THE UNBELIEVABLE RUTH #9b

An Antony Fortunato sidebar

Apr 05, 2025

A TALE OF TWO SAD DADS:

ANTONY FORTUNATO is a successful architect, a hapless single father and a grieving widower. He's currently caring for his daughter and his precocious niece -- RUTH ŽUKAUSKAS.

ROKUS ŽUKAUSKAS is Ruth's father. He works on a freighter and he's rarely home. He misses his wife and daughter.

PAGE ONE

TITLE: Disconnect

INT. GROCERY STORE

Panel 1: Antony is rolling a shopping cart down the cereal aisle while talking on his phone.

ANTONY (on phone): Rokus? You're breaking up. I don't know where you are, but the reception is terrible.

EXT. DELTA QUADRANT

Panel 2: A huge SPACE FREIGHTER (cargo transport) travels past twinkling stars, satellites, space junk and colorful nebula in the vastness of space.

ROKUS (inside Freighter): Making deliveries in the middle of nowhere. That's how it is.

INT. GROCERY STORE

Panel 3: Antony is checking out cereal w/ a cartoon character featured on the box.

ANTONY (on phone): Before I lose you, I just want to know what kinds of foods Ruth likes.

ROKUS (jagged; from phone): My daughter'll eat anything. You'll be surprised.

PAGE TWO

Panel 1: CU of Antony on his phone.

ANTONY (on phone): Not Camille. She's either vegan, gluten free, on a weird diet, or binging on cheese-dusted corn puffs. Changes every day.

INT. SPACE FREIGHTER

Panel 2: ROKUS ŽUKAUSKAS is floating inside a gravity-free zone in the craft and staring out a portal window. A weird looking communications device (a metallic ball w/ charged antennae) floats nearby.

Rokus is a handsome, rugged, bulked-up dude with a flat-top haircut. He wears a onesie jumpsuit with the Freighter logo on it. Velcro secured boots.

ROKUS: Ruth ate a handful of live crickets. I think they were dipped in chocolate. But... alive. And squirmy.

ANTONY (jagged; from communication device): I won't be serving that.

Panel 3: Rokus presses a button marked "Emergency".

ROKUS (to communication device): Appreciate you looking after my baby, Antony. Give her a --

INT. GROCERY STORE

Panel 4: Tight on Antony staring at his phone.

SFX: Klik!

ANTONY: Eh. Lost him.

PAGE THREE

EXT. DELTA QUADRANT.

Full Page: A PIRATE SPACESHIP is attacking the Space Freighter. The pirate ship is black and nearly invisible in space except for its red lights. And the neon skull and crossbones painted on its hull.

PIRATES, in stylized spacesuits* w/ jet packs, swarm the Space Freighter carrying sci-fi ray guns or rifles.

* spacesuits are red, spiked, with metallic ram horns on the helmets.

ROKUS (inside Freighter): ... kiss.