Tag: armburster

Posted on

See Spot Run

Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Armburster paused to sip water from a fountain then grasped a doorknob at 07:59:58 allowing two seconds to breach that threshold and enter the hanger bay. A mixture of civilian contractors in blue button-downs and khakis and Marines awaited him politely or at attention.

Lieutenant Colonel Denise Armburster, test pilot, dropped her chin to her chest to sip the last of the water from a tube. Today or tomorrow would bring her death; she wanted to be hydrated for the coming fight.

Doctor Calvert’s near final words to her continued repeating in her head. They chanted like monks on a hilltop: incessant and oblivious. At times those words were as unnoticeable as her breathing at others as unignorable as her panting. Always involuntary. For several hours yesterday or the day before—sleep loss made her unsure—she intoned the words aloud just to hear someone speak. Even though she mouthed the words, Armburster heard Calvert’s voice in them. He had said, “Arm, I know what you’re thinking. It’s what I thought too. Suit up and be wrong for the first time.” But two words burst out of that string like a police siren in a crowd simultaneously drawing her attention yet warning her away: be wrong. Be wrong. Be Wrong. BE WRONG.

The progression of this story over the past few days evolved more than I wold have expected at the onset. This is good because at the end of this week I finally have a place ot start and a place to end. I just need to firm up the vaporous middle.

What I find most interesting is how parts I added to resolve initial problems ended up neutralizing those problems and requiring me to insert new ones to better meet the challenge. I’m not pleased that the none of the motivating scene I wrote back in December—the one that got me writing this story first of all the ones I selected—will be used in the final draft, but I am happy I’ve got something writable.

One funny thing I’d like to capture here if no where else is that my initial thinking put this at a much longer story than I was prepared to write. Explaining and setting up the motivations of the antagonist bloated the plot. Mostly, I think, because I wanted to be classier than, “Hey Reader! Here’s a bone. Go get it Boy.” I realized keeping the story short nessecitated motivation simplicity. So, still a bone to chase, but hopefully I’ll be able to include a zig if not a zag along the way.

Day 413

Posted on

Armburster: Light Plotting

I’m supposed to be writing already having completed my plotting on Tuesday.  Since I didn’t complete that I’m not writing today.  I’m tempted to put fingers to keys to see where the story goes, but I won’t.  Instead I’ll do the work.

For those of you not privy to my brain or office my first week will revive a brief mech motivated entry from December 2007: https://1000days.douglasblaine.com/20071222/day-119-armburster/

I keep coming back to making the character of “Doc” be the mysterious antagonist.  Which I then resist in various ways.  Then counter.  I’m starting to realize how much I prefer situations, events, or formless monsters to be the baddies than primary characters.

It makes sense in a 1000 word piece that the bad guy would be there all along.  All the motivations I come up with are thinner than I’d like to use.  I don’t want accidental or coerced badness.  I want dead-on purposeful seeking your death or destruction badness.

Regardless of the badness vector I’ve arrived at an event path that goes something like this: Armburster tests the XO and is surprisingly impressed and visibly enthusiastic about the results; they tuck it away for the night and return to testing the following day, early in that testing a virus locks up the XO’s controls and takes over to a great degree (Arm has some control but very little).  I need to determine what happens next.  Comic book style structural rampage to highlight the XO’s capabilities?  Specific target seeking quest? A vendetta or a robbery?

What’s the ending?  Does The Antag relent and power down the virus?  Is Arm forced to sacrifice the XO and himself for the greater good?  Maybe Arm is able to re-take the XO and stop the Antag?

Let’s say there is no virus.  The Antag takes a hostage and coerces Arm to do bad things with the XO.  Thus Arm is using his skills to protect one person at the disperse expense of others.  None of these really attacks his self-concept unless I change that concept a bit.  Maybe he is aloof and less caring more selfish?  Nah.  I think I’ll stick with a straight hero and just work a better angle.

Testing occurs on a specific planet consisting of the proper gravity or terrain.  Arm is the lead tester but soon other pilots will be on planet and in danger.  Or able to suit up themselves.  Arm’s brought a daughter or son or a wife or hooked up with a civilian contractor taken hostage.  So we’re on a remote planet.  What could The Antag want to accomplish?  Straight robbery?  Capture of a highly placed local political figure?  If it’s Doc then it would be knowledge of some sort.

Day 412