ONN ENTERTAINMENT: The Wastelander™ - Episode 4: Offering
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First Broadcast on August 28th, 2493
ONN Entertainment/The Wastelander™ is a Production of Orbital Content Programming and House Storm.
[The credits start after a short recap of the previous episode, once the recap ends, the theme song kicks in.]
After the theme ends, the pilot is struggling with what he just learned. Unable to recover the messages, or to restart the fighter's systems, he is shellshocked, rocking back and forth. Nalta had rushed in to his aid as soon as he heard him scream, but she was clever and smarter than she looked, she decided to give him some time to recover, however long that would be.
After an hour, the pilot finally emerges, looking at Nalta.]
"Your father spoke of another settlement, Angel Settlement, right?"
[Nalta simply nods, studying the pilot's face.]
"Yes, not far. Many people there, lots of things to trade"
"Have you been there before? Do you know the way?"
[The huntress nods again.]
"Once, but I know the way. We need to go back to Nice Marsh, we need more supplies, strong weapons, and water"
[The pilot frowns at the notion, he was experiencing a mix of sorrow and anger.]
"No other way around? Can't we go on our own?"
[Nalta shakes her head, seemingly understanding his rush.]
"No if we want to get there safe, temperatures rise the closer we get, so we need more water"
[With a grunt, the pilot just walks, following Nalta back to her home.]
"Tell me about this Angel Settlement"
[Nalta obliges, as they continue their path back home.]
"Big settlement, traders, farmers too. Some tribes trade with settlement. There raiders, so you have to be careful. They have clean water, lots of space to live in. Strong and rich people live in the towers, everyone else live where they can find a spot"
[The description and what the pilot suspected the Angel Settlement didn't paint a kind picture to him.]
"Are there anyone like me there?"
"Skymen? I hear stories, they sometime go there but not often. Skymen come from the north, there's a fever barrier north from Angel Settlement"
"Fever barrier?"
[Nalta shows him her arm, the burns and scars could only be one thing.]
"Ah... Radiation"
[Nalta grows more curious about the pilot, for he seems knowledgeable in topics she can barely comprehend.]
"Do you know about the fever?"
"It's called radiation, think of it as an invisible force that can kill anything and anyone from the inside. That's why you wear protective gear and armor, to fight off its effects"
"You use medicines and remedies for that?"
[The man thinks for a moment, he recalled there were experimental drugs that were said to reduce the amount of radiation in a person, but they never saw mass production, at least, that's what he remembered.]
"I don't know... Maybe"
"Ion... Ion... Is that name?"
[The pilot stopped, looking at Nalta.]
"You heard that?"
[Nalta nods, shyly, thinking she was getting in trouble, the man sighs and resumes his path.]
"John. And It was... Long ago"
[Nalta kept asking all sorts of questions, about his flight suit, he weapon, the ship he had just entered, and more insistently, the fact that he was 'clean'. He soon came to understand that she meant 'free of radiation' by clean. If everybody on Earth looked like her and Seris, then the radiation from the war would spread through the entire globe for decades, centuries even. The more they walked, the more they talked, and while at first he felt irritated answering a thousand questions to the huntress, he started to appreciate her curiosity, after all, those questions were helping him remember things he had forgotten, things he didn't imagine he would revisit again. As they were approaching the Nice Marsh Settlement, Nalta went ahead to scout, a few moments later she rushed back to him.]
"Ion! Ion! Rexos is here! Is attacking Nice Marsh, you help!"
[Rexos. The monster the pilot remembered well, an insane mix of bear and shark, and it looked far more terrible than that. He didn't protest or argue, he rushed back to Nice Marsh following Nalta closely.] "There! Hunters! We must help, Ion!"
[The monstrosity had gone through a few hunters already, some had re-purposed rifles, some had a more tribal approach. The pilot's muscle memory kicked in and got a hold of his weapon. Firing the first shot, it went buzzing over the monster's head. He cursed at himself, but he didn't stop. The settlers of Nice Marsh were screaming in that langue he didn't understand, panic and death were unleashed upon the settlement.]
"Father is trap! Ion! You help!"
[Without even waiting for a reply, Nalta rushed to help her father, the pilot tried to stop her. The monster would surely get her killed, but he was unable to, he chased after her. The monster was already breaching the small shack where Seris was, and with half a dozen spears on it, it was already frenzied. The pilot opened fire several times, even hitting his mark. The monster lunged at him, but as he kept opening fire on it, and due the exhaustion from its wounds, the mighty Rexos finally fell. The pilot didn't recall feeling that exhausted in a long time, and with his physical condition deteriorated, he collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness.
Finally, when he came to, he was at a newly rebuilt shack.]
"You are awake... You saved my life, and that of many"
[The pilot felt better, he sat up, looking at the elder.]
"Did you find what you looked for? What do you do now?"
"I'll go to the Angel Settlement"
"You need a guide. You saved my life, so I offer my Nalta to you"
[He was slightly confused at the words, so the pilot simply assumed he meant offering her as a guide.]
"Thank you..."
"You rest now, when you feel better, you will go to Angel Settlement and find what you look for"
[The elder leaves the shack, leaving the pilot with his thoughts, it was still surreal to him, but he was determined to find his way. The scene fades to black as the credits roll. The Wastelander™ is a Production of Orbital Content Programming and House Storm. All Rights Reserved 2493-2494.]