"Titans" -Warriors of Virtue

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Int. Ishnu City -Henderson's Cell -continue

Henderson decides that she'd better plan her escape...She is pretty positive that a search and rescue team (SUO's) are in operation to find her and her 7 crew members...and by getting herself out in the open, will increase her chances of contact with her fellow commandos...

She gets up and makes her way to the metal door. It is solid!

She peers out the slit. The corridor is quiet. Nothing out here. Just the drip, drip, drip of water echoing somewhere in the distance...

She tries the door...There is no way that she is getting out this way! Damn it!

She looks around the room again...no windows...no other slits or cracks in the stone walls...But...wait...the MOONLIGHT...

There is moonlight coming in from above!

She looks up, and sure enough, there is a ventilation grid up above...and the blue moonlight shines through to illuminate the room...

Now, how does she get up there...

She spots the small wooden table to the side...

------------------

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Digresseing further, "Warriors of Virtue" was also the title of a hideously awful film featuring a band of Teenage Mutant Ninja Kangaroos that came out a few years back (special effects provided by Gadjecki Visual Effects).

Okay, after a busy weekend, I'm going to see if I can't ease my way back into this little story.
************************************
INT. ISHNU - ALIEN CITY

The elderly man emerges from the shadows. We come in close on his eyes - the eyes of the damned. His face is pale and ashen, even more so than his usual sickly pallor. Whatever the creature told him, it had affected him greatly. He heads off down the hallway, eyes darting left and right to make sure he is alone before allowing himself the luxury of muttering to himself.

OLD MAN
Bastard. Damn Vai monstrosity. Am I any better? No, I think not!

He chuckles to himself. A disturbing sound, devoid of humor. At times it sounds like sobbing. Then a wracking cough brings him up short. He puts up a hand and leans against the slightly warm stone wall and tries to catch his breath. His lungs, or what used to pass for a lungs on a human, were a constant source of pain and difficulty. Just another side effect of his little partnership with the Vai. He uses his recuperation time to reflect upon his current situation:

The Vai.

It's hard for people who've lived grounded lives on Earth to believe such creatures exist. One with a seemingly singleminded dedication to evil. One hates to paint a race in such broad strokes, but there it is.

It was nearly fifteen years earlier that the Vai had made contact with the government of Earth. On the record, they sought an open exchange of technological and cultural information. They appeared friendly and accomodating, however, they were fearsome and grotesque beyond description. Public relations would be difficult. As a result, the news of Earth's ongoing discussions with them had been kept to a minimum, and no vids of the Vai's emmissary were ever aired. Under government pressure, the media downplayed the event. It's not like they were the first aliens to contact Earth, after all.

But he knew the real story, didn't he?

Off the record, the Vai had an entirely different agenda. For one thing, they were very interested in the human genetic code. They said human DNA held very unusual properties which could be utilized in their medical research. This still sounded somewhat resonable, even if implausable. They wished to obtain large quantities of our genome for current and future research projects, and in exchange, they would provide Earth with technological secrets spanning from ultra-precise navigation systems and enhanced communication arrays to that ever-popular crowd pleaser, advanced weapons tech.

Earth was eager to get their hands on this kind of technology, and sought to iron out the details as quickly as possible. But the Vai had some details of their own. In exchange for their technological secrets, their price would be 10,000 live human subjects, of varying racial backgrounds, for long-term genetic extraction. The government officials were, of course, horrified.

On the record.

Off the record, there were actually those who sought to haggle them down to 5,000 and be done with it.

It was at this time that the entire situation blew up in the faces of Earthgov and the Vai. Needless to say, The Earth diplomatic envoy to the Vai would was quite surprised to learn that the secretary to his aide was in fact a mole for the Detroit Free Press.

You just can't find good help these days.

What followed was a purge of involved officials, an investigation and shutdown of some scientific institutions that had already begun some preliminary scientific work with the Vai, and a very vocal public condemnation of our new friends. In short, the were told to leave immediately.

They did leave, but not before attacking three near-Earth transport vessels enroute to Mars. The vessels were destroyed but no bodies were recovered from the debris. An estimated 430 souls were lost to the Vai before they beat a hasty retreat from Earth space. Another seventeen scientists and political and military officials had also disappeared during the massive upheaval at Earthgov. It was not known if the events were related.

OLD MAN
Not related. Ha!

He looks at his gnarled hands. Oh yes, he's been a jack-of-all-trades for the Vai.
Partner. Prisoner.
Genius. Fool.
Scientist....and Subject.

OLD MAN
We've been discovered. They'll be coming soon. A team is on it's way right now. Maybe I'll be killed. Wouldn't that be lovely? No. This is what I deserve.

He'd actually tried to kill himself before - twice, back when he still had some fight left in him. But since then, he'd learned that he was a coward. And that he was beyond redemption. He looks up at the stone ceiling, presumably through it. Up into space. In his mind's eye, he sees the mighty Earth ship Titans.

OLD MAN
...but that ship. I wish it didn't have to be this way. Not again! How many more?

Prematurely aged before his time, sporting organs that no human should have - included modified larynx, and an altered DNA structure that would have terrified Friedrich Meischer, he resumes his awkward shuffle through the corridors toward his task.


------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

[This message has been edited by B5_Obsessed (edited October 22, 2001).]

 

[gkarfan]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Channe, I also liked Green-Eyed Monster (Farscape). Ben Browder did a great job.

Warren (Kitaro), have you ever written scripts or stories before? You are good!

Tammy

------------------

"We're in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"I hear you." [giggle, laugh]
"In here!"
"We are here." [giggle, laugh]
-- Londo and G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Convictions"

Tammy's Station
http://community.webtv.net/gkarfan/TammysStation

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Ext. Ishnu Forest -Early Morning (approx.4:30 am)

We find the exhausted Titan SUO2-Zulu team coming up to a clearing...
An all-nighter has taken its' toll on the determined group of warriors...but they trek on...without hesitation!

Kaheel's blood in the vials strapped to all members of the group was the answer to keeping the ferocious "Aboreal Treedwellers" a safe distance away...A miraculous discovery indeed...

The true nature of the phenomenal repellent (Kaheel's blood) is unknown at this point...and is really not of great concern for them...Not as amazing as the group's survival..A Relic!

And then suddenly:

REG
Look...look! (pointing at something)

REG again-(to himself-quietly) We made it...I can't believe it...we...made it...

The group sees the dawn of morning breaking through the clearing...and relief sets in...

Captain James Daly, First Officer Ari keller, Officer Reg and the group's saviour, Kaheel move towards the the forest's opening, with sluggish steps...

Captain Daly puts a hand on Kaheels shoulder...fatigue is evident, but Daly manages to crack a smile to the Alien Hybrid...(Thank you my friend)

------------------

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Cut to:

Establishing shot of the Exterior Titan Starship...

Int. Titan -Dr.Chenei's Research Lab -Early morning

Dr.Chenei has also put in her own all-nighter...She sits at her lab desk...sifting through research papers...she is looking for something...

In the background, several people in white space suits dilegently work...

Dr.Chenei types something into her computer...and proceeds to read the data called up.

We see the words "VAI" pop up on the screen...

Dr.Chenei leans in and reads the data.

------------------

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Ext. Ishnu Forest -Early morning

All is quiet in the Ishnu forest. The barbaric nocturnal beasts have all gone into hiding...bringing to life, the harmless creatures of day life...

Close on a tongue licking something. We pull back to reveal a strange looking alien animal. It almost looks like a large Komodo Dragon...except it is quite cute looking...not fierce at all. It has a blunt nose like that of a seal...big green eyes...and long lashes...It grunts...and then whines like a puppy...

Henderson awakens to this *things* tongue licking her face!

She is startled!

HENDERSON
Argh!

She jolts at the cold tongue on her cheek...and then pain shoots up her leg...and then her head...

HENDERSON
Ouch...ahhhhhhhhh...God damn it...

She remembers what had happened.

There is quite a large cut, which has now scabbed over, on her forehead...

She has been out cold the whole night...and somehow made it to morning...somehow...

She is half covered in vines and fallen leaves...

The strange, cute-looking creature tries to lick Henderson' face again...It is clear that this animal is not threatening at all...

Henderson brushes the creature's head away from her face...

HENDERSON
Geez...will you quit it already...Man...If you're thinking that I'm some kind of morning breakfast or something...(she looks at the animal more closely)...ah...whatever you are...Well, I am afraid you are out of dead wrong...(Dead? -She should be after all she has been through)...

And speaking of breakfast...It has been quite some time that she has had a meal...or a drink of water...And could very well die if she doesn't attend to her battered body...both inside and out!

She manages to prop herself onto a fallen tree log...and assess her location.

She looks around -360 degrees. The mysterious city of Ishnu is nowhere to be seen...and she is pretty sure that its' parameters are close as she doesn't think that she walked that far before she tripped and knocked herself out...

She unzips the front of her Titan jumpsuit to expose her thermo under clothing...There is a rip 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down her front...She touches her rib...it is tender...

She takes off the top part of the jumpsuit down to her waist...

She grabs and rips the opening alittle bigger...and then rips a 3 inch wide piece of the underclothing right around her waistline...her naked midriff exposed...

She proceeds to wrap and tie the material to her head to keep the wound from infecting...

HENDERSON
Well, now what...

She looks at the cute animal staring back at her. The animal (we shall call it the "Komodo")...turns and starts to waddle off. Henderson decides to follow it...It may lead her to a food source...water...something that will help her endure what may be ahead...what may be days before she can find her crew's shuttle...

Henderson puts on the top of her Titan jumpsuit...

She finds a sturdy branch to use as a crutch...and hobbles behind "Komodo"...

------------------

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Ext. Ishnu Forest -Morning

Henderson is slowly trudging through the forest, Komodo close infront...

She starts to recall her memory of the strange cell that she was briefly captive to...and then her escape...and the strange, organic-like surface of the mysterious domed city...

She remembers, after hoisting herself through the ceiling ventilation opening, that the surface of the dome she stood on was moving! She was positive! That is why she lost her footing and fell off...

She thinks abit more about it, and then resumes to find something to help with her predicament at hand...

------------------

 

[channe]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Good to have you B5_Obsessed! I just hope I'm keeping everyone interested.

--

EXT. ISHNU - FOREST

As before. The crew's relief upon seeing the sunrise is palpable, and Daly lets out a long, pent-up breath. Nobody's died yet - and he knows very well that on these kinds of missions, that's a good record.

DALY
Keller, how're you doing?

KELLER (warily, with a bit of doubt in her voice)
Fine, sir.

Daly takes another deep breath and turns to Keller, who, looking a bit tired, is less worse for wear than Reg and Kaheel. Kaheel leans his head down to check on the status of his bandaged arm.

DALY
Recommendation, Ari?

KELLER
We move on, Vai or no.

One glance between them says it all. She's supporting him all the way - and he'd trust her judgement with his life.

Daly then breaks away, and reaches into his pack. He takes out a small, thumb-sized cylinder, which he presses to a tilted neck. There is a sound of medicine discharging, and for a moment he's lost to the world as whatever was in the hypospray moves into his bloodstream. When his eyes open once more, they're a bit more luminous, and his whole body seems to be a bit more taut, awake, energetic. There's no hesitation in his actions; apparently, he's quite used to taking these drugs, as are his crew.

The crew follow his motions, each taking the stimulant.

DALY
I want to go home tonight with Henderson and the others. Let's move. I don't want to use the stims again. Daly to Titan.

DOWNEY (on com)
Right on time, Captain.

DALY
Get me everything you can about the history of the Vai after the end of the war.

As Daly speaks, the camera focuses on Reg, who wears a look of haunted sadness; Kaheel, whose strikingly human but alien countenance is completely unreadable; and Keller, whose jaw is set in grim determination.


------------------
Channe, the next JMS, who lives for the One and dies for the chocolate cheesecake
--
OnlineDude: I suppose now would not be the time to bring up the old one about the starlet who was so new to Hollywood she slept with the writer...
JMS: But that was only because she heard that in Hollywood, *everyone* screws the writer.

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Channe...Hear! Hear!...nice work!

Bravo B5_OBSSESSED! Bravo! I was hoping for something like that...

This is great! Cheers! -Warren-

------------------

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Thanks pal. You're damned good yerself.

Rats! I have to check what Channe just wrote and see that it doesn't conflict with what I was just about to post.

------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[channe]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

EXT - ISHNU - FOREST

Henderson trudges through the forest behind the Komodo, muttering to it's multicolored alien backside. Strangely for an animal, the Komodo neither seems to care nor is further interested in Henderson. Every step is extraordinarily painful to her in eight million places, and this shows as she gasps for breath she'd normally have readily at hand.

HENDERSON
See the world, they said - they didn't say anything about getting strung up like a Christmas ham or getting - AGH!

She topples forward into a tree. Obviously very dizzy, she leans her back on it, holding a hand to her side. Just a moment here, and she pushes on, following the Komodo.

HENDERSON
Or getting cut open by a, a, I don't even know - or - hey, slow down, lizardbreath, I'm in no condition to run a marathon - you know, I was at Velkor, and at Rigel II, and the Battle of Valtoyne - Jesus Christ, I had my insides blown open at Valtoyne - this is cake, this is ice cream, this is the long, hot shower I'm gonna take when I get back to the Titan -

She mutters in the tone of a person desperate to keep her hopes up. At the end of her monologue, however, her boot squelches, and she falls to her knees, laughing. Her boot's in nothing more than a puddle, but it's water nonetheless, and she reaches down with a dirty hand to bring it to her mouth, dirt and all.

She drinks just a little, when there's a sound. She stops cold - and when she looks up, there's Reg, holding out a canteen with a soft look in his eyes.

REG
I don't know about you, Kate, but I'd rather have this.

Henderson looks at Reg in the way that a person lost in the desert would look at an oasis, almost like he wasn't there.

HENDERSON
Well, it - it took you long enough -

She takes the canteen and begins to empty it into her mouth.

REG (obviously very worried)
Reg to Zulu team, converge on my location, I've found Henderson.

He reaches forward, takes her shoulders, and turns her so she's sitting down, immediately noticing her horrible condition.

He doesn't notice the Komodo dragon, which lumbers off into the underbrush - and then decompiles, pixel by pixel, as if the creature were never there at all...

------------------
Channe, the next JMS, who lives for the One and dies for the chocolate cheesecake
--
OnlineDude: I suppose now would not be the time to bring up the old one about the starlet who was so new to Hollywood she slept with the writer...
JMS: But that was only because she heard that in Hollywood, *everyone* screws the writer.

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Oh, the horror! What will I do now?



------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Nobody post. Just Gimme 5.
I'll patch mine up and get it in.
Please please!


------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

EXT. ISHNU FOREST
The Sun is now high over the horizon.
SUO2 Zulu Team has rejoined with Reg and Henderson and she briefed them on the events of the previous night. The team has stopped on the warm rocks for a short rest and quick planetside breakfast. Most especially in need of both are Kaheel and Henderson.

Keller breaks out a few packs of field rations and dispenses them to the crew. They are small, species specific rations designed for optimum nutritional value.

They taste like crap.

Kaheel is sitting, hugging himself somewhat. Although the air is warming nicely, he is trembling visibly. His field pack is untouched. Reg leaves Henderson and approaches Kaheel.

REG
Are you going to eat?

KAHEEL
I'm not feeling very hungry. Thank you.

REG
You've lost a lost of.... ummm... blood. You know, that green stuff? You really need to eat to get your strength back. Would you like mine instead? I'll trade. It's the least I can do for saving our lives.

KAHEEL
Unnecessary. Besides, I doubt I could digest it.

REG
Well, neither can I. But it IS breakfast.

Kaheel smirks at Reg's feeble attempt at humor, grudgingly tears open his meal packet, and begins to chew on the end of a foul-smelling, pinkish meal bar. Reg is glad Kaheel didn't accept his offer to trade.

DALY (to Henderson)
You said there was a city here? It didn't show on our scans.

HENDERSON
I know.

DALY
How far?

HENDERSON
It's difficult to say. I don't have a lot of recollection of last night after I escaped. I'm sorry.

DALY
Understood. It can't be too far, all things considered. Do you have any idea of the wherabouts of your team?

HENDERSON
No, sir, but they're my responsibility. I can't leave them in that.... that PLACE!

DALY
And you are MY responsibility, Leiutenant. I don't want to jeopardize this team either.

Captain Daly is finishing up his breakfast when his eye catches a glint of reflected sunlight from the rising Sun. It looks to be the top of some kind of dome structure, hidden in the forest, no more than 1000 meters away. Henderson is shocked by its proximity.

DALY
Kaheel? You see that?

KAHEEL
Yes, indeed.

DALY
Well, there's your city, Leiutenant. We'll go in closer. All the attacks have been at night and we've got several hours of daylight left. But we WILL be off this rock by sunset, one way or another.

DALY
Kaheel, will you be okay to get underway?

KAHEEL
When duty calls, sir, I follow.
That was noncommittal answer. Daly studies his First Officer. He's still weak, but he's not going to complain about it. He'd like to give him more time to rest, but it's going to have to wait. Rising from a sitting position, Daly brushes the dust off his uniform.

DALY
Finish up, people. We move in 5.


EXT. ISHNU - ENTRANCE TO CITY

The SUO2 Team has crossed the remaining distance between their breakfast encampment and the outskirts of the domed Ishnu city. Captain James Daly, as always, is in the lead. Ari Keller and Kaheel walk side by side behind him (In actuality, Keller is discretely shadowing Kaheel in case he falls), Henderson appears to be holding her own in third position, and Reginald Lee, having demanded that Kaheel allow him to carry some of his equipment, brings up the rear. He's loaded like a pack horse and sweating profusely.

DALY
As we get to the entry, Keller and Lee take up position left and right. Keep your eyes sharp.

REG
What are we looking for?

HENDERSON
The boogeyman.

Just prior to the entrance to the city proper, they cross over a smooth lustrous surface resembling a giant expanse of opal in the earth. When standing on it, they see their own images staring back at them in refracted mosaics resembling stained glass. They stare, almost hypnotized by the beauty of the thing.

KELLER
Incredible

REG
You think it's worth anything?

DALY
Not to us. Let's keep moving.

Just then, Kaheel straightens his posture and cocks his head to one side. A look of worry crosses his face!

KAHEEL (urgently)
Sir, I recommend we...

All at once, the stunning opal surface liquifies and the team members fall into it. They begin to flail around, weighed down by their clothes and field equipment pack.

DALY
Make for the edge! Reg! It's closest to you! Reach for it and we'll make a chain.

Reg is having problems of his own just trying to keep his head out of the stone-turned-liquid mass. He reaches for the edge, but the edge begins to curve away from him. It rises higher and higher until it is a good six feet above his hand. Daly looks behind him and sees that the same has happened there too. The edge has warped up into a huge funnel shape around them. The lip of the funnel is now twelve feet above their heads. No chance of escape that way.

And yet, they can feel the churning mass becoming more solid around them, providing some resistance as they push off of it to remain above the semi-liquid trapping them. But their chain has broken. The five of them are now equally distant from each other, separated by about eight feet.

Over the raging, churning noise in the funnel, Daly shoots Kaheel a look, as if to say, "What do you think?". Kaheel extends his arm and points in a downward gesture, very worried at what is going to happen next.
Daly realizes the implication, just as the mass give away beneath the five team members.

The last thing Daly sees are the faces of his fellow team members disappearing down separate tunnels to whatever fate awaits beneath.

------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

[This message has been edited by B5_Obsessed (edited October 22, 2001).]

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Continue:

Ext. Mysterious City of Ishnu -Day

The ground starts to rumble underneath Captain Daly...Alone and abit shaken...he stumbles from the shake. Earthquake?

As he glances at the Magnificent City before him...the structure appears to move...

There is a shake again...and a huge thump! Wham!

The noise echoes throughout the forest...

The Captain can't believe his eyes!

The city has now taken a strange form...almost as if alive...or maybe it is alive...

Shimmering in the sun...What once looked like a stone structure has now become a shimmering dome of a stained glass-like surface...

The large pillars of stone suddenly lift off the ground...and takes a step back...the whole domed city moves...shifts...as if it is slowly trekking into the dense forest!

The Captain stares in amazement at what is before his eyes...This is absolutely awesome...almost forgetting about his fellow commrades that were swollowed down below...

------------------

 

[Kitaro Sasaki]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Well Channe and B5_Obsessed...I had something completely different in mind for Henderson...but this is fantastic!

Yes...if one takes too long in writing...revisions are plentiful for the writer...

I have to digest all of this before my next posting...also I have errands to run now...

The twists in story is what makes this so challenging and exciting for me! Keep up the awesome job you two!

I will take a long coffee break. It is hard to stay away from this story...

Cheers! -Warren-

------------------

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

I'm sure you can still work in later, Warren.
I can't post again tonight, so the coast is clear for you two. Happy hunting!

------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[channe]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

I think the great thing about this story is *we* don't even know where it's going until it gets there...

...there are still very interesting things to be done with Henderson. Number one, now she has to go back into that place - two, did you notice how she uncomplainingly rejoined her Captain without letting him know about her rather bad side wound? Admirable for a soldier, but that *might* come back to haunt her...

And what about the Captain, left behind on the shore? Oh, ja - B5_Obsessed: Keller's the first officer, not Kaheel.

--

INT. ISHNU - FOREST

And the city just... moves. It glides over the plain like a swan, this alien structure of whorls and moving, waterlike walls.

Daly begins to run after it - what else can he do - but it moves too fast for him, and he's left behind as the forest of Ishnu returns to its daytime grace, forgetting that anything like the alien city ever existed.

He scrambles to his feet, fear filling his chest.

DALY (shouting)
Ari? Reg? (beat) Kaheel? Henderson!

It hits him that he is utterly and completely alone, that whatever he just saw swallowed up his crew and left him, an interloper on this planet, coughed up on the side, rejected.

Shakily, he brings out a datapad and brings up the distance between him and the shuttle.

DALY
Oh, hell...

Immediately, Downey's voice pipes in his ear.

DOWNEY
Titan to Zulu team, please respond. Zulu team-

DALY
Daly here.

He attempts to remain calm on the com.

DOWNEY
Captain, we've lost -

DALY
Lee, Henderson, Keller, and Kaheel were just - I don't know how to describe it - they're gone.

DOWNEY
I'll send for immediate pickup, and we'll-

DALY
Negative on pickup, Titan, I'm going after them. Keep this com channel open and notify me if anything changes.

DOWNEY (pause, undecided)
Aye, Captain.

Daly stares once more where his crewmates once stood, his mouth dry, uncertain and shaky. In front of them, he's the Captain; protocol as well as custom decreed his behavior. But this is different - he's alone, and he doesn't know whether his crew is dead or alive-

DALY (to himself)
Not again. Not another Valtoyne...

There are three or four FLASHES - battle on an alien plain, shelling everywhere, gunfire. A few seconds of a young Daly, trying to tend to a mangled, dying soldier - and a few sounds - one, distinctly Ari Keller's voice, accompanied by a few shots of a younger version of her, blood in her face, savagely firing a gun into something heading this way - "Let 'im go, Jim - he's gone - everyone's gone -"

The camera pulls out on Daly...

------------------
Channe, the next JMS, who lives for the One and dies for the chocolate cheesecake
--
OnlineDude: I suppose now would not be the time to bring up the old one about the starlet who was so new to Hollywood she slept with the writer...
JMS: But that was only because she heard that in Hollywood, *everyone* screws the writer.

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

Oops! My mistake.

INT - ISHNU CITY - CELL

Swimming in darkness, No. Walking.
Movement. Slow, ponderous movement.

Kaheel awakens and sees he is in a darkened cell. Strangely, he is not restrained in any way so he stands up to examine his surroundings. He nearly stumbles. The floor is moving. Correction, the WHOLE ROOM is moving. It lurches left and right underneath him as if on the back of some great animal. Yet the walls appear to be solid stone. How can this be?

From the corner of the cell, beyond some crystaline appendages that served as a barrier, came a low, inhuman combination of growls and gurgling sounds. Kaheel assumed there was an animal in the next cage, but then the translator kicked in:

VOICE (from the darkness)
WELCOME TO THE WAKING WORLD.

KAHEEL
What is the meaning of this? Show yourself.

VOICE (each time preceded by native vocalizations)
YOU WOULD RATHER I DID NOT.

KAHEEL
Who are you?

VOICE
I AM (the translator has difficulty with this. A proper name. Then finally) KRRZKADD.
I AM...

KAHEEL (with certainty)
Vai.

With that Krrzkadd pauses. Then continues, nonplussed.

KRRZKADD
OF COURSE. DO NOT THINK YOUR DEDUCTION IN ANY WAY SUPRISES ME.

KAHEEL
Where are my companions?

KRRZKADD
SOME HERE. SOME NOT.

Not sure if he understood the creature's last remark, Kaheel presses the issue.

KAHEEL
Who is "not here"?

KRRZKADD
YOUR LEADER

KAHEEL (fearing the worst)
Is he dead?

A low alien grumble erupts from the corner. The translator remains silent. The thing was laughing.

KRRZKADD
LEFT BEHIND

KAHEEL (hoping this was a good thing)
Why?

KRRZKADD
BECAUSE IT AMUSES ME.
*************************************
Conversation to be continued.
Write about someone else!

------------------
"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[channe]

Re: \"Titans\" -Warriors of Virtue

No, they don't sound like Kosh. They sound a lot worse than Kosh.

--
INT. ISHNU - CITY - KELLER'S CELL

Keller is pounding at the walls of a cell that looks exactly like Henderson's - only there's no table and no cieling grid. She literally slams her fist against the door one more time, and with a futile yell, returns to the middle of the room. She's dressed in her Titan gear - although, unlike Henderson, her pack and equipment belt are missing.

KELLER
Show yourselves, you goddamn fucking bastards!

Silence. And then, she hears footsteps up the hall. Primed for anything and taut as a wire, she steps beside the door - and when it opens, she tackles the being that enters.

Or, rather - attempts to tackle. She throws herself at it. A shield crackles - a personal shield, this is, and Keller is thrown back into the wall. Which moves, catches her, and brings her down to the ground safely.

Keller tries to scramble up for another attack, but the hunched figure who entered - dressed in a dark black robe - lets loose a punch to her face that drives her back into the wall. This time, it doesn't move; and she ricochets with the force of it.

KELLER (recovering)
Where the hell are my shipmates?

A voice sounds from the darkness of the robe. We know it to be the voice of the old man.

OLD MAN
I really don't think you're in a position to ask these questions. Hold out your arm.

KELLER
Like hell I will. Where am I?

OLD MAN
Hold out your arm.

Keller spits on the ground. The Old Man advances a moment; we still can't see his face.

KELLER
Not until you tell me where my shipmates are.

OLD MAN
As I said before, you're hardly in the position to be negotiating. (a snort, and a laugh) I just work here. Hold out your arm, or things will be very unpleasant for you, Ari Keller.

Keller blinks - she's taken off guard.

OLD MAN (laughing)
Oh, don't look so surprised. We could just as easily sedate you and extract the information we need in a different way, but we'd really like your complicity. I, for one, don't really enjoy seeing people suffer. They do, however, so if you're going to make this hard for both of us, I'll be forced to take extreme measures that you won't like very much.

KELLER
Where are Daly and the others?

OLD MAN (getting more annoyed by the moment)
I really don't have time for this. Your Captain, Vicecommander Keller, is on his way to becoming rotting, stinking flesh. As are you.

With that, he takes out some sort of alien energy weapon quicker than a human should be able to and shoots her straight in the chest as the Titan's first officer tries to get away. If it were any ordinary gun, she would have dodged the blast; however, Keller crumples like a deflated balloon. The old man pushes off his hood and walks over to her, checking for a pulse. It's obvious she's breathing and alive. He speaks to her unconscious form.

OLD MAN (quietly)
Forgive me.

------------------
Channe, the next JMS, who lives for the One and dies for the chocolate cheesecake
--
OnlineDude: I suppose now would not be the time to bring up the old one about the starlet who was so new to Hollywood she slept with the writer...
JMS: But that was only because she heard that in Hollywood, *everyone* screws the writer.