Richard Powell

S02E02 - The Thin Blue Line: When a journalist is murdered, Inspector Lin investigates. When she uncovers evidence of some corporate malfeasance, she finds herself at odds with Yiu Quon.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction

Image by Doodlenerve0116.
Ximena Sanz escapes a brutal assault on an orbital station only for her ship to be disabled by the attacking Cadir.
Marooned and condemned to a death of slow asphyxiation, she watches the Cadir destroy her homeworld in a barrage of kinetic spears.
She floats around the cockpit, the dead pilot sat behind her, his head bifurcated and the blood slowly pooling in the air. The ship is dead in space and there is no power to any of the consoles.
All she can do is watch her world die, and await her own demise.

04:12 PM - Apr 27, 2024

0

S02E01 - Whispers In A Crowded Room: The Mav Rann have been studied by the Republic for years, but when their colony is threatened, they feel compelled to help.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarW

Image by Doodlenerve0116.
Commander Ellen Voight and Ambassador Kleio Alexander meet a contingent of Mav Rann on board the HDR Liberator.
The Mav Rann themselves are behind a glass partition as so to allow for a different atmospheric mix. One stands ahead of the others, consulting directly with Voight and Alexander.
The creature itself is a round central body with eight limbs radiating out at equidistant points around the circumference. Each of those limbs is jointed above the main body before forming a large, thick leg.
Inbetween each leg is a large eye, and at the base of the creature is a mouth, around which are numerous tool-wielding tendrils.
The Mav Rann is communicating non-verbally, using a colour display similar to ancient Earth octopuses. The whole body glows with various colours, blue at the base of the foot, yellow in the legs, purple at the knee.
Ambassador Kleio Alexander holds out her hands to the Mav Rann representative.

06:07 PM - Apr 26, 2024

0

S01E15 - Man Of The People: Columbia is in flames, and a fleet is bearing down on the Liberator. Commander Voight knows the battle will be costly, but is determined to stop them.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifiboo

Image by mdw_jason.
The HDR Liberator's representatives face off against secessionists during a siege on a police station. Behind them lies the mob's target, the secessionist leader, arrested and placed in a cell.
From left to right, we have Major Sanjeev Varma, Captain Carl Schafer and Namor Skenn. The latter two are armed with guns, whereas Major Varma is wielding a khanda, a sword passed down through his family.

05:36 PM - Apr 25, 2024

0

S01E14 - Controlling The Narrative: The planet Columbia is in the midst of turmoil, as a political party threatens the peace of the Republic.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #starwars #startrek

Image by palasharts.
William Pierce pays the price for his hubris, and finds himself in an enhanced interrogation chamber questioned by state-sanctioned interrogator Mr Styx, and the malevolent head of the Teel Corporation, Conn Teel himself.
William is restrained on a gurney, totally naked as an articulated arm hangs above him with various 'persuasion enhancers' fitted to it. Behind him is a station containing various other tools, and a display for monitoring his lifesigns. Can't have someone succumbing to excessive persuasion, after all.
Conn Teel stands behind the gurney, gloating over his fate whilst dressed in an anti-spatter smock.
Mr Styx stands in front of the gurney, formally attired, and with the appearance more like that of a bank manager than an interrogator.
Some excess blood trickles across the floor to a sluice at the side.

06:16 PM - Apr 24, 2024

0

S01E13 - Thy Fearful Symmetry: The UCH has orchestrated a war between the Aleph Corporation and the Cadir and now millions of lives hang in the balance.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by palasharts.
Major Sanjeev Varma and Namor Skenn are undercover in Aleph Corporation space, and wait for an informant at a noodle bar based at the edge of a busy commercial area.
Many people are rushing by and, although it is night, the surroundings are well lit by all manner of coloured lighting.
Aleph cities are characterised by their rampant consumerism, and this is no exception. It is not unlike any existing city, but it is the scale and the sheer level of advertising prevalent in the signage. Enter any covered commercial area, and even the floor is encouraging you to be the best version of yourself before offering a discount on custom surgery.
While sat at the noodle bar, Namor Skenn had made a rather unexpected, and mildly amusing, admission. Sanjeev Varma mocks the mercenary for his confession, but it is more of a bonding moment than intentional ridicule.

04:25 PM - Apr 23, 2024

0

1

S01E12 - Tiger Above, Tiger Below: Aleph Corp have invaded the space of Yeung Corp. Quon suspects a trap, but his rival has persuaded them to respond.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by teddy09.
Yiu Quon interrogates the captured Aleph Corporation fleet leader Admiral Amelia Bennett.
Despite being secured temporarily in a judiciary cell, Yiu Quon has some questions he wishes to ask her that he wants answered without the oversight of intelligence.
They are sat at a table in an interview room with a pot of tea between them. Yiu Quon is there to ask some hard questions, but he sees no reason to be uncivil.
Amelia, still bruised and battered from her capture, sits warily across from him, appreciating his civility, but also quite aware that her future is set to include a much more brutal interrogation by the intelligence division.

04:54 PM - Apr 22, 2024

0

The Void - Future saga following the cold war between multiple human empires and the people desperate to be the inheritors of it all.

Check out the website at https://www.ratchman.com/.

"It is always better to hold your nerve and wait, than to move too quickly.”
Tobor Genn
Head Of Intelligence, Aleph Corporation

02:15 PM - Apr 21, 2024 (Edited)

0

S01E11 - Heller's Apothecary: Viktor Heller decides to negate the growing threat of the Republic by initiating a narcotic supply into Republic space.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by teddy09.
Valentine Rao leads an assault on the home of Himon Merec, current kingpin of Verona.
It's a bloody battle that leaves many dead, and there are a few evident in the picture.
Valentine is holding an assault rifle pointing at his adversary, a couple of mercenaries at his side. Facing them is Himon Merec, who is a large, muscular individual, and not intimidated by the violence.
They have violated his inner sanctum, his ornate study decorated with wooden panelling and a large oaken desk with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

02:33 PM - Apr 20, 2024

0

S01E10 - The Ju'Jinkai: After decades of silence, the Ju’Jinkai suddenly return. Humanity has lost every battle against them, so can the Liberator survive?

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Illustration by Doodlenerve0116.
One of the Ju'Jinkai stand over a helpless Republic soldier.
Descended from an acquatic predator, there is a definite shark-like quality to them. Standing on two legs, but oriented on the horizontal plane, they have a distinct hammerhead and an extremely muscular frame, including two massive double-thumbed hands.
It holds a large handgun in one hand and wears a harness carrying grenades and bladed weapons.
Finally, they have one last terrifying weapon: their double-articulated jaws.
They are a species caught between two worlds: the aquatic and the terrestrial. They can breathe both an atmosphere and water, but this one is wearing a water tank for breathing.
Their species left the water of their world many generations ago, fleeing even bigger predators, and the terrestrial adaptation allowed them to start developing their intelligence.
Though terrifying, they should never be written off as dull and brutish. There is much more to them than first appears.

04:12 PM - Apr 19, 2024

0

Just finished writing S03E14 - Blind Idiot Gods.

Feeling rather energized with that completion, but the next step is to edit it, and be critical. Then onto reviewing the plan for S03E15 - The Unending Scream Of Nyarlathotop.

Yeah, I know, my influences are showing.

09:11 AM - Apr 19, 2024

0

S01E09 - Halcyon Days: After a terrorist attack at the heart of New Athens, and the Senate itself, The Liberator is called to hunt down the terror group.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Illustration by Doodlenerve0116.
Hanna Ilyas rides shotgun on a quad-rotor police flier belonging to the Potomac Police, with Chief Bonnell sat next to her.
They are on their way to intercept a suspected terrorist who planted the bomb that damaged the Senate, but they need to move fast to avoid him fleeing, so the fliers become necessary.
It is like a scaled up drone, but capable of holding multiple people and some equipment, much like an ancient helicopter.
There are other fliers as well, more modern designs that make use of maglev technology, but the rotor design is still popular as it can be cheaper and still works on planets with a weak magnetic field.

03:40 PM - Apr 18, 2024

0

S01E08 - The Siren's Call: The Liberator investigates a world where the entire population has simply disappeared. But who, or what, is Galatea?

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by twiffcane99.
Doctor Akari Takuma surveys one of the commercial streets of the colony of Mul Haengseong. It is a normal street with coffee shops and fast food restaurants, but it is completely abandoned.
The detritus of everyday life remains: food is left uneaten, shopping bags lie where they were dropped and a baby's pram lies empty and unattended, something which sends a shiver down the spine of Akari.
One of her medical colleagues scans the area, attempting to pick up any traces of pathogens, but none have been currently found.

04:29 PM - Apr 17, 2024

0

S01E07 - Consequences Of Past Deeds: The Liberator is seized by the Eyrians, godlike xenos that sit in judgement over all sentient species.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by twiffcane99.
Captain Carl Schafer makes an impassioned plea to the Eyrian auditor.
Little can be discerned of the arena that they are in as it is so dark. The Eyrians exist in an environment with practically no light, so they accommodate only the dimmest of illumination for the accused.
The Eyrian itself regards the waffling human with cynicism. They have little respect for humanity, a species they deem to be destructive and selfish.
All we can see of the auditor is a vague shape. The most noticeable feature is its four eyes, glowing a deep scarlet and casting a little light over what can only be described as a beak. Behind the eyes, are some horns, and leathery wings that protrude from its back.
Despite being an alien, there is something deeply satanic about its appearance, and its presence inspires fear in the humans that accompany Schafer.

07:58 PM - Apr 16, 2024

0

S01E06 - The Afflicted: Refugees from a colony of undesirables in Aleph space make it to the Republic, but can they help without provoking a war?

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by twiffcane99.
Trapped on an inhospitable planet, Telford Connor and Eldon Lang clear the area surrounding the launchpad of predators so that they may prepare to launch their improvised ship.
Telford, sent to the planet due to his Down's Syndrome, is lining up a shot on one of the planet's predators, known as Rakers.
His companion, Eldon Lang, was ostracised for his ectrodactyly, but now he spots for Telford, searching for more potential threats in the icy landscape.
Behind them is the entrance to the habitat built into a mountain, and the only reason the colony has been able to survive this bleak environment.
In front of the hangar door sits the launchpad, sat on which is a restored spaceship. Telford was one of the crew that helped restore it, and Eldon is the one experienced pilot among their number.
Along with several others, they are preparing to leave the planet and request help from the nearby Republic.

04:27 PM - Apr 15, 2024

0

The Void - Future saga following the cold war between multiple human empires and the people desperate to be the inheritors of it all.

Check out the website at https://www.ratchman.com/

Or: https://www.youtube.com/@T...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

“If the universe is mad, sometimes it is better to move with it, than against it.”
Serena Heller
Matriarch Of The Heller Dynasty

06:38 AM - Apr 14, 2024

0

S01E05 - O Come All Ye Faithful: When ships start disappearing near the Cadir border, an incursion is suspected. But what is the purpose?

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by teddy09.
Major Sanjeev Varma takes on one of the mollusc-like Cadir with his trusty khanda sword, slashing open its stomach as he avoids the four whip-like tentacles that emerge from its upper body.
Imagine an upright slug with a broad cone-shaped base and a hideous maw with a rasping tongue, and you have the Cadir.
These Cadir are equipped with breastplates adorned with multiple grenades, mucus-drenched guns and a massive broad two-tentacled sword.
The one Sanjeev is attacking is a bright green, but there is also a purple one in the background shearing the face off an unfortunate Republic soldier.

06:25 PM - Apr 13, 2024

0

S01E04 - The Fillim Perspective: The Liberator performs a survey on a planet prior to colonisation, and Carter Vincent gets to meet some aliens.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by palasharts.
Carter Vincent gets his first view of an alien world, and is stunned by the wild and wonderful nature of it all. He kneels to examine a small critter amongst the pink foliage as stone monoliths rise out of the ground behind him and alien birds cross the sky and silvery water flows down a mountainside into a river.
Doctor Lux Pang, a Fillim scientist of the Fillim race, cautions his new friend not to interfere. A tripedal insectoid creature with three arms and three legs, Lux Pang is also part of the scientific team, offering his sage advice to a younger species. His single compound eye surveys the landscape carefully, being able to see in all directions at once.
Carter, being a refugee from the past, is simply astonished by the beauty of it all, and is enamoured by the wildlife. But his wonder does potentially blind him to the dangers of nature.

03:51 PM - Apr 12, 2024

0

S01E03 - Trust In The Enemy: Namor Skenn, an enemy agent and a man with much blood on his hands, seeks asylum with the crew of the HDR Liberator.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by theartistspud1.
Lieutenant Commander Hanna Ilyas meets Namor Skenn for the first time in one of the Liberator's jail cells. It is a comfortable, yet sterile environment. There are bars across the front of the cell, transparent but more solid than steel.
Hanna stands facing the Teel Corporation agent with a look of cautious empathy. She can sense the turmoil within him, despite the stoic outward appearance.
Namor Skenn stands facing her, largely expressionless as he speaks to her, aware that she has been telepathically probing him from afar.
Namor Skenn wants to prove that he has nothing to hide, and so encourages her probing him mentally. Hanna has never experienced anyone quite so damaged, and can't help but feel sorry for what has happened to him.
At the same time, the fear of him is clear. This sinewy, yet unremarkable individual is an unremitting killer. Even if someone with such a history is so genuinely contrite, can they ever be trusted?

06:03 PM - Apr 11, 2024

0

S01E02 - Who The Hell Is Buck Rogers? Carter Vincent died in the 21st century and woke in the 42nd. Can he cope mentally with this bizarre future?

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by teddy09.
Freaked out by waking up to find not only is he not dead, but everyone is speaking some unknown language, Carter Vincent tries to get out of bed.
Doctors Akari Takuma and Denom Richt try to prevent him from injuring himself, knowing that his muscles have seriously atrophied.
Carter is ignoring the incomprehensible instruction, wondering what has happened to his family, whom he was with as he shut his eyes.
Though the setting is clearly a hospital room of some description, he does not recognise the location, or that two millennium have passed in that single eyeblink.
Akari is concerning herself with getting Carter to remain in the bed, whilst Denom is wondering why the Babel implant is not working and translating Carter's archaic language.

04:06 PM - Apr 10, 2024

0

S01E01 - The Naled: The Republic unearth a secret that has been kept for over forty years, a secret that endangers the Liberator and its entire crew.

https://www.ratchman.com/e...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by teddy09.
Captain Carl Schafer strides through the park that leads towards the Senate in New Athens, capital city of the planet Triskele, and of the Human Democratic Republic.
The buildings in the background represent a collision of styles, representing the journey the city has been on.
The old, brutalist industrial-looking buildings are those remnants from the time Villa Triskele ruled over his corporate empire with despotic glee, but there are also more utopian green-and-white structures that gleam in the sunlight as vegetation is cultivated on the sides.
In the distance, the old gothic citadel where Villa Triskele once resided still stands, a monument to the past preserved for posterity.
The park itself is open, covered in manicured lawns, and with streams flowing through it.
Aside from Carl Schafer, there is a woman reading a book, a couple embracing each other, and a man walking his altapede.
It's a city in transition, but the Republic are building to a higher ideal, tryin...

08:00 PM - Apr 09, 2024

0

1

The Venn Hidran: Mysterious elder species with deep wisdom but a cryptic speech pattern. These peculiar creatures inspire deep dread within humans, but show little hostility.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by natalijanaca.
The Venn Hidran have a unique and oddly terrifying body plan. Resembling a palm tree with arachnid limbs sprouting from the top of its trunk, and with a vicious-looking mouth lined with sharp teeth in the middle of all these weird limbs, they instantly cast a very alien image.
Most of those spider-like limbs have claws at the end, but two have trumpet-like tubes at the end, and other two have sac-like sensory bulbs at the end.
Underneath the limbs and mouth are the eyes, six of them positioned equidistant around the circumference of the trunk, and with tubes projecting outward under them, their purpose to provide propulsion in ever horizontal direction.
Then the creature's most stand-out physical characteristic: the meat skirt at the bottom of its trunk. The Venn Hidran do not have traditional legs, but instead hover by an organic form of jet propulsion.

05:53 PM - Apr 08, 2024

0

The Void - Future saga following the cold war between multiple human empires and the people desperate to be the inheritors of it all.

Check out the website at https://www.ratchman.com/.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@T...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

“Listen to them. Cheering on their own oppression. Never occurs to them they could be in that position next time.”
Conn Teel
CEO, Teel Corporation

04:00 PM - Apr 07, 2024

0

The Okkarren: Strange broad and squat creatures with radial symmetry. Widely regarded to be superb engineers and a spiritual people who view their chief god as an engineer.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by natalijanaca.
One of the stranger sapient species known to humanity, the Okkarren are about chest height to a human, and their bodies are round, relatively thin at the outer edge, and thick in the middle.
Their mouth is in the middle of their disc-like body, and surrounded by four pairs of two eyes, giving them unparalleled depth perception.
They have six legs located equidistant around the edge of their bodies, with two tentacles above each leg.
When they are being expressive, this can appear as a mass of flailing flagella, but they are surprisingly dextrous.

04:00 PM - Apr 06, 2024

0

1

The Naled: Far more intelligent, emotional and individual than humanity thinks. No queen, no hive mind, and adaptable DNA, they are not a technological species, but a biomechanical one.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by natalijanaca.
The Naled take many forms, and a myriad of shapes and sizes. They are by far the most adaptable species known to humanity.
Pictured is one of the most common forms: the warrior warform.
Somewhere between a beetle and crustacean, it is of similar size to a buffalo, and very strong.
Where it really shines is with its intelligence. Naled are quick to assess any situation and work out any new problem posed to them, and with their claw-like hands, they even have the means to manipulate tools.
The mandibles and horns that adorn their head change depending on the individual, and this leads to another unexpected trait: the Naled may be insect-like, but they are not hive-minded. Each Naled is an individual, but they do still have a very utilitarian society.

04:19 PM - Apr 05, 2024

0

The Makeen: The embodiment of the term 'eco-warrior', these saurian conservationists are as savage as their appearance suggests. And yet, in many ways they are more cultured and caring than humanity is.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by stazlax.
The initial appearance of the Makeen is that of a dinosaur, but that resemblance is purely coincidental, brought about by convergent evolution.
The body is very raptor-like, but with the addition of two extra arms. The 'forearms' are a little less strong than a human's, and are their main dexterous arms, whereas their larger main arms are much stronger than a human's, and built for rending more than they are fine control.
Their heads have a three-sectioned jaw, giving the creatures the capacity to swallow very large prey, and the three eyes gives them excellent depth perception. At the back of the head is a peculiar set of hollow tubes that they breathe through to create a musical form of speech.
Their backs are covered in small armour plates, all along their extended tails, which are used for balance. At the end of the tail is a barb that can be used for slashing, though using this comes at the cost of a loss of co-ordination.

07:00 PM - Apr 03, 2024

0

The Kollomeen: No species embraces the appreciation for life more than the Kollomeen. Ephemeral and fragile, they know just how transient life can be, and so they work to keep peace in the universe.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Designed by natalijanaca.
The Kollomeen as sapient creatures from a gas giant and, as such, are little more than bags of gas with a tentacled creature dangling underneath.
With six eyes, orifices through which they propel themselves, and a multitude of squid-like tentacles dangling from the bottom, these creatures need an exo-suit to survive in a human environment.
The suit itself is a hovering bell-jar-type construction, transparent and with many controls the Kollomeen inside it can use.

04:03 PM - Apr 02, 2024

0

The Ju'Jinkai: Evolved from aquatic predators, they hail from a planet where existence is a struggle, and premature death is common. As a result, it has made them a hedonistic and violent culture.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by Doodlenerve0116.
The Ju'Jinkai evolved from an aquatic predator, and hold onto many of the associated traits. In many ways, they are trapped between two worlds: the aquatic and the terrestrial.
Imagine a hammerhead shark with the stance of a velociraptor and a secondary extending jaw, and you have a general shape for the species.
This is a little reductive, as they are complex creatures with many unique features. Their skin has bio-luminescent patches which flash different colours depending on their mood. Their arms and legs can fold up into grooves in order to make their bodies streamlined underwater. Their hands have opposing thumbs, and their feet are almost amphibian-like.
Their size is also rather intimidating, being much larger than humans, at around six to nine feet tall at the hip. It takes many people to down a single Ju'Jinkai in melee.
And never get close to those jaws.

05:35 PM - Apr 01, 2024

0

The Fillim: Spindly insectoids with a bizarre appearance, the Fillim are one of the elder species. Fillim are sociable and immensely intelligent, and even share elements of humour with humanity.

https://www.ratchman.com/s...
#scifi #sciencefiction #scifibooks #StarWars #startrek

Image by natalijanaca.
The Fillim are strange-looking creatures, resembling bowling pins in general body shape, they have a tripodal arrangement with their limbs: three legs and three arms, all very spindly but with surprisingly dextrous digits.
They have a single compound eye that stretches all around the circumference of their head, making them impossible to sneak up on, and a similarly wraparound mouth with a baleen filter.
They communicate via musical whistles which are projected from their multiple nostrils.
Despite their unusual appearance, the Fillim are incredibly agile, and their motion does tend to unsettle humans as it does remind them of the way spiders move.

04:38 PM - Mar 31, 2024

0