SCRIPT
CAST
a TEENAGE GIRL
her FATHER
her CLASSMATE
a GRINEER REGULATOR
a DESERT SKATE
GRINEER SOLDIERS
a CEPHALON (Ordis, maybe?)
TENNO (assorted)
ACT I SCENE I: a small bedroom. (Cast: Teenage Girl, Her Father)
TEENAGE GIRL (in bed): Daddy, please tell me about the Tenno again.
FATHER (sitting on the end of the bed): Aren't you getting a little old for bedtime stories? {smiling}
TEENAGE GIRL: But you tell them so well!
FATHER: Okay, okay! Once upon a time, the system was at war. No-one can remember who the war was against, all we know is that no-one could do a thing to stop the enemy. That is, until the Tenno were born. Led by a great and noble queen, known only as the Lotus, the noble Tenno fought against the unbeatable army, and won.
TEENAGE GIRL: But how did they win, daddy?
FATHER: Some say they used pure martial skill, others say they used trickery and stealth. Yet others say they were just too powerful for the enemy. Centuries of peace followed, but a great war broke out between the ancient Orokin and the Tenno. No-one knows why this happened; all we know is that sometime since then, both sides disappeared.
TEENAGE GIRL: Where did they go?
FATHER: No-one knows, my dearest. But hush now, it's to for sleep. You have school in the morning.
TEENAGE GIRL: Oh, alright.
{Scene ends as FATHER closes door and switches off light}
ACT I SCENE II: a crowded classroom (CAST: Regulator, Teenage Girl, Classmate, Miscellaneous assorted class members)
REGULATOR (at the front of the class, as a teacher would be): ...And remember children: report any alien technology you find immediately. Praise the Queens. (Robotic voice)
CLASS: Praise the Queens (unenthusiastically)
REGULATOR: You are dismissed.
{Class files out, zoom to TEENAGE GIRL and her CLASSMATE}
CLASSMATE: You want to hang out in the park today?
TEENAGE GIRL: Nah, I think I'll go explore a bit out past the borders.
CLASSMATE; Okay, but be careful; I hear there's wild animals in some of those caves.
ACT I SCENE III: a sandy gully. (Cast: Teenage Girl, Desert Skate)
TEENAGE GIRL {walking through gully}: Nothing interesting. Still, better than being holed up in the colony.
a DESERT SKATE appears, startling the GIRL
TEENAGE GIRL: Ah!
{Girl jumps back, begins running. Slips and falls on loose sand, down a hole, just in time to avoid one of the skate's barbs}
ACT I SCENE IV: a Ruin, seemingly Orokin.
TEENAGE GIRL: {awed, looks around. She finds a panel}
TEENAGE GIRL: I wonder what this does. {Touches panel}
{A few lights glow dimly, illuminating a Lotus Symbol.}
TEENAGE GIRL: {reaches out to touch the symbol, traces it with her finger. As her finger reaches the apex, the symbol glows, a light travels up her arm and into her chest, glowing briefly above her heart in the shape of the Lotus symbol.}
TEENAGE GIRL: What the-? {Touches glowing symbol on her chest}
{TEENAGE GIRL disappears, similar effect to when Tenno start an Orokin Void mission}
ACT I SCENE V: An ancient Orokin chamber, Throne of the Lotus in the center.
TEENAGE GIRL: What is that? {Cautiously approaches the throne, tentatively sits in it}
{Everything lights up, brightly illuminating the chamber. Lotus headpiece lowers from the ceiling/unfolds from throne and settles on the GIRL's head}
TEENAGE GIRL: What's going on? {Panicked}
ACT II SCENE I: Virtual Projection of extreme complexity
CEPHALON: Welcome back, my lady. Would you like an update on the status of the Tenno?
TEENAGE GIRL: Um, okay. {Seems confused}
CEPHALON: Very well. Several of the cryopods have been compromised {several nodes on the interface glow red}. Many have suffered system failure {many nodes on the interface glow yellow}. Most are still functional. {The remaining nodes stay blue}
CEPHALON: Warning! Tenno Cryopod 35486654 Proximity Sensors have been activated! {A node on the virtual projection flashes red}
TEENAGE GIRL: What's in the cryopods?
CEPHALON: A Tenno; it seems to be an Excalibur model.
TEENAGE GIRL: Let it out, then.
CEPHALON: At once, milady.
{Display zooms to red flashing dot, resolves into view of a cryopod hanging from the ceiling of a small, weathered, Orokin chamber}
ACT II SCENE II: Basically, the Tutorial quest.
ACT II SCENE III: The Lotus VR Projection
{Flashing red node turns green}
CEPHALON: There are more pods being compromised!
{Several more nodes begin flashing red}
TEENAGE GIRL: Let's do this, then.
{Time skip/montage: Now many nodes are glowing green}
TEENAGE GIRL: I need to get back now, keep up the good work while I'm away.
CEPAHLON: Yes, milady.
ACT II SCENE IV: The Village, near dusk, several days later. (A handful of civilians weeping in the streets)
TEENAGE GIRL (arms crossed over her symbol): What happened?
Her CLASSMATE (hysterical): Where have you been for the last few weeks?! They took almost everybody, said they were collaborating with the Tenno!
TEENAGE GIRL: But the Tenno haven't been seen for centuries. (Stunned)
CLASSMATE: You haven't heard? Apparently they've returned, and are fighting the Grineer. Your father was arrested for the stories he told!
{Teenage Girl flees back to the wilderness, crying}
ACT III SCENE I: Lotus Chamber, Teenage Girl teleports in, sits on throne.
CEPHALON: Welcome back, milady.
TEENAGE GIRL: Rally the Tenno. We're going to hit the Grineer hard.
CEPHALON: Yes, milady. Which prison?
TEENAGE GIRL (stops to think): I don't know. Scan Grineer communications channels; where have they taken the villagers from {insert colony name here}?
{Time skip/montage of Grineer Intercept missions}
CEPHALON: Grineer Detention Facility {insert name here}.
TEENAGE GIRL: Send the Tenno to free the villagers.
CEPHALON: We do not know which cells hold villagers, and which hold dangerous criminals.
TEENAGE GIRL: Then find out! (Angrily)
CEPHALON: (pause) Milady, that data is not transmitted on any channels we can tap into. (Hurt)
TEENAGE GIRL: I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you. Tell the Tenno to recover the prison manifest.
CEPHALON: I understand, milady.
{Time skip/montage of Grineer Spy 1.0 missions}
CEPHALON: We have the cell block numbers, milady!
TEENAGE GIRL: Let's stage a prison-break.
ACT III SCENE II: The village: almost no Grineer; only sign of military presence are a few Grineer helmets. Many villagers are gathered in the square, crowded around the newly returned prisoners.
RANDOM VOICE FROM THE CROWD: How did you make it out?
FATHER: The Tenno came and they helped us escape. The Grineer didn't know what hit them.
{Crowd cheers}
FATHER: Now, where's my daughter?
{Silence}
CLASSMATE: She came back a few days ago, but fled into the wilderness when I told her what happened (quiet voice)
THE LOTUS (standing at the colony gate, flanked by Tenno, symbol glowing on her chest for all to see): I'm here, daddy. But I think it's safer for everyone if I leave for a while.
{Lotus and Tenno turn and vanish in a cloud of wind-whipped dust}