The Stars Came Back

by Rolf Nelson

  Helton: Agreed.

  Cooper takes the control yoke in hand and gently twists it. The pitch of the engines changes. It gets deeper, more pulsing, with discordant overtones; God’s Harley apparently needs a timing chain adjustment and better fuel, too. He slides a power lever up and twists the control yoke a bit more…

  CUT TO

  EXT - DAY - Ground-level view of the ship and area

  The ship lifts slowly but unevenly. One corner seems to be held down. There is an earthy rending, ripping sound, and as the ship rises a sizable chunk of dirt and concrete is ripped out of the ground, attached to one landing strut by a large curved metal bar. The ship rises, forty, fifty meters in the air.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Bridge

  Everyone is smiling, and looking happy.

  The pulsing rumble of the drives steadies. Something with a matching beat and rhythm starts playing over the ship intercom and PA system. Music. A catchy Celtic reel. Snappy, happy, full of life and energy, a modern take on a traditional Celtic dance tune, perfectly mixing with the powerful bass roll of the drives. It takes a moment for people to notice it, then look around at each other in confusion.

  Cooper: What the hell?

  Helton grins a sly smile and nods as he gets an “A-HA!” expression on his face.

  Helton: Time to celebrate?

  Ship AI: (Female and cheerful) Correct, Sir. First free flight in more than a century is worthy of celebrating, is it not?

  Allonia: She has her dancing shoes back on! Of course she’s happy! Can’t you just feel it?

  Allonia closes her eyes and dances a quick impromptu jig step at her station to the beat, a delighted expression on her face.

  Allonia: (Happy and excited) Now we don’t have to just dream about the places we can go together! You can just… she WANTS to FLY!

  Cooper looks at them with great skepticism, but is quite willing to watch Allonia for a moment as she’s happy and dancing.

  Helton: (Grinning) Allonia, if you are quite done anthropomorphizing a dance partner I’d really not want stepping on me, please inform the tower that they seem to be mistaken about the land-lock, and we’d like clearance to take a short low-level test flight around the port before landing.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Inside the spaceport control tower

  View of the tower personnel in profile, then moving to view from behind and out the window toward pad D9. All four people stand, staring out the window, amazed the ship is actually flying. On the com speaker Allonia’s voice is heard, along with the fast reel music undertone.

  Allonia: (OC) Tower, this Tajemnica, do we have clearance to do a short flight around the port? Over.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Tajemnica bridge

  Allonia: Well, they haven’t told us not to.

  Helton: Give it a shot.

  Cooper: Hang on.

  He moves the steering yoke gently forward.

  CUT TO

  EXT - DAY - Airspace above the spaceport

  A wide-angle view of the ship hovering in the air above pad D9, not very high, then slowly heading off on a large curve around the port, glowing slightly, not quite level. She looks blocky, angular, and unrefined compared to the graceful ships on other pads on the ground or flying in the background.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Bridge

  Cooper: (Concerned) Pretty sluggish.

  Helton: Only barely at minimum takeoff power. It’ll take a while to fine tune the engines.

  CUT TO

  EXT - DAY - Aerial view of Tajemnica flying slowly along

  The landing strut with a chunk of ground hanging from it swings slightly this way and that. The whole ship sways slightly with it. Then the strut twitches, shakes, and finally kicks like a dog shaking something off its foot as the whole ship wobbles. The hunk of ground flies off, dropping away not quite straight down. Then Tajemnica goes to a more normal, level flight, and the strut goes from full to only partial extension, matching the others.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Bridge

  The whole bridge shakes for a moment, then stabilizes and levels out.

  Cooper: Don’t know what the hell that was, but it feels better, now.

  Everyone relaxes a bit.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Engineering

  Looking at the readouts, a bank of eight of indicators labeled “Pads” are showing. Seven are green, one red and flashing. The ship shakes and the engines’ screech and complain with the motion. The shaking and roaring stop and the red condition flashes to green. In one corner of a screen, apparently unnoticed by anyone, a condition light comes on, and reads “Bubblegum: Full Pack”

  Stenson: Ah, much better!

  CUT TO

  EXT - DAY - Street near the spaceport

  A truck parked in front of a No Parking sign in a private lot is flattened under a hunk of fallen concrete and earth. The logo on the side of the truck says “Seymore Custom-”.

  CUT TO

  EXT - DAY - View from the air above Pad D9

  Wide-angle view of the ship doing a quick, easy, swooping circle around the port, glowing slightly, coming back, lurching then sagging at an odd angle and settling gently to earth just missing a newly made hole in the ground.

  CUT TO

  INT - DAY - Bridge

  Everyone is beaming.

  Helton: Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a magic carpet!

  Cooper: Not the most elegant craft I’ve ever handled, but she flies.

  Allonia: (Still swaying and tapping to the music) Never thought I’d see a view from up there, from in here. She’s perfect!

  Kaushik: Didn’t see the power go above 90% current max, we can fly with a decent load, even without tuning things.

  Helton: (Into com) Stenson, how are things down there?

  Stenson: (OC) Glad we’re down. I’m pretty sure I can fix it. One accelacomp failed, one was about to. Got a lot of good flight data that’ll help sort out a few problems. How’d things go there?

  Allonia: (Bubbly) Wonderfully! She’s going to be great dancer!

  Stenson: (OC) Baby steps before dancing, but good to hear! A few more test flights like that and I might even certify her to take off with people aboard!

  The pulsing and rumbling sound of the power plant and drives fade, and the music with it.

  FADE TO BLACK

  Part II

  Cobb’s

  FADE IN

  EXT - DAY - View into the cab of a light truck

  Kaminski is driving the truck through an industrial area with widely spaced buildings, most of which have small front office areas, Allonia next to him. He is out of uniform, she wears a turtleneck.

  Kaminski: You’re sure you want to do this so soon after…?

  Allonia: Yes, I’m fine. Really. I talked a long time with Kat. It’s OK.

  Kaminski: Usually it takes a while to really work through something like that.

  Allonia: Stop worrying! I’m good. I know what he did was wrong and what I did was right. As Kat said, he killed himself by choosing to do something stupid. I just happened to be the one that had to make sure he won’t do it to anyone else, ever again. The world is a better place for it.

  Kaminski: I know the training squad is better for it. Many lessons for them, there.

  Allonia: It was weird-

  CUT TO

  Narrated flashback scene showing the action in the garden with Darch in silent black & white slow-motion.

  Allonia: (VO, Continuous) -he came at me, said we should be alone together. Then everything suddenly moved in slow motion; his lips moved, but no sound came out. I don’t remember seeing anything but him starting to get undressed as he got closer. He reached for me, I brushed his hand aside. He drew back to hit again, a big, slow wind-up that turned his body, so I grabbed his knife and stuck it in him. He just stood there, but turned back to face me. I thought I must have just hit his body armor, so I grabbed his gun and aime
d it at him. He still stood there with a goofy expression on his face, his lips moving but no words. I shot him, but the gun didn’t make any noise, and he didn’t do anything but look surprised. I waited forever for him to fall, so I thought there must be something wrong with the ammunition, so I shot until I started to see blood. I stopped and waited for him to fall over, but he just stood there like a post, looking at me with a confused expression. I wanted some room, so I kind of put my foot up on him and gave him a shove, and he seemed to leap into the air and drift across the room like we were in space, and bounced slowly off the bench onto the floor. So I covered him until you guys showed up an hour later.

  Cut back to the interior of the vehicle.

  Allonia: (Dryly) So much for the cavalry showing up to save me.

  Kaminski: (Chuckling) You were too fast for us. Classic tachypsychia, tunnel vision, and auditory exclusion. Sounded like a full auto pistol to me.

  Allonia: Yes, Kat explained it to me. I’m sorry he did what he did, but (shrug) choices have consequences. I’ll never forget it, but I’m not going to punish myself for defending myself effectively. Maybe with more training, I’ll be less of a target, and I won’t have to do that ever again.

  Kaminski: Sounds like a healthy attitude, one that not many come to so easily. That’s what my dad always said: if you ever do have to shoot in self defense, make the most of it. Shoot anyone that needs shooting, as many times as you have to. No point in doing a half-assed job of saving your family the cost of your funeral. OK, if you’re sure…Here we are.

  The truck pulls into a parking spot. Allonia and Kaminski get out of a vehicle and stand in front of a large building with only a couple of windows in front. There are a several vehicles parked in the large and mostly empty parking lot. The sign over the door says “Cobb’s School of Public Relations”

  Allonia: I thought we were going to find a proper gun for me?

  Kaminski: And this is the place to go.

  Kaminski retrieves a small satchel, closes the truck doors, and they walk toward the building.

  CUT TO

  INT – DAY – Cobb’s retail area

  They walk into a large, well-lit showroom, with glass cases all around full of guns, and lots of guns hanging on the wall. To one side there are windows and a door with prominent words “Range Area - Ears, Eyes, Brains Required. Politicians Prohibited.” There are all sizes and shapes of guns on display: long guns, handguns, belt fed, and a couple of tripod mounts, including a remote-control auto-cannon. Reader boards showing specials list things like “Alien Apocalypse Pack - belt fed 12 ga Mossington with RC mount and 1000-round belt for only 1999!” and “Buy a case of ammo, get free range pass!” and “25mm Rifle Grenade classes starting next Tuesday - sign up now!” There are many small stacks of cases and half-empty shelves with boxes of ammo.

  Kaminski leads Allonia over to the counter near the range area, where Vera (young lady, slender, short hair, a few small tattoos and piercings) is behind the counter.

  Vera: Hey, stranger! Hope you’re not here for another large-case order. Supplies are tight.

  Kaminski: Hey, yourself, Vera! New shooter today, needs the beginning decider package.

  Vera: Great! Always glad to get someone the right fit in feminine protection. (Quietly to Allonia) He knows his stuff, listen to him when it comes to guns. Good to see you came more properly dressed than that one.

  Vera nods down the counter, where at the far end a very artificially-enhanced and heavily made up young woman in a very low-cut top and spray-on-tight pants stands, hanging on the arm of an older man picking up some guns and shooting supplies.

  Kaminski: (Quietly) She looks pretty well equipped to me.

  Allonia gives him a dirty look.

  Vera: (Dryly) Yeah. Equipped with a great double-breasted brass catcher.

  Kaminski: (Defensively) That’s what I meant.

  Vera: Yeah. Riiight.

  Kaminski: (Quietly aside to Vera) Five gets you ten we get a brass-dance on the first mag.

  Vera: (Quietly) No dice. Not with that much cleavage. (Louder) OK, then. Know what you want to start with?

  Allonia looks at them like they are speaking a different language.

  Kaminski: Well, she’s already done a bit of shooting. I think we’ll start in the middle and work our way out. How about a Duty 9mm?

  Vera: Good choice, right here.

  Kaminski waves his wallet/ID at a scanner, it beeps, and Vera sets a box of 9mm ammo and a gun rug on the counter. She opens the case, pulls out a 9mm handgun, drops the magazine and checks it to make sure it’s empty, racks the slide to check the chamber, inserts the empty mag, zips it up.

  Vera: Eyes and ears?

  Kaminski: Just for her.

  Vera reaches under the counter and pulls out protective eyewear and ear muffs and hands them to Allonia. Kaminski opens his bag, pulls out similar protection, puts them on, and they head through the double doors onto the range.

  CUT TO

  Angle view from in front of the firing line into the booth.

  Allonia’s hands can be seen holding the pistol, a sleek silvery 9mm. BLAM, she fires. BLAM… BLAM! She sets it down, and shrugs noncommittally. There are shots from down the line a little ways, BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! There is a shriek and the clatter of a dropped gun.

  CUT TO

  View down the shooter side of the firing line.

  The well-dressed floozy is dancing around, brushing at her chest, trying to get something out of her cleavage. She suddenly stops brushing, grabs the bottom edge of her top, pulls up far enough to grab the bottom of her bra, and pulls it out a bit. Two brass cases drop out and clatter onto the floor.

  Kaminski: (With a big grin) Brass-branded in the first mag! Fashion is one thing. Common sense is another.

  Allonia smiles in understanding, tugging slightly at the collar of her turtleneck shirt.

  Allonia: Aaaahhh. I wondered why you were so specific.

  Kaminski: Not that I’d mind you wearing something like that. But not at the range.

  The floozy and her sugar-daddy start arguing, Kaminski and Allonia get back to finding the perfect bullet launcher.

  CUT TO

  Low angle view from in front of the firing line, looking into the booth. A series of shots as she tries different guns, taking a shot or three with each.

  ● Black semi auto, with a rail under it.

  ● Small stainless steel revolver, shooting with almost no recoil and no flash.

  ● Large SS revolver, longer barrel, huge flash and lots of recoil.

  ● Black polymer semi auto.

  ● Huge blued revolver with very long barrel.

  ● Small sleek black plastic semi auto.

  ● Midsized, mid-caliber, shiny revolver.

  ● Futuristic fancy target pistol.

  ● Tiny 22 pocket pistol.

  ● Ugly, blocky polymer pistol with triple rail, light, laser, micro-bayonet.

  ● Blued 1911 style.

  ● Silvery/stainless long-slide 1911 style with a rail.

  DISSOLVE TO

  INT - DAY - Gun rental counter

  View is from counter level, looking down it, Allonia standing on one side with Kaminski, talking with Vera on the other. The gun in the box between them that they are talking about can’t be seen.

  Allonia: The small ones are OK, I guess, but they just don’t feel…

  Vera: Substantial? Like they aren’t enough to do the job?

  Allonia: Yes, exactly!

  Kaminski: So you really like that one, eh?

  Allonia: It’s kind of plain looking, but it’s comfortable. Good balance, just… feels right in my hand.

  Kaminski: Not what I would have expected, but if you’re sure…

  Allonia holds up a target with dozens of holes in a good group in the middle.

  Allonia: Pretty sure.

  Vera: How it feels and shoots is what counts. If it’s just looks that bother you, I’m sure we can dress it up a bit. A
bit of engraving or inlay, grips, good leather…

  Allonia: I’m not sure about that…

  Kaminski: We can look at standard engraving designs and patterns, and if they don’t have something you like with the gunsmith here, we’ll see if perhaps Stenson can do something more to your liking.

  Allonia: Or maybe SGT Kaushik, I think his Komenagen had something to do metal working. OK. Wrap it up. We can figure out what sort of pattern we want after-

  Vera: Not “we.” You. It’s your gun, it’s going to be an extension of you. You pick the pattern you want on it. What other people think is their problem.

  Kaminski nods in firm agreement.

  Allonia: Right. I will figure out what pattern I want after I see what people can do.

  Vera: Absolutely right. Be sure you bring it in when it’s done; I want to see how you dress it up.

  Vera and Kaminski nod, agreeing it’s a good choice. Vera reaches for the box lid, and puts it on.

  FADE TO BLACK

  Histories

  FADE IN

  INT - DAY - A-Deck storage and machinery room

  Helton is leaning into an access port, working on something. Around him are a clutter of tools, e-readers, storage boxes, electronic parts and machinery, a pistol belt, and clutter.

  There is a tapping sound.

  Helton: (Sighs) Come in.

  The door opens, and Stenson sticks his head in.

  Stenson: Got a couple minutes?

  Helton: Oh, sure… Not making a lot of progress anyway. What’s up?

  Stenson leans against the bulkhead, looking thoughtfully at Helton as he extricates himself from the hatch and wires, wiping his hands on a rag. He looks dirty and tired.

  Stenson: How’s your history?

  Helton: Other than the normal childhood fascination with the Chi-Stan wars, the colony terraforming and conflicts, and the Romans, just the normal bit of this and that. Why?

  Stenson: Remember when I told you that if anyone tells you they can fix this ship up like new they are either lying, incompetent, or God’s Own Watchmaker?