INT. TERRACAT

Baxter leans forward in her seat, looking out the window.

BAXTER: “These things are huge. No wonder they affect the magnetic field.”

Clarke looks at the geogylph through her Laser Ranger.

CLARKE: “They’re perfect.”

CLARKE: “We can just scoop the ore right off the surface and get construction started right away.”

Baxter frowns. Before she can respond, the radio activates.

OMNI: (COMM VOICE) “AeroFox Two to TerraCat.”

CLARKE: “We read you, go ahead.”

OMNI: (COMM VOICE) “Another flare may be imminent.”

CLARKE: “How long?”

OMNI: (COMM VOICE) “I will update you when I have more accurate information.”

CLARKE: “Do that. TerraCat out.”

EXT. SHIELD NODE, AEROSHELL

[Grounded shot of the TerraCat rolling in.]

The TerraCat drives partially onto the aeroshell and parks with its rear wheels resting on the geoglyph material.

The duo disembark wearing their O2 masks.

Clarke favors her left ankle, hopping slightly.

Baxter hauls a tool kit out of the rover. It’s clearly too heavy. Clarke hobbles over to assist.

CLARKE: “You want me to take that?”

BAXTER: “No thanks, babe.”

Baxter heaves the kit onto her back. It snaps into place.

BAXTER: “Gotta get used to this gravity. No better time than the present.”

Clarke looks at the sky, and then at the surrounding desert. A pool of water has collected on the ground nearby.

CLARKE: “Whew. It’s a lot warmer over here.”

BAXTER: “Imagine how hot it must be down at the equator. It’s always high noon.”

Clarke slowly follows Baxter across the aeroshell.

[Over the shoulder shot of them approaching the aeroshell.]

Connected to its metal truss is a power supply and COMPUTER INTERFACE. Lights flash on its face indicating an offline status.

Baxter lumbers up to the structure, taking the toolkit off her back.

BAXTER: “I’ll pop the main board.”

Baxter gets to work, using a drill to remove a series of screws.

[Arms crossed, Clarke watches Baxter’s exertions.]

[Baxter pries the hatch open.]

She then pulls a large computer NODE-BOARD from its housing.

Lost in thought, Clarke walks around the tower, surveying it.

[Camera leans back with Clarke’s view.]

She stops and looks at Baxter with a frown.

CLARKE: “What do you think it’s like?”

BAXTER: (still working) “What’s ‘what’ like?”

CLARKE: “Earth. What’s left? Who’s left?” (concerned) “Dad says he got transmissions for a long time, but then they stopped.”

Baxter stops working, and looks in Clarke’s direction.

BAXTER: “That’s crazy! There were two more Colony ships under construction when I left.”

CLARKE: “But that was fifty years ago. What do you think happened?”

BAXTER: “No idea. But we have to find out.”

Clarke continues to circle the base of the tower.

Baxter returns to work, giving the board a visual once-over.

She notices the spark of a electric discharge that briefly cascades across its crystal circuitry, then dissipates.

BAXTER: “Kyle’s right. Something weird is going on. This node got hit by pulse just like we did.”

Baxter activates a computer screen above the node slots. She checks the power flow. It pulses oddly.

BAXTER: “This is odd. It’s like there’s energy coming from somewhere other than the fuel cells.”

Baxter activates a computer screen above the node slots. She checks the power flow. It pulses oddly.

BAXTER: “This is odd. It’s like there’s energy coming from somewhere other than the fuel cells.”

On the other side of the tower, a shocking image stops Clarke in her tracks.

She speaks over the internal comm-link.

CLARKE: “Um… Baxter? Can you come here?”

Baxter is uninterested and increasingly irritated as she places a small circular device from the tool kit on the node-board. She taps her wrist computer and begins the upload.

BAXTER: “Just wait a second.”

CLARKE: “Dammit, Baxter. You need to see this. Right. Now.”

BAXTER: (putting down the board) “What?!”

Standing sluggishly, she walks around to Clarke’s side.

Clarke points to the back of the transmission tower.

CLARKE: “That.”

The center of the aeroshell has been violently breached by what appears to be geoglyph material. It has ‘grown’ up the sides of the antennae assembly.

Clarke points to the opening.

CLARKE: “Could it have breached on impact?”

The crystalline glyph material glints in the ochre sunlight.

They move toward it cautiously.

BAXTER: “No friggin’ way.” (looking up) “The tower deployment was fine. This happened after landing.”

Clarke removes a pick-axe from her utility belt and kneels near the growth, cautiously poking at a shard.

[Clarke draws back, preparing to strike the crystalline material with her axe.]

[Clarke takes an experimental swing at the geoglyph.]

[Clarke’s pickaxe impacts with a crack.]

[Baxter takes in the true extent of the geoglyph’s crawling progress, looking up while Clarke works by her feet.]

The protrusion continues up into the back of the node’s computer system.

[Camera tilt continues, showing the full span of the geoglyph’s growth.]

BAXTER: “That looks like years of growth.”

CLARKE: “Growth?!”

BAXTER: (tapping a wrist interface) “AeroFox, come in.”

OMNI: (COMM VOICE) “AeroFox, receiving. Engineer, the solar flare–“

BAXTER: “Hold on that. There’s something odd going on out here.”

OMNI: (COMM VOICE) “Please describe.”

Baxter steps closer to the geoglyph.

[Clarke cradles her pickaxe and takes in the alien crystals.]

[Baxter’s suited hand approaches the alien substance.]

BAXTER: “Geoglyph material has ruptured the node’s aeroshell.”

[The moment before her fingers make contact, Baxter hesitates, sensing the gravity of the moment.]

Baxter runs her hand over the geometrical surface.

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

A seemingly-sleeping Niven covertly opens one eye.

BAXTER: (COMM VOICE) “It’s in direct contact with the transmitter.”

OMNI: “It seems highly unlikely that would occur at landing. The aeroshell is thick enough to withstand–”

CLARKE: (COMM VOICE) (interrupting) “We know that, Omni! The geoglyph has grown through it.”

OMNI: “Grown?! Are you certain?”

Niven sits up. The gyroscope rolls off of him onto the floor.

BAXTER (COMM VOICE) It certainly looks like it.

NIVEN: (weakly) “Told you… Get a sample…”

BAXTER: (COMM VOICE) “Excuse me?!”

OMNI: “Kyle is reminding you to obtain a sample.”

OMNI: “However, this is not the time. The flare will arrive in a matter of minutes.”

[Niven looks up, eyeing the control readouts, which are flashing flare warnings.]

Niven flops back on his couch in frustration.

NIVEN: “C’mon…”