Cut to a close-up view of his head in profile as he looks around for a moment with his flashlight

There is a slight sound behind him. He feels the cold point of a knife on his neck.

Allonia: (OC) FREEZE!

[NOTE for non-screen-play familiar folks – “OC” means “Off Camera,” someone talking or noise or action that is something in the scene that cannot be seen on-screen. Could be stage left or right, could be over an intercom, or whatever. You can’t see the speaker, because they are “Off Camera”]

Camera view pulls back, and there is the blade of a chef’s knife against the back of his neck. He freezes, then slowly raises his hands.

Allonia:(OC) You are?

Helton: Helton. New owner of this ship. You?

Allonia: (OC) You don’t look like the owner I met a few months ago. Continue reading →

Fade in

EXT – day – A graceful, streamlined, 50-passenger, mid-sized flier is knifing through the air above the “spaceport” of Adelaide, a wide and tan plain stretching below into the hills, blue sky above.

Aerial view following the flier as it descends towards the landing field, a small and dusty landing facility that is only barely a spaceport, with mountains in the background. There is a large central building, with 6 concourses radiating out from it. Along each concourse are 3 pairs of landing pads, small ones close to the center, larger ones outside. There are a dozen or so ships of various sizes and shapes on different pads. There is a road leading away from the end of the largest concourse, and going away from the other arms are much smaller roads leading to warehouses and various industrial areas. There are some smaller pads near some of the outbuildings, away from the main terminal, that have a collection of ship parts, wreckage, tarp-covered heaps, and smaller personal air-craft and space-craft. Near one of these smaller outbuildings is a squat, dirty, rectangular-ish, partially tarp-covered, very dusty craft that is all but unnoticed. The flier zips down, heading for one of the mid-sized landing pads. Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – night – card table in a discreetly lit, respectable-looking entertainment establishment

Helton sits at a table with seven others. All are nicely dressed, somewhat steam-punkish general style, and there are a lot of chips on the table. Helton has the smallest pile, but it’s substantial. He eyes his cards, and the lone 10 of spades in the center of the table, and tosses in a pair of chips. The next person folds silently, and the next puts in two to meet, and raises by three chips of a different kind. There are murmurs from the handful of onlookers around them. Continue reading →

Fade in

INT – day – brightly lit, crowded and busy spaceport lounge

Helton and Harbin and a few of the other passengers from the pirate rescue are sitting around a long table with drinks and the remains of meals in front of them. The other passengers talk among themselves.

Harbin: It’s been a while since I had more action on leave than in the field. Felt good to be in a fight where the only rule was “WIN.”

Helton: Too bad about your getting shot, though. The leg seems to be healing nicely, no noticeable limp at all.

Harbin: Shouldn’t be. The Boss and the Wife both frown on getting damaged outside the line of duty. Continue reading →

EXT – day – view of the airfield, with the ship they just boarded in the foreground

(note: this is really the part that needs the heroic action music in the background)

The large flier rises slowly, but unevenly. Suddenly it tips, lurches to one side, and runs into the other large flier next to it with it’s landing strut, tearing large gash and tangling Helton’s ship forward landing gear in its side. Helton’s flier tries to move this way and that trying to free itself, but just gets more tangled. After a few moments of trying to get free by pulling this way and that to whining sounds of over-stressed drives, it sways and sags down on the opposite side of the grounded ship and a steep angle, front end on top of the second large flyer, back end squishing a small flier that was sitting on the field. Continue reading →

Fade to

Low angle of Guard 1 tied up similarly to the first slaver, two bodies laying nearby, with Helton and Harbin in the background looking into an open gun crate.

Harbin: If we can find ammo, these will make things a bit easier.

Helton: I’ll look, you get a couple unpacked.

Harbin stoops down and removes a black plastic-shrink-wrapped rifle from the packing crate, and starts to peel back the wrapping.

Helton: (OC) Found it.

Harbin: Good. Drag a few thousand round up front, then find magazines.

Helton: WHAT?

Harbin: Hope we don’t need it all, but ammo is like money – I have yet to have too much.

Continue reading →