Buck Rogers in the 26th Century Episode 113x "The Speed of Light" Written by: Erin Weinstock I don't hold any of the copyrights in this story, and this story was made without profit. Teaser: int: Space Ship: This is the inside of an alien ship's launch port for expelling items into space. On the shut-sliding door gateway that is in the floor is a small metal transportation pod with multiple jet-rockets fixed to its rear and an open port. On its back is waiting a ball of brilliant shining light that three lighting bolt like ropes are moving down into the transportation pod. Once the ball of light is inside the transportation pod it slams shut and the lighting bolt ropes break off. V.O. Dase: "Our distance to the event horizon is within a micro for the pod?" V.O. Perast: "Within one micro." V.O. Dase: "Metri, open under port eight and eject prisoner pod one." The doorway underneath the transportation pod opens and two of the jet-rockets on it fire and propel it out into the space below it. V.O. Metri: "Robot control has been initiated." Cut to: ext: Space: The camera is on a space ship that has the look of it that it's not much larger than a Z-87; underneath it moving slowly forward from it is the transportation pod. V.O. Perast: "Prisoner pod in ten milli-micros of the event horizon." Pan camera around to an opposite view of this scene to see the transportation pod moving towards an area of space devoid of stars that nearly fills the screen: a black hole. Cut camera onto the pod on its port-hatch; for a beat we see nothing, then light starts to shine out of it a little. Another beat, the light is pouring out of it. And in a snap the ball of light is free of the pod. V.O. Dase: "Stom has escaped the prisoner pod!" The ball of light now zips off in a streak of fine light, off into the space opposite in direction from the black hole. Cut camera to an opposite view from where we can see the black hole, to see the ray of light streak far off out of camera view. V.O. Metri: "Where has Stom projected itself?" V.O. Perast: "Towards a, I don't believe this, [ beat ] Stom is heading straight for a terrestrial planet, towards S27A!" beat, Cont: "If it's inhabited! The danger Stom represents -!" V.O. Dase: "It will be investigated before pursuit. The beings, if any, on that ball of rock and gases might be able to defend themselves against Stom. If not it is then our job once more to bring that criminal to justice." Cut to: ext: Vietnam: (During the time of the Vietnam war.) It's nighttime and we can only lightly hear rain falling against the sound of gunfire and bombshells exploding from both enemy and ally. The palm trees are giving little cover for an American troop that's on the attack. The Vietnamese can be heard but we can't see them. Cut camera onto a soldier that takes a blast to the lower chest as the camera cuts to him. Another "Soldier Two" notices his comrade getting hit and, Soldier Two: "NO!!" Soldier Two runs over to the fallen soldier being careful of the gunfire around him as he moves. Soldier Two: "Robert! Robert, are you OK?!" Cut camera close on the two. Robert is having a hard time breathing, Robert: "I - I'm going to -." Soldier Two: "You're not going to die! I have some medical training! [ beat ] Stay still, I can help." The camera cuts close to Soldier Two's face, which is filled with fear for his friend. After a beat we see a slight light show on one side of his face: his eyes turn to it. Cut camera to Soldier Two looking up towards a palm tree nearby to him: at the top of it is Stom. Cont: "F-ing sniper! Hold on Robert, I'm gonna get 'em!!" Soldier Two raises his gun and fires repeatedly at Stom, who just has the bullets pass through him. Cont: "What the -?" Stom comes down to Soldier two, Cont: "Holy shi-!" Soldier Two staring eye to eye with Stom so to speak. Cont: "What are -?" He says in a low voice. Soldier Two looks to Robert quickly before turning back to Stom. Cont: "Stay, stay I need you here!" Soldier Two starts working on Robert's wound. Cut camera on to Stom hovering over the two. End Teaser Pre-Credits: Beginning of Act One: ext: Alleyway: It looks like a typical alleyway; cracking cement with maybe a plant or two trying to sprout into full life, garbage littering various places. As this scene starts, three thick metal bracelets materialize on the pavement. Dase, Metri, and Perast come down into camera view. Note they are the same type of alien Stom is. In a montage of camera shots of them sending out beams of light into the interior of the bracelets, close up with the camera on the bracelets quickly forming into human images out from them, one male and two female. Cut camera on to them to where we can see their heads, neck and just before the chest. Metri moves around looking at her companions. Metri: "It appears to me that our images have formed out properly to the specs given to us about Human bodies." Perast, who is the man: "Then it's time we started our pursuit of Stom on this planet." Pan camera around to the alleyway's entrance to a New Chicago sidewalk and street beyond. Note the only part of them we still see is from just below the neckline and up. Also note the camera follows them to the edge of the alleyway. Once out of the alleyway they nod to each other and go their opposite ways on to the city street sidewalk, Perast and Metri go off in a pair. A couple beats later we hear random shouts of shock in V.O. at the sight of seeing naked people. Dase, Perast and Metri go back into the alleyway. Dase: "How could we have forgotten that these creatures prefer to socialize with each other in plant and other fibers." Metri twists around her bracelet and clothes appear on her: a flapper dress, short heels, gloves and a lady's hat matching to fit the 1920's dress. Dase gives her bracelet a good twist and once more suddenly becomes grabbed in an image of clothes. Only hers have a completely punk look to them and a split second later her hair becomes a messed mop of neon colors. Perast twists his bracelet and suddenly like the others dons an image of clothes, his being a very ugly looking multicolored checked suit. Note when they all do this action it's all done within moments of each other. Cut to: ext: Shuttle Port Station: This place is a 26th century version of a bus station. Only now in the 26th century we see that the buses have been replaced by spaceships that look like, well at least in shape like the transport-shuttles the Defense Directorate uses. But these on the other hand are twice as large and don't have the ridged body we're used to seeing on them; the tail end is the only area of the ship not smooth like the rest of it, with what looks to be possibly up to twenty little fins that reach from one ending wing-tip of the shuttle to the next. All of the shuttles that we see in this model are brightly painted with various company logos that are meant to impress possible patrons. As this scene starts amidst the coming and going of many aliens and Humans, our attention with the camera should be on one of the (as described before) shuttles coming down for a landing. Cut camera onto the shuttle landing. A beat after its landing and a few people have gathered to be boarded on the next flight. A Phasoft-door opens up near its wing, and people begin to come out of it. Cut camera close to the shuttle as a man with a heavy looking suitcase comes out of it; his eyes are fixed on something forward off camera. Pan camera around to a security scan checkpoint that all passengers must pass through. Pan camera back on to the man with the heavy suitcase. After a beat he moves forward. The man moves into the crowd of people, moving all over, and tries to slip though a space that doesn't have a security scan that must be walked through. He's caught by a security service guard. Note the whole time this is happening the camera is following the man. Service guard: "I'm sorry sir, you can't leave that way. You must go through one of the security checkpoints." The man stares at the service guard for a beat, then looks around himself. The man bolts past the service guard out towards the city that awaits him past the shuttle station. The service guard runs after him, and at the same moment whips out a large scanning gun that looks something look a radar gun towards the man running with the suitcase. Cut camera close to the suitcase for a beat. Cut camera back to the service guard still running after the man with the suitcase, through the crowd. The service guard takes a look at the scanner gun he's holding and for a brief beat shock and terror fill his face. Then just as quickly as he glanced at his gun he continues his pursuit. Cut to: ext: Defense Directorate: V.O. Huer: "And none of you must alert the public to this fact." Cut to: int: Huer's Office: In this scene is Dr. Huer who is at his desk, the service guard by his side, Buck, Wilma, Fox and Burash standing a few feet before the desk in front of Huer. Buck: "It sounds like a pretty deadly substance and with the omega radiation it emits I'm amazed anyone would want to get near it. [ beat ] Our health coverage is full, right?" Huer: "Buck, as normal any loss to your health physical or otherwise that was due on part to your job to this Directorate, is covered by it." Wilma looking towards the service guard, Wilma: " [ beat ] And there were no photos taken of the man?" Service Guard: "New Chicago's station doesn't have any cameras due to the fact an incident like this has never happened before. The transportation Directorate doesn't see the station as a high risk area." Fox: "Does this Directorate have what we need to do the tracking?" Huer: "Yes Fox. Before leaving the Defense Directorate to locate the man, who as far as we know is still in possession a suitcase filled with Zanisol, I want all of you to pay a visit to Mallory." Cut to: int: Bar: This looks like the typical bar, only the TVs spread throughout it are hovering in the air high up and the pool tables on where normally the green is, it's a fabric that keeps shifting in color with a movement like an ocean tide. Dase and Metri are standing at one of the pool tables that has a game in progress by other patrons at this place. Perast is sitting on a bar stool next to a woman he's having a conversation with. But we can't see any of this yet because at the moment the camera's sole focus is on his thick metal bracelet. V.O. Perast: "[ beat ] So you've met a lot of aliens. When did this happen?" V.O. Woman: "You have a problem with aliens?" Cut camera back now so we can see this scene better. Perast: "No, no I don't have a problem with aliens. I was only asking if you've met a lot of aliens cause there's one, there's one species I'm wondering if you've come in contact with: the "Bercy". I didn't know until coming here anyone had for a fact met an alien." The woman gives him an odd look as she chocks back her neck. Woman: "What planet are you from?" Perast: "Well that's to the that wasn't something I thought I'd have explain. I didn't know Humans had encountered -." Woman: "You know, you don't make me feel well. I need to leave." And with that she gets up from the stool and leaves him. Cut camera to the pool table that Dase and Metri are at. There's a man trying to make a shot but he's having a hard time at just being able to do it. Cut camera onto the pool table at its color wavering surface. Cut camera back to the man trying to make the shot. The man, whose name is Will: "This is the wrong time to be asking me anything bunnies. This is a hard shot to make, even with a normal table." Dase: "Bunnies? We're Human females." Will: "Bunnies, chicks, babes, listen if you shut up I'll tell you what you want to know after I make this shot." Metri grabs his pool stick up from where he has it set on the table. Metri: "And I say that for once liquor just might have gotten the better of you in your judgment. This is real important what we want to know. And we ain't gonna leave you alone till you talk, Willie." William lets go of his pool stick and grabs Metri's wrist by her bracelet. Will: "What kind of dumb chick are you!? You weird talking freak!" Cut camera back to where Perast is where we last saw him. He now turns his head to where Dase and Metri are cause of Will's shouting. Perast gets up from his seat to go over the pool table with Will, Dase and Metri at it. Cut camera to the bar's entrance; as the camera cuts over here Buck is entering, holding a scanner like the type we saw Service Guard with earlier, only this one looks a little different. Wilma is also with him, blaster held by her side. Buck lifts up his gun and moves it all around in front of him. The people in the bar give them a look, mainly because of Wilma. Cut camera to Buck's POV which shows that the gun has a small screen on it and a number of lights just on top of the screen of which the sole purpose is, "Are you getting warmer or colder," in finding what's needed. Bar person: "You aren't planning on using that in here, are you?" V.O. Wilma: "Only if necessary." Cut camera to the pool table where Perast, Metri, Dase and William are. Perast: "Please sir, you have no reason to act hostile towards this woman. She only wants you to answer one little question that I'm certain your brain power can withstand." Will: "And what is that supposed to mean, dipstick! All Aliens look the same to me; Bercy sounds like some kind of fish! Have you checked the Lake Michigan!?" Cut camera back to Buck, who's looking at his scan gun and moving through the bar. While he's doing this he's upholstering his blaster. V.O. Dase: "A fish! A finned, scaled, gill breather! That's what you think a Bercy is!?" V.O. Will: "What is your issue?!" Cut camera back to Perast, Metri, Dase, and William. Metri: "Do you know how much harm a Bercy that's insane can do?!" Will moves his mouth like he wants to say something but can't as a mix of concern and exhaustion comes on to his face. Note he's still holding Metri's bracelet. Cont: "Do you?!" Will: " [ beat ] I don't feel right." William lets go of Metri and staggers back away from her. Buck enters into camera view, looking at the gun and holding his blaster. Will as he's walking past Buck, Will: "Those freak women may be dangerous, but I'm not sure you'll need that gun on them." Buck puts down his gun and looks straight out at the trio. Buck: "Plus that man that's with them. I need my blaster, they're holding Zanisol." Will stares at Buck with the look of "what?," then moves away after a beat. Buck and Wilma now come to the trio and he holds his blaster straight out at them. Buck: "You're under arrest by the authority of Earth's Defense Directorate, if you come with me quietly you won't be harmed!" Dase: "We're under arrest?! For what?!" Buck: "For the carrying of Zanisol, you're under arrest! Hands in the air!" Perast: "What is Zanisol?" Buck: "A deadly substance that emits omega radiation; it's how we found you!" The trio look at each other, then turn back to looking at Buck and Wilma. Dase turns her bracelet, which is pointed at Buck, and a steam of sharp light replaces her hand for a moment and quickly strikes out and destroys the scan gun. The trio then bolts out of the camera's view. Buck and Wilma bolt out of camera view after them. Cut camera to the main area of the bar where we can see its entrance. The trio leaves the bar in literally a flash. However, Buck and Wilma stop running as they quickly realize the trio has left them in the dust. Buck and Wilma looking out, Wilma: "I handle it next time." Buck looks to Wilma. End of Act One: Beginning of Act Two: ext: Food Store: From the look of the parking lot cars and how people are dressed, we can tell it's the late 1980's. V.O: Cashier: "Oh no, he's back." Cut to: int: Food Store, register one: Bagger: "Who? The boss?" Cashier: "No, the man with the thing." The Bagger looks over towards the entrance way as Soldier Two enters the store in normal everyday clothes, holding a shopping cart with Stom hovering over one of his shoulders. Bagger: "Can't we force him, them out?" Cut camera on to Soldier Two and Stom; Soldier Two pulls his grocery list out of his pocket. V.O. Cashier : "I wish." Soldier Two: "Let's see: one dozen large eggs, 2 percent milk, angel hair pasta, salsa, brown sugar." Soldier Two turns to Stom. Cont: "[ beat ] You didn't write anything. Are you sure there's nothing you want?" Stom: "A bath in 97 percent canola oil and 3 percent antifreeze." Soldier Two: "Ray, are you the reason I couldn't make onion rings the other day?" Stom just hovers for a beat. Cont: "The last time I went shopping I bought two bottles." Stom: "I'm sorry, I forgot, you can use my bottle." Note the whole time this scene has been happening, all the store's shoppers and employees are either slowly moving by Soldier Two and Stom or have stopped in their movement all together. Cut to: ext: A New Chicago Street; This is a busy street, the camera is focused on Burash and Fox. Fox: "There's more than one of them." Burash: "But the service guard." Fox: "They must have come in not using the station." Burash: "This is not a very safe city." Fox: "The cops try but in the end the job turns to us, Burash." Cut camera to further up the street from Fox and Burash. Dase and Metri are here. Dase: "There's more of them." Metri: "What?" Dase: "People with those scanners that detect the radiation from the image deflection bracelets." Dase points out from herself towards down the street: off camera, Cont: "Those people there." Pan camera over to Fox and Burash for a beat, before panning the camera back to Dase and Metri. Metri: "Should we?" Cut camera back to Fox and Burash. Burash: "These others, did Buck and Wilma tell you how they looked, what species are they?" Fox: "Like they came randomly straight out of history files on the 20th century." Burash: "Isn't that when Buck comes from?" Fox: "Buck wasn't around in the 1920's, Burash. One of them he said looked like a flapper." Note the whole time they've been talking Dase and Metri have been coming from behind into the camera's range. Burash: "What does a flapper -?" Dase and Metri are now at Fox and Burash: note Fox and Burash don't turn to them till Metri, pointing to the detectors: "What are you using those for?" Fox now looks stunned. Burash: "Business of the Defense Directorate, nothing you need to be concerned with." Dase: "They look like radiation detectors; [ beat ] tell me is this radiation you're looking for deadly to Humans?" Fox: "Burash -." Burash: "Very deadly; it can kill after long exposure." Fox: "Burash, one of them, and in fact -." Metri: "It is assumed then you want to do away with its source then?" Burash: "Yes, the ones we're after will be locked away in jail for the position of -. [ beat ] Oh my, I don't want to worry you civilians with the thought. What is emitting the radiation will be put in a hasmat-vault for safekeeping." Dase: "Then we'll try to make our business on this planet short." Fox: "Burash!" Fox whips out his blaster on Dase and Metri. Cont: "You two are under arrest for the possession of Zanisol!" Dase: "Not us." And with that having been said, Dase and Metri move away from Fox and Burash in a blur of speed off camera. Cut to: int: Huer's Office: Huer, Wilma, Buck, Fox, Burash and Dantin are here: all standing and none of them have a look of they're at ease. Buck: "When they left the bar Wilma and I talked to a few of the people there. Dr. Huer, I don't believe these "things" have any kind of real connection with the man who was at the station." Huer: "And just why do you believe that to be so?" Dantin: "Yea Rogers, as you might say "that sounds like a hard bit of pork to swallow." I mean they have to be in on this." Buck gives Dantin an odd look. Cont: "What?" Buck: "You worry me." Buck turns to Huer, Cont: "They can change what they are, move at lightning speed. They aren't Human, I think they're this "Bercy" at a guess. The man at the station, the service guard tried to chase him down. Why would they need us if we're so slow to them?" Huer: "I've never heard of the Bercy." Huer turns to look off camera. Cont: "Dr. Theopolis?" Pan camera around to the wall Dr. Theopolis is built into. Theopolis: "I'm searching my database right now." Pan camera back to being on Buck, Huer and Dantin. Buck: "How can something be tracked that moves that fast, the speed of light." Huer: "Only in a micro-par stream, can a ship travel at the speed of light and past. [ beat ] Star-Ports have tracking equipment like that. They have to track the ships traveling in the stream and move the stream, shift it if need be to keep ships from colliding with each other." Wilma: "Star-Port one is the nearest one to Earth. Do you think they let us borrow any of their spare tracking equipment if they have it?" Huer: "The matter we're dealing with that we don't even know it's full story on. They won't let us have it." Huer turns to look back towards Theopolis. Cont: "Dr. Theopolis, have you finished searching your database?" V.O. Theopolis: "The term Bercy does not appear in any Earth or non-terran records." Huer: "Can you download the specs on the Star-Port tracking hardware?" V.O Theopolis: "Done." Huer: "What?" V.O. Theopolis: "The files weren't very large, Dr. Huer. Only a millisecond to download." Huer: "Give them to Thomas and Mallory, tell them I order them to build this tracking equipment." Fox: "But they aren't ships, these Bercy. How do you intend on tracking them with the equipment?" Huer: "Burash." Huer turns for a moment to Burash before turning back to Fox. Burash: "How will I help in this?" Huer: "She didn't draw a weapon on them unlike the rest of you." Dantin: "I wasn't there." Huer: "I know that Major." A beat, Huer turns his glaze to fully be on her. Cont: "And you said they didn't seem aggressive in their actions." Buck: "One of them broke my scan gun." Huer: "They're strangers in this land, we have no records of them. Burash, I want you to find them. They seen to be favoring places in New Chicago that carry large congestions of people: popular places. I want you to take an ink-print scanner with you." Burash: "You think one of them might get close enough to me so I could scan one for the tracking equipment to use." Buck: "This may all be fine and dainty for finding them, but that still leaves how do we get one of them to stand still long enough to find out from them what's going on?" Huer: "Burash, after you scan them I want you to try to talk to one of them long enough to find that out." Cut to: int: Mall: Burash is standing on one of the walkways that are to either side of an opening that leads down to lower levels of the mall: this is cut down the whole mall's center. Perast, Dase and Metri are a distance off from her. The camera moves on to them after a beat. Perast: "Is she following us?" Metri: "Well, she's not holding one of those detectors, [ beat ] something else." Cut camera to one of the shops nearby to Burash. int: Clothes Store: Buck is looking out at Burash; Fox is here also. Buck: "They're here." Fox: "She got them to stop." V.O. Burash: "It can destroy you." Buck: "She made a lie." V.O. Burash: "Tell me why your here!" Fox: "The Thorcomen Defense Administration doesn't act the same way the Defense Directorate does." Buck: "Have you been teaching her how different the Directorate does things?" V.O. Burash: "By the order of Earth's Defense Directorate, I order you to oblige me!" Fox: "I did, but apparently not well enough." End of Act Two: Beginning of Act Three: int: Mall: This scene picks up shortly after where Act Two left off. Only now the camera is where we last saw Burash. Perast is here along with Metri, Dase, Buck and Fox. Buck: "Wait, you guys came here why?" Dase: "A convict from our star Torcorn escaped to this planet." Buck is taken back a little. Buck: " [ beat ] I have a feeling we shouldn't be talking about this here." Cut to: int: Computer Council Chamber: The onion room is formed. V.O. Metri: "We are no danger to you?" V.O. Computer Nine: "We are not organic, you cannot harm us." V.O. Computer Eight: "Will you show yourselves as you truly are. There are no known records on you: the Bercy." Cut to: int: Onion Room: The room looks just as we saw it last back in episode 4 as to its layout with the faces of the computer council built into the wall. Perast, Dase and Metri are here, only now we see them in their true from. Their image deflection bracelets are on the floor. Theopolis: "Why are you here?" Metri: "We've already told you why. To capture the convict Bercy named Stom, to return it to the edge of R0036 to serve its prison sentence." Computer Two: "Why New Chicago?" Computer Three: "What is R0036?" Dase: "At first when we started studying your planet for this mission, we were going to perform it at Washington DC, the source of many mass arms on this planet. But as we approached this planet, its transmissions changed as to where its arms are held at a mass: New Chicago." Perast: "A black hole: R0036." Computer Six: "What would Stom do with these arms?" Dase: "Command them to do destruction for it." Theopolis: "Washington DC has not been the source of mass arms for eons. How long ago did you start on this mission?" Metri: "56 hours ago." Computer Five: "Washington was not the bearer of mass arms 56 hours ago." Dase: "We traveled to get here by the speed of light, studying for the mission all the while in our travel. Stom left for this planet 12 hours before we started." Theopolis: "For these transmissions to be as old as I believe them to be, dating back hundreds of years and with you traveling at the speed of light to reach here -." Metri: "We know that now. That for us the time passed at a different speed. That for us what we see as a few hours is eons to other planets." Perast: "Stom came to this planet, but long ago." Computer Ten: "Then Stom is dead." Dase: "To kill one of us is a hard feat; we have no true bodies." Theopolis: "We have no records of any missile attacks of unknown origin." Dase: "Then Stom might never have come to this world, and we have been wrong in our action by coming here." Perast: "We should take our leave of you now, of this planet and investigate other worlds or stars Stom might have gone off to instead." Computer Four: "Not yet." Computer Nine: "The habitat you're from. Your claim is that it's in a star." Metri: "Correct." Computer Two: "Some stars emit omega radiation." Computer Six: "Does your home star emit omega radiation?" Dase: "Correct." Theopolis: "Can you sense omega radiation?" Dase: "Correct." Metri: "You want us to find the one holding the Zanisol?" Computer Ten: "That action would be greatly appreciated." Perast: "Would this action rectify our actions that caused disorder on this planet?" Theopolis: "It would lighten our file on you seeing as how this is Earth's first contact with your kind." Metri: "S27A: Earth as we have found out, is more friendly in nature towards species from other worlds than we first concluded. And it seems to hold the idea of justice in the same regards as we do." Perast: "We will help." Cut to: int: Hospital: The room this scene is taking place in is a storage area for medical supplies, filled with all sorts of odds and ends supplies that doctors and nurses need to perform their duties. As this scene starts the camera moves over to what can be guessed as, out of the two doors we see in this place, the back door. Hissing can be heard and as we get closer to the door it gets louder. The camera is right on the Phasoft-door now, and after a beat of this hissing the door has veins of white rippling in and out of existence, till after a beat of this the veins start to stay on the door and fatten. The hissing bursts into a streak as the fat white veins on the door burst outwards, taking the door out of existence. The man we saw back in Act One in the shuttle station with the suitcase, walks through the doorway. Note he still has the suitcase and now he does not look to be in the best of health: sweat is coming down on his face. The hand not holding the suitcase, he's rapidly clenching and unclenching. Cut to: int: Computer Council Chamber: The onion room is once more shown as formed. V.O. Buck: "I'm not so sure it was a wise idea to send them." Cut to: int: Hospital: We're back in the hospital room we were in the scene before last. Only now as this scene is taking place, we see the suitcase has been set on the floor. The man is at the supplies drawers, opening them one by one, searching quickly around their insides for something. After a couple beats of this ... Cut to: int: Onion Room: Buck and Huer are here. Theopolis: "But they will be able to find the man holding the Zanisol in what we have concluded should be far less time than far more known species in mass recordings." Huer: "They put their prisoners in black holes. That's not something we do, at worst we send them to psychiatric re-imaging centers." Buck: "He'll be killed!" Cut to: int: Hospital: Close-up on the man as he finds a bottle of some kind of liquid; he smiles at this and quickly grabs at it to open it. He whines in pain and looks at the hand he used on the bottle: the one he's been rapidly clenching and unclenching. Cut camera close on this hand for a beat, palm side up: it looks it's been burned and like it could still be burning but from the inside out. Cut camera back to seeing the man on whole. He puts the bottle between his legs and twists the top off with his good hand; some of the liquid inside splashes to the ground as this happens. Then once more with the good hand he grabs the bottle out from between his legs and clutches it to his chest with the arm that goes to the bad hand. He pours out some of the liquid carefully into his good hand and splashes it onto the bad one. He sighs in relief at this and drops the bottle. Cut to: int: Onion Room: Computer Five: "So you are saying their methods may be too extreme to be used on Humans?" Buck: "At a guess, we know nothing about them! The Thorcomen Defense Administration we've known for some time, they may not use all of the same methods as us but at least we know we can trust them in their actions!" Computer Eight: "They should be arriving at our suspect now." Huer: "Let us be there at the scene first hand to see how they handle this." Theopolis: "I see no point in that, Dr. Huer." Cut to: int: Hospital: As the camera is close up on the man as he wraps a large material bandage around his bad hand, Perast, Metri, and Dase enter through the open door way. The man looks behind himself to see them. Cut camera to a better view of this room as the Bercy let lose with a flash of blinding light for a beat; the man quickly covers his eyes. Cut to: int: Onion Room: Huer: "Who will be to blame if something goes wrong?" Cut to: int: Hospital: Close up on the suitcase: it's melting. Hang on this for a beat. Cut to: int: Onion Room: Computer Two: "Union Hospital has just declared itself to be in a state of emergency quarantine." Huer: "What's happened?" Computer Three: "A massive burst of omega radiation." Buck: "Council, Dr. Huer, I have some business I need to tend to." Buck moves like he wants to leave. Huer puts a hand on his shoulder. Huer: "Buck, there's nothing you can do." Buck: "But those Bercy?" Huer: "There's nothing reasonable under this sun we can do to stop them." Buck: "Then what would be the unreasonable?" End of Act three: Beginning of Act Four: int: Soldier Two's Home: It's now the year 2006, but we can't tell that fact yet by what's filling the camera's view, which is a black and white serial of Katie Comet on a TV. Katie Comet by what we can tell is a blond wearing a costume that looks like an odd cross between Captain America's one mixed with Bucky's and the modern age Blue Beetle with a cape. With a golden or silver age looking ray gun she's fighting off a group of people dressed as robots. The robot costumes are made of a variety of metallic painted cardboard boxes. As Katie shoots at one of the cardboard robot men coming towards her: "I can't believe Mastermind Moon would send you after me! You are being too easy for me to defeat!" Robot: "You will surrender to Mastermind Moon! His dominance over this planet is imminent!" Katie: "Oh hell's bells, you mechanical men must not be Moon's real threat! He might already be on his way to Startown to complete his conquest of Pluto!" The TV gets turned off. Cut camera to see Soldier Two sitting in a nicely padded chair with Stom hovering near by him. Soldier Two: "Brown out god darn it!" He picks up his remote and clicks over and over forward outwards from himself. V.O. Greg: "April Fools dad, we're not having a brown out." Soldier Two: "Then what happened to the TV?" V.O. Greg: "I flipped the circuit breaker." Soldier Two gets up from the chair. Cut camera to a better view of the room to see Soldier Two at a half stand facing Greg, and Stom still by Soldier Two's side. Soldier Two: "Well what's made you go and do that for?" Greg looks to be more than half Soldier Two's age younger. Greg: "The rally dad, remember?" Soldier two: "You're a good son, Greg." Greg leaves the room as Soldier Two starts moving to do the same. Stom: "What happened?" Soldier two: "What do you mean "what happened"?" Stom: "Did Katie Comet win?" Soldier Two: "She won." Stom: "How do you know that? You've never seen that serial before?" Soldier Two: "She's a hero, I'm sorry heroine. The hero always wins in the end." Stom: "On mathematical odds I do not believe such a thing could always be true." Soldier Two gives Stom a look that says "I wish." Cut to: ext: Soldier Two's Home: It's a small cookie cutter by look of the type of home, with a small front yard to match. Greg is standing by a car looking like he's awaiting Soldier Two and Stom. Soldier Two and Stom as this scene is taking place have just come out the front door and are heading to the car. Soldier Two is now wearing a windbreaker and headband. Soldier Two: "On TV, in the movies they always win." Stom: "In real life the heroes always fail?" Soldier Two: "No, not all the time, just sometimes." A beat as Soldier Two turns to Stom to get a good look at it, squinting at the sight. Cont: "You were there, we tried our best." Stom: "But we still failed." Soldier Two: "Ray, if you haven't noticed this yet I'll tell you it. We Humans are a stubborn lot, who don't quit on a task very easily. Even though we failed to do one task years ago doesn't mean we didn't learn a lesson in the whole thing. People that were there and witnessed the error of what happened yesterday, know today what must be done to keep the past from returning." Greg: "Are you two going to get in the car?" Soldier Two turns to Greg. Soldier Two: "Are the signs in there?" Greg: "I loaded them while you were watching TV." Soldier Two turns to Stom for a beat. Soldier Two: "Ready to get our troops home?" Stom: "Ready to get our troops home." Cut camera to behind them, to see them move to the car. Fade to black. End Of Act Four. The End. Roll Credits.