A basic outline for a SF story/novella I'm working on.
In 2298 AD...Mankind has scattered through the universe. Laius, an earth-like world is part of loose coalition of human planets who have joined in mutual defense against a common foe, the Khallisari.
'Outrider' is the name of the frontier outposts that lay on the edges of human space.
Once, a generation earlier, the Khallisari had ruled a great empire. Insurrections and civil strife. however, broke it into squabbling factions. When the new Khallisari states weren't quarreling over resources, land, or ancient blood feuds, they were practicing slavery and piracy.
Together, the Khallisari could easily crush their human neighbors. Their disunity has been the only thing that gives the weaker Coalition worlds hope.
Enter Marco Vanic, captain of the Laian cruiser,
Artemis. For the past 20 years, Vanic served the Fleet, and for a time, was the second-in-command, under Capitan Marius. A decorated and revered officer, Marius was a grumpy, charming, hell-raising officer who was rapidly becoming a legend in his own time. Think of a cross between Wiford Brimley and George C. Scott.
AS quick with a tirade as he was with a dirty joke, Marius was grandfatherly figure to many junior officers.
However, Marius' hands were filthy from various rackets in which he had entangled himself. Vanic, the Executive Officer (XO) confronts his captain about the 'questionable' business dealings, but to no avail. Things spiral out of control. With rumors of corruption and espionage surrounding the captain, the Security Chief, Pennington decides that Marius must be relieved of command.
A mutiny is in the making. Despite all of Vanic's attempts to stave off disaster, the fecal matter hits the ventilation fan. Within days, Vanic finds himself standing in a cell in the brig. The bloodied bodies of the Captain and Chief lay on the floor. All eyes turn suspiciously to Vanic, the new acting captain.
A full-blown investigation ensues. With no solid evidence of complicity in the 'incident', Vanic slips the judicial noose and is promoted to Captain, and the new commanding officer (CO) of the
Artemis.
There's no time for celebration. Vanic, eyed with suspicion by many in the Fleet, is reassigned to a remote mining post. At the Pelion Nebula, the
Artemis will baby-sit a mining operation, and ward off the occasional threat from pirates. It's a dirty, undignified job, but suitable for an officer suspected of murdering his captain. Pelion will serve as a suitable exile until the heat dies down.
Pelion is a cloud of dust and debris. At its center is a brown dwarf star. Asteroids encircle the dwarf, and provide a treasure trove of mineral wealth.
Though it would never be publicly admitted, Laius has stretched its resources to the limit, trying to shore up its border defenses against a potential Khallisari attack. Much of its fleet is either patrolling the borders, or deployed in remote areas like Pelion, guarding mining outposts and supply convoys.
Even the hawks reluctantly admit that Laius, and the rest of the Coalition, are not ready for war.
So reluctantly, but obediently, Vanic stands the watch while miners drill and blast and dig through uncounted millions of tons of rock, and survey ships probe the murky darkness of the Nebula.
Vanic was barely out of the honeymoon phase of his marriage when he became Marius' XO. Plans for early retirement were put on hold in the hope that he would make captain. With the bigger pay grade, came the bigger retirement package. CAPTAIN VANIC could muster out and start a new life as a civilian in a defense contracting firm. And then, a brood of children, a big house, a dog named Spot....a different life, a better life.
But swimming in a sea of suspicion, and stationed in the armpit of the galaxy, for only the Gods know how long, and with war clouds looming on the horizon...it just didn't look rosy for domestic life.
But then a discovery is made. While rooting out a nest of pirates that had halted the mining operation, it's revealed that the Khallisari are constructing a massive base on the far side of the Nebula. If it were completed, it would give the Khallies a strong foothold in the Coalition's back yard. If they chose, the Khallies could launch a massive strike against against the weakest point in the Coalition's defenses.
So Vanic, again, is in the cross-hairs. There is no way that such a facility can be allowed to be built. But if it were destroyed by Laians, the consequences could be grave.
Will he avert disaster by wiping out the base? Or will he unite the Khallisari by launching a Pearl Harbor-type attack on one of their facilities? Will he save the day, or spark a war his people cannot win?
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