Fear of the Dark [working title]
A STAR WARS story

​

The blue text of the "Jedi Fortune Cookie" appears on a black background.  It reads:

"The dark side of the force is a pathway to
many abilities some consider to be unnatural."
- Chancellor Palpatine

NEWSREEL (NARRATOR)
Victory on Naboo! Led by the determined Queen
Amidala and supported by the Gungan Grand
Army, the citizens of Naboo have driven the
greedy Trade Federation from their planet.
During the battle, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn
and his padawan learner, Obi-Wan Kenobi,
confronted the Sith Lord known as Darth Maul
and defeated him. Or so they thought...

At the narrator speaks, there is a montage of images from Star
Wars: The Phantom Menace. The final image is Darth Maul, sliced
in half, falling down the vent shaft.


EXT. NABOO - THEED ROYAL PALACE

Life on Naboo begins to return to normal following the occupation
of the Trade Federation and the death of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.
The victory celebration has ended and now the work of rebuilding
and repairing the damage to centuries-old buildings has begun.
Scaffolding surrounds one of the towers on the Royal Palace as
masonry workers clean up debris and repair damage.


INT. THEED ROYAL PALACE - GOVERNOR BIBBLE'S OFFICE

Governor SIO BIBBLE enters his office. It's his first day back to
work following the occupation and he is not having a good morning.
He's been stopped several times by officials seeking an audience
with the Queen. CLEM SAGE, the Director of Operations for the
Royal Plasma Mines, is the latest lobbying for attention. He
follows close behind the Governor, continuing a conversation that
has been ongoing for some time now.

SAGE
Governor, please. I must have an audience with
the Queen.

BIBBLE

(frustrated)
The Queen is dealing with any number of issues
stemming from the occupation. And quite
frankly, director, so am I!

SAGE
I understand and sympathize. I really do. But
the Trade Federation... their carelessness.
It will mean disaster for us sooner or later.

AMIDALA

(O.S.)
What do you mean?

Both men turn around to see QUEEN AMIDALA, the elected leader of
Naboo, standing in the doorway on the opposite side of the room.
She just happened to be passing by and couldn't help but overhear
the heated conversation. Dressed in a formal gown and wearing
makeup denoting her rank, she is flanked by two of her handmaidens
and her security chief, Captain Panaka.

Sage and Bibble have matching looks of shock on their face as
neither of them expected to see the Queen this early in the day.
They both come to attention and bow respectfully.

SAGE
Queen Amidala! M'Lady. I can't tell you how
wonderful it is to see you again.

AMIDALA
Thank you, director. It is wonderful to be
home. Now, what is this trouble you speak of?

Sage swallows and takes a step forward. Composing himself, he
gives the Queen his report.

SAGE
M'Lady, during the occupation, the Trade
Federation hired junk haulers from Lotho Minor
to haul away industrial waste. But Lotho Minor
is home to all sorts of vermin and parasites.
These junk haulers were careless. We've
discovered an infestation of arachtiss in the
lower plasma mines.

AMIDALA
Arachtiss? You'll have to forgive me,
director. I am not familiar with these
creatures.

SAGE
Allow me to show you.

Sage reaches into one of his pockets and then into another. He
fumbles around for a moment before producing a small holographic
projection device. He presses a button and an image of an
arachtiss appears about 4 inches above his hand. The creature
looks like a mass of worms or spaghetti noodles writhing together.
The Governor wrinkles his nose at the sight of them. The
handmaidens appear disgusted. The Queen remains stoic.

AMIDALA
How large are these creatures?

SAGE
Oh, only about yea big.

He pantomimes a shape about the size of a soccer ball. He then
sighs and continues.

SAGE (cont'd)
The problem is they are capable of biomechanical
integration.

Bibble explains for the Queen's benefit.

BIBBLE
They can meld with and control mechanical
devices, Your Highness.

SAGE
Yes. Exactly. They integrate with mechanics
the way we integrate with armor or clothing.
It enhances their abilities.

His mood darkens a bit.

SAGE (cont'd)
We sent a probe droid into the mines. This is
what came back.

He activates the hologram projector again. This time it shows a first-person view from a probe droid navigating its way through a dark
cavern. A hissing noise is heard and the probe droid stops. It
is suddenly attacked by two arachtiss; each roughly the shape of a
spider and about the size of an adult human.  The recording cuts out suddenly.  Governor Bibble groans.

AMIDALA
And just how many of these things are there?

SAGE
We don't know for certain. The Trade
Federation sent a company of battledroids to
investigate. None of them returned.

BIBBLE
Then they've been reduced to spare parts for
these things.

AMIDALA
Can they be eradicated?

Sage sighs again.

SAGE
They are immune to most poisons and radiation.
At least any that are safe to use on a
civilized planet.

One of the handmaidens leans in and whispers something to Amidala.

AMIDALA
Gentlemen, I'm afraid we will need to discuss
this matter later. The Jedi will be departing
soon and I must see them off.

SAGE
That's just it M'Lady. I was hoping you could
speak to the Jedi before they go. Ask them
to help us with this dilemma.

Amidala ponders the request for a moment.

AMIDALA
No. Naboo cannot ask the Jedi for help with
every crisis. We will deal with this on our
own. The Jedi have lost (or sacrificed) too
much helping us.

She makes reference to Qui-Gon, a Jedi she came to respect and
befriend.

CUT TO:


INT. THEED PLASMA POWER GENERATOR

A lone figure walks along the railing-less bridges and platforms
in the power generator room. The camera pans up to reveal the
youthful face of OBI-WAN KENOBI. The young Jedi is retracing the
duel he fought against Darth Maul with his master, Qui-Gon Jinn.
He comes to a stop before the gates to the core vent. Over
speakers built into the vast generator chamber comes the voice of
the control supervisor; distorted and barely understandable.

CONTROL SUPERVISOR (over the speakers)
Open laser gates.

The six laser gates separating the main chamber from the vent hiss
as they open one after another. Obi-Wan casually walks through
them.

INT. PLASMA CORE VENT - CONTINUING

Obi-Wan has returned to the scene of his greatest victory and most
devastating defeat. The core vent is a circular room with a broad
mouthed pit in the middle of it. The pit leads straight downward,
a seemingly endless shaft leading to the planet's core.

The young Jedi inhales deeply and closes his eyes. In his mind,
he relives the events that took place here only a few short days
ago. It is here where he defeated Darth Maul. It is here where
Qui-Gon Jinn died in his arms.

His communicator begins to chime, interrupting his thoughts.
Reaching to his belt, he pulls out the device and a hologram of
Jedi Master Yoda appears appears in his hand.

YODA

(hologram)
Young Kenobi, time to depart, it is.

OBI-WAN
Yes, Master Yoda. I'll be there shortly.

Yoda's hologram disappears and Obi-Wan clips the communication
device back on his belt. He turns and begins to walk out of the
chamber. He stops just before passing through the first of the
laser gates and looks over his shoulder; back towards the shaft.
He senses something that seems impossible. Believing it to be his
imagination, Obi-Wan shakes his head and walks out of the chamber.

As Obi-Wan walks past the camera position, the camera slowly
closes in on the vent shaft in the middle of the chamber. The
camera hovers over the edge and looks down. Suddenly, the camera
position begins falling down the dark shaft. It continues to
plunge into the darkness and then suddenly slows as it focuses on
the remains of DARTH MAUL.

INT. PLASMA VENT SHAFT - CONTINUING

Defeated at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul was sliced in
half by the lightsaber of the young Jedi and then fell down the
vent shaft. Before he could be obliterated in the plasma well
only a few dozen meters below, his remains were caught in a weblike
structure near the very bottom of the shaft.

His body lies, motionless. From above, something sinister crawls
towards his remains. A giant, cybernetic arachtiss reaches the
web. The vibrations of the arachtiss cause Maul's hips and legs -
which were in a precarious position to begin with - to shake loose
from the web and fall into the abyss. The arachtiss recoils for a
moment but eventually reaches for Maul's torso and pulls it out of
the web.

The arachtiss holds Maul's torso up and examines it. Arachtiss
are capable of speech. This particular arachtiss is known to its
brood as GRITCH and it speaks through the vocoder system of some
droid attached to it, giving its voice a very eerie and electronic
quality.

GRITCH
Dark. Dark.

It's voice echoes in the shaft.

CUT TO:

EXT. NABOO - THEED LANDING ZONE - DAY

An assembly of Naboo and Gungan leaders stand along the edge of a
landing zone as a ship carrying the Jedi dignitaries prepares to
depart. Queen Amidala stands at the center of the crowd, still
flanked by handmaidens and Captain Panaka. Joining them is the
Gungan leader, Boss Nass, as well as Jar Jar Binks, who waves to
the Jedi ship and yells goodbye as it rises from the surface and
disappears in the sky.

The Queen turns and leads her entourage back to the palace.
Watching her go is R2-D2, who makes a merry chirping noise as she
walks past him.

The Queen sees Director Sage in her path and addresses him.

AMIDALA
Director Sage, Captain Panaka has volunteered
to lead a force into the mines and exterminate
the arachtiss.

Sage seems almost troubled by the news.

SAGE
Thank you, M'Lady. But I worry for the lives
of the soldiers. Arachtiss are hostile
creatures, difficult to kill.

PALPATINE

(O.S.)
Arachtiss did you say?

Walking up to them is PALPATINE, the Senator of Naboo who has
recently become the Chancellor-Elect of the Galactic Senate.
Naboo is Palpatine's home and he has decided to prepare his agenda
and begin searching for cabinet appointments here; away from the
lobbyists, media, butt-kissing politicians and other related
cretinous life forms found on the galactic capital world of
Coruscant. With Palpatine is Governor Bibble - who has already
begun his butt-kissing campaign for a cabinet post.

AMIDALA
Chancellor-Elect. You heard correctly.

SAGE
A lasting legacy of the occupation. The
plasma mines are crawling with them. We can't
re-open operations until they've been dealt
with.

The plasma mines are the primary pillar of the Naboo economy. The
lucrative operations, and their taxation rates, were among the
reasons for the Trade Federation's occupation. All of Naboo's
leaders understand that it is imperative for mining operations to
resume for the sake of their economic well being.

PALPATINE
Hmmm. I may know someone who can help us
with this infestation.

BIBBLE
Do you?

PALPATINE
I believe so. He's dealt with these creatures
before. Quite effectively, I might add.

AMIDALA
Thank you, Chancellor-Elect. Please contact
him at your earliest convenience.

PALPATINE
Yes, M'Lady. All to your service. My friend
has had some recent personal setbacks and I
suspect he'll find the work to be...
therapeutic.

WIPE TO:

INT. NABOO - LAIR OF THE ARACHTISS

Maul is taken to a cavern that serves as the nest for the
arachtiss. It is a dry and dingy place filled with the remains of
long dead creatures and some discarded mechanical devices. Gritch
the arachtiss examines the Dark Lord's face and again utters:

GRITCH
Dark.

It raises one of its forelimbs. On the end of the limb is a
needle like apparatus with sickly amber fluid oozing from it. The
arachtiss plunges the needle into Maul near his left clavicle.

Maul suddenly awakens from his coma. His eyes nearly bug out of
his head as he inhales deeply, moaning as he draws air into his
lungs. As the inhale turns to exhale, the moaning turns to
screaming and he begins flailing his arms.

After a few moments, Maul settles down. He raises one of his
hands and looks as it as his eyesight begins to refocus. He then
looks at Gritch as two other arachtiss enter the chamber,
apparently attracted by the screaming.

It takes some effort to speak given the damage to the muscles
around his diaphragm (as well as the extreme dryness in both his
mouth and throat), but Maul is able to weakly whisper and ask:

MAUL
What are you?

Gritch steps closer, coming face to face with Maul.

GRITCH
Dark.

Maul cannot possibly understand what it means. Gritch steps back
as the other two arachtiss come nearer. A compartment within
Gritch's robotic shell opens and its true, biological, organism
partially wiggles out. The other two arachtiss follow Gritch's
lead. Sickly, writhing tentacles reach out and all three
arachtiss interconnect.

As a species, arachtiss can biologically fuse with other
organisms. When two or more arachtiss combine, they are able to
share their intellect and memories with one another, becoming
smarter and more dangerous. The three combined arachtiss now have
an expanded vocabulary and can better communicate with Maul.

GRITCH
We are of the dark. You are of the dark. Do
you know 'The One Who Gives'?

Maul still doesn't understand. He begins to moan. Gritch grabs
Maul with its forelimbs and again holds him up in the air.

GRITCH
Are you of 'The One Who Gives'?

Before Maul can attempt to speak, Gritch puts him down. The three
arachtiss detangle from each other and turn to their left, as if
they sense an approaching predator. The biological elements reenter
their mechanical casings.

GRITCH
Dark!

The three arachtiss march out of the chamber, as if instinctively
answering some unheard call. Maul is left to himself. He is able
to sit himself up with much effort, but then collapses and loses
consciousness.

EXT. NABOO - PLASMA MINE - NIGHT

All is calm and quiet outside of the plasma mine. Only one
solitary figure is found upon the grounds: DARTH SIDIOUS. The
Dark Master of the Sith - and shadowy phantom who is now menacing
the galaxy at large - stands before the entrance to the mine; his
hands raised to the sky and his eyes closed under a dark and
shadowy hood. He is meditating and calling out with the dark side
of the force. It is not long before something begins to stir in
the darkened recesses of the mine and several dozen arachtiss soon
appear, chanting:

ARACHTISS ASSEMBLY
Dark. Dark!

Sidious lowers his hands and raises his head to the arachtiss.

SIDIOUS
Do you know who I am?
(or)
Do you remember who I am?

One arachtiss steps forward and studies him for a moment. It
speaks with an electronic voice different from that of Gritch.

ARACHTISS
Apprentice.

SIDIOUS
That is correct. My master was Darth Plageius.
He created you. All of you.

ARACHTISS
The One Who Gives.

Sidious sighs. It's as if he's dealing with children.

SIDIOUS
Yes, 'The One Who Gives.' Listen closely: he
is dead!

The arachtiss recoil in disbelief.

SIDIOUS

(cont'd)
He is dead! You will all obey me now.

The arachtiss look at each other, not knowing what to do.

SIDIOUS

(cont'd)
You will leave this planet. Go back to where
you came from, or anywhere else for that
matter. But you will not disrupt my plans by
staying here.

The arachtiss seem uncertain and begin to hiss.

SIDIOUS

(cont'd)
Refuse my command... and you will be
exterminated!

Without warning, Sidious reaches out with the force, firing
lightning from his hand. It strikes the nearest arachtiss, the
one who identified him as the apprentice of Darth Plageius. It
spasms and then falls dead. The assembled arachtiss tense in
anger and disgust at what they've seen.

Sidious simply smiles maliciously and activates a blood red
lightsaber.

SIDIOUS
Extermination it is!

Over the past few days, Darth Sidious has had to deal with the
incompetence of Nute Gunray, the stubbornness of Queen Amidala,
and suffered the loss of his apprentice, Darth Maul. Even a Sith
Lord needs to let off steam every now and again.

Two of the arachtiss charge and attack. Using the force, Sidious
throws the body of the dead arachtiss into one of the attackers.
With seemingly little effort, Sidious jumps into the air, cutting
off the two forelimbs of the remaining attacker. Gracefully
flipping in the air, laughing manically all the way, the Dark Lord
lands on the body of the maimed arachtiss and plunges his
lightsaber through the biological organism in one motion.
Instantly killed, the arachtiss falls dead. Sidious, still
standing upon it, turns to the audience and asks:

SIDIOUS
Next?

One arachtiss near Sidious cowers in fear and utters.

ARACHTISS
Mercy!

Sidious is curiously entertained by the plea.

SIDIOUS
Mercy? Mercy!?
(unbridled anger)
NEVER!

Sidious kills the cowering arachtiss.

Horrified by the act, the remaining arachtiss stampede back into
the mine, knocking into and tripping over each other.

INT. NABOO - PLASMA MINE - CONTINUING

The arachtiss know they are no match for Sidious' powers. As they
disappear into the darkness of the mines they hear a shrill and
chilling omen shouted from the Dark Lord.

SIDIOUS

(O.S.)
NO MERCY!!

The Dark Master laughs maniacally.

As Gritch runs for its life, it looks back and sees flashes of
force lightning and the glow of a red lightsaber far behind him,
yet still too close for comfort. With every flash, Gritch hears a
fellow arachtiss scream and die. One flash hits near Gritch and
the creature running next to it falls victim to Darth Sidious.

INT. NABOO - LAIR OF THE ARACHTISS - CONTINUING

Darth Maul begins to stir. He has been unconscious for over an
hour and awakens in time to see Gritch enter the lair. Gritch
quickly moves to Maul, scooping Maul up and attaching the remains
of the dark warrior to its back. Gritch exits the lair through
another tunnel.

INT. PLASMA VENT SHAFT - CONTINUING

Gritch returns to the plasma vent where it found Maul. Without
hesitation, it begins the long climb up the vent to the surface.

INT. PLASMA CORE VENT - CONTINUING

Gritch emerges from the pit. It frantically searches the room and
finds it cannot get beyond the laser gates. Looking up, it spies
a small overflow vent in the ceiling and begins climbing to it.

INT. OVERFLOW VENT - CONTINUING

It is a tight fit, but Gritch and his cargo make their way through
the vent.

EXT. NABOO - SCRAP YARD; DAWN - CONTINUING

A junk hauling ship from Lotho Minor descends from the sky. Now
that the Trade Federation occupation has ended, regulations have
been put into place to prevent further infestation of arachtiss or
any other creatures that may be stowing away on the junk ship.
Around the scrap yard are several Naboo workers and armed military
troopers. The workers go about their job as the troopers enforce
the quarantine; with lethal force if necessary.

One worker, a foreman, gives commands to the rest of his team
members.

FOREMAN
This is the last load! Keep that junker ship
quarantined. I don't want anything to get out
of it, including the pilot.

Gritch emerges near the scrap yard. It sees the junker ship land
and recognizes it for what it is.

GRITCH
Home.

Gritch spies the industrial waste barrels that are to be loaded
onto the ship. Gritch opens one of the canisters and crawls
inside. The canister is soon scooped up and placed onboard the
junk hauler.

EXT. NABOO - CONTINUING

The junk hauler ascends away from Naboo with a full cargo hold.

INT. JUNK HAULER - CARGO HOLD - LATER

One of the hundreds of canisters in the cargo hold shakes. The
lid of the canister bursts off and Gritch emerges from it, still
carrying Maul. Gritch lays Maul down, but the Sith Lord does
nothing. Gritch again produces the needle with the sickly amber
fluid, but Maul raises an arm before he can be injected again.

MAUL
No. Don't. Not again.

Gritch lowers the needle. Maul coughs. He is getting weaker.

GRITCH
Join.

MAUL
What?

GRITCH
Join!

A compartment on Gritch's body opens and its biological self
begins to wriggle out.

MAUL
Join? You want to combine my body to yours?

GRITCH
Yes.

Maul lays back, almost in disbelief at what he's come to.

MAUL
What alternative do I have?

GRITCH
Death.

Without waiting for Maul's consent, Gritch grabs him and lowers
Maul's torso down to the wriggling mass that is Gritch's true
being. Tentacles reach up and connect with Maul's body,
concentrating on his spine and nervous system.

Both beings yell in pain as their bodies connect. Maul's eyes
open as his mind begins to meld with that of Gritch.

MAUL
Gritch. Your name is Gritch. Our name is
Gritch.

As their minds continue to meld, they share their memories and
history with each other. Gritch remembers being experimented on
by Darth Plageius. Maul remembers his training under Darth
Sidious and his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi - including being sliced
in half and falling down the plasma vent shaft.

EXT. LOTHO MINOR

As Maul's memory of falling takes place, the release doors on the
bottom of the junk hauler open and the contents of the cargo hold
are spilled out. Maul & Gritch fall through the toxic atmosphere
and to the surface of Lotho Minor. Maul lays on the surface, his
body tensing as his anger grows. Finally, he yells out:

MAUL
Kenobi!

Maul begins to twitch. The cybernetic components of the body he
is now joined to begin moving on their own and he falls down a
mountainside of garbage, causing an avalanche of junk. For his
own preservation, Maul ducks into a cave.

[Henceforth, the combined creature that is Gritch & Maul will be
referred to in the singular as MAUL unless noted otherwise]

INT. CAVE - LOTHO MINOR - CONTINUING

Maul breathes heavily. His vision is blurry and he can't center
his thoughts. He places his hands on his head.

MAUL
Your mind is weak! What are you doing to me?
Ah!

Memories from Gritch enter Maul's head.

MAUL
Darth Plageius. The arachtiss. He experimented
on you. Made you what you are.

GRITCH
Yes!

MAUL & GRITCH
The One Who Gives.

MAUL
His laboratory. Lead me there.

Maul begins digging his way out of the cave.

EXT. LOTHO MINOR - CONTINUING

The camera angle shows the side of a massive mountain of trash. A
hole opens up and Maul emerges. Crawling out onto the mountain,
he looks around at the endless sea of trash and tries to get his
bearings in the perpetual twilight of smog.

For a moment, he is indecisive as to which direction he should go
as the memories from Gritch are confusing.

MAUL
Which way? Which way?

He finally picks a direction and heads down the mountain.

EXT. LOTHO MINOR - LATER

Maul continues his trek to the laboratory where arachtiss where
experimented on. However, his presence does not go unnoticed.
Several of the natives of Lotho Minor - called JUNKERS - take
notice of him. Junkers and arachtiss hate each other.

Maul soon finds himself ambushed by Junkers who curse him with
shouts in a language he does not understand; although their
threatening posture is perfectly understandable in any language.
Maul grabs a long metal pole and holds it out in front on him,
ready to use it to defend himself as he would his old lightsaber.
One Junker screams and attacks. Maul's actions are awkward as he
still does not have full control over his arachtiss body. The
Sith in him wants to fight. The arachtiss in him wants to run.
In this weakened state, he is no match for the primitive Junkers
who begin to pile on top of him and start to rip his cybernetic
body apart. Two Junkers grab hold of Maul's torso and wrestle
with him. Eventually, they restrain his arms and get him into
something of a choke hold.

From somewhere on the cybernetic arachtiss body, a compartment
opens and Darth Maul's lightsaber falls from it. Maul spies it as
it bounces away from him and comes to a rolling stop nearby.
The expression in Maul's eyes turns from anger to hate. Drawing
power from the dark side of the force, he finds the strength to
discard one of the Junkers clinging to his torso. Reaching out
with the force, he calls his lightsaber to his free hand. In a
rage of fury, Maul begins to shred the Junkers until they are all
reduced to small pieces.

Standing over his victims, Maul breaths hard. Suddenly, his brain
locks up. He places his hands to his head and screams.

MAUL
What is happening to me? What are you doing
to my mind!

GRITCH
Wrong. WRONG!

MAUL & GRITCH
I.... need.... help!

He begins stumbling, as if drunk, but continues on course for
Darth Plageius' lab.

EXT. LOTHO MINOR - LATER

Maul stops moving forward and circles around a clearing in the
junk field.

MAUL & GRITCH
Here. Here! We are here!

Maul opens the trap door and crawls down inside.

INT. LABORATORY OF DARTH PLAGEIUS - CONTINUING

Thirty years ago, a Sith Master named Darth Plageius the Wise came
to Lotho Minor and began experimenting on the life forms here.
Challenging his own powers and the unnatural abilities of the dark
side of the force, Plageius tested the limits of how far the force
would let him control the basic functions of another life form.
After decades of disrepair and neglect, not much is left of the
laboratory as it now looks every bit as much a part of the garbage
found on the planet.

From a hole in the ceiling of the dimly lit chamber emerges
Maul. He again places his hands to his head.

MAUL & GRITCH
Wrong. Something is going wrong.

Suddenly, Maul has a moment of lucidity.

MAUL
Your feeble mind cannot manage the power of
the dark side. There must be something here
that can help.

Maul frantically begins searching the lab for any kind of device
or chemical that can help stabilize him. But the fear and panic
coming from Gritch conflicts with Maul's sense of control. Again,
the pain in his head is too much.

MAUL
You weak minded creature! I must... free
myself from you before I... lose my... mind!

Maul pulls out his lightsaber and activates it with the intention
of cutting himself free of Gritch. But as he holds the lightsaber
blade to his belly, Gritch's fear takes over and Maul is unable to
mutilate himself.

MAUL
The dark side.... You can't... Can't
control...

MAUL & GRITCH
Madness!

Maul shakes and drops the lightsaber. He puts his hands to his
head.

MAUL
No...

Maul's anger, sense of revenge and raw dark side power is too much
for Gritch's mind to handle. The melding of the two organisms
fails. Gritch's mind falls into madness which spreads
uncontrollably into the mind of Maul.

The camera angle is from above, looking down on Maul, as the
former Sith screams in anguish.

MAUL
NOOOOOOO!!!

CUT TO:

EXT. NABOO - CASTLE IBAZILLI

Castle Ibazilli sits on a vast, picturesque estate on the edge of
one of Naboo's great seas. The ancestral home of the Palpatine
family, it is by far the most infamous location on all of Naboo.
For all its outward splendor and majesty, it is mired in legend
and rumors that unspeakable acts have been performed within its
walls. The Gungans consider the lands and waters around the
castle to be haunted and avoid them completely.

However, on this day, a powerful thunderstorm passes through the
area. The ominous weather gives the castle a dark and haunted
feel as the camera pans around it. Lightning strikes near the
castle and the wind and rain batter its walls.

One dark figure walks along the roadway towards the castle.

INT. CASTLE IBAZILLI - RECEPTION HALL - CONTINUING

The head butler of Castle Ibazilli, VANEÉ, crosses the entryway
and approaches the large wood and iron door to the castle. Vaneé
is a creepy looking man dressed in all black with dark, recessed
eyes, high cheekbones and sickly pale skin. He is the same age as
Palpatine and has a long history with the Chancellor-Elect. As
school children, Palpatine picked on Vaneé relentlessly yet Vaneé
always maintained loyalty to Palpatine - as if instinctually
driven to serve Palpatine with no questions asked. Then again,
Vaneé is a man who would consider a plate full of dead flies to be
a succulent meal.

The door to the castle creaks as Vaneé opens it. Standing outside
the door, completely oblivious to the weather conditions, is Darth
Sidious. The Dark Lord enters the castle but keeps his
rain-soaked cloak over him. Vaneé is well acquainted with Sidious
as the Dark Lord is a frequent guest of the Palpatine household.
Vaneé bows respectfully.

VANEÉ
Welcome back, Lord Sidious. I trust the hunt
was a success?

SIDIOUS
Yes, indeed.

Three descending steps separate the entryway from the rest of the
receiving hall. Sidious stumbles a bit as he descends the last
step, catching himself on a nearby chair.

VANEÉ
Is everything all right M'Lord?

Sidious growls lightly.

SIDIOUS
A tremor in the dark side. It seems the
impossible has happened.

Sidious looks back at Vaneé. All the butler can see is a dark
hood and a broad smile.

SIDIOUS

(cont'd)
It will be dealt with in due time.

Vaneé nods as if to say "very well."

VANEÉ
A message arrived within the past hour. Jedi
Master Tsarell Dooku has agreed to meet with
you.

SIDIOUS
Has he? Good. Make preparations for my
immediate departure.

VANEÉ
Yes, M'Lord.

Vaneé bows and walks out of the reception hall. The centerpiece
of the room is a massive fireplace. Sidious walks over to it to
dry off his cloak. Standing next to the fire, he looks towards an
arched doorway on the far side of the room. In the doorway is a
female figure, covered in shadows. The only visible detail are
her glowing yellow eyes. Sidious studies her for a moment and
begins to laugh to himself.

CUT TO:

EXT. CORUSCANT - JEDI TEMPLE

The camera pans past the Jedi Temple, home of the Jedi Order on
the metropolitan planet - and capital of the Galactic Republic -
Coruscant. It is a grand building with five spires reaching up
into the clear blue skies.

INT. JEDI TEMPLE - GRAND HALLWAY

Jedi Master Yoda stands before a floor to ceiling window. He
looks out on a courtyard below to see Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has
begun training his new apprentice, a ten-year-old boy named ANAKIN
SKYWALKER. Discovered by Qui-Gon Jinn on his final adventure, the
Jedi are trying to ascertain if young Skywalker is the child
spoken of in an ancient prophecy.

Yoda knows that Kenobi is not up to the challenge of being
Skywalker's master. But young Kenobi is determined to keep the
promise he made to Qui-Gon Jinn. Yoda, for now, will not
interfere with Skywalker's training.

MACE WINDU, a Jedi Master and confidant of Yoda's, approaches.
With respect, he stands behind Yoda for a moment, saying nothing.
The diminutive Jedi Master turns and looks up at Windu who kneels
down to Yoda's level. Yoda sighs and turns back to the window as
he knows what Windu is about to say.

YODA
Felt it, I have. A surge in the dark side.

MACE
Something sinister is growing out there.

Yoda nods in agreement.

YODA
Be patient for now, but prepare we will. If
the Chosen One, young Skywalker is, in his
hands our destiny is.

EXT. JEDI TEMPLE - COURTYARD - CONTINUING

The camera focuses on the window containing Yoda and Windu. It
then slowly pans downward to Anakin Skywalker and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

THE END

 

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