Alien Movie Universe

ALIEN: Manticore

Alien-Covenant.com/forum/
Forum Topic
29041 Views202 Replies

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianApr-04-2017 11:17 PM

UPDATE: September 05 2017***************

ALIEN: Manticore is now past the 110,000 word mark. :D
That's why I've been so scarce around here, busy-busy-busy with writing and housekeeping, Life's usual hurdles, etc..
There's also short-stories coming soon-ish. They're being worked on, but have to be adjusted as the Main story progresses to eliminate continuity errors and such other annoyances.

One short-story ties-in to a work found here having to do with Walter's fate on 'Paradise'.

The other gives my views on the origin of The Alien, which I am titling ALIEN: Origins and it's far more deserving of that title than Alan Dean Foster's Covenant prequel.

A third short-story is loosely-related to the ALIENverse, but will be available for reading also.

END UPDATE*******************

I'll be posting little excerpts and teasers here, entertaining questions (though some I may not be able to answer) and I hope you guys enjoy this little window into my perspective on the ALIENverse. :) This is all partially-edited  material, so it's going to be rough and have flaws.

This little bit calls-back to something Ridley Scott wanted for ALIEN, the 'flying mouse drones'. I love the idea, and as a nod of Respect and Appreciation to R. Scott, here they are in their scene.

" The ship tended itself, and it’s hibernating crew conscientiously. It constantly monitored everything aboard and outside, surveilling the cosmos via it’s sensor arrays and their sophisticated instruments. It watched, listened, and in some ways it ‘smelled’ ‘touched’ and ‘tasted’ the universe around it.
In the engine section and elsewhere throughout the vessel, the hundreds of tiny drones that swarmed and flitted about only in the absence of the crew had once again emerged, performing their tasks tirelessly. They were semi-autonomous mouse-sized extensions of the mainframe intelligence, it’s roving eyes, ears and hands, ever-vigilant over their country of darkened, cold, minimal-gravity, nitrogen-filled corridors, rooms and chambers.
As the ship came into range of comm relays, it established contact, checked for messages and other items of information the crew had stated preferences for. It collected what there was to be had, flagged items for each member of the crew and continued it’s vigil and voyage.

Sometime later, a signal impinged on antennae sensitive enough to pick up the extremely weak radio-frequency emission, one in the sub-milliwatt range, and conforming to no known comms protocol. It ran, there was a break of precisely twelve seconds, then the signal repeated again.
The computer recorded it, worked out a fix on the emission-point, and flagged it for the Captain’s attention.
Weeks later, it detected a new signal, from the same emission-point as the earlier one. This one was stronger and clearer: A standard-format distress beacon and Emergency Location Beacon.
The artificial intelligence double-checked the emission-point, re-analyzed the earlier, now silent, beacon and compared it to the Interstellar Trade and Commerce Commission standard beacon it had detected. It examined the distances involved to the nearest comm relay, worked out how many years the EM signal would take to reach it at the light-speed limits of radio transmissions.

Manticore did not possess the ITCC-mandated overrides that would force it to go to the distress beacon. The laws on Shadowfall dictated that responding to a distress beacon was strictly ‘Captain’s Discretion’.
In accordance with that, the computer began restoring the ship to Human Habitation standards, altering course to the star system that the emissions were coming from and bringing the Captain out of hypersleep.
"

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

202 Replies

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-11-2017 3:31 PM

Bww. I encountered a similar problem when brainstorming my idea for how to utilise the xeno and still make it fearsome. I found from a biology perspective the big chap in particular is so damn Alien it doesn't belong in any natural environment at all! You just cant see it frolicking through a nice forest, or skipping through some grasslands.

There was 2 terrestrial environments I came up with:

1.Primordial Volcanic environments full of hot steam, smoke and shadows, twisted lava/silicate/obsidian structures. 

2.Taiga forest where its blackness contrasts with the snow quite fearsomely. hide in the snow, or amongst the thick alpine conifers, glacial ice tunnels, hot springs etc.

ps. I've used them both ;-)

 

Other possibilities that haven't been done (with a xeno anyway) - Desert biome?

 

The Big Chap suits space environments very well but they're all been done and explored extensively in books, comics and movies. And as you say, the crews have a big advantage and you have to think hard and be quiet creative to put your protagonists in a situation that doesn't favour them, and that hasn't already been explored. 

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-11-2017 3:46 PM

IRaptus

Nice to know other writers have had similar challenges working with The Big Chap these days!! TY for saying and letting me know!!

Man...Taiga Forest with an Alien...that's just Horrific-Beauty, really!!
Volcanic and such environs...is just totally and absolutely Perfect.
You make a great point about it's 'Alien-ness' and regards to environments!!

" You just cant see it frolicking through in a nice forest, or skipping through some grasslands. "

Unfortunately...I can now. LOL :D

And this exchange has just given me a flash about a minor detail that everyone keeps overlooking...
It's stated in a few places that LV-426 was a 'captured' body, an interstellar wanderer...so...hmmm....gears and machinery are spooling up. ;)

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-11-2017 4:14 PM

sorry for the loopy imagery of a frolicking xeno, its too early in the morning where I am, and I have a nice hypo coffee buzz going.

One other note. No one has done a good dystopian urban environment story with a xeno yet.....not the whole Jurassic Park 2 T-rex running amuck down town thing.... but a truly terrifying intimate encounter in a dead city. so much potential!!

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-11-2017 5:02 PM

IRaptus

No, no!! It's quite alright!! It's kind of a fun mental image...the beast romping in a field of grass and daisies, chasing and snapping at butterflies...it's ODD, but not unpleasant. :D

Dystopican city with one of The Big Chaps...heh, that would be a nightmare, yeah...and almost straight out of my head as well. :)
That's a good idea, intriguing I must say!! Definitely deserving of thought, and the mental imagery leaps right to mind!!

Man, I love this forum where I meet you and others you and I have encountered who have imaginations as active as our own!!

Update: Completing Editing Pass #4. Then there'll be Editing Pass #5 with the 6th as the final one before releasing the story. It's going well enough that I can make accurate estimates now and things are on-track as per the release date I stated :)
2 weeks, possibly a 3rd week, at most. :)

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-11-2017 5:30 PM

YES, it is most definitely the best website I've come across in a very long time, for a lot of reasons!! 

Wow, It must take a while to get through your entire script on an editing pass? Or do you pick out chapters that need work?

Ive found while doing some editing on the fly in between chapters that if you make a change somewhere, it typically requires changes elsewhere. Maybe to reinforce certain aspects, flesh out a character, reduce duplication/redundancy etc.May I ask what your total word count is?

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-11-2017 5:46 PM

IRaptus

Ditto and I am so glad I found my way here!!

ALIEN: Manticore:
10 Chapters
58,019 word-count, at the present time

So, it takes a while to go through it, yeah. I work from start-to-finish, to be sure I don't miss anything. It takes longer, but also helps me keep track of what I've edited and such thus far.

EXACTLY, a change somewhere can induce,inspire, or outright force a change elsewhere!!
So far, that's actually been working in my favor as some weak areas have been found and reinforced, built-up to a better degree.

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-12-2017 4:28 PM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-12-2017 4:52 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

TY for saying!!

Yeah, it's long, with more to be added. :)

...which is in-progress, and will make things much better than my original first-draft ideas.

8000-odd words is quite a good piece of work!!
In perspective, here's (below) some word counts from writer's guidelines from Publishing sources, so you have a pretty solid accomplishment under you!!

 

  • SHORT STORY:
    • Under 500 words can be described as ‘Flash Fiction’
    • Between 1000 and 8000 words is a short story (also, most short story competitions will stipulate their required word length for entry)
    • Between 5000 and 10,000 words is a long short story
    • NOVELLA: This is a story that is between 10,000 and 40,000 words.

 

Good to hear you're adding chapters and building on what you've got, and I'm looking fwd to reading it!!

Thank-you for the kind words of appreciation and encouragement!!! :)
I'm indeed just about to open it up and continue work on it, as well as roughing out a short story that ties in directly to ALIEN: Manticore and covers the new character more in-depth. I'm TRYING to keep that one genuinely 'short-story', but we'll see how it goes, sometimes stories decide some things for themselves and the writer is just along for the ride. :D

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-12-2017 5:23 PM

Hi  Godzilla: King of the Monsters

may I ask what you are working on? I love reading everyone's original works on here. so much inspiration! 

At  Blackwinter-witch Im currently sitting at 8000 words, and about half way through. There is much duplication, redundancy and fluff that needs cutting out though. I tend to over-word things on a first draft lol. 

Tiwaz

MemberChestbursterMay-12-2017 5:48 PM

In regards of environment. Somehow a game called Hellgate: London comes to my mind. Basically earth was overrun by demons and mankind fights for survival while living underground (subway, sewers etc.).

The cities are abandoned and lie in ruins. The survivors have to go to the surface every now and then. Wich of course is suicidal.

Replace the demons with xenos and let it take place on a quarantined planet and you have plenty of room for survival horror stories.

Eine Theorie die nicht auf Etwas solidem basiert ist für gewöhnlich nur Geschwätz.

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-12-2017 6:16 PM

IRaptus

Yeah, I know how that is, my first drafts are train-wrecks of duplication, fluff and assorted debris...BUT first drafts are supposed to as messy as toddler's fingerpainting. :D First draft, all that matters if getting the ideas out and written down, all else can be handled with editing to make it 'nice'.

Tiwaz

Interesting idea. It would be a challenge to write, but if done carefully and properly, with attention specifically paid to making it as Distinctly it's own work as possible to avoid seeming like a derivative of the game you mentioned..it could work.

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-12-2017 6:38 PM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-12-2017 7:56 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

It sounds like you're well and truly on a writer's-journey, and about in the middle, based on what you've said. It's good to see and I know it's hard at times, but it's a form of Maturation, like how wine and other fine things in life come about via Time.

As and when you choose to share your works is entirely Your Call, when you feel ready, then do so, and not before. Take your time, but I warn you about the Trap ALL writer's must avoid and we are all vulnerable to; The Endless Editing Circle, be careful of that, it even snares the best and most experienced professional authors at times.

Also, listen to your intuition, it can be and often is a writer's best ally.

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-12-2017 11:22 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Mate I'll still give it a read for sure. Have you got a link to it anywhere?

Its so awesome finding all these sci-fi writers on here! We should start up a fanfiction writers guild thing on here, regardless of the 'Verse we write in. 

Tiwaz

Sounds a bit like the early parts of The Darksiders game too. Very atmospheric!

 

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-12-2017 11:34 PM

IRaptus

I like the idea of a Fanfiction....department? Sub-site...whatever it would be, here on scified!!
GOOD idea!! :D

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

Tiwaz

MemberChestbursterMay-13-2017 7:26 AM

I know this isn't really the place but just for the vibe of HGL:

Bildergebnis für Hellgate London

Ähnliches Foto

Bildergebnis für Hellgate London

Really liked this game. Sad it went down the way it did.

Quote from HGL: "Remember the dead and fight for the living!"

Eine Theorie die nicht auf Etwas solidem basiert ist für gewöhnlich nur Geschwätz.

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-13-2017 8:23 AM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-13-2017 4:56 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

You're welcome! :)

Tiwaz

Interesting armor in the pics! The shot of the Parliament House in London, yeah, I could see that in a world-war-Alien way.
Good quote, I have to say!

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-14-2017 3:30 AM

Thanks Godzilla: King of the Monsters I will most definitely read yours chapters and give some feedback!!! If you are interested I can PM you a link to my own Alien fanfiction?

Tiwaz

Looks like a great game, i haven't played it.

Dead Space is another game that has a great atmosphere similar to Alien..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiwaz

MemberChestbursterMay-14-2017 6:37 AM

@IRaptus

I know Death Space. Never played it but watched a full Let's Play. I liked it.

It's atmosphere is much like Alien indeed. 

Eine Theorie die nicht auf Etwas solidem basiert ist für gewöhnlich nur Geschwätz.

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-14-2017 8:57 AM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-14-2017 9:23 PM

ALIEN: Manticore is now a good ways past 60,000 word-count.

Work is ongoing with both editing and adding material.

I am working on a short-story as well, and will be posting a short excerpt from it presently. :)

 

 

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-14-2017 9:31 PM

ALIEN: The Silent Dark

'The Lander'

EXCERPT BEGINS---------

Katherine looked out the narrow window of the lander’s hatch at the barren, rocky landscape around the ship, her breath fogging the glass slightly as she stared out into the distances and tried to ignore the massive dome-shaped building in her view.
The barely-above-freezing temperature inside the lander was something that didn’t bother her in the slightest, but did have the benefit of somewhat annulling the olfactory effluvia from too many people living in too-close quarters for entirely too long. She raised a hand, a three-inch talon slid out from under her index-finger’s nail and she idly scratched a small ‘smiley face’ into the paint and underlying alloy below the lower rim of the window.
Happy birthday…” She said very quietly to herself in a lifeless monotone under her breath, officially marking her nineteenth year of life as well as the third week trapped on the planet they’d landed on
There was tension in the air aboard the small vessel, thick and heavy, spiced with sheer desperation that continued to build day upon day. Supplies were dwindling, the thirty-odd year old ship’s electrical system was damaged beyond any hope of repair, and there was no other way off the planet they’d sought as refuge. They were going to die on the nameless world, and there was no way to deny it, and none of the crew were pleased by the inescapable fact.
For her crewmates, death would come from suffocation, as the air scrubbers wore out and could no longer remove the CO2 from the world’s otherwise breathable air. It could also come from starvation, she supposed, but it was more likely be the air scrubbers wearing out that would kill them. The water supplies were dangerously low, and while death by dehydration loomed, she knew that when the scrubbers went, death would come for them in mere minutes.
For herself, she was mainly concerned with food and water. The cold wasn’t a factor for her as much it was for her Human crewmates, nor was the air.
She’d been outside the ship, in the course of the excursions to pick through the wreckage they’d found in the vicinity of the creepy non-Human structure. It was during one such trip that she’d discovered the expired air scrubbers in her respiratory equipment, whereupon she’d been surprised as she realized she could breathe the CO2 laden air without any difficulties whatsoever. She would survive, somehow, on the lifeless world they were stranded on.
She looked into her own eyes in her reflection on the glass of the window, green eyes to phantomesque green eyes. She’d survived the past, she’d survive the present, and she’d survive whatever the future brought. This wasn’t a promise she made to herself, it was simply affirming a fact, she felt.

EXCERPT ENDS---------------

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-14-2017 9:53 PM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-14-2017 11:33 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Thank-you for the compliments!!

I'm glad to hear that you've been inspired to do ALIEN fan-fiction, possibly in-part by my efforts!! When you feel it's ready, we'll be here to read it. Take your time, and think of writing as what it is...sculpting with words. There's other writers here who have some truly splendid and chilling works here as well, and reading those or re-reading them can help you develop your skills and help you get a grasp on the 'feel' of ALIEN.

The suspense part, is both Hard and Yet 'easy'. The trick is give hints, little 'precursors', then let that get buried in the goings-on until it's time for another.
Setting and Environment is a MAJOR element and your best ally. Description and detail is very important as unlike a movie, you can't 'show', you have to direct the reader's mental theatre and film-making. Just a good environment description can lend a good sense of suspense. ;)

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

I.Raptus

ModeratorPraetorianMay-15-2017 1:29 AM

Go for it Godzilla: King of the Monsters!!, It would be fantastic to see your writing style and Godzilla background crossed into an Alien fiction! I reckon it could bring a whole range of new ideas and concept into this verse!!

Blackwinter-witch congrats of cracking the 60,000 mark. Your writing is so polished and eloquent. I like what you've done to keep the sense of dread.  Nothing increases the fear factor and anxiety by dialling up detrimental environmental conditions and an expiry date lol.

"but did have the benefit of somewhat annulling the olfactory effluvia from too many people living in too-close quarters for entirely too long" - love the livid description. I could use it to describe my workplace hahahaha

    

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-15-2017 2:12 AM

IRaptus

Would you be kind enough to post some links here to you works so Godzilla: King of the Monsters! can find them?? :)

That invitation extends to everyone else who wishes to post links to their works here in my thread!! :)

Thank-You!! There's still a LOT more to do, adding and editting, but it's coming along, slowly but steadily.
The short story is a work to help me get a better grasp on the character I'll be introducing into ALIEN: Manticore, and that lander isn't there by accident. ;)Also, not much anziety if all's a-ok, right? :D

I'm trying to remember, to teach myself to involved all the reader's senses, and glad you liked the description!! :D
I know a few places that'd match this description also!

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

The Hooded Figure

MemberChestbursterMay-15-2017 10:59 AM

///

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-15-2017 2:40 PM

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

You're welcome!! Just remember, take your time with it, don't give in to any feelings of 'pressure', those are just 'ghost' sensations, no one's pressuring you.
I thought to mention that as it seems a LOT of writers put enormous pressure on themselves even when there's none from external sources. I'm really bad in doing that to myself, as an example. :)

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

Blackwinter-witch

MemberPraetorianMay-16-2017 5:35 AM

ALIEN: Manticore

61000+ wordcount, AFTER trimming out the 'gristle', with work ongoing as I'm, starting the additions to the Story-Block section involving everyone's favorite Petting-Zoo planet:

LV-223!!!

Free Fifield Technique Ultra-Deep Pore cleansing and Makeover!!

:D

Short Excerpt; 'Meeting the neighbours'

BEGIN-----------

As the planet’s sun moved towards evening, Selinaehra was on the bridge, watching over her husband and fellow crewmate as they made their way across the landscape towards the lander in one of Manticore’s SDRT transports. She kept overwatch from the combat station on the bridge, in the event things went sideways for her husband and Declan, she’d display to the lander’s crew why they would benefit from better manners.
She had the ship’s utility lasers tied in to the combat systems, the Hydra Mk-8H point-defense-close-engagement weapons were deployed and on ‘hot standby’ along with the lasers.
She’d left the ship’s main armament alone, as the accelerator cannons were simply too powerful to use versus a target as small as the lander and as close in proximity as it was to them. The missiles Manticore had were likewise too overpowered for such a target.
She had selected the weapons specifically as she intended to use the ship’s armaments to protect her crewmates, not obliterate the lander, a good part of the landscape and them in the process.

END--------

IN SPACE THERE IS NO WARNING

 

 

 

Add A Reply
Sign In Required
Sign in using your Scified Account to access this feature!
Email
Password
Latest Images
Alien & Predator Alien & Predator Fandom
Alien Movie Universe Forums
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus Discuss the new Fede Alvarez Alien movie here
Alien
Alien Discuss all things Alien here
Alien: Covenant
Alien: Covenant Discuss the Prometheus Sequel, Alien: Covenant
Alien FX TV Series
Alien FX TV Series Discuss the Alien FX TV series here!
Alien Games
Alien Games Discuss Alien games here
Alien 5 Movie
Alien 5 Movie Discuss Neill Blomkamps’s vision for Alien 5 here
Alien Movies
Alien Movies Discuss the Classic Alien Films
Prometheus
Prometheus Everything About Prometheus
Prometheus Fan Art
Prometheus Fan Art Artwork & Fiction From the Fans
Hot Forum Topics
New Forum Topics
Highest Forum Ranks Unlocked
Xenotaris
Xenotaris » Praetorian
86% To Next Rank
ninXeno426
ninXeno426 » Praetorian
62% To Next Rank
Thoughts_Dreams
Thoughts_Dreams » Neomorph
85% To Next Rank
MonsterZero
MonsterZero » Xenomorph
91% To Next Rank
Kongzilla
Kongzilla » Chestburster
67% To Next Rank
Latest Alien Fandom Activity

Alien: Covenant is a sequel to 2012's Prometheus as well as a prequel to 1979's ALIEN. Alien fans looking to know more about Alien: Covenant should check back often. Alien-Covenant.com is an information resource for film enthusiasts looking to learn more about the upcoming blockbuster Alien: Covenant. Providing the latest official and accurate information on Alien: Covenant, this website contains links to every set video, viral video, commercial, trailer, poster, movie still and screenshot available. This site is an extension of the Alien & Predator Fandom on Scified - a central hub for fans of Alien and Prometheus looking to stay up-to-date on the latest news. Images used are property of their respective owners. Alien: Covenant, Prometheus and its associated names, logos and images are property of 20th Century Fox and are in no way owned by Scified and its related entities. This is a fan-created website for the purpose of informing and exciting fans for Alien: Covenant's release. If you have any questions about this site, its content or the Scified Network in general, feel free to contact Scified directly.

© 2024 Scified.com
Sign in
Use your Scified Account to sign in


Log in to view your personalized notifications across Scified!

Transport To Communities
Alien Hosted Community
Cloverfield Hosted Community
Godzilla Hosted Community
Jurassic World Hosted Community
Predator Hosted Community
Aliens vs. Predator Hosted Community
Latest Activity
Forums
Search Scified
Trending Articles
Blogs & Editorials