The Promise (episode)

The Promise was the first episode of Season 1 of The Elysium. It was written by Jane Espenson, with a story by herself and Ronald D. Moore, directed by Nick Hurran and it featured Mina Anwar, Esai Morales, Suzanne Packer, Pallance Dladla and Sinead Keenan.

Synopsis
Arriving at their long-awaited destination, a long-lost fleet of old, find themselves adjusting to the harsh realities of the fabled world they fought so hard to get to. As they try and abandon the old and embrace the new, miner and single-mother, Julie Yannis Karter, finds herself hopeful as she sees a better life for herself and her son.

Plot
Blackness… and then – the whirring of an engine, and chatter – the sound of industry. Julie Yannis Karter, dressed in scaggy clothing, is huddled up in the corner of the room. Hundreds of other people, in a similar condition, are scattered around – some working on the refineries on board, a giant conveyer belt lies the room and some are just huddled around, like Julie.

A little boy, about 7 years old, Jan Danvoid Yannis, walks over to Julie, and she takes him into her arms – this is her son. He’s scared, but Julie reassures him that all will be fine and that it will be a better life. We hear more noise, of the engine, the lights flickering, and then – after such a long time – a large thud. Murmurs begin the excitement amongst the occupants of the room – and then – a rush of people running out of it. Julie is almost trampled, as she just stays still as people run – and then when it’s completely empty, she follows them, slowly, while holding Jan’s hand.

As they walk out of the ship, through a large blast door, they join a crowd of people, from not just their ship ‘the Valkyrie’, but also from hundreds more, all of which have landed in what looks like a clearing on this planet. Everyone is in awe, never before have they seen the sky, let alone stood upon the soil. Julie takes everything in slowly, especially as she sees the hundreds of thousands of people from the other ships, all of them look so different, and she realises her ship was bottom of the pile, her ship was nowhere near as well-off as the rest. The others, off in the distance, are wearing rich fabrics, all clean and polished.

Out of the cleanest, and nicest ship, three very important people walk onto the surface. The leader of them stands upon a podium and addresses the crowd, from hundreds of ships, all scattered about the clearing. As soon as he speaks, it becomes clear to Julie that this is President Ajacos; she, of course, knew his voice, but that’s the only look at the rest of the fleet that they get on the Valkyrie, the President’s propaganda broadcasts over the ship’s radio system. Ajacos thanks everyone for their patience and claims that this is an exceptional, touching moment. Suddenly he steps off the podium and kisses the soil, whispering something. On the podium, Roddy, Vice President, grabs the microphone and speaks of how its time for the people of the fleet to leave behind the past and move bravely onto a new chapter of their society. He speaks of how Ajacos and his trusted committee delivered the new era of prosperity now they have finally landed at their destination and he tells them to be welcomed into the future. As the crowd erupts into thunderous applause, Ajacos walks across the clearing, past every ship, speaking to all of his people, and when he finally makes it to the crowd outside the Valkyrie, as almost looks directly at Julie, simply saying that the promise has finally been fulfilled, with a smile.

In a small cupboard-like office, in the bottom decks of the flagship, a woman named Calem sits behind a battered old desk. She’s frantically assembling a document and by doing so she’s sacrificing seeing the landing on the planet, with her own eyes. The door swings open and Syd, one of the people seen exiting the flagship with Ajacos, walks in, annoyed. She asks Calem if she has it and Calem passes her the document she has just been working on. Syd takes the document and signs it, telling Calem that she’s done a good job, and thanking her. Syd then orders Calem to make sure all the fleets social services are still up and running throughout the transition period. She tells her that this is a top priority for the administration as the whole of their society could easily break apart now their here. Calem accepts the order, and as Syd leaves, she looks at the picture on her desk – the picture of her getting PhD in Political Affairs. Calem sighs.

Julie and Jan sit outside the Valkyrie, mother and son, looking at the planet they now live on. Julie is almost on the verge of tears, as this is what she had been promised her entire life, and what everyone had, every single citizen of this fleet, for generations. They are looking directly at the edge of the clearing, sounded by trees. Jan asks her what ‘those’ things are in the distance, and Julie says she doesn’t know, all she knows is what she’s seen on the Valkyrie. She and Jan have never left their own ship before, let alone stood on a planet. They watch on as other workers from the Valkyrie walk on the soil of the planet, in just as much awe. Jan asks his mother what they are going to do now, and Julie replies with a smile, that she simply doesn’t know and isn’t that exciting, not knowing, but one thing is for sure, they certainly won’t have to work in the mines again. Jan then hugs Julie, with a giant smile, and tells her how much he loves her.

In a black, dark vacuum, a woman stands alone: Lea. She’s wearing a very strange but beautiful dress, with colours varying from pink to purple with strange patterns everywhere. She moves in almost a dance, as words seem to float around her, thoughts and ideas. Lea then begins talking, seemingly to no-one about the elements, and her ideas about technology and water – until a washed-out voice is heard shouting. It sounds almost like the voice is underwater, over and over again “Tezzie”, it says.

Suddenly, Lea is now sitting on a bed, legs crossed, as she looks around to see her step-brother, Richard, standing at the end of the room, smiling. He asks if she’s cracked it, and Lea simply chuckles to herself. She tells Richard that ever since the think-tank opened, 5 years ago, she and everyone else has been utterly stuck. Richard just smiles and takes Lea into his arms, saying that if anyone can solve it, then his little sister can. He then tells her, that they only have a couple of hours left before the ships are moving again to find somewhere to settle, so if she wants to set foot on the planet, she better do it now. As the two of them leave the room, a holo-screen in the corner of the room shows the news.

Outside one of the smaller ships, Eddie Nickos Kyprianos, a journalist, is standing on the surface reporting on the landing, to a camera, which is being broadcast fleet-wide. When he finishes, he goes to speak with his producer Dani, who tells him that she needs a report about the Attorney General’s new security measures that have just been put into place. Eddie nods and says he’ll have something ready for the evening. Dani thanks him and then begins to grumble about the government.

Julie and Jan walk back on board the Valkyrie. Jan asks why they are going back in if they are on the planet. Julie just laughs and tells him that it’s going to take a while for them to be ready to live on the planet, they’ve got to build houses, and roads and cities (at least that’s what she’s heard on the radio), so they’re going to be living here for a while longer, and it’s unlikely that the Valkyrie will be the first on the list to sort out. Jan frowns, obviously disappointed, but Julie just takes him into her arms and says that they won’t have to work, though, there’s nothing to mine now, they just have to live here. Jan lights up, excited that he doesn’t have to work anymore.

Richard and Lea depart their ship and walk onto the planet. Lea’s face brightens, having not gone outside yet, unlike the majority of the fleet, earlier in the day. Lea begins to shed a tear as she sees the sun, and the sky, and the trees. She tells Richard that this planet is simply beautiful, and all she ever wanted. She says that she just hopes it's going to be okay because sooner or later they are going to run out of power. Richard just smiles solemnly and says that they are relying on her, relying on her to fix things. Richard tells her he needs to get back to work, as he has a class to teach pretty soon and asks if Lea is ready to come back in, but she says that she’s going to stay outside for a bit.

Calem enters a giant hall full of people, ravaged and angry. She looks over them, gulps, a little sad but not entirely sympathetic. She moves to speak to a man, in a high-visibility jacket, Administrator Lieonotis. Calem asks if they’ve fed them yet, and Lieonotis tells her that he’s got nothing to feed them with. He says ever since the Barrac was destroyed, these people have been hanging by a thread, and all her administration has done is ignored it, just saying it will get better when they arrive on the planet, and now they are here there’s still a hall full of refugees from the Barrac. Calem apologies but insists there’s nothing she can do. She asks if they’ve been onto the surface yet, but Lieonotis just tells her that he can’t get permission as the Attorney General’s security restrictions won’t allow it.

Claude, the Attorney General, walks down a corridor on the flagship, surrounded by press, one being Eddie. They throw questions at him about the lack of services aboard some of the lesser-of ships and how even some groups of people aren’t allowed outside. Claude tells them that it’s all very simple and it’s simply to avoid security risks and health and safety issues with every single resident of the fleet outside, and its only day 1. He assures them that everyone will not only get a chance to go out but before long, will live on this giant planet, for the rest of their lives. Eddie then asks Claude directly, if it’s true that they have no way of generating power on this planet. Claude looks shocked, not knowing how Eddie could know such a thing, but then he laughs it off, saying that Eddie needs to check his sources as that’s simply nonsense.

Richard frantically runs into a classroom, full of children, looking about 13-ish. They groan as he walks in, but he tells them to be quiet. He tells them to be a bit more positive as they are the generation of this new planet, they are the generation that will grow up and form their lives here more than anyone else, so today out of all days they should be a little more polite to a boring old sod like him. He then tells them that today they are going to be looking at the invitation of destination, aptly, which Richard describes as when a strange traveller visited the fleet and gifted them with the passage to this planet, Taoter III, 556 years ago.

Lea continues to look around the clearing. Behind her the flagship, and behind that hundreds upon hundreds of ships, and amongst the hundreds of people walking about, lower in their numbers than before, but everyone wants to breathe the fresh air of this planet. Around the clearing a circle of trees, heading into a large forest. Lea looks into them, almost lost in the formation of them. Never before had she seen such beauty, as a tree, in real life. Then she sees something, a blur, some sort of movement. She frowns, confused: ‘how?’. She heads into the trees, after whatever it was.

In the President’s office, the Vice-President, Roddy, and the Attorney General, Claude, are meeting with President Ajacos. Roddy suggests that they launch an expedition before they leave this area of the planet, to confirm their theories about its properties. Roddy tells the President that the probe could be wrong, and they should take every opportunity to cling onto hope. Claude tells the President that this is ridiculous, and they need to be proactive to deal with their issues. He says they’ve had five years now to face this reality and now they are here, they need to move on and forge a new way to deal with the issue. The President, after a while of Roddy and Claude arguing, says that they might as well send out a short expedition, only an hour or so, as it shouldn’t be much trouble. He says that it’s better to be careful than ignorant. He calls in Syd and asks her to assemble a group of people for the expedition, he says to get the top scientists, technical support for them and one of her trusted people as their representative. Oh, and to take along Claude, to appease him.

Richard is in his classroom. The lesson he was teaching has just finished, and he’s tidying up, tired and exhausted but so happy. He looks out of the window and just smiles, seeing a planet there, and not the blank void of space. There’s a knock at the door, he turns around to find some man in the suit. Richard smiles and asks what he can do for him and he asks where his sister is, as she is nowhere to be found and the Presidential Staff needs to consult her. Richard tells him that last he saw her she was on the surface, but, and he tells him while looking out of the window, he assumes she’s gone back to her apartment. The official thanks him and, on a notably less professional note, lets him know his bosses are mounting an expedition to survey the terrain and see if their ‘problems’ can be solved.

Eddie fumbles into an office, full of journalists, exhausted. He sees Dani and begins ranting to her about the fact Claude lied to his face about the power issues. Dani asks if he’s sure that it’s true, as this is a serious accusation for someone with Claude’s authority, and Eddie nods, saying that he’s seen the results from that probe and he’s certain. Dani tells Eddie that maybe it’s best he takes a rest from this and focus on something else, maybe the social services, as he’s perhaps too close to this case and it might not even be worth all this effort. Eddie tells Dani that he just wants to find the truth, and the Attorney General of the fleet lying to him squarely in the face doesn’t help.

An old man, on a bench, Utnapishtim, looks on at the crowds of people outside on the planet, from within the main hanger of the flagship. Richard joins him, and Utnapishtim smiles. Richard asks him if this is how he always imagined their new home to be, and Utnapishtim says that he’s proud of what they’ve accomplished and hopes they are heading for even more success as a people. Richard asks Utnapishtim to tell him of the older days, before the Invitation of Destination, the point where their history books begin, and the old man replies saying that it was a tough time and that they survived mostly thanks to the efforts of their leader, and what they learned out of it is that the future is more important than the past, and something new can be refreshing. He looks at Richard directly and tells him to respect their wisdom. After a pause, Utnapishtim tells him that he made a promise, many, many years ago, and that promise is as deep as the one which brought them to this planet, today. Richard solemnly sighs and tells him how hard it is being a history teacher when most of their history is off-limits, and Utnapishtim just laughs, amused by Richard’s self-inflicted pain.

Calem, Claude, a scientist - Dien, who is one of the members of Lea’s think tank, and his tech assistant Joh set off through the clearing into the forest, along with tonnes of scientific equipment. Dien asks Joh and Calem to test solar power, while he and Claude check the soil for fertility and traces of minerals. Claude grumbles as Dien speaks, obviously unhappy about this. The two groups split up, sharing the equipment between them and set to work.

The sun is starting to set, Julie is looking on from a window. Never before had she, or anyone else, seen such a sight. A sight so beautiful. Tears drop from her eyes as she looks on. Jan asks if he can see, too short to reach the porthole window. Julie picks him up and lifts him, to see it. Jan asks what it is, and Julie says she doesn’t really know, but it sure is pretty, to which Jan says “like you”, and Julie laughs at her son’s compliment, and replies saying that this is far more beautiful than anything else.

Joh and Calem set to work in an area of the forest, setting up a row of solar panels. They discuss how the probe, that returned to them 5 years ago, told them that solar power could not be harnessed because of a layer in the planet’s atmosphere, blocking out the needed radiation, but not the light. However, halfway through them setting up the panels, Calem hears a ruffling in the trees. Joh and Calem stand up, startled, and they see again and blur of lots of colours. They walk ahead towards it, but suddenly, Joh falls on the ground. Calem tries to check if everything's fine, but a hard metal thing strikes her head, knocking her unconscious.

Dien and Claude, both taking soil samples, some distance away, hear their scream and run in their direction. When they get there they find nothing, but the panels alone, the weird metal stick and a colourful feather. Claude growls as he realises they are not alone on this planet.

Lea frantically runs around the forest, looking. She knew she saw something. There must be life here. And then: she stops, still – dead. The environment around her transforms into one of from previously, and words begin appearing around her again. She relives the moment, the movement through the trees. Her brain zooms into it, and she sees a rush of purple. She looks confused but intrigued. But then, she hears a muffled voice. “Unalii”. Lea snaps out of it, and she is again standing in the middle of the forest, but now in front of her – a humanoid, recognisably female, purple in colour, pointing at her. Where the eyes should be, there are two golden plates, and multiple others are spread around her body. Lea looks dead onto her face, shocked and amazed. The alien girl repeats “Unalii?”. Lea gulps and says that her name is Lea, but the alien girl shakes her head horizontally. Then, seeing Lea's confusion, she points at herself, says “Unalii”, points at Lea again and asks “Unalii?”. Lea thinks frantically, countless words start storming around her, while the word Unalii appears before her. Suddenly, one of the words, which flies too fast to be read, crashes into Unalii and they both disrupt. Lea, uncertainly, nods and repeats “Unalii”. The alien girl smiles, with joy, points to herself and says “Kalagisah”, then reaches out her hand. Lea, with a sigh of relief, repeats “Kalagisah”, takes her hand and says her own name, which the alien girl repeats, much to Lea’s joy.

President Ajacos addresses the fleet from a podium, surrounded by press, one being Eddie. Behind Ajacos stands Roddy, Syd, Claude and Dien. Ajacos announces that on an expedition, both Calem and Joh have disappeared, and in their last known location, evidence of other life upon the planet. He also says that their top scientist, Lea Davska Gea-Navvyl, disappeared a few hours earlier, and it can only be assumed that she was taken too. Ajacos announces that they have decided that all residences of the fleet must stay on board their ship, for the time being, until they can make contact with the other race upon the planet, and they can properly identify what exactly is going on.

Julie and Jan sit huddled up in a now full and over-crowded Valkyrie, listening to the radio broadcast with everyone else. They look so tired and disappointed but also hopeful. Jan says he can’t wait to meet the aliens, and Julie laughs at the comment.

Calem’s eyes shoot open to find herself bounded to the ground, next to Joh, and surrounded by dozens of colourful creatures, with the most amazing feathers, like a peacock. But fear is struck into her, as she sees they are holding knives, and swords, and other sharp weapons. Joh yells that he's going to die, and one of the creatures shows its giant, sharp teeth.

Lea continues walking through the forest with Kalagisah who brings her to another clearing, where there’s a whole village of people just like her. Seeing Lea, they surround her, saying mysterious words and looking intrigued. Kalagisah speaks to them, in their own language, the word “Unalii” is heard a couple of times. And then a well-built man, taller than other aliens and wearing a fabulous large necklace, walks up to Lea, calls her by name and with a smile motions for her to enter, which she does.

Julie looks on from a window at the forest. Jan is asleep behind her. She says that she hopes beyond anything, that this planet does not spell danger and disaster, not for her little boy.

Starring

 * Julie Yannis Karter - Mina Anwar
 * Richard Davsky Geon - Esai Morales
 * Lea Davska Gea-Navvyl - Suzanne Packer
 * Eddie Nickos Kyprianos - Pallance Dladla
 * Calem Ell Arcon - Sinead Keenan

Co-Starring

 * Jan Danvoid Yannis - Hussain Akhtar
 * Frayons Prix Ajacos - David Morrissey
 * Jelena Galante Roddy - Laurie Davidson
 * Sydecyah Skendelle Codail - Priyanga Burford
 * Dani Dionis Kiriakidis - Linda Henry
 * Administrator Lieonotis - Jonathan Aris
 * Janos Aladar Claude - John Hannah
 * Utnapishtim - Francis Magee
 * Dien - David Bamber
 * Joh - Sarah Niles
 * Kalagisah - Hannah Moncur
 * Khrrasssrr - Ben Kerfoot
 * Meithekk - Michael Smiley

Crew

 * Based upon "Doctor Who" Created by Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber
 * Created by Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson


 * Executive Producers - Jane Espenson, Ronald D. Moore and Toni Graphia
 * Co-Executive Producers - Matthew B. Roberts, Andy Harries, Jim Kohlberg and Anne Kenney


 * Writer - Jane Espenson
 * Story by Ronald D. Moore and Jane Espenson
 * Producer - David Brown
 * Director - Nick Hurran


 * Director of Photography - Stephen McNutt
 * Production Designer - Jon Gary Steele
 * Visual Effects - Jellyfish Pictures
 * Make-Up - Anita Anderson
 * Casting Director - Andy Pryor
 * Music - Rolf Løvland
 * Costume Designer - Ray Holman
 * Edited by - Michael O'Halloran
 * Title Music - Rolf Løvland
 * Title Sequence - Imaginary Forces

Continuity

 * Richard teaches about the Invitation of Destination, whereby a strange traveller visited the fleet and gifted them with the passage to their planet, 556 years previously. (DW: Remnants)
 * Utnapishtim speaks about the fleet's first leader. (PAN: Doctor)