Escape

> Scene 5 — “Escape” → *The Name Under the Mask*

**Logline:** A window home opens. Nemo must decide what he is—heir, saboteur, or steward—and Aronnax must decide how the story is told.

# Beats 1. **Offer:** ESA pings a **plume ascent slot**; a sample-return capsule can carry two humans and one vault. 2. **Reveal:** Nemo removes a plain signet: his legal name ties him to the empire he just exposed. “Captain Nemo” was a vow, not a disguise. 3. **Choice:** Aronnax will go up to testify *and* protect the choir; Conseil stays to finish the open evidence vault; Ned flips a coin—and stays with Conseil. 4. **Gift:** Nemo hands Aronnax the key shard sealed in ice. “If I’m dragged home, make sure the ocean keeps its voice.” 5. **Departure:** The capsule rides the plume; the choir’s motif thrums through the hull like a benediction. 6. **Button:** On orbit, Earth glows in the window. Aronnax: “Some names we inherit. Some we earn. Some we refuse.”