Aqua Marianas Episode 4: Everything Is Going To Be Fine
BEGIN EPISODE: FADE IN: JOANNA Lillian’s nice. Andrew pushes her buttons— he’s a professional at that with everyone—and she’s… there’s something about her that’s a little… I don’t know. Like she doesn’t quite realize how important she is, or the impact of the things she does. Not really. But she loves the base more than anything, I think, and she loves her work. I can understand that. [They laugh.] Once when I asked her about her most recent project she talked for two hours. I didn’t understand anything she was saying, really, but she doesn’t understand anything I say about fish and she still listens. It’s nice. And she sends the bots out for specimens. [Brief pause.] JOANNA She needs to learn about restraint in her projects, though. She’s the person who keeps us all alive on the station, but I worry that one day she’s gonna blow us all to hell. FADE OUT. [THEME MUSIC FADES IN.] [THEME MUSIC FADES OUT.] JOANNA Aqua Marianas, episode 5.
OPEN NEW SCENE: LILLIAN’S LAB
FADE IN: [We hear LILLIAN tinkering. Occasionally there’s a blowtorch/crackling of electricity noise. The base background noise is slightly louder than usual, and there is machinery whirring and clicking in the background. LILLIAN is talking to herself.] LILLIAN (disjointed muttering) Compression coil… that wire, this wire—no, what am I thinking? That one and the other one. I wonder… oh. Well, maybe not. Maybe it was the first wire after all… gotta make this more efficient. If I finish it right… Joanna’s going to be so happy about the lack of environmental waste. The captain will be happy about more power being generated, Alex will be happy about— [A wire sparks and shocks her. She yelps.] LILLIAN (exactly like you just got shocked by electricity) Ow! Okay. It should be the second wire. That’s good to know. (back to muttering) And this… ooh, it should go there… offdiagram a little, but it’s my diagram… hmm. What would it do if I were to… [The comms announcement noise, and then MAHIMA is on the line.] MAHIMA Attention all crew members, we’re gathering for a meeting and duty relegation for the next week. It is Monday, after all. So, join me in the common room for your assignments. Meeting starts in five minutes!
[LILLIAN groans.] LILLIAN Oh, amazing. [There are a few noises indicating her extracting herself from the Unnamed Project, and then the click of the comms switch.] LILLIAN Captain, can I take a raincheck on the meeting? I’ve already got a project I’m working on, and it’s not like I need more chores— MAHIMA (interrupting) Yes, Lillian, you need to come here. Chores aren’t the only thing we do on the base; we also gather data and consolidate it. For example, my recent data on the topography of the sea floor effects how you chart plots for the bots you send out. The bots gather more data for me about the vent and everything around us, as well as footage and specimens for Joanna. Joanna’s work effects how you work on the base. Capiche? LILLIAN (reluctant, but understanding the logic) …Understood, Captain Ahab. MAHIMA (as if it’s a refrain she’s repeated a lot) Don’t call me that. What we’re doing here is significantly more useful than chasing a white whale. And now I’m going to sign off, and you will be in the common room when the meeting starts. See you then. [Comms sign off. LILLIAN takes a moment, and we hear slow, regulated breathing, as if she’s trying to calm down.]
LILLIAN Alright. I have four more minutes to work on this, and then I can run to the comms room. That’s fine. That will work. [Brief pause. Calm music playing. 10 seconds? Less? It is broken by the door opening suddenly, and the machinery and all other noises starting.] JOANNA Lillian? Are you here? The captain’s going crazy waiting for you. LILLIAN (oh, shit!) Fuck! Sorry, I forgot, I was working— I made a mistake on this project, and I was worried, and then I got distracted but I think it’s fixed— oh, fuck. She’s going to kill me, isn’t she? JOANNA No, if you’re lucky you might just get off with a maiming. She’s frustrated with you, though. [Brief pause.] JOANNA (curious) Why have you been late to everything lately? What are you doing in here? LILLIAN Hopefully, something that will make things go that much smoother. God, I’m so sorry. JOANNA It’s not me you need to apologize to. Come on, let’s go. You can deal with Captain Kumar’s anger when we get there.
LILLIAN Okay. But first… Joanna, is she going to ban me from working? JOANNA I have no idea. Let’s go find out. FADE OUT: OPEN NEW SCENE: THE COMMON ROOM MAHIMA (very, very angry) I’m not angry with you, Lillian. I’m just very, very disappointed. LILLIAN (sullen) You sound like my mum. [In the background, ANDREW snickers.] ANDREW God, you’re really going to get it now. MAHIMA (totally ignoring him and his commentary, as usual) Do I? Then let me rephrase that. I’m angry as hell. How dare you undermine my authority like this? I told you specifically why you needed to be here, and you weren’t! [She takes a deep breath, visibly trying to calm herself.] MAHIMA (rage slightly more constrained) All right then. Why, pray tell, were you not here when I told you to be? What was so important? LILLIAN
IMAHIMA Oh, and before you answer, no excuses. LILLIAN I wasn’t planning on making any excuses, captain, and stop interrupting me! I just— I’m working on something. MAHIMA I’m the captain, and I’ll interrupt whenever the fuck I want! What? What’s more important than your orders? LILLIAN (hesitant) I… can’t tell you. MAHIMA Like hell you can’t. LILLIAN But it’s supposed to be a surprise! MAHIMA (sarcasm) Oh? Well, Lillian, I am most definitely surprised. Is this for anyone’s birthday? Christmas, perhaps? I’d assume not, because oh, no one has a birthday until mine in June, and Christmas is considerably after that. What. Is. It. LILLIAN I… [she glances quickly at JOANNA, then sighs.] It’s a converter. Kind of. And kind of something else. I’m going to attach it to the engine, which will allow us to increase the distance the bots can travel, increase our power output on the base, and decrease any trace emissions that the base might be
making. It would probably also increase comms efficiency, so we could get messages to the surface faster. Or it might be broken, in which case I need to fix it before attaching it, or else bad things might happen. I… thought you’d all be happy with that. [BEAT.] LILLIAN (bitter) Guess I was mistaken. MAHIMA I see. That does sound useful, and you can continue work on it, but on your free time. Quit being late. Now, if we can get on with— [She is interrupted by a beeping alarm noise, then a computerized voice.] VOICE Alert. Hydrothermal vent shifting. Alert. Hydrothermal vent shifting. Secure all objects. Seven and a half minutes until impact. [LILLIAN gives MAHIMA a panicked look.] LILLIAN Captain, I’m sorry about all of this, and it won’t happen again, but I need to go down there and secure the converter! If I don’t, it might break, and that would be… very, very not good. MAHIMA Oh, no. I am not losing you to lab tinkering again. Does it have to be you who goes down? LILLIAN I… I guess not? MAHIMA
Good. Then I should go to the lab, and… Alex, you come with me. [JOANNA raises a hand.] MAHIMA Yes, Dr. Fenistil? JOANNA Have you been in Lillian’s lab before? Other than this? MAHIMA …Once. JOANNA When we just got down here? MAHIMA Yes. JOANNA I was down there yesterday. Lillian’s projects… Captain, some of them shouldn’t be touched. I know what’s safe and what isn’t. If Lillian can’t go, I’m the next best person. [Pause.] JOANNA Right? MAHIMA …Fuck, alright. You have a point. You and Alex, go. Fast. Andrew and Lillian, you stay with me. ANDREW So we can’t leave? MAHIMA No.
ANDREW (muttering) This is such bullshit. FADE OUT: OPEN NEW SCENE: LILLIAN’S LAB FADE IN: [A door opens, and ALEX and JOANNA walk in.] ALEX (conversationally) So, why were you in here yesterday? JOANNA (stressed) I was talking through some logistical problems of my research with Lillian as she worked. Grab that, will you? We only have— [They are interrupted by the alarm and announcement.] VOICE Alert. Hydrothermal vent shifting. Alert. Hydrothermal vent shifting. Secure all objects. Four minutes until impact. JOANNA --that much time left. I’ve got this end, just go and get yours. [ALEX grabs the thing.] ALEX Okay, got it. What now? JOANNA Umm… Tie it down over there, and I’ll do the same.
[There are assorted noises associated with tying something down. Then the PA goes off.] MAHIMA (over the PA) How’s everything going down there? Dr. Fenistil? Alex? [There is the flip of a switch, and ALEX answers.] ALEX We’ve got this about halfway tied down by now. It’s huge, but I think we can get it secure in time. Everything’s going to be— [They are interrupted by the alarm again. This time it is a siren.] VOICE Alert. Hydrothermal vent shifting. Brace for impact. [Then an earthquake rocks the base. There is an awful wrenching of metal as the project tears free from its restraints and slams into the wall, and yelling from ALEX and JOANNA. Then everything goes silent, except for a steady and high-pitched beeping. We can hear ANDREW’s voice initially over the PA/comms/whatever.] ANDREW (long and drawn-out) Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. MAHIMA (taking over the comms again, worried for her crew) Joanna, Alex, come in! What’s the status down there? Is everyone okay? ALEX
(calling out) Captain, we’re fine, but the device wasn’t secured totally when the earthquake hit, and it’s pretty banged up. It shifted so that some of it is blocking the door, too. [We hear LILLIAN’s voice as she moves to speak into the comms.] LILLIAN (very worried) If it wasn’t tied down when the vent shifted, we have a problem. There are some very delicate circuits, and if they were damaged— can you move the mic closer to the noise, please? JOANNA Okay, I’ve got it. Hang on. [They oblige, and LILLIAN listens for a second to the beeping and mechanical noises.] LILLIAN (worried, but more businesslike, and somewhat resigned) Amended: there’s no “if”. They were damaged. [There’s static as the scene changes to reflect the other end of this exchange. Now LILLIAN, MAHIMA, and ANDREW can be heard clearly, and JOANNA and ALEX have the echoing, recorded quality to their voices.] LILLIAN (turned aside, to Mahima) Captain, I need your permission to let me go down there to fix the converter. MAHIMA First, you need to tell me how fucked over we are if you can’t.
LILLIAN (getting slightly more frantic) It’s… I don’t know how bad it is without seeing it, but it sounds like some of the key components were broken. And if we assume the worst and that thing goes off, it could take half the base with it. Joanna and Alex too. MAHIMA (hushed, not particularly directed at anything) God damn it. [To LILLIAN.] I don’t think I can give you my permission, Dr. Vega. LILLIAN What?! ANDREW Wait, wait, wait wait wait. Are you saying we’re going to blow up if Lillian doesn’t go down there and fix this? Then why don’t you both stop wasting time talking so Lillian can get her ass down there and fix this! MAHIMA (annoyed) It’s not that simple, Mr. Federman! Lillian is also the only person who can keep the base running if anything does happen to it. If she tries to fix it and fails, the explosion takes her out too. Which means that we’re left in a damaged underwater base that we can’t fix. A death sentence. ANDREW But if it explodes and she’s not down there— LILLIAN
--two people die for sure. Just let me go, captain. MAHIMA NO! [She takes a deep breath to calm herself.] Look. There’s a solution here. Lillian, you stay here in this room and advise over the comms. I’ll go down with Joanna and Alex and try to get the door open. Andrew, you… I don’t know. Can you get a message in to the surface? ANDREW Probably. I need to get to the comms room to do it, though. MAHIMA Go. Patch in with an update when you get there. ANDREW (still somehow petulant) Fine. [He walks away, and the door shuts.] MAHIMA I’m going down now. Unless you have any more objections, Lillian? LILLIAN No. Captain, I… I see your point. [She takes a deep breath.] Hurry. And, if it seems like it can’t be fixed… MAHIMA I’ll do my best to get them out alive. OPEN NEW SCENE: LILLIAN’S LAB
[STATIC OF SCENE CHANGE.]
LILLIAN (over comms) Okay, guys. The captain’s heading help you both because I can’t. I’m be giving you instructions over the what to do, but you need to tell detail, what you’re seeing. Can you
down to going to comms for me, in do that?
ALEX I… Joanna? You know more about this stuff than I do. JOANNA (freaking out a little) What? I’m a marine biologist! How would I know about this?! This isn’t even really science, it’s engineering! I don’t know any of this, I don’t even get it when Lillian explains it! Why am I the authority? ALEX Whoa! Joanna-LILLIAN (cutting him off, calm, soothing, to JOANNA) Joanna, breathe. Just breathe for a second. [There’s a pause. Then:] JOANNA (quietly) Okay. [They take a few deep breaths. LILLIAN continues talking.] LILLIAN
It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to understand it. You just need to listen to what I’m saying. I told you about the processes I go through before, right? Showed some of my projects to you? JOANNA Y…yes. LILLIAN Then you’ve got more of a background in what I do than anyone else on this outpost. You can do this. And the captain is coming to help. Everything is going to be fine. JOANNA …You’re right. Okay. [They take a deep breath.] Your converter slammed into a wall. A couple of the panels came off, and some of the wires were cut. They’re sparking a bit. That’s on the left side. There’s a red light going off. I can see some of the metal components of the insides. The… is that the on button? It’s smashed totally out of shape. [They turn to ALEX.] Anything I’m missing? ALEX Um… the wires that were cut were the red, green, and white ones. There’s a part of it embedded in the wall? But other than all that, it’s mostly in one piece. The damage is mostly around where it hit the wall. LILLIAN Oh, my poor converter. Okay. Nothing else? No other major damage? ALEX Nothing I can recognize.
JOANNA Me neither. LILLIAN Okay. So, here’s what I think we’re going to do— [She is interrupted by the ding of the comms system.] [Static of scene change. The door of the comms room opens, and ANDREW enters.] ANDREW Okay, okay, okay, okay okay okay. Suck it up, Federman. Gotta get this done. Alright. Comms… [The switch of the comms, then ANDREW broadcasting.] ANDREW Andrew Federman to Benthos Outpost crew at large, I’m in the comms room. Anybody have last words you want to get to the surface? MAHIMA (after a second and a noise indicating she’s on the channel, in a very dry voice) Very funny, Mr. Federman. No one’s going to die here. ALEX (patching in) Tell them I died doing something totally awesome. ANDREW Roger. Joanna? JOANNA (shaky, quiet)
No comment. ANDREW …Okayyyy then. No need to be so touchy. Captain, Lillian, what should the report say? MAHIMA “Earthquake caused failure of one of the outpost systems. Drs. Newman and Fenistil currently in room with failed system. The captain is heading down to assist. Dr. Vega advising from common room. Updates soon.” LILLIAN (patching in) I’d add that if this does fail, it’s going to explode with disastrous consequences. [ANDREW has been typing. He finishes with a flourish.] ANDREW Aaaaand… send. Godspeed, all. I’m heading back to the common room. If you explode while I’m gone, I call dibs on all of Alex’s stuff. ALEX (indignant) Hey[ANDREW shuts off the comms and leaves.] [Static. LILLIAN’s voice.] LILLIAN What a jackass. Okay. The simplest way to keep this from exploding is to shut off the power in its systems. Basically, take the batteries out. Don’t go near the part that’s been torn open. ALEX …why?
LILLIAN It’ll kill you. ALEX Oh. Fun. LILLIAN Yep! Instead of going to that part, can you see a patch of lighter grey metal about… eight feet to the right? JOANNA (pretty upset) Yeah, I’m heading over. Is thisLILLIAN -the maintenance hatch. Yeah. You’re going to need to unbolt it, though. JOANNA (stressed) Okay. Uh… Alex? ALEX Wrench. Here. [Sounds of JOANNA unbolting the thing. It creaks and swings open.] JOANNA (slowly descending into panic and crying) Oh, wow, that’s a lot of… wires and things, that’s… that’s… I don’t know what I’m… I can’t do this, I’m going to die here, we’re both going to die here! [The wrench clatters to the floor as they drop it. They’re crying.] ALEX AND LILLIAN (simultaneously)
Joanna! ALEX We’re not going to die here. Listen to me, we are not going to die here. [JOANNA does not respond, only sobs. They back away from the converter.] LILLIAN Joanna! ALEX (brisk and angry) Lillian, tell me what to do. We don’t have time to talk them out of this right now. LILLIAN I-- god, fine, fine! Alex, you need to reach inside and [tech language]. Got that? ALEX Doing it. Joanna, can you hand me that [tool]? [No response.] ALEX …Joanna? JOANNA (quietly, in a voice still thick with tears) Here. [They hand it to ALEX. There is a BEAT. Then:] JOANNA Where’s the captain? [MAHIMA has reached the door. There’s the flip of the comms switch.] MAHIMA
(right on time!) Alex, Joanna, Lillian, I’m outside. I’m going to try and get the door open. You just keep working on fixing the converter. LILLIAN Gotcha, captain. Okay, Alex, just reach in there and undo that. [ALEX does so. Then there’s an alarm and a frantic, fast beeping underneath it. ALEX yelps in auditory pain.] ALEX Fuck, that’s loud! MAHIMA Lillian, should it be doing that? LILLIAN No, it definitely shouldn’t! Did you do exactly what I said? [Tech thing?] ALEX Yeah! That’s this thing here, right? JOANNA AND LILLIAN (yelling, Joanna tearfully and Lillian angrily) NO, IT’S NOT! JOANNA You idiot! ALEX (snapping) Oh, so why don’t you do it then? MAHIMA All of you, just calm down and stop freaking out.
JOANNA (tearful, emotional yelling) Why should we?! Now’s as good as time as any! LILLIAN IT REALLY ISN’T! ALEX (suddenly flat) No, Joanna, I think you were right in the first place. I give up. We’re going to die here. MAHIMA Like hell you will! I am not letting you two throw temper tantrums that blow me up along with my fucking outpost! PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER! [BEAT.] JOANNA I… I’m sorry. ALEX Me too. MAHIMA No time for sorry. I’m trying to get this door open, just—listen to Lillian. LILLIAN I like this plan. Okay. Joanna. Your turn to try to disconnect this. Reach in and [tech thing]. JOANNA The one on the left? Marked with a dot of red? LILLIAN That’s it.
JOANNA On it. [They reach in and do the tech thing, and the beeping and alarm stops. There is relatively slow beeping again. Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.] LILLIAN Alright, we’re not out of the woods yet, but the immediate danger is over. Captain, how’s the door coming? [There’s a scraping noise, then a bang. No door opening noise.] MAHIMA (breathing hard with effort) It’s not. I’ll keep trying, but I think you’re going to have to fix it. LILLIAN We can do that. Right, guys? JOANNA I… yeah. ALEX We can. LILLIAN Good. Alex, there’s a [tech thing] on my work bench. Give it to Joanna. [Rummaging noises. Then:] ALEX Got it. Here. JOANNA Thanks. What now? LILLIAN
This is the tricky part. You need reach in and [delicate tech thing]. JOANNA I don’t know if I can— LILLIAN You can. You can. Joanna, you’re incredibly smart and incredibly capable. You can do this. And you can’t just die here. You have experiments to do. (mimicking MAHIMA) You’re going to do this, Dr. Fenistil, or I’m going to make you do some menial task for a disproportionate amount of time. MAHIMA (indignant) Hey! [JOANNA and ALEX laugh.] JOANNA Okay. Reaching in now. Alex, I could use a second pair of eyes. ALEX I’m here, and I think you need to move further left, to [tech thing]. LILLIAN Yeah, it’s that one. See it? JOANNA Yes. I’ve got it. LILLIAN [Tech thing] it. [JOANNA does. There is the sound of something powering off, and the beeps stop. BEAT.] JOANNA
Did we do it? ALEX I… think so. Lillian? LILLIAN It’s done. You did it. JOANNA (delighted) Hell fucking yes! MAHIMA (relieved) Crew, I am so proud of you. Once I get you out of here, you can take a day off. LILLIAN Can I have one, too? MAHIMA Yes, but don’t even think about touching that project. LILLIAN Ohhhh, no. Never. No. I’m disassembling that for scrap. [They all laugh. On LILLIAN’s end, a door opens.] ANDREW Have we blown up yet? What did I miss? [They all laugh a little harder.] [FADE OUT AND FADE IN NEW SCENE. A knock on a door.] ALEX It’s open! [Door opens.]
JOANNA Hey. ALEX Oh, hi. What brings you to my office? JOANNA I… sorry I called you an idiot. It’s been eating at me since I did, and I’m really sorry. You’re not stupid. ALEX Oh, I know I’m not. It’s no big deal, really. Sorry for yelling at you instead of helping. JOANNA It’s okay. We were scared. [BEAT.] It didn’t just feel like fear, though. ALEX …You felt it too? JOANNA I think so. Like there was something in my head, making me want to scream and cry and fight, more than usual. ALEX Yeah. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed something like that down here. [BEAT.] JOANNA …Your psych reports are going to be interesting this month, I think. FADE OUT. END OF EPISODE 4.