Your Big Break

EXT. SPACE - DAY
Space.
“Day 84 Mission Genesis”
PETE (V.O.)
Joiner hydraulics.
JEFF (V.O.)
(through headset)
Check. All systems are go.
A small dot among a thousand stars gets bigger.
PETE (V.O.)
Let's bring some life to this world, Bro. Engage on one. Five,...
It is now apparent that the dot is in fact a white planet. Itcontinues to get larger as we get closer.
PETE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
... four, three ...
The detail of the planet's face becomes clearer. An icy,cracked, desolate surface.
PETE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
... two ... The icy planet fills the screen.
PETE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
One.
A network of giant mirrors, dwarfed by the size of the planet, start to turn. flares of light. The mirrors focus the sun's light on the planet.
More cracks begin to appear in the ice. The ice breaks and begins to melt. A violent display; steam bursts, the surface writhes. The ice melts exposing small, black land masses surrounded by a massive ocean.
INT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
“Day 2376 Mission Genesis”
A small messy space. Computer terminals, screens and buttons to one side and sleeping quarters on the other. Pete and Jeff, both in their early thirties, put on space suits.
JEFF
Nice sticker.
Pete has a flame sticker on his helmet.
PETE
Thanks, Bro.
They seal their helmets head, butt each other, and open the hatch to the air lock.
EXT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
A small, rectangular building fills the screen; its surface featureless except for a hatch door. Beside the door an air gauge reads: UNBREATHABLE (somewhere in between 'instant death' and 'breathable').
The hatch opens. The two men emerge from the building. Pete holds what looks like a tool kit. Jeff caries a jumbo sized drill.
They walk into a dark, alien landscape; Mud boils, geysers spew steaming liquid and visibility is severely reduced due to the gas that fills the air.
EXT. PLANET GENESIS - DAY
Pete kneels by a pool of boiling mud. He uses an eyedropper to drip a few drops of liquid into the boiling pool. He takes out another eyedropper, dripping it onto the ground.
In the background Jeff drills into the hard ground. Gas explodes out of the hole, knocking him onto his back. The gas spurts high into the sky
INT. TERRAFORM STATION - EVENING
“Day 2722 Mission Genesis”
Pete and Jeff play cards. Pete looks bored.
JEFF
Snap.
Jeff slams his hand on the pile of cards, he looks at Pete disappointed there was no competition.
PETE
Do you know any other games?
EXT. PLANET GENISIS - MORNING
At the very spot that Pete dripped the liquid on the ground a strand of moss pushes its way out of the earth and stretches towards the sun.
INT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
“Day 5980 Mission Genesis.”
Pete and Jeff put on their helmets. They are now in their mid forties. They leave into the air lock.
EXT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
Pete and Jeff exit the station, its surface now tangled with vines. The ground is covered in vegetation. The boiling mud has subsided and the gas in the air is much thinner revealing forbidding mountains and a calm lake in the hazy distance. Pete and Jeff walk through the changed landscape.
EXT. LAKE - DAY
Pete kneels at the water's edge. He uproots some sort of reed protruding from the water. He puts it in a specimen jar.
His attention is drawn to a ripple in the dark water. Another ripple. Then a salamander emerges from the water. Pete stumbles backwards. He readies himself and pounce on the salamander. Its slimy skin slips through Pete's cumbersome spacesuit fingers and it escapes to the safety of the water.
INT. TERRAFORM STATION - EVENING
Pete lies on his bunk. Jeff plays solitaire.
PETE
A salamander.
JEFF
A salamander?
PETE
Yeah a salamander.
EXT. PLANET GENESIS - DAY
“Day 6468 Mission Genesis”
The salamander leaves the water and disappears into some tall grass.
INT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
A quick succession of shots which increase in speed as the days tick over: Pete and Jeff occupy themselves. Scientific tests, inane games and conversations, exercise, meditation, sleeping.
EXT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
“Day 7203 Mission Genesis”
The vines have now flowered, bringing colour to the grey surface of the station.
A lizard scurries out of the same grass the salamander disappeared into.
EXT. TERRAFORM STATION - DAY
“Day 8537 Mission Genesis”
Pete is out with his specimen jar. A kiwi looks up at him from that same patch of grass.
EXT. PLANET GENESIS - EVENING
Pete and Jeff walk into the spectacular landscape. The sky is bright blue, the air looks crisp, the water inviting. The mountains like glorious paintings.
Pete and Jeff are now in their twilight years. Jeff needs a walking frame.
The gauge beside the station hatch starts to beep, it reads 'BREATHABLE'. The men look at each other. They both reach for their helmets, break the seal, take them off and take a deep breath.
JEFF
Its just like home, Bro.
We leave Pete and Jeff, flying past snow capped mountains, raging rivers, rolling hills and forests. We fly up into the air. As we do so we realize that the land mass that Pete and Jeff are on is shaped just like the north island of New Zealand. And sure enough there is an island that looks just like the south. We continue to pull out. A planet of water with one small land mass that looks very much like New Zealand.