Well folks, I know its been a long time, with far too many delays, but Episode III writings have finally begun. Work and my own creative struggles have kept me from getting some real progress, but this summer season has really put me in a good mode for getting these ideas out, and I hope I can once again get these updated regularly. This is a bit of a humble start in regards to the first post; don’t expect any long updates like the first act of a Galaxy’s Fury was for while.
Overall this is going to be a bit of a different beast in terms of tone compared to the first two episodes; the action will be there, but its a bit more drama with elements of thriller this time. Might get full blown operatic come the third act, but I’ll try to keep the elements grounded in character as I hope I’ve done thus far.
Once again, my apologies for the long wait, my gratitude for your patience in waiting, and my hope that you’ll enjoy the final ride in Star Wars Episode III: Broken Forces:
Opening crawl details the reversal of fortunes for the Coalition as the Republic has gradually turned the war around largely driving the Mandalorians and their forces back to their home star system. Republic controlled territory is still is gripped by fear of clone Jedi infiltration as areas in the Outer Rim are struggling to recover from the loss of life and resources. Pockets of resistance still remain on war torn planets as Jedi and a newly efficient Republic army fight to liberate the last occupied worlds in the devastating conflict that is the Clone Wars.
Camera slowly fades to a huge devastated battlefield , destroyed bits of various land and space vehicles littering the landscape. A lush green sky contrasts heavily with the piles of ruined brown and silver wreckage dominant on the ground. In the distance movement is heard mixed with the noise of occasional explosions and large blaster shots.
Cut to a vast and open underground bunker, where thousands of Mandalorian shock troopers are gathered. Their armor and equipment has seen better days, clearly repaired and patched together from whatever they could gather. For the first time since they’ve been seen by the audience, the faces of the Mandalorians are not steely eyed or lusting for battle. They’re tired, with some grim determination resembling the former intensity typical of their kind. A token amount of clone soldiers stand awaiting orders. Only thunderous bombardments raining down above break up the somber silence.
The commanding officer present gets their attention and launches into a monologue about their history. Initially bringing up the outnumbered enemy forces, she waxes about how they’ve been the conquered people of the galaxy and they’ve been masters of it; through it they have lived on because their will to battle has never ceased. “We have died millennia ago, we have died yesterday, and when we step out, we may very well die today. But let there be no doubt, our people and our enemies will remember us tomorrow!”
A cheer breaks out as the rallying cry appears to lift some spirits. She looks out over the assembled mass and passionately concludes her speech, “Jedi have the will of the Force and these Republic cowards think victory is fate. History will write that every fighting Mandalorian standing here made their own. So go to your destiny. Not for victory, not for defeat; for the fight!”
Chants of “For the fight!” roar out as the shocktroopers pull their weapons out and move in formation, only small artillery weapons breaking up the endless lines of soldiers. They gather facing a large door and forcefield combination at the end of bunker, ready to exit out into the tunnels and out onto the battlefield. The aforementioned commanding officer stands near the front, her own weapon tightly gripped for the final battle about to come as the forcefield begins to slowly go off.
That’s loudly interrupted by a pounding explosion on the ceiling, shaking the whole building. A few of the troops (including the commanding officer) break their concentration look above but seemingly see nothing. A tense silence passes for moment when deep cracks in the ceiling appear. Small bits of the building begin to fall as the cracks spread and before they can do anything the bunker begins to cave in.
Immediately alarmed, the commander tries to order a retreat outside; its futile and within seconds the large army is crushed underneath an endless onslaught of dense metal and soil. A single shocktrooper near the front almost gets out, but doesn’t get far enough and is buried under the collapsing rubble. A wide shot of the collapse from the tunnel show the only surviving element of this Mandalorian force; a single blaster.
Cut to kilometers away, outside a makeshift settlement ,where a Republic officer of some rank calmly observes with a pair of binoculars. Seemingly satisfied, he speaks into his communicator and reports that while they need to verify with a deeper scan, it appears this latest bomb did the trick. An oddly familiar voice responds, pleased at the news and tells him to utilize it again for any other suspected underground bases on the continent.
The officer assents and as he walks back into camp the camera shows him nonchalantly stepping on small piece of battle debris; a faded and forgotten bit of battle armor with the Mandalorian symbol.
Cut to a young humanoid Jedi on the same planet some ways away overlooking the destroyed section of a city. Its a metal and concrete jungle, impossible to tell the original shapes of most of the buildings. One of her troops walks up and tells her they’ve discovered nothing significant in the most recent sweep. The Jedi nods and replies that she doesn’t sense anything significant. She tells the soldier to leave a token force in certain areas, but to recall the rest back for new orders.
Before she can finish, he suddenly stops and looks behind herself in the distance. The soldier’s confused and asks if something’s wrong. The Jedi stares intently at the sky and mentions there’s Republic bombers headed their way. He suggests they’re probably doing reconnaissance, but she’s not convinced. She pulls out her communicator and asks the local HQ if there’s a bombing raid planned for their location.
She gets dead silence. As the nearby officer begins to get visibly nervous at the prospect of bombers getting closer, she loudly asks if there’s a bombing planned for the area. Again getting no answer, she shouts for HQ to respond. After an agonizing pause, this time a crackling is heard, and a distorted sound lets out a few indecipherable words at first. Soon a clear male voice replies they need to maintain code in case of enemy surveillance.
She quickly cuts him off and yells to cancel any bombing raids for at their location now, repeating the phrase even louder. Through his own binoculars the officer finally sees the crafts for himself and realizes she’s correct about their presence. Seconds tick by as he looks back and forth between them and her, awaiting either the Jedi’s orders or the bombs to drop. Neither makes a noise; only the steady roar of the bombers in the distant sky is heard.
Just as they pass high above, HQ’s voice breaks out on the communicator, repeating to that the raid has been aborted. The officer nearly sits down out of relief, and even the Jedi briefly closes her eyes, grateful at the news. Headquarters explains there was a mis-communcation about coordinates and apologizes, asking about the status of her people. She explains that they’re fine, and they’ll discuss the matter later. HQ understands and cuts out.
Danger now averted, the officer is still a bit shaken by the near destruction. She asks if he’s alright. “I’m not afraid to die”, he replies “but killed by your own side; what’s worse than that?” She considers the question herself.
“I don’t know.”