The Secret of the Solar Sail

Setting

The location and time of the story; in this text, it is near the rings of Saturn at the Sector 7 Flight Academy

Protagonist

The main character trying to accomplish a goal; in this story, it is Leo, a student pilot

Sci-Fi Element: Technology

Advanced or futuristic tools used in the story, such as the hover-pod, holographic dashboard, and wrist-screen

Sci-Fi Element: Companion

A futuristic helper character; in this story, it is Apex, the sleek silver droid

The Mission

What Leo must do to graduate; navigate the Whispering Belt and retrieve a data-pod from an abandoned satellite

The Inciting Incident

The event that creates the main danger; a rogue asteroid slams into the ship and takes the main thrusters offline

The Climax

The most exciting moment of suspense; waiting in the dark shadow of Saturn for the sunlight to hit the solar sail

The Resolution

The end of the story where everything is fixed; Apex snags the data-pod and the ship safely returns to the Academy

Sci-Fi Genre Definition

A genre of fiction that uses futuristic science, technology, outer space travel, or robots as core parts of the story

How the Solar Sail Works

It uses pure solar energy and light particles from the sun to push the ship forward like wind pushing a sailboat

The Problem with the Shadow

The reason the sail didn't work immediately; the ship was blocked from the sun's light by the planet Saturn

The Whispering Belt

The dangerous, thick ring of floating space rocks notorious for short-circuiting ship engines