Behind the Solarian Defense Directorate

In the twenty-third century humanity will spread out into the galaxy under one banner.  They will not carry the flag of Earth.  They will be known as children of their star.  They will be known as Solarians.  The Solarian Federation will be represented in the galaxy by the Solarian Space Agency.

The Solarians will find a rival in the stars, one whose marshal ideology threatens their freedom and their very existence.  The Takelvee Hegemony will be driven from human space after meeting humanity at Alpha Centauri, but they will be out there.  They will wait for the Solarians to falter.

Keeping constant watch over humanity and protecting them from all dangers known and unknown will be the Solarian Defense Directorate.  These are stories of the men and women who will face the dangers and the wonders of space in the ships of the Solarian Defense Directorate.

This is the bases for the Solarian Defense Directorate series.  This sets the tone for the ten loosely related short stories.  The name Solarian and the notion of humanity being known as children of their star came from my good friend Dr. John Sciortino.  In the eighties John and I got together and wrote a computer game called Solarian.  John developed the main concept including a use of resource allocation which had not yet been seen in commercial games.  I did the programming and I added my two cents to the concept every now and then.  We never marketed Solarian but I did market a game called Facing the Empire in 1985.  It contained many of the ideas from Solarian.

Years later I decided to extend the idea into a short story series.  The first two stories were written in the early nineties.  After writing the second story I was a bit stymied by what to do next.  In the middle of the decade I began to take business trips to Europe and there I met a feisty English bar maid in a pub named Susannah and her friend a big red headed Scotsman named Alan.  They were too colorful not be used in a story.  The story By the Book was written especially for them.

My friend in Chicago would read the stories help me with her critique.  At that time her daughter was in high school.  My friend and I thought it would be a kick to make her daughter and her friends into space adventurers and from that many characters were born.

My friend’s daughter became Commander Valerie Olson and Valerie’s Children was written for her.  Death Ship was written for Valerie and her friend Scott Bort. 

Valerie’s best friend in school became her best friend in space, Commander Amy Zero; the main character in “The Zero Factor”. 

Her other friends included Samantha Lesniak from Sam’s Dragon, and Dan and A.J. Naponiello from Brother’s in the Fold.  The space marines, Nick Belzina, and Pat Wroble, appeared in several stories.  Paul Killinger and Ray Mockus from S.D.D. Fearless completed the circle of high school friends.  They are well into their adult lives now and probably have forgotten all about their adventures in space.

The ten story series is support by two other stories.  The story The Heralding Tones describes Emperor Tylic’s awakening from hibernation and his fight to become emperor.  You will find The Heralding Tones on Bukisa.  

Zorshin Fearless is a post script to the series and it is involves Captain Paul Killinger and Commander Valerie Olson leading two experimental ships deep into Taklevee space to deny the enemy a powerful weapon.  This story is on Associated Content.