[Damocles]

Second Act

Act 2

Act 2; Scene1


Setting; Brig of the Pegasus


[Note to set dresser]


Set the stage as if you were looking through a fourth force wall from the audience(camera) point of view.into a box of a prison compartment. It may be possible to have the toilet sink combo on the back of the brig cell and a pair of steel bunk beds(left) and a bench(right) as furnishings.If you can mange it, have a pull down table next to the toilet as a common eating work area the four prisoners share.


[Note to director]


Block the scene as needed. The Colonials segregate prisoners by gender, but not rank, so this cell contains only men. {Dress the prisoners in single color jump-suits with socks and sandals.} These four have been thrown together, just within the following hour, and they don't really know each other, or why they are together. They are all condemned men.]


Hassel Petry; Hey you. Ledon Thoma! I know you. You were one of Caman's golden boys. Couldn't find a Cylon system you couldn't crack. What did you do? Try to run numbers on the Admiral's daughter?


Ledon Thoma(who is a powerful man for a geek) jumps on Hassel Petrey. It takes the combined efforts, of the other two condemned men, to pull Ledon off Hassel.


Tien Thee; That's enough! Save your breath! You'll need it when they put us out through the airlock! We know why they have us. We don't need to satisfy individual curiosities.


(The four of them turn when they hear a door open(sound effect), to see an armed party of one officer and three guards[enter stage/shot left] approach the front of their cell. This party is led by Bartimus Crabbe, the ensign we saw from the command conference in Act 1; Scene 5)


Staius Livius; Well if it isn't ^Buster^ come to see us off! Crashed any Vipers lately, Sir?


Crabbe; No thanks to you, Staius. That number you did on my auto-pilot was cute.


Staius Livius; Well I try to do good works, when I can.


Crabbe motions to the guards and the Guards draw pistols. Marine 2 moves stage right to a wall lever outside the ^presumed^ force wall. He pulls the lever down. [sound effect] The force wall is off.


Crabbe; You four are condemned men. Its out the airlock for the lot of you.


Tien Thee; Yeah.Yeah. Without a pressure suit. We know the jokes. Only thing, Ensign(said with a sneer) it isn't our scheduled time to go. I still have seven ship days and my appeal to work through.


Crabbe; Forget the appeal, Tien. You blew that compartment out, and Admiral Cain knows it. He can't wait to get rid of you. If you wanted to commit suicide why didn't you cut yourself shaving?


Tien Thee; You wouldn't understand.


Crabbe; I don't need to. You four are all running out of time. But......


Hassel Petry(perking up); But what? You offering us a way out? I heard a rumor.


Crabbe; Yes, a way. Likely you'll foul it up and die, but you could make it. If you four want to. It means you put your selves in my hands and do what you are told.(Crabbe looks at Hassel Petrey)


Hassel Petrey; I read you loud and clear.


Crabbe; Sir.


Hassel Petry, Tien Thee, and Staius Livius say together; Sir.


Crabbe; Whats the matter with him (pointing to Ledon Thoma)


Marine/Technician 1 Thoma; Thats my brother, sir. He's mute.(Marine/Technician 1 signs to his brother. Ledon Thoma nods his head once in a firm yes.)


Marine/technician 1 Thoma; He understands, Sir.


Hassel Petry; Uh, Sir, I don't know if I mentioned this, but my wife......


Crabbe: I already selected her, Hassel. I needed somebody on the team with BRAINS.


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Act 2; Scene 2


Setting; Cain's quarters aboard the Pegasus


[Note to set dresser]


Same set up as previous for Cain's quarters If there is the plexiglass plotting board, then show the transparency of the planet Murado seen from Act 1 Scene 5. The words ^Aero-shell insertion 1^ with arrows indicating the primary and secondary drop objectives on the planet Murado near the two X's that Gideon Johron drew should be boldly marked and labelled There should be a meal laid out for two people.


[Note to the director]


This is the setup for the raid. The two actors should do this as one continuous read, sitiing over their dinner. they can improvise the conversation as they eat.Lara Petry wears the same prison garb as the condemned men. Cain is in full Colonial dress uniform/


Cain; What do you think of the plan?


Lara Petry; Tyro Glen never could plan an operation. You don't want to risk the Peg on a run like this. You'd be better off using either the Artemus or the Phoenix. They can jump in danger close, release kinetic ordnance on a flyby, kike you meant it, and we can ride the aero-shells in with the ordnance garbage. The Cylons will think we are the decoys and ignore us, while they shoot the real stuff out of the sky.


Cain; I thought about that, but won't the toasters assume that we wouldn't risk nuclear warheads for fear that the radioactives will set off the tylium?


Lara; I'm no explosives expert, but doesn't the Peg use sandcaster missiles to break up Cylon massed missile attacks? Use sandcasters as a wide area kinetic munition?


Cain(laughing); You've talked to Tien. Yes, we can do that. A sandcaster when it hits the ground? It would produce a surface effect, not to dissimilar from rail-gun bombardment. The Cylons would have to engage the missiles.


Lara Petry; Mines. If we are going to make this idiot plan work, the warheads have to be ballistic mines. If the Cylons see missiles they'll shoot at everything incoming!


Cain; You really think so?


Lara Petry; I know so.


They eat for a brief while.


Lara Petry; About the aero shells/


Cain: Three of them. Two of them will contain the raid party along with the gear you'll need to survive on the planet. The third will contain the land-ram and the heavy weapons.


Lara Petry; So the Vulcanus is turning out three ^boulders^ that we can fly down to the planet?


Cain; Yes. One will be flown by Ensign Crabbe. The Second will be flown by a Lieutenant Charus Hevo. I don't know him. he's a volunteer from the Phoenix. And the third will be flown by my daughter.


Lara Petry; I know Hevo. There's no Warrior braver or better.


Cain; That's good to know. Tell me, Lara. Why did you ever marry a scoundrel like Hassel Petry?(Cain indicates Lara's prisoner garb)


Lara Petry; I was an idiot, Admiral, and I was in love.


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Break.......................