nods to Carmen. CARL Please continue, Sergeant. JOHNNY Dizzy wouldn't want our tears. She'd want us to remember her... with a vengeance. So go out and kill a bug for Dizzy. Kill as many as you can. You are her revenge, and every bug you kill honors her death. Johnny nods to the GUNNERY CREW. They load Dizzy's body into a tube. Johnny steps back, salutes Dizzy. Everyone salutes. JOHNNY Womb to tomb, cap trooper ! ROUGHNECKS Womb to tomb ! The CREW CHIEF fires the tube. Out the viewports, A PULSE OF LIGHT disperses into space. The Roughnecks file out. Carl approaches. Carmen takes Johnny and Carl by the hand. CARMEN Well, look at this. The three of us back together again. JOHNNY How are you, Carl ? CARL Johnny, I'm sorry it had to be your unit on Planet P. That mission had a very low survival probability... JOHNNY Bugs laid a trap, didn't they ? CARL Elegant proof of intelligence, isn't it ? We thought there might be a brain on P. CARMEN You knew and you sent them anyway ? CARL A colony has to reach a certain size before it produces a Brain... we think 300 generations. Woulda too expensive to launch an operation if there wasn't a Brain... Carl sees the way Carmen is looking at him, like he's a bug. CARL You don't approve. Well, too bad. We're in this for the species, boys and girls. It's simple numbers, they have more, and everyday I have to make decisions that send hundreds of people like you to their deaths. JOHNNY Didn't they tell you, Colonel ? That's what cap troopres are good for. Carl allows himself a tiny smile. CARL Hope you're ready for more. We're going back to P to capture that Brain. JOHNNY The Roughnecks are always ready, sir. CARL I hear they need a new Lieutenant... Want the job ? JOHNNY I'll take it... until I get killed or you find someone better. KLAXONS sound. Suddenly, everyone has someplace to go. CARMEN Hope you get your Brain Bug, Carl. CARL It's good to see you two. It reminds me of the way things were before... Carl turns abruptly and heads away. His entourage follows. CARMEN Take care, wilya Johnny ? JOHNNY See you on the bounce ! 153 INT RODGER YOUNG - COMMAND & CONTROL - CARMEN steps onto the bridge. There's a new NUMBER 2 sitting in Zander's chair. She's right out of Tereshkova, and she looks scared. Carmen turns to Captain Deladier. CARMEN Where's Lieutenant Barcalow ? DELADIER He requested a combat assignment. There's always a need for experienced pilots on the ground. I had no choice but to let him go... He said you'd understand. Carmen bites her lip, takes first chair. Deladier feels bad for her, knows she's made a painful decision. 154 INT RODGER YOUNG - DROP ROOM - ROUGHNECKS are suiting up. Ace enters. ACE Officer on the deck ! Roughnecks fall in. Johnny steps into the room. There are many new and much younger faces. JOHNNY I only have two rules. Rule one, everyone fights. Rule two, no one quits. If you don't do your job, I'll kill you myself. Do you get me ? ROUGHNECKS We get you, sir ! JOHNNY (to Ace, sotto voce) Who're all these kids ? ACE We got reinforced. Most of'em just got outa boot... JOHNNY We're the old men, Ace. 155 EXT PLANET P - 4TH BRIGADE HQ - DAY - CARGO SHIPS have landed. Cap troopers set fire to huge piles of dead bugs. BULLDOZERS push bodies into a mass grave, among them Rasczak. Johnny walks past with his team. JOHNNY We'll take this high ground. Lookouts there and therte and up there. If the bugs come upstairs in this neighbor-hood, we'll be the first to know. ACE Got it. Fleet tactical wants to know where they can deploy the skimmers. JOHNNY Down there on the flats, eh ? Listen up, Roughnecks ! Our primary objective is to assist our friends from the Fleet... Roughnecks boo. JOHNNY Alright, cut it out. We will deploy from skimmers in teams of six. If the bugs open up a battery, we put it out of business. Any questions ? A HERCULES CARGO BOAT hurtles out of the sky and lands on the high ground Johnny has intended forb his H.Q. Johnny scowls, marches over to the boat and confronts a FLEET OFFICER. JOHNNY Would'ya mind moving your boat ? FLEET OFFICER Better talk to the boss. The cargo bays open to deploy FLEET SKIMMERS. Zander jumps down to oversee the operation. JOHNNY You're standing on my H.Q., Lieutenant ! ZANDER This is a Fleet-driven operation, son, and the Fleet thinks my boat will be safer on the high ground. You can have everything else, eh ? JOHNNY You heard the Sky Marshall... Move it all down - Suddenly, in the distance, bug batteries open fire, not one but twenty. Zander and Johnny share a look of concern. ZANDER Rodger Young, prepare to receice outgoing fire...! (to his crew chief) I'll take the first group. JOHNNY Saddle up, boys, that's our trash ! 156 EXT SPACE - PLANET P ORBIT - BUG PLASMA begins to take a toll on the battle group as the orbiting ships lay their eggs. Cap Troopers are scliced as they drop. 157 EXT RODGER YOUNG - BRIDGE - CAPTAIN DELADIER turns to Carmen. DELADIER Evasive action ! Carmen dodges other starships, turns to her new number 2. CARMEN Prepare for warp ! NEW NUMBER 2 Yes, ma'am ! Warp in 5... 4... 3...! KA-WHAM ! The Rodger Young takes a direct hit. 158 EXT RODGER YOUNG - PLANET P ORBIT - THE RODGER YOUNG is cut in two. The rear section explodes, the forward section begins to burn towards the bridge. 159 INT RODGER YOUNG - BRIDGE - CAPTAIN DELADIER calmy evacuates the bridge. Power fails and so does the gravity. CARMEN This is Rodger Young, we're going down... Repeat, this is Rodger Young, we're going down...! DELADIER Ibanez...LET'S GO ! 160 INT RODGER YOUNG - ESCAPE CORRIDOR - CARMEN and Captain Deladier run for the lifepods. An explosion flips the corridor. Captain Deladier's leg is crushed when an airlock closes on her. DELADIER AAAAAAAAAAA ! Carmen hits the release, pulls her free. Deladier pushes Carmen away. DELADIER Leave me, Lieutenant ! That's an order ! CARMEN No way, ma'am ! 161 INT RODGER YOUNG - LIFE POD BAY - CARMEN pushes into the chaotic life pod bay. PANICKED CREW shoving, screaming, fighting. The ship pitches. They tumble, landing near a pod. Carmen jumps for it, pulls Deladier in after. 162 EXT RODGER YOUNG - PLANET P ORBIT - THE RODGER YOUNG disintegrates as lifepods shoot away toward the planet. 163 INT LIFEPOD - PLANET P ORBIT - CARMEN navigates through a graveyard of floating wreckage, dead cap troopers, someone's trombone. She sets her beacon and the pod plummets downward. CARMEN Mayday, mayday ! This is Lieutenant Carmen Ibanez in lifepod RY63... I'm going in... 164 EXT PLANET P - BASE CAMP - DAY - ROUGHNECKS board the Skimmers. Zander approaches Johnny, upset. JOHNNY What's your problem now, Lieutenant ? ZANDER The Rodger Young just burned up... Johnny's face falls. JOHNNY Any survivors ? Zander points. Far in the distance, a glowing pod plummets toward the planet. Johnny tracks it on his "head up". 165 INT LIFEPOD - ATMOSPHERE - DAY - CARMEN is shaken violently as the pod hits atmosphere. 166 EXT PLANET P - DAY - CARMEN'S POD hits and goes straight through the crust of Planet P. 167 INT BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - THE POD comes to rest. Carmen blows the hatch, pulls Deladier out, grabs a Morita pulse rifle. Tunnels lead in every direction. CARMEN This is Lieutenant Carmen Ibanez. Is anyone receiving ? 168 EXT BASE CAMP - DAY - JOHNNY grabs the handset from Ace. JOHNNY (O.S.) Affirmative ! Carmen, this is Roughneck base camp... What is your present location ? 169 INT BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - CARMEN sees a warrior coming at her from out of the shadows. Carmen fires a burst and kills it. Now there are two. Carmen backs up firing, but there are too many. CARMEN My present location is 42 degrees South by 176 degrees East... situation is extremely hostile... I...AAAAAAAAA ! They have her. She puts the barrel of the Morita in her mouth, but a claw cut her trigger finger off at the knuckle. 170 EXT PLANET P - ROUGHNECK BASE CAMP - DAY - JOHNNY and Zander are horrified by what they hear. CARMEN (O.S.) AAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! JOHNNY We've gotta go get her ! ZANDER You know as well as I do she's probably already dead. Johnny knows it's true, swallows bitterly, turns away. That's when he sees it. Nearby, the ground shifts, a claw breaks through, a hole opens up and bugs boil up out of the ground. SUGAR WATKINS Here they come ! They turn and see a second bug hole open up. JOHNNY We're outa here. Lieutenant, get your men into the skimmers. This real estate's about to go buggy. ZANDER Hey, just calm down, I'm giving the orders here- The entire area underneath the base camp collapses to form a huge new canyon. The Hercules boat topples, crushing Skimmers and unfortunate Fleet personnnel. 171 EXT NEW CANYON - DAY - JOHNNY and the surviving Roughnecks pick themselves up. The are now 30 meters below the planet's surface. Above them, bugs line the wide rim of the newly formed canyon. JOHNNY Form a perimeter ! Through the dust, exposed bug tunnels can be seen in the canyon walls and piling out of them by the score, deadly Arachnid warriors. Johnny throws Zander a pulse cannon. JOHNNY Make yourself useful, fly boy... PREPARE TO REPEL BUGS ! The Roughnecks open fire at the charging bug horde. Warriors are blown to pieces. Gas grenades fly and H.E. rounds close tunnels. A maimed warrior gets through and heads for Zander. ZANDER AAAAAAAAAAA ! Johnny and Ace team up to blow it away. Zander takes a deep breath, loos around, impressed. The Roughnecks have killed a great many bugs. JOHNNY Ace, get on the com. Tell Fleet we need retrieval... Sugar, salvage some armor and suit up Lieutenant Barcalow. Sugar Watkins tosses a bloody jump boot his way. ZANDER Thanks. ACE Fleet Command says retrieval's no go. The battle group's at safe distance... and we got another problem. Ace points out a Tanker bug that's been brough up to the rim. Johnny sees another. JOHNNY Looks like they're gonna hose us down... Johnny chews on this. JOHNNY Alright... Listen up, Roughnecks. We're gonna head west down through bug city, pick up any Rodger Young survivors we run across, and join A Company. Get me ? ROUGHNECKS We get you, sir ! Zander, awkward in a power suit, confronts Johnny. ZANDER What do you think you're doing ? JOHNNY I'm gonna save Carmen. ZANDER That would mean a comlete disregard for the mission objective. They hang you for that, Rico. JOHNNY Yeah, that's right. Johnny and Zander stare each other down. ZANDER Let's go. JOHNNY Move out. Johnny starts for the gaping mouth of an exposed bug tunnel and the others fall in behind him. ACE Bug hunt ! ROUGHNECKS BUG HUNT ! 172 INT TUNNEL - DAY - JOHNNY leads his deadly force through enemy territory. The Roughnecks kill everything that gets in their way. Zander lends his inexperienced hand. JOHNNY Mr. Barcalow, save power, don't waste it on workers... Ace, tell Aardvark we're on our way... ACE Yes, sir ! Warriors appear in the tunnel behind them. JOHNNY Sugar, close the tunnel...! SUGAR Fire in the hole ! Sugar Watkins fires an H.E. round and seals the tunnel. 173 INT BUG CITY - FEEDING PIT - DAY - CARMEN opens her eyes. She can hear BUGS CLICKING. She's in a pit filled with human dead. A nearby carcass wears a uniform from 4th Brigade Off in the dark she hears HUMAN MOANING. She crawls over rotting corpses toward the sound. The moaning turns to SCREAMING. It's coming from outside the pit. She pulls herself up to peer over the edge. 174 INT BUG CITY - THE ROYAL COURT - DAY - CARMEN sees hundred of bugs at work, WARRIORS, WORKERS and dozens of small (2 meters) CHARIOT BUGS. Aworker walks pas, stepping on her, but pays her no attention. She sees the source of the screaming: Captain Deladier is hold between two warriors, and she's screaming because of what she sees, DELADIER NAAAAAAAA...! OH PLEASE... The BRAIN BUG is huge (5 meters) and pulpy. I has vestigial legs that cannot support ist weight, and so it must be moved by a shifting carpet of chariot bugs. DELADIER ...OH GOD AAAAAAAAAAAAA...! A thorn-like PALP unfolds out of the brain bug and strikes, driving deep into Deladier's head and sucks her brains out. DELADIER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! Carmen watches horrified as Deladier dies. The suddenly a warrior grabs her from above and drags her out of the pit. She screams as its claws slice into her limbs. CARMEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAA ! Now the brain bug comes for her. She sees the palp unfold, the thorn-like spike coming toward her. Carmen is no longer looking for escape. All she wants to do is die. Suddenly, every bug in the chamber stops as though to listen. Carmen hears it. A HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAL, getting louder. Johnny enters the chamber alone. The warriors move toward him. He holds up a NUKE, source of the high-pitched tone. The ready light flashes. The Brain Bug emits a series of harsh clicks. The warriors freeze. JOHNNY You know what this is...? Johnny makes an explosive sound. The Brain Bug slowly withdraws its palp. JOHNNY Sure you do... You're a big fat smart bug, aren't you ? Johnny moves toward Carmen. The Brain Bug's multiple eyes track him. The warriors holding Carmen threaten. Johnny turns on the brain bug, his finger on the nuke's trigger. JOHNNY I'll take you with me. The Brain Bug clicks. The warriors back off. Carmen collapses. Johnny reaches for her. JOHNNY Take my hand ! Chariot bugs move the Brain Bug down a hole. Workers seal the hole behind it with amazing speed. Johnny drags Carmen back toward the tunnel he entered from. The warriors charge. JOHNNY Roughnecks...NOW ! Johnny throws himself on top of Carmen as the Roughnecks burst into the chamber, guns blazing. The fight is furious, point blank, deadly to bug and Roughneck alike. Sugar Watkins screams as a warrior rips his arm off. Zander takes a claw through the gut. ZANDER AAAAAAAAAAAAA ! He blows it away, sees his intestines hanging out of the wound, shoves them back inside and keeps on fighting. A warrior rears up over Johnny and Carmen. JOHNNY Weapon ! Ace throws him a Morita. Johnny catches it, pumps three rounds into the bug's nerve stem. He struggles out from under the dead warrior. Every bug in the chamber is dead. JOHNNY Are you hurt ? Carmen throws her arms around Johnny. CARMEN Johnny...! Zander takes this in. Carmen sees him, then his wound. CARMEN Zander...! Oh, you're hurt. Ace takes a look at his wound, makes a face. ACE Ah geez... Zander pushes him away, struggles to his feet. JOHNNY Can you walk ? ZANDER (clenched teeth) Not a problem. JOHNNY Let's get some armor on her, and the we'll get outa this stinkin bug hole ! Various components are gladly passed forward. Johnny and Ace help her putting it on. CARMEN I thought I was dead. Lucky for me you jokers showed up, eh ? ZANDER It wasn't luck. Rico ignored the mission objective to rescue you... CARMEN Is it true ? JOHNNY Yeah, if I live through this, they'll probably hang me. Now com'on, let's move out ! 175 INT BUG CITY TUNNELS - DAY - THE ROUGHNECKS double-time it, racing for the surface. They come to a fork. CARMEN Which way ? JOHNNY Up. We gotta be near A Company by now. The tunnel floor drops out. FIVE ROUGHNECKS disappear into the hole. WARRIORS climb up into the tunnel. JOHNNY FALL BACK ! The Roughnecks bachk up fast, shooting. Zander staggers, collapses. Johnny drops to his side, rolls him over. JOHNNY How bad are you, pal ? ZANDER Been better, buddy. Johnny sees warriors coming up into the tunnel by the score. JOHNNY Alright, we're gonna carry you... ZANDER Nah, I figureyou folks oughta get upstairs before it's too late... Gimmee the nuke. Zander checks his pulse cannon's available power. JOHNNY Don't be a hero... ZANDER This is my farm. Now c'mon, give me what you got and get out of here... Johnny nods, hands him the nuke. Carmen sees what's happening. CARMEN Zander, what are you doing ? ZANDER Just giving you something to remember me by, baby. CARMEN Zander, no...! He grabs her and kisses her. Johnny drags Carmen away. Zander opens fire as the first warriors reach his position. 176 INT BUG CITY - INCLINED TUNNEL - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN race desperately for the surface. They hear the chatter of Zander's pulse cannon and the screams of dying bugs. JOHNNY GO.GO GO GO GO...! Tears stream down from Carmen's face. 177 EXT PLANET P - DAY - JOHNNY AND CARMEN and the surviving Roughnecks make it to the surface. WOMP ! A subterrenean nuclear explosion blows a column of earth and stone into the air. 178 EXT PLANET P - A COMPANY BASE CAMP - JOHNNY and the others enter A Company's perimeter. No one notices their arrival because everyone's gathered in a big circle watching the Brain Bug. CARMEN Look... they got it. Several of its delicate legs were apparently broken during the capture. Carl approaches it without fear, puts his hand on the thing. GENERAL What's it thinking, Colonel ? Carl smiles in a cruel way. CARL It's afraid. Johnny and Carmen approach the General. JOHNNY Sir, I'd like to turn myself in. Dereliction of duty by an officer during wartime. GENERAL And you freely admit to it ? JOHNNY Yes, sir. GENERAL Is what this man says true, Lieutenant ? CARMEN To the best of my understanding, it is, sir. The General sighs, turns to his AIDE. GENERAL Round up a field court martial, wilya ? Carl steps in. CARL It's alright, sir. Acting Lieutenant Rico was under my orders... psi-orders. The General smiles, relieved. MAJOR Oh, I see. Well, that's completely different. That's classified. The General heads away. Carl winks at his friends. JOHNNY You always told me you couldn't do human... CARL I can't... but like I told you, it's a number's game. The Federation needs all the pilots it can get... CARMEN I don't know why, but every time the three of us are together I feel like everything's gonna be alright. CARL I hope you're right, Carmen. We've got one of their brains now. Pretty soon we'll know how they think, and then we'll know how to beat them. One day it'll be over, and everyone will forget that this was the moment. This is when it turned. And it wasn't the mighty Fleet, it wasn't any fancy new weapon, it was a cap trooper named Zim who captured a brain... JOHNNY Zim...? Johhny sees a knot of soldiers around Zim, who is smiling, selfconscious and admirers shake his hand, pound his back. Johnny rushes to congratulate him. JOHNNY Hey, Sergeant Zim. Good job ! Zim turns, gives Johnny a wry look. He wears the single stripes of a private. ZIM Thank you, sir. Zim snaps to attention, salutes. Johnny has to smile. JOHNNY Carry on, private ! 179 FROM THE FEDERAL NET - AND SO THE WAR GOES ON ! Starships parked row-by-row in the floating yards above Luna. Meanwhile, at Camp Currie, cap troopers train. OFFICIAL VOICE Armed with more soldiers, more ships, and with a unity unmatched in all of human history, the Federation marches on ! 180 TECHNOLOGY - NEW WEAPONS ! Federation scientists are hard at work. OFFICIAL VOICE Better gas to kill bugs with and, soon, the capacity to crack a planet in half with just one bomb ! 181 ENLIST NOW ! Proud YOUNG PEOPLE in uniform, the bloom of human evolution. OFFICIAL VOICE Citizenship now guaranteed to all able applicants. Put your plans on hold to fight for the future ! Protect your continued right to evolve ! Would you like to know more ? 182 INT STARSHIP SPARTA - THE BRIDGE - CAPTAIN CARMEN IBANEZ stands on the bridge of a brand new starship, the Sparta. CARMEN We're over the target area now, Lieutenant ! 183 INT SPARTA - DROP ROOM - LIEUTENANT JOHNNY RICO looks his Roughnecks over before the drop. JOHNNY Saddle up, Roughnecks ! ACE You heard the Lieutenant ! On the bounce, troopers ! One thing's for sure: They'll keep fighting, and they'll win ! THE END