EXT. FROZEN LAKE, OUTSIDE ASTROBUG

The AstroBug balances precariously in the rigid ice floe.

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INT. ASTROBUG, ACCESSWAY

Corey makes his way to the end of the central corridor on the mid-level of the ship.

He enters an AIRLOCK.

He opens a locker and grabs an O2 mask and a Flash Scanner.

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Moments later, Corey primes the OUTER HATCH by pressing buttons at an ACCESS PANEL on the wall.

The hatch swings open with a blast of wind to reveal the frozen landscape.

Corey braces himself, noticing the same volcano Clarke saw earlier.

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COREY " Holy shit. "

EXT. FROZEN LAKE, OUTSIDE ASTROBUG

He looks down to notice a layer of ice built up from their landing just below the rim of the hatch.

He takes the plunge and jumps down onto the hard surface.

Standing on the ice, Corey checks his footing.

Realizing he’s safe, he takes the Flash Scanner and snaps an image of his foot on the frozen surface.

COREY " First man. Ha! "

The ice begins to shift!

Corey clambers back to the airlock.

INT. ASTROBUG, COCKPIT

Baxter is seated, working at Corey's flight station. She reviews a schematic of the AstroBug's engines.

They indicate serious issues as Corey reenters the cockpit.

BAXTER " What did you see out there? "

COREY " Nothing good. I think we might have thirty minutes. An hour tops. "

Baxter is depressed by the reality of their situation.

BAXTER " Ugh. So, what’s the plan, Stan? "

COREY " Part of why we flew this big-ass ship down here with just the two of us and Omni was so we could access its rover if we needed it. "

BAXTER " Well, we do. How do we get it out? "

Baxter stands to allow Corey to sit at his flight computer. He types in a sequence. As the display fires up, an animation illustrates his plan. Baxter leans over his shoulder.

COREY " I’m going to fire the R-C-S long enough to free the access hatch. "

BAXTER " Seriously? Won’t that shift the ice? The ship will break through. "

COREY " No. Once the rover’s clear, there should be enough fuel to make a short hop to solid ground. "

BAXTER " You’re planning to fly this thing with an internal fuel leak? "

COREY " No choice. "

Baxter grimaces as Corey points to the schematic.

COREY (CONT’D) " Look, it’s isolated. It’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re trying to get back up into space. "

Corey taps a series of buttons in preparation for launch.

COREY (CONT’D) " It’ll take about fifteen minutes to warm up the thrusters. "

BAXTER " Okay. In the meantime... (turning to Omni’s strip) Omni, you up to continuing the shield analysis? "

OMNI " Yes. We can use the data obtained before the corruption occurred as a baseline. "

Baxter sits at the science station and pulls up a map.

BAXTER " Let’s do it. We didn’t travel fourpoint-two light-years just to get cooked by some stupid flares. "

He stands and heads for the access ladder.

COREY " I’ll get the rover ready to roll. "

COREY (to Baxter) " You better switch to an envirosuit. "

BAXTER " No argument from me. This thing’s a god-damned torture device. "

EXT. FROZEN LAKE, CRASH SITE

In spite of the cacophony flooding her senses, Clarke shows great athletic prowess as she makes her way across the ice.

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Another tremor strikes! Clarke is no longer afraid. She hops over a boulder of ice. The AstroBug is up ahead.

Only the angled top section of the AstroBug sticks out of the frozen lake. Boulders of ice are frozen around its rim. Clarke stares up at the beacon as it points into the sky.

CLARKE " Lights are on. You better be home. "

INT. ASTROBUG, VEHICLE BAY

Corey exits the upper hatch and makes his way down the ladder.

He enters a circular GARAGE located inside the lower section of the AstroBug.

The TERRACAT -- a futuristic all-terrain vehicle -- sits waiting in its restraints.

Corey steps onto the deck and pulls a charging cable from a socket on the rover.

He then presses a series of buttons on a keypad located next to the ladder.

The rover lights up and the deck beneath it rotates into ‘egress position’ so that it can exit the bay.

It’s hatch opens and Corey climbs inside.

EXT. ASTROBUG, HATCH

Clarke clambers deftly up the side of the craft to its upper hatch.

She pulls a small PICKAX from her utility belt. She uses it to bang on the hatch.

INT. TERRACAT

Corey is inside the rover accessing its systems. He hits a button to disconnect the restraints holding it to the floor of the bay.

Corey stops when he hears a distant banging. Confused, he taps the COMM-IMPLANT on his temple.

COREY " Guys, are you hearing that? "

BAXTER (COMM VOICE) " That’s not you? "

OMNI (COMM VOICE) " Jim, sensors indicate someone is outside Hatch Two. "

INT. ASTROBUG, ACCESSWAY

Corey climbs into the main accessway. Clarke stands outside the AIRLOCK, removing her mask.

Relieved, she waves and smiles at Corey through misty eyes.

Corey runs the remaining distance.

He grabs Clarke. They share a passionate kiss.

COREY " I can’t believe it! You were up at L-One. How’d you get down here? "

CLARKE " I’m a better pilot than you. "

COREY " You might be a better pilot, but... "

Corey pulls up an image on his Flash Scanner of his feet on the surface.

Clarke smiles and shakes her head.

She pulls up her own Flash Scanner to show the image of Dyson’s success.

CLARKE " Kyle beat you by ninety minutes. "

COREY " Are you serious? ‘ Kyle Dyson, first man on Proxima b ‘ . Unbelievable. "

CLARKE " Jim, he’s hurt. Bad. Our descent seriously injured him. Plus we lost our X-Doc. I need one of yours. "

COREY " It’s okay. We’re gonna help him. How far away is the Fox? "

CLARKE " About two klicks. "

The AstroBug SHUDDERS in another quake.

The pair hold on until it stops.

Corey looks around nervously.

COREY " I’m surprised we haven’t sunk with all these quakes. We need to prep the TerraCat right now. "

CLARKE " How are you gonna get it out? "

COREY " You’ll see. "

INT. ASTROBUG, COCKPIT

Baxter sips from her AutoBrew as she and Omni review a map of the shield nodes. Several of them flash RED.

OMNI " The fusion reactors are feeding power to the grid, but, for some reason, these nodes are offline. "

BAXTER " Could the E-M-P been generated by some sort of power feedback loop? "

OMNI " I don’t think so. The pulse came from outside the system. "

BAXTER " How is that possible? "

OMNI " It shouldn’t be. There’s no identifiable external source. "

BAXTER (sitting back) " God. I’m tired. "

OMNI " I understand. "

BAXTER " After fifty years of hibernation, you’d figure I’d had enough rest. "

BAXTER (looking around) " Where the hell is Corey? "

OMNI " He must be enjoying his reunion. "

BAXTER " I can’t believe that kid got down here so fast. "

OMNI " I’m not surprised. Those two have been deeply in love for many years. Darcy must have been devastated when the AstroBug went down. "

BAXTER " I remember being in love like that. Unfortunately, some ties unravel. "

INT. TERRACAT

Corey completes a checklist at the front of the rover.

In the rear, Clarke spies the vehicle’s cylindrical FOOD STATION.

Clarke removes a BEVERAGE DISPENSER and grabs a small SPHERE OF WATER incased in a gelatinous shell.

She bites into it.

As Clarke drinks, Corey slowly turns to address her.

CLARKE " This planet’s a little weird, but -- I have to admit -- I’m excited to finally be down here with you. "

COREY " Darce, we need to talk. "

CLARKE " Sure, what’s up? "

COREY " Odyssey’s in trouble. "

CLARKE " Wait... What? "

COREY " Life support is failing. The I-C-F Drive is toast. After her final burn, she’ll never fire again. "

CLARKE " How do you know all this? "

COREY " I pieced it together. It’s all in the logs. "

CLARKE " Why wouldn’t the Captain tell us? "

COREY " He was probably avoiding a panic. "

Clarke reels with the news.

CLARKE " What about the hibernation units? "

COREY " I think some of them are in danger. "

CLARKE " Section Thirty-Nine? "

COREY " I don’t know. "

CLARKE " My dad’s in there! "

Corey grabs Clarke by the shoulders.

COREY " I know that! They’ll wake everyone up as soon as they finish the braking maneuver. Once they do, Sebastian will be fine. "

CLARKE " Jim, how could you hide this from me? We’re supposed to get married. "

COREY " I didn’t want to worry you. "

CLARKE " I don’t care. You hid it from me! "

COREY " What would you have done? "

CLARKE " Put us first. Told you the truth. "

COREY " Darce, I’m sorry. Can we just focus on the mission? Odyssey’s on its way. We can sort this out later. "

COREY (pointing to the west) " After we get back to your ship, we’ll fly over to the day side so Baxter can fix the shield. "

CLARKE " The AeroFox’s engines were damaged. She’s not going anywhere. "

COREY " Jesus... You didn’t tell me that. (quickly regroups) Okay, change of plans. We’ll grab Dyson and drive to the nearest node to start the repair. It’ll take longer, but... You with me? "

CLARKE " What else can I do? "

COREY " I hope you can forgive me. "

Clarke nods silently.

Corey returns to activating the rover.

EXT. ASTROBUG, CRASH SITE - LATER

The AstroBug sinks further into the ice. Little time remains.

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INT. ASTROBUG, COCKPIT

Corey and Clarke climb into the cockpit. The dark cloud of their conversation hangs over them.

Baxter smiles at Clarke.

BAXTER " Nice job getting down here. "

CLARKE " Thanks. I did what I had to do. "

BAXTER " It’ll be a great story you two can tell your children. "

Corey smiles weakly and checks the chronometer on his wrist.

COREY " We’re running out of time. Ms. Baxter, could you remove Omni’s core? The one on the Fox no longer functions. "

OMNI " I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll endeavor to replace him with distinction. "

Baxter frowns, pondering the situation.

BAXTER " Captain, if her ship is close enough, why don’t we walk there and wait for a rescue? "

COREY " It’s dangerous out there. We can’t risk it. "

BAXTER " And flying this thing isn’t? "

CLARKE She’s right. Your ship looked pretty banged up out there.

COREY Guys, we need that rover. Trust me. It’ll be fine.

BAXTER " Okay... Whatever you say. "

Baxter grabs her tool kit and heads for Omni’s interface.