Epic Week 2024: The Beginning

Establishing shots in mission control. We see the green glow of the countdown clock ticking away. One hour to launch. The soft chatter of engineers checking and re-checking systems. We see a coffee cup being put down. We see charts of orbital trajectories being reviewed. We see computers being typed at.

We see the launch pods outside the building. Volunteers are climbing into them. Engineers and technicians are doing last minute safety checks and adjustments. Twenty minutes to launch.

The characters who have volunteered to go into space to clean space junk are having their helmets put on by engineers. Oxygen valves are being checked. Restraining harnesses are being fastened into place. We see volunteers looking nervous and excited, perhaps holding hands and taking deep breaths as they wait for their time to go into space.

Mission Control: T-minus 60 seconds… 59.. 58.. 57…

An alert on a monitor goes off. We see a technician’s eyes widening.

Technician: We have something on the monitor.

A supervisor leans over to look.

Supervisor: What the… (into his/her earpiece) Call a hold.

Mission Control: Holding at T-minus 30 seconds.

The volunteers in their launch pods glance at one another in mild concern.

Supervisor: What is that thing?

Technician: I… we haven’t seen anything even remotely like this signature since…

Supervisor: No…

Space, in orbit of the world of the RPR. We see space trash absolutely everywhere. And in the distance, around this orbital sphere of junk, a sudden flash and ripple in space as a massive ship warps in.

Technician: Sir, we have a massive contact.

Mission Control, putting her hand over the microphone so as to not announce it to everyone: Is it the xenobeasts?

Technician: I don’t think so…

Supervisor: Turn satellite B17 to see if we can a get a picture.

In space, a satellite fires a thruster and begins gently turning… some space junk bounces off it as it moves.

Communicator: I’m receiving a transmission. It’s a massive amount of data.

Supervisor: Put it on the main screen.

Communicator: I’ll do what I can…

Information and alien text flashes wildly across the screen, indecipherable.

We see the volunteer astronauts in their launch pods, murmuring to one another. They still don’t know what’s going on.

Technician: I have a visual. Switching the view.

We see the ark ship slowly approaching the RPR from the POV of the satellite.

Supervisor, awe struck: It’s beautiful.

Mission control, over the intercom: Still holding at T-minus 30…

Suddenly, everything metal in the room begins to vibrate. We see a pen rattle off a table. Someone grabs a glass award for a field like astronomy before it drops and shatters. We see the volunteers in their pods crying out in fear as everything around them shakes, throwing them against their restraints. There is a screeching noise. People cover their ears, wincing.

Supervisor: Is it an attack?

Technician: They’re using all the metal as some kind of speaker!

The screeching gradually evolves into a distorted voice.

Alien voice: People of the RPR, this is the ark ship Roe. Our home world is lost. We are requesting permission to land and take refuge with you on your world.

The people in mission control look at each other, awe struck. A big red phone with the RPR logo on it starts ringing wildly. The supervisor jerks, and scrambles to pick it up. He listens.

Supervisor: I understand. Of course.

Supervisor spins back to the room.

Supervisor: The answer is yes. Broadcast permission.

Communicator wheels back to their console and presses some buttons, then quickly starts talking: This is the RPR, Ark ship, permission is granted. I’m sending you landing coordinates now.

We see on the screen a map of the RPR, with a target point near the capital city, indicating the coordinates.

Space. The ark ship fires thrusters and moves swiftly through space, approaching the world.

A volunteer in their pod, pressing a communication button: What’s going on out there?

Mission Control: Holding at T-minus 30 seconds, please… hold.

Satellite’s POV showing the ark ship looming closer. Small pieces of space junk gently bounce off the hull as it begins to push through the sphere of orbiting space junk. We see looks of wonder on the faces of those in mission control.

Suddenly – a massive piece of wreckage comes gently spiraling around from the sphere of space junk and crashes into the ark ship, pushing one of its thrusters out of alignment. The ship lists to the side and goes plowing into much more junk. Its hull is beginning to glow with the heat of re-entry.

Technician: Something is wrong. They’re off course.

The ark is burning with the heat of re-entry. The thrusters stutter, and then fail. The ark is free-falling.

There is an uproar in mission control, with various people shouting and alarms going off.

We see a character standing in the countryside, looking up at the sky where a massive comet seems to be blazing through the sky - the ark ship as it falls.

Mission control, we see the screen – the map of the RPR has a target falling toward the Frozen North, obviously in contradiction to the green pinpoint that was meant to show where the ark was supposed to land.

We see the ark crash into the frozen north, melting the snow around it even as snow continues to fall. It skids and crashes, leaving a massive furrow behind itself until it comes tumbling to a stop.

Mission Control is watching their screen, stunned into silence. There is no more shouting, just the blaring of alarms.

In the frozen north, The outer lights of the ark ship flicker and go out. The ship looks dead.

Mission control is staring again. The Supervisor realizes he is still holding the phone, and that noise is coming from it. He slowly puts it to his ear again.

Supervisor, whispering: Yes, yes, I’m here. Okay. I understand.

He hangs up the phone.

Supervisor: Scrub the launch. The clean up mission is canceled. We… have a rescue to mount instead.

Camera flies across the frozen north from a vast distance, moving very fast to the ark ship to show the dangerous and long journey that the rescuers will need to make. As soon as the ark ship becomes visible, the screen goes white. We hear the howl of frozen wind. Then the RPR logo hits.

Panel 1
Elven Scientist, listening to an ear piece: Mission control reports no more contact from the ark ship. It went silent after crashing in the Frozen North.

Panel 2
Character, with rabbit ears and wearing maiko garb, visibly shaken: The Frozen North? Even if they don’t freeze, the things that live there will tear them apart.

Panel 3
Kim, determined: We’re going to have to scramble everyone. The space junk must wait. Their rescue is now our only priority.

Panel 4
Maiko rabbit: Isn’t the crash site near where Moa raised the walrus army?

Panel 5
Elven Scientist: Slightly further south, but they’re proximate. They returned home after assisting the Struth in retaking their homeland last year. That far north is colder than they usually like, but…

Panel 6
Kim: Get Moa on the horn. We’re going to need all the help we can get.

Panel 7
Kim: And Server? You know what to do…

Panel 8
Server concentrates.

Panel 9
Forum post made by Server, that reads "Calling all citizens for the RPR! Please assist immediately -- We are conducting an emergency birthday rescue mission in the Frozen North!"