Titan (episode)

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"**Titan**"is the first episode of the Chronicles of Humanity web series' first season. A remastered and cut-down version of the episode, named "The Battle of Titan" was later released to celebrate the series' 16th anniversary.

## Plot

Outside the rings of the gas giant Saturn, two ENF cruisers jump into orbit of the moon Titan. Aboard the *Hellstorm*, a SBC broadcast by Amanda Wood is turned off by Captain Heyman. He expresses his displeasure at being stationed on the blockade of the colony to his Executive Officer, Commander Fulmer, who responds that three colonial ships are heading toward them.

As the ships, weapons fully charged, head toward the *Hellstorm* and *Ehrenguard*, Heyman contacts Admiral Yasuko and reports on the state of the colony's revolt. She commands him to drive the prospective blockade runners back to the surface and to destroy them if necessary.

After the transmission ends, Fulmer questions their orders, believing that the miners aren't crazy enough to start a war. Heyman is hopeful that it won't come to that and orders Alpha One to report to the launch bay and lead the fighter contingent to cover the cruisers.

Meanwhile, in the colony's headquarters, Katherine McDonald, an SBC reporter, asks Governor Flynn if the Navy will attack them. He hopes it won't come to that, not wanting to causing a military confrontation but insistent that his people's needs be met. He expresses concern that their side of the story will not be heard, but McDonald assures him that she'll make sure that the truth gets through. Aboard the *Hellstorm*, Alpha Squadron launches.

The cruisers target the colonial ships' weapon turrets, Heyman wanting to make sure to harm as few colonists as possible. The *Hellstorm* and *Ehrenguard* close on the three vessels but continue to hold their fire.

On Titan, seeing that the Navy will not back down, Governor Flynn orders the ships recalled. An unidentified man at the console transmits the message but Flynn is doubtful that the signal will reach the colonial vessels in time.

Aboard the *Hellstorm*, Heyman gives the order to fire on the three ships. The ENF fighters, led by Alpha One, swarm the lead vessel and it is quickly disabled. However, fire from the cruisers accidentally hits a number of critical systems and the colonial ship explodes.

The other two vessels close in on the *Ehrenguard* and destroy it before the *Hellstorm* can render assistance. Seeing that he is outmatched, Heyman orders the fighters recalled and the jump drive prepared. During the scramble back to the cruiser, Alpha One is shot down. With all surviving fighters aboard, the *Hellstorm* jumps away.

On Titan, the colonists are celebrating their victory but McDonald notices the unidentified man slip away. Curious, she follows him down a corridor. Inside the headquarters, a bomb ticks down a last few seconds, then blows up, destroying the colony.

After a line of static clears, a report is given by Amanda Wood that the colony's fusion reactor overloaded, wiping it out. She states that it is unknown if there are any survivors before static cuts off the rest of the broadcast.

## Cast (in order of appearance)

* Felicia Day as Amanda Wood
* Richard Grove as Captain Rex Heyman
* Ingrid Moon as Commander Elaine Fulmer
* Jean-Francois Arseneau as Alpha One
* Kim Genly as Admiral Yasuko
* Elizabeth Cameron as Katherine McDonald
* James Cross as Governor David Flynn
* Fern Pankhurst as Miner
* Damien Valentine as The Agent
* Katie Alkire as Alpha Two

## Behind the Scenes

The genesis of the episode (and the series in general) came from the video "The Titan Incident" (Youtube), created by Damien Valentine in 2005. Animated using the Jedi Academy video game, "The Titan Incident" takes the form of a number of short clips from SBC broadcasts, detailing the revolt on Titan and the subsequent blockade and destruction of the colony.

When Valentine undertook the task of adapting the story into a continuing series, he determined that several changes were in order. First and foremost was using a different software to handle the animation needs required by the ten episode script he had written. Second, was to change the story-telling format from a compilation of newsreel excerpts to one that was more character-based. Additionally, minor changes to some plotlines were needed to help carry the story forward in a convincing manner.

The first season of Chronicles of Humanity (including "Titan") was created and released in 2008, using The Sims 2 for the character animation and Nexus: The Jupiter Incident for the space scenes. However, the limitations on the animation imposed by The Sims 2, especially lip syncing and facial expressions, were a source of frustration.

In 2009, Valentine created and released a short film in the CoH univese called ***Alone***, using the Moviestorm software. The end result was quite heartening as Moviestorm proved quite capable of handling the character and space animations, as well as carrying support for modding. This allowed Valentine to expand the assets used in his animation, meaning he could create new ships, props and characters for the universe.

After finding such success with Moviestorm, Valentine decided to redo the first season with his new software and the episodes were re-released in 2011. He would carry on using Moviestorm for the next three seasons of Chronicles of Humanity.