Post by Jeff Gerke on Mar 20, 2007 20:33:05 GMT -5
Here's my attempt to bring together all the things I personally think are coolest from all we've talked about for our story. Well, some of it is made up on the spot, not exactly synthesized, but I hope it will all work together in the end.
Background for the SF Storyline
It is the task of the Interplanetary Defense Command (IDC) to ascertain and ensure the safety of all new colony startups in planets of known space. The IDC has selected the Marines for this task. Marines are equipped to make space-based or planetary deployments and take and hold any terrain for the short to medium term. Planetary regular army units are tasked with conquering whole planets or holding for the long term.
Standard practice is for the military wave to precede the civilian wave in any planteary colonization project. One battalion of marines (roughly 300 marines and officers, and their vehicles and command and control equipment) is to deploy ahead of the primary Standard Colony Base Unit (SCBU; i.e., portable city). The marines are to secure the area and scout out a prime location for the SCBU. The SCBU is to follow.
However, the marines have done this so many times and so rarely encountered any resistance, that they've gotten into the habit of bringing the SCBU into the planet's atmosphere at the same time that the marine scout ships begin looking for a place for it to land. Instead of it being two distinct phases, it is one intermixed phase. This has worked every time in the past--and it increases efficiency and decreases the time the marines have to stay at any forsaken excuse for a planet--and so they have no reason to believe it won't work this time.
The idea is that the marines will maintain a defensive perimeter as the SCBU lands and undergoes the 24-earth-hour automated process of unfolding, unpacking, and deploying itself. At the end of that time the marines go in and begin powering up the various subsystems of the SCBU and in all ways making it livable for the civilian colonists, who will be arriving in the next wave. One of the things that happens when an SCBU deploys on a planet is that it begins releasing a mix of nitrogen, oxygen, and other elements to further enrich the atmosphere for healthy lifecycles for the colonists.
The marines live in the SCBU, testing out all the facilities, repairing or upgrading where necessary, and generally turning an SCBU into the beginnings of a colony where families could live. It's also tradition for the marine battalion to prepare a special statue, monument, or other display both to welcome the civilians and to memorialize the marines who prepared the place for them.
The perimeter of the colony complex is protected by an electrified fence, automated defenses, and autonomous military vehicles.
While the insides of the SCBU are being configured, the marines make armed recon patrols around the outside to explore, survey/map, and simply experience the environs. Data collected in these expeditions will be added to planetary survey information fed into the colony's library computers, giving the colonists a ready-made tourist's guide--and giving the marines something to do while the other marines are preparing the colony.
In most operations of this kind, within four-to-seven Earth days the colony is ready for habitation. The marine commander then gives the okay and the civilian transport vessels, which have been waiting in orbit with the marine combat vessels, begin to land and unload the colonists into their new home.
This time, however, the civilian vessels have been delayed by hostile pirates. The marine convoy has had to remain behind as armed escort. The SCBU and the marine landing force were sent ahead to prepare the planet. The convoy expects to drive off the pirates and reach the planet right about at the time the colony is ready to receive the colonists. The only ship actually in orbit around the planet, then, is the transport frigate that had carried the marine deployment force and the SCBU (lovingly nicknamed the Scoob, or ScoobyDoo, for reasons lost to arcane history).
The SF Storyline
The opening scene is of the marine scout ships entering the atmosphere of HP398-3 (Habitible Planet #3 of Planetary System 398). The scout ships fly over the vast forest wilderness and declare it safe for the other ships to enter. The troop transport vessel and the Scoob enter the atmosphere at high velocity, causing a fiery display--had there been anyone on the planet to view it, which, of course, there isn't.
The scout pilot reports some odd readings on his instruments--a momentary flash of different findings, indicating human habitation and a medieval technology level--but dismisses it as old data from a previous mission.
The scouts locate a prime site for the Scoob and direct both landing craft to the location. The troop transport has to use its beam weapons to clear the area of forestation and any contaminants, but then the SCBU and the other ships land. The marines begin to deploy and the Scoob begins its automated unfolding process.
Very soon the colony is deployed, the coctail of nutrients is pumping into the atmosphere, the marines are configuring the colony, and the surveying teams are out exploring. Everything is going according to plan.
Our hero (in this storyline) is a young marine major on his first planetary deployment. He has seen combat in the Tyg-Nau Rebellion and a classified assault on HP483-1, for which he received the Silver Star. He is second-in-command of the marine landing force, in charge of the military and defense aspects of the mission. He is ranked just behind the Lieutenant Colonel and ahead of the Captain, who is in charge of the mission to make the SCBU ready for civilian occupation.
After four days the area is explored and the colony is ready for its colonists. They contact the convoy but find they're still several days out. One of the civilian transport ships has been damaged and they are conducting repairs and transferring civilian personnel.
While our hero and his marines settle in to wait, automated surveillance equipment detects the presence of 53 humanoid intruders.
End of Act I for the SF storyline.
Background for the Fantasy Storyline
This is a medieval fantasy realm the likes of which we could find in a typical fantasy novel. There are kings and usurpers, wizards and knights. Kingdoms vie with one another economically when it suits them and militarily when it does not. Marriages between royal families broker tentative alliances. Royal lines have been extinguished, replaced by commoners-made-kings.
There are creatures in this world: flying beasts that may be domesticated and ridden into battle, fierce monsters best left in their lairs, and other fantasy beasties.
Wizards study the arcane arts, drawing power from what sources they can. Legends tell of ancient sorcerers who could level entire fortresses with a spoken command, but modern wizardry cannot duplicate those feats. Wizards today concentrate instead on manipulation, mystery, and court intrigue.
Much of the realm is unexplored and undeveloped, consisting mainly of vast forests in the east and north and arid grasslands, turning to desert, in the west and south. The Great Sea leads the skilled sailor to ports of call along the coastline--and the unskilled to his doom in the endless expanse of water that finally joins the sky.
As our story begins, someone has assassinated a royal prince and the wizards have convened a council to read the portents and augeries to determine who is responsible. The grand wizard, an especially ambitious old man, has tied these events to the ancient prophecies that say one day the might of the wizards will return and on that day the mightiest wizard of all will arise and subjugate all under his rule.
(That's all made up, of course, fabricated on an old-looking parchment and then conveniently "discovered" recently. This wizard hopes to parley this, ahem, unfortunate accident into a way for HIM to overthrow the king.)
The Fantasy Storyline
"Someone has killed Prince Galnar! Alarm! Alarm! Assasins and havoc! Summon the castle guard!"
Our story begins with the discovery of an assassination. The prince--the heir to the throne--has been murdered. We meet all our main characters (in this storyline), including the grand wizard, the king and queen, the captain of the army, a big-time mooch named Prupheen Gaz, and (our hero) a talented young apprentice wizard named...Ervana or Aoni(?).
The grand wizard calls a council on the morrow to auger the identity of the killer and the meaning of these events.
The next day during the council the grand wizard and all the wizards lead the royal court in an elaborate display of pomp and false magic (something our heroine despises, but this is the best place to come and learn magic so what's a girl to do?). Before revealing the identity of the killer the grand wizard goes into a history of the recently discovered prophecy about the coming rise of a great wizard. The prophecy portends strange signs in sky and earth and the return of the wizards' great sorceries.
As he speaks, the audience rises in shock and points to the sky. Fiery streaks fall from the heavens and descend to earth beyond the horizon. Then two huge fireballs tumble from the sky, leaving behind a blackened trail like a gash across the firmament. The royal court proclaim the veracity of the grand wizards' prophecy. No one is more surprised or afraid than our grand wizard.
It appears to the witnesses that the fireballs cool off and maintain controlled flight, finally coming to rest deep in the forest amidst a great cloud of smoke.
Meanwhile a trio of huntsmen traveling deep in the unexplored forest witness strange fires in the sky. They stand in bewilderment as the falling fireballs transform into flying wagons of some kind. The largest two vessels descend right over where the huntsmen are standing. One of the three hunters panics and runs. The other two are standing there when one of the two vessels begins emitting a strange flow of purple light concentrated like a polearm that reaches to the ground. When these two realize the purple light is destroying the trees and land around them, it is too late to run. They are caught in the destruction and killed.
The other huntsman watches in terror from a hiding place as the great flying vessels descend to the now-treeless and flattened expanse of land that had once been forest. One of the vessels lands nearby in a cloud of dirt and smoke. When the cloud clears, he sees a cube-shaped structure the size of a castle. Great wings of it begin to expand or unfold like a spider righting itself after a fall. Curious, he approaches. A strange metallic arm moves, apparently by means of sorcery, and points at him. A beam of purple light emerges from this arm...and disintegrates our last huntsman.
Back at the castle, the king mandates that an armed expedition be mounted immediately to traverse the trackless wastes and learn what has come to rest deep in their forest. The grand wizard--or his deputy--should of course be included in the questing party, as should the captain of the army, an armed escort, and emmissaries from the royal court.
The grand wizard, being at heart a boneless chicken and much more accustomed to home than the wilderness, looks about for someone expendible to send in his place. He chooses our heroine. Plus a chatty wizard trainee who has fallen out of favor with the wizard for talking too much and being a pest.
Other members of the party include Prupheen Gaz--complaining strenuously about the king's decision--as emmisary for the royal court, and the dashing captain of the army, with a detachment of fifty of his elite mounted warriors.
The party sets out the next morning. It is several days' travel for them. Along the way, our heroine tries to gain the eye of the captain of the army, but he does not appear to be interested. Several of the other warriors are, though (but their intentions are shown to be far from honorable). She befriends Prupheen Gaz, who is a massive complainer but at least no threat to her.
Also along the way, as she does her morning training regimen, she is surprised to find that she can actually execute the basic magical incantations. She has never been able to do so before. Odd, she thinks. Maybe the lessons are finally sinking in.
As the days go by she finds she can accomplish more and more complex incantations. "This trip into the wide outdoors is really helping me, Prupheen. I can do things I'd never done before. And not only that, I feel more alive than I've ever felt."
The others are feeling stronger and more hale as well. She shows Prupheen how to do a simple trick and he finds he can do it. The chatty wizard trainee can do his things now, too. Even the men in the escort find they can light fires better and do the other kitchen magic their mothers tried to teach them. Something's going on, but they'll all too excited to care what that might be.
Finally they reach the place where the fireballs came to earth. They see a complex of very strange looking structures and, what's more, hundreds of men walking around wearing odd clothing and carrying fearful weapons--and driving and FLYING around in strange vehicles.
Uh, oh.
End of Act I for the fantasy storyline.
The Storylines Begin To Merge
The two groups (our marine hero's group and our wizard heroine's group) meet and almost come to blows. The marines bring out their translation device. The fantasy group donates the chatty wizard trainee to go over and work with the translation marines.
Prupheen recognizes true power when he sees it and is suddenly no longer sorry he got chosen for this quest. He begins trying to insinuate himself into the marine leardership's good graces. Our SF hero and our fantasy captain of the army know the look of a true warrior in each other's eyes. They keep a wary watch on each other's forces and begin fencing with one another verbally.
Our heroine is attracted to this marine commander, but she is simultaneously awed by the magical devices around her and the sudden emergence of her own magical powers. She's got a lot going on in her head.
After a tour of the colony and a meal together, something goes sour and the marines' SF firepower is put on display, cutting down several of the fantasy warriors in an instant.
The captain of the army dispatches five riders to get word to the king that a major new enemy has arrived and he should immediately dispatch the mounted guard (around 2,000 warriors) and then raise the entire army and march them here within three weeks' time.
Okay...fuzzy here...somehow I want us to get to the point where the mounted guard and the marine batallion are facing off for battle. The chatty wizard and our heroine have quickly become formidable wizards. They don't even know how deep their power goes yet. There are flying creatures with their riders joining the fantasy force. Prupheen was inside the colony schmoozing when the alarm went up. Now he's stuck inside there until the battle is done. The marines send off a distress signal to get the convoy here in a hurry.
The fantasy guys have managed to capture a laser gun, and our heroine has learned that she can cast a protective veil around selected targets. She even thinks that, with the help of the other wizard and anyone else with magical powers, she will be able to protect the entire mounted guard when the lasers begin to fly. So we're at a standoff.
Every time the magicians use their magic they sense a growing sense of weirdness in the air, as if something is about to happen. The SF techies register weird readings on their instruments, too. Seismic disturbances, perhaps.
Despite desperate last-minute attempts to forestall conflict (including, perhaps, a talk between our heroine and the marine hero, who recognize genuine mutual attraction between them), the battle begins. The magical veil does hold and the fantasy warriors are at parity with their SF counterparts. Magic and technology are perfectly balanced and opposed, giving neither side the advantage. It's a pitched battle. Fierce and bloody and full of sound and fury.
Through cunning on the part of the Captain of the Army, the fantasy warriors are able to slip around behind the defenses and flank the marines, resulting in a rupture of their line and the most brutal phase of any battle: hand-to-hand combat. Here the fantasy warriors, with their swords and skill with them, have a slight advantage, though the SF marines are skilled in unarmed or knife-only martial arts. The scout ships pour on the lasers, the flying creatures swoop down on the the gunners, the technicians dish out the wave blasts, and the wizards strike with fire and stone.
In the midst of the most frenetic moment of the battle, heaven rips through to earth.
A force stronger than magic or technology silences both, and the combatants watch dumbly as glowing, unearthly beings act out a pageant of supernatural import. The spectral beings implore all parties to help THE LIVING ONE find the source of truth in the universe.
As quickly as the vision began, it ends, leaving the warriors speechless and spent. They realize they have seen something that transcends their fued and, indeed, unites them in a common purpose: they must find this "source of truth."
End of Act II
Act III, then, is about the faction that wants to make peace, explore this "new" religion, and find the source of truth. It's also about Prupheen Gaz trying to find his true loyalties. It's about our marine major "finding religion." It's about our heroine trying to decide if she wants to go with this new religion, pursue the marine major, or reject it all and go explore her newfound power. It's about the marine researchers realizing that it's the SCBU's output of the nitrogen mixture into the atmosphere that has probably triggered the rise in magical abilities by the locals (and someone's order to turn OFF the mix to thereby gain power over the locals).
It's about the grand wizard trying to become the sorcerer of all power prophesied in the fake prophecy--and his moves on the king, resulting in the revelation that he himself was behind the assassination of the prince.
It's about the marine convoy coming to pulverize all indigenous life on the planet. It's about the wizards, led by the grand wizard, taking over the kingdom's army and rising up to overthrow not only the king but the invaders. It's all moving to another huge confrontation.
The first scene of Act III would be the strained banquet between the fantasy warriors and the SF marines. They do demonstrations to show off the wonders and skills of their cultures. This is where things are strained but the musicians are the ones who break the ice and begin to make peace (perhaps one of these musicians, on the SF side probably, has been a character we've been developing along the way). Our Captain of the Army and our marine major become fast friends and have to decide how to fend off not only the wizard army but the marine convoy.
And find the source of truth.
The climax of Act III--or, if we don't mind having 4 acts, then Act IV--is the final confrontation.
The convoy is here and has begun pummeling the planet. The wizards have gained enough power so that they can repel the bombardament and even transport themselves to the ships to take them over. Prupheen is trying to get with whoever will protect him and let him mooch off the most wealth. Our SF hero and wizard heroine realize their love for one another (hey, can you tell I'm I guy?). Perhaps our SF hero has also become a devoted disciple to this new religion, which they're learning more about every day. They're on the verge of locating the source of truth--down in a cave under the main castle, perhaps, or in some ancient ruins. New SF warriors appear on the planet, only now they're attacking the colony city because the "traitors" are there with their fantasy buddies.
In other words, all double-matchsticks is breaking loose.
The moment of truth is when all our heroes have banded together, blending the best of both their technologies and magics and tactics to find the mix that defeats either the fantasy or the SF forces. At the same time, the person/people looking for the source of truth actually find it--it's, I dunno, a portal? A stone tablet? Love? Forgiveness?
With their discovery and with the blended technologies of our heroes, the wizard army is overthrown, the SF convoy is beaten off, and disaster is averted. The grand wizard is eliminated. And Prupheen proves himself a good guy after all.
Meanwhile the fact that the nutrient mix is no longer pumping into the atmosphere means that the wizards' magic is weakening. Happily, though, by the time anyone realizes this, the parties have enacted lasting peace agreements and the planet is designated a preserve that cannot be colonized without approval from the world's governing bodies.
Boy gets girl. Planet doesn't blow up. And a new faith dedicated to THE LIVING ONE is born.
The sequel will be these characters trying to develop the tenets and scriptures of the new religion, but they are opposed by a new enemy: the leaders of the organized religions of the galactic federation.
The End.
Whew!
Jeff
P.S. I keep saying this, but nobody should think we have to use my idea. I'm just one of the gang, okay?
P.P.S. I realize I didn't do everything I asked Dulci to do in her synopsis: identify the main characters' inner journeys, etc. Oopth!
Background for the SF Storyline
It is the task of the Interplanetary Defense Command (IDC) to ascertain and ensure the safety of all new colony startups in planets of known space. The IDC has selected the Marines for this task. Marines are equipped to make space-based or planetary deployments and take and hold any terrain for the short to medium term. Planetary regular army units are tasked with conquering whole planets or holding for the long term.
Standard practice is for the military wave to precede the civilian wave in any planteary colonization project. One battalion of marines (roughly 300 marines and officers, and their vehicles and command and control equipment) is to deploy ahead of the primary Standard Colony Base Unit (SCBU; i.e., portable city). The marines are to secure the area and scout out a prime location for the SCBU. The SCBU is to follow.
However, the marines have done this so many times and so rarely encountered any resistance, that they've gotten into the habit of bringing the SCBU into the planet's atmosphere at the same time that the marine scout ships begin looking for a place for it to land. Instead of it being two distinct phases, it is one intermixed phase. This has worked every time in the past--and it increases efficiency and decreases the time the marines have to stay at any forsaken excuse for a planet--and so they have no reason to believe it won't work this time.
The idea is that the marines will maintain a defensive perimeter as the SCBU lands and undergoes the 24-earth-hour automated process of unfolding, unpacking, and deploying itself. At the end of that time the marines go in and begin powering up the various subsystems of the SCBU and in all ways making it livable for the civilian colonists, who will be arriving in the next wave. One of the things that happens when an SCBU deploys on a planet is that it begins releasing a mix of nitrogen, oxygen, and other elements to further enrich the atmosphere for healthy lifecycles for the colonists.
The marines live in the SCBU, testing out all the facilities, repairing or upgrading where necessary, and generally turning an SCBU into the beginnings of a colony where families could live. It's also tradition for the marine battalion to prepare a special statue, monument, or other display both to welcome the civilians and to memorialize the marines who prepared the place for them.
The perimeter of the colony complex is protected by an electrified fence, automated defenses, and autonomous military vehicles.
While the insides of the SCBU are being configured, the marines make armed recon patrols around the outside to explore, survey/map, and simply experience the environs. Data collected in these expeditions will be added to planetary survey information fed into the colony's library computers, giving the colonists a ready-made tourist's guide--and giving the marines something to do while the other marines are preparing the colony.
In most operations of this kind, within four-to-seven Earth days the colony is ready for habitation. The marine commander then gives the okay and the civilian transport vessels, which have been waiting in orbit with the marine combat vessels, begin to land and unload the colonists into their new home.
This time, however, the civilian vessels have been delayed by hostile pirates. The marine convoy has had to remain behind as armed escort. The SCBU and the marine landing force were sent ahead to prepare the planet. The convoy expects to drive off the pirates and reach the planet right about at the time the colony is ready to receive the colonists. The only ship actually in orbit around the planet, then, is the transport frigate that had carried the marine deployment force and the SCBU (lovingly nicknamed the Scoob, or ScoobyDoo, for reasons lost to arcane history).
The SF Storyline
The opening scene is of the marine scout ships entering the atmosphere of HP398-3 (Habitible Planet #3 of Planetary System 398). The scout ships fly over the vast forest wilderness and declare it safe for the other ships to enter. The troop transport vessel and the Scoob enter the atmosphere at high velocity, causing a fiery display--had there been anyone on the planet to view it, which, of course, there isn't.
The scout pilot reports some odd readings on his instruments--a momentary flash of different findings, indicating human habitation and a medieval technology level--but dismisses it as old data from a previous mission.
The scouts locate a prime site for the Scoob and direct both landing craft to the location. The troop transport has to use its beam weapons to clear the area of forestation and any contaminants, but then the SCBU and the other ships land. The marines begin to deploy and the Scoob begins its automated unfolding process.
Very soon the colony is deployed, the coctail of nutrients is pumping into the atmosphere, the marines are configuring the colony, and the surveying teams are out exploring. Everything is going according to plan.
Our hero (in this storyline) is a young marine major on his first planetary deployment. He has seen combat in the Tyg-Nau Rebellion and a classified assault on HP483-1, for which he received the Silver Star. He is second-in-command of the marine landing force, in charge of the military and defense aspects of the mission. He is ranked just behind the Lieutenant Colonel and ahead of the Captain, who is in charge of the mission to make the SCBU ready for civilian occupation.
After four days the area is explored and the colony is ready for its colonists. They contact the convoy but find they're still several days out. One of the civilian transport ships has been damaged and they are conducting repairs and transferring civilian personnel.
While our hero and his marines settle in to wait, automated surveillance equipment detects the presence of 53 humanoid intruders.
End of Act I for the SF storyline.
Background for the Fantasy Storyline
This is a medieval fantasy realm the likes of which we could find in a typical fantasy novel. There are kings and usurpers, wizards and knights. Kingdoms vie with one another economically when it suits them and militarily when it does not. Marriages between royal families broker tentative alliances. Royal lines have been extinguished, replaced by commoners-made-kings.
There are creatures in this world: flying beasts that may be domesticated and ridden into battle, fierce monsters best left in their lairs, and other fantasy beasties.
Wizards study the arcane arts, drawing power from what sources they can. Legends tell of ancient sorcerers who could level entire fortresses with a spoken command, but modern wizardry cannot duplicate those feats. Wizards today concentrate instead on manipulation, mystery, and court intrigue.
Much of the realm is unexplored and undeveloped, consisting mainly of vast forests in the east and north and arid grasslands, turning to desert, in the west and south. The Great Sea leads the skilled sailor to ports of call along the coastline--and the unskilled to his doom in the endless expanse of water that finally joins the sky.
As our story begins, someone has assassinated a royal prince and the wizards have convened a council to read the portents and augeries to determine who is responsible. The grand wizard, an especially ambitious old man, has tied these events to the ancient prophecies that say one day the might of the wizards will return and on that day the mightiest wizard of all will arise and subjugate all under his rule.
(That's all made up, of course, fabricated on an old-looking parchment and then conveniently "discovered" recently. This wizard hopes to parley this, ahem, unfortunate accident into a way for HIM to overthrow the king.)
The Fantasy Storyline
"Someone has killed Prince Galnar! Alarm! Alarm! Assasins and havoc! Summon the castle guard!"
Our story begins with the discovery of an assassination. The prince--the heir to the throne--has been murdered. We meet all our main characters (in this storyline), including the grand wizard, the king and queen, the captain of the army, a big-time mooch named Prupheen Gaz, and (our hero) a talented young apprentice wizard named...Ervana or Aoni(?).
The grand wizard calls a council on the morrow to auger the identity of the killer and the meaning of these events.
The next day during the council the grand wizard and all the wizards lead the royal court in an elaborate display of pomp and false magic (something our heroine despises, but this is the best place to come and learn magic so what's a girl to do?). Before revealing the identity of the killer the grand wizard goes into a history of the recently discovered prophecy about the coming rise of a great wizard. The prophecy portends strange signs in sky and earth and the return of the wizards' great sorceries.
As he speaks, the audience rises in shock and points to the sky. Fiery streaks fall from the heavens and descend to earth beyond the horizon. Then two huge fireballs tumble from the sky, leaving behind a blackened trail like a gash across the firmament. The royal court proclaim the veracity of the grand wizards' prophecy. No one is more surprised or afraid than our grand wizard.
It appears to the witnesses that the fireballs cool off and maintain controlled flight, finally coming to rest deep in the forest amidst a great cloud of smoke.
Meanwhile a trio of huntsmen traveling deep in the unexplored forest witness strange fires in the sky. They stand in bewilderment as the falling fireballs transform into flying wagons of some kind. The largest two vessels descend right over where the huntsmen are standing. One of the three hunters panics and runs. The other two are standing there when one of the two vessels begins emitting a strange flow of purple light concentrated like a polearm that reaches to the ground. When these two realize the purple light is destroying the trees and land around them, it is too late to run. They are caught in the destruction and killed.
The other huntsman watches in terror from a hiding place as the great flying vessels descend to the now-treeless and flattened expanse of land that had once been forest. One of the vessels lands nearby in a cloud of dirt and smoke. When the cloud clears, he sees a cube-shaped structure the size of a castle. Great wings of it begin to expand or unfold like a spider righting itself after a fall. Curious, he approaches. A strange metallic arm moves, apparently by means of sorcery, and points at him. A beam of purple light emerges from this arm...and disintegrates our last huntsman.
Back at the castle, the king mandates that an armed expedition be mounted immediately to traverse the trackless wastes and learn what has come to rest deep in their forest. The grand wizard--or his deputy--should of course be included in the questing party, as should the captain of the army, an armed escort, and emmissaries from the royal court.
The grand wizard, being at heart a boneless chicken and much more accustomed to home than the wilderness, looks about for someone expendible to send in his place. He chooses our heroine. Plus a chatty wizard trainee who has fallen out of favor with the wizard for talking too much and being a pest.
Other members of the party include Prupheen Gaz--complaining strenuously about the king's decision--as emmisary for the royal court, and the dashing captain of the army, with a detachment of fifty of his elite mounted warriors.
The party sets out the next morning. It is several days' travel for them. Along the way, our heroine tries to gain the eye of the captain of the army, but he does not appear to be interested. Several of the other warriors are, though (but their intentions are shown to be far from honorable). She befriends Prupheen Gaz, who is a massive complainer but at least no threat to her.
Also along the way, as she does her morning training regimen, she is surprised to find that she can actually execute the basic magical incantations. She has never been able to do so before. Odd, she thinks. Maybe the lessons are finally sinking in.
As the days go by she finds she can accomplish more and more complex incantations. "This trip into the wide outdoors is really helping me, Prupheen. I can do things I'd never done before. And not only that, I feel more alive than I've ever felt."
The others are feeling stronger and more hale as well. She shows Prupheen how to do a simple trick and he finds he can do it. The chatty wizard trainee can do his things now, too. Even the men in the escort find they can light fires better and do the other kitchen magic their mothers tried to teach them. Something's going on, but they'll all too excited to care what that might be.
Finally they reach the place where the fireballs came to earth. They see a complex of very strange looking structures and, what's more, hundreds of men walking around wearing odd clothing and carrying fearful weapons--and driving and FLYING around in strange vehicles.
Uh, oh.
End of Act I for the fantasy storyline.
The Storylines Begin To Merge
The two groups (our marine hero's group and our wizard heroine's group) meet and almost come to blows. The marines bring out their translation device. The fantasy group donates the chatty wizard trainee to go over and work with the translation marines.
Prupheen recognizes true power when he sees it and is suddenly no longer sorry he got chosen for this quest. He begins trying to insinuate himself into the marine leardership's good graces. Our SF hero and our fantasy captain of the army know the look of a true warrior in each other's eyes. They keep a wary watch on each other's forces and begin fencing with one another verbally.
Our heroine is attracted to this marine commander, but she is simultaneously awed by the magical devices around her and the sudden emergence of her own magical powers. She's got a lot going on in her head.
After a tour of the colony and a meal together, something goes sour and the marines' SF firepower is put on display, cutting down several of the fantasy warriors in an instant.
The captain of the army dispatches five riders to get word to the king that a major new enemy has arrived and he should immediately dispatch the mounted guard (around 2,000 warriors) and then raise the entire army and march them here within three weeks' time.
Okay...fuzzy here...somehow I want us to get to the point where the mounted guard and the marine batallion are facing off for battle. The chatty wizard and our heroine have quickly become formidable wizards. They don't even know how deep their power goes yet. There are flying creatures with their riders joining the fantasy force. Prupheen was inside the colony schmoozing when the alarm went up. Now he's stuck inside there until the battle is done. The marines send off a distress signal to get the convoy here in a hurry.
The fantasy guys have managed to capture a laser gun, and our heroine has learned that she can cast a protective veil around selected targets. She even thinks that, with the help of the other wizard and anyone else with magical powers, she will be able to protect the entire mounted guard when the lasers begin to fly. So we're at a standoff.
Every time the magicians use their magic they sense a growing sense of weirdness in the air, as if something is about to happen. The SF techies register weird readings on their instruments, too. Seismic disturbances, perhaps.
Despite desperate last-minute attempts to forestall conflict (including, perhaps, a talk between our heroine and the marine hero, who recognize genuine mutual attraction between them), the battle begins. The magical veil does hold and the fantasy warriors are at parity with their SF counterparts. Magic and technology are perfectly balanced and opposed, giving neither side the advantage. It's a pitched battle. Fierce and bloody and full of sound and fury.
Through cunning on the part of the Captain of the Army, the fantasy warriors are able to slip around behind the defenses and flank the marines, resulting in a rupture of their line and the most brutal phase of any battle: hand-to-hand combat. Here the fantasy warriors, with their swords and skill with them, have a slight advantage, though the SF marines are skilled in unarmed or knife-only martial arts. The scout ships pour on the lasers, the flying creatures swoop down on the the gunners, the technicians dish out the wave blasts, and the wizards strike with fire and stone.
In the midst of the most frenetic moment of the battle, heaven rips through to earth.
A force stronger than magic or technology silences both, and the combatants watch dumbly as glowing, unearthly beings act out a pageant of supernatural import. The spectral beings implore all parties to help THE LIVING ONE find the source of truth in the universe.
As quickly as the vision began, it ends, leaving the warriors speechless and spent. They realize they have seen something that transcends their fued and, indeed, unites them in a common purpose: they must find this "source of truth."
End of Act II
Act III, then, is about the faction that wants to make peace, explore this "new" religion, and find the source of truth. It's also about Prupheen Gaz trying to find his true loyalties. It's about our marine major "finding religion." It's about our heroine trying to decide if she wants to go with this new religion, pursue the marine major, or reject it all and go explore her newfound power. It's about the marine researchers realizing that it's the SCBU's output of the nitrogen mixture into the atmosphere that has probably triggered the rise in magical abilities by the locals (and someone's order to turn OFF the mix to thereby gain power over the locals).
It's about the grand wizard trying to become the sorcerer of all power prophesied in the fake prophecy--and his moves on the king, resulting in the revelation that he himself was behind the assassination of the prince.
It's about the marine convoy coming to pulverize all indigenous life on the planet. It's about the wizards, led by the grand wizard, taking over the kingdom's army and rising up to overthrow not only the king but the invaders. It's all moving to another huge confrontation.
The first scene of Act III would be the strained banquet between the fantasy warriors and the SF marines. They do demonstrations to show off the wonders and skills of their cultures. This is where things are strained but the musicians are the ones who break the ice and begin to make peace (perhaps one of these musicians, on the SF side probably, has been a character we've been developing along the way). Our Captain of the Army and our marine major become fast friends and have to decide how to fend off not only the wizard army but the marine convoy.
And find the source of truth.
The climax of Act III--or, if we don't mind having 4 acts, then Act IV--is the final confrontation.
The convoy is here and has begun pummeling the planet. The wizards have gained enough power so that they can repel the bombardament and even transport themselves to the ships to take them over. Prupheen is trying to get with whoever will protect him and let him mooch off the most wealth. Our SF hero and wizard heroine realize their love for one another (hey, can you tell I'm I guy?). Perhaps our SF hero has also become a devoted disciple to this new religion, which they're learning more about every day. They're on the verge of locating the source of truth--down in a cave under the main castle, perhaps, or in some ancient ruins. New SF warriors appear on the planet, only now they're attacking the colony city because the "traitors" are there with their fantasy buddies.
In other words, all double-matchsticks is breaking loose.
The moment of truth is when all our heroes have banded together, blending the best of both their technologies and magics and tactics to find the mix that defeats either the fantasy or the SF forces. At the same time, the person/people looking for the source of truth actually find it--it's, I dunno, a portal? A stone tablet? Love? Forgiveness?
With their discovery and with the blended technologies of our heroes, the wizard army is overthrown, the SF convoy is beaten off, and disaster is averted. The grand wizard is eliminated. And Prupheen proves himself a good guy after all.
Meanwhile the fact that the nutrient mix is no longer pumping into the atmosphere means that the wizards' magic is weakening. Happily, though, by the time anyone realizes this, the parties have enacted lasting peace agreements and the planet is designated a preserve that cannot be colonized without approval from the world's governing bodies.
Boy gets girl. Planet doesn't blow up. And a new faith dedicated to THE LIVING ONE is born.
The sequel will be these characters trying to develop the tenets and scriptures of the new religion, but they are opposed by a new enemy: the leaders of the organized religions of the galactic federation.
The End.
Whew!
Jeff
P.S. I keep saying this, but nobody should think we have to use my idea. I'm just one of the gang, okay?
P.P.S. I realize I didn't do everything I asked Dulci to do in her synopsis: identify the main characters' inner journeys, etc. Oopth!
