INT. TERRACAT

Back in the real world, a sleeping Clarke calls out in fear!

Standing nearby, Baxter looks at her in concern, placing a gentle hand on the young woman’s knee.

BAXTER " You alright, kiddo? "

CLARKE " I... I’m fine. Bad dream. "

Clarke sits up, shaking off the nightmare. She looks outside.

CLARKE " We’re on the day side. "

Baxter turns to fill an AutoBrew with water at the FOOD STATION between them. She speaks matter-of-factly.

BAXTER " Yeah, we cleared the mountains a while ago. "

Clarke unbuckles and stands.

Seen from outside the rover’s window, she observes the alien landscape in awe.

INT. TERRACAT

Baxter pulls a BREWCAP, a coffee-flavored capsule, out of a drawer. She pops it into the AutoBrew. It percolates.

BAXTER " I take it for granted. You’ve never been on a planet before. Coffee? "

CLARKE " No, thanks. Can’t stand the stuff. "

BAXTER " Only thing keeping me going. "

Baxter pulls a few PROTEIN BARS from the station.

BAXTER (CONT’D) " How about a protein bar? "

CLARKE " Sure. "

Baxter tosses one to Clarke.

She unwraps it and takes a bite, then looks out the window.

[AddDescriptiveText]

BAXTER " Out beyond those inkweed plants, you can see our Hab-Modules. Looks like they landed just fine. "

INT. TERRACAT

Clarke continues scanning the landscape.

She points.

CLARKE " The algae is growing well. Someday it’ll convert the atmosphere enough that we won’t need to wear masks. "

Baxter sips coffee from her AutoBrew.

BAXTER " Yeah, someday. Until then, at least we’ll have something to eat. "

CLARKE (sarcastic) " Algae. Yum. "

CLARKE (fighting back tears) " It might seem crazy, but I was excited to live here with Jim. "

Baxter nods supportively.

BAXTER " I get it. "

Clarke pulls herself together and returns to her seat.

There she reviews a real-time MAP on a nearby monitor.

CLARKE " We’ll be there in an hour. "

BAXTER " Yep. While you were sleeping, I created a patch that’ll reconfigure the shield to block power surges. Even sent it to Dyson for testing. "

Baxter hands Clarke a portable data device called an OMNI DISC.

Clarke nods her approval.

A graphic of a shield node rotates on its screen. It’s systems are all in the green.

BAXTER (CONT’D) " When we get to Two-Twelve, we can upload it and try it out. "

Clarke leans forward to return the Omni Disc to Baxter.

CLARKE " This is great. Thank you. "

BAXTER " No problem. It’s why I’m here. "

Clarke breaks the tension.

CLARKE " What was it like on Earth? "

BAXTER " I suppose not that different from the Odyssey in the end. If you were lucky enough to live in the domes. "

CLARKE " Domes. I can't imagine being stupid enough to destroy your own planet. How’d it happen? "

BAXTER " Before I was born, the permafrost melted. Released a huge methane plume. That was the tipping point. Runaway greenhouse effect."

BAXTER (CONT) " (shaking her head) There was no turning back. By the time we left, Earth was on its way to becoming another Venus. "

CLARKE " And now the human race traded one type of desolation for another. "

CLARKE " Three of us. Me, Kyle... And Jim. "

Baxter tries to keep the mood light by distracting Clarke.

BAXTER " What about your parents? Are they excited to get down here? "

CLARKE " My mom died ten years ago. She was out in a BottleSuit doing a repair after a micro-meteor strike. She Saved the ship. Helluva pilot. "

BAXTER " You’re a helluva pilot yourself. I guarantee she’d be proud of you. "

CLARKE " Thanks. My dad... He’s a popsicle. "

BAXTER " Really? How is that possible? "

CLARKE " Long story. You know, the ship’s prime crew was supposed to take turns in hibernation. Ten years awake. Ten asleep. Right? "

BAXTER " Yep. "

CLARKE " I was an accident that happened during my folks’ second shift. "

BAXTER " Seriously? "

CLARKE " Oh yeah. And since pregnancies can’t be maintained during suspended animation, they decided to have me and stay awake. "

Clarke taps her implant, sending an image to Baxter’s disc.

CLARKE (CONT’D) " Take a look at this. "

Baxter smiles at the photo. It’s of three small CHILDREN -- younger versions of Clarke, Corey, and Dyson. The kids wear two-tone JUMPSUITS and stand in an access way on the Odyssey.

BAXTER " The Captain’s Mod Squad... "

Clarke nods. Baxter moves over to the rear seat beside her.

BAXTER (CONT’D) " So, Kyle must be the youngest. "

CLARKE " Right. Jim and Kyle were accidents too. Once they were born, the Captain put his foot down. "

BAXTER " I bet. More mouths to feed. "

CLARKE " The ship didn’t have the resources to support unplanned children. So my dad went into deep freeze. "

BAXTER " Quite the sacrifice. "

CLARKE " God, I miss him. Such a cool guy. When we were young, Jim was into watching old sports broadcasts. But me and Kyle, we played with Earth trading cards. "

Clarke reaches into a pocket on her suit and pulls out a cardsized, dog-eared printout of the Eiffel Tower.

CLARKE (CONT’D) " My dad made them for us. Landmarks like the Grand Canyon, the Great Pyramid, and a bunch more. We eventually got Jim into them too. "

BAXTER " Never got to see any of those. "

CLARKE " Really? Where did you grow up? "

BAXTER " Illinois. My folks were farmers. But drought ended that. They were going to Mars, but... I’m sure you heard what happened there. "

CLARKE " Yeah. Sounds horrible. "

The comm-system chimes with a message from the AeroFox.

DYSON (COMM VOICE) " AeroFox to TerraCat. Come in. "

Clarke taps her implant to enable the transmission.

CLARKE " We read you. Go ahead. "

DYSON (COMM VOICE) " How’s it going? According to the map, you guys should be passing Crater X-B-Seven-One. "

Clarke looks to her left our the far window.

CLARKE " Yeah, it’s just to port. "

EXT. DAYSIDE, DESERT

The rover continues its journey across the plains. To its side is the massive indentation of Crater XB71. The sunward side of the geological formation is cast in deep shadow.

CLARKE " Two-Twelve’s not much farther. What’s up? "

DYSON " I’ve got good news, bad news, and weird news. Which one do you want to know first? "

CLARKE " How about the ‘good’? "

INT. AEROFOX

Dyson is still reclined with the X-Doc on his chest. Omniruns through a diagram of circuits onscreen.

DYSON " But I wouldn't be me if I didn't keep investigating what caused the problem in the first place. "

DYSON (CONT) " (attempting to sit up) Which leads me to the 'weird news'. "

BAXTER " Whoa... "

DYSON (COMM VOICE) " You were right, Ms. Baxter. The planet’s E-M field and the geoglyphs align perfectly. They sit on top of Persephone’s magnetic north pole. (coughs hard) The question is why. "

BAXTER " Hold up... What's the ‘bad’ news? "

INT. AEROFOX, LOWER LEVEL

Back at the ship, Dyson looks at med-data on his Omni Disc.

DYSON " Where do I start? My spleen is damaged. My liver is ruptured. And my lungs are filling with fluid. "

INT. TERRACAT

Inside the rover, the women share a concerned look.

OMNI (COMM VOICE) " Yes. "

INT. AEROFOX

In the AeroFox, the X-Doc moves atop Dyson like it’s alive.

OMNI I’m preparing to inject medical-grade nano-machines that will rebuild the organ tissue. The procedure will take several hours.

DYSON " In the meantime, I think I'll-- "

CLARKE (COMM VOICE) (interrupting) " No, Kyle! Let Omni do his thing. That’s an order. "

Dyson slumps back in his lounge chair.

DYSON " Yes sir, sir. "

His gyroscope in hand, Dyson sits back and closes his eyes.

EXT. DAYSIDE, DESERT

The TerraCat continues across the desert. Behind it, in the distance, the rim of the large crater they passed is seen.

CLARKE (COMM VOICE) " Keep us posted. Clarke Out. "