Denise, I know, but you did raise a valid point as I was think along those lines.  I thought about it and changed the conversation a bit. I think this works better and it leaves Foster out of the picture. 

Louise I added the bit that you suggested as well, hope this looks alright!

Wow, Matt!  What a difference a change of a few words makes!  Thanks!  I know you only did it so that I'd find myself relating to Ginny and end up because of that being forced to do a story later on where her and Ed get together.  But you did it well.  So, kudos for you! 

(And you might even get that story!)

Some day.

Silver Star:

My thoughts:

This is probably the most difficult writing project I have tackled to date. Writing within an existing episode can be difficult at best but it become much more problematic when you are trying to change the perception of things that were established in the series.

My storyline centers on the developing relationship between Virginia and Ed over the course of a couple of years. The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was the episode “The Man Who Came Back.” This episode showed Virginia in a very poor light, making her look just as promiscuous as Paul. It was a contradiction, as I don’t believe an intelligent woman, in her position would behave that way.

In the back story I did for Ginny, she had been awarded the Silver Star for her actions during her tour as Moonbase Commander. I had established that in “Soul Mates” and decided a while back to write a story about that incident. I also had to deal with what I called the “Foster Problem” and how that actually came about.

Even I have to admit that Ed would have never gotten involved with Virginia if she had been that promiscuous. Fortunately the episode left quite a few questions unanswered and I used that to my advantage.

In my story “Best Friends” Ginny meets Craig Collins for the first time. This is about eight months before “Silver Star.” At first Ginny is not interested but Craig begins to grow on her. When Craig is believed to have been lost in the re-entry accident, he and Ginny were at the cusp of exploring a deeper relationship. The reason I didn’t think it had gone further was the comment that Ginny makes later, “And we weren’t exactly Romeo and Juliet.” It also solved another problem as I wouldn’t have seen Ginny getting involved with someone else so soon had the relationship been intimate.

The only way I could see Virginia and Paul in a relationship was a rebound situation and even that wasn’t enough. When the mass attack nearly destroys the control sphere Paul (still in a spacesuit) pulls Ginny out of the dome just as the window blows thus saving her life. And she makes the classic mistake of falling for the guy who saved her.

This story is just as much about relationships as it is about Ginny’s heroism, much more so. Later in the story I dive deeply into her feeling thoughts and hopes for the future, in essence what makes her tick. The loss of her father and how she had to overcome the obstacles in her life to become the person she was. I do the same thing with Paul but to a lesser degree. Paul came across as an immature, hotheaded womanizer in the series until the very end where he seemed to be growing up a bit. I addressed that aspect of his personality and my reasons for it are revealed when he tells Ginny about some aspects of his childhood.

When Ginny learns that Craig and Ed are going on the mission together she has to reveal some personal thoughts to Ed. She unwittingly tells him that she is attracted to him. She still doesn’t know that the attraction is mutual, a fact I established in “Best Friends.”

I loved writing the medal scene with the dress uniforms and ceremony and having Ginny wanting to refuse the award agreeing only after Straker convinced her to take it. I wanted to show her being modest about the award and just thinking she was doing her duty. And her seeing Ed in his dress uniform thinking he was so damn sexy in it, was fun as well.

This story was a turning point for Paul as well as the epilogue finds him going to see Dr. Jackson about his deep buried issues. I see this as the first step in a long process towards him becoming the person and the leader I portray in the story “Expecting” which takes place almost three years later. In my storyline Paul makes strides in both personal and professional growth.

I was very tempted to write a shell around this episode and call it a bad dream for Ginny. But doing so would have been a cop out and I’m glad I pressed on. I almost scrapped the idea twice as it didn’t seem like it was going to pull together. Louise made a comment on the board at that point that kept me going, thanks Louise!

I hope everyone enjoyed the story and I have to say it was an educational experience in writing.

Matt