Star Saga: A Clash Of Empires (3) There’s a man trapped in a cavity in your group’s vicinity, near that crippled, rising tower. The team hustles back the way they came. Iris as she goes back sees that Langdon has approached Monafia and is conversing with her. She looks about longingly. The team gets to the spot and begins digging. IRIS Jesse, I never got a chance to properly thank you for saving me from that Myrmidion. Jesse seems taken aback at first, but then waves her statement away. JESSE Huh? Oh, don’t mention it. They continue to dig about the rubble. JESSE So, how long have you and Langley been friends? IRIS (reminiscing) Langdon? All our lives really. From primary school, to secondary, from secondary to Initiate school, all the way to cadetship. Iris considers while leaning against the shovel. IRIS We’ve always been close, but maybe--just not close enough... Jesse just looks at her as she reminisces. Suddenly, another MALE SOLDIER screams at the top of his lungs. MALE SOLDIER Someone’s down here! The duo head towards him and begin to assist. Langdon and Monafia observe from afar. LANGDON You’ve really got a gift. MONAFIA I just want to help in any way that I can. Langdon looks around with seemingly something on his mind. LANGDON Listen, Monafia, there’s something I have to tell you. Monafia looks at Langdon curiously. LANGDON (CONT’D) I...kissed Iris. Monafia appears as though a hole just opened up in her heart, as she looks about for an answer, not looking at Langdon. MONAFIA I...see. I knew something was wrong but...I did not know that you wanted to be with Iris. You told me that... Langdon speaks without looking at her. LANGDON That’s just it...I’m confused. I don’t know who I want to be with. I’ve known Iris for a very long time. I’ve never felt this way about her before, until I learned that she still lived. I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t help the way I feel. I just felt that...you should know... The Male Soldier who assisted the trapped woman from earlier approaches Monafia and speaks with her entreatingly. MALE SOLDIER We still need you and your precious power, Princess Monafia. There may be many more trapped under the rubble. He escorts her by the arm and she doesn’t look back. Langdon looks saddened. INT. CZAR’S STAR CRUISER, BRIDGE Czar Shepard, along with his two Commanders, Wecker and Stanfield, enter through the sliding door into the bridge of the star cruiser and head towards the MALE OPERATOR. MALE OPERATOR You really need to see this, sir. The Male Operator brings up a somewhat blue planet with spots of desert shown here and there on the viewing screen for Shepard and the Commanders perusal. MALE OPERATOR This is what Sordaan’s scouting satellites picked up beyond the Soradneese perimeter, three parsecs to be exact. COMMANDER STANFIELD Are you saying that the Sordaneese believe this to be a Bulgata colony? MALE OPERATOR They’ve scanned the planet and come up with much evidence in support of it, sir. The Male Operator presses a few more buttons on the control panel and show satellite imagery of warships and fighters, all of Bulgata make. CZAR SHEPARD Recall the cadets on the surface. We will head to Sordaan immediately, and launch a surprise attack on this colony. COMMANDER WECKER It may be that we can learn some very valuable information in occupying this planet, such as the location of the Bulgata homeworld. COMMANDER STANFIELD At the very least we should come away with an idea as to their colonial might. CZAR SHEPARD My sentiments exactly, gentlemen. Let us prepare for departure. The three head for the sliding door and exit. EXT. BULGATA, VIEW OF PALACE AND PALACE DISTRICT The Bulgata palace stands magnificently amidst the sprawl of the palace district, being the color of sand and having many domes and spires. INT. PALACE, THRONE ROOM The throne room is most exquisite, being extravagantly long with murals painted across its walls and high ceiling. Fedos and Fedora sit on their thrones speaking with several HEADS OF STATE as Raphsidy enters into the giant double doors at a rush. The Heads of State begin to leave and disperse. Illzar stands to the right side of Fedos. They speak in the alien language. RAPHSIDY My lord, my mistress, I have most urgent news. I have discovered the location of another Earth colony. It is called Sordaan by the Earthlings, and I am very positive that it is the last of their colonized worlds. FEDORA Excellent work, Raphsidy. Now that we have a complete view of their presence militarily, what might our reaction to this be? Fedora looks towards her husband who seems to be mulling over the proposition. Raphsidy appears anxious and speaks. RAPHSIDY My lord, my queen? If I may? FEDOS (looking up) You may speak, Raphsidy. Raphsidy paces back and forth. RAPHSIDY (CONT’D) What if we attack all of their planets in succession, in an effort to dampen their collective spirits? It will cause mass confusion and panic among the inhabited worlds as it is broadcast, and would leave leadership in disarray. Fedos and Fedora consider the suggestion, and finally air their thoughts. FEDORA A very good military tactic. The relative calm before the massive overflow, so to speak. What do you think, my love? FEDOS I am in agreement, my darling Fedora. Take care of the preparation, Raphsidy. After the fallout of these expeditions we shall waste no more time teasing the Earth Empire. They will be bought into subjugation, and all will know that the Bulgata has no equal in the universe. Raphsidy bows, visibly excited. RAPHSIDY It shall be done, my lord and mistress. He exits the throne room in a hustle. INT. BLOCK A, TESTING FACILITY Gray skinned Gindred Falcos is walking down an empty hall of the Testing Facility. He has a handheld computer terminal in his hand and he checks it as he walks. He walks by a sliding door that is tinted blue. He stops, and looks both ways down the aisle. He approaches and the door slides before him. The room is empty, save for computer terminals populating most of the walls, barring where a giant wall screen is. He hustles towards a terminal on the other side of the rectangular room, a great deal away from the sliding door, and takes a seat. He presses a few buttons on a touch sensitive GUI and Earth and its colonies comes into view in succession, with coordinates showing themselves. He takes his handheld computer terminal and begins to wirelessly sync the information. He seems to be on edge as he impatiently waits. Suddenly, the door behind him slides open without making a sound and Samnel approahces. SAMNEL There you are. Upon hearing this, Gindred manages to control himself and begins to pound away on the terminal, attempting to conceal what he was doing. SAMNEL (CONT’D) My superiors were just wondering how long it would take you all to build a replica of PROJECT LIGHTNING STORM and send to colonies other than TULISTA. Samnel now notices that Earth and the other colonies has just blinked out of existence. GINDRED Bu-building a replica of Lightning Storm has been difficult for us. It seems as if we were extremely lucky in getting the first prototype in working order. Yet we are making progress. SAMNEL What were you just doing? GINDRED (stammering) I was...only being inquisitive. I wanted to see what their colonies looked like. Samnel takes the handheld computer terminal from Gindred, presses a few buttons, and 3D projections of Earth, Sordaan, Marune, and Dorridion come into view, along with small numbers and lettering, which are coordinates. SAMNEL You were thinking of escaping, weren’t you? GINDRED It...it’s not what you think, Samnel. I... SAMNEL Don’t be afraid. I won’t tell anyone. I...want to help you. GINDRED You...do? Just then a MYRMIDION enters in silently, sees the both of them, stops, and observes. Samnel nods. SAMNEL I do. I can’t stand to see what the Bulgata have become. We used to be a very noble race of people, until Fedos and Fedora ascended to the throne. Now, we’re collectively monsters. GINDRED I...I had inklings about you and others but I never knew for sure that you felt this way. SAMNEL There are probably others like me, but they are just too afraid to admit it. I...am only one Myrmdion though, and I can’t do anything as extraordinary as deposing the commanding couple. But, the little I can do, to make life easier for those who are enslaved, I do. So I want to help you escape. The Myrmdion in the doorway looks shocked at this revelation. GINDRED There are two others who wish to go along with me. SAMNEL Don’t worry. We’ll come up with something. GINDRED I was thinking... Gindred goes on indistinctly. The Myrmidion at the doorway walks back through the sliding door, with a wicked expression on his face. INT. CZAR STAR CRUISER, CABINS Langdon walks passed other cadets in the lighted hall of the dormitory. He makes it to a white sliding door and rings the buzzer. After a brief amount of time, the door slides open before him. He steps inside of the medium sized room and Iris sits motionless on a sofa watching a three dimensional news hologram. The two look towards one another. LANGDON Hey. IRIS Hi. LANGDON Can we talk for a bit? Iris nods. Langdon takes a seat beside her on the sofa. LANGDON I’m told we’re almost to Sordaan. When we get there we’ll be escorted by half of Sigma Squadron to a colony of the Bulgata’s called Tulista. IRIS Is it a very populated colony? LANGDON The Sordaneese seem not to think so. Commander Wecker says they believe it’s sparsely populated, but there is a lot of military equipment and the planet is defended by encampments of Myrmdions. IRIS I see. Silence encompasses the room as they both stare at the three dimensional anchor woman. LANGDON Listen...I know that I’ve been difficult to be around the last few weeks. But...I came here because I want to comfort you in some way. I noticed your concern when I was speaking with Monafia. Iris looks at him seemingly in surprise. IRIS Well, can you blame me? I know this must be hard for you, but it is hard for me too. I’ve...always cared for you. Now it’s Langdon’s turn to show surprise. LANGDON You have? Why...why didn’t you say something earlier? IRIS I didn’t want to chance ruining what we had. Langdon reflects. LANGDON Whatever I decide, I want you to know that I will always have feelings for you. You understand that, right? Iris nods slightly. Langdon places the very tips of his fingers on her cheek, caressing her softly. LANGDON I... The two stare into each other’s eyes. IRIS You...what? LANGDON I...I should go... Langdon stands hesitantly, looking back towards Iris, and heads back the way he came. Iris places her hands over her heart as she exhales. EXT. SPACE, HIGH ORBIT OVER SORDAAN - SUPER - SIGMA SQUADRON AT SORDAAN Sordaan from space looks to be a large planet, densely populated with vegatation. Sigma Squadron, similar to the other academies, is a monstrously constructed space station that serves as a guard to the green planet. Czar Shepard’s contingent of Omega and Alpha Squadron escorts exits hyperspace and moves to join with the already assembled Sigma Squadron forces. Gathered, the swarms of dropships, fighters, and cruisers all enter hyperspace, causing the universe to bend. INT. MOON BASE, TRAINING FACILITY The new cadets watch as black and curly haired Jason spars in a boxing match with another MALE CADET. The two wear headgear and have mouth pieces. The fight has been going on for an extended period of time. Many cadets have come to watch the festivities, among them being Simon, Simone, and Matt, who stand around the ring beside one another. The cadets are very much into the match, with cheering, shouting, and flailing of limbs. The opponents circle about each other in that customary boxing fashion, until Jason gets close enough to reach the Male Cadet with a right jab, which the Cadet sways away from, countering himself with a right hook that lands squarely on Jason’s head. He stumbles, but recovers. The crowd shows their delight, except Jason’s trio of friends. They speak over the tumult. MATT Don’t worry, guys. It’s been a seesaw of a match, so he’s hanging in there. SIMONE He didn’t want to do this though. Maybe you or Simon should have taken his place instead. Simon reflects. The two continue to circle each other, when the Male Cadet approaches, and this time goes for a left jab, right uppercut combo. He misses with the jab, and grazes with the uppercut. Jason responds with right and left jabs, both of which connect. The two opponents go on a mini blitzkrieg with the Cadet’s back pushed against the rope. His trio of friends, as well as others, light up. The referee gets in between and breaks it up. Now the two circle each other once more, both appearing wore down. SIMONE Boxing’s never been Jason’s strong point, but he’s showing an adeptness that he didn’t have before. Maybe gene splicing has something to do with it. Jason and the Male Cadet are hugging one another, and the referee gets in between. When he does this, the Male Cadet, who is generally frustrated, goes for a swing at Jason and grazes him on the head. This excites the crowd. SIMON Foul play! Foul play! Chaos spills forth as the two try to reach each other. The referee calls for an end to the match. The bell rings, and the cadets all become deflated, dispersing and whatnot, except Jason’s trio of friends. After the referee has managed to calm them down, he orders them to kiss and make up. Which they do, punching each others gloves and hugging one another. Jason approaches his friends on the outside of the ring. A female PERSONAL TRAINER begins to untie the boxing gloves. Simone rushes towards him. Simone Are you all right, Jason? You were never very good at the conditioning of a boxer while you were an Initiate. I was worried. Jason tries to speak with the mouthpiece still in his mouth and it comes out garbled. He spits it out. JASON I’m fine. It was nothing. Really, I’m doing okay. MATT I told you he’d be fine, guys. There was nothing to worry about. SIMON It’s the gene manipulation. It has altered our talents, made us stronger than we really are. Simone considers. SIMONE I suppose so. MATT But isn’t that a good thing? Simon looks towards him. SIMON I never said that it wasn’t. If we didn’t have gene splicing, we probably would have lost to the Bulgata a long time ago. The trio consider. By now the Personal Trainer has removed the gloves, and leaves. JASON Let’s go see what their serving in the Mess Hall. I’m famished. Simon nods, and they all follow after him. EXT. TULISTA, VIEW OF MILITARY BASE, MIDDAY - SUPER - TULISTAN MILITARY BASE The Tulistan military base is surrounded by a steppe, a vast open field without any tree in sight. It has an air of intimidation about it, jet black, gargantuan, a monolith, having many interconnected layers, and pointed at its tip. A carrier comes out of a docking entrance near the top of the structure accompanied by fighters. INT. MILITARY BASE, COMMAND CENTER The command center is populated with many Myrmidions at interconnected computer terminals, all generally going about their jobs. The commanding Myrmidion, COMMANDER SAUSSLER (many medals wearing, middle aged), inquires of his THREE TECHNICIANS, two male, one female. They all speak in English. COMMANDER SAUSSLER Well? How does she fair? MALE TECH 1 Heat index is at five thousand TOKARS. MALE TECH 2 Durability thinly maintained. COMMANDER SAUSSLER Still can’t work out the kinks, eh? FEMALE TECH Everything goes fine so long as we don’t push her too hard. Commander Saussler sighs. COMMANDER SAUSSLER Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so eager to try her out. Maybe we should have given those geniuses at Block A the liberty of a little more time. Suddenly, an alarm blares letting them know that the Tulistan perimeter has been breached. A male OPERATOR gives the message and other Myrmidions go about their business excitedly. OPERATOR Commander Saussler, we’ve got...an armada approaching. They’re many, sir. COMMANDER SAUSSLER (in shock) An armada? Wha-who? A foreign empire perchance? OPERATOR The Deep Scanner has revealed the invaders to be of human origin. Commander Saussler walks towards the screen and considers with a wicked grin on his face. COMMANDER SAUSSLER (CONT’D) So, those human weaklings have found one of the Bulgata colonies. No matter. He speaks to his Operator. COMMANDER SAUSSLER (CONT’D) Coordinate the offensive with the other bases. Rally the foot soldiers. Launch the carriers and fighters. EXT. TULISTAN MILITARY BASE, VIEW OF DOCKING PORT Many carriers and fighters begin to pour out of the wide mouth of the docking port as the alarm blares even on the outside. On the ground, Myrmidions begin to assemble and they all come into formation. EXT. HIGH ORBIT OVER TULISTA, EARTH EMPIRE ADVANCE The capital ships and fighters of the Earth Empire begin to descend on the planet of Tulista, with the drop ships in the background, being accompanied by a cadre of fighters. Now the Tulistan armada emerges from the surface of the planet, and the two forces engage. INT. CZAR STAR CRUISER, BRIDGE Czar Shepard watches the beginning stages of battle through the viewing screen with his two academy commanders, Wecker and Stanfield. COMMANDER WECKER Sordaneese intelligence almost guaranteed that this planet’s forces were not much at all. From the looks of things they have a sizable fleet. COMMANDER STANFIELD Perhaps their bases were spread out on the surface, and Sordaan was not able to find them all. CZAR SHEPARD In any case, we can’t fret about that now. We have a genuine opportunity set before us. Czar Shepard turns to his male OPERATOR CZAR SHEPARD (CONT’D) Ensure that our dropships are accompanied by a sizable escort. The sooner we take control of their command centers the better. OPERATOR Yes, sire. EXT. TULISTA, EXTENDED VIEW OF COMMAND CENTER - MIDDAY The Myrmidions all stand in rank and file, stoic and unmoving, their bulky figures awaiting the arrival of the Earth Empire dropships. Suddenly, in the distance, hordes upon hordes of dropships begin to present themselves in the blue and clouded sky. The sky is bespotted with them. The Myrmidions are outnumbered, considerably. The cadets begin to land a great distance away from the stoic Myrmidions and cadets with unique uniforms from all three attacking academies (Omega, Alpha, and Sigma) rush towards the stoic Myrmidions with their jagged and silver Killimari weapons in hand and laser guns strapped along their thighs. Langdon, Iris, and Jesse are three of those cadets. INT. TULISTAN MILITARY BASE, COMMAND CENTER Commander Saussler looks through the viewing screen at the oncoming cadets as they rush to engage the Myrmidions, who continue to remain stoic. He has a look of outrage on his face as he says the following. COMMANDER SAUSSLER Why, why, why do they resist? He turns towards his Technicians. COMMANDER SAUSSLER (CONT’D) Activate Project Lightning Storm. ALL THREE TECHNICIANS Yes, sir. EXT. PINNACLE OF MILITARY BASE, ROOF - CONTINUOUS A sliding door opens on the floor of the roof of one of the pinnacles of the military base and a metal instrument begins to rise from inside of the base. It has lights that blink in and out on its structure and has a disk situated at its crown akin to a giant satellite that is able to bend inward and unto itself. It bends, positions itself just right, and points skyward.
Copyright © 2008 Michael Harris |