Fade in

EXT – Day – Cab of a heavy military truck

Two soldiers are driving down a road on the outskirts of Adelaide, not far from the port. The morning sun casts sharp shadows, but the dust arising from the truck ahead of them in the small convoy makes things a bit hazy. They are in tan camo uniforms, with no armor other then helmets. Semi-auto rifles are in a gun rack in the back window. Their uniforms are dirty and unkempt, both have not shaved in a few days, one has his shirt buttons misaligned. They look a bit rough – not evil, just lazy and sloppy and poorly disciplined. Continue reading →

INT – DAY – Officers mess

Lag, Stenson, Allonia, Seraphina, sit at the table, with food and settings for six. Helton walks in with the book and sits down to general greetings.

Helton: A bit more readable already. Take a look. Continue reading →

Fade in

EXT – Day – Landing Pad D9

Tajemnica is on the pad, aft ramp down toward the building across the street. Helton sits on the ramp, a long piece of grass between his teeth, looking like he’s waiting. For once, it looks fairly peaceful and quiet. The ship and cargo deck look clean and orderly, with minimal gear or equipment around. The day is overcast, no sharp shadows. Continue reading →

Fade in

EXT – Day – Cargo Bay ramp

Tajemnica hovers above the landing pad on top of Seymore’s office. Lag and the guard stand, motionlessly, facing each other, waiting, Lag with his rifle still held casually. The door to the building slides open, and Helton and Allonia (a modest trickle of blood coming from the cut on her temple) come trotting out and hop aboard the ramp. Lag looks at her, concerned. As they hop on, Tajemnica lifts and starts moving away.
Continue reading →

INT – DAY – Tajemnica bridge

Helton, Quiritis, Bipasha, Cooper, Allonia, Lag. Everyone but Lag looks tense and worried. He looks patient. Continue reading →

Fade in

EXT – DAY – Harbin’s mortar pit

The dull rumbling drone of many quiet engines and big wheels dominate the background. It’s full daylight. Sabot is hunkered down in a corner, head down, asleep. Harbin is looking carefully over the edge of the pit. He slowly lowers his head down. He kicks Sabot’s boot gently. Sabot startles, pops his head up, looking around wildly for a moment, then settles down realizing where he is, then perks up at the sound. He looks at Harbin with a question on his face. Harbin nods. Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – DAY – Kat’s office in BLDG 1701

She sits at her desk, Councilor Darch on her computer screen. He’s a very thin, almost cadaverous, with intense eyes, perfect hair, and immaculate shirt and jacket. THe office behind him looks lavish and large. Continue reading →

EXT – DAY – North hill-top

A grassy hill-top with a some scrubby bushes. Hunkered down between and behind some of the bushes are six men in camo uniforms, small packs and equipment around them on the ground. One of the men has binoculars and is watching the refugee center.
Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – DAY – Kat’s office in BLDG 1701

She sits at her desk, Lag on her computer screen.

Kat: Nothing yet. They said they lost a bunch of surveillance assets about (glances at the clock) fifteen minutes ago. No good real-time in the area right now, but they are moving what they can – soonest is a couple of hours. Wait or risk it?
Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – Day – Officers mess

Helton, Lag, and Trask sit at the table.

Trask: I can’t just get dumped at the refugee center. WE can’t.
Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – mid-deck passageway, next to an open cargo bay window

Lag, Helton, Bipasha, and Cooper are looking at the growing crowd on the cargo deck of several hundred refugees. Continue reading →

EXT – Day – Cargo bay ramp

The numbers of refugees has been swelling, and now it’s clear that there may not be enough room for everyone, and they are starting to get louder, less queue-like and more mob-like.
Continue reading →

INT – Day – Bridge

Helton at command, Cooper, Quiritis, Bipasha sit at the controls keeping an eye on things.

Cooper: Got incoming. Small ship, looks like a private craft.
Continue reading →

Fade in.

INT – Day – In the cargo bay, looking out onto an unidentified small space-port landing pad

View from inside the cargo bay, looking out through the lowering aft loading ramp, across the landing field toward the control tower and port buildings. The sun is high and bright. Two armed and armored soldiers are standing darkly silhouetted against the bright background. As the ramp lowers, we see that there is a small crowd of a few dozen refugees standing not far from the landing pad, random average folks and families with packs, bags, and what they can carry. Continue reading →

 INT – DAY – Tajemnica’s bridge

Helton leads the way into the bridge, Quiritis following behind. He goes to the command stations, but she stops at the hatchway, stands there and just looks around, a rapt look on her face. Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – day – ships garden

Allonia and Helton are chatting in the hydroponics garden. The light panels are bright, there are many levels and racks of trays full of lush deep green plants – some obviously lettuce, melons, and tomatoes, a few compact blueberry bushes, and a lot of less obvious greenery. Some trays are hydroponics, some trays just look like they are filled with good dirt. Quinn is playing in some of the dirt, putting it into small pots. Continue reading →