Cathartic Victory

O'Neil has survived...

and he is quite justifiably angry - having to work his way through no less than 5 people trying to kill him:-

Spota, Yario, 2 Assassins and Ballard

and the source of his anger?

Shepherd. Who in the movie gets one punch to the floor - and thats it - O'Neil is then sending a message to his wife - what else happens is left to complete conjecture

but here in the comic...

O'Neil clearly not only hits harder but more often - as his fist and arm are covered in blood and if that wasn't enough O'Neil throws his Marshals badge down - quitting his job...

O'Neil has survived and achieved Catharsis

But what happens to IO?...

Epilogue

The chip entered a security transmitter.  The transmitter broke down the contents of the chip into a regularized pattern of electrical impulses which were metamorphosed into a stream of photos and shipped out across the vacuum.

Relay stations picked up the stream, powerful lasers at each, regenerating the message and casting it onward through the void.  Eventually the stream arrives at a security receiver, was sucked in and rearranged as electrical impulses.

The impulses were automatically fed into a computer which decoded them.   It was quite a long message, very explicit, and detailed.  People arrived to study the re-integrated patterns.   They began to move in response, slower than the impulses but quickly nonetheless.

Circuitry flashed.  New patterns were shunted to and fro around the solar system.  Many people became aware of them.  Those so apprised reacted excitedly, but for very different reasons.

The Outland Transport was cutting the orbit of the asteroids when it passed in space by a succession of tight-beam transmissions jumping from one booster to the next.

Eventually this fresh stream of information arrived at the central Security Depot on Station Green, the centre for Trans-Jovian operations.

The receiver there performed the magic of turning light into electric pulses which activated a computer, which activated a screen printer, which informed the uninformed people gazing at it of certain interesting facts.

ANALYSIS OF DATA PROVIDED BY O'NEIL, W.T., MARSHAL RETIRED.  LAST DUTY POST IO, CON-AMALGAMTED MINE.

RESULTS

1) RECOMMEND TRANSFER LAZARUS, MARIAN L. DR. IO INFIRMARY TO STAFF, COPERNICUS GENERAL, LUNA.

2) INDICTMENT OF FOLLOWING, MULTIPLE CHARGES, WARRANTS ISSUED FOR:-

SHEPPARD,  MARK B. - IO
APUNRA, KURAT - GANYMEADE
VELAR, GWEN L. - STATION GREEN
JURGENSON, KNUT S. COPENHAGEN, NORTH EUROPE, EARTH
MENDOZA, JORGE X....

It was a very long list, and almost as satisfiying to the men and women who watched it unfold on Station Green as the warmth of the woman O'Neil held tightly next to him in the bed on board the transport....

THE END