starmaiden
a little script i wrote for a pilot story that connects odo’s journey and nebula: lore somehow, hopefully soon it will be finished in comic book format and even more hopefully someday i’ll be able to adapt it to animation format.
~~~~~
INT. SPACE COMMUNE DASS NARRENCHYSFF
Deska, a 16 years old girl with green dreads wearing a gray-green jumper talks excitedly with an elder, healthy looking woman, Uliah, 318 years old, who wears a similar jumper in a different colour.
DESKA
One last thing... can I take Odo with me? Pleeease? It’s a M class planet, we won’t even need walkers!
ULIAH
Will you keep your eyes on her all the time? Will you ask the ship for help straight away in the first sight of trouble?
DESKA
Yes! I’ll be super ultra careful! She’s been so down since the last rite, I think it would really cheer her up.
ULIAH
Ok, but watch out. That little girl is nuts and the Singular is not the best at giving her boundaries!
INT. ODO’S QUARTERS
Odo, 12 years old, is laying on her bed staring at something invisible in front of her, moving her hands in the hair with grace and a certain obsession. Deska knocks and comes in directly without waiting for an answer, seats close to Odo.
DESKA
So remember that book we’ve found at the second hand store at that station in Alpha Centauri?
ODO
The one with the cryptic writing about little salamander men?
DESKA
They were axolotl men, but yes! We’re just in the vicinity of the planet mentioned on the book. And Uliah allowed me to go check it out... and take you with me!
ODO
Oh, wow! That’s awesome! I don’t get why they’re always afraid something is going to happen with me while we have a super powerful AI watching out for us all the time.
SINGULAR
I see it as part of the inexorable tendency humans have to project their own limitations. They cannot fully grasp that I am completely able to multi-task. Plus older humans often tend to underestimate the survival instincts of their younglings.
ODO
And listening to us all the time as well..!
SINGULAR
Sorry, do you prefer if I pretend I am not here?
ODO
What if we want to have a private conversation?
SINGULAR
Then let me know and I will try my best to pretend I am not here. At least I will definitely refrain myself from interacting. You could always try holding the conversation in a soundproof cabin but that did not turn out well for humans last time.
INT. SHUTTLECRAFT
ODO
This is so exciting to be in a journey just by ourselves!
DESKA
Yeah, it is! The scanners can already read the planet but it reads no signs of humanoid life whatsoever, just fauna and flora, no buildings. For what the book depicts I imagined it would be at least full of ruins.
ODO
Did you ever scan the book?
DESKA
Yes, it did encounter some unusual neutrino levels.
ODO
Well you know what that means!
DESKA
Yes, that this book may have time-travelled, or an Orgalorg farted on it!
ODO
Hahaha!
EXT. PLANET SOMA
DESKA
Oh wow it looks nothing like i expected!
ODO
It doesn’t look like there was ever a civilization out here... maybe the geography of the planet changed so much since then that all the parts that were built now are underwater?
DESKA
I find it highly unlikely.. The ship’s scan would have read it even if it was submerse. Still, this planet looks amazing. I’ll have a look if there’s any information on the book that I can relate to what we find here now.
ODO
How do you make it, Deska?
DESKA
What do you mean?
ODO
How can you deal so lightly with the rites?
DESKA
The rites themselves? Well it’s like an interesting game!
ODO
You know that is not what I mean...
DESKA
Well, I love the rites. I actually feel quite refreshed after them... enlightened!
ODO
But how can you deal with knowing how they’d have treated us back then? And just us! I mean... ok, it’s not like it would have been easy for Pêta or Kokolo... but for us specially, it just feels so random.
DESKA
Well, it took me a while to start feeling like this, it wasn’t like that when I was your age... for a while it just felt pretty shitty.
ODO
How did it get better?
DESKA
Hm... I think the more I’ve learnt about the past the more I understood that personally, each of those people thought they were doing the right thing and they didn’t learn that in one moment or another. It was everyday. Each misguided imbecile was taught everyday that he was doing something reasonable. And the system that created that imbecile also thought it was doing the right thing through its development... I mean... do you get where I’m getting at?
ODO
I guess so...
DESKA
We are privileged to have the opportunity to see this things from this perspective, to have access to all the information and the help of the Singular to see things with the clarity of distance. This helps me not get stuck on the anger I feel about the past... I guess at some point I just started feeling such a relief for not having to actually be there and deal with that reality that I stopped being upset about it having existed. And I can’t help feel revenged somehow, you know... we kept to keep going, they died without even... Odo? Odo?
Odo rolls down a hill.
ODO
AHHHHHH..... I’m down here! I’ll try to find another way back up!
Odo walks around, looking carefully at the landscape around her. She looks inside a tree bark and finds a small, odd looking person-creature working on a tiny lab. This creature has no hands and moves around very little, looking carefully at the outcome of her experiments while little tentacles growing from the floor and from the table move all the apparatus needed for the experiments. If it wasn’t for her obvious facial expressions regarding the development of the process it wouldn’t be easy to assume she was in charge of everything, it could just look like the interior of a machine or an internal organ working without conscience.
EXT/INT ODO OUTSIDE/MEENTHRA INSIDE TREE BARK
ODO
What are you doing?
MEENTHRA
Ugh you startled me. I am... creating something.
ODO
What are you creating?
MEENTHRA
Hm... Company I guess.
ODO
How come you can speak my language? Are you telepathic?
MEENTHRA
I can be if I choose to, but most of time time it just feels like... Why bother? It is just extra headache. I just know your language. I know all human languages.
ODO
How do you know I am a human?
MEENTHRA
I have been to your homeworld.
ODO
The Earth?
MEENTHRA
Yeah
ODO
I have never been to the Earth.
MEENTHRA
It is a lovely sight. Lots of fucked up shit happened there, but the longer you people are away from it the better it looks.
ODO
Are you the Starmaiden?
MEENTHRA
WTF is a Starmaiden?
ODO
Some sort of goddess I guess. My friend and I found a book about her, we came here to research.
MEENTHRA
My name is Meenthra. That is pretty much all I am certain about myself. What is your name, human child?
ODO
I’m Odo.
DESKA (FROM OUTSIDE FRAME)
Odo, where are you?
ODO
My friend is looking for me. I’ll be right back, she’ll be thrilled to meet you.
MEENTHRA
It was interesting meeting you Odo, the human child.
EXT. SOMA
ODO
Deska! I’m over here!
DESKA
What were you looking at?
ODO
You won’t believe what I’ve found, I think I just met the Starmaiden!
DESKA
But the computer didn’t read any sentient humanoids on the surface...
ODO
Well so how can you explain this!
Odo points do the interior of the tree bark.
DESKA
What exactly?
ODO
What do you mean?
DESKA
Although it does look beautiful inside this tree bark I wouldn’t say this lichen looks like an all powerful goddess or something...
ODO
What?! No way! She’s in there with her tiny lab!
DESKA
Have you been eating any of this fungai?
ODO
I was not hallucinating! I’m serious! She was there! We talked! She spoke English and had been to the Earth!
DESKA
You do look a bit dehydrated...
2 notes
·
View notes