Int. TV Studio--Catwalk Ham comes out on the catwalk. Below, we can see the treaty ceremony. He begins putting the rifle together. Int. Diana's Mothership--Control Room--Day Lydia still waits expectantly. Technician: Twenty minutes and closing. Cut To: Int. Captured Mothership Control Room--Day Donovan: (to Robert) We on schedule? Robert can only shrug, point to Elizabeth. She's still trying to break the code. Then... it happens. Robert: She's done it! We've got power! (hitting switches) Starting launch sequence. (to Donovan) Get ready. Those guards will know when we're on line. Catwalk--Day Ham has his rifle together. He gets in a prone position, aims at-- Podium--Through Gunsight Bates and Diana, with Julie to one side. Both Bates and Diana sign treaty. Then Bates begins a speech full of platitudes (shadow script to come). Ham His trigger finger is clearly itchy. But he sighs, looks at his watch... waits. Int. Diana's Mothership--Control Room--Day Lydia is standing, concerned, at a communications panel. Lydia: A power reading from the captured ship? You're sure? Technician: Positive, commander. They probably don't realize the energy banks tie into the fleet sensors. Lydia: Boost it. A dial is twirled. Lights blink on in succession. Technician: (reading gauges) Main reactor... navigational computers... Fusion drive... Antigrav lifters. (looking up) Commander... she's preparing for lift off! Lydia: (to the room) It may be a trick. Arm all weapons banks! Set a course that will put us above that ship! Int. Captured Mothership--Day The guards patrolling the corridor react as lights go on, and a loud throb begins deep inside the ship. Int. Captured Ship's Control Room--Day Elias sticks his head in the doorway. Elias: Someone's coming! An alarm suddenly rings. A security guard appears around a corner, fires his gun at them. They take cover. Elias: I knew I shouldn't have come here. More gunfire. Robert is hit! Elizabeth rushes over to him. Robert: (unconvincingly) I'm all right... I'm all right... get back to the console... Elizabeth! Go back there,or we'll all die! Unsure, the girl obeys him. He painfully pulls himself up, continues working controls. Ext. Mothership in Space--Establishing (Stock) Int. Mothership Control Room Technician: Five minutes to Scorcher orbit insertion. Three minutes to captured ship. Int. Captured Mothership While Robert tries to work controls, Willie bandages the scientist. Willie catches Donovan's eye... shakes his head... Robert has bought it. But Robert doesn't show it. He pushes the little alien aside, attacks the control panel with new vigor while gunfire continues. Elizabeth keeping the reaction going. And Donovan and Elias are holding out against clearly overwhelming odds. Donovan: (shouting to Willie) Willie! More ammo! Quick! Willie nods, runs forward... falls on his face. The ammo goes everywhere. Elias: Willie... how the hell did you get in the Visitor army in the first place? Willie: I was drafted. Robert: (throwing a switch) Activating main engine! The ship begins to shudder. Int. Captured Ship Corridor--Day The security guards are still trying to advance when they realize, holy shit, this baby is moving. They bolt and run. Int. Diana's Mothership--Control Room Technician: Two minutes to Scorcher insertion. One minute to... (checking again)... Commander. The captured ship has lifted off. Camera tightens on Lydia. Lydia: Plot course to intercept. Arm ion torpedoes. Ext. Captured Mothership--Leaving Earth (Stock) Treaty Ceremony--Day Tight on the Visitor noncom at the studio door. He checks a chronometer, signals to-- Diana Who nods. Turns. And begins leaving with her party. Bates Bates: (in mid-speech)... And in this spirit of cooperation both human and Visitor can join in a --(seeing Diana's actions)--a productive and fruitful partnership-- Before he can react, a security guard whispers in his ear. 2nd Security Guard: (sotto) Trouble. The captured ship. Catwalk--With Ham He sees the confusion below... the Visitors leaving. Bates descending from the podium. Ham grins. Cocks his rifle... aims... Bates--In Gunsight Suddenly Julie throws herself on top of Bates! Ham Reacting. He swings his rifle to a new target, fires-- Diana One of her men takes that moment to cross in front of her--the shot hits him. The studio is thrown into a panic. Everyone dives for cover. Int. Captured Mothership General elation at being airborne... and then-- Robert: Oh, my God... look... He points to a screen. Insert--Screen We see the monsterous Scorcher on its way! Back To Scene Elias: What is that? Donovan: (shakes his head) Big and ugly, whatever it is. Robert: (at some scanners) Yeah, with enough power to wipe Southern California off the map. Look at that energy read-out! Treaty Ceremony Chaos is still reigning. Security guards try and move forward, but Ham's fire keeps them back. Diana is well hidden behind a generator. Her wrist chrono starts beeping. Diana: (emphatic) The Scorcher...! (to an aide) Let's get out of here! The aide nods, runs for the studio door--is forced back by Ham's gunfire. Int. Captured Mothership--Control Room The people here watch the oncoming juggernaut, helpless. Elias: Nothing on Earth's gonna stand up to that sucker. Robert: What about this ship? Donovan: It doesn't have the firepower-- Robert: (quietly) I'm not talking about firepower. Pause. Donovan: You're right. I got us into this mess. You take the others and get on a Skyfighter. Robert: Thanks, Donovan, but there's no point in both of us dying. Let's face it... (coughs)... I've got the short straw, and that's it. Elizabeth comes over from the reactor panel. She's heard everything. Now, she tries to drag Robert away from the controls. Robert: No, no, baby... you don't understand... I'm not choosing to die--I'm choosing for you to live... you, and your mother and everyone else that thing out there might kill. But the hardest part is leaving you alone, even though I know these people here will love you and take care of you... None of them will love you in the same way I did, Elizabeth. None of them. She cries, too, kisses him, touches his cheek. Robert: Donovan, get them out. The others move. Elizabeth sobs, hangs on to Robert. Elias has to pull her away. They go out the control room door. Willie, tears in his eyes, lingers in the doorway. Willie: Robert, I will never forget you. You are a great, great zero. Robert: (strangely, amused) Hero, Willie. Hero. Int. Diana's Mothership Technician: Thirty seconds to Scorcher orbit insertion. Twenty seconds to ship interception. Lydia: Lock torpedoes on the other ship. Blow it out of the sky! Technician: (at a console) Impossible, commander. Lydia: I gave a direct order! Don't tell me-- Technician:--The Scorcher is in our line of fire, Lydia. (matter-of- fact) We can't do a thing. Camera tightens on Lydia as she boils with helpless fury. Catwalk--TV Studio A brace of security guards and Visitor shock troops come up the ladder, run to the end of the catwalk. Ham is gone... only the empty satchel remains. Angle on Julie As she and Bates slowly rise from cover. Bates: (wryly) I double my security force and who do I have to thank for saving my life--you. You're an intriguing woman, Dr. Parrish. Julie: (with a smile) If you say so... As we hold on Julie's smile... Go To: Ext. Captured Mothership (Stock) A skyfighter shoots out of it. Int. Skyfighter Int. Diana's Control Room--Quick Cuts As the last few seconds go by and then: Robert--At Controls (Intercut) Tensing, camera tightens on him as he watches-- Robert's Point Of View--Control Room Main Screen (Intercut) The Scorcher rapidly fills the frame-- Ext. Scorcher and Captured Mothership--SFX Shot Robert crashes his ship into the Scorcher in a blaze of glory! Int. Diana's Mothership--Main Screen Everyone winces as the explosion fills the main screen. Mothership--Reverse Angle Lydia and her troops wince, react to the blazing explosion. Int. Skyfighter It rocks wildly as the light fills the cabin. Donovan struggles to regain control. Elizabeth moves close to the camera, her eyes filled with tears and pain. Elizabeth: (an anguished cry) Grandfather--no! (her head dropping, quieter) Preta-na-ma, Grandfather. Preta-na-ma. Dissolve To: Int. Mothership--Control Room--Day Diana enters the bridge, looks around. Quickly spots Lydia keying in data at a communications panel. She crosses to her. Diana: (watching her) A battle code transmission, Lydia? Lydia: (smiling thinly) The Leader must be told of your insubordination and incompetence. Diana: And what about your incompetence? Lydia: My incompetence? Diana: I trusted you with command for a few hours, and what happened? You were unable to prevent an inexperienced mob of humans from destroying both a ship of the line and the Particle Beam Scorcher. Lydia looks at Diana, who smiles sweetly. A long moment. Then Lydia turns, kills all the power on the communications panel. Lydia: Perhaps... no message should be sent. Diana: Why, darling... what a charming idea. As they continue glaring at each other we-- Dissolve To: Int. Resistance HQ--Club Creole Basement--Day Elias comes through the secret entrance, excited. Elias: The Visitors are doing it... they're actually pulling their troops out of the city... Julie "shushes" him, indicating-- Scene--Wider We see that Willie and Elizabeth, dressed in white, are lighting several candles which sit upon a metal mobius strip. Donovan, Julie, Ham and Elias watch, subdued. Willie: (in mid-speech) Preta-na-ma ha ss'rakk... Preta-na-ma ha kurash... Preta-na-ma, Preta-na-ma-- Elizabeth: (softly, with difficulty) --Preta-na-ma, Ro-bert Maxwell. Elizabeth and Willie cover their eyes in a mystical gesture. They hold for a beat, then settle, turn. Willie: May our friend's essence mingle with the Lords of Light. The ceremony clearly over, Julie moves towards Elizabeth. Julie: That was beautiful, Elizabeth. Robert would be very proud. She wipes away a tear from Elizabeth's face. Elizabeth manages a smile, moves off with Willie. Donovan comes over to Julie. Donovan: (tentative) Julie... I just wanted to say you did a heck of a job yesterday. Without you we couldn't have done it. Julie: Thanks... (nods towards door) ... But there's who really made it possible. Turning, Donovan follows her look to where-- Ham stands in the doorway holding Donovan's stare as: Julie: If he hadn't pinned Bates down with rifle fire, I couldn't have been half as convincing--He actually made me a hero. Ham: (approaching) A dirty job, Gooder. But somebody had to do it. Donovan: And I thought we were rid of you for good. Ham: You almost were... until Julie caught up with me and changed my mind. Julie: Somebody had to make you see that killing Nathan Bates would have worked against us. For better or worse he's made L.A. into an open city, a place where we can operate against the Visitors. It doesn't do much for those trapped outside the city limits. But it's a start, a ray of hope. (beat) Only one thing worried me... Donovan: What was that? Julie: (to Ham) The thought you might not miss. Ham: (reacting) You sound suspicious of your friends. (suddenly smiling) There may be hope for you yet. As Julie and Donovan exchange a look, we freeze frame and... Fade Out. The End