"Inanimate objects and sentient beings
obey the laws of nature.
Without discrimination.
Environment is their only conscience."

Vedran Inscription
Departure Slates
005 AT9

[Town]

VIRGIL [OC]: Good afternoon, denizens of Seefra, or good night, depending on the location of your rotation. Virgil Vox
(The people duck as another meteorite makes land.)

[Saloon]

(A negotiation is going on.)
TRADER: And to you, Rhade.
RHADE: Thirteen hundred.
TRADER: Three thousand.
RHADE: You said three thousand already. Now you're supposed to go lower.
TRADER: It's a landcraft. There's a fixed value.
RHADE: Two thousand, and that's our final offer.
HUNT: Don't look at me. I mean, whatever you think.
RHADE: What I think is this guy doesn't even have a landcraft.
TRADER: Questioning me? No one has my connections. No one!
RHADE: Let's just hope no one has your breath, either.
HUNT: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Please, gentlemen. (sotto to Rhade) We need that landcraft, so right now we're beggars, not choosers, okay?
RHADE: I have clients to take care of.
TRADER: Clients? What exactly do you do? Manicure? Pedicure? Waxing?
HUNT: Oh, come on, Rhade.
(A fight starts. A little alien picks up Hunt's communicator.)
HUNT: Hey, hey! That's mine!
(Hunt pursues him outside. After a final knockout of one of the trader's henchmen, Rhade follows.)

[Town]

HUNT: Hey!
(The little man thinks he has got away, then walks into Hunt.)
HUNT: I believe you have something that belongs to me.
(Hunt picks him up by the ankles. Lots of items fall out of his pockets. Hunt drops him and picks up his communicator.)
HUNT: Ha! Go! Get out of here, and get a real job.

HUNT: Now, see, unlike this comm, you don't have sentimental value.
RHADE: That's about the only value It does have.
HUNT: It's working. It's working. Maybe when it fell it. It's a code. It's a UWB signal, I think.
(Morse code, he means.)
RHADE: That's a distress signal.
HUNT: Coordinates and letters. B.E.K. It's Beka.
RHADE: Even if it is Beka, and even if those are the coordinates where we can find her
HUNT: Yeah, yeah. The message was broadcast a month ago. I know.
RHADE: She could be dead by now.
HUNT: Or it was broadcast from Andromeda's UWB, and she's still alive.
RHADE: Which, according to the message, is where?
HUNT: Well, let's just say We won't be needing that landcraft anymore.
RHADE: Whoa. What, now you want me to find you a jetcraft? Look, you said the message is a month old. If she's not dead, she's long gone by now.
HUNT: That doesn't mean we don't go look for her.
RHADE: Yes, it does. I have a business to take care of, and right now a very high paying client who won't be paying me anything if I don't show up tomorrow with the jet parts he's after.
HUNT: If Beka is the one who sent this message, Trance, Rommie, and Harper could be with her. Hey, stranger things have happened. I mean, like you and me showing up here.
RHADE: I said I'd think about helping you search this planet, not the whole nine planet system.
HUNT: The coordinates are specific. A location on the outer edge above Seefra 9. We're talking day trip at most.
RHADE: Yeah, sure. Soon as we score a jetcraft. No problem, right? Except, where the hell are we going to find one?
TRADER: Excuse me, gentlemen. Come to see if we could settle our differences and finish the deal, but it sounds as though your needs have changed for the better.

[29 days ago]

(Beka is being thumped around.)
THUG: Why not make this easier on yourself?
THUG 2: Answer the questions, and you'll be on your way.
THUG: Who are you, And where did you come from?

[32 days ago - Maru crew area]

BEKA: Okay, this is it. Last request time. In case anyone finds this ship, so you know, that pile of dust you're standing on is Beka Valentine. If the name Dylan Hunt rings a bell, I need you to give him a message for me. Tell him I spent my last six months drifting on the edge of this crazy system that I couldn't identify or leave because whatever zapped me here, left me here. Anyway, I ran out of food about a week ago, and water three days ago, and I'm just about to run out of fuel. So, if you see this Dylan Hunt character, you give him a big hug for me and tell him thanks. For what, I'm not actually sure.
(An alarm sounds.)
BEKA: Damn it. Okay, you bastards. You asked for it. Come and get me.
(But out of the cockpit window she sees a big, big ship, drifting in space nearby.)

[Corridor]

BEKA: Andromeda. Andromeda. Come in. Rommie? Dylan? Andromeda. Rommie? Andromeda, come in! Someone, come in.

[Command]

BEKA: Dead. Dead. They can't all be dead. Dylan, are you here? Are you anywhere, damn it?
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: I'm detecting over ten thousand enemy vessels. Five hundred are already within combat radius. Dylan, I'm uncovering various communi
(And the screen goes to static.)
BEKA: Completely fried. After everything, there's nothing left. What the hell. No stone left unturned. If I even remember how to do a code this primitive.

[Room]

(A man is watching Beka's interrogation on a monitor when a woman enters.)
WOMAN: Mister Darrega, the searchers have finished. There wasn't another living soul on the ship Besides that woman.
DARREGA: Then it was her who activated that primitive UWB beacon.
WOMAN: The only thing operational on the entire ship, and the only thing primitive. Our engineers haven't been able to activate any of its other systems.
THUG [on screen]: Mister Darrega, she's agreed to talk, but only to the boss.

[Trader's lock-up]

TRADER: What'd I tell you? StreamFan IV. Twenty PSL, dual ppi's. They just don't make them like this anymore. As good as new, and I got a sale going. Got to move this beauty fast.
HUNT: Give us a minute. Yeah, he'd want to move that inventory pretty fast. Odds are it's stolen.
RHADE: It is. Still has the Darregacorp logo. Huge transport company out of Seefra 9. So we'd be pulled over by repo patrol Before he's done counting the money.
HUNT: Well, then things are breaking your way, Rhade. After we use it, you take it to your latest client's chop shop for its jet parts.
RHADE: Two Magog with one stone. I like it. At least it'll justify this field trip.
HUNT: One problem. If we get caught, it all goes to hell.
RHADE: No, in that case, I collect the repo reward and the bounty for turning in the thief I caught.
HUNT: Who?
RHADE: You. Besides, to you the bigger risk Is never knowing if that's really Beka up there. Shall we proceed with negotiations?
HUNT: Best price.
TRADER: Well, of course, I'll have to speak to the manager
HUNT: After we take a test fight.
TRADER: You mean test flight.
(Hunt and Rhade knock out the Trader and his henchman.)
RHADE: No, we mean test fight.
HUNT: Some people just don't listen.

[Jetcraft]

RHADE: Maybe a test flight would have been smarter.
HUNT: Let me handle this. Never met a ship I couldn't fly, once I figured out the controls.
RHADE: Good luck. Not only do they look backwards, they look inside out.
HUNT: It all comes down to lift and thrust, Rhade. No, not that kind of lift and thrust.
RHADE: Good.
PATROL [OC]: StreamFan, this is repo patrol. Land immediately for pilot identification.
RHADE: I think we're going to need some of that lift and thrust.
PATROL [OC]: StreamFan, do you copy? Turn around in three seconds or be mortally disabled.
RHADE: Well, so much for my bounty reward idea. So, what's your plan?
HUNT: Well, I never had one, but now we have to outrun these guys and I still don't know how to fly this thing.
RHADE: That's a problem.
HUNT: Yeah, that's a problem. (Bang!) That's a big problem. They're hitting us with stun pulses.
RHADE: Brilliant. Kill us, net the check. Got to tell my clients about this.
HUNT: Yes, it's a great idea, but in practice I'm not liking it too much.
RHADE: This ship doesn't even have weapons.
HUNT: Then I'll have to be a better pilot. Got it!
RHADE: You got it?
HUNT: Got it.
RHADE: Good. Go.
HUNT: Hang on. That's right. Looking good. Looking good. We've almost lost them. And they're gone. Ha! Not so bad, if I do say so myself.
RHADE: Yeah, well, this is a far cry from what I signed on for.
HUNT: Come on. Cheer up, Rhade. We get to live.

[Interrogation room]

THUG: The boss is on his way down. In case you were just stalling, we thought you should meet the Core.
(The thug uses a remote to open a cylinder against the far wall.)
THUG 2: She's hot, huh?
THUG: Get close enough, and the flesh will melt off your bones.
(He pulls Beka's vest off and throws it across the room. It bursts into flames.)
BEKA: What the hell kind of creature is that?
THUG: Who knows? Who cares? What matters is, Mister Darrega doesn't like having his time wasted.
BEKA: I said I'd cooperate with your boss, not with your threats.
DARREGA: I'm sorry we misunderstood. If you'd said you intended to cooperate.
BEKA: All I intend to do is live.
DARREGA: Untie her.

[Jetcraft]

HUNT: Per Beka's coordinates, she should be around here somewhere.
RHADE: There aren't many places to hide a Maru in a system this size.
HUNT: There is one. Tell me that isn't a mirage.

[Room]

(Either Hunt's office/quarters or the briefing room.)
 DARREGA: Welcome. I don't blame you for being cautious after the way my repo patrol treated you.
BEKA: Repo? You mean your goons thought my ship belonged to you?
DARREGA: Perhaps we can talk over dinner.
BEKA: Oh, my god, I haven't eaten in a week. Where am I? What system this is, and where's my Maru?
DARREGA: Your transport is where you left it, docked on the Andromeda. Safe. And where you are is Seefra.
BEKA: I've never heard of it.
DARREGA: I suppose because we don't get many visitors.
BEKA: You have lousy slipstream access. No wonder you don't get any tourists.
DARREGA: Slip, slipstream?
BEKA: (mouth full) Slipstream. You know, the thing. You don't know the thing?
DARREGA: I knew it had to exist. Everyone says it's a myth, but I've always wondered, where there's smoke, is there fire? So that explains how you and your enormous ship got here.
BEKA: Wait a minute. You're telling me that no one here knows about slipstream? Meaning no one ever leaves.
DARREGA: Correct. I mean, it would be an issue if anyone wanted to, but everything we need is here. Well, almost.
BEKA: Please don't tell me no women.
DARREGA: It's a bit of a water shortage. But that's something that you wouldn't have to worry about.
BEKA: Mmm. The qualifier. This is where it always gets good.
DARREGA: I own one of the largest fleets of commercial and cargo transport ships in the system, controlling a network that covers all nine planets.
BEKA: And yet you need me.
DARREGA: I need the largest ship in the Seefra system, which apparently only you can operate.
BEKA: Yeah, that is if it can ever be refueled.
DARREGA: A technicality. I mean, with your ship and my network, we would crush the competition and achieve a complete monopoly. And that's not even considering the expansion that slipstream would have to offer.
BEKA: Wow, that's quite the trip, if power's your thing.
DARREGA: And if it's money, and all the comforts that money can buy? It's a round trip. You would never want for anything for the rest of your life. Shall our toast begin the journey?
BEKA: Yeah. Sure. To the journey.

[Jetcraft]

HUNT: It's her. It's really her. Andromeda. Andromeda, come in. Andromeda, this is your captain. Respond.
RHADE: Oh, no.
HUNT: Come on, the comm's working. I don't understand.
RHADE: Not that. That.
(The Darregacorp logo painted on the Andromeda Ascendant.)
HUNT: What the hell?

[Corridor]

HUNT: Andromeda. Andromeda? It's Dylan, your captain. Not much about this is looking good.
RHADE: It's never good when you have to sneak onto your own ship, captain.
HUNT: Look, when I get to the bottom of this
(They are jumped by three thugs. The last one standing is a woman who they toss between them.)
RHADE: Oh! I'm not going to hit her! You hit her.
HUNT: I'm not going to hit her!
RHADE: You had her first.
(The other two thugs wake up and try again. Hunt throws the woman at one of them, knocking them both out.)
HUNT: Fine!
RHADE: You were saying?
HUNT: I was saying someone's going to have a lot of explaining to do, but now, I'm at heads will roll. See you at Command.

[Command]

RHADE: Empty.
HUNT: Yeah, but not for long. Andromeda? Andromeda, report.
RHADE: Power's at point zero zero three percent. Enough for lights and heat only.
HUNT: There's no central processing, So at least Darregacorp hasn't been able to hack Andromeda's mainframe. We have to split up, search the ship for Beka, and maybe find Harper, Rommie, and Trance in the process. If by some fluke they are here, they might be in hiding.
RHADE: Unless, by some fluke, they've been captured and killed by Darregacorp.
HUNT: You are so much fun to have along.
(Rhade leaves.)
HUNT: It was only yesterday.

[Corridor]

DARREGA: I'm already making deals to acquire the power necessary for the Andromeda and the Maru, but I also have a backup plan. It's something I've not told many people but, in this past month, I've come to believe I can trust you.
BEKA: Well, I'm very good at keeping secrets. What is it?
DARREGA: The Core. Ten years ago, when she was found disoriented and wandering through the forest and we discovered her metabolism was a form of hydrino fusion, I began to have a vision.
HUNT: Hydrino fusion.
DARREGA: That a way could be found to harness that energy, and perhaps someday power my entire fleet.
HUNT: At least.
BEKA: It certainly would be a better use for her than terrorising prisoners. People don't get to be as rich as you by thinking small, do they?
DARREGA: I'm extremely glad you share my vision.
BEKA: Our vision.
DARREGA: You know, I'm beginning to think that having you as a partner is a better part of the deal than having the Andromeda.
(They kiss.)
HUNT: Yeah.
(He sneaks down another corridor and meets up with Rhade.)
RHADE: As far as I can tell, no one's onboard except for a few guards and some engineers making futile attempts to unlock the ship's controls. But you saw someone.
HUNT: Yeah. Yeah, I saw Beka. She's partnered with the owner of Darregacorp.
RHADE: Well, that explains everything.
HUNT: Oh, questions haven't begun to be answered.
RHADE: What else is there to know? Beka took the first opportunity to betray you once again.
HUNT: The cynical answer isn't always the right one, Rhade.
RHADE: She obviously now knows what we both know. That this system of nine redundant, drought- stricken planets with two man- made suns, one of which is on the fritz, is all we have now. And as long as there's no such thing as slipstream, Andromeda is nothing but space junk. Leave it!
HUNT: I won't abandon my ship.
RHADE: Suit yourself. Enjoy the charade. I have a client to get back to, and just so this isn't a total waste of my time, I'm taking the jetcraft, with or without you.
GUARD: Hey, you!
(Hunt knocks him out without even looking at him.)
HUNT: Buddy, you picked the wrong guy on the wrong day.
(And gets zaps by a Thug.)

[Hangar deck]

(A guard is patrolling in front of the jetcraft.)
RHADE: Great. Now how the hell am I supposed to get back? Dylan.

[Room]

WOMAN: Mister Darrega, Miss Valentine. There's been some trouble, an attempted break In. Apparently, one of the jetcraft from the stolen list has been found on one of the hangar decks.
DARREGA: Alert the guards immediately.
WOMAN: That won't be necessary, sir.
(Two thugs carry in Hunt.)
DARREGA: It's already starting. Away. The wily and stupid crawling out from the masses to claim our bounty.
BEKA: Hardly surprising, is it? I'm sure there'll be more.

[Interrogation room]

(Hunt has been put in chains.)
HUNT: Andromeda! Come on, Andromeda, you have to hear me! Andromeda! What the hell have they done to you, damn it?

[Darrega's bedroom]

DARREGA: Another negotiation completed with success. Here's to a beautiful partnership, one that's just beginning.
BEKA: And to the end of thieves who think they can get away with stealing from us.
DARREGA: The end of having to think about them.
BEKA: What are you going to do with the prisoner, anyway? Got him stashed somewhere dark and cold, I hope.
DARREGA: He'll be killed.
BEKA; Is that really necessary?
DARREGA: What better deterrent to the others?
BEKA: Maybe. On the other hand, why not just keep him in chains for life?
DARREGA: Yes. On the other hand, you could be more loyal to Dylan Hunt than to me.
BEKA: What are you saying?
DARREGA: I found out our thief is your former captain. The one whose image hangs in the conference gallery. Are you going to pretend that you didn't recognise him?
BEKA: I never intended
DARREGA: To tell me. Ever.
BEKA: That's not what I was going to say.
DARREGA: Were you concealing the fact to protect yourself, or to protect him?
BEKA: You. I didn't want you worrying that I'd welsh on our deal. I swear, that's all it was. Come on, be serious. Why would I side with him? What does he have to offer me? Nothing. He doesn't even have a cause anymore, and that's all I was ever loyal to in the first place. The cause, the fricking Commonwealth.
DARREGA: The Commonwealth?
BEKA: Never mind what that is. It doesn't matter.
DARREGA: Then why do you care what happens to him?
BEKA: I don't know. Guilt? Like I said, the guy has nothing left. I feel sorry for him. Not sorry enough to let him go. He still has to pay for stealing one of our jetcrafts, but sorry enough not to want to have him killed. Jonah, you've got to believe me.
DARREGA: I need time to think.
(A Thug stops Beka following Darrega out of the bedroom.)

[Corridor]

(Rhade hides while Hunt is escorted along in chains.)
HUNT: Ah, that's right, Command is this way. How could I forget? Take it easy. What, do you get paid by the push?

[Darrega's bedroom]

BEKA: Come on, Andromeda. We've been at this all night. Talk to me.
ANDROMEDA [on screen]: What are you requesting?
BEKA: All right. Good. Okay, look. Here's what
ANDROMEDA [on screen]: Conversation terminated.
BEKA: Yeah. I'm getting a little tired of hearing that.
(Beka hears voices outside and closes the access panel she was using.)
WOMAN: Miss Valentine, I was sent to collect you for Mister Darrega.

[Command]

(Hunt's shackles are fastened to the railings.)
HUNT: Thank you. Thank you very much. You know, you guys are the worst welcome wagon ever.
(The thugs leave.)
DARREGA: Welcome, Captain Hunt.
HUNT: Ah, that's a little more like it. Welcome to you too. Now, how about we get rid of these chains, huh? Because I'm not going anywhere.
(Beka enters.)
HUNT: Oh look, you brought your date. Where's mine?
DARREGA: It was difficult for me last night. I really do want to trust you.
BEKA: But?
DARREGA: Though I'm a businessman and a believer in science, I'm also a Seefran, and I believe in things, forces we cannot see, so I've resolved to let fate decide.
BEKA: My punishment?
DARREGA: No, Beka. Your loyalty.
HUNT: Huh. Well, you might want to test her on something else. You see, loyalty isn't one of her strong suits.
DARREGA: The cylinder before you Was brought here from my home planet last night.
HUNT: Oh, that's for me? You shouldn't have. Really, you shouldn't have.
DARREGA: Inside it is the Core, a being whose proximity will melt you on the spot. Please, open them, my darling.
BEKA: Remote activators.
DARREGA: Correct. Though they look similar, each performs a very different function.
HUNT: Oh, well let me guess. One opens that cylinder and releases this Core creature?
DARREGA: Very good, Captain. The other triggers a countdown to a missile that, launched from my home planet, will come directly to this ship and destroy it. We'll have time to disembark.
BEKA: You would destroy the Andromeda, after everything
DARREGA: My dear, without your loyalty or your skills, what good is this ship to me?
HUNT: What? Excuse me, but this sounds like a really bad deal, because apparently I die either way.
DARREGA: Not necessarily. If she chooses the missile, you will be evacuated with the rest of us. Your life spared, though the rest of it, you'll both spend in chains.
HUNT: Ah. Okay. I feel better now.
DARREGA: But if Beka is loyal to me, she'll choose the Core, which means your death, and the Andromeda and our partnership will survive.
BEKA: I'm ready when you are.
DARREGA: Make your choice.
BEKA: Darling, you haven't told me which is which.
DARREGA: I don't intend to. As I said, fate is going to decide. Fate will tell you how to choose. That's how I'll know what's in your heart.
BEKA: You want me to guess?
HUNT: Go for it, Beka. Go for it.
DARREGA: Go ahead, Beka. Choose.
BEKA: How could you do this to me?
DARREGA: If you'd just been honest with me from the start
BEKA: No, Jonah, I don't believe in fate. Whatever I choose Will be pure, dumb, random chance. That we could lose everything.
HUNT: You're not going to be able to change his mind, Beka. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. Like the man said, Fate's going to do all the work.
(Beka chooses the left hand activator, and the Core cylinder opens. A miniature sun floats out and hangs in front of Hunt.)
HUNT: Hello, Trance. It's me, Dylan.
DARREGA: What is this? What is this, some kind of trick?
HUNT: Well, it sure wasn't much of a gamble. Beka, hit the other remote.
(She does.)
BEKA: They both open the cylinder.
HUNT: Yeah. He never had any intention of destroying Andromeda. Trance, it's okay. Go back inside.
(The sun glides back into the cylinder.)
DARREGA: Guard, give the order. Silo eight, ten minutes.
BEKA; Now what are you doing?
DARREGA: You may laugh at our technology, but when it comes to protection, defence, we are a power to be reckoned with. A missile is on its way to penetrate this ship and poison the atmosphere, and until my engineers decipher the control schematics, no one will be allowed on board, let alone take this ship over. He was right. I would never destroy Andromeda. You're another story, Captain, along with anyone else Who thinks that they can steal from me.
HUNT: Stealing? Steal what? This is my ship!
(Beka follows Darrega out.)
HUNT: Beka. Hey. Hey, Beka! Beka, how about. Hey!

[Corridor]

BEKA: Jonah! Jonah, wait.
DARREGA: Under the circumstances, no Andromeda. Our deal is over.
BEKA: What have you done with the Maru?
DARREGA: I had it taken back to the surface last night. It's safe.
BEKA: And me?
DARREGA: You were never completely honest with me. You'd have to settle for working as a cargo pilot until you regain my trust. If that's not acceptable, be loyal to your captain. Stay here, die with him and his new friend.
BEKA: The only one I'm loyal to anymore is myself, and you're the one who'd have to regain my trust.
(Darrega walks away.)
BEKA: I really did love you.
(A transport leaves Andromeda)

[Command]

(Beka points a small handgun at Hunt, then shoots his shackles.)
HUNT: Hey, thanks, Beka. See, isn't teamwork a great thing?
BEKA: Teamwork, Dylan? That's funny. That's what almost killed me. You know, I had a lot of time to think that one over, actually. Six months, to be exact.
HUNT: That's right. Blame me for everything that happened. You know, why didn't you just leave with your boyfriend?
RHADE: Hey! There's no functioning escape pods. What's the plan?
BEKA: You know what I missed most while I was out there orbiting, all alone, without food or water, abandoned?
RHADE: If we could have this conversation later
BEKA: The chance to tell you how damned disposable you made me feel after everything I did.
RHADE: Dylan, do you have a plan to stop the missiles heading our way, or are you two going to argue us to death? Dylan!
HUNT: The plan is for Trance to power the ship's generator enough so we can fire a counter missile.
RHADE: Trance? She's part of the reason we're in this mess in the first place.
HUNT: We're still alive because of her. And right now, she's the only shot we have to stay alive, so say nice things.
BEKA: I'll help you, if it'll help me. From now on, if there is a from now on, that's how it's got to be.
HUNT: So, nothing's changed after all. Oh, er, you might want to shield your eyes. But only to preserve your eyesight, okay? Don't do it for me.
RHADE: As long as it's fast. I don't want to die. At least, not until tomorrow.
HUNT: It'll be fast.
(Hunt opens the cylinder.)
HUNT: Trance, please come out. We need your help. I need you to go to the Command centre's central station. Give it all you can, Trance. It's working. The main generator's powering up. Launching counter missile in five seconds. Three, two, one, firing.
(The counter-missile intercepts the incoming one close to Darrega's transport. The explosion damages it and it goes down in flames.)
HUNT: Good work, Trance. You can stop now.
(The sun resolves itself into a glowing golden girl.)
HUNT: Trance. Thank you. Again.
TRANCE: I think I know you. But who are they? And where am I?
HUNT: Your er, your memory has been affected.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: The power she used to tesseract us all to where we are took away her substance.
HUNT: Andromeda.
ANDROMEDA [on viewscreen]: I missed you too, Captain.
HOLO-ROMMIE: The power I took from Trance to launch the missile reversed her mass depletion and gave some, but not all, of that substance back.
HUNT: So I guess a hug is out of the question?
BEKA: Tesseracted. My god, it never occurred to me. I was flying the Maru, trying to get away. I thought everyone was dead, and suddenly something happened.
RHADE: I was travelling through a tunnel, like the time we dropped through that Mobius wave. I was dying, and then I was on Seefra. But that's just the half of it. This is all too strange.
(Rhade leaves.)
HUNT: So we have Trance to thank for our survival. I hope somehow we can repay the favour.
BEKA: Now if only we had Rommie and Harper.
HUNT: Well, we found each other. We're just going to have to find them too.