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: “Flashback 1 (December 1, 1976)”
Music (below, Track One) begins as the Camera opens with an exterior POV shot of a beautiful crisp, cold December afternoon and an 18-wheeler truck on a small highway in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. We see establishing shots of the truck, the road redwood forests, a sign that says “Eureka 20 Miles”, a cab shot of the driver’s door that says, “Beck & Beck Trucking Co., NOOA Member, Eatonville, WA.” We pan up and see Bob Beck, much younger than in the current timeline. He looks to be in his mid-late 20s, has shortish blonde hair, a full medium beard and is wearing jeans, work boots and a green, fleece lined vest over a tick flannel long sleeve shirt. He is jamming to the music.
The truck exits the Highway and signals to make a left. A sign straight ahead says “Eureka, 15 miles.” We see a female hitchhiker further to the left of our POV after the light, about 30 yards distant. The truck makes the left and the hitchhiker comes into view; a “hippie chick”, wearing a white muumuu dress with orange blossom patterns and wearing a wide-brimmed rattan hat, leggings, and UGG boots. Curvy. Pretty. 5’4”. Beck stops the truck. He reaches over and opens the passenger door, “Need a ride to town?” Music is playing on the radio. “Sure, man thanks! But only 7 miles.” She gets in. She’s REALLY pretty. “I work at Big Red’s Truck Paradise up the road. Thanks again, I’m Lucinda!” She reaches out to shake hands. Mid-late 20s. Light coffee colored skin, green eyes. She pulls of the Rattan hat and is sporting a reddish brown afro and shakes her head, “Oh man it is getting COLD. My old man and I had a final split, and on the road to work too! Kicks me out of the van. This is it, its finito with him! Asshole.”
Bob changes the subject, “Big Red?” “Yeah, I work there. Bake pies, check pumps, run the register and checking systems. I started there after the picking gigs here didn’t pan out. They want slave labor. SOMEBODY had to get a job, and it wasn’t gonna be Tommy. But he’s behind me now. Jerk.” She smiles and bats her eyes, “You like Steve Miller?” “Yeah, its on cassette. I make tapes for the road” Beck answers. We transition to a montage of happy friendly banter; they seem to hit it off. The music is in the foreground. The Montage ends and some other softer music is in the background on the cassette player. We see a Driver’s POV of a sign “Big Red’s Truck Paradise” with a Truck by a Redwood on it. “This is me! You can just drop me off here. But man, you GOTTA come by after. You need dinner, right? Hey, We have showers and full hookups. Do you need some shuteye?” Beck looks at the dashboard clock. It’s 3:40 PM. “Yeah, I do. I don’t have to head to San Francisco ’til tomorrow, I’m way ahead of schedule.” “You GOTTA stay here, man. You’ll love it. And Big Red the owner is a hoot! Come by when you’re done!” Beck thinks, “You know, I’ll do just that, Lucinda.” “Yay! Bye, Bob”, she pecks him on the cheek and jumps down to the ground. “Don’t get in any trouble before you come back!” End Scene. Hard Cut.
Track 1: “Swingtown” by Steve Miller Band, 1976.
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: “Command Post”
“Sergeant Beck, how should we position the vehicles?” SPC Lane brings Beck back to the present from an evident reminiscence. 1030 13 JUL 2000 is on the bottom of the screen. We see the 1st Cavalry Division combat patch on Beck’s right shoulder. “Inside the clearing, but ready to drive out. Closer to that hut thing over there”, Beck gestures at a smallish structure with a thatched roof. “The G6 Hummer with the radio is the most valuable so it needs to be in the middle.” Lane dashes off to move the vehicles around. This happens in the background. They are in a roughly oval-shaped woodcutter’s clearing in poplar and evergreen woods about 10 km from the Warta river. Forest is all around, and the clearing is about 40 m by 60 m. It’s a beautiful day. Sunlight comes in separate rays through the trees Music (Track 3, below) starts and will play lightly in the background through the scene. 2LT Twarowski comments, “Have we even searched the shed?” “No ma’am, sorry, I’ve been focused on interior perimeter and thinking about how we clear these trees with the microwave relay by 0000 hours tonight. I need Line of Sight in the direction of Łask Air Base if we are going to communicate with the team”, Beck responds. “That’s a priority”, Twarowski says. “Everything’s a priority. Are you good with getting the long distance antenna up by 1400 for out communication with Commander Masterlez?” she asks. “Not a Problem, ma’am”, Beck answers. “OK. Sergeant Holman, get someone and search that shed if you would”, Twarowski orders. “Roger that, ma’am, PFC Ramirez, with me!”, SGT Holman responds and heads off to the shed. Twarowski comments to Beck, “You just focus on these communication issues, Sergeant. And if you could check on this search of the shed when you get a chance, there might be something in there that can help us out. I’ll organize a watch and see if we can recon for a water source. We only have our canteens.” “Ok, Ma’am”, Beck answers. End Scene.
Track 3: “White Eagle” by Tangerine Dream, 1982.
Scene 4: “Flashback 2 (December 1, 1976)”
Beck pulls into a warehouse area, largely empty. Music is on the Cassette Player (See Track 4, Below) and will continue to play from an open cab door through the first part of this scene. From a Driver’s POV we see six men on the unloading dock; one guy with longish but trimmed dark hair and a van dyke goatee and a mustache. Late 20s, maybe 30. Suede tan cowboy coat with lamb fleece. White slightly battered cowboy hat. Jeans. Cowboy work boots. The other five are early 20s. Hippie dudes. “The boss and the labor”, Beck observes. He drives in a circle and then backs up. Opens the door and hops out. “Is this Appleseed Enterprises?”, Beck asks walking on the ground level of the lot to the unloading dock. “I’m Appleseed Enterprises…LLC” says the Cowboy-looking fellow. “Name is Ken. I have the invoice here” he says handing it to Beck. “You’re Beck & Beck?”, he queries. “I’m both,” says Bob, “Two sounds safer than one when you are alone doing business.” “Ok”, chuckles Ken, “Let’s get this unloaded. These guys don’t need to get paid to stand around.”
“Yeah, what are these for?”, Beck asks curiously as he opens the tractor trailer door. “I’m an electronics dabbler, but the GE Factory said these are cutting edge” he continues. “L E D Light array system”, he says spelling out the three letters. Ken visibly gets tighter and tenser, “They’re for an experimental agricultural project’, he answers crisply, “OK, Guys lets go!”. They proceed to unload in a series of short cuts and establishing scenes. 20ish minutes pass. We see some large electrical equipment slip from the hands of one workman passing Ken. It falls in slow motion and rips his jacket and shirt, gashing his right arm. It’s big and has a lot of blood.
“GODDAMMIT, FUCK!”, shouts Ken. Beck runs to the cab and grabs a container. It’s a first aid kit, he rushes back. “Stay cool, man”, he says, “It doesn’t look too bad, but let me bandage it and get it cleaned up.” “Thanks man”, says Ken, “Fuck, it stings.” Beck notices Ken is taking it more stoically than most. He stares at the arm and sees two tattoos. One is of two wings attached to a circle with an “11” in the middle of the circle. Bob knows this is the 11th Airborne Division patch; the unit was the predecessor to the 1st Cavalry Division, the “Air Cav.” It changed from the 11th Airborne to the 1st Cavalry right before they were deployed to Vietnam in 1965. He knows all this because the Cav was his division. The other looks like a wolf’s head on wheels with the numerals “CMC1%.”
Ken studies Beck’s staring at his arm, “I don’t ride with them anymore.” “What?” asks Beck. “The Coyotes”, Ken states, “I stopped riding with them. I did when I got back from Nam, but they are bad news. Changed. I don’t ride with them anymore.” “I was in Nam”, Beck says in a measured voice, “PFC Beck, 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry. 1st Cavalry Division. 11B RTO.” Ken shakes his head, “First Team, Bob”, he says reciting a motto. I was 8th Cavalry, myself. Sergeant Haven, 11B. RTO? Shit duty. You had a Rifle in your hand and a 15 Pound Radio on your back. Target Numba One for VC.” He continues, “That other tat is 11th Air Assault. I had it done at Benning. Before we deployed in ’65. I didn’t know we’d be the First Cav four days before we left Columbus. Young and dumb. Proud. Eager.” Bob smiles, “I joined them in III Corps in ’71. Not as tough as your era. Ia Drang and whatnot. I was eager, too.”
Ken looks at Bob as he finishes up, “Thanks for the aid, partner”, stay safe. Two businessmen who lived. Making good. If you need anything in Humboldt County, you have a friend in Ken Haven.” Ken shakes Bob’s hand. “All in a day’s work. You stay safe, Ken”, says Bob. He pulls down the trailer door and gives Ken a two-fingered salute. He gets in the cab, and we hear Neil Young’s “Lookout Joe” start up. As he leaves, he sees a Eureka Sherriff Deputy at the Warehouse lot entrance. It flashes a blue light on the top one. It’s obvious to Beck that they are providing security for Ken. Scene Ends.
Track 4: “World on a String” by Neil Young, 1975.
Scene 5: “Scrounging”
2LT Twarowski is in the woods. Music (Track 5, below) starts and will play lightly in the background through the scene. 1330 13 JUL 2000 flashes on the bottom of the screen. She is walking slowly. “Here, Ma’am, on me”, says a voice in a loud stage whisper. She looks over and sees SGT Swain 10 m away. She stealthily moves to his position. “Any water?”, she asks. “No Ma’am. No creeks, ponds or even puddles”, says Swain. “OK, let’s get back, “, Twarowski says. We see shots of them moving 50 yards or so through the woods and entering the clearing where the Command Post is. They walk towards the shed, and we see a 10 foot antenna next to one of HUMMWVs and SPC Lane is fiddling with it, “Its ready, ma’am, Sergeant Beck is in the shed with Sergeant Holman and Ramirez.” Thanks, Lane did they…” she is interrupted by MAJ Piper, “Lieutenant…, I, um, I am satisfied with your arrangements here and will happily take a watch this evening, but in future please consult with me, as I may have some command duties to attend to.” “Sorry, sir, a lot was happening at once. If you’d like to see to the arrangements yourself…”, Piper cuts her off again. “No that’s fine Lieutenant, you seem to have done a fine job. Carry on.”
Twarowski heads into the shed, “What did you find, Sergeant Beck?” “Well…”, says Beck, prying at a small crate with an entrenching tool, “ We found 10 8’ logs and four axes and some rope that just may help with getting the microwave array above the trees…”, he grunts and pries open the lid, “and I just found this stashed under some straw and buried here. Everybody watches. Inside are 24 Liter-sized cans with Polish writing. “Borsht”, says Twarowski, “Canned borsht.” “Yuk”, says PFC Ramirez. “What’s borsht?”, asks SGT Swain. “Beet stew”, says SGT Holman, “The Russians love it too.” “Well, I hate it”, says Ramirez. “Well too bad, because this is lunch”, says Twarowski, “besides, this will also keep what we have left in our canteens until tomorrow. Unless you want to pray for rain.” Ramirez looks a bit chastened. Twarowski continues, “Sergeant Beck, lets go, we have the check in with the recon team and then see if we can contact Masterlez.” “Let’s do it, ma’am”, say SSG Beck. They move to leave. “Borsht – its what’s for Dinner”, says Swain. “You mean Lunch”, says Ramirez. Scene Ends.
“Track 5: “Weissensee” by Neu!, 1972.
Scene 6: “Flashback 3 (December 1, 1976)”
POV shot of Beck pulling into Big Red’s Truck Paradise he sees Lucinda out front messing with a Vending machine by the front door across from the pumps. He hits his horn, and she jumps and turns around and then laughs and waves and points inside. She enters. The Music (Track 6, below) will start and will play throughout the scene as if coming from the Truck. Beck drives through a “turn around” and begins to back into the truck stop area behind the buildings in the front. As he gets equal to the Pumps, about 20 m away, with the music blaring he sees two figures, a teen and a large middle aged man run from the front of the Restaurant/Main Area, where Lucinda had been standing. The teen runs off and Beck sees the large man get hit in the back by something and get propelled 5 m into the pumps out front, where he collapses. Beck reaches in the cab and gets a 12g Automatic Shotgun and opens the cab door and moves quickly in a crouched low dash towards the front of the restaurant area.
“I TOLD you PEOPLE to stay cool! To do what the FUCK I say! No one gets HURT! But LOOK what you DID!”, a voice screams from inside. Beck, still in a crouch, peeks inside the door. A man with his back to Beck is screaming and waving a Colt 1911 .45 Pistol. He’s got jeans on and an Army Green jacket. Long hair. Off to the left amongst the scared patrons in booths and on stools at the counter is a young man, maybe 19 or 20, wearing jean overalls and no shirt who looks vaguely hippy-like, holding a revolver. “Calm down, Barry”, says the young guy, “why did you shoot them?!” He’s scared. “BECAUSE they didn’t DO WHAT THE FUCK I said to DO, man!”, screams Barry, “Now YOU shut the FUCKUP! I am in charge HERE!” “Now bitch”, he continues, pointing the .45 at Lucinda on the other side of the counter, “You DO what I told you to DO, and you give me all that FUCKING money in that check drawer. “I need to get the lock just right, OK, I’m trying!”, cries Lucinda, almost hysterically, she’s streaming tears. “YOU HURRY THE FUCK UP!”, Barry screams and points the gun at her head. Beck comes in, move the 3 m between them and puts the shotgun in Barry’s back. “You just drop that now”, says Beck. “AND WHO the FUCK are YOU, MAN!”, Barry moves to turn around with the gun and Beck shoots him in the back point blank with the shotgun. He turns and looks at the young man, pointing the shotgun, “Drop it. Now.” “Ok, man”, chokes the youth and drops the pistol. Scene Ends.
“Track 6: “Barstool Blues” by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, 1975.
Scene 7: “Ranger File”
Extreme close up shot of a Walkie talkie radio. The Music (Track 7, below) begins and will play throughout the scene. We pan out and see it is attached to 2LT Duffy’s web gear. 1350 13 JUL 2000 flashes on the bottom of the screen. We hear 2LT Twarowski on the radio crackling “Cougar this is Brick, please report.” The camera keeps panning out and we see the scene from the last episode ending in an overhead shot, PVT Rzad, 1SG Keller, SPC Randall, SSG Marsh, SPC Jacques and 2LT Duffy in “ranger file” each 2 m apart in single file. Rzad is stage whispering to Keller, “There is enemy up there. I think they are Polish Border Guard troops.” “How many?”, asks Keller “Twelve? A Lot!”, says Rzad. Keller relays in a low voice, “Squad ahead, BGB.” Duffy hits his radio, “Possible enemy contact, will report soon” and turns off his radio.
Keller announces, “Clump of brush, 10 m at 45 degrees, everyone forms a line with Rzad on the Right, 1 m spacing. Stay low.” He looks at Rzad, “Go!” She runs and he follows, and they all move. Marsh gets out the binoculars and we see what he sees as he speaks: “3 Fire Teams of 4 men in Polish Border Guard Brigade uniforms approaching at 100 m distance. Heading for our position. Behind them appears to be an NCO and a soldier with a backpack radio. We have about 20 seconds before the enemy are at 50 m if they don’t spot us first.” “I’ll order us to fire at 50m”, says Duffy, “hand me the binoculars.” “First Sergeant you aim for the one with the Backpack Radio, that’s target number one”, comments Duffy. “My thoughts exactly, Sir”, says Keller. “Sergeant, you aim for the NCO,” continues Duffy. “Roger that, Sir”, says Marsh. Keller announces., “everyone else aim and pick a target. Declare your targets aloud. When the LT says fire, we fire.” They all aim and declare picked targets quickly. We see each target’s face in a close up as it is announced. Keller says, “50 m should be that weird triangle shrub we see poking up at 20 degrees from us.” Tense time passes. The enemy patrol reaches the bush. No orders from Duffy. We see his face. Its tense. He’s trying to talk but can’t. He tries again as they keep moving. Closer. We see the enemy fire team leaders scanning the area. Finally, Duffy chokes out, “Open Fire!”
Shots are fired. The enemy Sergeant and the Radioman fall in succession. We see scenes of Rzad shooting, almost closing her eyes; Jacques shooting one, then another enemy soldier, SPC Randall fires. Then he looks down; he fires again, blindly. Duffy is uncertain, firing slowly. Keller and Marsh both take on new targets and with a few more shots they both down enemy soldiers. Enemy soldiers get in kneeling positions and return fire, missing Marsh, Keller and Rzad with several close calls. We hear bullets whizzing by them in a close up. An enemy Corporal makes his way towards the radio on the downed radioman. A BGB soldier shouts in Polish and turns and runs. “He’s calling him an idiot”, reports Rzad. Marsh shoots the enemy corporal. The other soldiers begin to flee. Marsh tries to shoot one in the back but misses. “Cease fire”, says Duffy, as we see “1350/37 Seconds 13 JUL 2000” flashes on the bottom of the screen. End Scene.
“Track 7: “Leave Home” by The Chemical Brothers, 1994.
Scene 8: “Flashback 4 (December 1, 1976)”
Red and Blue Lights flash in the dusk. Patrol cars are out front of the Truck Stop with their roof lights on and revolving; we hear them clicking as they revolve. The Music (Track 8, below) starts and will continue throughout the scene. Camera shot as we move from a long shot slowly from the front of the Restaurant into a medium shot inside of Beck taking to a Sheriff, Lucinda to a deputy, and several other deputies are around talking to other witnesses. “They’re lucky you were here, “says the Sheriff to Beck, “That one’s crazy bastard. Several incidents, but we couldn’t hold him. Crazy bar fights and other crap. These Vietnam vets are shit sometimes. Smoking dope, shooting junk and then bringing it all back here and raising hell. It was different in my day.” Beck looks at the body on the ground, face down, huge bloody wound on the back of the green jacket. Blood under him. Beck notices a 1st Cavalry Division patch on the dead man’s arm. He looks at Lucinda. She is talking to the deputy but looks at him. Fear is in her eyes, and she looks away quickly. “That’s all I need from you” he says to Beck, closing his notes, “Just call us as soon as possible if we leave a message at your place of business.” “I’m Big Red”, says a skinny lanky man with short dark hair to Beck. “Let me get you hooked up in the back for the night.”
It is evidently hours later. Its dark. Rain has started to patter on the windows of the truck cab. Beck sits there as the Music below swells into the foreground. We see his POV as he looks out the window and we see Lucinda standing outside in the rain. Beck opens the cab. Fade to Black. Full Credits on Black. Music (below) plays over credits until end.
Track 8: “Cortez the Killer” by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, 1975.
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