Dawn (episode)


*The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective.*

Dawn was the fourth episode of Season 1 of The Elysium. It was written by Anne Kenney, with a story by herself and Andy Harries, directed by Nick Hurran and it featured Mina Anwar, Esai Morales, Suzanne Packer, Pallance Dladla and Sinead Keenan.

Synopsis

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Plot

Three Months Later…

In a vast quarry, and large mining operation sits. While the buildings are brand new, they have been badly construction and already look old, covered in dirt and soot. A mining ship, similar to the Valkyrie, sits on a cliff overlooking the quarry.

Inside the mines, Julie and Jan are working, mining the Kheqren. They are covered in dirt and all of their hope, which everyone once had, all throughout their lives, has been eroded and now they have just become contempt with their eternal fate.

In the original clearing, a large concrete building stands, with the seal of the Scallatti Government painted on its face. Inside Ajacos, Claude, Roddy and Syd are sat in a large conference room, decorated in grand fashion. With them sits Meithekk, at a now regular meeting between the Scallatti government and Meithekk, acting as the appointed emissary of the Cizzauran people. They discuss how well everything has gone in the last three months and Ajacos remarks how good it is the entire fleet is now spread across the planet, and housing is already starting to be built everywhere, so soon they can do away with the ships altogether, which Meithekk is very happy about. Roddy thanks Meithekk for all the help he and his tribe have given them and without their help, as well as their Kheqren, they would not have survived. Meithekk says they are very welcome to it and it is everyone’s planet. Claude reluctantly chalks up that he’s thankful for their help against the Rhaighrs.

Richard’s eyes shoot open, as he lays in a large double bed. He looks over to his right side and sees Tena lying next to him. He moves over and takes her into his arms, as she wakes up, smiling joyfully seeing him. They soon kiss, before Richard tells her that he’s got to go, as he needs to clear a few more bits and bobs off the Ramanujan before classes begin. Tena tells him that she’ll see him at break, to which Richard says he’ll look forward to it.

Leaving the new school building, in a settlement of several drab concrete buildings, somewhere on the planet, Richard walks towards the Ramanujan, perched upon a cliff, out of the way, ready to be forgotten about. Inside Richard puts a few supplies in a box, from his old classroom and he reminisces about all of his time he’s spent there. He then walks into the empty bridge of the ship, somewhere he hadn’t seen that much of. He takes it in for a moment, so empty and lifeless. But as he turns to leave the bridge, a strange message lights up on one of the screens. Richard walks over to look at it and some text, glitching out, reads: ‘Convalesce Gone’. Richard, curiously, notes it down on a piece of paper.

Meanwhile, in the Horretz village, Lea is standing by Begass in his workshop. Begass is busy at work making a piece of jewellery from the Kheqren. Lea is fascinated by asking him many questions about just how he manipulates it to create a piece of art. Lea explains that her brain is so logical and scientific, to her Kheqren is completely different from how he sees it, and she could never be so creative with it. Begass explains that’s what is so great about it, just how versatile it is. Lea says that’s why it’s become so popular in the fleet, not just because of the energy its created but everything else that can be done with it.

Begass continues to speak to Lea, telling her about her necklace that he’s become so fond of. It tells her how special it is as it’s the only one he’s ever seen that’s not made of Kheqren. Lea chuckles, smiling and telling him that they don’t have Kheqren in deep space or whatever planet they are actually from and she supposes that the ore it was made from was just from some moon or asteroid they came across and mined at one point in their long history. Begass just says how remarkable it is, because it’s like nothing he’s ever seen – to him: alien jewellery.

Roddy sits in his office, in the government building, working on a proposal for the president. Calem enters, without knocking, and tells him that his first official visit to the Kheqren mines is today. Roddy asks if it has to be him, why can’t it be Ajacos or Claude, someone actually responsible for the mines. Calem tells Roddy that he’s the Vice President of the fleet and this is his job, to do the jobs the President doesn’t want to do. Roddy nods, a bit annoyed, and says he’ll be there.

Eddie walks into the Callista Daily offices with a smug smile on his face. As he enters there’s a round of applause by many of the other journalists. He walks through, almost as a hero, a myth before he reaches Dani’s office. Dani exits and stops dead in her tracks upon seeing Eddie. Dani says that she’s not particularly happy to see him again, but Eddie explains that his three-month suspension is up and now he’s ready to get back to work. Dani tells him that her ass was nearly fired because of what he did, and his head is on the block, and if he steps out of line one more time, the blade will fall.

Hundreds of miles away, Roddy arrives on a transport ship, at the mines. He enters, to the fanfare of the Fleet Anthem, and the smile drops from his pompous face as he sees the bleakness of the mines. People, starving, covered in dirt, hopelessly doing their jobs, but without any joy… He hears cries and screams in the distance and he looks hopeless. In the distance, he spots someone familiar: Jan. Roddy walks over to him, but Jan just looks up at Roddy disgusted and tells him that his ‘mummy’ hates him.

Richard teaches a lesson to his students. He’s teaching them about the uprising of 104, whereby President Acurratri was overthrown by thousands of people during a trip to the fleet’s mining ships, and they installed their leaders in the highest positions of government. Richard goes onto explain to his students that what happened was the oppressed became the oppressors and within 50 years, things were back to normal, those old miners were still leading the government but they were just as bad as the people they replaced and the mining ships were still the bottom of the pile, just as everything had been before – the only thing that had changed was that a lucky elite of miners, less than 20, had escaped those ships, but all they did was continue the cycle of, essentially, slavery for everyone else. One of the students asks why this is relevant and Richard just chuckles and asks if they watch the news, and he says that he fears the very same thing as the uprising of 104 will happen again, here and now.

Roddy walks through the mines, following Jan, as he takes him to Julie. As Julie sees Roddy, she scowls angrily and asks him why he’s even dared to so his face here. Roddy says that it’s his job, he is Vice President. Julie says that she knows all too well, and he betrayed her. She says that he promised they would never end up like this, and only a few days later, they are shipped off here – not even paid for their bother. Roddy says he’s very sorry, but he had no say. Julie argues back, getting very heated. Roddy says that they had no choice, but Julie won’t hear it. She says that he has not just ruined her life, but she’s also ruined every chance and opportunity that Jan deserved.

In the Horretz village, Lea walks into the open and looks up at the sky. She sees one of the ships moving through the sky. Dien walks up to her and says that will probably be the last one, the last one to leave the clearing. Lea smiles and says that they are settling and settling well. Dien’s face sours though as he looks to Lea and tells her that everyone is in a false state of happiness. Lea says that she knows but what the fleet doesn’t know won’t hurt them, at the moment. Dien looks at her and asks if that’s really true.

As Meithekk leaves the Government Building, Eddie grabs a hold of him, asking whether he’d be interested in granting him a proper interview. Meithekk says that he recognises him from his arrival at the fleet, all those months ago. Eddie chuckles and says that he was the lead reporter for Callista Daily on that occasion. Meithekk looks at Eddie and says that he won’t grant an interview because he has a better idea. Eddie smiles as Meithekk begins to explain.

As Richard dismisses his class, Tena walks up to the classroom, greeting him. Richard smiles seeing her and asks how her morning has been, but Tena just says that kids are a terrible bunch and actually being on the ground teaching them is a pain. Richard cracks a smile at this and says to tell him about it. Tena senses that Richard is on edge and asks what’s wrong. Richard just brushes it off and says it’s just the ignorance of his students. Tena hugs him telling them that they better get in the dinner queue, otherwise, they’d starve.

In the mines, Roddy stands up and tells everyone that he’s very sorry for the situation they are in. Julie rolls her eyes at this, as he says it. Roddy tells them that he argued strongly against it, and he is especially appalled at the lack of pay and the terrible conditions, but he says he will use his position to do everything he can to stop it. He then stops for a moment before saying that they hold more power than he does, he says that while he’s powerful, he has no real voice and he is but one man, but they number in their hundreds and that will only increase. He says that they can do something powerful – refuse to work. What have they got to lose, he tells them. He says they should strike – that is the only way to make the government listen and he says he will fully support them. He then looks towards Julie and says he won’t just fully support them, but he’ll be in the gutter with them and will not leave this mine until they get the rights they deserve.

Meithekk walks through the forest with Eddie. Eddie is pointing a camera at him the whole time, and they explain that they are filming a documentary: A Month in the Life of a Cizzauran. Meithekk explains that Eddie will be following him around for a month and then the documentary will be screened to the Scallatti and will hopefully make them understand more about his peoples and culture. However, as they continue walking through Meithekk senses something wrong – a colourful blur is soon picked up on camera and he tells Eddie that they face attack from their worse enemies – the Rhaighrs. Meithekk explains to the camera that he is going to make a Cizzauran warning call, telling Horretz of the impending attack and telling them to prepare. He pauses for a moment before opening his mouth and making a high-frequency noise that he says only Cizzaurans can hear.

In the Horretz village, Lea is standing with Dien when suddenly every Cizzauran bursts out of their hut. Lea asks Seganseh what’s happening to which she tells them they must ready themselves for an attack.

Meithekk and Eddie arrive back in the clearing at the government house, demanding to speak with the President. Eddie is stopped at reception and told he cannot enter, especially with a camera. Meithekk says he’s sorry and Eddie waits as Meithekk speaks to Ajacos about the situation.

Richard is in the staff room with Tena and asks if she knows what the word “Convalesce” means. Tena freezes for a moment before saying that she’s not exactly sure. She knows that a period of “convalescence” is like a recovery period from an injury but she’s unsure in what a “Convalesce” is. Richard thanks for what she knows and goes onto explain how he found the message “Convalesce Gone” on the monitor.

The night looms on the Cizzauran village, as the Rhaighrs encircle it. Everyone, man, woman, child as well as Lea and Dien, is armed. They are ready for any attack and ready to defend.

Meithekk storms into the Government Building’s reception and towards Eddie. Eddie presses record straight away and asks Meithekk what happened. Meithekk says that Claude forbids helping them saying that they’d be wasting troops. Meithekk says that he has done so much for the Scallatti, just to be denied like that. He says that his people have saved their lives and Claude can’t even do the common decent thing. Meithekk says that they are going back to the village – to fight.

In the village, the battle breaks about between the Rhaighrs and the Cizzaurans. It’s brutal as they both fight each other, neither side showing much mercy at all. Lea and Dien are shocked but continue to fight, as they aren’t just protecting the Cizzaurans, their allies, but in turn, they are protecting their fleet, their people.

In the mines, Roddy organises with Julie and some of the other miners a plan to begin their strike. Roddy says that he can send a transmission through to the entire Scallatti people, to be used by the VP in emergencies only, but he says this is more than just an emergency – it’s an uprising.

Lea falls to the ground, as a Rhaighr attacks her viciously. She manages to fight back with her pike, but she is injured.

Meithekk and Eddie storm through the forest as Meithekk tells him that he was no timer for Claude and the fleet’s spineless president as they will happily let the Rhaighrs slaughter them all.

The Rhaighrs continue to attack, killing many of the Cizzauran villagers. Lea and Dien manage to stay alive and fighting, but a Rhaighr pounces on Lea, again, grabbing her and pulling her out of the village, scampering back off into the forest with her.

Ajacos, Claude, Syd and Calem have a meeting whereby Ajacos says he’s decided to give the Cizzaurans some sort of assistance. He says that he will station a group of just 20 troops at the Horretz village to help fight off attacks if needed. Claude hits the wall saying that he thinks Ajacos is just wasting resources but Ajacos argues that 20 troops won’t make a difference to them, but it will to the Cizzaurans. He says that they have to keep them sweet. Calem looks sickly as she watches the way Claude behaves.

Roddy starts his transmission from the mines, shocking everyone in Ajacos’ office as Roddy appears on the screen. He tells them that he won’t do the talking as that’s only hypocritical, but he is giving a platform to someone who will. Julie steps into frame and speaks directly to every Scallatti. She tells them of her life story and says that being enslaved her is a fate worse than death. He hugs Jan as she tells them that she and every single other miner is on strike and until they are paid, recognised, given good conditions and the freedom to choose if they want to be a miner or not, the fleet will not be getting any Kheqren.

Meithekk and Eddie arrive at the Horretz village to find it ravaged and devastated. Seganseh says it’s too late, their village, their tribe has been massacred and just under half survive. Meithekk lets out a loud scream in mourning. Dien walks over to Eddie and tells him that their top scientist, Lea, has been kidnapped by the Rhaighrs.

Roddy speaks directly to Ajacos through the transmission and tells him that he’s sorry, but he has to do what he feels is right. He then begins a chant with the other miners saying “Strike” over and over again.

Cast

Starring

Co-Starring

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Crew

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Memorable Quotes

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Background Information

Production History

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Development

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Production

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Post-Production

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Reaction

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Story Notes

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Continuity

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Home Video Releases

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