Season Two Episode Three - Render Unto Caesar

SFX: metallic rattling and gentle music. Traffic control chatter over the radio starts, then is turned off. Vector engines fire. A comm opens. 

CENTRUM TC (over comms): Kilo-delta-two-seven-oh-niner, you are entering Centrum orbital control zone C, please transmit manifest and crew documentation immediately.

SFX: a switch is flipped. 

CASS: Roger TC, transmitting now.

MEDS: There it is. Been a while.

CASS: Yep... Home.

CROFT: Ugh, planets man. Look at all that water, disgusting. What are you even supposed to do with that much water?

CENTRUM TC (over comms): Kilo-delta-two-seven-oh-niner, you are being forwarded by executive request through naval channels. Please hold your position and await inspection.

CASS: Here comes the red carpet.

MEDS: Hey, you going to be ok?

CASS: I'll be fine.

SFX: a deep rumble fades up. 

CROFT: Contact. That's a ship and a half, is this our welcome wagon?

CASS: It's the Pendragon, flagship of the Assembly.

MEDS: Tetrarch Class First Rate. You don't see many of those.

SFX: trilling of a comm. 

PENDRAGON COMMS (over comms): Corvette Guinevere, this is the CSV Pendragon. By invitation of Fleet Admiral Farren you are cleared to land at Faltcrest Bay Naval Yards, pad six. Upon landing you'll be met by a private quadcar which will take you to meet the admiral at the Court Gardenia Hotel.

MEDS: We can still turn around Cass.

SFX: door whooshes open and closed as footsteps approach. 

CASS: No we can't.

SFX: a switch as the microphone opens. 

CASS: Confirmed Pendragon, beginning descent.

ELIZABETH: We here?

CROFT: Yep, you're just in time. Get strapped in, should be a bit of a view. 

SFX: seatbelts click. metallic rattling increases speed as they begin atmospheric descent. 

CROFT: Passing cloud level.

SFX: music builds into a triumphant, epic swell. 

MEDS: There it is...

CASS: The Abercross, City of Sails.

SFX: epic music continues, then fades out. 

SFX: Intro music starts - “Wilderness” by Taylor Davis.

NARRATOR: The Sojourn, Season Two Episode Three: Render Unto Caesar by Daniel Orrett. Starring Larissa Thompson as Captain Cassandra Farren, Emily Serdahl as Elizabeth Ancelet, Laura Faye Smith as Tamara Melari, and Ben Prendergast as Mathias Croft. Also featuring Angus Miller as Edwin Faulkner, Mithun MK as Professor Vikram Sidhu, and Special Guest Star Dominic Keating as Fleet Admiral Darius Farren. 

SFX: Theme music continues.

SFX: engines wind down. 

CROFT: Touchdown.

MEDS: Gear stable, maglock secure.

SFX: a comm rings. 

CUSTOMS CONTROL (over comms): Corvette Guinevere this is  Faltcrest Bay, Customs and Excise, you've been precleared through border control by executive order, remain on the pad, your quadcar will be landing momentarily.

ELIZABETH: After the last few weeks it feels kinda nice to be getting the exclusive treatment for a change.

CASS: Hm.

- Scene Change - 

SFX: a quadcar’s engine winds down. Car doors open and several pairs of shoes step into puddles. Rain patters. 

ELIZABETH: Thank you.

SFX: the doors close and the quadcar flies away. 

CROFT: Man, queues down the street for rations and people sleeping in drainage trenches, but the fancy hotel's still open.

MEDS: Yeah, get used to that.

CASS: Let's go.

SFX: sliding automatic doors open as gentle lobby music fades in, the rain fading away. 

RECEPTIONIST: Welcome to the Court Gardenia Hotel. 

CASS: Afternoon, we're-

RECEPTIONIST:  Cassandra Farren, party of four, yes! You're expected. That elevator will take you to the roof garden.

CROFT: Roof garden?

SFX: an elevator chimes. 

ELIZABETH: Ooh, snazzy.

CASS: Thank you.

SFX: elevator doors open, then close. 

CASS: Now listen, just fair warning, these kinds of functions, the people in these circles... It's probably going to seem kind of... weird. Just let me do the talking.

SFX: the elevator chimes again, then the doors open. Several voices overlap. Rain can be heard pattering on windows. 

SOCIALITE (in the distance): -was a ministerial aide to the culture secretary before he bought his commission, terribly tawdry job as he tells it-

DUELING ARBITER (in the distance): For the last time, gentlemen, cannot you be reconciled? Very well. You may select a matched pair of pistols and powder from the dueling case and step to your marks.

ARISTOCRAT (in the distance): -always been that way in the Foreign quarters, I couldn't agree more. They hardly needed a famine to start behaving like beasts. If you'll excuse me, Provost Marshal.

CASS: Ugh. I don't miss this.

CROFT: Bloody hell, did that elevator go through some kind of time portal or something? 

MEDS: I take it you don't have this kinda thing in Mericia?

CROFT: What, weird rich people?  Everywhere's got that. Just thought they might have toned things down a bit what with everyone starving to death and everything. 

MEDS: More fool you.

ELIZABETH: Who are all these people?

CASS: Brasspine Yeomanry.

ELIZABETH: What?

DUELING ARBITER (in the distance): You may step out the distance of ten paces, then turn and give fire.

CASS: It's like a social club, originally it was a veteran's society for people who'd been awarded the Order of Brasspine, then they let their friends in, and their friends, and eventually it just became...

CROFT: A big bunch of overdressed arseholes.

MEDS: Yep.

SFX: a gunshot. People shout. A body hits the ground. 

ELIZABETH: What was-

CROFT: What the fuck?!

SFX: a man loudly groans in pain. 

MEDS: I'm gonna help him.

CASS: No, wait Meds it's-

SFX: rushing footsteps. Applause starts. 

ARISTOCRAT: Good show old man, very fine shooting I say.

SFX: Velcro rips. A medical scanner beeps. 

MEDS: Stay still, I have coagulant foam.

DUELING ARBITER: Madame, please stand clear this is a private mediation.

CASS: Meds, they have their own doctors, step back. They do this all the time.

SFX: footsteps approach.

MEDS: This man needs help, he's--

MEDIC: Dueling medics, please stand back madam.

MEDS: I-- alright, alright.

SFX: a hypodermic needle fires, foam expands. The man stops groaning and footsteps retreat. 

CASS: Let's go. This kind of thing is normal for these guys.

CROFT: This is not even slightly normal Skip.

SFX: footsteps approach. 

ELIZABETH: What... What was this even about?

FAULKNER: Ludicrous, isn't it. It's technically outlawed but certain ministers can still give dispensation thanks to some legislation that's been in effect since back when those flintlocks were state of the art. You're Elizabeth Ancelet, right?

ELIZABETH: Yeah, that's me. 

FAULKNER: Edwin Faulkner. As of last week, Principal Private Secretary to the Office of the Provost Marshal.

CROFT: Good luck fitting that on your door.

FAULKNER: Yes, quite. And you must be Cassandra Farren. You're something of a guest of honour I'm afraid. 

CASS: Not my idea I assure you.

FAULKNER: Yeah, I imagined as much. He's waiting for you in the conservatory.

CASS: Thanks.

FAULKNER: Well, I'll let you get on with it. Pleasure to meet you all.

- Scene Change -

SFX: rain patters onto an umbrella. Footsteps run through a puddle. Sombre music plays. 

MEDS: Cass, y'know, I can come with you if--

CASS: No, it's alright. Go and wait with the others. I'll be okay.

MEDS: Okay. Good luck.

SFX: footsteps retreat. A door opens, an umbrella is shaken and closed. Rain patters against windows as thunder rumbles. Cass sighs, then walks into the room. 

DARIUS: Daughter.

CASS: Admiral.

SFX: footsteps approach. 

DARIUS: Oh please, surely we're past that, no? Almost five years. And when they told us about the Avalon, I... I'm so glad to see you safe.

CASS: You can skip the performance, this isn't a social call. 

DARIUS: Please, don't say that Cassandra. I am sorry you know. Truly, I am. For everything that happened. You were not to blame.

CASS: I was. That's my responsibility. Mine.

SFX: fabric rustling. 

DARIUS: I understand.

CASS: No you don't. The pulsar data. Why do you want it.

DARIUS: I believe it may be our only chance at a future for our people. All of us. Though so far it seems I'm the only one with the wisdom to see it.

CASS: Imagine that.

DARIUS: You've a right to hate me. But this isn't about the war anymore, it isn't about us. What you found out there, it changes everything.

CASS: Not for me. My world stretches from one end of my ship to the other.

DARIUS: Hmm. You surprise me.

CASS: Yeah well… I tried the whole grand mission to save humanity thing. Shame you missed out, you'd have loved it. It was all terribly heroic. 

DARIUS: Whatever happened to you out there. I'm s–

CASS: Don't. 

SFX: sombre music continues. Cass sighs. 

CASS: When the repairs to the Guin are complete I'll forward the logs and the pulsar data to you. We're done here. 

DARIUS: Very well, though there is one proposal I wanted you to consider.

SFX: footsteps as Darius’ voice falls into the distance. 

DARIUS: It concerns Doctor Ancelet.

SFX: footsteps stop. 

CASS: What about her.

SFX: footsteps as Darius approaches. 

DARIUS: We'd like to give her the opportunity to be involved in our research into the pulsar data. She can work remotely and could continue to do so from aboard your ship, it wouldn't interfere with any of your business. But she is uniquely qualified, and I suspect you know even better than I that it's what she wants, what she deserves.

SFX: thunder rumbles. Cass sighs. 

CASS: I'll talk to her.

DARIUS: As you say. There is however, something of a complication at present. Forgive me for a moment.

SFX: footsteps. A walkie opens. 

DARIUS: Mister Bantrell could you please fetch Doctor Ancelet and have her meet us outside along with the Provost Marshal. Presently if you could.

BANTRELL (over comms): Right away sir.

SFX: footsteps. An umbrella opens.

DARIUS: Thank you. If you would follow me, please.

SFX: the door opens and Darius and Cass step into the rain. Footsteps on a wet surface. 

ELIZABETH: Cass, what's going on?

DARIUS: Doctor Ancelet, Darius Farren, it's a pleasure to meet you. Though you will hear this from few others, I myself was very impressed with your work in the nebula. You did an excellent job under unimaginable circumstances.

ELIZABETH: Thank you.

DARIUS: And this is the Honorable Alderick Keats, Provost Marshal.

PROVOST MARSHAL: Your servant, ma'am.

CASS: Pleasure.

DARIUS: Doctor Ancelet, as I was just telling my daughter, I'd like to offer you access to the resources of our organization in furthering your research. The Brasspine Yeomanry has contacts at numerous scientific facilities and we believe the pulsar you've been studying may have far more significant implications than the Assembly Parliament have been willing to consider.

ELIZABETH: Oh, well... Nothing would make me happier, but... Cass?

CASS: I know what it means to you. But I'm still waiting to hear the catch.

DARIUS: Only a small catch, you'll be glad to hear. We have among our members a Professor Vikram Sidhu, a noted expert in condensed matter dynamics.

ELIZABETH: Oh I'm familiar with his work. He's incredible.

DARIUS: Precisely. We felt putting you two in touch would be prodigiously beneficial. However... Provost Marshal?

SFX: tapping on a tablet. 

PROVOST MARSHAL: However, Professor Sidhu has recently found himself in difficult circumstances. He's presently living in the Abercross Foreign Quarter, and as you may be aware, that district has unfortunately been quarantined following an outbreak of Giesbrecht's Disease. I've had to pull all of my officers out of the district, administrative nightmare, let me tell you. 

CASS: And you want us to get him out.

DARIUS: I'm certain your various privateering exploits have left you more than disposed to so straightforward a task, and we would of course provide financial compensation for your efforts. I've taken the liberty of transferring the full details to your comm.

SFX: beeping and trilling from a comm. 

CASS: Liz, go find Meds and Croft.

ELIZABETH: On it.

DARIUS: I take it we have an accord, Captain Farren?

- Scene Change - 

SFX: melancholy music plays. A metro pulls up to a station and train doors open. Footsteps, then the train doors close. The train rattles quietly. 

CASS: This will take us most of the way to the Foreign Quarter.

MEDS: Surely we're not actually trusting this guy?

ELIZABETH: All I can say is that Professor Sidhu is a good guy, I'm glad we're helping him. And it's not as if anyone else is taking an interest in the pulsar right now.

CASS: That's not the point. You think he doesn't have anyone else he can send into a plague district to get this guy? He's a Fleet Admiral, a front bench MP, there's any number of ways he could get this guy out of here.

CROFT: Then why's he making us do it?

CASS: He's not. He's making me do it.

SFX: a quiet alarm sounds as the train slows to a stop. Hydraulics hiss as the doors open. 

PROVOST: You four! Out of the train please, the area beyond here is in quarantine.

SFX: footsteps through a deep puddle. 

CASS: We're continuing down the metro tunnel on foot, we have dispensation from-

PROVOST: Ah, Captain Farren then. My apologies, they sent word ahead. One of you is a physician, correct?

MEDS: Yeah, that's me.

PROVOST: Alright, I have this for you. 

SFX: rustling and shifting of fabric. 

PROVOST: This is Dexotrolpin, there's enough here for about eighteen hours protection, should be more than enough time for you to find this guy and get out.

MEDS: Appreciate it.

PROVOST: Alright, you've all got weapons, flashlights right? 

SFX: rattling as people pat their weapons. 

PROVOST: Good. Cooper! Open it up! We're letting this lot through. 

SFX: exciting, tense music swells as a heavy door opens. 

PROVOST: Good luck folks.

CROFT: Thanks man.

CASS: Alright, let's go.

- Scene Change -

SFX: rain on the streets. People chatter, coughing, a baby cries. 

CROFT: Bloody hell, this place has seen better days.

ELIZABETH: You've been here before?

CROFT: Yeah, yeah. There used to be a Merician Restaurant over… there. Pretty good from what I remember.

MEDS: There's a good number of Mericians here, and a lot of Unioners and people from the farther edges of the Assembly. Used to be where you went for regional goods and food from those places in the city.

ELIZABETH: How did it get this bad?

CASS: This is where they started putting all the off-world refugees when the famine got really bad.

MEDS: Cram a bunch of starving people into an overcrowded district and you're bound to have violence and disease before long. Assembly's supposed to be better than this... 

CROFT: You okay, Meds?

MEDS: Yeah, let's get the job done and get out of here.

SFX: heavy coughing and clattering. 

SICK MAN: Please! Please help me, it hurts.

ELIZABETH: We can help that man, they gave us more of the drug than we need right? Meds-

SFX: fabric rustling. 

CASS: No. Keep all of it in the bag Meds, out of sight.

ELIZABETH: Why? We can help.

CASS: No, we can't.

SFX: rustling stops. 

ELIZABETH: What harm does it do taking two minutes to help one guy?

CASS: I was on Amalus Minor during the war. Humanitarian aid mission. Every time we dropped a crate of food and medicine into the quarantine zone, five minutes later there was a pile of bodies around it, people ripping each other apart to get to it. We give this guy medicine and all we're doing is putting a target on his back, and on ours. And we don't have enough of this stuff for when the mob comes running. We can't fix this place. It's not our fault, and it's not our problem.

ELIZABETH: Cass surely there's-

CASS: This is not a democracy. You want to work on my ship, you do as I say, you understand?

ELIZABETH: ...Yeah.

CASS: Let's go.

SFX: footsteps. 

SICK MAN: Please... ahhhhhh.

SFX: sombre musc fades out. 

- Scene Change - 

SFX: a door creaks open and a buzzer sounds. Footsteps move down a hallway. Muffled voices. 

CROFT: Here. Apartment 105.

CASS: Alright.

SFX: a beep.

SIDHU (through intercom): Who is it?

CASS: Captain Cassandra Farren, we were sent to escort you out of the Foreign Quarter.

SIDHU (through intercom): Farren? You're Darius's daughter?

CASS: I.. Yes.

SIDHU (through intercom): One moment.

SFX: locks unlock. A door opens. 

SIDHU: Hello hello, come in please.

ELIZABETH: Professor Sidhu, it's good to meet you, I'm a keen follower of your work.

SFX: footsteps, then the door closes again. Drips of water. 

SIDHU: My goodness, Elizabeth Ancelet? What a strange surprise, it is a pleasure to meet you also.

CASS: It's best we get you out of here right away, Professor.

SIDHU: Oh goodness no I'm sorry, I cannot leave, you see, he has my wife, my Tabina.

MEDS: Who has your wife?

SIDHU: That foul man, that Provost, Gannick and his thugs.

CROFT: Provosts? I thought they'd all pulled out of here.

SIDHU: They say he and his officers stayed behind when they were told to leave. He has antibiotics, but he demands rations for them, more and more. Eventually I think he must have started to run out. He took my Tabina because she is a chemist. I think he forces her to work to stretch their supply, but she will not be able to for long and then, and then… and then… and then I think he will-

MEDS: Bastard.

CASS: Where is he keeping her, do you know?

SIDHU: He is in the old Provost Station across the way. Nobody can get in, he has cameras, guards, traps.

CROFT: Nothing we haven't dealt with before, Skip.

CASS: We don't have time for this, I'm sorry. We have to get you out of here. Maybe the admiral can send in another team for your wife.

SIDHU: No no, I will not leave without her. I will not.

ELIZABETH: Cass...

CASS: Fine, alright we'll have a look.

SIDHU: I'll come with you, I'll help.

CASS: Oh no you won't. You stay here and lock the door, we'll be back. Give me your comm details. 

SIDHU: But... Yes, of course.

CROFT: Take care of yourself mate. We won't be long.

SIDHU: Okay okay, thank you. Good luck.

CASS: Let's go.

- Scene Change - 

SFX: slightly sinister music plays. Footsteps walk across wet asphalt. 

MEDS: This is the place.

ELIZABETH: I guess the front door wouldn't be the safest option.

CROFT: Looks like there's an alley down the side here, Skip. Might be another way in.

SFX: suspenseful music begins. 

CASS: Alright let's go, keep your eyes open.

SFX: footsteps.

CROFT: Hey Meds, maybe there's a garbage chute.

MEDS: Don't even joke about that. Never again.

ELIZABETH: Check it out, shutters. Some kind of loading bay.

CASS: Croft, you think it's trapped?

SFX: a hand brushes against the metal, fabric rustles, then a scanner trills. 

CROFT: Looks good to me Skip.

CASS: Alright, give the scattergun to Meds, we'll take point. Croft, break the lock, quietly.

SFX: metallic clinking and rattling as the door quietly opens. 

MEDS: Clear.

CASS: Clear.

CROFT: Must be the garage for the quadcars.

MEDS: Can't hear anyone, maybe there's nobody home.

ELIZABETH: Got a busy afternoon extorting people, I guess.

CASS: That would certainly make things easier for us.

SFX: metallic squeaking as a rusty locker opens. 

MEDS: What are you doing? 

ELIZABETH: Check it out, some kind of gas grenades.

CASS: Focus up. Meds, give me a hand with this door. 

SFX: door rattling open. A quiet, high pitch whine sounds. 

CASS: Clear, move up.

CROFT: Woah woah, Meds wait!

SFX: quiet chirping. 

MEDS: Ah shit.

ELIZABETH: What?

CASS: Silent alarm.

CROFT: I got it, I got it, give me a sec.

SFX: a scanner trills. Music gets tense. 

CROFT: I caught it, disabled.

ELIZABETH: You think they heard it in time?

CASS: It's a safe assumption, let's get a move on and–

SFX: muffled banging. 

TABINA (muffled): Hello? Is someone out there? Let me out! 

CROFT: You hear that?

MEDS: That's gotta be her.

ELIZABETH: Get it open!

SFX: footsteps rush, the scanner trills again. 

CROFT: And…. Bingo.

SFX: the door opens. 

TABINA: Oh thank you, thank you. 

CASS: Are you okay?

TABINA: I've been locked in here for days. I keep telling them I can't just conjure up antibiotics in a forensics lab! Idiots!  

ELIZABETH: It's alright now, your husband sent us. We're gonna get you out of here.

TABINA: Is he okay? 

MEDS: He's fine. Are you hurt? 

TABINA: No, I'm okay. 

SFX: a quadcar approaches in the distance. 

CASS: Stay quiet and close behind us, we'll-

SFX: a warning blare and a door rattling in the distance. 

CROFT: What was that?

MEDS: Loading bay shutters?

CASS: Have a look, Croft.

SFX: something heavy is put down. Fabric rustling. 

CROFT: Front way looks fairly clear Skip, maybe we-

PROVOST GOON: They're over there!

SFX: gunfire. Exciting music plays. 

CROFT: Shiiiit. We got bad guys.

ELIZABETH: Looks like there's five of them.

SFX: Cass fires her gun. 

PROVOST GOON: Aghhh!

SFX: a body hits the ground. 

CASS: Four now. But I don't think we're getting out that way.

TABINA: When he brought me here, we came through the basement. The door there opens into the metro tunnels.

SFX: another yell of pain. Gunfire continues. 

ELIZABETH: Metro tunnels?

MEDS: That sounds good.

CASS: Alright, give me a second.

SFX: a comm opens. Gunfire continues. 

CASS: Professor Sidhu, we have your wife but I'm afraid we'll have to take a different route out. Grab your belongings and meet us in the metro tunnels under the Provost Station, we'll be there shortly.

SIDHU (over comms): Oh I– yes, okay I will be there soon.

CASS: Those stairs across the hall, they lead to the basement right?

TABINA: Yes, yes!

CROFT: Guess we need a distraction.

MEDS: Hey, Elizabeth, you still got those grenades?

ELIZABETH: Ha, poetic justice, I love it. Here.

SFX: metallic rattling as Elizabeth hands the grenades to Meds. 

CROFT: Alright everybody ready?

CASS: You go when we go. All at once okay?

MEDS: Alright, here we go. Hey! Does this smell like tear gas to you?

SFX: Meds lobs a grenade. 

PROVOST GOON #2: Oh shi-

SFX: the grenade detonates, gas sprays. Men scream in pain. 

MEDS: Ha.

CASS: Go go go!

TABINA: Okay! 

SFX: footsteps run down a hall, then down a set of stairs. 

ELIZABETH: This is it, metro access.

CROFT: Gimme a minute with this door.

CASS: Quickly, that won't hold them for-

SFX: a scanner trills. 

GANNICK: You down there! Hold up! I want to talk!

SFX: guns rack. Music becomes quiet and tense. 

ELIZABETH: Cass?

GANNICK: My gun's holstered, I have my hands above my head, it's just me, I just want to talk.

SFX: steps come down the stairs. 

CASS: Gannick, I take it?

GANNICK: Yeah.

CASS: And you're gonna tell me that you need me to give your prisoner back.

GANNICK: Well... yeah.

CASS: Not gonna happen. We done?

GANNICK: Listen. He left us here. We didn't stay behind by choice. He left us.

CASS: Who did?

GANNICK: The Provost Marshal. Sealed the place off and just… left me and my guys in here.

ELIZABETH: So you figured, why not start extorting the locals?

GANNICK: You wouldn't understand. Don't seem like the type. But you do, Captain, right? After all that's why you're here, isn't it? You're not a friend of the good doctor or her husband. If either of them had such well armed friends they'd have been here weeks ago so my guess is this a job. How am I doing? 

SFX: music continues.

GANNICK: Oh trust me I get it, I really get it. Difficult times and you need the money, you've got a crew to feed, a family. Well so do I. My team, they're my family. And we've been living on the floor of this station for months. I don't want to be ripping off the locals, believe me, I got into this line of work to help people. But they needed the drugs and we needed the food, and I have a responsibility to my guys to keep ‘em alive. At least a couple of you know what a place like this is like, I can tell. Without the doctor, the drugs run out, and I get to watch my people starve one by one. If the locals don't kill us first.

CASS: You held a woman against her will, kidnapped a man's wife.

GANNICK: You telling me you've never done anything distasteful to protect your family?

SFX: fabric creaking. 

CHARLIE: Hey boss, you okay down there, we're going to head down-

GANNICK: No. All of you stay up there, that's an order.

CHARLIE: But boss-

GANNICK: It's okay Charlie. Stay put, I'll be with you in a minute.

CASS: I'm sorry they left you here. But she's leaving with us.

GANNICK: I can't let you do that. But I get it, I'm protecting my family, you're protecting yours. I think we both deserve to live, but if it's gotta be this way then… why don't we make it fair? Just you and me. I don't have a coin to toss but, how about we see who's quickest on the draw, let that decide it?

CASS: You can't be serious.

GANNICK: I sure am. Starving to death down here, watching the people I love starve with me… That's no way for a man to die. But in a fair match, against someone just trying to do the same damn thing I am? I can go for that. Sure ain't gonna go easy on you though.

ELIZABETH: Cass, you're not seriously going to-

CASS: Croft, is that door open?

SFX: door creaks open slowly. 

CROFT: Yeah Skip, it's open.

CASS: All of you go through the door, close it behind you, wait just on the other side. I'll be with you in a minute.

MEDS: Cass this is--

CASS: Go. All of you, now.

SFX: footsteps retreat, and the door creaks shut. Sad music slowly swells.

CASS: Alright. You and me.

GANNICK: They don't always understand do they? That it's all for them, all of it.

CASS: No.

SFX: Creaking fabric as the music swells dramatically. 

SFX: two people reach for their guns and draw. Two gunshots. The music stops. 

SFX: staggering footsteps, blood drips. A body falls to the ground. 

SFX: a gun is holstered. The door creaks open, then closed. 

ELIZABETH: Cass. Are you okay?

CASS: Croft, weld that door shut. Let's get out of here.

- Scene Change - 

SFX: rain patters against a window. Thunder rumbles in the distance. 

DOCKYARD GUY #1: Preposterous design with those vector engines, what in God's name were they thinking? Of all the crackpot designs they came up with that year... And did you see those flanges on the propellant pipes? 

DOCKYARD GUY #2: I don't know, she's a corvette that moves like a brig, that's gotta count for something?

DOCKYARD GUY #1: A very drunk brig perhaps, on an ice rink.

SFX: a door opens, then closes. Footsteps rapidly approach.

DARIUS: Ah, Cassandra. Come in. These two gentleman were just telling me the work on your ship has been completed. You'll find her in factory condition, fully re-armed and victualled. Mister Bantrell, would you escort our friends from the dockyard outside, I would speak with my daughter.

BANTRELL: Right away, sir.

DARIUS: Thank you gentlemen, for your hard work.

SFX: footsteps retreat. The door opens and closes once more. 

DARIUS: My daughter. A job well done from what I've heard.

CASS: The Provost Marshal, where is he?

DARIUS: In the House of Ministers I believe, why?

CASS: Doesn't matter.

DARIUS: I'll have Professor Sidhu's contact frequencies passed on to Doctor Ancelet. Once he's settled in, he'll have the run of our research facilities. I'm sure with the two of them working together we'll learn all there is to know about this pulsar. Perhaps find a way to replicate its abilities here in Tantalus. A way to save us all. Surely, you're at least happy about that. 

CASS: She'll be happy.

DARIUS: Well. As I said, you should feel quite free to never do any work of this kind for me again. Though I'm sure it has not escaped your notice that you did rather a lot of good today. You rescued two innocent people, and you made enough to keep your ship and crew in the air a while longer in the process. Something to think about.

CASS: They're waiting for me.

SFX: gentle music plays. 

DARIUS: Of course. Safe journey to you.

SFX: footsteps retreat. 

DARIUS: Cassandra.

SFX: footsteps stop. 

CASS: Yes?

DARIUS: I know how much pain I put you through. I do. Everything I'm doing now. It's to build a better future for you, and for her too. I see how happy she makes you, even though you try to hide it. I'm glad. I want your future to be one of safety, and of plenty. Even if you choose not to share it with me. That's what I'm fighting for now. You're not the only one who thinks they need to atone. I'm sorry, I just had to– 

SFX: hands patting and smoothing fabric. Darius clears his throat. 

DARIUS: Fair winds, Captain. Be safe.

CASS: I will.

SFX: The Sojourn Ending Theme plays.

NARRATOR: You have been listening to The Sojourn, Season Two Episode Three: Render Unto Caesar, written and directed by Daniel Orrett, story by Lead Writer Daniel Orrett and Staff Writer Larissa Thompson. Produced by Executive Producer Daniel Orrett, and Producers Larissa Thompson and Gabriel Fonseca. Scientific consultation by Gabriel Fonseca. Sound design and audio editing by Kennedy Phillips. Assembly editing by Aiden Brookstone. Audio mixing by Dave Chick. Additional voice direction by Rowan J. Coleman, with additional voices by Danny Doyle, Peter Todd, Maia Harlap, Mary Ann Staneck, Ross Camsell, Ian Russell, Aaron Mann, Peter Wicks, Abigail Turner, D Casellian, Maayan Voss de Bettancourt, Kylie Rutzen, Paul Rodrigez, Sean Paulsen, Jessica Warner, Josh Welles, and Tanner Metro. Music by Sam Redfern. Also featuring “Wilderness” by Taylor Davis which is used with the given permission of Taylor Davis representatives. This was The Sojourn Season Two Volume One. Please visit www.thesojournaudiodrama.com for more information on the series and upcoming volumes. Thank you for listening.

SFX: The Sojourn Ending Theme continues.