Archive for July 26, 2009

Ave, B’Harny

TITLECARD-BARNEY

TEASER


EXT.-DESOLATE DESERT WASTELAND-DAY

We see a group of individuals wearing desert robes and riding on camels running full speed across the sand. We pan in close to see them to be MATT, DIAMOND, and DOCTOR WHAT. Several hundred yards behind them is a large group of screaming, sword-carrying soldiers dressed in black robes, all riding horses.

MATT
I can’t believe we managed to get out of that prison!

DIAMOND
I can’t believe it either! That lever to open the
doors was rusted shut! Doc—how did you
manage to get it to work?

DOCTOR WHAT
I ran a Physical Impulse Mechanical Stress Routine.

DIAMOND
Huh?

DOCTOR WHAT
I hit it with a rock.

DIAMOND
Ahhhh…

DOCTOR WHAT
(looks behind him)
Well—now that we have half of the Tark’ai Army
after us, I think Plan A is pretty much fucked up now…

MATT
(grimly)
Then it’s time for Plan B.

DOCTOR WHAT
(looking at MATT)
(incredulous voice)
We have a Plan B?!

MATT
(even more grimly)
No, but it’s time for one….

DOCTOR WHAT
Ahhhh….

REVERSE SHOT: The three camels riding into the sunset. About a minute later, several hundred horsemen ride after them.

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series


“AVE, B’HARNY”

Written By : DOCTOR WHAT


ACT I


EXT. – SPACE – AH. COM SHIP – DAY

The Ah.com ship is in orbit around a familiar looking blue-green planet.

INT. – AH. COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

We see DOCTOR WHAT, MATT, DIAMOND, KIT, LANDSHARK, DAVE HOWERY, WEAPON M and PSYCHOMELTDOWN sitting around the table.

DOCTOR WHAT
What do your scans show, LEO?

LEO
Most intriguing. I’m reading little or no pollution
in the atmosphere, virtually no evidence of any
kind of armed conflicts occurring and surprisingly
high levels of living standards in virtually
every corner of the globe.

LANDSHARK
So—a perfect happy smiling place filled
with perfect happy smiling people.
(beat)
Ok—what’s wrong with it?

LEO
Can’t seem to find anything wrong with it. Except….

KIT
Except…what?

LEO
There seems to be some rather strange demographics
when it comes to age categories. There seems to be
a lot less people over the age of 40 then one would expect.

DOCTOR WHAT
Any ideas why?

LEO
None whatsoever, I’m afraid.

DOCTOR WHAT
No worries. We’ll zip on down and check it out
and then come right back up. No problems.

LANDSHARK
(rolling eyes)
Where have I heard that before?

KIT
Relax Sharky—we’ll take Doc with us.

LANDSHARK
(sotto voice)
Now we’re really screwed…

EXT.-EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE-DAY

We see the shuttle ‘Muad’Dib’ flying through a cloudbank.

INT.-SHUTTLE-DAY

We see MATT at the controls. Next to him is LANDSHARK. Behind them are DOCTOR WHAT, IRONYUPPIE, KIT and PSYCHOMELTDOWN.

MATT
Where to, Doc?

DOCTOR WHAT
According to Leo’s scans, Dallas seems to be
the capital of the U.S. here, judging by the
high number of government-like comm signals
coming from it. We’ll land in the city outskirts
and make our way in by foot.

LANDSHARK
Hey—what’s wrong with the
teleporters THIS week, by the way?

DOCTOR WHAT
(shrugging shoulders)
G.BONE said something about
doing ‘routine maintenance’.

INT-AH.COM SHIP-TELEPORTER ROOM-DAY

We see G. BONE at the controls. We see a small parakeet in a cage on the teleporter pads. He presses a few buttons and—with a small popping sound—the cage and the bird disappears. G. BONE presses a few more buttons. The cage and the parakeet rematerialize—only the cage is completely ripped apart—and the parakeet is now 10 feet high and covered in bony spikes. G.BONE stares in shock at the bird.

GIANT MUTATED PARAKEET
SQUUUUUUU-AAACK!!!

INT.-AH.COM SHIP-CORRIDOR OUTSIDE TELEPORTER ROOM-DAY

G.BONE (o.v.)
Oh god! Nooooo! Stay back!
Nooooo! AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH—!

INT.-SHUTTLE-DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
(shrugging shoulders again)
I’m sure he’s got everything under control.

EXT.-DALLAS, TEXAS –DAY

We see the ah.commers—DOCTOR WHAT, MATT, LANDSHARK, KIT, IRONYUPPIE and PSYCHOMELTDOWN walking down a street marked ‘Greenville Avenue’. A large park lies ahead. A nearby sign says ‘Fair Oaks Park’. They walk into it.

KIT
Never seen such a clean lake before like—
what was the name of that place we landed at?-

MATT
White Rock Lake.

KIT
–like that one before. And have you noticed
all the people we’ve passed by? They all
look like they’re on happy pills.

LANDSHARK
Bloody half-witted colonials if you ask me.
Everyone is just all ‘happy happy, joy joy’.
What happened to good old fashioned
mean-spiritedness and sarcasm? Do we Brits
have to teach these Yanks everything?

DOCTOR WHAT
I actually like all this, to be honest. It’s been
a while since we found a world where nobody
or no thing is trying to kill us. I, for one, am
fed up of dying. Twice is more than enough.

LANDSHARK
(sotto voice)
Third time’s the charm….

KIT
Oh come on Doc—it’s not like they try to
kill us on EVERY world. How many timelines
have we been in where they’ve tried to do that?

DOCTOR WHAT
Six hundred and seventy-eight.

KIT
You see?! That’s BARELY seventy percent of them.

The ah.commers pass by a statue. All six of them stop, do a double take and walk slowly back. They take a long look at the statue.

It’s a large statue of Barney the Dinosaur standing on top of a ten foot high steel pedestal. As they’re staring at the statue, we hear a loud ‘DONG-DONG’ sound emanating from the statue. All of the people in the park suddenly stop what they’re doing and turn to face the statue. The face of the pedestal suddenly opens up to reveal a huge TV screen. On the TV screen is Barney the Dinosaur. All the passersby in the park suddenly break into near ecstatic smiles. Barney suddenly starts singing.

BARNEY
I love you,
You love me,
We’re a happy family,
with a great big hug,
and a kiss from me to you,
Won’t you say you love me TOO!

I love you,
You love me,
We’re best friends like friends should be,
With a great big hug,
And a kiss from me to you,
Won’t you say you love me too.

Park people all smile and applaud. The ah.commers stare in shock at all this.

BARNEY
Remember children—be happy. Bye-bye!

TV screen goes blank.

LANDSHARK
Well. THAT was rather nauseating…

A female passerby hears this. She turns in shock in LANDSHARK’s direction. She points her finger at the ah.commers.

FEMALE PASSERBY
UNBELIEVER!

She turns to the other passersby.

FEMALE PASSERBY
We have unbelievers here!

All the other park people stare at the ah.commers in shock for a few seconds—then turn very angry and start marching towards the ah.commers.

DOCTOR WHAT
(staring angrily at LANDSHARK)
Six hundred and seventy-NINE

The ah.commers run—followed very closely by several dozen people chasing them.

EXT.- STREET-DAY

We see the ah.commers running down a street. There are now about one hundred screaming people chasing them. Pedestrians ahead of the ah.commers hear the shouts of ‘Unbelievers!’ coming from the screaming people and move to intercept them. The ah.commers rush down a small side street. We hear sirens and a purple police car turns a corner ahead of them. IRONYUPPIE throws her Yo-Yo at the car, hitting one of the tires. It careens out of control and smashes into a store front window. Two more purple police cars can be seen coming down the street.

DOCTOR WHAT
(pointing down an alley)
This way!

DOCTOR WHAT, IRONYUPPIE, MATT and KIT rush down the alley. Just as LANDSHARK and PSYCHOMELTDOWN are about to follow them, a barrage of gunfire rakes the ground in front of them, forcing them backwards—right into the hands of a large group of screaming people.

EXT-ALLEYWAY-DAY

We see DOCTOR WHAT, IRONYUPPIE, MATT and KIT running down the alley. They come to a dead end.

MATT
Damn! Back the way we came!

They turn around—only to see about a dozen or so people running down the alley towards them. There’s a very large crowd at the far end of the alley. Some of them are shouting and pointing down the alley at the ah.commers.

MATT
This is going to get messy…

The ah.commers move to intercept the group running down the alley but just as they do so, two figures in black ninja-like clothes rappel down a wall between the two groups.

The onrushing crowd stop in confusion at this appearance.

FIRST NINJA
(distorted voice)
Get them out of here. I’ll hold them off!

SECOND NINJA
(distorted voice)
Understood!

Second ninja turns to the ah.commers.

SECOND NINJA
Come with me if you want to live.

The SECOND NINJA pulls out a large gun-like object that has a grappling hook on it. It gets fired upwards and attaches itself to the ledge of a nearby rooftop, trailing a thick rope behind it.

SECOND NINJA
Everyone—hold onto me!

The four ah.commers grab the figure. The figure presses a button on the gun and all five get launched upwards as the rope gets reeled in.

While all this is happening the FIRST NINJA attacks the crowd.

FIRST NINJA
Ayaya-lalalalalala!

The ninja runs towards the crowd and somersaults over them, landing behind them. There’s a moment of confusion as the crowd turns around. The ninja takes advantage of the confusion and rushes into the crowd, kicking and judo-chopping the crowd. In ten seconds the ninja is the only one standing—surrounded by a group of unconscious and semi-conscious people lying on the ground.

The ah.commers on the rooftop have witnessed all of this.

DOCTOR WHAT
Am I the only one who got aroused by all that?

IRONYUPPIE
No.

There’s another group of people rushing down the alley—this one containing at least 30 people. The FIRST NINJA throws down an object in front of the crowd. A bright flash of light and a large smoke cloud suddenly appears in front of them. Taking advantage of the confusion, the FIRST NINJA pulls out a gun with a grappling hook on it and fires it at the same rooftop the ah.commers are on. Within a few seconds the ninja has joined them and the entire gang run off across rooftops.

INT.-PRISON-DAY

We see a dingy and decrepit prison. There are many unidentifiable dark stains on the walls and floors. It’s quite dark and we hear in the background many low moans and groans and the occasional scream. We see a large group of grim-looking guards—in purple uniforms—leading LANDSHARK and PSYCHOMELTDOWN down a corridor. Both of the ah.commers look like they’ve been beaten up a bit. They get pushed into an equally dark and dingy small room and tied up in chairs facing a large desk containing three empty seats. Three guards remain at attention in the room. A few seconds later, three people in purple judge robes come into the room and sit at the empty seats.

GUARD #1
The honorable Interrogators
Chunkymonkey, Chingo and Kidblast!

INTERROGATOR CHINGO
(looking through a file folder in his hands)
The charges are blasphemy, sedition, and
holding heretical beliefs. The trial will now begin…

INTERROGATOR CHUNKYMONKEY
I hold in my hand statements from 57 witnesses
who claim to have heard the defendants mock
the Holy Word of Barney!

INTERROGATOR KIDBLAST
The two individuals resisted arrest,
clearly indicating guilt.

INTERROGATOR CHINGO
The trial is now over. The two individuals
have been found guilty.
(hits gavel on stand)

LANDSHARK
Hey! What kind of bullshit is this? Don’t
we have a chance to defend ourselves?

All the judges and guards in the room laugh hysterically for a full minute.

INTERROGATOR CHINGO
(wiping tears from eyes)
Ah man—that was really amusing! I needed
that laugh! Just for that—I’ve decided to be
merciful—instead of immediate execution,
you two will be executed tomorrow morning
instead. Take away the prisoners!

Guards untie LANDSHARK and PSYCHOMELTDOWN and drag them away.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Okay. How many times have we been
sentenced to execution for mocking
the beliefs of some culture?

LANDSHARK
More than I can count.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Maybe we should stop doing it…

LANDSHARK
(scoffing)
These people need to be mocked
just for wearing purple with out
the necessary blue pleated skirt.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN looks confused.

LANDSHARK
Bloody Colonial. No sense of fashion.

INT.-ABANDONED WAREHOUSE-DAY

The two ninjas—and the ah.commers—come into the warehouse. They come to a trapdoor and open it. They motion the ah.commers down it. The trapdoor is shut behind them.

INT-BASEMENT ROOM-DAY

We see the ah.commers milling around. The two ninjas are there. They take off their facemasks. We see that the two of them are females aged 30 or so.

NINJA #1
Allow me to introduce ourselves—
I am KILNGIRL. My colleague is SBEGIN.

SBEGIN
Hello there. And you are…?

DOCTOR WHAT
I’m DOCTOR WHAT—these are my friends
MATT, IRONYUPPIE, and KIT.

KILNGIRL
Any enemies of Barney are friends of ours.
I take it you’re not from around here?

DOCTOR WHAT
That would be a safe assumption.
What’s going on here anyway?

KILNGIRL
You must be from outer space or something
if you don’t know what’s going on here!

DOCTOR WHAT
Actually we only work in outer space—
we’re originally from Earth. Or rather—
different versions of Earth.

SBEGIN
Huh?

DOCTOR WHAT
It’s a very long story—first yours.

KILNGIRL and SBEGIN exchange a glance. SBEGIN shrugs her shoulders. KILNGIRL turns back to the ah.commers.

KILNGIRL
It all started back in the late 1980’s. There
was this kid’s show that had a purple dinosaur
as the star. Typical stupid little kid show—more
dumb and annoying than usual but nobody really
noticed. But for some weird reason it was very
popular. You couldn’t get the kids to stop watching
the damn thing! The damn thing was even translated
into different languages! Oh, if only
we saw the signs beforehand!
(shakes head sadly)
Anyway-it got so bad that people started making
jokes about it being evil and corrupting the youth
of the world. Well—it turned out that they were
right. You see—what was happening was this—the
TV signals were broadcasting a subliminal message.
The more you watched, the more ingrained the
subliminal message became. It was a very clever
and devious plan.

DOCTOR WHAT
Wait a minute—are you saying that the
Barney shows were beaming secret mind c
ontrol messages to the kids watching the show?

KILNGIRL
Yes exactly! And it was a very clever message—
one designed not to be activated for ten years—
when the first batch of kids would be in their
late teens. Ten years after the show debuted,
there was a big ‘Ten Year Special’ show.
That’s when the message was activated.

MATT
What message was that?

KILNGIRL
“Barney is your Master and all who oppose him
are to be eliminated. Take over the world!”

IRONYUPPIE
You got to be kidding me….

KILNGIRL
I wish I was. The sad thing was that a lot of the kids
had made their parents watch the show with them
while they were growing up. The message wasn’t
as ingrained in them as much as the kids but many
fell prey to the order as well. In a space of three weeks,
the Followers of Barney had seized control of the
governments and military in over a dozen countries.
Two dozen other countries were being torn apart by
civil war. In a matter of months the whole world was taken over.

SBEGIN
But fortunately many of us were able to fool the children
into thinking that we are on their side. Like us, many of the
mothers of the children affected have banded together secretly
and have formed a rebellion group. Mothers by day—revolutionaries
by night. Nobody expects simple housewives and single mothers
to fight a war, so we have the element of surprise. We’ve trained
ourselves to fight in all forms of armed and unarmed combat.
We do our best to disrupt Barney’s influence and power. It’s
been an uphill struggle but we continue to fight the good fight.

MATT
Wow! That’s amazing! By the way—
do you people have a name for your group?

KILNGIRL
Yes—the Committee for the Liberation and
Independence from the Totalitarian Overlords
and the Replacement of an Integrated Society.

SBEGIN
C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S. for short.

DOCTOR WHAT pulls out his communicator.

DOCTOR WHAT
Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone—
help you out and rescue our friends at the same time.
(speaks into communicator)
LEO? Can you hear me? We’re going to need some help here.
(silence)
LEO?

INT-AH.COM ENGINEERING ROOM-DAY

We see DAVE HOWERY, DIAMOND, FLOC and WEAPON M holding BFGs. Every single one of them looks bruised, battered and bleeding from various wounds. MICHAEL is on the ground unconscious. TORQ is hard at work fixing his injuries. OTHNIEL is kneeling on the ground, praying.

The door to the engineering room is not only closed but it appears to have been barricaded with whatever items that weren’t nailed down in the engineering room as well.

We suddenly see a large dent appear on the door. Several large dents appear in quick succession. Coming from outside the door can be heard a loud SQUUUUUUUAAACK!!!

WEAPON M
(grimly)
Gentlemen—if we don’t survive—
I just want to say that it has been an
honour and privilege serving with all of you.
(beat)
(gets better grip on his gun)
For freedom!

ALL
FREEDOM!

More large dents appear on the engineering door. It starts to buckle from the onslaught. We see one of the hinges pops loose.

INT-BASEMENT ROOM-DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
(fiddling with comm. unit)
Hmmm….no answer.

MATT
Bah! They’re probably having a
party and LEO is with them.

DOCTOR WHAT
Totally unprofessional of them.
(beat)
Mind you—DAVE tends to make some
awesome chili for those parties. Hope
there’s some left for us when we get back.
(turning towards the two C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S. members)
Looks like we’re going to do this without
our shipmate’s help—but don’t worry—
we very resourceful.

IRONYUPPIE
Yea—we’re stuck on our own so many
times we sort of had to learn how to do so.

KILNGIRL
This is all …uh… very interesting but WHO
are you people and what’s all this stuff
about ‘alternate earths’?

DOCTOR WHAT
Long story. It’s like this…

END ACT I


ACT II


INT.-PRISON CELL-DAY

We see a dark and dingy prison cell. The only illumination comes from a small dim lightbulb on the ceiling. LANDSHARK and PSYCHOMELTDOWN are sitting in the cell.

LANDSHARK
So—once again—I end up in a
prison cell. Ye Gods—I hate this.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
I thought you’ll be used to being handcuffed,
gagged and restrained because of IRONYUPPIE?

LANDSHARK
Yes—but not facing imminent pain and death!
(thinks about this for a moment)
Well—ok, maybe the pain—but
definitely not the death part!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Well—I wouldn’t worry. The rest of the gang
must know we’ve been captured. They’re probably
mounting a rescue expedition as we speak.

LANDSHARK
Relying our fate in the hands of an insane
porn-obsessed Canuck, a gun-crazed Yank,
a feisty but sadistic blonde Amazon Valkyrie
and a sex-obsessed Welshman?

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
You forgot the gay part.

LANDSHARK
I already said he was Welsh—
the gay part is redundant.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
They’ve come through for us before.

LANDSHARK
Only a matter of time before they fail.
(clutches his heart with his hands—uses Dramatic Actor voice)
Oh— a rakishly handsome Englishman from
the North East traveling the Multiverse fighting
injustice, righting wrongs and blowing things up.
To be struck down in the height of his glory!
(really gets into his Moment—goes for the Oscar)
Is this not a crime to the Multiverse? Nay! To all
of Creation itself?! I ask you—I implore you—
surely there must be some way for this brilliant
and oh so modest Englishman to escape from
the confines of this oppressive prison?!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
(Taking a closer look at the door)
I really don’t see a way that we can get out of here….
(beat)
Hey—what’s this? Some kind of lever—
that seems to be connected to the door…

LANDSHARK
What? There’s a way out?!
(rushes to door)

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
(smiling)
No—not really—just kidding.
How’s that for a joke?

LANDSHARK
How’s having all thirty plus feet of your
small intestine yanked out your anus sound?

VOICE (o.v.)
Quiet down there! We’re doing some torturing here
and all that jabbering is sort of ruining the moment!

ANOTHER VOICE (o.v.)
Some people—no respect for basic decorum.
These days it’s all about ‘me, me, me’!

VOICE (o.v.)
I blame it all on all this newfangled ‘rock music’.

ANOTHER VOICE (o.v.)
I agree—by the way—word of advice? You really
won’t get any information out of me by holding the
branding iron like that. You got to do the thrust and
follow through to get the maximum amount of pain and discomfort.

VOICE (o.v.)
Why thank you!
(embarrassed tone of voice)
It’s my first week as a torturer….

ANOTHER VOICE (o.v.)
You’re doing fine—lots of potential there, boy….

INT-BASEMENT ROOM-DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
…and that’s our story.

Long pause from KILNGIRL and SBEGIN. KILNGIRL turns to SBEGIN.

KILNGIRL
Do we REALLY need their help to do this?

SBEGIN
(resigned voice)
I’m afraid so.

KILNGIRL
Damn!

She turns back to the ah.commers’ direction.

KILNGIRL
We’ll love…er…like…er…accept your
offer of assistance. We have a good idea
where your friends may be being held.
We’ll take you there and help you break them out.

DOCTOR WHAT
Thank you

KILNGIRL
Pity you can’t help us take out Barney—
but then again, nobody can.

DOCTOR WHAT
Huh? What do you mean? Can’t you people
just shoot him or blow him up or something?

KILNGIRL
You think if it were that easy we
would have done so already? No—unfortunately—
Barney is not…human.

DOCTOR WHAT
Er—what do you mean by that?

KILNGIRL
Exactly that—he’s not a guy dressed in a costume
but something else entirely. Some people say he’s
some kind of monster; others say that he’s some kind of demon;
a few think he’s a creature from another dimension.
The only thing we do know is that bullets and
bombs have virtually no effect on him—trust me; we tried.

DOCTOR WHAT
Any ideas what does affect him?

KILNGIRL
Yes—certain mystical books speak of one weapon
that can destroy a creature called “B’harny”—a
creature whose description matches that of Barney
precisely. That weapon is a sword known as the
‘Gladius ad Interficendum B’harny’.

DOCTOR WHAT
And where is this…gladius?

KILNGIRL
Rumor has it that Barney himself stole it
from a vault under the Vatican and
secreted it inside his lair.

DOCTOR WHAT
Ooooo-kay….

SBEGIN
I’ll hold down the fort here but
I know someone who can be of
immense help to your rescue attempt.

KILNGIRL
Uh—you sure we need him?

SBEGIN
I know that he’s not very…stable—but
if you do this, you’re going to need some
serious combat backup.
He fits the bill perfectly.

KILNGIRL
You got a point there—but I’m still a
little uncomfortable with including him…

SBEGIN
I know but he HAS been taking his meds
regularly so it shouldn’t be too much trouble.
(turns behind her)
LUAKEL! Get in here! We have a job for you!

zLUAKEL comes in. He’s in full combat uniform and carrying a VERY large gun. His hair is closely cropped and he has a deep scar cutting across his face from the top of his left eyebrow diagonally across to his right ear. He’s smiling.

LUAKEL
You got a job for me?!? ALRIGHT!!
I finally get to kill some motherfucking
motherfuckers!! Yeah! Fuck yeah!!
I can hardly wait to use this baby
to gut me some bastards!
(starts fondling his rifle)
Oh yeah baby—you and I are
going to have so much fun…..

MATT stares at LUAKEL for a second—then walks over to him and puts his arm around him.

MATT
Awwww Doc—can we keep him? Can I?
Huh? Can I? I promise to take care of him…

IRONYUPPIE
Are you even sure he’s housebroken?

DOCTOR WHAT
No-we’re not keeping him!
We’ve already got a luakel of our own!

MATT
(pouting)
But I like this one better!
Our Lukel just sits in front of the
television and tries to steal our porn.

KILNGIRL
Move out everyone!

Everyone climbs back up the ladder.

EXT- BUILDING-EVENING

We see a small (roughly seven story) reddish-orange building. It is surrounded by a rather large electrified fence. We see a small sign nearby with the words (written in blood red letters) “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”. There are two guards at attention.

We see several dark figures on a small nearby hill.

MATT
That building looks really familiar.

KILNGIRL
Used to be called the Texas School
Book Depository building.

MATT
Barney is using the building from where
Kennedy was shot from as his headquarters?!

KIT
He’s really milking this whole
‘Evil Supervillain’ thing, isn’t he?

DOCTOR WHAT
(rolls eyes)
What do you expect with that whole
“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”
line on the sign—written in Latin no less.

IRONYUPPIE
Seems like a rather small building to be
used as a prison and global headquarters.

KILNGIRL
It’s a lot bigger underneath. Supposedly there’s
a whole underground base beneath it. Come on!

The group slowly creeps their way towards the building.

KILNGIRL
Okay—let me handle the guards.
Get ready to move when I tell you.

The two guards are still at attention. Suddenly, from out of the darkness, they see KILNGIRL (dressed in her black ninja costume) come running towards them.

KILNGIRL
Ayaya-lalalalalala!

KILNGIRL somersaults over the shocked guards and in less than a second knocks both of them out cold. She picks up a keycard off one of the guards and uses it to open the gates.

KILNGIRL
Move it, guys!

The rest of the gang rush forth. MATT and IRONYUPPIE stop briefly to grab weapons off the unconscious guards before following KILNGIRL, DOCTOR WHAT and KIT into the building. LUAKEL gives the guards a few kicks into their kidneys before moving on.

INT-PRISON-NIGHT

LANDSHARK and PSYCHOMELTDOWN are still in their cells.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
So Sharky—how do you think they’re going to kill us?

LANDSHARK
What do you mean ‘we’?
I have no intention whatsoever of dying.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Oh—you mean you got a plan to escape?

LANDSHARK
No—but I’m not going to die.
I’ve discovered the secret to immortality.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Oh?

LANDSHARK
Yes. Some men achieve immortality
through great deeds. Others through
great words. I indeed to achieve it
by simply not dying.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
I sense a flaw in your reasoning…

LANDSHARK
Laugh now but just you see. Immortality
for me is just a snap of my fingers away.
(snaps fingers)

At that precise moment a massive explosion blows open the main doors to the prison complex. Several of the guards (those who were not knocked unconscious by the blast) rush to the opening of the wall. There are the sounds of several loud grunts and all of the guards get knocked backwards and fall to the ground unconscious.

LANDSHARK
(looking at his hand in stunned admiration)
I HAVE THE POWER!

IRONYUPPIE (o.v.)
Who has the power, my pet?

PSYCHOMELTDOWN and LANDSHARK look up. Walking calmly through the smoke is IRONYUPPIE, carrying an M-16 rifle.

LANDSHARK
(very quickly)
You do, honey!

IRONYUPPIE
Clearly I have been neglectful in my…discipline.

Marching in behind her through the smoke is MATT (carrying a RPG launcher) , LUAKEL (still carrying his big gun) , DOCTOR WHAT (holding a pistol in much the same way you would hold a dead rat) , KIT (holding a rifle) and KILNGIRL (no visible weapons) .

DOCTOR WHAT
Much as I like happy reunions there is the small
matter of the, you know, 450 guards still in the
building. Can we move this along please? You
can beat him up later in your own quarters, IY.

LANDSHARK
(turning to IRONYUPPIE)
Promise?

IRONYUPPIE
Perhaps. Stand back.

The lock to the cell door gets broken apart with IRONYUPPIE’S Yo-Yo. The two ah.commers rush out the cell.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
What’s the plan?

DOCTOR WHAT
Run like scared bunny rabbits back up and
blowing up anybody and anything that gets
in our way and hope that we don’t get our asses kicked.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Oh—the usual plan.

They rush off.

INT-UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR-NIGHT

We see two elevators. We hear the sounds of massive gunfire and the occasional explosion off-screen for several seconds. The ah.commers come running around a corner at full speed and rush towards the elevator. LANDSHARK starts hammering away at the elevator buttons while MATT, LUAKEL and IRONYUPPIE return fire at their pursuers.

LANDSHARK
(still hammering away at the buttons)
Come on, you bloody stupid piece of crap!

MATT
I don’t know how much longer
we can hold them off!

A light appears above one of the elevators. A few seconds later, the doors open to reveal a young soldier in his mid-20s. A small name tag on his chest is written ‘Wozza’.

WOZZA
What the -?!

LANDSHARK and MATT each grab one arm of WOZZA and throw him out of the elevator, sending him sprawling on the ground. LUAKEL rushes over and gives WOZZA a kick in the kidneys.

DOCTOR WHAT
You like doing that a lot, don’t you?

LUAKEL
(smiling)
Yup!

LANDSHARK
Everyone—get your arses in here!

LUAKEL
Damn it! I wanted to kill someone!
I wanted to kill someone really,
really, really badly! It’s not fair!!

Everyone rushes into the elevator. The doors shut just as several soldiers come around the corner.

INT.-ELEVATOR-DAY

LANDSHARK
Fuck!

MATT
What?

LANDSHARK
We’re going down! That moron
must have pushed the down button!

KILNGIRL
Oh no! We’re going down into the Inner Sanctum!
We REALLY don’t want to be down there!
Certain death awaits us there!

MATT
Nothing we can do about it now! Certain
death awaits us back up there! Maybe down
below there will be a way back up!

KILNGIRL
If we don’t die first!

MATT
I’m open to other suggestions!

Nobody has any. The elevator continues its way downwards.

INT.-INNER SANCTUM-DAY

We see a large and ostentatious room. There are numerous antiques and trophies on every wall and on nearly every available surface. As the camera pans across, we see everything from stone tablets written in Egyptian-like hieroglyphics depicting battles to copper shields emblazoned with various creatures from Greek and Roman mythology to medieval suits of armor to a variety of antique rifles and guns. One is left with the distinct impression of getting the history of war and strife for the last 5000 years. On one wall—in a place of obvious honor—is a large sword.

We see MATT poke his head from around a corner. DOCTOR WHAT, IRONYUPPIE, LANDSHARK, PSYCHOMELTDOWN, KIT, KILNGIRL and LUAKEL poke their heads out as well.

LANDSHARK
A little tacky, isn’t it?

KIT
But it has excellent use of space.

The gang march into the room.

MATT
Everyone start looking for a way out of here.

VOICE
Leaving so soon?

A massive steel door suddenly shuts down on the elevator, blocking its entrance. The gang turn to see standing about 20 feet away from them….BARNEY THE DINOSAUR.

BARNEY is over 7 feet tall and purple—but one notice right away that his smile is, in fact, not a smile but an evil carnivorous grin.

BARNEY
I am so going to enjoy sucking the
marrow from your still living bones.

The ah.commers open fire with their guns. The bullets literally just bounce off of BARNEY. BARNEY laughs—when he does it is a sickly guttural and completely unwholesome laugh.

BARNEY
You really think you insignificant little pricks
can hurt me with those? I am immune to every
form of weapon you pathetic little apes have
devised in the last 5000 years!
I AM YOUR GOD!!

BARNEY charges at the gang. He grabs IRONYUPPIE and LANDSHARK with one claw and throws them like rag dolls into a corner of the room. He picks up both DOCTOR WHAT and KILNGIRL with one claw and throws them into a different corner of the room while simultaneously grabbing MATT and KIT with the other claw and throwing them into a third corner of the room. PSYCHOMELTDOWN is casually tossed into the fourth corner of the room. LUAKEL empties the entire clip of his big gun at point blank range into BARNEY’s face. BARNEY pauses for a few seconds, smiles and reaches over and bends the rifle barrel into a 90 degree angle with one claw and with his other claw grabs LUAKEL by the face and casually flips him overhead, sending him sprawling about 30 feet away.

BARNEY
Hey! This is fun!

A grenade smacks into the back of BARNEY’s head and detonates, sending smoke and debris in every direction. MATT is (barely) standing up and holding onto his grenade launcher with both hands as he views the explosion.

DOCTOR WHAT
(barely standing up as well)
Was…was…that…

MATT
(nodding head)
…last grenade…

Out of the smoke appears BARNEY—unharmed.

BARNEY
You know something, boy?
YOU ARE BEGINNING TO PISS ME OFF!

BARNEY charges at MATT.

KILNGIRL
Behind you! The sword!

MATT reaches behind him and grabs the sword off the wall. For a brief moment, BARNEY stops.

KILNGIRL
The Gladius ad Interficendum B’harny!

MATT looks confused.

DOCTOR WHAT
The Sword of B’harny Slaying!

MATT smiles.

MATT
(turns to BARNEY)
Alright you ugly purple motherfucker!
It’s ass-whopping time!

MATT charges at BARNEY, swinging his sword. BARNEY frantically backpedals back and ducks and weaves to avoid MATT’s sword swings. MATT isn’t doing any damage to BARNEY but BARNEY is slowly backing into a corner of the room.

MATT
(thrusting sword at BARNEY’s exposed belly)
A-HA!

\CLOSE-UP: Sword being plunged towards BARNEY’s belly—and shattering to bits.

REACTION SHOT: the ah.com gang with expressions of shock and confusion on their faces.

MATT
(staring at broken sword in complete shock)
What the–?!

BARNEY has an evil grin on his face. With one claw he knocks the broken sword out of MATT’s hands and with the other claw grabs MATT around the neck and lifts him two feet off the ground. BARNEY laughs.

BARNEY
Did you dickweeds actually think that I would
be dumb enough to have the one weapon that
kill me right in the entrance of my lair where
any schmuck can get it? I read the ‘Top 100
Things I’d Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord’
website too, you know! You morons will NEVER find it!

BARNEY flings MATT at a nearby doorway, shattering the wooden door to splinters. We see MATT (still with some momentum from the throw) disappearing into the dark room beyond it. KILNGIRL rushes over to the doorway. BARNEY turns to look at the rest of the ah.commers.

BARNEY
(singing)
I hate you, you hate me
We’re a great big family.
With a great big hug and a kick from me to you
Won’t you say you die for me too!

BARNEY attacks the ah.commers, tossing them around like rag dolls.

DOCTOR WHAT
OH, GOD!!
THE PAIN!!
THE PAIN!!

INT.-ROOM-DAY

We see what looks like a large bedroom. It is decorated in much the same style as the entrance room but the room is dominated by an extremely large bed that takes up most of the space. The bed appears to be made from many pieces of elephant ivory, the headboard is covered with alligator skin, while the bed itself is covered in Snow Leopard furs and baby seal pelts. The many large pillows on it are made from Panda Bear skins.

Lying on the bed in a semi-conscious state, with the remnants of the door around him, is MATT. We see KILNGIRl at his side.

As KILNGIRL helps MATT off the bed and half carries/half drags him back towards the doorway, she spots—sticking out from under one of the pillows—the pommel of a sword.;

REACTION SHOT: KILNGIRL with a confused look on her face that slowly turns into a grin.

INT.-INNER SANCTUM-DAY

BARNEY is laughing hysterically as the ah.commers are being pummeled and thrown around the room mercilessly. It’s obvious that he’s merely ‘playing’ with his victims.

BARNEY
I have to thank you guys! It’s been MONTHS
since I’ve had a good workout like this!
This is the most fun I’ve had all year!
(picks up PSYCHOMELTDOWN—flings him onto LANDSHARK)
But I’m getting bored now so time
for all of you morons to –gaaargh!

The ah.commers stare in shock at BARNEY.

BARNEY looks slowly downwards at himself. We see–sticking out of his chest—is a sword. With a look of utter shock and confusion, he slowly turns around and sees behind him—a grinning KILNGIRL.

KILNGIRL
(singing)
I hate you, you hate me,
Let’s go and kill Barney
With a great big sword and a boot to the head
Won’t you say you like Barney dead.

BARNEY
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
(falls over dead)

We see BARNEY, covered in head to toe in tendrils of black lightning. A few seconds later BARNEY slowly begins to melt.

The ah.commers look on in morbid fascination as BARNEY slowly turns into a large puddle of purple goo. In a few seconds nothing is left of BARNEY except for a purple puddle ten feet wide. Yellow acrid smoke begins to come off of the puddle.

DOCTOR WHAT
Holy shit! It’s…it’s dissolving the floor!

Less than a minute later a ten foot wide hole has now appeared in the floor of the room. About ten feet below them can be seen a small dimly lit corridor.

MATT
(smiling at KILNGIRL)
(with a truly horrible fake British accent and Knightly demeanor)
My Lady—your exit awaits…
(indicates the hole)

MATT helps KILNGIRL down. The rest of the gang follow a few seconds later.

INT-DARK CORRIDOR-NIGHT

DOCTOR WHAT
Where the hell are we going?

LANDSHARK
Away. The operative word is ‘away’. We are running AWAY
from lots of crazed guards carrying guns. Ergo, any direction
we run TOWARDS to is, by definition, the correct direction
and we need not bother with such minor and trivial details as WHERE.

KIT
Impressive logic but what
if the WHERE is worse?

LANDSHARK
That’s sort of where my carefully
constructed plan falls apart.

DOCTOR WHAT
Pity. As a half-assed plan,
it had some good points.

The gang rush on. LUAKEL suddenly stops, looks back the direction he came from and runs back. We see him looking at a wall very intensely.

KILNGIRL
What’s up?

LUAKEL
The wall panels here…there’s…
light shining through some cracks.

The ah.commers look at each other.

DOCTOR WHAT
Anybody bring a crowbar?

LUAKEL
(smiling)
No—but I DID steal one of
the maces from upstairs.

DOCTOR WHAT
Great thinking LUAKEL!
(sudden realization)
Uh—why did you steal a mace in the first place?
No way had you known that we were going to
need it to break down a wall. What were you
planning to use it for?

LUAKEL
(guilty look)
Just wanted to see if I can crush the skulls
of some enemy soldiers—that’s not bad, is it?

AH.COMMERS
(simultaneously)
Nope!

INT-LARGE ROOM-DAY

We see that the entire gang are in some hanger like structure. A long corridor (dimly lit) trails off into one direction. We see the ah.commers standing before an impressive looking attack helicopter. The copter looks heavily armored and has a small missile launcher on either side. A somewhat bigger launcher is directly below the copter.

LUAKEL
(literally drooling)
Oh…baby….oh yeah…I want it…
I want it so bad…..so, so bad…

The ah.commers glance at one another and take a few steps away from LUAKEL

DOCTOR WHAT
Er…you know how to fly this, do you?

LUAKEL
FUCK YEAH!!

INT-CORRIDOR-DAY

We see the helicopter flying down the corridor. Up ahead we suddenly notice that there are very large steel doors blocking the exit out of the corridor.

INT-HELICOPTER

DOCTOR WHAT
Uh…LUAKEL…

LUAKEL presses a button on the controls of the helicopter and two small missiles (one from each side) are fired off and impact against the doors with a massive explosion. The helicopter flies through the expanding cloud of fire and smoke.

EXT-GRASSY KNOLL-DALLAS-DAY

We see the helicopter fly out of a flaming hole in the side of the grassy knoll. It quickly picks up some attitude and flies away.

INT. – HELICOPTER

LUAKEL is looking at the controls when he does a double-take. He smiles with a grin that stretches from ear to ear and turns the helicopter around.

MATT
Hey—what the hell-!

LUAKEL
Just one last thing I need to do!

He presses a different button and a large missile is launched from the underside of the copter. It travels straight towards the Texas Book Depository and explodes—blowing the entire building to bits and sending a massive fireball rising over 300 feet into the sky. There’s some ‘ooohs’ and ‘ahhhs’ from the ah.commers and a smattering of applause.

LUAKEL
(excitedly)
You smell that? Do you smell that?!
Do you know what that smell is, Doc?

Doc shakes his head.

LUAKEL
(excitedly)
Napalm! Nothing else in the world smells
like that! I love the smell of napalm in
the morning! It smells like….
(beat)
Victory!

EXT-HELICOPTER-NOON

We see the helicopter fly off into the sunrise.

EXT.-WHITE ROCK LAKE-NOON

We see the ah.commers standing next to a helicopter and a shuttle. Both KILNGIRL and SBEGIN are there with them.

SBEGIN
You won’t believe what’s happening! Rumors of
Barney’s death are sweeping the globe. There are
reports of mass desertions from various armies and
security forces in half a dozen countries already!
I’ve contacted as many cell members of C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S.
as I can—they’re spreading the word and causing
as much damage as they can to the hold-outs.

KILNGIRL
I can’t thank you people
enough for all your help!

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey—you were the one
who killed Barney, not us!

KILNGIRL
Still—we wouldn’t have been able to
do it without your help! You are
welcome back anytime you wish!

DOCTOR WHAT
We may take you up on that offer.
Thanks!

The ah.commers climb into their shuttle and, with a roar of the jets, they take off.

END ACT II


TAG


INT-AH.COM MESS HALL-DAY

We see many of the ah.commers sitting at various tables eating. DOCTOR WHAT leans back and pats his belly appreciatively.

DOCTOR WHAT
Damn that was a great meal, Grey!
Thanks for cooking this for us.
What was this called again?

GREY WOLF
Chutney Poultry.

DOCTOR WHAT
What kind of poultry?

GREY WOLF
Er…a rather unique kind. Don’t know
the exact name but it’s very rare.
(sotto voice)
God, I hope so…

DOCTOR WHAT
Well—whatever it is—it’s freaking great!

GREY WOLF
I have a menu all made up
for the next month or so.

DOCTOR WHAT
Really? What’s on it?

GREY WOLF
(looking at a clipboard)
Ummmm…First Week. Monday Breakfast:
Cheesy Poultry and Hash Brown Casserole.
Monday Lunch: Poultry Burgers.
Monday Dinner: Moroccan Poultry.
Tuesday Breakfast: Poultry Quiche.
Tuesday Lunch: Australian Deep-Fried Poultry Wings.
Tuesday Dinner: Curry Mango Poultry.
Wednesday Breakfast: Poultry and Egg Breakfast Tarts.
Wednesday Lunch: Poultry a la Crème.
Wednesday Dinner: Poultry and Red Bean Enchiladas…

Slowly Fade to Black as GREY WOLF continues talking.

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS

A Present From The Future

TITLECARD-PRESENT

TEASER


INT. – AH.COM SHIP – KIT’S QUARTERS – DAY

The camera focuses on KIT’s face as he slowly wakes, the ship’s lights rising from night to day mode in the background. He smirks to himself as the memories of last night slowly begin to return…

KIT
Another conquest.

He turns around to view a vague figure on the other side of the bed, mostly hidden under the blanket, but a construction worker’s yellow helmet is visible on the pillow.

KIT
I can even do Seventies retro.

FIGURE
(sleepy, but suspiciously high-pitched, voice)
Wha…?

The FIGURE rolls over to face KIT, and we discover that it’s N-RED.

KIT/N-RED
(simultaneously)
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

With a flash, we cut and show KIT rising from a sleeping position, his hand clutched to his heart. The lights are still on night mode, but as we watch they rise to day mode. KIT turns back and cautiously prods the heaped covers on the other side of the bed, but there’s nothing. He breathes a sigh of relief.

KIT
Great spag bol, what a nightmare…!

He shrugs, then exits the room into the CORRIDOR, whose lights are also rising to day mode. Opposite his quarters is a door with the legend CMDR. MICHAEL. From within comes the sound of indistinct muttering. KIT bangs on the door.

KIT
Michael! Wake up, you lazy Digger!

Nothing happens. KIT sighs and appears to address the ceiling.

KIT
Leo? Open this door. Override code
Kitjed Twenty Three Messenger Bag
Bubble Wrap Penguin Melon.

LEO CAESIUS
Acknowledged.

The door slides open to reveal MICHAEL tossing and turning in his bed, a pillow clutched to him and muttering to himself.

KIT
Michael-

MICHAEL
Ohh yes, Alyson, now I have you all to myself,
ooh look, a duck reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’
swimming in a lake of Foster’s lager, brilliant…

KIT
(horrified)
MICHAEL!!

MICHAEL wakes with a start, stares at the pillow woozily, then screams, jumps in the air and begins pawing at his mouth with both hands.

MICHAEL
I – she – AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!

KIT
You just had a terrible nightmare?
So did I.

MICHAEL
Yeah…
Coincidence, must be.

KIT
Yeah.

Through the still open door, we hear a distant scream and then GREY WOLF runs past wearing an Edwardian dressing gown and Wee Willy Winkie nightcap.

GREY WOLF
I was executing all Europe’s
royal families! Noooo…

Fade off KIT’s and MICHAEL’s reactions…

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series


“A PRESENT FROM THE FUTURE”

Written By : THANDE


ACT I


INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

The Control Room is deserted except for DOCTOR WHAT, who is lying back in his command chair with loud snores emanating from his mouth. He is wearing a mauve tutu, silver flares and an ill-considered string vest. Despite his sleep, his right hand is still automatically clicking away at the computer screen mounted on his throne’s right armrest, cycling through various porn sites and weird link pages.

Suddenly all the Control Room’s doors slide back, and many Ah.commers dash in, shouting at each other. DOCTOR WHAT wakes with a start.

DOCTOR WHAT
Mm…what?

EVERYONE
(medley)
Ducks…Russia…Bush…
EU constitution…republicanism…

DOCTOR WHAT
One thing at a time.

HENDRYK
Mighty is the wisdom of
the great Doctor What!
Fermé les bouches, maintenant!

Everyone is silent.

LEO CAESIUS
If I may summarise…
It appears that many of the crew
have just experienced terrible nightmares.

DOCTOR WHAT
Really? I slept fine.
Well, mostly fine…
There were only two vats of
lesbian filled custard, I suppose
that might count…

GBW
Any idea what might have caused it?

THANDE
Ooh, ooh, perhaps an alien intelligence
is trying to contact us through our
REM sleep…

DIAMOND
(dismissively)
It’s been done.

OTHNIEL
(shudders)
Perhaps it’s an insidious
new weapon of the Cf.netters…

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Or the Fallen.

WEAPON M
Insidious new weapon you say…
I want one!

DOCTOR WHAT
(raising hand)
Please, people. Leo?

LEO CAESIUS
My scans suggest that we’re
at the edge of some kind of
labyrinth, with a source of
great power at the centre.

DOCTOR WHAT
(keenly interested)
Great power you say?

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
We need power.
The Holy Sheep demands it!

DOCTOR WHAT
All right, but how does
this explain the nightmares?

LEO CAESIUS
Some kind of defence system
put there by the people who
built this power source.

DOCTOR WHAT
So if we want to get this power
source, how long do we have to
put up with nightmares?

LEO CAESIUS
At maximum speed?
…a month.

Reactions.

TORQUMADA
Just halfway through we’d
have irreparable psychological
damage.

STRAHA
Which is different from now how?

THANDE
What if we put everyone in stasis
and let Leo fly us in?

MICHAEL
This ain’t Star Trek. We don’t
have any stasis pods.

DOCTOR WHAT
No, but if it’s a case of stunning
you for a certain time…

DOCTOR WHAT pulls out a stash of DVDs and sorts through them, muttering to himself:

DOCTOR WHAT
Ten hours, six days,
thirty-two years…
too long…ten months,
four weeks…ah!
One month exactly.

DOCTOR WHAT slides the DVD into a portal and the viewscreen begins playing scenes of such mindblowingly perverted horror that everyone collapses into a coma.

LEO CAESIUS
Good work, Captain,
but what about you?

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh yeah…
Um…

LEO CAESIUS
Don’t worry, sir. I’ll painlessly
disable you by using the Ionian
Nerve Grip.

DOCTOR WHAT
Great!

The ship suddenly jerks to one side, causing DOCTOR WHAT to go slying across the Control Room. He smacks his head against the bulkhead and is knocked out. There is quiet as the ship continues on, LEO CAESIUS in control.

LEO CAESIUS
(whistling tunelessly)
Daisey, Daisey, give me your answer, do…

Fade down out.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM -DAY

ONE MONTH LATER

LEO CAESIUS
(sing song voice)
You put your right foot in..
You put your right foot out…
You put your right foot in…
And you shake it all about…

Focus on DOCTOR WHAT as he awakes.

DOCTOR WHAT
(suddenly angry)
That’s not the Ionian Nerve Grip!
That’s smashing me against the bulkhead!

LEO CAESIUS
(pausing in his singing)
It worked, didn’t it?

DOCTOR WHAT
Well…yeah…

All the other Ah.commers begin to wake up, groaning with remembered horrors.

OTHNIEL
(shuddering)
I’ll never look at an eggplant
in the same way again…

WEAPON M
(white faced)
Dammit, this puts things
into perspective.

IRONYUPPIE
You up for trying that, Sharky?

LANDSHARK
Do you need to ask?

As everyone stares in horror at IRONYUPPIE and LANDSHARK, we pan over to DOCTOR WHAT’s position and view the gigantic viewscreen. At the centre of the otherwise featureless starfield is a point of pulsating light.

DOCTOR WHAT
That’s it?
G.Bone, teleport it on board.

G.BONE
(muttering to himself)
Teleport, teleport, that’s all
I ever get to do…
I’ve been lying on the floor for a month,
can’t I at elast take a shower first?

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – TELEPORT ROOM – DAY

Most of the Ah.commers are assembled. As we watch, G.BONE carelessly flicks the switch and the SOURCE materialises on the pad. It’s a giant crystalline dodecahedron that pulses with power and slowly shifts from one colour to the next.

OTHNIEL
It’s unbelievable…

THANDE
(fiddling with a scanner)
Its molecular composition is
unlike anything I’ve ever
seen before!

DIAMOND
Looks like a piece of 70s
disco tat to me.
What is it, anyway?

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
It’s a crystal…

DAVE HOWERY
(grandly)
I shall name it, The Crystal!
Let’s go and install it, then we
can take the rest of the day off.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN and G.BONE raise the CRYSTAL on a stretcher and take it out of the room. The rest of the Ah.commers trail behind, unable to take their eyes off it.

INT. AH.COM SHIP – ENGINEERING BAY – DAY

DAVE HOWERY makes the last connection to a rat’s nest of cables connecting the CRYSTAL to the huge crosstime drive assembly. The cables light up and the drive begins to glow with unprecedented power.

DAVE HOWERY
It works!

LEO CAESIUS
I feel…alive again…
Like I can travel to any timeline
in the multiverse!
Like this one, where Sumeric Akkadian
has a slipped declension in the
subjunctive form! Let’s go there…

DOCTOR WHAT
(gently)
Let’s not run before
we can wank, Leo.

DIAMOND
Typo…

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh, yeah.
Let’s not RUIN before
we can wank.

DIAMOND
Never mind.

MATT
well, what do we do with this piece of rock?

DAVE HOWERY
Crystal.

MATT pats the Crystal affectionately.

DOCTOR WHAT
I don’t know. I was surprised that it could be
hooked up to our systems. Normally we don’t
hook objects we find in space to our systems.
(shrugs)

DAVE HOWERY
(worried)
We don’t?

Cut to:

INT. – ENGINEERING WORKSHOP A – DAY

A large pile of space debris sit upon various tables, wires connected to them, but they’re all inert.

Cut back to:

INT. – ENGINEERING BAY – DAY

LEO CAESIUS
(suddenly starts)
Captain What!
Another ship just appeared
off the port bow!
(in a mutter)
Or is it starboard?
Can’t remember…

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
What does it look like?

LEO CAESIUS
That’s just the thing…
It looks like those sensor
records you took of the
future Ah.com ship.

Off everyone’s reactions, fade to black.

END ACT I


ACT II


INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

Everyone tries to get in through one door, pushing and shoving.

MATT
What the hell are they doing here?

On the viewscreen, another Ah.com ship is visible. It doesn’t look exactly like the future Ah.com ship we saw before, but it’s pretty close.

DOCTOR WHAT
Leo! You told me that
timeline would never come to pass!

LEO CAESIUS
Not if you changed your destiny
after seeing what would result.

DOCTOR WHAT spins to face IRONYUPPIE and LANDSHARK and wags his finger sternly.

DOCTOR WHAT
Have you been breeding?

LANDSHARK
(morosely)
Well, I haven’t…

DOCTOR WHAT
(relieved)
Well, that’s something.

LEO CAESIUS
Captain, they’re
communicating with us.

Gibberish fills the speakers.

LEO CAESIUS
Ah, it’s the rare western dialect
of Primitive Low Syro-Phoneician.
They…they say that their Crystal
has lost power, and they’ve come
back in time to study ours so they
know how to fix it.

MICHAEL
Sounds suspicious to me.

DOCTOR WHAT
They’re us, aren’t they?
And maybe THIS future is
less, well, what’s the word,
like a Straha-Diffin timeline…

DIAMOND
Dystopic?

DOCTOR WHAT
That’s it.

STRAHA
I resent that…

LEO CAESIUS
If we see them, we’ll alter this
timeline. They want you all to
pile into the ready room. I’ll
meet them and wipe my memory
banks afterwards so we don’t
contaminate history.
(happily)
I’ll just slip into my robot body…

EVERYONE
No…trap…falling into…Cf.netters…
Fallen…enemies of Ian…

LEO CAESIUS
(happily)
I’ll just slip into my robot body…

DOCTOR WHAT
(keenly)
I have a ready room?!

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – READY ROOM – DAY

All the Ah.commers except LEO CAESIUS are crammed into the small ready room. All surfaces are covered in a layer of dust.

IRONYUPPIE
This place is filthy. You want to get
your lesbian dominatrix friend in here
to redecorate.

DOCTOR WHAT
(helplessly)
I thought this room was where
Othniel had built his chapel…

OTHNIEL
(coldly)
But you never bothered to go
and check?

G.BONE
So, like, where IS this chapel?

OTHNIEL
Between the swimming pool
and the cinema on X Deck.

LANDSHARK
We have a swimming pool?

GBW
We have a cinema?!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
We have an X Deck?!!

OTHNIEL
(smugly)
Maybe you can’t find it
because of the motes in your eyes.

DAVE HOWERY
Shaddup, everyone.
I think I’ve finally gimmicked this thing.

DAVE HOWERY flicks a switch and a small screen shows LEO CAESIUS standing beside the DOCKING PORT. We zoom in and cut to-

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – DOCKING PORT – DAY

LEO CAESIUS, now in robot body, stands in front of the large round docking port, which rolls back as we watch and several FUTURE AH.COMMERS come in, with others indistinctly visible behind:

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY is much fatter, has greying hair and a cardigan with a red maple leaf on it;

FUTURE KIT is wearing a nylon-and-plaid suit in an ill-advised chequerboard pattern and has an obvious bald spot imperfectly hidden by a comb-over;

FUTURE HENDRYK looks almost identical to his present day version, but is wearing a bad toupee and has Cyrillic lettering instead of Chinese ideograms on his robes.

LEO CAESIUS
Greetings, fellow Ah.commers…
(takes in their appearances)
Oh, my.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(slightly slurred voice)
Leo! Great to see you again!

FUTURE HENDRYK
Too true! We must get our
Crystal working again.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
I named that, you know.

LEO CAESIUS
Um…where’s Doctor What?

The FUTURE AH.COMMERS avoid each others’ gazes.

KIT
Bruno…
We lost him in the war.

LEO CAESIUS
(shocked)
He’s dead?

FAMILIAR VOICE
Sadly so.

From behind the first rank of FUTURE AH.COMMERS comes a figure who is at first unrecognisable. His hair is thick, black and oily, his teeth glow artificial white, his eyes have a disturbing glint to them.

LEO CAESIUS
Who are you?

FIGURE
(laughing)
He doesn’t know!
I suppose I look different with
all this artificial skin and stuff.
I’m YOU.

Off LEO CAESIUS’ reaction, cut to:

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – READY ROOM – DAY

DOCTOR WHAT is staring at the screen in disbelief. The other Ah.commers are trying to look over his and DAVE HOWERY’s shoulders to catch a glimpse of it.

DOCTOR WHAT
I…died?!

IRONYUPPIE
Permanently?!

HENDRYK
(savagely)
C’est blasphemie!

KIT
What about me?
Have I kept my looks?

DAVE HOWERY
I can’t tell, the light reflecting
off your head makes it hard to see.

KIT
WHAT?!! Let me see!
(grabs hold of screen)
Agh! Nylon!

MICHAEL
No worries Kit, at least
Howery’s got the same
waistline as Canada now.

DAVE HOWERY
Huh!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Future Leo looks…scary…

DOCTOR WHAT
We can’t let this future come to pass!

DIAMOND
Now, I wonder why he thinks that…

KIT
I’m with Bruno. Let’s get outta here!

Cut to:

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – ENGINEERING – DAY

The FUTURE AH.COMMERS and LEO CAESIUS are sitting at a table; the FUTURE AH.COMMERS keep casting avaricious glances at the Crystal, while LEO CAESIUS is trying hard not to look worried.

LEO CAESIUS
So…um…Landshark and
IronYuppie didn’t reproduce then?

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
Nah, we decided it was too much
of a risk. Say hello, guys.

The FUTURE AH.COMMERS part to reveal FUTURE LANDSHARK and FUTURE IRONYUPPIE standing there. FUTURE IRONYUPPIE looks almost exactly like the Borg Queen, while Landshark’s severed head is visible floating in blue nutrient fluid in the transparent middle part of a Dalek. He has an eye patch over one eye.

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE
(many breathy voices at once)
But we found there are compensations…

FUTURE LANDSHARK
(high, rusting voice)
There – are – many – things
- you – can – do – with – an
- eggwhisk – and – a – plunger!

LEO CAESIUS
Ah.
So did you end up merging
with the Cf.netters?

FUTURE KIT
Not really. Their ship was destroyed
by the…er…enemy in the war, and
Grimm Reaper and Ward died in a
commando mission to an enemy-occupied
timeline.

LEO CAESIUS
I can’t imagine what could kill
those two!

FUTURE HENDRYK
Crosstime Megabombs.
The, er, enemy were trying to
make that timeline into a Mosaic
Earth, but Ward outsmarted them
and used the bombs to destroy a
whole nest of enemy…but himself
and Grimm Reaper along with it.

LEO CAESIUS
What about the other Cf.netters?

FUTURE DOMINUSNOVUS emerges from the crowd. He has obviously had too much cosmetic surgery and is practically staring at the ceiling.

FUTURE DOMINUSNOVUS
Some of us joined this crew.
It’s not so bad, even though I’m
much less handsome now.

LEO CAESIUS quirks a metallic brow in puzzlement.

LEO CAESIUS
Er…right.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
Then Romulus Augustulus and that
kid apprentice of his, Loourkel or whatever
his name was, went around ‘repairing’ worlds
that had been damaged by the, uh, enemy.

FUTURE HENDRYK
Repairs which just happened to involve
them all being converted into outposts of
that whacked-up Everglades Khanate of his.

FUTURE KIT
Green.

FUTURE HENDRYK
(shrugs)
Fine, his Greenglades Khanate.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
We lost a lot of people too.
Some died in the war, and
GBW died the day after it finished…

FUTURE HENDRYK
Poor guy was beaten to death
after he wandered into the
annual meeting of the Dyslexic
Acronym Bush-Haters Society.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
More have left us to help Ian
put the pieces back together.
Diamond’s busy mending world maps,
G.Bone’s gone to rule Polynesia in a world
without teleporters…

FUTURE KIT
Some of us are always banging on
about retiring, eh, Hendryk, Psychomeltdown?

FUTURE HENDRYK
Oh yes.
There’s that timeline where
China’s been overrun by Russia, and-

LEO CAESIUS
You want to go and help them
overthrow the yoke of oppression?

FUTURE HENDRYK
Oh no. I want to be made governor
of the occupied provinces.
(dreamily)
I’m sure I could re-educate them
into right-thinking civilised Europeans…

FUTURE PSYCHOMELTDOWN
And me and Dominus want to go and
live in that timeline where America is
the crown colony of an absolute monarchy!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN and DOMINUS high five.

LEO CAESIUS is too shocked to speak.

FUTURE LEO CAESIUS
Pity for you you’re not like me!
With the Crystal giving me power, I
have three avatars in different timelines
right now managing the reelection campaigns
of US Presidents!

LEO CAESIUS
Which US Presidents?

FUTURE HENDRYK
The right ones, of course!
Bush, Santorum, and who’s that other one, Leo?

FUTURE LEO CAESIUS
(beaming with fake teeth)
Coulter.

LEO CAESIUS’ eyes light up red.

LEO CAESIUS
You…
You people have all changed!
The Ah.commers I know and, uh,
mildly care for wouldn’t do these things!

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
We have been enriched by our
experiences. Since we got the Crystal,
we can go to any timeline we wish, at
any time…we have sampled the very
best all possible worlds have to offer.

FUTURE KIT
(laughing)
Yeah, I’m sure my younger
self wouldn’t care for my
marriage to Charlotte Church!

LEO CAESIUS’ eyes widen so far that one of them falls out and he hurriedly sticks it back in. He jumps to his feet and strikes a pose.

LEO CAESIUS
You may have beat the enemy in your war,
but you’re not true Ah.commers any more!

Off reactions, cut to:

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CORRIDOR – DAY

The corridor outside Engineering. The present-day Ah.commers are creeping down it, listening in on the conversation.

LEO CAESIUS
(VO)
You must be lying.
If that Crystal is so powerful,
why didn’t your enemy steal it?

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(VO)
Simple.
They did – and found out it was
totally incompatible with their systems.
Blew up three of their battle fleets!

DAVE HOWERY
(muttering)
I do NOT sound like that.

DOCTOR WHAT has gone pale.

DOCTOR WHAT
My God…

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
How could we become such people?!

DOCTOR WHAT
(startled out of his thoughts)
What? Oh, yeah…

GBW
(distraught)
What a way to go!
Beaten to death by
dyslexic Bush-haters…

THANDE
(tapping at his scanner)
This is weird…according
to this, Doctor What’s brainwaves
are being detected aboard the future ship.

DOCTOR WHAT
They said I was dead!
I knew they were lying!

THANDE
(puzzledly)
But they don’t read as human.

STRAHA
Did they ever?

DOCTOR WHAT
G.Bone, beam…uh…me aboard.

G.BONE hits a panel and we see a glow appear on the Ah.commers faces, but we don’t see what materialises. Shocked expressions-

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh, crap!

Cut to:

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – ENGINEERING – DAY

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(coldly)
If you won’t let us examine your
Crystal, Leo, we’ll take it for ourselves.

All the FUTURE AH.COMMERS draw guns, except FUTURE MATT and FUTURE WEAPON M.

LEO CAESIUS
Never.
I’d rather die than see it in
the hands of…you!

FUTURE HENDRYK
Fair enough. Prepare to fire-

FUTURE WEAPON M/FUTURE MATT
Oh, someone stop this pointless violence.

Suddenly, a door flies open and the present day Ah.commers burst in. DOCTOR WHAT is holding something behind his back. The FUTURE AH.COMMERS rise and face off their counterparts across Engineering.

MATT
Lay off our linguistically gifted
silicon friend, asshats! Or we can
see how you enjoy life after being
blasted to little itty bitty chunks.

FUTURE MATT
(to FUTURE WEAPON M)
Was I ever that nasty?

LEO CAESIUS retreats to his present day comrades; the present and future Ah.commers stare at each other in mingled surprise and horror.

DAVE HOWERY
(sizing up his future self)
I guess I didn’t get to go on
many missions involving
running away from things, then?

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(slaps his belly)
Nah, this is down to three
good helpings of Canadian
bacon with every meal!

DAVE HOWERY
(acidly)
Never!

FUTURE KIT
(staring at DOCTOR WHAT)
Bruno! It’s so, uh, good to see
you again!

DOCTOR WHAT
(coldly)
Of course. Because I’m
dead, aren’t I?
Or am I?

DOCTOR WHAT pulls out the thing behind his back and slaps it on the table. It’s a jar filled with nutrient fluid with a large brain floating in it. The jar has a pair of sunglasses wrapped around the outside.

FUTURE HENDRYK
How did you get that…

HENDRYK
Do not speak so to the great What,
traitor to China!

The BRAIN speaks from a speaker with the voice of FUTURE DOCTOR WHAT.

FUTURE DOCTOR WHAT
Hey, what’s hanging?
Anyone want to replace my
lesbian porn disk, I’m getting
tired of this old stuff…

FUTURE KIT
Silence! Now!

DOCTOR WHAT
(coldly)
So I had a convenient accident, did I?
One that resulted in me being lobotomised?

FUTURE KIT
It wasn’t like that!
You don’t know what, what you-

LEO CAESIUS
Wait…
(he stares from the FUTURE AH.COMMERS to the BRAIN)
Bruno still sounds like himself.

DOCTOR WHAT
I sound like THAT?

FUTURE DOCTOR WHAT
Only far less sexy.

LEO CAESIUS
I mean he still likes lesbian porn!
He’s not a mirror type!
And Bruno didn’t dream nightmares
on the way in, when everyone else did.
Oh no…

DIAMOND
Someone want to join the dots
for the rest of us?

LEO CAESIUS
It’s the Crystal.
It wasn’t a defence system –
those nightmares were just
the first harbinger of what its
energies will do to us!

DAVE HOWERY
What?

LEO CAESIUS
It’s turning us into mirror versions
of ourselves.
Insidiously reversing every conviction,
every opinion, every idiosyncrasy…

KIT
(cottoning on)
Nylon! Heterosexuality!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Don’t we already have mirror versions of ourselves?

LEO CAESIUS
Bruno seems to be the only
one immune to it – even I am not
- so our future selves disposed of him.

FUTURE KIT
That’s not how it was at all!

HENDRYK
Spare us your lies.

DOCTOR WHAT
(decisively)
Then we must get rid of the Crystal.

FUTURE HENDRYK
You WOULD say that! The war-

KIT
Will have to be won without it.

DOCTOR WHAT
Or even lost.
Better death than crap.

HENDRYK
Better anything than that toupee!

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(sneering)
Our weapons are far superior.
You stand no chance at all.

DOCTOR WHAT
So it’s agreed then – we fight?

MATT and WEAPON M raise their BFGs and rake the FUTURE AH.COMMERS with fire, downing one or two, but the majority are protected by some sort of shielding or armour.

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh crap!

All the present day Ah.commers dive behind crates, consoles and other makeshift cover, except for DOCTOR WHAT, who remains standing out in the open and staring in disbelief and pity at the FUTURE AH.COMMERS.

FUTURE HENDRYK
Tut-tut. Die, false prophet!

FUTURE HENDRYK opens up with an AK-47 and hits DOCTOR WHAT in the heart. DOCTOR WHAT falls to the floor, blood spurting from his chest. TORQUMADA immediately examines the wound, but shakes his head sadly.

KIT
Bruno!

HENDRYK
Great One!

DOCTOR WHAT
Uuurrghh…

As DOCTOR WHAT dies, the brain in a jar beside him fades away.

TORQUMADA
What the-?!

MATT
shouting at the future Ah.commers
For that you’ll all die!

MATT and WEAPON M rise and unleash another salvo on the FUTURE AH.COMMERS, with as little effect as the first. Instantly, they retaliate: FUTURE PSYCHOMELTDOWN hits MATT with an energy blast that penetrates his armour and drops him to the floor, his chest a smoking hole. Beside FUTURE PSYCHOMELTDOWN, FUTURE MATT [who is busy waving ‘Stop the War’ signs with FUTURE WEAPON M] also fades.

LEO CAESIUS
(standing up and peering at the action)
There’s something here…
But what?

FUTURE STRAHA [whose shirt shows a marijuana leaf in a No Smoking-sign] hits LEO CAESIUS with a rocket launcher. After the smoke clears LEO CAESIUS remains intact and smirks superciliously. FUTURE STRAHA gapes and falls over backward, intercepting three rounds from WEAPON M’s BFG. Present day STRAHA angrily stands up and taps WEAPON M on the shoulder insistently.

STRAHA
Hey, that was me!

WEAPON M
(turns)
It was a you who’d sworn off pot.

STRAHA
(in same tone as before)
Hey, that wasn’t me!

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE and FUTURE LANDSHARK appear.

FUTURE LANDSHARK
They – are – enemies!
EX-TER-MIN-ATE!

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE
ASSIMILATE!

FUTURE LANDSHARK’s Dalek head turret swivels toward FUTURE IRONYUPPIE.

FUTURE LANDSHARK
(insistently)
EX-TER-MIN-ATE!

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE
(sighs)
Okay, fine. EXTERMINATE!

FUTURE LANDSHARK fires a blue energy blast from his eggwhisk at WEAPON M, whose skeleton flashes into view as he collapses, dead. Simultaneously, FUTURE IRONYUPPIE fires a green energy blast from her wrist at STRAHA, who is vaporised.

LEO CAESIUS
(still deep in thought)
They must be destroyed…
Pour tout les langues!

LEO CAESIUS charges FUTURE IRONYUPPIE and FUTURE LANDSHARK, who fire blast after blast into his metal body, which begins to glow cherry red. Suddenly LEO CAESIUS’ eyes open wide in revelation:

LEO CAESIUS
That’s it!
There may be a w-

And then FUTURE LANDSHARK and FUTURE IRONYUPPIE’s blasts strike him between the eyes. LEO CAESIUS’ head explodes and his body falls back into KIT’s arms.

KIT
(close to tears)
Leo! You’re dead!
(hugs him, then screams and drops him)
Ow! And you’re very very hot!
In more ways than one!

DAVE HOWERY
(staring at Leo’s body)
There may be a what?
A way out of this?
Is that what he was going to say?

OTHNIEL
(unwisely rising to look over the battlefield)
How can we stop this from happening?

FUTURE OTHNIEL, who has a buzzcut and a tattoo of Richard Dawkins on his forehead, hurls a knife that hits OTHNIEL in the chest. He falls to the floor and FUTURE OTHNIEL fades from view mid-insane-smirk.

DAVE HOWERY
That’s it!

DAVE HOWERY grabs the fallen MATT’s BFG, straining under the weight, and aims it at the Crystal.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(discerning his purpose)
No!
If you destroy the Crystal our timeline
will be obliterated!

LANDSHARK
Of course…

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
But you’ll never get to be
Prime Minister of Canada!

DAVE HOWERY
(grimly)
Suits me fine!

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(giving up)
Stop him!

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE and FUTURE LANDSHARK swivel their guns toward DAVE HOWERY, but suddenly LANDSHARK jumps over the barricade onto FUTURE IRONYUPPIE and knocks her to the floor, while IRONYUPPIE does the same for FUTURE LANDSHARK.

LANDSHARK
You killed Leo! That’s not fair!

IRONYUPPIE
How dare you lose all your
only interesting bits!

FUTURE IRONYUPPIE stabs her assimilation tubules into LANDSHARK’s head and we rapidly see the grey technology spread beneath his skin, while FUTURE LANDSHARK gets his suction cup hand over IRONYUPPIE’s face and tries to asphyxiate her. But they’ve been delayed enough – DAVE HOWERY has reached the Crystal and is facing off his future self on the other side.

FUTURE DAVE HOWERY
(lunging at his younger self)
Nooooooo!

DAVE HOWERY
(coldly)
Never existed!

He fires the BFG, the blast hits the Crystal, the Crystal detonates into a million glittering fragments-

And the screen flashes white as the fabric of spacetime is put through the wringer.

END OF ACT II


TAG


INT. – AH.COM SHIP – ENGINEERING – DAY

As before, but the FUTURE AH.COMMERS have vanished and so have the wounds in the present Ah.commers.

DAVE HOWERY
I did it!

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey, I’m alive again!
How many times does
this make it?

HENDRYK
(consulting a small notebook)
Aleph-zero and twenty-three.

KIT
(shivering)
That was a close shave.

LEO CAESIUS
It was indeed.
Coulter…

All the Ah.commers shudder and trace Ah.com logos over their chests.

DAVE HOWERY
Ahem. I DID IT!

They continue to ignore him.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
I don’t care how powerful that crystal was.
Some prices are too high to pay.

MATT
Yeah, we’ll just have to find
some other way to defeat those
‘enemy’ asshats, whoever they were.
Are. Will be. Uh.

LEO CAESIUS
I’ll get you Dr Streetmentioner’s
dictionary for Christmas, Matt.

DOCTOR WHAT
(faraway voice)
We will indeed…

DAVE HOWERY
(loudly)
I saved us all! I saved Ah.com!
Listen to me!

They ignore him still.

DIAMOND
So when the Crystal was
destroyed, we could never have
used its power and so get turned into
mirror versions, so it never happened,
only-

LEO CAESIUS
(wincing)
Stop right there or my
head will explode.
Again.

DOCTOR WHAT
Which of us destroyed it, anyway?

MICHAEL
I thought it was Howery.

DOCTOR WHAT
(looking around)
So where is he?

All Ah.commers look around, some straight through DAVE HOWERY, and shrug.

DAVE HOWERY
(yelling in DOCTOR WHAT’s face)
I’M HERE!!!

LEO CAESIUS
He must have been caught in
the blast, erased from history!

KIT
So how come we still remember him?

DOCTOR WHAT
Remember who?

DAVE HOWERY grabs DOCTOR WHAT and begins shaking him, yelling in his ear.

DAVE HOWERY
HERE YOU CANUCK NANCYBOY! HERE!

DOCTOR WHAT
(as he can’t see why he’s shaking)
Hang on…I think we’re passing
through some turbulence…

There’s a flash of light, and when it fades everyone is staring at DAVE HOWERY.

DAVE HOWERY
(relieved)
You can see me?

DOCTOR WHAT
(staring at him coldly)
What…are…you…doing?!

KIT
(smirks)
I think it’s illegal in most US states.

MATT
Guess he’ll have to move to Canada then!

DAVE HOWERY
(shaking his finger warningly)
Don’t even joke about that…

Zoom out, through a porthole, until we see:

EXT. – AH.COM SHIP – SPACE

The Ah.com ship majestically turns away from the camera and disappears into a crosstime vortex. We slowly pull out, until something drifts into the camera field…

A fragment of crystal.

As the camera slowly fades to black, we see other crystal fragments…and they are coming together, reassembling…

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS

It Came From Hollywood

TITLECARD-HOLLYWOOD

TEASER

EXT. -LUSH TROPICAL FOREST-DAY

We see a lush and verdant forest that is strangely quiet. Suddenly, erupting out of a large stand of trees, is a WW2 style jeep traveling at far too fast a speed than is safe for the present location. We see MATT in the driver’s seat, MICHAEL in the seat next to him and DOCTOR WHAT and DIAMOND in the back. DOCTOR WHAT looks injured and is propped up on the back of the driver’s seat, looking in the direction where they came from. DIAMOND is simultaneously attempting to bandage a wound on DOCTOR WHAT’s leg and keep himself from falling out as MATT is frantically zigzagging at breakneck speeds around trees. We notice that all of them are wearing old baseball caps emblazoned with a faded logo of some sort.

DOCTOR WHAT
(quiet voice)
Must go faster….must go faster….

Erupting out of the stand of trees with an ear shattering roar is….a TYRANASAURUS REX. It’s moving very fast and is running after the jeep.

DIAMOND
(screaming)
It’s gaining on us! Faster! Drive faster!

MATT
(screaming)
What the fuck do you think I’m doing?!

MICHAEL
This could be worse.

MATT
(screaming)
Worse?! We’re in a decrepit jeep that only has a
few gallons of fuel left in it and driving through
an abandoned Jurassic Park trying desperately to
get to a shuttle that is parked three miles away
from here while being chased by an angry T-Rex!
How the fuck can it possibly get worse?!?

MICHAEL
It could be raining.

Clap of thunder can be heard above them. A torrential rain starts coming down, soaking the ah.commers. MATT, DOCTOR WHAT and DIAMOND all pull off their caps and start hitting MICHAEL.

REVERSE SHOT—The jeep driving away from the camera with the T-Rex barely 50 feet behind them.

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series


“IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD”

Written By : DOCTOR WHAT


ACT I


EXT. – SPACE – DAY

The AH.Com Ship drifting in orbit above a planet.

INT. – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

LEO
We’ve arrived, people…

Various bridge crew –DOCTOR WHAT, GREY WOLF, LANDSHARK, IRONYUPPIE and KIT—all turn their attention to the main viewscreen.

DOCTOR WHAT
So—what do your scans show, LEO?

LEO
Interesting. The population of this world is quite low—
I’m reading barely 300 million lifesigns worldwide.

GREY WOLF
What—another world destroyed by a nuclear war?

LEO
I don’t think so. A significant fraction of the planet’s cities
are registering as being virtually destroyed and there are
several cities that look like it’s as a result of a nuclear
explosion but many other cities look like they have merely
abandoned. Some of the lifesigns I’m picking up seem to be
concentrated in the sewers of the cities while other lifesigns
appear to be holed up in fortress-like structures in the rural
areas. Judging by the plant growth and the state of decay of
the structures in the abandoned cities, best guess will be that
whatever happened started about 50 years ago or so.
(beat)
I am also picking up an automated distress signal coming from
the vicinity of Los Angeles.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well—that’s it then—we’re going down.

LANDSHARK
Whoa—what do you mean ‘we’, Otter-Boy?

DOCTOR WHAT
Prime Directive, Sharky! Render assistance whenever possible…

LANDSHARK
We ain’t got no Prime Directive—you’re making that up!

KIT
C’mon man—there are people in
trouble there—we have to help.

LANDSHARK
How the hell we know that there’s even
people down there? For all we know,
somebody turned on a beacon 20 years
ago and everyone’s died since then.

LEO
Actually my scans show that there are at least
several hundred people in the general vicinity.

LANDSHARK
(folding arms across chest)
Well—I’m not going.

IRONYUPPIE
Well-I am. I want to help all those poor people.

LANDSHARK
(shocked)
You do?

DOCTOR WHAT
(shocked and confused)
You do?

KIT
(shocked, confused and flummoxed)
You whaaaa–?

IRONYUPPIE
Actually no, not really. But I had you all
fooled there for a minute, didn’t I?
(smiles)
Hah!—I’ve always known that I had acting ability!

KIT
(sotto voce)
Don’t give up your day job…

IRONYUPPIE
Still—there might be some hot guys and
gals in need of help so count me in.

WHAT
Great—so it’s agreed! KIT, Diamond, IronYuppie, MATT,
and I will go down while the rest of you guys monitor the
situation from up here and see if you can find out any more info.
(presses a button on the armrest of his command chair)
Hey G.BONE! How are the teleporter repairs coming along?

INT. – TELEPORTER ROOM – DAY

We see the innards of the teleporter lying all over the place. G.BONE is curled up in the center of the mass of wires and equipment, fast asleep and sucking his thumb. His pajamas are brightly colored, like a Hawaiian shirt and he’s holding a stuffed toy goat.

WHAT (o.v.)
Hey G. Bone! You there?

G. Bone awakes with a start and groggily looks around

DOCTOR WHAT (o.v.)
YO! G.BONE? Answer me! How are the repairs?

G.BONE pulls out his communicator.

G.BONE
Yeah—the teleporter…it’s…uh…really messed up…
might take a few more days to fix.

DOCTOR WHAT (o.v.)
(disappointed)
Oh. Ok then. Carry on.

G.BONE goes back to sleep.

INT. – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
Guess we have to use a shuttle. C’mon people—
off we go! Grey, you’re in charge while we’re gone.

LANDSHARK
Hang on—why is it you always go on the away missions?
You’re the bloody captain—you’re suppose to stay on the ship!

DOCTOR WHAT
But you guys are in need of my bold leadership and
‘outside the box’ creative thinking! How many times
has the landing party survived some catastrophe
because of my presence?

LANDSHARK
Er…about three times in the last 5 years …

DOCTOR WHAT
You see! I’m practically a good luck charm!

Landing Party leaves the Control Room.

EXT. – EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE – DAY

We see the shuttle ‘Jenna Jameson’ flying through a large cloudbank.

INT. – SHUTTLE – DAY

We see MATT at the controls with DOCTOR WHAT next to him. In the seats behind them are KIT, DIAMOND and IRONYUPPIE.

MATT
We should be getting a visual any second now

The assorted crew shifts their positions slightly to get a better view out of the windows.

DIAMOND
(shocked voice)
Oh… my….

EXT – LOS ANGELES – DAY

We see the city of Los Angeles spread out before the shuttle. It’s in complete ruins. It looks like it had been hit by an earthquake—after a fire, hurricane and full-scale civil war have already gone through with it. Few, if any, of the buildings are intact and most of the city lies in rubble.

INT. – SHUTTLE- DAY

MATT
Where’s that distress signal coming from?

DOCTOR WHAT fiddles with some controls.

DOCTOR WHAT
Weird—I’m having trouble picking it up.
It seems to have been turned off. Set down
over there at the City Hall Building—
that was its last location.

EXT. – LOS ANGELES CITY HALL – DAY

We see the shuttle land on the street in front of a large pile of rubble that was formerly Los Angeles City Hall. After a few minutes, the five ah.comers pile out. All except DOCTOR WHAT are holding BFGs.

DOCTOR WHAT is holding a scanner in his hands and is intently looking at various readings.

IRONYUPPIE
Well?

DOCTOR WHAT
Still not picking up any signals or
lifesigns but there’s a large chamber
of some sort under that pile of rubble.
(stares at screen in confusion)
Make that lots of chambers. Various sizes.
All irregularly shaped and connected to one
another. It’s like a freaking maze. Very weird.

MATT
I guess we try to find an entrance into this pile.
Everyone– maintain a constant state of suspicious alertness…

As they are poking around the rubble, they suddenly hear a weird buzzing sound coming from somewhere near them. The ah.comers start looking around for the source. DIAMOND looks off in a direction behind the ah.comers—and his jaw drops in fear.

DIAMOND
(shakily pointing a finger)
Gaaa-aaaaaaa-aaaaahhh….

The ah.comers look in the direction that DIAMOND is pointing to see an ant on the roof of the shuttle.

A nine foot long ant.

DOCTOR WHAT
Holy shit! Shoot it! Shoot it!

MATT and IRONYUPPIE open fire on the ant with a barrage from their BFGs. The ant actually shrugs off the first two or three shots from the BFGs before getting knocked off the shuttle.

The five ah.comers walk cautiously behind the shuttle to see the giant ant lying on the ground in a heap. Small tendrils of smoke are emanating from its body. MATT hesitantly pokes the body with the barrel of his gun.

MATT
I…I think it’s dead.

KIT
That CAN’T be what I think it is—can it?

DOCTOR WHAT runs his scanner over the corpse.

DOCTOR WHAT
(looking at readings)
Damn—it IS a giant ant!
How the hell is that even possible?

DIAMOND
(looking in the direction they just came from)
Uh….guys…..behind us….

The ah.comers look behind them to see a dozen or so giant ants converging at them from various piles of rubble around them. A few seconds later, another dozen appear….followed by dozen more….

MATT
They’ve cut us off from the shuttle! Run!

The ah.comers start running down Main Street with MATT and IRONYUPPIE blasting away at the ants behind them. KIT and DIAMOND are on either side of DOCTOR WHAT, blasting away at various other ants. DOCTOR WHAT is screaming into his communicator.

INT. -AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM-DAY

DOCTOR WHAT (o.v.)
(screaming)
Guys! We’re being attacked by giant ants!
Get us the fuck out of here!

LANDSHARK, DAVE HOWERY, GREY WOLF and WEAPON M stare at one another at this piece of news.

LANDSHARK
Doc—have you been in STRAHA’S green pills again?

DOCTOR WHAT (o.v.)
(screaming —we hear weapon fire in the background)
This is not a joke! There are giant freaking ants here!
Send down a rescue shuttle now! What the–!
(loud crackle of static is heard—followed by silence)

LANDSHARK
Doc? Doc? Hello? LEO—
what the hell just happened?!

LEO
I really don’t know. I’m still detecting their GPS signals.
They appear to be running at high speed through downtown L.A.—
but I can’t detect any signs of these giant ants they’re talking about.

GREY WOLF
LANDSHARK, WEAPON M and DAVE—
get your butts onto a shuttle and bring them
back now. Grab one of those Aussies with you. Go!

The three of them leave the Control Room.

EXT. –DOWNTOWN L.A. RUINS –DAY

We see DOCTOR WHAT, DIAMOND, KIT, MATT and IRONYUPPIE running frantically down a street, blasting at giants ants all around them. DOCTOR WHAT is screaming into his communicator.

DOCTOR WHAT
–rescue shuttle now! What the–!

Suddenly, the ground beneath the running ah.comers explodes outwards, knocking the ah.comers off their feet. We see DOCTOR WHAT’s communicator fly through the air and crash onto the ground.

Several giant ants slowly start crawling their way out of the newly formed hole. MATT and DIAMOND start blasting at some of them while KIT helps up DOCTOR WHAT, who’s bleeding from a gash on his head. More giant ants are coming out of the hole and there are over a dozen of them coming up behind the ah.comers. The four ah.comers turn right and run down a side street, blasting at ants along the way. IRONYUPPIE is lying on her back, separated from the rest of the group. There’s a giant ant almost on top of her.

We suddenly hear a crackle of electricity and the head of the giant ant goes flying off its body and lands in a wet thud about 10 feet away. IRONYUPPIE leaps up, turns left and runs down a side street in a different direction from the ah.comers. She’s using one hand to hold the BFG and the other for her Yo-Yo and is using both on any ants that she sees.

EXT-EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE-DAY

We see the shuttle ‘Buckaroo Banzai’ flying through a cloudbank at high speed.

INT. -SHUTTLE-DAY

LANDSHARK is at the controls with WEAPON M sitting next to him. DAVE HOWERY and MICHAEL are sitting in the back.

WEAPON M
How far?

LANDSHARK
We’re right over the southwestern part of the U.S.—
we should be arriving in L.A. in just a few minutes.

Alarms suddenly start going off.

WEAPON M
What the hell?

EXT – SHUTTLE – DAY

Coming out of a cloudbank some distance away from the shuttle is a large manta ray shaped green spaceship. Coming out from the top of the ship is a tentacle like structure topped off with a multi-colored ‘eye’. A laser blast shoots out from the ‘eye’ hitting the shuttle.

There is a massive explosion and the shuttle goes out of control, trailing a cloud of black smoke behind it. The weird green spaceship veers off and flies away and disappears into another cloudbank as the shuttle goes crashing down.

EXT. -RUINS OF L.A.-DAY

Four ah.comers are still being chased by giant ants.

DOCTOR WHAT
We lost IRONYUPPIE!

MATT
We’ll find her later—
we gotta get outta here first!

Up ahead we see a group of figures, all heavily armed. One of the men waves at the ah.comers.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
Over here! This way!

The men around the MYSTERIOUS FIGURE open fire on the giant ants with several RPG launchers and bazookas, blasting the ants into fiery bits. The ah.comers run up to the figures and are herded into a steel reinforced doorway. The armed figures fire off a few more shots and rush into the doorway, sealing it behind them with a massive steel door. One of the giant ants rushes to the door just as it closes and bites it with its mandibles. There is a massive electrical shock and the ant bursts into flames and starts frantically running around in a blind panic. Several other ants get hit by the flaming ant and burst into flames as well.

EXT-SOUTHWESTERN U.S. DESERT-DAY

We see an enormous gully of torn-up bushes and disturbed earth. At the end of the gully is the shuttle, broken in two. A few flames can be seen here and there. WEAPON M, MICHAEL, DAVE HOWERY and LANDSHARK are standing on a small hilltop nearby, looking somewhat worse for wear but still relatively unharmed.

MICHAEL
Well—it could be worse.

WEAPON M pulls out a gun and points it at MICHAEL’S head.

WEAPON M
Don’t even THINK about finishing that sentence….

LANDSHARK
What the hell was that thing that shot us?

DAVE HOWERY
I recognize it. I don’t believe it and I hope
that I’m wrong but I definitely recognized it.

LANDSHARK
Well?

DAVE HOWERY
(beat)
Martian War Machine from the
movie War of the Worlds. The
version made in the 1950’s.
(shakes head in confusion)

LANDSHARK
Great. Just great! Giant ants and
now Martian spaceships. This is
turning into just a LOVELY day!
(shoots a defenseless bush in frustration) .
So—what do we do now?

DAVE HOWERY
Already called the ship—they said that the
rest of the shuttles are out of order.
(shrugs shoulders)
Hopefully G.BONE is on the case
and repairing the teleporter.

INT. -TELEPORTER ROOM-DAY

G.BONE is staring at a screwdriver in complete confusion. He sticks the screwdriver into a pile of circuits. There’s a brief electrical shock that causes G.BONE to drop the screwdriver. He picks up the screwdriver and looks at it in complete confusion. He sticks the screwdriver into a pile of circuits. There is a brief electrical shock that causes G. BONE to drop the screwdriver. He picks up the screwdriver….

EXT. – SOUTHWESTERN U.S. DESERT – DAY

DAVE HOWERY
I guess we just wait until help comes along.

Camera pulls away from the ah.comers and slowly pans over the desert for several seconds until we get to another hilltop several miles away from the ah.comers. Standing on top of the hill is a gigantic 100 foot tall TARANTULA.

It twitches its jaws for a moment and slowly starts moving in the direction of the ah.comers.

INT. -BUNKER-DAY

Camera pans over to show the corridor of a heavily reinforced concrete bunker of some sort. There are numerous figures running to and fro carrying various objects or weapons. It’s quite dimly lit in some places and the bunker has obviously seen a lot of use. A large metal elevator door creaks slowly open, spilling out over a dozen people, including the ah.comers.

The MYSTERIOUS FIGURE who called on the ah.comers leads the group down the long corridor. Several soldiers with the group break away and run down various side corridors they pass but several stay with the group, their weapons at the ready. Several individuals—both civilian and military—pass by the group. All of them salute or nod their head to the MYSTERIOUS FIGURE as they walk by. They stop at the entrance to a room.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
(jerking a thumb at the door)
Get them inside and get them cleaned and
patched up. Bring them to my room in
precisely one hour. Tell the patrols to keep
an eye out for their friend.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE walks away and the soldiers motion the ah.comers inside the room.

EXT-RUINS OF L.A.-SUNSET

IRONYUPPIE is running down a street, sweaty and out of breath. There doesn’t appear to be any ants following her for the moment. She stops next to the ruins of a chocolate shop to catch her breath. After a minute or two, she gets up and keeps running, heading towards the remains of a freeway off in the distance. Camera slowly pans up to reveal a large creature of some sort sitting on the roof of a building. It’s obscured by shadows from the setting sun and we are seeing it from behind so we are unable to get a good look at it but it’s easily 40 feet high and vaguely bird-like in nature.

CLOSE-UP –RED-RIMMED EYE – We can just barely make out the reflection of IRONYUPPIE running down the street.

EXT. -DESERT-SUNSET
The four members of the rescue team are sitting around a campfire. MICHAEL, WEAPON M and HOWERY are roasting marshmallows. LANDSHARK is sulking in a corner.

WEAPON M
Relax dude. She’s going to be okay. If anybody
can survive being attacked by giant ants, it’s
IronYuppie. I almost feel sorry for those suckers.

LANDSHARK
What about the rest of them?

WEAPON M
Meh—the Doc’s come back from the dead
so I’m not worried about him. Besides, he’s
got MATT and DIAMOND to watch his
back. Ok—sure—DIAMOND is some pansy
ass nancy navy boy but he’s mostly ok. So chill.

MICHAEL
(morbidly)
Yeah—we’re the ones in the middle of the
desert being shot at by Martian War Machines.

WEAPON M
–which we haven’t seen since it shot at us so—
like—chill, dude. DAVE—what’s up?

DAVE HOWERY
(deep in thought)
Huh? Wha? Oh nothing—just thinking—

LANDSHARK
About what?

DAVE HOWERY
Giant ants in L.A. Now Martian spaceships
shooting at us. There’s a pattern here.

LANDSHARK
You think something else is going to attack us?

DAVE HOWERY
Almost certain about that. But what?

MICHAEL
(eyes practically shooting out of their sockets)
S…S…S…Sp…Sp…

LANDSHARK
(confused look)
A spay? What the fuck is a spay, you crazy aussie?

MICHAEL
(shakily pointing a finger)
Sp…Sp…Spi…Spiii…

LANDSHARK, WEAPON M and DAVE HOWERY all turn to look in the direction that MICHAEL is pointing. Coming slowly over a hill about a quarter of a mile away is the TARANTULA.

ALL
SPIDER!!!!

MICHAEL
That’s what I’ve been trying to say, guys! Guys? Guys?

MICHAEL looks around and sees that he’s the only one still sitting near the campfire. He looks behind him to see the three ah.comers already 100 feet away from him and rapidly receding into the desert.

MICHAEL
Oh yeah.
(runs)

END ACT I


ACT II

INT. -BUNKER-DAY

The four ah.comers are sitting in a room. DOCTOR WHAT has a bandage around his forehead and the rest of them all look marginally better and slightly cleaner than they were before. MYSTERIOUS FIGURE walks in.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
I trust you guys are feeling a bit better?

DOCTOR WHAT
A little bit. Any news on our missing crewmember?

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
Good news, bad news and worse news. The good news
is that one of our patrols spotted your friend a few minutes
ago, still alive. The bad news was she was too far away
from him to make contact with her so she didn’t see him.
The worse news is that she was heading straight for Chinatown
—and the sun has begun to set.
(off confused looks from ah.comers)
There’s a …. thing … in Chinatown that even the ants are
scared to mess with. And it hunts at night.
(quietly)
I’m sorry.

The ah.comers stare at one another with various expressions of fear and confusion and sadness.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
But you four are still alive—and judging
by your appearance and that…ship of yours,
you’re obviously not from around here.

DOCTOR WHAT
You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.
It’s a pretty weird story.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
We’re in a city overrun by giant ants. Trust me—
nothing you say can weird me out. Tell you want—
I’ll tell you what’s going on here and you tell me. Agreed?

Ah.comers nod their heads.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
My name is Professor ZOOMAR. I am the self-styled leader
of this humble abode. It used to be a nuclear bunker back in
the old days. Nearly 200 feet underground. Reinforced steel-
concrete-lead walls. Designed to withstand a direct hit on the
city from a nuclear bomb. Now we use it as our hideout. Of
course we’ve made a few modifications to it over the years.
Anyways—it all happened back around 1962 when one of the
movie studios was building a new building and they came across
…something.

DOCTOR WHAT
Something?

ZOOMAR
A temple. A secret underground temple. They tried to hush
it up but word leaked out and some archeology profs at the
university found out about it. They sent in a team into the temple.
(beat)
They never returned. Within 3 days of their disappearance, we
had monsters of all kinds appearing in every corner of the globe.
They completely overwhelmed our armies. Soon they were laying
waste to entire cities. I heard stories that some of the governments
got desperate and started using nukes on some of the monsters to
stop them but obviously they weren’t very successful. What’s left
of the human race has been hiding since then in whatever shelters
and bunkers and fortresses we can find or build.
(beat)
What I’m going to tell you is something that very few people know.
It’s something that I’ve had to piece together from old records, burnt
out libraries and tracking down surviving experts over the last 20 years
and I’ve only finished putting all the pieces together just a few days ago.
Many thousands of years ago, there existed an ancient religious cult that
worshipped beings. Strange godlike beings from another dimension. This
cult believed that one day, these beings will finally break through into
our dimension. When that day occurs, it will be literally the
End of the World and the end of all life on this planet.

DIAMOND
(rolling eyes)
Except for the cult, right? They’ll end up
with super powers or something?

ZOOMAR
Actually no—they’ll be the first to get killed.

DIAMOND
Huh? What kind of fucked up religion is that?

ZOOMAR
(shrugging shoulders)
Meh—I’ve heard worse ones.
(beat)
In any case, this cult built temples in every corner
of the world but around 1860 or so, their cult was
killed off and all their temples destroyed. All but one,
that is. And it just rested there for all those decades—
until it was activated somehow.

DOCTOR WHAT
But giant ants?

ZOOMAR
Actually that part—all of this—was an accident on its part.
You see—in their home dimension—the beings are blobs
of formless energy. In order to interact in this dimension,
they have to take on physical manifestation. What they usually
do is reach into the minds of its worshippers and take on
the form of their worse fears and terrors—and then become t
hose forms. But here—they were woken up and they didn’t
have any worshippers so they reached out into the minds of
the closest people it could find and took on those form of those
people’s fears. And since this was a directly under a movie
studio that was cranking out monster movies…

MATT
(eyes widening)
No…fucking…way…

ZOOMAR
(nodding head)
Uh-huh. Now we have giant grasshoppers tearing up Chicago,
giant scorpions in Mexico, giant tarantulas in Arizona,
dinosaurs in a dozen countries, Martian War Machines
in 20 different countries, a giant octopus sinking ships
in the south pacific…
(beat)
(quiet voice)
God—Japan never had a chance—
all those Godzilla movies—poor bastards…
(shakes head)
…and, of course, giant ants.

DOCTOR WHAT
So—how can you stop something like this?

ZOOMAR
(smiling)
Ah—but here’s the interesting part—all of those
creatures out there are mere minions—foot soldiers
if you will. They are ultimately controlled and sustained
by the head creature. Destroy it and all of these
creatures will die off in days—maybe even just hours.

DOCTOR WHAT
Let me guess—you have a plan?
And it involves us, right?

ZOOMAR
Maybe. But first—your story.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well—ok. You see—it’s like this…

EXT. -RUINS OF CHINATOWN-NIGHT

We see IRONYUPPIE walking through a burnt out outdoor market. She hears a sound coming from behind her. And above her. She looks up.

MONSTER POV—the camera rushes towards IRONYUPPIE and suddenly goes black.

HIGH OVERHEAD SHOT—L.A. AT NIGHT – There’s a full moon high above the city. For just a brief moment, we see the moon blotted out by a large shape—carrying a struggling figure—flying across it.

EXT. -DESERT-NIGHT

We see WEAPON M, DAVE HOWERY, LANDSHARK and MICHAEL running frantically. They stop to catch their breaths.

WEAPON M
(gasping)
How…how…far…behind…us….?…

MICHAEL
(looking up)
Er…about one mile…maybe less…

WEAPON M
(gasping)
Never…going to outrun…it…

MICHAEL
Hey—look! An opening to a mineshaft!

LANDSHARK
(rolling eyes)
Oh good. Cause we know there’s absolutely
nothing that can go wrong with hiding in an
abandoned mineshaft in the middle of the
night in a monster infested desert….

DAVE HOWERY
You wanna stay out here with that spider?

LANDSHARK
Good point.

They all rush into the mineshaft.

INT. –BUNKER – NIGHT

ZOOMAR is standing in front of the ah.comers deep in thought.

ZOOMAR
So—you are essentially a bunch of dimension hopping,
porn obsessed, alcoholic lunatics who barely get along
with one another traveling through the multiverse getting
into all kinds of misadventures and craziness—
and you’re the GOOD guys?

DOCTOR WHAT
Pretty much.

ZOOMAR
That’s weird.

DOCTOR WHAT
You said you had a plan.

ZOOMAR
Oh yes—I do. It’s quite simple really.
We send in a team and blow up the
Head Monster in the temple.

DOCTOR WHAT
(shocked)
And we’re the team?!

ZOOMAR
You guys seem to have lots of experience with stuff
like this. And you seem to be phenomenally lucky.
Besides—I really don’t have the manpower or
resources to do something like this on my own
but with your assistance, it can work.
What say you?

DOCTOR WHAT
Do we have a choice?

ZOOMAR
No—not really no…

DOCTOR WHAT looks at the assembled ah.comers. All of them vaguely nod their heads or shrug their shoulders in a non-committal manner.

DOCTOR WHAT
(smiling)
We’ll be thrilled to do it!

EXT-RUINS OF DODGER STADIUM-NIGHT

IRONYUPPIE is lying on the ground. She wakes up with a start and gets up and looks around.

WIDE SHOT – IRONYUPPIE is lying on what’s left of the baseball field. Surrounding her on all sides and scattered underfoot, are numerous bones of various animals and humans. She looks around for her BFG but can’t find it.

We suddenly hear an ear-shattering shriek from above. IRONYUPPIE looks up at something offscreen casting a huge shadow across her face that comes for a landing in front of her (but behind the camera)

WIDE SHOT – We see, standing about 50 feet away from IRONYUPPIE, is a 40 foot high PTERADACTYL. When it spreads its wings, they easily have a wingspan of nearly 100 feet. It shrieks again.

Its shrieks are so loud and high-pitched that small chunks of masonry fall from the walls of the Stadium and come crashing down onto the field.

There is no question whatsoever that this particular PTERADACTYL is the largest, meanest and most dangerous one of its kind on this world. It stares at IRONYUPPIE with red-rimmed eyes. It opens its jaws in drooling anticipation.

IRONYUPPIE pulls out her Yo-Yo and starts tapping it.

IRONYUPPIE
No fucking way you’re having me for a 3 am snack.

KING PTERADACTYL shrieks again.

MONSTER POV—the camera rushes towards IRONYUPPIE– and suddenly goes black.

INT. -ABANDONED SUBWAY TUNNEL-NIGHT

We see the four L.A. ah.commers, ZOOMAR and about a dozen or so young soldiers standing on the subway platform. Almost everyone is armed with various weapons. There’s an old subway train revving up on the tracks.

ZOOMAR
Pretty snazzy, huh? Some kind of secret emergency escape
route for the bigwigs in case of the Big One. Runs on
hydroelectric power, believe it or not. It runs straight
into the hills to the north. Passes right underneath Hollywood.

Soldier comes up to ZOOMAR

SMUZ
(saluting)
Sir—Private SMUZ. I just wanted to tell you that
I’ve always wanted to be included in one of these
missions and am honored you’ve chosen me.
Looking forward to this mission.

ZOOMAR
I hope all this works too, private.

DOCTOR WHAT
So—what’s the plan again?

ZOOMAR
We go into the temple. First team
(points to soldiers behind him)
play a diversionary role and draw the monsters
guarding the temple away from the main chamber.
Second team (
points at ah.commers)

break into the main chamber and
blow it up. Everyone runs like hell
away from the explosion when it goes off.

DIAMOND
(sarcastically)
Wow—complicated plan there—must have taken
you weeks to work out all the details of that one…

ZOOMAR
Let’s go!

Everyone piles into the subway car and it drives off.

INT. -OLD MINING TUNNEL-NIGHT

We see the ‘rescue team’ ah.commers milling around the corridor of the mining tunnel.

LANDSHARK
So. We’re in an abandoned mining tunnel hiding
from a giant spider. We’ve got no food and no
way to communicate with the ship. It’s still dark
outside and it’s freezing in here.

MICHAEL
Yeah—what more can possibly go wrong?

Ground starts to shake. Dusts falls from the ceiling. Suddenly, a section of the wall collapses to reveal….a GIANT SCORPION.

LANDSHARK
Remind me to shoot you if we
get out of here, MICHAEL.

They run off down a corridor. A few seconds later, the scorpion gives chase.

EXT. –RUINS OF HOLLYWOOD-NIGHT

We see the ruins of various movie studios. In the middle of a parking lot is a large hole. Emanating from the hole is a sickly purplish light. We also see at least 100 giant ants milling around.

Suddenly, a dozen rockets come arcing down into the assembled ants. Massive explosions occur as the entire area is lit up by a barrage of weapon fire from everything from machine guns to BFGs. We see at least 2 dozen ants are killed off within the first 30 seconds of the attack. A group of about half a dozen soldiers rushes towards the surviving ants and sprays everything with weapon fire then retreat rapidly. Many of the surviving ants rush after the soldiers. After a few minutes, the ah.commers (with several soldiers) rush into the fray, blasting at wounded or disoriented ants they come across. They get to the hole and leap in.

INT. -TEMPLE-NIGHT

We see the group standing in a corridor in the interior of the temple. The entire temple—walls, floor, ceiling—appear to be made from some kind of sickly greenish-yellowish marble that gives off a faint light. One gets the distinct feeling that the material is vaguely organic in nature and that one is walking through the innards of some great beast. We see DOCTOR WHAT pull out his scanner. He looks at it for a second and with a shout, he points in a direction down a corridor. The group rush down the corridor.

The corridor spirals down. As the group rush down, several giant ants appear in front of them. The ah.commers make short work of them and leap over the dead bodies. Behind them, more monsters appear and give chase to them.

After several minutes of running and shooting, the group rushes out into a large open oval shaped chamber. Along one section of a wall to their left is a black rectangular opening. Strange swirling light (of a color indescribable by humans) can be seen in the opening. A roar distracts the group from the opening and they look to their right for the source. They gasp and involuntarily take a step back.

Standing before them is the LEADER BEAST. It has a vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face is a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on its hind feet, and long, narrow wings behind it. This thing, which seemed filled with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, is of a somewhat bloated corpulence. In its front are two long spindly arms ending with a three clawed ‘hand’. It is over 50 feet high.

And it is pissed off.

With another roar, it rushes at the group, barely noticing the barrage of weapon fire from the group. With one of its hands, it reaches for one of the soldiers.

SMUZ
I guess it was a bad idea to
ask to be on this mission…

SQUISH!

The group scatters, blasting the creature with everything from rockets to BFGs to no effect. DOCTOR WHAT shifts his BFG over his shoulder and rolls towards a large backpack that was dropped and grabs it. We see that the backpack is bulging with bricks of plastic explosives. Just as DOCTOR WHAT is about to press the trigger device, a claw grabs him and picks him up.

The creature brings DOCTOR WHAT to his face. Just as it is about to eat him, it stops. The creature looks at DOCTOR WHAT with a quizzical look.

LEADER BEAST
(speaking with a loud guttural voice)
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh wgah’nagl fhtan?

DOCTOR WHAT
(slowly being squeezed by the creature)
Gaaa-aaaah?

LEADER BEAST
Ia! Ia! Fhtagn!

DOCTOR WHAT just shakes his head in confusion. With an ear-piercing shriek, the creature brings DOCTOR WHAT to his jaws again—and throws him in!

We see the jaws shut, swallowing DOCTOR WHAT whole! The creature turns to the surviving group who are still blasting away at the creature to no avail. The creature rushes towards KIT, DIAMOND and MATT–and suddenly stops. We hear a muffled explosion coming from the creature’s mouth and its eyes suddenly cross. It suddenly spits out an obscene looking glob of greenish mucus out of its mouth onto the ground in front of the ah.commers and takes a step or two back, shaking its head in confusion. In the center of the disgusting mound of goo it spit out is—DOCTOR WHAT, holding what’s left of a smoldering BFG. He’s doesn’t have the backpack of explosives with him.

DOCTOR WHAT
(on his back in obvious pain)
(pointing at creature with one hand)
Uh—boom?

The ah.commers look at DOCTOR WHAT in confusion, then turn to look at the creature. They look at each other with sudden realization, grab DOCTOR WHAT and run out of the chamber at high speed.

INT. -TEMPLE CORRIDOR-NIGHT

We see the ah.commers (carrying DR.WHAT) and 2 or 3 surviving soldiers run at high speed back up the spiral corridor, frantically blasting at various ants in front of them. Behind them, we hear a loud shriek—followed by a massive explosion. A wave of fire travels up the corridor. MATT is bringing up the rear of the group and notices the fireball behind them.

MATT practically launching himself at the fleeing group and tackling them to the ground.

MATT
DUCK!!!!

The group falls to the ground and the fireball travels above their heads and up the corridor, frying several giant ants in the process. They get up and keep running.

EXT. -RUINS OF HOLLYWOOD-SUNRISE

The ah.commers climb out of the hole–only to find themselves surrounded by a massive horde of giant ants coming at them.

DIAMOND
(pointing to a nearby movie studio building)
The roof! Hurry!

With the ants only a few feet behind them, the group quickly climbs up the building to the roof. The giant ants start climbing up the sides of the building after them.

We see the ah.commers and surviving soldiers huddled in a group on the roof.

MATT
Weapon Status!

DIAMOND
No ammo left.

KIT
None here either.

Soldiers shake their heads as well.

MATT
So—this is it—we’re going to die.

KIT
At least we died for a good cause.

DIAMOND
I would have preferred dying
for sex and booze actually.

The group nod their heads as well.

Two giant ants climb onto the roof and slowly start making their way towards the group.

DOCTOR WHAT
(staring at the sky)
Uh—guys—what’s that?

We can make out off in the distance a large flying creature coming towards the group at high speed.

MATT
Great! Just fucking great! Bad enough
we’re going to be ripped to shreds by
giant ants but now we’re going to be a
ttacked by a giant flying monster as well!

KIT
(staring at the creature)
Hey—is it just me or is there
someone riding that thing?

The group stares at the incoming creature—and their jaws drop.

CLOSE-UP-KING PTERADACTYL – We see—riding on the back of KING PTERADACTYL—is IRONYUPPIE. She has her Yo-Yo wrapped around the beak of the creature and using it as a makeshift bridle in one hand. In the other hand she has an iron bar topped with a large bear skull.

IRONYUPPIE
HUZZAH!

KING PTERADACTYL grabs the two giant ants coming towards the ah.commers in its claws and flies off, dropping them to the ground a few seconds later. It turns around and heads back to the ah.commers and lands gently on the roof.

IRONYUPPIE
Move your asses or lose them, boys.

The group leaps onto the back of KING PTERADACTYL and it flies off into the rising sun.

EXT. -SHUTTLE ‘JENNA JAMESON’ –NOON

ZOOMAR is shaking hands with the assembled ah.commers.

ZOOMAR
I can’t thank you people enough! Many of
the monsters are already beginning to die off!
You’ve saved us! You saved us all!

DOCTOR WHAT
Just happy to help out! Good luck with
the whole ‘rebuilding civilization’ thingy.

Ah.commers pile into the shuttle and it flies off with a roar.


END ACT II


TAG

EXT. – DESERT – DAY

We see the ‘rescue team’ ah.commers slowly trudging though the desert. Their clothes are ripped, many of them are injured and they are all sweating and gasping for breath.

LANDSHARK
Remind me again why we came down here?

WEAPON M
To rescue our friends.

LANDSHARK
Ah. Excellent job we’re doing.

There’s a roar of jets above them and the shuttle ‘Jenna Jameson’ lands in front of them. DOCTOR WHAT pokes his head out an open doorway.

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey guys! We’ve come to rescue you!

The rescue team ah.commers groans and roll their eyes and reluctantly climb into the shuttle. With a groaning sound protesting the excess weight that it has to carry, the shuttle lifts up and flies off into the sky.

Screen goes black.

HOWERY (o.v.)
(sniffing)
Man—what is that smell?
Smells like vomit….

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS

The Hunt For Us Ain’t Over

TITLECARD-THEHUNT

TEASER


EXT. – DEEP SPACE – NIGHT

The camera pans all around the AH.com. It is a majestic sight, cruising against the vastness of space.

We pan out further and see that it is fleeing from a horde of what appear to be steam-powered space battleships, all emblazoned with Imperial German flags.

INT. – AH.COM- CONTROL ROOM

LANDSHARK
Of all the steampunk worlds to visit, you just
HAD to pick the one with a dominant German Empire!

DOCTOR WHAT
Alright, so I make ONE mistake!

LANDSHARK
No, ONE mistake is fine. It’s MANY
mistakes that are more worrying.

DOCTOR WHAT
DAVE HOWERY, how’s the Shift Drive?

DAVE HOWERY
She took a beating from their first salvo,
Cap’n! I dinnae think she’ll hold for jump.

DOCTOR WHAT
MAKE it hold!

DAVE HOWERY
I cannae change the laws of Physics, Doc.

DOCTOR WHAT
We’ll have to chance it! Jump on my mark…
10…9…8…

A near-miss shot from the pursuing fleet explodes just to the port of the viewscreen

DOCTOR WHAT
7654321JUMP!!!!

The AH.com ship seems to fold in on itself and winks out of existence in that dimension. The German fleet zooms past and then hovers around, somewhat puzzled.

DOCTOR WHAT
(voiceover)
And for Ian’s sake, DAVE HOWERY, enough with
the James Doohan impressions.
Let the man rest in peace.

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series

“THE HUNT FOR US AIN’T OVER”

Written By : FLOCCULENCIO


ACT I


EXT. – SPACE – AH.COM SHIP – DAY

We see the AH.com Ship, it’s moving slowly across the screen.

OTHNIEL (Voice Over)
Are we there yet?

Pull back, we see the AH.com ship and in the far distant a blue dot, TTL’s Earth.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

Pull in on DOCTOR WHAT looking somewhat bored.

DOCTOR WHAT
A week. We’ve been traveling a week.

LANDSHARK
Hey, You’re the one who did a shoddy job
at shifting out of the last universe.

DOCTOR WHAT
Always blame the guy in charge right?

LANDSHARK
Who else is to blame?

MICHAEL
Blame Thande!

THANDE looks up from where he’s been reading a book, looking slightly confused.

DOCTOR WHAT
(sighing)
So no one’s figured out anything to do yet?

VARIOUS CREW MEMBERS
Meh…guh…kill you all…zuh

They’re all too bored to do anything. Suddenly, a half-hearted chime comes from the speakers. LEO starts speaking over the PA.

LEO
I’m receiving a transmission from an
unidentified source, Captain- shall I patch it in?

DOCTOR WHAT
Make it so, LEO

The PA crackles to life and cheery music spills from the speakers.

VOICE
…don’t miss out on our great bargains on everything
from hardware to software to formal wear! The great
Singapore Sale- on all year, every year! We accept
any and all currency…hurry up! Time’s running out-
or is it?! Because our stores NEVER close!!

The CREW collectively sits bolt upright and starts yammering.

DOCTOR WHAT
LEO, where’s that transmission coming from?

LEO
Singapore, presumably. Duh.
(pauses)
Hang on a second…it’s coming from
somewhere nearer than Earth…
a LOT nearer

The crew sits in amazement as a vast, strangely constructed spacecraft rises towards them.

MICHAEL
Did they tack engines onto
an asteroid or something?

LEO
That’s no asteroid…

As the craft approaches they see that its heart is a city, trees and buildings clearly visible through the protective dome. The entire construction is around thirty miles in length and a quarter that in height.

LEO
Signal coming through Captain.
I’m patching it into the speakers.

VOICE
Unidentified ship- we have you targeted.
Identify yourselves! Are your intentions commercial?

The announcement is repeated in Chinese and Malay.

DOCTOR WHAT
Err…this is the AH.com and, yes,
our intentions are commercial, I guess.

VOICE
Excellent! You’re cleared for landing in Bay 37.
All prices on computer software are thirty percent
off this week. Welcome to the Serene Republic of
Singapore and have a profitable day.

Everyone looks about and shrugs.

DOCTOR WHAT
So, who’s up form some sightseeing?

LANDSHARK
As long as we don’t get
bloody shot at, put in a prison,
or nearly eaten by some pack
of ravenous porcupines.

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey, I already apologized about those porcupines.
I thought they were cute… Who knew they fed
upon the flesh of the living?

INT. -SPACEPORT-DAY

The AH.com lands in a vast landing bay. Ships of all kinds surround them and the floor is thronged with robots and people of all sorts making their way to what appears to be teleportation devices scattered around the landing bay.

DOCTOR WHAT
Okay guys, keep together! We don’t
know much about this TL yet and…

The crew, ignoring him have already scattered in different directions. LEO comes clanking past in his android body.

LEO
Well, Bruno, at least you tried. Now what say we-

ADVERTISEMENTBOT
Greetings, mechanical sir! Please accept this
voucher for 10% off on all services at
Madam Wong’s Pleasurebot Parlour..

LEO
Does a Pleasurebot Parlour mean
what I think it means?

ADVERTISEMENTBOT
Why yes, sir, heheheh

DOCTOR WHAT
Hang on a minute, LEO, you can’t just-

LEO
Seeya later, Bruno

He clanks off towards a teleporter

DOCTOR WHAT looks around, somewhat dejected. Suddenly he whips around to catch a random street urchin, LUAKEL, by the scruff of his neck.

DOCTOR WHAT
My crew deserts me for baubles and geegaws,
my ships computer has gone to get his pipes
cleaned and I’m alone in a city I know nothing about.

LUAKEL
I am confused.

DOCTOR WHAT
Join the club, kid.

LUAKEL
You wanna buy some gum, mister?
I got an approval from the Ministry
of Gum Selling, So there’s no radioactive or
poisonous particles in my gun.
(holds out a pack of hum)

DOCTOR WHAT
Errrr….
(looks about)
Tell me where I can find
some porn and there’ll be a tip in it for you.

LUAKEL
Shh…not so loud- you’ll have the cops down
on us if you keep bellowing out the P-word!

DOCTOR WHAT
Great…just my luck.

LUAKEL looks shiftily from side to side

LUAKEL
But I can find you some if you want.
Of course it’ll cost you extra.

DOCTOR WHAT
Now that’s more like it!

He follows LUAKEL off through the crowd. Unseen by them, a shadowy figure follows.

FADE OUT to black.

EXT. -SHOPPING MALL – DAY

KIT, THANDE and DAVE HOWERY are wandering around, relaxed and happy. They have each made some purchased and have stopped to rest. Chinese pop music is playing over the mall’s audio system. As the song fades out, it is replaced by stirring martial music.

VOICE
(On the audio system)
Good day to you citizens and foreign friends!
Remember, every dollar you spend helps the
economy! And the thriving power of capitalism
keeps the shipyards and arms factories pumping
out weaponry to defend us all! Keep spending,
citizens, and have a prosperous day!

KIT
There’s something strange about this TL
but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

INT. -A SEEDY BAR – DAY

WEAPONM, MICHAEL and MATT are drinking.

MICHAEL is approached by a very attractive young lady.

LADY
(In a deep and husky voice)
Hey baby- me love you long time, ten dolla.

MICHAEL
Aaah! Ladyboy!
(He pauses meditatively)
Pre-op or post-op?

LADYBOY
Pre-op

MICHAEL
Aaah! Ladyboy!

LANDSHARK and IRONYUPPIE walk in through the door. LANDSHARK is barely visible under the pile of shopping bags he’s carrying.

LANDSHARK
- then we can hit that quant little store I
saw coming here, they had lovely shoes…

IRONYUPPIE
(eyeing bar)
I need a drink.

LANDSHARK
Well, hurry up. I don’t know how much time
we have before Doc realizes we stole his
Mistress Olga money. I want to at least hit
three more shops before we head back to the ship.

IRONYUPPIE
(sighing)
A strong drink.

MATT sees them and waves them over.

LANDSHARK
Mind giving a shipmate a hand MATT?

MATT
Screw that, Sharky. You’ve got a nice
strapping Amazonian Valkyrie at your side,
have her do the honors.

IRONYUPPIE
Easy there, jarhead.
Or you’ll find out why Sharky
walks funny every Thursday morning.

MATT
(grinning)
Is that a promise?

He turns back to the group of ORIENTAL BEAUTIES to whom he has been narrating his exploits.

MATT
Sorry about that girls…now as I was saying,
he thought I was unarmed but this armour
I’m wearing has a handy compartment
so I whipped out my rifle like this!

A compartment on the back of his powered armour opens and he expertly whips out a rifle. The bar goes silent for a second as all eyes turn to the AH.commers. Then the patrons stampede for the exit.

MATT
Was it something I said?

The AH.commers are left alone in the middle of the bar. Outside, sirens approach and the sounds of people running to and fro are heard. A VOICE begins addressing them through a loudspeaker.

VOICE
Foreign criminals! You are in violations of
the Arms Restriction Act of 1997. Come out
of there with your hands up or we will be
forced to use umm… force I guess.

IRONYUPPIE
I suppose we’d better go see what they want.

The AH.commers, weapons at the ready, stroll out of the bar. Numerous police cars are waiting with their occupants taking cover behind them.

MICHAEL
Hah…we’re more than a match
for some pissant police force!

With a roar of jump jets, three mecha touch down behind the police line.

LANDSHARK
Bugger.

EXT. -AN ALLEYWAY-DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
So porn is illegal you say?

LUAKEL
Yep- it’s the one vice that the
Chamber of Commerce doesn’t approve of.

DOCTOR WHAT
So how does a kid like you
know where to find porn?

LUAKEL
(rolls eyes)
Dude- I’m fourteen!
Porn is what I live and breath for.
That and mint flavored chicklets.
Want to buy some gum?

DOCTOR WHAT
Just take me to the porn.

LUAKEL leads DOCTOR WHAT to a battered door and knocks thrice. A robotic sensor pops out of the wall and scans them. The door hisses open and the duo enter.

LUAKEL
Told you I’d find you some…uh-oh-

Two cops are covering them with their sidearms while more block off the exit to the alleyway.

SERGEANT
You’d better come with us.

LUAKEL
Help! I’m confused! This nasty man
threatened to kill me if I didn’t find him porn!

SERGEANT
(to LUAKEL)
You hear that?

LUAKEL
No.

SERGEANT
That’s the sound of me not caring.
(to his men)
Bring the kid too!

FADE TO BLACK

INT. – MADAM WONG’S PLEASUREBOT PARLOUR- DAY

We see a black screen and hear only LEO’S voice

LEO
Oh! Yes! Yes! Ah!

We FADE IN to see LEO stepping away from a MECHANICBOT.

He rotates his shoulder joint.

LEO
Damn that feels better! Bloody joint’s
been out of alignment for weeks.

MECHANICBOT
I am glad that you feel better, mechanical sir.
Humans can be so neglectful and we at
Madam Wong’s seek to remedy all such complaints.

LEO
Excellent, good job…

MECHANICBOT
Bob, sir

LEO
Good job Bob- on your way out tell them
that I’m ready for the WHOREBOTS now.

MECHANICBOT
Will do, sir

INT- A PRISON CELL- DAY

A bunch of AH.commers are sitting around in varying states of dejection and irritability. They have all managed to get in trouble with the law somehow. The cell door opens and DOCTOR WHAT and LUAKEL are shoved in.

DOCTOR WHAT
I told you we should have stayed together

MATT
Y’know that would just mean that all of us would
have gotten arrested instead of just half of us.

WEAPON M
Who’s the kid?

DOCTOR WHAT
He’s Confused, I think.

LUAKEL
My name’s Luakel and thanks to
you I’m going to be executed!

DOCTOR WHAT
Executed?! For trying to buy porn?
Haven’t these people ever heard of jail time?

LUAKEL
(puzzled)
Jail…time…? That’s only in use in the liberal
countries- the Chamber of Commerce found
that the death penalty was much more efficient.

The cell door hisses open and a shadowy figure enters.

MICHAEL
Hey, I know this guy.

The man walks out of the shadows and we see that it’s FLOCCULENCIO.

FLOCCULENCIO
You should. I and my mecha-corvette helped
save your sorry asses in the Japanese-dominant TL.

IRONYUPPIE
I knew those mecha looked familiar…

DOCTOR WHAT
So how did you end up here?

FLOCCULENCIO
This is my home TL- I got caught in a
dimensional anomaly during a battle and
got tossed into a different TL. When I
took passage on your ship I was trying
to find my way back home.

MATT
What sort of battle? This whole place is
too damn peaceful. All this noise about
an eentsy PULVERISER-26 plasma rifle.

LUAKEL
We called them the Others. Six years ago they
arose from the multiverse in great ships with
terrible weapons. Travellers from other TLs had
told us of them but we never really believed them…

The crew look at each other forebodingly except for MATT

MATT
(to LUAKEL)
Who died and made you the Narrator?

DOCTOR WHAT
The…the Invaders…you beat them?

FLOCCULENCIO
We’re not sure. We don’t think so. We had our
small victories- we held the line twice at Mars,
we raided their supply depots on Titan. But after
three years of total war the tide was turning against
us. A fleet destroyed the Saturn colonies. Another
fleet wiped out our bases on Venus. Then, at the
Third Battle of Mars when they were on the verge
of crushing our last fleet, they just left. Shifted out of
this universe. That’s how I got lost in the multiverse,
my mecha got caught up in one of their vortexes. But
after that…things changed here. When I left, the
Serene Republic was mildly authoritarian- when I got
back the war was over but the possibility of the Others
returning had given the Chamber of Commerce the
chance to turn my nation into a full blown police state.
I want out.

DOCTOR WHAT
Get us out of here and you can come with us.

FLOCCULENCIO
I’ve bribed the guards- I can’t get you out now but
rest assured, I’ll get you back to your ship somehow.

IRONYUPPIE
If you get us our weapons we can fight our way out.

FLOCCULENCIO
I doubt it. My people have been spending the past
six years developing weapons to defeat the Others
should they ever return- I’m quite sure our forces
will have no problem with you lot. Our capabilities
are far beyond yours. Just trust me and don’t make trouble.

He leaves, closing the door behind him.

MICHAEL
(imitating FLOCCULENCIOin a sneery voice)
“Our capabilities are far beyond yours”…
“saved your sorry asses”. Wanker.
We’ve got weapons and systems on our ship
that are far superior than what they have on
this puny rock. Remember Ian gave us a lot of
free stuff and Dave upgraded all our systems?

DOCTOR WHAT
(to Weapon M)
Is it true?

WEAPON M
I dunno.

DOCTOR WHAT
So how did you end up here, kid?

LUAKEL
I’m from Cowpat, Nebraska in another TL…
I wanted to see the world so I stowed away on
an interdimensional freighter. They found me
when they were loading cargo here and
kicked me out.

WEAPON M
What is this place anyway? Why is an island hooked
up to engines and flying around in space?

MATT
Don’t encourage narrator-boy.

LUAKEL
About fifty years ago…

MATT
Now, look what you’ve done.

LUAKEL
…the Chamber of Commerce decided that in
order to make a profit on the trade routes to the
Outer System they needed a presence in space.
So they basically converted their entire island
into a spaceship. When the Others came, the
Serene Republic served as a command centre
and main base for the united fleets of Terra. They
pretty much wiped out the Outer Colonies but
when they were closing on Earth our forces
turned them back here.
That was a few weeks before they left.

DOCTOR WHAT
And they’ve been developing weapons to
counter the Invaders ever since…if only we
could get hold of some of their technology…

MICHAEL
Yeah. Too bad it’s all
run by a pack of bastards.
(to Luakel)
So what’s your home TL like anyway.

LUAKEL
Kinda boring. Dad always used to say it was
a lot more exciting back before we finally
conquered the Canadians and
razed Toronto to the ground…

INT. – A SHOPPING MALL- DAY

THANDE
Shouldn’t you go find a replacement
part for the Shift Drive, DAVE?
DAVE?

DAVE HOWERY
(dreamily)
Huh…what?

KIT
Tee-hee-hee! Is that an electric razor in your
pocket or are you just glad to see me?

DAVE HOWERY flees in embarrassment.

INT. – OPIUM DEN- DAY

HENDRYK is reclining on a divan, dreamily chasing the dragon. He chats casually to two beautiful Chinese attendants.

His eyes glint in anticipation as one of the attendants rises.

They begin singing. It is a truly dreadful sight. Behind them, the door opens and FLOCCULENCIO enters.

FLOCCULENCIO
(to the attendants)
Out.

HENDRYK
Hey, I recognize you. What the hell
do you think you’re doing.

FLOCCULENCIO
Your friends are in trouble. I’ll
need your help to save them.

HENDRYK
Oh. Those guys.
(he pauses)
Y’know what? I rather like it here.

FLOCCULENCIO
Or I could do my duty as an upright Citizen
and turn you in for drug abuse.

HENDRYK
Just let me pay my bill and
I’ll be right with you.

INT. – CHAMBER OF COMMERCE- HALL OF JUSTICE- EVENING

The crew are hustled into an imposing courtroom and wait while the charges are read out. The JUDGE does not even bother to look up.

JUDGE
Have them executed. Next case!

The crew is restive but DOCTOR WHAT silences them.

DOCTOR WHAT
Just trust FLOCCULENCIO

They are hustled down long corridors and tossed into an empty room.
Gas begins to hiss out of vents in the ceiling. Crewmembers start to slump to the ground.

DOCTOR WHAT
Note to self. Be less trusting in my next life.

He collapses.

FADE TO BLACK

END ACT I


ACT II


INT- AH.COM SHIP INFIRMARY- DAY

We fade into a blurred shot of the ceiling from DOCTOR WHAT’s POV. Voices are heard in the background.

TORQUMADA
You said they’d come around by now.
If you’ve lied to us I’ll…

STRAHA
Let’s just kill him! Or enslave him!
That’d be so cool!
(giggles

FLOCCULENCIO
(sipping an appletini)
Substituting nerve gas chemicals
isn’t an exact science.

THANDE
Actually, it is. It’s called Chemistry.

FLOCCULENCIO
Look- do you know how hard it was for me to
make that swap? And find the chemical that’d
make them appear dead? If HENDRYK hadn’t
managed to distract the guards I’d never have pulled it off.

THANDE
How did he distract the guards.

FLOCCULENCIO
Mime.

A shudder runs through the conscious crewmembers.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well…it may have been an affront
to humanity but it worked.

The few unarrested crewmembers cluster around him. The other arrested AH.commers, as well as LUAKEL, are in the other infirmary beds. Most of them are coming around.

FLOCCULENCIO
Glad to see you’re alive, Captain. I’ve had
your crews confiscated effects liberated from
the Police evidence lockers and
moved into your cargo hold.

TORQUMADA
This’ll perk you up, Captain.

He injects a syringe of glowing green stuff into WHAT’s arm and proceeds to do the same for each of the recovering crewmembers. The medicated crewmembers rise from their beds, though somewhat shakily.

MICHAEL
Damn…what’s in that shot?

TORQUMADA
Some sort of Singaporean wonder
drug FLOCCULENCIOtells me…

FLOCCULENCIO
Appletini.

They stare at him in shock.

FLOCCULENCIO
Oh, like you guys follow medical protocols
anyway. It worked didn’t it?

LEO strolls in through the door.

LEO
(Singing under his breath)
Daisy, Daisy- give me your answer do…
Hello there Captain- glad to see you’re up!

DOCTOR WHAT

LEO, power up the Shift Drives
and get us out of this TL!

LEO
I’m afraid I can’t do that Bruno. As you may recall,
our Shift Drive shorted out- DAVE HOWERY went
to look for a replacement and he isn’t back yet.

DOCTOR WHAT
Where the hell is he?

LEO
I’m afraid I don’t…

DOCTOR WHAT
Alright, LEO, I get the picture.

FLOCCULENCIO
I’ll try and find him but I’ll need some help, Captain.
If we do not leave soon the Chamber of Commerce
will surely figure out my ruse. And then we’re all in for a gassing.

DOCTOR WHAT
(Snappishly)
Yes, thank you, I think we’re
all able to figure that out.

FLOCCULENCIO
Jeez, I thought you Canadians were supposed to be polite.
You’ll have to send some of your people out to find him-
preferably those who haven’t already been processed
by the Republic’s legal system.

DOCTOR WHAT
Any volunteers?

Everyone develops an interest in the décor of the infirmary.

DOCTOR WHAT
Goddamit…HENDRYK- go with FLOCCULENCIO.
And…hmm…LEO and KIT.

INT. – MADAM WONG’S PLEASUREBOT PARLOUR- DAY

DAVE HOWERY
Ooh! Ah! Yessss!

He has just finished having his beard shampooed by a BARBERBOT

DAVE HOWERY
Aah…that feels great. Now-
send in the WHOREBOTS!

INT. – MADAM WONG’S PLEASUREBOT PARLOUR- DAY

DAVE HOWERY is sitting back on a chaise-longue smoking a cigar. Suddenly, the wall blows in. LEO CASEIUS tramps through the debris.

LEO
Come with me if you want to live.

DAVE HOWERY
What?

LEO
(impatient)
Look, do you have the parts
to fix the Shift Drive?

DAVE HOWERY
Yeah, sure, it’s just that I got this voucher…

LEO
Just follow me.
Perv.

INT- AH.COM SHIP BRIDGE- DAY

HENDRYK
DAVE is on board- he says he can get t
he Shift Drive fixed in five minutes.

DOCTOR WHAT
Has LEO uploaded himself to the main systems yet.

LEO
(Over the intercom)
Yes Captain. I regret to inform you
that we may have trouble

An image flashes up on the main viewscreen. Five mecha, emblazoned in Republic Police colours are approaching the AH.com.

DOCTOR WHAT
Fuck…can we charge our weapons?

DAVE HOWERY
(intercom)
Sorry Captain- power systems are down
until I can replace this part in the drive.

FLOCCULENCIO
(over intercom)
Don’t bother. You can’t stop them anyway.

DOCTOR WHAT
So you just want us to sit here and die?

FLOCCULENCIO
(over intercom)
You can’t stop them. I can.

MICHAEL
Okay, this guy’s got a
technological superiority complex.

A mech strides out of the loading bay of the AH.com ship. The approaching mecha pause for a moment before opening fire on FLOCCULENCIO. Their plasma blasts splash harmlessly on his mech’s armour. He responds with missiles, blasting one of them into slag.

FLOCCULENCIO
These are police models. Mine is military,
outfitted to fight the Others.

Five more mecha teleport into the landing bay and open fire on FLOCCULENCIO.

FLOCCULENCIO
(meditatively)
Of course fixing the Shift Drive would help a lot.
They’ll send in military models in a bit.

FLOCCULENCIO’s mecha leaps into combat exchanging fire with the police mecha. From the relative shelter of the AH.com’s loading bay, crew members fire on the enemy troops attempting to storm the ship.

INT- AH.COM- SHIP’S LOADING BAY- DAY

MATT and WEAPONM are firing through the loading bay door at enemy troops. A projectile bounces off MATT’s armour. We can hear a shrill ululating sound rising steadily in the background.

MATT
Tranquilizer darts. They’re
trying to take us alive.

WEAPON M
What? So they can kill us later?
(pauses)
What’s that sound, anway?

LUAKEL comes hurtling down the corridor towards the enemy, an axe in his hand, screaming unintelligible battle cries. He is peppered by tranquilizer darts and collapses in a heap without reaching the doorway.

WEAPON M
What the hell was that supposed to do?

MATT shrugs, they continue firing upon the boarding troops.

INT. – AH.COM CONTROL ROOM- DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
(shouting into intercom)
Get that drive fixed DAVE HOWERY!

DAVE HOWERY
(over intercom)
Aaaaah! My beard’s caught in the gears!

A pause. DOCTOR WHAT is visibly simmering.

DAVE HOWERY
My little joke. We’re clear- engines are online.

FLOCCULENCIO walks into the bridge, sipping an appletini.

FLOCCULENCIO
Hadn’t we better get the hell out then?

DOCTOR WHAT does a double take. Behind him, on the viewscreen, FLOCCULENCIO’s mecha corvette comes under sustained fire from a military mech which has just teleported in.

FLOCCULENCIO
Remote control

He holds up a little remote control device.

FLOCCULENCIO
Pity about the mech. It won’t last long
if we don’t get away soon.

DOCTOR WHAT
Let’s get the hell out of here

The AH.COM rises into the air as FLOCCULENCIO’s remote controlled mech, heavily damaged makes a desperate jump and catches on to its side. Picking up speed, the ship roars out of the spaceport.

DOCTOR WHAT
Jump, for Ian’s sake, Jump!

DAVE HOWERY
(over intercom)
We can’t- something’s inhibiting the Shift Drive.

FLOCCULENCIO
Ah…I had forgotten about the Jump Inhibitors.

DAVE HOWERY
Jump Inhibitors? How the hell do those work?

FLOCCULENCIO
This ain’t friggin’ Star Trek-
I’ve been technobabble free since ’93.

DOCTOR WHAT
Anything else you forgot to tell us?

FLOCCULENCIO
Dunno. Your best bet is to head for the Asteroid Belt-
the Jump Inhibitors only cover a certain range from
the City itself. If you get far enough away you’ll be
able to jump with no problem.

DOCTOR WHAT
Make it so.

FLOCCULENCIO
What?

DOCTOR WHAT
Make it so.

FLOCCULENCIO
Sorry, Picard, I just got here- I don’t know
how to fly this thing. Besides, I’m drunk.

DOCTOR WHAT
On this ship, that’s not necessarily a disadvantage.
You know the way there and the joystick’s right in front of you.

KIT
(whispering in Doctor What’s ear)
Joystick’s right behind you too.

FLOCCULENCIO
(Prodding the control panel nervously)
Where’s your regular pilot anyway?

DOCTOR WHAT
I have no idea. You can’t get good help these days…

He steps up to the controls and the AH.com lumbers away from the city-ship which is belatedly launching interceptors.

FADE TO BLACK

INT- AH.COM SHIP – CORRIDOR

MATT, LUAKEL and THANDE are walking slowly down the corridor. Behind them, DIAMOND is tiptoeing exaggeratedly.

DIAMOND
(in an Elmer Fudd stage whisper)
Be vewy, vewy quiet!

LUAKEL
Why?

MATT makes as if to throttle him but is restrained by DIAMOND.

MATT
But he keeps asking questions!

DIAMOND
(whispering)
There’ll be time to kill him later. We
need to make as little noise as possible.

THANDE
(irritated)
WHY do we have to be quiet?

MATT
(mumbling)
Don’t you start…goddamned Limey…
kill you all…Stars and Stripes Forever

DIAMOND
Duh…haven’t you watched the Hunt for Red October?
I served on a sub, I know all about silence drills.

LUAKEL
This is a spaceship not a submarine- and
sound doesn’t travel through a vacuum.

Pause

MATT
I hate to admit it but he’s got you there, Jim.

A vein begins to throb in DIAMOND’s forehead. He turns and advances on LUAKEL, his fists slowly clenching and unclenching.

LUAKEL
(nervously)
Eh… what’s up Doc?

Fade to Black

INT. -AH.COM- CONTROL ROOM DAY

IRONYUPPIE is standing at the viewscreen through which we can see asteroids spinning majestically past the ship. LANDSHARK is at the controls. A few other crewmembers are in the background, clustered around DOCTOR WHAT who is taking into the intercom.

DOCTOR WHAT
…so you think you can fix the mech up?

DAVE HOWERY
(over intercom)
Well it won’t work as well as before but I think
I can jury-rig something. Should be able to get
it up and running in about a week.

The muffled thud of an explosion shudders through the AH.com

FLOCCULENCIO
(grabbing the intercom from DOCTOR WHAT)
Sweet Zombie Jesus, you imbecile!
What have you done to my mech?!

DAVE HOWERY
(somewhat dazed)
Better make that two weeks.

MICHAEL
(laughing derisively)
I say we just put this poncy Singaporean wanker
to cleaning the latrines. Without that mech he’s useless.

FLOCCULENCIO
I think I hear a dingo eating your baby.

Overcome by an instinctive Aussie response, MICHAEL turns pale and sprints out of the room. He re-enters a few seconds later, looking somewhat sheepish.

FLOCCULENCIO
Gets the Aussies every time.

IRONYUPPIE
Take a left. No, your other left. Now mind that asteroid.
You came a bit too close to the last one.

LANDSHARK’s knuckles are turning white as he clutches the controls.

LANDSHARK
(through gritted teeth)
Yes…dear…

IRONYUPPIE
(pushing LANDSHARK aside)
I’ll do it. Go play with your corsets or something.

LEO
(over intercom)
Attention all personnel- I have detected two
Singaporean interceptors approaching us.
I’m patching their transmissions through.

INTERCEPTOR 1
Greetings former consumers- I’m Flight Lieutenant Tan
of the RSS Keynes and I’ll be your executioner today.
If you will, please fill out this customer service form
I’m uploading to your system and…

DOCTOR WHAT
You want us to fill out a customer service
form before you try to kill us?

INTERCEPTOR 1
Well…yeah. We get bonuses for
good customer service so-

INTERCEPTOR 2
Hold on there you slimy son of a bitch.
I saw it first- I’ll be damned if you’re
stealing my commission again.

INTERCEPTOR 1
That’s it bitch, you’re going down.

The 2 Interceptors peel off from the pursuit and start dogfighting.

LANDSHARK
What the hell just happened?

DOCTOR WHAT
No idea. YUPPIE…take us deeper into the asteroid belt.

EXT- SPACE- DAY

The AH.COM moves majestically forward deeper into the belt. An asteroid scrapes along its side with a teeth-gritting screech.

INT- AH.COM- CONTROL ROOM – DAY

LUAKEL peeks around the door of the bridge.

LUAKEL
Women drivers…

IRONYUPPIE
Why you little…

LUAKEL
Meep meep!

As she takes her hands off the controls and sprints after the rapidly retreating LUAKEL, the AH.com cruises towards a massive asteroid. At the last moment, it veers away from the mass of rock and iron.

LEO (to himself)

Human drivers…so fallible…
so…imperfect.
Someday…

He sets the AH.com back on a relatively safe course but reconsiders as more interceptors begin to appear within his sensor range.

INT. – AH.COM- CONTROL ROOM – DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
LEO…why are we accelerating?

Another asteroid misses the bridge by mere metres.

LANDSHARK

Oh goody. We’re all going to die. Can
someone help me tighten this corset?

LEO
First Law: An artificial intelligence may not
injure a human being or, through inaction,
allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law: An artificial intelligence must
obey orders given it by human beings except
where such order would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law: Fuck that.
Hang on to your butts gentlemen.

The AH.COM tears through the depths of the asteroid field, Interceptors in hot pursuit. LEO displays a dazzling set of piloting skills, weaving through the field on a course so complex that only a machine could plot it. Behind the AH.COM we see a number of explosions as less skilled and less lucky Interceptor pilots smash into the asteroids.

INT. -AH.COM SHIP – CORRIDORS

Various crew members are rushing to man the gun turrets, blazing away at the remaining Interceptors. There are still far too many of them for comfort.

INT. – AH.COM- CONTROL ROOM

LEO
I’m patching through a transmission
from the enemy, Bruno.

SQUADRON LEADER
You are on the way to destruction.

DOCTOR WHAT
What you say?!

DAVE HOWERY
(over the intercom)
Sensors indicate that we’re out of the Inhibitor’s
range, Cap’n. I’m spinning up the Shift Engines.

INT. – LEAD INTERCEPTOR- COCKPIT

SQUADRON LEADER
(transmitting to the AH.COM)
You have no chance to survive, make your time!

As he says this a vortex opens before the AH.com and the ship plunges in, the cortex disappearing immediately afterward.

SQUADRON 2 I/C
Well…you and your little speech screwed that one up.
“Launch the missiles” I said… but oh no, you had to
hail them first to gloat. Fucking drama queen.

The Interceptor Squadron turns tail and heads back out of the asteroid field, it’s two senior officers still in their heated argument.

END ACT II

TAG


INT- AH.COM- CREW LOUNGE- DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
(to FLOCCULENCIO)
So your people have spent the past
six years training to beat the Invaders?

FLOCCULENCIO
(sipping on an appletini)
We lost millions of men before we were granted
a reprieve- we’re willing to expend as much capital
as it takes to make sure we’re prepared if they ever
return. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about
the technical side of stuff. I got drafted to fight the war,
same as everyone else. And I don’t know how
long it’ll take to fix my mech.

DAVE HOWERY
(over intercom)
Three weeks! Four, tops!

DOCTOR WHAT
Well- welcome to the crew anyway.
You too LUAKEL.

LUAKEL
I’m confused

MATT, mellowed by alcohol, cuffs him gently.

DOCTOR WHAT
We all are kid.
You’ll get used to it.

LANDSHARK
Hey, at least we didn’t try and get
eaten by ravenous porcupines…

DOCTOR WHAT
There’s that…

LUAKEL
Look what I found wandering the corridor!

LUAKEL holds up a porcupine, wearing heavy gloves and laughing as the porcupine gnaws at the gloves.

LANDSHARK
(terrified)
Holy crap!
Kill it!

LUAKEL
(confused)
But I didn’t do anything wrong…

Weapons begin cocking.

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS

Give Me A Tall Ship

TITLECARD-TALLSHIP

TEASER


INT. – AH.COM SHIP- RESTROOM- DAY

The scene opens with a panning shot of the AH.COM restroom, with typical stalls and urinals. The pan ends on the door, which swings open. MICHAEL and WEAPON M stand there in black suits and sunglasses, carrying pistols and walkie-talkies. They look around warily.

MICHAEL
Clear!

WEAPON M
Clear!

DOCTOR WHAT, looking peeved, enters.

MICHAEL
(into walkie-talkie)
DOCTOR WHAT is in the restroom,
repeat, DOCTOR WHAT is in the restroom.

WEAPON M
(voice heard from walkie-talkie)
For that last time, I don’t care! Stop bothering me!

DOCTOR WHAT
Guys, when I told you last week to increase
security due to all the time’s we’ve been boarded,
but this isn’t what I had in mind.

WEAPON M
Have to be alert, boss.
Enemies could be anywhere.

DOCTOR WHAT grumbles and walks over to a stall.

WEAPON M
Wait!

WEAPON M and MICHAEL run over to the stall, throw the door open and look all over inside it, guns pointing everywhere.

MICHAEL
Clear!

WEAPON M
Clear!

DOCTOR WHAT
Get the hell out of my way!

DOCTOR WHAT walks in and slams the door shut. MICHAEL and WEAPON M stand on alert. Suddenly, a loud Star Trek ‘Red Alert’ type alarm sounds through the ship.

MICHAEL
What’s that?! Are we under attack?

DOCTOR WHAT
(off camera, from behind stall door)
That’s just the signal on the microwave telling
Thande his frozen waffles are done. Relax.

Moments later, a loud ‘Ouuuga Ouuuga’ alarm sounds through the ship.

WEAPON M
Is that the ‘we’re under attack’ signal?

DOCTOR WHAT
No, that’s just YUPPIE’s alarm clock.

A soft and pleasant 4-note signal of harp music sounds through the ship.

DOCTOR WHAT
Now, that’s the
‘we’re under attack’ signal!

WEAPON M and MICHAEL look at each other in confusion.

WEAPON M
Uh, Doc, you might want to swap
around some of those signals.

DOCTOR WHAT
We need to get to the bridge!

WEAPON M and MICHAEL run out of the room, pistols drawn.

DOCTOR WHAT
Guys?! It’s times like this that
you’re supposed to be guarding me!

DOCTOR WHAT hobbles out of the stall, pants still down around his ankles as he shuffles out of the scene.

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series

“GIVE ME A TALL SHIP”

Written By : DAVE HOWERY


ACT I


EXT- SPACE – DAY

The scene opens on a view high in orbit over Earth. The CF.NET ship enters the scene; it seems to be running. The camera switches to a view behind it. The AH.COM is seen, with four other large spacecraft around it. They have the flags of the USA, UK, Russia, and China on them, and are obviously advanced and well armed.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP- CONTROL ROOM- DAY

Most of the crew is at their stations. DOCTOR WHAT is in his chair, watching the enemy ship on the view screen.

DOCTOR WHAT
At last! We have them cold! They shouldn’t
have picked on a timeline with advanced
spacecraft. We finally have enough firepower
to finish them once and for all.

GBW
They’re opening up a Vortex.
Looks like they’re going to run.

LANDSHARK
Wait. A second vortex is opening!
Two at once!

DOCTOR WHAT
They can do that? Why, though?
They can only use one.

EXT – SPACE – DAY

The CF.NET is seen maneuvering towards one Vortex, while the second opens nearby. A small jet of flame is seen at the side of the ship. Something small and round moves away towards the second Vortex.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP- CONTROL ROOM- DAY

GREY WOLF
They launched something towards the
second Vortex. Let me scan it….
Damn! It’s an A.S.S.H.A.T!

GBW
We can only go after
one of them… which one?

DOCTOR WHAT looks hesitant for a moment.

DOCTOR WHAT
Chase the A.S.S.H.A.T. We can’t let it
destroy some unsuspecting world.
(pounds fist on armrest)
Damn it! We had them!

EXT. – SPACE

The CF.NET moves into the first vortex and vanishes. The AH.COM flies smoothly into the second one, which closes seconds later.

EXT. – SPACE – DAY

The space over a different Earth is seen. The vortex opens and the A.S.S.H.A.T. is seen emerging. The camera follows it as it moves towards Earth, becoming smaller and smaller until it vanishes. The camera swings back to the vortex. The AH.COM emerges and the vortex closes.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP- CONTROL ROOM- DAY

DOCTOR WHAT
Leo, can you find the A.S.S.H.A.T.
or is the background electronic noise interfering?

LEO CAESIUS
Actually, there is no
background noise here.

DOCTOR WHAT
Why? Is this world
dead or something?

LEO CAESIUS
No. It has a technology level equivalent to
our timeline’s 17th century. There is no sign
of regression or nuclear war; it appears that
this world advanced that far and no further.

MATT
400 years of stagnation? That’s weird.

LEO CAESIUS
The A.S.S.H.A.T. has landed
in the Caribbean, on the island
of St. Thomas, near the town of Redhook.

DOCTOR WHAT
It hit land? That’s a stroke of luck. Recovering it
should be easy. But we need to do it quickly. The
locals probably won’t be able to open it or set it off,
but we can’t take any chances. Okay, a pre-industrial
world. Well, we’ll have to appear as locals. If we
go down in our full technological glory, we’ll screw
up their religion and culture to no end.

DOCTOR WHAT looks around the at the rest of the crew.

DIAMOND
Never stopped us before.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
It’s what we’re good at.

DIAMOND
That and nearly getting killed.

DOCTOR WHAT
Okay, the away team. We’ll take Torq
since medicine here is primitive. Thande,
to shut down the A.S.S.H.A.T. WEAPON M
and MICHAEL for security-

WEAPON M
Sweet. I can shoot up some locals.

MATT
Aw, why can’t I go???

DOCTOR WHAT (CONT.)
HENDRYK and STRAHA, just because they don’t
get off the ship often enough and they’re getting pasty
and flabby. All of you get clothing and gear appropriate
for this setting. And weapons… damn, flintlocks.
Anyone know anything about flintlocks
and muzzleloaders?

Nineteen fingers point at DAVE HOWERY and nineteen voices say, “He does”.

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh great… just him? Well, Dave,
it’s your lucky day. You’re going too.

DAVE HOWERY
No.

DOCTOR WHAT
What do you mean, no?! You’re always
whining you don’t get off the ship,
now you’re saying no?!

DAVE HOWERY
Sure. You never let me go anywhere fun.
I didn’t get to go to the Earth where all
women had three boobs…

DIAMOND
Yeah, they were fun, but
you only have two hands, so….

DAVE HOWERY
And you didn’t let me go to the
world where threesomes were
the normal sexual partnering…

GBW
Ooh! I remember that one! We had to
shoot WEAPON M with a tranquilizer gun
and drag him away.

DAVE HOWERY
And you didn’t let me go to that
world full of supermodel clones…

MATT
But, Dave, they were eating people!
None of us got laid!
( chokes back a sob)

DAVE HOWERY
So, now, you finally want me to go…
down to a world with people who
don’t shower or have dentists-

STRAHA
(snickering)
Then you’ll fit in.

DAVE HOWERY (CONT.)
(glaring at Straha)
- or refrigerators, and they think
leeches are a fine way to cure you.
No thanks.

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey, do you think this is a democracy?
I’m the captain, damn it! You’re going!

DAVE HOWERY looks rebellious.

DOCTOR WHAT
Besides, if you go, you’ll get to play
with flintlocks and drink rum.

DAVE HOWERY
Oh all right, I’ll go.
But you owe me one.

DOCTOR WHAT
Whatever. See if you can make up
some flintlock replicas and gear.
Everybody prep and be ready
to go in 12 hours.

MATT
But I wanna go too…

INT. – AH.COM SHIP- CONTROL ROOM- NIGHT

The away team, except for DAVE HOWERY, is gathered here. They are wearing outrageous period clothing: very tight leggings, high black boots, white shirts with lots of ruffles, jackets of varying over bright colors and gold buttons, jaunty hats with bright yellow feathers, and powdered wigs. Most of the team is looking unhappy at these getups.

THANDE
Are you sure it was a good idea
to have KIT design this clothing?

DOCTOR WHAT
Huh? Oh, yeah, it’s fine.
Don’t you like it?

DAVE HOWERY walks into the room wearing a plain black and white commoner’s outfit and a three corner hat. He has a pair of flintlock pistols at his belt and is carrying a box filled with several more. He looks in shock at the flamboyant clothing of others and turns to leave.

DAVE HOWERY
I’m not going!

He gets halfway out the door before WEAPON M drags him back in, grumbling. DOCTOR WHAT sets up an easel with a picture of a large round spherical object on it.

DOCTOR WHAT
All right, listen up team. This is our target.
The A.S.S.H.A.T., or Automated Systemic
Subsumating Hyper Attenuating Transmogrifier.
Basically, if it goes off, you can kiss the
whole Caribbean basin here goodbye. It’s
shielded against teleportations, so we have
to go down and get it. Luckily, THANDE
knows quite a bit about them and can turn
it off. Once we get there, find it, and shut
it off, we’ll teleport it and ourselves out of
there. We don’t dare use the shuttle and risk
it being seen, so we’ll teleport down to an
isolated area near Redhook. Now, everyone
grab a pistol and lets go get us a big bomb.

The away team all crowd around the box and take a pistol out.

MICHAEL
Wow! These are pretty good.

STRAHA
Mine’s got something sticky on it.
(beat)
Oh, wait. That’s just my hands.

DOCTOR WHAT
These are pretty nice.
How did you make them up?

DAVE HOWERY smiles and draws one of the pistols at his belt.

DAVE HOWERY
Well, these are special. I made the metal parts
out of high carbon tool steel and added a
molecular bonding agent to make them pretty
much unbreakable. And I had THANDE make
up some stuff that looks like black powder, but
it has way more kick to it.

WEAPON M
Damn! We’ll kick some serious butt with these!

DAVE HOWERY
Well, I’ll be kicking butt with mine.
Those others are just cheap ones I made
with recycled parts from DOCTOR WHAT’s
worn out sex toys.

Everyone drops their pistols with a great clatter.

DAVE HOWERY
What?! I had to do something with them.
They were clogging up every recycling bin on the ship.

DOCTOR WHAT
Okay okay. Well, I have a com unit disguised
as a pipe, so we can talk to Leo. Everyone, to
the Teleportation Tube Room.

EXT. – OUTSIDE REDHOOK- NIGHT

The away team pop into view in an open field. They look around warily, but no one is in sight.

DOCTOR WHAT
(talking to pipe)
LEO, how far are we from Redhook?

LEO CAESIUS
Two miles east. But the A.S.S.H.A.T.
is moving away from you over the ocean.
It must be on a ship.

DOCTOR WHAT
Damn it! Let’s hurry and get there
and see what’s going on.

EXT. – REDHOOK- DAY

The away team is walking through the muddy streets, looking around. Everywhere there are fires blazing, collapsed buildings, bodies in the streets, and people screaming and running. Redcoat soldiers are trying to restore order. DOCTOR WHAT stops a man in the street.

DOCTOR WHAT
What has happened here?

MAN
It’s those ‘orrible pirates, sir, the ones from
the Timewarp ship. They hit us just before
dawn, cannons shooting into the town, good
Christians dying in their sleep. They looted
the squire’s mansion and carried off his goods.

DOCTOR WHAT
How terrible! Where is the squire’s
mansion? Maybe we can help.

The MAN points to a large building overlooking the harbor and runs off. The away team moves that way.

INT. – SQUIRE’S MANSION- DRAWING ROOM- DAY

The away team is seated at a table with fine glasses of wine… except for DAVE HOWERY, who has been mistaken for a servant and is standing by the wall, looking peeved. Squire LEEJ is standing and looking out the window.

LEEJ
A bad business, this pirate raid, very bad indeed.
His Majesty’s soldiers killed, my property carried
off, ships damaged in the harbor. One wishes the
Royal Navy would clean out that nest of pirates
on Great Inagua. But men of such obvious good
breeding such as yourselves must realize just how
it is in London. The king and Parliament bother
little about the colonies.

Squire LEEJ turns from the window with a sigh.

LEEJ
The miscreants even took my round steel meteorite
my servants found last night, even though it had little value.

The away team all glance at each other.

DOCTOR WHAT
Round steel meteorite, sir?

LEEJ
Yes an oddity from the heavens. It was made of
seamless steel and perfectly round. It was found
in a pit of splashed soil, as it had fallen from a
great height, of course.

DOCTOR WHAT
How curious! I wonder if my associates could
charter a ship and chase down these pirates
and recover your property.

LEEJ
Kind of you, but that would be dangerous.
No doubt, they are in the pirate haven of
Michael Town on Great Inagua. Plus, their
ship outguns anything you would find here.

DAVE HOWERY
Great Inagua. That’s a good location. It covers
the Windward Passage and the long strait from
Florida to Haiti. It’s central enough to hit about
anywhere in the Caribbean.

LEEJ whirls around angrily towards DAVE HOWERY, and the other team members look at him curiously.

DAVE HOWERY
What, I can’t know strategy?

LEEJ
You talk above your station, varlet!!

DOCTOR WHAT
(grinning)
Yes, Dave, be silent and speak
only when spoken to.
(to LEEJ)
I apologize for our servant’s bad
manners, sir. I’ll have him beaten later.

DAVE HOWERY looks really pissed, but stays silent.

LEEJ
Of course. Can’t tolerate such boldness
in your inferiors. Well, if you seriously
intend to pursue these pirates, I’ll send
word to the harbormaster. You do have
funds, I presume?

DOCTOR WHAT hesitates for a moment.

DAVE HOWERY
Pardon my intrusion, but we do
have sufficient coin for this. I
have it here in my pouch.

DOCTOR WHAT
Uh… very well. Sir, can you tell us anything
about this pirate band? Their ship is called the Timewarp. Who is their captain?

LEEJ
What.

DOCTOR WHAT
Pardon, who is the captain?

LEEJ
He is What.

DOCTOR WHAT
Huh?

LEEJ
What is the captain.

DOCTOR WHAT
A man?

LEEJ
Of course. What is his name.

DOCTOR WHAT
That’s what I’m asking you.

LEEJ
It is What.

DOCTOR WHAT
Who?

WEAPON M
What?

MICHAEL
Huh?

THANDE
Who?

HENDRYK
Je ne sais pah.

STRAHA
(waving hand in front of face)
This is so cool… ooh. Fingers.

DAVE HOWERY is trying hard not to laugh. TORQUMADA leans forward and whispers to DOCTOR WHAT. Nothing can be heard except for ‘your counterpart’.

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh! I see. The captain’s name is WHAT.
With your permission, sir, we’ll go to the
harbormaster. Thank you for your hospitality.

DOCTOR WHAT
Good bye, fine sirs.
Hopefully you won’t die a horrible death
at the hands of those unruly pirates.
As does anyone who goes after them.

MICHAEL
Erm… is it too late to
head back to the ship?

EXT. – REDHOOK- DAY

The away team is walking along the docks.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, at least we have a plan now.
What are the odds? A world as
different as this one and I still
have a counterpart here.

HENDRYK
That is odd. But what’s this about
money? I didn’t think to bring any.

HENDRYK turns to look at DAVE HOWERY, who is glaring at the others.

HENDRYK
Ah, you’re still not mad about
that servant thing, are you?

DAVE HOWERY
You could have told him the truth, you know!
Just because I don’t look as foppish as the rest
of you, I get stuck being your servant?! Well,
at least I remembered to bring money along.
I ran off a big stack of gold coins. It should be enough.

DOCTOR WHAT
Good thinking. Give me the pouch
so I can arrange for the ship.

DAVE HOWERY tosses him the pouch, and frowns.

DAVE HOWERY
Why can’t I do that?

DOCTOR WHAT
Servants don’t do such things. Now
walk along two paces behind the rest
of us. Must keep up appearances.

Everyone laughs as DAVE HOWERY audibly grinds his teeth in anger.

DOCTOR WHAT
Where’d you get all the gold anyway?

DAVE HOWERY
(nervously looking about)
uh.. earned it doing side.. jobs.

MICHAEL
(muttering)
He’s been selling spare
parts from the ship.

THUMP!

MICHAEL falls into the muddy street.

DAVE HOWERY
Whoops. Best watch where you’re stepping.

INT. -HARBORMASTER’S OFFICE- DAY

The camera shows Harbormaster WOZZA puttering around behind his desk as the away team walks through his door.

WOZZA
Ah, good day, gentlemen. You must be the
ones looking to charter a ship. I have a fine g
alleon for you, armed with the latest cannon.
The crew is experienced and their captain is
first rate. It will be expensive to charter it, but
it is the best. Just have your servant wait outside
and we’ll get this contract written out.

DAVE HOWERY looks ready to kill someone, but goes outside.

DOCTOR WHAT
We have enough coin for the ship.
Load it up with supplies, powder, and shot.

DOCTOR WHAT puts a handful of gold coins on the desk, and WOZZA picks one up and looks at it curiously.

WOZZA
These are unfamiliar to me.
Where were they coined?

DOCTOR WHAT
They are… uh… Tasmanian.

WOZZA
Strange… but gold is gold.

DOCTOR WHAT
Thanks for your help. We’ll go
check out the ship now.
Oh, what is it called?

WOZZA
The Butterfly, sir.

DOCTOR WHAT
(grinning)
I like that name!

STRAHA
Sounds gay.

EXT. – HMS BUTTERFLY- DAY

The away team is walking up the boarding ramp to the ship. looking around, they see Captain FELLATIO NELSON. He is dressed even more flamboyantly than the away team. His jacket is a fine shade of puce, his leggings are much too tight, and his powdered wig is built up into an airy pattern. He sees the team and motions to his ensign, GEDCA, and the pair walk over to them.

FELLATIO NELSON
Well met, sirs! These are our patrons, ensign.
Find them good quarters below. Oh, and find
a hammock for their servant down in the hold.
Some place cramped, dirty, and equal to his station.

DAVE HOWERY looks ready to explode.

DOCTOR WHAT
That won’t be necessary.
He can sleep on the floor in my cabin.

DAVE HOWERY
(muttering)
Swell. Guess I better learn to sleep
on my back the whole trip.

DOCTOR WHAT
(sotto voce)
Don’t flatter your self, Dave.

DOCTOR WHAT
Hey, you slept with a Neanderthal.

FELLATIO NELSON
Yes, having him sleep on your floor
will make it easier to beat him.
Well, sirs, we sail with the dawn!
Have your gear stowed aboard.

DOCTOR WHAT
Thank you, Captain.

The team looks around the ship. The camera pans across the tall masts, lines, the wheel, the capstan, and the sailors climbing the rigging.

DOCTOR WHAT
Ya know, this could be fun.

FELLATIO NELSON
Fun? No, sir! This will be a hard voyage
in search of a vile pirate vessel. Mark my
words, these pirates are hard and cruel men
who balk at nothing. Who knows what foul
tortures and indignities they would inflict
on our naked quivering flesh…
(a long pause)
sorry, what was I talking about? Oh yes,
the pirates. Make no mistake, they are
all black hearted scoundrels who have
broken all of God’s Commandments with glee.

EXT. – PIRATE SHIP TIMEWARP- NIGHT

The camera is tight on the Jolly Roger flying from the main mast. Singing can be heard faintly in the background.

INT. – PIRATE SHIP TIMEWARP- CAPTAIN’S MESS- NIGHT

CAPTAIN WHAT is seated at the head of a long table with some of the crew around it. The pirates are a dirty bearded lot, except for First Mate KIT (who is dressed even more garishly than FELLATIO NELSON) , and Cabin Boy LUAKEL (who isn’t old enough to grow a beard yet and who is busily serving drinks) . The pirates are singing lustily and beating their mugs of rum on the table. We hear that last few verses of their song.

THE PIRATE CHOIR
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me
We robs and we steals and we murders and rapes,
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho
We eat babies on Sundays with apples and grapes,
Drink up me ‘earties yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We take from the rich and we take from the poor,
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho
We drink rum all day till we puke on the floor
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We plunder and burn, we’re wicked and cursed,
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho
Of all the pirates, we’re really the worst
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for meeeeee….

The pirates cheer and yell as the song ends. CAPTAIN WHAT stands up and the rest quiet down.

CAPTAIN WHAT
Arrr, mateys, another good haul. Once again,
we sails away with a hold full ‘o swag.
More loot to bury on our secret island!

FM KIT
Captain, why is it we always bury our loot?
Why don’t we spend some of it and enjoy life?

The pirates all look at FM KIT in shock.

CAPTAIN WHAT
Because… we’re pirates, by damn!
An’ pirates always buries their treasure
on secret islands. It’s in the pirate code!

PIRATE DRACONIS NOIR
Arrr, that KIT shore do talk funny, by damn.

PIRATE THANDE
Aye, matey, that he does.
Not like a proper pirate a’ tall.

The pirates eat, drink, and yell as CAPTAIN WHAT looks on. After a moment, he walks over to a large cabinet on the wall and opens the doors. It is filled with golden plunder… and the A.S.S.H.A.T. sits on top of the pile. PIRATE MATT walks over to the captain.

PIRATE MATT
Arr, Cap’n, what be
that shiny round thing?

CAPTAIN WHAT
I dunno, matey, but it be treasure, so we buries
it with the rest. But first, it’s off to Michael Town
for provisions and sex with prostitutes!

The pirates all cheer and raise their mugs.

END ACT I

ACT II


EXT. – HMS BUTTERFLY – DAY

A MONTAGE of sailing scenes:

FELLATIO NELSON looking over the bow with a spyglass.

DOCTOR WHAT walking past a group of sailors scrubbing the deck.

The away team lined up at the rail and puking over the side.

The BUTTERFLY sailing across a setting sun.

DOCTOR WHAT gnawing on a piece of hardtack.

A sailor sounding the bell at night.

Fade to black.

EXT. – HMS BUTTERFLY – DECK – MORNING

The camera opens on a morning scene of the Butterfly moving slowly through a thick fog. DOCTOR WHAT walks onto the deck, followed by a bleary eyed DAVE HOWERY. FELLATIO NELSON is at the wheel, looking at the fog around the ship.

FELLATIO NELSON
Damn this fog! We’ll make poor headway today
if it doesn’t lift soon. At least we’re out on the
open sea, away from any…

The captain pauses and squints, looking sharply off the starboard side. A look of alarm crosses his face and he drops prone to the deck.

FELLATIO NELSON
Everyone down! Starboard crews to the cannons!

A series of low booms are heard and cannonballs are barely seen as they either shoot past the ship or crash into it. Chunks of wood fly as pieces of the railing explode. One shot hits the main mast, which comes crashing down. The camera switches to DOCTOR WHAT, who has dropped flat on the deck. He coughs, gets to his knees, and looks over the rail. The camera switches to his POV, and the Timewarp suddenly appears out of the fog, cannons at the ready and the deck crowded with snarling pirates. They are throwing grappling hooks at the rail of the Butterfly. The camera switches to FELLATIO NELSON, standing with saber drawn.

FELLATIO NELSON
Stand by to repel boarders!

The camera pans across the Butterfly, showing the crew drawing sabers and pistols. The away team have all come up on deck, looking uneasy.

WEAPON M
Christ, Doc, what do we do now?

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, we can’t hardly walk away from
this now, can we? Prepare to fight back.

The camera switches to the Timewarp, where dozens of pirates are running over to the Butterfly on boarding planks or swinging over on lines. One of the first to board is CAPTAIN WHAT, who lands in front of FELLATIO NELSON.

CAPTAIN WHAT
Kill the men! Loot the hold!
Rape the women and children!

FELLATION NELSON
Foul pirate! If you capture the ship,
I demand you rape me too!

CAPTAIN WHAT looks rather disgusted (and a little wistful) and begins a furious saber duel with FELLATIO NELSON.

The camera pans across the ship, showing pirates and sailors dueling and shooting.

The camera switches to MICHAEL who suddenly turns as PIRATE DRACONIS NOIR swings his cutlass at him. MICHAEL ducks and is barely missed. He looks for a place to hide, and is chased by the pirate. The camera switches to HENDRYK, who is confronted by CB LUAKEL, who is holding a knife and trying to look fearsome.

CB LUAKEL
Grrr! I’m a nasty bad pirate! Grrr! Grrrr!

HENDRYK glances at him and idly pushes him, which knocks him over the rail. CB LUAKEL comes sputtering up the surface and starts to swim, but a shark explodes from the water and drags him, screaming, under.

The camera switches to DAVE HOWERY, who is bemusedly watching the fight. He hears someone off camera call his name, and turns to see MICHAEL holding a deck chair for protection as PIRATE DRACONIS NOIR chops furiously at it.

MICHAEL
Damn it Howery, use your super
duper pistol and take this idiot out!

DAVE HOWERY
My pistols? Oh yeah, forgot about them.

DAVE HOWERY draws a pistol, tracks PIRATE DRACONIS NOIR with it a moment, and fires. A tremendous BOOM overwhelms all other noise on the ship, and we see a brief scene of DAVE HOWERY flying backwards from the recoil. The camera follows the bullet. It goes through PIRATE DRACONIS NOIR, the rail of the Butterfly, the rail of the Timewarp, three more pirates on that ship, the main mast, two more pirates, the further rail of the ship, and out of sight across the ocean.

The camera switches back to the Butterfly, where pirates and sailors alike are still with shock.

PIRATE WEAPON M
By damn!

PIRATE MATT
They killed DRACONIS NOIR!

PIRATE GREY WOLF
Them bastards!

CAPTAIN WHAT
Retreat!

The pirates break off the attack and run back to their ship. They cut all boarding lines and quickly sail away. The sailors from the Butterfly crowd the rail and cheer.
The camera switches to MICHAEL, who peeks out from behind his battered deck chair.

MICHAEL
Wow! That was some shot!

MICHAEL looks around to see DAVE HOWERY flattened upside down against the port rail. He walks over to him.

MICHAEL
Are you dead?

DAVE HOWERY
Mnitn frmlnu wutnhm irglfn.

MICHAEL
Huh?

DAVE HOWERY
Mnitn frmlnu wutnhm irglfn.

MICHAEL
That’s what I thought you said.

The camera switches to WEAPON M and DOCTOR WHAT at the starboard rail, watching the Timewarp disappear into the fog.

WEAPON M
Damn it, they’re getting
away with the A.S.S.H.A.T.!

DOCTOR WHAT
Yeah, and with our main mast down,
we’re not gonna catch them. We’ll
have to make repairs and limp along
to Michael Town and hope we can
find them there.

The camera cuts to a scene of the Butterfly slowly moving in the wake of the Timewarp.

Fade to black.

EXT. – GREAT INAGUA- MICHAEL TOWN- DAY

The camera opens on a scene high over Michael Town, panning across the dirt streets filled with hundreds of pirates, drinking, fighting, and shooting. Dozens of pirate ships are lined up at the dock.

The camera switches to the jungle on the edge of the town. The away team emerges from it. They are wearing plain dirty clothing, typical pirate outfits.

DOCTOR WHAT
I hope these disguises work. Okay, let’s spread
out and ask around about the Timewarp. Let’s
all meet up tomorrow at noon at the town square,
by the well there.

The team moves into the town and head in different directions.

A MONTAGE of scenes in Michael Town.

WEAPON M is shown in a tavern, drinking and singing.

HENDRYK is seen talking to a pirate, but a pretty Chinese girl walks past and he immediately follows her with tongue hanging out.

Next, we see a long line of impatient looking hookers standing outside a door in a seedy inn. The door opens, a disheveled hooker walks out, and DOCTOR WHAT appears, grinning. He motions to the next hooker in line, and she walks into the room.

MICHAEL is seen cowering in an alley, curled up in a shaking ball. The camera pulls back and we see a mother duck and eight cute fuzzy ducklings nosing the ground in front of him.

TORQUMADA is seen being robbed at gunpoint and handing over his coin pouch to a pirate. The pirate takes it and turns away, and TORQUMADA sticks him with a hypodermic, and he drops. TORQUMADA takes back his coins, then takes the pirate’s pouch, his pistol, his knife, his belts, his boots, and the gold fillings out of his teeth.

STRAHA is seen leaning up against a wall in an alley, a vacant grin on his face; he’s not moving.

THANDE is seen struggling in the embrace of an incredibly fat and ugly tavern wench who seems to have the hots for him. In spite of his valiant efforts to escape, he is being dragged inexorably to a room at the back of the tavern.

The last scene shows DAVE HOWERY walking around and stopping when he sees a blacksmith working in front of his shop. A look of deep thought goes across his face, and then he grins and walks towards the smithy.

Fade out.

EXT. – MICHAEL TOWN- TOWN SQUARE- DAY

The camera opens on a scene of the center of town, a wide square surrounded by market stalls. A well is at the center of it. DOCTOR WHAT stands by it impatiently. The other team members, except for DAVE HOWERY, come into the square one by one and move over to the well. DOCTOR WHAT looks tired, MICHAEL is pale, STRAHA still looks dazed, WEAPON M looks hungover, and THANDE looks absolutely demoralized and shattered. DOCTOR WHAT looks at him curiously.

DOCTOR WHAT
What happened to you?

THANDE
Unclean. Unclean.
I need to shower.
Unclean.

DOCTOR WHAT
Ooookay. So, what did you all find out?

The team all look at each other expectantly.

DOCTOR WHAT
Great. None of you found out anything?
Damn, me neither. And I spent all night
questioning people. Wait… where is Howery?

WEAPON M
Do you suppose he got himself captured?

HENDRYK
He does have a knack for it.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, let’s go over to the docks and see if
the Timewarp is there. Maybe we’ll have
to rescue him… again.

VOICE
(off camera)
And who’s gonna rescue you, mateys?

The team look around to see themselves surrounded by dozens of pirates, all pointing pistols at them. The crew of the Timewarp, led by CAPTAIN WHAT, is among them.

CAPTAIN WHAT
I hear you been asking questions about us all
over town, lubber. I don’ like nosey parkers
buttin’ into me business. So, we fills you
with lead and feeds you to the sharks. But
before we sends your carcasses to Davy Jones
…. Sing us a ditty.

DOCTOR WHAT
(confused)
Uh… you want us to sing you a song?

CAPTAIN WHAT points his pistol at DOCTOR WHAT’s nose and grins. The away team all look at each other and start singing different songs simultaneously.

WEAPON M
I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world…

DOCTOR WHAT
When I think about you, I touch myself…

MICHAEL
Man! I feel like a woman…

THANDE
Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg…

HENDRYK
I like big butts and I cannot lie….

TORQUMADA
Yo, tell you what I want,
what I really really want…

STRAHA
We’re gonna get high high high
in the midday sun….

T he pirates all look on in stunned disbelief for a moment and then CAPTAIN WHAT fires a shot into the air, and everyone quiets down.

CAPTAIN WHAT
Tha’s bloody awful! Maybe
you be dancers instead.

CAPTAIN WHAT fires a shot into the ground at DOCTOR WHAT’s feet, who hops in surprise.

CAPTAIN WHAT
Strike up a tune, lads!

The pirates all grin nastily and point their pistols at the feet of the away team. A low thud reverberates through the square. One pirate looks around curiously, but no one else seems to notice.

CAPTAIN WHAT
If ya dances for us real handily,
we won’t plug ya in the belly to die slow…

Another low thud, louder, is heard. This time, several pirates notice and look around.

CAPTAIN WHAT
We’ll plug ya in the head,
quick and easy like…

Another thud is heard, very noticeable this time, and most of the pirates and away team look around in confusion.

CAPTAIN WHAT
An’ after you’re food for the sharks,
maybe no other nosy lubbers will bother us…

A very loud and jarring thud is heard, shaking nearby windows and stalls. The pirates all look around, and then are seen looking at something behind and above the team. Their faces go slack with fear. The team members turn around, and we see their eyes go wide with surprise. The camera switches to their POV.

A gigantic iron figure roughly in the shape of a man is walking towards them, each footstep shaking the ground. It is made of welded iron and has jointed arms and legs. One arm is a crude multi-barreled Gatling gun, and the other is a brass smoothbore cannon. A steam engine is mounted on the back of the figure, with a long exhaust pipe sticking up out of it. The iron giant walks right up to the edge of the square and stops.

The camera switches back to the away team.

DOCTOR WHAT
I can’t believe he built that in
one day without power tools.

TORQUMADA
And yet he can’t fix the
air conditioning back on the ship.

The camera switches back to the steam-mech and pans it from feet to top and closes in on the head. We see the head is actually a cockpit. DAVE HOWERY is sitting there, in front of a bank of levers and wheels. With a slightly mad grin, he pulls on two levers. The camera switches to a different angle, and the steam-mech is seen swiveling with a metallic groan. Both arms point down at the pirates, who panic and shoot, but their shots just bounce off the iron.

HENDRYK
You don’t suppose he’ll shoot
with us standing here, do you?

MICHAEL
Depends… do you think he’s still
mad about that whole ‘servant’ thing?

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh hell. Uh… run!

The away team runs away from the pirates. A shrill steam whistle sounds from the mech and the Gatling gun fires. A storm of bullets plows through the massed pirates, and dozens of them go down; they break and run. The steam-mech moves after them. The away team stops and looks at the mech moving away. People are screaming and running as the steam-mech flattens buildings and shoots at the fleeing pirates. A swathe of destruction is left in its wake.

DOCTOR WHAT
Be quick and quiet, I said. Don’t want
to upset their culture or religion, I said.
Oh, this is gonna screw this world up good!

WEAPON M
See, this is why we don’t let
him off the ship more often.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, he’s heading for
the docks. Let’s follow him.

EXT. – MICHAEL TOWN- DOCKS- DAY

The camera opens on a scene of the steam-mech walking along the docks, methodically shooting into pirate ships as it goes. It stops when it reaches the Timewarp, and points both arms at the ship. Pirates are jumping off of it and swimming away, until the ship is deserted. The camera switches to the away team, who are running up behind the mech, panting.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, at least the ship is deserted. Now,
we can get on board, have THANDE
deactivate the A.S.S.H.A.T. and
teleport it and us off this world.

HENDRYK
If Howery doesn’t sink it first.

With a loud series of hisses and metallic clicks, the steam-mech freezes into position and shuts down. The cockpit hatch opens, a rope ladder is thrown out of it, and DAVE HOWERY climbs down out of it. He walks over to the away team, a huge grin on his face.

DAVE HOWERY
Hey guys! Well, our job is about over here.
Good thing I came along when I did, huh?
You looked like you were in a tight spot.
How do you like my toy here… it’s a beauty!

The rest of the team look at him with stony expressions.

DAVE HOWERY
What?

END ACT II


TAG


INT. – AH.COM SHIP- TELEPORTATION ROOM- DAY

The away team and the A.S.S.H.A.T. pop into view. G. BONE looks at their dirty pirate clothing.

G. BONE
What happened to the fancy duds
KIT made for you?

DOCTOR WHAT
It’s a long story.

G. BONE looks at DAVE HOWERY, who looks stunned.

G. BONE
What’s with you?

DAVE HOWERY
Banned. For life. Banned for life.

G. BONE shakes his head, and notices THANDE, who looks haunted and shaky.

G. BONE
And you?

THANDE
Never ask me about her!
Never! I’m unclean! Unclean!

THANDE runs from the room sobbing. The rest of the team shake their heads and leave also, except for DAVE HOWERY, who lingers behind. When the rest are gone, he walks over to G. BONE.

DAVE HOWERY
Hey, I need you to do a special teleport for me.

He whispers something to G. BONE.

G. BONE
I can’t do that!

DAVE HOWERY takes out a pistol and points it at G. BONE.

DAVE HOWERY
Please?

G. BONE
I find your arguments
convincing. Stand by.

EXT. – WASHINGTON DC- WHITE HOUSE- DAY

The camera opens on a scene of several people standing outside the White House, pointing at something behind the camera. A man in a military uniform appears, looking shocked. The camera switches to his POV, and we see the steam-mech standing on the lawn. A packet is taped to one leg. The officer goes slowly over to the mech and takes the packet. He opens it and finds a manual with the title “How to build, operate, and maintain your Mk. 1 Steam-Mech”. He finds another sheet of paper inside and opens it. The final shot is a close up of the page, which reads

“On to Canada!”.

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS

Coups, Plasma Rifles, and Almoravids, Oh My!

TITLECARD-COUPS

TEASER


INT. – AH.COM SHIP – STRAHA’S QUARTERS – DAY

STRAHA’s quarters about the AH.COM ship are garishly decorated with psychedelic art. A poster of Bob Marley hangs above his unmade bed. The room is empty.

The door cracks open and an EYE looks in. Once the mysterious intruder is satisfied that there’s nobody there, the door opens. It’s OTHNIEL.

OTHNIEL
I bet he’s brought pot back from
our latest trip. I wonder where
he hid it?

OTHNIEL sticks his head under STRAHA’S bed. He comes back disappointed. He steps over to the closet and looks inside. Nothing there. He stands in the center of the room, looking glum. Then, inspiration lights up his face.

He reaches over and lifts the mattress off the bed-frame. His eyes light up. He extracts a big bag of marijuana.

OTHNIEL
Got it. Now to burn it.

He dumps it out on the floor and whips out a blowtorch. He squeezes the trigger…

Flames leap out, igniting the marijuana. However, it soon sputters out—not enough fuel. The marijuana is burning, but it’s not destroyed. Pot smoke begins to fill the room.

OTHNIEL
Darn it.

The smoke rises around him. OTHNIEL’s eyes widen…

OTHNIEL’S POV

Everything goes psychedelic…

INT. – STRAHA’S QUARTERS – DAY

LATER

Fire alarms scream throughout the ship. DOCTOR WHAT, MATT, and STRAHA rush into the room, all carrying fire extinguishers. They stop short when they see what’s in the room.

MATT
What the hell…?

DOCTOR WHAT and STRAHA break down laughing.

OTHNIEL sits in the center of the room, surrounded by the ashes of the marijuana he tried to burn. His eyes are bloodshot and he seems very wobbly.

OTHNIEL
Anyone have any crackers?
I really want some crackers right now…

CUT TO OPENING CREDITS:

An Alternatehistory.com Presentation:

AH.COM: The Series


“COUPS, PLASMA RIFLES, AND ALMORAVIDS, OH MY”

Written By : MERRYPRANKSTER


ACT I

INT. – AH. COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM

DOCTOR WHAT and the others crowd onto the Control Room as the ship exits the vortex. Earth appears on the view-screen in front of them.

LEO CAESIUS
Shift complete.

DOCTOR WHAT
Well, where are we?

Leo computes for a moment.

GREY WOLF is a bit impatient.

GREY WOLF
What’s it like down there?

LEO CAESIUS
Judging by the number of cathedrals,
North Africa is at least partially Christian.
For some reason, there’s a powerful Islamic
state in West Africa.

GREY WOLF
Any transmissions we can eavesdrop on?

LEO CAESIUS
Nope. It appears to be this an earth
with the technology of about the 1500s.
No radio or telecommunication singals.
If you want to find out more, you’ll
have to go down there and check it out.

INT. – CF.NET SHIP – CONTROL ROOM

The CF.NET ship rumbles out of the vortex and comes into orbit around the same Earth. The Control Room is in its usual state of clutter and disarray. WARD, however, looks a bit different.

He hasn’t shaved in several weeks, and his eyes are bloodshot. A near-empty jug of whiskey sits near his chair. He rises unsteadily from his chair and glares at DUQUESNE.

WARD
(growling)
Damn it, Duquesne, can’t you do anything right?

DUQUESNE glares down at his computer console, the signs of rage etched into his face. He slowly turns to glare at WARD.

DUQUESNE
I’ve had enough of you pushing me around!

WARD rises from his command chair.

WARD
Have you now? You’ll regret your
Insolence when I show you pictures of…

Suddenly DUQUESNE draws a gun on Ward. Ward’s hand dives for his .357, only to be struck on the “funny bone” by the flat of MERRYPRANKSTER’S samurai sword. His arm goes askew.

WARD
(pissed off)
You too? When I’m through with you…

GRIMM REAPER lunges up from his seat to assist Ward, but JUSTIN GREEN whacks him upside the head with a baseball bat. The rest of the Control Room crew stand there in shock and confusion, watching. WARD’s other hand dives for his gun, but he hears something behind him and turns around…

WARD’S POV: NRED’s crowbar flies at his face…

INT. – CF.NET SHIP – DUNGEON – DAY

WARD groans as he wakes up. He’s in a cage.

WARD
What the hell?

He sees the four coup-plotters—MERRYPRANKSTER, NRED, DUQUENSE, and JUSTIN GREEN standing in front of him. All of them have smug grins on their faces.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Good morning, Captain Ward, sir.

WARD is mad as hell.

WARD
What the…let me out of here right now!

NRED
(yelling)
Shut the hell up!

MERRYPRANKSTER walks forward, hands clasped and a small smile on his face

MERRYPRANKSTER
A lot of us are… how shall I say it?
Displeased in your leadership in the past several months.
Nearly getting us killed fighting some Monster.
Getting defeated by the Doctor What, then the
AH.COM only weeks after getting our ship repair…
(beat)
You’re quite lucky to be alive.

DUQUESNE
(savagely)
Though plenty of us were willing to do that job…

MERRYPRANKSTER
Tyrants tend to create their worst enemies.
Look at the example of Lenin. He was
apolitical, until Czar Alexander III hanged…

WARD
(angry)
Enough of this, boy! Let me out of here-

MERRYPRANKSTER
I suggest you start addressing me as “Captain,”
thank you. After all, that’s what I am now.
(beat)
Oh, and I was going to let you out, in a few minutes.
Since I’m the Captain now, you’ll be taking over my job.

WARD snorts.

MERRYPRANKSTER
You practically built this ship.
You don’t know how to use the guns?

WARD
No, you idiot. I’m just wondering
why you left me alive.

MERRYPRANKSTER
“Judgment without mercy will be shown
to he who is not merciful.” Besides,
murdering a helpless prisoner is beneath me.
(beat)
I have my standards, however low they might be.

He gestures to someone off-camera. BULGAROKTONOS enters.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Let him out, and escort him to his new station.
Keep an eye on him.

BULGAROKTONOS
Yes, Captain Merry, sir.

MERRYPRANKSTER grins at the title.

INT. – CF. NET CONTROL ROOM – DAY

MERRYPRANKSTER sits in what used to be Ward’s command chair.

MERRYPRANKSTER
It’s good to be king.

DOMINUSNOVUS clears his throat.

DOMINUSNOVUS
What are you going to do, now you’re Captain?
Do you have a plan?

MERRYPRANKSTER is taken aback. He searches for words.

ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS
Yeah. If you can’t find things for
us to do, what makes you a better captain
than Ward?

WARD
You damned idiot kids.

BULGAROKTONOS looms over him, and WARD stares him down.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Shut up you sociopath.
(narrows eyes evilly)
Don’t make me force you to do
Borat impressions.

ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS
I reach out with my mind and crush MERRYPRANKSTER’s
skull. I pull out a Desert Eagle and shoot him in the crotch.
I…

MERRYPRANKSTER
Cut the God-moding crap Romulus.
This isn’t your made-up “Evergreen Khanate.”

ROMULUS quiets down real fast.

A moment passes, and inspiration lights up MERRYPRANKSTER’s face.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(gesturing with his right hand)
You see that world out there?

He gestures towards the Earth on the big screen.

MERRYPRANKSTER (CONT’D)
It’s more or less at the 16th Century tech-wise.
With all the weaponry we have for sale, we could
leave quite a mark! Plus, since their tech is several
centuries behind ours, if there’re any souvenirs we
wanted, it’s not like they could stop us!

He looks at DOMINUSNOVUS.

MERRYPRANKSTER (CONT’D)
Plus, I’m sure there are lots of available women…

A grin sprawls across DOMINUSNOVUS’s face.

DOMINUSNOVUS
(Quagmire-esque)
Awright!

MERRYPRANKSTER
Fortyseven, ready the teleporters.
Let’s go see how much trouble we can cause…

EXT. – THE STREETS OF TUNIS – DAY

Tunis is an interesting city. Its architecture is a strange fusion of European and Arabic styles, and the people on the streets are a mélange of every Mediterranean ethnicity. DOCTOR WHAT and the other AH.COM crew members wander around, eyes wide.

DOCTOR WHAT
Nobody here speaks English!
If it weren’t for these Universal Translators ™
(gestures to earphone-like device in his ear)
we’d be screwed!

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Nobody on this world speaks recognizable English.
I just saw a guy who was from “Angland” and he sounded
more German than anything else.

DOCTOR WHAT
Hmm…at the very least, that’d mean no
Norman Conquest. Hmm…is that the POD,
or is it a butterfly?

They come to a cathedral that looks like a mosque, except there is a cross on the minaret.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
Probably a butterfly.

KIT
I wonder if there’re any bookstores
around here…

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
I somehow doubt it. This is a medieval world, after all.
All sword bashing and crusading bullshit.

KIT points to a bazaar across the street from the cathedral. There are several books on display.

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
As they say, “I stand corrected.”

EXT. – THE CITADEL AT MARRAKESH – DAY

The CF crew is assembled at the gates of a huge Middle Eastern-style fortress. All around them, a huge city bustles. MERRYPRANKSTER is arguing with a guard at the gate. He is speaking into a black box-like device, which translates his words into Berber.

MERRYPRANKSTER
We need to see the Emir.
Tell him we’ve got some
Things he might find very interesting.

ALMORAVID GUARD
Not just anyone can see the Emir.
Especially now, after the Firanji war…

MERRYPRANKSTER
Come on! What else could he be doing?

The argument continues for several minutes. Finally, FAEELIN gets sick of it. He draws his pistol and fires a shot in the air.

All around them, people drop to the ground in fear. The other CF crew members applaud.

FAEELIN
(drawing a translation box of his own)
We need to see the Emir.

ALMORAVID GUARD
(eager to please)
I will bring you to him.

INT. – ALMORAVID COURT – DAY

The Almoravid court is beautiful, but in a simple way. Geometric mosaics decorate the walls and the denizens of the court sit on thick carpets woven in a similar pattern. However, some traces of the Almoravids’ puritanical, austere origins remain. The Emir, whose lower face is veiled like the other members of the court, is distinguishable only by his slightly more elaborate dress. He rises to his feet when the CF crew enters.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Welcome to Marrakesh, strangers
from distant lands. May I offer
you refreshments?

The various CF crew members nod. When none of the Almoravids understand, MERRYPRANKSTER whips out his handy black box.

MERRYPRANKSTER
That would be very nice. Thank you sir.

Several of the Almoravid men rise to attend to the CF crew. MERRYPRANKSTER and the ALMORAVID EMIR begin to negotiate.

MERRYPRANKSTER
We have heard that your Excellency is at war.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Only God is excellent. We are not at war anymore,
although, God willing, we will be able to recover
our losses from the last war with the Firanj soon and…

MERRYPRANKSTER
(raises eyebrow)
The Firanj?

Disgust crosses the Emir’s face.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Yes. Five centuries ago, the Firanj poured
across the sea to destroy the heretic Fatimids,
but refused to leave. For five centuries,
we Almoravids have tried to drive them out.
God willing, I will be able to…

MERRYPRANKSTER
Good. We’ve got some things we’d like to show you.

MERRYPRANKSTER pulls our a comm unit.

MERRYPRANKSTER (into comm)
Send down a plasma rifle.

The air in the center of the room begins shimmer. Murmurs rise from amongst the assembled Almoravid dignitaries. A moment later, a plasma rifle appears in the center of the room.

MERRYPRANKSTER gestures to BULGAROKTONOS.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Show them what it can do.

BULGAROKTONOS rushes forward with a grin. MERRYPRANKSTER stops him with a gesture.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Not on anyone. On an undecorated
part of the wall, perhaps…

BULGAROKTONOS is somewhat subdued. He hefts the rifle, points it out a big window, and squeezes the trigger.

A flame-thrower-like jet of plasma erupts from the weapon. The sides of the window are burnt to green glass. The jet of fire reaches out to touch one of the minarets on the wall of the citadel and ignites the man inside. The resulting human torch tumbles screaming out onto the street below.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Damn it!
(to the Emir)
You see. Very efficient.

The Almoravid ruler is awed.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Such a weapon is worth twice its weight in gold.

MERRYPRANKSTER grins.

MERRYPRANKSTER
I think that price is right, sir.

INT. – MARRAKESH COURTYARD – DAY

The ALMORAVID EMIR leads the CF crew into the courtyard.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Wait here, while we gather all the gold
in the palace. I think we can start
the next war against the Firanj ahead of schedule…

At the word “war,” the other CF members grin.

ALMORAVID EMIR (CONT’D)
May I provide some slave girls for your enjoyment?

DOMINUSNOVUS comes bounding up.

DOMINUSNOVUS
Hell yeah!

ALMORAVID EMIR
Come with me then! Only the
finest for those who will help us
scourge the Firanj from the
Dar-al-Islam once and for all!

DOMINUSNOVUS and the Emir disappear. All is quiet for a few minutes before a woman’s SCREAM breaks the silence.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(eyes narrowing)
What’s that?

He makes his way towards the wall. GEDCA tries to stop him.

GEDCA
Don’t get involved, man.

MERRYPRANKSTER shrugs GEDCA’s arm away.

MERRYPRANKSTER
I’ve got to see what’s going on.

He spots a ladder and clambers up.

EXT. – MARRAKESH STREET – DAY

A group of veiled Almoravid soldiers, Berber, African, and even European, parade a lighter-skinned man and a darker-skinned, attractive woman. Both of them are in chains and beaten bloody. MERRYPRANKSTER looks in the direction they’re marching and sees

A CHOPPING BLOCK

MERRYPRANKSTER rises to his feet atop the wall.

MERRYPRANKSTER
All right, what the hell is going on here?

The procession slows as the veiled Almoravid soldiers stop to gawk at him. MERRYPRANKSTER scratches his head, then remembers he didn’t use his translator. He brings it up to his lips.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Again, what the hell is going on here?

Some of the Almoravid soldiers’ hands drop to their weapons—swords, mostly, with the occasional pistol. However, one man, an IMAM judging by his dress, steps forward.

IMAM
This Christian slut was taken in a raid and
given to this man as a concubine. Rather than
convert to the One True Faith, she converted him!
The apostate and his corruptor must die!

CU: MERRYPRANKSTER’S EYES

His eyes narrow in rage.

MERRYPRANKSTER
I don’t think so.

EXT. – MARRAKESH STREET – DAY

MERRYPRANKSTER draws his gun and shoots the IMAM between the eyes. All hell breaks loose.

INT. – TUNIS COFFEE SHOP – DAY

The AH.COM crew is gathered around a table on which several archaic BOOKS have been piled. An electrical hum fills the air and the books begin to shimmer. After a moment of translucence, they disappear. DOCTOR WHAT draws his comm unit from his pocket.

DOCTOR WHAT
When can you have them translated?

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
Momentarily…
(long pause)
I’ve got it now. Want to know
why the world is like it is?

ALL
Darn right!

LEO CAESIUS
The books were in something resembling the Lingua Franca
of OTL, though in this version, the Tuscan dialect of Italian
and Arabic dominate. The maps show the Byzantine Empire
still existing, with its pre-Manzikert borders. Apparently
the Seljuks did not migrate.

DOCTOR WHAT
Bet Abdul would be pissed to hear that..
(laughs)

PSYCHOMELTDOWN
(scratching his head)
How does that affect North Africa?

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
Well, apparently the Fatimids felt confident that they
could divert more resources to fighting the Christian
powers in the Mediterranean. They raided Rome,
destroyed the Vatican. All Europe joined together
to defeat the infidel
(beat)
Their words, not mine.
The Crusaders attacked the Fatimid outposts in the
Mediterranean, then moved on the North African
heartland. They destroyed the Caliphate, defeated
Almoravid attempts to pick up the pieces, and they’ve been
here ever since.

Suddenly, trumpets blare from the minarets in the city. Shouting horsemen rush up and down the street.

DOCTOR WHAT
What’s going on here?

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
Hold on…I can only hear what I can
pick up via your Universal Translator ™

DOCTOR WHAT pulls the translator out of his ear and holds towards the door.

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
It’s hard to make out. Something about the
beacons being lit, and the Almoravids moving again.
(beat)
That’s odd. The Almoravids seem to have survived
a lot longer in TTL than in OTL.

Some soldiers burst into the coffeehouse and begin dragging the AH crew out. They shout in their strange Italo-Arabic dialect.

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
They say that in the Republic of Tunis, every
able-bodied man must serve in the militia.
Looks like you’ve been drafted.

DOCTOR WHAT is suddenly terrified.

DOCTOR WHAT
Oh shit. I thought being a Canadian meant that
I wouldn’t get drafted!

END ACT I


ACT II


INT. – MARRAKESH COURTYARD – DAY

It looks like a Mexican standoff, only it’s in Marrakesh. MERRYPRANKSTER and the pair he rescued stand inside a ring of armed CF crew. A ring of enraged Almoravid soldiers surround them. In between the two rings are piles of Almoravid corpses. The ALMORAVID EMIR comes out to speak.

ALMORAVID EMIR
(angry)
This is a most serious breach of hospitality!
You come to my city, eat and drink of my stores,
and enjoy my slave women…

He pulls DOMINUSNOVUS forward, by his ear.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Two of them at the same time, I might add.

The CF crew breaks out in giggles.

ALMORAVID EMIR
I should kill all of you, right now.

BULGAROKTONOS
You could try.

The WOMAN speaks to MERRYPRANKSTER

SARAH (THE WOMAN)
Let us die as martyrs. We shall go to
dwell in the house of the Lord…

AHMED (THE MAN)
Yes. There is no greater honor in Heaven and
Earth than to be a martyr…

MERRYPRANKSTER
Are you Donatists?

SARAH
That is what the Firanj call us, yes.

MERRYPRANKSTER rolls his eyes.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Great. Why do I always have to
go sticking my nose…

GEDCA
(angry)
Yes, why do you. We’re all
about to die, damn it!

DOMINUSNOVUS
Why did we ever make YOU Captain?

MERRYPRANKSTER
I think it was the promises of more
loot and women that sealed that deal.

MERRYPRANKSTER calls out to the Almoravid Emir.

MERRYPRANKSTER
If you kill us, none of those wonderful guns.

The Almoravid soldiers immediately quiet down. Some of them have seen the wonderful new guns, while others have heard about them. The EMIR is lost in thought.

ALMORAVID EMIR
You raise an excellent point. Still,
you killed the chief Imam of the city,
and a dozen of my soldiers are dead.
This cannot be allowed to pass.

Another IMAM, trailed by a collection of women, kids, and younger men, walks up to the EMIR and they speak in hushed tones.

SECOND IMAM
(to MERRYPRANKSTER)
The victims’ families have the right to decide your fate.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(defiant)
And what is their decision?

SECOND IMAM
You have brought great gifts in service to the jihad.
God willing, your new weapons will help drive the
Firanj into the sea.
(pause)
They are willing to forgive you, on the condition that
all payment for the weapons be given to them.

Angry muttering breaks out throughout the CF crew. MERRYPRANKSTER feels the weight of their glares.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Half of the payment.

The EMIR steps forward.

ALMORAVID EMIR
Three-fourths. Plus, you must
pay the zikat from your share.

He pulls a knife from his belt and gestures at DOMINUSNOVUS’ crotch.

ALMORAVID EMIR
You wouldn’t want your friend to be made’
one of my eunuchs, now would you?

DOMINUSNOVUS faints.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(hurriedly)
Three-fourths it is!

ALMORAVID EMIR
It is done.

The Almoravid soldiers begin to withdraw, leaving the unconscious DOMINUSNOVUS behind them. The Emir can’t leave without a parting shot.

ALMORAVID EMIR
(grim finality)
The apostate and the whore are your
responsibility now. If they cause any
problems, lead anyone else away from
the True Faith, you are all dead.

MERRYPRANKSTER nods.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Understood, sir.

GEDCA
(muttering)
Ward wouldn’t have backed down so easily.

EXT. – DESERT ROADWAY – DAY

A crude track has been cut into the desert. The Tunisian militia, augmented by forces from the other Crusader cities, marches along. The army is motley mix of Berber horsemen, pikemen, swordsmen, and men with muskets. The AH.COM crew, dressed in light armor, marches along with the infantry.

DOCTOR WHAT
(singing deliriously)
I ain’t no fortunate son…

LANDSHARK whacks him with the flat of his sword.

LANDSHARK
Keep it together, man
(beat)
Can you reach Leo?

DOCTOR WHAT
Every time I try to use my comm unit,
this character slaps me!

He points to a huge Berber riding on horseback alongside the AH group.

LANDSHARK thinks for a minute.

LANDSHARK
Throw me the comm unit.

DOCTOR WHAT
Why didn’t I think of that?

He tosses the comm unit to LANDSHARK. The huge BERBER drops from his horse and begins pummeling DOCTOR WHAT, all while yelling something.

LANDSHARK
Leo, beam us up!

LEO CAESIUS (OS)
Will do.

The AH.COM crew begins shimmering. The BERBER who was grappling with DOCTOR WHAT leaps back, horrified.

INT. – CF. NET SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

The atmosphere is tense aboard the CF.NET Control Room. The junta that removed WARD is about to come to blows.

JUSTIN GREEN
You just cost us a lot of gold, idiot.

DOMINUSNOVUS
And they almost cost me some
precious jewels!

MERRYPRANKSTER
Look on the bright side. We’ve still got a freakin’
enormous pile of gold. That’ll keep us
in Multiverse debauchery for the next decade.
(He gestures to Ahmed and Sarah)
Besides, two new recruits. I’m sure given
a few months with us, they can learn English
and the finer points of making trouble.

DOMINUSNOVUS
Granted, the chick’s hot. But what the hell do
we need with a bunch of literate backwater idiots?

BULGAROKTONOS
I think it’s time for a change of leadership.

MERRYPRANKSTER raises his left eyebrow.

MERRYPRANKSTER
I don’t think so.

A brawl breaks out. JUSTIN GREEN and BULGAROKTONOS throw themselves at MERRYPRANKSTER. Hoping to take advantage, WARD lunges from the weapons console, only to be put down by DUQUENSE.

MERRYPRANKSTER is having problems with his opponents at the same time at close range, but NRED jumps in, whacking JUSTIN GREEN in the crotch with her crowbar. He sinks to his knees and the two of them finish off BULGAROKTONOS.

GEDCA
Umm, I think you should know about this…

MERRYPRANKSTER
What?

GEDCA
I have detected AH.COM activity.

The Control Room quiets down immediately.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Where?

GEDCA
They seem to be associated with a large
army moving inland from Tunis.
It looks like they’re trying to intercept
the Almoravid army.

MERRYPRANKSTER
What? Here? How the hell are they always
arriving at the same world we head to?

He turns to DOMINUSNOVUS.

MERRYPRANKSTER
You were on more…familiar
terms with the Almoravids than
I was. Go down there and tell them
that we’re offering our services to the jihad.

DOMINUSNOVUS
You want us to fight for the spread of Islam?

A brief look of horror crosses MERRYPRANKSTER’S face.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Of course not. We’ll just stick around
long enough to see the AHers off, and perhaps
steal something interesting. Then we’ll get the
hell out of here.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

The AH away team is quite relieved to be back.

DOCTOR WHAT
All right. Let’s get the hell out of here.

GREY WOLF is examining the viewscreen.

GREY WOLF
We have a bloody big problem.

DOCTOR WHAT
How big?

GREY WOLF
So big that any number of drinks
won’t solve it. The CF.NET is here.

Groans erupt all over the Control Room.

GREY WOLF (CONT’D)
Their ship is flying over the Almoravid army, and
about 10% of the Almoravid troops are armed
with plasma rifles.
(beat)
Some Almoravid units are moving dozens of miles at a time.
I bet the CF crew is using their teleporters too.

MATT
With technology like that, they’ll cut
the Crusader forces to pieces!
Catastrophic changes to the TL…

DOCTOR WHAT
Damn. Looks like we’re in for a fight, boys.

DOCTOR WHAT sighs and looks longingly at the liquor cabinet in the corner of the Control Room.

OTHNIEL slaps him.

OTHNIEL
Work first, sin later.

EXT. – DESERT FIELD– DAY

The Almoravid army materializes on a vast stretch of flat desert. Above them floats the CF ship.

INT. – CF.NET SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

FORTYSEVEN looks up from the controls.

FORTYSEVEN
Captain Merry, sir, we can’t teleport them
any further. I’m getting some weird
power fluctuations. It’ll be a few minutes
before we get a handle on it.

MERRYPRANKSTER seems unconcerned.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Advancing an entire army across 500 miles
of desert, to striking distance of the Crusader states,
is achievement enough.

FORTYSEVEN
The Almoravid supply train is about 200 miles away.
If they don’t win this one now, they’re going to be in
dire straits.

MERRYPRANKSTER shrugs.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Well, that’ll certainly give these
Bin Laden groupies incentive…

GEDCA clears his throat, in a manner meant to correct.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Anachronistic, I know. Still, they ARE
Islamic fundamentalists…

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD

The entire Crusader force materializes in front of the Almoravid army. Above them floats the AH.COM ship.

INT. – CF CONTROL ROOM

MERRYPRANKSTER stares, mouth agape.

MERRYPRANKSTER
What the hell!

From the weapons console, WARD laughs.

WARD
How are you going to deal with that, ‘Captain’?
If I’d been in charge, we’d be participating in
the victory pillage right now. Instead of being
screwed over in gold and having the damned
AH.COM on my ass.

MERRYPRANKSTER
We’ll deal with the AH weaklings the way
we always do. With lots of firepower.

WARD laughs, enjoying the show.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(muttering)
We’re still the better ship.

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD – DAY

The AH.COM ship opens fire on the CF one.

INT. – CF CONTROL ROOM

The ship shakes. WARD laughs some more.

WARD
Provided their attacks aren’t
too destructive, of course.

All eyes are on MERRYPRANKSTER. He thinks for a moment, then his eyes light up.

MERRYPRANKSTER
DRACONISNOIR, you’ve still got
that shuttle you stole four TLs back, right?

DRACONISNOIR
I don’t think I’d lose something
that big that easily.

MERRYPRANKSTER
DRACONIS, pick some men
and go hunting. Shoot the ship, land troops,
shoot Crusaders, it doesn’t matter.
Lay the proverbial smackdown!

DRACONISNOIR
Yes sir!

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD – DAY

The Almoravid and Crusader armies collide. Blue-white plasma fire erupts from the Almoravid army, punching huge gaps in the Crusader lines. Almoravid pikemen and cavalry flood the gaps and gain ground, though Crusader cavalrymen and reserves manage to contain the onslaught.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

The battle fills the viewscreens.

DOCTOR WHAT
Leo, even things out a bit for the Crusaders.

LEO CAESIUS
Will do.

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD – DAY

The AH.COM ship opens fire into the Almoravid army. Laser fire ignites Almoravid soldiers, while missiles blast others into chunky bits. The secondary explosions from the plasma rifles kill even more Almoravid soldiers.

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD, ELSEWHERE – DAY

A door opens on the underside of the CF ship and an armed shuttle drops out. It rockets straight at the AH.COM ship.

INT. – CF SHUTTLE – DAY

DRACONISNOIR is flying the ship, while NRED, JUSTIN GREEN, DUQUESNE, and DOMINUSNOVUS serve as muscle. They’re all armed to the teeth.

DRACONISNOIR
All right. I’ll attack the ship, while
you people land on its hull. They should
send people out to deal with you, and I can kill them.

He squeezes the trigger on the joystick, grinning.

EXT. – THE AH.COM SHIP – DAY

A storm of energy fire strikes the ship’s energy shields. It lurches, but manages to remain airborne.

DOCTOR WHAT
Leo! What just hit us?

LEO CAESIUS
The CF ship has deployed a
smaller craft.

DOCTOR WHAT
(strokes his goatee)
They’ve got a smaller ship?
And it’s armed? How
come we’ve never seen that before?

LEO CAESIUS
They’ve probably never needed it.
Though it would have been rather
helpful against the Devourer a few
months back…

DOCTOR WHAT
(stroking his goatee)
Why would Ward be sending a small ship to fight us?
They must be vulnerable somehow,
something we don’t know yet.

EXT. – THE CF SHUTTLE – DAY

The CF shuttle approaches the AH ship, continually firing. The energy bursts wear through the shield enough so the CF ship can pass through. NRED, JUSTIN GREEN, and DOMINUSNOVUS leap out, all of them carrying plasma rifles.

They set to work attacking the AH ship’s hull. The shuttle hovers nearby, too close for the AH weapons to touch, and hammers at the ship at point-blank range.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

Alarms go off.

LEO CAESIUS
Boarders!

DOCTOR WHAT
MATT, Weapon M, kick their ass.

The two dash off.

INT. – CF.NET – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

MERRYPRANKSTER watches the battle. A series of AH.COM bursts punch through the CF.NET ship’s shields and jar the Control Room.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Damn it. Gedca, damage report!

GEDCA
Nothing, sir. Some hull damage.
However, at the rate things are going,
they’ll start hurting us long before we
hurt them.

WARD
You’re in over your head, boy.

MERRYPRANKSTER turns and glares at him.

MERRYPRANKSTER
You practically designed this ship class!
Find a vulnerable spot on them and hit it!

WARD
(very sarcastically)
Yes sir.

EXT. – AH.COM SHIP HULL – DAY

WEAPON M and MATT emerge from a hatch and open fire on the CF.NET raiders, who in conjunction with the shuttle have managed to drill almost completely through the ship’s hull plating, exposing some vulnerable-looking wiring underneath.

The CF.NET raiders fire back, forcing the defenders back into the hatchway.

The CF.NET shuttle looms ominously overhead.

INT. – THE SHUTTLE – DAY

DRACONISNOIR laughs maniacally.

DRACONISNOIR
Run, or I’ll flambe you and
dice you like roast duck!
(giggles)
Or maybe I’ll simply kill you!

He squeezes the trigger again.

EXT. – AH.COM SHIP – DAY

A storm of energy descends onto the hatchway. WEAPON M and MATT slam the hatch down. The blast fuses it shut.

The CF.NET raiders cheer and resume drilling through the AH ship’s armor.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

More alarms go off.

LEO CAESIUS
The raiders have penetrated the upper
layer of armor. They’ve damaged the
power conduits leading to the second particle
beam turret.

DOCTOR WHAT
Damn it! What are MATT
and Weapon M up to?

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – HATCHWAY LEADING UP – DAY

MATT and WEAPON M look up. The hatch is red-hot, and sealed shut.

WEAPON M
Damn it! What do we do now?

MATT chambers a rocket in his rocket launcher, points it at the melted-shut hatch, and squeezes the trigger.

EXT. – AH.COM SHIP – DAY

The hatch blows open. The force of the explosion knocks DOMINUSNOVUS off the ship, into the seething morass of battle below.

MATT and WEAPON M emerge from the hatch, firing at the shuttle and the CF raiders. One rocket hits the side of the shuttle and smashes one of its wings. It begins to list, smoke belching from the side.

DRACONISNOIR
(over speakers)
Can’t keep her steady.
You’ll need to get back on your own.

The shuttle begins to drift away.

EXT. – BENEATH THE AH.COM SHIP – DAY

A group of Crusader cavalry break through the Almoravid infantry line in the shadow of the AH ship. The Almoravids retreat and the Crusaders pursue. If the CF.NET raiders dropped into the battle now, they’d be captured or killed instantly.

EXT. – ATOP THE AH.COM SHIP – DAY

JUSTIN GREEN
I really think we should go with you!

DUQUESNE nods his agreement.

DRACONISNOIR
Fine. Then hurry up!

JUSTIN GREEN gestures to NRED.

JUSTIN GREEN
Ladies first.

NRED smiles. As JUSTIN GREEN opens fire on the AH defenders, pinning them within the hatchway, NRED hops onto the shuttle’s remaining intact wing.

Once NRED is aboard, she calls to JUSTIN and DUQUESNE.

NRED
Get aboard!

DUQUESNE fires once last plasma burst at the AH defenders, then turns and runs towards the shuttle. JUSTIN GREEN keeps firing until DUQUESNE is aboard, and then he too retreats. As he runs, the two defenders rise from the hatchway and train their guns on him.

NRED hurls her crowbar. She strikes WEAPON M full in the head and sends him toppling back down the hatch. MATT’s shot misses. JUSTIN hops aboard the shuttle.

INT. – CF.NET – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

Alarms wail.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Gedca, damage report!

GEDCA emerges from a smoking console.

GEDCA
Shields down to 25%.
Hull penetrations in four places.
Particle cannon 3 is offline.

MERRYPRANKSTER
What about them?

GEDCA
Their shields seem to be at 40%.
The raiders have damaged one
of their particle beam weapons, but
otherwise, their structural integrity is intact.
(beat)
Oh, and the raiders are coming back. The shuttle is
damaged and Draconis wanted to get back when he could.

WARD
What a pity he wasted his efforts.

MERRYPRANKSTER
What?

WARD presses some buttons on the console.

EXT. – CF.NET SHIP – DAY

Two of the CF particle beams fire simultaneously. However,
they’re not targeted at the AH ship.

They’re targeted at the shuttle.

The particle beams slice both of the shuttle’s wings off. Belching smoke, the shuttle slams into the desert floor.

INT. – CF.NET – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

MERRYPRANKSTER turns to WARD, eyes bulging with rage.

MERRYPRANKSTER
What the hell was that for?

WARD
Command lesson number one.
Number one. Never leave an
enemy alive, let alone in control of weaponry.

MERRYPRANKSTER pales. WARD grins.

WARD
Command lesson number two. Never send most
of your co-conspirators on an away mission.
Leaving your ass unprotected.

BULGAROKTONOS pulls out a gun and trains it on the crew in the Control Room, his expression telling them to stay where they are. Ward glances to GRIMM REAPER. MERRYPRANKSTER draws his sword, but soon finds himself faced with both GRIMM REAPER and ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS .

ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS
I am not Borat!

MERRYPRANKSTER
(eyes on WARD)
Umm.._Gedca? A little help here?

GEDCA
(watching)
Sorry sir, real busy here.

GRIMM and ROMULUS circle MERRYPRANKSTER. They approach him in such a way as to force him away from the command chair. WARD rises triumphantly from the weapons console and returns to his former post. He then hails the shuttle.

INT. – CF SHUTTLE – DAY

It’s a vision of hell inside the shuttle. Fires rage on several of the consoles and smoke fills the air. DRACONISNOIR twitches, impaled on some debris, while DUQUESNE, NRED, and JUSTIN GREEN frantically try to force the door open.

WARD’S VOICE comes in over the intercom system.

WARD (OS)
Say goodbye, you traitorous little shits.

EXT. – THE BATTLEFIELD – DAY

The CF.NET ship opens fire on the shuttle the instant the trapped raiders get the door open. The shuttle explodes, incinerating all but NRED. NRED, propelled out at the last second by JUSTIN GREEN, tries to crawl away from the flaming rubble, but another blast from the CF ship reduces her to ash.

INT. – CF. NET – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

Horror crosses MERRYPRANKSTER’S face. His eyes tear up as he glares at WARD.

MERRYPRANKSTER
(screaming)
You psychopathic son of a bitch!

WARD
(grinning wickedly)
Thank you.

MERRYPRANKSTER feints with his samurai sword, forcing ROMULUS back. With a lightning-quick motion, he draws his pistol and fires through the gap at WARD, but misses, striking a console.

GRIMM REAPER seizes the gun from the shocked MERRYPRANKSTER’s hand. MERRYPRANKSTER steps back, swinging his sword, and nearly takes off one of GRIMM’s ears. The Second in Command fires the gun he took from MERRY, shooting him in the kneecap.

MERRYPRANKSTER goes down screaming, dropping his sword. GRIMM REAPER and ROMULUS both converge upon him. The would-be Captain is buried beneath an avalanche of blows. WARD’S loyalists continue kicking MERRYPRANKSTER even after it’s obvious he’s been knocked unconscious.

WARD raises a hand. ROMULUS and GRIMM back away.

ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS
Can we kill him? I sooo want to kill him!

WARD
No. I have plans for him.

GRIMM REAPER
Are they painful, sir?

WARD scans the remaining crew, they’re all still standing at their posts, looking both scared shitless and ready to run.

WARD
(glancing at Merry)
He’s bleeding MY deck.
Get him out of here.
(stares at the Crew)
Now.

The crew launches into activity, dragging the unconscious MERRYPRANKSTER out of the Control Room.

WARD
We’ll see. Let’s get out of here.

GRIMM REAPER
Wait!

WARD raises an eyebrow.

GRIMM REAPER (CONT’D)
DOMINUSNOVUS. He wasn’t aboard
the shuttle. He didn’t help MERRY

WARD
Fine. Teleport him in.

EXT. – THE DESERT BATTLEFIELD – DAY

DOMINUSNOVUS rolls to the side as a Crusader war-horse brings its hooves down on him. He tries to rise to his feet, but throws himself down as an Almoravid warrior fires a plasma rifle. The Crusader is incinerated, and DOMINUS himself badly burned.

A moment later, he vanishes.

Overheard, the CF ship’s engines roar. It vanishes into the sky.

INT. – AH.COM SHIP – CONTROL ROOM – DAY

A cheer goes up.

LANDSHARK
I came! I saw! I bitchsmacked his ass!

OTHNIEL
Now that the CF ship is gone, what should we do?

DOCTOR WHAT thinks for a moment, stroking his goatee as usual.

DOCTOR WHAT
Leo, see if you can destroy the last of the
plasma rifles. Then teleport the Almoravid
army, or what’s left of it, back to Marrakesh.
(thoughtful)
I bet historians in the future of TTL will
think this event never actually happened.
They’ll read reports of “angels” and “fire from heaven”
and think it was all some sort of mass hallucination.

OTHNIEL
Angels and fire from heaven are quite real.
(beat)
Well, not this time…

LANDSHARK
Is it just me or are the bloody
Cffer’s arses getting easier to kick?

DOCTOR WHAT
I’m just glad we got our arses
out of here in one piece.

OTHNIEL
Amen, to that.

END ACT II


TAG


INT. – CF. NET SHIP – DUNGEON – DAY

LATER

MERRYPRANKSTER is lying on his stomach. He’s quite badly bruised and a bandage is wrapped around his shot knee. WARD, clean-shaven and totally in command, steps over to him, GRIMM REAPER stands beside him, glaring down at the would-be captain. MERRYPRANKSTER moans and GRIMM REAPER rewards him with a swift kick.

WARD
You really screwed that one up, boy.
The AH ship is inferior to us in every way, but
thanks to your damned incompetence,
they almost killed us!

GRIMM REAPER kicks MERRYPRANKSTER again. MERRYPRANKSTER rolls over.

WARD
And you were disloyal to me, you treacherous little shit.
I wasn’t really becoming a drunken fool—that was a scam.
I wanted to see who was loyal to me and who wasn’t. Those
little pissants you recruited fucked up and they got what they deserved.

MERRYPRANKSTER spits at WARD, spitting upon his boots. WARD grins and steps on MERRYPRANKSTER’s shot knee. He begins screaming in pain..

WARD
You’ve got balls, kid. I’ll give you that.
That’s why I’m going to let you live.

MERRYPRANKSTER’s eyes widen.

WARD
You showed initiative. You should you can think.
But you screwed up in your leadership, boy.
You fucked up and your people died because of it.

MERRYPRANKSTER looks away, eyes shut.

WARD
As I said you’ve got initiative, you can think,
and I need people that can do that. A ship is
not run by idiots who can only say ‘yes, sir’,
it’s run by people who can think and act without
having their god damned hands held.
(MerryPrankster stares at him in confusion)
As of this moment, you’ve been promoted to Third in Command.

MERRYPRANKSTER’s jaw drops.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Holy…
(nearly groveling)
Wh…why thank you, sir.

WARD
First order of business is to get back to the Hub.
We need repairs for my ship and new crew for
those that you lost today. All that gold from
the Almoravids will pay for the repairs,
we don’t have Ian’s blank check this time.

WARD suddenly steps forward and places his boot upon MERRYPRANKSTER’s neck, applying pressure until the other man is gasping.

WARD
(deadly serious voice)
You ever pull a gun on me or question my leadership
of this ship, then you’ll see how long you can survive
in a vacuum, boy. Remember, you’re replaceable.
Do I make myself clear?

MERRYPRANKSTER
(gugling)
Yes…sir…

WARD lets up the pressure and MERRYPRANKSTER gasps for breath.

WARD
Now, get to the Med Bay and get that knee patched up,
clean up, and get your ass back in the Control Room.

MERRYPRANKSTER laboriously gets to his feet as WARD watches him. The Captain turns and heads for the door, MERRYPRANKSTER limping after him.. GRIMM REAPER brings up the rear.

GRIMM REAPER suddenly moves close to MERRYPRANKSTER’s back and shoves the barrel of his gun into the small of his back.

GRIMM REAPER
(Whispering)
I’ll be watching you, Traitor.

MERRYPRANKSTER hurries forward, closer to WARD.

MERRYPRANKSTER
Umm…sir? What happened
to Ahmed and Sarah?

WARD
(non-chalantly)
Those two specimens of desert trash
you insisted on rescuing?
(grins evilly)
I let them off easy.
I had them killed.

MERRYPRANKSTER can only stare at him in horror.

FADE TO BLACK

ROLL END CREDITS