|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 7, 2018 20:25:22 GMT -5
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
The Lightning Warrior sits in low orbit over Tatooine, lazily circumnavigating the diametre of the world without aim.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BAIL'S CABIN
Capt. Bail Organa and Cmdr. Raia Vaness sit together in his cabin, engaged in a game of three-dimensional holochess.
BAIL: Hmmm….
CMDR. VANESS: Problem, Captain?
BAIL: This just feels so derivative somehow.
CMDR. VANESS: (frowns) How do you mean?
BAIL: Nevermind. Make your move.
Vaness makes her move. Once it is complete, she grins with wicked triumph.
BAIL: I resign. (sighs) Fifth game in a row.
CMDR. VANESS: Forty-two, if you wish to be precise.
BAIL: Pardon?
CMDR. VANESS: Well, counting all the games played since we arrived in-system, we come to a total score of —
BAIL: (rolls eyes) Nevermind.
CMDR. VANESS: Want to try for another?
BAIL: Forget it. Just turn the damn thing off.
CMDR. VANESS: (deactivates holographic chessboards) You do have a problem, don't you?
BAIL: Weeks spent doing nothing but flying circles around a planet gets very boring very fast. (beat) I wish the Mandalorians would just hurry up and show their cards already.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
The officers on board the bridge of the Dreadnought go about their duties like machines on autopilot, weariness from boredom etched in their features.
Taking a break, the comm officer slides a datacard into a drive in his terminal then brings up a mechanical visor, slipping it down over his eyes with unbridled haste.
COMM OFFIER'S P.O.V. — DISK RECORDING
Within the comm officer's line of sight is a headshot of a beautiful, dark-skinned Omwati woman with pink feather-like hair set against a psychedelic green background.
MERMEIA: I know you're searching for me. Searching, searching. I am here. My voice is for you alone. I am found in your eyes only. I exist for you. I am in your mind as you create me. Oh, yes ... I can feel my creation. (giggles) I'm getting your message. Are you getting mine?
CUT TO
The comm officer laid back in his seat, drooling.
COMM OFFICER #1'S P.O.V. — MERMEIA
MERMEIA: Oh, oh! We are excited, aren't we? Well just relax. Just relax. Yes! Now … we can have a good time, can't we?
CUT TO
The comm officer laid back in his seat, his mouth in a rictus grin of absolute anticipation.
EXT. SPACE
The Nyax and five Jehavey'ir-type assault ships drop out of hyperspace.
SENSOR OFFICER #1: (bolts upright in seat) We've got Mandies on our scopes!
Roughly jolted out of his simulated reverie, the visor flies off the comm officer's face as he almost topples out of his seat.
LT. SOLO: We've got to alert the captain immediately!
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
Slowly but surely, the Mandalorian ships approach the Dreadnought.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
The door to the bridge slides open and Bail and Vaness stride in.
BAIL: (takes seat on command chair) What's happening?
SENSOR OFFICER #1: Six Mandalorian ships have arrived, sir. Five Jehavey'ir-type assault ships and one Lictor-class dungeon ship.
The bridge door slides open again and Siri Tachi strides in.
CMDR. VANESS: (turns to Siri) Knight Tachi, six —
SIRI: (interrupts) Yes, I know; I sensed their arrival. (to Bail) Can the Lightning Warrior handle them, Captain?
BAIL: The Mandalorian assault ship hasn't been built that can out-match a Dreadnought-class heavy cruiser. (to comm officer) Open hailing frequencies. They should hear our terms of surrender.
COMM OFFICER #1: No response, Captain.
BAIL: They can't say we didn't give them a sporting chance. (to weapons officer) Target dungeon ship. Open fire any time.
WEAPONS OFFICER #1: Yes sir.
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
Without warning, five more ships drop out of hyperspace. These ships are Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers like the Lightning Warrior. Unlike the Warrior, however, these heavy cruisers bear the crest of the Mandalorian Death Watch.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
SENSOR OFFICER #1: Sir, five more Mandalorian ships have emerged from hyperspace!
BAIL: What‽
SENSOR OFFICER #1: They're all Dreadnoughts, sir.
CMDR. VANESS: (turns to Siri; frowns) I thought the reports say the dungeon ship never appears with an escort of anything more than five assault ships.
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
The five Mandalorian Dreadnoughts open fire on the Lightning Warrior. The forward deflector shields catch the worst of the barrage, but the ship still takes a rough beating from the heavy turbolaserfire.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
The interior of the bridge rattles as the Mandalorian turbolaserfire pummels the ship, causing more than a few of the officers stationed aboard to hold onto their consoles for support.
BAIL: Target the primary weapons batteries of the closest Dreadnought! Fire at will!
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
The Warrior unloads a barrage of green turbolaserfire upon the nearest Mandalorian Dreadnought, decimating its primary batteries. Unfortunately for the Alderaanian ship, it's still outnumbered and outgunned by the remaining four heavy cruisers and five assault ships, all of which begin firing upon it.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
SENSOR OFFICER #1: We're losing rear deflectors!
CMDR. VANESS: Divert power from the starboard shields!
SIRI: There're too many of them!
COMM OFFICER #1: Captain, we're being hailed!
BAIL: The Mandalorians?
COMM OFFICER #1: No, sir. It's the Uklareon Kal.
BAIL: (incredulous) Wahr Blarh's ship‽ (beat) Put him through.
Seconds later, the green Nikto's visage appears on the Warrior's viewscreen.
BAIL: Whatever you're planning, Commander, don't.
CMDR. BLARH: The Mandalorians have less right to be here than you do, Human. I'm going to take out as many of their ships as I can.
BAIL: Are you daft, man‽ Your tin cigar can't handle one Dreadnought, let alone five of them!
CMDR. BLARH: (sighs) Goodbye, Captain.
With that, Cmdr. Wahr Blarh cuts the connection.
BAIL: (erratic) What‽ Get him back!
COMM OFFICER #1: He won't respond, sir!
BAIL: (screaming at viewscreen) You stupid son of a b****!
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
The Uklareon Kal passes over the Lightning Warrior, opening fire upon the assault ships swarming about the cruiser. The blasts of white plasmafire aren't enough to damage the ships, but they do draw their attention; in moments the assault ships leave the Warrior to attack the smaller cargo ship.
INT. UKLAREON KAL/BRIDGE
As the Mandalorian assault ships release salvo upon salvo upon the cargo ship, various consoles, terminals, and other onboard equipment begin to fizzle, spark, and explode.
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
As the Jehavey'irs pound the Kal, the Xiytiar-class transport leaps into hyperspace, plowing through and obliterating one of the assault ships to instantly impact against one of the intact Mandalorian Dreadnoughts. The Dreadnought the Lightning Warrior already damaged is caught in the resultant explosion, crippling it completely.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
Witnessing the sacrifice of the Uklareon Kal and its crew, Bail facepalms, shaking his head in dismay.
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
With the Kal no longer present to act as distraction, the remaining cruisers and assault ships renew their concentrated assault upon the Warrior.
INT. NYAX/BRIDGE
The Force Hound sits upon the command chair with his aide by his side, watching the Lightning Warrior succumb to the Mandalorian assault on the viewscreen.
MANDALORIAN SENSOR OFFICER: (in Mando'a, subtitled) The Alderaanian Dreadnought is crippled, milord!
FORCE HOUND: (to comm officer; subtitled) Order all ships to stand down.
The Mandalorian comm officer relays this command to the other Mandalorian ships. Within moments the attack ends, leaving the crippled Lightning Warrior floating in space.
FORCE HOUND: (cont'd; subtitled) Order the Deinonychus to make its descent at the pre-arranged coordinates.
The comm officer relays this to the Deinonychus. In moments, one of the Mandalorian Dreadnoughts begins making its descent to the desert planet below.
MANDALORIAN AIDE: (subtitled) We should destroy the Imperial ship and be done with it.
FORCE HOUND: (subtitled) No, Karras, not when there is someone on board waiting to meet us. (rises from seat) Assemble a boarding party and alert my shuttle to prepare for my arrival.
EXT. TATOOINE — ANCHORHEAD — DOCKING BAY 32 — DAY
Obi-Wan and Anakin exit Docking Bay 32, various bags of luggage with them, and begin crossing the street. Upon his face, Obi-Wan wears a decidedly sour expression.
ANAKIN: I’m sorry, Ben, but like I said, the Twilight belongs to Watto; Owen and I just used it to ferry spice down for him. There isn't even a functional hyperdrive on-board.
OBI-WAN: So we’ll have to pay for a flight to Alderaan. Unfortunately, we don’t have that amount of money on hand. (sighs) I suppose spending fourteen or fifteen months on Vjun won't be so bad….
ANAKIN: If I could've spared the cash —
OBI-WAN: (waves hand dismissively) Nevermind that, Anakin. (beat) You get used to the torrential downpours after a while.
ANAKIN: (grins) Rain‽ That'll be prime! I've never seen rain before!
OBI-WAN: After you leave Vjun, you'll never want to see it again. (beat) I suppose the taxi fare to Mos Eisley hasn't changed since I was here last.
ANAKIN: When was the last time you were on Tatooine?
Before the Jedi can answer, a strange mechanical noise fills the air, growing louder with each passing moment until it becomes deafening, causing everyone in the area to cover their ears with their hands, grimacing in pain. Looking up towards the sky, Obi-Wan and Anakin watch as the Deinonychus comes down over the town like a descending raptor.
ANAKIN: (yelling over noise) What is that‽
OBI-WAN: (yelling over noise) Nik, run!
Roughly grabbing the young man by his arm, the Jedi Knight breaks out into a run up the street. The Deinonychus begins firing upon the town, obliterating whole buildings with single blasts and killing hundreds in the process. As the townspeople of Anchorhead rush to flee the bombardment, the cruiser proceeds to unleash its complement of Kom'rk-class fighters, all of which descend upon the fleeing masses like a swarm of angry hornets.
Little can be done as the Dreadnought decimates the town and the fighters mow down the townspeople caught in the open. Within ten minutes, Anchorhead is reduced to a smouldering ruin, most of its residents dead or seriously injured.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
On the Warrior's bridge, flickering light playing over him, Bail sits hunched over in his command chair, rubbing his temple to rid himself of a burgeoning headache. Vaness, trying to comfort him, massages his left shoulder. Siri, who alone on the bridge has tried to remain calm and in control of her emotions, begins growing visibly uneasy.
SIRI: Captain ...
BAIL: (looks up at Jedi) What is it, Ms. Tachi?
SIRI: The Mandalorians are boarding us….
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/DOCKING BAY
A shuttlecraft enters the deserted docking bay of the Lightning Warrior and touches down on the metal deck. As the hatch lowers, over two dozen Mandalorian Knights file out, the Force Hound himself leading them.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
BAIL: (rises from chair) If those bucketheads think we're going to lay down for them, they've got another thing coming.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/CORRIDOR
As the Force Hound and his warriors move along the corridor towards the bridge, several crew members emerge from dark corners to repel the invaders, opening fire with their blasters. The Force Hound easily avoids the blasts, using the Force to telekinetically hurl and push the Imperials out of his way.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
Stepping away from Vaness and the command chair, Bail walks past Siri until he stands facing the sealed door which leads to-and-from the bridge.
BAIL: Everyone ready. Company's coming.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/CORRIDOR
As the Force Hound walks past the defeated Imperials lying sprawled out on the deck around him, his warriors unsheathe their vibroswords and proceed to slay those still alive.
INT. LIGHTNING WARRIOR/BRIDGE
SIRI: (unclips lightsaber) They're here.
BAIL: (unholsters blaster and adjusts setting) Set for "kill".
The bridge officers unholster their blasters and set them on their commanding officer's ordered setting. Siri engages her lightsaber, holding the yellow blade before her in a defensive position.
As they stand there, their weapons armed and levelled at the closed bridge door, with a horrible SQUEAL of tortured steel, it is forced open. The Force Hound steps through.
BAIL: Fire!
Before most of the bridge officers can obey the captain's command, the Force Hound uses his powers to fling half of them back, slamming them into consoles and seats and knocking them senseless. The advantage now in his favour, he steps aside to allow his warriors admittance; they immediately go on the offensive, swords swinging. The rest of the officers — Bail and Vaness included — immediately counterattack, firing their blasters as Siri springs into action with her lightsaber swinging. As the Mandalorian Knights are all Force-sensitive and the vibroswords they wield are forged from preternaturally durable beskar, the counterattack proves less than fully effective.
Rage fueling him, Capt. Bail Organa manages to take out five Mandalorians, killing three of them with precisely fired shots from his blaster while knocking the other two right out with powerful punches and kicks to vulnerable areas to the body. When one of the knights slashes his gun arm through the elbow, though, nearly cutting his lower arm off, and sends him hurtling into the bulkhead with an incredibly powerful toss, his role in the battle comes to an end.
Cmdr. Raia Vaness, her body toned and honed with years of exercise and training, makes progress against nine of the Mandalorians, killing nearly half of them while injuring the rest. She goes down, though, when one of the Mandalorians manages to strike her in the back of the head with the pommel of his sword, knocking her unconscious.
Swinging her lightsaber, Siri Tachi tries to decapitate one of the knights, but he quickly brings up his impervious vibrosword, blocking the plasma blade. Throwing out a fist, she punches the Mandalorian back instead, then spins around to attack another Mandalorian.
A master sharpshooter, Lt. Solo takes out seven Mandalorians with expertly placed shots to vulnerable areas of their bodies. He can do nothing, though, as a Mandalorian strides past his defenses up to him, shatters his knee with a well-placed kick, then takes hold of his face and slams his head back against the edge of the computer console behind him, killing him instantly.
Roaring with intense rage, the comm officer leaps at the Mandalorian who killed Solo, tackling him to the deck. Grabbing the Mandalorian by the helmet, he begins slamming the warrior's head down over-and-over again until the Mandalorian stops moving. He doesn't get the opportunity to relish his victory, however, as another knight beheads him before he can even stand back up.
The weapons officer dies screaming as he is slammed through a console, electrocuting him.
Eventually all fall except Siri, who stands before the remaining Mandalorian Knights, drenched with sweat and breathing heavily, yellow blade glowing with fierce intensity before her.
SIRI: (grits teeth) Savages.
Rearing her saber back, she pounces, bringing the plasma blade down towards the closest Mandalorian Knight. She stops in mid-strike, dropping her lightsaber as she utters a sharp GASP. An invisible force hoists her into the air as she reaches for her throat, gurgling as she begins to choke. Passing through his warriors, the Force Hound walks up to Siri, his right hand raised and clenched in a tight fist.
FORCE HOUND: We'll have no more of that, my dear.
Gurgling, Siri tries once to reach out at him with her left hand, but the intense pressure at her throat immediately dissuades her from the effort.
FORCE HOUND: (cont'd) It's time for you to fall asleep.
Wheezing, Siri's mouth foams up and her eyes roll up in the back of her head. Unclenching his fist, the Force Hound allows her to fall to the deck and breathe once more.
FORCE HOUND: (to others; in Mando'a, subtitled) She's unconscious. Take her and bring her to the shuttle.
Obeying immediately, two of the knights rush over to Siri. Pulling her up, they waste no time and move quickly to take her off the bridge.
MANDALORIAN #3: (subtitled) Some of the Imperial dogs are still alive, milord.
FORCE HOUND: (subtitled) Let them live. (beat) Let the rest of the Empire hear the tale of our day's victory from their comrades' own lips. Let them learn to fear the name "Mandalorian" once more.
With that, the Force-sensitive Mandalorians begin filing out of the Warrior's bridge, their job complete. As the last of them exit the bridge, the Force Hound notices Siri's lightsaber lying abandoned on the deck. Reaching down, he picks the weapon up and holds it up before him. Studying it momentarily, he then lowers it to his side and proceeds to follow after his minions.
EXT. TATOOINE — ANCHORHEAD — STREETS — DAY
The Mandalorians, having landed their fighters, are now searching the ruins of the town on foot for any survivors, their blasters held at the ready.
INT. DEMOLISHED BUILDING — DAY
Obi-Wan and Anakin hide within the interior of a partially demolished building, crouched down low by a window that looks out into the street. As the Mandalorians appear around the corner, they duck down, peering back over the edge only once they've passed on by.
ANAKIN: Who the hell are these guys?
OBI-WAN: By the armour, I'd suspect they're Mandalorians.
ANAKIN: Mandalorians? I thought they were wiped out in the First Clone War.
OBI-WAN: Their throneworld was decimated in the civil war that followed the assassination of Mandalore the Destroyer, and their civilization quickly disintegrated afterwards, but various individual pockets survived and continue to exist.
ANAKIN: What are they doing here? Tatooine has nothing of value!
OBI-WAN: I honestly don't know. (beat) Do you know how to operate a Mandalorian fighter?
ANAKIN: What kind of question is that?
OBI-WAN: A necessary one, because we're going to have to borrow a pair.
ANAKIN: Excuse me‽
OBI-WAN: You have a better idea? (beat) We can use neither a landspeeder nor the Twilight to escape — provided it wasn't destroyed; both would be far too slow to evade the Mandalorian ships before we were detected. We're left only the fighters, which are very fast, maneuverable craft.
Unable to offer any better alternatives, Anakin raises his hands in a gesture of placation.
OBI-WAN: Alright — then follow me.
Together, the Jedi and his ward slowly leave the crumbling building, taking care to look out for Mandalorians. Certain they won't be spotted, they hurry along their way, staying close to the sides of the buildings while stopping to peer around corners.
Eventually, they find their way to the parked Mandalorian fighters. Unfortunately, stationed on guard are three Mandalorian lookouts. The pair quickly hides behind the large, fallen corner of a building before they can be seen.
ANAKIN: Great — guards!
OBI-WAN: You needn't worry. They're momentary obstacles at worst.
ANAKIN: You gonna take them out with your lasersword?
OBI-WAN: I don't think it'll come to that.
Leaning out around the corner of their hiding spot, Obi-Wan quickly throws his hand out toward the Mandalorian guards.
MANDALORIAN #4: (hears sound; in Mando'a) What was that‽
MANDALORIAN #5: (points to space between two buildings standing in distance; in Mando'a) It came from over there!
Wasting no time, the three Mandalorians take off to track down and ascertain the source of the sound they heard. Once the armoured warriors have disappeared between the two buildings, Obi-Wan and Anakin come out of hiding and run up to a pair of waiting fighters.
ANAKIN: (feeling around hull for opening mechanism) I don't know how to get it open!
OBI-WAN: (turns to assist Anakin) Here, like this….
As the Jedi goes to help the boy, the Mandalorians who have been making their rounds throughout the demolished ruins of Anchorhead return.
MANDALORIAN #6: (in Mando'a) Set for "stun"! Fire!
Setting their blasters on "stun", the Mandalorians open fire on the two. Obi-Wan quickly pulls out his lightsaber, engaging the blade and using it to parry several stun bolts, but in moments he and Anakin are both overwhelmed and taken down for the count.
Approaching the fallen partners, the Mandalorians stand over them, studying them from behind their face-concealing helmets.
EXT. SPACE — TATOOINE
A shuttle leaves the Deinonychus on a course straight for the Nyax.
INT. NYAX/DOCKING BAY
His retinue of Mandalorian Knights at his side, the Force Hound watches as the shuttle slips into the docking bay, landing before him with the release of various pressurized gases. The hatch of the shuttlecraft pops open and extends, allowing Obi-Wan and Anakin — their arms bound behind them in heavy-duty energy shackles — to be led out with an escort of heavily-armed Mandalorian warriors surrounding them.
MANDALORIAN #7: (approaches Force Hound; in Mando'a, subtitled) These are the Jedi our men captured on the planet, milord.
FORCE HOUND: (regards captives; subtitled) Were any weapons found on them?
The Mandalorian reaches into his belt and pulls out Obi-Wan's lightsaber.
MANDALORIAN #7: (subtitled) Just this one lightsaber found on the man.
FOUND HOUND: (takes lightsaber; subtitled) Good work, Lieutenant. (to Obi-Wan and Anakin; in Basic) Welcome aboard the Nyax, gentlemen. This will be your home for the next eleven days, so I suggest you get settled in the accommodations we've provided you. (to Mandalorian lieutenant; in Mando'a) Escort them to their cell.
Turning to his men, the Mandalorian lieutenant signals for them to start moving the captives along. Prodded at gunpoint to start moving, Obi-Wan and Anakin begin following the Mandalorians to their waiting cell.
INT. NYAX/SIRI'S CELL
Siri sits against the bulkhead directly facing the cell door, her arms propped up against her knees. Beyond sporting a large, red-purple bruise above her left temple, she is none the worse for wear.
The cell door suddenly unlocks and opens. Obi-Wan and Anakin, freed from their bonds, are roughly pushed inside. Collapsing to the floor, they have no time to right themselves before the door is resealed.
OBI-WAN: (sits up; brushes himself off) Well, that was a pleasant experience. (to Anakin) Are you alright, Anakin?
ANAKIN: (sits up, rubbing wrists) Yeah, I'm fine. (notices Siri) Looks like we've got a cellmate, Ben.
Siri, sitting there, merely stares at the two new arrivals without saying a word. Looking upon her for the first time, Obi-Wan cocks an eyebrow. Beneath her disheveled appearance, Siri is an attractive woman, and Obi-Wan — a ladies man at heart — is immediately taken with the female Jedi.
OBI-WAN: (smiles) Madame.
SIRI: (nonchalant) Hello.
OBI-WAN: If I'm not being too forward, may I have the pleasure of your name?
SIRI: Siri Tachi, Jedi Knight of the Order of Coruscant.
OBI-WAN: (takes her hand) Obi-Wan Kenobi, (kisses it) Jedi Knight-errant.
SIRI: (cocks eyebrow) You're Jedi?
OBI-WAN: Not a Jedi of your calibre, I assure you, but a Jedi nonetheless.
SIRI: (nods to Anakin) Your apprentice?
OBI-WAN: (glances at Anakin) No. Not my apprentice.
SIRI: He's Force-sensitive.
OBI-WAN: (nods) Yes. I was planning on finding a teacher who'll take him on as a protégé. (grins) You wouldn't be interested in the prospect, would you?
SIRI: I already have a pupil. Besides, he's too old.
ANAKIN: (frowns) "Too old"?
OBI-WAN: The Coruscanti Jedi aren't keen on training anyone over five years of age. It's often forbidden.
SIRI: (notices tone in Obi-Wan's voice) You don't approve, of course.
OBI-WAN: I can't say I'm overly fond of separating children from their families, of raising them in isolation to believe that relationships with non-Jedi are immoral, no.
SIRI: (smirks) Ours is the largest Jedi denomination in Imperial Space, so we must be doing something right.
ANAKIN: (disinterested) Alright, okay. Siri, do you have any idea why the Mandalorians took us?
SIRI: These Mandalorians have been attacking worlds and ships along the Outer Rim's Southeastern Border for almost a year now, capturing and killing hundreds who've crossed their path. The Council assigned me to investigate their activities, to discern their motive.
OBI-WAN: Which is?
SIRI: We didn't know at first; their pattern seemed random. But I believe I've uncovered it. (beat) On the last world they attacked, I uncovered evidence which linked the Mandalorians to a Force-user — probably a rogue Jedi — who was teaching their sensitives to use the Force.
OBI-WAN: Our friend in the aquamarine robes.
SIRI: (cont'd) I didn't think it had any real bearing on the case; renegade Jedi often ally themselves with miscreants. But the design is apparent now.
OBI-WAN: (frowns) I don't follow.
SIRI: Your arrival allowed me to put the final pieces of the puzzle together.
ANAKIN: You're being as clear as the sweat off a womp rat.
SIRI: (shakes head) We're all Force-sensitive — each of us!
OBI-WAN: (realization dawning) You think the Mandalorians are …
SIRI: They're building a slave army of Force-wielders.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 8, 2018 18:54:32 GMT -5
INT. DANIA VII — BUNKER 13/ZUL'S QUARTERS/BED CHAMBER — DAY
Zul lies asleep upon her small bed within her small, spartan quarters, her face peaceful in sleep. Though her long hair has been shorn down to a unisexual bob and her body lies adorned in plain, unflattering undergarments, she remains preternaturally beautiful.
The room's lights suddenly flare to life, casting bright illumination on her face. Her peaceful expression disappearing beneath a frown of interrupted sleep, Zul opens her eyes. Silhouetted against the open door of the bed chamber is a Mandalorian warrior.
MANDALORIAN #8: (in Mando'a, subtitled) It's time to report for training. Wake up and get yourself ready.
ZUL: (in heavily accented, broken Mando'a, subtitled) I hear. You go.
The Mandalorian leaves the doorframe. Zul, groaning with weariness, pushes herself up into a sitting position on her bed.
INT. BUNKER 13/ZUL'S QUARTERS/REFRESHER — DAY
Opening the door to her quarters' small refresher, Zul steps inside and walks up to the sink. As she turns the faucet on, she looks into the mirror before her, gazing deep into her own eyes.
The mirror spontaneously caves in. Zul's reflection is warped beyond recognition, absolutely grotesque.
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Sitting within their collective cell, Anakin looks upon the two Jedi, both in meditative trances. Bored out of his mind, he picks up a small pebble and flicks it at Obi-Wan, hitting him in the forehead and rousing him from his meditation.
OBI-WAN: OW! (beat) Anakin, I was meditating!
Feeling her peer's discomfort through the Force, Siri's meditation is broken and she, too, comes up from her trance.
ANAKIN: (sighs) That's swell for you; you get to meditate yourself out of this Ranat hole.
OBI-WAN: (sarcastic) It's not my fault the Mandalorians didn't provide us holovids to watch.
SIRI: (sighs) Just teach him some meditation techniques,
Kenobi.
OBI-WAN: (turns to Siri) I already told you I am not his teacher.
SIRI: (annoyed) If you can't so much as teach a kid to meditate, then your teacher made a grave misjudgement knighting you.
OBI-WAN: What do you care? You don't believe in teaching apprentices who are "too old", anyway.
SIRI: I care because I'm ill of listening to his incessant whining! Maybe if you taught him how to meditate, I could get some of my own done!
OBI-WAN: Then you teach him!
SIRI: (smirks) He's too old, remember?
OBI-WAN: (fumes) You antagonistic —
The Jedi Knight cuts himself off before he can complete the curse and turns his back to Siri, deciding to ignore her.
ANAKIN: (angry) What's your malfunction, anyway?
OBI-WAN: My malfunction?
ANAKIN: Grievance? Issue? Problem? First you tell me to turn a blind eye to the Force, just push it away and go on as if it doesn't exist. Now you won't even show me how to take the boat-ride up to Cloud #9. I'm fed up with your BS, Ben. I want karking answers!
OBI-WAN: I don't want to talk about it.
ANAKIN: Don't avoid this! Don't you dare! I've earned the right to know!
A moment of silence passes between them.
OBI-WAN: (sighs) You're right, Anakin. (beat) It's hard for me. It's still so fresh in my mind.
ANAKIN: (expression softens) What is it?
OBI-WAN: During my travels, I met and befriended a Jedi master named Jard Dohku.
SIRI: (scoffs) Jard Dohku? You're friends with Master Jard Dohku‽ (laughs scornfully)
OBI-WAN: (ignores Siri) He had an apprentice named Qui-Gon Jinn. (beat) We became very close friends, he and I — almost brothers. (beat) While on Orbos IX to break up a Black Sun spice operation, Dohku was badly injured, leaving him unable to continue Qui-Gon's training. As we three were close friends, arrangements were made for Qui-Gon to be placed in my care until Master Dohku fully recuperated. It wasn't a master-apprentice relationship, per se; more like a sponsor/sponsee correspondence.
ANAKIN: Something happened to him while he was with you.
OBI-WAN: A few months ago, the Federation Neimoidia invaded Nabu and set about exterminating the planet's ruling family. As I was on the team dispatched to rescue the heirs apparent, Qui-Gon came along with me. (beat) While on Nabu, he and I encountered a dark warrior who engaged us in a lightsaber duel.
SIRI: This dark warrior...?
OBI-WAN: We never uncovered his identity. He could have been an underling of the Neimoidians, perhaps even their employer. It doesn't really matter. (beat) During the fight, Qui-Gon and I were separated, leaving Qui-Gon to face the warrior alone; he fell to his blade. (beat) Now you know why I haven't been anxious to share my knowledge with you.
ANAKIN: You're afraid what happened to Qui-Gon could happen to me.
OBI-WAN: (crying) I played at being teacher once and failed. I won't do it again — never again.
INT. NYAX/FORCE HOUND'S MEDITATION CHAMBER
Standing within his meditation circle, a stained glass light fixture in the ceiling overhead, the Force Hound — his body completely naked and shrouded in shadow — moves to each tall candlestick surrounding him, passing his left hand over each of them, igniting white-hot flames through the Force in turn. Once the circle of flames is complete, the Mandalorian sits down in the centre. Bracing his arms against his crossed legs, he bows his head and begins his meditation.
Nothing happens at first, but gradually the glow of the white flames grows brighter and brighter. Soon, it glows so bright that a fog of pure white light fills the circle. As the Force Hound lifts his head back, the fog of white surrounding him coalesces, focusing into a tight beam of almost-solid white light. As the Mandalorian draws in a huge breath, the all-embracing light consumes him.
EXT. DANIA VII — TRAINING ARENA — DAY (VISION)
The Force Hound finds himself within a training arena on Dania VII. Uncrossing his legs, the Mandalorian rises. We can tell this is a vision, as everything here moves with a restrained but noticeable "slow shutter" effect.
The training arena lies at the heart of an enormous amphitheatre, wide open to the planet's deep emerald sky. The base of the amphitheatre serves as the main training centre for the recruits while the outlying rings have been converted into various obstacle courses, each with varying levels of difficulty. Standing at regular intervals along the perimetre of the outermost ring of the amphitheatre are several armed Death Watchmen, each on alert for any captive lucky enough to get through the obstacle courses and make a break for freedom.
Entering the centre of the amphitheatre through a tunnel coming up from underground, Zul steps out into the intense light from Dania VII's three primary-coloured suns. Grimacing, she averts her gaze -- shielding her eyes with her hand and focusing her vision on the ground at the centre of the arena -- and walks forward, the two dozen other recruits of her regiment following in after her.
In wait is a Mandalorian drill sergeant. Upon his command, the conscripts organize into two neat columns of a dozen each before him. As each regiment is made up of recruits sorted by their proficiency in the Force, all members of this regiment stand on roughly equal footing with one another. Informing them that they'll be practicing swordplay techniques today, he brings out a pair of unsheathed vibroswords and orders each member of the regiment to pair up. Obeying the Mandalorian, they each find themselves a partner. Zul finds herself paired up with Tilos Metiya, a ruggedly handsome Human male with dark blond hair and steel gray eyes. Metiya flirts with Zul, but Zul refuses to respond, her face grave. One-by-one, each pair moves to the centre of the arena, taking turns sparring while the Mandalorian stands nearby, offering advice. In time, it is Zul and Metiya's turn.
When Metiya gives Zul an affectionate slap on the rear, her eyes flare with sudden anger. She rears back her hand, fingers twisted into claws, eagre to slice ribbons of flesh from his face. Effortlessly, the Human male catches her wrist before she can make contact. Grinning, not recognizing the depth of Zul's vehemence, he brushes her antipathy off with a flippant remark. Violently wrenching her arm out of his grip, Zul speed-walks up to the Mandalorian sergeant, yanks one of the two proffered vibroswords eagrely out of his hand, and activates it. Metiya, for his part, nonchalantly walks up to the sergeant, absentmindedly accepting the remaining sword.
As the Mandalorian sergeant orders them to begin, Zul pounces, bringing a ferocious strike upon Metiya. Barely able to register the move in time, the Human sloppily blocks the blow and is thrown off-kilter. Unwilling to allow Metiya opportunity to catch his bearings, Zul dives in for another attack. Empowered by her rage, Zul delivers unrelenting blow upon unrelenting blow Metiya's way, giving him no opportunity to activate his weapon and go on the offensive, forcing him to use his vibrosword as a mere shield. Eventually, Zul brings the outmatched battle to an end. Slashing through the tendons of his sword hand, she disarms Metiya, and with a Force-assisted kick, drives him off his feet to his back on the ground.
The drill sergeant approaches Zul to congratulate her on her flawless victory, but the fallen priestess gives the sergeant no time to finish his speech. Teeth bared like a beast driven to an unquenchable killing frenzy, she rears back her vibrosword and, with a savage howl, attacks Tilos Metiya, who lies defenseless on the ground trying to staunch the flow of blood running from his slashed wrist.
The near-Human woman brings her fiercely vibrating weapon down on her opponent, slaying the man. Her rage unsatisfied, she doesn't stop; she continues until Mandalorian guards are finally sent out to restrain and haul her away.
INT. NYAX/FORCE HOUND'S MEDITATION CHAMBER
The Force Hound stands nude within the centre of his meditation chamber. The flames of the candlesticks surrounding him have gone out. His meditation is at an end. His vision concluded.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 9, 2018 20:47:28 GMT -5
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Siri all lie prone within their cell, fast asleep.
As a pair of Mandalorian Knights with four heavily-armed 'droid escorts enter the cell, Obi-Wan bolts upright awake. Siri soon follows him, but Anakin remains dead to the world.
MANDALORIAN #9: (to Mandalorian #10; in Mando'a) Grab the boy.
The Mandalorian obeys his comrade and grabs hold of Anakin, violently pulling him awake.
ANAKIN: Hey! What —?
Leaping to his feet, Obi-Wan shoves the Mandalorian back away from the boy and into his comrade, toppling them both over. With Siri awake and by his side, they turn in unison to the four 'droids. Lunging at one of the 'droids, Obi-Wan wrenches the large blaster out of its hands and, taking aim, goes to pull the trigger; there is no trigger. Looking down at the weapon, Obi-Wan sees that there is no visible firing mechanism. Caught off guard, the Jedi Knights fail to get out of the way as the other 'droids level their blasters and fire, bringing them both down with incredibly potent stun bolts.
Coming to their senses, the two Mandalorians climb back to their feet. Walking over to Obi-Wan, Mandalorian #9 kicks the unconscious Jedi once in the gut.
MANDALORIAN #9: (in Mando'a, subtitled) Forget the kid. Let's bring this trash to the doctor instead.
INT. NYAX/TORTURE CHAMBER
The two Mandalorian Knights drag Obi-Wan into the torture chamber, the four armed 'droids following behind, and carry the unconscious Jedi over to Marqus DeSaad, who is currently engaged in injecting a series of nasty looking chemicals into a restrained Twi'lek.
MARQUS DESAAD: (scolding; subtitled) You knocked him out.
MANDALORIAN #10: (subtitled) You expected him to come with flowers and candy?
MARQUS DESAAD: (sighs; subtitled) Stimulants don't come cheap. In future, try bringing captives to me in a conscious state, will you please?
Reaching over to his tray of hypo-syringes containing various coloured fluids, the dungeon master picks one containing a dirty yellow liquid. Taking hold of Obi-Wan's left arm, he pulls it out and jabs the needle into the Jedi's wrist, injecting the entire contents of the syringe into his bloodstream. In moments Obi-Wan comes fully awake, screaming in agony.
MARQUS DESAAD: Welcome back to the land of the living, Knight Jedi. Don't suffer the pain; it'll pass momentarily.
After about a minute, the burning pain passing through Obi-Wan's veins begins to subside and the screaming comes to an end.
MARQUS DESAAD: (ecstatic) It's been considerable time since I worked on a bona fide Jedi.
Reaching back to his tray, the Mandalorian dungeon master picks up a hypo filled with a midnight blue liquid.
MARQUS DESAAD: (cont'd) This'll be such a pleasure!
Grabbing Obi-Wan by the chin with his free hand, DeSaad brings the syringe forth with the other. Planting the tip of the needle directly against Obi-Wan's forehead, he pushes it through his skull into his brain, injecting the chemicals directly into his cerebral cortex.
As the Jedi's eyes roll up in his head and his muscles begin shuddering, the Mandalorians holding him drag him over to the coffin. Opening it, they throw Obi-Wan inside then seal it shut, encasing him in complete sensory deprivation.
EXT. DARK WORLD (HALLUCINATION)
Blue-white fog billows up within a black void and Obi-Wan comes running through it in slow motion. Terror etched on his face, he keeps turning to look behind at something chasing him.
Without warning, the ground goes out from under him and the Jedi collapses through the thick fog, disappearing from sight.
INT. TUNNEL WORLD (HALLUCINATION)
Obi-Wan is carried through a crumbling, earthen tunnel on the arms of innumerable, decaying, wailing and cackling skeletons.
EXT. SEA WORLD — TWILIGHT (HALLUCINATION)
Obi-Wan breaks through the dark water of an endless sea, gasping and thrashing about as he struggles to draw air into his lungs. Once he has caught his breath, he begins swimming through the blue-black water, soon disappearing into the horizon in the distance.
Suddenly the seascape shatters like a pane of glass, dropping away in shards to reveal —
INT. FORTRESS WORLD — EVENING (HALLUCINATION)
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn stand within the labyrinthine interior of the ruins of an ancient fortress. Clad in the armour of the ancient Jedi Knights, they wield swords of emerald and azure fire, respectively. Standing before them, clad in a red-and-black suit of biomechanical armour, is the DARK WARRIOR. A near-Human Zabrak with black-and-red skin, a wicked crown of long horns encircles his head and a quarterstaff of ruby-red flame blazes in his hands.
Bringing their weapons to bear, the two Jedi attack the dark warrior, meeting his flaming red staff with their swords of blue and green flame. As one, the three combatants make their way up the labyrinthine interior of the ruins, moving with the grace of dancers in a cosmic ballet as lightning and thunder strikes through the open holes of the ruins, lighting the interior up with intense sound and dazzling illumination.
As the three warriors near the apex of the ruined fortress, the ground around Obi-Wan's feet suddenly turns to liquid tar and he finds himself unable to move forward with any haste. As he struggles to move through the syrupy black mess, Qui-Gon and the dark warrior move on ahead in their duel, leaving him behind.
With immense effort, Obi-Wan manages to walk through the tar and climb the rest of the distance to the top of the ruins. As he arrives, he finds himself too late to offer the apprentice any aid. Having gained the advantage in their duel, the dark warrior runs Qui-Gon through with his quarterstaff, killing him.
FLASH TO
Obi-Wan and the dark warrior suddenly engaged in a fierce duel, sword of green flame clashing against sword of red fire. They are like two perfect mirror images of one another, two different sides of one whole coin.
The duel reaches its crescendo and Obi-Wan finds himself faltering against the Zabrak warrior. As he loses his footing, the dark one takes his advantage and knocks the Jedi off the top of the ruins. With his reflexes at his command, Obi-Wan saves himself by grabbing hold of a stone gargoyle but loses his flaming sword in the process; looking down, he watches as the vibrant emerald blade disappears in the black void below.
Standing over the Jedi, the dark warrior throws his hands up into the air, releasing a HOWL of final victory. Looking down at the helpless Jedi, he grins — bearing needle-like teeth — then rears his ruby sword back for the killing blow.
Without a moment's hesitation, Obi-Wan flies up through the air. Reaching the dark warrior, he punches through his rib cage and tears out his heart. His face growing slack, the dark warrior's eyes glaze over and he falls over the side. Looking over, Obi-Wan watches as red lightning courses out of the Zabrak's wound as he plummets into the darkness.
CUT TO
A close-up of Obi-Wan running his hands down his face as tears of blood stream down his cheeks from hemorrhaged eyes.
INT. NYAX/TORTURE CHAMBER
Obi-Wan lies upon the deck outside the open coffin in the Nyax's torture chamber. Traumatized by the hallucinatory experience he just witnessed, he can do nothing but tremble uncontrollably, his eyes fixed open in stark terror.
INT. NYAX/CORRIDOR
The Force Hound strides through the corridor at a quick pace, his aquamarine robes billowing behind him as he hurries toward his destination.
INT. NYAX/SICK BAY
Within the sick bay, Obi-Wan lies prone in a hospital bed surrounded by a pair of medical 'droids who are busy examining his readings. Standing off to the side, looking out of place in this clean, white environment, is Marqus DeSaad himself.
The door leading into the sick bay slides open and the Force Hound enters. As the Force-adept Mandalorian approaches Obi-Wan's bed, the dungeon master turns to face his lord.
FORCE HOUND: (in Mando'a, subtitled) What happened to him?
MARQUS DESAAD: (subtitled) He had such a bad reaction to his experience in the coffin that he fell into a catatonic shock. (beat) I'm quite amazed this happened. Latents and novices have emerged in better condition.
FORCE HOUND: (angry; subtitled) Amazed?
Reaching out with the Force, the Force Hound begins to strangle the dungeon master. Choking, the professional torturer falls to his knees, clawing at his throat.
FORCE HOUND: (vehement; subtitled) Your duty on this ship is to evaluate the new recruits, break them if necessary — not to carry out another of those obscene experiments you and others of your ilk performed during the first war.
The dungeon master collapses on his hands, wheezing horribly.
FORCE HOUND: (cont'd; subtitled) If this Jedi suffers any permanent injury, I will having you begging for release into Perdition's flames. This I vow, my dear DeSaad.
The Force Hound releases his grip and DeSaad collapses to the deck completely. Sucking in big, heavy gulps of air, he begins coughing violently.
FORCE HOUND: (subtitled) Remove yourself from my sight.
Continuing to cough, DeSaad climbs to his feet and hurries out of the sick bay with all the grace of a dog who has been kicked multiple times in the ribs.
Once the dungeon master is gone, the Force Hound turns toward Obi-Wan laid out on the bed. The Jedi's body twitches fitfully, his eyes staring unblinking at nothing.
FORCE HOUND: (to medical 'droids; subtitled) Leave us.
With unquestioning obedience, the two 'droids leave the bed of the young Jedi Knight to attend to duties elsewhere.
Stepping up to the prone form of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Force Hound reaches out to him, placing his hand on the young man's forehead.
INT. SWAMP PLANET — CAVE (MINDSCAPE)
A six-year-old Obi-Wan sits within the dark depths of the cave, huddled up against a vine-covered stone wall with his knees drawn up into his chest. Cold and wet, he flinches with absolute terror at every nightmarish sound or shape that moves through the dark cave.
A yellow glow comes to life behind the young boy. Spinning around, he watches as a SILHOUETTED HUMAN FIGURE steps out of the light towards him.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: Leave me alone!
SILHOUETTED FIGURE: It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: You're lying! You're another monster! Another part of the darkness! Go away!
SILHOUETTED FIGURE: I'm not part of the darkness, child.
With a bright flash of light, the figure is illuminated by an inner glow, revealing his features. The figure is a tall Human male adorned in the charcoal-and-black garb of a knight of the Coruscanti Order. His eyes and smile are both warm and friendly.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: Who are you?
SILHOUETTED FIGURE: (crouches down beside Ben) My name is Pre. I'm a Jedi Knight. I'm here to take you out of this place.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: (crying) You can't. It's too strong.
PRE (SILHOUETTED FIGURE): What's too strong?
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: The darkness. It destroys everything … everything.
PRE: (rests hand on Ben's shoulder) No it doesn't. Not if you don't let it.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: It's taken my friends and family away. How can I believe you?
PRE: Have faith in me, Ben Kenobi.
Standing up, the Jedi Knight simply named Pre offers the young Ben his open hand.
PRE: (cont'd) Please — trust me.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Ben tentatively takes Pre's proffered hand. Gently pulling the boy to his feet, the Jedi draws his lightsaber out with his other hand. Engaging the green blade, the Jedi holds it up before him.
6-YEAR-OLD BEN: I'm afraid.
PRE: There's nothing out there but shadows, Ben. We can beat them back together.
With his verdant saber serving as a torch against the darkness, the Jedi leads the young boy out of the pitch black cave into the bright yellow glow. They disappear into it together.
INT. NYAX/SICK BAY
Obi-Wan bolts upright in his bed, breathing heavily. Turning around, he finds himself looking into the visor of the Force Hound's polished helmet.
OBI-WAN: You!
FORCE HOUND: Welcome back, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
OBI-WAN: You pulled me out. Why?
FORCE HOUND: Because you don't deserve to be trapped in the darkness of your own mind.
Just as Obi-Wan prepares to make a move against the Force Hound, the Mandalorian quickly brings out a filled hypo-syringe. Burying it in Obi-Wan's neck, he injects the full contents into his bloodstream. Wracked with sudden numbness, the Jedi sinks back into his bed.
FORCE HOUND: Don't worry, Jedi. This one is a simple sedative, nothing more.
OBI-WAN: Who ... are you?
FORCE HOUND: My compatriots know me as the Force Hound, (removes helmet) but you may know me by the name my parents gave me.
His helmet removed, we can see that the Force Hound is none other than Pre, the Jedi Knight who escorted Obi-Wan out of his black dreamscape. He is far older than his dream counterpart, though, his face gaunt and tired. He is a man who has witnessed too much evil in his lifetime and has, as a result, come out emotionally and spiritually scarred.
FORCE HOUND: (cont'd) My name is Pre Vizsla.
Losing all his consciousness, Obi-Wan's eyes close. Pre Vizsla, his sad face pale under the bright light of the sick bay, turns to leave the Jedi to his slumber.
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Anakin sits cross-legged on the deck, shirtless, looking down upon Siri, who lies beside him unconscious with his balled-up shirt placed under her head to serve as a pillow. Groaning, the female knight slowly regains consciousness, sitting up with considerable effort.
SIRI: (touches side of head; grimaces) What happened? (looks about cell) Where's Kenobi?
ANAKIN: You were both stun-blasted; Ben was taken away.
(beat) That was four hours ago, I think.
SIRI: (grave) For suborning, no doubt.
The cell door is suddenly unlocked and opened, allowing the two Mandalorian Knights to haul the unconscious form of Obi-Wan inside. Once they have dropped him to the deck, Anakin scurries over to examine the Jedi.
ANAKIN: (angry) Murglaks! What've you done to him‽
MANDALORIAN #10: He'll survive.
Without further ado, the Mandalorians leave. Once they are gone, Siri scurries over to Anakin and Obi-Wan's side.
ANAKIN: Can you tell if he's okay?
SIRI: (places hand on his cheek then forehead) He's suffered a severe shock, but he's recuperating fast. He should come to soon.
ANAKIN: We'll let him rest, then. (beat) Get my shirt.
Siri scurries over to grab the wadded-up shirt she'd been using as a pillow. Returning to Anakin's side, she places it under Obi-Wan's head.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2018 21:55:47 GMT -5
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Very descriptive story and nicely written the part of Obi-Wan and the Dark Warrior is my favorite part of this story and its really an exciting moment and nicely put.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 10, 2018 17:20:06 GMT -5
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
Fuelled by his anger and hate, a BPFASSHI DARK JEDI strikes out at the six Mandalorian Knight neophytes surrounding him with incredible ferocity, lunging and slashing at them with the buzzing chartreuse blade of his lightsaber. Though they greatly outnumber the Dark Jedi, they struggle to maintain themselves against the Bpfasshi's violent defense.
One of the neophytes dives forward, somersaulting across the deck to the Dark Jedi, bringing his beskar vibrosword up in a slash that will sever the Bpfasshi's legs at the knees. Anticipating the attack, the Dark Jedi leaps up into the air then lands on the blade of the sword, pinning the weapon down. Before the Mandalorian can move away, the Dark Jedi cuts him down.
Taking advantage of the disorientation of the neophytes, the Dark Jedi leaps into the air, somersaults over the Mandalorians, and lands outside the circle they had formed around him. Lunging forward, he runs one of the Mandalorians through, killing him instantly. Pulling his weapon free, he turns to face the remaining four warriors as they rush at them. Swinging wildly, he misses the first warrior, who manages to land a nasty blow to the bicep of his right arm. Grunting with pain, he manages to bring his saber up in time to parry the blow of the second neophyte. Throwing out his hand, he pushes the neophyte back into the Mandalorian behind him, skewering him on his companion's vibrosword. Before he can free his blade from the form of his companion, the Dark Jedi cuts them both down.
Breathing heavily, the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi turns to face the remaining two neophytes. The Mandalorians rush forward toward the Dark Jedi and as a team strike out, the one of the left aiming for the Bpfasshi's head with the one on the right aiming for the legs. Throwing himself backward, the Dark Jedi avoids losing his head, though he does receive a nasty slash through his left ankle. Grunting with pain, the dark one sends his chartreuse lightsaber spinning across the floor towards the Mandalorian on his right. The neophyte fails to avoid the spinning saber in time and the plasma blade cleaves through both ankles, sending her crashing to the deck.
The Bpfasshi gets back on his feet, using the Force to block the pain shooting through his wounded ankle out, and retrieves both his lightsaber and one of the fallen Mandalorian vibroswords. Then, with yellow-green plasma blade in one hand and vibrating blade of beskar in the other, he pounces upon the last Mandalorian. The neophyte defends herself well against the Dark Jedi's fierce attack, but in the end she falls to the dark one, losing both hands and the right side of her face to the combined blades of her adversary.
Exhausted, the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi deactivates his lightsaber and tosses the vibrosword to the deck. Surveying the wounded and slain strewn about him, he runs the back of a hand across his sweaty brow. A door to the chamber slides open and Pre Vizsla steps inside. As the Mandalorian approaches the Dark Jedi, the latter brings his lightsaber up, reigniting the yellow-green blade.
BPFASSHI DARK JEDI: You're dead!
The Dark Jedi lunges forward, bringing his saber down in a straight stroke for the Mandalorian's head. Vizsla seizes the dark one's wrist without the slightest effort before the blade can connect and, with a twist, snaps it, causing him to drop his weapon.
PRE VIZSLA (FORCE HOUND): Rage and hate are powerful emotions. They fuel the Force and, in turn, fuel you.
Reaching out with the Force, Vizsla calls the Dark Jedi's fallen lightsaber to his free hand.
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) But the power they give you is fleeting. Once it's spent, you're left tired and weak, defenseless as a small child.
Throwing out his hand, he releases the Dark Jedi. As the Bpfasshi staggers backward, the Mandalorian ignites the dark one's weapon and, with one clean stroke, beheads him.
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) It is a lesson your kind rarely come to learn.
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Obi-Wan sits against the far bulkhead of the cell away from Anakin and Siri, watching them as they sleep. A few days have passed since his experience in the torture chamber and he is visibly worse for the wear.
With a yawn, Siri rises from her sleep. Sitting up, she notices Obi-Wan’s staring.
SIRI: Good morning, Obi-Wan.
OBI-WAN: Morning, Siri.
SIRI: (cocks eyebrow) That's the most you've said in three days. I'm glad to see you coming around.
OBI-WAN: (absentminded) Coming around? I suppose I am.
With that their brief conversation comes to an end. As Obi-Wan continues to stare at Anakin, Siri moves over to the corner of the room which serves as the cell's lavatory.
Minutes pass, and finally Anakin awakens.
OBI-WAN: Nik….
ANAKIN: (looks up at Obi-Wan) Obi-Wan?
OBI-WAN: Come here.
Getting up, Anakin walks over to Obi-Wan and crouches down beside the Jedi.
ANAKIN: What is it? Are you okay?
OBI-WAN: I'm alright, Nik. Just listen to what I have to say.
ANAKIN: What is it you have to say?
OBI-WAN: You remember what I told you about the Force?
ANAKIN: Yeah. You said it's the "soul of the universe", that every living thing is connected to it and that it gives those who can touch it amazing powers.
OBI-WAN: That wasn't the full story. (beat) My master taught me that the Force has two main sides: a light side and a dark side. The light side is the positive side of the Force — in harmony with love and life and peace. The dark side, on the other hand, is the negative side of the Force — chaotic and in tune with fear, hatred, and death. (beat) My master also taught me that while the dark side is easier to follow than the light, it is not stronger.
ANAKIN: I'm following you.
OBI-WAN: After Qui-Gon died, I began to fear that Yoda might be wrong — that the dark side actually is stronger than the light. (beat) I'm still afraid the dark side could be stronger.
ANAKIN: There's an "and" or "but" somewhere in all this?
OBI-WAN: (cont'd) But I realized that I don't have to lie down and let the darkness envelop me. I can fight it; even if I can't win, I can fight. (beat) I'm going to fight the dark side, Anakin, and I'm going to help you fight it, too. Vizsla is going to do whatever it takes to sway you over to his way of thinking. I'm not going to allow that. (beat) I'm going to use whatever remaining time we have on this ship together to prepare you for his assaults. I'm going to teach you to use the light side of the Force.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 11, 2018 14:42:51 GMT -5
EXT. VJUN — CLIFF — DAY (MINDSCAPE)
Obi-Wan and Anakin stand together on the world of Vjun at the edge of a cliff covered in turquoise grass, the breathtaking view of a roiling sea beyond them. They watch, unblinking, as the midnight blue waves flow and overtake one another under a sky that is half blue with white sun and half silver with rain cloud.
ANAKIN: Where are we?
OBI-WAN: Vjun.
ANAKIN: (smiles) This is the rain planet you told me about.
OBI-WAN: I thought you'd like it. (beat) This is only the dry season. When the clouds are at their peak, the rain's so thick you can't see a metre before you.
ANAKIN: Stars, it looks so real! (beat) But it's all in my head, right? You didn't teleport us here through the Force or anything like that.
OBI-WAN: (laughs) It's all in my head, actually. I'm sharing it with you through the Force.
ANAKIN: Can you do this with anyone?
OBI-WAN: Establishing a rapport is easy if both parties are receptive to one another. Were I to try it with someone who was unreceptive — or unwilling — it would be harder.
A moment of silence passes between the master and his apprentice.
ANAKIN: (strokes chin) So, why did you bring me — us — here, again?
OBI-WAN: I didn't create this mindscape from my imagination. This is a memory from when I was on this planet — a moment suspended in time. I recalled the emotions I felt on that day and I used them to create this illusion.
ANAKIN: I pretty much had that figured.
OBI-WAN: (cont'd) Your emotions — love, excitement, curiosity, amusement, and so forth — are the keys to the Force. By drawing on them, you gain the ability to consciously tap into the Force, to call on its power. Without your feelings, you would be as a blind man groping about the darkness in search of a light.
ANAKIN: So without emotion you can't feel the Force or use it? You can't mind-meld or create dream worlds?
OBI-WAN: Exactly.
ANAKIN: Why?
OBI-WAN: Because the Force is not of the rational world. It cannot be studied, analysed, or quantified. It is a primal energy, a thing of intuition and of the heart, alien to conventional logic and the mind.
ANAKIN: So feelings are the key. Is that all feelings or only specific ones?
OBI-WAN: Any emotion fuels the Force, but that doesn't mean all should be called upon.
ANAKIN: You mean negative emotions, right? The ones that lead to the dark side?
OBI-WAN: Unbridled anger, hatred, lust, fear — they're all of the dark side and should never be called upon.
ANAKIN: But it's only natural to feel anger, hatred, lust, and fear. It's a part of what makes us Human.
OBI-WAN: The key word is unbridled. There is nothing wrong with finding yourself vexed by a soul who has wronged you or stirred by a woman who has caught your eye. It's only when you give yourself wholly to those emotions, when you cast aside all discretion and restraint for them, that they become of the dark side.
ANAKIN: How do I know when to restrain them? How do I learn how to control them?
OBI-WAN: You know how to use your common sense, don't you? You know when not to eat or drink too much. The same applies to your feelings; know when enough is enough and stop feeding.
A moment of silence passes between the master and the apprentice.
OBI-WAN: Tell me, Anakin, what do you feel right now? What emotions are swelling in you?
ANAKIN: A lot. Too many.
OBI-WAN: Tell me.
ANAKIN: Anxiety ... confusion ... anger ... trepidation … longing ... love ... elation ... excitement!
OBI-WAN: Catch those feelings, Nik. Reach out with them, reach out to the Force.
ANAKIN: But you told me not to use the bad ones.
OBI-WAN: Let them flow out of you, not through you. (beat) Let your emotions flow out of you, into the Force. Let the Force recognize you through them. Let it reach back to touch you.
Closing his eyes, Anakin begins concentrating on Obi-Wan's commands. As he does so, a whirlwind of colour begins swirling about the two Jedi, growing in size and intensity the longer Anakin concentrates. As Obi-Wan watches, countless images take form within the vortex — countless faces of loved ones and enemies, various landscapes from different locations, all drawn from memory or imagination — and he smiles.
ANAKIN: I can feel it working, Ben! I can feel the Force!
OBI-WAN: That's good, Anakin! That's excellent! The Force is with you now! (beat) Now reach out with the Force! Find your horizons and expand them!
The coloured whirlwind of images reshapes into a perfect sphere and begins expanding outward, overtaking and erasing the illusory world of Vjun as it grows. Soon the images spinning about the walls of the sphere grow in clarity and significance, showing people, places, and things beyond Anakin's immediate experience.
Suddenly, without warning, Anakin keels over, grimacing with pain, clutching his head as he collapses to his knees.
OBI-WAN: (alarmed) Anakin!
ANAKIN: (tears streaming from tightly-shut eyes) Ben, what is this‽ My mind — it's being torn apart!
Before the Jedi Knight can respond, the sphere bursts like a bubble. Psychic energy lashes out, and with a joint SCREAM the two Jedi disappear in a sudden flash flood of absolute blackness.
INT. NYAX/OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, & SIRI'S CELL
Obi-Wan's eyes fly open and he finds himself back in the cell, blood flowing from his nose. Pinching his nostrils shut to staunch the nosebleed, he turns to his left, where Anakin lies shaking — his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and his teeth chattering rapidly — caught in a violent seizure.
OBI-WAN: (alarmed) Lord, Anakin!
Disregarding his own paltry nosebleed, Obi-Wan moves quickly, grabbing Anakin by his upper right arm while placing his own right hand down over the boy's forehead. Closing his eyes, the knight opens himself to the Force. Within moments Anakin's violent tremblings subside, leaving the boy in a peaceful unconsciousness. Once he is certain Anakin is alright, he turns to face Siri, who sits kneeling before him with her hands crossed in her lap, her face completely void of expression.
OBI-WAN: (wipes blood from nose) What just happened‽
Siri doesn't reply. Instead her eyes roll up into her head and she falls face-forward, collapsing with all the grace of a rag doll.
OBI-WAN: Siri!
Scrambling forward toward the female Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan pulls her upright, bracing her against him. Pushing her hair out of her face, he turns her head left then right, trying to determine whether she is dead or alive. As her pupils dilate and she continues to breathe, it is apparent that she is alive though in a deep state of catatonia.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.C.) Don't concern yourself with her, Kenobi. She'll be well momentarily.
Obi-Wan turns toward the source of the voice. Pre Vizsla — clad in full armour — emerges from the deep shadow at the far end of the cell and approaches the Jedi.
OBI-WAN: (angry) What did you do to them?
PRE VIZSLA: I deactivated certain regions of their brains. It is a relatively simple task to do for one with my skills, and it isn't permanently debilitating — usually.
OBI-WAN: Bring them back!
PRE VIZSLA: Of course.
Without even a gesture, Pre Vizsla follows through on his promise. Siri and Anakin instantly regain full consciousness and awareness, their eyes opening wide in stark terror, their chests heaving with rapid breathing.
OBI-WAN: (to Anakin and Siri both) Are you alright? Are you okay?
ANAKIN: Yes.
SIRI: I'll be fine in a moment.
OBI-WAN: (turns to Vizsla) Why did you do that?
PRE VIZSLA: Consider it a demonstration or, better yet, a warning. (beat) I know what you're trying to do, Kenobi, and it won't work. Every paltry doctrine you try to instill upon the boy will be shattered with the awesome truth of the Force.
As one, the three Jedi rise to their feet, facing the Force-wielding Mandalorian warrior.
SIRI: You made a mistake coming here alone, Mandalorian. There's three of us and only one of you.
PRE VIZSLA: (laughs) As a revered Jedi master once said: "Size matters not".
Throwing out a hand, Vizsla seizes the three Jedi in an all-encompassing grip, freezing them in place.
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) Two knights and a novice are no match for me. It would do you well to remember that, my friends.
Vizsla turns to face the cell door and it immediately unlocks and slides open, allowing five security 'droids inside.
PRE VIZSLA: You're going to take a trip with me, Jedi. There's something I'd have you see.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
The main door leading to and from the sparring chamber slides open and Obi-Wan and Siri are violently shoved inside. Just as they right themselves and turn around, the door slides shut and locks. Turning away from the door, they find themselves standing alone in the vast empty chamber.
SIRI: (to the chamber) Where am we? What are we doing here?
The Jedi wait to receive some sort of response from somewhere in this vast, empty sparring chamber.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
Vizsla enters the observation deck overlooking the sparring chamber, Anakin and the security 'droids behind him. As they step up to the transparisteel observation windows, the Jedi down in the chamber below look up, spotting them.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
SIRI: (angry) Speak, damn you!
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
PRE VIZSLA: You sound frustrated, Knight Tachi.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.; cont'd) Is there a problem?
SIRI: You tell me!
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.) Such passion in your voice, Knight Tachi!
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) You sound almost angry! Anger is not the Jedi way!
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
OBI-WAN: Don't worry, darksider. We can control our anger.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
PRE VIZSLA: Can you now? Can you really?
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
OBI-WAN: Come down and see for yourself.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.; laughs) Walk to the centre of the room. I've left gifts there for you both.
Cautiously, the two Jedi walk away from the main door to the centre of the chamber. There, resting on the floor, are a pair of small lightsabers.
SIRI: (picks sabers up) Neither of these is my weapon.
OBI-WAN: Nor mine.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
PRE VIZSLA: That would make it too easy.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.; cont'd) No, they're training sabers, taken from two initiates. (beat) They have no further use for the weapons.
SIRI: (grits teeth) Monster.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.) You misunderstand, Knight Tachi. They have no further use for the sabers because they've both grown proficient with weapons worthy of Mandalorian neophytes. Yes, they have grown strong and will grow stronger still under the firm guidance of the Mandalorian Death Watch. After all, not all the children you've brainwashed are incapable of escaping your indoctrination.
SIRI: (regards training lightsabers) What are we supposed to use these for?
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.) What else? Defense.
At that, several doors lining the chamber slide open, allowing ten Mandalorian Knights inside. In each of the robed figures' hands are long force pikes.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
PRE VIZSLA: Let's see how you fare against my elite, Jedi.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
The ten Mandalorians begin circling the Jedi, bringing their force pikes to bear. Siri tosses one of the training sabers to Obi-Wan and they both engage the pure white blades of their ersatz weapons, holding them out before them in defensive stances, muscles tensed and eyes narrowed.
The Mandalorian Knights move in like ravenous sharks, lunging at the Jedi Knights with their weapons. Obi-Wan and Siri counterattack, parrying blows and striking at the knights. The low-powered blades of the training lightsabers are incapable of cutting through the weapons or the warriors, however, leaving the Jedi incapable of doing little more than slowing the knights down momentarily.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
Moving away from the 'droids guarding him, Anakin steps up to Vizsla. Though the menacing automatons quickly level their blasters at him, the young Jedi initiate pays them no heed.
ANAKIN: Stop this! Let them go!
PRE VIZSLA: (turns to Anakin) Is there a good reason why I should, boy?
ANAKIN: (points at the Jedi and Mandalorian Knights) It's ten against two! They don't stand a chance!
PRE VIZSLA: Size doesn't matter, boy, remember? (turns to look down into sparring chamber) If the Force is truly with them, it will grant them victory over my warriors.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
In no time at all, the Mandalorian Knights overwhelm the Jedi Knights. Knocking the training saber out of Siri's hands, they strike out with their pikes, disabling her with powerful shocks to her limbs and torso. Soon she collapses, partially paralysed from the violent vibrations. Obi-Wan fares better and continues to hold his own for a couple more minutes before he, too, eventually falls.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.S.) That's enough. Power down your weapons and leave them.
INT. NYAX/OBSERVATION DECK
The Mandalorians obey Vizsla's orders automatically and quickly leave the chamber. Once they have all gone, Vizsla turns to regard Anakin, who glowers at him with smouldering hatred.
PRE VIZSLA: (strides up to Anakin) You have something to say to me, boy?
ANAKIN: I swear I'll kill you!
PRE VIZSLA: Good — kill me.
Without warning, Vizsla backhands Anakin, sending the teenager reeling back into the security 'droids. Before the boy can catch his bearings, the Mandalorian moves up to him, pulling him forward by his shirt before striking him across the face again.
PRE VIZSLA: Open yourself to the anger — the hatred — novice. Embrace the full power of the Force and use it to destroy me.
Vizsla continues to push, pull, and slap Anakin around the observation deck, using violence to drive the boy closer and closer to the breaking point.
PRE VIZSLA: Come now, child! You swore to kill me! You have the power! Use it!
Vizsla gives Anakin another slap across the face — his hardest yet. With a sharp CRACK, Anakin's nose breaks.
ANAKIN: (cups nose in hands) AAAAHHHH!!!!!!
PRE VIZSLA: (sighs) Pitiful. You speak with strength, but your actions are weak. You are unworthy of the Force bestowed upon you. (beat) I'll make your end quick, painless, though you don't deserve such an easy escape.
Balling his right hand into a fist, Vizsla throws a punch out at Anakin's face. Before the death-dealing blow can connect, however, Anakin throws up his left hand and catches it. Bearing his teeth in an animalistic snarl, he closes his hand over the Mandalorian's, crushing it.
PRE VIZSLA: AAAAHHHH!!!!!!
Anakin wrenches Vizsla's arm back, nearly dislocating the Mandalorian's shoulder, then balls his own right hand up into a fist. Before he can send a Force-reinforced punch into Vizsla's gut, however, one of the 'droids aims its blaster at the Jedi initiate and fires, taking him out with a precisely aimed stun blast.
PRE VIZSLA: (holds shattered hand) That was good, boy. Very good. You'll be a full-fledged neophyte before the year is out.
INT. NYAX/SPARRING CHAMBER
The door to the sparring chamber slides open, allowing Vizsla along with an escort of four Mandalorian Knights inside. Walking up to the two defeated Jedi, Vizsla looks down upon them.
PRE VIZSLA: (to Siri) That was a pathetic display, Jedi. I've seen Force adepts who refuse to even touch a physical weapon put up a better fight than you just did. It's obvious you Coruscanti Jedi rely more on the power of your lightsabers than you do upon the power of the Force. (to Obi-Wan) As for you, you fared better than your comrade here, though you, too, still rely too heavily on physical prowess to assist you in besting your enemies.
SIRI: (stammering) T-t-the lightsaber is the Jedi's life.
PRE VIZSLA: Then it's a life that's going to be cut frightfully short.
OBI-WAN: Then you may as well cut ours now because neither of us will serve in your slave army.
PRE VIZSLA: In nine hours we reach our destination. We'll see if you can abide by your decision.
With that, Vizsla turns his back on the debilitated Jedi Knights and leaves.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 12, 2018 19:29:55 GMT -5
EXT. SPACE
With flickers of pseudomotion, the Nyax and its escort of heavy cruisers and assault ships drop out of hyperspace. They move toward the three primary-coloured suns of the Dania system in the distance. Soon the ships arrive at Dania VII, the seventh planet of the system. Dania VII is a terrestrial planet, with large, deep scarlet continents surrounded and separated by blue-green seas.
Making their descent, the Mandalorian ships enter the atmosphere of the scarlet planet.
EXT. DANIA VII — LANDSCAPE — DAY
The Mandalorian ships fly through the emerald sky of Dania VII, passing over a breathtaking landscape of beautiful red rainforest. As the roar of the ships' engines passes over the scarlet trees, flocks of exotic birds take to flight in sudden alarm.
As the ships pass over a majestic waterfall, the red forest gives way to a vast, sprawling metropolis. Though most of the city is of modern construction — composed of duracrete and durasteel — the largest structures consist of immense pyramids and towers carved from stone in long forgotten, ancient times. Composed of black basalt, the ancient structures stand like ominous sentinels over the smaller Mandalorian buildings.
EXT. METROPOLIS — DOCKYARDS — DAY
Arriving at their destination, the Nyax along with the assault ships and cruisers make their descent, touching down upon the vast dockyards of the Mandalorian metropolis. Standing in wait for them is a large prison transport and an entire platoon of armed Mandalorian warriors.
Once secure upon the ground, the Nyax disgorges its CREW OF PRISONERS. Each of the prisoners — all thirty-three of them — are led out of the dungeon ship at gunpoint and herded toward the prison transport. As the prisoners are directed toward the open hatch of the transport, the members of the platoon standing directly before the vehicle move aside to allow the captives access to it. One-by-one, the prisoners come to the prison transport, slipping past the open, dark hatch and climbing aboard. Once all are inside, the hatch is sealed and the engines of the transport come to life.
The vehicle departs, leaving the dockyards for the greater city beyond.
INT. PRISON TRANSPORT/PRISONER COMPARTMENT — DAY
The thirty-three prisoners — each of various ages, genders, and species — sit on a pair of benches bolted to the inside of the compartment walls, despondent expressions on many of their faces. While most of them are obviously untrained in the ways of the Force, there are a few who carry an air about them which hints at them being skilled Force practitioners.
Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Siri sit together on one of the benches. While Obi-Wan and Siri stare straight ahead, their faces expressionless, Anakin can't help but to look about him, turning his head this way and that way like an inquisitive bird. His attention is currently occupied by the SOBBING of a child located somewhere inside the large compartment.
ANAKIN: You hear that? (beat) I'm going to check it out.
OBI-WAN: Be careful, Anakin. Not all our fellow prisoners are our friends.
ANAKIN: I'll be careful.
Rising from his spot between the two Jedi, Anakin makes his way up the aisle between the two benches, following the sound of the heavy sobs. Soon he comes to its source: a YOUNG HUMAN GIRL, no more than eleven years of age, with pretty features and red hair. Hunkered down between a seemingly oblivious Talz and Whiphid, she cries into her hands, visibly afraid of her surroundings.
ANAKIN: (kneels down before girl) Hey.
The girl looks up at him, sniffling.
GIRL: Hey.
ANAKIN: I couldn't help but notice you crying. Seems to me you could use someone to talk to.
GIRL: (wipes eyes) That'd be nice.
ANAKIN: (smiles) Name's Anakin — Nik to my friends. What's yours?
GIRL: Nashira — 'Shira to my friends.
ANAKIN: Don't you have anyone with you, 'Shira?
NASHIRA (GIRL): (shakes head) I was returning home from school when we were attacked. (beat) Everyone else is dead.
ANAKIN: (frowns) Your parents?
NASHIRA: Back home on Orron III.
ANAKIN: Miss them, don't you?
NASHIRA: (nods) I haven't seen them since school started.
ANAKIN: I haven't seen my mom in a while, either.
NASHIRA: You go to an offworld school, too?
ANAKIN: (smiles) Something of that persuasion. I left to become a Jedi.
At this news, the red-haired girl perks up a bit, her pretty blue eyes sparkling.
NASHIRA: You're a Jedi‽ Prime! (beat) Is it true those midi-chlorian injections hurt?
ANAKIN: (confused) Mido-what?
NASHIRA: Do you have a kyber crystal, to make your forcelance? (beat) No, they would've taken it from you.
ANAKIN: I haven't learned what moto-corinthians or kyber crystals are yet. I only just started Jedi training.
NASHIRA: (disappointed) Oh. (beat) I was hoping you'd save me, save all of us. (beat) Jedi are unbeatable.
ANAKIN: (rests hand on her shoulder) Sorry to lower your expectations, 'Shira, but I came here with two Jedi. (looks back over shoulder) It's going to take a little more than Jedi powers to get off this rock and back home.
NASHIRA: You remind me of my brother, Lon. (smiles) He always make me feel safe.
ANAKIN: How many brothers you have?
NASHIRA: Six brothers, eight sisters. I'm the youngest. You have siblings?
ANAKIN: One sister. She's back on Tatooine with my mom.
NASHIRA: Will you tell me of your life on Tatooine?
ANAKIN: Not much too tell, but I will if you tell me about Orron III.
NASHIRA: Deal.
ANAKIN: How about we join my friends? (looks at Whiphid and Talz) I think they'd make better company than your babysitters here.
NASHIRA: (grins) Alright!
Climbing off her bench, Anakin takes Nashira by the hand and leads her back to where he was seated with Obi-Wan and Siri.
OBI-WAN: (smiles; to Nashira) Hello, there. Who might you be, Princess?
NASHIRA: (grins) Nashira DuQuesne.
OBI-WAN: (offers hand) I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, at your service.
Nashira takes his hand and give it a loose shake.
NASHIRA: Nice to meet you, Obi-Wan.
The young girl then turns to Siri, who regards her with a half-smile.
SIRI: (offers hand) I'm Siri.
Nashira takes Siri's hand and give it a shake as well.
NASHIRA: Pleased to meet you, too, Siri.
Moving aside, the two knights open up enough space for Anakin and Nashira to sit down between them. Anakin sits down first then helps Nashira in beside him. No longer alone, Nashira's face glows with hope and happiness.
EXT. METROPOLIS — HIGHWAY — DAY
The prison transport threads its way along the wide duracrete highway, making its way past the ultra-modern edifices and teeming throngs of passersby. Passing through the heart of the city, the transport crosses into the suburban areas and then, passing through those, out onto the open highway, which is surrounded by wide open vermilion plains where no buildings stand.
INT. PRISON TRANSPORT/PRISONER COMPARTMENT — DAY
Having moved out from between Siri and Obi-Wan, Anakin and Nashira are now seated together on Siri's right; the two kids are asleep, with Nashira's head resting peacefully on Anakin's shoulder, allowing the two Jedi Knights to focus their attention on one another without distractions.
OBI-WAN: What luxurious pleasure world do you suppose our hosts have generously taken us to?
SIRI: (smirks) Zeltros, it certainly isn't.
OBI-WAN: (regards transport walls) The walls are of Mandalorian iron.
SIRI: Looks like an alloy with beskar as a component. Not as strong as pure beskar, but we still won't be leaving a dent in it.
OBI-WAN: If we all could establish a rapport, pool our collective power in the Force —
SIRI: (shakes head) It's not going to happen. Were everyone aboard fully trained adepts it'd be possible, but most of the prisoners lack experience. There simply isn't enough time to teach them how to coordinate like that. Even if we were to make a clean getaway, there's no guarantee the Mandalorians couldn't round us all back up. This is their home ground; they have the advantage.
OBI-WAN: Perhaps our horizons will broaden once we reach our destination.
EXT. HIGHWAY — SUNSET
After a short number of hours have passed, the transport finally arrives at its destination. Ahead, where the duracrete highway comes to an end, are massive closed doors set in an immense wall which stretches out for kilometres at both ends; this is the entrance into the Mandalorian complex which houses the growing Death Watch army.
As the transport slows to stop outside the walls of the complex, the massive front doors slide open, allowing the minute transport access into the area within. The prison transport moves forward, passing through the doors into the complex.
The vehicle inside, the doors slide closed and the complex becomes impenetrable once again.
EXT. MANDALORIAN COMPLEX — SUNSET
Now past the entrance, it can now be clearly seen that the Mandalorian complex is massive — the size of a large town — consisting of numerous hangers and bunkers, all of which have been built around several ancient ruins — including the converted amphitheatre — with kilometre-long walls enclosing the entire area. Countless Mandalorian warriors and workers can be seeing moving to-and-fro about their business throughout the stronghold.
INT. PRISON TRANSPORT/PRISONER COMPARTMENT — SUNSET
The transport comes to a halt.
SIRI: We've stopped.
EXT. BUNKER 13 — SUNSET
The prison transport has arrived at its final destination: a large turbolift platform leading down into Bunker 13. Waiting for them are fifty armed Mandalorian Knights.
INT. PRISON TRANSPORT/PRISONER COMPARTMENT — SUNSET
The hatch leading out of the vehicle opens, spilling bright light into the dim interior of the compartment. The prisoners all turn towards the light, instantly aware of the Mandalorian Knights who await them beyond.
SIRI: (shakes Anakin and Nashira) Wake up.
Groggily, the two children rise from their slumber and, with their Jedi guardians, proceed to join the other prisoners in filing out of the transport.
EXT. BUNKER 13 — SUNSET
The prisoners file out of the transport in single file, taking care to walk at a cautious pace so as not to attract undue attention from the Mandalorians flanking them on all sides, and proceed to walk towards the turbolift platform.
Once all thirty-three prisoners have been loaded onto the platform, it descends, taking them into the main complex of the bunker below.
INT. BUNKER 13/ENTRANCE CHAMBER — SUNSET
Exiting a dark tunnel, the prisoners emerge into the entrance chamber of the bunker where even more Mandalorians await them. Octagonal in shape, the walls are close together yet quite tall, leading to a balcony that encircles the far top near the ceiling. Standing atop the balcony, looking down upon the prisoners, is the armoured form of Pre Vizsla.
PRE VIZSLA: Welcome, friends, to Dania VII, your new home. All the basic necessities and comforts of life will be provided you and you are allowed free reign of the complex; you are not prisoners here, but honoured new arrivals. However, you are expected to work hard in service to the Mandalorian cause. As such, adherence to our strict schedules and curfews is compulsory. Any undue violation of these will result in severe punishment, so take care not to breach them. (beat) As you all show varying facility for the Force, you will all be subdivided and assigned to different levels of the bunker. There you will be among equals, simplifying your training and reducing the chance of abuse amongst you. (beat) You all received an injection while in captivity aboard the Nyax — a radioactive tracer to mark your individual levels of proficiency. Please step forward and present yourselves so that you may be scanned and assigned your level. (beat) I trust that in time you will all come to welcome your place here and join with us in mind and soul as well as body.
Vizsla turns and leaves the balcony as the prisoners step forward to be scanned by their captives.
ANAKIN: (turns to Obi-Wan) Ben….
OBI-WAN: We can't fight it, Nik. We have to do as they say.
ANAKIN: But —
OBI-WAN: Just remember what I taught you.
NASHIRA: (panicked) No! No, no, no, no! I don't want to leave you! Don't let them take me away from you! Please, Obi, Nik, Siri — please!
ANAKIN: (hugs Nashira) I'm not going anywhere, 'Shira.
As that is said, one of the Mandalorians with a scanner approaches the children.
MANDALORIAN #11: I need to scan you individually.
ANAKIN: Kark yourself.
Another Mandalorian — a warrior — joins the Mandalorian with the scanner. Resting a hand on his holstered blaster, his silently dares Anakin to continue pushing his luck.
SIRI: Let her go, Anakin. You can't protect her if you're dead.
Reluctantly, Anakin releases Nashira and allows the less menacing Mandalorian to scan them both individually.
MANDALORIAN #11: You have the same marker. You'll both be going to Level 1.
With that, the Mandalorian lowers his scanner and pulls out some sort of label gun. Placing it against the front of their shirts, he brands them with identical metallic labels bearing the number "1".
ANAKIN: (turns to Obi-Wan) Be seeing you.
The Mandalorians lead Anakin and Nashira off and the Mandalorian with the scanner turns his attention to Siri.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 1/CORRIDOR — SUNSET
The captives assigned to Level 1 — all seventeen of them — are led down a corridor by ten Death Watchmen where they are each assigned a set of quarters. As they come to a door labeled "975", the head Mandalorian faces Anakin and Nashira.
MANDALORIAN #12: (pulls Nashira to him) 975 will be your quarters.
ANAKIN: (pulls Nashira back to him) She's with me.
MANDALORIAN #12: If you wish to change your lodging arrangements, you can fill out a form and send it to the main office for consideration at any designated rest period. Until then, you'll be staying in the rooms assigned to you.
The Mandalorian pulls Nashira back to him. When Anakin tries to resist, two other Mandalorians grab him by the shoulders and forcibly hold him back.
MANDALORIAN #12: (opens door to 975) This unit comes stocked with food, has running water, and is equipped with a week's supply of fresh clothes and a refresher unit. Should you run out of food, simply place an order for more and it will be delivered promptly. Should something in your quarters require repair, that, too, can be requested. Cleaning and laundering, however, is your responsibility.
Nashira simply looks up at the Mandalorian, tears streaming down her face.
NASHIRA: Please don't separate us. I need him.
The Mandalorian looks down at the young girl and some of the rigid formality leaves him.
MANDALORIAN #12: Everything you'll need to know about your upcoming study and training schedules will be found on the datapad provided to you inside. It is important that you read them over tonight, for you'll begin tomorrow morning at first light. (beat) I trust I have made your rights and duties clear to you?
Nashira responds with sniffles and silently steps into the dark quarters. As she turns around, she gives Anakin one final pleading look before closing the door between them.
The Mandalorian leads Anakin to the door marked "976".
MANDALORIAN #12: As I said, you can fill a request form for shared lodging with the girl. There shouldn't be any problem getting it done. Until then, you can visit during rest periods.
ANAKIN: (opens door, face dark with rage) Nothing had better happen to her between now and then.
Fuming, Anakin steps into his quarters, closing it in the
Death Watchman's face.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 11/CORRIDOR — SUNSET
Obi-Wan and Siri are led down a corridor through Level 11 of the bunker. In sharp contrast to the captives taken to Level 1, the two Jedi are led roughly to their destination, arms wrenched violently behind their backs as they are pushed forward by their Mandalorian keepers.
As they come to the door marked "3463", the Mandalorians stop, dragging their captives to a halt. Opening the door to the dim interior beyond, the Mandalorian Knights push the two inside, resealing the door behind the knights with mocking laughter.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 11/UNIT 3463 — SUNSET
OBI-WAN: It was courteous of them to show us to our room.
SIRI: They'll excuse me if I don't leave a tip.
Brushing themselves off and straightening their disheveled clothes, the two Jedi take in the sight of their new quarters. Although very spartan, the unit is clean and tidy, with everything kept in its proper place. Walking deeper into the main room, Siri comes to a small round table, upon with rests a datapad already loaded with a datacard.
SIRI: (picks up and activates datapad) Here's a list of all the various schedules we're to keep. (scans through first few pages) I don't understand; are we supposed to follow the same schedule? There's only this one card and no alternate schedules are listed.
OBI-WAN: Perhaps new recruits attend the same inauguration ceremony their first day. After that, we each get our own separate schedules.
SIRI: Perhaps.
Deactivating and replacing the datapad on the table, Siri walks over to the bed chamber, checks it, then walks over to the refresher and checks it, too. No one is in either room.
SIRI: I think we're alone now. There doesn't seem to be anyone around.
LWA (O.S.): Oh hi, Jedi!
Hearing the voice, the two Jedi spin around to look behind them. Standing there at the door where no one was standing scant moments before is LWA. A short female H'nemthe, she wears a tan jumpsuit, her three-fingered hands clasped tightly around the head of an ornate ebony cane.
OBI-WAN: (shocked) where did you come from?
LWA: (looks about room) Here, there, everywhere. Perhaps nowhere.
The two Jedi exchange glances.
SIRI: Our roommate, I assume?
LWA: I don't know. Do you?
SIRI: (confused) Excuse me?
LWA: Do you assume?
SIRI: (bewildered) I suppose….
LWA: Well don't. After all, when you assume, you make an ass out of "u" and "me".
With that, the short H'nemthe walks forward, passing between Siri and Obi-Wan on a course for the refresher. Turning to watch the strange female creature go, the Jedi again exchange glances.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 13, 2018 17:06:11 GMT -5
INT. DETENTION CENTRE/ZUL'S CELL — EVENING
Zul sits against the back wall of her cell, facing the door. Her knees drawn up into her chest, she hangs her head low, her eyes closed in silent prayer; she doesn't immediately notice when the door to her cell slides open, allowing Pre Vizsla — sans helmet and robes — to enter.
PRE VIZSLA: Zul.
Hearing his voice, the near-Human woman looks up at the Mandalorian warrior, her eyes puffy and stained with shed tears.
PRE VIZSLA: I know what you did.
ZUL: Do you, now?
PRE VIZSLA: I am disappointed in you. What you did to that man wasn't simply barbaric; it was evil. He did nothing to warrant such a monstrous death.
ZUL: Why tell me what I already know?
PRE VIZSLA: Zul, when I came to you, you were blind to an entire half of the Force. Your tribulation was for purification, to clear your vision and open your heart to that intricate potency underlying existence. But you've only traded blindness for blindness; you've embraced the darkness but have discarded the light. (beat) To be whole you must embrace both aspects of the Force. There is a time for wrath, but you must never let it oppress you. Temper vengeance with forgiveness; loathing with pity; despair with hope. Otherwise you'll only lose yourself to an abyss of your own making.
ZUL: The vengeance is gone, the loathing gone, but the despair remains. I have nothing left.
PRE VIZSLA: Zul, please stand.
The fallen priestess looks up at the Mandalorian. She does nothing for a moment, then — slowly — rises to her feet. She stands there, face bereft of expression but eyes sorrowful. Reaching to his side, Vizsla withdraws a lightsaber — the same weapon he took from the slain Bpfasshi Dark Jedi — and hands it to her.
ZUL: A Jedi lightsaber?
Zul engages it. With a soft HISS, the brilliant chartreuse blade extends. Eyes wide with awe, she turns the blade around in the air, listening as it hums and buzzes with each movement.
PRE VIZSLA: There are few so-called darksiders in the Galaxy who honestly reject the light side of the Force for the dark. Most who have been labelled such merely embrace the Force in its fullness. But there are exceptions — those who have abandoned the light, allowed the darkness to dominate them, to consume their very souls. The owner of this weapon was such a fool. He refused to acknowledge the light within him and paid the price.
Zul stops playing with the lightsaber and her eyes fall upon Vizsla, her green-gold irises glowing as the burning yellow-green light of the lightsaber reflects in them.
ZUL: I could take this weapon and kill you right now.
PRE VIZSLA: (nods) That is true. You could run me through or take my head and have your final revenge. (beat) But you don't want to. You are ill of how the vehemence has rooted itself and grown like a cancer within you, how it has defiled you, turned you against yourself and everything you are.
ZUL: (tear runs from eye) Yes.
PRE VIZSLA: Zul, I have done you wrong, but I can still help you — I can help you out of this. Come with me, be my apprentice, and I’ll help you help yourself find the light again.
Crying, Zul lowers the lightsaber and deactivates it. Vizsla draws her to him in an embrace, encircling her in his arms as she rests her head on his shoulder. Her arms, along with the deactivated lightsaber, are now pinned between them.
PRE VIZSLA: I love you, Zul.
Zul says nothing and merely cries silently into his shoulder. Closing his eyes, Vizsla begins to dance a slow waltz with the Meketrex woman in his arms.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 1/UNIT 975/BED CHAMBER — EVENING
Nashira lies atop her bed, turning about uneasily in her sleep. She moans and groans fitfully, brow slick with perspiration.
ZOOM IN
On Nashira as the darkness of the room closes in on her, forming an opaque darkness which surrounds her like dark light.
Dozens of arms coalesce from that darkness and fall onto her, seizing her. Her eyes fling open, wide with terror. From above, an amorphous shape bulges down from the blackness above her, coming to hover right over her face. The shapeless bulge contorts, gaining definition, until it forms a SKULL-LIKE FACE with blazing white eyes. As Nashira releases a bloodcurdling scream, the lipless mouth of the skull transmogrifies into a proboscis, which then — like a torrent of foul black liquid — flows down into her mouth, choking off her shriek. Air cut off from her lungs, Nashira begins thrashing fiercely against the limbs restraining her, but she cannot break free of their oppressive grasp.
It is then that Anakin, like an angel in the night, materializes out from thin air. Lunging forward, he seizes the nightmarish head of the darkness and, grimacing, pulls it back with all the strength he can mustre. With a hideous sucking sound, the entity is peeled away from Nashira. Anakin brings up his arm and an engaged lightsaber manifests in his hand. Swinging the azure blade, he lops the obscene head off; it falls away, dissipating in the nothingness.
NASHIRA: (panicked) Nik!
Turning back to Nashira, Anakin goes to work hacking away the black limbs which pin the girl in place. Once they've all been dealt with, Anakin grabs her by the hand and hauls her up off the bed to his side.
ANAKIN: How's about we get out of here?
NASHIRA: To where?
ANAKIN: Anywhere.
Swinging his lightsaber, Anakin cuts right through the inky nothing surrounding them, revealing a blinding white light beyond. With Nashira at his side he plunges into the rip, leaving the darkness behind.
EXT. WHITE VOID (DREAM)
Anakin and Nashira now find themselves standing within a perfectly white void. Looking down at the lightsaber in his hand, Anakin releases it; as it leaves his grasp, it dissolves away as if it never was.
NASHIRA: What...‽
ANAKIN: That ... was a nightmare. (beat) You're asleep — dreaming — and I'm here with you.
NASHIRA: Does that mean you're —
ANAKIN: (grins) No, I'm real.
NASHIRA: How's that possible?
ANAKIN: Obi-Wan called it a rapport, a sort of mind-link Jedi can do with people who are open to it.
NASHIRA: How did you know I was in trouble?
ANAKIN: (grins) Are you really asking me that? I knew you'd be an emotional disaster without any friends to keep you company.
Nashira then seizes Anakin in a fierce hug, squeezing him tightly as her lips part in a massive smile.
NASHIRA: Oh, thank you, Anakin! Thank you! I needed you and you came!
ANAKIN: (eyes bulging) Take it easy, kid! You'll bruise me!
Nashira releases the young man but continues to beam at him.
ANAKIN: (looks about their surroundings) While a damn sight better than where we came from, this place is kinda ... monotonous. You think we could go someplace more lively?
NASHIRA: Where?
ANAKIN: How about your homeworld? I've never been to Orron III; I wouldn't mind checking it out.
NASHIRA: Orron III? But it's just an agri-world; there's nothing much there.
ANAKIN: (gestures at the void surrounding them) There's less than nothing here. (grins) C'mon.
NASHIRA: (smiles sheepishly) Oh, alright….
Nashira closes her eyes and concentrates. After a moment passes, the blank white surrounding them fades away to be replaced with a vast landscape of grain situated beneath a clear, sunny sky.
ANAKIN: Race ya?
NASHIRA: Yeah!
At that the two children take off into a run, laughing wildly as they race through the tall stalks of grain.
FADE TO
Nashira asleep peacefully in her bed in her room, a smile on her lips.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 14, 2018 14:50:38 GMT -5
EXT. SPACE
Out in some region of deep, rarely traversed space, a ship drops out of hyperspace. This ship is the Deliverer, an Acclamator-class assault ship. A hastily recommissioned junker that was retired early in the Second Clone War, it still bears the colours of the old Republic Starfleet along with many of the scars acquired during its last, long-forgotten battle.
From the open docking bay of the assault ship come dozens of hyperspace jump pods, all containing dormant probe droids. Falling away from their mothership, scattering in all directions, they each leap into hyperspace towards a different region of the Galaxy.
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
On the ramshackle bridge of the Deliverer, Capt. Bail Organa of Alderaan stands at his post, his left arm in a heavy cast and a determined expression set hard on his face. Standing by his side is, as always, Cmdr. Raia Vaness.
BAIL: Ens. Wessel, report.
Ensign Wessel — a short, slim Devaronian — pivots around in his seat to face the captain.
ENS. WESSEL: Pods are away, Keptin.
Bail simply nods in reply then activates his wrist comlink.
BAIL: What's the word, Bonney? Can we make another jump soon?
INT. DELIVERER/ACCESS TUBE
Within one of the ship's many access tubes, BONNEY, the ship's engineer, is busy working on repairs to the vessel's damaged hyperdrive connections. A lanky Lepi with big feet and hands, blue-green fur, long drooping ears and prominent buck teeth, he's a comical sight to behold.
BONNEY: You're gonna have to hold your eopies, Bail. This clunker's not going anywhere.
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
BAIL: How long?
INT. DELIVERER/ACCESS TUBE
BONNEY: (calculates) A week.
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
BAIL: You have two days.
INT. DELIVERER/ACCESS TUBE
BONNEY: By the Holy Hutch, man! I'm an engineer, not a Sorcerer of Tund! The hyperdrive motivator, the HD/C-S circuits — one good surge and they're star dust! Unless you want to return home in time to attend your 13th cousin's 170th birthday, give me five full bloody days to jury-rig this hot mess into working order!
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
BAIL: (sighs) Alright, Bonney. A week it is. I'll leave you to your work.
Bail deactivates the comlink.
CMDR. VANESS: Another long wait ahead of us.
BAIL: When I asked for this assignment, I presumed they were going to take me seriously. But what do they do? They stick us with a decaying assault ship decommissioned during the last war, a ship which can barely limp its way through hyperspace.
CMDR. VANESS: Resources are spread thin, Bail. With the Lightning Warrior in drydock for repairs, this was the best they could supply us in such short order. Considering how low importance this endeavour is, it's a miracle they provided us this much.
BAIL: Tachi is out there somewhere along with Lord knows how many others. The Mandalorians have something up their sleeve, and they have to be cut to the quick before that something is slipped out. If that's low importance, I don't want to know how bad things have to be to be considered high importance!
CMDR. VANESS: Bail, even if we were in a top-of-the-line cruiser with a Class 5 hyperdrive, we'd still be blindly searching Wild Space in the hope of stumbling upon the Mandalorians' hidden fortress. It's a needle in an interstellar haystack.
BAIL: They're out there somewhere, Raia. I don't care if I have to head straight out into the Unknown Regions to find them, I'll get it done. (beat) I owe it to our men.
Vaness doesn't respond to this. The pain of losing so many of her crewmates aboard the Lightning Warrior is as evident on her face as it is on Bail's.
EXT. SPACE — CONTINUOUS
We pull away from the wedge-shaped form of the Deliverer and, at velocities greater than the speed of light, begin travelling through this sector of the Galaxy. In a span of moments we visit over sixteen different systems before finally coming to Dania VII, home of the Mandalorian Death Watch.
INT. DANIA VII — TRAINING CENTRE 25 — DAY
Inside Training Centre 25 — a spacious, one-room building — various residents of Level 2 have come for their day's training session. All twelve students are seated cross-legged upon the stone floor, their instructor — an unarmoured Human woman — seated before them, watching them intently.
Before each of the students rests a crystal sphere, hollow and half-filled with a pearlescent liquid. Their eyes closed, they concentrate on the spheres. Many succeed in making the colours within the liquid glow while others manage to get the liquid to bubble or slosh around inside. Only two, however, are able to progress beyond that. As Anakin and a MALE TOYDARIAN concentrate on their spheres, not only do they succeed at making the pearlescent liquid glow and move about, but they manage to form three-dimensional shapes — cubes, spheres, pyramids — within them. The Mandalorian instructor, noticing this impressive display of talent from them both, smiles with pleasure.
INSTRUCTOR #1: (raises arm) Alright, everyone, relax your concentration.
The students all open their eyes and the liquid within their spheres goes still. Standing up, the instructor walks over to Anakin and the Toydarian. With a smile, she gestures for them to rise. They quickly get to their feet or, in the Toydarian's case, their wings.
INSTRUCTOR #1: I am very pleased with your progress. You’re all advancing wonderfully. Orowi and Anakin even managed to form simple shapes within their spheres today. Keep this up and you'll all upgrade to Level 3 before the year is out. (beat) I'll see you all Primeday.
As the other students rise up and proceed to file out of the centre, Anakin and OROWI turn to acknowledge one another.
ANAKIN: You're getting better with the meditation spheres all the time, Orowi. I'm starting to feel envious.
OROWI: (astonished) You're envious? It took me five months to get this good, but you've been here only four weeks and you've already got a knack for it. If anyone's envious, it's me of you.
ANAKIN: (laughs) But I have to concentrate a full minute before I get a simple cube to take shape.
Together, Anakin and his Toydarian friend follow the other students out of Training Centre 25. One of the other students — a TALL ABYSSIN — stands off to the side, watching them as they go with his single eye narrowed in loathing.
EXT. TRAINING CENTRE 25 — DAY
Stepping out of the training centre, Anakin and Orowi make their way towards Bunker 13.
OROWI: Want to go to the recreation centre? You still owe me for letting you win that last dejarik game.
ANAKIN: (smirks) Letting me win? What a recollection you have.
OROWI: Well, we Toydarians are noted for our impeccable holographic memory.
ANAKIN: (laughs) Really? I thought it was your shrewd business acumen everyone knew you for.
OROWI: That, too.
ANAKIN: Of course, of course. I knew that. Really, I did. (beat) I'd love to take you up on your offer, but I'm expected back. Nashira and I are having dinner with Ben and Siri tonight.
OROWI: Ah, yes. Your two Jedi friends.
ANAKIN: It's been two weeks since we met last. We've been looking forward to it. (beat) You can join us if you want. There'll be enough food to go around.
OROWI: Sure. (beat) It won't be any trouble, will it?
ANAKIN: No, of course not. Why ask a laserbrained question like that?
OROWI: Well ...
ANAKIN: Well what?
OROWI: Well ... to be honest, I don't know how I feel about socializing with Jedi.
ANAKIN: I'm a Jedi!
OROWI: You wish. (beat) I have no beef with Jedi. It's just that I don't know how the Mandies will take it.
ANAKIN: Huh?
OROWI: They say we have free reign of the place and can see whoever we want to see, but I can't help but feel that they don't like Jedi associating with their less "accomplished" students.
ANAKIN: You think they might do something if they catch you talking to a Jedi?
OROWI: The Jedi and Mandies are veritable blood enemies, Nik; they loathe each other. The Mandalorians can't stand the idea of any of their new conscripts being tainted with Jedi philosophies.
ANAKIN: Those Jedi are also conscripts.
OROWI: Not like us, though. Not at all. The Mandies don't treat them like they treat us. We're treated almost like royalty. They aren't awarded near as much courtesy. While we spend our time meditating over crystal balls, they have hard labour, heckling, humiliation, even physical abuse to contend with. (beat) The Mandalorians use the carrot to get us to go along with them, but with the Jedi they use the stick — the hard, heavy, sharpened stick.
Anakin shrugs in reply and the two continue on their way in silence. Before they get very far, the Abyssin who eyed them back at the training centre moves up on them from behind, grabbing them by the shoulders and pulling them to a stop.
OROWI: Gurkan!
Twisting around, the two friends come face-to-face with the Abyssin named GURKAN. With sinister glee, he shows a hideous toothy grin.
GURKAN: What a surprise to meet you here, dear friends. What brings you out this way?
ANAKIN: We're on our way back to Bunker 13, same as you.
OROWI: And we're not your friends, cyclops.
The Abyssin's grin falters, but only for a moment.
GURKAN: You wound me, Toydarian. (turns to Anakin) But you still appreciate my company, don't you, Skywalker?
ANAKIN: (nonplussed) What do you want, Gurkan?
GURKAN: Just to chat, see how things are and all that jizz.
ANAKIN: Well, neither of us have anything to say to you, so if you don't mind ...
GURKAN: (drops phony grin) Are you saying you don't want to be my friend?
ANAKIN: No, it's not that. I wouldn't mind being your friend — if you weren't a complete jerk. Unfortunately, you are a complete jerk.
GURKAN: Very well, then. We aren't friends.
ANAKIN: I'm so very glad we cleared that up.
GURKAN: (grin reappears) So, how's your pretty girlfriend?
ANAKIN: She's fine and she's not my girlfriend.
GURKAN: That hasn't stopped you from living together.
ANAKIN: For her benefit more than mine.
GURKAN: That hasn't stopped you from sticking your hydrospanner in her sockets, has it?
ANAKIN: (angry) You murglak. She's only eleven.
GURKAN: Which makes it all the sweeter. The younger they are the firmer they are, and the firmer they are how oh so much more —
Before the Abyssin can complete his thought, Anakin's rage boils over and he gives in to it. He lunges at the cyclopean creature more than twice his height and tackles him to the ground. Before the Abyssin can catch his bearings, the Human begins raining blow upon blow upon him, punching him fiercely in the face. Within scant seconds, dark Abyssin blood mists the air.
OROWI: Nik! Nik, that's enough now! Let him up!
Anakin doesn't hear his friend. His face red with rage, he continues to pummel Gurkan. The Abyssin goes limp.
OBI-WAN: (O.C.) Anakin!
Upon hearing the voice of his master, Anakin snaps out of his rage and stops pummelling the Abyssin. Twisting around, he sees both Obi-Wan and Siri standing a ways away from him.
OBI-WAN: Anakin, what are you doing‽
ANAKIN: (stammering) I-I-I ...
His mouth dropping agape, Anakin turns to look down on Gurkan, who lies bloody and unconscious beneath him. Unable to say a word, he simply rises to his feet, looking down upon his bested foe.
ANAKIN: (to Obi-Wan) He's alright, isn't he? I didn't really hurt him, did I?
Obi-Wan and Siri walk up to Anakin, Orowi, and Gurkan. The latter crouches down beside the Abyssin, laying her fingertips upon his forehead.
SIRI: The Abyssin's alive. You knocked him out cold, but I don't sense any major injury.
ANAKIN: I didn't want to hurt him, but what he said about Nashira and me ... it was sick…. I couldn't take that from him ... I couldn't take ... what he said….
OBI-WAN: (rests hand on Anakin's shoulder) Nashira's waiting for us.
As one, the three Jedi and the Toydarian depart, leaving Gurkan lying in the dust.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/ANAKIN & NASHIRA'S QUARTERS/KITCHEN — DAY
Nashira is busy preparing a meal on the small stove when the door into the main room slides open and Obi-Wan, Siri, Anakin, and Orowi shamble in. Turning to face them, she sees the grim expressions on all their faces and her face in turn goes stoney.
NASHIRA: What happened?
SIRI: Anakin got into a fight with an Abyssin.
OROWI: Gurkan.
Hearing that name, Nashira rushes over to Anakin and takes his face in her hands, cradling it worriedly.
NASHIRA: Oh, Nik, are you okay?
ANAKIN: Yes ... yeah, I'm fine, 'Shira. Just fine.
Pushing past her, he walks over to the main round table and plops down in a seat behind it, where he proceeds to massage his left temple.
NASHIRA: (turns to others) Why did he get into a fight with Gurkan?
OROWI: Gurkan made some rather ... uncouth remarks regarding your relationship.
NASHIRA: (dumbfounded) Anakin and me? But we're just friends.
OROWI: Gurkan's a straight-up bastard. He can't sleep at night without spewing trash in others' faces.
NASHIRA: But Nik's okay, right? Gurkan didn't hurt him?
OBI-WAN: (grave) No, Nashira. Gurkan didn't hurt him.
NASHIRA: (relieved) Well, that's good then, right? He could have if he really wanted to.
OBI-WAN: (cont'd) Anakin hurt him.
NASHIRA: (narrows eyes) You're not serious.
OBI-WAN: Dead serious.
OROWI: Nik really wailed on him — beat the living pus out of the barve.
SIRI: He could have killed him if we hadn't arrived when we did.
Her mouth agape, Nashira faces Anakin.
ANAKIN: They on the level, Anakin?
ANAKIN: (shakes head wearily) Yeah, yeah. It happened like they say.
Nashira walks over to Anakin and, sitting down beside him, puts her hands down over one of his.
NASHIRA: Is he gonna be alright?
ANAKIN: Siri said so.
NASHIRA: (smiles) Then there's nothing to worry about.
OBI-WAN: Excuse me?
NASHIRA: (turns to Obi-Wan) Nik didn't really hurt him. I mean he didn't hurt him bad enough to put him in the infirmary.
OBI-WAN: That's beside the point. He let his anger get the better of him; he opened himself to the dark side. Don't you realize how dangerous that can be?
NASHIRA: (rolls eyes) This again.
OBI-WAN: (approaches Anakin and Nashira) You may not believe in the dark side, Nashira, but it is very real and very present and Anakin is constantly exposed to it. If he continues to let his anger slip, it will bring him in tune with darkness; it will corrupt him.
NASHIRA: (frowns) Gurkan's a cad. He got what he deserved. (turns back to Anakin, frown turning to a smile) Besides, Anakin did it for me. That's so dashing.
Obi-Wan, realizing nothing he can say will break through Nashira's childish naiveté, goes silent, pursing his lips in indignation.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 11/OBI-WAN, SIRI, & LWA'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM — TWILIGHT
Hours later, Obi-Wan and Siri return to their quarters on Level 11. Opening their door, they step inside to find Lwa sitting in wait for them at the small round table. Together, the two Jedi walk over and plop themselves down on the couch to the right of the H'nemthe.
LWA: Have a good time? How was your dinner?
SIRI: It was very good, Lwa. You should have joined us.
LWA: (waves hand dismissively) They weren't serving my dish.
SIRI: Lwa, it isn't good to eat porg pot pie all day every day and only porg pot pie. You get sick without a balanced diet.
LWA: Bah! Three-dimensional thinking! A diet of porg pot pie is a balanced diet.
OBI-WAN: Not in this universe.
LWA: Precisely! Now you begin to understand!
Obi-Wan and Siri exchange glances.
SIRI: Do you?
OBI-WAN: Ask me when I'm less than sober.
LWA: I put some tea on the stove for you. Fix yourselves a cuppa if you're up to it.
SIRI: That sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Lwa.
Siri enters the kitchen, walks over to a cabinet, opens it, then reaches in to retrieve a hard plastic mug.
SIRI: Will you be having any, Obi-Wan?
OBI-WAN: That depends. (turns to Lwa) What type of tea is it?
LWA: (smiles) It varies.
OBI-WAN: Clear, concise, and to the point as always. (to Siri) Make me one, anyway.
Siri retrieves the two cups then saunters over to the stove. When she reaches for the kettle, however, she finds that not only is the burner not on, there is no kettle upon it at all.
SIRI: There is no tea.
LWA: Pardon?
SIRI: (gestures to bare stovetop) The stovetop, Lwa — there's no tea on it. It's completely bare.
LWA: (sighs) It is there, Siri, just not here and now.
Hearing this, Obi-Wan facepalms. The H'nemthe notices this reaction and it doesn't please her one bit.
LWA: (gestures to him with cane) I saw that, Obi Kenobi! Don't think I didn't!
Slowly pulling his hand away, Obi-Wan merely stares at this strange non-Human woman.
LWA: (fuming) Always — always — you disregard my wisdom! Condescend to me like you would a child and regard me with all the affection of a serpent, you do! Well, I'm not to stomach it any longer! (stands up) I'll be going to bed early! Goodnight!
SIRI: (resigned) But Lwa —
LWA: (throws up hand) I say goodnight!
With that, Lwa strides off to the single bed chamber. Not a minute later, the sound of her gentle snoring can be heard from within.
SIRI: (sighs) I'm going to put on some tea myself. You still want some?
OBI-WAN: Lwa's killed my thirst.
Retrieving the kettle, Siri fills it with water then puts it on the stove burner. Turning away from the stove, she returns to Obi-Wan's side on the couch.
SIRI: It's still getting to you, isn't it? What happened with Anakin?
OBI-WAN: Of course; shouldn't it? He's my apprentice and it's my job to see he learns the proper ways of channeling the Force.
SIRI: But it's difficult.
OBI-WAN: Yes. He's exposed to Vizsla's teachings every day, but I can be there for him twelve hours a week at most. It's impossible to train him under these conditions. Perhaps if we'd had more time together before we were captured, if he'd received more instruction….
SIRI: If you had found him earlier?
OBI-WAN: (cont'd) Then there's Nashira. The girl may be a bad influence on him.
SIRI: She's ignorant of the dark side. She coddles Anakin when she should correct him.
OBI-WAN: She's only a child and she's never known the Jedi way, so I can't hold her ignorance against her. But she and Anakin have grown close and they are growing closer.
SIRI: (sighs) This is why it's easier for us.
OBI-WAN: (confused) Easier? Easier for whom? And what?
SIRI: The Coruscanti Order. It is easier for us because we train our children from infancy, build them up from the beginning to be resistant to the dark side by keeping them from those who hold to beliefs contrary to the Jedi Creed.
OBI-WAN: (laughs scornfully) I don't believe it.
SIRI: (frowns) What?
OBI-WAN: You're proselytizing me — giving me a sermon on the blessed virtues of the Coruscanti Order! (beat) You should hear yourself.
SIRI: Well, you have to admit that if Anakin had been discovered at a young age and reared by us, he never would have grown up vulnerable to the temptations surrounding him now.
OBI-WAN: No, instead he would have grown up believing himself to be some kind of chosen one — a demigod superior to everyone unblessed with the gift of being raised Jedi.
SIRI: (angry) That isn't what we believe at all. That isn't what I believe at all.
OBI-WAN: Then enlighten me, Siri.
SIRI: Non-Jedi aren't evil and they aren't inferior. However, their philosophies often run contrary to Jedi doctrine. Exposing nascent Jedi to these philosophies could skew their outlook on the Force, poison their minds against the Jedi way and lead them on the path to the dark side. Isolating our children from non-Jedi until they are of a discerning age only serves to remove stumbling blocks from the straight and narrow path that is our way of life.
OBI-WAN: That may be all well and good for the children born into the Order — children who have friends and family who are Jedi themselves — but what of those Jedi who weren't born into the Coruscanti Order? Those who came from non-Jedi families? Why must they be denied the love and companionship of their parents and siblings for the sake of a "straight and narrow path" they weren't of discerning age to choose for themselves in the first place?
SIRI: Personal sacrifices must often be made for the greater good. That is a fact implicit in the Jedi Code.
OBI-WAN: Ah, yes, the Jedi Code: "There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force". (beat) You are aware of the history behind the Code, aren't you?
SIRI: Of course. Any Jedi worth their salt knows the history of the Jedi Code.
OBI-WAN: Then you know that the Jedi Code wasn't originally a code at all but a fragment of an unpublished volume written by the Jedi master Odan-Urr; a volume which was destroyed in the Great Sith War; a volume which we know very little about. Divorced from its original context, the Jedi Code was only codified as such centuries after the fact, in the wake of the Kunist Insurrection. Therefore the words of the Jedi Code — the message behind those words — are completely open to interpretation.
SIRI: Coruscanti tradition teaches there is a plain, straightforward reading of the Code which has been made clear to all.
OBI-WAN: Then I'm thankful the Coruscanti tradition isn't the only Jedi tradition available to choose from.
EXT. RAINFOREST — DAY
Zul races through the heart of Dania VII's untouched rainforest, running with the grace and speed of an agile gazelle. To cope with the humid climate of the forest, she has traded in her black bodysuit for a pair of tan shorts and tank top, allowing the sweat on her toned arms, legs, and midriff to glisten under the sunlight. Through all the hard work she is putting her body through, her breathing remains calm and even.
Soon she breaks through the trees and comes to the edge of a ravine. Taking a great leap, she lands on a dead log sitting on the edge of the ravine then catapults herself high up into the air, taking her across the ravine to the other side. Hitting the ground feet-first, she somersaults across the vermilion grass then springs back up, taking off in a run again. Entering a thick tangle of trees, Zul takes a running leap and scampers up one of the broad trunks until she comes to the first thick branch. She then proceeds to jump tree-to-tree, using the Force to guide her to the safest landing point on each massive plant.
Reaching the last of the towering red-brown trees, the former Meketrex priestess finds herself looking down into a sheltered gully, within which stand basalt ruins. Taking out her lightsaber, she ignites it and uses it to cut one end of a thick vine from the tree. Then, deactivating the lightsaber and replacing it on her person, she takes hold of the vine and launches herself off the tree, swinging all the way down to the gully below. Once she reaches a safe distance, she releases the vine and allows herself to free-fall the rest of the way down. Using the Force, she directs herself to a large pond, and with a large SPLASH, lands.
Rising from the water with the grace of a swan, she steps out of the pond.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.C.) You've arrived. I'm glad you could make it, Zul.
Facing the source of the voice, she finds Vizsla seated up on a half-crumbled stone wall. Like Zul, he has ditched his Mandalorian regalia for more convenient clothing — in his case, a simple pair of brown pants. His naked torso bears innumerable scars from countless battles.
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) It's exhilarating, isn't it? The sounds of the animals and the water rushing; the smells of the flowers and moist earth; the feel of the grass and soil beneath your feet; the flow of the wild air passing over you. This is what it means to be in tune with all living things, to be one with the living Force. It is here where you find the divine; not in a sterile academy or musty temple, but in nature, where life exists open and unchained.
ZUL: (closes eyes; breathes in deep) I can feel the Breath move through this place. It is incredibly strong here.
PRE VIZSLA: These ruins were built thousands of years ago by a race of powerful magi allied with the Force. When they were pristine and new, these buildings served as focusing lenses, conduits for the Force. Even now — long after the deaths of the original builders and the deterioration of their magnificent works — sites like these still retain their power.
ZUL: Is that why you're here?
PRE VIZSLA: (nods) I found this world a long time ago, when I was still a Jedi and apprentice to my mistress. Even then I recognized the significance this world held. When I joined forces with Death Watch, it was I who suggested we make this our capital.
ZUL: You were a Jedi?
PRE VIZSLA: A lifetime ago, yes.
ZUL: You never told me that.
PRE VIZSLA: (stands up) Let me join you and I can tell you the tale.
Crouching down slightly, Vizsla leaps off the wall, landing beside Zul. They then begin walking on towards one of the ruined temples.
PRE VIZSLA: I was born seventy-four years ago on the third moon of Abydos, before the Clone Wars, when the Empire was still the Republic. (beat) As a child, I was often sick. My parents tried their best to care for me, but they were poor farmers on a poor world; there wasn't much they could do. Prayer was all they truly had at their disposal, and pray they did; when I was burning with fever, when I was vomiting from nausea, they prayed. (beat) One day, their prayers were answered. From the heart of the Republic came a Jedi, a knight working on behalf of the Acquisition Division of the Coruscanti Order. She came to my village and there she discovered me — a small boy of six, frail and ill to the point of death. (beat) Normally the Coruscanti Jedi do not accept children over five years of age for training, but an exception was made in my case as I didn't have much time left to me. (beat) So, in the hands of my new teacher I was taken from Abydos III, taken from my parents, and brought to one of the Mid Rim worlds, where I immediately received medical attention and was nursed to full health.
ZUL: It sounds to me that without their intervention, you would have died. Why do you hate the Jedi so?
PRE VIZSLA: When I was separated from my parents, I doubt either of them truly knew what that entailed. My mistress had made it clear that the Order didn't accept older children into their ranks, but she had failed to mention that once children were taken away for training, they were never allowed to see their parents again. There was to be no sending of letters or transmissions — no communication or contact of any kind.
ZUL: Didn't you try to contact them anyway?
PRE VIZSLA: I had been taken from them at a young age and my training kept me occupied, so my thoughts of them degraded 'til I barely remembered them at all. (beat) That changed when I was twenty-five, when my brother — a brother I had never known — managed to make contact with me. From him I learned that our parents had tried getting in touch with me for years, had tried convincing the Jedi Council to allow us to meet, but that they had been denied every time.
ZUL: What did you do then?
PRE VIZSLA: Then I did nothing. (beat) I was still ensnared in Jedi dogma and felt it my duty not only to ignore my family but reject them, so I told my brother to leave me alone, to tell our parents to leave me alone, to leave me to serve my purpose as a Jedi for the Republic. (beat) So he left me alone. They all left me alone.
ZUL: You never heard from them again.
PRE VIZSLA: I received a final communiqué from my brother several years later. (beat) He informed me that our parents were dead, killed in the same farming accident.
ZUL: That is when you grew to hate the Jedi.
PRE VIZSLA: I hated myself. I hadn't yet learned to despise the Jedi. That came later, after I met Kryze….
ZUL: Kryze?
PRE VIZSLA: My wife. (beat) We met during the First Clone War, on some backwater planet the name of which I can't even recall. (beat) I was thirty-seven at the time, a lieutenant in the 373rd Jedi Legion.
ZUL: Jedi Legion?
PRE VIZSLA: The Jedi were innumerable in those days. It wasn't uncommon to find battalions consisting solely of Jedi pitched in battle against the Mandalorian hordes. (beat) That was before the wars took their toll on them. (beat) Kryze was non-sensitive, a soldier in a standard regiment which had been reinforcing our position against the Mandalorians. She wasn't classically beautiful, but she had a way about her — an aura of strength and determination — which I found instantly appealing, alluring. (beat) In spite of all I had been taught to believe, I wanted to touch her, to hold her….
ZUL: To make love to her.
PRE VIZSLA: Yes, more than anything. I knew — I knew — there was a void inside me. A piece of myself had been lost when the Jedi stole me away from my mother and father, a piece that could only be replaced by this woman, this Force-blind woman my teachers had taught me to shun and disassociate myself from. (beat) It took time. Our love didn't blossom in a day, and when it did, we still took it slow — so very slow — but we loved each other. We learned to love each other and it was beautiful.
ZUL: But something happened to her.
PRE VIZSLA: She died. This was after the first war, in the years leading up to the war with the Separatists. It wasn't even in battle; she died of disease. Ironically, it was a strain of the very same virus that caused my childhood sickness which took her life. (beat) In the aftermath of her death, in all the legal hassle that followed, the Council finally learned of our marriage. Only months after her funeral, while I was still grieving, they lambasted me for falling in love with her, stripped me of my rank, and excommunicated me from the Order.
ZUL: (bows head) I'm sorry.
PRE VIZSLA: For a very long time I was lost. I became a mercenary and fought for both sides during the Second Clone War. I didn't have any loyalties, no cause; I was dead inside and only wanted to strike back at everything and everyone, to make them as lifeless as I felt. (beat) I was hired by a minor warlord and put to work alongside a band of Mandalorian mercenaries in his employ. (beat) We had absolutely nothing in common; fact of the matter was I loathed Mandalorians. But as we worked together, I came to see them in a new light. In spite of how far they had fallen following their civil war, they still had honour and dignity and a yearning to see their civilization restored; they had everything I had lost after Kryze died and the Jedi abandoned me. I envied them, and in time I grew to admire them. As I admired them, I learned from them.
ZUL: They taught you to embrace both sides of the Force?
PRE VIZSLA: They taught me how to teach myself what I already knew.
Having completed their short sojourn, Vizsla and Zul now stand within the ruins of an ancient temple. Beams of sunlight stream in through the various holes and windows of the place, cutting thick lines of yellow illumination through the gloomy darkness within.
PRE VIZSLA: The Galaxy has grown rotten — poisoned from within by the Empire, the Jedi, and the Clonemasters — but here, on this planet, there is purity. From here we will bear witness to the new dawn of the Mandalorian civilization. From here we will go forth with our army of Mandalorian Knights and, like a spear of illumination, pierce the hearts of our enemies. We will bring peace and restore order to the Galaxy.
Absentmindedly, Zul reaches down and puts her hand across her belly, placing it over the slightly swollen area her three-month-old fetus lies developing within.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2018 11:03:09 GMT -5
Last Story was beautifully written ... especially at the end.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 23, 2018 4:20:22 GMT -5
INT. TRAINING CENTRE 14/ROOM 112 — DAY
Within Room 112 of Training Centre 14, several students sit seated at desks, their attentions rapt upon the instructor standing at the head of the class. The instructor, for his part, desperately tries to get a malfunctioning projector to work to no avail.
INSTRUCTOR #2: (sighs) This thing's kaput. (to Anakin and Orowi) You two to go to the supply room and bring back another projector.
OROWI: Both of us?
INSTRUCTOR #2: (rolls eyes) You realize how heavy one of these projectors is? I send one of you and it'll take you half an hour dragging it here.
OROWI: I don't know if I can lift something that heavy.
INSTRUCTOR #2: You can fly, can't you? You'll be air support. Now go.
With the instructor's command, Anakin and his Toydarian friend both rise to leave the classroom.
INT. TRAINING CENTRE 14/SUPPLY ROOM — DAY
Entering the supply room, Orowi and Anakin and Orowi find it pitch black inside. Orowi presses the button for the lights and a dim, gray illumination barely fills the room. Taking care not to trip or fly into any obstacles, they make their way deeper into the heavily cluttered supply room.
OROWI: You see one of those projectors?
ANAKIN: No. I —
Anakin freezes as something moves off in the corner of his eye. As he pivots to his left, Gurkan the Abyssin lunges out of the shadows, his arms wrapped around a cylindrical machine. Without so much as a grunt, he plows through Anakin and Orowi, knocking them both sprawling as he dashes out the door.
OROWI: (rubs head) What hit us?
ANAKIN: Gurkan. He had something in his arms.
OROWI: What?
ANAKIN: I didn't get a good look.
The two friends right themselves.
OROWI: The way he took off when he saw us tells me he wasn't supposed to be in here. Maybe we should tell someone.
ANAKIN: Tell someone?
OROWI: He could be planning something with whatever it was he took.
ANAKIN: Such as?
OROWI: Maybe he's building a bomb.
ANAKIN: If he's building a bomb, then let him build a bomb. This place could do with some renovation. (beat) C'mon — let's find that stupid projector.
Orowi grows quiet. Silent, they continue their search for the elusive projector.
INT. MESS HALL — DAY
Within the public mess hall, Siri stands in a lineup with a metal tray in her hands, patiently waiting her turn to reach the food counter. Once she reaches the counter, she picks up an egg salad sandwich and a slice of Stenness pie and then, paying for both, moves off to find a table.
NASHIRA: (O.C.) Siri! Hey, Siri! Over here!
Siri looks about the mess hall and finds Nashira sitting alone at one of the tables located roughly in the centre of the complex. The eleven-year-old girl grins broadly, waving her right arm enthusiastically in the air.
NASHIRA: (cont'd) I saved you a seat!
Giving Nashira a polite nod of acknowledgement, Siri walks over to her table. Placing her tray down on the opposite side of the table facing Nashira, the Jedi Knight sits down with the young redhead. Nashira, still grinning broadly, shovels a large bite of bluish pasta into her hungry mouth.
NASHIRA: (talking with mouth full) What're you having?
SIRI: (takes small bite of sandwich, chews, swallows) Egg salad sandwich and Stenness pie.
NASHIRA: (swallows) I'm having Linguine Alfredo.
SIRI: (eyes noodles warily) Looks great.
NASHIRA: It looks like bantha manure and tastes worse. (beat) I had Linguine Alfredo back at school, y'know, with real blue cream sauce. Excellent. (beat) How's your sandwich?
SIRI: (grins) It tastes like melted plasteel. (peers between slices of bread) It looks like melted plasteel.
NASHIRA: (giggles) I hope the pie's better.
As the two continue eating, Lwa makes her way over to their table, a tray loaded with a big slice of porg pot pie in her hands. Noticing the H'nemthe, the two Humans turn to regard her.
LWA: You wouldn't mind if I joined you.
SIRI: No, of course not. Take a seat.
LWA: (cocks brow) It wasn't a question.
Placing her tray down on the table, Lwa sits down beside Nashira.
SIRI: I don't believe the two of you've been introduced. Nashira, this is Lwa. Lwa, this is Nashira DuQuesne.
NASHIRA: (turns to Lwa; offers hand) Nice to meet you.
Turning to acknowledge the young Human girl, Lwa opens her mouth and her long, razor-sharp tongue whips out. As it writhes like a spastic eel before Nashira's face, the girl recoils, her eyes wide with surprise. Then with a loud SLURP, the H'nemthe's impressive tongue slips back inside her mouth.
LWA: Charmed.
Her eyes frozen open, Nashira turns to Siri with a questioning expression on her face.
SIRI: (shrugs) Traditional H'nemthe greeting. It's their way of shaking hands.
LWA: I never understood your genus' penchant for clasping hands as a form of greeting. It's a terrific way of exchanging germs.
SIRI: I didn't know you had any rest periods this time of day, Lwa.
LWA: I don't.
SIRI: (frowns) You don't? Then why are you here?
LWA: (takes bite of pie) I was hungry and felt like eating out.
NASHIRA: You'll get in trouble.
LWA: Only if I want to.
NASHIRA: (confused) Huh?
SIRI: (to Nashira) She's like this all the time.
LWA: That is true, but only from a three-dimensional point of view.
NASHIRA: (frowns) Three-dimensional...?
Siri shakes her head, silently saying "Don't ask".
The three compatriots continue eating their meals. As they eat, four towering male figures — a blue-skinned WROONIAN, a three-eyed GRAN, and an elongated MUUN — saunter over to their table. Surrounding the three females, they loom over them menacingly.
WROONIAN PUNK: Hello, m'girlies. Having lunch?
SIRI: (finishes sandwich) Yes.
WROONIAN PUNK: Like us to pull up a seat, join you?
SIRI: (starts on pie) No.
GRAN PUNK: No‽
MUUN PUNK: You hear that‽
WROONIAN PUNK: my dear blond bonnie, you're just three females, here by your lonesome. You need male companionship. Male companionship to keep you safe.
GRAN PUNK: After all, three females alone? A recipe for abuse.
MUUN PUNK: You wouldn't wanna be abused, would you?
The three punks giggle fiercely at their own poor attempts at humour.
NASHIRA: (annoyed) Get lost, jerkasses!
The three punks recoil from her words with mock outrage.
MUUN PUNK: D'ya hear that? D'ya hear what she called us?
GRAN PUNK: She called us jerkasses!
WROONIAN PUNK: jerkasses? We?
MUUN PUNK: How rude!
The punks giggle again. Her annoyance turning to anger, Nashira pushes herself upright and strides over to face the Wroonian.
NASHIRA: You think you're prime stuff, don't you? Well, you wanna know what you really are?
WROONIAN PUNK: What are we? Really?
NASHIRA: You're all just scruffy-looking nerf herders!
The punks go silent. That silence only lasts a moment, however, and is immediately broken by their riotous laughter.
GRAN PUNK: Nerf herders? Scruffy-looking?
MUUN PUNK: Ooh!
Hearing their dismissive laughter, Nashira loses her composure. Grinning animalistically, the Wroonian steps toward her, forcing her to back into the Muun.
WROONIAN PUNK: You've got a nasty mouth on you, girl. You know that?
NASHIRA: (afraid) I —
WROONIAN PUNK: Yeah. Young and nasty, just the way I like 'em.
The Wroonian punk takes hold of Nashira. Wrapping her in an iron bear hug, he lifts her flailing form up.
WROONIAN PUNK: What say you, boys? Let's take 'er out back and rinse her mouth good.
Realizing where this is going, Siri springs into action. Lunging at the Wroonian, she wraps her arms around his throat and pulls him back, forcing him to release Nashira as she flings him over her shoulder into the neighbouring table. The Gran and Muun go on the offensive and attack the girls en masse. Frightened, Nashira runs away. The Wroonian, rising from amidst the smashed table, runs stiffly after her.
EXT. MESS HALL — DAY
Leaving the mess hall, Nashira calls out to the bystanders.
NASHIRA: Help us! Please, help us! We're being attacked!
Before Nashira can continue her entreaties, the Wroonian punk comes limping out of the mess hall entrance behind her. Seeing him, Nashira releases a SHRIEK then takes off again. Grimacing, the punk follows in a half-limp, half-run.
EXT. ALLEYWAY — DAY
Fleeing down a narrow alley between two buildings, Nashira comes to a dead end. Frantic, she tries several doors but find none unlocked.
HUMAN: (O.S.) C'mere!
Unable to escape, Nashira just stands and waits as the Wroonian enters the alleyway. Sneering, he limps his way to her. Frozen in terror, Nashira can do nothing but cry as the punk grabs her by the collar and forces her up against the wall.
WROONIAN PUNK: Shut up.
As the Wroonian leans in close, another person enters the alley behind them.
ZUL: (enraged) Stop!
Hearing the force behind that strong voice, the Wroonian spins around. Standing before the punk and girl, attired in the full robes and armour of a Mandalorian Knight, is Zul Danann.
WROONIAN PUNK: (grins nervously) I was only playing with her.
Zul strides toward the punk. Unhooking her lightsaber, she engages the chartreuse blade.
WROONIAN PUNK: (raises hands) Hey! Hey, now! I was just —
With a flash of yellow-green fire, Zul lops both the punk's arms off at the elbow.
HUMAN: YYYEEEAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!
His arm stumps smouldering, the punk collapses to his knees, mouth frozen open in extreme pain. Zul levels the point of her lightsaber at his open maw.
ZUL: I know exactly what it was you were doing with this child, you swine, and it certainly wasn't "playing".
Drawing her saber back, Zul deactivates and returns it to her belt. She then turns to Nashira, who remains standing pressed against the wall, petrified in stark terror.
ZUL: (reaches out to Nashira) It's alright now. He won't try to hurt you ever again.
Nashira remains in that position, afraid of both her disarmed assailant and this mortifying Mandalorian warrior.
ZUL: It's alright, dearheart. You needn't be afraid of me. I'm a friend.
When the red-haired girl still refuses to comply, Zul reaches up and removes her helmet, exposing her beautiful face to the child.
ZUL: (smiles) See? A friend. I won't hurt you. I will never hurt you.
Tentative, Nashira leaves the wall and approaches Zul. Smiling down at the girl, Zul takes her by the hand.
ZUL: What's your name, dearheart?
NASHIRA: Nashira.
ZUL: Where are you supposed to be right now, Nashira?
NASHIRA: My next course is in eighteen minutes.
ZUL: Consider it cancelled.
NASHIRA: (disbelieving) Really?
ZUL: You've earned the rest of the day off. I'll see to it that it's made official.
NASHIRA: (smiles slightly) Thanks. (beat) What's your name?
ZUL: Zul.
NASHIRA: That's an unusual name.
ZUL: I'm sure it is in this part of the Galaxy.
As they stand there, Human and Meketrex, hand-in-hand, Siri and Lwa arrive. Running up to them, Siri drops down in front of Nashira and puts her hands on the young girl's face.
SIRI: (concerned) Are you alright, Nashira? Did he hurt you in any way?
ZUL: He would have.
Looking up at Zul, Siri regards the near-Human woman for the first time, distrust on her face.
ZUL: (cont'd) I got here in time to stop him.
SIRI: (rises) Can we take her back with us now?
ZUL: (nods) She's allowed the rest of the day off. Take her back to her residence and see that she gets rest.
SIRI: I will.
Releasing her hand, Zul allows Nashira to leave with Siri and Lwa.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 24, 2018 2:14:20 GMT -5
EXT. VOLCANIC MOON — PLATEAU — TWILIGHT
On the surface of a moon several light-years away from the Dania system, a Theta-class shuttle and three TIE fighters sit atop a plateau overlooking a landscape dotted by several smouldering volcanoes. The air thick with ash, the mother planet of the moon can barely be seen as a hazy, dirty purple half-disk in the dark black-and-gray sky.
A ways away from the shuttle and TIEs, FIVE FIGURES can be seen fleeing from a LARGE SWARM OF HOSTILE NATIVES. They are all crew members of the Deliverer, a search party led by COMMANDER SALEM PIKER. As the hostile natives — heavily armoured humanoid feminoids with prominent forehead ridges, pointed ears, and dark green skin — close in on the party, they take aim with their wrist disruptors and open fire, sending beams of devastating white energy upon the visitors. The party members reciprocate with red blasterfire.
CMDR. PIKER: Move, move, move!
In a few short minutes, the crew members of the Deliverer make it to their ships. Wasting no time, they climb aboard their vessels.
INT. THETA-CLASS SHUTTLE/COCKPIT — TWILIGHT
Clambering into the shuttle, Piker enters the cockpit and quickly sits down beside the pilot.
CMDR. PIKER: Take us out of here!
Obeying instantly, the pilot engages the shuttle's engines and prepares for liftoff.
EXT. PLATEAU — TWILIGHT
The alien warriors arrive just as the four starships take off. Aiming their weapons skyward, they open fire. While two of the TIEs are quickly overtaken by the devastating beams and reduced to orange fireballs, the remaining craft manage to evade the lances of energy and escape to the ash-filled sky above.
INT. THETA-CLASS SHUTTLE/COCKPIT — TWILIGHT
CMDR. PIKER: (exhales loudly) Damn close.
PILOT: Ain't over yet, Commander. Picking ten alien fighters up on our six, closing in.
CMDR. PIKER: (annoyed) For the love of —
EXT. SPACE — VOLCANIC MOON
As the Theta-class shuttle and its TIE fighter escort escape the moon, rendezvousing with the Deliverer, ten medium-sized fighters shaped like foreboding birds of prey emerge from the atmosphere. Evading the assault ship's turbolaserfire, they converge on the larger vessel and discharge white disruptor beams — beams which pass right through the Deliverer's shields to impact on the hull. Point-defense cannons immediately counter-attack, but the lasers are absorbed by the alien shields without imparting any damage.
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
BAIL: How long to hyperspace?
HELMSMAN: Under a minute, sir.
EXT. SPACE
One of the enemy fighters makes a strafing run over the Deliverer, its beams burning a long furrow across the length of the ship. Within seconds, its course will take it — and its beams — over the Acclamator's unprotected bridge.
The assault ship leaps to lhyt-speed, leaving the enemy ships behind.
INT. DELIVERER/BRIDGE
HELMSMAN: (sighs) I sure hope they don't have a way of tracking us through hyperspace.
INT. DELIVERER/DOCKING BAY
Bail arrives to greet Piker and his team. As the commander wearily runs a hand through his hair, Bail strides up to him.
BAIL: How'd it go, Commander?
CMDR. PIKER: The moon was a dead end. We checked that base. (beat) If there were any Mandies there, the natives took care of 'em.
BAIL: (sighs) This was our best lead.
CMDR. PIKER: I'm sorry, sir.
BAIL: We'll have to keep searching.
Turning his back on Salem Piker, Capt. Bail Organa leaves.
INT. DANIA VII — BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/ANAKIN & NASHIRA'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM — DAY
The door to the room opens, allowing Nashira inside. Turning around, she makes eye contact with Siri, who remains outside.
SIRI: I have another shift coming up, but if you want, I can request a reprieve so I can stay here and keep you company.
NASHIRA: Thanks, Siri. It's alright. I'll be fine 'til Nik gets back.
SIRI: The Mandalorian said you should get some rest —
NASHIRA: (interrupts) Zul. Her name's Zul.
SIRI: (cont'd) Zul said you should get some rest, so that's what you're to do. Lie down; take a nap; take it easy. Okay?
NASHIRA: (pouts) I'm not a baby, Siri.
SIRI: That's right, you're not. Babies can't follow directions; you can. And you will, won't you?
NASHIRA: (bobs head side-to-side in exaggerated manner) Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SIRI: Good. (beat) Goodnight, 'Shira. I'll catch you tomorrow, hopefully.
NASHIRA: Goodnight.
With that, Siri turns and leaves. Sealing the door after her, Nashira then turns and strides over to the room's solitary sofa. With an exaggerated sigh, she throws herself down onto it then, picking up and activating a datapad, begins reading.
NASHIRA: Where was I...?
Scanning through the story datacard, she finds the last page she was on. Meanwhile, behind her, the door to the refresher slowly slides open. A dark humanoid shape steps out of the 'fresher and slowly heads toward her. As it brings forth its hand, light gleams off the blade of a crudely fashioned, homemade knife.
NASHIRA: (shakes head) Why do I read this junk?
The shape grabs Nashira by her hair and pulls her head back, exposing her naked throat to the crude blade.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/CORRIDOR — SUNSET
Anakin makes his way along the corridor to his room. His hair disheveled and eyelids heavy, he is clearly pooped from the day's activities.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/ANAKIN & NASHIRA'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM — SUNSET
Anakin opens the door to the small room and steps inside.
ANAKIN: 'Shira, I know it's my turn to cook dinner, but today was just —
Noticing for the first time that the room is completely empty, Anakin goes silent.
ANAKIN: 'Shira?
Guessing that Nashira's in the bed chamber, he checks it out. Finding it empty, he strides over to the closed refresher door and raps on it lightly.
ANAKIN: You in there, 'Shira? I'm really tired; I was hoping you could do the cooking tonight.
Anakin receives no answer from the other side of the door.
ANAKIN: (frowns) Nashira?
Still no answer.
ANAKIN: You better be dressed, 'cause I'm coming in.
Opening the door to the refresher, Anakin immediately finds a message scrolled on the mirror in bright blue grease pencil.
ANAKIN: Check the datacard on the table?
Spinning around, the teenaged boy sprints to the round table. There, neatly laid out at the centre, is a datacard and datapad. Picking them up, he slams the card into the pad and activates it; a recorded image of Gurkan's face immediately pops up on the small screen.
GURKAN: Hello, Skywalker. Doubtless you're wondering what's become of your girlfriend. Rest assured, she's safe.
As he says that, the Abyssin quickly pulls Nashira's still-living face into view before pushing her back out again.
GURKAN: (cont'd) For now.
ANAKIN: (grinds teeth) What do you want?
GURKAN: You and I have a score to settle, Skywalker, and I'm the type who likes scores settled. But as we are where we are, it gets so very hard trying to do that; there’s too many hardassed Mandalorians and snotnosed trainees running around, getting in the way. (beat) I want to meet up with you, Skywalker, where none of the busybodies can interfere with us; down in Sublevel R.
ANAKIN: Sublevel R?
GURKAN: Sublevel R's been abandoned and sealed off for decades, so nobody goes down there anymore. I know a way of getting there through the ducts, and I've provided you with a map to show you the way. (beat) But don't get any grand notions of calling the Mandies or your Jedi friends for help. If you show up with anyone or anyone other than you shows up, I'll give Nashira a brand-spanking-new red-lipped mouth to go with the one she has already. (beat) See you soon.
With that, Gurkan's recorded message comes to an end.
Anakin, bristling with pent-up rage, can barely keep himself from crushing the datapad in his hands to powder.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2018 7:00:20 GMT -5
^^^ That's a very descriptive story about the Deliverer and its well written and an excellent short story that I've really liked Duragizer and this is my favorite part of that story. EXT. PLATEAU — TWILIGHT
The alien warriors arrive just as the four starships take off. Aiming their weapons skyward, they open fire. While two of the TIEs are quickly overtaken by the devastating beams and reduced to orange fireballs, the remaining craft manage to evade the lances of energy and escape to the ash-filled sky above. |
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Feb 27, 2018 18:51:40 GMT -5
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 0/CORRIDOR — SUNSET
Having followed Gurkan's map on the datacard to Level 0, Anakin now finds himself at the end of an empty corridor; there, set high in the wall close to the ceiling, is a metal grate. Approaching the wall, Anakin pockets his datapad. Bending his knees, he takes a leap, clawing at the metal slats of the grate, but fails to purchase a grip and lands back on the floor.
ANAKIN: (under breath) Dammit.
Flexing his fingers with impatience, Anakin tries again. Closing his eyes in concentration, he crouches low to the ground, then opening his eyes, springs upward. Reaching the grate, he wrenches it free.
ANAKIN: (lands hard on feet) Yes!
Anakin leaps again, hoisting himself up and inside the duct.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 11/OBI-WAN, SIRI, & LWA'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM — TWILIGHT
As Siri comes home after a long day of activity, sporting bruises from her fight with the punks along with her clashes with merciless Mandalorian instructors, she finds that Obi-Wan has already set the table and is currently dishing out each of their suppers.
OBI-WAN: Good evening, Siri. Glad to see you could make it to dinner on time this time around.
SIRI: (weary) What did you make?
OBI-WAN: Well, they're supposed to be nerf steaks in white chocolate sauce, but we both know it's just nerf stock mixed with gelatin smothered in dehydrated milk mixed with artificial chocolate powder.
LWA: (takes bite of faux nerf steak) It's delicious! My compliments to the chef!
SIRI: (astonished) You're actually eating that‽
LWA: It's perfectly edible.
SIRI: But ... but ...
LWA: But?
SIRI: It's not porg pot pie!
LWA: (frowns) Of course it is. (forks another bite into mouth)
SIRI: No, it isn't. It's nerf jello in chocolate syrup!
OBI-WAN: Thank you for framing my cuisine in such delicate terms.
SIRI: (holds finger up) You keep quiet.
LWA: Porg pot pie comes in a myriad of forms. You just can't see them all at once.
SIRI: (sighs) I give up.
Weary, she plops herself down at the table and begins eating dispassionately.
OBI-WAN: (sits down at table) Rough day?
SIRI: As if you even need to ask.
OBI-WAN: Yeager made you run the gauntlet again.
SIRI: I was talking about the fight at lunch.
OBI-WAN: What fight?
SIRI: The fight at the mess hall.
Obi-Wan furrows his brow. He obviously doesn't know what she is talking about.
SIRI: (to Lwa) You didn't tell him‽
LWA: (shrugs) I didn't see the need to.
SIRI: (incredulous) Didn't see the need to‽
LWA: He would have found out eventually. (beat) He did find out eventually.
OBI-WAN: What happened at the mess hall?
SIRI: I had lunch in the mess hall with Lwa and Nashira. While we were eating, four sleezebags showed up and began assaulting us. A fight broke out and Nashira got separated from us. Their leader went after her, cornered her in an alley.
OBI-WAN: (corncerned) Is she safe?
SIRI: She's fine. A Mandie interceded before things went too far. (beat) Zul. Her name's Zul.
OBI-WAN: She gave you her name?
SIRI: She revealed it to Nashira. (beat) The two quite hit it off. She even took her helmet off for Nashira.
OBI-WAN: Unusual. The Mandalorians tend to keep their distance from the prisoners.
SIRI: I don't believe she's been a Mandalorian very long.
OBI-WAN: She's one of us?
SIRI: Not anymore, but she was. (beat) I believe she could still be a friend.
LWA: A friend indeed. A friend to bridge the divide between all others.
SIRI: (frowns) Now what are you going on about?
Before the H'nemthe can respond, Obi-Wan doubles over, grimacing with sudden agony.
SIRI: (alarmed) Obi-Wan, what is it‽
OBI-WAN: Siri, it's Anakin ... he's in danger! He's in grave danger!
INT. BUNKER 13/DUCT SYSTEM — TWILIGHT
Anakin makes his way through the dusty ductwork, resisting the urge to sneeze as he crawls along on his belly. Soon he comes to a drop in the ductwork leading straight down. Peering downward, he sees nothing in the darkness. Pushing himself forward like a worm, he plummets all the way down to the bottom. Though it is a relatively short drop, he still lands roughly, umcomfortably.
ANAKIN: (angry) Stang!
At the end, he finds an opening directly before him. Crawling forward, he emerges into a long disused, junk-cluttered, cobwebbed corridor illumined with a line of dim bulbs affixed to a wall. Rising to his feet, Anakin comes face-to-face with a Mandalorian. Gasping, he jumps back to discover that it's only an old, empty suit of rusting armour propped up before him.
ANAKIN: I'm here. Now what?
Without an idea of what to do next, Anakin starts forward. As he nears a bend in the corridor, he spies a blinking red light ahead of him. Striding closer, he finds a small beacon resting atop an overturned box; beside the beacon is another datacard. Picking the datacard up, Anakin takes out his datapad and replaces the old card with the new. As the datacard's information is accessed, Gurkan's cyclopean face returns to the small screen.
GURKAN: Made it, I see. Good. It wouldn't have been very satisfying for me if you'd broken your flimsy neck on the way down.
ANAKIN: You're all heart, Gurkan.
GURKAN: I've provided you another map. It'll lead you out of the corridor to a supply room. There I'll be waiting with your ginger beauty on my arm.
The short message comes to an end. Accessing the datacard's map, Anakin continues on his way.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/CORRIDOR — TWILIGHT
Obi-Wan and Lwa both stand together outside the open door leading into Anakin and Nashira's empty quarters. Siri steps out of the unit and joins them.
SIRI: They aren't here. There's just a message written on the mirror about a datacard on the table.
OBI-WAN: They aren't here. (beat) But I think I know where they've gone.
Obi-Wan takes off in a run. Siri and Lwa are quick to follow after him.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/CORRIDOR — TWILIGHT
Having arrived at the end of the map, Anakin finds himself before a partially closed door. Moving toward the door, he squeezes past it.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/SUPPLY ROOM — TWILIGHT
Having emerged into the supply room, Anakin finds it unlike the rest of Sublevel R. Most of the dust and debris has been cleared out, leaving the room largely spotless and empty — empty save for a large, partially assembled mechanical apparatus which stands against the far wall.
Standing in wait, hands on the shoulders of Nashira who sits tied to a heavy chair under coils of metal wire, is the Abyssin Gurkan.
GURKAN: Our guest has arrived! (to Nashira) Aren't you going to say hello, Nashira?
Nashira, her mouth stuffed with a rag, directs a stream of muffled expletives Gurkan's way.
ANAKIN: Okay, Gurkan, you've got me. Let Nashira go.
GURKAN: That was the agreement, wasn't it?
ANAKIN: Yeah, it is.
GURKAN: (sad) When I made that agreement, I didn't take into account the possibility that your girlfriend, once free, would go to the Mandalorians for help and bring them here. (grins) I just can't let that happen.
ANAKIN: (angry) You bastard! You —
As Anakin takes an angry step forward, Gurkan whips out his crude knife. Seeing the jagged blade, the young Human male halts in his tracks.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 0/CORRIDOR — TWILIGHT
Having come to the same spot Anakin was earlier, Siri, Lwa, and Obi-Wan find themselves staring up at the grate opening in the wall.
OBI-WAN: He went in there.
SIRI: Why would he go in the ducts?
OBI-WAN: Wherever Anakin and Nashira are, the ducts lead there. (beat) It'll be a tight fit, so it's best if I go alone. You stay here and wait for us.
SIRI: Maybe we should tell the Mandalorians.
LWA: No.
SIRI: Why not?
LWA: We stand at a crossroads to myriad futures. Involve the Mandalorians in this and we lose the best possible world available to us.
OBI-WAN: Anakin and Nashira don't have much time.
Leaping up, Obi-Wan pulls himself into the duct.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/SUPPLY ROOM — TWILIGHT
ANAKIN: Listen, Gurkan, if you do this, the Mandies won't let you get away with it. They'll have you shot.
GURKAN: (laughs) Do you really believe me so stupid as to let them know I've killed you? (beat) I'll stash your bodies away in one of the rooms down here where they'll never be found. The Mandies will believe you escaped into the wilderness. I won't be suspected of a thing.
Taking his knife, Gurkan rakes the point against Nashira's right ear, drawing a pained wince from her. As blood pools up from the wound, the Abyssin draws his finger across it then places his fingertip in his mouth.
GURKAN: I'll be generous, Skywalker. I'll let you decide who dies first.
At that moment, Orowi enters the room, flying in on his wings.
OROWI: Gurkan, I — (sees Nashira and Anakin) What is this‽
GURKAN: (angry) What are you doing here‽
Gurkan distracted, Anakin takes advantage of the situation and rushes him. Calling on the Force, he seizes the Abyssin's arms and pushes him back from Nashira. Indignant, Gurkan's grip on his knife tightens and he fights to free himself from Anakin's hold.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/CORRIDOR — TWILIGHT
Emerging from the ductwork, Obi-Wan races down the corridor.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/SUPPLY ROOM — TWILIGHT
Anakin and Gurkan continue grappling, carrying them about the room in a twisted paroxysm of a dance.
ANAKIN: Orowi, get 'Shira loose! Get her out of here!
It takes a moment for the Toydarian to get over the surprise of seeing Anakin fighting Gurkan in the room. He flies over to Nashira and begins trying to loosen her bonds.
OROWI: I can't untie this!
In reply, Nashira mumbles something from behind her gag.
The Toydarian pulls it from her mouth.
NASHIRA: Bolt cutter! On the floor!
Looking on the floor, Orowi searches it for the bolt cutter. Finding it, he goes to retrieve the tool.
Meanwhile, Gurkan and Anakin continue their struggle.
GURKAN: I'm going to gut you like a Tarakian eel-slug, boy!
His power failing him, Anakin grimaces as the Abyssin slowly begins overpowering him. Grinning, Gurkan frees an arm and then, with a hard slap, sends the boy sprawling.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/CORRIDOR — TWILIGHT
Obi-Wan leaps over the junk and debris in his path.
INT. BUNKER 13/SUBLEVEL R/SUPPLY ROOM — TWILIGHT
With the bolt cutter, Orowi cuts Nashira free. Pushing the wire aside, she leaps out of the chair.
NASHIRA: We've gotta help him!
OROWI: But he said —
Without waiting for him to finish, Nashira grabs the bolt cutter out of Orowi's hands.
As Anakin lies semi-conscious upon the floor, Gurkan bends low over him. Pulling him up by the collar, the Abyssin brandishes his homemade knife before the Human's face.
GURKAN: Wake up! It's time to die!
As Gurkan rears back his arm to deliver the fatal cut, Nashira runs up to him. Swinging the bolt cutter, she knocks the Abyssin upside the head. Grunting with pain, he drops the knife and collapses to his knees. Collecting his wits, Anakin climbs back to his feet. Bending over, he takes the Abyssin by the chin and lifts his head up until they are staring each other in the eye.
GURKAN: (spits blood in Anakin's face) You wanna talk mercy? You won't get any from me, Human.
ANAKIN: Time for talk is over.
Balling his right hand into a fist, Anakin punches the Abyssin in the face. With a groan, Gurkan's head is thrown back.
ANAKIN: It's all over for you, Gurkan.
With those words, Anakin begins to beat the Abyssin. With a series of kicks, punches, pulls, pushes, and throws, the relatively scrawny Human boy lays waste to this towering non-Human brute.
As the beating comes to an end, Anakin seizes the unconscious Gurkan's head in his two hands and begins applying nigh-superhuman pressure to the Abyssin's skull. It is at that point when Obi-Wan — his face, hands, and tan coveralls encrusted with dust — enters the room.
OBI-WAN: Anakin, no!
Seeing his master, Anakin stops.
OBI-WAN: (approaches Anakin) Anakin, don't do it.
ANAKIN: I should do it. He kidnapped 'Shira. He was going to kill us both. If I don't kill him, he'll just come for us again.
OBI-WAN: We can find a way of stopping him without killing him.
ANAKIN: I've got to end this here and now!
OBI-WAN: At what cost to yourself?
ANAKIN: (angry) Don't tell me killing him is of the dark side! He's of the dark side! Getting rid of him would only serve the good side!
OBI-WAN: Many have said that, all with more conviction than you. Most went on to become monsters, worse than those they opposed. (beat) Is that what you want to become? To become a monster worse than Gurkan?
Looking down at Gurkan, Anakin closes his eyes.
ANAKIN: I don't want to become that. Never.
Loosing his hold of Gurkan's head, Anakin rises to his feet. Smiling, Obi-Wan rests his hand on the boy's shoulder.
OBI-WAN: Let's get out of here. (looks at their dirty clothes) Then let’s get cleaned up.
Obi-Wan sneezes. Anakin laughs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Mar 6, 2018 2:22:09 GMT -5
EXT. CENTRAL TOWER/PENTHOUSE/DECK — DAWN
The first rays of light from Dania VII's three suns falls over the central tower of the Mandalorian complex, illuminating the outer deck of the penthouse. There on the deck, kneeling with her face to the suns, is Zul. Nearly nude save for a diaphanous nightgown which envelops her body, she moves her hands about her belly, eyes closed in deep meditation.
PRE VIZSLA: (O.C.) In communion?
Hearing the voice of her master, Zul opens her eyes.
ZUL: She is healthy and she is happy.
Turning around, she finds Vizsla standing behind her. In stark contrast to her own exposed form, he wears a heavy black robe which conceals his entire body save for his head and hands.
PRE VIZSLA: She will be among the first of the Mandalorian Knights born into our order. Her entry into this world will be cause for celebration.
Rising to her feet, Zul turns and strides up to her master. Reaching out, she takes Vizsla's hand.
PRE VIZSLA: (cont'd) You gave her to me. (kisses hand) You are her father.
Vizsla closes his eyes tight.
INT. BUNKER 13/LEVEL 2/OROWI'S QUARTERS/MAIN ROOM — DAY
Orowi is busy looking through an assortment of loose datacards when three KNOCKS are heard on the door.
OROWI: (to someone in bed chamber) Olo, where's my report on the Battle of Cathar?
Olo — a tall, slender, multi-limbed Xexto — leans his head out the bed chamber door. Another three knocks are heard through the door.
OLO: You going to get that?
OROWI: Momentarily. Now tell me, do you know where my report is?
OLO: Knowing you, you dropped it in the toilet.
OROWI: Ha, ha. It is to laugh.
Another knock resounds through the door.
OROWI: (to door) Just one hot minute!
Rising from his seat, the Toydarian flies over to the door and opens it. Standing outside his door is Anakin Skywalker, his expression serious.
OROWI: Anakin!
ANAKIN: Surprised to see me, Orowi?
OROWI: What can I do for you? Make it brief; my first course starts in twenty-three minutes.
Crossing over to the chair Orowi was sitting in a moment before, Anakin plops himself down and begins looking over Orowi's datacards one-by-one.
OROWI: (flies over to Anakin) Be careful with those. I don't need any of them going missing.
ANAKIN: What were you doing there last night?
OROWI: (worried) Uh, last night?
ANAKIN: Down in Sublevel R? Where Gurkan had taken Nashira and held both of us at knifepoint?
OROWI: Well, I —
ANAKIN: (puts down datacards; stands up, towering over Orowi) Gurkan told me that level had been sealed up, that no one went down there anymore. Yet you just happened to waltz right on in, as if you'd been there before, as if you expected to find Gurkan there.
OROWI: Nik —
ANAKIN: (frowns) I want to know what part you had to play in his little revenge scheme.
OROWI: (sighs) Nothing, Nik. I had nothing to do with his plan to hurt you and Nashira.
ANAKIN: Then what were you doing down there?
OROWI: (shrugs) I may as well tell you; I was going to eventually, anyway. (beat) I have been to Sublevel R before and I knew Gurkan was going to be there.
ANAKIN: (angry) So you did know!
OROWI: (frowns) No! I told you already, no! (beat) You saw the mechanism down there?
ANAKIN: Yes.
OROWI: And you remember that piece of equipment Gurkan stole from the supply room?
ANAKIN: Yeah.
OROWI: Nik, Gurkan and I ... we were both working on a transceiver.
ANAKIN: Transceiver?
OROWI: (nods) For the past two years, a small outfit of prisoners has been building a hyperwave transceiver, to call for help. (beat) We set it up in Sublevel R to avoid detection from the Mandies.
ANAKIN: (furrows brow) I find it hard to believe you actually had Gurkan working with you.
OROWI: He may be a prick, but he wants out with the rest of us.
ANAKIN: How many of you are there?
OROWI: Twenty-two, most from Level 2.
ANAKIN: (under breath) Is your roommate with you?
OROWI: Of course. Do you think I'd be speaking so cavalier about it were I keeping it secret from him?
ANAKIN: How far along are you on the transceiver?
OROWI: At our current pace, it should be complete within five-to-six months.
ANAKIN: You said you were going to tell me about all this in the first place, right?
OROWI: (nods) Yes. I knew I could trust you. (beat) Of course, if you don't want in, that's alright.
ANAKIN: (shakes head) No, no. I do want in on this. I've got some expertise in mechanics, and I'm dying to get off this blamed planet.
OROWI: (smiles) Good. That's good. (beat) Just don't tell anybody about this, okay?
ANAKIN: (frowns) I have to tell the others. They can help.
OROWI: (shakes head) No. No way. Absolutely out of the question.
ANAKIN: C'mon! You don't expect Ben or Siri or 'Shira to rat on us, do you?
OROWI: I don't expect, but I do suspect.
ANAKIN: Now you're just being paranoid!
OROWI: (resigned) Alright, okay. You can tell your friends.
ANAKIN: (grins) Prime.
OROWI: You can start tonight, two hours after lights out. (beat) I hope you like your caf black, 'cause that's the only way we serve it.
EXT. GORGE — DAY
In a gorge kilometres from Bunker 13, a NUMBER OF LEVEL 11ERS are being forced to scale the side of a steep wall bare-handed without any climbing equipment. Supervising their ascent, safe and secure atop a hover platform, is TASKMASTER YEAGER.
YEAGER: Climb, damn you! Climb faster!
Unholstering a blaster pistol, the taskmaster takes aim at a skeletal Givin — Klton Oben — as he makes his unsteady climb up the rock wall.
YEAGER: You! Oben! Get your vacuum-sealed ass in gear!
KLTON: I'm trying, sir!
YEAGER: (mocking) I'm trying, sir! (in normal voice) Not good enough, Oben!
Pulling the trigger, the Mandalorian sends a blaster bolt hurtling into the stone face of the wall directly above the Givin's head. Startled by the bolt's scream and the sudden shower of rock debris over him, he loses his grip on the wall and plummets.
KLTON: YAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Falling fast, he hits several protruding rocks before finally managing to break his fall by grabbing hold of a short outcropping. His grip is tenuous, though, and he immediately begins to slip.
KLTON: (panicked) Help me! Please!
YEAGER: Help yourself, ghostface! (laughs)
As Klton continues slipping, Obi-Wan, who happens to be climbing the wall fifteen metres to the left of him, immediately takes notice of the Givin's dangerous situation.
OBI-WAN: Hold on, Klton!
Taking care, Obi-Wan begins making the perilous crossing across the face of the gorge wall. Redoubling his efforts, Klton manages to temporarily secure his hold of the slight outcropping.
YEAGER: (enraged) Kenobi! What in damnation you think you're doing‽
OBI-WAN: (grits teeth) What in damnation you think I'm doing?
YEAGER: Leave him and get back to climbing, Jedi!
Ignoring Yeager, Obi-Wan continues his trek.
YEAGER: (aims blaster at Obi-Wan) I won't tell you again! Leave him where he is and get back to climbing the wall!
OBI-WAN: Perhaps you can make his death look like an accident, but there's no way you'll ever be able to make a blaster burn through my back look like an act of God. As I understand it, Vizsla doesn't take kindly to murder — not even the murder of Jedi.
YEAGER: (hesitantly holsters blaster) Chaos take you, Kenobi….
Now unencumbered by the taskmaster, Obi-Wan continues his tenuous journey until he reaches Klton.
OBI-WAN: (reaches out with right hand) Take my hand, Klton!
KLTON: I don't know if I can!
OBI-WAN: It's alright, I'll catch you before you fall. Now please, take my hand!
Deciding to trust the Jedi, the Givin takes his right hand off the outcropping and thrusts it in Obi-Wan's direction. Just as he slips off, Obi-Wan seizes the Givin's free hand and prevents his fall.
OBI-WAN: Alright, now I'm going to swing you over a bit to the left. Twist your body as I swing you and take hold of the rocks under me.
Nodding, Klton does as Obi-Wan commands as the Human swings him. Twisting his body, he releases the Jedi's hand and clamps down onto the stone directly beneath Obi-Wan.
OBI-WAN: You good?
KLTON: I'm on the wall. (beat) I don't know if I can climb the rest of the way.
OBI-WAN: Don't worry, I'll help you.
With that, the two prisoners of Level 11 reassume their ascent.
EXT. QUARRY — DAY
Having reached the top of the gorge, Obi-Wan and Klton pull themselves up and onto solid ground. Standing, they find themselves on the outskirts of an old rock quarry.
KLTON: Thank you, Kenobi. I would've died if it weren't for you. If there's anything I can have done for you ...
OBI-WAN: Pay for lunch and we'll be square.
As their small talk comes to a close, Yeager strides up to them, body language ablaze with hostility. Reaching them, the taskmaster backhands the Givin and punches Obi-Wan in the gut, sending them both back to the ground.
YEAGER: (points at Kenobi) Maybe I can't kill you, but I can do worse — much worse. (beat) You're going to go back down there, Kenobi, and you're going to climb back up. And when you're done, you're going to go down and climb up again. It'll take you all the rest of the godsdamned day, and when you're finally done, you'll be so kriffing raw, you won't be able to sit, sleep, or have a movement for weeks without suffering a full-body muscle spasm. Maybe that will teach you to go against me. (beat) Jedi scum.
Turning on his heels, Yeager leaves his two wards crumpled up on the stoney ground.
OBI-WAN: (to Klton) Looks like we'll have to take a rain check on that lunch.
EXT. MANDALORIAN COMPLEX — MONTAGE
The various warriors, workers, and prisoners within the Mandalorian complex make their way to-and-fro about their business.
CUT TO
A shot of the three suns of Dania VII moving across the emerald sky above the Mandalorian complex and sinking below the horizon, casting this side of the planet into night.
CUT TO
Siri helping a pain-wracked Obi-Wan into bed. Wincing as he stretches out on the mattress, he thanks Siri as he closes his eyes. Turning, she goes to walk out of the dark room.
Everything freezes in place.
CUT TO
Anakin as he goes to lie down on the sofa for his brief sleep before the night shift. Seated at the table, Nashira looks upon him with yearning.
Everything freezes in place.
CUT TO
Zul standing in her bed chamber alone, performing tai chi.
Everything freezes in place.
EXT. WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS
With flashes of light, Obi-Wan, Siri, Anakin, Nashira, and Zul materialize upon an ephemeral platform suspended in the midst of a black, star-studded void. Arranged in a semi-circle, they find themselves facing Lwa, who stands at the centre, hands resting atop the head of her ebony cane.
LWA: Welcome, friends.
NASHIRA: (confused) What is this?
OBI-WAN: A Force rapport. I'm certain of it.
LWA: The day and hour of your deliverance draws nigh. Your saviours are on their way; you have but to call to them. Before you can, before you must, you will prepare. (beat) As Obi and Nik have become one soul in the Force, as have Nik and 'Shira, so must you all and all who have been unjustly imprisoned within the Mandalorian walls. (beat) Together, unencumbered by timespace, we will show each other the way….
More prisoners materialize upon the platform, accruing in numbers, until Lwa finds thousands of pupils standing about her in rapt attention.
MONTAGE — VARIOUS
The events which occur over the next five-to-six months: The prisoners work on the transceiver, adding more-and-more components as the days and weeks pass by; Obi-Wan, Anakin, Siri, Nashira, and those prisoners allied with them continue honing their rapport through the Force; Zul's belly grows ever larger as the child within her womb approaches her due date.
INT. CENTRAL TOWER/TRAINING ROOM — EVENING
Standing at the centre of the large training room, heavily pregnant, Zul holds her ignited lightsaber aloft, eyes trained on the THREE LIGHTSABER PRACTICE 'DROIDS which stand in a semi-circle before her. Lean but powerfully built, the 'droids — PURPLE EYES, ORANGE EYES, and GREEN EYES — are plated in thin layers of beskar alloy and armed with lightsabers taken from captured Jedi.
As Zul repositions her blade a millimetre, Purple Eyes pounces. As it swings its green blade, the Meketrex ducks, allowing her to block Green Eyes' yellow weapon just as it comes in swinging after Purple Eyes. Twirling over to the right, Zul moves out from under Purple Eyes and goes for Orange Eyes. As the near-Human Mandalorian Knight brings her chartreuse blade down, the 'droid turns its blue lightsaber sideways, blocking the blow easily. Pushing forward, Orange Eyes forces Zul backwards toward Green Eyes. Spinning around, Zul brings her lightsaber down just in time to intercept Green Eyes' underhanded swing. Forcing Green Eyes' blade down to the floor, Zul quickly brings her yellow-green blade up to the 'droid's unarmoured neck. Hitting the 'droid, the blade doesn't sever its head; instead the 'droid and its lightsaber automatically power down. Turning away from the dormant machine, Zul refocuses her attention on the remaining 'droids.
Bringing their weapons to bear, Orange Eyes and Purple Eyes attack. As the 'droids run towards her, Purple Eyes throws its right leg out in a high kick while Orange Eyes swings its lightsaber low, trying to catch the near-Human woman in a nasty crosscut. Hurling herself forward, Zul manages to pass through the space between the two dangerous blows. Springing back up, she swings her lightsaber around before Purple Eyes can turn around; as the chartreuse blade makes contact with the unarmoured joint between the ‘droid's unarmoured hips and torso, the droid shuts down. Deciding to put a swift end to this training session, Zul hoists her weapon up like a javelin then hurls it headlong at Orange Eyes. Sailing forward straight and true, the tip of the yellow-green blade strikes one of the 'droid's photoreceptors, deactivating the automaton instantly.
Perspiring from the workout she just put herself through, Zul retrieves her lightsaber, adjusting its power setting back to max. Pocketing the weapon, she turns around and leaves the three 'droids, joining Pre Vizsla, who stands against the north wall, arms crossed over his chest.
PRE VIZSLA: You shouldn't be sparring this far into your pregnancy.
ZUL: You needn't worry. I had their sparring mode on easy.
PRE VIZSLA: Nevertheless, your due date is approaching. If you don't wish to suffer complications, I suggest you ease up on the physical exercises and focus on the mental ones.
ZUL: Could you hand me a towel, please?
Turning to a short table, Vizsla retrieves a white towel and hands it to Zul. Taking it, she mops the sweat from her head and shoulders.
PRE VIZSLA: You're hiding something.
Zul freezes at those words.
PRE VIZSLA: Something troubles you.
Draping the towel across her shoulder, Zul averts her gaze from his.
ZUL: You're mistaken.
PRE VIZSLA: You can't hide your feelings from me, Zul. I know you too well.
Bringing her gaze back up, she restores eye contact with Vizsla.
ZUL: I'm afraid.
PRE VIZSLA: For the child?
ZUL: For the child; for me; for you. I'm afraid for the future.
PRE VIZSLA: (rests hand on her shoulder) We make our own future.
Silently removing Vizsla's hand from her shoulder, Zul tosses the towel back on the table. Turning away from her master, she then leaves for the door.
|
|
