"Hubris made the angels of heaven into devils...
and their obstinacy keeps them in hell."
From the Kuruvian Texts
CY 319
[Corridor]
(Multiple ships are converging on the Andromeda Ascendant.)
ROMMIE: Seefra Nine has been consumed, and Seefra Eight is facing an
incendiary emergency.
DOYLE: According to AI scans, planetary evacuations on Seefra Three are
on schedule.
HUNT: Good.
ROMMIE: And the populations on Seefras Four and Five are ninety five
percent off-planet.
HUNT: Better.
ROMMIE: And the skirmishes in Seefra One's Vedran chamber are under
control.
HUNT: Excellent. Finally, an easy day in the evacuation business. Oh, I
have been looking forward to this.
(He opens the door to the briefing room to reveal a big argument going
on. He closes it again.)
HUNT: But I have not been looking forward to that. What's going on?
DOYLE: A delegation from Seefra One arrived an hour ago.
ROMMIE: They don't want any more refugees on their planet.
HUNT: Oh, I see. They want millions to die because they don't think
there's enough to go around. I don't think so.
[Briefing
room]
HUNT:
All right, everyone, just calm down, all right? Calm down.
BEHEMOTH: I'm way, way past calm.
HUNT: Hold that thought.
(Hunt finds a clear space to answer the comm.)
HUNT: Go ahead, Beka.
BEKA [on screen]: Dylan, come in. I've got a major situation here.
HUNT: Yeah, so do I, but what the hell, you go first.
BEKA [on screen]: Seefra Five's magnetic forces are wreaking havoc with
my nav. Now, I just passed a craft that's headed to the planet surface.
HUNT: We can only do so much, Beka. And stopping stupidity is not on
the itinerary, so what's your point?
[Eureka
Maru]
BEKA:
Jeez. Testy. Look, my sensors tell me that the crew is all Nietzschean.
[Briefing
room]
BEKA [on
screen]: Looters, probably. Still, if they attempt to land on Seefra
Five
HUNT: Nietzscheans? What?
BEKA [on screen]: The magnetic forces will crush their craft. Dylan,
I've got to make a detour.
HUNT: Yeah, give me a second. When did Nietzscheans get into the Seefra
system?
ROMMIE: I'm new.
DOYLE: Nietzscheans have never been in the Seefra system.
HUNT: But now they're here. That's great. One more thing to worry
about. Beka, look, let's just go back to the original
game plan, okay? You head to Seefra Four, pick up the refugees, all
right?
BEKA [on screen]: What's that? I'm losing you.
(Transmission ends.)
BEHEMOTH: This refugee infestation stops now. Seefra One doesn't have
the resources to accommodate everyone.
HUNT: Excuse me. Didn't I ask you to hold that thought?
RHADE [OC]: Dylan.
HUNT: Keep holding. Oh, man.
[Tunnels]
RHADE:
We're on Seefra Five to pick up the refugees. The ones brave enough to
leave the crazy general, Burma.
[Briefing
room]
HUNT:
Yes, I know. His sister, Ashael, asked for our help.
[Tunnels]
HARPER:
She did, but this planet's got the shakes, so we'd like to split asap.
And there aren't any evacuees like she said there'd be, boss.
Not that we can find, anyway.
[Briefing
room]
BEHEMOTH:
What, they're leaving this to us? What do you want me to do about this?
HUNT: You know what? My plate's a little full right now, guys. Just
find them.
[Tunnels]
RHADE:
Got them.
HARPER: Looks like they've been hanging out here the whole time.
RHADE: Dylan, they're all dead.
(Bang!)
[Briefing
room]
HUNT:
Rhade? Rhade, Harper. Come in!
BEHEMOTH: I want an answer now. What are you going to do about it?
DOYLE: Dylan.
ROMMIE: Would you mind if we?
HUNT: Please.
(Rommie and Doyle bring the almost seven foot behemoth to his knees and
knock him out.)
HUNT: Avatars. You got to love them. Anyone else have complaints? Good.
I want to thank you all for your kind cooperation in this matter, and
it's been a pleasure saving all of your lives. You're welcome.
[Command]
ROMMIE:
General Burma is an alien of mixed origin who turned violently against
technology as a young boy.
DOYLE: That is his sister, Ashael, who asked for our help in
evacuating.
ROMMIE: Information on them is scarce, but legend has it their father
died using a tesseract machine which he created. He came back in
pieces.
DOYLE: Even a camera is technology Burma hates. So do his followers.
They call themselves Sectarians.
Dylan, Burma wants to stay on Seefra Five. He's convinced his followers
that the oncoming sun and tremors are part of an elaborate
technological hoax.
ROMMIE: I've continued to search below the surface near the tesseract
chamber in order to find Harper and Rhade, but my systems are in a
state of flux
because of the solar activity.
HUNT: Well, keep searching for them. And while you're at it, find Burma
for me too.
[Vedran
chamber]
RHADE:
The tesseract door has been wrecked. This is all a setup.
HARPER: Three people hanging? That's one nasty setup. And I hate to
think what happened to the fourth, the woman who contacted Dylan in the
first
place to get away from Burma.
RHADE: I say we talk to Burma personally.
HARPER: Hold your horses there, cowboy. Destruction's right around the
corner, and you want to risk your life to go save a woman? You've been
there, done that,
remember?
RHADE: What if there are others being held against their will?
HARPER: What if they're not? We're walking into another Arkology.
RHADE: This is different.
HARPER: You don't know that. Look, Rhade, You're not going to change
what happened on Arkology by picking a fight here.
RHADE: That's not what I'm doing.
HARPER: Please. I know that Nietzschean blood of yours. It's all about
sowing the seeds. This whole thing reminds you of Louisa. I get it, and
that's fine,
but I'm not going to stick around here waiting for you to work through
some issues.
RHADE: Harper, I'm not in the mood. You fix the tesseract door. I'm
going to go have that talk with Burma, or beat some sense into him.
HARPER: Hold it. You want to save people we cannot find, and even if we
did, they probably wouldn't even want to evacuate. Besides, there's no
escaping for anyone until I fix this door. So let's try and make it
some sense, okay?
RHADE: Okay. Fix the door first, then I go after Burma.
HARPER: Now you're thinking with your head.
[Corridor]
DOYLE:
I'm unable to locate Trance. I've run extensive searches.
HUNT: Four crew members down, two to go. Maybe you should check with
lost and found.
DOYLE: This is serious, Dylan.
HUNT: I know, Doyle, but if Trance doesn't want to be found, we're not
going to find her.
DOYLE: But why now? It's really bad timing.
HUNT: It's the worst.
DOYLE: Her sun just wiped out Seefra Eight. It's likely she's upset.
HUNT: Upset, but not absent.
DOYLE: Maybe her sun's activity is taking a toll on her.
HUNT: Maybe.
DOYLE: She doesn't seem like the same old Trance these days, does she?
Beka told me about cloaked Trance on Methus Two. But you got her back,
right?
HUNT: I don't know. I mean, she seems cold, which is odd for a sun.
DOYLE: So what do we do?
HUNT: Find her and find out.
[Eureka
Maru]
BEKA:
Hailing F Class transport X one two nine four. Come in. This is Beka
Valentine on the Eureka Maru. If you attempt to land on Seefra Five in
that craft,
you risk grave danger. Come in, please. X one two nine four, I command
you in the name of Drago Musevini to halt immediately and reverse
course.
(The craft stops.)
BEKA: That's more like it.
(Then they zoom off again.)
BEKA: Oh, so you want to be cute. You know, it's not right to disobey
mommy.
[Vedran
chamber]
RHADE:
What was that?
HARPER: What? The entire planet is melting away as it's swallowed up by
Trance's sun. The sounds you're hearing are a death knell. Now, would
you hand me that, please?
RHADE: There. There it is again.
HARPER: Rhade, would you stop freaking out and just focus?
(Gunfire. An oriental who proves to be a match for Rhade only gets shot
in the back by Harper when it looks like he is going to kill Rhade.)
RHADE: So, do we wait for another assassin, or do I go after Burma?
HARPER: I'll stay here and fix the door. Go ahead.
RHADE: Nice shot.
HARPER: Nice fight. Even a Harper can't always be right.
[Sectarian
HQ]
BURMA:
Brothers, sisters, the scavengers are at the gate. They feed us lies to
steal our freedoms. They use their technology to deceive and
enslave us and they attack those closest to our hearts, thanks to one
who's mine.
(Rhade is in the crowd watching Ashael brought out.)
BURMA: My sister, you have forsaken me.
ASHAEL: Forgive me.
BURMA: How could you agree to lead your brethren into slavery?
ASHAEL: They came to me, terrified by the tremors, by the flaming
planets, by the chaos that surrounds us.
BURMA: Fooled by the technological deceptions.
ASHAEL: Perhaps, but those three people feared for their lives. They
only asked to leave our planet.
BURMA: And you agreed to lead them into shackles.
ASHAEL: I wanted to fulfill their wishes, so I called for help. That's
all.
BURMA: Do you really think salvation waits on Seefra One?
ASHAEL: I don't know.
BURMA: Don't you see that this is all a ploy to oppress us, Ashael? You
betrayed your people. You betrayed me.
ASHAEL: My allegiance is to you above all.
BURMA: Then how dare you question my authority? I did not battle the
villains of technology to sit by and watch the enemy oppress you now.
ASHAEL: Forgive me.
BURMA: Perhaps you must remember the pain that technology brings.
(Burma selects a syringe from a box.)
BURMA: Have mercy on her!
ALL: Have mercy. Have mercy.
[Command]
HUNT:
We've been looking for you.
TRANCE: I've been around, following everything. Such destruction. And
it will get worse.
HUNT: Yes, it will.
(Another planet goes KaBOOM!)
TRANCE: Dylan, I have a question for you. Would you leave the Seefra
system now if you could?
HUNT: That's not an option. You know that.
TRANCE: Because you must fulfill your destiny?
HUNT: Because there are millions of lives to save.
TRANCE: Spoken like a hero.
HUNT: Spoken like someone who cares. I expect you feel the same.
TRANCE: Perhaps.
HUNT: Perhaps. Trance, I'm worried about you.
TRANCE: Oh, there's no need to worry. When all this is done, you'll be
fine.
[Sectarian
HQ]
BURMA:
Have mercy.
ALL: Have mercy. Have mercy.
(Burma injects Ashael, and she screams with pain. Burma gets a second
syringe.)
RHADE: No! Stop! Let her go!
(The Sectarians hold him back as Burma injects Ashael again. She passes
out.)
BURMA: Who are you who dares disturb my brethren?
RHADE: I am Telemachus Rhade, sent by Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda
Ascendant to save you fools!
BURMA: Fools? Brothers, sisters, the wolves are among us.
RHADE: You are all in danger. All the planets in the system are about
to be incinerated by the approaching sun.
(A big earthquake shakes the room.)
BURMA: You see? He says it and it happens? Technological deceptions.
RHADE: You are the deceiver. If you listen to Burma and stay, you will
die. Count on that!
BURMA: I have protected you in the past, and I will now. Not him.
RHADE: Is that why you killed the three who tried to evacuate? Is it?
BURMA: I would not see them deceived by your technology. Their souls
are free. Take him away.
[Maru
cargo pod]
(Beka
lets in the crew of the little ship.)
ZAYAS: I'm Zayas, pilot of the ship you captured. What compels you to
summon us in the name of the Progenitor, Drago Musevini?
BEKA: He and I go way back.
ZAYAS: Impossible.
BEKA: Surely you heard of the legends of a woman who's travelled
through time to give birth to the Nietzschean race?
ZAYAS: You speak of the Matriarch.
BEKA: What, you don't recognise the ship? The face? Wake up. You're
looking at her.
(After a pause, they bend the knee to Beka.)
ZAYAS: Please forgive us. Had we known it was you, we would never have
disobeyed your command.
BEKA: You don't have to do that. Get up. Up. At ease. Rise. It's okay.
You don't need to do that. Look, I'm really sorry I had to bucky cable
your ship. You really gave me no choice.
ZAYAS: How can we ever make up for our insubordination?
BEKA: I'm sure we can come up with something. That was almost too easy.
[Briefing
room]
HUNT:
Rommie, Doyle, what have you got for me?
ROMMIE: Still no word from Harper and Rhade.
DOYLE: And the Maru is not responding to my hails.
ROMMIE: I think she's choosing to ignore us.
HUNT: Nietzscheans and Beka. Andromeda.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Bypassing the Maru's security and accessing her
internal systems directly.
HUNT: Thank you. Oh, and by the way, I've found Trance.
DOYLE: Why couldn't we?
ROMMIE: Because she was emitting a broadband radiation flux that
confused my sensors?
HUNT: She wanted me to find her and not you.
ROMMIE: Well then, how is she?
HUNT: Hard to say. But I'd like you to find out what you can without
alarming her, okay?
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Captain, I have overridden Beka's onboard security
system and cameras.
HUNT: Show me.
BEKA [on screen]: Oh. Oh, yeah. Oh no, don't stop. Don't mmm. Ah.
HUNT: Hello, Beka.
BEKA [on screen]: Mmm, Dylan. Dylan!
ROMMIE: Beka, your heart rate is elevated. Are you in distress?
BEKA [on screen]: No, just multi-tasking. Hey, I finally got those
Nietzschean dogs under control. It was hand to hand for a while,
but I'll be back on mission as soon as possible.
HUNT: I think you'll be back on Andromeda as soon as possible.
BEKA: Excellent. I'm all over it. Don't. Tickles. Is this still on?
(Transmission ends, thankfully.)
DOYLE: Same old, same old.
HUNT: You're preaching to the choir, Doyle.
[Maru
crew area]
(Beka is
getting a hand and foot massage.)
BEKA: Oh yeah, right there.
ZAYAS: Here.
BEKA: Mmm. That's delicious. What are these?
ZAYAS: Croleck berries. They're very rare. We acquired them off an
abandoned transport near Seefra Five. Do they satisfy?
BEKA: Yes, quite.
ZAYAS: Only the best for you, Matriarch.
[Sectarian
cell]
ASHAEL:
I'd like to see him.
GUARD: Feel free. He knows what will happen if he tries anything. Hey!
(The guard leaves Rhade and Ashael to talk through the bars.)
ASHAEL: Are you all right?
RHADE: I should be asking you that question.
ASHAEL: I'm fine. But you're bleeding. Trust me. I'm a healer. The
herbs will help cure the wounds.
(Rhade has a nasty gas on his arm.)
ASHAEL: I heard what you did. Thank you.
RHADE: I couldn't just stand there and watch him kill you.
ASHAEL: My brother only wanted to punish. He would have removed the
liqui-bots whether you interfered or not.
RHADE: Liqui-bots? Those were intended to strip the metal off of
slipfighters.
ASHAEL: They were commandeered a while ago in a raid my brother ran
against a woman named Marika.
She was breaking the Seefran technology ban.
RHADE: And so he used it on you.
ASHAEL: To remind us of technology's evil. To keep us safe. He did
remove it from me before it killed me.
Our people have tremendous faith.
RHADE: In what? They need to recognise the impending destruction.
Believe in that instead of your brother's arrogance.
ASHAEL: We believe the gods chose my brother to protect and save us.
RHADE: He will lead you to your death. You know I'm right.
ASHAEL: Let go of me.
(The guard comes back.)
RHADE: That's why you tried to let the others escape.
ASHAEL: I was wrong.
RHADE: Ashael, the end is near for this planet. It doesn't have to be
for you. I'm here to help you find a way out.
ASHAEL: You insist on saving me, but you don't understand faith.
Perhaps you're the one that needs to be saved.
[Methus
Two]
(The
original Trance, our Trance, awakens.)
TRANCE: Dylan!
[Maru
crew area]
BEKA:
Mmm, my head.
ZAYAS: Yeah. The croleck berry is very potent.
BEKA: Zayas?
ZAYAS: Hmm?
BEKA: Where's your friends?
ZAYAS: Oh, careful, Matriarch. The berries are taking effect.
BEKA: What's happening?
ZAYAS: That numbness you're feeling will soon make its way through your
entire body and render you immobile. Enjoy the ride.
You'll have a mind-splitting headache in a few hours when the effects
wear off, but after that, you'll be okay.
BEKA: Why?
ZAYAS: For your ship, my beauty. You said it would be suicide going to
Seefra Five in our puny vessel. We needed a ship with a bit more
thrust.
Yours will do nicely. Oh, and by the way, if you really are the
Matriarch of the Nietzscheans, it was an honour.
BEKA: Yeah. I knew that was too easy.
[Command]
TRANCE
2: Dylan, Seefra Six is gone.
HUNT: Well, luckily, it was evacuated.
TRANCE 2: But not Seefra Five.
HUNT: Any word from Harper and Rhade?
TRANCE 2: Dylan, Seefra Five is inhabited by Sectarians who refuse to
accept or face the inevitable.
HUNT: Yes, that's correct.
TRANCE 2: But the reality is that if innocents die, then this whole
evacuation seems almost futile.
HUNT: Come on. You don't believe that. Trance, look at me. Possible
futures. Tell me what you see.
TRANCE: Dylan, I see you.
[Sectarian
cell]
GUARD:
That was a big one.
RHADE: Nah. Just an elaborate hoax, remember?
ASHAEL: My brother wants me to examine his wounds more carefully.
GUARD: What for?
ASHAEL: My brother plans to use him as a bargaining tool against the
enemy. If his wounds become infected, he's worth nothing to anyone.
GUARD: Get back. Get back.
(The guard lets Ashael into Rhade's cell then goes back to his post.)
ASHAEL: I'm here to check your wounds. Remove your shirt.
RHADE: I'll be no good to you as a bargaining chip. I'm going to die
here along with the rest of you.
ASHAEL: Remove your shirt, please.
(Rhade's back is criss-crossed with slashes. Ashael puts salve on them.
When another tremor hits, he spins and catches her.)
ASHAEL: Turn around, please.
RHADE: When you looked at me, as your brother was about to inject you.
ASHAEL: Yes?
RHADE: I saw something in your eyes. Like you were talking to me.
ASHAEL: I wasn't.
RHADE: You were trying to ask me for help, asking for a way out.
ASHAEL: I wasn't looking at you. I was just staring out, freeing my
mind.
RHADE: You're lying.
ASHAEL: There's a cave nearby with ebony stones at its entrance.
RHADE: By the tesseract chamber. I saw it.
ASHAEL: In my mind, that's where I went. It's the most peaceful place
on the planet. No one goes there except me, when I want to find peace.
RHADE: To escape?
ASHAEL: Yes. To escape the pain. You understand now? It seems the herbs
are working. Your wounds will heal nicely. Add more later. Good night.
(Ashael and the guard leave. Rhade looks at the bundle she gave him. It
contains his comm and a liqui-bot syringe.)
RHADE: Harper, come in. Harper.
[Vedran
chamber]
HARPER:
You know, I said I'd wait for you, but for some reason, when it's you,
it really tries my patience.
[Sectarian
cell]
RHADE:
Did you fix the door?
[Vedran
chamber]
HARPER:
Almost. Not quite.
[Sectarian
cell]
RHADE:
Harper.
[Vedran
chamber]
HARPER:
The crystal sequencer was out of whack, but I reconfigured it, so I'm
close. Hurry up.
[Sectarian
cell]
(Rhade
squirts the liqui-bots onto the door lock. It opens. Then he starts
groaning.)
GUARD: What's wrong with you?
RHADE: The ointment she used. It's burning. It's burning. It's burning.
Please. Look.
(Rhade slams the cell door into the guard's face, then kicks him into
oblivion and takes his gun. After he runs out, Trance 2 tesseracts in.)
[Burma's
room]
TRANCE
2: Burma. I bring you guidance.
BURMA: Who are you?
TRANCE 2: I have come steer you to your destiny.
BURMA: Yes.
TRANCE 2: Your sister has turned against you. She conspires with the
man you have jailed.
BURMA: My sister.
TRANCE 2: She has forsaken you. The wolf leads her back to your
greatest enemy.
BURMA: Why are you helping me?
TRANCE 2: I'm doing as I'm ordered.
BURMA: I am
TRANCE 2: We know who you are.
[Corridor]
(Trance
2 tesseracts in and walks around the corner.)
ROMMIE: How are you feeling?
TRANCE 2: Oh, better now. You're very sweet for asking.
ROMMIE: Well, if there's anything you need.
TRANCE 2: Like what?
ROMMIE: If you'd like to share something, anything?
TRANCE 2: Avatar to avatar?
ROMMIE: I do understand what you're going through, possibly better than
the others.
TRANCE 2: Yes, I know. I appreciate your concern, but I am fine.
ROMMIE: There's no need to be afraid. If something were wrong, I'd pick
it up in a tactile scan.
TRANCE 2: Thank you anyway.
ROMMIE: Trance
(Rommie touches Trance 2's shoulder and gets blasted down the corridor
by fusion energy.)
TRANCE 2: Oh! Goodness, I am so sorry.
ROMMIE: Please don't.
TRANCE 2: I didn't expect
ROMMIE: It's okay. It's not your fault. I should've listened.
(Rommie staggers away.)
[Med
deck]
(Rommie
is making her own repairs.)
ROMMIE: The fall damaged my neuro-epidermal layer in several locations.
HUNT: That's nasty.
ROMMIE: I'll be functioning soon. Unfortunately, the energy surge
seriously disrupted my sensors. I was unable to detect any nuances in
Trance.
HUNT: Yeah, I was afraid of that. Wait a minute. You touched in the
main corridor, right? So that means it was recorded. Check playback,
see what you can find out.
ROMMIE: Mmm hmm.
ANDROMEDA [OC]: Dylan, I have a signal coming in from the Maru.
HUNT: Put it through.
BEKA [on screen]: Oh, thank god. I've been fiddling with this room comm
for over an hour.
HUNT: Are you okay?
BEKA: Well, yeah, I'm okay, I mean, despite having been hijacked and
slipped the mickey to end all mickeys. Dylan, I'm stuck here.
Look, I've managed to disable the Maru's engine, so we're dead in
space, but the guys, they're working on getting them back online, and
they're very intent on getting to Seefra Five, which will soon be
fried.
HUNT: Once again, no accounting for stupidity.
(Transmission ends.)
ROMMIE: Harper and Rhade are still on Seefra Five. Does their rescue
preclude Beka's situation?
HUNT: Time to multi-task?
[Ebony
chamber]
ASHAEL:
Rhade?
(Burma enters.)
ASHAEL: Brother, I love you. The planet is in danger. Rhade came here
to reason with you.
BURMA: There is no reason in a world where a sister forsakes her
brother.
ASHAEL: What kind of world is it where pride blinds a man to the
realities around him?
BURMA: I cannot bear your insolence.
ASHAEL: I speak from my love for you, not insolence. Come with us. Lead
our people to safety.
BURMA: You don't know the heaviness of my heart.
ASHAEL: Free it. There's time.
(More tremors and rock falls.)
BURMA: I will not turn my back on my beliefs.
ASHAEL: How can you keep your beliefs when they lead you astray?
Please.
BURMA: My little sister. Freedom is yours.
(Burma injects Ashael and leaves her.)
[Eureka
Maru]
ZAYAS:
Come on. Come on! What? Oh, a slipfighter. Our ticket out of here.
Okay. Hailing slipfighter Z N two four four. Come in.
DOYLE [OC]: I could use assistance. It seems the magnetic fields are
affecting my twin propulsion units.
ZAYAS: Yeah, we've been having drive troubles ourselves but we'd be
more than happy to give you assistance. Zayas out.
Looks like we got ourselves a real slipfighter, gentlemen. Launch bucky
cables.
[Ebony
chamber]
(Rhade
enters.)
RHADE: What's wrong?
ASHAEL: Hold, hold me.
RHADE: Ashael.
ASHAEL: Hold me.
RHADE: Where's the antidote syringe?
ASHAEL: It's too late. Please, help me. Stop the pain.
(Rhade kindly breaks her neck.)
[Maru
cargo pod]
DOYLE:
Hi.
(Doyle attacks Zayas's two henchmen, using one as a shield when Zayas
shoots, then deals with him. Trance's sun devours Methus One.)
[Ebony
chamber]
GUARD:
Don't worry. You'll be with her soon enough.
(A brief fight but Rhade is grabbed from behind.)
GUARD: Guess your technology can't help you now.
HUNT: Hello, Rhade.
GUARD: Drop your weapon or
(Hunt shoots the guard even though he is using Rhade as a shield.)
HUNT: Or what?
RHADE: Thanks.
HUNT: You're welcome. One down.
RHADE: Burma's next.
HUNT: It'll be my pleasure.
(Rhade covers Ashael's face.)
[Vedran
chamber]
HARPER:
Old Harper, left behind again. Last time I wait around for anybody.
Okay. Let's see if I made good on my promise here.
(Harper puts the sole crystal into its hole in the door.)
HARPER: Ha! What do you know? It worked.
(A henchman grabs Harper. Burma is there.)
HARPER: Hey! I don't suppose you're the welcoming committee?
BURMA: Is that working?
HARPER: Of course it is. What do you think I am? Look at it. Look at
it.
BURMA: Wonderful. Kill him.
HARPER: This is the thanks I get for fixing the door?
(There is a brief fight, and Burma ends up holding Harper.)
BURMA: Your days are over.
(Rhade shoots a henchman.)
HUNT: I might have something to say about that.
BURMA: Captain Hunt. It's time to surrender or lose your friend.
HARPER: If you're going to do something, do it quick, boss, because
this guy's fast.
(Harper backs him and Burma into the tesseract field, then the whole
thing blows up.)
HUNT: Damn it. All right, there's nothing we can do for Harper now. We
have to get back to Andromeda before the sun gets here.
Rhade, let's go.
RHADE: I should have just shot him.
[Briefing
room]
DOYLE:
The AI picked up a trace of Harper's comm on Seefra One.
HUNT: Well, then, that's where we'll start. Get on it.
(Doyle leaves, Rommie enters.)
ROMMIE: Well, Captain, you were right. Trance is not herself,
scientifically speaking, although whoever she is, she's quite good.
Matches Trance's spectral readings exactly, until you look closer.
HUNT: Her reading changed. She held the impersonation together until
she was surprised.
ROMMIE: We can try and isolate her within the ship while we find the
real Trance.
HUNT: If she's an avatar, we'll never be able to hold her. All right,
in the meantime we act like everything's normal.
[Command]
HUNT: We
couldn't evacuate all of Seefra Five, but those who stayed chose to.
TRANCE 2: I'm sorry it has come to this, but it has all been fated.
HUNT: No one lives forever, but no one wants to be gone forever.
TRANCE 2: Dylan, you will survive, no matter what fate brings.
HUNT: Who are you?
TRANCE 2: Trance Gemini.
(Seefra Five goes KaBOOM!)
To Be
Continued
|