Assignment 2 - late again

Well, I'm going to have to look into that 'hat 'o shame' too, oops.


Dead asteroid - research station

Dynamic duo

Head researcher - military specialist.  Posted undercover, station actually has a major role to play in saving a planet.

Flunky researcher - washed up wonderkid.  Botched a major research opportunity hen trying to save a local girl.  They now live together on the asteroid.  Damsel in distress is a cook, researcher is second in comand amd she is trying to rebuild he credibility.

Caretaker - Old man, no family of his own.  Parents dead.  Signed up for life at this station.  Hates people, loves his plants.  Keeps a lot of plants to ease oxygen recycling.

Sabatour - working at the station as the head researcher's aid.  Trusted childhood friend, high security clearance, unassuming organizer.  Very quietly disrupting efforts to redirect this asteroid.

Assignment 2 - Characters

Hmm, past the deadline when I wanted to get the posted by.  I'm working the over night shift at my "day" job right now so my sense of what day today falls on is a little bit skewed.  While writing this I realized that I had made every single character idea here male, so I went back and changed a bunch to female.  Made for an interesting shift of perspective on some of the characters.  Immediately pulled a few of them out of areas where they could have easily fallen into tired old tropes.


Scene: Someone is caught cheating at a game of (space) cards

1) Construction Foreman - She is down to her last few credits and desperately needs to win a few good hands in order to get off this waste of a rock and get back to her family.

2) The Bartender - He fingers the handgun hidden under the bar as tension rises, he's already been shot twice this year as a result of a card game that turned bad.

3) The Shark - she's worked hard to get as good as she is, she's lost many games and more credits than she can count, she's not going to stand for some no skill hack beating her on a cheat.

4) The Patsy - Gambling is not something that she was very skilled at, but she needed the money, her man was sick and there was little hope of being able to afford the meds required from the company pharm.  The street dealer's prices were still extortion, but, less so that buying from the company.  He was at least sympathetic and had offered her some advice, and a card counter at a high discount.

5) The Puppet Master - He knew that The Patsy wasn't good enough to fool them for long employing the cheat that he'd provided, but, then again, she didn't have much choice but to try did she?  A tussle over the game would provide more than enough distraction than was needed.

6) The Thief - She just had to bide her time, not look obvious, and stay clear of the majority of the ruckus.  Was hard to rip someone off when you ended up unconscious on the floor because you took a stray bottle off the dome, left you with one hell of a headache the next day too.

7) The High Roller - Luck had finally turned her way, she'd come into some credits unexpectedly and she would finally be able to leave this mud ball and start living the good life up on station.  Soon it would be time to get down to the nitty gritty details of leaving this dull life behind, but tonight just like it had been for the last week, it was time to celebrate!

Assignment 2 - Expand upon your ideas

Assignment 2 - Expand upon your ideas

We've got a great list of ideas for scenes, this is a great place to start.  So now lets take some time to fill in the different things that are needed to make those scenes happen, characters.  All kinds of different people are needed to make a scene successful and sometimes it is the minor "one shot" or "throw away" characters that really make a scene shine and really give a piece of fiction depth.

Pick a scene idea from the list generated by Assignment 1, create basic character concepts (minimum 3) for minor characters that might appear in that scene.  Include actions that they might take during the scene.

Example:

Scene: A Problem occurs while a space ship is docking

1) Space Station Traffic Controller - Following station emergency action policies, managing space traffic, keeping other space craft away from the problem area.

2) Station Docking Engineer - working with the crew of the effected ship in order to get the ship safely docked, take steps to minimize the damage to the station

3) Station Security Officer - Evacuate threatened areas of the station, take actions to mitigate panic among station population

4) Captain of Ship in Neighboring Berth - Contact station operations staff, demand answers for why his ship has been put in jeopardy because of the actions of others, worries that some accident will expose the contraband cargo he carries on board.

Well yesterday's update didn't go through, so here's take 2:

1).  Transporter

      Take package to remote location, do not open

2). Carnivorous plats

    Planet/genetics company filled with carnivorous plants. Obtain data/samples and don't get eaten

3).  Robotics factory

    Malicious program implanted, robots go rouge.

4).  Station gravity malfunction. 10x normal.

     Krasti is strong, but mostly trapped. Gru weighs tons, but bionics compensate.

5). Captured by slavers

     Break free, rescue other slaves?

6).  Join a pirate fleet, gain access to key person/ship/planet

7). Undercover arms merchants

     New weapons on the market, duo what the shinies.

There they be!

Assignment 1 - Completed

Life kind of bowled me over this week, I guess that means I'm due for several (5 to be exact) Hat of Shame pictures ... I guess that means that we need an actual Hat of Shame in order to take pictures with.  I guess that means there needs to be a hat finding expedition.

So, here is a list of all the ideas generated by Assignment 1.  We can now officially no longer say "I'd really like to write something, but I don't have any ideas."


1) Duo hired to retake small research station - For this one I kind of like the idea of an asteroid with an isolated station.  Secret work, mysterious goals.

2) Battle scene, duo out numbered and cornered - Feels like a good sport for a warehouse filled with boxes.

3) Space battle - Small ship to ship

4) Space battle - Boarding a large battleship.

5) Running retreat, timed escape, - Industrial zone, space port explosion eminent?

6) Section of space station depressurizes - Mad scramble for survival, what's not to like about this?

7) A problem occurs on atmospheric re-entry - Going out in a blaze of glory is exciting.

8) A problem occurs while a space ship is docking - The massive bulk of space craft combine to use their powers for awesome... well, so long as you are not living on either one of them.

9) Sensitive information is stolen while under watch - who doesn't love a good theft?

10) Thief cracks a vault to discover that the prize is no longer there - theft and a mystery, can't go wrong with that.

11) Someone attends a High Society party which is well above their class - Highjinks ensue!

12) Struggle on top of a moving (space) car - who didn't like the Highway scene from The Matrix: Reloaded?

13) Someone is caught cheating at a game of (space) cards - a classic, can go many different ways.

14) There are burglars / thugs sneaking around outside our (space) home - everybody loves an ambush ... okay, maybe not the people getting ambushed.

15) Digging through a (space) chest of old belongings - you can learn so much about people by the things they keep around.

16) Someone arrives at a meeting and discovers their (space) rival waiting for them.

17) Stealth mission, forest setting, night time with lots of stars. - Infiltrate hidden compound? Ambush a recon team? Free prisoners under escort?

18) Board meeting, job negotiations - Over charging desperate, crooked business?  Feeling out new clients?  Intel gathering?

19) Stake out. - In a hotel? In a vehicle? Undercover? Silent stalking? Bantering?  Bored musings?

20) Locked up. - Medieval style dungeon?  Vietnam war movie style?  Future-istic cells with fields?  Caught on purpose?  Sold out by employer?  Allowed capture so other hostages don't die?

21) Bar scene - Meeting client.

22) Court trial on a planet stuck in the past. - Old west style?

23) Poisoned - Someone is poisoned, must seek out antidote

24) Old temple - Lost culture's temple.  Hidden underground and unveiled by a cave in?

25) Rescue mission - Gouverner's daughter kidnapped.

26) Bounty hunt - A small dog, genetics experiment. Bring back alive.

27) Guard duty - Guarding a mining companies ore transport. Or protect a new dig site.

28) Stero-typical bar scene - A real hive of scum and villany. Fight or hiring smugglers.

29) Run and gun - toward starport escape?

30) 'Hide and Seek' - asteroid field, Dangerous cat and mouse game.

31) 'kangaroo court' - Old friend is assumed guilty and soon to be executed. Detective work, or break out.

32) (Space) Zombies - Brainwashed colony? Bacteria? Actual zombies?

33) Transporter - Take package to remote location, do not open

34) Carnivorous plats - Planet/genetics company filled with carnivorous plants. Obtain data/samples and don't get eaten

35) Robotics factory - Malicious program implanted, robots go rouge.

36) Station gravity malfunction. 10x normal.  Krasti is strong, but mostly trapped. Gru weighs tons, but bionics compensate.

37) Captured by slavers - Break free, rescue other slaves?

38) Join a pirate fleet, gain access to key person/ship/planet

39) Undercover arms merchants - New weapons on the market, duo what the shinies.

Assignment 1

Well, missed a few days.... but such a good start (for me), so I'm going to trudge on!  Here's some more ideas:

1) 'Hide and Seek' - asteroid field

         Either a bounty they're hunting, or hiding from, leads to the asteroid field.   Dangerous cat and mouse

2) 'kangaroo court'. - any setting really

       Old friend is assumed guilty and soon to be executed. Detective work, or break out.

3). Zombies - always an idea!!

      Brainwashed colony? Bacteria? Actual zombies?

Assignment 1 - day 3&4

As suspected, very late night. So I'll post yesterday's and today's.

1). Court trial.

    Thinking a planet stuck in the past, old west style. Dynamic duo caught and on trial

2). Poisoned

   One of the pair is poisoned, must seek out antidote

3). Old temple

    Lost culture's temple, hidden underground and unveiled by a cave in

4). Rescue mission

   Gouverner's daughter kidnapped.  Duo hired to rescue

5). Bounty hunt

    A small dog, genetics experiment. Bring back alive.

6). Guard duty,

     Guarding a mining companies ore transport. Or protect a new dig site.

7). Stero-typical bar scene

       Fight or hiring smugglers

8).  Run and gun toward starport escape.

      Lots of explosion, witty banter and antics.



That's it for now, brain a little scattered with the retreat