pombe Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 Location: H07 - Quantus III Tags: Exploration, Land Vehicle, Spaceship Dramatis Personae: Octan Pombe Courageous, wise, and a gentleman extraordinaire, Pombe leads his intrepid team of explorers on adventurous adventures, in the name of profit for the Octan corporation and its shareholders. His list of achievements is long, from mentoring the now super undercover Octan explorer, Isabel Novak, to destroying all the cacti on New California, to rescuing Octan employees captured by aliens in Sinden's Run and recovering their pants from the dastardly "jeans stealers". He credits his success to his following in the footsteps of his explorer idols, Lu Caslaug-Hing and Wick Nole, even though Wick Nole is really an engineer. Despite Pombe's accomplishments, he still somehow gets reported to HR consistently by Dr. Danielle Long, whose ship, the O.C.S. Axle, Pombe and his team have taken residence aboard. His sister, Pombie, is a special forces agent for the rival M.A.N.T.I.S. corporation. Eshey Reeshia Kolai Pragmatic and logical, Eshey is Pombe's second apprentice, after Isabel Novak. Prior to joining Octan, she was a popular deejay and an absolute beast on the turntables. She applied to Octan, because she wanted a more stable income. She was taken on by Pombe as a temporary hire, despite not having any previous corporate industry experience, because she showed up at the job interview in Octan regulation approved attire. She initially showed promise as an explorer, but has since been disappointing to Pombe, having demonstrated paranoid and hostile behavior to all alien lifeforms, being labeled as "hard" during collaborative exploration missions with Ava Gato, a Kawashita inter-corporate relations officer, which Pombe interpreted as "being difficult", and just not understanding the situations as well as Eshey's new colleague, Normal Guy, who gives her the heebie jeebies. Despite these failings, Eshey has proven to be a remarkable sharpshooter. She has since become a permanent hire, as part of Octan's response to the alien fleet threat from Andromeda's core. She also has a huge crush on Octan engineer, Big Z. Ethel Alkylhal Originally from Mitgard, where she grew up on a farm and developed animal husbandry skills, she failed to find employment as an adventurer there and ended up wandering the spaceways looking for a job. She initially was turned down for the temporary hire position as Pombe's apprentice, which was given to Eshey, because Ethel showed up to the interview in her traditional Mitgardian attire and not something Octan regulation approved. Due to the alien fleet crisis, Pombe reached back out to her and offered her a permanent position on his exploration team. Her preferred armaments are her trusty battle axe and shield. Ethel tends to distrust technology and is extremely vulgar. She also loves to eat sausages. Hombre Sue Damoness Sue was an ace pilot with Galaxy Squad's red team, having tallied numerous combat kills against the invading buggoid aliens. She was discharged honorably after deciding to leave Galaxy Squad after a certain incident. Immediately, she was courted by potential employers who wanted her skills as a pilot, but she decided to take up Pombe's offer, due to her intuition regarding Pombe's personal agenda: she didn't think he had one. Astute, but laid back, she often just goes with the flow in daily situations, but her habits learned from the military crop up from time to time with regards to adherence to protocols. She does take piloting seriously and enjoys the freedom that Pombe gives her regarding piloting decisions for the team. Normal Guy The newest member of the Pombe's exploration team, Normal Guy just sort of showed up one day and started following the crew around the Axle. Pombe, with his keen sense of observation, noticed this, and realized that he needed to help find Normal Guy a girlfriend, so Pombe brought him onto the team. Since then, Normal Guy has been an indispensible member of the team, completely understanding the nature of the exploration situations and assisting Pombe better than anyone else. While the other team members seem unnerved by Normal Guy's presence, Pombe's high praise of Normal Guy have led them to keep their thoughts to themselves. Kawashita Ava Gato A Kawashita inter-corporate relations officer who shared Kawashita technology with Octan alongside Kawashita engineer Alexander Vandangant. Ava also stayed aboard the Axle and worked with Eshey on exploration assignments for a while when Pombe was busy debriefing a Kawashita marketing and sales team on Jurin II. Competent and honorable, Ava assisted and followed Eshey's instructions, highly praising Eshey to Pombe upon his return. She has since returned to Kawashita to continue her other assignments. M.A.N.T.I.S. Isabel Novak/Sammy Nelly Typhi Deceased. Sammy Nelly Typhi was a M.A.N.T.I.S. special operations agent who infiltrated Octan as apprentice explorer, Isabel Novak, to get close to the famous explorer Wick Nole, even though he's an engineer, to learn Octan corporate secrets. Instead, she was assigned to Pombe, where she languished for two years under his mentorship. Finally having had enough, she used a special Octan exploration assignment to fake the death of her alter ego and to head back to M.A.N.T.I.S. space to report of her failure. Unfortunately for her, her spaceship had a malfunction due to the engines being only attached by a single stud, and she was forced to crash land on the planet of Xerillian. Pombe found the remains of her wrecked spaceship and sent a report back regarding Isabel's status. Octan special forces agent, Jebediah O'Reilly, and his team were dispatched to take care of Sammy once and for all, ensuring Octan secrets would not make it back to M.A.N.T.I.S.. Pombie A natural leader with an eye for talent, Commander Pombie is the head of an elite crack special operations team for the M.A.N.T.I.S. corporation. She has gained a reputation for taking employees that would otherwise be considered misfits and outcasts, identifying their talents, and molding them into terrifyingly efficient operatives. Her leadership style is brutal and cold, but nevertheless, her team are completely loyal to her because she took the time to identify and acknowledge each of their individual aptitudes after they were dismissed by others. Her brother, Pombe, is an explorer for the rival Octan corporation. Cassandra A powerful psychic with the ability to take over and control the bodily actions of multiple minifigures at once. She acquired this ability as a test subject during one of Big Sal's "employee weaponization" projects for M.A.N.T.I.S., but was rejected and discarded because she did not develop the ability to shoot lasers out of her eyes, or mouth, or hands...or from anywhere really. Unwanted and suffering from depression, she dwelled in the basements of M.A.N.T.I.S. corporate buildings, subsisting on vending machine food, sleeping in conference rooms, and showering in gym locker rooms, until Pombie discovered her by chance and recognized her talent and brought Cassandra onto her team. Since then, Cassandra has been utterly and completely loyal to Pombie, referring to Pombie as "mistress" and obeying her commands without question. Neko-chan A girl who is half minifigure and half cat alien. She grew up with her mother, and never knew who her father was. Because of her beauty and lithe gracefulness, she was hired by Kawashita to be a spokesmodel for their products. She proved to be hugely popular with Kawashita's customer demographic, driving up Kawashita profits astronomically through her marketing efforts. Despite the success and fortune she earned as a spokesmodel, deep down, Neko-chan felt exploited by the Kawashita corporation, who she felt only wanted to use her for her looks. Really, all she wanted to do was to hit others with her huge and impossibly heavy hammer, which is she able to produce out of seemingly nowhere. One day, she ran away from home, and fled to the Andromeda Galaxy, where she felt no one could find her and she could hit anyone she wanted with her hammer. Unfortunately, she quickly used up her fortune dining on fish expensively exported to Andromeda and became destitute. Neko-chan was discovered in the slums of Torresta by Pombie, who recognized her talents, and offered her employment where she could hit people with her hammer. Neko-chan happily accepted and has been loyal to Pombie ever since. Simon...I mean, Mephistopheles, lord of the 1337 H4XX0Rs A geeky and awkward teenager who was recognized as a prodigy in computer programming early on. Unfortunately, his abrasive personality, combined with his social awkwardness, led him to being kicked out of one team to the next. Pombie took him onto her team realizing that she needed his talent, but was initially unsure of how her team would handle him. Being a hormone driven teenage boy, he, of course, was caught trying to peep on the attractive girls of the team, Cassandra and Neko-chan. However, instead of having to issue some sort of disciplinary action, Pombie realized that the ladies could handle themselves. Cassandra simply made him punch himself in the genitals repeatedly until he passed out and Neko-chan destroyed the harddrives with his porn collection with her hammer. Since then, he's behaved himself and so long as he's referred to by his proper name, he'll follow Pombie's commands. Oddly enough, he has shown no interest in either Commander Pombie nor the other woman on the team, Scooter. Scooter Scooter is the team's pilot, though she wasn't originally trained as a pilot. She started out as a low level M.A.N.T.I.S. administrator, dealing with employee training documents. Quiet and awkward, she mostly just kept to herself and did her job. An avid videogamer, anime and manga junkie, and dedicated cosplayer, she was just working to support her hobbies. She was reassigned to Andromeda and during her trip out, she was incidentally placed on the same shuttle as Pombie. During the journey, the pilot of the shuttle had a sudden heart attack and died. Because of her experience playing space simulators, Scooter recognized the controls of the shuttle and took over and safely navigated the shuttle through a freak asteroid storm. Pombie, amazed at what she saw, commented that Scooter piloted the shuttle "like a leaf on the wind" and promptly offered her a position on her team as a pilot. She has served proudly as the pilot of the team ever since. Merchant Confederacy Bruce Vayne A Merchant Confederate starfighter pilot whose personal fighter is the T.U.M.B.L.E.R., short for Takeoff Ultra Missile Ballistic Laser Emergency Roustabout, which Eshey mistakes for a missile tank. He operates out of the Betsy May, a light carrier class capital ship, and was out on patrol looking for Zoid slaver activity when he crashed into an asteroid in the Fascini Cluster. Fortunately for him, Eshey and Pombe managed to rescue him and his T.U.M.B.L.E.R. from alien space ducks armed with knives that are indigenous to the asteroid. Recently, he has been collaborating with Octan by submitting starfighter designs and test piloting the prototypes. His alter-ego is Tabman, since he always buys the drinks. Ishmael Haverly A Merchant Confederate starfighter pilot and leader of Cobra squadron aboard the Betsy May. Though she adheres strictly to combat protocols and utterly respects the chain of command, she prefers to be called by her first name whenever addressed personally. She was the one who spotted a space whale during a routine CAP and reported it to Pombe and Eshey. Recently, she has been collaborating with Octan by submitting starfighter designs and test piloting the prototypes. Previously: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=117535 Currently, somewhere over Yetornius.... Thanks again for the rescue! I have no idea why my starfighter wasn't responding to my controls. It seems Tabman here has terrible luck with starfighters, sir. He keeps getting lemons that have control failures. They're not starfighters! They're tanks! And why do you keep letting him drive them out of the hangar?!?! In any case, it worked out and we have flight data to pass to our engineers. On behalf of Octan, we'd like to thank you both for submitting the designs and for test piloting the prototypes. Unfortunately, Eshey and I have to take our leave of the Merchant Confederacy. A situation has come up and we are needed elsewhere. A situation? Yes. A mechanized Christmas tree developed by our combat division has gone rogue and disappeared. A what has gone rogue? A mechanized Christmas tree. We believe it stowed away on a transport ship and escaped to Quantus III, where we suspect it will try to hide in the forests there. Why do we make such things?!?! That sounds serious, sir. Indeed. Our assignment is to locate it and terminate it. We can't have rogue Christmas trees running loose. It would be bad for business. Before you leave, let me buy you a round of drinks. This is the bridge. We have a contact that has just dropped out of a gate. It's transponder identifies it as the Octan vessel O.C.S. Shaft. It has been granted permission to pull alongside us for a ship to ship transfer. That would be our ride. Thanks for the offer, Mr. Vayne. Perhaps another time. Any time. And good luck! Sir, this is the Shaft. We are ready to receive you and Eshey. We're on our way, Sue. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Later.... Sir, we have arrived in system and are on approach to Quantus III. Excellent. Have we located the tracking beacon of the Christmas tree? Tracking beacon? We hide tracking beacons in all Octan products in order to data mine for location information regarding where our customers use our products. It turns out that these beacons are also useful when one of our products go rogue and need to be hunted down. We track our customers?! Isn't that illegal?! Are you a lawyer, Eshey? Let our legal division handle these matters. Sir, we've located the beacon. Good. Let's prepare for atmospheric entry so we can make visual contact. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On Quantus III.... There! Sir, we've made visual contact with the Christmas tree! It appears to have seen us and is trying to get away! Note: the blue sky background is recycled from this build: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=110926 and therefore should not be judged. Alright. Take us over it. There's no way it can avoid the Shaft. Eshey, go prep for the drop. Wait. I'm dropping to terminate the Christmas tree?! Don't worry. You'll get to use this mech. How do you feel, Eshey? I feel hard. Excellent. Hold on a second! This mech has no weapons?!?! I wouldn't send you to take on a military grade Christmas tree unarmed. You'll be using this triple chainsaw halberd to take it down. Do you approve, Eshey? Yes. Yes, I do. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CHRISTMAS TREE. TIME TO DIE. YOUR DAYS OF RUNNING ARE OVER. I AM YOUR DEATH. I AM YOUR END. Uuuuuuuuu! Uuuuu! Uuuu uuuu uuu uuuuuuuuu uuuu! Uuuuuuuuu uuuuuu uuu! Uuu uuuu uuuuuuuuuu uuu uuuuu uuuu! Uuuuuu! U uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uu uuuuuuuu! Uuuu uuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuu! ESHEY, STOP!!! You guys say that you're Christmas present aliens who didn't have a Christmas tree to be under until Christmas, and this tree saw your plight on social media, felt sorry for you guys, and came all the way out here so you could have a Christmas tree to be under? So you're asking us to not terminate the Christmas tree? WHHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!? 11001001001001 00100000001110101 001001111101100101010010 101010011010010000101010010101010100101 1101001010100010101011010100101011111010001010001. You couldn't help yourself after you read their story? And you promise to come back to Octan after the present aliens are opened on Christmas day? Well, you certainly are full of the Christmas spirit! Eshey, stand down. We'll let the Christmas tree complete this task with the understanding that it will return to us afterwards. Uuuuuuuuuu! Uuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuu uuuuuu uuuu! Uuuu uuuuuuuuuuuu uu uuuuu u! You're telling me that you contain a firetruck for little Timmy? How excellent! I'm sure Timmy will be so thrilled to get a firetruck for Christmas! Wait!!! A little kid is going to tear you apart on Christmas day and take your innards?!?! Won't you die?!?! Aren't you scared?!?! Additional pics under the spoiler tag, and comments and criticisms are all welcome! Quote
StarHawk3 Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 Nice builds. I especially like the Octan mech. Little disappointed that there wasn't a christmas tree death match though. Quote
SpacerSteve Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 Oh holy night! This build is excellent! The Mech looks brutal. So much Christmas cheer! Quote
EpsilonEta Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 It started rather normal (for a Pombe build) but then the present aliens made it crazy as usual. And how do you have time to make everything? Sure it was a double week but still, two mechs and a micro spaceship plus the insane story. Good job! Quote
Isundir Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 I've been catching up on your builds and stories as they are both excellent and hilarious, already looking forward to the next one. Quote
Kodan Black Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 The two mechs are insanely awesome. So creative and clever ... and the story is strong as ever. I hope the Merchant Confederacy thread keeps going at some point. I like that your mildly insane builds allow others like myself to come along and piggy back onto them. Quote
pombe Posted December 7, 2015 Author Posted December 7, 2015 I've been catching up on your builds and stories as they are both excellent and hilarious, already looking forward to the next one. DON'T DO IT!!! IT WILL DESTROY YOUR MIND!!! THERE ARE THINGS YOU CANNOT UNSEE!!! Quote
mrcp6d Posted December 8, 2015 Posted December 8, 2015 The Christmas tree is epic and that mech is super Of course I was laughing the whole way through as per the usual! Quote
Orange Leader Posted December 8, 2015 Posted December 8, 2015 Insanity yet reoccurs! Great builds, Pombe! Quote
rodiziorobs Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Congrats on getting front-paged! Both mechs are knock-outs, and of course the story is entertaining as always Quote
Staslegomaster Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Your unusual and brave walking Christmas tree reminds me of a classic spine chilling terror film (1962) "The Day of tthe Triffids". Were you inspired by it? I like your story and the way you presented it/ I write stories for my LEGO creations, too. So I feel a good author now. Keep on building & writing. Quote
pombe Posted December 9, 2015 Author Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) Congrats on getting front-paged! Oh, is that what happened? I was wondering why there were more views this week. I always just jump to the forum. Your unusual and brave walking Christmas tree reminds me of a classic spine chilling terror film (1962) "The Day of tthe Triffids". Were you inspired by it? I like your story and the way you presented it/ I write stories for my LEGO creations, too. So I feel a good author now. Keep on building & writing. No, I've never actually heard of it. It was a spur of the moment idea, actually. Originally, the idea was that Octan marketing failed to predict demand for natural Christmas trees, so Pombe had to find a way to increase supply. He and the crew were going to trick Eshey into cutting down an entire forest by gluing googly eyes on all the trees to convince her that they were hostile alien creatures. But as I was building the first tree, I thought, "what if I put arms and legs on this thing?" And then things spiraled out of control from there. I can't take credit for my presentation style. A lot of the way I tell my stories here in AG came from reading how the other players wrote their weekly builds. You can go to the players index and see how my presentation has evolved over the course of the game. The other players here are my greatest inspiration. Edited December 9, 2015 by pombe Quote
Isundir Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 I can't take credit for my presentation style. A lot of the way I tell my stories here in AG came from reading how the other players wrote their weekly builds. You can go to the players index and see how my presentation has evolved over the course of the game. The other players here are my greatest inspiration. A good, I did notice a few other users did it, but I did think it originated from you (or maybe Big Sal) now I don't have to feel so bad when I hijack the format knowing that everybody just copied it from everybody... or something like that... Quote
Andromedas Gates Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 The judges awarded you 6 points. Quote
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