TINKERBELL is moving FRANTICALLY between CONSOLES. JACKSON has the back of a COMPUTER CONSOLE open and his poking around inside it. CASPAR is TYPING LINES and LINES of CODE at an IMMENSE SPEED.
JENSEN and MURRAY come RUNNING IN.
MURRAY RUNS to a CONSOLE NEXT TO TINKERBELL AND PULLS OUT a KEYBOARD. He STARTS TYPING.
JENSEN
We need to be ready to go now!
TINKERBELL
All teams are reporting to battle stations.
Half our communications are down though. We’re getting jammed already. Caspar I need you to breakthrough that jam now!
I can’t contact Dave or anybody below deck 14.
And Jackson and Hotshot have been having problems getting us started.
MURRAY
Internal sensors are down.
How long till Star Chamber are supposed to be hitting us with everything they’ve got?
TINKERBELL
1 hour and 30 minutes.
MURRAY
Yes, well without those sensors we would have no way of knowing when they breach the armour.
And there’s no way that drive should be in standby mode.
Jackson what have you got?
JACKSON
Nothing, everything looks fine.
Damn it I’ve checked and double-checked this system.
We ran a final test yesterday.
We should be ready to go right now.
CUT TO.
32. INT. STAR CHAMBER TRANSPORT. DAY.
A DARK CRAMPED ROOM. A RED LIGHT bathes everything. Like a SUBMARINE. TROOPS sit in SWAT STYLE GEAR on BENCHES. WAYSELL sits at ONE END across from AIRD.
WAYSELL
Sir, you really don’t need to be here.
I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be associated with this mission.
If anything goes wrong you can’t be seen to have had anything to do with this.
Sir!
AIRD
I know why you don’t want me here. If I’m not here you can take control of the situation, then implicate me for authorising lethal force against the recommendations of the committee. Then you would be in charge of any future mission through the incursion.
WAYSELL
Not that that wouldn’t be a good idea, sir. But you have too much on the members of the committee. I don’t have your connections so that wouldn’t work for me.
Hard as it is for you to believe I don’t want you caught up in the fallout if they find out we’re coming or are able to mount a defence.
AIRD
Why?
WAYSELL
If something goes wrong with the mission and you’re not there, you can get us out of it using your connections.
If you’re with us and it blows up in our face, who gets us out of the brig then? My motives while not what you thought are not truly altruistic either. I’m watching my own back.
AIRD
That would be a good point if there was any chance of anything going wrong.
WAYSELL
I agree with your belief that they are unsuitable to the job of entering the incursion but they do seem to be burdened with an overabundance of luck. They might be ready for us.
AIRD
Even if they did know we were coming they couldn’t mount an adequate defence.
WAYSELL
What do you mean?
Sir?
AIRD
There is no way I would allow my revenge to hinge on chance, everything has been meticulously planned. And of course to make sure of the outcome I’ve done what any smart soldier would do. I’ve cheated.
I’m coming for them and they will rue the day they ever crossed me.
33. INT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE CONTROL ROOM. DAY.
MURRAY is rushing between CONSOLES. JACKSON has parts of motherboards DISASSEMBLED on the deck. JENSEN and TINKERBELL are trying to COORDINATE THE DEFENCE TEAMS.
CASPAR is still TYPING.
JENSEN
Are you getting anywhere?
MURRAY
Not in any sort of hurry, at the moment they could be attacking us in 2 weeks and we still wouldn’t be ready.
JENSEN
You’re not exactly filling me with confidence, Cal.
MURRAY
Yeah well I’m not doing my own sense of well being any favours either.
Jackson? Anything?
JENSEN
Fire teams one and two to main hangar bay.
Still nothing from Dave?
TINKERBELL
Nothing. I’ve sent Vasily to check his quarters.
MURRAY moves over to JACKSON. He picks up a MOTHERBOARD.
JACKSON
I’ve taken it to pieces. See for yourself. Every piece is totally up to spec.
There are perfect, they’ve had one test fire. That’s it. They have zero wear and tear.
I have no idea what’s wrong, except that nothing should be going wrong.
MURRAY has a BRAINWAVE.
MURRAY
You’re right. All components should be working perfectly.
JACKSON
Precisely
MURRAY
But what if they are.
JACKSON
What are you thinking?
MURRAY runs over to CASPAR.
MURRAY
Stop trying to break the jamming signal now.
CASPAR
What, Cal,no!
MURRAY
Its not doing any good.
CASPAR
Oh, that’s right because only you can save the day.
Caleb Murray, master of the universe.
MURRAY
Do we really have to go through this every time?
Just do as your told.
JENSEN
Are you guys getting along?
MURRAY.
Perfectly
Aren’t we?
CASPAR
(sarcastically)
Sure
MURRAY
This might get us out of this. So leave the attitude for a second.
I need you to check something.
Look at Betsy’s crew manifests. I need to know who has served on this ship in any capacity whatsoever.
CASPAR
Going back how far.
MURRAY
Since it was built.
CASPAR
This is a waste of time.
MURRAY
Yeah because you were doing so well before.
The COMPUTER CONSOLE’S SCREEN shows a SCROLLING LIST of NAMES.
SUDDENLY MURRAY POINTS at a NAME.
MURRAY
There I thought so.
Open the file.
CASPAR
Isn’t this…?
MURRAY
Yeah, Jackson get those components back into place.
Caspar. I need you to bring another decryption programme online.
CASPAR
But you told me I wasn’t getting anywhere trying to break their jamming codes.
MURRAY
Did I say it was for the comm codes?
Just open the programme.
JENSEN
You’ve found something.
MURRAY
I think so and if I’m right we can be out of here in the time it takes me and Caspar to break one passcode.
JENSEN
What have you found?
MURRAY EXPLAINS as he goes from CONSOLE to CONSOLE.
MURRAY
Aird!
JENSEN
General Aird?
The General Aird who’s coming after us right now?
MURRAY
There isn’t another one.
You see, Jackson’s right. In the last two months we’ve had a complete retrofit, all new components. Most of this vehicle was only created a couple of months ago, six months tops. And they’ve barely been used. They should be working perfectly, right?
CASPAR
That‘s right. Only they aren’t, genius.
MURRAY
Don’t mock me kid. It’s not worth it.
But what if the systems are working perfectly?
Doing exactly what they’re told.
CASPAR
They aren’t.
MURRAY
You really can be a pain you know that.
CASPAR
So can you.
MURRAY
Just open the programme.
CASPAR
It’s open!
MURRAY
Okay so think about it.
What if somebody programmed a command to lock us out of the system at a certain time?
JENSEN
Like Star Chamber for instance?
MURRAY
Exactly.
TINKERBELL
Noone in Star Chamber would have the codes to do that.
None of them ever served here. Aird was the only person ever transferred from Special Operations to Star Chamber in twenty five years. And he didn’t serve on this ship
MURRAY
Wrong, actually, Aird did.
JENSEN
But the only codes he would have had were his override codes as head of Special Operations Command but they were removed when he was transferred to Star Chamber.
MURRAY
Wrong again!
TINKERBELL
Cal!
MURRAY
You’re still not getting it. When I say he served here I don’t mean as head of Special Operations Command.
I mean right here. Right where we’re standing.
He was Betsy’s original xo and on top of that, Aird has some scientific training and was one of the first officers in this command to be trained in advanced computerised signals intelligence. Twenty years ago, he was the executive officer and SIGINT chief aboard Betsy, our beloved MCC.
HE FINISHES working at a CONSOLE.
MURRAY
I knew it!
Look
MURRAY points to the console’s screen.
MURRAY
He kept his codes active from when he was XO.
He hid them, knowing we’d never think to look for them unless we went digging around in personnel records.
No wonder Browning says he’s been up to something.
This has been Aird’s ace in the hole all the time
Might even explain some of what happened two years ago.
JENSEN
Possibly
But that can wait.
Can you crack the code?
MURRAY
It’ll be tight. We’re still going to need the defence teams ready.
Time to actually do so work, Caspar.
34. INT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE CREW QUARTERS. DAY.
The CAMERA moves around DAVE’S QUARTERS. The quarters reflect his PERSONALITY and his HISTORY and CULTURE. A WORKBENCH for HIS WEAPONS sits in one corner below a WALL FULL OF WEAPONS. His ARCADIAN ARMOUR hangs against a wall. The LIGHTS are low.
DAVE is asleep at the WORKBENCH.
SUDDENLY SOMEBODY STARTS BANGING ON HIS DOOR.
DAVE wakes.
HE walks to the DOOR, CURSING UNDER HIS BREATH and PRESSES a COMUNIT.
DAVE
Caspar. I will kill you. I am not schooling you in any more fighting techniques, neither am I willing to listen to anymore of your incessant whinging. Certainly not this early in the morning.
CHERNENKO
But you don’t mind sharing war stories with a grizzled fellow warrior and a glass of vodka. Eh? comrade?
DAVE
Vasily?
He opens the DOOR.
CHERNENKO is STANDING in the CORRIDOR with a SQUAD OF COMMANDOS. CHERNENKO is a TALL MAN in his mid 40s. His FACE is RUGGED and he GIVES THE FEELING OF A GRIZZLED WARRIOR. HIS RIGHT EYE and EAR have been REPLACED with BIONIC COMPONENTS as a result of INJURY. HIS UNIFORM has a SOVIET STAR on it.
CHERNENKO
Alas, the war stories will have to have to wait but I’ve always got time for vodka.
DAVE
What’s happened?
CHERNENKO
The wolves are at the door. Star Chamber is coming, my friend, and they’re ready for a fight.
DAVE
Why didn’t anyone contact me?
CHERNENKO
We’ve tried.
But comms below level 14 are all out.
And, so it would appear, are the alarms.
DAVE starts to GEAR UP.
DAVE
So what’s the plan?
CHERNENKO
Browning ordered us into the incursion the moment Caspar intercepted Star Chambers orders.
We’re to make sure everyone gets to battle stations and the repair crews are disembarked and then prepare to fight back if Murray doesn’t get us out of here in time.
And I need you with me when we get on the other side.
DAVE
Well the sooner we get it done, the sooner you can have that shot of vodka.
He pulls his AXE of the wall and CLOSES the DOOR.
CHERNENKO
A shot, my friend, only a shot? No a barrel.
DAVE
I didn’t think it came in barrels.
CHERNENKO
Details, my friend, details.
THEY WALK off down the CORRIDOR.
35. INT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE CONTROL ROOM. DAY.
THE SIRENS are still RINGING OUT. MURRAY and CASPAR work at CASPAR’S CONSOLE.
CASPAR
Come on, Come on, Come on!
JENSEN
We need to hurry it up.
MURRAY
Nearly there.
Hotshot, you ready?
The CAMERA ZOOMS out from the CONTROL ROOM, DOWN a LADDER to the COCKPIT.
HOTSHOT is there in his flight suit with SGT. HALLIDAY. HALLIDAY is HOTSHOT’S COPILOT and NAVIGATOR. He rarely SPEAKS COMMUNICATING IN LOOKS AND GLANCES. A DEADPAN COUNTENANCE.
HOTSHOT
As we’ll ever be.
Although, as ever, my genius navigator isn’t sure about your calculations.
MURRAY
(over radio)
Tell Halliday, normally I’d be perfectly happy going fifteen rounds on something like this with a virtual mute whose glass never got close to being half empty, but I’m a little busy, so he will just have to get over his OCD and pathological pessimism and just do what I say for once.
HOTSHOT
Okay, we’ll be ready then.
Okay, Halliday, satisfied?
HALLIDAY shoots him a LOOK.
HOTSHOT
Heck, why do I even bother?
You really need to loosen up, kick back, have a couple of beers, play a couple of hands, you know just chill out.
HALLIDAY shoots him another LOOK.
HOTSHOT
Man, you’re are ice cold you know.
SWITCHES the RADIO ON.
HOTSHOT
Hurry up, you guys, I’ve been stuck up here with Mr Freeze for far too long.
THE CAMERA ZOOMS back to the CONTROL ROOM.
TINKERBELL
(talking on radio)
They’re doing their best.
Seriously if we don’t launch soon I think Murray and Caspar are going to kill each other.
MURRAY
Oh, for goodness sake!
CASPAR
Because shouting at pieces of technology always gets them to work.
MURRAY
I thought we had it!
CASPAR
Yeah, I think we have.
That’s it!
MURRAY
We’ve done it.
CASPAR
Cracked in one hour and 15 minutes.
That must be a new record.
JENSEN
We ready to go?
MURRAY
Well we are up here.
We should have comms shipwide now.
JENSEN
Okay. Simonova contact Chernenko, see if he’s made his rendezvous with Dave.
TINKERBELL
Aye sir.
TINKERBELL
Chernenko, are you on the grid?
CHERNENKO
(distorted)
I’m online, Control.
Good to hear your voice, my dear.
Are we ready to go?
TINKERBELL
If you are.
CHERNENKO
I think that would be a good idea.
MURRAY and JENSEN gather around TINKERBELL’S CONSOLE.
MURRAY
Why do I not like the sound of that.
GUNFIRE can be HEARD OVER THE RADIO.
CHERNENKO
(distorted)
Looks like our friends got here a little early.
Just like the rest of you westerners, always rushing in where you’re not wanted.
MURRAY
Yes because the Afghan people really welcomed you with open arms.
Is Dave with you?
CUT TO.
36. INT. MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE HANGAR BAY ONE. DAY.
CHERNENKO is crouched behind a CRATE. DAVE comes RUNNING PAST and throws himself behind another CRATE.
CHERNENKO
Indeed. However he’s a little preoccupied right now.
What’s it like out there.
DAVE
Its only an advance scout.
Browning’s managed to stop them for the moment but he’s only going to be able to hold up the first wave. And the rest of them will be here very soon.
I’ve placed flash bangs all along the entry corridor. That should buy us some time before we actually have to start shooting.
CHERNENKO
Did you hear that comrades?
We need to launch in the very near future.
Or friend Waysell will be busting down the door with murder on his mind quicker than you can spit.
CUT TO.
37. INT.MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE CONTROL ROOM. DAY.
TINKERBELL
All sections have now reported in.
We’re ready to go.
MURRAY
Time to take charge chief!
JENSEN
Thanks Cal.
You still sure you don’t want the job?
MURRAY
Been there, done that, got the blood and battle stained t-shirt.
JENSEN
Okay
Hotshot, take us out.
They all take SEATS and STRAP IN.
MURRAY
Caspar, you better not puke up anywhere near me.
38. EFFECTS SHOT. INT. INCURSION FACILITY/ MCC DRYDOCK, INCURSION CHAMBER. DAY.
The MCC sits in a METALLIC CRADLE in a LARGE CONCRETE CHAMBER. The INCURSION glows at one end of the LARGE CHAMBER.
THE MCC STARTS to SHIFT in its CRADLE.
THE CRADLE BREAKS AWAY.
THE MCC is NOW HOVERING IN THE CENTRE OF THE CHAMBER.
39. INT. INCURSION FACILITY/ MOBILE COMMAND CENTRE DRYDOCK. DAY
BROWNING and his DRIVER are STANDING AT THE DOORWAY INTO THE FACILITY.
A SQUAD of STAR CHAMBER SOLDIERS are gathered around HIM.
BROWNING
Now, Sergeant. There is no way that lethal force was authorised by that committee and there is absolutely no need to take control of this facility, the MCC isn’t even scheduled to launch for another couple of hours.
The MCC can be HEARD POWERING UP.
BROWNING
But then that’s the thing with my officers, they never can keep to a schedule.
The SERGEANT POINTS a GUN at him.
BROWNING
Come on now, son, don’t be foolish.
You know you can’t kill me.
The SERGEANT puts the gun away.
SERGEANT
Get out of our way now, old man.
BROWNING
Gladly.
They RUN past HIM.
BROWNING
That’s the problem with those Star Chamber chaps.
Absolutely no manners.
DRIVER
Why did you let them through?
BROWNING
Because the launch countdown’s started.
The MCC’S operating on autopilot.
No one can stop it now.
40. MONTAGE SCENE.
HOTSHOT
Commencing final countdown
Ten,
Nine,
As he counts down. The CAMERA CUTS RAPIDLY between the CONTROL ROOM, CHERNENKO, DAVE and the COMMANDOS, HOTSHOT and HALLIDAY and The MCC in the INCURSION CHAMBER and THE STAR CHAMBER soldiers running down corridors. We see their reactions. Each time the CAMERA cuts it does so with A WHITE FLASH.
HOTSHOT
Eight,
CONTROL ROOM.
Seven,
CHERNENKO and DAVE.
Six,
STAR CHAMBER SOLDIERS.
Five,
HOTSHOT AND HALLIDAY.
Four,
MCC in the CHAMBER.
Three,
STAR CHAMBER SOLDIERS.
Two,
CONTROL ROOM.
One.
The STAR CHAMBER BURST THROUGH A DOOR and INTO the CHAMBER.
They see the MCC FLY INTO THE INCURSION.
CAPTION: To be continued.
CUT TO.
END CREDITS.
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