[author] Hello! This one is a tad odd; I can't quite remember what compelled me to write it as a script but I suppose that does make for a nice change of pace XD. Perhaps I'll rewrite it to fit better with the others in futures - let me know if you've any thoughts on that and I hope you enjoy![/author]
Vijaik Rookie
Act 1 - Scene 1
Pilot A: Una? Una ‘you there?
The room has a low ceiling and a cramped feel; more than a dozen beds with little space between them fill it. A woman, seventeen years of age, sits on one of these beds looking up at the calling voice, her eyes sleepy and her hair a mess.
Una: I'm h-here.
Pilot A: Jeez Una, look at you! Come on girl, you gotta be less of a space cadet, ya know.
Una: Heh-heh, sorry.
Pilot A: Ya, well anyways, your turn on guard duty. I'm going to shower k’.
Una: Right, thanks. Ummmm... Any more word about the attack?
Pilot A: Oh, that? Ya, the captain is still just saying not to worry. Our guys in space will stop it for sure, ya know! Though on this one, I'm with ya; everyone's a bit nervous about it.
Una: Ya… Err, enjoy your wash.
Act 1 - Scene 2
Una makes her way down a narrow corridor with short walls made of cheap metal. Porthole windows reveal the outside, an endless rocky-grey expanse of the moon.
She passes through a door into a long rectangular room. Half the room is divided by a glass wall, behind which are three cells containing basic furniture, each with a large metal door in between the glass.
On the side opposite are some lockers, a small round table with two chairs and a computer. Una sits at the table and lays down a book on its surface.
An immature-sounding voice calls out to her from the only occupied cell;
POW: Hey, it's you again, the quiet one. What's this the fourth time?
----
POW: Oh, come on, what have I got to do for some conversation around here, hey?
----
POW: Do you at least want to ask how I ended up here? I'm a pilot, been on lots of awesome adventures. ‘Much better than being a prisoner guard for IAFS. For all you know, I could be a Casnel pilot!
Una: T-That's not true; you're an Ogre pilot. You got beat during the skirmish on the fourth - left abandoned by your allies until our ships picked you up. And besides, I'm a pilot too, so there!
POW: Eh? So you can talk; I just gotta’ throw out factual errors, eh? Ok then, I also happen to be a prince, ‘bet you didn't know that!
----
POW: No good huh? Darn.
The young man leans back against the wall of his cell. He looks to be in his twenties, short for his age but of a lean build with long, moppy brown hair and a cheeky grin.
Una: … Why are you with TSU-s? You're not what I imagined TSU-s people to look like...
POW: Huh? I mean, why not, right? Pays pretty good, and they say Admiral Luitpold will be Abhailien Governor someday soon. A ‘career with great advance opportunities’.
Una: That doesn't sound like a very good reason to be in an extremist military...
POW: Pah! That's just propaganda talk. TSU-s is a simple branch of regular TSU, The States Union, the guys who've kept us all safe for literal centuries. Who wouldn't want to work with them?
Una: You're kidding! Whatever about the government part of TSU, everyone knows you special forces guys are bad. You've been killing civilians and all sorts! Ever since Lord Grand Admiral Columbae died, TSU has gotten worse and worse; everyone knows that.
POW: Tch, god you really buy into all that? A load of rubbish; like I said, the States Union have been around since the Second Age! I think I'll keep putting my trust in them, thank you very much.
Una: Bu-But, they're saying a Nation-State will be dropped out of the sky, any day now! Onto this very city!
POW: Pftttt, ha-ha, now that's a good one, that is.
Una Stands up shakily, the chair falling away behind her and fists clenched as she steps closer to the glass of the prison cell.
Una: Wh-What about Station-5?! You've seen the picture and heard the story, right?!
POW: Oh come on, girl everyone knows that's the biggest hoax of them all. You IAFS guys faked those photos. Station 5-5 is totally fine.
TSU-s went in and handled some violent protestors. I'll admit it sounds like things got a little messy, but when people throw house bricks and brandish fire axes, even soldiers get a little nervous.
All this talk of wiping out the whole station though? Pure BS. Pictures of perfectly normal Station 5 are available all over, TSU has nothing to hide there. Personally, those fake photos of corpses and stuff IAFS has been spreading are in really bad taste.
Una: You-y-m.... My parents were killed at Station 5!
POW:..... Hmmmm, well, that ain't fun. Look, I don't mean to be insensitive or anything, sorry for your loss and all, but if they were violent protestors, they must have known the risk.
Una: Violent--?! There were no violent protests; your people made that up!! And even if there had been, my parents never attended any of the demonstrations; they were nowhere near protests!!
POW: Look, I don't know what to tell ya if that's true and they died in an accident or something - I just don't think it's very mature to blame that on TSU-s as an organisation now, is it? Spreading lies about a massacre won’t bring your folks back, regardless of what accident they may or may not have been in.
—-
Una:.......... My baby sister died there too, she was 13.......
POW: Oof, now that sucks. I always think kids shouldn't be allowed to attend protests - terrible luck. I am sorry for your loss.
Una: Bad Luck?! There was no violet protest, you twat! They killed every last person in the city!
POW: Oh ya? Then what about you? You seem pretty alive.
Una: Yo-You piece of shit!
With tears in her eyes, Una walks to the computer and fumbles with the switches for a moment before muting the cell.
The prisoner sighs, shrugging before crossing his arms behind his head and laying down on the narrow cell bed.
Act 1 - Scene 3
A siren echoes throughout the building. Dimmed lights and swirling red lamps flash along the walls. The sound of people shouting orders and running is all around - Una is making her way down a corridor, surrounded by others doing the same - one larger man jostles against her, causing her to stumble. A familiar young woman comes up behind her and takes Una by the shoulder.
Pilot A: Hey, Una, you alright?
Una: Ya fine, thanks.
Pilot A: That's good. Come on, we gotta head for the shuttle.
Intercom Voice Overhead: ALL PERSONEL ARE TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY; REPEAT ALL PERSONEL TO SHUTTLE BAY 1 . STATION 5.9 WILL COLLIDE WITH THE MOON'S SURFACE IN THIRTY MINUTES. ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO EVACUATE.
Pilot A: Seriously, I can't believe they're actually going to bomb us using a whole Nation-Satellite!
Una: It's not just us; we're too close to the city, it'll be wiped out too.
Pilot A: Well ya, 'secret' or not, the city is allied with us. 'Course TSU-s would want rid of it too.
Una: All those people, normal people...
They continue making their way through the base, the loudspeaker repeating its warning ad nauseam - Una suddenly stops at a corridor intersection, staring at a tablet embedded into the wall. The other pilot turns around to check on her;
Pilot A: Yo, what's up? We've got to hurry, ya know.
Una: Oh ya... it’s just that this says the prisoner is still confined, and no one has been assigned to get him. I think they might have forgotten.
Pilot A: You mean that guy, huh? Wait, didn't he, like, mock your whole family a couple of days ago? Full-blown genocide-denier guy?
Una nods sullenly, and her fellow pilot grins; it isn't quite crooked, but the smile has an uneasy edge.
Pilot A: Ha! This is exactly what he deserves; it's like, ironic! Now, come on already.
Una follows on for a few steps before stopping still. This time, the other pilot doesn't notice and keeps walking with the rest of the crowd until, after a minute, Una is left behind in the narrow space.
Una: Can we just leave him like that?
Una: Are we really any better than them if we do? I know my friends would all think like her, think that he deserves it. Maybe he does deserve it, and the world might be a better place without that guy.
Una: Those things he said were terrible, so terrible, but... It's not like he was the one who killed them-- No, that's not it. I mean he could go on to do something just as bad.
Maybe the fact I even have to think about this proves I am, but am I the sort of shitty person who just wants to get cheap revenge on some random guy?
Una: If we leave him, someone out there will lose a loved one. So maybe they'll lash out at us and that means we'll be sad and angry and, and... And it'll just keep happening forever, right? Do I want to be part of that?
Una: Can I really just leave him there all alone?
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Act 2 - Scene 1
Una runs into the jail room, going straight over to the prisoner's cell door. The prisoner looks surprisingly relaxed. Una moves a hand to unbuckle the pistol at her side, ensuring he can see its presence.
Una: Just... Just don't be an ass and come along quietly, ok? We're evacuating.
POW: Pah, Ha-ha! This is something else; I'll give you that. Talk about a great prank, using the loudspeaker like this.
Intercom Voice Overhead: ALL PERSONEL ARE TO EVACUATE, REPEAT ALL PERSONEL TO SHUTTLE BAY 1 - STATION 5.9 WILL COLLIDE WITH THE MOON'S SURFACE IN TWENTY MINUTES, ALL PERSONEL TO EVACUATE, TAKE-OFF IN TEN MINUTES--
Una: Oh no... They've reduced the power; this door won't open without it.
POW: Huh. I noticed the lights were a bit dimmer; now that you've had fun, could you turn them back on?
Una: Y-Y-YOU! Just shut up for a minute!
POW: Sheesh, alright.
Una: I… There's nothing I can do, even if I try to call for help; by the time someone turns the power back on, it'll be too late. I’m sorry.
POW: Dang, I underestimated you; you're a pretty good actor. Was all that stuff about your folks and sister just a skit, too? Man, you IAFS people like to sell it hard. Are you guys that desperate to win me over with sob stories and elaborate pranks to get me to switch sides or leak secrets?
Una's face darkens, and she leaves the room.
Some moments pass, and the prisoner grows a little uncomfortable, his cell bathed in the flashing red of emergency lights and the countdown of the intercom getting lower.
He sighs, putting on the space suit provided in the cell;
POW: Better safe than sorry, I suppose.
Suddenly, a loud, dense thud echoes throughout the cell, causing the prisoner to jump.
Una Over Radio Link: Put on your space suit and step away from the wall. I'm not kidding.
With a bemused gulp, the prisoner does as he is told. A few moments pass before suddenly the wall begins to crack, then crumble as slowly a grey fist presses its way through.
Another few seconds and the hole is large enough to show the face and torso of Vijaik, a green & blue-coloured Neo-M. Its cockpit door slides open to reveal Una sitting inside.
Following her directions, the prisoner makes his way up the arm and into the cabin, standing in the space behind Una's chair as the door closes and they both take off their helmets;
POW: If this is a prank, kid, you're going way too far.
Una: Oh Shut Up!
Act 2 - Scene 2
The Neo is stumbling across the rocky grey of the moon's surface, doing its best to run in the direction of a small oblong shuttle. The prisoner's eyes are firmly fixed on a monitor screen pointing to the west; it displays a small city in the distance, little more than a hexagonal dome-silhouette from so far away - and above it high in the sky - Is a massive careering rectangle.
It is falling, a gigantic sheet of glass and metal larger than the city beneath is falling through the atmosphere - all around it, pin-pricks of light cross back and forth, fireworks of battle as TSU-s and IAFS warships fight it out - one in the hopes of stopping this disaster, the other trying to ensure it happens.
Una: Oh no...
POW: What's wrong?
Una: Just look.
The prisoner turns his attention to the main monitor. The small escape shuffle is moving; it has left the ground and left them behind.
POW: Well, shit... Guess that it then, man, that sucks. I can't believe IAFS would drop a Nation-Satellite like this.
Una: What did you just say?
POW: Hmmmm? Oh, the ruse is up; I'm not dim. This is you guys, right?
You drop that satellite on your now empty base and claim TSU-s did it, use it as proof of how 'terrible' we are. Pretty clever, I guess, pretty sick, too.
As for you, I guess you had the good conscience to come back for me, so really, thanks. Sorry, you're gonna die with me now.
Una: Y-you, You're insane! It’s happening right before your eyes, and you can’t see it! You'll twist anything to work for you, won't ya? A couple hundred thousand people are about to die in that city, and you're still spewing nonsense and acting like it's all so flippant!! Where would IAFS even get the resources to pull something like that off huh?!
POW: Eh, eh, calm it already, I could use the exact same argument on you, couldn’t I? You’re just the only one getting angry about it. We are about to die, you know, might as well not argue for the final moments. Whoa, what are you doing?!!
Una has leant forward and grabbed her mech's controls, turning it in the opposite direction to the city and the falling skyline. She sets her machine to begin sprinting as best it can in the opposite direction.
POW: Oh, come on, kid, there's no way we can outrun that thing; it's the mother of all bombs!
Una: You don't know that for sure, and don’t call me 'kid'. I'm not that much younger than you.
POW: I'm 26.
Una: No friggin way! - [spoken in a hushed voice] - How do you get that old and still be so blind?
POW: Heh, I don't know what's funnier; you being surprised by my youthful good looks or thinking we can outrun this?
Una: We're not dead yet.
POW: We are very much so about to be.
Una: Ya, well, until we are, we keep trying.
The Cabin of The Neo is jittering, its two inhabitants rocking about in the cramped space as the machine continues to run desperately. On the rear camera's monitor, the Nation-Satellite can be seen getting ever closer to the ground.
A massive shock-wave envelopes the moon's surface; its sheer forces slams into the Nemo's back, causing the machine to be sent sprawling violently against the ground. The prisoner and Una are both thrown about inside.
Slowly, they manage to get the Ne0-M back on its feet; the dust-laden machine gradually turns its yellow visor towards the city.
POW: No way.
Una: They missed?! They Missed, THEY MISSED!!!!
The Nation-Satellite, no longer square but rather a massive crumbling triangle sticking out of the moon's surface, has created an almighty crater some miles away from the city and the IAFS base. The site is awestriking even at the Neo's far-off distance. Dust swirls all around it in a massive storm, the nearby city coloured grey by the shock wave. But undeniably, the target of the attack has survived.
Una lurches at the Prisoner, wrapping her arms around his neck in a delighted embrace;
Una: It Missed!!!! I'm so glad I don't know what to say! Hey, hey, actually, I never got your name, Mr.'Wanna-be Casnel Pilot,' who is apparently 26.
POW: Helt.
Una: Helt, huh, that's nice. Oh, err, sorry about hugging you like that. I'll just set a distress beacon - I'm so happy we're saved!!
POW-Helt: Step away from that switch, please.
Una: Huh?
Helt holds up Una's pistol; she had unknowingly provided him with several opportunities to snatch it. Slowly, the young man puts on his helmet, gun permanently trained on the younger girl.
POW-Helt: That's right. Now, put on your helmet and open the hatch, nice and slow. Oh, now come on, don't give me that look; it was you who said it, right? I'm alive, right?
I got left behind by my comrades and then by my captors, well, I ain't about to go back to being a prisoner again, and that means I'll need this machine.
It might be mad to try and walk all the way to the nearest friendly settlement, but it's like you showed me, right? Worth a try.
Silently, the door opens, and a now helmeted Una floats back out of it, never breaking eye contact.
Still holding the pistol, Helt shuffles around before tossing a grey cylinder at Una, which she gingerly catches. He sits into the control chair, and the hatch begins to close.
POW-Helt: Hey, really though, thanks for the save, you're a good kid. If you ever want to join the winning side of history, TSU-s would be lucky to have you, and I’d be happy to vouch for ya.
The door closes, and the Nemo turns and begins to half-float, half-march away into the endless grey desert. Una is left floating a few feet above the ground, cylinder with the white letters 'S-O-S' etched into it, clutched tightly to her chest - her facial expression obscured by the helmet’s visor showing a reflection of the retreating mecha.
Epilogue
Footsteps patter against half-decayed floorboards;
Soldier A: Hey Una. Oi Una O' Conchabhair?
Una: Yes, Sir, I'm here!
Soldier A: Ah, there you are, always so damn quiet. Commander wants to see ya.
Una: Oh, er, ok, Sir.
Una makes her way up a rickety half-flight of stairs. The building is a run-down, hollowed-out former factory complex layered in thick red dust that has made it in from the red planet outside.
In a small box office, Una faces a large and intimidating man with a bushy moustache and twitching left eye, who sits behind an unsuitably ornate table, fingering a half-crumbled letter in his hand.
Commander: Damn that woman.
Una: Ummm, Sir? You asked for me?
Commander: I can't imagine; I absolutely just can't think of any possible reason why they would want you, why anyone would want a useless enemy-sympathising girl like you. Nonetheless, orders are orders.
He beckons Una to take the letter. A moment later, Una's eyes go wide.
Commander: Be gone from here in an hour you understand me? Honestly, I can't believe this. I still say a traitor like you should be court-martialled! I think those people from the Am Fluchtig have forgotten that you let a prisoner run free, eh!?
Una: But, er Sir, this says the shuttle doesn't arrive for another three days...
Commander: Yes, well, a brave young pilot like you will work something out, eh!
Una: Ummm Yes-Sir, th-thank you for looking after me these last couple of months.
Commander: Pah, get outta’ my site girl.
Una complies with a polite bow, making her way back out of the office and quickly down the stairs, the letter held gently in her hand. She quickly packs her bag and sets out in search of a hotel room. Ready to see what awaits her next with the letter’s contents firm in her mind:
End [For Now?]
