goatman461 Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 Location: The Fascini Cluster - E11 Tags: Spaceship, Land Vehicle, Military, Building A quick jump to the surface of Freegate led Octan's acting CEO, John Hannibal, on a much larger and more significant mission to welcome the Merchant Confederacy into Octan's family. Much of Hannibal's recent work would be much easier, as his pool of colonists exponentially rises. New colonists in greater numbers would mean trading networks could take the place of the Mercy Brandy's irregular supply drops. But with more colonists, other threats would present themselves. Zoid slavers, for example, would soon find these soft targets. It was this problem that Hannibal and Callahan were looking to solve in the Fascini Cluster. Most of Octan's pilots were experienced in taking long hauls across desolate space and making smooth landings in alien atmospheres; there had been little need for combat roles as Octan's dominance had always come from procuring more strategic market shares instead of stockpiling bullets. But there were several select pilots that Hannibal knew could lead combat detachments to protect the civilian convoys. After catching a ride on Long's Axle, Hannibal intercepts and takes on a delivery of tech heading out to the very outpost they seek. Their ride is a light space hauler used for navigating between asteroids. While not fit for the greater depths of space, this small rig is incredibly light and therefore maneuverable in the vacuum of space. They will not be able to go far, but their pilot's outpost is just outside of the regular rock formations of the asteroid field. [E11] Asteroid Short-Range Hauler - 1 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr The outpost was chosen because of it's vicinity to the Fasicini Cluster. A solitary rock, the pilots would not have to compete with other asteroids immediately on takeoff. They could therefore set quicker and more accurate attack vectors, should the main station or outlying miners come under attack. Callahan chuckled a little as Hannibal told them where they were going, but he wouldn't say just yet what was funny. [E11] Asteroid Outpost - 1 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr Finding the outpost empty, the two unload their cargo and inspect the Octan hardsuit they came to resupply. Their cargo was a number of new attachments that would allow their pilot to make more extensive repairs on-site. This current model was good for repairing scrapes in the hulls of both ship and habitat, but it would need finer implements to keep their ships active longer. [E11] Asteroid Outpost by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr Callahan was especially eager to see the inside of the outpost, so the two headed inside to wait for and discuss their pilot. Reveal hidden contents The pilot, Ziggy, flies an O.S.F. 1983 Vandura, the Pentacle. It is a tight and highly maneuverable fighter ideal for the Fascini Cluster but vulnerable in open space due to it's speed. While quick to accelerate, the low overall speed of this craft make it easy prey outside of the asteroid belt. The extremely advanced Octan stealth technology, developed by Executive Pombe, can provide a great deal of protection from this, as long as the pilot can avoid drawing unwanted attention to himself. [E11] Octan Stealth Fighter - 1 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr Before Ziggy even returns, the two have already agreed that he would make an ideal pilot to lead the security network on Crofter's Ridge, the first destination for the new colonists. However, Callahan insists: "But, you have to provide better accommodations for your pilots. First, I want them living with the colonists whenever possible. And second, don't make them live in a hollowed out piece of space-whale dung, like you're doing with poor Ziggy. John, there's a reason why this 'rock' is outside the main cluster... it's not a rock..." C&C appreciated. Quote
mediumsnowman Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 Awesome build! The stealth fighter turned out great. Funny revelation at the end too... Quote
pombe Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 The pics of the Pentacle aren't showing up or at least I'm not seeing them. Perhaps you dressed it up as a ninja? It's right there! It's a black starfighter! An invisible spaceship that's not a ninja? Eshey, that's about as silly as animals growing on trees. Quote
Dannylonglegs Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 Wow! These builds are great! The "asteroid" base is super well integrated, and the platform ship is quite nice! The stealth ship is really well shaped and everything is clean as a whistle! great work! On 10/9/2015 at 6:58 PM, pombe said: Yup that about sums it up. ~Insectoid Aristocrat Quote
SpacerSteve Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 That stealth fighter is great as is the rest of the build. Funny that Pombe developed something useful for the corporation. Quote
Kodan Black Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 I like how well the Octan colors work with the habitat, especially the landing platform. The walkway and the area with the "ladder gates" is very nice as it shows a lot of thought went into how things would be in space. Can't wait to see what the space ninja fighter gets up to! Quote
mrcp6d Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 Sweet stuff here goatman! I love the outpost's design, even if it's in a giant space turd , and the stealth ship is pretty cool too I do think the vertical fin would have been better with a sleeker angle on the leading edge though. Another solid Octan build for the home team. Quote
Jody Meyer Posted October 10, 2015 Posted October 10, 2015 Great build, the stealth fighter turned out great, another solid build. Quote
LucasLaughing Posted October 12, 2015 Posted October 12, 2015 Sweet ship - you always manage to get a lot of interesting angles worked into your designs. I like the microscale outpost too. I'm thinking your asteroid building process was probably similar to mine: Step 1 - disassemble SoNE build, which contains all of the brown pieces Step 2 - rebuild into asteroid, once again using all of the brown pieces Quote
Andromedas Gates Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 The judges awarded you 5 points. Quote
LittleJohn Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 Excellent work! The outpost is superb and I really like the use of that planet Quote
goatman461 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 thanks all @pombe - lol. that's awesome. @mrcp6d - based on the side view, i think you're right, although I do like the way it looks from the front, a better angle on the fin probably would've given best of both @lucas - nailed it, except the outpost isn't micro Quote
KlodsBrik Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Awesome outpost. The brown rockwork looks rally great on the layout ! Quote
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