The Aftermath
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance)

Marcus:
Older, male formal dress (optional physician clothing) (late 20’s)
Tex:
A short, unintimidating young male, dressed in blue jeans and an old t-shirt (16)
Esperanza:
Female, strong, long white hair, dressed with dark jeans, shirt that comes halfway to her knees held by a belt which also holds a large knife (17)
Alexander:
Male, tall, fierce in military type clothing (19)
Magnolia:
Female Child, long dark black hair braided, wearing a long dress (age approximately between 7-9)
Torrel:
Male, strong, longer brown hair, formal in appearance but informal casual dress (17-19)
Time and Place: Set in the future time on a planet that is not earth.
Set:
(Theater-in- the-round) Center of stage a camp fire, cast (main characters as well as 7-10 extras mostly children younger than 13) are seated at random intervals on common objects such as rocks, crates, or various others. None of the main characters should be seated next to one another. *(Authors note: This is set in a future time and the original characters are not of the same species except Alexander and Torrel. This does not have to be obvious but they need to look different.)
Act 1
Scene 1
[Cast is onstage talking amongst themselves. Five young adults with about 7-10 children scattered around the fire. Audience enters, lights dim.]
Marcus:
So what is the story to be revealed tonight?
[Children look around, then all begin to talk at once]
Esperanza:
Woe, now! [Children become silent.] I’ve got an idea. (pause) Tex you remember that Jar-Din letter you once found?
Tex:
Well, yea I remember when I found that old letter. It was in a crimson envelope, and was sealed with the royal mark. I was too curious for my own good and I opened it. The words on the inside were written the language of the invaders. And you see well I couldn’t read it but I knew that Es could so I planned to find her and get her to read it to me. Well I knew she was living with that caretaker on the other side of city. Way out past that massive guard tower, see it took a while trying to find my way in the dark but when I did find her house I looked in the front window and saw her, the lady, and other children all sitting around a table. Eventually Esperanza saw me and she gave me a look that scared me off. So I waited in the tree beside her house ‘till she went to her room, then I knocked on her window.
Esperanza:
If you would have been caught the caretaker would have turned you in…
Marcus:
Wait, are you referring to the evening that you –
Esperanza:
Yes, Marcus that’s the night I left. I couldn’t stay in that house anyway.
Child one:
(Perking up.) Why did you leave?
Tex:
Yes well we are getting to that, so I knocked on her window. She let me in and after yellin’ at me to be more careful. I showed the letter to her… and at first she wouldn’t tell me what it meant.
Esperanza:
It was an official notice that Loki single handed ruler of the Great Army would be personally visiting the district command building within the month; I told him this could get him in trouble and to let the rebellion handle it.
Alexander:
Simply being alive could get you in trouble.
Marcus:
He is correct.
Esperanza:
I know but you are more likely to be found if you go messing around!
Tex:
Yea, that’s why at first she told me to go home and let things be. But I convinced her to hear me out.
Marcus:
Were you two up all night scheming?
Esperanza:
Shut up.
Alexander:
Scheming is dishonorable, that is not what we are about! No, they came up with a plan to rid us of the invasion force.
Tex:
Yes, I had been talking to Sorella, who was a spy of the rebellion; she loved her homeland and knew that it was worth fighting for!
Alexander:
And worth dying for. (Saluting in her honor)
Tex:
She had been tellin’ me about how things were before, and how they could be again.
Esperanza:
I agreed some things had to be done for the good of the people, I believed in the cause even if I had no sympathy for the rebellion.
Alexander:
It was that ‘home’ it fostered invasion patriotism as well as people.
Marcus:
That is complete falsehood!
Esperanza: (to Alexander)
Your honor affects your memory.
Tex (directed to the children):
Our plan was simple prove that staying here was not worth the trouble. The details still took a couple of days to work out but that night we set off!

Scene 2
Tex:
We could use all the help we could get, and I trusted Sorella but not the rebellion…
Alexander:
It was a known fact that there were insurgents acting within the rebellion.
Tex:
Yes, I also knew that we needed a strategy, so I found the best chess player I knew. Alexander!
Alexander:
I appreciate your high standards. (sarcastically)
Tex:
The plan was to be inside the command building before Loki’s arrival.
Alexander:
Precisely, Sorella, the spy (half growling) helped get us stationed inside. Tex was to be a computer technician, I was posted as a guard assigned to the inside of the command building, Es was to be a tutor for Torrel; son of the Commander-in-Chief.
Esperanza:
The letter had stated the arrival date for two weeks after our posting. We counted down the days, but it was three weeks after our posting when…
Tex:
Wait!
Alexander:
Slow down woman! You are skipping ahead. Those two weeks were extremely important; we continued to develop out creditability, while scouting out potential targets.
Magnolia:
I helped!
Alexander:
Yes, Magnolia was frequently depended on for relaying information.
Esperanza:
Against my warnings of caution.
Alexander:
You worry like an old widow! She exceeded expectations, while I had been made chief of my security division and would be personally assigned to Loki as a body guard.
Tex:
A score for us! I had determined places to put smoke bombs and which computer systems would ‘malfunction.’
Esperanza:
Alright, those weeks were important. Although tutoring the Commander’s son was not an ideal position I found it insightful. He told me how Loki’s previous visits had played out. He also informed me of what the invasions future plans for the plant were. I couldn’t believe what I was being told! It was unspeakable evil of eternal enslavement, of eradication of those unfit to perform their assigned duty. This dictator, who had come to our world, came for his personal benefit with no regard for the lives of others.
Alexander:
When the information had been relayed to me I could hardly believe you had the self control not to strike him right there.
Esperanza:
I had considered it…
Torrel:
Why didn’t you?
Esperanza:
Something about you made told me that there was some honor left in you.
(Torrel sits up strait with arms crossed, and a hard glare but pleased look; but not a smile.)
The more that we talked the more I realized that you had no idea what was really going on.
Torrel:
Yes, you began to help me to see past the lies that were clouding my perceptions of reality.
Esperanza:
The invading army had been told that the planet was full of criminals and the insane who would kill each other for no good reason. Many believed that they were saving us.
Tex:
They were wrong, the truth would be known!
Alexander:
Indeed, and the liar would be the one to tell the truth!
Scene 3
Torrel:
That day finally come, Loki arrived. Everything was occurring naturally.
Esperanza:
I was asked to join Torrel at the ceremony which reassured me of the decision that I had made.
Tex:
Without our approval.
Esperanza:
What happened to ‘we could use all the help we could get’? (pause) I told Torrel our plans…
Torrel:
I had heard rumors of a rebellion, and Esperanza had told me the true situation of the people. It went against all that I had ever been told, but that day I became a traitor in order to do what I knew was right! I told Es that she had my full support, and we moved in position for the night.
Alexander:
Yes I was present with Loki during the ceremony, and was the guard outside the door of his chambers. I gave the signal to Tex.
Tex:
When I got the signal I cut the main power.
Esperanza:
All of the guests in the conference hall went crazy!
Tex:
Next I interrupted the sensor readings which were still active due to emergency power.
Esperanza:
Then the smoke screens activated. We moved to secure the doors and windows, while placing charges that were intended to scare.
Torrel:
The people went into panic; the fear of the rebellion showed up in full force.
Alexander:
Loki ordered us to escort him to his shuttle, seeking an escape. The coward!
Torrel:
No one was truly aware of the events unfolding.
Tex:
I sent out a false report to the pilot of the shuttle that he was to scramble his flight path and meet Loki four worlds away.
Alexander:
The guards and army were ordered on attack but the smoke prevented them from being of much use.
Torrel:
Then enters Sorella, and the full force of the rebellion. A battle broke out and terrified guest evacuated the planet, the army was confused and before long began to evacuate themselves. Esperanza and I led members of the rebellion to the shuttle bay and helped to secure multiple vessels.
Esperanza: (interrupting)
Yes I remember that’s the first time you kissed me.
(All the characters turn to look at Esperanza, whose eyes remain fixed on Torrel smiling like a silly young girl. Torrel seems flustered but regains his nerves and continues his story.)
Torrel:
Excitement got the better of me… not that I regret my actions…
Esperanza:
The battle continued well into the night until most of the invaders had left; Loki never issued an official retreat but he was nearly across the system when he was told that the invasion force had left the planet.
Tex:
We were free, free at last!
Torrel:
The peace was uneasy, and there were difficulties; there still are. But much has changed, and the future is bright.
Alexander:
A toast; ‘To a better tomorrow!’
All:
Tomorrow! (They all toast.)
[The lights come back on as the cast talks among themselves nearly the same scene as when the audience enters.]