How Far will you go to save... Yourself

SYNOPSIS:

A long time ago, the earth starship VESUVIUS and her crew crash land on the distant planet of ALPHA CENTAURI III, stranded they send out a distress call.In the near future that message is final received, nearly 30 years pass when the translation is completed and the world congress authorizes the construction and deployment of the Vesuvius and her rescue module POMPEII module.DR. MARCUS O’RIELLY submits the completed translation to the Congress, and SEN. BRUCE LEVY recruits astrophysicist DR. FRED MALCOLM to lead the science team on the mission and pulls burned out Marine COLONEL WILLARD THOMPSON out of retirement to lead the military crew of the ship.

GEN DAVID MCADAMS recruits LT. COL. ALICE HOLDER to act as first officer and pilot to Col. Thompson. McAdams heads to a nearby hospital to recruit the crew Chief Medical Office, DR. AKARA SANG, who is given a field Promotion to Major and his choice of medical staff. After accepting the position, Thompson recruits Levy’s estranged son, LT. MIKE HARRIGON to act as second officer, and is responsible for tactical and navigation on the mission.

Arriving at the desert training facility, Thompson arrives late and allows Holder to continue her briefing and training of the ship’s crew. Malcolm and O’Rielly split their time between training and supervising the construction of the ship. Holder confronts Thompson during McAdams visit who relives him of command during training. In disbelief, Thompson returns to drinking in his quarters.

Days later, Holder confronts Thompson again for not showing up for training, after a physical argument, Holder order Thompson’s quarters sealed and takes extreme measure to ensure his detox and training for the mission. Harrigon is order to personally train and monitor Thompson during the training process.

Thompson joins Sang at his camp like living quarters after leaving the infirmary and proceeds to detox and train. Harrigon joins the pair at the camp out in order to monitor Thompson’s progress. After months of sobriety, Thompson is back in good physical shape and mentally clear enough to take command of the mission.

The crew heads of the launch pad in a convoy with senior officers at the front door. Interrupting Sen. Levy’s press conference, Thompson and Levy exchange choice words ending with a punch to the face by Thompson. Thompson is order to embed three reporters by the Senator.

The Vesuvius launches and docks with the International Space Station in order to link up with the Pompeii module. The bridge is remodel and the crew stows the gear in the living quarters. After leaving the ISS, the ship travels through the Asteroid belt taking minor damage before jumping to Faster Than Light speed.

The FTL malfunctions taring a hole in time and space launching the ship into an uncontrolled orbital dissent of Alpha Centauri II. The ship crashes on the planet with the Vesuvius section dangling over a cliff above a lava river. While assessing the damage, Harrigon is killed outside the ship when another river of lava flows past the ship. Thompson begins to mentally lose it due to PTDS and Holder takes command.

O’Rielly realizes the where the message came from and instead of sending a quick message he locks himself in the communications room and transmit a complete message including FTL destination coordinates. During a skirmish between Holder and Thompson, Holder is shot and killed. The Vesuvius detaches from the Pompeii and falls into the river below. O’Rielly is burned alive from the sudden flow of lava throughout the ship.

Shortly after Thompson is medically knocked out and the crew receives a communication from the Vesuvius in stable Orbit. The crew is recued and the Pompeii commanded by COL. Alice Holder is attached to the Vesuvius only to discover the world they came from no longer exist and the return coordinates won’t lock on from FTL travel. Malcolm determines that they need to send the same message that O’Rielly sent and then sends that message again.

The Vesuvius with damaged Pompeii arrives on Earth destroying Sen. Levy’s 57 Belair during landing. Thompson is rehabbed and the Pompeii module is repaired. Holder is assigned to command the next generation of interstellar battle cruiser. Their mission will be to return to Alpha Centauri III and assess threat and colonization ability.

In the present day on Alpha Centauri III, life exist in the form of an ape like humanoid that has discovered the original ship and the skull of LT. Col. Harrigon.