FADE IN:
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
FOOTSTEPS O.S. in hallway, bare except for a long row of archival photographs, B&W and then color, of America's space program.
ALAN SCOTT (distinguished, 50s, graying blond hair, bright eyes) stops before two ARMED GUARDS who check -
INSERT - WHITE HOUSE ID CARD, identifying Scott as the President's Advisor on Space Policy.
The Guards step aside and allow Scott to approach the nearby door.
Wearily, Scott fiddles with his wedding ring before flinging open the door, revealing -
Wearily, Scott fiddles with his wedding ring before flinging open the door, revealing -
INT. MISSION CONTROL - CONT.
WIDE SHOT of a vast nerve center of the US space program, located at -
SUPER: JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS
TEN YEARS AGO
TEN YEARS AGO
TENSION IN THE AIR. ENGINEERS and TECHNICIANS scurry about, and FLIGHT CONTROLLERS glued to monitors and TALK IN LOW VOICES.
On the forward wall, GIANT VIEWSCREENS FLASH critical data.
AT THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S STATION, COLONEL BRODY (late 40's) wears a look of dread.
Scott joins him and shakes hands. Brody is relieved to see his old friend.
AT THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR'S STATION, COLONEL BRODY (late 40's) wears a look of dread.
Scott joins him and shakes hands. Brody is relieved to see his old friend.
BRODY
I thought you'd be with the President at some undisclosed location.
I thought you'd be with the President at some undisclosed location.
SCOTT
I told him I should be where the action is. Besides, if this doesn't work,
I told him I should be where the action is. Besides, if this doesn't work,
we'll be better off than the survivors.
Brody nods in grim agreement.
SCOTT (CONT'D)
How are you holding up?
How are you holding up?
BRODY
Me? You're asking the wrong person.
(glances up)
I have a man up there. Alone. And on whom this entire
Me? You're asking the wrong person.
(glances up)
I have a man up there. Alone. And on whom this entire
planet is depending on.
SCOTT
Who did you end up selecting?
Who did you end up selecting?
BRODY
I didn't select him. He volunteered.
I didn't select him. He volunteered.
SCOTT
Volunteered?
Volunteered?
BRODY
What type of man volunteers to save the world?
Scott thinks for a moment.
What type of man volunteers to save the world?
Scott thinks for a moment.
SCOTT
A man without fear.
A man without fear.
INT. SHUTTLE COCKPIT - CONT.
CLOSE ON hands over the instrument panel - a U.S. Air Force Academy ring. A button is pushed and -
EXT. SHUTTLE - CONT.
SPACE SHUTTLE atop giant booster rockets.
CLOSE: Painted on the Shuttle, "OA-2814 GUARDIAN"
A BLAST OF FIRE, and the assembly shoots away.
Booster rockets die out and fall away. The Shuttle hurtles on toward the Moon.
Behind and growing smaller, Earth - an insignificant blue marble in the vastness of space.
Behind and growing smaller, Earth - an insignificant blue marble in the vastness of space.
CONTROLLER (V.O. - Filtered)
Guardian, Mission Control. What's your status?
Guardian, Mission Control. What's your status?
INT. MISSION CONTROL - CONT.
JOHN STEWART (black, early 30s, Air Force officer) waits for a reply. He is "CAPCOM," the liaison between the Shuttle Commander and Mission Control.
Silence. He looks up at a large screen, showing a GREEN BLIP closing fast on an image of the Moon.
STEWART
Hal, you awake up there?
Hal, you awake up there?
INT. SHUTTLE - COCKPIT - CONT.
HAL JORDAN (early 30's) gazes at the Moon. The grayish orb grows larger in his cockpit window.
STEWART (V.O. - Filtered)
Hal?
Hal?
Hal smirks, slightly irritated by the interruption.
JORDAN
I'm here.
I'm here.
STEWART (V.O. - Filtered)
You okay, buddy?
You okay, buddy?
JORDAN
I was just thinking.
I was just thinking.
STEWART (V.O. - Filtered)
Sorry, Hal. That's not on the flight plan. You are to desist from
that activity immediately. I'll be doing all your thinking for now on.
JORDAN
Don't you do that already?
Don't you do that already?
STEWART
Ever since the Academy, old buddy. Now, I hate to bother you
Ever since the Academy, old buddy. Now, I hate to bother you
but since you're on the government's payroll and all, we were wondering
if you can do something we like to call lunar-assisted acceleration.
JORDAN
Acknowledged.
Acknowledged.
Jordan keys in some commands.
JORDAN (CONT'D)
All systems are a go. Clock is set and running.
DIGITAL TIMER sets for ten seconds. Starts counting down. Ten. Nine. Eight...
STEWART (V.O. - Filtered)
What were you thinking?
What were you thinking?
JORDAN
I was just remembering why we joined the astronaut program.
I was just remembering why we joined the astronaut program.
STEWART (V.O. - Filtered)
I wanted to fly through space. You?
I wanted to fly through space. You?
Zero.
EXT. OUTER SPACE - SHUTTLE - CONT.
The Shuttle's Rocket Engines ROAR to life.
INT. SHUTTLE - COCKPIT - CONT.
Jordan is thrown deep into his seat. His head forced upward. Before his eyes -
The pristine desolation of the lunar surface rushes past. For an instant, something on the Moon's surface SPARKLES.
JORDAN
(to himself)
I wanted to stand on the Moon.
(to himself)
I wanted to stand on the Moon.
INT. MISSION CONTROL - CONT.
CLOSE ON Propulsion Engineer Monitor - "IGNITION - GO"
PROPULSION
We have ignition of primary engines.
We have ignition of primary engines.
Brody turns to the NAVIGATION/GUIDANCE ENGINEER.
BRODY
How are we looking?
How are we looking?
The Flight Controller scans his data. Numbers race by. Satisfied, he looks up.
NAVIGATION/GUIDANCE
The ship's on course and on time, Flight.
The ship's on course and on time, Flight.
ON MAIN VIEWSCREEN
The flashing Blip break away from its momentary brush with the Moon. It's heading deeper into space and toward -
ANOTHER FLASHING BLIP, colored yellow and pulsing with menace.
A RED LINE cuts the Viewscreen in half, right where the two Blips will meet.
INT. BRODY'S OFFICE - LATER
Overlooking Mission Control, Brody paces from one end of the room to the other. Scott looks on with concern.
SCOTT
When was the last time you slept?
When was the last time you slept?
BRODY
Not since the initial sighting.
Not since the initial sighting.
SCOTT
You did a good job putting this thing together at the last minute. I did,
You did a good job putting this thing together at the last minute. I did,
after all, recommend your plan to the President.
BRODY
And he has so much faith in it that he's kicking his heels underneath
And he has so much faith in it that he's kicking his heels underneath
some mountain somewhere.
SCOTT
This will work.
This will work.
BRODY
You believe that?
You believe that?
Scott hands Brody a drink.
SCOTT
You shouldn't always be so optimistic. It annoys people.
You shouldn't always be so optimistic. It annoys people.
Brody's dark mood breaks for a moment. Enough for a smile and a sip. It passes.
BRODY
One man. It all hinges on one man.
One man. It all hinges on one man.
SCOTT
It couldn't be helped. We needed every cubic centimeter of space for fuel.
It couldn't be helped. We needed every cubic centimeter of space for fuel.
BRODY
It's too much to place on one's shoulders.
It's too much to place on one's shoulders.
SCOTT
Are you talking about the pilot or yourself?
Are you talking about the pilot or yourself?
Brody recognizes the rhetorical question with scorn.
BRODY
For the record, unlike Jordan, I didn't ask for this job.
For the record, unlike Jordan, I didn't ask for this job.
SCOTT
You didn't?
You didn't?
BRODY
You picked me, remember?
You picked me, remember?
SCOTT
I wasn't my choice.
I wasn't my choice.
BRODY
Whose choice was it?
Whose choice was it?
SCOTT
Yours.
Yours.
BRODY
Mine?
Mine?
SCOTT
This is what you get for being the right man at the right place at the right time.
This is what you get for being the right man at the right place at the right time.
BRODY
Next time, have someone else save the world.
Next time, have someone else save the world.
Air Force lieutenant, KANE (mid-20's), enters the room.
KANE
It's time, sir.
It's time, sir.
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