Sector 51

S2 Episode 10: Johnny's story

Our episode opens up in space, with Johnny in his ship traveling through the stars until he lands on the desert planet of Kalhara. Johnny then gets out of the ship to tread through the desert surface, Johnny saying "so this is Kalhara, home of my mother's people? seems a lot more barren than I expected" only for a him to get ambushed by a bunch of Sasorian warriors who tell him to leave and that foreigners aren't welcome on their home planet, Johnny showing off his scorpion tail saying "see? I'm one of you" causing the Sasorian warriors to murmur to themselves. the Sasorian warriors then capture Johnny, telling him that they'll be taking him to their chieftain, Antares all the while they are being watched by a mysterious hooded figure. we then cut to the Sasorian village where the old Sasorian chieftain by the name of Antares sits on his throne only for the Sasorian warriors present Johnny to him, the warriors explaining that they found this starchild who claims to be one of them trespassing on their planet. Antares gets off his throne to inspect Johnny, with Johnny saying "so this is your leader? doesn't look like too tough of a guy" only for Antares to sock Johnny in the jaw knocking him onto the ground. he then says "my son and daughter are both gone, and this weak half-terran abomination is the only family I have left. the gods truly have forsaken me" Johnny looks up and asks him "family? wait, we're related?" Antares tells him "unfortunately yes, as much as I'd hate to admit it you're my grandson" Johnny looks up saying "grandpa?" Antares tells him "don't call me that, you're not worthy until you've earned your spot on the tribe. you wanna be one of us? fine, we shall test your strength in trial by combat. take him to the arena!" we then cut to Johnny being undressed by the Sasorian warriors and put into gladiator garb (just a loincloth and some shoulderpads) which makes him uncomfortable. Johnny then grabs a pair of sickle weapons, Johnny saying "I took out a Zodiac and won, this shouldn't be too hard" Johnny then enters the arena where he is confronted by his grandfather Antares who tells him "you call yourself a Sasorian? you don't even have a hard exoskeleton to protect you. you're soft, I can't believe you're Buthida's son" Johnny then screams "LEAVE MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS!" charging at his grandpa sickles in hand only for Antares to attack Johnny with his stinging tail which Johnny blocks with his sickle weapons. Antares taunts Johnny by saying "trusting humans was my daughter's greatest mistake, her love for their world was what got her killed. even worse my son died saving your sorry tail" Johnny tells him "Lies!" only for him to get knocked on his rear, Antares telling him "that all you got boy? show me your claws!" Johnny then sprouts the claws on his back, saying "you want claws? you got 'em" Antares laughs, telling him "you call those claws? these are claws!" sprouting his own pair of claws from his back that are much bigger than Johnny's while the crowd of spectators cheers Antares on. Johnny tells him "big deal, the thing about scorpions is the smaller the claws, the bigger the sting" before charging at Antares with his claws out only for Antares to step on his tail making him scream in pain before using his claws to crush Johnny's claws. Antares then stings Johnny in the chest causing him to collapse from the venom, telling him "being raised on Earth has made you weak, you have too much of your mother's heart. you're a disgrace to her memory, now get out of my sight" as the Sasorian warriors carry the comatose Johnny out of the arena and toss him into the sand dunes outside on the orders of Antares who tells them to feed him to the sandcrawlers. we then see a gargantuan Antarean sandcrawler erupt out of the ground ready to gobble up the unconscious Johnny only for the hooded figure to swoop in and grab him just in the nick of time to get him to safety, taking him into his ship. he then pours an elixir into the unconscious Johnny's mouth to purge the venom from his body causing him to wake up, Johnny asking where he is. the hooded figures tells him to stay calm, explaining that it takes a while for the antivenom to take effect so he'll have to rest. Johnny then asks "who are you?" the stranger then says "I was the one who sent Aculeus to Earth to come pick you up, because Kalhara needs you more than ever" pulling down his hood revealing it to be none other than James, Johnny's father. Johnny has flashbacks to his childhood with his father handing little Johnny over to Agent Delta and sector 51, Johnny saying "dad?" as he holds back his tears. James hugs Johnny, telling him "I missed you son" Johnny asks him "why did you send my uncle to come get me instead of coming back yourself?" James tells him "I couldn't let the Zodiacs know I was alive, they were hunting me relentlessly after they killed your mom. that's why I've been spending my time here in hiding" Johnny then says "and what's all this talk about Kalhara needing me?" James then tells his son "from my time spent with the Sasorians I came to realize that Antares your grandfather is unfit to lead his people, he's a xenophobic tyrant forcing his people to slavishly adhere to their barbaric and archaic ways. the Sasorians need a new leader, that leader is you" Johnny tells his father "Dad look at me, I'm a starchild! they all saw me as a freak even my own grandfather, they'll never accept me as their leader. that's why I never wanted to come to this planet in the first place" James tells Johnny "My son, respect is earned not given. if you are to win them over you must defeat your father in ritual combat and take his place as chieftain of his tribe" Johnny tells him "last time I faced my grandpops I almost ended up dead, I can't defeat him" James then tells his son "If I could learn the ways of the Sasorian people, then you can too" assuring that he's made mistakes along the way too explaining that while learning to ride a Kalharan Sandcrawler he lost a hand to one on the first try. we then cut to a montage of James putting Johnny through rigorous training in the Kalharan desert including hand-to-hand sparring, being forced to clean sand off the ship (wax on, wax off moment right there), carrying heavy rocks through the desert in a backpack to build strength, and learning to ride a Kalharan Sandcrawler. once Johnny is done with his training he thanks his father for making him stronger before returning to the village to confront his grandfather with Antares sitting pridefully in his throne telling his grandson "well if it isn't Johnny, my disgraced grandson. come back for a second beating?" Johnny then smugly tells him "I've already learned my lesson from the first one, pops. which is why next time we fight, I'll be the victor and take your place as chieftain" Antares gets off his throne and says "Is that a challenge? then I'll see you in the arena, grandson" we then cut to Johnny and Antares having their rematch in the arena, Johnny taking a deep breath remembering his father's training, Johnny noticing his human dad watching from amongst the crowd of Sasorian spectators (wearing his hood to hide his identity) Antares then sprouts his claws from his back prompting Johnny to pulls his own claws out as well. the two then charge at each other, Johnny dodging his grandfather's claws exclaiming "too slow, old man!" before using his own claws to break Antares's claws off causing him to scream in pain. Johnny then wraps his tail around Antares's waist to toss him into the wall of the arena knocking him out cold. the battered and bruised Johnny then raises his fist into the air prompting the whole crowd to cheer him on, chanting "starchild! starchild! starchild!" much to the chagrin of Antares who gets back up and tries to attack Johnny with his tail only for Johnny to catch his grandpa's tail with his bare hand. Antares then exclaims "why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? you're half-human after all, why not embrace it and do to me what your kind did to Buthida" Johnny then says "because humans didn't kill my mother, the zodiacs did. and I'm better than you" letting go of Antares's tail. Antares chuckles now full of pride, telling him "you really are Buthida's son. she would be really proud of you if you were still here. you beat me fair and square, the throne is yours now" Johnny then says "I don't want it" much to the shock of his father and his people. Johnny then says "Kalhara was never my home, I've got a life on Earth with friends I haven't seen in a long time. that doesn't mean I'll come back to visit once and a while" James is shocked to hear this, saying "are you sure about this son?" Johnny then says "It seems like being bested has caused Antares to change his ways, my people are in good hands now. see you around, dad" Johnny then returns to his ship to blast off back into the stars ending our episode on a good note.