{"id":4447,"date":"2016-09-29T17:03:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T17:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/?p=4447"},"modified":"2020-07-26T14:14:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-26T14:14:07","slug":"rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/","title":{"rendered":"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every now and then over at the Tumblr<\/a> I wind up chatting with people about various aspects of writing, the writing business, and technique — usually under the “writing advice” tag<\/a>. Some weeks back (don’t ask me when, it’s been busy around here) a question came up about outlining, and various people suggested that they’d like to see what one of my outlines looked like. So I made a note to myself to find an outline at some point and post it for those who might be interested.<\/p>\n

Today I was going through one of the smaller portable expansion drives we keep around the house for temporary data storage, with an eye to cleaning it out so it could be used in updating my old laptop to run Windows 7. While I was sorting through the directories (and again and again muttering “Why the hell have I been hanging onto this…?!”<\/em>) I came across what appears below. This is the outline for the Star Trek novels Swordhunt<\/em> (later subdivided into Swordhunt<\/em> <\/a>and Honor Blade<\/em><\/a>) and The Empty Chair<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

This is an example of one of the ways I outline. It’s not a “beat outline,” in which every scene is laid out in book-chronological order and with considerable detail about action and sometimes even dialogue. I suppose it could be considered more of a “pitch outline”, intended to indicate both a story’s background and its foreground issues and action in broad strokes. It’s also intended for an editor already thoroughly familiar with my writing style and the way I handle a given license and its characters (in this case Star Trek).<\/p>\n

One of the reasons I allowed myself to submit something so (relatively) relaxed in format is that I knew my editors — first John Ordover and then Marco Palmieri — were confident enough about what I would do with the actual novels to not mind an outline of this kind. It does however begin with a brief recap of previous work in the series for the benefit of anybody in the Trek offices (either at the book end in NY, or the licensing-and-approvals end in LA and elsewhere) who might need to be brought up to speed on the background; as Trek editors in general and the faithful and long-suffering Paula Block (routine overseer-of-things on the licensing side) always have so much other work on their plates that a reminder of the details might be welcome.<\/p>\n

The outline weighs in at just under 3700 words, or about eight single-spaced 8.5″ x 11″ pages. Needless to say, if you have not read the Rihannsu sequence of Trek novels and you’re planning to, and you don’t want to be spoiled, then you should avoid reading any further….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RIHANNSU:\u00a0 SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU:\u00a0 THE EMPTY CHAIR<\/p>\n

Sequels to MY ENEMY, MY ALLY and THE ROMULAN WAY, these novels will deal with the consequences of events described in those books, and bring that arc of events to a conclusion.<\/p>\n

The Sword in the Empty Chair, ultimate symbol of Romulan tradition and power, and most treasured of all ancient artifacts of the Romulan Empire, has been stolen during a raid on the Empire’s Senate Chambers by the renegade Romulan Commander-general, Ael t’Rllaillieu of ChR 63 Bloodwing<\/em>. The whole Empire has lost face by the theft of the Sword and the insults of the woman who stole it, and as a result, recovery of the Sword has temporarily superseded all other policy concerns of the Senate. Its power and authority have been directly and publicly slighted, and if allowed to go unavenged, the theft of the Sword looks like an admission of weakness which will certainly be noted by forces both inside and outside the Empire…especially the Romulans\u2019 erstwhile “allies”, the Klingons.\u00a0 The Klingon Empire and the Federation, and especially the various Romulan subject worlds, must be shown that the thieves will be caught and drastically punished, whatever it takes\u2014even starting another war.<\/p>\n

The problem with this resolve is that Ael and her loyal Bloodwing<\/em> crew are currently guests in Federation space. Ael’s involvement in Federation affairs began with the events which culminated in the destruction of the Levaeri V research facility (see MY ENEMY, MY ALLY for details), and the delivery into the Federation\u2019s hands not only of the complete research materials for the Romulans\u2019 clandestine mind-control project, but also the equations for the implementation of the \u201cSunseed\u201d technique for the creation of ion storms on demand\u2014both extremely useful and powerful weapons likely to profoundly change the balance of power in the galaxy (though the mind-control project, which uses live cloned brain tissue from Vulcans, is a weapon which ethical constraints will forbid the Federation to use).\u00a0 Some time later, Ael and Bloodwing<\/em> went on to rescue Dr. Leonard McCoy from a rigged trial on one of the Romulan homeworlds…a trial which would have concluded with his execution. Ael\u2019s rescue of McCoy was mostly in the nature of a returned favor, but it enabled her to briefly return home and make very public her opinions of the present Imperial government and its policies.\u00a0 Her final gesture during this incident (originally uncalculated, though many on all sides will doubt this)\u2014the removal of the ancient Sword from the Senate Chamber\u2014has gained her more enmity in the Senate than simply turning renegade would ever have done, and has ensured that Ael\u2019s life and those of her crew will be the very minimum price paid for her actions, if the Romulan forces ever catch up with her.\u00a0\u00a0 All three of these acts were so much to the Federation\u2019s advantage that Starfleet has been willing to allow Bloodwing<\/em> and her command to take sanctuary in Federation space…for the time being.\u00a0 At high levels, both Starfleet Command and the Federation Council are aware that this condition cannot be allowed to continue permanently.\u00a0 However, they are willing enough to let it go on for the time being, since it\u2019s to their advantage to do so.\u00a0 Various people, especially high up in the Federation, have thought for some time that any destabilization of the present, actively hostile Romulan government would be desirable.\u00a0 But there was no way to bring that about short of open war, which they have been avoiding for a long time, especially since the Klingons have been something of a \u201cwild card\u201d in this hand of the game, and no one has been too sure of what their reaction would be.<\/p>\n

Now, though, the Federation\u2014most specifically, the higher echelons in Federation Intelligence\u2014have realized that a war involving the Federation and the Romulans has suddenly become both extremely likely and unavoidable. They feel that, whatever power comes to fill the space left by the present Romulan government, a weakened and destabilized or just a different replacement government would be a big improvement over what\u2019s already there\u2014a dangerous and hostile government whose behavior at Levaeri V make it plain that the old \u201crules of engagement\u201d in dealing with the Romulans are no longer of any use.\u00a0 The Federation\u2019s priority is now to find a way to shape to their ultimate advantage the form which the conflict will finally take.<\/p>\n

And meanwhile the upper-echelon Rihannsu, the small group of the most powerful Senators, have been assembling their own ideas about how such a war should go.\u00a0 There are factions on both the \u201cleft\u201d and \u201cright\u201d of the Romulan political spectrum\u00a0 which have been spoiling for war against the Federation for a long time.\u00a0 These people see Ael\u2019s public defection and theft of the Sword as the excuse they\u2019ve been waiting for:\u00a0 they welcome it as enthusiastically and openly as the Federation is doing so reluctantly and quietly.\u00a0 As an initial gambit, the Romulans decide that a task force will be sent into Federation space, empowered to make “diplomatic” approaches to the Federation.\u00a0 The diplomatic representatives will demand that Ael and her crew be returned to them for trial.\u00a0 Otherwise (they will announce with great regret) war must ensue.\u00a0 This tack seems to the Romulans one which is likely to succeed.\u00a0 Their experience of the Federation as a culture of peacemongers, usually unwilling to fight except when forced to it, suggests that they will buckle under when threatened, considering continued peace more worthwhile than the trouble of harboring someone who comes of an enemy race and might be a deep-cover spy as well.<\/p>\n

But if diplomacy fails, the diplomats will become assassins.\u00a0\u00a0 Their purpose is first to recover the Sword and restore it to its proper place in the Senate, and (with or without the cooperation of the Federation) to bring Ael and as many of her crew as possible back to ch’Rihan for a punishment which will long be an example to others.\u00a0 But failing that, they will willingly blow Ael and Bloodwing <\/em>to plasma, and the Sword as well, to keep it out of the hands of traitors and aliens.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the books, as the Romulan diplomatic task force sets out, the overwhelming consensus amongst the Federation\u2019s Strat\/Tac advisors is that the Romulans are sufficiently outraged at Ael and Bloodwing<\/em> to carry out their threat of war\u2014or at least of ferocious raids directed at Federation frontier worlds, which seems a much more plausible threat for remaining unspoken.\u00a0 Some of the more paranoid parties involved in these discussions take seriously the theory that Ael might indeed be a spy, and that the whole affair, from Levaeri V right down to McCoy\u2019s rescue, could be a typically ruthless Romulan plot laid with the intention of giving one of their top commanders and most dangerous ships (especially considering the boosted warpdrive and Klingon-built gunnery augmentation circuitry fitted to Bloodwing<\/em>) free access to space on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone.\u00a0 But others (in the majority at the moment) have decided that until those supporting this theory can come up with some evidence to back it, it makes more sense to allow Ael free passage in the outer reaches of Federation space, and to let the Romulans, for the time being, play out the early stages of their game.\u00a0 The Federation will be watching eagerly for signs of weakness among the chief Romulan players, and back on ch\u2019Rihan and ch\u2019Havran.<\/p>\n

And the Federation is not without its resources in this regard.\u00a0 Chief among them at the moment is Terise Haleakala-LoBrutto (aka Senator Arrhae i-Khellian t’Llhweiir), who will be part of the Romulan diplomatic delegation as both a head-of-house and as one who has had recent experience of dealing with Terrans.\u00a0 Her position is particularly difficult, for she must act as a balancing force and a voice of moderation at a time when moderation is the last thing most of the Rihannsu in this task force will want.\u00a0 But she must also function in her original capacity as Federation deep-cover operative, and must do it in a capacity she and her spymasters in the Federation never anticipated.\u00a0 It was never planned for her to be in a situation where she would be so carefully watched, by such potentially deadly observers, as she will be now.\u00a0 But it was also never suspected that Terise would manage to rise to the status of a head-of-house, a position of influence and honor which may lend her some slight protection.\u00a0 How much\u2014in a culture in which honor has become such a devalued currency\u2014is hard to tell.<\/p>\n

However, what Terise\/Arrhae and other operatives will be able to tell the Federation is that, mixed in with the various members of the deputation who have lost kinfolk to Ael’s activities and who want vengeance for them, are others who have relatives and friends among Bloodwing’s<\/em> crew (some of whom have already been introduced in THE ROMULAN WAY).\u00a0 The government\u2019s assumption is that these members are also hostile to Ael\u2019s case (and indeed some are).\u00a0 But some of them secretly support Ael’s actions as those of a true Romulan, one possessed of the mnhei’sahe<\/em> so plainly lacking in those who presently rule the Empire, and given the chance, these people will do whatever they can to help her and hinder her opponents.\u00a0 This splinter group is a reflection of a larger movement back on the two homeworlds.\u00a0 Many Romulans have become increasingly disaffected from the Senate and Praetorate of their day, growing restless under the pressure of an increasingly tyrannical and unrepresentative government.\u00a0 Previously this restlessness has crystallized out around various minor \u201crebellion\u201d leaders who have had to carefully hide themselves and their small organizations from the attentions of the Rihannsu government\u2019s hyperobservant secret police and intelligence services.\u00a0 Now, though, much of the attention of those services is focused outwards, toward Ael and the Federation and the danger they (together) represent.\u00a0 And the putative \u201crebel\u201d leaders are turning toward Ael as well, as a symbol of the disaffection of a large part of the Romulan people, a symbol of their desire for a return to the old ways, the traditional values of honor.\u00a0 By the act of taking the Sword, Ael has (in these people\u2019s minds) made herself a symbol of what they should be doing as a people:\u00a0 taking back their old heritage, themselves, without waiting for a government or other body to lead them in that direction:\u00a0 without waiting for \u201cpermission\u201d.\u00a0 Ael has become a banner around which to rally.\u00a0 Slowly, quietly, the fragmentary \u201creturn-to-ancient-values\u201d movement on the two Romulan homeworlds\u2014which has been slowly gaining strength over the last twenty years\u2014is now starting to build in earnest, waiting for a chance to break out into open rebellion….<\/p>\n

The Klingons, at their end of things, simply want to see the Romulan deputation fail miserably whether is limits itself to diplomacy or turns to the use of force.\u00a0 An Empire seen to be incapable of adequately avenging such a crime and bringing the criminal to justice will begin to fall apart from within, the Klingons think.\u00a0 And if the collapse needs a little outside help, they’ll be more than willing to provide whatever push is required, and then move in to bring their own New Order to the chaotic anarchy that remains….<\/p>\n

But finally it all comes down to what Ael will do…and none of the various forces involved in this about-to-be-a-war are sure of that at all.\u00a0 She, off\u00a0 with Bloodwing<\/em> in the \u201cdebatable space\u201d at the fringes of the Federation as the story starts, seems to be at rest in the quiet eye of this hurricane of plotting and counterplotting.\u00a0 But she is perfectly aware that it must be going on, and is contemplating her options.\u00a0 Ael knows that her act has now driven the Empire to play the game to follow for its very life, for it is now having to start to face the uncertainty and instability at its own heart.\u00a0 She knows she is a catalyst of sorts:\u00a0 her life or death, and the way she plays her part in the game, will now directly or indirectly affect the lives or deaths of millions on the Two Homeworlds. It is not a position Ael ever foresaw for herself.\u00a0 Now, though, she must use that famous cunning of hers to the utmost:\u00a0 to play Federation and Empires off against one another, to stay alive, to foil her enemies, to turn their evil intention back on themselves, and (if she can only work out how) to use her position to help her people and her culture find their way back to the old ways of nobility and honor.\u00a0 She may die trying.\u00a0 But Ael commits herself to the Great Game with a will: for of all prizes, this is the one most worth playing for…<\/p>\n

Others have their own games to play, and their own agendas to pursue… old and new.\u00a0 James T. Kirk would not normally count himself among this number. But he now finds himself finds himself acting as liaison between Federation authorities and Ael, and caught between them\u2014a position he\u2019s held before, but never in such uncomfortable circumstances.\u00a0 The forces in Starfleet and the Federation which mistrust Ael most profoundly are watching Kirk to see whether he is somehow secretly in league with her.<\/p>\n

(Scenes will appear here involving each of those sets of forces:\u00a0 the Starfleet Admiral who\u2019s sure Kirk is going to sell them out, the Federation High Commissioner watching it all, waiting to see which way to jump…)<\/p>\n

The amused, edgy intimacy and rapport Kirk and Ael share is too easily mistaken for treachery by those who don\u2019t see that it roots right down into the basic, incorruptible honor of each of them.\u00a0 Kirk\u2019s concern is for peace, as the Federation\u2019s is, and he watches with growing unease as the tide of events turns toward war.\u00a0 But at the same time he is concerned for Ael, a friend being driven to ever more dangerous acts by her absolute commitment to see her culture recalled to the old ways of honor.\u00a0 He knows how dangerous a game Ael is playing with her own people as well as with his.\u00a0 Unfortunately he finds that he\u2019s unable to dissuade her from her plans to manipulate her own people and his…and finds himself faced with an unpalatable choice.\u00a0 Help Ael, and allow himself to appear involved in what may be treason, or acts calculated to start a war?\u00a0 Or refuse to help her, let her head willingly into danger which may be the end of her, her ship and her crew…and let Ael construct her own death and sail into it, without trying to save her?<\/p>\n

Spock, unshakeably loyal to Kirk and the Enterprise<\/em> as always, nonetheless also finds himself caught in a moral bind.\u00a0 Ael\u2019s plans, if successful, will see her people returned to a lifestyle more similar to the \u201cuncorrupt\u201d one they built for themselves on leaving Vulcan.\u00a0 It is a desirable outcome.\u00a0 But he has been inside Ael\u2019s mind, and suspects more clearly than even Kirk does what her real motivations and intentions may be, and how they are torn.\u00a0 He knows how fine a line she is treading between\u2014on one side\u2014the constructive \u201cdeconstruction\u201d she intends to wreak on the present Romulan powerstructure, and\u2014on the other\u2014a furious campaign of plain old-fashioned revenge on those who destroyed the life of Ael\u2019s niece the Romulan Commander, banished Ael herself to the outermost regions of Empire space, and forced her into the present set of circumstances which culminated in her exile and the death of her son.\u00a0 Spock is nervous enough about the changes Ael proposes to force on the Romulan government, if the rebellion brewing at home gives her the power.\u00a0 Her success may be potentially as destructive as her failure.\u00a0 As for revenge, he cannot allow himself, or the Enterprise<\/em>, or Kirk, to be involved in it….for any Romulans surviving such a revenge would follow them anywhere in the Galaxy to \u201cget their own back\u201d.\u00a0 He admires Ael, insofar as a Vulcan can admit to admiring anything. But he will not allow her to use Enterprise<\/em>, or the Federation, or Kirk ,as a tool.\u00a0 And this stance will sooner or later, Spock knows, bring him into conflict with Kirk himself…whose motivations as regards Ael are not entirely clear, even by human standards.<\/p>\n

McCoy\u2019s concerns, for both Kirk and Spock as well as for Ael, have made him an unsuspected wild card in this particular hand.\u00a0 He has already been pushed (in ROMULAN WAY) to exhibit depths of understanding, analysis and courage which have, in retrospect, surprised even him.\u00a0 Now McCoy begins to suspect that he knows even more about what Ael and the Romulans will do than Spock and Kirk think they do.\u00a0 He finds himself caught between them, and between them and Ael, as her planning begins to unfold\u2014as powerful characters on ch\u2019Rihan and ch\u2019Havran begin to declare for or against her and start to move at her instigation.\u00a0 McCoy realizes that he potentially has it in his power to abort the Second Romulan War, saving many millions of lives\u2014and possibly killing Ael\u2014or to help the War to occur, costing millions of lives but saving many other millions.\u00a0 For a surgeon, used to judging best and worst case while holding the knife or the protoplaser, the situation is all too familiar.\u00a0 But in this case the \u201cknife\u201d is Ael, and the patients on the table\u2014the Romulans, and the Federation, and Jim and Spock, and Ael herself\u2014are caught in a kill-or-cure situation larger and more deadly than any one practitioner should have to handle.\u00a0 Yet in the end, the success or failure of the entire operation may lie with McCoy,with a word spoken or left unsaid at just the right moment…<\/p>\n

Kirk, Spock and McCoy all find themselves caught up in the initial meetings with the Romulan \u201cdiplomatic\u201d group, and (after that) in the skirmishes which ensue when the diplomats turn assassin\u2014when the Romulans attacking Ael miss their target (though they do not miss the Federation vessels then shielding her), and when Ael seemingly flees with Bloodwing<\/em> for the Neutral Zone in the wake of her attackers, in circumstances which make it unclear whether she has betrayed her hosts to her attackers or is pursuing them with intent to kill…or both. In the confusion, Enterprise<\/em> is one of the ships sent after her with instructions to, if possible, capture Ael and bring her back to Federation space to clarify matters…but if not, to determine as far as possible what\u2019s happening, to keep the war about to break out from spilling out of the Zone into Federation space, and above all not to interfere.\u00a0 Ael herself, Starfleet tells Kirk, must be sacrificed to circumstances, and to the other Romulans, if necessary.\u00a0 She is the spark in the powderkeg, and must be allowed to \u201cburn out\u201d in her own way, succeeding or failing in the rebellion which she has purposely or inadvertently instigated.\u00a0 But as the War starts, James Kirk is faced with the choice which will affect its beginning and its end.\u00a0 Risk a career and defy orders to help a friend?\u00a0 Leave her to her own devices, as ordered, to die alone?\u00a0 Or find a third way out that no one, not even he, could have predicted?<\/p>\n

And at the back of it all, Starfleet, and the Senators running the Romulan Empire, watch to see if the Game will play itself out the way they think it will, rather than the way the gaming pieces think it will go…<\/p>\n

Over the course of the books, the Second Romulan War breaks out in earnest (its initial battle having happened at the end of book 1), involving the Federation, the Klingons, the Rihannsu, and many of the Romulan Empire\u2019s subject worlds.\u00a0 At the end of the war, at the end of the books, the Romulan Empire is in a rather different shape (reduced in size, but both stronger and somewhat less hostile), which suits the Federation;\u00a0 the Klingons are in disarray\u2014which definitely also suits the Federation;\u00a0 the Federation is somewhat bruised; but satisfied enough with the way things have turned out;\u00a0 and matters have taken a most unusual turn, for the Rihannsu force Ael to become Empress.\u00a0 She attempts to resist this.\u00a0 But\u00a0 realizing that her catalyst status (and the fact that she has dared to touch the Sword, an act reserved for a leader of the Romulan people) has put her in a unique position\u2014and that all her talk about duty has finally come home to roost\u2014she accepts, on the condition that her people must be prepared to accept her as an Empress indeed, an old-fashioned despot.\u00a0 Our understanding, though, is that she will be a benevolent despot:\u00a0 her intention is to drag her people, kicking and screaming if necessary, back to the old honorable ways.\u00a0 To the Federation, and James Kirk, she says,\u00a0 \u201cWe will be closing down our borders for a good while to \u2018set our house in order.\u2019\u00a0 Do not expect to see us, or hear from us, for a long, long time.\u00a0 And when you do see us again, we may not look or seem to you anything like the way we seem now….\u201d<\/p>\n

And so it comes to pass.\u00a0 The Neutral Zone remains quiet for many years…into the Next Generation…and we are left (knowing about TNG, and the Romulans we see in that time) to wonder what in the worlds happened to Ael and her plans.\u00a0 Did they go wrong in some spectacular fashion?\u00a0 Did they go right\u2014and then founder?\u00a0 Or did her attempt to redirect a whole culture back into an older pattern take some turning that neither she nor anyone else expected?\u00a0 Only the stars looking silently down on ch\u2019Rihan and ch\u2019Havran know:\u00a0 and they will make no answer…<\/p>\n

\"empty_chair_800px_wide\"<\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every now and then over at the Tumblr I wind up chatting with people about various aspects of writing, the writing business, and technique — usually under the “writing advice”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[754,762,76,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-2","category-star-trek","category-star-trek-and-other-licensed-properties","category-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nRIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"About outlining the final "Star Trek: Rihannsu" books: the original detailed proposal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About outlining the final "Star Trek: Rihannsu" books: the original detailed proposal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Out of Ambit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"618\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diane Duane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dduane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@dduane\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Diane Duane\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8\"},\"headline\":\"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":4188,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Star Trek\",\"Star Trek and other licensed properties\",\"Writing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/\",\"name\":\"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"About outlining the final \\\"Star Trek: Rihannsu\\\" books: the original detailed proposal\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/29\\\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":618},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Out of Ambit\",\"description\":\"Diane Duane's weblog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8\",\"name\":\"Diane Duane\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Diane Duane\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/dduane\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dianeduane.com\\\/outofambit\\\/author\\\/ooaadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit","description":"About outlining the final \"Star Trek: Rihannsu\" books: the original detailed proposal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit","og_description":"About outlining the final \"Star Trek: Rihannsu\" books: the original detailed proposal","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/","og_site_name":"Out of Ambit","article_published_time":"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":618,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Diane Duane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dduane","twitter_site":"@dduane","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/"},"author":{"name":"Diane Duane","@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#\/schema\/person\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8"},"headline":"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline","datePublished":"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/"},"wordCount":4188,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#\/schema\/person\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg","articleSection":["Books","Star Trek","Star Trek and other licensed properties","Writing"],"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/","name":"RIHANNSU: SWORDHUNT and RIHANNSU: THE EMPTY CHAIR; the outline - Out of Ambit","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-09-29T17:03:08+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-26T14:14:07+00:00","description":"About outlining the final \"Star Trek: Rihannsu\" books: the original detailed proposal","inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/2016\/09\/29\/rihannsu-swordhunt-and-rihannsu-the-empty-chair-the-outline\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Empty_Chair_Cropped-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":618},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/","name":"Out of Ambit","description":"Diane Duane's weblog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#\/schema\/person\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/#\/schema\/person\/c95a368813271f614d9104b74dfd83d8","name":"Diane Duane","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Diane Duane"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DD_avatar_2016_bg.jpg"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/dduane"],"url":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/author\/ooaadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4447"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6483,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions\/6483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianeduane.com\/outofambit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}