John Burhop - Rise of The Kek Screenplay

RISE OF THE KEK SCREENPLAY

by

John Joseph Burhop

SMASHWORDS EDITION

****

PUBLISHED BY:

John Joseph Burhop on Smashwords

Rise of The Kek

Copyright 2010 by John Joseph Burhop

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FADE IN:

INT. SCOUTSHIP - EARTH ORBIT

A small-framed humanoid sits in the spacecraft's tiny cockpit. He has four equidistant arms and four equidistant legs. An opposable thumb centers each of his nine-fingered hands. He is a CIDEBAN named PIREN.

A screen on the console displays STOCK FOOTAGE of human scientists splitting the first atom. A chronometer below it reads "1932"

A red light begins flashing, BEEPING. Piren activates a voice recorder.

PIREN

Cideban Scoutship Sol Three reporting.

Auto Return has activated. Earth year

1932. The humans have split their first

atom. First contact may be possible

sooner than we thought.

EXT. EARTH ORBIT

The scoutship rotates away from Earth, then darts off at incredible speed.

INT. SCOUTSHIP

The screen's image freezes in frame as the chronometer rapidly advances to "1975"

EXT. OUTER SPACE

PAN DOWN - CONTINUOUS

A speckled yellow moon rises into view. Communication and observation equipment protrude from its upper half.

Sport climbers are visible on its lower edge. Their clothing ranges from spacesuits to coveralls as we descend.

EXT. PLANET CIDEBA - DAY

We arrive at the moon's base, grounded on an ocean covered planet.

A storm cloud flickers in the distance.

ZOOM IN on storm cloud.

Four columns of fire BURST through its underside: Braking thrusters.

They illuminate a large spacecraft descending. Eight massive ribs surround its huge octagonal shell from bottom to top.

Lowering.

GROWING LOUDER.

Slowing.

The braking thrusters incinerate the landscape below.

The spacecraft touches down. It is a KEK SHIP.

Large spider-like aliens come swarming out of the ship in waves. They are eight feet in length with large, serrated mandibles and razor sharp claws. They are KEK.

ZOOM IN on a single Kek. It dips down with a slow, steady hunch.

It HISSES loudly before tackling and killing a fleeing Cideban.

The Kek flings the Cideban off to the side.

Two other Kek scurry over.

They perform a creepy dance above the body before devouring it violently.

The Kek ship begins MOANING, CREAKING.

Its ribs tear away from the top. They extend upward and outward in eight opposite directions. They arc over and come down hard into the scorched terrain.

The ribs become legs that hoist the central shell into the air.

The ship has transformed into a mobile mechanoid.

It lumbers clumsily toward a well protected facility.

A lame leg drags across the ground, carving a long scar through the facility's perimeter forest. The mechanoid advances unimpeded, snapping trees like twigs.

EXT. ABOVE PLANET CIDEBA

Piren's scoutship barrels into the system. It rapidly decelerates.

A barely visible beam pulls it down toward the planet's surface.

INT. HANGAR FIVE - PLANET CIDEBA - DAY

The beam is emanating from a small spacecraft docking port.

The scoutship is guided smoothly into it.

Piren looks around confusedly. He activates an intercom.

PIREN

Hello?

A SLIGHT TREMOR vibrates the docking port's support. Piren is startled by it. He grows visibly impatient.

A uniformed Cideban comes running into the hangar, waving all four arms above his head. He is GEDDEN.

GEDDEN

I'm coming, I'm coming.

Gedden rams a power cable into the side of the scoutship. He releases a pressure seal, then pushes up the canopy.

GEDDEN (CONT’D)

Welcome home, Commander Piren. I'm

Administrator Gedden.

PIREN

Protocol requires the presence of at

least two docking engineers for all

arriving scoutships.

(unbuckling from the seat)

What if the docking program-

GEDDEN

I'm sorry, sir. You were supposed to dock

in Hangar Six. Uh, we've got a slight

emergency on our hands.

PIREN

What kind of emergency?

Gedden waves Piren over to a computer terminal near the hangar's entrance.

Piren climbs out of the cockpit while Gedden codes in.

A contour map of the planet's surface displays. More than a hundred red pixels flash over its full range. INTRUDER ALERT displays prominently across the screen.

GEDDEN

The Kek captured one of our scoutships

and were able to reverse engineer its

NEUTRINO DRIVE.

PIREN

(referring to the red pixels)

Those are all Kek ships?

GEDDEN

I'm afraid so. We received an emergency

transmission from the pilot just before

he was captured. It revealed that the Kek

have been spinning out spacecraft at an

alarming rate.

PIREN

How did they breach the orbital defense

net?

GEDDEN

They caught us completely off guard.

Their ships' energy signatures matched

those of early model scoutships. We have

older ships coming in all the time.

A MORE POWERFUL TREMOR rattles the hangar.

PIREN

Is that the Kek?

GEDDEN

Must be.

Piren scowls at Gedden.

Gedden Pulls Piren out the door.

EXT. LAUNCH FACILITY - PLANET CIDEBA - DAY

The Kek mechanoid approaches from just outside the facility's perimeter.

Piren is struggling to match Gedden's stride as they run toward a nearby hangar.

PIREN

Where are we going?

GEDDEN

There's a Neutrino Drive in Hangar Six

that needs to be evacuated.

INT. HANGAR SIX - PLANET CIDEBA - DAY

They scramble into the hangar.

Gedden enters a code on a wall safe. He pops it open.

He retrieves a rectangular block of metal approximately one foot long. A small circular hole runs through its length. It is a Neutrino Drive Engine.

Gedden thrusts the engine into a carry bag.

Piren snatches the bag from him.

They scoot out the door.

EXT. LAUNCH FACILITY - DAY

They race back toward Hangar Five.

The mechanoid is now inside the facility's perimeter.

Its lame leg drags across the ground, launching huge chunks of rock and soil into the air with distant, slow motion arcs.

Fodder rains on several nearby hangars.

Another leg IMPACTS the ground.

Piren nearly falls.

INT. HANGAR FIVE - DAY

Gedden and Piren enter the hangar.

Piren climbs into his scoutship. He nestles the carry bag behind the pilot's seat.

PIREN

(buckling in)

What are you going to do?

GEDDEN

Don't worry about me. Just resume your

mission to Earth. That satisfies the

evacuation order. Warning beacons were

sent to all Class Three worlds. That

means Earth has already been warned.

Gedden yanks out the power cable. Pulls down the canopy. Seals it. Waves Piren out.

A Kek emerges from a dark corner of the hangar and engulfs Gedden.

Another Kek quickly cocoons itself to the scoutship without Piren's knowledge.

EXT. ABOVE LAUNCH FACILITY - DAY

Piren's ship ascends.

Three Kek mechanoids are visible in the surrounding terrain.

EXT. CIDEBA ORBIT

Laser pulses BURST from the defense satellites.

Piren's ship rises between them, then accelerates out into space.