FADE IN:
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
A monitor class ship is in perfect, like new condition.
NARRIATOR
In war, there are many unknown heroes.
But are there any more heroic than
those who save others even after
realizing they themselves are doomed?
CAPTION
2920 AD. In route to planet Hector.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The bridge is a tightly packed space of stations with each
station manned by an officer. The captain and everyone else
is facing the front of the bridge, where a screen is
displaying an Admiral.
ADMIRAL
Gentlemen, since this war began ten
years ago, we have been on the
defensive. We still don't know who
these invaders are, or what they
want. All we do know is that the
populations of the worlds we have
lost have been annihilated. That is
not going to happen this time. The
shooting should begin soon, so give
them Hell.
The screen goes black, and the crew turns back to their
stations.
CAPTAIN
You heard the man, lets get ready.
OFFICER 1
Engine room reports ready.
OFFICER 2
Gunnery is ready.
OFFICER 3
Flagship is ordering radio silence.
OFFICER 4
Planet is coming up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
EXT. SPACE AROUND HECTOR -- DAY
In the year 2920, the tenth year of the war. A group of
Monitor warships, along with other warships are flying
together in a convoy towards the planet Hector.
A fleet of Trident class ships come around the planet. The
lead ships launch their missiles. The other Tridents begin
to spread out to encircle the approaching ships.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The lights turn red, and a brief alarm sounds.
OFFICER 4
We have Trident Class warships
incoming. They have launched
missiles.
CAPTAIN
Get into combat formation. Sound
general quarters.
EXT. SPACE AROUND HECTOR -- DAY
The Monitor class ships spread out into a fan shape to meet
the Tridents and to provide protection for their battleships.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The captain turns to his gunnery station.
CAPTAIN
Open all gun ports, and choose your
targets.
OFFICER 2
Aye sir. Target locked, ready to
fire.
OFFICER 4
Incoming missile is going to hit.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The monitor's side gun panels open, and the turret swivels
slightly. The turret guns glow slightly, then fire.
A single missile, launched earlier from a Trident strikes
the Monitor in front of the turret, and beside the shuttle
bay.
The missile explodes, jarring the turret, which quits moving.
Fire still burns in the hole made by the missile.
There is a second explosion in the same hole that is even
larger than the first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.
The second explosion also encompasses the shuttle bay and
destroys part of the upper hull behind the Bridge.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The explosion rocks the ship, knocking the entire engine
room crew to the floor.
An overhead conduit ruptures, spraying gas throughout the
engine room.
The Chief Engineer looks up at the ruptured pipe in horror.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Everybody out! Now, Everyone out!
The Chief Engineer, along with the rest of the engineers
scramble to their feet.
A blue light begins flashing in the engine room.
The blast doors close, sealing everyone inside the engine
room.
Badges on each of the engineers turn from green to blue and
then to black. Each of them looks at their badges and then
to the door in horror, and then gaze at each other watching
the same fears play across everyone's face.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
My god... they are going to have to
vent.
The chief engineer closes his eyes and sinks to his knees as
he waits for the inevitable. The rest of the engineering
crew scatters throughout the engine room.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The bridge is completely dark, with no controls or readouts
lit.
CAPTAIN
Damage report. What happened?
Someone turns on a flashlight and shines it around the bridge.
OFFICER 1
For a second I was showing a
contamination alarm in the engineering
section, then the second explosion.
OFFICER 3
There is no power to any of the
stations, Captain.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.
CAPTAIN
Switch us over to emergency power.
OFFICER 1
No response from emergency power, I
can switch us over to local batteries.
CAPTAIN
Do it.
The captain leans to look out the window at the front of the
bridge.
Officer 1 opens a panel in the floor, and pulls a switch
which turns on dim yellow lights on the bridge, and turns on
some of the bridge operating controls.
OFFICER 1
Got it.
CAPTAIN
Good. Navigation, execute evasive
action, or we are going to get killed
out here.
OFFICER 2
I'm still not getting any response
from the instruments.
OFFICER 3
The bridge is completely cut off
from the rest of the ship, even
communications.
The captain is shocked at the news, and sits back into his
seat.
CAPTAIN
That is it then, we're helpless.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
Slowly, the Chief Engineer opens his eyes, and he looks
around, wondering why he was still alive.
He gets up and walks to his main control panel, next to the
blast doors. He presses one of the intercom buttons.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Chief Engineer to Engineering relief
crew, what is your status.
(beat)
What is your status...
He presses another button, which activates a periscope type
device which comes out of the wall. He calls up the ready
room on the video panel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.
INT. READY ROOM -- DAY
The room where the Engineering relief crew is stationed has
been exposed to vacuum, and all are dead.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
Oh, crap, they are all gone.
(beat)
Engineering to Damage Control, I
need a damage report.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
A man in a space suit is standing next to the damaged section
of the upper hull, looking at the damaged section.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Damage Control here. All bridge
control lines have been cut, and the
turret is jammed, minor hull breaches.
Engineering has been sealed following
a tube rupture. Are you the relief
crew, Engineering?
He looks up and dives for cover.
An energy beam fired by a Trident impacts near the front of
the ship.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The sound of another explosion echoes through the ship.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Negative, my relief crew is dead.
Silence.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
I am assuming control of the ship
for the next 20 minutes, or until
you restore bridge control, or you
no longer hear from me, understood?
DAMAGE CONTROL (O.S.)
Understood.
The chief engineer toggles various switches on his control
board that change the views on his periscope.
EXT. SPACE AROUND HECTOR -- DAY
A destroyer is destroyed by energy beams from a Trident.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.
Monitor class ships are peeling out of formation in attempts
to dodge missiles or energy beams.
The damaged Monitor is still drifting having been knocked
off course by the explosions.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
The battle is not going well, its
already disintegrated into
dogfighting.
The engineer looks around at his crew, most of which are
sitting on the floor waiting for death.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
Jones!! Tooley!! Front and center!
Jones is one of the crewmen sitting on the floor, on hearing
his name, he slowly stands up. He clearly is very depressed.
JONES
We are dead, what is the point, chief?
CHIEF ENGINEER
Your not dead yet, and neither is
this ship. Where is Tooley?
JONES
Not sure, Chief. I thought I saw
him going around back after Janet.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Ok... You ready the lift, and Ill
get Tooley.
Jones walks off to the side, while the chief engineer grabs
a wrench and walks along the engine room equipment. He stops
when he passes the engineer Chuck.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
Chuck... get up man, go and stand by
the primary thruster controls. They
still need us.
The larger engineer nods and shuffles off.
The Chief Engineer rounds a control panel and finds Engineer
Janet struggling with Tooley, who is attempting to rape her.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
Tooley! Get off her!
TOOLEY
Fuck off, chief. If I'm going out,
I'm going to have some fun first.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.
The chief engineer halls back with the wrench and slaps Tooley
across the face with it. The hit knocks Tooley off of Janet.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Janet, go man the directional thruster
controls.
Janet is visibly shaken from her experiences, but her eyes
flash with hatred for Tooley.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
I'm sorry, Janet, but we don`t have
time for justice, vengeance, or
sympathy. I need you to man those
controls.
JANET
Yes, chief.
The chief engineer closes on Tooley.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Get up.
TOOLEY
Forget it, I'm not doing anything.
CHIEF ENGINEER
The hell you are. You are going to
help Jones seal that pipe, because
without it, this ship cannot be at
full power. And because there is no
one else who can do it. You will do
your duty and serve this ship, or
everyone on board will die, instead
of just us.
Tooley looks angrily at the chief.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
And if you don`t, so help me, I will
kill you myself, here and now.
TOOLEY
Ok.. Fine. I may as well keep busy.
Tooley joins Jones at the lift, which raises both of them up
to the Shattered pipe. Jones is on one side and Tooley is
on the other side of the pipe. They attach two outer casings
over the damaged pipe section.
JONES
I wish we were using more safety
precautions with this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.
TOOLEY
Its already killed you, so don`t
worry about it.
The two men clamp patch firmly onto the pipe.
Jones then activates the lift which lowers them back to the
ground.
The chief engineer is standing at his control console, looking
intently into his viewer.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Gunnery crews, keep a sharp eye out.
If you get a clear shot in the next
few minutes, I need you to take it.
INTERCOM
Aye, sir. Gunnery crews standing
ready.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Janet, three seconds thrust on ports
one and four.
Janet turns a few nozzles on the controls board in front of
her. She pulls a lever.
JANET
Thrusters one and four... Three...
two... one... cut.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship abruptly stops its sideways motion and levels off.
A near by Monitor ship is hit by missiles and explodes.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
Good. Thruster nine for five
seconds... Now.
Janet quickly works her controls.
JANET
Thruster nine. Five... four...
three... two... one... cut.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship turns around. The turret and side guns fire while
the ship is turning. Their energy beams hit and destroy a
Trident class ship.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The captain jumps up from his station and points out the
window excitedly.
CAPTAIN
Hot Damn! Someone is certainly on
their toes!
OFFICER 3
What happened?
CAPTAIN
Gunner saw a good shot and took it,
burned him good. Looks like someone
in engineering is steering the ship
right.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
Good shot, gunners. Chuck, got one
coming at us... full thrust.
Chuck pulls the levers on his controls.
CHIEF ENGINEER (CONT'D)
Good... now cut thrust.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship jumps forward, then cuts speed.
The Turret guns open fire, followed by one of the side guns.
A missile strikes the side of the ship behind the side guns,
resulting in a large explosion.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
An explosion rips through the far end of the engine room.
TOOLEY
Regulators hit.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Janet, two seconds on eight, wait
four seconds, then two seconds on
sixteen. Tooley, take Jones and fix
that regulator.
TOOLEY
Jones can't help anymore.
Jones is dead, still sitting next to the lift he used to
repair the pipe.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.
JANET
Thruster eight, One... two... cut.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship begins turning on its axis.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
Get someone else.
JANET
One... two... three... four...
Tooley points over to one of the other engineers, and motions
him over to the damaged section.
TOOLEY
You, help me with these repairs.
JANET
Thruster sixteen, one... two... cut.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship finishes its 180 degree turn.
The turret guns open fire, hitting and destroying another
Trident warship.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The chief engineer looks proudly at his crew.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Good job, everyone. Someone check
on the coolant temperature, its still
too high. Curt, cut our speed to
slow, that regulator is causing flare
up out there.
Tooley is with the work crews working on the damaged
stabilizers.
TOOLEY
Need to cut out the regulators so we
can jury rig a new connection.
Janet runs away from her station to a point further down the
engine room.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Fine. Chuck, cut engines and reroute
flow away from the regulators. Why
are there still heat increases?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.
Janet reaches a station where an engineer is slouching dead
over his control station.
She pulls him off, and adjusts a control, before moving back
to her own station.
JANET
Larry died on the heat controls, I
have it set to automatic.
CHIEF ENGINEER
That is a bad setting in the middle
of a battle.
JANET
We are a bit short of personnel here.
There are more sparks across the engine, so the chief engineer
checks his viewer again.
CHIEF ENGINEER
They are coming at us... Janet,
thruster ten for five seconds.
Janet turns a nob and then pulls the lever.
JANET
Thruster ten, One... two... three...
four... Five... cut.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship begins spinning. The side guns open fire on an
unknown target.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
Chuck, help out with the regulator
repairs.
Chuck runs from his station back to where Tooley and others
are making repairs.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The damage control crew are walking along the damaged portion
of the ship, unspooling wires and cables across the damaged
upper hull section.
An energy beam strikes near the crew, but they don`t even
bother to look up, at it as they hurry along with their task.
Air begins escaping from the hole made by the laser.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
Another explosion rocks the engine room, with another
explosion and sparks near the ceiling. It is a small hull
breach, and air begins escaping into space.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Hull breach! Nathan, put a temporary
patch on that now!
JANET
Shouldn't we put a permanent patch
on that?
CHIEF ENGINEER
No, We don`t have time to fool with
that now, and we don`t need it to
hold for long. It may even make the
venting go quicker.
The chief engineer is starting to look more worn out, as if
the act of thinking and doing is becoming a strain for him.
Most of the other engineers are the same.
One of the engineers helping Tooley falls over dead.
Tooley finally pushes the last piece back into place, and
Chuck staggers back to his first station. Tooley is looking
very haggard.
TOOLEY
Regulators should be functional again.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Chuck, restore engines. Reverse
slow. Janet, thruster 20 for five.
JANET
Thruster twenty. One... two...
three... four... five... cut.
CHUCK
Engines restored.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship stops its spinning, and begins to go backwards
slowly. The turret guns fire again.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The chief again turns back to his control panel.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Damage control, how are those control
lines coming.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The damage control crew, still in their space suits are
carefully splicing wires together, making sure the wires on
the damaged section are connected with the proper wire on
the cable they have draped across the damaged section of the
hull.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Just about done sir, a few more
minutes.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
CHIEF ENGINEER
There had better be someone alive to
take control on that bridge. Listen,
once you get the control lines done,
come back and vent engineering, and
find someone to man it.
DAMAGE CONTROL (O.S.)
But, what about the survivors?
CHIEF ENGINEER
There are no survivors.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
More lights are starting to turn on on each command station.
OFFICER 3
Long range communications restored.
OFFICER 2
Gunnery control restored, Captain.
OFFICER 1
It must have been some hit for all
the control lines to have been hit.
CAPTAIN
To say nothing of the emergency
bridge.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
Tooley collapses and crawls over to Janet.
TOOLEY
Janet... I wanted to say sorry. I
was being stupid. I didn`t think, I
didn`t mean to...
Tooley dies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.
JANET
I am not about to forgive you,
bastard. Now or ever.
Janet kicks Tooley in the balls, but the corpse does not
react. The chief engineer is acting even more tired than
before.
CHIEF ENGINEER
Janet... Damage control is ready,
lets get everything switched over to
automatic for Bridge control.
Janet and the chief engineer start at the center and each
works their way to opposite ends of the engine room, stopping
at each work station to make sure it is set to automatic,
and then move on to the next. They pass by one or two workers
who are still alive, and they pass by many more who are dead.
Janet reaches the end and then starts working her way back
to the other end. She pauses at each body with tears in her
eyes.
Janet passes her station and continues walking down the line
of stations making sure they are on automatic. She stops by
the dead body of the chief engineer.
After a moment, Janet resumes going down the line and setting
each station on automatic.
Janet finally reaches the end of the line of duty stations.
She sits down and leans against the back wall and stops
moving.
A red light flashes, and an alarm sounds and slowly fades
out.
The patch covering the hull breach soundlessly falls to the
floor.
The blast door opens and people enter wearing space suites.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
OFFICER 1
I have engineering control back,
captain. Damage control sure worked
a miracle.
CAPTAIN
Yes, but I want to shake the hand of
the engineers who kept us alive long
enough for them to finish. Evasive
action.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.
EXT. MONITOR CLASS SHIP -- DAY
The ship abruptly changes direction, avoiding a laser salvo,
and brings the side guns to bare on the trident that had
just tried to destroy them.
The guns fire, and the Trident is destroyed.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
One of the men in space suites puts the patch back over the
hull breach. The patch stays in place.
Two other men in space suits are dragging the bodies of the
engineering crew out of the way to rest along the side wall.
EXT. SPACE AROUND HECTOR -- DAY
The course of the battle is changing, there are fewer and
fewer Tridents operational.
It is slowly becoming obvious that the Monitors and their
fleet is winning the battle.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
The entire bridge crew is working hard at their stations,
looking intently at their controls.
CAPTAIN
Hard to port, roll 20 degrees.
OFFICER 2
I have a target... Firing.
A flash brightens the bridge.
CAPTAIN
Good shot.
OFFICER 4
Looks like the enemy is cutting out.
EXT. SPACE AROUND HECTOR -- DAY
The tridents are all breaking away from the battle and fleeing
to deeper space.
INT. BRIDGE -- DAY
CAPTAIN
Thank God its over.
OFFICER 3
Incoming communication for you sir.
Its from the admiral.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16.
The captain nods.
The admiral's face again appears on the communication screen.
ADMIRAL
That was a good fight you put up, I
wanted to thank you personally. We
thought you were dead in the water
for a minute there at the beginning.
CAPTAIN
I had nothing to do with it,
literally. Apparently, my engineering
crew took control of the ship until
the Damage Control teams could make
repairs. I wish to put them in for
medals, at the first opportunity.
ADMIRAL
I want to be there when you
congratulate them, Captain. I will
be arriving soon.
INT. ENGINE ROOM -- DAY
The relief crew is manning the Engineering stations, while
the original crew is still lined up along the wall. Each of
the engineers is wearing a green colored badge.
The Door opens, and the Captain and the Admiral step inside.
All the men inside snap to attention and salute.
The admiral and captain return the salutes, then the Admiral
extends his hand.
ADMIRAL
I wanted to congratulate you on a
job well done, keeping the ship going
after bridge control was lost.
ENGINEER
That wasn't us sir.
He points to the bodies lined up along the wall.
ENGINEER (CONT'D)
It was them.
The admiral looks horrified, and the captain looks sadly at
the men.
ADMIRAL
What killed them? A hull breach?
The engineer pulls a badge off of one of the bodies, and
shows the black color to the admiral.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17.
ENGINEER
No sir, they patched that. They
died of contamination.
EXT. HULL -- DAY
The admiral, captain and the entire crew are standing on the
deck of the Monitor class ship in their space suits. The
Engineering Crew is also on the deck, in coffins, other dead
crewmen are also on the deck, but the Engineers are in places
of honor.
One by one the bodies drift off the deck into space.
FADE OUT: