PART 1 - Scene 1 - Atlantica Missile Base
The waves sway against the rock faces of the island, as we zoom up from the aqua blue ocean heading up to a dawning horizon. Now we zoom over the hill, revealing a green streak of land, just behind an establishment with indestructible walls. Inside, dozens of rocket silos sitting ready to blast off into the direction deep into space. The missiles positioned with their stand holding them up and ready. We could list and describe them, however with countless rockets launchers and missiles standing by it would take far too long to begin listing. Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds. The edge of the site, housing a quadrilateral building dressed in grey with a design looking like it was made out of gigantic LEGO bricks and several windows in this long and tall headquarters. Positioned right by the entrance with it’s steel-like doors and the lights and CCTV scattered across Atlantica monitoring every inch of the grounds; from it’s missiles to its empty spaces in gaps where the missiles are stationed. A signpost is situated outside by the walls as the road pulls up. A helipad port, directly right to the side from incoming in towards the site. Big enough for several large crafts on touchdown.
Inside Atlantica Missile Base Headquarters, we follow down a bare corridor with nothing apart from the shinning grey walls with bricks made as though they were from LEGO, seeing the lines of the pieces together (if was made of it). Nothing special is decorated along the walls; no portraits, no mirrors, no windows. Just nothing, except the corridor. The doors are so well disguised by the wall you’d almost not make out with only a small black line between the walls, until you approached closer. A shadow approaches, heading down this long corridor with the occasional left or right turn heading deeper into the compound, somewhere else unimportant for now. The portly Colonel Henderson, a stiff-upper-lip military officer, a US soldier, ruthless, cold, arrogant. His medals on his green uniform highlight his authority as well as his upright posture and quick gait. The other woman with him, Sergeant Mantez, an officer of the base walking behind the Colonel in her navy blue trousers and her lighter blue shirt and dim black tie escort the Colonel around the complex, exploring Atlantica for him.
Colonel Henderson:
Yes, yes. Very good Sergeant Mantez. All most impressive here at Atlantica. The World President will have a good report I assure you. You know how important your position here is.
Sergeant Mantez:
Indeed Colonel. Although it does get rather uneventful here seeing that nothing ever happens here on this island. Not that anyone would of course try to break into Atlantica.
Colonel Henderson:
Quite. And how do you describe your responsibility to the peoples of the world as uneventful.
Sergeant Mantez:
Well sir, seeing that Atlantica is impregnable from above, around and below, it means that nobody would be successful in penetrating through. Therefore with no action it means it can become rather dull.
Colonel Henderson:
Reasonable Sergeant, reasonable. As demonstrated earlier, any form of unidentified craft or person in this area will be terminated within five miles of this island. Except of course myself. Now, the control room.
Sergeant Mantez:
This way sir.
The two reach the end of the passage before a light beams from the left side of the wall, a red identification detector flashing at the left of their chest for a small little silver dish. The Colonel’s is scanned first, below his honorary medals, followed by Mantez’s.
Colonel Henderson:
As you say Sergeant, it is of course impregnable.
Sergeant Mantez:
It is sir. Even some of the strongest drilling technology cannot withstand these walls. A cahelium substance with zurtzite boron nitrade and lonsdaleite.
Colonel Henderson:
A substance stronger that diamond.
Sergeant Mantez:
Correct Colonel. After you.
The sealed door has been unlocked, we hear the mechanism beginning to slide the door down as the wall slips downwards, revealing the control room – directly at the heart of Atlantica. The heart is a circular control console with the controls and holographic controls dotted around the spacing; the usual sort of controls and gadgets you would expect to see in a control centre. In the centre of the circular control centre, the next supervisor of Atlantica – Sergeant Dalton, turning himself around as the Colonel and his co-worker enter, heading directly for the centre of the control room. He rises to greet the Colonel.
Sergeant Dalton:
Colonel Henderson.
Colonel Henderson:
At ease Sergeant. Well, shall we proceed with the demonstration?
Sergeant Dalton:
Erm, yes sir.
The doors are sealed back. Dalton sits back in his chair as he begins programing the holographic desk board before him. A flashing monitor is presented to the Sergeants and the General at the wall they face directly observe as another holographic screen is presented before them, showing them a Variable Geometry Rocket housed nearby the base, with the letters “VGR” along the side. A long and thin rocket with a thicker base for it’s blasters. It is risen up along it’s gate, pointing head up into the heavens. The Colonel seems impressed with this. The schematics of the rocket appear on the left side of the screen; it’s height, weight, range (infinite), speed and destructive capability to name a few.
Colonel Henderson:
Hmmm. Most impressive Sergeant. Well, it seems as though the VGR is relatively harmless. For a missile, of course. What is its function Sergeant?
Sergeant Dalton:
A rocket programed to overcome all forms of defence, including obstruction in it’s way. It was used in the early 2030s to attack smaller targets. It was never really used much though, and now all the ones left in existence are stored here at Atlantica.
Colonel Henderson:
Most interesting. No wonder I’ve never heard of them before. Is it possible to see one in action?
Sergeant Mantez:
Now sir...
Colonel Henderson:
Ah, come on. A small little thing like that won’t cause any damage, can it?
Sergeant Mantez:
But Colonel, if...
Colonel Hederson:
But? But? You refusing to carry out one of my instructions Mantez?
Sergeant Mantez:
No sir.
Colonel Henderson:
That’s better. I don’t want to have to remind you of your position Sergeant. We’ll launch up one of those things to see it in action. I haven’t come all this way just to stand around wasting my time looking at some metal fueled with a bit of gas! And Mantez, I will take any responsibility for anything that will go wrong. Not that anything will go wrong of course, heh heh! Now Sergeant, launch that rocket!
Sergeant Dalton:
Firing in three...two...one!
KABOOM! The rocket blasts into the sky, zooming up through the clouds, gaining a few shots of it shooting upwards powerfully. The monitoring is observed on the holographic scanner, showing it’s descent, map of the rocket from Atlantica, the remaining statistics and the outside schematics and build of the missile.
Colonel Henderson:
Good. Good. Reminds me of the good old days with Tracy. First man on Mars! You can never beat a rocket blasting off into space.
Sergeant Mantez:
No sir.
Sergeant Dalton:
80,000 feet and climbing... 90,000 feet and climbing... 100,000 feet and climbing.
We zoom off with he rocket flying upwards again.
110,000 feet, still climbing.
Colonel Henderson:
Alright, that should be high enough Sergeant, detonate.
Sergeant Dalton hits the detonate button for the rocket to self-destruct. Nothing has happened yet.
Well Sergeant?
Sergeant Dalton:
I have sir. It should have detonated.
He presses it again. And again. And again. And it wasn’t exploding!
I can’t detonate it sir. I can’t!
Colonel Henderson:
What?
Sergeant Dalton:
Colonel, if the rocket can’t detonate then there is nothing I can do to stop it from flying endlessly into space.
He begins calculating its course, a 3D map is presented before him holographically again.
Colonel Henderson:
Well that’s no problem. It will just be left to drift around in space on it’s own.
Sergeant Dalton:
Only that its on a direct course for a passenger ship sir! And we can’t alter it’s flight path!
Sergeant Mantez:
If it doesn’t fall back to Earth depending on what target has been programed. Who has any idea what that could be!
Sergeant Dalton:
Sir, if that rocket crashes back down to Atlantica North America will be the centre of a nuclear holocaust!
The Colonel turns to us with doom on his face, as the rocket is left to blast it into the skies, with disaster ready to strike...
5... 4... 3... 2... 1!
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
