Then it all went pear shaped…
The Endellion destroyer swallows both the scout ship and the Ballerina on top. The destroyers port side docking bay and cargo doors slide close.
TOMBS: “Ok! we’re fucked”
JOHN: “I’m fairly sure they cannot see or detect us Tombs”
DIZZY: “I’m hoping not, they could fire particle cannons at us, and that would be quite bad for me.
Ghost frowns at Dizzy, Dizzy sees this and decides on re-phrasing her comment,
DIZZY: Well, bad for all of us really, but mainly me”
PORTER: “What now?”
JOHN: “We wait until the crew below us disembark and go, then given a chance we go ahead with plan D”
GHOST: “Plan D?”
JOHN: “same as plan A, except we go through the ship. It’s gotta be better than doing a plan A, which included a spacewalk”.
TOMBS: “So we wait here until this docking bay is free of Endellions”
JOHN: “Yup. Ioa, continuous scans of the interior of this docking bay for Endellion life signs and let us know when it’s clear”.
IOA: “Scanning for Endellion bio signs, docking bay currently occupied by Endellion life”
GHOST: “We could be in for a wait”
JOHN: “We could”
GHOST: “So John, when did your memory return? Was it when we got back to Mars?”
JOHN: “Things started to get clearer as my timelines got closer together.
I remember Luna making a comment about Mars as we were closing in on the base, she was flying low. I remember on mars crossing the plains of Syrtis Major towards the mountain, and Luna said to me……”
LUNA: “This is home John, looks a lot like earth is now doesn’t it”
JOHN: “A desert planet”
LUNA: “Well, here we are”
Luna slows the ballerina down to a stop and hovers the ship a few feet off the ground and a few hundred yards away from the base of what looks like a medium size rocky red mountain with a rounded top.
JOHN: “There’s nothing here”
Frank gets up and walks over to the communications console. On his way to the console, he gives a John a friendly pat on the back, FRANK: “Welcome home mate. Ioa, give me comms to the base”.
IOA: “Setting up radio communication host link with Mars base, connecting, connecting, connection established”
Frank pulls down a microphone from the ceiling fixed to a gooseneck conduit above the console and blips and taps the mike to check it is working, tap…tap…tap...,
FRANK: “Maria babe, I don’t seem to have my keys with me, can you do us a favour and open the front door”
At the base of the mountain a huge rectangular door disguised as a huge slab of rock opens upwards and traverses backwards into the mountain like a huge garage door. Luna pilots the Ballerina across the red coloured lifeless rocky ground and into the rectangular opening at the base on the mountain and into a huge brightly lit hanger.
The interior of the hanger has been cut out from the mountains interior and the walls are rough. The big hanger door closes as the Ballerina passes through it and lands. Illuminated signs in the hanger flash in red
“PRESSURISING”, less than a minute passes and the signs turn a steady green and read “PRESSURISED”.
A small flat square on Lunas console changes from a square flashing red light to a round blue steady light to indicate that breathable air is present outside the spaceship.
She shuts everything down on the Ballerina and extends a ramp. All the crew except John and Luna walk down the ramp and wait at its end.
Maria is Frank’s wife. She is a shape shifting pale looking but very pretty female Avalivian who takes on a human form.
She has long black hair and has a black dress on that seems to have ever changing rainbow colours in the dresses creases as she walks towards John with a big smile she reaches out with her arms to hug him, Frank waits at the end of the Ballerinas extended ramp for John and Luna to walk down. As John reaches Frank, Frank stands back and Maria walks up to John, she embraces and kisses him, John has red lipstick all over his
face. Luna is smiling and rubbing the lipstick off Johns face. Maria grabs John’s bum and squeezes it. Frank smiles and nods delightedly.
MARIA: “I am so glad you’re back John, and looking so well, and your bum, it feels so fit”
JOHN: “Your Maria?”
Maria starts kissing John again, Frank has an even bigger beaming smile across his face,
Frank grabs Ghost and hugs her, Ghost looks at Tombs with raised eyebrows, Tombs shrugs his shoulders in reply to Ghosts raised eyebrows,
FRANK: “I’m so happy”
Frank un hugs Ghost,
TOMBS: “I never get a welcome like that!”
Ghost elbows Tombs in the stomach,
TOMBS: “Ohhhh!, I didn’t deserve that”
GHOST: “Welcome home, darling”
MARIA: “Come on John, Let’s get you back to your other home. Your proper home”
They all walk across the hanger floor to a wall where a pair of glass doors slide across, they walk into an airlock and the glass doors closes behind them. An illuminated sign flashing “WAIT! AIR PRESSURE
EQUALISING” that is recessed into a heavy looking set of doors with small windows slides open in front of them and a gust of air blows into the airlock.
They walk into a large wide corridor made from the interior of the mountains rock, as they are all walking down the corridor all sorts of military, hospital, equipment is seen stored up against the walls in crates.
Various and numerous robots wander around doing various tasks moving and opening large and small wooden boxes, on ladders doing electrical work, maintaining conduits, sweeping,
MARIA: “I’ll drop you off at your room John so you can get some rest, and dinner tonight is in the main bar at 19:00 hours”
As they all walk down the main corridor, they come to a crossroads in the Mars base. The crew all go off in one direction while Maria, Frank, Luna and John carry on down a short narrow corridor with a door at the end.
The door slides open to revel a room very similar to Johns and Lunas bedroom on the Alice.
MARIA: “Here we are John, see you at seven PM”
FRANK: “See you later mate”
Maria and Frank walk off hand in hand and John walks into the room, he stops in the middle looks around then walks over to the bed, Luna is standing in the doorway.
JOHN: “You not going to your accommodation Luna”
LUNA: “This is awkward John”
Luna walks up to John and kisses him, she then pushes him backwards onto the bed, she gets onto the bed and with her legs either side of him she shuffles up to him and sits on his groin and then she takes a deep breath,
LUNA: “We share the bed John”
John gulps,
JOHN: “We do?”
LUNA: “John! We’re, Intimate”
John gulps,
JOHN: “We are?”
LUNA: “You don’t remember do you?”
A tear rolls out of one of Lunas eyes and across the bridge of her nose, John goes to wipe the tear, but it drips onto the back of his hand, he looks down at his hand at the tear and sees a scar, a memory flashes by where he is fighting an alien while protecting Luna and gets cut on the back of his hand with a knife, he looks up at Luna not really answering her question with any focus,
JOHN: “No?”
LUNA: “I’ll let you rest”
Luna gets up and walks to the open door, she does not turn around but says…
LUNA: “I’ll see you at dinner”
John is rubbing the back of his hand, he looks unhappy, but still smiles at Luna,
JOHN: “I think you’re beautiful Luna, See you at dinner”
Luna already on her way out now pauses at the exit and grips the metal door frame at either side like she has used it to stop, she pauses for a couple of seconds, but she does not turn around, tears run down her face, she says nothing, she walks off and the door glides closed……
GHOST: “Yeah John, Luna was really hurt, so you didn’t remember anything about you two?”
JOHN: “No, well, it was all mixed up in my head, I didn’t know we were an item”
GHOST: “She was really withdrawn and hurt, she may be beautiful, brainy, bold and courageous, but she is genuinely shy, she just couldn’t approach you”
JOHN: “Yeah, I know that now, but then, I didn’t know”
Ioa appears dressed in a colourful evening dress with tied back blonde hair. She stands between Ghost and John, she talks to both of them,
IOA: “A ship is approaching on the destroyer’s starboard side. It is an Endellion scout ship, eight robots, four Endallian’s, and one humanoid on board. The destroyer’s cargo doors are opening to accept the scout ship”.
The Endallian cruiser/destroyer is shaped like a Slightly flattened submarine, with a chisel shaped nose and a blunt stern, two long range aerial masts stick out the sides. 180 degrees opposite each other and either side of the ship two thirds along its hull. they look like a stubby Eiffel towers and are for long range communications There are various oval shaped bumps that cover torrent guns, lasers and missile silos along the hull. Its large size is designed to carry a small army, other ships, and supplies.
John and Ghost stop talking to listen to Ioa, they are both surprised by her comment about a humanoid,
JOHN/GHOST: “humanoid on board?”
JOHN: “Ioa, bring up an external view of Ballerina, and give us a close-up view of the second scout ship”
John and Ghost watch the destroyers docking bay and cargo doors open, and the second scout ship comes in and docks on the starboard side, John goes to scratch an itch where a scar is close to his embedded earpiece under his skin behind his left ear”.
JOHN: “ArrrGh fuck that hurts”
DIZZY: “You alright captain!”
John gestures around his upper body to Dizzy,
JOHN: “Yeah, the highbred alloy supporting plate in my back that is fixed to my rib cage, and when I elevate my arm like this”
DIZZY: “We should use the medical scanner on you”
GHOST: “John?”
John visibly looks like he is in some pain, JOHN: “No, I’m ok. Ioa, have you scanned and found any Gyers”
IOA: “Yes”
JOHN: “Bring up an internally scanned diagram of the Destroyer and shown us where they are located”
A 3D holographic picture of the Endellion destroyer appears in an open area aboard the Ballerina, the crew gathers around it. A section of the holograph flashes.
JOHN: “Here are the Gyers, though these two sets of double doors.
Look, sentries here and here. Ghost, you take the one on the left. Ioa, why is some of this image of the destroyer blank?”
IOA: “I was unable to examine and penetrate those bulkheads with my sensors, they seem to be made of a special material my sensors cannot scan’ or there is some sort of blocking beam being transmitted from that area. Excuse me John, The Endellion’s and the humanoid form have disembarked the second scout ship and are making their way towards the main bulkhead doors”.
JOHN: “Show me views Ioa”
The 3D hologram fades, and a view inside the destroyer’s cargo bay replaces it. It shows the Endellion’s walking away from the scout ship inside the destroyer’s cargo bay carrying a sealed body sized box with some computer screens and lights flashing on the outside of it. The Endellion’s reach some large double sliding doors and stop to get access via a wall panel, the panel gives them access, and they all go through the doors which slide closed behind them.
John and the crew watch the new animated hologram as the Endellion’s seem to go though some more doors and drop off the container containing the humanoid in a small room. The Endellion’s leave the room and seem to go to further into the ship.
TOMBS: “Looks like they left that box on its own in that room. You curious John”
JOHN: “Dam right I’m curious. Where was I, plan E?”
GHOST: “We really need the Gyers John”
JOHN: “Ok, two teams. Porter, Dizzy, that container looks heavy, and the area it’s in does not look patrolled, the security doors should not be a problem for either of you. Grab the container and get it back to the Ballerina”.
DIZZY: “If it contains a humanoid would it be a good idea to take it to the medical bay”
JOHN: “Good idea Dizzy, do that”
GHOST: “We got the Gyers”
JOHN: “Tombs, Ghost, Me, the Gyers. You’ve seen the plans, let’s get go”.
The team get some equipment and weaponry together and open a hatch and get up on top of the Ballerinas roof. They all stand on top of the ship and look down to the floor of the huge cargo deck. They are all holding ropes that are tied to the Ballerina.
TOMBS: “Long way down boss”
PORTER: “And it’s a long way back up with a heavy box”
JOHN: “Ready?”
Dizzy jumps off and abseils down the rope,
DIZZY: “Go! weeeeeee”
The rest of the crew watch Dizzy jump off and vanish down the side of the Ballerina and then down the side of the scout ship to the deck of the destroyer. With backpacks on and carrying weaponry the remaining crew all look at each other and jump off the roof of the Ballerina following Dizzy down to the deck.
JOHN: “Porter, Dizzy, good luck, see you back on the Ballerina”
Both teams make their way down to the portside and starboard sides of the destroyer and reach the bulkhead doors that separates the docking bay and cargo bay from the rest of the ship.
Porter and Dizzy investigate the security panel beside the heavy looking double sliding doors.
PORTER: “After you Dizzy”
DIZZY: “Thank you”
Dizzy manipulates the touch screens hieroglyphics, and the doors slide open,
PORTER: “Open sesame!”
They both go through the doors which immediately close behind them, Tombs has a device plugged into the wall access screen on the adjacent side of the cargo bay, he pushes buttons on the device, but nothing happens, so he starts banging it against the wall, TOMBS: “What wrong with this piece of shit”
Ghost grabs the device from Tombs,
GHOST: “You’re doing it all wrong, look here.”
Tombs and John watch Ghost intensely for a short while, GHOST: “OH! piece of shit”
Then John tries. Then Tombs has a brainwave,
TOMBS: “Look I got it”
Tombs punches the wall screen, and it smashes, his hand seamlessly vanishes inside that bulkhead wall behind the broken screen, he then pulls smoking and sparking wires out. The double doors glide open, JOHN: “That’ll work”
As Tombs and John go through the doors Ghost stays back and jams the doors open with a big knife jammed into door surround because they are now trying close.
Porter and Dizzy reach the room with the container inside.
DIZZY: “This is the room Porter, and the door, and I believe it is your turn to open it”
PORTER: “Thank you Dizzy”
Porter manipulates the touch screens hieroglyphic’s, and the door slides open,
As they both enter the room they miss the screen which starts to display a red flashing hieroglyphic warning….
Meanwhile…
GHOST: “Are we there yet Tombs, we’ve been down this corridor twice already, I’m sure”
Tombs is looking at a 3D display screen attached to his left forearm, TOMBS: “Yeah, we are here, I think?”
John grabs Tombs arm and looks at the screen,
JOHN: “Looks right this time”
GHOST: “I’m sure it was right the first time”
Tombs pulls a face at Ghost. John start tapping and banging at the corridor wall,
JOHN: “I don’t see a door”
Then John seems to fade away and reappear,
GHOST: “Did you see that, Tombs?”
Ghost and Tombs look at each other, because John’s appearance seems to had changed slightly,
John looks at Ghost and Tombs and smiles at them both, JOHN: “It’s really good to see you two again!”
Ghost and Tombs look at each other again,
TOMBS: “John?”
John looks down at his waist. A silver rectangular box slowly appears (Materialises) onto John’s belt, John looks down and sees it.
JOHN: “Stand back!”
John reaches around to the left-hand side of his belt where the slim rectangular silver box is attached. He grabs the box while flicking his wrist sideways quickly, with a click the box doubles its length, he then flicks it forward and its box shape extends. John is now holding what looks like a gun made up of rectangular shapes in his left hand.
GHOST: Where did that gun come from?
TOMBS: “I never seen that before?”
Four glowing buttons that look like cut precious gems in a row appear on the handle close to the end of his fingers. He then taps the buttons in a certain order while pointing the gun at the alien ship corridor wall. A blue laser circle a couple of meters in diameter appears on the wall panel the gun is pointed at.
John presses the guns buttons in a certain order and the circle changes to an oval shape that gets adjusted smaller then bigger, more shapes are displayed on the wall that change in size until a rectangle with rounded corners is selected and adjusted to the size of a large door.
JOHN: “Shield your eyes”
Ghost and Tombs cover their eyes. John takes one last look at the wall and covers his eyes with his right hand. He manipulates the guns buttons and the blue laser outline rectangle flashes red, then suddenly there is a bright white flash. The wall now has a burnt and smoking door shape etched into it.
TOMBS: “Cough, cough, what a stink, is that wall made of shit or what?”
John looks at Tombs and turns his head towards the wall and nods, Tombs nods back then walks over to the wall and flat foot kicks the wall in the middle of the burnt rectangular mark a couple of times, TOMBS: “Hufff! I’ll try again, Hufff! Hmmm?”
Suddenly, Ghost runs past John, then past Tombs with her heavy gun held firmly against her chest, she then jumps and turns in mid fight hitting the middle of the burnt rectangle with her shoulder and back. The door shape cut-out gets pushed though like a pastry cutter though cookie dough by Ghost.
John and Tombs walk up to the slighting smoking rectangular opening and look in. Ghost is laying on her back on top of the cut-out door that is several inches thick on the floor inside a room.
GHOST: “The Gun gave me the extra weight I needed to push though”
TOMBS: “Nice moves girl”
Tombs walks through the newly made doorway and extends his hand and pulls Ghost up to her feet. They all walk to the middle of a brightly lit large square matt black plain room devoid of any furnishings. Ghost and Tombs wait to see what John wants them to do, but instead he says…
JOHN: “Good luck guys”
Then John seems to fade away and reappear again, but he is back in his original guise, but the gun is missing,
John stands there for a second looking confused, JOHN: “Where was I?”
TOMBS: “You just said good luck guys”
JOHN: “I’m not sure what happened then?”
Ghost is using her computer strapped to her arm to scan the room.
GHOST: “Scanning. Readings are telling me there are Gyers in here, but where?”
The team of 3 look up and down and all around them, TOMBS: “Look at these tiles on the floor, there all different sizes”
John scans the floor using his open hand palm down, his hand trembles, JOHN: “I don’t think they are tiles”
John kneels down looks straight ahead and puts his hand on one of the tiles.
JOHN: “I’m detecting a magnetic resonance just below this tile. Wait a sec, I think I may have”.
The floor goes “Clunk!” and the tile starts to raise from the floor. John gets off the tile as they all stand and watch a tower of shelves emerge from the floor to chest height.
JOHN: “This must be an under-floor storage room, each tile has shelves below the floor like these, a magnetic lock keeps each one secure”
GHOST: “And you had the right key”
John is tapping his head.
JOHN: “I was lucky enough to have a few keys to try out”
TOMBS: “I wish I had an under-floor storage like this, I’d put my socks on this shelve, under wear here”
JOHN: “Tombs! Let’s get the Gyres and go”.
TOMBS: “There’s six here John”
JOHN: “Let’s take two each, just in case one or two of us…”
Tombs and Ghost are looking at John and waiting for him to finish his sentence.
JOHN: “Er? Get lost”
GHOST: “You mean killed John?”
JOHN: “I didn’t say that”
TOMBS: “It’s Ok John, we know what you mean, anyway, so far so good”
They all grab two Gyers each from the shelving tower, and the tower retreats back into the floor. As they all begin to turn and leave the room a couple of mean looking Endellions walk through the opening in the wall carrying weapons.
TOMBS: “Or, should I say, so far so good seems so far but not so good now”
Ghost and Tombs jump to get either side of John as he is turning around.
Ghost and Tombs reach for their shield devices on their belts and flick them on. Each of their greyish looking shield bubbles form around them individually and make anything inside appear monochrome.
The bubbles initially overlap, they then form into one bubble shielding all three of them and making anything inside now look like the three changing chromatic colours, (three principal colour elements, red/green/blue)
One of the Endellions takes aim with his weapon and fires. A hazy bright orange pulse hits the shield bubble, and an explosion occurs where the bubble was.