I am writing a few chapters for this Sci-Fi story draft and I want a better name for a star ranger. Basically the class is a space ranger who travels through space to help people. Any bright ideas please?
So, some context: Why do they do this? Do they style themselves as Flash Gordon-esque space heroes? Do they belong to an organization? If yes, is it a military organization or civilian?
I'm not sure what's wrong with "Rangers". Conveys their meaning instantly to the english speaker. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU ASKED. The Blue Bolts Galactic Aid Sun Cross Star Striders Star Strivers Star Strikers Star Slivers Law Shanks (derisive?) Redeemers Oblignauts Xenotropes (that didn't mean what I think it meant) Cargonauts Runners (that's right, just runners) Colonial wardens Colony Corps Ward Corps Warp Corps ('cause it's like the warp core) Star Corps Colonial Rangers Austinmen (because the texas rangers were created by Stephen Austin) Give me a bit and I might have more. edit: Looking back I think cargonauts is my favorite.
Plinkers Tackers Trackers Tracers Satellite Squad Quasar chasers Two Tucks Binary Breakers Borderlanders Bordermen Border Breakers Bolders (because they are bold) Okay, I might be done.
No, this is all in the last 15 minutes. EDIT: 18 minutes Lark Stars Star Larks The Fillinnames Mod Star Star Mods Moniters HUDsmen Quirksters Quarksters Quark Stars Transfermen Mercuries Mercies
Why not just call them cops? Or police officers, if you want to be a little more formal? Leave out "star" or "space" or anything else that sounds whiz-bang and science-fictiony - that's so tired it only works in comedy. Just identify the authority they operate under (LAPD operates under the City of Los Angeles; NYPD operates under the City of New York; Texas Rangers operate under the State of Texas). Nobody operates under the authority of "space."
Maybe they do! Come up with a governmenty acronym for the space organization. Cowboy Bebop famously had the ISSP (Inter-Solar System Police).
I have to agree, it's kind of tired having things in space so obviously named for space that it feels really out of place in a lot of serious type stories. I dig what Jack Asher and minstrel are saying now- don't worry about making it sound spacey. Go for something a bit more realistic. Do they operate under a specific country? Do they protect a planet or several planets in a certain place? Maybe several planets inhabited by a certain race or something? Do they want people to know who they are by hearing their name? That way, if aliens or something who speak the local tongue come in and they hear about "So and So Police" there's no confusion. If the aliens wandered in and they were called The Amazing Laser People (which would be pretty awesome but) they'd be a bit confused until they did a little research. Like, if they're the law enforcement for say...Andromeda or maybe the just one arm of the Milky Way, have their name be just like that. The AUPD could be the Andromeda United Police Department or something. I suppose it depends most on what kind of world your story is in. Is it a comedy? Is it more serious? Is it based on funky 50's sci-fi movies or is more modern?
It makes me think of a bunch of guys in space suits sitting huddled in the hold of a ship pissing into little bags and saying "A-Okay."
They work with a space military called the Star Alliances, which is a republic type of government that controls human colonies in a far away galaxy for Earth. The rangers are law enforcement adventurers who rescue people, stop threats, and solve problems where the government cannot reach. They are a team of five men and women who flies a jet like space craft. An admiral is their commander, who gives them missions at their base. And they wear suits that give them psychic abilities.
So...they're not really cargonauts, are they. They could be cargonaughts though? Because they don't have any cargo with them?
Kind of. They are like the Legion of Super Heroes, except they are adults and they work with the government.
Maybe make an attribute of their uniforms and name them after that? Like the Blue Buckles, or the Green Suits.
History is your friend in this kind of cases. You can check from the Knights Templar to the Spartans or MI6, and simply put a space twist to the name. Also, you can use more simplistic names like The Order or The Division to great effect, as many had done before. Anywho, be true to the part they play in your story and it should narrow up your options!
