A large seed ship approaches a planet that will soon go by the name Noman’s Land. Accompanying it is as a fleet that must contain millions of people. A cloaked white figure walks in alone, surrounded by thousands of stasis pods, in the vast soft blue glow of their ship’s inner chamber. In a moment of serenity, the figure wishes the damned souls aboard the ship good morning. As if in anticipation of the futility of the moment, an explosion blasts debris from the ceiling and he is knocked to the ground. An announcement is made that there is a level three emergency, the ship is in freefall and Vash is beckoned to return immediately.
Vash runs through the hall, sparks flying all around; he is trying to locate his companions, Nai and Rem. He frantically checks his room, but no one is there. As he starts down the hall, he is called from behind. He turns and is elated at the welcomed sight of familiar faces. He asks Rem what is going on; she tries to calm him by lying about the AI malfunctioning.
She encourages them to keep moving and rushes them to a small escape shuttle. Nai beckons for her to climb in and come with them, but she knows there won’t be any room or time. After a quick and heartfelt goodbye, they are launched into space just as the core of the ship ruptures. On a crash course with the surface of the nearest planet, the shuttle narrowly avoids the burning wreckage of the other exploding ships, their family, and the destruction of their entire civilization. Vash screams for Rem as he and Nai fall towards the planet.
Orange:
“This Scorching planet is cruel beyond belief, it’s Noman’s land. A dog-eat-dog world and you’ve got a lot to learn about what it takes to survive. …You’ll be toast before you know it.”
– The wise and the weary.
Kicking up dust like a bat out of hell, crossing desert sands with no road or life in sight, we are introduced to Myrle Stryfe and her more tenured colleague, Roberto, a grizzled veteran reporter familiar with the area. A tin can, filled to the brim with smoked cigarettes, gleams at Myrle from the dashboard as Roberto takes a swig from his flask. She reminds him that he shouldn’t be drinking while on the job. He is displeased with her comment, their assignment, as well as, with babysitting an inexperienced reporter in a hostile environment. Just as Roberto’s pretentious sense of superiority and gaslighting starts to push Myrle to go postal, the vehicle begins to sputter and die. She’s forgotten to charge the vehicle before embarking on their trip. The realization sets in with Roberto that she may be an even bigger liability than he originally anticipated.
Myrle and Roberto make their way across the desert, the blistering hot sun beats down on them. Exhausted, Myrle looks at a wanted poster for The Humanoid Typhoon – Vash The Stampede. Just as she wonders if he is even real, if real people can be monsters like the humanoid typhoon, they come across 3 corpses, hanging in the desert, left for the benefit of the vultures. One of them shows some movement, so she decides to lend a helping hand and let them down.
Soldiers approach, they show Myrle and Roberto a wanted poster, Vash’s plastered onto it. The photo matches the person she just helped, who is in hiding right behind her. Under the realization that she could have the world’s most exclusive interview with one of their most wanted, she sends the soldiers off in the wrong direction.
In search of water, Myrle stumbles across the western city of Jeneora Rock. She ventures into a saloon followed by Roberto and Vash. Vash is greeted with a warm welcome by the staff and citizens. They claim that he saved the entire town and question why he is bound in ropes. Vash promptly discards the ropes without assistance and vouches for his new friends. The bartendress inquires what everyone will be drinking. Myrle takes this opportunity to remind them that whisky should be abstained from during the work day and orders everyone the water they were in desperate search of. Myrle studies the glass up close, noticing a brown tint, and is horrified as she scans the room and realizes there is no alternative. The bartendress explains that their plant is malfunctioning.
Plants are biological generators that produce everything that humanity needs to survive on the desert planet or during space travel. They are technology that is no longer reproducible and lost with the space faring civilization that was destroyed in Vash’s youth. As Vash studies the plant, he identifies that one of the plants is red and that means it is dying. Buying one would cost a fortune. The soldiers and their Captain enter the plant and identify Vash as their 6 million dollar bounty. They offer to let the town claim him so they will have enough money to fix their plant and they take Vash into custody.
As the soldiers begin hitting Vash with the buttstocks of their rifles, Myrle and the other bystanders are overcome with their unethical treatment of Vash. Roberto steps in to save him, thinking he can play to the masculinity and bravado of the Captain, he suggests that the two gunslingers have a duel. To avoid being perceived as a coward, the Captain agrees to the showdown at sunset. Vash, happy-go-lucky, waves at his new friends from the killing grounds as he waits for the duel to start. Myrle comments on how he seems unprepared, but Roberto has faith in him, his reputation and ability to survive. Either way, the publicity will make the exclusive interview that much more prestigious if he lives.
Vash and the Captain stand at dueling distance on a cliff, with the setting sun creeping lower and lower, behind Vash’s back and to his advantage. The Captain screams for Vash to draw his weapon but he refuses, remarking that a duel is stupid. Vash is a pacifist and would prefer to end things without bloodshed. The Captain agrees with him, tears his side arm off, and tosses it towards Vash as a distraction. From his back, he unmounts a shoulder fired cluster bomb and fires it into the air. As the rounds reach their climax and make their turn towards the ground, it becomes clear he has put all the citizens and soldiers in jeopardy. Vash pulls out his gun and takes aim at the incoming bombs, hurdling toward them like a rain of hellfire, and steadies his hand as he takes aim. Click, he pulls the trigger. Click, click, click, Vash realizes he’s forgotten to load his gun and has entered into a duel with an unloaded weapon. Frantically, Vash screams, “Does anyone have any .22 caliber bullets!?”.
Myrle rushes to Vash, managing to have found 1 single .22LR round, and tosses it towards him. Vash, almost losing the round after it is shot out of the air, chases after it just barely managing to chamber it. He grabs a large rock, throws it in the air, and shoots it with the vastly underpowered projectile. The .22 grain round, traveling at approximately 900 feet per second, somehow manages to alter the laws of physics, and causes the boulder to fragment outward triggering the incoming explosives. Vash, with the help of his new team, has saved them from further destruction.
As the citizens celebrate Vash for another act of selflessness and courageousness, Roberto turns to Vash and ask, “What does scare you?” Vash responds, “I have a brother”, as he has a flashback to the day of the crash. Stasis pods litter a landscape covered in fire and debris, lights fill the sky as ships burn up entering the atmosphere, and maniacal laughter can be heard coming from the top of a plateau. Nai celebrates his success, the destruction of his people, and the devastating fruition of his nefarious plan.
“Millions Knives, have you ever heard the name?”
– Vash The Stampede
Watch on Hulu.
