How to Read/Listen? This is an “emergent script” (a script written after a sandbox TTRPG Session) that is “Musically Scored” with a Spotify playlist available at the very bottom of this post. So, you do you. My suggestion is that you start the Playlist at the very bottom and just come back up here and read. Then stop reading and listen when appropriate. Or pause the music and then catch to up the “score” if it starts getting ahead of the scenes.
Name Key Below – Green is for Player Characters, Orange is for Party Companions (regular NPCs).
Scene 1: Cold Open
Camera opens with a POV of a beautiful American Midwestern Summer day in the wilderness. Birds are chirping. Not a cloud in the sky. The Music (below) starts in the background. A middle aged man is walking ahead of the POV figure with a Shotgun. He is wearing outdoorsy early 1970s-ish clothing. The man is approaching a small stream. The middle aged man says in German, subtitled in English, “Ad, are you going to keep up? Let’s get across this stream, and we can catch up to those pheasants.” The POV figure looks down into his hands; he is carrying a hunting rifle. The middle-aged man says, in English with a German accent, “You had better put that rifle away. We won’t find any Deer and they need to breed. The POV figure says, “Yes, Father” in German.
Track 1: “Feel” by Big Star, 1972
Sharp cut to a POV in a makeshift medical area. Music stops. A US Amy doctor, a Captain in a military uniform is examining a POV figure. “How are you doing, First Sergeant?”
POV figure: “Wha? Hey, Doc. Better.”
Doctor: “I’ll be the judge of that. How is the pain?”
POV figure: “Pain?” Realizes that the pain is great in his abdomen. “Not good, Doc.”
Doctor: “Hmmm. I’ll increase the morphine. You are lucky we caught the botulism early. You are responding well to the antibiotics, but I am going to increase the chelating agent dosage. We need to flush that toxin out. You just rest.”
POV figure: “OK, Doc.” Soft fade to black.
Music Starts. POV figure is at a circa 1980 small town strip mall in the Midwest. It’s a sunny day. Music (below) starts again in the background. POV figure sees himself in the glass door at the strip mall. He’s 18. He looks up at the sign above the door, it says “US Army.” He goes in. A US Army Staff Sergeant in green dress uniform at a desk stands as he enters, “Mr. Keller, today’s the day. Are you ready to sign the papers?” He reaches over and shakes Keller’s hand.
Keller (was POV figure): “Lets get this done, Sergeant Lara, I am ready.” He takes a pen and signs the contract.
Sharp cut to a POV in the makeshift medical area. Music stops. The US Amy doctor, a Captain in a military uniform is examining Keller. “How are things today, First Sergeant?”
First Sergeant Keller: “Better Doc.” “No Pain?” “None” Keller lies. “OK, well where are you?” the Doctor asks as he examines Keller’s eyes with a light. “Kalisz, Poland. A Chocolate Factory, to be exact.” “Good, who is the President of the United States?” “The Commander in Chief is Mr. Bob Kerrey, Doc.” “Correct. Ok, you can get dressed and return to duty. Take it easy. Any dizziness or vomiting, you come right back here, ASAP.” “Roger that, Doc.”
Cut to 1SG Keller entering the Intelligence Section at the Tactical Operations Center on the assembly floor of the disused chocolate factory. He checks in and SSG Marsh gives him an update on what the tactical situation the last 4 days that have passed (wow, he was really sick!). “So, we’re flanked. Damn. Where is the Major?”
SSG Marsh: “He’s at a briefing with the senior staff over by the command section. The Division Commander has made some decisions and is going to make an announcement on the radio, I guess.”
“I’ll get over there.” Its about 50 feet away in the ramshackle, makeshift area. As he approaches behind the Major, the Division Commander, Major General Bellini finishes up what he was saying to the staff, “…so I’ll get some orders out on this situation.” The Major General walks behind a screened-off desk area where there is a a radio/pa system.
The Major, Major Piper, the acting head of the G2; the Intelligence Section, turns to First Sergeant Keller, “We have people cut off and THAT guy won’t let us go rescue them!” he whispers, furiously, gesturing at the Deputy Commander, Brigadier General Hampton, standing 10 yards away, with the other senior staff. “What?” says Keller as he looks at Piper. The guy is agitated, Keller thinks. “Well, we should go save them” he says, a little soothingly. At that moment everyone hears Major General Bellini over the crackly PA system in the factory area as he broadcasts in the open on radio to the division:
Verification code “Cypress Park, I repeat Cypress Park.” All units this is Red Diamond 6. You’ve done well and given more than anyone could have possibly asked. You’ve saved many lives. I am proud of you, prouder than many of you could imagine. Stay strong. Take care of each other. All Units, your orders are “Short Farewell, I repeat, Short Farewell.” Good luck. You’re on your own, now.
The PA squeaks and turns off.
A gunshot goes off behind the screened area.
Hard cut.
Scene 2: Opening Credits
Actor and Main personnel credits over montage scenes of militaries moving, Jets flying, politicians talking through the Cold War in B&W and up to the current date of setting where it becomes color after the anti-Gorbachev Coup of the timeline, with shots of combat, protests in streets, and finally nukes, destruction etc.
Main Cast: 1SG Keller (Bryce), 2LT Kathryn Twarowski (Gordon), 2LT Donovan Duffy (Ned), SSG Bob Beck (Scott), SSG Ash Marsh (Shannon).
Track 2: “Fascination Street“ by The Cure, 1987.
Scene 3: “Farewells”
Scene 3 “Farewells” – Chaos breaks out. Music (below) start and swells in and out as camera views change and POVs are altered. Senior staff rush behind the screen. “Someone get a doctor!” Staff members run up to the (now) Division Commander, Brigadier General Hampton and overlapping questions and answers and orders and happening in cross-talk. Cut to the Intelligence Section and SSG Marsh says, “OK guys, lets go. Get your stuff and quietly, slowly, get to the vehicle area. Randall, get your stuff and go now and tell Sergeant Beck that things are sideways, and we are going now.” SPC Randall grabs his Backpack and slowly walks toward the motor pool yard. PFC Ramirez begins pulling down maps from the wall. 2LT Twarowski gets SGT Swain and PVT Rzad packing and moving. 2LT Duffy does the same with the “SIGINT kids”, SGT Holman and SPC Jacques, who gather their stuff and follow him out.
POV change to 1SG Keller and MAJ Piper who begin walking back to the Intelligence section. Keller sees the section slowly packing out of the corner of his eye. He sees Randall walking toward the door to the Motor Pool area. Someone shouts “He’s dead! The General shot himself!” He see Randall’s eyes get wide. “Major Piper, First Sergeant, can you come here please?” says Brigadier General Hampton over the chaos. “Yes sir” says Keller. Piper seems dazed and Keller kind of guides him to the General’s desk where a Sergeant sits adjacent, as the General’s admin assistant.
BG Hampton “So. You want to go rescue your people?”
Piper: mumbles “Morse code…”
Keller: “Yes, Sir.”
BG Hampton: “Good. I’d do that. I’ve got to rescue these people.” <gestures around> “We don’t need direct support from the 341 Military Intelligence Battalion anymore. Sergeant, I’m going to dictate a FRAGO (Fragmentary Order). You ready?” The Sergeant is a bit dazed by events and doesn’t respond. “Sergeant!” “Yes Sir. A FRAGO. I am ready sir!”
Hampton proceeds to dictate an order releasing all personnel from the 341 Military Intelligence Battalion (Washington State National Guard) attached to the 5th Infantry Division as an Independent Detachment under their Senior Ranking Officer, with the vehicles the party was planning to commandeer and all equipment inside. He asks the Sergeant to print five copies and the dot matrix printer noise is heard. He signs 5 originals and asks Piper to sign. Piper is still dazed. Keller gives him a pen and he signs. “We’ll keep one for records, Sergeant. First Sergeant, you guys may need the other four.” “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” “Good luck then.” All salute. Keller and Piper depart.
Track 3: “Non-Alignment Pact” by Pere Ubu, 1978.
Scene 4: “Road Trip”
Music starts (below). People are loaded into a 2 1/2 Ton truck (“Deuce and a Half”) and the HUMMWVs are readied. SSG Marsh, 1SG Keller and 2LT Duffy consult a map we see in POV. They need to cross the Warta River to get near Łask Air Base where the team is. They trace a route and discuss the conditions of different bridges. This one is out. That one is out. They point to the bridge over he Warta near a town called Uniejow. “Should take 90 minutes to two hours.” They’ll head Northeast on the road, then get off the main road to try and avoid any enemy patrols and take back roads and logging roads into the woods.
Everyone gets into vehicles. Shots of 2LT Duffy driving the lead HUMMWV with SSG Beck in the Gunner Spot at a M-60 Machinegun and 1SG Keller in the back. SPC Lane driving the “The Deuce” with 2LT Twarowski in the cab and PFC Ramirez in an empty gunner mount on watch with an M16A2 at the ready. Trailing is by the rear HUMMWV with SGT Swain diving, CW2 McConnell in the Gunner Spot at a M-60 Machinegun and SSG Marsh in the back with equipment. Camera shots of MAJ Piper, the shady CPT Melville and six other junior enlisted in the back of the covered Deuce and a Half truck. Establishing shots of a ruined and ghostly quiet Kalisz knowing that Soviet attack is imminent. No refugees out and about. Then shots of heading out on a two lane paved road in the country. Shots of going off road on a dirt road in the country. Farmers’ fields. Wrecked cars burned out. Crows on the road eating at “”things.” Then on a logging dirt road into some woods.
Track 4: “Bad Stone” by The Crystal Method, 1997.
Scene 5: “Short Walk”
2LT Duffy, 1SG Keller, SSG Beck, SSG Marsh and 2LT Twarowski discuss the next plan. They decide that a team of six should go recon the bridge on foot. They debate and discuss various skill sets of The Detachment. Notably, they think that Twarowski and Beck need to be here at 1400 to contact the partisan leader Masterlez; Beck for his radio expertise and Twarowski for her knowledge of the one time code book using an edition of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris and her fluent Polish language skills. They decide that the team will consist of 1SG Keller, SSG Marsh, PVT Rzad, SPC Randall, SPC Jacques and be led by 2LT Duffy, who should be able to evaluate the bridge’s condition as a former enlisted Combat Engineer and civilian-life Architect. The group forms up, and Duffy has them get into “Ranger File” with 2 meter spacing. That means single file with 2 meters in between each member. 20 year-old PVT Rzad is on point (in front) and eagerly takes here place there. 2LT Duffy will bring up the rear. 1SG Keller will be behind Rzad to help give guidance expertise. It should take 4 hours to get there and 4 hours to get back, using an easy pace. This will give 4 hours of flexibility before sundown. They will stop at 1400 and listen for a communication from the Command Post (here, with the vehicles) for any warnings or emergency messages and then continue. Everyone notes the lack of water other than what is in their canteens…running out and notes this is a priority. It is 1000 13 JUL 2000.
The group heads out. Music Starts (below). They move through woods, and it is beautiful. There is moss on some trees. Lichens. Birches and evergreens. They are “neat” woods, not like the wild forests Rzad knows at home in Washington. The groups continues until they reach the edge of the woods. There is a surprise, it’s not “clear” like on the map; it’s a collection of limestone crags and minor ravines, with bushes and scrub, evidently on a slow 5 km slope down to the Warta. Its going to slow them down. They all have some water from their canteens and start off again. Its 1300. The crags undulate. Up and down the limestone. Minor climbing is regular. Shots of the group making their way. Time passes.
Track 5: “Moss Garden” by David Bowie, 1977
Scene 6: “Halt”
POV shot from Rzad’s perspective. She sees a group of soldiers heading their way at a slow pace. At least double their number. Inside she panics. “What do I do?” She thinks to basic training. She doesn’t remember. She’s an Intel Analyst! She’s studying to be a teacher. She hasn’t even finished basic courses at in Tacoma! What is she doing?! She pauses. She’s smart. She learned Polish when the Army sent her to school. She can do this. Like in the movies she raises her right arm with a fist, signaling “Halt.” She remembers that that is the actual signal for “Halt.” She slowly walks back 2 M to 1SG Keller. “There is enemy up there. I think they are Polish Border Guard troops.” “How many?”, asks Keller “Twelve? A Lot!”, says Rzad. Sharp cut to black. End Credits, Full Credits on black. Music (below) is over credits on black.
Track 6: “Aisha” by Death in Vegas (vocals by Iggy Pop), 1999.
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