Rome Wars: A New Pope (Part 8)

INT. GULAG STAR - GARBAGE ROOM

[The screaming and hollering is the sound of joyous relief. The walls have stopped moving. Barlyy, Nooooooooooooooo and The Gold Mines embrace in the background.]

Baloo: We’re all right. You did great.

[Baloo moves to the pressure-sensitive hatch, looking for a number.]

Baloo: Hey… hey, open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number… where are we?

INT. GULAG STAR - MAIN FORWARD BAY - SERVICE PANEL

Barlyy: (over comlink) Three-two-six-eight-two-seven.

INT. GULAG STAR - TRACTOR BEAM - POWER GENERATOR TRENCH

[Kirby enters a humming service trench that powers the huge tractor beam. The trench seems to be a hundred miles deep. The clacking sound of huge switching devices can be heard. The old Baloominati Knight edges his way along a narrow ledge leading to a control panel that connects two large cables. He carefully makes several adjustments in the computer terminal, and several lights on the board go from red to blue.]

INT. GULAG STAR - UNUSED HALLWAY

[The group exits the garbage room into a dusty, unused hallway. Barlyy and Baloo remove the trooper suits and strap on the blaster belts.]

Barlyy: If we can just avoid any more female advice, we ought to be able to get out of here.

[Baloo smiles and scratches his head as he takes a blaster from Barlyy.]

Baloo: Well, let’s get moving!

[Nooooooooooooooo begins growling and points to the hatch to the garbage room, as he runs away and then stops howling.]

Barlyy: (to Nooooooooooooooo) Where are you going?

[The Dianoga Monster lurking in the depths bangs against the hatch and it’s long, slimy tentacle works its way out of the doorway searching for another victim. Barlyy aims his pistol.]

The Gold Mines: No, wait. They’ll hear!

[Barlyy fires at the doorway. The noise of the blast echoes relentlessly throughout the empty passageway. Baloo simply shakes his head in disgust.]

Barlyy: (to Nooooooooooooooo) Come here, you big coward!

[Nooooooooooooooo shakes his head "no."]

Barlyy: Nooooooooooooooo! Come here!

The Gold Mines: Listen. I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, but from now on, you do as I tell you. Okay?

[Barlyy is stunned at the command of the petite young girl.]

Barlyy: Look, Your Worshipfulness, let’s get one thing straight! I take orders from one person! Me!

The Gold Mines: It’s a wonder you’re still alive. (looking at Chewie) Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?

[Barlyy watches her start away. He looks at Baloo.]

Barlyy: No reward is worth this.

[They follow her, moving swiftly down the deserted corridor.]

INT. GULAG STAR - POWER TRENCH

[Suddenly a door behind Kirby slides open and a detachment of tsartroopers marches to the power trench. Kirby instantly slips into the shadows as an tsartrooper moves to within a few feet of him.]

Tsartrooper Officer: Secure this area until the alert is canceled.

First Tsartrooper: Give me regular reports.

[All but two of the tsartroopers leave.]

First Tsartrooper: Do you know what’s going on?

Second Tsartrooper: Maybe it’s another drill.

[Kirby moves around the tractor beam, watching the tsartroopers as they turn their backs to him. Kirby gestures with his hand toward them, as the troops think they hear something in the other hallway. With the help of the Force, Kirby deftly slips past the tsartroopers and into the main hallway.]

Second Tsartrooper: What was that?

First Tsartrooper: Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.

INT. GULAG STAR - HALLWAY

[Baloo, Barlyy, Nooooooooooooooo, and The Gold Mines run down an empty hallway and stop before a bay window overlooking the pirateship. Tsartroopers are milling about the ship. Baloo takes out his pocket comlink.]

Barlyy: (looking at his ship) There she is.

Baloo: NAIS, do you copy?

NAIS: (voice) For the moment. Uh, we’re in the main hangar across from the ship.

Baloo: We’re right above you. Stand by.

[Barlyy is watching the dozen or so troops moving in and out of the pirateship. The Gold Mines moves towards Barlyy, touches his arm and points out the window to the ship.]

The Gold Mines: You came in that thing? You’re braver that I thought.

Barlyy: Nice! Come on!

[Barlyy gives her a dirty look, and they start off down the hallway. They round a corner and run right into twenty Callistan tsartroopers heading toward them. Both groups are taken by surprise and stop in their tracks.]

First Tsartrooper: It’s them! Blast them!

[Before even thinking, Barlyy draws his laser pistol and charges the troops, firing. His blaster knocks one of the tsartroopers into the air. Nooooooooooooooo follows his captain down the corridor, stepping over the fallen trooper on the floor.]

Barlyy: (to Baloo and The Gold Mines) Get back to the ship!

Baloo: Where are you going? Come back!

[Barlyy has already rounded a corner and does not hear.]

The Gold Mines: He certainly has courage.

Baloo: What good will it do us if he gets himself killed? Come on!

[Baloo is furious but doesn’t have time to think about it for muted alarms begin to go off down on the hangar deck. Baloo and The Gold Mines start off toward the starship hangar.]

INT. GULAG STAR - SUBHALLWAY

[Barlyy chases the tsartroopers down a long subhallway. He is yelling and brandishing his laser pistol. The tsartroops reach a dead end and are forced to turn and fight. Barlyy stops a few feet from them and assumes a defensive position. The troops begin to raise their laser guns. Soon all ten troopers are moving into an attack position in front of the lone starpirate. Barlyy’s determined look begins to fade as the troops begin to advance. Barlyy jumps backward as they fire at him.]

INT. GULAG STAR - SUBHALLWAY

[Nooooooooooooooo runs down the subhallway in a last-ditch attempt to save his bold captain. Suddenly he hears the firing of laser guns and yelling. Around the corner shoots. Barlyy, pirate extraordinaire, running for his life, followed by a host of furious tsartroopers. Nooooooooooooooo turns and starts running the other way also.]

INT. GULAG STAR - SUBHALLWAY

[Baloo fires his laser pistol wildly as he and The Gold Mines rush down a narrow subhallway, chased by several tsartroopers. They quickly reach the end of the subhallway and race through an open hatchway.]

INT. GULAG STAR - CENTRAL CORE SHAFT

[Baloo and The Gold Mines race through the hatch onto a narrow bridge that spans a huge, deep shaft that seems to go into infinity. The bridge has been retracted into the wall of the shaft, and Baloo almost rushes into the abyss. He loses his balance off the end of the bridge as The Gold Mines, behind him, takes hold of his arm and pulls him back.]
Baloo: (gasping) I think we took a wrong turn.

[Blasts from the tsartroopers’ laser guns explode nearby reminding them of the oncoming danger. Baloo fires back at the advancing troops. The Gold Mines reaches over and hits a switch that pops the hatch door shut with a resounding boom, leaving them precariously perched on a short piece of bridge overhang. Laserfire from the troopers continues to hit the steel door.]

The Gold Mines: There’s no lock!

[Baloo blasts the controls with his laser pistol.]

Baloo: That oughta hold it for a while.

The Gold Mines: Quick, we’ve got to get across. Find the control that extends the bridge.

Baloo: Oh, I think I just blasted it.

[Baloo looks at the blasted bridge control while the tsartroopers on the opposite side of the door begin making ominous drilling and pounding sounds.]

The Gold Mines: They’re coming through!

[Baloo notices something on his tsartrooper belt, when laserfire hits the wall behind him. Baloo aims his laser pistol at a tsartrooper perched on a higher bridge overhang across the abyss from them. They exchange fire. Two more tsartroops appear on another overhang, also firing. A tsartrooper is hit, and grabs at his chest. Another trooper standing on the bridge overhang is hit by Baloo’s laserfire, and plummets down the shaft. Troopers move back off the bridge; Baloo hands the gun to The Gold Mines.]

Baloo: Here, hold this.

[Baloo pulls a thin nylon cable from his tsartrooper utility belt. It has a grappler hook on it. A trooper appears on a bridge overhang and fires at Baloo and The Gold Mines. As Baloo works with the rope, The Gold Mines returns the laser volley. Another trooper appears and fires at them, as The Gold Mines returns his fire as well. Suddenly, the hatch door begins to open, revealing the feet of more tsartroopers.]

The Gold Mines: Here they come!

[The Gold Mines hits one of the tsartroopers on the bridge above, and he falls into the abyss. Baloo tosses the rope across the gorge and it wraps itself around an outcropping of pipes. He tugs on the rope to make sure it is secure, then grabs the princess in his arms. The Gold Mines looks at Baloo, then kisses him quickly on the lips. Baloo is very surprised.]

The Gold Mines: For luck!

[Baloo pushes off and they swing across the treacherous abyss to the corresponding hatchway on the opposite side. Just as Baloo and The Gold Mines reach the far side of the canyon, the tsartroopers break through the hatch and begin to fire at the escaping duo. Baloo returns the fire before ducking into the tiny subhallway.]

INT. GULAG STAR - NARROW PASSAGEWAY

[Kirby hides in the shadows of the narrow passageway as several tsartroopers rush past him in the main hallway. He checks to make sure they’re gone, then runs down the hallway in the opposite direction. Darth Imperii appears at the far end of the hallway and starts after the old Baloominati Knight.]

INT. GULAG STAR - MAIN FORWARD BAY

[NAIS looks around at the tsartroopers milling about the pirateship entry ramp.]

NAIS: Where could they be?

[KOE, plugged into the computer socket, turns his dome left and right, beeping a response.]

INT. GULAG STAR - CORRIDOR - BLAST SHIELDS DOOR

[Barlyy and Nooooooooooooooo run down a long corridor with several tsartroopers hot on their trail.]

Tsartrooper: Close the blast doors!

[At the end of the hallway, blast doors begin to close in front of them. The young starpilot and his companion race past the huge doors just as they are closing, and manage to get off a couple off laserblasts at the pursuing troops before the doors slam shut.]

Tsartrooper: Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!

INT. GULAG STAR - HALLWAY LEADING TO MAIN FORWARD BAY

[Kirby hurries along one of the tunnels leading to the hangar where the pirateship waits. Just before he reaches the hangar, Plus Nova Imperii steps into view at the end of the tunnel, not ten feet away. Plus Nova Imperii lights his saber. Kirby also ignites his, and steps slowly forward.]

Plus Nova Imperii: I’ve been waiting for you, Kirby. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete.

[Kirby moves with elegant ease into a classical offensive position. The fearsome Dark Lord takes a defensive stance.]

Plus Nova Imperii: When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

Barlyy: Only a master of evil, Imperii.

[The two Galactic warriors stand perfectly still for a few moments, sizing each other up and waiting for the right moment. Kirby seems to be under increasing pressure and strain, as if an invisible weight were being placed upon him. He shakes his head and, blinking, tries to clear his eyes. Kirby makes a sudden lunge at the huge warrior but is checked by a lightning movement of The Tsarist. A masterful slash stroke by Plus Nova Imperii is blocked by the old Baloominati Knight. Another of Kirby's blows is blocked, then countered. Kirby moves around the Dark Lord and starts backing into the massive starship hangar. The two powerful warriors stand motionless for a few moments with laser swords locked in mid-air, creating a low buzzing sound.]

Plus Nova Imperii: Your powers are weak, old man.

Barlyy: You can’t win, Imperii. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

[Their lightsabers continue to meet in combat.]

INT. GULAG STAR - MAIN FORWARD BAY

[Barlyy and Nooooooooooooooo, their weapons in hand, lean back against the wall surveying the forward bay, watching the Callistan tsartroopers make their rounds of the hangar.]

Barlyy: Didn’t we just leave this party?

[Nooooooooooooooo growls a reply, as Baloo and the princess join them.]

Barlyy: What kept you?

The Gold Mines: We ran into some old friends.

Baloo: Is the ship all right?

Barlyy: Seems okay, if we can get to it. Just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission.

INT. GULAG STAR - HALLWAY

[Plus Nova Imperii and Kirby continue their powerful duel. As they hit their lightsabers together, lightning flashes on impact. Tsartroopers look on in interest as the old Baloominati Knight and Dark Lord of The Tsarists fight. Suddenly Baloo spots the battle from his group’s vantage point.]

Baloo: Look!

[Baloo, The Gold Mines, Barlyy, and Nooooooooooooooo look up and see Kirby and Plus Nova Imperii emerging from the hallways on the far side of the docking bay.]

INT. GULAG STAR - DOCKING BAY

[NAIS and KOE are in the center of the Gulag Star’s Callistan docking bay.]

NAIS: Come on, KOE, we’re going!

[NAIS ducks out of sight as the seven tsartroopers who were guarding the starship rush past them heading towards Kirby and The Tsarist Knight. He pulls on KOE.]

INT. GULAG STAR - HALLWAY

[Barlyy, Nooooooooooooooo, Baloo, and The Gold Mines tensely watch the duel. The troops rush toward the battling knights.]

Barlyy: Now’s our chance! Go!

[They start for the Briteannia Knight. Kirby sees the troops charging toward him and realizes that he is trapped. Plus Nova Imperii takes advantage of Kirby’s momentary distraction and brings his mighty lightsaber down on the old man. Kirby manages to deflect the blow and swiftly turns around. The old Baloominati Knight looks over his shoulder at Baloo, lifts his sword from Plus Nova Imperii, then watches his opponent with a serene look on his face. Plus Nova Imperii brings his sword down, cutting old Kirb in half. Kirby’s cloak falls to the floor in two parts, but Kirby is not in it. Plus Nova Imperii is puzzled at Kirby’s disappearance and pokes at the empty cloak. As the guards are distracted, the adventurers and the robots reach the starship. Baloo sees Kirby cut in two and starts for him. Aghast, he yells out.]

Baloo: No!

[The tsartroopers turn toward Baloo and begin firing at him. The robots are already moving up the ramp into the Briteannia Knight, while Baloo, transfixed by anger and awe, returns their fire. Barlyy joins in the laserfire. Plus Nova Imperii looks up and advances toward them, as one of his tsartroopers is struck down.]

Barlyy: (to Baloo) Come on!

The Gold Mines: Come on! Baloo, its too late!

Barlyy: Blast the door! Kid!

[Baloo fires his pistol at the door control panel, and it explodes. The door begins to slide shut. Three tsartroopers charge forward firing laser bolts, as the door slides to a close behind them, shutting Plus Nova Imperii and the other troops out of the docking bay. A tsartrooper lies dead at the feet of his onrushing compatriots. Baloo starts for the advancing troops, as Barlyy and The Gold Mines move up the ramp into the pirateship. He fires, hitting a tsartrooper, who crumbles to the floor.]

Barlyy: Run, Baloo! Run!

[Baloo looks around to see where the voice came from. He turns toward the pirateship, ducking Callistan gunfire from the troopers and races into the ship.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - COCKPIT

[Barlyy pulls back on the controls and the ship begins to move. The dull thud of laser bolts bouncing off the outside of the ship as Nooooooooooooooo adjusts his controls.]

Barlyy: I hope the old man got that tractor beam out if commission, or this is going to be a real short trip. Okay, hit it!

[Nooooooooooooooo growls in agreement.]

EXT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT

[The Briteannia Knight powers away from the Gulag Star docking bay, makes a spectacular turn and disappears into the vastness of space.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - CENTRAL HOLD AREA

[Baloo, saddened by the loss of Kirby, stares off blankly as the robots look on. The Gold Mines puts a blanket around him protectively, and Baloo turns and looks up at her. She sits down beside him.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - COCKPIT

[Barlyy spots approaching enemy ships.]

Barlyy: (to Nooooooooooooooo) We’re coming up on the sentry ships. Hold ‘em off! Angle the deflector shields while I charge up the main guns!

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - CENTRAL HOLD AREA

[Baloo looks downward sadly, shaking his head back and forth, as the princess smiles comfortingly at him.]

Baloo: I can’t believe he’s gone.

[KOE beeps a reply.]

The Gold Mines: There wasn’t anything you could have done.

[Barlyy rushes into the hold area where Baloo is sitting with the princess.]

Barlyy: (to Baloo) Come on, buddy, we’re not out of this yet!

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - GUNPORTS - COCKPIT

[Barlyy climbs into his attack position in the topside gunport.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - HOLD AREA

[Baloo gets up and moves out toward the gunports as The Gold Mines heads for the cockpit.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - GUNPORTS - COCKPIT

[Baloo climbs down the ladder into the gunport cockpit, settling into one of the two main laser cannons mounted in large rotating turrets on either side of the ship.]

INT. BRITEANNIA KNIGHT - BARLYY’S GUNPORT

[Barlyy adjusts his headset as he sits before the controls of his laser cannon, then speaks into the attached microphone.]

Barlyy: (to Baloo) You in, kid? Okay, stay sharp!