TV-PG (Violence)
Starboard Side
Episode 106: Reflection
Written by Jared Williams
Fade Out of Black
Int – Bunker
Fade out of black to
reveal a darkened, burning bunker. Fallen pieces of concrete, busted pipes, and
destroyed lighting fixtures litter the steel-grated floor. Fallen beams of wood
are burning from place to place, as are portions of the walls. A lone figure in
Green Lantern Corps uniform dives to the ground. He ducks behind a fallen piece
of concrete. The young, clean cut man is missing his Green Lantern Ring and
power, and in its place is an automatic rifle. This man is Dimitri Ivanov (Born
in Sprague, but was raised in the states.)
Dimitri brings his
head above the concrete. He peers through the hazed darkness and raises his
rifle, taking several shots. The angle reverses to show several enemy soldiers,
dressed in black fatigues and sleek, face covering helmets, fall to the ground.
The soldiers, rather than bleed, seize and spark from their wounds.
With the angle back
on Dimitri, a slightly older John Stewart (in his late forties) comes in to
frame behind him. Dimitri stands and looks over the now un-defended junction at
the end of the bunker room. Stewart is missing his ring as well, wielding an
identical rifle.
Stewart
How many made it through?
Dimitri
[Nodding to the junction]
No more than three, including Diallo.
Stewart
Let’s move. It’s useless if we don’t catch him.
John and Dimitri
start to move forward, maneuvering through the debris on the floor. They reach
the junction and turn the corner, emptying out into a branching corridor (A7).
This area is much less damaged than the previous location, it even seems
slightly quieter.
John signals to
Dimitri to slow down. They begin to creep through the hall, looking for any
sign of attack. A lone enemy soldier peeks around a corner of an adjoining
corridor and attempts to take a shot. He misses John’s torso by centimeters
before Dimitri instinctively ducks and takes a shot at the soldier’s chest. The
soldier falls to the ground, seizing and sparking like the previous squad.
Stewart
[Condescending]
Nice shot
Dimitri
Well don’t go gushing with gratitude, old
man.
The duo continues
down the hall a bit more before coming upon a very darkened corridor. Stewart
looks up at the corridor’s designation (A7-G) above the entryway before taking
cover on the other side of the frame. Dimitri follows suit.
Stewart
This is it.
Dimitri
This hall leads to the shuttle bay?
[Peering into the dark hall]
Sure don’t wanna make it easy for us, huh?
Stewart
You lead the way; I’ll bring up the rear.
Dimitri nods and
moves into the corridor. John hesitates several seconds before following.
A new angle leads
Dimitri in the corridor, tight on his face. John’s silhouette can be seen
following him just behind. They’re back in commando mode now, doing their best
to remain silent.
The area opens up
slightly now in a ventilation access area. It’s still dark. It is roughly
fifteen feet by fifteen feet. As Dimitri enters the corridor a single fist
slams into his face from behind the shadows. He is knocked to the ground.
Stewart
Dimitri!
John attempts to
rush up and aid his comrade before being blind-sided by the one remaining
soldier in the compound from behind. He is recognized as Stewart crashes to the
floor, letting out an “augh!”
Dimitri’s attacker
steps out of the shadows. He is a rugged, but still relatively young alien. He
looks mostly humanoid save less defined ear lobes, the lower ends of which
blend into his neck. His eyes are completely black as well, and roll over with
a second lens when blinking. His hair is a dirty brown and cut into a messy
bowl. His clothes are black, those of a renegade wanting to be noticed. He is
unarmed save a pistol strapped to his left thigh and hanging from the right
side of his belt are six Green Lantern rings attached to a steel chain. This
man is Diallo.
Diallo looks Dimitri
over as he attempts to get back up. He kicks Dimitri’s rifle out of his hand,
which causes a slightly dizzied Dimitri to fall backward on to his palms.
Diallo
Never has there been a force quite so
difficult to contend with; to evade. To the corps, I tip my hat to you.
Dimitri
[Looking dazed but angry at the steel-grated
floor]
Diallo…
Diallo
Left nearly the last in his own fallback
compound. It’s almost poetic, if you can justify such a thing.
Dimitri tries once
more to stand. Diallo slams his boot on to his shoulder, pinning him down. He
moves around behind him.
Diallo
Don’t bother. The struggle is needless.
The final enemy
soldier leads John into the access area. John is presented weaponless in front
of Diallo. The soldier is holding a rifle to John’s back, ready to fire.
Diallo
[To Stewart]
And you? Blind-sighted just as easily? If
only you had a… [Holding up the chain of rings]
…lantern
to help you.
[Chuckling to himself]
That was good.
Stewart glances to
his right, back into the corridor very quickly. Diallo fails to notice. The
angle cuts to the darkened corridor briefly as a pair of familiar red, glowing
eyes move backward slightly.
Stewart
What are you waiting for, Diallo? Why don’t
you just kill us now, and go?
Diallo
I don’t know. Call it respect; call it a
morbid fetish for fun. It just… doesn’t sound appealing to kill you right off.
Stewart
Didn’t your mother ever teach you any values?
Diallo
What?
Stewart
[Glancing once more to his right]
Procrastination never pays.
Amideas, dressed in
a black uniform as opposed to his usual blue, steps out into the access area
and fires on the enemy soldier, carrying both his own rifle and Stewart’s. The soldier crashes to
the ground.
Dimitri takes
advantage of Diallo’s shock and rolls out from under his boot. He gets up to
his knees and rips the chain of Green Lantern Rings away from Diallo. They
crash on the wall closest to Amideas and Stewart.
Diallo takes out his
pistol and slams down on a control panel along the wall. The room is split in
two by a blue force field (originally intended to divert air circulation
throughout the bunker.) Amideas tosses the second rifle to Stewart. Stewart and
Amideas hesitate to fire on the force field which holds Diallo and a stumbling
Dimitri on the other side.
Diallo
[Laughing]
Wow, I wonder who has the advantage now. The exit’s on my side. Your puppy is on my side.
What do you do now? Hmm?
Stewart
Don’t try anything, Diallo. The minute you
get off this planet our ship will take you down.
Diallo
Oh, but not if you call it off!
[He points his pistol at the defenseless
Dimitri.]
Call it off, Lantern.
John reaches down to
his communicator and then hesitates. He looks across the room to Dimitri.
Dimitri shakes his head “no.” John hesitates for a second more, and then begins
to speak. Amideas very nearly stops him, but cuts his step mid-stride.
Stewart
Enforcer…
Radio voice
[Slightly staticy]
This is the Enforcer, what is your status?
Stewart
…Enemy secured.
Radio Voice
Understood. Beginning landing sequence.
Congratulations to you and your team.
Stewart
Yeah…
John closes the
communicator and places it back on his belt. He lowers his weapon slightly,
relaxing. Amideas keeps his ready but remains silent.
Diallo
Landing sequence?
Stewart
Yeah.
Diallo
[Smiling]
Well that’s good enough for me.
Diallo focuses his
aim on Dimitri and fires a single shot. Dimitri catches it in the center of his
torso. His mouth widens and he falls backward against the wall.
John
No!
Diallo smirks and
runs off into the corridor toward the shuttle bay. He leaves the already
deceased Dimitri against the wall and the energy field on.
John and Amideas
drop their weapons. Stewart runs toward the energy field, nearly throwing
himself into it before Amideas grabs him, pulling him backward away from it.
John fights him frantically.
Amideas
No, John.
John
Let me go! I can’t just let him die!
Amideas
John, he’s already dead.
John
No! Let me go! Let me…
Amideas manages to
relax Stewart to the point where he won’t kill himself in the energy field.
Amideas reaches for his own communicator and speaks.
Amideas
Enforcer, Diallo is on the move. Reverse landing procedure
immediately.
Radio voice
What? Negative, struts have already been
laid. We’ll have to take off all over again. What happened?
As the radio voice
speaks the camera pans across the floor to John, crawling toward the force
field where Dimitri’s open eyes look back at him, cold and silent. Stewart
begins to break down and cry.
John
I’m sorry… I’m sorry…
The camera pushes
out as Stewart continues to break down. Amideas tries to communicate with the Enforcer as we
Fade through black
Ext – Space
The camera pans
right across a rather small orange planet. This planet is Kaylis. A blue Nebula
is seen in the background. As the camera reaches the other side of the planet
it falls on a stylish GEF SPACE STATION. Docking ports extend from the central
hub of the station. The Ryuu-3 appears docked on the far right side of the
station. Located on the next dock is a smaller, more mechanical-looking ship.
Cut to
Int – Space Station
Docking Port Gamma
A large, thick
airlock door folds open like a closet door. A depressurization sound is heard
as the two atmospheres combine. Reveal Camella standing in the foreground,
facing Amideas and Jerry who stand just behind her. She resumes a previous
rant.
Camella
It’s not fair!
Amideas
I am not concerned whether or not you find it
fair, Camella.
Camella
But the only reason I volunteered to be a prisoner was so that I could hang out with you!
Amideas
The ship still requires heavy maintenance on
the weapons systems. The GEF decided further delay in your extradition to
headquarters was unacceptable. I concurred.
The trio enters a
junction connecting to an outer ring of docking ports. Camella regards the
corridor on her left side, and then turns back to Amideas pouting.
Camella
[Drawn out] Ami, I don’t want a new pilot…
Amideas
I’ve met with Captain Brooks before, and
spoken with him several times since the question of your transfer arose. I have
no reason to conclude he would treat you poorly.
Camella
But it’s about fun, Ami…
Camella gives
Amideas a pouty-look, desperate for an excuse. He responds only with his usual,
cold expression of business.
Cut to:
Int – Docking Port
Alpha
Camella stands in
the docking port, still pouting. Captain Brooks is already turning toward the
hatch to his ship. The dock folds its way shut. Camella tries as long as
possible to keep eye contact with her previous captor. The airlock seals,
closing Camella’s story for the time being.
Amideas and Jerry
turn away from the dock and head back toward the junction, which will
eventually lead them to the interior hub of the station.
Jerry
She made it sound like you adopted her or
something. She was always a prisoner?
Amideas
She offered much less resistance than most,
earning her more privileges than I tend to give, mostly due to the input of my
previous shipmate; but in the end, yes, she was always a captive.
Jerry
It’s funny, you know? I always saw you two
getting along so well. I don’t think it really sunk in that she was your prisoner until yesterday and you gave
her the news.
Amideas remains
silent. Jerry, still carrying the pretense that the robot has some humanity in
him, tries to strike up a new conversation.
Jerry
So uhm, speaking of prisoners… I read the
recent logs of this station; what prisoner’s they’re keeping on board, and
which ones are being transferred. I found one that was kind of interesting; he
used to be in the Green Lantern Corps. I only checked it more closely because
the GEF and the Corps are on such good terms, not to mention you used to be a
Manhunter.
Amideas
What was his name?
Jerry
Uh, John… Stewart, I think. He was like the
third or fourth from Earth, something like that.
Amideas stops
walking sharply, and turns to face Jerry. Jerry is slightly surprised.
Amideas
John Stewart is on this station? As a
prisoner?
Jerry
Yeah, you know him?
Amideas
I served with him on several missions with
the corps, before my official dismissal by the Guardians.
Jerry
Yeah, well, I guess he stopped following the
code. The GEF caught him trying to ignite the nebula with concentrated… what
was it called? Rillexium, I think.
Amideas
The Pylar nebula; the one just outside of
this station?
Jerry
[Nodding] Yeah.
Amideas computes to
himself for a moment, and then resumes walking. Jerry follows, slightly
confused.
Amideas
What are your plans while we’re on the
station?
Jerry
Oh, well, isn’t there anything you want me to
do?
Amideas
Our ship is under the command of the
station’s repair team at the moment. While we’re here, I would suggest you use
the time to familiarize yourself with the GEF’s customs and expectations.
Befriend as many captains and officers as you can.
Jerry
Right.
Cut to:
Int – Corridor P1
A series of closely
positioned doors line a narrow corridor. The door the camera stops on is
labeled P1-K. Amideas’s hand comes into frame and opens the door. He steps
through.
Cut to:
Int – Stewart’s Hold
John Stewart takes
notice of the robot entering his room and sits up. He’s much older now; roughly
thirty years have passed since the last time he was seen. He’s much scruffier
than he’s been seen before. He seems to have lost his militant edge. He seems
slightly afraid of the robot at first.
Stewart
[Nodding to himself]
Oh, oh… I know you.
Amideas
[Confirming tone]
John Stewart.
Stewart rests his
head back against his bed, easing himself down. Amideas stands at the end of
the bed. The only other objects in the room are a toilet and sink on the wall
opposite the bed.
Stewart
Amideas… [Laughing] You’re looking well. I
bet it’s hard to get wrinkles when your face doesn’t move, huh?
Amideas
And you don’t quite look the same as the last
time I saw you.
Stewart
[Laughing again] No, no I don’t. How’ve you
been, Robot? What’ve you been up to?
Amideas
I’ve been serving as a captain for the GEF as
of late.
Stewart
[Slightly discouraged] Oh… so this isn’t just
a friendly visit, huh?
Amideas
I’m not on any official business. I was
curious.
Stewart
Curious? Now that, that always surprised me. You
always had such a thirst for problem solving, even when I first met you.
Amideas
Why were you trying to ignite the nebula?
Stewart
Do we have
to talk about that?
Amideas moves around
to the toilet and sits down. It’s mostly to make Stewart feel more at ease.
Amideas
I believe so, yes.
Stewart
You’re not going to like my answer, Amideas.
The fact of the matter is, it’s… not a
nebula.
Amideas
Yes it is.
Stewart
No, it’s not. It’s… Diallo.
Amideas
It’s a nebula.
Stewart
Think about it, Ami. You saw that man come
back from the dead almost as many times than I did. I know this sounds…
impossible, but it’s true.
Amideas
Diallo died on a Corps raid to Kaylis twenty
two years ago. That nebula is over two thousand years old.
Stewart
It’s him, Ami! It’s him! I know it is!
Amideas’s eyes
quickly flash yellow and then return to red. The look on Stewart’s face is
sincere.
Amideas
Have any physician’s been in here to examine
you? Psychologists?
Stewart
[Nodding annoyed]
Yes, more than I can count, but this is true!
I know it is! I can hear him.
Amideas
You talk with him?
Stewart
No, he speaks to me. I can’t talk back, but he tells me. He tells me he’s coming
back.
Amideas
How? How is he coming back?
Stewart
He won’t tell me. He only tells me he’s
coming back, but he’s been bringing me here. He’s been bringing me to the
nebula. I… I knew what has to be
done. And when I tried it they locked me up.
Amideas stays quiet.
Stewart begins to sincerely break down, almost breaking into tears.
Stewart
I don’t want to hurt anybody… I know I
wouldn’t. But every time I close my eyes. When I sleep, when I blink… he’s
talking to me, and I know the only way to stop it is to kill him.
Amideas
He’s already dead, John.
Stewart
No. He’s there. He’s right out there, and
he’s coming back soon.
Cut to:
Int – Corridor
Amideas exits
Stewart’s Hold. He locks the door behind him and continues toward the interior
of the station.
Cut to:
Int – Commander’s
Office
Amideas stands in
front of Commander Verox’s Desk (Adequately decorated with a nameplate reading
“Tomas Verox”). Commander Verox is slightly annoyed by the visit, as he already
knows everything Amideas is telling him.
Verox
He’s insane.
No one can deny that. He tried to annihilate an entire planet.
Amideas
No, that wasn’t his intention. He only wanted
to destroy the nebula. He doesn’t believe it would explode.
Verox
Amideas, I like to think you don’t hold this
man’s word as fact.
Amideas
No, I don’t. I simply believe he deserves a
chance to justify his claims.
Verox
There’s nothing to prove.
Verox goes back to
looking over digital files on his desk, displayed on small, flat panels which
line the top of it. Amideas begins to move around to the other side of the
desk.
Amideas
When I was still only eight years in to my
existence, there was a mission in which the Corps asked for my assistance.
Diallo was tracked down to a bunker on a desolate planet.
Verox stops looking
at the files and takes notice, still not looking at Amideas, though he knows
where this story is going.
Amideas
Diallo killed three Corps members that day.
He started to escape on his vessel, but a young ship captain managed to reverse
his engines quickly enough to track Diallo. The two ships fought, and Diallo’s
ship was destroyed. The captain verified that his sensors showed Diallo on
board at the time of the explosion.
Verox turns and
looks at Amideas finally; already realizing that Amideas is calling him out.
Amideas
That captain’s name was Tomas Verox; now can you explain how Diallo was discovered
running his operations two months later?
Verox
I know what you’re trying to do here…
Amideas
Diallo is not a normal being. He was obsessed with self preservation. If
Stewart has a theory which may prove this madman’s still alive, it makes sense
that he should be given the chance to back his claim.
Verox pauses only
slightly before continuing.
Verox
…All right, I’ll release him under your
custody, but only long enough to make a quick trip to Kaylis in one of our
shuttles and visit this shrine he keeps babbling about.
Amideas
I appreciate it, Commander.
Amideas begins to
move the door. Verox still doesn’t approve of the situation he’s been placed
in.
Verox
But if it turns out he has just lost it, I expect you to bring him back immediately.
Understood?
Amideas
Understood, Commander.
Amideas moves to the
door once more. It slides open for him.
Cut to:
Int – Hangar
One of the many
entryways to the moderately sized hangar bay slides open. Reveal a security
guard moving forward through the door, toward a row of shuttles. John Stewart
follows behind him, cuffed, and in the back of the line is Amideas, carrying a
standard-sized security rifle.
John
What’s this for?
Amideas
You’re being given the chance to prove what
you say; to justify what you tried to do.
John
I’ve requested that for weeks and they never
once considered it… until you arrived, Robot.
Amideas
I would save your thanks until you’ve showed
me proof, otherwise I’m to bring you right back here.
The three stop at a
shuttle with the hatch already open. The security guard moves to the side and
watches while Amideas loads Stewart into the shuttle, sitting him in the
passenger’s seat. After strapping Stewart in, he moves back around to the
hatch. The security guard shows concern.
Guard
Are you sure you don’t want anyone to go with
you?
Amideas
Don’t worry. He’s not a violent person.
Amideas presses a
button on the console and the hatch slides shut. The guard nods and begins to
walk away.
Cut to:
Int – Shuttle
Amideas moves back
to the front of the shuttle and sits down in the pilot’s chair. Stewart is
looking at him questioningly.
Amideas
I did this because no one carried more
ambition to capture Diallo than you did, but if this trip is a waste of our
time than they’ll lock you right back up on this station. Now [turning to
Stewart] is this trip a waste of our time?
Stewart
Get us to the shrine on Kaylis, the one where
Diallo died. I’ll show you what happened…
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The shuttlecraft
leaves the hangar bay of the Space Station. Its trip is short, as it quickly
turns and begins a descent to Kaylis. The blue nebula can still be seen in the
background.
Cut to:
Ext – Shrine
An abandoned shrine
sits in Amideas and Stewart’s path. It’s in very good shape; a small, one room
shrine. There is no door in the large entryway. The rest of the scenery appears
lush and green. A lot of wildlife has grown here since it was abandoned. The
shuttle can be seen in the background as Stewart paces up to the shrine.
Amideas stands with the rifle ready behind him.
Stewart
This is where the battle took place. This
jungle; it was a perfect hideout.
Insert a quick
flashback clip of a body falling to the ground wearing a GL uniform. The
flashback cuts to a quick shot of the body’s hand, revealing a GL Ring.
The image returns to
a grimacing Stewart as he remembers the battle.
Stewart
Diallo was good at killing.
Amideas
What happened inside the shrine?
Stewart closes his
eyes once more. The image returns to another flashback (darkened for mood).
Amidst the battle happening outside of the shrine between the GL corps and
Diallo’s mechanical soldiers, a middle-aged Stewart and another GL take cover
behind a tree, very close to the entrance of the shrine. The Mechanical
soldiers fight with the large rifles they had in the first scene while the
Corps fires back with energy blasts from their rings.
Stewart’s Voice
With the battle, there weren’t many of us
that could make it inside of the shrine.
Stewart and the
other Corps member sprint from behind the tree to the entrance of the shrine.
The image cuts to an
interior shot of the shrine. There are pews lining either side of the shrine,
and in the front there is a slightly elevated area Where Diallo and three of
his soldiers stand. Diallo has his back turned to Stewart and the other corps
member, busy reading out of a large, archaic book lying on the table. The
soldiers take notice to the intruder’s and fire upon them. Stewart dives behind
a pew to take cover. The other soldier takes a shot in the chest from the
energy rifle and dissolves into a cloud of orange dust, a slight expression of
agony on his face before he dies.
Stewart gets on his
knees from behind the pew and fires off several shots to pick off the
mechanical soldiers. He succeeds. They fall to the ground around Diallo; one
takes a shot in the arm, the other in the leg, and the last in the chest.
Stewart’s voice
But before long it was just me and Diallo.
Diallo turns around
to face Stewart. He appears as rugged and vile looking as ever. Stewart
attempts to take a shot at him, but fails as Diallo does a black flip to the
other side of the table. He looks down at his book.
Stewart’s voice
He was reading some incantation out of that
book I couldn’t understand. But in some way I felt stunned; almost frozen. I
couldn’t fire at him.
Diallo finishes the
incantation and looks up at Stewart. He grows a sinister smile on his face.
Stewart’s voice
And then he looked up at me, he looked up at
me and he said…
Diallo speaks, but
the words that come out of his mouth are in Stewart’s voice.
Diallo
My reign is yours, Stewart. Keep it warm for
me.
Stewart unfreezes
and shrugs off his feelings. He reaches his hand out from behind the pew and
aims it at Diallo. Diallo smiles and brings his arms up, almost forming a T,
but he is ready to accept his fate.
Stewart fires his
shot straight into Diallo’s chest. Diallo’s body falls behind the table.
The image returns to
Amideas and Stewart, now inside of the abandoned shrine. The three mechanical
soldiers still lye offline at the front of the room. Stewart is still holding
his eyes shut. Finally, he opens them, a slight ring of tears forming around
him.
Stewart
So don’t you see? He’s alive… He’s alive
inside me. He knew it all the time.
He knew that we’d track him down to the shrine. He knew that most of our people
would die. He knew that the failure of the mission would get the rest of us
survivors out of the job… and he knew that I’d be the one to finally kill him.
Amideas considers
the story. Stewart is well aware how far fetched it sounds.
Stewart
But his energy, his life, is running off of
that nebula in the sky. I have to stop it, Ami…
Amideas reaches his
conclusion. His stature becomes much more imposing to suggest so.
Amideas
That’s a powerful story; and you meant every
word of it.
Stewart
I know I did.
Amideas
However, I’m not convinced it warrants the
destruction of a nebula and possibly an entire planet.
Stewart lowers his
head in disappointment, though he already knew that’s what would happen.
Amideas lowers his rifle.
Amideas
My orders remain. I’m to take you back to the
station.
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The shuttle reaches
orbit above the planet. It turns toward the station, and hovers there.
Cut to:
Int – Shuttle
Amideas answers a
hail coming from the station. An engineer’s voice responds.
Engineer’s voice
Shuttle Pod B, You are cleared for entry into
the hangar.
Amideas
Thank you, we’ll be docking immediately.
Amideas switches the
communications panel off. Stewart is still in an understandably bad mood.
Amideas speaks to him.
Amideas
I have to bring you in; you know that. I must
follow my orders.
Stewart
I know, in the end you’re still a robot.
Amideas
Yes, I am still a robot,
[Leaning back in his chair]
with an off switch at the base of my head.
Stewart
What?
Amideas
I can’t follow my orders if I’m offline.
Stewart
[Smiling a bit] …Right.
Stewart brings his
hands around to the backside of Amideas’s head. He rubs his fingers along until
he finds a small knob underneath his outer coverings.
Stewart
This shouldn’t hurt at all.
Amideas
I know.
Stewart presses the
switch hard. Amideas’s eyes turn to black, followed by a humming sound of his
systems shutting down. He quickly falls limp.
Stewart slams his
hands down on the edge of the shuttle’s console to break his cuffs. He spreads
his arms far apart quickly to stretch, and then moves back to Amideas’s neck.
He twists the knob and it clicks four times.
Stewart
Twenty minutes ought to be enough.
Stewart moves back
to the console and starts laying in new coordinates for the shuttle. He’s in a
hurry.
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The shuttle does a
complete u-turn along its path and speeds away from the station. A voice over
of the engineer can be heard again.
Engineer’s Voice
Shuttle Pod B, stay on course… Amideas,
respond.
Fade through black:
Ext – Nebula
The shuttle pod
slows as it approaches the brilliant blue Nebula. The camera pans around to
reveal the distance traveled, as Kaylis is much smaller now.
Cut to:
Int – Shuttle
John Stewart looks
over Amideas. He’s clearly having some sort of inner dialogue, presumably with
the Diallo influence within him.
Stewart
No. I won’t kill him.
John pauses for a
moment before answering again. He’s frustrated.
Stewart
Because he’s helpless! Look at him, just a
deactivated machine. You deal with your own
hatred, but leave me out of it.
Outside, the Nebula
moves violently. A single blue wave of energy is sent past the shuttle pod,
only barely missing it.
Inside again, John
smirks as several alarms go off inside the shuttle.
Stewart
Yeah, like you’re gonna kill me, your only way out of that trap you put
yourself in. Just sit back and let it happen.
A single alarm goes
off this time, and Stewart gets frustrated again.
Stewart
What is it now? What? If it wasn’t you…
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The Ryuu-3
approaches the shuttle pod. It slows as it comes within meters.
Cut to:
Int – Shuttle
A hail is sounded
from the console. Stewart brings his attention to the small view screen on the
right wall and answers it. An image of Commander Verox appears. He’s
aggravated.
Commander Verox
Stewart… I should’ve known you’d try
something stupid like this.
Stewart
Don’t try to stop me, Commander. For your
sake.
Commander Verox
Stand down and let us board now or we’ll be
forced to fire upon you.
Stewart
What about Amideas?
Commander Verox
[Chuckle] He’s just a robot… Stand down now
or we’ll…
Stewart shuts off
the console. He grimaces and then moves back to the controls. Suddenly, he
jolts forward, gagging. His face disappears below frame. When he lifts his head
back up, his expression is one of a sinister smile. It’s Diallo’s expression.
Stewart
It’s unfortunate they had to pick this day to attack my corporeal slave.
Ah, never to late to settle old scores though, eh Verox?
Stewart starts
playing with the controls, and the ship begins to rise.
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The shuttle pod
turns around and begins firing on the Ryuu-3. The shots quickly begin to burn
the bigger ship’s hull. The Ryuu-3 moves out of position and starts swerving
around to the shuttle’s side.
Cut to:
Int – Ryuu-3
Commander Verox
stands in the ship’s cockpit. A younger pilot is at the helm.
Pilot
Looks like he’s calling our bluff, sir. What
do we do?
Verox
[Sighs in aggravation] Open fire.
Pilot
Sir?
Verox
Amideas knew the risks. Open fire.
Cut to:
Ext – Space
The Ryuu-3 begins to
charge its weapons. The shuttle pod moves closer to the nebula.
Cut to:
Int – Ryuu-3
The Pilot and Verox
in confusion as the shuttle moves closer to the nebula.
Pilot
What’s he doing?
Verox
Get ready to blast him.
The console gives a
hailing signal. The pilot looks up to the Commander, who nods. The pilot
answers the hail. An image of the possessed Stewart appears.
Stewart
Better run while you still can. I have no
hindrances about destroying you.
Verox
Come to your senses Stewart, the weapons on
that shuttle are no match for this ship’s armament. Stand down.
Stewart
Oh, I had no intention of using the weapons on this shuttle. [He begins
pressing buttons on the console.]
A beep of the
Ryuu-3’s sensors goes off. The Pilot looks worried.
Pilot
Sir? He’s charging his engines. He’s plotted
a collision course with us.
Verox
Raise shields, get ready to…
Their attention goes
back to the image of Stewart. He jolts forward again, gagging. There’s clearly
an internal struggle.
Pilot
What’s happening to him?
Verox
I don’t know… while he’s busy, get ready to
board the ship. I don’t want to destroy Amideas if we don’t have to.
Cut to:
Int – Shuttle
As Stewart continues
to convulse, the camera pans across to Amideas. There is a quick click of the
timer. His eyes light back up and a humming sound conveys his re-activation.
Stewart looks back
up now. He’s breathing very hard, having briefly won his internal struggle with
Diallo. He reaches over to the console and presses a couple of buttons. A quick
shot of the shuttle turn around so that its stern is facing the nebula. The
Ryuu-3 is quickly approaching.
Back inside the
shuttle, John reaches to press another switch, but is caught once again by
Diallo’s influence. He struggles to bring his hand forward and manages to press
the switch.
An exterior shot of
the shuttle shows the engines begin to radiate with Rillexium.
Back inside the
shuttle, John sighs as the struggle is broken briefly.
Stewart
Get out of me, Diallo. Let me be!
Stewart reaches for
the final switch needed. He has completely forgotten about Amideas at this
point. He stops as Amideas calls to him.
Amideas
Stop.
Stewart pauses and
turns around to face Amideas, who’s standing with the rifle pointed at Stewart.
Amideas
I can’t allow you to do that.
Stewart
You know it’s right, Ami.
Amideas
Orders are primary, John. Stand down.
Both characters
brace themselves as the ship jolts. The angle cuts quickly to an exterior shot
to reveal the Ryuu-3 docking with the hatch of the shuttle. The image returns
to the interior. Laser cutters begin to tear away at the hatch slowly but
surely.
Amideas
Stand down, John.
Stewart
Amideas. You know what I have to do. Please…
let me do it. Disregard your orders for a moment, and do what’s right.
Amideas looks back
at the door, now roughly 2/3 of the way cut. He then looks back at Stewart, and
lowers his weapon.
Amideas
Do it.
Stewart nods and
moves back around to the console. He presses the final button needed.
The shuttle begins
to radiate Rillexium at an incredible rate. It makes contact with the Nebula.
The Nebula, rather than igniting, begins to shrivel up. There is a slight
shrieking sound in the ambience.
Back inside the
shuttle, the door is kicked in. Verox enters and wastes no time in shooting
Stewart in the stomach. Stewart falls out of his chair on to the floor. Amideas
moves to help him.
Verox watches the
nebula through the window and witnesses as a large, claw-shaped wave of energy
speeds toward the shuttle. It dissolves in radiation before it reaches the
shuttle. Verox is drowned in awe.
As Amideas leans
down to assist Stewart. Stewart looks calmly up at him. His voice is muffled
and near death, but he seems content.
Stewart
It is done…
Stewart dies in
Amideas’s arms. Amideas looks back up at Verox.
Verox
He was…
[Shaking it off]
Bring him. We need to get back to the
station. I’m not sure if we can explain this one.
The angle widens as
Verox turns to re-board the Ryuu-3. Amideas lifts Stewart’s body and places it
over his shoulder as he follows. The nebula can still be seen peacefully fading
away through the window.
The angle widens
once more as Amideas exits the shuttle pod. The producing credits are imposed
against the image of the silent shuttle’s interior as we reach
[The End]
Starboard Side
Episode 106: Reflection
Written by Jared Williams
Camella Winchester Property of Hannah Carlson