Starship Troopers Page #12

ZANDER:

Let's disregaed rank... Everybody hear

that ? Rank is not an issue here.

CARMEN:

Zander, please... Let's go !

Zander takes off his hat.

ZANDER:

It's alright. What's he gonna do ?

WHAM !Johnny punches him right in the nose. Zander goes down,

bleeding. Ace and Kitten Smith grab Johnny.

ACE:

Whoa, easy there, buddy... Nice punch.

Zander staggers to his feet, ready to fight, but Fleet Officers pull him

back. Carmen looks at Johnny, the hate in his eye, the blood on his fist.

CARMEN:

What's wrong with you ?

JOHNNY:

Hey, it's just a vestigal response to

procreation... b*tch.

Carmen turns away, stung. Johnny immediately regrets. Dizzy,

for her part, couldn't be happier.

DIZZY:

Forget it, Johnny. Cap Troopers and

Fleet weren't meant to mix !

98INTLASER PARLOR - NIGHT CYCLE - JOHNNY

grinds his teeth as a laser mounted on a robot arm finishes slicing an

intricate pattern into his arm.

JOHNNY:

It hurts...!

Dizzy, Ace, and Kitten Smith awtch, grinning, passing a bottle.

Ace pours booze directly into the fresh wound.

ACE:

No, this hurts.

JOHNNY:

YAAAAAAAA !

KITTEN SMITH:

Well, here's to it ! We're gonna fightn, and

we're gonna win !

They put their arms side by side. Each has a similiar scar:

Lightning bolts on a shield and the words:DEATH FROM ABOVE.

ACE:

Mobile Infantery rules !

JOHNNY:

Death to all bugs !

DIZZY:

Don't get any on you !

99EXTKLENDATHU - FROM SPACE - FLEET STARSHIPS

of every class maneuver in tight orbit around the orange planet.

The "Mobile Infantery Anthem" plays loke Holst, pounding and

relentless. The invasion has begun !

100INTBULL RUN - DROP ROOM - JOHNNY

and his platoon, wearing fully armed MARAUDER POWER SUITS,

wait to drop with other cap troopers. Their mood is grim.

LIEUTENANT WILLY, 35, easy-going and confident, enters.

ACE:

Officer on deck !

Everyone snaps to attention.

LT. WILLY

At ease. Alright... we got hot poop straight

from the top:

Willy's Wildcats is in with the first wave.

Means more bugs for us to kill...

This does nothing to break the tension. Lt. Willy reassures.

LT. WILLY

Now if you follow orders and remember

your training, I guarantee you'll make it

back alive. Any questions ?

There are none.

LT. WILLY

Alright... next we got a little last minute

briefing from Military Intelli-gence I

think you're gonna like...

The briefingplays on "head up" displays and the ready room screens. A

captive BUG WARRIOR clicks and shrieks as FEDERAL SCIENTISTS

torture it. The troopers cheer.

OFFICIAL VOICE:

Everyday Federal scientists are looking for

new ways to kill bugs and you can help...

The head scientists turns and speaks to camera. It's Carl.

Johnny and Dizzy share an amazed grin, noticing a difference in

their old friend, something that speaks of... authority.

CARL:

To defeat the enemy, we must know the

enemy. Take for instance your basic

Arachnid warrior. Minimal IQ, armored,

completely lethal. You can blow a limb off...

Carl picks up apulse gun and blows one of the bugs legs off.

The insect screams.

CARL:

... and it's still 86% combat effec-tive.

But here's a tip: Aim for the nerve stem

and put it down for good.

Carl fires again. The bug kicks and squeals as it dies.

Carl tosses the pulse gun aside.

CARL:

Now while you are out killing bugs,

we want you to be our eyes and ears.

The bugs use some kind of plasma burst

to divert meteors and aim them toward Earth.

We need to know how they do this. If you

encounter any plasma, report it immediately

to your superior. Good luck and good hunting !

The briefing ends as klaxons sound.

P.A. (O.S.)

This is the Captain speaking.

All personnel prepare for drop.We

are at D minus three and counting.

LT. WILLY

Move out !

Johnny and the other troopers climb into capsules on the port track.

Dizzy gives him "thumbs up". The capsule seals as it moves with

the others down the firing tube.

101INTCAPSULE - JOHNNY

gets the shakes as the capsule bumps and booms toward the firing

tube. Lt. Willy appears on the "head up" display.

LT. WILLY

Smash the entire area, kill anything that

has more'n a couple legs , and don't any

of you loafers come back aboard with

unexpended bombs. Get me ?

JOHNNY ET AL:

Yes, sir !

FIRE CONTROL (O.S.)

Five seconds...

Sweat rolls down his face, hyperventilation... WHAM !

102EXTSPACE - KLENDATHU ORBIT - SILVER CAPSULES

stream toward Klendathu from the rear tubes starships of Bull Run.

We move down the line past Mannerheim, Dauntless, George Marshall,

and Yamamoto to the Rodger Young.

103INTRODGER YOUNG - COMMAND AND CONTROL - CARMEN

holds Rodger Young in tight maneuver. Suddenly, a burst of BLUE BUG PLASMA

rips past the starboard bow.

CARMEN:

Plasma, ma'am... from the planet.

DELADIER:

Bug Batteries... According to Military

Intelligence, it'll be random and light.

Drop status ?

ZANDER:

Drop is 35% complete, ma'am.

Two more bursts of bug plasma streak past.

DELADIER:

Steady as she goes, Number 1.

104EXTKLENDATHU - HIGH ATMOSPERE - NIGHT - THE CAPSULES

burn when they hit atmosphere, outer skin tearing away in big silver sheets.

105INTCAPSULE - NIGHT - JOHNNY

takes in ENTRY DATA from the heads up display.

GUIDANCE COMPUTER (V.O.)

...surface in twenty-fivr seconds

...LZ has been identified

...beacon is in place...

106INTRODGER YOUNG - COMMAND AND CONTROL - CARMEN

watches nervously as deadly bursts of bug plasma fill the heavens around the

battle group. Below, the surface of Klendathu fairly bistles with outgoing

defensive fire.

DELADIER:

This isn't random or light.

Someone made amistake...!

ZANDER:

That's it, we're empty ma'am !

Out the front screens, a blast from below hits George Marshall amidships

and it reels into Yamamoto. Both starships begin to burn.

DELADIER:

Someone made a big goddam mistake !

Get us out of here, Number 1 !

Carmen dodges past burning ships, avoids collision with Dauntless,

and then KA-WHAM !they're hit. Carmen flies out of her

station and into CAMERA hard.

107EXTKLENDATHU - CLOUD LAYER - NIGHT - THE SECOND SKIN

tears away. Johnny is sitting on air.

GUIDANCE COMPUTER (V.O.)

...surface in fifteen seconds...

deploying chute now...

The chute pops. Across the sky, lit by outgoing bug plasma, he can see hundreds

of cap troopers in ordered rows drifting down into the cloud layer.

It's quiet in the clouds, then:

108EXTKLENDATHU - NIGHT - FROM THE AIR - JOHNNY

looks down as he passes out of the clouds and sees the battlefield.

Plasma blasts exploode into the sky. THOUSANDS OF BUGS boil

out of the ground to defend against the invader.

GUIDANCE COMPUTER (V.O.)

...surface in five... four ... three...

Johnny burns his chute off, drops the last hundred feet and lands

on the bounce.

109EXTKLENDATHU - NIGHT - JOHNNY'S POV - THE FLASH PULSE

of bug batteries, screaming voices on the com, concussions shaking the ground.

None of it compares to the sound of his own racing HEARTBEAT.

Lieutenant Willy shouts.

LIEUTENANT WILLY

Up there on the ridge ! We'll nuke those bug positions

from theAAAAAAAA !

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