TRIUMVIRATE SE Chapter Five
By The Host
EXT. STARBASE ONE ONE FOUR
A fleet of ships makes its way toward the massive city in
the stars.
INT. STARBASE ONE ONE FOUR - ADMIRAL COPLEY’S OFFICE - DIM
ADMIRAL COPLEY sits at his sleek, spotless desk in his
expansive and darkly empty office. A series of windows
behind him reveal a starfield beyond filled with dozens of
starships going about their business. Copley, a portly,
balding man of about sixty, is reading something on a
monitor at his desk. Next to the monitor is a bottle of
vodka and a glass half-filled with the clear liquid. Copley
absently picks the glass up and takes a sip, placing it back
down next to the ring of moisture it had left behind. There
is a soft beep followed by the voice of his secretary, MONA.
MONA (V.O.)
Admiral Copley, Admiral Dawson is
arriving now with his fleet and is
requesting communications uplink
with you. Also there is a young
man here, Petty Officer Davies. He
says he has an appointment with
you.
Copley exhales heavily, picks up his glass, and swishes
around its contents.
COPLEY
I really shouldn’t keep the
Admiral waiting, Mona. So send the
boy in first.
MONA (V.O.)
Yes, sir.
Copley swiftly downs the rest of his drink and places the
glass and bottle beneath his desk. He stands as the door to
his office opens and Jack Davies steps in. Davies comes to
attention and salutes the Admiral as the door sweeps closed
behind him.
COPLEY
Don’t bother with that, now, Jack.
May I call you Jack?
DAVIES
Yes, sir.
COPLEY
Well, Jack, my boy, leave your
formality outside. We have no room
for insubordination here so I’ve
decided that there’ll be no
subordination. Come, come, sit
down.
Copley indicates a seat across from his desk. Davies crosses
the office floor and sits, glancing quickly at Copley’s
desk. Copley then sits down and, looking at his desk
himself, sees the fresh moisture ring. He tactfully places
his arm over that spot and slowly moves it toward him as he
speaks, pressing firmly. The moisture disappears.
COPLEY (CONT'D)
Now, then, why is it that you are
here, Mr. Davies?
DAVIES
Sir, I received an order to report
to you at eighteen-hundred. If
you’ll allow me to say, sir, it is
really an honor, but I haven’t the
slightest idea why I have been
called here.
COPLEY
You haven’t, have you . . . ?
Well, I must say, Jack, the honor
is mine. It is not often that I
meet a prisoner of war who so
quickly escapes from his captors.
There is a brief awkward pause.
DAVIES
Sir, I—
COPLEY
Now, now, I told you to leave your
formality outside. You needn’t
call me ‘sir.’ But I do know about
your capture and I have no idea
why you didn’t report it to
anybody.
DAVIES
Sir, I really didn’t remember much
from it. I was banged pretty hard
on the head at some point.
Copley considers this. He eyes Davies suspiciously as he
speaks.
COPLEY
Hmmm . . . You know, Jack, there
are some intelligence specialists
who can retrieve forgotten
memories. Hypnosis, that sort of
thing. The reason I’m interested,
see, is that you might hold some
very valuable intelligence
information, whether you
consciously remember it or not.
Depending, of course, upon what
you’ve seen.
This last line holds a sort of resonance. During the silence
that follows, Copley eyes Davies very closely. Then the
older man continues.
COPLEY (CONT'D)
We would like it very much if you
would agree to undergo a series of
tests for information retrieval
purposes only. Nothing very
dramatic; should only take a few
hours out of a few days. But you
might hold a very powerful weapon
in that brain of yours.
A fleeting pause, just an instant too long – betraying just
the slightest hint of hesitation in Davies’ answer.
DAVIES
I will do whatever I can, sir.
Copley smiles and stands.
COPLEY
Good, then. We’ll be calling for
you, Jack. That’s all: you’re
released.
Jack stands.
DAVIES
Thank you, sir. Um, good night.
COPLEY
God bless.
Davies nods, turns, and marches out of the office. When he
is gone Copley sighs and resumes his seat. He withdraws his
bottle and glass but is interrupted again by his secretary.
MONA (V.O.)
Shall I put you through to the
Admiral?
Copley sighs again and puts back his bottle and glass.
COPLEY
Damn.
The word echoes into non-existence.
FADE OUT. . .
FADE IN:
INT. STARBASE ONE ONE FOUR - CENTRAL CORRIDOR - BRIGHT
Starbase One One Four’s central corridor is a wide and lofty
space, a veritable beehive of activity. It is bright and
pleasant, with several levels of balcony overlooking tall
planted trees. Through the glass vaulted ceiling Admiral
Dawson’s fleet appears to be drawing near. Even busier than
the goings-on outside are those inside: HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
move through the many-storied hall, some running, some
strolling, some taking a moment to rest. Jack Davies is
slowly walking through their midst, staring upwards and
ahead, when he comes upon Robert Johnson, walking rapidly
towards him. Robert calls out.
JOHNSON
Hey, Jack!
DAVIES
(Halting but still looking
up)
Looks like our reinforcements are
here.
JOHNSON
Huh?
(Looking up)
Oh, yeah.
(Looking back at Davies)
Listen, Jack, we’ve got our
reassignment detail, it’s
effective day after tomorrow. All
the details are back at—
DAVIES
Robert?
JOHNSON
Yeah?
Davies looks level at Robert now.
DAVIES
Who’d you tell?
JOHNSON
Huh?
DAVIES
Did you go straight to Copley?
Johnson sighs.
DAVIES (CONT'D)
I just met with Copley. I think he
knows that I’ve got it.
JOHNSON
Jesus, Jack, I didn’t tell Copley,
and I didn’t tell anybody that you
had the cure.
Davies gestures emphatically for Johnson to be quieter, more
discrete. The two begin to walk together as they converse.
DAVIES
But you told somebody something.
JOHNSON
Yeah. I had to, Jack. Whatever you
saw, if it is what you say, well,
that’s something big. But I didn’t
tell them about the cure. I didn’t
even say what you saw. I just
reported that you had been
captured and somehow escaped. I
figured that if you thought it was
safe you’d tell them everything.
But I had to tell somebody.
DAVIES
Why?
JOHNSON
Jack, don’t you think that maybe
you’re getting in over your head?
Because if I’m right, then you
might be holding back a good cause
by keeping that cure—
(Davies again gestures to be
quiet)
That thing. And if you’re right,
and this is all some sort of
nefarious scheme ... Well, then,
I’d say every minute you keep that
thing it gets a little more
dangerous.
INT. QUARTERS -- DIM
‘You’ve got mail!’ the spinning envelope icon boldly
announces. Jack Davies, tired as he is, stays awake in the
half-light emitted by the computer monitor, deep in thought.
Absentmindedly he fingers the vial in his left breast
pocket. Finally Jack turns to the holographic display and,
pressing his finger to the email icon, drags it to the
monitor screen itself. When it contacts the screen the
holographic envelope opens up and a letter appears, upon
which is inscribed in simple calligraphy: ‘From THE GUARDIAN
at 0760.’ After a moment the letter dissolves before
Davies’s eyes and then resolves itself into text: “ABOVE
HANGAR 14Z AT 1500 TODAY”
Davies is intrigued. He’s considering the text when the door
slides open. Robert Johnson enters and turns on the lights,
blinding Davies. Johnson staggers forward. Davies observes
him silently. He checks his watch as the door shuts behind
him, then looks up at his friend.
JOHNSON
You been up all night?
DAVIES
Yeah. Have you?
Johnson grins wildly.
JOHNSON
Yeah. Last night before we have to
get up for training, right?
Davies just nods. Johnson drops a bundle he’d carried in and
picks out of it a bottle of Scotch. He holds it up and peers
into it.
JOHNSON (CONT'D)
Consider it a parting gift from
flight group seventeen-oh-one, our
dearly departed.
He smiles and looks at Davies, who is completely ignorant of
his friend’s antics. Johnson discards the bottle and moves
forward to read the message Davies still has displayed.
JOHNSON (CONT'D)
Who’s that from?
DAVIES
I don’t know.
JOHNSON
What are you going to do?
DAVIES
I guess I’m going to be above
hangar fourteen in seven hours.
Johnson looks concerned.
JOHNSON
You sure that’s a good idea?
DAVIES
(Chuckling)
No, not at all. It’s probably a
pretty bad idea.
Johnson smiles.
JOHNSON
You want me to go with? You know—
He leans back and draws two invisible laser guns from two
imaginary holsters and fires them into the air.
JOHNSON (CONT'D)
For backup?
DAVIES
(Smiling)
No. I think I’ll be fine.
Nothing’ll happen to me in a
public place.
Johnson nods; Davies shuts down the display and stands.
DAVIES (CONT'D)
But I’d better get some sleep
first. Who knows what today will
bring?
JOHNSON
Not me.
Davies crashes into bed. Johnson watches him for a moment,
already asleep, before turning the lights out.
AUTOR'S COMMENTARY:
The first two scenes of this chapter are two of the only scenes that
have remained virtually unchanged over the years. Actually,
the meeting with Copley was copied almost verbatim from
Gemini’s Redemption, just shortened and finessed. The scenes
are important, relatively brief, and establish character
well. The meeting with the admiral is one of my favorites in
the screenplay and, I must admit, Copley is one of my
favorite characters. He seems like a buffoon, but I think
he’s actually a pretty good manipulator. He knows how to
handle people – effectively balancing congeniality with
intimidation – and he’s got a keen eye. He knows there’s
more to Jack’s story than meets the eye and, indeed, his
entire meeting with the young soldier is entirely designed
to test Jack’s conscience. At the same time Copley functions
as somewhat of a comedic character. I think he’s memorable.
The scene in the corridor, as Davies looks to the newly-
arrived reinforcements, is more functional than brilliant.
It’s a tad melodramatic toward the end, but otherwise the
characters say what they have to and move on. The final
scene in this chapter is a considerably modified version of
a scene that’s appeared in earlier versions. More character
is revealed: Davies is a little depressed, I think, and
Johnson appears to be an affable guy – not so much of a
square as he’s seemed to be so far. The most important
moment, though, comes at the very end: Johnson watches Jack
sleeping. Robert truly loves Jack, and worries about him.
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4/11/2003 10:01:54 PM
(Updated: 4/12/2003 5:38:42 PM)
(Updated: 4/12/2003 5:52:38 PM)
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