Distant city shot, title appears, ‘Archeston - The Gates to Heaven, Year 3040’. A space craft flies from above into view of the wide city shot. We then cut ahead to the same craft stationing itself inside a large hanger. We cut ahead once more viewing from inside the cockpit at a small ground crew beginning to inspect and fuel the spacecraft outside. The camera pans to display Higgs gazing off at the sun behind the clouds from his piloting seat. He is abruptly interrupted from behind by his co-pilot ‘Jord’.
“Higgs! Hey, you good? Come on, let’s go, immigration’s waiting.” welcomely
“Yea I- I’ll be right there.” reassuring but concerned of something
“Hpff... Alrighty.” smiling yet partially unsure and confused
Jord steps out of the craft. Higgs turns back to the cockpit window looking back at the sun and then slowly at the very distant outline of a barely visible mountain in front of the sun. He appears serious like his eyes are locked on a goal that can’t be reached.
A craft hovers within a massive arial hanger with a small ramp ascended from the back of it. Higgs and Jord walk on the stone surface of the open hanger toward an exit. Their hovering luggage bags follow Jord from behind. Higgs seems to be pacing much faster then he would usually walk with Jord trying to keep up with him. He seems focused yet nervous to get to wherever he is going. Jord joyfully tosses a small ball that bounces about 6 meters infront of her before slowly returning back. Exactly like a Zuyee ball without the string. She does this consistently as they both walk and talk.
“Ho-ly-fuck it is so good to be back! Dude I swear cap, I am never... getting used to 3 weeks in a vac. Don’t get me wrong, space is cool as hell. But, it never fails to feel like a fucking eternity.” energetically
Nearing the end of her sentence a bounce of the ball returns back toward Higgs as he catches it surprising himself and then lightly chuckles at Jord’s sentence. He throws it back down at the ground before beginning to look kind of focused and nervous again. She catches the ball looking up at him concerned.
“Y’know... It’s none of my business cap. But if there’s something ever on yoooour mind, and if you feel the neeeed to ever tell somebody... You know I am right here... right?”
Short pause. Eye contact.
”Of course Jord. Thanks.” shallow vocality with a smile
They walk through the exit.
Jord and Higgs move through a large corridor and arrive at a double immigration terminal separating the corridor both left and right. At each desk a man sits equipped with high tech equipment. Jord (ahead of Higgs) approaches the man on the left.
“Welcome back Jord!”
”Erickson! Your back! How was the Centrist? Tell me you went to the bar I told you about?”
”Ohhhh nooo, I couldn’t, it was on my list, but, I was just so caught up with family y’know?”
The conversation slowly fades out as our attention comes back to Higgs who just arrived at the terminal on the right. As Higgs arrives at the desk he slides a few files and folders toward the man, looking at him in the eyes and slightly smiling. The man behind the desk remains fixated on his monitor until he is interrupted by Higgs.
”Hey Brett, how you holding up?”
”Hey Higgs, not too bad mate, sorry I won’t be a second alright?”
”Nah nah, you’re good.”
Brett keeps focused on his monitor as if he was receiving urgent information right at that very moment. He does not directly reveal this through emotion and instead seems like if a nice welcoming guy was acting moderately serious. Suddenly Brett stops focusing on his monitor and slightly leans back.
”Is everything alright?” shallow smile Higgs looking toward monitor
”Oh yea everything's fine.”
Brett stands up and grabs the folders and files. He appears in a slight hurry.
”Just gonna take these, I’ll be right back okay.”
”Sure.” partially concerned but accepting
Brett walks a few feet behind the desk to a door along the right side of the wall. He goes through it as the door closes behind him. Higgs takes a step back and stands comfortably looking around. He looks down at a plant that sits on the desk and slowly touches one of the leaves. He runs his finger down along its smooth stalk. Jord who has just finished checking out whistles to him.
”Higgs, you coming? We’ll share a ride.”
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”Oh, nah you go on. This might take a while.”
”You sure? I can wait.”
”No seriously, go home, get some of that rest you’ve been craving.”
”Alrighty. I’ll see you onnnn.. Monday?”
”Thanks Jord, I’ll see you then.”
She walks done the corridor with the hovering bags behind her until out of sight. Higgs eyes watch her. It feels almost as if the high spirits of the room fade as she does. The door finally opens as Judge Hamil steps out. He has a way of arrogance about him as he steps over to Higgs. You can sense his loyalty and position of authority.
”Captain Higgins Verdantte.”
“Judge Hamil.”
”Terribly sorry about the waiting but there’s just a few things that have recently come up.”
“Oh no, no hassle. I do hope its nothing too serious though. I have an audit meeting with the Minister and piles of training assessments to be completed by the weekend haha, I’m sure you yourself understand.” welcomely and politely
”I understand. Which is why it has all been taken care of. Captain Donal has already been forwarded your training assessments, and your appointment with the minister has been postponed to tomorrow evening at 1600.”
”Sorry. But. What is this all about?”
Short pause. Two Angel guards begin to walk down the corridor from the direction that Jord walked. They wear identical armour sets with large steel weapons holstered on their body.
”The Kin wishes to speak with you. That is as much as I know, Captain.”
The Angels arrive stationed at the immigration desk looking directly at Higgs.
”Very well. Thanks.”
Higgs begins to walk toward the Angels. The Angels do not move and remain stationary standing right above Higgs.
”Sorry one last thing Captain.”
”Yes?”
Hamil holds out an eye scanning device for Higgs to take.
”Your Moon?”
Higgs smirks and nods at the man. He steps forward and takes the device holding it up to his eyes to scan. After a few beeps and boops he lowers the device handing it back to the man. They exchange eye contact one last time before Higgs turns and walks down the corridor with the 2 Angels following behind him.
The three individuals continue to walk through a separate part of the building until finally arriving at a sliding door. We follow from Higgs perspective as he approaches the door that does not immediately open. He looks up above the door as if it has a sensor. The Angel on the right behind him breaks off from formation and approaches a panel on the wall by the door. He pushes a few buttons then looks directly at Higgs. His orange eyes glow slightly brighter and then dim down again. Higgs is confused and slightly afraid. A door behind them from the corridor they walked through suddenly flies closed sealing them off from where they had come from. This startles Higgs as he sharply turns around to his right. The main door they are standing at then slides open with a gush of steaming air sizzling through the cracks. The vacuum of the room has been broken. Behind the door reveals a small empty circular room. Higgs slowly steps into the room as the Angels observe. The circular room has no ceiling. It is a long tube that escalates through the building above him to the sky. Rain pelts down through the tube landing on Higgs face as he peers up to the above. The door behind him closes shut leaving him alone in the empty space. The floor begins to slowly rise.
The floor rotates as it rises. The wind and rain hurl stronger down upon him as the elevator comes to its final stop. We see as Higgs does, the enormity of the Gates city around him. He stands in the open before a large building known as the Facade, a Heavens built palace standing above the rest of the city. And behind him rise towers edging through the clouds below. There is no view of mountains or the surface. This city lays so high in the sky that we are on the bare very edge of the planets atmosphere. Not too far from him stands the figure of a dark man, standing on the very edge of a platform that looks over the city. Higgs walks closer to the figure. He stops a few meters away from the person. A plague doctor masked Angel stands with his back to Higgs as thunder roars over the city.
“Captain Higgs.”
Higgs immediately salutes the Kin placing a fist over his heart and standing up straight with his chin up.
“Kin Zipher, an honour it is to be within your presence, once more.”
Zipher slightly tilts his head to the right.
“Your duties, conceive it Captain.”
Zipher looks back at the vast view.
”Beautiful. Isn’t it?”
Higgs takes his eyes off the Kin and looks out at the sky and city. Thunder and lightning rumbles across below.
”It saddens me. I barely have the time to appreciate even my own accomplishments.”
Zipher slowly starts to turn around to face the Captain.
”Never delude yourself Captain Higgs. We are forever in our great Surrogates debt.”
”Of course, my Kin. Such accomplishments greatly precede the success, of the city.”
Zipher slowly steps up to the Captain as to only stand a few feet from him. Face to face.
”Tonight, I dine at yours, 1800. You will have me?”
Short pause. The Captain looks slightly down at the Kin breaking his salute before slightly bowing and nodding his head.
“With certainty. And what a privilege it will be.”
Captain Higgs looks up at the Kin with gratification in his eyes. The Kin looks back with deep contact.
“Thank you Captain, on your way.”
Zipher gestures to his left where a hovering vehicle sits a dozen meters from them by the platform’s edge. Captain Higgs bows his head one last time before pacing his way over to the vehicle and getting inside. He looks back at the Kin one last time as the craft lifts up into the air and flies away. The Kin stays standing on the edge of his platform with the Gates city before him.