Buck Rogers in the 26th Century Episode 219x "The Blackthorn Rose" Written by: Anthony B. I don't hold any of the copyrights to this story, and this story was made without profit. Teaser: ext: The Defense Directorate: Cut to: int: The Press-Conference Room: The Press-Conference room is quite large, and contains a slightly elevated platform in the front of the room. At the end of the platform, facing the people, is a podium. Dr. Huer is standing before the podium, with some pieces of paper before him. Below the podium and platform is a sea of chairs, every seat filled by reporters. Most are human, although a few are aliens of different species. The atmosphere indicates that Huer is in the middle of a press conference. Huer: "That was a good question. Thank you. Are there anymore?" The camera cuts towards the audience, as Huer picks a reporter for the next question. He points to a woman in the first row, who stands up. Reporter One: "Dr. Huer, what accomplishment would you say you are most proud of as Director of the Defense Directorate?" Huer: "I would say that my best accomplishments come from withdrawing from the aggressive policies the Defense Directorate carried out under Director Asimov." Reporter Two: "Sir, do you think that Asimov's policies, including an unprecedented amount of military aid to foreign countries and the hard-line approach he took with the Draconian Empire, were mistakes?" Huer: "Well, it wouldn't be professional or reasonable for me to berate my predecessors. I know I've made some mistakes of my own. I don't think that Asimov's policies were inherently bad, but I stand behind my modifications that I feel enhanced them." Reporter Three: "Dr. Huer, how do you think history will remember you as the thirty-second Director of the Defense Directorate?" Huer: "I would like to think that history books will write about me as a man who tried to lead Earth's defenses the best way he knew how during a very troubled period." The camera pans across the audience again, where a male reporter in the first row stands up, holding a pen and paper in his hand. Huer: "I have time for only a few more questions. Go ahead, you in the first row." Reporter Four: "What can you tell us about your recent high success rate in foreign matters?" Huer: "I think that the splendid job of the Defense Directorate can only come from the outstanding teamwork of our members. To take a moment to name a few..." Huer's voice becomes incoherent background noise as the focus switches to one side of the audience of reporters. An Utto, who looks very shifty, is placing his hand inside his jacket. He slowly pulls out a small blaster that has an eyepiece attached to it. Silently, he positions the eye piece over his right eye, and aims towards the platform in the center of the room. The camera comes back to Huer, who is now holding a piece of paper. Huer: "But those are only a few of the people that should be commended for their efforts in serving Earth." As he lifts one of his hands, he drops the paper. Huer: "Excuse me." He starts to turn to his right to bend down. Before he does, a whizzing sound is heard, and a blaster beam fires his shoulder. Huer puts his hand over his shoulder, begins to yell, and falls to the ground. The audience is in panic, and two medics begin to run towards him. Cut to: int: Buck's Room: Buck is dressed in his Directorate uniform, though it is clearly morning because he has a bowl of cereal in his lap, and is watching television. The camera stops at the screen, where a man and woman, both aliens, are reporting behind a desk. Anchorman: "In other news, earlier today, Dr. Elias Huer was the victim of an attempted assassination." The camera quickly shoots to a very worried Buck, before returning to the screen. Anchorwoman: "The assailant was a terrorist named Bur Tang, who is the leader of an extremist group called The Blackthorn Rose. No reason was given as to why Dr. Huer was the victim, only that he was 'serving a higher purpose'." Anchorman: "Luckily, Dr. Huer survived with no lasting injuries. A complication in the procedure to repair his shoulder will require him to remain in bed rest for a week, in which time Sub-Director of Foreign Relations, Dr. Cornelius Piccard will take his place." Buck, looking very worried, sets the bowl on the table, and rushes out of the room. End of Teaser: Beginning of Act One: Int: Blackthorn Rose Hideout: The hideout looks very dark and gloomy. Boxes are scattered around, although eh labels can't be read due to the darkness. A small table sits in the center of the room, and two shady looking people are sitting in chairs facing opposite directions. One is a human male named Chad Krung, and the other is a Draconian female named Ann Glu-cak. Krung: "So, Bur had to go and get himself captured again." Glu-cak: "He always did love publicity. Of course, we'll have to break him out again." Krung: "Problem is, a Directorate prison's gonna be a lot harder to break into than the local jails he's used to getting put in." Glu-cak: "Well, I do have one idea. It's risky, and it'll require a great deal of manpower." Krung: "Well, don't keep me in suspense. What is it?" Glu-cak: "Let me get it." Glu-cak stands up, and goes over to one of the boxes. Her back is facing the camera, so the only thing and the audience can see is Glu-cak getting something out of the box and then resealing it. It is still too dark to see what she is holding, and when she sits down, the camera turns to Krung's face. Glu-cak: "It'll be tricky, but if we could detonate it..." Krung smiles widely: "We could immobilize the entire city! Where did you get that, though?" Glu-cak: "I made it." Krung now looks surprised. "You made that?" Glu-cak (who now looks flattered): "It's my masterpiece. Enough nerve gas to paralyze a small city. Or in this case, the Directorate holding center." Krung: "But won't it affect Bur as well?" Glu-cak: "People the Directorate fear most are held underground. This type of gas rises, not sinks, so he should be safe." Krung stands up and begins to walk towards an exit. Krung: "I'll go mobilize the guys. You ready the equipment, understand?" Glu-cak: "Got it!" Cut to: ext: Defense Directorate Cut to: int: Huer's Office The camera is pointing at Huer's desk. Only instead of Dr. Huer, the person sitting at the desk is Dr. Cornelius Piccard. Piccard is reading what looks to be a very important document, when the door opens. Piccard looks up, smiles, and sets the paper on the desk. The camera is still facing him, though, and the others can't be seen. Piccard: "Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering, and Hieronymus Fox, am I right?" Piccard waves his arm to the three chairs before his desk. "Have a seat!" The three of them sit down, with Buck in the center. Wilma: "We were told that Huer had a message for us?" Piccard: "Ah, yes. He sent me a rather long list of projects that he wanted me to complete during his recovery. That couldn't have happened to a less-deserving man, what happened to Dr. Huer." Buck: "Do you know if he's alright?" Piccard: "He's doing fine, you'll be glad to know. He can't use his shoulder; some complication forced the doctors to use some rather archaic surgical procedures that haven't been used in hundreds of years." Buck: "That's good to know. Thanks for telling us." Piccard: "No problem, Mr. Rogers. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Dr. Huer wanted to thank you for the success of a recent mission that you three completed together. You three rescued a resort from the Houten, I believe." Fox: "The Houten tried to overrun my grandfather's resort. We did the best we could to fend them off, but we couldn't have done it without the help of the other guests." Piccard stands up, chuckling. Piccard: "Don't be so modest, my boy. Huer spoke very highly of you three. Especially you, Buck. Who knows, maybe you'll be sitting in this chair one day?" Buck's face begins to turn red, showing that he is very embarrassed by what Piccard said. Buck: "Uh, sir, I don't think any of us know how the future will unfold..." Piccard is about to say something, when the computer on his side of the desk begins to flash. He looks at the three in front of him. Piccard: "Excuse me for a moment." Piccard begins working with the computer. At first he is rather calm, but soon he is frantically pushing buttons and trying to make the computer do something, as though he is very frustrated by something. Finally, he gets the result he wants, and reads what is on the computer. Note that the camera is focused on Piccard, but the viewer cannot see what is being displayed on the computer screen. After reading what was on the screen, Piccard slumps back in his chair, a look of worry on his face. Buck (with an equal amount of concern on his face): "Is something wrong, sir?" Piccard: "Figures it has to happen on my first day. Do you three mind helping me with some Directorate work?" Wilma: "That's our job. Just tell us what you need of us." Piccard: "Some terrorists just spread nerve gas around the holding center of the Directorate. No reason why, or who they are. The officer that sent the report seems to think that this could be a jailbreak attempt for Bur Tang, though." Fox jumps out of his seat, which causes Buck and Wilma to get up as well. Fox: "We need to get out there, now!" Wilma: "Fox, there's nerve gas everywhere. How are we going to breathe, surrounded by that?" Fox begins to look disappointed: "I don't know." He then turns to Piccard. "Does the Directorate have any gas masks available?" Piccard walks over to a button behind his desk. "Well, let me go ask. Now, which button works the intercom..." The camera shows Piccard pressing a small button. It looks like he is going to say something, but he is immediately drowned out by red lights that begin to flash throughout the room, and sirens blaring everywhere. He looks quite startled. The camera shifts over to Buck and his friends, who each take defensive poses. Buck takes out his blaster, readying it: "What's happening?" Wilma: "Are we under attack?" Piccard puts his hands up: "I think I pushed the wrong button." Fox runs over to where Piccard was, examining the place that he pushed the button. After a moment, Fox pushes another button next to the first, and the sirens and red lights stop. Fox: "You pushed the lock down trigger, Doctor." Piccard looks very embarrassed at this point: "Oh dear... I guess I should remember to bring my reading glasses, shouldn't I?" Buck and Wilma give each other a look that says they're now a bit leery of Piccard. Fox returns to where the others are, while Piccard sits down in his chair behind the desk. Piccard: "Would any of you happen to know how to activate the intercom? I'm afraid I don't have this fancy equipment back at my office." Wilma points to the edge of Piccard's desk: "The intercom should be near your desk." Piccard looks around for a moment, before finding it: "Ah, here it is. Thanks, Ms. Deering." Piccard now pushes the button, speaking over the intercom. cont.: "Attention all Directorate faculty. That was an, er... test. Please return to your stations, and commence...." Piccard is interrupted by two guards running into the room. While they run in with their weapons readied, they begin to put them away after realizing that there is no threat. Guard One: "Sir, are you alright?" Guard Two: "We heard the alarm go off, sir." Piccard: "I'm fine, really. I pushed the wrong button, but they helped me out." Fox: "Uh, Dr. Piccard, the intercom's still on." Piccard looks at it, and then chuckles, before turning it off: "Where is my head this morning?" Guard One: "Sir, we may need your help in calming down the Directorate. Most people have already evacuated." Piccard: "Perhaps you're right. But I could have sworn that I had business I was discussing with you three." Buck: "A jailbreak..." Piccard: "Ah, yes!" Piccard points at one of the two guards. "Could you do me a favor?" Guard Two: "Yes sir?" Piccard: "Take these three down, and give them Level S gas masks." Piccard then turns his attention back to Buck and his friends. "I want you three to go on ahead and scout the area. Our reports only indicate a small group, and with a limited number of equipment available at the moment, we can't really send a lot of people out. I'll prepare a battalion to help you out, but go on ahead. Alright?" Buck, Wilma, and Fox: "Yes sir!" Guard Two: "Follow me." Guard Two leads Buck, Wilma, and Fox out of the room, while Piccard walks around his desk to Guard One. Piccard: "As for you, could you help me round everyone back up. I daresay, we can't help those kids if we aren't organized." Guard One nods: "Yes sir!" Guard One exits the room, with Piccard following closely behind. End of Act One: Beginning of Act Two: ext: Directorate Holding Center Grounds: Cut to: int: Outer Gate Entrance Point: The Outer Gate of the Holding Center looks like a giant, steel wall. The wall is covered in a force field, which would prevent anyone from being able to scale it. There are areas atop the wall where it looks like guards would normally be placed, to be able to have a better shooting range if needed. The Outer Gate has one large entrance that is sealed off by a force field at the moment. Right now, the area looks very crowded, with many different types of military vehicles and personnel scattered about. Buck, Fox, and Wilma are walking up to the outer gate, holding their gas masks. They begin to walk up to the entrance, where a man that looks of a higher military ranking than the others is standing, talking to a few other soldiers. Buck walks over to them, followed by his companions. Buck: "Excuse me, sir." The soldiers turn, and the leader looks at Buck, before Fox and Wilma. The leader is a Lieutenant by the looks of his rank that is sewn on his uniform. Lieutenant (Baker): "Are you Captain Buck Rogers?" Buck: "Yes sir. Behind me is..." Baker (interrupting Buck): "Wilma Deering and Hieronymus Fox. We already received word that you would be helping us out. I'm Lieutenant Carl Baker." Wilma edges a bit closer, so that she can speak without having to shout. Wilma: "What's the situation here, Lieutenant Baker?" Baker glances past his shoulder, to the wall behind. Baker: "We've contained the nerve gas, but I'm afraid that we can't actually enter the area. Not until we can get access to gas masks, anyway." Buck (holding up his gas mask): "You mean like these?" Baker: "Let me see that." He takes the gas mask, and begins to inspect it thoroughly. After a moment, he frowns, and hands it back to Buck. "That would be useless to you. This is some potent nerve gas. You'd need at least a class X gas mask." Fox looks worried at this point: "Uh, Buck... Did he just say that we got the wrong one?" Buck looks very frustrated: "Yep." Wilma: "We can't afford to waste all this time. What are we gonna do?" Buck begins to turn around, and walk past Fox and Wilma. After a moment of confused looks, they both begin to follow him. Buck: "Only thing we can do. Go back and get the right one." He then begins to break into a run, and the others follow. Cut to: Ext: Directorate Prison: Cut to: Int: Underground Containment Block It is rather dark, with only dim tiles providing light above. Krung and Glu-cak are walking down a corridor that is only wide enough to allow two people to go through, if they walked side-by-side. The two walk until they get to a prison cell. The cell, like the Outer Wall, uses a high-tech force field where iron bars should be. The force field is semi-transparent, and Bur Tang runs up to his companions. Tang: "Took you long enough." Krung: "Helluva way to say hello." Tang: "If only he hadn't bent down..." Glu-cak: "We have more important things to worry about at the moment. Like getting out of here." Tang: "I think there's a control board around here that can turn off the force fields." Glu-cak reaches into one of her pockets, and pulls out a small, rectangular device with a nozzle pointing out one side. She aims the nozzle at the force field, and presses a button. What looks like a tiny bomb shoots out, and explodes, releasing a white mist. The field flickers, and then vanishes as the mist disappears. Glu-cak: "No need to do that. You think we wouldn't have come prepared?" Tang begins to walk across where the force field was. Tang: "I should have known. This ain't the first jailbreak we've done, is it? The most fancy one, though." Krung pulls out a blaster, and tosses it to Tang. Tang: "We gonna hafta sneak outta here?" Glu-cak begins walking down the corridor, and the others proceed to follow. Glu-cak: "Nope. Nerve gas, immobilized pretty much everyone. As long as the military isn't here, we should be able to walk right out." Tang: "I guess everything went according to plan, then?" Glu-cak: "You bet it did!" Krung: "Well, almost." Tang turns to Krung, looking very concerned: "What do you mean by 'almost'?" Krung: "Our ship crash-landed. It was totaled, there's no way to repair it." Glu-cak (quickly, before Tang can say something): "But we do have a way of escaping. We released the security lock on the prison planes." Tang: "Aren't those under radar? Once the gas clears, they're gonna follow us." Krung: "I scrambled their system up pretty good. By the time they fix it, we'll be way off the radar." Glu-cak: "Plus, those Directorate Ships are way better armed than our old one." Tang's concern quickly fades, and he now looks pretty happy. Krung tosses a gas mask to him as they reach the stairs leading out of the basement. Krung: "Put that on, and follow us." The three of them proceed to put on their gas masks. After doing this, the three begin to climb the stairs. Cut to: Ext: Streets in front of Directorate Prison: Buck, Wilma, and Fox are now in a street, with the Outer Wall to their back. All three are wearing gas masks that actually look pretty much like the ones they had. Covering the entire area is a purple fog, which is the nerve gas. The street is deserted, although there are buildings on both sides of the street. The buildings look like prison-structures in nature. Wilma is leading Buck and Fox, who are flanking her. All three have their blasters out, and are walking towards a large building that is the main prison. Note that all their voices are distorted because they are talking through the gas masks. Fox: "I can't believe he gave us the wrong masks." Wilma: "Well, at least he apologized, right?" Buck: "That's all he seemed to be doing the whole time to everyone who passed by. I hope Dr. Huer recovers soon." Fox: "I couldn't agree more." Wilma turns around, looking annoyed at the two: "Come on, you two. It's his first day. We should cut him a little slack, right? We were all new once, Buck." Buck (sighing): "I guess you're right..." Wilma: "Thank you..." Before she can say anything else, blaster fire whizzes by Wilma's head, missing her by inches. She readies her blaster as the camera cuts to the corner of a nearby building. A terrorist, whose species is unknown due to the fact its face is covered, fires again. The camera returns to Wilma, who shoots at the terrorist. However, the shot misses, and the terrorist runs past the corner. Wilma: "Buck, are there any more?" Buck: "Not that I can see." The terrorist comes across the corner again, and begins shooting at the trio. However, Buck fires at him with his blaster, and this time a connection is made. The terrorist falls over, and the trio rushes over to him. Buck and Wilma begin to search through his outfit. Fox: "Anything on him?" Buck shakes his head, and stands up. Wilma, however, continues to search further. Buck: "I don't think he has anything on him, Wilma." Wilma: "The Blackthorn Rose." Fox looks confused at this statement: "Excuse me?" Wilma stands back up, and holds up the terrorist's blaster. The camera zooms in to the blaster, where a picture of a rose is carved into one side. Wilma: "A rose on a black gun. It's their symbol." Buck: "So, they're better organized than we thought, huh?" Fox: "We should probably hurry to the prison, though. The longer we stay out here, the bigger risk that another one'll find us and start shooting." Wilma and Buck nod in agreement. Wilma: "Good point. I just hope that Piccard's backup arrives soon, because I don't think the three of us can take all of them." Cut to: Ext: Defense Directorate: Cut to: Int: Huer's Office: Piccard is behind his desk, looking at his computer. The angle of the camera shows that Baker is on the screen, and that this is a meeting via computer transmission. Piccard: "Wait, what coordinates did you say?" Baker: "North one-zero-eight, East seventy-six, sir. Why?" The camera cuts to Piccard's face, which looks like a mix of fear and shame. Piccard: "That means I sent Buck's backup to the wrong place..." End of Act Two: Beginning of Act Three: The act begins right where the last one left off. Baker: "Excuse me, sir? Is there a problem?" Piccard turns back to the screen, and hovers his hand over one of the buttons. Piccard: "Just keep your eye out for when the backup troop arrives. Until then, contain the area, understand?" Baker: "Yes sir." Piccard pushes the button, and the camera turns to the computer. The computer screen blacks out, showing that the transmission has been cut. Piccard then sits in his chair, and leans back, rubbing his forehead. He is obviously very stressed out. Piccard (To himself): "What to do, what to do..." He then leans over in his chair, and begins to type in some commands. "Guess I'd better start by giving them the right coordinates, huh?" The camera focuses on the computer screen once again, showing that it has been reconnected. This time, there is no face showing on the screen, and the transmission is producing the crackling sound of static. Piccard: "Squad Thirteen?" A slightly garbled female voice answers. Her voice sounds professional and formal, obviously showing that she is a soldier. Squad Thirteen Leader (Marsden): "Captain Marsden reporting, sir!" Piccard: "Yes, this is Acting-Director Cornelius Piccard. Listen, there's been a change of plans. Where are you currently deployed? In coordinates, please." Marsden: "We're currently traveling to our destination: North seventy-six, East one-zero-eight, as per orders." Piccard picks up a piece of paper on his desk, and glances over it. cont: "Sir, are you still there?" Piccard: "Oh, yes. Sorry. I want you to reverse the coordinates. You should end up in the Directorate Prison area. Understand?" Marsden: "We'll change course immediately, sir." Piccard: "Thank you. Please do hurry, if at all possible." Piccard cuts the transmission, and then begins typing something on the computer. Piccard (to himself): "Maybe I can help them out anyway. All I have to do is hack into the police database, and perhaps spy on those terrorists." The camera zooms in on the computer, as a bar begins to fill up. This bar is showing that something is being loaded, as a percentage above the bar begins to slowly be raised. Piccard is beginning to look frazzled and impatient, as the bar is filling up slowly. Finally, after about twenty seconds, a beeping sound comes from the computer, and a new screen opens, with the words "DATA COMPROMISED!" cont: "Oh, what's this?" Piccard begins to type in another command, and a different message fills the screen. "SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. DATA ERROR." The camera cuts to Piccard, who no longer looks impatient. Rather, he now looks downright fearful. Piccard: "Dammit! Just my luck, now I've shut down the police database! Why did I ever accept this job! Why couldn't this happen when Dr. Huer wasn't lying unconscious in the hospital?" Piccard looks upset for a moment, but then a look of realization springs up, as though he just thought of a really great idea. cont: "That's it!" Piccard hurries and picks up the telephone on his desk, dialing a number. Note that there are pauses between the statements in this conversation. Piccard: "Hello?" "Yes, it's Dr. Piccard. I'm taking over for Dr. Huer, how is he?" "Really? Is he accepting visitors, this is very important." "Directorate business. Urgent, mind you." "Wonderful. Tell him to expect me." Piccard hangs up the phone and rushes out of his office. Cut to: Int: Huer's Hospital Room: This looks like a highly advanced hospital room from a 21st Century Hospital room. There is a large bed in the center of the room, which looks like a species much larger than a human could sleep in. A machine next to the bed can be seen, and it looks very advanced, with many monitors showing things like heart-rate, blood pressure, and much more. An IV-like tube comes out of the center of the machine, thought it is not in use at the moment. The rest of the room, save for an empty nightstand, is pretty bare. Lying on the bed is Dr. Huer, who looks pretty comfortable. His eyes are closed at the moment the camera is showing the room, but they open when the door opens. Looking up, he sees Piccard entering the room. Since there are no chairs in the room, he simply stands over the bed. Huer: "Dr. Piccard? I'm flattered that you came to visit me, but you should really be more focused on containing that terrorist attack." Piccard looks rather surprised: "You heard about that?" Huer chuckles, and begins to sit up in the bed. We can see that his right shoulder is still pretty bandaged up from the attack. Huer: "I'm having the nurse tell me if anything big has been happening. That nerve gas incident is being played on all the news stations, so naturally, I would be informed." Piccard: "Yes, well, that's actually why I came to see you. Although I am interested in your health, of course." Huer: "Doctors said my shoulder should be healed up quite nicely in a few days, and I'll be back to resume my duties at that time. But, go on." Piccard: "Uh, I'm afraid I need your help, Dr. Huer." Huer: "What happened, Cornelius?" Piccard: "I don't know. Everything's been going horribly wrong since I first stepped into your office, I suppose. I accidentally pushed the emergency alarms, I've messed up my orders I've sent out to just about everyone. Worst off, I just sent some back-up to help Captain Rogers to the wrong location." Huer looks slightly annoyed. Huer: "Please don't tell me you sent Buck out there." Piccard, with a look of guilt: "I may have ordered him, Colonel Deering, and Hieronymus Fox to capture those terrorists..." Huer now looks extremely mad, and he leans over his bed to glare at Piccard. Huer: "You sent three of our best people to stop a jailbreak. A jailbreak, I might add, in the middle of nerve gas." Piccard: "I had to! What else could I have done to stop them." Huer: "For one, you don't send in three people. Those terrorists have to get out by aircraft, just use the police radar system of the roof to track them." Piccard now takes a step back out of range of Huer's hands. Piccard takes a deep breath, looking even more nervous than before. Piccard: "Uh, sir. I may have accidentally shut down the police database when I tried to do just that." Huer's face is now turning red from his anger. Huer: "WHAT!" Piccard: "I'm sorry, I really am. That's why I came to ask for your help." Huer takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His face returns to normal color, and he begins to lie back down. Huer: "Alright, we'll deal with all this later. For now, I want you to do exactly as I tell you, understand?" Piccard: "I do." Huer: "Order the backup unit you sent out to fly their fighters over the prison. They'll be alright, even if they aren't wearing masks. Once there, have them find Buck and the others. They can destroy whatever the terrorists are going to try to use to escape in, and Buck can hopefully subdue them and handle it from there." Piccard: "I'll get right on it." Piccard then proceeds to run out of the room, leaving Huer alone. Huer shakes his head, and the screen slowly fades to black as he lays his head back down. Cut to: Int: Directorate Prison Main Lobby: This is the lobby for all the non-prisoners entering the prison. It looks rather bleak at the moment, however. The purple gas is hovering over the area, and there are several uniformed and non-uniformed people lying unconscious on the ground as a result of the toxic nerve gas. Buck, Wilma, and Fox walk into the lobby, blasters out. They step into the center of the room, and Wilma reaches down to examine one of the fallen officers. Buck: "Are they alive, Wilma?" Wilma looks up to Buck. Wilma: "Luckily, they are. I guess this only knocks people out. Still, long-term exposure could be fatal." Fox: "How could somebody do something like this?" Buck: "Remember, Fox, people did horrible things like this with the technology we had back in my time." Fox: "That doesn't make it right." Buck, nodding his head in agreement: "It never is, then or now." Suddenly, heavy footsteps can be heard from a distance. It sounds like multiple people are walking on metal flooring. All three aim their blasters to a door that would be the source of footsteps. Wilma: "Show yourself! We're armed, so don't try anything!" The camera focuses on the door, as two men walk out: Bur Tang and Chad Krung. They are wearing their gas masks, and are really only distinguishable by their physique. However, they are holding their hands up, showing that they have no blasters. They begin to walk out of the doorway, and towards Wilma. Wilma: "Stop where you are." Both Krung and Tang do so. cont: "Who are you two?" Krung, in a very nervous voice: "What are you going to do with us?" Buck: "What you did is a serious crime, and that's up to the Directorate to decide. But answer the question." Tang: "My name is Bur Tang. I'm the one that shot Dr. Huer. He's Chad Krung, who tried to bail me out. We honestly didn't expect anyone to get through the nerve-gas." Buck takes a step towards them, his blaster still being pointed at the two. Buck: "Alright, step in front of us. We're going to take you into proper custody." Krung and Tang begin to walk towards the front of the lobby, with Wilma, Fox, and Buck still pointing their guns at him. Note that none of them are facing the doorway at this point, so they cannot see what is going on. The camera zooms out of the view of the five, and slowly towards the door. Glu-cak pokes her head out the door, smiling. Krung's Voice: "Actually, though, we should probably warn you of something before we leave." Wilma's Voice: "What would that be?" Tang: "We did place a bomb in the building that's going to blow up anytime now." Buck's Voice: "Wha..." At this point, Glu-cak, without running into the lobby, throws a bomb into the lobby. Just like a smoke bomb, it releases a thick cloud of smoke that covers the whole screen. Note that anything seen from here are just shadows in the smoke, and it is really required to know who is doing what based on voices. Buck, Wilma, and Fox are kneeling on the ground, coughing. Meanwhile, the three members of the Blackthorn Rose begin to run out of the entrance of the lobby, where Buck and his friends first came in at the beginning of the scene. After a moment, the smoke clears and Buck, Wilma, and Fox begin to stand up. Buck: "Where'd they go?" Fox: "I thought I could hear footsteps leaving the lobby. They must be outside." Wilma: "Then we'd better go after them!" The three run out of the lobby. Cut to: int: Outside the Directorate Prison: The scene looks just like it did the last time that Buck and his friends were outside. There is still a thick purple gas, but the members of the Blackthorn Rose are nowhere to be found. Buck and Fox are looking around, while Wilma begins to look up towards the sky. Buck: "Do you see them anywhere?" Fox: "Nope. Wilma, do you?" Wilma (without looking away from the sky): "Help's coming!" Buck, looking confused: "What?" Wilma: "Look in the sky!" The camera turns to the sky, where about ten Z-87s are flying overhead, descending to where Buck, Wilma, and Fox are. One ship, however, in the front, looks larger than the Z-87s, as though it could carry about ten people. The camera turns back to the three on the ground, where they are all looking at the sky now. Buck: "I guess our help is here." Wilma: "Good thing, too. We may have time to intercept their getaway." End of Act Three: Beginning of Act Four: int: Same place as Act Three left off. The largest of the fleet of ships is now hovering above ground in front of Buck, Wilma, and Fox, while the Z-87s are still well in the sky. Buck and the others are facing the ship. Note that there is an intercom on the ship where it can talk to Buck and the others. Note that the commander of the ship, and the one who is talking, is Marsden, the commander of the fleet that was talking to Piccard earlier in the episode. Marsden: "So, you have no idea where they went?" Buck: "Nope. They couldn't have gone too far, though, and they most likely have a getaway ship stationed somewhere around here." Marsden: "Alright. I'm going to check my radar now, and see what we've got." There is a pause for a moment, while Marsden is looking at the information she needs. Finally, she speaks again. "Well, nothing much. Just a Directorate Transport Ship leaving." Wilma: "Wait. There's a transport ship leaving? That gas knocked everyone out, the only person that it could be are those terrorists." Buck (yelling): "Commander Marsden, you have to follow that ship. See if it's them. Do you remember Bur Tang from the news videos?" Marsden: "Of course. I've seen him more times than I would have cared to." Buck: "If you see him in the ship, then go ahead and do what you have to do to stop them." Marsden: "Understood, sir." The ship begins to join the Z-87s, and they all begin to fly in the sky, and away from Buck and the others. Cut to: Int: Defense Directorate Prison Transport Ship: The inside, where the flight controls are located, actually look very large. Besides the seats for the pilot and co-pilot, there are a few seats in back for guards that are on break. The control panel in front looks like that of a Z-87, and there are two windows to the sides of the room as well as the front. Glu-cak is sitting at the pilot's seat, while Krung is in the co-pilot seat. Tang is in the middle of the two pilot's chairs, standing behind them. Tang: "That was close, you gotta admit." Krung: "I can't believe you told them our real names." Glu-cak: "Doesn't really matter. They're going to know that we escaped soon enough. Better steer clear of this side of space for a while." Krung: "Probably." Krung then turns around to face Tang. "By the way, Bur, I was meaning to ask you something." Tang: "Yeah?" Krung: "Why did you target Huer?" Tang: "It was an assignment, what else. We're mercenaries, right?" Glu-cak: "Not very good ones, after this. We couldn't even kill our target!" Tang, now looking rather angry: "We had a good success rate, I'd say. This was our most high-profile target we'd ever had to go after. Besides, we'll bide our time, and try again, right?" Krung: "I guess. Probably cut back on clients, though." Before anything else can be said, a sudden rumbling of the ship occurs. Tang runs to one of the windows, and then looks back to his friends, a look of shock on his face. Tang: "We just got shot at!" Marsden's voice suddenly appears through the intercom device that she used to talk to Buck and the others. Marsden: "That was a warning shot! Land immediately, or we will use necessary force to stop you!" Krung: 'What should we do?" Tang: "Too late to turn the ship around to fire back. Glu-cak, can you out-maneuver them?" Glu-cak: Let's see if I can." The camera cuts out to the sky now, where the Blackthorn Rose ship begins to swerve to the right. However, the Directorate ships are following, firing at the Blackthorn Rose. The Blackthorn Rose ship swerves to the left, and then dives down before coming back up and ascending in elevation. It continues to evade fire for a minute, although finally, one Z-87 makes a direct shot, hitting the engine and causing the ship to begin to fall. Back on the Transport Ship, an emergency alarm is beeping loudly, with red lights blaring. All three of them look scared. Tang, running to Glu-cak: "Can you land?" Glu-cak: "No! They shot right through our engine. We're going to crash." Krung: "What? Isn't there anything? Parachutes, something?" Tang runs back to the window, and looks down: "We're over water now. We'd drown if we tried anything. Or get caught. There's nothing we can do." Glu-cak: "So this is the end?" Krung: "I guess." Tang: "It's been fun, guys. Can't say I'd rather see my final day than with you two." Glu-cak: "I just hope that they can get Huer. The ones that hired you, I mean. To avenge us." Krung: "They probably will, Ann. They probably will." At this point, the camera returns to the view outside the ship, to see the Directorate Ship crashing right into the water. Soon, it disappears from sight, and all that is left is the blue, calm waters. Cut to: ext: Defense Directorate: Cut to: int: Huer's Office: Buck, Wilma, and Fox are back in Huer's Office. Piccard is standing behind Huer's desk, with a big smile on his face. The others look equally happy. Piccard: "Great job, you three. I can see why Huer trusts you so much." Buck: "Well, the praise really belongs to Commander Marsden and the backup fleet." Piccard: "Ah, but you were the only ones brave enough to enter that nerve gas infested prison. I'm sure of it." Fox: "Thank you, sir. May I ask how Dr. Huer is?" Piccard sits down in the chair behind the desk, smiling. Piccard: "Wonderful news. He's recovering faster than usual, and should be back to work by tomorrow. Which is great, because he's certainly better at this than I am. I have a lot to learn before I can really succeed him." Wilma: "You did the best you can, sir. That's all anybody can ask for." Piccard: "No, I had to rely on Huer's help in a situation that requires split-second thinking. I need to learn to think on my feet faster. Plus, learn how to use all these fancy gadgets." Buck: "It was very nice working with you, Dr. Piccard." Fox: "Yeah, even if you did almost leave us without backup." Piccard: "Yes, sorry about that. The gas mask incident too. But this probably won't be the last time we see each other. After all, I do work in foreign relations, so there's a chance that we could easily be working together again." Buck: "Dr. Piccard, do you know why Huer was being targeted?" Dr. Piccard shakes his head. Piccard: "No clue. The Blackthorn Rose usually attacks to make political statements, and usually tells why. But they didn't say this time around." Fox: "That's odd. Hopefully, we took care of that problem." Buck: "I hope so, Fox. But if we didn't we'll just have to make sure that we can defeat whatever else comes our way." Wilma: "I know we can, Buck. I know we can." The camera then begins to zoom out of the window of Huer's office, and into the sky. Then, slowly but beginning to move more quickly with each second, the camera zooms outwards until it goes past the sky, and is showing a view of Earth from space. It rests on that image for a moment, and then slowly fades to black. End of Act Four: The End: Roll Credits: