CoMET : "Resources" Ryan Mathews, plot and script Larry Mann, plot and art Copyright (C)1993 Larry Mann, Ryan Mathews [Open with one panel of the satellite broacast installation. It consists of a large satellite dish with a small building next to it that houses the main control system. Surrounding the installation at a distance of 500 ft are a sizable security division of tanks and infantry. They are limited to that distance by a invisible force-field. ("Invisible" means don't draw it. :-) ) Superimposed on the panel are two captions: "This is not good." "You said that." The second panel shows a different shot of the installation, a nice view of the cliffs which the installation hides behind. The cliff-face slopes back from the top to bottom, so that the top of the cliff is a ledge maybe ten feet think. You can make out three people at the top, but none of the security forces have. Two more captions: "They must've known we were coming." "You're kidding". Now cut to a shot of Tanja, Daraan, and Sandra at the top of the island. Daraan and Tanja survey the situation below while Sandra reclines and surveys the sky, looking annoyed with the other two. Daraan wears a thruster pack similar to the type worn by Soronian Air Infantry.] DARAAN Is that all you're going to do, Tanja? Sit there and make sarcastic comments? TANJA This is the ground. You were so insistent that you be in charge down here. *You* do something. DARAAN Like what? Even with the Gamma module, the three of us alone can't do shit against those kind of numbers! Even if we could make it to the force-field control box, those codes Alcon gave you are almost certainly useless by now. SANDRA I can break the code. DARAAN Yeah, Sandra, if we can get you there in one piece. [He pulls a communicator out of his belt.] Daraan to Crimson. COMMUNICATOR Crimson, Rob here. TANJA What are you doing? DARAAN Calling down an air strike. TANJA [angrily grabbing it away] The hell you are! [to communicator:] Crimson, disregard. Tanja out. DARAAN I thought I was in charge of ground operations? TANJA Since when is Crimson part of the ground? As soon as Crimson lifts off, it'll be attacked and we'll have to withdraw! We have three other team members out there, you know. DARAAN Dammit. It would be so simple if we could just destroy the satellite. But no, that's our client's property. TANJA Satellite. Of course, we'll use our satellite. DARAAN Tanja, we need the thing for cover when we leave. As soon it fires, it'll be destroyed! Not to mention that we bought it on credit. [Sandra has had enough. She gets to her feet, her back to the ledge.] SANDRA Look, do whatever you want, but get on with it already! I'm sick and tired of-- [The stone suddenly crumbles beneath her boots and she goes tumbling backward.] --AAH! DARAAN & TANJA SANDRA! [They grab for her, but too late. She plummets to the bottom of the cliff. The security commander sees her fall, as do we, from a view behind him.] COMMANDER The clifftop! FIRE! [The tanks and missile batteries open up.] [Meanwhile... Cut to Taara, slinking cat-like (of course) on hands and knees through a ventilation shaft we see in cross-section. It's so tight that she has to hold her gun in her hand and push it in front of her as she goes.] TAARA How much farther, Eric? [Cut to Eric, who is in a small grove outside the Scheiner research facility, checking the data from sensors built into Taara's uniform. Mira sits beside him, cleaning her sword.] ERIC Not much farther. Another 30, maybe 40 meters. TAARA [from a speaker on the readout display] That far?! I was so nice to you last night, and what thanks do I get? I get shoved in a ventilation shaft for an hour. ERIC Just keep it up, you're almost there. [to Mira:] You're not planning on using that thing, are you? MIRA Some of the more powerful Soron esper-sorcerors can disrupt energy weapons and deflect bullets. In the Air Infantry, the sword was often all we could rely on. ERIC Yeah, well, in CoMET, we use guns. There's no esper-sorcerors here. MIRA I'm not so sure of that. [Cut back to the security forces. The leader is getting a report from one of his lieutenants, while he examines Sandra's broken "corpse".] LEADER Who was she? LIEUTENANT By the insignia, a member of a mercenary group. I sent out a GEV-craft. If there are any others, we'll find them. LEADER There can't be too many. They would have collapsed the whole face of the cliff. Surely, they must have wondered why we didn't place any forces up there. [Close up of Sandra as her eyes open, blank.] LIEUTENANT I suspect a small group, sir. Otherwise, we would simply have been attacked-- [Sandra picks the Lieutenant's gun out of its holster.] Wha--? [BLAM! BLAM! With two head-shots, Sandra takes out both officers without even having stood up.] SOLDIER Jesus, she's still alive! ANOTHER SOLDIER Nail her! [A hail of ammunition flies around and through Sandra, who is standing up. The bullets and blasts stagger her, but she is not knocked down and even returns fire, killing with each shot. As the battle continues, patches of Sandra's flesh are torn off, revealing what's underneath.] SCARED SOLDIER Holy shit, she's a 'borg!! Pull back! [next frame] Pull--gulkh--! [Sandra nails him] [Meanwhile, Daraan is carrying a reluctant Tanja away from the battle. His thruster-pack is on, and he spreads his wings to glide close to the ground.] TANJA Dammit, let me go! DARAAN I've got half a mind to do that. [They arrive at the Gamma module] Now you get your ass in there and call for an air strike! TANJA I will *not* take orders from you!! [Daraan ignores her and spreads his wings.] Where are you going? DARAAN To get Sandra. TANJA Alone? You'll be no match for them! DARAAN Sure I will, because you're going to call for an air strike! [He blasts off.] TANJA [calling after him] DAMN YOU, DARAAN!! [She opens the cockpit. Thought:] Forgive me, Sandra, but I can't sacrifice Crimson to save you when we have three other people to protect. [Inside the cockpit:] Tanja to Crimson. BOB Crimson, Bob here. TANJA Activate the satellite and fire on the broadcast installation. BOB But the force field's still up. The beam will just scatter off it. TANJA Exactly. Just make sure the angle of deflection is wide enough. I don't want to destroy the control box. BOB Okay, understood. KAARLA Satellite targeted, and firing. [The tiny satellite, smaller than a car, fires a powerful particle beam toward the surface. As Daraan had predicted, it is *immediately* destroyed. Daraan himself is witness to the beam's effect. It hits the force field and it is scattered into hundreds of smaller, but no less lethal beams which slice through the enemy. Tanks are destroyed, infantry cut down. Sandra is hurled through the air by the blast.] DARAAN DAMN YOU, TANJA!! [Mira and Eric also see the beam as it fires.] MIRA Goddess... ERIC Brace yourself! [The shockwave arrives, shaking the two of violently, as well as Taara, who is still in the access tunnel.] TAARA AAH! [The grid she's walking on collapses, depositing her at the feet of a security guard. Thought:] My gun! It's still in the duct! GUARD What the--?! [He brings his gun to bear on her.] Don't move! [Taara makes a face like an innocent and scared child.] TAARA You aren't gonna hurt me, are you mister? GUARD Huh? TAARA I'm just a little kittycat. [She begins to slink up to him.] You wouldn't hurt a little kittycat, would you? [She gets really close, beginning to act seductive. The guard starts to sweat.] A cute, soft, cuddly, little kittycat? [She moves as if to kiss him.] Purr? GUARD [as Taara rips his guts out] GULKH! TAARA [her claws dripping blood] Jerk. You all think the Nekojin are so helpless. [Alarms go off.] Aw, damn. He must've had one of those lifesign-trigger devices. [Back with Mira and Eric, where Taara is heard on Eric's display:] Mira, you there? I'm gonna need you a little earlier than planned. And I need another gun. ERIC Mira, go!! [Mira's wings thrust her into the air, where she wraps them around herself and disappears in a burst of light... to reappear next to Taara, as well as a mess of fresh guards.] MIRA Taara, catch! [She flips Taara a pistol.] [The two of them lay into the opposition, who is caught off guard by there suddenly being two targets instead of one. Taara and Mira quickly reduce the enemies numbers, but find themselves still outnumbered, 5 to 2. Taara retreats, dodging fire, with a series of catlike acrobatic manuevers that involve three or more limbs. Landing, she takes out another two guards. Mira concentrates and lets loose a TK shockwave that throws the remaining three against the wall so hard they leave bloodstains.] TAARA I'm glad you made it. I was afraid you might've lost my mental signal in the explosion. MIRA [obviously drained] Never. TAARA You okay? MIRA Y-yeah. Just a little drained, is all. C'mon, we have a job to do. [Tanja, in the Gamma unit, is doing battle with the GEV-craft that had been dispatched earlier.] TANJA What the hell is this thing, anyway? It's unbelievably manueverable. [Next frame] The pilot seems to lack experience, though. I wonder if I can... [She executes a quick manuever and gets on its tail.] Gotcha! [She blows the GEV away.] [Still in flight, Daraan picks off soldiers with his rifle. The field is a wasteland, littered with burning vehicles and corpses. Daraan spots Sandra.] DARAAN My goddess, she's still going at it... [Sandra is a wreck. More of her skin is gone than still remains. Half her face has been torn away, showing the metal bonded to her skull. Her left hand is missing. With her right, she continues to fire at the now retreating enemy, still never missing. Daraan swoops down.] Sandra! Sandra, it's me! [Sandra turns and fires at him, the round punching a hole in the skin of his right wing.] AAAARGH! [He falls to the ground. Daraan's scream shocks Sandra out of her cyber-psychosis.] SANDRA DARAAN! [She rushes over. Other than the dime-sized hole in his wing and a great many scrapes and scratches, Daraan is fine.] Oh, god, Daraan, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what I was doing! DARAAN I know, I know. I'm fine. SANDRA [examining herself] Oh, my god, look at me! What have I been doing?! DARAAN Single-handedly massacring the enemy. Look at them. They're running away. [Mira and Taara in the control room:] MIRA Got it! [She pops a datachip out of the console.] How's it going with the bombs? TAARA All set. MIRA Good. Let's--unh... [She puts a hand to her forehead.] TAARA Are you sure you're okay? MIRA Yeah. I'm just picking up an incredibly strong psi-aura. This is the third time I've felt it. [Next frame: She wraps her wings around the startled Taara and teleports.] Let's get the hell out of here. [Sandra and Daraan at the control box, a small box stuck on a pipe which sticks out of the ground at the force-field perimeter.] DARAAN Thank the goddess it's still there. I was afraid Tanja's little stunt had destroyed it. SANDRA I'll get to work cracking the code. VOICE [weak] Hey, mercs... [The two turn. It's a soldier, near death, on his belly, blood trickling from his mouth, which is twisted into a wry grin. He aims his rifle.] [Next frame: the box is blasted away.] [Next frame: the soldier again, grinning even wider.] Fuck you. [Next frame: Sandra sends him to hell.] SANDRA I can still get us in. Help me get my other hand off. [Next frame: close-up of Daraan twisting exposed wires onto wires from the end of Sandra's right arm.] I've got contact. Give me a few minutes. DARAAN We might not have them. [Daraan's referring to the five GEV's approaching.] [Tanja approaches in the Gamma module.] TANJA Taking out one of them was easy. But five...? [The dogfight commences. Tanja takes out one. Two. A third she hits but doesn't explode. It crashes.] DARAAN That was too close. SANDRA I almost had it... [The last two GEV's attack from different directions. One deals Tanja a glancing blow. A cockpit frame shows it shaking from the blast. Tanja tries to regain control, but is hit again.] SANDRA THAT'S IT!! [The force-field shimmers and vanishes.] [Tanja is in big trouble. The Gamma module is smoking from several hits, and the two GEV's move in for the kill. A tear trickles down her cheek.] TANJA [thought:] I'm sorry, Sandra. Looks like I failed you again. [Both GEV's are destroyed by blasts from the Beta module.] ERIC Hi, guys! We finished a little early, so we figured we'd come on over and pull your butts outta the fire! As soon as we get you on board, we'll blast the place. MIRA [looking at the ground] !! [She teleports outside and glides toward the wreck of the third GEV.] DARAAN [as Mira glides by] Mira? [He sends a thought her way:] [Mira lands by the wreck.] MIRA [Mira blasts the hatch open with her gun and is stunned by what she finds.] A--a Human child?! [Cut to Crimson's sickbay, where a heavily bandaged Sandra is being given the once over by Bob, while some of the other members look on.] TANJA How is she? BOB She'll be fine. But her chassis is in horrible shape. I can't do the repairs here. Sorry, Sandra, but it looks like you're out of action for the time being. SANDRA (sigh) It figures. Damn this cyberpsychosis. If it wasn't for that... TANJA [bitterly] You'd still be my leader instead of the other way around. SANDRA Tanja... BOB As for Daraan, he'll be fine as well, as long as he stays on the ground for a few days. TANJA Where is Daraan anyway? [Cut to a main computer access terminal, located either on the bridge or in a room set up for this purpose. Daraan sits at the terminal as Tanja enters.] TANJA What are you up to? DARAAN Checking out the data Taara and Mira brought back. And don't complain about my looking at a customer's private data. You were going to do the same thing. TANJA [looking over Daraan's shoulder] Mm. Anything that sheds light on how or why we were set up? DARAAN No. Unfortunately, the data seems to be exactly what your contact said it would be, stolen Alcon files. Listen... [He pushes himself away from the console to face Tanja.] I'd like to go back to the meeting you had with John Klocek at Alcon. Maybe if I could experience the meeting myself, I could get a better idea of what's going on. TANJA [looking uncomfortable] You want to read my memories. DARAAN It's a painless process, Tanja. One that-- TANJA I know, I know. One that nearly all Sorons can do. On each other. I'm not Soron. Mira's a lot better at reading Human minds than you are. Why can't she do it? DARAAN Because then I'd have to get the information second-hand. It wouldn't be the same. But it's up to you, Tanja. You *are* in charge. TANJA ... Alright. But be careful what you touch, okay? [Daraan touches Tanja's temples with his fingertips. The panel leads, through a fuzzy border, into a flashback of Tanja's meeting.] TANJA Let me get this straight. You think Scheiner is using your own satellite to rip off your data? KLOCEK We know they are. TANJA And you can't stop them? I mean, it is your satellite... KLOCEK It's not that easy. The satellite is omnidirectional. It can't distinguish one signal from another. All we can do is change the access codes and the signal frequencies, which hasn't done a bit of good. Someone here has been leaking them the information. [next frame] We've had to shut the satellite down completely, which has paralyzed several expensive research projects on the planet. After trying unsuccessfully to interest either the local forces on Delat or the Co-Op's Investigation Bureau, we decided to enlist your services and take care of it ourselves. TANJA I represent a mercenary group, Mr. Klocek, not a detective agency. We don't come cheap. Our fee for the work you're describing would be 800,000 credits, half in advance. KLOCEK Payment won't be a problem. In fact, I'm authorized to offer you another 200,000 if you can tell us what Scheiner wanted the information for. TANJA That's awfully generous of you, but as I said, we're not detectives. KLOCEK Consider it an incentive to inform us if you do stumble upon anything. Oh, one other thing. This is off the record, strictly personal. [Tosses Tanja a picture.] If you happen to run into this woman, I want her brought to me, dead or alive. There's an extra 300,000 credits in it for you. TANJA [over close-up of photo] Looks an awful lot like you. KLOCEK Not surprising. She's my sister Joanna. And I have every reason to believe she's behind this. I want her stopped. She's embarrassed me once too often. TANJA I'll consider it. But kidnapping and murder have never been CoMET's style. KLOCEK Ma'am, if we wanted to play by the rules, we would've hired [The reminder of the balloon has been rubbed out by a fuzzy border, on the other side of which is a shot of Tanja and Daraan engaged in a passionate kiss. Next frame returns to the present.] DARAAN Oops. [Tanja's face shows only anger, but her true emotion is betrayed by a tear trickling down her cheek.] TANJA Dammit! That was not a memory I wanted to relive! DARAAN I'm sorry. It's your Human mind, it's so hard to-- TANJA Save it. [She storms off the bridge.] [Back with the rest of the bunch.] BOB Hey, Tanja! I was about to send for you. Our little pilot is waking up. TANJA [still fuming] Good. I have a lot of questions to ask her. BOB I'd be gentle if I were you. She doesn't seem to remember anything but her name. [Tanja approaches the small bed on which Ruby lies. The girl looks terrified.] TANJA Don't worry, I'm going to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Is that okay? RUBY Uh-huh. TANJA What's your name? RUBY Ruby. TANJA Ruby, why were you flying that-- RUBY [crying] I DON'T KNOW! I SAID I DON'T KNOW!! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT A PLANE! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WANT MY MOMMY! WHERE'S MY MOMMY? TANJA What happened to your mommy, Ruby? RUBY She...we were on a big spaceship, and we were flying through this bright shiny cloudy stuff, and then...I can't remember! Where's my mommy... TANJA [same frame] ! [Next frame] Eric, go look up-- ERIC I'm on it! TANJA Great! Everyone! Meeting in five minutes! [Cut to a briefing room, where everyone sits around a table.] BOB The mediscanner can't seem to figure out Ruby's brain. Neither Human nor Soron settings get an accurate reading. Hell, I even tried setting it for Nekojin. TAARA She is *not* a Nekojin. Besides, she smells Human. ERIC Well, she *is* a survivor of that touring cruiser disaster six months ago. She matches the description of Ruby Turella, who was listed among the missing. KAARLA Isn't the nebula where that happened only a few light-years from here? MIRA I don't get it. When I opened the canopy of that plane, I knew the pilot was going to be Soron. I still read her as Soron. KAARLA At least you can read her. I don't get anything from her at all. DARAAN The plane was weird itself. Having a child for a pilot was one reason it was so small, but another was that it seemed to lack even the most basic sensory equipment. The engine was incredibly simple as well, with only one unidirectional thruster. I have no idea how it manuevered like it did. MIRA I want to stay here and investigate. TANJA I've been considering that myself. DARAAN WHAT?! You can't be serious! KAARLA But, Daraan, if they're using children... DARAAN Then turn the matter over to the police! MIRA I don't trust the police! If they'd done their job, we wouldn't have been hired in the first place! DARAAN You say "investigate". How? We wouldn't know where to begin! MIRA I've been feeling these intense psionic pulses coming from underneath the research complex. I'd say we should start there. DARAAN I haven't felt these pulses. KAARLA Mira's a lot more sensitive than either of us, Daraan. MIRA With Daraan and Kaarla's help, I think I can teleport all of us right past the guards into the complex. KAARLA Wow. TANJA Are you sure? You've already exerted yourself an awful lot today. MIRA I'll be fine, really. DARAAN I don't believe this. We were obviously set up, the Gamma module was almost destroyed, Sandra's a wreck, I'm grounded, we lost our satellite, and we're about to go back for more. TANJA [smiling] That's CoMET in a nutshell! [Cut to an abandoned, dimly-lit corridor deep within the Scheiner complex. There is a blinding burst of light, and the entire crew, save for Sandra, arrives. The three Sorons have their wings spread and touching to encircle everyone else. In the next frame, Mira collapses.] MIRA uhhh... KAARLA Mira! You okay? MIRA [weakly] Just...give me a minute... TAARA !! [She looks back to see Ruby holding onto Taara's tail for dear life.] Hey! Knock it off! TANJA You can hold my hand, Ruby. Does any of this look familiar? RUBY Nuh-uh. ERIC Well, if there was anything going on here, it seems to be over. TANJA They probably bugged out as soon as they learned there was going to be an attack. DARAAN No...no! You're wrong! I can feel something! KAARLA Yeah! Me too! MIRA T-told you so... [Cut to a large mechanical door. The team looks over the security keypad.] TANJA Interesting. All the keys change color after each press. It's pretty obvious they didn't want any Sorons getting in. Let me take a shot at this... [She gets to work at breaking the code.] DARAAN I'll never understand this "color". You mean those keys look different to you? TANJA Got it! [The doors slide open, revealing darkness.] I tried some variations on the codes I was given for the force-field back at the broadcast installation. DARAAN Isn't that awfully convenient? ERIC God, it's dark in here. Someone look for a light-- [The lights come up, revealing a room filled with Soron corpses. All of the corpses are missing the tops of their heads. Kaarla screams. Ruby huddles against Tanja.] MIRA This isn't it. DARAAN Of course not, they're all dead. TAARA This is *so* gross... MIRA It's farther on, through this. ERIC This isn't just a morgue?! Who in their right mind would pile a bunch of mutilated Soron corpses at the entrance to their lab?! MIRA Someone who hopes to scare away anyone who manages to break in. Or who isn't bothered by mutilated Soron corpses. [Overhead view as they enter another room, a large room with plenty of space for the upcoming fight. Along one wall are nine or so capsules. From overhead, we can't see what's in them.] RUBY This is it! This is the place! TANJA You remember? RUBY Yes! Yes! I was there! [She points at an empty capsule. Now we can see that there are children in some of the rest of the capsules.] MIRA Those children. That's where it's coming from. ERIC What do you wanna bet the rest of these children also come from spacecraft disasters? KAARLA We have to let them out. BOB We don't know what's been done to them. We might kill them. Wait. Mira, how do you read the children? MIRA As Soron, same as Ruby. I don't understand it. BOB I think I do. I think whoever is running this place is trying to graft Soron brain tissue onto Human brains. Accepted theory says that's impossible, but I think they did it. It would explain the mediscanner's failure to get a reading from Ruby's brain. RUBY [her voice is read from off-panel, the panel showing the surprise of the other characrters] I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out. [A shot of Ruby. The innocent-girl look is gone, replaced by a menacing grin.] You guys are all so stupid. It's gonna be blast tearing you apart! [In a flash of light, she vanishes.] [The door to the room slams shut.] DARAAN WEAPONS OUT AND READY! TAKE COVER! [Out of the shadows steps Joanna Klocek, a still-grinning Ruby at her side.] JOANNA Oh, that won't be necessary. And it won't do you any good, besides. [Next panel] Your shielding must be getting better, Ruby. I see even their teleporter didn't see through it. Hmph! Is this the best my brother could do? I'm beginning to lose faith in him. It was far too easy to bring you here. ERIC We were more than enough for your pathetic security force! JOANNA I'm not talking about the security force. They all ran away a few hours ago. TANJA [thought] The security force...left?! [She secretively presses a button on her belt.] JOANNA [simultaneous with above] I'm talking about my children. You won't find them as easy to defeat. DARAAN Children? [They look around to see the capsules opening up.] [Spread the following dialogue over the following action sequence. It is not necessary to have Joanna in each frame, in fact, she should be in very few of them.] JOANNA I'm creating a new race here! Oh, I'll admit that the initial idea was to sell my children to businessmen who were tired of being disadvantaged in dealings with the telepathic Sorons. But when I found how well the children took to the grafts (those that survived, I mean), I felt, why stop there? You can see for yourself what effective weapons they make. Why, I'll bet any one of them will surpass the best Soron esper-sorceror by adulthood. It's the amazing adaptability of the child's body. With this knowledge, the Human race will easily outpace the Sorons in psychic talent. We'll have the upper hand for the first time since our two races met. We'll evolve into a new race, a race that will dominate the galaxy, the universe! And I will be revered for all eternity as its mother!! [As the children exit their capsules, slowly, as if in a trance, the mercs dive for whatever cover can be found. Tanja fires a few shots at Joanna, but they bounce off an invisible shield that Ruby is apparently creating without effort. A small boy raises a hand, and the large console that Bob and Taara are hiding behind is SHREDDED. Taara leaps for him and is thrown across the room. Eric fires again and again at a small girl: the beams bounce away. She advances, and he starts to scream. Kaarla is trying to counter a TK barrage from another boy with one of her own. (Similar hand postions and legs braced against the force, in addition to force lines, will illustrate this acceptably.) She is straining, her eyes closed, thinking "I'm not strong enough oh goddess I'm not strong enough" (no punctuation). Daraan is also trying futilely to hold one a boy off with a gun. Two girls have ganged up on Mira, weaving odd streams with their fingertips that Mira is fighting off, sweating with pain. Back to Tanja, who is trying to keep a support column between her and a boy.] TANJA YOU'RE INSANE!! [Quick shots which show that Eric, Daraan, Bob, and Taara are down.] JOANNA That's what my brother keeps telling me. He's pathetic. Wasting his life researching medical technology when he could be helping me change reality as we know it! In the future, *I'll* be the one remembered, not-- [BOOOM! The room shakes violently. Pieces of ceiling shower everyone. What in the--?! [Tanja rushes up to her and decks her. The kids all fall unconscious.] KAARLA What happened? TANJA When Joanna told me there was no security, and thus no danger to Crimson, I signalled Sandra for an air strike. [Next frame] I think it's over now. The kids all seemed to be in a trance. I figured she had to be controlling them... Holy shit! [Cut to view which shows "Joanna". Her wig has been knocked off, as well as her glasses. Her blouse tore open when she fell, and a bra is revealed which holds only stuffing.] You...you *are* your brother! You're John Klocek! JOANNA Wh-what? Don't be ridiculous. [Next frame: she looks at herself] [Next frame: she screams] [Next frame: Joanna/John is calm once more] JOHN It's over. It's finally over. TANJA What's over? What the hell is going on? JOHN [still sprawled on the ground] Joanna is over, finally. You see, I created her on purpose. [Next frame] Alcon wasn't interested in funding my experiments in Human psi-powers. I knew Scheiner would be, but then I'd have to leave Alcon, and the resources which led me to the intial discovery in the first place. I could work secretly for Scheiner, but that would be illegal and would open me up to lawsuits, as well as blackmail by some of the more unscrupulous types at Scheiner. [Next frame] So, I created Joanna. I used a device of my own invention to set up a second personality. I set her up as my sister, to explain the similar appearance. That would fool Scheiner, but not Alcon, at least not the Soron employees. So I created another John personality who didn't know the truth about Joanna, as well as a "sub-personality" who would surface briefly to sneak information between the two. Then I put my original self to sleep. MIRA Man, you sure like to fuck around with your head. JOHN [smiling sadly] Don't I though? Unfortunately, I did my job too well. John and Joanna began to dislike each other. Joanna... Well, she went a little overboard. And there was nothing I could do about it. [He reaches for something on his person.] TANJA [bringing her gun up] Don't even think it! JOHN Oh, don't worry. The controlling mechanism for the children is in the wig. [He pulls a pistol out, but doesn't aim it.] This is just a gun. TANJA I'm warning you! JOHN What, do you think I'm going to fight my way out of here single-handed? Like I said, it's over. I have a choice of two lives in front of me: one spent in prison or one spent in a mental hospital. Neither one is very appealing to me. So, if you don't mind... [He puts the gun to his temple.] ...I'll take my leave of you now. [Shot of Tanja's face as we hear "BAM!"] [Next frame] TANJA Let's get out of here. Mira, how are the others? MIRA They're all still alive. I can read them. Kaarla and I should be able to revive them telepathically. RUBY NO! KAARLA Oh, no! I thought you said it was over! RUBY I won't let you leave! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! TANJA Dammit, why aren't you unconscious? RUBY I'm stronger than that! I was my mother's favorite! I didn't need her help! I have my own power! Lots of it! Like this! [Ruby throws Tanja across the room telekinetically] KAARLA RUBY MIRA (thought) RUBY What did you say to her? You said something! MIRA (thought) RUBY Stop it! You can't hide it from me! I'll hear if I listen hard enough! MIRA (aloud) [Kaarla and Mira lash out with TK and pin Ruby against the wall. Ruby raises a hand and Kaarla is knocked backward and out.] MIRA RUBY [Next frame, Ruby smiling evilly] MIRA ... RUBY [Mira draws her sword] [Ruby throws an energy ball at Mira. It is harmlessly dispersed by the sword.] MIRA RUBY MIRA RUBY [Ruby tosses a bigger ball at Mira. This one staggers her, but she holds her sword fast and remains standing.] No! That's no fair! [Mira advances.] NO! [Ruby lets loose with a continual blast of psi-energy. Mira forces her way through it as one would walk through a strong wind, sword held vertically before her.] NO! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! I'M STRONGER THAN YOU! *I'M* SUPPOSED TO WIN! [A close-up shows blood trickling out of every available outlet on Ruby's head.] I'M STRONGER! I'M STRONG--GUHK!! [Ruby's head snaps back, blood squirts out, and she dies.] [Silent frame, looking down at 45 deg, of Mira standing in the room, surrounded by debris, unconscious bodies and corpses. Her sword arm hangs limp, the blade touching the floor. She hangs her head.] [Establishing shot of Crimson in space.] [Cut to Tanja and Sandra at a table, drinking something. Sandra still isn't in very good shape, still missing one hand and a lot of skin, but she's cleaned-up, patched-up, and able to move around.] SANDRA Well, a million credits should last even us for awhile, and we rescued a bunch of kids to boot. Bob said he thinks the hospitals on Delat will even be able to reverse what Klocek did to them. Not a bad caper, huh? TANJA Yeah. A few more good capers like this one and we'll all be dead. SANDRA Tanja, don't be so hard on yourself. TANJA Hard? Look at yourself. Mira, Taara, Eric, and Daraan are all hurting. Hell, none of us made it out of that place without at least a headache. SANDRA We're mercenaries. It's part of the business. TANJA We lost the satellite, we nearly lost the Gamma module... Why did you make me leader? SANDRA Because you were the best person for the job. TANJA Am I still? SANDRA I think so. But that doesn't really matter. What matters is whether or not you think so. TANJA ... [Cut to Mira, looking at the stars. Kaarla approaches.] KAARLA MIRA KAARLA MIRA [mildly surprised] KAARLA MIRA KAARLA [Next frame, Kaarla pats Mira on the back.] [Next frame, Kaarla leaving.] MIRA [Next frame: thought] I wonder if you'd be so forgiving if you knew what my father did to your family. [Closing frame: A distant shot of Mira, taken from outside the ship.]