Sphere Saga - A Tale of a Tale

[alkemita]

Hi All,

here's something I started cooking up during the Christmas/New Years break. The format's deliberately a bit weird, but I hope the story remains clear. As always, feedback is welcome.


31 March 3096
New Olympia
Marik-Stewart Commonwealth

[Theme music of “The Showbiz Roundup” blares as we jump-cut to the animated Title Card.]

Jingxe Chu: Good evening New Olympia, and welcome to The Showbiz Roundup! I’m Jingxe Chu

Rajiv Patel: And I’m Rajiv Patel.

[Cut to set of The Showbiz Roundup. Chu and Patel are seated behind their large anchor desk, she dressed simply but elegantly, he in one of his trademark outrageous suits. Behind them the whole back wall of the set is a projection screen, which now shifts from its usual display to show one of the promo posters for “Sphere Saga: Rebirth and Death”, with “3 Days to Go” subtitled]

JC: And this is our Sphere Saga Season Two preview special! Yes, folks, tonight, the whole hour is dedicated to the return of the show-biz phemon that is Sphere Saga for its second season! What have we got for the good people, Rajiv?

RP: Lots and lots and lots of Sphere Saga goodness, Jingxe! We have exclusive previews, we have interviews, we have vox pop views, we review the past two seasons, we view “Death and Rebirth” from every angle!

[Backdrops fades to black with four windows popping up, each with a still image from the upcoming season]

JC: That’s right, folks! And in the studio with us tonight, exclusive to Showbiz Roundup, we talk to new Season Two cast member Henri Sauvage! Yes, we have Colonel Jamie Wolf himself, well, his portrayer, anyway.

RP: So stay right where you are folks. That’s all coming up! But first, let’s take a look back at the first season of Sphere Saga.

[Top left window pops from the backdrop to fill frame and review begins]

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17 May 3086
Gambier Morning Post
Entertainment News Section

A two-for-one item for you this morning, dear readers. Yesterday, Rennie-award winning director and famous recluse Camus Ching filed for divorce from his third wife, actress Tanitha Sumich, citing “irreconcilable differences”. This was a minor surprise in itself since there’s been no hint of trouble in the eight-year marriage. However, what really caused a stir was a statement put out hours later via Sumich’s manager where, among the expected quotes about “remaining friends” and “mutual decision” was this one line bombshell: “I look forward to working with Camus on his next project”.

Next project? Ching has not made a movie in over ten years. His last effort was the 3073 Rennie Best Movie Gentle as the Storm, which also broke box office records all over the Inner Sphere and Periphery (and was rumoured to have been a huge hit in the Clan OZs as well). He’s faded completely from public view since his wedding to now ex-Tanitha.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled on this one, readers.

Speaking of eyes, intriguing news out of the CapCon...

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The Professional - Journal of the Mercenary Review & Bonding Commission
Vol 57 Issue 9 October 3088
Adapt, Improvise and Earn - The Shifting Employment Starscape
by Col. Moira Tranh, ret.

It’s certainly been an interesting few years for the Mercenary trade. The dual crucibles of the FedCom Civil War and the Jihad has caused a turnover in Commands far greater than at any time since the early days of the Clan Invasion. However, that conflict was essentially over in three years, whereas we have lived through almost two decades of turmoil. One only needs to look at the recently expanded Walls of Memory here on Galatea to be reminded of the toll.

Today, six years after the formation of the Republic of the Sphere, the final embers of the Jihad are going out, and taking with them the steady employment stream that the mercenary trade has lived on for almost twenty years. It’s true that peace has not broken out everywhere, and there’s still plenty of anti-pirate work out there for those that want it, but the well is running dry. A telling statistic- last year, the ratio of Commands disbanded due to insolvency vs those destroyed in combat surpassed 12:1 for the first time since the days of the original Star League.

It’s ironic that as contracts are vanishing, the average quality of Commands has never been higher, driven by the recent constant conflicts. MRBC “A”-rated Commands are up 9%, but the real impressive movers have been “B”-rated Commands, making up an all-time high of 38% of the units in the MRBC database.

So what, then, for the professional soldier? While some are taking the age-old route and following the contracts (pirates beware), others are treading paths less taken, proving once again the old Mercenary maxim - “Adapt, Improvise and Earn”.

Reports from Solaris VII and Westerhand speak of a massive jump in former mercenaries trying to make it in the Games. Security contracts are big as well, providing protection for reconstruction and recovery crews of various nations. There are all sorts of possibilities still out there, just few in the arenas we’ve gotten used to.

Here’s one of the most creative. The famed Snord’s Irregulars (A+) have accepted a contract as consultants, of all things, with FallegtVida Entertainment in the Federated Suns - a movie studio...

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February 27 3089
DBN-W3 Late Edition News, Cumbres
Lyran Commonwealth

[The stock-standard Donegal Broadcasting Network newsroom set]

Anchor: Thank you, Anita. I suppose it’s time to get those winter coats out of storage... And now, with this week’s Editorial Minute, we go to Special Correspondent Raeesa Zietsman. Raeesa?

Raeesa Zietsman: Thank you, Pavel. Now, it would be stating the obvious to say that, like almost all of us, I love my kids and want the best for them. I’m also sure that that vast majority of us are proud of our kids and their accomplishments. And it would be understandable if our collective pride and love for our kids makes us a little biased in their favour when they get into trouble. I’m no different than the rest of you in this respect.

However, bias is one thing, complete blindness is another. You’d have had to be under Interdiction these past few months to not know about Vesper Valikos - heiress, budding actor, some-time singer and as of last week, convicted criminal. Yes, I know she’s going into rehab rather than to jail, and yes, the conviction will be wiped after five years if she doesn’t reoffend, but seriously, what she did was criminal. Mr Justice Burgher said so.

What really irritates me in this case are the lengths Ms Valikos’s father, billionaire agricultural magnate Alexey Valikos has gone to in order to shield his daughter from the consequences of her actions. Just before the case opened, he issued a statement saying that he was proud of Vesper and believed she would be found innocent.

Well, Mr Valikos, I’m proud of my son too, but if he was caught on vid driving while intoxicated, trying to run from the police and crashing into a tram stop full of people, I’d have a hard time believing he’d be exonerated. And much as it would pain me to see his face plastered all over the news, I wouldn’t be trying to minimise the consequences of his actions by taking out injunctions for a publication ban either.

After all, what kind of message does it send to the rest of us when we’ve learned today, yet again, that apparently money can buy you out of the consequences of your actions, and that blind parental support is expected, no matter what you’ve done.

I’m Raeesa Zietsman. Back to you, Pavel.

---------------------------

Extract from Reliving it, Almost: Behind the Scenes of Sphere Saga by Livingston Anderson. Pub. Avalon Press, 3105

In a way, I feel like my community - writers - have been lying to the public for as long as we’ve been around. Not intentionally, and not all the time, but I think we’ve misled you in one important area.

The Opening.

Let me explain. Events of huge import, like, say, the start of a Succession War, can almost never be traced to a single, dramatic “kick-off” moment. Oh sure, there’s usually a turning-point that grabs everyone’s attention, and in the public imagination that becomes the starting point. It makes good drama, which is why writers like to use these moments to grab hold of the audience.

But it’s also almost never the true starting point of the story. It’s as if the cliched “It was a dark and stormy night” was the turning point, and the gentle breeze the previous afternoon that blew in the clouds was the real starting point. See what I mean?

The true starting points are often quiet, understated, and contain little inkling of what’s to come.

And so it was with my involvement in the making of Sphere Saga.

The morning of Wednesday, August 15, 3083 found me moping around the house. It had been about three months since I’d been fired from my job as Producer on Ducal Duties. That story is long and involved in of itself, but a brief summary would look like this:

The studio originally brought me in to turn the show around, much as I had done on my previous gig, Nobody’s the Wiser. Things went well at first - we were able to firm up the ratings without too much radical surgery. But midway through the season, we were blindsided (as was everyone else), by the arrival of TBS’s high-smut, low-brow juggernaut, Sodom, Garry and Moi. The ratings plummeted once again, and the studio panicked. I was first requested, and then ordered to “dumb down and sex up” Ducal Duties. I refused - we weren’t that kind of a show, and my judgement was that audiences would tire of SG&M once they realised it was a one-trick pony. The studio didn’t agree, and I was let go. My replacement saluted and followed orders, and Ducal Duties tanked, cancelled at the end of the season. Much like SG&M shortly thereafter.

So on that August morning, having moved past despair and anger to a sort of masochistic satisfaction at the failure of both shows, I sat alone on the balcony of the suburban split-level where my then-husband Luther and I lived at the time, and vegetated, a tumbler of Timbiqui Dark in my hand. (Luther wasn’t there, of course, having gone to his normal job like a normal person).

It was a nice spring morning, so when the phone rang, I instantly decided not to pick up. Until, of course, it went to voice-mail and I heard the firm tones of Monica, my agent, bellowing at me in the way that she does.
    “Livvy” (only two people have ever called me that, and both of them are women, interestingly enough) “pick up right now, you lazy hack.”

I knew from personal experience that she’d only escalate things if I didn’t do as she said, so I dragged myself in from the sun and picked up.

    “Carl Thackett wants to see you. You’re taking the meeting,” she told me.
That was a surprise. Carl is probably the most powerful guy in the FedSuns film industry whom you’ve never heard of. He’s a film financier - a notoriously difficult area to make money in, but he’d had more winners than losers over the years. A rare beast, a numbers guy who understood creativity.

Now, even if I flatter myself a bit, I know I’m one of the more successful writers in the business (not better writer, more successful - there’s a difference and my self-aggrandizement has limits). Someone would come knocking eventually. I’d already taken a couple of meetings just to see what the lie of the land was, but we all knew it was too soon to jump into anything else. However - Carl Thakett doesn’t meet with writers. He stays in the background and works with studio execs.

Simply put - I’m not in his normal field of view. So I asked Monica the obvious question.

    “Sure I’ll take the meeting, but why is Carl meeting with a keyboard jockey?”
    “Because it’s a smokescreen for who you’re really meeting with.”
    “So who am I really meeting with?”
    “Can’t tell you.”

Monica had been a Sergeant in the AFFC once upon a time (are you at all surprised?), but anyone who follows the biz knows that there’s no real secrets, and everything is leaked almost immediately, sometime deliberately, sometimes opportunistically, but almost never accidentally. So fine, if she wanted to be a hard-ass about it, I’d play along.

While I showered and shaved, I ran a search on the ‘Net looking for anything that Carl was getting into or had recently gotten into, and came up blank on that score, which just piqued my curiosity even more.

I finished dressing and leaving Luther a message that he might have to fend for himself tonight at almost the same time the car arrived to take me to the Meeting That Changed Everything (do you see the turning point moment coming yet?)

The standard very nice studio aircar took me through the main gates of Event Horizon Studios. I was somewhat familiar with the place, having pitched lots of stories there as a struggling writer. This time, the car kept going deeper into the complex than I’d ever been, and then drove into an underground parkade.

The cloak and dagger bit continued when it stopped next to an elevator that was being held for me, a studio security guard my only companion for the silent thirty second ride that eventually deposited me in an executive foyer with very nice views of the city and various film lots.

I was immediately ushered through a set of double doors (of course) into a relatively small corner office suite (for the biz - it was about the same size as the entire main floor of my house).

As promised, there was Carl Thackett, all of two metres tall (and probably half that wide). I presume he greeted me politely, because what happened next tended to make our initial meeting fade into insignificance.

Seated on one of the sofas behind Thackett was Camus Ching.

[Death by Zeus]

Sodom, Garry and Moi?  (giggle).....That's bad........Bad.   :D  O0  Keep up the bad work and I'll continue reading.

[drakensis]

Lol. tag

[misterpants]

...well I'm intrigued.

[alkemita]

And here's the next part.

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Ultimate Movie Database Summary Bio for Camus Ching, archived 3080

Arguably one of the most influential film personalities of the thirty-first century, Camus Ching has fewer credits than most to his name, but an impressive list of wins and acclamations make him, film-for-film, the most awarded director and producer since the fall of the first Star League.

Born in 3030 on Indicass in the then-independent St Ives Compact, Ching’s family migrated to Kestrel in 3040. He dropped out of Gordon Cunningham College on Kestrel in 3049 in order to pursue filmmaking (he had been studying Aerospace Engineering).

After a series of stints as assistant editor, technician, first assistant director and gaffer on a variety of shows and movies, he came to the notice of legendary Holoscope Studios Chair Wynowa Kelpt, who gave him his first directorial gig, on an episode of the anthology series Prismatic, in 3051. Over the next two years, he worked mostly as a small-screen director, helming over 30 episodes of such shows as Mimic, Terry Fund’s Horrible Workplace and Investigations: The Series.

Ching’s big break came when he teamed up with future Rennie-winning writer Yelena Ortega to make Icabod’s Song in 3053. The soulful romantic drama broke box office records throughout the Federated Commonwealth. Dubbed into German and Italian, it was an even bigger hit in the Lyran half of that superstate. It also earned him his first Best Director Rennie nomination, as well as winning four lesser awards.

Ching followed up with Outpost 5 Does Not Answer in 3054. The Clan-invasion thriller made almost as much money as Icabod’s Song, won three awards (including the 3055 Stellar for Best Drama) and Ching’s success in two widely different genres made the entertainment industry sit up and take notice.

He made three more films in the ‘50s - The Road from Bex in 3055 (Rennie-nominated for Best Film), Purple in 3057, which was noted for the breakthrough performance of Melnick Gupta (3058 Rennie Best Supporting Actor), and the lauded and controversial Mandarin’s Report in 3059, which was widely thought to be a thinly-veiled critique of Duchess Candace Allard-Liao’s rule of the St Ives Compact. Ching’s withdrawal from public view is usually reckoned to have started with the release of this movie. Apparently frustrated that his explanations and denials were not believed, he stopped giving interviews in early 3060.

Regardless of the condemnation from his former homeland (including organised boycotts and demonstrations outside theatres showing the film), Mandarin’s Report was another hit for Ching, crowned by being nominated for all of the top Rennies in 3060 and winning four of them (Best Film, Best Director - Ching’s first, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor). It was further nominated for another sixty-one categories on the Awards Circuit and won thirty-eight of them, making Mandarin’s Report the mega-hit of the year.

Ching did not make another movie until 3063 (although he dabbled in producing for others), when he brought out Follow the Sun. With a cast full of unknowns and amateurs (the lead role was played by seven year old Phillip Bak), the film was a successful gamble. Ching managed to coax a gripping performance from his inexperienced troupe that elevated the simple plot and enthralled critics across the Inner Sphere. Follow the Sun garnered yet more critical acclaim (2 Rennies from 4 nominations and 5 Stellars from 7 nominations), but was comparatively less successful at the box office, although it still turned a profit.

Ching’s only real stumble came next, in the form of 3066’s Von Rohrs, an account of the short-lived rule of the Von Rohrs dynasty in the Draconis Combine. Despite the presence of an all-star cast and crew, a budget somewhere north of 400 million C-bills and breathtaking cinematography, the film was widely panned by critics and the public alike. Especially criticized were plot developments that hinged on aspects of Japanese culture largely unknown to viewers outside the Combine, causing confusion for audiences. The film is number 17 on Lassiter’s List of All Time Biggest Movie Bombs.

After the Von Rohrs debacle, Ching spent most of the next decade in seclusion, emerging only briefly to lend a hand to various up-and-coming filmmakers who had caught his eye. It is not known how many have been recipients of his mentorship, and the practice only came to light when Fortis Belfort thanked Ching in her acceptance speech for her 3070 Best Director Stellar (A Second Try at October). Others known to have been helped by Ching include Shinji Tanaka (Ultimate) and Maxima del Piero (The Last Branth).

Ching finally returned to the director’s chair in 3072 to helm Gentle is the Storm, in some ways a return to his beginnings. Another romantic drama that invites comparison to his debut feature, Storm is sometimes referred to as “Icabod’s Next Song” by wags.

Gentle is the Storm was a tour de force for Ching, sweeping the 3073 awards circuit. It was the unanimous choice of the Rennies, Stellars and Vox Pops for Best Film, Best Director (Ching’s second), Best Actor (Lionel Gabasa), Best Actress (Gabrielle Nadal) and Best Screenplay (Helga & Minche Ogden). The Rennies further awarded the film Best Editing, while the Stellars added Best Cinematography, and the Vox Pops gave it Best Original Song.

Famously, Ching did not show up to collect his awards, instead pre-recording an acceptance speech from his home on Kestrel.

Influence on the Industry
Ching’s signature style is the use of specific camera framing and angles to suggest and reinforce emotion. Such “Ching Angles”, as they are wrongly, but commonly known, have crept into the work of other directors over the past couple of decades. Fortis Belfort is perhaps the best-known other user of Ching Angles, while many other directors have been known to occasionally throw one into their films.

In addition, Ching’s films tend toward realism, sometimes at the expense of audience comprehension. Most clearly evident in Von Rohrs, Ching films are known for obsessive attention to detail in set dressing and historical fact. This has led to a boom in sales of the UHD versions of his films amongst a fanatical subset of his fans who search the backgrounds of each scene on freeze-frame for trivia and easter eggs that would normally pass unnoticed.

Personal Life
Ching has been married three times. His first union, in 3052 was to a former classmate at Gordon Cunningham College and ended in 3055.

In 3058, Ching married Alice Taum, who had been editor on Purple. The couple had a daughter in 3058 and a son in 3061. Ching and Taum divorced in 3075.

Ching is currently married to actor Tanitha Sumich, whom he met on the set of Gentle is the Storm. They wed in 3078 and have no children together.

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UNOTP://BackLotAccessCard.ENT
Archived 6 September 3089

We have a new anonymous source today who’s bringing in a juicy scoop, if true. Apparently Camus Ching (yes, that Camus Ching, who else?) is involved with a new project. Yes,I know, I know, every six months there’s another “Camus Ching’s next movie” rumour, but this source has more details than most, some of which we can’t reveal just yet. It just smells a bit more plausible than most of them. Here’s what the source, who asked to be called “FX01” has to say:

Hey gals & guys, I work in the biz, and Camus Ching has been spotted in the same resort as some FallegtVida Entertainment high-ups. Why’s this a big deal? FVE produced Ching’s Mandarin’s Report, and they’ve opened up multiple spots on their production slate for the next five years. Ching’s known for doing lots of research before going into production - since he’s been out of the biz for ten years, maybe he’s got a bunch of movies ready to go?

Make of that what you will - possibly multiple Ching projects coming up?

BACKCHAT
1,433 comments

AX010TL: First! And first to say - the obvious flaw in this one is multiple projects - Ching’s so obsessive and focused - he wouldn’t be doing several stories at once. It would only be the only project at a time. I think he’s done for good.

WindyCert: While part of me really, really, really, wants this to be true, I’ve been disappointed too many times. I’ll just have to curl up with my 20th Anniversary Edition of Icabod’s Song.

1000RedBlue: Just so long as it isn’t Icabod’s 3rd song….

       GTurkSway: @1000RedBlue - what you got against IS and GitS?

              1000RedBlue: Not my style, and reckon CC’s talent is wasted on sappy RomDrams. If he’s making anything, wanna see a sequel to Outpost 5…

                      ZapFas66: This!

    102WsHrs: [Comment Deleted by Moderator]

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Keyboards & Cameras ‘NetCast #122
November 13, 3094

[Screen shows the interior of a messy office. Lots of hardcopy scattered or piled on desks, shelves full of binders filled with reference material. Noticeboard at the rear is covered with flowcharts, calendars - mix of multimedia and hardcopy. A pair of portable computers sit on another desk under the noticeboard, both sporting expensive ergonomic keyboards.

In the foreground, on the right is Aisling Windemere, citizen journalist and host of the self-produced ‘Net show Keyboards & Cameras. Her interview subject for today sits to the left - Livingston Anderson. He’s forty-ish, thinning dark brown hair and sporting a full but neatly cropped beard]

Aisling Windemere: Hello, fellow Writers and ‘Netizens. Welcome to episode one-two-two of Keyboards and Cameras - where we talk to the craftspeople behind our favourite shows, and ask them some of your questions. Joining us today is Livingston Anderson. He’s been in the business for over twenty-five years. He’s written for shows like Hypothetical Risks, A Thin Black Line, Cleghorn Lives and Nobody’s the Wiser. He was a producer on Nobody’s the Wiser, Ducal Duties and Fires of Porto Augusta. Won a Hugo for Hypothetical Risks, a Vox Pop for Nobody’s the Wiser and was Rennie-nominated for his only feature credit to date - A Measure of Poison. And now, he’s the Head Writer for Sphere Saga, the format-smashing hit of 3094! Livingston, welcome to Keyboards and Cameras!

Livingston Anderson: Thank you, Aisling - when you list it all out like that, I suddenly feel very, very old and tired. Can we do this after I have a nap? [Laughs]

AW: [Laughs] Sure! If I can stay here and get a scoop on the next episode!

LA: That might upset Camus a little! Let’s go - let’s do this now.

AW: Okay - actually, that’s as good a place to start as any. The word is that you were personally recruited for this gig by Camus Ching. Is that true?

LA: Well - Yes - ah, well, understand that with Camus, all the key positions are filled with people he’s personally selected. It’s a privilege that goes with the room-full of awards he has.

AW: So can you tell us a bit about that process?

LA: Sure. This actually started way back in ‘84? No, ‘83 - it was ‘83 for me. I was between shows, and got asked to take a meeting with a studio bigshot. That turned out to be a cover for a meeting with Camus Ching -

AW: This was the first time you’d met?

LA: Yes - big fan for years, of course, so I was quite the fan-boy at that first encounter. You know - why is it so hard for writers to find the words when you need them? Know what I mean?

AW: Oh, yes!

LA: Anyway, so after having done the “It’s an honour to meet you, I’m a big fan,” cliche, I get floored when Camus tells me he’s a fan of Nobody’s the Wiser and that he’d watched almost everything I’d written.

AW: High praise! You lucky man.

LA: Thank you - yes it is.

AW: So - wait a minute - if this meeting took place in ‘83 - you’ve been working on Sphere Saga for thirteen years?

LA: On and off, yes. Camus, of course, has been living with this one over twenty years now.

AW: Maybe we should back-track a little. So what came out of the that first meeting?

LA: A second meeting. The first one is just a ‘grip-and-grin’ you, know? Make sure the other guy or gal isn’t a complete loon.

AW: Like a first date?

LA: I’ve heard that analogy used often, and it’s pretty accurate! So, anyway, at the second meeting - which was brunch at Camus’s place, by the way - we actually get down to talk about what he wants me for. He takes me into the biggest home office you’ve ever seen, and the place is just filled with twenty years of research on the Star League, the Clans, the Succession Wars - I’m talking maps, biographies, documents, pics, vids, fabric samples, the lot. He even had an original SLDF Neuro-tester - those toy-sized ‘Mechs that they would hook you up to to see if you had the potential to be a MechWarrior.

AW: Wow!

LA: Yeah. So we sit down, and he tells me, “Livingston, I want to tell the story of the SLDF - from the Star League to the end of the Clan Wars. And I want you to help me tell it.” And I was glad I was sitting down at the point, I tell you.

AW: I can imagine! So what happened next?

LA: You mean after I said “[BLEEP] yes, I’m in!”?

AW: After that part, yes.

LA: Well, we started talking about what I could bring to the table, and the first thing he asked me to do was to think about how to break down the story into something manageable. I said okay, I can do that, and what sort of parameters or restrictions do we have to work with? And he looked me in the eye - this still sends chills up my spine - and he says “None”.

AW: Wow! That’s certainly a writer’s dream assignment.

LA: I know, right? But that was only the start of a very long journey, and as you can see, it’s nowhere near done yet!

AW: So who’s idea was it to do the story as three maxi-series?

LA: Ah, that evolved a bit. After that meeting, I started by reading over Camus’s notes and his research. I gathered all the plot points and character moments we wanted in the story and started ordering them into films.

After a few months, I gave him outlines for a trilogy of feature films. We broke each one down to Act level and then Scene level. That took another six months or so, and by this time I’d been hired to do Fires of Porto Augusta, so my output dropped off a bit.

When Fires went to season break, Camus and I reconnected, and we both realized that three movies, even if each was four hours long, meant that we would leave too much of the story out. Camus had done his own tinkering with my points, and came back with a six-movie version - each one would have been three hours long, but even eighteen hours of screen time wasn’t enough to do the story justice.

AW: I can understand that - there’s literally centuries of happenings you had to cover.

LA: Right. So one evening, as we’re rearranging scenes for the umpteenth time, trying to squeeze in something else we thought was crucial to the story, I made a quip that at least on an ongoing series I had as much time as I wanted to let a story play out, and Camus suddenly stops, looks up at me, and I’m - “What? What is it?” And he says - “This is a series, not a multi-part feature.”

AW: Awesome!

LA: It was - but it had been a long day, so I didn’t get what he was saying at first. I mean - Fires is my day job at this point, and I‘m taking normal series thinking and applying it to what Camus was saying. So my mind is thinking - “There’s no way we can make this on a series budget and not have it look crappy, we’d have to cut even more,” all of that stuff.

So I’m arguing against the idea, telling him all this, and he says, “No, no, no, Livingston. Let’s do it like this,” and he grabs my stylus and starts sketching it out on the ‘board. He divides the board into 3 parts, labels them, uh, “Fall of the SL”, “Clans & Succession Wars” and “Invasion”, then starts tossing our Act Outlines into each column and says “Each act is now an episode - a feature-length episode”. At that time we were looking at six to ten episodes a season, I believe.

Then he says “And we get them financed like a block of features.”

AW: Just like that?

LA: Yeah. Well, I figured if anyone could get that kind of money, it would be Camus Ching.

AW: While we’re on the topic, can you confirm that Sphere Saga has a 160 million C-Bill budget per season?

LA: Ah - I’ll pass on that one. Let’s just say it’s obviously not cheap to make.

AW: I had to try!

LA: I know, I know.

AW: Okay - moving along then. You’ve worked out how to tell the story, Camus obviously got the financing -

LA: Which is a story in itself!

AW: I’m sure it is. Take us through the crafting of the screenplays.

LA: Uh, sure. The first thing - no, lemme start with the background. Fires was a good show - it was good to me, but I couldn’t work on on both projects at the same time. Wouldn’t be fair to either. However, I was in year two of a three year contract with options, so I wouldn’t be available to work on Saga for most of ‘84 and ‘85.

Camus understood, but we both agreed that no one could write this much story alone. On the other hand, we’d both been living too close to this story, and a break would be useful, but also a chance to get some fresh eyes on the project. So we both opened our black books and arranged for some more writers to come in -

AW: The same crew that’s now on the show?

LA: Mostly - it was Deenah Muskovoy and Yelena Ortega first I think - yes, it was. Deenah and Yelena came aboard first, in late 3084. Hassan Fasil came in a bit later to help us out, but he had to drop out in ‘87 to start treatment for his cancer.

AW: So that’s why Yelena’s got a story credit?

LA: Yes. She came in as a favour to Camus - we knew there was no way we could tie her up for a decade on the one gig, but she did a lot to get us pointed in the right direction.

AW: It’s still quite the dream team of writers! There’s quite a few award winners there.

LA: Thank you - I think we’re very fortunate to have this crew. Let’s see - Yelena actually found Caleb Molina for us - I believe he’d been one of her students once upon a time. Olivia Tsu I first met on Thin Black Line and was blown away by her talent at such a young age, so when I got the chance, I brought her aboard. And Alexey Velyanovski was actually suggested by Horace Stetson, our studio liaison. We’d actually been told - wrongly - that he wasn’t available, but Horace found out he was and we grabbed him before anyone else found out!

AW: Okay, you’ve got the concept, you’ve assembled the team, now what?

LA: Lots more writing and debates! As I mentioned earlier, I was pretty much out of the picture until late ‘85, although Yelena and Camus kept me informed, and I was able to make the odd meeting here and there, as well as exchange messages of course.

So I wasn’t totally out of the loop by the time I came back on board in about November ‘85, which was about the same time that Yelena left. In effect, she’d been the Acting Head Writer, for which I’ll be forever grateful because she set up a lot of the… structure and infrastructure, I guess, and I didn’t have to do a lot of that.

AW: So she left, and you came in as Head Writer?

LA: Yes - there was a transition period of about a month, but after that I got to run the department.

AW: Can you take us through the typical life of the screenplays?

LA: Well, one of the things Yelena and Camus settled in those eighteen months was that each season would be eight, ninety-minute episodes. With four writers in the pool -

AW: Them being Deenah, Caleb Molina, Olivia and Alexey?

LA: Right - well except that you can swap out Hassan for Alexey for the first season. I parcelled out two episodes a season to them. They’d go away, write the episode, come back, we do a meeting where we all critique it, then they go away and make any changes necessary, rinse and repeat. Sometimes one or more of us would have a go at some of the changes as well. Camus and I would look out for the overall arc and flow of the story. I got to do the final re-writes, subject to Camus’s approval, of course.

AW: Let’s go back for a moment to the structure - ninety minute episodes are almost unheard of, and eight episodes a season suggests a mini-series rather than an ongoing. Can you speak to why that format and structure?

LA: Ah, it was a number of interlocking reasons actually. The story reason of course, is a big one. Ninety minutes also seemed to work out better for the amount of material we wanted to cover. We found that some parts had too much to do in an hour, but not enough for two. We really didn’t want to pad out the story with over-extended filler like another fifteen minutes of battle scenes -

AW: There seems to have been plenty of battle scenes in the episodes screened so far.

LA: Yes, because we’re doing the Amaris Coup. But there’s a difference between advancing the story with a battle scene and doing battle scenes just for the sake of it. And we didn’t want to do that. So ninety minutes just seemed to work out as the right length for each episode.

For pretty much the same reasons, the story naturally broke down into three parts, or seasons if you will. And the amount of story in each part seemed to fill out eight episodes each. So you could say that for reasons of artistic integrity, this was the structure that seemed right.

As it turned out, for financing reasons, it was easier to get some partners aboard if it was a mini-series rather than an on-going, especially our foreign partners -

AW: I want to talk more about that in a second.

LA: I bet you do! So, anyway, tax breaks was another reason, and finally, believe it or not, there are planets in the ‘Sphere and Periphery where personal screens are not widely available, so doing ninety-minute episodes allows us to take Sphere Saga to these places as feature movies in their own right. Wider distribution equals more profits, which makes the investors happy.

AW: Fair enough. Now, Sphere Saga has attracted attention for being released simultaneously in most of the Inner Sphere and Periphery, which is a major logistical feat in itself.

LA: We believe we’re telling a story of the events that have shaped the whole human sphere for centuries, so it felt right to make the effort.

AW: As you know, there’s been a bit of controversy over the different versions of the show being shown in each state -

LA: I’m not sure it’s that much of a controversy…

AW: As of this morning, it was trending in the top ten on the UniNet -

LA: That may be so, but I still think it’s inflated.

AW: So what's your take on it?

LA: Look, localization has been around for literally centuries. In our case, we have easily enough material to make fifty episodes of Sphere Saga, okay? There’s going to be bits of the story that happened in say, the Combine, or the CapCon, that are important to them, but have nothing to do with the FedSuns portion of the story, and vice versa. The core of the story is the same in every version we put out - the differences are for the bits of the story that are interesting or relevant to one particular audience but not the others. So, as I said, this is making a mountain out of molehill.

AW: Depending on what those differences are, couldn’t that lead to a different interpretation of what the core story is about?

LA: You’d have to give me a specific example -

AW: Well, in episode two - Coupe de Main - you show the reactions of the various House Lords to the Amaris Coup. In the FedSuns version of the episode, all the House Lords refuse to recognise Amaris but also refuse to openly aid the SLDF. In the Combine version of the episode, there’s an extended scene where Minoru Kurita justifies his decisions to his wife -

LA: That’s textbook localisation - exactly what I was talking about before.

AW: But don’t you think it puts a different slant on the Coup by suggesting that the other House Lords were too selfish to think beyond their own desires?

LA: I’m not sure how you got that interpretation from the scene - that’s Minoru’s point of view about the Coup, which, by the way, we have documentary support for from the Combine Archives. It’s his opinion, which affects some of his later decisions. Look - some of the events we’re covering still divide experts, over three hundred years later. We believe we’ve come up with the most accurate presentation we can hope for, under the circumstances. Did we change some things? Yes. We had to in order for the larger picture to make sense to the audience - and we can’t assume they’ve put in as much research as we have into the subject.

But - and I stress this - we’re confident that this is the most accurate account of the story ever put on the big screen. In fact, if you think about it, having investors from all over the ‘Sphere pretty much guarantees that we have to be unbiased. You can bet they’re scrutinising each script closely.

AW: Okay. So I guess we can expect to see a lot more of these localisations?

LA: Oh yes, but again, as I said, the core of the story remains the same for all versions.

AW: Okay. Now we move on to Viewer Questions. Livingston, are you ready?

LA: Sure, fire away.

AW: Okay. Today’s first question is from ZelkysGirl74, she writes - “Hi Livingston, I’ve been a big fan of yours since Thin Black Line, but my question is actually about Ducal Duties.”

LA: Oh, god…

[alkemita]

Sodom, Garry and Moi?  (giggle).....That's bad........Bad.   :D  O0  Keep up the bad work and I'll continue reading.

Thank you - for you, I will endeavour to do my worst work  ;D

[alkemita]

Hi All,

For an upcoming segment, I need the names and rides of the nine members of the Royal Black Watch who made the last stand at Gorst Flats. I tried buying the Northwind Highlanders Scenario Pack from Battlecorps to get this information, but couldn't find it. Sarna.net was no help either.

Does anyone have this information? I'll put you in the story with a cameo if you like.

Alkemita

[Trace Coburn]

Hi All,

For an upcoming segment, I need the names and rides of the nine members of the Royal Black Watch who made the last stand at Gorst Flats. I tried buying the Northwind Highlanders Scenario Pack from Battlecorps to get this information, but couldn't find it. Sarna.net was no help either.

Does anyone have this information? I'll put you in the story with a cameo if you like.

Alkemita

  ... PM inbound.

[alkemita]

Next part. Thank you to those who passed on the information I wanted. Your cameos are coming in a future update.

March 11th, 3091
FallegtVida Entertainment Press Release
<For Immediate Distribution>

FallegtVida Entertainment is pleased to announce that two-time Rennie winner Camus Ching (Mandarin’s Report, Gentle is the Storm) will be partnering with us to make a series of movies about the most significant events in the past three centuries - the fall of the First Star League, the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion.

FVE Chair Tulisa Swilalae said “It’s a great honour to work again with perhaps the greatest director of the past half-century. We all look forward to the extraordinary spectacle to come”.

This project is now in pre-production, with filming expected to begin in the new year.

For further information or media access requests, please click here.

-------------------------------------------------
UNOTP://BackLotAccessCard.ENT
Archived 16 July 3091

And the Camus Ching HotEHS project news keeps leaking out. Last week we exclusively told you that Marcus Ettard would be playing Richard Cameron in the first film of the trilogy. Now we have another scoop for you.

The part of Stefan Ukris Amaris will be played by…

    Harrison Kuek

This is an interesting choice, to say the least. But it just might work. Although he’s made a career for himself in comedy, remember that he actually got his break with the Avalon Shakespeare Company.

In the less confirmed box, there’s also reports that the total budget for the trilogy is somewhere around 500-600 million CBills.

BACKCHAT
2,288 Comments

HyaxDinner: No. NoNoNONONONONONO! And NO!! Seriously?? Uncle Han is going to be playing a mad dictator? No one is going to be able to take the villain seriously. And he’s one of the few actors around who would actually have to *lose* weight to play Amaris. No!

           Balkan7to1: Why do the haters always get on first? Jeez, give the guy a chance before you shoot him down.

AX010TL: This is more than interesting. Kuek would need to shave his head and grow the infamous facial set, but he already does look kinda like Amaris, and he can act.

             Formerly1kRB: I grew up with Uncle Han’s Diner, so I know Kuek can do comedy, but this is a serious, serious role. I wish him the best, but this may be the biggest mis-casting of all time.

IncaOlmec: What’s “HotEHS”?

            Be114T5: “History of the Entire Human Sphere”. Search function is your friend.

---------------------------------
Extract from Reliving it, Almost: Behind the Scenes of Sphere Saga by Livingston Anderson. Pub. Avalon Press, 3105

Of course, nothing lasts. As 3086 turned into 3087, the production team was hit by twin body blows that looked like they would seriously derail us.

The first shock came in the form of Hassan Fasil’s cancer diagnosis. I remember it clearly because I was there when he realised something was seriously wrong.

We had just moved into our permanent production offices on the Event Horizon lot. We writers had commandeered a former boardroom as our meeting room (eventually we took to calling it the “Council Chamber” and Deenah stuck a huge decal of the Star League emblem in the centre of the conference table). I called a writer’s meeting a few days later to talk about Season 2 in detail. Writing Season 1 had been challenging (and would remain so as we revised and tweaked for the next five years), but Season 2 involved a whole other level of complexity as we were carrying two separate storylines (Succession Wars and Clan Founding) that would not intersect until late in the season.

Present in the room that day were Deenah, Caleb (whom we called “Capo Cal” because when he sat in his enormous wingback chair he looked like the stereotypical Bertolli Family Don), Hassan, Olivia (we called each other “Livy” because we enjoyed the confusion it caused) and myself. Camus still made most of the writers meetings at this stage, but missed this particular one.

We’d actually already postponed the meeting once because Hassan had been down sick with what we thought was a persistent cold. Since he’d also worked long hours to revise Season 1’s finale “Road to Exodus” over the New Year’s break, we just thought that he’d temporarily pushed himself too hard, something we all knew about from personal experience. He still looked a bit under the weather when he came in that morning, but we expected that, so it didn’t trigger any alarms for us.

I started the meeting, and we were off to the races. The first debate was spearheaded by Livy and Deenah - the former wanted to dedicate episodes 201 and 202 to the Clans exclusively, 203 and 204 to the Succession Wars and start blending settings from 205 onward, while Deenah wanted both storylines to play in all episodes. I was mostly listening, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hassan slump in his seat and then fall sideways out of his chair.

As you can imagine, this  brought the meeting to an abrupt halt. We all rushed to his side, except Cal, who as usual was thinking a step ahead and chose to page security before joining us. Hassan was having minor convulsions, which were still quite frightening to anyone who didn’t have medical training (which was all of us).

By the time security got there, he’d stopped thrashing about and was able to sit against the wall. He even sipped some water. Camus arrived just before security did, and together we watched Hassan get packed off to the hospital.

A few days later, our worst fears were confirmed. Brain tumor, malignant and had started to metastasize. His only hope was immediate surgery, followed by bouts of radiotherapy.

Things went well at first, and Hassan was able to come into the office once a week just two months after surgery. Writing is one of the few jobs you can do anywhere, so we were foolishly optimistic that the team would remain intact.

Cold hard reality set in soon after. Although he tried his best, it was quickly clear that the radiation was playing havoc with Hassan’s ability to concentrate. There was no way that I could assign him an episode in good conscience. Deadlines were starting to press in on us, partially as a consequence of what Camus was doing with the financing (on which, more later).

In late March, Camus and I reluctantly decided that we had to move on without Hassan. He took the news quite well, considering. Camus then told Hassan that he was paying, out of his own pocket, the entire fee that Hassan would have received had he remained on staff.

I think that was one of the kindest things that Camus could have done under the circumstances. Hassan’s battles with narcotic addiction were well documented, not least by himself - he’d spoken (and written) about it often, and although those dark days were long behind him, they’d cost him a lot, including a marriage and his life savings. He was not quite out of the hole when we hired him for Sphere Saga, and I know he was relieved that his financial burdens were going to be substantially relieved while he fought his disease. In fact, he fought so well that he was alive to see Season One released, and to cash his first bonus cheques from his work on thereon. He passed away shortly after Season Two debuted, yet another stellar talent taken from us too soon. Peace, brother.

Worried as we were for Hassan, we had to move on. Camus and I dug back into our black books, and the rest of the writing crew chipped in too. We rapidly assembled a short list, which included many extremely talented wordsmiths, but the name on top, but common consent, was Alexey Velyanovski. He was not well known to the public at that time, pre-Wanderers, but he was already making waves in the entertainment industry, not just for his considerable skill at characterisation (something he shared with Hassan, and one of the reasons we wanted him badly), but also because of his script doctoring abilities.

As the saying goes, our people called his people, and to our disappointment we were told he’d just signed a five-year deal to write/produce a new series. Well, that was that, we thought, and we turned to the next name on our list.

However, that afternoon, Camus and I were in a meeting with Horace Stetson, our newly assigned Studio Liaison. He wanted to know how the search for a new writer was going, and we regaled him with an account of our misadventure.

When we finished, we noticed that Horace was looking rather confused. Now, I know that not every story I ever tell will make sense (thank you, Showtime magazine), but I’d thought this plot line was simple enough. He said, “My wife spoke to his wife last night and she told me Aleksey had turned down the deal.”

Well, that triggered an exchange of misunderstandings worthy of an Undertaker’s Union sketch (why I didn’t write it down for posterity I will never know), but when Understanding consented to sit down at the same table once more, it was determined that Aleksey had first taken the offer, then changed his mind. He’d told his wife (who’d then told Florence Stetson), but hadn’t gotten round to telling his agent, hence the message we got.

We then left Understanding sitting alone at the table as we raced off to re-contact Aleksey and sign him up before anyone else found out.

With one fire extinguished, we prepared to charge back into writing Season Two. Which, of course, is when Whammy Number Two descended upon us….

-----------------------------
Excerpt from the Avalon MediaCon 86 Program for July 17, 3093

Auditorium C
1000-1130 The Bounty Hunter: The Next Generation Panel
1200-1330 Emmanual Hulbertson Q & A - Cross Media Art
1430-1630 Sphere Saga Feature Panel (Platinum Passholders only)

[alkemita]

Sorry, not an update - just letting you all know I got swamped at work this week. The next installment's about half done, should be up next week.

Alkemita

[alkemita]

Here's the next installment. Thank you for your patience.

------------------------------
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Archived 18 July 3093

AMC86 Panel Report: Sphere Saga
by TheMasker

Okay, here it is folks. The big Sphere Saga Panel at AMC86. I’ll try to give you what I can from memory because, like others have said, all recorders were banned from the panel, and they had jammers - real, honest-to-god ECM jammers in the auditorium.
So, Auditorium C was packed to capacity, 2K+ lucky souls. Because of the security checks, the last Platinum Passholder only got through the door about five minutes before the panel started.

When the lights dropped, we all started cheering like crazy, even though we couldn’t see anything. Then the screens lit up and they played the three trailers that have already been released (Ed - “Lost Age”, “Amaris”, “Kerensky”). We’ve all seen them before, but we cheered anyway. I thought the girl next to me was going to pass out from hyperventilation, and we still hadn’t seen anything new yet.

Then the MC (Joel Au) comes on and introduces the panel - and I can confirm, despite the UniNet hoaxers, Camus Ching did not turn up. Instead, two of the writers, Deenah Muskovoy and Caleb Molina were the first to be introduced. Au congratulated Molina on his recent Stellar nomination, and Molina paid tribute to Moskovoy and the rest of the writing team on Sphere Saga. Muskovoy pretended to write Molina a cheque, but then grabbed her mike and said “You guys aren’t here to watch writers - we’re boring. Get the cast out here.”

And Au did. First up was Marcus Ettard (Richard Cameron), who got the usual squeals (although how his fan base can afford Platinum Passes is beyond me). Next was Piotr Krikalyov (General Kerensky), who got a mighty roar. He’s grown out his hair again, probably for his new role in Uncle Vanya, so doesn’t look so much like Kerensky, but he still tossed off a smart salute to the crowd as he marched across the stage to his seat.

Then came Diana Rossiter (Admiral Joan Brandt), and now it was the turn of the older fans like myself to swoon. She’s as lovely as ever, and proved to be very charming and gracious in the Q & A. Finally, Harrison Kuek (Stefan Amaris) made quite the entrance, literally jumping out from the side curtain onto the stage. He looked more Uncle Han than Amaris with his hair back and his face clean shaven, and he was actually wearing a T-shirt that said “Uncle Stefan’s Diner”, which he showed off to great applause.

Once everyone was seated, Au thanked all the guests for coming and asked for opening statements. Caleb Molina thanked the crowd for giving him an excuse to take a day off. Deenah Muskovoy talked about how writing is a strange profession because of the lag between production and reception - she never knows how people will react to her work, sometimes for a long time, and she was relieved that people seem to like Sphere Saga, so that was one less thing for her to spend money on her shrink for.

Ettard thanked Camus Ching for giving him a chance to play something more than the usual pretty boy roles he gets, and deferred to his older castmates, saying “They know much more than me, I die in episode two!” Of course, his legion of young fans moaned in disappointment at this mock spoiler.

Piotr Krikalyov talked about how his ancestors actually came from the same part of Moscow on old Terra as General Kerensky, so he’d always had an interest in the General, and how honoured he was to have played the part, hoping that he did the great man justice.

Diana Rossiter told a story of how she went up to Camus Ching on her first day and told him it was a pleasure to be working with him again. Ching was puzzled because they’d never met, and Rossiter clarified that she had been a nameless extra in one scene of Von Rohrs many years ago when she was a Law Student picking up odd jobs here and there. (can anyone see Diana Rossiter as a lawyer? What a loss that would have been).

Kuek said that he’d always wanted to play MacBeth or King Lear in a huge production. The closest he got was Falstaff while with the Avalon Shakespeare Company. But now, he said that everyone would have to see his ugly mug every two weeks for the next four months, playing the ultimate villain in the ultimate show. Then he did his best evil laugh, which was actually quite creepy (even Rossiter commented on it and theatrically moved her chair further from him).

Okay - highlights of the Q & A (I’m omitting all the questions directed to Marcus Ettard about his love life, and all the gushing from older fans directed at Rossiter)

* Ettard commented that he found surprising depth to Richard Cameron, and decided to play him as a tragic figure

* Krikalyov said that Ching’s desire to go for realism made his job quite easy. “It’s not hard to feel like a general when you walk onto a parade ground and there’s hundreds of troops, dozens of ‘Mechs and tanks, and everyone is saluting you.”

* Kuek talked about how it’s easy to forget that Amaris was dismissed as a buffoon by all the other House Lords until he launched his coup, which made him a very good actor in his own right. “Sadly, you’ll have to make do with me rather than Stefan,” he said.

* Someone asked Kuek what it was like to play a monster like Amaris. He said it was an enormous challenge because you have to start with finding the humanity in Amaris, otherwise you end up with a caricature. When another person followed up by asking how you find the humanity in someone like Amaris, Kuek clarified that it didn’t mean you had to like the guy, just understand him. And Amaris, like all of us, was once a child, had emotions, and life experiences - all things that we can reference.

* Molina confirmed that of the actors on stage, only Krikalyov was going to appear in Season Two. And Krikalyov added that it was still some months before Season 2 would start filming, hence his taking a role in Uncle Vanya.

* Muskovoy confirmed that although one writer is listed for each episode, the entire writing team is involved in each episode to some extent.

*  She also said that viewers would be surprised by some of the things they see, as their research has uncovered evidence that some long held beliefs about the coup were actually wrong. When pressed for details, she just smiled and said to watch the show.

* Someone asked about the rumour that the Republic of the Sphere was behind the show, and that it was intended to serve as propaganda in support of the RotS eventually establishing a new Star League. Both Muskovoy and Molina laughed it off. Molina pointed out that Ching has been trying to make Sphere Saga since the sixties, long predating the RotS.

After the Q & A, Muskovoy announced that they had a surprise for us. “Who would like to see some footage from the show?” she asked. The answer just about blew the roof off the auditorium. When it was reasonably quiet again, Muskovoy explained that what we were about to see was mostly finished footage, but some stuff was being held back for the actual air date.

With that, the lights went out, the projector went on and -

-----------------------
Extract from The Sphere Saga Season 1: The Crucible Companion Bayern Press, 3094

What's in a (Code) Name?
Amongst the mountains of information uncovered by Camus Ching and the Historical Research Team after the end of the Jihad were little details that added that extra bit of realism to the show. A case in point - the HRT found a fascinating series of memos penned by the Special Security Service regarding the use and assignment of codenames to key personages and locations.

The use of codenames in this manner is not new, of course. The practice dates back over a thousand years. What is interesting in this case is what the codenames revealed about the mindset of Terran Hegemony officials towards the other nations of the Inner Sphere and the Periphery.

The First Lord was usually assigned the codename of STARLORD, which was pretty much a given. Codenames for the First Family tended to be derived from the First Lord's codename. Key locations in the Court were named after precious gems, and changed on a frequent, though irregular schedule (the codename for the Audience Chamber that fateful date in December 2766 was EMERALD).

For much of the life of the First Star League, codenames assigned to the leaders of other states tended to be derived from their personal or personality characteristics. Thus, the academic Michael Steiner II was assigned “PROFESSOR”, and Androsar Liao’s distinctive roman nose won him the codename “PATRICIAN”. The derivation of some other codenames is less clear. Zane Davion, for example, was first referred to as “SEASHELL” and later in life as “MUSKET”.

As things started to slip in the wake of Simon Cameron’s death, some of the average Hegemony disdain for the House Lords began to bleed into codename selection. Thus Kenyon Marik was originally assigned “ALOOF”, and the difficult to work with Archon Robert Steiner II was labeled “OBSTACLE”.

This went on until someone apparently realised that Richard Cameron was being quite free with what he shared with Stefan Amaris. A memo went out standardising the codenames to be used for the leaders of the various nations, regardless of who actually occupied that office. The new names were primarily based on national emblems. Thus Amaris went from “FATMAN” to “BLACKSHARK”, John Davion changed from “PALADIN” to “SUNBURST”, Barbara Liao became “DAOSWORD”, Robert Steiner II took on “STEELFIST” and Kenyon Marik became “EAGLE”.

All was sanitised and rendered safe, right? Not quite. It seems that the rules were different when it came to the periphery. The same memo established the following permanent codenames for the rulers of the Periphery States:

Magistracy of Canopus: SHOWGIRL
Outworlds Alliance: PEACENIK
Taurian Concordat: HEIFER

Enough said.

[alkemita]

-------------------------
Transcript and Description of Preview Reel shown at AMC86 Sphere Saga Panel

Open on INTERIOR Shot of the Security Command Post (codename CITADEL) in Unity City. A large room, tiered consoles facing banks of holotanks and flat screens. We sweep the room from front to back, over the heads of the dozens of techs to the raised platform at the back of the room where the Watch Officer and her assistants work. A small Christmas tree sits on the Watch Officer's console, the only concession to the season.

As we push in, we see the RELIEF WATCH OFFICERS enter the Command Platform. The FIRST WATCH OFFICER stands to face her replacement.

Second Watch Officer: Second Watch reporting for duty. You are relieved.

First Watch Officer: I stand relieved.

And, formalities over, the Second Watch Officer slides into the recently vacated seat as his assistants do the same on the rest of the platform, putting on their headsets as they do so.

Second Watch Officer: Anything I need to know about, Kelly?

First Watch Officer: BLACKSHARK just entered EMERALD. He and STARLORD are still in there. Situation GREEN elsewhere. Oh - the 4th Amaris Dragoons were just cleared for a FIELDEX at STONEHAMMER this morning - it’s in the log.

Second Watch Officer: Thanks, Kelly. Have a good -

An alarm goes off, under which -

Control Room Tech #1: Detonation Alert! Spaceport grounds. First Responders on the way!

Control Room Tech #2: SECCON FOUR is triggered! QRF to standby.

Second Watch Officer: Acknowledged. All posts report and authenticate!

The room flies into action. Flying Ching Angle sweeps the room. Screens and holotanks shift their displays, some tracking on the fireball, others showing the status of the various security forces. The First Watch Officer puts her headset back on and leans over the shoulder of her relief.

Control Room Tech #1: Another Detonation Alert! Randolph Park!

Second Watch Officer: Step up to SECCON THREE. Roll the QRF!

INT. Star League Court Corridor.

Pairs of armed and armoured soldiers jog down the long, polished marble hallways, taking up post at major intersections.

Cut to INT. a smaller control room [Subtitle: Royal Black Watch Operations Centre]. Watching the feed from the Unity City Security Command Post is Captain TRACE COBURN, the RBW’s Duty Watch Officer this morning. As we watch, the door bursts open and in strides Colonel HANNI SCHMITT, the RBW’s CO. She’s already in her MechWarrior’s suit, neurohelmet tucked under her arm.

Col. Schmitt: Talk to me, Trace.

Capt. Coburn: Two detonations, Ma’am - Spaceport and Randolph Park. First Responders on the way. Citadel just set SECCON THREE. Captain Dzering’s Lance is on Post at EMERALD. Major McFadden’s Lance is on Post at GATEWAY. Lieutenant Suarez’s Lance is on READY status.

Col. Schmitt: Bring Suarez’s Lance to ONLINE. We are at SECCON TWO, my authority. Put First Battalion on READY.

And with that, she’s out the door again, even as:

Capt. Coburn: Aye, Ma’am. (Into headset) Attention Black Call Signs, set SECCON TWO. TARGE Group, the Word is HOTSEAT.

Quick cuts:
- Barracks room, where 1st Battalion MechWarriors drop whatever they’re doing, zip up their suits and begin filing out the door.
- MechBay, where Techs and AsTechs swarm over the gleaming BattleMechs of the Royal Black Watch, all of which carry the crossed revolver symbol of the Gunslingers.
- Exterior of the Hangars, as a Guillotine, Crockett and two Flashmans (Lieutenant Suarez’s Lance) trot out the doors and head for a forming up point.

[Obvious cut in the footage]

And we’re at the personnel door to the Hangar, where Colonel Schmitt is making for her personal ride, a Royal Atlas II. As she marches along, her XO, Major BRYN CAMPBELL comes alongside, pulling on his gloves. The atmosphere is alert, but calm. The Royal Black Watch stands to many times a year, and it’s almost always a false alarm.

Maj. Campbell: Colonel.

Col. Schmitt: Major.

Maj. Campbell: Are we at SECCON TWO ‘cause of the Rimmers?

Col. Schmitt: Yep. Better safe than sorry.

Maj. Campbell: CITADEL will raise hell.

Col. Schmitt: Let them. We have our responsibilities.

They split off on reaching the Regimental Command Lance’s Bays. Schmitt boards the small personnel lift that will take her to her cockpit, while across the bay, Campbell does the same on reaching his ride, a HGN-732b Royal Highlander.

Capt. Coburn: (Over Mech Bay Speakers) Weapons Discharge in Audience Chamber! STARFALL - I say again, STARFALL!

It’s not a false alarm. Now things kick into overdrive.

Col. Schmitt: Scheiße!

And she rams the lift throttle to maximum, practically catapulting herself through the hatch of her Atlas.

RBW Operations Centre - where Captain Coburn is talking to the Second Watch Officer on one of the screens.

Second Watch Officer: - and we’ve been overriden from the Audience Chamber controls! Maybe the First Lord’s still alive, but there’s plenty of Rimmers between us and him.

Capt. Coburn: Understood. Black Watch is scrambling. STARFALL is in effect. (Switches channels). Did you get that, Colonel?

INT. Colonel Schmitt’s Atlas II, which is just finishing it’s power-up sequence.

Col. Schmitt: Got it, Trace. (switches channels) BLACK QUEEN to all Black Call Signs. Report as you come online.

Colonel Schmitt’s Atlas leaves it’s Bay and smoothly marches through the hangar toward the exit doors, closely followed by Major Campbell’s Highlander. At their feet Techs and MechWarriors run to their ‘Mechs. All around them in Mech Bays are ‘Mechs being brought to life.

INT. Audience Chamber - where Stefan Amaris sits in one of the ornate chairs (not the throne) while his half dozen bodyguards watch the doors and operate the security console.

Bodyguard #1: (at security console) They’ve moved faster than we thought sire! The guards are fully mobilised!

Amaris: Then be faster! Stage Three should have been executed now, so there will be no back up from the Black Watch.

EXT. Star League Court. The Thugs and Black Knights of Captain Dzering’s Lance stand guard on the boulevard leading to the central building.

With no warning, the automated turrets swing in line with the backs of the ‘Mechs, and open fire. They don’t have a chance, and go down hard.

EXT. RBW barracks - as pre-planted explosives shatter the building.

INT. RBW Operations Centre.

Capt. Coburn: (Reacting to the explosion) What -

Screen whites as the Operations Centre is blown up.

INT. RBW Hangars - it’s crowded as ‘Mechs scramble from the Bays. A rolling series of explosions from back to front brings everything down.

EXT. RBW Hangars - as a few ‘Mechs that have just exited the doors get caught in the expanding fireball. Close to frame, a Flashman is literally ripped limb-from-limb. A Guillotine tries to jump clear, but is smashed to the ground by the shockwave. It does not get up again.

EXT Canyon. A bridge sized to allow four BattleMechs to cross simultaneously spans a river - on the far side is a dedicated road that terminates behind the Court of the Star League. The near side is the RBW compound. This route is GATEWAY - the RBW’s exclusive emergency highway to their charge. With the STARFALL contingency enacted, Major Colleen McFadden’s Lance is thundering over the bridge. They are about halfway across.

INT Major McFadden’s cockpit.

Maj. McFadden: Move it, people! (Switches Channel) BLACK QUEEN, TARGE 1-1 is on GATEWAY. ETA to EMERALD six minutes.

EXT. RBW Compound - which is a smoking wreck. Colonel Schmitt’s Atlas II is playing traffic cop, rallying the survivors, about a Company’s worth.

INT. Colonel Schmitt’s Cockpit

Col. Schmitt: Roger, TARGE 1-1. WHEELHOUSE is OMEGA! Go independent, we are right behind you!

INT. Major McFadden’s cockpit.

Maj. McFadden: Roger BLACK QUEEN. Pro-

EXT. GATEWAY - as more charges take down the bridge. Two Thugs and a Black Knight tumble into the river. Major McFadden’s manages to light her Jump Jets just in time to rise clear of the carnage. The shock wave causes the 90-tonne machine to tumble in mid-air, but in a demonstration of piloting skill worthy of a Gunslinger, she checks the rotation and comes down on the near bank in a hard, but survivable landing, the big ‘Mech going to it’s knees from the impact, armour dented, but unbreached.

INT. Major McFadden’s cockpit - where there’s several blinking red lights and alarm tones. She’s bitten her lip in the landing, but ignores the blood on her face as wrestles the controls to right her machine.

Maj. McFadden: 1-1 Call Signs, squawk status.

Then she looks out her viewport to see -

EXT. GATEWAY - the twisted wreckage of her lancemates amongst the rubble of the bridge, the decapitated Black Knight impaled on the remains of a bridge support, while only bits of the two Thugs stick up above the debris.

INT. Major McFadden’s cockpit as she reacts to the sight, then pulls herself together.

Maj. McFadden: TARGE 1-1 to all BLACK Call Signs - GATEWAY is OMEGA! ******!

EXT. GATEWAY, a crane shot starting on Major McFadden’s Highlander and moving up the bank to show the remains of the RBW arriving - just nine other ‘Mechs, and one of them is a limping and smoking Black Knight pathetically bringing up the rear, but still determined to get in the fight.

INT. Colonel Schmitt’s Cockpit - as she surveys the scene. Makes a snap decision.

Col. Schmitt: Got to assume they know our contingencies. Black Watch - we take the I-33 through Gorst Flats. Move! (Switches Channels). CITADEL, this is BLACK QUEEN, SitRep - WHEELHOUSE OMEGA, GATEWAY OMEGA, assuming LOCKBREAK. Going BUSTER to your location via improvised route. ETA seven Mikes. Request your SitRep, over.

EXT. GATEWAY as the ten survivors of the RBW wheel about and run off. Make that nine as the trailing Black Knight’s abused hip joint fails, shearing the entire leg off and dumping the ‘Mech on its face. There’s a flash of light as the MechWarrior ejects.

INT. CITADEL - It’s Chaos. Techs are frantically working their consoles, cross-talk flooding the channels. We pan across a row of Techs:

Tech #1: Team Five, reinforce Post Seven-Delta, Team Eight…

Tech #2: Negative, negative! We do not have…

Tech #3: Sever the power supply manually if you have to! If…

Camera angle tilts up to the Command Platform where the First Watch Officer is handing out sidearms to everyone. PUSH IN on the Second Watch Officer, who’s out of his chair, leaning forward, one hand on the top of his console. He’s knocked over the Christmas tree there.

Second Watch Officer: BLACK QUEEN, CITADEL. SitRep - we have lost control of automated defence systems. SecTeams are fighting Rimmers from Sublevel 3 to Level 4 inclusive. GRYPHON TEAM is preparing to attempt Aerial Extraction. We could sure use you guys.

INT. Colonel Schmitt’s Cockpit

Col. Schmitt: Hold on, CITADEL, we’re coming.

INT. Audience Chamber.

Bodyguard #1: Sire! One of our scouts reports that a company of the Royal Black Watch has survived and is making its way here through civilian highways!

Amaris: Which of our units is closest to them?

Bodyguard #2: First Battalion of the 4th Amaris Dragoons, milord!

Amaris: Tell them to destroy the Black Watch!

Bodyguard #2: At once, sire!

And he turns back to his comms suite. Amaris reacts - two surprises already, are there more?

EXT: Gorst Flats - Street Level. Stores and cafes are open. Traffic is light. Cheerful holiday decorations festoon storefronts, apartment windows and light standards.

A seismic rumble begins to rattle windows and coffee cups. Pedestrians pause, look around for the source of the rumble, which is growing louder by the second.

NEW ANGLE - down the main street as Lieutenant Suarez’s Guillotine skids around the corner, PPC at the ready, and broadcasting over her external speakers

Lt. Suarez: Clear the road! All civilians get under cover!

NEW ANGLE - the view from a cafe as people scatter. Behind them, the massive feet of the Guillotine crash into the ferrocrete and keep going, shortly followed by the rest of the Black Watch.

INT. Level 22, Tower 15, Star League Court.

This room is fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows to take advantage of the spectacular views of Unity City and the Court. Right now, it’s a staging area for Gryphon Team, the Star League Security Service’s elite Jump-capable Special Force. They look completely out of place amongst the elegant Chivalrist-style furniture and fittings.

The view outside the windows is somewhat surreal. Flashes of light in the other buildings and tendrils of smoke speak of running battles between League and Rim forces. Occasionally, a weapons turret barks against an outside threat. Looming large in the centre of the view is the central building that contains the Audience Chamber.

AGENT PARK is pressing something into place on the windows. Team Commander SENIOR AGENT REED is finishing his briefing.

Senior Agent Reed: Remember! They control the turrets - fly low, use cover and keep moving! Everyone ready?

There’s a single reply

Gryphon Team: Ready!

Special Agent Reed: Alright. (Into Comm Set). CITADEL, GRYPHON is green. Executing now, now, now!

And with that the entire team hunkers down as one, turning their backs on the windows.

Agent Park: Fire in the hole!

She mashes her thumb down on a switch. The windows disintegrate in a flash of light. Expensive furniture is shredded by flying glass. A second later, with the wind whistling into the room, Senior Agent Reed takes three running steps and leaps out the window, activating his jump pack to manoeuvre closer to the central building. His team follows without hesitation, some of whom are moving in pairs in order to carry the heavier tools of their trade between them.

REVERSE ANGLE - tracking with Reed and his team as they hop between buildings, stray shots all around. One unlucky agent is clipped by a burst of machine gun fire in the Jump Pack and spirals down out of control.

NEW ANGLE - on Reed as he watches the anti-aircraft emplacements on the Central building occupied with trying to shoot down a pair of VTOLS. This is their chance. He triggers his Jump Pack for one long burst, skidding under a stream of autocannon shells and drops onto the roof of the Audience Chamber. Moments later, several other Gryphons thump down around him. Another member just misses the edge of the roof and falls before his Pack can recharge. Once again, no time to mourn.

Senior Agent Reed: Drills!

Three pairs of Agents run forward, carrying large drills between them. Behind them, other agents establish a perimeter, and prepare charges.

EXT. Gorst Flats. OVERHEAD SHOT of nine Heavy and Assault ‘mechs of the Royal Black Watch moving as fast as they can through the streets, heedless of vehicles, sidewalk furniture and plants.

INT. Colonel Schmitt’s cockpit.

Col. Schmitt: CITADEL, BLACK QUEEN. We are 5 Mikes out. Say your SitRep.

Second Watch Officer: (filtered) BLACK QUEEN, CITADEL. We’ve lost contact with all teams below SubLevel 1. Level 3 is also non-responsive. GRYPHON is executing TRAPEZE. Recommend you come in from the West if possible - we’ve managed to disable most of the heavy turrets there.

Lt. Suarez: (filtered) All BLACK Call Signs - BOGEYS bearing Oh-Two-Seven! Range one point three Klicks, estimate Company Strength.

Col Schmitt: Stand by CITADEL, we have BOGEYS. (Switches Channel) BLACK Call Signs, run and gun. Nothing keeps us from STARLORD.

RBW: Roger/Aye, Ma’am!

EXT. Gorst Flats. The RBW swivel almost as one to point their weapons down the threat axis.

INSERT. Major Campbell’s Tac Display, showing three groups of four red THREAT icons moving in on the nine blue FRIENDLY icons. Tags start to attach themselves to the THREAT icons (all the FRIENDLY icons already have tags).

INT. Major Campbell’s Cockpit.

Maj. Campbell: (reading the tags) It’s the 4th Amaris Dragoons!

Maj. McFadden: (filtered) Another company behind them.

Col. Schmitt: (filtered) Take them!

EXT. Gorst Flats

First into the fray is the Recon Lance, 1st Company, 4th Amaris Dragoons (4AD). Led by Lieutenant Jorge Beebe in his Clint, the two Commandos and a Firestarter get out ahead of the rest of their company and come in guns blazing, trying to hit as many of the RBW as they can.

It’s a distraction tactic to allow the heavier members of their company to close. The RBW don’t fall for it. They move their Heavy and Assault machines around this urban battlefield almost as quickly and gracefully as the Lights and Mediums of the 4AD. Although they don’t escape unscathed, the hurried snapshots of the 4AD Lance score few hits, and none of them do more than minimal damage.

The RBW’s reply, however, is devastating.

One of the Commandos has its gyro destroyed by a gauss slug from Major McFadden’s Highlander. It crashes gracelessly to the ground.

The second Commando is skewered by twin ERPPC bolts from Nathan Carlson’s Royal Thug and it takes out bits of two apartment blocks as its breached reactor goes critical.

The Firestarter is bathed in a laser barrage from MechWarrior Jewels Ferrel’s Crockett. Somehow the pilot manages to eject before his ‘Mech goes down for the count.

Obviously the ride of the Lance Commander, the Clint attracts the attention of Lieutenant Suarez, whose rare Royal Guillotine peppers the enemy ‘Mech with lasers and SRMs. While the Clint staggers under the barrage, Major Campbell settles the matter by performing a textbook “Highlander Burial” on the 4AD ‘Mech.

The other members of the RBW are not idle. The view swings around to show the balance of 1st Company, 4AD coming around the corner (and through buildings in some cases).

They don’t try to communicate with the RBW, who aren’t interested in what they have to say, anyway.

A Thunderbolt uses its jumpjets to pop up from behind an office block in the right flank of the RBW position. Lieutenant Frank Yanez pivots his Black Knight hard to the right and unleashes his ERPPC and Large Pulse Lasers. He blows enough armour off his opponent to destabilise the flight path of the enemy ‘Mech, which goes down hard into another apartment block.

The Thunderbolt’s Lance mates walk into a Laser and gauss-slug volley from Charles Southorn and Jefferson Hinks’s Flashman and Crockett respectively. Hink’s gauss-slug scores big-time, crushing the cockpit of the 4AD Stalker belonging to the Lance Commander before she can loose more than a couple of her weapons at the RBW. Southorn splits his fire between the Warhammer and Ostroc. The latter flinches from the pummeling and sends its shots wide, the former stands its ground and although hurt, manages to tag Southorn with one of its PPCs.

Colonel Schmitt strides forward in her Atlas II to confront the enemy Command Lance. A tightly grouped LRM-20 shot paired with ER Large Lasers drives back an enemy Cyclops. A solid shell from her LB-10X autocannon takes down an Orion for good. In return, a Griffin and Marauder throw a total of three PPCs, an AC-5 and an LRM-10 at her, connecting with two PPCs and a handful of LRMs. It doesn’t even slow her down, and now her comrades are regrouping with her to lend their considerable firepower to the mix.

INT Major Dollard’s Cockpit

The Commander of 1st Battalion, 4AD is wondering what in all the hells he’s walked into. He was told this was the shattered remains of a regiment, but they’re fighting like they are whole. His Recon Lance has been annihilated, and the balance of his company is going to follow shortly.

Maj. Dollard: McDonald! Get your company into the fight right now!

The cockpit jerks sharply as his Marauder absorbs another barrage. He fires back, but it’s pretty clear who got the better of that exchange.

Capt. McDonald: (filtered) We’re supposed to be securing -

Maj. Dollard: ****** that! Vector on me, now! Kinsey can handle it!

Capt. McDonald: (filtered) Roger. On the way, sir.

EXT Gorst Flats
Just in time to see Colonel Schmitt rupture Dollard’s cockpit with a tight SRM salvo. As the Marauder slumps to the ground, we pull back to show nine RBW ‘Mechs still standing, while craters and piles of broken ‘Mechs mark the fate of their opponents. Blackened and dented armour panels show that the RBW didn't get off unscathed, but they're all there still.

The RBW move on, and we hear:

Col. Schmitt: CITADEL, BLACK QUEEN - we’ve disposed of some interference, still inbound to you.

INT. CITADEL
Things are definitely worse. Techs are splitting their time between their screens and the doors to the room. Those that have them are brandishing their sidearms, including:

Second Watch Officer: BLACK QUEEN, CITADEL! The Rimmers have taken most of the Admin complex! CITADEL is in danger of being overrun. We may go off air! GRYPHON is still -

And at the side of the frame, the heavy security doors are caved in by explosives, quickly followed by black-armoured troops, who start methodically cutting down everyone. The Techs try to fight back, but it's a lost cause.

INT. Colonel Schimtt's Cockpit

Col. Schmitt: CITADEL! Come back, Citadel!

Maj. Campbell: (filtered) All comms are down, BLACK QUEEN

MW Southorn: (filtered) BOGEYS bearing three-four-niner, company, point nine klicks!

Col. Schmitt: Volley Drill, people, one salvo then resume run and gun.

EXT. Gorst Flats - the RBW is reaching the outskirts of town and the area is becoming more open. They spread out on either side of their Colonel's Atlas II, forming two makeshift lances. They come to a stop and level their weapons.

REVERSE ANGLE - the 4AD's point of view.

MW Green: (filtered) What the devil are they doing?

INT. Captain McDonald's Cockpit.

Capt. McDonald: Don't give them a chance to do it! Weapons free! Fire at will!

EXT. Gorst Flats.

And the 2nd Company, 4AD do exactly that. We track across their lines as they start firing on the RBW, beginning with LRMs from the Archers, Dervishes, Shadow Hawk and Rampage.

NEW ANGLE, following the flight of the LRMs from the 4AD to the RBW.

INSERT on an AMS auto-tracking the incoming flights of missiles, and firing.

It's a heavy barrage, but the advanced AMSs of the RBW whittle it down some. Those missiles that strike home rock their targets a little, but the RBW remain right where they stopped.

INT. Colonel Schmitt's Cockpit

Col. Schmitt: Now.

EXT: Gorst Flats

As the RBW reply with their own LRMs, Gauss shells and PPCs.

NEW ANGLE on the 4AD line as the RBW volley arrives. Each RBW MechWarrior has targeted a different 'Mech. The Archers and Dervishes of the Fire Lance fall - two to head shots, and the other two to gyro-destroying volleys. The Command Lance's Rampage and Rifleman are also recipients of headshots, while three of the remaining 'Mechs take damage but do not go down.

INT. Captain McDonald's cockpit - as she watches half her command disappear in one salvo.

Capt. McDonald: Pull back! Pull back, dammit! (Switches channel) EBON SHARK, GOBLIN 2-7! Request immediate reinforcements my location!

She looks back up as an alarm chirps.

NEW ANGLE - looking over Captain McDonald's shoulder to see the RBW charging her position. In slow motion, we see a Highlander raise it's arm to point directly at Captain McDonald's Victor, and the flash of a gauss rifle firing. The slug comes fast, even in slow motion, straight into the camera.

White out.

INT. Audience Chamber.

Amaris is still sitting calmly in the chair, but twitches in his leg give away the tension inside.

Amaris: We took Security Control five minutes ago! Why are they still fighting?

Bodyguard #2: Sire! the 4th Amaris Dragoons are asking for reinforcements to destroy the Black Watch survivors. They’ve lost two companies so far.

Amaris: Two companies destroyed and the Black Watch still lives?! Unacceptable! Settle this once and for all! Tell Colonel Dague to nuke them!

Bodyguard #1: Sire, we only have a limited -

Amaris: Do it!

Bodyguards #1 & 2: Aye, Sire!

EXT. Gorst Flats. MechWarrior Carlson's Thug is finishing off a Hunchback in the background as the balance of the RBW regroups to move on. A few more dents in the armour, but they're still operational.

Up ahead, we can just see the gleaming spires of Unity City. They’re almost there. A pair of dots streak in hard and fast across the sky headed for the RBW

Lt Yanez: (filtered) Air Threat!

As the RBW crank their weapons to bear, the far away dots release a pair of missiles, way outside the RBW's effective range. The launching fighters pull away sharply.

INSERT shots of the various members of the RBW in their cockpits as they react to:
- threat display tagging the missiles with the radiation hazard symbol
- Colonel Schimtt yelling orders (we don't hear them)
- Exterior shot of her Atlas II raising a massive fist to point
- Close up on the incoming missiles

EXT. Gorst Flats - overhead shot pulling back rapidly from the RBW surrounded by the remains of their foes, to the surrounding area until the RBW are no longer visible. As they disappear, two streaks appear from the top of the screen, which suddenly double-flash a brilliant white short of the RBW's location. Not that it matters with nukes, even small tactical ones like these. Hold on the developing fireball, then-

NEW ANGLE - down to ground level, the earth scorched by the nuclear firestorm, a few skeletal building frames somehow still standing, though twisted and half melted. We PAN across the place we last saw the RBW, seeing nothing, until at last we come across a giant armoured fist, cracked and melted at the extremities - the only physical remains of Colonel Schimtt's 'Mech. Hold on this moment a long beat.

And fade out.

--------------------
Rostock Examiner-Herald
21 July 3093

An Audio-Visual Technician employed by the Albion Convention Center has been fired for recording and leaking footage from Camus Ching's Sphere Saga shown at the recent Avalon Media Con and meant to remain exclusive to a select audience of prioity pass holders.

Fabian Garneau, 26, of Avalon City used his position to bypass unprecedented security and record the twelve minute sequence from the upcoming first season of Sphere Saga. He subsequently uploaded it to the UniNet, where it has been viewed approximately sixty million times in the past three days.

FallegtVida Entertainment, who are producing the show, lodged a strong complaint with Sterling Events, the organizers of Avalon Media Con, over the incident, reportedly threatening to boycott future Sterling Events conventions unless action was taken.

Avalon City PD is investigating and charges are expected.

[wolfgar]

Am I the only one actually wanting to see this and wondering who we could cast irl for it?

[Trace Coburn]

Am I the only one actually wanting to see this and wondering who we could cast irl for it?

  Oh, you’re far from alone on that score.  Ye gods, but that reads like a hell of an intense show.   :o  O0  (And I don’t just say that because I got redshirted in there.  :D)

[misterpants]

I'm enjoying the hell out of this.

[alkemita]

Am I the only one actually wanting to see this and wondering who we could cast irl for it?

Thanks for the kind words, Wolfgar. This story actually started because I did want to see these events in BT.

Alkemita

[alkemita]

  Oh, you’re far from alone on that score.  Ye gods, but that reads like a hell of an intense show.   :o  O0  (And I don’t just say that because I got redshirted in there.  :D)

Hey Trace, thanks for the kind words. I wanted to put your cameo in as soon as possible, but most of the characters were already named. I originally had you as the commander of the RBW Lance that gets wiped out at the Court, but that guy didn't have any lines, so I swapped you to the RBW Ops Officer.

Alkemita

[drakensis]

Nicely done.

[Redshirt]

 O0

[wolfgar]

  Oh, you’re far from alone on that score.  Ye gods, but that reads like a hell of an intense show.   :o  O0  (And I don’t just say that because I got redshirted in there.  :D)

Alright, then am I the only one putting Sean Connery as Karensky? Ok and maybe a Baldwin brother as Richard Cameron.

[ckosacranoid]

I must say, a very different style of fic on here. I have say very cool reading it though. All the little lead ups add to the story and all the teasers about theshow are cool and debating about actors is fun. Please keep up the very different but cool work.

[alkemita]

Thank you, everyone for the kind words.

That last installment exhausted my stock of pre-written story, so updates will be slower in coming for the time being. Sphere Saga is very much alive, however.

Alkemita

[alkemita]

-------------------------
UNOTP://OpenMilForum.MISC
Archived 20 July 3093

Topic: Sphere Saga Clip - Military Aspects
--
RetroWarrior101
Moderator
(8,027 Posts)

Given the massive interest in this show/movie/whatever, it’s inevitable that we’re going to have discussions about this, so, in an exception to the rule about entertainment,  I’m creating this Topic to contain the chatter. Keep the discussion focused on the military aspects. Political comments will be deleted.

POSTING ABOUT THE SPHERE SAGA CLIP ANYWHERE ELSE ON OPEN MILITARY FORUM WILL LEAD TO THREAD DELETION AND POSSIBLY SANCTIONS, PER FORUM RULES.

That said, have fun.
--
ThegnRules
Grunt
(1,342 Posts)

Thanks, RW.

Okay, so my son found the clip online last night, and we watched it together. Besides my usual complaint about war films always lionising the Mechjock and occasional Aerojock at the expense of us groundpounders, I have very few complaints. I’m guessing they edited out Richard Cameron’s assassination and the end of the SL Court takeover to save something for actual broadcast, so not much to say about Kuek as Amaris.

The Royal Black Watch - now, obviously I’m not a Mechjock, but when I was in the service, most MWs drove their rides like you see the Amaris Dragoons doing - reasonably smooth, but occasionally jerking around awkwardly (maybe 1RandolphOnly or LaoHu can talk more about that aspect). The way the Royal Black Watch drove their ‘mechs in that clip though - I’ve only seen a handful of mechjocks move like that, and they were the cream of the cream (the last instance was when we were on a Joint-EX with the 1st Free Worlds Guards - they had one gal who made her Warhammer do a little dance to some music we were playing in our bivouac). I guess they were trying to show that the RBW were the best there was, and if you wanted more proof, those sequences where they took down the Dragoons were sweet.

The comms chatter sounded authentic. As for historical accuracy, Ching’s got a rep to uphold. I’ll be watching this if the local network ever gets it’s thumb outta its orifice.
--
Reckit36
Boot
(44 Posts)

Just watched this, frankly I expected better. The ‘Mech fights were as bad as anything Immortal Warrior ever served up. What was it, like, 20 head-shots by the Black Watch against moving targets? Srsly? Ur saying the Black Watch was a regiment of KA-Ls? Or that the Amaris Dragoons were just bad? Waste of time.
--
OverRhombus
Vet
(4,331 Posts)

@Reckit36 - go look up “Gunslinger”, then you can talk.
--
Reckit36
Boot
(44 Posts)

[Comment Deleted - violation of Courtesy Rules, 1st warning applied]
--
SoljaGrlNewt
Greenie
(139 Posts)

Can someone tell me why there was only one Lance of ‘Mechs on duty at the palace?
--
SingleTap
Grunt
(1,923 Posts)

@SoljaGrlNewt - Answer depends on who you talk to.

Remember that the Royal Black Watch was only one component of the security apparatus surrounding the First Lord. They were just the most visible (I mean, they had an attached Jump Infantry Battalion just so the First Lord could have highly visible bodyguards in Royal Black Watch kilts almost everywhere he went). Most of the real, day-to-day security was provided by a civilian agency - the Star League Special Security Service.

Now, even though they were supposed to all work together, it’s known that there was some tension between the RBW and the SLSSS. The RBW liked to be obvious in their protection (not hard when you’re driving 10m tall war machines) to deter would-be aggressors, the SLSSS thought this looked paranoid and intimidatory.

There’s suspicion that Amaris influenced Richard to side more with the SLSSS on this matter. The RBW were never going to be completely banished from the Court, but their usual presence was reduced to a single Lance on site, a second on standby at GATEWAY (as shown in the clip) and and third at 5 minutes notice to move at the Barracks. Just how many ‘Mechs were normally on-site at the Court at any given time was a closely held secret for obvious reasons, but historical research tends to agree that the numbers on duty that day were severely pared down from previous years.

Also, as you can see in the clip, the SLSSS trusted in the defences built into the Court, which became their downfall because the one thing they couldn’t counter was that Richard Cameron had shown Amaris how to work the security override panel in the Audience Chamber itself.
--
1RandolphOnly
Vet
(3,020 Posts)

All right, I’ll weigh in. Took me a while to get to see this thing. I’m assuming they mostly used real ‘Mechs for the battle sequences. One thing I’ll say - they had some good MechWarriors driving.

One example - I *briefly* drove a Thug after the FedCom Civil War when I was assigned to the NAIS Foreign Sources Evaluation Center. Because of its odd waist design and high shoulders, inexperienced Thug drivers tend to get a odd loping gait that causes the arms to swing involuntarily - it’s called the “Thug Shrug”. This of course, can add precious fractions of a second to lining up a target with the Thug’s particle cannons. Believe me, my first ride in a Thug, I had one hell of a Thug Shrug. I note that the Thug driver in the clip had *no* Shrug whatsoever.

I also liked the cockpit chatter. It’s a lot closer to real life than the stupid banter, monologues or over-dramatised emoting you see in most other ‘Mech movies. For OPSEC reasons, most MW chatter is business only, and I think they got it pretty close.

If this is the standard for the show, I might give it a go.

-------------------------
Extract from Reliving it, Almost: Behind the Scenes of Sphere Saga by Livingston Anderson. Pub. Avalon Press, 3105

Now, disputes and disagreements are inevitable anytime there’s more than one person involved in a given project. I mean, Luther and I once nearly killed each other trying to work out how to assemble a bookcase - and there was a provided instruction sheet. After almost three years working together, the “High Council” had certainly seen it’s share of debates over plot-points, pacing and characterisation (and believe me, when you have a half-dozen professional wordsmiths involved in an argument, you get to witness some amazing uses of language - ask Deenah about the time she used “apotheosistic” as an adjective. You never saw such synchronised loading of dictionary apps).

We'd also already had one humdinger of a dispute with Camus himself, a year earlier, over the use of Star League Standard English in the show. You see, the lingua franca of the Terran Hegemony was called "English", and here in the FedSuns the national language is "English", but despite being related, these are not exactly the same language (for starters, FedSuns English has substantial French influences in vocabulary and pronunciation while Star League English’s idiosyncratic spelling is directly descended from old American English). However, the shared name of the language has meant that for the past three centuries and change, in the FedSuns at least, the entertainment industry has been lazy and anytime a show or feature called for showing Hegemonists speaking, they simply used Davion English with a funny accent. I know, because I grew up here, and I got used to the convention too.

Camus was having none of that. Terran Hegemony characters on Sphere Saga would speak the correct, Star League Standard English. The Council came to me with their concerns - the TH accent was already going to be a hurdle for some in the audience, we already had scenes in German, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Russian, Hungarian etc that were being subtitled, if we had to add SL English scenes to the that lot, we could surely qualify as a foreign language film!

Personally, I agreed with the Council. I was seriously concerned about the ability of our core FedSuns audience to follow the action. So I took up the banner and argued our case with Camus. Camus heard me out, then pointed out that our attempt to be faithful to history meant we had to incorporate Star League English.

I countered that most of the entire Season would have to be in SL English, since most of our main characters were members of the SLDF or connected to the Terran Hegemony. This was too much. FVE would also freak out, since they were holding the bag, financially speaking, and if people couldn’t understand the characters, well, there goes viewership and ad revenue.

Camus settled matters by making a bet with the writers. We would put together panels of ordinary citizens to listen to actors have conversations in Star League English, then survey the crowd to see if they understood the conversation.

We accepted the challenge. Obviously, we couldn’t use dialogue from the actual story without giving the game away, so we wrote a new, generic scene. Camus supplied the actors from his personal contacts (this group included Judith Sharma and Nick Foist, two dialect coaches that Camus was thinking about hiring for the show - they did, in fact, get the job!)

To our surprise and relief, better than ninety-five percent of our test sample were able to to follow the dialogue. Sure, almost all had a bit of difficulty initially, but not enough to make them give up on the task. Camus won the bet, copious amounts of alcohol changed hands (he had cheap tastes by the way - his preferred brew was Pharaoh Beer), and we all went on crash courses in SL English.

As a side note, even though we used a cover story to conceal the reason we wanted people to listen to conversations in SL English, it didn’t take long for people to figure out that this was somehow connected to Sphere Saga. Various ‘Net sites - Back Lot Access Card was most prominent in this, but there were others - picked up this sow’s ear and made quite the silk purse out of it. The usual form of the rumour went like this: We were testing audience reaction to several unknown actors who had won major parts in Sphere Saga. There was endless speculation about who they might be playing. Someone managed to get a pic of the actors involved out of one of the focus groups. Judith Sharma’s slight resemblance to Elizabeth Hazen sent the UniNet into meltdown. It was all very amusing, except to poor Judith, who had a respectable day job as a Professor of Linguistics at Valencial University on Gambier and didn’t know how to cope with the sudden attention.

Anyway, that dispute over Star League English was heated, but relatively easy to settle.

This new e-mail, however, was not.

After reading Camus’s e-mail again to ensure it actually said what I thought it did (and it did), I sprang out of my chair - instantly regretting it as my recently-damaged ankle protested - flung open my office door (almost knocking out an unfortunate Production Assistant as I did so) and annoyed-limped my way ten metres down the corridor to Camus’s office.

I barged into the antechamber, ignored Ben (Camus’s new PA), threw open the door to the inner sanctum and came face to face with Camus.

“Are you out of your mind?” I demanded as my opening line.

No, Gentle Reader, I lie. What I actually said was:

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR ****** MIND???!!!”

(yes, I can speak in Capitalised-Bold-Italicised-Underlined-ese. When U R a riter, U can do anyfink. Thankyew.)

It was then that I noticed he wasn’t alone. Standing just over my right shoulder was a pale-faced young lady with abnormally large eyes (said condition being my fault) who was in the middle of a presentation to Camus about fashions of the Star League era. This, then, was my introduction to Ashia Meldrum, our recently-hired Costume Designer (she recovered from this episode quite nicely - by the time cameras rolled, she had assured herself that I was no more eccentric and moody than any other writer she’d ever met).

Camus didn’t seem at all surprised by my interruption. He just turned to Ashia, and said “We’ll continue this after lunch. Thank you, Ashia,” and then he invited me to have a seat as Ashia gratefully retreated from the office with her materials.

In the time it took for the door to close again, I’d cooled down some, but I was still upset by the e-mail, and told Camus as much. It was hard enough to write the scripts as is, but if we now had to do five localised versions of each episode, this was going to be a nightmare.

We also had an additional problem: when you localise a feature, the usual result is a few minutes added to the running time of one version - not a big deal with a feature, one cut is 106 minutes long, the other weighs in at 109 minutes, so what? But we were contractually obligated to deliver 90 minute episodes, not a minute less, not a second more. Localisation would cause a domino effect. If we insert an extended Scene 56 for State X, what do we cut from the episode to make up for it? And State Y might not have any interest in what’s going on in Scene 56, but may want something more out of Scene 103. So different cuts are going to have to be made for State Y. You start to see the magnitude of the problem.

Camus was aware of all this -  wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, but he insisted that it had to happen. This caught me off guard. Camus is often (wrongly) portrayed as a nit-picking, perfectionist tyrant of a director, and while you do need a measure of all of those to be a good director, there was much more to him than that. I hope that what I’ve written so far has helped to paint a more complete picture of the guy. Yes, he could be fiercely stubborn, but there were often damned good reasons for him to stick to his guns on a particular issue. Telling me flat out to make this uber-localisation happen without explaining why was out of character for him.

I looked him in the eye - really looked at him, and noticed how tired he seemed. I decided to change tack, powered down, and just asked him “Why?”

And he told me. As best as I can remember, he said this:

    “Livingston, you know what this story means to me. It has to be done right, or not at all. And we are this close to making it happen. But to get it out to the whole Human Sphere simultaneously, we need to give each state something. And some of the foreign backers aren’t going to come on board unless we localise. We’ll protect the core of the story - that’s non-negotiable, but if GorMan Financials wants a scene showing the extended Marik family having a picnic so they’ll look better, we’ll give them that. It’s worth it to get the story out.”

What could I say to that? I’d been in his shoes, though never on this scale. Every show I’ve done had some level of product placement in them, and it wasn't always a pretty process to make the placement work. I could tell it was killing him to have to make such concessions (GorMan Financials didn’t actually want that picnic scene, by the way - it was just Camus making a point).

What I did say was to promise Camus my support. We went to the writing team, and here I have to give them credit for taking the news with good grace, and together we worked out how to make this latest complication work to our advantage. The biggest change that this made to our production schedule turned out to be on the back end, which was why there was a full year’s gap between Seasons 1 & 2 and Seasons 2 & 3 to allow us to edit all the different versions (a total of eight, eventually).

Those of you who bought the Sphere Saga Ultimate Collection can judge how well the localisation worked for each state.

[drakensis]

Dammit, where is my transfictional WIFI! I need to download this series and watch the ultimate collection.

 O0

[alkemita]

Dammit, where is my transfictional WIFI! I need to download this series and watch the ultimate collection.

It'll be available for sale from the FSN online store at midnight, January 1, 3100 for 199.99C-bills.  :)

Glad you're enjoying it, drakensis.

alkemita

[alkemita]

Hi All,

Sphere Saga is beginning to grow well beyond what I first imagined it to be. I can see several different directions to take it in, but some of them require extensive background to be laid pretty soon, story-wise.

I'm new at this stuff so, I'm going to ask for feedback along a few lines.

1. I've kept the story pretty divorced from events in the "current" BTU - there's no impact on the production from, say, the break up of the FWL, or the formation of the Flitvelt Coalition. Would anyone be disappointed if Sphere Saga never ties into the larger events of the BTU?

2. My original conception of the story had only minimal scenes set inside the actual Sphere Saga show, such as trailer descriptions/transcripts. Does anyone want to see more "production footage", or keep it to the incidental exposure we've had so far?

3. I've used Livingston's book as the point of view character for much of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Does anyone want to see the production from another viewpoint, and if so, who? Eg, an actor, another of the writers, etc?

4. Anything else you like/dislike about the story. I want to know so I can improve.

Thank you.

Alkemita

[Redshirt]

1. It might be interesting to tie in some current events, especially with regards to Ching wanting to go the route of having different versions for each state/region. With the FWL, the various factions, just like the larger states, are going to have their own narratives of how things went down...

2. If you write the "footage" like you did the Gorst Flats sequence, then YES!  ;D

3. I think having Livingston as the primary POV is fine, but if you are interested in having other POV's I'm all for it.

4. I think you are doing fine so far.

[alkemita]

---------------
01 April 3089
Site 34L, outside Clearwater, Florida, Terra.

[INT. Excavation Shaft #5]

Track with a portable personnel lift as it lowers a serious looking woman, DR. SARAH CHARLES, from the surface to Transverse Shaft D, where it stops to let her off. There’s a small greeting party. All wear hardhats and coveralls. Work-lights are slapped on the walls to augment the lights attached to their helmets.

Dr. Charles: Okay, Eric, I’m here, what’s up?

She’s talking to ERIC LEUNG, the chief engineer on this project.

Eric: Ground Radar came up trumps. Thought you might like to be here for the big reveal.

He hands over a tablet and Dr Charles scrolls through the information as they start walking, and Eric summarises as they make their way down the shaft.

Eric: Chamber’s the right size, right configuration. See here? that’s the cap for the geothermal tap, and it’s intact.

Dr. Charles: So there’s still power going in?

Eric: Could be.

They arrive at an old armoured door. Squeezed into the shaft beside the door is an IndustrialMech modified for archeological digs. It’s right arm sports a workclaw poised to open the over-sized door.

Dr. Charles: Let’s do this.

Eric: Right.

He motions to the operator in the IndustrialMech, who applies power. The vault door resists at first, but gradually swings open. A blast of chilled air comes out of the chamber. There are lights on beyond the door. And faint shapes lining the walls.

Eric: Sarah - would you like to…?

Dr. Chambers: We should both go in together.

Eric: I was hoping you’d say that!

[REVERSE ANGLE]

As they step through the door, their headlamps sweeping the room.

Dr. Chambers: Magnificent…

Eric: Yes.

Dr. Chambers: According to the records, it should be over there.

They move toward one of the shapes. Eric steps up to it and carefully brushes dust away from a label on the top rim.

Eric: Is it…?

Dr. Chambers: Yes! We found it. Notify base camp and tell them to get moving.

------------------
April 01, 3094
FVE Head Office, Event Horizon Studios

[Footage from a Press Conference]

Tulisa Swilalae: Thank you all for coming today. I will be making a brief statement, and there will be time for questions afterwards.

It is with regret that I have to announce that Camus Ching is no longer a part of the Sphere Saga production. Due to cost overruns and creative differences, FVE has reached a mutual understanding with Mr. Ching to part ways.

A ship needs a captain, and a show needs a director. Today, I am happy to announce that we have found a replacement who will take Sphere Saga to even greater heights.

A true legend of the Entertainment Industry, this director was recently called out of retirement from a cryonics facility in Florida on old Terra. He has helmed many spectacular blockbusters in his time, he is a visionary, and he is waiting to take your questions.

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I present to you: Mr Michael Bay.

-------------------------
Yes, it's the first of April. A real update will follow shortly

[alkemita]

--------------------------
November 13, 3093
Thursday Night with Laurel Lee - SBC24

[The classic talk show setup - chair for the host, a sofa for the guests, coffee table in front of the sofa, some plants and flowers for highlights. Laurel Lee’s set is dressed in the post-neo-Gaelic style that has become popular in the Reconstruction period, including plenty of real, rather than projected elements, so three large screens make up a good portion of the rear wall.]

Laurel Lee: You’ve been trapped in a mis-jump for the past year if you haven’t yet clued in to the hype around Camus Ching’s Sphere Saga, which premieres on SBC24 in just over a month, Sunday, January seventh, 3094 -

[Cheers and scattered applause from the audience - someone lets out a loud “Whoop!”]

LL: Someone got the hype.

[Audience laughter]

LL: Our first guest this evening has played a teenage slacktivist who starts a revolution, a thief with a conscience who’s betrayed by his heart, a Special Needs Teacher who needs some love in his life, twin brothers who turn their tramp freighter business into a cargo hauling empire and a police negotiator who can’t win an argument with his family. He was on the FedSuns Top 100 Sexiest Men list ten years in a row. He has won a Vox Pop for Best Supporting Actor, and has been a dual-Stellar nominee for Best Actor.

He is going to be seen next in Sphere Saga as General Aaron Dechavilier. Ladies and gents, please welcome Tony Shand!

[Laurel stands and turns to face upstage right as Tony Shand walks out from behind the side screens to the accompaniment of dramatic music from the Sphere Saga trailers. He’s a trim, handsome guy in his early fifties, aging gracefully so you might take him for a decade younger. He eats up the distance between himself and Laurel in big steps, takes her hand and plants a very elegant Skye-style kiss on the back of her hand, drawing more applause. Laurel waves him to his place on the sofa, and sits back down in her own chair]

Tony Shand: [re: the hand kiss] Did I get that right? Or do I need to get a refund on the etiquette book?

[More audience applause]

LL: I think you have your answer, Tony.

TS: Oh, good!

LL: Welcome to the show!

TS: Thank you, it’s good to be here.

LL: It’s your first visit to Skye, correct?

TS: Yep, and I love it here.

[Cheers from the audience]

LL: Glad to hear it! I was actually going to say - it’s your first trip to Skye, but you’re not the first member of your family to visit, are you?

TS: You have done your research! No, you’re right. My dad was stationed on Skye for a year in the fifties with the - gosh, it doesn’t even exist anymore, right? The AFFC. He was a quartermaster.

LL: Did you call him for help with the role?

TS: Uh, no, actually. Ah - he’s gonna kill me for saying this, but he wasn’t a very good soldier. He said he spent more time in the stockade for goofing off than actual soldiering!

[Laughter]

TS: Sorry, Dad!

LL: Well, let’s change the subject fast, and maybe he won’t notice

TS: Yep, let’s do that!

LL: You’re playing General Aaron Dechavilier. Now, until recently, he’s been kind of lost to history because of the Kerensky name - first Aleksandr, and then in the form of the Clans that his descendants created. Can you give us the Graff’s Notes version of who Aaron Dechavilier was?

TS: Sure. Well, he’s General Kerensky’s right hand man, Deputy Commander of the SLDF. Kerensky decided what was going to happen, and Dechavilier made it happen. He was actually not a Hegemonist - he was from Kestrel in the FedSuns. He was a family man, with five kids - I guess we’ll talk about that later right?

LL: Yes - you’re going to steal my thunder a bit there!

TS: Maybe mine as well! Okay - what else? Interesting guy, Kerensky handled the politics while he concentrated on the troops. He basically reorganised the SLDF for the campaign to take back the Terran Hegemony from Amaris. And he was the guy who talked Kerensky into the Exodus.

LL: So given that he’s been a bit overshadowed, how do you go about preparing for a role like this?

TS: Actually, it was surprisingly easy. For a start, the production had it’s own research department - I’m going to get their name wrong here - the History Research Department? Something like that. Anyway, the day after I got the part, a security courier company shows up at my door with, I kid you not, a box the size of a small desk. And - and inside were folders of research this team had done on Aaron. Including some sources from the Clans. I had nearly fifteen hours of vid showing Aaron walking, talking, driving his ‘Mech. It took me weeks to go through all this stuff - by the end I could tell you his boot size. All this, and a script - actually, eight of them.

LL: So just reading and watching?

TS: Well, there’s a bit more to it than that, of course, but having so much information at your fingertips - that’s what made it easy. We look sort of alike - he was two centimetres taller than me, but the scripts were good, so I knew his background, his history, and the scripts filled in the rest.

LL: What was working with Camus Ching like?

TS: Oh, god - how to answer that without sounding like a fanboy? He knows what he wants to achieve, and he’s good at talking you round to his point of view. But he’s also very happy to take your input. It was great to work with him, and I wish I could again - oh, wait, I am, on Season two!

[Audience cheering]

LL: Okay - the studio’s kindly provided us with not one, but two clips of you as General Dechavilier. Do you want to talk about this one before we roll it?

TS: Sure. Uh, is it-? Oh, it is. Sorry, I forgot for a moment which one was first. Right.

[Laughter]

TS: I swear, I haven’t had a drink today! Okay - this - this first clip. This is from episode four. General Dechavilier is giving a pep talk to the COs - the commanders - of five RCTs for something the history buffs will recognise - called Operation INTRUDER.

LL: Let’s have a look.

[Screen fades to black, and-]

FADE IN on INT. SLS McKenna’s Pride - General Dechavilier’s cabin. Located on one of the Flagship’s Grav Decks, this is one of the larger cabins aboard, but it’s crowded with six people in it. There’s a desk, two work chairs, a sofa that converts into a bed (currently serving as a sofa), a couple of shelves and a locker. A couple of framed family photos sit on the desk, one with a strip of black tape attached to a corner.

General Dechavilier is seated in one of the chairs. Five Colonels, three male and two female, wearing the patches of the 1st through 5th RCTs on their uniforms, cram themselves into the remaining seating space. All have small tumblers of whiskey in their hands. General Dechavilier replaces the whiskey bottle on his desk, and then swivels in his chair to face the group.

Gen. Dechavilier: Colonels, you have had time to review your orders for INTRUDER. Are there any questions?

Colonels: No, General/No, Sir.

Gen. Dechavilier: Very well. I asked for this meeting because I wanted to make sure we all understood a something.

Your twenty regiments are all that the Army can spare for this operation. Everyone else is repositioning or refitting. You have no back up. What’s the most important thing you can do on INTRUDER?

The colonels exchange a glance. Not sure how to answer that. General Dechavilier notes that then:

Gen. Dechavilier: Check your emotions at the door.

A pause, while he locks eyes with each RCT commander in turn

Gen. Dechavilier: Your RCTs are the best in the business - that’s why you’ve got the job. But at the end of the day, you’re also just twenty regiments.

You are going to see some terrible things on this operation. You will be tempted to dig in on those worlds and do “just a bit more” to help. You’ll see worlds so thinly held by the Rimmers that you know you could kick them off and liberate their suffering populations. You cannot give in to that impulse, and you can’t let your subordinates do so either.

You each have dozens of worlds to cover. Get sucked in on one, and the resistance dies on the rest.

We’ve all lost a lot to this point. Maybe more than we thought we ever would. And that loss means we feel the need to do something - hurt the bastards back for the friends, the comrades, the fam… the families they’ve taken from us. Yeah, we’re the professionals, but we’re human too, and we do feel it.

The Rimmers aren’t dumb. They’re hoping we give in to the rage and despair. We’re not going to do that. Instead, we’re going to play the long game - piling on the hurt and pressure until they’re the ones who give in to their hurt and despair. And then - and then, we’ll have them right where we want them.

It starts with you, Colonels. I salute you.

He raises his glass, and five others are lifted in reply.

[Fade Out, and the crowd goes wild]

LL: So that’s Dechavilier as a motivational speaker, huh?

TS: Yeah. You have to feel for the guy though - he’s long left the tip of the spear, and he’s got to send all these soldiers - his second family - out to battle and possibly death. I think he really wished he could personally go on every operation to protect his people.

LL: I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours that Sphere Saga is a set-up for the Republic of the Sphere to restore the Star League.

TS: Yes.

LL: What do you think of that?

TS: Ah, I’m not a politician or a statesman or anything like that. I’m just a guy who gets to do some amazing things for work, and people actually pay me for having fun. From my little place on the set, all I can say is that the only agenda I saw going on was for us to get the history right as far as possible.

LL: From interstellar politics to the personal. We have the next clip up. Do you want to introduce this one?

TS: Right - this is from episode two - I’ve just been promoted to deputy Commanding General, and after all the ceremonies are done, we’re back in the Dechavilier home with the family.

FADE IN on NIGHT, EXT. QUARTERS ELEVEN, the house allocated to the Deputy Commanding General on the grounds of Fort Noruff, the Headquarters of the SLDF in UNITY CITY. Quarters Eleven is a large two-story house built in tasteful twentieth-century Pacific-Northwest style. It has been the residence of many stars of the SLDF. Now it’s home to General Dechavilier, his wife and their three youngest children

CUT TO INT. QUARTERS ELEVEN. The family room - a private area toward the back of the house. Big glass sliding door leading to a large patio, open. Comfortable loungers and sofas scattered around the room.

GENERAL DECHAVILIER sits in a recliner, dress uniform casually open at the throat, gloves off and his School Rag untied and draped over the back of the chair. Beside him in another recliner sits his wife, CYNTHIA, holding their youngest child, KRISTINA (4), who’s close to dozing off. Two more children, JULIA (15) and BENJAMIN (14) are sprawled on one of the sofas, personal comms in hand, lost in their own worlds the way teenagers often are.

On another sofa sit LIEUTENANT ANGELA DECHAVILIER-BANACEK (26) and her husband MILOS BANACEK, the former also in dress uniform, the latter in civilian suit and tie, both of which have been loosened. The last member of the family is LIEUTENANT ROGER DECHAVILIER (25), who sits on a final recliner. Unlike every other uniformed member of the family, his dress uniform is still in order.

Angela: So, Dad, how about some inside info?

Gen. Dechavilier: Hmmm?

Angela: Scuttlebutt is that you got the Deputy CG post ‘cause the General is looking to retire soon.

Roger: What Angela’s not saying is that there’s a pool running on Kerensky’s retirement date and she’s got a month’s pay riding on it. And a double jackpot if you pick his successor.

Angela: (with a smile) I do not have a month’s pay in the pool.

[Milos and Roger laugh]

Gen. Dechavilier: Nothin’ wrong with a little wager -

Cynthia: Oh, please! I remember when you put a month’s pay on that Crowley Lizard-Cow race!

Gen. Dechavilier: I won, didn’t I?

[This is an old war story for them. The teenaged kids do the “here we go again” eye-roll and hunker down with their comms, the adult kids sit back for the show]

Cynthia: And got three days confinement to quarters for illegal gambling!

Gen. Dechavilier: Hey, I bought you a nice bunch of flowers for missing our date.

Cynthia: You’re lucky you still had a date after that one, mister!

Benjamin: Dad, how long do you think we get to stay in this house?

Gen. Dechavilier: Dunno, Benj - maybe three or four years. Why?

Benjamin: It’s nice here. But I guess we gotta move on when you get your next post, huh?

Milos: Maybe down the street? I hear Quarters One is even nicer.

Angela: Not that General Kerensky’s ever here to use it. You could move in now.

Gen. Dechavilier: Guys, guys - before everyone gets carried away…

[He leans over and takes Cynthia’s hand]

Gen. Dechavilier: Your mom and I spoke about this last night. When my tour as Deputy CG is up, I’m retiring.

Julia: Really, Dad?

Gen. Dechavilier: Really, Jools.

Benjamin: Why? I mean - I hope you’ll be around more, and -

Gen. Dechavilier: That’s why Benj. I’ve spent a lot of time away from home over the years, and I think I’ve done my bit. So this is the last tour, and then I’ll get to hang around with those I love a bit more. Hey, I never expected to make General - I thought that if I was good and lucky, I’d retire a Colonel.

Roger: Well, Dad, you’ve been both good and lucky over the years. I think -

[Someone’s SLDF comms unit chimes - it’s the urgent tone. The uniformed members of the family reach for their units instinctively - two are blank, General Dechavilier’s is not. He reads the message, then looks up, somber]

Cynthia: Aaron?

Gen. Dechavilier: Looks like the tour starts now. I have to go in. Something’s come up.

[FADE OUT]

[Audience applauds]

LL: No rest for the wicked, huh?

TS: ‘Fraid not.

LL: So my personal spy tells me there’s some connections between the actors in that scene…

TS: Yes - the middle kids there were played by my twins, Ashleigh and Rick.

LL: Didn’t they do a good job?

TS: I thought so - they had lots of lines that didn’t make it into the final cut, but I told them - it happens. Some of my best stuff over the years has ended up in the delete folder!

LL: How did they get the job?

TS: Well, they were casting the family, and Camus requested that I read opposite the finalists. If you know anything about Camus, you know how obsessive he is about details. So even though these were small parts, he insisted that I have chemistry with the actors.

I went down and read, and most of the family were quite easy, but we were having trouble with the middle kids. So I kind of made the suggestion that Ashleigh and Rick might work - after all, all they had to do was play my kids! And luckily, it worked.

LL: That’s cute! Are they going to follow in your footsteps?

TS: Not if I can help it!

[Laughter]

TS: That’s not true - that’s not true. Well, not totally true. We’ve talked a little about this - and I told them that they should follow their passion. If that’s acting, go for it, if not, don’t.

LL: Nice answer. Now, turning back to the show. Why should we tune in?

TS: Well, on the - the macro scale, I guess, a lot of our history is a result of the events we’re showing here. It’s good to know where we came from to give context to where we’re going, and hopefully, make better choices. On the personal scale, I’ve never seen a cast and crew works so hard to get things right, historically, dramatically, technically.

LL: Sphere Saga premieres on SBC24 on Sunday, January 7th, 3094. Stay with us - after the break, Tony Shand will take your questions, and play our Celebrity-Hilarity game! See you on the flip side!

-------------------------------------
November 14, 3093
Starlight Magazine Site
Vol. 44 Issue 47

Celebrity Sightings and Single-shots

She’s Out: Agri-Heiress and sometime actor Vesper Valikos successfully completes 3rd attempt at rehab. Left facility without speaking. Reportedly holed up at her father’s estate. No sign of Bradley Tsung.

Ruck-Off: Rugby Batavia’s Captain Nick de Groot calls off wedding to model Beatrice Swift, denies photo scandal was cause. Swift laying low, friends fear for her.

Tranh Tells All: Legendary Styler to the Stars Phuoc Tranh pens tell-all autobio. Finally published after clearing two court cases. Due out in February.

[Hellfire]

This story is simply amazing.

Since you wanted suggestions. Something about what the Irregulars are contributing would be interesting.