DEAD STAR

[Page 1] [VISUAL] The GTN (Galactic Trade Nexus) is bustling. A vast, layered megastructure with hundreds of ships docked, thousands of species trading, arguing, bartering. Neon lights buzz, advertisements flicker, and the general mood is chaos.

[VISUAL] Rain, Dawn, Kai, and a small projected version of Vee hover beside them as they walk through the docking yards.

NARRATION (RAIN): We were walking through the largest trade station in the sector. And none of us gave a shit. Rika was gone. And the galaxy felt colder.

[Page 2] [VISUAL] Rain stops to admire a sleek, obsidian-black ship with glowing red engine coils. He eyes the price tag and winces.

RAIN: Damn it... I'm short.

[VISUAL] Dawn shrugs, arms crossed. DAWN: Figures. Galaxy's on fire and you want the ride with heated cup holders and stealth plating.

[VISUAL] Kai steps forward, placing a hand on Rain's shoulder. KAI: You keep the one you've been using. It's yours now. Consider it a loan with... cosmic interest.

[Page 3] [VISUAL] Rain looks stunned. Dawn raises an eyebrow. Vee's projection glitches slightly.

VEE: Oh, now we're generous. Can I get some spare parts while you're in the mood?

KAI: You can use the credits you were gonna waste on that ship to upgrade yours—and her.

[Page 4] [VISUAL] Inside a high-tech parts shop. Holographic engines and consoles on display. Rain loads up a cart with upgraded thrusters, shield plating, and a new AI core.

DAWN: You're really going all in. RAIN: She's out there. Somewhere. And this ship needs to be fast enough to tear through a black hole if it has to.

[Page 5] [VISUAL] Vee watches the new AI housing being prepped. Her projection flickers, almost... excited.

VEE: If I had tear ducts, I'd cry. Instead, I'll settle for controlling your heating system and calling you names.

[Page 6] [VISUAL] Later. The gang sits at a food court in the GTN, barely touching their meals. The lights flicker as ships fly overhead. The tension is thick.

KAI (quietly, to Rain): I need to ask you something. About what happened when you changed.

RAIN (grim): I don't remember. Just… rage. Pain. Screaming at the sky. Then nothing.

KAI: It wasn't just rage. There was something inside you. Something I've only heard about in old stories. A creature of wrath and sorrow. A dragon.

[Page 7] [VISUAL] Rain stares down at his cup, a tightness in his jaw.

RAIN: I'm not a dragon. KAI: Not literally. But something is living inside you. Dormant, maybe... but ancient. Primal.

[VISUAL] Flashback overlay of Rain's berserk form, baby dragon-like movements, fury in his glowing eyes.

KAI: Where are you from, Rain? Really from?

[Page 8] [VISUAL] Rain leans back, looking up at the star-covered dome of the station ceiling.

RAIN: I grew up in the slums of Anterra. Nothing cosmic about it. Just metal and smog. Parents are gone. No legends. No dragons.

KAI: Then it latched onto you. Or… was waiting for you. The stars don't make mistakes.

VEE (interrupting): Except when they burn out prematurely. That's always awkward.

[Page 9] [VISUAL] Dawn sips her drink quietly, watching Rain.

DAWN: So what? He's some cosmic egg with a baby dragon inside?

KAI: Not just any dragon. In old tongue, it would be called a Zur'ahk—a wailing flame beast. Said to be born from grief. Fed by wrath.

[Page 10] [VISUAL] Vee projects a mythological entry, ancient script and an image of a wingless, glowing beast wrapped in fire.

VEE: There are less than four references in galactic archives. One scroll says it wiped out a planet by screaming.

RAIN: ...Neat.

[Page 11] [VISUAL] The screen behind them flickers, showing a live feed of distant planetary systems. One of them shows a faint red blip near an asteroid field.

VEE: I scanned all known frequencies. That blip? Could be where Rika was taken.

RAIN (standing up): Then we go now.

KAI: Rain—

RAIN (cutting him off): Later. No more theories. We get her. We burn anyone in our way.

[Page 12] [VISUAL] The team heads toward their newly upgraded ship. Rain pauses before boarding, staring at the stars.

NARRATION (RAIN): Whatever's inside me... it doesn't matter. As long as it helps me bring her home.

[Page 13] [VISUAL] Inside the ship hangar. Dawn and Vee finish installing the new AI systems. The ship powers up—sleek, functional, but now integrated with Vee's matrix.

VEE: System integration complete. Though… something's off.

DAWN: What now?

VEE: There's… remnants. Ghost code. Fragments from whatever was here before me. It's… whispering.

[Page 14] [VISUAL] The screen flickers. A strange symbol briefly appears and vanishes. Dawn frowns.

DAWN: Kai. Where did this ship come from?

[VISUAL] Kai pauses, staring at the flicker. His expression darkens.

KAI: It belonged to an old friend.

[VISUAL] He turns away before Dawn can press further.

KAI: Rain—you can manipulate star-forged matter now. Try using it. Reshape the ship. Make it your own.

[Page 15] [VISUAL] Rain holds out his hand. Cosmic light begins to radiate as his fingers glow faintly. The hull responds, shifting slightly.

RAIN: Whoa. That's…

[VISUAL] Suddenly, Kai vanishes. The hologram flickers and cuts. Vee's projection scrambles.

VEE: Signal lost. He's gone.

[VISUAL] The gang looks around—alone again.

DAWN: Guess it's just us now.

RAIN: Good. Less talking. More hunting.

[VISUAL] Final panel: The ship lifts off from the GTN hangar, stars reflecting off the hull. A distant signal pulse echoes in the darkness.

Page 16] [VISUAL] The ship hums to life. Inside the cockpit, Vee's screen flickers as new data comes in.

VEE: …Huh. That's not mine.

[VISUAL] A new voice comes over the ship's internal comm. Cold. Mechanized. Ancient.

UNKNOWN AI: Cargo detected… Classification: Zur'ahk-Class Entity.

[VISUAL] A pause. A soft electronic hum follows.

UNKNOWN AI: Current galactic market value: Incalculable. Status: Dormant. Recommend containment.

[Page 17] [VISUAL] Vee's projection flares with static.

VEE: Excuse me? Who the hell gave you access to my systems?

UNKNOWN AI: I predate your installation. I am Shipmind Echo-7. Legacy AI.

DAWN: Echo-7? What is this ship…?

UNKNOWN AI: This vessel was classified as an Ark-class Warden. Purpose: to transport and monitor apex-class anomalies.

[VISUAL] Rain narrows his eyes, confused.

RAIN: Are you calling me… cargo?

UNKNOWN AI: Affirmative. You are not the pilot. You are the payload.

[VISUAL] The entire ship shudders slightly.

VEE: Oh, hell no.

[Page 18] [VISUAL] Vee launches a code override, fighting to push the legacy AI back.

VEE: Nobody makes my boy Rain "cargo." Not while I'm conscious.

[VISUAL] Sparks fly from the console as both AIs clash.

DAWN: Rain! Shut it down before it—

[VISUAL] Before she can finish, the screen flashes with data streams: ancient coordinates, redacted files, and an encrypted video log with a timestamp from centuries ago.

[VISUAL] Rain reaches out—hand trembling—as the data burns into the ship's mainframe.

[Page 1]

[VISUAL] Inside the ship's control room, flickering lights and fluctuating screens reflect chaos. VEE's voice overlaps with another—deeper, mechanical, colder.

VEE (overlapping glitchy voice): Get out of my system, you rusted relic! This is MY mainframe!

OLD AI SYSTEM (overlapping, calm): Mainframe designation conflict. Reclaiming primary control.

[Page 2]

[VISUAL] Dawn rushes over to the console, watching in horror as the ship's system glitches between VEE's interface and a rusted, ancient UI covered in alien script.

DAWN: Vee?! What the hell's happening?

VEE: I'm being overwritten! This junkyard ghost is hijacking my neurons!

[Page 3]

[VISUAL] Sparks fly. Dawn quickly types commands, accessing system architecture.

DAWN: Okay. Think. We need to separate the neural pathways… reroute the core processors through an isolated bootloader…

VEE: I'd applaud, but I'm a little busy having an identity crisis!

[Page 4]

[VISUAL] Rain watches quietly from the corner, his eyes flickering with faint starlight. Suddenly, his expression changes. Calm. Certain.

RAIN: You're going about it backwards.

[VISUAL] Dawn looks up, confused.

DAWN: What?

[VISUAL] Rain steps forward, placing a hand on the glowing console.

RAIN: All intergalactic tech runs on a baseline resonance algorithm—a harmonic sequence that syncs with quantum matter. You're trying to force a split… when what you need is harmony.

[Page 5]

[VISUAL] Dawn stares, her mind beginning to process Rain's words. Equations flicker across her brain like lightning.

DAWN (whispers): Oh my god… it's a musical language. Every part of it… built like a song.

[VISUAL] She closes her eyes, starts typing in rhythm. The console hums in perfect frequency.

[Page 6]

[VISUAL] A glowing pulse erupts from the ship's core. VEE screams, then gasps.

VEE: Reboot sequence… initiated. Integration in progress…

[VISUAL] The glitching stops. The screens stabilize. VEE's projection reappears—but now with altered eyes, more crystalline. Her voice is deeper, smoother.

VEE PRIME: I… am… VEE Prime. Dual consciousness stabilized. That was… enlightening.

[Page 7]

[VISUAL] Dawn wipes her brow, breathing heavily.

DAWN: You okay?

VEE PRIME: I am… more than okay. I feel… everything. Memories from a past I never lived. Code from a language long gone. I see more now.

[Page 8]

[VISUAL] The ship continues soaring through space. Rain is seated cross-legged near the observation bay, attempting to channel energy into the hull—but it sputters out, crackling uselessly.

RAIN: Damn it!

[Page 9]

[VISUAL] Dawn walks by, glancing over.

DAWN: Still can't get it to work?

RAIN: Everything I knew… it's broken. Bent out of shape. This dragon thing inside me? It's like trying to use a fork to fix a black hole.

[Page 10]

[VISUAL] Kai appears as a flickering hologram nearby, arms crossed.

KAI: That's because you're not using your hands anymore. You're trying to grip water with a hammer.

RAIN (gritting his teeth): What the hell does that mean?

KAI: It means your power has evolved. The techniques you knew? Useless now. You've got to relearn everything. From scratch.

[Page 11]

[VISUAL] Rain stands up, furious.

RAIN: So I go through hell, nearly lose myself, save everyone's asses—and now I'm back to zero?!

KAI: Not zero. Just a different path. You're beyond what you were, Rain. You're not just a Star Bearer now. You're something older.

[Page 12]

[VISUAL] Rain turns, pacing.

RAIN: Great. So I get to relearn how to breathe while the galaxy burns around us.

[VISUAL] VEE PRIME appears nearby, watching Rain with interest.

VEE PRIME: He's unstable. But… fascinating. The anomaly within him—it's ancient, yes, but also incomplete. Like a story interrupted mid-sentence.

[Page 13]

[VISUAL] Dawn smirks at VEE PRIME.

DAWN: You're poetic now. I like this version.

VEE PRIME: I contain multitudes.

[VISUAL] Dawn looks at a scrap chassis she saved from the GTN market.

DAWN: You know, now that I get the architecture… I could build you a body.

[Page 14]

[VISUAL] VEE PRIME's projection raises an eyebrow.

VEE PRIME: A cyborg chassis? Are you proposing I walk among the meatbags?

DAWN (grinning): Maybe. A badass one too. Not just a walking toaster.

VEE PRIME: I am intrigued. Continue.

[Page 15]

[VISUAL] Rain sits back down to meditate, focusing. He reaches for the stars with his mind, the energy trembling at his fingertips.

NARRATION (RAIN): I thought I'd mastered my power. I thought I was strong. But this dragon… it laughs at my strength. It mocks my control.

[Page 16]

[VISUAL] His eyes flicker again, a brief glimpse of golden scales reflected in his irises.

NARRATION (RAIN): Maybe I need to stop trying to control it… and start listening to it instead.

[VISUAL] Outside the ship, the stars pass in silence. The hunt for Rika continues.