Chapter Text
Scene 1
- Two International Space Station astronauts, YOKO KOMIKO (30s, Japanese) and MORRIS DUNCAN (30s, Scot from Glasgow) stand in an airlock, suited up for a spacewalk. Both confirm over radio to the crew’s Commander, JACK EDDY (40s, white American) that their tethers are ‘black-on-black.’
- Jack makes an off-color joke about how with the two of them, it’d be ‘white on Asian,’ wouldn’t it? Morris and Yoko are silent, grimacing at each other. Jack: “Sorry, forgot I was talking to millennials. Astronauts, you are cleared to proceed.”
- The airlock opens and they step out into the void.
- Yoko and Morris perform routine maintenance on the station. They drift above the blue expanse of Earth in the vast starry blackness of space, bantering about how Morris’s daughter needs braces. We see the hook on Morris’s tether slip out of its black-on-black (locked) position.
- Morris pauses and looks down at the aurora borealis flickering below. Comments on how beautiful the view is. Comments on how you’d never imagine how many fucked-up, evil things are happening down there right now. Yoko laughs in agreement.
- Morris kicks off of the ISS for leverage and his tether unhooks. He goes spinning off into space.
- Yoko immediately radios Jack, trying not to panic. Morris fumbles to deploy the joystick for his emergency jetpack. But when he tries to use it, he finds his fuel tank is empty.
- With no hope of rescue, Morris becomes tranquil. Before he loses radio contact, he asks Jack and Yoko to tell his family that “They’re all perfect. Every one of them.” A tear on Yoko’s face glints in the glare of the rising sun as she watches him drift away.
Scene 2
- Amy is telling her four-year-old son FERGUS a bedtime story about the time Mummy was on a submarine. It’s an entirely fictional, kid-friendly version, where she meets a friendly whale who shows her the way to sunken treasure. Fergus, tucked into bed, is enthralled, and whines when she says she’ll tell him the rest tomorrow. She kisses him and puts out the light.
- Amy crawls into bed with Kirsten. Both are exhausted from childrearing and work, which Kirsten is finally back to after taking a few years off following Fergus’s birth. She complains about every annoying thing she’d forgotten, from violent perps to the shite coffee, then grins at Amy and tells her, “God, I’ve missed it.” Amy kisses her, besotted. Kirsten expresses some insecurity about her post-pregnancy body: Amy proceeds to ravish her to prove her counterpoint.
- Just as Kirsten is trying for a second orgasm, Amy’s phone rings. Kirsten groans, “If it’s not the bairn it’s the damn phone.”
Scene 3
- Amy and her boss Colin sit in a conference room with the Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, tight-laced LILLIAN REDMOND (60s, English). She asks them if they’ve heard about the Glaswegian astronaut who was lost in space last week. She admits, reluctantly, that foul play is suspected. The worst scenario would be an act of sabotage by the Russians or another nation aboard the ISS: Duncan was working on an experiment that would further a NASA-led Mars mission.
- Amy bursts out laughing. Both Colin and Redmond look at her in horror. She apologizes profusely, but she knows exactly why Lillian is here and wonders why this keeps happening to her.
Scene 4
- Amy and Kirsten are folding laundry in Fergus’s room. Amy looks up at the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling.
- Kirsten asks how the meeting went. Amy says “Uneventful.” She’s a bad liar. Kirsten demands the truth.
- Amy starts by assuring Kirsten that she’s already given Collin an unequivocal “no.” Then she admits that she’s been asked to investigate a suspected homicide aboard the ISS. But of course, that’s preposterous. A submarine and a warzone are one thing, outer space is quite another. She has a family to support now, a young child at home. She’s flattered, but no thanks.
- Kirsten sits hard on the edge of the bed, starting to hyperventilate. Amy rushes to sit with her, rubbing her back, reassuring her that she isn’t going to go.
- “That’s just it,” Kirsten says. “You have to go.”
- Amy stares at her. Kirsten says that on both Vigil and in Wudyan, Amy was the only one keen and objective enough to uncover what was going on, the outsider that these huge, entrenched institutions needed to reveal their dark underbellies. That Amy has prevented wars and saved thousands of lives. That she’s come back in one piece so far.
- Kirsten grins at her. “Plus, some little part of you wants to, doesn’t it?” Amy sighs and smiles, holding her hands. Kirsten: “Aye. That’s why I love you.” Tears run down both their faces as they kiss, tenderly.
Scene 5
- Amy travels to Houston, TX, where she is to train for spaceflight at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
- On the plane, she flips through profiles on her tablet of each of the seven crew members currently aboard the ISS, including Morris. Then she emails them to Kirsten.
- At the airport, a kindly older Starbucks barista compliments her accent. Ah, America.
Scene 6
- Back at the precinct in Glasgow, Kirsten informs Colin that she’ll be working the case from the ground. This gives Colin pause: he very gently suggests that given how things went last time, it might be better for Kirsten, for Fergus, if she doesn’t get involved.
- Kirsten: “Oh, I see. Now I’m a mum, it’s my job to stay at home packing lunchboxes and worrying.” Colin: “That’s not what I’m saying, Longacre.” Kirsten: “Oh, it is.” But she and Amy are a team. It was Kirsten’s help that proved crucial to Amy’s success, and her survival, on Vigil and in Wudyan, in case he’s forgotten. So she’ll be hiring a nanny and rolling up her sleeves, end of discussion.
- Collin smiles, accepting it. “I’ve missed you, Longacre. It’s good for a man to be put in his place from time to time.”
- Kirsten is triumphant until Colin informs her that once again she’ll be forced to work with a government agent: this time, it’ll be MI6, as this is an international matter. Kirsten is annoyed to have another babysitter but supposes it all worked out alright last time.
Scene 7
- At Johnson, Amy is introduced to the gruff and grizzled JOYCE FREEMAN (50s, Black American), a veteran NASA astronaut who immediately makes it clear that she thinks civilians like Amy have no business risking their own and everybody else’s lives aboard a spacecraft. She also thinks it’s laughable that she’s only been given two weeks to train Amy.
- Amy, meanwhile, is frustrated by the delay, saying that in two weeks time, any bad actors up there will have cleaned up all of the evidence and possibly have killed again.
- Joyce is personally offended and confronts Amy. “I heard you were on a submarine once. Hah. A submarine gets to come up for air and supplies and emergency evacs. Out there, it’s just you, your team, whatever you brought with you, and 3 millimeters of titanium separating you from infinite cold uncaring oblivion. And no one is coming to rescue you if things go wrong.” Finger pointed into Amy’s chest. “So you’re gonna wake up at 4 am every day for the next two weeks and do exactly what I tell you every minute you’re conscious, and I’m gonna pretend I’m not sending a civilian to her death.”
Scene 8
- Kirsten meets her MI6 partner, ZARI FAROOQI (30s, Pakistani-British). Zari is rather more tiny and upbeat and pleasant than Kirsten is expecting from a highly trained government spy, with a Yorkshire accent to match.
- Zari pumps her hand: “I’ve heard loads about you and your wife. The power couple, eh? Inspiration to all us lezzies in uniform.” When she catches sight of Fergus’s picture on Kirsten’s lockscreen, she coos over his cuteness. Kirsten is skeptical but can’t help being a little charmed.
- Kirsten tosses Zari a file containing a detailed dossier on each current ISS crew member. Zari excitedly suggests pinning them all up on a corkboard. “I’ve always wanted to do a corkboard!” Kirsten says if Zari can track one down, she can have at it. To her surprise, Zari gets right on it like her life depends on it.
Scene 9
- TRAINING MONTAGE BABY!
- Joyce puts Amy through her paces, training her to navigate and live inside of a simulated ISS, to withstand weightlessness and g-forces, drilling her late into the night on emergency procedures.
Scene 10
- Zari and Kirsten conduct their first interview. The subject is Morris’s colleague, DAVID TURNER (40s, English), who has agreed to tell them about the research Morris was conducting on the ISS.
- Turner is a bit of a condescending prig as he explains that Morris was working on multiple experiments at once, as ISS astronauts usually do. The big one, though, was on IV fluid. He rolls his eyes unnecessarily at Zari and Kirsten’s confused looks.
- IV fluid is a crucial area of work for a future Mars mission. It’s a way to administer nutrients/medicine to astronauts while massively cutting down on cargo. Morris’s research was on synthesizing and administering IV fluid in space.
- “That’s why the Russians killed him,” Turner says. “International cooperation my arse. It’s the Space Race all over again.”
- Kirsten asks Turner to tell her about Morris’s other research. Turner looks at her like she’s stupid. Kirsten smiles. “Just dotting my Ts and crossing my Is, Dr. Turner.”
- Turner sighs. Offhandedly, he lists out Morris’s other ISS research: botany, cell cultures, nanofluidics. Zari: “Ooh, what’s all that then?” Kirsten gives her a look. Zari: “Sorry, it just sounds so Star Trek.”
- Turner says the field is much too complex to easily explain to laypeople--”no offense”. Kirsten: “Try me.” Turner sighs again.
- Nanofluidics are essentially fluids made of very small particles which behave in unique ways. They may well revolutionize the way medicine is administered.
- Kirsten: “Well, I understood that. What about you, Zari?” Zari agrees cheerfully.
- Turner’s voice trembles. “Look, I already told you, it was the IV research. That’s what Morris died for. Bloody IV fluid.” Zari says, softly, “He was your mate, wasn’t he?” Turner takes off his glasses and cleans them on his shirt. “My best mate.”
Scene 11
- TRAINING MONTAGE 2!!
- Amy is getting the hang of this astronaut stuff. As the days go on and Joyce sees Amy’s determination, stamina, and intelligence on display, she gains a grudging respect for her trainee. She even gives her a handshake when Amy completes an emergency drill perfectly. Amy’s as ready as she’ll ever be.
Scene 12
- Kirsten and Zari have spent the past couple of weeks building up their corkboard, which is now quite impressive, even featuring some thumbtacks and string. They stand back to look over their work. Kirsten asks Zari to run her through the crew again. Zari eagerly obliges:
- “Morris Duncan. RIP. 36-year-old Glaswegian and the first Scot aboard the ISS. Father of two, poor things. Research included IV fluid for Mars and nanoflu-- nanofluodic-- fancy medicine goo. A decent footballer, according to his university transcripts.”
- “Jack Eddy, ISS Commander. Older white bloke from New York. This is his third go on the ISS, but his first go as Commander. Everyone he’s worked with says he’s Mr. Nice Guy, except for all the women and people of color, who say he’s Mr. Microaggression.”
- “Yoko Komiko from Tokyo. Ooh, that almost rhymes. She was on the spacewalk with Morris when he was lost, and they also collaborated really closely on some experiments, apparently. Mad about botany.”
- “Ogrifina Novikova, our first Russian. Physicist. Looks pissed off in every single picture ever taken of her. There was a controversy a couple of years ago when a witness alleged they saw her kissing another woman in Moscow--big no-no for the Ruskies--but the government declared it a hoax by dissidents.”
- “Borislav Solovev, Russian number 2. Needs to trim his ear hair. Big prodigy in the astronomy world, discovered some new type of nebula or something as a kid. But hasn’t done much since.”
- “Chester Franken. White bloke from Omaha, which is in Kentucky or Oregon or one of those miscellaneous states. Robotics and material sciences. Super boring, honestly, couldn’t find anything juicy about him online.”
- “Carmen Bienvenida, Mexican-American. Youngest member of the crew. Does most of their Instagram and TikTok posts and has quite a following. Climate change researcher. Has three pet rabbits waiting for her back home.”
- Kirsten: “I just meant their names, Zari.” Zari: “Oh. Well, still, you have to be impressed I had that all memorized.” Kirsten: “Impressed is one word for it.”
Scene 13
- Amy travels to the StarShoot facility in rural TX. StarShoot is a commercial spacecraft manufacturer and pet project of boy billionaire TERRY CANTRELL. The StarShoot shuttle, the Comet, will be her ride to the ISS. Joyce accompanies her to see her off.
- Amy meets with and shakes hands with Cantrell, who is an annoyingly bro-y Silicon Valley dude. Joyce glares at him as he brags about StarShoot’s accomplishments, as well as their plans for a private mission to Mars. Joyce mutters under her breath, “So you can put up some nice little condos on Olympus Mons.”
- Joyce and Amy retire for lunch and Amy’s last day on Earth. Joyce complains about having to use some silver spoon’s toy rocket ship for this sort of thing, curses the decommissioning of NASA’s space shuttle.
- Amy thanks Joyce for all of her help. Joyce is gruff about it as usual: “That’s what they pay me for.” Then she gives Amy a look. “You know, just for the record, it’s gonna be the Russians,” she comments. “It’s always the Russians.” Amy raises her eyebrows: “We’ll see.”
Scene 14
- Amy gets on a last Zoom call with Kirsten, Fergus, and Poppy, who’s currently at university.
- Fergus is nothing but excited about Amy’s latest adventure: Kirsten holds up a drawing he’s done at kindergarten entitled “Mummy on a Rocket.” Amy laughs, praising it and hiding the fact that she’s tearing up.
- Poppy, meanwhile, is strangely quiet, even when Amy asks her about her studies. Amy and Kirsten both notice, and Kirsten sends Fergus away to play. Amy asks Poppy what’s wrong. Poppy says, choking up, “Mum, I love you, but I can’t believe you’re doing this to us again.” She drops off of the call.
- Amy and Kirsten stare at each other in chagrined silence. Then Amy wonder if Poppy will ever forgive her for this. Kirsten reassures Amy that Poppy will be OK, she just needs time.
- “Listen love,” Kirsten says, “I’ve got to go. It’s just about dinner time here and I promised Fergus dino nuggies.” Tears start to openly roll down Amy’s face. She promises that she’ll call at every opportunity she gets. (Astronauts on the ISS can make calls at any time they’re near a satellite, but can’t receive them.) Kirsten says she’s tracked out whenever the ISS will be passing overhead, plans to blow a kiss to it every time. Their voices break as they say their last terrestrial "I love you"s.
Scene 15
- Launch day. Getting into her spacesuit, Amy flashes back to the Vigil, being trapped in her diving suit inside the missile tube. She shuts her eyes and tries to calm her breathing, which echoes loudly inside of her helmet.
- Amy and the flight crew are driven in a buggy to the Comet, towering high above them in its service structure. The sun beats down on the launchpad as they prepare to board. Amy is hot and having trouble breathing, starting to panic a little but stubbornly refusing to let it show, answering “Fine” when asked if she’s OK.
- Amy and the crew are just getting out of the buggy when an emergency call goes out. The launch is aborted. Amy rips off her helmet with no small relief.
Scene 16
- Cantrell, Amy, and Joyce gather in a conference room for a Zoom with both Lillian Redmond and Colin. Joyce demands to know what’s going on.
- Ashen-faced, Redmond informs them that Chester Franken, ISS astronaut, has gone missing. Joyce: "Missing? What the hell do you mean, missing?" Redmond snaps: "Ms. Freeman, I mean to say that he is missing. His crewmates can't find him anywhere aboard. He is presumed lost in space." A spacesuit and tether are gone as well.
- Silence. Amy speaks up, finally: "The ISS is meant to have a crew of seven at all times, isn't it? Who's being sent up to replace him?"
- Joyce speaks up again. "I'll go." Amy stares at her surprised. Joyce gives her a small grin. "Might as well see to it you don't screw anything up myself."
Scene 17
- Launch day do-over. Amy is driven out to the rocket once again, Joyce at her side this time.
- Amy is freaking out a little again. Joyce notices. "Hey. Listen. You know what you're gonna be, once we get up there? You're gonna be an astronaut. Officially. You get to tell your kid that."
- The words calm Amy, focus her resolve. She smiles gratefully at Joyce, who rolls her eyes but smiles to herself as well.
Scene 18
- Amy, Joyce, and the flight crew are strapped into the Comet. Amy shuts her eyes as the countdown begins. Flashes of her past adventures go through her mind: Mark Prentice on Vigil, taking a knife for her. Sabiha Chapman in a holding cell in Wudyan, in tears. Then, finally, she lands on a softer image: Kirsten lying in bed beside her, smiling at her over Fergus's head, who is peacefully cuddled up between them.
- She opens her eyes. The world goes silent as the rocket lifts off and the G-forces crush her back into her seat. She manages a look over at Joyce, who is taking the enormous pressure with stalwart calm. Then she blacks out.