However Small, However Hidden (The Award-Nominated Anthology Series)
Project Overview
Summary: When a massive Tyranid fleet appears in orbit, Connor Daly and his son Jatrus must escape the global cataclysm by fleeing into the tunnels beneath their Imperial hive city. Trapped miles below ground, what they find is an uprising of monstrous proportions and the spectres of their own family trauma.
Written by Colyn DeGraaff & Stephen Rhodes. Trailer music by Troy Sterling Nies with original music composed by Robert Renato Hack.
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COLD OPEN STORIES produces self-contained short fan audio dramas set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe featuring various characters from different apocalyptic sectors of space. Each “episode” is meant to be digested on an average commute, averaging 30-45 minutes.
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Connor Daly [Adult Male] – Less than domineering, he has left many of the hard decisions in life to his wife Imogen Daly. His zest for fatherhood, however, cannot be questioned, and he passionately cares for his boy, Jatrus. Upon the arrival of the Tyranid hive fleet, he must summon a courage he doesn’t at first recognize to escape the horrors above and below.
The Imperium runs on fathers. The cosmic symbol of stability. Our sector has constellations named after them. Cepherian. Oridion. Fathers raise their families and sons to be strong. The Father of Mankind is supposed to protect us from holy Terra… but Terra is far ways away…
I look up and see it, looming overhead. A shadow. It has no features, but I can feel its presence fixated on me. The veil pulls back and a thousand eyes open, starved and hungry. The shadow opens its mouth and with a lash of its tongue tears the stars to shreds.I recognize the man, I knew him briefly. He was a soldier, a decorated war veteran. Broad-chested. Handsome. He had fought countless battles, Saved millions by waging war across the stars. By all accounts, he was a good and virtuous man. Before he killed himself.
That’s when I see it… the patriarch of these creatures. Hard plates of blue rustle over discolored flesh as it crawls from the shadows. The creature is hunched over, perched on a pipe looking down at the congregation. It raises its left arm, a hairless thing that trails droplets of mucus, and it taps its curved hook to its forehead. From behind its hard plates, its brain emerges, pulsating and malformed.
Jatrus Daly [Teen Boy (14-16)] – Sharing more in common with his mother, Imogen, Jatrus is not nearly as risk-averse as his father. Impressionable and trusting of other Imperial citizens, his openness draws him into conflict between his father and the characters they meet.
You have to close the gate first! I’ve got it!
He doesn’t seem well, father. He’s a little odd.
What are they, father?
Imogen Daly [Adult Female] – A serious, duty-bound woman, Imogen serves in the Imperial Guard and is called to the world’s defence upon the arrival of the Tyranids. This character shares a speaking role with the Norn Queen [see the Casting Call on coldopenstories.com for more details]. Loving her son Jatrus unconditionally, she is easily irritated by signs of weakness, and pushes her boy and husband to assume a more assertive behaviour.
I love you. So much. But you’re being a coward right now. I don’t say this to be hurtful – you know me. But I have my duty. I need to go.
Honestly, Connor. Just once I’d appreciate you understanding this. I have to go out there and I need you to step up. Just once. Take our son, head to the lower levels and out of the city if they pass the mesosphere. Understood? Don’t be weak. For both your sakes.
I was wrong. Resisting what comes is like trying to hold your breath. Eventually you have to greedily inhale or you’ll suffocate.
Cross, The Thrall [Young Adult Male] – A resident of the lower levels of the Hive City, Cross is an indentured servant working in the cities’ vast factory network. He is a foil for Connor; self-assured, funny, skillful, but without a family or support network he has become disconnected from deeper social bonds. He has survived the horrors below prior to the Tyranid invasion and becomes a guide to the survivors.
Lower your weapon! Fine! Yes, that’s my weapon. Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that we were being picky.
That path doesn’t lead anywhere. Heh. You have no idea where you’re going, do you?
You’re clearly wrestling with something. They’ve gotten into your dreams, haven’t they? I don’t have any drugs. Just a promise. I promise you, it’ll be painless.
Genestealer Captain Sparus [Any] – An espionage specialist, Captain Sparus infiltrated the Imperial Guard and has sought to undermine their defences leading to the arrival of the Tyranid hive fleet.
If you can hear this, rally point is outside the walls. Get to us. Marker Mordia 403.801. Tactical withdrawl is in progress. The Emperor Protects.
You hear that? An host to our gene. Surely you knew something wasn’t right. No? No parental intuition?
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