In the Medical Bay

The sunlight filters through the window, casting a warm glow on Emma's bed. Emma, with her leg in a plaster cast, sits on the edge of her bed, staring at a tree outside. Emma hung her broken leg off the bed, her eyes fixated on the tree swaying gently outside. With a determined grimace, she slid off the bed, trying to stand. Pain shot through her leg, and she stumbled, grabbing the window sill just in time to steady herself.

At the door, Lana watched Emma's struggle. Alarmed, she rushed over. 

Lana - you really need to take it easy. 

she said, wrapping an arm around her friend's waist and helping her back to the bed. 

Lana - Those wounds will heal, but you can't just expect to stand up right away.

Emma repositioned herself, leaning back against the pillows, her eyes drifting once again to the tree outside. She ignored Lana's concern, her expression distant and pensive. Lana, trying to lighten the mood, pulled a couple of cans from the bag she is holding. 

Lana - I got us some drinks. Non-alcoholic.

she said with a playful smile. When Emma didn't respond, Lana's smile faded. 

Lana - Is something wrong?

Emma continued to gaze outside, her face a mask of quiet sorrow. Lana followed her gaze to the tree. 

Lana - What's up with the tree?

Emma sighed, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Emma - I don't exactly know. It's just... an emptiness. A void, I guess.

Lana's eyes softened with understanding. 

Lana - You really miss him, don't you?

Emma's head snapped towards Lana, 

Lana -  Your father.

Emma's frown deepened, her eyebrows knitting together as she fought back tears.

In the Underground Cell  

The doors of the lift opened with a metallic hiss as it reached level UG-2 . The staff moved the cage out of the lift and into the dimly lit hallway, flanked by soldiers on either side. The cage creaked as it rolled, the figure inside barely visible through the reinforced glass and sedative mist. The prison is a big hall which has white light and gray walls of metal. The staff begins to lock the cage in its position at the center of the hall, on a dock.

Staff Member 2 - Careful now, keep it steady.

Staff Member 3 - Roger that….. And it’s locked.

John (Commands) - Listen up everyone, we are now going to increase the temperature of this room and when the sedative effect lessens up , that person inside the cage may lose his control. In that situation, it’s our duty to control him. (John states to a soldier) You check on the sedatives, our first step to control him is to make him sleep.

Soldier - Yes sir.

In the Monitoring Room

June enters the monitoring room and sees Oliver looking at the staff locking the cage in its position.

June - Why do you want to keep him here? Shouldn’t we just get him to the Dome? To Doctor Karl for his tests? Don’t you think all this is unnecessary?

Oliver's eyes never left the screen. 

Oliver - You are right, June. This all is completely unnecessary, but I have a feeling that Karl is not stating the whole truth before the council.

June's curiosity was piqued.

 June - About what?

Oliver's gaze hardened. 

Oliver - About the situation of our world. I think he knows something about these headhunters that he isn’t telling the military.

June - Why so?

Oliver - Well, even though we have the power to wipe these headhunters off the face of the world, why the military is not permitted to do so is a question that disturbs me………. Isn’t that odd?

June - What are you saying?

Oliver - We all know that with our weapons, we are capable of eliminating those headhunters, Even though it has to be done by striking at a particular place on their body. I always wonder why we don’t use our nukes. We can lure those headhunters into a small area, and our nukes will disintegrate them in a moment.

June (asked, horrified) - But what about those living outside the Dome?

Oliver (replied coldly) - A small price for the preservation of humanity, The Dome doesn’t care about those outside the Dome as well.

June was visibly disturbed by Oliver’s thoughts. 

Oliver (continued) - Anyways, the Dome never took any major step in this issue. There were no orders given for the direct resolution of our problem. And I think it’s because of that thing, inside that cage. I think If the council gets their hands on it , It’ll not be good for all of us.

June - but why?

Oliver - It’s a hunch…

June - A hunch? Give me something better… Oliver.

June listened intently, 

Oliver - I trust you, June, that's why I’m telling you this. I think something big is going on here. And I can’t sit idly by. I’ll find out what's happening and resolve it. at any cost.

June - You’re holding him here in your custody so you can bargain for information from Karl, aren’t you?

Oliver (smirked) - That mind of yours never fails to amaze me.

June - How can you be so sure that your perception is correct?

Oliver’s expression turned serious.

Oliver - I ask you this, June. From the day you were born, how many wars in this world have you heard of? How many conflicts have you witnessed? Tell me, was there ever a moment when life on this land of ours was free from wars and conflict?

June furrowed her brow, trying to recall a time of true peace. The silence stretched, and Oliver noted her struggle to find an answer.

Oliver (continues) - If I have to give a number, for the last 140 years, the leaders of the nations of this world have been constantly at each other’s throats. War is an inevitable truth, a constant in which generations have lived their lives. There has not been a single moment in the history of 140 years where there was no war.

June (thoughtfully) - Violence is in human nature, which leads to war. What's your point?

Oliver leaned in, his eyes boring into hers. 

Oliver - Do you think that war can resolve a conflict?

June (hesitated) - Well, not on moral grounds, but whoever is strongest wins the conflict, putting an end to it.

Oliver nodded, as if expecting that response. 

Oliver - After the event of the split, the trajectory of our world flipped. Those who were constantly at each other's throats formed the council to govern the Dome and became an alliance. They suddenly started to listen to each other and, Govern the Dome as one, without any disagreement. Human lives really never mattered to the members of the council from before the Dome. All that matters to them is their position and dignity, their image most importantly, A leverage on the other. However in recent years all of that changed, I just can’t think of why? I think the council is upto something, something for which the members of the council can throw away anything that means to them.

Oliver's expression darkened. 

Oliver - I think that Karl is the one who promised to deliver that thing to the council, And I believe that whatever it is, the council doesn’t care about any of us in order to get their hands on it.

June’s eyes widened in realization. Her mind raced with the implications of Oliver's words. 

June - So, you believe holding this...thing...in the cage can give us leverage against Karl?

Oliver - Yes. There is a piece of the puzzle that Karl doesn’t want anyone to hold, A piece that completes the picture. By keeping it here, we force his hand. We make him reveal his true intentions.

June took a deep breath, absorbing the gravity of the situation. 

June - And what if he doesn’t budge? What if he refuses to give you the answers?

Oliver - I am sure he will. Karl already knew this guy from before… His file came to my desk. I believe they had some sort of history. If my intuition is correct he must be knowing something.

In the Cell  

As the temperature of the cell begins to rise, John and the soldiers get alert.

John - Ok guys, Get ready.

In the Barracks

Hugo and Mark looked towards the door as Liam entered the barracks, creating an awkward pause among the three of them. Liam raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Liam - I really didn’t want to interrupt your precious moment, sorry, my bad.

Mark (face reddened with anger) - What the hell, Liam! You should’ve knocked!

Liam - How would I know you guys were in here when all of us are supposed to be on our routine right now.

Hugo - He’s got a point, Mark.

Mark (muttered) - Yeah, whatever.

Hugo - Where have you been since yesterday, Liam?

Liam walked over to his locker and began to rummage through it. 

Liam - The higher-ups put me on a mission again.

Mark's eyes widened. 

Mark - Alone?

Liam pulled out a clean shirt and started changing. 

Liam - No, not alone.

Hugo leaned against his bunk, curiosity piqued. 

Hugo - It must have been a confidential mission. That's why none of us knew about it. Right, Mark?

Mark crossed his arms and nodded. 

Mark - Right.

Liam finished changing his shirt and looked at them with a sly grin. 

Liam - Confidential or not, if you hear about the result, you’ll be surprised.

Arthur entered the barracks, glancing around with a purposeful stride. 

Arthur - Liam, you done changing?

Arthur noticed Mark and Hugo, raising an eyebrow. 

Arthur - What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be—

Hugo cut him off, grabbing Mark's arm. 

Hugo - Yeah, we’re going. Let’s go, Mark.

Mark and Hugo hurried out of the barracks. Once outside, Mark turned to Hugo. 

Mark - Shouldn’t we ask for their help?

Hugo - We should first find out if he's really alive or not.

Mark (frowned) - How?

Hugo looked around to make sure no one was listening. 

Hugo - The military has a database of everything, including the missions and others. If he was there at that research lab, He should’ve visited other places as well and If a man with a scarf around his neck riding a bike was encountered or spotted before, it should be him.

Mark - And how are we going to access this database?

Hugo - I am FRAC soldier, remember?

Mark - Right.