Transcript

Summary | Production | Transcript | Fan Reviews

While attempting to return a group of colonists to their home, the crew finds records of their own alternate lives – and a planet on the verge of seismic destruction.

EPISODE #218
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 04.25.2011
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 04.30.2012
WRITTEN BY: Carl Binder
DIRECTED BY: Alex Chapple
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Transcript by Callie Sullivan

PLANET NOVUS. THE PAST. On the planet of Novus, an elderly Everett Young lies in bed, breathing weakly. A woman's voice speaks gently from his bedside.

CHLOE: Colonel?

(The old man's eyes flicker open briefly and he turns his head towards her but the effort is almost too much and he closes his eyes again.)

EVERETT: T.J.

(The old woman sitting at his bedside smiles awkwardly.)

CHLOE: No. It's Chloe.

(Everett opens his eyes with effort.)

EVERETT: Where's ... where's Steven?

(A younger man walks over to the bed.)

STEVEN: I'm right here, Dad. Sara's on her way. She'll be here any minute.

(Everett pulls in another painful breath and turns his head towards Chloe.)

EVERETT (in a whisper): I'm sorry.


THE PRESENT. Destiny's shuttle comes in to land in a large square in the middle of the city. There is a huge metallic statue at one end of the square which is clearly meant to be Colonel Young. The shuttle's landing struts lower and she gently touches down just behind the statue. The rear doors unlock and open and Ronald Greer looks out. He holds out a hand and catches a few flakes of the snow that is falling from the sky, immediately realising that it's not snow at all and that the flakes are grey. He pulls his hand in again and shows them to Eli Wallace standing beside him.

WALLACE: Ash.


DESTINY. Up in space, Destiny is approaching the planet. Matthew Scott reports over the comms from the city.

SCOTT: We just did a recon of the city centre. The place is completely deserted. Hard to breathe, too, with all the ash falling.

VOLKER: So much for dropping them all off down there.

YOUNG (into comms): I don't want you hanging around if it's too dangerous.

SCOTT: Yes, sir, but Yaozu took us to the entrance to an underground complex. It's sort of like a giant fall-out shelter. Who knows? There could be people holed up in there. I think we should check it out.

YOUNG: Be careful. The planet's unstable.

SCOTT: Copy that. Got a problem, though. The doors are sealed; pretty thick too. Tried to blast it open with C4, even used the shuttle's weapons but no luck.

(On Destiny's Bridge, Adam Brody makes a suggestion.)

BRODY: We can use Destiny's main weapon, blow a hole in it.

VOLKER: Yeah, and destroy the entire complex in the process(!)

BRODY (speaking slowly as if to an idiot): We'll dial down the power. Sixty percent.

WALLACE: The-the doors are pretty thick and the actual bunker's way underground, hundreds of feet. I'd say it's worth a shot.

(He grins apologetically at his unintentional pun. On the Bridge, Young looks round to Nicholas Rush to see what he thinks. Nick shrugs his agreement.)

RUSH: Yeah.

YOUNG (turning back to the comms): All right. Give us the coordinates.

(Adam goes to one of the front consoles and gets to work. Some time later the main weapon lowers down from the underside of the ship. Adam watches his console.)

BRODY: I've got a lock.

YOUNG: Lieutenant, we are ready to fire. Are you clear of the area?

SCOTT: Yes, sir. Fire away.

(The central of the three cannons on the weapon issues a single shot which races down towards the planet, soars down to the city and impacts the complex's doors. On Destiny, everybody waits anxiously for the shuttle to return to the site and for the crew to reach the complex again.)

YOUNG: Lieutenant.

SCOTT: Colonel, we're outside.

(The shuttle crew is standing near the massive doors to the complex, where a huge hole has been blasted into the entrance.)

SCOTT: Nice shootin'. It worked.

(The team makes its way inside and walks along a corridor. Lights automatically come on as they progress.)

WALLACE: There's still power. That's a good sign.

YAOZU: My father worked down here. He would sometimes bring me with him. I remember running through these halls as a child.

(They reach a large set of doors and Yaozu walks across and pushes a button on the wall beside them. The doors slide open and Yaozu leads the team inside a large elevator. There is a recognisable panel inside full of buttons for all the floors and he pushes the button for the lowest floor, level thirty. The doors close and the elevator begins its descent. The Destiny crew and Jason and Ellie stare around at each other in a mixture of surprise and disbelief as music begins to play tinnily over speakers. Scott smiles and begins nodding his head in time with the music.)

(The elevator reaches the thirtieth floor and Scott and Greer lead the way out, aiming their rifles in all directions. There's a central shaft leading back up to the surface, showing all the floors above them and a spiral staircase linking the levels. Matt calls out.)

SCOTT: Hello?

WRAY: What is this room?

SCOTT: The Tenaran archive. The entire history of our people is stored here.

WALLACE: Let's hope it can tell us what happened to them.


KINO VISION - The very first footage taken by Kino after the crew evacuated from Destiny. A fierce sandstorm is blowing around the crew, who have to yell to be heard.

YOUNG: ... the hell is this?!

WALLACE: I don't know!

WRAY: This isn't Earth!

WALLACE: Something obviously went wrong!

SCOTT: All right! Greer, James, organise teams. We need to find shelter.

YOUNG: Where's Telford?

SCOTT: He didn't make it.

WRAY: Why? What happened to him?

SCOTT: I don't know!

(Young suddenly notices the Kino floating nearby and yells at Eli in surprise and indignation.)

YOUNG: You brought a Kino?!

(Eli babbles incoherently at him. Young realises that he's holding a remote.)

YOUNG: Find a planet!

WRAY: Can you re-dial Destiny?

WALLACE: It's gone.

SCOTT: All right, everyone, stay calm. Stay close!

(Young turns and storms towards the Kino.)

YOUNG: Turn this off!

(The footage ends. Camille is sitting at a console and now turns to Yaozu who is standing behind her with Jason and Ellie.)

YAOZU: The first recording stored in the Tenaran archive.

(Camille stares at him in amazement.)

WRAY: Two thousand years ago. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that. Let's see what else they've got.

(One level below them, Eli is at another console and now looks around to Matt.)

WALLACE: OK. Communications are up. We should be able to talk to Destiny. Just hit that button.

(Matt looks at the button that Eli had pointed to.)

SCOTT: This one?

WALLACE: Yeah.

SCOTT (pushing the button): Colonel, this is Scott. Do you read?

(On Destiny's Bridge, everybody perks up after their long wait. Young walks across to the command chair and pushes the comms button.)

YOUNG: Yeah, we read you.

SCOTT: Yeah, we are now in one of the archive rooms. There's a bunch of 'em on several levels.

JOHANSEN (from the Bridge): Still no people?

SCOTT: Not a soul.

WALLACE: We've power, though. The grid draws from a combo of solar, wind and geothermal energy.

RUSH: Is there anything worth salvaging?

WALLACE: Tons! We found the Testament people were talking about: the entire Tenaran repository. Thousands of Kino recordings, historical documents, a detailed account of when we first got here from Destiny.

RUSH: None of which is any good to us right now. We've got a ship full of people. We need supplies for life support.

SCOTT: There's also food storage: canned goods, survival-type rations ...

YOUNG: Good. We'll use the shuttles to start ferrying supplies to Destiny.

(He looks around to Nicholas.)

YOUNG: You should go down, check the place out.

RUSH: OK.

YOUNG (into comms): Keep me posted.

SCOTT: Yes, sir.


KINO VISION. The Destiny crew has taken shelter from the sandstorm in a cave. Tamara comes over and kneels down in front of where Young is sitting.

JOHANSEN: Colonel. People are starting to pass out.

SCOTT: The atmosphere's way too thin.

WALLACE (looking at his remote): We've got four addresses.

YOUNG: Start dialling.

ARMSTRONG: Whoa, wait. What if ... what if they're worse than this place? We can't just walk through blind.

WALLACE: We'll just send a Kino through first.

WRAY: What? There's more than one?

WALLACE: Six, actually. I wasn't the only one who decided to sneak one through.

YOUNG: Start dialling!


THE PRESENT. Nicholas, Chloe, Adam, Dale and Lisa walk out of the elevator. Chloe opens her mouth wide and rubs at the side of her face as Eli greets them.

WALLACE: Long way down, huh?

ARMSTRONG: Ow. My ears popped on the way.

BRODY: Liked the muzak, though(!)

PARK: So this is the archive room?

WALLACE: The main one. Five others above us. Above that, living quarters, tech and other supplies, food stores. Scott and Greer are already up there scouting the place.

(Dale turns around as Nick walks back into the elevator.)

VOLKER: Where are you going?

RUSH: To join them.

WALLACE: They don't need any help. Young's sending down ...

(He trails off as the elevator doors close.)

WALLACE: Yep.


KINO VISION. The Kino is floating near the Stargate. The area around the Gate is surrounded by trees and the sun is shining. Matt comes into view and activates his radio.

SCOTT: Colonel, this is Scott, come in.

YOUNG (over radio from the other side of the wormhole): Go ahead.

SCOTT: Yeah, this planet looks good. You can start sending people through.

YOUNG: Copy that.

(Greer walks over and looks into the Kino.)

GREER: Well, this is it. Our new home. A planet known only to God.


THE PRESENT. The Kino recording ends and a new screen comes up on the wall.

BRODY: Hell of a lot of data here.

PARK: Yeah, looks like they documented everything.

YAOZU: "It is easier to know where you are going when you know where you have been."

(The Destiny crew turns and look at him as he quotes solemnly. He gazes back at them for a moment, then names the originator of the quote.)

YAOZU: Eli Wallace.

(At a nearby console, Eli turns and looks at everyone, embarrassed. The others look back at him for a moment, then turn away. Dale looks across to Adam.)

VOLKER: You know, it's gonna take years to get through all this.

BRODY: We'll bring it back to Destiny.

PARK: You know, these drives are built right into the structure, so I don't think we're gonna be able to physically move them.

WALLACE: So we configure an uplink - stream the data.

BRODY: My thoughts exactly.

(He carries on typing, unaware as Yaozu walks closer behind him and looks at him sternly. Dale notices and turns his head towards Adam again.)

VOLKER (quietly): Brody.

BRODY: Hmm?

VOLKER (a little more insistently): Brody.

BRODY: Hmm?

(He turns and looks at Yaozu's face.)

BRODY: Sorry. Is it OK if I do this?

(Eli walks over.)

WALLACE: Uhhhh, maybe I should do it.

(He walks past Yaozu towards the console and murmurs quietly in Adam's ear as he stands up.)

WALLACE: You are the founding father of the enemy nation, after all.

BRODY: Mmm!

(He steps away from the console as Eli sits down.)

PARK (quietly): Futura!

(Eli snorts laughter. Dale gazes up at Adam as he walks over to stand beside him.)

VOLKER: It's a stupid ...

BRODY (not looking at him): Enough with the name.


On the level above them, Camille accesses the next Kino recording from the archive. On the newly found planet, everyone has emptied their pockets and the main crew is looking at the pile of possessions.

SCOTT: That's it.

JOHANSEN: Some people brought through clothing items, hairpins, bandannas - we've been through it all.

WRAY: Not much.

BRODY: We'll just have to make do until Rush figures out where we are and brings Destiny back in range so we can dial.

WALLACE: Seriously?!

WRAY: Adam, it's ... Destiny's gone, destroyed.

BRODY: We don't know that for sure.

WALLACE: No, we don't, but we also don't know if this is present-day either.

(He looks round to include everyone.)

WALLACE: We were dialling inside a star, could have hit a solar flare. For all we know, we could have gone back in time, or forward days, months, years.

YOUNG: The fact is, we're stuck here now, for God knows how long. So, we need to build shelter; we need to find food. Let's move.


TENARAN COMPLEX. In the Tenaran complex, Varro is in a store room with several others, looking through the boxes that are stacked up in there. Nicholas walks in.

GREER: Rush, come check this out. Two thousand years on the other side of the universe ...

(He tosses a vacuum sealed packet at Nick, who just about manages to catch it.)

GREER: ... and beef jerky survives!

(He bites into a piece of jerky from the pack that he is holding and chews down on it, smiling happily.)


ELSEWHERE. Matt trots up the spiral staircase to the next level where Chloe is sitting at one of the archive consoles.

SCOTT: Hey, there you are! Eli and the others are working on a way to upload the archive back up to Destiny. If we tried to go through it all down here, we'd never leave.

(Chloe doesn't comment, absorbed in the screen in front of her.)

SCOTT: What are you readin'?

ARMSTRONG: There are thousands of books in here: a bunch of school textbooks - math, science - all written by Eli.

SCOTT: The college drop-out!

ARMSTRONG: Yeah!

SCOTT: Have you been sittin' down here reading textbooks?!

ARMSTRONG: No, I found my diary.

(She smiles round at Matt.)

ARMSTRONG: I know, weird!

(She points to the screen.)

ARMSTRONG: My first entry when we got to this planet: "The air is good, plenty of trees, fresh water, a lot like Earth ..."

(The perspective shifts to the circumstances under which Chloe originally wrote her diary. The crew has built some rough shelters out of branches and leaves. They are putting some more shelters together around a central area, and several small fires are burning. Everybody is very grubby.)

ARMSTRONG (narrating her diary entry): Two weeks have gone by and we now have a name for our home: Novus. It means "new." We're trying to settle in, get some decent shelters built. I'm still not sleeping well. Never thought I'd say this but ... I miss Destiny.

(Camille joins the group in the middle of the camp.)

WRAY: ... so much sense to have ...

BRODY (interrupting): Look, I already told you: we can't move there.

WALLACE: Why not? It's not far; it's flat, wide open, plenty of room.

BRODY: Because it's a flood plain. First rain and we're washed out. We've got good protection here: upslope, out of the wind, plenty of trees to build proper shelter, homes ...

WRAY: How? We have no tools.

BRODY: One of the springs on the plain is seeping ferric hydroxide - bog iron deposits.

(He looks towards Young who is wearily picking up rocks and tossing them aside.)

BRODY: Should get us jump-started on basic tool-making, then we can really speed things up.

WALLACE: I still think it's a good idea to look for a better location ...

BRODY (angrily): You know what? It was your good idea to get us stuck on this planet in the first place.

WALLACE (surprised and hurt): What? You agreed with me ...

BRODY (furiously shouting over him): We are here because of your calculations!

YOUNG: Both of you stop this right now. We're not doing this again, all right?

(Adam storms away. Young raises his voice so that everyone can hear him.)

YOUNG: The decision is made. We are staying here.

SCOTT: Sir, we're gonna have to build a fence. There's wildlife on this planet. We just saw some nasty looking creatures on our scout.

ARMSTRONG: Great(!)

SCOTT: I've got people out on patrol, but we're gonna run out of ammo real quick.

WRAY: Yeah, hence the fence.

YOUNG: Right, sounds good. How 'bout we do it? Let's go.

(He looks at the younger men, panting tiredly but determined. The boys turn away and get to work.)


TENARAN COMPLEX. Chloe looks round to Matt.

ARMSTRONG: It's amazing. We came here with hardly anything, and two thousand years later ...

SCOTT: ... our kids done good.

ARMSTRONG: Kinda wanna read the rest of it - see who ended up with ...

(The complex begins to shake violently. Scott grabs Chloe and pulls her off her chair.)

SCOTT: Under the table.

(They scramble under a nearby metal table. Downstairs, the others do likewise, or cling onto walls or pillars or sit on the floor until the complex finally settles. Adam comes out nervously from under his table and looks around.)

BRODY: Uh, guys?

(He walks over to where part of the wall has cracked, and looks nervously up at the fracture which runs as high as he can see.)

BRODY: You might wanna get moving on that data transfer.


STOREROOM. Nick pulls open a crate and looks at the contents. Greer walks over to him.

GREER: You OK?

RUSH: Yeah, I'm fine.

GREER: Woo, I hate earthquakes!

RUSH: Yeah? It's my first, actually.

(In the archive, Scott activates his radio while gazing up the central shaft.)

SCOTT: Greer, this is Scott. You OK up there?

GREER (into radio): Yeah, everybody's all good.

SCOTT: We're sending down additional teams to help with those supplies. We need to pick up the pace.

GREER: Copy that.


THE PAST.

ARMSTRONG (narrating her diary): Six weeks on the planet. We've been doing OK for the most part - until today.

(T.J. walks over to where Camille has cleared some ground of grass and is carefully planting some seeds.)

JOHANSEN: Garden?

WRAY: Uh, the fruit that Scott and Greer found - planting some seeds, see what happens.

(Lisa comes running out of the trees and screams into the camp.)

PARK: T.J.!

(Tamara jumps up and runs towards her. Camille follows her.)

(Shortly afterwards, Dale is lying on a makeshift bed while Lisa wipes a damp cloth across his head. T.J. stands up from his bedside, her face full of pain at her inability to help him, and walks across to Young who is standing nearby.)

ARMSTRONG (voiceover): Volker's condition is getting worse. T.J. doesn't know what's wrong with him. She thinks maybe his kidneys are failing, but without any medical equipment she can't be sure.

(T.J. shakes her head despairingly at Young.)

ARMSTRONG (voiceover): And there's nothing she can do to help him.

(Not much later, a large cross has been tied from two branches and has been set up over a cairn of rocks. The crew stands around it sadly.)

ARMSTRONG (voiceover): Today we had our first funeral. Doctor Dale Volker.


THE PRESENT. Dale is staring in horror at the entry on the screen as Chloe gazes at him sympathetically. Unaware of what he has been reading, Lisa trots up the stairs nearby and calls out to him.

PARK: Hey. Lieutenant Scott just radioed. The shuttle's loaded and ready to take you back to Destiny to start the uplink.

(She trots away again. Dale looks at the screen one last time, then turns and walks away, his face full of pain.)

(On the level above them, Camille is tending to Yaozu who is sitting on a chair. T.J. comes out of the elevator and hurries over to them. Camille steps away so that Tamara can get to the old man.)

WRAY: A small cut, but it may need a couple of stitches.

YAOZU: I'm fine.

(He tries to stand up but T.J. pushes him back down again.)

JOHANSEN: You will be, once I patch you up.


THE PAST. T.J. is stitching up a wound in Young's leg, using the biggest clumsiest needle and thickest twine you've ever seen. Young grunts as she pulls the next stitch through.

JOHANSEN: You're not getting enough rest.

YOUNG: Mmm, nobody is.

JOHANSEN: The others follow your lead.

(Young looks at what she's doing to his leg.)

YOUNG: What is that? The stitches - what is it?

JOHANSEN: Tendons from one of those animals Greer killed. The needle could use a little work, though.

(She laughs and Young chuckles with her.)

JOHANSEN: Best Brody could make at short notice.

(Varro walks over to them.)

VARRO (to Young): You OK?

YOUNG: Yeah.

JOHANSEN: With all this construction going on, people need to be more careful.

(She looks pointedly at Young.)

JOHANSEN: Not overdo it, know when to rest.

(Varro looks at the two of them unhappily.)

VARRO: Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.

(He walks away as T.J. cuts the end of the stitching with a blade from her penknife.)

JOHANSEN: OK, there you go. Take it easy and watch for infection.

YOUNG: Got it.

(He stands up and starts to walk away, but immediately stops, grimacing.)

YOUNG: Son of a ...

(He moans in pain.)

JOHANSEN: You OK?

YOUNG: Yeah, I'm good. I'm good.

(She steps closer to him, pulls him around to her and takes his hand.)

JOHANSEN (softly): OK, listen. Nobody blames you. It is what it is. We're here, and we have our whole lives ahead. Make the most of it.

(He looks down for a long time before raising his head to meet her eyes.)

YOUNG: That easy, huh?

JOHANSEN: No. But beating yourself up every day just makes it worse.

(He holds her gaze for a long moment until she can't stand the intensity any longer and lowers her eyes. He slowly steps closer to her and pulls her gently towards him. She comes willingly, takes his face in her hands and they kiss. As the kiss progresses, Varro, working on the other side of the clearing, turns and watches them sadly.)


THE PRESENT. Young is sitting on Destiny's Bridge listening to Eli over comms as he talks to him and to the others in the complex.

WALLACE: The Stargate was destroyed in one of the eruptions, buried in lava decades ago. Most of the people left the planet before then, but after they lost the Gate they needed to figure another way out. Both of the countries realised they stood a better chance of survival if they worked together.

(He grins across to Adam.)

WALLACE: So they pooled their resources and they built ships, huge, huge ships - not capable of F.T.L., but big enough to evacuate the rest of the population.

YOUNG: Where did they go?

BRODY: They went to one of the planets they had previously sent an expedition team to. Ten days' travel for us on Destiny in F.T.L., but it'll take them a few hundred years with their ships.

YOUNG (smiling): Good to know they got their act together.


THE PAST. The fence has now been built around the camp, and Scott and Vanessa James are using rough hammers to chip the bark off a log. Matt straightens up and looks down at Vanessa as she continues working. For a moment he turns away, then he pulls a face and forces himself to turn back to her.

SCOTT: Hey, look. Uh, we never really talked.

JAMES: Don't worry about it. I'm OK.

SCOTT: See, this is always the time I do something to sabotage things. It's kind of a defence mechanism, I dunno. Tough to explain.

(She straightens up and looks at him for a moment, then smiles sympathetically in understanding.)

JAMES: It's not tough at all. Everything you've ever cared about has been taken from you, so you're trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. This is a huge step for you, Matt. I'm proud of you. You should be proud of yourself.

SCOTT (smiling briefly): Well, still, um, I ... I'll understand if you don't wanna come.

JAMES: Are you kiddin'?! The first wedding on Novus?! Camile's gonna make a pie, so ...

(Matt laughs. She looks at him affectionately.)

JAMES: I wouldn't miss it.

(He smiles back at her.)


ARMSTRONG (voiceover): Today was a good day on Novus.

(In a clearing away from the camp, all of the survivors have gathered. Chloe - wearing an off-white jacket which she must have borrowed from somebody else - is standing facing Matt as they hold hands. Young is officiating, and the couple are attended by Greer as best man, and a very pregnant T.J. as matron of honour.)

ARMSTRONG (voiceover): The best day yet.

(As Matt recites his vows, Vanessa watches them a little wistfully but then turns as she feels Varro's gaze on her. He smiles at her.)


MUCH LATER. Some weeks or months later, Eli is sitting outdoors near the fence. He activates the Kino and looks up at it.

WALLACE: So, everybody's hooking up. Matt and Chloe are married. Now rumour is Varro and James are getting together. (He rolls his eyes a little.) Figures.

(He smiles affectionately, then looks at the camera again.)

WALLACE: T.J. just had her baby boy. Named him Steven after her father. Yeah, everybody's getting together. Except me.

(He looks away a little wistfully, then looks back to the camera again.)

WALLACE: Well, and Brody.


THE PRESENT. Dale is in the Control Interface Room as Eli's voice comes over comms.

WALLACE: This is Eli. Is Volker back on the ship yet?

VOLKER: (into comms): Yeah, I'm here. Are you ready?

WALLACE (from the complex): All set.

BRODY: We're starting the transfer now.

(Data begins to scroll across the screens. At another station nearby, Lisa calls out.)

PARK: Eli, look at this. The factory where they built their interstellar ships?

(Eli and the others in the room walk over to her console.)

PARK: According to this, there's one ship still in there. It was still under construction when they left the planet.

ELLIE: How close to completion?

JASON: Is it operational?

PARK: I don't know.


THE PAST. A line has been strung from one of the uprights of the fence and many animal skins are draped over it. Chloe is standing behind the furs and now looks at Eli as he approaches with a Kino.

ARMSTRONG: What?

WALLACE (offscreen): Let's see.

(She sighs in mock exasperation.)

WALLACE: Come on. I'm documenting your progress. You'll thank me for this later, I promise.

(Sighing again, she smiles and starts to walk to a gap in the furs. Eli chuckles.)

WALLACE: Come on!

(She ducks under the line and shows that not only is she wearing clothing that has clearly been made since their arrival on the planet, but she is also several months pregnant. She rubs her hand over her abdomen as she steps closer.)

WALLACE: How far along are you?

ARMSTRONG: Six months.

(Chuckling again, Eli steps into view and faces the camera.)

WALLACE: Matt's going crazy trying to build them a house before the baby arrives.

ARMSTRONG: I told him not to worry about it, but you know Matt.

WALLACE (patting her abdomen gently): So? He's gonna make a great father.

ARMSTRONG: And you a great uncle.

(He tickles her abdomen again.)


THE PRESENT. Eli pauses the Kino footage and gazes at the screen affectionately. Behind him, Lisa's console beeps.

PARK: Oh, crap.

(Eli and Adam turn to look at her.)

PARK: I just accessed the geothermal monitoring data. It turns out their theory's right. A black hole has entered this system.

(Everybody hurries over to her.)

PARK: The tidal forces are ripping this planet apart.

WALLACE (staring at the screen): Is that a fault line?

PARK: Yeah! Running right under the city - very active and very shallow. The crust is increasingly thin, like shattering glass, magma bubbling up everywhere. We can't stay here much longer.

BRODY: The database is immense. The transfer could take days.

WALLACE: Thirty-seven hours with my compression algorithm.

(Adam looks anxiously back at the other console where the data is still streaming across the screen.)

BRODY: Well, let's hope that's enough time.


THE PAST. Chloe is sitting up on her bed, screaming as her labour progresses. Matt is babbling panic-stricken at her side.

SCOTT: Good, good, good, you're doing good, you're doing good!

ARMSTRONG (anguished): Where's T.J.?

SCOTT: Eli went to get her and she, don't worry don't worry you're doing fine I love you just don't forget to breathe if you don't breathe ...

ARMSTRONG (wailing): Shut up and leave me alone!

(Eli ushers T.J. into the room.)

SCOTT: Thank God! Come on!

(T.J. climbs onto the bed and kneels at Chloe's feet.)

JOHANSEN: OK, just breathe.

SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, I told, I've been telling her to keep breathing.

JOHANSEN: No, you!

SCOTT: OK.

(T.J. lifts the blanket over Chloe's knees and looks between her parted legs.)

JOHANSEN: Wow. Just on time. You're crowning.

SCOTT: What can I do?

(T.J. hands him a pair of scissors.)

JOHANSEN: You can get ready to cut the cord.

(Matt takes the scissors and looks at them as if he hasn't a clue what they are. He turns and vaguely offers them to Eli, who holds up his hands in a "Thanks, but I really couldn't," type of gesture. Matt turns back to his wife as T.J. looks at her.)

JOHANSEN: OK, Chloe? One last push.

(Chloe nods, gasping.)

JOHANSEN: Ready?

(Chloe drags in a breath, then bears down, screaming.)


Time moves on and T.J. screams in her own bed as she gives birth to her second child. Young sits on the side of the bed.


In another house Vanessa screams as she bears down, Varro at her side.


In yet another house, Lisa wails as she bears down. Greer grimaces as she squeezes the heck out of his hand. Later, T.J. cradles the newborn child and smiles down at it.

JOHANSEN: It's a boy.

(She gently puts the baby into Lisa's arms. Ron puts one hand gently on his son and stares in amazement.)

GREER: I can't believe it.

(He smiles at Lisa.)

GREER: I'm a daddy.

JOHANSEN: You have any names picked out?

(Lisa looks up and smiles tearfully at Ron, then turns to Tamara.)

PARK: Dale.

(Ron bends forward and gently kisses his son's head.)


Some time later, Eli is sitting on the steps outside a wooden cabin. He looks into the Kino.

WALLACE: Babies are being born. Uh, Chloe, Park ... (he points into the cabin behind him) ... James. T.J. and Colonel Young already have two, a boy and a girl.

(He looks away wistfully for a moment, then looks back into the camera.)

WALLACE: It's good, you know, for the future of our settlement. But still, sometimes ...

(He gazes up plaintively into the sky, then looks around as Corporal Barnes comes out of the house.)

BARNES: It's a girl.

WALLACE: Huh!

BARNES: Mom and baby are fine.

(She sits down beside Eli and sighs wearily.)

WALLACE: OK?

BARNES: Uh, yeah. Just, uh, tired.

WALLACE: Huh! Yeah!

(She chuckles and they smile at each other.)


MONTHS LATER. And many months later, Kino footage shows Barnes screaming as she bears down, gripping Eli's hand frantically. He nods across to someone off-camera, probably T.J., and leans forward to kiss his partner's head.


THE PRESENT. Chloe pauses the footage and bites her lip to stop herself laughing. Standing behind her, Eli stares at the screen in amazement.

WALLACE: Me and Corporal Barnes?

(Chloe bites back a snigger.)

ARMSTRONG: Something worth pursuing?

(She looks round at Eli, who looks back at her thoughtfully before raising his eyes to the screen again.)


STORAGE ROOM. In the storage room, Nicholas has climbed up a stepladder to the top of a pile of crates and has opened the top one. Inside are packs of what look like large squares of foam, the sort you would find inside a cushion. He looks at a label on the wrapper of the top square, then scrambles down the ladder and starts entering the details of the label onto a computer. Suddenly the complex begins to shake again and several of the piles of crates fall, crashing into Nick and sending him tumbling to the ground. As the earthquake subsides, Greer hurries into the room and looks around.

GREER: Rush.

RUSH: Yeah.

(He stands up and looks around the room.)


DESTINY. BRIDGE. Shortly afterwards, Scott is reporting over comms to Young on Destiny's Bridge.

YOUNG: How bad?

SCOTT: Park says six point two. Pretty strong. The fault line they discovered's getting wider.

WALLACE: The whole city's crumbling into it.

YOUNG: All right. Well, be smart. Don't wait too long to get the hell out of there.

SCOTT: Yeah, we won't. We've got a pretty good eye on it and, uh, it looks like this bunker was built to withstand a lot. I think we're OK.

(Just as he says that, a large piece of concrete falls from the ceiling and narrowly misses hitting him. He jumps back and stares upwards nervously.)


THE PAST. Chloe, Tamara and Camille are working in a vegetable garden.

ARMSTRONG: And?

WRAY: And what?

ARMSTRONG: How was it?

WRAY: It was fine. We had a very pleasant dinner.

(She grins round to the other girls.)

WRAY: Of all the dates I've had since we got here, she's easily the most compatible with me.

ARMSTRONG: So then, what's the problem?

WRAY: I don't know. I mean, I've already found my soul mate. I don't need another.

(T.J. suddenly jumps up and chases over to a young boy.)

JOHANSEN: Ah, Steven, no! Don't eat that!

(She pulls him away from a nearby tall plant and cuddles him as he giggles.)

WRAY: That was a close call.

JOHANSEN: Yeah.

(She releases the boy and holds her left wrist as if it's hurting her.)

ARMSTRONG: You OK?

(T.J. looks round at Chloe for a moment, then flexes her wrist a couple of times.)

JOHANSEN: Yeah.

(She frowns down at her wrist again.)

JOHANSEN (thoughtfully): Yeah.


THE PRESENT. In the archive room, T.J. looks at one of the screens with concern as she reads a written entry.


DESTINY. CONTROL INTERFACE ROOM. On Destiny, Young is in the Control Interface Room with Dale as Matt reports from the planet.

SCOTT: Records say there's actually a ship still in the factory a few kilometres outside the city. It doesn't say if it's operational or not, but if it is, it'll be capable of holding the entire group of descendants.

YOUNG: All right, go ahead and check it out.

WALLACE: How's the transfer coming?

VOLKER: So far, so good. Just over nine hundred exabytes. Still a drop in the bucket, though.

(Scott has led Jason and Ellie to the elevator and pushes the button to call it. Immediately the doors open, revealing Nick squeezed inside with a huge number of crates.)

RUSH: Perfect. I need you to take me back to Destiny

SCOTT (gesturing to the youngsters): Hang on, I'm flying them over to check out that ship-building factory.

RUSH: Yeah, fine. Then you can take me back to the Destiny.


THE PAST. At the riverside, Tamara is washing clothes, rubbing the material repeatedly against a washboard. Suddenly she stops and grasps at her left wrist. She stands up and gazes out over the misty river, then bends over as if in pain.


THE PRESENT. A Kino recording is playing.

JOHANSEN (on the Kino): My symptoms are getting worse. It's, uh, affecting my legs. I'm losing my balance, stumbling. My speech is also slurring, words here and there. I have trouble eating.

(T.J. is watching the footage tearfully. Chloe, sitting at another console nearby, stands up and walks over to her as she hears the recording.)

JOHANSEN (on the Kino): I wish I could do a more accurate diagnosis, but it sounds like A.L.S. - Lou Gehrig's Disease.

(T.J. stares at the screen in anguished horror, then lowers her head and cries.)


LATER. Varro hurries down the stairs and runs towards her.

VARRO: Tamara, I just heard. This disease ... just because the other you got it when you came to this planet, doesn't mean you'll get it.

JOHANSEN: Yeah, it does. It's not something that you contract. I'm carrying it right now.

VARRO: Is there anything you can do? Any medicines?

JOHANSEN (tearfully): There's no cure.


SHUTTLE. The ship is flying through thick cloud.

SCOTT: Coming up on the factory.

(Sitting to his right, Nick stands up for a better look. Jason and Ellie stand behind the other two and peer out anxiously as the shuttle drops out of the cloud to reveal the city below ... and the massive river of lava sweeping across the countryside at the edge of the city. Nick and Matt exchange a long despairing look. Nick shakes his head minutely and Matt reaches down to his controls to turn the shuttle around.)


PLANET. TENARAN COMPLEX. Back at the complex, the elevator doors open and Colonel Young hurries out.

YOUNG: T.J.

JOHANSEN: Colonel, you didn't have to come down here.

(He walks over to where she is standing with Varro. The Lucian man takes the hint and steps away, taking Camille and Chloe with him. Young steps closer to T.J.)

YOUNG: Volker's checking Destiny's medical database to see ... see if there's anything, anything in there at all on this disease, OK?

(She nods tearfully.)

JOHANSEN: The first, um, symptoms presented five years after we arrived on the planet.

(She fights back her tears.)

JOHANSEN: I died a few years after that.


SHUTTLE.

SCOTT (into comms): This is Scott. Has Colonel Young arrived there yet?

(In the complex, Chloe hurries over to a console and activates the comms.)

YOUNG: Yeah, Scott, I'm here.

SCOTT: Yeah, we just did a pass over the site where the factory used to be. It's gone. The fault line cut right through it. It's a river of lava now.

RUSH: We need to leave this planet immediately.

YOUNG: Agreed. Scott, get everyone back to Destiny and then get back down here. We'll, uh, we'll start clearing out.

SCOTT: Yeah but, sir, what about all those people back on Destiny? The nearest planet is ten days ...

RUSH (interrupting): No, no, don't worry about it. They'll be fine.

(Scott frowns round at him but Nick isn't looking at him.)

YOUNG: Yeah, we don't have a choice. We have to, uh, we have to get everyone back on board.

(His gaze is locked on T.J., who is leaning on a nearby railing with her back to him.)

SCOTT: Copy.

(Young walks over to Tamara and gently puts his arm around her shoulder. She turns to him, sobbing, and buries her head on his chest.)


THE PAST. Everett, Tamara and their two young children are sitting at the table in their cabin eating a meal. T.J. struggles to cut her food.


LATER. Time passes and Tamara is trying to spoon some stew out of a pot but she can't get a grip on the large wooden ladle. Everett takes her hand and kisses it, then gently urges her to sit down while he dishes out the meal with one hand, still holding her useless hand with the other.


More time passes. The family sits at the table eating their meal. Everett is spoon feeding his wife. She struggles to swallow each mouthful.


Tamara is sitting up in bed. Everett holds a cup with a straw in it to her mouth but she can barely manage to suck up any liquid.


Tamara is lying on her back in bed, struggling to breathe. Everett sits at her side, clutching her hand helplessly, kissing it, stroking her hair and crying.


And some time later, Everett and the children sit at the table eating their meal. The chair opposite Everett's is empty.


THE PRESENT. In the archive, Eli is pacing anxiously.

WALLACE: About a third of the database has been transferred. Still a long way to go.

(Two levels above him, Young talks to him over the comms.)

YOUNG: We're cutting it short. I want everyone back to the surface as soon as possible for evac.

WALLACE: But Colonel, there's still so much that we can ...

(The complex begins to shake again. Adam scrambles out of his seat and joins Eli near a pillar.)

WALLACE: Get down!

BRODY: Yeah!

(They crouch down. Everybody else scrambles for cover as the base rocks for several seconds before settling again. Young calls out.)

YOUNG: You all right?

WALLACE: Yeah.

YOUNG: All right, get back to the surface, wait for Scott's shuttle.

(Eli, Adam and Lisa collect their things and Lisa presses the button for the elevator. Two levels above, Yaozu comes up the stairs and walks over towards the others. Young turns to him.)

YOUNG: You all right?

(Ignoring him, Yaozu turns to T.J.)

YAOZU: I heard the others talking about you. The disease you carry - we have a cure.

(T.J. stares at him.)

WRAY: You do?

YAOZU: Our scientists discovered it over two hundred years ago. Cures for other diseases as well - all of them in the archive.


DESTINY. Nick has taken out one of the squares of foam and is cutting it into a specific shape with a knife. Dale's voice comes over the radio.

VOLKER: Rush, are you back on Destiny?

(Nick gets his radio out and activates it.)

RUSH: Yes, I'm here.

VOLKER (from Control Interface Room): And why didn't you tell me?

RUSH: I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I had to check in with you.

VOLKER: You heard about T.J.?

RUSH (hesitating for a moment before replying): Yeah.

VOLKER: I'm searching the Ancient medical database for anything on A.L.S., and I could really use some help.

RUSH: I'm sorry, I'm a bit busy at the moment.

VOLKER: Doing what?

RUSH: Something more pressing. I'll be with you when I'm finished.


KINO VISION. Chloe and Matt, looking like they're in their early fifties, are sitting on their sofa smiling into the Kino.

CHLOE: Our son, Alan, just broke the news. His wife Claire is pregnant.

MATT: Grandparents. We're gonna be grandparents!


KINO VISION. Varro and Vanessa - perhaps in their fifties - sit on their sofa holding hands and smiling into the Kino.

VARRO: Well, it's that time again.

VANESSA: The yearly family reunion. Three kids and five grandkids.


KINO VISION. Camille, in her fifties or sixties, is sitting winding some wool around a spindle as she talks into the Kino.

CAMILLE: Just drafted a rough outline of a constitution. People are responding well to it ... (she shrugs) ... for the most part. Oh, and, uh, we're converting one of the storage houses into a schoolroom. Eli's teaching the kids. He's actually quite good at it. A wonderful teacher.

(She smiles to someone behind the Kino.)

ELI (offscreen): Hmm. Thanks!


KINO VISION. Ronald and Lisa, possibly in their seventies, sit on the sofa. Ron has his arm around his wife and looks at her proudly as she smiles into the Kino.

LISA: Four sons, three daughters, fifteen grandchildren.

(She turns her head and gazes adoringly at her husband.)

RONALD: Mmm. I'm tired.

(They giggle.)


KINO VISION. Adam, probably in his seventies, with long curly hair and a moustache, looks grumpily into the Kino.

ADAM: All these kids, laughing and dancing. Everybody dancing, tearing up my lawn. When I was a kid, we had more respect for peop...


THE PRESENT. SHUTTLE.

SCOTT (into comms): Touchdown, sir. Greer and his team are bringing up the next batch of supplies.

(Young, T.J. and Varro are trotting down the spiral staircase inside the complex.)

YOUNG (into radio): Copy that. Chloe and Wray are also headed up with Yaozu. Take Brody and Park with you. I'll take everyone else on the other shuttle.

SCOTT: Copy that.

YOUNG (reaching Eli's level): Eli, anything?

WALLACE: We had to compress the data to speed up the transfer, one huge file, which means I can't do a specific search for A.L.S. until we uncompress what we've already uploaded, and I can't do that until we stop the transfer.

(Young and T.J. look at each other anxiously.)

WALLACE: About a third of the database has already gone through, so there's a one in three chance it's in there.

VARRO: The longer we wait, the better the chances. I say it's worth it to stay ...

(The base begins to shake again. Young shoves Eli out of the central area and under cover, then grabs T.J. as she hurries to the side as well. He pushes her to the ground, using his own body to protect her from the falling debris as large chunks of concrete tumble down from higher levels. The lights go out.)


THE PAST. Everett is walking along the wooden gantry on the top of the fence which surrounds the village.

CHLOE (diary voiceover): Colonel Young won re-election. Most of us are happy, but some still wanna do things differently. Today, a group of them announced they're leaving. Whether they stay here on Novus or gate to another planet, they didn't say.


THE PRESENT. The team is looking around the area with their flashlights. Part of the stairs has broken off and is lying on the floor.

WALLACE: Power's cut off. Data transfer's shut down, and the communications.

VARRO: A big section of stairs are out, about six levels up.

YOUNG (into radio): Scott, this is Young. Can you read?

SCOTT (into radio from the shuttle): Yeah, Colonel.

YOUNG: Everyone make it out?

SCOTT: Yeah, everyone's OK. They're all aboard. You all right?

YOUNG: Yeah, we're fine, but we're cut off. No power to the elevators and the stairs are out.

(He stares up at the succession of metal rungs that has been driven into one section of the wall.)

YOUNG: We're gonna have to climb up the ladder.

(In the shuttle, Scott and Greer look at each other in concern. That's a long climb.)

YOUNG: Eli.

(Eli goes over to the ladder, steps up one rung and reaches for a handhold. The rung he takes hold of wobbles badly where the screws have come loose. He looks round at the others a little wide-eyed.)

WALLACE: Great!

(He starts to climb and a few seconds later T.J. begins to follow him. She has only climbed about five rungs when the base shakes again. She and Eli cling on to the ladder. Many levels above, Scott and Greer are coming down the spiral staircase. They shine their flashlights over the side and see that the staircase is broken off below them, then trot back up to the next level.)

SCOTT (into radio): Colonel, this is Scott. We made it down to level fourteen. The stairs are out below. Got rope if you need it.

YOUNG (over radio): You should be on your way back to Destiny.

SCOTT: We'll leave when you leave, sir.

(Greer points downwards.)

GREER: There's Eli.

(The four crew members continue their climb upwards, Varro below T.J. and Young following last of all. As T.J. reaches up and grabs the next handhold it snaps off completely. She loses her balance and drops off the ladder screaming. Varro instinctively reaches out and manages to snag her backpack. She dangles from his grasp but he can't lift her or get her near to the ladder again. She looks across and realise that they're near one of the landings.)

JOHANSEN: Platform!

(Varro swings her backwards and then forwards, hurling her with all his strength towards the nearby railing. She grabs hold of the rails and clings on, but the sideways motion has weakened the screws on his handhold and they snap off. He plunges groundwards and although Young grabs for him, he can't catch him and he drops all the way back towards the ground. It's a horribly long time until the others hear him hit the concrete floor.)

(Gasping in horror, T.J. climbs over the railing and stares down into the darkness. Eli makes it to level fourteen and climbs over the railing to join Scott, Greer and a couple of marines.)

YOUNG (over radio): Throw down the rope. We just lost Varro.

(The boys drop a rope over the side of the railing and Young uses it to swing across to the landing that T.J. is on. Pulling the rope over with him, he loops it around her.)

YOUNG: You all right?

JOHANSEN: Yeah.

(He fastens the rope around her waist, then gets on the radio.)

YOUNG: OK, pull her up.

(The team on the upper level hauls Tamara upwards and eventually Scott radios again.)

SCOTT: We got her. Sending the rope back down.

(The rope drops over the balcony and Young pulls it in.)

(Out in the city a massive crack, full to the brim with lava, is working its way through the streets. The ground cracks ominously around it.)

(Inside the complex, Young's voice comes over the radio.)

YOUNG: OK, pull.

(The team begins to pull the rope up. Partway through the lift the building begins to shake again but the team keeps pulling and eventually they lift Varro's unconscious body over the railings and lay him gently on the floor. T.J. kneels down to him, peels one eye open and shines a flashlight into it. She looks up at the others and sighs in relief.)

JOHANSEN: He's alive.

(The team drops the rope back down to the bottom level where Young is waiting. Grabbing it, he ties it around his waist just as the complex begins to shake yet again. As more concrete begins to tumble down, he looks upwards and yells at the top of his voice.)

YOUNG: Pull! Now!


SHUTTLE. The vessel is shaking violently in the tremors and Lisa activates some controls as Scott and Greer stumble inside and close the doors.

WRAY: Where are the rest?

GREER: We put 'em on the other shuttle.

SCOTT (throwing himself into the pilot's seat): All right, hang on!

(He works the controls furiously as everybody clings onto whatever they can hold. We switch to a view high above the ground and see that lava flows are everywhere. Moments later the shuttle soars out of the clouds, followed by its sister ship. Inside the other shuttle, T.J. and Eli make Varro comfortable on one of the rear benches as Young pilots the ship up into the skies.)


THE PAST. An elderly Everett lies in bed, breathing weakly. He struggles to speak.

EVERETT (faintly): Chloe. I'm sorry, Chloe.

CHLOE (sitting at his bedside): Sorry for what?

EVERETT: I never got us home.

(Matt comes in and walks across to Steven, Everett's son.)

MATT: We got here as quick as we could.

(Everett's adult daughter, Sara, hurries over to the bedside and kneels down beside it. She is the absolute image of her mother Tamara.)

EVERETT (faintly): Sara.

SARA (smiling): I'm here, Dad.

CHLOE: Colonel.

(She smiles down at him.)

CHLOE: We are home.

(He gazes up at her for a moment, then the light in his eyes goes out. Chloe and Sara begin to weep, while the men put comforting hands onto their shoulders.)


THE PRESENT. Destiny jumps into F.T.L. Inside, Nicholas has replaced the lime fluid with solid foam pieces inside one of the scrubbers and now slots the module back into position as Lisa, Adam and Dale watch.

PARK: They're for CO2 scrubbing.

RUSH: A highly advanced substance, much more effective than lime. This one canister alone will last for years.

PARK: And you brought back cases of it?

BRODY: We'll certainly need it with all these extra people on board.

PARK: Well, it's just ten days 'til we drop them off with the people on the expedition planet.

BRODY: Yeah.

(He and Lisa walk away, but Dale stays behind, watching Nick closely.)

VOLKER: It burns you up, doesn't it?

RUSH: What?

VOLKER: We did all right after leaving Destiny. We got along just fine ...

(He begins to walk away, then glances over his shoulder.)

VOLKER: ... without you.

(Nick stares at his departing back.)


INFIRMARY. Varro is unconscious or asleep in bed. T.J. turns from his bedside and updates Young.

JOHANSEN: Broken ribs, lacerations, bruises. He's stable for now, but all we can do is wait, watch.

(Eli comes in.)

WALLACE (awkwardly): We've been searching what we were able to transfer from the archive.

(He pauses momentarily.)

WALLACE: The A.L.S. cure wasn't in there.

YOUNG: Well, what about Destiny's Ancient database?

WALLACE: Nothing in there yet either.

(He tries to look reassuring for T.J.)

WALLACE: It's difficult: different names for diseases, procedures. It's hard to do a quick search.

JOHANSEN: What about the ships that they used to evacuate Novus? They probably took a copy of the archive with them, so when we drop people off on the planet ...

WALLACE: They won't be there yet. The ships don't have F.T.L. They won't arrive for, uh, two hundred years. To find them in the middle of empty space ...

JOHANSEN (turning away, trying to hide her grief): Yeah.

WALLACE: But, T.J., there's ... there's so much else that did make it in the transfer: a ton of other medical stuff. We can learn from it. From our descendants.

(She turns back to him tearfully.)

WALLACE: We will figure out a cure.

(He smiles at her reassuringly.)

WALLACE: I know it.

(She forces a smile, then turns away.)


THE PAST. A group of children are running across a grassy area in the village. They run across to join a large group of villagers who have gathered outside one particular large building. The sign above the door reads "ELI WALLACE ELEMENTARY." A man is standing at a lectern outside the front door, addressing the villagers.

MATTHEW: I'd like to thank you all for coming to this very special occasion: the dedication of our beautiful new school. My grandfather spent his life laying down the foundation for our education system. That's why this new school bears his name. As principal, I'll do my best to uphold his legacy of inquiry and discovery, and to carry it forward to future generations. Now, please help me welcome our guest of honour, two-term mayor, the author of our constitution and the last surviving member of the settlers from Destiny: Camille Wray.

(The villagers applaud as a very old Camille is helped across to the lectern. Nodding to Matthew, she braces her hands on the lectern and looks out at the villagers.)

CAMILLE: I want to begin with a few words of greeting.

(She speaks Cantonese - the same words that Yaozu greeted the Destiny crew with when they arrived on the expedition's planet. She translates the phrase.)

CAMILLE: "May all things go according to the wishes of those that hear it." When we first arrived here, we thought we had failed. We didn't achieve the mission on Destiny. But now, looking at all your smiling faces, at this beautiful new school ...

(Her voice begins to break as she fights her tears.)

CAMILLE: ... I can't help but feel a great sense of pride and success. Because, as we discovered, our mission is - and always will be - the journey itself.

(As the villagers applaud, the camera rises up above the roof of the school and reveals the rest of the village. It's almost a town, with many many houses stretching off into the distance all the way down to a distant river.)

(Time passes and the wooden houses become stone buildings, several storeys high. The town is now a large city encompassing both sides of the river.)

(Time moves on and the city evolves again, the stone buildings replaced with massive skyscrapers. And near the river, a large shuttle craft lifts off and heads up into the sky.)