The Diomedian Chronicles: Glitch

< The Diomedian Chronicles

The Diomedian Chronicles: Glitch is a Novel/Transcript following the events of the Aegina's first voyage.

The events take place during the "Arrival" DLC. Where a nearby relay explosion in the Bahak System causes the Aegina's operating system to go on the fritz.

An automated lockdown traps the Aegina's personnel in various parts of the ship, each of them hoping the others will come to their rescue.

Prologue
''[In Archaon’s room, On one of the large screens, a computer golf game is displayed. Applause can be heard from the speakers and the game has just finished. In front of the screen, John Marachuk is sitting in front of a laptop computer which is also showing the same computer game. Archaon stands a short distance away, looking into a mirror and combing his hair.]''

Marachuk: C'mon, Doc, one more round.

Archaon: No, I can't.

Marachuk: We don't have to do eighteen; we can do nine – easy course, par three.

Archaon: No, Alexis' expecting me.

Marachuk: Well, be late. Women like it when guys are late.

Archaon: No they don't, and I can't be late – not for this lunch.

''[He walks over to stand behind John, smiling. John starts another round of golf on the computer.]''

Marachuk: And why's that?

Archaon: Can you keep a secret?

Marachuk: No.

Archaon: [instantly] Right.

''[Grinning, he walks closer to him, rummaging in the pocket of his trousers. He takes out a small box and opens it.]''

Archaon: I, uh, I got this right before we departed from earth.

''[Inside the box is a white gold ring with a small diamond in it. John takes the box and looks at the ring.]''

Archaon: I feel it's time that Alexis and I move the relationship to the next level, so ...

Marachuk: [feigning ignorance] Oh… Second base. Nice.

Archaon: [indignantly] No, Marriage.

Marachuk: [Disbelieving] Really?!

Archaon: Yes.

Marachuk: You?!

Archaon: Yes.

Marachuk: Married?!

Archaon: What, you don't see it happening? You think I'm rushing things?

Marachuk: I didn't say that ...

Archaon: Well, I'm not. I'm not ready to set a date or anything but ...

Marachuk: [looking at the ring, whistling] Is this a diamond?!

Archaon: Yes. Eighth of a carat, actually – conflict-free and got a good deal, actually.

Marachuk: Well, I'm sure you did!

Archaon: All right, so ... [he takes out his radio earpiece] ... here I go!

''[He drops the earpiece onto the table. John hands the box back to him, still looking a little startled.]''

Marachuk: Well, I'll ... I'll buy you a beer later. We can celebrate.

Archaon: Yeah – or drown my sorrows should she say no.

Marachuk: [reassuring] No, no, none of that.

[Archaon smiles at him nervously.]

Archaon: Right.

[He gazes towards the door, hesitating for a moment.]

Marachuk: [impatient] Well, go get the girl, Einstein!

[Archaon points towards the door, makes an incoherent sound, then puts the box into his pocket and heads towards the exit as Tanaka Beifong walks in.]

Tanaka: Hello, Doctor Thrax. Have you seen--

Archaon: [Interrupts] Inside.

[Tanaka watches him leave and run off down some stairs, then turns to the commander.]

Tanaka: Sir. Do you have a moment?

''[In the Aegina’s infirmary, Scott Greer walks in and goes over to Lorelei Mobious. His lower right arm is covered in blood.]''

Lorelei: Another sparring accident?

Greer: Actually, I slipped in the shower this time.

Lorelei: [Surprised] Oh, really?

Greer: [smiling] No. Sparring accident.

[He sits down on the side of a bed as Lorelei fetches some medical gloves.]

Lorelei: This is the third time this week I've had to patch you up.

[She looks more closely at the wound.]

Lorelei: Oh, those are going to need stitches… You know, there are a lot of other ways you can spend your free time.

Greer: Not as much fun as beating up Valevoss, though.

Lorelei: Yeah, but the thing is; you keep losing.

Greer: Well, one day…

[Lorelei rolls her eyes and starts to put her gloves on.]

''[Aegina’s CIC. Gwendolyn walks towards the elevator from one direction. From another direction, Vin Iggins, a scruffy-looking, grey bearded man holding a computer tablet, also approaches the elevator. They smile at each other as they reach the doors.]''

Iggins: Miss Diomedes.

Gwendolyn: Engineer Iggins. Where are you headed?

Iggins: Mess hall, my dear.

Gwendolyn: Ah, me too. We can share.

Iggins: Splendid.

[The doors to the elevator open and Gwendolyn and Vin stand aside as a couple of men step out.]

''[Aegina’s lab. Archaon walks in and looks around.]''

Archaon: Doctor Alexis?

[Alexis is sitting in the next room working on some plants and calls out to him.]

Alexis: I'm in here.

Archaon: Great. Awesome!

[He walks over to her.]

Archaon: Hope you're hungry.

Alexis: Oh, I am! [She takes her gloves off.]

[Alexis looks at him.]

Alexis: Are you all right?

Archaon: I'm ... fine. Why you ask?

[Alexis walks around the table and looks at him closely.]

Alexis: No, You're not. You’re sweating.

Archaon: Oh, am I? [He runs his fingers over his forehead.] Oh, I suppose I am. OK, um, I guess I, I should just, uh, jump right into this, you know – rip the Band Aid off, as they say ... not, not that this is painful in any way ... it's quite the opposite, actually.

Alexis: [laughing] Archaon! What's wrong?

Archaon: [getting nervous] It's nothing. In fact, everything's right ... with us, I mean. So, I was thinking – and I don't know about you, but the way I see it, um ... I thought that, uh, maybe, it's time that we ... you know ...

[Alexis puts her hands behind her back and looks at him coyly.]

Archaon: ... start entertaining the notion ...

''[He reaches down to his trouser pocket and opens the Velcro flap. Just then an alarm starts to sound and the doors to the room slide closed. Archaon stares at the doors in surprise.]''

''[In the Infirmary, Lorelei is stitching Scott's arm. The alarm sounds and the nearby doors slide closed. They turn and look as, across the room, a second set of doors closes.]''

[All around the ship, doors close.]

[In Archaon's room, an entire bulkhead wall slides downwards, sealing John and Tanaka inside.]

''[In the Lab, Archaon and Alexis hurry to the door. Archaon waves his hand over the wall panel, but it beeps negatively at him.]''

Alexis: What happened?

[Archaon runs his hand over the panel again, but it just beeps.]

Alexis: Why did the doors close?

''[Archaon tries to pull the doors open manually. Alexis helps, but they can't budge it.]''

Alexis: Archaon? What's going on?

Archaon: [anguished] It's locked. We're trapped.

Chapter One
''[Archaon’s room. Tanaka runs her hand repeatedly over the wall panel, but the panel beeps negatively each time. John tries to slide the door open manually, but can't manage it.]''

Tanaka: We're locked in.

Marachuk: [activating his radio headset] Doctor Thrax? Come in.

[Tanaka tries the wall panel again, but still gets a negative beep.]

''[The infirmary. Lorelei and Scott are each trying to get a set of doors open. Lorelei turns from her doors towards Scott.]''

Lorelei: This one's locked too.

Greer: What the hell's going on here?

[As he continues to try to get his doors open, Lorelei activates her headset.]

Lorelei: Doctor Thrax, this is Doctor Mobious. Are you there?

''[The Elevator. Inside, Vin has opened a panel in the wall and has slid out the circuit tray inside it. As he tries to manipulate the circuitry, Gwendolyn presses various locations on the wall panel at the back of the elevator with one hand and activates her headset with the other.]''

Gwendolyn: Doctor Thrax, this is Private Diomedes. Do you read?

[Vin slides the tray back into the wall.]

Iggins: The control mechanism is not responding. Perhaps if we can physically open the door?

[He puts his computer tablet on the floor and he and Gwendolyn turn to the doors.]

Iggins: You know, the elevator doors are lighter. They're not really as heavy as the other doors in the ship.

''[They try to push the doors apart, but are unsuccessful. Vin curses as Gwendolyn activates her headset again.]''

Gwendolyn: Doctor Thrax, this is Gwendolyn Diomedes. Please respond.

[She taps the headset a few times.]

Gwendolyn: Commander Marachuk, do you read?

''[Vin taps his own headset. Gwendolyn looks at him.]''

Gwendolyn: Are you getting anything?

Iggins: No. Communications must be down.

Gwendolyn: [sighing] Oh, great…

[In the lab, Archaon is pacing around trying to think.]

Archaon: All right. [He clicks his fingers several times.] I'm gonna need a radio. I left mine in my room.

Alexis: Uh, radio?

[She thinks for a moment, then points through the closed doors.]

Alexis: In there.

Archaon: What do you mean? What, you don't have a radio in here?

Alexis: This is a cultivation room – we haven't needed one.

Archaon: [walking away from the doors and starting to look around the room] Well, you need one now. Look, that alarm was the quarantine lockdown.

Alexis: Quarantine?

Archaon: It's the Aegina's self-protection against an outbreak, sealing off sections of the ship to prevent the spread of a disease. I tweaked the system after the recent Kirsan fever outbreak on earth.

Alexis: But I thought the systems were unable to detect Kirsan fever.

Archaon: [still searching the room] Well, hence the need to tweak the system, you know – institute more vigorous protocols. OK, I need to get to a computer – assess the degree of the situation. I mean, is this just a few sections that have been sealed off, or maybe the whole ship?

[He stops searching and stands still, his eyes widening.]

Archaon: The computer's in the other room, isn't it?

[Alexis nods.]

Archaon: With the radio.

[Alexis looks sheepish.]

Chapter Two
''[The Infirmary. Scott is still trying to force the doors open. Lorelei stands nearby.]''

Lorelei: There must be another disease outbreak.

[Scott grunts in frustration and lets go of the doors.]

Lorelei: Archaon said he was gonna modify the quarantine system to make it more efficient.

Greer: How does cutting off the radios make it more efficient?

Lorelei: Well, obviously there's a glitch in the program. Problem is, without communications, he can't tell me how bad the outbreak is or give me the pass codes to open whichever doors are deemed safe.

Greer: Huh, great!

Lorelei: Well, in any case, I should be ready to treat the sick when they bring them in. Will you help me?

Greer: Tell me what to do.

''[Archaon’s room. John has his hands against the bulkhead wall that lowered down.]''

Marachuk: I could really use one of Scott's gun right about now.

Tanaka: Sir, look.

[John turns to see Tanaka standing at a computer, looking at it.]

Marachuk: What?

Tanaka: It appears there's been another outbreak.

''[John goes over to the computer and calls the information up onto the larger screen. It shows a schematic of the ship, all outlined in red. More screens come up showing various information, then a message comes up on the bottom of the screen saying “CATEGORY FIVE QUARANTINE INITIATED.”]''

Tanaka: What is a “category five”?

Marachuk: Well, I'm guessing it's a lot worse than categories one through four. We could be here a while.

[He pulls a stool over to sit on and concentrates on the computer.] 

Marachuk: Let's see what else we can find out.

[In the elevator, Gwen and Vin are looking at his tablet computer.]

Gwendolyn: Quarantine lockdown?

Iggins: Yes.

[Gwendolyn turns back to the wall panel.]

Gwendolyn: Well, I don't know why communications would be affected.

Iggins: Well, Archaon did say he was going to modify some of the protocols. Perhaps he made a mistake – made the security measures a little too aggressive.

Gwendolyn: We need to try and access the mainframe.

[She picks up the computer tablet.]

Iggins: Yes, but unfortunately that's all you'll be able to do. This tablet has limited RAM. It's configured mainly for read-only field diagnostics.

Gwendolyn: Well, we should at least be able to determine the extent of the lockdown.

Iggins: Yes.

''[Gwendolyn activates the tablet and its desktop picture appears. Gwendolyn looks in surprise at the photograph of a pigeon.]''

Iggins: Oh, sorry.

[He laughs nervously and takes the tablet.]

Iggins: It's one of my pigeons.

[Gwendolyn frowns at him uncomprehendingly.]

Iggins: I raise them as a hobby back home.

Gwendolyn: Ah!

Iggins: Right, let's see what we have here.

Chapter Three
[Vin has accessed the mainframe and he and Gwendolyn stare at his tablet in surprise.]

Iggins: Category five?!

Gwendolyn: The entire ship?! You know, this disease spreads more rapidly than anything I've ever encountered before. Something's ...

Iggins: [talking over her] Something's wrong, yeah. Look at the levels: primary and secondary systems. Look, wild fluctuations in every sector.

Gwendolyn: Other systems are down too – not just communications. Long-range scanners are out; ventilation in several areas, including the elevator.

Iggins: Oh, oh, and plumbing too! Oh dear!

Gwendolyn: It's like the ship's entire operating system is on the fritz. This may not even be an outbreak at all. This entire lockdown could be the result of a malfunction. Don't worry – I'm sure Doctor Thrax is sitting at a work station fixing this problem as we speak.

''[The lab. Archaon has his arms folded in frustration. Alexis, standing beside him, looks at him.]''

Alexis: I'm sure others are working on the problem. Doctor Mobious, Engineer Iggins, Commander Marachuk ...

Archaon: [annoyed] Well, they'd better be.

Chapter Four
''[The Infirmary. Scott has taken a drip stand, has wedged the end of it into a gap between the doors and is trying to lever them open. The stand bends beyond its tolerance and snaps. Hearing the noise, Lorelei runs in from the next room.]''

Lorelei: Hey! Hey-hey-hey-hey! I could still need that!

''[She trots over to him and takes his arm. The bandage covering his wound is soaked in blood.]''

Lorelei: And you tore your stitches.

[She pulls him towards a bed.]

Lorelei: [Annoyed] God, honestly, I don't think I've ever met anyone with such a reckless aggression.

[Scott smiles smugly.]

Lorelei: That's not a compliment.

Greer: If you say so.

Lorelei: [pointing to the bed] Lay down.

[Scott lies on the bed as Lorelei wheels over a trolley and puts on another pair of gloves.]

Lorelei: OK, look – I don't think we're gonna have any luck opening those doors on our own. We're probably just better off waiting for Doctor Thrax and the others to figure out what needs to be done and which doors are even safe to open.

Greer: So we're just supposed to sit here and wait?

Lorelei: Yes! And be ready at a moment's notice to treat the sick.

Greer: I'm not very good at sitting and waiting.

Lorelei: [laughing] No kidding!

[She starts to cut away the bandage from his arm.]

Lorelei: Well, maybe we could pass the time by getting to know each other better.

[Scott narrows his eyes at her.]

Greer: What do you have in mind?

[Lorelei's eyes widen.]

Lorelei: Oh, I, I mean, I didn't ... you know, I meant ... just, like, talk. [She laughs nervously.] I didn't mean ... Yeah! So, anyway, um, let's talk!

''[Scott looks at her blankly. Lorelei grimaces.]''

''[The Lab. At the doorway, Alexis tries to pry off the wall panel, but fails. She turns to Archaon who is slumped against a table.]''

Alexis: Can't you fiddle with this thing and get the door open?

Archaon: [annoyed] I could fiddle with it, sure. As to actually getting the door open, not a chance. Quarantine protocol completely disables the doors' control mechanism. I mean, the whole point of it is to keep people from getting out.

Alexis: [walking towards him] Oh, it's gonna be OK. Doctor Mobious and Engineer Iggins ...

Archaon: [interrupting] We don't know that. We have no idea if it's gonna be OK. For all we know, Iggins and Mobious could already be infected. We don't even know how much of the ship is in quarantine! If this is serious – and we have no reason to believe otherwise – we could be looking at a ship-wide lockdown.

Alexis: [folding her arms] Are you going to be like that the entire time? Why are you always thinking the worst-case scenario?

Archaon: uh, Hello! This is what I do! This is my job! Someone needs to think ahead to the worst possible outcome to any situation in order to properly defend against it.

Alexis: Any situation – even the good ones.

Archaon: Hey, it doesn't take much for a good situation to turn ugly. One minute you're happily riding your bicycle back from acing your senior Lagrangian mechanics mid-terms – you know, the warm breeze in your face – next thing you know, you're flying through the air because you just hit a pothole.

[Alexis unfolds her arms and walks towards him sympathetically.]

Alexis: Oh, honey! Did that happen to you?

Archaon: [pulling away from her] The point is, one must always be on guard, you know, always looking out for the potholes. Now, you can call me a catastrophist, but… it's a necessary burden I bear.

[He walks over to the doors and looks at them.]

Alexis: A mindset like that and a person would live in a constant state of worry and fear.

[Archaon turns back to her.]

Archaon: You forgot despair.

Chapter Five
''[The elevator. Vin is looking at his computer tablet.]''

Iggins: Oh, it's definitely a malfunction – and surprisingly it's nothing Archaon did.

[He shows the screen to Gwen.]

Iggins: Look at that: I'm reading a sudden spike in power caused by an intense ionospheric wave earlier today. [Chuckles.] The galaxy continues to surprise us. It is going to require some drastic recalibration to account for any future ionospheric activity, that's for sure.

Gwendolyn: Well, first things first – we need to get to a work station and fix this malfunction.

Iggins: Yes, I agree. [Pauses] You know, I'm a little bit puzzled as to why Archaon hasn't solved this problem yet. He's been a little off his game lately.

Gwendolyn: Maybe he doesn't have access to a computer.

Iggins: Archaon?! Without his computer?! [He chuckles] This I have yet to witness.

Gwendolyn: Well, whatever the cause, since there's no outbreak, there's no reason for us to be stuck in here.

Iggins: Well, yes, other than the doors being sealed shut ...

[Gwendolyn closes her eyes in despair at him stating the obvious.]

Iggins: ... and heavier than we had previously thought.

Gwendolyn: Can’t you use this tablet to access this control panel?

''[She opens the wall panel that Vin had previously opened. The circuit tray slides out.]''

Gwendolyn: Maybe we could at least figure out a way to get the doors open.

Iggins: Doubtful. The elevator panel has no wireless interface, and even if we could hook it up directly, you know, with the limitations of the RAM on this tablet ...

Gwendolyn: [interrupting] May I?

[She takes the tablet, pulls its cable out and starts to plug it into the panel.]

Gwendolyn: Thanks.

Iggins: Yes, of course.

''[Archaon’s room. John and Tanaka are still working on the computers and looking at information on the screen.]''

Tanaka: Well, life signs all over the ship. Everyone’s as trapped as we are.

Marachuk: Ventilation is down, which means they're running out of air.

[He rubs his brow tiredly, then notices Archaon's radio earpiece lying on the table.]

Marachuk: He's in the cultivation lab!

Tanaka: Who?

Marachuk: [pointing at the earpiece] Archaon. He went to pick up Doctor Alexis for a lunch date. Have you been in that section of the lab? There's no computers, no radios, nothing ...

Tanaka: [smiles at John] If he's in there ...

Marachuk: [smiling back] ... he's seriously gotta be freaking out.

''[The Lab. Archaon is using a metal trowel to try and pry the doors open. Failing, he pulls it free and sighs. Closing his eyes, he doubles over, breathing heavily. Alexis looks at him.]''

Alexis: Oh, are you all right?

Archaon: I don't know. I feel all dizzy, a little feverish.

Alexis: Here.

[She fetches a stool.]

Alexis: Archaon, come sit down.

Archaon: Right.

''[He walks over and sits on the stool. Alexis puts her hand on his forehead and coos sympathetically, then puts the back of her hand against the side of his face.]''

Alexis: You don't feel warm.

Archaon: You sure? ‘Cause my joints ache. It's usually the first signs of a fever.

[Alexis takes his left hand, turns it so that she can see the watch he is wearing and starts to take his pulse.]

Alexis: Pulse ... ooh, one twenty?

Archaon: [nods] normal.

Alexis: Oh.

[She smiles for a moment, then frowns at him.]

Archaon: Yes, I've always had a rapid heartbeat, ever since I was a kid, even when I was in a deep sleep. Our family physician once wrote a paper about it.

Alexis: Oh!

Archaon: How are you feeling?

Alexis: I'm fine.

Archaon: OK, well, you let me know when you start feeling sick, all right?

[He stands up and goes back to the doors.]

Chapter Six
''[Archaon’s room. John and Tanaka are still working on the computers.]''

Tanaka: It seems that there was some sort of ionospheric disturbance a few hours ago. After that is when the system became unstable.

Marachuk: New ship, new problems.

Tanaka: There may not even be a disease outbreak.

Marachuk: Yeah, but the ship's still in lockdown. You know, if Archaon can't get a hold of a computer, he's not gonna be able to shut it down.

Tanaka: Perhaps Engineer Iggins or Doctor Mobious can do it.

Marachuk: [smiles at the notion] Doctor Mobious? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that girl's technology challenged. All she does is nod and act as if she’s interested every time Archaon starts talking techno-babble. Besides, if they could have, they would have done it already. They probably can't get a hold of one either.

Tanaka: Can anyone do it?

Marachuk: [shaking his head] They'd have to know Archaon's password.

[Tanaka sighs.]

Marachuk: Which fortunately, I do.

Tanaka: He told you his password?!

Marachuk: No, he didn't think I'd be smart enough to remember it.

[He starts to type.]

Marachuk: One six four three one eight seven nine two one five nine four two.

[The computer beeps and the familiar sound of the Windows operating system is heard followed closely by a synthesized voice saying “Good day, Doctor Thrax”.]

Marachuk: See? Doesn't take a genius to hack a computer.

Tanaka: [Confused] I’m not following...

Marachuk: 1643 is the year Isaac Newton was born; 1879, Einstein; and 2159 ...

Tanaka: [realizes] The year Archaon was born.

Marachuk: Never underestimate the size of that man's ego.

Tanaka: Wait – weren't there more numbers?

Marachuk: Forty-two.

Tanaka: And what’s that?

Marachuk: It's the Ultimate Answer to the great question of life, the universe and everything.

[He types on as Tanaka looks bewildered.]

Marachuk: OK – we're in.

''[The elevator. As Gwendolyn continues to work on the computer tablet which is now plugged into the circuit tray, Vin sighs. The small space has become hot and so he takes his jacket off. Gwendolyn looks at him.]''

Gwendolyn: Oh, good idea.

''[She puts the tablet down, unzips her own jacket and takes it off. Vin, who has just dropped his jacket to the floor, turns back to find himself staring down at Gwen's top. Still looking down at the tablet, Gwendolyn is unaware of it as he looks awkwardly away. She drops her jacket to the floor, pushes up her sleeves and pulls her collar out and flaps it for a moment to get some air inside her top.]''

Gwendolyn: OK, much better.

''[She picks up the tablet again. Vin pulls his own top away from his chest and flaps it to try to cool himself down – not just from the heat.]''

Iggins: Uh Yes, much better.

Gwendolyn: [typing on the tablet] The control panel won't recognize authentication.

Iggins: It's because it's not configured to, as I said earlier ...

Gwendolyn: Yeah, I know, which is why I've written a work-around to free up memory to allow for local device input.

Iggins: [startled] Oh, so fast!

Gwendolyn: Well, there's obviously not enough RAM to handle the ship's entire operating system, but we should at least be able to open these doors. All I need to do is get it to recognize the authentication command.

Iggins: Perhaps if you bypass the secondary circuits and go directly to the ...

[He reaches into the panel and starts to move the circuits.]

Gwendolyn: No, I don't think ...

[The panel explodes, throwing Vin across the elevator.]

Gwendolyn: Oh, god! Iggins!

''[Vin falls to the floor. Gwendolyn crouches down to him as he whimpers and shakes his hand, then looks up at the doors.]''

Iggins: They didn't open.

Gwendolyn: No.

[She looks at the tablet.]

Gwendolyn: And your tablet's fried.

Chapter Seven
''[Archaon’s room. Tanaka has left the computer and is sitting nearby while John continues to work on his. He looks at it as it beeps.]''

Marachuk: Oh, crap.

Tanaka: What is it?

Marachuk: Part of the lockdown program includes broadcasting an alert beacon to approaching ships to warn them about a disease outbreak.

Tanaka: The ship is doing this right now?

Marachuk: Five by five – clear enough for the entire neighborhood to pick up.

Tanaka: Can you shut it off?

Marachuk: Not from here. It can only be turned off from the sub-space transmitter which is up in the Control Room – which means the guys upstairs either haven't noticed it or, more likely, they don't have Archaon's password to turn it off.

Tanaka: As long as that signal is broadcast, the Aegina is vulnerable to discovery.

Marachuk: If it hasn't already happened.

''[The Lab. Archaon and Alexis are standing near the doors.]''

Alexis: How are you feeling?

Archaon: Same-old.

[He looks at her unhappy expression and reaches to take her hands.]

Archaon: Hey. You look like you could use some cheering up.

Alexis: As a matter of fact, I could.

''[Archaon gazes at her for a long time. She frowns at him, confused.]''

Alexis: What is it?

Archaon: Nothing, I ...

''[He trails off and looks around the room for some distraction. He points.]''

Archaon: Oh, hey, isn't that the, um ...?

''[Alexis looks. He's pointing at a tall cactus with feathery fronds growing out of the top of it.]''

Alexis: Oh, the Archonian Villosa? The plant I named after you.

[They walk towards it.]

Archaon: Right. It's grown.

Alexis: Yes, it's really flourished here. [She runs her fingers around the rim of the pot sensually.] I've been kind of doting on it, giving it a little extra T.L.C. ... [she gestures slowly up the length of the cactus] ... and it just gets bigger and bigger ...

''[Archaon coughs in embarrassment, but then it turns into a full coughing fit. Alexis goes over to him, concerned.] ''

Alexis: We need to get you to the infirmary.

Archaon: I already told you it's impossible. Look, the whole point of the lockdown is to prevent the spread of disease, which means no-one's going nowhere.

Alexis: But how are the doctors supposed to treat anyone if they can't reach them?

[Archaon gazes at her.]

Archaon: I'm sorry, Alexis. Look, I've no doubt infected you by now.

Alexis: I feel fine. You think I'd have at least a few symptoms.

Archaon: Every disease is different. I mean, we have no idea what the incubation period for this strain is. It could be hours, it could be days. I mean, who knows when I caught it? No, it's just a matter of time before you succumb too.

[Alexis frowns.]

Archaon: Anyway, what were we talking about?

[Alexis smiles bravely for him.]

Alexis: You were gonna cheer me up.

Archaon: Oh, right!

[He gazes into the distance, lost for something to say.]

''[The Infirmary. Scott is still lying on the bed while Lorelei paces back and forth at the foot of the bed. It seems that they haven't spoken to each other for some time. Scott pulls himself up into a sitting position.]''

Greer: You OK?

Lorelei: Yeah. I just ... I don't like sitting around either.

[Scott smiles sympathetically.]

Lorelei: Especially when there's people out there who need me.

Greer: You're not letting them down.

Lorelei: There's a disease outbreak and I'm a doctor stuck in this room.

Greer: That's right. “Stuck.” It's not your fault you can't get to them, so don't put the blame on yourself.

''[Lorelei smiles gratefully at him. He smiles back.]''

Greer: You remind me of someone I used to know. She put way too much pressure on herself.

[Lorelei walks closer to him.]

Lorelei: Someone from Brooklyn?

Greer: Ah, no. Met her on the Citadel

Lorelei: Who was she?

Greer: She was someone I cared about. [He clears his throat uncomfortably.] She was killed during the Geth attack.

Lorelei: I'm sorry.

Greer: Yeah. I wanted her to leave, but she chose to stay behind and help the others. [He coughs again, then smiles at Lorelei.] Should have forced her to go.

Lorelei: It's not your fault. She chose to stay. Don't put that blame on yourself.

[They gaze at each other for a long moment, then Scott nods.]

Chapter Eight
''[Archaon’s room. John has got the cover off the wall panel beside the door and is swapping the circuitry around. He puts the final wire back in its slot, but the panel beeps negatively.]''

Marachuk: Oh, come on!

Tanaka: Nothing's working.

[John starts looking around the room.]

Marachuk: OK, on to Plan B.

Tanaka: Which is ...?

Marachuk: Which is blast our way out of here and get to the Control Room. Start searching for any explosives Archaon might have left.

Tanaka: Well, I doubt that he would ...

''[The sound of air rushing in stops her mid-sentence. John walks closer to the ventilation shaft. Tanaka stands up and walks towards him.]''

Marachuk: The vent system came back online. Maybe we can crawl out of here.

''[John takes a chair and climbs up to the vent’s grill. Yanking it off.]''

Tanaka: Sir?

Marachuk: The Control Room is only one floor above us. All we have to do is climb up and we’re in.

Tanaka: Climb the ship?! Is that even possible?

[John clambers up into the vent shaft.]

Marachuk: [reassuring] Sure. Batman did it all the time! You coming?

''[After John has completely crawled his way into the vent shaft, Tanaka jumps on the chair. She barely reaches the opening of the vent and jumps up to grab the ledge. Nimbly crawling in faster than John did.]''

''[In the elevator. Gwendolyn and Vin are sitting on the floor covered in sweat. Vin also appears to still be in pain from the shock he received earlier.]''

Iggins: I'm sorry. I honestly thought that if we bypassed the secondary circuitry ...

Gwendolyn: [talking over him] Vin, I know. We've been through this. I'm not angry with you.

[She nods and smiles reassuringly at him.]

Gwendolyn: We could really use one of your pigeons around now.

[Vin frowns.]

Iggins: Well, they're not for eating.

Gwendolyn: No, no! You know, I meant to get help.

[He looks at her blankly.]

Gwendolyn: Like homing pigeons – you tie a little S.O.S. note to their feet and ...

''[She mimes throwing the pigeon into the air and makes a “bloorp” sound. Vin looks upwards.]''

Iggins: Yeah, but there's no window in here.

Gwendolyn: I know. I was just ...

[She gives up, realizing that Vin doesn't seem to understand that she's just making small talk.]

Chapter Nine
''[Inside the CIC, Lieutenant Commander Hassan Amir and a group of scientists are still trying to pry open one of the doors. On the consoles, Bernn the technician is watching them from the balcony, but turns and goes back to the consoles as Yeoman Ellen reports from one of them.]''

Ellen: I've got ventilation restored to most of the ship. Still working on getting air in the elevator, but so far nothing's responding.

''[Just then she and the others look around in surprise as a vent grill is hurled to the ground. John crawls through the gap, followed closely by Tanaka.]''

Bernn: Commander!? How did you… ?!

Marachuk: [running over to a console] Long story. We've got to turn off the beacon. It's broadcasting our location to every ship in the neighborhood.

Ellen: We already tried that. It's password protected.

[As John starts to type, Amir and the other scientists run up the stairs, looking at the vent grill on the floor.]

Amir: What happened?

[He looks at John as he types in Archaon's password.]

Amir: Commander!? Where the hell d'you come from?

[The image on the laptop screen changes.] 

Bernn: Beacon's deactivated.

''[John straightens up, relieved. His relief lasts only a couple of seconds, then a very familiar alarm starts to sound. As John frowns, all the computer screens go dark. Bernn runs to another laptop and types, but his screen stays dark.]''

Bernn: Computers just shut down – all of them.

Amir: [referring to the alarm] Is that the, uh ...?

Marachuk: Self destruct. Yes.

''[The elevator. Gwendolyn and Vin scramble to their feet as they hear the alarm.]''

Gwendolyn: That's the self destruct sequence!

Iggins: Why would anybody arm it?

Gwendolyn: More importantly, how much time do we have?

Iggins: I don't know. Whoever arms it designates the duration – you know, depending on how quickly he wants to ... blow up the ship.

''[In the Infirmary. Hearing the alarm, Scott gets off the bed and storms towards the doors.]''

Lorelei: Scott!?

[He starts hauling on one of the doors, trying to slide it open.]

Lorelei: Scott, we've already tried. It's not gonna open.

[Scott turns away from the doors and starts looking around the room.]

Greer: We'll just have to blast a hole in it.

Lorelei: With what? We don’t keep weapons here.

Greer: Got any C4?

Lorelei: In the Infirmary?!

Greer: Anything we can use to act as an explosive.

Lorelei: I don't know. Uh ...

[She thinks for a moment, then heads for another part of the room.]

Lorelei: The oxygen tanks, maybe?

Greer: [smiling] Right! Shoot ‘em like Sheriff Brody did in the movie “Jaws.”

Lorelei: Uh, Yeah. But how do you know? It’s a 200 year old movie.

[Scott walks over to one of the tanks.]

Greer: Marachuk showed it to me. Said it was an instant classic!

[He picks up the tank and looks at it, smiling.]

Greer: Flammable.

[He carries the tank across the room and puts it onto a bed.]

Greer: All right, all we need is a gun to shoot it with. You got one in here?

Lorelei: Again, Infirmary, not Armory.

Chapter Ten
[The CIC.]

Amir: I don't get it. Why would you arm the self destruct?

Marachuk: I didn't.

''[The alarm stops. Everyone looks upwards for a moment, then John turns to Bernn who smiles in satisfaction.]''

Bernn: Finally.

Marachuk: You shut it down?

Bernn: No, just the alarm.

Ellen: [to John] The ship actually armed the self destruct by itself, Commander.

Marachuk: Well, why?

Ellen: Last thing I saw on the screen was a breach of quarantine alert.

[John and Amir both turn and look at the ventilation shaft.]

Marachuk: Me coming into the room caused the ship to think the disease was spreading.

Amir: [To Technician Bernn] Whoa-whoa-whoa – but you said earlier that there was no outbreak.

Bernn: Well, there isn't, but the ship doesn't know that.

Ellen: It's all part of the system-wide malfunction. The ship must think there's a disease and now it's out of control.

Bernn: So blowing up is its final counter-measure.

Marachuk: Did you see how much time was left on the self destruct?

Bernn: No. The computer shut down before I could see.

[John walks over to the vent shaft and looks up at it for a moment before turning back to the others.]

Marachuk: All right. If we can't shut it down from here, we're gonna have to turn it off at the source.

Ellen: But that's in the engine room.

Bernn: That's four levels down.

Amir: We can't get there. All rooms are sealed off.

Tanaka: Than we'll just have to climb back down in the vents.

Ellen: The engine room's in the centre of the ship. Even if you climb back down, you'd still have to get through several sealed doors before reaching it.

[John turns to Amir.]

Marachuk: You got any C4?

Amir: Yeah, a little.

[He reaches into his vest pocket and takes out a small block.]

Marachuk: That's it?!

Amir: [shrugging] That's it, sir.

[John grimaces, then looks at Bernn and Tanaka.]

Marachuk: You two, with us.

''[The lab. Archaon and Alexis are sitting side by side on stools, facing the doors.]''

Alexis: The alarm turned off. That's a good sign, right?

Archaon: [quietly] I don't know.

Alexis: I mean, maybe someone found a cure for the disease, or at least figured out how to turn off the self destruct.

Archaon: [despairingly] Or maybe someone just figured out how to turn off the alarm.

[He sighs and sags on the seat.]

Archaon: Oh, I have to lie down.

''[He stands up and walks to an open space on the floor. Alexis follows him, putting her hand on his back comfortingly.]''

Alexis: Archaon, you can't give up.

''[Ignoring her, Archaon starts to lie down on his back on the floor. She kneels down beside him.]''

Alexis: You have to keep fighting. I know it looks bleak but ...

''[She trails off as Archaon settles back onto the floor and something drops out of his trouser pocket. She picks up the ring box.]''

Alexis: What's this?

[Groaning, Archaon lifts his head again and sees what she's holding.]

Archaon: Oh, that's ... When I came here today, I was ...

[Alexis opens the box and gasps as she sees what's inside.]

Archaon: ... I was gonna propose – ask for your hand in marriage.

[Closing his eyes and groaning, he lays his head back down on the floor.]

''[The Infirmary. Standing by the bed with the oxygen tank lying on it, Lorelei puts a protective plastic shield over her face as Scott picks up the second tank and starts to carry it across the room.]''

Lorelei: You do know this is not gonna work, right?

Greer: [putting the tank down and turning to her] What are you talking about? This is your idea.

Lorelei: Yeah – after which I immediately said there was a one in a million chance it would work.

Greer: Yeah, well, this is that one.

Lorelei: If I cut even a millimeter too far ...

Greer: ... the tank'll blow. I know. So just make sure you don't cut too far. Just score it, like you said.

[Lorelei looks down at the tank anxiously.]

Greer: [smiling] Hey, look, if you don't do it, I'm gonna do it.

[Lorelei nods nervously.]

Greer: C'mon, you've got this.

''[He picks up the other tank and takes it across the room. Looking at the tank on the bed in dread, Lorelei picks up a powered bonesaw and puts it against the neck of the tank. Wincing, she powers the bonesaw for a split second. Sparks fly. She grimaces, then powers the bonesaw again, and again.]''

Chapter Eleven
''[The Infirmary. Scott walks across to Lorelei as she continues firing short bursts of the bonesaw into the neck of the oxygen tank. Finally she looks up at him.]''

Lorelei: OK, that's it. I mean, that's as far as I’m willing to go.

Greer: All right. Let's do this!

''[He picks up the tank and takes it across to the doors. He has pushed one bed – the bed with the scanner above it – so that it is parallel to the doors. A second bed is at right angles to the foot of the scanner bed. The second oxygen tank is standing on the second bed with its neck propped up against the scanner. He lays the sawed tank onto the scanner bed so that it is underneath the scanner, with the neck facing directly away from the doors. Once he is confident that everything is in position, he picks up a small device and takes it over to Lorelei, smiling. They go into the next room and take cover behind the wall as Scott switches on the device. He looks at Lorelei.]''

Greer: All right. You ready?

Lorelei: [hesitating] No.

''[Grinning, Scott activates the device. The scanner starts to run up the bed. The second oxygen tank falls downwards and drops onto the neck of the sawed tank. Weakened by the sawing, the neck breaks and the pressure from the escaping oxygen sends the tank soaring towards the doors. It smashes into the doors and bounces off, hitting the wall beside the doors. The wall is slightly curved and this turns the tank around 180 degrees and sends it flying through the Infirmary. Scott and Lorelei duck down as the tank races across the room and smashes into the wall on the other side. Scott looks at Lorelei.]''

Greer: You OK?

Lorelei: Yeah.

Greer: All right.

[They get up and hurry over to look and see whether the tank made any impact on the door.]

Lorelei: Oh, you've gotta be kidding!

[Scott looks at the undamaged door.]

Greer: It's a lot stronger than a shark.

''[Somewhere on the ship, John has put a small piece of C4 onto a door and attached a firing mechanism. Pulling out the safety tab, he turns and walks around the corner to where Amir, Bernn and Tanaka are waiting. He holds up the detonator.]''

Marachuk: Fire in the hole!

''[He activates the detonator and there's an explosion. Somewhere nearby in the elevator, Gwendolyn and Vin hear the explosion.]''

Iggins: What's that?

[They scramble to their feet and press their ears against the doors, then start to hammer on them while shouting loudly.]

Gwendolyn: Hello?

Iggins: Hey!

Gwendolyn: Hey!

Iggins: We're in here!

[A short distance away, John and the others look round at the sound of distant shouting.]

Amir: You hear that, sir?

Marachuk: The elevator. Somebody's in there.

[As Gwendolyn and Vin continue yelling, the others run towards the elevator.]

Marachuk: [To Amir] Take the other side.

[John and Amir try to pull the door open, but to no avail.]

Bernn: We don’t have time. The elevator ventilation hasn’t been restored yet. They’re running out of air.

Marachuk: [Yelling through the door] Alright, Step back, we’re gonna have to blow the door open.

''[John takes out another piece of C4 and presses it against the door. He then takes out a firing mechanism, plants it on the C4 and pulls it’s safety tab. Inside the elevator Gwen and Vin are both standing in a corner on the opposite side of the door, protecting themselves by making themselves as small as possible. John and the others walk away from the door and he activates the detonator.]''

Marachuk: Fire in the hole!

''[A hole was blown by the resulting blast and the team pulls the door open. Vin and Gwendolyn stumble out.]''

Marachuk: Private. You all right?

Gwendolyn: Yes, sir, I'm fine.

Iggins: I'm fine too, by the way. Thanks for asking!

Marachuk: There's no outbreak. It's just a malfunction.

Gwendolyn: We know. Was Doctor Thrax the one who finally disabled the self destruct?

Marachuk: No, it's still on, but I haven't heard from Archaon.

Iggins: I need to get to a work station.

Bernn: The computers are down.

Amir: We're trying to get to the engine room so we can physically cut the power to the self destruct.

Marachuk: But all the doors are sealed shut. We just used the last of our C4 getting you guys out.

Iggins: Does that mean we're still stuck here?

Marachuk: That's what it looks like.

Gwendolyn: How much time is left on the self destruct?

Bernn: We don't know. The computer shut down before we could see.

Gwendolyn: So it could happen any time?

[Bernn nods and Gwen sighs.]

''[The lab. Archaon is still lying flat on his back on the floor. Alexis has stood up and is smiling down at the ring in its box.]''

Alexis: You were gonna propose to me? Today?

[Archaon raises his head.]

Archaon: Oh – I mean, before the ... before the lockdown.

[Alexis smiles and turns to him.]

Alexis: So? Why don't you?

Archaon: what? Now? You want me to propose now?

Alexis: [smiling down at him] Don't you wanna hear my answer?

[Archaon lays his head back down again despairingly.]

Archaon: Well, it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?

Alexis: How can you say that?

Archaon: Oh, I dunno – maybe because we're moments away from our deaths.

Alexis: [angrily] Don't talk like that. [Walks to the door.] There's still a chance. Someone could come through this door and ...

Archaon: [lifting his head] Alexis, please. Enough already. Look, much as I'd love to believe that someone's gonna swoop in and save the day, the fact that no-one has tells me it's probably not gonna happen. I'm sorry if that's bleak and horrible and fatalistic, but there it is.

''[Grimacing, he lays his head down again. Alexis sighs sadly.]''

Chapter Twelve
''[Aegina’s Corridors, Gwendolyn is trying to tweak the circuitry in a wall panel while Amir and Iggins tugs at the doors, but to no avail. Sighing, they turn back to the others.]''

Iggins: Well, what are we going to do now?

Amir: Well, what can we do?

Marachuk: Does this vent go to the engine room?

''[They look where he's looking. There's a vent high up on the wall.]''

Iggins: Yes, yes. I believe it leads to the ship's main ventilation flue. Why?

Gwendolyn: Well, that system's shut down. Those vents'll be closed off.

Bernn: Not any more. We were able to get it back online in most of the ship just before the computers went down.

''[John climbs up onto a chair and pries the cover of the vent off. Stepping up onto the back of the chair, he peers inside, activating and shining his omnitool flashlight along the shaft.]''

Marachuk: All right, it looks clear. This one’s a lot smaller though, It's gonna be a tight squeeze – there's no way I’ll be able to move in here.

Tanaka: I'll do it.

Gwendolyn: No. I'll do it.

Tanaka: Are you sure?

Gwendolyn: Yeah. I'm small enough. I can crawl through there. I'll have the power off in no time.

Tanaka: All right.

Marachuk: Atta girl.

''[He steps down as Gwen steps onto the chair and hauls herself up to the opening. She takes off her shoes and socks followed by her pants and sweater so it wouldn’t get stuck on anything while she was in there. The only thing she still has on is her white undies and top, most of it covered with sweat stains cause of the warm elevator. She looks into the shaft, then glances back at Tanaka for a moment. She nods to Gwen encouragingly.]''

Amir: Ready?

Gwendolyn: Yeah.

''[John and Amir take hold of her feet and boost her up, carefully pushing her into the opening. She starts to drag herself forward.]''

''[The Infirmary. Scott and Lorelei are sitting side by side on the floor with their backs against one of the beds. Scott smiles.]''

Greer: I had you wrong.

''[Lorelei looks inquiringly at him. He smiles at her.]''

Greer: When you first came here, I thought you were weak – that you didn't belong.

Lorelei: [shaking her head and looking away] Story of my life. [She pauses for a while, then continues.] Growing up, I skipped through grades and graduated at fifteen. Got my Bachelor's Degree before I was even old enough to vote. I missed out on a lot of things – any kind of social event, you know, parties and dances. [She smiles ruefully.] I don't ever remember a time in my life where I “belonged”. Even among my fellow scientists I’m an outcast.

Greer: That’s not what I see.

[Lorelei looks confused at him.]

Greer: I always see you hanging around Archaon.

[She angles her face slightly and smiles looking down at the floor.]

Greer: You like him, don’t you?

Lorelei: Yeah, well, he’s got Alexis. I always end up falling for the wrong guy. Another reason why I don’t “belong”.

Greer: Yeah, well, blowing up that tank – you really showed yourself today.

[She smiles at him.]

Lorelei: But it didn't work.

Greer: That's not the point.

[Lorelei looks down, smiling.]

Chapter Thirteen
''[Aegina’s ventilation. Dragging herself along the narrow shaft, Gwen mutters to herself.]''

Gwendolyn: “I'll have the power off in no time.” Jesus, that's unbelievable. I'm such a moron. they'll all think I'm a total idiot.

[She reaches a junction and initially goes straight on, then shuffles backwards and shines her omnitool flashlight down the side turning.]

Gwendolyn: Well, what else should I do? No, not this again ...

[Still muttering to herself, she turns and wriggles along that shaft.]

Gwendolyn: Don't fit here ... Ugh, this place stinks!

''[After a while she reaches another junction, but it's going to be difficult to go in any direction because the floor is open and there's a long drop down a deep shaft. she stares down it.]''

Gwendolyn: [disappointed] aw, for real?!

[She shines her Omnitool flashlight along the left and right turnings, then groans.]

Gwendolyn: [pathetically] Oh, tell me this is not happening!

[Taking a deep breath, she wriggles forward and, wailing plaintively, plunges downwards.]

''[The lab. As Archaon continues to lie on his back on the floor, Alexis sits on a stool nearby and watches him. His eyes are closed and, oblivious to his girlfriend's needs, he appears to be preparing himself for death.]''

''[The Aegina’s Corridors. John, Tanaka, Vin, Amir and Bernn gaze up at the opening to the ventilator shaft.]''

Marachuk: Come on, Gwen.

Tanaka: She'll make it.

[John and Amir look round at her a little doubtfully, but she looks confident until they look away again, then her own doubt creeps into her face.]

''[In the Engine Room. An alarm is beeping as a vent grill falls to the floor. Gently, Gwen lets herself fall down the shaft and summersaults on the floor. She scatters upwards and quickly runs across the room to the power levers on the wall and starts to pull them down one by one. In the corridor, John, Tanaka and Amir look up as the lights go off. Tanaka smiles.]''

Tanaka: She did it!

[Amir laughs as John blows out a relieved breath.]

[In the Engine Room, Gwen starts pushing all the levers back up again, reinstating the power.]

[In the corridor, the doors slide open behind John and the others.]

[In the lab, Archaon scrambles to his feet as the doors slide open.]

Archaon: Oh my God! Well, they must've found a cure or figured out how to override the program! I don't believe it! We made it!

[He turns and hugs Alexis, chuckling as she laughs.]

Archaon: We're still alive!

''[He pulls back, then hesitates as he looks at her holding the ring box. She looks down at the box, then folds her arms to hide it. Archaon looks awkward.]''

Chapter Fourteen
''[Aegina’s Mess Hall. Judging by the lighting in the ship, it’s suggested that it’s night time. John, Tanaka and Scott are sitting at a table with Gwen.]''

Tanaka: [surprised] I can’t believe you crawled the entire way there in those tiny vents half naked?

Greer: I'm surprised she even fit in there.

Marachuk: [Grinning] Oh, she fit, all right. There was even room to spare.

Gwendolyn: [Smiling] Well, not plenty.

Marachuk: You should have seen her. She looked like one of those little hamsters in one of those ...

Gwendolyn: Yeah, yeah. Look, the important thing is I was able to make it and shut off the power in time.

[Scott changes subject.]

Greer: Hey, d'you hear? Archaon thought it was a real outbreak. He even started getting sick! Thought he was, um ...

[He trails off and takes his feet off the chair beside him as Lorelei approaches, smiling.]

Greer: Hey, uh ...

Lorelei: [smiling at all of them] Hi. Mind if I join you guys?

Marachuk: Sure, if you feel comfortable enough with us jarheads.

''[Glancing at Scott significantly, Lorelei puts her tray down and sits down beside him. Scott looks awkward, then frowns at John and Tanaka who are both looking at him curiously, aware that something is going on.]''

Greer: [belligerently] What?

Marachuk: [shrugging] Nothin'.

[Amir comes over to the table.]

Amir: Well, sir, it's been several hours now and there is no indication that anyone out there's picked up our alert beacon. I think we're in the clear.

Marachuk: Well, we should keep an eye out for the night, just in case.

Amir: Yes, sir.

[Amir looks down at Gwen.]

Amir: Great work, Gwendolyn. [He pats her on the shoulder.] Everyone on this ship owes you a debt of gratitude.

Gwendolyn: [smiling up at him] Oh, thanks, sir.

[John turns to Tanaka.]

Marachuk: Archaon would love this.

[Lorelei laughs and looks at Scott again.]

Epilogue
''[Aegina’s Lab. Archaon walks in.]''

Archaon: Alexis?

[Alexis wheels a trolley of plants in from the next room.]

Alexis: Hello. Archaon. I see you're feeling better.

Archaon: [awkwardly] Uh, yes. I, uh, well, I mean, it was probably just, you know, an allergic thing. I'm fine.

Alexis: And the quarantine? Is it true there was no outbreak?

Archaon: Uh, no. It was a malfunction, actually. Some idiot destroyed a relay in the Bahak System of the viper Nebula causing an ionospheric disturbance felt halfway through Alliance space. I've actually recalibrated the system so it'll take into effect future activity, so we should be fine.

Alexis: Can’t say I’ve heard of the Bahak System.

Archaon: Batarian controlled constellation. It’s a medium sized constellation consisting of 5 planets and an asteroid belt. Completely whipped off the face of the galaxy.

Alexis: Someone said it was Private Diomedes that finally turned off the self destruct?

Archaon: Technically, yes, but it was actually more of a group effort. But that's not why I came here. I, um ... Here's the thing. Over the last year and a half, I have become aware that I have certain ... I don't wanna use the word “flaws” ... uh, “shortcomings”, perhaps? For example, on occasion I can be negative ... and demanding and-and-and a tad arrogant, but I'm also finding that just being aware of your, uh, shortcomings is just the first minute step on the road to betterment and the real trick seems to be to actually do something about it.

Alexis: [smiling] I know. It's difficult.

Archaon: The point is, I came here earlier today to propose marriage to you, but after what happened, I realize that I may have been rushing things. I just don't think I'm ready for this.

Alexis: I know.

Archaon: You do?

Alexis: [nodding] I don't think I'm ready either.

Archaon: Oh. OK. That's good. [He briefly laughs nervously.] It's not that my feelings have changed or diminished ...

Alexis: No. No, of course not.

Archaon: It's just, I mean ... [He sighs.] If we got married now, I would make your life miserable, and you are far too good a person for that.

Alexis: [softly] Don't be so hard on yourself.

[Archaon smiles.]

Archaon: Yeah. Easier said than done, right?

''[Alexis smiles briefly, then her face becomes sad. Archaon gazes at her.]''

Archaon: OK. So – rain check on lunch?

Alexis: [smiling] Absolutely.

Archaon: [smiling] All right.

[He turns to walk away.]

Alexis: Archaon?

Archaon: [turning back to her] Hmm?

[She looks at him for a moment.]

Alexis: Bye.

Archaon: Right. [He waves to her.] Bye.

''[He turns and walks to the other side of the lab doors, then turns back to look at her again. She gazes at him as the doors close between them. Archaon turns, his face sad, and walks away.]''