Step Four – The Page

The next step in the snowflake method is to develop a page from the paragraph you made in step two. Things have already changed a little, so this has been very helpful. I’m not sure if I’ll complete all the steps, but so far I love this. I have a complete story arc!

The Dare Freight company arrives on Eshu V, ready to resupply the nearly self sufficient colony there. Ginnie notices something isn’t right when she hails them and receives no answer. Once they get closer she realizes that there’s no communications traffic at all. A fly over reveals no activity and no apparent colonists. Standing orders require that they land and offer any aid until the military arrives. The ship lands near the colony site and Walter, Ginnie, and a few other crew members go to check things out. Walter isn’t happy that his only child is coming along, but they both feel that her skills and experience are enough that she can handle herself. They prepare for any biological/physical hazards and head out.

They arrive at the site and everywhere they look it’s like the people just all picked up and left in the middle of lunch. All evidence points to them being gone for at least twenty four hours. The natives arrive, led by Arcturus. They confront Dare and his crew. Ginnie is off exploring when her Dad sends her the message to stay undercover until things settle out. While she’s looking around she finds an alien artifact in the community center. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she picks it up The Dares leave after placating the natives. Arcturus is able to detect that the humans have something he wants and they make plans to attack the ship.

Once back at the ship, Ginnie begins to hack into the artifact realizing that it’s part puzzle and part computer. She has to solve several layers of encryption to get to the information it contains and then she has to figure out how to use it. While she’s figuring this out, Walter shares with his crew that he believes that the natives are responsible for the colonies disappearance. The natives arrive and accuse the Dares of lying earlier and demand that they return all the missing artifacts. Dare responds with an accusation that the natives are responsible and demands that they reveal what happened to the colonists. The aliens disable the ship and begin to lay siege.

Major Chen and her corvette arrives. She is able to dock with the freighter and meets with the crew. Walter explains his theory that the natives are responsible, pointing to the attack on their freighter as evidence. She tells him that she’s there not to bully the natives, but to heal any relations with them. She doesn’t believe they’re responsible. She agrees to talk with them. She does so, explaining to them that they’re innocent of taking any artifacts. That’s when Ginnie reveals that she does indeed have one. She’s cracked part of the code and believes that there’s some information about what happened to the colony. She doesn’t want to give it up and her father backs her up. The natives demand its return or they will destroy the ship. They give one day’s time.

Finally, with some help from Major Chen, Ginnie is able to interface with the artifact. It is a computer and a recorder. It contains records of the regions’ history in both audible and video format. It’s also recorded information about the period of time that it was held by the colonists. They recovered it as part of an archaeological dig. It recorded them being taken by a group of space pirates. Chen and Ginnie show this to Walter and then Arcturus. They return the computer to the natives and then they all join together to find and fight the pirates, the ones who are actually stealing and hoping to take advantage of the native’s resources and technology. FINAL BATTLE!

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