Armed with a pulse rifle, an old photograph and strange coordinates, an amnesiac space marine must navigate hostile planets and brave unforeseeable peril to unlock the memory of his past and safeguard his family's future. 

SYNOPSIS:

Romanov Holiday is a unique, pulp-action/graphic sci-fi in the vein of classics like Heavy Metal and Buck Rogers, set on 4 distinct planets which serve as 30-minute vignettes. Originally written as an open world video game concept, Romanov Holiday encapsulates certain RPG (Role Playing Game) elements and themes such as progression, organic storytelling and world building. It centers on the exploits of a single protagonist (Romanov) and a host of side characters with their own distinctive arcs, quirks, histories and backstories.

Synopsis:

A space marine (Romanov) and his bunk mate (Fallister) on planetary leave overlook trash jettisoned from their transport vessel. Romanov shows distaste for our overarching antagonist, the politician/war monger Jason Breen. Their transport vessel is suddenly attacked by a cloaked enemy ship. Romanov and Fallister are separated during the escape. Romanov’s escape pod loses a parachute and crashes down on the planet surface.

Planet Azhorah: An arid desert planet and home of the Loralithians, a small, quirky, troll-like species. A relic of a slowly industrializing society, the Loralithian’s are reliant on the jettisoned scraps and waste from passing space vessels.

Romanov awakens in a small mud hut to a quirky troll like alien named Krepp. Having suffered major injuries on touchdown, Krepp was forced to amputate Romanov’s legs and replace them with rudimentary prosthetics. Romanov doesn’t have any recollection of his past let alone his own name. With a new name (Man) and the mention of crashed escape pods, he and Krepp head out in search of clues.

Romanov manages to secure some of his belongings from his crashed escape pod, including a pulse rifle confirming his suspicions that he’s a space marine. Upon inspecting Fallister’s crashed pod and deceased corpse, to which Romanov has no recollection, they find a picture with coordinates on it. Romanov gets in a shootout with some scavengers before they head to the city for answers.

In Little Habana, Romanov and Krepp track down a scientist named Grouper who believes Romanov to be the fabled god spoken of in their prophecy. The “amnesiac wanderer.” He offers to translate the coordinates for a favor. Romanov is tasked with climbing an enormous tesla coil and flipping on the power source, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Romanov is fitted with new, sleek metal prosthetics and manages to complete his dangerous climb, providing limitless power to the whole planet.

Grouper manages to translate the coordinates while Krepp surprises Romanov with a hybrid Cadillac/spaceship/submersible he’d been crafting. With Grouper’s help they get the vehicle functional. Romanov says his goodbyes and blasts off to find more answers.

Philogoz 417: A glacial moon orbiting the ocean planet of Philogoz. Its deep glacial ocean is home to a species of octopi called the Squidz. Multiple research labs and instillations dote the inner ocean, built by humans for the advancement of the species of Squidz through assisted evolution.

When Romanov nears Philogoz 417 he is bombarded by a distress signal. With the help of thermal imaging, he manages to blast a hole through the glacial surface to the inner ocean and finds the submersible research station. He emerges to a tarnished, disheveled and abandoned docking station.

Romanov explores the abandoned station and we get some exposition on a head researcher (Kylie) and her daughter (Mallory). A small, cute octopi named Wubz is also introduced through a pivotal recording which shows the creature being affixed to a human-like apparatus. Romanov finds a family picture in Kylie’s room which confirms he also fought with her husband, a space marine. With the deep-sea elevator out of service, Romanov’s forced to backtrack to his submersible.

Upon uncovering the flooded lower levels, Romanov’s submersible is dragged by a mysterious creature further into the depths. He manages to scare off the creature and is hailed by the surviving researchers, including Wubz, to a large submarine. Through some deliberation, Wubz reveals the creature to be his mother, and as a show of remorse agrees to help Romanov pursue and kill her. Mother is tracked down to her cavernous lair where she is slain, after a difficult and harrowing fight.

At the back-up facility, Romanov is fortunate to find Kylie and Mallory have survived the chaos. Kylie recognizes the coordinates and points Romanov in the right direction. A heartbroken Wubz relinquishes himself of his apparatus and reverts back to his original home in the ocean, as Romanov departs for his next destination.

Planet Colexium: A war torn planet separated by an enormous active volcano. Two factions of men are in a constant state of battle over the planet’s main resource, a hallucinogenic root called mendroot.

Romanov’s vessel is shot down in orbit. His ship plummets down to the planet surface and crash lands in the Colexium forest. Romanov gets his first taste of mendroot by accident and has a hallucinatory trip. When he awakens, he is a detainee in a cell accompanied by a political prisoner (Quaid). Quaid illuminates Romanov of their situation before a violent earthquake provides them an escape.

Romanov and Quaid trudge through the war-torn city to Quaid’s apartment where they devise a plan to destroy the Colexium forest along with the mendroot by diverting the volcanic flow using a bomb. From the city to the Colexium forest, Romanov meets Quaid’s wife Mileena and her band of tribals. Ironically, through the use of mendroot, Romanov comes to remember his past. The wife and son he was forced to leave behind to fight.

Romanov, Quad, Mileena and a group of climbers ascend the volcanic range with tragic results. Only Romanov and Quaid survive the summit. In a state of hopelessness, Quaid casts himself and the explosive device into the volcano which works as intended. The Colexium forest is burnt to a crisp along with the drug mendroot. Romanov is rescued in the nick of time. With his memory restored and his destination in mind, Romanov makes his way home in his repaired vessel.

Planet Cradle: An earth-like planet with a 60’s Oldsmobile aesthetic on the brink of discovering FTL (Faster Than Light) travel. Civilized. First world. Diplomatic.

Romanov is too late. His home planet has been stripped of all resources and resembles a barren wasteland, devoid of life.

After receiving a message from Kylie, Romanov returns to Azhorah to find it in the same condition as Cradle. Barren and lifeless. The camouflaged vessel, which shot down his transport in the beginning, is the culprit. Romanov makes a suicide run and is shot down on Azhorah’s surface near the original Tesla coil.

Surviving the crash, Romanov infiltrates the strange instillation and is attacked by a reptile like race of aliens. Romanov fights his way deeper into the base, sustaining life threating injuries in the process. At the apex of the instillation stands a wormhole, syphoned from the power of the tesla coil Romanov had originally switched on for Grouper. On the verge of death, Romanov takes a chance and drags himself into the wormhole.

When he comes out the other end, he is back at home with his wife Alyona and son Alexy, years before the events which we just witnessed unfolded. Romanov is fortuitous, until he reads the newspaper. Jason Breen! The architect of his misery. In order to secure the fate of the future, Romanov tasks himself with assassinating the politician for setting every preceding event in motion.

After a hectic game of cat and mouse between Romanov and his concerned wife, Romanov manages to kill Jason Breen with a well-placed sniper round from an eagle's nest, in front of thousands of onlookers. As Romanov makes his escape, he is revealed and accidentally gunned down by a police officer. Romanov dies in his wife’s arms, in full view of his son, having fulfilled his prophecy.

Regardless of Romanov’s sacrifice, the cycle repeats. 30 years later his son Alexy watches trash jettisoned from his transport vessel with his bunkmate Allister.