Fade in to ULU, first floor bar. It's the next day and the group enters a large student bar, sprinkled with people eating and drinking. In the far corner of the room, a bunch of goths sit, talking in hushed tones. One of them, Matt, a tall dark-blond goth, spies the group and rushes up to them, giving Shawnee a big hug. Everyone is pleased to see her.

Matt: (hugging Shawnee) You're safe! ...We'd feared the worst.
Matt composes himself, steps back and bows formally.
Matt: When we heard about the Darkhours raid, we were afraid that you were lost.
Shawnee: We don't have time for our sorrows, Matt. We must somehow get the CD in this laptop played. It is our only hope.

Fade out.

Fade in to a small room in a radio station. Melody Maker's publisher and Simon Price sit talking.

The publisher and Price are interrupted in their conversation by the buzz of a telephone. The publisher moves to answer the call.
Publisher: Yes?
Voice: We are approaching air time. The new Blur single will be played right after your anti-goth speech. We are preparing the DJ booth for your arrival.

Cut back to ULU bar. Matt stands before a large whiteboard covered in floorplans. Shawnee and Kara are to one side of map. The high-ceilinged room is filled with goths, new romantics, and a sprinkling of punks. Everyone is listening intently to what Matt is saying. Nic and Pete are standing near the back.

Matt: Melody Maker has been advertising all week for the new Blur single to be played tonight on Capital FM at 8 o'clock. Melody Maker's publisher will introduce the single himself. We have discovered that in his speech, he give a scathing editorial about the goth scene, intended to completely crush it. Millions of people will be listening. Our only hope is to stop his speech and get the Rosetta Stone single played instead.
Matt's audience seems distressed at the news.
Matt: The radio station is well defended and has really well trained security guards. These guards are trained for a direct large-scale assault. A few sneaky goths should be able to infiltrate the station.
Grey Leader, a tall woman with long purple and black hair, stands and addresses Matt.
Grey Leader: Pardon me for asking, dear, but what good are a few goths going to be against that?
Matt: Well, the station doesn't consider a few goths to be any threat, or they'd have a tighter defence. An analysis of the floor plans has demonstrated a weakness in the radio station.
Matt turns to the big map and starts pointing to features.
Matt: The job will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down these halls to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small auxiliary DJ booth, a flight below the main booth. The equipment connects directly to the broadcast tower. Anything played will go directly on the air, and they cannot stop it except at the source.
A murmur of disbelief runs through the room.
Matt: Only if you play something will the normal broadcast be overridden. The lifts are key-operated, so you'll have to use the stairs.
Cleggy is sitting next to Lee, a surprisingly tall goth wearing a top hat.
Lee: That's impossible, even for a goth.
Cleggy: It's not impossible. I used sneak around office blocks in my dodgy youth back home. They're not much harder than this.
Matt: Ok, get ready! And may the dark be with you!
The group rises and starts to get ready.

Cut back to the radio station. Simon Price is pacing around the room while the publisher is practicing his speech.

Intercom voice: Preparing for broadcast. The booth for the show will be empty in fifty minutes.
Price: This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Hammond and it will soon see the end of the Goth Revival.

Fade in to ULU first floor bar. Cleggy walks along the tables near the bar as goths rush around fixing their hair and applying make up. In an area isolated from this activity Cleggy finds Nic and Pete loading small objects into a bag. Nic is deliberately ignoring the activity of the goths' preparation. Cleggy is quite saddened at the sight of his friend's departure.

Cleggy: So...you got your reward and you're just leaving then?
Nic: That's right, yeah! I'm going to go home and listen to the Virgin Prunes CDs. Even if I didn't, you don't think I'd be fool enough to stick around here, do you? Why don't you hang out with us? You're pretty good in with computers. I could use you.
Cleggy: (getting angry) Come on! Why don't you take a look around? You know what's about to happen, what they're up against. They could use someone like you. You're turning your back on them.
Nic: What good's a reward if you ain't around to use it? Besides, infiltrating that radio station ain't my idea of courage. It's more like suicide.
Cleggy: All right. Well, take care of yourself, Nic. I guess that's what you're best at, isn't it?
Cleggy walks off and Nic hesitates, then calls to him.
Nic: Hey, Cleggy...may the dark be with you!
Cleggy turns and sees Nic wink at him. Cleggy lifts his hand in a small wave and then goes off.
Nic turns to Pete who frowns at him.
Nic: What're you lookin' at? I know what I'm doing.

Cut to other side of the bar Cleggy, Shawnee, and Matt meet at the bar at the far end of the room.

Shawnee: What's wrong?
Cleggy: Oh, it's Nic! I don't know, I really thought he'd change his mind.
Shawnee: He's got to follow his own path. No one can choose it for him.
Cleggy: I only wish Guy were here.
Shawnee gives Cleggy a little hug, turns, and goes off. As Cleggy heads for the door, a goth carrying a diskette walks up to him and pokes his arm.
Goth: This laptop of yours seems a bit beat up. Do you want a new one?
Cleggy: Not on your life! That little thing and I have been through a lot together. (to laptop) You okay?
The goth copies some data from the disk onto the laptop. The little computer beeps that everything is fine.
Cleggy slides the computer into his bag. Kara looks on from nearby as Cleggy slings the bag containing her little electronic friend over his shoulder. It's an emotion-filled moment as her laptop can faintly be heard beeping good-bye.
Kara: Stay in there little laptop, you've got to come back.
The laptop beeps in agreement.
Kara: You wouldn't want my life to get boring, would you?
The laptop beeps one final time and Cleggy shuts it down for transit.
All final preparations are made for the approaching event. The bar is buzzing with the last minute activity as the goths put the final touches on their makeup. Laptops are unplugged from the walls as soon as the batteries are charged. Each of the invasion team move into an orderly row, all of them carrying a small laptop and a mobile phone. Cleggy, a trace of a smile gracing his lips, looks around at the mass of PVC, lace and leather. He takes out his mobile and checks for messages.
Guy's voice: (from mobile) Cleggy, the dark will be with you.

Fade out


Part 8
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Writ by Bob
<Bob@darkwave.org.uk>