This document is part of the Ocean Girl Archive — Last update: 2011-10-23 — source — meta
| Froggy: | What’s wrong with this thing? |
|---|---|
| Zoe: | What’s wrong with you? You’re in a shocker of a mood. |
| Froggy: | Leave me alone. |
| Kimberley: | Why can’t we come out on Sam’s boat? |
|---|---|
| Rocky: | Yeah, why not? |
| Joanne: | It’s not fair. |
| Kimberley: | It’s discrimination, that’s all. Old timers against us new kids. |
| Vanessa: | Mick’s on the crew, isn’t he? |
| Mick: | Hey, you can take my place any time. |
| Vanessa: | Look, his mum’s the boss. She says he goes, he goes. The crew stays the same, all right? |
| Zoe: | Okay. What’s the problem? |
|---|---|
| Froggy: | Nothing. |
| Zoe: | Have you been fiddling with HELEN again? Maybe you’ve done something you shouldn’t have? |
| Froggy: | I don’t know anything. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell. He’d murder me. |
| Zoe: | Who? |
| Sam: | I said I wanted those sample boxes lashed against the air tanks, all right? |
|---|
| Dianne: | I’d like to check out that canyon we spotted yesterday. Have you set the co-ordinates for today? |
|---|---|
| Winston: | Marked 9-4-7 slash 0-1-0. Yes, got it. |
| Dianne: | What we can get Neri to do is to dive deep – |
| Jason: | Ahem. |
| Dianne: | Ready to go? |
| Sam: | Yep. Same area as yesterday? |
| Dianne: | Yep. We’ll be picking up approximately from where we left off. Oh, by the way, have you managed to analyze those scans for us? |
| Sam: | Uh, look, I’ve just been so busy. |
| Dianne: | Doing what? |
| Sam: | Soon as I can, Dianne. |
| Dianne: | Like, tomorrow morning? |
| Sam: | Ahhh, all right, all right, slave-driver. |
| Jason: | You let him get away with anything. If we were goofing off, we’d be in big strife. |
| Dianne: | Jason, those charts aren’t even his job. He volunteered to help. Oh, come on, sweetie. I need you up on deck. Everything’s calibrated and ready to go. (Sigh) |
| Forsyth: | We’ll have to be extremely careful about making contact. Private frequency communicators are strictly forbidden here on ORCA. |
|---|---|
| Hellegren: | Use it only in the privacy of your own cabin, then. Any trouble getting on board? |
| Forsyth: | My credentials were accepted without question. |
| Hellegren: | And Liselle? |
| Forsyth: | She has been accepted as my niece and is rapidly making contact with the other children. |
| Hellegren: | Good. Keep me informed. The girl from the sea – she has to live somewhere. |
| Kellar: | On one of the islands. |
| Hellegren: | Possibly. Have them searched. Use all available personnel and equipment. |
| Kellar: | Yes, sir. |
| Hellegren: | Be thorough. I’m convinced if we find one girl, we will find them both. |
| Neri: | I must go work with mother and Charley. |
|---|---|
| Mera: | Sure. |
| Neri: | You’ll be all right this time? |
| Mera: | Yes. I want to look around some more. Maybe I can find us something for another feast. |
| Neri: | Good. |
| Dianne: | U-cam operating? |
|---|---|
| Winston: | Yes, yes. |
| Dianne: | Okay, Brett. Keep a look out. We don’t want the wrong people coming down when Neri arrives, okay? |
| Brett: | Yep. |
| Winston: | Here’s our young lady now. |
| Dianne: | Charley’s there, too. They’re chatting away like mad. Winston, we’re going to log some really good sound today. |
| Winston: | I think so. |
| Dianne: | Hydrograph on? |
| Winston: | Yes. |
| Dianne: | Okay, Jason, get down there and signal to Neri we’re ready to start. |
| Jason: | Okay. |
| Dianne: | Ah, Vanessa, I need you up on deck. I’m sorry. You’ve got to keep Mick from coming down here. |
| Vanessa: | Gee, I get all the fun jobs. |
| Dianne: | Okay, we all set? |
| Winston: | Everything is under control. |
(Birds chirping) (music) (approaching helicopter noise)
| Kellar: | You guys go along the beach to the opposite shore. Then quarter back toward the chopper. Any sign of habitation, raise me on the rt. You come upstream with me. Be thorough! |
|---|
| Forsyth: | Have you established yourself with the Bates children? |
|---|---|
| Liselle: | Not really. They tend to keep to themselves a lot. |
| Forsyth: | All the more reason to suspect they know something. |
| Liselle: | Mick seems – Mick seems interested in me. Commander Byrne’s son. |
| Forsyth: | Good, good. |
| Liselle: | Not really. They don’t like him either. I don’t blame them. He’s pretty revolting. |
| Forsyth: | What you think of him doesn’t matter. Liselle – remember what you’re doing here. Dr. Hellegren expects results. |
(music)
| UBRI: | Hey, lieutenant, we’re not going to find any girls out here. I mean, how are they going to survive in this stuff? |
|---|---|
| Kellar: | Shut up. Dr. Hellegren knows what he’s doing. |
(music)
| Mera: | Aah. |
|---|---|
| Kellar: | I heard something. Through there! There!! |
(music)
| Kellar: | No! I think… I think this way. |
|---|
(music)
| Kellar: | Scan. All personnel converge. Track east-west 200 metres south of the river. |
|---|---|
| UBRI: | Eta 2 minutes 30. |
| Kellar: | There’s someone here. I can feel it. |
| UBRI: | I haven’t heard any – |
| Kellar: | Ssssh! |
| UBRI: | Ah, just a wallaby. |
| Kellar: | False alarm. Return to the chopper. We’ll move on to the next island. |
| UBRI: | Roger. |
(Helicopter engine noise)
| Vanessa: | That is it! I’ve had it with Mick. |
|---|---|
| Brett: | What’d he do this time? |
| Vanessa: | I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too gross. He ought to be in a cage. |
| Dianne: | Vanessa, we can’t leave him above by himself. What if he found out about – |
| Vanessa: | Look, I don’t care. You can take me back to ORCA. You can put me ashore. I’m not spending another second with that revolting creep. Ooh! |
| Dianne: | Jason? |
| Jason: | No way, mum. No way. |
| Brett: | I’ll go. |
| Dianne: | Thank you. Vanessa, can you take over from Brett? |
| Winston: | Hey, look! Come here! It’s Mera! The pupil is learning fast. |
| Dianne: | What’s she doing here? |
| Mick: | Who says I can’t? |
|---|---|
| Brett: | Mum. |
| Mick: | Oh. And since when has she been head honcho? And how come it’s okay for the rest of you. |
| Brett: | It’s crowded below. Don’t get all paranoid about it. |
| Mick: | Don’t call me paranoid, you little nerd. |
| Sam: | Hey, Brett, give me a hand up forward, will you. Come on, pronto, big guy. Let’s go. |
| Brett: | Aye-aye, cap’n. |
(music)
| Vanessa: | I thought Mera was going to stay on the island all day. |
|---|---|
| Jason: | That’s what Neri said earlier. |
| Dianne: | I hope there’s no trouble. |
| Mick: | Hey, what’s that? What’d I just see? |
| Dianne: | Nothing. It was just some fish. |
| Vanessa: | Yeah, fish. |
(music)
| Mick: | It was two girls! |
|---|---|
| Vanessa: | You need glasses. Or your head read. |
| Brett: | No one else saw them. Did we? |
| Jason: | Nope. |
| Brett: | Nothing. |
| Jason: | Heh. |
| Sam: | Seeing mermaids now, Mick? |
| Mick: | Ha-ha! |
| Dianne: | Well, maybe you should give your imagination a rest for the night. You feel like a coffee? |
| Sam: | Love one. |
| Mick: | Okay, if it wasn’t girls, what was it? |
| Brett: | Seals? |
| Jason: | Dolphins? |
| Vanessa: | Dugongs, maybe. Why ask us? We didn’t see them. |
| Mick: | It was a couple of girls in these rough sort of clothes. No diving gear or anything. |
| Jason: | So they would have had to come up for air, right? |
| Brett: | Did you see any of them surface? |
| Mick: | No. |
| Vanessa: | What a nut case! |
| Mick: | Who says? |
| Jason: | Go around telling people stuff like that, that’s what they’ll think. |
| Brett: | Yeah. They’ll laugh something wicked. |
| Vanessa: | Rubber room time. Mick the mental. |
| Mick: | Get lost! |
| Sam: | That kid of yours is still pretty… Negative. |
|---|---|
| Dianne: | I’m sorry. I think he’s feeling a little bit threatened. |
| Sam: | Yeah, I figured that much out. |
| Dianne: | I mean, he seems to have accepted the divorce but – he was pretty close to his dad and, well, the idea of me – you know, being interested in – |
| Sam: | I’ve got to let him know somehow I’m not such a bad guy. |
| Dianne: | You got any ideas how? |
| Sam: | Well, I’ve gotta do some minor engine repairs on the boat so maybe I could take him out, you know, just the two of us, and – have a talk. |
| Dianne: | Sounds great. |
| Mera: | They didn’t find anything. I made sure of that. |
|---|---|
| Neri: | But is bad they come here. Mother must know. |
| Sam: | Hand me that, will you? The rag. Your mum deserves a life too, don’t you reckon? I mean, I know you probably miss your old man. But just because things didn’t work out between him and your mum – |
|---|---|
| Jason: | She’s got me and Brett and – |
| Sam: | And who? |
| Jason: | And her work and everything. We do okay, all right. |
| Sam: | Carrying on like this, you’re only making things tough for her. Why don’t you – why don’t you back off a bit and let her have a bit of happiness? Look, what it boils down to is what’s best for your mum. We’re on the same team here. |
| Jason: | We’re not on the same team. Not about mum. Not about anything. |
| Froggy: | Neri! Have you seen captain Phillips around? |
|---|---|
| Neri: | No. |
| Froggy: | Got time to talk? |
| Neri: | I am going to see mother. People have come to island. |
| Froggy: | Yeah, that’s bad. |
| Neri: | I have to hurry. |
| Froggy: | I’ll come with you. There’s something else she’s got to know. |
| Brett: | Titanium? |
|---|---|
| Froggy: | A huge reef. |
| Dianne: | Are you sure? |
| Froggy: | I accessed HELEN’s mineralogy file. The geological profile doesn’t fit anything else. |
| Dianne: | What are you doing? |
| Winston: | I’m just checking the adjacent readings. |
| Dianne: | No wonder he kept it a secret. I mean, that much titanium would be worth millions. |
| Brett: | Hey, we’re rich. |
| Dianne: | No, Brett. But anyone that did mine it would be. If it’s true. |
| Winston: | It’s true, all right. Look here. And over here. |
| Neri: | What is rich? |
| Brett: | Money. Big money. |
| Neri: | There is money under the sea? |
| Brett: | Oh well, for the people who dig it up, yeah. |
| Neri: | People will dig up the sea. Just like father warned. You say our work does no harm. You lie to me. |
| Dianne: | There will be no harm done, all right? As long as nobody else finds out. |
| Neri: | How can I believe you? How can I believe you now? The ocean will spoil. I have failed father. |
| Dianne: | Thank you, Sam. |
| Froggy: | He said he’d murder me if I breathed a word to anyone. |
| Dianne: | Well, don’t you worry. You did the right thing. |
| Brett: | But, I bet he was going to tell you, though. |
| Dianne: | You think so? I’m wondering who else he told. |
| Rocky: | Good one, Mick. |
|---|---|
| Vanessa: | Needs his eyes tested. |
| Mick: | Shut up. |
| Vanessa: | He’s been seeing things. |
| Mick: | I’m telling you. I saw something there. There was girls. Two of them. |
| Vanessa: | What’d they look like? |
| Mick: | I dunno. I only saw them for a second. |
| Vanessa: | You think! |
| Mick: | Cut it out. |
| Vanessa: | Well, cut out the stupid fantasies. |
| Mick: | You’re the one with the stupid fantasies. You think you’re so sharp, don’t you. |
| Vanessa: | Sharper than you. Least I don’t dream up things that aren’t really there. Your shot. |
| Mick: | In your face. |
| Zoe: | If you bug him, he will blab it around more. |
| Vanessa: | Sshh! |
| Liselle: | Hey, where are you going? |
|---|---|
| Mick: | No place special. |
| Liselle: | Mind if I come? |
| Mick: | Sure. |
| Liselle: | I’ve seen you looking at me. |
| Mick: | No law against that. |
| Liselle: | I didn’t say I minded. |
| Mick: | No? So, how’re you settling in? |
| Liselle: | Oh, it’s kind of weird. |
| Mick: | Yeah, tell me about it. Especially with those airhead kids. |
| Liselle: | You want to go up to the galley and hang out for a bit? |
| Mick: | Yeah, okay. |
| Liselle: | It’s just that I’d like the company. It’s boring not having any friends. |
| Mick: | I’ll be your friend. |
| Liselle: | That’d be nice. Vanessa was giving you a real hard time in there. |
| Mick: | Yeah. Dork. |
| Liselle: | What was it about? Something you saw on… |
| Mick: | Nothing. |
| Liselle: | Come on. You can tell me if we’re going to be friends. |
| Mick: | Yeah, okay. It’s just, I caught something on the monitor while we were out on the boat. There was these two girls swimming around in the deep water. No diving gear, no wet suits, no nothing. |
| Liselle: | Strange. |
| Dianne: | That’s why you were stalling on the scans, isn’t it. Because you knew there was a fortune down there. |
|---|---|
| Sam: | I was trying to work out – |
| Dianne: | Does everybody know what they do with titanium? They make bombs out of it. |
| Sam: | Oh, come on. Settle down, will ya? |
| Brett: | Okay. Explain. |
| Sam: | It was an accident me even seeing the reef in the first place. I was trying to help out, remember? |
| Dianne: | Go on. |
| Sam: | I had a bit of a look-see at the scans and there was this formation. I’d seen stuff like it before in the north sea but that was oil. This was different. I got Froggy to check it out and he said it was titanium. I was just waiting to see exactly how much was there – |
| Winston: | Before doing what? |
| Sam: | Talking to my people. The finders fee for this is huge. Enough for me to buy my own boat. |
| Dianne: | So you’re happy to let them mine titanium so you can eke out a pleasant little existence for yourself. Well, I’m not going to let that happen. |
| Sam: | Dianne, the illustrious commander Byrne is going to want to see the results of the survey. She’s not an idiot. And as soon as she does, she’ll be on the phone. For her, it’s another step up the corporate ladder. For me, it’s freedom. |
| Dianne: | We’re not going to tell Byrne. All right? We’re not going to tell anybody. Because we can’t risk it. |
| Sam: | Like what? |
| Dianne: | Everything. Everything that we’re here on ORCA for. The ecosystem, the environment, the ocean. |
| Jason: | They’ll be out here with drilling rigs. They’ll wreck the reef. |
| Brett: | Please, Sam. Don’t tell. |
| Sam: | Look, mate, it’s not the sort of thing I could keep secret even if I wanted to. |
| Dianne: | Who else have you told? |
| Sam: | Nobody. |
| Dianne: | Can you promise me one thing? |
| Sam: | What? |
| Dianne: | That you won’t tell anyone. At least not until I’ve had time to think about it. |
| Brett: | Please. |
(music)
| Forsyth: | He insists it was two girls. Liselle questioned the boy very carefully. But whether it’s true – |
|---|---|
| Hellegren: | It’s true. I am sure of it. Besides, they are finding nothing on the islands. But there is their boat. |
| Forsyth: | Yes. The Bates family go out on it almost every day. Some kind of research or so they claim. |
| Hellegren: | Or an excellent opportunity for a rendezvous. Now we will target that. |
| Forsyth: | It would be rather hard to monitor their boat without being seen. |
| Hellegren: | That is where you are wrong. Our research and development team have a new device for our vessel. |
| Forsyth: | Yeah? |
| Hellegren: | Similar in technology to the cloaking system on the old stealth bomber. It will allow us to track their every move. All we have to do is follow the boat. It will lead us directly to the girls. They’ll never know we are watching. They won’t even know we are there. |
| Mera: | (Laughing) |
|---|