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BEAVeR

[SoNE Ep. VI] 4 - Ruins among ruins

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“There it is.”

Dressed in smuggler clothes, we approach our destination. Just agent An and me, two pilots, on a rapid reconnaissance mission while the rest of the troops continue to search Ord Mantell. There’s only a small chance we will find him here. But the files on the datapad have led us to this once beautiful temple, hidden between the forests on the surface of Bothawui. They are rumoured to be infested with Rebels. Still, nothing indicates this place is of special importance… not anymore.

“See that antenna hidden on the roof? We’re here alright... Yes, here is some kind of hatch. Let’s go in and take them by surprise!”

Things always go so quickly with agent An. Frightfully quickly…

“We aren’t wearing these smuggler clothes just to blow are cover the very second we enter the place. You don’t even know what we’ll find. It could be a Rebel cell wiped out by the Bounty Hunter. Or it could be a whole battalion of Rebels. If you’re not careful, you drop right into a sarlacc pit.”

“What do you propose then, genius?” My colleague can be awfully sarcastic. Like a little boy robbed of his favourite Ackay action hologram…

“Why don’t walk in casually? Pretend to be one of them, whoever is down there. Talk them into giving you the evidence. Why would you make this a massacre?”

“Oh, I see… What if I go in and… improvise, while you stand guard here. Someone has to watch my back. Just blast anyone who makes a fuss here…”

Sarcastic as his proposal may sound, I consent. I’m not getting involved in whatever happens down there. And the chances someone comes here are slim.

“That’s what we’ll do. And if someone shows up here, I’ll… improvise.”

He already threw open the hatch and descends the stairs.

A muffled cry. I’m not staying here to find out from who. I’m not going to stay here to witness yet another tragedy. I don’t want to be part of this scene of death. I turn away. That temple… it seems like it is consecrated to life, to nature. Those two beautiful columns, with a closed bud and an open flower, the geometric patterns evoking foliage… I wonder what it was used for, what it all means. Yet, I’m attracted to it. It’s strange how nature is destroying the homage to itself. And even then, there might be a meaning to it all. This really is a sacred place. A reflection by…

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[soNE Ep. VI] 4 - What's the meaning of all this? by Bert.VR, on Flickr

That was close. I got behind this rubble just in time. I don’t think those Bothans have seen me. But what now? What if they enter the hatch. I can’t just kill them… they might be civilians. I don’t know how it will help me, but contacting Goatm is the only thing I can think of.

Our communication only makes things worse. Below, there will soon be an even greater ruin than up here.

Gunfire and cries. The Bothans seem as distressed as I am, and decide to leave quietly. I guess they don’t want to be in this as much as I. So far for giving my colleague back cover.

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[soNE Ep. VI] 4 - Ruins among ruins by Bert.VR, on Flickr

I can think again. So it is true: there really are… or sadly were Rebels down there. How did they get involved with the bounty hunter? Why would Boba Fett bother to steal a genuine Rebel datapad somewhere? Surely, a smaller clue would have done to blame the Rebels for that atrocious deed on Ord Mantell. Unless… he had it already with them, stolen it from Rebels that he had encountered. Maybe the datapad still holds some information. It was never meant to be investigated, but that might be the reason there is still useful information in there…

It doesn’t take me long to find what I’m looking for. Indeed, the mission of the Rebel this datapad once belonged to, was to track down Boba Fett, in an attempt to rescue a certain Solo. So the Rebels are after the bounty hunter as well, at the same time. What a coincidence. At least, they have reason, unlike our own absurd mission…

The truth is simple and astonishing. Our mission isn’t to get Boba Fett and deliver him some ridiculous ‘Thank you’ card at all. Sure, finding the bounty hunter is our priority, but the reason is something else entirely. This mission is a mere excuse to get to the Rebels. We only want to track the bounty hunter to know where to find the Rebels. It isn’t about finding him, it’s about finding those that are searching for him. Our real bounty, are the Rebels…

Ruins. But why? Why weren’t we just told that we were hunting Rebels? Why did they try to conceal the real purpose of this mission from us? Is it to give us a false feeling of safety? Is it so that we ask as few questions as possible? Or is it to make us forget what we’re actually doing, to turn us into mindless machines? Why?

I don’t know why. But what I do know, is that this is intolerable. One cannot just conceal a war from the people that are suffering the consequences! If there is a war, you can’t hide it. People have the right to know what’s going on. So that they either can support or resist it. There’s a difference between people that live to ignore the war, and people that live in ignorance of the war. But neither of them can have an opinion, neither of them gets listened to, neither of them gets a chance to stand up and change things. And both of them should be awakened.

It’s hideous to hide things from people, without hiding the consequences for them. If people don’t know what’s happening, they have no chance of fighting back. Hiding these things, silencing them, is a crime. It is just like that bounty hunter, who’s example the Empire is apparently obediently following. He commits an atrocious crime, and walks away, blaming it on someone else, so that people are powerless to fight back. It’s like blaming the supernatural for something you did, so other people can’t do a thing about it. It’s hiding what you did behind an unbreakable façade. And that hiding, is a crime. And it has to be stopped.

There’s only one way to break this wall of ignorance down. People have to know what’s really happening. Somebody has to tell it to them. No, not somebody, someone far away. Everybody. I have to tell the world what’s happening. Maybe that’s my purpose in life. It’s a nice feeling to know that…

Of the whole world, I already informed one, myself. Next up, someone that has to know what he is doing himself… Boba Fett.

___________________

LDD file is available right here.

As you might have noticed, the story is a collaboration with goatman461. The link in the middle leads to his entry, as the story could be inserted there. Be sure to check his fantastic entry out as well! And thanks a lot for the inspiration, goatman!

With 1411 bricks, this is a rather parts intensive MOC (there are more pieces in the creation, than there are words in the enormous story above, 1133 words to be exact). That's due to the different patterns, on the wall and in the floor. When I look at it in reverse, there could be less, with areas of the ground that are already covered, but with this tight deadline, I'm leaving it as it is.

Apart from the different patterns, I also tried to incorporate some extra nice features. I'm very pleased with the columns, and I tested the design in real life, so they're absolutely clean, and maybe I'll post a tutorial someday on how to make those shafts. I admit that the tree is probably a very fragile construction. I already tested this technique, but i can't assure this particular configuration will hold, so I hope you're fine with the fact that the idea is possible. The roof construction is overly complicated, but I like the way the bricks form nice patterns, so let's stick to this fragile design.

There are also some features that aren't clearly visible on the pictures, like some cracks in the ceiling and ornaments towards the roof. You can check these out in the digital model.

So I hope you like the MOC and the story, as I put a lot of work and thought into it. Let me know what you think.

PS: I hope the story made you think once again, and I would be very pleased to know what you think the 'hidden' meaning of the temple (and the way it is destroyed) is (yes, I really put a meaning in there!). Cudos to the one that gets it right!

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Long and enjoyable story, a lot of great details - everything on this entry is great.

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I like your story as usual BEAVeR! I hope I'm right in assuming it's the closed flower that has toppled. It seems to show the abandonment of the origins of the Bothans. Focusing on intel rather than farming they have chosen a different path than the one their ancestors started on.

I love your building techniques and I have no issues with the fact that some of it is unstable. Great work!

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