Quiet fade up on two travellers sitting against a bartop. They’re leaning on it heavily, the structure holding their tired bodies up, mugs of wine lazily in hand.
They are dressed for cold weather, with functionality key to everything they have. Tools, weapons, bags and pockets - they are prepared.
REN, however, wears heavier armour on their shoulders and chest, with bracers and buckles on their forearms getting in the way of leaning comfortably on the counter. CELL is more fluid, with a copper robe flowing over the top of lighter armour, and their pointed ears and longer claws mark them out as a different species. CELL's sleeves are rolled up - they are at ease.
REN
(whilst trying to lean on
the bar with their
forearms)
Argh.
(continuing to try
different angles)
God - fucking -
(slamming their fist on
the bar top)
Fuck these things. They barely help
anyway.
They start unclipping the fixtures on their bracers.
CELL
I don't know, honey. You're pretty
good at getting your swords stuck
in someone. You need some
protection when it gets down to
fisticuffs. [beat] And I mean,
c'mon. It's you. We're in a bar.
REN stops. They share a look.
CELL (CONT'D)
Keep them on.
Pause between them both.
REN
(redoing the undone
fixtures, with a slight
smirk)
You have a point.
CELL grins from behind their mug, eyeing up Ren before taking a deep drag of wine. REN settles on leaning on their elbows, resting their chin on their hands, and as they get comfortable they glance at CELL, raising their eyebrows.
REN
You alright there? I'm sure you
can take your time.
CELL
(indignant, but
humourous)
I'm fine, thanks. Do we not both
deserve this?
REN
(laughing)
Absolutely.
REN takes up their own mug.
REN (CONT'D)
Cheers.
CELL
(loudly, as if making a
toast)
Cheers to the Twilight Raiders! The
finest purveyors of Ori -
REN
(mid-drink, scrambling to
cut Cell off, faking
disappointment)
Woah, woah, come on now Cell. Don't
go quoting that awful bard, we've
spoken about this.
(emphasised)
We're exploratory historians, not
raiders. He wouldn't listen to me,
but it plays far better in
conversation [beat] and on my
conscience.
CELL
(chuckling)
Yes, yes, very true. [beat] Why he
added Twilight to it as well, I
still have no idea.
REN
(laughing with them,
faking dramatics)
Wasn't it something about matching
the 'mystery he was struck with
upon meeting us'? God, he was
exhausting.
They both laugh, reminiscing together.
CELL
(collecting themselves)
Okay, okay. [beat] Cheers to
Kallos. Another ruined city checked
off the list.
They drink after clinking mugs.
CELL (CONT'D)
(sighing)
Another empty remnant that tells us
sweet fuck all.
They both laugh dryly, quiet and resigned. They sit in comfortable silence for a while, taking sips of their drink. CELL pulls out one of their blades, a sharp and weighted dagger, and starts drawing on the table with the pointed end. Maybe 10 or 15 seconds pass like this.
REN
(staring at the table,
without looking up)
It's coming, y'know. I can tell.
For better or worse, things are
gonna change. [beat] And there's no
telling for sure if people like us
will see it through.
CELL
Well, yeah.
(with quotation marks in
the air)
'It's' been coming for as long as
I've been around. This world always
has something wrong with it, this
time it's just more [beat] final.
They both pause.
CELL
(wryly)
Remember when we first met? [beat]
That was one hell of a first date.
REN
(surprised)
Date? You call that a date? I
stopped my excavation team from
killing you when you almost
decapitated one of them.
CELL
(acting innocent, but
laughing)
I didn't know who any of you were!
My instincts were to protect my
own and can you blame me, with
what came next from the rest of you
Null?
REN shakes their head, bemused, and takes a long drink.
CELL
(resolute)
Yes, it was a date. You came to my
rescue and I haven't left you alone
ever since, so -
They lean across to get in REN's face.
CELL
(smirking)
I'd say you're stuck with me.
REN pushes their face away, chuckling.
REN
You stink of wine. And, for your
information, we were expecting to
find the corpses of our ancestors
in that cave, not a group of live
and violent Fey -
CELL
(softened, slowed down
friendly ribbing)
Yes, yes, I know, you've told me
[beat] several times now. However,
there's still not much room for
good first impressions when I wake
up in a cave and walk out to an
angry mob trying to exorcise me.
REN
(with quiet affection)
You made a good one with me, for
all that's worth. [beat] And I
convinced the angry mob to give you
a chance.
They both smile warmly. CELL goes to take a drink: noticing their mug is empty, they pout childishly.
CELL
Maybe they'll come for the wine
first. That'd be the way to break
morale.
They begin looking around for the bartender, leaning over the bar to search.
REN
Who are 'they'?
CELL
(still distracted)
Y'know. [beat] Whoever it is that
ends all of this.
Pause. Cell gets off the bar and looks around behind them, taking a few steps to the left and right as they search.
CELL (CONT'D)
(as they search)
I suppose it could be a what, a
'thing', a concept, rather than an
army or a creature. [beat] Although
I expect the Craven will have
something to do with it. [beat] As
they seem to do with most things
right now.
As REN replies, CELL slowly makes their way back to the counter.
REN
(nodding)
All possible. The Ori weren't very
descriptive. [beat] Sometimes I
wonder if the Ori even knew at all,
or if they were just guessing.
CELL
(back to paying
attention, but deflated)
Hah. Wouldn't that be amazing.
[beat] Years of prophecy, entire
populations fearing for their
lives, and all based off a guess.
REN
(wistfully)
We can but dream.
After a moment, CELL reaches into their bag and pulls out a dusty scroll. As they carefully unroll it, REN sighs.
REN (CONT'D)
It's not gonna say anything new
this time, Cell. It didn't the last
time, or the twenty times before
that.
CELL
I know that.
Pause.
CELL (CONT'D)
(quietly)
It doesn't hurt to try, though.
They read it over again. The text is short.
REN
It's a shame, really.
(struggling to believe
it)
If we did a thorough search, which
I like to believe we did, then
there was only one person in the
entire city that saw what was
going wrong.
CELL
(preoccupied with the
scroll)
Yeah.
(scoffs)
For all the good it did them.
[beat] It's not surprising though.
They were living under Hallow occupation,
regularly executing dissenters.
[beat] When a cult’s beliefs are
heralded as science, it's dangerous
to even suggest they might be
wrong.
Pause, while they smooth out the scroll to examine some detail.
CELL (CONT'D)
Gods, these people suffered so
much, [beat] but then punished
anyone else who tried to fight it.
They were brainwashed by fear.
REN
(staring out at nothing)
Exactly. Whoever wrote that, they
must have felt so alone. So [beat]
useless.
CELL
I know the feeling.
REN
Ouch.
CELL
(annoyed)
Oh, you know what I mean. Not you.
[beat] Being useless.
Pause.
CELL (CONT'D)
(defeated)
You're right. Nothing new.
REN
I'm sorry, Cell. I wish there was.
[beat] We did good work in Kallos.
Found important relics, like that
scroll.
(reaching for Cell's
hand)
Not everything has to have all the
answers.
CELL
(annoyed, refusing Ren's
hand)
I know that, Ren, but when do we
ever have any answers?
That stops them both, and REN looks offended by the harsh words.
CELL
(angry)
The planet is still dying and none
of the knowledge we have is
helping. None of the expeditions we
keep going on has found us anything
new, you did more five years ago
with people who tried to kill me
than you have done since I showed
up!
REN is silent for a while, a quiet anger bubbling within them. CELL pulls their knife back out and starts inspecting it.
REN
(carefully, holding back
anger)
I left that group behind because
you helped me to see the evil in
them. [beat] You saw what we were
up to, the lengths we went to! You
showed me that you have to have
some sort of baseline, some sort of
code to follow, and we both agreed
we'd do it properly.
They pause, something catching in their throat.
REN (CONT'D)
(quietly)
Don't tell me now that that was the
wrong choice.
CELL is the one to choke up now, sighing quietly and, after some hesitation, taking REN's hand in their own.
CELL
(With some sensitivity)
We're doing it the right way.
You're right. But someone still has
to find answers, somehow.
(becoming practical/pragmatic)
What do we know so far? [beat]
Something happened to the Ori.
[beat] Well obviously something
happened, they're all dead, but
something more than just a civil
war. The Apex back then were -
REN
(cutting in)
- Cell, stop. Going over this
won’t help you calm down.
CELL
(getting more frustrated)
But no one bothers to remember them!
We find their technology and make
our own broken version of it, we find
their relics and worship them like
idols. [beat] Argh, it feels like
everyone is just okay with not knowing!
They both pause briefly, CELL panting and sighing and REN looking at them with sympathy.
REN
We all feel it, Cell. That's why. If
we aren't okay with the world as it is
- if we don't at least try to carry on
- we'll go mad. Maybe someone will find
something. But it wasn't us.
(affectionately)
Not this time, anyway.
They both stay silent for a moment.
CELL
(quietly)
And what happens when the Apex
decide to try again? No one will be
left to stop them.
Lights snap off.
Thom Lingard 