The original title was “Flash Bacron in Outer Space” – a series I began back in 7th or 8th grade. After some time, I felt that “Flash” was too obvious a takeoff, and I changed the name to “Trek Bacron in Outer Space”. I finished 21 8-page stories under those two titles. It was only late in the game, after I had finished school and joined Covenant Players, that I decided on the more generic “Rangers!”. Under that title, I produced one story, and began one more. 25 years later, when I finally decided to resume work on Rangers!, it was that unfinished story – “The Captives of Kitarrh” - that I determined would be my premiere story.
UnipolOriginally the UNP (Universe National Police), I've changed the name to Universal Police Force, or Unipol. In a place as big and diverse as space, one planet's police force just can’t handle the task of keeping order. Unipol is an independent body, which works along both diplomatic and legal lines, mediating where necessary and policing where called for. The Corps of Rangers is Unipol’s longest arm – bringing order where the Law can’t reach.
 |
The Founder of Unipol is the mysterious G.T. Rumors abound about the origin and heritage of this shadowy figure, but in fact, nothing is known about him, his diplomatic channels, or how he finances this interstellar agency. Fans of Steve Troop's "Melonpool" might recognize G.T. as a 'local boy who's made good'. Without giving away too much, I would say that his parents gave him an ideal blend of genius and common sense to be able to lead this unique agency. Access to time travel technology doesn't hurt, either. |
 |
Trek commands the Corps of Rangers. Fearless, resourceful, intelligent and cool-headed, he prefers to be on the front lines of a case. Trek balances a fierce loyalty to Unipol and to G.T. with a strong independence and a sense of initiative.
|
 |
Eve was the ‘token female’ in the original series – Trek’s girlfriend and co-worker. When I restarted Rangers!, I decided she needed a real role on the team. Eve holds doctorate degrees in numerous disciplines, and is a leader in the field of lingistics.
|
 |
The original “Flash Bacron” series included a Dr. Barkov (a straight take off of Flash Gordon’s Dr. Zharkov). I changed him to a blonde German named Earlich Von Dankeshern. When I re-tooled “Rangers!”, Earl’s present look sprung fully formed in my mind (that’s never happened to me before. Kind of spooky.). This present Earl is chief medical officer for the Rangers Corps. A 'gentle giant' type, his home is the planet Nynorge, a planet settled by Scandinavian emigrés. |
 |
Citizen of the planet Watership 5, Orwell-Ta is a Leporid, a hybrid race resulting from gene-splicing experiments by a crew of a space shuttle lost centuries ago. When his father was imprisoned by a rival, Orwell escaped in the original shuttle and set out to try to find other humans – if they still existed. His search led him to Unipol, and eventually, Orwell became the first Leporid inductee into Unipol, and the only Leporid in the Corps of Rangers. |
 |
Very little is known about Thrangaar’s planet of origin (that will change in a future storyline). He has led a number of different lives, on both sides of the law, and has seen parts of the universe most people have never even heard of. When asked what led him to join Unipol, his normal answer is: “They were going to wind up getting me sooner or later – one way or the other.” |
 |
I don’t know about this one. I’ve got a name, and I’ve got a face. Expect surprises. |
For now, the list of 'Usual Suspects' is nebulous. "Trek Bacron..." featured four major nemeses:
Ornith Raven - Shape-Changing Environmental Terrorist
Victor Jabberwock - Smuggler and Dealer in Contraband Goods
Oswald-Chang - Rogue Senator from Watership 5, and Orwell-Ta's sworn enemy
So far, only Oswald has made an appearance, and Ornith is slated for the next story. For the others, we shall see. A number of secondary characters from the original "Trek" series may include:
Storm “Wonder” Thomson - Temporal anomalies provide for some interesting possibilities. Suppose the original founder of Thomson Interstellar Freight, Inc. was caught up in one such wormhole, and found himself washed up on the doorstep of the company’s HQ five centuries later. A seafaring man lost in a spacefaring age.
Zeeno - Another victim of temporal displacement, Zeeno is Trek's identical double, and a powerful wizard.
Melvin Purvis - "Trek Bacron..." involved a number of time-travel stories, many of them to the depression-era Midwest. Famed 'G-man' Melvin Purvis figured into more than one of these stories.
Anderson Sprague - Famed pilot and adventurer, and someone who's got a lot of shared history with Thrangaar. Anderson's autoimmune deficiency requires him to live in a life-support suit, but that's not stopped him from cutting a swath across the known universe.