Overall, this is the third iteration of the now title-less book (dropped the Project: Alpha moniker). I'll focus on a title soon enough.
A LOT of changes in the book this time around, and hopefully all for the good. I've also removed some of the things that were causing me issues, or if they could be fixed, were so. Some changes are minor, some are major. I'm compiling a list below, just to give you all some insight. I sound like an expansion pack by now: new character, bug fixes, minor tweaks, etc.
- In an effort to cut down on the amount of 'filler' material, SOCA has transformed itself (it probably won't be the last time, it has changed three times now) into a bioterrorism response agency. I thought about changing the name of the agency to something a bit more either generic, or a new acronym all together. I haven't quite decided yet, as the thought of something like a Task Force (highly secretive counter terrorism groups) could be useful in making things simpler and also, given that article in the parenthesis - says that Task Forces are given a single task. In this case, SOCA (or Task Force <number here>) would be the unit dedicated to fighting bioterrorism and its operatives are selected as such.
In keeping with that moniker, if I go with that - I'm sure I could down on a lot of the political jargon by saying the unit reports directly to the President perhaps. Meh, noted. If I maintain the acronym, I'll be busy for a bit coming up with a new agency name. Noted on the to-do list. - A new third party has been introduced: Organization Epsilon. A secretive group of mercenaries and researchers that will work for the highest bidder. They strike an alliance with the Ultranationalists and have a hand in the development of the nanotech.
- In this iteration, the bad guys strike first instead of a cure turned virus. This time, the bad guys develop the nanotech and create a weapon of mass chaos and use it to begin striking fear into the world. The researchers that Allison and Heather are part of, are now tasked with researching the counter for it. They develop their own nanotech that is made to attack the alpha nano. This, when completed, allows to dilute and decontaminate the biological nanotech so it can be safely destroyed, or areas affected by it can be entered without the need of protective equipment.
- The new character, which I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about now - has finally been given life. The final part was gathering her real name that is hidden by her alias of Scarlet Fair. Her real name is Alana (thank you Alana for allowing me the honor to use your name for her), with her last name left secret for now as that is part of the mystery of the character.
To describe her: Late thirties (approximately 38 years old at the time of the book, but her character actually has storyline tracing back to her 27th year) Raven black hair, green eyes, athletic frame with an undetermined hairstyle as of right now (thinking a bob cut, or maybe even shoulder length). Her inspiration comes from Ada Wong of the Resident Evil series, but none more than her recent appearance in Resident Evil 6 (the link above shows this iteration of her). Then thanks to the gracious support and honor from Alana Morgan for allowing me to use her name for this character. - Scarlet has her own set of 'side missions' she embarks on during interludes in the main storyline, and is mainly her working behind the scenes to disrupt the Organization and the Russians. As the story begins to unfold, she begins helping SOCA/Task Force # indirectly with intel, and later on - dealing with Travi solely. Her role in the story rapidly expands as it is told, and I'm hoping that she makes a good impression with readers.
- A couple changes to character names, Wesley has went to the federal level and had his name changed to Matthew in honor of my friend who has been a huge help in helping me get some degree of confidence built back up. Altered a couple other names of minor characters to give some diversification.
- Reintroduced two missions from previous drafts and altered to fit the storyline. The mission to Miami to stop the release of the nanotech, and the cathedral in Ukraine has been revisited in the final sweeps - culminating to a small showdown between the Gladius siblings.
- In an effort to give a more official feel of how the agency or task force depends on each other, the Mavericks have been given a personal handler by the name of Lenina Thompson. She serves as the direct link between the HQ and the team, and is inspired by Ingrid Hunnigan (again from Resident Evil, notice how I get my inspirations from that genre? Not sure why...)
The cleaned up storyboard should clarify some additional details for me and it's looking promising that writing may begin very soon.
All that aside, time to become a Detroit Tigers fan since my Redlegs are out of the run. So, go Tigers!
Auf Wiedersehen.