Room of Amber
I thought of the
principal idea for this story a few good years ago. It dawned on me one day that on Cloudbase, only the Angels’ ready
room had a “color” name, i.e. the Amber Room, while none of the other compartments
mentioned in either the original series or the annuals have any such
designation. I thought there just HAD
to be a reason for it, and I came up with the idea that it must have been named
after someone, such as a Lieutenant or Captain Amber. I’ve finally brought that idea to life in this story.
Since
the name “Amber Room” is mentioned in the series from early on, I decided that
the events of this story would take place BEFORE the first series episode, but
after Chris Bishop’s magnificent story “All
the Colours of the Rainbow.”
Hence there is no mention of either the Mysterons or Captain Scarlet’s
indestructibility. To illustrate these
facts, I have included references that Captain Black isn’t even on Mars yet and
Scarlet is vulnerable to injury (albeit a very minor one). In addition, the character of Captain
Scarlet appears in a role equal to the other characters rather than being the
main protagonist. Remember, at the time
this story takes place he is just another one of the captains.
However,
since my story takes place after “All
the Colours of the Rainbow,” Captain Brown and Becky Evershaw are
already married and Becky is expecting their first child. There is also some interaction between
Scarlet and Destiny Angel, since Chris elaborated on their “history,” but I’ve
made it clear that their relationship now is friendly rather than
romantic. There is some
interaction between Scarlet and Rhapsody, which could indicate the beginning of
something more, but there is no visible attraction just yet. I’ve also reinforced the idea that Blue and
Symphony are already established as a couple.
Captain
Brown was just a throwaway character in the original series, of course. Brown’s alter ego of Steve Blackburn,
however, was originally my idea. I had
christened Captain Brown with his “real” name and elaborated on his background
in my story “Chance for a Lifetime,”
and then Chris expanded on the idea in “All
the Colours of the Rainbow.” I
am merely continuing Chris’ wonderful development of this character.
The character of Father Ivory, the Cloudbase chaplain, is
also mine. I’ve mentioned him in two of
my stories, “Chance
for a Lifetime”
and “Mixed Doubles.”
I’ve written him as a Catholic chaplain originally from Italy, but
as he plays only a minor role in this story there’s not much more to say about
him.
I
invented the character of Captain Amber for this story, based on my comments
above, but this is not to say he will be a “throwaway” character. Chris Bishop and I have recently been
discussing the eventual revision of “All the
Colours of the Rainbow,” and she agrees with me that there is a place
for him there.
If you have comments on this story, or any of the
others I’ve written, please feel free to forward them to me care of Chris
Bishop. I’d love to read them.
S.I.G.!
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CAPTAIN SCARLET FANFIC BY MARY J. RUDY