Duo Sunrise

Chris Sturhann chris@chrissturhann.com	Comic script, 3 comic pages © 1994, 2002 Chris Sturhann
[Note to artist. All of the shots on the moon, where this story is set, should be exceedingly lush and beautiful, as it is a tropical resort, sort of a Tahiti in space.]
PAGE 1 Panel 1. This panel fills the upper third of the page. We see the horizon and the double sunrise of a binary star system coming up over a darkened sea. The two suns should be overlapping just slightly. On both sides of the panel, lush vegetaion grows at the edge of a white sandy beach. [Note that captions typed in cap/lowercase should be lettered in cursive writing, like a journal entry.]
1. CAP:	The double sun paints the sky orange and red. Start of another perfect day.
Panel 2. A rugged cliff is shown. The shadows in the texture of the rock face are very prominant, as the light has only just begun to spread. Hardy flora clings to the cliff, wherever it can find enough soil to support roots.
2. CAP:	North, on a blue cliff, darkness clings to the crags.
Panel 3. A waterfall is shown. Through the mist, the jungle encroaches on the rapidly moving water.
3. CAP:	A waterfall flows into the forest,
Panel 4. A forest is shown. A thin trail winds through through the undergrowth. Above, the canopy of trees looms mysteriously and a tropical bird or a snake hides in one of the branches. In the foreground, a large leaf is shown. A tree frog clings to its stem. Note that at any point where animals are mentioned, it would be perfectly fine to substitute alien creatures as long as they would look as if they belong in a tropical setting.
4. CAP:	nursing the deep green trees.
Panel 5. Closeup of a piece of fruit. It is large and pear-shaped, and the branch supporting it bends under its weight. It is speckled, and its skin has a pattern almost like a leapard. A dragonfly hovers around it, as if attempting to drink the nectar.
5. CAP:	Their boughs bend under the weight of the luscious fruit so abundant here.
PAGE 2 Panel 1. A YOUNG MAN stands at the edge of a crystal blue pond. He wears only what could be best described as a tailored loin cloth. He has the look of the noble savage, though his face looks blank, even numb. Behind him, the jungle threatens to overwhelm the water. Only the smooth stones at the water's edge keep it at bay.
1. CAP:	Fifteen days I've watched this. Sleeping little, since I came to this paradise.
Panel 2. The YOUNG MAN has waded into the water, and it reaches just above his mid-thigh. His image is reflected in front of him, distorted only slightly by the clear water.
2. CAP:	I wade into the warm pool, and small smooth pebbles mold around my feet. The crystal clear water reflects that this moon has been good to me. My skin bronze and body lean from the food and climate here.
The next caption is placed at the bottom of the panel and the lettering appears as the standard capital letters.
3. CAP:	BUT THE BEAUTY HAS NO DEPTH.
The last three panels on this page have cloudy borders, indicating a flashback. Panel 3. A YOUNG WOMAN of about nineteen stands in front of a small one-passenger jet plane, that has more the look of a rocket than a plane. Her tight jumpsuit fails to hide her taut body, almost a tom-boy build, that has not quite reached the full bloom of womanhood. She holds her fight helmet under one arm. Her toothy grin is that of an eleven year old, who has just received a pony for her birthday.
4. CAP:	I FEEL ONLY THE LOSS OF A SPIRIT TAKEN FROM ME.
Panel 4. The jet plane banks slightly as it rises above a jagged mountain peak. The fusilage clears the peak by less than ten feet. Motion lines show the speed and trajectory of the plane.
5. CAP:	SHE LIVED FOR THE FREEDOM OF FLYING.
Panel 5. In the left of the panel, the plane has just clipped the top of a tree. A puff of smoke comes out of the fuselage. Motion lines lead to the ground on the lower right, where a fiery explosion dominates that side of the panel. The explosion covers the dream-like cloudy panel borders on the bottom and right side.
6. SFX (near where the plane struck the tree):	TAKK
7. CAP:	AND THAT FREEDOM TOOK HER FROM ME.
PAGE 3 Panel 1. Across the pond, an ALIEN WOMAN sits up on a rock about eight feet above the surface of the water. She is wearing only a bikini, made from the skin of some indigenous animal here. She has some markings on her skin that will be outlined in more detail below, but as this is a long shot, not much detail can be made out.
1. ALIEN WOMAN:	THERE YOU ARE.
Panel 2. The ALIEN WOMAN dives into the water. Her entire body is perfectly straight and her toes are pointed. In fact, the only difference between her dive and that of an Olympic athlete is the angle at which she enters the water, about 45 degrees rather than straight up and down. Her arms have already entered the water, barely disturbing its surface.
2. CAP (cursive):	She dives, making no splash.
Panel 3. The ALIEN WOMAN wades through the waist-deep water. The water beads on her body. Her face has a delicate ridge that runs along the line of her eye brows, giving her face an exotic almost Oriental look to it. Her skin has spotted markings, starting just below her ears, connecting at the base of her neck, running down the center of her chest, swirling under her breasts, and continuing down her stomach.
3. CAP:	Then wades toward me, her breasts glisten like the suns.
Panel 4. Closeup of the YOUNG MAN's face. A tear runs down his cheek. The ALIEN WOMAN's hand rests on the YOUNG MAN's face. Her thumb brushes away the tear. Panel 5. Extreme closeup. The ALIEN WOMAN whispers in the YOUNG MAN's ear.
4. CAP (alien woman):	YES, IT IS BEAUTIFUL HERE.
Panel 6. The YOUNG MAN and the ALIEN WOMAN kiss. END