"Into The Skies" Rough Structure

One sentence summary...
The story of a ramshackle crew of space pirates trying to save the galaxy from evil.

One paragraph summary...
John Logan, once an honourable soldier, has found himself the captain of the Nemesis Crew - a ragtag bunch of mercenaries. They do what they can and will to survive in an increasingly dangerous galaxy. A chance encounter with the son of his former friend and brother-in-arms leads to the young, headstrong (yet savvy) Jake Hawkins which changes their fates forever. With Jake Hawkins joining the crew, The Nemesis gets swept up into a far larger adventure, featuring magical crystals and incredibly powerful forces thought to have long since faded into myth.

One "page" summary... (Chronological - including back story rather than "narrative time")
The Reign of Terranova -

The Massakarian Rebellion -

John Logan's Mutiny -

Logan's Rebellion -

The Battle of Nemesis Ridge (Death of Hawkins) -

Imprisonment and Escaping Incarcerus -

The Nemesis Crew is Born -

Jake Hawkins' Childhood -

Rebellion at the Academy -

The Train Job -

Jake Hawkins joins the Nemesis -

The Inquisitors -

The Artefacts - there are three of them: one held by the Massakarians, one held by the Psionari, one held by another aquatic race.

The Emperor - to make the emperor a believably "evil" character we could focus on his insecurities and character flaws as a motivator for him opening a portal to a hellish realm and aligning himself with an evil force (a sort of Mephistophelian pact). We could see the emperor as a character who is ageing and whose empire is showing signs of crumbling under the pressures of rebellions and dissent in the senate. The Emperor could be trying his best to find the right way of ensuring the lasting security of his people - a people who have been galactic refugees and have become a vast and thriving empire under his rule. His insecurity about this leads the ageing emperor to appoint seven inquisitors to tirelessly attempt to unravel the secrets of the Psionari. While they do this they also discover a portal to another dimension and a malevolent force which whispers through it. The Emperor begins to listen to the voice speaking through the artefact and begins to form his own opinion about this malevolent force - that it is good and that the force could be released into the world to bring security and safety to Terranova. Thus the emperor begins to trust the voice and forms a pact with it to see it released from its bondage.

The Psionari -

The Cathedral of Light -

Main plot (The Nemesis Crew)

 * The crew of the Nemesis are introduced to the reader: Captain John Logan, Pilot Buzzer, First Mate Selena, Gunner Locke, The Shepherd, Navigator, Engineer, Boarding crew, etc. through a mission they are trying to pull off on a train. They make a surprise discovery on the train that draws them into a far bigger adventure.

Subplot 1 (Jake Hawkins)

 * Captain John Logan has a history in the army of the Terran empire - he was involved in a war which involved the genocide of a people named the Massakari.
 * During this war he served with an officer named Hawkins who saved his life. As Hawkins was dying he asked Logan to find his long lost son on an unassuming junk planet.
 * Between jobs, Logan takes the crew to this junk planet under the auspices that he is trying to find a thief for a job. The thief they find is a young man - but he also turns out to be Jake Hawkins.

Subplot 2 (The Terran Empire)

 * The Human Empire (Terra Nova) is in a state of change. The ruler of Terra Nova has set up a sham of democracy in the wake of successful military campaigns against an alien civilization named the Massakari. The Massakari have had genocide committed against them by the human empire and for several decades there has been a "Pax Terra Nova" - in reality there are constant rumblings going on and uprisings occur across the Massakarian territories. But the Emperor is reaching the end of his life and is hungry to extend his rule. To do this he is making his minions work around the clock to unravel the secrets of the Psionari - mysterious, long-extinct race of "higher beings".