Epsiode III: Giza
This is a partial script, penned originally by senior writer (now retired) Justin VanValkenberg, for M'Kain's last episode. (In reality, Justin showed up at the game where his character had the spotlight with a four-page script for an interview which pretty much followed this basic format. I'll scan it in or have someone dictate it to me as soon as I can.) What follows is a rough approximation of what happened to the script AFTER we'd played the game, using it as a framing device. Ironically, or perhaps redundantly, the group voted to add a SECOND framing device to the episode (not all that unusual, really) by bookending it with scenes set in the show's present.
TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE III: GIZA
(Openining scene: Establishing shot of windswept dunes.
Suddenly, a giant Egyptian asp errupts from below, like a sandworm, and then slithers under the sand to join a sort of assault force of attacking reptiles.
Our Heroes, M'KAIN, BROTHER NARAT, DR. CULLEN, CAPTAIN RAYLIN and NOVICE RUSH are racing across the dunes on foot just ahead of the reptillian onslaught.)
M'KAIN
Do any of ALBA's jobs not include an element of certain death?!?
CAPTAIN RAYLIN
Oh, and your old warbuddies are, what, pictures of stability?
NOVICE RUSH
(pointing to a complex device strapped to his wrist)
AI says there's some sort of shelter this way!
Gaaah!
(an asp rears up in front of him, ready to strike, and he falls on his hinder.
M'KAIN slices the 20-foot-long cgi snake in half with a few deft strokes of his sword and hauls NOVICE RUSH to his feet by the scruff of... the NOVICE's cowl, I guess.)
M'KAIN
Forget that! We have to make it to the Chaucer II!
BROTHER NARAT
Maybe we should...
(giant scorpions pour out of the rock formation near the distant, parked bulk of the Chaucer II - the crew are cut off.)
DR. CULLEN
Which way, AI?
NOVICE RUSH
(struggling to find his feet against M'KAIN's superior grip)
That way. AI says there's some sort of... fieldy... repulsing... doohickey.
M'KAIN
It's got to be a selective bio repulsor. What's wrong with you?
NOVICE RUSH
There! There! My God. It forms a ring around Giza.
CAPTAIN RAYLIN
What? Geezer?
NOVICE RUSH
Right over that way! The big... pointy... stone buildings.
M'KAIN
Were you kicked in the head or something?
It's like one minute you can't tie your shoes and the next you -
Move it!
(he saves NOVICE RUSH from a scorpion's sting)
I said MOVE!
(The group lopes down the remaining sand dunes toward the famous landmark, just when it seems like they aren't going to make it, a hail of lightning and laserfire takes out the pursuing monstrosities.)
DRAXON
(off camera)
M'KAIN! You old, old, OLD son of a stillborn mutant!
(DRAXON, a cigar-chomping Dragon with similar markings to M'KAIN, stands atop the great pyramid, a sniper-like energy weapon at the ready.)
M'KAIN
I see your shooting has improved.
A little.
DRAXON
The hell it has!
I'm not sniping this time. I'm salvaging.
Meet me inside.
NOVICE RUSH
Oh great.
More Dragon Monsters.
DR. CULLEN
At least they stopped the giant poisonous bug monsters.
BROTHER NARAT
And the snakes.
NOVICE RUSH
I'm not sure which is worse.
M'KAIN
Just get inside.
(Interior shot:
DRAXON has set up a base camp in the main pyramid, claiming to be on an illegal salvage operation. He repels down from the ceiling in full about halfway and hangs there while he speaks.)
NOVICE RUSH
(looking around in dismay at the untidy and makeshift camp inside this great monument to a lost civilization)
And Dragons shall make their homes in your palaces...
M'KAIN
Ignore him.
DRAXON
Already started. Can't do business on old Earth without listening to crazy Cradle Monk talk.
M'KAIN
So what's this about you not sniping any more?
DRAXON
After a hundred years of unemployment, I finally got a job I like.
((TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: I'm having to go back and ask individual players for their memories of particularly memorable lines during the flashbacks and unwritten parts of the script. The process may take some time to come to a head, since we didn't record the session, or anything.))
(Further inside the pyramid, NOVICE RUSH finds fake hieroglyphics which puzzle CAPTAIN RAY
They also find a crashed shuttle sticking out of the back side of the pyramid (it has run right into the wall, years and years before. Strewn around the wreck are the emaciated corpses of dozens of dead Dragons, the same species as M'KAIN.)
M'KAIN
(viewing the carnage with alarm)
Oh damn.
(Static bursts across the scene, tearing us away from the here and now and into a pre-recorded interview, obviously made decades before.)
(digital subtitles print out at bottom of screen:
Computer: File Discovered
Created: 20 y 3 mo 12 days prior
A young Unity reporter, ANITA LORSINE, repleat with the cat eyes, appears framed by what is clearly a semi-pro handheld shot. This is supposedly raw, unaired footage we're seeing, here.)
ANITA LORSINE: Are we on?
Good. (she straightens her blouse)
This is ANITA LORSINE with Unity News.
During our recent interview with GENERAL VORMIS, he said the main reason why the 41st did so well here on Hyserian,
was due to training by Dragon Mercenaries. He singled out one swordmaster in particular, ALEXANDER M'KAIN.
After asking around, we at Unity News have located this remarkable mercenary.
(cut to ANITA heading around the corner into a hangar-like bay filled with equipment. It is empty except for M'KAIN, who is sharpening an elaborate longsword. ANITA waves her camerman forward, putting on her best professional demeanor.
As she gets closer, M'KAIN turns. He has his customary orange skin and dark purple splotches make-up, but he has a grey short sleeve shirt, reminiscient of BDUs, and combat fatigues which are clearly not Unity issue. He remains absorbed in his task while he speaks.)
M'KAIN: If you're looking for the Armory Seargant, he's off to chow. Won't be back for an hour.
ANITA: I'm not looking for the Armory Seargant. I'm looking for a Blademaster by the name of ALEXANDER M'KAIN.
(M'KAIN looks up slowly at the mention of his name. His suspicion turns to annoyance when he sees the camerman.
M'KAIN slowly puts the elaborate longsword down on the table and turns. The camera lingers on his mechanical replacement arm for a moment before seeking M'KAIN's face again.)
M'KAIN
I'm M'KAIN.
(roll credits)
(Post credits:
After a static burst, the picture clarity returns to that of an old recording.
We're still in the middle of the ANITA LORSINE - M'KAIN interview footage.)
M'KAIN
(almost 'scanning' ANITA before he speaks.)
What do you want, lady?
ANITA
Oh, so you're the legendary ALEXANDER M'KAIN, nice to-
M'KAIN
Don't use my first name, please.
M'KAIN will do. Or Blade Master.
Better yet, call me Sir. Less syllables.
ANITA
Yes, sir, Blade Master M'KAIN, sir.
(smiles teasingly)
I just interviewed GENERAL VORMIS. He reccomended I interview you, since you lead the battle against the Central incursion here on Hyserian III.
He claims you were instrumental in training the 41st Unity Drop Troop Brigade.
M'KAIN
(with a rueful laugh, he makes a mock bow)
And here I thought it was because you just wanted to meet a real Dragon.
ANITA
(laughing)
You're not the first Dragon I've interviewed, but you are the first mercenary with a heroic endorsement.
That's pretty illustrious, even if the rumours about you aren't true. They say you're over two hundred years old.
M'KAIN
Just celebrated my 232nd Birthday on the battlefield, actually.
ANITA
(taken aback)
I thought that "immortal" was just...
M'KAIN
Miss, if I can't shake this interview, we might as well do it right. Grab a chair. We ought to sit down before your cameraman faints.
(grabs two nearby cheap-looking folding chairs and offers ANITA one. he slides a stool over to the cameraman)
ANITA
Thank you. (flirtatiously)
We've been looking for you since late yesterday.
M'KAIN
The men probably just gave you the run around.
No one wants to disturb a Dragon when the mission's over.
ANITA
So... you're an immortal.
M'KAIN
Is this your first time interviewing an Immortal?
Someone who can't die normally. Someone who might live forever?
ANITA
No one mentioned that.
M'KAIN
Few do. Yes. I'm really immortal. It's not just an epithet.
Only violence can end me, far as I know.
Don't age. Don't sleep much, either.
ANITA
How many immortals are there?
M'KAIN
At one time, there were more than you can possibly imagine.
Back in the old days, it was how the brass promoted their brightest and best.
Some reward (snorts.)
(Sharp cut:
The scene abruptly changes to a high EXT shot of an exotic mountain range or, possibly, stock footage of the Himalayas tarted up with a ringed planet mat painting blended into the horizon.
The camera does a false pan in to a futuristic military training ground that resembles a shao-lin monastery with a space port and guard towers.
The courtyards are full of Dragons, the same species as M'KAIN, in all sorts of different uniforms.)
Scene Synopsis: M'KAIN shows up late for training and MASTER HORN berates M'KAIN. MASTER HORN, a sadistic and bitter authoritarian, forces M'KAIN to hold his hand in the flame until it blisters and cracks. When M'KAIN cries out and withdraws his hand, MASTER HORN orders M'KAIN whipped. MASTER HORN goes too far, however, and the Immortal whipping M'KAIN, CRYFAX, eventually refuses to flay the errant M'KAIN any more and throws down his whip in disgust.)
(A telltale static burst returns us to the main interview)
M'KAIN
I perservered and our so-called Supreme High Lord granted me Immortal status right before the first assault on Earth. Seems appropriate, in hindsight.
ANITA
I've always wondered. Why did Supreme High Lord Tiamatt order that assault?
Earth had no strategic value to the Dragons.
M'KAIN
He wanted to prove a point.
(PROVE A POINT SCENE)
**********
(A telltale static burst returns us to the main interview)
M'KAIN
(still caught up in the revery)
You see, when we invaded the Unity, there really wasn't any Unity.
Not yet.
The Supreme High Lord had spent years trying to justify the invasion.
They spoke of uniting the various human subspecies under one banner.
They thought that any race which could produce genuine immortals should be the one in charge.
ANITA
But YOU lost, immortals or not.
M'KAIN
(smiles bitterly)
Sure we lost.
But before we did, we unified your damn Unity.
ANITA
Was that before or after the Dawn Dragons joined the Unity?
M'KAIN
They never wanted to invade. They were the first dissident faction.
All they ever spoke about was "protect, protect, protect."
After that it was either exile or extinction at the hands of the Supreme High Lord's cult, the Death Dragons.
(scowls)
Not to mention, Unity ended up with more people, more ships and more manufacturing centers.
It all came down to numbers in the end. It always does.
Never honor, just numbers.
ANITA
It didn't help that the Supreme High Lord sent LORD SORSANIS with the intent to destroy it.
Why?
M'KAIN
He wanted to make a point.
He wanted to use fear and he lost.
ANITA
So, after the retreat, what did you do?
M'KAIN
I killed.
The Supreme High Lord insisted on a scorched Earth policy.
THAT's when the Dawn Dragons finally switched sides.
ANITA
And you were a Dawn Dragon.
M'KAIN
Hell no. For years I fought on every front that lunatic dreamed up.
Our families paid for it.
ANITA
How?
M'KAIN
(closes his eyes)
Rambunctium Chain Warheads.
Refined, it's just unstable.
But a Chain Warhead... it's like a nuclear bomb that detonates all energy sources around it.
Imagine a mushroom cloud that can hunt you down.
It was like a sign that no one could escape. The Death Dragon cult become more fanatic. More widespread...
ANITA
Is that when he destroyed his own capital city on Draconis Prime?
M'KAIN
He was insane.
The zealotry got worse and worse, even as the Dragon Empire was falling apart.
By that time, most us knew he had to be stopped. The desertion rate was staggering, but, dammit, so were our losses.
In the end, most of the survivors went over to the Dawn Dragons. We joined the Unity.
ANITA
And ended the war by attacking your own homeworld.
M'KAIN
Got us shackled to Unity for the next 150 years. Maybe we deserved it, I dunno.
When Unity finally granted full amnesty and this so-called "independant vassal status" to the Dragons, most of us didn't really care anymore. Our honor was dead.
It died on Draconis Prime.
ANITA
So what about now?
How did a disgraced, disgruntled, disturbingly handsome mercenary get chosen to forge a top-line defense force out of Unity's own Forward 41st?
M'KAIN
(laughs it off)
Right back on track.
Ok, easy one.
I met GENERAL VORMIS at a political council years ago. He was a liaison for the Dawn Dragons assigned to Unity. I was a bodyguard for one of the diplomats from our side, SORSANIS. He was still with the Dusk Dragons, then, the other side, but smarting about his role in the attack on Earth.
They hated my guts, VORMIS and old, tired SORSANIS the diplomat, but I guess they liked what I used to protect them.
ANITA
And what did you use?
M'KAIN
Everything. Every damn thing we had left.
ANITA
Is that what you taught the 41st? Use everything you've got left?
M'KAIN
Sure. Anything we can think of. Comm scanners. Chamo Systems. Power Cells for your Jet Pack. Rations.
There's always something left.
ANITA
Word is the losses among the 41st are the lowest in that unit's history.
The lowest in the war so far, despite being in the thick of the fighting here on Hyserian III.
M'KAIN
No one gets out of my training facility without being tops, the very best, at both ranged and hand-to-hand techniques.
Everyone gets a shortsword, on completion of their training, but no one I train keeps it for long.
ANITA
I see.
M'KAIN
They get something better, more honorable.
Longsword. Falchion. Scimitar. Whatever says warrior to them.
That's what I ensure. The 41st are warriors, not mere soldiers.
A shortsword is the sword of a soldier.
But a warrior's sword stands for obedience, cunning and reckless courage.
ANITA
Some call it suicidal bravery.
M'KAIN
I call it embracing your destiny.
For that is our job.
We jump from perfectly serviceable orbital transports into Hell.
There is no greater moment.
ANITA
I guess it would be...
M'KAIN
When those men walked onto my training field, every one of them knew why they were there.
Every one of them had a chance to leave.
It's a lot to ask, laying your life on the line for someone who can't die.
ANITA
To walk in the shadows of a God.
M'KAIN
Not me. I'm more like a demi-god.
(she laughs)
What kind of God has to follow the commands of some higher-up that says he has to drop everything and do an interview?
ANITA
(flirtatiously again)
One that knows what heroes like?
M'KAIN
The chow here may not be high class, but it's good. Warrior food.
Would you like to see how an immortal eats?
ANITA
Sure.
I'd like to see how an immortal does everything.
It must be nice to know you'll have the time to... do it.... right.
M'KAIN
You can leave that guy here.
(the camera shuts off, ending the interview with static)
(After the burst of static, cut back in with a leisurely tracking shot down a row of soldier strapped into release pods, the jump deck of another Unity drop ship, only this one has seen better days. Establishing shots reveal that it is flying over the desert sands toward an un-wrecked Great Pyramid at Giza.)
SCENE: M'KAIN and DRAXON fight the shuttle full of Death Dragons shown in the first part of the episode. They defeat the rogue Dragon cult, despite the Death Dragons' use of Sand Beams and a Rambunctium Chain Bomb.
M'KAIN confronts the leader of the Death Dragons, who appears to be SERSONIS. However, M'KAIN finds QWERTY (from the high council scene) masquerading as SERSONIS and beheads the cybord. As QWERTY's head rolls away, a spare jolt of power allows it to gloat that it has accomplished its goals, as if it expected a dragon or, perhaps M'KAIN in particular, to behead it.
Back in the show's present, DRAXON finds the head and puts it in a burlap sack.
After an intense discussion, M'KAIN and DRAXON decide to recruit some help to aoid the inevitable hoy war.
That's pretty much what happened, except for the bits I accidentally left out or haven't got around to typing out, yet. There was a provocative and controversial whipping scene, for instance.
Back to the episode gude?