THE NEBULOUS SAGA
PART TWO: TYRANT OF THE VOID
Dolion wrestles with the implications of his attack on the Nova Alliance’s Trade Station, as he discovers no peace in the aftermath of its destruction. Unwilling passenger Jesse Keiffer finds himself unwillingly allied with his own enemy…setting in motion a series of events that will change Dolion’s life forever.
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NEXT WEEK: Dolion learns the secret to Jesse’s mysterious ability. Afraid of the implications of Dolion’s unquenchable thirst for vengeance, Jesse attempts to escape the NEBULA. Cookie prevents a murder on board…and in doing so, may have saved the lives of countless people.
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The Nebulous Saga was written by Jane Maree, and produced by Magnus Carlssen.
Casting courtesy of Shogo Miyakita.
Part Two 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
Shogo Miyakita, as Cookie
Michael Malconian, as Jesse Keiffer
TRANSCRIPT:
INT - THE PIRATE SHIP NEBULA - DAY
The Nova Alliance's planet-sized TRADE RING, a monumental
accomplishment and the biggest engine of economic advance in
centuries, looms large ahead of the pirate ship NEBULA. A
hazy cloud of debris expands in the space between them - the
remains of the Ring's defensive fleet. The space between the
trade ring and the Nebula is clear. Time seems to slow to a
standstill.
The magnitude of the moment is heavy as Dolion prepares a
jugular blow to civilization as we know it. The Nebula glides
inexorably forward, a behemoth of death.
Torpedoes away.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I savor the moment as our cannons
fire on the bustling trade ring.
The void of space swallows any
sound as red flashes shoot from our
guns and streak for the alliance’s
heart. The time for my vengeance
has come at last.
The blast turns the huge ring-shaped
trade station into space dust in mere
seconds. The shockwave sends the
Nebula’s deck reeling, and Cookie
stumbles. I catch his shoulder before
he falls.
Shrapnel shreds the skull flag at
the masthead, and fragments shear
through our oxygen bubble and
scatter across the deck. A shard
slices along my cheekbone, but I
don’t flinch.
The enormous solar sail suffers damage in gaping holes as
detrius from the Ring's explosion shreds through it like a
cat's claws. The energy shockwave from the explosion sends
the ship GROANING and SHRIEKING from the instant
counter-acceleration.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR) (CONT'D)
Instead, I wait—for the satisfaction,
for the relief that will surely
come any moment now. I’ve finally
avenged my parent’s deaths. But...why
does the familiar, gaping hole still
tear my chest from the inside out?
DOLION stands at mid-deck, his scarf and coat-tails floating
gently in the low gravity. Aside from COOKIE at his side, he
stands apart from the crew and seems very much alone, as he
wrestles with his inner demons in the wake of what they have
done.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR) (CONT'D)
I release Cookie to grab the
railing as my knees threaten to
buckle. This cannot have been
worthless. Thousands of lives, now
nothing but shattered rubble in the
cold void—because of me.
No. No! Where is the victory?
COOKIE
Pete, lad.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Cookie touches my shoulder, but I
jerk away.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(GROWLING, ANGRY)
It's not enough.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I must have vengeance before the
guilt tears my soul apart.
Turning from the weathered ship’s
cook, I march onto the [bridge]. My
heavy FOOTSTEPS are the only sound
in the eerie, inaudible destruction
as I mount the stairs to the
tiller.
CAPTAIN DOLION
To your stations!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I grip the worn wheel, glaring at
the spreading debris. Burnt
stardust glows red against the
darkness of space beyond.
The emptiness of space looks like a field of red fireflies.
Specks of stardust wink all around the ship as the Nebula
slowly slides through the debris field.
There is so much stardust floating that the ship is bathed in
a morbid red glow.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR) (CONT'D)
Crewmen jump to the ropes, storing
the harpoons on deck and the
cannons below. Only the tattered
flag at the mast betrays the
Nebula’s identity.
I guide the ship away from the
worst of the wreckage. The
automatic sealing system won’t be
able to stop a huge oxygen leak if
one of these massive pieces of
steel shrapnel collides with our
hull.
Starlight gleams on a nearby slab
of wreckage, a section of a wall
from the trade station, emblazoned
with the whirlpool symbol of the
Nova Alliance. The emblem is barely
recognizable—a ghostly reminder of
what I’ve done to the agreement of
peace the Nova were settling when
our cannons sent them to oblivion.
But their idea of peace is a mere
charade, though few seem to realize
it. How can they speak of peace
when they are responsible for the
deaths of my parents?
COOKIE
How long d'you think you can keep
this up, lad?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Cookie leans against the rail
halfway up the deck stairs. He
peers at me over his thin-framed
glasses, eyes glistening with
sorrow.
COOKIE
It's been ten years.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I pick at the knot of my blood-red
scarf, a shiver wracking my
shoulders.
CAPTAIN DOLION
As long as it takes.
COOKIE
(CONCERNED, QUIETLY)
I fear you drive yourself to
madness.
CAPTAIN DOLION
I have no choice. I have to do
this.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
He doesn’t understand. How could
he? He has never borne the blood of
his parents on his own hands.
I can still feel it caked under my
fingernails. See the red stain on
my skin. See their bloody faces as
they slip from my grasp and are
claimed by the void.
The alliance has much to answer
for.
CREW MEMBER 3
(SHOUTING)
Captain Dolion! Incoming!
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
The warning comes none too soon. A
smaller piece of drifting debris
slips into our airlock and is
caught by our artificial gravity.
It tumbles to the mid-deck, and
crewmen jump aside.
I brush past Cookie, approaching
the main deck to survey the damage.
Murmurs ripple through the crew,
and they part, revealing what’s
crash-landed on the Nebula.
It’s a body.
My gut churns. The young man lies
face down on the stained boards,
his once-fine clothing ragged. I
stare down at the corpse, my pulse
roaring.
This is just one of the countless,
nameless victims of my vengeance,
and still my raging grief is not
satisfied. How many more must
suffer because of the alliance?
When will they see? Captain Dolion
is their creation, and I will make
them regret turning me into...this,
with their dying breaths.
I toe the man onto his back. His
skin is gray in our starlight
globes. My stomach heaves, but I
can’t look away.
His eyes open.
The nearest crewmen SHOUT and
scramble backward as the man
suddenly GASPS for breath. Cookie
hurries past and drops to his knees
beside the stranger.
CREW MEMBER 4
(MUTTERING)
He's alive.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Obvious, but no less wondrous.
Anyone who survived the explosion
should have been swiftly taken by
the void of space.
A man who cheats death like this
could prove useful.
I crouch, watching as Cookie checks
the stranger’s pulse. The man’s
eyes are wide, darting around the
crew. Several men draw back as he
looks their way. Already, his skin
isn’t as gray - turning more
tanned, or dirty, or perhaps both.
How did he survive? How did he foil
my plan? I’m the ruler of this
void.
JESSE KEIFFER lies collapsed on the slab of crumpled metal,
his skin glistening with condensation from the Nebula's
atmosphere. He is young - perhaps mid-twenties - but has the
appearance of an cloak-and-dagger existence. His eyebrows are
snow-white and his hair has a broad white streak.
When he speaks, his voice rasps, and his tone is so sharp it
could pierce rock. When he stands before the crew, it is
without fear.
CAPTAIN DOLION
(DEMANDING)
What's your name?
JESSE KEIFFER
Mister...Keiffer.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
I cock one brow.
CAPTAIN DOLION
What do you do, Mister Keiffer?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Cookie shoots me a disapproving
glance, but Keiffer's gasps steady.
JESSE KEIFFER
Where am I?
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
He looks upward to the black skull
flag and stiffens.
JESSE KEIFFER
You killed them all.
CAPTAIN DOLION
What do you do?
JESSE KEIFFER
(CLENCHED, ANGRY)
I will kill you for what you've
done.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
There’s a daring in his eyes that I
haven’t seen in a long time. Not
when people are talking to me. Not
when they’re faced with Captain
Peter Dolion.
This man is different. He is my
key. He possesses something I do
not: the ability to survive the
Void. I need that.
I rise and turn back toward the
helm.
CAPTAIN DOLION
Throw him in the brig.
PETER DOLION (NARRATOR)
Whether he wants to or not, this
man will help me fulfill my
vengeance. Together, we will find
the last dregs of the Alliance and
make them pay.
Then finally, I can have peace.