"Hero"
Story Notes
by Osiris Brackhaus
'The beginning is a very delicate time...'
Monologue of Princess Irulan, Dune
Princess Irulan is fundamentally right.
Yet upon re-reading 'Hero', I seem to have left out most of the beginning
in this story myself.
The fun in writing fandom (and slash) imho is mostly that
you can seize well-known characters and put them into new constellations,
yet using characters that might not be known to all of my readers somewhat
kills this effect.
So I have decided to add these notes that all those of you who are not as
firm in each three of the fandoms I shamelessly mixed might find some explanations
and detailed information on the characters I have used.
So, let's begin with the probably best known fandom of the three, and please do not turn volatile on me if I put anything wrong, just point it out, I'll correct it.
Stargate SG1
Plot: Nowadays US special forces travel to alien worlds via
alien artifact, saving the world a lot. (That crudely, painfully brief, but
- umm - quite fitting)
As the stories seem to concentrate mainly on the central team's (SG1) internal
chemistries while encountering alien threats and enigmas, it sometimes comes
close to a very modern, very cool way of telling the original StarTrek-stories
without a ship. (Please, don't hit me...)
Main Characters:
Colonel Jack O'Neill: Gruff/cool navy veteran, head of the team. The unfriendly hero. Always good for very precise, snotty to sarcastic remarks.
Major Samantha (Sam) Carter: Smart/technically apt navy chick. Brilliant, sometimes narrowminded natural scientist, she is blonde and charming outside, tough within. Second in command (I think)
Commander Daniel Jackson: Whatever military rank he has now, he's the 'civilian'. Brilliant linguist, sociologist and archeologist, he's the one who mostly a) gets into trouble in the first place b) gets freed / defended by the other until he c) find the solution. The cute nerd. (Never seen a nerd with such a body, though, but until now haven't heard anybody complain...)
Teal'C: The noble alien warrior, once the enemy, now the
most loyal friend of humanity. (In this case, humanity is Colonel O'Neill,
but what the..)
Mostly the solemn, exotic one, he's either good for very well observed comments
on human behaviour or a funny sidekick. Prefer the remarks by far...
La femme Nikita
Plot: Former streetchick gets forced to be trained as an
elite killer and agent for an - err - govermental agency fighting evil all
around the globe.
Only problems are
a) she doesen't want to
b) the agency (Section One) somewhat is just as bad (or even worse) than the
guys they're blowing up
c) everybody around her plays at least a double game, and she has to learn
to be tough, independent and emotionless just to survive.
Very cool, angsty, brilliantly convoluted yet credible plots.
Main characters:
Nikita: Former junkie and streetchick, very passionate, she
is offered the choice between deathrow or a place in the Agency as an elite
killer after being charged with homicide.
She takes the job, gets trained, hates it, does one good job after the other,
permanent fighting to retain her humanity among killers and schemers.
And desperately trying to find out if Michael loves her or not.
Michael: Paragon of the Section, he is Nikita's shining tutor, true lover, worst competitor, only friend and constant challenge all in one. Basically one very, very cool chap, handsome as hell, (sporting an 'alluring' french accent in the original version), he is the perfect professional, enigmatic, untouchable counterpart to the passionate, failing, fighting Nikita. Playing at least for two major parties in the plot. Or none. Whatever...
Operations & Madeline: Operations gives the orders, being head of the Section. Cruel, very logical, almost inhuman politician. Madeline is his assistant, psychological expert of the Section and in a very irritating way able to feel and understand normal, health emotions, yet absolutely not acting in accordance to them.
Saga of the Skolian Empire
Probably the least known world I quote here, these books have been written by Catherine Asaro, and rank among my absolute favourites.
Setting:
In far future, three human empires are at each others throats, struggling
both for supremacy and survival.
The smallest faction, mainly interested in trade and peace, are the allied
worlds of Earth, something very much like an UN-ruled Earth, a rather peaceful
yet somewhat irrelevant place.
Vastly bigger, far higher in technology, far more involved
in the war, are the two other Empires: the Eubian Concord and the Skolian
Empire.
While the Eubian Concord sports the by far superior fleet in numbers and equipment,
Skolia has found ways of superluminal communication by psionic abilities,
something the Eubians lack almost completely.
The story centres around the family of the Skolian Imperator, all uniquely gifted psychics, and their struggles. All more details would be major spoilers on 'Hero', so no more of this here.
The books sports quite a share of good-looking guys and tough girls, all combined with REALLY surprising and creative plots and brilliant scientific and mathematical explanations.
If you liked 'The Rowan' of Anne McCaffrey or 'Daughter of the Empire' of Janny Wurtz, these ones will definitely be a treat for you.
(bows to Catherine Asaro)
So, I hope this at least gives a rough idea of who's who, and if I forgot anything, give me a hint, I'll see that I'll set it right.
Enjoy,
Osiris
go to HERO PART 1