By Dennis Rowarr SCENE ONE The Oval Room, Federation High Command, planet Ardea Prime, the Aniverse Several GREAT BLUE HERONS in various forms of military dress are sat around a large, circular table, talking to one another. There is a large, empty seat that breaks the chain, intended for the president, who is absent. The uniforms of the HERONS combine elements of the American and Soviet military uniforms, whilst retaining the Nazi-style Federation logo. FIRST HERON: (broad Texan accent) Gentlemen! Can't we concentrate for a few frellin' minutes? We are in a crisis, and we need solutions! SECOND HERON: (French accent) Général Pelley is right, but if I remember rightly, monsieur général, ze planet Aldebaran falls under YOUR jurisdiction! PELLEY: True, but Genus lies in yours, Jack! The big man'll want to know how Drake Duck was able to sneak out undetected. SECOND HERON: (offended) My name is Général Jacques Le Pen, not "Jackie", and at least I maintain discipline in my men! (gestures to papers on the desk) You STILL haven't punished Capitane Todt for his failure! PELLEY: Hey, gimme some time, man! I've only just managed to suppress an uprising over on Sludge! Cut me some slack, Jackie! THIRD HERON: (Mexican accent) If you two have finished... LE PEN: You stay out of zis, Carrasco! Zis is not your concern! CARRASCO: True, señor general, but I've just had word that the President is on his way down. All of the HERONS gasp in shock, staring at CARRASCO. LE PEN: President Pelley is coming? CARRASCO: (nods, smiling sickly) Si, and he will want answers from all of us. If the Avenger is still at large, then he will want to know why we have failed to capture it... SCENE TWO Armoury, the Avenger, space The armoury of the gigantic ship is actually a confined, rectangular room whose walls are fitted with shelves and boards for holding firearms. These are all empty, save for one that contains seven maser rifles, and a cardboard box next to it containing dispensable maser cartridges. MICHAEL is bent over a worktable, working on something hidden from view, whilst MIMI leans back against the wall, watching him curiously. MIMI: ...So you're basically saying that this freeze-ray you invented, the... (falters) What did you call it again? MICHAEL: (as he works) The Cryopreservation Utility Beam. If it makes it any easier for you, just call it C.U.B. MIMI: (uncertain) OK...so, you're saying that you and your buddies invented C.U.B. just as a cheap way of freezing people? MICHAEL, irate at MIMI'S density, turns to face her with an irritated look on his masked face. MICHAEL: Do you know how much it costs to preserve people cryogenically in tanks? When we weren't trying to win the Bonel Prize for Science, we were trying to find ways of saving what little money the government paid us! (lowers voice) Luckily for us, we'd destroyed the few pieces of scrap paper on the C.U.B. before the Federation found us, and when I escaped, I built it from memory. MIMI remains silent, and MICHAEL continues with his work. After a while, MIMI speaks up again. MIMI: Just a second. (pause) You added C.U.B. as a back-up weapon to the Avenger's supermaser. MICHAEL: So? MIMI: So just what are you tinkering with? MICHAEL: (grins) A little individual project of my own. (pause) During my travels, I was given a gift of a lightsaber that didn't work by some tinker from Nharnia. MIMI: (aside) Sounds like he wanted a quick way to get rid of his trash. MICHAEL: (nods) Perfectly true, but I've used some of the C.U.B.'s technology so that its blade will ice up anything it touches. He spins around, and displays his "icesaber". It consists of a rusty, metal handle, and a long, curved blade that is azure in colour, with a white aura around it. Even though MIMI is far from any danger, she can still feel the cold of the weapon's blade. MIMI: (smiling approvingly) Impressive. Any chance you can make me one of those? MICHAEL: I can if you've got an old lightsaber handy. MIMI: (thinks aloud) Hmm. No, but I'll see what I can do. (pause) We'd better be getting up to the bridge. Drake said there was a planet coming up on the monitors, and he wants to find out if it's Aes or not. MICHAEL and MIMI walk out of the door, but stop when they see FELICIA in the corridor, her finger poised over the "open" button. Almost immediately, MIMI looks disapprovingly at the feline, crossing her arms again. MIMI: (raises eyebrow suspiciously) Looking for the keyhole, princess? FELICIA: (frowns) Never mind that! Something's come up on the bridge. Something bad. MIMI: What? FELICIA: It's that planet we spotted. I'm starting to think that it's not Aes. SCENE THREE The Oval Room, Federation High Command, Ardea Prime All of the HERONS around the table stand up as they hear a buzzing noise, indicating the arrival of the president. Two large doors open behind the president's chair, revealing a sterile, undecorated corridor with other rooms branching off it. A STORK-TROOPER enters, coming smartly to attention as he makes his announcement. FIRST TROOPER: Announcing Dirk Carne, President of the Heron Federation, and Supreme Commander of the Grand Army of the Occupied Aniverse. Enter PRESIDENT BROCK CARNE. Unlike the others around the table, he is a Night Heron, dressed in a khaki uniform with numerous medal bars down his chest. He gazes silently at the others with a pair of beady, green eyes, and sits down in the presidential chair. The STORK-TROOPER exits, and once he has gone, CARNE decides to speak. CARNE: (booming, thunderous voice) What the frell are you doing?! I ask only obedience, and this is how you repay me?! By allowing the most powerful ship on Aldebaran to wander freely around Federation space?! (pause) What have you got to say for yourselves?! The HERONS all look at one another, all too terrified to speak up, until finally, PELLEY plucks up courage. PELLEY: Mr. President, our success in the swift conquest of Mammalian and Reptilian space meant that we were not briefed by our predecessors for such a scenario. CARNE: YOU are the general who conquered Aldebaran, Pelley! Your predecessor died before he could fire a single shot! (points finger accusingly) You'd better have a good reason why I shouldn't have you executed where you stand. PELLEY, fearful of the wrath of his superior, is struck dumb by the question, but a FOURTH HERON quickly comes to his rescue. FOURTH HERON: (Irish accent) Mr. President? CARNE: (sharply) What is it, O'Duffy? O'DUFFY: The movements of the Avenger have been monitored by our surveillance satellites, and its most recent position has just come in. CARNE: (calmer) And what good is that, O'Duffy? When we tracked the Avenger over Gulag and Wednos, our fighters were shot clean out of the sky! (turning back to Pelley) The shipboard weapons should have been immobilized! O'DUFFY: (persistently) Mr. President, you don't understand. CARNE: (acidly) What was that? O'DUFFY, realising what he has just said, leans back in his seat in terror. O'DUFFY: (stammering) I-I-I didn't mean it, Mr. Pr-President! CARNE: (building up in tempo) You said I don't understand! He draws a maser pistol, aiming it squarely at O'DUFFY'S head. CARNE: (bellows) NEVER QUESTION ME! He fires, shooting O'DUFFY point-blank. The impact creates a large hole in O'DUFFY'S head, which begins to spew blood from the opening. A large slab of white, slimy brains slithers over the opening, blocking the blood flow, as the corpse falls forward onto the table, allowing its entrails to spill out over the table-top. CARNE: (normal voice) Now, does anyone else have anything SENSIBLE to point out? A FIFTH HERON, who is sitting to the right of O'DUFFY's mutilated body, speaks up calmly, moving his wing to avoid staining it in his colleague's blood. FIFTH HERON: (English accent) Mr. President, what the late general was trying to say is that the Avenger's last reported position could be to our advantage. CARNE: Go on, Mosley. I'm listening... (staring at Pelley) ...for now. MOSLEY pulls a small remote from his left pocket. Pushing one of the buttons on it, the table-top converts into a two-dimensional star map, with a yellow dotted line indicating the route taken by the Avenger. MOSLEY: This map shows the course taken by the Avenger based on the information from our surveillance satellites. (points at line) Until a few hours ago, it was thought that she had perished in the Pirate Zone. (firmly) There would have been little chance of the Avenger ever defeating the Corsairs. CARNE: (impatiently) I am well aware of the trouble the Corsairs are to us, Mosley! Get to the point! MOSLEY: (a little ruffled) Well, Mr. President, our most recent report places the Avenger close to a certain world in the Balticum system of the Reptilian Sector. CARNE: (raises eyebrows) You mean, Mosley, that... MOSLEY: (nods) Yes, Mr. President. If the Corsairs didn't stop the Avenger, then the inhabitants of Balticum will. SCENE FOUR Above an unknown planet, the Balticum system, space The Avenger is in orbit over a large planet in a relatively sparse part of the aniverse. From above, the planet is shown to be mountainous, and covered in vast swathes of snow, with its land mass divided by a gigantic, frozen sea. There are several vast forests that seem to stretch to infinity, but there is otherwise no sign of life. ABOARD THE AVENGER... The crew are all examining their instruments as DIYANA displays an image of the planet on her gigantic spell-gem. MIMI: (puzzled, to Drake) You're absolutely certain about this? DRAKE: Positive. This definitely isn't Aes. MIMI: How can you be so sure if you've never seen it? DRAKE: (impatiently) Because we're still in Federation space. We may be off the patrol routes, but the border is lightmonths away! OUTCAST: But if this isn't Aes, then what is there to worry about? We just move on, don't we? DRAKE: All right, Outcast. You try moving the ship. OUTCAST, being unfamiliar with sarcasm, promptly takes command, and looks up straight at DIYANA. OUTCAST: (clearly) Diyana, move the ship. DIYANA: Negative. OUTCAST: (frowns) What do you mean? You said my voice-thingy was registered for commands, didn't you? DIYANA: Confirmed. OUTCAST: Then move the ship! DIYANA: Negative. DRAKE: (calm voice) Something is blocking Diyana's electronic link to the ship's motors. Felicia and I have been all over the system, and there's no problem on the ship. MICHAEL: And you think it might be coming from down there? (scoffs) A little far-fetched, isn't it? FELICIA stands up, and hands MICHAEL a compass. MICHAEL looks down at it, with MIMI and OUTCAST looking over his shoulders. To their surprise, the needle is spinning around crazily, never staying in the same position for less than a second. All three of them look with confused faces at FELICIA. FELICIA: (sternly) An electromagnetic field, capable of immobilising Diyana's functions. Someone down there doesn't want us to leave. DRAKE: And it's not just the engines that have been cut off. Our weapons and teleport systems have also been taken out. (sighs heavily) I just pray that whoever's down there DIYANA: Information: Several small spacecraft are approaching the Avenger from the planet's surface. On the screen, a cluster of small spacecraft can be seen approaching the Avenger in an arrowhead formation. As the craft approach, they can be seen to be silver in colour, and streamlined so that the individual ships themselves resemble arrowheads. MICHAEL: Diyana, do you have any information about the planet? DIYANA: Information is patchy. It has no Federation designation, and available information designates the planet as simply Balticum Six. No known form of life on the planet is recorded. DRAKE: And what about the approaching ships? DIYANA: Design unknown. A radio link has been established with the lead craft. DRAKE: (firmly) Put them on. An image appears on DIYANA'S spell-gem. The image shows a male POLAR BEAR in a large, bulky overcoat to protect from the cold. He stares at the crew of the Avenger with steely eyes, whilst retaining an unemotional expression on his face. PILOT: (thick, Russian accent) This is Space Major Dmitri Orlov of the Imperial Navy. You are trespassing in imperial territory, and you must accompany us to the surface. DRAKE: (calmly) I am Rod Welles, the captain of this ship, and I demand to speak to someone in authority over the immobilisation of my ship. PILOT: All will be dealt with in time, Mr. Welles, if you and your crew would kindly strap yourselves down. Our tractor beam may be powerful, but its re-entry procedure is considerably rough. Dos verdanya. He severs the link, leaving DIYANA's spell-gem as the blank, pink surface it normally is. FELICIA: (raises eyebrow) Rod Welles? DRAKE: We need to make sure these people aren't aligned with Federation. Until we find out what side they're on, we all use false names. DIYANA: Electromagnetic force around the Avenger is increasing in strength. The Avenger is being brought into landing orbit via electronic manipulation from planet surface. The ship begins to vibrate as the effect begins to work. Instantly, the five crewmembers strap themselves down, preparing for the unwarranted re-entry. Outside, the Avenger can now be seen surrounded by a glowing sphere of blue energy, with a single beam of this same energy travelling to the Avenger from a single spot down on the planet's surface. The arrowhead-shaped ships are now acting as escort to the captured vessel, helping to bring it down to the surface. SCENE FIVE A spaceport, the frozen plains, Balticum VI On the surface can be seen a small spaceport that consists of a snowlogged landing-strip, a handful of outhouses, a large, metal transmitter (which is omitting the electromagnetic force surrounding the Avenger), and nothing more. The arrowhead ships all land in perfect formation along the landing-strip, whilst the Avenger is brought safely down adjacent to the transmitter. The hatchway beneath it opens, and the five crewmembers walk out shivering into the harsh cold of the planet. ORLOV approaches them, apparently unaffected by the weather. DRAKE: Major, it is vitally important that I inform Mrs. Welles... ORLOV: (levelly) I think we can drop the names, Drake Duck. And you need not consider escaping. Nobody ever leaves Balticum Six. DRAKE: (uncertainly) How do I know you're not bluffing? ORLOV: This might convince you. He pulls out a maser pistol, and aims it threateningly at DRAKE and his crew... TO BE CONTINUED...