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The Tantalum Connection Chapter Six (Taken from the Tantalum Connection - 1987 NHP Tapes. 1st NHP of 1987) Original draft dated 23rd January
1987. Story - Jonathan Hicks. Script - Mark Newbold Interior cockpit - Spaceship: Man #1 - Planet
fall in three minutes. Man #2 - You’re
sure it’s down there? Man #1 - Absolutely. It’s in
the grave marked `Bacca’. Man #2 - Bacca,
right. What did the envelope look
like? Green? Man #1 - White. Man #2 - Just
white? No writing? Man #1 - Just the
word `Will’. Man #2 - Are the
crew ready? Man #1 - All
except Prarn. He’s being unwrapped
now. Man #2 - Okay,
I’ll take the ship from here. Interior - Graveyards Office: Priest - Gentle
beings, if you would be so kind as to leave your weapons at the desk. Jan L - What for? Priest - We don’t
want any unpleasant shootings. Jan L - Who’re we
gonna shoot? Everyone’s dead. (Unhooks Blaster belt) Priest - Just
leave the guns - there are smugglers buried here, and with them many
mysteries. We don’t like surprises. Jan L - Yeah. I bet those stiffs play havoc with the air
conditioning. Priest - (Turning attention to Goah) Which grave have you come to view sir? Goah - A
gentleman called Bacca. Jan L - I just
wish you’d hurry it up. I’ve been
dying to get here. Priest - (Ignoring Jan) 3rd
row on the left, six graves down… Jan L - …one
coffin each. Priest - There’s
really no call for that sort of humour here. Jan L - Doesn’t mean it’s not funny. Exterior - Graveyard: Jan L - You think
he’d have a sense of humour. Goah - You know what
Priests are like. (Starts digging
at the soil) Jan L - Whoa, hey
Goah. Have some respect. I knew this guy for nearly ten years. Goah - I’m not
after the coffin, I’m after what’s on it (takes an envelope from the top of the coffin) Jan L - (reading the cover) Will? His name was Bacca. Goah - This is
what we need - Bacca’s will. Come on,
I’ll tell you more on the Sunrise. (A passing stranger intercepts
Jan) Stranger - Excuse
me, but did you remove something from that grave? Jan L - No, we
just placed some flowers there. Stranger - Mmmm, I see.
Thank you very much. (Walks
away) (Jan and Goah hide behind a
row of bushes) Goah - What are
they doing? Jan L - Well, it
looks suspiciously like they’re…digging up the grave. Goah - Some
people just got no respect. Jan L - Well it’s
about time someone showed them some. (Stands up) Goah - Wait Jan,
there might be more of them…wait a minute. Jan L - Goah, stay down. I can
handle this. (Lomona walk’s quietly up to the nearest man) Goon #1 - (to a nearby colleague) It’s not here. Jan L - I
couldn’t help noticing you digging up that grave. Goon #1 - We sure
are (punches Jan, who returns a
roundhouse and decks the goon) Goon #2
- Hey, stop that!! Jan L - Goah, I
could use a little help right about now. (A fight
ensues) Jan L - Get out
here and hit someone (Jan takes a
punch and staggers) Goah - Lowlife
scum (Goah is intercepted by
another Goon) Jan L - Get in my
partner’s way will ya? Goon #3 - Yes we
will (swings a punch which Jan
takes full in the face, only for Jan to return a sweet jab) Goah - Come on
Jan, we’re outnumbered. Let’s get out
of here. (Goah is hit but returns
a beautifully timed punch) Jan L - Watch
your back - and do me a favour. Goah - What’s that? Jan L - Duck! (Jan punches over Goah’s head and the first Goon
flies backward into unconsciousness.
Goah spots weapons being drawn) Goah - Uh-oh,
here come the Blasters. There’s too
many to take on by ourselves, let’s go. Interior - Graveyard Office: Attendant - You look
like you’ve seen a ghost (in the
confusion he’s knocked over by Goah) Priest - Where are
you going in such a hurry? Goah - We’re
leaving. That place gives me the
shivers. And how the hell did those
creeps get their guns in here? Priest - Well…erm…err (the
Priest is knocked out by an irate Goah) Jan L - Tell your
boss this is a lousy place for a holiday camp. The conversation’s dead and the spirits are
awful. (Jan collects his Blasters) Interior - Docking Bay: Jan L - Where’s
the damn ship! Where’s the ship? Goah - They
can’t have taken it!
(Heavy gunfire makes them
hit the deck) Jan L - Don’t
panic, it’s down here. We’re in the
wrong bay. Goah - Now who’s
panicking? Interior - Berone Sunrise: Jan L - Close the
ramp. Goah - I got
what I came for. Now raise ship before
they break the door down. Jan L - Yeah,
yeah. Goah - (annoyed) Look,
just forget the will and start the damn ship!! (The Sunrise blasts off) Jan L - That was
too close. Goah -Let’s see
what we’ve got… this is the will all right. Jan L - Yeah, but
we don’t see the real prize until much later. Goah - We’d
better keep this safely locked away. Jan L - Look
Goah, can’t we just look at the will now? Goah - No way. Jan L - Oh come on Galletti… Goah - No Jan,
we’ve got to hand it in intact at the executor’s office. Jan L - I just
wanna see what we’re getting out of this deal. Goah - We’ll get
nothing if the seal to the will is broken.
This is one thing we’re going to do properly. Then we can share the profits. Jan L - I don’t
care about sharing; I just want a look. (Holds it up to the light) Goah - It’s a
shielded package. You won’t see a
thing. Jan L - I’ve got
some Radiation specs somewhere around here (snaps them on) Not that I need
them. I can see through most lies so
an envelope shouldn’t be any trouble. Goah - I never
actually met Bacca. You knew him well.
What was he like? Jan L - Cautious,
rich and stupid. Goah - Why
stupid? Jan L - He got
caught didn’t he? That’s the trouble
with this game. You can’t even trust
the people you rely on as friends. (Goah
mulls this over for a second) Goah - What can
you see? Jan L - Nothing,
just like you said. Goah - (taking the envelope off Jan) We’d best secure this somewhere.
Where’s your safe? Jan L - I got rid
of it. It attracted too much
attention. Goah - Well,
where are we gonna keep this? Jan L - Put it on
the spice shelf. Goah - The spice
shelf? Are you telling me that you
keep your spice on a shelf these days?
Jan L - I’ve
still got the electri-grid system. Goah - Oh
great. (Hands it to Jan who tosses it onto the shelf and
re-activates the security system) Where to now? Jan L - You’re
steering this operation. You tell me. Goah - Of
course, he sent me this. I was
supposed to open it once I got hold of the will. (Unfolds
a flim he’s removed from his vest pocket)
It’s written back-to-front. Got a mirror? Jan L - You’re
asking Jan Lomona if he’s got a mirror? Goah - Listen to
this. `Whoever receives the will shall
inherit my wealth’. Jan L - Very
poetic. Any co-ordinates? Goah - Nothing I
can see yet. (Hands the paper to Troopie who
takes it off to decrypt) Jan L - Something’s
been bugging me about all this. You
never actually met Bacca? Goah - That’s
right. Jan L - I worked
with him on and off for five years after I first arrived on Chancai when I
was just a kid. Why entrust a virtual
stranger when he could have given it to me to sort out? Goah - I don’t
know. Maybe he knew more about what
was going on than you did. Jan L - Maybe. How did you get the letter? Goah - Got sent
to the Phoenix a couple of days
ago. Jan L - Sneaky
old sonnovagun.
Goah - You’re
surprised? Think how I felt! I heard that Bacca had died long ago. Jan L - Three
years ago. His wake was the best party
of the year. So Bacca couldn’t have
sent your letter. Not even a
Letter-search is that slow. So if not
Bacca, then who? Goah - Whoever
sent those goons to dig up the grave? Jan L - No, those
were Glanns men. I recognised them
from one of Glanns get togethers back at the Fortress. Goah - Glanns
men? Why would he send them all the
way out here? Jan L - Same
reason as us. To get the will before
anyone else. (Jan squints at Goah) It
would really help us if we knew precisely what was in that will. Goah - We’re not opening it. Jan L - I’m
betting good credits on that will being worth billions. His last surviving relative was a
multi-billionaire. Goah - What did he own? Jan L - I haven’t
got time to list all the things that the Bacca family owned, but I’ll tell
you this. Bacca was the most
rebellious guy I knew. That family
owned star systems, and I heard from a good source that Bacca was literally
given the Abeote System as a coming of age gift. Knowing him he probably put it straight
into his will. Goah - But are
you even sure that this is his will? We’ve been screwed around before. You said that Bacca died three years ago… Jan L - …and most
of the sector only found out recently, yeah. It was kept real quiet. Even Glann didn’t know about it. I’m telling you, this is the real
deal. And the best way to solve it is
to take the will to the co-ordinates on your letter. Troopie, you finished with that yet? (The
astromech returns with the flim) Good work buddy. It says here that we should travel to
Foron. That’s where the executor’s
office is - and that’s where we’ll get our pay-off. Goah - And that
flim is the key to it all. Jan L - Sure
looks that way. Now all we need do is
find the lock on Foron. Goah - And what
if we’re not the only ones who received a copy of this flim? What if we have
company on Foron? Jan L - No one’s
getting to Foron before the Sunrise. (The Sunrise powers into hyperspace) Exterior Foron- Landing Pad: Goah - I’ll head
to the executor’s office. Get this
business over and done with. Jan L - Fine. I’ll keep a low profile in the local
Cantina, mix with the natives. Goah - You do
that. I’ll meet you here later. Jan L - Remind me
not to get drunk. Goah - You try
as hard as you like. Interior - Star Destroyer: Commander - |