"The Polidori Experiment" by Kooshmeister Additions by WatsonSword and Fero McPiglet First draft - 9/11/04 Second draft - 11/08/06 Final draft - 2/16/10 Edited by Rygar SCENE 1 - BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION A cargo ship sits in the only hangar of a refueling space station converted into a research lab, which orbits a barren, insignificant planet. DR. LAWRENCE POLIDORI, a gray panther, stands with DR. BORG, another panther, watching as the PILOT and CO-PILOT carry a crate marked "Chemical Equipment -- Fragile" down the disembarking ramp. Stacks of other recently delivered supply crates sit nearby. BORG All right, put that one on the cart. The pilot and co-pilot lift the crate onto a wheeled cart sitting nearby. POLIDORI Hurry it up, would you? PILOT Hey, relax, Doc. We'll be done in a minute. CO-PILOT Yeah, we thought you'd be glad to see us, what with us being the only cargo ship that ever comes by here. Polidori sighs and rolls his eyes, impatient. The pilot trots back up the disembarking ramp and disappears into the cargo hold. POLIDORI We have some important work we'd like to get back to, and this equipment is vital. The pilot now reappears carrying a clipboard and a pencil. PILOT Sign here. Polidori takes both and scribbles his signature on the delivery form, then hands the clipboard and pencil back to the pilot, who smiles and tips his cap. PILOT Pleasure doin' business with ya, Doc. Paying them no more mind, Polidori turns and walks across the hangar, stepping through a large set of double doors. Borg follows, pushing the wheeled cart with the crate on it. The two doctors are seemingly unconcerned with the other crates of supplies. The pilot and co-pilot watch them leave. PILOT (to co-pilot) C'mon, let's go. The pilot and co-pilot run up the disembarking ramp and into the ship. The co-pilot looks especially relieved. CO-PILOT Man, am I glad we won't have to come back here for another four months. This place gives me the creeps. What do they do in there, anyway? PILOT I dunno, and it don't pay to ask, right? CO-PILOT Heh. Yeah, I hear ya. That Dr. Polidori sure is an odd one. The ramp closes after the pilot and co-pilot. The cargo ship takes off a moment later. SCENE 2 - MAIN LAB, BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION The lab is a large room dominated by a large glass, fluid-filled cylinder with a kind of centrifuge inside of it. Around it on a circular shelf are five large glass nutrient tanks filled with clear liquids. They are connected by a series of tubes, with wires running from them to the giant cylinder. There are numerous control panels with dials, gauges, and switches. Lab assistants scurry about. Polidori sits at a worktable near them, looking into a microscope, with Borg alongside him. They look up as another panther, DR. BYNER, enters. POLIDORI The new cell cultures are ready. BYNER What about the histo-connection problem on the vapor-applicator? BORG It's been fixed. There shouldn't be any snags this time. POLIDORI Good. Then we're ready to begin. Polidori stands and approaches the nutrient tanks. The other two scientists follow. BYNER What about Genus? Are we going ahead without hearing from them? POLIDORI (waves him silent) Now that we finally have the new chemical infusion equipment I ordered, I want to go ahead without any delays, and that includes those bothersome progress reports to Genus. Borg and Byner exchange nervous glances. POLIDORI Now, take your positions. Polidori, Borg, and Byner assume their positions and begin the experiment. Switches are flipped. Levers are pulled. Electronic equipment hums to life, and colored liquids flow through spiraling glass tubes. The centrifuge inside the gigantic cylinder begins to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until the fluid inside is whirled into a bubbling frenzy. The contents of the nutrient tanks begin changing colors. The liquid turns from clear to varying colors -- pink, then orange, then green -- until the final tank turns red like the first. A flash of red light engulfs the scientists, who shield their eyes. Suddenly, everything goes black, and there is only the sound of shattering glass. SCENE 3 - THE DUWITT RESIDENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH It's around ten p.m. A nondescript car pulls up to the road just outside the DuWitt residence. WILLY DUWITT sits in the front passenger seat, his right arm bandaged up. The SECURITY OFFICER from Francisco Middle School sits in the driver's seat. WILLY This is it. SECURITY OFFICER You want me to come in? WILLY Nah, I got it. Thanks for the ride back home. SECURITY OFFICER I sure wasn't gonna let you take the bus with your arm like that. Willy hops out of the car and walks up to the front door. He steels himself, looking at his superficial wound and knowing there's no way he can hide it from his parents. He pulls his key out, unlocks the door, and steps inside. DR. DAVID DUWITT and MRS. SUSAN DUWITT are sitting in the living room. Dr. DuWitt is reading the newspaper, and Mrs. DuWitt is flipping through a new age catalog. Hearing Willy step through the door, they turn to greet their son and are surprised when they see his bandages. DR. DUWITT Willy? MRS. DUWITT Oh my goodness! What happened? Mrs. DuWitt gets up first and runs over to her son. Dr. DuWitt follows close behind. WILLY It's nothing. It's really superficial. It looks a lot worse than it is. MRS. DUWITT What happened to you? WILLY This bully I used to know in middle school got drunk and came at me with a knife. Dr. and Mrs. DuWitt get horrified looks on their faces. MRS. DUWITT But why? Why would he possibly want to hurt you? WILLY He flunked out, and, uh, he blamed me for ruining the curve. DR. DUWITT Did you fight back? Willy pauses. His desire not to lie to his parents is overpowered by his desire not to get into an argument with them about fighting. WILLY No. I just kept my distance until the security guard took care of him. He was pretty drunk, so it wasn't hard to just stay away from him. MRS. DUWITT Does it hurt? I can go get the willow bark ... WILLY No, I'm fine. Really. It stopped bleeding and everything. Mrs. DuWitt gets up and scurries to the kitchen just the same. DR. DUWITT I'm sorry I made you go, Willy. I thought it would be good for you. WILLY No, dad, it was. I'm actually really glad I went. DR. DUWITT Really? WILLY Yeah, actually. I saw Susie and this other guy I used to know, and we caught up. We're going to hang out sometime. MRS. DUWITT (beaming as she returns to the room) Oh, Willy, that's so wonderful! You really do need to make more friends. I'm proud of you. WILLY Thanks, mom. (beat) In a way, I'm also kinda glad this happened. Willy motions toward his bandaged arm. Dr. DuWitt looks at him quizzically. DR. DUWITT And why is that? WILLY It really helped me think about things. It kinda crystallized in my mind what I've been thinking about the aniverse. About why I've been fighting. DR. DUWITT And why is that? WILLY Doug, and everyone like him. KOMPLEX turned a whole species into that. They take, and kill, and abuse, and they don't care how much pain they cause. You can't reason with them, and they'll never stop. They'll never stop until someone makes them. That's why I'm fighting. The DuWitts mull over their son's explanation. MRS. DUWITT You know we've tried to raise you not to think like that, Willy. WILLY Well, if someone had raised Doug like you raised me, things would have turned out differently. But someone has to stop the Dougs of the world. And in the aniverse, that's going to be me. DR. DUWITT I can't say I agree with your willingness to fight, son, but I can't ... (beat) I can't deny that what you're saying does make sense. WILLY (hopeful) So does this mean you're OK with it? Dr. and Mrs. DuWitt exchange glances. MRS. DUWITT It means we're OK with it, son. As long as you stay safe, you can do what is important to you. Willy lets this sink in. WILLY Thanks, mom. DR. DUWITT We love you, son. WILLY I love you guys, too. SCENE 4 - UAC HEADQUARTERS, GENUS A shuttle bus pulls up to the curb outside the large office block that comprises the UAC's main offices, observed from inside the main lobby by GILLY STEPHENSON, a nervous-looking gopher in a business suit and bowtie. As the bus slowly comes to a halt, the side doors open with an annoying metallic squeal and various UAC personnel and office workers begin filing out. Among them is RENFIELD BILLINGS, carrying a black briefcase, and to Stephenson's surprise, he is talking to a young male hare in a suit named DAWSON MACKENZIE. RENFIELD Thanks for sitting next to me on the bus. These morning commutes are such a bore. It was refreshing to have someone to talk to. DAWSON Don't mention it! Dawson smiles at Renfield as the pair enter the building. Renfield shifts his briefcase from one paw to the other and looks a bit nervous, as though he doesn't really know how to handle social interaction. All he can do is mirror Dawson's smile. RENFIELD You don't know how happy I was when I found out we worked in the same building. DAWSON I know. Just on different floors. As Renfield and Dawson walk, Stephenson moves to intercept them, looking like he's in a hurry. STEPHENSON Renfield. Renfield, so focused on Dawson, is surprised by the gopher's approach and steps back, his paw going to his chest. RENFIELD Oh! Stephenson, you startled me! STEPHENSON Sorry. I saw you over here. Figured I'd come over and say hi. RENFIELD That's quite all right, Stephenson. Jumpstarts the old heart and all that. Anyway, um, this is ... Dawson, wasn't it? DAWSON That's right. (shakes Stephenson's paw) Dawson Mackenzie. Dawson looks at his watch. DAWSON And I've got to run. It's past seven already. It's hell working in the records department. Morgenstern is a slave driver, I tell you! (chuckling good-naturedly) But it was nice meeting you, Renfield. Turning, Dawson heads off toward the nearest elevator and gets in, along with a few other office workers. Renfield doesn't take his eyes off of him until the elevator doors close. There is a strange mixture of fascination, attraction, and something else in his gaze. Finally, he shakes it off and turns back to Stephenson, who watches him expectantly. RENFIELD Nice fellow. Anyway, I've got the latest census papers the Chairman wanted. Renfield gives the briefcase a slap, and then he and Stephenson walk over to another elevator. Stephenson presses the call button. STEPHENSON How come you keep offering to do little favors for the Chairman? RENFIELD I'm not blind, Stephenson. Bucky never gives me any reports or anything, but Dogstar never asks me. He clearly just wants to meet directly with his top Captain. I mean, I would! (beat) So I offer to do other things to keep myself useful. I want to actually contribute ... and I want to be valuable in case Dogstar decides to stop pretending he needs me as Bucky's liaison. Stephenson eyes Renfield with an insincere smile as the elevator gives off a low ding. The doors of the elevator slide open, and the pair step inside. SCENE 5 - CHAIRMAN DOGSTAR'S OFFICE, GENUS CHAIRMAN SIRIUS DOGSTAR sits at his desk, looking at a sheet of paper with a look of concentration on his face. He slowly reads it, then flips it over and reads the sheet stapled to it. DOGSTAR This is most unusual, Engineer DuWitt. Willy, in plainclothes, stands at Dogstar's desk, a look of determination on his face. His arm is no longer bandaged. WILLY You can take it or leave it, Dogstar. DOGSTAR You realize that we usually go through a rigorous screening process before we hire a new scientist to work in the UAC Laboratory Division. And I have certainly never had such a request couched in a resignation letter. WILLY If the years I've served for S.P.A.C.E. aren't rigorous enough for you, then I don't see how anyone gets hired. DOGSTAR (musing) The hiring process usually takes at least three weeks. WILLY I created the mark-5, for Pete's sake! I probably understand your technology better than ninety-nine percent of the mammals in the aniverse. Screw regulation for once in your life and give me a lab. DOGSTAR Well ... (beat) As much as it would please me to see you back on active duty, that replacement of yours has seemed to work out fairly well. And of course, I couldn't force you to serve even if I wanted to. Willy looks at Dogstar expectantly. DOGSTAR Do you think you can find a way through the toads' defenses? WILLY I'm your best hope. Dogstar thinks for one more minute before responding. DOGSTAR Fine, I'll sign the authorization papers and get you the proper security clearance. You are officially relieved of your duty as engineer of The Righteous Indignation, and your new position will be that of a research scientist in our mechanical technology laboratories. Willy grins. WILLY Thank you, Dogstar. DOGSTAR (extending his paw) I wish you the very best of luck, Engineer DuWitt. WILLY (shaking Dogstar's paw) Willy. It's just Willy. DOGSTAR Ahem. Yes, right. Willy. Come back this time tomorrow, and we will discuss your new assignments. Dismissed. A smile on his face, Willy exits the room, looking the happiest in the aniverse he's been in quite some time. SCENE 6 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION The next day, The Righteous Indignation cruises along. CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE is in the command chair, looking his usual serious self. The comm buzzes. Bucky leans forward and activates it. BUCKY (into comm) What is it, Deadeye? DEADEYE (over comm) Cap'n, we've been out here for hours, and we ain't seen any stinkin' toadies! Bucky sighs and rolls his eyes. Sitting nearby in the pilot's seat, FIRST MATE JENNY just nods. BUCKY Welcome to the new status quo, Deadeye. DEADEYE Well, if we ain't gonna croak some toads, might I suggest we head home instead a' just cruisin' around, findin' nothin'? BUCKY I know you're restless, Deadeye. We all are. But this is a patrol, and we're going to follow our orders. We can only hope something exciting happens soon. Bucky switches off the comm and leans back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Suddenly the instruments beep. Jenny leans forwards and examines them. BUCKY Well, how about that. Jenny checks the monitor. An irritated look appears on her face. JENNY Lucky you. It's Mimi. The Screaming Mimi comes out of hyperspace and slows to a stop alongside the Righteous. CAPTAIN MIMI LAFLEUR's voice comes through the comm. MIMI (over comm) Hi, Bucky. BUCKY (into comm) Mimi, what are you doing here? MIMI Special order from Dogstar. My crew and I have been sent to relieve you and yours and take over patrolling this sector. BUCKY That's weird. Why? MIMI Wouldn't say why. All I know is that he wants you to report to Genus at once. BUCKY OK. Thanks, Mimi. (turns to Jenny) All right, looks like it's back to Genus for us. SCENE 7 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION, ORWELL STATION The Righteous Indignation is docked above Genus. Bucky, Jenny, AFC BLINKY, GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK, BRUISER, and ENGINEER MIKE MARISON emerge from the airlock and enter a connecting hallway linking the airlock to the rest of the space station. Bucky turns to the crew. BUCKY Jenny, you come with me. The rest of you, you know the drill. Deadeye, Blinky, Bruiser, and Mike salute. DEADEYE Right, Cap'n. Refuel, re-provision. Give 'er the ol' spit 'n' polish. Bucky nods, and then he and Jenny turn and walk off down the hallway, where they are met by Renfield, who smiles cordially. RENFIELD Hey, Bucky. Jenny. So good of you to make it here on such short notice. BUCKY (raising an eyebrow) I didn't know being a welcoming committee was part of your job description. RENFIELD Well, it isn't, really, but I figured I should make myself available in case you ever need anything. BUCKY (musing) OK. RENFIELD Excellent. Now then. If you'll accompany me? Renfield beckons with a finger and turns, walking down the hall. JENNY Do we really need an escort to Dogstar's office? RENFIELD (ears drooping) I ... suppose not. BUCKY It's OK. You're just trying to be helpful. (walking with Renfield) Do you know what this is all about? RENFIELD No clue, but I'm sure the Chairman will be happy to answer all your questions. BUCKY Heh. That would be a first for a Chairman. SCENE 8 - CHAIRMAN DOGSTAR'S OFFICE, GENUS Bucky and Jenny enter the Chairman's office, followed by Renfield. Dogstar is behind his desk, jotting something down on a piece of paper, looking busy. Seated in one of the chairs in front of Dogstar's desk is DR. REGINALD WILLARD, a thin, sleepy-eyed bear in a suit. Smiling, Dogstar rises to greet Bucky and Jenny, as does Dr. Willard. Renfield takes his leave. DOGSTAR Welcome back, Bucky, old chap. Dogstar gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. DOGSTAR Please, have a seat. Bucky and Jenny sit, and Willard remains standing as Dogstar walks back around and parks himself behind his desk. DOGSTAR Now then, to business. I'm sure you're wondering why I've brought you here. BUCKY It had crossed my mind, yes. DOGSTAR This is Dr. Willard, from the Fara Foundation. He's come to me with some very alarming information about one of our deep-space research stations. Willard nods in greeting to Bucky and Jenny, who return the gesture. DOGSTAR It seems as though we've lost contact with Bio-Vector Labs. It's ... well, I believe Willard can explain things better than I can. Dr. Willard? Dr. Willard nods and clears his throat. He's a slow speaker and kind of dull. Bucky and Jenny give him their full attention nonetheless. WILLARD Bio-Vector is one of the Coalition's most important research stations, funded through the Fara Foundation here on Genus. The facility is headed by Dr. Lawrence Polidori, one of the most brilliant doctors in the aniverse. He's a little off, if you get my meaning, but researchers are like that. BUCKY Where is it? WILLARD In orbit around Grimsdyke, a planet with a harsh climate and no intelligent life we know about. (beat) Now, Polidori's only contact with us is in the form of weekly progress reports. About five days ago, Polidori was late with his weekly report. All our efforts to make contact with him or anyone else on the space station have met with failure. BUCKY I see. And let me guess ... (looks at Dogstar) ... you want me and my crew to go out there and take a look. DOGSTAR Astute as always, Bucky. You and your crew leave for Bio-Vector immediately, and you'll be taking Dr. Willard with you as well. The foundation wants some of its people to be on hand. BUCKY Any reason you chose me instead over any of the other new captains? DOGSTAR I don't have to tell you you're the one with the most field experience. If something went wrong on that station, you're the team best equipped to handle it. BUCKY At least it's something to do. SCENE 9 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION, ORWELL STATION Bucky and Jenny stand outside their ship as Willard approaches with two other doctors: DR. SUSAN HARMON, an older female fox, and DR. EDWIN JUTTSON, a young male squirrel. WILLARD This is Captain O'Hare. May I present Dr. Harmon and Dr. Juttson. They'll be accompanying us. Bucky and Jenny nod in greeting to Harmon and Juttson, who return the gesture. HARMON Don't worry, Captain, we'll try and stay out of your way. Harmon smiles. She has an easygoing, matronly air about her. By contrast, Juttson looks like he'd be more comfortable in a classroom. WILLARD Are we all set? BUCKY Yeah, I think so. All we're waiting on is you and your people to get aboard, Doctor. Willard, Harmon, and Juttson board the ship. Bucky steps into engineering and approaches Mike. BUCKY Mike, you ever heard of a Dr. Lawrence Polidori? MIKE Yeah, actually. I heard that name while I was a student at the Graham Institute. He used to teach there, but I think he quit before I got there. Specialized in biotechnology. BUCKY He's not a nutcase, is he? MIKE Do you think anyone who teaches at Graham *isn't* a nutcase? (smiling) He's probably a bit off, but otherwise completely harmless. That's how all my professors were. (beat) Well, except Professor Prestin, but it's not like he *meant* to blow up the conservatory ... BUCKY (nodding) Blowing stuff up. Good to know. Thanks, Mike. Bucky exits, then climbs into the cockpit and takes his seat. BUCKY Jenny, set a course for the coordinates. JENNY (in doing so) I have a bad feeling about this mission, Bucky. This Bio-Vector is right smack in the middle of nowhere. BUCKY To tell you the truth, I'm uneasy too. I'll take fighting the toads any day over just charging into the unknown like this. (frowns) Ordinarily, I'd be honored that Dogstar chose me for a dangerous mission like this, because he believes in me. But this time ... JENNY (concerned) But what, Bucky? At this point, Willard pops up from below before Bucky can reply. BUCKY (quietly) I'll talk about it later. JENNY Bucky ... BUCKY (sternly) Later, Jenny. Jenny rolls her eyes. JENNY Fine. WILLARD Talk about what? BUCKY Nothing. Jenny finishes entering the coordinates. The Righteous Indignation detaches from Orwell and jumps into hyperspace. SCENE 10 - KOMPLEX'S INNER SANCTUM, TOAD HOMEWORLD The AIR MARSHAL stands before a massive view screen depicting the face of KOMPLEX. FRIX and FRAX stand rigidly at attention behind him. The Air Marshal delivers a report he holds in his hands. He seems a little more tired than usual. AIR MARSHAL We've been informed that the mammals have lost contact with one of their remote research outposts, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX, and that Bucky O'Hare is being sent to investigate. KOMPLEX Excellent, Air Marshal. You've done well. The Air Marshal allows himself a small smile at this praise. AIR MARSHAL Thank you, Oh Mighty KOMPLEX. It is always an honor to serve you. KOMPLEX Silence. Save your flattery. I have no use for it. The Air Marshal gulps and nods. KOMPLEX I have heard of this research station. If the project has grown beyond the mammals' control, then perhaps it can be used against them. Especially considering that many of our current plans are nearing fruition, this new information may be of use to us. (beat) And if Bucky O'Hare's crew is there, we might as well take the opportunity to destroy them. AIR MARSHAL Destroy them? But I thought ... KOMPLEX Do not think too much, Air Marshal. That rodent's crew is to be terminated. He must be kept alive, for reasons you know well. (beat) Send a group of stormtoads and a small contingent of scientists. They can do what they like with the others, but Bucky O'Hare must be kept alive! SCENE 11 - SPACE OUTSIDE BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION The Righteous Indignation comes out of hyperspace. Bucky and Jenny look out the main viewport. Bruiser and Dr. Willard stand behind them. BUCKY I'm assuming that's it. Jenny, see if you can hail the station. I'd like to know if there's anyone worth talking to before we set foot on there. Jenny nods and activates the intercom. JENNY Bio-Vector, this is the S.P.A.C.E. frigate The Righteous Indignation. Requesting permission to board. There is no response, only static. BUCKY Try again. JENNY Bio-Vector, I repeat, this is the S.P.A.C.E. frigate The Righteous Indignation. We have been sent by the United Animals Coalition. Please answer. The static is ominous. Bucky tries the radio himself. BUCKY Bio-Vector, this is Captain Bucky O'Hare of The Righteous Indignation. I demand that you answer our hails. JENNY It's no use, Bucky. They're not answering. After a moment, Bucky sighs and leans back in his chair, looking extremely annoyed. BUCKY Well, it looks we're going aboard ... The Righteous Indignation flies into the hangar and lands. The stacks of crates are where they were left previously. The door opens, and Bucky and Deadeye hop out with their masers drawn, followed by Willard. BUCKY All right, the rest of you stay put until we give the all-clear. Bucky and Deadeye make their way toward the large double doors that mark the entrance into the station proper. Bucky and Deadeye are alert, glancing left and right for any signs of danger. Willard looks at Bucky, who nods, and then the doctor approaches a numerical keypad. He begins inputting a code. BUCKY It looks like the hangar is all clear. (turning back to the ship) All right. Come on. Across the hangar, Jenny exits the ship, followed by Bruiser, Blinky, Mike, Harmon, and Juttson. Bucky turns back to Willard. The keypad beeps belligerently, and Willard pounds it in frustration. WILLARD The code won't work. Must be the emergency lockdown. Only the head researcher has the override code, and that's Dr. Polidori. BUCKY Is there a manual override? WILLARD Yes, but only on the opposite side. BUCKY Hmm. Bucky holsters his maser, then scans the walls. His gaze falls upon a ventilation duct on the right-hand side of the doors. Walking over, he reaches up and manages to pull off the slotted grille covering the duct. There is only darkness beyond. He turns toward the others and motions with his paw. BUCKY Give me a boost. Bruiser lifts Bucky up, and he pries off the grille. After taking a moment to peer inside the duct, he crawls in. The grille falls off the duct on the opposite end, clattering noisily to the floor, and a moment later, Bucky hops down. He takes out a flashlight and turns it on, shining it around the vast room. In the dim light, he can make out a huge, gaping central shaft in the center and several indistinct shapes. Bucky walks forward and immediately stumbles over something in the darkness. After regaining his balance, he turns and shines the flashlight onto the floor behind him. The beam illuminates the body of a scientist in a white lab coat at his feet. Bucky's eyes widen. The scientist is all twisted and shapeless. His facial features are unnaturally elongated and stretched, his eyes bulging out grotesquely and his tongue hanging out. Hastily, Bucky grabs his communicator. BUCKY (into comm) Jenny, we got a casualty. Looks like one of the scientists. But ... JENNY (over comm) But what, Bucky? Bucky bends down and gently prods the scientist's chest with the barrel of his maser. He visibly recoils as the barrel pushes into the body deeply, as though it has no ribs. BUCKY I'm looking at him now. By the Great Mother! His face ... JENNY What about it? BUCKY Well, there's not much of one to speak of. His head's like a deflated beach ball. Turning, Bucky shines the beam to his right and spots a second scientist slumped a few feet away against the wall beside the doors, head hanging down on his chest. BUCKY I see another one. Bucky walks over toward the second corpse. He's sitting upright against the wall, unmoving, a maser pistol beside him. Gently, Bucky touches his shoulder, and suddenly, the scientist's form wobbles and then falls forward, bending in half far too limply, with his head between his legs, his face mushed up, and his tongue flopping out. Wiping his mouth in disgust, Bucky manages to regain his composure and looks around some more. He finds a switch and turns the lights in the hall on before anything else, revealing two more twisted, nearly shapeless bodies lying across the room. Meanwhile, Bucky's crew and the three doctors wait anxiously in front of the double doors. There's a loud groaning sound. The doors begin to open, stop, then resume, sliding open all the way and squeaking loudly in protest. Bucky appears, looking grim. SCENE 12 - MAIN HALL, BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION Everyone is in the main hall now, all crowded around Harmon and Juttson, who are examining the body of the first scientist Bucky found. Bucky, Jenny, Deadeye, Blinky, Bruiser, Mike, and Willard are all in a circle around them. Harmon is keeping her cool, while Juttson looks positively horrified, wide-eyed, and sweaty. HARMON As far as I can tell, the body doesn't seem to have any bones. BUCKY (in disbelief) No bones? HARMON Look. Harmon gingerly lifts one of the corpse's arms, and it bends along the forearm like rubber; there is no visible elbow. She releases it, and it plops back down limply. HARMON You see? BUCKY (nods) Yeah. Do you think it's some sort of disease? Harmon and Juttson stand, composing themselves. Juttson speaks while Harmon ponders. JUTTSON I doubt it. I've never heard of a disease that completely dissolves bone like that. It's just preposterous! BUCKY But you can't be sure? JUTTSON (shakes his head) No. We'd need more sophisticated equipment than what we're carrying in our medical bags. BUCKY Well, this is a research station, isn't it? (to Willard) Where's the lab? WILLARD This way. I know my way around here. Willard beckons for the others to follow and heads toward an elevator. As they head off, they don't notice one of the security cameras turning to follow them. SCENE 13 - MAIN LAB, BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION The group enters Polidori's lab. The room is a shambles. The large cylinder is intact but empty, and the centrifuge inside is broken. All but one of the nutrient tanks is shattered, glass covering the floor along with puddles of fluid. Dr. Borg and two lab assistants lay in the spilled fluid, their bodies seemingly just as deskeletonized as the ones upstairs. The sound of chemicals bubbling fills the room. Bucky and the others survey the scene grimly before entering farther. BUCKY So much for Dr. Polidori. By the Great Mother, what were they doing? JENNY I don't know, but from the look of this place, it didn't come to a peaceful ending. BUCKY OK, it looks safe, but everyone be on your guard. And don't wander off. Everyone takes a quick look around. Bucky looks over and spies a large sealed door nearby. BUCKY What's that? WILLARD I don't know. I don't think I've ever been in there. I think it's just a storage room of some kind. BUCKY Well, I want to see for myself. Bruiser, Deadeye, see if you can get that door open. DEADEYE Aye-aye, Cap'n. Bucky holsters his maser pistols, then motions for Bruiser to follow as the pair head over to the door. Suddenly, Willard calls out. WILLARD There's another one over here. Bucky and Jenny walk around to where Willard is. He's standing on the other side of the smashed nutrient tanks, with the boneless body of Dr. Byner at his feet, the corpse having been previously hidden from view by the tanks. HARMON Captain? Bucky and Jenny look over to where Harmon kneels beside the body of Borg. They walk over, followed by Willard. Juttson is beside her. HARMON They're all like the bodies upstairs. Not a trace of bone in any of them. Harmon and Juttson stand. HARMON Every single one of them, no bones. BUCKY I think we've discovered enough weirdness here to warrant contacting Genus. Bucky pulls out his pocket comm and tries it, but gets only static. BUCKY We must be in a dead zone. We'll have to use the communications center to generate a strong-enough signal. Where is it? WILLARD In the control room, just down the hall. BUCKY Right. Deadeye, how's that door? DEADEYE Zilch, Cap'n. No matter what Bruiser does, he can't get the frellin' thing open. BRUISER (tapping the door) Dere ain't no weak points! Any bomb I use t'open this door'd be strong enough to take all of us out wit' it. JENNY It *is* just a storage room ... according to Dr. Willard, anyway. BUCKY (sighs) It's the first storage room I've seen with reinforced steel doors and key code access. Well, keep at it, Harmon. The sooner we get to the bottom of this mess, the better. HARMON We could collect Polidori's notes and study them. It may give us a lead on what happened. JUTTSON On it. HARMON We could also try an autopsy on one of the bodies. There might be clues as to what caused this ... lack of skeletal structure. (feels the neck) My first guess is fulminant parathyroid disease secondary to parathyroid cancer. It's possible the experiments here gave everyone the same cancer, though any cancer strong enough to melt bones at that rate would be enormous -- vastly bigger than anything in the literature. I don't feel any masses, and parathyroid hormone is metabolized so quickly, we'd never get a good level, even in a vitreous sample. (rambling on) Other cancers can cause similar effects, but again ... BUCKY (nodding in agreement) All right, you two get right to it. Deadeye? You come with me and Jenny. Bruiser, Blinky, Mike, stay here and keep an eye on the doctors. Bucky, Jenny, and Deadeye exit with Willard. Harmon and Juttson proceed immediately to some nearby filing cabinets and open them. They begin digging through them and taking out sheets of paper and books. Bucky, Jenny, Deadeye, and Willard walk down the corridor and come to the door marked "Control Room." Beyond it is a set of stairs leading down into a darker, narrower corridor. They avoid this, and Bucky and Deadeye pry open the stuck doors. Smoke pours into the hallway. Bucky and Deadeye enter first with masers drawn to find that the whole place has been utterly destroyed, apparently in a small firefight, with small fires still burning. Jenny and Willard file in behind Bucky and Deadeye. BUCKY Well, this place certainly got trashed. Bucky looks over at the busted communication equipment. JENNY That explains why no one ever called for help. BUCKY We'd better find a way to communicate with Genus. JENNY Well, with their radio destroyed, it looks like our only option is to use the radio in the Righteous. BUCKY Come on, then. The sooner we get in touch with Genus about this mess, the better. WILLARD Yeah, we might need some help! The group turns and quickly exits the control room. Heading back down the corridor, the four of them stand before the elevator, and Bucky presses the call button. They wait for it. Suddenly, an eerie sound makes them all stop dead in their tracks, wide-eyed. The sound is a piercing, warbling electronic hiss, echoing continuously and rising and lowering in pitch. WILLARD Do you hear that? BUCKY Where's it coming from? They all glance around with varying degrees of confusion and nervousness, trying to find the source of the noise. Jenny's eyes settle on the nearby stairwell they didn't go into earlier. She points. JENNY Bucky, it's coming from there. Bucky, Deadeye, and Willard all turn and follow Jenny's finger. WILLARD Maybe it's just some piece of electronic equipment on the fritz? BUCKY Maybe, but with a space station's worth of dead bodies, I'm not taking any chances. Come on. Bucky approaches the stairwell with his maser pistol drawn, the other three following at a safe distance. Bucky slowly walks down a short flight of steps, with Jenny, Deadeye, and Willard right behind him. The corridor is much narrower than the one previous. Bucky sees a set of double doors at the end of the hall marked "Test Animals." He walks toward them, the electronic warbling becoming louder and louder as he draws nearer and nearer to the doors. He opens them, peering inside. The room is a small lab filled with cages. The electronic hissing is now louder than ever. Jenny, Deadeye, and Willard crowd behind Bucky, all peering over his shoulder trying to see. A green tentacle with suckers slowly slithers around the door down at their feet. They look down and see it, and everyone leaps back at once, Bucky taking his paw off the door. It is kept open by the tentacle instead of automatically swinging shut. BUCKY Everyone get back! The electronic sound increases in volume as a squat green mass that seems to slide along the ground like a snail, a lone tentacle extending from the body, slithers around the open door and into their view. The creature emerges from the room, followed closely by a second one. Bucky and the others react with horror. The creatures slither toward the foursome, then stop, the lead one's lone tentacle waving about blindly in the air. DEADEYE Cap'n, what are those things?! BUCKY Trouble, that's what! Everyone backs up. Bucky grimaces, then aims his maser at the nearest monster and fires. The creature shrieks and is knocked back slightly but does not seem to otherwise be damaged. Deadeye follows suit, and he and Bucky blast away at the creatures, to similarly negligible effect. DEADEYE What's it take t' stop these things?! BUCKY (insistent) Jenny ... Jenny concentrates as she tries to conjure a spell. She opens her eyes, confused. JENNY I ... can't get a lock on them. I can't attack them with anything if I can't focus on them, and something about them prevents me from doing that. BUCKY Well, great. Everybody, get back to the lab *now*. They all turn to flee, only to skid to a halt as a third creature has now appeared between them and the stairs. They back up against the wall, but Willard isn't fast enough. A tentacle suddenly grabs him by the leg. This unbalances Willard, and he begins to scream loudly. BUCKY Dr. Willard! Loud slurping and crunching sounds seem to emanate from Willard's body. Willard's eyes bulge out, and suddenly, his entire head appears to shrink, his skull seeming to cave in, his mouth going slack, and a trickle of blood dribbling out as his screams degenerate into rasping gurgles. After a few seconds, Willard finally collapses, his body seeming to flatten as his bones get liquefied and sucked out. Even Deadeye looks close to throwing up. Before long, the creature is finished with its meal, and Willard looks deflated and floppy in seemingly oversized clothes. The creature then resumes slithering toward the three remaining mammals, as do the two that emerged from the "Test Animals" room. Suddenly, the monsters stop dead in their tracks, their tentacles dropping to the floor and retracting. Everyone looks confused until, one by one, the creatures split apart down the middle, separating into two complete creatures. There are now twice as many of them. BUCKY Oh, this is bad. DEADEYE This ain't happenin'! No way! BUCKY Bad, bad, bad, bad! The six monsters remain still for a moment. BUCKY Well, it's now or never. Let me try and get by them first. Bucky starts forward, carefully stepping around Willard's body and the two newly spawned creatures at his feet. Nothing happens, and he makes it past them safely, already on the stairs. He motions for Jenny and Deadeye to follow. BUCKY All right, come on. Jenny and Deadeye step around Willard's corpse and the creatures and make it to Bucky. Slowly, the creatures begin to stir, their tentacles raising and reaching toward the crewmembers. They resume emitting their electronic noises as the three mammals run up the stairs. Bucky, jenny, and Deadeye race back to the lab, where Harmon and Juttson are busy working, away from the mess of the shattered tanks. Harmon is dissecting the corpse of Dr. Byner, who lies stretched out on a worktable. She is dressed head-to-toe in protective gear. Juttson meanwhile is sitting down, examining the scientific notes they got out of the filing cabinets. Mike is in the corner, looking a little green; the autopsy is apparently a bit much for him. Bruiser stands behind Juttson, Blinky beside Harmon, both of them watching the two doctors silently with interest. Blinky doesn't seem to mind the autopsy, but Bruiser seems to prefer hovering around the paperwork, despite it not being exactly within his scope of understanding. Suddenly, Bucky, Jenny, and Deadeye come charging back into the lab. The sound of scuffling feet makes Bruiser, Blinky, Mike, and the doctors look up and over at the doors. Harmon and Juttson rise and approach them, Harmon still wearing her surgical gloves. HARMON (through her respirator mask) Captain O'Hare, where's Dr. Willard? BUCKY Uh, I'm afraid he's ... Suddenly, everyone hears the electronic echo of the creatures. Harmon's eyes widen, and she points past Bucky, at the open doors. HARMON What in the aniverse are those things? Bucky, Jenny, and Deadeye whirl around to see the six creatures from the corridor approaching down the hallway, tentacles waving, having been joined by four more. Bucky quickly turns and pulls the doors closed. Harmon steps back to stand beside Juttson, who fearfully hides behind her. Bucky and Deadeye then begin pushing a big, heavy worktable in front of the doors. The others look utterly confused. BUCKY Bruiser, give us a hand! BRUISER You got it! Bruiser rushes over and helps to move more stuff in front of the doors. The dull thumps of the creatures banging their tentacles against the opposite side of the doors echoes through the room, as do their muffled but eerie cries. After a few tense moments, the banging ceases, and the echoing warbles die down until all is silent. Everyone stands perplexed. HARMON Now, what happened? Where is Willard? BUCKY I'm afraid Dr. Willard is dead. JUTTSON (horrified) Dr. Willard dead? How did it happen? JENNY Those creatures. They're the ones that have been, well ... BUCKY (finishing grimly for her) ... sucking out everybody's skeletons. He just grabbed Willard, and his bones started dissolving. Harmon and Juttson exchange worried looks. HARMON Well, that explains the lack of bones. The only thing I've found so far is that there's a slight green tinge to Dr. Byner's blood. Since this condition affected more than one person, I had put infection as my top concern ... BUCKY Time to be concerned about something else. Have you managed to find out anything from Polidori's notes? Anything on those creatures? JUTTSON Just that he and his team were apparently trying to some sort of living matter to counteract some sort of bone disease. But we haven't got far enough into the notes to discover what went wrong or why. I'm still trying to get them into chronological order. Bucky nods, taking this in. BUCKY Well, we've got more than a bone disease on our paws. You'd better hurry and find out what those things are, and *fast*. SCENE 14 - MAIN LAB, BIO-VECTOR SPACE STATION An hour later, things have calmed down. Blinky and Deadeye are over by the steel door with Bruiser. Harmon and Juttson have both resumed their respective duties; Harmon continues the autopsy of Dr. Byner just in case, while Juttson still absorbs himself in all of the papers. Mike is next to Juttson, reading some of the notes. Bucky and Jenny stand in the middle of the room, Bucky with his maser drawn. Jenny crosses her arms but says nothing. Bucky turns and looks at her. BUCKY (sighs) What is it, Jenny? JENNY What's troubling you, Bucky? Earlier, before Dr. Willard interrupted us ... you said you'd talk about it later. Well, it's later now. BUCKY If you want the truth, I'm starting to get this nagging feeling that Dogstar knew more about this than he was letting on, and that we've been sent out here because we're expendable. JENNY Bucky, that's ridiculous. Dogstar, for one, thinks very highly of you. BUCKY I know, and that's why I feel silly. But it's a gut feeling I just can't shake. And if there's one thing I've learned during my years as a frigate captain, it's to trust my gut. Anyway... Bucky looks down at his feet. Deadeye walks up. BUCKY Deadeye, how's that door? DEADEYE No matter what Blinky does, he can't get the frellin' thing open. BUCKY (sighs) If we could get it open, that door looks strong enough to keep those things out, so if we needed to, we could seek shelter in there. I just wish it were a way *out* so we could get back up to the hangar. Juttson walks over, holding a notebook. Harmon finishes with Byner's corpse and comes over as well. JUTTSON Captain, I think I've finished going through the notes. BUCKY Let's hope there's something useful in them. JUTTSON Oh, there is. Dr. Polidori and his colleagues were trying to create some kind of living matter to rebuild lost bone matter. They based their creation on the carbon atom and failed, but what they probably succeeded in creating is some form of life based on the silicon atom. (beat) Unfortunately, something went wrong. I'm not entirely sure what, but the creatures -- which Polidori called "silicates" -- got mixed up and backwards somehow, so instead of rebuilding bones ... BUCKY ... they eat bones. Harmon peels off her surgical gloves, tossing them aside and sighing, paws on her hips. JUTTSON They consume the calcium phosphate by injecting an enzyme that dissolves bone matter. HARMON (raising an eyebrow) That explains the green tinge to the blood. That's a heavy concentration of enzyme! JUTTSON What's more, they're apparently a one-celled organism that undergoes mitosis -- er, that is, splits into two identical organisms -- every few hours. BUCKY We knew about *that* already. JUTTSON The good news is that their metabolism is so fast-paced that they'll die unless they eat their own weight every few hours. BUCKY We have to find a way to kill them, because if they keep reproducing, there'll be a million of them before long. JUTTSON There's more. The last few notes. Polidori reported this "setback," as he calls it, to someone on Genus, and was told to continue his work for bio-weapon purposes. His last few experiments were his efforts to get the silicates to eat .... toad bones exclusively. BUCKY (frowns) We need to get back to the ship and get back to Genus. DEADEYE Yeah, and come back with a whole platoon packin' flamethrowers! JENNY But we can't be certain the way we came in is clear of the silicates now. BUCKY (grimly) Yeah, those dead bodies in the main hall weren't exactly reassuring. (beat) Well, we can't just sit here and wait for them all to starve to death. They're hungry, and they want us for supper. All of a sudden, there's more banging on the barricaded lab doors. Everyone spins. Masers are drawn. The doors actually begin to open in spite of the barricade, the piled-up furniture and equipment being pushed along the floor. The electronic warbling of the silicates reemerges as tentacles snake through the spaces between the furniture and equipment. BUCKY There must be a lot more than we originally thought. In a minute, they're going to come through, so everyone get ready. Suddenly, the barricade falls over with a mighty crash, and the silicates swarm through, hissing and warbling. BUCKY OK, less than a minute. Don't let their tentacles touch you! (turning to Blinky) Now might be a good time to get that storage room open! (to Juttson) Any mention of a weakness? JUTTSON (panicking, flipping through papers) Don't you think I would have mentioned that first?! Deadeye draws both of his maser pistols and starts shooting at the silicates. This manages to keep them from advancing but does nothing to actually damage them. Soon, they swarm the laboratory. Bruiser proceeds to pick up delicate-looking equipment and hurl it into the midst of the silicates. Harmon and Juttson both run over to where Bruiser and Deadeye are, situating themselves behind the baboon and the duck. Bucky backs up as he blasts three silicates with his maser. Suddenly, a fourth silicate lashes out with its tentacle, going for Bucky's paw. Bucky jerks back in time to save his paw, but the creature's tentacle clamps onto his maser pistol and yanks the gun out of his grasp. He cries out in surprise, then growls and draws his lightsaber, igniting it and swinging it at the silicate that grabbed his maser. This, too, has no effect on them, to his visible distress. Bucky suddenly feels a tugging behind him and looks over his shoulder to see that one of the silicates has snuck up on him and is jerking on his cape. He scowls and spins, trying to shake the tenacious monster off, without success. He quickly turns off his lightsaber and removes the cape, wrapping the silicate up in the cape in the process. He swings the bundle around and tosses it violently aside, where it smashes into the wall. BUCKY I am getting *sick* of these things! DEADEYE Cap'n, there's too many of 'em! We can't hold 'em off forever! The mammals all back away from the advancing silicates, toward the storage room door. All of a sudden, the creatures stop in their tracks, and their tentacles retract into themselves. They begin to divide once more. Bucky turns to Blinky, who is fiddling with the electronic keypad of the door, having dismantled it with wires poking out everywhere. BUCKY Hurry up, Blinky! They won't remain inactive long! BLINKY Calamity and woe! Humble android cannot open door! Mechanism jammed! Suddenly, the storage room door opens. And none too soon, as the silicates begin to stir once again. BUCKY Everyone inside! Bucky and Harmon drag Juttson inside. The others follow just as the dozens of silicates slither over and begin ramming themselves uselessly against the door, hissing loudly in protest. Bucky, his crew, and Harmon and Juttson enter a dark room, unable to see more than a few feet beyond the door. Bruiser and Deadeye close the door to prevent the warbling silicates from following them in. Bruiser then grunts and grabs the door handle, twisting it like a pretzel and rendering it useless. BRUISER Maybe that'll hold them little creeps! Bucky stares up openmouthed at the vast and dimly lit room. At the opposite end of the room, there is a desk overflowing with glowing computer monitors. A projector is showing complicated mathematical equations on the far wall. There is a table covered with beakers, test tubes, and flasks. BUCKY What the? ... DEADEYE If this is a storage room, I'm the friggin' Air Marshal. BUCKY This must be another laboratory of some kind. At any rate, it's lucky Blinky managed to get that door open when he did. You really saved our necks that time. BLINKY Humble android did not. BUCKY Didn't what? Open the door? BLINKY (shakes his head) No matter what humble android did, controls would not respond. Mechanism jammed, but then door opened on its own. VOICE Ahem. Dr. Polidori steps into the light of the projector, making himself visible for the first time. His hair is messed up, his lab coat is missing, and he holds a maser pistol. There is a long silence as Bucky and he stare at one another. Finally, Polidori speaks. POLIDORI You can thank me for opening the door in time. Don't worry about the silicates. They can't get through that door. It's stronger than anything else on board this station. BUCKY Let me guess. You would be ... POLIDORI Lawrence Polidori, at your service. So, you're the famous Bucky O'Hare. I must say, I'm impressed with you and your friends. I've been monitoring your progress from here. BUCKY (scowling) You could've helped us at any time. Why now? Despite his disheveled appearance, Polidori has a remarkably relaxed air. POLIDORI I wasn't sure what your motives were. After the accident, I locked myself in here. I do apologize, but I've been terribly paranoid about the possibility of toad spies trying to steal my work. Which is why I destroyed the communications equipment. BUCKY All those deaths are on your hands, Doctor. Polidori sighs and shrugs indifferently. POLIDORI Accidents happen. It's not my fault the equipment overloaded. Jenny walks forward to stand beside Bucky. JENNY But it *is* your fault that those creatures got created in the first place. POLIDORI I take it you don't like my nasty little surprise for the toads? (smiles and removes his glasses) I admit they're too difficult to control, but after the initial accident where they were created, can you blame me for thinking the Security Council might want a bio-technical edge against the Toad Empire? BUCKY Last I checked, the Council didn't allow bio-weapons. Especially not monsters that can't be controlled or contained. Polidori puts his glasses back on. POLIDORI Ah, but what if I told you it was none other than the Chairman himself who ordered me to continue working with the silicates? He was most interested in ... BUCKY (cutting him off) What?! I don't believe you. POLIDORI (shrugs) Or someone else pretending to be him. I never actually saw Dogstar himself. My only communication with Genus was via progress reports, and they had the Chairman's signature on them. Anyway ... Polidori turns and walks across the room. Walking up to the bank of computer monitors, he sets his maser down on the desktop, types something in hastily, and then a portion of the wall opposite slides open, revealing a dark secret passageway. He turns and smiles to the other mammals. BUCKY You could have left this room any time you chose? POLIDORI Yes. The only reason I haven't already left this death trap is because I lacked a ship. I was planning on getting out of here on the next cargo ship, but then you came along. BUCKY I'm going to rake you over the coals when we get back to Genus, but right now, I just want everyone to get out of here safely. Let's get going. Everyone walks toward the passageway. Deadeye enters first, maser pistols drawn. Blinky follows, a flashlight beam emitting from his single eye. Polidori stuffs his maser pistol into the waistline of his pants and then resumes typing on the computer. POLIDORI Hold on one second, Captain. BUCKY What are you doing? There is a loud beeping sound, and then a diskette is ejected from the control panel. Polidori swipes the disk and holds it up for Bucky to see. POLIDORI I'll be damned if I let my research be lost. BUCKY (impatiently) I'll be damned if I let anyone else die out here. Bucky quickly grabs the disk out of the startled doctor's paw. BUCKY I think *I'll* take care of this, until this entire matter has been cleared up back at Genus. You've given me absolutely no reason to trust you. POLIDORI You're smarter than you look. Bucky motions for Polidori to come, and they head off after the others. They hurry down a dark utility tunnel, the way lit by Blinky, and up several short flights of stairs, until they come to what seems like a dead-end. Polidori pulls on a piece of pipe, and there is a clicking sound. In the main hall, a portion of the wall pulls inward and then slides to the left, revealing the opposite end of the secret passageway from the private lab to this corridor. Polidori emerges, looking left and right, then steps out into the hall followed by Deadeye, Blinky, Jenny, Harmon with Juttson, Mike, and Bruiser, with Bucky bringing up the rear. DEADEYE Right back where we started. Blinky switches off his eye-light, and then Bucky comes to the front of the group. He first looks at the door the silicates were pounding on and spots no trace of them. Glancing down the hallway to the left, he can see the elevator. BUCKY All right, I think we're in business. Running over, Bucky presses the call button. The doors slide open automatically, since the elevator was already on this floor from being summoned last time. He motions for everyone to start getting inside, as Polidori turns and runs into the control room. Bucky frowns. BUCKY Polidori! What are you doing!? Grumbling, Bucky runs off after him. Polidori, looking severely unhinged, is typing feverishly on one of the computer consoles. Bucky enters. POLIDORI I'm not going to just walk out of here and leave those things alive. I'm not entirely without sense, you know. I've got a nasty little contingency plan for them. Polidori picks up a wrench and walks to a control panel labeled "Hypermatter Reactor." Using the wrench, he smashes a clear red panel, then inserts a key into a slot beside it. He turns it, and a thick silver cylinder topped with a red dial rises up into view. Polidori turns the dial all the way counter-clockwise with a click, and then the cylinder retracts. BUCKY What are you ... POLIDORI (hurriedly) I'm setting the hypermatter reactor to overload. It'll melt down and blow up the entire station. We've got maybe ten minutes to get to your ship and get out of here before we're all space dust. BUCKY What the hell?! (angrily) Do they not pump enough oxygen into these stations or something? What is wrong with you?! Polidori ignores Bucky and runs out. Bucky angrily runs after him. They emerge in the corridor, where the last of the party, Dr. Juttson, is getting on the elevator. BUCKY (calling) Hurry! Dr. Moron set this place to self-destruct! POLIDORI (irritated) Your concern is misplaced, Captain. It's just an elevator ride and a short walk to the hangar where your ship is. What could ... Polidori stops as they hear the silicates' electronic echoing. Bucky's ears droop. A group of about a dozen or so silicates slithers around the corner at the opposite end of the hall, making a beeline for them. BUCKY *That* could happen! Hurry! Jenny and Deadeye are holding the doors. Juttson frantically pushes the button for the top floor as Bucky and Polidori get aboard. There is a long moment where nothing happens, and the group starts to become increasingly worried as the silicates' electronic warbling draws ever closer, with no sign of the doors closing. Then, finally, there is a ding, and the doors begin to close. The doors suddenly open again after almost closing on a silicate tentacle that slithers inside. Everyone backs up, except Juttson, who keeps uselessly pressing the floor button. Suddenly, the tentacle grabs him by the wrist. He screams. JUTTSON Yeagh! Help! Juttson falls down and starts kicking and struggling. Bucky runs over and finds the silicate attempting to eat Juttson's paw. Bucky notices that the silicate's tentacle's suckers are already embedded in Juttson's skin and are consuming the bones in his paw. He draws his lightsaber. Polidori looks mystified. POLIDORI What are you doing? You know that won't kill it! BUCKY (to the shrieking Juttson) Sorry. This is gonna hurt. A lot. JUTTSON No! Not *that* way! Gritting his teeth, Bucky swings his lightsaber down and cuts off Juttson's paw above the wrist. Juttson screams in agony and falls to the ground, Harmon quickly pulling him safely away from the monster, which Bucky shoves out with his foot. Another ding and the doors close, successfully, this time, and not a moment too soon, as more silicates are seconds from getting within reach. The ride to the top seems to take forever, and is taken in silence apart from Juttson's moaning as Harmon tries to tend to him. He seems to be in shock. BUCKY Is he going to be OK? HARMON He's going to live. Your weapon cauterized the wound. He's just in enormous amounts of pain. BUCKY (nods) Well, we're home free from here on out. No one else is dying on this mission. You have my promise on that. Bucky eyes Polidori angrily. The panther simply glares back. The elevator doors open, and everyone gets out, Blinky and Harmon carrying Juttson with his arms over their shoulders. The doors to the hangar are shut. BUCKY I don't remember the doors closing. POLIDORI Don't worry about it. They're on an automatic time-lock. It's a security precaution in case the magnetic field in the hangar fails. BUCKY Well, let's hurry before any of those things show up. Suddenly, a STORMTOAD leaps out from behind a column. Before Bucky can react, he takes a rifle butt to the face and falls down. Everyone gasps as they find twenty more STORMTOADS blocking their path, their plasma rifles raised. The leader, a toad SERGEANT, steps forward. SERGEANT Don't move, you flea-bitten mammals! BUCKY (groaning) Where were you when we *wanted* something to shoot at? ... SERGEANT That's for you to know and us to find out, fuzzball! Er, I mean, *us* to know and *you* to find out! Now throw down your weapons, all of you. The mammals stand firm. BUCKY We don't have time for this. He set the reactor so it'll overload and blow up the entire station. We have about five minutes. One of the toads notices Polidori eyeing him suspiciously. STORMTOAD #1 What're you starin' at? POLIDORI I know what you came for, you slimeballs, and you're never going to get it! STORMTOAD #2 What's he talkin' about, Sarge? Suddenly, Polidori lunges forward and grabs the barrel of one of the stormtoad's rifles, and the two begin struggling over it. Two of the other stormtoads turn to look. The Sergeant, looking annoyed, draws his sidearm and shoots Polidori twice in the back. The panther scientist cries out, then collapses. Bucky looks frustrated. There is a deep rumbling, and the entire space station begins to shake. A loud, blaring alarm issues forth, lights affixed to the walls flashing urgently. The stormtoads all look at one another nervously. SERGEANT Steady, men, hold your ground! We're not gonna let a minor setback like impending destruction affect the outcome of our mission! Now, take the others prisoner and spare the hare! Gah! No, no, no! Spare *him*, and kill *them*! STORMTOAD #3 (uncertain) Yes, sir! The other three stormtoads level their masers at the group. Bucky suddenly lunges at the nearest of the other three stormtoads, activating his lightsaber even as he closes the distance between himself and the unprepared toad. Bucky swings the blade, cutting the stormtoad's maser rifle clean in two. The toad yells in surprise, and then Bucky lashes out with his foot, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying back toward the Sergeant. The stormtoad crashes into him, and they go down. SERGEANT Get off me! Bucky turns and swings the lightsaber at two more stormtoads, who leap back in surprise, deftly avoiding the blade. But Bruiser takes this opportunity to step in, grabbing the two from behind and slamming their helmeted heads together with bone-crushing force. They drop their masers and collapse to the floor, wounded. The stormtoad on top of the Sergeant gets up, grabbing the Sergeant's maser pistol and firing at Bruiser. The baboon takes a few blasts in the back and cries out, much to everyone's concern. Jenny leaves Juttson with Harmon, charges over, and swings her foot, kicking the stormtoad in the temple and cracking his helmet. He yells and goes spinning off, then stops and falls to the floor, dazed from the blow. The Sergeant jumps up and tries to tackle her, but she throws him off with a burst of pink energy. A few stormtoads have split off from the main group and are positioning themselves around the perimeter. They had hoped to line up shots, but they all find themselves in a firefight with Deadeye, who is holding his own easily. Bruiser shakes his wounds off and dives into the remaining mass of about ten stormtoads, who are too close to each other to get good shots off. Bruiser begins flinging them left and right. BRUISER (grinning) It's just like th' good ol' days! Ayooga! Alarm sirens begin to blare in the background. Two more stormtoads get up and charge Bucky, tackling him. He drops his lightsaber, which skids across the floor. One stormtoad has his arms around Bucky's neck, with the other stormtoad hugging his legs. SERGEANT I said to leave him unharmed! STORMTOAD #4 You kiddin' me? You know how long I been wanting to do this?! Bucky wobbles but doesn't fall over, even though the two stormtoads are trying to force him down. He quickly bends over forward and flips a stormtoad up and over himself. The unprepared toad yelps and lands on his back, in front of Bucky. Bucky then quickly brings his booted foot down onto the toad's throat, crushing it with a wet, cracking sound. Bucky then falls forward and works one leg free, using that foot to beat the remaining stormtoad in the head until he lets go. Bucky scrambles for his lightsaber as the stormtoad shakes the dizziness away and gives chase. Bucky reaches the lightsaber, ignites it, and turns. Seeing this, the stormtoad skids to a halt, but it's too late, and Bucky swings the blade, cutting the toad clean in half. His upper and lower halves thud to the floor as everyone watches. BUCKY (panting) Like I said ... we don't have time for this. Bucky then notices that the Sergeant is going for a maser rifle on the floor. He grabs it and turns, pointing it at the hare. SERGEANT You fleabag of a furbag! Suddenly, the rifle is shot from his grasp by Deadeye, who grins and fires a second time before the Sergeant can recover, blowing a hole through his chest. The Sergeant makes a gasping, choking sound and then falls over. Bucky turns off his lightsaber. BUCKY Thanks, Deadeye. DEADEYE Don't mention it, Cap'n. It was a mercy killing. He was way too ugly t' live. Bucky turns to the others. He notices Bruiser put the finishing touches on the last of the stormtoads, who are in a dazed and bleeding heap. Several dead stormtoads dot the edges of the battlefield, each of them with maser wounds on their head or chest. BUCKY Good work, team. Bucky turns off his lightsaber and kneels beside Polidori, checking for a pulse. He frowns. There is none. BUCKY (quietly) You did it to yourself, Polidori. The alarm sirens blare louder. BUCKY Everybody get aboard the ship! Everyone races toward the hangar, with Bucky in the back. A toad cruiser sits parked beside The Righteous Indignation. Deadeye, Mike, and Blinky hurry aboard first, followed by Harmon. Then, Bruiser carries the injured Juttson aboard. Bucky and Jenny follow. The Righteous Indignation takes off and comes shooting out of the hangar. In the lab, the mass of hungry silicates finishes feasting on the toad scientists that came along with the expedition. Boneless, rubbery toad bodies in lab coats dot the room. The reactor finally overloads. The explosion fires up through the floor. Everyone watches as Bio-Vector Space Station is destroyed by a series of internal explosions, blowing the entire place to smithereens. Bucky sighs and leans back in his chair, a paw going to his forehead. He is exhausted. BUCKY Well, that takes care of those bone-sucking creeps. Jenny? Take us home. Bucky looks down at the disk in his paw. He examines it. BUCKY At least we're not going back empty-handed. JENNY Don't tell me you're going to do anything with that disk. Bucky ponders as he continues to stare intently at the disk. BUCKY No. No, I'm not. After a moment, Bucky slides it into his pocket. SCENE 15 - CITY STREET, GENUS It is late morning now on Genus. The streets are mostly deserted except for a few pedestrians milling around. In a darkened alleyway, a manhole covering is lifted by a pair of green hands and shoved aside. A head obscured by a wide-brimmed hat and trench coat with a high collar pokes out. It is clearly a TOAD trying to keep disguised. He climbs out and is followed by a second TOAD, also wearing a trench coat and hat. This one carries a briefcase. The two toads emerge from the alley and use the crosswalk to scurry over to the sidewalk opposite. They pause outside of a small shop. A few passersby give them strange looks but otherwise seem unconcerned. The two toads exchange glances and nod in unison, then go inside the shop. They approach the pig SHOPKEEPER, who eyes them nervously. The first toad addresses the shopkeeper. TOAD #1 Mornin', shopkeep. SHOPKEEPER (warily) Can I, uh, help you gentlemen? The second toad sets the briefcase down on the countertop. TOAD #2 Nah, we're just makin' a delivery. Seeya. The toads turn on their heels and run out of the shop. Once outside, they hurry across the street. The shopkeeper watches them go, then realizes the briefcase is still sitting on the counter. He is in the process of walking over to it when it suddenly explodes, engulfing the entire shop in a massive fireball, annihilating the unfortunate shopkeeper instantly and blowing the front of the building off. From across the street, the two toads survey their handiwork and snicker, their laugher muffled. The pair race down the alley and leap down the open manhole. The second toad pulls the cover down after himself. Everyone around is too busy looking at the ruined shop to pay attention to where the two went. SCENE 16 - COMMAND CENTER, TOAD HIDEOUT, GENUS The command center is hardly that -- it is a dark room, nearly bare. Surveillance and communications equipment lines the walls, with cables running all over the place. The entire room is the epitome of "lived-in." Empty paper drinking cups, food containers, papers, and other trash lie strewn about. At the moment, there are nine toads in the room: six STORMTOADS, including a mean-looking SERGEANT, and three toad TECHNICIANS. The two toads in trench coats enter. The first toad removes his hat as they walk up to the Sergeant. TOAD #1 Sergeant Krug! Mission accomplished! KRUG Good job. Another filthy mammal business done away with. Krug chuckles heartily, and his two agents laugh as well. One of the technicians turns in his chair, looking thoroughly unimpressed with what they're doing. TECHNICIAN (annoyed) Whoop-dee-doo. We blew up another grocery store. At this rate, it'll only take us fifty years to retake Genus. Snarling, Krug pulls his sidearm and shoots the technician in the leg. He falls out of his chair and howls in pain. The other toads look frightened. KRUG I'll have no naysayers or defeatists in my crew! Get him out of here! Krug holsters his gun. As a stormtoad helps the injured technician limp away, one of the other toads timidly speaks up. TOAD #3 But, Sergeant, sir. We aren't going to make much headway just blowing up shops and factories. Especially not one at a time. We simply haven't got the manpower for it. KRUG (growls) I'm well aware of that. But it just so happens that I've recently received word from the Air Marshal that he has something ... special planned for the mammals. Soon, we'll have ourselves quite an ace up our sleeves. And then we'll be able to seize Genus once again, and all our hard work will be rewarded! No more skulking around in sewers and abandoned factories! No more of these cowardly hit-and-run tactics! (throws his fists up jubilantly) Genus will be ours! The other toads just exchange incredulous glances. SCENE 17 - MEGAKAT CITY, TERRA The eyes of thousands of citizens in the streets of Megakat City are glued to the skies as an aerial ballet decides the fate of the city. Those inside their homes have to be content with watching the dance televised with visuals taken from a brave cameraman on a lone helicopter and the audio from ANN GORA, a reporter. ANN GORA This is Ann Gora for Kat's Eye News. The skies continue to blaze as the SWAT Kats engage the deranged Afterburner. Afterburner, known as Flint Sparkfang, has taken the city hostage in his fiery grip. Refusing to beaten by the Turbo Kat in the Air Race Demonstration, he rebuilt his Heat Seeker jet using a Pyro Engine that he claims to have found in a smoking crater. He threatened to burn down Megakat City unless the SWAT Kats duel with him to prove his aerial superiority. He challenged them to what can only be described as a firefight in the skies. The two aircraft continue to race over the city. Piloted by the heroic SWAT Kats, the blue Turbo Kat plane flips and dodges past the deadly fire trails left by the maniacal Afterburner in his red Heat Seeker jet. ANN GORA (hanging from the helicopter) Rocketing past the speed of sound, Afterburner has the advantage of acceleration over the SWAT Kats. Despite this advantage, Afterburner has yet to take down the SWAT Kats, as the Turbo Kat's armor is protected against flame-based attacks. But who knows how long their heat shields will last? The Turbo Kat lets loose a barrage of missiles and projectiles, ranging from cement slugs to octopus missiles. The Heat Seeker deftly evades most of the weapons aimed at it and fires off its flamethrowers to incinerate the rest. The Turbo Kat barely avoids the cone of fire. ANN GORA (shielding her eyes from the blaze) It seems that Razor's hi-tech arsenal is not having any effect against the Heat Seeker. The SWAT Kats have to rely on T-Bone's piloting skills to save them from being burned to a crisp ... oh no! Afterburner has weaved a net of flame trails that envelops the Turbo Kat. The blue jet narrowly misses touching the scorching web but is then trapped in a burning cage. ANN GORA (frantically) The Heat Seeker's flame trails only last for a few seconds, but it's enough to trap the Turbo Kat! The SWAT Kats are forced to hover helplessly as the Heat Seeker readies its flamethrowers to aim and fire. ANN GORA (screaming) This can't be the end! Suddenly, a bright flash appears from the sky. It streaks toward the two jets, interrupting the final strike. ANN GORA (squinting) Incredible! Something has fallen from the sky to, no, wait, it's some*one*! It looks like some sort of armored toad! (talking to the cameraman) Mike! Zoom in! The toads never come to this sector! From the comfort of their homes, viewers lean closer to see the hulking metal figure land on the Heat Seeker. Afterburner is seen screaming from the cockpit as the interloper proceeds to tear into the hull of the jet. The engine stops whirring as the metal figure rips the device from the plane, takes it into his arms, and zooms off into the sky. With nothing to keep him aloft, Afterburner abandons his craft by ejecting. His escape attempt is thwarted by the Turbo Kat, courtesy of a spider-chain missile wrapping up the villain in a net and line. ANN GORA Amazing! Though the SWAT Kats have captured Afterburner, it was a mysterious toad newcomer who really saved Megakat City by disabling the Heat Seeker. Who is this new armored amphibian? Is he a new hero looking out for the welfare of the city? Or does he work for KOMPLEX? Why did he take Afterburner's Pyro Engine? Will he team up with the SWAT Kats again? Only time will tell. (beat) This is Ann Gora for Kat's Eye News, signing off. SCENE 18 - CHAIRMAN DOGSTAR'S OFFICE, GENUS Dogstar is busying himself at his desk, doing some paperwork and conversing with VICE CHAIRMAN SANZER GRIFF. Suddenly, the office doors fly open, and Bucky strides in, accompanied by Jenny. Dogstar looks up from his work, frowning a bit. DOGSTAR Bucky, how did the Bio-Vector situation go? You were ... vague over the comm, old chap. Bucky walks up to Dogstar's desk, frowning deeply. It's clear he doesn't know what to think about his old friend. Dogstar seems to sense that something is amiss. Setting his pen aside, he leans back in his chair, folding his paws in his lap and waiting for Bucky to speak first. However, it is Griff who breaks the silence. GRIFF O'Hare, what is the meaning of ... BUCKY (ignoring him) Bio-Vector is history. Along with everyone who worked there. Including Dr. Polidori. DOGSTAR (seemingly unfazed) I take it the situation got out of control? BUCKY Out of control? An entire space station's worth of people are dead! And so is that Willard guy, the one from the Foundation! (beat) Polidori was crazy. He was doing some kind of bio-weapons experiment. Big surprise that everything went wrong! He created these little monsters that eat bones. I saw them dissolve someone's bones while they were still alive. And before Polidori was killed, he told me that *you* were the one who authorized the whole thing. Dogstar twiddles his fingers, frown deepening, but otherwise doesn't seem to register anything besides mild agitation. DOGSTAR How unpleasant. I authorized Polidori's work, yes. But I never authorized any bio-weapons experiments. You know that's unauthorized. Bucky shifts a bit, looking agitated. BUCKY Why would Polidori lie? DOGSTAR (shrugging) He wasn't all there, judging by your story. Anything he says is suspect. I don't care what *he* told you. *I'm* telling you I had nothing to do with any experiment of this kind. Bucky sighs, not getting anywhere. DOGSTAR I don't appreciate being accused of anything, Captain. (beat) Now clearly, you and your crew have been through a lot. So before you say anything else you might regret later, I suggest that you go home and get some rest. That will be all. Thank you for your service. Dogstar sits down and resumes his work, making it clear that the conversation is over. Resigned, Bucky and Jenny turn and slowly make their way out. As they head out, Jenny leans over and whispers to Bucky. JENNY (whispering) Thank you for not telling Dogstar about that disk. BUCKY (whispering back) I'm not sure I can trust Dogstar with this. This whole situation stinks. And I think it's best that Dr. Polidori's work doesn't fall into the wrong paws. Bucky takes out the disk and bends it in half until it snaps apart into two pieces. He puts the pieces back in his pocket, to dispose of later. Back in his office, Dogstar watches Bucky and Jenny on a surveillance monitor in his desk. Reaching over, Dogstar turns the monitor off. DOGSTAR I think perhaps I should have Renfield keep a closer eye on O'Hare. GRIFF You won't hear any arguments from me. He needs to be reminded of his place more than most of our crew. DOGSTAR This mission clearly had an untoward effect on him. I want to make sure he doesn't react in a way that he or the UAC might regret. GRIFF We've always been worried about O'Hare. Have you seen his psych file? I could kill my mother-in-law by dropping it on top of her. DOGSTAR So I've heard. Bucky was always stalwart and valiant in battle, but I understand that when it comes to politics, his preferred way is yelling, screaming, and being obstructionist. (beat) You'd think the General Assembly would like him more, given that they employ similar tactics. GRIFF Very funny. DOGSTAR (frowns) Nothing is funny about this. Bucky's the best cannon we've got, but he's becoming a loose one, and I don't want him pointed in the wrong direction when he fires. THE END