Dust and Shadow

> *"Doesn't have to be anyone who understands you. Just someone who wants to."*
> - Elizabeth Ancelet
>
>

**Dust and Shadow** is the first episode of Volume 2 and the fourth episode of Season 1 of *The Sojourn*.

## Synopsis

Cass and Elizabeth must rely on each other to survive on a mysterious planet whose surface has been scorched to glass by the formation of a nearby pulsar.

## Summary

The episode opens with High Cleric Darsellia Lantris inducting a class of new clerics into the Faith Eternal. After the ceremony, Empress Valendra the Sixth complains to her aide, Cindra Tacira, about the absence of some of her court, including Lord Cardinal Hastus Arvannis and Factotum Rimad. Her assistant explains that no one has seen from them, frustrating Valendra further, as they are going against her direct command. The Empress then speaks with High Cleric Lantris about the ceremony, commending the Cleric's candour, before the two briefly speak on the nature of truth.

Aboard the *Guinevere*, Captain Cassandra Farren practices her cello, whilst deeply contemplating on the events since the Avalon Expedition Fleet arrived in CDC-41-Gamma. She is so absorbed in her self refection that she begins to exhibit signs of a panic attack, before she is startled back to reality by Meds, dropping the cello on the ground. Meds apologises for the interruption, asking if Cass is okay, though she brushes it off as a "What the hell are we doing here" moment. Meds also expresses her concern over Cass taking the Defence Adjutant position offered by Director Elizabeth Ancelet, but Cass assures her that the position is held by her temporarily until a more experienced person can be found.

> *"Ship's log,* Guinevere*. 98th of Solstice, 304 PCU. We set out from the Avalon just over a week ago, and are coming to the end of a long burn toward a destination deeper within the nebula. The system we're headed for doesn't seem to be connected to the strange network of Lauralyn Conduits we’ve been discovering, so we’ve had to travel here under our own power. We're here because the star at the centre of this system is a Pulsar, the first ever to become reachable by human spacecraft. The chances of finding useable resources seem minimal, but Director Ancelet... Elizabeth, was naturally far too excited to stay away."*
> - Cassandra Farren records her log.
>
>

Cass begins a captain's log, explaining it is now the 98th of Solstice, 0304 PCU, and for the past week they have been burning towards a star system not connected to CDC-41-Gamma's Lauralyn Conduit network. The system was chosen for immediate exploration due to it containing a pulsar. Elizabeth joins the crew, due to her personal interest in researching the Pulsar, though she does manage to frustrate Croft by using the on-board microwave.

As the *Guinevere* approaches the Pulsar, the crew detects a small terrestrial planet, which Liz quickly realises is almost entirely covered in glass, most likely caused by the supernova that lead to the Pulsar at the system's centre. The planet is frigid, and has a thin but breathable atmosphere. Although originally planning on studying the Pulsar and nothing else, Liz convinces the crew to drop her and Cass down onto the planet, so that they can survey it closely. Cass reluctantly agrees, taking herself, Liz, and the *Guin's* R-36 Wildcat All-Terrain Excursion Rover to the planet's surface, with a rendezvous planned for around 7 days later.

Arriving onto the Vitrified world, Liz and Cass quickly find and descend down into a crevice. Initially searching for signs of geothermal activity detected in orbit, the pair stumble across a small craft, similar in design to the ship that destroyed the Mariana. However, due to its smaller size - only around 25 metres in length -, Cass suggests it might be a shuttle-craft. Deciding to explore the ship, they open what is probably the cockpit of the vessel, finding a preserved Advari corpse - the first of its kind seen by humans. The two also found a similar energy signature to the one they detected from orbit, which they then use to uncover other sites on the planet with a similar signature.

> *"Look at this place…it’s like a cross between a church and a shopping mall..."*
> - Elizabeth Ancelet.
>
>

Over the next few days, following the data trail they collected, Liz and Cass travel towards other ruin sites. Using all of the data on alien language they have, collected from various recordings and written records both on the planet and from the *Mariana* encounter, Liz finds a repeating word which she believes, from context, is the name of the alien civilisation - Advari. She also finds maps from this data, and convinces Cass to take the two of them towards a particular ruin, that she believes may be some kind of research base. Cass is reluctant, given the incoming storm, but is eventually convinced. She also places a portable beacon at their initial camping site.

As the two drive, however, they quickly are hit by the storm. Liz believes they are right on top of where the data was pointing them, but they realise too late that they are *literally* on top of the base, leading to the glass beneath the Wildcat rover breaking, and them falling down into the chasm below. The crash is devastating, completely disabling the Rover, and seriously injuring Elizabeth. However, inside the structure, Liz finds and scans numerous specimins of CDC-41-Gamma plant life, finding them to be edible.

With Liz's leg being fractured, and without the warmth of the Wildcat rover, the two bunker down in the slowly collapsing glass structure, where the two talk about their past, and their experiences - Elizabeth having only seen rain once before the storm currently raging, and Cass explaining her strict upbringing, including how she once tried to escape her family's estate on a Black Rialtan mare called Guinevere.

Back on the *Guinevere*, Croft and Meds talk about how unsettling the Pulsar appears, before realising that their away team had missed their last check in. Concerned, the two immediately begin travelling back to the Vitrified planet to pick up Cass and Liz.

Liz begins to suffer hypothermia, as the situation on the Vitrified Planet continues to worsen. Cass starts to panic, believing that she might not be able to get the two of them out of there. Liz refutes this, but Cass rebukes, spiralling down into a panic attack. She explains that everything about her is "bullshit" - that Liz's idea of her as a dashing war hero or privateer is entirely wrong. Cass explains that during the Frontier War, at the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads, she lead a task force into The Howling, and that her selfish desire for success combined with her exhaustion lead to her ordering a salvo to be launched at the Acrisius in a friendly-fire incident. As Cass continues to spiral, Liz comforts her, explaining that life is not unlike the Pulsar they currently orbit. The Pulsar is ostensibly dead, and yet it appears more active than it ever was as a star. She explains that "life is reinventing yourself", managing to calm Cass down, even only a little.

However, Elizabeth's condition worsens, to the point that she slips into a coma. Cass tries to wake her up, but slips into a daze herself. As luck would have it, however, the Wildcat's onboard communication system was functional enough to still get a signal out to the *Guinevere*, as Croft and Meds arrive just in time to rescue the two from certain death.

Around a day or so later, Cass makes another captain's log, explaining the new situation. Both her and Elizabeth made it out alive, but not unscathed, and Elizabeth is still unconscious. When Meds arrives in the Medbay, she finds Cass at Elizabeth's side. Meds reassures Cass that she'll need some help walking for a few weeks, but will be as right as rain soon enough. Shortly after, Liz wakes up.

## Cast

### Main

* Larissa Thompson as Captain Cassandra Farren
* Emily Serdahl as Director Elizabeth Ancelet
* Ben Prendergast as Mathias Croft
* Laura Faye Smith as Tamara 'Meds' Melari
* Stephen Trafford as Inquistor Castian Vadric

### Additional Voices

* Lelia Symington as Empress Valendra the Sixth
* Amy Kay as Cindra Tosera
* Marta Da Silva as High Cleric Darcelia Lantris

## Trivia

* Typically, line reads will be taken individually and then cut together by the Audio Mixer; however, due to the emotionally charged nature of this episode, some of the scenes between Liz and Cass were recorded with both actresses present, a first for the series.
* During Cass' near panic attack during her Cello session, several voices are heard, including;
	+ The Captain of the Mariana.
	+ Lieutenant Jasper Ravi.
	+ The Wounded Man.
	+ Elizabeth Ancelet, who is also heard later after the Wildcat crash.
* Furthermore, the sound of the Cloak of Mercy main weapon firing can be heard at the end of the attack.