Buck Rogers in the 26th Century Episode 209x "Metamorphosis" Written by: Erin Weinstock I don't hold any of the copyrights in this story, and this story was made without profit. Teaser: ext: Picasso's Pancake: Text comes on to the screen stating "Three months ago". After a beat the text disappears. Picasso's Pancake is the station used for the Duer's fifth moon Mars colony project for the work of the Martian Special Construction Unit. Now where everybody working on the colony's construction doesn't live here, they do use it for holding needed equipment. Doing Conversion forming, that being changing gas elements of certain types into solid or liquid elements of other types and arranging them into, for example, different types of minerals, rocks, dirt, sand, water, ice. This process also converts gas elements that can't be breathed into ones that can be. Numerous ship docking ports can be seen on this. The Picasso's Pancake look being, imagine a Rubik's cube distorted in the sense of its blocks all being connected but jumping out in every direction. This mass looks like it could be the size of four football fields. This hovers in the mist of Duer's fifth moon; it's a Jovian world with oddly colored gases moving about. Once in a while we see lightning jump up and down randomly through the scene but never hitting the station. V.O. Worker: "What the hell is this?" Cut to: int: Picasso's Pancake: In a cramped office that has no door leading into it off the side of a corridor, a Worker of the Martian Special Construction Unit sits at a desk top computer, reading measurements of atmosphere and minerals. She's wearing day to day clothes but a name badge tells us she works here by showing her employee ID number. Cont: "This mineral type doesn't belong in the base and not at all in such a high amount," she states pointing a finger at the screen. She gets up quickly from her chair to leave the office and moves fast down the hallway and towards the camera. Cut to: int: Operations Monitoring Room: At the moment we can't see what this room looks like. All we see is a computer monitor that's viewing the planet outside the station. After a beat... The camera that's sending the computer its visual information zooms in through the gasses deeper into the planet, until a dark small object with no real shape is seen. After a beat... The camera that's sending the computer its visual information zooms in on the object. Lines flash on the screen, pointing randomly all over the object. Then the lines disappear and in a box the name "Aisla 56" appears. V.O. Cont: "See!" The camera cuts back so we can now see this scene in full. The room is shaped like a bubble that has no lights but computers that coat its walls. How this room works is by voice command: a worker could call out, "Sector number ten" and the correct monitoring computer pushes out from the wall towards a set of three chairs on a platform in its center that can move up into the room and up and out if needed. The pushed forward computer then has a keyboard slide out towards the nearest of the three chairs to it. This center-moving platform can swivel around to face any of the monitors by use of a joystick linked into the center chair. Operations Commander: "I see what? What's wrong here?" Worker: "Aisla 56 has no use in the Terra platform, Aisla 56's only use is for making blaster cores of... well many weapons but none friendly with us with those that use them." Worker turns to Operations Commander, Cont: "I think someone has tampered with the conversion spears, sir." Operations Commander (calmly and over-friendly): "How long have you been on shift here, Employee 18?" Worker: "Nearly 72 hours." Operations Commander: "You need to rest." Operations Commander to the room, Cont: "Withdraw console 23." The computer before them has its keyboard slide back under it and moves back into the wall. Cont: "You're hallucinating, you need to return to your quarters on Duer." Worker: "But sir?" Operations Commander: "[ beat ] I'll investigate your hallucination for you; you need to rest." Worker: "Sir!" Operation Commander: "Do you want to be replaced? I'm told people back home are lining up in droves to enter the position you're in." Worker: "I'll return to Duer." As he clicks a button by his chair and they move up through a hole leading out of the room, Operations Commander: "Good girl." Cut to: ext: Picasso's Pancake: A small shuttle that at the max looks like it could only hold two people is moving away from Picasso's Pancake. We watch this for a couple of beats until... Cut to: int: Shuttle: Worker is pacing around in the ship with little room to do it, looking uneasy. She looks to have come to a decision and quickly moves in to look at the ship's controls and looks at a tiny computer monitor built into it. The camera cuts to only focusing on the monitor. In a pulsing wallpaper it states "Auto Command: Duer set at X23 Y90 Z54." The camera cuts back and Worker seems to have a satisfied look to a mild point and walks away. The camera cuts back to only focusing on the monitor and in a snap the wallpaper stating "Auto Command Duer set at X23 Y90 Z54" changes to another pulsing wallpaper stating, "Auto Command Duer set at X24 Y90 Z54." Cut to: ext: Picasso's Pancake: We're watching the shuttle move even further away from Picasso's Pancake. After a beat... Lighting strikes up through it in a snap. Pre-Credits: End of teaser: Beginning of Act One: ext: Police Station / Shuttle Park: Text comes on to the screen stating "The Present". In a bolt of an action, in a flying leap, pincers open and flaring with life, a dragonfly robot lunges towards the camera. A bolt of blaster fire is shot at the robot and it explodes into a million pieces. The text disappears. The camera cuts into being a wide shot of the scene and we see Female Cop Two, Buck, Wilma and Fox. Buck is currently putting his blaster back into its holster. Female Cop Two: "Good reflexes." Buck: "Thanks." Cut to: ext: Base Alpha-Maris One: V.O. Jaco: "They're alive!" Cut to: int: Base Alpha-Maris One: Rob: "You didn't want any of us connected, and the escaped inmates seemed like the perfect setup." Jaco: "Paula! Paula could have done the job! That was a city police station; muggers, drunks and street walkers, they're not the deadly type, not to these Earth guys!" Rob: "Then Paula?" Jaco: "Paula and I will take care of them!" Note while that whole conversation was going on, the two men were in a fast walk with the camera always just ahead of them. Cut to: ext: Police Station / Shuttle Park: While Wilma stands looking unhappy and inpatient, Buck and Fox are sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall close to the entranceway into the building. Both men are playing an observation game, pointing out ships as they move by in the background. Buck: "Martian Benz." Fox: "Alarr Transport and Saurian Speeder." Buck: "Rachris Solar-20 and a Miahgo Air Rider." Wilma (in a nearly harsh tone): "Do you two really need to be doing that?" Buck pointing towards his shot Z-87: "You killed Rocky; we're just passing the time best we can for our new ships to come." Wilma: "I didn't kill Rocky [ beat ] those gremlins did." Fox: "You picked them off with your blaster." Wilma wants to REALLY REPLY to what has just been said to her. Then breaking away from it and looking away from the men, Wilma: "Continue with your game." Buck, standing up while speaking: "Martian Red Wing!" Fox gets up now and the ship sets down for a landing where they are. It crushes the Z-87s; this bird is too big to be landing here. Copper-toned with lines streaking around it, making it look like they had emerged from some strange storm of wind. The windows are not visible in the sense we'd normally think of them. They are in places we might expect on a ship but our only means of seeing where they are is indents formed out like windows. This strange design in the windows is meant to act like modern day darkened windows or mirrored ones. Fox: "Wilma, I think we should all have a moment of silence for Rocky, Arthur and [ beat ] Wilma what was yours named?" Wilma: "It didn't need a name past its model and number." Fox: "It's bad luck not to name a ship." Buck to Fox: "Maybe that's how our gremlins came to be." Fox: "You're - you're kidding right? I mean it couldn't have been -?" Buck: "Then it's a better reality someone is out to kill us." In the rear of the ship unseen to us a Phasoft-door disappears and Jaco with Paula step out and walk around into camera view. Jaco (warmly): "Sorry about your ships but I assure you your replacement Martian ones will be much better." Wilma: "I'm sure they're a wonderful gift but we won't be needing them for long, only while we're working here on Mars. Which by the way where are they?" Paula starts walking around them, looking them up and down with no real expression on her face. Jaco to Buck: "She is a very pleasant lady." Wilma: "Are you aware you just said that out loud?" Buck to Jaco: "You might not want to push that with her." Jaco to Wilma: "We've come here to take you back to AM; they're waiting for you there." Fox to Paula: "Um, why are you doing that?" Paula (flat toned): "Does it concern you?" Fox: "I don't find it normal." Paula (in the same earlier tone): "That doesn't concern me." Jaco (enthusiastically to all of them): "Time we got moving!" Motioning towards the ship, Cont: "Into the ship!" Cut to: ext: High Over Mars: Our view is over the Martian landscape from high above. We watch the Martian Red Wing soar miles below us. After watching this scene for a beat... Cut to: int: Martian Red Wing: Its interior looks like a gutted mini-van with passenger seats facing each other, with little padding on them. But at the moment we can't really see any of that, only Buck staring at something off camera ahead of him. Then the camera cuts on to Fox who's doing the same action as Buck. After that the camera cuts on to Wilma who's looking off to her side at something off camera. The camera then cuts on to a near full view of Paula looking as cold as ever. In a swift action she pulls out a small blaster and aims it in front of her. The camera cuts back so we get a good shot of the cabin where the group is. Buck and Fox sitting by each other, Wilma sitting beside Paula and Paula pointing her blaster at Fox's head. Fox: "Oh god." Now with each new line said the camera switches to being on the appropriate character. Buck: "So you're the one out to do us in?" Paula: "I am one among many who doesn't want you here." Fox looking very worried about the blaster pointed at his head: "Guys?" He says in a pitiful sounding voice. Buck: "Why not on the rooftop?" Paula: "It was a police station. Do I look insane?" Buck: "Well that's an interesting question." The camera pulls back and Wilma sharply hits Paula in the side and Buck ducking down in a snap, lunges to pull up Paula's wrist to hand gripping the blaster. Paula in reaction to Buck and Wilma's actions fires a shot up without thinking about it. Then Paula gives Buck a swift kick in his gut; this makes him let go of her. Both Wilma and Fox move in to do an oddly formed tackle on Paula to pin her in a manner. All three fall to the floor. With Wilma and Fox trying to subdue Paula, Buck reaches into the mess and grabs the blaster away from her. Buck (shouting): "You have a killer back here!" Jaco, who we can't see yet: "Oh darn it." Buck: "You don't sound surprised!?" Jaco: "I'm surprised you're not dead." Paula gets pushed against the nearest wall to her by the force of Wilma and Fox. Buck heads for the cockpit where Jaco is working the controls of the ship. Buck: "Why do you want us out of the way?! I'm sure this all has something to do with those workers murders! Spill it!" The camera cuts to (continuous) the ship's cockpit. Jaco is sitting with a cool-with-everything expression on his face, holding the ship's control grips with only one hand. The other hand we can't see. Jaco: "For the greater good of it all I'm not going to [ beat ] and you're never going to find out." Just then Jaco puts a device on the control panel before him. The device looks like a bottle cap with a hole coming out of the side, with a puffed sticky-looking platform underneath it. On its top is a ring of lights that light up the moment the device hits the ship's controls. With the camera focused on the device, it shoots out from its hole a tentacle that looks like it could have come from the room that contains the Computer Council. Only on this tentacle, it appears to have a sensor at its end that is pulsing with a hot blue light. The tendril hovers over the control panel acting as if it's in a search for something. After a beat of this... In a snap the tendril shoots through the metal and into the control panel. The ship in reaction lurches sideways and forward. The camera pulls back so we can see the full cabin. Jaco is still sitting calmly while Buck is gripping the entrance to stand up. Buck: "What have you done!" Jaco turning to face Buck: "Ensuring everything still goes as planned." Cut to: ext: Sky: We watch the Red Wing falling in a near nose dive towards the unseen ground. Cut to: int: Martian Red Wing: As Wilma and Fox are getting their bearings from the jolt the ship just made, Paula notices she's now at the ship's stern by the access panel that can let her out. End of Act One: Beginning of Act Two: int: Cockpit: Buck in a hard-looking blow knocks out Jaco by hitting him in the head. Then Buck moves Jaco's unconscious body out of the way so he can sit in the pilot's seat. Wilma: "What's happening, Buck?!" Buck grabs the steering grips to try to change the ship's direction upwards, but this proves to no avail and the ship continues its descent. Buck: "Our pilot was with her. He wanted us -." In a snap Buck's attention gets focused on Paula diving down past the ship. It's a quick beat but Buck's attention soon returns to the descending shuttle. Cont: "Dead!" Buck tries to grab the device off the control panel and it in return pulls its tendril out of the control panel. Still trying to take the device off the control panel, Buck gets slapped over and over on the hand by the tendril. Buck: "Wilma, I need help up here!" Wilma: "She's gone!" Buck: "I know, that's great! Now get up here or we might die too!" Wilma comes into the cockpit and with Buck; both of them try to take off the device, which in its joint force works. Buck looks up to out the window, Buck: "We're still falling!" Wilma: "Take the controls, I'll work on fixing it!" Buck grabs the steering grips and Wilma rips out a panel at their feet that behind it shows the guts of the controls. Wilma quickly setting herself to work, peering into the guts: "It ripped apart the connections!" Buck: "Can it be fixed!?" Cut to: ext: Sky: The ship in a jolt rights itself in mid-air. Cut to: ext: Martian Desert: Falling from the sky at a distance we watch Paula hit the ground, smacking it with her side. After a couple of beats... The camera cuts to her crash site. She's made a small crater that she's picking herself up from. Standing up she looks up at the sky and watches the Red Wing go off into the distance. She waggles her lower jaw. Opening her mouth she pulls out a lower half denture set of teeth and waggles around a different set of teeth coming from her lower mouth. These teeth don't look Human, these teeth look chilling, like they belong to a deep-sea fish. She puts back in the denture set of teeth to her lower jaw. Cut to: int: Base Alpha-Maris One / Unused Room: Well technically it's not an unused room, technically it's a storage room that holds stacks of folding chairs and tables along with some rolled-up banners of an immense size. But right now all we can see is Jaco's head pressed up against the flat side of a folded table. The side of his head where Buck hit him has turned into a massive bruise mark. Jaco (smugly): "You wouldn't hit me." Bart's fist shoots into view, slamming Jaco square in the nose. The camera cuts back so we get a better view of the room. Not only are Bart and Jaco in the room but Buck, Wilma and Fox also. Our trio is keeping a distance from Jaco and Bart; Wilma is scowling. Bart (angrily): "I repeat, how many are involved with these murders?!" Jaco slides on his back to the ground, holding his bleeding nose. Jaco: "I don't know, the number is growing by the day." Bart pacing back and forth a little: "Who's behind this?! I want to know that too, I need this to end now!" Jaco sniffs, uncups his nose and looks up at Bart. Jaco: "You are." Wilma (with a devil's grin on her face): "That's all I needed to hear." Bart turns to Wilma (snapping): "Now you wait!" Then turning to Jaco and moving him to stand up again against the table. Bart: "Murder has nothing to do with the conversion forming, the whole project taking place on Duer's fifth moon. I wouldn't have you pin those deaths on me when I had nothing to do with it." Jaco (drawn out): "We've known each other since way before you settled down here, to a hum-drum life. You know I ONLY have your best interest in mind, Barney." Bart: "In the best of interest right now, Jaco. I suggest you stop goose stepping around what's going on and tell me the truth behind those deaths! Ones that I have no connection with!" Jaco: "For the greater good I can't tell you that." Buck: "Bart, considering that this matter is also of concern to Earth's Defense Directorate, may I step in?" Bart: "Anything you want to do right now to help, I'll welcome." Walking over to Bart and Jaco, Buck draws out his blaster on Jaco. Bart: "You're my kind of man, Buck Rogers." Buck to Jaco: "Tell us how he's connected to those deaths." Jaco looking at Buck as if he wasn't serious about the question: "I was ready to die earlier to not tell you and I still am. Do you really think aiming that thing at me will make a difference on what comes out of my mouth?" Buck points the blaster downwards and fires at a target off camera. At this Jaco's eyes shoot wide open and his jaw drops. Buck: "Did that make a difference?" Jaco can't answer as he's ready to cry from the pain Buck has just put him in. Bart leans in towards Jaco. Bart: "Did THAT make a difference? Because more can be done to you if you don't talk." Jaco (in a whimper showing his pain): "[ beat ] Your first deal fell through and to make sure we still got what you wanted I turned to get help else where." Bart: "WHO provided our equipment, JACO?" Jaco (still in pain): "I can't tell you." Buck moves his blaster a little, still having it aiming off camera and fires. Jaco reacts stronger to the pain he's being put in by letting out a drawn-out low scream. Bart to Buck: "You've done this before haven't you?" Buck: "Once." Bart, motioning towards Jaco: "To another two-faced snake like my friend here?" Buck: "To a slime at Compart." Bart (grinning): "You're definitely my kind of man, Buck Rogers." Jaco: "The Clinert Curand." At hearing this Bart, Wilma and Fox react to the news with a look of unwanted shock. Buck's reaction being different due to, Buck: "What is The Clinert Curand?" Cut to: ext: Space: We're near Earth by a thousand or so miles away. In orbit with numerous ships surrounding it in every place, but its mouth is a Star-Port being constructed. Its center station looks to be finished but its two side ones look like they could use some more work. A ship is approaching the new Star-Port; this ship is Bart's pride, his old pirate ship after an external refit done to look friendly to the public. It looks like four massive made-of-metal butterfly top wings, one going over the other, two on both sides of the ship, beating so fast a hummingbird on speed is the only thing that could beat its pace. On the wings jet-rockets of brilliant light can be seen on many places along their back edges. Between the wings, the base of the ship is a rod unshaken by the beating wings. The ship looks like at the max it could hold sixty people from its outside. V.O. Bart: "It's the Houten's secret military." V.O. Buck: "A secret military? They have a military and that's no secret, the Defense Directorate has had dogfights with them from time to time." V.O. Fox: "We haven't dealt with these guys before, Buck. They really do have two forms of government military." V.O. Buck: "Explain." V.O. Bart: "In a moment." Cont (softly): "Can't believe the man doesn't already know this." Now in a normal tone, Cont: "Star-Port One, this is A.M. Mars One requesting leave for Duer." V.O. Star-Port Worker: "How much excess weight are you bearing, A.M. Mars One?" V.O. Bart: "Five Humans." Cut to: int: A.M. Mars One: Bart is in the open door cockpit of the ship handing the pilot a drink, and when I say drink I mean Bart is handing over a concoction in a Martita glass. Cont: "Send her into auto, you deserve a break." Pilot taking the drink and looking at Bart: "Thanks, mister president." V.O. Star-Port Worker: "A.M. Mars One, you have go for Duer." The Pilot pushes some controls on the ship's dash then follows Bart into the passenger part of the ship. Cut to: int: A.M. Mars One / Passenger Area: This place looks much more lavish than the Red Wing's one. It not only looks like a place to rejoice in but also one things could easily be used for hoarding. In the center sits a small table with more alcoholic-looking drinks on it. Seats built into the ship line the walls in some places and it's here we see Buck, Wilma, and Fox. Wilma is scowling. As this scene starts Bart and the Pilot are coming into the camera's view. Bart grabbing a drink and sitting down, the Pilot taking a seat beside him: "They [ beat ] they do covert stuff the normal Houten military won't admit needs doing for them." Fox noticing in action the Pilot is in the cabin: "Who's flying the ship?" The Pilot after a sip of his drink: "It's on auto till we're out of Star-Port Seven." Bart: "ANYHOW they get weapons, confiscate ships, and assassinate ones behind public view. They make the needed attacks for their government, interstellar laws should never be made aware of and the known military takes the spotlight for them." It should be noted that midway through that line the image of everything we see is beginning to stretch out and flatten. Buck: "I bet Paula was one of them." The stretching and flattening continues to grow more in the image. Fox: "She was Human." Bart: "So's Jaco, [ beat ] leave it to the Houten, those sneaky devils to get us to do their dirty work." Buck: "What - what do they look like? I've only heard rumors." Fox: " From hell, monsters." End of Act Two: Beginning of Act Three: int: A.M. Mars One / Passenger Area: The scene in here picks up right where it left off at the end of Act Two, warped image and all. Bart: "That's the strongest one, Buck. Nobody knows for sure but evil is always the descriptor for them." Bart looking at Wilma, Cont: "Oh can't you just lighten up?" Buck to Bart: "I don't think that's ever going to happen." Bart concentrates on thinking about this matter for a beat before, Bart to Wilma: "Do you know American Pie, Momma Told me Not to Come, Jive Talkin', Hotel California?" Wilma: "I know that was a complete load of nonsense coming out of your mouth." Bart, motioning as he's talking: "A little singing can go a long way for a smile." Wilma: "I hate you." And with that having been said, Bart's cheery mood drops. Bart: "I think we should settle this now before we reach Patty." Wilma getting up from where she's been sitting: "Let's finish this elsewhere." Bart now is getting up too but is a little wobbly due to his drink. Buck quickly lifts Wilma's blaster off of her. Wilma noticing Buck's last action: "What did you do that for?" Buck (rather flat-toned): "I don't want to hear about you using it to settle things." Wilma puts out a little noise of annoyance. Bart takes out a concealed heavy-duty looking blaster and hands it to the Pilot. Wilma and Fox watch this with a small look of disbelief on their faces. Bart: "[ beat ] You can never be too prepared. [ beat ] We'll do this in the next cabin." Both Bart and Wilma head towards the rear of the cabin, not leading towards the cockpit. Once Wilma and Bart have gone off camera into the next room by a Phasoft-door, Fox to Buck: "Do you think it's wise for those two to be left alone together?" Buck shaking his head: "Wilma would never risk her career over him, besides I have her blaster." Cut to: int: Buffer Cabin: This isn't like the Buffer room in the Police Station where weapons are searched for then taken away if found. This Buffer room is used as a place to reserve arms before leaving the ship. It kind of looks like a large closet with wall to wall blasters of every shape and size covering it. Wilma is too upset to notice this at first but after a beat when she does notice her surroundings in awe with Bart a foot before her. Wilma: "You mettlesome old pirate!" Bart: "They are decoration now." Wilma turns to Bart, Wilma: "You're a killer and a liar and a thief and a crook and a -!" Bart: "Those days are behind me I assure you." Wilma: "The fact you don't do them anymore doesn't change the fact you did them!" Bart grabs Wilma by her shoulders, Bart: "Can't you just leave the past in the past!" Wilma motioning to the walls: "Words from you! You can't seem to leave it behind!" Bart: "How can I prove I'm not the evil person you believe me to be!?" Wilma: "You can bring back the brave Defense Directorate fighter pilots you killed in cold blood!" Unseen to us the ship is emerging from the micro-par stream "reality" is settling back into place for the image on the screen. Bart: "I can't undo what I've done but I can try to make the present and future a better one for the both of us. Forgive me?" Wilma: "I'll never forgive you." Bart: "Then let's leave it at that and leave the frowning inside for no one to be bothered by, agreed?" Reality settles in full on the screen, the ship unseen to us is out of the micro-par stream. Wilma: "Agreed." Cut to: int: A.M. Mars One / Passenger Area: Everyone is where we last saw them and Bart and Wilma are entering here from the Buffer Room. The Pilot is putting his now gone drink on to the center table with one hand and taking out a sticker-looking pad from a pocket with his other hand. Buck looks confused as he turns to Bart. Buck: "Who's Patty?" Bart: "No one." Buck: "But you said -?" Bart: "The Base." Buck makes a noise of acknowledgment before after a beat, Buck: "Did you two resolve things?" Bart: "She's still a firecracker but settled." Buck: "Wilma?" Wilma: "It's dropped, Buck, just leave things alone." The Pilot slaps the sticker patch on to a bare spot of one of his arms. Fox making observation of the act, Fox: "Medicine?" Pilot: "A sucker." Fox: "You're going to still fly the ship!" Fox states as Pilot gets up for heading into the cockpit. Pilot: "The sucker will drain the alcohol from my blood before I hit the dash to fly us. I'll be pure soon, don't worry." Cut to: ext: Space / Duer and Star-Port Seven: We watch A.M. Mars One head off towards Duer's fifth moon off a good distance. Star-Port Seven being just out of frame in the extreme foreground, Duer being to the side of the foreground. V.O. Fox: "He's done this before right?" V.O. Bart: "I've trusted him by my side many times, intoxicated or not he's still a great pilot. You have nothing to worry about." From the Star-Port off screen we see a Red Wing emerge on to the screen becoming its full shape again after having come to us at first as a wrinkled tent peg the size of a Z-87. Cut to: ext: Picasso's Pancake: The camera's focus is fully on the station with no sign of any approaching ships. V.O. Buck: "What the hell is that?!" Cut to: int: A.M. Mars One / Cockpit: Buck is leaning into this room staring out the view port at the approaching mass before the ship that is Picasso's Pancake. Not only is the Pilot in here but Bart also. Bart: "That's Patty." Buck: "Patty?" Pilot: "Patty is what some of its construction crew called it to us while we oversaw the work being done to it. [ beat ] The name it's most known by today is "Picasso's Pancake". Buck: "Even stranger, why name a base or station that?" Bart: "Does that mass look anything close to normal for you Buck?" Buck: "There are many things on a daily basis I find abnormal Bart, but that mass does look odd in shape, like it's deformed or something. [ beat ] Like one of [ beat ] Picasso's paintings." Bart: "The workers on it added "pancake" to that because it's the only thing they can rest upon. No land here, at least not yet. That's why it's here, to make land for the colony to move on to." Buck, softly to himself: "The wonders of this age." Bart turning to Buck: "You amuse me, you know that?" Cut to: ext: Picasso's Pancake: Now we can see A.M. Mars One; it's settling on to a docking port, shutting down its wings in rapid pulses of flickering on and off to find its place. V.O. Buck: "So you've told me." Cut to: int: Operations Monitoring Room: We're looking at the zoomed-in image of the mass with no real form on a computer monitor. V.O. Bart: "A year's worth of work and that's all you guys have to show for it?!" The camera cuts back to reveal the full scene. Buck, Bart and Operations Commander are occupying the three chairs; Bart looks ticked. Operations Commander: "The planet's gasses where you're looking aren't as dense as needed for mass conversion. [ beat ] Your project could well take into the 28th century to finish." Bart crossing his arms: "The Houten, what are they getting out of this?" Operations Commander: "Excuse me?" Bart: "You heard me. What are the Houten getting in turn out of this little ordeal? I know they're off taking something out of this. They've killed off most of the workers I've put on this project." The Operations Commander is surprised but he doesn't show it much. Operations Commander: "We have a full staff here, no one is missing. [ beat ] Is that why you hired the Defense Directorate fighters? To pressure me into something foul?" Buck: "I'm not here to pressure you, I'm only here to find out what's going on with the missing workers." Operations Commander (very sternly) to Buck: "Nothing is amiss here." In a snap the computer screen highlights every spec of Aisla 56, which is a lot, then in bold type shows the name of the mineral. These actions shown on the computer catch the attention of the trio. Buck: "What's Aisla 56?" Bart to Buck: "Have I ever told you your lack of knowledge of some things worries me?" Buck: "No." Bart: "Aisla 56's only use in the making of blaster cores." Bart to Operations Commander, Cont: "You're making it for the Houten!" The Operations Commander's eyes narrow as he knows now there's nothing more to hide, Operations Commander: "And already we're putting it to good use." Buck: "You're Houten." Operations Commander's pupils widen to make his eyes completely black as he scowls at Buck. End of Act Three: Beginning of Act Four: int: Office One: Another hallway / tuck-away Wilma and Fox have just finished making use of its computer. This having nearly the same look and setup as the one described in the Teaser. Fox: "Wilma, did you write "hacker" on your registration form when joining the Defense Directorate?" Wilma: "It's not hacking, it's just being very skilled in the use of computers." They begin to emerge from the nook of an office. Fox: "Do you think this will start a war, what the Houten are doing? What the Defense Directorate needs to do to stop them?" They emerge fully into the hallway, neither of them noticing their company. Paula stands a good way down at one end of the hallway and Rob opposite to her, covering the other end of the hallway. Both have blasters drawn and ready. Wilma: "If the three of us can act quietly it can end quietly." Rob fires a blast at Wilma and it strikes her in the shoulder; another blast of fire in a snap follows the first, hitting her a little lower and she falls. The camera cuts to being Wilma's POV. Sideways to the ground she watches Fox exchange blaster fire with Rob unseen. Fox: "You cold-blooded viper!" V.O. Rob: "You should have stayed out of this, Earth was never meant to be involved!" Fox turns towards Paula, Fox: "You're dead!?" As he uttered that last line Paula was ready to shoot Wilma, a shot that would end her life in a heart beat if it wasn't for Fox when turning blasting her square in the chest first. Wilma's vision starts to blur. Paula (and faintly we see her fish teeth): "Houten are much more evolved than Humans. We can take a hard beating." Paula's pupils grow to taking over her whole eyes just like how Operations Commander's did. Fox: "You won't win! Earth's Defense Directorate has won against you before!" Wilma shuts her eyes; we're in darkness as blaster fire is heard. Cut to: int: Statistics Room: This room oddly shaped, moves, and engulfs the Operations Monitoring Room. Spread-out monitors with no keyboard slots display stats of activity involving the entire station: energy inputs and outputs, the level of ventilation being used, how high or low gravity might be set in some places and so on. It's made up of two levels, both visible to each other thanks to patches of open floor space. As this scene starts, Bart and Buck seem to be close to panic as they emerge from the Operations Monitoring Room, at the bottom level of this place. Buck holds a blaster ready to fire towards where they just came from. Buck: "If what he - it said is true, he - it might not be the only one here." Bart: "If you're right, if there are no Humans here besides us and the others brought here with us, you have permission to tell the Defense Directorate to blow this place to cinders." Operations Commander comes through the Phasoft-door of the Operations Monitoring room. Beneath his skin we see bony edges puffing out around his cheeks and forehead, like a pinecone expanding itself, only more ridged looking, his eyes still appearing as though made of black marble. Operations Commander: "Even if you manage to make it out of here alive and burn this place to ash, you will have not stopped us." Operations Commander advances on them slowly and Buck and Bart only back away, all the while watching him, Buck looking at ready to fire his blaster. Cont: "You, were just an easy target. The pride of Mars, willing to do anything to get the job done, even beyond your own laws. You made it easy for us to rid this station of all Human life, so we have another base." Bart (getting pissed): "I had nothing to do with what you've done here! I've stayed well within the confines of Martian law for well over a decade!" Operations Commander: "You and the others with you here will be our lunch before you leave." Buck (soft and fast): "Now - now can I shoot him - it!?" Bart: "Be my guest." Buck fires his blaster at the Operations Commander, hitting him just below the neck, charring him. Buck: "Blast! Why is it so much easier in space!" Buck fires again at the Operations Commander, only this time catching his lower neck. This time he falls backwards with the blow. Buck and Bart waver in their balance; something has struck the station as heard by a faint echo. Bart to Buck: "That wasn't you [ beat ] was it?" Operations Commander gets up and in a non-Human action slips out his dentures. Buck: "Eeew." Then Operations Commander open-mouthed breaks into a bounding run towards them, making an unearthly high-pitched scream. Buck breaks off the coming attack with another aimed high blast to Operations Commander. That does in Operations Commander now, he falls to the floor. The station echoes with the sound of another strike. Bart: "Something is hitting us from outside." Buck running first then followed by Bart, Buck: "Let's find out what!" They head back into the Operations Monitoring Room. Cut to: int: Hallway: Fox is dragging Wilma down the hall with his back to a Houten, fully revealed, meaning non-Human in appearance. Wilma has bled heavily through a make-shift bandage on her Fox has made out of one of his sleeves. He doesn't notice the Houten until... It growls. Fox shifts to look at the Houten; it's one of the replacement workers. It moves towards Fox, looking as aggressively as it can. Fox places a firm hand on the top base of Wilma's back to hold her up. He draws a blaster on the Houten. Houten: "We will both be dead soon. Death by my hand would be a less painful fate." Fox: "What do you mean by that?" Houten: "Your allies are attacking the station." Fox: "My friends would never kill me." Breaking and ripping, explosions and the cracking of thunderous sound of large blaster fire is heard. Both Fox and the Houten look up and around to find its source. In a snap a large ray of blaster fire bursts into the hallway from the ceiling, ripping through the Houten as well giving the alien almost no time to let out a scream. All the air, everything of little weight begins an ascent towards the blast hole. Fox, blinking, looking at the blast hole: "They wouldn't." He lowers his blaster. Buck and Bart run towards Fox and Wilma, Buck: "We need to get out of here now!" Buck notices Wilma, Buck: "Wilma?!" But before Fox can answer, Bart: "She'll be fine, let's move!" Looking pained Buck takes up Wilma at her feet. Cont: "We need to get to the ship, hurry hurry!" Another sound of ripping, thunderous blaster fire is heard from a place off camera as the group makes its way as fast as it can down the corridor. Fox: "Who's trying to kill us NOW?!" Buck: "The T.D.A." Cut to: ext: Picasso's Pancake: A troop of five Thorcomen Defense Administration fighter ships are blasting away at the station. Their look is almost a mini-version of their big brother counterparts we last saw in Episode Eight. Picture an over-puffed donut that's dark gray in color. Their red mass in the center is taking up very little space, but powerful. With each attack on the station it moves outwards, forming out its droplet bulb, still connected; when its shape is almost finished the red mass snaps into looking like it's made of fire. At its tip a ray of heavy blaster fire emerges. As we watch the ships in attack, A.M. Mars One is starting to come to life. The little ships circle its location, looking like they want to attack it as well as the station they're working on. A.M. Mars One flares into full life breaking away from the station, the T.D.A. fighters giving it a wide birth, one fighter giving the ship a weak shot. Cut to: int: Health Regeneration Chamber: Wilma only covered by a blanket, blinks waking up. She's surrounded by no color and bright light; the blanket covering her can hardly be made out from the background. She's healed from her blaster wounds. She listens to what's going on outside. V.O. T.D.A. Fighter: "I'm sorry I fired upon you." V.O. Bart: "Understandable, everyone else in the area being Houten." V.O. Buck: "What's this mean?" V.O. Bart: "Take a look, [ beat ] it means she's awake, she's healed." V.O. Buck: "Then get her out of there." Wilma slides out of camera view. Cut to: int: Health Regeneration Chambers Bay: This room looks like a compact version of the room like this at the Defense Directorate. Buck, Fox, Bart and the T.D.A. Fighter greeting by her table slab that's just emerged into this place. Bart: "Never been a big fan of that pitch black bit. A lot better than the one back home eh?" Wilma (drawn out): "What happened?" Buck: "A lot of things." Wilma (still speaking the same as her last line): "Like what?" Fox: "Black Barney just saved your life, Colonel Deering." Wilma jerks her attention onto Bart with a look of shock. Bart (smiling): "No need to say thank you." Wilma (slow and broken): "What else happened?" Buck: "We're at war. The events that took place here today didn't go unnoticed to those not directly involved. A fly-by Scientific Research Directorate probe caught the attack in action and it had to be explained." Wilma (softly and to herself): "We're at war." The screen cuts to black. End Of Act Four. The End. Roll Credits.