Excerpt from PLANET OF DARKNESS, by Brian Mix INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY Atlas runs straight to the radar operators position. ATLAS What's going on? RADAR OPERATOR It's a plasma ship coming in fast. WALKER What?! EXT. SPACE - DAY SIDE OF A DANTARIS A second plasma ship STREAKS in out of light speed, guns BLAZING. The second ship does a slow half-flip, keeping it's nose and guns pointed constantly at the Phoenix. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY The ship shakes violently under the gunfire. Atlas watches the other ship on a Vid. ATLAS I knew it! Only one asshole would pull that maneuver. TURNKEY Baleman! ATLAS Walker, get forward and get those meat bullets off my ship! We gotta punch out of here. Walker dashes out. TURNKEY We're not going to fight? Atlas grabs the hand-mic. ATLAS Hell yes, we're going to fight. Gunman fire! Right up 'til we run the fuck away. BOOM! The ship rocks. A small fire breaks out. INT. PHOENIX, MISSILE ROOM - DAY Missile techs are shoving them into tubes. The room takes a direct hit as Walker enters. He falls to the deck. SMOKE fills the room. WALKER They know what we're up to! Burks, Blackman, let's go! There is no response. BURKS, and BLACKMAN are on the floor, ears bleeding from the blast. Christine kneels to take care of them. Paxton seals up his last man, and helps Walker load them into the tubes. PAXTON We have to fire us all at once or wait 'till the next orbit. WALKER Let's go Doc-- KABLOOM! SPARKS fly and the room tips. Christine is down but not out. Her leg is gashed. CHRISTINE Paxton! Get out -- I'll go on the next orbit. Paxton nods, and hands Walker a frequency homer as they close him up. Walker punches the button, and grabs a Mic. FOOOOSH, FOOOOSH, FOOOOSH, FOOOOSH, FOOOOSH! WALKER Missiles away! He drops the Mic, and slumps over exhausted. Christine is bandaging her leg. CHRISTINE There isn't going to be another orbit, is there? Walker says nothing. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY Small fires behind control panels are bursting into bigger ones. The ship shakes with explosions. ATLAS God damn't Davis, get us around. The G.P. Pilot pulls with all his might on the controls. DAVIS No way, he's got us on speed. Atlas pounds the bulkhead and grabs the Hand-Mic. ATLAS Missile room, we need live birds in the tubes, now! (beat) Missile room?! Walker stagers in from the front of the ship. WALKER The missile room's open to space. I just got the hatch closed when the whole front end came off. ATLAS Chris... Dr. Wall? WALKER She's fine, working in sickbay. Atlas and crew are stunned. A voice comes over the loud speaker. BALEMAN (V.O.) You're done, Atlas. Abandon ship and I'll save your crew. Stand and be destroyed. SPARKS He's fired! One bird. An EXPLOSION rocks the ship. BALEMAN (V.O.) I've just blown your engines to shit, Atlas. You're mine. SPARKS Engine room's off line-they're leaking plasma. ATLAS Walker, you've got the bridge. Atlas turns to leave then turns back. ATLAS Do not abandon ship. WALKER Wouldn't dream of it. INT. PHOENIX, ENGINE ROOM - DAY The place is blasted all to hell. Plasma is slowly leaking from some of the engine nozzles. Cookie is on the deck. JONES We got the leaks under control, but she's building an overpressure. ATLAS Thank you, Jones. Clear the room. Jones leaves. Atlas kneels down to Cookie. Christine arrives and examines Cookie. COOKIE Did we make it? Did we get paid? ATLAS Yes, you're rich old man. They both laugh/cough. They look at Christine, she shakes her head no. COOKIE Looks like you're going to have to shove yourself into a baggy this time, Cap. ATLAS Neither one of us is ever going out there again. The ship shudders and creaks; a pipe spits steam. COOKIE Funny thing is the furnace is cookin' best ever... No place to go... Cookie dies. Atlas holds him a second then grabs the hand-MIC. ATLAS All hands -- this is the Captain. Prepare to abandon ship. INT. PHOENIX, MESS HALL - DAY Atlas strides though as crew members scramble for space baggies. Belcher hands them out. BELCHER Captain we're not really going to abandon ship again? ATLAS Yes, you are. Ready at all hatches -- I'm going to depressurize the ship. BELCHER This IS the shits. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY The bridge crew is stunned. Atlas walks into a room full of glum faces. WALKER I thought you would never give up another ship! ATLAS You're right! SENATOR CANARD This is preposterous. You can't expect me to go adrift in space. I'm a Senator. Atlas grabs Turnkey's gun and puts it in Canard's face. ATLAS That was no rescue team we put down on that planet! SENATOR CANARD You won't shoot me. I'm the man who will sign your check. Atlas shoots off the the Senator's ear, then pushes the gun to Canard's forhead. ATLAS Talk! SENATOR CANARD ARRGGGHH! They're a strike team! Sent to stop the transmissions at all cost! Keep the secret. The Senator is petrified. Over the loudspeaker comes more taunting. BALEMAN (V.O.) Atlas, I've got two birds zeroed- in on your bridge. ATLAS What secret? The Senator shakes his head no. He is petrified beyond words. Atlas shoves a space baggy into Canard's shaking hands. ATLAS Let's show him we're giving up. Atlas dumps the Senator into the air lock. Canard struggles with the baggy. DAVIS He's not in the bag! Atlas cycles the airlock, and grabs the Hand-Mic. ATLAS All hands, depress in sixty seconds. The bridge crew rush to the baggy dispenser. ATLAS Not you Walker, you're with me. TURNKEY I'm with you too, Skip. ATLAS Fine Key, go grab us some pressure suits. Turnkey heads forward. Christine enters from aft. CHRISTINE If you're staying on board so am I. ATLAS It's your funeral. Atlas smiles. EXT. SPACE - PLASMA CRUISERS Crewmen in inflated space baggies stream out of the Phoenix' hatches. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY Atlas and Walker, in pressure suits, push the last of the baggies out of the open airlock. ATLAS Seal'er up and bring the furnace up to full temp. WALKER But the engines are destroyed. Atlas smiles and heads aft. EXT. SPACE - PLASMA CRUISERS The Bagged crew has drifted clear of the ship. The Phoenix turns ever so slowly toward the second ship. INT. PHOENIX, ENGINE ROOM - DAY Atlas, in his suit, holds a three-foot wrench. ATLAS You got her nose pointed right at him? INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY Walker, Turnkey and Christine are there. WALKER Give it another few seconds. BALEMAN (V.O.) Atlas, you coward. You don't bag yourself out of that ship in ten seconds I'm going to waste you and your whole crew. ATLAS (V.O.) Get down on the deck, let me know when. The three crewmen hit the deck. INT. PHOENIX, ENGINE ROOM - DAY Atlas readies the wrench. WALKER (V.O.) Now! With a wide swing Atlas knocks the end of the first plasma injector clean off. A coherent beam of sun-hot plasma shoots out, and bores clean through the forward hatch. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY The beam BLASTS through the bridge over the prone crew. EXT. SPACE - PLASMA CRUISERS The beam BURSTS out the front of the Phoenix and tears past the other ship. INT. PHOENIX, ENGINE ROOM - DAY Atlas looks out the long hole. WALKER (V.O.) Missed him. ATLAS Here goes another. He hefts the wrench. EXT. SPACE - PLASMA CRUISERS The second beam tears through the other ship, a third cuts it in half. The Atlas' crew CHEER in their baggies. The Phoenix retreats quickly toward the planet. A fourth beam finishes Baleman's ship in a fiery explosion. The Phoenix speeds away even faster. INT. PHOENIX, BRIDGE - DAY Atlas rushes onto the bridge. ATLAS Got the bastard! What's wrong? WALKER The recoil from the plasma blast, it's knocked us from orbit. ATLAS What's our relative speed. TURNKEY Zero. The three men get very quiet. CHRISTINE What does that mean? Atlas is at the Nav-Console. TURNKEY It means we're not in an orbit. We're plummeting straight down.