TRIUMVIRATE SE Chapter Eleven
By The Host
INT. GAULIEUS BASE - QUARTERS - BRIGHT
Flight Wing Eleven’s quarters are better-appointed and more
alive than Davies’s back at Starbase One One Four. There are
no bunks, only beds, beside each of which is a small table.
The lounge area is near the main entrance; it is carpeted
and furnished with comfortable leather chairs and couches.
There are several computer monitors of varying sizes strewn
throughout the room.
There are five men there when Davies enters the room. STEVE
JAMESON, tall and slender, is sprawled across one couch;
FLIGHT OFFICER HAYDEN DOYLE, with grey hair and steely blue
eyes, stands behind him. Across from the two men rests
HOLDEN GETTY, a bespectacled young man, munching on a snack.
A little removed from the group sits LIEUTENANT HARRISON
‘HAWK’ MACY contentedly reading from a screen he holds in
his hand. Rounding out the party is WILLEM BOYD, who is
making coffee at the nearby kitchenette.
When Davies enters, Doyle immediately turns to him and
shakes his hand. Steve sits up and with the others (save
Macy) looks on in interest.
DOYLE
Jack Davies, right?
Jack drops his bag to the floor.
DAVIES
Yes, sir.
He salutes. Steve laughs.
STEVE
Look, he’s saluting. He keeps
doing that and Doyle’s gonna start
to think he’s in charge.
Doyle smiles.
DOYLE
That’s Steve Jameson, who thinks
it’s his job to keep earnestness
in check.
STEVE
I like to think of it as
propagating irony.
Davies nods hello and shakes Steve’s hand.
DOYLE
I’m Flight Officer Hayden Doyle,
and whatever he says, I’m in
charge.
STEVE
Nominally.
DOYLE
Right. That’s Holden Getty.
Getty springs up and shakes Davies’s hand.
DOYLE (CONT'D)
Willem Boyd is kindly mixing us a
brew. He’s another recent addition
to our team.
Willem grants Davies a little wave.
DOYLE (CONT'D)
And, if he can tear his eyes away
from his reading you might be
greeted by Lieutenant Harrison
Macy.
Macy looks up to Davies.
MACY
Name’s ‘Hawk’.
Davies nods a greeting, but Macy’s already back to his
reading.
DOYLE
Welcome, Jack, to the Black Aces,
best in the fleets.
Davies nods again.
DAVIES
Thanks, sir.
DOYLE
You can put your stuff over there.
Doyle nods to an empty bed. Davies shoulders his burden but
stops himself before making his way to his bed.
DAVIES
Um, sir, where’s the rest of the
squadron?
Doyle is slightly surprised.
DOYLE
Well, this is it. We lost one of
our men a month ago. You’re his
replacement.
DAVIES
But aren’t there usually eighteen
men to a flight wing?
Doyle is slightly puzzled. Macy looks up now with keen
interest.
DOYLE
Flight wing?
Davies grabs a paper out of his pocket, looks at it closely.
DAVIES
Isn’t this Flight Wing Eleven?
Macy speaks up.
MACY
Dawson didn’t tell him.
Doyle looks at Macy for a minute, then back at Jack.
DOYLE
We’re, uh, not a standard flight
wing, Jack. We’re -- I guess you’d
say we’re into special operations.
Davies looks to his paper again.
DAVIES
Oh.
DOYLE
Well, what sort of experience do
you have?
DAVIES
I’ve been fully certified basic
training plus Gunship and Zed
Fourteen simulations. I did pretty
well with the Zed Fourteen, near
the top of my class.
DOYLE
No, I mean experience, not
training. How much battle
experience have you got?
Davies considers this.
DAVIES
Well . . . I fought in the fourth
battle against Al T’Har . . . Took
out a few gun emplacements before
my ship was disabled.
Steve looks to Willem with surprise.
DOYLE
And . . . ?
DAVIES
And . . . And that’s it.
Doyle thinks about this for a moment.
DAVIES (CONT'D)
Well, isn’t that as much
experience as anybody’s got right
now? It’s the first war we’ve had
in ages.
DOYLE
You don’t have to be at war to
have combat experience. We do
things you don’t hear about on the
holovision.
Davies feels suddenly very awkward, very exposed. He looks
at the floor and absently scratches his nose.
DOYLE (CONT'D)
Don’t worry, we’ll get it all
straightened away. We’re a pretty
close-knit group here, we have to
be, and you’re part of the team
now.
Davies nods silently.
DOYLE (CONT'D)
Go on, go unload your stuff. We’ll
be going to the mess in a little
while, I’ll show you around.
DAVIES
Thank you, sir.
Davies walks over to his bunk. As he begins to unpack he
hears Steve whisper something to Getty, followed by a loud
snigger. Macy continues to eye him.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. GAULEIUS BASE - QUARTERS - DARK
Davies can’t sleep. He lies in bed staring at the ceiling.
At the far end of the quarters, in the lounge area, he can
hear hushed voices in conversation.
STEVE (O.S.)
Well, Jesus, we can’t do nothin’
with him. We need somebody who
knows his arse from his elbow in a
pickle.
DOYLE (O.S.)
I know. I know he’s not very
experienced, but we’re just going
to have to train him and go easy
on him. Give him simpler tasks at
first.
WILLEM (O.S.)
Why is he even here? Could it be a
mistake?
DOYLE (O.S.)
I don’t think so. Direct orders
from Dawson.
There’s a moment of silence.
STEVE (O.S.)
You think he’s a narc? Working for
Dawson, keeping an eye on us?
MACY (O.S.)
Steve, you’re so fucking paranoid.
STEVE (O.S.)
No, seriously, though.
DOYLE (O.S.)
No, Steve, I agree with Macy, God
forbid. I think you’re going a
little far.
STEVE (O.S.)
Still. Don’t go telling him about
your sex life or the Admiral might
come knocking.
Willem laughs; Doyle shushes him.
DOYLE (O.S.)
Well, guys, it doesn’t matter why
he’s here, he’s here. Try to be
nice to him. The last thing we
need is another outsider.
STEVE (O.S.)
We’ve already got one of those,
right, Macy?
MACY (O.S.)
Shut the fuck up, Steve.
Steve and Willem laugh and Doyle shushes them again.
AUTOR'S COMMENTARY:
A run-of-the-mill character introduction and development
scene. Similar to one in Gemini’s Redemption, but longer. I
paid much attention to the relationships already extant in
the Aces when Davies comes. Steve, the joker, is liked by
all but Macy and Doyle, who to some degree see through him.
Macy is a loner; he speaks little but is free with his
words. He’s a pretty serious guy, and despises Steve; he
respects Doyle, but I don’t think Doyle much likes him in
return. Doyle is a respected commander, fair, but somewhat
of a square. Willem is relatively new and, I think, probably
went through experiences similar to Jack’s: he’s a rich kid
from the city who only now is insinuating his way into the
group, largely by nipping at Steve’s heels. Getty is my
alter-ego: here’s the author’s cameo. The poor bastard
doesn’t say a word!
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4/11/2003 10:10:59 PM
(Updated: 4/12/2003 5:42:07 PM)
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