Ross Fisher

*Your entry has earned 8 XP (x2 for limited challenge)* Nanth'ri! Now there's a terrible place to end up. The system sits at the junction of the Nanth'ri Route and the Trax Tube. And considering it is less than a parsec away from Daalang, we couldn't just leave it in the hands of pirates now could we? I started my work there by building on the information ascertained from the criminal Jol Dixun by Commander Storr's investigation. Dixun had been associated with the Mordageen mercenaries used by the pirates to guard their holdings around their base in Mott City on Nanth'ri Prime. Their leader was one Ramara Till. She was a greasy old character, but just the type I could do business with. I explained to her that the Triumvirate assault on Mott City was a matter of inevitability, and that the pirates would be all but annihilated. But I also suggested that any parties who helped us win the battle would be spared, and might even be allowed to stay planetside; benefiting from the renewed civilisation that we would bring. Well, she saw sense in that, but wasn't about to make a deal without guarantees. I left her with my personal collection of antique firearms to act as deposit for the duration of the invasion (not, I'm afraid to say, the first or last time that I have pawned them). In return she gave her best slave as hostage; a Twilek called Lu'vel. I had no conceit that this would prevent her from betraying us if they saw a better opportunity, but I was confident that it would be enough to convince them that we meant business. Her people were guarding the Mott City spaceport. They agreed to disable all docked ships at the critical hour, and prevent the pirates from accessing the port. This would help us nullify any aerial power they might have, and give our bombers free reign to attack Mott City.

@Bodi @Basiliscus Thanks! I nearly went with the sausage instead, but the crowbar just works. Yeah, I'm going to get some good use out of that piece. The pelisse works perfectly here, I just wish it was a bit more visible.

Doesn't it just mean "between the lakes"?

Din't think I forgot about you, did yeh? Bogdan's story ain't over yet. So if you'll just hand me another pint... obliged, I'll begin. Well, it musta been about 572 by our reckoning when the Prince led 'is forces deep into the Kalkrein - tha's the Gran Duchy of Kalkrein to you lot. Now the Grand Duke was a crafty old fella called Cosmovoyda. Ee weren't the type ta make the same mistakes as Boris of Brascov. When ee first figgered out what were goin on, ee called up 'is men, demanded troops from the Tsar, and brought in sell-swords from Varcoast and Pontilia. 'Ell, even some of your folk were part of 'is forces. Well Bogdan, faced with overwhelming odds against 'im, went to ground in the forests of the Kalkrein. Ran what we'd now call a guerrilla campaign. For months ee fought only small skirmishes. Hit 'n' run. Got the baggage train, rather than the men it was following. An eventually, it started teh pay off for 'im. The Coscovy troops were recalled coz the Tsar din't think it were a real war. The sell-swords slunk off when the money ran out and they realised there mightn't be any loot. And the irregular troops all 'ad to be sent home for 'arvest, on account of the fact that Prince Bogdan 'ad been burning whatever 'is men couldn't eat. Now, with the numbers more to 'is liking, ee launched a daring raid at the 'eart of the Kalkreinian army. In the middle of the forest, Bogdan caught the Grand Duke unprepared, and held 'im hostage. Well, by all accounts, the two got on like a house on fire. Gran' Duke Cosmovoyda were impressed at Bogdan's clever strategy, and Bogdan, well, ee were just impressed that the old fella din't hold a grudge. After a rowdy night of vodka and carousing, the Grand Duke emerged from 'is tent with one hell of a hangover. Ee announced that Bogdan would be betrothed to 'is daughter, the famously beautiful Countess Tatiana. Ee said that the Kalkrein were now allies with Bogdan's people, and would fight together against any enemy til the day ee died.

I guess the reason I didn't put her on a throne was because I wrote her as a mercenary boss, rather than a pirate queen. But I guess the rest of the scene is pointing in that direction. Yep, I wanted a female counterpart to this guy:

@Gubi0222 Really nice way of continuing the story.

You do churn these out! And at such high quality too. I've got to get me to Scarif. It's an old Imperial's dream retirement home.

I've got no problem with that.

@MKJoshA I can't stop looking at the patterns! Really well done. Possibly too good...

@Darth Bjorn As always, this is exceptional. You're really captured the environment well. The last shot is a bit dark though.

@marvelBoy123 The little barrel on the floor looks like a really interesting gizmo. Can you show us how it's built?

@DarthsDonuts54 it would be nice to have a bit more visibility of the inside of the room. Consider using cutaways or open-sided structures to show off your building more.

@Darth Bjorn I understand where you're coming from. I was on the fence about that myself.

@dvogon it's really nicely built. I can tell you've done your homework. Not sure whether I agree with @Darth Bjorn or not. I understand where he's coming from, but it's such a small use of the cannon character, and the interaction feels right for his character. We're going to be taking liberties with Moff (Captain) Panaka in our storyline, so we can't really complain too much.

@Reaper It's a really nice build. How are you lighting it? It seems like there's a single overhead flourescent bulb. Is that right? Maybe try having a secondary light to one side just to fill in some of the shading. Maybe even just a light bounce.

@JOKADon't forget to put the word "Stormtroopers" in the title. I love the idea of the blood red river. I've never seen that before in Lego. It would be good to have an image with the whole build in if possible.

@Reaper welcome to the Triumvirate!

@Reaper Thanks! I've stopped applying stickers to my bricks in most cases. It makes them easier to re-use. However, in this case, the mirror sticker was really useful.

As of May 2020, Fnab has reached 61xp. After passing 50xp, his second skill will be Explorer.

Wow, that's a lot of rules for you to keep an eye on! Rest assured, the Oceans 11 will be there again this year, this time with a change of kit.

Cool! Nice trees.

Weren't they also used as padding in engagement? Not just comfort, but potentially saving lives.

Quick work! Thanks @goatman461

*Your entry has earned 3 XP* If the fact-finding mission to Mimban was a misery and Ruusan was a frustration, the subsequent envoy to Kamino was much more to my liking. Officially, my job on that water-world was to wrap up the clone project that had begun nearly 30 years previously. Unofficially, I was looking forward to relaxing in civilised company, and doing some honest business. The Kaminoans were sympathetic to my mission, but reluctant to put the wheels in motion for me. Sure, they wanted to draw a line under that bit of history, but they weren't convinced that the Triumvirate were the appropriate people to do it with. Suggestions were raised that the New Republic were the natural successors to the Old Republic. But I pointed out that the New Republic itself claimed a big difference there, whereas the distinction between the Old Republic and the Empire was purely branding. The Triumvirate were simply the most business-minded remnant of that Empire left. In the end, I was able to win them over by offering exclusivity on any future cloning operations carried out for the Triumvirate. Frankly, I didn't see us using that option much in the future, and it wasn't really something the Kaminoans could contest in the breach. Likely it was just something that they wanted to have if they needed to justify the decision internally. And for my efforts, I got to be the one who handed over 30 years of documents, DNA records, and all sorts of secrets. Better they stay with us than end up in someone else's hands.

Thanks! The circular end section was really yellowed, so a lot of the photography is tweaked to conceal that. Thanks!