defiant: 001 - best friends

8/14/2019 Defiant: 001 - Best Friends

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DefiantEpisode 001"Best Friends"Story by Adam HolmbergWritten by Eric Sipple

FADE IN:

INT. DEFIANT - DOCKING BAY 3

Lt. Commander Lauren Alridge waits impatiently near one of Docking Bay 3'sairlocks. She leans with her back against the wall and her arms crossed in frontof her chest. It's obvious she's anxious; whether she's expecting something goodor bad is unreadable, though. After a short moment of waiting, the arrival of ashuttle causes Alridge to straighten suddenly. She hastily straightens heruniform and turns to face the incoming transport.

SHUTTLE - AIRLOCK

We see only the shuttle's airlock hatch as it starts to slide open. The openingof the door slowly reveals Alridge, who watches the opening airlock closely,

looking for what's on the other side. She sees what she's looking for and heranxious expression turns into a genuinely happy smile.

ALRIDGE(grinning)Welcome to Defiant, Lieutenant.

BLACKOUT

White text is immediately visible over the black: Best Friends

INT. DOCKING BAY 3

Alridge stands as before, but now also visible is Lt. Carolyn Rusch, a duffle bagthrown over her shoulder and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. The twolook absolutely pleased to see each other.

RUSCHSo I'm getting the professional treatment, is that it?

ALRIDGEThought it would do you some good to remember who's in charge.

Rusch shakes her head with a smile. Then the feigned professional attitude drops,and the two embrace tightly. When they separate, Alridge motions for her to stepto the side, so that the other arriving crewmembers can get onto the ship.

RUSCHI can't believe that I actually got transferred here. It's been too long sincethe Baltimore. Plus...I mean the Defiant...hope this doesn't mean I used my luckfor the next couple weeks.

ALRIDGEWell, just don't place any bets for a while and I think you'll be safe.

RUSCHGood idea. So, what's the story? How's life on the Defiant?


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Alridge regains some of her seriousness and frowns.

ALRIDGEActually, we've got a bit of a crisis. We should report to the briefing room.Looks like a passenger liner went missing, and we're part of the search team.

RUSCH

Looks like I'm jumping in with both feet, then. Lead the way...(shifting to a more serious demeanor)Sir.

Alridge lets another smile break through the serious exterior before leading Ruschto the conference room.

INT. MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM

The usual suspects are present: Lt. Barry Piper, Lt. Thomas Wong and Lt. SerenaMartin along with Alridge and Rusch. Only Commander John Peck and Captain JamesWilmette are missing from the scene. Everyone at the table seems to be keepingtheir eye on Rusch, expectedly curious about the new girl.

Wilmette and Peck then stride in; Peck takes his usual seat while Wilmette staysstanding and looks over the crew. He notes the presence of Rusch and nodsslightly before beginning to speak.

WILMETTEGood morning, everyone. Sorry to have to jump into the heavy work so early, but acrisis is blooming.

Wilmette inserts a data chip into the slot on the table and the viewscreen comesto life. The screen shows a schematic of a passenger liner with the name"Candlestar" over it.

WILMETTEAny of you who keep up on the news and watched this morning...(smiling a bit)And I promise not to make any assumptions that all of you do...(the smile disappears)Probably heard that the Candlestar, a large passenger liner from HurstTranspacific, went missing this morning. The reason it concerns us is thatthere's some information the reporters don't know.

Wilmette touches a key on the table and the image on the viewscreen changes to amap of the area they're currently in, with a small marker for their position, amarker for the last known position of the Candlestar, and a final one marking theposition of the UEO vessel Virginia.

WILMETTEAt 0524 this morning the Virginia received a distress call from the Candlestar.She didn't just disappear; it seems she's been torpedoed.

The news sends an uncomfortable ripple through the gathered crew. Wilmettecontinues.

WILMETTEA task force has been combing the area, but have yet to find any trace of theCandlestar. There's a rather large trench in the area though, and they want


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Defiant to take a look with the SoftScan and see if we can locate the linerourselves.

Wilmette turns off the viewscreen before continuing.

WILMETTEI want to warn you that Command doesn't believe we'll find any survivors. We needto know what could have hit the liner, though, so finding the Candlestar is a

priority.(beat)Any questions?

Heads shake in response.

WILMETTEAll right then. Let's find that liner.

Wilmette looks ready to say "Dismissed" but instead motions to Rusch.

WILMETTEAlso, I'd like you all to welcome our new Chief of Weapons, Lieutenant Carolyn

Rusch. Welcome to the team Lieutenant.(beat)Dismissed.

The command staff, properly dismissed, begin to rise from their chairs to leave.

INT. MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM - LATER

It is shortly after the conference, and some of the crew still remain. Inparticular, Wilmette and Piper stand on one side of the room. In the background,Alridge and Rusch hang near the door, engaged in conversation.

WILMETTE

Do you think it'll cause any problems?

PIPERNo, we should be fine. We just might not want to push the engines too hard untilI can get it worked out.

Wilmette nods thoughtfully.

WILMETTEAny idea how long that'll take?

PIPERI could have it done by the time we reach the trench. These kinds of problems

happen sometimes on new vessels. You've got to track down all of those problemsthat happened during construction. These things happen when you get rushed out ofdrydock.

WILMETTEI know all about that. You're doing a good job. Keep it up.

Piper takes the compliment graciously.

PIPERThank you, Sir. I'd better get going and fix us up.


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WILMETTEDo that. Let me know if something else comes up.

Piper nods and turns to leave the room. Wilmette takes a moment more to make surehe isn't leaving anything in the room before moving to the door himself. As heapproaches Alridge and Rusch, we begin to hear their conversation. Rusch seems tobe telling a funny story of some sort.

RUSCHHe never even saw it coming. It was great!

ALRIDGE(chuckling)You're still such a troublemaker sometimes.

Alridge and Rusch notice Wilmette coming their way. Alridge's expressionimmediately changes from one of good humor to one of barely masked anger.

ALRIDGEI'd better make sure Commander Peck doesn't need anything. See you soon.

Before Rusch can even respond, Alridge is out the door. Rusch watches the scenewith a bit of confusion until Wilmette reaches her. At his arrival, Rusch snapsto attention.

RUSCHSir.

WILMETTEAt ease. I just wanted to introduce myself personally.(he reaches out and shakes Rusch's hand)Captain James Wilmette, Commanding officer of the Defiant.

RUSCHLieutenant Carolyn Rusch, proud to be of service, Sir.

WILMETTEAnd I'm glad to have you aboard. I think you'll find Defiant an exciting place towork.

RUSCHThank you, Sir. To be honest, I was a little surprised to be transferred to sucha high profile assignment.(beat, concerned)Sir, do you mind if I ask why your last Weapon's Officer didn't work out? If Ican avoid making the same mistake...

Rusch lets the thought trail off, unsure if she should even be asking this.Wilmette responds with a dismissive shrug.

WILMETTEYou wouldn't have been transferred here if I thought you would be a repeat ofLieutenant Greer. The fact is, even the best of people don't work under somesituations.(beat)You're here because people who matter think you're right for this situation.Let's leave it at that.


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Something about Wilmette's calm tone reassures Rusch; if he's not worried abouther being wrong for Defiant, maybe she shouldn't either.

RUSCHIn that case, all I can do is give Defiant my best.

WILMETTE

That's all anyone would ask. Now, I'd better get us ready to move.(beat)Lucky for you, you've arrived on a quiet day.

Wilmette smiles a bit and walks out of the room. Rusch follows him out, lookinglike she's unsure if she should take the comment as a joke, or be worried that itisn't one.

INT. BRIDGE

The bridge crew have taken their respective stations, including Rusch whocontinually looks over the panel in front of her as if trying to memorize exactlywhere every control is. Wong shifts his attention away from his console to

address Wilmette.

WONGCaptain, we're approaching the coordinates of the trench.

WILMETTEVery good. Get us close enough to scan. Ms. Martin, send a message to theVirginia and let her know we've arrived and are beginning our scan.

MARTINYes, Sir.

WILMETTE

Ensign Iwakura.

Ensign Sherri Iwakura, a petite young woman who looks a bit uncomfortable at herstation, looks up from the Sensors station towards Wilmette.

WILMETTEBegin your scans. If we need to get closer, let me know.

IWAKURAI think this will be fine, Sir.

WILMETTEGood, then let's get to it.

Iwakura nods and turns back to her station. Martin listens to something throughher earpiece before speaking.

MARTINThe Virginia thanks us for the help, and said to let them know if we needanything.

Wilmette nods and leans back in his chair, waiting for something to be found. Hedoesn't have to wait long.


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IWAKURASir, I think I located the Candlestar.

WILMETTEWell, that was quick. Good work.

Iwakura doesn't seem to know how to take the compliment, opting to simplyelaborate.

IWAKURAShe's stuck on the wall near the bottom of the trench.

WILMETTEWhat shape is she in?

IWAKURANot good. The damage is severe, but it's obvious it was done with a torpedospread. This definitely wasn't an accident.

Wilmette sighs and nods. He was hoping it would have turned out to be somethingelse.

WILMETTELet's get a bit closer and see if we can find any evidence. Helm, ten percentdown bubble.

WONGTen percent down bubble, aye.

WILMETTEReport anything at all that you find, Ensign Iwakura. Even if it looksinsignificant or--

IWAKURA

A sound!

WILMETTEA sound would qualify.(beat)What sort of sound?

IWAKURALike something banging against metal. Very faint.

Wilmette leans forward in his chair.

WIMETTE

Go to infrared.Iwakura's hands move quickly across the controls, her face lighting up when shesees the readings.

IWAKURAWe've got a survivor, sir!

Wilmette smiles.

EXT. DEFIANT


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The Defiant holds position in the trench. The doors to the docking bay begin toopen and a single Dragonfly moves from inside the ship into the open sea. Itangles itself downward and heads for the sunken liner.

INT. DRAGONFLY

Alridge pilots the Dragonfly, with Piper and Kindal in the cockpit with her. Of

the two, only Piper looks relaxed. Alridge is extremely tense, and Kindal chewshis lip nervously, looking a bit like an athlete ready for a big match. There'ssomething else beneath the surface of his expression as well, something on theedge of fear. Wilmette's voice speaks through the ship's com.

WILMETTE(filtered)Commander Alridge, our scans have revealed that when the liner hit the sea floor,part of the hull buckled over itself. The Dragonfly won't be able to cut throughit all quick enough, so there's a slight change of plans.

ALRIDGEThat being?

INT. DEFIANT - BRIDGE

Wilmette sits back in his chair as he gives orders.

WILMETTEGet within 100 meters of the Candlestar and stop. We're going to use theDefiant's pulse lasers to cut away some of the outer hull. It'll take somedelicacy, but we don't know how much longer that ship is going to remain livable.

ALRIDGE(filtered)Yes, sir. We can't risk lives unnecessarily.

There's a bite to her tone that Wilmette notices and cringes over slightly. Hedoesn't lose his cool enough for anyone on the bridge to notice, though.

WILMETTEExactly. As soon as you get the go ahead, move out. When we cut it coulddestabilize the whole thing. Wilmette out.(Wilmette stands up and looks to Rusch)We need to make a clean cut, and we need to be careful. I think the best firingposition would be...

He stops to think for a second, but Rusch takes the opportunity to give her ownsuggestion.

RUSCHI'd say we should be about 300 meters from the liner, above the target area by 70degrees. That way, we can fire the pulse lasers so it only skims the edge of thehull. We'll be able to control how much we cut away that way.

Wilmette blinks, a bit surprised by Rusch's immediate grasp of the situation.Rusch smiles and continues, not boastful at all.

RUSCHI did go to the Academy for this, Sir.


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Wilmette nods, approvingly.

WIMETTELooks like you paid attention, too. Good work, Lieutenant.

Wilmette turns to the Wong.

WILMETTEHelm, did you catch all of that?

WONGYes, sir.

WILMETTEThen let's get to it.

EXT. DEFIANT

Defiant begins to move slowly, carefully, into firing position. The trenchrestricts easy movement, and despite the need for urgency they aren't taking any

chances.

INT. BRIDGE

As it was before.

WONGWe're in position sir.

WILMETTEGood. Weapons, do you have a firing solution?

RUSCH

Yes, sir. Firing pulse lasers at 10% of maximum, on your command.

WILMETTENow.

EXT. DEFIANT

One of the pulse laser banks on Defiant lights up, and the blast skims the edge ofthe buckled hull of Candlestar. When the glow of the laser fades, much of thehull has disintegrated.

INT DRAGONFLY

Alridge waits, her hands poised over the controls.

WILMETTE(filtered)You've got an opening. Move in.

Alridge fires up the controls.

INT BRIDGE

The crew of the bridge listen impatiently to the transmissions from the rescue


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squad. Wilmette, in particular, is largely on the edge of his seat.

ALRIDGE(filtered)We're cutting our way through the rest of the hull, into the ship.

PIPER(filtered)

Everything's steady, and the hull is holding.

There's a long pause, and then...

ALRIDGE(filtered)We're in! Entering the Candlestar--

KINDEL(filtered, horrified)Oh my god.

WILMETTE

What's wrong?

ALRIDGE(filtered)We're in the main dining hall and...Sir, everyone's dead.

WILMETTEWhat about our survivor?

ALRIDGE(filtered)Searching. There's a lot of--

PIPER(filtered)I think I've got her!

KINDEL(filtered)She's definitely alive. Only minor wounds, from what I can tell.

PIPER(filtered, under his breath)She's just a kid.

KINDEL

(filtered)Sir we can move her just fine.

WILMETTEGood, get back to Defiant then.

KINDEL(filtered)Shouldn't we search the area first, sir?

WILMETTE


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Infrared didn't pick anything else up that could possibly be alive. Candlestar istoo unstable, don't get killed to pick through wreckage.

KINDAL(filtered)But, sir--

ALRIDGE

(filtered)Enough, you heard the Captain. Sir, we're coming back.

Kindel can be heard sighing, and communication cuts off. Wilmette shakes his headsadly.

WILMETTEPeck, make sure a full medical team is waiting in the Docking Bay.

PECKYes, sir.

Peck rises and walks off the bridge and a depressed silence descends over the

crew.

INT MEDBAY

Kindel sits at his desk in medbay, filling out a report. Alridge and Rusch enterthe room behind him and approach the doctor cautiously.

ALRIDGEDr. Kindel?

Kindel turns, slightly startled.

KINDEL

Yes? Are you both ok?

ALRIDGEWe're fine. We just wanted to check on the girl...the survivor from Candlestar.

RUSCHIs she up to a visit?

Kindel thinks about it for a second, and then nods.

KINDELShe woke up about a half hour ago. She's recovering from shock, so be gentle withher.

Kindel seems to be directing his comments more towards Alridge than Rusch.Alridge doesn't seem to notice, though.

ALRIDGEThanks, doctor.

The two walk into the area containing the beds, in particular towards one that'sblocked off by drapes. Alridge knocks gentle on one of the poles that supportsthe drape. A female's voice weakly responds.


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FEMALE VOICEUm...yes?

ALRIDGEMind if we come in? Just to talk.

FEMALE VOICEYeah, sure.

Alridge pulls back the drape and reveals the occupant of the bed inside. She's ateenager, maybe 16, with long red hair. She's extremely pale and has a largebruise on her forehead. She manages the slightest of smiles to her visitors.

RUSCHHello there.

ALRIDGEI'm Lauren, and this is Carolyn. We're officers on the Defiant. You're Megan,right?

The girl, Megan, nods and looks the two over for a short moment.

MEGANDefiant, that's the ship I'm on?

Rusch and Alridge both nod.

MEGANCool. I've heard of Defiant.

RUSCHHow are you feeling?

MEGAN

I'm not sure. I mean, I'm weak and all, but that's not the bad thing.

Alridge grabs two chairs and pulls them up to the bed which she and Rusch sit in.

ALRIDGEWhat is the bad thing?

Megan frowns, like she doesn't want to talk about it.

RUSCHI know it's tough but, sometimes it helps. Like Lauren and I are the best offriends, and sometimes all we can do to help each other is listen to the otherperson talk. But that helps more than you think it can.

Megan looks emotionally weakened; whatever she's been doing to help herself denywhat just happened is beginning to break down.

MEGANYou guys are best friends?

ALRIDGE(nodding)That's why we came down together.


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MEGANMy best friend was with me. On the cruise. Her name was Jamie.

Alridge winces, they've inadvertently brought up a very tough subject. Megancontinues talking, though.

MEGANWe won the cruise from a contest on TV. Well, she won it actually, and brought me

with her. Our parents even let us go ourselves, which was so cool of them. Theynever are that cool. We were having dinner, Jamie and I, when the boat wentinsane. Whole thing started shaking. The doctor said we were attacked bysomeone.

Megan trails of for a moment, looking for words. She takes a sip of the waternext to her bed.

MEGANI don't even know what happened, but some kind of shock knocked me out of mychair, and something hit me in the head.

Her hand reaches up and brushes the bruise on her forehead.

MEGANI looked up and the ceiling had collapsed...right on the table. It just missed mebut not Jamie.

Megan looks down at her sheets.

MEGANThat's supposed to help, huh?

Alridge and Rusch don't know what to say. Before they can think of anything,Rusch's PCR beeps.

RUSCHLieutenant Rusch here.

WILMETTECould you report to my office please, Lieutenant?

RUSCHRight away, Sir.

Rusch looks over Alridge and the girl, not wanting to leave but not really havinga choice.

RUSCH

We'll talk later, ok?

Megan nods.

INT WILMETTE'S OFFICE.

Wilmette works at his desk, looking up when there's a knock at his door.

WILMETTECome in.


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Rusch enters and shuts the door behind her.

RUSCHYou wanted to see me, Sir?

WILMETTEYes, sit down.

Rusch sits and Wilmette puts away the work he's doing.

WILMETTEThat was good work you did today with the Candlestar.

RUSCH(simply)That's my job, Sir.

WILMETTEDoesn't mean you don't deserve a pat on the back when you do it well.

RUSCH

Thank you, Sir. I'm just glad we could save someone out of that wreck.

WILMETTE(nodding)In a situation like this, that's rare. It's going to be a tough couple of weeksfor her, though. Sometimes...being the survivor can be confusing. It brings up alot of questions that there aren't any answers for.

RUSCHYeah...so have you been down to see her yet?

WILMETTEThe girl...Megan, right? No, I haven't made it down yet. Missions like this

generate a lot of paperwork. Do you think I should?

Rusch is a bit taken aback by Wilmette asking her for advice.

RUSCHWell...I don't think it could hurt. Plus, it might do her some good. The morepeople who stop by the more taken care of she'll feel.

Wilmette nods, considering her words silently. Without responding to her advice,he switches subjects in a way that makes it clear why he wanted to talk to her.

WILMETTEI was wondering what you're relationship with Commander Alridge is. You two seem

to know each other.

RUSCH(smiling)You could say that, Sir. We've been friends since we were kids.

Something occurs to Rusch and her smile disappears.

RUSCHThat's not a problem, is it?


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WILMETTENo, of course not. Commander Alridge is a good officer, she won't let it cloudher judgment.

RUSCHAbsolutely.(beat)Sir, I don't want to pry, but why does Comander Alridge seem so...tense around

you?

WILMETTE(frowning)Isn't it obvious?

RUSCHThat's what I was afraid of. We haven't talked about it in a long time but I...

She sighs, weighing whether to say what's on her mind.

RUSCHShe blamed you for her sister. I was hoping, now that she was serving under you,

that she had put it behind her.

WILMETTE(quietly)No one involved in that day is going to putting it behind them for a long time.

Rusch looks ready to continue, but the beeping of a comunicator and Martin's voicehalt her.

MARTINSir, you've got an incoming message from Pearl Harbor.

WILMETTE

(to Rusch)I've got to take this. Dismissed.

Rusch nods, unsure whether bringing up Alridge's anger was a good or bad thing,and walks out of the room.

WILMETTEPut the call through.

Wilmette turns to the viewer on his desk, where the Pearl Harbor emblem hasappeared. It is soon replaced with Admiral George Easton's face. Wilmette lightsup a bit at seeing him.

EASTONI heard you found the Candlestar without trouble.

WILMETTEEven found a survivor.

EASTONGood work. That's why I was calling, actually. We'd like you to bring thesurvivors - sorry, survivor - back to Pearl personally. Defiant could use a quickservice check, since it's convenient.


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WILMETTENo problem. We'll finish up here and then head out to Pearl.

EASTONThe Virginia is going to stay in the area and see if she can find anything, andwe've got seaQuest showing the flag. Barring a miracle, though, I doubt we'llknow who did this.

WILMETTEThe whole situation gives me a bad feeling, though. I can't explain it.

EASTONI feel the same way.(remembering something)How's your new Weapons Officer, by the way?

WILMETTERusch? Frankly I'm impressed. She hasn't been here long, I know, but I've got agood feeling about her. I think she's going work out fine.

EASTON

Great. I've got to get going for a staff meeting. We'll have a drink when youget to Pearl. Easton out.

Easton's face is replaced with the Pearl Harbor symbol as the communication iscut.

INT. MESS HALL

Megan sits alone at a table in the mess hall, picking at her food. Rusch,carrying a tray of food, notices Megan and makes her way to the girl.

RUSCHHey there. Mind if I join you?

MEGANYou don't have to keep me company. You can sit with your friends.

Rusch sets her tray on the table.

RUSCHOther than Lauren, I don't know anyone on the boat either. I just got transferredhere today. So I could use the company too.

Rusch offers a bright, very sincere, smile. It has the desired effect as Meganrelaxes a bit.

MEGANThen have a seat.

RUSCHHow are you feeling?

MEGANMentally or physically?

RUSCH(shrugging)


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Whichever you'd rather talk about.

MEGANI'm better physically. Otherwise...I don't know.(beat)Jamie was obsessed with the navy. She'd have freaked if she knew I got to ride inthe Defiant. She always talked about how she was going to enlist once she wasdone with High School.

RUSCHThat would have been tough; her being away on duty all the time.

MEGAN(nodding)That's what I thought. But I never told her that. I didn't want to make herreconsider her dream. Is it tough for you and Lauren to be apart?

RUSCH(nodding)It's happened a couple of times. Every time she went away, I felt so lost for awhile. It's not easy being apart from someone you care about that much.

MEGAN(faintly)Yeah.(beat)I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with losing her. If you lost Lauren...whatwould you do? How would you stay strong?

There's a brief moment of depression in Rusch that Megan doesn't notice, likeshe's considered that situation and only been able to see emptiness down thatpath. It passes, though, and Rusch responds.

RUSCH

(managing a smile)Badly. I don't think I'm the best person to ask about that.

Megan looks up and smiles in return.

MEGANThank you. For not patronizing me and telling me it's not as bad as I think.I'll get that enough from my parents.

RUSCHNo problem...

She doesn't get to continue, though, as a General Quarters alert is sounded.

INT. BRIDGE

Wilmette strides onto the bridge and immediately snaps into action.

WILMETTEWhat's our status?

PECKI don't know, sir. Sensors picked up an unknown vessel, but it's vanished.


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WILMETTEVanished? How?

PECKWe barely even saw it, so I'm not sure. It wasn't even visible long enough to geta profile.

Wilmette shakes his head, not liking the sound of this one bit.

WILMETTERun one more scan, and then let's continue to Pearl. I'll make a note of this inmy report.

PECKYes, Sir.

EXT. DEFIANT

Defiant begins to move again towards Pearl, passing over uneven terrain on itspath. From behind a rocky rise in the distance, the form of a vessel can be seenrising up. It almost looks like a seaQuest, but is all black. The vessel remains

in place for a moment before moving in the opposite direction of Defiant.

INT. MEDBAY

Megan stands at her bed in Medbay, packing a small military issue duffel bag withthe few things she was carrying when they rescued her. The arrival of someonestartles her and she spins to see who it is. It's Wilmette, who stands a couplefeet away from her.

WILMETTEHello. Megan, right?

Megan is definitely a bit intimidated by Wilmette.

MEGANUm, yeah.

Wilmette offers his best smile and extends his hand.

WILMETTEJames Wilmette. I'm Captain of Defiant.

Megan, quickly calming down, shakes his hand.

MEGANI've heard of you.

WILMETTEOh?

MEGANWe learned about you in our 21st Century History class. We learned all aboutthe...well the Incident.

Wilmette does his best not to cringe.

WILMETTE


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At Ganges, you mean.

MEGAN(nodding)Yeah.(beat)You lost someone special to you, didn't you?

WILMETTE(uncomfortable)A lot of people.

MEGANSomeone in particular, though.

Wilmette doesn't really want to talk about this, but something about Megan disarmshim and the words come pouring out.

WILMETTEMy fianc e. I tried to save her. I don't know if the history books talk about that, but that's why I did it. That's how they got the best of me. I made a

choice, to try and save her, and I couldn't even do that.

Megan looks at Wilmette for a long time before she speaks.

MEGANAt least you know you tried. You had the chance to try and help. I wish I couldhave done that for Jamie.(beat, sadly)You can make up for a mistake...but how do you make up for something you weren'teven given the chance to do?

WILMETTEYou don't. You can't. All you can do is say goodbye, and make sure you don't

waste the gift you got in surviving.

Wilmette's words have an effect on Megan, and it's also obvious that Megan's wordshave affected Wilmette. The two stand in silence until...

EXT DEFIANT - PEARL HARBOR DOCK

Defiant sits peacefully in dock at Pearl Harbor. Crewmembers can be seen filingoff the vessel for a short lived chance to get some fresh air.

INT. SEA LION LOUNGE

Wilmette and Easton sit at a table in the Sea Lion Lounge, which seems to be done

up in the most generic and boring way possible. Beer advertisement signs, done upin gaudy neon, are the only things that could be considered "decoration."

EASTONHow was she when she left your ship?

WILMETTEBetter. Seeing her parents helped a lot. I was glad we were able to get them outhere before we arrived.

EASTON


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It's just a sore spot.

RUSCHI know. I should have known better.

Alridge reaches a hand out and touches Rusch on the shoulder.

ALRIDGE

I'm glad to have you here. I missed you.

Rusch recovers at that, smiling brightly back at Alridge.

RUSCHMe too.

Smiling, the both turn back to the sunset to watch the final moments before dusk.Together.

FADE TO BLACK

THE END

defiant: 001 - best friends

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