EXT. STEELTOWN - SOUTH ENTRANCE GATE - DAWN.
The convoy is lined up at the gates ready to move out. Max's Interceptor is in the lead, followed by a fuel tanker, an 18 wheeler container truck and the escort, three M.F.P. Pursuit Specials, a Humvee with mounted M60, and six customised raider vehicles.
CUT TO:
Gideon is talking to the M.F.P. officer manning the Humvee's M60.
GIDEON.
Conserve the ammo Dante, short bursts, clear targets only. We've got a limited supply and once it's gone the M60 is useless.
DANTE.
Will do Chief.
Gideon approaches Max and Black who are standing next to the Interceptor.
GIDEON.
I'm counting on you two to bring back our fuel. Mount up.
The entrance gates open slowly with a sound of grinding steel, and the convoy moves out into the wasteland.
CUT TO:
EXT. WASTELAND - HIGHWAY - DAY.
A pair of Brace's marauders are watching the Steeltown/Port Sterling highway.
CUT TO:
MARAUDER'S POV.
The Steeltown fuel convoy comes into sight in the distance, as they watch the convoy thunders past their camouflaged vantage point. Once the convoy has vanished in the distance, the marauders run back to their vehicle parked out of sight behind a dune. They enter the vehicle and drive off back toward their wasteland camp.
CUT TO:
EXT. STEELTOWN - SOUTH ENTRANCE GATES - DAY.
The gates open and three patrols of M.F.P. and raider vehicles drive out into the wasteland.
CUT TO:
EXT. WASTELAND - HIGHWAY - DAY.
CLOSE UP ON:
The Interceptor.
CUT TO:
INT. INTERCEPTOR - DAY.
Max is driving and Black is riding shotgun.
MAX.
So, tell me, how did Cobb and his merry men come into the picture?
BLACK.
About 9 months ago, Gideon sent Dante and Asheton out on a reconnaisance mission, they got caught by a scav gang and Cobb's crew rescued them. Cobb turned up at the entrance gates under a flag of truce, with Dante and Asheton. Gideon let 'em in and made the deal with Cobb, they defend the town, they get gas and food. About 6 months back the Humungus and his crew hit us and without Cobb's men the town would have fallen.
CUT TO:
EXT. WASTELAND - HIGHWAY - DAY.
About 80 metres away from the highway is a crashed plane, a military C30 transport, one wing ripped half off.
BLACK.
The poor bastards crashed during the war, we had radio contact with 'em, their base took a nuke and they were trying to reach Port Sterling airfield, but they ran out of fuel and had to set her down on the highway. By the time we got a patrol to them, the pilots were dead, killed by a scav gang that must have seen them come down.
MAX.
Yeah, I saw a 747 crash in the wasteland, I heard them on the radio, the pilots were both flash blind from an exploding nuke, they tried to put her down but they didn't have a chance.
The convoy continues down the highway.
CUT TO:
EXT. STEELTOWN - RUGBY PLAYING FIELD - DAY
The Steeltown citizens and raider defence militia are seated in the stadium, in the middle of the oval tied to stakes, are the four defenders that deserted the barricades in the earlier battle. Three men and one woman, they are all part of Cobb's crew. Gideon stands next to the prisoners, as he passes sentence.
GIDEON. TO - THE PRISONERS.
For desertion in the face of the enemy I sentence you to thirty lashes.
GIDEON. TO - THE CROWD.
Let this be an example to all of you, if we do not stand together as one, we will fall divided. This is the punishment that awaits anyone who deserts under battle conditions, first offence: thirty lashes. second offence will be punishable by death. Proceed.
FEMALE RAIDER.
Fuck you, you piece of shit.
Gideon just smiles. His man begins whipping the first deserter and counting the lashes aloud.
CUT TO:
Cobb and McCready are standing on the sidelines. As the lashes continue the man begins to scream in agony.
McCREADY.
Shit boss those are our people out there, are we really gonna let that arsehole get away with this? I tell ya when that truck was coming for us I nearly jumped off the fuckin' wall myself.
COBB.
Yeah, well they should have known better, when Gideon decides it's time to bail, then you bail, not a minute sooner. Don't worry, if it was his people out there they'd be getting flogged just as hard. He will pay when the time comes, believe me.
McCready just grunts as the flogging continues.
CUT TO:
EXT. STEELTOWN - WAREHOUSE DISTRICT - DAY.
Skye, the wasteland infiltrator is watching the warehouse district from a concealed vantage point in an alley a short distance away. The warehouses are fenced off with a high chainlink fence topped with razor wire, the gates in the fence are chained and padlocked and guarded by two armed guards. She heads back into the alleyway.
CUT TO:
EXT. WASTELAND HIGHWAY - DAY.
CLOSE UP ON:
A roadsign that reads: PORT STERLING 50 km.
CUT TO:
INT. INTERCEPTOR - DAY.
MAX.
So what's the story with this guy we're trading with? Tyranus? I wonder if his parents named him that.
BLACK. (Chuckling)
Probably not. Anyway, he took over Port Sterling about a month or so after the war. He is not your typical wasteland marauder, this guy is smart and a clever strategist, he took the city and the oilfields without firing a shot. After the army had gone, there was only a squad left, along with the local M.F.P. to defend the place. He gave them an ultimatum, if they surrendered the city and oilfields to him peacefully, no one would be harmed, there would be no raping and looting, and the M.F.P. and army personnel were given the choice of joining his army or taking their chances in the wasteland.
MAX.
So they accepted.
BLACK.
What else could they do? They were outnumbered and outgunned, he would have taken the town anyway. This way he has the trained oil workers and refinery crews, fuel production continues, the citizens are getting fed, worked out well for all parties, us included. He trades with anyone, doesn't discriminate, his only rule is that there be no inter gang warfare on his turf.
MAX.
What are you trading for the fuel?
BLACK.
Crossbows and bolts, some produce, seeds and grains, livestock, occasionally he'll send one or two of his people to be trained as mechanics by Flux and Gash.
MAX.
You've got livestock to trade?
BLACK.
Yeah, Gideon took in the local farmers before he closed the town, we got horses, pigs, chickens, dogs, no cattle though, they all died of some disease a few months after the war. We've got pretty intensive breeding programs going, we'll have plenty of livestock in a few years.
CUT TO:
EXT. WASTELAND HIGHWAY - DAY.
CLOSE UP ON:
A gas masked scarecrow tied to a road sign next to the highway. The hand painted sign hanging below it reads:
Welcome to Gasville. No Conflict Will be Tolerated. Failure to Observe This Rule Will Result in the Parties Involved being Placed Under Trade Embargo. By Order of General Tyranus. Have a Nice Day.
CUT TO:
EXT. STEELTOWN - WAREHOUSE DISTRICT - DAY.
Skye has found a section of fence that can't be seen from the gates. A guard appears walking the fence. She waits until the guard continues on his way and disappears from sight. She rushes to the fence, kneels down and removes a pair of wire cutters from her backpack. She touches the fence quickly with the back of her hand, it is not electrified, she quickly cuts a few of the links, creating a small opening that she crawls through. On the other side of the fence she takes a small spool of wire and cuts a length, she hastily ties together the links she cut and inspects it, it wouldn't stand up to close scrutiny but it should be enough so that the guard doesn't notice it. She runs off into the alley between two warehouses.
FADE OUT.