VENGEANCE ON PLANET ZUG (WORKING TITLE) Written by Enzo Marc and Spartan Daggenhurst EXT. PLAINS OF ZUG - NIGHT A barren, windswept plain on the planet Zug. A tinge of purple gives the dust its warm glimmer. In the distance, a spiraling tower of lights outlines a mining town built into the steep cliffs of a granite monolith. A cloaked figure, NOAH, steps into the foreground and surveys the landscape. He wears a MASK that obscures his face. EXT. MINING TOWN WALLS - CON’T. A massive, elevated railway, stretching into the distance, finds its terminus in a huge gate built into the towering walls which line the perimeter of the city. A CONTROL TOWER lies perched above. INT. CONTROL TOWER - CON’T. A uniformed TRANSIT OFFICER sits at the ready. Over a radio we hear a GRUFF VOICE: GRUFF VOICE Caravan, coming in. TRANSIT OFFICER Copy. He pulls down a lever. EXT. MINING TOWN WALLS - CON’T. The gate begins to lift with a deafening roar as the hydraulic system sends steam billowing out into the surroundings. INT. CARAVAN COCKPIT - CON’T. Two long-haul caravan PILOTS in a slightly cramped cockpit. Through the glass, we see the opened gate leading into a cargo station. 2. PILOT 1 (fiddling with buttons) Decelerating to docking speed. PILOT 2 (completing paperwork) Let’s get a quick load-in, I wanna make it back to the Capital before second moonrise. EXT. MINING TOWN WALLS - CON’T. The gigantic caravan speeds off into the night. The gate starts to close. Noah, lurking in the shadows, slips in before it shuts. EXT. MINING TOWN STREETS - NIGHT Various shots of Noah walking through the bustling cobblestone streets of the mining town. It is full of debaucherous ne’er-do-wells and street vendors peddling their wares. He passes the door to a BROTHEL, out of which a gypsy-like PROSTITUTE pushes an UNRULY MINER. UNRULY MINER I wouldn’t even pay those rates for a genuine Capital City courtesan ! She slams the door on him. UNRULY MINER (CONT'D) This is a mining town, sweetheart! EXT. TAVERN - NIGHT Noah looks both ways before entering a nondescript, yet busy tavern. INT. TAVERN - CON’T. Noah makes his way through the dimly lit tavern unnoticed by the jovial patrons, 30 in number. In the corner, a uniformed Court Official SOLOMON sits at a table. 2. 3. Solomon and Noah make eye contact. SOLOMON (O.S.) So the rumours are true. INT. TAVERN - MOMENTS LATER Solomon and Noah sit across from each other. SOLOMON Noah of House Rang, rightful heir to the throne of Zug, alive and well. He inspects his battered and weathered bodysuit. SOLOMON (CONT'D) Though a little worse for wear, so it may seem. NOAH My scars bear testament to the road that has brought me here. SOLOMON Seven years since the battle for Planet Yoj. Seven years since you and your father, the Landgraf, were killed by agents of House Sarak. NOAH Or so the story the goes. A tense pause. SOLOMON Your brother, the Landgraf Jacob, will be thrilled. NOAH My brother, the Landgraf Jacob, will die. A knowing pause. SOLOMON You won’t make it past the gates of the Capital. NOAH Which is why you shall escort me. 3. 4. SOLOMON Escort? NOAH By Speeder-Shuttle. Unchecked by biometric scanners. His blood will be the only blood spilled. SOLOMON You would make me accessory to regicide? NOAH The oath you made my father demands it. A long pause. They size each other up. As SOLOMON begins to speak we cut between the various TAVERN PATRONS putting down their drinks and drawing swords. SOLOMON When I was appointed Redgeréf of the Royal Household nearly 87 lunar cycles ago, my predecessor imparted a mantra onto me which I have not forgotten: Forloc Ymbren NOAH “Watch the tide.” SOLOMON The tide turned on your father, and it’s not turning back. Silence. Noah perceives the 30-odd agents now surrounding him. We cut close onto Noah: NOAH On Bithial, I lived among the Karlit Warriors and learned their ancient ways. On Ori Prime, I stormed the Unbreachable Fortress with but 20 men and took the Emerald of Ranak. For seven years I have disposed of every assassin my brother has sent to finish what he could not. -- I’ve fought my way across the entire galaxy to get here. Your men will not stop me. 4. 5. Silence. Solomon smirks and reaches for his sword under the table. An explosion of activity. Noah jumps from the table, unsheathes his OVERSIZED SWORD and slices two of the assailants in half. The mob descends upon him. He disposes of them with fluidity and ease. Every slash cutting through multiple of them. The tavern is ransacked through an extremely gore-heavy sequence. Solomon realizes he is cooked and makes to escape. Noah executes the last of his men and HURLS his sword towards the door, impaling Solomon against it. He walks over to reclaim his weapon. NOAH (CONT'D) I’ll find my own way, then. He grabs his sword and pulls it upwards with inhuman strength, splitting Tom in half, and exits leaving the room in horrendous disarray. INT. CARAVAN LOADING DOCK - NIGHT Another gigantic caravan is loaded with glowing blue ORE. Noah sneaks past the ground crew. He climbs along a side ladder on one of the train-cars. He jumps through a ventilation duct to stow himself away. INT. CARAVAN COCKPIT - CON’T. The two pilots confer. Through the window we see the illuminated track stretching off into the distance. PILOT 1 Payload: 52,000 Tonnes. 5. 6. PILOT 2 Estimated time to Capital: 1 hour 50 minutes. EXT. MINING TOWN WALLS - NIGHT The caravan speeds off into the night. EXT. CAPITAL CITY - NIGHT A walled metropolis placed like a jewel in the barren desert- scape. EXT. ROYAL PALACE - NIGHT Perched at the top of the city, the royal palace stands poised and auspicious. INT. PALACE OBSERVATORY - NIGHT The Landgraf JACOB paces back and forth hastily in front the throne. His disheveled appearance belies a sense of a anxiety. JACOB Word from the Redgeréf ? Two AIDE-DE-CAMPS stand at the ready. AIDE-DE-CAMP 1 Radio silence, Sir. AIDE-DE-CAMP 2 Shall we send a patrol? JACOB Don’t bother. They’re all dead by now. AIDE-DE-CAMP 1 The Mines are a two day journey by Speeder-Shuttle. He’ll have to stop in Dar-Salak to refuel. AIDE-DE-CAMP 2 We can cut off his journey there. Jacob ponders. 6. 7. He looks at the beautiful wrought WINDOW into the distance, seeing the caravan tracks stretching off. A fast moving light is seen in the distance. He squints and furrows his brow before reaching for a complex steampunk-esque observatory telescope that hangs from the ceiling. He looks through the lens. We see the train speeding across the desert through the lens. He scowls and moves quickly towards the door. EXT. CAPITAL STREET - NIGHT A few shots of Jacob, followed by his Aide-de-Camps and a retinue of guards, walking down the inclined streets of the Capital City heading towards the walls. Citizens passing by, shocked, bow as he passes. EXT. ARTILLERY BATTERY - NIGHT Jacob and his entourage walk into a battery nestled next to a gigantic CANNON system lying along the outer wall. AIDE-DE-CAMP 1 (V.O.) All rise, for the Landgraf Jacob! INT. ARTILLERY BATTERY - CON’T. Inside the hut, two GRENADIERS stand at nervous attention as Jacob struts in. JACOB Be seated. They sit back down at their posts. He approaches the control panel of the fire direction computer. JACOB (CONT'D) Prepare for a barrage on the Caravan. A hesitant pause. The Grenadiers look up, confused. 7. 8. AIDE-DE-CAMP 2 The Caravan? But Sir ... JACOB FIRE ON THE TRAIN! INT. CARAVAN COCKPIT - CON’T. In the cockpit, the two pilots confer. Through the glass, the Capital city is visible. PILOT 1 Decelerating to docking speed. Suddenly, from the walls, a barrage of cannons fires at once, the projectiles follow a parabolic arch descending upon the train. PILOT 2 What the ... He is interrupted by a white hot flash beckoning in the swift destruction of anything once resembling a cockpit. Everything and everyone is instantly incinerated. INT. ARTILLERY BATTERY - CON’T. The group stands assembled. GRENADIER 1 Target destroyed, Sir. JACOB Good. He turns and walks towards the door. JACOB (CONT'D) Inform the Council of the discovery of two saboteurs from House Sarak in the Grenadier Corps. He leaves the battery with his AIDES and the retinue of Royal Guards draws their swords. EXT. ARTILLERY BATTERY - CON’T. Jacob confers with his AIDES while in the background the guards slaughter the two Grenadiers. 8. 9. JACOB Find the body. EXT. WRECKAGE - NIGHT A SPEEDER sits parked at the smoldering wreckage of the train. The two AIDES, along with a group of 10 SOLDIERS, search the area. AIDE-DE-CAMP 1 Leave no stone unturned! One of the MEN approaches a flaming piece of fuselage. Suddenly, Noah springs out from behind it and grabs the guard by the throat, hurling him into the flames which immediately consume him. The blood curdling screams alert the rest of the platoon. They swarm the area to find their comrade’s burned corpse. Noah drops down in the center of the circle with his sword drawn. The soldiers attack him but he quickly dispatches them. Its almost pathetic how easily he kills them. Imagine a group of toddlers trying to take on a grown man. After ten seconds, the area is riddled with mutilated corpses and gallons of blood. Once finished, he boards the speeder. He pushes forward the throttle. The engine fires up. He speeds towards the city. EXT. CITY GATE - NIGHT A group of soldiers man a GUARD POST at one of the city’s many gates. They see the speeder rushing towards them and make to stop it. Noah speeds right by them, hitting one of them and sending him flying. 9. 10. EXT. CAPITAL CITY STREETS - NIGHT Various shots of Noah SPEEDING messily and hastily through the cobblestone streets of the City, barely avoiding pedestrians and inflicting damage to structures along his route. EXT. ROYAL PALACE SQUARE - NIGHT Approaching the palace, Noah JAMS the throttle and jumps out of the speeder. He rolls along the cobblestone while the speeder continues towards the palace and goes CRASHING through the doors. NOAH (wildly) Jacob! A host of guards comes streaming out of the broken doors and surrounds Noah who now stands in the middle with sword drawn. Silence. NOAH (CONT'D) Face me! A GUARD challenges him. GUARD Who are you to address the Landgraf in such a manner! Noah removes his mask. NOAH Your rightful ruler. The guards are collectively shocked. JACOB (O.S.) By what right does a dead man claim the throne! They look up to see Jacob speaking from a balcony above the entrance. Noah scowls. NOAH By what right does a man stab his own father and brother in the back? 10. 11. JACOB Lies! The ghost tells lies and spews slander! NOAH This ghost has come back to haunt you. JACOB This ghost has come back to die. From the retinue of guards, a voice cries out: GUARD 2 TRIAL BY COMBAT! A pause. Another Guard joins in: GUARD 3 TRIAL BY COMBAT! Slowly, in unison, the guards begin to chant as if it were a sacred tradition: GUARDS (assembled) TRIAL BY COMBAT. TRIAIL BY COMBAT. Jacob smirks. JACOB So it shall be. With a swift move, he LEAPS from the balcony and LANDS with sword drawn in the courtyard. JACOB (CONT'D) Prepare yourself, brother. NOAH I’ve been prepared for years. They begin an epic duel in the palace courtyard, surrounded by a wide circle of knights and court officials. In a way it resembles a beautiful dance, with the balance of power shifting back and forth between the two of them over the course of two minutes, with minor injuries being traded. The two brothers display their superhuman strength by leaping ten feet in the air and slicing their swords through concrete pillars. 11. 12. Their skills and strength are equally matched. They trade powerful blows which shake the earth beneath them. They let out battle cries which can be heard throughout the city. Eventually, Noah bests Jacob and stabs him straight through the stomach. He collapses onto his knees. Blood fills his mouth and he begins to laugh maniacally. NOAH (CONT'D) You laugh, Jacob? Have you no remorse? JACOB Remorse? Remorse is a fool’s endeavor. No, no. I saw the world before me and I seized it. So lay on me, brother. Lay on me and deliver my treacherous soul unto the void, but wait not for remorse - for even in death it remains, to me, a stranger. He continues to laugh wildly as Noah DECAPITATES him in one fell swoop. Silence. Only the sound of Jacob’s head hitting the ground and the arterial spray of blood from his corpse. The retinue of knights looks on the scene. Noah grabs Jacob’s head and holds it up for everyone to see. NOAH It is finished! The knights kneel with their swords pointed into the ground. Close in on Noah, quietly now, to himself: NOAH (CONT'D) It is finished. CUT TO BLACK. 12. 13. 13.