u/shookron

Hello all,

I'm an author writing a hard scifi space opera, and one of my protagonists is an Electronic Warfare Technician. I've done a lot of research, but I'm uneducated in the field.

I have 2 main sequences where EW is used thoroughly and I'm looking for an expert than can read through what I've written and guide me on the specifics of what I'm getting wrong.

The first sequence (about 1k words in the relevant section) is a skirmish where she hijacks her own ship's fire control and sensor array for additional power which leads to catastrophic effects.

The second sequence (2300 words) is an atmospheric/low orbit chase where she is spot jamming and noise flooding and then spoofing a torpedo.

If you have the expertise and are interested, please comment and I'm happy to send you a commentable Google Doc with the 2 scenes for you to tear apart and show me what I got wrong (hopefully not too much).

I hope I'm posting in the right place and not just shouting into the void. So here goes.

My theory about the Lothark (Soft vs Deep)

I think the Lothark are a symbiote species. The Soft Lothark are our murder teddy bears we know and love. The Deep Lothark is a distributed fungal consciousness. Not quite cordyceps, more symbiotic than parasitic.

We don't really see an inteligence from the Soft Lothark beyond what a well trained animal can display...however, when the Deep Lothark takes over - they are capable of complex written language (which seemingly the individual Soft Lothark do not recall). Dafyd is able to engage in one long conversation with the Deep Lothark through many Soft Lothark.

So the Lothark are not 1 species, but 2.

Hey all, 

I’m currently seeking beta readers for the third draft of my character focused space heist ensemble. It is a space opera that treats the character arcs with the same importance as the external plot. 

I’m interested in critique swaps (not line-edits) or beta readers that can report where they leaned in vs when they felt bored.

Content Warnings: Violence, slight sexual content, substance use, coarse language and expletives, suicidal ideation, and PTSD.

Synopsis

Captain Alonzo was a hero or a terrorist, depending on who you asked. His pirate-queen lover now holds a gun to his head. The only way out is to sell his crew of post-human savants on a suicide mission.

Kav Lancesquire was born and bred to fly. His dead father haunts the ship he stole and the empire he stole it from wants it back. 

Gracia Amazing is an immortal who has died a hundred times. Her adrenaline addiction might just get her and the rest of her crew killed. She’ll re-embody…they won’t.

Toma al Talat is a pacifist gunner sharing a consciousness with his ancestors. Atrocities stand between him and the lives he wants to save. 

Phorus is a cyborg mechanic who loves the ship and all its components. Unfortunately, he can’t run a diagnostic report on the captain or optimize the EW tech. He is spiritually ascending, bit by bit, as he replaces his flesh with mechanical parts. 

The Job: Capture a capital ship and steal its proprietary jump drive.

Sample chapters available for vibe check