---
layout:          post
title:           "OTCW006 - Cold Command"
date:            2023-12-29 12:00:00 -0400
episode_type:      episode
categories:			"neon"
podcasts: ["neon"]
neon_category:   ["otcw"]
title_prefix:	"OTCW"
prev_categories: ["neon"]
prev_prefixes: ["OTCW"]
prev_episode:   ['005']
prev_episode_num:		['005']
prev_episode_title:		["A Shattered Visage"]
next_categories: ["neon"]
next_prefixes: ["OTCW"]
next_episode:   ['007']
next_episode_num:		['007']
next_episode_title:		["Fall Away"]
episode_title:   "Cold Command"
episode_number:  '006'
summary:         "The team make it to the command center, will they finally find the Commander?"
content_flags:   ["Isolation", "Existential Choices", "Corpses", "Discussions of: death, extinction", "SFX: beeps, ominous whistling, gunshots (space)"]
acast_url:       https://shows.acast.com/neon-inkwell/episodes/neon-inkwell-of-that-colossal-wreck-6
official:        true
wiki_url:        
---

##### [A stutter and screech of radio static]

##### [Peaceful, calm music starts playing, like the start of a public service announcement]

##### [A new computerized voice begins to speak clearly]

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Humanity. Evolution's finest creation. Since the arrival of the first *Homo sapiens* over a quarter of a billion years ago, the human race has ruled and shaped our home world and brought life and civilisation to dozens of others.

From those early pioneering attempts to settle on Mars, to the first successful colony on Europa, to our newest fully-terraformed planet Kepler, humanity's will to survive and explore has triumphed over the vastness of space.

And now we will triumph over time, with the Ozymandias Project, governments, corporations and philanthropists working together to create a vast space station, to protect our way of life -- forever.

##### [Music modulates to a more triumphant key]

Unlike a terraformed colony, the Ozymandias station will have no reliance on Earth or its outposts. Designed to function completely independently, the station will house 1.5 million artifically-grown bodies, kept in stasis and implanted with unique memory sets. Thanks to donors like you lending their skills and experiences, we can store all of the knowledge we need to repopulate the stars, should humanity fall. Imagine the memory of your hometown forming the blueprint for a new _(inn?),_ or your grandma's recipe nourishing a new civilisation. Thank you so much for contributing to the Ozymandias Project, the ultimate insurance of humanity's legacy.

##### [Music fades out]

##### [A few more seconds of static]

##### [It shuts off.]

------

##### [We start from a recap of the last few minutes of the previous episode:]

##### [Ominous, distant whistling]

##### [Suddenly the whistles are howling all around us. Flares fire and guns clink]

##### [Distant voices, coming closer]

#### MIRA

It's open, get inside!

#### ANYA

Drop the flares! *Go!*

##### [Footsteps, running]

##### [The noises start fading somewhat]

#### LUNA

Riley! The release, get it closed!

##### [A thunk]

##### [For a while, nothing but the sounds of everyone catching their breaths]

#### RILEY

_(breathing hard)_ Did anybody bring a torch?

##### [A click]

##### [Suddenly, the panting stops]

##### [A few shocked exhales]

#### RILEY

Never mind.

##### [Two bangs on the metal from outside]

#### LUNA

_(a panicked breath)_ *Shit.* Can they get through?

#### ANYA

Doubt it. They're not great with locked doors.

#### ZACK

Phew. That's a relief.

#### ANYA

No. They'll look for another way in.

##### [Another bang from outside]

#### MIRA

How likely is it they'll find one?

#### ANYA

Depends. Doesn't look like they've been in here before, so if there is one, it's probably well-hidden. But they've probably never had a reason to really *look* before.

#### LEVI

Well, in that case, we'd better --

##### [Beat]

Wait. That pod! Is that really --

#### MIRA

_(awed)_ The Commander!

#### LUNA

They're *real?*

_(remembers herself)_ I mean -- Sorry, Mira, I know you all have this "pull" to the Commander. I just didn't expect it to be so... literal. Like, there's literally *A Commander.*

##### [As they talk, we can still hear the distant noises of whistlers outside the door]

#### ANYA

Maybe. Maybe not.

#### MIRA

What?

#### ANYA

Well, it's a fancy pod. Says "Commander." But we don't know who's in there. Maybe no one.

#### LEVI

Let's find out then, shall we? _(inhales)_ Mira?

#### MIRA

Right.

##### [Footsteps, becoming faster as she walks over]

##### [She taps a screen two times]

##### [An immediate 'EHHHHHHH' error, as from when everyone first woke up]

##### [A few more taps]

#### MIRA

It's broken.

##### [Levi sighs]

#### MIRA

Same as the others. *Argh!*

##### [She kicks the pod]

#### LEVI

_(sighing)_ I guess we should've seen this coming.

#### ZACK

Maybe we can do something. To fix it, I mean.

#### RILEY

Didn't we set everything on fire last time we tried?

#### ZACK

Then let's be a bit more careful. We have time.

#### ANYA

Assuming the whistlers don't get in.

#### ZACK

*Yes,* okay, assuming that. -- But look at this *place!* There must be something we can do.

#### RILEY

We might actually be able to access the temperature controls from one of these command centers --

#### LUNA

But it would keep them away, right? You said they avoid the heat.

#### ANYA

Sure. Haven't found a temperature that kills them yet, though. Not one that wouldn't kill us too, anyway. So we'll probably have to keep that door closed for a while, to be safe.

##### [Beat]

Kind of safe.

#### LEVI

Riley. Why don't you and Anya see if you can take care of that, while Mira and Zack work on the Commander's pod? Er, Luna and I will look for any way the whistlers might get in, and see if we can barricade them somehow.

#### MIRA

Mmm. _(a little distant)_ It's -- better than no plan at all.

#### LEVI

_(smiling)_ Good.

##### [Footsteps as they disperse. we follow one group to the command center:]

##### [Machinery working]

##### [A button press]

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Please enter the command key.

#### RILEY

_(surprised)_ How did you do that?

#### ANYA

Just turned it on. Stuff still works, sometimes.

#### RILEY

Right. What's the command key?

#### ANYA

Ooh, don't know. Never been asked for one before.

#### RILEY

_(calling)_ Mira, can you have a look at this?

##### [A few taps on the screen]

#### MIRA

_(calling)_ On my way!

##### [We move over to where they are working on the pod. It is behaving like the far-future equivalent of a home printer.]

_(closer)_ Zack, are you going to be alright with this?

#### ZACK

I think so. I should be able to stop it catching fire again, at least.

#### MIRA

Please.

#### COMPUTER VOICE

_(distant)_ Please enter the command key.

##### [Mira walks off. We stay with Zack:]

#### ZACK

...Right. I think I've made it onto the medical override menu. So... if I can just figure out how to...

##### [A few soft beeps, a tone different from the taps]

##### [An 'EHHHHHHH' error noise]

Whoops! Okay. Er... I can just go back and then just, er --

##### [Soft beeps again. They aren't interrupted this time.]

*Yes!* Got it!

##### [The beeps stop. No error noise.]

Hey everyone, I think I've done it!

#### MIRA

What?

##### [Footsteps as people hurry over]

##### [Machinery starts to click within the pod]

#### LEVI

That's *great!*

#### ZACK

Yeah! It's initiated the wake-up procedure, so just give it a minute and...

##### [More soft beeps]

They'll be here. I guess. ...The Commander.

##### [A beat as machinery works]

#### ANYA

Huh! Never thought I'd see the day.

#### MIRA

I thought you said you didn't feel the pull anymore.

#### ANYA

I didn't! But it's right here. Hard not to feel *something.*

#### RILEY

Yeah. It's... _(sighs)_ It's a lot.

#### ANYA

Still, looks like it'll be a few minutes yet and we've still got work to do.

##### [Footsteps as they disperse. We follow to the temperature console:]

#### LUNA

Hey. I haven't found any vents or anything, but there's a smaller door round that corner we should check. Any luck with the console?

#### RILEY

Nope.

##### [They tap on the screen:]

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Please enter the command key.

#### RILEY

_(simultaneously, mocking:)_ "Please enter the command key."

#### LUNA

_(sympathetic)_ Yeah, that sounds frustrating.

#### RILEY

_(matter-of-fact)_ Yeah, it is.

#### LUNA

There is one other thing I found.

#### RILEY

What?

#### LUNA

Weapons.

#### ANYA

Wha-- *weapons?* _(excited)_ Where?

#### LUNA

All different kinds. At least some guns, and I think maybe some explosives? There's caches of them. _(cloth rustles as she points:)_ One in the floor over there, and another hidden in that wall. There's other stuff too: maintenance supplies and emergency rations, that sort of thing.

#### ANYA

Oh, that's *gooood.* We should stock up!

#### LUNA

But -- _(a troubled exhale)_ Why are there so many *here?* Who were they supposed to be firing at?

#### RILEY

We can figure that out later. After we make sure that the other door's properly blocked. Come on.

##### [We move back to the Commander's pod]

##### [More machinery noises are clicking inside it]

#### ZACK

Something's not right. There should be movement by now.

#### MIRA

Are you sure you activated it correctly?

#### ZACK

I'm pretty sure. ...Yes, I'm sure. It definitely responded. It's doing *something,* just not necessarily the right thing?

-- We need to get it open.

#### LEVI

Isn't that dangerous?

#### ZACK

If the person's still in stasis, sure. But not as dangerous as leaving them in there if it's just a faulty lid.

#### LEVI

I think Luna found some first aid stuff. I'll go grab it, just in case.

#### ZACK

Thanks.

##### [Footsteps as Levi hurries off]

Mira? Ready on three?

#### MIRA

Right. One, two, three.

##### [Cloth rustles as they pull at the pod]

##### [Several strained grunts; nothing happens]

##### [Footsteps as the others approach]

#### ANYA

What are we *doing?*

#### LEVI

Zack thinks the Commander might be waking up but stuck in there. We're trying to open it up. Give us a hand?

#### MIRA

Right. Everyone, lift on three. One, two... three!

##### [More straining as everyone pulls]

##### [Metal scrapes as the pod starts to open]

##### [Electric sparking; the pulling stops]

##### [Everyone starts to cough in the air of the newly-opened pod]

##### [Silence]

#### LEVI

What happened to them?

#### ZACK

_(blankly)_ Stasis failure.

##### [A pause]

#### MIRA

*Fuck!*

#### LUNA

I'm sorry, Mira.

##### [A rustle of fabric there]

#### RILEY

How long have they been -- like this?

#### ZACK

It's hard to say without knowing what went wrong with the pod systems. Maybe a decade? Maybe centuries. Possibly a millennium.

#### LUNA

They look so old.

#### ZACK

Everyone does at this stage of decomposition. They might have aged and died naturally without ever waking up.

Or... the life support systems might have cut out suddenly --

#### ANYA

You said the lid was stuck. Maybe someone else woke them up first! Maybe --

#### MIRA

_(cutting in, quietly)_ *Maybe*... we should just try to figure out what to do next.

##### [Beat.]

#### LUNA

We could bury them. Back on the farm?

#### MIRA

Why?

They would've hated the farm. It would represent a mission failure. This is where they belong to.

#### LEVI

We should leave them here. Let them stay at rest like they have been.

#### RILEY

We broke the pod.

#### ZACK

Mmm. We could fix it, maybe. Not well enough for stasis, but well enough for--... Well. A coffin.

#### LUNA

We've got tools. I think I saw a welding torch somewhere --

#### MIRA

Wait. The badge!

#### LEVI

You don't think you need the --

#### MIRA

_(speaking over him)_ Riley, that data port from the command console.

#### RILEY

No, I -- I think you're right. The command key!

#### MIRA

Maybe it's a physical key.

#### ANYA

Someone should take it, then.

##### [A long pause.]

#### MIRA

Right. I... _(quiet, unsure)_ I guess I'll, um...

##### [Someone shifts, cloth rustling]

##### [A noise of disgust -- from Luna]

##### [A tearing sound]

#### LUNA

Ugh.

##### [She hands it to Mira:]

Here.

#### MIRA

...Thanks.

##### [Footsteps as she departs]

##### [Riley takes a bracing breath]

#### RILEY

Levi, you saw them, right? The scratches on the inside of the lid? Do you think that --

#### LEVI

What I think is we're better off not pointing them out to Mira. She's got enough on her plate.

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Please enter the command key.

Welcome, Commander.

#### RILEY

*Yes!*

##### [Footsteps as the others hurry over to look]

#### ANYA

The whole station's on here! It's even bigger than I thought!

#### LEVI

We saw a layout a while back, but the scale wasn't clear. How big are we talking?

#### ANYA

Vast! At least 20 miles in each direction.

##### [Levi makes a shocked noise]

#### MIRA

Right now we need to focus on this room. See if we can get the temperature any higher?

#### ANYA

_(a little singsong)_ Aye-aye, Commander.

#### MIRA

Don't call me that. The Commander's dead.

------

##### [High, solemn music, interspersed with sounds of glass clinking on glass]

#### ZACK

Is it hot enough yet?

#### ANYA

Depends how much you want to keep the whistlers away.

#### ZACK

_(so-so)_ Eh. Pass us some more water, then.

#### MIRA

Careful with those. We don't want to run out.

##### [As she speaks, Zack tears off a water pack.]

#### LEVI

We've got loads in here. And we should be able to find more.

##### [Zack drinks the water.]

#### MIRA

You don't even know where we're going next.

#### LEVI

I mean, we've got floor plans for the whole station. We can probably even find other hydroponics bays, like the farm.

#### MIRA

Have you actually looked at the schematic, Levi?

##### [More whistlers howl in the distance]

#### LEVI

Not yet, I've been reading th--

#### MIRA

Well -- it's not good.

#### RILEY

About half the station's showing some sort of problem, and there's a whole section of it that should be there but just isn't giving any kind of status signals at all... _(sigh)_ We think it might be gone.

#### ANYA

Could it have been hit by something? An asteroid, maybe?

#### LUNA

Is *that* what's gone wrong here? With the station, I mean. However it was meant to work, it obviously wasn't... this.

#### LEVI

That's what I was saying. I've been reading... well, briefings, I suppose, for the command crew. Whoever built this station left instructions. Apparently, we -- everyone, I mean, all the people on the station -- were supposed to wake up when a signal stopped reaching us from Earth.

#### MIRA

Well... Are we still getting the signal?

#### LEVI

No. The last time the station picked it up was over six thousand years ago.

##### [Beat.]

#### ZACK

Maybe the receiver's been lost? It could've been in that missing section.

#### LEVI

It's possible. But the central computer's been sending its own signal to Earth, and... that's still going.

#### RILEY

So, it's more likely that there's just -- no one left to answer?

#### LEVI

Maybe they... just can't hear us, or maybe they can hear us, but can't get here. Or -- _(sighs)_ yeah. Maybe there isn't anyone. ...We don't know.

#### ANYA

That signal could be what's attracted the whistlers!

#### MIRA

You said there were instructions.

#### LEVI

Yes, but I don't think they're of much use to us.

#### MIRA

_(a rustle as she pushes past him)_ Let me see. _(a few taps on the screen)_ What are these? Contingency plans?

#### LEVI

Instructions for different scenarios.

#### MIRA

Computer: find instructions for an inoperable station.

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Sorry, file not found.

#### MIRA

Find instructions for minimal crew.

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Sorry, file not found.

#### LEVI

They don't call us "crew." You know what they call us? *All* the way through? We're not people, or citizens, or inhabitants... we're "units."

##### [Mira lets out a strangled breath]

#### MIRA

_(distasteful)_ Computer... Find instructions for -- _(falters)_ minimal units.

##### [Music starts playing, quiet and haunting]

#### COMPUTER VOICE

In the event that identified suitable habitat is insufficient to support full contingent, assign minimal units for termination according to the following schedule until sustainable population is reached.

Terminate units with designation DY and values below 50.

Terminate units with designation DX and values below 50.

Terminate units with designation CY and values below 55.

#### MIRA

_(forcing out the word)_ Stop!

#### COMPUTER VOICE

Terminate u--

##### [Mira hits something. A beep. The voice, and the music, stop.]

##### [Silence.]

##### [Luna inhales:]

#### LUNA

_(a little hoarse)_ What designations are we?

#### LEVI

Well, I'm a CY. Don't know what my "value" is, though.

#### ZACK

I'd rather not know.

#### LUNA

What were the other scenarios?

#### LEVI

I didn't look at all of them. Things like suppressing dissent on the station, what to do if we encountered "alien life sufficiently sentient to hold inviolable right to habitation"...

#### RILEY

Let me guess. It wasn't going to be "inviolable."

#### LEVI

Mmm.

#### LUNA

That's horrible.

#### ZACK

...Maybe it's for the best this place never worked.

#### ANYA

I guess that explains why there's so many weapons here. They're better than anything in the rest of the station, too -- we should take as many as we can. Now.

#### LUNA

I don't want to touch those things.

#### ANYA

We're being hunted by monsters.

#### LUNA

_(annoyed)_ I haven't forgotten!

#### RILEY

She does have a point, Luna.

#### MIRA

It would be good to have some extra defense against the whistlers.

#### ANYA

Oh, we can do better than *that.* Look here!

##### [Cloth rustles & footsteps as she walks over to the console]

Computer, show station schematic with current temperature.

##### [The computer beeps twice]

#### ANYA

See here? There's a sort of five-way junction. Not that far from the missing sectors. It's much colder than anywhere else on the station, and the status readings are all over the place.

#### MIRA

You think there's whistlers there?

#### ANYA

*I* think it's their *nest.* Where the queen lives.

#### LUNA

_(fascinated)_ They have a queen? Like bees?

#### ANYA

Yeah! Or ants. At least I'm pretty sure they do. I've never seen her, but -- it would make sense with what I've seen of the rest of their social structure.

#### LEVI

Well then. _(cloth rustles as he inhales)_ We'd better stay as far away from there as we can.

#### ANYA

What? *No!* I mean we should *go there.* We have decent weapons now -- explosives! If we could kill the queen and destroy the nest...

#### LUNA

_(horrified)_ You want to wipe them all out.

#### ANYA

Yes! Exactly.

#### LUNA

_(furious)_ Did you not just hear *any* of what's been going on? You're just like the people who built this place, thinking they get to decide who *counts.* What the *value* of a life is.

#### ANYA

That's not the same! Not even a bit the same. This isn't the whistlers' home, it's *ours.* And they're the ones killing us off. I'd expect you to see that more than anyone!

#### RILEY

She's right, Luna. We could actually make this place safe.

#### MIRA

Anya, how many whistlers do you think are in this nest?

#### ANYA

A h-- _(pauses)_ I've never seen it, so I can't say for sure... I reckon a few hundred.

##### [A long beat]

#### MIRA

It's too dangerous.

#### ANYA

Don't *any* of you understand what they do? They don't just sit in their nest waiting for prey to walk into it. They'll get all of us eventually. If we can't find a way to __hurt__ them __back.__

#### LEVI

We don't know that. There are places we can defend. We could go back to the farm.

#### MIRA

And what? Live out our lives like the people buried there?

#### LEVI

No, like the people who *lived* there. I was just suggesting an option. You're free to put forward your own idea.

#### MIRA

I'm thinking.

##### [Footsteps quietly departing in the background]

I just need some time to come up with a plan...

##### [Quiet, calm transitional music]

##### [We've followed Zack and Luna, who wandered off]

#### ZACK

You okay?

#### LUNA

Hm? Yeah, I'm fine.

##### [She considers for a second]

Actually, I don't really know how I am.

#### ZACK

Yeah. This is... _(he exhales)_ It's a lot to take in.

In a way, I suppose it's nice to have options. But none of them are really --

#### LUNA

It's not that. _(sighs)_ It's more...

You know it was hard for me, waking up. You all knew who you were immediately, but I had to have it *explained.* And it took a while to make peace with having memories that was sort of hand-me-downs. I still felt like a __person,__ though. And now. Knowing exactly how we've been -- *manufactured,* made to the specifications of someone else's *scenarios*...

##### [She sighs again]

#### ZACK

Yeah. But then, if you think about it... isn't everyone?

#### LUNA

Oh -- I know this must be just as hard for all of you, too --

#### ZACK

No, no --

#### LUNA

-- I didn't mean --

#### ZACK

-- I mean, isn't everyone made, even back on Earth? When people have a baby, they don't create a fully formed *person,* but they try their best to shape one. They probably have a life in mind for their child, even if it's just to be happy and loved.

Having expectations put on you doesn't make you inherently different to most people. And if it helps, I think the people who built this place would have hated how we turned out.

##### [He snorts a little at his own joke]

##### [Luna laughs, genuine:]

#### LUNA

Ahaha! Bet they would.

#### ZACK

I just mean that, maybe we're all the product of other people, but that doesn't mean that other people control who we are. I can remember teaching a lot of kids in loads of different places, and every single one of them surprised me. They all had people trying to mold them, and at some point, they all did something we hadn't accounted for. And whoever decided I should remember all that, didn't account for the five of us waking up __together.__ Or for Anya spending decades on her own.

#### LUNA

I guess not. I just really hate the thought of it. What we were meant to do... The more I see of it, the more I can't stand it. How could I be part of a society that would do -- all this, *let alone* resurrect it?

#### ZACK

_(softly)_ It's a hard thing to accept.

#### LUNA

When we were back in the farm, I collected seeds from all the different plants. I've still got them in my bag. I thought that maybe, someday? I could grow them somewhere new.

But now. I just wonder whether we ever found life on any of the worlds we terraformed. And __*I can't remember.*__ Because they didn't think I needed to *know.* They thought I needed the desire to take life from one place and grow it somewhere new, and that's exactly what I have. What I __am.__

And I hate it.

#### ZACK

And that's why it's not who you are. Because you have that hate in you. They'd never let you keep that if they had a choice.

All those contingencies, all those scenarios were because whatever they called us, they knew they were making *people.* And people are messy, and weird, and unpredictable... Maybe we remember some things they wanted us to and we have some skills they gave us, but *nobody* who lives thousands of years ago gets to decide who we are or what we do now we're here!

#### MIRA

_(voice coming from a distance away)_ I didn't say *that,* Levi! I said you *could* be a *little* bit patronising *sometimes.*

#### LUNA

Yeah. Thanks. You're right.

##### [The quiet music from before fades out]

##### [We move back to Mira and Levi, still arguing:]

#### MIRA

Yes, Levi, I know how dangerous it is. Every possible thing we do at this point is dangerous.

#### LEVI

That doesn't mean we can just disregard the risks!

#### MIRA

I'm not disregarding them--! _(sighs in frustration)_ I just think it's worth considering!

##### [Levi also sighs in frustration]

#### ANYA

So *my* plan's too dangerous, but you think getting inside a millennia-old metal box and flinging yourself into space is _(mockingly)_ "worth considering"?

#### MIRA

It's not a metal box. It's an escape shuttle.

#### RILEY

But it would be flinging ourselves into space.

##### [Approaching footsteps]

#### ZACK

What's going on?

#### MIRA

We found a shuttle bay on the station plans. Status updates say most of them are still functional.

#### ZACK

That's great!

#### ANYA

Is it? What's out there!? We're a lightyear away from the nearest star system, and the star charts are all fried, so we have no idea which one it is.

#### ZACK

So it could be Earth, or Lagadha, or anywhere.

#### LUNA

Or it could be nothing but rocks and gas.

#### ZACK

Do the shuttles have light speed?

#### LEVI

We don't know yet.

#### ANYA

*How* are you even thinking about this!? We're already somewhere we know we can survive. And now we have a way to take care of the whistlers!

#### MIRA

And by "take care" of them, you mean *feed* ourselves to them.

#### ANYA

Oh, this is ridiculous.

#### LEVI

Anya's got a point. Like, we know we can survive here. We can even focus on something other than survival.

#### MIRA

We're not going back to the farm, Levi.

#### LEVI

Mira, you can't make that call for everyone.

##### [Departing footsteps in the background]

You're not in charge just because you're holding the Commander's badge.

##### [We move a distance away from the others, to the two people who wandered off:]

#### ANYA

Riley, I know *you* understand. We need to destroy that nest if we want to survive here.

#### RILEY

_(sighs, troubled)_ I don't know. I mean, you know whistlers better than anyone...

#### ANYA

And I say this needs to happen! One swift blow and it's all over!

#### RILEY

How can we make them understand that, though?

#### ANYA

They never will. They're so obsessed with what the weapons were *supposed* to do, they can't see what they *could* do for us now!

#### RILEY

So... _(sighs again)_ What do we do?

#### ANYA

We do what they need us to do. What they can't do themselves!

#### RILEY

No, I can't just *leave* them. What if something happ--

#### ANYA

Look at them, Riley. _(lower)_ They're *scared.* They can't bring themselves to do what needs to be done!

#### RILEY

I -- _(sighs)_ I don't know -- I'm scared too.

#### ANYA

Then face those fears. You're the only one I trust to have my back.

##### [We cut back to:]

#### LEVI

I don't see anything *wrong* with that! There's beauty in what you think of as a small life, Mira.

#### MIRA

I'm sure there is. But we won't get to have one no matter *what* we do! And I don't want to be just another skeleton or mummified corpse to be found by the next unlucky souls who wake up there.

#### ZACK

Is this still about the farm?

#### LEVI

No!

#### MIRA

_(simultaneously)_ Yes!

#### LUNA

Look, I loved the farm, but I don't think I could live my whole life there.

#### LEVI

We could live --

#### MIRA

Wait. Where's Riley? And Anya?

#### ZACK

I don't know. I saw them talking a minute ago.

#### MIRA

_(to herself)_ *Shit.* _(louder)_ Is that so much to ask, that people stop just sneaking off?

##### [She sighs angrily]

Come on. Before Riley gets themselves eaten.