting, Videopro
 * Safety Supervisor/Stunt Coordinator - Danny Baldwin
 * Transport Manager - Alister Ward
 * Unit Manager - Graeme Suhr
 * Post Production Facility - Cutting Edge Australia
 * Head of Post Production - John Lee
 * Sound Design - Warren Pearson

Story notes
to be added

Ratings
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Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity
to be added

Home video releases
This episode is featured in the Series One complete boxset.