INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

Baxter sits at Clarke’s pilot station, scanning the monitors. The display shows the diagram of the engine that flares red.

BAXTER: “That’s only five percent. I’m scared to push it any further.”

OMNI: “I’m afraid we have to.”

A schematic appears showing an arcing path above the planet. Baxter ponders a solution.

BAXTER: “Let’s supplement thrust with the plasma engine.”

The engine diagram changes from red to green.

OMNI: “Done.”

Baxter looks at the ship’s chronometer.

Her hand floats above the main engine button, hesitant to push it.

Unexpectedly, Omni interrupts the tense moment.

OMNI: “Even if you convince Clarke to stop, what’s our ultimate goal?”

BAXTER: (laughs to herself) “I have no idea!”

[Baxter slowly pulls her hand back.]

OMNI: “What if I could prove it’s not only alive, but intelligent?”

BAXTER: “It would be a game-changer. Guess you have until we get there to figure it out.”

OMNI: “Then, let’s get going.”

BAXTER: “Ninety-second burn. Both systems.”

[Baxter presses a button.]

BAXTER: “Firing…”

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT 116 The previous ship schematic glows red once again.

OMNI: “A problem with fuel valve three. Auto-shut-off.”

BAXTER: “Override. Now!”

The song “Tom Sawyer” by Rush suddenly begins to play.

BAXTER: (irritated) “What is that?!”

OMNI: “Sorry. A glitch activated Kyle’s playlist. I’ll shut it down.”

BAXTER: “No, this is actually kinda cool. Plus, I need the distraction. Let it play and get us off the ground!”

INT. TERRACAT

Clarke pushes on.

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

Warning klaxons fill the wildly-vibrating cabin. Indicators show engine power is rapidly fading.

[The frame shakes violently.]

OMNI: “Engines down to seventeen percent!”

BAXTER: “Just… Recalculate… Burn them a little longer!”

OMNI: (V.O.) “Burn complete.”

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

Baxter squints in the glow of the red dwarf star. Its photosphere is wracked with sunspots.

BAXTER: “Please, God. Tell me there are no flares coming.”

OMNI: “There are a number of large sunspots pointed in our direction.”

BAXTER: “Great. One minute to deceleration burn.”

A display indicates the ship is ready to descend.

OMNI: “Ready for retro-burn.”

[Baxter sits in silence for a moment]

BAXTER: “Omni, do me a favor and see if you can read Two-Twelve from here.”

OMNI: “I can.”

BAXTER: “Status?”

OMNI: “Still showing it as offline.”

A graphic on Baxter’s monitor shows the status of the node.

INT. TERRACAT

Clarke finally arrives at the node. She is visibly disturbed as she drives carefully over the rocky, alien substrate.

INT. TERRACAT

Clarke sits for a second and then removes the node board.

INT. TERRACAT
She rotates her seat back to self-drive position (facing the cabin interior) and grabs her O2 mask.

EXT. SHIELD NODE, TRANSMITTER

The rover’s door opens and Clarke stumbles out.

She’s rapidly deteriorating from radiation sickness.

She slowly circles the transmitter station.

Arriving at the geoglyph growth, she inspects it in disgust.

Then, with contempt, Clarke shakes her head and returns to the main terminal.

She notices green lights indicating the node is still functional.

[Clarke examines the board.]

Clarke finds the slot to replace the node board.

Her hands shake terribly.

She slides the board.

The system lights up and begins a start-up routine. Just then SONIC BOOM resounds high above her!

Clarke cranes her neck to see the tiny glow of the AeroFox as it descends from orbit.

CLARKE: “You gotta be kiddin’ me…”

INT. AEROFOX COCKPIT

The image of the node on Baxter’s monitor begins to change.

OMNI: “Holy shit! She’s rebooting.”

Baxter is briefly shocked at the swearing computer.

BAXTER: “How long ’til it propagates?”

OMNI: “Thirty seconds.”

Baxter is out of options. She looks at the node map and makes a split decision.

Their target landing zone is meters away from the tower. She realigns for the tower itself!

OMNI: “What are you doing?”

BAXTER: “Stopping Clarke without killing her!”

OMNI: “Shouldn’t I deploy the gear?”

BAXTER: “Forget it! No time.”

EXT. SHIELD NODE, TRANSMITTER

Clarke looks back and forth between the rebooting computer and the AeroFox.

She’s alarmed as the ship’s retro-rockets cease firing and it falls the remaining few meters.

Clarke rips the computer board out of the system.

It shuts down as she runs for her life.

[Clarke pelts forward at full tilt.]

Clarke trips at the lip of the aeroshell’s impact crater.

[Clarke frantically looks back.]