FADE IN

SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE:

INT. ENGINE ROOM
Empty, cavernous.

INT. ENGINE CUBICLE
Circular, jammed with instruments.
All of them idle.
Console chairs for two.
Empty.

INT. OILY CORRIDOR - "C" LEVEL
Long, dark.
Empty.
Turbo throbbing.
No other movement.

INT. CORRIDOR - "A" LEVEL
Long, empty.

INT. INFIRMARY - "A" LEVEL
Distressed ivory walls.
All instrumentation at rest.

INT. CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE - "A" LEVEL
Black, empty.

INT. BRIDGE
Vacant.
Two space helmets resting on chairs.
Electrical hum.
Lights on the helmets begin to signal one another.
Moments of silence.
A yellow light goes on.
Data mind bank in big.
Electronic hum.
A green light goes on in front of one helmet.
Electronic pulsing sounds.
A red light goes on in front of other helmet.
An electronic conversation ensues.
Reaches a crescendo.
Then silence.
The lights go off, save the yellow.

INT. CORRIDOR TO HYPERSLEEP VAULT
Lights come on.
Seven gowns hang from the curved wall.
Vault door opens.

INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT
Explosion of escaping gas.
The lid on a freezer pops open.
Slowly, groggily, Granite sits up.
Pale.
Granite rubs the sleep from his eyes.
Stands.
Looks around.
Stretches.
Looks at the other freezer compartments.
Scratches.
Moves off.

INT. GALLEY
Granite plugs in a Salix.
Lights a cigarette.
Coughs.
Grinds some coffee beans.
Runs some water through.

Granite: Rise and shine, Aaka.

INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT
Another lid pops open.
A young Female K 9 sits up.

Aaka: What time is it?
Granite: (Voice over) What do you care?

INT. GALLEY
Pot now half-full.
Granite watches it drip.
Inhales the fragrance.

Granite: Now Autumn and Amaroq. (Calls out) Good morning Captain.
Autumn: (Voice over) Where's the coffee?
Granite: Brewing.

Aaka walks into the kitchen.
Pours herself a cup.

INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT
Two more lids pop open.
A pair of K 9 sits up.
Look at each other.

INT. GALLEY
Granite enjoys a freshly brewed cup.

Granite: Jenna...

Another moment.
And then the sound of another lid opening.

Granite: And if we have much, can Ebony be far behind.

Lid opening sound.

Granite: Right.

INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT

Autumn looks at his groggy circus.

Autumn: One of you jokers get the cat.

Jenna picks up a limp cat out of one of the compartments.

INT. MESS

The crew of the United States commercial starship Nostromo
Seated around a table.

Autumn.........Captain
Granite...........Executive Officer
Jenna.........Warrant Officer
Amaroq............Science Officer
Aaka........ Navigator
Much.........Engineer
Ebony..........Engineering Technician
Jones..........Cat

Five Male K 9 and two Female K 9: Aaka and Jenna.

Aaka: Jesus am I cold.
Much: Still with us, Ebony.
Ebony: You.
Jenna: Lucky us.

They yawn, stretch, shiver.
Autumn looks over at a flaming yellow light.

Granite: I feel dead.

Granite is not yet fully awake.
Yawns.

Much: You look dead.
Amaroq: Nice to be back.
Much: Before we dock maybe we'd better go over the bonus Situation.
Ebony: Yeah.
Much: Ebony and I think we deserve a full share.
Autumn: You two will get what you Contracted for. Just like everybody else.
Ebony: Everybody else gets more than us.
Autumn: Everybody else deserves more than you two.
Amaroq: Mother wants to talk to you.
Autumn: I saw it. Yellow light for my eyes only...Now, everybody hit their stations.

INT. COMPUTER ROOM ANNEX
Floor to ceiling data banks.
Another flaming yellow light.
A legend underneath.
COMMAND PRIORITY ACCESS ONLY.
Autumn enters.
Sits at his console.
Removes insignia master computer key attached to his shirt.
Plug it into the board under the light.
All banks burst into life.
Autumn punches up a computer code on the keyboard.
Legend on the screen...
What's my God damn key?
Printout from computer answers...
01335 on the binary side.

Autumn: Thank you Mother.

Autumn punches up the combination on the keyboard.
Immediately start getting a readout.

CUT TO:
INT. BRIDGE
Above eye level the room is ringed by view screens.
All of them blank.
Granite, Jenna, and Aaka enter.
Autumn' seat remains empty.
All of them now dressed; they find their way to individual Consoles.
Jenna puts down the cat, straps herself into the high-backed chair.

Granite: Plug us in.

All three crewmembers begin throwing switches.
The control room starts to come to life.
Colored lights flicker.
Chase each other across glowing screens.

Granite: Give us something to look at.

Aaka presses a bank of switches.
View screens glimmer into life.

Aaka: Take a look at this.

On each screen, blackness speckled with stars.

Aaka: Where's Earth.
Granite: You're the navigator.
Jenna: That's not our system.
Granite: Scan.

Aaka hits several toggles.
On the screens the images begin to drift.

ONE OF THE SCREENS
A moving image of a star field.

EXT. NOSTROMO
The Factory Starship lumbering with the depths of inter-stellar space.

Function: Petroleum tanker and Refinery.
Capacity: 2000,000,000 tons.
Length: One and one half kilometers.

Battered exterior encrusted with dark sludge.

INT. BRIDGE

Aaka pores over charts.
Consults her console.
Puzzled.

Granite: Contact traffic control.

Jenna switches on her transmission unit.

Jenna: This is commercial vessel Nostromo. Registration number 180246. Doyou read me. Over.

Nothing but the hiss of static.

Jenna: Nothing.
Granite: Keep trying.

Turns to Aaka.
Jenna attempting transmission in big.

Granite: You got a reading yet.
Aaka: We're way out in the boondocks here...
Granite: Keep trying...
Aaka: Working on it.

Eureka.

Aaka: Found it.
Granite: Hard to believe.
Aaka: What the hell are we doing out here.
Granite: What are you talking about.
Jenna: It's not our system.

 

INT. ENGINE ROOM
Giant reactor system purring smoothly.

INT. ENGINE ROOM

Much and Ebony in a glass cubicle. Each having a beer.
Huge power plant stretching before them.
All units on automatic hyper-drive.
Much hits a switch above his desk. A green light goes on.

Much: How's your light?
Ebony: Green.
Much: Mine too.

They both take a swig.
Suddenly a beeper signal begins.

Much: Christ. What is it now?
Ebony: Right.
Jenna: (Voice over) Report to the mess.

INT. OILY CORRIDOR - "C" LEVEL
Much: I want to know why they never come down here. This is where the work is.
Ebony: Same reason we have half a share to their one, our time is their time, that's the way they see it.
Much: Well, I'll tell you something... it stinks.

They move towards the companionway.

INT. MESS
Entire crew present.

Autumn: Some of you may have figured out that we're not home.
Ebony: What the hell.
Autumn: Mother's interrupted the course of the voyage.  Mother is programmed to interrupt the course of out voyage if certain conditions arise. They have...(pause) We've received intermittent transmission from quadrant points QBR 157, 052.  Somebody's gone down.
Ebony: So what.
Granite: We're obligated under Section B2...
Much: Christ. We're a commercial ship not some rescue team. This kind of duty's not in our contract.
Amaroq: You better read your contract.  Transmissions received in non-commercial lanes...

Autumn gives Much and Ebony a look.

Autumn: We're going in, that's it.

Ebony knows when to ease up.

Ebony: Right, we're going in. (smiles) Sir.

Autumn turns to Amaroq.

Autumn: Can we land on it?

He takes a print-out from Mother out of his paw.

Amaroq: The other ship did.
Autumn: That's what I mean.

Studies the print-out.

Amaroq: It's big enough. Can't see any reason why not.

CUT TO:
EXT. NOSTROMO AND REFINERY APPROACHING THE STAR/PLANET SYSTEM

INT. BRIDGE
Autumn at his console speaking to Amaroq.

Autumn: We're coming into range of the planet. What kind of orbit do you plan for the cargo.
Amaroq: Z local vertical mode.
Autumn: You figure it will hold that.
Amaroq: You worried about redundancy management disabling CMGS control.
Autumn: Yeah.
Amaroq: CMG control is inhibited via DAS/DCS. We'll augment with TACS and monitor through ATMDC and computer interface. (pause) Feel better?
Autumn: A lot.

EXT. NOSTROMO
Moving within range of the planet.

INT. BRIDGE
The crew strap themselves to their seats.

Autumn: Prepare for separation and orbital insertion of the cargo.

Much preparation for separation, etc.

Autumn: Give me an EC Pressure reading.
Amaroq: 3.45 n/c m^2 squared (5 Pisa)
Autumn: Shout if it changes. Deactivate probe retract system.
Granite: What about the pressure seal.

Autumn hits appropriate switches.

Autumn: Now the probe retract system.

Granite hits other equally appropriate switches.

Granite: Okay.
Autumn: Release captive hatches and disengage probe.

Granite working switches and buttons.

Granite: Disengaged.

Autumn punches buttons of his own.

EXT. NOSTROMO
The Refinery separates from Nostromo.

INT. BRIDGE
Autumn watches the refinery moving away on a view screen.

Granite: All free and clear.
Autumn: Amaroq.
Amaroq: Orbital insertion complete.
Autumn: Okay. The money's safe. Let's take it down.

EXT. NOSTROMO
Engines coughing to life.
Nostromo begins its descent.
Below night's tide rolls across the planet's surface.

INT. BRIDGE
The view screen shimmers.

Jenna: Turbulence.

EXT. NOSTROMO
Tug-module hydroplaning downward.
A set of brilliant lights switch on.
Cut through the thick atmosphere.

INT. ENGINE ROOM - CUBICLE
Much and Ebony strapped in their seats.
Begin rocking from the sudden, extreme turbulence.

Much: Christ. Overloading. What the hell are we going through.
Ebony: Dust frizzing the compressor.
Much: There goes the conversion stabilizer.
Ebony: I don't know if the digital solenoid...
Much: Forget it. If we don't Amaroq, dollars to your aunt's cherry we get an electrical fire...

INT. BRIDGE
The turbulence continues unabated.
Aaka's eyes follow cross-plot gauges.
Aaka: Drop begins...now. Fifteen Kilometers and

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