Ghost Signals, Episode 1: Part 4.1
STEGGY (thinking) Hmmm...did your mahstor teach you 'bout Denitor L'Dre during your schooling?
RAIVEN (shakes her head) I did read a little bit about her on my own during Uni, skimming the TAnet after class. Didn't she end up axed by some Capitol Brownies for "heresy to the Eye" before her theory was proven?
STEGGY True, but her work was kinda hitting the same themes yours does. How there's life beyond what we see as the Borderlands.
RAIVEN (moves on to another section of her Shocla) Not a bad idea. But there's still the death bit to deal with. How the hells can I show them that I won't end up same as her?
STEGGY I was just about to get there, Doc. I was thinking you could...
Steggy startles suddenly, interrupting his train of thought, at the presence of the Sentry who is now standing over his shoulder. He regains some semblance of control a moment later and turns around to his fellow A.I.
STEGGY (over courteous, trying to come up with a good cover and failing; to Sentry) Senny, man! Wh--What's up? We-- We were--were just...
He looks over at Raiven, who pauses briefly in a similar level of nervousness before answering.
RAIVEN (quick blurty lie, to Sentry) Discussing a hiking trip I'm taking over in MX-3. (a little calmer) She says I'll need to bring Ceek repellant, but I keep telling her long sleeves will be fine. (to Steggy, following on the ruse) Ceeks are naturally slimy. As long as my sleeves are wet, I doubt they'll be able to get me with those little pricks.
Steggy pauses for a few moments, going through the subtle cues in Dr. O'Ozahl's body language before catching on.
STEGGY (playing along, to Raiven) That--That's a good point. What about your legs? There are some Ceeks that like to hit someone's legs. If you run into one of those, having the spray by ya will come in handy.
SENTRY (apologetic, to Steggy and Raiven) Oh, my mistakes mezzes. Carry on with your conversation.
Sentry disintegrates from the group, returning to his prior position that we saw at the beginning of the scene. Raiven and her A.I. compatriot are left in silence for a few moments.
STEGGY (relieved sigh) Didn't know you were that skilled. Saved our flarking skins- Where did you learn how to do that?
RAIVEN (shrugs nonchalantly) Nothing big- just many moons of blind dates with idiots and insufferable shite pans. (back to business) So, what was this big plan you had about my Shocla and L'Dre?
STEGGY I was gonna say that you can mention how much of a fan you are of L'Dre's work and how you wouldn't be a Doctor if--
RAIVEN (interjects) But I'm not. And she sure as shite wasn't!
STEGGY (clears his throat, grits his teeth before speaking) I know that. I'm saying act like it was, and that you want to use his exploration through the Borderlands as an homage to her. To show that she wasn't a quack, but in fact one of the era's great unheralded minds.
RAIVEN (thinking pause, sees the potential) That...That's perfectly skewed enough to work!
STEGGY (confident) Just how you built me, Doc...!
CUT TO:
A shot behind the two of them, showing Raiven going back to the section of her Shocla she had earlier. Steggy walks off a few seconds later as she starts typing, humming a tune to himself all the way off-screen left.
From that humming, it shifts into the start of a song with a futuristic Folksy sound to it. It plays on through a montage of footage of the good Doctor working and fine tuning her Shocla in different parts of the Consortium as well as at a park and in her apartment.
INT. RAIVEN'S APARTMENT- Evening before her Shocla
It focuses in on this setting late that night, marking the tail end of the montage. It's also when Raiven has finished writing; a satisfied smile coming over her face.
She glances down at an unseen spot at her desk- a photograph that acts as a little looped pocket of time (not unlike a gif image). The image is of Raiven as a little girl celebrating a win in the Sciencekampf during her pre-teen age next to her pater.
The camera goes back to Ms. O'Ozahl's face a few beats later with a slightly teary look in her eyes.
RAIVEN (certain) I'm ready...
CUT TO:
INT. OUTSIDE THE THREE'S KEEP, TA SCIENCE CONSORTIUM- Shocla Day
The same image of Raiven from just outside the Three's Keep in the Consortium on the day of Shocla. It widens out a second later with her pacing from side to side with a jittery rush of nerves; the tablet underneath her right arm.
Her comm rings suddenly, interrupting the nerves after a few moments. She answers it after the second ring, and we see Boltas' image pops up out of the center of it.