Terra Novus, Ep. 10 - Malpractice

DJ: And now for our feature presentation of TERRA NOVUS: and original radio drama Created and presented by SCAD Radio Dramas (Scattered).

SFX: Intro theme.
dj: last week on terra novous...
Sfx: Morris walks up. Start a manipulative evil theme.

Morris: What’s going on here? What’s wrong with Dylan. God, Graham you look like hell, which side of that laser turret were you on?

Graham: It’s Liam sir. He’s trying to sabotage the mission. First he shot down Aurora’s ship, I tried to stop him but he beat me down. Then he gave Dylan pills he knew she was allergic to, I was there.

Liam: What!? I.. You shot down Aurora’s ship.

Graham: I was giving her cover fire just fine until you came over and started hitting me, causing me to lose control of my turret.

Sfx: Music gets tense, fast paced.

Morris: Is this true Liam? Did you..

Liam: (Stammering) No, I mean.. I didn’t mean to.. He started it, he was trying to -

Dylan: Breathing gets worse. She begins to choke.

Dylan: (in her head, increase reverb) Morris, Graham did it. He did everything, don’t listen to him. He’s an alien imposter. Liam’s innocent.

(Cut to)

Morris: Can’t we get her to sick bay and do something?

Graham: No, wait. He gave her the wrong medication, I think he’s trying to kill her sir. Don’t put her back in the hands of that monster!

Liam: Monster! You’re the one who..

Morris: Liam!

Sfx: music cuts out.

Liam: What?

Morris: Did you?

Sfx: music comes in sad for Liam. It’s tragic how he is being betrayed, this man is turning the whole crew against him.

Liam: Well.. I - if he hadn’t spilled the pills all over the place I wouldn’t have had a hard time trying to figure out which one was which.

Morris: Don’t they have some sort of symbol you could recognize, a letter to differentiate them from -

Graham: He’s illiterate sir, He can’t read of write. Not even to save her life.

Sfx: start sad plot point theme.

Morris: What’s this, an illiterate doctor? In charge of my crew’s safety.

Liam: I can too, I was.. Learning.

Morris: Learning?

Liam: (breathing faster) I–

Morris: Save it. Lock him in the barracks until we have more time to question him.

Dylan: (in her head) The barracks? But he’s the...

Dylan: (In her head) No! Liam, tell them. Wait, even you don’t know that he’s a shape shifter. No one but I do but I can’t tell anyone... I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe!

Dylan: (coughing, gasping, choking! Faints)

SFX: music gets concerned for her. Dylan falls to the floor unconscious.

Liam: Dylan!

Morris: Get him in the barracks before he gets someone else hurt.

Graham: It would be my pleasure.

SFX: Cliffhanger ending theme.

Dj: And now for the continuation of terra novus. Episode 10.

Morris: What do we do about her? I don’t know how to help her and we don’t have the time figure it out.

Isaac: Freeze her.

Morris: What?

Isaac: Use the chriosleep station. It will put her in a state of suspended animation and give us time to figure out what to do.

Dylan (in her head): No! Isaac, if you freeze me I’ll never get to tell you about Graham. He’s going to take over the ship!

Morris: Show me what to do.

SFX: Transition music

ISAAC: (Grunting as he carries her) watch her head, here, hold her for a second. I got to get the door.

Sfx: hits a button and a large piston operated door opens to the chamber, gas comes out.

MORRIS: Shivvers, it’s cold.

ISAAC: It will be safe. Come on help me lay her down. (Grunt)

sfx: lay her down. Sigh once they let her go.

ISAAC: Okay, now stand back.

SFX: Chamber shuts.

ISAAC: Okay here we go.


Sfx: presses a few buttons and the gas pours into the chamber and pressurizes and squeaks like Darth Vader’s helmet. The hissing stops and a beep indicates the process is complete.

MORRIS: Now what?

ISAAC: It’s done. She’s safe. The question is what do we do? We’ve got a dead pilot and her new born, a stolen android, a doctor imprisoned for possible malpractice, and a communications engineer in chrio-sleep, what else could possibly happen?

MORRIS: I guess it’s back to earth. You were right when you said it was their right to know what’s going on up here. (Sighs) Even if I don’t receive a single republic credit from it.

ISAAC: See now That’s what I’m talking about, I knew you’d finally come around.

Morris: (Scoffs) yeah, I knew it was the right thing to do all along. It just so happened to be the hard thing to do, also.

Isaac: It usually is.

Morris: Watch it, your starting to sound like your old man.

Isaac: (Chuckles.)

SFX: transition music. Then dark sad music.

Graham: Get in there!

Sfx: Graham throws Liam into a corner. Graham then shuts a creaks gate which sizzles with electricity.

Liam: You got a lot of guts pulling that stunt up there. (Panting) What happened, did Dylan catch on to you too, is that why you gave her the wrong pills? To shut her up. (Scoffs) You’ll never get away with this.

graham: My boy, I’ve already managed to get three members of your crew including you out of my way, what makes you think I would have problems with these last two? Besides I don’t have to “get away with it” I just have foil their plans long enough to make sure your crew does not succeed.

Liam: Why? Why are you doing this? Who are you?

Graham: Not who, but (in alien voice) what!

Sfx: Liam gets up and runs at him.

Liam: Why you -

SFX: the cell electrocutes and burns his hands.

Liam: Nuuugh! My hands, (panting in pain and desperation) A laser cell.

Graham: Just a precaution to make sure you don’t try anything while I’m gone. Wouldn’t want you pulling anymore of that hero bullshit you seemed to have developed the backbone for recently.

SFX: Door opens and Isaac and Morris walk in.

Morris: Everything alright.

Liam : Quite alright captain, he resisted - as usual - but not to worry, I was in control - as usual.

Morris: (suspiciously) uh huh? Can I have a word with you outside for a minute?

LIAM: Sure thing.

MORRIS: Isaac you can keep an eye on him can’t you.

ISAAC: Yes Captain.

SFX: Graham starts walking, then stops.

Liam: Oh yeah, and Isaac don’t believe anything he tells you. He’d say anything to get out of there.

SFX: Morris and Graham walk out and the door shuts. Music becomes sympathetic and with anticipation – like it is a necessity to be quick.

Liam: You gota’ get me out of here, he’s mad. Insane.

ISAAC: What, Graham? Look he’s not my favorite guy either but...

LIAM: No. You don’t understand, he’s not right. He’s not the same person who we started this mission with.

ISAAC: Hey, I’ve changed, what’s the big deal? We all have. (Swallows hard) Those of us that are left. (Sighs.)

LIAM: No. I mean he’s not Graham. He’s...

Isaac: He’s what? (Waits) What?

Liam: I don’t know, he’s something else.

Isaac: Look if you know something tell me, if not, then stop wasting my time with your guilt-ridden theories of why I shouldn’t trust “another” one of my crew just because you feel bad that Aurora’s gone.

Liam: Alright I don’t know what he is, I don’t have any proof. But I think Dylan did, that’s why Graham switched her medication.

Isaac: Wait a second, are you saying-

Liam: You might not believe me, you might not take my word for it - why should you. You barley know me, but I know you know and trust Dylan.

Isaac: (Sighs impatiently)

Liam: Use the jumpgate so you can get to earth fast, get her help and get her out of chriosleep. Keep her safe, I think she knows more than either of us about just how far down the rabbit hole we really are.

Isaac: (Sighs)

Liam: Oh and one more thing. Don’t leave Graham in charge of anything important, if you believe me at all even if its just a little bit, don’t let him put the mission in jeopardy, (emphasizing every word) don’t - leave Graham - in charge.

Isaac: I’ll take care of it.

Sfx: transition music.

MORRIS: Alright are we ready to do this thing?

Graham: All right, lets just go over it one more time. Isaac you’re taking BOB to the planet’s surface, and you’re going to try to break into IGSTA and hack into their global satellite system.

Isaac: Well, more or less. Bob will do the “hacking,” he says after the beacon was removed he was able to recover passwords and clearance codes from before he was decommissioned.

Morris: Let’s hope they’re still good.

GRAHAM: Meanwhile, we’ll jam the control panel stay open so they can’t shut it down and deny it and when you give the signal I press the button –

Isaac: Well, maybe Morris should do it. Maybe, you can just monitor Liam - since you are so set on thinking he’s going to try to “interfere.”

Graham: (Through his teeth) But I -

Morris: I’ll press the button.

Graham: (Sighs angrily) Fine. (Irritated) fine, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll still be able to — (suspiciously) I’ll still be able to watch the prisoner.

Morris: And what about Dylan?

Graham: She can wait.

Isaac: No, I’m taking her too.

Graham: What? That wasn’t part of the p-

Isaac: It’s going to take BOB a few minutes to get into the system anyway, there are chrio-stations at IGSTA for this very same reason. It will take her a while to come fully out of it, but I figure she’ll be another set of hands when she does - and we could use that right now. And it won’t take but a minute to set the chrio-chamber for decompression.

Graham: (Sighs) I still don’t know why you don’t just wait until after we send the signal, I mean she doesn’t know anything valuable that could help you.

Isaac: We’ll see about that.

Graham: (Growls quietly.) (in his mind) What did Liam say to him? I knew I should have never left them alone. (Sighs) It doesn’t matter anyway, all will be revealed soon enough.

Sfx: plot thickens theme. A door opens and metal feet come walking in to the room.

BOB: I have completed the data file you requested.

Isaac: Alright how does it work?

Sfx: start reminiscent telling theme.

BOB: I set up the text file that will be automatically sent to all e-mail accounts globally. Over audio-devices I’ve programmed the message to be read through a voice synthesizer, which will adapt and translate itself for foreign languages based on what network it is received in. All cell phones and hand held devices connected to wireless internet will receive the signal simultaneously, and lastly all tv-stations will be bombarded by the voice synthesizer and additionally the security-camera footage and sound clips that were restored after the tracking beacon was removed. The signal should loop for 24 hours or until they find a way to break the encryption code. There is however one slightly larger obstacle we must first deal with.

Isaac: And what is that.

Bob: The engine.

Morris: (in a different room) Hey! Guys, I think you better have a look at this.

Sfx: the two of them go running.

Isaac: (Calmly) What is it? What is going – (swallows dryly) on.

Morris: No, I know that what. It’s Aurora’s baby. It’s the how that I’m wondering.

Graham: He’s floating.

Isaac: And sort of glowing.

Sfx: The baby laughs levitating and the engines ironically in sinc start up.
Graham: (mad because he doesn’t want them to succeed) How in the…

Morris: I don’t know if it was the exposure to sun’s radiation back on that planet, the ghost of aurora or that this kid had one heck of a daddy but whatever it is it looks like our problem is solved.

GRAHAM: alright, so all we have to do is get you into IGSTA and interfaced with the main computer?

graham: (Scoffs) Oh, yeah. That’s all, like we’ll just walk right in the front door.

Sfx: The ships laser cannons fire blowing a massive hole in the wall of a building.

Morris: you were saying?

Graham: (unenthusiastic) Hey, whatever works.

Sfx: the ship hovers in place as the door opens, BOB and Isaac get out. They are pulling Dylan in a hovering chriochamber.

Isaac: (yelling into his communicator) wait till we get clear and then shoot out the next floor up on this side so the debris will block this gap in the wall. Good luck and don’t forget when I say send the signal you --

Morris: (Over the communicator) Can do, hey Graham, wait till they get c-

SFX: music kicks up to evil action music. The ship’s laser cannons load and fire, blowing out the room above sending debris hurdling towards Isaac and Bob.

Isaac: Jump!

Sfx: All the debris comes crashing down, cracking the glass on Dylan’s chriochamber, and crushing Bob’s legs like pop cans, blocking out the sound of the ship and making things silent. The last few pebbles roll to a stop and the only noise that can be heard is little bits of dust settling. The music fades out.

Isaac: (Coughing.) So much for waiting. Oh my god Bob. Bob, are you okay.

BOB: I believe my legs are no longer functional, other than that I suffered only minor scratches but I calculate all major systems are still online.

Isaac: Alright so you can still do the uplink?

BOB: Yes.

Isaac: Alright, Well, let me get these rocks off you and then do you think you can get yourself to the terminal and get started?

BOB: Yes, I’ll be quite fine. It is humorous, is it not? All my life I wanted to be more human and finally I am in a situation where it is a good thing I do not have the feeling you call pain. That I cannot die, that I am not as fragile as you human’s bodies are.

Isaac: Consider yourself lucky.

Sfx: Isaac grunts and throws some rocks off onto the floor, Bob pulls himself out from under them and crawls away to the terminal.

Isaac: Hey, where’s... Dylan!

Sfx: He runs across the room to her chriochamber and starts throwing off rocks and dusting off the glass. We can hear a faint hissing noise like air escaping.

Isaac: Dylan? Oh no, it looks like the cave-in cracked her chriochamber. If they air escapes too quickly she could die. I have to get her to medical.

SFX: Plot thickens theme. He throws a few more rocks off and grunts, pulling her chriochamber out from under some rocks, it hovers once more.

Isaac: I’ll be back in a few minutes, keep in touch over the communicators.

SFX: Bob locks into the computer and data can be heard connecting between him and the computer. It fades off and Isaac pushes Dylan away, through the doors. Transition music.
Fade in with the ship hovering in the background, we are outside and it is raining hard. Both men are straining to be heard over the rain.

Morris: What were you thinking? You could have killed them.

Graham: They’re fine, let’s just do our job and get out of here. Are you done yet?

Sfx: Morris flips a switch and the device whirrs online. It beeps to confirm it is operational.

Morris: (Grunts as he works) There, I’ve got it. Now they won’t be able to shut down the jump gate thanks to this jamming device, and it’s rigged to explode if they try to remove it.

Sfx: sirens can be heard in the distance.

Graham: Come on let’s get out of here. Let’s get to a safe distance before the cops come. We still have to send the signal, remember?

MORRIS: Alright, lets go.

Sfx: They both run back onto the ship, we fallow them and hear their footsetps as they come inside. The door closes and the rain can still be heard but from inside. Morris sits down and starts turning the control console on.

Morris: It saved lives but that fire alarm trick alerted the police too fast, Isaac and bob aren’t going to have enough time to get into the system before they get in there and shut them down. (Sighs) I wish there was a way I could help them? Do something.

SFX: The sirens start getting louder, we hear the ships turrets being turned on. The music shrieks.

Morris: What? No, wait, Graham!

Sfx: Outside the laser turret fires hitting several cop cars as they pull up causing them to explode and flip and roll, others cop cars swerve to avoid the exploding cars. Graham is laughing maniacally. Thunder strikes, transition music. A door opens and Isaac comes in pushing Dylan’s hover chrio-chamber as it seeps with air.

ISAAC: (Breathing heavily from running) It’s going to be okay Dylan, were here. I just have to get your chrio-chamber locked into one of the decompression units. If I could just fi-- there they are.

Sfx: he pushes her over to the decompression chamber. You can hear the sound of the hovering chriochamber change as he maneuvers her into position.

ISAAC: There we go.

SFX: The decompression chamber hisses and then locks into the chriochamber, like a vacuum seal as it shares air with the chamber.

ISAAC: Alright now just set it for decompression.

Sfx: He presses some buttons on the side of her chamber and hits a final key that starts a cycle of a piston like thing filling with air and then releasing it. We can hear the pressure going down in her chamber over the course of the next minute or so.

ISAAC: Okay, so now I need to call Graham and find out what I need to give her to stop the allergic reaction or we’ll be in the same situation we were on the ship, before we put her in chriosleep.

SFX: He presses the button on his communicator.

ISAAC: Morris do you copy, over?

SFX: Static. He presses the button again. Music is choppy like jaws.

ISAAC: Morris, this is Isaac I need to speak with Liam, over.

SFX: Static as we hear stations coming in and out, wheeows and so on. He bangs it against the table and presses the button again.

ISAAC: It’s important damn it!

SFX: Static.

Isaac: Shit, it must have been damaged in the cave in. (Sighs angrily) I’m going to have to find it myself, but I’ve got to move fast I only have a few moments before she’s starts breathing again. Oh, Dad if you could see me now.

SFX: He presses the button on the communicator.

Liam: BOB can you hear me? See if you can get communication with the ship, I think my communicator’s only working at short distances. I think something happened to it in the cave in or it’s the storm or something.

SFX: He starts pilling through cabinets looking for the shot he needs for Dylan. The communicator is static while he waits for Bob to reply. Music gets increasingly tense.

ISAAC: Come on, come on!

SFX: He bangs the communicator. And it suddenly jumps to BOB’s voice.

BOB: Isaac, I am almost ready. When you get done with Dylan come back here and you can use my communicator.

ISAAC: Okay, will -

Sfx: a laser gun fires blowing out the windows in the room, the music cuts out.

Sfx: Down the hall we can hear a SWAT team hit the doors with a battering ram a few times and then break it open, they come running closer and closer.

Isaac: That was fast.

Dylan: (choking)

Isaac: Oh no.

Sfx: Isaac quickly crawls over the broken glass to Dylan. Music starts getting tense again.

ISAAC: Dylan, Dylan. Look I know you’re scarred but you have to help me. Which one of these medicines do I need to give you?

Dylan: (continues to choke and gasp for air, even cough).

ISAAC: Come on Dylan, in every since of the word - we don’t have much time!

DYLAN: (tries to speak.)

ISAAC: This one?

DYLAN: Tries to speak again.

ISAAC: (Nervous) Okay, alright!

SFX: He loads a syringe and injects her. It hisses slightly like it was filled with co2.

ISAAC: Come on. Hold on to me, we have to go. I’ll carry you.

SFX: He picks her up and runs across the floor, kicks the door open and books it down the hall away from the cops.

COPS (from inside their helmets): There’s one of them. Open fire.

SFX: Action music. The cops fire their automatic laser guns, which ricochet and hit all sorts of things around Isaac as he runs panting. Dylan is starting to cough and breathe a bit better. Isaac slumps down around a corner panting. The music cust down to a high note – it’s a break, but it’s all about anticipation now.

Dylan: Graham, he’s an imposter. An ali.. (cough) an alien shape-shifter from Neb-kinar. Graham is a Kodukai.

ISAAC: Dylan, are you sure. Are you sure you’re not just hallucinating because of the chrio-sickness?

DYLAN: (Gasping) I heard it from the real (then just panting) Graham himself.

Sfx: Music hits final note confirming it is true, similar to the plot thickens theme but more final.

ISAAC:(Sighs) Liam was right! I should have listened to him. I have to tell Morris.

SFX: He presses the button on his communicator.

ISAAC: Morris, this is Isaac. Graham is an imposter, a doppelganger. Get away from him. Liam was right, you have to get out of t–

SFX: a laser gun fires, comes zipping toward him and hits his communicator - destroying it. The bits fall to the ground smoking. The music shrieks and then stops.

COPS: (over a megaphone) Come out with your hands up.

ISAAC: I can’t stop now, were too close.

DYLAN: You’re going to get yourself killed, plus you can’t run fast enough carrying me.

ISAAC: Well I guess were just gong to have to find out.

DYLAN: We?

Isaac: Grunts as he stands up and runs.

Cops: Halt!

SFX: Action music. Police fire their automatic laser guns. Dylan screams as debris is thrown everywhere, glass shattering around them etc. Finally he gets the end of the hall, turns a corner and kicks the doors open. He lets Dylan down.

DYLAN: Ungh! Hey y-

ISAAC: Are we good Bob?

BOB: Yes, the uplink is complete now we just need Morris to send the signal.

SFX: Isaac pushes a table over in front of the doors and stacks as much stuff as he can find on them to block the doors.

ISAAC: Dylan, get on Bob’s communicator and tell Morris to send the signal.

Sfx: Outside, the police run up to the other side of the door and start banging on it.

Isaac: (straining to keep the door shut) Now!

Sfx: Lighting cracks, transition music.

Morris: Are you out of your mind?

Graham: You said “do something.”

Morris: Yeah, something, I didn’t mean this.

Dylan: (coming through the communicator full of static.) ... ifff– youuu -ca— hea... this. Send the.. Ignal. Do – –u cop–Y. We’re ready Morris, send the signal.

Morris: Alright Isaac, don’t worry I’m going to go press the button now.

Sfx: Morris walks over to the control panel as he talks. Start eerie double-crossing theme.

Morris: There’s no way any of us are going to get out of this now Graham. You’ve doomed us all to a life behind bars. You’ve murdered policemen in cold blood. It won’t matter what we tell them now, were all going to be locked up.

Graham: (sinisterly) I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Morris: Yeah, (scoffs) like I’m not going to press the button now that they’re ready for it, and throw away everything this mission has been building up to. (Chuckels) You kill me, you know that Graham.

Sfx: music cuts off.

Graham: well, since you asked me so nicely.

Sfx: gun charges up.

Morris: (Gasps)

sfx: a laser gun fires, hitting Morris in the chest.

Morris: Gkk-ah!

Sfx: Thunder cracks and transition music. Music is intense, full of immediacy.

Isaac: Come on, come on. What’s taking them so long?

DYLAN: Maybe they didn’t get the signal, like in the other room. Better try again.

Isaac: Sighs impatiently.

Sfx: He presses the button on the communicator.

Isaac: It’s now or never! Send the signal Morris! Send it –-

sfx: She’s cut off by a sharp noise like a microphone giving feedback. Dylan and Isaac wince at the noise. Then a channel comes into tune from static.

Graham: (over the communicator) I will never send your signal.

Isaac: Graham? Graham is that you?

Graham (over the communicator): I don’t know why you keep calling me Graham. When you should be calling me.. (voice changes and he morphs back into his true form) Pat-mok!

Dylan and Isaac: (Gasp!)

SFX: Cliffhanger ending theme.

DJ: Join us next week for the exciting conclusion of Terra Novus at the same time (show time), (show day of the week) night here on SCAD RADIO.

This episode featured the talents of
Writer: _________
And featuring the voices of (actors say their name): ________
Music and Sound FX by: __________
Mixed by:_______
This has been a presentation of SCAD Radio Dramas, tune in every week at (show time) every (show day of the week) night here on SCAD RADIO.