Star Trek Generations Page #18

PICARD:

You're a Starfleet officer and you have a duty to-

KIRK:

(hard)

I don't need to be lectured by you. I was out saving the galaxy when

your grandfather was still in diapers. And frankly, I think the galaxy

owes me one (beat) I was like you once- so worried about duty and

obligations that I couldn't see anything past this uniform. And in the

end, what did it get me? Nothing. Not this time.

Kirk brushes past Picard and stops at the foot of the stairs.

KIRK:

(looking up the stairs)

I'm going to walk up these stairs, march into that bedroom and tell

Antonia that I want to marry her.

Kirk begins to climb the stairs.

KIRK:

This time things are going to be different.

He goes through a bedroom door and closes it behind him. Picard glances

around the room in frsutration, then gets a determined look on his face

and marches up the stairs after Kirk, grasps the doorknob, opens it and

steps through the door into

165INT. BARN- DAY- CONTINUOUS 165

Picard suddenly finds himself standing in the doorway of a wooden barn.

Straw on the floor, farm implements on the walls, sunlight streaming in

through the slats. There are stalls in the barn with a few horses

visible. Kirk is standing a short distance away. He looks surprised as

well- and he is no longer holding his tray of food.

PICARD:

(re:
barn)

This doesn't look like your bedroom.

Kirk looks around for a moment, the pieces starting to fall into place.

He smiles with a growing realization.

KIRK:

No, no, it's not. It's better.

PICARD:

Better?

KIRK:

This is my uncle's barn in Iowa.

He points to a horse with a saddle on it.

KIRK:

(re:
horse)

I took that horse out for a ride seven years ago, on a spring day.

Kirk moves to the barn door and opens it revealing a beautiful spring

day.

KIRK:

Just like this. If I'm right, this is the day I met Antonia.

He turns to Picard.

KIRK:

This Nexus of yours is very clever. I can start all over again; do

things right from day one.

Kirk grabs the horse, swings up onto the saddle, and rides out of the

barn, filled with excitement. Picard watches him for a moment, then

looks at one of the other horses in the barn. He makes a decision and

then moves toward a saddle hanging on the wall.

CUT TO:

166EXT. COUNTRYSIDE- DAY (VFX-P) 166

Kirk is riding his horse hard over the countryside and across a stream,

through a thicket of trees, and finally out onto a rolling plain. There

is a large ravine up ahead. Kirk sees it and smiles tightly. He spurs

his horse faster toward the ravine. The horse is tearing along, comes up

to the edge of the precipice, and makes a daring leap to the other side.

Horse and rider land together and Kirk spurs the horse on. But as he

rides, we begin to see a change come over him- a look of doubt crosses

his face. Something's not right. He slows the horse to a trot, and then

to a complete stop. He sits there for a moment and frowns, turns and

looks back at the ravine, which is now a fair distance away. Something

about that jump is nagging at him.

He turns his horse around and then digs in his heels. The horse breaks

into a gallop, racing back toward the ravine. Kirk grips the reins tight

in his hands and then the horse makes the leap across yet again.

This time when Kirk lands, he brings his horse to an immediate stop. We

can see on his face that something is very wrong. He turns and stares at

the ravine with a mixture of shock and sadness on his face.

In the distance, Picard can be seen approaching on a horse of his own.

He stops next to Kirk. There is a long, quiet moment as the two men sit

there side by side. Kirk is introspective as he sorts through his

feelings.

KIRK:

(re:
ravine)

I must have made this jump fifty times, and every time it scared the

hell out of me. But not this time. (beat) Because it's not real.

A quiet beat. Kirk turns and looks toward a particular hill in the

distance, shading his eyes against the bright sun. Picard follows his

gaze and we can now see the distant figure of a woman walking her horse.

PICARD:

(re:
woman)

Antonia?

KIRK:

(nods)

She's not real either, is she? Nothing here is. Nothing here matters.

All euphoria is now gone from Kirk. It's a moment of self-revelation. He

glances around.

KIRK:

It's kinda like orbital skydiving. Exciting for a few minutes, but in

the end, you haven't really done anything. You haven't made a

difference.

Kirk takes a beat, then looks at Picard. And in a way, he's truly seeing

him for the first time.

KIRK:

Captain of the Enterprise, huh?

PICARD:

That's right.

KIRK:

Close to retirement?

PICARD:

I hadn't planned on it.

There is a passion and a fervor in Kirk that we haven't seen until now.

KIRK:

Well, let me tell you something- don't. Don't let them promote you.

Don't

let them transfer you. Don't let anything take you off the bridge of

that ship. (beat) Because while you're there, you can make a difference.

The two captains face each other for a moment. Picard hears what Kirk is

saying but also knows that's not the whole story. Picard gives him a

direct look, and there is something in Picard's eyes- a glint of resolve

and determination.

PICARD:

You don't need to be on the bridge of a starship. Come with me. Help me

stop Soran. (beat) Make a difference again.

A long, silent beat as Kirk considers Picard. And slowly, unexpectedly,

a smile spreads across his face.

KIRK:

How can I argue with the captain of the Enterprise? What was the name of

that planet=8A Veridian III?

PICARD:

That's right.

KIRK:

I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim?

PICARD:

You could say that.

KIRK:

(musing)

Of course, if Spock were here, he'd say I was being an irrational,

illogical human for wanting to go on a mission like that.

And for the first time, we can see the twinkle in his eye that tells us

Jim Kirk is back.

KIRK:

Sounds like fun.

The two men turn and walk away from Antonia, and as they walk, a roar of

color and sound washes out the screen, as seen before.

FADE TO RED:

FADE IN:

167EXT. MOUNTAINTOP- DAY (VFX-P) 167

Soran is standing in front of the forcefield, facing Picard.

SORAN:

Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain, I have an appointment with eternity

and I don't want to be late.

We realize we are watching the same events play out again.

Soran turns and begins to climb up the scaffolding toward the top of the

rockface. Picard drops to the ground on his back and begins to wriggl

underneath the forcefield. Picard accidentally touches the field.

167ASORAN (VFX-P) 167A

turns at the sound of the field, sees Picard, and then draws his weapon.

Soran quickly fires at Picard.

167BTHE GROUND (VFX-P) 167B

is blasted apart, creating a cloud of dirt and smoke, obscuring Picard

and the whole area momentarily.

Soran jumps down one level on the scaffolding, his disruptor still

in his hand, ready just in case Picard somehow survived. Soran peers

through the cloud of dust and debris.

The dust from the explosion finally clears but Picard is gone along with

several feet of the ground where he was crawling.

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