Act 3, Scene 1
Narrator: Terra’s uncle Prometheus has been missing for five years. His note reading “gone fishing” isn’t entirely a lie. His fish aren’t actual fish, they’re people. He has simply been doing what he does best – gathering people and inspiring them to overthrow the government. He has built a village in the Northern woods outside December with his disciples where they learn the skills necessary to defend themselves and defend their beliefs. The radio operator Flunk was correct – he’s been sending up audio flares from the village. He’s about to send up the biggest of them all when he gets a surprise visit.
[sniper rifle crack in the distance]
[villagers jump]
Mom villager: It’s just Cate.
Little kid: Isn’t she not supposed to play with guns?
Mom: She’s not playing. This is important. Now, shush.
Older kid: She’s the best shot in camp. I hope she gets rid of the Imperials once and for all.
Mom: Me, too. Now we wait.
Narrator: Meanwhile, Cate Anderson has just struck the motherlode. She’s in a party hunting Imperials with her spotter Ford Smythe, a kid named Knoll Stuart, and a cranky older gentleman named William Jay. She’s the best shot in camp and she just shot an Imperial squad leader in the head from what seems like two miles off.
Anderson, in a whisper: Smythe, get Jay and Stuart. I think we got Xerxes.
Smythe: Lemme look closer. [adjusts telescope] Well, I’ll be damned, Anderson. You got him, red shirt and all. All that huffin’ and puffin’ about “you’ll never catch me, you’ll never hit me” and down he goes.
Anderson: And how far off was he?
Smythe: That hill over there’s two mile. Damn good shootin’, Anderson.
Anderson: Thank ya. Grab the others. We’ve got some running to do.
Stuart: Two miles? You’re tellin’ me that you pegged Xerxes Farthing – the Xerxes Farthing – from two miles off?
Anderson: Yes. Smythe’ll vouch. Let’s get going. We’ve gotta catch up to them.
Stuart: We’re going after them?
Anderson: Yeah. Radio chatter indicates they’ve got the Imperial crown prince and Prometheus’ niece with ‘em. I would say no otherwise, but without us, they’re toast out here.
Stuart: ….okay.
Narrator: They return at sunup with two very exhausted people in tow – Terra Thompson Selene and Prince Basil.
Mom from before: Get Prometheus. Get him quick!
[Prometheus enters]
Prometheus: I am already here. After the stir, I couldn’t resist coming to look – Terra?!
Terra: Uncle….?
[Prometheus runs up and hugs her neck]
Prometheus: The Imperial prince, too?? To what do we owe the pleasure?
Basil: Please, just Basil. I’m Terra’s friend, for better or worse at this point, I suppose.
[Everyone kneels]
Basil: Please don’t. If you really feel like you need to do something, I could use a glass of water and a warm bed.
Same older kid: We can get you both.
Prometheus: I suppose I should let you rest before asking what’s gone on.
Basil: Yeah, probably.
Act 3, Scene 2
Narrator: It smelled like winter to Terra, and winter smelled like the past. She never liked that smell and it nearly brought her to tears every time she smelled it. It was one of the only smells that masked the smell of the future. Terra and Basil woke up the next morning, and it was clear and cold. Basil found her on the porch of the treehouse where they had crashed the night before, holding a steaming mug and crying softly.
[Basil knocks on the door and yawns]
Basil: Hey, Terra.
Terra, sniffling: Hey, Basil.
Basil: What’s wrong, friend?
Terra: N-nothing.
Basil: C’mon, talk to me. I can’t read your mind.
Terra: I can’t smell anything out here.
Basil: What do you mean? It smells nice out here.
Terra: I mean…I can’t tell you what’s to come. It smells too much like memories, I can’t tell you…I can’t…I don’t know what’s wrong with me…I feel broken. [sobs]
Basil: I think I know what you mean. Let me get you something more than this coat. I’ll be right back.
[Basil walks off and returns with a thick blanket, wrapping her in it]
Basil: You don’t have to be afraid to cry in front of me –
Terra: Can-can I have a hug?
Basil: Sure.
[They hug]
Terra: Do you have the energy to listen to me talk..? I know it’s been a long couple weeks.
Basil: Yes. That’s what friends are for. Thanks for asking.
[Terra takes a deep breath and cries out]
[Basil takes her hand]
Basil: Does it hurt to talk?
Terra: Mhmmm.
Basil: Let it out. I’ve got you. You’re safe here.
[Terra wails]
Narrator: Terra cries while Basil sits with her, waiting patiently. When she has cried as much as she needs to, she begins her story.
Terra: Okay, I think I’m ready..
Basil: Go ahead.
Terra: It’s really hard for me to talk about this. I don’t think I’ve ever really fully opened up about it to anyone before, but I’ll…I’ll try now.
Basil: Okay.
Terra: Many years ago, after you left the horse farm to “get an education”, [they laugh] I made a bad friend. His name was Tom Selene. He was 35 and I was 15. I thought that the things he did were okay because he said he loved me, got me extravagant gifts, supposedly treated me right, at least in my mind. I was 15, remember? Boy crazy, desperate. Desperate people do desperate things, Basil.. I felt unloved by my parents, who were more cold and calculating than the computers my dad worked on. So I latched onto the first person I could find, the first person who cared…Tom Selene. Against my parents’ wishes, we eloped. The last thing I said to my mother was “I hate you, I wish you’d die in a fire.” I..I got my wish…Tom had them killed. They died in a house fire. I swore revenge, and for seven years I wished he was dead. I, meanwhile, died the night he murdered my parents. There was nothing left for me, I thought. There was nothing left for me as he took what he wanted, hollowed me out…he took my innocence….he took it all except my body. That I could still use, at least..and on the first night of my 22nd year, I smelled lavender for the first time. I blacked out, but when I came to, I was wearing my wedding dress and it was covered in blood and I had a pair of scissors in my hand. I was in my uncle’s shelter, the Kitchen. He saved me…Prometheus saved me. I inherited a fortune, but it was meaningless. I paid for it with my sanity. I paid for it with all of me. I still have most of it. The things he did still keep me up at night, and today I smelled him, even though he’s been gone for 13 years… [sobs]
Basil: You’re very strong, Terra. I hope you know that. You’re safe with me.
Terra: I had to be strong for so long…thank you for listening and letting me be vulnerable.
Basil: Anytime.
Act 3, Scene 3
Narrator: Prometheus waits for his niece and her friend the prince. He’s been waiting to hear their tales eagerly and almost impatiently. Prometheus is not an impatient man, so this is out of character for him. He waits with the squad that rescued them.
Cate: When d’ya think they’ll come out?
Prometheus: I don’t know. I hope soon.
Cate: I daresay you’re impatient, Mr. Prometheus.
Prometheus: No. I have simply missed my niece.
Cate: Here they come!
[Terra and Basil enter]
Terra: Thank you for the hospitality, Uncle.
Basil: Yes, thank you.
Prometheus: You are most welcome! Have a seat, if you would like.
[Terra and Basil have a seat]
Cate, blurting out: Y’all seem like you’ve come a long way. How’d you end up with Little Farthing, anyhow?
Terra: We found our way out of Cormand MacDowell’s cave city under cover of darkness. We wandered around until we found ourselves in a big city. It was called December, I think, right, Basil?
Basil: Yeah. Big city in the north.
Terra: We were spotted by guardsmen for being out after curfew. They recognized Basil immediately and almost killed us on sight. We wouldn’t be here were it not for Xerxes Farthing, who figured it’d be smarter to deliver us up to his mom, Daria, who lived in Sunday, further south, who was a slave trader. She had connections to the Empire and could offer him up to the highest bidder. We made it to Sunday. I started to smell lavender, blacked out, and when I came to again, I was wearing a wedding dress covered in blood with scissors in my hand. Everyone was dead except for Xerxes and Basil. He gathered a new squad and marched us for days and days, chained to each other and guarded constantly. I could have killed them all, but Basil and my long sight said it was a bad idea. We came up through the woods and someone – I think it was one of you – shot that upstart in the head. That was the most satisfying part of it all.
Basil: Yeah, it was terrifying. I remember her smile and her dead eyes. This was not the woman I know. But that woman – that Terra – saved me.
Prometheus: Wow. And what of the Rebellion?
Terra: They’re making an army out of Cormand MacDowell.
All of Prometheus’ present cohort: What?!
Terra: Yeah…I saw it in a vision.
Prometheus: Your Majesty, what are your thoughts?
Basil: I’m the one that showed her the tanks. I’ve also had a vision..the same thing.
Prometheus: I trust you. What do you suggest we do.
Basil + Terra: Johana.
[long silence]
Prometheus: Come with me.
Narrator: Prometheus takes all of them to a radio tower room. On a series of monitors is information about…everything.
[door opens]
[Prometheus shuts door behind him]
Prometheus: Little Flunk’s about to get the shock of his life.
[click]
[punching numbers]
[dial tone]
Prometheus: Prometheus to the Kitchen, do you copy?
Flunk: P-Prometheus? I-I copy.
Prometheus: Yes. Flunk, I presume?
Flunk: Yessir.
Prometheus: I need you to gather all the resources you can and get yourselves over here. This is a scrambler, unscramble the line and you’ll find us. Empire’s probably listening.
Flunk: Yessir, right away…[muffled typing] We’ll be there in 10 hours. Hope you’ve got lotsa space..
Prometheus: Got plenty. See you soon. [hangs up]
Prometheus: You six are dismissed. I have…work to do.
Cate: Yessir.
Narrator: They leave and Prometheus slumps over on his desk. After a time he scans the airwaves as he does every night for a special sequence of sounds.
Prometheus: Johana…please be out there somewhere..
[static on various frequencies]
Prometheus: We agreed we’d see each other again after the war. That war is over, this one is just starting. I need you now more than ever. Theo needs you.
Simon, over radio: “No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.”
Prometheus: I’ll be damned. The War of the Worlds. The blasted Rebellion did it. They made the deep jump.[clicks on mic] “With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable…” [he trails off] To whom am I speaking?
Simon: Simon Coal, sir.
Prometheus: It’s a pleasure to hear you, Mr. Coal. How long have you been here?
Simon: Four weeks and a day. Requesting permission to jump to you, sir.
Prometheus: Permission granted so long as crusty old Marsh gives the okay.
Simon: He does, sir. With me are Balasi Ochoa, General Jason Belisarius, and…Theo Eistros. Making the jump in 3, 2, 1….
[pop]
[static]
[dull thud]
Simon, muffled: You first, love.
[door opens]
[Theo taps Prometheus on the shoulder]
Theo, in a whisper: Dad! [she sobs and hugs him]
Prometheus: Theo..Oh, Theo…
Act 3, Scene 4
Narrator: After Theo and the group made the jump to the December base, Theo had many questions. Thankfully, her dad had many answers… except to one of her questions. They went into the kitchen of one of the treehouses and Prometheus and Terra began to cook for the new arrivals, including the population of the Kitchen that would arrive in nine hours. It hurts for Theo to talk, so Prometheus and Theo begin talking in sign language. In Sign, Theo asks:
Theo: Where have you been?
Narrator: Prometheus replies with:
Prometheus: Here. Gathering reinforcements for the Kitchen. I never thought it would take so long. Please forgive me.
Narrator: Theo asks her next question:
Theo: I heard Marsh say something about a jewel fragment by the Imperial base. What on earth is a jewel fragment?
Narrator: Prometheus pauses, then signs back:
Prometheus: It’s the same type of thing that burned me. Keeps the gods alive. Only this one’s from the God Emperor’s twin sister. The God Emperor broke it into three parts to banish her. Legend says that only the Hero can put them back together in the proper way. Anyone else’s touch will cause mass destruction.
Narrator: Theo is taken aback. She signs back in a fury:
Theo: What happens when I put them together? Why did no one tell me that that was my job?
Narrator: Simon has been studying what they are doing with their hands and gets the hang of it. So he interjects:
Simon: We did research on this before making the deep jump. Something about your touch and intention will change the course of the world. We have reason to suspect that it’ll cause some kind of cataclysm if the Empire gets all three pieces first.
Narrator: Theo is shocked. She signs back to Simon:
Theo: Simon, you know Sign? And again, why did no one tell me it was my job?
Narrator: Simon hangs his head and signs back:
Simon: I’m sorry, hero. I thought you knew already.
Theo is now pissed. She signs to both of them:
Theo: Forget it. I’m going away now.
Prometheus and Simon, aloud: Theo!
[screen door slams]
[heavy footsteps]
[Theo cries]
[Prometheus sighs]
Simon: I’m going after her.
Prometheus: Are you sure that’s a good idea?
Terra: It is. He needs to see this.
Narrator: Simon follows after Theo, but Theo is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, there’s a boom that sounds like something breaking the sound barrier. A rock hits a nearby tree, exploding and knocking it over. Simon looks up and there’s Theo, some 50 feet in the air, floating and priming another sonic rock.
Simon: Hero!
Theo: Leave me alone!
Simon, bellowing: Theo Eistros!
Theo: Simon Coal! I said to leave me alone! Go away!
[another sonic boom]
[distant crash]
Simon: You’re gonna destroy the damn forest! Come down right now.
Theo: No! When I said I was a ball of rage, I meant it!! Let me rage.
Simon: Then bring me up there with you.
[slight whoosh]
Simon: Holy – I’m flying – don’t like this – no! [Simon screams]
Theo: You happy now, Si?
Simon, taking deep, steadying breaths: Yeah…actually, I am.
Theo, breathing deeply, too: How do you feel about hunting?
Simon: Haven’t hunted in years. What do you have in mind?
Theo: Let’s go see what they have..
[flying noises]
Theo: I see some deer..
Simon: Love, how do you plan on hauling one of those back –
[Ice crystalizes in Theo’s hand]
[Theo throws ice crystal spear at the biggest deer in the herd]
[Deer death sounds]
[More whooshing sounds]
[Simon is silent except for breathing]
Simon: …you just killed a huge deer with a high speed ice crystal.
Theo: And now we’re gonna take it back to base.
Simon: Oh, oh, no. You’re lifting me and a massive deer carcass?
Theo: Yes, is that a problem?
Simon: ….no!
Theo: Then let’s get a move on.
[whooshing sounds]
Act 3, Scene 5
Narrator: Terra and Prometheus are cooking still and worrying about Theo and Simon, especially after they hear the sonic booms. Terra reassures the others that everything will be okay and Prometheus reluctantly trusts her. They’re about to come look for them when…
Theo: Open up, it’s the police!
[Terra goes to the door and sees Theo and Simon and the deer]
[Terra laughs]
Terra: Why am I not surprised? Uncle, you have to see this.
Prometheus: What in the name of Old Earth is that?
Terra: What it looks like.
Prometheus: Okay…we need to get this in here now. Terra, you good with cleaning duty??
Terra: Sure thing.
Prometheus: Are you two going to explain yourselves?
[Theo is silent]
Simon: She can fly.
Theo: Apparently I can fly.
Simon: What do you mean “apparently”, hero?? She took me with her.
[Prometheus is stunned]
Prometheus: Be careful, all I can say. Theo, you’re very talented. Go easy on Mr. Coal.
[Simon chuckles awkwardly]
Simon: Thanks, Mr. Prometheus.
Prometheus: Speaking of which, may I speak to you in private for a moment?
Simon: S-sure, definitely.
Prometheus, smile in his voice: Please don’t worry, Mr. Coal. You’re not in trouble. Everyone, please step out for a moment.
[room clears]
Prometheus: I know I haven’t been the most present of fathers for the last few years, but Theo means the world to me. I can tell that you care about her deeply, as well. Because of this, I have a question for you. Please answer honestly. What are your intentions with my daughter?
Simon, quietly: I want to marry her, sir.
Prometheus: Very well. I had a hunch that was it. She’s in love with you, too, she doesn’t realize it yet.
Simon: Really?
Prometheus: I know my daughter. She’ll come around soon. When she does, I give you my blessing.
Simon: T-thank you, sir.
Prometheus: Anytime. Go join the others, they’re starting to eavesdrop.
Simon: Yessir.
[Simon leaves]
Prometheus, to himself: Simon Coal from Home. I would have never thought. What a strange new world this shall be. Very strange, indeed.
Act 3, Scene 6
Narrator: Following his conversation with Prometheus, Simon rejoins the others. Theo is zooming through the air, much to the surprise of everyone below. Simon grins and enjoys the moment.
Simon: Hey, hero!
Theo: Hey, sidekick! Cate!! Gimme one of your bullets!
[Cate throws bullet and Theo catches it]
[Theo spins bullet up and sends it through the forest and into the head of a passing Imperial]
Theo: Gimme six more.
[Theo launches them, killing the rest of the Imperial squad]
Theo: That should keep them away for a bit.
Cate: Keep who away…?
Theo: Imperial squad. Now, there’s a large group of people that are about 7 hours away by plane, I’ve got air support.
Simon: Bad idea.
Theo: Why?
Simon: You’re not invincible. Just because you can chuck rocks and fly doesn’t make you capable of taking on any sort of Imperial air squadron.
Theo: Fine. I’ll stay here unless I’m needed.
Narrator: As the hours pass, it begins to get dark, clouds pregnant with a fresh load of snow obscuring the feeble winter sun. Theo starts getting nervous and paces around her treehouse until she finally decides that enough is enough – she is going to go check on them. So she bids Simon goodbye and takes off. After a nervous night, Simon hears a knock at his treehouse door. There is Theo, covered in blood. She collapses in his arms.
Simon: Theo? Theo! Can you hear me?
[Silence]
Simon: Someone – anyone – please help!
[Prometheus and Terra come running]
Terra: She’s gone dark…I can’t see her future anymore.
Prometheus: Shh, let me check her vitals. She’s got a pulse still. Let’s get her out of the blasted cold.
[They carry her to the medic treehouse]
Prometheus: Terra…sing.
[Terra sings shakily]
Simon: Is she gonna be okay?
Prometheus: I…I don’t know. Can you see if Flunk made it?
Simon: Yessir.
[Simon leaves and returns with Flunk]
Flunk: Flunk reporting for duty..
Prometheus, very quietly: What happened?
Flunk: It involved a lot of shrapnel and a sort of space tornado. We think she opened a rift to another universe and shoved an entire Imperial squadron inside of it. She-she saved us. We owe her everything.
Prometheus: ….you’re kidding. That’s not possible.
Flunk: We saw it with our own eyes. Ask the others.
[Prometheus whistles under his breath]
Prometheus: The last person to command the Blackness died 43 years ago.
Flunk: Who was that?
Prometheus: The God-Emperor himself. It’s up to her now.
Simon: What do you mean?
Prometheus: She invited it…now she has to introduce herself.
Act 3, Scene 7
Narrator: Theo is in total darkness.
God Emperor’s voice, fading in: Hello, granddaughter.
Theo: What? Where am I?
God Emperor: The Blackness. The thing you seem to have inherited my mastery of.
Theo: Who are you?
God Emperor: Your grandfather. Call me Twine.
Theo: Twine? That’s some name.
God Emperor: I was – am – some being.
Theo: You’re still alive?
God Emperor: Yes. Banished to a far corner of the universe, but yes. What my son [spits] won’t tell you was that I went quietly…like my twin sister.
Theo: But you…you’re evil, right?
God Emperor: You’re only evil if you’re wrong. Which is what your sister doesn’t understand. Only a Master of the Blackness knows that. And she will never master the Blackness unless she puts my twin sister’s jewel fragments together. I hid them for a reason, Granddaughter.
Theo: Why?
God Emperor: So that people like her wouldn’t find them. So that people like my son wouldn’t find them.
Theo: Marsh is a nutcase, yes.
God Emperor: He is the one you should fear. He is the evil one. Kira is simply misguided…and will continue to be unless you and your mother and father get to her. Tell her that her Grandfather and the Blackness sent you.
Theo: What happens if they find the jewel fragments?
[God Emperor chuckles]
God Emperor: That’s for you to decide, my dear. I have but one question for you. Who are you?
Theo: Theo Eistros.
God Emperor: Who are you, really?
Theo: I am lost.
God Emperor: Look inside you! WHO ARE YOU?
Theo: I am nothing.
God Emperor, bellowing: THEODORA EISTROS!! WHO ARE YOU?
Theo: I am anger. I am joy. I am the sadness at the bottom of my heart. I am lost. I am found. I am…everything. I am infinite. I am God. That is who I am, Twine.
God Emperor, whispering: You may go now. Have my jewel as a token of my appreciation. Godspeed, Granddaughter.
Act 3, Scene 8
Narrator: Although Theo’s time in the Blackness felt like mere moments to her, three days have passed in the physical realm. Simon has been waiting rather impatiently for news of how she’s doing. One time he’s in the room and there’s a jewel on a chain around her neck that wasn’t there before.
Simon: Mr. Prometheus! You’ve gotta see this!
Prometheus, entering the room: What is it??
Simon: That necklace wasn’t on her last time, was it?
Prometheus: Don’t touch that.
Simon: What is it?
Prometheus: A Khairos Device. That’s how I got these burns…touched one of those. The same one, it looks like.
Simon: A what-what?
Prometheus: It makes the one it chooses immortal. This one belonged to the God Emperor himself and must have chosen her. She did it…she won. The Blackness knows her now and she knows it. Look.
[crackling sounds]
Simon: Her wounds are healing…Can you hear me, hero?
[Theo stirs]
Theo: Simon…? Where am I? What happened?
[Simon sobs and runs to her side]
[Cate peers in]
Prometheus: Let’s give them a moment, shall we?
[They all leave except for Simon]
Theo: The last thing I remember is a battle in the sky..
Simon: I told you to not take on an Imperial air squadron by yourself, sweet girl!! You defeated them, but you almost died in the process – I almost lost you..
Theo: You’re not losing me again. I have my necklace now.
Simon: Who gave you that? Do you know??
Theo: My grandfather did.
Simon: Grandfather?
Theo: The God Emperor.
Simon: You talked with him?
Theo: Yes. He gave this to me. It chose me – it healed me. I don’t think I’ll die…ever. I know what you’re thinking –
Simon + Theo: We can be together forever.
Simon: …do you like that idea?
Theo: Yes.
Simon: I like it, too. I don’t ever want to leave your side. Theo, I love you.
Theo: I love you, too, Simon. I’m hungry, can we go grab food?
Simon: Sure, love.
Theo: Can I ride on your shoulders?
Simon: Of course. Be careful, though. I don’t care that you wield the power of a God, you can probably still feel pain and I don’t like that idea.
Theo: I’ll be careful..
[She gets on Simon’s shoulders and they leave]
Act 3, Scene 9
Narrator: In the south of the world, Supreme Commander Kira Eistros has been beset by her nightly sadness. This time, however, it feels deeper. She hasn’t yet heard the news of her squadron’s defeat, but she can feel that something has happened in her bones. So she paces up and down the halls waiting for news. After nothing comes, she sits down and watches Earth cartoons. As she gets up to pop popcorn, an aide runs up.
[cartoon noises in the background]
[Popcorn popping]
[Kira hums]
[Shoes clicking on the floor]
Aide: Supreme Commander!
Kira: Y-Yes?
Aide: We have news…it’s not good.
Kira: What kind of “not good”?
Aide: It’s your sister.
Kira: You found her?
Aide: Drew her out, yes. But she appears to have the same ability as your grandfather…she shoved the entire squadron into some sort of black portal. She came up from the woods near December, ma’am.
Kira: Impossible…what was she flying in? Does she have any of the jewel fragments?
Aide: Unknown on both counts.
Kira: I want December destroyed. Burned to the ground. Raze the forest, sow it with salt. Give my sister to me on a silver platter, if you must. Also…
Aide: Yes?
Kira: Unleash the kerame.
Narrator: Calypso Andersen is sitting at her desk when Kira barges in.
Calypso: Supreme Commander? What’s going on?
Kira: December must be destroyed.
Calypso: …what?
Kira: December must be destroyed.
Calypso: May I ask…why?
Kira: Make a show of it for the Rebels. If they are in the city, they will be crushed. If they aren’t, surely they will come to their aid. In either case, December will be made an example of what not to do to me. And I want my sister.
Calypso: I saw the footage, ma’am…Theo Eistros is incredibly powerful.
Kira: So am I. Let’s give her a taste of her own medicine.
Calypso: Okay…
Act 3, Scene 10
Narrator: It’s a week later. December Base suspects an impending attack, but doesn’t know when one will come. It’s been suspiciously quiet on the airwaves lately and Cate and Theo have diligently kept the area clear of Imperial patrols, while Prometheus has been making arrangements to get Cormand’s tunnel city moved to December Base in case of one such ambush. The move is in progress and Simon is about to ask a very important question. They are in the woods in a secluded clearing.
Simon: I know you probably know what I’m thinking right now.
Theo: Maybe. But it could be any number of things..
[Simon gets down on one knee]
Simon: Theodora Eistros.
Theo: Simon…what?
Simon: Theodora Eistros, my hero, I love you and I want to spend the rest of our long lives together. Will you…will you marry me?
Theo, crying: Yes!! Yes, of course!
[Simon pulls out a ring and slips it on her finger]
Theo: It’s solid blue!
Simon: Yeah, you said you wanted a stone from Home. I had a ring made out of a stone I found just before we made the deep jump. It matches your Khairos Device.
Theo: I love it. Come fly with me, my love.
[They fly off into the air]
[a distant boom shatters the peaceful silence]
Theo: What was that?
Simon: Sounds like a bomb..
Theo: Let’s fly above the forest –
[Trees rattle and sway violently]
Simon: Don’t.
[closer explosion]
[series of explosions growing closer]
Theo: We need to go back to base. Something’s coming.
Narrator: They make it back to camp a second too late. Firebombs start falling on the base. Then, out from the trees, thirteen ceramic men the size of Simon walk in and surround them. Theo’s powers don’t work.
[One of the ceramic men picks Simon up and throws him out of the circle]
[Theo tries to fly out of the circle and fails]
[One of the ceramic men grabs Theo]
Theo: IMPERIALS!
[ceramic man covers her mouth]
Voice in Theo’s head: Shhh.
Theo: Who are you? Don’t tell me to shush!
Voice: Would you talk to your mother like that?
Theo: I’ve never met my mother.
Voice: Well, you have now. [giggles]
[Ceramic person shoots the twelve others]
Voice: Johana Ceres Eistros. Pleased to finally meet you. You should be able to fly now. There’s still time, gather the others.
[Terra comes around the corner wearing a wedding dress soaked in blood and scissors in hand]
Johana: Who’s that??
Theo: My cousin, who thinks it’s acceptable to bring scissors to a gunfight.
[Terra throws scissors at a pursuing Imperial soldier]
[death sounds]
Cate, from a tree: Don’t think you’re gettin’ rid of me, partner.
Theo: Come down here, then!
[Cate hops down]
Cate: I’m outta ammo. Gimme a minute.
[Imperial soldiers attempt to charge from the woods and get stuck in a trap]
[Cate stabs them and takes their ammo, weapons, and an Imperial coat while whistling]
Cate: Catherine Anne Anderson reporting for duty. [Cocks space rifle]
Theo: Mhmmm.
[Bel comes running with several high powered laser rifles to the radio room, which is on fire]
[Radio roof crumbles with a groan]
Bel: Prometheus is in there, Kalah is in the Tunnel City-
Johana, still in the form of thoughts: He won’t be for long.
[Roof groans again]
Prometheus, brushing fire off him: Johana?!
Johana: Prometheus!
[Clunky running to meet each other]
Prometheus: I thought you were gone, I thought you’d given up..
Johana: On you? Never. Of course I came back. Are you kidding me?
Prometheus: Not kidding, my love. Never kidding.
Simon, straining from lifting an object too big for even him: Hey, hero…found this.
Theo: Simon?? You’re okay?
Simon: Nothing keeps me down, love. Check this out.
[Large blast]
Simon: Cool, isn’t it?
Basil, darting out from a corner: December.
Terra: You saw it, too?
Basil: We have to warn the others.
Prometheus: The Tunnel City’s gone dark.
Theo: Wait. What?
Prometheus: We’ve lost contact with the Tunnel City. Probably because –
[Low boom, rumble, followed by two or three more]
Terra and Basil: We were just the beginning.
[More booms]
Prometheus: It’s up to them now.
Act 3, Scene 11
Narrator: The area goes quiet for hours…eerily quiet. Nothing is heard from the Tunnel City or December. Nothing is on the airwaves. Theo and Cate go and scout while Prometheus and Johana catch up and inspect the damage.
Cate: Hear anything?
Theo: Nope. Can’t sense anything, either.
Cate: That is, except for your dad and mom talking?
Theo: Yeah, figured I’d give them space.
Cate: Can you sense all the way out to December?
Theo: Not quite. But I know something terrible happened there.
Cate: What happened?
Theo: They dropped something big – It’s like I felt the entire city take its last breath and fall silent.
Cate: Damn… Anything from the Tunnel City before it went dark?
Theo: Only a few words, but I’m convinced it was just my imagination: “Hanno! Lights out!”
Cate: Who’s Hanno?
Theo: A friend of mine.
Cate: So if what you heard was real, did they go dark on purpose?
Theo: We’ll have to see.
Chaplain on comm pin: Theo Eistros, do you copy?
Theo: I do copy. It’s good to hear your voice, Chaplain.
Chaplain: Likewise, I’m fortunate to have made it out of there alive.
Theo: Where are you?
Chaplain: Look down.
Theo: Oh…
[horses whinny, crowd chatter]
Chaplain, laughing: Get that girl you’re with to quit pointing her gun in my general direction and we’ll be good.
Theo: You might wanna put your gun up. The Chaplain doesn’t like it pointed at them.
Cate: Who…?
Theo: The tallest of the bunch.
Cate: How tall is that person?
Theo: Taller than 10 feet.
Cate: Whoa.. And how did they sneak up on us?
Chaplain: Nobody expects you when you’re hiding in plain sight. Or when they do, you have an entire clone army to attack them.
Theo: Clone army…?
Chaplain: You’ll see. Come down.
[They scramble down from their hiding spot]
Chaplain: MEN!
[Seventy Cormands shout “yes, Chaplain”?]
Chaplain: Who are we?
The Seventy: The Seventy!
Chaplain: Where does your loyalty lie?
The Seventy: Heir and hero!
[Chaplain chuckles]
Chaplain: I stole an army.
Narrator: Some time later.
Theo: So let me get this straight. You stole Marsh’s army of Cormands and trained them to fight for you?
Chaplain: You’re not quite correct there – they’re at your service and Cormand’s. Cormand would not use them wisely. So they are yours for the taking.
Theo: I don’t need seventy clones at my beck and call..
Chaplain: The time may come when you will. Oh, you’re in for a treat, by the way. Seventy, please bring our guest to the Hero.
Seventy: Yes, Chaplain.
[Shuffle as they bring Kira to Theo. Kira is bound and tied to a shield]
Theo: Kira?
Kira: Untie me. We’ll go. We can go all day.
Theo: That’s not very nice of you.
Kira: Who ever said I was “nice”? I’m…I’m evil!
Theo: Not evil. You’re trying too hard.
Kira: I’m right!
Theo: About what? Destroying a city just to spite a rebellion you know next to nothing about? You wouldn’t have found us were it not for that mysterious cave dweller in Sunday. Who is he?
Kira: Nobody.
Theo: Just as I thought. Untie her.
All present: What?
Theo: You heard me. She’s our guest. We don’t keep guests tied to shields, do we?
[grumbling]
Theo: You heard me.
[They untie her]
Theo: Hey, Kira.
Kira: Yeah?
Theo: Grandfather sends his regards.
[stunned silence]
Kira: You’ve talked to him?
Theo: Yeah, his jewel – Khairos Device – is the pendant on my necklace.
Kira: What…how?
Theo: Trust me. You don’t want to know. Let’s get you a place to stay. Hey, Dad!
Prometheus: Theo! Who’s this young lady?
Theo: This is Kira, my sister. Can we find her a place to stay for the night?
Kira: Why are you being so nice to me?
Theo: Kindness can save a life.
Johana: Kira…
Kira: Mom…?
[Kira runs to hug Johana]
Kira: Why are you wearing that?
Johana: Long story.
Kira and Theo: We have a long time.