A few years ago, Between The Ashes (https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=226.0) released to high praise. It is a mod for Freespace Open, a space-sim shooter game engine. The mod was fully voice acted upon release. Some video links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSE8eS3wdjnzhwsiqRLn8V7Kp37hLKb_9 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSE8eS3wdjnxGls6yKErwd_-N2yZN2FX5
Here is the final trailer I released in 2016 for the Chapter 1 release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwPujT_NVWo
I am now finishing development Chapter 2 and am casting the main characters. Once these are cast and underway, I'll return with a new post for the rest of the roles.
[b]Auditions open until Dec. 15. Send submissions to mjn.mixael@gmail.com. You can also reach me on Discord. MjnMixael#4144[/b]
-----Characters Below-----
Don't worry about pronunciations for now. If you're cast, I'll include a guide in the full script.
Below you'll find the character name, gender, and a short summary. After that in quotes are a selection of lines spanning from high intensity to low, each with some character-specific traits on display.
[b]Commander Kanun Jers (she/her)[/b]
[i]The 508th’s liaison officer. Jers entered the Navy shortly before the Shivan invasion of Terran space and rose quickly through the ranks. During the evacuation of Tombaugh Station, Jers' cruiser was heavily damaged protecting evacuation transports, saving hundreds of lives even as the ship burned around her. Radiation trauma from the battle almost ended Jers' career, but she chose to accept a desk job rather than resign her commission. While Luyten is a throwaway command and Jers knows it, she chooses to perform her duties to the best of her abilities. Personally, Jers is stern but fair and respected for it.[/i]
"Good morning, pilots. Before we get started, I'd like to formally welcome our guests from the 413th. I'm Commander Kanun Jers, the 508th's liaison to Captain Varner. I'll be filling the same role for you. We're officially flying as Task Force 27, in the grand tradition of inspiring designations, but I'm sure something else will catch on in due time - hopefully something I won't have to discipline anyone for. Our primary duties will be advising and assisting the fledgling LNA navy against the Hammer of Light and seeing to civilian safety across the system. Off the record, this will likely be a straightforward assignment. Even so, the captain and myself expect every flight officer in this room to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism in their interactions with our LNA colleagues."
"Cut the chatter, pilots. Subspace sensors are spiking."
"Remember the plan pilots. Beta you're up first. Make your runs and destroy all turrets. Alpha, you're on escort. Keep Beta alive."
"We've got a hull breach on deck thirty four!"
"Understood, Harewood. All ships, pull out as soon as your drives recharge. Alpha 1, we're sending authorization codes to your jump drive now. We'll sort out what happened in the debrief."
[b]Lt. Commander Radomir “Skunk” Petoph (he/him)[/b]
[i]A former Intelligence pilot. Skunk's wing remained loyal to the Alliance during the Hades Rebellion, and his wing saw action at several high-profile battles against rebel forces. Skunk would probably have made squadron leader by now had his wing not abandoned their post to rescue a Vasudan convoy that Command saw as beyond saving. The GTA could neither laud insubordination nor criticize pilots responsible for saving thousands of lives, and so Skunk was quietly shuffled off to low-level patrol duties where he could do no harm. Though somewhat cynical about the 508th's mission in Luyten, he hopes to use the assignment to recover some of his credibility. Skunk has a generally resigned attitude, a dark sense of humor, and considerable empathy for his newbie wingmates. He and Charon get along particularly well. His actions in the Hades Rebellion earned him the (sometimes begrudging) respect of many Vasudans, and the feeling is mutual. Skunk is very aware of how his past as an intel spook colors his perceptions today, and is deeply distrustful of anything associated with his own past.[/i]
"I've hit some turbulence. Can someone sweep my six?"
"Mind the furball, commander!"
"Yes, ensign, I'm afraid so. If we go after them, their allies will seek retribution. We'd just be perpetuating the cycle."
"Well... if you apply a Kashiwabara transformation in a static subspace field, you might get... no, probably not."
"Harewood, Beta lead. I've got an intermittent contact at seven high. Request bogey dope."
[b]Lieutenant Susan “Charon” Weyman (she/her)[/b]
[i]Charon's early life is a testament both to the harsh realities of living in a war zone, as well as the opportunities. As a teenager in the pre-Federal Antares, Susan’s life was turned upside down when her family’s mining business met the business end of a pirate outfit's guns. Rather than being taken in by grief, Susan and her kid sister Molly sunk their inheritance into a pair of grey-market Mustangs to “strike back”. Over time, “Charon's Irregulars” took on four more pilots and became a well-respected security outfit, one of many who helped fill in the gaps in the GTA’s escort coverage. When the dealings between the AF and the Hammer of Light came to light, the Weymans quit their own organization in disgust and found the nearest GTA recruiter. Years of watching over vulnerable civilian boats has given Susan considerable tactical creativity and a serious, no-nonsense attitude when lives are on the line, but she relaxes considerably when the area is secure. Susan deeply resents her ouster from the Irregulars, and has profound misgivings about the Antares Federation and governments in general... but still serves with the GTA, because someone’s got to do something about these Hammer fanatics. She’s fought alongside the PVN and against the Hammer, and recognizes Vasudans for what they are – just people, who might be as individually good or evil as any Terran.[/i]
"Popup contact, IFF red!"
"Clean scope, no residual subspace activity. Pilots, form up."
"We should head through the node before I have to make up another excuse. Transit time should be at around 20 minutes."
"For what it's worth, I don't think it's quite that clear-cut. Plenty of people who supported the AF during the war aren't so thrilled with their peace-time policies."
"I've got sensor lock on our bogey. TT Escall, Proton-class. Her drives are bent and I'm reading... micrometeorite degeneration across her hull. I'd guess she's been adrift on reserve power for four... maybe six months."
[b]Lieutenant Alex “Maverick” McPherson (he/him)[/b]
[i]Maverick is the son of none other than the legendary Admiral McPherson. He chronically overestimates his own competence (and wit), and has a peculiar obsession with brevity code, much to the annoyance of everyone else. He’s not a bad pilot by any stretch of the imagination, but his constant desire to “be someone special” tends to get him in over his head. Whether he can lose the annoying kid attitude and mature into a proper flight officer is a matter of some debate. Maverick was raised with Fourteen Years' War propaganda echoing in his ears and tends to regard Vasudans with haughty disdain, although he keeps it in check around the Vasudan members of the Luyten expedition – most of the time, anyway.[/i]
"New threats entering the CZ! Orient now!"
"Hook left, One, threat at your six!"
"Pilots, we'll be passing by one of the areas the Ranger flagged as dangerous. Don't write these bandits off. They might be flying outmoded scrap, but so were Gavel's people back in Antares."
"...okay, I walked into that one. Just think back to your smuggler days. Can't you imagine why Holly would want to keep tabs on things?"
"Haha... no. Whatever OPHOSIS is, the Hammer never got it out of the system. Which is why you weren't briefed on it. End of story."
