[rousing choral anthem plays]
[horn blares]
[mechanical whirs]
[ship warbles]
[energy field crackles]
[dramatic music plays]
[ship approaches]
[soldier] For the slain King!
[Imperium army] For the slain King!
Cassius.
Where's the administrator of this world?
We should have a word with him.
He's near the Citadel, sir.
He still fights.
- Take me to him.
- Very well.
How many got away?
[Cassius] We destroyed
most of their ships and men.
In the chaos,
Devra Bloodaxe and her brother
were able to evade us
with a handful of ships.
- [g*nf*re]
- [suspenseful music plays]
[soldier shouts]
[chitters]
We need to drop back!
You heard your father. We have to move.
- Girls, go now! Just go!
- [chitters]
- [g*n powers up]
- [grunts]
[shrieks] Mommy!
Go!
Cal. Cal, look at me. Look at me!
[whimpers]
- [screams]
- [woman grunts]
[soldier 1 groans]
- [woman grunts]
- [soldier 2 groans]
[man] We need to go. Now!
Go! Get your sister!
[tense music plays]
[pants]
[g*ns fire]
[commander] Move up! Move up!
[people scream]
[sinister music plays]
Son, get your mother
and your sisters to the throne room.
[g*n powers up]
Go!
Come on!
[Bergen screeches]
[yells]
[flesh squelches]
[Cassius] Halt!
[breathes heavily]
[Bergen chitters]
[Bergen shrieks]
- [woman 1 screams]
- [priest 1] You belong
- to the Motherworld now, pagan witch!
- [woman 2 screams]
Bring me another
of these so-called priestesses.
[woman 3 screams]
Remove her robes.
The King's eye sees you for all time.
- [sizzles]
- [screams]
- [Bergen coos]
- [man shushes]
They... want to hurt her.
To hurt her.
[Bergen chitters]
[man breathes deeply]
[solemn music plays]
[man breathes deeply]
I wish it were me.
[Bergen chitters]
- [Bergen shrieks]
- [g*n c*ck]
[Bergen pants]
[Bergen chitters]
[shrieks]
[woman 4 screams]
[expl*si*n booms]
The administrator.
[sinister music plays]
This saddens me, you know.
All of this.
Just a waste, isn't it?
Thousands of years of culture
wasted for... for what?
It's just so unnecessary.
[man] Don't t*rture us.
If you've come to k*ll me, do it.
It was my decision to let them stay here,
and mine to help them flee.
But for God's sake, please,
I beg you, let my wife and children live.
They're innocent in all this.
[Noble] I haven't come to k*ll you.
As a matter of fact, I've come
to assure you your bloodline will survive.
Thrive even.
And you fought with such dignity.
How could I possibly k*ll you?
There is, of course,
a price to pay for your...
defiance.
Price indeed.
Stand up, boy. Let's take a look at you.
- [laughter]
- [sentimental music plays]
[Noble] I said stand up!
There we go.
Now...
There comes a time
in every young man's life
when he finds himself
on the threshold of manhood.
It's a moment he... always remembers.
A moment that he can look back on
and know that from that moment on...
he was a man.
For some, it comes in the moist lips
and warm breast of a woman.
For others, myself,
it could be leaving home
for the first time.
Striking out on your own.
Yeah but, for you,
it'll be a choice you made. A decision.
You see, boy...
I was charged by the Regent himself.
He looked me in the eyes and bid me bring
to justice Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe
for their crimes
of insurrection and treason.
My search brought me here,
where I learned that your father
had given them sanctuary.
A safe haven and a base of operations
from which they attacked and destroyed
several assets belonging to the Realm.
Why are you doing this?
It's important
your boy understands, isn't it?
Hmm?
What's his name, your boy?
- What's your name, boy?
- Aris.
- Speak up. I can't hear you. What's your...
- [shouts] Aris!
Good.
Aris. [chuckles]
Let's see if your father
can't teach you one final lesson.
I want you to take this holy staff.
It's the femur of a sacred lochna.
Now...
I want you to bash your father's skull in.
Mm-hmm.
I mean really... bash it in.
Till his brains spill out on...
what was a couple of days ago,
at least, an absolutely beautiful floor.
[scoffs]
Now if you say yes,
I'll let your mother
and your sisters live.
However, if you say no,
as your father did,
then you all shall die.
Herein lies your decision, young man.
Aris. Aris.
Listen to me.
You need to do as he says.
Save your mother and your sisters.
Aris, no!
- Let us all go!
- Listen to... Don't look at her!
I can't live with this
and you can't either.
You won't come back from this!
- None of us will! Please don't do this!
- Stay with me! I said don't look at her!
Now you do this!
Be a man and do it!
Save them!
Do it!
You are strong.
Now...
save them.
Listen to your father, Aris.
- He's a wise man.
- [Aris' father] That's right, son.
You need to listen to me.
Now.
Do it.
[sniffles]
Do it.
[Aris' mother] No, no, no! No!
[cries] No!
No! [sobs]
I love you, son.
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
[suspenseful music plays]
- [Aris yells]
- [staff thuds]
[Aris' mother and sisters scream]
[Aris' mother] No!
- [yells]
- [staff thuds]
[Aris yells]
[pants]
[Noble] Come on.
- [cries]
- Finish it.
Finish it up, boy.
[Aris' mother] Heron.
[flesh squelches]
[cries]
[flesh squelches]
[Aris' mother and sisters cry]
I'm so sorry.
No! No, no!
[wails]
[priests chant]
[sobs]
[chants continues]
Rest assured your son is in good hands.
It'll be hard for him at first,
but the anger and sadness, that...
dead soul that's inside of him now,
we can use all that.
He can let his rage out. And he will.
'Cause as we hunt down the fugitives your
husband sacrificed everything for, and we...
we will track them down,
there will be so many more
proud rulers standing in my way.
Won't have long to wait.
What a tragic loss.
Your husband.
Here was the beauty of his experience.
These are his memories.
[Noble scoffs]
There was the time you and he made love
in the shadow of the banyan tree
in the warm summer grass.
And this...
This was when he cried
at the birth of your first-born daughter.
And this...
A moment nobody saw but him.
You sleeping.
He wiped the hair from your eyes.
Kissed your forehead gently.
[Aris' mother]
These games don't become you.
Oh?
How so?
You're a man of action.
You're not going to let us live.
There is no honor in you.
No, there is not.
[sinister music plays]
[yells]
[ethereal choral music plays]
[uraki whinnies and snorts]
- [metal thuds]
- [woman grunts] Whoa.
[melancholy violin music plays]
[uraki groans]
[woman grunts]
[uraki bellows]
[grunts]
[man] Kora.
I thought you were finished.
Everyone's up in the Longhouse.
- These are my last rows and I'll be done.
- All right.
Okay.
[man] Oh. Uh...
Den was asking where you were.
He and his brother
got a big snow-elk, male.
He wanted you to see it
before he dressed it.
Why was he asking for me?
Well, you know, because he's...
[stutters] I just thought... I just thought...
You thought.
[chuckles softly]
- Move up.
- [uraki groans]
[jolly folk music plays]
[villagers cheer and laugh]
It's been a while since we've had
fresh meat. Forgot how good it is.
[man] Den said they saw
the summer herds returning.
Maybe three days' ride away.
[folk music continues]
- He was asking for you.
- [Kora] I heard.
And, yes, it's quite impressive.
Which one? The animal?
Or...
[Den whoops]
Or the hunter?
[villager] Hey!
[Den laughs]
[horn blares]
My people,
it is my duty
as the head of this community
to remind you that
the gods of the harvest demand a tribute.
[villager] Yeah.
[leader] An offering.
But we all know
it is the thrusting of hips...
[villagers exclaim]
...and the loud sounds of pleasure
that summon the seedlings to sprout.
- [villagers laugh] Yeah!
- [chuckles]
So f*ck hard tonight!
- f*ck for the harvest!
- [villagers] Yeah!
f*ck for the very food we eat!
Yeah!
f*ck for the gods!
[villagers cheer]
[leader] Easy, woman!
Let me finish my civic duty,
then I'll finish my duty as a husband.
Hey, did I say to f*ck?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I guess I did.
Let's have some music.
Some music to get us in the mood.
[jolly folk music plays]
[villagers cheer and clap rhythmically]
- [table creaks]
- [Kora breathes heavily]
[Den breathes heavily]
[both moan]
[moans loudly]
[both pant and moan in pleasure]
[pants]
[pensive music plays]
[creatures shriek]
[ethereal choral music plays]
[melancholy violin music plays]
[door closes]
Den is a good man.
You should be asleep.
The best hunter among us.
And a loyal friend.
What of it?
Have you thought of
a more permanent relationship?
He's amenable to the idea.
He's asked me himself.
That would be your last step to becoming
a full member of this community.
It's easy between us.
Does it have to be more than that?
It's just, uh...
no one would consider you an outsider
once you marry and have a child.
But I'll always be an outsider.
Grateful to this community
for taking me in,
and you of course for saving my life.
But still an outsider.
It's changing. I know that.
These people are starting to trust you.
And you've earned that.
I'm telling you, this is home now.
I want that to be true.
[wistful music plays]
You know,
the two seasons I've spent here
have given me happiness
that I don't deserve.
But understand, I am a child of w*r.
To truly love and be loved, I...
I don't know if I'm capable of either.
The very idea of love,
of family was beaten out of me.
I was taught that love is weakness.
And I don't know
how that will ever change.
You should get some rest.
[wistful music continues]
[villagers chatter]
[villager] Hey!
One.
- Two.
- Thank you.
Sam. One.
- Two.
- [Sam] Thank you.
Good morning.
[birds chirp]
[Sam] I noticed you left early last night.
Were you tired?
[Kora] That's right.
I thought I'd make it an early night.
I thought you were
doing your part for the harvest.
Because as I walked home,
I passed Den's house.
- That's what it sounded like.
- [Kora laughs]
Sam, I don't know
what you're talking about.
[both laugh]
[Sam] I think you do.
[Imperium Dreadnought rumbles overhead]
[Kora gasps softly]
[deep mechanical rumbling]
[Kora pants]
- [grunts]
- [bell tolls]
- [whimpers]
- [tense music plays]
[dramatic music plays]
What do you think they want?
[pants]
Everything.
[villagers murmur]
I don't care
what the potential upside might be,
a warship hanging over our land
cannot be good.
That's your problem.
Your first reaction is always fear.
Assuming they come down to talk.
We could hear them out
to see what their intentions are.
[Gunnar] Exactly.
Hear them out. That's all.
Look how many bushels from the harvest
we took to Providence last season.
The Motherworld has deep pockets.
I'm simply saying
maybe we can get a better price
from our friends in low orbit there,
rather than having to deal with
the cutthroats in Providence,
selling our grain to God only knows.
[villagers chatter]
Don't act like we don't know
you've been selling our surplus grain
to the enemies of that ship up there.
I wonder what they would say if they
found out where our excess went last year.
Well, I'm no revolutionary.
They offered the best price.
I don't care about their cause.
Obviously.
[scoffs]
Sindri, I don't have a side,
only this community.
That's my only loyalty.
And I say we start
by showing them goodwill, not fear.
That we are their partners,
not their adversaries, right?
Did you say "partner," Gunnar?
I did. Is that a problem?
That ship does not represent prosperity.
Its purpose is to destroy,
to subjugate, to enslave.
- Partnership is not in its vocabulary.
- [villagers gasp]
Give them what they ask for.
But volunteer nothing
about how fertile this land is.
And hope they leave
before digging too deep
into who Gunnar sold last year's grain to.
- Right.
- I've heard enough.
We will volunteer nothing.
Is that clear?
[villager] They're here!
They're coming! They're coming!
They're coming!
[dropships warble]
[mechanism whirs]
[metal thuds loudly]
[mechanism whirs]
[footsteps thud]
[ominous music plays]
Hello. I am Sindri,
father of this village.
Welcome.
I'm Admiral Atticus Noble.
Loyal representative of the slain King.
I welcome you to his warm embrace.
Please, Father,
tell me about this beautiful village.
Walk with me up to our Longhouse.
We can have a cup of ale
and I will tell you about life here.
Oh. Sounds perfect. Lead the way.
Private Aris. Move! f*ck!
[Sindri] We've carved out
a simple life here.
And we take pride
in the love of our community,
and the hard work
it takes to survive here.
[Noble] Your people
seem healthy and well-fed.
As their leader, much of that prosperity
must be credited to you.
No, we are a community.
The credit is no one person's.
Oh, in the best of times,
the credit's shared,
but when the stores are empty,
you know where the responsibility falls.
The weight of the leader, I suppose.
So you... you understand
the feeling of, like, a father,
the need to feed your children, yes?
I was hoping that your land
and the people of Veldt
might help as we search for a small band
of revolutionaries hiding in this system.
Who my commander, the Regent Balisarius,
- bid me find and bring to justice.
- [sighs]
We are humble farmers,
far removed from the politics
of the Motherworld.
- [ax clatters]
- And still you can serve. Hmm.
The rebels we seek
have been attacking our supply ports.
Led by a woman named Devra Bloodaxe,
and her brother Darrian.
Their capture's inevitable.
However,
it's taken longer than anticipated,
and we found ourselves
admittedly low on stores.
And as you know or may have heard,
an army runs on its stomach.
I was thinking of a partnership,
where you supply us with food.
Whatever you have to spare, of course.
In exchange, you're compensated at...
Let's call it triple the market value?
With that windfall, you'll be able
to buy plenty of harvesters, robots,
and won't have to do
this difficult work by hand.
We believe that doing the work by hand
connects us to the land
and honors these sacred fields
that give us life.
[Noble] There's peace of mind
knowing you play an invaluable role
in the important mission of
rooting out enemies of the Motherworld.
- [Sindri] It's quite a proposal.
- [Noble] Yes.
[Sindri] If only we had
some surplus to offer.
You see, the land is rocky
and yields barely enough
to feed ourselves.
So, it is with sincere apologies
that we must decline the offer.
However, we are grateful
for the presence of such a benevolent
and powerful protector.
Huh.
No surplus?
- None at all?
- [chuckles]
[Noble] Huh.
But your land looks so fertile.
Your fields seem larger
than what your population might need.
Of course, I understand how it might seem.
Yet the scale of the planting
is evidence of the poor soil.
And our harsh winters
only add to the short season.
Now, what do you say
we share that cup of ale, eh?
[Noble scoffs]
Sorry.
It's just...
I mean, look at these beautiful people.
I can't imagine these glowing complexions
are nourished by a barren field.
[Noble chuckles]
Now... who's the man or woman among you
who oversees the harvest?
There must be one of you
whose thumb is greener.
[Noble chuckles]
Someone?
Hmm?
[Gunnar] Yes, sir.
- [Noble] Ah.
- That is me.
[Noble] Good.
Yes, I oversee the harvest.
Well, if these people trust you,
then so do I.
Just trying to understand how I could be
so wrong about this land. That's all.
[suspenseful music plays]
Well, sir.
Sindri, our beloved father, is always
looking out for the welfare of our village
and so insists on keeping reserves
in case of famine or drought,
which, as you know,
is the responsibility of a leader.
[splutters] But we have been lucky
these last few seasons.
Our surplus has been
more than we can store.
So, there might be
a chance that we can spare a small amount.
Depending on the scale of your needs.
Mmm. Good. Good.
Yeah, I mean, it's always wise
to hold some in reserve, isn't it, Father?
Yep. Yep.
I am confused though.
Curious why you'd say
this land could barely yield enough
to feed your people.
- Seems that wasn't entirely true.
- [Gunnar] No, wait.
Admiral, no one is trying to mislead you.
Sindri simply has a slightly more
conservative view on reserves than I do.
But we're both excited
about a possible partnership.
Just bear in mind
the reality of what we can supply.
Father, who is this exactly?
- Uh... My...
- [Sindri] He's of no consequence.
I have been empowered
by my people to speak for them.
This man has no authority here.
You would be wise to ignore him.
Well... a rift.
It's not quite
the idyllic community I'd first seen.
Father, if I may
offer you some advice when dealing with
subordinates who need to be kept in place.
I find people can lose sight of the stakes
and sometimes need a gentle reminder
of just how those with power
deal with those without.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Sindri] Admiral.
Sindri...
Please.
- No, I... I would never...
- It's fine.
[Noble sighs]
[nervously] I...
Let me show you what I mean.
Uh...
[Sindri] Please.
Admiral.
[villagers gasp]
[villagers scream]
- [Gunnar] No, stop!
- [villagers scream]
No!
[villagers scream]
- [Noble grunts]
- [flesh squelches]
Sindri!
[screams]
[Krypteian blade buzzes]
[villagers scream]
[she sobs]
[foreboding music plays]
[Gunnar] What did you do?
When can I expect my harvest?
[shuddering] Oh...
I don't...
I said, tell me, partner,
when I can expect my harvest.
Uh... Um... [splutters]
- Nine... nine weeks.
- Very well.
In ten weeks, I shall return.
You shall have
Twelve... We barely produce 12,000 bushels.
We'll starve to death.
I don't understand what you want.
Well, it's simple.
I want everything.
[priests chant]
Platoon! Follow me!
[chants continues]
[Gunnar] Wait!
[man] Just shut up!
[Gunnar] What is... What are you doing?!
- [tooth cracks]
- [villagers gasp]
[chants continues]
[sinister music plays]
No.
[villagers sob]
[dropship engines blast]
[ominous music plays]
All right, listen up.
I need all of this gear moved
to this big stone building.
That should suit us for now.
Marcus, you're gonna help me evict
the current residents from our new home.
Copy?
Copy you, boss.
Copy you.
Hello, everyone.
- [lever clanks]
- [air hisses]
I am JC-1435 of the Mechanicas Militarium,
defender of the King.
Correction, of the slain King.
It is my honor to serve.
I'm Private Aris.
We're moving supplies to that building,
if you wouldn't mind lending a hand.
Thank you, Private Aris.
That falls perfectly into my protocols.
It is my honor to serve.
[Marcus] I'm talking to you,
you dirty drain turtle. Come here.
[shouts] The hell you waiting for?
Get out, man!
[shouts aggressively]
[whistles]
[Marcus] Mmm.
Thank you.
[ladle clatters]
Now, what in the name of the old gods
are you looking at?
I'm sorry, I was just waiting to see
if you needed some more water.
Some more water?
[shouts aggressively]
[makes kissing sound]
That's how I like 'em.
Young, strong enough to put up a fight.
And the taste of blood in my mouth
when I'm f*cking. I like that.
[commander chuckles]
- Boss.
- [commander] Hmm?
Look, they left us a Jimmy.
It's a Jimmy, man.
[howling]
I didn't know we had any of those left.
Careful. The ground's uneven
till you get to the bridge.
Thank you, Private Aris,
but I believe I can manage.
[Marcus] They won't fight anymore.
What do you mean they won't fight anymore?
It's something in their programming.
Once the King was k*lled,
they just laid down their weapons
and refused to fight.
Just watch, no matter what I do,
- he doesn't fight back.
- [g*n powers up]
- [plasma ricochets]
- [uraki whinnying]
[Marcus] Hey!
Careful with that stuff,
you stupid machine.
I'll turn you into scrap, you dumbshit.
You hear me?
You're not hearing me.
[g*n fires]
[Aris] Hey! Stop.
What if I sh**t you instead?
I could k*ll you right now
and no one would care.
- Would they?
- [commander] That's enough.
What do you say? Wanna die?
What's it, huh?
Come on, boy.
[Aris] Do it.
[g*n powers down]
I said, enough.
Get these crates
into that house now, Private.
Yes, boss.
Are you malfunctioning?
No, sir.
Get up. Go to the river. Clean yourself.
The rest of you, stop staring.
Get back to work.
[Marcus] Get back to work, assholes.
[commander] That includes you, Marcus.
[soldier 1] You got it?
[crate clangs]
[Marcus grunts]
[Sam] Excuse me.
[JC-1435] Thank you. That is kind.
- You're a soldier?
- Long ago.
Do you mind? I'm Sam.
[JC-1435] Please.
Tell me, Sam.
Do you know the story of our slain King
and his beautiful daughter,
the Princess Issa?
I don't.
Well, you remind me of her.
In myth, she was called
the Chalice or the Redeemer.
She was pueri salvatoris.
And even before she was born,
I and my brothers
pledged everything we were,
everything that dwells
inside this metal skin,
to fight in her name.
So when word reached us
on some distant b*ttlefield
that she, as prophesied, had been born
of flesh and blood into our world,
I felt a great warmth for the universe
and trusted that she was to usher in
a new age of peace and compassion.
And bring us home.
She was magic.
[JC-1435] Ah, yes.
She was more than magic.
You see, a king is a man.
And a man can fail or betray.
But a myth is indestructible.
Or so they thought.
Because on the day of her coronation,
she, along with
our honored King and Queen,
were assassinated in cold blood
by those they trusted most.
I fear we lost some measure
of our honor since that betrayal.
I'm afraid our compassion, our kindness,
our very joy,
died with that young girl.
[pensive music plays]
I think it lives in you.
[pensive music continues]
This is your fault, Gunnar!
I didn't know that he would k*ll them.
Doesn't matter. He's dead now.
[man 1] What about the soldiers?
They're not gonna stop there.
- [man 2] I don't know.
- Stop, please.
[Den] What are we to do now?
- We could stand and fight.
- [woman 1] Yes.
- [man 3] My scythe is sharp.
- [man 4] I have a r*fle.
What?
- [woman 2] Our ancestors! It's our home!
- No. You cannot fight.
With what?
And not them.
If you have any sense,
you'll take what you can carry and run.
- [woman 3] Run? No.
- [Den] Wait.
- [woman 3] We can't run.
- What? Give up?
Give them everything?
- [man] Kora.
- Everything but your lives.
And if I'm being honest,
some will give that as well.
No matter what you do.
- [man 4] I won't leave here.
- [man 5] They'll sh**t us in the back.
Nor I. I'm staying.
[woman 4] We will stay!
- [woman 5] Yes.
- They're right.
This place is... is all we know.
It's everything. Our history.
We can't leave it for them to destroy.
They're animals!
How about we bring in the crop
and we fall on their mercy?
- [woman 5] Yeah.
- We make ourselves invaluable to them.
They wouldn't be able to k*ll us.
- They would need us.
- [woman 5] He's right.
Farming, that is our skill
that we can do, that they cannot.
If we show them how good we are,
they will be forced to spare us.
- Yes.
- Yes. Yeah.
- Do we agree? Our work fights for us.
- [all] Yes!
- Yes.
- Agreed.
- Our work fights for us. Yes?
- [villagers] Yeah!
- Yeah.
- Yes.
[Den] It's settled then.
- We show them how valuable we are.
- [woman 5] Okay.
And when we have fulfilled
our side of the deal,
they will be forced to rethink
how much food they leave us.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
We can appeal to those gentlemen
in the granary, appeal to their humanity.
- Yeah, they must.
- Good.
So... it's running.
Would've thought
you'd have had enough of that.
You heard them. They're delusional.
They think those soldiers will show mercy
even after what they did to Sindri,
right in front of them.
When I found you
in the wreckage of that ship,
I considered leaving you.
I was afraid
you could bring trouble to us.
But do I for a moment
regret bringing you into our lives?
I do not.
You've become a part of us.
And yet, now you leave
when we need you most.
When your people need you.
I can't.
You mean, you won't?
This place is already lost.
But what if that could change?
What if we did fight,
not only us, but others?
- Who else would come here and fight?
- Others!
Others that have reason to hate
all that the Motherworld represents.
Kora, you know this universe
better than I.
What if you could find
the warriors that Noble seeks?
The outlaws to fight alongside us?
If I find warriors to fight for Veldt,
I give the village hope.
If I give them hope,
they fight and surely lose.
I won't have that blood on my hands.
Nor will I throw my life away
the same as the rest of you.
[melancholy violin music plays]
How long do you think
we have to stay in this f*cking sh*thole?
[buzzes]
[system trills, warbles]
[water pump cranks]
Watch this.
Hey, water girl!
[grunts]
- [Marcus] Come here.
- [Sam] What is it?
Did you need some more water?
Just a... a little water.
[Sam] Stop it!
[bucket clatters]
- [Marcus] Or what? Huh?
- [Sam grunts]
- [Marcus yells]
- [Sam shouting] Help! Help!
Please, help!
[Sam and Marcus grunt]
[Sam screams]
- [Marcus] Grab her!
- Help!
- Shut up!
- Get off me!
- Help me!
- [Marcus] Shut up!
[Sam screams, grunts]
[Sam] No. Please!
- [Marcus] Shut up.
- Someone help me, please! Please, help!
- Help me! Get off of me!
- [Marcus] Shut up!
Get off me! [screams]
[Sam grunts]
[Aris] Don't!
Attaboy. What do you have in mind?
[Aris grunts]
[Aris coughs]
I'm gonna tie you to a post
and make you watch every day
as she turns from a farm girl to a wh*re.
[Aris growls]
- [Marcus yells]
- [soldiers laugh]
Marcus, my good man...
This all sounds nice,
but you're not gonna do anything.
Not until I split this sapling myself.
[Sam struggles]
Then you may have her.
Then you can all have her.
- [Sam groans in disgust]
- [soldiers laugh]
[Sam sobs]
- [Sam screams]
- Get off her!
[shushing]
[Kora] Stop!
[suspenseful music plays]
[Kora pants]
Stop.
Dessert. [chuckles maliciously] Perfect.
Definitely get her.
[slow tense music plays]
[breathes heavily]
[Sam sobs]
[tense music builds]
[soldier 1 groans]
- [g*n powers up]
- [Sam grunts]
[all grunt]
[Kora yells]
[soldier screams]
[Kora yells]
- [knife clinks]
- [soldier 2 screams]
[both yell]
- [g*n powers up]
- [groans]
[g*n powers up]
Please.
[commander] I will f*cking k*ll her.
Is that what you want?
Huh?
Look who decided to join us.
[Sam whimpers]
You guys are f*cked now.
Pick up that g*n, you iron c**t,
and k*ll these f*ck!
That's right.
You were made to k*ll, you f*ck.
What are you waiting for?
I gave you a f*cking order.
k*ll this b...
[Sam panting]
[pants, sniffles]
[somber music plays]
[villagers gasp and murmur]
[Kora breathes heavily]
[villagers gasp]
[sighs]
We're gonna have to fight.
[man] Kora, you may need this.
I found it at the site of the crash.
[pensive music plays]
I thought it was lost.
Our culture is not for such weapons.
[guardian g*n hums]
I feared it could be dangerous.
You were right.
Thank you.
Where will you go?
There is someone, a general named Titus.
Once a hero of the Realm
who turned his own forces
against those of the Motherworld.
Last I heard,
he was still out there somewhere.
If I could find him
and men for him to lead...
Gunnar.
Last year, in Providence,
you sold grain to the resistance.
Yes. I met a man there
who introduced me to the insurgents.
The Bloodaxes.
- Would he still know how to find them?
- It's possible.
Then you'll take me to him?
Of course I will.
[uraki whinnying]
[Gunnar] Hey! Bring down one more uraki!
A general and an army?
We might stand a chance.
Be careful.
[uraki grunts]
A safe journey... to the both of you.
[urakis bellow]
[haunting music plays]
[haunting music continues]
[urakis snort]
[urakis bellow]
[Gunnar] So you were a soldier
for the Motherworld?
Fighting for the Realm?
You could say that.
Of high rank, I suppose?
[animals bay in distance]
I mean, are you wanted for desertion?
That and more.
Okay.
Anything else you wanna ask me?
[Gunnar] They won't just k*ll us,
will they?
I mean, I understand
making an example of Sindri
to keep us in line,
but we're just farmers,
we're not a threat.
How can you know they will destroy us?
When they first came to my world,
I was nine years old.
They never asked for anything.
There were no terms.
[foreboding music plays]
[Kora] Only the lust for destruction.
[expl*si*n]
[somber music plays]
[shouts in the distance]
[soldiers shout]
[woman screams]
[g*nf*re]
[woman screams]
[woman screams]
[screams continues]
[distant screams]
[Kora] The Motherworld's forces
were commanded
by a young general named Balisarius,
who relished the ecstasy of combat.
[expl*si*n]
The people of my world
had mounted a brave defense,
but it had served
only to enrage the young general
and gave him provocation
to take out that anger on the innocent.
[people scream]
[expl*si*n]
[commander] Let's go!
[knock echoes]
[menacing music plays]
I found myself
face-to-face with Balisarius,
who loved commanding his troops,
not from the conning tower of his ships,
but on the b*ttlefield itself.
Set me free, child.
I know you can do it. Yeah.
I know you can.
Please.
[g*n c*ck]
[menacing music builds]
- [young Kora yells]
- [g*n clicks]
[solemn music plays]
Balisarius k*lled my entire family
and took me with him.
I don't know why he spared me.
Why, of the hundreds of thousands
that died at his hands,
he chose me to live.
Saw something in me, I suppose.
Someone to share in his pain.
They gave me the name Arthelais,
began my training and education
in the histories of the Motherworld.
And for five years,
I lived on that ship with its soldiers,
who were my only family.
No softness.
Only the hard lessons of w*r.
[solemn music continues]
Sometimes, I would steal away
to the core of the ship's power.
And there, I found a being
that understood my pain.
[lamentation music plays]
In the engine room,
organic material was force-fed
into the power source
of this w*r machine I called home.
Was it the processed bodies
of those who had stood against us?
I don't know for sure.
I was afraid to ask.
On rare occasions, she would look at me.
And in her tortured eyes,
I still saw pity.
[lamentation music continues]
I learned the history of the Motherworld
under the watchful eyes
of the High Scribes.
But through all its glory,
one myth captured my imagination.
That of the Chalice.
The Redeemer. The first Princess Issa.
And though I knew it was only a fable,
the stories of that righteous child
slaying her enemies with such grace
gave me comfort.
He took me often on missions of diplomacy,
where I would look into the faces
of the proud and noble leaders
of countless worlds.
Where they pleaded for mercy.
- [g*nf*re]
- [scream echoes]
And I was his child.
I was his protégé. I was his student.
And always, he taught me by example.
I was one of them.
Daughter of a decorated commander.
Friend to the King and the royal family,
living a life of privilege.
[soldiers cheer]
[cheers continue]
[Kora] But regardless
of my social standing,
I was expected to do my duty.
To fight for the Motherworld.
[somber music plays]
At the Academy Militarium,
they encouraged us to find a lover.
Someone we would defend with our lives
when the politics of expansion
became too abstract...
No!
...and the why of the conquest
was lost in sheer savagery of combat.
What are you doing? Let's go! Come on!
[Kora yells]
[distorted g*nf*re]
[Kora] So, at the age of 18,
I was made an officer and given a command.
[plasma fires]
[somber music continues]
[soldiers scream]
[loud explosions]
[g*n powers up]
[yelling echoes]
[rousing choral anthem plays]
[metal thuds]
[Kora] I fought for the King
on distant worlds
under the banner of a people
who m*rder*d my entire family
and destroyed my world.
They had trained me,
broken me, and rebuilt me in their image.
You asked how I know
that they'll destroy you.
It's what I would do.
[JC-1435] I have cast
the dead of a thousand worlds,
like rotting dolls into mass graves.
And I stood, bathed in firelight
as entire civilizations
turned to ash before my eyes.
All in the name of a child
who had not yet been born.
Now, drifting here, as if in a dream,
fate blessed me with a choice.
And for the first time,
I felt her hand guiding me,
choosing me as a vessel of righteousness.
[thunder rumbles]
[ship engine rumbles]
[thunder rumbles]
[urakis snort and bellow]
[men shout in distance]
[Gunnar] Thank you.
We'll be back in a couple of hours.
Just want to prepare you.
The establishment we're going,
it's, uh... it's a brothel.
That's fine.
It's where the man we're coming to see
introduced me to Devra.
Devra. Your contact is a prost*tute?
[chuckles] No, it's nothing like that.
Devra is the leader of the Bloodaxes.
You know, the outlaws?
- That I sold the grain to?
- I understand.
[men grunt]
Hawkshaws.
- [Hawkshaw grunts]
- [man groans]
Bounty hunters.
They work for the Imperium.
The Motherworld uses them
to do their dirty work.
[man groans]
Wait.
- [man screams]
- Oh, no.
That's our guy. The man we came to see.
The one that introduced me
to the Bloodaxes.
f*ck you!
Did the Bloodaxes give you
any other way to contact them?
No. They said they were
sheltered on a planet called Sharaan,
- protected by a king named Levitica.
- Levitica.
Come.
[suspenseful music plays]
[indistinct chatter]
[creature chitters]
[warbles]
- [Hawkshaw speaks Anurian]
- [coins clink]
[in Xanadite] Hey, you!
Pay attention to the customers!
Your job is to f*ck the clients.
He's disgusting.
Who do you think you are?
Queen Meeru?
Carbost.
Anyway, I think our best chance
to find the Bloodaxes
is to contact the Leviticans.
It might expose us.
First we find General Titus,
then we'll see about your rebels.
[gags, clears throat]
Is this your owner?
Uh...
I'm prepared to pay.
I've been watching you.
You're special.
Soft and pale, just how I like them.
Move on. He's not for sale.
Everything's for sale in this place,
so... [inhales sharply] how much?
- You know, I have a room upstairs...
- No.
...with relatively clean sheets.
That's a very generous offer.
But I don't think so...
[Gunnar groans]
I guarantee you, by morning...
[Gunnar grunts]
...you're gonna be begging me for more.
- I said, move on.
- [scoffs]
- Come on, Mama.
- [tense music plays]
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Let him come and play.
You need to leave.
Listen close, you jealous little b*tch.
I'm gonna f*ck that
pretty pink hole in his face,
and there's nothing you can do to stop me.
[Gunnar yelps]
- [bones crack]
- [screams in pain]
[man yelps]
Now, you listen close, you little b*tch.
The only one who's
about to get f*cked in here is you.
- [man groans]
- [Kora yells]
[groans]
[patrons chatter indistinctly]
[patrons laugh]
I'm looking for information.
Has anyone here heard of General Titus
or know where he might be?
[indistinct chatter]
[creature squeals, chitters]
Of course, General Titus.
Crazy b*stard. Turned his own men
on the Motherworld's forces [grunts]
at the Battle of Sarawu.
Do you know of his location?
Last I heard,
he was fighting in the coliseum at Pollux.
[growls]
[creature chitters]
I'd be careful if I were you, little miss.
Last hunter who went looking for him
ended up with his head on a pike
outside the coliseum entrance
as a warning not to bother him.
[gasps]
[groans]
So, he's on Pollux.
- That's your plan?
- That's my plan.
What?
Guess we need to
find a ship to take us to Pollux.
You're catching on.
Hey! b*tch!
[chuckles]
Oh.
You should have k*lled me.
Now you're gonna die.
I'm gonna give you one chance
to just turn and walk away.
Uh-oh.
Are you gonna give all of us one chance?
- [suspenseful music plays]
- [g*n c*ck]
[patrons murmur]
[breathes steadily]
- k*ll her.
- [g*n powers up]
- [bartender chatters]
- [creature squeals]
[thrilling music plays]
[Gunnar grunts]
[thrilling music continues]
[Gunnar groans]
[growls]
[thrilling music continues]
[thrilling music fades]
Impressive.
[Kora] Were those Hawkshaws that paid you
working for the Motherworld?
- I don't like bounty hunters.
- [man] I didn't ask.
And to be clear,
I don't like bounty hunters either.
[Kora] So you're a g*n for hire?
No. That's not my thing.
I'm just not willing to die
for someone else's problems.
I'm more of an opportunist, you might say.
A real hero, huh?
[door opens]
Wait.
Look. I heard you in there,
trying to get to Pollux.
I could help you.
For a small fee, obviously.
Oh, understand, we're just simple farmers.
We're searching for soldiers
for a fight against the Motherworld.
We have some money,
but this is not the one you get rich on.
Aye, I understand.
Still, pay me what it's worth to you.
Soldiers for a fight
against the Motherworld?
My name's Kai.
Come on, my ship's down at port.
[thunder rumbles]
[suspenseful music plays]
[Tawau class freighter engine whirs]
[ship engine roars]
[dramatic music builds]
Right. Setting course for Pollux.
[buttons click]
[Kai] I need to stop on Neu-Wodi first.
You know, there's a rancher there.
He has a man
that might just work out for you.
Is he worth our time?
Because we can't afford to waste any.
I think you'll like him.
You ever been off-planet?
No.
What did you do on the farm?
I oversee the harvest, and planting,
cataloguing seeds, and making sure that...
That sounds great.
You might want to hold on.
[console beeps]
[ship engine whirs]
[ship engine roars]
[ship engine blasts]
Whoo! [laughs]
Whoa.
[meteorites rumble]
[birds screech]
You've been sending messages
to the Dreadnought.
I have.
Status reports to ensure everything's
going according to plan.
So you're with us now?
I suppose I am.
If that's all right with you.
It's here. We found it. Come on.
[urakis bray]
- Bring the animals with ropes.
- [Den] Yup.
Let's see if we can't pull this out.
- How long did you say it's been here?
- Two seasons.
Let's go.
[rousing music plays]
Everyone take hold of the rope.
Take hold!
Ready?
[grunts] Heave!
- [all straining]
- [urakis bellow]
[Den] Come on!
[Aris] Come on!
[rousing music continues]
[villagers cheer]
[birds screech]
[dramatic choral music plays]
[bird squawks]
[bird squawks]
[wrench creaks]
[metal thuds]
- Damn it!
- [wrench clatters]
[breathes heavily]
You okay?
I can't fix it.
Not with these tools anyways.
Well, leave it.
You need some rest.
You've been at it for hours.
You don't understand.
If I can't fix it, we won't have the g*ns.
And I know we'll need them.
Everyone sees you've tried your best.
Kora will bring us men to fight.
- Maybe we won't need the ship's g*ns.
- No, we'll need everything.
I've seen what that ship
and the men aboard it are capable of.
They...
They, uh...
[breathes heavily]
[ominous music plays]
[melancholy violin music plays]
It's all right.
[animals hoot in distance]
[mysterious music plays]
[branches snap]
[knife swishes]
[mysterious music continues]
[console beeps]
You fixed it.
Wasn't me.
Jimmy.
[suspenseful music plays]
[haunting ethereal music plays]
[ship engine sputters]
[ship engine slows]
[sniffs]
[ship hisses]
[ship door opens]
[bennu screeches]
[men shout]
[bennu screeches]
Well, if it isn't
the b*stard from Saaldorun.
[man laughs]
- What brings you all the way out here?
- I missed your smiling face.
[man laughs]
You still got
that man chained in the back?
Tarak? Yeah,
he's working off his debt to me.
Another couple dozen seasons,
we should be square.
What's it to you?
You mind if we talk to him?
Could be a deal in it for ya.
[bennu screeches]
Well, if there's money to be made...
But I don't want no trouble.
We're not here to bring any.
All right then.
Follow me.
Hey!
Hey! Tarak!
[metal sizzles]
[man] These people want to talk to you.
- What got that chain on your leg?
- A long road of mistakes.
You ever worn a uniform?
Are you asking what side I fought on?
Because if you're here to accuse me
of crimes against the Motherworld...
Guilty as charged. Take it up with him.
No. That's not why we're here.
We're here from a small village,
and we're looking to hire some fighters
to train and protect us
against a force from the Motherworld.
- I'm no friend of the Realm.
- Okay.
[Tarak] That's well-known.
And I'd gladly fight with you,
but... I have a debt on my name,
and I honor my debts.
What's he owe you?
[man] Uh...
any inconvenience I've suffered.
Oh, ya bollocks.
We don't have that kind of money.
No money.
Well, I do love to gamble.
Here we go.
What's the bet?
If Tarak can break that creature
out there, his debts are squared with me.
[chain rattles]
[man] But if he don't ride him,
you all get a chain and a shackle.
That's the deal.
[man] Grab it tighter!
I won the creature
in a game of chance on Samandrai.
[rancher] Watch its tail!
Can you ride him?
[bennu screeches]
Yeah... I can ride him.
[chain rattles]
- [Tarak grunts]
- [roars]
[man] Yank it hard!
Don't let him fight you like that!
[bennu screeches]
[men grunt]
[roars]
Drop your leads.
She'll tear you apart.
Drop your leads and clear out. Now.
Suit yourself. Drop them.
[bennu roars]
[bennu growls]
[in Samandrait] I'm not going to hurt you.
[bennu screeches]
You're far from home and so am I.
See, you and I...
...we are alike.
We've been hurt. Betrayed.
Our trust has been broken.
[man inhales sharply, exhales]
We both know fear.
Yet, the biggest fear we both face...
...is the fear of ourselves.
- [bennu growls softly]
- [gentle music plays]
[in English] That's it.
[in Samandrait]
Let's show them we're not afraid.
Let's show them we're more
than the shackles that bind us.
[bennu screeches]
[in English] Easy. Easy. Easy.
Let's go. Let's go.
[exhales]
[bennu screeches]
[rhythmic percussive music plays]
[Kai gasps]
[bennu screeches in distance]
[bennu roars]
- [Tarak grunts]
- [bennu screeches]
[bennu screeches]
[Tarak yells, grunts]
[bennu screeches]
[grunts]
[screeches]
- [thrilling music continues]
- [pants]
[dramatic music builds]
- [bennu screeches]
- [Tarak grunts, gasps]
[bennu screeches]
[Tarak laughs]
Whoo!
There.
[bennu squawks]
[enthralling music plays]
[bennu squawks]
[bennu squawks]
[bennu growls softly]
Yeah.
It's okay.
- [bennu coos]
- [chuckles]
Hickman, I've done as you asked.
Your debt is square with me.
[Hickman chuckles]
Be good to her.
[Hickman chuckles]
- [Hickman grunts]
- [bennu bellows]
[Hickman chuckles]
[Hickman chuckles excitedly]
[bennu screeches in distance]
[ship engine starts]
- [bennu snarls]
- [laughs]
[Hickman exclaims, laughs]
[men] Go! Get out!
- [Hickman] Hey!
- [bennu screeches]
[groans]
No.
Hey.
No. No.
[snarls]
[screams]
[screaming stops]
Attagirl.
[Gunnar] Tarak! Let's go.
This was good.
Anyone else you know of along the way?
I might have a couple ideas.
[lever clicks]
[ship warbles]
[bennu screeches]
[creatures chitter]
[gasps and moans]
[chuckles]
[creatures chitter]
[pants]
[chuckles]
[pants]
[Noble groans]
[creatures shriek, chitter]
- [valve hisses]
- [liquid bubbles]
[cable clicks]
- Ah!
- [cable hums]
[breathes deeply]
- [cable clicks]
- [exhales deeply]
[loud bangs on door]
Come in.
[door handle clicks]
Oh.
Oh, Cassius, it's you. Good.
Do you want to join us?
Thank you, sir. That is... tempting.
But I have other pressing matters.
We received a communique
from the Hawkshaws.
They're requesting to rendezvous with us.
Apparently they've captured a creature
that has important information
about the insurgents,
Devra Bloodaxe and her brother.
Bloodaxe? Huh.
- Well, that...
- [creatures chitter]
That's excellent, Cassius.
Inform me when they arrive.
- [Cassius] Yes, sir.
- Hey.
[creatures chitter]
[chokes]
[patrons murmur]
[announcer speaks indistinctly]
Hey, thank you kindly.
[Tarak] Gonna finish that?
- No, go ahead. Yeah, please.
- You sure?
[announcer speaks indistinctly]
How much longer are we gonna wait?
Would you relax? I just put the word out.
Give her a chance. She'll come.
We're wasting our time just sitting here.
Every moment that passes is a moment
we're not mounting a defense.
[mysterious music plays]
You're looking for me?
Well, that depends.
Are you the one they call Nemesis?
I am.
[Kai] See? Told you I'd find her.
Might be time for you lot
to start trusting me.
[man] Nemesis!
Nemesis, please, a child's been taken.
It's Harmada. She's acting insane.
She k*lled a security guard.
We have her cornered, but she's
threatening the child and we just...
Show me.
[mysterious music continues]
Hey, handsome.
[coins clink]
- [lever clicks]
- [elevator whirs]
[dramatic music plays]
[elevator screeches]
[indistinct chatter]
[Nemesis] So, what's the job?
We represent a village
on a small moon called Veldt.
This village
faces the threat of annihilation
by the armies of the Motherworld.
We are looking for warriors
to join the fight to protect them.
You're taking this handful against
officers and soldiers of the Realm?
We are.
[man] Nemesis.
Then you know it's suicide.
- What? What'd she say?
- [man] It's this way.
No, no, no, no, I mean, listen,
we think that if we can, you know, right?
Find the right people,
then maybe we have a chance...
[Nemesis] I'll join you,
if I have a chance to spill the blood
of officers of the Realm.
You will have that chance.
Good.
[man] She's in there.
- Nemesis, please, please.
- Hold her.
Help her. Please, please.
[indistinct chatter]
[suspenseful music plays]
[Harmada growls softly]
[gasps softly]
[Harmada] Stay back.
I just want to talk. That's all.
I'm clearly distressed, that's true.
But I'm not stupid.
I know why you're here.
You want the child.
Yes, I do.
[Harmada] You can't have this one.
This one is mine.
She has a mother who's waiting for her.
Who's missing her.
Is that so?
And why should I care
about that mother's pain
when no one is here for my pain?
Have you seen this place?
- [child whimpers]
- This was my home before they came.
For a thousand generations.
Taste the air.
It poisons my body,
weakens my eggs, and makes my children
too fragile to emerge.
So what about my pain?
I deserve justice.
[Nemesis] I understand.
But this is not the way.
There is a difference
between justice and revenge.
Is there?
I'm not so sure.
I know a mother's pain.
I know the loneliness of that pain.
But you can't hurt that child.
I won't let you.
I believe you know this pain.
But understand.
- I will k*ll this child.
- [child sobs]
And I will keep k*lling
until every mother weeps tears of regret
for ever having come
to the mines of Daggus.
- [snarls]
- [Oracle steel blade swishes]
[screeches]
[thrilling music plays]
- [snarls]
- [child yelps]
[exclaims]
[Nemesis grunts]
- [screeches]
- [child whimpers]
[screeches]
- [Nemesis yells]
- [blades clank]
[thrilling music continues]
- [Harmada screeches]
- [tense music builds]
sh*t!
- [metal gauntlet powers down]
- [Nemesis gasps]
Come on.
[Harmada screeches]
Let's go.
[snarls]
[thrilling music resumes]
[Nemesis grunts]
[Harmada screeches]
[snarls]
Come. Back up! Back up!
[child screams]
- [child whimpers]
- Come here.
[screeches]
[blade slices]
[Harmada shrieks]
[blades hum]
[barb clatters]
[screeches]
[growls]
[creatures chitter]
[Harmada screeches]
[Harmada wheezes]
[Nemesis pants]
[body thuds]
[somber music plays]
[child sobs]
Wow. That was...
That was amazing.
Do not celebrate this.
There's no honor in this.
This could easily be any of you lying here
in the gutter of some forgotten world,
in the name of revenge.
You would do well to remember that.
[creatures chitter]
[ship engine blasts]
[dramatic music plays]
[animals hoot in distance]
[haunting choral music plays]
[JC-1435] In the dream,
she made me seneschal
and gave me a place in her royal house.
And all regard me with reverence.
For I did drink
from the chalice of true belief.
[ethereal choral music plays]
[insects chitter]
And it set me free.
[dropship engine booms]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[energy field warbles]
This is the man
who knows where the insurgents are?
It is, sir.
Well, I'm listening.
You'll let me go
if I tell you what I know?
I'll set you free, you have my word.
I haven't seen
Devra Bloodaxe for a full season,
but at the time they were on Sharaan,
under the protection of a king called...
Levitica.
[g*n loads]
[Noble] Go on.
This was some time ago,
but they were definitely there.
Talk to him, to Levitica.
I certainly will. Thank you.
[bolt g*n hisses]
Thought we had a deal!
Yes, we did.
[machinery clicks]
[system beeps]
You're free.
[body thuds]
- [sinister music plays]
- [gasps]
[Noble] Dissect his brain and see
if we can find out any more information.
Then we'll go
pay our respects to King Levitica.
[Cassius] Yes, Admiral.
I'll set a course for Sharaan.
Let's go.
[ship engine blasts]
[tool hisses]
[prosthesis clicks, whirs]
That was good of you earlier.
With the child.
- I was just trying to help.
- Yes, but it's not natural for some.
[Gunnar] It is for you.
Back home,
you saved Sam without hesitation.
Kindness is a virtue worth dying for.
I believe that.
I didn't always.
I told you how I fought
on countless worlds.
Well, word of my victories
reached my adopted father.
And the King.
[haunting choral music plays]
[Kora] For my loyalty and service,
I was promoted
to the Elite Guard of the Royal Family.
The appointment
was engineered by my father.
[birds chirp]
I couldn't have known
it was something more.
I was given the honor
of being the bodyguard to Princess Issa.
The princess was named after
an ancient Queen Issa,
the Lifegiver.
In the old stories of the queen,
it was said
that she had the power to give life.
It seemed a myth or a metaphor
created in response
to the generations of w*r and conquest.
[divine resonance]
Yet, the story still captured
the imagination of the people.
And it was believed that the princess,
my princess, might have that same power.
I saw on more than one occasion
things that I... couldn't explain.
[bird chirps]
Things that made me think
that she was different.
Special.
[captivating music plays]
[bird chirps]
The King once said to me...
[sniffles]
[King] Bartholomew would never admit it,
but the Order of 12 were
in desperate need of a nurturing touch.
And I'm glad it's you
that's been charged with protecting her.
She likes you. She told me.
[Kora] Oh.
Yes, she said you...
you weren't like these
grumpy bodyguards she had in the past.
That you smile from time to time.
My apologies
if I've become too familiar, my Lord.
- But Issa is a special girl.
- Mmm.
It is hard to keep
proper professional distance
when she shows me such kindness.
[chuckles] Arthelais, please.
Please. There's no need to apologize.
I'm glad you're friends.
When she becomes queen,
I believe she'll bring
a compassion that I've lost
after all these hard years of w*r.
[Kora] "It will be the dawn
of something better."
- I think your friendship makes her safer.
- That our friendship made her safer.
I believed in her.
In her kindness.
I believed in her ability to save us.
[melancholy music plays]
[sighs deeply]
[somber music plays]
[enthralling choral music plays]
[ethereal music plays]
[wistful music plays]
[serene music plays]
[bird squawks]
[wind howls heavily]
[crowd cheers in distance]
The twin moons of Castor and Pollux.
Known throughout the galaxy
for producing great spectacles of combat.
Only the fiercest warriors come here.
[growls]
[snarls]
[crowd shouts in distance]
[creature roars]
[creature roars]
- [man screams]
- [creature growls]
[flesh tears]
[crowd cheers]
[creature roars]
What about that man there? He looks like
he's got the bearing of a general.
[gladiator grunts]
Uh-huh.
Yeah, it must be Titus.
General!
General!
The general is not here.
He doesn't fight anymore.
He's been defeated?
Not in the coliseum. He has only one w*r.
It's with himself.
You'll find him by the Southern Gate.
You. Take them.
Follow me.
Thank you.
The great General Titus.
Thank you.
[Gunnar] Okay.
[creature chitters]
[Kai] Oof.
[creature sniffles]
Are you sure this is a good idea?
Let's clean him up and get him sober.
- Yeah, that'll do it.
- [Tarak] Come on.
- [Gunnar] Come on.
- [Kai] You got him, lads?
- [Tarak] Come on.
- Get off me! [grunts]
- [water sprays]
- [shouts]
b*stards!
You b*stards! You cowards!
You're all cowards!
No courage!
I'll k*ll you.
[foreboding music plays]
You're all cowards!
[foreboding music continues]
No courage.
[scrubs]
What do you think you're doing?
What does it look like?
Go to hell.
That's enough. Thank you.
Did you command
the Eastern ranks for the Old King?
Are you not General Titus?
Defender of the innocent and oppressed.
A legend.
I don't know
what you're running your mouth about.
I'm just a beggar.
Never heard of this... general.
Sounds like a prick.
I think you are that prick.
[crowd cheers in distance]
Long ago, maybe.
Why can't you just please leave me alone?
Because my best hope is that
long-ago general is still in front of me.
What do you want from me?
My men are dead!
I've grown tired
of reliving that every day.
In the coliseum, my rage made me a god.
But it's all used up.
This bottle is my only
true comfort from that hell.
Now, please, leave me
and let me die in peace.
I don't think you're meant to die here...
General.
Stop calling me that.
I have no rank, no privilege.
I'm here to make you an offer.
To give you a chance at redemption.
- I am beyond redemption.
- I have no time for pity!
What about all the dead men
you once commanded?
What about them?
If not redemption...
what about revenge?
[dramatic music plays]
[freighter engine rumbles]
[in Sharaanese] Your patience
is appreciated and I can assure you...
...Devra is aware of your presence.
A decision
when to receive you is imminent.
Thank you, Levitica, honored king.
We await their arrival.
[in English] Well?
What did he say?
Did they tell him it was me?
Be patient. They'll come.
- [system beeps]
- [contraption hisses]
You see that?
Up there?
[enchanting music plays]
The Samandrai system.
- You know the night sky?
- Some of it.
Have you seen Samandrai?
It is... beautiful.
It's the origin planet of my ancestors.
It's where I was born.
Why have you not returned?
Nothing there to return to.
Those who weren't k*lled fighting
are now sl*ves for the Motherworld.
How did you survive?
He said those who fought
were k*lled or enslaved.
You didn't fight, did you? You fled.
Instead of daring to face them.
[Kai] Oh, great.
I invited a coward to the army.
That'll help.
Is that true, big man?
Are all them muscles
hiding a coward inside?
At least he dares
to stand and fight with us now.
Pilot.
You're lucky if you can stand,
you drunk b*stard.
[Gunnar] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Guys, guys, guys! Please! No. Please.
[distant boom]
Look.
[Bloodaxe fleet approaches]
[dramatic music plays]
[King Levitica in Sharaanese]
Darrian, Devra, greetings.
[in English] They've been waiting.
And I believe they are sincere.
[foreboding music plays]
[sighs]
Farmer, why would you contact us
from this unknown and flagless vessel?
I was assuming we had a level of trust
after our last meeting.
We bought your grain to feed our fighters.
Do not confuse your business of commerce
with our business of revolution.
[Gunnar] I understand.
Your coming here is a great risk
to us all and to our benefactor.
But we are no longer
in need of your grain.
King Levitica's kindness
has been more than enough to sustain us,
so I suggest you leave immediately.
[Kora] We're not here to sell grain.
Gunnar's village
was visited by a Dreadnought
that threatens its very existence.
I have recruited these warriors
and given my word to bring them back
and defend the farmers.
- But we're running out of time.
- What?
This handful? Against a Dreadnought?
That's why we have come.
You have men and ships.
With you we could mount a real defense.
And, of course, we can pay you
with the surplus from our harvest.
It's all we've got.
[Devra] My forces against the King's Gaze?
That's suicide.
That ship cannot be destroyed
by a few dozen fighters.
That ship and the men aboard it
are world destroyers.
I'm sorry, it's impossible.
I do not know
what hardship you have faced.
I do know the pain of revolution
from your eyes.
Yes.
This man is not a revolutionary.
He's a simple farmer.
But commerce or not,
his people toiled with their bare hands
to grow the grain that fed you.
All of you!
And because of that transaction,
their village is now
threatened by Admiral Noble,
in pursuit of your revolution.
[suspenseful music plays]
[Darrian] You have the chance to run,
but you choose to stand and fight.
I see.
I will go.
Thank you.
Brother, a word.
Our victories, what few there have been,
have been tactical ones.
We cannot fight in the open
against the King's Gaze.
If the farmer found us,
it won't be long before Noble does.
And I will not allow another world
to fall in our name.
[Devra sighs]
And what of those you command?
[Darrian] Their lives are theirs.
[Devra] Hmm.
These people, they've come to us with
nowhere else to turn.
They come...
seeking our help
to stand against
a Dreadnought of the Motherworld.
Is that not what we stand for?
Are they not who we once were?
If we will not stand with these
defiant farmers to protect their home,
then the revolution is meaningless.
Under free will,
who among you
is willing to die for what we believe
rather than hide behind it?
[stirring music plays]
[Darrian] Milius.
Why am I not surprised?
Who is going to make sure
you'll return in one piece, if not me?
[stirring music continues]
Thank Levitica and leave this planet.
[Kai pats on back]
Sister, you are this revolution's heart.
Beat loudly.
[Darrian whistles]
Maybe this isn't suicide after all.
[ship engines blast]
Why would he agree to help you?
Bloodaxe? You think they shouldn't?
It just seems short-sighted.
I mean, he weakens what little of
whatever word
you wanna use for it there is...
Resistance, insurgency.
For what, Kora?
The chance to get obliterated
by a Dreadnought?
Guilt, it's a powerful thing.
[Kai] Aye, guilt. The underbelly of honor.
I think I might've had that once.
Honor.
Would you believe that?
It's true.
I mean, what do you figure?
I got ten, fifteen more seasons at most,
before I steal from the wrong man.
Get stabbed to death by some
dog-headed son of a b*tch in a bar fight.
[Kora chuckles]
It's really your fault, anyway.
Makin' me wanna be an honorable man.
If you had more
resisting power to speak of,
you wouldn't need me to join you so badly.
You're willing to fight with us?
Since you're beggin'.
Kai, we're not.
Well, since you're asking, then.
If you'll allow me.
Wow.
There is one complication.
The shite in the cargo hold.
I got buyers waiting in Gondival.
Aren't the kinds known for their patience.
Might be wise
to sever my ties to life as a thief
before we go
picking a fight with a Dreadnought.
Besides, a deal's a deal.
Even amongst scum.
I'll set the course
and let 'em know we're on our way.
Oh, sh*t, does that make me
one of the good guys?
[Kora chuckles]
[grunts, whimpers]
[in Sharaanese] I beg you...
[distant expl*si*n]
[in English] Please!
I've told you the truth.
I have nothing more.
[Noble] Right,
[scoffs] the truth,
that you took them in,
known enemies of the Motherworld,
mended their wounds,
repaired their broken ships,
all out of your
moral code of honor and charity.
Our civilization has lived
and thrived for 10,000 years
with honor and charity
as its most valued tenets.
Yes. Yes, honor and charity.
Do you see that?
That ship is named the King's Gaze.
It was named to honor our slain father.
So...
honor I understand.
Charity, I do not.
Our King showed charity
to an off-worlder like yourself
and was slaughtered for his charity.
So, we named the ship to remind us
of the power in that benevolent gaze
that was lost to charity.
And to remember that, if by God's will,
that gaze should fall upon us and be held,
for even the briefest of moments,
it could change your life forever.
Today, it falls upon you.
[rousing choral anthem plays]
[priests chant]
We are cleared to engage.
[dramatic music plays]
[systems beep]
[lever cranks]
[metal creaks]
[dramatic music continues]
[powers up]
[soldier] Charged.
[lever clicks]
[cranks]
Target acquired.
- [systems beep]
- Confirmed.
[commander] Fire at will.
- [lever clicks]
- [weapon fires]
[powers up]
- Charged.
- Fire.
- Charged.
- Fire.
[expl*si*n]
[Cassius] Sir, we received a message
from one of our Hawkshaws.
They're closing in on the Bloodaxes.
[Noble] Ah.
Finally, some good news.
Well, prepare the hyperlaunch.
I'll go ahead and personally retrieve
the treasonous dogs myself.
[rousing choral anthem continues]
And what orders for the King's Gaze, sir?
Well, once you've razed the planet,
we'll rendezvous, extract the exact
location of the rest of the insurgents,
and destroy them once and for all.
[Cassius] Yes, sir.
[foreboding music plays]
[distant explosions]
[weapon fires]
[explosions boom]
Admiral Noble's gunship,
you're clear to uncouple.
[commander] Affirm, Commander.
We're ship uncoupling.
[dropship warbles]
Good hunting.
Thank you, Cassius.
[plasma fires]
- [creatures chitter]
- [birds chirp]
[serene music plays]
[melancholy music plays]
[JC-1435] In that other life,
out of time, now free,
I knelt before the child goddess.
The soft light of kindness
shone upon my face,
and she did place upon
my troubled brow a crown,
so that I might know my own nobility.
And in that knowing, I felt safe
and let her see my pain.
I watched as tears
welled in her eyes for me.
And for the first time...
I was seen.
[thunder rumbles]
Her tears falling upon my face
were a baptism.
And I felt the blessed rapture
of peace.
[ship engines blast]
[indistinct chatter]
[ships whir and hum]
[mechanical rumbling]
[Gunnar] I'm pretty sure
Kai said these boxes.
- [Titus] We've got one.
- [Gunnar] Okay.
Aye, just take the gray ones.
- They're all marked.
- All right.
For God's sake, don't look inside.
I'd hate you to think less of me.
[ventilators hiss]
[ventilators stop]
h*!
Where do you want them?
- There's space behind the bridge.
- Done.
Put them the other side of the bridge.
Aye, let's unload
and get off this godforsaken rock.
I'll be happy to leave this life behind.
Good.
[indistinct announcement on PA]
[Hawkshaw] Just wanna make sure
that one's on the manifest.
[crate thuds]
[ship engines whoosh]
[Darrian] Pilots!
Once you tie off those ships,
see if you can get some fuel.
And you two, keep eyes from above!
[ship engine blasts]
[ominous music plays]
How we lookin'?
Everything is done.
- [Kai] All right, let's move.
- [Hawkshaw] Yes.
- [comms beeps]
- On your mark.
This isn't right.
[explosions]
[exoskeleton clanks]
[Kora screams]
[Darrian grunts, struggles]
[Nemesis grunts]
- [blades clatter]
- [Titus grunts]
[Hawkshaws clamor]
On your knees.
[Gunnar grunts]
Now is not the time to be a hero.
[breathes heavily]
[King's Gaze rumbles]
When?
[Kai] On Veldt, in Providence,
the first time I heard your story.
Thought with your ideals of resistance
I could round up a couple of heads.
Tarak for instance.
His world enslaved.
Then there was Nemesis.
Her whole family slaughtered.
But General Titus?
Have you any idea
how much he alone is worth?
They would've all jumped at the chance
to exact any small vengeance
against the Realm,
even if the payment
was only a sack of f*cking grain.
And then there was you. Kora.
Or should I call you Arthelais?
The biggest prize of them all.
Do you know what
your Motherworld did to my planet?
They didn't just destroy it.
They tortured every man, woman, and child.
Left them clingin' to life
as they turned them to ash from low orbit.
You know what that taught me?
Never set foot
on the wrong side of history.
[Kora] Is that what you think we're doing?
[Kai] No.
You've chosen the side that
doesn't even make it to the history books.
What happened to honor?
What did happen to it?
Piece of sh*t.
[kisses]
Well, who all have we got here?
Who indeed?
Commander Bloodaxe.
Leader of the very insurgency
the King's Gaze was sent to
this backwater of the galaxy to capture.
He alone will secure
my seat in the Senate.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention
we are in the presence of royalty.
Tarak Decimus.
Or should I say Prince Tarak? [scoffs]
General Titus.
Needs no introduction, does he?
His actions
at the Battle of Sarawu precede him.
The farmer.
The ambitious farmer.
I pride myself on never being surprised.
And yet, here I am.
I understand
why all of them are here... but you.
What could you have possibly hoped to gain
by mounting such a... feeble stand?
Tell me.
Oh, yes.
The legendary swordswoman
known only by the name of Nemesis.
Assassinated 16 high-ranking
Imperial officers
and their security detail.
All in a hunt
to avenge her slaughtered children.
Oh...
Blades of oracle steel.
I've been searching
for one of these for ages.
Tell me. How do you get them to glow?
I will rip them from your hands
and use them
to cleave your head from your body.
Then they will glow orange
with the fires of the forge of Byeol.
[speaks Anurian]
[ethereal choral music plays]
[Noble] Of course.
[g*n clatters]
I thought I recognized something in you,
down in that filthy village.
Out there,
amongst all these simple people,
the most wanted fugitive
in the known universe.
Scargiver. Arthelais.
Do you know what you've
done for me, Arthelais, truly,
assembling yourself as such?
When I lay your bodies
at the foot of the Regent,
I'll be a hero of the Realm.
They'll write songs
of my feats of courage.
It's not like I didn't do all the work.
Let's move this along, shall we?
Let's transport them paralyzed,
in case anyone's feeling frisky.
On your feet. I've got a job for you.
Look... [grunts] Okay, okay.
[g*n clicks]
[Gunnar exclaims]
You play your cards right, you at least
might make it out of this alive.
All you have to do is pull the trigger.
This is what it means to survive.
[Gunnar] No.
- I won't do it.
- Yes, you will.
This is insane.
He's not going to be a problem, is he?
Nah, first time I met him was a gunfight.
You know what he does?
Scampers under her legs.
Cowers behind her
while she does the dirty work.
You're sick.
And you're a coward.
[somber music plays]
You can do it. Just pull the trigger.
[machinery clicks, crackles]
[system beeps]
- I know you're in love with her.
- [Gunnar sighs]
Kora.
[Kora whimpers] Gunnar.
[cries]
I'm so sorry.
You can do it.
[g*n loads, fires]
[Kora gasps]
[g*n powers up]
[Hawkshaws scream]
[tense music plays]
[Kora grunts]
[yelling]
- [machinery clicks]
- [Nemesis grunts]
[Hawkshaw yells]
[Darrian grunts]
- [Darrian grunts]
- [soldier yells]
Pilots! To your ships!
[tense music continues]
[system beeps]
[TM87 battle r*fle fires]
[scanner beeps]
[pilot] Cut me loose! We gotta go!
[system beeps]
[screams]
[yelling]
[grunts]
[King's Gaze cranks]
[grunts]
[soldiers groan]
[yells]
[dramatic music plays]
[yelling]
[groans]
[alarm blares]
[screaming] No!
[yelling]
[yells]
[dramatic music plays]
[King's Gaze creaks]
[yelling]
[tense music plays]
[growls]
[both grunt]
[metal clangs]
- [growls]
- [Kora gasps]
[Kora groans]
[Kora grunts, pants]
[Kora yells]
[yelps]
[Kora grunts]
- [grunts]
- [Noble yelps]
- [dramatic music plays]
- [Kora grunts]
[both grunt]
[Kora yells]
- [Kora grunts]
- [groans loudly]
[bones crack]
[Noble screams in pain]
[Noble groans]
[bones crack]
[Kora pants]
[dramatic music builds]
- [Kora grunts]
- [stabs weapon]
- [yells]
- [stabs weapon deeper]
[Noble groans]
[Noble groans]
[cackles]
This is perfect.
[haunting violin music plays]
[distant expl*si*n]
[exhales deeply]
They gave their lives for us.
They believed in their cause.
What better thing to die for?
And I should have died with them.
I know a thing or two about
the guilt of carrying on when those
you've sworn to fight with are gone.
Honor them.
With everything that you can from now.
Carry them.
[Tarak shouts]
[Gunnar grunts]
This was a blow to the Motherworld,
what we did this day.
Criminals, nobodies,
standing against a machine of w*r.
This small act of defiance
gives voice to the voiceless.
This is more than just a fallen
prick officer and some of his men.
It's the beginning of something.
What will they do now?
The crews of the Imperium
are not known for their bravery.
After the death of an admiral,
protocol will demand the ship's return.
That's good.
We still get paid, I presume?
[Kora] A deal is a deal.
Payment awaits us on Veldt.
I owe you thanks, Gunnar.
You know, I never did trust that pilot.
[Kora] We all owe him thanks.
He saved us.
[dramatic music builds]
Right.
[urakis bellow]
[Gunnar grunts]
Come on.
[ominous music plays]
[Hawkshaws snicker]
[urakis bellow]
[pensive music plays]
[urakis bellow]
[Titus] I've been wondering.
Is what that dead bounty hunter said true?
That you're Arthelais?
Kai was a liar and a thief
who nearly sold you all for a profit.
Anything more you want, General?
Don't call me General.
Hey, you see it?
There.
That's our village.
Home.
[Kora] Home.
I never had a place to put to the word.
It's almost a shame
you k*lled that son-of-a-b*tch Noble
and we don't have to fight.
This would've been
a beautiful place to die.
Yes, it would.
Let's go.
[dramatic music plays]
[birds chirp]
[urakis bellow]
[ominous music plays]
[electricity crackles]
[haunting choral music plays]
[disembodied screams]
[screams continue]
[haunting choral music continues]
[ethereal music plays]
[distant explosions]
[Dreadnought rumbles]
[tablet beeps]
[technician 1] Ready him for transmission.
Balisarius is standing by.
[technician 2] Sir,
should we stabilize him first?
[technician 1] No,
we will not keep the Regent waiting.
Neurolink.
- [cable clicks]
- [technician 2] Link is established.
[fluid gurgles]
[technician1] Connection complete.
Signal is strong.
[astral energy pulses]
[technician 1] Send him.
[Neurolink powers up]
[electricity crackles]
[distant rumbling]
[astral energy crepitates]
[Balisarius] How does that cold air
feel in your lungs, hmm?
Master, I'm humbled and honored
by this gracious audience.
[Balisarius] Yes.
Now tell me what you've done.
I have found her.
The hated Arthe,
who m*rder*d in cold blood
that which we held most dear.
To say her name
brings a feeling of poison to my throat.
I have found Arthelais.
- You're certain it's her?
- I am, my Lord.
She was in the company of the disgraced
General Titus and Darrian Bloodaxe.
We are close to capturing them.
Our worlds will unite in celebration,
not only at the destruction
of this pitiful insurgency,
but for the bringing of justice.
Of the ethnic impurity, the monster,
the Scargiver, the hateful one,
the enemy of us all.
[Balisarius] Tell me, Commander,
what should I be doing
right about now, hmm?
Should I be showering praise upon you?
The promise of glory?
- Sir, I thought that you...
- Thought what?
She who k*lled the King and Queen,
as well as her charge,
the Princess Issa in cold blood,
one of the most dangerous
and decorated warriors
in the history of armed conflict,
is now part of a blossoming insurgency?
I'm supposed to be happy, am I?
Happy that she's joined forces
with the genius
b*ttlefield commander, General Titus?
Did you think
that this would be good news?
Sir, she is within our grasp.
Let me bring you her head.
[Balisarius] Ah.
In truth, I fear the head
most endangered here is yours.
- [royal staff thuds]
- [ice shatters]
[energy crackles]
But I'm glad that I brought you here.
So that I can tell you
to your face what you will do next.
You will crush this insurgency
to the last man.
- [royal staff thuds]
- [ice shatters]
And then you will capture
my daughter alive
and bring back my precious child to me.
So that I might crucify her
in the shadow of the Senate itself,
ending this myth before it even begins.
- [royal staff thuds]
- [ice shatters]
If you cannot bring her to me,
then the one whose public execution
will send shivers
down the spines of the senators,
and whose screams
will echo down its marbled halls
will be yours.
- [royal staff thuds]
- [energy pulses]
[dramatic music plays]
- [technician 1] Did he make it back?
- [technician 2] I don't know.
I have no heartbeat or brain function.
[technician 1] Hit him harder.
[Neurolink powers up]
[electricity crackles]
[technician 1] Hit him with everything.
[Neurolink powers up]
[electricity crackles]
[rapid beeping]
[screams]
[rousing choral anthem plays]
[sinister music plays]
[haunting ethereal music plays]
[haunting choral music plays]
[rhythmic percussive music plays]
[haunting folk music plays]
[haunting folk music fades]
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire/ Directors Cut (2023)
Moderators: Maskath3, GabrielAlejo2341, sidolanters, Maskath3, sidolanters, GabrielAlejo2341