"Blue" is the twenty-seventh mission of Season 3.
Love hurts. As do thorn bushes.
Cast[]
- Sam Yao (Philip Nightingale)
- Paula Cohen (Victoria Grove)
- Kefilwe Lobatse (Madeleine Brolly)
- Maxine Myers (Sally Orrock)
Crew[]
- Writer: Naomi Alderman
- Director: Matt Wieteska
- Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
- Series Created By: Naomi Alderman
Scenes[]
Set Out For The Flower Patch
Sam and Paula inform you that the seeds from Veronica McShell’s lab have finally sprouted. To their annoyance, Doctor Lobatse joins Sam on comms.
One More Time
Doctor Lobatse tries to join in the banter but is swiftly rejected. Paula asks to hear the recording of Maxine again as you head towards the flower patch.
A Good Run
You reach the flower patch and the plants have sprouted to about 3 feet tall. Doctor Lobatse is fascinated to finally see a zombie interacting with the plants.
Back To The Plants
Paula does not heed Doctor Lobatse’s warning, and sure enough the platform she’s traversing collapses and she tumbles into the middle of the flower patch.
Back On Her Feet
Doctor Lobatse wants Paula back ASAP, but Paula snaps, telling her she’ll never replace Maxine and that Sam told her the wrong time so she’d miss the mission.
Head For New Canton
Doctor Lobatse maintains a professional demeanor, noting that the plant has similar disinhibiting effects on both zombies and humans.
Here We Go Again
Paula muses about how similar Sam and Maxine can be on your run to New Canton.
Zombie Problem
Sam arrives to help get Paula to New Canton and suggests you head back to Abel to keep the zoms off their tail.
Transcript[]
SAM YAO: Oh, there you are, Five! Time to head out of Abel. Sorry for the early wake-up call, but you’ll never guess what’s happened.
PAULA COHEN: Those seeds Veronica McShell gave you at the treetop labs have finally sprouted. Cameras at the planting ground seem to show they’ve come up overnight.
SAM YAO: Yeah. It’s kind of freaky. But good. Freaky and good, if we can figure out a way to refine the zombie calming formula. Could come in very handy now we know where the Comansys ship, the Laetitia Greenwald, is. Hands up, who doesn’t think Comansys will have a whole army of mind-controlled zoms guarding our people?
[door opens]
KEFILWE LOBATSE: I’m so sorry I’m late!
SAM YAO: Oh, Doctor. Didn’t think you were joining us today.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t realize the flowers had germinated.
SAM YAO: Yeah, don’t worry about that. It’s so early, we didn’t want to wake you up.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Nonsense, of course you must wake me up when there are important experiments to conduct. Experiments that may lead to the rescue of Doctor Myers. I wouldn’t want you to think this didn’t matter to me.
SAM YAO: No, wouldn’t want that.
PAULA COHEN: Sam, we’d better set out for the flower patch. Who knows what effect daylight will have on them.
SAM YAO: Yeah. Uh, raise the gates! [gate siren, gates raising]
PAULA COHEN: - and like that, it explodes, completely out of nowhere.
SAM YAO: Oh no, that’s horrible! Oh, guys, turn left past the playground. Uh, any sign of zom activity?
PAULA COHEN: Not a sausage. So there’s blood and guts everywhere – the walls, the ceiling – and we’re all covered, head to toe. But Maxine, she just looks up from the goat demon entrails with that expression of hers -
SAM YAO: Oh yeah, that “I’m a serious doctor” face, where she sort of pinches her lips together and goes all “Hmm”?
PAULA COHEN: [laughs] Right! And she wipes the ichor off her face, deadly serious, raises her staff, and says -
SAM YAO and PAULA COHEN: “We have to go to the other realms!” [both laugh]
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Goodness gracious, that sounds like a very serious situation!
SAM YAO: It’s uh, it’s a game. Oh God, I hate that module so much.
PAULA COHEN: I know! It’s Demons and Darkness, not bloody Kafka.
SAM YAO: All those creatures with like, seven wings and diamond tails and eighty billion life points. And you can’t even beat them! Everything just ends in a draw after you’ve used up your last potion.
PAULA COHEN: Did she make you do the storyline with the giant wolf?
SAM YAO: Oh God, that wolf. Why does a wolf even need a giant cursed ruby?
KEFILWE LOBATSE: This sounds like a very silly game.
PAULA COHEN: No, actually, it needed the ruby to open a portal to the human world. Did you not get that far?
SAM YAO: Uh, we were up to that bit with that waterfall that shows you random but ominous flashbacks from everyone’s childhood. Yours was really creepy, wasn’t it, Five? Anyway, we’d got that far, and then Maxine sort of got...distracted with that whole zombie-killing spray thing.
PAULA COHEN: Oh. Sorry about the spoiler.
SAM YAO: Hey, come on. We’ve heard her voice now. We’ll get her back soon, and when we do, she’s going to make you help us finish up that campaign. After, you know, we foil whatever that attack on Abel was she was talking about.
PAULA COHEN: We’ve got a few minutes until we get to the flower patch. Do you think – do you think you could play me that recording of her voice, one more time?
SAM YAO: Yeah. Yeah, of course. [rummages] [plays recording]
MAXINE MYERS: I have to talk to her! You have to let me warn her that they’re targeting Abel! I have to talk to her…
PAULA COHEN: We’re nearly there, Sam. Could we not have put the flower patch a bit closer to Abel?
KEFILWE LOBATSE: They need the right trees to grow under, to be in sight of the cameras but not on New Canton’s favorite running routes, and also, of course, out of Dedlock territory. We know the thorns can be dangerous, so we wanted them away.
PAULA COHEN: It’s okay, I was just having a moan. I have actually been here before, and – good God!
SAM YAO: Huh, they haven’t just sprouted. They’re nearly three foot tall!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: And look! Do you see what’s amongst the leaves? Blue flowers.
[zombie moans]
PAULA COHEN: Watch out, Five. We’ve got company.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: How interesting. I’ve heard of the calming effect of the flowers, but to actually see it – that zombie is displaying no interest in you at all! And listen to tone of those moans. Do you think it’s attempting to communicate?
SAM YAO: That’s a theory. Paula, I’m going to have Runner Five draw the zom off.
PAULA COHEN: Right, Sam. This zombie’s a danger to us. Look at its diamond-shaped tail! [laughs]
SAM YAO: Yeah, but if the zombie’s moans start attracting any zoms that haven’t been exposed to the calming effect, it could get dicey. Anyway, you don’t need to get near the flowers to inspect them. Runner Sixteen and Seventeen built that observation platform, so you can take a look at them from up there. Might as well water them while you’re at it. Uh, Runner Five, you’ve got your noisemaker, right? [noisemaker beeps] Great stuff. Paula, good to go?
PAULA COHEN: I’ll be up top if you need me, Five. Give it a good run.
[noisemaker beeps]
SAM YAO: Nice work, Runner Five! Looks like you’ve picked up all the other zoms loitering about. They’re only shamblers, so you should be able to ditch them no problem once you turn off your noise pack. How’s that crop looking, Paula?
PAULA COHEN: Well, the plants in the far corner are losing their leaves. I think they’re getting too much direct sunlight. See how the tree branches aren’t as close together up there? [platform creaks] Ooh!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Runner Twenty-three, I don’t think that platform is stable. Maybe you should finish your work on the ground.
PAULA COHEN: I’m almost done here.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Look at the way those boards are wobbling. It isn’t safe!
PAULA COHEN: All that’s left to do is sprinkle some water. I’ll be down in no time! [boards crack] Ooh! Nearly dropped the whole bag!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Sam, I’m really worried about that platform.
PAULA COHEN: There’s nothing to worry about! It’s fine – [platform collapses, PAULA COHEN shouts]
KEFILWE LOBATSE: The platform’s collapsed!
SAM YAO: Paula? Crap! Runner Five, get back to the plants, now! You have to get her out of there.
PAULA COHEN: Ow!
SAM YAO: Paula! Paula, are you alright?
PAULA COHEN: Sorry, Sam. I can’t seem to get all these thorns unstuck from my skin.
SAM YAO: Never mind that. Get out of the flower bed as fast as you can. Don’t worry if you uproot a few of the plants. Runner Five, there’s a gate down at the end of the fence. Open it up, but don’t go in! The scientists at Veronica’s base kept clear of those plants for a reason.
PAULA COHEN: There isn’t anything to worry about. I feel fine, Sam! [gate opens] Thank you, Runner Five! Sam, there’s barely a scratch on me. Well, [snorts] actually, there are lots of scratches. Those thorns aren’t messing around. But I’m not hurt.
SAM YAO: Good. That’s good. Hey, Paula – where are you going right now?
PAULA COHEN: Hmm? Oh, I’m just running it off!
SAM YAO: Yeah, but are you sure you should be running in the opposite direction of the township?
KEFILWE LOBATSE: I think we should bring her back to Abel for a checkup.
PAULA COHEN: You think it’s that easy to take her place, don’t you? As though you’ll ever be half as good a doctor as Maxine.
SAM YAO: Paula!
PAULA COHEN: Janine’s making us be friendly to you, don’t you know that? Either play nice, or it’s nothing but SPAM rations for the month, that’s what she’s threatened us with. Neither of us can stand you. Sam told you this mission was happening two hours later so you’d miss it. Why can’t you get the hint we don’t want you around?
SAM YAO: That’s not – I mean, she’s just – um, look. It’s just, people get used to working together, and – Paula, are you sure you’re feeling alright?
PAULA COHEN: Never better! Ow! [falls]
SAM YAO: Oh God, she’s gone over. Runner Five, can you get her back on her feet? And get back here! Those shamblers are starting to look interested.
PAULA COHEN: I can feel my fingers… all ten of them.
SAM YAO: I bet you can.
PAULA COHEN: You always know what to say, don’t you, Sam? Unlike Doctor “I’m always sticking my nose in where it’s not wanted” Lobatse.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: So, it appears the plants’ toxins have similar disinhibiting effects on zombies and humans. Though I worry… in the undead, the risk of permanent neurological damage is not a concern, but it is a significant possibility in humans.
PAULA COHEN: I feel… [laughs] It reminds me of the time I decided to swap out Maxie’s – oh, you know the stuff – CeretinPlus? That focus-your-brain energy drink. She used to chug it down during her residency! Oh, you’d think I’d remember.
SAM YAO: You mean, this might be permanent?
PAULA COHEN: I replaced it with Irn Bru. Siphoned it into the bottles. Found my poor motek trying to do her laundry in the dishwasher three hours later! [laughs] Turns out it wasn’t just a placebo effect!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: It might well be permanent, unless we treat her now.
SAM YAO: No. Yeah, Sorry. Permanent brain damage doesn’t work for me. What’s our other option?
PAULA COHEN: I could think up some options if you like.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: New Canton have stores of poison controls. If she’s injected with those while they clean her blood during her plasmapheresis, we must hope it will counteract the effect.
SAM YAO: Right. Raise the gates!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: What are you doing?
SAM YAO: Runner Five, head for New Canton with Paula on the double. I’ll meet you on the way. Paula, I’m coming to you, alright? Be quick, Five. We have to get that treatment for her now!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: You’re going to be okay, Paula. New Canton are waiting to treat you, and Sam’s on his way.
PAULA COHEN: Trying too hard.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: I’m sorry.
PAULA COHEN: Ugh. Oh, it’s sweet of Sam to come all the way out here, though, isn’t it? He and Maxie are so alike in some ways. Sense of humor, loyalty. Mm, those gorgeous smiles…
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Paula, Runner Five?
PAULA COHEN: Oh, good, here we go again.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: You’ve picked up a pair of zombies. Five, you have to keep Paula moving. If you waste time hiding, you’ll risk her brain!
SAM YAO: Hey, Paula! Over here, over here!
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Sam, there are still zombies headed towards the three of you.
SAM YAO: How far out?
KEFILWE LOBASTE: Uh, about a mile. They’ve made good time.
SAM YAO: Wow. Well done, Five. Paula, how are you holding up?
PAULA COHEN: Sam! [laughs] I think I might understand what the Demons and Darkness writers were getting at with the giant wolf, symbolically speaking!
SAM YAO: Wow. You better come out of this alright, because I never want to let you live this down.
PAULA COHEN: Because the wolf is a symbol for how you won’t let anyone in! And the ruby is the heart, the open heart, the way you feel inside! You know that song? “A woman of worth, her price is above rubies”?
SAM YAO: Yeah. Why don’t you come and lean on me for a while instead of Runner Five? Just put your arm around my shoulders. Yeah, like that.
PAULA COHEN: Oh, you really are a sweetheart, Sam.
SAM YAO: Runner Five, can you run back towards Abel? That should lead those zombies off our tail. I’ll take Paula the rest of the way to New Canton.
KEFILWE LOBATSE: Radio in once you know her prognosis.
SAM YAO: Sure. Come on, Paula. I’ve got you. We’re going to be fine. I’m going to switch over to New Canton comms. [beep]
KEFILWE LOBASTE: I wonder… Runner Five, do you think Sam understands what Paula was saying to him, or that he’ll allow himself to believe it? Do you think he realizes how much his face shows of his own feelings? Let’s fix your zombie problem. It’s time to come home.
Codex[]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
9mm Ammo
Bandages
Batteries
Board game
Box of Lightbulbs
Car Battery
Cricket bat
Deodorant
Flashlight
Football
Fuel Can
Garden tools
Glasses
Hammer
Makeup
Matches
Mobile Phone
Penknife
Pistol
Prescription Pain Meds
Shirt
Shorts
Sports Bra
Tampons
Teddy bear
Tent
Tinned Food
Tool Box
Toy car
Underwear
USB Key
Vitamins
| Missions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Previous: Brand New Start | Next: A Little Night Music | ||