[Stingy Jack]

You don't really need to dedicate an entire chapter to character development (in fact, this might actually be detrimental to your story). There are some simple things you can do with the material you have already produced, and that you can continue to do throughout the novel. For example, what sorts of things does this character care about? If I was about to go on a mission to a hostile planet (or dimension, or whatever), and I had fears that I may not make it back -- certain things would go through my head: my family being the first thing to come to mind. Have your character think about these things while he is waiting on the drop-flight. Have him look at and describe the faces of his comrades. Are they afraid? Does it show? Is one of them too macho to show fear, but his darting eyes give him away?

You also need to give your character a flaw, a weakness, and attack this weakness with your main conflict. Do you remember The Monkey's Paw? The short story about the family who gets the paw and wish for stuff that come true -- but with horrible consequences? Many teachers say that the conflict of this story is person vs. fate. But it's not. It is person vs. himself. The main character's (the father's) weakness is that he makes hasty decisions. He acts before he thinks, and his hasty decisions are always bad. This is shown at the beginning of the story when he is playing chess with his son. He loses the game because he moves his pieces haphazardly, without thinking about it. Then, at the end of the story, his wife is about to let in the thing at the door (if you remember the story, you know what I am talking about). The protagonist has to overcome his weakness. He has to think quickly, and make a good decision for once before his wife opens the door. And he does. He overcomes his weakness to conquer the conflict.

But, you don't have to have your character win over the conflict. This all depends on what sort of message you want to deliver. If your theme is "hopelessness", then having your character triumph shows that there is always hope. You know what I mean? So, you may decide to have him fail. Either way, in order to provide readable suspense, give your character a prime weakness that he has to overcome if he is going to survive. Whether or not he really overcomes it is up to you.