PILLAR OF DAWN

Written by

Gerald Prophete
SPACE

A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop. A classic

looking NASA shuttle floats silently through Space with, THE
HORIZON, printed on the side in Giant letters.

INT. COCKPIT, HORIZON - CONTINUOUS

A Smooth JAZZ Tune starts playing.

ANNA, thirties, beautiful and smart, sits in artificial

Gravity with her earbuds in and closed eyes hidden behind a
pair of glasses, listening to music.

PETER, thirties, a stocky gentleman with wild hair, leans

forward and taps Anna on the shoulder.

She remove her earbuds.

PETER:
Do you recall the last time we looked
for Paramus?

ANNA:
You've already asked me this
question? Are you expecting a
different answer?

PETER:
All we did was wander aimlessly in
Space and come back with nothing.

ANNA:
It was either come back with nothing,
or not come back at all like the
people who tried this before us.

PETER:
What makes this time so different? Do
you know something I don't?

ANNA:
I have my reasons. And I don't know
anymore than you do.

Peter sits back and exhales.

ANNA: (cont'd)
It's just... this thing is driving me
crazy. How does an entire world just
disappear? How does that even happen?

(CONTINUED)
 2.
CONTINUED:

Anna sees Peter staring out the ship's window, mouth AGAPE.

ANNA: (cont'd)
Peter, what are you...

Anna looks out the window to see what's caught Peter's

attention. Her eyes WIDEN once she sees it.

ANNA: (cont'd)
Holy Shit...

PARAMUS.

But we don't see what it is. Not yet.

CUT TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

EXT. SPACE - THE PIRATE GUILD BASE

"3 MONTHS LATER"

A debris of WRECKED SHIPS surrounds this MASSIVE looking

space station deep in another part of the galaxy.

INT. CORRIDOR, PIRATE GUILD BASE - CONTINUOUS

STEPHEN CRANE, forties, is dressed somewhat practically in

brown fabric and leather. He has the look of a man you had
better take seriously. He walks down a wide corridor shaft
with metal floors and dim lighting panels, flanked by two
ARMORED SOLDIERS.

INT. THRONE ROOM, PIRATE GUILD BASE - CONTINUOUS

Crane enters an even dimmer room where he kneels before

SOLOMON, the LEADER of THE GUILD. A Man that commands
absolute attention as he sits upon a makeshift Throne.

The Guild's Crest -- The Emblem of a RAVEN -- is plastered

on Two large Banners, hanging in this room's backdrop.

SOLOMON:
I know why you've come.

(CONTINUED)
 3.
CONTINUED:

CRANE:
Then you know my intentions. My
people are on their way to Sentinel
as we speak. We'll soon have the
coordinates.

SOLOMON:
I tasked you with this mission
because I know how much it means to
you. I understand the stakes
involved. But you aren't the only one
with a stake in this matter. Hear
this and hear it well; Do not make a
move without contacting me first.
Remember who is in charge. Are we
clear?

Crane stares. Solomon repeats himself.

SOLOMON: (cont'd)
I said, are we clear?

CRANE:
Crystal.

INT. COCKPIT, SPACESHIP - LATER

A thin, brown haired man in a Forest Green Jacket named

DESMOND REIGNS, thirties, sits with his eyes closed in the
Pilot seat of a Spaceship -- nervous, yet focused.

He takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and kisses the small
Silver SPACESHIP NECKLACE dangling from his neck for Good
Luck.

His partner, VICTOR SHAW, talks in his ear through a

headset.

VICTOR: (O.S.)
Alright, Dez. You ready?

DESMOND:
Ready.

Desmond begins flicking switches and pressing buttons.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Sensors activated. Radar online.
Navigation System Online. Fusion
Reactors 1-3 Online. Main Engine
Start.

(CONTINUED)
 4.
CONTINUED:

The panels brightly light up and display with each button he

presses. After a while, the Monitor screens turn Red and an
alarm starts BLARING. Quietly at first, but it then
increases in volume.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
What's going on, Vic?

VICTOR: (O.S.)
Fusion Reactors 2 and 3 are
overheating. Try activating the
cooling systems.

Desmond fiddles with controls, but to no avail. The Cooling

System seem to be malfunctioning. The alarm continues.

DESMOND:
The Cooling Systems are
Malfunctioning!

VICTOR: (O.S.)
The reactors are getting ready to
explode.

The Blaring Alarm gets louder and louder. Desmond becomes

more afraid as small beads of sweat trickle down his face.

THEN...

The Cockpit lights come back on.

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

End of Simulation.

Desmond sits back in his chair and exhales.

VICTOR: (O.S.)
Bad news, Desmond -- we're both dead.

INT. SPACESHIP SIMULATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Desmond steps out of the ship and is greeted by a chuckling

Victor at the bottom of the platform.

DESMOND:
I'm glad you found that funny.
Assclown.

VICTOR:
Another failed launch, eh Dez?

(CONTINUED)
 5.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
Failed launch? It was your fault I
messed up.

VICTOR:
(laughing)
My fault?

DESMOND:
Every time we do this shit, you cause
trouble.

VICTOR:
That's what Simulations are for --
expecting the unexpected. If you
can't maneuver around a small
situation like this, you're just not
ready to go back into Space.

Victor looks upon a dejected Desmond and places his hand on

his shoulder.

VICTOR: (cont'd)
You hungry? Come on, let's get
something to eat. My treat.

EXT. BOWERY STREET, OLDTOWN - LATER

Past the Skyscrapers in DOWNTOWN SENTINEL, and below the

Railway leading into the City, is the lowest tier of the
World -- the futuristic slums that make up OLDTOWN.

There's a BAZAAR, teeming with many Market Stands. MERCHANTS

sell Foodstuffs and other Wares to the CITIZENS.

Desmond and Victor walk through the streets, weaving through

the crowd, eating food as they go along.

VICTOR:
You still haven't gotten over the
accident.

DESMOND:
The simulations are helping for what
its worth.

VICTOR:
But every now and again, you relapse.
Maybe they aren't helping you as much
as you think.

(CONTINUED)
 6.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
It also doesn't help when you fuck
with the simulations, Victor.

VICTOR:
Let's not live in the past.

DESMOND:
I'm trying to get there. It's just
taking longer than I thought.

A beat.

VICTOR:
You been to see your Parents?

DESMOND:
I visit their grave at least once a
week. If I ever get over this...
thing, I'm gonna get off this rock
and travel like they did.

VICTOR:
What's wrong with Sentinel?

DESMOND:
What's wrong is down here, it's the
same old shit.

A small KID bumps into him.

KID:
Sorry, Mister.

Desmond's not stupid. He drags the kid back by the collar

before he can run away.

DESMOND:
Nice try, kid. Hand it over.

The kid reluctantly hands Desmond back his Wallet. But

Desmond, being a nice guy, gives the kid a few bucks anyway.
He thanks Desmond and smiles as he walks away. Victor gives
him a look.

VICTOR:
Ever the Good Samaritan.

DESMOND:
You see what I mean?

(CONTINUED)
 7.
CONTINUED: (2)

VICTOR:
We clearly have differing view points
on the subject. Collecting bounties,
getting drunk, and sleeping with
gorgeous, yet questionable women like
those...

Victor points to some Female ALIEN PROSTITUTES checking the

two of them out. He WINKS at them.

VICTOR: (cont'd)
(smirks)
... keeps me sane.

Desmond looks to the sky as a ship ascends into Space.

VICTOR: (cont'd)
Come on, Ian's waiting for us.

INT. PETER'S HOUSE, SENTINEL - LATER

We revisit Peter for the first time since his Space Mission.

He's become a wreck. Looks like he hasn't shaved in months.

He sits in a chair with an uneasy feeling, and for good
reason.

A Female Warrior eerily stands before him bearing The

Guild's Crest on her clothing.

This is CORISA, a J'Saarian -- a race of Aliens whose ages

are difficult to determine with light Purple skin and dark
hair.

Peter flinches as Corisa un-sheathes her long, curved Sword

and points it at him. The word "COLIBRI" is engraved on the
blade and on the scabbard.

CORISA:
You're making this a lot harder than
it has to be, Peter. Tell me where
the coordinates are and I'll be on my
way.

PETER:
What coordinates?

CORISA:
I am not in the mood for games. Where
are the coordinates to Paramus?

(CONTINUED)
 8.
CONTINUED:

PETER:
I have no idea what you're talking
about. I don't have any coordinates.

Peter then feels the Cold Steel of Corisa's Sword pressed

flatly against his skin.

CORISA:
Most ships have a memory bank system
that saves the coordinates of every
planet of every system they visit.
And yet, you come back to Earth and
somehow, the system was wiped
completely clean. You claim you don't
remember a thing, then you pack up
and move to Sentinel. You wanna know
what I think? I think you saved them
to a separate file and wiped the
memory clean because you don't want
anybody to know where it is.

PETER:
Listen to me. That place is
dangerous. It took Anna! I barely got
out with my life! You will die if you
go there.

CORISA:
Then why save the coordinates?

PETER:
It's my fault she's gone. I still
have them because... I thought about
going back for her. But I'd rather
die than go back there again.

Corisa draws her Sword back and re-sheathes it.

CORISA:
Where are they?

PETER:
On a data file connected to the
upstairs computer.

CORISA:
Stay where you are. Once I get the
coordinates, you're coming with me.
The Guild will have some questions
for you.

A THUD is heard upstairs drawing her attention.

(CONTINUED)
 9.
CONTINUED: (2)

CORISA: (cont'd)
(looking upstairs)
Who else is here with you?

PETER:
Nobody.

Corisa heads upstairs. She sees an open window and MISSING

data file from the Computer.

A GUNSHOT is heard.

Corisa heads back downstairs to find...

Peter DEAD in his chair. The Gun slips out of his lifeless
hand and to the floor. Corisa shakes her head and leaves.

INT. YARD, SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

Hiding behind a fence, clutching something close to her

chest, is a Teenage Runaway with STEAMPUNK AVIATOR GOGGLES
on her head -- This is 19 year old EMMA SIMMONS.

She opens her hands and we see the STOLEN USB FILE! Emma
smiles, but just as she thinks she's safe, Corisa's Sword
PIERCES through the Fence, scaring her!

Emma backs up as the fence door collapses in two. Corisa

walks right through and sees the USB Drive in Emma's hands.

CORISA:
I believe you have something that
doesn't belong to you.

EMMA:
Fuck off. It doesn't belong to you
either. It's mine.

CORISA:
And when I take it from you, it'll be
mine.

Emma takes off running. Corisa rolls her eyes and realizes
she now has to waste time and chase after this little girl.

INT. IAN SHAW'S APARTMENT, SENTINEL - LATER

Desmond and Victor enter the studio apartment of 28 year

old, IAN SHAW, Victor's trigger happy younger brother. He
has a Suitcase waiting on a table as they enter.

(CONTINUED)
 10.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
What do we got?

IAN:
(opening the suitcase)
What we've got is a very
sophisticated navigational system.

Desmond and Victor approach the briefcase and look at its

contents. We don't see what's inside.

IAN: (cont'd)
If Paramus is really out there
somewhere, this should be able to
help us find it.

VICTOR:
And if the stories are true, a
mountain of treasure will be waiting
there for us.

DESMOND:
When I brought this up to you guys
before, you said I was crazy. The two
of you don't even believe in
Atlantis.

VICTOR:
Because it's not real. Plato made the
whole thing up.

IAN:
Come on, Dez. "A single day and night
of misfortune." What kind of crock of
shit is that?

DESMOND:
How is Paramus any different?

VICTOR:
Difference is we have actual proof,
and not some fictional stories.

DESMOND:
And you think this navigational thing
will get us there?

IAN:
That's what the guy I bought it from
said. If it doesn't work, I'll just
have to pay him a visit and kill him.

(CONTINUED)
 11.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
Kill him? A bit much, don't you
think?

VICTOR:
Ian likes to exaggerate.

IAN:
It'd be easier if we just had the
coordinates to the place.
(to Desmond)
What about you? You get over your,
uh, issue yet, or what?

DESMOND:
Paramus isn't going anywhere, Ian.
It's not gonna kill you to wait a
little while longer.

Ian gives a slight look to Victor.

EXT. DOWNTOWN SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

DOWNTOWN SENTINEL. The Streets are busy, a score of PEOPLE

are either walking on the sidewalk, or reading and enjoying
Lunch at outdoor restaurants.

We then see Emma running out of a nearby alley, tripping

herself up close to the middle of the street.

Corisa is able to catch up, and grab her by the collar.

CORISA:
You've wasted enough of my time.

Corisa pries the USB Drive from Emma's hands and tosses her
to the floor.

She turns and sees an oncoming Massive HOVER TRUCK. She

pulls out her sword and SLICES THE TRUCK IN HALF!

PEOPLE on the streets head for cover as the truck SPLITS IN

TWO, falls onto both sides of the sidewalk, CRASHING into
parked cars, outdoor tables, and other stores.

A second car, skidding, turning, and trying to stop, HITS

Corisa, and she goes to the ground.
 12.

INT. IAN SHAW'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Desmond, Victor, and Ian hear the commotion and look out the
window to see.

IAN:
I know Rush hour can be crazy, but
shit.

Desmond grabs his duffel bag and makes for the door.

VICTOR:
Dez! Where are you going?

Desmond doesn't respond and heads out of the apartment.

IAN:
Off he goes to play the hero again.
The hell is his deal?

VICTOR:
(sighs)
I have no idea.

EXT. DOWNTOWN SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

Back outside, the accident has caused the traffic to get

backed up. People step out of their hover cars and look on
to see what's happening.

Two PEOPLE step out of the Hover Car that hit Corisa --

OWEN PORTER, steps out of the Driver side of the car, and
his partner, MIRANDA BENNETT steps out of the passenger
side.

MIRANDA:
I knew we should've taken the
shortcut home.

Owen runs over to check on Corisa.

OWEN:
Are you ok? I was trying to stop, and
I didn't see you.

Corisa starts to move. She grabs Owen by the neck on her way
up to her feet.

CORISA:
(angry)
How did you not see me?

(CONTINUED)
 13.
CONTINUED:

OWEN:
(struggling to talk)
Maybe we can talk about this?

MIRANDA: (O.S.)
Drop him, now!

Corisa turns and sees Miranda with a Pistol AIMED at her.

She drops Owen, and moves on Miranda, Sword-in-hand.

Miranda opens fire and Corisa easily REPELS all the bullets
with her Sword every step of the way.

MIRANDA:
Oh shit...

The people begin to scatter.

Corisa SWINGS for Miranda's head! Miranda DUCKS and Corisa

SLICES a Lamp Post in half.

Owen is back up with a Shotgun in his hands. Corisa slices

it to shreds.

OWEN:
(frustrated)
Come on!

Corisa kicks him away and prepares to deliver the killing

blow, but is quickly interrupted.

OFFICER: (O.S.)
FREEZE! SSF!

Behind her, we have Four Armored SENTINEL SPACE FORCE

OFFICERS with PLASMA RIFLES out -- armed, and pointed.

OFFICER:
Drop your weapon and stand down!

Corisa ignores their threats and marches towards them. The

Officers open fire and she DODGES the Laser fire.

She BLITZES the group of Officers.

Corisa kicks one into a nearby Car, uses another as a shield

as the Officers BLAST their own man. She tosses that Officer
aside and drops the other two with EASE.

Miranda tries to escape. Corisa re-draws her Sword, LEAPS

into the air, looking to land right on her! Before she can
connect, Desmond springs into action and tackles Miranda out
of harm's way!

(CONTINUED)
 14.
CONTINUED: (2)

Miranda is unsure what to make of this stranger. But she's

grateful that he saved her.

MIRANDA:
(to Desmond)
Thanks.

DESMOND:
No problem. What's going on, you owe
her money or something?

MIRANDA:
Not exactly. We kinda, sorta...
accidentally ran her over.

DESMOND:
You kinda sorta accidentally ran her
over?

MIRANDA:
Well... it sounds bad when you say it
like that.

Desmond and Miranda look as Corisa faces off with them.

CORISA:
I am Corisa. A member of the
J'Saarian race. If you walk away
now, maybe I'll change my mind about
killing you.

DESMOND:
And I am Desmond Reigns. I'm sorry to
disappoint you, but I'm not in the
habit of listening to threats.

CORISA:
Have it your way.

Desmond puts on some GLOVES and pulls out a DUAL BARRELED

PISTOL.

DESMOND:
(to Miranda)
Go check on your friend. I got this.

Miranda hurries over to check on Owen, leaving Desmond to

face off with this Beautiful Warrior. He fires a few rounds,
which she easily deflects with her Blade.

Corisa runs at him going for an overhead strike.

(CONTINUED)
 15.
CONTINUED: (3)

Desmond's gloves LIGHT UP with a Blue Hue. He puts his hands

up and BLOCKS Corisa's Sword attack with a LIGHT SHIELD.

CORISA:
A light shield?!

DESMOND:
I'm full of surprises.

Emma looks on, crouched behind a Car.

Corisa applies pressure and Desmond's light shield

eventually shrinks and burns out. He falls forward and she
kicks him in the chest, sending him to the floor.

DESMOND:
Shit. She's strong.

Miranda runs in and TACKLES Corisa to the ground.

Desmond turns his head and sees Victor and Ian making their
way to their Hover Car.

DESMOND:
Hey!

Desmond runs over just in time to catch them.

DESMOND:
What the hell? You were gonna leave
without me?

Ian gets in the hover car. Victor turns to Desmond.

VICTOR:
Hey, this isn't our problem. Nobody
asked you to go and get involved.
We're leaving. You gonna get in the
car or not?

Desmond turns to see Miranda having problems with Corisa.

DESMOND:
I can't just leave.

VICTOR:
Well then I'm afraid this is where we
go our separate ways.

DESMOND:
You Son of a Bitch...

BANG!

(CONTINUED)
 16.
CONTINUED: (4)

Victor SHOOTS at Desmond, but the bullet just GRAZES his

shoulder. He falls to one knee, holding his shoulder.

VICTOR:
See you around, friend.

Victor and Ian speed off, leaving Desmond by himself.

Desmond gets to his feet and sees the USB File at his feet.
He picks it up and observes it.

CORISA: (O.S.)
I'll take that.

Corisa, now in a foul mood, advances on Desmond.

DESMOND:
Here, I'll trade ya!

Desmond takes out an ORB and throws it in Corisa's

direction. The orb extends out into a NET that TRAPS her.

He walks up to Corisa with a smirk on his face.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Try not to go anywhere, ok?

Corisa gets angry and starts struggling to break free.

Desmond stops to observe the USB a little more. Miranda and

Owen walk up to him.

MIRANDA:
Is that what this was about?

DESMOND:
Must be something pretty serious on
here if she was willing to kill for
it.

OWEN:
We should probably leave while the
getting's good. Won't be long before
the Space Forces backups get here.

Owen leaves to go get the Hover Car.

MIRANDA:
(to Desmond)
You can travel with us. It's the
least we can do for helping us out.

(CONTINUED)
 17.
CONTINUED: (5)

DESMOND:
Thanks.

EMMA: (O.S.)
Hold it!

DESMOND:
(turning around;
annoyed)
Now what?

Emma has one of the Space Force Officers' guns pointed at

Desmond and Miranda. She wants the USB back.

EMMA:
Hand it over.

DESMOND:
Hand over what -- this? What could
you possibly want this for, kid?

EMMA:
The name is Emma and I plan on
turning it in for a cash reward.

DESMOND:
First the Samurai Lady, now you. What
is so important on this thing?

The FAINT sounds of Police Force SIRENS can be heard,

getting closer and closer by the second.

EMMA:
Damn it, hurry up! I'm not going back
to Prison.

DESMOND:
Listen, kid -- Emma, it looks like
you've got a tough choice to make.
I'm not handing this over and you
aren't going to shoot me.

EMMA:
(sternly)
How do you know I won't?

DESMOND:
Because you would've done it already.

A beat.

(CONTINUED)
 18.
CONTINUED: (6)

MIRANDA:
Jesus Christ, we don't have time for
this shit. If we don't leave now,
we're ALL going to end up in Prison.
What'll it be? You two coming along?
We can deal with this on the road.

EMMA:
(lowers the gun)
Fine.

Emma and Miranda head towards the Car, but something catches
Desmond attention.

The net Corisa was in has been RIPPED APART. She's GONE.

INT. HOVER CAR, DESERTED ROAD, SENTINEL - LATER

A Hover Car drives along a DESERTED ROAD. Miranda DRIVES.

Owen in the passenger side. Desmond and Emma in the back.

OWEN:
Thanks for helping us out back there,
uh...

DESMOND:
Desmond, and no problem. Wouldn't be
the first time I helped out a
complete stranger. Guess I'm just a
good guy by nature.

MIRANDA:
Pleasure to meet ya, Dez. My name is
Miranda and that's Owen.

EMMA:
Where are we going?

OWEN:
A little place where us Space Pirates
like to hang out. You can stay with
us for the time being. It should be
safe there.

DESMOND:
Space Pirates?

OWEN:
That's right.

(CONTINUED)
 19.
CONTINUED:

EMMA:
I've heard about Space Pirates. A
group of them attacked a Cruise Liner
a few weeks ago.

OWEN:
Don't worry, we're the good kind.

DESMOND:
There's no such thing as a good kind
of Space Pirate.

MIRANDA:
We're not like the ones you hear
stories about on the news that go out
and slaughter people in cold blood.
That's not our style, man.

DESMOND:
I'd say you're all the same.

Miranda and Owen give each other a confused look. Owen turns
to respond.

OWEN:
Well, I'd say you need to give people
a chance before you judge 'em.

DESMOND:
Space Pirates are nothing but greedy
killers. That's all I need to know.

The Hover Car comes to a SCREECHING HALT.

OWEN:
(to Miranda)
What the hell, why'd you stop?

Miranda points. Owen looks ahead.

OWEN: (cont'd)
Ah, shit.

EXT. DESERTED ROAD, SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

A Man named CASSIUS stands in the middle of the road,

blocking the Hover Car's Path. His CHROME ARMOR bears The
Guild's Crest. He also has a small number of Green and Black
plated ROBOTS at his back.

(CONTINUED)
 20.
CONTINUED:

CASSIUS:
Playtime is over! I'd rather we skip
the formalities. You have something
that I want. Make it easy on
yourselves and hand it over.

INT. HOVER CAR - CONTINUOUS

Desmond, Owen, Emma, and Miranda stare down the overwhelming

opposition before them.

OWEN:
Anybody got an idea?

DESMOND:
Open the sunroof. I got something for
him.

Desmond opens his Duffel Bag.

EXT. DESERTED ROAD, SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

Desmond emerges through the Sunroof with a GRENADE LAUNCHER.

EMMA:
He has a Grenade Launcher?!

Desmond takes aim and FIRES a single shot at Cassius and the
group of Droids, hitting them DEAD ON, causing a HUGE
explosion!

DESMOND:
(lowering into the
car)
Punch it!

Miranda SLAMS on the gas and SPEEDS right on past.

The smoke CLEARS. The Bots are WRECKED and in pieces on the
ground. Cassius remains unharmed in a Light Shield of his
own with a smirk on his face.

Miranda speeds further down the road. Everything seems to be

clear until Cassius LANDS on the ground ahead of them.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Look out!

Miranda SLAMS on the brakes. She stares down Cassius. With a

determined look on her face, she REVS her engine and drives
with the intent of running him down.

(CONTINUED)
 21.
CONTINUED:

MIRANDA:
Come on, you son of a bitch!

Cassius doesn't move an inch as he HAMMERFISTS the hood of

the Hover Car, LAUNCHING it several feet in the air! The
Hover Car CRASHES down on the road, flipping over couple
times before landing UPRIGHT.

Desmond stumbles out of the back, with some blood coming

from his forehead.

Cassius clenches his fist and advances.

CASSIUS:
You had enough yet?!

Desmond spits out some blood and gives Cassius the middle
finger!

CASSIUS: (cont'd)
Damn Fool!

Cassius gets into a 3 point stance and bursts out, CHARGING

with a full head of steam.

From his shoulder holster, Desmond takes out CAROLINE -- the

name of his CASTER GUN.

The Caster has the look of a swing out Magnum Revolver with
rotating cylinder turbines and Ancient markings on its long,
thick Silver Barrel.

DESMOND:
EAT THIS!

Desmond pulls the trigger. The markings LIGHT UP, the gun's
turbines begin cycling around the barrel with a HUMMING
noise.

A LARGE, RED AND BLACK ENERGY BLAST SHOOTS OUT AND

INCINERATES CASSIUS!

The smoke clears and Desmond leans back on the car. Emma
pokes her head out.

EMMA:
Hey, are you ok?

Desmond gives her a thumbs up.

Miranda, Emma, and Owen walk out to assess the damage. Owen
surveys the car and shakes his head.

(CONTINUED)
 22.
CONTINUED: (2)

OWEN:
This day just keeps getting better
and better.

MIRANDA:
(to Desmond)
How'd you get your hands on a Caster?

DESMOND:
Long story, really. Me and Caroline
here go way back.

MIRANDA:
You named your Caster?

EMMA:
You named it Caroline?

DESMOND:
Yeah, Caroline. Like the song, "Sweet
Caroline."

Miranda and Emma exchange confused looks.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
What? Lots of people name their
weapons. Is that a problem?

EMMA:
(shrugs)
No, it's just... it's fucking weird
is all.

DESMOND:
(sighs; to Miranda)
How's the ride?

MIRANDA:
Owen's good with Cars, so we should
be able to make it. Whoever these
people are though, things are worse
than we thought. A lot worse.

EXT. GATED COMMUNITY, SENTINEL - CONTINUOUS

Right out on the Outskirts of Sentinel is a GATED COMMUNITY

with a busted gate, often seen as an Outlaw hangout since
most of the civilians have left.

The beat up Hover Car pulls in, getting looks from most of
the other OUTLAWS.

(CONTINUED)
 23.
CONTINUED:

MORGAN, a ship pilot, steps out in the road and flags the
car down.

Everybody steps out.

MORGAN:
(off the car look)
Goddamn, what the hell kind of
trouble did you guys get into this
time?

MIRANDA:
Not here, Morgan.

OWEN:
(to Emma & Desmond)
Sit tight. We'll be right back.

Miranda and Owen walk off with Morgan, leaving Desmond with
Emma.

Desmond looks into the distance and we soon see what he

sees -- a Starship named THE EVENING STORM hanging in the
backdrop.

Desmond stares off and looks at it with a nervous feeling.

EMMA:
You alright?

Desmond snaps out of it and responds.

DESMOND:
Yeah, fine. And don't think about
getting any bright ideas about the
file.

EMMA:
(smirks)
The thought never crossed my mind.

Desmond leans back on the Hover Car. Emma leans next to him.
Desmond gets a look at Emma's Steampunk Aviator Goggles.

DESMOND:
What's the story with those goggles?

EMMA:
They were a gift. It's... that's all
you need to know.

(CONTINUED)
 24.
CONTINUED: (2)

Desmond can sense that he hit a button with Emma, and drops
the subject. Emma notices Desmond looking at the ship and
further up into Space.

EMMA: (cont'd)
Why do you look so nervous? You never
been in Space before?

DESMOND:
It's not that. Just bad memories.

EMMA:
What happened?

DESMOND:
I'd rather not talk about it. You
nervous?

EMMA:
Nah. I hitchhike through Space all
the time. It would suck to get
stranded out there, though. Just
orbiting all alone -- Cold and
lonely. Nobody to keep you company
but the stars around you.

Desmond gives her a look, then turns back to the ship.

DESMOND:
Yeah, it would definitely suck.

INT. MORGAN'S PLACE, GATED COMMUNITY - MOMENTS LATER

Morgan's Home is pretty Suburban. We see him enjoying a nice

STEAK while talking to a seated Miranda and Owen, both
enjoying ice cold BEERS.

MORGAN:
And you trust these characters enough
to bring them on the ship?

MIRANDA:
That Desmond guy really helped us out
back there. I certainly trust him.

MORGAN:
And the little kid?

OWEN:
She's just that -- a little kid.
She's tough, but she's not that
tough.

(CONTINUED)
 25.
CONTINUED:

MIRANDA:
We still can't leave her behind.

MORGAN:
Why is that?

MIRANDA:
The little manner of a USB file that
seems extremely important to some
very dangerous people. And by an
unfortunate circumstance, we're
involved now.

OWEN:
If you saw the things we did, Morgan,
you'd see why we need you and the
ship. We don't leave now, The Guild
will send their people here and kill
every last person. They only want the
four of us, so we're doing everybody
else a favor.

MORGAN:
What are you proposing?

MIRANDA:
We take those two somewhere off
world. The rest we'll just have to
play by ear until we think of a more
concrete plan.

MORGAN:
Alright. But can I finish my steak
first? It took me a while to cook it
to well done status.

Owen chuckles and takes a swig of beer, but Miranda is not

in a joking mood.

MIRANDA:
You can take the fucking thing with
you. Now get off your ass and let's
go.

MORGAN:
(sighs; getting up)
Women are so bossy.

INT. MEDICAL BAY, EVENING STORM - LATER

Aboard the Evening Storm, Desmond, Owen, Emma, and Miranda

sit in the MEDICAL BAY of the ship.

(CONTINUED)
 26.
CONTINUED:

Emma looks out of ship's Viewport out at the stars. Miranda

patches up Desmond's wound.

MIRANDA:
All done.

DESMOND:
A Doctor and a Space Pirate?

MIRANDA:
(chuckles)
It was only a graze. I'm not some
miracle worker.

DESMOND:
Why even become a Space Pirate?

MIRANDA:
Space Commerce was expanding and
trade routes were appearing all
across Space. You wouldn't believe
the amount of money we were pulling
in. I mean, I still can't believe it.

The Evening Storm goes through a little TURBULENCE.

Desmond grabs the armrests on his chair, GRUMBLING with his

eyes closed, trying to hide his nervousness.

MIRANDA: (cont'd)
First time in Space?

EMMA:
Don't mind Dez, he's just popping his
Space Cherry.

DESMOND:
I'm not a Cherry. Smartass. Just a
little nervous, that's all.

OWEN:
(to Emma)
You wanna tell us what's on that USB
drive now, or what? Seems like a
pretty big deal given what happened
back there.

EMMA:
All I know is that it has the
coordinates to this place called
Paramus.

(CONTINUED)
 27.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
(shocked)
The what to where?! How did you get
your hands on them?

EMMA:
I was on Earth a few weeks ago and
overheard these two Cops talking
about it one night. They were saying
how badly the Government wanted to
get their hands on them.

OWEN:
I remember hearing about that. That
Peter guy came back from Earth and
was hounded for the coordinates so
much, he moved to Sentinel.

EMMA:
If they wanted it so badly, why
didn't they just take it?

OWEN:
They were real strict on maintaining
an image so they couldn't just invade
his house and take them. They also
weren't even sure if he really had
them or not. The Ship's Coordinates
log was wiped clean and Peter claimed
amnesia.

DESMOND:
So, he wiped the log?

OWEN:
Nobody really knows for sure.
Somebody did. Maybe it was him, maybe
it wasn't.

EMMA:
Then how did he have the coordinates?
They were in his house.

DESMOND:
Let's say it was him. Why get rid of
the coordinates? And if he's faking
this amnesia thing, why hide them?

MIRANDA:
Maybe some things aren't meant to be
found.

(CONTINUED)
 28.
CONTINUED: (3)

OWEN:
(to Emma)
Remind me why you broke into his
house and stole the coordinates?

EMMA:
I figured those Government people
would pay big money if they got their
hands on it, regardless of how. So, I
hitchhiked to Sentinel.

OWEN:
We were all attacked, and nearly
killed by a woman who sliced a truck
in half and a guy who took a grenade
launcher to the face -- all because
you wanted some fucking money?

EMMA:
Excuse me for needing money to
survive. And how was I supposed to
know some unhinged freaks would be
after them too?

OWEN:
That's the problem. You didn't think.
You just did it and to hell with the
consequences. Your Greed almost got
people killed.
(chuckles)
You really think the Government was
just gonna hand you money for that? I
got news for ya, that ain't how the
world works, kid. Never has been. Get
with the fucking program.

EMMA:
Fuck You, Owen!

MIRANDA:
Hey! Enough! This is the last thing
we need right now.

DESMOND:
Does anybody know what it is we're
dealing with?

(CONTINUED)
 29.
CONTINUED: (4)

OWEN:
They're a class of Space Pirates that
work under The Guild -- an Order of
Elite Level Space Pirates that build
Androids and Robotic Droids to carry
out their dirty work while the
leaders operate behind the scenes.
Their leader is extremely dangerous
and specializes in Black Magic.
Anybody who's heard more, or made an
enemy out of them, have turned up
dead. These people are trouble.

Owen stops, looks up and sees Emma, Desmond, and Miranda

staring at him. They're shocked at how he knows so much
about them.

OWEN: (cont'd)
What? Don't any of you read?

A Loud SIREN goes off throughout the ship.

MIRANDA:
Shit.

INT. GUNSHIP - CONTINUOUS

Standing in the cockpit of a GUNSHIP is the deadly beauty --

CARRIE, who also bears The Guild's Crest.

The Evening Storm is locked in her sights, and she's ready

to fire on them.

Corisa tries to reason with her.

CORISA:
What are you doing? We can't kill
them. They still have the
coordinates.

CARRIE:
(ignoring her)
Fire.

INT. HALLWAY, EVENING STORM - CONTINUOUS

We see the group running throughout the Hallway, making for

the Main Deck.

The Gunship Lasers RIP THROUGH the side hull of the Evening
Storm. Desmond, Owen, and Emma try to run for cover.

(CONTINUED)
 30.
CONTINUED:

Miranda is not as lucky. She gets caught in the EXPLOSION.

OWEN:
MIRANDA!

Desmond and Emma have to drag Owen away before they all
suffer the same fate as Miranda.

INT. MAIN DECK, EVENING STORM - CONTINUOUS

"SYSTEM FAILURE" is heard repeatedly throughout the ship as

the Gunship's Lasers violently rock the Evening Storm.

A badly wounded Morgan uses his last bit of strength to

activating the ship's WARP DRIVE.

Desmond looks up out the Viewport.

HIS POV: The Stars get brighter, becoming streaks of light

as the Ship makes the jump to Warp Speed.

EXT. SPACE

The Damaged Evening Storm ZOOMS into Infinity away from the
Gunship's attacks.

CUT TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. EVENING STORM - LATER

Inside the now WRECKED Evening Storm. Desmond's eyes OPEN.

Debris and fire around him. He tries to move, but can't
budge as he finds himself trapped under a metal beam.

Emma, with some blood on her forehead, comes to his aid.

EMMA:
Hold on, I got you.

Emma can't lift it by herself, but Owen soon comes over and
helps her lift it, freeing Desmond.

EXT. JUNGLE, ELYRIA - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Emma, Owen, and Desmond stumble out of the wrecked ship and
find themselves in a Jungle type environment.

(CONTINUED)
 31.
CONTINUED:

Vines and shrubbery cover the ship as the group tries to

make out their surroundings.

EMMA:
How did we survive that?

OWEN:
The Warp Relay. Morgan had it
installed months ago.
(to Desmond)
Are they both...

Desmond nods. Owen lowers his head as it all sinks in. He

PUNCHES the ship in anger.

OWEN: (cont'd)
Damn it! Morgan. God... Miranda.

Owen then turns his anger to Emma.

OWEN: (cont'd)
(to Emma)
You! This is your fault.

EMMA:
My fault?

OWEN:
The only reason we ran into The Guild
is because of you.

EMMA:
You're really gonna throw this on me?

OWEN:
You couldn't just mind your own
business? Huh? You couldn't keep your
nose out of something that didn't
involve you? All you had to do was
let them have the coordinates. And
now look at us. Stranded on some
goddamn planet with a ship full of
dead people!

DESMOND:
Guys.

Desmond's voice falls on deaf ears. The argument continues.

EMMA:
(to Owen)
I'm sorry about what happened, but--

(CONTINUED)
 32.
CONTINUED: (2)

OWEN:
You're sorry? That's all you got?

EMMA:
What the fuck do you want from me, an
apology? This is not my fault, and
right now, I feel like you're a
little too close to me, so I suggest
you get out of my face before I help
you.

OWEN:
(scoffs)
Whatever.

Owen walks away. Emma turns her back.

DESMOND:
Look, whether we like it or not,
we're stuck with each other. Instead
of fighting, we need to figure out
where we are.

JOSEPH: (O.S.)
I agree.

JOSEPH, a short man with glasses, steps out from behind a

tree with both hands up.

Desmond, caught off guard, points his Caster at him.

JOSEPH:
Relax, don't shoot. I come in peace.

DESMOND:
Who are you, and where are we?

JOSEPH:
Would you really like to know, or
would you rather just shoot me?

Desmond sighs and lowers his gun.

INT. CRANE'S QUARTERS, PIRATE GUILD BASE - LATER

Crane stands alone in his large quarters looking at the view

of the surrounding area of the base through the Viewport.

He reaches for a PICTURE of him and his wife, ANNA. The

memories come back as he touches her face.

His moment is soon interrupted.

(CONTINUED)
 33.
CONTINUED:

KIRA walks in with Corisa and Carrie arguing right behind

her.

CRANE:
(putting down the
picture)
I take it things didn't go so well.

KIRA:
What gave it away, the arguing?

CARRIE:
With all due respect Crane, if you
had trusted me with the mission, we'd
have the coordinates by now, and...
Cassius would still be alive.

Crane turns around to face the three women.

CRANE:
I'm sorry for your loss. I know how
much you two meant to one another.
(to Corisa)
What happened?

CORISA:
I was interfered with, and the Space
Forces were closing in.

KIRA:
That was a battle she wasn't going to
win.

CARRIE:
It's a pitiful excuse is what it is.

CORISA:
(to Carrie)
And you would've done better?

CARRIE:
I shot their ship down!

CRANE:
Enough.

Corisa and Carrie cease arguing.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Corisa, as much as you never want to
admit it, having help is not a bad
thing. We all need it sometimes.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 34.
CONTINUED: (2)
CRANE: (cont'd)
This situation is bigger than all of
us and we all have our roles to play.

CARRIE:
I don't think she understands the
situation.

CORISA:
(to Carrie)
What I understand is that if any more
words come spilling out of your
mouth, I'll take my sword and
separate your head from the rest of
your body.

Carrie smirks, seemingly unaffected by Corisa's threats.

CRANE:
However, Carrie, shooting down their
ship was erratic and unnecessary.

CARRIE:
I had it under control.

CRANE:
Would it have been under control if
their ship exploded? You forget, we
still need the coordinates.

CARRIE:
Sir, I--

CRANE:
Corisa, I'm keeping you in charge of
this mission.

CARRIE:
Crane...

CRANE:
I won't hear anymore on the matter.

Carrie storms out.

KIRA:
She's not too happy.

CRANE:
She'll be fine. Kira, I need you to
check on our Plan B. We're going to
need them sooner than expected.

(CONTINUED)
 35.
CONTINUED: (3)

KIRA:
Yes sir.

Kira walks out of the room, leaving just Crane and Corisa.

CRANE:
Do we know where their ship landed?

CORISA:
Yes. Although the signal was weak,
their beacon still showed up on the
scanners.

CRANE:
Take what you need and kill whoever
is foolish enough to stand against
you. I'm sending you and Carrie
together. Let's try and get along
this time. Understood?

CORISA:
Yes Sir.

EXT. ELYRIA - MOMENTS LATER

Desmond, Emma, Owen, and Joseph make their way out of the
Jungle. What they see next is breathtaking:

ELYRIA. One of the 6 Major Kingdoms on the planet of

ARCHADIA. This is a lavish, gleaming Utopian City with an
astounding mix of old and futuristic technology.

Ships and Cars ZOOM by on the streets.

The three of them are in AWE of this magnificent spectacle

of a city.

In the distance, we see a HUGE Castle.

INT. GRAND LOBBY, CASTLE ELYRIA - DAY

Joseph leads the 3 of them into the Lobby of this enormous

Castle.

We see dual staircases. A great Chandelier hangs from the

roof. There's an undeniable elegance to this place.

Emerging from a pair of Double Doors at the bottom the

staircases --

(CONTINUED)
 36.
CONTINUED:

KING DAMIAN, a strong, handsome man in White and Gold Royal

Garb.

QUEEN ARIA stands next to him. Her curly Brown hair and ice
colored dress accentuate her stunning beauty and kind heart.

DAMIAN:
Welcome to Elyria. My name is Damian
Alexander; The King of Elyria. And
this is my wife, Queen Aria. She saw
your ship tumbling through the clouds
and I sent my adviser, Joseph, to see
to it that you got here safely.

DESMOND:
My name is Desmond. This is Owen, and
this is Emma. Thanks for helping us
out.

ARIA:
It was nothing at all. It's dangerous
out there.

DAMIAN:
You are all more than welcome to stay
in Elyria until you're ready to
leave.

EMMA:
You guys got anything to eat?

Owen and Desmond give her an "Are you kidding?" look.

EMMA: (cont'd)
What? I'm hungry.

ARIA:
(chuckling)
You're invited to our Castle tomorrow
night for our yearly Dinner. It's a
tradition. And we'll have plenty of
food.

DAMIAN:
We'll see to it that Joseph gets
you fixed up and settled into a nice
place for the time being.

JOSEPH:
Right away, your Grace.

Joseph escorts them out of the Castle.

(CONTINUED)
 37.
CONTINUED: (2)

ARIA:
(to Damian)
Interesting bunch, aren't they?

Damian gives her a look, and walks away.

INT. DESMOND'S BEDROOM, ELYRIA - NIGHT

Desmond can't sleep. Tossing and turning. He tries to adjust

himself. He's making small grunts now.

FLASHBACK -- DESMOND'S MEMORY

Desmond at Age 13 on a SHIP. A hole BLOWS OPEN on the side.

His FATHER is SUCKED OUT through the opening into Space!

YOUNG DESMOND:
DAD!!

Desmond's MOTHER comes up from behind and takes her son by

the hand. She straps him in an ESCAPE POD.

YOUNG DESMOND: (cont'd)

Mom, aren't you coming?

Tears are streaming down his Mother's face. She kisses her
son's forehead.

DESMOND'S MOTHER:
I love you, my son.

The escape pod LAUNCHES from the ship. His parent's ship
EXPLODES right in front of him.

BACK TO SCENE IN DESMOND'S BEDROOM.

Desmond SHOOTS up, awakening from his nightmare with a GASP.

He brushes his hand over his face in stress. A slight noise
catches his attention.

INT. FOYER, HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

The noise is Emma tiptoeing her way down the stairs of the
house, proceeding towards the door. She reaches for the
doorknob, but stops. A few seconds pass. Her hand drops.

She turns around and JUMPS as Desmond is in her face.

EMMA:
(screams)
Jesus, Fuck! Goddamn it, Desmond.

(CONTINUED)
 38.
CONTINUED:

Desmond starts laughing.

EMMA: (cont'd)
It's not funny. You scared the shit
outta me.

DESMOND:
No offense, but I actually thought
you'd be long gone by now.

EMMA:
Is that right?

DESMOND:
Well, yeah. You seem like an "I walk
alone" type of person.

EMMA:
I am.

DESMOND:
Then why are you still here?

Emma remains silent.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
You were standing by that door for a
while. Almost like you didn't wanna
leave. Why?

EMMA:
I...! I don't know. I guess...
(tearing up)
I guess I'm just tired of being by
myself.

Emma wipes her eyes. Desmond places his hands on her

shoulders to console her.

DESMOND:
Look Em, I won't force you to stay,
but you don't have to be alone
anymore. You, me -- we can look out
for each other.

EMMA:
We can?

DESMOND:
Yeah, why not? I think we'd make a
great team.

Emma catches a glimpse of Desmond's Caster on his hip.

(CONTINUED)
 39.
CONTINUED: (2)

EMMA:
Would I be allowed to use Caroline?

DESMOND:
No.

EMMA:
Worth a shot.

DESMOND:
Take some time and think it over.
After I fill up on some free food at
that Dinner Party, I'm taking the
first ship outta here.

EMMA:
For Paramus? Why?

DESMOND:
I have my reasons. I mean besides,
who really knows for sure what's out
there? If you ask me, finding out's
half the fun. You're welcome to tag
along if you want. You with me?

Emma smiles.

EMMA:
Goddamn right I'm with you.

OWEN: (O.S.)
I'll go too.

They both turn to Owen who's making his way down the stairs.

OWEN:
If you two are leaving, so am I.

EMMA:
By your eavesdropping, I take it
you heard our reasons. Let's hear
yours.

OWEN:
The Guild's coming after us as long
as we have the coordinates. I'm
tagging along until I get my payback
for what they did.

DESMOND:
That makes it the three of us.

(CONTINUED)
 40.
CONTINUED: (3)

EMMA:
Ok, wait a minute. You two are
missing the obvious. We need a ship.
What're we gonna do? Steal one?

DESMOND:
(smirking)
That's exactly what I had in mind.

I/E. CAMPSITE, ELYRIA - THE NEXT DAY

Desmond, Owen, and Emma make their way over to a Campsite

work area and feast their eyes on:

THE PILLAR OF DAWN. An extraordinary Ivory colored Starship

trimmed with Orange Markings, with the side of the ship open
like a large mouth.

EMMA:
It looks amazing.

OWEN:
I'm in love.

DESMOND:
I saw this on the way in when we were
being escorted to that Castle.

OWEN:
And this is our ticket outta here?

DESMOND:
You better believe it. I wish we
could get a closer look.

Aria comes up and greets them.

ARIA:
Good morning. Desmond, Owen, and
Emma, correct?

DESMOND:
That's right.

ARIA:
I couldn't help but notice the three
of you admiring that ship. Would you
like a closer look?

The 3 of them are caught off guard. That was easy.

(CONTINUED)
 41.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
We'd love that.

ARIA:
Follow me.

Aria allows Desmond, Owen, and Emma to enter the campsite.

We see WORKERS transporting cargo. More workers are seen

working under Red tents. Down the site, MECHANICS are fine
tuning the ship.

The three of them walk right up to the Pillar of Dawn and

are speechless at its sheer Mass, Rocket Thrusters, and
stellar armament.

ARIA: (cont'd)
Nice, isn't it?

OWEN:
The craftsmanship on this thing is
unreal.

ARIA:
Her name is The Pillar of Dawn. The
most advanced ship in the Galaxy. A
work in progress for quite some time
now.

EMMA:
The Pillar of Dawn is an awesome
name.
(to Aria)
Your idea?

ARIA:
As a matter of fact, yes.

DESMOND:
The weapons must be outta this world.

As Owen and Emma continue to admire the ship, Aria finds her
way near Desmond to start a conversation with him.

ARIA:
You seem to be just as fascinated
with this ship as your friends. You
have an interest in Space Travel?

DESMOND:
Space Travel was in my family. I used
to love Space, but ever since the
accident...

(CONTINUED)
 42.
CONTINUED: (2)

ARIA:
Accident?

DESMOND:
It's nothing. Never mind.

ARIA:
You can tell me. I'm a great
listener.

Desmond and Aria share a chuckle. He shows her his Spaceship

necklace.

DESMOND:
My parents gave me this Necklace when
I was 13. 8 Months later... they
died.

ARIA:
In Space?

Desmond Nods.

DESMOND:
I can still remember sitting in that
Escape Pod, watching their ship blow
up right in front of me. After that,
Space just... scared me.

ARIA:
I'm so sorry, Desmond. Were you ever
able to get over it?

DESMOND:
I'm getting there. Crashing here
didn't exactly help things, though.

ARIA:
Do you plan on going back up?

DESMOND:
I am. I'm going to find Paramus.

ARIA:
(stunned)
THE Paramus?

DESMOND:
You've heard of it?

(CONTINUED)
 43.
CONTINUED: (3)

ARIA:
Who hasn't heard of that place? I've
heard stories about a large treasure,
infinite knowledge, ultimate power,
and aliens. But that's all they
were -- stories. The place may not
even exist. As far as I know, it's a
fool's errand.

DESMOND:
A fool's errand?

ARIA:
Desmond, Paramus has been gone for 16
years. In that time, nobody has been
able to find it. Others haven't even
come back. If it is real, and it is
out there somewhere, somebody
would've found something by now. You
think you'll be the lucky one to find
it?

DESMOND:
I've been known to get lucky from
time to time.

ARIA:
Why exactly do you want to find it?

DESMOND:
My parents' obsession with it soon
became my own. I feel like I owe it
to them to find it.

ARIA:
Alone?

DESMOND:
Owen and Emma are coming with me.

Aria takes a second and thinks about it. This mission sounds
far too appealing to turn down.

ARIA:
By any chance, do you have --

DAMIAN: (O.S.)
What is the meaning of this?!

We see Damian and a couple of GUARDS make their way over. He

is not happy about Desmond fraternizing with his wife.

(CONTINUED)
 44.
CONTINUED: (4)

DAMIAN:
(to Aria)
What are these people doing here?

ARIA:
I was showing the new guests the
ship. It turns out they're just as
fascinated as --

DAMIAN:
Showing them the ship? We have rules
for a reason. Nobody, other than
those associated with the Throne are
allowed in this area. Was I unclear
when I told you this?

ARIA:
No, but I didn't see the harm in --

DAMIAN:
You didn't see the harm in showing a
bunch of strangers something that has
nothing to do with them?

Aria remains silent. Owen and Emma join the situation.

DAMIAN: (cont'd)
Leave, and take these fools with you.

OWEN:
Fools?

DESMOND:
You act like we're gonna steal it.

Emma SNICKERS at that comment for obvious reasons.

DAMIAN:
You just got here yesterday. This
routine may fool my wife, but not me.
I don't know you, and I certainly
don't trust you. Aria, take these
"people" away. I won't say it again.

EMMA:
You could try saying it a little
nicer.

DAMIAN:
Excuse me?

One of the GUARDS draws his Sword.

(CONTINUED)
 45.
CONTINUED: (5)

GUARD:
You dare give an order to the King!

DAMIAN:
No, no. It's ok.

Damian slowly makes his way towards Emma.

OWEN:
(to Emma)
You just make friends everywhere you
go, don't ya?

Damian walks up to her. Emma remains unafraid.

DAMIAN:
Leave, or be forcibly removed. Final
warning.

EMMA:
Go fuck yourself.

DAMIAN:
Your tongue is sharp, little girl. I
could have it ripped out for saying
that to me.

EMMA:
What's stopping you, tough guy?

Aria, Desmond, Owen, and The Guards step in and separate

Damian and Emma before the situation escalates any further.

ARIA:
There won't be any violence today.
Desmond, take your friends and
leave. We'll see you at Dinner.

Aria and Desmond exchange a look and a nod. Desmond rounds

up his group and leaves. Damian and Aria remain.

ARIA: (cont'd)
Would you care to explain what that
outburst was about? I cleared them.

DAMIAN:
This ship is not their business.

ARIA:
Why the secrecy?

(CONTINUED)
 46.
CONTINUED: (6)

DAMIAN:
Between you and I, I am working with
some very powerful people and this
ship is going to get us to Paramus.

Aria's eyes widen. She's hearing this for the first time.

DAMIAN: (cont'd)
We're going to find it and unlock its
secrets. Together, we will change the
world. These people will worship us.
I'm offering you a chance to be a
part of that. Or would you rather
continue to befriend that gang of
misfits?

Aria senses something wrong in Damian's words.

ARIA:
Whatever it is you're doing... I
don't think I want any part of it.

Aria turns to walk away, but Damian GRABS her by the arm.

DAMIAN:
Listen and listen well. Regardless of
whatever Authority you think you
have, I am in charge. I have the
power. Don't ever go against my rules
again.

Damian lets go and walks away. Aria gives him a GRAVE look.

INT. GRAND HALL, CASTLE ELYRIA - LATER THAT NIGHT

The GRAND HALL is well lit with a festive atmosphere.

Chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

Sharply dressed MEN and WOMEN converse with one another.

Lively JAZZ music plays in the background as some people are
dancing to it.

Over by the Buffet table, we see Desmond and Owen in Tuxedos

putting away as much food as possible. Emma, still wearing
the goggles on her head, sports a Red dress under a leather
jacket. She stands by the buffet table with a huge plate of
food herself.

Damian and Aria descend down the staircase. Damian says

hello and shakes hands with the guests. Aria makes a beeline
for Owen, Emma, and Desmond.

(CONTINUED)
 47.
CONTINUED:

ARIA:
Well, you all clean up quite nicely.
Especially you Emma. I love your
look.

EMMA:
Uh, thanks.

DESMOND:
You don't look too bad yourself.

ARIA:
Thank you. Desmond, may I speak with
you in private?

Desmond looks back at Owen and Emma.

OWEN:
(smirking)
Go get 'em, Tiger.

DESMOND:
(turns back to Aria)
Uh, sure.

Desmond and Aria walk and find themselves in the middle of

the Grand Hall. They get close and slow dance to the Jazz.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Interesting choice in music.

ARIA:
I find that Jazz soothes the soul.

DESMOND:
You didn't drag me over here to talk
about Jazz, did you?

ARIA:
Of course not. I wanted to apologize
for Damian's behavior.

DESMOND:
Believe it or not, I've dealt with
worse people than him.

ARIA:
Earlier today, you mentioned Paramus.

DESMOND:
What about it?

(CONTINUED)
 48.
CONTINUED: (2)

ARIA:
I want to join all of you.

DESMOND:
Why?

ARIA:
Why is it people need to know the why
of everything?

DESMOND:
Excuse me for being suspicious, but
your husband nearly took off our
heads, and now all of a sudden, his
Queen -- a woman that has duties and
responsibilities here -- wants to
leave and join up with some no-goods?

ARIA:
Is that distrust I hear?

DESMOND:
More like skepticism.

ARIA:
Believe me, I wouldn't ask if I
didn't have a good reason.

BANG! A LOUD gunshot ECHOS through the Hall. The music

STOPS.

The people part like The Red Sea as Corisa and a Shotgun
Wielding Carrie walk through the Hall with a Troop of shiny,
White plated ROBOT ANDROIDS behind them.

CARRIE:
What happened? You all were having
such a fun time. Not so much fun now,
is it? Becoming less and less so
every second.

Owen and Emma rejoin Desmond and Aria.

The LIEUTENANT of the ELYRIAN FORCES on duty during the

party joins Damian to confront them.

DAMIAN:
What do you want?

Carrie takes a step forward, but Corisa holds her back.

(CONTINUED)
 49.
CONTINUED: (3)

CORISA:
I think it's safe to drop the act,
Damian. The Guild appreciates your
service, but we'll take it from here.

The people and even the Private Forces start to murmur

amongst themselves as Damian stands looking guilty.

ARIA:
Damian...

OWEN:
He's working with them.

DAMIAN:
(to Aria)
I'm sorry that you had to find out
this way.

ARIA:
Of all the people to work with...

DAMIAN:
Don't you realize what this could
mean for the both of us -- for this
world? We're talking about the
possibility of a new age. It could
benefit us all.

ARIA:
You really think The Guild is going
to stand by whatever deal you made
with them? Once they decide you
aren't important anymore, that'll be
the end of you.

BANG! Carrie SHOOTS another Shotgun round into the air and
silences the situation.

CARRIE:
I don't wanna have to do that again.
This is a very loud gun. Now, before
we continue, there's just one thing I
have to do.

Corisa is confused. Carrie turns to the Androids.

CARRIE: (cont'd)
Android Project Command Input --
VSD02C.

ALL The Android's eyes change from BLUE to RED.

(CONTINUED)
 50.
CONTINUED: (4)

One of them PICKS Corisa up by the neck, and TOSSES her to

the back of the Grand Hall into an assortment of tables!

Carrie steps forward as she's in control now. She points her

Shotgun in the direction of Desmond, Emma, Owen, and Aria.

CARRIE: (cont'd)
(to the group)
You people have something I want. And
if I don't get it, I won't be at
fault for what happens to every
single person in here.

Nervousness befalls the people in the Grand Hall. Owen's had

enough. He pushes past Desmond and steps forward.

DESMOND:
Owen, what the hell...

OWEN:
(to Carrie)
You. Your people blew up my ship. It
was you, wasn't it? SAY IT!

CARRIE:
(smirks)
That was your ship I blew up?

Owen rolls up his sleeves. Carrie waives off the Androids.

She'll deal with this herself.

Owen SWINGS Twice at her, and misses. Carrie ELBOWS him in

the face. Owen tries for another punch, but gets a THRUST
KICK for his trouble that sends him to the floor.

Owen sits up. Carrie points her Shotgun at him.

ARIA: (O.S.)
That's enough!

Carrie looks up. Aria steps forward. Carrie is not

intimidated, but instead, intrigued.

CARRIE:
So, what can you do?

Aria smirks and closes her eyes. She opens them up and
instead of her eyes being Blue, they're GLOWING White.

CARRIE: (cont'd)
What the...

(CONTINUED)
 51.
CONTINUED: (5)

Aria takes her right arm and extends it out in front of her.
She uses TELEKINESIS and THROWS Carrie into her Androids!

EVERYBODY looks to Aria, absolutely STUNNED!

DAMIAN: (O.S.)
Ungrateful Bitch!

Damian marches towards Aria, but before Damian can make a

move, she LIFTS him off the ground, BINDING him in the air.
She stares a hole right through him.

ARIA:
(to Damian)
Who has the power now?

Aria THROWS him right out the back exit doors and into the
field of the COURTYARD.

She turns to the Elyrian Forces Lieutenant.

ARIA: (cont'd)
(to the lieutenant)
Lieutenant, get these people to
safety. We'll take it from here.

Hesitantly, the Lieutenant rounds up his forces and escorts

the people to safety to the Courtyard via the Back Exit.

EXT. COURTYARD, CASTLE ELYRIA - CONTINUOUS

We see all the people running across the Courtyard field in

a mass panic to get to safety as quickly as possible.

INT. GRAND HALL, CASTLE ELYRIA - CONTINUOUS

Back inside, Corisa emerges from the debris with an angry

look on her face. She looks at the two opposing forces --
Desmond's side and Carrie's side.

Corisa walks over and hesitantly sides with Desmond.

CORISA:
(to Desmond)
This doesn't make us allies.

DESMOND:
Noted.

The line in the sand has been drawn --

(CONTINUED)
 52.
CONTINUED:

Desmond, Emma, Aria, Owen, and Corisa stand as One against

Carrie and her Androids.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
That's all you got?

CARRIE:
It's all I need.
(to the Androids)
Kill them.

The Androids ATTACK.

Corisa SPRINTS into action, SLICING her way through about 3-

4 of them. She wants to get her hands on Carrie in the worst
way, but an Android knocks her back across the floor.

The Android goes to finish her off, but Aria THROWS it

against one of the marble columns.

Desmond FIRES off a Caster attack that DESTROYS two Androids

with a Red Energy blast! He loads another shell, but it's
too late as an Android SPIN KICKS him across the floor.

Owen empties a clip from his Gun, but the Android tanks
every bullet.

OWEN:
Really?!

Emma sneaks up behind the Android and STABS it in the back

with a knife, and rips out its wiring. Another Android grabs
Emma and TOSSES her into Owen!

Aria LIFTS Two Androids up in the air, but these Androids

have a trick up their sleeve. Their Red eyes GLOW and emit
LASERS from them.

Aria drops them to move out of the way, but gets a LASER
SHOT to the shoulder on the way to the ground.

Before they can finish her off, she THROWS them back across
the Hall into another group of Androids.

The Androids show their tenacity and get right back up.

Desmond, Owen, Emma, and Aria regroup to gather themselves.

OWEN: (cont'd)
Dez, I don't think we can take much
more of this. If we don't get out of
here now, they'll kill us.

(CONTINUED)
 53.
CONTINUED: (2)

ARIA:
(holding her shoulder)
We have to get to the Pillar of Dawn.
That's our way out of here.

DESMOND:
That sounds like a plan.

EMMA:
What about them?

Emma points and we see The Androids advancing on them.

DESMOND:
We could run.

CORISA: (O.S.)
They'll catch you.

Corisa rejoins the group.

CORISA:
Believe me. They'll catch you.

EMMA:
I got an idea. But I need to borrow
Caroline.

DESMOND:
Not a chance.

EMMA:
We don't have time to debate the
issue. Just trust me on this.

Desmond reluctantly hands his Caster over to Emma.

Emma puts her Goggles on and raises the Caster up to the

ceiling. She pulls the trigger and fires an energy blast to
the ceiling of the Castle, causing it to CAVE IN and fall on
Androids.

After the dust settles, Emma removes the goggles, and looks
around.

The Androids have been CRUSHED. But Carrie has escaped.

Emma hands Carolina back to Desmond. They fist bump and

share a Laugh.

DESMOND:
That wasn't a bad idea, Em. How'd it
feel?

(CONTINUED)
 54.
CONTINUED: (3)

EMMA:
I need to get my hands on one of
those.

DESMOND:
Maybe later. Come on, let's go.

Owen, Emma, and Aria head towards the Back Exit, but Corisa
remains. Desmond approaches her.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Hey! Aren't you coming?

CORISA:
Not until I find Carrie and rip out
her insides. And like I said before,
we're not allies. I can take care of
myself.

DESMOND:
I don't doubt you could, but that
other woman -- Carrie, was it? She's
gone, but she's gonna come looking
for us. You can get your payback
then. Better that than going another
round with those killing machines,
don't ya think?

Corisa grimaces and falls to one knee.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
You're badly hurt. I think you'd be
better off with us. Live today, fight
tomorrow.

Desmond extends his hand out. Corisa looks at him in

confusion. She sucks it up and takes his hand.

EXT. COURTYARD, CASTLE ELYRIA - CONTINUOUS

Our team of 5 regroup in the Courtyard.

ARIA:
The ship isn't too far from here.

Owen looks confused as Corisa is among them.

OWEN:
(pointing to Corisa)
Wait a minute, why is she coming with
us?

(CONTINUED)
 55.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
I, uh, invited her along.

OWEN:
You invited her along? She just tried
to kill us!

EMMA:
Correction, she teamed up with us and
helped fight those things off. So how
'bout a "thanks for saving my ass."

OWEN:
We can't trust her. She's the enemy!

EMMA:
Not anymore she isn't.

OWEN:
What the hell is wrong with you
people?! Did you fall on your heads
in there?

Corisa puts her hand on her blade.

CORISA:
(to Desmond)
Should I kill him?

DESMOND:
Nah.

ARIA:
We really don't have the time for
this. The longer we wait, the more
time The Guild has to regroup and
call for backup. Let's delay the
bickering until we get on the ship.

OWEN:
Fine.

The group makes their way across the Courtyard.

Damian is just now beginning to get to his feet a little

bit. Emma sees this and tails behind the rest of the group.
She goes back and FLOORS him with a RIGHT HOOK.

EMMA:
Bitch.
 56.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

The group makes their to the Pillar of Dawn's FLIGHT DECK.

We see a combination of a typical COCKPIT and SHIP'S BRIDGE

with enough room to fit 9 people.

There's six seats -- CAPTAIN'S CHAIR and PILOT'S CHAIR being

the two lead seats in the front with the remaining 4 behind
them.

Corisa takes a seat and tends to her wound. Aria sits in the
Captain's Chair and starts to press buttons.

The Control Panels and Monitor Screens LIGHT UP and turn on

with a HUMMING noise. This is followed by a FEMALE,
Computerized Voice.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Hello, my name is M.I.A.; The
Mainframe Intelligence Android and
Operating System for The Pillar of
Dawn.

OWEN:
Ok, that... is cool. Not even my ship
had that.

ARIA:
M.I.A., this is Aria.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Good Evening, Queen Aria. How may I
assist you?

ARIA:
Prepare for takeoff. We need to leave
as soon as possible.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Please take your seat in the Pilot's
chair.

ARIA:
Shit. I know some controls, but I
don't know how to Pilot one of these.
We need a Pilot. Anybody?

DESMOND:
Owen?

OWEN:
Not me. I never learned how.

(CONTINUED)
 57.
CONTINUED:

EMMA:
All those years as a Space Pirate and
you never learned how to pilot a
ship?!

OWEN:
Hey, it was on my to do list,
alright?

DESMOND:
(sighs)
I'll do it.

EMMA:
Whoa hold on, you sure that's a good
idea?

DESMOND:
If anybody has a better one, I'd love
to hear it.

ARIA:
You have any experience?

DESMOND:
Sort of. The Flight Simulator
programs I've done are almost the
same thing. Shouldn't be too hard,
right?

Owen sighs and takes his seat. Emma takes her seat as well
and starts Praying.

Desmond takes his seat in the Pilot's Chair.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
I just need to relax. I can do this.
(flicking switches)
Sensors Online. Radar online.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Weapons system online. Navigation
System Online.

DESMOND:
Fusion Reactors online. Main Engines
Activated.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
All Systems Green. Takeoff in T-Minus
5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Desmond takes a Deep Breath and kisses his necklace.

(CONTINUED)
 58.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
LET'S GO!

The Thrusters ROAR. Fuel EXPLODES. The Pillar of Dawn TAKES

OFF, launching into the Night Sky into Space, disappearing
from our view.

EXT. COURTYARD, CASTLE ELYRIA - CONTINUOUS

Carrie makes her way out, finding Damian staring upwards at

the sky.

CARRIE:
Well?

DAMIAN:
They're gone.

Carrie stifles a scream in frustration. She shakes her head,

pacing around with agitation.

CARRIE:
I need to contact Crane.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

Desmond is controlling The Pillar of Dawn better than he

thought he would.

DESMOND:
Ok, I seem to be doing good so far.

ARIA:
Where are we going?

DESMOND:
I'd like to go to Earth. I have an
old friend there that looked after me
for a bit when my Parents died. Said
if I ever ran into trouble, I could
go to him.

ARIA:
M.I.A., set a course for Earth and
switch to Auto-Pilot.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Switching to Auto-Pilot. ETA to
Earth: 8 Hours.

(CONTINUED)
 59.
CONTINUED:

Desmond lays back in the seat and takes a deep breath.

Relieved to have made it this far without another accident.

ARIA:
We should probably go check on the
others. Make sure they haven't killed
each other yet.

DESMOND:
That's a good idea.

Desmond and Aria leave the Flight Deck.

INT. MAIN HOLD, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

On the same level as The Flight Deck is THE MAIN HOLD which
resembles something of a lounge area.

Desmond and Aria enter to see Owen pointing a gun at Corisa.

DESMOND:
Hey, hey, hey, Owen, what the hell
are you doing?

EMMA: (O.S.)
They've been that way since we got
here.

Desmond turns and we see Emma in the corner, sitting at a

HOLOGRAPHIC GAME TABLE.

DESMOND:
And you're just sitting there.

EMMA:
It wasn't my place to get involved.

She turns back and laughs at the funny looking ALIEN

HOLOGRAMS.

Desmond shakes his head turns back to the situation at hand.

Owen's eyes remain fixated on Corisa. He is very hesitant,

but willing to pull that trigger.

Corisa is staring back at him, not even remotely scared.

DESMOND:
Owen, don't be stupid. Put that gun
down.

(CONTINUED)
 60.
CONTINUED:

OWEN:
No problem, Dez. As soon as you give
me an actual reason to why this
killer is on board with the rest of
us.

DESMOND:
They turned on her, remember? We got
a common enemy and we could use the
help. She's with us now. One of the
good guys.

CORISA:
He's right. For the time being, I am
an ally.

OWEN:
Like hell you're an ally!

Corisa quickly disarms Owen, and pushes him into a nearby

wall. She diassembles the gun and tosses it on the table.

CORISA:
Maybe now we can all talk like
civilized individuals.
(to Owen)
I tried to stop them from blowing up
your ship. I'm not the one you should
be angry with.

Owen gets in her face.

OWEN:
As far as I'm concerned, you're full
of shit. I don't believe a word that
comes out of your mouth.

CORISA:
You need to get out of my face.
Because the next time you shoot your
mouth off at me, I'll rip it off.

Corisa and Owen suddenly find themselves SUSPENDED IN MID-

AIR.

Aria comes up next to Desmond with her GLOWING Eyes.

ARIA:
Are we done here?

Corisa and Owen both Nod. Aria releases them.

(CONTINUED)
 61.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
(to Aria)
Thanks.

ARIA:
No problem.

DESMOND:
If the two of you are done getting
acquainted, we need to discuss the
situation we're in. There's a group
of people out there that won't
hesitate to kill every single one of
us. We need to be on the same page.
(to Corisa & Owen)
All of us.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Corisa. Why don't you tell us
everything you know?

Corisa reaches into her pocket and hands him a PHOTO of

Stephen Crane.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Who's this?

CORISA:
His name is Stephen Crane. A very
dangerous man. He's the one who's
after us.

ARIA:
The leader of The Guild?

CORISA:
No. The leader is someone far worse,
but he isn't who we should be worried
about. It's Crane.

DESMOND:
Why does he want the coordinates so
bad?

CORISA:
His wife, Anna, was one of the people
that tried to find Paramus, but never
came back. Her disappearance drove
him mad. He believes she's still
alive out there. Crane knew he
wouldn't get there without some help.
Once everybody turned him away, he
found The Guild and they took him in.

(CONTINUED)
 62.
CONTINUED: (3)

ARIA:
How do you know all this?

CORISA:
I was his #2, so he told me
everything. The powers he acquired
from The Guild make him very
powerful, but the love he has for his
wife is legitimate. We're standing in
his way of possibly seeing her again.
When somebody is that motivated,
there's nothing they won't do.

OWEN:
After all this time, she's probably
dead by now.

CORISA:
Don't tell him that.

EMMA:
(rejoining the
conversation)
Can't we just fight them?

CORISA:
That is the last thing we want to do.
Taking on the entire Guild is a
signed death wish. Not even The
Space Security Forces have the guts
to deal with them. They'd slaughter
us and this ship.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
I beg to differ. The Pillar of Dawn
is the most advanced ship in the
galaxy. Well suited for Interstellar
Combat.

CORISA:
Inform your AI that The Guild has
power half of the galaxy hasn't seen
before. We're a marked enemy. There
isn't a place we can go where they
won't find us.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
You underestimate this ship's
capabilities.

CORISA:
(to MIA)
You underestimate The Guild.

(CONTINUED)
 63.
CONTINUED: (4)

DESMOND:
(to Corisa)
You sound afraid.

CORISA:
I'd be a fool if I wasn't.

EMMA:
(to Desmond)
So what do we do?

DESMOND:
My mind hasn't changed. I'm still
going to find Paramus. The Guild can
do what they want.

CORISA:
They will.

Corisa's words spook Desmond just a little bit.

DESMOND:
Let's get some sleep. We can worry
about this more in the morning.

INT. HALLWAY, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

Desmond walks down Hallway and stops at Aria's room. Her

door is open and we see her staring out her window at the
vastness of Space and the twinkling stars.

Desmond Knocks. Aria turns to face him.

DESMOND:
Hey.

ARIA:
Hey. Care to join me?

DESMOND:
Sure.

INT. ARIA'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Desmond joins her.

DESMOND:
How's your shoulder?

(CONTINUED)
 64.
CONTINUED:

ARIA:
Better. Corisa looked at it for me.
Nothing life-threatening.

A beat.

ARIA: (cont'd)
This view is just... spectacular.
When I was a little girl, I would
spend my nights looking up at the
stars. Being able to see it like
this... it's just like I had always
imagined.

DESMOND:
Y'know, I never thanked you for
helping us out back there. If it
wasn't for you, we wouldn't have
gotten here. More importantly, we
wouldn't have a ship.

ARIA:
A resourceful man like yourself
would've made due and stolen another
one. Besides, I'm the one who should
be thanking you.

DESMOND:
For what?

ARIA:
For getting me out of Elyria. I told
you that I wouldn't come with you
unless I had a good reason.

DESMOND:
Damian?

ARIA:
Damian's parents ruled before we took
over. We fell for each other as
Teenagers. He wanted me to be his
Queen once he inherited the throne.

DESMOND:
You fell for him?

ARIA:
Let's just say he wasn't the same man
I fell in love with. He was a very
different man back then. Once his
parents died, Damian and I took over.
And then... he just changed.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
 65.
CONTINUED: (2)
ARIA: (cont'd)
I've put up with his behavior for the
sake of the people. Without me there,
Elyria would fall apart.

DESMOND:
So why leave and come with us?

ARIA:
Because I can't save it anymore. Let
it be someone else's problem. I
could've left a long time ago, but it
had to be the right time. The right
situation. You and your friends
turned out to be that right time and
situation. My mom used to tell me
that trust in character is important
and the company you choose to
surround yourself with says a lot
about who you are.

DESMOND:
I take it we're good company?

ARIA:
You're interesting company, that's
for sure. But most of all, you're
good people.

DESMOND:
What if we weren't?

ARIA:
You couldn't really do much to stop
me, now could you?

The two of them exchange a chuckle.

DESMOND:
That reminds me, what about that
thing you can do?

ARIA:
My powers are a side effect from a
cure that treated a neural disease I
had as a child. My parents had to go
off world for it. With time,
patience, and a good teacher, I
learned how to control it in secret.

Desmond and Aria share a look. Staring in each others eyes.

(CONTINUED)
 66.
CONTINUED: (3)

ARIA: (cont'd)
(clears throat)
I... I should really get some sleep.

DESMOND:
Right, yeah. I'll... I'll let you
know when we're almost there. Good
Night.

ARIA:
Good Night.

Desmond leaves. Aria resumes her stargazing.

EXT. COURTYARD, CASTLE ELYRIA - LATER

Back at the Courtyard, a dropship with the United States

Flag logo and Presidential Seal on it, touches down.

Stepping out is the slightly gray haired, youthful MADAME

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

INT. GRAND HALL, ELYRIA - CONTINUOUS

Madame President walks into the WRECKED Grand Hall where

Damian is waiting alongside Crane, Carrie, and Kira.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
I get pulled out of an important
meeting and I come to find out that
The Pillar of Dawn was hijacked?

DAMIAN:
Apparently, these people are a lot
stronger than they look.

CARRIE:
He's right. The Queen was a
Telekinetic. We weren't prepared for
that. And Corisa is with them now.
She knows all our secrets.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
When the two of you came to me and
asked me to help fund this little
project--

KIRA:
Hold on, we came to you? I think you
have this whole thing mixed up.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 67.
CONTINUED:
KIRA: (cont'd)
You're the one that came to us
because you couldn't pry the
coordinates from a weak man in the
first place.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
I don't want any of this coming back
to me. My job and reputation will be
compromised if word got out that I
was working with the two of you. I
have a great deal on the line.

CRANE:
You should've thought about the
consequences before you agreed to
this partnership, Madame President.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
What do you suggest do we do, then?

CRANE:
(shrugs)
So they have the ship.

DAMIAN:
Excuse me? That ship was our way of
getting to Paramus.

CRANE:
The Pillar of Dawn is a living
starship designed for the specific
purpose of reaching Paramus ensuring
that it was strong enough to survive
the trip. But we've been
experimenting with a backup plan.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
Like?

KIRA:
You needn't concern yourself with our
business.

DAMIAN:
Why not? We're all in this together.

CRANE:
Oh, not anymore. You're done. Both of
you.

Damian and Madame President stand in stunned silence.

(CONTINUED)
 68.
CONTINUED: (2)

DAMIAN:
What?! Our combined power and forces
worked together to build that ship!

CRANE:
And you lost the ship. You failed. We
have a new plan, and when the two of
you fit into our new plan, you're on
the way out.

DAMIAN:
You can't do this.

CRANE:
Are you telling me what I can, or
can't do? You seem to forget just who
I am and the kind of power I possess.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
And me? I did help fund your project
after all.

Crane turns to her.

CRANE:
And I bet you think your money gives
you as much claim to this than me.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
It does.

CRANE:
The both of you want Paramus for
superficial reasons. I have a far
more personal goal in mind. If
anybody has a problem, we can deal
with it right now.

Crane and Madame President stare each other down. He dares

her to make a move.

MADAME PRESIDENT:
You're a Bastard.

CRANE:
(smirks)
Don't make me upset.

She backs off. As does Damian. Crane rounds up Carrie and

Kira and they leave, as Damian and Madame President remain
dejected.
 69.

INT. FRANK'S OFFICE, FRANK NEFKO INDUSTRIES - DAY - LATER

Our group of Heroes enter the office of successful

Businessman FRANK NEFKO, in a custom ARMANI SUIT.

DESMOND:
Hey Frank.

Frank is ELATED to see Desmond.

FRANK:
Desmond! It's been too long! Come
over here and give me a hug!

DESMOND:
Frank, I really--

Frank gives him a BIG HUG and SHAKES him back and forth.

The rest of the group looks on.

EMMA:
He is way too happy to see him.

Frank's hug has gone on long enough.

DESMOND:
Holy Shit, Frank, ok, it's good to
see you too. You can let go now.

FRANK:
(letting go)
Sorry, it's just we haven't spoken in
such a long time.

DESMOND:
What do you mean? I video chatted
with you last week.

FRANK:
Oh yeah. It's been a busy week for
me. A couple of business deals went
south, a dead body here, an explosion
there -- there may actually be a
lawsuit pending. Luckily for me, I've
got very good lawyers and a shit ton
of money.
(clears throat)
Sorry. Forget I said all that. I see
you've brought company. Who are
these... Interesting people?

(CONTINUED)
 70.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
These here are my, uh, friends...
Sort of -- Owen, Emma, Corisa, and
Aria.

FRANK:
Well, hello. Any friend of Desmond's
is a friend of mine.

Corisa's beauty immediately catches Frank's eye.

FRANK: (cont'd)
Ah, Bonsoir, mon cherie.

Frank goes for a hand kiss.

CORISA:
I wouldn't. I really wouldn't.

Frank nervously looks back at Desmond.

DESMOND:
I'd do what the lady says, Frank.
She's not the kind of person you
wanna get upset.

Slowly, Frank backs off.

FRANK:
(to Desmond)
So tell me, what have you been up to
lately?

DESMOND:
The 5 of us acquired a ship.

FRANK:
Acquired? Is that what they call
stealing nowadays? Come now, you
think I don't know you better than
that?

DESMOND:
Alright fine, we sorta stole it. But
that's a story for another time.

FRANK:
I'm happy for you. The fact that you
made it all the way out here means
you finally got over that pesky Space
Phobia. It's nice to see that
everything is working out for you.
Your parents would be proud.

(CONTINUED)
 71.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
Thanks. Listen, I need your help with
something.

FRANK:
What can I help you with?

DESMOND:
I was wondering if we could work out
a deal on some weapons and other
things for us and the ship. There are
some people coming after us. We wanna
be ready.

FRANK:
Hmmm, interesting. I actually have
some new tech my people came up with.
And because you're family and I'm
filthy, dirty, disgustingly rich,
it'll be on the house.

DESMOND:
I need one more thing. What do you
know about Paramus?

Frank lets out a sigh as he sinks back into his easy chair.

FRANK:
Desmond, I'm a businessman. More to
the point, I'm in the weapons
business. I don't dabble in
Astronomy. However, I do know a guy.
His name is Rowan Carter. You can
find him on Telsa. Should be able to
tell you everything you want to know.

DESMOND:
How much does he know?

FRANK:
Hopefully, a lot more than me. I'll
call him and let him know you're
coming. But I'm curious as to why you
want info on -- Oh...

Frank suddenly puts 2 and 2 together.

FRANK: (cont'd)
You're going to go look for it,
aren't you -- Paramus.

DESMOND:
You better believe it.

(CONTINUED)
 72.
CONTINUED: (3)

FRANK:
People say it's a suicide mission.

DESMOND:
People say a lot of things.

FRANK:
In that case, if you need anything
else, I'll be glad to help out. If
you need any extra guns... I know
people.

DESMOND:
Thanks, Frank. For everything. I'll
be in touch.

Frank goes in for a hug, but Desmond settles for handshake

this time. The 5 of them walk out of his office.

INT. THE LEVIATHAN - LATER

THE LEVIATHAN. A large Spaceship with The Guild's Raven

Crest on its exterior.

INT. MAIN DECK, LEVIATHAN - CONTINUOUS

In the MAIN DECK, we see several WORKERS seated at

Computers. Crane, Carrie, and Kira soon enter.

CRANE:
First the coordinates, now the ship.
These people are either really good,
or you're all sloppy. Either way,
I'll deal with them myself.

KIRA:
You think that's wise, sir?

CRANE:
Kira my dear, you really
underestimate me.

KIRA:
What about Corisa?

CRANE:
What's done is done. Nothing anybody
can do about it now. Get everything
ready for when I get back. I won't be
gone long.

(CONTINUED)
 73.
CONTINUED:

KIRA:
Yes sir.

Kira goes her separate path, but Carrie keeps Crane behind.

CRANE:
Is there something on your mind?

CARRIE:
Solomon isn't going to like to hear
that you shut out Damian and The
President. The three of them have
been working on that ship from before
he brought you in here.

CRANE:
Let me worry about Solomon.

Crane walks away. Carrie looks on with worry.

INT. MESS HALL, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

Owen pours himself a glass of Bourbon in THE MESS HALL --

the Cafeteria area on the upper deck of the ship.

He turns, sees Corisa standing in the doorway, and turns

back around.

CORISA:
I don't think drinking is the answer.

OWEN:
Like you know what the answer is.

Corisa walks past Owen. He sees "COLIBRI" written on her

Scabbard.

OWEN: (cont'd)
What's a "Colibri?"

Corisa takes a seat across from Owen.

CORISA:
Colibri means "Hummingbird." It was
also my sister's name. This sword was
hers before she died.

OWEN:
(takes a sip)
I'm sorry.

(CONTINUED)
 74.
CONTINUED:

CORISA:
I should be the one apologizing. I
know how you feel.

OWEN:
No. You don't know how I feel.
Miranda and I were partners for a
long, long time. We always talked
about pulling one last big job, and
retire with more money than we knew
what to do with. And now she's dead.
I guess life's a bitch like that.

CORISA:
Owen, I have lost people too.

OWEN:
What do you know about loss?

CORISA:
Everybody I've ever known and cared
about is dead... and I'm still here.
As far as I know, I'm the last living
member of my race. The only solace I
ever found was with The Guild,
trained to be a killer my whole life,
and you saw how that ended. That
enough loss for you?

A beat. Owen has nothing to say.

CORISA: (cont'd)
You don't have to trust me. You don't
even have to like me, but I assure
you, The Guild will answer for what
they've done.

OWEN:
I guess I'll drink to that.

Owen takes a sip and passes Corisa a glass of her own.

EXT. VERIA, TELSA - DAY

The Garden Planet of TELSA and the beautiful Capital City of

VERIA.

We see a large Spaceport Hall. A commercial area with shops

and attractions. There's a plethora of Bars and Dining
Halls.
 75.

EXT. DOCKS, TELSA - CONTINUOUS

The Pillar of Dawn descends from the clouds, touching down

in the Docks.

I/E. DINING HALL, VERIA - MOMENTS LATER

The DINING HALL is lively and well lit. We see a score of

HUMANS and ALIENS alike conversing and eating throughout.

Desmond approaches the GARCON and asks about Rowan Carter.

He points to a table all the way at the back.

He approaches the table where this Man is reading a

Newspaper.

DESMOND:
Rowan Carter?

"ROWAN CARTER" drops the paper. It's VICTOR SHAW!

VICTOR:
Nope. Rowan Carter is purely
fictional. Pretty good alias though,
wouldn't you agree?

DESMOND:
Son of a bitch.

VICTOR:
Nice to see you too friend, and
alive. I thought for sure that
Samurai Chick turned you into a human
shish kebab. When I got the call, I
couldn't believe it. I still can't.

DESMOND:
Give me one good reason why I
shouldn't blow your head off.

Victor smirks and takes a sip from his drink.

VICTOR:
Well for starters, if you shoot me in
a public setting, the guards will
take you down before you can make the
door.

DESMOND:
I'll take my chances.

(CONTINUED)
 76.
CONTINUED:

VICTOR:
Look at you. Looks like you've been
through a lot since the last time I
saw you. I also have to Marvel at you
being all the way out here. Looks
like you finally got over that...
Problem of yours.

DESMOND:
We grew up together, looked out for
each other, and you turned your back
on me. So before I scatter your
brains across this table, I want an
answer.

VICTOR:
You wanna have a seat?

DESMOND:
Fuck you, I'll stand.

Victor sighs. He takes another sip from his drink and rises
from his chair.

VICTOR:
You and I were business partners,
Dez. I simply severed our business
relationship. Only reason I didn't do
it sooner was out of respect. Yeah,
we grew up together, and yeah, we
became fast friends. But the
difference is, I got tougher, while
you just got softer. You were
everything My brother Ian & I
weren't. Also, your Space phobia was
really limiting our business venture.
You always said, "I'll get over it
one day. Just give me some time."
Well, time was up.

DESMOND:
You turned on me for something I had
trouble coping with?

VICTOR:
Can the theatrics. This world belongs
to the strong. The weak are just
lucky to be living in it. We didn't
have time to wait around for a scared
little kid.

A beat.

(CONTINUED)
 77.
CONTINUED: (2)

VICTOR: (cont'd)
Now, you seem to be ready for a
fight. Your motor is all revved up.
You wanna make a move, fine. But
between you and me, I don't think you
got the grapes.

A hard stare between the two. Victor smirks. This is a TENSE

situation. Desmond finally calms down and stops himself.

DESMOND:
Nah, I don't think I will. Blowing
your brains out is too good for you.
I'll let Karma deal with your sorry
ass.

VICTOR:
Why don't you stop insulting me and
have a seat? Let's chat.

Desmond sits.

VICTOR: (cont'd)
Do you ever think about that day, 16
years ago? You remember how the
people reacted when they found out a
world in our galaxy just
(snaps his fingers)
vanished without a trace?

DESMOND:
I never gave it much thought.

VICTOR:
I think about it almost every day.
How does a world disappear without
anybody noticing it, huh? While you
were off in your, uh, flight
simulation classes, I was doing my
homework.

DESMOND:
So you're saying you know where it
is?

VICTOR:
If I knew where it was, we wouldn't
be having this conversation. I would
be there right now.

DESMOND:
What exactly do you know?

(CONTINUED)
 78.
CONTINUED: (3)

VICTOR:
Well, if I can get scientific for a
minute, Astronomers believe that it
was hurled into Interstellar space
through some gravitational influence
of another planet. I mean, it was
already an Anamoly to begin with
because its surface was never defined
and every drone and spacecraft sunk
into the atmosphere.

DESMOND:
How do you know all of this?

VICTOR:
Like I said, I did my homework.
Impressive, right?

DESMOND:
Well, what do you think?

VICTOR:
No scientific bullshit can explain a
planet just up and disappearing no
matter how hard they try. The only
way to know for sure is to find it.

DESMOND:
What happened to that navigational
thing you were so damn confident in?

VICTOR:
Well, it was a dud.
(off Desmond's look)
Why do you still look so angry? What
happened to all the good times we
shared?

Desmond rises, knocking his chair over. He points his Gun in

Victor's face.

A couple of MEN get up at another table in the Dining Hall.

VICTOR: (cont'd)
Oh dear, you've gone and upset my
friends.

DESMOND:
You're not the only one who brought
some friends.

Owen and Corisa appear and TAKE OUT the two men with EASE.

(CONTINUED)
 79.
CONTINUED: (4)

VICTOR:
I could've sworn the terms of this
meeting were for you to come alone.

DESMOND:
I wasn't so sure you were gonna be
alone.

VICTOR:
Hmm.

Victor takes one last sip. He FLIPS over the table onto
Desmond and JUMPS through the ground level window.

Outside, Ian Shaw opens fire with a Machine Gun. Desmond

quickly takes cover. The firing STOPS.

Desmond rushes back to the window, but they're both gone.

Owen and Corisa head over to help him up.

OWEN:
You alright?

DESMOND:
Peachy.

CORISA:
There's never a dull moment with you,
is there?

OWEN:
Should we go after him?

DESMOND:
Forget him. Let's get back.

INT. STEEL STRUCTURE WALKWAY, LAUNCH PAD, VERIA - LATER

The Sun begins to set in Veria. The Pillar of Dawn has

docked into a Steel Structure on the Launch Pad.

On the structure's walkway, Emma leans over the railway.

DING! The Elevator rises to the top of the Walkway and the
doors open.

EMMA:
(turning)
'Bout time you --

It's not Desmond, Corisa, or Owen -- it's STEPHEN CRANE!

(CONTINUED)
 80.
CONTINUED:

The elevator doors CLOSE. Crane eerily stands there.

CRANE:
Hello Emma.

Emma grabs a DAGGER from her back pocket.

CRANE: (cont'd)
I'm going to ask you nicely just this
one time: Where are the coordinates?

Emma FLINGS the Dagger at Crane. He CATCHES it with his BARE

HANDS! Emma is STUNNED. Crane drops the dagger on the floor.

CRANE: (cont'd)
That was uncalled for.

Crane walks towards her.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Ah, they're inside the ship, aren't
they? I guess I'll just have to take
them. This game has been fun, but now
it's over.

EMMA:
I'm not afraid of you.

CRANE:
Good. Don't be afraid. As a matter of
fact, I prefer it. Makes things more
interesting.

Emma clenches up her first and PUNCHES Crane in the Jaw!

Crane smirks it off and grabs Emma by the throat. He TOSSES
her across the Walkway, tumbling towards the elevator.

Crane walks towards the Hatch Door. MIA quickly intercepts

him.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Unauthorized intruder. You do not
have the Captain's permission to come
aboard.

CRANE:
I don't need any permission.

Crane puts a small CHIP on the Hatch Door. The ship's

Interface starts to Malfunction.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Error. Error. Error.

(CONTINUED)
 81.
CONTINUED: (2)

M.I.A.'s voice gets DEEP. Now more DISTORTED.

Crane's hand GLOWS with Dark Energy. It hovers in his hand.

He stands back and BLASTS the Hatch Door down! Crane doesn't
waste any time and walks inside.

INT. PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

Crane begins to tread around the ship following his senses

until he stumbles upon the NAVIGATION ROOM.

INT. NAVIGATION ROOM, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

In the middle of this room is a large, HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTOR

which displays a small, floating GALAXY MAP. Directly next
to it is a TERMINAL.

Crane makes his way over to the terminal and finds the USB
Drive containing the coordinates plugged into it. He takes
them. There's a GLEAM in his eye. He turns.

Aria stands in the doorway -- GLOWING White Eyes and all.

CRANE:
I already have what I came for. I'll
be leaving.

Aria uses her TK to close the door behind her. Crane's not
going anywhere.

CRANE: (cont'd)
You really don't want to play this
game with me.

ARIA:
I really do.

Dark Energy hovers in Crane's hand. Aria raises her arm.

Aria THROWS Crane across the room, but he is able to SHOOT

the energy out of his hand fast enough to BLAST Aria.

She CRASHES through the glass window of the room and into
the Wall in the Hallway, knocking her unconscious.

INT. STEEL STRUCTURE WALKWAY, LAUNCH PAD - MOMENTS LATER

The Elevator rises to the top as Desmond, Owen, and Corisa

return. They immediately spot Emma laid out on the floor and
the busted hatch door.

(CONTINUED)
 82.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
Emma!

The three of them hurry over to her.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Emma, wake up!

Corisa takes Emma's wrist.

CORISA:
She's got a pulse. She's just knocked
out.

OWEN:
(worried)
They're here.

Desmond pulls out his Caster and makes for the ship.

OWEN: (cont'd)
Desmond, wait!

Desmond's not listening and cautiously enters the ship.

INT. CORRIDOR, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

Desmond wanders down the Corridors. He eventually comes

across Aria unconscious body outside the Navigation Room.
There's glass all over the floor.

Desmond tries to wake her up, but to no avail.

CRANE: (O.S.)
The thing about Telekinetics...

Desmond looks and sees Crane emerge from the shadows.

CRANE:
They can't see everything coming.
(Beat)
Do you know who I am?

Faster than the blink of an eye, Desmond draws his Caster.

Crane quickly gets in Desmond's face, and the next thing he
knows, he's being held up against the wall by his neck.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Allow me to introduce myself.

Crane THROWS Desmond back inside the Navigation Room.

 83.

INT. NAVIGATION ROOM, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

Desmond holds his sides as Crane walks towards him.

CRANE:
My name is Stephen Crane. And you are
way out of your depth. You people
think you're something special? You
aren't what you think that you are.
You're nothing but sacks of flesh.

Crane kicks Desmond in his sides.

DESMOND:
(straining)
Oh my God...

Crane stands over Desmond.

CRANE:
You know your problem?

Desmond balls up his fist and goes for a punch. Crane

counters and knocks him back down.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Instead of running from death, people
like you would rather face the power
and hope that you can live through
it. There's no living through my
power.

Desmond just GLARES at him, knowing he hasn't the strength

at the moment to fight back.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Your power is nothing compared to
mine. You think about. You remember
that.

Crane leaves.

EXT. STEEL STRUCTURE WALKWAY, LAUNCH PAD - MOMENTS LATER

Corisa and Owen are still with Emma. They look up as Crane
emerges from the Hatch Entrance back onto the Walkway.

CRANE:
Corisa. So glad to see you've made
new friends. I'm almost sorry about
what I had to do to them.

(CONTINUED)
 84.
CONTINUED:

Owen charges and throws some punches that Crane easily

avoids. Corisa tries to catch him by surprise with a SWORD
SLASH, which Crane dodges.

Crane now simultaneously holds off Owen whilst dodging all

of Corisa's attempted sword strikes. He eventually punches
Owen across the Walkway and kicks Corisa to the floor.

Corisa reaches for her Sword, but Crane steps on her hand.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Be fortunate I spared your lives. The
next time will be your last time.
That is a promise. Consider this
mercy.

Crane makes for the Elevator, leaving with the coordinates

in his possession.

INT. COMM ROOM, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

The Team has gathered in the COMM ROOM -- a room dominated

by a large, rectangular conference table with a HOLOGRAM of
the Pillar of Dawn ship hovering in the middle.

Corisa and Emma are seated. Owen chooses to pace around.

Desmond enters now.

DESMOND:
Aria's asleep. M.I.A. ran a body scan
on her. Hit her head pretty hard, but
she'll be fine.

OWEN:
That reminds me. M.I.A., what
happened to you?

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
Crane disrupted my systems with a
Virus. It took a while for me to get
back online.

DESMOND:
How are you all holding up?

EMMA:
When Crane had his hands around my
throat... I... I've never been that
scared before. He could've killed us.
I don't get why he didn't just finish
the job.

(CONTINUED)
 85.
CONTINUED:

CORISA:
This wasn't about killing us. It was
a show of power to prove he can take
us out whenever he sees fit.

DESMOND:
We're no threat to him. He only
wanted the coordinates. That's all he
cared about.

OWEN:
And he cared a lot. He mopped the
floor with every single one of us.
That guy is not human.

DESMOND:
I had M.I.A. make a backup file of
the coordinates. I'd like to get back
to our original plan here.

EMMA:
Dez, I think you whacked your head
one too many times. He's got the
coordinates. Let him do what he
wants.

DESMOND:
Ok, let's just say we let him do
whatever. Let's say he gets to
Paramus and comes back with not only
his wife, but some unreal power that
threatens the galaxy.

EMMA:
We don't know he'll do that. Maybe he
really just wants his wife.

DESMOND:
And we don't know that he won't
either, do we? This isn't about just
Paramus anymore. It's now about
stopping Crane.

OWEN:
He's right. We're probably the only
ones who can deal with that son of a
bitch.

EMMA:
So what, you guys wanna go and be
heroes now? You wanna dress up in
tights with fucking underwear on the
outside?
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
 86.
CONTINUED: (2)
EMMA: (cont'd)
Are you two suffering from memory
loss, or am I the only one that
remembers what he did to us?

DESMOND:
I guarantee you, he's not gonna get
the jump on all 5 of us again. We'll
be ready for him this time.

CORISA:
You better have a damn good strategy.

DESMOND:
Whaddya say, Em? I can't do this
without you. I need my sidekick.

EMMA:
(sighs)
It would be... shitty of me to ditch
you now after everything that's
happened. I mean, you were my first
real friend in a long, long time.
We've made it this far. So let's go.

Desmond and Emma share a smile and Fist Bump.

DESMOND:
Let's get some rest. We dock at Earth
in the morning, get some repairs
done, and we'll leave from there.

INT. COMMAND WALKWAY, THE LEVIATHAN - LATER

Crane makes his way through the COMMAND WALKWAY of the

Leviathan. He sees Kira and stops.

CRANE:
Prepare the Mages. We're going to
leave soon.

Kira nods and they both go their opposite ways.

INT. CONTROL ROOM, THE LEVIATHAN - CONTINUOUS

Crane walks in and we see Carrie conversing with Solomon on

a Large MONITOR.

CRANE:
What's going on?

(CONTINUED)
 87.
CONTINUED:

SOLOMON:
Carrie has informed me that you cut
ties with Damian and The President on
our mission. I'm disappointed.

Crane gives Carrie a stern look.

CRANE:
(to Solomon)
We didn't need them anymore.

SOLOMON:
According to who's authority?

CRANE:
Mine. I have the coordinates. I have
everything I need.

SOLOMON:
You dare undermine my authority to
fulfill your own goals? You will hand
over the reigns of the mission to me.

CRANE:
You want me hand over the mission to
you? Come and take it from me. I'm
this close to my goal, and I will not
have it derailed by a weak old man.

Solomon doesn't respond. Crane continues.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Once find my wife and acquire enough
power, I'm coming back for you. The
Guild is long overdue for a new
leader. A better leader -- Me.

SOLOMON:
You're going to regret this, boy.

CRANE:
I've regretted a lot of things in my
life. This won't be one of them.

Crane BLASTS the screen until there's NOTHING left. He gives

Carrie a look before leaving. She follows him out.

INT. NAVIGATION ROOM, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

Desmond steps through the windowless frame into the

Navigation Room. He finds Aria standing at the terminal.

(CONTINUED)
 88.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
M.I.A. said I would find you in here.
Nice to see you up and active.

ARIA:
Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better.

DESMOND:
What are you doing in here?

ARIA:
What we should've done in the first
place -- getting a closer look at
these coordinates.

Aria presses a button on a Terminal. An extremely detailed

HOLOGRAPHIC STAR MAP appears.

ARIA: (cont'd)
M.I.A., can you expand the hologram?

The Star Map expands and rotates slowly as it ENVELOPS the

whole room.

Swirling, luminous lights. Large, holographic images of

planets, stars, and galaxies are seen. A truly spectacular
image.

DESMOND:
Holy Shit...

Aria sees a particularly BRIGHT SPOT on the Map.

ARIA:
There.

We ZOOM IN to that portion of the Map. All they see are

Galactic Clouds of Gas.

DESMOND:
There's nothing here. Just some gas
clouds.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
These are the coordinates. An Anamoly
lies within the clouds.

ARIA:
Paramus.

DESMOND:
I'll be damned.

(CONTINUED)
 89.
CONTINUED: (2)

ARIA:
A year ago, if someone were to tell
me that I was going to travel through
Space with a Bounty Hunter, a Space
Pirate, a Runaway, and an Assassin on
some adventure, I would've had them
declared insane and thrown in a
Dungeon.

DESMOND:
If someone told me that after two
near death experiences in Space, I'd
be piloting my own ship one day, I
would've laughed in their face.
Besides, I prefer calling this a
journey to the unknown. We may not
come back from this. Are you prepared
for that?

ARIA:
We didn't come this far just to run
away with our tails tucked firmly
between our legs. Let's finish this.

INT. FRANK'S OFFICE, FRANK NEFKO INDUSTRIES - THE NEXT DAY

An array of different WEAPONS and other TECH are spread out

across Frank's table, including Desmond's Caster and several
different SHELLS, including a DARK SHELL.

Frank sits across from Desmond looks on with worry as he

loads up his arsenal.

DESMOND:
I wish you would stop looking at me
like that, Frank.

FRANK:
I can't help it. I worry.

DESMOND:
I didn't know you cared so much.

FRANK:
I do. That's expensive tech I'm
giving to you.

Desmond smirks and shakes his head. Classic Frank.

FRANK: (cont'd)
I wish I could do more to help.

(CONTINUED)
 90.
CONTINUED:

DESMOND:
Trust me, you've done more than
enough.

FRANK:
I would advise against using that
specific shell unless it's absolutely
necessary. It's extremely powerful
and known to drain the user's energy.

DESMOND:
I'll keep that in mind.

Aria, Corisa, Owen, and Emma walk in.

ARIA:
(to Desmond)
Ready when you are.

DESMOND:
Alright Frank, this is where we part
ways. Take care of yourself.

FRANK:
You too. I'll be here when you get
back.

INT. HANGAR DOCK, NEW YORK SPACEPORT - LATER

NEW YORK SPACEPORT. Busy as always. VAST amounts of PEOPLE.

Rows of Starships. Each one different from the last.

The Team walks up to the Mechanic, BORIS. A GRIMALKIN -- a

race of small creatures that resemble FELINES.

DESMOND:
Hey Boris, hope you treated my ship
right.

BORIS:
You got nothin' to worry about, Dez.
Thrusters are optimized, efficiency
is through the roof, we tweaked it to
make it faster, and we even fixed
that busted hatch door you had. All
in all, this baby is ready to go.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
It's true, these workers really fixed
up the ship quite well.

(CONTINUED)
 91.
CONTINUED:

BORIS:
I think your ship is sweet on me.
Bring it back when you get a chance.
I loved working on this thing.

DESMOND:
Thanks for the help, Boris.

The Team heads toward the ship and start to board, but
Corisa hangs back. Desmond stops too.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Something wrong?

CORISA:
There's something I have to know. You
said you brought me along because I
was a strong ally.

DESMOND:
Right.

CORISA:
But why did you trust me?

DESMOND:
(shrugs)
Why not?

CORISA:
Even after what happened on Sentinel?

DESMOND:
When I helped you in Elyria, I saw
you get double-crossed by your
partner. I know the feeling.

CORISA:
And you knew I'd want revenge.

DESMOND:
It was a chance I was willing to
take. But one thing that's confusing
me, is why you decided to stay along.

CORISA:
I've been a killing machine for as
long as I can remember. That part of
my life is over. Thanks to you, I can
seek redemption. We can start by
killing Crane and whoever else is
foolish enough to cross us.

(CONTINUED)
 92.
CONTINUED: (2)

DESMOND:
I heard that.

CORISA:
I hate to admit it, but Carrie and
those Androids would've finished me
off if you didn't come back for me.
You're a good man, Desmond.

DESMOND:
(surprised)
Wow, thanks. That means a lot coming
from you.

CORISA:
Don't get used to it.

DESMOND:
Noted.

CORISA:
I want you to know that when this is
all over, I'd like to become a member
of your crew full time.

DESMOND:
Really?

CORISA:
I find you and your people very
interesting. Traversing the galaxy
with you all is a very appealing
prospect.

DESMOND:
One thing at a time, huh? Let's get
through this first.

Desmond and Corisa walk towards the ship together. In the

corner of the Spaceport, we see Ian on his Cell Phone.

IAN:
Hey Victor.

VICTOR: (O.S.)
Go ahead, Ian.

IAN:
They're leaving now. Let's get the
tracking system functional.

(CONTINUED)
 93.
CONTINUED: (3)

VICTOR: (O.S.)
No problem. Hurry and get back here.
If they get too far out ahead of us,
we'll lose their signal.

Ian closes the phone and takes one last look at Desmond's
crew, more specifically at Aria. He LICKS HIS LIPS.

EXT. SPACE - LATER

The Pillar of Dawn travels through Space. It soon approaches

a very wide, vertical, radiant GAS CLOUDS with several
shimmering stars with the appearance of little snowflakes.

In the center, however, an intense bright spot stands out.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

The crew observes the gas cloud, puzzled by what they're

seeing.

MIA: (O.S.)
Unusual star pattern ahead.

ARIA:
This is it.

EMMA:
I gotta admit, it'd be pretty funny
if after all this, we had false
coordinates.

OWEN:
That wouldn't be funny... at all.

DESMOND:
We're goin' in.

Desmond takes the throttle and PUSHES it forward. The Pillar

of Dawn FLIES towards the mysterious Gas Cloud.

INT. MAIN BAY, THE LEVIATHAN - CONTINUOUS

In the MAIN BAY of the Leviathan, Two OLD MAGES are FEEDING
their power into a MACHINE in order to open some kind of
ALTERNATE ENTRANCE into Paramus with Crane looking on.

Kira and Carrie enter. They separate and make their way over
to separate Monitors. An ALERT catches Carrie's attention.

(CONTINUED)
 94.
CONTINUED:

CARRIE:
Crane, we have a problem.

CRANE:
Put it on screen.

ON SCREEN: The Pillar of Dawn pierces through the Gas Cloud.

The SCOWL on Crane's face says it all.

KIRA:
We've got another ship on radar.

EXT. SPACE - CONTINUOUS

THE RISING WING -- a long ship piloted by Victor and Ian

Shaw. ANGEL WINGS are painted on its side.

INT. MAIN BAY, THE LEVIATHAN - CONTINUOUS

Crane looks upon the ship with a sense of familiarity.

KIRA:
Incoming transmission.

The transmission appears on screen. Victor pops up.

VICTOR:
Well, if it isn't Stephen Crane.
Imagine running into you in this
corner of Space.

CRANE:
Victor Shaw.

VICTOR:
Oh, you remember me? Last time I saw
you, you were some lowly old man
whining about his lost wife.

CRANE:
What are you doing here?

VICTOR:
Treasure of course. What else would a
Space Pirate want?

CRANE:
Money hungry Jackals like you and
your brother don't deserve Paramus,
or its power.

(CONTINUED)
 95.
CONTINUED:

Victor laughs and the transmission ends.

KIRA:
Should we shoot them down?

CRANE:
Don't bother. Let the dogs go in
search of their bone.

CARRIE:
The path is open. Waiting on your
command.

CRANE:
Proceed in.

EXT. SPACE - CONTINUOUS

The POWERS of the Mages and The Machine CONVERGE.

A BEAM is SHOT from the ship and HITS the Gaseous Cloud. A
WORMHOLE opens that served as an alternate entrance. The
Leviathan flies right through.

EXT. WIND TUNNEL, SPACE - CONTINUOUS

The Pillar of Dawn flies right on through some sort of dark,

grayish WIND TUNNEL.

The Wind GUSTS are brutal. There's a LOUD SCREECHING NOISE.

It gets louder and louder as they progress deeper in.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

Everybody feels the effects. They are in pain as they put

their hands over their ears.

DESMOND:
Shit! This noise is killing me!

ARIA:
MIA, how much longer until we reach
the other end?!

MIA: (O.S.)
Hold on, we're not too far. Just a
little bit longer.

The Pillar of Dawn approaches a light at the end of the

tunnel and then...
 96.

EXT. SPACE ABOVE PARAMUS - MOMENTS LATER

SILENCE.

The Pillar of Dawn emerges out the other end of the Wind
Tunnel to the visual of several sparkling stars. The view is
remarkable, but nothing compared to what they see next.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - MOMENTS LATER

ARIA:
Oh my God...

Owen, Corisa, and Emma leave their seats, gather around the
front to see for themselves, and are just as bewildered.

EXT. SPACE ABOVE PARAMUS - CONTINUOUS

We see what they see --

An IMMENSE FEMALE CRYSTAL FIGURE that dwarves The Pillar of

Dawn. Its arms are OUTSTRETCHED UPWARDS to look like it's
HOLDING the planet in her hands.

THIS IS PARAMUS.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - CONTINUOUS

The crew is absolutely flabbergasted.

DESMOND:
This is it. We made it. We actually
made it.

CORISA:
It's...

EMMA:
Amazing.

OWEN:
What are we waiting for?

EXT. SPACE ABOVE PARAMUS - CONTINUOUS

The Leviathan enters the area next.

 97.

INT. THE LEVIATHAN - CONTINUOUS

Crane's gaze is stuck on the Female figure. Nobody else

knows what to say.

Carrie finally breaks and tries to snap Crane out of it.

CARRIE:
Crane?

Crane doesn't move. He doesn't utter a single word. He's

finally made it. The only thing on his mind is his wife.

INT. HANGAR DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - MOMENTS LATER

Our group of Space Travelers are getting their gear together

before they head out.

DESMOND:
What's the status on the outside,
M.I.A.?

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
The air is quite breathable, gravity
is 9.73 g.

EMMA:
Do we even know where we're going?

OWEN:
Why don't we get outside the ship
first?

CORISA:
We need to be on our toes. We won't
be the only ones here.

DESMOND:
Alright, let's get going.

ARIA:
Take care of yourself MIA. We'll be
back as soon as possible.

M.I.A.: (O.S.)
I'll see you all later. Please be
careful.
 98.

EXT. PARAMUS - CONTINUOUS

The Pillar of Dawn ramp comes down, and the group walks out,
stepping onto a Mirror-like floor. They look ahead to see
the floor outstretched far out of their vision with a
radiant light at the end.

OWEN:
(looking off screen)
Uh-Oh.

The Crew turns to see Crane, Carrie, and Kira exiting The
Leviathan, walking towards them.

CRANE:
I see you people didn't learn your
lesson the last time.

DESMOND:
I'd love to see you take us on all at
once without having to sneak around
to do it.

VICTOR: (O.S.)
I can't believe you people.

Victor and Ian make their presence known.

VICTOR:
There's probably a mountain of
treasure, information, and God knows
what else out there and all you
people wanna do is fight and kill
each other. Well hell, I'm not gonna
stop you.

DESMOND:
On second thought, I might just kill
him instead.

VICTOR:
You really wanna do this again?

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

OUTLAW. PIRATE. TREASURE SEEKER.

A LOUD, BOOMING FEMALE VOICE. It COVERS the whole area.

Everybody starts to look around to see where the voice is

coming from.

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.) (cont'd)

WHY DOST THOU DISTURB THEIR SLUMBER?

(CONTINUED)
 99.
CONTINUED:

CORISA:
Where's that voice coming from?

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

WHY DOST THOU DISTURB THEIR SLUMBER?

ARIA:
What does she mean, "disturb their
slumber?"

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

FIND THE HEART AND THY DESIRE WILL BE
GRANTED.

DESMOND:
Why don't you start making sense?!

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

PHILISTINE.

There's a POWERFUL, blinding White light. It finally dies

down. Everybody has VANISHED from the area. Only their ships
remain.

CUT TO BLACK.

We hear a VOICE. Faint, but it begins to clear up.

VOICE: (O.S.)
Desmond. Desmond. Desmond.

FADE IN:

EXT. SURFACE, PARAMUS - LATER

Desmond slowly opens his eyes and wakes up in a new

location.

Emma is by his side, relived to see him awake.

DESMOND:
Emma?

EMMA:
You picked a helluva time to take a
nap, dude.

Desmond sits up.

DESMOND:
What happened? Where are we?

(CONTINUED)
 100.
CONTINUED:

EMMA:
Last thing I remember is a bright
light and then everybody got
separated. You were the first person
I found when I woke up.

Desmond starts looking around at the area.

There's peculiar, Golden covered foliage. Crystal Pillars

that are extended out of the ground. Beige colored dirt
under his feet.

He looks up and sees Two Suns -- one Red, one Yellow.

DESMOND:
(into his comms)
Aria, Owen, Corisa, come in? Do you
read me?

No response.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
Shit. What the hell is going on here?

EMMA:
Looks like we're gonna have to play
along if we're gonna find everybody.

Desmond turns and only for a second, sees the image of a

Woman with her back to us, slowly turning around.

DESMOND'S MOTHER! She looks upon her son with a warm smile.

Teary-eyed, and in utter disbelief, Desmond fixates his gaze

on this ghostly image of his Mother.

DESMOND:
M-Mom?

She extends her hand out to him. Desmond takes a couple of

steps towards his Mother, until he's stopped by Emma.

Desmond snaps out of it, looking Emma in the eyes.

EMMA:
Dez! You alright?

DESMOND:
I--

Desmond turns back around. His Mother is gone.

(CONTINUED)
 101.
CONTINUED: (2)

EMMA:
C'mon, we should get going.

A beat.

DESMOND:
Right.

Desmond takes out his Caster. Emma takes out a blaster. The
two partners move down the pathway together.

EXT. ANCIENT FOREST, PARAMUS - CONTINUOUS

We see Owen and Corisa walking through an Ancient Forest

with the same Golden Foliage from the area Desmond and Emma
were in.

OWEN:
I really hope there's treasure at the
end of this, or else coming here
would've been one giant waste of
time.

CORISA:
We're not here for the treasure.

OWEN:
Just saying, I don't wanna leave here
empty handed.

CORISA:
If I were you, I'd be more concerned
about leaving here, period. Hmm?

Corisa senses something and stops Owen in his tracks.

She turns. Curious, Owen turns too, and we see Carrie and
Kira standing behind them.

CARRIE:
Well, look what we have here. I've
been waiting for this.

OWEN:
Ah shit.

CARRIE:
No more games. No more running. It's
time to die.

OWEN:
My thoughts exactly.

(CONTINUED)
 102.
CONTINUED:

Kira is quicker on the draw. She SHOOTS Owen in the arm

before he can even make a move. He falls to the ground.

KIRA:
Not quick enough.

Corisa goes to check on him.

OWEN:
(weakly)
I'm fine. It just grazed me.

KIRA:
Looks like it's 2 on 1.

CARRIE:
No. It's not.

CARRIE SHOOTS KIRA IN THE HEAD!

With some of Kira's blood on her face, Carrie turns her

attention back to Corisa.

CARRIE:
Alone at last.

Corisa draws her Sword. Ready to fight. Carrie takes out a

Spear with a steel pointed tip.

CARRIE:
Ever since The Guild brought you into
the fold, Crane pushed me aside for
you. Grooming you to be his Number 2
over me.

CORISA:
You're breaking my heart.

CARRIE:
And then Cassius, a Man I loved
fought your battle and he died! I am
going to make you suffer for what you
did.

CORISA:
You tried to kill me and failed. I
won't make that mistake.

CARRIE:
You'll have to kill me to stop me.

CORISA:
Trust me, I will.

(CONTINUED)
 103.
CONTINUED: (2)

Carrie attacks first. She SWINGS. Corisa DUCKS.

Corisa parries Carrie's next attack, hits the Spear away,

and kicks Carrie to the chest, sending her to the floor.

CORISA: (cont'd)
(smirks)
That's it?

Carrie gets back up and sweeps the floor with her Spear
aiming for Corisa's feet, but Corisa quickly steps back and
avoids it. They both continue battling step for step.

Out of desperation, Carrie spits in Corisa's face! Carrie

takes advantage, runs up and DROPKICKS Corisa to the floor!

Corisa is visibly PISSED and gets to her feet WITHOUT her

Sword. Carrie goes in for a Thrust, but Corisa sidesteps,
takes the Spear out of Carrie's hand, and SNAPS IT IN TWO
over her leg!

Corisa tosses the split Spear to the ground. Carrie quickly

takes out her Shotgun and points it at her.

CARRIE:
Checkmate.

BANG!

Carrie's eyes widen. She backs up and we see a Red spot on

her chest getting bigger and bigger. She's been SHOT.

Behind her, Owen is up and advancing with his gun.

CARRIE: (cont'd)
Oh...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Four more shots, with pain and anger
after each pull of the trigger. Owen's hand TREMBLES. He
focuses his final shot.

BLAM! HEADSHOT! Carrie falls and DIES.

Owen keeps going until he empties the clip. Even when he

does, he still continues pulling the trigger.

Corisa walks up to Owen. His his hand is still trembling.

She places her hand on his to calm him down. He looks to
her, relaxes his hand, and lowers the gun.

CORISA:
Come on, let's go.

(CONTINUED)
 104.
CONTINUED: (3)

Owen tosses the Gun to the floor. They both leave the area.

EXT. SPIRAL GALAXY PLATFORM, PARAMUS - CONTINUOUS

Stephen Crane walks along a path blanketed in Darkness until

the image of a Spiral Galaxy appears and Maximizes on the
floor below him.

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

THERE IS BUT ONE PATH TO THE HEART.

Crane looks toward a glistening light in the distance.

CRANE:
I'm beginning to get tired of these
silly games. I must be getting closer
to the heart. I have to be.

Crane continues on his way.

EXT. ANCIENT FOREST, PARAMUS - MOMENTS LATER

In another part of the Ancient Forest, Aria is calling out

for somebody, hoping she'll get an answer.

ARIA:
Hello? Can anybody hear me?

IAN: (O.S.)
How can anybody not hear you?

Aria looks behind her. Ian Shaw steps out from behind the
tree.

IAN:
You're pretty loud.

ARIA:
Who are you?

IAN:
(advancing)
Right, where are my manners? My name
is Ian Shaw.

ARIA:
You're Victor's brother?

IAN:
That's right. Desmond and my brother
have formed quite the rivalry.

(CONTINUED)
 105.
CONTINUED:

ARIA:
Understandable. After all, your
brother shot and abandoned Desmond in
the first place.

IAN:
But that doesn't mean that the rest
of us can't get along, right? I was
watching you back at the Spaceport
and--

ARIA:
You were following us?

IAN:
We've been tailing you all since
Earth. Our navigation system failed,
so we decided to follow you right to
Paramus.

ARIA:
Is there a point to this
conversation?

IAN:
Desmond is reckless and careless.
You're gonna get yourself killed
hanging around that guy. It would be
a shame for something to happen to
that pretty face.

ARIA:
I'll take my chances with him.

IAN:
(chuckles)
You know what happens when somebody
disrespects me, and my brother much
like what you people have done? We
kill them.

ARIA:
Am I supposed to be afraid?

IAN:
You should be.

ARIA:
Since you put it that way.

Aria's eyes GLOW White on the spot. Ian doesn't know how to
act. She THROWS Ian into a nearby tree!

(CONTINUED)
 106.
CONTINUED: (2)

From a high point in a tree, Victor SHOOTS an ARROW at Aria.

She turns her head and STOPS it in mid-flight. Victor lowers
his Crossbow in AWE.

BANG! The Sound of a GUNSHOT goes off and Victor falls out
of the tree and hits the floor. He touches his side. His
hand is covered in BLOOD.

Desmond and Emma enter the area.

EMMA:
(to Desmond)
Nice shot.

Victor crawls over trying to reach his Crossbow. Desmond

steps on his hand. Victor SCREAMS.

DESMOND:
That is a bad idea.

Desmond picks Victor up and SLAMS him against a tree.

DESMOND:
Hey Vic. We need to stop running into
each other like this.

Victor SPITS in his face. Desmond stares at him.

VICTOR:
What're you gonna do? Kill me? It's
already been established that you
ain't got the balls to do it.

Desmond just stares a hole through him and comes to a

realization.

DESMOND:
You're right. I don't. You once shot
me and practically left me for dead.
Consider us even.

Desmond knocks him out with a right hook.

Corisa and Owen show up and regroup with everyone else.

OWEN:
There you guys are.

Owen gets a look at the unconscious Victor and Ian.

OWEN: (cont'd)
What happened to those two?

(CONTINUED)
 107.
CONTINUED: (3)

DESMOND:
We happened. You two run into any
problems?

CORISA:
Nothing we couldn't handle.

DESMOND:
Alright. Let's keep moving.

EXT. ANCIENT FOREST, PARAMUS - MOMENTS LATER

Further down the Forest, the group approaches a GIANT Double

Door. It opens and there's nothing but LIGHT.

FEMALE VOICE: (O.S.)

THERE IS BUT ONE PATH TO THE HEART.

The Group looks at one another and walk through the Door.

EXT. THE HEART, PARAMUS - MOMENTS LATER

THE HEART OF PARAMUS. The only person here is Crane.

The Sky is GOLDEN. Dark Crystal formations surround the

area. There's a Mirror-floor just like when everybody first
entered. A Colossal Door is in the distance.

A Crystal floats in the middle of this area. Crane walks

towards it. The closer he gets, the brighter the Crystal
glows. The light gets stronger, nearly blinding Crane.

The light now begins to DIM. Crane reopens his eyes.

Standing before him is a FIGURE in a BLACK CLOAK with a HOOD
over her face. It's as if she came out of the crystal.

The Figure looks at Crane with her GLOWING Blue eyes.

CRANE:
Ah...

DESMOND: (O.S.)
Stephen Crane.

Crane turns around. The Team has arrived.

CRANE:
Well, I'm glad you're all here. Take
a second and look at what's in front
of you. This is it.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)
 108.
CONTINUED:
CRANE: (cont'd)
The possibilities are endless.
Nothing you can imagine is
unreasonable.

The Figure removes its hood. We see a familiar face --

Crane's wife, ANNA! Crane is Dazed and Confused. He gently

brushes his hand across the face of "Anna" and tears up.

CRANE: (cont'd)
Anna?

ANNA:
No. I am using your Anna's body as a
means of communication.

CRANE:
Then who are you? And why are you
taking control of my wife?

ANNA:
This is Paramus. The Afterlife. My
home. And I am its personification.
I've been here for a long, long time.
This world is a part of me. As I, it.
As for your Anna, she chose to stay.

ARIA:
The Afterlife? Does that mean we're
dead?

ANNA:
No, you are all very much alive. If
you were dead, believe me, you'd know
it.

CRANE:
What do you mean Anna chose to stay?
Why would she do that?

ANNA:
When Peter and Anna arrived at the
Heart -- much like you all have
now -- Anna decided to stay. She
wanted to get away from you.

Crane is silent. Countless emotions run through his head.

ANNA: (cont'd)
For a man that cared a great deal
about his wife, one would think you
would notice her unhappiness.

(CONTINUED)
 109.
CONTINUED: (2)

Crane remains silent. What can he really say?

ANNA: (cont'd)
Anna wanted a new beginning and I
gave it to her. The result is
standing before you right now. With
Peter, I implanted false memories and
had the coordinates wiped from his
ship. I hadn't counted on them being
saved to a data file.

CORISA:
(to Anna)
Where did you come from?

ANNA:
I am uncaused. I am uncreated. I
simply exist.

EMMA:
Ok. That's pretty freaky.

ANNA:
Humanity has forever been engrossed
with the belief of life beyond death.
What happens to the body when it
ceases to be? Do we live in harmony,
or are we reincarnated in a new
reality with a new body and a another
chance at life? I am living proof of
the former.

DESMOND:
Tell me something. I saw my Dead
Mother. How is that possible?

ANNA:
The dead spirits react and use
memories of the visitors to conjure
up hallucinations. It's up to the
visitor to decide what's real, and
what's not. Other than getting lost
and drifting throughout Space, it is
for this reason that so many souls,
never found their way back. They fall
for the bait of the sweet embrace of
a lost loved one and it led them to
their deaths. I meant no harm.

ARIA:
What happened to this place before?

(CONTINUED)
 110.
CONTINUED: (3)

ANNA:
Paramus was once just as advanced a
world as Archadia, Lady Aria. That
is, until it was ravaged by War and
only Death remained. In order to
shape it the way I wanted...

EMMA:
You had to move it.

ANNA:
Exactly. No species is ready to
handle the truth behind the New
Paramus. Let them live with their
misconceptions and false hopes of
treasure and power.

Crane finally breaks his silence.

CRANE:
(to Anna)
I want her back.

ANNA:
Excuse me?

CRANE:
Give me back my wife.

ANNA:
I'm afraid I cannot help you. Your
feelings on the matter are
irrelevant. Anna has made her choice.

CRANE:
I'm not asking you anymore! I'm
telling you!

ANNA:
(sternly)
Well, tell me again.

CRANE:
Bring her back, or else--

ANNA:
Your threats mean nothing to me. You
can't even begin to comprehend my
power.

Crane becomes visibly upset.

(CONTINUED)
 111.
CONTINUED: (4)

ARIA:
(to Crane)
I feel sorry for you.

Crane turns to Aria.

ARIA: (cont'd)
I really do. All you want is your
wife, and while I sympathize, you
don't deserve the satisfaction. Not
after the things you've done. You're
getting what you deserve.

CRANE:
SHUT UP!

A Dark Mist surrounds Crane, as well as several of his Dark

Plated Androids.

CRANE: (cont'd)
You made the biggest mistake of your
lives when you decided to make an
enemy out of me. And now, you've made
the second biggest mistake, and
that's coming back to get another
shot at me. This time around, I'm
going to end your wretched lives for
good.

The Androids go after Desmond and Co.

EMMA:
What's the plan, Dez?

Desmond and Aria give each other a look and a nod.

DESMOND:
Attack!

Aria uses her Telekinesis and THROWS several of the Androids

back. She LIFTS a few of them into the air. Desmond uses his
Caster to BLAST IT AWAY!

Corisa sprints ahead, DECAPITATES an Android and finishes

the job by slicing it in half! She makes quick work of two
other Androids in her path, and THROWS her Sword into an
oncoming Android.

Emma and Owen each fire their guns at a group of Androids

walking towards them. No effect.

OWEN:
Alright, time for plan B.

(CONTINUED)
 112.
CONTINUED: (5)

Owen pulls out a SUB-MACHINE GUN. But it's much more than
that. The Gun FIRES a DARK ENERGY SPHERE creating a GRAVITY
WELL that suck in the Androids, leaving them floating and
vulnerable.

Emma tosses a GRENADE in the vicinity and it BLOWS THEM UP!

EMMA:
YEAH!

Desmond and Aria approach a large number of Androids.

Desmond prepares his Caster, but Aria has other plans.

ARIA:
Save your shells. I'll deal with
this.

Aria LIFTS her arms up, LIFTING the Androids off the ground.
Aria uses her Telekinesis and RIPS THEM ALL APART!

Hundreds and Thousands of debris of the Androids' remains

rain down on the floor. Desmond gives her a bewildered look.

DESMOND:
Remind me to never make you mad.

Our Heroes have gotten through the first line of defense and
Crane is the only one left. He looks as they all stand by
side.

ANNA:
(to Crane)
It seems as though you underestimated
your opponents.

CRANE:
If you expect me to be intimidated,
you have no idea who you're dealing
with.

Desmond takes the DARK SHELL Frank gave him and loads it up.

DESMOND:
(aims the Caster at
Crane)
This is a shell I saved just for you.
Wanna know how it tastes?

CRANE:
A Caster attack will not work against
me.

(CONTINUED)
 113.
CONTINUED: (6)

DESMOND:
Let's find out.

Desmond pulls the trigger. This shell FIRES a DARK ENERGY

BLAST. Crane FIRES back with a Dark Energy ATTACK.

BOTH BLASTS COLLIDE!

Anna watches on. As do Aria, Emma, Owen, and Corisa.

Crane has the upper hand at first, but the Dark Caster
Attack proves to be too much. It starts to overwhelm him.

CRANE IS INCINERATED AND DIES IN A BLAZE OF DARKENED LIGHT.

Desmond falls to the floor in exhaustion as the rest of the

group run to his aid and help him up.

ANNA: (O.S.)
My, that was quite the display.

The Group looks to Anna as she walks towards them.

ANNA:
I almost feel remorse for how things
ended, but he brought it upon
himself. But now, perhaps he and Anna
can be happy in another life.

DESMOND:
What happens to us now?

ANNA:
Everyone who's still alive will be
returned to their ships, you all
leave, and I re-locate. You won't be
able to find it again unless I
contact you. But take this as a token
of my gratitude to you.

A BLUE SAPPHIRE appears in Desmond's hands.

ANNA: (cont'd)
I'm sure you all can get quite a bit
for that.

DESMOND:
You're not gonna erase our memories
too, are you?

ANNA:
(smirks)
Normally, those who find themselves
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
 114.
CONTINUED: (7)
ANNA: (cont'd)
here, I keep them here against their
will. I don't see a need for that
anymore. I'd rather give them a
choice. But you... I trust you. All
of you. Farewell.

A Golden Light COVERS the entire area. Everybody disappear

within the Light.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM, CITADEL HOSPITAL - DAY

SUPER: "3 WEEKS LATER"

Victor wakes up on a medical bed. Woozy. He looks around.

Ian is at his bedside monitoring his vitals.

VICTOR:
Ian?

IAN:
Good, you're awake. You were asleep
for a long time. How do you feel?

VICTOR:
My head is pounding and the room is
spinning.

IAN:
It'll go away.

VICTOR:
What happened?

IAN:
All I can remember is Desmond
shooting you and his team leaving us
for dead. I was already knocked out,
and when I woke up, we wound up back
at the ship somehow. You lost a great
deal of blood, so it's a miracle
you're even up. I kept you stable for
as long as I could.

VICTOR:
Where are we?

(CONTINUED)
 115.
CONTINUED:

IAN:
The Citadel. It was the best place I
could think to bring you.

VICTOR:
(straining)
This isn't over, is it?

IAN:
No it isn't. Not by a long shot.
They're gonna get theirs. Every
single one of them.

INT. FRANK'S OFFICE, FRANK NEFKO INDUSTRIES - LATER

Desmond returns to Frank's office. Frank sits there,

examining the Sapphire that Desmond brought back.

FRANK:
This is amazing. I've never seen
anything like it. What was Paramus
like?

DESMOND:
It was... an experience. I don't
think I'm ever gonna forget it. By
the way, that Caster shell you gave
me really came in handy.

FRANK:
Yeah well, don't expect anymore of
those anytime soon. Like I said, that
shell is extremely rare and dangerous
too.
(Beat)
You guys were gone for so long, I
started to worry. Where is your team
by the way?

DESMOND:
We're taking it easy for now. But I
told you I'd come see you, so here I
am.

FRANK:
You have any plans for this Sapphire?

DESMOND:
Owen says he knows a guy, so we're
gonna sell it and get money for it.

(CONTINUED)
 116.
CONTINUED:

FRANK:
You plan on telling anybody that you
found it? NASA? The media? The
President?

DESMOND:
You're the only person who knows
Frank and I'd like it to stay that
way for now. I don't think the rest
of the Galaxy is prepared for that.

FRANK:
Well, I feel quite special. What are
you gonna do now?

EXT. GRAVEYARD, EARTH - LATER

Desmond, with Aria by his side, brings flowers to his

Parents' Gravesite.

DESMOND:
Mom. Dad. This is Aria. She's a,
well, was, a Queen, and probably the
greatest woman I've ever met.

ARIA:
You have both raised a fine young
man.
(looking in
Desmond's eyes)
You should be proud.

Desmond and Aria share a smile. They KISS.

DESMOND:
(to the Grave)
We found Paramus. You guys weren't
obsessed over nothing after all. It's
real. And it's amazing.

Desmond places the Flowers against the Tombstone.

DESMOND: (cont'd)
We have to get going. I miss you both
so much. I'll see you guys real soon.

Desmond and Aria walk away from the Gravesite hand in hand.
 117.

INT. FLIGHT DECK, PILLAR OF DAWN - LATER

Desmond, Owen, Corisa, Aria, and Emma all board the ship and
ease into their seats in the Flight Deck.

Emma puts her feet up and slides her goggles on.

EMMA:
(yawns)
Wake me up when we get there.

OWEN:
Will do, lazy.

CORISA:
So, where are we going?

Desmond and Aria give each a look.

ARIA:
We're gonna wing it.

DESMOND:
Pillar of Dawn, prepare for launch!

EXT. LAUNCH PAD, NEW YORK SPACEPORT - CONTINUOUS

The engines ROAR with ferocity. Fire POURS from the rocket
thrusters. The Pillar of Dawn BLASTS OFF.

We follow her ascension into Space, vanishing from our view

into the sky.

FADE OUT:

END.