EXT. XUTHLTAN – DRIED-UP RIVERBED – DAWN
The survivors of the Wayward Son march on, sluggish and weary from over a week of nigh-endless exertion under the planet’s unyielding dry heat.
Lids heavy, Moulin uncaps her canteen and raises it to her long, cracked lips. When her tongue is met with no water, she taps the bottom of the canteen, but nothing comes forth.
DR. MOULIN: (returns the empty canteen to her belt) Well, that’s that – I’m dry.
MSC. NAAD: (offers her her own canteen) Here, have some of mine.
DR. MOULIN: (raises her hands) I couldn’t.
MSC. NAAD: Please. I can do with less water than you, anyway.
Tentatively, the rephibian takes the young woman’s canteen. Uncapping it, she takes a short sip.
DR. MOULIN: (returns the canteen to Kathe) Thank you.
CMDR. VANESS: (halts) Stop.
At the commander’s order, the others come to a sudden halt. Before them, almost unnoticeable from their angle of observation, the river bed comes to an abrupt end, transitioning into a vertical drop in the rock which stretches for several metres. Most likely a high waterfall at some point in this world’s history, it – along with the rest of the landscape – dried up a long time ago.
With Obi-Wan’s assistance, Bail lowers Cody’s stretcher. He then joins his second-in-command at the drop.
BAIL: (looks over the drop) It goes down a ways. (beat) It looks too steep to climb down.
MSC. NAAD: We managed to salvage line from the wreck.
BAIL: Let’s see it.
Lowering their packs, Anakin, Kathe, and Moulin begin fishing around in them in search of the line. The Gungan soon finds the bundle of line in one of hers; striding over to the captain and commander, she presents it to them.
BAIL: It might not be long enough, but it’ll have to do.
ANAKIN: (points at something in the distance) Hey – what’s that, way over there?
Following his finger, Bail and Vaness find, past the vertical drop, far in the distance but not too far to walk, a large mass rising out of the otherwise flat terrain. Pulling out her pair of electrobinoculars, Vaness takes a look.
CMDR. VANESS’ P.O.V. – ZIGGURAT
Through the electrobinoculars, we can see that the mass is no natural formation. Though fine details still cannot be made out, it is clearly a ziggurat, consisting of two levels with a prominent ramp leading to the first and a lesser ramp leading to the second.
CUT TO
Vaness handing the electrobinoculars to Bail.
VANESS: It’s a ziggurat.
BAIL: (looks through the electrobinoculars) Well, this world’s not as empty as we were led to believe.
VANESS: There’re no other traces of civilization, Bail – no agriculture, no other buildings, definitely no sign of people. It looks as dead as everything else we’ve seen.
BAIL: You may be right. Regardless, there still may be something of value to be found inside. I’m game to find out if you are.
VANESS: (shrugs) I’m game.
BAIL: Alright. (to the others) Find something to secure the line to and get it ready. We’re going on to the ziggurat.
OBI-WAN: I don’t think it’s wise to take Cody along with us. We don’t know how grievous his injuries are; we could do him serious harm if we tried lowering him down the line.
BAIL: Then one of us is going to have to stay behind to keep a watch over him.
MSC. NAAD: I’ll do it.
DR. MOULIN: If you don’t mind, Captain, I’d like to stay, too. We haven’t run up against any dangers so far, but if that were to change, it’d be better for there to be two around to protect the commander than one.
BAIL: (nods) Very well. We’ll leave you some extra water and a comlink. Contact us if his condition changes at all.
Moulin nods once in acknowledgement.
CUT TO
Bail, Vaness, Obi-Wan, and Nik as they lower themselves down the line centimetre-by-centimetre. Moulin and Naad, back on top with the unconscious Cmdr. Cody, watch them make their descent.
Soon, they come to the end of the line. As luck would have it, the line is a bit too short; they have to let go and fall a short but safe distance to make it to the bottom.