ZOIDS ASTRAY ACT 006

 ACT 006: EXT. CAMPSITE – NIGHT

The team is gathered around the fire. The soft hum of insects in the grass, the warm flicker of the flames. Plates scraped clean; the mood is casual but subdued.

Danny is hunched over his laptop, eyes flicking back and forth between data screens.

DANNY (muttering, to himself)
Been reviewing the mission data… Houser Gats being there was a surprise and all.

NEKU
Don’t care.

PAIGE
Mission?

DANNY
Yeah, that’s why we’re out here—

NYSSA
Danny...

DANNY
Right, right. Gats aside—look at this thing.
(taps a few keys, brows raise)
What even is this?

NEKU
Don’t care.

DANNY
It looks like... I don’t even know. A Human Zoid, maybe?

He turns the screen around. A frozen frame of 8.0.8 fills the monitor — tall, looming, faceless. Paige goes rigid; the blood drains from her face.

Nyssa clocks Paige’s reaction immediately.

NYSSA
It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with us.

DANNY
Yeah, but look at this thing, just—

NYSSA
Danny. Drop it.
(beat)
You scanned the Zoids yet?

Danny sighs and closes the laptop with a click.

DANNY
Not yet. I’ll do it now.

He shoves the last of his rations into his mouth, wipes his hands on his pants, and stands up with a groan. Stretching, he walks off into the dark toward the Zoids.

Nyssa watches him go. Then shifts her gaze back to Paige—who has scooted a little closer to Neku, quiet and tense. Neku offers her a small smile, trying to ease her tension.

EXT. ZOID AREA – NIGHT

Danny moves between the Zoids, small handheld scanner buzzing softly.

DANNY
Alright… Darkhorn, clean. Aqua Fox—

The scanner emits a sharp ping.

DANNY
Oh boy. We got a spike.

NEKU (getting up)
Of course we do.

Neku approaches, a small maintenance kit in hand. Paige follows at her side, eyes wide and curious.

PAIGE
What kind of spike?

Danny kneels at the Aqua Fox’s rear leg. A faint green glow pulses just under the armour line, web-like tendrils inching outward.

DANNY
Virus.

PAIGE
The Virus?

DANNY
Yup. Glows green, spreads like roots. See those glowing nodes? If it reaches the core, it kills the Zoid… and then takes over. Turns the whole thing stone-grey. Cockpit glass too. Sometimes the Pilot can get trapped inside.

PAIGE
That’s horrible…

NEKU
Annoying.

DANNY
Luckily, if it’s caught early. You just scrape it off—then hit the area with a neutralizing spray. Stops any spores that might linger.

NEKU
Happens all the time. It’s irritating.

DANNY
Like having to clean mud out of your intake vents. Just a little more… apocalyptic.

Neku scrapes at the infection with a specialized tool, the glowing roots flickering and dying as she works.

PAIGE
So… it’s safe now?

DANNY
Yeah, at this point its practically harmless,

They do another check and then return to Nyssa and the fire.