the NASA flight.
CECIL
You haven't signed anything and I've got
some of the best lawyers money can buy.
Gwen returns.
She hands Jeremy a stack of twenty dollar bills. A paper band around the bills reads "$1,000."
GWEN
This is for dragging you away from your
job today. It's all I could find. We have
little need for cash these days. I hope
it's enough.
JEREMY
This really isn't necessary.
CECIL
Just take it. Consider it hazard pay for
being out on the track during the launch.
JEREMY
Since you're admitting that the track was
hazardous, I accept. Thank you.
CECIL
How about we go get some barbeque down in
one of the hangars?
JEREMY
Sounds great.
GWEN
I've got some things to take care of.
Gwen moves back into the adjacent room.
INT. TWO OCCUPANT DOUBLECAR - DAY
Cecil is driving the DOUBLECAR.
They travel across an area littered with hangars.
CECIL
Are you in possession of any more data
besides the one equation?
JEREMY
I've got about eighty pages of what
appears to be engineering schematics.
Everything's on a data crystal.
CECIL
Schematics? Is this information for sale?
JEREMY
You know the old saying, everything's for
sale at the right price.
CECIL
How much is a trip to the moon worth?
JEREMY
Quite a bit, actually.
CECIL
Did I tell you that I'll be commanding
The Arcus mission? It'll be my first trip
into space.
JEREMY
I didn't know that. Now that I do, I
definitely want in.
CECIL
I prefer that my spacers remain at the
complex during training to minimize the
possibility of injury or illness. I don't
like the idea of replacing members of my
crew at the last minute.
JEREMY
I can live with that.
CECIL
Pack some clothes and be here tomorrow
morning at seven. Don't worry about the
government. I'll send out a press release
announcing your appointment to The Arcus
crew. That should dissuade them from
pressing the issue.
The doublecar stops at the mouth of a large hangar.
INT. BARBEQUE HANGAR - DAY
A zigzag of picnic tables surround a dozen active grills.
Over a hundred employees are eating.
Jeremy feasts.
Cecil drinks bottled water.
Several employees wander by to casually greet Cecil.
They eye Jeremy curiously.
Jeremy's cell phone rings. He answers.
JEREMY
Oh, hi General Hayes.
Cecil signals Jeremy to hand him the phone.
Jeremy complies.
CECIL
General Hayes, I've heard so much about
you. I wanted to thank you and your
friends for the NASA space shuttles. The
redesign went swimmingly...What's that?
Cecil holds the phone out so Jeremy can hear the General.
CECIL (CONT’D)
...It's Cecil Millikan, of course...That
should be obvious. You know the old
saying, everything's for sale at the
right price.
Cecil winks at Jeremy.
CECIL (CONT’D)
I'm actually able to squeeze an Asteroid
Crusher into the tip of the main liquid
fuel tank which now reaches orbit.
A few nearby employees listen covertly to Cecil's conversation.
CECIL (CONT’D)
I'm afraid he's unavailable at the moment
but I'll tell him you called. By the way,
Mr. Ash works for me now so you may want
to take him off your speed dial...What's
that, General? I'm sorry, you're breaking
up.
Cecil disconnects. He hands the phone back to Jeremy.
INT. ARCUS SPACECRAFT - DAY
The fully suited crew sits in a circle.
A hexagonal console centers them.
Windows surround the cabin.
Cecil sits directly across from Jeremy.
They stare excitedly through their faceplates at each other.
EXT. ARCUS LAUNCHPAD - DAY
A powerful hurricane brews offshore.
A Blaster Nine Rocket carries The Arcus aloft.
It ascends above the clouds.
CONTINUOUS HIGH ANGLE on ascending rocket.
Its stages separate until only The Arcus spacecraft remains.
The entire hurricane shrinks into view below The Arcus.
The hurricane moves off as the west coast of Africa slips into view.
The Earth's terminator divides Africa in half.
The terminator moves past as the planet goes dark.
REAR ANGLE on Arcus.
The darkened edge of Earth is barely discernible from the star speckled black of space directly ahead.
Reflected sunlight glints off The Arcus.
The sun bursts into view.
Central America rolls beneath The Arcus.
The hurricane, now a small white spiral, moves past.
THRUSTERS FIRE.
The edge of Earth drops out of view as the moon moves into view.
The Arcus heads toward the moon.
EXT. ARCUS SPACECRAFT - LUNAR ORBIT
The Arcus landing shell disengages from the orbiter.
It descends.
Retro-rockets fire.
It sets down near the inner edge of Aristarchus Crater.
INT. ARCUS LANDING SHELL - LUNAR SURFACE - DAY
THE PILOT releases his safety harness.
He backflips out of his seat.
The rest of the crew prepares for debarkation.
EXT. LUNAR SURFACE - DAY
A horseshoe-shaped six-wheeled vehicle approaches The Arcus landing shell. Long benches cross through its middle.
Its DRIVER leans exhaustively on the roll bar, seemingly weary from the vehicle's lack of speed.
He parks beside the landing shell.
The Arcus crew cycles through the airlock.
They secure equipment and storage bins to the vehicle, then climb onto its benches.
They travel over a long gradual rise and down toward Site M-X a quarter mile away.
EXT. MICROCORE SITE M-X - DAY
A variety of supply pods and soil processing modules litter the site.
A huge boring machine sits near a large tunnel entrance which is sealed by an airlock.
Two of The Arcus crewmembers retrieve a storage bin from the vehicle.
They drag it out to an open area. Unfold its contents.
It is a full size facsimile of a NASA Lunar Module.
DRIVER
Look directly overhead, everyone.
They struggle in their bulky suits to look up.
The driver points out a bright object moving slowly across the sky.
DRIVER (CONT’D)
That's the NASA fly-by. Smile for the
cameras.
CLOSE UP on Jeremy. He flashes the speck of light a victorious grin.
A small object falls towards them.
It lands just beyond the site, burying itself into the dust.
THREE SPACERS emerge from the tunnel's airlock.
They climb into a vehicle and head toward the unidentified object.
They return with a damaged electronic device. It bears a NASA logo.
They promptly destroy it.
The Arcus crew begins cycling through the tunnel's airlock.
INT. MAIN INTERSECTION - LUNAR TUNNEL COMPLEX - DAY
The airlock opens into the main intersection.
Three tunnels snake away from the intersection.
The entire Arcus crew is present.