You’re on the edge of the universe and could really use a snack. Good thing there’s a space station with all the comforts of Earth… you hope.
Whether you live there, work there, or you’re simply visiting, the space station can host many stories. It offers adventure, hope, and forward progress, but it’s also prone to accidents, incidents, and inclement events. That makes it a fantastic place to use in your narrative.
Creative Writing Prompts for a Space Station
- Arriving at a space station, you discover that there is no one there. Nobody and no bodies. It is completely deserted though everything was reported as normal on your nav screen when you originally punched in the coordinates.
- A new wormhole has been discovered near your space station. What will come out of it when it is tapped into? Will you be under attack?
- Organized crime is nothing new on the space station circuit, but lately it’s been getting out of hand. Gang wars are breaking out and rules are being treated as optional. Your vice squad needs to get on top of things before all hell breaks loose.
- This space station is a tourist hotspot. You’re thrilled to finally take the family here. All seems to be going well, until the emergency warning system lights up. What could the problem be?
- A sickness is spreading through the space station. People are being affected at an accelerating rate. What is it and how can it be stopped?
- There is supposed to be an old space station somewhere around your current coordinates but nothing seems to be appearing on your scanners. You’re running low on fuel. Where could it be?
- Word has arrived on your planet that a space station on the fringes is in distress. Your ex was on a mission there and though you split up, you still care for them. Will you go and find out what’s happening there?
- There is anarchy in your star system and supplies are scarce. The commander of your space station orders you on a re-supply run as everything on board is running low. Your transport ship is retrofitted with some combat gear and you’re given a small crew. Good luck.
- Your space station is a hub of trade activity. Business, both legal and on the black market, has never been as brisk. But now there are some underhanded dealings being reported and you’re responsible for solving the problems, diplomatically or otherwise.
- A new lifeform is brought aboard the space station. It seems innocuous enough and everyone seems thrilled. But you’re skeptical and urge caution. What lurks below its placid surface?
Space Station Environments
A space station can spark many story ideas. In the list below, we provide a wide range of ideas, so have a look and use whatever jumps out to you.
Your station could be…
- in a nebula, comet tail, asteroid belt, dust field, space cloud, vacuum, void,
- orbiting a small moon, inhabitable planet, water world, icy moon, gas giant, black hole,
- near a mining installation, military moon base, home world, colonized planet,
- an observation post, science lab, shield generator, launch point, space café, armed military installation, official diplomatic post,
- half-built, under renovations, taking on retrofits to repurpose it, newly completed,
- being transported from one location to another
- along a space “superhighway”, trade route, military supply channel,
- on the edge of a key jump point for interstellar travel,
- on the fringes, frontier, or the far edge of the known system,
- off the beaten path, out of the way, a lone outpost,
- a long forgotten relic, ancient outpost,
Your station could have…
- a flight deck, launch bay, hangar, transportation room,
- storage rooms, cargo bays, holds, freight levels.
- a galley, café, restaurant, cantina, pub, bar, vending machines,
- bridge, command center, officer deck,
- quarters, bunks, barracks, rooms,
- quadrants, sectors, levels, bays, decks, blocks, cabins,
- tunnels, halls, channels, tubes,
- doors, locks, hatches, portals,
- windows, gallery, viewing deck,
- zoo, aquarium, holding pens, stockade,
- security wing, brig, cell, courtroom,
- recreation deck, bowling alley, training facility, pool, gym,
- garden, biodome, solarium,
- weapons level, cannon deck, batteries, battle deck,
- wings, towers, points, bubbles, pods, extensions,
- medical wing, morgue, sick bay,
Space Station Characters
There is no end to the variety of characters you could meet on a space station. Not only is there human diversity but aliens, too, from all kinds of new worlds. Here are a bunch of ideas to help you populate your space station.
- captain, commander, admiral, officer, ensign, engineer, weapons specialist, flight crew, communications director,
- astronaut, crew, space traveller,
- droid, android, artificial human, robot, cyborg,
- diplomat, director, executive, advisor, official,
- tourist, adventurer, crew-for-hire,
- merchant, investor, company director, salesperson,
- pirates, thieves, brigands, rogues, space villains, bandits, smugglers,
- teacher, mentor, counsellor, coach,
- scientist, botanist, geologist, astronomer,
- stowaway, vagabond,
- president, boss, despot, arbiter, judge, leader,
- technology expert, mechanic, handyman, repair crew,
- specialist, spy, agent, mercenary, special ops,
- psychic, religious leader, astrologer, seer, oracle, diviner, sage,
- fighter pilot, soldier, bomber crew, military contractor,
- alien, half-human, extraterrestrial, intelligent lifeform,
Space Station Stuff
- equipment, loader, crane, conveyor, hover lift,
- robot, droid, AI, cyborg, android, bots, mechs,
- screens, radar, display, holograph, hologram, projection,
- radio, communication system, intercom,
- food vendor, dispenser, liquid food, drinks, food pills, nutrient solution,
- bunks, beds, cabins,
- oil, grease, fumes, smoke, vapour
- cables, wires, ducts, chains, pins, bolts, locks,
- grates, vents, panels,
- freight, boxes, barrels, crates, packages, bins,
- strange beast, foreign relic, ancient artifact, cursed symbol, religious icon,
- drugs, alcohol, illicit material, contraband,
- beep, buzzing, hiss, dinging, incessant hum, low rumble, shriek, creaking, thump,
Space Station Events
Lots can go wrong when you’re floating in space. Hopefully, one of these ideas works for you in a wonderfully horrible way.
- mechanical difficulty, technical malfunction,
- communications lost, interference,
- scientific breakthrough, biological safety breach, chemical reaction,
- dust storm, magnetic storm, ion storm, electrical storm, solar flare, cosmic wave,
- invasion, attack, unknown entity, boarding, takeover,
- sickness, illness, virus, contagion, bacterial growth, disease, affliction,
- sabotage, cheating, conniving, subterfuge,
- power struggle, mutiny, rebellion, revolt, protest,
- love, romance, crush, obsession, desire, jealousy,
- trickery, lying, deception,
- addiction, mental breakdown, madness, loss of sanity,
- discovery, realization, find something strange,
- alien, monster, beast, creature, advanced being, angry entity, enraged otherworlder,
- strange ship docking, alien fleet detected, siege,
- diplomatic row, intergalactic agencies feuding, military confrontation, mining rights dispute,
More Narrative Prompts and Ideas
If you need more inspiration, here’s a pile of other creative writing or roleplaying ideas.
- A small crew of characters must repel an alien attack until reinforcements arrive.
- A character must confront an old adversary who has been posted to the space station.
- An underdog character must prove their worth when a sickness pervades the station.
- There are some technical difficulties cropping up with increasing regularity. What could be the cause?
- The space station is being dismantled but its central AI is not impressed with the idea. How will it react and what will it do to preserve its own “life”?
- The shields go up as an alien force surrounds the station. Can peace be negotiated before the shield generator overheats?
- Check out our horror post and see if you get an idea for a sci-fi/horror hybrid set on a space station.
- What happens when a meteor hits the space station? Is it blown off course or irreversibly damaged? Are lives lost or is someone blasted into space and will need to be retrieved? How long can you last with systems down?
- The space station is a military training facility. You signed up for “boot camp” but weren’t expecting what you see here. Where in the universe will you be assigned.
- Can you escape from the space station prison facility? The sadistic warden would love for you to try.
- A malevolent force seems to have seeped into the walls of a far off space station. People are seeing strange things and a spiritual malaise permeates the crew. Souls are at stake and you’re called in as an advisor in these dark times.