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Scene 20 - The Horror of Trekk Towers
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[Inside the North Tower. Camera focuses in on a large metal exit door that looks more like a futuristic airlock door than a building entranceway. There are strange sounds coming from the other side of the door, a sort of a metal on metal grinding sound. Without warning the door burst open and fresh air rushes in for the first time in at least a decade. The crew of the Victory falls through the open door, as does a barge of Terminator weapons fire from out side]

IJD GAF: "Get it shut quick!"

[Che quickly taps on command panel a few times and the door seals itself shut with a loud echoing thud. As soon as the door closes the only sound that can be heard is the breathing of the exhausted trolls.]

Parallaxis: "What's going on? Why aren't they busting through the door."

[Pause. Still no sound.]

Whacker: "The Terminators are preprogrammed not to enter the Towers." [Turns to Starman] "Right?"

Starman: [Stuttering] "yea…yes…. yes…that's right…the Terminators won't enter the Towers. We should be safe…"

Che: "Your far from safe asshole…You set us up you bastard! [Che grabs Starman and violently slams Starman's head into the floor.] "Where the hell was the cargo bridge…Where the hell was the landing pad! Bobby's dead because of you! Did you bring the rest of us in here to finish the job!"

[Whacker calmly walks up behind Che and hits him in the back with the blunt end of his rifle. Che falls to the ground.]

Whacker: "Get a hold of yourself Che. Look around, try and find a way out of here."

[Che regains his composure and moves back toward the entrance way.]

Whacker: "We're on ground level. Where's the reeducation center?"

Starman: "The reeducation center is in the South Tower. We must be in the North Tower. No ones been in here for years. As far as I know there's nothing in the North Tower."

Whacker: "Nothing except the shield emitter on the roof that is."

Starman: "The emitter? That's more than two hundred floors above us!"

Whacker: "Then we better get moving. Miss Manners?"

[Whacker turns to Miss Manners and Mumma who have been examining a large computer console imbedded in the wall.]

Miss Manners: "According to this display none of the lifts are functioning on at least the first eighteen floors. I can't tell after that. All information about floors above that level has been restricted. According to the old Tower Directory there should be an emergency stairwell twenty meters down the east hallway….We can use it to get to the functioning lifts….if there are any."

Whacker: "Then lets move."

IJD GAF: "Wait a minute. We came here to use the emitter to overload the Tower's power core. Now that we're inside the Tower can't we just go directly to core itself."

Mumma: "Maybe but I can't locate it with this terminal and its location has been restricted in the Tower directory."

Whacker: "Starman?"

Starman: "I have no idea where it's at."

Che: [Under his breath] "That's fucking convenient."

Starman: "It's not my fault! The North Tower layout is completely different from the South Towers. We were never suppose to be in this far!"

Whacker: [Clearly getting frustrated.] "All right we go for the emitter as planned. If we happen to run across the core than great. If not we overload the emitter as discussed. Lets go."

Parallaxis: "Ah, well…ok….I'd just like to point out that without the Victory we don't have any way off the roof once the core begins to go."

Whacker: "One problem at a time…."

[The Trolls move out through the dark hallway."]

[Hours Pass….]

[The group is seen ascending a tall spiraling metal staircase. There is only blackness below them and darkness above them. The only light comes from the Troll power lamps. Starman collapses from exhaustion so the team decides to rest. The Tower appears to be completely empty and their voices echo throughout the stairwell.]

Starman: [Lying across one of the long metal steps.] "Where the hell are we?"

Parallaxis: "Feels like we've been climbing for days. I'm guessing we have to be around the forty-second floor."

Mumma: "Really. Cause I've only counted less than twenty."

Parallaxis: [Sitting down on a step.] "Damn."

IJD GAF: [Looking around] "Starman, how long has it been since anyone entered the North Tower?"

Starman: Well, its always been off limits to the machines since Event Three. The Hitler Youth in the South Tower have never been over here as far as I know."

IJD GAF: "Event Three?"

Starman: "Its what the machines use to describe the day when the ADMIN issued the orders to exterminate all signs of life with the community."

Che: "Is there a point to all this?"

IJD GAF: "Well if no one has been here since that day then where are the bodies?"

Starman: "What?"

IJD GAF: "The bodies. The bodies from the original Tower workers that were killed that day."

[Everyone just stares at him in silence.]

IJD GAF: "I mean c'mon. Someone must have stayed around to clean up the bodies. Right?"

Whacker: "Unlikely. The Towers were built at the height of the second golden age. I'm sure it was equipped with self maintenance drones which disposed of the bodies and repaired any damage."

Parallaxis: "Great a building that cleans itself."

Miss Manners: "I think it's creepy. Its like the whole building is alive."

Mumma: "It was certainly acting like it downstairs."

Whacker: "What?"

Mumma: "When we first came. You know when I first accessed the Tower directory. When I first opened the system all the files seemed to be under general access, but when I tried to open a file that was connected to the path we've been traveling the computer would restrict the access."

Che: "Are you saying the fucking Tower led us here? And you're just now mentioning this?"

Mumma: "I just assumed the system was malfunctioning. I didn't think about it until Starman said something."

Whacker: "All right, lets not jump to conclusions. Pack it up, breaks over."

Starman: "Oh god, I don't think I climb up any farther."

Che: "I'd be more than happy to help you find the quicker way back down."

Starman: "What the hell is his problem anyway."

Parallaxis: "Lets just say that Che's had bad experiences with people selling him out in the past."

[Just as the Trolls begin to move up again a wall slides out to block the path up the stairs. At the same time another panel below them slides back to reveal a long dark hallway.]

Parallaxis: "Good news Starman. Look likes the Tower heard you."

[Camera view switches as seen from inside the hallway. One by one the Trolls come through the opening.]

Whacker: "There's an elevator at the end of the hall. Lets hope it has power."

Che: "Right….lets hope…"

Parallaxis: "Look at it this way, the Tower seems to have taken a liken to us."

IJD GAF: "Great."

[The Trolls move down the hallway and enter the lift. Once everyone is inside the doors automatically close and the elevator begins to ascend.]

Sardy: "Well say what you will, but it beats climbing stairs."

IJD GAF: "I'll remind you that you said that when this thing drops and we fall to our deaths."

Parallaxis: "You know I never realized you were such a glass-is-half-full kind of guy."

IJD GAF: "Funny."

Whacker: "Starman any idea where this lift stops?"

[No answer. Everyone turns to see Starman backed into a corner of the elevator mumbling to himself.]

Starman: [softly]: "Shouldn't be here…never should have come back…Tower's angry."

Che: "OK great. Our intel officer, who doesn't seem to know shit about the Tower by the way, is going fucking insane."

Mumma: "Starman its ok, just try an….."

[Before she can finish the sentence the lift stops. The doors open to reveal a hallway that is identical to one that the Trolls just left. There is another elevator at the end of the hallway.]

IJD GAF: "Isn't this where we got on?"

Miss Manners: "Can't be. We went up at least nine levels."

Whacker: "All right then. Lets go for the lift….nice and slow."

[The Trolls exit the lift. First Whacker, then Miss Manners. Sardy and Parallaxis come next followed by Che and IJD GAF. Starman refuses to move and Mumma stays on the lift to help him.]

Mumma: "Come on Starman. You have to move."

Starman: "I can't. It's watching me. I can feel it."

Mumma: "Dammit no one is watching you. C'mon you don't want to be stuck in here by yourself do you?"

[Slowly Starman reaches out his hand and together he and Mumma step off the lift and begin to cross the hallway.]

Mumma: "See. That's better nothing to be afraid of."

[By this time everyone except Mumma and Starman have entered the lift.]

Che: [calling out to Mumma] "C'mon if you can't drag him in here then just leave him."

Parallaxis: "I'll help her."

[Just as Parallaxis begins to get off the lift the doors begin to close.]

Parallaxis: "What the hell?"

Che: "Jam 'em! Don't let the doors close before Mumma gets on!"

[Everyone quickly grabs the ends of the lift doors but even the strength of all the Trolls combined doesn't seem to have much affect.]

Whacker: "Miss Manners find a control for the doors NOW!"

Miss Manners: "There's nothing here! No buttons! No display nothing! Its on automatic!"

[Mumma and Starman pick up the pace but just as they are about to reach the elevator a gate from out of the ceiling comes crashing to the floor. The gate falls directly between Mumma and Starman instantly severing Starman's hand. Mumma's path to the lift is blocked.]

Starman: "Arh!!!!!!!!"

Parallaxis: "Oh god! We have to help them!"

[Before anyone can react another glass barrier comes down in front of the gate. Mumma pulls and struggles at the gate but there doesn't seem to be any way through. Mumma spins around and tries to run back to the lift she just came from but its doors close before she can move. She turns back around and grabs the gate just as the portable scanner attached to her belt begins to read dangerously high microwave emissions. Before she even has time to look down she is blasted with heat as every cell in her body to burn. She grips the fence even more tightly as her hands literally start to melt to it….]

[On the other side of the gate Starman crawls inside the elevator leaving a bloody trail behind him. The other Trolls are forced to watch in horror as their friend is slowly incinerated. The shock of it causes the Trolls to lose their grip on the doors and they slam shut. The elevator begins to ascend.]

Che: "What the fuck was that, and don't tell me pissed off maintenance droids!"

[Sardy collapses in disbelief while the outraged Che runs and grabs what's left of Starman pulling him off the floor.]

Che: "What the fuck is going on! Who's in here with us!"

Miss Manners: "Che put him down! Your gonna to kill him!"

Whacker: "Che put him down that's an order!"

[Che drops Starman and he falls to the floor. Miss Manners kneels beside him to examine his wounds.]

Whacker: "Is he going to live?"

Miss Manners: "He's losing a lot of blood. Unless we come across something resembling a medical facility then…"

[As suddenly as before the elevator stops and the doors open to reveal another identical hallway.]

Whacker: "All right no one moves until I clear…."

[Starman jumps up and pushes Miss Manners out of his way. He runs out into the hallway and begins to scream at the empty hallway around him.]

Starman: "Forgive me! I didn't mean to bring them here! I understand now! I'm myself again! Forgive me!"

[Starman reaches the middle of the hallway when suddenly liquid nitrogen begins to pour down from the ceiling. Half of Starman's body is soaked and freezes instantly. The half-frozen Starman spins back around toward the elevator with a look of absolute terror on his face. A small opening above the lift door fires some kind of small round which pierces the frozen half of Starman's body and causes half of him to literally explode into pieces. The other half falls to the floor dead.]

Che: [very matter of factly] "Well, I guess his hand doesn't hurt now."

[Whacker just shoots Che a look of disgust and then turns back toward the other lift.]

Parallaxis: "Do you think that was it? Kind of like a one time thing?"

IJD GAF: "Only one way to find out."

Whacker: "I'll go first. Move out behind me. Slowly." [The Trolls slowly and carefully cross the hallway to the other elevator each expecting to be the next of the Tower's victims. All the Trolls enter the opposite lift. The doors close and they once again begin to ascend. The trip up is shorter this time, maybe only one level. The doors open again to reveal another identical hallway.]

Che: "Well I'll be damned if I'm getting off first."

IJD GAF: "Don't look at me."

Parallaxis: "Something tells me it wouldn't matter either way. I have a feeling will just keep coming out into hallways until there's no one left."

Whacker: "There has to be a way out of here besides that lift."

Sardy: "If there is then I don't see it."

[An hour or longer passes. None of the remaining six trolls have moved out of the lift. Most have fallen sleep from sheer exhaustion. Suddenly the hall and elevator go completely dark. A heartbeat later Sardy, who has been sleeping against the back wall of the elevator, feels something hot in his back. ]

Sardy: "Arhh! What the fuck!"

[The trolls spin around to see a bright pinpoint light coming from the back of the elevator.]

Che: "What the fuck is it?"

Whacker: "Something's cutting through the wall."

Parallaxis: "Damn. Well we can't stay here anymore."

Whacker: "I think that's the point. Something's trying to force us out into that hallway."

[At that instance about half way down the hall a panel slides open. Out from the darkness steps a familiar face - RobL.]

RobL: "I've deactivated the power to this room. The traps are no longer functioning but you must come with me now."

Che: "What is this! Kill him. Now!"

Whacker: "No! Wait!"

RobL: "There isn't time for this. The ADMIN has been using you to test human responses but I've interfered and shut down the experiment."

Parallaxis: "Like rats in a maze…"

RobL: "Yes, but now that I've interfered the system is preparing to terminate the experiment - and the subjects. You must come with me if you want to live."

Che: "This is insane! Your not gonna to trust him! He's already killed me once. How many more times doesn't it have to take before you wise up?"

[Whacker looks behind him at the elevator door and the certain death that has almost finished cutting through. He realizes that he has no choice.]

Whacker: "IJD GAF you're with me. Everyone else stay here."

[Whacker and IJD GAF walk down the hallway to meet RobL until they are face to face with their old enemy/friend.]

RobL: "You must come with me now. I can lead you out of the Tower and to safety but we must go now."

Whacker: "What is this why the sudden change of heart? Is this part of the ADMIN's test to gauge the human response toward deception?"

RobL: "No. Whatever they used to complete my reeducation process failed. I'm only looking to leave the Towers."

[The lights flicker.]

RobL: "It won't be long before the Tower restores power to this room. We must go now."

Whacker: "Get the others tell them we're moving out."

IJD GAF: "Yes sir."

RobL: "You've made the right decision."

Whacker: "Shut up." [Pointing his gun in RobL's face.] "Here's the deal Rob, we're not leaving the Towers - we're going to the top. You're going to take us there and if we run across another trap your body will hit the floor before anyone else's. Clear assho…"

[Before Whacker can finish his sentence, power is restored to the room. Another gate comes crashing down trapping Whacker on RobL's side of the hallway.]

Whacker: [To IJD GAF who is standing in the hall halfway between Whacker and the elevator.] "Don't move!"

IJD GAF: [Looking very nervous.] "No argument here."

Whacker: [To RobL.] "I don't know what you did before to turn the power off but you'd better do it again and now."

RobL: [Typing furiously on some sort of hand held computer.] "I'm working on it."

[The other empty elevator at the other end of the hallway begins to hum. Its doors close and the elevator begins to ascend.]

IJD GAF: [Shouting back to Whacker.] "What's going on over there?"

RobL: "Tell him not to move."

Whacker: [Shouting back to IJD GAF.] "Just don't move - we're working on it!"

RobL: Examining his computer.] "Oh damn."

Whacker: "What? What is it?"

RobL: "Now that there's power to the lift the Tower is sending reinforcements down from above."

Whacker: "What? Stop them."

RobL: "I can't."

[The elevator descends back down to the Troll's level. Slowly the doors open. The lift is dark on the inside and appears to be empty. For a second - nothing. Then a hail of weapons fire burst out from the elevator. Unable to move IJD GAF is hit repeated times and blown to pieces from one end of the room to the other. The other Trolls still inside their own elevator take cover. Whacker peering out from RobL's secret passage returns fire at the unseen enemy.]

Whacker: "God damn it! Get those doors closed and turn off the damn power!"

RobL: "Stand by…….got it."

[RobL is hit in the stomach by weapons fire.]

RobL: "Arghhh!!!"

[RobL falls.]

[The attacker's doors slam shut and the room powers down. Whacker looks to where IJD GAF was standing but there is only ash. Then Whacker looks further down the hall to notice that the get is still down and blocking the path.]

Whacker: [examining RobL] "Damn."

RobL: "How bad is it?"

Whacker: "Lets just say that this would be a good time for your machine friends to come and take you to a medical unit."

RobL: "I see."

Whacker: "Can you stand?"

RobL: "I think so. Yes"

Whacker: "Good. We have to get that gate up."

RobL: "There is no way to open the gate once it's locked down."

Sardy: [calls out from the distance] "Whacker?"

[Whacker walks down the hallway until he is face to face with his men with only the gate between them.]

Whacker: "Rob says there isn't a way to open the gate. Can we cut through it?"

Sardy: "No. There isn't time whatever is on the other side of that wall is almost through."

Whacker: "Then we'll have to fight. I'll cut while you…."

Sardy: "No. That won't work. You have to go without us, it's the only way."

Whacker: "Absolutely not. No one gets left behind."

RobL: [dragging himself down the hallway towards Whacker.] "He's right, there is no way to help them. We must go!"

Whacker: "No! I won't leave my men here to die."

RobL: "Their dead already. They died the moment that gate came down."

Sardy: "Listen don't worry about us. We'll catch up. You have to get to the top of the Tower and destroy the emitter."

[The cutting stops and a loud booming noise comes from the wall as something tries to push its way through.]

Sardy: "No more talking you have to go now!"

[Sardy spins toward the wall weapon charged.]

Whacker: "I will end all of this. I promise."

[With that Whacker and the injured RobL run for the secret passage. As they go Whacker can hear their voices behind him.]

Sardy: "All right. If we're going to go out then we're going to take a few of them with us."

Parallaxis: "Damn right."

Che: "Lets kick some ass."

Miss Manners: "Weapon power on full."

[Whacker enters the passage right when the wall breaks down. Immediately there is nothing but bright light from the exchange of weapons fire. He hears the screams of both his friends and something - else. Then nothing. Silence.]

[He and RobL run down the passage while Whacker vows to keep his promise and to end the Trekk Wars no matter what the cost.]