EPISODE ONE
The show opens on an armor-clad man standing on a cliff, overlooking the enormity of what can only be a Xiticix hive; after all, that's what this documentary is about, isn't it? But the foreground has been brought into sharp focus, rendering the background a dissolved blur of browns, reds, and sun-glaring white. The dirty grey Plastic-Man lacks its helmet, so even before the brown-haired head turns to gaze camera-wards, one would easily recognize Tolkeen celebrity Walter Riely, his face largely devoid of the benefits of studio make up, and the sculpted eye implant cyberworks starkly obvious on the left side of his face. It must be quite windy around that outcropping, but as he raises his voice to speak, it comes through loud and clear, thanks to his microphone hookup and the miracles of editing room technology.
"...It is now Day Five of our expedition. The bright winter sun finds us standing over this desolate wasteland, only a short distance away from the Hive." His voice changes pitch slightly, to a more hopeful tone than his former authoritarian statements, "Trepidation fills the air, as the crew debates the best method of entry into the rumored labyrinthine corridors of the Xiticix race. We set out almost a week ago with the intention to discover the fate of the famed Skyrunner, and as you can see we're almost to our goal..." But the viewer can't see, not at this time, anyway. They might only speculate. In fact, if the precipice itself wasn't so authentic, one might be tempted to think that the vague mirage of shapes, light, and color in the background is simply a canvas backdrop in the film recording studios of station Channel One.
"It was almost five years ago when so-called freedom fighters, from the decimated Markeen Barony, commandeered the Tolkeen Airship Skyrunner, and dove it straight into the heart of the Hive." The view, and Walter along with it, fades to black, but his voice continues, as Narrator, the ambient noise of nature fading magically along with his image."In the days before the Coalition's siege on Tolkeen city, at reports of the Militia's broken line of defense..." The screen fades into a nightmarish overhead angle on a milling throng of literally thousands of humanoids, rampaging against desperate military blockades set up along none other than Freedom Way itself. This is no graphical simulation.. Actual historical footage shames Tolkeen's largest thoroughfare, with its sweeping pan of breaking windows, pouring smoke, and amazing amounts of trash and debris left in the wake of the frenzied mob.
"..the nervous discontent of the populace was used to their advantage as the Markeen terrorists allegedly incited the masses to panic." The Plaza is the center of what must be a deafening hubbub, though the viewer is mercifully detached from events by the rooftop location of the camera, as well as the additional barriers of vidscreen glass.. and time, five years after the fact.
A zoom-in features the struggles between reason and madness north of the Plaza, where the throng bottlenecks back onto Freedom and encounters resistance by the Militia and rational citizens both. Beyond them, the walls and gate of the Docking Bay. The detail is grainy at best, but it -might- be possible to recognize some individuals in the fray, by their characteristic accouterments: the red borg Reaper, the gunslinger Damion, Tandem, Tyridian, Vladd, and dwarf Haagus. At first glance from this range, it almost looks as if the remaining Militia presence in the city, along with the CDB, and the do-gooders, are trying to keep the throng out of the affluent northern sectors. Then the angle changes to an overhead location that's considerably closer to the action (an additional news team must have taken up a better position by then), and one will realize that the mob has one collective priority: escape through the private airships still anchored in the docking bay.
Walter's commentary continues: "With a well-armed group, the Markeen fighters revealed their true intentions..." And as if on cue, a surge of citizenry rushes in along the avenue from the north, but these ones are fleeing an even more immediate threat: more than a dozen armored figures bearing rifles and crimson rags tied around their left biceps.
The resulting press against the Militia barricades from the inside changes the overall tide of movement dramatically, and the overhead view affords watchers the distinct impression of a wave, gathering at the blockades and then rolling southwards once more. But with such a mob, it seems to be in fascinating, agonizing slow motion, and the freedom fighters have begun shooting... The beleaguered protectors of the city turn to meet this new threat, but the crush of panicked civilians keeps them stranded in pockets, as rocks in the rapids.
The disturbing levels of carnage are cloaked in a darker filter to preserve the sensibilities of the viewers, but it's obvious that dozens are losing their lives as the terrorists cut a swath towards the gates of the bay, striving to reach it before the defenders can rally their numbers and meet them through the throng. At the head of the following is an armored figure in a torn cloak, wielding a blazing sword of light, which it slashes with impunity before it, and steps over the smoking humanoid carcasses. Gas grenades lobbed into the melee turn the morass into a swirling, cloudy nightmare.
Then, as the tide of civilians finally turns all the way and flees southwards through the decimated barricades, a desperate firefight ensues between the warriors of Markeen and Tolkeen. The dark filter opens up an eye, spotlight-style, upon the psychic with the sword, and a following of about six, who manage to blast their way through the gates and escape into the bay; the others remain behind to hold off the city's protectors, and history has already spelled out their ignoble fate.
"The Markeen terrorists stormed the Skyrunner and seized control of its systems." The smoke-screened, pitched battle is replaced by file footage of the 'Runner itself, hanging and swaying in its berth within the bay, the enormous metal gas envelope and maritime motif hull clearly visible. (OOC: check the website gallery for an impressive conceptual design) Then, the scene cuts to what must be the interior of the vessel, and the red words: "Re-Enactment" flash across the bottom quarter of the television screen. What are clearly armed Markeen commandos rush down one of the hatches, the muzzles of their rifles flashing briefly at off-screen denizens of the airship. They themselves rush forward down the corridor, and we know beyond doubt, that they've secured the legendary Skyrunner.
"Our only surviving account of the capture, told through the thoughts of a frightened crewman..." A significant pause of five seconds elapses in which a new re-enactment scene, down within the cargo hold of the vessel, begins. A number of defenseless individuals are locked in an iron cage probably meant for livestock. Among them, one crew member can be seen hastily jotting something on a thick bundle of pages covered in technical drawings. Super-imposed in ghostly translucency is a close-up on a yellowed page, documented with decidedly child-like scrawl; for the benefit of the illiterate, a narrative voice reads the two particular lines that are highlighted, while the area beyond is deliberately obscured in shadow:
After the image has faded from the screen, time seems to have passed in the hold, because the dim hold is shaking with explosions, rolling with smoke, and lit hectically by a large fire raging somewhere off screen. The trucked-in action within the cage becomes slowed and blurred, as those trapped there appear to make an escape attempt. The last scene closes in on the thick manual-style sheaf, rolled up and stuck into a convenient crevice inside the hold, as the flickering shadows of men rush past along the wall. The implied activity seems to mesh into a flurry, the sounds of crackling fire surging to fill the audio track. At around the same time, the re-enactment scene fades away.
Walter reappears, this time walking along the edge of the cliff overlooking the alleged Hive Blur. As the angle pans, a less obscure scene of activity in the immediate background can be seen. A group in bulky winter-wear tromps in and out of the frame as individuals drag climbing cords, and load equipment onto a makeshift sled. "...The freedom fighters of Markeen have gone down in history as terrorists, mass-murderers, and treasonous thieves. However, their actions had paved the way for Tolkeen's salvation in the days of the Siege."
The reporter turns away, and the angle cuts to a frontal shot, with the gigantic haze of red and greenish-brown once more as a backdrop. "This is the real story, a documentary tale of the retrieval of this almost mythical airship, and of the people who made it all happen. History will be revived as we venture into the now-dead Duluth Hive in search of the truth." And fame and fortune, probably, is not a bad bonus, eh Walt? "But this is not an attempt to determine the Skyrunner's final crew as heroes or villains; that..." he pauses theatrically to a subtly building electronic tension on the sound track, "is for the viewer to decide." Oh? Is there going to be a test on this afterwards? Let's hope not...The screen jolts abruptly into opening credits, the title shot: The Skyrunner Mission laid over the much-played graphic of the airship's shadow running fleetingly across the surface of the White Tower. A lingering electric score, combined with the alien choral arrangement of Tolkeen's own Grackletooth Choir, accompanies the consecutive array of over-exposed still-shots, each featuring a different member of the expedition party: Gareth Vaughn, smoking and inspecting the state of his meticulous goatee in one of the sideview mirrors on a grey APC.. three angles of his face displayed to the camera; Daniel A. Kelley (aka Rockhound), looking decidedly more haggard than usual as he perches alongside the same APC's overhead turret; Ailic Johnstone, looking surprisingly at home in the winter wilderness, vapor clouds caught in mid-jet from his lips; Lady Elegra Hichleistern, fixing her bandanna and smiling like she's about to lunge murderously towards the viewer.. so what else is new; and so it goes, through seven more faces and names before the big inevitable: 'and Walter Riely', with the celebrity's pensive-looking-out-over-the-precipice shot. The screen dissolves to white, for the producer credits, and a nice long run of commercials.
The main segment opens with several atmospheric shots of the inner city gates - the busyness of the traffic lines, the vigilance of the Militia guards. Then, with a transition of lighting and film speed, the camera finds the armored bulk of a personnel carrier parked within the Checkpoint Lot, amidst the light traffic of evening departures. It is quite clear that cargo is being loaded upon the vehicle by about five men in travel gear, the process overseen by a shouting Gareth. An illustrative title appears in the corner of the screen, reading:
'Day One'.
As the loading continues, Walter's narration begins again, "Any important mission requires considerable forethought and planning, and an expedition to locate and retrieve the Skyrunner is no exception. After learning from well-traveled sources of the airship's possible survival, Vaughn moved quickly, approaching the Tolkeen Historical Society in mid-Decrembe of one-oh-nine. Previous treasure-hunting expeditions funded by the Society into the Hive had resulted in dismal failure, and perhaps to the Historical Society, this would be just one more. Nonetheless, their desire to regain the Skyrunner from its alien graveyard made Vaughn's enthusiastic proposition hard to dismiss."
Walter's voice continues to babble on about the various preparations and precautions taken in the preliminary stages of the expedition: the contracting of salvage crew and defense personnel from the Freelancers' Guild, as well as the gathering of various specialists, including, in a stroke of entrepreneurial genius, the documentary crew of Channel One Broadcasting.
Meanwhile on screen, the armored 'giant' is joined by team members coming into the lot from the street, briefly greeting their boss before seeing to the task of getting their own equipment properly packed. Walter can be seen lugging a black carry-case to the back of the APC, and unlike the non-professionals around him, avoiding any direct glances at the camera. Ailic arrives in the frame next, lightly loaded and strangely without armor.At this point, the scene cuts to a natural setting, snow-laden woods in the background, and the frame centered on Ailic as he speaks, confessional-style, to an unseen interviewer (probably Walter). The caption 'Ailic Johnstone, Expedition Team Doctor' pops in to remind the viewers just who they're looking at. "..I was approached by one Gareth Vaughn. He asked me about my healing prowess and then offered me the position of healer on his team. I find him business-like..if hard to understand sometimes. Other than that I have yet to form an opinion."
Cut back to the activity in the Checkpoint Lot: Ailic is boarding the carrier over its side ramp, backpack dangling from one shoulder as he searches out a seat along the parallel wall seats. The camera trucks and follows him in, while his disembodied voice splices in over the muted outside audio: "I am a healer at the Tolkeen Medical Center. I am relatively new to the city. Been here about three or four months now. I like to people-watch, something I never really had the chance to do until I came here. I enjoy sitting and watching all the different types of folk come and go." And sure enough, as the camera trucks back out, Ailic has found a seat and contents himself with watching the hired muscle deal with the equipment-loading.Meanwhile, another member has entered the frame: Rockhound, looking overladen but cheerful as he strikes up muffled conversation with Gareth, who responds with equal joviality. Looks like the mission is off to an amiable start! His voice-over, which doesn't jive with his lip movements incidentally, starts this way: "...my name is Doctor Daniel Allen Kelley, currently employed as the head geologist at Tolkeen Mining and Earthworks.." The (much) smaller man surrenders his equipment to the roadies and glances around, starting to point off-screen just as the camera cuts to his own personal interview, this one filmed against the backdrop of the city wall - half of a luminous red ward can be seen in the top half of the screen. "I've been brought along as the scientific advisor for this trip, I suppose." Rockhound frowns briefly. "To be completely honest, Mr. Vaughn still hasn't been overly open with me, so I'm somewhat at a loss as to what exactly he wants me for, aside from geologic knowledge."
Cut back to the loading scene: everything's just about ready, and the last team member arrives, a tall, black-haired woman in thick leggings, a parka, and a bandanna. She trades irreverent, familiar words with Gareth, and gambols around the APC, but doesn't seem to merit a personal interview at this time.. The reason probably being that seven-foot, polished white-metal spear anchored to her back, and the fact that, muted or not, it's hard to understand word one of what she's saying. The producers of this broadcast must have had a heavy hand in the editing of this epic...
No such luck. The camera angle, handling, and lighting levels change almost abruptly, to the dim, wobbly, and none too spacious interior of the APC, as it gets moving. There's Gareth again, looking bored, all his eight feet of height and quarter-ton of extreme machismo confined to only two seats. And then there's the woman, bouncing impatiently up and down in her seat, apparently to some drum-solo that only she can hear, hip-checking Rockhound next to her, accidentally(?), quite a few times. The caption appears beneath the striking woman's full-length, raven-haired figure: 'Lady Elegra Hichleistern, Expedition Defense'.
She seems bright, effervescent, and a bit sharky. "Kellah Kellah Kellah, aye, Ay know yew from Gar'th," she jabbers, peering into Rockhound's face avidly with her frosty green eyes. The spear is set down with a single clank in front of the long seat, hooded blade pointing towards the back of the carrier. Reaching out, and seizing the professor's hand, she squeezes the captive and pumps it one two three four times, up and down. "Thay grow tha'yah brainbox'ahs kinda small nowah-daze, dun't thay?" she says forthrightly of the man's height.
Rockhound holds on tightly as the amazonian woman pumps his hand. He smiles pleasantly, however, intoning in his soft tenor, "No, ma'am, I think that I'm just one-of-a-kind." He eyes the massive spear, appears to consider saying something, but decides against it, just shrugging instead as she settles back, and releases him. "I'm afraid that Mr. Vaughn hadn't informed me that you would be accompanying us, ma'am."
The personnel compartment begins to haze with smoke as someone off the frame lights up. Items that haven't been secured in the interior shift and jiggle. Gareth's voice adopts some reverberations, disembodied until the camera pans towards him, revealing him to be the smoker.
"Aye...I asked 'er'n she said she wuz gonna be too busy chase'n af'tah a new man'r sumpthin." He
protrudes the tip of his tongue and bites at it in a teasing jest. Beyond him, Ailic can be seen
sitting quietly and looking out the small window slits.
Elegra's voice interjects offhandedly, "Meestah Vaughn couldnah inform yew. /Ay/ inform /'im/!" - glibly speaking at the same time as Gareth.
Gareth ignores her and continues, "Dun't go break'n Kelley, 'Legra. 'E make'n sure we dun't fall to our bloody scream'n, terry-fied, 'orrible, messy, disgust'n, an rally uncom-fortable deaths, S'truth. 'E gots spesh-al long sticks'n...stoof. Yew know...scien-tiffy stoof tah 'elp." He reaches up to scratch at his eyepatch again, getting all fidgeting knowing they still aren't clear of the city and its stuffy rules yet.
The view cuts back to the right side of the cabin, and Elegra's looking down at Rockhound thoughtfully. "Tha'troo? Yew got speshal sticks ta keep 'oos safe?" Resting her hands on her knees, she drums her fingers, hands perfectly sychronized.
"Well, not special sticks per se," Rockhound explains, opening his hands for emphasis, his voice bouncing along with the APC, "I've actually brought along some seismic reflection/refraction equipment, a ground-penetrating radar" - he shrugs - "you know, the usual. I'll get us in and out. You've got my word on that." He ends his short speech by pounding a closed fist against his leg for emphasis.
"S'truth." The rest of Gareth's off-screen ramblings become noticeably muffled, so that viewers only have the task of deciphering Elegra at this time.
She looks at Rockhound intently as he makes his vow, eating him up with her light eyes with their dilated pupils in the low lighting. "Oh'pe yew'ah naugh makin' tha /word/ light'lah, Kellah. Tha's serious bizness, in an' oot o' ah'ive." Oh gawd, she just maxed out on her contraction limit for the night.. she must have. "Now.. /Ay/ got ah speshal stick.." she adds meaningfully, then sits slowly back again. Her fingers drum away by themselves for a couple more seconds, then she's gazing at the other occupants, scrutinizing them speculatively. The camera seems to have tilted a bit, perhaps not intentionally, but it serves well to subliminally suggest to the viewer that something is.. askew ..about this woman.
Rockhound speaks softly, "No, ma'am, I assure you, I don't make that vow lightly." He mutters only slightly under his breath, "Unlike some people..." and glares mildly in the vague direction of the camera. Why, whomever could he mean? The camera tracks away, perhaps to avoid the impression that the professor is directly accusing the potential audience of dishonor.
Gareth blurts, "Aye...an all tha bugs be dead-dead, S'truth. It be easy squeezy. Like'ah alley-femme. Yew see. We gots'ah tip-top team'n camera lensies tah catch't all." At this self-reminder, he starts raking a free hand through his hair. He's interrupted by a metallic banging.
"Ma-am," repeats Elegra distractedly to herself, and shakes her head, while the camera recaptures her in its pan to the opening side hatchway. "S'pose tha Tinmen wanna see I-Deez, then?" she blows out a sigh through her pursed lips, oblivious to her usage of a derogatory term for the Militia with them standing so close. "Ain't't enuff tha we got Big Stah Camerah Buy with'oos?"
And then Gareth inches slightly into frame. He snorts as he turns the card over in his hands, inspecting it after such long disuse. He mutters quietly, "Yew know 'ow they ordered tah be...Hoop-hoop-hoop. Ye'sir...No'sir. 'Ow 'igh? Bollocks with tha, sir?" However, he does zip it and adopt a cheerful little smile to greet the inspectors when they approach for his ID. What's with all the derision towards the Mighty Militia? It's bad enough to try and understand that woman and Gareth, without having to speculate on the unpatriotic thread that the producers have allowed to sneak in at this point.
Ah, Elegra just likes complaining, perhaps. See, she's already undoing her parka to get at her ID card. That, or she's gonna flash the boys in Gold'n'Blue. Before we can see which of these it is, Gareth leans over into the frame unawares (maybe) to hand over his own ID card through the open APC door to the Militia checkpoint inspector.Oops, back to some personal interviews, looks like; this time it's one for the crew less focused on.. two men, early and late thirties respectively, looking rugged enough for their profession, which is soon displayed beneath them as they speak: Tom Delaney and Greir Xamas, MULE Salvaging Company. They're seated together on a bench in the checkpoint lot, Greir smoking and Tom drinking from a paper cup. Tom seems to be the quiet one of the duo, as his partner does most of the talking: "..well, MULE finalized the deal a couple of weeks ago. Uh, I won't go into the exact details, but as representatives of the salvaging company, uh, we're going to be taking a look at the wreck when they find it. We'll be able to figure the best way to go about bringing it out of the.. the, uh, Hive.. Salvaging's precise work, so, uh, this will be interesting.."
"It's dangerous work, too," Tom finally says, his voice softer. Shy. "But Gree and I, if there's fighting.." He chuckles nervously.
Greir grins. "Well, if there's, uh, fighting to be done.. Well, I can handle a rifle pretty fair, uh, but we'll be mostly leaving it to the Freelancers."Ah, the Freelancers. Tolkeen's own 'mercenary' guild is represented by three armored men, sitting upon the back hatch, in this new shot, and sharing around a suspicious-looking metal canteen. Helmets off, they're perspiring lightly after loading the stacks of equipment cases and packs into the compartment behind them. The caption crowds in below: Weylan Cusack, Zimfar, Dirk Cusack, Tolkeen Freelancers' Guild. Zimfar must be one of those one-name oddities, and his bleached, almost albino appearance is further proof. Weylan and Dirk look comfortably related.
"That Hichleistern chick picked our little trio out.. On account'a the fact that we do good work together," Weylan smirks at the camera, showing off an untouchable attitude typical of the Freelancers. "Me an' Dirk here'd already knew of the G-Man.. him being a bit of a big shot business owner in the west, so things look on the up an' up."
"Right, it's no big deal travelin' outta the city a buncha miles. But leavin' the territory and hikin' it up to a place like the Hive, well." Dirk inclines his head, taking a swig from the canteen and handing it to Zimfar. "That's big time, right?"
"Big.. Big.. Big Time," Zimfar says eloquently, with a succinct nod.
"A career-making venture," Weylan sums up, smiling and cutting a glance off-screen as he notices something. Reaching back to shift his slung rifle over into his lap, he pats the stock; we would notice that the clip isn't inserted.. that, of course, is not permitted within the walls. "G-Man says all the bugs are dead."
"But if they ain't.." Dirk waggles his eyebrows at the camera.
"BLAM!" Zimfar provides a serviceable sound effect, no doubt putting the Militia checkpoint guards on edge. It seems to amuse the Freelancers to no end, however, and the camera leaves them still chuckling heartily over the dialogue.As if to bring a more intellectual aspect of the mission back into focus, the next shot is of Walter, seated within the rumbling, dim interior of the APC, the vermillion rays of a setting sun striking and sliding down his face and body as the vehicle's slit windows permit the light to angle through. He reports directly to the camera, lending a pleasant efficiency to the moment as he informs the viewership, "We are embarking on our mission, now; circling Tolkeen City's walls and taking the trade route due north. It is one hundred and forty miles to the ruins of Markeen, and northwest of that, an estimated thirty miles to the lands once dominated by deadly Xiticix hunting parties.
"With supplies expected to last a little more than a week, sketchy maps, and little else but harsh weather and unfriendly encounters, to expect after leaving the civilized regions of the kingdom... well, we will continue to document the journey of our party of hopeful explorers. Starting out strangers, and having to rely on each other's diverse strengths and talents, I expect we'll come to know each other quite well before the adventure is done."We turn back to Elegra, the expedition's only female influence, now riding shotgun at the front of the carrier, and gnawing on a rope of licorice as she looks through a collection of mini-disc music provided with the APC rental. Drek's Emporium, proclaims the label on the small flipbook. "Yahh.. Ay s'poose Ay kin stand'em'all fer'ah wake with'oot im-proopah vi'ahlence'ah. Jes' dun't bor'ah meh. Tha li'uhl weh doctah, Ay-lick, 'e dun't open 'is yapp'ah tew mooch, soo ih's'eas'ah tew igno'ah 'im.. Boot tha othah tyke, Kellah.. 'e talks. 'E talkie-talkie-talkie an' aboot all'is stewpid stoof tha' brainbox'ahs all know," she complains in her barely comprehensible way. "Thay'ahs mo'ah tew life thah'n flippin' stoodyin', yew know?"
"Oh, well, in my free time, I study." What a convenient editing cut. That's Rockhound, in an entirely different interview, this one taken at the back of the APC, the lighting conditions assisted by a glow from the camera crew. "Anything. You just can't get too much knowledge. I also collect minerals, of course, and I enjoy games of intellect. I'm engaged to Sandra -.." he holds up a snapshot picture of a two-headed, three-armed woman.. Jesus Christ D-Bee! shriek citizens in their living rooms allover Tolkeen.. "..- though an exact wedding date remains to be set.
"Overall, I'm looking forward to the mission. It's got great potential." The camera speed slows on Rockhound's enthusiasm, fading him out.. and the audience is left to wonder exactly why those last statements were chosen to close the dialogue in this first episode. It's like some ironic premonition; surely... something awful is going to happen.Well well well, if it isn't the picturesque parting shot of the APC getting onto the wide dirt road outside the city, heading west in the direction of a wintery scenic view of the darkening mountain range, the sun setting fast beyond its peaks and lengthening the shadows. There they go, our intrepid team of twelve. The personalities have been introduced, the stakes set, and the far-off goal remains shrouded in uncertainty...
Stay tuned for Episode Two of The Skyrunner Mission.
NOTE: The Skyrunner Mission is a collaborative work of fiction based on the roleplay of Rise From Chaos MUSH. The Players featured here are Gareth, Rockhound, Ailic, Walter, and Elegra. Additional writing, editing, and artwork is done by Headwiz Centauri and Player Walter. All original works on this page are the property of RfC MUSH on behalf of their respective creators.
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