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We're nearly in position.
Coward's been retreating out of our range the whole time.
Used to be us afraid of 'em!
Working Console:
At least this moon's metal core shields us from the worst of the EM storms.
Power circuits back to nominal, Colonel. You should be reading better than 70% strength on weapons and shields.
Good. Now all we need is deciding if we'll leave unfinished business here or not.
Speaking of which: limiting all FTL work to 'manageable' tasks of no more than a half hour each is slowing us a lot.
Sorry, that's imperative: We don't know when we'll be forced to bail out of a bad spot.
Ready for some target practice, Colonel?
The 'armadillo' ENCLOSURE on the forward-looking shuttle pad RAISES its forward SEGMENTS, revealing the 'nose' of a chunky prototype-looking RAILGUN, with a central 'octagonal barrel' wrapped up in 8 secondary ones, coils, cabling, cooling, EM shielding, braces, hefty electric/hydraulic 'pistons', & all. Not a lot of degrees of 'mobility', but...
As it starts POINTING:
FOCUS along its line of sight: The holdout Command Ship with its meager escort, well beyond beam weapons range.
LOOK BACK: A smallish FLASH appears where the RAILGUN's mouth used to be.
Seconds later, the Command Ship receives a small IMPACT on its surface, with only a small pinprick of a HOLE as result.
True, it doesn't pack as much energy per shot as a beam. On the other hand...
A soft staccato THRUMMING 'sound' is felt all around.
The Command Ship receives REPEATED not-so-small IMPACTS on its surface, all around the same spot, doing moderate-to-significant DAMAGE, some PIERCING bodyguard drones. It starts EVADING, but after too many HITS in a very short time, it RUPTURES & EXPLODES.
Reviewing PAD:
Several kino-supported floating HOSPITAL BEDS ARRIVE, with the worse injured patients.
We're ready to Gate out.
As CHAIRMAN arrives:
She's under meds, barely awake.
Kneeling by her side:
(moved)
You'll get well soon. I cannot live without... without... Never do this to me again!
I'll be with you, at your side, always, my heart, my life, my dearest Eli. I don't wanna go to that stupid Hospital...
He kisses her good cheek.
GINN silently MOTIONS for him to lean closer, then (softly) KISSES his lips.
As T.J. drives GINN's floating bed out:
Take care, dear.
Chairman, the 6 missing swarms are back. Hitting the Depots.
Relatively close to them: IN JUMP 2 Novan BATTLECRUISERS, large hulls like Novus' evac ships, studded with AutoCannons (MKI+MKII, anchored versions), LongBows (MKI, anchored), Railguns (smaller than Destiny's?), AA Batteries (bullets, beams), & all. They immediately start SHOOTING enemies with EVERYTHING.
The escort drones zoom AROUND quickly towards the newcomers.
6 Command Ships nearby, manoeuvering & EVADING, 1 of them ON FIRE.
Drones come up from the planet's atmosphere to help.
Keying:
Yay!! But what are they?
More RED enemy ICONS vanish.
You needed Destiny to test out your simulations, your theories, and your entire strategy! For all your resources and bravado, you're still afraid to fail!
Yet more RED enemy ICONS vanish.
I'd say we're doing pretty well: they're falling like flies!
RED enemy ICONS keep vanishing.
Reviewing PAD:
GINN's floating bed ARRIVES, with T.J. and CHAIRMAN at her sides.
(smiles)
Yup. But now we're leasing them to the Novan military, and getting our money slowly back.
(APPROACHES newcomers)
Ginn-sis!
Drone wreckage outside, partial rock slides.
So the Novans have a warfleet, after all?
They've been hiding while we were fighting!
Wasn't that what we're all doing?
On the contrary: Destiny's the key to beating 'em drones.
(re: nearby MOON)
Hmmmm... can we get a better view of those equatorial plains?
As SCOTT looks up to him:
(waves 'do it')
Humour the man.
Their orbit is ever-so-slightly tweaked.
Shortly:
(alarmed, checking Console)
We got company!!!
Alarms blare, Bridge starts RETRACTING into 'combat' position.
GATE CLOSES.
Drone DEPLOYMENT proceeds at speed.
Initial RAILGUN FIRE, at great range, HITS but fails to seriously DAMAGE a Command Ship.
'Armadillo' enclosure LOWERS its forward SEGMENTS (with a crude
EAT THIZ! graffiti freshly painted across) to fully hide/protect the RAILGUN.
A PORTHOLE/CIRCLE has been (hastily) CUT in them to allow the RAILGUN to safely fire thru.
Keying/reviewing Console:
Yes. Undoubtedly. And the puppetmaster's here with us, risking his. But he's still a puppetmaster.
Re: new DATA:
Rushing out:
Riley, Marshall, get half the AutoCannons to start jamming, full strength. Don't wait. Do it now.
(to mic)
Colonel Young!
We should be Jumping out already.
Piloting/firing:
Let's give 'em a good beating first!
Piloting/firing:
With its limited displacement, we need the entire ship to point that Railgun. If they spread out, we'll be in trouble.
Re: Console:
I think they might be doing just that.
I'm getting tired of surprises, Mr. Wallace.
As he arrives, checking his wristPAD:
MONITORS show the RED Command Ship ICONS spreading from a loose cluster into a RING around Destiny. Another Screen shows the moon's small PLAINS.
Keying fast:
As Destiny (not too fast) manoeuvers, RAILGUN FIRE 'slashes' the inner sides of their circle, sometimes HITS an EVADING Command Ship, but never damages 'em enough.
Meanwhile, at the opposite side, other Command Ships take the chance to (temporarily) APPROACH & re-assert drone control despite jamming.
About half the drones have regained activity, 1000+ have re-started SHOOTING against Destiny's shields. Half the AutoCannons FIRE BACK.
From that height, 3 small bright SPOTS on the moon's surface can barely be discerned, BRACKETING Destiny.
SUDDENLY a powerful surface-based (white-yellowish) BEAM pierces 1 Command Ship. It RUPTURES. Then another BEAM BLOWS UP a 2nd one. The 1st one is SHOT AGAIN: It MIGHTILY EXPLODES.
Several Command Ships are HIT by surface-based-artillery BEAMS in quick succession (seconds apart) and BLOWN to pieces. Their drones, dormant & BALLISTIC, COLLIDE with others or threaten to hit Destiny (briefly, before being summarily EXECUTED).
FOCUS: 1 Command Ship SPLIT in half & ON FIRE, yet another BROKEN into an expanding cloud of good-sized DEBRIS. And still renewed surface-based-artillery BEAMS surge to hit the rest. 100s of drones SPEED towards the moon's surface.
DESTINY's railgun fire PUMMELS another Command Ship, CRACKING IT.
More surface BEAMS. More HITS. More DEBRIS.
ZOOM OUT: 2 Command Ships (1 on fire) JUMP OUT. Another, apparently DISABLED, receives a lethal dose of RAILGUN SHOTS. The rest in FLAMES or DESTROYED.
ALL drones become inert. Destiny stops FIRING on them, except to BLOW UP any that stray too close.
(grinning)
We got 'em where it hurt! They couldn't react!
Shock and awe!
We'll need more repairs. Luckily it was quick.
Chairman! Your plan!
(urgent)
Did it work?
And how!!
Destruction rate: 95%
Coming!
Checking PAD:
As 'spent' AutoCannons start STREAMING in:
RING ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING.
Meh. Noctis had that problem, too: even with Earth's advice, our big beams were never cheap enough.
As they exit, Ring LOCKS.
FOLLOW (some of) THEM TO:
A couple inert drones SPLASH into the sea nearby.
A faraway EXPLOSION BLOOMS where the beams are pointing. The Novans CHEER. An inert drone ZOOMS high above their heads, CRASHING against distant rocks. 1 by 1 their 9 beams thin OUT. Another drone FALLS to the ground not far from the RING, opening a CRATER in the sand.
Moments later, the 9 cylinders FLOAT independently, start forming a 'train' more or less in line with the RING.
A Novan points her PAD: RING ACTIVATES.
(grinning)
He guessed it, like, 30 seconds before it happened. Half the Gate network lighting up at once, subspace and EM activity luring the enemy near the planets...
(smiling)
So he did, huh? Nobody, not even Ginn, knew all the details. Well done, Dr. Rush!
(cautious?)
It was a very subtle trap, but suddenly everything made sense: It was always the Blockade, wasn't it? The hidden heart of Pittsburgh Project: Strike at 'em thru their very "raison d'etre", from the ground!
So many years of planning! So much secrecy!
(serious)
The Blockade had to happen: Their show of power, and our best chance. The timeline must not be altered. Even if that meant...
(beat)
sacrifices. Destiny had to fight for survival, to better bait 'em, the entire Armada, and make 'em pay dearly for their over-reaching.
A life-and-death game.
CHAIRMAN nods.
So, we're clear? Or did any of 'em survive?
(re: SCREENS)
We count 702 swarms confirmed destroyed. Another 46 Command Ships hit, perhaps disabled.
But why did we need to fight so many of them, if this was the plan all along?
To test 'em, keep 'em busy, stretch their reserves so we could gauge their size and dispatch, and make damn sure we'd outsmarted 'em and it was gonna work.
(mimics 'toreador')
Not just for fun, huh?
Arms crossed, from door:
We're lucky there's been so few deaths.
From another door:
But we saved millions of lives!
100s of millions: Today we saved the Galaxy.
Not yet. Survivors can still attack anywhere.
It might take 'em decades to rebuild their strength.
Danger's far from over. Assuming there ain't another 1000 swarms rushing to replace what they just lost.
Let 'em come. Where there's a Gate, we have a stronghold. The drones might be a quick and cheap way to deal with unprepared enemies and startup civilizations, but they've yet to learn how to properly hit a fortress.
But they could.
They will, if we allow 'em.
But you won't, will you? This is your galaxy now: long after we're gone with Destiny, the Novans will keep fighting 'em drones.
You bet!
Turns to face: SAMANTHA CARTER and JACK O'NEILL.
So, just exploring and expanding? Will you seek out the Saurian tribe too?
CARTER nods.
I'll prioritize my family from now on. Can't wait to finally use Marshall's Comm Stone to see my mother again. He complained a lot about how war had changed him. In a certain sense, fame and fortune wage war on you too.
(half-smile?)
You abducted me, from my own home. So long ago, it feels like a whole other lifetime.
The start of an unlikely chain of events that brought us here now. Yet I wonder if I could have done anything differently.
(beat)
I'm ready to step back. Others will continue the fight. Mop-up alone will take years!
While Destiny goes on with its mission. Which won't skip any significant part of this galaxy.
And supplies, FTL parts, Power Relays...
Destiny will still make 10s of stops before leaving the galaxy. The Novan Federation, its military, and its top industries will provide. All we want is sharing technology with Stargate Command.
CARTER and O'NEILL eye each other.
I want to know how you can look only half your real age.
(gestures)
And the hair. I'm... y'know: curious.
CHAIRMAN smiles.
The Generators will need Naquadah too.
We cannot depend on those, unless we can refill 'em. And the same goes for Novan weapons. But 1st, Destiny needs a 'recharge'.
SCOTT and CHLOE (hand in hand) watch BRODY and RILEY unpack a mid-size crate labeled:
Ancient-compatible plug'n'play
Sub-assembly phase prototype.
FRAGILE!
Warning:
Secure motion dampeners
before turning on!!
A mostly featureless wall-oven-sized BOXY MACHINE (with connectors & slots) emerges from lots of padded wrapping.
That's it? Doesn't look like much.
SCOTT rolls eyes.
Studying the machine up close:
This beauty's the missing link that'll take Destiny's Workshop from just a cutting and soldering bench into a fully functional build-and-repair facility, which we've sorely missed since the day we arrived!
Sub-assemblies interface with the basic component-crafting Consoles to allow for the building of more complex things, such as power relays, circuit boards...
They're the gizmos in the storage rooms that got blasted to space before people left trees, right? Not as sophisticated as Ancient Merlin's lab, but no mind link, either?
If our reports were correct.
GATE CLOSES.
Yeah. We got heat beams for melting and cutting, field manipulators for casting and moulding, lots of programs in the Consoles for automated crafting of small parts... but the rest of the process is kaput, and most technologies are too complex to put together, [+]
(PATS the machine)
This means a whole new level for us!
(gestures)
But the Workshop's automated systems were supposed to handle big things like beam cannons and FTL engines. This is too small for that, isn't it?
As both sides eye him:
(points)
You mean the Integration Stage. That's those big crates to the side. Together with the 8 sub-assemblies, we can set up 2 whole Workshops, for redundancy.
With our attrition rates, I'd go for 3 or 4 at least.
BRODY agrees.
That's some impressive engineering, Mr. Riley. Even with the Ancient Database to guide you. You're sure they'll work?
RING ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING.
They use similar principles as the repair robots. We've used versions of 'em for years, building the Autocannons, power relays, and lotsa other things. Alas, we didn't have broken Ancient FTL drives on hand but, as Mr. Scott suggests, we'll have plenty of everything to test on board. [+]
This is where the whole 'Molecular Arranger' concept started, and that's been a runaway success.
As BRODY inspects the big crates:
RING LOCKS.
VORTEX WHOOSHES, PUDDLE stabilizes.
IN COME all the 'non-essentials', generally happy after their 'vacations', loaded with Novan 'souvenirs' (neo-kinos, books, PADS, clothing, new haircuts, musical instruments, etc...)
Geologist CREWMEMBER (to another)
The morphology of those mountains is awesome! There's so much more to see in the mines besides Naquadah chemistry in action!
Also GATING IN: more crates (several with clothing: socks, T-shirts, incl. more "Star Industries" ones), 10-12 woodframe 'bundles' showing darkgray tubes, fittings, & big HEMISPHERICAL sockets. Labeled
LongBow MKII.
Assembly required.
SCOTT takes an immediate interest in them.
(gestures)
Improved range, can shoot 3 times at max yield without melting down. Recharging stations in these other crates. Dual power, for use with Novan generators or Destiny's grid. Energy balls will Gate in at the next stop with the AutoCannon Rechargers.
As they walk by:
(gesturing)
...every available surface on the place is a solar energy collector: roofs, walls, windows, vehicles, even the streets under our feet, right? So I got a bunch of this 'solar wrap' on the cheap...
(shows it)
It stores some of what it collects. I'll never need to worry about my laptop's juice again!
Won't do you a lot of good in deep space, tho...
VOLKER and PARK exit the PUDDLE. She with temp 'cybernetic glasses' securely ATTACHED over her nose, cheeks, eyes & lower forehead. He with a 'Star Industries' visor CAP + her DARK GLASSES obscuring his face.
We had a fun time!
(unthrilled)
I'm famous. Yay.
Manipulating her 'glasses':
Wow, you really look like him, Mr. Riley! D'you think I should perhaps keep these?
HER POV: slightly DISTORTED/false-colored RILEY & surroundings, with infrareds mixed-in, as she TWEAKS.
(keys PAD)
Don't worry, ma'am: We'll get you pan-spectrum glasses to use with your new eyes. Same range, but better throughput, you'll see.
IN comes T.J. carrying a MEDICAL BRIEFCASE.
Here's my custom ALS cure! Starts tomorrow!
BROOKS watches them embrace, until distracted by VARRO and WRAY (both unusually relaxed), last to GATE back.
(gesturing)
...can tell a lot about people by their gear and tools for fishing, hunting, cooking...
After them comes a mid-size 'food container' labeled:
Fresh Produce.
Keep cold!
GATE CLOSES.
VARRO checks the container. WRAY enjoys the attention her brand-new embroidered SILK KIMONO attracts.
(approaches, smiling)
Stunning elegance! The kimono's cool, too.
(grins)
Thanks! It's a gift, from Senator Taylor.
(turning round)
A bit obsessive man, but...
Readying her Medical PAD:
Him, yeah? Pretty popular with the tech crowd and urban places like Noctis. I better scan you now.
As Brooks SWEEPS her:
Back to work, huh? After so many relaxing hours reviewing Novan Constitution drafts, the barefoot walks on the lawns around his mansion, and all the Novan delicatessen!
(checks PAD)
It isn't all bad: Kimono's a guaranteed 100% handmade, a unique work of art in this age of molecular designers. Embedded medical monitors are expensive and state-of-the-art too, but...
someone forgot to turn off their broadcasting.
(hesitating?)
Ahem... Thanks, Dr. Brooks.
(smiles)
My pleasure. Now anyone wanting to know all you do or say will need to be real close. Like, say, tonight dinner for 2?
As WRAY considers the proposal:
Starboard, Level 7, Corridor 3,
Bulkhead 5, mains access,
Lift 12 (under repairs) and
This way to GateRoom -->
She's gotta be, like, 6 weeks away for her treatment!
(gesturing)
They need to regrow her retinas, that kind of thing.
Same as always: They want more reports, better explanations. As if I understood it all myself!
They reach an INTERSECTION with a
Sleeping Quarters Section. Level 3. sticker
+ a
You're here: * MAP.
Sleep well, Ronald. Tomorrow we're back to Destiny as usual.
(re: MAP)
With some improvements!
Incoming mic call for:
Sweetie! I was thinking of you!! Guess what *exclusive* gift I'll have for you tomorrow!
(beat, sotto)
Besides that, of course!
ELI SMIRKS.
The first Power Relay was... the most. Picture my face when they tell me all they'd ever worked on were simulations!
(console)
Someone did: it's on the network. Wanna see it?
Merriment?
Yup. Good. Now to improve it...
Lucians
just
do it!
There's kitchen utensils + fish bits & pieces all around him (some raw, others cooked/roasted). Nearby, several man-sized Earth-style FISHES hang from a metal frame, waiting their turn. Hardly anyone else around.
(approaches, smiling)
That is one damn fine mess you've got going here, mister! Smells all the way to heaven and back, y'know.
(cool)
Sorry, Lieutenant: I didn't realize how late it was. These are genengineered, but won't hold fresh for long.
(admiringly?)
Got 'em out of the water yourself, huh? Well, then: Let's see if they taste as good as they look, before the scent brings all the other carnivores onboard storming the place.
VARRO GRINS.
Schematics galore.
Sleeping Quarters, Level 4,
Port Side, Corridor 2, Door 8.
SQ4.PS2.D8
The LOCK refuses to open with a stern CHIME. He tries again. No luck.
Dispatch TECH (female, O.S. from mic, chipper)
Colonel Young!? There's been air pressure loss in that room. Likely battle-related.
YOUNG looks around: no-one in sight. Can't peek thru door either.
Don't try to open the door! Damage Control crews will look into it in a few hours, when they're done with the priority stuff.
YOUNG's about to SMASH the lock with his fist, instead BANGS the door.
SQ4.PS3.D5. You don't have...? Right, I can guide you from here. It's just the next corridor.
SQ4.PS3.D5
As you wish, sir! Good night!
Just before he touches the LOCK, the door OPENS from the inside. It's T.J. in a satin NIGHTSHIRT and a smile.
As she retreats, YOUNG (cool) walks in, CLOSES the door.
Biochemical Factories All Around Us:
Identification, Properties and Uses.
(smiles, gesturing?)
To say nothing of children, grand-children, great-grand-children and extended family scattered across more than 20 different planets.
Oh my.
(sips WINE)
The price of a successful life, I guess? Meet interesting people, do interesting things...
(nods)
Move on when needed... I'll drink to that.
(sips WINE)
But you're still young, dear: best part of your life lies ahead!
DREAM/FLASHBACK:
...the better part of your nature...
then on a STOREFRONT showcasing several 'medical' EXOSKELETONS. He peruses some 'vintage' merchandise / memorabilia nearby: a flowery Hawaiian-style shirt, a black T-shirt captioned
I went to Novus and all I got
was this stuffed T-shirt! over the image of a planet entirely enshrouded by gray clouds,
a white T-shirt captioned
Black holes SUCK! over the image of a fat black dot,
a stuffed TOY Destiny, a carefully preserved old MAGAZINE featuring an early-30s ELI (cool, in 'casual business' attire) with a smallish neo-kino hovering over his open hand, captioned
Man of the Decade:
To the back of it all, a somewhat aged mid-sized SIGN advertises:
Novus Prime Realtors.
The Best Locations!
Bargain Prices!
Chance of a lifetime!
As they stroll along the sidewalk, a FLAMBOYANT TV HOST intercepts 'em.
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
Dear viewers of the 'Destiny Watch Live Show', today with us: None other than our beloved Ancestor Dr. Lisa Park in the flesh!! Everybody, say 'hi' to Lisa!!!
Behind and framing them, a mini-kino-supported floating SCREEN shows a frenzied audience clapping, shouting, bouncing...
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
And how're you liking our world, Lisa?
(before PARK has a chance to react)
Hold that thought! Sharp-eyed members of 'Destiny Watch' tell me that this handsome man to her side is: None other than the fascinating Dr. Dale Volker!!
(as VOLKER starts smiling to camera and waving 'hi')
... the first death on Novus!!! The Ancestor who made it to our Top 10 list of "Ancestors you'd die to meet" despite not being a real Ancestor!!!!
Everybody, say 'hi' to Dale!!!!!
Mostly DROWNED by audience ROAR:
The floating SCREEN shows the frenzied audience generally going wild. PARK and VOLKER try to walk away, but the mobile circus easily keeps up with them.
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
Wait! What's that? What are you saying, Crystal? You want to tell him directly, live?
Adoring female audience member on floating SCREEN:
CRYSTAL (screaming, from SCREEN)
I wanna bear your babies! Dale Volker, I love you!!
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
Your heard her, members of 'Destiny Watch'! Everybody who wants to have the charming Dr. Dale Volker's offspring, send your message to our inbox now!! Don't delay!!! You may be the chosen one!!!!
The floating SCREEN shows a caption:
Volker brides: with a quickly rising NUMBER.
The audience's excitement explodes. PARK raises a hand to the side of her 'glasses'.
More paling than blushing:
I'm not! Not blushing! Not at all!
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
You heard right, viewers of the 'Destiny Watch Live Show': with us, the amazing Dr. Dale Volker, the man who knows how to blush in infrared, yet hide it in plain sight!
And what's our revered Lisa Park have to say about him? Is there something between the lovely Dale Volker and you?
(before PARK has a chance to react)
Hold that thought! We've received an offer from the Fertility Center next corner!! Free services for the day!!! Ain't he a lucky man?
(to VOLKER, while herding them both towards the corner)
It's an offer you cannot refuse! Crystal says she's coming too, to meet you in the flesh!! Come avail yourself of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!
Sure enough, just around the corner there's a big Fertility Center building, displaying lots of BABY PHOTOS & all. VOLKER's about to be PUSHED thru its doors.
Lisa!? I need your help here, please!
TV HOST (fast, to kino-camera)
But let's not forget our subject of the day: the great Dr. Lisa Park. Tell us, dear Lisa...
Of my, what's that... on your face? Something's wrong with your makeup!? Looks like... flakes, is it? What a disaster!
Let me check the ultraviolets. Oh, no! It's cracking all over! That can't be good!
Turning away from camera:
PARK quickly yanks a surprised VOLKER away from the Fertility Center, the TV HOST, the floating SCREEN, & the kino-camera.
DESTINY DROPS FROM FTL some distance away, aimed straight at the star.
YOUNG and GREER arrive.
(smiles)
Dr. Rush, how's it looking?
Computer says we're at 17% energy, and a standard refill will get us above 80%, which is substantially higher than we've managed so far. Thank Novan engineering, though we'll only know for sure once we're thru.
Cross fingers.
(to Console)
Chloe, everything ok?
Just as expected. The revised procedures work like a charm.
Thank you. Scott?
About 3 hours to the star. We're picking a debris cloud nearby. Recent. Looks like drones.
(reviews PAD)
One of the confirmed destroyed swarms. There's a suitable planet in this system, with a Gate. Federation's studying it.
Better than the alternative!
WRAY (in a brand new BUSINESS SUIT) arrives.
(smiling?)
Everybody's talking about your busy day yesterday. Novan news reports didn't quite show it all.
Very busy! So we made the news, huh?
RING ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING.
All for the better, Camille. What about you?
Would you believe it was boring? Novan politics and sociology are complex and fascinating, but I need to go out more. See one of their big cities, perhaps.
We must talk later about using the Stasis Pods for all the FTL stretches of the journey.
(surprised, upset?)
That's just the kind of...
(reconsidering?)
... not so bad idea, after all.
RING LOCKS.
Point for Dr. Rush!
VORTEX WHOOSHES.
Okay, everybody. Stay sharp, just in case.
PUDDLE STABILIZES.
OUT walk CHAIRMAN and MARSHALL (STAFF in hand), both ARMORED.
(expansively)
Camille! I got your little memo about personnel transfers. That wasn't in the plan!
Riley, m'boy.
Uncle Marshall, uncle Wally... Repairs are going well. Price tag keeps climbing, tho.
(extends hand)
I thought you'd rather be at the Hospital, with your wife. Why the armor?
Shaking hands:
She's doing great. It's a 7-Gate trip, barely an hour's commute. Been ages since I last surfed a star, and
I have a promise to keep.
Tapping his ARMOR suit with STAFF:
Precautions required, tho, just in case. And afterwards we'll be meeting with my squad from Noctis: There's a grand ceremony scheduled.
We're showing them the birth of a new colony. Hopefully they'll like it: pioneer worlds need soldiers. You're all invited, of course!
Does that mean this system...?
Yup. Initial surveys were completed a few hours ago. The new colonization wave has officially started.
(smiles)
Always in a hurry, huh?
(keys PAD)
I'll renew my application for a private settlement right now!
Same as always?
Expect the same answer, then. Unless you got a lot more friends...
RILEY grins.
IN GATE new Novan supplies & personnel.
Why would he want his own colony, anyway? He's a pretty popular guy already.
And how: He's got 100s of girl friends. 1000s, if we listened to rumours. He's probably well on his way to becoming an Ancestor for the future generations.
As RILEY shows his PAD:
PAD SCREEN: a virtual GINN, very pregnant, clad in Novan-style 'Lucian fashion'. As she turns 'round, her stylish JACKET shows the words:
Drone
MOTHERSHIP
Raider
INSIDE
I hope it cheers Ginn-sis up a little after she missed the big battle.
PAD SCREEN: as the virtual GINN finishes turning, she looks straight to CAMERA, winks.
Thanks, auntie Ginn!
Another Novan 20-something GATES IN, bearing a striking resemblance to Eli (trim? a half-head shorter? with Ginn's HAIR color?). His lightblue T-shirt reads
Black holes SUCK! around the image of a many-halo-ed black CIRCLE.
A small last-generation neo-kino follows him.
There's another of them!?
Cousin! You missed it all!
(beams)
And here's my eldest son, Eli Jr. Not even his mother could keep him from seeing by himself. I swear he takes after her.
(shy?)
I got all the recordings, but I need to check realtime shield fluctuations against my models.
Welcome aboard, young Wallace. I see you take after your father, too.
Thanks.
They walk to the exit, as more Novan crates, supplies & techs GATE IN.
He got bored of brainwashing drones, has parked his Galactic Positioning System project, and now studies shield devices to improve them.
Not 'parked', just delayed pending a thorough review of 1000+ years of old astronomical data, which might mean new theories about stellar drift patterns and perhaps even improvements to marginal Gate ranges. It's all in the report I sent you.
While everybody else digests that, CHAIRMAN nods approvingly.
(winks?)
He was conceived in FTL, y'know.
As they both rush out:
I'm mentoring him!
Not true!!
As the others EXIT:
(joking?)
It's a big happy family! But you gotta have a chart of 'em all!
(eyes her)
Say, was your day off as relaxing as you hoped?
(smiles)
Oh, yes! Very. Then someone... happened.
(yawns?)
Can't say I've slept enough tonight.
With the others out of earshot:
Camille!? Did you know Noctis' auroras will be at peak season in just a few weeks? That'd be the perfect...!
People gathered for the show: All 3 ELIs, GREER, PARK (hand to her 'cyberglasses'), a happy-looking YOUNG, BROOKS, WRAY, RUSH (PAD in hand), VARRO, VOLKER, BRODY (glass of 'Scotch MK.XI' in hand), + others.
LATER:
DESTINY RISING from STAR-tripping, trailing "fire", like a Phoenix.
Ahead: 8-9 drone Command Ships with deploying/deployed SWARMS. Another 3-4 MATERIALIZE.
FOCUS: 25+ of them have arrived. 1000s of drones deployed / DEPLOYING.
In all, 58 Command Ships are MATERIALIZING in FORMATION, their drones a WALL about to crash on Destiny.
DRONE POV:
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