Wing Commander in Real Time - Day 3 - 1303 Zulu

Script

299 EXT. CONCORDIA - BEHIND PLUTO

The giant carrier gleams in the dull reflection from the

planet. In the distance, other fleet ships hover silently.

300 INT. CONCORDIA - BRIDGE

Bellegarde approaches Tolwyn.

BELLEGARDE

Com. room reports faint message in

clear from a Lieutenant Blair. He's

broadcasting the Kilrathi jump

coordinates.

TOLWYN

Blair? Like father, like son.

BELLEGARDE

Should we respond, sir?

RADAR MAN

(calling out)

Identifying Confed Rapier, heading

toward Earth at LSM point nine. He's

being followed by something massive,

Admiral. Looks like a Snakeir.

BELLEGARDE

Permission to intercept it, Admiral?

TOLWYN

No. We wait.

BELLEGARDE

The Snakeir will overtake Blair's

fighter.

(concerned)

Sir, if we don't intercept, the Snakeir

will reach earth orbit before us. The

casualties could be significant.

TOLWYN

(angry)

I'm bloody well aware of that, Richard.

All ships are to hold their positions

and target those jump coordinates.

BELLEGARDE

(gets it)

If we jump him, we'd be out of position

when the Kilrathi fleet comes

through...

TOLWYN

We're after bigger game than the

Snakeir. We need a resounding victory,

or this war is over...

(reflects)

For that, I have to risk the lives of

innocent civilians and one very brave

young lieutenant...

301 EXT. BLAIR'S RAPIER

The Rapier streaks past. Well behind it, a large object is

following, the Kilrathi Snakeir.

SC. 302 OMIT

303 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

Blair keeps trying to raise someone on the radio.

BLAIR

Blair to Confed Fleet. Do you read me?

Kilrathi capital ship has penetrated

the quasar jump point and is in Earth

space. Copy!

Finally, he gives up.

BLAIR

The aren't in radio range. Earth will

never see the Kilrathi coming.

MERLIN

(voice only)

I knew this was all going to end

horribly... Did I mention we'll be in

range of the Snakeir guns in ten

minutes.

BLAIR

At least they can't launch torpedoes at

this speed.

There is a LOUD RHYTHMIC BEEPING. Blair sits up, scans his

heads up display.

BLAIR

There! Dead ahead. It's the fleet

signaling. They've heard us!

Blair to Confed fleet. Kilrathi

capital ship on my course, aft of my position!

Confed fleet, do you read me?

But the beeping continues, louder. Blair stares at the

screen.

BLAIR

Only one ship. But it's huge.

MERLIN

It isn't a ship. Check your scanners.

Blair turns on his telescopic scanner. Space shimmers,

then he sees the warning beacon marking Scylla, t he

gravity well the Diligent negotiated on its way to the

Tiger Claw. Behind it, space seems to shimmer.

MERLIN

All we need, Scylla. "Bane to sailors and monster of myth."

304 EXT. TIGER CLAW - ULYSSES CORRIDOR

Amidst the debris of the battle, the Tiger Claw with its

meager fighter escort changes course.

305 INT. TIGER CLAW - BRIDGE

Obutu reports to Paladin.

OBUTU

We're hove to for repair inspection,

sir.

PALADIN

What about that locator beacon from the

Rapier pod

RADAR MAN

Nothing sir. Lost contact during the

battle.

PALADIN

We've lost too many good pilots today.

Have the Diligent prepared for launch.

I'm going to look for that pod.

OBUTU

Aye, aye, sir.

Paladin grimly walks from the b ridge.

306 EXT. BLAIR'S RAPIER

The Rapier, seen from behind, is still on course toward

Scylla. Not very far behind it, the immense Snakeir.

307 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

Blair sweats over the controls. There is an urgent alarm

jangling his nerves further.

MERLIN

In case the alarms didn't cue you --

you'll be past the Point of No Return

of Scylla in ninety seconds. It's

gravitational field will tear us to

pieces.

BLAIR

Solutions, Merlin! Not more problems.

Blair blinks hard at the scanner scope and the large,

swirling whirlpool of distorted space-time ahead. Then it

dawns on him.

BLAIR

How much does a Snakeir weigh?

MERLIN

Two hundred thousand tons, give or take

a few thousand.

Blair does a quick calculation, then flips on the

afterburners. Another flashing WARNING LIGHT immediately

illuminates on his heads up screen, as he is thrown back

in his seat.

MERLIN

(alarmed)

What are you doing? The after burners

will use up our last fuel. And we're

still headed for that thing...

308 INT. SNAKEIR - BRIDGE

The Kilrathi Captain reports to the Admiral.

KILRATHI CAPTAIN

Planetary torpedoes online. We will be

in range in forty minutes. There is no

response to the Rapier's transmissions.

Sivar smiles on us. The surprise is

total.

An alarm goes off. Through the dense green atmosphere, A

KILRATHI RADAR TECH growls his report.

KILRATHI TECH

The Rapier is homing in on a beacon

signal. It could be a Confederation

guidance buoy.

KILRATHI ADMIRAL

Or a capital ship. Identify and report.

Full battle stations.

Other alarms go off in the Kilrathi ship. On the Admiral's

INFRARED MONITOR, he watches the Rapier--a tiny speck--

head for the bacon.

308A INT. EJECTION POD - DEVERAUX

Deveraux is quickly freezing to death. In the far

distance a light appears. Deveraux doesn't notice it as

the Ejection Pod's window are almost completely iced

over. Deveraux slowly locates the Pod's self destruction

switch. She gently places her hand over it.

309 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

It seems like half the alarm systems in the cockpit are

buzzing or flashing. Blair's concentration is total, his

face dripping with sweat.

MERLIN

Kilrathi radar locked on. Ten seconds

to the Point of No Return... and you're

almost out of fuel. You won't be able

to turn.

BLAIR

Give me a count.

MERLIN

Four... three....

BLAIR

Holy shit!

MERLIN

Two...

Blair jerks the joystick hard right.

310 EXT. BLAIR's RAPIER

Banks hard, afterburners glowing and roaring, and veers

away from Scylla.

311 INT. RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

BLAIR

We're not going to break free of the

gravity well! We don't have enough

fuel!

MERLIN

Actually, I lied.

BLAIR

What?

MERLIN

You've got ten more seconds of thrust.

The Rapier shimmies like a tuning fork, engines roaring.

Then, with a last jerk, she hurtles free of the gravity

well's gravitational pull.

BLAIR

We're free!

312 EXT. BLAIR's RAPIER

The fighter rockets away at a ninety degree angle from

Scylla.

313 INT. SNAKEIR - BRIDGE

The Admiral continues to peer at his scanners.

KILRATHI CAPTAIN

The Rapier has veered away. Confederation ship, dead ahead.

KILRATHI ADMIRAL

That isn't a ship! Hard to port! Reverse all thrusters!

314 EXT. SNAKEIR

The lone ship tries to turn, but she has far too much

inertia TO VEER AWAY FROM SYCLLA, as the tiny Rapier has

done.

315 INT, RAPIER COCKPIT - BLAIR

Blair's engines sputter and die.

MERLIN

We're out of fuel.

He looks back at the Snakeir.

BLAIR

The Kilrathi's too heavy. Scylla's got

her.

316 INT. SNAKEIR - BRIDGE

The bridge, still shrouded in its murky atmosphere, is

listing. Scylla, her great shimmering maw glistening in

space, appears on the starboard side.

KILRATHI ADMIRAL

All engines full!

The engine noise raises to a deafening roar, but the great

ship continues to drift toward Scylla. The Admiral

realizes all is lost.

KILRATHI ADMIRAL

But Sivar chose us...

Every object in the Kilrathi bridge begins to warp and

distort. The Kilrathi, mere silhouettes in the murk, are

themselves stretched, and pulled, screeching in pain and

horror.

317 EXT. SNAKEIR AND SCYLLA

The Kilrathi ship is pulled completely around, then seems

to STRETCH, THEN CRACK, AND PULL APART, forming A LONG

DEBRIS TRAIL that extends toward the gravity well.

Novelization

CHAPTER 30

CONCORDIA BATTLE GROUP

MARCH 17, 2654 1303 HOURS ZULU TIME

LEAVING OORT CLOUD REGION ENROUTE TO SOL SYSTEM

Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn had pushed his battle group to one

hundred and twenty percent, having lost a total of five ships en

route to Sol. But he had reduced the Kilrathi's two-hour lead

down to a mere three minutes, much to the dismay of his

engineering crew and the crews aboard his escorts. No battle

group in the history of the Confederation had made better time.

Commodore Bellegarde had said they would have to break every

jump record to reach Sol within forty-two hours. Tolwyn had

embraced the challenge.

The Concordia would soon reach Pluto, then bound toward

the bluish, ringed dot of Neptune. "Are you all right, sir?"

Tolwyn did not look back at Bellegarde. The man's concern,

while sincere, had become vexing. "Have you come again to

suggest I sleep, Commodore? Because—"

"No, sir. Comm reports a faint message from Lieutenant

Christopher Blair. He's in the system and broadcasting the

Kilrathi jump coordinates."

That sent Tolwyn spinning around. "Blair?" Was it a

coincidence? Hardly. "Like father, like son."

"Should we respond, sir?"

"Identifying Confed Rapier," Radar Officer Abrams called

out. "He's heading toward Earth at LSM point nine."

"What is it, Mr. Abrams?" Tolwyn asked, reacting to the

man's troubled voice.

"He's being followed by something massive, Admiral. I've

analyzed its signature. Looks like a Snakeir."

Bellegarde tensed. "Permission to intercept it, Admiral?"

"No," Tolwyn said, stroking his two-day-old beard in thought.

"We wait."

"But the Snakeir will overtake Blair's fighter."

Tolwyn only nodded.

"Sir, if we don't intercept, that ship will reach Earth orbit

before us. The casualties could be significant."

"I'm bloody well aware of that, Richard." Tolwyn bolted from

his chair and spoke through gritted teeth. "All ships are to hold

their positions and target those jump coordinates."

"But…" Bellegarde trailed off. He thought a moment, then his

mouth opened in realization. "Ah, if we jump him, we'd be out

of position when the Kilrathi fleet comes through."

"We're after bigger game than that Snakeir. We need a

resounding victory—or this war is over." Tolwyn faced the stars,

their age-old light seeming to shine on his own past. "For that

victory, I have to risk the lives of innocent civilians and one very

brave young lieutenant."

* * *

Blair ran the diagnostic twice, and twice he cursed the

damage to his engines. Yes, the Rapier had survived the jump,

but now he could only pry eighty-seven percent thrust from the

machine.

And the massive blip on his radar screen inched closer.

"Blair to Confed fleet," he said shakily. "Do you read me?

Kilrathi capital ship has penetrated the quasar jump point and

is in Earth space. Copy?"

Static upon static.

"Confed fleet, do you copy?" He threw back his head. "If

they're here, they're out of range. Earth will never see the

Kilrathi coming."

"Ironic that we made it this far," Merlin said. "Of course,

irony is an essential ingredient in every tragedy."

"Shuddup. Or at least help us out."

"I knew this was all going to end horribly. Did I mention that

we'll be in range of the Snakeir's guns in ten minutes?"

"At least they can't launch torpedoes at this speed."

"I'm sorry, Christopher. But they won't have to."

A radar alarm beeped rhythmically, and Blair stared through

his HUD viewer. "There! Got a contact dead ahead. It's the fleet

signaling. They've heard us!" He opened the channel. "Blair to

Confed fleet. Kilrathi capital ship on my course, aft of my

position. Confed fleet, do you read me?"

The alarm drummed louder. Blair checked his scope and saw

the blip. "Only one ship. But it's huge."

"It isn't a ship," Merlin said in a dire tone. "Check your

scanners."

Blair engaged his telescopic scanner, its readout now

rippling across his HUD. Space shimmered for a moment, then

unveiled a lonely beacon signaling in the night. He glimpsed a

data bar for identification.

And wished he hadn't.

Beacon 147.

"All we need," Merlin grumbled. "Scylla. Bane to sailors and

monster of myth."

* * *

"We're hove to for repair inspection, sir," Lieutenant

Commander Obutu said.

Taggart smiled wistfully. In the days of ancient sailing, hove

to meant that a ship would turn its bow into the wind and drift,

in order to meet a storm. Thankfully, Taggart's storm had

already passed. "Report on Lieutenant Blair?"

"We're not sure, sir, but we think one of the Rapiers

jumped." He looked past Obutu at Falk, ever standing behind

his large radar screen. "What about the locator beacon from

that Rapier pod?"

"Nothing, sir. Lost contact during the battle."

Taggart shook his head at the news. "We've sacrificed too

many good pilots already. Have the Diligent prepared for

launch. I'm going after that pod."

"Aye-aye, sir."

Taggart double-timed off the bridge, growing more anxious as

he imagined Deveraux or Blair slowly suffocating in that

cramped durasteel box.

* * *

"Christopher? Why haven't you changed course?"

He sweated over the controls and had trouble listening to

Merlin over the incessant proximity alarm. He would shut it

down, and a moment later it would return. "Merlin, can you

turn this damned thing off?"

"I will, but in case the alarm hasn't cued you, you'll be past

Scylla's Point of No Return in ninety seconds. Its gravitational

pull will tear us to pieces. More precisely, to minute, highly

dense particles."

"Solutions, Merlin! No more problems." Blair glimpsed the

stars as they contorted into the gravity well's whirlpool of

space-time.

Solutions. The word rang in his head and ironically sparked

something. Blair had a Snakeir behind him, a gravity well

ahead. Solution? In his mind's eye he saw one, but he balked at

the notion. Still, it was the only one he had. "How much does a

Snakeir weigh?"

"Accessing specs. About two hundred thousand tons, give or

take a few thousand."

A smile passed over his lips. One throw of a switch, and the

afterburners slammed him into his seat. Space seemed to open

up around him as he bulleted toward Scylla, the well fringed by

silvery ribbons of stars. Warning lights now dotted Blair's HUD,

but at least Merlin had successfully turned off the proximity

alarm.

"What are you doing?" the little man cried. "The afterburners

will use all our fuel."

"I know, but I need more thrust. Eighty-seven percent won't

cut it." Excitement tingled along his spine.

Merlin's voice quavered. "But we're still headed for that

thing…"

* * *

Captain Thiraka took in a long breath of nutrient gas, then

went to Bokoth, who reposed in the command chair and looked

for all the Empire like the vandalized statue of a war hero.

"Kalralahr, planetary torpedoes online. We are almost in range.

There is no response to the Rapier's transmissions. Sivar smiles

on us. The surprise is total."

Bokoth's lips flared. "Yes," he said slowly, "it is."

Something punched into Thiraka's back, found a seam in his

armor, and penetrated flesh. The sudden agony felt so severe

that he shamed himself by screaming. Rigid in shock, he turned.

Commander Ke'Soick held a bloody vorshooka blade, the

ritual instrument for cub-bearing and murder. "Forgive me, Kal

Shintahr."

"He's a skilled warrior," Bokoth rasped through a sinister

grin. "You won't die quickly, Thiraka. I wanted you to see our

victory and know, really know… regret. How dare you plot my

murder. Did you really believe that Ke'Soick's loyalty could not

be turned?"

"My father will have your life," Thiraka said, collapsing to his

knees.

"I kill you with your father's consent. The Kiranka clan will

soon be clean."

Thiraka's shoulders grew numb, and he realized he could no

longer lift his arms. His thoughts were swept into a gale of

panic. He thought of calling for help, but who would listen?

Who would dare defy Bokoth?

Second Fang Norsh'kal suddenly rang the ancient tocsin to

alert the bridge crew.

"What is it?" Bokoth demanded.

Hissing nervously, Norsh'kal delivered his report. "The

Rapier is homing in on a beacon signal. It could be a

Confederation guidance buoy."

"Or a capital ship," Bokoth amended, then winced as he

forced his wizened frame toward the infrared monitor in front

of him. "Identify and report. Full battle stations."

On the admiral's screen, Thiraka saw a red speck heading

toward the beacon.

And he suddenly realized where they were and what that

beacon marked. He opened his mouth to warn Bokoth, then

smiled wanly. The Rapier pilot had become an ally in revenge.

* * *

Deveraux had thought she could die peacefully. She had

thought she might experience a warm state of bliss before the

cold draped her in an eternal sleep.

She had been idealistic about death.

Now reality had stolen most of her air. Reality had iced up

her canopy so that even the pleasure she took from the stars

was gone. I did all right, she thought. It wasn't such a bad life. I

helped some people. I wasn't as selfish as I could've been, I

guess. If only I could take this cold. But I can't. I'm a fighter,

but I can't take this. Call me weak. I don't care anymore.

She reached for the pod's main panel, her hand shaking so

badly that she could barely bring her finger down on the correct

button. The panel lit.

"Self-destruct system armed. T minus thirty seconds until

self-destruct," the computer said. "System will lock out

override at T minus five seconds."

A song came to Deveraux, a song from her youth. "And as the

moon rose high and high, and the twilight fled the sky, we saw

the night was really here, and listened for the owl's cheer. Soon

the stars began to shine, and we heard music in our minds, we

heard music in our minds…"

* * *

Blair gazed at his HUD, never more determined. A half-dozen

warnings kept lighting his screens, as though the ship's systems

now conspired against him. A thousand meters to starboard, an

asteroid plummeted toward the raging well. He blinked sweat

out of his eyes and checked the VDU. "They're still back there,"

he told Merlin. "Good."

"If you say so. Kilrathi radar locked on. Ten seconds to the

Point of No Return… and you're almost out of fuel. You won't be

able to turn."

"Give me a count."

"Four… three—"

"Holy shit!"

"—two…"

He jerked the stick hard to starboard, but the engines

coughed before responding. Numbers clicked backward on his

velocity gauge. Five and a half Gs pinned him to the seat. "We're

not going to break free," he cried, eyeing another gauge. "We

don't have enough fuel."

"You've got ten more seconds of thrust."

"Not enough!"

"Then find a weakness in the gravity field. Feel it."

Every rivet, plate, wire, and switch seemed to cry in protest

as the Rapier grappled with Scylla. Blair projected himself into

her swelling arms and felt for a way out.

He pulled the stick back, climbed a moment—

Then abruptly dove while slaloming away.

"Five seconds of thrust."

"Sorry, old girl," he whispered, feeling a fluctuation in her

pull.

"Two seconds!"

With a last jerk, the Rapier tore from Scylla's clutches,

rocketing away at a ninety-degree angle.

"We're free," Blair said, only half-believing it.

* * *

Thiraka had lost the use of his legs. He poured all of his

energy into breathing. He could no longer smile as he watched

Bokoth foolishly chase after the Rapier.

Second Fang Norsh'kal's voice spilt open the tense silence

that had fallen upon the bridge. "Kalralahr, the Rapier has

veered away. Confederation ship, dead ahead."

Bokoth nodded and took a second glance at his screen. The

horror that befell his face thrilled Thiraka. "That isn't a ship!

Hard to port! Reverse all thrusters!"

Blair's engines whined a decrescendo and died. The Rapier

glided via inertia through space, and the cockpit's eerie silence

unnerved him.

"We're out of fuel," Merlin said. "And battery power's nearly

exhausted."

But Merlin's report seemed distant, blighted by a beautiful

sight that took form in the distance. The huge Kilrathi cap ship

sailed straight for Scylla's undulating throat, its retros and

reverse thrusters firing futilely against the laws of physics. "The

Kilrathi's too heavy," Blair confirmed. "Scylla's got her."

Thiraka battled to lift his chin as the gravity well bloomed

across the starboard viewport. Its glistening, inescapable maw

turned the bridge crew into babbling cowards, including

Bokoth.

"All engines full!" the admiral shrieked, his face draining of

color.

The deck under Thiraka quaked as the gravity well leapt on

its prey.

Norsh'kal jolted from his sparking console. "Engines

overheating!"

Bokoth shrank to his chair. "But Sivar chose us." He looked

down at Thiraka—

Who mustered his remaining strength to scowl at the

admiral.

Behind them, a bulkhead burst open. Nutrient gas rushed

toward the gaping seam and jetted into space.

Ke'Soick and Norsh'kal screeched and pounded past Thiraka,

their bodies stretching unnaturally toward the viewport and the

singularity beyond.

The chaos darkened into silhouette, and the cries

diminished.

Thiraka wondered if he had died, then, through the

numbness, he sensed himself being pulled apart.

* * *

"Record this, Merlin," Blair said, marveling at the Snakeir as

it turned sharply to port in a final effort to dodge Scylla.

The well flung the ship around and drew it in, stern-first.

Fissures opened across the Snakeir's hull, met other cracks,

then released colossal sections that formed a parade of flotsam

stretching toward the vortex.

Blair could not see Scylla's mythical six heads as they

devoured the ship, but their effect humbled him. In less than

ten seconds the last pieces of the Snakeir's bow spun into the

well, leaving a fleeting band of distortion in their wake.

"Can I stop recording?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah."

"What's wrong? We got them."

"I know. I just can't imagine dying that way."

"Then how does freezing to death sound? You've got four

minutes of battery power."

"Send an automatic distress, along with the jump

coordinates."

"I already have. No ships in range."

"Then I guess you'll have your tragedy."

"Christopher, if you die, I cease to function. Your father made

me that way."

Blair unclipped his mask and palmed sweat from his face.

"I'm sorry."

"When people know they're going to die, they confess things

to each other, say things they—"

"What is it?"

"You don't know much about how I was designed. Your father

wanted it that way. But I don't believe he wanted you to die

without knowing. My chips were manufactured with protein

from your father. It was his way of never saying good-bye."

"But he left."

"In the physical sense, yes. He knew he would. He loved you,

Christopher. More than anything. And he wanted me to show

you how much. I hope I didn't let you down."

"First sarcasm and now melodrama," Blair said with a

half-grin. "How could you ever let me down?"