[Damocles]

Third Act(continues)

Act 3; Scene 4

Setting; The Bridge of the Phoenix

[Note to set dresser]

The set should have a series of banked screens, and desks; set in two parallel rows, one stage left, and one stage right; set obliquely, so that the audience/camera appears to look from the back of the compartment, looking forward. At stage rear is a large plexiglass plotting screen, that a writer can stand behind, and be seen writing backwards; as data is relayed to him/her from the various technicians at their consoles.

Stage center is a table where the navigation and battle conferencing is conducted by the bridge battlestaff.

[Note to the director]

Block this scene, so that the actors do not obstruct the plexiglass plotting board. The Colonial technician, who plots the battle, should use the same marking conventions, that were used in Act 1 Scene 5. Use Colonial extras(Marine technicians 1-4[See production notes]) to dress out the scene at the work stations Those, without lines, should work silently; pushing buttons, and levers.

Phoenix bridge crew;

Captain Neretu Osbor

Technician Second Class Selene Spright

Marine/technician 1(Thoma wears a helmet to hide his face. See productine notes.)

Marine/technician 2(Bellam wears a helmet to hide his face. See productine notes )

Marine/technician 3(Croftus wears a helmet to hide his face. See productine notes)

Marine/technician 4(Horati wears a helmet to hide his face. See productine notes.)

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(Captain Neretu Osbor, commander of the Phoenix paces the bridge, looking constantly at the plexiglass plot. There is a Mercator polar projection map showing the Colonial viewpoint of the Cylon bases on the planet. The Captain studies it, and is worried.)

Captain Neretu Osbor; What, the frak, happened?(He looks at Technician Second class Selene Spright)

Technician Second Class Selene Spright(working with frustrated energy); I don't know, Sir. There was the one burst from Moffitt 2, then nothing. All I am getting is radio from the Cylon command bunker; and that is low-powered. I think they are using their own site generators to power their transmitter.

(The Colonial technician plotting technician, at the Plexiglass plotting board, plots three big question marks; where the aero-shell landing sites are marked; as squares labelled Moffitt 1, Moffitt 2 , and Moffitt 3.

Marine/technician 2(Bellam wears a helmet to hide his face); More strike analysis, Sir. We wiped out their airbase completely. Nothing, Cylon, flies out of that place, anymore. The dam, that was their powerplant, is gone. So is the missile field that protected it. Moffitt 2 may have landed near there, off course.

Captain Neretu Osbor(eagerly); How do we know that? About Moffitt 2?

Technician Second Class Selene Spright([surprised] works her own station even harder.); I'm sorry, Sir. This information just came through ship's opticals...(She gives Marine/technician 2 Bellam(Bellam wears a helmet to hide his face); an angry look, since the technician should have sent the information to her station; as she reported the current updates to the Captain);......Moffitt 2 flared. The pilot may have overloaded the aero-shell decelerator. Still no confirmation of a safe landing. But, its landed to the North, of where it should be.

Captain Neretu Osbor; If Crabbe wrecked Moffitt 2 by braking late, I will skin him alive.(He continues pacing)

Technician Second Class Selene Spright(eagerly); Sir, I have Moffitt 3! It is a compressed transmission. Unpacking it now.

Captain Neretu Osbor; Eight hours old, this far out.....How soon before you have it in plain text?

Technician Second Class Selene Spright(confused); The massage is Colonial encrypted, and it is on a Cylon carrier tight beam? Thirty minutes, Sir?

Captain Neretu Osbor; You have ten, Mistress Spright.

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Act 3; Scene 5

Setting; Cain's quarters aboard the Pegasus

[Note to set dresser]

Dress the set as a sitting room(center), office(right), sleeping quarters(left). Provide a table(desk) with at least three chairs.

[Note to director]

Provide hand props to the actors, to substitute for the big navigation/plotter table, that we see used on the bridge set. These can be anything, from clipboards to notebook computers. If you have the resources, give Cain's quarter's a small plexiglass plot screen, that duplicates the Phoenix's bridge plexiglass screen plot, throughout the play.

Some, of the Pegasus command group who planned the current operational disaster, gather to discuss Moffitt, and its progress;

Admiral Cain

Captain Tyro Glen

Doctor Archet

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Cain; Well. We know that Ensign Crabbe, and Lieutenant Hevo made it.

Captain Tyro Glen; Still no word about Sheba?

Cain; Nothing.

Doctor Archet; If those two knuckleheads made it, then Captain Cain landed safely. I am confident in the aero-shells we built, and she was perfect in the simulations.

Captain Tyro Glen; I should have used fewer slugs, and more decoys.

Cain(Shakes head); Your load-outs for the Phoenix were perfect. You hit your targets, and two of the aero-shells made it through. You saw the damage reports. Nobody: Cylon, or Human; had ever tried it, before.

Doctor Archet(under his breath);With good reason.

Cain; What was that, Doctor?

Doctor Archet(clears throat); Well, now that its done.....I simulated the possible strike outcomes; after Mister Glen presented his raid team insertion plan.

Cain; You mean the simulations, where the aero-shells had a less than fifteen percent chance of successfully landing?

Doctor Archet(coughing); I thought.

Cain; Where my daughter is concerned, Doctor, nothing escapes me.

Captain Tyro Glen(laughing); You were saying.... about my Pilots?

Doctor Archet; I stand corrected. Obviously those men are not knuckleheads..

Captain Tyro Glen(serious); Still, they are off of their target landing zones.(He picks up and looks at a handheld.) Moffitt 2 to the North, and Moffitt 1 to the west of their planned landing zones. Did Phoenix retransmit anything further; other than that they have a radio contact from Moffitt 2.

Cain; They made contact, and joined up with Moffitt 1.

Captain Tyro Glen; How did you learn that, Admiral?

Cain; As I said before. When it comes to my daughter, nothing escapes me.

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BREAK