Last Horizons: The Super Rocket
Draft Outline v1
I started this months ago before I ever had the idea to do a virtual season so it may or may not be part of the VS. If it is, it won't be for a while because Kit is 16 in this story and there's no way it could work if he was any younger. I just wanted to go ahead and post this to get some feedback.
*** { Start } >>> episode #1[introduce external conflict first. Enriched urgonium as Applied Phlebotinum ]
-Cleghorn meets with Sheng-Li or Wan-Lo to sell them the idea of using urgonium, also saying that he knows where to get some.
-Meanwhile, back at H4H, Rebecca is telling Baloo and Kit that today's delivery is just like last week's; deliver several crates of laundry soap and glue to the local military base.
-The delivery guy arrives and unloads the cargo. Baloo and Kit are loading the cargo onto the Sea Duck when they notice that one crate is much heavier than all the others which are the same size with the same labels.
-Baloo and Kit leave to deliver the cargo. They discuss Kit's going to flight academy near the military base, which Kit is excitedly looking forward to. Baloo reminds Kit that he's only 16 and he just got his pilot's license a month ago. Baloo warns him to be careful and hints to Kit that perhaps he should wait another year or two before he goes to flight academy. Kit is patient and reassures Baloo that their practice flights helped him a great deal and he promises to be very careful. Baloo seems satisfied now, though still a little apprehensive.
-Midway to the base, they are attacked by an unidentified plane that tries to force them to land.
(1st cool flight sequence)
*** { catalyst }-Baloo skillfully evades the attacker and keeps his cargo. Kit wishes they had guns on the plane to fight back. Baloo disagrees and tells Kit that fighting should be a last resort.
-They arrive at military base and deliver cargo to Col. Grogg (from “War of the Wierds”). They have that "Don't I know you from somewhere" moment, but finally decide they've never met.
-Baloo questions Grogg about the heavy crate, which seems to make Grogg a little nervous. Grogg first insist that it's only glue, but gives in when Baloo and Kit give him a hard "We don't believe you" stare.
-He tells them that it's top secret cargo meant for the army's experimental weapons development facility.
[Baloo and Kit learn of enriched Urgonium]
-Grogg makes them promise not to tell anyone about the secret cargo and not to stop anywhere en-route because the cargo is so important.
-Baloo does not mention their being attacked earlier because he fears losing the contract, which would not make Rebecca too happy.
-They return to H4H without incident. Days later, Kit and Ernie go off to flight academy.
-Baloo leaves to deliver more Urgonium, soap and glue to the army base (alone). Midway to the base, he sees a plane moored at a small uninhabited island. There is the word “HELP” spelled out in driftwood on the beach. Baloo starts to radio in that he plans to help a downed plane but does not when he remembers that Grogg said not to stop anywhere.
-Baloo lands at the island and calls out to see if anyone is there. Someone answers over by the moored plane. Baloo walks over to the plane. It is Gomer Cleghorn (from “Citizen Khan”).
-After a moment, they recognize each other, Baloo starts to turn to head back to his plane to get out of there but he clubbed from behind by a panda who has appeared from Cleghorn's plane.
-They tie up Baloo while he's dazed and start to search the Sea Duck for a specific crate.
-A military plane passes overhead, spots the two moored planes and circles for a closer look. The panda accomplice ducks out of sight, and the sheriff smiles nervously and waves at the circling plane before giving the thumbs up signal. Apparently satisfied, the military plane flies on in the direction it was originally headed.
- The panda and sheriff decide they can't risk staying there in plain sight while they search for the right crate. There's too many crates to search quickly, so they decide to take the Sea Duck back to their territory.
-They take Baloo with them as insurance.
*** { plot point 1 }
>>> episode #2-Meanwhile, the army base is missing its expected shipment of soap and glue.
-Kit overhears an army officer's conversation that some important cargo (the Urgonium) was not delivered. The officer suggest that the cargo pilot may have turned traitor. Kit also overhears details about the threat posed by the special cargo.
[Kit learns the significance of Urgonium]
-Kit then hears about a search mission that launches in three days if the Urgonium hasn't been found by then.
-Rebecca calls and ask Kit if he's seen or talked to Baloo. Kit replies that he hasn't, which confirms to him that Baloo is really missing. Rebecca is worried and Kit reassures her that Baloo is alright but he does not mention what he heard from the officer for fear of worrying her ever more.
-Kit talks to an army officer in his office, telling him that Baloo is his friend, not a traitor and also asking to be allowed to help in the search mission.
-The officer sympathizes with Kit but denies his request to join the search mission. Kit is saddened but leaves the office. A soon as Kit gets out the door, he hears muffled cursing from the office. The Officer has apparently spilled coffee on a pad of blank transfer forms. He throws away the forms in his office trash and calls for a cleaning crew. The cleaning crew arrives, and the officer leaves to change clothes while the crew cleans up the spill. They also empty his trash, which Kit takes note of. When the cleaning person is distracted, Kit takes the pad of forms from the trash and tears off a few from the back that were not coffee stained. They are (of course) the exact forms He and Ernie need to transfer to the search mission. (How convenient, though they will have to forge an officer's name.)
-That day, Kit and Ernie join the Search Mission, saying they're 18. In a briefing, they learn Baloo's plane was spotted heading for Panda territory, accompanied by another unknown plane. Kit wonders who the other plane belongs to.
-After the briefing, they get a combat flight refresher coarse. (A refresher course for the legitimate military pilots but a first time ever crash course for Kit and Ernie, who claim to have transferred from another base.)
(2nd cool flight sequence)
-The next day, they go out for the first search mission to try to locate the Sea Duck, Baloo and the Urgonium. They cross into Panda territory and Kit spots the Sea Duck. It is moored in a long, thin, deep mountain valley lake, and covered with vegetation in an attempt to camouflage it.
(3rd cool flight sequence)
-Just as Kit is about to radio in what he sees, the Search Squad is ambushed by Pandas. They engage the Pandas, but as they were caught by surprise, they are mostly on the defensive. Kit and Ernie chase shoot down a plane or two. Kit is distracted while he's after yet another plane leaving Ernie without backup. Left exposed, Ernie is shot down. Outnumbered and losing the battle, the Search Squad retreats back to base.
-Kit feels guilty for not using his head and for getting Ernie involved in his fight.
*** { pinch 1 }-Determined to find the Urgonium before it's too late, the Squad goes out again the next day.
(4th cool flight sequence)
-They're ambushed the same place as before but this time they're prepared. Kit is angry about what happened to Baloo and Ernie and he takes it out on the Pandas. He attacks and shoots down several Panda planes before engaging the lead plane alone, against his Squad Leaders orders. (The pilot of the lead Panda plane will turn out to be Wan-Lo's son, Sheng-Li.)
-Kit flies well and fights fiercely but is eventually shot down by the lead plane when He becomes distracted.
-Kit crashes into the Jungle, coming to rest in a large tree. He is shaken but unharmed except for some bumps and bruises. He climbs down and wonders if he'll ever find Baloo and Ernie and get back home.
*** { midpoint }
>>> episode #3-Having crashed in Panda territory, Kit tries to get his bearings in order to find his way back to where he saw the Sea Duck. He begins to walk down the mountainside toward the river when he comes upon a road carved into the mountainside. The Road is mostly hidden by vegetation so that it cannot be easily seen from the air. It appears to lead in the general direction of the Sea Duck, so he decides to follow it.
-Cautiously, he creeps down the road. Soon, he finds the hulk of a broken down truck parked on the side of the road. He starts to investigate when the sound of an approaching convoy can be heard. Quickly, he hides under the disabled truck. He watches as the convoy passes, except for one truck. The last truck in the convoy blows a tire and stops to fix it.
-Kit stays hidden as the tire is fixed. Once it is, he quickly and silently jumps into the back of the truck just as it starts to pull away to catch up with the convoy.
-While in the back of the truck, Kit begins snooping around. He pulls out a lighter and uses its dim light to try to read the crates. They are all fairly ordinary except one that he recognizes marked “Glue, 20 Gallons.”
[Urgonium plot thickens]
-The truck arrives at a supply depot deep in the jungle. Kit, sensing the truck has reached its destination and he'll soon be discovered, dives out into a dense patch of undergrowth.
-He hides there for a few hours until the coast is clear, then he emerges and skulks around the base looking for more clues as to where Baloo and the Urgonium might be. Unfortunately, he doesn't find any. He does find some weapons, explosives and other supplies, which he takes... Just in case.
-He sneaks away from the depot with his supplies and continues down to the river. By this time sunrise is approaching, so he finds a cave near the river to spend the day in. Tired of carrying so many supplies, he hides most of it in the cave. He feels very alone and misses Baloo, Ernie and H4H now more than ever.
-That evening, he starts to make his way to the river. He finally reaches it at a point where the only way forward is across an old, rickety Bamboo suspension bridge. He gathers his courage and starts to cross the bridge.
-The bridge proves too weak and collapses, sending Kit falling into the churning river below. He struggles to stay afloat, but he is pulled down by the weight of his weapons.
-Left with no choice, he sheds weapons to stay afloat. He washes up on the riverbank where he lies exhausted, trying to catch his breath, when he is discovered by pandas who emerge from the jungle nearby.
*** { pinch 2 }-Kit is taken to the secret air base which is hidden in a cave and camouflaged by vegetation. It's the base that ambushed the search mission earlier. He sees a large steel door leading into the cliff face which puzzles him. He wonders what the purpose of such a door could be.
-While crossing an open area (for fighter plane staging) a toy plane glides past him, is caught in a breeze and glides around, and lands in front of Kit. He picks it up and looks around for where it came from and sees Wan-Lo's daughter, Dao-Ming (but doesn't know who she is).
-Frustrated with his situation, his expression darkens and he thinks of crushing the plane. They stare at each other for a moment, she has that “please don't break my toy” look. His anger fades, he smiles at her and throws the plane over to her. Sheng-Li sees this and is puzzled and surprised.
-Kit is taken inside the base to a cell where he reunites with Baloo and Ernie. They are (of course) glad to see each other, and briefly share the last two days events.
-They are interrupted by a clanging sound. A vent cover lifts up to reveal Dao-Ming; she is bringing food and comic books to Baloo and Ernie. She thanks Kit for returning her toy plane. Kit thanks her for looking out for his friends.
-Everyone wants to escape and get home but Baloo has some disturbing news. Baloo tells them that Wan-Lo has a giant enriched urgonium rocket he plans to use against Cape Suzette.
-Dao-Ming informs them that the rocket isn't ready to launch yet, but it will be soon.
-Baloo, Kit and Ernie decide to try to blow up the rocket, or at least damage it enough to delay the launch. They need explosives and Kit remembers his stash of weapons and equipment.
-They decide to sneak out to get the stash.
*** { plot point 2 }
>>> episode #4-Dao-Ming assist them is slipping out of the base unnoticed. Kit leads them to the cave near the waterfall not far from the base where he fell in the river earlier.
-They retrieve the stash and plan to escape in the Sea Duck after they plant explosives on the rocket, but Baloo says that Wan-Lo has the keys.
-They decide that they must call for help to be rescued, so Baloo uses a radio that Kit had stashed to call the allies for help. He disguises his voice and pretends to be a plane in distress in case the pandas are monitoring the radio bands. The allies reply that help is on the way and will arrive within the hour. Baloo is reluctant to leave the Sea Duck but since there's no guarantee he can get it started in time, he is left with no other choice.
-They sneak back to the base and are almost to the entrance of the rocket silo when they spot a patrol heading toward them. They have nowhere to hide and for a moment it looks like they may be caught, but Dao-Ming distracts the patrol long enough for them to slip away.
-They manage to creep into the rocket silo after outsmarting a few more guards with help from Dao-Ming. Baloo hides the explosives on the lower part of the rocket while Kit sets the timer for one hour. They thank Dao-Ming for all her help and say goodbye.
-They start to leave the base to make their way toward the rendezvous point to be picked up by the allies when an alarm sounds.
-Apparently the guard had finally noticed that their cells were empty. They try to run but the gates to the base are closed trapping them inside. Soon they are recaptured and the explosives they planted on the rocket found and removed.
-Wan-Lo is pleased that their plan failed but he is curious how they managed to escape and get into the silo undetected.
-Wan-Lo decides not to take any further chances and kill them all right then. They are about to be shot when Dao-Ming shows up and begs Wan-Lo to spare them.
-Wan-Lo finally gets it. He realizes that Dao-Ming has been helping all along. He is furious and banishes her from the family. (I'd like to make it more severe and still keep it kid friendly if possible)
-Sheng-Li is angry at her as well but he thinks banishment (or whatever) is too severe a punishment for a child. Sheng-Li and Wan-Lo argue over the matter for a moment, finally word arrives that the rocket will be ready to launch within the hour.
-Wan-Lo sends Baloo, Kit and Ernie back to the cell, joking that he'll spare them, but only long enough to let them watch the rocket launch and destroy Cape Suzette. He orders Dao-Ming to stay in her quarters until he decides what to do with her.
-Dao-Ming decides that she has to do something about the rocket. Sheng-Li and Wan-Lo are still arguing about how to punish Dao-Ming for helping the enemy. Wan-Lo comes to a final decision that she should be banished (or whatever), angering Sheng-Li who storms out.
-Shortly Dao-Ming returns to help them escape again, but they say that they can't until the rocket is destroyed. She tells them to go now because she has taken care of it. They wonder what she means. She hears Wan-Lo's voice outside and ducks out of sight.
-The next moment Wan-Lo enters to gloat about how Usland's is inferior and that's why they can't hope to win, blah, blah, blah, when an explosion rocks the base. Everyone is caught off guard and Wan-Lo runs out to see what happened leaving the gang alone. They overhear a soldier report that the main valve to the water pipe leading into the rocket silo has been blown up and the silo is filling with water.
-Dao-Ming pops back out of her hiding place grinning broadly. She quickly explains how she stole the explosives placed them on the pipe to flood the silo. She then tosses the keys to the Sea Duck to Baloo. Baloo Kit and Ernie are impressed and compliment her on her courage and ingenuity then prepare to use the commotion to make a run for it.
-They ask Dao-Ming to come with them but she refuses, saying she must stay because she can't leave her family. Kit tells Baloo and Ernie to go ahead and start making their way to the Sea Duck because he wants to talk to Dao-Ming alone. Baloo and Ernie flatly refuse saying that they've been split up enough over the last week but Kit is insistent, assuring them that he'll catch up with them in a few minutes. They VERY reluctantly agree and leave for the Sea Duck.
-Once they are alone, Kit argues with Dao-Ming that she deserves more and that Won-Lo might hurt her someday. She disagrees, saying that he could change, but finally agrees to go with him, Baloo and Ernie, at least until her father's anger has subsided in a few months.
-Kit and Dao-Ming are about to leave the base to meet back up with Baloo and Ernie to escape when they notice that Won-Lo is attempting to launch ahead of schedule before the silo completely floods.
-Kit uses the radio he is carrying to tell Baloo the bad news. Baloo tells him to hurry up and get back to the Duck so they can try to stop the launch somehow. Kit says there's not enough time for him to get back to the Duck before the rocket launches. He says that he'll steal a panda fighter plane and provide support. He tells Baloo to just open the hatch and dump all the cargo in the silo down on the rocket, hoping the heavier crated would damage the rocket's smart guidance system (that Dr. Axelottle designed and built). Left with no time to argue, Baloo agrees.
-Kit and Dao-Ming make it to the staging area and steal a fighter with pandas hot on their tail. They are soon airborne followed by a few panda fighters and Sheng-Li. Sheng-Li orders the other planes to go after the Duck because he wants to shoot down Kit himself (not aware that Dao-Ming is with Kit).
-A brief but epic dogfight ensues. The Duck is swarmed but Baloo manages to outmaneuver them and dump his cargo on the rocket. The crates smash open on the nose of the rocket, sending laundry soap and glue pouring down into the partially flooded silo. Baloo remarks that he hopes that damaged the rocket enough to cause it to fail.
-Meanwhile Kit and Sheng-Li are dogfighting, though Kit is mostly on the defensive, as if he doesn't want to fight. Sheng-Li taunts him over the radio, asking why he's not fighting back.
-Sheng-Li's attitude changes quickly when hears Dao-Ming's voice on the radio and realizes that she is in the plane with Kit. Sheng-Li loves Dao-Ming and want's to protect her. He orders the other fighters to break off their attack. Sheng-Li is furious, thinking Kit has kidnapped Dao-Ming, but she informs him that it was her decision to come.
-The panda fighters break off per Sheng-Li's orders and Won-Lo is furious. He climbs in a fighter himself determined to shoot down both the Duck and his treacherous daughter. He cannot hope to match Sheng-Li's skill though and is easily outmaneuvered.
// I'm not sure what direction I want to take next... At this point I could make Won-Lo a redeemable character or a totally evil villain. He could do something, but I'm not sure what... Won-Lo could get off a lucky shot hit the Duck or Sheng-Li... Someone could even be injured... That may be too extreme though. I just thought a war story where no one gets shot or even hurt may seem silly. Here's where I'd really like some second opinions.//
-Sheng-Li finally shoots out Won-Lo's engine after arguing with him over the radio about him anger toward Dao-Ming and him hate for outsiders. (A character development moment for Sheng-Li, who is beginning to understand.) Won-Lo crashes in the lake unharmed, but furious.
(5th cool flight sequence)
*** { showdown }-Sheng-Li gets on the radio and ask Kit and Baloo to land on the lake so they can talk. Baloo is a little hesitant but complies. They all meet face to face and have a brief but meaningful conversation about what has happened over the coarse of the story. This scene completes Kit's and Sheng-Li's character development.
-Dao-Ming tells Sheng-Li that she doesn't want to live with Won-Lo anymore and he understands. He agrees to take Dao-Ming to a relative to get away from their father.
-They are saying their goodbyes when they are interrupted by Won-Lo's voice crackling over the radio. He laughs wildly and tells them that they have failed because he's managed to make the rocket launch. They think he's bluffing until they hear a low rumbling coming from the silo. They look up to see the rocket lifting up out of the silo on a column of smoke and white hot flame. It is covered with a slimy coating of what what must be soap and glue. They are at a loss for words, the only sounds are the rumble of the rocket and Won-Lo's insane cackling.
-The rocket continues to climb, illuminating the sky, and the H4H gang starts to freak out, thinking about Rebecca, Molly, H4H and Cape Suzette. It climbs very high till it's little more that a glowing speck. Then suddenly, it detonated, sending debris and large globs of slime falling back down to earth. (Won-Lo is naturally hit with a giant glob of sticky slime. Lol)
-Baloo remarks that the crates must have damaged the rocket after all. Kit remarks that the slime probably didn't help the flight characteristics either.
-They bid each other goodbye and Baloo, Kit, and Ernie board the Sea Duck and take off for Cape Suzette. Sheng-Li and Dao-Ming escape on foot just as allied planes are starting to arrive.
*** { tag }-I thought to do a “everything back to normal” scene in Cape Suzette, but I'm not sure what I want to happen. I can figure that out later. Probably Kit will get a letter from Sheng-Li and Dao-Ming telling him that they are alright and thanking them and wishing them well. Suggestions are welcome.
*** { end }
### { External Conflict }The Pandas have gained an amount of enriched urgonium and are building a super rocket to use against Cape Suzette.
### { Characters and Character Roles }( From Lost Horizons: )
Wan-Lo – He is the leader of the Pandas and will experience little or no character development as he is more or less a plot device. He provides the negative aspects of the story, such as intolerance, greed and violence.
Dao-Ming (Shining Path) - Wan-Lo's daughter, she embodies innocents and positive attributes such as understanding and nonviolence that Kit and Sheng-Li will learn from her.
Sheng-Li (Successful, Victorious) - Wan-Lo's son, he is Won-Lo's best pilot and the leader of the Panda air force. He skilled, smart and well respected by the pandas and Won'Lo. He will be Kit's main foe until he changes sides at the end of the story.
( From Citizen Khan )
Gomer Cleghorn – He will be the one to introduce the pandas to Urgonium as well as help them acquire some. He's really just aiding the pandas for personal gain and cares nothing for their goals, though that's not what he tells Won-Lo. He is a kind of wild card in the story. While he is always a villain, his greed and selfishness sometimes put him at odds with Won-Lo's goals, thus indirectly helping the heroes.
(From War of the Wierds )
Colonel Grogg – He'll work at the military base and provide information to Baloo and Kit, and possibly comic relief also.
(Bullethead Baloo)
Dr. Axelottle - I might have him build the rocket because the pandas have no experience with enriched urgonium, but I' haven't decided, which is why he's not really in the outline.
### { Character Arcs }Wan-Lo's son starts off as a ruthless conqueror like his father but over the course of the story softens and ends up helping the allies in the end. Dao-Ming is largely responsible for affecting Sheng-Li's change of heart by showing him the error of Won-Lo's methods and making him realize that violence begets more violence. Sheng-Li comes out a more peaceful and understanding person who is willing to share the world with other cultures.
Kit starts off wanting to try to understand the Pandas and their ways, until they kidnap Baloo. After Baloo's abduction, Kit is very angry and swears to get Baloo back no matter what it takes. He favors force and tries to use it to save Baloo but is forced over the course of the story to the realization that brute force can only take one so far and that understanding trumps brute force. Kit comes out older and wiser, realizing that other races and cultures are made up of individuals that can't all be painted with the same brush, and that understanding and compassion are more powerful tools than violence.
Baloo (and possibly Rebecca) will start the story being a little overprotective of Kit, worrying about him and being concerned that he's trying to grow up too fast. Over the course of the story, Kit will prove that he isn't a kid anymore and that he is indeed growing up but that he's still not quite an adult yet, prompting Baloo to give him more freedom, space and trust.
So what do you all think? Just so everyone knows, I'm still working on the 2nd pilot, I haven't switched stories, so don't worry. I like to work on multiple stories at the same time occasionally.
