Well of Souls Forums

So now we get to see why Jardin got selected. Excellent.

Huge space-harbor. Always wondered if these are realistic, especially in the early stages like we have here with humanity.
Also due to the early stage - what actions makes a captain a "legend"? There couldn´t have been huge battles by now to create a Horatio Nelson or a Rommel?

But a nice move - a good moment for a short flashback. I like it.

Maybe he's an early pioneer of hyperspace?

Anyway, I wonder if we'll finally get to see some of that legendary backtalk Alex seemed to be known for.

Trantor wrote:Also due to the early stage - what actions makes a captain a "legend"? There couldn´t have been huge battles by now to create a Horatio Nelson or a Rommel?

Explorers like Richard Burton and John Speake were famous in their time, but not necessarily because of any military conquests. Since the Scout Corps is specifically for exploration, I don't think it's that far-fetched.

He got selected because he was a greenhorn so the telepathic aliens he was going to meet couldn't mind probe anything valuable out of him, is still my theory.

A mission to go meet the aliens should include some diversity, because you never know what you will run into. In this case, the diversity was more or less wasted by loss of the rest of the crew. Consider how the story would be different if Captain Hamilton had been the sole survivor or Ellen Kirkland.

Anyone else notice the destroyer docked in the second panel?

Also, EYEBROWS

I was going to ask somthing but Trentor beat me to it so I'll ask somthing else. are all of the TCA's ships red and white or is it just the Scout Corp? what kind of Captain is Hamilton, will we get to see?

Don't you mean...what kind of captain 'WAS' Captain Hamilton? As far as we know...the bridge of the 'Bell' took a direct hit and Alex is the only survivor...

The red and white coloration is Scout Corps. Colonial Fleet vessels are metal/gray with some red markings.

manticore7 wrote:what kind of Captain is Hamilton, will we get to see?

I'm not sure what you mean by "what kind." Hamilton is a Scout Corps captain. He is famous for Going Where No Man Has Gone Before, not for any military exploits. The Scout Corps is technically an armed service, but combat is not their purpose.

I think sunphoenix is referring to Captain Hamilton's "command style." And as that seems to be a fairly important theme so far, I too am interested to see what Alex's CO was like.

Trantor wrote:Also due to the early stage - what actions makes a captain a "legend"? There couldn´t have been huge battles by now to create a Horatio Nelson or a Rommel?

Sure there weren't any interstellar wars, but Humanity already has six worlds, four of which are in other star systems. Finding an exploitable world and mapping a safe course to it would be a noteworthy achievement.

Humanity has also already had contact with another alien race, the Orgus. Perhaps the Scout Corps was involved in that contact, perhaps not. I think being involved in managing Orgus contact would have been an incredible achievement, since humanity gained so much from it.

Not to mention that hyperspace travel is dangerous, so Hamilton might be legendary for his instincts regarding jumps, or an ability to notice details that would have made one of his jumps go bad that nobody else saw, things of that nature.

Or maybe Hamilton never gets hyperspace sickness, and so is legendary for maintaining a chipper and upbeat attitude while everyone else is puking their guts out.

It could be that he helped design some of the current jump drive components, or understands hyperspace better than most other humans.

Maybe he just plays a mean game of poker.

Grayhome wrote:He got selected because he was a greenhorn so the telepathic aliens he was going to meet couldn't mind probe anything valuable out of him, is still my theory.

Could be. but remember, it the first group to be trained since the orgus. so i guess they received special training that veteran couldn't have and/or care to receive.

Arioch wrote:Hamilton is a Scout Corps captain. He is famous for Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

so is he a Kirk or a Picard?

it the first group to be trained since the orgus

Yeah my theory is a bit darker and edgier, see if they trained the scout crews with 5 year old tech and shipped them out in an incredibly obsolete vessel the majority of the crew (if not all) thinks is top of the line they would be expendable assets that knew the rehearsed lines that would help humanity but not the recent tech advancements that would make Terra vulnerable to a massive invasion fleet. If you think a single division can take an empire, you don't send 10 when you need to conserve your forces.

When Alex finds out he gonna be sooooo mad. Might have to add a few names to his "List of Vengeance".

Karst45 wrote:so is he a Kirk or a Picard?

Carl Hamilton appeared in the original pilot episode, later expanded upon in a flashback episode.
Carl Hamilton's replacement as captain of the Bellarmine by a younger, somewhat goofier maverick captain with a habit of speaking his mind a bit too often, who has managed to completely surround himself with sexy alien women.
Carl Hamilton seems to be neither Kirk nor Picard, but Pike.

Solemn wrote:

Trantor wrote:Also due to the early stage - what actions makes a captain a "legend"? There couldn´t have been huge battles by now to create a Horatio Nelson or a Rommel?

Sure there weren't any interstellar wars, but Humanity already has six worlds, four of which are in other star systems. Finding an exploitable world and mapping a safe course to it would be a noteworthy achievement.

Humanity has also already had contact with another alien race, the Orgus. Perhaps the Scout Corps was involved in that contact, perhaps not. I think being involved in managing Orgus contact would have been an incredible achievement, since humanity gained so much from it.

Not to mention that hyperspace travel is dangerous, so Hamilton might be legendary for his instincts regarding jumps, or an ability to notice details that would have made one of his jumps go bad that nobody else saw, things of that nature.

It could be that he helped design some of the current jump drive components, or understands hyperspace better than most other humans-

Ok, being a Pioneer is fair enough. Didn´t thought of it.

Solemn wrote:Or maybe Hamilton never gets hyperspace sickness, and so is legendary for maintaining a chipper and upbeat attitude while everyone else is puking their guts out.

Maybe he just plays a mean game of poker.

Meh. That´d be too much of a hype then.

Karst45 wrote:

Arioch wrote:Hamilton is a Scout Corps captain. He is famous for Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

so is he a Kirk or a Picard?

More a Leif Eriksson.

Trantor wrote:Meh. That´d be too much of a hype then.

I don't think you understand quite how good he is at poker.

yeah I would be sweating bullets ( KE rounds ???) if the captain just kept reading his record. happen to me once of twice, never liked the shrinking feeling on the other side of the table.

well enough going down memory lane

really nice start for a chapter, really looking forward to getting the back story from the terrain side.

as for Capt Hamilton's achievements, he might have found one or two of the systems that currently has a colony in it, and then he went one to chart various system and find short cuts ?

can't wait to see Ellen again

just one thing to say, three docking booms does not a huge space-harbor make.

discord wrote:just one thing to say, three docking booms does not a huge space-harbor make.

Actually, it kind of does, that's more or less an entire pier in a docking complex, and in space? that's expletive-inducingly huge.