ALIEN: Manticore

 Ati

Thank-you for the compliments!!! I really appreciate them!! I'm glad you like my efforts, and your statements help me keep my technique on-track. :)

Bestseller, well, perhaps one of my Original works will be, as this is a work done in a universe that belongs to FOX. BUT I really appreciate you thinking I have a chance at such someday!! :D

Some visuals/pics that helped (a lot) to inspire ALIEN: Manticore. I'm NOT any kind of artist, so I draw from what I can.
I hope you enjoy this informal 'tour' of Manticore, as best I can manage one. :)

Manticore was based off both the Torrens and the Nostromo. She tends to look more like the Torrens, but if you add in the descriptives I've edited in, the two ships would be dead-easy to tell apart at a glance.
Manticore is a hybridized version of elements of design I picked and chose from, as-seen in the following pics, as well as keeping elements of the Nostromo/Stock M-Class CM-88 as well as Concept art from ALIEN.
The ship is one where the crew spends a considerable amount of time awake and working, also as she is privately-owned, her appointments and assorted areas are roomier and more accomodating to people so as to be more comfortable for her crew.
Case in point, the Bridge. MUCH larger than a stock CM-88 M-Class bridge. The Left side as seen below is duplicated in-kind on the right (starboard) side of the bridge, and yes there are valid reasons for such, like direct-vision supervising of deep-space salvage operations, etc..

The shuttles/smallcraft/dropships...whatever you want to call them, the ship has these two.
Both are armed, but only one is genuinely meant for combat while the other is a super-duty model meant for hard use in the roughest conditions and carries a sizeable cargo capacity.
I state and affirm full appropriate credit to the respective creators, and if not for their work, I'd have been stuck, but these works of their's lended a lot of helpful inspiration. These served as the 'Base' for me to build my own interpretations from.

Drake Heavy-Lift Utility Combat Shuttle-Gunship. Basically, the much bigger, vastly Badder 'Grandfather' of the Dropship in ALIENS.

Megalodon Heavy-Lift Utility Cargo/Freight Shuttle. I describe it being slightly tougher than anything with the name 'Tonka' stamped on it.

Question for you Blackwinter Witch in regards to characters.

What is your process for developing your characters? Do you have detailed notes on each, with descriptions, traits, backgrounds etc? Do you have a rule book for them or use "morale alignments" guides etc? Or do you just wing it and flesh it out in editing?

IRaptus

Character Development for me takes various forms. Sometimes (rarely) a character will just pop up in my head as a gift from the Muse. Mainly though, I start with a rough idea of 'type of individual' then start developing and building, after I've written some parts/scenes with them, so I get a feel of the character. So, then it's kind of a self-generating feedback loop where it's winging-it and editing in reinforcement substance as the character develops...which also means building their profile and notes as I go.

Yeah, sounds pretty scattered, and it is, but that's how my brain works. :D

I do have files on each yes, quite detailed really, modelled after real-world Personnel dossiers. The backgrounds for me are vital, as a person's background is where they are formed and dictates much of how they interact with people and the universe around them.

EG: Manticore's pilot; Doverson King, is a younger man, who graduated very high in his flight school. He planned a career in flying big Corporate transports and such, maybe someday working up to Helm of a passenger liner.
THEN, one trip, someone screwed up majorly, and King saved the situation and the ship...BUT, the idjit who screwed up was some higher-up dude's son...so, a scapegoat was needed, and King got Blacklisted as well as fired.
Which is how he ended up getting hired on to pilot Manticore.

BWW and IRaptus- I have very little writing experience. I wonder if you do a bit like I do? I close my eyes, imagine the characters and setting and have a mental conversation before writing or typing out. Is that even close to how either of you approach writing? When doing this, others around me think I am napping.

dk

Yeppers, except I walk around the house, talking to myself, sorta unconsciously acting-out the dialogue and inflections, tones.

I am SO lucky that hubby understands it's just how I work. :)
The kittiehz though at times look at me as if I've lost my mind. :D

You might like dogs- they love when you walk around and talk nonsensically! They think it is about them!

Achilles, our dog, he's like that. :D I suspect he also thinks it's somehow related to treats, snacks, food. :D

Indeed, as awesome as dogs are, there is always the treat angle! My small dog loves when I just babble silly baby talk! He does not really like when I hook up the guitar and amp though. Oddly, he is ok lying by the speakers playing CDs! I like not being able to quite figuring him out.

dk

AWWWW, give him some ear rubs from me <3 <3

Cats, dogs, both their Ways that will always remain a mystery to us 2-legged types. :)

Indeed. I think the dog perceives a threat somehow when actually playing music- he even hates the vacuum cleaner. But he will lay down and be ok with Slayer and Exodus blasting away!

Thank you kindly BWW and dk, most appreciated!!! Was just curious how other people approached it. 

I do a basic work-up of physical, personality, backgrounds and moral traits. Then add quirks, conversational styles, habits etc as i go and add them to their notes. I like to base my characters around a loose moral alignment (D&D) style and make a point to have their alignment rules tested thoroughly throughout the story, cant have everything go their way ;-).

You guys dont use that? It can be a trap if used to rigidly, but in terms of defining a characters general behaviour i mind it helps.   

I don't write enough to have a system like that but can see how it could keep the writer on track for character consistency.

My notes are pretty basic dk. Drinks too much coffee, non-confrontational, blindly religious, poor hygiene etc. Assign them a moral alignment  then add some rules for that personality to stick too.                

Bww's points about a backstory is great though. Would give such a platform to work from!!!

I'd be interested to see if @Something Real uses moral alignments being another RPG player. I played way too much Baldur's Gate II back in the day and the habits stuck from that lol.

dk

Dogs can be funny that way, and well, being threatened by Vha'Khuum; The Screaming Devourer...that's just common sense. :)

IRaptus

Yw :) You have a good way of doing such, I must say!! Very ordered, I envy that!
In terms of Morals and such, I work from what feels appropriate to the character. They always live in shades of grey, as do we all, some lighter grey, some MUCH darker.

I do hope Somethingreal comes back post Opening Day, I like that person and like you would like to know how they go about such works.

APPENDUM: I do now and then write shortstories to flesh out and develop a character so that it's a Focussed development, and also helps me detail their backstory.

TY Blackwinter Witch. Yeah I can be a little too rigid and ordered though. eg. My wife laughs at me because i cook using timers lol......

Yeah the moral alignment is good, but you need to appreciate the shades of grey in everyone....that and people can change through experience.

That being said I've only ever used the alignment model in fantasy settings. This is the first time Ive rolled it out into a dark satirical sci-fi setting where alot of character share a similar disposition....the rogue class (Lawful Neutral). It is a big new challenge.

IRaptus

Well, as for cooking, hubby and I both use timers, except when BBQing or firepit cooking, as it's a nice way to just chill and make sure nothing gets burnt. :) Handy also when trying to stay on-track with basting turkeys asnd such also. ;)

The alignment model-approach is a great idea for a Baseline-Standard for any character, and you sound as though that's how you use it, as a baseline, but with much allowance for variance and such due to the universe and situations.

Yeah, breaking new ground is always tough, but fun. I've recently just started playing with Fantasy settings, which is about as far from my forte` as you can get!! It's NOT easy, as you said about breaking new ground, but I suspect you'll enjoy the challenge as I am. :)

As some of you know, I'm attempting an 'interactive' concept for ALIEN: Manticore as it'll be released in PDF format thus allowing Links to be used.

The idea is to have a link at some (hopefully all) chapters with a piece of music that suits the mood/tone/feel...if I can find enough pieces for all the chapters.

As a sample-idea, this is the music piece from the PROMETHEUS soundtrack I am re-purposing for the scene where Manticore is introduced in Chapter one.

I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions on this experiment, good or bad.

**********EXAMPLE EXCERPT*********

ONE

 Manticore at Work

Manticore held station in the vicinity of a salvage site in the depths of the void between star systems, her powerful pearl-like strings of ventral-mounted floodlights and four stern-mounted variable spotlights lighting things up clearly below and somewhat ahead of the ship as spacesuited figures moved slowly along the wreck, careful of loose debris despite the work-armor they wore over their suits. A contingent of drones from various sizes, forms and abilities swarmed around the wreck, attending their various jobs with tireless mechanical industriousness.
“Okay, we’re clear. Whenever you’re ready, Doc.” Came a cute-sounding, casual-but-business-like voice over the comms. The voice belonged to Sharie Valka, Engineer and Mechanic of the ship that held position above the wreck they were reducing.
“Copy that. I have your suit beacons locked out. Mother-henning a tad, please lower your flash-visors.” Came another voice over the comms. elegantly and classicly British, educated, articulately-masculine.
“Copy that, and check-positive on visors.” Came Sharie’s voice after a thumbs-up from Declan regarding his own polarized visor.
Aboard the ship, on the bridge, Dr. Alistair Smythe sat at a secondary console that served no genuinely dedicated function but could take-over from any other more specialized console or be configured to handle tasks the primaries were unsuitable for. At present, it was set up to control the equipment built into the ship that was mainly used for salvage operations, specifically Manticore’s utility lasers as well as launched-cable grapplers and the impressively-powerful tractor beam units.
The suit beacons of his crewmates outside had been flagged in the laser-control system, and they would not fire if doing so would endanger someone. The drones were all flagged as well, they were expensive to replace.
As both crewmates were well clear of the area he was precisely targeting and plotting the cut for, there were no problems. Their visors were down, so secondary-flashing off the hull alloys and ceramic composites as the laser did it’s work cutting through thick ship hull and internal framing wouldn’t blind them. With a surgeon’s practiced expertise, he completed plotting out the ‘surgery’, to ensure one clean cut and tapped the ‘Execute’ key.

ALIEN: Manticore - Current Word Count; 55266.

In case any of you are wondering why this story is taking so long, well, it is Novella/Novel length, and as I have stated I am building-up a section of it that to me felt 'weak' and under-developed.

So, I am sorry for keeping you all waiting, but this is a pretty large piece of work that is about to get even larger. However, I think and hope you will find it worth the wait.

Boring, shows no real creativity.