Lonely Express Chapter 1
Panel 1: A small red figure rides through space on a long ship, towing cargo. Asteroids are in the foreground, with stars in the background.
Panel 2: Closeup of a face wearing a red helmet, that reveals only the character's eyes. They have a stern expression.
Panel 3: The same closeup from a side angle. There is a sticker with two "M"s with small wings, and a no smoking sticker.
Panel 1: The person with the red spacesuit driving their long cylindrical vehical. Their radio crackles, unnoticed.
Panel 2: The person pulls out a small handheld screen. The text to their left says "Via..."
Panel 3 and 4: Closeup of the screen in their hands. They scroll in panel 3, then tap in panel 4, selecting something on the screen.
Panel 1: Someone shouts: "VIA!!!" through the crackling radio. The character in the red suit lets out a noise of surprise.
Panel 2: The character in the suit, named Via, talks through the radio, saying "Sorry, I—", and is cut off by the other person. "NO 'SORRY'S!!!". Via responds with "...I was on my way to you already." while making a tired expression.
Panel 3: The character on the other end of the radio is shown wearing a headset and a sweater, shaking their fist in annoyance. "You gotta hurry it up, I wanna get home in time for dinner!"
Panel 4: The character with the headset shouts again: "Your list is still miles long!". Their angry face is overlayed over a list of unclear items. The caption at the bottom says: "Via's deliveries for the day.".
Panel 5: Via makes an exhausted expression with her eyes, saying nothing.
Panel 1: The character with the headset shouts at Via in frustration, Via saying "OK, OK" with a blank expression in response.
Panel 2: Cargo is towed in a net at the end of a snake-like tail, the ship that Via is seated on.
Panel 3: Via holds a letter in one hand, saying "Hm...".
Panel 4: Via is staring at the letter blankly. The caption says, "She can't read handwriting.".
Panel 5: Via brings the letter closer to squint at it, saying "HUH?" in confusion.
Panel 6: The front of Via's ship moving through space, its head also similar to a snake's.
Panel 1: Via deposits the letter into a storage slot on the side of her ship, saying, "Guess I'll hold onto it.".
Panel 2: Via pats the side of her ship affectionately. She thinks to herself, "Just a couple more deliveries...".
Panel 3: A piece of her navigation interface reads, "Travel to: Satellite" on top of illegible glyphs.
Panel 4: Via travels quickly through space, riding on top of her ship with the cargo towed in the net behind them.
Panels 1 through 3: Via triumphantly holding a package to deliver it. The caption above the three panels reads, "DELIVERIES! So many.".
Panel 4: Via slumps over in exhaustion, letting out a "GUH..." to express her tiredness.
Panel 5: Via holds up her navigation device again, thinking to herself, "Only two more...".
Panel 6: A closeup of her navigation device, with her hand showing through the transparency.
Panel 1: Via is leaned over, driving her ship when her radio crackles.
Panel 2: The character with the headset, named Sir, is in her office looking at an interface with a serious expression. She tells Via, "Heads up, there seems to be some sorta demonstration ahead.".
Panel 3: Sir talks through the radio while Via puts on a safety vest, saying "You're gonna want to put your vest on, so hopefully they leave you alone. You are offering a critical service, after all...".
Panel 4: Something flies past the side of Via's head, disappearing into space.
Panel 5: Via realizes what flew past, hand up in shock. She says, "Oh, sh—", her words cut off.
Panel 1: Via looks at something out of view, hands clutching her helmet with a nervous expression. She says over the radio, "Hey, Sir? These demonstrators sure are trying to hit me with something!".
Panel 2: Via uses her hands to look out, squinting at whatever is out of view. Sir comes over the radio with, "Get out of there Via!" while Via continues talking, saying "I'm trying to read their sign. The Antique... Antiqua—".
Panel 3: Sir comes over the radio again, saying "Oh, geez— Via, you need to go, NOW! I'll explain later!". But Via is waving her arms at the crowd of demonstrators, now shown in the distance. She yells to them, "HEYYY! I NEED TO PASS THROUGH!".
Panel 4: Via has a blank face, hand half up in confusion. She thinks to herself, "Maybe I need to shout louder?".
Panel 5: An explosion goes off behind Via, with a large BOOM and a cloud of smoke. Via clutches her head, saying "O—KAY, YUP! GETTING OUT!" to herself in panic.
Panel 1: A close up of the demonstrators, with no clear facial features. One of them is holding an analog megaphone, and shouts, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! UNLESS YOU WANNA LOSE THE BAG OF BOLTS YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU!". Another demonstrator wearing a hoodie stands off to the side, holding a sign.
Panel 2: Via grabs the handle of her ship, shouting back, "Bag of— HEY! DON'T TALK ABOUT SEO LIKE THAT!".
Panel 3: Via talks to herself as she gets on her ship, Seo, "C'mon, c'mon... load faster you stupid map...".
Panel 4: Via talks to Sir through the radio, holding her navigation device, saying, "Sir, you're not gonna like this, but I have to leave the deliveries to make it out." Sir replies back, "You just love making my job harder, don't you." holding her head in pain in the corner.
Panel 1: Via leans down to mess with the control panel of her ship while talking to herself. She mumbles, "Totally not stressed... disengaging magnetic load..." while another projectile from the demonstrators flies over her.
Panel 2: The rest of the deliveries in the net fall to the ground with a loud THUD.
Panel 3: Via flips one of three switches on her ships control panel.
Panel 4: Via pulls down the handle of her ship with a CLUNK.
Panel 5: Via takes off into space again on top of her ship, flying into the air and away from the satellite.
Panel 1: A front view of Via's face, her face stern with concentration.
Panel 2: A partial view of the side of Via's helmet, connected with the previous panel. Via thinks to herself, "Hopefully we make it out. It's so damn hard to see moving faster than the speed of light.".
Panel 3: Between the three panels, Sir yells, "VIA!!!" as she travels on her ship, becoming a blur from how fast she's traveling.
Panel 4: Another front view of Via's face, closer to her eyes to show they are squeezed shut from exertion. She thinks to herself, "Almost...".
Panel 1: Via falls forward, flat on her face against the body of her ship. The impact makes a loud "THWACK," and she lets out a "HURK" noise from the impact.
Panel 2: Via looks over her shoulder at the satellite she just left, now small in the distance. She thinks to herself, "Doesn't look like they're following."
Panel 3: Via holds the side of her helmet with one hand, eyes closed. She thinks to herself, "That was scary..." while Sir comes over her radio, yelling, "HEY!".
Panel 4: Sir is in her office, shaking her fist angrily at her screen. She yells into her headset, "You nearly killed ME with that stunt!".
Panel 1: Looking over the back of Sir's head, she's now watching a news broadcast on her screen. She says to Via, "Some journos got footage of the demonstration you were just caught up in."
Panel 2: A close up of the video on screen, with indiscriminate blobs of the crowd. Sir says, "Looks like the projectile they shot was some sort of arrow." to Via.
Panel 3: Via sits on her ship, clutching the handle with a "phew" sound. She says back to Sir, "What a relief...".
Panel 4: Sir holds out her hand in frustration, seemingly looking at Via in the other panel. She says to her, "Yeah, maybe for you!".
Panel 5: Via rides in between two floating buildings in space, returning to her workplace.
Panel 1: Caption: Sir's office. Via walks in the door, wearing her full spacesuit, greeting Sir who leans back in her chair with her feet up on her desk. Sir says, "Good to see you." while Via replies "Uh huh." in return.
Panel 2: Via takes off her safety vest while she tunes out Sir's lecture in the background. A snippet of her speech says, "Don't get mad at me. It's not a typical occupational hazard so I wasn't exactly able to make you aware of it.".
Panel 3: Via takes off her helmet with a "fwp" sound, not saying anything in response to Sir.
Panel 1: Via removes her head covering, putting it into her locker. Her back is towards Sir, who asks her with a displeased face, "Are you going out? We still have business to take care of!".
Panel 2: Via turns around, hair messy from changing. Her expression is unamused, staring back at Sir without a word.
Panel 3: Sir puts on an apologetic face, waving Via off as she stands to the side, still displeased. Sir says to her, "Okay, haha, go get yourself cleaned up and head home or something.".
Panel 4: Captions: CHANGED. Courtesy of the mail union's restroom. Via opens the door to leave, carrying her duffle bag with her. She says, "Alright Sir, I'll see you tomorrow for the damages." with Sir's reply of, "Bye, Via.".
Panel 5: Caption: Inside the satellite where the mail carriers receive jobs... it's a mall. Via walks through the hall of the large satellite, with storefronts and people in the background.
Panel 1: Caption: The average after work Via. Via stands stiffly in the frame, as arrows point to parts of her outfit with comments. Turtleneck: ugly. Sweats: boring. Slip-on performance shoes: the pinnacle of style, clearly.
Panel 2: Via's blank face is off to the side, with a caption to the right. It says, "She often has a vacant look in her eyes, that entices so many people to befriend her! (not)". Another caption points at her, saying "head empty.".
Panel 3: Via walks through an unspecified door, a bell hanging and making a "jingle" as she does.
Panel 1: Via sits at a counter, holding her head in her hands with a bored expression and a sigh.
Panel 2: Someone's elbow bumps into the same door, ringing when it opens.
Panel 3: A person asks Via, "Is this seat taken?". Her head is still in her hands, letting out a short "Nope.".
Panel 4: A girl climbs onto the seat next to Via, Via not making any acknowledgement or greeting.
Panel 5: The two sit side by side, the girl smiling while Via still looks bored.
Panel 1: The girl starts making conversation with Via, asking, "You're Via, right?" as Via replies with a "Huh?". Another patron of the business asks in the background, "Could ya turn on the TV? Any one of 'em works." getting the reply from the worker, "Sure thing, pal.".
Panel 2: The girl continues the conversation, while the TV plays in the background with more details on the news report of the demonstration. She tells Via, "Oh, sorry! I forgot to mention I know your boss.", with Via asking her in return, "You know Sir?".
Panel 3: The girl continues. "Yeah! She said you were looking down today, and needed a friend." Via thinks to herself, "What the hell was Sir thinking? Is she for real?". The TV report concludes in the background.
Panel 1: Half of Via's face is shown with a frustrated expression, in black and white for dramatics. She thinks to herself, "Did Sir really ask some random girl to befriend me? She thinks I'm lonely or something?".
Panel 2: The girl was talking in the background while Via thinks, behind the other frustrated side of her face. She says, "...and at first I was going to say no to her, but I'm a little lonely myself too.".
Panel 3: Via responds fully to her, intrigued by what she heard. She asks, "You're lonely? You seem pretty friendly even if I don't know your name.", and the girl replies, "Oh! Well, it's a long story. But I could always use more friends!".
Panel 4: A closeup of the girl's face as she looks at Via with a smile. She says to her, "My name is Asa, by the way. Totally forgot to mention that.".
Panel 5: Via looks back at her, still not very expressive. She replies to Asa, "Nice to meet you, then?".
Panel 1: Asa holds out her hand to Via with a joyful smile, saying, "Now let's be friends!", catching Via off guard as she looks at her outstretched hand, replying, "Just like that?!".
Panel 2: Asa is still smiling as she asks again, "Well, how do you normally make friends?". Via replies bluntly, "You don't have to ask me like that.".
Panel 3: The two of them shake hands, with a formal "CLASP".
Panel 4: Asa smiles at Via, her eyes closed with a small "heh" of satisfaction.
Panel 5: Asa asks Via, "So we're friends, right?" as Via looks off into the distance with her expression unchanged. She only replies with a short "Sure.". End of Chapter 1.