Four Days (Three Shows)
mln
PROLOGUE
SCENE: SECTION ONE CONFERENCE ROOM. Nikita,
Michael, and several extra ops are seated at the table.
OPERATIONS enters and clicks on the blue viewscreen. A man's
faceappears: he is mid 50s, balding, South American.
OPERATIONS: This is Dr. Fernando Sanchez, a brilliant if
somewhat eccentric biochemist, specializing in the extraction and
cultivation of medicines and toxins from rare plant species,
most recently those in the South American rain forest. Two days
ago, the New England Journal of Medicine received word that Dr.
Sanchez intends to publish the findings from a recent study,
the details of which are unimportant. Suffice it to say, his research
could provide the antidotes for a whole range of bioweapons,
everything from fenzine gas to telazapam.
NIKITA: Good for him.
OPERATIONS: (with a small smirk) Good for us, but not so good
for him. Dr. Sanchez has now become number one on the hit list
of several major terrorist organizations, including our old
friends, Red Cell.
He shuts off the viewscreen and drops the remote.
OPERATIONS: The mission is simple: extract Dr. Sanchez and
bring him back to the Section, where he can continue his work in
safety. That will be all.
He walks away. The operatives stand and disperse. Michael heads
immediately for Walter's area, while Nikita rises and follows him
slowly. She comes up as Michael is giving orders to
Walter.
MICHAEL: Standard jungle gear.
WALTER: You got it.
Walter leaves to retrieve the gear.
NIKITA: That was too easy.
MICHAEL: What?
NIKITA: There has to be more to this mission. What isn't
Operations telling us?
MICHAEL: Nothing.
NIKITA: Michael, look at me.
MICHAEL: (looking right at her) I know as much as you do,
Nikita.
NIKITA: OK, now I'm really worried.
Walter returns and dumps the gear on the table.
**********
SCENE: SOUTH AMERICAN RAIN FOREST -- NIGHT. The
Section team crouches in the bushes. Michael is looking through
special binoculars at a house on stilts in a small clearing.
Nikita is beside him, with three other operatives around them.
MICHAEL: He's alone. In a room on the east side.
NIKITA: No guards?
MICHAEL: None. (to the other operatives) Darby, cover the south
side - Marks and Fuller, east and west. Fire to disable only.
OPERATIVE: Got it.
MICHAEL: Nikita, you've got point. Let's go.
The three other operatives move out. When they reach positions,
Nikita moves out across the short lawn to the front steps. Michael
follows.
Nikita moves up to the door, where she quickly unlocks it with
standard-issue Section lockpick. She ducks down and moves into
the house. Michael stays at the foot of the front steps, keeping
an eye out.
After donning night vision goggles, Nikita moves into the dark
house. She quickly makes her way through: the rooms are
sparsely furnished and unkempt. Finally, she reaches the door she
wants. She opens it slowly: it creaks, and she ducks.
A figure inside the room turns. With the goggles, she cannot make
out the face. He is wearing a long coat and standing beside an
open window.
NIKITA: (raising her gun) Hold it right there.
Instead, the man jumps out the open window and lands on the
ground below. Nikita rips off the glasses and runs to the window.
NIKITA: Fuller! He's coming your way!
From the window, she sees the man running toward the rear of the
house. Fuller steps out from around the corner and holds up his
gun. The man stops and raises his arms.
Michael comes up behind Nikita.
NIKITA: Michael, that's not Dr. Sanchez.
MICHAEL: I know.
************
SCENE: OUTSIDE THE HOUSE, LATER. Fuller stands guard
over the man who was inside the house, keeping him turned away.
Nikita stands at the door of the house. Michael and the other
two operatives exit the house.
NIKITA: Well?
MICHAEL: It's clean. No evidence of Sanchez or his research.
NIKITA: What about him?
She points to Fuller and the man. Michael starts walking toward
them, and Nikita follows.
MICHAEL: Who is he?
NIKITA: (as they reach Fuller) You're not going to believe this.
He's an FBI agent.
Fuller hands her the man's ID badge, and she reads the name off of
it.
NIKITA: Agent Fox Mulder.
Mulder turns and smiles.
MULDER: Actually, that's SPECIAL Agent Mulder.
ACT ONE
SCENE: WHITE ROOM. Mulder is bolted to a chair in the center
of the room. He looks up asthe door creaks open and Madeline
enters.
MADELINE: Good afternoon.
MULDER: Speak for yourself.
Madeline smiles and steps up to face him.
MADELINE: I've been reading your FBI personnel file, Agent
Mulder. You're a very interesting person.
MULDER: That's a terrible thing to say.
MADELINE: It seems you're something of a renegade in the FBI.
Despite your impressive academic background and considerable
early success in the Violent Crimes Unit, you chose to
devote all your time and attention to cases called (she pauses, and
continues with a slightly amused tone) the X files?
MULDER: I have this pathological fear, verging on a complete
phobia, about success. Even as a child, I would break out in hives
at the sight of a gold star - -
MADELINE: (interrupting him) What did you want with Dr.
Fernando Sanchez?
MULDER: (feigning innocence) Who?
MADELINE: (walking around his chair slowly) Agent Mulder,
you're a trained psychologist. You know that every human being
has a breaking point that can be reached by any number of
means: exploitation of a particular fear, the administration of
drugs, or - (she reaches the front and faces him again) the
infliction of terrible pain.
MULDER: La Belle Dame Sans Merci, is it?
Madeline gives a modest shrug.
MULDER: Well, Madame Sans Merci, there is absolutely nothing
you could do that would provoke me into giving you the
information you want.
MADELINE: You might be surprised.
MULDER: Surprised? I've forgotten what surprised feels like. I've
already been shot, stabbed, drugged, and tortured. I've been
burned to death in an underground boxcar in the desert and I've
been frozen to death in the Arctic AND Antarctic. I've been
infected by green alien blood, black alien oil, and a nasty case of
chiggers. I've been attacked by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, an
overgrown flukeworm, a fat-sucking Internet stalker, dung-eating
alien robotic cockroach probes, and one really mean liver-eating
genetic mutant serial killer. Now, I will grant that I have never
personally been abducted by aliens, but I certainly have had
enough second-hand experience with the phenomenon for it to
have pretty much lost any - -
Madeline holds up a hand, and he stops.
MADELINE: I take your point, Agent Mulder. Conventional
interrogations methods will be of no use.
MULDER: Damn straight.
MADELINE: Then I guess I will have to be more creative.
She turns to the door.
MULDER: Meaning what?
MADELINE: (at the door, smiling) I'll get back to you.
MULDER: Great. Looking forward to it.
He begins frantically trying to break out of his restraints, but it's of
no use. He falls back, frustrated.
The door creaks open again, and he sits up. But instead of
Madeline, Nikita enters.
MULDER: What - -
Nikita holds a finger to her lips to tell him to keep quiet. From her
pocket she takes a device, which she attaches to the wall behind
her. She pushes a button on the device, and a red light
appears.
NIKITA: We haven't much time.
She comes forward quickly and begins unlocking his restraints.
MULDER: Time for what?
NIKITA: To get you out of here.
MULDER: (skeptical) You're breaking me out of here?
NIKITA: I'm going to try.
His restraints gone, Mulder grabs her arm.
MULDER: Why?
NIKITA: Because you shouldn't be here. They have no right to do
this. Now, are you coming or not?
After a moment, Mulder gets up and follows her to the door. She
stops there and puts a comm dot behind his ear.
MULDER: What is that?
NIKITA: It's a communication device, in case we have to split up.
MULDER: We just met and you're already breaking up with me.
NIKITA: Just do exactly what I tell you.
MULDER: My kind of woman - -
They sneak out of the white room.
*************
SCENE: SECTION ONE HALLWAY. Nikita and Mulder hurry
down the hallway. When they reach a corner, Nikita stops him,
and then she sneaks a looks around.
NIKITA: It's clear. Come on.
They round the corner. Halfway down the hallway, they hear
voices. Nikita looks around, and then pushes Mulder into a room
off the hallway. She stands there, hands in pockets, as Madeline
and Operations approach.
MADELINE: Nikita - -
NIKITA: Yes.
CUT to Mulder inside the dark room. He has his head against the
door and is listening through the comm unit.
MADELINE'S VOICE: Did you finish the Calder projections?
NIKITA'S VOICE: Uh, yes. I delivered them to Birkoff an hour
ago.
CUT back to hallway.
MADELINE: Good.
NIKITA: Am I through for the day?
Madeline and Operations exchange a look.
OPERATIONS: Yes, that'll be all for now.
Operations and Madeline walk away.
NIKITA: (calling after them) Good night - -
She waits until they are out of sight, and then she opens the door.
Mulder steps out.
MULDER: That was her, wasn't it?
NIKITA: Madeline?
MULDER: Her name is Madeline? I was thinking more along the
lines of Elvira.
NIKITA: I'm thinking we have to go. NOW.
She pulls him down the hallway, looking around as they go.
***************
SCENE: SECTION ONE EXIT. Out of breath, Nikita and Mulder
approach from a side hallway. They stop just shy of entering the
exit area. On the far side are the Section One guards, standing
beside metal detectors ranged in front of the elevators.
NIKITA: OK, now the hard part.
MULDER: (still breathing hard) The hard part? We just climbed
six flights of stairs.
NIKITA: Couldn't risk the elevator. Surveillance of the stairwells
is only intermittent.
MULDER: How big is this place?
NIKITA: Big enough.
MULDER: WHAT is this place?
NIKITA: You don't want to know. Now, the metal detectors will
go off when you pass through because of the comm unit. That's
OK. They expect that. If for some reason you are stopped,
tell them you're one of the tech heads in Systems and that you've
been working on the Merrimack project.
MULDER: What if they ask for details?
NIKITA: Don't give them any. Secrecy is law around here.
MULDER: Now I know this is a government operation.
NIKITA: You ready?
MULDER: Go, girl.
Nikita crosses the room and passes through the exit with a smile
and a "hello" to the guards. She reaches an elevator and pushes the
button, then turns to nod to Mulder.
He stands up straighter, fixes his tie, and walks with a purpose to
the exit.
MULDER: (to the guards) Have a good night.
He passes under the metal detectors and they go off. He flinches,
but the guards don't react. He reaches Nikita as the elevator doors
open. They get on, and the doors close.
***************
SCENE: DINER. Nikita and Mulder sit at a back booth. A
waitress sets down their orders and leaves. Mulder reaches for his
burger hungrily, but Nikita just picks up a French fry and nibbles
it.
MULDER: (his mouth full) Haeen' ea-en all `ay.
NIKITA: And you wouldn't have eaten if you hadn't gotten out.
MULDER: (swallowing) So deprivation is one of Lady Dire's
interrogation methods, huh?
Nikita shrugs.
MULDER: Are you always this talkative?
NIKITA: There are things you are better off not knowing, Agent
Mulder.
MULDER: So I've been told. (a pause while he considers her)
What about your name?
NIKITA: (after a pause) Nikita.
MULDER: Nikita what?
NIKITA: Just Nikita.
MULDER: I can appreciate that. I myself prefer to be called just
"Mulder."
He drops the burger.
MULDER: I have to make a phone call.
He starts up, but Nikita grabs his arm.
NIKITA: You can't.
MULDER: What do you mean?
NIKITA: They'll be watching your home, your friends, your
coworkers -
MULDER: I have to contact Scully.
NIKITA: Who's Scully?
MULDER: My partner.
NIKITA: (shaking her head) He'll be the first person they'll expect
you to call.
MULDER: She.
NIKITA: She?
MULDER: Scully's a woman. Is she in danger?
Nikita lets go of his arm and stares down at her food.
NIKITA: Not as long as she stays away from Section One.
************
SCENE: LONE GUNMEN OFFICE. Scully is watching a video of
Section One's assault on the clinic, along with Langley, Frohicke,
and Byers.
LANGLEY: Military tactics.
BYERS: In dispersal, yes, but entry is strictly SWAT style.
FROHICKE: (to Scully) Where'd you get this?
SCULLY: Dr. Sanchez installed secret surveillance cameras
throughout the house when he began his research. Only Mulder
and I knew of them.
FROHICKE: What happened to Sanchez?
SCULLY: He disappeared after contacting Mulder two days ago
about the vaccine.
FROHICKE: You think he was grabbed?
SCULLY: I don't know if he was taken or if he just got scared and
ran off on his own. My main concern right now is who these
people are and what they've done with Mulder.
She points to the video: they watch as Mulder jumps out of the
window, away from Nikita.
SCULLY: I've studied the tape and I can find no insignia or other
identifying marks on their uniforms. And it's so dark it's hard to
make out faces. However, I was able to - fast forward.
Byers hits the fast forward button: on the video, Michael and
Nikita leave the room, and Darby enters. He looks around, and
then takes off a glove and sits at the computer and types.
SCULLY: Hold there. I was able to lift a print, but when I ran it
through the NCIC database I found that it belonged to one Terence
Darby, a convicted murderer who was executed in a Texas
prison four years ago.
Langley, Byers, and Frohicke exchange looks.
BYERS: You're sure about that?
SCULLY: Yes. Why?
LANGLEY: (to the other Gunmen) The assault style fits the
profile.
FROHICKE: And the hardware. That's some serious firepower
they're carrying.
LANGLEY: But why would they go after Sanchez?
BYERS: He's a biochemist. He could have been working on
something other than the vaccine. And they don't always limit their
activities to terrorism.
SCULLY: Uh, guys? Remember me? The one with the question?
Who's "they"?
BYERS, LANGLEY, and FROHICKE: (together) Section One.
*************
SCENE: CITY STREET - NIGHT. Mulder and Nikita walk along
the sidewalk.
MULDER: You've got to be kidding.
NIKITA: No. It's the only way. If you want to stay alive, you have
to leave the country. Change your name, your identity. If you
contact anyone from your former life, you'll be cancelled.
Killed..
MULDER: I can't do that.
NIKITA: You have to.
MULDER: No, I have to find Dr. Sanchez.
He grabs her arm and stops her in her tracks.
MULDER: You don't understand what's at stake here. I'm not
talking about finding the cure to some obscure African virus. I'm
talking about finding a man who might have the key to
preventing the colonization of the entire planet by an alien race.
NIKITA: (double-taking) Now you're kidding.
MULDER: Dr. Sanchez was working on a vaccine for a mutated
variation of smallpox, the deadliest disease ever to hit this planet.
The mutated form was developed to enable the
colonizers to eliminate the bulk of the population. We already
have a serum for the virus developed by the Russians, but it's only
effective once the disease has been contracted. If Dr.
Sanchez is right and we can find a means for prevention - -
NIKITA: You're really serious.
MULDER: I'm really serious.
NIKITA: Then I'm really sorry.
She looks away from him - - down the street.
NIKITA: Is that enough?
The van pulls up beside them, and Michael and several extra ops
get out, guns drawn. Michael goes up to Mulder.
MICHAEL: Come with us, please.
MULDER: (to Nikita) You set me up!
NIKITA: I'm sorry. It's my job.
MULDER: Your JOB? Your job is to ensure the destruction of
humanity?
Michael grabs his arm, but Mulder jerks it away.
MULDER: You're with them, aren't you? You're part of the
damned Syndicate - -
MICHAEL: We are not a syndicate. We're called Section One.
NIKITA: Michael - -
MICHAEL: We're an extremely covert anti-terrorist organization
operating outside the boundaries of the law.
MULDER: Anti-terrorist? For real?
MICHAEL: (drily) For real, Agent Mulder. If you know what that
is.
Mulder looks at Nikita.
MULDER: Then why are you after Sanchez?
NIKITA: Antidotes for bioweapons.
He looks from Michael to Nikita and back again.
MULDER: Well, why didn't you say so?
Cheerfully, he heads for the van and hops in. Nikita and Michael
exchange looks.
MULDER: Hey, let's go.
ACT TWO
SCENE: SECTION ONE OBSERVATION DECK. Operations
and Madeline look down at the floor below, where Nikita and
Mulder are standing behind Birkoff as he works on his computer.
MADELINE: He tells an interesting story.
OPERATIONS: I don't doubt it.
MADELINE: So you don't think there's anything to it.
OPERATIONS: (smirking) Clones? Abductions? A covert
international syndicate conspiring with aliens to take over the
planet? No, I think Agent Mulder has spent too much time in the
FBI basement.
MADELINE: We have managed to secure some of Dr. Sanchez's
research and correspondence from files he kept in a Rio clinic.
They confirm that he has been in contact with Agent Mulder
for some time.
OPERATIONS: Then we'll use Mulder to get to Sanchez, but after
that -
He gives Madeline a meaningful look. After a moment, she nods
and leaves. Operations takes out a cheroot and a lighter. He flicks
the lighter, but it only sparks - out of fluid. Irritated, he
pockets the lighter.
From behind him comes the sound of another lighter. Operations
turns: stepping into the room is the Cigarette-Smoking Man.
CSM: Need a light?
OPERATIONS: What are you doing here? How did you get in?
CSM: Access, my old friend. Access.
He looks down at the floor below and sees Mulder.
CSM: I see you've got Mulder.
OPERATIONS: Yes, we retrieved your renegade. Now leave us
alone and let us do our job.
CSM: Oh, I have no intentions of interfering. I have every
confidence in your ability to dispose of Agent Mulder before he
starts a panic with his crazy ideas. But I did want to let you know
of another possible problem.
OPERATIONS: What?
CSM: Mulder's partner, Agent Scully. She's been asking some
very pointed questions.
OPERATIONS: (irritated) About?
The CSM takes a puff and blows the smoke out slowly. He smiles.
CSM: About Section One.
***********
SCENE: PARKING GARAGE, NIGHT. Scully pulls into a
parking space. She gathers up papers and puts them in a briefcase,
and then gets out of the car and starts walking to the elevator.
On the way there, she hears footsteps behind her. Surreptitiously,
she reaches for her gun. Just as she reaches the elevator, she
whirls, drops the case, and points the gun.
SCULLY: Hold it right there!
Michael stands in front of her. He holds up his weaponless hands.
MICHAEL: Agent Scully?
SCULLY: Who are you?
MICHAEL: My name is Michael. You need to come with me,
please.
SCULLY: I'm not going anywhere with -
She stops at the sounds of two guns being cocked. She looks
around: on either side of her are Section operatives, with guns
pointed at her.
MICHAEL: (gesturing) This way, please.
***********
SCENE: SECTION ONE MAIN AREA. Birkoff is still at his
computer, with Mulder and Nikita on either side of him.
BIRKOFF: Got him.
MULDER: Where?
BIRKOFF: After he landed in Honolulu, he boarded a plane for
Sydney.
MULDER: Australia - - of course.
NIKITA: Why of course?
MULDER: Five years ago Sanchez began working with a tribe of
aborigines in the Australian outback, studying their medicinal
methods and rituals. One of the more interesting findings that
he reported was the contention of the aborigines that they had
found a means to repel the "spirits of the sky." At first, Sanchez
took that to mean a natural phenomenon like lightning, but he later
came to believe they had found a way to prevent abductions of
their people.
Birkoff looks at Nikita and then back to Mulder.
BIRKOFF: Abductions? You mean, like alien abductions?
MULDER: Yes, I mean like alien abductions.
BIRKOFF: (leaning forward eagerly to his computer) Where is this
tribe located?
NIKITA: Birkoff - - you believe in alien abductions?
BIRKOFF: You bet I do.
NIKITA: But - -
BIRKOFF: How could anyone who works for Section One not
believe in abductions? (He begins typing) Now, what would be the
most likely means of transport for Dr. Sanchez?
MULDER: Commuter flight. After that, he probably rented a car.
Nikita leans back, considering.
On the other side of the room, Michael enters with Scully. They
cross to another hallway. Nikita looks up and sees them. Mulder,
looking over at Nikita, follows her eyes and sees Scully.
MULDER: Scully!
Nikita grabs him, preventing him from going after her.
SCULLY: Mulder!
Michael holds her arm and pulls her away. They disappear down a
hall.
MULDER: Scully! (then, to Nikita) Where are they taking her?
WHERE?!
NIKITA: Mulder - -
Madeline enters and approaches quickly.
MADELINE: Agent Mulder - -
Nikita lets go of Mulder, and he advances to Madeline.
MULDER: You bitch, if you hurt her, so help me -
MADELINE: (severely) Agent Mulder, you can help your partner
best by assisting us in locating Dr. Sanchez as soon as possible.
Mulder stares at her a moment, then turns back to Birkoff.
Madeline looks over at Nikita. Nikita shakes her head and turns
away, disgusted.
***********
SCENE: WHITE ROOM. Scully and Michael stand on opposite
sides of the room. Scully has her arms crossed and is watching
Michael, while he stands, not meeting her gaze with his usual
blank expression. Scully begins slowly circling the room toward
him.
SCULLY: So there really is a Section One.
MICHAEL: Yes.
SCULLY: And your objective is counter-terrorism.
MICHAEL: Yes.
SCULLY: But your means are - - extralegal.
MICHAEL: We do what we have to do.
SCULLY: Including kidnaping federal agents whose goals are the
same as yours.
MICHAEL: We must locate Dr. Sanchez and secure him.
SCULLY: From what I just saw, it seems Agent Mulder is already
cooperating with you in that regard.
She has reached Michael now and stands directly in front of him.
SCULLY: So why do you need me?
Michael looks at her for the first time.
MICHAEL: You became aware of our existence.
SCULLY: And that means - -
Michael looks away.
SCULLY: My God, how can you live with yourself?
The door creaks open, and in step the Torture Twins.
*************
SCENE: SECTION ONE MAIN AREA. Operations stands beside
Birkoff at his terminal. Nikita stands across from them. Behind
Operations, Mulder paces, his arms crossed.
BIRKOFF: We have traced Sanchez to a house in a remote area of
the Australian outback. Unfortunately, the house is in the middle
of two miles of open ground. He'll see us coming long before we
get there. Even if we could approach without alerting him, the
house is heavily secured and it will take some time to get in. Time
enough for Sanchez to get away. Or worse.
OPERATIONS: Worse?
MULDER: He's a desperate man. He won't be taken - by anyone.
OPERATIONS: So how do we get to him?
NIKITA: He trusts Agent Mulder. If he knows that Mulder is the
one coming in - -
OPERATIONS: Good. (He raises up.) Assemble the team and
notify the profilers to prepare a sequence. It's a long flight to
Australia, so you need to - -
MULDER: No.
OPERATIONS: (turning slowly) No?
MULDER: I won't go without Agent Scully.
Operations steps forward menacingly, but Mulder doesn't back
down.
OPERATIONS: (grimly) All right. Rescind cancellation of Agent
Scully. (then, with emphasis) For now.
Operations walks away. Nikita steps up to Mulder.
NIKITA: Nice move. You would fit in here just fine.
MULDER: Gee, thanks, but I got a job.
NIKITA: (sighing) So do I.
*****************
SCENE: SECTION ONE JET. The plane is an executive type. In
the front is a mini-kitchen, complete with cabinets, refrigerator,
and a small table with two chairs. Opposite it is a low table
with communication equipment. In the back of the plane are bunk
beds, on which snooze two extra ops.
In the middle of the plane are two sofas, facing each other. On one
sofa are Mulder and Scully; on the other, Michael and Nikita.
They stare at one another in silence.
Finally, Mulder breaks the quiet.
MULDER: So, anyone have a deck of cards?
Scully and Nikita look down, but Michael continues to stare at
Mulder.
MULDER: (looking back at Michael, unflinching) Then again,
maybe not. With that poker face, I bet you're hell at five card stud.
Nikita hides a smile.
MICHAEL: As are you, I imagine.
Scully hides a smile.
NIKITA: (to Scully) Uh- - you're a medical doctor.
SCULLY: (smile gone, defenses up) Yes.
NIKITA: A scientist.
SCULLY: Yes.
NIKITA: So do you believe your partner's story? That there are
aliens who intend to wipe out the human race with a smallpox
plague?
SCULLY: I believe that someone has created a mutated smallpox
virus and intends to unleash it on the human population.
NIKITA: How do you know?
SCULLY: Because I was infected by it.
MICHAEL: (startled) But you're alive.
SCULLY: Agent Mulder was able to administer an antitoxin and
save my life.
MULDER: (to Nikita and Michael) You know, I can't understand
why the two of you find it so hard to believe that there could
actually be a global conspiracy of silence about the existence of
extraterrestrials and a covert military/industrial organization
seeking an alliance with those extraterrestrials for self-promotion.
(He leans forward.) The very existence of your own
organization - - the way it has managed to maintain secrecy despite
its size and firepower - - only goes to prove that it is possible for a
government operation to function clandestinely in the
midst of an unsuspecting public.
NIKITA: Government conspiracies are one thing, Agent Mulder.
Extraterrestials are another.
SCULLY: She's got a point.
MULDER: Well, all I can say is that if I were in your shoes I'd be
questioning the motives behind my organization's interest in the
obscure work of a lone South American biochemist.
MICHAEL: (abruptly) I'm going to check in with Birkoff.
He gets up and goes to the comm table in the front of the plane.
After a moment, Nikita follows, leaving Mulder and Scully alone.
SCULLY: (in a low voice) Mulder, what are you thinking?
MULDER: That we have stepped into some deep doo-doo.
SCULLY: The woman, Nikita, doesn't like what they're doing.
MULDER: Don't be so sure. I doubt you can ever tell what these
people are really thinking.
SCULLY: Still, maybe I can - -
MULDER: Trust no Section One, Scully.
In the front of the plane, Michael sets down the ear piece and
looks at Nikita. She is looking over at Mulder and Scully.
MICHAEL: Birkoff reports that aerial surveillance shows only one
person in Sanchez's house. But we have received intel that a Red
Cell team is en route to Canberra.
NIKITA: (still looking at Mulder and Scully) What do you think?
MICHAEL: I think we need to get to Sanchez before Red Cell.
NIKITA: No, I mean about them. Their story.
MICHAEL: His or hers?
NIKITA: Michael, they're federal agents, not escapees from a
loony bin.
MICHAEL: So?
NIKITA: So maybe we should listen to them.
Michael looks over at Mulder and Scully, and then back to Nikita.
MICHAEL: You listen. I've got a job to do.
He picks up a PDA and returns to his seat on the sofa. Nikita
frowns and follows him.
MULDER: So, did Scully tell you about the time she was
abducted?
*******
SCENE: SECTION ONE MAIN AREA. Madeline is standing
next to Birkoff when Operations approaches.
OPERATIONS: (impatiently) Any word?
BIRKOFF: The plane has refueled in Hawaii and is back in the air.
OPERATIONS: Keep me posted.
Operations walks away and Madeline follows.
MADELINE: You're worried.
OPERATIONS: I just want this mission over with.
Madeline stops him with a touch of the arm.
MADELINE: What's wrong?
OPERATIONS: (almost snarling) I don't like being used.
He walks away. Madeline watches him, and then returns to
Birkoff. She leans over him confidentially.
MADELINE: Birkoff, there's something I want you to do. But this
is strictly between us.
Birkoff swallows.
BIRKOFF: OK.
ACT THREE
SCENE: SECTION ONE AIRPLANE. Mulder is asleep, and
Michael is working on his PDA. Nikita is in the kitchen area,
pouring a glass of water. Scully comes up to her, and Nikita offers
her the glass.
SCULLY: Thanks.
She takes the water, and Nikita pours a second glass for herself.
SCULLY: So how long have you been in Section One?
NIKITA: Three years.
SCULLY: And you were "recruited" from prison.
NIKITA: Yes.
She sits at the small table, and after a moment Scully joins her.
SCULLY: What did you do?
NIKITA: They said I killed a police officer.
SCULLY: They said?
NIKITA: (bitterly) If I told you I was innocent, would you believe
me?
SCULLY: Maybe.
NIKITA: Sure.
SCULLY: I've seen too much - - I've been through too much to
discount anything.
NIKITA: Even aliens?
Scully looks across the plane at the sleeping Mulder.
SCULLY: (to Nikita) Mulder's beliefs are not necessarily my
beliefs. But that doesn't mean I don't trust his judgment. In fact,
my trust in him is perhaps the most unshakeable of my beliefs.
Nikita looks across the plane to Michael.
NIKITA: Must be nice to have that kind of faith in your partner.
SCULLY: You don't have that kind of faith in Michael?
NIKITA: I have complete faith that Michael will always get the
job done. (then, somewhat reluctantly) And that he will do
whatever he can to protect me.
SCULLY: (with a small smile) Men. They can't seem to shake that
chivalry gene.
NIKITA: (with a small smile back) The question is whether we
want them to.
Across the room, Mulder awakens and sits up. He leans forward,
shaking his head to clear it of sleep.
MICHAEL: (without looking up) This smallpox virus - - if what
you are saying is true, how will it be transmitted?
MULDER: Bees probably. And agricultural products.
MICHAEL: And Dr. Sanchez has the formula for a vaccine.
MULDER: Yes.
MICHAEL: How did he know?
MULDER: How did he know what?
MICHAEL That there was such a mutation of the smallpox virus.
MULDER: The elders of the aborigine tribe described to him a
disease that had nearly wiped out their tribe a generation before.
He recognized the general symptoms of smallpox, but realized it
had to be a mutated form. He published an article on his findings.
I saw the article and contacted him.
MICHAEL: And he believed your story?
MULDER: Not at first. Not until I was able to provide him with a
sample of the bee venom that infected Agent Scully and the serum
that cured her.
Michael continues working on his PDA. Mulder watches him.
MULDER: Don't tell me you're starting to believe my story.
MICHAEL: I believe you believe it.
In the front of the plane, Nikita and Scully are still seated at the
table, talking.
NIKITA: So, what he said about your being abducted was true?
SCULLY: Yes.
NIKITA: Why?
SCULLY: We got too close to the truth. They wanted to stop our
work, so they took me and - -
NIKITA: And?
SCULLY: They performed tests on me.
NIKITA: What kind of tests?
SCULLY: (with a sigh) It's complicated. Let's just say they stole
all my hopes for a normal future - a home, a family. All that's left
for me is - -
NIKITA: The work.
SCULLY: Yes.
NIKITA: (slowly, quietly) There was a time when I first started
working in the Section that I thought maybe I could find a way to
do my job and still have something of a normal life. A
husband, children.
SCULLY: What happened?
NIKITA: It didn't work out.
She downs the last of her water quickly. Hesitantly, Scully reaches
over to tak her hand.
SCULLY: My captivity lasted only a few months. It sounds as if
yours - -
NIKITA: Will last the rest of my life.
Scully sits up and pulls her hand away. Nikita looks up, and
Michael's hand comes down on her shoulder.
MICHAEL: We're beginning our approach.
***********
SCENE: AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, NIGHT. Nikita and Michael
are seated in the front of a jeep; behind them are Mulder and
Scully. In a second jeep are the two extra ops. The jeeps are
at the edge of a small wood: in front of them is a long, treeless
expanse.
Michael pulls out the special binoculars and scans the area.
MICHAEL: Birkoff, report.
BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Aerial surveillance shows the area is clean.
Sanchez is alone in the house.
MICHAEL: Are we patched in?
BIRKOFF'S VOICE: All set.
Michael lowers the binoculars and opens a laptop on the seat
between him and Nikita. He then turns to Mulder.
MICHAEL: Now.
Mulder takes out his cell phone and dials a number. He lets it ring
twice and then hangs up.
MULDER: It's our signal.
He dials again, and this time the phone is answered immediately.
SANCHEZ'S VOICE: Mulder?
MULDER: Yes, it's me. I'm here in Australia - just a few miles
from you.
Nikita looks down at a laptop: Sanchez's words appear on the
screen as he speaks to them.
SANCHEZ'S VOICE: I received a call from my secretary in Rio.
They were there, looking for
me.
MULDER: Do you have the formula?
SANCHEZ'S VOICE: Yes.
MULDER: I'm coming to see you.
CUT to inside the house. Sanchez nervously looks out the
window, and then turns to put a laptop into a case.
SANCHEZ: Are you alone?
MULDER'S VOICE: Uh, no.
CUT back to jeeps. Mulder looks at Michael.
MULDER: I'm with friends.
A long silence.
MULDER: Dr. Sanchez?
SANCHEZ'S VOICE: All right.
He hangs up. Mulder clicks the phone off and drops it, disgusted.
MULDER: Happy now?
NIKITA: (trying to believe it) He'll be safe with us.
MULDER: He better be.
MICHAEL: Birkoff, start sequence.
Michael reaches as if to turn the key of the jeep, but instead he hits
a key on the laptop. An aerial night-vision view of the house
comes up on the screen. Sanchez, carrying a case, is
running toward a car.
MULDER: What are you doing?
They hear the sound of a helicopter: from behind the trees, the
chopper comes into view. It flies low over the jeeps, toward the
house.
BIRKOFF'S VOICE: He's heading west.
MICHAEL: We're on the move..
He starts the jeep, puts it in gear, drives off.
*************
SCENE: OUTBACK EXPANSE. The jeeps bump along, the
occupants holding on tightly. In the distance can be seen
headlights and the searchlight of the chopper, aimed on the car
below. The car is headed for the jeeps, which do not have their
lights on.
CUT to Sanchez inside his car. He is panicked, looking back at the
choppers behind him. He looks ahead and sees nothing but
darkness.
CUT to jeep. Michael leans forward and reaches for the
dashboard.
MICHAEL: Now!
CUT to Sanchez. He looks ahead at the dark expanse. Suddenly,
two pairs of headlights blind him just as the chopper pulls away.
Sanchez hits the brakes and comes to a stop. The jeeps pull up on
either side, and the Section One operatives get out, guns drawn.
Michael moves to the driver's side and opens the door.
MICHAEL: Would you step out of the car, please, Dr. Sanchez?
Sanchez, shaking and frightened, gets out. On the floorboard of
the car is his briefcase. He leaves it behind, and Michael doesn't
see it.
Michael gestures for Sanchez to move around the car toward the
extra operatives on the other side. He watches as they load
Sanchez into their jeep, and then he looks toward the chopper
hovering overhead.
MICHAEL: Sequence completed.
The chopper flies away. Nikita goes up to Michael, looking across
at Sanchez in the other jeep.
NIKITA: They won't cancel him, will they, Michael?
MICHAEL: Not as long as he's willing to keep working.
The two of them begin walking to the jeep. Just as they reach it,
they hear the sound of helicopters. Two of them.
MICHAEL: Birkoff, why are the aerials coming back?
There is no answer.
MICHAEL: Birkoff!
NIKITA: What's wrong?.
MICHAEL: Get in. (then, to the operatives in the other jeep) Get
to the house!
He jumps into the jeep next to Nikita and jerks it into gear. The
jeep leaps forward, following the jeep with Sanchez.
The new choppers appear and begin to dive toward them.
SCULLY: Here we go again, Mulder!
NIKITA: How'd they get past our perimeter?!
MICHAEL: Comm is down!
NIKITA: Is it Red Cell?!
MULDER: They're coming down!
The choppers make a steep dive for the jeeps. One flies ahead of
the other, and a missile hits the ground in front of the first jeep.
Michael jerks the wheel, just missing the back of the other jeep as
it comes to a fiery stop. Michael hits the brakes, and they skid to a
stop. All four of them jump out and run to the other jeep. Mulder
and Scully pull out Sanchez's body - - he has a terrible head
wound. Michael and Nikita try to reach the extra ops, but the front
of the jeep is on fire and soon so are the extra ops.
Mulder and Scully load Sanchez into the jeep and then jump into
the front seats.
SCULLY: Mulder, let's go!
Mulder reaches for the keys. They aren't there.
MICHAEL: Looking for these?!
Mulder turns and sees Michael standing beside him, holding up the
keys. Scully turns to her side and sees Nikita.
The choppers dive toward them again.
NIKITA: DUCK!
She covers Scully with her body as the choppers dive. They hear a
loud clunk - - and another - - and then the choppers pull out of
their dive.
Nikita looks up and over at Michael. He is looking around, and so
does she. Suddenly, she spots it.
NIKITA: There!
She points: in front of their jeep is a large, cylindrical metal object.
As they watch, yellow gas begins spurting out from each end.
SCULLY: Behind us!
They turn and see another gas cylinder behind them.
They begin choking and coughing as the gas reaches them.
Michael manages to get Mulder the keys and then climbs into the
jeep, as does Nikita.
MICHAEL: (choking) Go - -
Mulder, choking, his eyes streaming, fumbles with the keys.
SCULLY: (gasping for breath) Mulder, I can't - -
She falls against him, unconscious.
Mulder drops the keys on the floor board.
MULDER: Damn - -
He reaches down to search blindly for the keys. Gas swirls all
around.
Behind him, Nikita and Michael fall unconscious.
MULDER: (choking to himself) Scotty, beam us up - -
Suddenly, there is a hum. Mulder looks around, choking,
coughing, rubbing his eyes in amazement as he sees his
companions dissolving into a million bright particles.
CUT TO:
Close up of Mulder: still bent forward and coughing. He looks up,
his eyes streaming.
A full shot of Mulder's POV: a man in a gold uniform stands
beside an instrument panel. He has a large ridged forehead and
long dark hair.
MULDER: My God - - WORF?
He falls to the transporter pad, unconcious.
Worf looks at the five bodies, and then he reaches over to hit a key
on the instrument panel.
WORF: Lieutenant Worf to Captain Picard. We have a problem.
ACT FOUR
SCENE: SICK BAY ON THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE. The
five of them are arranged on biobeds. Dr. Crusher is working on
Sanchez, fixing a cortical stimulator on his forehead and
watching his vital signs, worried.
Standing in the inner doorway of Sick Bay are Worf and Data.
Behind them, the outer door opens, and Captain Picard enters.
Worf steps aside, and Picard advances toward the biobeds,
followed by Data.
PICARD: Report.
CRUSHER: (tensely) They're alive. At least the other four are.
This one - we'll see.
Picard steps back, out of her way.
PICARD: Mr. Data?
DATA: From the clothing and technology, I estimate we
miscalculated the year of our arrival by thirty-five years. None of
these individuals is Professor Denbery.
PICARD: Then who are they? And how did they transmit
Denbery's beacon signal?
DATA: What we took as the professor's beacon was in actuality
the homing signal from a Rogellian computer chip implanted in
one of the humans.
PICARD: A Rogellian chip?
DATA: Yes. The frequency is almost identical to the 26th century
beacon used by Professor Denbery.
PICARD: Which of them has the chip?
Data steps to Scully's biobed.
DATA: This one, sir. Her name is Scully, sir. Dana Scully.
PICARD: Well, we have to- - (he stops) Did you say Scully?
DATA: Yes, sir.
PICARD: This is Agent Scully?
DATA: Yes, sir.
PICARD: (looking over at Michael) Then this must Agent Mulder
- -
DATA: No, sir. The other human male is Agent Mulder.
Picard looks over at Mulder's body and beyond it to Sanchez, still
being worked on by Dr. Crusher.
PICARD: And Dr. Sanchez.
DATA: The creator of the Sanchez vaccine.
PICARD: Extraordinary. (He looks back at Nikita and Michael)
But who are these two?
DATA: Uncertain, sir. I would hypothesize that they are the
government agents who were responsible for retrieving the
formula for the vaccine and leaking it to various world health
organizations.
PICARD: The Nameless Heroes of the Rogellian Resistance.
DATA: Yes, sir.
PICARD: (clipped and angry) Well, Mr. Data, it seems that our
incompetence has resulted in the interruption of a crucial historical
moment. I want these people returned with all due speed.
He turns for the door, but stops when Worf steps forward.
WORF: Sir, there's another problem.
PICARD: What is it, Mr. Worf?
WORF: (indicating Mulder) That one, sir. Agent Mulder. Before
he lost consciousness, he recognized me.
PICARD: You mean he saw you. That's all right, Mr. Worf. I'm
sure they will put it down to an hallucination brought on by the
gas.
WORF: No, sir. He recognized me. He called me by name.
PICARD: By name?! That's not possible - -
WORF: I heard him very clearly.
The door opens and Riker enters. He heads immediately for
Picard.
RIKER: Sir, long-range scans have picked up a Rogellian ship
entering this sector.
PICARD: The advance force sent to orchestrate the release of the
virus.
RIKER: That's my guess. They're traveling at impulse, so we have
a few days before their arrival.
Picard thinks, and then he turns to cross to Dr. Crusher, who has
finished working on Sanchez.
CRUSHER: (before he can ask) He's stabilized. I'll be able to
repair most of the neural damage, but not all.
PICARD: So he won't -
CRUSHER: Hard to tell. But given the extent of the damage, I
imagine the higher cerebral functions will be irreparably
compromised.
PICARD: And the others?
CRUSHER: Sedated. They'll be fine.
PICARD: (slowly, in a low voice) And if you were to wake them,
could you - -
CRUSHER: (surprised) Yes.
PICARD: Do it.
CRUSHER: Are you sure?
PICARD: Yes.
Picard moves to a corner of the sick bay, out of the line of vision
of the biobed occupants. Dr. Crusher retrieves a hypospray and
attaches a neurostimulant.
PICARD: (hitting his comm badge) Counselor Troi, report to
Sick Bay.
Dr. Crusher moves to Mulder's biobed. Data steps forward to the
foot of the bed curiously as Dr. Crusher injects Mulder.
Mulder wakes. Groggily he shakes his head and rubs his eyes.
MULDER: Scully, my head - -
He opens his eyes and looks up. The first face he sees is Data's.
MULDER: Oh, my God - - Data?
DATA: (tilting his head) Yes.
Mulder sits up on his elbows.
MULDER: Are you really Data?
DATA: Yes. I am.
Dr. Crusher moves to Nikita's biobed. Riker steps up to the foot of
her bed and watches as Dr. Crusher injects her.
MULDER: This can't be - -
A groan from Nikita's bed draws his attention. He looks over as
she opens her eyes and raises her head.
Nikita sees Riker and bolts to a sitting position.
RIKER: Hello.
NIKITA: Oh, my God - - you're - - you're - - (She looks over at
Mulder. ) He's - - he's - -
MULDER: Nice try, Nikita, but I know what's going on. We're
still in the white room and Morticia has pumped me full of
hallucino - -
The Sick Bay door opens, and Mulder gapes as Troi enters. She
moves to the foot of Michael's bed, where Dr. Crusher is preparing
another hypospray.
NIKITA: I - - this is a dream - -
RIKER: I assure you, I am no dream.
Nikita looks over and sees that Dr. Crusher is injecting Michael.
NIKITA: Michael - -
His eyes flutter open.
MULDER: Welcome to the Twilight Zone, Michael.
Michael raises his head and looks to the foot of the bed. He sees
Troi and sits up quickly.
TROI: It's all right. You're safe. We won't harm you.
Michael looks over at Nikita.
MICHAEL: (sitting up) Nikita, are you - -
NIKITA: I'm all right. (She looks at Riker.) At least I think so.
Dr. Crusher has stepped over to Scully and is injecting her. Scully
doesn't wake right away. Dr. Crusher frowns a bit and injects her
again. Slowly, Scully wakes and sits up.
The first face she sees is Worf's.
She bolts forward.
SCULLY: Oh, my God - - you're - - you're - -
WORF: (booming) A Klingon.
Mulder laughs.
MULDER: Scully, if you could see your face - -
Scully looks over at him.
SCULLY: Mulder, what's going on?
MULDER: Isn't it obvious? Clearly, we have entered an alternate
universe in which pop culture icons can exist in three dimensional
form.
DATA: Pop culture?
MULDER: Sure. You know, "Space the final frontier - these are
the voyages of the Starship Enterprise - - "
His voice peters out. Data looks at Riker, who shrugs and shakes
his head. Mulder looks around.
NIKITA: They don't know what you're talking about Mulder.
MULDER: Of course they do. (To Data) It's the prologue to "Star
Trek."
DATA: Star? Trek?
Picard steps forward.
PICARD: Perhaps we should start at the beginning. I'm Captain
Jean-Luc - -
MULDER: Picard. Of the Starship Enterprise. Flagship of the
Starfleet. Member of the United Federation of Planets. Your
second-in-command is Will Riker, the big guy with the beard
who's ogling Nikita over there - -
Nikita looks at Riker, then over at Michael, who is also looking at
Riker with narrowed eyes.
MULDER: (continuing) - - and your third in command is the
android who's ogling me, Lt. Commander Data - -
The Enterprise officers have stiffened and moved away from the
biobeds into a group, all except Worf, who still stands sentinel
beside the doorway, trying to ignore Scully, who has gotten out of
bed and stands staring at him, wonderingly. Behind her, Dr.
Crusher runs a medscan.
MULDER: Resistance is futile? Live long and prosper?
NIKITA: Mulder, maybe you should - -
MULDER: I'm right, aren't I? Michael, you'll back me up here - -
MICHAEL: I never watched "Star Trek."
NIKITA: You never watched "Star Trek"?
MICHAEL: I never watched "Star Trek."
NIKITA: You never watched "Star Trek." Incredible, Michael - -
MULDER: (giving up on them) Scully, help me out - -
Scully is reaching for Worf's forehead.
SCULLY: Is that real?
WORF: What?
SCULLY: Your cranial plate.
WORF: (ducking her hand) My cranial plate is VERY real.
SCULLY: (to Dr. Crusher) Could I see some x-rays?
NIKITA: (taking charge) OK, hold it. Just hold it. (She turns to
Picard.) You've never heard of "Star Trek"?
PICARD: What exactly is a Star Trek?
NIKITA: It's a TV show.
MULDER: Actually, four TV shows, eight movies, and a couple of
cool comic books.
DATA: Television, sir. Twentieth century fictional entertainment.
PICARD: I know what television is, Mr. Data.
TROI: You mean there's a television show about us?
NIKITA: The first "Star Trek" aired in the 1960s - -
MULDER: September 8, 1966. A day that will live - -
NIKITA: But it wasn't about you - - it was about the first
Enterprise, with Captain Kirk and Spock - -
RIKER: Oh, my God - -
NIKITA: And then years later they had a spin off called "The Next
Generation" that featured this ship and crew - -
MULDER: And thank God whoever designed this hallucination
had the sense not to use those first-year uniforms that made you all
look like ostriches - - OW!!
Mulder looks up at Nikita, who has just pinched him.
NIKITA: Wake up, Mulder. This isn't a dream or an hallucination.
MULDER: It has to be, Nikita. There's no way these people can be
real.
PICARD: Oh, there most certainly is a way, Agent Mulder. Tell
me, who created this television show?
NIKITA/MULDER: Gene Roddenberry.
Picard looks over at his crew.
PICARD: Professor Genero Denbery.
**********
SCENE: ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE ROOM. Picard, Riker,
and Data are seated at the table. The door opens, and Nikita,
Michael, Mulder, and Scully enter. They are wearing
standard-issue Starfleet guest jumpsuits, which only enhance the
air of togetherness they have developed. It's them against the
future.
PICARD: (rising) Please, have a seat.
The four of them exchange looks and take seats together.
PICARD: (taking his seat again) We believe we have sorted out
this situation. Mr. Data?
DATA: Several days ago, we intercepted a distress call from a 26th
century historian named Genero Denbery.
NIKITA: But you live in the 24th century.
MICHAEL: (sotto voce) They do?
NIKITA: They do.
DATA: That is correct. However, we have recently become aware
that historians of our future regularly travel through time doing
historical research.
MULDER: I remember that episode! (to Scully) There was this
guy, oh, what was his name, he was an historian from the future
only he wasn't really an historian he was an imposter who used
his knowledge of the future to - - Rasmussen! That was his name!
Scully, seeing the look on Picard's face, stops Mulder with a touch
of her hand.
MULDER: Oh, sorry. Please. Continue.
DATA: The distress call from Professor Denbery indicated his
time pod had malfunctioned and he was stranded in 20th century
Australia. Unfortunately, our receipt of the call effectively
terminated it, so Professor Denbery's colleagues will never learn of
his fate. Starfleet ordered us to attempt to retrieve the professor in
the belief that his knowledge of the future could do less
damage in our time than in yours.
MULDER: Wait a minute - - Australia. Denbery must be the one
who taught the aborignes how to prevent the abductions.
PICARD: Probably. In any case, his presence in your century
seems to have caused no permanent alteration to the time line.
MULDER: (aside to Scully) There are a couple million Trekkies
who might disagree.
PICARD: According to our analysis, Dr. Sanchez would have
developed the vaccine on his own, and it WILL prove to be the
means by which the Rogellian colonizing force will be repulsed.
SCULLY: Did you hear that, Mulder?
MULDER: (smiling) I heard.
SCULLY: It worked. We won.
They clasp hands, smiling at each other.
Nikita looks at Michael, and together they turn to Captain Picard.
MICHAEL: There's more, isn't there?
PICARD: Yes. (He takes a deep breath.) According to our
records, FBI agents Mulder and Scully disappeared while tracking
the whereabouts of Dr. Sanchez, prompting one of the biggest
and most public manhunts in FBI history.
NIKITA: And?
PICARD: In the course of the investigation, Agent Mulder's
theories of an imminent alien invasion received considerable
public attention, and slowly people started to listen.
RIKER: And to believe.
As one, Mulder and Scully's free hands clasp together over their
joined hands.
PICARD: This belief was confirmed when the FBI finally located
you -
There is an awkward pause, during which the Enterprise officers
exchange looks.
MULDER: Dead.
PICARD: Yes.
NIKITA: (sitting forward intently) How? How did they die?
PICARD: Does it matter?
NIKITA: (looking at Michael) Yes.
DATA: There was evidence of torture, but the final autopsy
revealed the cause of death to be a lethal injection of a drug called
chlerathon.
MICHAEL: Nikita -
Nikita turns to face him.
NIKITA: They did it, Michael. WE did it.
MICHAEL: You don't know that.
NIKITA: Chlerathon? That's Madeline's drug of choice. You
know I'm right. Red Cell grabbed them, Section extracted them,
and then the Section cancelled them.
MICHAEL: Section One doesn't leave bodies behind.
NIKITA: They would if they thought it would put an end to the
publicity.
DATA: Excuse me - - did you say Section One?
MICHAEL: You know Section One?
DATA: Of course. The exposure of Section One's activities was
one of the greatest scandals of the twenty-first century. (He turns
to Picard.) Section One's involvement in this situation could
explain many things.
MULDER: Like what?
DATA: Some time after the plague had begun, various world
health organizations received - - I believe you call them e-mails
that detailed the formula for the Sanchez vaccine.
RIKER: It was never determined who sent the information, but it
was believed that they must have been government employees.
SCULLY: (to Michael and Nikita) It had to be you - -
Nikita and Michael exchange looks.
MICHAEL: No. If we were taken by Red Cell, we would be
executed immediately.
NIKITA: We have a history with them.
MULDER: Then it must have been someone else in your
organization.
MICHAEL: Possibly.
PICARD: Well, then, if you two are not the ones who will send the
message, that means another of our problems has been solved.
NIKITA: What?
There is a long pause.
MULDER: It means you don't have to send us back.
ACT FIVE
SCENE: TEN FORWARD. At a table next to the window sit
Nikita, Michael, Mulder, and Scully. They are bent forward in
earnest discussion.
At the bar, watching them, are Riker, Troi, and Dr. Crusher.
RIKER: (to Troi) How are they doing?
TROI: They're angry, confused, afraid - -
CRUSHER: Who can blame them?
RIKER: I wish there was a way to make this easier.
TROI: Only time will help.
CRUSHER: (to herself) And maybe a little modern medicine - -
Her eyes narrow as she looks across the room at Scully.
CUT to the table.
SCULLY: Mulder, Dr. Sanchez was nearly dead when we pulled
him from that jeep. He would have died without their advanced
medical technology, and even with it, the man will spend the
rest of his life mentally incapacitated.
MULDER: So if Red Cell had succeeded in taking us, there's no
way Dr. Sanchez could have told them the formula for the vaccine.
MICHAEL: (remembering) The briefcase. Sanchez was carrying a
briefcase when he left his house.
NIKITA: Big enough for a laptop - -
SCULLY: He put it in the car - -
NIKITA: So Red Cell has it. Red Cell has the formula.
MULDER: But someone in YOUR organization will leak the
information.
MICHAEL: The Section could have retrieved it by extracting
Sanchez. Or perhaps Red Cell didn't know the case was in the car,
which would mean our housekeeping team probably found
it.
MULDER: Housekeeping team? Who writes your dialogue - -
George Orwell?
MICHAEL: And who writes yours - - Isaac Asimov?
SCULLY: Look - no matter how we come at this, there's still no
reason for them to send us back.
MULDER: There has to be.
NIKITA: (abruptly) Are we sure we want to go back?
They all sit back, startled by the question. After a long, awkward
pause, Nikita gets up and crosses to the Ten Forward window.
Michael follows her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She
leans her cheek against it.
Mulder and Scully look at each other, then her gaze shifts upward,
to Dr. Crusher, who has stepped up to their table.
CRUSHER: I'm sorry to interrupt, but - - Agent Scully, there's
something I'd like to discuss with you.
Scully looks at Mulder.
MULDER: Go ahead. You know you're dying to get your hands on
a medical tricorder.
SCULLY: What about - -
The Ten Forward doors open, and Data enters.
MULDER: (seeing Data) We can talk about it later. There's
something I'd like to see myself.
They rise from the table; Scully follows Dr. Crusher out, while
Mulder goes over to Data.
At the window, Michael moves around so he can see Nikita's
expression.
MICHAEL: You want to stay.
NIKITA: I don't know.
MICHAEL: I could understand if - -
NIKITA: I need to think, Michael. I don't have any answers for
you right now.
After a moment, Michael leaves. Nikita leans against the window,
lost in thought. Suddenly, she is brought back to the present by a
voice behind her.
RIKER: Amazing isn't it?
NIKITA: what?
RIKER: (gesturing to the view) Space. What was it that television
show called it? The final frontier?
NIKITA: That's the problem.
RIKER: What?
NIKITA: All of this. It's as insubstantial as a TV show. It's not
real. None of this is real.
RIKER: It could become real.
NIKITA: You know, if you'd told me a few years ago - - a few
days ago even - - that I had a chance to live in this world, I would
have jumped at it.
RIKER: But now?
NIKITA: I don't have much of a life in the Section. Or much of a
future. But it's MY life. (She looks at him.) My future.
**********
SCENE: HOLODECK. Mulder stands in the middle of the empty
holodeck, looking around. Data is at the control panel.
DATA: I believe I have found the correct file.
MULDER: Then let's do it.
Data punches in the information. All around them, the holodeck
walls waver, and slowly, the old X-files office appears.
MULDER: (amazed) It really works.
DATA: Of course.
Mulder wanders around, touching things. He reaches a filing
cabinet and pulls a drawer out slowly.
MULDER: Even the files are here - -
DATA: As many as the computer was able to replicate. The
records are limited.
MULDER: They were destroyed in a fire. Scully and I tried to
reconstruct what we could, but - -
Mulder stops and pushes the drawer back in.
DATA: Is something wrong?
MULDER: These files were the center of my life for so long - -
DATA: And seeing them again makes you feel - - ?
MULDER: (wandering around the office again) Click on your
emotion chip, Data.
DATA: My "emotion chip"?
MULDER: Yes, you know, the chip Dr. Soong - -
He stops and turns slowly.
MULDER: You don't know about the chip.
DATA: No, I do not. What is it?
MULDER: (advancing to him) Which Enterprise is this? D or E?
DATA: Enterprise D, of course. There is no Enterprise E.
MULDER: (with a smile) Not yet.
**************
SCENE: MICHAEL'S QUARTERS. Michael sits at a computer,
playing the terminal as if he's worked with this type of computer
for years. He finds the file he wants, and he stops to read.
A door jingle interrupts him. He hits a computer key and the
screen returns to the Starfleet logo.
MICHAEL: Yes. Come in.
The door slides open, and Counselor Troi looks in.
TROI: May I come in?
MICHAEL: (standing) Of course.
TROI: (entering and smiling) We met only briefly in Sick Bay. I'm
Deanna Troi, Ship's Counselor.
MICHAEL: Yes, I remember. (A pause.) Michael. Samuelle.
TROI: I know.
She steps forward, picking her way and her words carefully.
TROI: Michael, I have this - - ability. I'm able to read the
emotions of others because of my heritage. I'm half Betazoid.
Michael looks at her blankly.
TROI: I know that doesn't mean anything to you. In fact, I sense
that much of this means nothing to you, unlike your friends, who
seem to know more about us than we ourselves know.
MICHAEL: They have more of a frame of reference than I do.
They know who you are - - (he looks around) what this place is. I
don't.
TROI: I understand. (a pause, and then carefully) But I also sense
that there is something in particular that you want to know. A
question you want to ask.
Michael looks down at the computer terminal beside him.
TROI: I'd like to help if I can.
MICHAEL: Your historical records seem to be very detailed.
TROI: They are. Is there something - - or maybe someone you
want to know about?
MICHAEL: (looking up at her) My son.
***********
SCENE: HOLODECK. Mulder, alone, is staring at his "I Want To
Believe" poster. The holodeck door opens with a hum and a
whoosh, and he turns. Scully enters, wide-eyed at the
sight of their old office.
MULDER: You believe this, Scully?
SCULLY: Today I believe anything.
Mulder laughs and walks around the desk to face her. He leans
back against the desk, his arms crossed.
MULDER: It has been one hell of a day.
Scully steps up to him.
SCULLY: Mulder, I - - I owe you the biggest apology of my life.
MULDER: (shaking his head) Scully - -
SCULLY: No. All these years you've believed - -
MULDER: Not all of them.
SCULLY: The only reason you stopped believing was my refusal
to accept the truth. If I hadn't been so closed-minded - -
Mulder uncrosses his arms and takes her shoulders in his hands.
MULDER: Scully, your mind was never closed. Skeptical, yes.
Rational, always. I needed that. I needed you to keep me grounded
so that we could get to this place. To the future.
Scully rests her hands on his chest. When she speaks, she is
breathless, almost whispering.
SCULLY: Mulder - - Dr. Crusher. She - - she cured me.
MULDER: Your cancer?
SCULLY: Gone. (a small laugh) She even took the chip.
MULDER: Scully - -
SCULLY: She also - - she fixed me, Mulder. She fixed
everything. It's as if it never - -
She is so overwhelmed she can't finish. She smiles up at him,
alight with joy.
With a whoop, Mulder scoops her up and whirls her around.
Laughing, Scully holds on.
MULDER: Oh, Scully - -
He runs a hand along her face. She smiles.
MULDER: I know how to get us home.
*************
SCENE: MICHAEL'S QUARTERS. Michael is alone, standing by
the window and staring out. The door jingles again.
MICHAEL: (without turning) Come in.
Nikita enters. She stops on seeing him. Before she can say
anything, Michael begins speaking.
MICHAEL: I never really believed in it. The future. Our future.
If I ever thought about it, I could see it ending only one way - -
NIKITA: Michael - -
MICHAEL: I don't know if you can understand that. If you can
understand means to live without hope. You always had it. You
always had the faith that one day - -
NIKITA: Michael, what are you saying?
Leaving the window, he sits at the computer terminal and hits a
key. A picture of an eighty-year-old Operations comes into view.
MICHAEL: Thirty years from now, the truth about Section One
will be revealed to the public. There will be a Senate hearing - -
Nikita pulls up a chair beside him. Michael hits a key, and the still
photograph unpauses to a video. The older Operations is seated at
a table with microphones. Men in suits sit on either side of him.
The camera pulls back to show that he is facing a Senate
subcommittee consisting of two older Senators and a young
Senator.
OLD OPERATIONS: That's correct, Senator.
OLD SENATOR #1: And this organization regularly violated the
laws of all civilized nations in its pursuit of criminals and
terrorists.
OLD OPERATIONS: Yes, Senator. We believed we were
protecting the innocents of the world - -
YOUNG SENATOR: (outraged) Protecting the innocents?! By
violating their civil rights, using them for your own agenda, and
even killing them?!
Michael pauses the video on the picture of the young Senator.
NIKITA: I don't believe it - -
MICHAEL: The Section will be disbanded. The operatives will
return to prison or to their families.
NIKITA: And Operations?
MICHAEL: He will - - disappear.
NIKITA: My God.
She gazes at the picture of the young Senator, reaching out to
touch it gently.
NIKITA: He seems quite the crusader.
MICHAEL: He's my son.
Nikita's mouth drops open. Slowly, she turns to look at him.
Michael is smiling.
MICHAEL: My son.
She reaches out to touch his face wonderingly. His hand slides up
her arm to her hand, pressing it against his face.
Slowly, they move together. Their lips touch.
Nikita slides out of her chair and onto his lap, wrapping her arms
around his neck and kissing him deeper. His hands slide up her
back into her golden hair - -
The door jingles.
They break apart, breathing heavily.
MICHAEL: (sighing) Come in.
They stand as Mulder and Scully enter.
MULDER: Time to go home.
***********
SCENE: CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM. Nikita, Michael, Mulder,
and Scully stand opposite the captain, staring at him over his desk.
Picard is angry.
PICARD: This is blackmail.
MULDER: In our time, we call it making a deal. You send us
back and let us determine our own future - -
NIKITA: And we won't reveal what we know of yours.
PICARD: Out of the question.
SCULLY: Captain, we aren't trying to destroy the future.
PICARD: Oh?
MICHAEL: We want to reclaim it. For ourselves.
**********
SCENE: SECTION ONE MAIN AREA. Birkoff is working at his
computer, with Madeline leaning over his shoulder confidentially.
BIRKOFF: That's it. That's all the data from Dr. Sanchez's Rio
files. Now what?
MADELINE: Now we wait and see what happens - -
She looks up and sees Operations approaching. He is grim-faced.
Madeline straightens, touching Birkoff's shoulder. He hits a key,
and the screen on his computer changes.
MADELINE: (to Operations) What's wrong?
OPERATIONS: I just received a very disturbing call.
MADELINE: From whom?
OPERATIONS: From - -
Before he can finish, he sees someone entering: the Cigarette
Smoking Man. The CSM stops as soon as he enters to light a
cigarette. Then he looks up at Operations. He waits.
OPERATIONS: (to Madeline) I'm going to take care of this right
now.
Determinedly, he crosses the room to the CSM.
OPERATIONS: What are you doing here?
CSM: (surprised) You called me.
OPERATIONS: No, I didn't - -
The door beside them opens. Both turn and gape as Mulder enters.
MULDER: (to CSM) How's it shakin'?
He passes them cheerfully. Behind him come Scully, Nikita, and
Michael. They walk single-file to Birkoff's station.
MULDER: Birkoff, old buddy, how's tricks?
BIRKOFF: I - - uh - - I - -
MICHAEL: Birkoff, we need a copy of all the data from Dr.
Sanchez's laptop.
BIRKOFF: What laptop?
OPERATIONS: MICHAEL!
They turn. Operations advances on them.
OPERATIONS: What the hell is going on here? Why aren't you
dead?
NIKITA: (to Scully) So nice to be missed - -
MICHAEL: We managed to escape from Red Cell. But in the
process, Agent Mulder gained access to their records - -
MULDER: (pulling out a computer disk) I believe you call this
"the directory"?
OPERATIONS: Michael - -
MICHAEL: Agent Mulder has agreed to turn over all copies of the
directory if we provide him the formula of the vaccine Dr. Sanchez
was working on.
OPERATIONS: I don't make deals.
NIKITA: You'd better make this one, or else that directory is
headed right for the office of the Attorney General, the Director of
the FBI, and a dozen newspaper publishers within twenty-four
hours.
MULDER: Don't forget CNN.
SCULLY: And of course Agent Mulder and I will keep a personal
copy until such time as I can verify Dr. Sanchez's formula.
OPERATIONS: (furiously) We don't have any formula.
Birkoff looks over at Madeline.
MICHAEL: Birkoff - -
BIRKOFF: I don't know anything about a formula.
MADELINE: Our housekeeping team found nothing on site except
your vehicles. And the bodies of your remaining team members.
NIKITA: Then Red Cell has the formula.
The CSM steps forward.
CSM: No.
They turn.
CSM: Red Cell was never there. I have the formula.
He walks up to Mulder and takes a puff of his cigarette.
CSM: And once again, Agent Mulder, you're a day late and a dollar
short.
MULDER: You son of a - -
Enraged, he lunges at the CSM. Michael and Scully grab him and
hold him back.
MULDER: How can you do this?! How can you destroy
everything and just walk away?!
CSM: We do what we have to do, Agent Mulder.
Smiling, he starts walking to the exit. He stops by Madeline
briefly.
CSM: We should do lunch sometime.
MADELINE: In your dreams.
He takes a drag, smiles, and turns. Nikita is there in front of him.
With one punch, she decks him. He sprawls at her feet.
Michael and Scully let go of Mulder, who shakes his coat and his
dignity in place.
MULDER: (to Nikita) Thanks.
NIKITA: I owed you.
MULDER: Scully?
SCULLY: Right behind you, Mulder.
They step over the CSM and start walking for the exit.
OPERATIONS: Where do you think you're going?
Mulder continues walking, but turns and walks backward. He
takes out the disk again and waves it in the air.
MULDER: We'll be seeing you in about thirty years.
He starts to turn around again, but thinks of something. He looks
over at Michael.
MULDER: Sunday night. Eight o'clock. Voyager. Check it out.
He then turns just as he and Scully reach the exit.
Suddenly, there is a blast of light. Everyone present falls to the
floor, unconscious.
There is a hum, and three figures begin materializing in the middle
of the floor. Slowly, Riker, Data, and Dr. Crusher come into view.
Riker looks around and hits his comm badge.
RIKER: Riker to Picard. We are ready to begin decontamination,
Captain.
PICARD'S VOICE: Proceed.
Dr. Crusher kneels beside the first body she comes to. She begins
taking instruments out of her bag, while Riker and Data head for
Birkoff's station. Data leans over Birkoff's body and quickly
begins working on the computer.
DATA: Here it is, Commander.
RIKER: The formula?
DATA: No, but there is enough information from Dr. Sanchez's
files to enable someone to reconstruct the formula.
RIKER: That's got to be it. Leave that file alone, but delete all
other references to Dr. Sanchez, and Agents Mulder and Scully.
DATA: Yes, sir. (He begins typing furiously.) I am curious,
though. This young man (he gestures with his head to Birkoff)
seemed quite sincere in his protestation of ignorance about the
formula, yet he is responsible for storing Dr. Sanchez's files.
RIKER: Maybe he didn't know what he had.
DATA: Then why store the information at all?
RIKER: Someone must have told him to.
Dr. Crusher approaches and kneels next to Madeline's body.
RIKER: (to Crusher) How long will it take?
CRUSHER: Removing four days of memory? Not long.
RIKER: Good.
CRUSHER: Removing my guilt is another matter.
RIKER: Like the man said, we do what we have to do.
He looks down at Madeline's face. From a close up of her, the
camera pulls back, slowly rising to a crane shot of the main area of
Section One, as the Enterprise crew works to remove four
days of the past from the future.
EPILOGUE
SCENE: DOCTOR'S OFFICE. Scully is buttoning her shirt when
her doctor comes in. He has a strange look on his face.
SCULLY: Is something wrong?
DOCTOR: Uh - no. Nothing. That is, if you can call a miracle
nothing.
SCULLY: A miracle?
He hands her a chart.
**********
SCENE: CITY STREET. Mulder sits in a parked car. He looks at
his watch, and then toward the door of an office building opposite.
Scully steps out of the building and stands on the sidewalk,
looking around as if unsure where she is.
MULDER: (out the window) Scully!
She hears him, and then crosses to get into the car on the passenger
side.
MULDER: What took so long?
SCULLY: You won't believe it.
MULDER: Are you all right?
SCULLY: I'm fine. I'm great. You won't believe it - -
MULDER: Me? I believe anything - -
SCULLY: You won't believe this.
MULDER: Tell me on the way. Our favorite paranoids called and
said they needed to see us right away.
He puts the car in gear and they drive off.
***********
SCENE: LONE GUNMEN OFFICE. Langley, Frohicke, and Byers
sit side-by-side on chairs. Their arms are crossed in defense mode,
and they stare ahead with stiff, unreadable expressions.
FROHICKE: So. Could I get you something to drink?
The camera pans to reveal Michael and Nikita sitting opposite,
also in defense mode.
MICHAEL: No thank you.
NIKITA: No thanks.
Another pause.
FROHICKE: (holding up a Lone Gunmen paper) Something to
read?
NIKITA: Look, are you ever going to tell us what this is about or
are we going to just try and read each other's minds?
BYERS: Interesting idea.
LANGLEY: Might be fun.
Voices become audible from outside: Mulder and Scully, arrive,
still talking intently. They enter the room at an angle that keeps
them from seeing Michael and Nikita right away.
SCULLY: - - a logical explanation for this, Mulder.
MULDER: If there is one, I'm sure you'll - -
He stops on seeing the Lone Gunmen.
MULDER: Let me guess. See no evil, hear no evil, date no evil.
Scully sees Michael and Nikita.
SCULLY: Mulder - -
He turns. Michael and Nikita stand.
MULDER: Who are you?
BYERS: Actually, they're friends of yours. This is Michael and
Nikita.
SCULLY: Friends of ours?
MICHAEL: You are mistaken.
NIKITA: We've never seen these people in our lives.
BYERS: Oh, yes you have.
LANGLEY: We received a tape in the mail that we think you are
all going to want to see.
Byers puts a tape in the VCR while Mulder and Scully take seats
next to Michael and Nikita. The four of them look at each other
warily.
FROHICKE: Hold onto your photon torpedoes, folks. This is
going to blow you away.
Byers hits "Play." On the screen, the four of them appear. They
are sitting at a table in Michael's quarters on the Enterprise. From
left to right: Mulder, Scully, Nikita, and then Michael.
MULDER: Hi, I'm Fox Mulder, FBI agent and (he leans forward)
time traveler.
MICHAEL:: We're making this tape because we believe it is
possible our memories will be erased sometime in the near future.
SCULLY: And we want to be sure that these experiences are
recorded and remembered, along with a certain formula that could
prove extremely valuable in the future.
NIKITA: It all started four days ago - -
THE END