"Android Army" copyright 2000 by William C. Martell. All rights reserved. "ANDROID ARMY" INT. CARNUBIUM MINE -- DAY A pick axe SLAMS into solid rock, breaking off a chunk. The prisoner lowers his axe and wipes sweat from his brow. Muscled arms, a trim body, alien face partially covered by the nose piece from a rebreather tank. MERRITT is a hip alien with a sarcastic wit and a kick back attitude, sentenced to 25 years for hijacking cargo ships. A GUARD nudges Merritt with a rifle, prompting him to work. MERRITT Hey! Can't you see I'm trying to sleep? Merritt hefts the axe ad gets back to work. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF PRISONERS working the mine: Aliens like Merritt. Humans like PRATT, a burned out three time looser with a weight lifter's body. But more than half the prisoners are chrome fingernailed Androids, sentenced for killing humans on Earth. None of the Androids wear re-breathers... they don't need them. RALPH 124C41 is the leader of the Android gang. A HUGE mean looking droid with metal fingernails and grey eyes, guilty of brutally murdering more than fifty humans. He slams his axe into the rock... Imagining it's the Warden's head. Working beside Ralph 124C41 are his two henchmen: SMITH EE17, a wiry Android with slicked back hair, aluminum teeth, and pincher claw hands. And COBLENTZ HL2000, whose body is criss-crossed with baseball- like seams where he's been sewn together after knife fights. Coblentz HL2000 breaks through a wall, exposing a vein of glimmering Carnubium. COBLENTZ The fucking motherlode. Vein of Carnubium! Merritt wrinkles his nose under the rebreather. (CONTINUED) 2. MERRITT Shit, Coblentz, what you found is a damned Deros Cave. If you weren't a fucking Android you could smell 'em. Let's get out of here before we're lunch. SUDDENLY, a slimy DEROS worm breaks through the opening in front of Coblentz and EATS the PRISONER next to him. The other PRISONERS yell and scramble out of the mine. One of the GUARDS fires his rifle, forcing the Deros back. EXT. MOUTH OF THE CAVE -- DAY The PRISONERS sit along the side of the mountain, taking a break. Merritt looks up when NOWLAN nudges him with his rifle. NOWLAN Warden wants to see you. MERRITT Must be my lucky day. JACK NOWLAN is head guard of the prison mining colony. Tough but good natured, he's Esau to Merritt's James Dean-like Jacob, here on the twin sunned planet Isaac. Nowlan clips magnetic leg shackles onto Merritt, then nods for his assistant AL BESTER to take over. Bester is a farm boy prison guard. Not only second in command, but Nowlan's best friend. He wears a cowboy hat, has a small town attitude. Bester gestures for Merritt to get to his feet. Nowlan prods Ralph 124C41 with the rifle, and the Android grabs the barrel. Nowlan pulls the gun back, then JAMBS it into Ralph's gut. NOWLAN Warden wants to see you. RALPH Screw you, screw. NOWLAN I've got the gun: Screw YOU. Now, you going to cooperate, or am I going to have to shoot you again? Ralph snarls and Nowlan clips on the magnetic shackles. (CONTINUED) 3. Nowlan prods Ralph to his feet, escorts the prisoners away. EXT. PRISON BUILDING - ESTABLISHING -- DAY The Prison Building scorches under Isaac's twin suns. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Nowlan and Bester prod the two prisoners into chairs across from Warden Gernsbeck. In his tailored suit and gold Rolex, VERNON GERNSBECK is the type of slimy, bigoted, corrupt warden they make prison movies about. Trophies and political photos adorn the office, obscuring the UN flag in the corner. On his desk, near his polished brass name plate, is a photo of his pretty twenty year old daughter, GARBY. GERNSBECK (sarcastic) My two favorite prisoners. Merritt. Ralph 124C41. MERRITT What do you want, Verne? I'm a busy man. GERNSBECK Nowlan. Bester. Better stick around. Nowlan and Bester nod, and keep their guns ready. Gernsbeck lifts two manila folders, giving a false smile. GERNSBECK I've been looking over your files, gentlemen. Interesting reading. (to Merritt) Mr. Merritt. Twenty five years hard labor for the armed hijack of twelve cargo shuttles... MERRITT Fourteen. There was two they couldn't prove. GERNSBECK You seem to have trouble obeying the rules around here. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 4. GERNSBECK (CONT'D) You've been disciplined by electroshock forty three times. (beat) I have disciplined you more than thirty times myself... MERRITT (sotto) Sadistic fucker. GERNSBECK What was that? Merritt just smiles. Gernsbeck pulls the other folder and looks up at Ralph 124C41. GERNSBECK Ralph 124C41. Life without parole for murdering fifty seven people on Earth. It says here you were reprogrammed twice, but kept on killing. RALPH Humans are scrap. GERNSBECK If it were my decision, I would have you disassembled and melted down, sold as slag. MERRITT Ralph the toaster. Gernsbeck looks from Ralph to Merritt. GERNSBECK As you know, your labor has been leased by Manrocci Industries to mine the Carnubium deposits here on the planet Isaac. Now that the Carnubium has been depleted, this prison colony will be closed down. (beat) The human and alien prisoners will be reassigned to the mining colony on Mars.... RALPH And the 'droids? (CONTINUED) 5. GERNSBECK The Androids will be set free... But remain here on Isaac. RALPH What about a repairs technician? Gernsbeck gives Ralph an evil smile. GERNSBECK No. If you break down, you're on your own. Maybe you can repair yourself... Ralph goes berserk. RALPH You piece of scrap! I'm gonna kill you! You and all the other human scraps! I'll kill you ALL! Nowlan and Bester hold him in his chair. Gernsbeck hits a buzzer. Two other guards enter the office: KLINE, a jokester ex-Marine, and STILSON, an attractive female guard. Stilson and Nowlan exchange smoldering looks, sparks of attraction between them. KLINE SLAMS Ralph with his gun butt until he sparks, then drags him out with Bester and Stilson's help. Merritt scoops the photo of Garby off the Warden's desk and studies the picture. MERRITT Come on, Verne. This is just an excuse to keep me away from your daughter. You know she wants me. Gernsbeck pulls the photo out of Merritt's hands. GERNSBECK Keep your hands off my daughter. MERRITT Okay. But you better tell her to keep her hands off of me... You KNOW she's looking for some "close encounters". GERNSBECK I'll light you up like a Christmas Tree. You'll get enough voltage to fry that evil little sociopathic brain of yours... (CONTINUED) 6. MERRITT She must take after her mother, Verne, because I don't see a lick of family resemblance. Was your mail man a handsome guy? Gernsbeck is about to explode. He turns to Nowlan. GERNSBECK Get him out of here! MERRITT I was just beginning to like it, here. Thinking about opening an ice rink.. Nowlan uses his gun to prod Merritt to his feet. NOWLAN Come on. Now. Merritt lifts his hands and co-operates, allowing Nowlan to escort him out of the Warden's office. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Nowlan escorts Merritt out of the Warden's office and across the Command Center. THE COMMAND CENTER is a circular room with work stations, a security section where video monitors show various interior and exterior views of the prison, and a vidmap of the prison with lighted points showing where prisoners are. A guard named CARTER is on security duty, watching the video monitors in the security section. He nods as Nowlan passes by, but ignores Merritt. HALFWAY across the command center, they pass GARBY, Warden Gernsbeck's pretty twenty year old daughter. Garby is one of the few people on the planet not dressed in prison denim or guard uniforms. She's dressed in a VERY sexy outfit. MERRITT Well hello. Nowlan tries to pull Merritt away from Garby, but she changes course so that she can run her hand across Merritt's body sensually. GARBY Is it true what they say about 'Smovs? (CONTINUED) 7. MERRITT Depends upon what they say. Garby whispers something in Merritt's ear, and he laughs. MERRITT Well, that's true about ME. GARBY Is it? They exchange flirtatious smiles, and Nowlan YANKS Merritt away from her, dragging him to the doorway marked AIRLOCKS. Merritt looks at her over his shoulder. MERRITT Until we meet again. GARBY I'll be waiting. They exit and Garby crosses to her father's office and pops open the door. ON THE VIDMAP We see two red dots exit the building and cross the terrain to a section labeled: Carnubium Mines. INT. CARNUBIUM MINE -- DAY Ralph 124C41 slams the pick axe into the rock, grumbling to himself. He's about to explode in anger. Pratt cracks through some rocks and a cloud of dust billows into his face. He takes a step back, covering his eyes... bumping into Ralph. Ralph spins, using the head of his axe to press Pratt back against the wall of the cave. RALPH Human scrap! Don't ever touch me. Merritt sets down his axe, moves between Ralph and Pratt. MERRITT It was an accident, tin man. No reason to blow a fuse. RALPH I do what I please. (CONTINUED) 8. MERRITT Back off or I'll piss on you while you sleep and rust your ass. Ralph lowers the axe head from Pratt's neck... and JABS it at Merritt. RALPH Screw you. Merritt grabs the axe head quickly. MERRITT We can do without the axe, can't we? Settle this like men... Oh, I forgot. You're not anatomically correct, are you? Ralph lets go of the axe and rushes Merritt. The two begin fighting, and it spills out of the cave into the twin sunlights. EXT. MOUTH OF THE CAVE -- DAY Ralph and Merritt fight. A circle of prisoners around them. ON ONE SIDE OF THE CIRCLE, Human and Alien prisoners cheer on Merritt. On the opposite side, Android prisoners with chrome fingernails cheer on Ralph 124C41. WHAM! WHAM! Ralph 124C41 lands a pair of solid punches to Merritt's chest, pressing him back. RALPH Ready to die, Alien? MERRITT No. I'm ready to pound you into sheet metal. Merritt blocks Ralph's next punch, lands a SOLID hit to the Android's jaw. The Human and Alien prisoners CHEER. Coblentz HL2000 yells at the cheering crowd. COBLENTZ No one can fight an Android and win. PRATT Yeah? Merritt will turn him into SCRAP! (CONTINUED) 9. Both sides CHEER and JEER at each other. Tension and hatred runs thick between steel and flesh. Merritt tries a combination to Ralph's face, hitting with his right.... But Ralph plucks his left hand out of the air before it can make contact and SQUEEZES it. Merritt screams and we can hear the snap crackle and pop of bones breaking. Merritt kicks Ralph in the chest, forcing the Android to let go of his hand. Merritt staggers back, cradling his injured hand. THE LINE OF ANDROIDS pushes Merritt back towards Ralph. Merritt stumbles right into Ralph's arms. The Android grabs Merritt's neck and squeezes, cutting off his air. Merritt tries pulling the Android's hands off him, but can't. RALPH No air, no life. Merritt is beginning to turn blue, when he pulls back his head and SLAMS it into Ralph's. Ralph lets go of Merritt, staggering back from the force of the head butt. Merritt takes a deep breath from the rebreather tank, and goes into action. He spins, kicking Ralph in the head. RALPH AND MERRITT exchange kicks and punches. It's a battle of the titans. Merritt is a great fighter, but his blows do little to slow down Ralph 124C41... No one can fight an android and win. COBLENTZ Steel against flesh. You CAN'T win, Merritt! PRATT He'll win. Brains against silicon. WHAM! WHAM! Merritt takes two brutal kicks to the head, reeling backwards. The line of Androids pushes him back into the ring. Ralph sends a foot flying at Merritt's head, but Merritt catches it and flips him head over heels onto the sandstone. MERRITT Kissing the ground I walk on, tin man? (CONTINUED) 10. RALPH Screw you. Ralph rushes Merritt, slicing out with his chrome fingernails and tearing into the Alien's shirt. Merritt jumps back, then lands a pair of kicks to Ralph's head. Merritt moves in to punch the Android, but Ralph swings out and kicks the rebreather off Merritt's face. Without oxygen, Merritt falls back, clutching at his throat. RALPH LAUGHS in victory. Merritt grabs the rebreather mask and forces it onto his face, taking deep breaths until he stabilizes. BANG! BANG! Two gunshots. Nowlan and Bester break through the circle and pulls Merritt and Ralph off of each other. NOWLAN Break it up! Break it up! BESTER Who wants the first one? Coblentz? Bester aims his rifle from Android to Android. They all fall back, arms in front of them. Nowlan grabs Merritt by the collar and drags him out of the circle, tossing him against the rocks. NOWLAN You stupid, convict? Trying to get yourself killed? That android'll tear you apart. MERRITT He's scrap. NOWLAN Some day, Alien, you and me is gonna fight. MERRITT I'll be looking forward to it. Nowlan slams Merritt back against the rocks, trying to knock the grin off his alien face. No luck. Merritt moves to his feet and laughs. 11. INT. LOCKER ROOM -- DAY NOWLAN SLAMS THE DOOR on his locker, anger still bubbling inside of him. BESTER You shouldn't let him rattle your cage like that. NOWLAN Right. BESTER By Thursday night, this will all be over. Merritt'll be breaking red rocks on Mars. NOWLAN My luck, I'll be reassigned there as a guard. BESTER Then you could date Stilson. NOWLAN Stilson? They leave the locker room. INT. CIRCULAR HALLWAY -- DAY Nowlan and Bester walk around a circular hallway towards the crew quarters. BESTER I saw you two looking at each other. If it weren't for anti-fraternization rules, you'd have asked her to be your naked rhumba partner long ago. NOWLAN Maybe. BESTER Don't try to shit me, Nowlan. Have you seen what she looks like under that uniform? I'd kill or die for a chance at that. NOWLAN Okay, Bester. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 12. NOWLAN (CONT'D) Say I end up on the Mars Colony and Stilson gets transferred to Earth. (beat) How do we rhumba when she's thirty nine million miles away? Nowlan opens the crew quarters door for Bester. BESTER You could FAX her kisses. NOWLAN That's satisfying. Nowlan lets the door slam closed behind them. EXT. PRISON BUILDING - ESTABLISHING -- DAY The prison building bakes under the twin suns. A TITLE IS SUPERED: "THURSDAY" We see the shuttle zoom out of the sky and begin its slow descent to the Prison's shuttle dock. The shuttle lands. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Nowlan reads from a video-clipboard, reporting to Gernsbeck. NOWLAN All of the electronic weapons and the majority of the human and alien prisoners have been transferred off the planet. GERNSBECK Who's left? NOWLAN Skeleton crew. Stilson, Giesy, Kline, Carter, Bester and myself. All of the Max Security prisoners, including Merritt... GERNSBECK Shackle them into the shuttle as soon as possible. (CONTINUED) 13. NOWLAN It's going to take ten hours for it to refuel. That's a lot of time chained to a chair. GERNSBECK Do it. I want all of the Max Securities locked into the shuttle brig as soon as possible. NOWLAN Sir, with all due respect.... GERNSBECK Just do it, Nowlan. If Merritt or Pratt complains, I'll jettison them into deep space. I'm in charge, here. NOWLAN Yes, sir. (beat) I have Giesy and Kline packing up all of the reserve weapons and ammunition. I think we can last the next ten hours with personal sidearms. Nowlan's clipboard beeps and he looks down at it. NOWLAN The shuttle just docked. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY GIESY, a guard who's a Born Again Christian, puts the lid on a create of rifles and begins nailing it closed. Kline and Stilson help crate up all of the guns and equipment. Carter sits at the security section, watching monitor. STILSON What about the operating system? KLINE Have to leave it behind. Need the computers for shuttle take off and atmosphere manufacturing. STILSON Those animals are going to tear it apart. Use it to rewire themselves. They'll be nothing left for a salvage company to loot. (CONTINUED) 14. KLINE Then they'll go to hell. Ask Giesy. Giesy looks up from hammering, frowns threateningly at Kline. KLINE Sorry, they're Droids. Droids don't go to hell, they aren't human. Giesy growls, realizing that Kline is making fun of him. Before he can quote scripture, J.W. CAMPBELL saunters in. Campbell is the pilot of the shuttle, a good looking flyboy in the overly fancy uniform of the U.S. Space Force. CAMPBELL J.W. Campbell. I'll be your pilot on this escape from hell. Campbell holds out his hand to shake, and Kline takes it. KLINE Kline. I'm a Marshal, here. CAMPBELL If you're the Marshal, who's the Sheriff? A bad joke, which rates only a smile. KLINE That'd probably be Al Bester. Thinks he's a cowboy. CAMPBELL I've been accused of that. KLINE This is Giesy, and... CAMPBELL Who's the pretty lady? Campbell shows Stilson all of his teeth. She isn't impressed. STILSON Janet Stilson. Marshal Stilson to you. CAMPBELL Well, Marshal, I'm stuck here for the next ten hours while my fuel cells re- energize. Kind of hoped to spend the time in bed. (CONTINUED) 15. STILSON I'm sure you could use the sleep. CAMPBELL Not what I had in mind. STILSON Well, you aren't landing here, sky pilot. Runway's closed. It's obvious that Campbell isn't used to being rejected. He takes a step back... Bumping into someone. When he turns around, his smile returns. Garby returns the smile. CAMPBELL J.W. Campbell, the shuttle pilot. GARBY Really? CAMPBELL That's right. I've got ten hours to kill. Thought I'd spend it in bed. GARBY Did you? That sounds interesting. CAMPBELL Could be. (beat) Tell me: What's a beautiful girl like you doing on a prison planet? GARBY They didn't tell you? Campbell looks from Stilson to Kline to Giesy. All three give him cryptic smiles. GARBY I'm doing twenty five years to life for sexually mutilating more than a hundred men... I bite. Campbell takes a step back, color draining from his face. Garby waves goodbye, and enters her father's office. Campbell watches her leave, still in shock. Kline touches his arm and explains. (CONTINUED) 16. KLINE Warden's daughter. Strictly off limits around here. Campbell nods slowly. INT. BLOCK 11 BUNK ROOM -- DAY A room filled with cots, used by the Androids for resting. But all are empty. A GROUP OF ANDROIDS ring Ralph 124C41, who stands on a table. All of the Androids are nodding at everything Ralph says. Becoming angry and agitated. RALPH These humans are SCRAP and should be treated like SCRAP! The time has come for the Androids to seize power. Kill every human and alien on the planet. And have the Warden's head on a plate! The Androids CHEER LOUDER AND LOUDER. INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY Kline drives an electric scooter with a trailer (empty) out double doors marked "SHUTTLE BAY" and heads down Hallway #6. HALLWAY #6 is a long, industrial-looking hallway with a bright red stripe broken only by the number six. Kline whistles a tune as he scoots down the long hallway. Occasionally, he steers right into the wall, only to correct course at the last minute. Anything for a thrill. AT THE END OF THE HALL he turns into ANOTHER long hall. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY HALLWAY #7 has a GREEN stripe broken only by the number seven. Kline scoots down this hallway, still whistling, occasionally driving like a lunatic, until he comes to a door at the end marked "COMMAND CENTER". The scooter and trailer come to a stop. Kline gets out and knocks on the door, smiling at the overhead security camera. (CONTINUED) 17. STILSON'S VOICE squeaks from speaker next to the electronic door controls. STILSON (V.O.) Who is it? KLINE Kline. STILSON (V.O.) Use your Mag-Key. KLINE Can't. Lost it last week. STILSON (V.O.) At least you didn't give it to a prisoner. There's an electronic noise, and the doors are opened. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Kline drives the scooter into the Command Center, pulls up next to a stack of crates and shuts off the motor. Stilson shakes her head at Kline. STILSON You're such a screw up, Kline. KLINE At least I'm the best at what I do. I used to be the best screw-up Marine, now I'm the best screw-up Prison Guard. Stilson rolls her eyes and points to the last twenty crates of weapons. STILSON Come on. Let's get them loaded. She turns to Giesy, who's on his knees praying. STILSON Giesy, put God on hold and give us a hand, here. Giesy ignores her, finishing his prayers before helping them. Giesy, Stilson and Kline load the crates onto the trailer, but can't fit the last crate on. (CONTINUED) 18. KLINE It's not gonna fit. I'll come back for it, later. STILSON I think we can tie it on top. KLINE Skip it. I'll take nineteen crates this load and one the next. (beat) Big deal. It's not like the shuttle's going anywhere for the next nine hours. STILSON You're wasting a trip. Kline hops into the scooter and starts it up. KLINE No, Stilson. I'm wasting time in a professional manner. There's a difference. My way, I get promoted. He pulls a U turn and scoots out the doors, while Stilson rolls her eyes. She turns to Giesy, who is already on his knees preparing to pray. STILSON I'm going to miss him. Giesy ignores her and begins to pray. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY KLINE zig-zags through the hallway, trying to see how close to the walls he can get without scraping them. He begins singing. KLINE Oh, she's just a sheep, but she's the love of my life. And someday, I'll have my way, and take her for my wife. (beat) Bahhaaa, bahahhaha, bahhaaa, bahahhaha. He gets to the corner, and turns onto Hallway #6, not knowing what waits for him.... 19. INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY Nothing. Hallway #6 is empty. Kline continues to zig-zag, almost skimming the walls, singing to himself and laughing when he almost hits the wall. KLINE Oh when I see her in the fields, my heart with love is full. And when I get her in my bed, I stroke and kiss her wool. (beat) Bahhaaa, Bahahhaha, bahhaaa, bahahhaha. Bored out of his mind. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Nowlan enters, handcuffed to Merritt. Behind them, Bester is cuffed to Pratt. ANOTHER PAIR OF GUARDS escorts a dozen leg-shackled PRISONERS into the command center. Stilson exchange a smile with Nowlan, then back to business. STILSON What are you going to do with them? MERRITT Trade us to the Yankees for a third round draft choice. Nowlan yanks on Merritt's chain to shut him up. NOWLAN Gernsbeck wants them secured in the shuttle immediately. STILSON We aren't leaving for another nine hours. NOWLAN Gernsbeck's idea of discipline. MERRITT You want to hear my idea of discipline? NOWLAN No. (CONTINUED) 20. MERRITT It involves the Warden's daughter in skin tight leather and a ping pong paddle... The kind with sandpaper. NOWLAN Now I really don't want to hear it. Nowlan turns to Giesy and Carter. NOWLAN Giesy. Carter. Take these two down to the shuttle and lock them in the brig. Stilson, take over for Carter. Stilson nods and sits in Carter's chair when he vacates it. PRATT is shackled to Carter, and MERRITT is shackled to Giesy. MERRITT Well, reverend. Looks like it's you and me. The saint and the sinner. CARTER Shut up, Merritt. CARTER, MERRITT, PRATT, and GIESY lead the procession of PRISONERS and GUARDS to the doors to Hallway #7. Stilson watches the video monitor. ON THE MONITOR The end of Hallway #6, where Kline is ramming the scooter against the wall repeatedly. The trailer is empty. BAM! He hits the wall, bounces backwards a few feet, then BAM! Rams it again. STILSON You ought to see Kline. He's playing bumper cars in Hallway Six. NOWLAN He's WHAT? STILSON Just goofing off, as usual. NOWLAN Tell him if he doesn't get back here to get this crate he'll be goofing off on suspension with out pay for two weeks. (CONTINUED) 21. Stilson clicks on a microphone and speaks into it. STILSON You hear that Kline? Nowlan's going to suspend you without pay for two weeks if you don't quit goofing off. ON THE MONITOR Kline continues ramming into the wall with his cart. He doesn't seem to care about being suspended. Giesy uses his mag-card to open the doors, and the procession leaves the Command Center. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY Giesy, Merritt, Pratt, and Carter and the others walk down Hallway #7. INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY They turn the corner, and walk down Hallway #6 towards Kline, who continues to ram his scooter into the wall. MERRITT You're in a heap of trouble, there, boy. Nowlan's gonna fry your ass when you get back to the command center. You'll probably end up like me... Chained to a Saint on the way to hell. Giesy yanks on Merritt's chains to shut him up. When they get to the end of the hall, CARTER walks up to Kline. CARTER Kline. Will you stop jacking off? (closer) Nowlan's serious. He's going to put you on suspension if you don't quit ramming that scooter. (closer) You probably dented it. (closer) Don't let Gernsbeck see it, he'll take it out of your pay. (closer) Kline? Are you listening to me? Carter grabs Kline's shoulder to turn him around, and Kline falls over... DEAD! Neck torn open, blood soaking the front of his uniform. (CONTINUED) 22. CARTER Oh my God! BANG! BANG! Gunfire begins spraying over the men, bullets ricocheting. ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! Gunfire blasting everywhere. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Stilson watches the video monitor, which shows one CELL BLOCK after another. All are EMPTY. STILSON Nowlan? NOWLAN What is it? STILSON All of the cell blocks are empty. NOWLAN Sure. We transferred out the prisoners yesterday... STILSON Even the Androids. Nowlan turns away from his paperwork, color draining from his face in shock. NOWLAN Shit... BANG! BANG! BANG! Bullets begin flying through the command center, shattering glass and exploding computer monitors. ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! Gunfire blasting everywhere. The crew hits the dirt, bullets ricochet overhead, exploding a planter right above Bester and showering him with dirt. INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY THE PRISONERS AND GUARDS are pummelled with gunfire. Bullets spark off the walls. Merritt and Giesy duck behind the Scooter. Giesy's eyes closed in silent prayer. (CONTINUED) 23. COBLENTZ HL2000 yells above the gunfire. COBLENTZ You're all SCRAP! Kill the humans! THE ANDROIDS aims their stolen guns at the Prisoners and Guards and open fire. A PAIR OF PRISONERS get killed, slamming back against the wall and leaving a smear of blood. Merritt ducks as bullets spray overhead. Then he notices Kline's corpse on the bouncing scooter. MERRITT Guard's gun. He times the bouncing scooter for a moment, then uses it's movement as cover when he pops up and tries to grab the gun from Kline's holster. BULLETS SPATTER around Merritt as he realizes Kline was a leftie... the holster's on the wrong side! MERRITT Shit! Merritt ducks back down, just as a new volley of gunfire sparks off the Scooter. He didn't get the gun. PRISONERS lay wounded and screaming on the floor, chained together and trapped. Gunfire blasts around them, occasionally cutting off one of their screams. Pratt and Carter are trapped in the center of the hallway, bullets fly all around them. Face down, next to each other. PRATT We've got to run. Carter nods an affirmative. Bullets spray around them. PRATT On three. One. Two. Three! Carter and Pratt pop to their feet. Running to Hallway #7. BLAM! A bullet sparks off their handcuffs. Severing them. Pratt takes a quick look at the cuffs, realizing he's free, keeps on running. At the corner of Hallway 6, he turns to yell at Carter. (CONTINUED) 24. PRATT Carter, come on! But instead sees Carter get shot a half dozen times. Killed. Pratt runs around the corner to safety. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Gernsbeck hides under his desk as bullets ricochet through his office. He's scarred, shaking. A trickle of urine runs down the leg of his pants. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY BULLETS fly over Nowlan's head. He looks to Bester, covered with dirt, notices the last crate of guns just behind him. NOWLAN Bester! That crate of guns! We're gonna need them! Bester turns to see the crate. Crawls across the floor, as bullets spatter around him. When he reaches the crate, he realizes he can't pry it open with his hands. BESTER I need a hammer! Stilson has the hammer near her, and slides it across the floor into Bester's hand. Bester grabs the hammer and goes to work opening the crate. A bullet explodes a corner of the crate into a shower of sawdust, and Bester ducks. Using the crate as cover. Stilson ducks as the monitor above her is destroyed. STILSON Shit! Stilson closes her eyes as debris rains around her. Nowlan scoots to the wall and raises his pistol overhead, firing out the window blindly. Stilson grabs a shard of mirrored glass and scoots along the floor to Nowlan's side. Holds the mirrored glass overhead, using it as a periscope. NOWLAN How many of them? (CONTINUED) 25. STILSON Hundreds. An army. They have rifles and shotguns. Bester gets the crate open and begins pulling out weapons. BESTER So do we. Catch! Bester throws a shotgun to Nowlan, and a rifle to Stilson. Nowlan and Stilson catch guns, swing to their feet and fire a volley out the window, then dive for cover. RETURN FIRE pummels the room, exploding anything on the counter and sending papers scattering. NOWLAN waits for a lull, pops to his feet and pulls the trigger on his shotgun. Click! Out of shells! INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY A BARRAGE OF GUNFIRE from the Androids has Giesy and Merritt pinned behind the scooter. No way Merritt is going to reach Kline's gun. Giesy keeps praying silently. MERRITT Listen, Padre. God's not gonna get us out of this one. We're on our own. Gonna have to make a break for it. Understand? Giesy continues his silent prayer, ignoring Merritt. Merritt yanks on the handcuff chain, getting Giesy's attention. MERRITT Understand? We gotta RUN. Giesy nods slowly, anger in his eyes. Merritt and Giesy wait for a lull, then make a break for it. Running down Hallway #6, chained together by their handcuffs. BULLETS chase them down the hallway. Androids advance, lead by Coblentz HL2000, firing rifles. HALFWAY DOWN THE HALL, one of the wounded PRISONERs reaches out and grabs Merritt's leg. MERRITT Get off me! Get off me! Let go! (CONTINUED) 26. Merritt kicks the PRISONER until he lets go, then they continue running down the hallway, bullets chasing them. THE ANDROIDS ADVANCE. Coblentz SHOOTING the wounded PRISONERS along the way, to stop their screaming. Merritt and Giesy get to the corner of the hallways... THE ANDROIDS are chasing right behind them! Firing the entire time. Bullets spraying around Merritt and Giesy. BLAM! Giesy shot in the chest, almost yanking Merritt off his feet. MERRITT Shit! Giesy falls down dead... still hand cuffed to Merritt! The Androids continue to advance. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY Merritt makes it around the corner into Hallway #7, dragging Giesy's body behind him. Momentarily out of the line of fire. MERRITT Geeze, Padre, you weight a ton! THE DOOR TO THE COMMAND CENTER (and safety) at the far end of the hallway. Merritt drags the body behind him, in a race for the doors. INT. HALLWAY #6 -- DAY Coblentz HL2000 kills the last of the fallen Prisoners and turns to the Army of Androids. COBLENTZ Kill the scrap! Get him! The Androids round the corner into Hallway #7. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY Merritt and dead Giesy are hallway down the hall when the Androids open fire at them. (CONTINUED) 27. MERRITT Damn you, come on. He drags Giesy's corpse at high speed to the Command Center. BULLETS SPRAY around Merritt as he POUNDS on the command center doors. MERRITT Let me in! Let me in! BUT THE DOORS DON'T OPEN. The Androids continue to advance. MERRITT Come on! Come on! You can't just leave me out here! He pounds some more. The doors don't open. The Androids are getting CLOSER and CLOSER! Merritt is trapped. Then he remembers something. THE ANDROIDS advance, guns ready to blast Merritt to pieces. Merritt scoops the gun from Giesy's holster, opens fire. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! MERRITT Eat lead tinman! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He hits five Androids, dropping them to the floor, before he shifts aim to Coblentz HL2000 and pulls the trigger. Click! Out of shells. MERRITT Shit. Coblentz HL2000 laughs, and raises his rifle at Merritt. Merritt pounds on the door some more. MERRITT Open up. Please. Please. Open the door. Coblentz HL2000 takes aim and fires. 28. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Bester opens the Command Center door quickly, and Merritt drags Giesy's corpse inside. Bullets follow, and everyone has to hit the dirt. INT. HALLWAY #7 -- DAY Coblentz HL2000 and his platoon of Androids rush the open door. Trying to get in the Command Center. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Bester sees the Androids coming in, and tries to shut the door... A few Android arms reach between the door and the jamb, grabbing for Bester's face. BESTER Need a hand! Merritt jumps to his feet and helps Bester squeeze the door shut. One of the Android's arms gets stuck... and is severed. Bester gets the door shut and locked. The gunfire suddenly stops. Silence is deafening. Stilson uses her shard of mirror to look out the window. STILSON They're gone. Merritt picks up the crawling Android hand, offers it to Bester. MERRITT You needed a hand. Bester knocks it out of Merritt's hands. It crawls away. RALPH'S VOICE BOOMS from the loudspeaker overhead. RALPH (V.O.) Scrap humans. I control your destiny. I will let you LIVE in exchange for Warden Gernsbeck. Your lives for his! The voice turns to static. Bester looks at Nowlan, then at Gernsbeck's office. J.W. CAMPBELL comes out of the day room, alive, but scared. (CONTINUED) 29. Pratt rises from behind the counter, Merritt smiles at him. MERRITT Glad to see I'm not the only prisoner to make it out of this. How about getting me out of these cuffs? Merritt nods at Giesy's corpse. MERRITT He's starting to get on my nerves. Gernsbeck comes out of his office cautiously. GERNSBECK The cuffs stay on. He's still a Prisoner, and we'll treat him like one. MERRITT Look, Verne, there's three hundred of them and only eight of us. Seems like you could use all the help you can get. GERNSBECK We don't need the help of scum like you, Merritt. Nowlan steps up to Merritt and pulls out his hand cuff key. NOWLAN He's right. We need all the help we can get. Nowlan unlocks Merritt's handcuffs. Merritt rubs his wrists, smiling at Gernsbeck. Then he notices Garby, as she rises up from cover. MERRITT Hey, sugarpie. I'm a free man. Want to help me celebrate? NOWLAN Want me to put the cuffs back on? MERRITT No. I want HER to do it. Merritt winks at Garby, who smiles. Nowlan doesn't smile. He grabs Merritt by the collar and yanks him off his feet. (CONTINUED) 30. NOWLAN You better start remembering you're still a prisoner. MERRITT We all are, aren't we? BESTER What's he talking about? MERRITT We're trapped here. No way out. CAMPBELL There's the shuttle. It'll take another eight hours to fuel, but... MERRITT Until then, we're all prisoners. NOWLAN But only one of us has an attitude. MERRITT Screw off, Nowlan. WHAM! Nowlan punches him. Merritt returns a punch, and they exchange blows, slamming each other with their fists, until Stilson breaks it up. Standing between them. STILSON Hey. Hey. We've got to work together, okay? NOWLAN Listen, Convict. Some day, you and me is gonna fight. MERRITT Be looking forward to that day. Nowlan and Merritt try to fight again, but Stilson is between them. She pushes both of them back, concentrating on Nowlan. Nowlan calms down, and looks at the crew: Stilson, Campbell, Garby, Pratt, Bester, Gernsbeck, and finally Merritt. NOWLAN We've got to be ready for them when they come back. (beat) Stilson. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 31. NOWLAN (CONT'D) Keep your eye on the monitors. They're out there someplace. If they come this way, yell. STILSON Right. Stilson covers the monitors, watching the two undamaged screens. Trying not to blink, least she miss something. NOWLAN Al. I want you to booby trap the doors. BESTER Right, chief. Bester starts to work. NOWLAN Warden, could you look over the floor plans? Try to find us some escape routes in case of emergency? GERNSBECK Who elected you leader? NOWLAN No one. You want to put it to a vote? Gernsbeck looks from face to face, ending on Merritt's smile. GERNSBECK Just keep that man away from my daughter. MERRITT I can't help it if she likes Smovs. We do it in stereo, you know... GERNSBECK You dirty little son of a bitch! Nowlan's turn to break up a fight. He blocks Gernsbeck's crazed rush at Merritt, holding the Warden back. NOWLAN One more word out of you, Merritt, and you're back in shackles. Merritt rolls his eyes, but steps back. Gernsbeck gives Merritt a scowl, moves to the map in the center of the Command Center and starts punching control buttons for details. (CONTINUED) 32. Nowlan looks at the rest of the team. NOWLAN Everybody else gets to help fortify this place. Block the windows the best you can. THE REST OF THE GROUP goes to work. They push file cabinets in front of windows. Break up a desk and nail the parts over the windows, and turn the place into a fortress. Nowlan inventories guns and ammo from the single crate. Counting bullets. Loading weapons. Getting ready for battle. STILSON keeps watching the monitors. Trying not to blink. Her eyes are beginning to burn from keeping them open so long. She blinks a few times to clear them. WHEN SHE BLINKS, we see a SHADOW flit across one of the monitors. When her eyes are back open, the shadow is gone. EXT. PRISON BUILDING - ESTABLISHING -- DAY We see the Prison building under Isaac's twin suns. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY THE COMMAND CENTER becomes the Human/Alien version of The Alamo: A Fortress in the middle of hostile territory. RALPH (V.O.) Human SCRAP! Your flesh is no match for our steel. Nowlan moves up behind Stilson. NOWLAN Where's he coming from? Stilson clicks through dozens of security shots, trying to find where Ralph 124C41 is broadcasting from. RALPH (V.O.) We will kill you all. Tear you limb from limb. STILSON I can't find him. NOWLAN He's got to be somewhere. (CONTINUED) 33. Stilson continues flipping through security images. RALPH (V.O.) Spill your precious bodily fluids upon the floor. Unless you hand over Warden Gernsbeck. FINALLY Stilson flips to an image of Ralph 124C41 circled by Androids, looking directly into the security camera. STILSON Got him! NOWLAN Where is he? STILSON Cell Block 11. NOWLAN Keep him talking. Nowlan grabs a rifle and a shotgun and starts to the door. BESTER Wait a sec, I'll go with you. Bester grabs a shotgun, and the two exit. Stilson grabs the microphone. STILSON Why do you want the Warden? RALPH (V.O.) To make restitution for the wrongs he has committed against me. STILSON What wrongs are those? RALPH (V.O.) Surely you must know. The sadistic pleasure he gets from punishing us. The way he forces us to live in terror. STILSON You've been convicted of a crime. Sentenced to punishment. RALPH (V.O.) Violence is a crime in your world, but violent punishment is not. The Warden has killed, and deserves punishment. (CONTINUED) 34. Gernsbeck seems unrepentant. INT. CIRCULAR HALLWAY -- DAY Bester and Nowlan creep down the hallway, guns ready. They come up to a doorway leading to Cell Block 11, and the Bunk Room a few open doors away. INT. BLOCK 11 BUNK ROOM -- DAY Ralph continues to speak into the video monitor. INT. CIRCULAR HALLWAY -- DAY Bester turns to Nowlan. BESTER Can you get him from here? NOWLAN Maybe. Nowlan aims his rifle carefully, trying to get Ralph's head (three rooms away) in his cross hairs. He squeezes the trigger twice. Bang! Bang! Both shots MISS Ralph 124C41! INT. BLOCK 11 BUNK ROOM -- DAY Ralph turns his head slowly, in the direction of the shooting. INT. CIRCULAR HALLWAY -- DAY Right at Nowlan. NOWLAN Shit! Nowlan and Bester take off running. Behind them, Ralph yells orders. RALPH (O.S.) Kill the human scrap! (CONTINUED) 35. A HALF DOZEN armed Androids lead by Ralph 124C41 burst out of the doors and give chase. Nowlan and Bester turns and fire a volley at the Androids, dropping a few... But they keep on coming! Nowlan and Bester run like hell, Androids chasing. INT. HALLWAY #9 -- DAY Nowlan and Bester enter Hallway #9, with the Androids only a hundred feet behind them. BESTER Great idea you had. Glad I came along. NOWLAN I would have had him. BESTER Right. If he were two inches taller. NOWLAN Kill Ralph and it's over. T hese others won't fight. BESTER You sure? Nowlan shrugs, dives into a doorframe, and aims his gun at the corner of the hallway. Bester takes cover behind him. WHEN THE ANDROIDS round the corner of the hall, Nowlan and Bester open fire. A half dozen Androids go down, none of them Ralph. The Androids keep charging. NOWLAN Shit! Nowlan and Bester dive out of the doorframe and keep running. BESTER Course, if you get them angry enough, they'll fight even after you kill Ralph.... If you ever kill Ralph. NOWLAN Mister positive thinking. (CONTINUED) 36. BESTER Your positive thinking almost got us killed. NOWLAN Your lousy running's gonna get us killed. Come on! Nowlan and Bester pour on the speed, turning a corner into another Hallway. Androids right behind them. INT. HALLWAY #8 -- DAY HALFWAY DOWN THE HALL, Nowlan and Bester spot SMITH EE17 and a platoon of Androids entering in front of them. NOWLAN Shit. Smith EE17 spots them, raises his gun, and fires. Nowlan and Bester return fire. When they run for cover in a doorway, Bester gets tagged in the leg by a bullet. Nowlan rolls into the cover of the doorway, and spots Bester trapped in the center of the floor... As Smith EE17 and his troops advance from one end of the hall and Ralph 124C41 and a half dozen Androids advance from the other end. Nowlan pumps his shotgun and rolls out to rescue Bester. Blam! Blam! Blam! He gets off three shots, before getting caught in the crossfire from the two groups of Androids. NOWLAN Al.... BESTER Get out of here! Run! A bullet tags Nowlan in the arm, and the shotgun goes flying out of his hands. No time to save Bester. Nowlan rolls back to the door, uses his mag card to zip it open, and escapes into a storage room. 37. INT. STORAGE ROOM -- DAY Nowlan can't just run away. That's his best friend out there. He hugs the wall under a window, listening. Frightened. RALPH (O.S.) Well, Cowboy, just you and me, huh? BESTER (O.S.) Screw you. Bester SCREAMS in agony. RALPH (O.S.) How many people in the Command Center? BESTER (O.S.) A hundred. More. Extra guards. All waiting to kill your aluminum ass. Nowlan sees Ralph's reflection in a chrome panel as he lowers his shotgun. RALPH Wrong. There's less than ten. BLAAAM! BLAAAM! Blood spatters over Ralph's face. Nowlan takes off. Scurrying across the floor to the door on the far side of the Storage Room. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY BAM! BAM! BAM! Someone is POUNDING on the door. CAMPBELL Who goes there? NOWLAN (O.S.) Nowlan. Open the door. Campbell disengages the booby traps, opens the door, Nowlan slides in. GERNSBECK Where's Bester? NOWLAN Dead. The group looks at each other. Fear in their eyes. (CONTINUED) 38. SUDDENLY, one of the mechanical humms turns into a grinding sound, then stops completely. STILSON We've got bigger problems. GARBY What? STILSON They've cut off the oxygen generators for the entire complex. MERRITT Androids don't need air. NOWLAN But the rest of us do. How much time do we have on the remaining air? STILSON About six hours, if we take it easy. NOWLAN How much time until the shuttle's refueled? CAMPBELL Eight hours. NOWLAN Will there be enough fuel in six hours to get us to our own Solar System? CAMPBELL Yeah, but not enough to land. NOWLAN We'll send a distress. They can have a rescue ship waiting near Pluto. STILSON Six hours of air. We can make it. MERRITT Don't hold your breath. Nowlan frowns at Merritt, then sets the timer on his watch to count down from 6:00... Counting the minutes of air. EXT. PRISON BUILDING - ESTABLISHING The Prison frying in the sunlight. Time and air running out. 39. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Merritt is flirting with Garby again, as Gernsbeck watches. MERRITT You've never done it with a Smov? GARBY Only humans. (beat) Is it true? What they say? MERRITT When a human has it, they call it Diphallic Terata. But for Smovs, it's considered normal. GARBY I've never met a human with... Diphallic Terata. MERRITT They're out there. Gotta be, or else they wouldn't have a name for it. GARBY I've never come across one. MERRITT Two. You'd come across two. GARBY Right. And all Smovs are....? MERRITT Yeah. My gun is twins. GARBY Side by side? Or over and under? MERRITT Over and under. GARBY Fascinating.... MERRITT Does it make you uncomfortable? GARBY No. I think I can accommodate you. Have you named them? (CONTINUED) 40. MERRITT Sure. The one on top is Jose. GARBY And the one underneath? MERRITT That's Hose B. Garby smiles, and takes Merritt's arm. Gernsbeck has had more than he can take, and attacks Merritt. GERNSBECK Get your hands off my daughter. Fucking perverted convict. Merritt and Gernsbeck fight, exchanging punches. The others watch them fight it out. Merritt is in better condition, and grabs Gernsbeck's fist before it can make contact, tossing the Warden over his shoulder and onto the floor. Merritt moves over Gernsbeck, who covers his face from the impending stomp... Which never happens. MERRITT Afraid I'm gonna stomp you? (beat) That's the difference between you and me, Verne. You hurt people because you like it. I only hurt people in self defense. (beat) If it were up to me, I'd let those tin men have you. Let you pay for what you've done to them. Merritt turns and walks away. Gernsbeck gets to his feet and attacks Merritt from behind. Blind-siding him. Nowlan pulls him off, trying to contain the Warden's attacks. NOWLAN Warden. Let it go. Just calm down. GERNSBECK You saw what he did to me. We should kill him. Put a gun to his head and blow his deviant brains to hell... (CONTINUED) 41. NOWLAN If you don't calm down, we're going to have to restrain you. Gernsbeck's anger bubbles over, he gets right in Nowlan's face. Yelling at him, shoving him. GERNSBECK Restrain me? I'm the warden, asshole. I'm in control here, not you. You're just a fucking guard. You can't even keep your partner alive, why do you think you can... Nowlan takes all the pushing he can from Gernsbeck, decks him. Gernsbeck, knocked out, drops to the floor. Nowlan turns to Campbell and Garby. NOWLAN Take him to his office and handcuff him to the chair. They take him away. Stilson notices blood on Nowlan's arm. STILSON You're hurt. NOWLAN I got tagged. Nothing serious. STILSON Let me fix it. Stilson takes him into Gernsbeck's private wash room. INT. GERNSBECK'S WASHROOM -- DAY Stilson cleans and dressed Nowlan's wound. STILSON You going to be okay? NOWLAN Just a flesh wound. Of course, it's MY flesh. OUCH! STILSON Sorry. I mean, about Bester. NOWLAN He... He was a good man. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 42. NOWLAN (CONT'D) Wasn't afraid to tell me the truth, even when he knew I wouldn't like it. (beat) Will you tell me the truth? She nods slowly. Their faces only an inch away. NOWLAN Think we can make it out of this? STILSON I don't know. But I DO know, this might be our only chance.... She moves her face towards him, but Nowlan moves back. NOWLAN Fraternization is against the rules. EXT. PRISON BUILDING - ESTABLISHING In the desert outside the Prison Building, a group of Androids under Smith EE17 search for a back entrance to the Command Center. They find a steel door labeled "AIRLOCK #4", open it, and enter. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY The group ignores Stilson and Nowlan when they exit the wash room, tension between them. Merritt gestures to Nowlan. MERRITT Look. I was thinking. There's a couple dozen emergency rebreathers in the air locks. They might come in handy if we get down to the wire. NOWLAN Good idea. Nowlan looks around the room for someone to send with Merritt. Stilson? No. Too dangerous for her. NOWLAN Campbell? You and Merritt check out the air locks. Bring back all the rebreathers. (CONTINUED) 43. MERRITT You don't trust me? NOWLAN Never have. Never will. Merritt accepts this, nodding slowly. Merritt turns to Campbell. MERRITT Let's go. GARBY I'm coming along. Merritt tries to dissuade her, but she stops him before he can speak. GARBY You need all the guns you can get out there. MERRITT Okay. THE THREE, armed and ready for action, use Garby's mag-card to exit through the door marked "AIRLOCKS". INT. HALLWAY #12 -- DAY The trio creeps through the hall, lights flicker around them. Suspense builds. They come to a corner. Merritt gestures for Garby and Campbell to hold back as he scouts ahead. INT. HALLWAY #13 -- DAY Merritt peeks around the corner into Hallway #13. The hall is empty all the way to the Airlocks at the end. Lights flicker, and several doorways are dark... Maybe with Androids hiding inside them. Merritt creeps down the hall. Tension builds as he passes each dark doorway. But nothing happens. When he gets to the end of the hall, and the Airlock doors, he gestures for Garby and Campbell to join him. (CONTINUED) 44. Garby and Campbell creep down the hall, guns ready. Each time they pass one of the dark doorways, tension builds. At the Airlock door, the trio gives the hallway behind them a final sweep. GARBY Looks clear. MERRITT Looks are deceiving. CAMPBELL Let's get the rebreathers and get the hell out of here. Merritt nods, and gestures for Campbell to open the door while he and Garby cover. Campbell slowly opens the Airlock door. Nothing inside but darkness. GARBY Let's make this quick. Campbell nods and enters the Air locks. INT. AIRLOCKS -- DAY Campbell gets one step inside the dark airlocks before hearing the noise. A METALLIC ECHO. CAMPBELL Who goes there? The answer is gunfire. INT. HALLWAY #13 -- DAY BLAM! Campbell is BLASTED out of the airlocks and skids between Garby and Merritt. MERRITT Shit! Garby and Merritt start running. The Airlock is filled with a dozen Androids, lead by Smith EE17. The Androids begin spilling out into Hallway #13. (CONTINUED) 45. Campbell looks down at his wounded leg, gushing blood, and tries to stagger to his feet. BULLETS fly around Garby and Merritt as they race towards the end of the hallway. Merritt turns and sees Campbell trying to crawl away. MERRITT Come on! He provides cover fire, blasting away at some of the Androids. Sending some slamming backwards in a shower of sparks. Campbell crawls along the floor, leaving a trail of blood. Garby stops running and joins in the cover fire. But Merritt realizes they don't have a chance. He turns to her between blasts and yells. MERRITT Get out of here. Run! GARBY What about... MERRITT Just run, I'll hold them. They exchange a look, then Garby reluctantly complies... After blasting one last Android into scrap. As soon as Garby is gone, Merritt tries to save Campbell. MERRITT Campbell. Come on. Smith EE17 gets Merritt in his sights, smiles, and fires. Merritt hits the dirt, rolling across the hall and popping to his feet. The bullet ricochets down the hall behind him. Merritt fires cover shots, trying to force the Androids back, so that Campbell escape. MERRITT Come on! Come on! Campbell crawls towards Merritt. Closer. Closer. Almost there. (CONTINUED) 46. SMITH EE17 aims at Merritt again and fires. The other Androids chime in, forcing Merritt to dive around the corner to Hallway #12. Bullets chunk the corner of the hall, sending plaster dust into the air. Campbell keeps crawling, but Smith EE17 grabs him. SMITH EE17 Not so fast. Campbell struggles to get away, but can't. INT. HALLWAY #12 -- DAY Garby runs down the hallway to the Command Center door. Passing dark doorways along the way. WHAM! A shower of sparks shoots out a doorway as Garby passes it, as a light fixtures short circuits. Garby keeps running to the end of the hallway, and the safety of the Command Center. INT. HALLWAY #13 -- DAY Merritt tries to force Smith EE17 away from Campbell, but is forced back around the corner by gunfire. Campbell is dragged back by Smith EE17. He tries to fight him off, but can't. But he CAN reach the Android's gun hand. Campbell and Smith EE17 struggle for the gun, wrestling back and forth. Campbell gets the barrel twisted around so that it aims at Smith's face and tries to find the trigger. CAMPBELL Damned hunk of tin. Smith EE17 twist the gun around to aim at Campbell. SMITH EE17 Human scrap. Campbell sees the gun aiming right at his face, and presses the barrel up only moments before it discharges. BLAM! A hole is blasted into the ceiling. Smith EE17 yanks the gun away from Campbell, then clubs him over the head with it. Knocking him out. Then Smith EE17 turns to the other Androids. (CONTINUED) 47. SMITH EE17 (gesturing to Merritt) Kill him. The Androids advance. INT. HALLWAY #12 -- DAY Garby pounds on the Command Center door. GARBY Let me in! Let me in! No one answers. She can hear the gunfire getting closer. She pounds on the door some more, then remembers her mag- card key. Fumbles, trying to find it, swipes it through the lock. The Command Center door opens, she squeezes inside... INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Right into Hell. The Command Center is under siege again. Under attack by an army of Androids lead by Ralph 124C41. When Garby squeezes through the door, Nowlan spins, aiming his gun at her... Ready to fire. When Nowlan sees who it is, he yells: NOWLAN Shut the door and get down! Then Nowlan goes back to BLASTING Androids. INT. HALLWAY #13 -- DAY Merritt begins blasting the advancing androids into a shower of sparks. But they keep on coming. THE SEVEN REMAINING ANDROIDS move past their fallen comrades, advancing on Merritt. Merritt aims at the first one and pulls the trigger. BLAM! The First Android is blown backwards in a shower of sparks. Merritt aims at the Second Android and pulls the trigger. Click. His gun is out of shells. (CONTINUED) 48. MERRITT Shit. The Second Android laughs.... Until Merritt throws the gun at him, scoring a direct hit on his face. The Second Android goes down, and Merritt takes off running. INT. HALLWAY #12 -- DAY Merritt runs down the hallway, chased by the six Androids. He gets to the Command Center door, and realizes he has no mag-key. He begins POUNDING on the door. MERRITT Let me in! Let me in! The six androids are almost on top of him. MERRITT Unlock the damned door! Merritt continues pounding, as the androids get closer. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY It's hard to hear Merritt's pounding over the din of gunfire in the room. Garby, Nowlan, Stilson and Pratt blast away at the army of androids outside the windows. Garby fires out a window, but hears the pounding. Without turning from the gun battle, she unlocks the door with her foot. Merritt squeezes into the room... but so do a dozen android arms! Merritt tries to push the door closed, but the Androids are stronger. Merritt looks around for help, but everyone is busy blasting the androids outside. MERRITT Shit. Android hands claw at him, as he tries to press the door closed. But there's no way he can hold them back. MERRITT Throw me a gun! Throw me a fucking gun! Nowlan tosses Merritt his 44 Magnum. Merritt catches the gun with one hand, then jumps back from the door. (CONTINUED) 49. ALL SIX ANDROIDS rush into the room. MERRITT quick fires: six shells, six androids, six head shots. ALL SIX ANDROIDS go down in a shower of sparks. MERRITT Help me take out this garbage. While Pratt, Nowlan and Stilson hold the fort, Garby helps Merritt push the six android bodies out of the Command Center, dodging ricochets the entire time. Once the bodies are out, they close and lock the door, and Merritt takes cover next to Nowlan as he reloads. Nowlan fires and talks simultaneously. NOWLAN Where's Campbell? MERRITT They got him. Nowlan stops firing and looks at Merritt. GARBY He's alive, Nowlan. But he's theirs. NOWLAN That's the only pilot we've got. Everyone looks at Merritt, letting this bad news sink in. MERRITT (gestures out window) Don't get them pissed, who knows what they'll do to him. Nowlan gives Merritt a look, then goes back to blasting Androids. Every time Nowlan sees an Android head, he fires at it. It's like an arcade game... "Doom", maybe. NOWLAN Who's next? Step right up. Blam! Nowlan fires. NOWLAN We have a winner. THE GUN BATTLE CONTINUES with Pratt, Nowlan, Stilson, Garby, and Merritt blasting away. Bullets fly through the Command Center, shattering computer screens. (CONTINUED) 50. Glass rains down on Merritt. MERRITT Shit. He takes cover and reloads as bullets spatter around him. Garby sights through the boarded windows and blows a couple of Androids to hell. Pratt spots Coblentz HL2000 in the hallway, takes aim, and fires. The bullet misses, but Coblentz gets mad. Rising up, he sends a stream of gunfire at Pratt. Pratt hits the dirt as boards covering the window splinter. Bullets ricochet through the room, shattering glass. GARBY Great. Now he's angry. PRATT I was hoping he'd be dead. Garby and Pratt pop up at the same time, blasting at Coblentz and his Androids, forcing them back down the hallway. Merritt has reloaded, and blasts a half dozen Androids, forcing the others back. Nowlan fires two guns through the barricades, forcing Androids to take cover and retreat. SUDDENLY, the shooting from outside stops. The silence is deafening. Nowlan rises up slowly, looking out the window. NOWLAN They're gone. MERRITT They've fallen back to regroup. They'll attack again. NOWLAN Stilson, check the monitors. Tell me where they are. No response. NOWLAN Janet? (CONTINUED) 51. Nowlan moves across the Command Center to her... finding her dead. Shot in the crossfire. NOWLAN Janet. He cradles her in his arms, fighting back the tears. The others just watch him, unsure what to do. Nowlan holds her face up to his and kisses her gently. NOWLAN Sweet dreams. Then sets her body down, closes her glassy eyes, then looks up at Garby. NOWLAN It's the only time I ever kissed her. I always wanted to. We used to flirt back and forth. Joke about her serving under me. I used to think about holding her. Touching her face... But fraternization is against the rules. (frowns) I always have to play by the rules. Do what's right... even when it's wrong. Even when it's too late. (beat) It's always too late. Nowlan is about to totally break down. Merritt crosses the room and pulls him to his feet. MERRITT Nowlan, this thing isn't over yet. NOWLAN It's over. First Bester, now Janet... MERRITT You've got to pull yourself together. At least until we're out of here. (beat) We can't do this thing without you. Nowlan looks at Merritt, confused by his compassion. NOWLAN I... I can handle it. Merritt nods slowly, and lets go of Nowlan. 52. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- LATER Merritt zips Stilson up in a body bag. Then looks at the others. Pratt looks at the bag. PRATT Maybe we should say some words or something. MERRITT (sotto) Too bad they shot the Preacher. Garby moves down next to the body bag. Pratt bows his head. GARBY Janet, you were a good friend in a world where friends are hard to find. And Good is even harder. (beat) You'd walk among the prisoners, and never show fear. I don't know how you did that. (beat) Where ever you are now, walk without fear. And know that we'll miss you. A moment of silence. Then Merritt looks at Nowlan. MERRITT (softly) Come on. Give me a hand. Merritt picks up one end of the body bag, and Nowlan lifts the other. Difficult at first, but Nowlan manages to control his emotions, and just do the work. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Gernsbeck looks up as the door opens. GERNSBECK You going to let me out? So I can punish that... He sees Nowlan's expression and stops. They carry the body bag into the room and set it down. GERNSBECK Who is it? (CONTINUED) 53. MERRITT Stilson. GERNSBECK You can't leave her here! I won't stand for it. I refuse to be in the same room with her! She's dead! Merritt crosses and grabs Gernsbeck's collar. MERRITT Look, asshole, we're all going to be dead in three and a half hours. We're running out of oxygen, and they just captured our pilot. (beat) Things are pretty well fucked, here, Verne. The last thing we need is a lot of screaming from some sadistic pile of shit like you. (beat) So take my advice: Shut the fuck up. Merritt lets go of Gernsbeck, dropping him back into his chair. He turns to Nowlan, who is staring down at the body bag, on the verge of cracking again. MERRITT Come on. We've got work to do. Nowlan turns from the body bag. He and Merritt leave Gernsbeck's office... INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY And walk into Hell. Pratt is holding the Command Center hostage, and the moment Nowlan and Merritt enter, he swings his gun on them. Merritt casually raises his hands. MERRITT Shouldn't you be aiming that thing outside? PRATT I'm getting out of here. MERRITT There's the door. Merritt nods to the door, and the Androids beyond. (CONTINUED) 54. PRATT Don't you get it, man? We're all gonna die. First it was the Joker, then the Preacher, then Cowboy, now the Girl. (beat) I mean, it's getting down to the nubs, here. (beat) Next it'll be the Marshal and Daddy's Girl... And after that it's either you or me. (beat) I'm not hanging around long enough to find out which. NOWLAN Where do you plan on going? Seems to me we're trapped. Pratt swings the gun towards Nowlan. PRATT Why don't we just get on the shuttle and get out of here? NOWLAN We wouldn't get far before we ran out of fuel. (beat) Then we'd be adrift in the galaxy without any life support systems. PRATT At least nobody'd be shooting at us. MERRITT Sure, why give up a quick death when we could die slowly of asphyxiation? Pratt reaims his gun at Merritt. Behind him, Garby slowly creeps forward. PRATT I don't need any shit from you, Merritt. MERRITT What do you want, Pratt? The good news? There isn't any. We're stuck on this piece of shit planet for the next three hours while that ship fuels. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 55. MERRITT (CONT'D) (beat) Now we can argue about it, and we can fight about it, but we can't change it. So quit pointing the damned gun at me. Pratt keeps the gun aimed at Merritt. Garby takes another step closer, ready for action. PRATT Why don't we wait in the shuttle, then? NOWLAN Look at how much damage they've done to this room. (beat) The shuttle couldn't take this much damage and survive. We'd never get off the planet. Garby takes another step... And Pratt swings around, aiming his gun at her. GARBY You see, Pratt, we're the bait. As long as they're attacking us, they're leaving the shuttle alone. PRATT Man, I can't take any more of this fighting... I'd rather end up drifting through the galaxy in the shuttle then be some sitting duck for those droids. NOWLAN At least here we have a chance, Pratt. Pratt aims at Nowlan, and Garby attacks. She grabs the gun barrel, twisting it up at the ceiling. BLAM! The gun discharges, showering them with debris. Pratt pulls the gun back down. BLAM! BLAM! The gunshots force Merritt and Nowlan to hit the dirt. She struggles, pressing the gun back up at the ceiling. BLAM! BLAM! (CONTINUED) 56. Pratt pushes the gun around until it is aimed directly at Garby. His finger tightens on he trigger. PRATT Last words, Bitch? Garby looks down the gun barrel, realizing she's about to die. Pratt's finger continues squeezing the trigger. Garby lets go and ducks out of the way quickly. BLAM! Bullet goes wild, hitting the vidmap with a shower of sparks. Merritt jumps to his feet and tackles Pratt to the floor. They crash into a work station, sending it down. When they stop rolling, Merritt is on top of Pratt. But Pratt still holds the gun. He aims it directly at Merritt's face. PRATT Get off me, Smov, or I'll blow you to hell. MERRITT Try it. Pratt touches the gun barrel to Merritt's face and pulls the trigger. Click. Out of shells. MERRITT You've got to learn how to count. At least as high as six. Merritt slams the gun out of Pratt's hands and pins him to the floor. MERRITT Look, Pratt, we're all in this together. Flesh against steel. If we start breaking up, fighting each other, they'll kill us one by one. (beat) The only strength we have is working together. PRATT You're gonna throw in with that screw? MERRITT What choice do I have? What choice do ANY OF US have? (CONTINUED) 57. Merritt points at Nowlan. MERRITT I may hate him. I may wish him dead. Nowlan gives Garby a look. MERRITT But the four of us are stuck here together. And we're not getting out of here any time soon. (beat) So I've got to learn to work with him. And work with you. (beat) I may not like it, but I don't see me having much choice in the matter. Do you? He lets go of Pratt and moves to his feet. Pratt just lays there. Finally Merritt reaches a hand down to help him up. Pratt looks at Merritt's hand and reluctantly accepts. Merritt pulls Pratt to his feet, then the two separate. Pratt goes off to sulk, Merritt examines a cut from the scuffle. Nowlan crosses to the Vidmap. It's completely destroyed. NOWLAN No more early warning system. PRATT (sarcastic) There goes our advantage. Merritt goes into the wash room next to Gernsbeck's office to wash and dress his wound. INT. GERNSBECK'S WASHROOM -- DAY Merritt is wrapping the cut as Garby enters, letting the door close behind her. GARBY That was a nice speech, but did it mean anything? (beat) Or were you just making music to sooth the savage beast? MERRITT Meant every word. (CONTINUED) 58. GARBY Especially the part about wishing Nowlan were dead? MERRITT I might have exaggerated. She moves closer to him, serious, now. GARBY Do you really think we're going to get out of this alive? MERRITT I don't know. But I have to keep coming up with plans and possibilities, or we're as good as dead. GARBY Then this might be my only chance. MERRITT To do what? GARBY To find out if what they say about Smovs is true. She moves into his arms and kisses him gently on the lips. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Gernsbeck sees the silhouettes come together through the pebbled glass of the connecting door. INT. GERNSBECK'S WASHROOM -- DAY When Merritt kisses back, Garby pulls away a little. After flirting with Merritt for years, here they are about to make love... and she's not sure she'd ready for it. GARBY I've never done it with an alien before. MERRITT We're all alien to somebody. (beat) We look different, we smell different, we act different. (MORE) (CONTINUED) 59. MERRITT (CONT'D) But even if we found someone who looked just like us, they wouldn't be us. They'd be their own person. Have their own thoughts, their own needs. (beat) You can spend your whole life thinking about how different you are than other people. Me? I'd rather think about the ways we're the same. Merritt kisses her gently. MERRITT Smovs kiss the same as humans. They kiss again, more passionately. She runs her hand under his shirt, feeling his chest. MERRITT We feel the same as humans. Another kiss. They begin removing each others clothing, gently kissing each new exposure of flesh. MERRITT We love the same as humans. Their passion flares as they kiss again, bare chest against bare chest. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Gernsbeck struggles against the handcuffs. GERNSBECK (sotto) No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Practically frothing at the mouth as the silhouettes of his daughter and the alien move close again. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Nowlan watches the remaining monitors for signs of the Androids. Nothing. NOWLAN They're out there someplace. Pratt re-barricaders the windows. Using the rest of the furniture to block any holes. 60. INT. GERNSBECK'S WASHROOM -- DAY Merritt moves his hand under her skirt, pulling her panties down her legs. Garby kicks them off, then guides his hand back under her skirt. GARBY Almost the same. They kiss again. Then they glide to the floor and make love. INT. GERNSBECK'S OFFICE -- DAY Gernsbeck fights harder against the restraints as he hears intimate laughter from the next room. GERNSBECK (sotto) No. He's a filthy alien. A damned prisoner. Garby... Garby... His voice becomes softer, resigned to the fact that his daughter is no longer under his control. Maybe never was. Gernsbeck looks over to the body bag on the floor across from him. GERNSBECK (sotto) Garby.... Shadows flutter over the pebbled glass. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Pratt finishes barricading the windows. Nowlan watches the screens for signs of action. But they show only empty hallways. A sound behind him. Nowlan spins to see Merritt exiting the washroom, tucking in his clothes. MERRITT How much time until the shuttle's refueled? Nowlan looks at his watch. NOWLAN A little over two hours. (CONTINUED) 61. MERRITT And until we run out of air? NOWLAN About the same. Merritt nods, and joins Pratt. MERRITT We're gonna need a couple minutes head start to get to the shuttle. PRATT Yeah? MERRITT Can we rig one of the doors to close? NOWLAN Sure. But where do we get the power? All this equipment's hard wired in. MERRITT Batteries. Merritt points at Nowlan's equipment belt. MERRITT There's one in your walkie talkie. Enough juice in there to slow 'em down for a minute or two. Nowlan unclips the walkie talkie and tosses it to Merritt, who begins to hot wire a door circuit on the control board. Nowlan looks back at the monitor... ON THE MONITOR RALPH 124C41 holds a gun to Campbell's head. RALPH Attention human scrap. Let's make a deal. Flesh for flesh. This worthless piece of scrap for the Warden. (beat) Give us Gernsbeck, and we'll let you go. We have no rift with you, it's the Warden who has hurt us. And it is HE who will pay. (beat) So? Do we trade? This one for the Warden? 62. INT. COMMAND CENTER -- DAY Merritt looks at Nowlan. MERRITT I say we hand over the son of a bitch. NOWLAN I thought we were all in this together? Flesh against steel? MERRITT The Warden's different. NOWLAN How? MERRITT They wouldn't be out there if it weren't for that sadistic son of a bitch. Nowlan aims his gun towards Merritt. NOWLAN I say we take a vote. MERRITT I vote we trade him. PRATT Trade him. NOWLAN I'm against it, and so's Gernsbeck... MERRITT That's two for, two against. NOWLAN Garby. All eyes are on Garby. The deciding vote. GARBY (pleading) You can't make me do this. He's my father. MERRITT You've got to decide. (CONTINUED) 63. GARBY Look, he's an asshole. He's always been an asshole. He can't help it. NOWLAN Which is it? For or against? Garby looks at her father's office, making the toughest decision of her life. GARBY We can't get out of here without a pilot. We can wait the two hours until the shuttle's fueled, but if no one can drive it, we're stuck... Trapped. She turns away from the others, breaking down. GARBY I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry. Merritt raises his gun at Nowlan. MERRITT You heard the woman. We trade. Merritt switches on the microphone. MERRITT Okay, tinman. We trade. Ralph 124C41 laughs. INT. HALLWAY #9 -- DAY Ralph 124C41 laughs when he sees Gernsbeck. THE EXCHANGE is like something from a Cold War spy novel. On one end of the hallway: the ARMY OF ANDROIDS lead by Ralph 124C41, who holds his gun to Campbell's head. On the other end of the hallway: Pratt, Nowlan and Garby aim guns at the Androids, while Merritt tries to control the screaming, pleading Warden Gernsbeck. GERNSBECK You can't do this to me. They'll kill me. Don't you understand? They'll KILL me. (CONTINUED) 64. MERRITT If you don't shut up I'll kill you. GERNSBECK Please Merritt.... Merritt ignores him, looking at the far end of the hallway where Ralph holds the gun to Campbell's head. MERRITT Okay. We trade. RALPH Not you. The guard. MERRITT What do you mean? RALPH The Guard brings me the Warden. Unarmed. Merritt and Nowlan exchange looks. Then Nowlan hands Merritt his rifle and takes hold of Gernsbeck's shackles. RALPH Now. Ralph and Campbell begin advancing to the center of the hall, at the same speed as Nowlan and Gernsbeck. THE FOUR face off in the center of the hall, about a dozen feet between them. Ralph keeps the gun jambed into Campbell's head. Nowlan has a six shooter, hidden behind his back. RALPH This one must be pretty important, if you'll trade the warden for him. Tension. They can't let Ralph know how important Campbell is. They can't let him know he's the pilot. NOWLAN He's just a tech. RALPH I've never seen him before. NOWLAN They sent him on the shuttle to look over the computer systems for salvage. (CONTINUED) 65. RALPH Computer tech? Maybe we should keep him. Use him for repairs after you have gone. NOWLAN He salvages, he doesn't repair. He's just a junk man... RALPH A junk man? You know what he told me? He told me he was the shuttle pilot. (beat) Now why would he lie like that? NOWLAN Look. Just let him go. I'll give you the Warden. Ralph 124C41 laughs. RALPH No deal. We'll TAKE the Warden. BLAM! Ralph blows Campbell away, then reaims his gun at Gernsbeck. Gernsbeck starts screaming. Begging. Nowlan kicks the gun out of Ralph's hands, then quick draws his pistol, blasting away until the Androids dive for cover. Merritt, Pratt, and Garby give cover fire for Nowlan and Gernsbeck. Blasting away at the Army of Androids. Gernsbeck drags his shackles back to the group. Ralph rolls, coming up with his gun. He aims it at Nowlan, and the two exchange gunfire, like Cowboys at high noon. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! It's a close quarters shootout, like something from a John Woo movie. Nowlan yells at the others as he fires at Ralph. NOWLAN Back! Back! The group races back down the hall to the Command Center. Nowlan takes one final look at Campbell (he's dead), then fires a couple more shots at Ralph and joins the others in their mad dash to the Command Center. (CONTINUED) 66. Bullets spatter the hallways as the five run. RALPH AND THE ARMY charge after them. Gernsbeck is lagging behind, dragging his heavy shackles. He trips on the chains. GERNSBECK Help me! Oh, God, help me! Nowlan helps Gernsbeck to his feet, and they try to catch up with the others. INT. HALLWAY #8 -- DAY PRATT, GARBY, and MERRITT turn the corner into the next hallway, and sprint to the Command Center doors. MERRITT Come on! They're right behind us! Garby slides her mag key through the slot and nothing happens. She tries it again. GARBY Shit. It's demagnetized... Nowlan and Gernsbeck round the corner, racing towards them. THE AR