Part I: No Blood for Tritium
The Hellfire system (200 200 Ara) is dominated by a single
red supergiant sun the size of Betelgeuse. The sun is surrounded by a
dense asteroid field. Some of the larger asteroids have been carved into
outposts of the Hellfire colony. The Hellion colonists have been fighting
a losing a war against the system's other inhabitants, the Solarites, for
several centuries and are on the verge of total defeat.
When
Pegasus arrives at the Hellfire system, the ship is down to the last
reserves of Tritium, a vital aviation fuel used in her fleet of Aves.
Pegasus strikes a bargain with the Hellions: In return for help in
evacuating the besieged Hellfire Refining Station 3, Pegasus will be
rewarded with an entire shipment of Tritium.
Lieutenant Commander
Eliza Jane Change will lead the mission, accompanied by Flight Captain
Matthew Driver, Warfighters Johnny Rook and Max Jordan, and Lieutenant
Technician Zulu Jeff, a specialist in ion-engine repair with "talent
on-loan from the all-being."
But the Hellions are a treacherous,
desperate, and untrustworthy people and their plans for the crew may not
be entirely honorable. Also, Change is letting the power of command go to
her head, and Johnny Rook and Max Jordan are trying to deal with their own
personal problems in between fighting off Solarite attacks.
What
could possibly go wrong?
Trivia
- The Hellions were inspired by characters in bad Japanese space operas, like Fugitive Alien.
- Solarites is a reference to MST3K Episode “Phantom Planet.”
- Max Jordan bouncing the ball against the wall of the shuttle parallels Eddie Roebuck doing the same thing in Book 01
- Driver’s reference to “self-lives” is a nod to George Orwell’s 1984.
- Driver’s quote “He said ‘Gurp’ and then he said ‘Good’ and then he died” is a reference to The World According to Garp.
- Quiet City is a reference to the 1940’s radio serial Six-Shooter.
- Goldeneyes Dactylos is a reference to Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” books.
- Ludicrous Speed is a reference to Spaceballs.
- Once again, a term from the 20th Century is given a new meaning. Much as “landing gear” refers to the clothing and equipment used by away teams when exploring a new planet is a re-use of “landing gear” meaning the wheels and stuff underneath a plane, here “catalytic converter” is used to refer to equipment used in Tritium refining, and has nothing to do with pollution control devices on 20th century cars.
- Matthew Driver and Trajan riffing on the “Hellfire: Wonder of the Galaxy” video was inspired by the MST3K shorts “Assignment Venezuela” and “Progress Island USA.”
- Atlas Colony (from Fiddler’s Green) is referenced again.
- When Max Jordan responds to “Are you all right?” With “I’m Super, Thanks for Asking,” he’s using a line from South Park, Bigger Longer and Uncut.
- Note the company the Hellions work for is ‘Crucial Space Fuels.” The abandoned building the crew explored in Crucible had a sign in front reading ‘Crucial Hydrocarbons.’
Download Book08: Hellfire
Part 2: Falldown
An Aves filled with minor characters crashes on a remote and mysterious tropical island. Then, it gets weird.
Trivia
- Flight Lieutenant Aramburuzabala is named after Mexican billionaire Maria Asuncion Aramburuzabala.
- Specialist Savagewood is named after a character from the Bloom County comic strip.
- Atlantic’s memory of an old tale about retaining one living memory in the afterlife is based on the crappy Japanese art movie Wandafuru_raifu
- Dr. Skinner’s shtick on the beach is like a similar running gag on Family Guy where the doctor’s use of medical clichés are deliberately misunderstood. Skinner admits at the end he was screwing around with Atlantic.
- The character of Bart Savagewood (before he goes crackers) is modeled after Bear Grylls of Man vs Wild.
- During Atlantic’s flashback to the beach party on EdenWorld, Specialist Brainiacsdaughter asks “Did I just see a robo-shark?” In Book 06, it’s mentioned that (Anaconda Taurus?) received a commendation for retrieving a wally-ball from a lagoon where sharks “may or may not have been spotted.” Also, the Lost episode Adrift contains a scene in which Sawyer and Michael are menaced by a (possibly robotic) shark.
- Alkema’s flashback on Day One contains an exchange of dialog with Keeler practically identical to an exchange in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol
- Cleolanta was a character in the 1950’s scifi serial Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, and appeared in the MST3K episodes Manhunt in Space, and Crash of the Moons.
- Savagewood’s comment “It’s a bad business, being bored” is a riff on Lord of the Flies. Rook’s comment about “Fun and games” also references LOTF. And so does the alien pig’s head on a spike.
- The word “probulator” is borrowed from Futurama. As is the reference to “This thing I wear on my wrist.”
- At least two Michael Crichton novels are obliquely reference, Jurassic Park and Prey, when Atlantic is chased through the jungle by nano-technology robots in the shape of a ‘carnivorous sauropod.”
Download Book08: Hellfire Part 2
Part 3: Cake or Death
Plot Details TBD