The Daedalus Encounter

[inside the cargo area of an abandoned freighter, Casey turns on the floodlight - revealing a Vakkar corpse]

Zack:
Whoa! God, those things are ugly.

Ari:
Why Zack, I always thought you found aliens quite... attractive.

Zack:
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, I was drunk that night, you know that, and besides, you swore to me it was female.

[after the probe has been deployed]

Zack:
Casey I gotta ask you: what does it feel like having your eyes on air just floating around in a little ball while the rest of you's back here with us?

Ari:
[slighty annoyed] Knock it off, Zack.

Zack:
[annoyed] I'm just asking Casey a question.

Ari:
OK, Casey. Your guiding system's pretty much automatic so you can concentrate on the job. Most other functions are up to you.

[first lines]

Ari:
Maintain formation people and keep alert. This sector's supposed to be crawling with Vakkar Spiders. Casey, anything on the scanners?

[the scanners flare up and a number of Vakkar Spiders appear out of a vortex]

[after Casey has found the first orb]

Zack:
[taking the orb] Casey, what do we have here?

[gently throws it up and catches it]

Zack:
Huh?

Ari:
It's beautiful.

Zack:
Better hold on to it.

[undoes a lock on his suit]

Zack:
You never know if we could get outta here...

[pulls around a bag and puts the orb into it]

Zack:
...they could be worth something.

[the red door closes behind Ari and Zack after they enter the Cental Hub of the ship]

Zack:
[slowly walks forwards, laser gun at the ready] It's some kind of Central Hub. It seems totally reinforced, do you think this would, uh, keep those krin out?

Ari:
[slowly walks forwards, laser gun at the ready] I don't know, maybe? Why not stay in here and find out? Gotta steer this thing away from a star remember?

Zack:
Yeah, I remember.

Ari:
[points at the hexagonal doors around the Hub] The symbols over the doors might tell us what's on the other side.

[Casey hovers in front of a blue light in the middle of the centre of the Central Hub, which has beautiful white lights continuiously coming up in the shape of a fountain]

Ari:
[moving forwards] Let's check this out.

Zack:
[as Casey explores the outside of the unknown ship] Ari, I've never seen anything like this.

Ari:
Not any human has.

[Casey goes past a tall object in the shape of a microphone on a gigantic stand]

Zack:
Some kind of composit? Alloy or secreted material, did they... they build this stuff or grow it?

[Ari, Zack, who's fainted, and Casey are riding an elvator up a long shaft]

Ari:
Hey Casey, remember right after basics, we were dying to get into a real war, we weren't even ready. I guess nobody was. [pause] Combat changes people, Zack got crazier, I got to tell him so. Well I'd better keep him alive, but now you, Case'.

[Ari stands up and walks towards Casey]

Ari:
You never changed. You know we can depend on you. Always there for us, straight to steady... but now you've changed too. [Ari sighs] Still you I know Casey? [pause] Do you still... feel? [Ari touches Casey, who makes sweet beeping sounds] It sure would be nice to hear your voice again. I think the Mettikes were working on Speech Interpolation system when, we pulled you from the lab, sorry we were in such a hurry. [pause] You know when we get out of this thing I gonna find someone that can... someone that can build you a voice. That's a promise.

[Zack starts to move, then kicks the dead krin off the elvator and sits up, clutching his head]

Zack:
Oh, ez... did I miss anything?

Ari:
Almost. How's your head?

Zack:
[stands up] Feels like it got stuck in a power motor's claw.

[Casey uses light pulses on the Sundial, opening the shutters behind it - revealing a spectacular view of the dome, the front section of the ship and the Sun in the distance]

Ari:
Well look at that. It's beautiful.

Zack:
Yeah. Fuselarges usually are.

[Ari and Zack look at the sundial and Zack realizes what it is]

Zack:
Maybe some kind of sundial?

Ari:
Sure.

[Casey shoots the upper right-hand switch with his laser, opening the abandoned freighter's Cargo doors]

Zack:
Nice job Casey!

[Casey enters the dark Cargo room]

Ari:
Hmm. Dark in there. Better kick in the floodlight.

[Casey approaches the abandoned freighter's cargo room's exit and looks at the Vakkar corpse before leaving]

Zack:
This whole sector's picked clean. We need to go further out.

Ari:
I agree. But where? To The Gemmon Cluster? Serious? LV-246? [Casey flies though the open Cargo doors and out of the freighter]

Zack:
Ooh, not there. You what I was thinking about? Remember the time we suprised the hell out of that Carcruiser who was asleep at the wheel?

Ari:
Yeah, Mizar system right?

Zack:
[happy] Yeah. And I never saw so many ejection pilots in my life. [Casey approaches the Artemis]

Ari:
Wait, you wanna go back to Mizar?

Zack:
Why not? Oh, Ari I doubt anyone's been out there since the work. [Casey enters the Probe Bay and turns around]

Ari:
[serious] No, it's too close to the Vakkar boarder. We'd be violating their common territory.

Zack:
So? Who's gonna know?

Ari:
[not satisfied] Doesn't sound like such a good idea to me Zack. [the Probe Bay doors close]

Zack:
[persuasive] Come *on* Ari! What are you afraid of? We don't have to go by the *book* anymore.

Ari:
[to Casey] Welcome home, dear.

Zack:
[excited but calm] Oh, Casey. You're back. Listen, I say we take a vote: Who's for going to Mizar?

[no one answers]

Zack:
[persuasive] Oh, come on Ari! It's not like it's in "the car of space", it's a "buffer" zone, no one even patrols out there. I know there's gonna be some tasty salvage.

Ari:
[unconvinced] Yeah?

[pause]

Ari:
[annoyed] Oh! I don't why I let you talk me into these things.

Zack:
[gets up] Then let me talk you into something else on that fact.

Ari:
I heard that!

Zack:
I know, you were supposed to.

[to Casey]

Zack:
Hey, uh Case' Whatdaya say? Mizar?

[Casey responds "Yes"]

Ari:
OK then. Mizar it is.

Zack:
[checks the scanner and activates the view screens] We've got a nice clear terminus. About 190,000,000 clicks on this point would do it.

Ari:
Let's do it.

[the Artemis positions itself, then accelerates to speeds near to that of light a disappears into space]

[the Artemis systems come back online]

Ari:
[wakes up] Oh... oh man. Zilleries online. Zack. Zack wake up! You OK?

[Zack wakes up and realizes that they've crashed]

Zack:
[annoyed] Oh jeez! You say I'm a lousy pilot, look at this!

Ari:
[angry] Damn it Zack! *You're* the one that told me this position was clear!

Zack:
[annoyed] That's what the *scanner* said!

Ari:
[working the controls] Let's run some instrument checks, let's see what kind of damage we've sustained.

Zack:
[working his controls] Ari, scanners only pick up metal and rock this... this thing must be made of something else.

[meaning what they've crashed onto]

Ari:
[pressing buttons that don't respond] Oh sh*t! *Every* one of our Drive Systems are down, even the thrusters.

Zack:
[sits back] Oh great. Great so were de...

[a warning beep sounds six times and Zack looks ahead]

Zack:
[to Ari] Uh, do you wanna hear the good news or the bad news?

Ari:
[sarcastically] Uh, good news?

Zack:
[looks ahead] There is none. The bad news is, this thing's hurtling straight for the Sun's carona... it's taking us with it.

Ari:
[works the controls again without success] And there's no way to clear without our thrusters... And we still have short-range communication?

Zack:
Yeah, yeah.

Ari:
Send a Distress Call.

Zack:
[incredelus] To who? What you think this thing is a ship?

Zack:
[annoyed] Zack, I don't know, but whoever, or whatever's on board could help us.

Zack:
Yeah, I just they're not too tormented for us bashing into their front door.

Ari:
[annoyed] Zack just do it!

Zack:
[working the controls] All right sending Distress signals.

[Casey runs an analysis]

Zack:
Oh, here's a big surprise: Unknown.

Ari:
Any response to our Distress Call?

Zack:
Zip. Bad error.

Ari:
So, either we figure how to alter our course...

Zack:
Or we're toast.

Ari:
We've got four hours.

Zack:
[turns to face the controls agin] Great. This is great.

Ari:
[gets up and walks towards Casey] Casey, better activate your Probe, let's see what we're dealing with out there.

[Ari and Zack fly over a section of domes]

Zack:
Hey come on Ari, this is just like the old days ain't it?

Ari:
But this, I'm kind of hoping the old days are over.

Zack:
Oh come on, tell me, you don't find this stuff exciting anywhere.

Ari:
The *only* thing that excites me is staying alive.

[repeated line]

Ari:
Opening Probe Bay doors... now.

[armed and suited up, Ari and Zack exit the Artemis, and see the design of the alien ship for real]

Zack:
Whoa. Man I thought I'd seen everything.

Ari:
Never seen a material like this before. Design: Totally alien. Looks like it was alive once does it?

[Ari files upwards and Zack follows her]

Zack:
Well it's nice to the old galaxies if it still has a few surprises left for us.

[Ari and Zack enter a corridor behind the Yellow Door]

Ari:
[points] Stay left, Zack.

Zack:
You know I've just noticed something? You're giving off a lot of orders for a civillian.

Ari:
[obvious tone] I do out-rank you.

Zack:
[correcting] Oh no. You *did* outrank me, and the only reason you did, was because you were a lot better killing all those times I was. [hovering, Casey looks at Zack and glides on]

Ari:
[almost laughing] Oh! Everything I got I earned the hard way. Just because you kept getting busting the difference abortination.

Zack:
Oh hey, hey, I know what you're talking about OK. You know that wasn't my fault.

Ari:
[almost laughing] Oh the hell it was and you went out of your way to disobet the orders. You never could resist breaking the story.

Zack:
Hey, hey! Ari, let me explain something to you, OK? If I take an order from you, it's because I *choose* to. Got it? [Ari nods and Zack walks on]

[Casey opens the Yellow Door]

Ari:
[proud] All right, Casey!

[Casey opens the Blue Door]

Zack:
[coolly] All right, Casey.

[Ari and Zack enter a huge shaft behind the Blue Door]

Ari:
[as Casey flies over to the other side] Whoa! This is amazing! Look at the size of it!

Zack:
[looks down] Ari, I can't even see the bottom here.

[Ari and Zack proceed to a round platform ahead]

Ari:
I wonder what this is for? [Ari and Zack stand on the platform and it starts ascending - it's an elevator]

Zack:
[looks up] I guess we're gonna find out.

[Ari and Zack look around at the desert area they are in]

Zack:
Oh man. Do you think this is real?

Ari:
Even this ship isn't that big. There's gotta be a projection... or an illusion.

Zack:
Hey, hey, wait remember that, remember that energy field we went through before, somehow you know, transported us to the home world.

Ari:
Transport?

Zack:
Yeah.

Ari:
[cracks up] Maybe you've been watching too many old Star Trek re-runs.

[Zack takes this as a complement]

Zack:
Ari... there's fresh air, and there's even a breeze. If we're in an illusion it's pretty damn convincing. [Ari looks at a statue and at the lights around the circular platform it's on. Zack steps backwards] Hey Ari, it *is* real! See?

Zack:
[preapring to enter the ship] Let's do it.

[Zack drops into a dark green room]

Zack:
Bring a loomac in maintence bay.

Ari:
[drops down] Artificial gravity, but 7 to 8% a tear normal.

Zack:
[shining his torch around] Oh Ari check this out. What the hell is this stuff?

[Zack breaks off a hard green stick and shines his torch at it]

Ari:
Be careful we can't tell what anything is until we find the lifeforms that built all this.

[Casey flies around the room]

Ari:
Hey! Come over here! I've found something.

[Ari and Zack come before a large circle in the wall]

Ari:
Might be a door.

Zack:
[readying his laser gun] Well let's blast it and find out.

Ari:
No! Blast it and you could decompress the entire ship!

[Ari and Zack enter the Central Hub after exploring all six doors. Ari stops in front the blue light]

Zack:
I guess that just about does then, huh?

Ari:
[looks at Zack] What are you talking about?

Zack:
In case you hadn't noticed Ari, we've done all six doors. We're fresh out of options.

Ari:
[confident] No we can backtrack and find the things we missed the first time around.

Zack:
We don't have *time* to go through this entire ship again. We're getting close to the Sun remember?

[Zack sits down]

Zack:
Might as well face it Ari, this mainsloray is taking the plunge, and we're going along for the ride.

Ari:
[encouraging] We can't give up without a fight Zack.

Zack:
You know what you're problem is Ari? You've never known when the fight is over.

Ari:
[sits down next to Zack] You maybe right.

Zack:
[suprised] That, your *actually* agreeing with me for once?

[Ari puts her arm around Zack and looks at Casey, who moves towards them]

Ari:
Some day I hope I die in better company.

[Zack cracks up, opens his bag and takes out one of the five orbs they've collected]

Zack:
Well, at least we've got these. I wonder if they'd have made us rich.

Zack:
[whilst exploring the desert at the top of the elevator behind the blue door] Hey Ari, it *is* real! See?

[Zack falls through the ground and Ari runs over]

Ari:
Zack?

[Ari touches the ground and a blue light appears]

Ari:
Zack?

[Ari puts her head through the ground, and sees Zack holding on to small beams suspended over the huge shaft]

Ari:
You idiot!

Zack:
[trying to keep calm] Ari... Ari...

Ari:
[annoyed] You stupid idiot!

Zack:
[uneasy] Ari would you... c-c-c-cut me a break OK? This is not the time.

Ari:
[annoyed] I don't leave you hanging there just for so apt stupid!

Zack:
[the beams start to break] Ari! Come on.

[Ari shakes her head, the beams snap and Zack falls down the shaft. Ari screams and Casey goes down the shaft]

Zack:
Oh Casey!

[Casey catches up to Zack, he grabs on to him and starts to move back up the shaft]

Zack:
Oh Case', that would be nice.

[Casey pulls Zack back up the huge shaft to the Desert area outside]

Ari:
[shocked] Zack? Oh my god I thought I'd lost you! [Zack takes off his mircophone, Ari runs over and embraces him] I'm so sorry I left you hanging there! The next thing I knew you were gone I'm so sorry!

Zack:
Ari it's OK.

Ari:
[looks at Zack] No. No! No it's not. I'm stupid! I'm supposed to be keeping you alive!

Zack:
[flustered] Ari...

Ari:
[embraces Zack again, sobbing] I'm so sorry Zack.

[Casey brings an orb to Ari and Zack in the Central Hub]

Zack:
Casey, Casey, Casey, just... [Zack takes the orb] What exactly are you planning on doing with all these? [Zack puts the orb in his bag]

Zack:
[after Casey saved his life] Hey uh... hey Case... [Zack puts his head set back on] You probably know what I'm gonna say right, uh... this was the first time you saved my . They way things are looking it's probably now gonna be the last right, so uh... I just wanted to say that I'm glad... you know uh... I'm glad that we're partners, that's what I mean, uh... [trying to get the words right] I'm glad that I know you uh...

Ari:
[appears and puts her hand on Zack's shoulder] We still have to take a look around here. Do you think you can manage that?

Zack:
Yeah, yeah I can *manage* that.

Ari:
Ah, but remember this time...

Zack:
I know, I know, I know. Be *careful*. Thanks a lot. [looks at Casey, indicating "You know what she's like" about Ari and walks way]

Ari:
[happily sighs] Thanks Casey.

[Casey brings the sixth and final orb to Ari and Zack in the Central Hub]

Zack:
[takes the orb] Alright Casey! I think we have a pretty nice collection of these things. [Zack puts the orb in his bag]

Ari:
Six orbs. [Zack stops and Ari looks around] Six doors. [Zack takes the orb out of his bag again and looks at it. Ari and Casey do the same]

[after completing the Orbits puzzle, day turns to night in the Desert area and Casey enters the Blue Door's code into the statue. Its lights change colour and the statue comes alive]

Zack:
[takes out his Laser gun and points it at the statue] Ari...

[Ari takes out her Laser gun and points it at the statue, which lowers its hand, revealing an orb which turns from grey to purple]

Zack:
[puts away his Laser gun and takes the orb] What do we have here?

Ari:
Beautiful. Maybe it's important...

[looks around]

Ari:
Maybe symbolic.

Zack:
Maybe valuable.

[undoes a lock on his suit and puts the orb in his bag]

Zack:
Better hold onto it. You never know, if we get out of this place, maybe worth something.

Ari:
Yeah, well that was a great show.

[the alien spaceship approaches the Sun and the temperature inside starts to increase]

Zack:
[as the elevator reaches the control room] Warm up your laser Case' I've got a bad feeling about this.

Ari:
We've got this far Zack. Just stay cool.

Zack:
Stay cool? Come on it's gotta be 85 in here and rising.

[the device containing the orbs vanishes, revealing a fish-shaped structure and a live alien. Ari and Zack notice it]

Ari:
Oh yes!

Zack:
We've got a live one Case'. Go check him out.

[Casey goes over to the alien]

Zack:
Ari, you see that? [indicating what the alien is standing next to]

Ari:
Yeah, could be our navigational console.

Zack:
Think this guy will mind if we hijack his ship?

Ari:
See what Casey comes up with.

Zack:
Looks like he's studying some kind of read-out. [the light beams under the fish-shaped structure come up and go down] He's adjusting those light beams.

Ari:
What's that thing in the centre? [the light beams under the fish-shaped structure come up]

Zack:
I don't know Ari but things are starting to heat up around here. Look we've gotta do something. We've gotta do something now.

[Casey opens the Green Door]

Zack:
Ah-ken-ay! Case'!

Zack:
[after exploring the farm] That was another dead end.

Ari:
[firmly] Come on Zack, we've been in bad before. Remember that time on Tekkar 7 when we were pinned down by two Vakkar squads?

Zack:
Yeah, how could I forget? He had this cold fighter down in the gully of a car picking us apart from the ridge.

[Ari and Zack enter the Central Hub]

Ari:
Right. And when we were ready to give up, Casey said, "There's no such thing as a hopeless situation," rigs the engine to create a plasma burst, and BOOM! Took 'em all out.

[Casey approaches the Purple Door]

Zack:
Yeah. Yeah maybe you're right.

[Casey opens the Purple Door]

Ari:
Good job Casey.

[Ari, Zack and Casey look at the sixth orb, which suddenly glows blue]

Zack:
Ari! What the hell's happening?

[the blue light in middle of the Central Hub fades, the fountain of white lights comes up brightly and dissolve to a device shaped like a diver's suit with six circles on it as platform appears under it and a ring appears around it. Impressed, Ari and Zack walk towards it]

Zack:
[excited] Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Six orbs...

Ari:
Six receptacles. Casey you're a genius!

[the live alien turns around]

Zack:
He's seen us! Right, go for the nav consoles! I'll cover you!

Ari:
Wait Zack! Don't shoot it! It's unarmed! We've gotta try and communicate!

Zack:
How? Come on! This thing isn't exactly happy to see us Ari!

Ari:
Casey, try and communicate with it! Lower your weapon Zack! Show it we mean no harm!

[the live alien faces Casey, who communicates with it by sending a code from the Library to the alien, activating a force field around the Artemis as the alien ship reaches the Sun]

[the fish-shaped structure, which is an egg, starts to hatch]

Ari:
Zack look, something's coming out.

[it hatches into a giant red alien]

Zack:
Whoa. Look at that thing!

Ari:
That shell was some kind of chrysalis. This is fantastic! We must be the first humans ever to witness this!

Zack:
Yeah right. I hope we don't look like appetizers.

Ari:
It's different from the other creatures we've seen.

[the live alien bows to the giant red alien]

Ari:
Look, the other one is bowing. Maybe this is the new Queen.

Ari:
[in a voice over] Artemis Log: The force field created by the creatures which called themselves "Seddy", protected us and the ship from the intense heat. The krin either fled or were destroyed when we passed through the star's corona. The newly born Queen possesses "race memory" and incredible psychokinetic abilities. She improved Casey's translation abilities and then answered many of our questions. She even repaired the Artemis.

[the alien spaceship and the Artemis fly through space side by side]

Zack:
Ah, Ari we're receiving a transmission from the Daedalus, putting it onscreen...

[the transmission screen appears]

Daedalus Alien:
[subtitled] Safe voyage, friends. May our paths cross again. Farewell.

Zack:
You know Case' you were right all along. There *is* no such thing as a hopeless situation.