MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN

1.  JUNGLE ON KEMBEL

(In the midst of a dense jungle lies what remains of Jeff Garvey.  Half man, half plant, he jerks into consciousness.  The air is filled with the screams of the animal life.  He picks himself up and sets off into the dense undergrowth, one thought clear in his mind.)

GARVEY:  I... I remember now. I must... I must kill... must kill... must kill.

2.  SCOUT SHIP - EXTERIOR

(In another part of the jungle, a scout ship sits in the middle of a clearing, which its rockets made during landing.  Beside the ship are two of its crew members.  Marc Cory looks anxiously at Gordon Lowery, who is head and shoulders inside a large hole in the side of the ship, apparently affecting repairs.)

LOWERY:  Why you ever wanted to land on a planet like this in the first place I'll never know.  This is getting on my nerves.

(One particularly loud squeal emanates from the jungle.)

CORY:  I hate to think what kind of an animal makes a noise like that.
LOWERY:  Yeah, they're getting closer.
CORY:  Yes, all the more reason to stop talking and get on with the job.
LOWERY:  Just you listen to me, Cory.  I know my orders were to let you have full reign, and you've certainly taken advantage of that.  But as Captain of this expedition, my first responsibility is to get this ship off the ground.  So just cut the chat. Some other time, hmm?  Bring that wrench.

(Cory removes a tool from the tool box and hands it to Lowery.  Lowery scowls, and returns it to Cory, directing him back to the tool box to try again.)

CORY:  How's it going?
LOWERY:  Ah, it's slow. Flare-back melted the retaining bolts. Just solid lumps of Tarnium.  (pauses)  _____ some of it free.
CORY:  I want to have a look around.
LOWERY:  If we don't shoot off soon, we won't make it to the rendezvous with the freighter, you know?  If we're not in the pick-up orbit, they won't wait.
CORY:  You'll make it, Lowery.  Here you are.

(Cory hands the correct tool to Lowery.)

LOWERY:  I'm doing the best I can.  I didn't want to touch down on this lousy planet in the first place, remember?
CORY:  Let's not start that again.  Just get on with the job would you?  Where the devil's Garvey?  He should be back by now.
LOWERY: He'll be here... that screwdriver, will ya?

(Cory rummages in the tool box, apparently obtaining the correct tool, as Lowery disappears back into the hole in the side of the ship.  Meanwhile, Garvey is watching them from behind nearby bushes.  While Cory is momentarily distracted, Garvey slips unnoticed from behind the jungle cover, so that only the ship itself is between him and his prey.  His mind continues to focus on the one goal, which he speaks out loud like an oath.)

GARVEY:  Kill... kill...

(On the other side of the ship, Lowery has removed one of the damaged components.)

LOWERY:  Ahh... managed to get some of it free.  Look at it. Useless!

(Lowery throws the damaged part far into the jungle.)

LOWERY:  Get me a spare, will you?

(Cory starts to dig through the tool box again.)

LOWERY:  No, in the ship.

(Cory heads back inside the craft.  In the meantime, Garvey takes the opportunity to get closer to his prey, a pistol raised.  The unsuspecting Lowery continues his repairs, unaware of the danger.)

LOWERY:  Ah, it's no good, Cory. Needn't bother with a spare.  Just not gonna be able to fix it.

(Garvey appears round the side of the ship and aims at Lowery.  Just as he starts to squeeze the trigger, a blaster is heard, and Lowery spins around quickly enough to see Garvey ringed in blaster fire before falling face down - dead.  Behind him, Cory stands in the ship's hatchway, pistol drawn.)

LOWERY:  Jeff! Jeff!

(He jumps to Garvey's side, turning him over.)

LOWERY:  You've killed him.  You've killed Jeff!
CORY:  It was him or you.
LOWERY:  You didn't give him a chance.  You shot him down like an animal.  You just shot him down!

(He jumps at Cory, hands outstretched to choke him.  However, he finds himself lying breathless next to Garvey, as a result of the punch he never saw.  Cory moves to examine Garvey, and removes something from behind his ear, which he shows to Lowery.)

CORY:  A Varga thorn.
LOWERY:  Wha... V...Varga?
CORY:  Careful.  Don't prick yourself with it or you'll end up the way Garvey is.  I'd have to kill you.
LOWERY:  What do you mean?
CORY:  Let's get back into the ship.
LOWERY:  What about his personal effects? _____
CORY:  All right. But, hurry up.

(Once they are inside, Garvey's body stirs and moves to sit upright.  Less humanoid now, white hairs cover him, and the Varga thorns grow out of his skin.)

3.  SCOUT SHIP - INTERIOR

(The interior of the ship is very cramped.  Most of the space is taken up by the acceleration couches and Lowery's instruments.  Cory and Lowery stand by the control panels, as Cory tries to explain his actions.)

CORY:  I didn't intend to tell you anything, but since we're stuck on this planet and Garvey's dead, there are some facts that you're entitled to know.
LOWERY:  Yeah. Jeff Garvey's dead.  I mean we flew together the last ten years, and now he's dead, and you killed him.  You'd better explain that fact and make it good.
CORY:  Sit down and take a look at this.

(Lowery sits. Cory removes a small document from a pocket and gives it to him.  Lowery reads it to himself, then looks up at Cory.)

LOWERY:  I might have known. "Space Security Service. Licensed to kill".
CORY:  That's right.
LOWERY:  Well, count me out.
CORY:  This other document gives me the authority to enlist the aid of any persons, civil or military.  You were just enlisted.

(He removes another document from the same pocket and also hands it to Lowery.)

CORY:  From now on Lowery, you can take your orders from me.
LOWERY:  All right, all right.  But I don't fully understand. Better fill in a few details.
CORY:  All right.

(Cory sits down on one of the couches.)

CORY:  I suppose you've heard of the Daleks?
LOWERY:  The Daleks invaded Earth a thousand years ago.
CORY:  That's right.  Well they haven't been active in our galaxy for some time now, but that doesn't mean they've exactly been sitting around.  In the last five hundred years, they've gained control of over seventy planets in Ninth Galactic System and forty more in the Constellation of Miros.
LOWERY:  Don't see why that should concern us.  I mean, they're both millions of light years away from our galaxy.
CORY:  Mmm...  That's what we all thought.  But about a week ago we had a report from the captain of a space freighter.  His navigator spotted a... a space ship of a type never before used in our system.  He saw it only for a second but he gave us a good description.
LOWERY:  So?
CORY:  What he described was a Dalek spaceship.

4.  SCOUT SHIP - EXTERIOR

(Garvey's mutated body struggles to stand upright.)

5.  SCOUT SHIP - INTERIOR

(Cory is using the radio, desperately attempting to make contact with their intended rendezvous target.)

CORY:  Freighter XM2, freighter XM2. Come in please. Come in please!
LOWERY:  Can you make it work?
CORY:  It's got to work!
LOWERY:  It may have been damaged in the crash.
CORY:  We must keep on trying!
LOWERY:  Tested the link pulses?
CORY:  I know what I'm doing.
LOWERY:  Allright, allright. So, the link pulses work.  There could be something else wrong with it.  What about the vergometer?  Have you tested that?  Without that you'd never break through the atmosphere.
CORY:  How can I possibly test that?  We've just got to take our chance that it hasn't been damaged.

(Cory turns back to the radio.)

CORY:  Freighter XM2.  Freighter XM2. Come in please!  Come in please!

(Cory waits and listens for a response.  There is none.)

CORY:  Useless.  Are you sure we can't repair this ship?
LOWERY:  Oh, not a chance.  So you think that the Daleks have established some sort of a base here, is that it?
CORY:  It could be.  This is the most hostile planet in the universe.  People from other civilizations avoid it.  I suddenly had a hunch that this might make an ideal place for any secret preparations that the Daleks wanted to make.  That's why we brought this ship down here.
LOWERY:  Did you tell anybody else about this hunch of yours?
CORY:  No one.  Not even your commander.
LOWERY:  Huh!
CORY:  I just asked for a couple of men and a small rocket.  I didn't even tell him what for.
LOWERY:  Then why are you telling me?
CORY:  (holding up the thorn again)  Because of this...  a thorn from a Varga plant.  A thing, part animal, part vegetable.  Looks like a cactus.  The poison attacks the brain.  Rational thought is replaced by an overwhelming desire to kill.  Eventually the poison seeps through the system and the victim is gradually transformed into a Varga.
LOWERY:  And what's that got to do with the Daleks?
CORY:  The only place in the universe where Vargas grow naturally is on the Daleks' own planet, Skaro.  If the Vargas are here, the Daleks are too.

6.  DALEK CONTROL ROOM

(Several Daleks attend to various controls.  All eye stalks turn towards the doorway as the Black Dalek enters.)

BLACK DALEK:  I will receive your reports.  First, space monitor control.

(Each Dalek moves forwards as it reports.)

DALEK 1:  Space monitor control.  The emissaries from the seven planets will arrive as arranged.
BLACK DALEK:  Then the conference will begin at first sun.  Security report.
DALEK 2:  Security control.  Position of alien space craft located.  Our patrol will reach it shortly.
BLACK DALEK:  The ship and its occupants must be totally destroyed.  Destroyed!  Destroyed!
DALEK 2:  It will be done.

7.  SCOUT SHIP - EXTERIOR, NIGHT

(Night has fallen.  The jungle noises seem louder now, and Cory appears more anxious to finish his mission and get off the planet.  Noticing movement in nearby bushes, he darts into the undergrowth, where he can make out three lumbering shapes in the starlight.  Lowery breaks off from working on a small rocket-shaped object.)

LOWERY:  Anything out there?
CORY:  Vargas. They're closing in.
LOWERY:  Do you mean to say they can move?
CORY:  Very slowly. Look.  They're using their roots to drag themselves along.  How long are you gonna be with this... this rescue beacon?
LOWERY:  This is the recording part.  Let's hope it wasn't damaged in the crash.
CORY:  We'll soon find out.  Can you fix this capsule up?
LOWERY:  Well, that's easy enough. But, this is the recording mechanism for the message.  If we sent the rocket into space without this, not only would we not be rescued, but if you put it up earlier, no one would even know we were here.
CORY:  Hurry up and attach it then.
LOWERY:  Allright, allright!  I'm as keen to get out of here as you are.  Give me those pliers will you?  Nearly finished.

(Cory hands him the pliers from the tool box.)

CORY:  Good.  I don't know how long we've got.  But the Daleks must know we're here.  They'll be coming for us soon.
LOWERY:  Well, I still think you're jumping to conclusions, you know.  I mean, just because these... what are they... Varga things grow here, it's no proof that the Daleks are here too.
CORY:  Take my word for it, they're here all right.
LOWERY:  Yes. But, couldn't these Varga things grow here naturally?  I mean, it's possible, isn't it?
CORY:  No. They were developed in Dalek laboratories.  They grow them to give themselves protection.
LOWERY:  Well, if they're synthetic, that means we...
CORY:  (angrily)  Look, stop asking questions and get on with the work!

8.  JUNGLE

(A Dalek patrol is in pursuit of the scout ship crew.  One of the Daleks has a compass-like device in place of the usual sucker.  The patrol halts.)

DALEK 1:  Acceptor readings indicated alien space craft.  We will close on it from two directions.
DALEKS:  We obey.

(The patrol splits up and moves off.)

9.  SCOUT SHIP - EXTERIOR

(Lowery works feverishly, while Cory stands on watch, frustrated at his inability to assist.)

LOWERY:  Those things are getting too close for comfort.  I'll fix them.

(Lowery brandishes a blaster.)

CORY:  It's no good, Lowery.  They'll only grow again as fast as you can shoot them.
LOWERY:  At least I'll have had a try at them.
CORY:  Get back to the beacon.  You sure it'll work?
LOWERY:  Well, it should work. It's standard safety equipment on all rocket ships.
CORY:  What does it do exactly?
LOWERY:  Well, you record the message SOS on this, just like an ordinary tape recorder.  The rocket launcher shoots it high into orbit. Once it's in orbit it transmits the message.  Simple.
CORY:  From what we know about the Daleks, we've got to be picked up.
LOWERY:  Well, it's tuned in to the special frequency, and there are listening posts all over the galaxy.  Our people should get the message.
CORY:  And all we have to do is to stay alive until they get here.

(A ship rumbles overhead, its landing lights casting shadows across the jungle.  Cory and Lowery look up at it.)

LOWERY:  It's the biggest rocket ship I've ever seen.  It's like nothing we've got.
CORY:  It's from an outer galaxy.
LOWERY:  But what's it doing in a God-forsaken planet like this?
CORY:  I don't know.  But, I'll tell you this.  There's something very big going on here, and if the Daleks are involved you can bet your life our whole galaxy is in danger.

10.  JUNGLE

(One of the Dalek patrols has also spotted the arriving ship.)

DALEK 1:  The ship from the planet Gearon.
DALEK 2:  And the beginning of the Great Alliance.

11.  SCOUT SHIP - EXTERIOR

(Lowery finishes his repairs and puts down his tools with a sigh of relief.)

LOWERY:  That should just about do it.  Give me the capsule will you, I'll record the message.

(He sees that Cory's attention is on the surrounding jungle.)

LOWERY:  What is it?
CORY:  There's something out there moving.
LOWERY:  Vargas?
CORY:  No.  Moving too quickly.  Come on, we've got to... got to get away.
LOWERY:  What about the distress signal?
CORY:  Take it with us. Launch it as soon as we get a chance.
LOWERY:  All right.  Which way?
CORY:  Over here.

(Cory indicates a direction, making sure to point out the deadly thorns of the nearby Varga plants.)

CORY:  They won't be the only ones, so watch out.

(Cory and Lowery move off into the jungle, carefully avoiding the Varga plants.  Just before they disappear into the undergrowth, the Dalek patrol arrives in the clearing.)

LOWERY:  Cory!
CORY:  Get down and don't make a sound!

(They duck under nearby bushes and observe the Daleks.)

DALEK 2:  The ship is empty.  The crew has gone.
DALEK 1:  We will search for them.  Destroy the ship.  Fire!

(Cory and Lowery watch helplessly as the ship disintegrates under the Daleks' fire.)

LOWERY:  It's just falling apart!
CORY:  Come on!

(Lowery falls and is pricked by a Varga thorn.  He looks at it for a moment and then realises what has happened.  He removes it from his palm and tries to suck the poison out.  He hears a movement and removes his hand from his mouth.)

CORY:  Come on man!  Come on!  They'll be looking for us. Now!

(The Daleks are standing by the twisted wreck of the scout ship.)

DALEK 1:  Report destruction of alien ship to control.
DALEK 2:  I obey.
DALEK 1:  Advise that we will now seek out the crew.  Alert all patrols.
DALEKS:  We obey.

12.  CONFERENCE ROOM

(Gathered round a semi-circular table are the representatives of the seven galaxies, each with their own lectern.  Trantis is tall, with dark hair. From his face hang short tendrils.  Gearon has a featureless, egg-shaped head and wears a visor.  Strangest of all is Beaus, who is all black, apart from two burning, bright eyes in his cylindrical head.  His body looks as though it consists of several open cones stacked on top of each other.  Warrien and Sentreal both wear protective suits and helmets.  Sentreal's face is dark and his helmet has an antenna on top.  Malpha is tall and well built.  His face looks like a patchwork, with a network of dark veins on pale skin.  The seventh species is, of course, the Daleks.

In the center of the room is a large circular table, on top of which is a representation of our solar system.  In the center of the solar system is a large, bright light representing the Sun.  Around it, on the surface of the table, are concentric rings representing the orbits of the planets. Each planet is represented by a light.)

BLACK DALEK:  With the arrival of our ally Malpha, we are enough.  The meeting can now begin.
MALPHA:  No it can't.
BLACK DALEK:  What is wrong?
MALPHA:  There is a hostile presence among us.
BLACK DALEK:  What do you mean?
MALPHA:  On arrival here, I am told that there are hostile influences from the solar system among us.

(There are general sounds of displeasure from the alien delegates.)

BLACK DALEK:  Not among us.
MALPHA:  Then here on the planet Kembel.
BLACK DALEK:  Some beings have landed from the planet Earth - hostile beings from the centre of the solar system.  But, do not worry. Their spaceship has been destroyed.
MALPHA:  What about the beings?
BLACK DALEK:  They cannot escape.  At this moment they are being hunted down.  They will be destroyed.
MALPHA:  Are you sure?
BLACK DALEK:  They cannot get away.
MALPHA:  Suppose they send a message through this universe?
BLACK DALEK:  They will not have time.  If they do not die by our Varga plants, my patrols will kill them!  They will be exterminated!  Exterminated!

13.  JUNGLE

(Cory and Lowery are making their way through the jungle.)

CORY:  This way.

14.  CONFERENCE ROOM

ALIEN 1:  Agreed.
ALIEN 2:  Agreed.
BLACK DALEK:  All are agreed.  It is done.  The seven great powers of the outer galaxies are one.

(The aliens make various shouts of triumph, speaking over one another.)

ALIEN 3:  Our galactic domination.
ALIEN 4:  Victory.
ALIEN 5:  We are the mightiest in the universe.

(The noise subsides.)

MALPHA:  This is indeed an historic moment in the history of the universe!  We six from the outer galaxies, joining with the power from the solar system - the Daleks!  The seven of us represent the greatest war force ever assembled!  Conquest is assured!

(Malpha steps from behind his lectern and moves to the map of the solar system.  As he announces each planet, he points to the light representing that planet.)

MALPHA:  Mars!  Venus!  Jupiter!  The moon colonies!

(Lastly, the Black Dalek's sucker arm comes to rest on the representation of the Earth.)

BLACK DALEK:  They will all fall before our might.  But the first of them will be Earth!

15.  JUNGLE

(Lowery is resting on a small rock.  He is sobbing with pain and fear, and shaking all over.  Cory returns from a short recce.  He is too busy worrying about the Daleks to notice his colleague's odd behaviour.)

CORY:  We've got to get this capsule off, and fast.  There's a city down there - a Dalek city.  I got quite close -- close enough to hear an announcement through the loudspeaker system.
LOWERY:  Why? What did you hear?
CORY:  Our whole galaxy is to be invaded and destroyed.

(Lowery is finally succumbing to the poison of the Varga thorn.  He knows there is only one cure.)

LOWERY:  Kill.
CORY:  What?
LOWERY:  Kill, kill.
CORY:  The Varga!
LOWERY:  That's right.  I'll soon be one of them...  Kill , kill!

(Cory shoots Lowery, who collapses dead with a groan.  Realizing that it is only a matter of time before the Daleks find him, Cory sets about recording his message.)

CORY:  This is Marc Cory, Special Security Service, reporting from the planet Kembel.  The Daleks are planning the complete destruction of our galaxy.  Together with the powers of the outer galaxies, a war force is being assembled.

16.  JUNGLE

(Nearby, the Dalek patrol, still checking their instruments, close in on Cory's position.)

DALEK 1:  Seismic detector is registering.
DALEK 2:  The crew from the rocket ship must be in this direction.
DALEK 1:  Are they to be taken for questioning?
DALEK 2:  No.  They are to be exterminated.  Destroy them on sight.  Destroy and exterminate!
DALEKS:  We obey.

17.  JUNGLE

(Cory continues his message, getting more and more terrified of the impending Dalek arrival.)

CORY:  If our galaxy is to be saved, whoever receives this message must relay this information to Earth immediately.  It... it is vital that defence mechanisms are put into operation at once!  Message ends.

(Just as Cory finishes the recording and turns to place it in the rocket, the Daleks enter the clearing.)

DALEK 2:  Fire.

(Cory is hit by a barrage of Dalek fire.  He collapses, lifeless.)

DALEK 2:  He is dead.
DALEK 1:  Our plans for the galactic conquest are safe.  Whatever information he discovered has died with him.  Return to the city.
DALEKS:  We obey.

(The Daleks leave.  By Cory's lifeless hand, the message recorder remains unnoticed.)

18.  CONFERENCE ROOM

MALPHA:  Now all is ready.  We at this table pledge our allegiance to the Dalek cause.  Our armies will reduce the galaxies to ashes.  Their people to dust.  And Earth we will conquer first.  Victory!  Victory!
DALEKS & ALIENS:  Victory!  Victory!  Victory!