A Primer on the Races of Humanity – Arnam

by on May 19, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

Picture a man or woman walking down the sidewalk in broad daylight. Picture a bright pink trenchoat flapping in the wind, a bright yellow hat pulled down low over the face, a candy apple red scarf thrown carelessly over one shoulder, and bejeweled wraparound sunglasses glinting in the sun. Maybe add some bright green tennis shoes for good measure. This brightly, some might say offensively, colored Arnam stereotype is a stereotype for a reason. The Arnam have a love affair with colors, the brighter the better. Whether it be the glow of a neon moon or an infrared tapestry that normal humans can’t even see, the Arnam play with colors the way we place music. And a true maestro of color can be as popular in Arnam circles as a rock band or other musician is on Earth. Color is their highest art form, and they pursue it with a passion that can be nauseating to other humans.

 Comment 

James

by on May 18, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

James Rousseau grew up in the Apache Nation, son of an Apache mother and a French father. It is unsurprising that the Apache named him a half-breed, and he was a perennial outcast for it his entire life. He worked many odd jobs after graduation, but never settled down into any single career. It was construction jobs that paid his bills when the Shang dropped Yosemite Station and part of it generated a direct hit on the Apache Nation. James spent months digging survivors and then remains out of the shattered city until he had enough and decided to join the new Apache war bands going out to face the Shang. He passed all of the tests to become a fighter pilot, but was still treated as an outsider by his full-blooded brethren. They soon arrived at Alpha Centauri to reinforce Second Fleet, and that was when he learned the Cowboys were recruiting new pilots. The rest, as they say, is history.

High rez version available for free at Patreon

 Comment 

Madison

by on May 17, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

The Fall of Yosemite rained fire and destruction down on the Apache Nation, destroying their capital city and leaving much of the rest of their territory in flames. They spent months sifting through the rubble in search of survivors, and then remains. Madison ran many of the vehicles involved in the effort, working with numerous operators across the Apache Nation. And when those young men and women decided it was time to volunteer to fight back against the Shang, she went with them. With all of them. Much like the United States Army’s Jane, she simply made numerous copies of herself and became the standard companion of Apache warriors wherever they went. Not that there is anything truly simple about the process. Each of her shards are heavily customized to work with each companion like other cybers, but she is all the same cyber. It can be confusing to deal with her if you don’t understand just what she is. I know it took me a while to figure her out, though she may have been playing hard to get on purpose. One never can tell with her, you know.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

 Comment 

A Primer on the Races of Humanity – Arnam

by on May 16, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

One interesting aspect of the Arnam’s underwater lifestyle is that they don’t wear clothing on a regular basis. They are designed to slip through the water far better in the skins they are born with than in most diving skinsuits, and any looser clothing gets hopeless caught in the ever-present currents of water. All of that changes the moment they go above water. Whether simply to protect themselves from the effects of the hot sun, or because they want to blend in with humanity, the Arnam love to wear clothing of all kinds in the air. Hats of all kinds, fancy sunglasses, scarves, gloves, trenchcoats, dresses, and anything else that can cover the skin, the Arnam love it all. They are the finest decorations they can think of, and the Arnam have a positive passion for coming up with new combinations of colors and fashions.

 Comment 

Star Trek: Renegades

by on May 15, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I recently watched Star Trek: Renegades. Much like Horizon, it is a fan film, though there are a great many differences between the two. Horizon was made by talented amateurs who did an amazing job while being limited to digital sets that were sometimes very noticeable. Renegades was made by professionals, though they were similarly limited to digital sets or very limited physical sets. Much like Horizon, the space scenes were nearly perfect, while many of the “dungeon” scenes…showed their lack of budget.

Tim Russ appeared as Vulcan Commander Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager and has appeared in various roles on TNG, DS9, and Star Trek: Generations. He has written stories, directed shows, featured in games, and created other Star Trek fan films over the years. He is a life long Trekker who has walked the walk and talked the talk. And he brought many other Star Trek veterans with him to make Renegades. I had to smile while watching the movie as I played a game of “guess that character” as actor after actor showed up and my mind cast about for who I remembered them as.

But all through that, I didn’t enjoy Renegades because I got to see familiar faces. I enjoyed it because it was an interesting story, and it was told well. Yes, there are some examples of wooden acting, and not all of the special effects were as good as I would like, but I have to say that I enjoyed the performance overall. It was a good Star Trek story, and one I think fans of Star Trek should watch. It is a worthy telling.

And that of course is its downfall in some ways. The new Star Trek fan film guidelines make it against the rules to make any more Renegades stories. So much like the crew of Horizon, Renegades has gone their own separate way. They are making new stories, in a universe of their own creation. I suppose that is good in some ways. I certainly hope they are successful and make money doing it. But the Star Trek fan in me recognizes how much they love Star Trek. Star Trek is a world many of us want to live in, and writing or making stories in it is a way for us to do that. And the new fan film guidelines make that difficult, if not impossible. And so, whatever the team of Renegades makes, I will always be sad that we won’t see more of the characters and world that we each independently love.

I will watch the new Renegades stuff. They have earned that with this outing, and I hope to see more of them in the future. Even as I grieve over the lack of new Star Trek I will see because they can no longer do that.

You can find Star Trek: Renegades on youtube.

Or you can see what they are working on now.
Renegades: The Series

 Comment