View source for Diamonds In The Desert

'''Writing credits:''' [[Midnight Man]]

'''Written:''' February 5, 2007 to December 29, 2008

'''First released:''' November 23, 2007 to December 29, 2008

'''Title reference:''' The story is about diamonds, and part of it take place in a desert.

'''Continuity:''' Midnight Man's [[Rangerverse]]. Follows ''[[Last Date]]'' and precedes ''[[A Matter Of Time]]''.

'''Length:''' 87,325 (text only), 87,900 (the entire work); preface + 36 chapters

'''[[Rating]]:''' PG

==Synopsis==
[[Lahwhinie|LaWahini]], being a [[Rescue Rangers|Rescue Ranger]] herself now, pulls off a case on her own: She keeps [[Fat Cat]] from stealing a diamond from an exhibition by taking it herself. This leads the [[Metropolitan Squirrel Squad]], a group of crime-fighting squirrels, to believe that the Rescue Rangers have changed sides. The team of small heroes soon find themselves not only in trouble but also in the middle of a case bigger than they expected, for there are thirteen more gems similar to the diamond, and someone is after the whole set.

==Important Characters==
===Canonical===
The [[Rescue Rangers]]

[[Foxglove]]

[[Sparky]]

[[Tammy]]

[[Lahwhinie]]

[[Fat Cat]]

[[Fat Cat's Henchmen]]

[[Sergeant Spinelli]]

[[Officer Kirby]]

[[Officer Muldoon]]

[[The Greatest Spy in the World]]

[[Francis]]

[[Louie and Moe]]

[[Norton Nimnul]]

===Original===
[[Chief Derek Chesnutt]]

The [[Metropolitan Squirrel Squad]]

[[Allan Capone]]

[[Amelia]]

[[Armando]]

[[Todd White|Todd]]

[[Melissa Mayfield]]

[[Joanne]]

[[Todd's parents]]

===Legacy Characters===
[[Clarice]]

==Devices==
===Canonical===
[[Dale's Hang Glider]]

The [[Suction Cup Shoes]]

The [[Plunger Crossbow]]

The [[Ranger Plane]]

The [[Ranger Wing]]

[[Dale's Super Spy Gear]]

===Original===
[[Todd's PDA]]

The [[Nimnul Laser Cannon 14]]

==Important Locations==
[[Rescue Rangers Headquarters]]

[[Versailles Palace]], Las Vegas

==Trivia==
The story was originally planned to be an Aces Go Places-style slapstick comedy named ''Mouse Mission''. It was a viewing of the movie ''Mission: Impossible'' that had the author reconsider and go for something bigger and more serious, and ''Mouse Mission'' became the title of one of the chapters. Another working title was ''All That Glitter''.

Chapter 34, ''Night Mission'', was named after one of [[bock's car|bock's car's]] aircraft. Another seven chapters got names inspired by movies.

Two parodies were written for ''Diamonds In The Desert''. The first one is [[Midnight Man#(Theme from) Diamonds In The Desert|the theme song by the same name]], and the second one is [[Midnight Man#The Chipmunk Divine|The Chipmunk Divine]] which is even embedded in the story itself and part of the plot.

==Awards==
[[2007 Golden Acorn Awards]]: Best Use of a One-Shot Series Characters (Foxglove, Sparky, and Lahwhinie)

[[2008 Golden Acorn Awards]]: Best Original Female Character for [[Melissa]] (tied with [[Ms. Emily]] from [[Heart]] by [[Saraggle91]])

==External Links==
[http://www.theacorncafe.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=18497 Diamonds In The Desert's first release at the Acorn Cafe, interrupted by readers' comments]

[[Category:Fan fiction]]