Buck Rogers in the 26th Century Episode 210x "A Brighter Flame" Written by: Erin Weinstock I don't hold any of the copyrights in this story, and this story was made without profit. Teaser: int: TV: On the screen in sci-fi style letters and big type, we read "The 500th Olympic Games 2519 Summer Event." In the background a massive space station can be seen with a planet some distance behind it. The station looks like it could be the size of a small city. V.O. TV Announcer: "Welcome back to the 500th Olympic Games 2519 Summer Event!" The broadcast continues only now cutting onto a different scene. It's a stadium event, the 26th century's idea of a Caber Toss. In this event we watch a man holding a metal caber covered in black spots and a few blinking lights built into it. Above him, hovering a good 25 feet in the air is a ball-nest of other cabers, spinning around slowly. The man holding the caber is walking around, judging his next action, where to throw his caber into the nest. V.O. Cont: "We're on to the first elimination round of the Caber Toss! This is Fred Snapper of planet Earth in his first Olympic game tournament! He's positioning himself for the throw; he's checking density, he's checking the rotation angle -!" Fred hurls the caber up into the nest and all at once the lights on the other cabers spring to life. V.O. Cont: "Did he make it, did he make it -!?" The nest stops spinning and a bolt of what looks like lighting slams down on to Fred who collapses on to the floor at the strike. V.O. Cont: "He didn't make it! What a shame people, you know the magnetic grips need to be aligned at just the right angle for that to work." The broadcast continues only now cutting to a game of "Glav-Ball". This is like a futuristic game of Polo. Only instead of horses, wave-rider like hovercraft are being used to work with the ball and to an odd note gravity is used in the point system, of if the ball falls down, the lower it falls the more points lost to the apposing team. Points can however be regained by scoring a goal. The teams playing represent Sanopp and Mastic; Mastic being the home planet of the Masrex. White long hair, pastel colored skin, the eyes have the same glassy pearl-blue look to them as a Saurian's and twig-like projections where the eyebrows should be with light-green leaf-like rounded tips. As this scene begins a Saurian scores a goal after the ball has taken a long drop. V.O. Cont: "We're on to the third Glav-Ball game of the day and already it looks like this competition will be a treat to watch at this year's games! Sanopp with an early lead! This hasn't happened in decades!" The broadcast continues only now cutting to an Astrosled. This sport is almost the same concept as the one used in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode the "Olympiad". Out in space we watch a disorganized troop of Cheetah-Bolt ships zip and zag about, all moving for some unseen place in the distance. V.O. Cont: "Now on to the second Astrosled Race of the games! Earth, Avapos One, Noyas, Miahgo, Lember and first time to the games, Zacaw! People I know you folks at home can't see this like our brave athletes do! So to give you a treat, Earth's representative Kate Gussy has agreed to let us see first hand what we're missing!" Cut to: int: Cheetah-Bolt: Right now we can't see anything of the ship's interior, only what can be seen out of the cockpit's large front window that takes up most of its canopy. Before a wavering force field appears a stream of red lights that zips across the bottom of the windshield, in a snap alerting the pilot danger is near. As this scene begins the red dots zip across the bottom of the windshield. A wavering force field appears a few feet away from the ship, taking up the whole of our view. The camera cuts back so we have a better view of this scene. Kate tightly grips the ship's steering rob to jerk the ship's nose up. Cont: "Hello Ms. Gussy of Earth!" Kate: "Now is not the best time to be talking to me." The lights zip across the bottom again, another force field appears, only this time at an angle that forces Kate to move the ship to the right. V.O. TV Announcer: "You agreed to this remember? You want the whole watching galaxy to see Earth's best Astrosled racer in action?" The lights zip and a new force field appears to be reaching up from beneath the ship, stretching forward beyond it. Kate: "Please no questions, I need to concentrate on this." Kate turns the ship to avoid a collision. The lights zip and a new force field appears to her left forcing her to move the ship left, having to be slick about it since another Cheetah-Bolt is near where she's moving to. V.O. TV Announcer: "One question or you'll be breaking your contract with the game committee. You are being covered live right now." Kate: "Just one." V.O. TV Announcer: "One will do for now. I can see you're in mortal danger from where I'm sitting." Kate turns her head towards the camera, Kate: "Now, while there aren't any -!" Kate is cut off in mid-sentence, due to without warning by the lights a force field appearing before the ship, a wall of wavering light closing in to closer view. Cut to: int: Hangar Bay / Mt. Olympus Station: The camera is focused on a bulky-looking white spaceship with a large red cross taking up most of one side of the ship, a good-size Phasoft-door residing in the cross's lower half. By the hands of a team of doctors and nurses, Kate is being taken out on a stretcher looking like she's seen better days. A crowd surrounds this scene that's mixed with spectators and a few competing sports teams not at work for their medals. Doctor One (who's at the foot of Kate's stretcher): "We need room, move out of the way people!" Kate, with second degree burns, looks around herself as she's moved out of the Hangar Bay. Human and alien alike, everyone is showing concern for her. A couple of Humdos look at her with contempt; one is wearing a sports suit like Kate's and the other a mechanic's. With a look of concern of her own, she seems to know what has just happened as she's moved off camera. End Teaser Pre-Credits: Beginning of Act One: ext: Hotel Section Team Earth / Mt. Olympus Station: The camera moves over dozens of spaceships that have firmly docked their loading / unloading doors into the space station. The ship however that catches our attention the most as the camera pans up past these ships, is a Defense Directorate shuttle of standard size. V.O. Hawk: "Out with it, Buck. I want to know why you brought me along." The camera in panning from the vast space of the shuttle park, now begins to move up through the exterior of a hotel with of course this being space, no balconies or sliding windows. V.O. Buck: "She misses you, Hawk." The camera reaches to just outside Buck and Hawk's suite and stops moving. Hawk: "You just want me to baby-sit her." Cut to: int: Buck and Hawk's Suite: It's built like a studio apartment only to note in this design it's a giant circle. Open rooms but the bathroom, spawn off to all sides of it but where it faces the window. A wooden square of floor is built into its center. Buck and Hawk stand close to this square. Buck: "True. Plus Ge-Ja will be with you this time. [ beat ] Plus I might need back up. It will be fun." Hawk runs a few fingers back through his head feathers. Hawk: "She sees me as a plaything." Buck: "She's a toddler; she sees everything as a plaything. Besides she was missing her doll when you came along." Hawk (to himself): "Fuzzy little aliens, why am I always the one." Buck: "Hawk, there are more aliens here than you can shake a stick at. Not all of them are as troublesome as you believe." Hawk: "The last time you talked me into contact, they took over my body." Buck: "Mine too, but that's never stopped you from being friends with a Saurian." Kate comes through the Phasoft-door entrance to this place; she's almost fully healed. Kate: "Thank you for making it here, Buck." And without even a beat, Kate turns to Hawk, Cont: "Hawk." Buck to Kate: "Where are these Humdos you think might be behind what happened?" Kate: "They're on the first floor of the hotel's section for team Miahgo." Hawk: "I don't understand this. Just due to a glare you think they're to blame?" Kate: "I don't think they like the fact De-Pas is my mechanic." Hawk: "Due to a talk I had with a Humdos once, the only one I've ever met in fact, I know the two species with good reason aren't on the best of terms with each other. These two don't have to interact with him right? So it shouldn't really concern them." Kate: "I could be wrong about them, but they were the only ones who didn't seem too happy about me being alive after the crash." Kate begins making gestures with her comments. Cont: "It could be because they're a rival team. It could be what I've already voiced concern over." Buck: "I'll do everything in my power to get to the bottom of this, Kate." Hawk: "A sport where death can occur at the slightest miss of a movement. Ms. Gussy, I see the whole thing as a harmful, pointless venture." Kate is taken aback a little by what Hawk has just said. Kate: "Besides being a fighter pilot for the Directorate, flying Cheetah-Bolts in Astrosled races are my life!" Cut to: int: De-Pas and Family's Suite: Hawk is standing by a comfortable looking cushioned chair, staring at Beu-Pas who's wearing the sundress we last saw back in Episode 18. Beu-Pas is holding a wooden-looking toy that looks like a Z-87. She's walking as best her little legs can carry her towards the chair, towards Hawk. Beu-Pas: "A' Kate's fun, it's fun." Beu-Pas puts the toy ship in her mouth, holding it in her teeth. She climbs onto the chair. Hawk: "Do you remember me?" Beu-Pas settles herself on the chair and for a beat tries to smile still holding the toy. Before removing it from her mouth, smiling, looking at Hawk. Beu-Pas: "Birdy!" Hawk watching Beu-Pas backs away a little from the chair. Hawk (with just the tiniest touch of fear in his voice): "You [ beat ] remember what "birdy" doesn't like you to do, Ms. Beu-Pas?" Beu-Pas: "No feathers." Hawk: "Don't pull on them." Ge-Ja walks into the scene with Nuisance lying down on one of her shoulders, its face-eye light at just a speck in size; it's sleeping. Ge-Ja: "Pull on what, Hawk?" Hawk turns to Ge-Ja, then speaking with a tone of urgency, Hawk: "Your daughter likes my feathers." Ge-Ja: "She's little, I'm sure she'll grow out of that." Hawk looking to Beu-Pas: "I can only hope." Beu-Pas holds her toy ship up high in the air. Beu-Pas: "I wanna show him A' Kate's fun! Tea Birdy!" Hawk: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe Ms. Gussy flies a ship that resembles that in flight." Ge-Ja: "You don't have kids do you, Hawk?" The camera begins to pan towards the ceiling. Hawk: "No, and that's not the point. Gussy may be a Defense Directorate pilot, but the child should be aware her teaching employs the use of the wrong thing." The camera then stops panning when we catch sight of a robot Tarantula with a large black camera lens covering its back and a fine strand of thread "cable" coming from its rear, coming from beyond the camera's range. It's high up on the wall. Ge-Ja: "If you ever have a child I'll worry." The camera cuts in closer on the spider-camera. Cut to: int: Guest Vault: A Masrex and an Alarr are sitting on the floor of this place watching a floating monitor that keeps changing its view back and forth between two locations, one location showing De-Pas from above inspecting Kate's destroyed Cheetah-Bolt and the other location showing from above at a side angle: Hawk, Ge-Ja, Nuisance and Beu-Pas. Both aliens are wearing a single ear-bud and are jotting down notes on thin tablet computers. The room they're in appears to be a vault like one would find in a bank, only the little locked cubbies aren't opened with keys. They're opened with the contact of their operator's DNA like the lockers last seen back in Episode Four in the Defense Directorate. Note the spider-camera's line is connecting to the base projecting the monitor; there are two lines. Alarr (sounding revolted): "How many do you think we'll be seeing at the games in four years?" Masrex: "The investigators or Candos?" The Alarr looking to the Masrex: "I'm not the one who messed up here!" Unnoticed to the two aliens, Buck has come up behind them. Masrex: "Neither of us did, but both shouldn't be here in the first place!" Buck begins to crouch down to them. Alarr: "They should have rigged the Human's ship sensors to fail long before the broadcast!" Buck touches the shoulders of both aliens at once. This act finally lures their attention on to him. Buck: "Oh don't stop talking on my account, please continue." Cut to: int: Hallway Just Outside The Auto-Jet Hangar: V.O. Masrex: "We were doing nothing; the Human is making it all up!" V.O. Alarr: "Don't Auto us PLEASE!" Cut to: int: Auto-Jet Hangar: Before describing what this place looks like, I'd first like to explain what an "Auto-Jet" is. An Auto-Jet is a small spacecraft big enough for two adult people at the max. They contain no food or water due to once its intended occupants are put in, a knock-out gas is vented into its passenger chamber, making its guest or guests sleep during the duration of their trip in it. How these craft are guided towards their destination are controls located outside the ship on its door hatch. Whatever unexpected comes along during the craft's journey is taken care of by a navigational AI computer. The main purpose these ships are put to is transport to off-station or off-world holding cells or jails at places like the Defense Directorate, police stations, so on to that effect. Now on to the Auto-Jet Hangar. The room isn't every large, it looks like it was built to do its purpose and nothing else due to it being somewhat good lengthwise but not much widthwise. Buck is here along with a security staff member wearing a uniform that not only tells us by cut what she does, but a sewn-in badge tells us she is also involved with the Games taking place. The Alarr and Masrex are here too, in handcuffs like the type placed on Grawl in Episode Five. Security Staff Woman: "You were caught spying on our guests while an investigation was being conducted in regards to their safety." The Alarr tries to fight the force field holding his hands in place while the Masrex stands. You can tell from the look on the Masrex'es face wheels are turning in his head. The Masrex calmly turns to the Alarr still fighting his handcuffs. Masrex: "We're needed for our team; our team can't win a medal without us or even stay qualified." Alarr: "How is that supposed to help us?!" Security Staff Woman doesn't take to this plea at all and begins tapping instructions into the keypad guidance control of an Auto-Jet. Security Staff Woman: "Then your team will just have to forfeit; I'm sorry but there are laws against what you did." Masrex: "Oh but - but our team can't forfeit, we've trained too long to quit just now. [ beat ] What if someone replaced one of us. The team can still play if it's missing only one member. [ beat ] Maybe someone you might see as trustworthy. Someone close to you here could replace one of us?" Security Staff Woman to Buck: "Do you know how to play baseball?" Buck: "What man, woman or child from my era doesn't?" The Security Staff Woman whips out a device called a Transmission Bud. It looks like two pennies connected together by a thick but flexible inch in length piece of plastic. In a sense it looks like a tiny phone. She puts it up to one ear. Security Staff Woman to Buck: "What's your name?" Buck (confused by her actions): "Buck Rogers." Now Security Staff Woman into her Transmission Bud: "Hello Herold? I'm having our two troublemakers shipped off now to detention base Kovaz. A man named Buck Rogers will be replacing one on their team to keep them qualified." She snaps the two penny shapes together on the Transmission Bud ending the phone call. Buck: "Hey I never said I wanted to play baseball!" Security Staff Woman: "Too late; you're on the team." End of Act One: Beginning of Act Two: int: Auto-Jet Hangar: The scene here picks up mere moments after where Act One left off. As this scene begins Buck and Security Staff Woman are trying to force the Alarr into the Auto-Jet Security Staff Woman programmed in the last act. The Alarr is acting almost like a stubborn child about wanting to get inside the craft. The Masrex is already inside the Auto-Jet. Buck to Security Staff Woman: "You had no right to do that!" Security Staff Woman: "It won't be for Earth, true, but you need to fill in the gap this -!" She gives a hard push on the Alarr's back that then has Buck quickly doing the same action. The Alarr gives a rough grunt and tries to reinforce his grip on the door frame. Cont: "Stubborn, law breaking SOB has made!" Finally Buck and Security Staff Woman push the Alarr through the ship's hatch and shut the door before the alien can fight his way out. Cut to: int: Auto-Jet: The close walls of the craft's single room are blank and cushioned like something you might see in an isolation room for a mentally ill person at a hospital. Right across from the ship's cabin hatch are two single, unimpressive looking seats built into the wall. The Masrex is seated comfortably watching the Alarr who entered here a moment ago. The Alarr gives a little hit to the door. Alarr not looking at the Masrex: "That was a dumb move, it didn't help us." The Alarr swiftly in anger turns to the Masrex, Cont: "It got us in here! Making that Human from Earth's Defense Directorate replace one of us on the team serves us no purpose at all!" The Masrex holding up his hands: "On the contrary my friend. It keeps him busy." The sleeping gas starts to vent into the cabin. Both aliens notice this, Alarr: "I'd rather this Human Rogers be out of the way and not kept busy." Masrex: "You might want to sit down." Both of them start to show signs that they're tired and the Alarr takes the empty seat. Cont: "It serves us better, serves the Games better, if Rogers is kept busy with the ball game instead of the one we were caught in play." Both alien slump over as the gas takes its full effect on them and they fall asleep. Cut to: int: Mt. Olympus Station / Baseball Stadium: The camera's focus is on De-Pas, Ge-Ja, Beu-Pas holding Nuisance, and Hawk. They're at the start of a climb up the bleachers towards their spot but De-Pas doesn't look too interested in the idea. De-Pas to Ge-Ja: "You guys find a good spot, I'll join you later." Ge-Ja: "This is about Buck isn't it?" De-Pas: "Kate didn't ask him to come here to play some silly old relic of a sports game. I need to know if - if he's still with us." Ge-Ja: "He's a man of his word, I'm sure he's still working at finding out who rigged Kate's Cheetah." Hawk steps towards De-Pas. Hawk: "I haven't known him as long as you have, but I agree with you. This is very out of character for him." Cut to: int: Dugout: After pulling a "bat" out of a large plastic bin full of them, Buck is examining it. The bat more resembles a thin Cricket stick than a baseball bat. Around Buck, the rest of the dugout has pitch black walls with multicolor lights in its ceiling. Multiple scoreboards line the front and back walls. Ten team mates, all Alarrs, sit on the bench talking to each other, eager for their turn at bat. Also as this scene starts, De-Pas followed by Hawk enters this area. Ball Player One to De-Pas and Hawk: "Hey, get out! No visitors!" Turning his attention away from the bat, Buck turns to face De-Pas and Hawk. Buck: "It's OK, they're with me." De-Pas: "I can't believe you're here!" Buck motioning a little: "I told you already, this wasn't my idea." Hawk: "Then leave here, unless -." Hawk grins, Cont: "You feel you can't handle the job." Buck: "Hey!" De-Pas: "He has a point. You did actually ask Hawk to come as back-up." Buck: "Things may not be going as planned, OK but that doesn't mean I haven't made progress." De-Pas towards the end of this line leans towards Buck and draws out his speech. De-Pas: "You caught those creeps who were spying on my family and me and then -?" Ball Player Two: "He met the rest of the team." De-Pas: "Now what's that supposed to mean?" V.O. Coach: "Rogers, you're at bat, get out!" Buck gives one final inquisitive look at his bat, then a look to De-Pas and Hawk. Buck: "I'll explain later." Buck moves out of the dugout up through a Phasoft-door to its far left. Cut to: int: Baseball Stadium: The camera follows Buck as he walks out to bat, kicking his bat all the while taking in the playing field. The ground isn't glass; it's a touch computer screen noting every movement made upon it. Everywhere a person steps, colored rings branch out from the spot in a rainbow pattern. None of the opposing team have catcher's mitts on. They have on instead a glove with a flat surface that once more has a video display on it, only at the moment it's only showing a flat green, nothing else. At the pitcher's mound is a podium with a pulsing mega-sized light on its front. Buck takes the stance at the home base we all know to be the correct one when one's ready to play ball, but as Buck settles into his position... Some of the opposing team and even some of his own team laugh at this. Buck still standing in the same spot but lowering his bat showing he's not really to hit the "ball": "You want me to bunt?" Coach moving over to Buck just to say this line: "It's sonic, Rogers. You can't hit the pulse with your bat high in the air like that. Thought you knew how to play this?" Buck (a little aggressively): "I can learn again." As the Coach walks away (to himself): "What have I done." Pitcher (to himself): "This is gonna be easy." Buck holds out his bat looking like he wants to hit a bunt with it. Also looking unsure about this whole thing. Coach: "You're not going to hit it hard that way." Buck gives the Coach a look of "try me," then returns his attention to the Pitcher. The Pitcher's hand movements, unseen to us behind the podium, work the controls to send out a sonic ball. As this takes place the light on the podium strobes at a rapid speed. The unseen sonic ball is thrown as the light dwindles down to a speck. This whole way of playing baseball being new to Buck keeps him in his set stance as the ball breezes right past him and into the Umpire's mitt-shield. Umpire: "Ball one!" Buck gives the Umpire a curious look before returning his gaze towards the pitcher's mound. Now Buck holds his bat like he's ready to hit the sonic ball with a little more force than needed for a bunt. The Pitcher works the podium's controls again. The light on the podium once more strobes at a rapid speed. The unseen sonic ball is thrown as now the light dwindles down to the size of a softball. Buck, making a good guess, swings the bat, hitting the unseen object. A streak of white quickly zooms out on to the field, moving out past the Pitcher towards moving in between second and third base. Buck looks back to the Umpire, having not noticed the zipping white streak. Umpire: "You're making it too easy for us, you know that?" Coach: "Run Rogers! First, second base now!" Buck looks confused towards Coach before returning his attention to the field and finally noticing the white streak, now on its way into the outfield. Buck takes off for first base. A player in the outfield; Opponent One, catches the unseen sonic ball on his mitt-shield with the mitt-shield turning red. Opponent One is ready to treat his mitt-shield like a tennis racket to throw the sonic ball to the second base man when he takes notice of De-Pas'es family and Hawk sitting in the bleachers. He grins and throws the sonic ball fast their way with the mitt-shield turning yellow then green. The bleachers by Ge-Ja and Hawk take a deep "bang!" of an impact, the two, led by Ge-Ja had motioning for Hawk to move right before the hit as she understood Opponent One's motion. Buck slows just before reaching second base; he's looking towards the bleachers where the strike against his friends has just taken place. Umpire: "You're out!" Buck glares at the Umpire. Umpire: "Not you Rogers!" Opponent One, with anger in his step, fast walks off the field. Buck looks up again towards his friends on the bleachers. De-Pas is glaring at Buck. Cut to: int: Dugout: The normal team players are leaving the dugout; the air of this place is that of the game has ended. Buck is at the tail end of the line of players and as this scene begins the Coach stops Buck in his tracks with a tug at his shirt's back collar. Buck (flatly): "What?" Coach: "I don't want you on this team, you said you could play but I've never seen worse." Buck: "Well, I don't what to play but it benefits us both, doesn't it." Coach: "Well that's a mystery to me, but if you don't learn how to play this right by the next game I'm sure I could find half a dozen people in this station who could and would feel more honored to do so." The Coach walks past Buck looking at him coldly as he leaves the Dugout. Buck stands in thought in the semidarkness. End of Act Two: Beginning of Act Three: int: Buck and Hawk's Suite: Hawk is sitting down working with a 26th century laptop computer as Buck comes into the room. Nuisance is watching the computer screen too with Hawk, looking in its own way just as interested in the machine's activity. Hawk notices Buck coming into the room. Hawk: "You have some nerve, you know that?" Buck: "Save it." Ball Player Two (Mevat) comes in fast after Buck: "I think I've only noticed a few." Hawk: "What is your team mate doing here?" Buck (sternly) to Hawk: "Remember I said I'd explain later?" Hawk: "I remember." Buck: "It shouldn't be talked about openly. Kate, De-Pas, Ge-Ja, Beu-Pas, they might get hurt faster otherwise." Hawk: "Explain." Ball Player Two (Mevat) to Buck: "Can I?" Buck: "Go." Ball Player Two (Mevat), says this line while walking up to Hawk: "It's not just the Humdos; I'd say it's a tenth of the competing alien races that don't want Gussy here with a Candos. They've never been in the Games before. They're being taken as a bad sign by some and -." Mevat is now at Hawk, Hawk: "What purpose does your game serve in it?" Mevat: "I was getting to that. [ beat ] Some of us on the team know things." At hearing this coming line Hawk turns his attention on Buck. Buck: "Sadly and frankly, some of them are willing to hurt Kate or De-Pas'es family to get them out of the Games. But with good faith, some of them want Kate and De-Pas'es family to continue being at the Games." Hawk in his noble silent manner takes in what he's just been told with a note of self-shame in his look. Cont: "Is something wrong?" Hawk (soft but with force): "I thought you had lied about your position on this. I should have known to think better of my moral judgment." Mevat puts a hand on Hawk, Mevat: "We all make mistakes from time to time, but now is not the time to be making new ones. Would you like to help Buck and I try to make a plan of action to stop the haters?" Hawk regaining his normal air: "That's part of the reason I'm here. [ beat ] What is your name?" Mevat: "Mevat, [ beat ] what's the other reason you're here?" Hawk: "I'd rather not go into that." Buck lets out a short, sharp laugh. Hawk glares at Buck. Buck, smiling: "She likes you. You're Big Bird." Mevat: "He's setting you up with some girl?" Hawk: "I'd rather not go into that." Cut to: int: Main Stadium / Catwalk: A couple of Alarrs and four Wertoo are on a catwalk high above the main stadium of the station, the Main Stadium being where events like the opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies take place, along with the rewarding of medals to the winning athletes. It almost looks like a modern day Olympic stadium. It even has a large flaming torch rising high up into the air at its center. Although this torch doesn't have a normal flame, it's shooting coloring throughout itself, all the colors of the Olympic rings dance about its ever changing shape. The Wertoo on the catwalk, their eyes are far spread apart, nearly on the sides of the face, skin like puffed sacks holding the eyes. The nose being little more than holes is high up on the forehead, the mouth nearly in between the eyes, hair moves slicked back, coming out shortly after the end of the nose. Looking down at the scene before them, they have a few tools of unknown purpose by them. The two Alarrs are ones from the Baseball team. V.O. Mevat: "Then let's get to business. We're spying on the ones we're worried about; this will help prevent further bad events from happening like how Gussy's ship was rigged." V.O. Hawk: "You're spying on them like how the two Buck caught were?" Wertoo One points down towards a spot near the torch. V.O. Mevat: "No, not that way. We have people on the inside doing this." Wertoo One turns to his comrades and grabs a hand-sized tool talking like he's explaining something. We can't hear what's being said. V.O. Hawk: "Why don't your people on the inside just stop them?" Wertoo One now points the tool towards the point earlier pointed at near the flame, still speaking in silence. V.O. Mevat: "How often do you meet Alarrs wanting a fight?" V.O. Hawk: "You're the first one I've ever met." V.O. Mevat: "Really?" Another Wertoo, ‘Wertoo Two' picks up another tool and talks looking back and forth from the tool to Wertoo One. V.O. Buck: "It's where we come in Hawk. We're going to stop these foul plans from being carried out." V.O. Mevat: "Why didn't Earth's Defense Directorate send more of you people here? It is important." Cut to: ext: Mt. Olympus Station / Another Space Shuttle Park: It looks like the area where we saw ships docked earlier in Act One outside of Hotel Section for Team Earth. An Alien ship is moving out from the station slowly before reaching a safe distance as to not touch the others still in place. It moves down past ships docked; other ships moving in towards the station and ones moving away pay our alien ship no mind. The camera tracks the alien ship in its descent. V.O. Buck: "This isn't what the Directorate thinks of as a priority mission." V.O. Mevat: "Well, two are better than one in any case." The camera cuts one to a camera built into the station, it's watching all the ships in its view range. The alien ship starts to move down into its range. V.O. Hawk: "What is it you were saying just as you entered here?" V.O. Mevat: "That? That was the fact I've only noticed a few questionable characters myself. The rest of the ones sided with us on the team are more knowledgeable over this matter." The alien ship moves out of the range of the station's camera. The alien ship now is reaching down to the station's underbelly. It looks like a very inactive spot; the only movement we can see is of other ships moving to and from the station nearly out of camera range, high above and in the distance. Another ship awaits the one we've been watching, directly below the center of the underbelly. This other ship has a menacing quality to its look. V.O. Buck: "De-Pas, and I can't blame him, doesn't want to leave the station. I tried to tell him earlier him being here could lead to with this, [ beat ] well what at first was just a suspicion. It means too much to him. Understanding him or not, he's one of the most stubborn people I know. Huh, hey Hawk that must be one more reason why I thought to bring -." V.O. Mevat: "CAN you two?" V.O. Hawk: "I'm sure we can. You said it was only a tenth, right?" V.O. Mevat: "Right." The two ships turn and back into each other for connection. V.O. Buck: "We've handled worse, Mevat. These guys shouldn't be an issue." Cut to: int: The Connected Alien Ships: The alien ship, the one we watched from its outside reach down to this place beneath the station, has for its crew an Alarr and a Jatra. A Jatra looks like some evolved strange alien ant. Glassy looking skin, nearly shell like, deep reddish black. Two long antennae coming out from either side at the top of the head; small black eyes, a set of mandibles with a vertical mouth in between containing jagged teeth. After a normal-sized set of arms, a lower set hangs with a mis-formed inhuman look. Coming from the other ship we see three Saurians holding objects all the same that take up their arms completely. The object looks unfriendly; it's a bomb of some sort. V.O. Hawk: "I fear for De-Pas and his family. This event might not be the last time people try to hurt them. They need to have their worth proven." V.O. Mevat: "Huh?" V.O. Buck: "Have their "worth proven"? Hawk, De-Pas is Kate's mechanic, he's good. What much more can be proven?" V.O. Hawk: "He isn't the one people are watching. At least the one people are watching with good intent. [ beat ] People need to see him as not a bad sign." The Jatra goes over to the Saurian and looks over the bombs with a determined feel to its movement. This acting being used since its face doesn't hold any recognizable expressions. The Jatra then backs up a little and with one of its lower arms pulls some short silver rods out of a pocket; money. V.O. Mevat: "Maybe, no wait. Buck, you can't even play Baseball and you had to explain it to him." V.O. Hawk: "Why did you bring that up?" V.O. Mevat: "He could play a sport. He could win, that would show he's not a bad sign. My team does need another replacement player. [ beat ] But I feel -." Then the Jatra hands the money to a Saurian after that one Saurian has gently set the bomb on the floor. Plus after the Jatra has put the money into the hand of one of its larger arms, V.O. Buck: "Please don't remind me." V.O. Mevat: "Does he know actually know any other sports?" V.O. Hawk: "Does it have to be a sport? One can prove themselves in other noticeable ways." V.O. Buck: "Knowing De-Pas that might just be a bad idea, Hawk." The Saurian who had set down the bomb smiles and talks in silence to its fellow Saurian shipmates. V.O. Hawk: "What about all that time he's spent with Ms. Gussy? Has she taught him anything about what she does?" V.O. Buck: "I bet my bottom dollar she has." The Saurians set the bombs down on the floor of the alien ship containing the Jatra and the Alarr. V.O. Mevat: "Being that in the open, [ beat ] we could still be dealing with a problem here." Cut to: int: Buck and Hawk's Suite: Everybody is where we last saw them. Buck grins, Buck: "Maybe not, I have an idea." Hawk: "Involving what?" Buck looking to Hawk and Mevat while saying this: "I need to call the Defense Directorate for a favor." Buck quickly walks out of the camera's view while Hawk and Mevat look towards the direction he went in, with a look of wonder on their faces as to guessing what Buck could be up to. End of Act Three: Beginning of Act Four: int: Launch Zone: OK if this place weren't being used to start and end a sporting event we just might only see this place as a flight hangar. But only Cheetah-Bolt class ships are in this hangar. Plus closely packed launch tubes coming out of opposite walls. And bleachers moving all around and up the walls to a good height. In a place like this people could safely watch the ships take off for their tubes at the start of a race as if watching horses do the same in their own right. Giant screens float high above where the racers have prepped their ships. The purpose of these screens is to show the races when they're in progress. As this scene begins Buck is standing on the sidelines, away from the ships ready to launch and their pilots. Leaning against the short wall that separates the spectators from the athletes, with an amused look on his face he pulls out from a pocket a Transmission Bud. Buck opens the device for use and puts it against the side of his head. Buck: "Are you ready, De-Pas?" A beat as in silence to us while Buck listens to the reply answer. Cont: "The one with us on the team, Hawk and I, we took care of it. No glav-bolt forced fire or bombs." Buck moves the Transmission Bud away from his ear as "De-Pas", wearing a watch like device like the type used in Episode Five, walks up beside him. Just before pinching the Transmission Bud shut and into it. Cont: "You'll be fine." Buck to "De-Pas", Cont: "And how about you?" "De-Pas" gestures "he's" unsure how "he" feels about things. From someone, somewhere unseen above (shouting): "Boo!" And "De-Pas" is hit with a crushed almost empty soda can. "De-Pas" looks like "he's" thinking for a moment about how to react then bares "his" teeth looking at Buck. Buck: "This will work, trust me." Now entering the scene we see "Kate" smiling waving to the crowd, heading for a brand new looking Cheetah-Bolt. She's wearing one of the watch devices too. Then five other pilots enter the scene heading for their Cheetah-Bolts, all aliens. Pilot one to "Kate": "Good luck [ beat ] I'd hate to see what happened in your last race happen again." "Kate" gives Pilot one a broad grin closing "her" eyes, mouths something we can only assume is impolite. Then reopening "her eyes, enters "her" Cheetah-Bolt. Pilot one enters his Cheetah-Bolt as the others are doing the same. Buck looks to "De-Pas", Buck: "You taught him well, right?" Cut to: int: TV Screen: In a montage we see scenes from "Kate's" race. While in these scenes, flashing at the top of the screen we read "Universal Broadcast" and lower on the screen at the bottom in non-flashing letters "special effect added of force fields for your viewing". Scene one: Kate's ship followed by three others, zips out forward from being in between a set of two force fields. One coming from above and one coming from below, the ship is having not much room to move between them. Scene two: larger than life a force field acts as a wall on the right side of the screen. Kate's ship is in the lead, moving forward with four ships tailing it. Suddenly a new force field smashes into view in front of the camera and with a quick reflex, Kate's ship and its followers turn as to not hit the new field and zip past the camera. Scene three: Kate's ship followed by two others, running just over a force field as another field to the right slides over towards the ships. Scene four: Kate's ship looks like it could collide with the camera. The five other ships are far off in the distance, a couple of them trying to navigate through force fields Kate's ship has long left. Now with the montage at an end... Cut to: int: Launch Zone: "Kate" and the five other pilots are by their ships; one of the pilots is just climbing out of hers. Cheering from the crowd can be heard in the background. V.O. Announcer (booming through unseen speakers): "That was quite a race folks, I think there's no doubt who won it, but let's hear it from our judging council." V.O. Computer one: "Vonbron 3, Culx 5, Reedity 1, Glanch Two 6, Iona 4, Earth 10." V.O. Computer two: "Vonbron 2, Culx 6, Reedity 1.2, Glanch Two 5, Iona 3, Earth 10." V.O. Computer three: "Vonbron 2, Culx 4, Reedity 1, Glanch Two 5.5, Iona 3, Earth 10." V.O. Computer four: "Vonbron 1, Culx 5, Reedity 2, Glanch Two 6, Iona 4, Earth 10." V.O. Computer five: "Vonbron 1, Culx 4, Reedity 1.2, Glanch Two 5, Iona 3, Earth 10." All the pilots look between themselves at each other as if to say "nice going". "Kate" looks very proud of "herself". V.O. Announcer: "Culx gets the bronze medal, Glanch Two take home the silver medal and Earth takes gold!" Suddenly a crowd or reporters surround the pilots but the camera's focus gets centered on "Kate". They all talk in rapid speed at her. Reporter One: "Ms. Gussy, it appears this race didn't concern you at all after the mishap you suffered in your last one. How were you able to bounce back so fast!?" Reporter Two: "Ms. Gussy, how does it feel to take home Earth's first gold in the Astrosled race?" Reporter Three: "Gussy, are the rumors true your ship was sabotaged before the last race?" "Kate" turns to Reporter Three (De-Pas'es voice): "Unfortunately it is, but measures have been taken to make sure that never happens again.' The camera starts moving down to showing "Kate" fiddling with the watch-like device. All Reporter Three can do in response is stumble in sounds being unsure what to say. De-Pas's image replaces "Kate's". The camera moves up so we can see people's faces again. Everybody around De-Pas is in shock. The camera cuts on to one of the large screens floating over the Launch Zone. De-Pas (booming through the speakers) and on the screen: "Thank you for the gold." Cut to: int: Stadium Field: Its purpose by setup looks to be for football. Only Buck and Hawk are on the field, no one is in the bleachers. Buck is kicking a soccer ball around, heading for Hawk near the other end of the field only standing. Buck: "Come on Hawk, take it from me! Score the goal!" Hawk: "I still see this all as pointless, why are you asking me to doing this?" Buck: "Everybody loves sports." Hawk: "I don't have anything to prove." Almost at Hawk, Buck gives the ball a swift kick to him, Buck: "Really?" Hawk gives the ball a hard kick that sends the soccer ball high into the air, shooting it across the stadium and past the goal line on the far end. Buck who just watched this act smiles broadly at what Hawk has just done after turning to him. Hawk, grinning: "I don't have anything to prove." End Of Act Four. The End. Roll Credits.