"Control" Part 1 by Dawvitch Night-Fall and DJ Clawson Edited by Rygar 1/6/04 SCENE 1 - WARREN DALLION is hard at work on repairing part of his right arm, which is totally bionic, and doesn't see someone coming up the hill behind him until the shadow falls over him. Spinning around, Dallion quickly stands and bares his claws and fangs at the figure. The figure is none other than KADAF WARNER, Fritz's tall duck bodyguard. He is wearing an all-black outfit and a black trench coat. Even his yarmulke is black. Not startled by Dallion's defensive attitude, he stands, looking very prepared to wait until the wolf calms down. DALLION What do you want from me? KADAF That's what I came to discuss, Dallion. DALLION (suspiciously) Who are you? How do you know my name? KADAF My name is Kadaf Warner, and I represent a mammal that would be very happy to employ you. DALLION I don't get employed, and you didn't answer the second question. KADAF My boss told me. DALLION How did he know? KADAF He knows everything. (pushing Dallion's claws away from his face) Now, can we talk business? Dallion growls softly and lowers his arms. DALLION What does he want from me? KADAF It did occur to my boss that you have very ... unique talents, especially when it comes to fighting toads. Talents that could be very helpful in the war. DALLION So? My ... talents are not for just anyone else's disposal. KADAF My boss is also aware that you have no means of supporting yourself, you have no home to go to, and your supplies that you stole from toads are getting low. (pulls out a cigarette, lights up) My boss would be happy to remedy this situation. DALLION (thinking) It then occurs to Dallion that he does. Since his helmet was destroyed by Toadborg, he is stuck on Warren. DALLION So, he would be willing to give me support in exchange for my services? KADAF If he were to officially employ you, you would be considered a mercenary working through a private contract. This is not an official UAC Security Council matter. DALLION Mercenary, is it? And not an official matter? (tapping a claw on his metal chin) I don't like the sound of it. KADAF You don't have to make a decision now. (hands him a business card) Just think about it. Kadaf leaves as Dallion stands looking down at the card that was given to him. DALLION (thinking) (ponders for a moment) (looks at card) (pauses again) Dallion slips the card into a small compartment behind his left thigh plate, then returns to his work. SCENE 2 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION A few days later, the crew has just finished its mission to stop a toad supply fleet. ENGINEER WILLY DUWITT, dirty with sweat pouring off of him, opens his gateway back to Earth, while GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK counts up the number of toad ships he has destroyed on the mission. AFC BUCKY and BRUISER enter into the Righteous from the airlock, as they were fighting on the Toad Croaker. FIRST MATE JENNY puts the Righteous into autopilot mode and joins the rest of the crew, with CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE, on the lower deck. BUCKY (taking off his space helmet and taking a deep breath) Well, that should throw the toads back a bit. (notices Willy's doorway) Where are you running off to, Willy? WILLY Just taking advantage of having all the comforts of home just a doorway away. (wiping sweat from his head) I'm dying for a shower! Jenny walks up to Bucky and rubs the fur on the side of his face that is matted and damp with sweat. JENNY There's someone else who could use one as well. BUCKY (taking another deep breath) You couldn't be more right, Jenny. WILLY (obviously joking around) I'd let you use our shower, Bucky, but I don't know how I would explain to my parents about the green fur in the shower drain. Bucky throws Willy a look as if to say "that wasn't funny," while Jenny places a paw over her mouth to hide a grin. BUCKY (to Willy) Well, go on ahead and get yourself cleaned up, and get back as soon as you can. WILLY Aye-aye, Captain. Willy walks through the doorway and closes it behind him. Soon after, the door disappears. BUCKY So, what's next on the mission list, Jenny? JENNY That was the last one. The toads haven't been too aggressive the past few days, and new leads on good toad hit points are growing few. It looks like we'll be going back on patrol again for a while. BRUISER (complaining) Not patrol! Dat's da most borin' assignment we ever do! BUCKY Too true, Bruiser. (holding a paw to his chin) (to himself) Info sources running dry ... hmm. (thinking) (aloud) Do you think that Dallion would have any information for us? DEADEYE That freaky wolf? Even if he did, how would ye go about gettin' him? JENNY He gave us a specific comm frequency to use to contact him before he left Warren. BUCKY (thinking for a moment) That's what we'll do. Get in contact with Dallion, and ask him to meet us so we can all go to Genus. There, we can rest, clean up, and exchange information. We can also see if there are any new assignments lined up for us. I don't want to be put on patrol any more than Bruiser does. BRUISER I don't wanna go to Genus, either. We always get dragged inta a long, borin' council meeting when we go dere. BUCKY Take the bad with the good, Bruiser. Jenny, set course for Genus. JENNY Aye-aye, Captain. SCENE 3 - WARREN Dallion stands in almost the same place where he stood with the crew of The Righteous Indignation a few months ago. He looks down at his left arm and grasps the armor gauntlet with his right paw, pulling it off. The armor slides off to reveal a natural arm that has several patches where no fur grows due to scars left by experimental probes. DALLION (thinking) Dallion kneels down to place his left paw onto the cool, moist ground. He shuts his eyes and enters into a kind of meditation. A faint glow begins to envelop his left paw, but it quickly fades away. Dallion opens his eyes in disappointment. DALLION (thinking) (growling, then aloud) Damn all the toads! After calming down, Dallion lies flat on the ground on his back. He takes his left paw and digs his fingers deep into the ground and closes his eyes once more. After a few moments, the glow around his paw returns, then fades many times over. Finally, the glow becomes constant and begins to slightly brighten into a blue aura around his paw. Dallion opens his eyes to see the aura. He immediately gets to his feet, staring at the glow. Dallion closes his eyes to concentrate more. The aura then spreads to cover his arm from his fingertips to his elbow. Dallion draws his left paw behind him, forming it into a fist. With a quick jerk, Dallion whips his arm forward in an underhand pitch motion. The glow creates a motion trail of Dallion's fist, and, at the bottom of his swing, a burst of blue light comes from his fist. This light hits the ground and travels about twenty feet in a straight line away from Dallion before fading away, leaving behind a small gash in the ground that is a few inches deep and two feet long. Dallion looks at his fist and then at the ground. DALLION (thinking, disappointed yet relieved) (thinks for a moment) (beat) Just then, a beeping noise comes from Dallion's right forearm. He holds his arm up to his face to see a red flashing light. Dallion touches the light to open up a panel on his forearm, revealing a communication device. Garbled audio can be heard coming out of the communicator. Dallion then activates one of his decoder programs and the voice is then recognized as that of Bucky O'Hare. BUCKY Dallion, are you receiving me? DALLION (thinking) (aloud) Yes, Captain O'Hare, I'm receiving your transmission just fine. What are your intentions for contacting me? Is there any toad trouble? BUCKY No, no trouble at all. My crew and I are just now coming off of a mission and are heading back to Genus for a break. I was wondering if you'd like to join us. Perhaps we could exchange information. DALLION (thinking for a moment) (speaking) I don't see any reason for turning down your request. BUCKY Great. Meet up with us just outside of the Genus defense perimeter. We'll pick you up there, since I doubt you're clear to pass through the defense systems. DALLION How about you come and pick me up here? BUCKY (confused) Why? Where's there? DALLION If you remember, Captain, my helmet was destroyed, and I am as vulnerable to space as anyone else is. BUCKY (thinking for a moment) Wait, you're still on Warren? DALLION That is correct. BUCKY Well ... we'll be there soon. Where are you, exactly? DALLION In almost the same place you last saw me. BUCKY Copied. O'Hare out. The audio goes silent, and Dallion shuts the panel. He reaches down, picks up his left arm armor, and locks it back on. The glow is hidden by the armor, but it then shines through and envelope it, just as it did his arm. DALLION (amazed, thinking) Dallion pulls back his fist again to repeat his energy throw. Once again, the burst of light travels across the ground, creating a small indention in its path. The burst is a little weaker than the first one. DALLION (thinking) Dallion places his glowing armored paw onto the ground. The glow seems to seep off of his arm and is absorbed into the ground, returning from where it came. He then moves to a nearby tree and sits down at its base, waiting for the Righteous to arrive. SCENE 4 - SECTOR SEVEN A resort cruiser slowly flies through with its vacationing passengers. The cruiser is then intercepted by toad fighters. They blast the cruiser's engines, crippling the ship and causing it to helplessly float through space. The fighters surround the ship as a toad slave carrier approaches and stops alongside the cruiser. A docking tube extends from the slave ship and connects with the cruiser. SCENE 5 - LOUNGE, STATION IN ORBIT OF GENUS The crew of the Righteous sits around a large table in the lounge, each enjoying a drink while reflecting on recent missions. Others in the lounge keep a distance away from the group due to Dallion's presence. Dallion is kneeling beside the table because of the fact that there are no chairs in the lounge that would support his size and weight. Dallion remains quiet as the others converse. Bucky then decides to direct the conversation toward Dallion. BUCKY So, Dallion, what have you been doing on Warren? It's been a few months since we accidentally left you there. Dallion looks up from the table, his attention somewhat scattered all about the lounge. It is obvious to all the others that Dallion doesn't feel comfortable in public places. DALLION Don't concern yourself about leaving me there, O'Hare. More than likely, if I did have the means to leave your world, I probably wouldn't have left then, either. JENNY Why not? DALLION After the environments that I have been trapped in for the last several years, Warren was a paradise to me. As for what I have been doing, I guess that I can say that I have been recovering. JENNY Recovering from what? Dallion is referring to recovering his abilities. Realizing that he has the attention of the wrong person, he thinks up a story with some partial truth to it. DALLION I ... have been experiencing a little disorientation since ... (looks at Jenny) ... the control device was shorted out. It has been gradually decreasing in frequency over time, so there is no need for concern about that. (beat) Anyway, how did you disable my controlling device? Jenny stiffens at Dallion's question as she notices everyone's attention turning to her. BUCKY (to Dallion) Jenny did it? (to Jenny) I thought that you said that it just shorted out? JENNY It did. Just how I told you all. One moment Dallion has his claws at my throat, then he pulled them away from me and started shaking, and then bolts of electricity erupted around his face. He passed out for about five minutes. (turns to Dallion) Remember, Dallion? Dallion is dumbfounded by Jenny's words. He had mentioned this before to her back on Warren and she responded by saying that she could have killed him. Now she is saying something totally different. DALLION (with uncertain tone) That is not what I remember ... is it? JENNY That's what happened, Dallion. Dallion is about to question her more but stops himself as he sees strong emotion in Jenny's eyes, almost as if she is silently begging him to agree with her. DALLION (still unclear) Uh ... yes. I guess that I have been a little more disorientated then I thought ... forgive me. (beat) However, I have not yet been able to forgive myself for my foolish and reckless actions that endangered all of you. A moment of silence passes. DEADEYE (breaking the ice) It's all over with, matey, and we're all still here! Besides, bein' in those kinds of situations is nothin' new t' us. The rest of the group nods in agreement with Deadeye while Dallion just lowers and turns his head away from Deadeye. A young fox WAITRESS, who has just started work, approaches the table from behind Dallion and stops between him and Deadeye. She is holding a tray with a few drinks on it. WAITRESS (to group) Is there anything else that I can get for any of you? Everyone in the Righteous crew politely declines. The waitress turns to her left to see that there is nothing on the table in front of Dallion. She looks up from the table at him only to see his silver hair. WAITRESS (placing a paw on his right bicep) Have you had anything? I can get you whatever you like if you want me to. Dallion turns his head to face the waitress. Her eyes open wide at the sight of his metallic face and fangs. She drops her tray, sending the drinks on it to crash loudly on the floor. This catches the attention of the rest of the lounge. The waitress stands as if she is paralyzed with fear, her eyes fixed on Dallion's eyes. Dallion simply watches her reactions. BUCKY (standing, trying to calm her down) It's all right, miss. The waitress doesn't seem to hear Bucky's words. She reaches down to pick up her tray and then quickly runs to the back of the lounge. Dallion watches her leave. When she is out of sight, he turns his attention to the rest of the lounge to see everyone else looking at him. He then looks down at the shiny napkin dispenser on the table. He picks it up and holds it up to his face like a mirror, looking at his reflection. The group remains silent as they watch Dallion examine his face. Dallion drops the dispenser and lowers his head. DALLION (low tone) I think that I had better leave. Before giving the others a chance to respond, Dallion stands and makes his way out of the lounge. People in the lounge quickly move out of Dallion's path. He notices this and is annoyed further. The others get up as well and follow after Dallion. Just as Bucky is about to leave the lounge, he stops and walks back to the table. He tosses a few simoleans onto the table, then turns to catch up with the others. BUCKY (thinking) SCENE 6 - DOCKING TUBES, STATION IN ORBIT OF GENUS A door opens, and the crew of the Righteous, along with Dallion, steps through the door into the docking tube that leads to their ship. The group proceeds down the corridor. WILLY (trying to make conversation) Dallion, are you still using the same stockpile of items that you had when you escaped from the Toad Homeworld? DALLION Yes, and I have almost exhausted all of those resources. WILLY What will you do when you do run out of things to use? DALLION (his voice getting deeper) Steal more technology from the toads. BUCKY There are other technological sources you could try besides the toads. DALLION I will not steal from others. Only from toads. BUCKY Who said anything about stealing? DALLION It would be the only way for me to obtain it. I have nothing in any form of money, and I am sure that no one would just hand over their materials to me. BUCKY (understanding) I see your point. DEADEYE (suddenly) Ha hah! That's it! I know the perfect solution for ye, matey. DALLION (not stopping) I'm listening. DEADEYE Ye could be a bounty hunter. That seems to be a job ye could fit inta nicely. DALLION And how do you figure this to help me? DEADEYE With yer skills, I'm sure bein' a bounty hunter would be no problem for ye. Someone could hire ye to take out a certain toad force, and then ye'd get paid for it. DALLION Sorry, I can't see killing for money as a justifiable cause. I kill toads for my own reasons, not anyone else's. After all, taking from the toads by force helps me to raise my fighting abilities. I also don't prefer working under someone else's orders. DEADEYE Don't think of it that way, matey. You'll still be taking out toads, taking whatever you want, then returning with a job well done to collect yer payment. Money is the key, matey! Money can get ye what ye need. DALLION (stopping, then dropping gaze down to the floor, low voice) Can't buy love, Deadeye. Everyone else stops and turns to face Dallion, surprised and confused that such a thing would come out of his mouth. Just then, an OFFICER runs up to the group. OFFICER Captain O'Hare, you and your crew's presence is requested in the UAC headquarters building. Bruiser slaps his right palm onto his forehead while grunting. BRUISER (to himself) I knew dat dey'd catch us before we left. BUCKY (to Bruiser) Well, I checked with the offices up here, and they didn't have any info for us. So if the council doesn't have any specifics, then I guess we'll be going back on patrol (to Dallion) Sorry, but we have to ... DALLION (cutting in) Don't worry; I can wait. Bucky extends his paw up toward Dallion. Dallion looks down at Bucky, reaches out, and takes Bucky's paw in his, shaking it. BUCKY Thank you for taking us up on our offer. DALLION I could not turn down an invitation made by you or anyone else of your crew. I apologize for not having any information on the toads to give you. BUCKY (waving it off) Don't worry about it. (smiles humorously) Just have some next time. Dallion nods to Bucky, then looks toward Jenny, who looks back at him in return. DALLION How is ... is your ... Dallion motions toward his neck. Jenny catches what he means. JENNY (reassuringly) It's fine. It was only a scratch. Didn't take long to heal. DALLION I never apologized for jumping on top of you back on the toad ship. JENNY There's no need for that. I know you only did it to throw Toadborg off guard. (joking) Even though you made me feel as if death itself was holding me down. DEADEYE (cutting in) I didn't mean to offend ye earlier, mate. DALLION None taken; I appreciate your wanting to help me. And after some more consideration, I think that your idea is starting to appeal to me. After all, that is something that my species is by nature: hunters. DEADEYE So, you'll do it? DALLION (pausing) ... yes. DEADEYE In that case, I'll speak with an old mate o' mine. I'm sure he could help ye out. BUCKY (breaking in) Dallion, this won't ... well ... it shouldn't take long. DALLION It's no bother. I'll just wait here until you all return. Bucky and his crew leave with the officer to meet up with the Security Council. Dallion stands alone with the Righteous, thinking about what Deadeye had told him. Dallion then pulls Kadaf's card out from behind his leg armor, holding it up to his face. Dallion reads the address on the card to see that it refers to UAC headquarters building. Once all of the crewmembers are gone, Dallion ducks into the Righteous. After seeing that Blinky is deactivated and is in recharge mode, he starts searching through the compartments until he finds Bruiser's space helmet. He sets the helmet on the deck and begins to wrap up his long silver hair. Once that is done, he grabs the helmet and slowly slips it on. It barely fits. DALLION Thank the mother for baboons having big heads. Dallion's network of latches and panels begin to close up and lock around the base of the helmet, sealing it in place. SCENE 7 - OUTSIDE STATION IN ORBIT OF GENUS A small transport shuttle departs from the station, carrying the crewmembers of The Righteous Indignation down to UAC headquarters. From a distance, Dallion watches the shuttle leave the station. Once the shuttle is on its way, Dallion's body becomes almost entirely transparent as he begins to follow the shuttle down. SCENE 8 - TOAD SLAVE SHIP Toad SOLDIERS and a toad CAPTAIN line up around the entrance to the docking tube as the cruiser passengers are brought onto the slave ship, all in shackles. CAPTAIN (overlooking the prisoners, to a soldier beside him) Very good. It appears we've gotten quite a few strong backs in this capture. SOLDIER Yes, sir. CAPTAIN Have them all secured ... The captain quiets down as three prisoners catch his eye. CAPTAIN (smirking) ... except for those three. The captain points at three females. One is a hare, another is a husky, and the third is a cat. The soldier looks at the three women that the captain had pointed out. SOLDIER (grinning at the captain) Take them to the usual place, Captain Greeman? GREEMAN (sounding deviant) Yes, do that. See the other prisoners to the holding cells, then have your team take whatever valuables that they can find on the ship. SOLDIER (saluting) Yes, sir. SCENE 9 - CAPITAL CITY, GENUS The transport shuttle comes to a rest on a landing pad beside a building with a large domed roof. Just a short time later, a ghostlike image lands in a nearby alleyway. It isn't soon enough for Dallion, as his cloaking device has just run out of power, making him totally visible again. He peeks out from the alley to see Bucky and the others coming out of the shuttle and entering the building. DALLION (thinking) (remembering the waitress in the lounge) (looking himself over) Dallion takes off the helmet and begins looking about to find some way to change his appearance. He looks up to see some large and small cloths hanging on wires that run between the walls of the alley. Dallion walks over to a wall and, with his steel claws, begins to climb up it. Once close enough, Dallion reaches out and takes a large, dark-red cloth and one smaller black cloth. After he has taken them, he drops back down to the ground. As soon as he hits the ground, he uses his scanning light to see if anyone is near him. To his relief, no one is around. He takes the larger cloth and wraps it around his shoulders. It fits him nicely, like a typical full cape that covers all of his upper body and goes down to his knees. He then uses the black cloth to hide his metallic face. DALLION (looking himself over some more, thinking) Dallion removes his left arm armor and holds it in his right paw, which is completely hidden behind the cape. He then combs his silver hair with his left paw to cover as much of his metallic forehead as possible. Dallion looks down at his feet as his large claws retract and disappear inside his feet, to make it seem as if he were just wearing normal everyday boots. Lastly, he reaches down, picks up the helmet, and attaches it to his belt. DALLION (thinking) Dallion then proceeds out of the alleyway to the office building. Now out in the open, Dallion feels totally uncomfortable as he notices many of the people around him turning their attention on him with wide eyes. He wishes over and over again that the power source for his cloaking device had lasted a bit longer. Just as Dallion reaches the steps of the building, someone from behind places a paw on his back. Dallion turns around to see that it's Kadaf. KADAF So you decided to come and see us? I would suggest that we enter by a side door. DALLION (little offset) How did you know that I was here? KADAF (holding out his arm) Let me see the card that I gave you. Dallion hands over the card to Kadaf, who rips it in half to reveal a thin, metal strip that was embedded into the card. KADAF We had this card bugged to let us know when you were near, so I would be able to catch you and take you into the building through a back door. My boss wanted to make sure that you didn't, how should I say, disturb the peace. The two then proceed around the building to the back side. SCENE 10 - UACSC CHAMBER Bucky converses with a few members of the council while the rest of the crew stands near the doors, waiting somewhat impatiently to leave. After about another ten minutes of waiting, Jenny feels a voice in her mind. QUEEN OF ALDEBARAN Jenny quickly turns and faces a wall to prevent the others from seeing her spell gem glow as she replies to the QUEEN. JENNY QUEEN JENNY Her gem dimming, Jenny looks about to see her crewmates still waiting for the council members to shut up. She turns and slips out of the council room and proceeds down a hallway, looking for an empty room. She passes by an adjoining corridor and catches a large figure with long silver hair in the corner of her eye. She quickly turns her head to face down the other hallway, seeing only Kadaf stepping into an elevator. JENNY (thinking) (shakes her head) Jenny shrugs it off and continues on until she comes to a small lounge room. She steps in to find that there is no one in the room. Jenny closes and locks the door behind her and takes a seat on one of the couches. Her gem glows again as she reaches out with her mind to speak with the Queen. JENNY QUEEN JENNY QUEEN JENNY QUEEN JENNY QUEEN JENNY QUEEN JENNY QUEEN JENNY The psychic link is broken. Jenny sits still and thinks to herself. JENNY (thinking) (beat) Jenny laughs softly to herself as she realizes that a role that she had grown accustomed to was about to take on a mirror image of itself. It was always others questioning her about herself, and now, she will be the one asking the questions. JENNY (thinking) Jenny gets up and heads back to the council chamber. SCENE 11 - UPPER FLOORS, UAC BUILDING An elevator door opens as Kadaf and Dallion step out into the lush office room. A squirrel is behind the reception desk, typing away, and is not disturbed by their entrance. Kadaf walks across the room to the other end, where there is a large door. He opens the door, gesturing Dallion inside. KADAF Go on in; he's expecting you. Dallion enters the office of CHAIRMAN FRITZ WARNER, who is sitting behind his desk, wearing a business suit and a wide-rimmed hat. He rises and smiles at the entrance, walking around his oak desk and taking Dallion's huge left paw. FRITZ It's a pleasure to meet you, Dallion. I'm Fritz Warner. (gestures to wooden chair) Have a seat. DALLION (taken back by Fritz's outgoing manner) I ... think I had better not. FRITZ Don't worry about it. Have a seat. Dallion hesitates, then slowly seats himself. Surprisingly, the chair holds him up. FRITZ See what I tell you? (sits himself) So ... you are probably interested in knowing how I came to know about you. DALLION I assume you know Captain O'Hare. FRITZ Bucky is one of my closest friends. Of course I know him. (beat) I also know a great deal about the Luporians. DALLION (narrowing eyes) How? FRITZ I'm the Chairman of the Security Council. It's my business to know this stuff. (leaning back in his chair) Besides, there're some very detailed descriptions of Luporians in ancient Lopine texts. DALLION (surprised) Lopine? You are a Lopinenean? FRITZ Not officially. But I am the official candidate of the Lopinenean political party. (beat) So now you know about me, and we both know about you, so I think we should get down to business. (beat) Right now, the current war budget has been pushed to the limit. Despite all of my political power and connections, I don't have any more strings to pull to justify any major improvements or advancements in our military operation against the toads. But we still don't have the fighting force we need to check toad aggression, much less free the currently enslaved mammals in toad paws. I also know that your skills would be invaluable in the war against the toads -- which is why I'm offering to privately finance your anti-toad "operations." DALLION (thinks for a minute) Well, if *you* have the money ... then why don't you use that for the improvements your society needs? Why offer it to me? FRITZ Because it would be a lot more paperwork for everyone if I didn't. Dallion squints an eye and tilts his head to a side. Even though Dallion's metallic face prevents him from giving facial expressions, Fritz can see his confusion. FRITZ (explaining) My personal contributions would have to be out in the open, where they would be questioned and possibly vetoed by the anti-war advocates on the Security Council. I don't want my simoleans scrutinized for six months before they actually get where they're supposed to go. Paying you under the table would be so much simpler and much more efficient. (beat) So, how does that sound? Dallion hesitates, going over the proposal in his mind. He also thinks about how disgusted he is at how complex this society is and how he longs for how things used to be when he was with his kind. DALLION I have a request. FRITZ Shoot. Dallion ponders Fritz's choice of words. DALLION I would prefer to fight the toads my own way -- no questions asked. FRITZ Dallion, I was very aware of your methods before I even considered hiring you. I won't try to stop you now. But I do have a request for you in return. I need you to restrict any violence you may participate in to toads. I don't need a war with all the coldbloods, too. DALLION (hesitates more) Then ... I see no reason not to accept your offer. Fritz grins, and they rise and shake paws. FRITZ The payments will be done through Kadaf, as will my job requests. He'll know where to find you. (releases paw) Thank you for you time, Dallion. Dallion nods to Fritz, then turns to leave the office. He steps out of the office to see Kadaf still standing beside the door, nursing a cigarette. DALLION (to Kadaf) Is there a way for me to get onto the roof of this building? KADAF Why do you ask? DALLION It will help me to get out of here and off of the planet without being noticed. KADAF Follow me. Kadaf leads Dallion back into the elevator, where he sets it to go to its highest level. SCENE 12 - TOP FLOOR, UAC BUILDING Once the elevator stops, the two get out and follow a small set of stairs that ends at a heavily secured door. Kadaf punches in a code sequence on a control panel next to the door. After finishing, the door opens to let the two out onto the rooftop. Dallion walks over to the side adjacent to the landing pad. He looks down at the pad to see that the transport shuttle is still there. DALLION Good, they haven't left yet. KADAF What are you planning to do? DALLION Hitch a ride. Does that shuttle have any kind of sensors on it that would warn them about foreign objects attached to it? KADAF No, it's just a simple transport. DALLION Good. All I need to do is wait. KADAF Why do you need to wait for the shuttle? You didn't seem to need it when you came down. DALLION I have a personal cloaking device that I used to follow the shuttle here, since I didn't know how to find this place. However, the device only lasts for about ten minutes on a full power cell, and I used all of that to get here. The cell slowly recharges itself when the device isn't operating. Right now, I only have enough power to remain cloaked for about half a minute. I will use that time to sneak onto the hull of the shuttle and ride it back up to the orbital station. After some time, Bucky and his crewmates exit the UAC building and board the shuttle. Dallion removes his disguise, reattaches his gauntlet, and puts on the helmet. After doing so, he reaches down and picks up the two pieces of cloth and holds them out toward Kadaf. DALLION Could you do me a favor and return these to their rightful owners? (pointing toward the alley where he had landed) I took these off of the wires that are stretched between those walls over there. KADAF What? Why are you concerned about returning two shabby pieces of cloth? DALLION I don't like to steal. KADAF Trust me, don't worry about it. Whoever you took those from, I'm sure that they aren't going to miss them. After a moment, Dallion drops the cloths back down and turns his attention back to the landing pad on the ground. The shuttle then lifts off and slowly begins to head back up into orbit. Just as the transport reaches the same height as the building, Dallion activates his thrusters. Kadaf takes a few steps back away from Dallion's thruster bursts. As he is lifted off of the roof, Dallion's body becomes transparent from the cloaking device. Kadaf is barely able to keep Dallion's faded form in his sight as he watches him catch up with the shuttle. KADAF (to himself) Impressive. (beat) Not as convenient as teleportation, but effective nonetheless. Kadaf goes back into the building. SCENE 13 - TRANSPORT SHUTTLE Everyone is seated in the shuttle. The seats are lined along the walls of the shuttle, facing inwards. Bucky, however, is standing and conversing with an officer. Willy, who is looking out a window, turns to look at Jenny, who sits with her arms crossed. Her gaze seems to be directed to the floor. A strange feeling swells up inside Willy as he looks at Jenny. She doesn't appear to him in the same way any more. He realizes that she is nothing of how he used to think of her. She used to be mysterious and fascinating to him. She still is mysterious, but in an unsettling way now. Sometimes, he feels as if he should avoid her, but then he remembers what Bucky had talked to him about not long ago. WILLY What's on your mind, Jenny? JENNY (suddenly looking up) What? I'm sorry, did you say something, Willy? WILLY You just look like you're thinking hard about something. JENNY Oh, yes, I am. Nothing in particular, though. Just running a few things through. BUCKY (seating himself beside her) Anything you can make a conversation out of? JENNY (grinning at Bucky) I think you know the answer to that. BUCKY (rolling eyes) Yes, I do. It's always something we're not supposed to know. JENNY (after a moment) There is one thing, though, that I do want to mention. DEADEYE (in jest) I can't believe what I'm hearin', mateys! Jenny's actually gonna talk about somethin' that's on her mind! Jenny's grin quickly goes away as she directs her attention to Deadeye. Deadeye just gives Jenny a grin of his own. DEADEYE Sorry, lass, couldn't resist. BUCKY What is it, Jenny? JENNY Didn't you say a while back that you've heard some things about Dallion's race? BUCKY I heard a few details about Luporians from my mentor, yes. JENNY What all did he mention? BUCKY Nothing much. He mostly just used them as an example to me that one can live without modern-day conveniences when he was training me with survival skills. Other than the "naturalist" trait of Luporians, I really don't know anything. JENNY Is that all that he knew? Did you ever question him directly about them? BUCKY I did once. He told me that all he knew about them was what I just mentioned. He also told me that as far as he knew, no one had seen a Luporian for several hundred years. WILLY (breaking in) Until now. BUCKY (snapping a finger) Oh, there was one other thing he said. He told me that Luporians were protectors of nature above all else. WILLY You mean like they fought against anything that polluted the environment or something? BUCKY Something like that, but I can't be really sure. WILLY (joking) My parents would like them, then. DEADEYE (thinks) What do ye suppose his thoughts are on things like climate converters, then? JENNY I would guess that he's totally against such devices. He already dislikes technology as it is, and a climate converter is a device that unnaturally manipulates environments. Knowing him, he'd do everything in his power to destroy them. BUCKY That sounds about right ... (beat) What do you know about them, Jenny? JENNY Not much, either. I just remember being told stories about them when I was a child. (sits back) I, myself, had heard about them being naturalists. However, it was said that all of a sudden one day, their entire race just disappeared. WILLY Do you suppose that was when Dallion's race migrated away from other races? JENNY Maybe. Maybe no one expected them to use space vehicles and just thought that they had vanished. DEADEYE An' why didn't ye think he would fight for th' UAC? JENNY The Luporians were said to keep to themselves. They didn't get involved with the affairs of outside societies. From that, I believe the only reason Dallion is hell-bent on killing toads is because of what they did to him. He's in a circle of vengeance. BUCKY Aren't we all? The group turns attention to Bucky. BUCKY I know we all say we're fighting to free the aniverse from toad oppression, but isn't it also our own personal want for revenge that drives us? (looks at Deadeye) Your injuries and hardships ... (looks at Bruiser) Your brother ... (looks at Jenny) Our families ... (beat) We were all changed by the toads. (looks at Deadeye) You're a pirate that now fights with the federation that was always out to arrest him and his kind. (looks at Willy) You never would have been here if it wasn't for that photon accelerator malfunction from battle damage. (looks at Jenny) I was born the runt of my family, and your race isn't known for getting involved with outer societies much either. A few moments are spent in silence. BUCKY And then there's Dallion -- gone from a naturalist's lifestyle to embrace technological warfare. (beat) I guess we've all been changed against our wills, in a sense. DEADEYE (to Jenny) What about Dallion sayin' that his kind had "ways" to destroy toad ships? You seemed to know somethin' about that. JENNY I remember the Luporians being described as a mystical race, but no one really knows any details on that. WILLY (a little surprised) Oh, really? Mystical as in magical? JENNY I believe so. BUCKY (thinking) (thinks for a moment) So, you believe they have powers, but you don't know for sure what they're capable of? JENNY Yes. BUCKY (turning to the others, in a flat tone) Well, that sounds familiar. Jenny's brows tighten together as she stands up. JENNY (severe tone) All right, that's it! (pointing) One more wisecrack out of any of you ... BUCKY (holding paws up, interrupting) Calm down, Jenny. It was just a joke. I didn't mean to offend you. Jenny takes a hard deep breath that ensures the silence of the others. She turns and steps up to a window and looks out it. Outside the Righteous, Dallion clings to the underside of the shuttle as it heads toward an orbital station in the distance. SCENE 14 - ORBITAL STATION The transport docks with the station. Dallion, who is still on the underside of the shuttle, begins to move along the bottom of the orbital station. Using short, controlled bursts from his thrusters, he slowly makes his way back to the Righteous, hoping not to be noticed. Dallion finally reaches the end of the docking tube where the Righteous is resting. He moves around it to the main airlock door, where he realizes that he has forgotten one little detail. He cannot open the door from the outside. SCENE 15 - DOCKING TUBE The crew walks together to the Righteous. As they approach their ship, they notice that Dallion is nowhere in sight. BRUISER Hey, where's dat wolf at? WILLY Maybe he's inside the ship. The group enters into the ship to look around for Dallion, but there's still no sign of him. Bruiser notices that his personal locker is open and that something is missing. BRUISER Uh, Cap'n? I think Dallion took my space helmet. BUCKY What? Why would he ... someone check with Blinky to see if he saw where Dallion went. JENNY (tapping on Bucky's shoulder while pointing at Blinky on the floor) I don't think Blinky saw anything, Captain. BUCKY I'm starting to get annoyed with this disappearing crap. Just then, everyone hears a knocking sound on the hull of the ship. Bucky raises an ear to find that the sound is coming from the outer airlock door. He walks over to the airlock panel and activates a view screen that shows the outside of the ship at the outer doors. WILLY (noticing Dallion) There he is. What's he doing out there? BUCKY I don't know, but he shouldn't be out there. Bucky opens the outer doors, and after a few moments, the inner doors open to show Dallion, crouched, of course, on the deck. Bucky walks up to him as Dallion removes Bruiser's helmet. BUCKY What were you doing out there? DALLION (after a moment) I feel more comfortable out in space. BUCKY Maybe I should tell you that you could have been arrested for being out there. DALLION Arrested? BUCKY If authorities saw you out there around my ship, you would be considered an unauthorized person in an authorized area and would have been suspected of tampering with UAC frigates. DALLION (sounding unconcerned) Well ... I guess that I will have to remember that, Captain. BRUISER What're you doin' wit' my space helmet, buddy? DALLION I had no intentions of keeping it, if that is what you are worried about. Suddenly, an alarm sounds from inside the Righteous. Jenny quickly rushes over to a terminal against the wall. She presses a button, and a VOICE comes over the speakers for all to hear. VOICE Crew of The Righteous Indignation, a distress signal from a civilian resort cruiser has been received. They have been attacked by toad fighters. You are the only available ship for this rescue operation. The coordinates have been uploaded to your navigation computers already. Deploy immediately. JENNY (to terminal) This is Jenny, first mate of The Righteous Indignation. We have received your orders and are departing now. Jenny releases the comm button and quickly follows Bucky to the upper deck. Deadeye begins to bring his weapon systems online as Willy enters into engineering. Dallion hands the helmet back to Bruiser as he crawls on all fours out of the airlock room to the main lower deck. The Righteous takes off and jumps into hyperspace. SCENE 16 - UPPER DECK, THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION Jenny brings the Righteous out of hyperspace. Just off in the distance, the damaged cruiser sits motionless. BUCKY There it is. Scan the ship for passengers, Jenny. JENNY Aye-aye. (after scanning for a few minutes) Nobody's home, Captain. They must have all been taken prisoner by the toads. BUCKY Then there must have been a slave carrier involved in this. Scan the area for any ion trails. Most toad slave carriers can't hyperjump. JENNY (scanning) You're right, Bucky. I've got multiple ion streams proceeding in the same direction. And judging by the density of the trails, I would say that they can't be too far from here. BUCKY Good, then we have a chance of catching them. JENNY But what about Dallion? Can we trust getting him involved in this? Rescue operations are a lot more delicate than just destroying a fleet. I have a feeling that Dallion will just kill as many toads as possible with little or no regard for the prisoners. BUCKY You read my mind, Jenny. I'm going to tell Dallion that either he joins us and does things my way or we dump him off here. I hope he decides to follow my orders, because I have a idea how to use him. DALLION And that would be? Bucky and Jenny both turn to look behind them to see Dallion's head sticking up through the ladder access. SCENE SHIFTS TO LOWER DECK Bucky, Jenny, Dallion, and Willy are gathered around Blinky, who is projecting a virtual image of a toad slave carrier. DALLION Yes, O'Hare, I am familiar with this type of ship. It is a kind that I cannot get close to, for some reason I do not know of. BUCKY You mean, close enough in order to slash it apart? DALLION Yes. BUCKY It's not just you. You can't get to its surface because it has a shield around it. DALLION Shield? What kind of shield? Bucky finds Dallion's question somewhat stupid, but he reminds himself that Dallion wouldn't know everything about technology. BUCKY The shield is made of energy invisible to the naked eye. Their shields used to only deflect maser blasts, plasma blasts, and other forms of energy, but now, they act like a solid wall that nothing can pass through. DALLION So how do you get to the ship? BUCKY Well, we can fire upon the ship's shields until it collapses, but that takes way too long. It gives the toads too much time to call for reinforcements. (beat) So, that's why we have to find a way around it. DALLION Is this what you need me for? BUCKY Yes, we need someone who can slip around unseen. You said that you have your own cloaking device, right? Dallion looks down at his right arm and presses a button. His body turns into a ghostlike image. He presses it again and becomes normal. DALLION Yes. What do you need from me? BUCKY Let me explain ... (clears throat) Every toad slave carrier has anywhere from four to eight escort fighters in a formation around it with backup fighters docked inside the carrier's bay. Dogstar has a procedure for attacking one. The computer makes an animated virtual image to go along with Bucky's instructions. BUCKY One, we close in on them and destroy as many of their escort fighters as quickly as possible. This will force them to deploy their backup fighters. During this time, the unseen person is waiting just outside of the carrier's shields. Two, the carrier must lower its shields in order for the backups to leave the carrier. It is here that the unseen person sneaks onto the carrier's surface. Three, once the unseen person is on the surface ... Bucky opens up a compartment in the wall and produces several triangular devices. BUCKY ... he takes these mines and plants them in these three locations. Three red marks appear on the virtual carrier image. BUCKY (pointing out the marks) Planting a mine at these two marks will disable their main thrusters, and a mine here will damage its shield generators and communication devices. WILLY But isn't destroying the surface of the carrier a risk to depressurizing the inside? BUCKY No, these mines are specially calibrated to prevent that from happening. The explosions won't dig too deep into the ship's hull -- only deep enough for the cause. Also, this third position will also damage a main power line and disable most of the ship. That will keep the hostages safe while we attack. WILLY How? BUCKY The toads will definitely try to get us to stop by threatening to kill the slaves. The slaves will all be locked up in the holding cells in the back sections of the ship and sealed behind heavy doors. Without power, those security doors won't open and the toads won't be able to get to them -- at least, not until they restore the power. That's why we have to work fast. Bruiser and I will board the slave ship as soon as the shields are disabled. Jenny, Deadeye, and Dallion will see to it that the rest of the fighters are destroyed. Jenny, contact Genus and have them prepare a passenger ship to be standing by to pick up the prisoners as soon as things are under control. JENNY Aye-aye, Captain. BUCKY Bruiser? BRUISER Yes, Cap'n? BUCKY Give Dallion your helmet. SCENE 17 - COMMAND DECK, GREEMAN'S SHIP Greeman sits in his captain's chair, overlooking the pilots and navigators. Greeman appears to be bored by his sitting posture. He sits straight up, however, when he hears a small alarm coming from one of the terminals. GREEMAN (commanding tone) What is that, nav fifty-two? NAV FIFTY-TWO I'm picking up another ship in our vicinity. GREEMAN I want it identified. Whose ship is ... Greeman is silenced by the rumbling of the ship and loud explosions. A view screen shows an image of the Righteous making a quick pass overhead. GREEMAN What is going on? Report! PILOT Sir, we just lost half of our escorts! It's a UAC frigate! GREEMAN Any others? NAV FIFTY-TWO No sir, just that one. GREEMAN Have all of the backup fighters released, now! Do it before that ship makes another pass and catches us with our shields down. Destroy that ship! Greeman and the rest of the crew on deck watch the main views to see the ships leaving dock to engage the Righteous. It's a very weak fight, as they are quickly blasted out of the stars by Deadeye. Greeman becomes edgy as the Righteous begins to direct its fire on the carrier's shields. NAV FIFTY-TWO Sir, we're helpless! We have no more defenders, and there's nothing we can do to keep them from destroying our shields. They won't last long enough for reinforcements to arrive! GREEMAN Then we negotiate with them. We have the advantage of hostages that they are, no doubt, here to save. Hail them on a comm channel! COMM CONTROLER (after a moment) The channel is open to you, sir. GREEMAN (aloud) UAC. frigate! I demand that you cease your attack, or else I will begin to terminate our slaves ... one right after another. Just shortly after his words, the Righteous stops firing. Greeman grins devilishly to himself as he signals for the COMM CONTROLLER to mute the link. GREEMAN Make a call for a fleet of fighters -- the more the better. I'll stall them here in a little hostage standoff to buy time for them to arrive. COMM CONTROLER Yes, sir. Just as the controller presses a button, the ship shakes violently as extremely loud explosions are heard. A fraction of a second later, the deck goes dark, view screens go black, and all comm terminals give nothing but static. GREEMAN (regaining his balance) What the hell?! PILOT Sir, we've just lost our two main thrusters, and the power core has been damaged! GREEMAN Where's my back-up? COMM CONTROLER All communications are inoperable! GREEMAN How about auxiliary power? NAV FIFTY-TWO Will have aux power in three, two, one, now. The lights come on, but they are not fully lit. The comm views are still offline, but some sensors are working. NAV FIFTY-TWO Sir, I'm picking up intruders near the bay area. GREEMAN I want all soldiers on board to engage the intruders. Bring me their heads! I also want a team of five soldiers to go down to the holding cells and kill a few of the slaves to show them that I will not tolerate this. All of the soldiers on the deck salute and shout "yes, sir" before priming their weapons and charging out the door. After all have left, Greeman grabs his own blaster and charges it up. GREEMAN (to himself) I will force them to surrender to me, or else they will have the blood of my slaves on their paws! Greeman holsters his gun and turns to leave the deck, but he is stopped in his tracks by the sound of frantic screaming coming from down the corridor. Without warning, the entire squad of soldiers rushes back onto the command deck, screaming all the way and knocking Greeman to the floor. Greeman slowly sits up to look back down the hallway to hear heavy footsteps coming closer. Greeman then sees Bruiser running full speed toward him. In a natural reaction, Greeman screams at the top of his lungs. Bruiser runs up right in front of Greeman and then punches him in the face, knocking him out cold. SCENE 18 - BACK CORRIDORS, GREEMAN'S SHIP Jenny and Deadeye run as fast as they can toward the holding cells. Only a few lights are operational, leaving the corridors dim. JENNY Hurry, Deadeye, we need to get to the prisoners as soon as possible. DEADEYE I'm runnin' as fast as I can, lassie! They dart down the hallways and cut around corners. However, at one corner, Deadeye's feet slip out from under him, sending him hard onto the floor, just missing taking Jenny with him. As soon as she stops and regains her balance, she notices what caused Deadeye to slip. Even with the poor lighting, Jenny can see the pool of blood on the floor that is smeared from Deadeye's boot. JENNY (covering her mouth, in a low voice) Oh no ... we're too late ... Suddenly, a loud scream echoes from down the hallway that sounds like a cry for help. DEADEYE (getting to his feet and pulling out his blasters) No, we ain't. (starts running toward the screams) Come on, lass! Jenny quickly gets up and follows after Deadeye. As they continue on, they see more blood lining the floor and walls, and the screams get louder. The trails of blood then stop at a large set of double doors from which the cries for help seem to be coming. Jenny pulls out her blaster and presses the open switch, but the door doesn't open. DEADEYE Their auxiliary power must not be enough to power these doors! Them toads must'a been in there before the power was blown out. JENNY We need to get in there to save the hostages from the toads! Maybe we can force this door open. DEADEYE We couldn't budge that door, lass! It would take Bruiser and Dallion to break in there. JENNY (grabbing the right door) We have to try something! Deadeye agrees with Jenny as he joins her by grabbing the left door. They both tense up to pull with all of their strength. JENNY Ready, go! They both use all of their might to open the doors, but to their surprise, the doors open up easily -- so easily that they both throw themselves to the floor because of the unexpected ease. Deadeye hits the floor hard once again as Jenny gracefully rolls back onto her feet. However, she rolls right through one of the largest puddles of blood, getting some of it in her hair. She grits her teeth and raises a lip in disgust. They both then rush into the holding cell to be shocked at what their eyes behold. SCENE 19 - COMMAND DECK, GREEMAN'S SHIP Greeman slowly regains consciousness to find himself tied down in his captain's chair. He looks around to see all of his soldiers tied up and Bucky standing next to him, aiming his blaster at Greeman. BUCKY Good morning. You're under arrest. GREEMAN (spits at him) Filthy mammal! (struggles a bit) I would suggest that you let me go before I order my soldiers to start killing off your mammal friends. BUCKY Look around you. We have all of your soldiers right here. GREEMAN (laughs a bit) All but five. BUCKY You're bluffing. GREEMAN (laughs more) Am I? BUCKY (growing uneasy, pulls out his comm) Jenny, come in! Do you hear ... Bucky is stopped in his words as the door to the deck opens up and a blood-covered Jenny steps through with Deadeye right behind her. Bucky's heart falls through the floor. Greeman begins to laugh out loud. BUCKY Jenny? ... JENNY (in a surprisingly good tone) Don't worry, Bucky. Everything is fine. BUCKY No it isn't. Greeman said he has five soldiers down in the holding cells ready to kill the slaves. JENNY I wouldn't worry about that, Bucky. Greeman's laughing stops dead. GREEMAN What? BUCKY What do you mean, Jenny? JENNY Deadeye and I were on our way to the holding cells to make sure that the slaves were all right. On the way there, we started to encounter large amounts of blood on the floor and walls. DEADEYE We was fearin' that it was from the slaves. JENNY But it wasn't. GREEMAN (sounding outraged) What? DEADEYE We followed the blood trail to a holding cell. When we went in, we found that Dallion was there and he had killed several toad soldiers. JENNY (with a smirk, toward Greeman) I think I counted about five bodies. GREEMAN (furious) Damn all of you! BUCKY (relief crossing his face) Messy, but I guess it worked. So, where is Dallion now? JENNY He's scanning the rest of the ship to make sure there are no other free soldiers on board. I guess he proved me wrong. BUCKY What do you mean? JENNY About what I said about him not caring about the slaves. Bucky raises a brow. JENNY When I asked him what he was doing there, he told me he was making sure that no toads got to the hostages. BUCKY I guess we were both wrong about him. Well, get on a comm and send for that passenger ship, and tell them we have several captured toads. JENNY Aye-aye, Captain. BUCKY Deadeye, come with me to release the slaves. Bruiser, stay here and keep an eye on our prisoners. BRUISER Yes, sir. Bucky, Jenny, and Deadeye leave the command deck. Greeman is yelling profanities as they leave. Bruiser knocks him back out to make him shut up. SCENE 20 - HOLDING CELL AREA, GREEMAN'S SHIP Deadeye leads Bucky to the holding cells. Bucky looks around as he notices the blood stains on the floor and walls. Deadeye then brings him to the room where he and Jenny found Dallion. Bucky sticks his head in to see the soldiers that were totally dismembered by Dallion. It looks as though Dallion has bashed their bodies on every surface in the room. BUCKY (a little disgusted) Maybe we had better shut this door to make sure that the civilians don't see all of this. DEADEYE That might be a good idea, Cap'n. Bucky rubs his paws together and grips a side of the door hard. DEADEYE Wait, Cap'n ... Deadeye isn't fast enough to stop Bucky from making the same mistake that he and Jenny did. Bucky pulls the door out of its track and accidentally flings himself onto the floor. BUCKY (getting to his feet) What the? DEADEYE Dallion had already broken the doors. Jenny and I did the same thing. They both laugh for a second, then proceed to the next cell door. At the door, they find Dallion. He is drenched in blood and is standing guard outside of the door. BUCKY Good work, Dallion. It was good thinking of you to get to the holding cells. Are they all in here? DALLION (using his red scanning beam) This room is full of most of them, and there are a few others in the next room. BUCKY Let's get them out of there. Dallion nods and grasps the doors with his claws. He digs his claws between the doors, then pries them open. DALLION I'll go on ahead and open the other one. BUCKY All right, do that, then meet up with the rest of the crew on the command deck. Dallion nods, then turns to go to the next cell as Bucky and Deadeye enter into the holding cell. Cheers from the slaves can be heard. SCENE 21 - COMMAND DECK, GREEMAN'S SHIP Bucky and Deadeye return to the command deck. They pass by Dallion, who is standing at the entrance to the deck. They enter to see Jenny standing with Bruiser and Willy. BUCKY How's my ship, Willy? WILLY Just finished checking it out and found no damage save for a few minor burns. Still in perfect condition. BUCKY Good. (to Jenny) How about the carrier ship? JENNY They're sending two ships here: one civilian carrier and one prison carrier. BUCKY Good. Now, there's just one more problem. JENNY What's that? BUCKY Perhaps the Captain here would like to tell us. Greeman's attention is caught by Bucky's words. He turns his head to face him. GREEMAN I have nothing to tell you. BUCKY The captives said there are three other mammals that are missing. What do you know about that? GREEMAN I have no idea what you are talking about. BUCKY (eyes narrowing) They said that before they were put into the cells, three females were taken out of the group separately. On purpose. Where are they? GREEMAN (defiantly) I have no information for you. BUCKY Perhaps I should let my baboon ask you about it. Greeman swallows hard at that thought. Bruiser steps up closer to Greeman, who begins to yell in fear. This yelling catches Dallion's attention. Dallion turns to look at the source of the screaming. He sees Greeman's face. Dallion locks his view onto Greeman, squinting his eyes. SCENE SHIFTS The scene is depicted through someone's eyes as he is running through a lush grassland. The person looks up to see toad fighters flying through the air, firing down on the ground. The person stops and raises his left arm into view. The arm is covered in a light gray fur with sharp claws protruding from each finger. Growling is heard as the arm is enveloped with what appears to be lightning. The arm is stretched forward, and the lightning is cast out toward a toad fighter, causing it to crash and explode on the ground. The person continues to run until there is a bright flash and a loud explosion. When the light dims, the person appears to be lying on his back, looking up at who appears to be Greeman. Greeman is looking down on the person, laughing and kicking him. SCENE SHIFTS TO GREEMAN'S SHIP Dallion's scanning eye is glowing red. The others don't notice. BRUISER OK, little toadie. Yer gonna tell me where those three girls is at. GREEMAN (panicking) I swear I don't know! Don't hurt me! JENNY He's lying. Bruiser grabs Greeman by the throat. GREEMAN (coughing) OK ... OK ... I'll talk ... BUCKY (tapping his foot impatiently) Well? GREEMAN I don't have them anymore ... BUCKY Where are they? GREEMAN They were sent some ... where else ... JENNY Why did you send them off separately from the other captives? GREEMAN You can't get much worth ... in labor from most females ... (coughs) ... so we get our worth out of them ... (coughs) ... in another way ... BUCKY Where did you send them to? GREEMAN I can't tell you ... I will be killed if I ... told you ... BRUISER (squeezes harder) Dat's too bad, 'cuz I'll kill ya if ya don't tell us! GREEMAN Ack ... (coughs) OK ... I'll tell you ... Bruiser releases his grip. GREEMAN (breaths heavy for a moment) We ... sent them to a ... Greeman is silenced as Dallion rushes in and rams his shoulder into Greeman. Greeman is sent flying through the air, as well as his chair. Bucky and the others jump at Dallion's sudden attack. JENNY Dallion, what are you doing? Dallion doesn't respond. He just stomps over to Greeman, picks him up, and slams him down hard onto the deck. Dallion then lifts him up to his face. DALLION (furious) You were there, you murdering bastard! GREEMAN (semi-conscious, at a total loss) Uhh ... what? DALLION Surely you remember me, don't you? GREEMAN (eyes uncrossing as his mind sharpens a bit) I've never seen you before ... (thinks for a minute) ... have I? BUCKY (commanding tone) Dallion, don't you dare kill him! He might be our only link to finding the missing girls. Put him down. That's an order! JENNY What do you mean by "he was there"? DALLION (to Jenny, but with eyes still focused on Greeman) He is the one responsible for my abduction! (to Greeman) I was only a piece of twisted meat when you captured me. GREEMAN (remembering) I remember now. You're that strange wolf we scooped off of the ground for study. You're wrong. (cocky tone) You were just a piece of *stinking* meat when we found you. Outraged, Dallion hurls Greeman through the air again, sending him crashing against a wall. Dallion wastes no time in grabbing him again. Being thrown around has caused Greeman's ropes to loosen. He is able to reach into his pockets. Dallion lifts Greeman back up to his face. DALLION (rubbing claws together) May there be mercy on your soul, for I will have none for your doomed carcass! BUCKY Dallion, I'm ordering you not to kill him. We need him alive! Dallion turns his head to look at Bucky. BUCKY I mean it, Dallion. Stop this recklessness. Without Dallion watching, Greeman pulls out a small disk-like object and slaps it onto Dallion's neck. The device instantly starts to spark as Dallion roars out loud. Dallion drops Greeman and falls to the floor, somewhat paralyzed. Greeman, getting out of the ropes, jumps up and pulls out a small sphere. He throws it toward the crew, where it explodes into a smokescreen. The crew cough from the smoke as their eyes water and burn. When the smoke clears, Greeman is gone. BUCKY (rubbing eyes, coughing) Dammit! (throws Dallion, who is still on the floor, a very nasty look) Find him! Don't let him get away! JENNY (eyes red, watery, and squinted) A terminal here is showing that ... (coughs) ... someone is activating an escape vehicle in the bay. BUCKY Everyone follow me! We can't let him get away! The crew runs out of the command deck. Dallion has just pulled the disk off of his neck and is slowly getting to his feet while groaning. SCENE 22 - DOCKING BAY, GREEMAN'S SHIP Bucky and his team reach the bay, only to see Greeman lifting off on an escape ship. Everyone draws their blasters and begins firing at the ship, but to no avail, as the escape ship blasts off into space. Bucky stands with clenched fists and grinding teeth as he tries to contain his anger. A loud rumble is heard from behind everyone. They all turn around to see Dallion, thrusters wide open, coming straight at them. Everyone jumps out of the way as Dallion zooms past them. Just before Dallion leaves the air shield, he attaches on Bruiser's helmet. SCENE SHIFTS TO SPACE Dallion exits the ship to see Greeman in the distance. Dallion pushes himself as fast as he can toward Greeman's ship. Just as Dallion is about to get his claws on Greeman, his ship disappears in a blinding flash into hyperspace. DALLION No ... no ... I won't let you get away from me! I will have my revenge! Greeman, I swear by my last breath that I will hunt you down! Dallion flies off into space. SCENE 23 - SLAVE CARRIER DOCKING BAY Half an hour later, several small transports are parked in the bay to carry the hostages and captured toads to the larger carriers that are hovering around the slave ship. Bruiser is carrying about four toads at a time into the prison transports, with Deadeye dragging two behind him. Willy, Jenny, and a few officers are helping the hostages into the other transports. One older male hostage that resembles a Siberian HUSKY stops at the door of the transport and turns to Jenny. HUSKY Did you find my daughter? Where is she? Jenny is cautious with her choice of words to tell him about the situation concerning the three girls. JENNY We're still looking for her. (places her paw on his back, nudging him into the transport) Don't worry; we'll find her. The old husky resists going into the transport for a moment, then goes in. Once all of the hostages and prisoners are aboard the transports, they take off and leave the bay. Only The Righteous Indignation and its crew are in the slave ship now. Willy looks around to see that Bucky is not around. WILLY Where's Bucky? DEADEYE (adjusts his cap) The Cap'n's probably back in th' ship. JENNY Willy, go back up to the command deck and see if you can extract any toad comm channels from their computers so we can deliver them to the spy base. WILLY Aye-aye, Jenny. Willy gives her a quick salute and heads off to the command deck. JENNY Go with him, Bruiser. BRUISER OK. As Bruiser leaves to follow Willy, Jenny and Deadeye turn to enter into the Righteous. Once inside, Deadeye goes to his locker, and Jenny climbs up to the upper deck to find Bucky sitting in his chair and working at a terminal. By the way that Bucky is hitting the keys, Jenny sees that he is still furious about Greeman getting away. Jenny quietly walks up behind him and looks over his shoulder to see what he is doing. The terminal is displaying all of the preprogrammed comm channels that are stored in their computers. Bucky scans the cursor down the list until he highlights an entry with the label "Dallion" beside it. Once highlighted, Bucky hits a few more keys and a message comes on screen asking for a confirmation of deletion. JENNY What are you doing? BUCKY I have no intentions of contacting Dallion ever again. I'm deleting his frequency from our databanks. JENNY Bucky, you're acting on anger. Don't be so rash. BUCKY Jenny, I'm holding Dallion fully responsible for Greeman's escape. I could have a warrant put on his head if I wanted to for interfering with the UAC. JENNY And that is how you'll repay his assistance to us? BUCKY (slamming down a fist) He owed *us*! He got us all captured ... JENNY (interrupting, voice raised) But he got us out. BUCKY (snapping back) But if it wasn't for us, he would be under toad control, and we would have even more trouble to deal with. (beat) Anyway, that's no longer a threat, so as far as I'm concerned, we are not dealing with Dallion anymore. JENNY (thinks about her mission from the Queen) I don't see why we shouldn't. Didn't he prove to give us a little edge where we needed it? BUCKY (sternly) No, what he proved today is that he is unstable, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous. You were absolutely right when you said there was something about Dallion that you didn't quite trust. JENNY Well, how else do you expect someone to react when they come across someone responsible for a tragic point in their life? BUCKY I expect self-control at all times, and that is exactly what Dallion does not have. It was his blinding hatred of toads that got all of us captured back then, and it's what allowed Greeman to escape today. JENNY Self-control, hmm? I suppose that you have *total* self-control by deleting Dallion's entry on a whim like that. BUCKY I ... JENNY (cutting him off) If you were going to have him arrested, wouldn't it be easier to do so if you had his comm channel to lure him into a trap? Bucky opens his mouth, then closes it as he sees the point that Jenny is trying to make. BUCKY (showing defeat in his voice) I guess that ... keeping the channel would be a good idea. (beat) For now. Bucky turns back to the console to select "no" for the delete confirmation. He then returns his attention to Jenny. BUCKY (exhaling deeply) Where's the rest of the crew? JENNY Deadeye is down below, and Willy and Bruiser are on the command deck. BUCKY What for? JENNY I told Willy to see if he could extract the toad's comm channels so they could be delivered to Bottlenose's base for monitoring. BUCKY (silent for a moment) Jenny ... (smiles for the first time in a while) ... I don't know what I would do without you. JENNY (relieved to see Bucky smile) Well, let's just get back to Genus as quickly as possible. BUCKY What's the rush? Jenny doesn't say a word but grabs a large amount of her hair that is stained with dried blood. She gives him a stare as if to question his perception of the obvious. BUCKY Ah. TO BE CONTINUED