Space Opera Plots

Resurrected after an accident, a previously minor biosculpt artist has been creating new and compelling changes to the human form. A splinter group of his followers has taken to hijacking ships and transforming the passengers and crew; you are on the trail of the latest attack.

Proselytising resurrectionists have come to the planet Herculon. To the surprise of the inhabitants they discovered a graveyard and have started raising the dead. You and your ship have been sent with supplies for the rapidly increasing population.

For Sunday some reviews of SF films - this round up includes the 1959 Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and satirical post-apocalypse Gas-s-s-s nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/film...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues as events beyond the Dimensional Gates spin out of control and arriving reinforcements are of little use. In the cavern world of Silence they encounter - Deep Noises. www.patreon.com/posts/deep-n...

The wizard council of Kanton has been overthrown by masked vigilantes who now control the settlement. Several groups trapped on the planet by the coup have requested transport off; with civilian ships unwilling to take the risk you and your ship are sent.

Arriving to pick up a cultural records team interviewing the Hindmore émigré community on Galiz Station, you discover that a change in the Hindmore government has led some to return, and the team with them. When you file a flight plan for Hindmore, you are besieged by others wanting to travel there

Chaos has been spreading along the Janicular Way, as mysterious beauties have seduced high ranking officials causing them to neglect their duties. Analysis suggests they all were traveling on the same liner, so you and your ship have been sent to intercept it

A daring rescue of kidnapped children from a pirate lair has become complicated as your ship has taken refuge amongst the habitats of the Guelph Ring. Although the locals have no love for the pirates, there is a reward - so you had better make yourselves useful to them.

Former convicts were recruited to build a colony on the planet Harvesta. They have gone on strike, as they claim promised rewards and integration into society have not been fulfilled. With negotiations in a deadlock you have been asked to arbitrate.

For Sunday, amongst this round up of short stories, is Lyndsey Croal's Sleep Well My Prince in Lunar Station Quarterly, a science fictional retelling of Sleeping Beauty. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/stor...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues as politics turns violent through one of the dimensional gates. Fear And Death In Novapolis www.patreon.com/posts/fear-a...

Entering a previously charted star system you swiftly discover anomalies. A planet that was recorded as being only intermittently habitable appears to be a garden world for humans. You can detect a settlement on the surface - but it seems entirely abandoned.

Someone has been sabotaging the solar racers of the Luxerian System. Analysis of betting patterns and statistically unlikely winning streaks have failed to discover a culprit. In desperation the racing authorities have asked you to discreetly investigate.

Tracking a mysterious signal you discover a region of space where faster than light travel won't work. It seems that there are human colonies within, and although travel to them will take years you can detect several ships making the journey.

The NullSphere has broken it's moorings and is heading for a busy shipping lane. You and your ship attempt to clear ships out the way, but as the sphere is impossible to detect, many of them distrust your warning and stray into the danger zone.

Mind readers have been encountered across the Dalian Rim. In most cases they stay away from the loud and obnoxious thoughts they encounter, but one has set up as a treaty guarantor. Now war is brewing as two planets believe the other secretly intends to break the agreement.

For Sunday an old film review round up - including sci-fi At The Earth's Core, Deathsport and The Day The Earth Caught Fire nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/film...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues. Returning to the Unbounded Plain through the dimensional gate, our crew discover an approaching force who can twist the threads of destiny - and how can you oppose that? Against The Phoenix League www.patreon.com/posts/agains...

You have been sent to Wonderous V to collect an automated food factory to assist with a broken supply chain up the Wayland Rim. However on arrival it does not match the specifications you were given, and is much less portable than assumed.

A special forces team has gone missing. At their last known location you discover a traitor has resurfaced and it seems likely they are absent hunting them. You and your ship are ordered after them - though apparently if you're too late to stop them taking revenge no one will be upset.

An exiled politician claims that Geonic assassins are targeting them. After an explosion outside their compound on Cord V you are sent to take them into protective custody - only to then find yourself targeted by a hit squad.

While on patrol you encounter a ship scheduled to be part of a colonisation fleet, but off course. They claim their departure was delayed and this is a new route from the latest navigational updates. All this seems plausible, yet something is off, so you alter course towards the colony.

After being caught out of position by a raiding squadron your ship has been saved by a plucky band of recruits. When you attempt to thank them they seem oddly reticent; only after they leave do your discover they are not yet space qualified.

For Sunday, a look back at this film review round up which includes old science fiction films Gog (about underground robots) and Battle Beneath The Earth (about underground Chinese invaders) nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/film...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues. Going through the dimensional gate to the cavern world of Silence, it's revealed the locals have discovered the probes. Spy Machine www.patreon.com/posts/spy-ma...

A grand fleet ball has been scheduled, with the Admiral insisting on an orchestra from amongst the crews. Unfortunately your crew has several musical talents so you have been made manager - yet scheduling rehearsal time while the fleet is active is challenging.

The Bishop, an assassin who specialises in killing entities that pose as gods, was believed dead. Now the Oracle Of Fomalhaut has been destroyed, the Bishop's calling card in the debris. You are sent to find him, but are arrested yourself for suggesting the Priest-King of Talos is in danger.

Attending the court of the Immortal God King of Cyrania, you have been kept waiting for days to present your credentials. Talking to others in the antechamber, you learn that none of them have seen him. When the doors open you find the throne room deserted.

An unexploded planet-buster bomb has been discovered on Darkminster V. Attempts to evacuate the colony are running into a lack of both ships and local safe destinations. You and your ship have been sent to collect a weapons expert to disarm it.

A prisoner exchange on the neutral planet of Grideon has gone wrong, with both parties detained by the local authorities. Some have escaped into the undercity. The locals have asked you to repatriate one group, while they protest that the handover has not been completed.

For Sunday several science fiction films in this round up, including Jupiter Ascending, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Future Shock and C.H.U.D. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/film...

Our space opera serial continues as our crew spends some time in their base - unraveling Platform Conspiracies. www.patreon.com/posts/platfo...

A mathematical prodigy who broke codes for their private amusement has been captured by Misograd agents. They hacked the security system and have vanished, but now several agencies are after them, and you have been ordered to find and offer them asylum in return for their prisoner.

You come across the wreck of the Hermenic, a famously vanished ship - yet it went missing one hundred years ago on the far side of Charted Space. Despite your efforts you only manage to retrieve a little ambiguous data before having to leave for a rendezvous.

Thiefbots have been plaguing the stations of Herne System, stealing small but valuable items of technology. To the surprise of investigators they channel the stolen items to fencebots, who arrange for smugglebots to take them out system - where you've been asked to stop them

On Clovis Prime, the inhabitants have all government functions run by sortition, randomly selected juries. However the same chief magistrate has been chosen seven times in a row and the oversight committee has asked you and your team to check the randomising functions as external auditors.

A hidden research station has been recruiting scientists, offering extraordinary opportunities. Several organisations who have had staff poached from them have complained; you have set out to find it and perform a safety and welfare check.

For Sunday an old Round up of TV shows - including Season One of The Expanse, sea-based science fiction thriller The Swarm and 60s puppet space show Fireball XL-5 nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/tv-c...

For Saturday our space opera serial continues as the crew enter the fourth dimensional gate in the TetraHedron. A Mote On The Unbounded Plain. www.patreon.com/posts/mote-o...

A famous explorer has pulled strings and had you carry them and their party to the remote swamp moon of Gundermond. There they intend to discover the giant Toad Serpent. You make a supply run, only to find on your return the party has vanished.

The Outstone Program, a freelance intelligence agency, imploded ten years ago as clients targeted agents against each other. Now a former agent has reappeared for the fifth time and promptly been assassinated for the fifth time. You are sent to locate a sixth iteration.

Scavengers have been working on outposts abandoned due to the Vemouse plague. Reports that rival gangs have been shooting demolition charges at each other. You and your ship travel to prevent this, only to receive biohazard distress calls .

Your ship has been identified as making an unprovoked attack on barges in the Gindar System. You have evidence you were on the far side of the sector at the time and suspect an imposter vessel, but been ordered to submit to an investigation.

A high profile investigation of historical crimes is being prepared. One witness is now an Oort Hermit, alone on an ice rock between star systems. You and your ship have been sent with a legal team to find him and take down his evidence.

For Sunday, in this film review round up there is The Valley Of The Dragons, based on a Jules Verne novel, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in The 8th Dimension, a science fiction cult classic. nightofthehats.blogspot.com/2023/12/film...

For Saturday our space opera continues as we enter the third dimension gate in the TetraHedron. Shattering Discoveries. www.patreon.com/posts/shatte...

Cadets at an automated spacer training academy have mutinied, claiming that the regime there is inhuman. You have been sent to negotiate, only to detect a marine assault cruiser making a stealthy approach.

An assassin has been working their way down a list of Stegalan war criminals in exile. Discovering a rickety space craft on it's way to Bunos V you board to perform a safety check, discovering it packed with murderous equipment and data on a Stegelan General on the planet.

While out beyond the settled rim you encounter a scout ship that has been looking for a missing colonisation flotilla. When you exchange navigation data they think you have unknowingly crossed their track and encourage you to join them.

Undetected objects have been impacting the industrial pods in orbit around Hope VII. Asked to investigate, you use the damage data to trace a source - and come to the conclusion that they are targeting the pods, but from an impossible distance.