The Dark Frontier (3)
LESLIE A Quark accelerator! On a starship! You can't be serious Bainbridge. That's part of a planet based power plant. It would take up most of the interior of our ship. MELISSA Antimatter reactors are a lot smaller and more practical for starship power requirements. BAINBRIDGE I didn't say that we were going to use the Quell to power the ship. If the front cowling and the wave-guides are removed, it can be turned into a powerful weapon. MELISSA He is right. The quark stream emitted would actually split the nuclei of the atoms of whatever it was pointed at, even hydrogen, thus inducing a self sustaining fission reaction that will propagate itself throughout the entire mass of the target. (a beat) With its fifteen-meter orifice, I would guess that it could take out a small planet. BAINBRIDGE Like I said--- k i c k a s s! LESLIE From what I have heard about quells, we could very well end up kicking our own asses. MELISSA The technology was banned over a decade ago after a quell plant malfunctioned and destroyed the moon on Aldebarn four. Since then all QUELL plants have been taken off line and dismantled. BAINBRIDGE Well, this one was sent here for dismantling, but I have never gotten around to it. As far as I know, it is still functional. (a beat) I had been working on software to control quell stability. I think I solved the problem, but then they were banned before I had a chance to introduce it. MELISSA Using this against a starship would be like using a photon cannon to kill a flea. It would likely take us out in the blast along with our target. LESLIE Well, it would work at longer ranges. If anything, it would be good for intimidation. Daddy always said that people are very co-operative when they are looking down the barrel of your greener. MELISSA Greener? LESLIE A double barrel ten gauge scatter gun. It settled many an argument in both the old American West and the earlier days of planetary colonization. MELISSA It's your call Captain, but I can summarize my opinion in one word--- overcompensation. LESLIE (A beat) (to Bainbridge) Let's do it! INT. BAINBRIDGE'S OFFICE -- DAY Bainbridge manipulates images on a large com screen on the wall, as Leslie watches over his shoulder. From the planning screen on the wall, it is obvious that Leslie had been initially correct. The Quell WILL take up nearly half the ship. The Quell lay parallel to the one-point-five, also facing forward and offset to the starboard side. The ship itself will be ugly and unsymmetrical. Basically a 300- foot long, horizontal slab, some one hundred feet wide and forty high. There will be a hump running long ways down the hull to accommodate the diameter of the Quell. Two gun turrets, holding the point-fives are roughly centered on the flat surfaces of the hull above and below. The ends of the hull slope together, giving a slight streamlined effect. BAINBRIDGE Your ship needs a name. LESLIE How about what it represents?--- Vengeance!,---No make that a little more picturesque, Retribution!" Yes, that's what we will call her --- Retribution! Pay back! INT. LESLIE'S QUARTERS -- DAY A large windowless, dirty looking room with a couple of bunks in one corner. POW! POW! Leslie fires her PISTOL, with one hand, at a TARGET hung on a distant wall. Melissa watches. Leslie takes a SMALL TOOL and makes an adjustment on the muzzle of her gun. POW! She fires the gun again, moves a SELECTOR, on its side with her thumb and---BRAAAAAPPP! Fires a short burst of full automatic fire, shredding the target. LESLIE There, the muzzle rise jets and recoil suppressers are finally re-adjusted. Now I'm as good as I ever was. Leslie holsters her weapon. And then pulls a COMBAT KNIFE from a sheath on her other leg. She practices fliping it in her hand and reversing the grip. MELISSA Lose the knife Leslie! LESLIE Get real! I am only a woman! I'm vulnerable enough as it is. Without the use of my gun any reasonably strong man with half my skills could easily overpower me. I need my knife now more than ever! MELISSA You don't need that knife. Use this instead. I made it for you in the shop. Melissa hands Leslie a weapon, a 14-inch stainless steel SHIV. LESLIE Why it's a Shiv! A coward's weapon! MELISSA Leslie, you yourself pointed out a woman's weakness. You need to compensate for it. You are still holding to the male philosophy of combat. LESLIE Combat is combat!" You fight. The one who overpowers his opponent wins. MELISSA The male fights primarily by intimidation. His philosophy and attitude is, with a display of a weapon, to drive or frighten away most of his potential opponents. (a beat) A woman on the other hand, draws her opponents inward. Rather than drive them away, you draw in an opponent and present no threat. He then has no reason to feel a need to defend himself.---until it's too late. LESLIE Hmmm, draw them in and spring the trap! But there is one 'sticky point' in such a defense. Doesn't the attractive approach attract more attackers? MELISSA Both The Male and Female technique have their weaknesses. Neither approach is necessarily superior to the other, Leslie, but you must make sure that you learn to fight in the mode to which you are best physically suited. LESLIE Okay, I see your point, Melissa. Are you going to show me how to use this thing? Melissa, like a magician, seemingly produces ANOTHER SHIV out of thin air. MELISSA Keep it in a seam in your sleeve or leg of your pressure suit. Don't ever let anyone see it. (a beat) This is a one chance weapon. Your first strike must be lethal or your advantage is lost. you slip the shiv just under the center of your opponent's ribcage and drive it up to skewer his heart. He will have no time to react. A much stronger opponent can be easily vanquished. ANOTHER WEAPON appears in Melissa's left hand. She passes it to Leslie. MELISSA And always carry a spare! Here this is yours too! LESLIE Damn, I'm glad you are on my side. DISSOLVE TO: Leslie sits uneasily in front of a MIRROR. She wears a bit more MAKEUP, but still understated. Her LONG WAVY HAIR now rests on her shoulders as Melissa combs it. MELISSA You need to get used to looking more inviting, Leslie. You may be a 'ball buster' but you didn't need to look like one. To fully compensate for what you lost as a man, you need to make the most of what you have gained as a woman. Cultivate the appearence of vulnerability and attractiveness and make it work for you. LESLIE I've never thought of looking vulerable or, uh..., pretty, as being weapons. MELISSA They are very effective. Remember the words of Sun Tzu. "All warfare is based on deception." (a beat) Now Smile! Leslie forces a quick smile, but immediately retracts it. LESLIE God!, Now I look like an airhead! MELISSA That smile will get you into places that you would have had to fight your way into otherwise. LESLIE Yes,I see what you've been getting at. It's like having the keys to the lion's den. (a beat) My God! I could walk right up to the biggest, meanest dude,take him out before he knows what's going on. MELISSA And make him enjoy every second of it. Now do you see what what real power is? And you were woried about being vulnerable. INT. BAINBRIDGE'S OFFICE -- DAY By means of CONNECTING CABLES,Bainbridge's head is literally PLUGGED into a CONSOLE On the big com screen on the wall, ROBOTS can be seen welding plates to the side of a nearly complete Retribution. Leslie and Melissa Walk in. Leslie's new appearance shakes Bainbridge for a second. LESLIE How soon? BAINBRIDGE Uh... About a week. LESLIE Bainbridge, It's about time we find a crew. BAINBRIDGE You will need an engineer. LESLIE And whom do you recommend? BAINBRIDGE Myself. You won't find anyone who knows this ship better. I built it! LESLIE (smiles) Are you sure you want to leave your nice secure job here, to go gallivanting through space on a mission that might get you killed? BAINBRIDGE This could be my best and only chance to pay back those sons of bitches for what they did to me. Why do you think I kept that Quell? For years I have always fantasized having a way to somehow ram that thing up their asses and set it off. LESLIE I like your attitude, Bainbridge, you will fit right in. We also need a ship's doctor. Do you keep any doctor cards in your pocket? BAINBRIDGE No, but I know just the fellow we need. He was a great surgeon --- once. That was before the Syndicate had his arms cut off.--- Don't worry, they have been since replaced with bionics. LESLIE Is he any good? BAINBRIDGE Yes, but the medical board has still refused to reinstate his license. ---Something about his bionic limbs and "regulations". LESLIE (sighs) Yes, tell me about regulations. Get him! I'll need a gunner too. Bainbridge begins to enter numbers into the com system. The COMPUTER voice interrupts. COMPUTER VOICE Attention! Unscheduled shuttlecraft approaching docking station. BAINBRIDGE Acknowledged! (to Leslie) Looks like we have company. Shall we go to meet them? Oh, and be sure to bring your sidearm, we don't know who might drop in on us around here. INT. RECEPTION AREA -- DAY The Three approach the stairway and wait. The airlock opens. A single INDIVIDUAL emerges. The shape is female, but it is half shrouded in a hooded cape. She wears her skintight pressure suit beneath it. She slowly descends the steps and approaches Leslie. The attractive WOMAN, about thirty years of age, is dark skinned but slightly oriental in appearance WOMAN Leslie Webber? LESLIE Yes, I am Webber! And you are? The woman pushes back the hood, revealing a smooth, bald head. WOMAN Call me Zee! I am here to help you, Webber. I am a Biotelemetricist. I am offering you my services. LESLIE What are you doing here? ZEE I sensed your need for help with your mission. LESLIE Mission? But I've not discussed my plans with anybody . . . Oh! You are good. BAINBRIDGE Being able to instantly scan light year distances will give us a big advantage over our adversaries, Leslie. Conventional telemetry only has practical ranges measured in light minutes. (a beat) Only the top of the line Space command warships have BTs and then only for the most vital missions. LESLIE You are aware of what you are volunteering for? We could all be killed!---or even worse. ZEE I am aware of the risks. LESLIE So, Where you From? ZEE North America, Earth. Amerind, Lakota people. LESLIE I like your Hairstyle. Zee seems to freeze for a second, giving Leslie a very cold look. ZEE (sarcastically) Yes, and I like your body. The comment takes Leslie aback momentarily. Melissa's quick logic figures it out immediately. She puts her hand on Zee's shoulder as a "comforting gesture" Melissa turns to Leslie. MELISSA Compared to what the syndicate did to you, baldness would seem but a minor concern. Only a woman, a born woman, would truly understand how Zee feels. LESLIE (apologetic) I'm sorry Zee. Please forgive me. (a few beats) Zee! That does not seem like an Amerind name. Is it short for something? ZEE (coldly) No! I call myself "Zee". It is not short for anything. INT. RETRIBUTION - TELEMETRY ROOM -- DAY TITLE OVER "ONE WEEK LATER" Bainbridge makes adjustments to a larger version of a COM SCREEN mounted next to a chair. Zee and Leslie watch. LESLIE I've never been on a ship with a BT station before. What's the screen for? ZEE It's a random field screen. A focusing device, something like a high tech crystal ball. The random scatter of dots helps me to see images. (a beat) There's nothing supernatural about it really, imagery, psychic or otherwise, from our subconscious minds feeds back along the optic nerves all the time. Normal vision tends to mask it. (a beat) With the right viewing surfaces, however, the imagery can be consciously perceived. Hey, even normal people can see images and pictures with it. Want to try? LESLIE Sure, Why not? Leslie sits in the chair and turns toward the screen. ZEE Now adjust the dot size and scatter. It greatly reduces the effort needed to see the imagery. You have to find just the right way to use your eyes to look at the screen. Leslie stares at the screen. She begins to turn away, but then . . . Adrienne's image suddenly appears. Leslie gasps. The image fades out and an image of the ranch house takes its place. LESLIE Wow! This damn thing really works! I can see the house. The sky is so blue. The remark startles Zee. ZEE You see color? LESLIE Yes, shouldn't I? ZEE Most people see images that resemble faded Gray scale images. Only those with BT ability see color. LESLIE I'm no BT, Zee. ZEE You've never had visions before? LESLIE No, not that I can recall. ZEE It's your new body, Leslie. Whoever your DNA donor was, she was highly psychic. You have inherited her unique brain structures. With a bit of training I would think that you would make a passable BT, yourself. LESLIE From what I hear, my donor's talents were wasted. She had another, less honorable profession. As for myself, I am a starship Captain, I could never fit in as a mere member of the crew, That's why I quit the Space Command. ZEE Nevertheless, those skills might be very useful in that capacity too. You need to pay more attention to your feelings. LESLIE I've been having "strange feelings" for months, but I have attributed them to just being a girl. ZEE They may be more than that, Leslie. (a beat) The real skill involved, with BT ability is that of interpretation. Anybody can see "visions" and hear "voices" especially when looking into a random field. The trick is in knowing what the images and sounds actually mean. Like with interpreting dreams, you have to intimately know the symbols you mind uses to represent words and concepts. (a beat) You know if . . . An announcement on the Com system interrupts. COMPUTER VOICE Shuttle arriving from A & I number forty- two. INT. RECEPTION AREA -- DAY Leslie, Melissa, Zee and Bainbridge wait in the reception area to greet the new arrivals. TWO MEN emerge from the airlock and proceed down the steps. DOCTOR HAVELOCK, the larger of the two, leads the way. He wears the black, fashionable flat top, wide brimmed hat. He looks to be about 50 and has a gray drooping moustache. Black leather gloves cover his bionic hands. Bainbridge steps forward. He shakes the man's hand and pats him on the back. HAVELOCK (smiling) Ash! How you doin'? BAINBRIDGE Fine Doc. BILL (19) the younger man, is thin and slight of build. He too, wears a similar wide brimmed hat and TWO SIDEARMS carried in two holsters around his waist. The butts point forward. Bainbridge escorts the Doctor over to Leslie BAINBRIDGE May I introduce our leader, Captain Leslie Webber. He removes his hat. HAVELOCK Doctor Gideon Havelock, at your service ma'am! Everyone just calls me "Doc". (he turns to his friend) Bill! There are Ladies present! Bill snatches his hat off. BILL S. . .Sorry, Ma'am. DOC Bill here is my sister's boy. The gunman you wanted. The Syndicate killed his folks when he was fourteen. Woulda killed him too, but he hid in the barn. BILL But I got the bastards who done it! I put more holes in them than a lace curtain. DOC He's ambidextrous, can shoot with either hand at the same time and hit what he's aiming at. He would be as good as three men on the ground. BILL And that's single shot mode too ma'am, not automatic. One bullet can kill a man just as dead as twenty. Uh . . . Them that killed my folks were a special case. LESLIE I need a gunner, someone who can handle a photon cannon in a starship. BILL Oh, I can learn ma'am. DOC Your typical Space Command gunners are no more older than Bill, here. Leslie looks Skeptically at Bill. LESLIE How old are you? BILL I . . .I'll be twenty in three months,
Copyright © 2001 Thomas M Ray |