I think you'll like what I have planned. I'm thinking we should play with the usual gender roles a little bit - we'll make Sofie the crack pilot, and Ed will be her tech geek. Additionally, for this mission, I played out a few scenarios in my head, and decided on a version with a cheerier plot than what I was initially going with. The person we're obtaining the Q-core from (we'll call him Krakticus Quinn), as you know, is a rather shady fellow, and one with which Richard Darcy has an unpleasant history. Mr. Quinn is a racing mogul, who makes his money off the fees, betting, and gambling over interstellar races. Crescent Q-Cores are exceptionally powerful drive units and make for nigh-unbeatable speedsters, making them highly sought-after in the racing community (or anywhere, really).

As for motivations and stuff, I think I've sorted it out. I'll start up a side-story about a few Terrans on planet Charon, who are living under increasingly perilous tyranny and hold out hope for someone to help them.

New post coming in the next couple days. I apologize again for the long wait. I'll try not to let that happen again. :)