ACT TWO
EXT. SPACE
A starfield within the Earth's solar system. Out of nowhere, a small fighter speeds by the screen and is gone again almost instantly. A 2nd ship speeds by, following it. We..
PULL BACK
the two ships speed through the MARS ASTEROID BELT. As they bank to the left, a third ship comes racing toward them.
The 1st ship dives, doing a barrel roll under an asteroid as the 3rd ship flies ineffectively over its top. We stay with the 1st ship as it comes out of the barrel roll and enter...
INT. FIRST SHIP COCKPIT
A two-pilot ship. Kirk is in control - having the time of his life. His monitor, upperclassman HARRIS, isn't.
HARRIS
This is space. There's no air.. and no reason for aerodynamics.
The console warns that a ship is targeting them from behind.
KIRK
Exactly, Mr. Harris. And that means there's no chance that this...
EXT. SPACE
The craft DIVES at a ridiculous 90 degree angle.
INT. FIRST SHIP COCKPIT
KIRK
Will stall the engine.
Kirk whoops in glee. This is better than any cropduster. Harris sees his life flash before his eyes.
EXT. SPACE
The cadets are in their element. The three ships dart in and out of the asteroids - Kirk's ship relentlessly pursued by the others in a practice battle: their blank "phasers" firing as they drive down on him.
INT. SECOND SHIP COCKPIT
MIDSHIPMEN RUTH ARIHANIS the pilot - a blond woman with an angelic face. BENJAMIN FINNEY is the monitor.
FINNEY
Get him and I guarantee you pass this course.
RUTH
(intense)
Not a problem, sir.
EXT. SPACE
Kirk's ship continues to evade them with wild moves that would be better suited to a World War One flying ace.
INT. THIRD SHIP COCKPIT
MIDSHIPMEN SATAK, an older Vulcan, is the pilot; upperclassman MIDSHIPMEN KRASNOWSKY the monitor.
SAtAK
His maneuvers are not logical.
KRASNOWSKY
(annoyed at Kirk)
No shit, Sherlock.
EXT. SPACE
Kirk's ship speeds by, pursued by the 3rd ship. It dives forward suddenly, rolling backwards and...
INT. FIRST SHIP COCKPIT
...coming up behind the 3rd ship. Kirk guns it, driving in tight, threatening to ram his ship up it's exhaust manifold.
With great gusto, Kirk fires "phasers".
EXT. SPACE
The "phasers" slam into the 3rd ship and it glows: marked as destroyed. The ship acknowledges by dropping out of view.
INT. FIRST SHIP COCKPIT
Kirk roars in victory and leans toward the window: looking down and waving good-bye to the third ship.
Harris isn't impressed. After a serendipitous glance at Kirk, he stares resolutely out the front window.
Victorious, Kirk leans back and gloats. But then he sees...
Harris is smirking. Something's wrong. Instantly on guard, Kirk starts searching for the reason: but it's too late as...
The 2nd ship fills the window: it's "phasers" blotting out the stars and...
the ship's controls glow RED entirely in a war-games signal that he's been hit and destroyed.
Kirk is dumbfounded.
KIRK
What.. was.... that?
HARRIS
That, Midshipmen Kirk, was your ego.
EXT. STARFLEET ACADEMY
The campus busy with pedestrian traffic.
INT. KIRK'S DORM ROOM
A single room with a bed and a desk. Both are strewn with study materials and a lit up computer monitor.
Back to the camera, Kirk turns - and nearly drops the drink in his hand as he emits a manly scream.
KIRK'S POV -
Finnegan. With "devil" horns, he wears a bodysuit strewn with colors as if a crayon box exploded on it - dripping in slime.
FINNEGAN
I'm a Denibian Slime Devil, Jimmy! Get it?!
KIRK
I...don't think that's what they look like.
FINNEGAN
Lighten up, Plebe: it's Halloween!
KIRK
I'm not a... Looks like you're having a good time. Thanks for stopping by.
FINNEGAN
But... Jimmy!
Kirk shoos him out.
Finnegan EXITS. Kirk reseats himself at his desk. We HEAR a loud "fart" from a whoopee cushion. Deadpan, he doesn't react. At least this time Finnegan was predictable.
INT. ACADEMY CORRIDOR - LATER
Study materials in hand, Kirk walks through festive, costumed cadets. He's grabbed by a passing clown.
DOMINGUEZ
Kirk!
Startled by the man, Kirk manages to blurt out:
KIRK
I hate clowns!
CORRIGAN
Looks like he's going as himself: a stack of books!
DOMINGUEZ
Jim, you can't be serious! No party?
KIRK
You do what you think is best, Dominguez. Do you know how much material Thursday's test in Combat Strategy covers?
SATAK (O.C.)
Four point three gigabytes.
Turning, Kirk is startled by the man's "wood elf" costume.
Satak stares him down sublimely. Kirk recovers.
KIRK
I'm going to be studying. Garth of Izar is the greatest military commander alive.
Dominguez is juggling apples in his face.
DOMINGUEZ
And I'm the greatest juggler alive!
KIRK
Knowing Garth's strategies is going to save the lives of my crew someday.
(he grabs an apple in mid-air)
All you're doing is wasting food...and my time.
He strides down the corridor deliberately. The others watch him go with sympathy.
INT. ACADEMY MESS - LATER
A room that looks like a rec room on any starship. At separate tables two solitary cadets - Kirk and Ruth - study.
Kirk keeps eyeing her - the inefficiency of their studying alone wearing on him. And there's more to life then books.
Grabbing a drink and a snack, he approaches, then places them on her table and takes a seat: flashing her his most charming smile.
KIRK
Looks like you could use a drink.
(when he gets no response)
Protein and carbs will give you energy for grueling marathon encounters.
(still no response)
I say we combine our forces and form a partnership in which the expenditure of our energies will benefit both of us.
She can't ignore the ridiculousness of this line. Who could?
RUTH
Do you have surgical implants?
Kirk's not sure where this is going.
KIRK
No.
RUTH
It's astounding that your neck can hold up the weight of an ego that big.
KIRK
You're the one presuming here. I meant as study partners.
RUTH
(deadpan)
Really.
KIRK
I know there are a limited number of women at the Academy but, frankly, you're resistible.
RUTH
As are you: a fact I've observed is unknown to you.
Kirk's charm isn't working. He takes another tack.
KIRK
You owe me one. You killed me!
RUTH
It wasn't permanent.
We hear the unspoken..."unfortunately".
KIRK
We both have the same goal of getting through this test alive. Together, we have a better chance.
Reason wins out over gut instinct.
RUTH
You are in the top of our class.
Kirk's charm comes back like a snake settling into the grass.
KIRK
And afterward, you can tell me all about your planet, Ruth.
Retrieving his study items, Kirk encounters Dominguez, Corrigan and Satak as they ENTER enter with study materials: still partially costumed. Satak pauses as he passes Kirk.
SATAK
There is no logic in being a wood elf.
KIRK
No. I don't imagine there is.
EXT. SPACE
The Enterprise hangs motionless, it's windows abuzz with activity. Directly ahead of it floats a shuttlecraft.
INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE
Pike, Number One, Spock, Garrison, Tyler and Pitcairn at their stations.
PITCAIRN
On Ilyria you may be the "number one" intellect but in the real world sometimes you just don't see common sense.
NUMBER ONE
I'm simply saying that it is inefficient to squander the Fleet's resources like this.
TYLER
Stop trying to make the universe come in balanced on some great, personal ledger.
SPOCK
Scientific calculations, no matter their accuracy, are invalid unless proven by empirical evidence from practical experiments.
PITCAIRN
If we're right, the imbalance in the dilithium engine will create a man-made wormhole - something we've never seen before.
NUMBER ONE
At the cost of one of the Fleet's shuttles.
PIKE
They can send me the bill. Mr. Pitcairn, fire up that engine.
EXT. SPACE - CONTINUOUS
The shuttlecraft stern builds up a sinister looking glow and we can HEAR the engine revving up.
INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS
BOYCE ENTERS and steps down next to the command chair.
PIKE
Is there a problem, Doctor?
BOYCE
No.
Pike waits.
BOYCE (CONT'D)
Well you can't expect me to miss the opportunity to see the flight of the first shuttle equipped with WARP drive.
SPOCK
The shuttle is merely a housing. And if we duplicated the engine correctly, the WARP engine won't work.
BOYCE
I always liked fireworks.
PIKE
That malfunction may give us the ability to create at will a "tunnel" connecting two separate points in space-time.
BOYCE
And the Enterprise will get credit for the discovery.
PIKE
Discovery is what we're all about, Doctor.
(to Spock)
Have at it, gentlemen.
EXT. SPACE - CONTINUOUS
The shuttlecraft glows menacingly, then leaps into WARP...
...which instantly becomes a wormhole that's gone as fast as it appeared.
INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS
BOYCE
(happily satisfied)
Fireworks.
NUMBER ONE
Wormhole confirmed.
SPOCK
Readings coming in.
Spock works feverishly at his console.
SPOCK (CONT'D)
The experiment was a success. We are able to calculate both the engine imbalance and the wormhole effect it created.
Science and engineering consoles furiously process the information. Spock and Pitcairn struggle to keep up.
PITCAIRN
Captain! The readings...
He stops, unable to believe what he's seeing.
PITCAIRN (CONT'D)
We didn't lose the shuttlecraft. It's on the other side of the wormhole. And it's still in one piece!
The crew can't believe it either.
BOYCE
Chris... is it possible?
GARRISON
But what does it mean?
Spock raises an eyebrow.
SPOCK
It means, Mr. Garrison...
PIKE
That George Kirk may still be alive.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST ON SHOAL
A dense, Earth-like forest that is striking in the brilliant, odd-colors that are anything BUT Earth-like. We HEAR that the flora is vitally alive with alien insects and creatures.
Through it...a CRASHING sound as LEGS run through the underbrush. The legs trip and the man falls out of frame...
...landing prostrate on the ground: a wisp of blond hair above the gray sleeve of a STARFLEET-ISSUE FIELD JACKET.
EXT. EARTH FOREST FOOTPATH - MORNING
CADETS run past singly, in sets of two... their feet pounding into the dirt, driving forward as if they are carrying the weight of the entire Academy with them - because they are.
EXT. ACADEMY MUSTER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The cadets (Dominguez, Merrick, Ruth, Mitchell, Teller, Timothy, Kirk) ENTER in spurts: falling into formation with heaving chests and sweat-soaked faces.
The instructor, Finney, is unimpressed. A Lieutenant - tall with light auburn hair - he's been teaching here longer than most and very little impresses or annoys him now. In the 23rd century we've abandoned the tough drill instructors who brain washes their cadets into mindless fighting machines. It is the last thing the Academy wants of its new officers.
Finney uses a datapadd to verify they've arrived...
FINNEY
Dominguez; Merrick; Arihanis; Mitchell; Teller; Timothy; Satak;...
The next cadet gets his attention - and not in a good way.
FINNEY (CONT'D)
Kirk.
He lowers the pad and begins to pace gently - a stroll.
FINNEY (CONT'D)
Welcome to your fourth year at this Academy. The hard work doesn't end here: it starts here. Not every one you entered this Academy with stands with you now. Even less of you will stand together at your commissioning ceremony.
He faces Kirk, still unseen, a challenge in his expression.
FINNEY (CONT'D)
I expect you to take the challenge of this year seriously. Is that clear Midshipman Kirk?
KIRK (O.C.)
Sir, yes, sir!
CLOSE ON - Kirk - resplendent with fuchsia hair.
KIRK (CONT'D)
I am honored to be here and intend to do everything to live up to the faith that has been put in me!
FINNEY
I should hope so.
(to all)
Dismissed!!
The cadets break formation and begin to EXIT.
TIMOTHY
Fifty credits says that Kirk is the first to get separated this year
RUTH
(as she passes Kirk)
Personally, I think pink suits you.
KIRK
You're all just threatened by my awesomeness.
Dominguez approaches with a wry grin - he's been there.
DOMINGUEZ
I've got five sisters with a sense of humor. C'mon, we can fix it.
KIRK
(muttering)
I can't believe Finnegan is back as an instructor.
EXT. SPACE
The Enterprise travels through a starfield.
INT. ENTERPRISE BRIEFING ROOM
A "Cage" era briefing room. Pike, Number One, Boyce, Garrison, Tyler and Pitcairn: Spock is at the computer.
YEOMAN COLT ENTERS with data tapes. She reseats herself and resumes taking notes on the datapadd she had left there.
On VIEWSCREEN: the graphic of a solar system with a brilliant star and only four planets.
NUMBER ONE
The Vandara system: four planets orbiting a blue-white star. Only the outer planet is a Class M.
The viewscreen shifts to show a "photograph" of the planet.
NUMBER ONE (CONT'D)
The inhabitants call it "Shoal". Their technology level has advanced to primitive space flight: they haven't left their system yet.
BOYCE
So we need to be concerned with the Prime Directive here.
SPOCK
No.
Spock shifts the display again. The "photograph" now shows Shoal bordered in space by an enormous area of wild, angry, shifting colors and chunks of rock.
SPOCK (CONT'D)
Vandara is the location of the "Drake Passage" - a primary shipping route that borders Shoal. The inhabitants have had contact with advanced species for well over one hundred years.
GARRISON
I never understood why they haven't picked up more advanced technology.
TYLER
(ruefully)
Maybe having the Drake Passage as a constant reminder has made them think twice about going to space.
BOYCE
What it this Drake Passage?
PIKE
A reference to Cape Horn on Earth. It's notorious as a spacemen's graveyard. A full fifteen percent of the ships that attempt it won't make it through.
SPOCK
Thirteen point four.
NUMBER ONE
Thirteen point four.
They exchange a perturbed look.
PITCAIRN
(painfully)
The forces in the passage just rip ships apart - shredding them like toys.
COLT
Why don't ships just go around it?
PIKE
Time. The longer a ship is in transit, the more it costs - in both credits and the emotional toll on the crew. Most captains are willing to take the risk.
SPOCK
An extremely dangerous combination of factors make the Drake Passage the most hazardous shipping route in the galaxy.
He focuses the display on the "Passage".
NUMBER ONE
Alone, each of them is deadly. Together they are nearly impossible to navigate.
Pike smiles wistfully.
PIKE
It's one the major challenges in space travel. A lot of spacemen consider it a badge of honor to survive the passage. I've even heard of yacht races going through it recently.
PITCAIRN
Just like Cape Horn and the Drake Passage there.
SPOCK
To risk one's life for the sake of risk...
PIKE
Is uniquely human, Mr. Spock.
Spock considers this. Pike smiles at him.
PIKE (CONT'D)
When you understand that: you'll understand us.
BOYCE
And this is where the "Athens' Queen" was sent by the wormhole? What makes anyone think George Kirk could still be alive?
PITCAIRN
There's stories about survivors of Passage wrecks making it to Shoal alive.
TYLER
With the planets limited technology survivors would be stranded.
NUMBER ONE
Old folk tales: the same type of tales that talk about mermaids saving sailors on Earth.
SPOCK
Those same tales once told of the mythical creatures of the Giant Panda, the Mountain Gorilla, the...
PIKE
(interrupts)
Shoal salvages the wrecks in the passage. There'll be evidence of the Athens' Queen one way or the other. And we're going to find it.
EXT. SPACE
The Enterprise travels through a starfield.
INT. STARSHIP BRIDGE
A "Cage"- era bridge. It's stations are manned by CADETS and OFFICERS. Kirk strolls, monitoring the stations...
As he steps down to the command chair...
HELMSMAN (O.C.)
On route to Gamma Hydra, Section 14: coordinates 22-87-4.
CLOSE ON - Kirk's face: grim, determined.
HELMSMAN (O.C.)(CONT'D)
Again.
END OF ACT TWO