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Fellow Mars Explorers,
I have recently finished the First Mars Explorer Fan Fiction (available here: http://marsxplr.com/view-734), and, given a very kind offer from flyclub, a fictional series of stories will appear in the Weekly Martian, eventually. Before I begin writing, I wanted to ask you what you think it should include. Since it is fictional, it can include some of the features listed on the Future page, or about anything else you can come up with. However, crossovers with other Sci-fi series would be rare, and not related to the regular storyline. (Exception for other Mars stories.) The premise of this first series is that a team of explorers was sent to Mars for research and mapping. Radio contact was lost, and the images of the base revealed total destruction. (This team was essentially Mars Explorer 1.0.) A second team is sent to find out what happened and continue their research. (Mars Explorer 1.9 and later.) What they encounter surprises them. I want to ask you about:
1) Character Names/Occupations (Personality, skills/job name, age, gender, etc.)
2) Vehicles/technology (What vehicles and what type of weapons/devices.)
3) Story Ideas (Topics for episodes, deciding the purpose, such as discovery, character development, comedy, etc.)
Please reply with ideas on these topics.
Story Links:
Part 1: Not Alone
Part 2: A Spy Unrealized
Part 3: The Journey
How to Create a Character
Congratulations to fly club, the first Mars Explorer to create a character (Flynn Clubaire, whose nickname is Fly Club)! You can create a character. Just reply on this post or PM me with the following information about your character:
Info to provide:
In order from most important to least)
1) Personality
2) Skills/job (such as piloting, engineering, communications/linguistics, scientific research, etc.)
3) Name (For the sake of simplicity in the story line, all characters are humans from Luna or Terra. Therefore, they should have human names. The language the name originates from does not matter (but please, no Pig Latin).
4) Age (While it would be funny to have kids on Mars, I rather doubt that Ender Wiggin would be on Mars to explore/search and rescue.)
5) Gender (The last one is to help me. You may have noticed some awkward phrasing in Welcome to Mars. This is because I do not know who to refer to as he, she, or any other applicable descriptor. With the inclusion of a gender for your character, the wording of the series will be much smoother and considerably more varied. )
Please include any other information about your character that you feel is relevant (EG: birthday, years of service, etc.)
(Note: As of yet, no medical staff characters have been created. Also, no more than two character ideas, preferably one.)
Important: If you create a character, you have first say in their profession, characteristics, and personality of said character. I reserve the right to decide the character's rank. Please remember that, as the Mars Explorer Team is semi military, but mostly exploratory/scientific, your character should probably have multiple skills, including some scientific experience. Also, I will not kill off your character without your permission.
Sincerely,
Picard
First Official Character:
Flynn Clubaire
Nickname: Fly club
Job: Engineer
Background: The first Mars mission's failure was somewhat pinned on him, as the cause was attributed to mechanical failure. Very happy for a second chance, but worried about messing up. Does not really believe that engineering errors are the reason the first mission failed, but has a small bit of inner doubt on the subject. Mission Commander Falconer pulled rank to get him put on the active mission team.
Other: One of only five team members to test pilot the buggies on Earth.
Created by: fly club (flyclub)
Age: 28
Second Official Character:
Aubrey Falconer
Nickname: (Undecided, I leave this bit up to Aubrey)
Job: Team leader.
Background: Convinced the World Space Program to fund a investigation/exploration mission to Mars to retrieve certain data on what happened to the outpost. Very much invested in the project, he is determined to get to Mars because of a very important message that he received, which was dated as sent at approximately 1 hour before the destruction of the outpost.
Hobbies: Chess and Laserball (Combination of Paintball, Lasertag, and Airsoft.)
Other: One of only five team members to test pilot the buggies on Earth.
Created by: Aubrey Falconer (admin)
Third Official Character:
Christian Krieger
Nickname: Christian Warrior
Job: Security Chief
As Security Chief of the Mars Explorer Team, Christian Krieger is the resident weapons expert. Takes his job seriously, but is still friendly. Skilled at driving, flying, and shooting.
Hobbies: Musical Instruments and Gadgets
Created by: christianwarrior (christianwarrior)
Age: 23
Fourth Official Character:
Spiridon T. Brand
Nickname: Spitfire
Job: Head Geologist
With a sense of humor and an excavation bag, Spiridon T. Brand is the team's head geologist. Happiest in the field, he has been known to speak to rocks.
Hobbies: Collects/studies airplanes (model and actual).
Created by: supermarinespitfire (supermarinespitfire)
Age: 29
Fifth Official Character:
Tessla Glast
Job: Head of Analysis Department, Astronomer
Nickname: TBA
Fun loving Tessla Glast is in charge of the Analysis division of the team, but also works in the Astronomy division. Often focuses on a discussion to the exclusion of all else. She has been known to miss her stop in an elevator when talking with a friend.
Created by: Dynamic Diamond/GLAST (dinamicdiamond)
Age: 27
Sixth Official Character:
Frederick William Vorst
Job: Team Counselor
Nickname: Early Bird, for his habit of waking up at 5 AM.
Despite the icy last name, Frederick Vorst is a friendly face to the entire team. When off duty, can often be found with friends in the lounge. Also is reasonably good with computers.
Hobbies: Designing small computer games, caring for his pet owl.
Other: One of only five team members to test pilot the buggies on Earth.
Created by: Frost Guerilla (freewillie-eb.1)
Age: 26
Seventh Official Character:
Thomas Babage.
Nickname: BabaG
Job: Chief Science Officer
Despite being the youngest team member, Thomas Babage is wise beyond his years. Simulator scores are remarkably high.
Hobbies: Simulator games, philosophical debate.
Created by: babaG (babag)
Age: 21
Eighth Official Character:
Orion Wilson
Nickname: (The) Dude
Job: Mechanic, assistant engineer
A normally relaxed person, Orion Wilson always learns from his mistakes. A combination of common sense and good judgement prevents him from making too many in the first place. He possesses only a mild temper, but fiddling (or tampering, as he calls it) with a vehicle he is working on is one thing he will not stand for. His past prior to joining the team is a general mystery, and the topic of much off-duty speculation.
Hobbies: Mars has always fascinated Orion, and he knows more about it than almost any other team member. His hobby of Martian Cartography makes him just about the only person from Earth who wouldn't get lost on the Red Planet's surface.
Age: Mid 30s.
Other: One of only five team members to test drive the buggies on Earth.
Created by: The Dude (thedude)
Ninth Official Character:
Speffin Jay
Nickname: Spiffy
Job: Head Chef, occasional lounge operator. General Jack of All Trades, he is a reasonably good pilot. Can help with almost any job.
A good sense of humor and an as-needed serious attitude describes Speffin Jay. Known to think out loud, he can often be found listening to stories told in the lounge. His repertoire of popular recipes (including the classic PB&J sandwich) help the team to stay happy and well fed. He has a lurking fear of monsters.
Age: 32, but doesn't look a day over 25.
Other: One of only five team members to test pilot the buggies on Earth. A surgery to save his hand had an interesting side effect: he can now close his right pinky against his palm without moving any other fingers on that hand.
Created by: Spiffy (pb&j)
Tenth Official Character:
Andre Jean-Luc Picard
Nickname: Picard, but will answer to Jean-Luc and Andre as well.
Job: First Officer/Scientist
Thought before action is often Andre Picard's choice, but spontaneity occasionally causes unusual results. Fun loving, but philosophical, his middle name is a result of personal choice, due to the influence of a certain fictional Starfleet Captain. While a scientist by training, he will not allow his field of study to interfere with his duty to the team.
Hobbies: Has attempted to revive the ancient pastime of Nerfing, with some success. An excellent baker, he occasionally works in the kitchen with Speffin Jay. Can make a lot of different dishes, but prefers to make desserts or breads. Trains in the simulator often. Holds occasional discussion in the lounge on a variety of topics.
Other: Has one recipe that he will not share with anyone: Crunchy Lebkuchen with Pumpkin filling. Speaks English, French, and Spanish (The last to a lesser degree than the two prior languages).
11th Official Character:
Dustin Brown
Nickname: Tiger
Job: Chief Technician
The tallest member of the team, Dustin Brown only joined the team a year ago. He is already able to operate 90% of the equpment. Second highest tested IQ on the team, he has a bit of a temper when people touch gadgets that he's working on. Dependable during field work.
Hobbies: Lacrosse and football.
Age: 24
Created by: Tigerstorm4CHRI (Tigerstorm4CHRI) (Formerly Sandersson)
12th Official Character:
Jason Kestrel
Nickname: Solar Flare, Jay
Job: Flight Team Leader, Director of Technology.
Although his job as head of information services is occasionally tedious, Jason Kestrel is one of the top pilots of the team. Current record time for fixing a nearly functionless computer: 2 days. However, he does not suffer fools gladly.
Age: 25
Created by: J-Elite1
13th Official Character:
Joshua Richards
Nickname: 52 (Number of hours exploring)
Job: Scout
When someone gets blasted down from the volcano in the sim room, a check of the ID of the buggy at the top usually reveals that it is Joshua Richards. The 'perfect shot' of the team, his preferred vantage point is from the highest peak. At present, he is the only team member to go beyond the boundaries of the simulations, into the empty space beyond. While he doesn't get lost, he does get sidetracked when exploring, and has been known in the simulator room for 4 hours in a row. Is already on the list for scouting expeditions when the team reaches Mars.
Hobbies: Racing, Exploring, Sniping.
Age: 22
Created by: 52 (52)
14th Official Character:
Robert Garret
Job: Janitor/Junior Tech
Nickname: The Human Iceberg (Never said to his face.)
Not much known. Applied for a job, and has done his job well, but isn't very sociable. More about him in the Second part of the story.
Hobbies: Nobody knows.
Age: 43
Created by: SDR 1. ELITE 1.(2cul2play)
15th Official Character:
Robert Andrews
Job: Xenoarchaeologist
Nickname: Jackal (For attention paid in double-checking previous dig sites for finds.)
Lauded for discovery of previously unknown cultures on Earth (including a now extinct human civilization on Antarctica), Robert Andrews takes pride in his work, but does not brag. The Mars Mission will be his first actual use of his Xenoarchaeology training.
Age: 34
Created by: Ω (jackal)
16th Official Character:
Lizzle Montgomery
Job: Communications/Photography
Lizzle is a very outgoing kind of girl. She is friends with all of her teammates. She is a very good multi-tasker, but she takes forever to learn things. When she's not exploring Mars with the team she is either swimming or horse back riding. With all of the emerging technologies available to the team, she hopes to invent the sport of Lava Skiing.
Age: 21
Created by: Lizzle
17th Official Character:
Ariel Johnson
Job: Technician, works in kitchen on occasion.
Ariel Johnson is hard to anger and polite, often making use of his intellect and wit. He isn't the best pilot on the team, but he is good at tweaking the vehicles to improve performance. When off-duty, he usually works in the kitchen with Spiffy.
Age: 29
Created by: supercheese
18th Official Character:
Maize
Job: R&D
Reclusive and secretive, Maize’s real name is nearly unpronounceable. A physicist by training, he spends most of his time closeted in his lab. He rarely speaks, but dislikes being disturbed. No one knows his origins, though rumors have been spreading that he is from another time.
Age: Unknown.
Created by: El Maiz (matthew)
19th official character:
Jackson Brown
Job: R&D (Emphasis on the Design)
A skilled designer, Jackson Brown joined the team with his older brother. Somewhat reclusive, he prefers designing vehicles to piloting them. Has a quick temper with those who alter his designs without permission. Has friendly arguments with his brother on a number of topics. Dustin's talents complement his, making them a good team. Not the most skilled at flying or combat, he is usually found on the station at work on a new design.
Hobbies: Drawing cities, debate.
Age: 22
20th Official Character:
Eric Simon
Nickname: Killer Dude
21st Official Character:
First Team Characters:
1) John Thompson: Leader of the first mission team. Methodical, a scientist first. Age 30 (At time of base loss.) MIA, presumed dead.
2) Miguel Lopez: Expert Pilot from the first team. A bit of a show off. Also Executive Officer. Age 29 (At time of base loss.) MIA, presumed dead.
3) Lauren Collins: Chief engineer of the first team. Gruff but fun-loving. Age 26 (At time of base loss.) MIA, presumed dead.
4) Rudolph (Rolf) Kastner: First Team's Chief Medical Officer. Quiet, thoughtful. Cautious. Age 27 (At time of base loss.) MIA, presumed dead.
General Technological Overview:
Hovercraft, buggies, and any other vehicles keep their occupants alive and active during extremely rapid maneuvers through the use of graviton cushions (Similar to inertial dampers), which cancel out the effects of inertia. Lasers are able to cycle between training modes and active modes. The blue materialization cloud is actually a graviton cloud that slows a vehicle down on reentry and launches it back to the space station when needed. Electromagnetic fields accelerate the vehicle to gravitational escape velocities that are aided by the presence of the null-G graviton cloud. EM fields also hold gravitons in place to prevent dispersion. Source of power for all of devices: Wings are plasma contained by a graviton field and kept in shape by electromagnets. The reset button is actually a Graviton Recall that takes 10 seconds to charge, and once charged vibrates the craft at extreme speeds and accelerates it directly to the nearest high concentration of gravitons (namely, the Graviton cloud). Power source is: fusion reaction as main power source, antimatter reactors for the first team, high capacity batteries with thermoelectric power supplement/hydrogen fuel for the buggies, and an experimental system that uses gravitons to accelerate fuel for the jets and hovercrafts.
Setting:
Main base of second team is located on Mars' moon Phobos, with a few ground bases (not yet) and a signal relay on Deimos.
Current Installment details the object and the trail. No, it hasn't been posted yet.
Sincerely,
Picard
The Misadventures of Vader: A series of short stories starring Ted (Vader) (Completely fictional). Anyone who wishes to be in one needs only to PM me with permission to use their game name for the story, and a basic description of what they would do in a certain situation. Also may include some recurring characters.
Note: A recurring character can simply be your game name, with no further info, your game name with a basic personality profile of yourself, or a fictional contrivance with a real world name. (See waffleboy's example.)
First Misadventure: Welcome to Mars
Character 1: Ted (Vader)
Not a noob, but not the best, he seems to get into all sorts of trouble on Mars. First, a virus and a lightning bolt trapped players in the game. While everyone is fine now, who knows what will happen to him next.
Character 2: Jimi James
Game Name: Waffleboy
Real life job: Salesman (Specifically, telemarketer)
Generally funny and carefree, Jimi James has a sarcastic streak that shows when he's annoyed. Is great at his job, and is able to sell about anything. (Not so great at refunding.) Tests fireworks in his free time (Indoors), loves about any music, and rocks out on Guitar Hero regularly. Idolizes Oxi Clean salesman Billy Mays (one of the few people with a better sales record than him.) Uses about any vehicle, prefers buggy, and is good with the sniper laser.
Age: 25

You could try changing carecters every story.
Dear Tsa6,
Imagine what any series that you like (TV or otherwise) killed off/forgot every character in every episode. Very confusing, not at all entertaining, and hard to justify. Occasionally, a character might disappear/die (probably by popular demand, think Survivor if the tribe spoke and someone died). Still, I might introduce a small cast that exists only to showcase the horrible danger that will be faced, through their untimely demises. Probably not, but, maybe.
Sincerely,
Picard
Dear Flyclub,
Of course you can be in the story. You just have to invent a character for the team, which will be you. You would have first say in the profession, characteristics, and personality of said character. The Mars Explorer Team is sort of like Starfleet, semi military, mostly exploratory, so a character would probably have some sort of training in a scientific field. Just post the character on the discussion.
Sincerely,
Picard
- Rather serious
- Old Pro (as this is true, I am not the oldest pro but certainly an old one)
- Scientifically driven (I am all about facts an logic, I know much in the scientific region (preferably micro engineering, physics (quantum mechanics as I am learning the subject right now), and programming.
- Rather stubborn to follow my own path.
- Some what bossy (1 being a fly's bossiness and 100 being a dictator I would be 60-40)
- Intelligent,intuitive( being able to think fast, and come to conclusions easily)
- Make sure I make mistakes an get better as the story progresses.....
- Expert shooter/flyer.
- Average driving skill.
- Good at evasion, my odds of getting shot are about 30 to 70 (the odds in my favor)
- A little eccentric yet serious, slightly short tempered, and rather quiet except in times of danger.
- rather mysterious
- not very social
Dear Flyclub,
Sounds like you have just described someone with an engineer's skill and an old country doctor's mild but good natured short temperament, combined with a certain Vulcan's anti-social behavior...
Probably someone like a combo of Montgomery Scott and Trip Tucker. Great description!
Sincerely,
Picard
PS: Sorry for all of the Star Trek references, it's just my favorite show!
Dear Flyclub,
What is your character's name?
Sincerely,
Picard
Dear Flyclub,
Maybe Fly Club could be a nickname for your character, maybe short for Flynn Clubaire. Please tell me what you think of this idea.
Sincerely,
Picard
Dear Flyclub,
If you have another name, or if you really do want Fly Club as your character's name, just tell me, and your character will be called that. I'l just include the extended name on their resume/dossier.
Sincerely,
Picard
you can do the flyn culbaire thing along with this but in the good old days (before my life went horribly down hill) people called me fly.
Fly club being my nick name I like it, Flyn clubaire is fine.
Dear Fly Club,
I completely forgot to ask you: Is your character male or female?
Sincerely,
Picard
These is just suggestions, but here they are.
The first team could have been captured by aliens that live underground.
They could have fallen in a hole that goes to the center of mars and the other team has to help them escape.
Dear Wintergreen,
While I have been considering the possibility of aliens, it just seems cliched. Almost everytime Mars is in a Sci-fi movie, it also is home to aliens. This doesn't mean that aliens will not be involved, but the story would not focus entirely on alien-human interaction (EG: war, technology exchange, xenophobia, etc.)
Sincerely,
Picard
I would like to be a character. You can think of any name you want for me, but my nick name is Christian Warrior. I am very friendly, and I am good with all kinds of tech, especially weapons. I could be the teams primary military presence. I am a Christian (duh). Age, 20-25. I am male. I also like musical instruments and gadgets of all types. I am a great driver, flyer, and shooter.
Please include my character!!!
could i be a character? please respond.
Dear supermarinespitfire,
Yes, you can be a character, but I need the information that I asked for about new characters. It should be headed How to Create a Character.
Sincerely,
Picard
ok
- funny, a bit unsocial but nice
- GeologistPilot field work like anlsying drillcore,looking for mineral diposits and fossilized life forms
- 25-30
- name you can do whatever you want with but nickname Spitfire
- Male
But may i be a character, if you say no, I'll understand. Please, respond back, ugh, I hate asking that considering it messes up your story already in progress.
Dear The Dude,
Yes you can have a character. As the story stands now, I have the basic plot down, but not a lot of names. Just reply on this topic with the data that fits the guidelines under How to Create a Character.
Sincerely,
Picard
Have you already written the part about the destruction of the first outpost?
Dear christianwarrior,
No, I have only written about them finding the destroyed outpost. The focus of the story is on the second mission, not the first one which had a land based outpost.
Sincerely,
Picard
Picard is it mayyybe ok if I can me a character too? Maybe? Please? I'll create the character info if it's ok with you that I can join.
Dear dinamicdiamond,
Yes, you can have a character. You just have to post a reply on this topic with the info that I ask for under How to Create a Character.
Sincerely,
Picard
Where is this? I cannot find it anywhere!
What about my character?
Dear christianwarrior,
How to Create a Character is a section on the main Brainstorm article. About your character: I have been occupied with some work of late, so I only just saw that you had the posted the info. Character data should be posted by 12/8/08.
Sincerely,
Picard
when i said that i could not find it i meant the part about them finding the destroyed outpost.
Dear christianwarrior,
The part about the destroyed outpost is not on the site yet, as it is part of the story. It is just some talk about the plot-line for the story.
Sincerely,
Picard
OK. Sorry about the confusion.
Hey, I am a great character, you can trust that, I also am great with acting.
Here are my stats:
- Big, strong
- Nice Caring
- Love to be social, but can hang around others well
- Leader
- An influence
- Help those who need help in whatever
- A geek
Awhh, you know me, just use one of my factors of me in the story ok? We can talk at school man, l8er piccard!
-EB Chieftain
Name: Tessla
Personality: Likes to have fun, get's lost easily, likes to stick to one subject at a time, very very hyper! XD
Skills/job: Does scientific research, especially astronomy (my dream job *sigh)
Age: 28
Gender: female
i thought i already gave a character bio but i guess not...maybe on another post? anyway...
- name: babaG (or just baba to friends)
- personality: fun-loving, playful (wise?) and experimental (with friends) and goes all-out in battle
- occupation: umm...i dont really care but something along the lines of someone who goes to battle but maybe also a scientist? maybe someone of high(er) rank but still has (a) boss(es) ahead of him?
- age:...umm...young-ish?
- ???: and whatever else you wana throw in for fun. lol
I'll just stick this in here, if you don't decide to use it, that's fine.
1) Personality: Keeps a sense of humor, although can be serious at times. Thinks to himself a lot. Enjoys a good story. Is afraid of monsters.
2)Skills/job: Chef for the crew. Can close right pinky against palm without other fingers moving.
3) Name: Speffin Jay
4) Age: 32, but doesn't look a day older than 25.
5) Gender: Male
hahahahahahaha! mad pinky skillz spiffy!
- Buggy wings: I will leave the final say in the matter up to you - but when I designed the wings, I had the idea of a focused ultra high frequency standing wave projection. (Hence their ability to completley dissappear at will, and not collide with terrain)
- Gravitron Clouds: Excellent idea. Much better than my "materilization cloud" stuff :)
- Matter/Antimatter reaction sounds like a really cool energy source, but I just can't picture how it would work. I would probably vote for it if it sounded somewhat plausible - but if not, I would vote for a fusion reactor, neutrino harvesting, or betavoltaic batteries.
- I totally agree that we don't want to focus on aliens in the story, and I have no intention of incorporating them in the game for the same reason: they are highly cliched - and scientifically implausible in the extreme.
- Profile: I honestly don't have any nick names that anyone has ever gotten away with calling me in the past - and I can't think of any I would like to be called at the moment. Hopefully I will come up with one eventually... You can specify whatever age for me you feel would be appropriate. Other than that, I am looking forward to more installments!
- It struck me as potentially intriguing if (him being Chief Science Officer and all), "Babage" was spelled as "Babbage". Probably just another bad idea of mine :)
I stayed up late last night reading about destructive radio wave interference patterns, magnetic plasma confinement fusion, and other such things; but I don't quite have a workable framework yet. I picture the wings as composed more of energy than matter, and projected into space by some mechanism on the buggy - rather than rigid structures that fold out of the buggy. I don't know how force fields are generally constructed in science fiction - but if you have a good idea for one, I am sure it would work quite nicely for the wings. My initial idea is that the wings are projected by an array of uhf antennas in the buggy that are tuned to cancel each other out in every direction at the apex of the wings, and that the standing radio wave patterns in the wings are then used to contain some kind of field that is capable of deflecting the martian atmosphere and colliding with lasers.
3. Sounds good, but I am just afraid of what happens when it "runs out of control". Letting a jar full of antimatter get loose sounds reeaaalllly bad... As long as it just takes out the base - and not the whole planet (like a molecular detachment device or something) - I suppose it will be all right.
In closing, you are doing a fine job on the story, and I wouldn't be dissapointed at all if you decide to go with carbon-fiber wings instead of my impractical ideas :)
-Aubrey
-Aubrey
Thanks, Tigerstorm.
I find an odd urge to be a part of the story.... Not to be rude or anything, but could I have a character?
No pressure, just asking. It is your final decision so please again as I say please feel no pressure to have me a part. I mean umm think of my request as.... Umm.... a small germ asking to be a dictator or something, think of my request as something that crazy.