Characters and Terms used in Bound By Stars (And possible sequels) · 7:47pm Mar 8th, 2017
Since some of my friends had problems when it came to characters, names and terms that I used in my story, I decided to create a list of things that might help you in understanding the story just a bit more. Please note that this list might provide spoilers in terms of characters, locations and events, and is subject to change.
Characters
- Eric Callaghan
- Species: Human
- Main Human Character
- Age: 32
- Home: Nuakea/Oblivion/Appartment A289
- (Space) Pilot
- Joined the Federal Pilots Association in 2221
- Studied Electrical Engineering and Advanced Physics
- Worked as spacecraft mechanic for 5 years at Oblivion
- Short-tempered
- Good at improvisation
- Favourite food is T-Bone Steak, though meat is rare in space
- Michelle Yonderia
- Species: Human
- Friends with Eric Callaghan
- Age: 30
- Home: Nuakea/Oblivion/Apparment A173
- Trainee (Space) Pilot
- Is studying Botanical And Biological Engineering
- Good at cooking
- Trains in Martial Arts
- Solar Streak
- Species: Pony
- Main Pony Character
- Friends with Lightning Sky
- Age: 29
- Race: Pegasus
- Home: Equestria/Canterlot/Crystal Avenue 22
- Captain in the Royal Guard, 3rd Airborne Batallion, 12th Regiment, 2nd Division
- Has served in the Royal Guard for 9 years
- Is self-studying Astronomy
- Coat: Dark Blue
- Mane and Tail: Orange
- Cutie Mark: Meteor
- Lightning Sky
- Species: Pony
- Friends with Solar Streak
- Age: 27
- Race: Pegasus
- Home: Equestria/Canterlot/Starline Drive 69
- Works as a bartender at a local disco, called "NightlineShine"
- Skilled at cooking and mixing
- Coat: Yellow
- Mane and Tail: Red & White
- Cutie Mark: (UNKNOWN)
- Character Created By: Oskar
- Christina Castello
- Species: Human
- Married to Adrianos Castello
- Age: 56
- Home: Nuakea/Oblivion/Appartment A600 (End of the station, beautifull view of space)
- Botanical and Biological Reasearcher
- Teaches Botanical and Biological Engineering at Oblivion
- Favourite food is lobster
- Adrianos Castello
- Species: Human
- Married to Christina Castello
- Age: 58
- Home: Nuakea/Oblivion/Appartment A600 (End of the station, beautifull view of space)
- (Space) Pilot
- Joined the Federal Pilots Association in 2205
- Medical and Pharmaceutical Researcher
- Teaches medicine at Oblivion
- Has a sight-issue, requires special optical augmentation units
- Good at cooking
- Loves spaceships
- Bladed Sword
- Species: Pony
- Age: 44
- Race: Pegasus
- Home: [CLASSIFIED]
- Major in the Royal Guard, 3rd Airborne Batallion, 12th Regiment
- Has served in the Royal Guard for 23 years
- Shining Armor
- Species: Pony
- Age: 49
- Race: Unicorn
- Home: Crystal Empire/Crystal Palace
- General of the Royal Guard
- Has served in the Royal Guard for 31 years
- Frederik Bishop
- Species: Human
- Age: 67
- Home: Sol/Earth/Europe/UK-Region/London/Harrowby St 52
- Admiral of the UEN
- Has served in the UEN for 39 years
Names and Terms
- Oblivion
Oblivion is a space station orbiting around the 3rd planet in the Nuakea System. It was built in 2142 by Coriolis Starports. Like all Coriolis-built space stations, Oblivion has a central flight-area, surrounded by a rotating station. The rotation creates gravity, due to the centrifugal force. The acceleration of gravity can be altered by changing the rotational velocity of the station. The standard gravitational acceleration for all Coriolis Stations is 9,81m/s^2. The station is comprised of multiple levels (A trough P), each containing different facilities.
- Apoapsis
Highest point in an orbit, relative to the orbiting object.
- Periapsis
Lowest point in an orbit, relative to the orbiting object.
- System-Naming
In Bound By Stars, the planet where Equestria (and other continents) is located, is called "NLTT-512-3A". This name is one that I came up with when I was figuring out the first aspects of the story. It is a simplyfied version of the real-life naming-system of stars, more on which can be found here. In my case, I used "NLTT" as a designation or abreviation of the first system to discover the star. Since, in my story, it was the 512th star discovered by this system, it was called "NLTT-512". The planet that Eric reffered to as "13th May" is the 3rd planet orbiting the star from the center. Therefore, "NLTT-512-3". Finally, since the planet is not a moon, it received the letter A, meaning that it is the primary body, which only orbits the local star. What do we get: "NLTT-512-3A".
- Stellar Body Scanner
In "Chapter 1 - Alone", the first thing Eric did was activate his Stellar Body Scanner, or SBS. This is a fictional device, which is used to scan planets, stars and asteroids within a certain area. It starts by firing a pulse of sorts, which then bounces off of objects in space, such as planets and asteroids. The basic principle is the same as the sonar used by modern-day ships. The minimal size for an object to be detected are as follows:
Range - Diameter
1000M - 1M
5000M - 10M
10KM - 100M
100KM - 5000M
1000KM - 10KM
... and so forth. After this ping is completed, a detailed scan is performed. The exact ways of how this is done is still a mystery to me, but I'll figure it out.
- Warp-Drive
The Warp-Drive is a way of high-speed long-range transportation, used by spaceships to travel between stars. It was invented in the year 2147 by Hammer Propulsion, and subsequently purchased by the Olympus Organization. The Warp-Drive is a combination of 2 systems: The Alcubierre Drive, and the Energy Deflector. The Alcubierre Drive was first researched by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). It bends space around it, thus allowing objects to travel at speeds higher than the speed of light. When they were closed in 2018 due to the president's new government-budget, the technology was abandoned and locked away. Luckilly, Hammer Propulsion found the blueprints and calculations when exploring the ruins of what used to be the Kennedy Space Center. They then had to find a way to generate enough energy to power the Drive, and a way to loose the kinetic energy on arrival. They managed to do this with a device, which they named "Energy Deflector". In its simplest form, it consumes energy (in the form of light) out of the enviroment, which is then pumped into the Drive. On arrival, most of the kinetic energy is transfered into electrical energy, which is subsequently released into space. This creates a stormcloud-like event, which is an unplanned, although cool-looking, side effect.
- MK-1 REMR
The MK-1 Royal Equestrian Military Rifle, or REMR, is a bolt-action rifle, designed for the Equestrian military by Hoofington Firearms Research. It is the first multi-shot hand-held weapon ever in Equestria, and it's a marvel of technology. It is similar to the British Short Magazine Lee-Enfield MKIII, a WW1-Era weapon. Like the real-world equivalent, it has a 10-round magazine, which can be loaded using individual rounds, or by using 5-round charger clips. The Equestrian variant is best operated by unicorns, but it can also be used by pegasi and earth-ponies, though with less ease. A unicorn can operate the rifle solely using magic, but aiming the rifle by hoof is required to properly aim the weapon. They can use their magic to achieve high rates of fire, usefull for suppresive fire. Pegasi can use their wings to hold the rifle and/or operate the bolt, and earth-ponies have to use their hoofs, though some are experimenting with using their mouth to pull back the bolt.
If there is anything else in the story that you don't understand, or you want more background-information, please let me know, and I'll add it as soon as possible.
