Storyline Pt. 3

MUSIC - LEFTFIELD - RINO’S PRAYER

[THE SCENE OPENS WITH VARIOUS SHOTS OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN A SMALL ISLAND VILLAGE. SUN IS SHINING, BUTTERFLIES LAND ON SOME FLOWERS IN A GARDEN, A GENTLE BREEZE BLOWS THROUGH THE SWAYING BEACH GRASS ON THE SHORE OF A GORGEOUS ISLAND VILLAGE, THE PASEO SKYLINE IN THE DISTANCE. A BIRDS EYE VIEW OF A HYDROFOIL SKIMMING ACROSS THE WATER, TWO MEN IN THE CABIN OF THE CRAFT ARE DRESSED IN PASEO UNIFORMS. THE VOICE OF THE PILOT OF THE HYDROFOIL CAN BE HEARD SAYING “WE’RE APPROACHING UZA. DOCKING IN 5 MINUTES.” THE SCENE CUTS TO ELENA, WHO IS OUTSIDE HANGING CLOTHES TO DRY. A SHOT FROM A DISTANCE SHOWS THE TWO MEN APPROACHING HER AS SHE’S HANGING HER CLOTHES. SHE STOPS WHEN SHE SEES THEM. THEY WALK UP TO HER, AND TELL HER SOMETHING. THERE IS A BRIEF PAUSE WHERE NOBODY MOVES A MUSCLE. ONLY THE CLOTHES CAN BE SEEN GENTLY SWAYING IN THE SILENCE. THE TWO MEN BOW SLIGHTLY TO SAY GOODBYE, AND BEGIN WALKING AWAY. ELENA DOES NOT MOVE AT ALL. THE CAMERA SLOWLY ZOOMS AS THEY WALK AWAY. THE SCENE CUTS TO A CLOSE UP OF ELENA LOOKING UP AT THE SKY TRYING TO HOLD BACK TEARS, EVEN THOUGH THEY BEGIN STREAMING DOWN HER FACE. SHE CLOSES HER EYES, PUSHING MORE TEARS OUT, AND THE CAMERA RISES UP LIKE A DRONE, FLOATING ABOVE THE ISLAND VILLAGE UNTIL IT’S FOCUSED ON THE CITY SKYLINE IN THE BACKGROUND, THE HYDROFOIL SKIMMING ACROSS THE WAVES BACK TO PASEO]

[TITLE SCREEN]

The scene opens with Eckley at work at the Paseo facility. He is overseeing the status of the various maintenance systems that are in charge of maintaining the planet. He goes to see his supervisor at his station, and notices that Elena has returned to work. Elena used to be Eckley’s supervisor, but when the search for her father was called off, she was told to take some leave to grieve, and she hasn’t been back since. This current supervisor filled in for her in the meantime. Now that she is back, Eckley looks like he has seen a ghost. It was Elena’s FOB that he stole to give to Lijho to see what he could find on the Nebula project. Now that she is back, she will no doubt be looking for it, and how will he avoid being suspected as taking it? Elena can’t seem to find it, so she asks Eckley what happened to it. He obviously plays dumb, so she says it’s no big deal, maybe she just forgot where she put it, but with everything going on it’s no wonder. She says she will have a new one activated. Eckley has managed to dodge a bullet this time.

The scene cuts to Lijho, who has finally stumbled upon what the Nebula project really is. The Nebula project was a secret Exodus project the Paseo executed when they discovered that the star at the center of their solar system, the Paseo star, was about to go supernova. It was estimated that they had about 5 years until the first phase of the star going supernova began, so Elena’s father, Dr Holt, was tasked with using his knowhow to discover a new system that could either currently harbor life, or could be terraformed to harbor life. A system was discovered, so a recon mission was set up to go explore the system in person to assess the planets. Even though the planets appeared to be uninhabited currently, they also appear to have been inhabited at one time. Relics and remains of an ancient, and far more advanced civilization remain across the planets in the system. Most of the planets already are able to harbor life for the people of the Paseo system, so the team returned to Paseo to report their discovery. A second mission was initiated, this time carrying several scientists, botanists, environmental specialists, terraforming experts, to go and actually construct temporary habitations to terraform, and prepare the planets to be able to optimally harbor life for the people of the Paseo to begin their exodus to the new system. Domed cities were constructed, and progress went well. The new system, having 14 planets, was ready for the inhabitants of the Paseo to begin the first phase of migration, when all communication with the new system was suddenly lost. Transmissions were sent, but no return transmissions were ever received. A special task force reconaissance mission was sent to inspect the planets and find out why communication was lost with the inhabitants of the new system. The recon ships entered low orbit over the planets, and found the domed cities, but what appeared to be no obvious signs of life. Despite numerous efforts, the recon teams were unable to establish communication with the inhabitants of the planets, they reported back to the Paseo their findings. A rescue mission was sent to find and retrieve the inhabitants of the planets in the new system, but when they arrived on the planets’ surfaces, not a single person was ever found. Because their spacecrafts were still on the surface, the rescue teams knew that they had obviously not left the planet on their own, but something must have happened to the inhabitants. After several weeks of search and exploration, the Paseo made the decision to end the rescue mission and deem it unsuccessful. Nobody, including Dr. Holt was ever heard from again. Because no obvious signs of trouble or any other issue that presented an obvious threat to life was ever discovered on any of the planets in the new system, the system was considered to be still safe to colonize for the inhabitants of Paseo.

The Nebula project that projected the Paseo star had about 5 years until it began to go supernova happens to be dated about 3 years ago. A subsequent report was also discovered by the teams aboard the artificial satellites that show that the timeline was a little too optimistic, and the star has, in fact, already begun to die. It is 20% larger in size, and the subsequent gravity has overwhelmed the Plate Centers on the planets, which are working at full capacity just to keep the planets from tearing apart. Some form of expedited escape plan must be taken care of, or more people will die on the planets when the star goes supernova. As a result, a national lottery has been proposed to determine which people are able to board the spacecraft that will safely take them to the new system. People with skills that are deemed essential or beneficial to helping the societies colonize the new planets are automatically exempt from the lottery, but the remaining spaces in the escape crafts will be allotted by the lottery system.

When Lijho realizes this, he realizes he has to tell Eckley right away, or they could be at serious risk to be left behind when the time comes to leave Paseo and head to the new system. Eckley, working for the Paseo already, will more than likely already be exempt from the lottery, which means he will also more than likely be allowed to take Lijho with him. Nonetheless, Lijho must immediately show Eckley his discovery.