MOONBASE THETA, OUT – S4 Bonus 2 – “Jaxon”
by D.J. Sylvis
SOUND: Chime – Bookend
SOUND: Observatory background (ongoing)
(The episode starts only a few moments after the end of the previous Ashwini bonus.)
ASHWINI
(rambling on a bit)
That is what I intended to share with you that evening. And when I say I don’t want to let go, what I mean is … I’m trying to say that I …
SOUND: Creaking of the chair as Jaxon gets up suddenly
JAXON
I understand. Can I hug you?
ASHWINI
You don’t have to; I know it’s not always your …
JAXON
But I can?
SOUND: A bit of the shifting and clothes rustling as they hug
JAXON
(quietly crooning)
Don’t want to let go … don’t want to let go …
(after a moment)
I’m … glad you stayed.
ASHWINI
Thank you.
JAXON
I brought the little quiches you like. I could go warm them up …
ASHWINI
They’re excellent regardless. Thank you, Jaxon. You’ve become so … reliable. Even when one is used to being self-reliant.
JAXON
I like that … become reliable, become reliable …
SOUND: He paces back and forth a little, his gait uneven
JAXON
There are things I haven’t told you yet, too. Too too too …
(after a moment)
I got a message from Ramón – it’s easier to send messages now, there are channels. Secret and not so secret. But Security makes other things hard. They can travel inside the walls – people can travel out too, but then they can’t come back. Ramón and Chen are safe; Sarah, Kira, Madhu – my stepsisters – are safe; cousins and stepcousins are safe. Chen manages our building and opens up the empty units so everyone can stay together. Some of my cousins aren’t on the lists; it’s safer together. My parents …
SOUND: He paces a bit more
JAXON
They said my parents left. Some people were going to start a new Freehold. My uncles tried to get them to stay, but the Freehold was more important. No one has talked to them since they left the walls.
ASHWINI
I’m sorry, love.
JAXON
It’s okay.
(crooning a little)
My uncles, my cousins, stepcousins … my uncles, my cousins, stepcousins … stepcousins …
(brief pause)
Chen taught me to cook. I was ten, my Mom left me there any time she was in a show. Chardon – my step-per – wouldn’t handle me, couldn’t handle me. They were new and I had lots of meltdowns. So, Mom took me to my uncles.
(brief pause)
It was louder than at home, and it didn’t smell the same. So many cousins. But Chen taught me to cook; he said it was how he kept his cool. Mixing, salting, a slow, rolling boil. I learned to deglaze a pan; I made a jus. He was right – it helped me keep my cool. Watching a souffle rise, or a cake settle; waiting for the pop of the rice cooker. Everything else faded enough that I could handle it.
(brief pause)
On the bus back home, I’d read recipes and watch videos about the ingredients. Mom held my hand and sang quiet, she was always rehearsing. “Nice work if you can get it … Nice work if you can get it …”
(after a moment)
When I got older, she stopped picking me up, I rode the bus on my own. When it was too too too, I’d hold my own hand, and sing to myself. I got a job in a restaurant, so I was on the bus a lot.
(brief pause)
The restaurant was okay, it was loud but I was cooking. But they wouldn’t let me choose the menu.
ASHWINI
So not enough science.
JAXON
I taught myself the science. Some of my cousins played soccer – I made sure they had the right supplements. When Ramón got sick, I made foods he could eat.
ASHWINI
You still spent a lot of your time there?
JAXON
Every week, everyone got together. My uncles, my cousins, my parents, stepsisters, stepcousins … Chen and I made big family dinners. Roast duck and tofu, baked sweet potatoes, elote, fried green beans … my mom liked cheesecake, I always made cheesecake.
(brief pause)
My cousins were older then, they got easier. And when you’re doing the cooking, if the table is too much, you can go hide in the kitchen.
(brief pause)
The dinners were our … gravitational pull. If anyone missed a week, I took them leftovers. During university, I brought back friends, Sam, Abdel, Zehra … Zehra married my cousin Diego. Sam is living in the basement of our building. Sam and Zehra are safe.
ASHWINI
But not Abdel?
JAXON
There was an accident. Not now, when I was still there. They say his name at every dinner.
ASHWINI
It must have been quite an upheaval when you told them all that you were leaving for the Moon.
JAXON
Chen’s mother was visiting. Ze taught me to make jiaozi – pork and chives, chicken cabbage and ginger, spinach and mushroom … spinach and mushroom … it was hard to learn the folding. Ze couldn’t slow down enough for me to follow.
ASHWINI
That’s how I feel when I watch you work.
JAXON
It was the same week they sent my contract. I put the envelope under my plate; I practiced what I was going to say. Moonbase Theta, Moonbase Theta, Moonbase Theta … my uncles knew I was trying, it would surprise all of the others. I thought Mom might sing, “Fly me to the Moon …” And we’d have dumplings.
(brief pause)
Fly me to the moon … fly me to the moon …
(another pause)
That week, my parents stopped coming to dinner. They were busy; they had other things to be done. My stepsisters were there – Sarah, Kira, Madhu – but not Mom. Not Chardon. We ate the dumplings, I told everyone I was leaving, people said congratulations. No one sang.
ASHWINI
Jaxon. I’m –
JAXON
(rushing to continue)
My stepsisters were there. Sarah – thirteen; Kira – thirteen; Madhu – ten. After dinner, they asked me how I made the dumplings. They did better pleats. They started making Mom drop them off early to help cook. They stayed late and washed up. Kira cried the day I left for the Moon.
SOUND: A slow pacing back and forth
JAXON
I cried the day I left for the Moon. They day I left Chen and Ramón, Sam, Zehra, Diego … Sarah, Kira, Madhu. It was hard to leave, too too real, too too too. And when I woke up again and we couldn’t send messages …
ASHWINI
I was still awake when that part happened. It was dreadful; like I’d broken my vow. Though I haven’t sent any yet, now that it’s feasible again.
(after a moment)
Love, if you need to go back there …
JAXON
No. Yes, when it’s possible. To visit, to tell them all about the Plan … about my family here, Nessa, Harold … to introduce you. To make you part of our dinners, to put my family together. Everything I learned to make together.
SOUND: A few soft steps back
JAXON
And to see yours, if you want. If we can. But then back here, to the work to be done. To be done, to be done, to be done. Together.
ASHWINI
I … understand. If I could request one more hug?
SOUND: A bit of sound as they hug, rustling of clothes as they press together
ASHWINI
Perhaps you could teach me how to make dumplings.
JAXON
I’d have to prep the ingredients, and we don’t have chives –
ASHWINI
It doesn’t have to be now. But let’s put that on our list, okay?
(after a moment)
You’ve reminded me; I should compose a message to Tumnus. And another friend she’s currently visiting. When we do make it to Earth, they’d be on our list.
JAXON
I should plan my next menu. Where is my tea?
(after a sip)
Work to be done, work to be done, work to be done …
SOUND: Observatory background ends
SOUND: Chime – Bookend
(The episode ends.)
PRODUCER
Thank you for listening. This episode featured Cole Burkhardt as Jaxon, and Tau Zaman as Ashwini Ray. The script was written by D.J. Sylvis; Cass McPhee is our audio engineer. Our theme music is “Star” by the band Ramp; our cover art is by Peter Chiykowski.
We’ll be back next week – but on Earth, with a bonus episode focused on Ahnung and the journey she took way back in Season 3. Until then, you can find us on social media or visit our Discord server to chat about the show; you can also support us at Patreon.com/MonkeymanProductions if you want to help us pay the bills and get behind-the-scenes information about MTO and the next show we’re developing right now. TTFN, Moonbaseians!
