INT. LABORATORY - MARLOWE-1

Carolyn, wearing a white lab coat and gloves, observes a specimen sample under a microscope inside of a small but sophisticated and sterile laboratory. Tarin enters.

TARIN
Newt said you wanted to see me?

She looks up.

CAROLYN
Take a look at that.

She moves out of the way so that Tarin can view the fragment through the microscope.

TARIN
What am I looking at?

CAROLYN
It's a sample of minerals we pulled from one of the smashed drill bits. In it, I found trace fragments of some sort of metallic alloy.

Tarin looks up.

TARIN
Couldn't that just be from the bit itself? The thing got pretty shredded.

CAROLYN
That's what I thought, at first, but the chemical composition of the metal doesn't match. Whatever this stuff is, it's extremely dense, much stronger than anything I've ever seen, but also lightweight.

TARIN
We did hit something.

Carolyn nods.

CAROLYN
And whatever it is, it's radioactive.

Tarin jumps back away from the microscope.

CAROLYN
Relax.

She touches his arm to calm him down.

CAROLYN
It's not enough to cause harm.

He looks at her hand on his arm and his eyes sink with regret. She sees this and takes her hand back.

CAROLYN
Is that not okay, anymore?

TARIN
No, it's fine. It's... Actually, it's more fine, now, I guess.

CAROLYN
You told her?

TARIN
No. She told me.

Carolyn appears confused for a second, then realizes...

CAROLYN
Solange cheated on you? No.

Tarin nods.

CAROLYN
Well, I guess knowing the truth is better than not knowing.

TARIN
I don't want to talk about it.

They sit a moment in awkward silence. Finally, Tarin motions to the microscope.

TARIN
Is there any way of telling how long this stuff's been down there.

CAROLYN
I don't really have the materials I need here, but you figure it's got to be older than the ice, right? That's at least a couple hundred thousand years old.

TARIN
Something buried under the ice for hundreds of thousands of years, made of an artificial substance harder than tungsten carbide, that's radioactive?

Carolyn nods. Tarin takes a long, deep, breath.

CAROLYN
Do I report this to the General?

TARIN
Getting harder and harder to justify keeping him out of the loop, isn't it?

Tarin thinks.

TARIN
Keep it to yourself, for now, at least until we know more about our "visitors".

Carolyn motions to the corner.

CAROLYN
Speaking of... What do I do about... that?

Tarin looks to the corner. We see Piggy locked up in a cage drinking from a bowl of water. Tarin shrugs.

TARIN
Keep it away from the galley.

Tarin exits.

INT. COMMAND CENTER - MARLOWE-1

Tarin enters and heads straight for Newt's station. Desmond is there with her running a facial recognition program on her computer.

TARIN
Anything on our friend, "Mr. Montoya"?

DESMOND
Local authorities weren't able to give us anything yet, but they're still checking. My sister works for Homeland. She said she'd help me out, but it could take a few days. Newt had an idea how we could get it done faster.

Tarin looks at the screen.

TARIN
Facial recognition? Jesus, is that the FBI database?

NEWT
(nods)
I was assigned to the team that upgraded their systems after the Chinese intrusion of '47.

TARIN
You hacked the FBI?

NEWT
Hardly. I accessed a backdoor typically used by agents overseas who might not have a secured terminal, but who need information on a potential suspect.

TARIN
Desmond, can we have a minute?

DESMOND
Uh, yeah, sure. I'll just buzz my sister again. Maybe she's got some new information.

Desmond awkwardly excuses himself. Tarin sits down next to Newt and lowers his voice so only she can hear him.

TARIN
When I asked you if you still had any contacts at the FBI who could help us, you said 'yes'.

NEWT
Yeah, I remember. I was there.

TARIN
This isn't what I had in mind.

NEWT
You asked if I had any contacts, and I do. Me. Don't get your jockeys in a knot. They can't track us.

TARIN
If they do, we could go to jail for the rest of our lives.

NEWT
Don't be so dramatic. You know, I'm getting a little sick of you doubting me. You of all people should know how good I am at covering my tracks.

Tarin looks around to make sure no one heard her.

TARIN
Keep your voice down.

NEWT
Relax. No one knows knows you're banging the nerd. No one would care if they did, but no one knows.

TARIN
I didn't mean it like that. I'm not ashamed of us. You know it's against corporate policy for fellow employees to-

NEWT
Well, don't worry. It's not like I want it getting out that I'm messing around with a married man, anyway. Not that I believe in such archaic institutions or anything.

TARIN
Fine. And you're sure the FBI can't track this back to us?

NEWT
I'm sure-sure-sure. Is that sure enough?

For a brief second, the Doctor's face pulls up a match on Newt's screen, but before Newt or Tarin even notices, the power goes out across the entire facility. Every light and computer just shuts off.

TARIN
No.

EXT. MARLOWE-1 DAY

All across the facility, lights and machines simply shut off. Hoffa, operating a snow plow, notices one of the drills shutting off and slows to a stop, the engine still running.

INT. MEETING ROOM - MARLOWE-1

The Doctor sits in complete darkness. The only reason we even know we're in the meeting room with him is because we hear him singing...

DOCTOR
(singing)
When the lights hurt my brain, sometimes I pray for a blackout-blackout-blackout. When the candles are placed, nothing more I crave than a blackout-blackout-blackout.

We hear what sounds like a generator turning over. Emergency lighting kicks in. The Doctor's shoulders sink.

DOCTOR
Aw.

He frowns.

INT. COMMAND CENTER - MARLOWE-1

Emergency lighting turns on. Computers reboot. Tarin hovers over Newt's shoulder. Desmond frantically runs over to his station.

TARIN
What the hell happened?

NEWT
I don't know. All of our systems just shutdown by themselves.

TARIN
Dammit, Newt, that's not even supposed to be able to happen. Desmond?

DESMOND
It's a complete power failure. Backup generators are active. We have limited power.

TARIN
What about the heat?

DESMOND
To designated emergency areas only.

TARIN
All right, initiate emergency alert protocols. Get everyone in and locked down. Conservation procedures.

Desmond flips a switch and gets on the loud speaker.

DESMOND
(into microphone)
Red level status. This is not a drill. All personnel report to your designated emergency shelters. Repeat, we are at red level alert status.

TARIN
(to Newt)
Get me Sticky.

Newt picks up the phone near her terminal and dials a four-digit extension, but when she puts the receiver up to her ear, she hears nothing.

NEWT
Hello? Hello?

TARIN
What's wrong?

She shows him the receiver.

NEWT
It's dead.

Tarin takes the phone from her and tries the extension himself. When that doesn't work, he drops the receiver and walks over to another phone to try. It doesn't work either.

TARIN
(loud)
Attention, does anyone's phone work?

Desmond checks his phone. A few others check theirs. They all respond in the negative.

Tarin reaches into his pocket and retrieves a cell phone.

TARIN
This is ridiculous.

He tries to dial, but there's no signal.

TARIN
Dammit. Desmond, do you have a signal?

Desmond checks his cell phone.

DESMOND
No.

TARIN
Does anyone have two rocks, some wood, and a blanket in the event that I need to send up smoke signals?

NEWT
My computer's not booting up.

TARIN
What?

Tarin looks at her monitor. It's hung up at a command prompt. She tries a few commands.

NEWT
I'm locked out!

She tries a few more commands, including one very special command that involves slamming her keyboard repeatedly.

A picture of the Doctor's face, the same one they were cross-referencing with the FBI's facial recognition database, pops up on her screen.

NEWT
Um, what?

Tarin turns and sees it. The same photograph pops up on all of the monitors in the entire room, including the large main viewer at the front of the command center.

TARIN
What the-?

On every image of the Doctor's face, only the lips move. The voice that we hear is NOT the Doctor's. It is deep and filtered through a voice scrambler to protect the identity of whoever's talking.

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
Rebecca Alexis Weaver, nickname Newt, currently assigned to the Marlowe-1 Arctic Oil Drilling Station, you have committed an act of treason against your country by performing an illegal search of a classified database without security clearance.

Everyone looks at Newt, something with which she's clearly uncomfortable. She fidgets in her chair.

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
State your reason for searching for this man.

NEWT
I, um...

Tarin places his hand on her shoulder and steps forward. He addresses the main viewer.

TARIN
My name is Tarin Farhad, manager of this site. Newt is one of my employees. She was acting under my direction. Are you the person responsible for crashing our systems?

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
Yes.

TARIN
In doing so, you should know that you have put over two-hundred lives in danger. I personally guarantee that if even one person was or is hurt due to your negligence, that I-

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
Your backup generators will support the facility until our arrival.

TARIN
Your arrival?

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
The man in this photograph is highly intelligent and extremely dangerous. Is he currently at your facility?

TARIN
I have no intention of answering anymore of your questions until I know what the hell is going on.

DIGITAL DOCTOR (V.O.)
Your facility is officially under a quarantine. You are instructed to stay where you are and await our arrival. Any attempts to leave the facility, make contact with the outside, or to break the quarantine in any way will be considered an illegal act and is subject to prosecution. If the individual known as "the Doctor" is currently with you, it is recommended that you apprehend him and secure him in an isolated location. This is your only warning.

All of the screens go black.

Everyone looks to Tarin, who is himself at a loss for words. He takes a moment to think.

TARIN
Desmond...

DESMOND
Yeah?

TARIN
Were you ever able to make contact with Sticky over at the power plant?

DESMOND
No, sir.

TARIN
Then get dressed, get on a hopper, and get over there. And take someone with you as a gopher. Have them report back when you know something.

Desmond motions to a worker, CALDWALL.

DESMOND
Caldwall.

Caldwall nods and heads out with Desmond.

TARIN
Newt, see what you can do about getting our systems back online.

NEWT
How? We're completely shutdown?

TARIN
I don't know! That's why you're here. You're always telling me how great you are at this stuff. Now, prove it. Format something, reroute this or that, use a special kind of hack only you would know, just do... freaking... something.

Tarin heads towards the door.

TARIN
And tell security it's all hands on deck. I want all the guns, knives, pipes, drills, shovels, and whatever else we can possibly be use as a weapon rounded up.

NEWT
We're going to fight them?

TARIN
I don't even know who "them" is right now, but I don't like it when house guests invite themselves.

NEWT
Where are you going?

TARIN
To have another chat with 'Montoya Most Wanted'.

Tarin leaves.

INT. MEETING ROOM - MARLOWE-1

Tarin enters. The Doctor looks up at him from the table.

DOCTOR
Having a little problem with the lights?

TARIN
You didn't come here by any damn taxi.

DOCTOR
No, I'm afraid you caught me in a fib. But, in my defense... you kidnapped my pig.

TARIN
They're coming for you. I don't know who, but they're big, whoever they are, and my guess is they're coming in force. They have completely crippled this facility, and they want you bad. Right about now, I'm inclined to give you to them... Doctor.

The Doctor smiles at the mention of his name.

DOCTOR
My guess is they didn't offer you much of a choice in the matter. Besides, that doesn't sound like you. I can see the inner rebel in you punching at the sides of the corner you've been boxed into. You took this position because it meant you got to go somewhere where you could be in charge, but also where you would be left alone, am I right? You like being in control. You don't like... being in the dark.

The Doctor looks around at the emergency lights that barely light the room.

DOCTOR
Sure, you could step aside and let the world turn underneath your feet, even wave to it as it goes by, but don't forget that this is what you wanted. You wanted to come to a place where, as small as you are, no one's bigger than you. This may be the one moment in your entire life when all the world is right here, and it gets to be on your turf.

TARIN
That doesn't describe me at all.

DOCTOR
It doesn't?

TARIN
No.

DOCTOR
Oh, well, took a shot.

TARIN
I came here because my father-in-law thought he was doing me a favor by giving me a high paying job at the ass end of nowhere, after I got laid off from my construction job, although a large part of it was probably because he was embarrassed I couldn't keep the silver spoon in his daughter's big mouth. Meanwhile, my whore of a wife, his aforementioned daughter mind you, is back home pounding the sack with every country club sand-raker and pool boy she can wrap her legs around.

The Doctor's eyes open so wide, they almost fall out of their sockets.

DOCTOR
Wow.

TARIN
Yeah. So, I am this close to literally punching a hole through the faces of every single person who pisses me off today, and even though it sounds like that's going to be a long line in as little as a few hours, you are the one at the head of it right now. Start talking, or I am going to suddenly remember that I'm still a little bit drunk and absolutely lose my senses all up the side of your head!

DOCTOR
Well, if you're gonna get snippy about everything.

TARIN
Doctor...

DOCTOR
I'm a time-traveling alien. There's a large spaceship buried directly under this facility and I'm here to protect both it and you from a temporal alternate version of myself. When you sent my picture out, someone in your government must have seen it, and now it's highly likely that the entire military might of the United States is going to descend upon this location because they think I killed a whole mess of FBI agents about thirty or forty years ago, but really it was that other me.

Tarin's face turns deadpan, clearly unimpressed with what he perceives to be the lies told to him by the Doctor.

DOCTOR
Come on, man, green pig. Green pig! That's because it's "alien". Woooooooo.

Tarin thinks. His expression changes. Does he actually believe the Doctor?

DOCTOR
What else could have shredded those drill bits like that? But hey, don't believe me. I'm sure people appear out of the blue everyday around here. It's not like the middle of the arctic is a hard place to get to. Plus, Santa Claus, so, you know, when there's flying reindeer and little purple elves with those long toe shoes with bells on the end running around, a green pig isn't even really that impressive, really.

TARIN
Shut up. Just shut up a second. I need a minute to think.

DOCTOR
Yeah, sure, I mean, no problem, man.

The Doctor puts his feet up. As soon as his boots hit the table, though, the entire room begins to shake from a massive earthquake. Tarin desperately leans up against one of the walls to keep upright, his face wracked with terror.

DOCTOR
Take all the time you need.

The Doctor smiles and folds his arms across his chest. Ceiling tiles fall down around them both, knocked loose by the earthquake tremors.

-To be Continued...-