Believe it or not, I am not in fact dead, nor have I abandoned this. Work and various other matters have kept me busy, but schedule’s a little lighter and mind a bit more focused, so progress can begin again. Hoping to do another update after this very soon as there’s a scene I’ve been dying to finally get written down. But without further ado, I present the beginning of Act III of A Galaxy’s Fury:
Hard cut to Anakin collapsing to the floor in agony, stripped to a pair of basic pants and a open collared sleeveless shirt. Sweating and panting hard he struggles to stand back up, his expression pained, but with a clear look of hate towards one person. A quick to a wide shot reveals that to be a life size hologram of Crayde, casually walking around the injured Jedi, and inspecting the damage being done.
“You know a little note of acknowledgment would really be appreciated. Someone like Phakerem would have cut you to pieces already, but some of us still believe in a little thing called decency.” The hologram’s head moves around to better look at Skywalker’s form. “No marks, no burns; just pain. That’s the work of a civilized man.”
Nik supports himself against the wall, and manages a few words, asking if torture like this is the way he deals with the indignity of being an insignificant Mandalorian puppet. With faux confusion he responds if that if he’s the puppet then why is Anakin the one flailing around at someone else’s whim? An electrical shock then appears and strikes the Jedi who manages a less agonized scream and just manages to stay on his feet this time.
The Crayde hologram crosses his arms in quiet satisfaction, marveling that this device has so many settings, and yet they all work so well. Skywalker still refuses to let up in his defiance asking how weak and desperate must he be to resort to something like this. The older man flippantly replies that even a Jedi like him would do the same thing in the right circumstance. Nik’s response is vehement. “I’d sooner be dead.”
Cut to an office where we see the actual Crayde in a specialized office watching Skywalker’s holographic form still struggling to stand. He tells Anakin that the latter is prolonging this process, not him. “You’re hurting yourself and importantly you’re taking up my valuable time; does it feel worth it you right now?” The young man sarcastically asks if the great Chancellor of Coalition is getting a little upset. Shaking his head, he bitterly spits out that he always heard Crayde was corrupt, but even he didn’t think he was capable of selling out the entire Republic just for a high rise on Coruscant.
Cut back to the torture room as the Crayde hologram gestures to the surroundings and says that helping to bring about about everlasting galactic peace has earned a building or two. Anakin walks up close to the the hologram and looks it straight in the eye; asking if he’s really calling indefinite life under the Coalition’s boot peace.
Draezin smirks. “From a certain point of view.” He says they need to get back to the matter at hand, and demands to know the location of the Republic resistance. For the first time in the scene Anakin gives a small (but defiant) smile. “What resistance?” Unamused, Crayde pauses for a moment and looks away before turning back and giving a piercing stare towards Nik.
“I think I’ll try those higher settings now.”
Cut to the Republic cruiser traveling through hyperspace followed by cut to their quarters where Kenobi and Darelda deliberate as 81 walks in. The droid reports that the engines are straining to get ahead of the Coalition ships in hyperspace, but that if Obi-Wan’s plan is right, they’ll show up right as the former will be getting out of light speed. Organa remarks its at least some good news. HX inquires as to what the plan is, with Ben saying their key priority is slowing down the Mandalorians as much as possible before they reach Coruscant and encounter the Republic invasion soon to come.
The senator’s face somehow turns even more anxious, and she looks Ben in the eye to ask the obvious question of what the Coalition’s plan is with their apparent Force clones. He’s immediately responds that its most likely a reactionary army against the Jedi, pointing out mass infiltration would be useless once even one of them was exposed as one clone is an enigma, many would be an obvious threat. Organa asks why one revealed himself and Kenobi replies that they either counted on this one being successful in destroying them or something went array.
At that 81 brings up that the Coalition mass production process disposes of any clone they find defective; if there was something wrong with this copy, the they certainly would have caught it. Obi-Wan just shakes his head saying that replicating a Jedi’s body is one thing, wholly recreating a connection to the Forcce is beyond anything he’s ever heard of. “A mind in tuned to the Force without spirit, there’s no telling what kind of effect that has.”
Heavily sighing, Darelda says they’re dangerous either way, and that if the Coalition has any on Coruscant, the invasion will be even more difficult. Slowly calming himself, Ben tells her and HX to get the coded message for the Republic ready to send as soon as they get out of hyperspace, adding they can’t make any assumptions until the invasion starts and they see what they’re dealing with.