INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT – EXT. AEROFOX

A loud beep fills the cabin. Niven is oblivious as he works at the science station.

The hatch opens. Baxter enters.

Niven glances over weakly as she rips the O2 mask from her head.

She takes off the life support unit as the hatch closes.

[Baxter approaches Niven, setting her life-support mask on the ground.]

NIVEN: “You okay?”

Baxter pulls the other stool from the science station and plops down on it. She catches her breath, then surveys Niven with concern.

BAXTER: “I’m the least of our worries.”

NIVEN: “Where’s Clarke?”

BAXTER: “She’ll be back soon.” (turning to the Omni strip) “Omni, can you switch on our beacon?”

OMNI: “Of course.”

INT –

Baxter smiles weakly at Niven.

BAXTER:”Think we could figure out what’s messing with my shield?”

Niven pulls back from the station, giving her full attention.

NIVEN: “Yeah… Better do it while I’m still upright.” (looking around) “Hey, you seen my gyroscope? Helps me think.”

Clarke jogs at a brisk pace as she continues through a cleft in the rubble-strewn mountain range.

Lightning and wind fill the air. A wintry mix of snow and rain obscures her view.

Training aside, she’s clearly not used to the stormy planet.

[The camera pulls out from a close shot of Clarke’s face, tight with concentration.]

Clarke masks her fears, attempting to remain calm in the maelstrom. Yet, regardless of her muted emotions, she winces at every electric flash and blaring rumble of thunder.

JUMP CUT TO:

FLASHBACK: The Girl watches on the monitor as the skiff carrying her parents approaches the area of damage near Colony One’s fuel cryo-tanks.

Her eyes widen with fear as sparks jump from a mangled power system.

An arc of electricity leaps out, damaging one of the repair drones working on a breach that’s venting gas.

The drone ceases functioning and drifts as the couple disembarks and makes their way to the affected area.

Bova taps his radio.

BOVA: “We need to cut power to that array. Clarke, you need to back off!”

FATHER: (COMM VOICE) “No, we got this! Just give us a minute…”

Clarke is startled back to reality when the SUIT VOICE — a built-in assistant with a female voice — issues a warning. She stops to listen.

SUIT VOICE: “Lightning detected. Find shelter immediately!”

[A forked lance of lightning strikes the canyon wall above.]

CLARKE: (scoffing) “Yeah, right… Where?”
Clarke begins jogging again, panning with her flash-scanner.

[Trying to find a path, Clarke focuses in on her head’s up display.]

[The scanner analyzes the canyon walls, digitizing their topography into a display.]

[As a wall of black rock looms, the HUD’s scanner interface warns of a detected obstruction.]

She sighs and stops once more, having reached an impasse — a huge ROCK SLIDE blocks the chasm before her!

[Clarke shines her flashlight across the rock slide’s craggy surface.]

[Panning the light’s beam back and forth across the rock’s surface reveals depressions that could serve as climbing aids.]

A frustrated Clarke surveys the rubble and then backs up to take a running start.

[Clarke sweeps her flashlight down.]

[Clarke begins her running charge for the rock slide.]

[Overhead shot of Clarke as she jumps.]

She lands on the rock face and begins climbing with ease.

[The camera pulls back as Clarke ascends.]

[Shot from the back as Clarke scales the rock face.]

[From a close side angle, Clarke continues her progress up the rocks.]

[Close view of Clark as she powers through the home stretch.]

As she nears the top, a massive bolt of lightning strikes the upper rim of the canyon to her left.

A clap of thunder startles Clarke, causing her to lose her concentration!

[Amidst the pelting rain and snow, Clarke plummets through the air.]

Her grip fails and she slips and falls on her back at the bottom of the ravine — landing hard on the drone!

[Clarke tumbles head over heels further down the slope.]

[With a final thud, Clarke crashes to the bottom of the ravine.]

CLARKE: “Ow!”

Clarke looks over her shoulder with a worried look.

CLARKE: “Oh no…”

She taps a button on her wrist.

Her HUD indicates that the drone is still intact.

SUIT VOICE: “Your drone is functional.”

Clarke regains her bearings, then stands, ignoring the pain of impact. She dusts herself off.

[Close shot of Clarke’s face. She is resolved and ready.]

More determined, Clarke starts climbing again. She takes the storm into account, moving with an extra-cautious resolve.

Unbeknownst to her, the retaining clip on the left hose connecting the backpack to her oxygen mask has been broken and dangles precariously. She continues on unaware.

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

Inside the ship, Niven plays with his gyroscope, spinning it on the console.

He reviews a map of the Very Low Frequency (VLF) shield nodes spread out across the planet’s face.

[Close shot of map. Installation markers blink over terrain.]

He overlaps them with a plot of the microwave power receivers.

NIVEN: “The grid’s still being fed power, but, for some reason, these specific nodes are offline.”

[Tighter shot of map, showing the microwave power receivers and the offline nodes.]

Baxter leans back against the central column. Looking nearly as ill as he does, she forces herself to pay attention.

BAXTER: “Which ones?”

Niven causes the map to flash with the affected locations.
NIVEN: “Those.”

Niven shuts down the map of the human tech on Persephone, leaving behind only the natural formations.

Suddenly, he coughs and winces — crying out in pain.

Baxter places a kind hand on his back. Niven pulls himself together.

NIVEN: (fighting through the pain). “Wait a second… If I highlight the glyphs…”

Niven brings up an image that outlines the huge impressions. He then reinstates the map of the shield grid, focusing only on the non-functioning nodes.

The result [overlapping of two maps] is astounding.

NIVEN: “See what I’m seeing?”

BAXTER: “What the..?”

There is a clear similarity to the pattern. Every single corrupted node is located on top of a geoglyph.

[Clarke finishes her ascent to the top of the peak.]

Climbing up, she takes a knee to absorb the view.

Before is a bizarre expanse that stretches for many kilometers. Peaking just above the horizon of the vast depression, below the thinning span of the terminator storm, is the blood-red lantern of Proxima Centauri. The inky-black plume of an active shield volcano

The scene is terrifying and awe-inspiring as Clarke breathes it in.

After a beat, she pulls the drone from her shoulder.

Activating it, she sets it on the ground before her.

[Over the shoulder shot of Clarke prepping the drone.]

Its turbines kick in.

It slowly rises and then takes off into the distance.

[Clarke rises from a kneeling position.]

Clarke stands and quickly checks her radiation monitor.

It indicates that she’s just inside safe tolerances.

[Clarke reaches for something on her utility belt.]

Clarke pulls a pair of binoculars from her belt and watches the drone dwindle to the point of near invisibility.

[The drone recedes through a view of Clarke’s binoculars, surrounded by blue tracking brackets.]

She takes them from her helmet and wrinkles her brow in thought.

[Clarke taps the interface point on her wrist.]

CLARKE: “Find Hab Module Forty-Seven.”

The flash-scanner on her wrist lights up as it searches. The map on the circular display shifts and re-centers itself. It blinks near the icon of a hab module.

Clarke returns to the binoculars.

[The blue trackers show nothing but alien wasteland.]

Inside its display an arrow points her in the correct direction to look. It blinks as the HAB MODULE comes into frame.

[Clarke zooms in to gets a better look at Hab Module Forty-Seven.]

[Satisfied, Clarke checks the lay of the land.]

Clarke pans to her left to see a dry river bed that extends far to the south and eventually up to the edge of the range she’s standing on.

She smiles. This is going to work.

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

Baxter and a weakening Niven are in a heated discussion.

NIVEN: “It was right there, staring at us in the face the whole time.”

BAXTER: “Then how come the Colony One crew didn’t notice it?”

NIVEN: “They think the formations are just ore deposits. Why would they?”

BAXTER: (tired of arguing) “You need to lie down.”

Omni lowers Niven’s chair into the bed position. Niven stands reluctantly and staggers to the chair.

[With Baxter’s help, Niven slumps down on his chair.]

[Holding his chest, Niven collects himself.]

NIVEN: “Nah… Hear me out. Whatever made the glyphs… shut down the shield. There’s no other explanation.”

Baxter is blown away by Niven’s calm certainty.

BAXTER: “There could be plenty of explanations! Maybe something to do with the planet’s magnetic field.”

Before Niven can retort, a transmission bursts to life.

CLARKE: (COMM VOICE) “AeroFox, come in.”

Baxter taps the comms button on the science station.

BAXTER: “We’re here. What’s up?”

EXT. PERSEPHONE, MOUNTAINS – SUNSET

Clarke walks along the ridge, about to return to the ship.

CLARKE: “Drone deployed.”

BAXTER: (COMM VOICE) “Good work.”

CLARKE: “How’s Kyle?”

INT. AEROFOX, COCKPIT

[Baxter leans on the science station as she talks to Clarke.]

With muted humor Baxter observes Niven.

BAXTER: “He’s fine. Going on about aliens again.”

NIVEN: (tired of being bullied) “No, I’m not…”

CLARKE: (COMM VOICE) “That sounds about right. I’m on my way back. See you in forty-five.”

BAXTER: “Copy that. AeroFox out.”

Niven attempts to sit up.

NIVEN: “You know, we really should –”

Baxter puts her hand on his left shoulder, restraining him.

BAXTER: (completing his sentence) “Get some rest? Both of us.”

She turns to the image of overlapping nodes and geoglyphs.

BAXTER: “But, someone needs to work this shield problem and it ain’t you.”

Niven has already fallen asleep as Baxter was talking.

She pats his head and turns to sit at the science station.

OMNI: “Actually, Engineer, your magnetic field concept is quite intriguing. I’d like to run an analysis.”

BAXTER: “Do that. I’m going to close my eyes for a minute.”

Baxter rests her head on the station and falls asleep.