11 characters: Hardcase, Misty, Trisha, Minnie, Gray, Announcer, Clay, Computer, Jim, Kobayashi, Klurgh
Click on a character's name to get their lines highlighted.
Hardcase (89 lines, 1041 words, 28.57%) - [John Gaunce] Captain Mack Hardcase. Confident, arrogant, driven. Captain Kirk type, feels a bit out of his time. Grew up a slave, never went to the academy and thinks book learning is overvalued compared to street smarts. Trusts his gut but also thinks tactically. Hardcase needs to feel important -- he needs to be where the action is and he needs to be making decisions. His self-worth comes from repeatedly saving the galaxy against all odds. Clashes with Erhardt because they're both confident self-assured characters with different motivations, and from Hardcase's perspective Erhardt appears selfish and uncaring about the wider galaxy. [complete]
Misty (55 lines, 493 words, 13.53%) - [Steff Knappe] First Officer Commander Misty L'Quil. She's an alien with lots of tentacles, and her people have a reputation for bravery which she sometimes regrets. She feels obligated to put on a brave face in every situation, but doesn't always feel it. Is also the science officer and tends to have a calm and logical tone most of the time, with exceptions where strong emotion breaks through the mask. Age indeterminate. [complete]
Trisha (35 lines, 375 words, 10.29%) - [Gwenith Knight] Ensign Trisha Blackburn. As we meet her, she's comfortable in her virtual utopia... but once out in the real world she's a bit nervous. Young (20s), unsure of herself at times, at first only knows that things aren't making sense. Becomes more outspoken. [complete]
Clay (50 lines, 783 words, 21.49%) - [David Loftus] Doctor Clay Erhardt. A bit of a mad scientist, likes to experiment, is used to losing patients. Like Hardcase, he's a very self-assured character -- but he doesn't have the drive to be in charge or to make a difference to the galaxy. Erhardt's primary motivation is his own curiosity, his drive is to understand things. Clashes with Hardcase because they have similar character flaws for different reasons. Likely in his 50s. [complete]
Minnie (33 lines, 261 words, 7.16%) - [Mel Crochemore] Minnie Erhardt is the doctor's wife, or so she says, even though he didn't have one before she appears. It wouldn't be wrong if Minnie often seems to be acting or manipulating, because she's an interloper from the real world monitoring an experiment. Does a bit of poking and prodding of people to see how they'll react. Doesn't really care for her so-called husband but plays the dutiful wife role when she can be bothered. [complete]
Gray (16 lines, 221 words, 6.06%) - [Curt Caster] Engineer Gray McGuy. A professional. [complete]
Klurgh (19 lines, 229 words, 6.28%) - [Nick Ben Wong] Ruthless evil aliens. They'll all have the same voice, which should probably be an over the top monster voice. They're kind of a hive entity, all the same -- although the commander should sound a bit more intelligent and forceful perhaps. [complete]
Kobayashi (1 line, 5 words, 0.14%) - [Mariella Espinosa] Just some random Ensign in engineering. [complete]
Computer (7 lines, 77 words, 2.11%) - [Nahla Campbell] Ship computer. [complete]
Jim (2 lines, 10 words, 0.27%) - [Sean Curran] Ensign Jim Hardcase, younger brother of Captain Hardcase. [complete]
Announcer (2 lines, 149 words, 4.09%) - [Paul Knierim] Announcer. [complete]
Script format: Margined | Marginless (for phone viewing)
Listen along as you read:
1 SOUND: battle sounds - alert klaxon, weapons fire, shakes and explosions steam venting, background people, etc
2 Hardcase: [yelling] Report!
3 Misty: That last volley took out our shields!
4 Hardcase: [energetically] Reroute auxiliary power to aft shields, and return fire!
5 SOUND: returning fire
6 Trisha: [uneasy] This is wrong...
7 Hardcase: You say something Ensign?
8 Misty: [shouting warning] Incoming!
9 SOUND: console explodes, scream
10 Trisha: Why did Patel's console explode when there's no hull breach on the bridge?!
11 Hardcase: [irritated] Why are you asking stupid questions during battle?
12 Trisha: Sorry sir.
13 Misty: They're firing again!
14 Hardcase: Evasive maneuvers!
15 SOUND: engine strain and metal groan for turn
16 SOUND: another impact, more fires and venting
17 Hardcase: [shouting over chaos] Damage report! And somebody shut off that damn alarm so I can hear myself think!
18 Minnie: I have Engineer McGuy for you sir.
19 Gray: [sfx: coms] McGuy here, that last hit breached our ventral star drive and we're leaking plasma! We're going to need at least a few hours for repairs.
20 Hardcase: Commander L'Quil, tactical assessment?
21 Misty: They outgun us six to one, and we can't escape without star drive.
22 Hardcase: What are they waiting for?
23 Minnie: Captain, the Klurgh commander is signaling to demand our surrender.
24
Hardcase:
[calm] Clear the bridge.
Bring up a map of this star system.
25 SOUND: map projection
26 Misty: Looks like our best chance is the asteroid belt...
27 Hardcase: Helmsman Blackburn, best speed to the asteroid belt!
28 Trisha: [doubtful] Aye Captain, but how will that–
29 Hardcase: We'll use the asteroids for cover, once we've lost the damn Klurgh we'll land and hide on one to make repairs. It'll take some fancy flying but I know you're up to it.
30 Trisha: [animated] But... asteroids are like a million kilometers from each other, they're going to see which one we land on!
31 SOUND: sound of engines straining
32 Hardcase: The hell are you talkin' about?!
33 SOUND: another explosion and shake
34 Misty: Hull breach, level 2 aft! Emergency hatches sealing!
35 Hardcase: One more minute to the belt!
36 Misty: Their scout ship is right on our tail!
37 Hardcase: Only ship of theirs that can outrun us at sub-light. What kind of shielding does it have?
38 Misty: Minimal.
39 Hardcase: Have we got lasers?
40 Misty: One turret still operational, just enough power for one shot sir!
41 Hardcase: That'll have to be enough. Blackburn, cut speed momentarily to bring them in optimal range, L'Quil you be ready to target their reactor.
42 SOUND: sound of engines powering down
43 Trisha: Cutting engines by half, speed is going down... but this makes no sense, we should have to accelerate backward to cut speed...
44 SOUND: scrambling to take helm, then sound of engines straining
45 Hardcase: [hurriedly] Ensign Blackburn, report to medical, I'll take the helm.
46 Trisha: [bewildered] Aye, sir.
47 SOUND: trisha exits
48 Misty: Target acquired. Optimal distance in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One.
49 Hardcase: Fire!
50 SOUND: laser fire sound, then explosion sound
51 Misty: Direct hit!
52 Hardcase: You're as precise as you are beautiful, Commander!
53 Misty: Thank you sir, my extra tentacles help with targeting.
54
Hardcase:
We've entered the asteroid belt, now let's find ourselves a good landing spot before we get pulverized.
There, that looks good.
55 SOUND: fast-paced music for title sequence
56 Announcer: QuietPlease dot org presents Beyond Awakening. Starring John Gaunce as Captain Mack Hardcase, David Loftus as Doctor Clay Erhardt, Steff Knappe as Commander Misty L'Quil, and Gwenith Knight as Ensign Trisha Blackburn. Episode two, Incongruities.
57 SOUND: commercial break promo swap
58 SOUND: medical
59 Clay: [casually] Scans don't show anything out of the ordinary. She seems to be in perfect health.
60 Hardcase: Is this some sort of lingering mental effect from her months in virtual reality on Alpha Omega C?
61 Clay: Unclear. I might be able to find out more if I remove her brain, but the regulations say you'd have to approve that since it's not technically medically necessary.
62 Hardcase: I know how you relish opportunities to push the boundaries of medical research Doctor Erhardt, but let's hold off on anything too invasive.
63 Clay: [mildly offended] I'd put it back when I'm done.
64 Hardcase: Still. Can I talk to her?
65 Clay: Sure. In there. But be gentle.
66 SOUND: movement, footsteps as they go through doorway (possibly not actual door)
67 Hardcase: [not gentle] What the fuck happened back there, Blackburn?! I know you're a greenie, practically fresh out of the academy when the Sacramento dropped you on that planet, but I can't have my officers spouting nonsense in the middle of a battle!
68 Clay: [scolding from doorway] I said GENTLE!
69 Hardcase: [calling out retort] Least *I'm* not trying to cut her head open!
70 Trisha: [concerned] What?!
71 Hardcase: Nothing, nothing. But what happened back there?
72 Trisha: [struggling to explain] Things... just don't make sense.
73 Hardcase: War never makes sense.
74 Trisha: That's not what I mean.
75 Hardcase: You have permission to speak freely, Trisha.
76 Trisha: Well... we've stopped accelerating, right?
77 Hardcase: That's right, we've landed the Chimera in an asteroid crater to make repairs.
78 Trisha: Then why do we still feel Earth-like gravity?
79 Hardcase: The artificial gravity floor plating, of course.
80 Trisha: And how does that work?
81 Hardcase: I'm no scientist. Ask the computer.
82 Trisha: I did. Maybe you should hear it. Computer, summarize the scientific principles behind our gravity plating.
83 Computer: Gravity plating operates on the principle of reverse quantum entropy differential. Each side of the plating receives an opposite electrical charge, mediated by atomic condensation. This results in a graviton oscillation inverse to the Moller-Shang levitation effect, which...
84 Hardcase: Computer, stop. What's the point of this, Ensign?
85 Trisha: Sir, does... does any of that make sense to you?
86 Hardcase: You and the computer are about equally incomprehensible to me, but I'm a Captain not a scientist. I don't care how things work, only that they do.
87 Trisha: But... I mean, didn't you take any science classes at the academy?
88 Hardcase: I didn't go to the academy, special dispensation for my heroism against the Klurgh. And there wasn't much time for book learning while growing up as a Klurgh slave.
89 Trisha: Well... I did study science, and to me it all sounds like a word salad.
90 Hardcase: Maybe you need to take a remote refresher course. And be sure to look up asteroid belts.
91 Trisha: Captain, I'm sorry, but... I still know I was right. Any dense asteroid field would obliterate itself into dust or coalesce into a planet.
92 Hardcase: [animated] Look out the window, kid. Easy to see you were wrong. [turning] Doctor, what is this? Amnesia?
93 Trisha: I remember what I'm supposed to believe, I just can't believe it anymore.
94 Hardcase: Space madness?
95 Clay: She shows none of the physical symptoms, but that's a possibility. I'd suggest letting me take a closer look at... the thing we discussed earlier.
96 Trisha: What?
97 Hardcase: I can't authorize that, Doctor. But keep her under observation as long as you have to. I'd better get back to the bridge.
98 SOUND: end scene with fade out / fade in
99 SOUND: engineering background, repairs in progress, probably welding and cutting.
100 Gray: Ensign Hardcase, how's the replicator repair coming along?
101 Jim: Almost done sir, just a few more minutes.
102 Gray: When you've got it working, check the parts request list and start replicating all the parts we need.
103 Jim: Aye sir.
104 Gray: Ensign Kobayashi, can you run this console patch kit down to environmental control?
105 Kobayashi: Aye sir, right away sir.
106 SOUND: ensign exits out door
107 Gray: [with disgust] Computer, what's that smell?
108 Computer: Please specify.
109 Gray: Over here, by the fordomite tank.
110 Computer: Analyzing... odor is fordomite hydroxide, a compound created when fordomite reacts with regular atmosphere.
111 Gray: Shit. How much fordomite is left in the tank?
112 Computer: 6 kilograms.
113 Gray: [with a sigh] That's not enough for even a single light-speed jump, is it?
114 Computer: Negative.
115 Gray: Any way we can extract it back out of the fordomite hydroxide?
116 Computer: Negative.
117 Gray: [resignation] Guess somebody's gotta tell the captain.
118 SOUND: perspective flip to bridge
119 SOUND: coms
120 Hardcase: Hardcase here, report.
121 Gray: McGuy here. Bad news, Captain. That last torpedo those Klurgh bastards hit us with fractured the fordomite tank. Without a new supply of fordomite, there's no way we'll ever go to light-speed again.
122 Hardcase: Computer, what's the nearest source of fordomite?
123 Computer: Fordomite deposits are present in an extensive network of caves on Beta Epislon D, the fourth planet in this system.
124 Hardcase: We'll have to send a shuttle for it.
125 Misty: That's a suicide mission, a shuttle can't defend itself against the Klurgh.
126 Hardcase: With some luck, maybe we'll outrun them.
127 Misty: When you say WE, do you mean...
128 Hardcase: You and me. Unless you've got something better to do?
129 Misty: There's some crew performance reviews I'd really like to catch up on.
130 Hardcase: [teasing] If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were afraid.
131 Misty: Of course not, sir. We Cthunians are never afraid.
132 Hardcase: Good. Get a shuttle equipped for mining and spelunking and meet me in the shuttle bay tomorrow morning, oh six hundred sharp.
133 SOUND: scene transition sound
134 SOUND: we hear him shifting on bed sheets while recording, cooking sounds from other room
135 Clay: [concerned] Personal log, May 7th 2283, oh five forty hours. Doctor Clay Erhardt recording. Endorphanex, my latest Neurotransmitter-Modulatory Endorphin-Potentiating Stimulant Complex, has failed me. I began to grow tired at the same time I usually do, eighteen hundred hours, and fell asleep at almost exactly nineteen hundred hours, and woke up at oh five thirty. It seems no matter what I do my sleeping and waking times never vary.
136 Minnie: [sfx: entering room] Dear, anyone but you would be THRILLED to keep such a strong circadian rhythm in space.
137 Clay: Good morning dear.
138 SOUND: they kiss briefly
139 Clay: Nobody on this ship has any trouble sleeping. Don't you think that's odd, given all the stress we're under with the war?
140 Minnie: We've got a good crew, they know how important it is to be rested and refreshed for duty.
141 Clay: They wouldn't think of sleep as refreshing if they had my nightmares.
142 Minnie: Bad one, was it? Tell me about it, dear.
143
Clay:
I was in medical, seemed like a normal day at first. But something felt off -- it was almost too normal, too perfect, crisp, precise, as if it were a set staged to make me feel at home.
I heard a groan from one of the bio-beds and I went over to check on the patient. And who do you think it was?
144 Minnie: [cheerily] I have no idea, dear.
145 Clay: [growing horror] It was my own face staring up at me! Except... the eyes. The eyes were empty, black voids. And then I noticed the skin, old and papery. And the features distorted. But somehow I still knew it was me. And he grabbed my arm and pulled me in close, and he spoke to me.
146 Minnie: [cheerily] What did he say?
147 Clay: [with horror] He told me... he told me that I'm not who I think I am. That I'm not WHERE I think I am. And then his face started flaking off, and then his whole body -- MY whole body -- was turning to dust.
148 Minnie: [dismissively] It was just a dream, Clay. Come and eat your breakfast.
149 SOUND: scene fades into gentle linking music
150 SOUND: shuttle interior
151 Hardcase: Shuttle thrusters are running at full power. What are the Klurgh up to now?
152 Misty: Two of their ships have moved to intercept our path before we can reach the planet.
153 Hardcase: No way around them?
154 Misty: I'm afraid not.
155 Hardcase: Then we're going to have to fight our way through.
156 Misty: Sir, our shuttle has no weapons!
157 Hardcase: We'll use guile. Guile is the greatest weapon.
158 Misty: I'd prefer a laser.
159 Hardcase: Well, if you've got one of those hidden under your seat...
160 Misty: No, sir.
161 Hardcase: Guile it is, then. I'm cutting engines.
162 SOUND: engine cut
163 Misty: Why's that?
164 Hardcase: I'm counting on them stopping to target us better...
165 Misty: They're firing at us!
166 Hardcase: Then we go full thrusters past them!
167 SOUND: full thrusters
168 Misty: This will only buy us a minute.
169 Hardcase: Prepare to vent drive plasma aft toward the Klurgh ships.
170 Misty: What?!
171 Hardcase: You heard me. And... now, vent!
172 SOUND: vent sound
173 Misty: Vented.
174 Hardcase: Now we keep on course...
175 Misty: They're firing at us again!
176 SOUND: explosion
177 Hardcase: [kill quip] Anyone for some deep fried Klurgh?
178 Misty: [amazed] Their weapons fire ignited the plasma just as they flew through it!
179 Hardcase: The Klurgh's own stupidity defeats them again. Bet they don't teach that at the academy.
180 Misty: The two ships on our tail are dead in space. Nearest Klurgh vessel is about an hour behind us now.
181 Hardcase: And they won't fall for that trick again. We'll have to work really fast and get lucky. Setting us down now.
182 SOUND: shuttle sets down
183 Hardcase: I'll open the hatch.
184 SOUND: shuttle hatch opens
185 Misty: [panic] NO WAIT DON'T--
186 Hardcase: What's wrong with you, Misty?
187 Misty: I don't know, sir. For a second I was sure it'd be dangerous to open the hatch, that we wouldn't be able to breathe.
188 Hardcase: It's an Earth-class planet, get a hold of yourself.
189 Misty: Yes sir.
190 Hardcase: I wonder if there's some sort of anxiety-inducing bug going around you've caught from Ensign Blackburn.
191 Misty: My physiology is dramatically different, I could no more catch a disease from her than you could catch a cold from a spider.
192 SOUND: equipment shifting/loading
193 Hardcase: Still, see Doctor Erhardt when we get back, that's an order. But we're on the clock here, let's get into the caves and search for those fordomite deposits.
194 SOUND: musical time dissolve
195 SOUND: walking in the caves, reverb on voices this scene
196 Misty: Captain Hardcase?
197 Hardcase: Yes, Commander L'Quil?
198 Misty: [carefully] It seems like this should've come up before and I don't want to step on any toes or upset you, but... it feels like there's something personal between you and the Klurgh.
199 Hardcase: Isn't it in my fleet file?
200 Misty: I don't know, I haven't read it.
201 Hardcase: I was born on Omicron Theta B. My parents were part of that first colony 40 years ago.
202 Misty: [uncomfortable recognition of horror of that planet] Oh. You don't have to talk about, sir...
203 Hardcase: [emotional] They were slaughtered. They weren't part of the fighting, they weren't even armed, they surrendered. But some of the defense forces were still fighting, and the Klurgh decided to execute five colonists every hour until everyone surrendered.
204 Misty: I'm sorry, sir.
205 Hardcase: If they'd died for something, if somebody had held out or escaped because of their sacrifice, that I could take. But the defense forces surrendered right after my parents were killed. And we all became slaves serving the Klurgh war machine. The children, like my little brother Jim and I, were sent to mining planets because we could fit through tight spaces.
206 Misty: I'm so sorry, sir. How did you escape?
207 Hardcase: Nobody escapes the mining planets. Took us 15 years, we were lucky to survive and be transferred to another world together. Eventually I caught our new master unprepared and managed to steal a ship and make it to Confederation space.
208 Misty: So...
209 Hardcase: So yeah, it's personal.
210 Misty: I just hope it won't affect your judgment.
211 Hardcase: It'll keep us alive. I tell people the story because it's what makes me the Captain I am.
212 SOUND: scanner beeps
213 Misty: Looks like we've found the fordomite, sir. Going to be a little tricky to extract it without contaminating it.
214 SOUND: unpacking
215 Hardcase: We'd better hurry, the Klurgh can't be far behind.
216 Misty: I'll set up the vacuum seal with four of my tentacles while helping you insert the siphon with my remaining tentacles.
217 Hardcase: [smug amusement] I KNEW there was a reason besides your stunning fleet file picture why I requested your assignment to my ship.
218 SOUND: link sound, and we cut back to the ship
219 SOUND: ship bridge background
220 SOUND: elevator doors open, chair swivel
221 Clay: [sternly] Ensign Blackburn, what are you doing on the bridge?
222 Trisha: Well, I mean, you're holding me for observation, right doctor?
223 Clay: [sternly] That's right.
224 Trisha: And you're on the bridge, sitting in the captain's chair until the Captain and Commander get back from their away mission.
225 Clay: Tell me something I don't know.
226 Trisha: I mean, the helm is right in front of you. If I sit there, don't you think you'll be able to observe me perfectly?
227 Clay: That... actually makes sense I guess. Take your station.
228 Minnie: Sir, Engineer McGuy has an update on repairs.
229 Clay: You don't have to call me sir, dear.
230 Minnie: But you're the ranking officer, the acting captain.
231 Clay: Well I'm not going to call my wife Ensign.
232 Minnie: [sigh] Should I put him through?
233 Clay: What?
234 Minnie: McGuy.
235 Clay: Oh, yes.
236 Gray: [sfx: coms] I've done all I can with what we've got. No star drive, that'll have to wait for the Captain's fordomite delivery.
237 Clay: We've got weapons?
238 Gray: [sfx: coms] Three of the eight laser turrets are working, and we're all out of torpedoes. Nothing I can do about this, we'll have to put in to a Starbase for resupply. But we are back to full power.
239 Clay: Thank you Mr. McGuy.
240 SOUND: hangup
241 Trisha: [perplexed] Wait, how can... [cuts herself off]
242 Clay: [sigh of annoyance]
243 SOUND: communications beep
244 Minnie: [feigning alarm] Transmission coming in... from the Klurgh!
245 Clay: Put it on screen.
246 Minnie: Aye sir.
247 SOUND: screen activation
248 Klurgh: Attention, Confederation scum! You have one hour to surrender your vessel, or we will execute one of your shuttle crew.
249 Clay: They're bluffing.
250 Trisha: But what if they're not?!
251 Clay: They'd be showing them on screen if they had them.
252 Minnie: [detectable subtle sarcasm] Maybe they didn't think of that, Klurgh aren't as clever as you!
253 Clay: Hmm. Put me through to them.
254 SOUND: sound
255 Minnie: You're on.
256 Clay: Klurgh commander, this is Galactic Confederation spaceship Chimera. We demand proof that Captain Hardcase and Commander L'Quil are still alive and being treated well.
257 Klurgh: We do not have them yet, but we have a landing party waiting for them when they come out of the caves. And now that you have given away your location with your response, we will be able to threaten THEM with YOUR deaths as well. You Earth creatures are so predictably simple and stupid when the lives of your shipmates are threatened.
258 Clay: Oops.
259 Minnie: [stifles a laugh]
260 Clay: [animated] What's going on with you, Minnie? Since you came to the bridge you've been like a stranger and now you're laughing at our impending doom?
261 Klurgh: Hello?
262 Minnie: Maybe we can delay our marital spat until AFTER we've all been enslaved by the Klurgh.
263 Klurgh: Do not stop on my account.
264 Clay: [taken aback] Right. Uh, Klurgh commander, we'll have to get back to you. Close channel.
265 SOUND: channel close
266 Clay: Well... suggestions? Ensign Blackburn?
267 Trisha: The computer says the Klurgh should be here in about an hour. Although that doesn't make sense to me when you figure--
268 Clay: Stop overthinking things and trust your instruments, Ensign. That's an order.
269 Trisha: Okay. Well, I mean, if you buy this whole asteroid field that makes no sense, we could fly deeper into it and find a new hiding spot.
270 Clay: But then the Captain and Commander may not be able to find their way back to us.
271 Minnie: It's not as if they have a chance of evading the Klurgh anyway. I think we have to consider them lost.
272 Clay: Well, either way we have to deal with the more immediate problem first. Find us a new hiding spot, Ensign Blackburn. Fly careful, always keep some asteroids between the Klurgh and us.
273 SOUND: dramatic music linker
274 SOUND: insert commercial break
275 SOUND: bridge background
276 Trisha: Sensors show the Klurgh have arrived at where we used to be. Aaand now they're moving off... sir, they're headed in our direction!
277 Clay: [gravely] They must be tracking us somehow.
278 Trisha: Probably our thruster emissions. I was hoping Klurgh sensors weren't that sensitive.
279 Minnie: So that's it? The Klurgh are going to blow us out of the sky?
280
Clay:
No dear, they wouldn't do that if they can help it... they'll want to take us home as a prize.
Put me on ship wide.
281 SOUND: pressing button
282 Minnie: You're on.
283 Clay: Attention crew, this is acting Captain Erhardt. Despite all our efforts, the Klurgh are closing in. Armory, issue hand lasers to all crew members. Security teams to the shuttle bay and all hatches. All crew, prepare for state of siege. Defense plan Alpha.
284 SOUND: pressing button
285 Minnie: What are we going to do?
286 Clay: We can't beat them in space combat, so we'll play dead. Deactivate shields and weapons, signal our surrender to the Klurgh, but then shut off external communications and ignore all further transmissions from them. We'll make it look like the generators gave out from the stress of that relocation.
287 Trisha: Do you really think they'll buy that?
288 Clay: No.
289 Minnie: And then?
290 Clay: They'll want our ship intact as a prize and prefer us intact as slaves, so they'll send boarding parties.
291 Minnie: And then?
292 Clay: We kill them, hopefully.
293 Minnie: But what about their ships?
294 Clay: Once the battle has started the Klurgh will keep shuttling soldiers at us until they're all gone. That's how their culture works, anything else would be cowardice. When they're all dead we can take their empty ships.
295 Minnie: It's kind of crazy but it's an innovative strategy, I'll be interested to see how it works out.
296
Clay:
As will we all.
You know, there's a bright side to all this.
297 Minnie: What's that?
298 Clay: The battle should keep me up well past nineteen hundred hours.
299 Minnie: [considers a moment] Hmm. [amused dismissal] You and your weird fixation on staying up late.
300 SOUND: quiet transition, no music on either side, but background sound builds to other side
301 SOUND: planet background, sounds of lugging something which may scrape dirt
302 Hardcase: [grunting with exertion] I wish we had an antigrav unit for this thing.
303 Misty: We're almost back to the shuttle. Just around this bend... ah, there it is!
304 SOUND: dropping heavy item to ground
305 Hardcase: [relief] See any sign of the Klurgh?
306 SOUND: scanner sound
307 Misty: I'm getting interference on the scanner.
308 Hardcase: Then use your eyes.
309 Misty: There's... some dirt over there that looks disturbed like a ship had landed on it.
310 Hardcase: I see it. And boot prints, leading to our shuttle.
311 Misty: You think they're waiting for us inside?
312 Hardcase: No doubt.
313 Misty: I'll go in first, with a blaster in each of my tentacles.
314 Hardcase: Let's hope there are less than 8 Klurgh in there.
315 Misty: Considering the shuttle's dimensions and the volume of an average Klurgh, I estimate no more than 6.
316 Hardcase: [interrupting] Don't give me the dissertation, just go.
317 Misty: Aye sir.
318 SOUND: perspective stays with hardcase. misty walks off hatch control press, hatch open, bunch of laser fire and klurgh death sounds
319 Klurgh: [in ear] You are mine now, Earth creature.
320 SOUND: walking
321 Misty: [sfx: from distance] [loudly calling out] It's all safe for you now, sir!
322 Hardcase: [loudly calling out] It really isn't, Commander!
323 Klurgh: [loudly calling out] We have your Captain. If you want him to live, you will emerge unarmed.
324 Misty: [sfx: from distance] [loudly calling out] What should I do, sir?
325 Hardcase: [loudly calling out] General order seventeen!
326 Klurgh: [alarmed] What is this general order seventeen?
327 Hardcase: [confidently] You'll find out.
328 Klurgh: [other Klurgh from other stereo side] Comrade, he is bluffing.
329 SOUND: a pause
330 Klurgh: You have five more seconds!
331 Misty: [sfx: from distance] [loudly calling out] I'm coming out!
332 Klurgh: Earth creature, you will bind the extremities of the tentacled one. Do it poorly and you will be punished and she will be killed.
333 SOUND: tying up tentacles
334 Hardcase: [sleazily] I've fantasized about doing this with you, Misty.
335
Misty:
I don't understand, sir.
Hey, uh, Klurgh, what's your name?
336 Klurgh: My name is not for you to know, you may address any comrade the same.
337 Misty: Well, have you considered how wealthy you could be with the fordomite on this planet? We could help you take it for yourself and get you away from your commander.
338 Klurgh: [laughs]
339 Hardcase: You can't appeal to individual vices in a Klurgh, Misty. They have very little mental independence from their commander.
340 Klurgh: We live to serve the greater glory.
341 Hardcase: Done, she's all tied up. You feel safe now?
342 Klurgh: Now you will come with us.
343 Hardcase: [demanding] Where are you taking us?
344 Klurgh: To your shuttle. From there, you will go wherever the commander wishes. I myself do not know yet. Ultimately, you and all of your crew will be reassigned to whatever work suits our needs and your skills.
345 Hardcase: [angry] I'll never be a slave again! Never!
346 Klurgh: You already are.
347 SOUND: could insert promo break here
348 SOUND: cut back to ship, maybe with music interlude
349 SOUND: red alert sounds
350 Gray: All teams report ready to repel invaders, sir.
351 Clay: [yawns]
352 Trisha: [tired and yawning] I know how you feel, Doc. Been a long day.
353 SOUND: hatch explodes in distance
354 Gray: THEY'RE COMING! LOOK ALERT!
355 SOUND: weapons fire approaches
356 Clay: [yawning] I just... I can't...
357 Trisha: [yawning] I told you things aren't right! Shouldn't we feel an adrenaline rush?
358 Clay: [super tired and still yawning] This is... utterly absurd.
359 Gray: Could really use some help here! [grunt being hit]
360 Trisha: [tired] Is he...?
361 SOUND: handheld scanner
362 Clay: [yawn, tiredness throughout] He's dead, yes. I know I should care, but I just want to sleep, I don't...
363 SOUND: collapses
364 Trisha: [tired] Doctor? Doctor Erhardt?
365 Minnie: He's asleep.
366 SOUND: exchanging fire
367 Trisha: [tired] Sorry I just can't keep my eyes...
368 SOUND: collapses to sleep. both of them snore.
369 Minnie: [with a detached sigh] Well, shit. Maybe it's for the best.
370 Klurgh: Surrender, confederation scum!
371 Minnie: [with unconcerned sigh] We surrender.
372 Klurgh: Two of your dead are making noise. Explain!
373 Minnie: [unconcerned, amused] They're not hurt, they're just sleeping.
374 Klurgh: Sleeping!?!
375 Minnie: [unconcerned] We want to make sure they come through in good health, a regular sleep schedule is just an essential part of that.
376 SOUND: end theme
377 Announcer: Beyond Awakening episode 2, Incongruities, was written and produced by Paul Knierim. It starred John Gaunce as Captain Mack Hardcase, David Loftus as Doctor Clay Erhardt, Steff Knappe as Commander Misty L'Quil, Gwenith Knight as Ensign Trisha Blackburn, Mel Crochemore as Minnie Erhardt, Nick Ben Wong as the klurgh, Curt Caster as Engineer Gray McGuy, Nahla Campbell as the computer, Sean Curran as Jim Hardcase, Mariella Espinosa as Ensign Kobayashi, and Paul Knierim as the announcer. Music licensed from Joel Steudler and creative commons zero and public domain sources. Please support Beyond Awakening by joining our patreon. Find it, along with downloads and more information about the show, at quiet please dot org slash awakening.