by Cavan Scott
JENZA:
My brother. Yes. I showed him.
VENTRESS:
We just need to sit tight. And be quiet.
JENZA:
I showed him Carannia…
SCENE 118. EXT. CARANNIAN HILLS.
Atmosphere: Carannia burns in the distance.
DOOKU:
Look at it. Look at the devastation. And yet the Senate does nothing.
SIFO-DYAS:
That’s a lot of Abyssin.
LENE:
Enough to hold the city.
DOOKU:
And that’s where they’re blocking transmissions?
JENZA:
The comm tower, yes.
DOOKU:
Then that’s what we’ll hit first.
JENZA:
I’ll rally as many fighters as I can.
DOOKU:
We won’t need any. Not yet. Sifo-Dyas, how well do you remember your levitation training?
SIFO-DYAS:
What are you thinking?
DOOKU:
Shifting Sands.
SCENE 119. EXT. ABYSSIN OUTPOST.
JENZA: (NARRATION)
(LAUGHS) The Abyssin scouts never saw him coming…
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
What are you looking at?
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
There’s something in the hills.
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
Pass me the uniscope.
The whir of a uniscope.
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
You’re imagining things. There’s nothing there.
A wind starts to whip up.
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
Like I’m imagining all this wind?
Dirt and sand is blown up all around.
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
(COUGHING) Must be a dust storm.
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
Where did it come from?
The storm intensifies.
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
(CRIES OUT) It’s in my eye.
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
I can’t see anything. Oster. Oster, where are you?
A lightsaber strikes in the middle of the storm.
ABYSSIN GUARD #1:
(DIES)
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
Oster! Oster, what was that? What happened?
DOOKU:
Let me show you.
He spears the Abyssin with a lightsaber.
ABYSSIN GUARD #2:
(DIES)
The Abyssin slumps to the ground.
DOOKU:
(CALLING OUT) That’s enough, Sifo-Dyas.
The Force-induced storm subsides.
SIFO-DYAS:
(APPROACHING) Did I pass the test?
DOOKU:
Admirably.
He extinguishes his lightsaber.
Sifo-Dyas raps on the side of a tank.
SIFO-DYAS:
This tank has seen better days.
DOOKU:
It will serve our purpose.
He pulls open a heavy door.
SIFO-DYAS:
(DISGUSTED) Surely there has to be another way. That stench.
DOOKU:
You won’t be in it long.
SIFO-DYAS:
I’d rather I wasn’t in it at all. Why do I have to pilot this thing?
DOOKU:
We agreed on the plan.
SIFO-DYAS:
You told me the plan. There’s a difference. Well, if I must…
Sifo-Dyas clambers into the tank.
SIFO-DYAS:
I’m warning you, though…if I die in here…
DOOKU:
You can come back to haunt me…
SCENE 120. EXT. ABYSSIN CAMP.
ABYSSIN COMMANDER:
General.
ABYSSIN GENERAL:
What is it, Commander?
COMMANDER:
The sentry tank. It’s returning.
GENERAL:
Why?
COMMANDER:
No idea. They’re not answering comms.
The general opens a comm frequency.
GENERAL:
Sentry tank. Report. Why have you abandoned your post? Repeat. Why have you abandoned your post?
The tank fires.
COMMANDER:
They’re firing on us, sir.
GENERAL:
I noticed! All troops. Return fire. Now.
Multiple blasters fire.
SCENE 121. INT. TANK.
Blaster bolts bounce off the tank’s hull.
SIFO-DYAS:
Dooku. I’m still not convinced this is a good idea. When will I know when you’ve set the charges?
There is an explosion nearby.
SIFO-DYAS:
Actually, scratch that. I’ve worked it out for myself.
DOOKU: (OVER COMM)
Your distraction worked, Sifo. The jammer is down. Transmissions can get through.
SIFO-DYAS:
So I can pull back?
DOOKU: (OVER COMM)
No. Keep going. Draw their fire.
SCENE 122. EXT. ABYSSIN CAMP.
The sound of the tank taking yet another hit comes over the comm.
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM)
What do you think I’m doing?
LENE:
He won’t last much longer in that monstrosity.
DOOKU:
He doesn’t have to. We just need to keep them busy.
ABYSSIN MERC: (OFF-MIC)
Hey!
LENE:
You were saying?
ABYSSIN MERC: (OFF-MIC)
What are you doing here?
The Abyssin fires at them.
DOOKU:
Typical Abyssin.
He blocks the shots before slicing the Abyssin in two.
ABYSSIN MERC:
(DIES)
DOOKU:
Didn’t even give me a chance to answer.
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM)
Dooku? Are you still there?
A beep of Dooku’s comlink.
DOOKU:
I’m here.
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM)
The tank is coming apart.
LENE:
Jam it onto a collision course and bail out.
A groundquake hits.
DOOKU:
Another quake.
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM)
Lene? Dooku?
The ground opens up beneath them.
DOOKU:
(FALLING) Sifo!
SCENE 123. INT. UNDERGROUND CAVERN.
We hear them tumble into a cave, hitting the ground, hard. When they speak, their voices echo in the cavern.
LENE:
(CRIES OUT IN AGONY)
DOOKU:
Lene!
LENE:
Landed on my shoulder.
DOOKU:
It’s broken.
LENE:
(CRIES OUT AS SHE MOVES) Of all the stupid…Can’t even hold a lightsaber.
DOOKU:
You have another arm, don’t you?
LENE:
Oh, you’re all heart. (WITH EFFORT AS SHE GETS UP) Climbing out is going to be interesting.
Dooku clicks his comlink.
DOOKU:
Sifo? Can you hear us? We’ve fallen into
some kind of cavern.
(NO ANSWER)
DOOKU: (CONT.)
Sifo-Dyas?
LENE:
The rock must be interfering with the signal.
DOOKU:
I could use the Force. Lift you back to the surface.
LENE:
And what about you?
DOOKU:
I can climb.
There’s another, smaller groundquake, more rocks falling.
LENE:
If we’re not buried first.
The Tirra’Taka growls nearby.
LENE:
What was that?
The monster is in the next cavern. We hear it move, its growl getting louder by the second.
DOOKU:
It’s not possible.
LENE:
What isn’t?
DOOKU:
Lene, when we first met, you asked me what I’d seen in the Archive…
LENE:
Yes. Yes, I did.
DOOKU:
I think you’re about to find out.
The Tirra’Taka bursts through the cave wall, roaring fiercely.
LENE:
And I thought rancors were big. That’s what you saw?
DOOKU:
(IN AWE) The Tirra’Taka.
LENE:
You know its name?
DOOKU:
An old Serennian legend. The dragon that holds the world together.
LENE:
It hasn’t been doing a good job of that recently.
DOOKU:
The statue didn’t do you credit.
Another roar.
DOOKU:
No. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
LENE:
You’re sure about that? Dooku. You can feel it, can’t you? The dark side.
DOOKU:
We need to make contact with her.
LENE:
Contact? You want to bond with it?
DOOKU:
As you taught me all those years ago. One mind. Two bodies.
The creature calms, her growl echoing around the chamber.
LENE:
I don’t think this is a good idea. We’ve got an invasion on our hands up there, remember?
DOOKU:
You’ve always wanted to understand the past, Lene. This is the past. She’s been down here so long. Hidden in the rock.
LENE:
How do you know?
DOOKU:
She’s showing me. Here. Touch her scales. See for yourself.
LENE:
I…
DOOKU:
The Force will protect you.
LENE:
I…I hope I don’t regret this.
She steps forward, touching the monster’s flank.
LENE:
(GASPS)
DOOKU:
There. Do you see?
LENE:
Yes! An army on the march.
As they describe their vision, we hear the sounds of the creature’s memories, echoing from the past.
DOOKU:
Armor as black as night. Dripping with blood.
The sounds of a battle, screams, lightsabers slicing through bodies. So many lightsabers.
LENE:
Death on such a scale.
DOOKU:
They used her.
LENE:
Dark siders.
DOOKU:
A beast of war.
The bellow of the Tirra’Taka in the past.
DOOKU:
But it wasn’t always that way. They hunted her. Captured her.
Laser blasts. The Tirra’Taka howling in agony.
LENE:
(FEELING THE BEAST’S TORMENT) So much pain.
DOOKU:
Corrupting her…into something new.
LENE:
Something malevolent.
She gasps, stepping back, breaking the link.
LENE:
We should stop. The connection is too strong.
DOOKU:
No. Riding into battle. Riding through the stars.
LENE:
Dooku. Break away.
DOOKU:
I can’t. The things they made her do. Until…until. (CRIES OUT)
LENE:
What is it?
DOOKU:
They fought back. The people. Against her masters. Against her.
More roars. More battle.
FIGHTER: (IN THE SOUNDSCAPE)
For Serenno!
In the past, the Tirra’Taka bays in fear.
DOOKU:
She broke free.
The sound of the Tirra’Taka burrowing down into the planet.
DOOKU:
Buried deep within the planet’s crust.
LENE:
Dooku, please.
She goes to grab him.
DOOKU:
Don’t touch me.
LENE:
This has gone too far.
DOOKU:
No. You don’t understand. This is because of me.
LENE:
You?
In the soundscape, we hear the following exchange from Dooku’s childhood.
YOUNG JENZA:
Dooku, what are you doing? Don’t—don’t touch it, okay? It’s supposed to be bad luck.
DOOKU:
She was asleep. All that time. Beneath the surface. She was at peace.
YOUNG DOOKU:
So beautiful.
DOOKU: (OVER HIS YOUNGER LINES)
So beautiful.
YOUNG DOOKU:
(WHISPER) Tirra’Taka…
DOOKU:
And then I came home.
YOUNG JENZA:
Dooku—don’t!
DOOKU:
It was me. I woke her. She felt the Force within me. (TO THE BEAST) I’m so sorry. You just wanted to be left alone.
The dragon growl is almost like a purr, but then…
There’s an explosion high above. Rocks tumble down. The Tirra’Taka bays in fear.
LENE:
I don’t think it’s going to get its wish.
DOOKU:
The Abyssin.
Dooku’s comlink crackles.
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM THROUGH STATIC)
Dooku…Lene…Anyone!
The Tirra’Taka growls.
DOOKU:
No, no. It’s all right. It’s just my comlink. Do you see? It’s a friend.
There’s a beep as he activates it.
DOOKU:
Sifo-Dyas?
SIFO-DYAS: (OVER COMM)
(LOTS OF INTERFERENCE) Whe…[re are] you? We took the fight to the Abyssin…They’re…retreating, but re…[inforcements…]
Static takes over.
DOOKU:
Sifo? Sifo? Can you hear me?
Nothing but static.
LENE:
We need to get back up there.
The Tirra’Taka roars, not happy about this.
DOOKU:
You can’t even lift a lightsaber.
LENE:
We’ve got to do something.
DOOKU:
And I will. But I need you to stay here…
LENE:
I don’t need a lightsaber to fight.
DOOKU:
Not to fight. To help her.
LENE:
The Tirra’Taka?
DOOKU:
Keep her calm. Please. She’s suffered so much.
Another roar.
LENE:
And what if she won’t listen?
DOOKU:
She will, Lene. She’ll trust you, as I do.
LENE:
When you put it like that…
DOOKU:
I’ll be back. I promise.
SCENE 124. EXT. ABYSSIN CAMP.
Atmosphere: A battle is in progress, blasters firing. Sifo-Dyas’s lightsaber slices left and right, the violence continuing through the sequence.
JENZA: (NARRATION)
On the surface, transmissions started coming in the moment communications lines opened. Remnants of the other houses. Serennians all over the planet. They were fighting back. And so were we.
SERGEANT ESON:
We’ve got them on the run.
SIFO-DYAS:
(FIGHTING WITH LIGHTSABER) I admire your spirit, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s a long way to go.
HAGI:
(SHOOTING BLASTER) Any news from Dooku?
SIFO-DYAS:
No. I can’t get through. I don’t know what happened to—(CRIES OUT)
JENZA:
Sifo-Dyas!
HAGI:
What’s happening to him?
SIFO-DYAS:
I can hear them.
JENZA:
Hear who?
SIFO-DYAS:
Voices. United as one. Doo-ku. Doo-ku. Doo-ku. Chanting his name. The Lost Son. He who will divide.
HAGI:
What’s he saying?
JENZA:
I don’t know.
A bolt zips through the air and wings her.
JENZA:
(CRIES OUT)
SERGEANT ESON:
My lady!
JENZA:
It’s nothing. Just caught my arm. Sifo-Dyas, we need you.
SIFO-DYAS:
I can’t. I can’t block them out. Doo-ku…Doo-ku…
HAGI:
(SHOUTING OVER) Jenza! Look out!
A clattering walker, the size of an AT-RT, lurches toward them.
JENZA: (NARRATION)
I looked up to see an Abyssin in a jerry-rigged walker clattering toward us, cannons glowing hot. Sifo-Dyas tried to stand, but his legs buckled beneath him. I tried to pull him clear, but it was obvious that neither of us was going to escape. Not this time…
A lightsaber carves through the walker’s legs.
DOOKU:
Stay away from them.
JENZA:
Brother!
The walker falls.
JENZA: (NARRATION)
The walker crashed to the ground, its legs sliced away. Dooku loomed over the pilot and…