SGU: LEGACY. pt5 - DETOUR (plaintext)

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* SPACE. Same NOT VERY GREEN PLANET. NIGHTSIDE. Dronestream flowing from around 2 Command Ships, also with 'bodyguards'.

DRONE POV:
Descending towards the mountains and the (wide) cave entrance.




* # SUPPLY DEPOT 1.

DRONE POV:
REALLY THICK (3-4 drone-body-lengths, or more) BLAST DOORS (solid metal with external granite/dense stone/concrete surface) slowly CLOSE the cave entrance. Drones ahead CRASH against them, some fly/swerve thru the reduced space, others STRAFE them before flying away.

TARGET LOCK. SHOOT. COLLIDE. OUT.

BACK TO:


As drone flow is reduced, AA Batteries SHRED the bunch trapped inside.

Sounds of outside DRONE FIRE against almost closed BLAST DOORS.



* JUNGLE/MOUNTAIN ALIEN PLANET. NOON. The dronestream disrupted as they STRAFE the waterfall, some of them CRASHING against the 'shut down' entrance beneath.



# SUPPLY DEPOT 2. Artificial lighting. Muffled EXPLOSIONS from the Really Thick Blast Doors.

Alarm noises STOP (alarm lights keep ON). RINGS rise to 'working' position.

People emerge from cover, put down FIRES (FLAMING WRECKAGE et al).

BROOKS opens her bunker's door.



* SPACE. NOVAN AIRLESS MOON. 2 (somewhat reduced) swarms FLYING inside the large crater like so many frenzied wasps, SHOOTING the impassable BLAST DOORS now completely BLOCKING the man-made WELL, decorated with flaming drone WRECKAGE.

(the Blast Doors might sport some kind of basic SHIELDING that spreads/dilutes the effect of beam FIRE)



# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Ancient holo Screen shows Command Ship ICONS still in the rough quarter-circle, + 1-2 ACTIVE Gates.

RUSH

They're active again!?


Watching blurry/jumpy KINO Feeds:

ELI

Amazing! They can stream video thru the Gate network under these conditions!?




# GATE ROOM. Alongside the thick STREAMS of replacement AutoCannons, more Novan GENERATORS GATE IN. Then a mid-size MEDICAL crate on a floating 'pallet' exits the PUDDLE, pushed along by BROOKS.

RILEY (to BROOKS)

Welcome back!


MARSHALL

How's things down there?


Giving her helmet to a tech:

BROOKS

Work now! Talk later!


She navigates spent AutoCannons to the exit. Additional supplies GATE IN.



# CORRIDORS & OTHER SPACES. Lights FLICKER. Novan techs fixing things or carrying stuff. Faraway EXPLOSIONS heard. Rumbling & SHAKING. BROOKS hurries with her crate.

In a side corridor, vapor/smoke blasts/streams/vents until a DOOR (automatically) CLOSES.

Ahead, the main corridor is BLOCKED by a substantial fire + FIREFIGHTERS putting it out.

One of her ASSISTANTS (guided by a neo-kino) intercepts BROOKS, helps her push the crate to a LIFT.

With both inside, LIFT door closes. BROOKS wastes no time unsealing the crate, getting its LID off.

The lift door opens. AHEAD is the STASIS SECTION, 1 of its doors light-up.



* SPACE. Dronestorm weakened yet still RAGING around Destiny & the 'fire curtain'. AutoCannons being replaced, their ranks still thickening. Several recharged LongBows getting HOT.

LongBow POV (tinted REDDISH): SHOOT faraway target thru drone curtain. Drones ahead SWEPT by AutoCannon beams. Command Ship ahead, trying to EVADE. (REDDER). Drones trying to intercept get pierced. RUPTURE Command Ship: Flames ERUPT. (TOO RED). FRIED.

Other LongBow BEAMS exit the (wavering) dronestorm towards their targets.



# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Ancient Screen shows battle GRAPH with just 3 Command Ships left.

Keying Console:

ELI

We're gonna beat 'em!


RUSH

Only 2 LongBows left!


Another Command Ship ICON IMPLODES.



# BRIDGE. Seeing light ahead of the fiery storm. SCREENS & CONSOLES still full of enemies.

JAMES

Whoohoo!


Piloting/firing:

GREER

Piece of cake!


Piloting:

SCOTT

C'mon, show yourselves!


CHLOE

Only one long-range shot left!


YOUNG

Make it count!




# GATE ROOM. Plenty of battle NOISE. Spent AutoCannons piling up EVERYWHERE. More thick streams of replacement AutoCannons GATING IN, then another oversize Novan MAINFRAME/SIMULATOR (switched ON).

RILEY

Auntie Ginn!?


GINN Consciousness

(computer VOICE, only slightly distorted)

Why has little sis' Last Will and Testament been pre-activated?


MARSHALL and RILEY eye each other.



# STASIS CORRIDOR. BROOKS in front of Ginn's POD holding in each hand the business ends (multi-needles?) of I.V. BLOOD-BAGS (velcro-ed to her shoulders, with tubing & all). Both her assistants KNEEL between her and the door. T.J. to one side, holding a 'medical' SPRAY CAN in each hand. CHAIRMAN at CONTROLS.

BROOKS

(bows a bit)

Ready!? To the count of 3: 1!

(the assistants TENSE)

2!

(T.J. NODS)

3!


CHAIRMAN DEACTIVATES the POD. With the door barely out of the way:

The assistants GRAB the inert GINN and quickly DRAG her headfirst halfway outside, over the stretcher.

BROOKS swiftly/expertly STABS/INJECTS both sides of GINN's neck with her I.V needles, just INTO the arteries. No reaction.

T.J. hurriedly SPRAYS white 'medical' FOAM (halfway between whipped cream and cotton candy) directly INTO Ginn's bloody WOUNDS (incl. ENTRY & EXIT ones, cheek, right wrist...) It EXPANDS slightly, stopping ALL bleeding.

Taking a small SENSOR PACK out a pocket:

BROOKS

Hurry!


The assistants LOOSEN the torso pieces of Ginn's armor suit. BROOKS slides the SENSOR PACK (trailing cables?) DOWN GINN's chest to her heart. Still no visible reaction.

CHAIRMAN can barely stand to watch as GINN's limp, armor-suited & bloodied body is entirely PULLED out of the Stasis Pod, STRAPPED to the stretcher. T.J. 'foams' leg WOUNDS.

The assistants HOOK the I.V. blood-bags to hovering mini-kinos, direct the stretcher to FLOAT UP to waist height.

PAD in hand, keying:

BROOKS

C'mon! C'mon, Ginn!


PAD SCREEN: Ginn's vital signs, all over the place. Heartrate particularly WILD.

With everybody around the stretcher, CHAIRMAN holding Ginn's left hand, one of the assistants INJECTS a clear liquid into the I.V. tubing going to GINN's neck, while the other LOOSENS more pieces of her armor suit.

CHAIRMAN

(begging)

C'mon, Ginn, love! C'mon!


GINN OPENS her eyes WIDE. GASPS (painfully) for air. COUGHS BLOOD.



* DESTINY (creakingly, helped by perhaps 250 AutoCannons) MANOEUVERS surrounded by the 2 remaining & furiously FIRING drone swarms, protected by the (FIRING non-stop) triple-row AutoCannon 'cocoon', CHASING the last 2 Command Ships as they EVADE.

Main Guns FIRE repeatedly. Until finally:

1 Command Ship is HIT, EXPLODES. The other JUMPS OUT. Remaining active drones become DORMANT (& ballistic!). Soon as they stop firing, Destiny holds fire too (except to prevent drones SMASHING into hull).

Battle OVER.



# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Ancient Screens show battle aftermath, + GRAPHS of Destiny's old & new DAMAGE.

Keying Console:

RUSH

Dammit! We're almost back to where we started!


Re: Console:

ELI

It isn't that bad: Most systems are still working.


GINN Consciousness ('idealized', from Console)

My beautiful Eli! Always the optimist!




# GATE ROOM. Jubilation. All 3 oversize Novan MAINFRAMES/SIMULATORS safely out of the way, hooked, merrily BLINKING along.

GATE DEACTIVATES.

As RILEY keys his PAD, spent AutoCannons start FLOATING upwards from their piles (incl. those waiting in corridors).

RING ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING.

MARSHALL (to RILEY)

Were those Naquadah Generators?


RILEY

Earth design, from your old tech records. Fine-tuned by auntie Ginn herself.


MARSHALL

Glad my years of toil were...


Riley's PAD flashes.

RILEY

Sorry, uncle Marshall! Ginn-sis is awake!


He runs to exit. Ring LOCKS.



# BRIDGE. Rises to 'sightseeing' mode. View full of FLOATING AutoCannons (many float 'downwards', spent). The hull bears new SCARS & FLAMING WRECKAGE (some from drones).

Getting up:

CHLOE

Colonel!? Permission to...!


YOUNG

(tired)

Go, Chloe. Everybody... go.


N. RUSH (from Console)

I'll continue with the repairs.


As the others hurry to exit:

JAMES (passing, to YOUNG)

I'll send someone to man the Consoles...


YOUNG

(gets UP, tired yet smiling)

Thanks, Vanessa.


Alone, he STRETCHES a bit, looks around, PATS the Console, then (slowly) walks to the exit.

In the corridor, CHLOE and SCOTT share a passionate KISS.

As they notice him WALKING past:

YOUNG

(grins, hand rubbing face & hair)

Carry on, troops. Carry on!




# FTL SECTION. Plenty of SMOKE, shrapnel, SPARKS & fire EXTINGUISHERS nearby. 6-8 'spider' Repair Robots doing their thing. Novans check PADS.

Reviewing Console:

BRODY

That was close!


A. PERRY (from Console)

Don't you say it!




# INFIRMARY. GINN on a bed, eyes closed, BREATHING regularly, with only the few pieces of her armor suit plastered with medical 'foam' still on, COVERED in a white sheet from toe to chest. I.V. tubing (more carefully set-up) to her neck steadily DRIPPING, new I.V.s to both arms. An Ancient MONITOR (hooked to Ancient & Novan gear) SLIDES (X-Ray style) over her on a newly-installed horizontal tubing/frame. BROOKS (& assistants) reviewing everything. T.J. helping. The (half-empty) medical CRATE on a nearby corner.

As the Monitor completes its survey:

BROOKS (sotto, to CHAIRMAN)

Make it quick.


As he (gently) takes her hand, GINN opens her eyes, then closes them again, half-smiles.

GINN (slowly, slurred?)

Honey, I dreamed of going back to Pittsburgh...


CHAIRMAN

(grins)

We've already been there, love, remember?


GINN

(blinking eyes)

And got nothing, you and Marshall, I know. You were powerless... But that was before...


CHAIRMAN

But... Ginn!?

(to BROOKS)

She's reliving the past!?


BROOKS checks Ginn's body SCHEMATIC on Ancient SCREEN, with lots of ALARMS/WARNINGS.

BROOKS

Confusion and short-term memory loss are to be expected. That she's talking at all is a pretty good sign.


GINN

(sleepy?)

We can do better now, we can crown Pittsburgh Project right where it started, where it should have...


CHAIRMAN

(worried)

Wake up, Ginn! Love, wake up!


T.J.

What's she talking about? 'Pittsburgh'...?


BROOKS

(time's over)

Go talk elsewhere. We're gonna repair a few major vessels here. Call you when we're done. Perhaps don't watch the kino feed for a while.


T.J.

(hesitant)

But I should stay... and help?


BROOKS

Go, dear. Get some rest. Our recordings will be all you need when you come back.


CHAIRMAN and T.J. walk OUT (with the OTHERS waiting at door). There's now (besides the unconscious 'relay' tech) another 6-8 beds with newly INJURED patients (crew & Novan, in various states of 'repair') with kinos (Novan & Ancient) HOVERING around.



# MESS HALL. DINNER TIME. Tables loaded with GOOD food/drinks. Most also fully seated. People entering/exiting, talking, feasting, celebrating, gesturing ship moves, laughing...

At the 'captain' table, a more subdued talk amid brisk eating. SCOTT and CHLOE side by side. T.J. and YOUNG briefly smile at each other across the table.

Riley's PAD screen shows up-close SURGICAL LASERS at work.

RILEY (to no-one in particular)

I cannot watch.


Taking Riley's PAD:

MARSHALL

Lemme that. She's sedated. Her readings are stable. If Novan medicine is so good now, I don't see...


RILEY (sotto?)

Auntie Ginn says 'sis' was reckless, but it wasn't her fault that they couldn't Gate out, and...


Keeping an eye on his PAD:

ELI

Spill the beans, Iron-man. 'Pittsburgh' is no secret anymore.


Enjoying the Earth-like food:

JAMES

Your wish!


Not quite eating:

CHAIRMAN

It's always been a little private... joke, really. You see, our gating there shortly after leaving Destiny was bold, yet foolish.


MARSHALL

(nonchalant?)

And, whose idea was it?


CHAIRMAN

Yours.


Some CHUCKLES.

MARSHALL

(cool)

There must have been a good reason, then.


CHAIRMAN

(sober)

Taking down a Command Ship with just a few small weapons, and laying hands on a working FTL drive? Brilliant concept. But the details almost got us killed. That shortcut was closed.


RILEY

(smiling)

It sounded epic when you told us kids, uncle Marshall, on our visits to your secret lab! Ginn-sis was always pestering you for details and mocking you and uncle Wally when your tales didn't match.


ELI

A secret lab? This keeps getting better!


CHAIRMAN

Well, his work needed peace and quiet, away from Novus and the newspapers. Marshall kept things running while I was busy playing consumer tech whiz, gathering funds and wills.


RILEY

And flooding Novus with new kinos and books!


CHAIRMAN

(winks?)

I had to disguise the money our military sales were making, and a reputation to keep.


ELI

What books?


YOUNG

So, why call it 'Project Pittsburgh' at all?


RILEY

Ginn-sis' idea. It started the summer she decided to stay and work with uncle Marshall on FTL prototypes instead of going back to Novus and her pre-University studies.


CHAIRMAN

I only managed to persuade her on a promise to flee if things got too bad due to the Black Hole.


RILEY

(serious)

One of many things we were required to keep secret.


MARSHALL

(cool)

And with good reason, I presume.


RILEY

You said so at the time. And also offered to tutor her while she worked with you.


CHAIRMAN

Which didn't sound like such a great idea...


CHLOE

But turned out well? Looking at her achievements...


RILEY

(jealous?)

Ginn-sis always exceeded expectations. All her teachers said so, including aunties and uncles.


CHAIRMAN

It was no surprise when she inherited Marshall's lab: She already ruled the place by the time he died.


MARSHALL almost not reacting to the 'old' news.

RILEY

What 'sis' wanted, she got.


MARSHALL (to CHAIRMAN)

Including you?


CHAIRMAN

(stung?)

I wouldn't put it that way.


ELI

Of course you wouldn't!


SMIRKS.

YOUNG

And her projects? She got them too?


CHAIRMAN

There was no denying her. One of her mantras she got from Marshall: "Live off the enemy!"


MARSHALL

(nods)

Our own drone fleet.


As others DIGEST:

RILEY

Only 'sis' pushed it a lot further.


ELI

Cloaks!?


CHAIRMAN

That was me, when she revealed all she wanted to do. The risks she was ready to brave...

(beat)

...for us.


MARSHALL

I researched cloaking devices with Earth's help, via the Stones. Not really practical for small fry like a drone.


RILEY

Auntie Ginn said the same. Once we started subverting loads of 'em critters, there was only one way to go.


ELI

(lightbulb)

Command Ships!? Wow!

(wonders)

How??


CHAIRMAN

Marshall had dismantled a bunch, back at Noctis.


MARSHALL

To better be able to defeat 'em.


RILEY

So it was just a matter of putting everything together, and stealing ourselves some swarms.


CHAIRMAN

On the cheap: Pittsburgh Project was always self-sustaining.


MARSHALL

Which is great from both economic and military perspectives.


RILEY

(smiling?)

'Sis' said so at the time!


CHAIRMAN (to MARSHALL)

I should have watched better what you and she did together.


GREER

(points)

Or you and she!


More SMILES.

YOUNG

So, you went around taking Command Ships?


RILEY

Oh, yeah: Starting with the one that razed down 'Pittsburgh', and ending with the one that killed the Ursini.


CHAIRMAN

Wasn't that easy: Despite our surgical approach, half of them got destroyed instead of captured.


MARSHALL

Must have been quite a romp. How I envy you!


ELI

Man, I'd have paid to see that!


CHAIRMAN

(winks?)

It's all recorded. For... purely scientific reasons.


YOUNG

Such as?


RILEY

Counter-Intelligence. Taxonomy.


T.J.

What? You mean there's different kinds of those things? Like plants, and animals?


CHAIRMAN

More like nearly identical, but not exact, bloodlines. Small differences in design, materials, build process...


MARSHALL

Which would explain why not all can be destroyed, or disabled, the same way. I always suspected it.


ELI

And why they cannot take over each other's drones?


RILEY

That's 'cause of their hive mind.


MARSHALL

(thumps table)

Hah! I knew it!


CHAIRMAN

The entire swarm shares intel-gathering and decision-making. They act as a single brain. An independent entity.


RILEY

Kill enough of it, the remainder loses the ability and even the will to go on. Unless there's a threat they can tackle without thinking.


ELI

Creepy.


T.J.

So they don't actually... mutate and evolve?


RILEY

(shrugs)

Probably it's just that they're built at different shipyards.


YOUNG

Or so we hope.


MUNCHING.

SCOTT

So you could have destroyed 'em all, and ended this... war before it started?


CHAIRMAN

Alas, no. Every time we acted, others would quickly come to check. We've risked alerting them with each raid.


RILEY

We didn't want them to 'adapt' to our doings.


YOUNG

That's why you didn't save 'Pittsburgh', the city?


CHAIRMAN

We didn't dare, lest the enemy changed tactics. We warned 'em of danger coming, tho, to keep subspace and EM usage at a minimum, to evac people and valuables, but they didn't quite react until it was almost too late.


FLASHBACK:

* 'PITTSBURGH' CITY. EARLY MORNING (cloudy). BACK ALLEY opening to ruined park. As 4 patrolling DRONES zoom away, 20+ rag-tag people, most of 'em INJURED & bandaged, hurry to board a CLOAKED SHIP (landed between burnt trees).

RILEY (O.S.)

We helped 'em with our cloaks, evacuating people, rescuing isolated groups, and all. Videos of the near disaster helped persuade other worlds to play it safe, even the reluctant ones like Noctis.


END FLASHBACK



SILENT RUMINATION.

CHLOE

So, has anything been left of all that effort? Besides ... her?


CHAIRMAN

Well, actually...


RILEY

We've lost all but 2 of the new 'recruits', and only Ginn-sis' flagship with a Gate. The others successfully Jumped away, with various damage.


ELI

You put Gates on 'em!?


RILEY

(animated)

Not easy: Cramped space, mismatched power systems...


CHAIRMAN

You see, we really want to win the war.


RUSH approaches, PAD in hand. Gives it to YOUNG. SCREEN shows replenishing enemy staging area.

RUSH

Destiny cannot fight anymore. Even with enough repairs, we'll be outgunned and destroyed by the next wave.


As the PAD circulates, everybody considers the 20+ ENEMY ICONS already gathered.

CHAIRMAN

What repairs?


RUSH

A lot more than we can manage in the short time we'll be afforded.


YOUNG

(firm)

I find Dr. Rush's logic overwhelming.



DREAM/FLASHBACk:

# NOVAN APARTMENT. NIGHT. Windows show NOCTIS city.

MARSHALL (not so old, already w/eyepatch) with his child son.

JUNIOR

(holds the "Mighty Rog..." book)

Daddy, it's true you found the Lizard People?


MARSHALL

(smiles)

Oh, they're nothing like your Rog!

(keys PAD)


PAD SCREEN:
KINO FOOTAGE OF:

* Earth-like TROPICAL PLANET. DAY. From the TREES/BUSHES near a Stargate, several very primitive (fur-clad, war-painted, barefoot) saurian-humanoid ALIENS THROW their spears (TIPS glint with sunlight) at CAMERA.

MARSHALL (O.S.?)

Mine got no spaceships, sonic swords, warrior princesses, or treasure chests.


KINO HIT & OFF.



From door, in Military Nurse uniform:

WIFE

Hey, you two: Life support's on the table!


MARSHALL

A proper Contact Team's finally ready, after so much dithering.


WIFE

Better late than never.

(they KISS)

I got extra shift today.


MARSHALL

Guess who leads.




# INFIRMARY. Ancient SCREEN with Ginn's body SCHEMATIC shows less ALARMS/WARNINGS.

From the door, CHAIRMAN watches BROOKS & her (replacement) assistants tend to GINN. T.J. asleep on an unused bed. Other patients sleeping too.

CHAIRMAN (sotto, to mic)

Amanda, how's it going?


A. PERRY (O.S. from mic)

On track and on schedule. Having second thoughts?


CHAIRMAN (sotto, to mic)

Always. But this is our best move now.


N. RUSH (O.S. from mic)

Repairs are going well, but then what? Fighting again, over and over, at each stop, isn't a workable tactic.


CHAIRMAN (sotto, to mic)

We'll beat 'em for good this time.


FLASHBACK:

* DESTINY surrounded by 100s of drones, a few of which are in range & FIRING. As FTL STARTS, the closest drones get VAPORIZED.

A. PERRY (O.S. from mic)

Think our waiting to flee just as they reached shooting range will make a difference? Our FTL envelope cannot have shredded more than a couple dozen at most.


END FLASHBACK



CHAIRMAN (sotto, to mic)

We gained time, and we also know what their next wave looks like. Every little bit counts.


N. RUSH (O.S. from mic)

Are we still playing chicken, or poker?


CHAIRMAN (smiling, sotto, to mic)

How about a nice game of chess?




* DESTINY IN FTL. No sign of LongBows or AutoCannons. Both Novan AA-Batteries completely hidden by shuttle-PAD-sized sturdy-looking "armadillo" ENCLOSURES.



* Lush RIVER VALLEY, its rocky sides poked with 100s of Rog-sized CAVES. NOON. Among the trees and over the river: primitive wood & rope STRUCTURES, mostly burnt, stone tools, fish nets, (oversize) fish hooks crafted from bone, pottery, small weapon-made CRATERS, recent landslides, + 100s of Rog CORPSES, 1-2 months dead.

Novans + MARSHALL around a DOWNED/stoned DRONE, several Rog spears + sizable arrows PROTRUDING from it.

MARSHALL

There's no survivors, at all?




# CORRIDORS, QUARTERS & OTHER SPACES. AutoCannons STACKED floor to ceiling everywhere, with barely enough space for people. Crewpeople taking a rest where they can. Others (mainly Novan techs, WELDERS) keep working.



# DESTINY. BEDROOM. SCOTT and CHLOE sleeping (fully dressed?) together.



# Another BEDROOM. RILEY, sitting on bed, multitasking/working with PAD & laptop(s). A half-eaten dinner / sandwich / salad on a side tray.

FLOATING in the air before him: a 3D HOLOGRAPH (not unlike Destiny's ones) of a LongBow and its PARTS (some with labels), slowly combining & recombining, rotating leisurely in several directions at once, showing HEAT & ENERGY flows.

HIS SCREEN(s): A CAD-like 3D-modeling program, showing WIREFRAMES/SCHEMATICS of several LongBow (re)designs, parts, providers, prices, times... Another window titled "Running Simulation Test" displays a stream of text lines like:
Optimal energy transfer: STABLE
--- Entering damage variation 496 of 2874 ---
Estimated time to failure: 101.814 seconds
Calculating new peak yield: 48%
Feedback: NEGATIVE

and
Heat flow distortion: CONTAINED...

A small window (in a corner) titled "Personal Agenda" shows the (static) AVATAR of a cute BRUNETTE.

RILEY (smiling, to mic)

I know, princess. (pause) When this is over, ok? I already told... (pause) Kisses for you too.


As he disconnects, his smile vanishes. With an impatient gesture of his hand to the 3D HOLO, he makes it EXPAND & SURROUND him. Pointing/touching with a finger (towards CAMERA), he then SELECTS a single part of the entire assemblage.


KINO footage of:
# Archaeological DIG inside a large CAVE. Artificial light. 2 bigger-than-people SLABS of dark glass-like material, overflowing with alien SCRIPTURE (glints when illuminated).

ARCHAEOLOGIST

(points)

The Tombstones are faintly radioactive and older than Novus. Add that to the carbonfiber strings on their bows, and the glass-metal composite of their arrow- and spear-heads. Quite a puzzle, huh?



SWITCH TO:
The sides of a Tombstone being carefully CLEANED, reveal several LISTS of familiar-looking GLYPHS in groups of 7.



# Marshall's DESK.

MARSHALL

Hot damn!




# MESS HALL. Mostly empty. A few stragglers, some unfinished food. AutoCannons STACKED on corners & under seats. A newly-installed TV SCREEN shows a Novan programme.



# ATOM CHEF. Receiving the dinner's leftovers. Nearby Novan laundromat + dishwashers in use too.



# BRIDGE. A skeleton watch. YOUNG dozing on 'captain' chair. A couple boxes in a corner labeled:
Emergency breather
masks / canisters.
       1 unit = 20 mins




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. ELI asleep at his Console. RUSH sips coffee, still working.



# GATE ROOM. MARSHALL snores sitting against a wall (folded STAFF on lap) while a fresh team of Novan techs sorts the large amount of (new) SUPPLIES crowding the space.



# NOVAN KITCHEN, advanced yet recognizable. DAY. WIFE's unhappy.

Hand on boy JUNIOR's shoulder:

MARSHALL

We can find 'em thru their Gate usage. We must.


Part-assembled? neo-kino in hand:

JUNIOR

'S not fair! You'll miss the Science Contest!!




# DESTINY. (several) TECHNICAL SPACES. Montage: Novan techs, WELDERS et al. working. BRODY sleeping in a secluded corner/alcove. REPAIR ROBOTS around.



# INFIRMARY.

BROOKS (sotto? to CHAIRMAN)

Internal bleeding's under control. We've fixed what we could, but she needs to spend the next 2-3 months at the Hospital with the bio-engineers.


CHAIRMAN

(elated)

Thanks! Ohh, thanks!! Will she... recover?


BROOKS

Early to tell, but everything should be ok once she's in the right hands with proper facilities.


REVIEWING medical SCREEN with Ginn's body SCHEMATIC:

BROOKS

She'll need a brand new hand, kidney and ovary. Liver, muscles, and shoulder bones should be easier to regrow. Thigh's a flesh wound, but bone was nicked, and will need serious

(points)

rehab. Intestines, nerves and the rest I'll leave for the bio-engineers to evaluate. She was very lucky: her aorta was nicked too, and it's a miracle it didn't burst. Also her uterus, but don't worry, the babies are all right.


CHAIRMAN

(startled)

Wh... What...!? Babies...!?


BROOKS

(points)

Yeah. Twins, by the looks of 'em. About 3 months old, though that's not my specialty.


CHAIRMAN

Wow! I mean, it's great news, but, couldn't we...?


BROOKS

(firm)

You heard me. We need to rework our protocols too: Timetables are all wrong for this kind of injuries. And those Stasis Pods look like they could be very useful. Our experts should start studying them ASAP.


CHAIRMAN

It's a devilishly complex technology...


BROOKS

Lucky our experts are smart, then. Now be a dear, go rest elsewhere. Call you when she wakes up, ok?




* Hardly-green ALIEN PLANET. DAY. Windy, cloudy, SNOWING. MARSHALL (a white FLAG tied to his staff) + Novans EXIT a partly-snow-covered GATE into a small mountain VALLEY with plenty of stunted, snow-laden TREES.

ARCHAEOLOGIST

(shivers)

This cannot be their planet of origin!


MARSHALL

We're right at the edge of Gate-seeded space! Trail ends here!


A lightly aged Stone-ported TEAL'C (in Novan gear) POINTS with a local version of his usual STAFF (also with a white FLAG).

TEAL'C

There!


Barely visible on the distant plains, a small alien CITY straddles a meandering (part-frozen) RIVER.



# CORRIDORS leading to SHUTTLE DOCKS SECTION. As he walks around the piles of AutoCannons + assorted Novan stuff & boxes:

CHAIRMAN (sotto, worried?)

Twins? Hhmm...

(to mic)

Dr. Rush, you there? Any news?


RUSH (O.S. from mic)

There's 3 or 4 Swarms hitting each Depot now. Evacuations well underway. You still wanna wait till there's more of 'em?


CHAIRMAN (to mic)

You bet. Not worth the effort otherwise.


RUSH (O.S. from mic)

Wish I had your confidence. But you're overconfident.


CHAIRMAN (to mic)

You once asked for a bit more time to find a way to beat 'em drones. I've had 50 years, not counting Noctis' timelines. With no escape clause.


RUSH (O.S. from mic)

Very well. A quite justified overconfidence, then.


CHAIRMAN (grins, to mic)

Your counterpart greatly contributed to our plans. So, again, thank you, Dr. Rush.




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. RUSH's by the door (perhaps to keep ELI from waking up), a half-smile on his face.

As he WALKS back to his Console, wondering, the smile VANISHES.



* Saurian city's RUINS (10000+? strong). Low buildings, plenty of clay, wood, rope, glass, barely any metal. Narrow twisty streets, underground entrances, snow...

The group EXPLORES it.

Near its center, a modest SQUARE. TEAL'C stands, a solemn statue.

Arriving, grim:

MARSHALL

No one left for us to be diplomatic with, Mr. Ambassador.


TEAL'C

We are not done yet, my friend.


He TAPS the ground with his staff. Sounds like WOOD.

There's a TRAPDOOR under the snow.



# DESTINY. CORRIDOR NEXT to SHUTTLE DOCKS. Novan techs working. The entire ENCLOSURE over the reclaimed forward-facing shuttle PAD is now a busy WORKSITE. Parts of AA Batteries + loads of spent shells being retired. Many new PARTS + heavy-duty TUBING, being installed, as well as power cabling & hefty control boxes, taking corridor space. 1 Novan GENERATOR nearby.

CHAIRMAN (sotto)

Twins...

(as they GREET him)

Don't stop for me, my friends. How's it going?


Boss TECH

(foreman, gray-haired)

Not easy, in this cramped space, but the Sting'll be ready for testing in a few hours.


CHAIRMAN

(grins?)

'Sting'?


Boss TECH

Just a code name, y'know. By popular vote.


Turning to go:

CHAIRMAN

Carry on, sirs. Let me know when it's ready.




# LARGE underground CAVERNS. FLOODLIGHTS. Rog shelters + old ARTIFACTS (incl. half-buried spaceship parts & disassembled ENGINES) around.

Fishing an ALIEN COMPUTER PART out of a stone BOX:

ARCHAEOLOGIST

Jackpot!


To one (far) side, MARSHALL illuminates an AGED DANIEL JACKSON, studying a set of larger TOMBSTONES, made of the same glass-metal composites as the ship-hull pieces nearby.

Carved on them, amid plenty of similar alien SCRIPTURE:

A detailed Stargate ANALYSIS/SCHEMATIC.

JACKSON

Smart scaly devils.


MARSHALL

What allies they could have been!




# CORRIDORS leading to BRIDGE SECTION.

CHAIRMAN (sotto, smiling)

Twins! Hah!

(to mic)

Riley!? Still working?


RILEY (O.S. from mic)

Not anymore: Redesign's done. Simms are crunching it. I'll send you a copy, but now I'm hitting the bed.


CHAIRMAN (sotto, to mic)

Send me the copy now, and I'll give you an extra hour sleep.


RILEY (O.S. from mic)

Wow! Great! Hmmm, something happened? You sound different.


CHAIRMAN (grinning, sotto, to mic)

Ginn's gonna make it, Brooks says. Nice dreams!


RILEY (O.S. from mic)

That's fantastic! Good night!!




# BRIDGE. YOUNG still asleep.

As he stops short of entering:

CHAIRMAN (sotto, savoring it)

Twins!!!


The skeleton watchers eye him briefly, then resume their watching.



# * NOCTIS BOULEVARD. DAY. The bustling city significantly more MILITARIZED than in the previous timeline. MARSHALL meets JUNIOR (in military CADET uniform), both a few years older. KINOS zoom around.

JUNIOR

(worried)

At long last! You've been hiding in your lab since the funeral.


MARSHALL

War waits for no one. But my son's graduation only happens once.


JUNIOR

You haven't visited mom's tomb yet. Perhaps...?


MARSHALL

(grim)

An empty gesture: Her body was vaporized with the rest of her ship, 90 light years away.


JUNIOR

I know, dad: My first post is with the taskforce that'll retake that damn planet.


MARSHALL

(upset)

What, so soon? You're barely old enough!


JUNIOR

(half-smile)

War waits for no one.


MARSHALL

You're right. I... am so proud of you.

(shows a PAD)


Taking the offered PAD:

JUNIOR

What's this? My send-off gift?


MARSHALL

(half-smile)

Sort of. Earth deciphered the last piece of the puzzle: the Rog homeworld was attacked, their Dreadnoughts overwhelmed by much nimbler and far more numerous enemy gunships.

(JUNIOR reacts)

As their colonies were destroyed too, a band of refugees fled to a colder than desirable planet for a last-ditch attempt at hiding.


He eyes Noctis' far-up rocky CEILING.

JUNIOR

(browses PAD)

It didn't quite work out, right? But they found... what were Dr. Jackson's words?


MARSHALL

"A timeless gift left by unknown alien visitors: the Wheel of Worlds."


JUNIOR

Yeah. I loved that report. And we know they managed to use it to find a better place.


MARSHALL

For all the good it did them.


JUNIOR

How many alien races have the drones destroyed, dad?


MARSHALL

(grim)

Too damn many.




* SPACE. Humongous GAS SUPERGIANT. With lots of colorful 'cloud BANDS', 2-3 super-hurricane 'Red/brown Spots', plenty of LIGHTNING, magnificently thick & wide rocky/ice/dust RINGS + several fair-sized MOONS, just far enough from a big BRIGHT star.

DESTINY DROPS from FTL 'behind' the planet, starts approaching it.



# GATE ROOM. Most supplies gone. COUNTDOWN CLOCK shows 8 hours to go. MARSHALL stirs, wakes up.



# BRIDGE. AEROBRAKING started, slightly bumpy. CHAIRMAN and ELI at the railing, quietly talking.

ELI (cont.)

...so, you can do... hmm, everything... without taking the armor off?


CHAIRMAN (sotto, smiles)

It's not a fully-fledged spacesuit. Life support's limited. But yeah, pretty much. You should try one someday...


YOUNG wakes up, eyes him.

CHAIRMAN

(savoring the moment)

Just in time for the show! Time to invite the others to the party!?


YOUNG

Did you think about Chloe's idea of stashing additional AutoCannon 'reserve' spheres in free spaces inside the hull, to help with manoeuvers?


CHAIRMAN

(grinning)

Yup, very clever! We'll put it into practice soon.


YOUNG

Any signs of the 'resident' swarm?


ELI

(checks PAD)

Not yet. We're stretching sensors at the limit, but until we get away from the gas giant's interference... It keeps 'em hidden from us same as us hidden from 'em.


YOUNG

(wary?)

As long as they cannot attack us in here, with these accelerations and gravities...


CHAIRMAN seems about to say something.

ELI

Not unless they kamikaze...

(YOUNG GLARES at him)

What!? Nevermind, I said nothing...


CHAIRMAN is amused.



# CORRIDORS, QUARTERS & OTHER SPACES. People get ready for the change of shift. AutoCannons begin to STIR from their 'storage' piles.

YOUNG (O.S. screens, Consoles, mics, P.A.)

Wake up, people! Another day, another fight! But first Destiny's doing some aerobraking manoeuvers around a ringed gas giant. Anyone wanting to watch, you got 10 minutes!




* SPACE. GAS SUPERGIANT. Night side. RINGS in the dark, their dust & pebbles thinning yet EXTENDING past camera. Destiny's AEROBRAKING: a tiny bright SPECK leaving a slim turbulence TRAIL on the planet's thick & cloudy atmosphere.



# OBSERVATION DECK. Crowded. People admiring the SCENERY. "Emergency breather" boxes in a corner.

VIEW FROM railing: Aerobraking ended, star more-or-less ahead, Destiny's getting away from the still IMPRESSIVE SUPERGIANT and closer to the dazzling sunlit neverending RINGS. Small 'dust particles' hit the SHIELDS at high speed causing 10s of small flashes in them. AutoCannons fountaining thru remaining (partly stitched) HULL BREACHES, drifting to (hardly dense enough) positions. No LongBows at all.

Appearing into view ONE AFTER THE OTHER:

SCOTT

(smiling, arm around Chloe's shoulders?)

Never gets old, huh?


CHLOE

(smiling, but)

He didn't choose this place for the vistas.


GREER

(grinning)

I like this choice!


JAMES

(nice view, but)

Chloe's right. We ain't here for pleasure.


ELI

(happy)

Speak for yourself. Best place for a

(gestures 'aerobraking' to kino)

Viking funeral I've seen in my entire life!

(as the others EYE him)

What!?


T.J.

(smiling)

Eli's right. We're here, against all odds. Might as well enjoy it!


RUSH

(half-smiling? checks PAD)

Just another 5 minutes...




# INFIRMARY. BROOKS getting a well-deserved nap while her assistants TEND to the patients.



# BRIDGE. CHAIRMAN and YOUNG, alone. Console shows a lone Command Ship ICON near the star, well away from Destiny. A generic 'enemy sighted' alarm CHIMES.

CHAIRMAN

There it is: not approaching, nor deploying.

(to ICON)

Not so eager to fight today, are we?


YOUNG

Alright: What's the plan?


CHAIRMAN

(gestures)

First we cozy up to the rings, real snugly, facing the star.


YOUNG

(impatient)

And then?


CHAIRMAN

(checks WRISTPAD)

Same as always: Surprise 'em. Kill 'em all.


YOUNG

Surprise us, too?


CHAIRMAN

Simulations gave excellent odds for us here. I swear.




# GATE ROOM. AutoCannons GATING IN, floating to exits. Also, crates & crates (midsize) labeled
Hi-speed impactors.
       HEAVY.


COUNTDOWN CLOCK, FROZEN.

MARSHALL (to mic)

Riley!? Where're you?


RILEY (O.S. from mic, sleepy)

What happened to my extra hour?


MARSHALL (to mic)

Sorry, nobody told me. Wanna see a ringed gas supergiant up close?


RILEY (O.S. from mic)

On my way!




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Ancient holo Screen shows Command Ship ICONS still in the rough quarter-circle (now a bit behind Destiny's current position), 4-5 at each Depot.

Reviewing Console:

ELI

Things are getting hot in there!


RUSH

The blast doors are supposed to hold perhaps 6 more hours. Most people and stuff have already Gated out. But that man still wants to wait.


ELI

What for? The drones won't leave. They'll keep at it forever! Unless there's a way to save the Gates?


Keying:

RUSH

Your guess is as good as mine.




* DESTINY almost sitting on the RINGS, a fast-moving SHEET, 100s of meters thick, of dust, ice crystals, gravel & sizable ROCKS. Many tiny sparkling 'dust hits' against the SHIELDS (a FEW reach the hull too). AutoCannons in position, full coverage again, 2-3 ranks thick in some places, particularly near the shuttle bays. Observation Deck (nearly) empty.

Shields DEFLECT a glancing gravel blow. A sizable snowball SPLASHES against them, leaving white STREAKS that vanish/evaporate quickly.



# BRIDGE. No alarms yet, beyond the basic 'enemy sighted' warning. Main team at work. SOUNDS of some CREAKING/STRAINING + (not too frequent) smallish IMPACTS on the hull.

PAD in hand:

CHAIRMAN (to mic)

Well done, Riley. Send everything to the fabs.

(pause)

Ok.

(to the others)

So, what do you think? Nice place, huh?


SCOTT

Freaking Valhalla. Jupiter and Saturn together times 10.


JAMES

There's no Gate here, but we aren't exactly hiding.


CHLOE

Shields and hull getting hit by high-speed dust all the time. This place's dangerous.


YOUNG

There must be a reason for choosing this particular location. That swarm shows no intention to engage.


GREER

Where's our artillery?




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Ancient Screen shows 3 DOZEN Command Ships JUMPING IN between DESTINY and the star.

ELI

Aw, hell! Here they come again!


RUSH (to Console / mic)

Chairman! Party's getting crowded!




# CORRIDORS, QUARTERS & OTHER SPACES. Better lighted. ALARMS ON.

YOUNG (O.S. screens, Consoles, mics, P.A.)

Alright, people! This is what we were waiting for! Everybody knows what to do!




# INFIRMARY. (subdued) ALARMS going on. BROOKS wakes up.

Gently restraining her:

T.J.

Not yet, Dr. You can rest a while longer.


BROOKS smiles.



* SPACE. The group of Command Ships (incl. the just-joined 'resident'), lacking proper shields, APPROACH from above yet keep safely away from the noticeably moving (at that distance) RINGS and mostly static DESTINY. Some hi-speed dust HITS them, tho.

Drones (except 100s of 'bodyguards') DEPLOY EN MASSE towards their target.

3 drones wander too close to the RINGS, SWERVE in the nick of time to avoid some sizable STONES, 1 of 'em gets hit by a glancing gravel BLOW. They approach Destiny's side.



# BRIDGE. 'Battle' position. Everybody tense at work as (sometimes FLICKERING) Consoles show a deluge of 1000s of RED DOTS converging on all sides but 'under'.

Checking wristPAD:

CHAIRMAN

What have chicken, high-stakes poker and large battle deployments in common?


Tweaking Console:

SCOTT

Suspense!?


GREER

Balls!


YOUNG | JAMES

Timing!


CHLOE

Surprise?


Suddenly, monitors SHOW 1 Command Ship getting BLOWN to SMITHEREENS, then another RUPTURING, BURSTING OUT.



* SPACE. Command Ships & their 'bodyguards' peppered by a widening STREAM of small & not-so-small hi-speed GRAVEL causing lots of small FLASHES & not-so-small EXPLOSIONS, while scores of drones start getting into range of Destiny and FIRING.

CHAIRMAN (O.S.)

Painstaking groundwork, and the little details.


A Command Ship buffeted by GRAVEL starts evading as CHUNKS of its surface PEEL/BREAK loose. FIRES ERUPT. LARGE EXPLOSION. SHRAPNEL hits nearby Command Ships in between all the GRAVEL IMPACTS.

Most 'bodyguard' drones TURN against the incoming gravel, start FIRING at it, but too few of their beams HIT anything big enough or manage to keep resulting debris from advancing and still HITTING them & the Command Ships.

The stream of gravel HITS & OFFS lots of attacking drones too, but flows just (meters) away enough from Destiny.

Many attacking drones still far from Destiny change course and start SHOOTING incoming gravel (with little success).



# GATE ROOM. Sounds of hull/shields GETTING enemy fire. SHAKING. More 'impactors' crates & Novan Generators gating IN, together with a MEDICAL TEAM.

A slightly FLICKERING Console shows a Command Ship icon VANISHING.

RILEY

A freak storm!?


Yet another Command Ship icon CRUMBLES.

MARSHALL

That kind of luck, you gotta make yourself.


RILEY

Always the same: He never tells me all he's doing.




# BRIDGE. Monitors show AutoCannons SHOOTING drones non-stop, while in the distance Command Ships are OBLITERATED in 1s, 2s & 3s, almost like they were being SWEPT away by an invisible broom in between all the dust. 30% of drone DOTS are still halfway to Destiny, 'distracted' trying to shoot down gravel.

Far & not-so-far IMPACTS heard & FELT.

CHECKING new Console GRAPH showing a "river of something":

CHLOE

There's a billion of those things! What are they? Rocks?


GREER

(amazed?)

Enemy's getting stoned!?


Yet more Command Ships EXPLODE.

SCOTT

Simple stones are causing so much damage, how?


YOUNG

Speed. Times mass: a lot of impact energy.


More Command Ship icons & drone dots VANISH.

CHAIRMAN

(on-stage magician)

Super-speed non-metallic bullets! Pretty much undetectable so near these massive rings made of the same. Cost us years to setup this right.


JAMES

We're still getting hit! Shields are losing strength!




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Sounds of far & near IMPACTS. SPARKS. Ancient Screen (with some flicker) shows 10-12 Command Ships still left, 2-3 trying to FLEE their doom, in vain, while 25% of remaining drones concentrate on the gravel, not Destiny.

RUSH

(impressed?)

The nerve of him! What else will he have up his sleeve?


ELI

How d'you think he did it? That amount of kinetic energy must take a lot to gather!


Ancient Screen shows more CARNAGE.

RUSH

It's still pure physics. When I said you had a lot of potential, I'm afraid I fell short!

(smiles)




# INFIRMARY. Ancient Screen GRAPH of 8 Command Ships still left, less than 1000 drones wildly SWERVING trying to hit DESTINY while manoeuvering around 2000+ of their DORMANT or DESTROYED brethren & incoming gravel-shot.

T.J.

(relieved?)

Awesome. Who could have guessed it?


By her side:

BROOKS

That's Chairman Wallace for you. Imagine having him around most of your adult life.


T.J.

(smirking?)

That good, huh?


BROOKS

Ahem... Not everybody's so taken in with him. And anyway he got his Ginn. But he's a star for all Novans. Despite, or perhaps because he's not like everybody else.


Ancient Screen shows 6 Command Ships. Then 5. ACTIVE drones reduced in half too.

T.J.

Why did you call him a cheater, before?


Re: SCREEN:

BROOKS

Things like this, maybe not so spectacular, but...

(checks ASSISTANTS out of earshot)

For all his showmanship, he's still very much human.


T.J. (sotto)

Figures. So, what's his crime?


BROOKS

Making everybody else believe he's almost like a god?

(sotto)

But no, what I meant was no second-chancer ever could talk with their past selves the way he allowed Ginn.


T.J. (sotto)

Perhaps that was her idea? If she really is the daring type.


Ancient Screen with 4 Command Ships left. FLICKERS slightly.

BROOKS

(nods)

Even as a child. So the official story goes. And yet it could have gone wrong so many ways...

(shrugs)

She's great and all, but sometimes... his motives make me wonder.


T.J.

The Eli Wallace I know would never harm her, or any other woman, in any way. He's a big Teddy Bear.


BROOKS

Not 'harm'. Not intentionally. But... he's not the shy boy you knew anymore.


T.J.

Did he get a new heart at Novus? A brainwash, or something?

(BROOKS shrugs?)

Ask him about his mother, then. Ask Chloe. Hell, ask the original Ginn. Or Wray!


Ancient Screen shows only 2 Command Ships + less than 170 ACTIVE drones left.

BROOKS

He never talks much about these kinds of things. I've been close to his family for years, and they all love him, unconditionally. It's... almost too good to be true, y'know?


T.J.

Well, if anyone deserved it, that'd be Eli. Heavens know not all men do, even the great ones.


BROOKS

Oh, dear... Trouble in paradise?


The Medical Team (with their gear) ARRIVES.



# GATE ROOM. Gate's off. Consoles show many drones being DESTROYED, 1 Command Ship Jumping OUT. Jubilation.

MARSHALL

(keys Console)

And then there was just one!


Reviewing Console:

RILEY

Bugger managed to stay out of the worst of it.


MARSHALL

Its swarm's nearly gone. It'll Jump out in no time.




# BRIDGE. Monitors show (with some brief GLITCHES) AutoCannons DECIMATING the few 10s remaining active drones.

JAMES

Why isn't it Jumping yet?


SCOTT

Engine trouble?


GREER

It's outta range!


YOUNG

It could be waiting to see what we do next.


Consoles show increasing numbers of small & not-so-small impact 'flashes' against the SHIELDS.

CHLOE

We shouldn't wait around here any longer, either. Those raging EM storms going around could easily fry us.


CHAIRMAN

(points)

Let's get out of this trap the same way we came, hugging the rings planetwards, real carefully. Then, we can check some of these big moons.




# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. Console with long-range-sensor DATA.

RUSH

Now this is interesting.


ELI

Their 'staging area' isn't refilling as quickly now.


Keying:

RUSH

No wonder.

(to mic)

Chairman! You should see this!




* DESTINY FLOATS (receiving from time to time a FLASHY gravel impact) over the very close & noticeably moving RINGS, retreating slowly away from the PUMMELED, CRUSHED & BLENDED remains of the largest (3-4k strong) drone fleet ever seen (still FLASHING here & there with 10s of gravel IMPACTS).

Plenty of speeding GRAVEL CLOUDS rush past, VERY CLOSE to POV.

Limping away, the lone surviving Command Ship, with plenty of superficial DAMAGE, even 1 (small) fire or 2, escorted by a handful drones.

ZOOM OUT: The gas Supergiant, its extensive rings & moons DWARFING everything else: Command Ship/drone debris little more than a vanishing CLOUDLET near the rings' fuzzy surface, Destiny little more than a small SPARKLING dot.



# GATE ROOM. More supplies gating IN. RILEY showing PAD to MARSHALL. Both smiling.

ON SCREEN: Electronic editions of Novan BEST-SELLERS:

Brief History of Earth's
Games & Videogames, with demos.
       by Eli Wallace, in 3 Volumes.

Brief History of Earth's
Science Fiction: Did they know?
       by Eli Wallace, in 4 Volumes.

'Cannon Defense: Drone Attack!'
More than just a popular game.
       by Eli Wallace Jr., with stats & interviews.

Constitutionalism and Modernity:
beyond our Ancestors to the future.
       by Sen. Everett Taylor. With comparative tables.

Economies of scale and the Stargate:
       Dos & don'ts.
       Noctis University of Industrial Sciences.



# CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. CHAIRMAN enters.

RUSH

Those 30+ Command Ships we just busted...


ELI

35.


RUSH

Yeah. But who counts 'em anymore, eh, Mr. Chairman? All these battles, all your plans: we're risking our lives for peanuts.


Re: big holo SCREEN with the 'Blockade' GRAPH, zoomed OUT, more complete:

RUSH

When out there, just to keep us from refueling, the enemy's using nearly 800 swarms!


CHAIRMAN

You counted 'em all, Dr. Rush? I thought there'd be more.


ELI

783 at present. In a 'bubble' 1600 light-years all around us. Used to be a half-dozen more, but they Jumped somewhere and haven't been replaced, yet.


CHAIRMAN

Are you sure about that bubble?


ELI

Pretty much. It shifted to follow us when we got here. It's early to know for sure, tho.


CHAIRMAN

Which means their reserves aren't infinite.


RUSH

Of course they aren't! We already knew that, didn't we? Point is, unless you have a better way to get rid of all those, we're just wasting our time!


CHAIRMAN

We're not wasting our time. Good work, you two. Keep me updated on those enemy numbers and positions. It's important. Okay?


ELI

What about the Supply Depots? Aren't they important?


RUSH

Of course they are: They're bait, same as Destiny, aren't they, Mr. Chairman? Again for peanuts.


CHAIRMAN

How many swarms attacking them already?


ELI

5 each. Which makes 20 total. In a few hours they'll be breached, even if no more attackers come hit 'em.


CHAIRMAN

That won't happen, trust me.


RUSH

You ask a lot of everybody, but you won't tell us what you're really doing, are you?


About to leave:

CHAIRMAN

Y'know, Dr. Rush, I was sure you'd have already found it by yourself. You, of all people, should see that we're not playing for peanuts at all.




# ATOM CHEF. A couple big crates by its side, OPENED, their raw materials gone into the beast. T.J.'s trying on a just-fabbed MED-COAT, liking it. Several of the machine's SCREENS working as mirrors, displaying measurements, etc.

BROOKS

(smiling)

Real proper. And to your exact size.


Taking something from DOORLET:

BROOKS

And here's the gloves. Perfect Latex imitation.


T.J.

(eager)

Can it do fatigues? A T-shirt?


BROOKS

Darling, we can do much better than that.

(to machine)

Private library: Lingerie: French.

(winks? to T.J.)

'Fin de siecle' or 'Modern'?





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