TV-14
This is a
particularly violent episode, especially toward the climax… that’s the only
reason for this disclaimer. Really, war
isn’t pretty. And that’s what you wanted in this episode, a battle. You can’t
really have battle without hatred, and you can’t really have hatred without
brutality.
Starboard Side
Episode 102: Broken
Screenplay by Jared
Williams
Story by Hannah
Carlson and Jared Williams
Black
Brintakk’s Voice:
Last time on The Starboard Side…
Fade
in through black, show important clips from the first episode, including Ami
and Camella’s crash, the burning of the soldier, a bit of the conversation with
Brintakk’s Voice:
And now the conclusion…
Fade through Black:
Ext
– Stone Bunker:
The
camera pushes in on Amideas, still crouching and peering into the bunker
through the small window. He remains silent, but begins reaching down to his
belt for his communicator. Voices can be heard coming from inside.
Voice
That oughta show
those loyalist worms a thing or two about showin’ up on our door step again…
General’s voice
Let us hope so,
brothers.
Cut to:
Int
– Stone Bunker
Ami’s
eyes can be seen through the window, but are taken out of view when GENERAL
GRAVES steps in front of the camera. Push out to reveal him, speaking to those
soldiers standing all around him. The flames are doused by a large drape just
out of frame, the ends of it flying into view.
General
We may have won
tonight, but we were lucky. We could’ve suffered much more fatal casualties
than we did.
Voice (out of
frame)
I say it’s the
robot, did ya see ‘im?
General
Yes, the machine
proved quite an asset.
A
loosely dressed soldier paces up to the general, and begins to talk into his
ear, almost whispering.
Soldier #1
Excuse me, sir. Did
anyone see where the robot went…
The
General turns to the soldier, suddenly realizing the problem.
Soldier #1
…After the battle.
The
general turns to his men, and then around the bunker, looking around. He spots
Amideas’s eyes through the slit window in the wall.
General
(pointing)
There!
The
soldiers all in turn look at Ami’s eyes and begin to move toward the exit to
the bunker. Ami’s eyes move out of the window.
Cut to:
Ext
– Stone Bunker
Amideas
gets to his feet and starts to exit, the soldiers coming up the stairs of the
bunker behind him. He gains immediate ground on them, appearing like he might
escape. The soldiers behind him are yelling and sprinting, wielding blunt
weapons of their own like clubs; a few here and there have blades.
Soldier #2
Don’t let him get
away!
Other
soldiers and citizens in the compound begin to take notice to the chase, taking
up arms and joining in. Women here and there begin to move back into their homes.
Lights from darkened bunkers begin to come on. A soldier along side the path
Ami is running rushes him, attempting to bring him down for the soldiers
behind. Ami takes his arm and twists it, then punches him in the torso. The
soldier falls, and Ami picks up his communicator, and begins typing into it
while he runs.
Soldier #3
Stop there, Robot!
You’re under arrest!
A
soldier breaks off of the mob and checks on the fallen man by the side of the
path. Amideas finishes typing and his eyes fade yellow.
Cut to:
Ami’s
POV
The
road in front of him, the buildings along side, and the people taking notice to
him all glow with a yellow aura, the display at the bottom of his vision
reading “DNA scanning” followed by a display of three circles spinning in unison.
He looks to his left and right, into the alleyways, seeing nothing.
Cut to:
Ext
– Bunker
Camella
steps out of the guest bunker, looking outside to witness the commotion. She’s
wearing a robe and her hair is still wet.
Camella
What’s everybody
yelling for?! I thought we were done fighting!
The
commotion grows louder as she looks down the road and sees Ami coming around.
Several soldiers along the side of the street step toward him and begin to
wrestle with him, stopping him in his tracks. Ami jumps back and steps to the
side of the bunker, into the shadows, but still watching.
Cut to:
Closer
on Ami—
The
three soldiers take turns on him, but he trips the first, bringing him to the
ground and then knocking him out with a knee to the face. The second is
backhanded and flies back several feet. The third jumps on Ami’s back and tries
to choke him. Ami shrugs and then flips the soldier over his back onto the
first soldier, which knocks the wind out of the third. Ami stands and looks
around.
Ami
POV—
Ami
looks around the yellow universe, across the way, until he spies Camella in the
alleyway, glowing in a purple aura. The display at the bottom
changes to “Target Identified,” the three circles picking up pace in their
spin.
Cut to:
Widen—
The
mob catches up with Ami as he begins to move toward Camella. They immediately
strike him in the back, bringing him down the ground. He gets back up to his
knees and counters the first one that hit him, pushing back into the rest of
the crowd. He brings up his communicator and tosses it toward Camella as
someone tackles him, thrusting it toward her. The mob doesn’t notice, only
begins to beat on Amideas.
Camella
moves slightly out of the shadows and recovers the communicator, but doesn’t
move to help Amideas, which is what he wants. She sees his eyes fade back to
red underneath the mob and runs off.
Amideas’s
attention goes back to the mob. He kicks the person immediately on top of him,
and rolls over onto his back, punching another in the face. He manages to get
back to his feet. Two soldiers grab his arms and try to restrain him. He jumps
and kicks several more soldiers in front of him, bringing them down to the
ground. He then moves his hands forward and rams the two soldiers trying to
restrain him into each other, knocking them both down. Two more grab his ankles
and pull backward, knocking Amideas to his knees. He attempts to get up but is
kneed in the face. He puts his feet up and kicks his attacker away, and jumps
forward back onto his feet. Suddenly he takes a shock in the back from a stun
wand, and seizes. He shrugs at the first shock and attempts to continue
fighting, but two more shocks right after one another bring his body the
ground, too disabled to fight back. Push out as the soldiers take their turns
kicking at him.
Cut to:
Ext
– Road
A
walking General Graves paces by himself up the road, certain he’ll make his way
to the robot’s capture soon enough. He has a slight smile on his face.
A
lone soldier, breathing heavily, meets up with him, jogging in the opposite
direction.
Soldier #4
Sir, the robot has
been secured. Do we dispose of him?
General
…No. Move him into
the compound. I’ve got a better idea for him.
Soldier #4
Yes, sir.
Cut to:
Ext
– Alleyway
The
only light that can be seen in the dark, shadowed alleyway is that small blue
light coming off of the communicator’s display. Push in slowly on the light and
the girl it reveals to be Camella, her face and hands hardly visible in the
darkness, glowing with the blue light.
She
reads along the communicator, the camera panning down it to show what it says.
It reads:
The
soldiers here are violent.
Leave
this place.
If
I am captured, they will come for you.
Return
to the ship and wait
I
will attempt to find you before they do.
If
you should find a way to leave, to fix the
ship, then do so. The GEF will locate
the ship
and take you in, I trust you won’t put up a fight.
Camella’s eyes grow wide and watery as she
finishes reading, and then presses a button on the communicator which brings up
a map to the ship, she smiles at it.
Camella
Can’t say Ami’s
ever unprepared…
Cut to:
Ext – Guest Bunker
Camella turns the corner to face the entrance
of the guest bunker, still in her robe and pajamas. She freezes when she sees a
pair of soldiers open the door and burst in. She sinks back into the shadows.
Camella
I suppose
fashionable clothes will have to wait.
She moves back into the alleyway and pauses,
reaching into her pocket and pulling out a wrapped piece of chocolate. She
smiles to herself.
Cut to:
Int – Guest Bunker
The two soldiers kick down the door to
Camella’s quarters and burst in, yelling and wielding pistols.
Soldier #5
Freeze!
Soldier #6
On the ground
now!!!
The two soldiers storm the room, kicking in
the room to the bathroom (revealing a messy, post-shower display of hair care
bottles and soaps) and the closet, finding nothing but a hanging set of khakis
and a black sweater. They meet in the center of the room.
Soldier #5
[Lowering his
weapon] where is she?
Soldier #6
I don’t know.
A breeze comes in from the open window on the
rearmost wall. The two look up at it, and a small piece of paper floats in. The
two follow it with their eyes until it lands on the bed. Soldier Six moves
toward it and picks it up, reading it.
Soldier #6
What is it?
Soldier #5
It looks like a
chocolate wrapper…
CU of wrapper
The white side is facing the soldier, words
scribbled on it by the corner of a piece of chocolate. It reads:
Too late. Too
bad. Better luck next time, boys.
-♥Cammy♥
Soldier Five looks up and looks over two
Soldier Six, and simply raises a confused eyebrow.
Cut To:
Ext –
Camella leaves her robe behind revealing her
two piece black pajamas. She strides to the edge of the forest, looking back at
the compound. She smiles, tucks her communicator into the waste of her pants,
and moves on.
Cut To:
Separatist Main Compound – Corridor
General Graves moves toward a steel door,
stopping in front at a soldier who is guarding it. The soldier pretends not to
notice him.
Soldier #2
Sir
General
Has the robot been
properly detained?
Soldier #2
Yes, he isn’t going
anywhere, Sir.
General
Good, I think I’d
like to speak with him.
Soldier #2
Of
course, Sir.
The soldier steps aside and lowers his weapon
as
The room is completely dark, except for the
glow of Amideas’s eyes. The eyes turn to face the now closed door. The
general’s hand can be seen just above the light switch, but hesitating.
Amideas
General Graves
The General taps his hand for a moment.
General Graves
Impressive,
robot.
The general flips on the light switch,
illuminating a single hanging light above a table that Amideas is seated at.
New angle on Amideas –
Reveal on Amideas, pan upward. His chair is
bolted to the ground, his feet wrapped in chains. His hands are equally chained
to the ground, restricting his arm movement considerably. Lastly, a tick
leather belt is wrapped across him, around the chair. He is tucked as far under
the table as possible.
General
General Graves
Amideas… the nearly
invincible robot…
Amideas
Electrocution tends
to show no mercy
General Graves
Still, you put up
quite a fight, didn’t you? More than any one of my soldiers could have.
Amideas
Call it instinct. A
functioning program I can not delete. It is always best if I’m not threatened.
General Graves
Oh, but think of
the benefits! You could easily fight your own battle if you needed to.
Amideas
[Changing the
subject] Why did you burn those soldiers? You complained that they do the same.
General Graves
Hypocrisy has no
meaning on this world, Robot. We do what we must.
Amideas
And what good does
it do?
General Graves
In a few hours
those bodies will be displayed outside these walls, in the forest for all of
the loyalists to see. They’ll soon think twice about invading our territory;
thus less fighting; thus less bloodshed.
Amideas
And what happens
when seeing their dead begins to boil their blood?
General
What? You speak of
non-sense.
Amideas
What happens when
their request for vengeance and blood outweighs their fears of death? What
happens, General?
The General falls silent and looks down at
the table. After a few seconds he pulls out the chair and takes a seat,
clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on the table.
General
I imagine my
enemies would make a great deal of assumption if they saw you in front of their
dead, wouldn’t they?
Amideas
What happens when I
tell them the truth?
General
Ahh yes, morality
comes into play more often then we’d like, doesn’t it?
Amideas
Unfortunately
for you.
General
So what if I told
you that your “friend”, the one with the red hair and
annoying speech, has been detained.
Amideas
Has she?
General
Oh yes, without the
cooperation of robots like you I might be forced to let the guards dispose of
her. Although I’m sure that’s not all they’d do; I know a few of them find
those green eyes sinfully attractive.
Amideas looks down, his face disappearing
from the General’s view.
General
And I would hate to
have to do that, Robot.
Amideas looks back up, his eyes glowing
green.
Amideas
Nor will you.
Lying, especially to pull emotion out of the emotionless,
is impossible.
General
Ahh, Amideas. I
dare say your talents come without limit, don’t they?
Amideas
Unfortunately
for you.
The General’s smirk fades into a frown, and
he becomes fed up. He slams his hand down on the table and stands up.
General
No, Robot. It’s
unfortunate for you. You see we’ll find a way to make you help us, and it’ll be
far worse than your cooperation.
The general paces out of the room, and opens
the door. He switches off the light and leaves, slamming the squeaking door
behind him. The room fades back to black.
Fade To:
Ext –
Camella makes her way through the thicket,
her sleeves and legs scratched here and there, but otherwise in good shape. She
takes the communicator out from her side and checks it, correcting her
direction, then places it back at her waste. She continues pacing, walking past
the camera so that it begins following her. She comes to a clearing and stops,
the camera pushing in to reveal her find.
The Ryuu-3 sits level just next to the marsh,
mud and plants hanging off of it. Next to it sits a pair of cranes, supposedly
used to get it out of the marsh. There are several other vehicles moving about,
All-terrain vehicles and so forth. Pacing around the site are soldiers wearing
colors similar to the loyalists seen in the previous episode. Camella crouches
and looks at the scene past a few trees and logs.
A reverse angle shows a group of three men
unload a piece of machinery on a dolly down off of an ATV and roll it up into
the Ryuu-3 from the ramp. They look fairly efficient.
Camella
Now why would they
be fixing Ami’s ship?
Camella sees them bring another smaller piece
out of the back of the ATV.
Camella
How did they even
know what the problem was?
Camella starts to crawl backward, away from
the scene. She’s incredibly careful to avoid sticks and leaves and things,
avoiding sound at all cost. She backs up far enough and begins to turn, and
finds herself face to face with a butterfly resting on a flower. She lets out a
scream and then desperately cuts it off with her hand.
Cut to:
Loyalist Compound – Interrogation Room
A folder full of papers drops in front of
Camella, who is seated at a table with handcuffs on and an annoyed look on her
face.
Camella
What’s all that?
New angle on her interrogator—
General Keslo Dorian pulls back the chair and
sits down, looking back at Camella with a calm face. His hair is beginning to
white and his face is wrinkling, but he looks buff and able. His clothes are
much more orderly than General Grave.
General Dorian
Absolutely
nothing.
Total junk.
Camella
Well thanks for
showing it to me, then!
Dorian
That’s everything
we could hack from your ship’s computer. It told us what was wrong, what needed
to be fixed. But in the end it’s still… junk.
Camella
Why’s that? Not
thick enough to dry up all the blood? I keep saying double quilted is the way
to go, but…
Dorian
Because it didn’t tell
us anything about the access codes to actually start the ship! We can’t very
well use those new parts if we can’t start the ship!
Camella
And why would you
want to start Am… my ship?
Dorian
To
get off this rock, why else!?
Camella
You can’t leave?
Dorian
If we could, do you
really think we’d be hanging around here with those animals you’ve been taking
alliance with?
Camella
How do you know
I’ve been…
Dorian
You have their
taste in fashion.
He gestures to her pajamas. Camella looks
down at her clothes.
Camella
Yep! I suppose
you’re right. So why doesn’t your planet come get you?
Dorian
Our radio was
damaged the day we got here. They can’t receive our distress calls…
Camella
And so your just gonna hop aboard the first ship that lands and
have a happy old time bringin’ your buddies home, huh?
Dorian
That’s the idea.
So, what’s the code for starting the ship?
Camella
…I’m afraid I’m not
at liberty to say.
Dorian
I had hoped you be
a bit more cooperative than this. What’s the code for starting the ship?
Camella
I’m sorry, pal, I
can’t help you. Now if you want some codes to Death Fighters IV, then you’ve---
Dorian
I’ve shown you the
utmost sincerity and cooperation here, and now I’m going to give you three
seconds to do the same. What are the codes to the ship?
Camella stays quiet. Dorian begins to frown,
and ultimately stops blinking. A bit more than three seconds passes and he
scoots his chair back.
Dorian
Very well, we’re
done here. My lieutenant, Greck, will be in with you shortly to show you what
we do with those who won’t cooperate.
Camella
I don’t suppose
he’s the tall, dark, and handsome type, is he?
Dorian stands and exits the interrogation
room, closing the door behind him. Camella watches them, and her fake smile
turns into a flustered frown.
Cut to:
Loyalist Compound – Corridor
General Dorian sighs as he shuts the door
behind him, and then begins to walk away. Before long his lieutenant starts
pacing up to him from behind.
Lieutenant Greck
General Dorian! Did
she have anything to say?
General Dorian
Ahh, lieutenant!
No, she was rather unhelpful. See what you can do to change her mind, will you?
Lieutenant Greck
And
if I can’t, sir?
General Dorian
(turning
to face Greck)
It’d be an awfully
big task to dismount the weapons off of that ship, but one way or another I’m
not going to let this opportunity pass us by.
Lieutenant Greck nods slowly, and then turns
around, heading toward the interrogation room. Dorian watches for a moment and
then begins walking again.
Cut to:
Separatist Compound – Medical Lab
Amideas lays offline across a medical table;
General Graves looking over him. On the other side stands a technician,
wielding several cutting tools.
General Graves
Can you fix our
friend, here?
Technician
Override his
programming? No, it’s too foreign.
General Graves
Well then how do we
know they’ll just fight him, instead of take him in?
The technician moves down to Amideas’s hand
and inspects the glove. He then pulls it off by the fingers and rim. It reveals
Amideas’s metal endo-structure. The colored wires run along the tubes and
joints.
Technician
We’ll dress him in
our colors.
General Graves
[Cracking a smile]
And when he goes down this robot will take a countless number of loyalists with
him.
Cut to:
Loyalist Compound – Corridor
Lieutenant Greck leads Camella down a
darkened corridor, gated doors on the left side. It is lit by red lights along either side and white light coming from the end. He’s
holding her by her still cuffed right arm, pulling her along.
Camella
Do you treat all the girls this nice?
Greck
You can save your
quips for the afterlife, girl. You should’ve cooperated with the General when
you had the chance.
Camella
So now what? Ya
just torture me ‘til I crack? It’s been done before, y’know.
Greck stops in front of one of the barred
doors, and moves to open it. He pushes it in, revealing what appears to be a
very powerful torture chair. There are blades, torches, needles and so forth,
all attached to mechanical arms. They lay at rest as Greck leads Camella inside
Greck
Then we must learn
to improve on our methods…
Greck leads Camella deeper into the room,
bringing her up to the chair. He presses a button along the side of a console
next to it which seems to bring all the little arms of the chair to life. They
begin to swirl into a fixed position, pointing forward instead of hanging
downward.
Camella
Plasmal.
Greck presses another
switch which unclamps the wrist, waste, and ankle restraints. They open with a
loud pop.
Camella
Very
plasmal…
Greck presses a few more
buttons before moving toward Camella. He stands in front of her, between her
and the chair, and moves toward her restraints. He unlocks the first wrist and
Camella rubs it with her other hand.
Camella
Ahh,
thank you.
Camella takes her free hand and uppercuts
Greck, sending him instantly backward a bit. He begins to recover, but she
moves around him, behind the chair. She reaches over his head and puts the
chain around his neck, forcing him backward until he’s finally forced to sit in
the chair. She quickly takes the chain and tosses it at the console, hitting
the restraint button.
Greck
What are you
doing?!
The restraints snap shut on him, binding him
to the chair. Camella moves around to the front of the chair, and then to the
console.
Greck
They’re going to
find me, you know! They’re not going to let you get away with this!
Camella
That’s probably
true.
Camella’s fingers begin moving over the
console as she inspects the buttons, trying to figure out what does what.
Camella
If that’s the case
I suppose I’m gonna have to find some way to keep you quiet, huh?
Camella presses a green button toward the
bottom of the console, then moves toward the exit. She
pauses at the door.
Camella
Could’ve been fun,
brother! Ya got that whole adventurous vibe goin’ on for ya.
Camella exits the room, closing and locking
the door behind her. The camera moves to the chair, in which two needles full
of a white drug take life.
Greck’s POV –
The two needles come up from either side of
the chair, one above the other and slowly move closer to the camera, the
mechanical sound of their arms underscoring the view.
Cut to
Corridor
Greck’s scream can be heard and Camella
grimaces at it. Quickly after he falls silent, and she recovers. She looks
across the corridor, checking it from side to side.
Camella
Okay. How do I find
Ami?
Cut to:
Separatist Compound – Garage
General Graves and several troops lead a
shackled Amideas, now fixed in Separatist colors and wearing camouflage pants,
to a military truck in the garage. There is a cloth cover over the bed of the
truck where the troops begin to climb in. Once all of the troops are on,
General Graves
You’re about to
make history.
Amideas
Who’s going to hear
it?
The General smirks, and then gestures to his
troops on the truck.
Put ‘im on board!
Several of the troops work to lift Amideas
into the truck, where he takes a seat deep in the back.
Amideas looks out of the back of the bed as
they drive; now noticing they’re outside. They move past the gateway to the
compound. Amideas peers closer as, through his limited view,
he sees four sets of charred feet roll by, suspended off of the ground.
Amideas looks back at
General Graves
I told you.
Hypocrisy has no meaning here.
Amideas takes the General’s words in once
more, then goes back to looking out the window as the
truck takes to the bumpy trail.
Cut to:
Ext – Separatist Compound
The truck leads the pack of what is now three trucks and four ATV’s carrying at least ten
troops each. They all peel on to the trail behind the lead truck. Push out as
this number of trucks and ATV’s continues to grow.
Cut to:
Int – Loyalist Compound – Corridor
A lone soldier paces quickly through the dark
red corridor, past the metal barred doors, through the steam coming from the
pipes. He finds the door he’s looking for and unlocks it, pushing it open. He
walks in to find a very dopey Greck sitting in the interrogation chair, singing
*poorly* the words to “A British Tar”. The soldier grunts and moves to help the
drugged lieutenant.
Cut to:
Int – Loyalist Compound – Operations
General Dorian stands over a display of the
marshlands, using his console to trying to pinpoint a place for ambush. Around
operations stands a mess load of operatives and officers, working at their
respective stations.
The single officer we saw in the previous
scene walks into operations and moves up toward the General.
Soldier #7
Sir, we have a
problem.
The General takes a moment to finish his
calculation, and then looks up at Soldier #7.
General Dorian
Yes, and what might
that be?
Soldier #7
Our prisoner, sir,
she’s gone… missing.
General Dorian
Did Greck get the
code?
Soldier #7
No sir. He’s…
immobilized.
General Dorian
Dear Lord. We need
to find her.
Another officer approaches General Dorian
from the other side, setting down an electronic map showing a red dot moving
toward a diagram of the Loyalist Compound, and blue dot representing the
location of the Ryuu-3, much closer to the loyalist compound than the red dot.
Officer
It gets worse sir.
A squad of Separatists troops are headed this way, they’re packing some heavy
fire power from the looks of it.
General Dorian
How many?
Officer
All of them, it
looks like, sir.
General Dorian
My Word… phone the troops at the ship, tell them to dismount what
weapons they can and get back to the compound. Tell them to get the weapons in
the ship’s storage, too!
Cut to:
Ext – Marsh
Two troops rush down the ramp of the Ryuu-3,
carrying high powered rifles and grenades down off of the ship. The camera
follows them as they rush up to a truck and dump them in. They then turn to
move back onto the ship, the camera panning upward to show a maintenance man
tearing away at the bolts keeping a side mounted turret attached to the ship.
The camera pans back over to the ramp, the
two troops rushing back down with a very similar bundle of weapons.
Troop:
Come on! You heard
the order! The enemy’s gonna be on us in less than an hour! Let’s move!
Cut to:
Ext – Marsh
Several minutes later; a single truck pulls
out of the group as fast as it can, coming off a bit sloppy as it hits the
trail, leaving dirt behind it. Another pulls onto the trail behind it and they
head for the compound.
Cut to:
Ext – Trail
The Separatist trucks make a turn along the
trail, pushing clouds of dirt up into the air and shaking the axle. The tight
turn causes one of the trucks to briefly come off, and then recover.
Cut to:
Int – Truck bed
Amideas watches as the soldiers pass chew
back and forth, taking some. Finally it reaches him, and he is offered. He
looks at the soldier, who shrugs and closes the container, placing it in his
pocket. Amideas once again looks at
Amideas
I won’t do much
good with these shackles on.
Amideas lifts his hands to enforce his comment.
General Graves’ smile widens
General Graves
The chains are for our protection, Robot. We don’t need you
protesting this little spree, now do we?
Amideas
No, I don’t suppose
you do.
Amideas pulls his hands apart as fast as he
can, and the chain snaps. Several of the soldiers immediately take arms,
pointing their guns at him, but instead of fighting he simply places his hands
on his lap.
Amideas
But I don’t need
shackles to tell me when I’m outnumbered and outgunned, General.
The driver of the truck suddenly opens the
window between the bed and the cabin, and turns his head to face
Driver
We’re comin’ up on
the compound, sir.
General Graves
Good, keep going,
straight into the front door. I don’t want them to know what hit them.
The soldiers all begin to reach down
underneath their seats and pick up their weapons. Ami reaches under his own
seat and finds nothing, then sits up and looks out the end of the bed.
Cut to
Loyalist Compound – Gates
Two soldiers are seen struggling to lift one of
the Ryuu’s turrets onto the edge of the upper level of the gates. General
Dorian walks up behind them. The gates are very similar to the gates the
Separatists had in the finale of the first episode. General Dorian stops and
looks over the machinery.
Dorian
Excellent; with
these weapons
Soldier #8
Aye, sir;
fifty-watt atomifier…
Dorian
If you get a clear
shot at the general, let me know.
The soldiers and the General begin to share a
laugh, but a siren begins to go off and they all snap into attention.
Officer Voice
(off-screen)
Sir! They’re here!
Right up at the gates, they’re coming!
General Dorian
New angle on the gates –
The trucks and ATVs of the Separatists begin
to cram right up to the gates. The first stops only a few feet from it. The
others drive as close as possible, forming a bit of a loose jig-saw puzzle
shape. The beds begin to fall open and troops begin to climb out.
Back on the turret –
Soldier #8 makes his best attempt to angle
the weapon downward, but fails. He gets it as far angled down as he can and
begins to open fire.
Several of the trucks begin to smoke and welt
at the shots, finally exploding in masses of orange. Amideas looks back and his
eyes widen at the site as he climbs out of the truck. Several of the soldiers
near the gate begin to place what appears to be explosive on the metal, and
then back off. Amideas ducks behind the truck.
No explosion results. Instead a giant, purple
wave of electricity spans over the metal doors, shorting them out. They fall,
causing several Loyalists on the ground level of the compound to scatter.
The separatists get up and take arms, rushing
into the compound. Several Loyalists hide in the alleyways, rushing into their
homes to hide from the battle, but it ensues quickly. The first wave of
Separatists is knocked out by laser guns, falling to the ground. Amideas is
pushed, led into the compound by a group of rowdy soldiers behind him, he looks reluctant, but once inside the gates is left
alone.
Behind him trucks are still exploding,
destroyed by the turrets on the upper level. Hearing anything specific is
impossible; it’s all a bunch of screaming, death, and explosions. Loyalists around
Ami notice his colors and fire shots at him.
He takes a laser in the shoulder and bounces
back a bit, then ducks to avoid the rest, moving into a roll to get closer to
the group of loyalists. He finishes his roll in a crouch and trips one of the
soldiers, taking his gun out of his hands while he falls by the barrel.
Amideas gets to his feet and smack another
soldier with the gun, sending him to the ground. The other two soldiers begin
to get up and leave, so Ami ignores them. He turns around to see he’s face to
face with another soldier, who thinks quick and kicks
the gun out of Ami’s hand. Amideas ducks and uses his head to push the guy to
the ground, going down with him. They roll around over the dirt, wrestling,
between fights and skirmishes, getting dirt all over themselves,
finally Amideas ends up on top and positions his knee over the soldiers neck.
He presses down until the soldier loses consciousness.
Cut to:
Loyalist Compound – Grate
A grate, which greatly resembles a sewer
grate, is lifted from below and pushed to the side. Camella slowly peaks her
head above, looking out at all of the battle ensuing outside. Her eyes widen,
and she looks around. She spots a dead Separatist soldier on the ground next to
the grate, and reaches into the side of his belt, taking out his stun wand
weapon.
Camella
Those guys better
not have stripped the ship too much…
Camella climbs up out of the manhole and
starts sprinting toward the gates, looking for a way out. A loyalist gets in
her way, and turns to face her. His eyes go wide, but she slams the stun wand
into his torso, shocking him and bowling him over.
She continues running toward the walls of the
compound, doing her best to avoid conflict. She makes it to the gate, but
realizes she can’t go anywhere to do the battle pouring through. Slowly she
backs off, but is grabbed by one of the separatists in the battle and drug
inside the mess. She stuns him, and then turns around, immediately facing
another loyalist and stuns him. She ducks and cowers, trying to find a way out
of all of the conflict. A knife is swung at her, and she ducks, spinning around
and sticking the wand into the thigh of her attacker.
Back to Ami
He gets up to the ground, but takes a laser
blast in the leg. It causes his leg to seize for a moment, but he recovers and
moves over to a dead loyalist body, taking the gun out of his hands. He turns
and shoots the soldier that shot him, and then begins shooting in every
direction, occasionally beating anyone that comes too close for firing. He too
begins working his way toward the gate.
Back to Camella
She is tossed to the ground after catching
the blunt end of a gun in the cheek, and drops her wand. She spots it, and
begins crawling to get it. The body of a Loyalist lands on top of her, and she
struggles to get out from underneath it. She grabs the wand and gets back to
her feet, now only a few meters from the gate.
She sees a Soldier in Separatist colors right
in front of the door and draws back the stun wand. The soldier turns around
pointing a gun at her, but is revealed to be Ami. Both parties are taken back,
and Ami puts his gun down as soon as he realizes.
Camella
Ami! What happened
to you?
Amideas
Camella. We need to…
Amideas takes a shot in the arm and turns
away from Camella, toward his attacker, using his gun as a club and thrusting
it into the man’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Amideas then kicks him
in the chest, which knocks him into several other soldiers.
Camella is taken at this scene, expecting
Ami, so close to the gates, to help her escape. She stands still before growing
a look of agitation on her face and looking back at him. She paces up to him
and grabs him by the shoulder. He looks back at her for only a second before
ultimately ignoring her and firing on the Loyalists.
Camella
Ami! What are you
doing?! We need to get out of here!
Amideas
(flatly)
I must protect my
programming.
Amideas continues firing, and punches a
soldier in the neck. He coughs shortly and then grasps his throat, stumbling
backward and dropping his weapon. He continues to ignore Camella.
Camella
That’s not your
mission, Ami! Don’t forget your mission!
Amideas is shot in the stomach. He jolts,
recovers, and turns to confront the shooter.
Amideas
Mission is
irrelevant. I must protect my programming.
Amideas starts to walk but is held back
slightly by Camella who is still gripping around his arm. He looks back at her,
preparing to fend her off with his gun.
Camella
(desperately)
Protect me, Amideas! Do what you know you need
to! Don’t let me die here!
Amideas freezes in his stance, for several
seconds, and then lowers his weapon. He hangs his head for a second, and then
raises it, looking back at her, more consciousness in
his eyes.
Amideas
Camella, we need to
get back to the ship.
Camella
Yes! Yes! That’s
exactly what we need to do! Now get us out of here!
Amideas takes his gun and moves toward the
gates of the wall, pushing down soldiers that may stand his way with little
difficulty. He takes more than a few shots along his way, but ignores them,
even after they cause his joints to spaz out just a
bit. Camella follows behind him, still holding onto his arm.
They make their way out of the gate, and into
more open area. Ami ducks, as does
Back to the gun tower –
A battle-scratched Dorian stops at the gun,
noticing something out of the corner of his eye. He looks down the rows of
destroyed trucks and bodies to see Camella and a big soldier dressed in
Separatist colors escape. He smiles just a bit at their exit, and then shrieks
with wide eyes. He turns around to reveal a red spot on his clothes, and
Push out on the battle scene.
Cut to:
Ext – Marsh
Ami and
Amideas sits down first, followed by Camella,
who straps herself in tightly. Amideas punches in the access code to the
computer, and then starts flipping switches all along the dash, bringing up
lights here and there and activating the controls.
Camella
Can we make it?
Amideas
Every essential
system looks in order.
Amideas taps a few more controls, and the
engines can be heard revving up. The cockpit starts to shake as he pulls up on
the controls.
Cut to:
Ext – Marsh
The ship slowly lifts out of the soft mud,
bringing quite a bit of it attached to the landing struts. The ship rotates as
it rises, picking a direction, and, as if it can’t do it soon enough, speeds
out of the system. Several trees are singed as it leaves the war ridden planet
behind.
Cut to:
Int – Ryuu-3 Cockpit
Amideas (still in Separatist colors) and
Camella look at a video screen in the cockpit. The person on the other side
appears the same species the duo just encountered, wearing Loyalist colors and
a slightly more modern uniform.
Amideas
But they said their
radio was damaged. They said you weren’t receiving their distress signals.
Camella
Why haven’t you
sent anyone to pick them up?
Alien
Look, you saw the
struggle on that planet, even more than we have. We don’t need those kinds of
people in our population. If we haven’t been answering their distress signals,
it’s certainly not because we haven’t been receiving
them.
Amideas
I see.
Alien
Good day to you,
sir. Best of luck on your journey; Taramanian senate out.
The screen goes to an “End Transmission”
display, and Ami reaches to shut off the screen. He sits back in his chair, and
starts pressing in buttons on his computer. The screen reads
TO DELIVER:
1
BOTTLED WATER
Camella
You’re going to
make that two bottles
of water, aren’t you?
Amideas pauses, and then types a few more
commands into the console. It begins to hum.
Camella
So, we’re going back now to help them, right?
Amideas
No. The senator is
right. At this point, violence has taken hold of them. They would be no good to
civilization.
Camella
So we’re just going
to sit here and let them kill each other?!
Amideas
Would you rather
their sin be allowed to spread, and bring down potentially countless more on
their home world?
Camella
I… I don’t know.
Camella falls silent, and relaxes in her
chair. The computer stops humming, and two bottles of water are delivered
through a shoot along the port side of the cockpit. Amideas grabs them, and
hands one to Camella. He places the other lid down in a little spout on his
belt. It begins to empty.
Cut to:
Ext – Ryuu-3
The ship speeds away into space, toward
repairs and toward their destination of the GEF headquarters, as we come to a
Fade to Black
THE END
The Starboard Side
Episode 102: Broken
Copyright 2003
Bloodbought Productions
Camella Winchester
is property of Hannah Carlson
Amideas is property
of Jared Williams.
All other
characters, unless noted otherwise, are property of the writers.