A friend of mine on Facebook proofed a lot of the Ebony Sea stories. He suggested I make the episodic stories into a novel, which can dig deeper into the characters. For instance, Lt. Commander Carnifor from To Mars and Back.
The episodes I’ve already written have him resenting Lannetay (from Recovery) for being in command of the broader mission for my characters. Thing is, he was going to be in charge of a vast number of star sailors on a carrier, but for political reasons he was subordinated to a civilian trade ship captain. I can certainly understand that. I’ve been in positions where people with less knowledge and experience were put in charge of me. It’s humbling. I’m sure many of you have had similar experience, especially those with military experience.
A short story isn’t really designed to do any kind of character analysis, though. Carnifor might have come out seeming . . . petty, perhaps vindictive. Certainly he chaffed at taking orders from Lannetay, and with so many military people on the undercover mission, there’s no wonder he had the “I should be in charge” attitude.
But he’s not. Stories are interesting because not everything goes as planned, and the relationship between Lannetay and Carnifor is definitely anything but expected. You’ll see.