[O - E02] Holdout

[goatman461]

Location: Jurin II - E02

Tags: Spaceship, Land vehicle, Civil Building

The Jin Homestead

Octan is at War

The Empty Homesteads on Jurin II

Deep into the trees of Jurin II, Mabel leads Octan Pilot John Hannibal to the Jurinians' secret holdout against the brutal M.A.N.T.I.S. invasion.

The path winds between the trees, up and down through breaks in the canopy, and silently watched by alien sentries.

Finally, they arrive. The canopy opens so wide and deep that John, a spaceman, feels agoraphobic for a short moment. Small huts cling to the sides of large trunks with yards made of densely compacted leaves. The sounds of children playing nearly bring john to tears as they approach the town center.

"My God, Mabel..."

"Yes, John... I know."

Ma Jin was waiting for them in front of the town pavilion. The colonists were listening to reports from the front transmitted ahead of their arrival by Mabel. It was a grim account: The underhanded scheming from the Council of Five (1)(2); malevolent and secretive collusion with supposed peaceful corporations (1); rampant terrorist attacks (1)(2)(3); senseless murder and destruction of property (1)(2)(3)(4)(5); the recent deaths of thousands of Octan sailors (1)(2)(3). The mood was somber, fearful, resilient, and MAD.

[O - E02] Holdout - 4 by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr

John dismounted the re-purposed M.A.N.T.I.S. speeder and walked to Ma. Her belly had a very distinctive bump and his heart sunk...

"I... I'm so sorry about George..."

"Oh John, thank you... he was a good man, and he will be missed..."

"It's all my fault, Ma. I'm the Neville Chamberlain of our time. I let the wolves in and put you all in grave, grave danger."

"John, we are on the frontier of space. Everybody here knew what they were getting into, including me and George. I don't want to hear any regret from you. I want to know what we're going to do about it."

"I just don't know, Ma. Everything has turned upside down so quickly. Only a few weeks ago I was picking out the fields for my homestead. Before that I had already flown through more space than I knew was possible. I'm tired, Ma, and I don't know how much fight I have left in me."

"Is your family safe?"

"Yes, thankfully, the fighting broke out before they shipped over. But, I'm afraid I'll never see them now."

"I'm sorry John."

"John... this baby needs a father."

"What does that mean, Ma?"

"Stay here with us, be my husband and this baby's father, don't go back to that war."

"Is that what George would do?"

"I know George, Ma. He wouldn't rest until the skies were clear above this child's head. And neither will you or I."

"There's a ship I'll have pulled up. It's no use to us here because it's too fast for our routes. Take it. And come back to us when that horrible menace is gone."

"You're a good woman, Ma."

As night falls and he finishes the last of his meetings with the Jurinian colonists, John embraces Ma for one last time before turning to the starfighter. The route back seems longer than before, but soon enough John opens up the engines and back into the sky.

O.S.F. Green Scrambler by Ryan McBryde, on Flickr

C&C appreciated

[Big Sal]

Very atmospheric build and story! I especially like the shots with all the colonists milling about.

[Zaael]

Very inspiring and beautiful build! The whole feel of it is nice!

[EpsilonEta]

The tree camp is beautiful and the whole build/story have a great feel to it. But my favorite is still the spaceship in the end.

[LucasLaughing]

I'm loving that tree - it's a very cool blend of organic and metal. I think you also did a really nice job on the backgrounds - they do a great job conveying a darker mood, without distracting or taking anything away from the build.

Speaking of distracting, I do have to question Ma's choice of attire in a hazardous environment ...

[Andromedas Gates]

The judges awarded you 6 points