THE NEBULOUS SAGA
PART THREE: PEDDLER OF THE GALAXIES
Jesse attempts to escape the NEBULA using an emergency pod, but is caught in the act. The revelation of Jesse’s secret gives Dolion hope for a last chance to redeem his past wrongs. Cookie fears this newfound power may prove dangerous…an intuition Dolion ignores, blinded by his insatiable desire for vengeance. Can anyone prevent further calamity by Dolion’s hand?
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A mysterious stranger, Kalopsia, meets Dolion and Jesse on a strange planet called Holuvian. Threatened by Dolion, she flees – taking the stardust with her. Jesse pleads with Dolion to save her life, but is forced aside as Dolion takes up hot pursuit of the escaping peddler.
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The Nebulous Saga was written by Jane Maree, and produced by Magnus Carlssen.
Casting courtesy of Shogo Miyakita.
Part Three soundtrack courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
Sound design by H.M. Radcliff.
Cover art by Kirk DouPonce.
Part Two cast, in order of appearance:
Reginald West, as the Ancient One
Magnus Carlssen, as the Narrator
Rhys Lawton, as Captain Peter Dolion
Michael Malconian, as Jesse Keiffer
Shogo Miyakita, as Cookie
TRANSCRIPT:
INT - THE PIRATE SHIP NEBULA - NIGHT
DOLION is silhouetted against the curved windows of his
cabin. Behind him, a brilliant interstellar cloud glows in
the inky blackness. An enormous desk matches the sweep of the
window. Two lanterns sit on the desk like bookends, facing
the massive leatherbound journal sitting open.
He paces between the desk and the window, hands clasped
behind his back.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
The prisoner still refuses to talk.
Hands clasped behind my back, I
pace my cabin. Shutters dim the
starlight lanterns on my desk, but
the wide, paned window reveals the
sparkling view of a myriad of stars
to our stern. I can’t bring myself
to pull the blinds, lest I miss
some glimpse of pursuit.
It’s been ten days since I gave the
order to obliterate the Nova
Alliance’s trade station with our
cannons.
Ten days since I thought my
vengeance would be satisfied, my
parents avenged.
But still, it’s not enough. The
Nova Alliance took everything I
cared about, and I will not rest
until I take everything from them.
I pace to the window, staring out
at our stardust wake.
DOLION pauses, and all the depths of space seem to reflect in
his eyes. He is...searching.
After a moment, he recovers and resumes his pacing.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR) (CONT'D)
It’s been ten days, too, since we
fished Mister Kieffer out of the
void - wearing no mask or oxy-tank,
but somehow alive. I need to know
how he survived. Was it luck or
something more?
His silence suggests something
more.
And something more is exactly what
I need against the alliance. I’ve
tried everything I have, now I
need...more. Their trade station is
gone, but their poison runs deeper
than that. Nova officials and
soldiers are spread across the
galaxies. Somehow, I must destroy
every last one.
I pace to the cabin door, peering
through the dim pane to the
Nebula’s main deck. My breath fogs
the glass, but nothing stirs
beyond. The crew sleeps belowdecks.
It’s hard to tell the passage of
time away from a regular solar
system, but I can just make out the
digits on the mast’s atomic clock:
past midnight, standard galactic
time.
A shadow slides across the deck. My
hand drops to the pistol at my
belt.
Snatching up the nearest shuttered
starlight globe, I unlatch my door
quietly and slip out, following the
movement to the lifejets.
INT - THE PIRATE SHIP NEBULA - NIGHT
DOLION moves silently through the shadows. The shimmering
force-field of the giant air-lock over the deck casts an
eerie red glow, making him appear even more sinister and
ominous.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR) (CONT'D)
I stop in the shadow of the
foremast. A figure bends over one
of the lifejets, and the dull clink
of a lock warns me that he’s just
bypassed the security system that
only I have access to. I peer
closer. Actually, it looks like
he’s removed the seal-lock
completely, leaving the pod
unsecured but unsafe for space
travel.
Unless you can survive the void.
Drawing my pistol, I flick open the
lantern’s shutters, shedding pale
light across the scene.
Mister Kieffer ducks, but there’s
no shelter, and he crouches exposed
in the pool of starlight.
Resignation flickers in his eyes.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(GROWLING)
You're supposed to be in the brig.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
His jaw bunches as he straightens,
still holding the key. What fool
crewman let himself be pickpocketed?
JESSE KEIFFER
Worth a try.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
His blasted cockiness even in the
face of capture makes me snap. I
drop the lantern - it spins across
the deck in a dizzying flicker of
light - and lunge at Kieffer. I
grab his collar and throw him
against the lifejet.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(DEMANDING)
Who are you?!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Keiffer gasps, raising his hands,
but I shove my pistol under his
jaw.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(FURIOUSLY)
How did you survive?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I lean over him, teeth bared. His
gaze hardly shows a flash of fear.
JESSE KEIFFER
Why would I tell you? You killed
them all.
CAPTAIN DOLION
You care for the Alliance that
much?
JESSE KEIFFER
To the Void with the Novas! I'm not
with them!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
He surges against me. I stumble
back a pace, but he follows so
we're chest to chest. His eyes are
red-rimmed, but filled with rage.
Familiar rage.
JESSE KEIFFER
(SEETHING)
You killed my family.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Raw pain surges into my throat in a
roar, and I grab his shirt and
shove him against the mast.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(HISSING)
They killed mine. And for ten years
I have been making the alliance
pay, and I will not rest until I
have obliterated them.
JESSE KEIFFER
(SCOFFING)
The stories say you killed your own
parents to become the captain. You
were tired of being second place,
so you executed them--
CAPTAIN DOLION
(SHOUTING)
Liar!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I throw him to the deck and shove
my knee into his ribs. I jam the
pistol against his throat again.
COOKIE
Pete!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Strong hands grip my shoulders,
dragging me back.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(RAGING)
Release me!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I shake free, turning to face
Cookie's creased brow.
CAPTAIN DOLION
Stay out of this, old man!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Ever the quiet voice of reason, my
cook doesn't retreat.
COOKIE
(QUIETLY)
Lad, killing him won't do you no
good.
CAPTAIN DOLION
You're wrong.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I turn back to Kieffer as the
prisoner struggles to his knees.
Cookie grips my arm.
I cock my pistol, but Mister
Kieffer raises his hands,
shuddering.
JESSE KEIFFER
Please, don't...I'll tell you, I'll
tell you, okay?
CAPTAIN DOLION
(SHOUTING)
How did you survive in the void?
JESSE KEIFFER
Stardust!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
His shoulders slump. It must be
true, unless he's an expert actor.
I crouch, frowning as I spin my
pistol idly.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(TERSE)
Explain.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
He shakes his head but looks up
beneath the dirty strands of his
fringe.
JESSE KEIFFER
My parents were peddlers. We
traded anything, anywhere they’d
let us in. When I was a child, they
traded for some stardust. If you
have the right kind of stardust,
you can make a wish. One wish, and
it’ll never work for you again, no
matter how much dust you have.
CAPTAIN DOLION
And they wished that you wouldn't
die?
JESSE KEIFFER
Everyone has to die eventually.
They wished that the void wouldn't
take me like it did my brother.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
The sorrow that glistens in his
gaze is proof enough of the truth.
CAPTAIN DOLION
And you know where to find this
stardust?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
My knuckles whiten on my pistol.
Keiffer looks away.
JESSE KEIFFER
(QUIETLY)
The Interstellar city on Holuvian.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
His words lift a weight from my
chest, and I stand. Only one wish?
I only need one. I know instantly
what I will wish for.
COOKIE
Pete?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Concern lowers Cookie’s gentle
voice. I turn to him, resolve
pounding with each heartbeat.
CAPTAIN DOLION
Get the prisoner back in the brig
and make sure he stays there this
time. We sail for the Interstellar.