9-035: Outbound from Argyropoulos

OK.

Oliver returns to the ship, spends time working and sleeping.  As Bluevening approaches it’s time to depart.  The ship is made secure, Alan undocks it from the Highport and heads out to the jump point.

With the ship under way and Blue Shift beginning it’s Oliver’s watch.

  

Sundown on Starmist

When he looks into Sundown on Starmist a bit more closely he sees that there is the usual video data package file, plus it looks like Argyle has decrypted and unpacked the files.  All the metadata has been split out and there is an uncompressed, decrypted copy of the raw video.  Sundown on Starmist is an older video, produced in kCy 178.  The modern metadata in the unpacked file indicates that this is a censored movie, no longer generally available for viewing.

  

Story

Set on the fictional and newly established colony world of Starmist, this film tells the story of a female protagonist known only by the name ‘Sundown’.  The opening scene shows a shuttle arriving on the primitive downport.  We follow Sundown as she disembarks with the other passengers.  It become apparent that some Legionnaires wearing green sashes are awaiting her arrival and looking for her, but she avoids detection, abandoning her baggage in the process.  She seeks refuge in a shop where she strikes up a conversation with a preteen girl, Donde, and her father, Heflin, who are buying supplies, Sundown buys the young girl a piece of fresh fruit.

Leaving the store we follow Heflin and Donde as they return to their home on the inhospitable surface of the colony were Heflin is surveying, convinced there is a source of subterranean water.  We learn that Donde’s mother was killed in an accident soon after they arrived on the colony world.

Back in the main settlement, Sundown runs afoul of a local criminal gang, who are apparently bribing the local Legionnaires (all shown wearing green sashes) to look the other way while they run protection rackets and other criminal activities.  She escapes a physical altercation leaving one of her attackers unconscious and the other injured, but is herself sporting some facial injuries.  She heads out of town to avoid further issues and Legion attention and stumbles across Heflin and Donde, who invite her to stay for a meal.  The next Cycle she helps Heflin with his survey work and he invites her to stay and work for him ‘for a while’.  She accepts, ‘for a while.’

One of Heflin’s neighbours visits and complains that the local gang damaged his equipment when he refused to pay protection money.  Heflin, Sundown and Donde visit the neighbours’ and assist with repairs.  Other neigbours arrive and it is apparent that the gang problem is growing.  Sundown complains that everything is in turmoil at the moment and the Legion are honourless.  One of the neighbours, Elisha, agrees and says they need to take matters into their own hands.

Sundown, Heflin and Donde return to Heflin’s place.  It is apparent that there is a growing attraction between them. Some time later, Elisha is shown being taunted by the lead criminal enforcer, Walters.  A fight ensues; Elisha injures one of the criminals by shooting them with a sporting rifle and Walters shoots him in the back of the head. The news reaches Heflin and Sundown.  Sundown sneaks away from Heflin’s and into town, she avoids Legion patrols and breaks into the spaceport baggage office and retrieves the gear she abandoned when she arrived on Starmist. Returning to Heflin’s she is shown throwing a black uniform with a red sash into the garbage.  Caught by Donde she explains she’s just ‘getting rid of some old attachments.’ Working on the survey, Heflin and Sundown locate the water source Heflin has been seeking; in their excitement they make love for the first time in an underground pool. Word of the water find reaches Walter and criminal gang leader Dierkes.  Dierkes offers to pay Heflin to abandon the water claim but Heflin refuses.  Dierkes and Walter make it plain that they are coming for Heflin’s water.

Heflin and his neighbours form a ramshackle defense of the water supply, waiting for Dierkes and Walter’s attack.  Sundown surveys the arrangements with a frown.  Later, Sundown comes to Heflin’s bed and they make love again.  With Heflin asleep, Sundown returns to her room and opens the baggage she has recovered – revealing it to be military-grade weapons and battle armour.  She kits up and prepares to head into town.

Donde is awake and sees her leave; Sundown putting a finger to her lips in a ‘shhh’ sign before departing to take Heflin’s bike into town.  Sundown raids Dierke’s headquarters in a surprise attack and with the advantage of the high-end military gear.  She kills Walters, Dierke and several of their gang.

Outside, Donde has followed Sundown and sees the remaining gang members rallying for an ambush.  Donde warns Sundown, who is thus able to survive.  She kills several more gang members but is wounded in the process.  Donde says she will get Heflin and the Neighbours to help, but Sundown says there’s no living on Starmist after what she’s done.  Donde ignores her and goes for help anyway.  When Heflin and Donde return, Sundown is gone.  They look up to see a shuttle rising into the sky.

 

Original Promotional Poster Included with file showing actress Alanna Walbridge as Sundown

 

Journey to Pristine   

After his watch shift, it will be sleep time, and Oliver will have to rise early as the ship is due to jump into hyperspace at RB09.

The trip to Pristine is estimated to take about ten and one half Cycles.

In jump, does Oliver wish to:

• Alter his work/study routine?
• Interact with anyone?
• Do anything else?