The vehicles enter en masse.
INT. CECIL'S OFFICE - DAY
General Hayes tosses a search warrant on Cecil's desk.
COLONEL BRODEN stands behind him.
HAYES
We have evidence that you are in
possession of foreign technology that
endangers the national security of this
country. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act of
2015, we are authorized to-
CECIL
I'm aware of the law, General.
HAYES
That probe you launched last month was
quite impressive. Tell me, Mr. Millikan,
how is it that you suddenly discovered a
means of propulsion that accelerates a
spacecraft to near light speed?
CECIL
Spacecraft are my business, General.
HAYES
Where is Jeremy Ash? His wife? His
brother?
CECIL
Let's see. Jeremy is on Mars, his wife is
on the moon, and his brother is on my
Receiving Platform in orbit.
HAYES
How convenient. The Ash household is
being searched as we speak.
CECIL
This matters to me because...?
HAYES
You test my patience, sir. We're going to
find this data crystal one way or
another, and then try you for treason.
CECIL
Treason? You're way out of line, General.
HAYES
We'll see about that. Search the office.
BRODEN
Yes sir.
The General exits. Broden begins searching Cecil's desk.
INT. HELLAS LANDING SHELL - MARS ORBIT
The crew enters the landing shell.
Bix seals the hatch.
The sound of the straining habitat wheel is subdued.
BIX
Disengaging landing shell.
Bix pulls down a lever.
EXT. HELLAS SPACECRAFT - MARS ORBIT
EXPLOSIVE BOLTS FIRE.
The landing shell disengages from the main spacecraft.
INSIDE LANDING SHELL
Rosegarden is visibly relieved. Pure silence ensues. The strained rotation of the habitat wheel is visible through a portal. No one dares speak. They bask in the silence as the landing shell inches away from the main spacecraft.
INT. THE OVAL OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY
PRESIDENT SILVERSPOON is on a videophone.
He is speaking to BI ZHEN HAN, the Chairman of the People's Republic of China.
BI ZHEN HAN
I thought we had an agreement.
PRESIDENT SILVERSPOON
I'm telling you, we didn't find the data
crystal.
BI ZHEN HAN
Do not lie to me, Mr. President. We know
that you conducted a military operation
at Microcore headquarters. You must have
found this data crystal, or at least
determined the technology that was used
to launch this most unusual spacecraft.
PRESIDENT SILVERSPOON
We found no such crystal. Nor did we find
