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Showing results for tags 'MANTIS'.
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Location: C03 Torresta Tags: Chief Accountant Long! We weren't expecting you! Sorry about the annual finance report - we're almost- I'm not here about that. I'm here for the prisoner. What's the situation? Uh... well she works as a mechanic here at the station. We caught her hacking into the police database early yesterday morning. There's no way she should have had the access codes that she did, it's impossible. Since we arrested her, whenever anyone tries to talk to her she just says something about cobwebs then asks for Big Sal. That's why we requested he come here... Sal is... indisposed currently. I've come instead. Take me to see the prisoner. Uh, yes ma'am! Here she is. Thank you captain. Leave us. Um... OK... Do you know who I am? Did the Council ever find all the cobwebs? What? Then like I told the rest of these idiots, I'll only talk to Big Sal. Sal is on the verge of death with Marphacian Swamp Fever. He can't talk to anyone, let alone you. So tell me how you got those access codes. Hahaha, it doesn't matter! Sal doesn't matter! The webs are everywhere! You'll see soon enough! What? I suggest you tell me what you know voluntarily. The other options will be... unpleasant for you. Hahaha, I'll be dead soon anyway. They can get to me in here or wherever you take me. We are everywhere! Who? Who is everywhere? Hahahaha! This is a waste of time. Did she say anything? Nothing that made any sense. I need to talk to Sal. I thought you said- Get that finance report to me by the morning. Thanks for reading! This is a remake of my favourite childhood town set, 6398 Central Precinct HQ. Sorry about the slightly crappy photos - I didn't really have time for this! More in the spoiler.
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Location:G02 Freegate Tags: Military, Spying, Land vehicle With reports of Octan Piracy against MANTIS mining operations Freegate, MANTIS leadership deploys an elite special operations force to track the thief and find his base of operations. - - - The MANTIS spec. ops. team deploys a beetle scout drone. - the drone attaches itself to the target vehicle and the begins to transmit its location. - Once deployed, it is unlikely to be discovered. More pictures of the Octan heavy armored transport under the spoilers
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Location: E01 - Donwarr. Tags: Civil, Building. Previous chapters can be read on my website here. Chapter 10: Rest. Sleep was unwelcome… It brought the dreams. A white space… full of nothing, except a desk… a very ordinary desk… and a man, sat in a chair behind it… Writing something on a piece of paper. That’s strange. She thought. Who uses paper anymore? The paper was covered in a thousand letters. It looked like the letter ‘Y’ over and over and over again. She notices that the man is no longer there, or the desk, or the paper. She is lying down… the air is cool. She hears a rustling sound, a pitter-patter. It’s raining. I’m getting wet. The smell of rain on stone, her breath short, she is tired. A creature kneels over her, tall, ethereal. It leans towards her. “You must find Upsilon” it whispers, its lips unmoving. “You must not lie down”. Why can I hear you. “You must find Upsilon” it repeated without using words. “You must not…” “Lie down”. The voice said as Yseult tried to sit up. She felt groggy, disoriented. It was too bright. "You need rest", the voice repeated. The ache in her arms was starting to agree. She laid back down in put a hand to her eyes to shield the light and give them time to adjust. She tried to look around, noticing the ornate black bed with clinical white sheets she was lying in. "Je suis où?" she murmured in a tired gravelly voice. She tried to look to where the other voice had come from. “You’re in a MANTIS recovery centre”. It said softly. “Do you remember us finding you?” Yseult tried to think back but slowly shook her head. Finally used to the brightness, she recognised Riddaeon sitting beside the bed. He wore a wry smile. “When you ask your suit for a morphine injection, you’re supposed to say a number… Not ‘all of it’… I’m surprised you were still conscious, let alone in the mood for an argument”. Yseult furrowed her brow; her head hurt. “Argument?” She replied. Riddaeon reclined in his seat. “You… insisted...” He answered. “... That we leave him there. And with his sword and rations too”. He let a silence hang to see if Yseult would volunteer an explanation. None came and Riddaeon’s wry smile had become frustrated frown. “You’re as stubborn as you are persuasive. I shouldn’t have sent a recovery team full of juniors to get you.” Riddaeon calmed himself. He wasn’t here to get angry with her. The mission had been a success after all. Yseult had followed her instincts rather than her orders and they had figured out how Octan was lifting the Mythril. It doesn't matter anyway; Octancorp had just taken Freegate and the larger Mythril operations will be their first target. MANTIS will sabotage the liquid Mythril labs before they leave and it will all have been for nothing… Welcome to Quarrel he thought to himself. He gestured to a cup and a small box on the bedside table. “I got you coffee”. He said. “They grow the real deal here. Not like that swamp liquor on Marphacia”. He thought back to their first meeting on the terrace in the morning mists. “And some bread and jam… They tell me you like to dip it in the coffee”. He couldn’t help making a face at the idea as he said it. Intentional or not, it conjured a small smile on Yseult’s otherwise tired face. “Merci”. She managed at just above a whisper. For the next half hour, Riddaeon talked to her about whatever he could think of; Ellie was fixing Darksight… She was glad that Yseult was okay. There was some big sports event going on… MANTIS’s strongest entry had finished last in some race and half of the corporation was crying foul and pointing fingers. Eventually, Yseult managed to raise herself up and sit cross-legged. She took the bread and coffee: it was good, not fresh but good all the same and the hot bitter drink softened the stale crust while the jam gently sweetened the coffee. It reminded her of home; Saturday mornings and finishing off the last of yesterday’s bread, topped with apricot jam. She was too young for coffee back then but her Dad would make her tea and they would sit on the terrace in the sun and he would tell her about what stunts he was going to perform in his next display and twist and flip his hands in the air as he explained it to her and she would stare, bemused at the display of skill and danger that he would describe and want, more than anything in the whole world… to become a pilot. When the visit was over, Riddaeon exited the room into an empty corridor. He activated the comm device on his temple and a fuzzy distorted holo-image emerged in front of him. It was small and difficult to discern details but the large beard and excessive hair made who it was unmistakable. “She is ready”. Riddaeon said. “Good…” The image responded. “…How did she perform?”. “Your calculations were correct...” Riddaeon replied. “…She did not perform as expected.” The hologram gave a fuzzy and heavily pixelated grin. “Good.” It said. “Shall I progress to the next phase?” Riddaeon asked. “Yes…” the reply came. “… But first, a matter has arisen. I understand you have acquired an Octancorp vessel?” “Yes…” said Riddaeon. “…A Quadstar.” The holo-image grinned a pixelated grin once more.
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Aryna here, I've been given this ship to race in the Andromeda Olympics. The engineering department proved they aren't great with names during the boat race, so this thing was delivered without a name. Eh, no matter! I've taken to calling it the Blastcore. Supposedly the technology in that big ol' engine casing is classified, so all I know about it's propulsion. Maybe I'll plug myself into the OS later. Anyway, time to fire this thing up! (My photo skills need some work) Size Proof 12x8 I won't be able to take this apart now. I'd feel I was wasting stickers! C&C welcome!
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The Wasp is a brand new MANTIS racer created for the GARC event of the Andromedan Olympics. Although it is smaller than many of its competitors don't let its size fool you, it's low profile and extreme maneuverability allow it to fit through all but the tightest asteroid fields where larger racers struggle. In addition it's engines are more powerful than one would expect because all the energy that is typically reserved for the mandatory weapons systems in MANTIS vehicles has been diverted straight to the thrusters, drastically improving speed! C & C appreciated! Thanks for looking!
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Fred Ratulon was a terrible pilot. One of the worst anyone had ever seen. But when he applied to be part of the M.A.N.T.I.S. GARC team with the top of the line racer his extremely wealthy parents had bought for him, no one was going to turn him down. Even when they heard he'd named it FR3D... Thanks for reading! C&C welcome!
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With three of the four significant asteroid fields in Andromeda all near each other around the Octan / Kawashita border, it is to be expected that when M.A.N.T.I.S. based itself on Torresta, it found itself in the part of the Galaxy furthest away from most of Galaxy's G.A.R.C. racing culture... The teams, the drivers, the fans; with the Hamilton Belt, Fascini Cluster and Sinden's Run all near each other, racing was rife and popular... it was just popular somewhere else for M.A.N.T.I.S. There had been G.A.R.C. races over on 'this side' of the Galaxy but the dense and unpredictable nature of Barker's Folly had defeated them... Too many lost machines... Too many lost pilots. But, of course... That didn't put everyone off and while the rest of the galaxy played it safe on what had become the 'regular circuit', spending half of their time dealing with the logistical difficulties of trying to practice and race in sectors that live constantly on the verge of changing corporate hands, deep within M.A.N.T.I.S territory in the heart of Barker's Folly, when the patrols are lightest... They gather. News of a G.A.R.C. event in the Olympics had spread quickly and suddenly, M.A.N.T.I.S. engineers found themselves trying to engineer racing machines instead of spy-ships... The racers of Barker's Folly were not going to miss this opportunity; no testing ground was more difficult to hone your skills in and prove your worth... Now was their chance to show the Galaxy. They arrived at Torresta en-mass; a show of force. M.A.N.T.I.S. would respect that. With the resources of M.A.N.T.I.S. combined with the skills and knowledge of the racers of Barker's Folly... We would be ready. Race number: 0 Machine: Zero Tolerance Team: M.A.N.T.I.S. Origin: Barker's Folly Pilots: Imogen Goodheart / Heidi Von Schnelle Additional images: Front quarter. Plan: Underside: Rear: Scrutineering: Vertical core: Horizontal core: Parts (ish) Note: Since taking this photo I've made the front grille all one section by using 1x1, 1x3, 1x1 black plate to back it. It has to be removed separately but is much stronger. Thanks.
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Location: F03 (Forring) Tags: Military Building An epic sword fight had ensued in the corridors of the M.S.S. Strata. At least three prisoners had escaped: two slavers posing as Zoids, and a Kawa who Jex was hoping could help her find a missing person. The Kawa had some kind of history with the slavers and had already killed one in his attempted escape, and her prolonged battle with the other had led them away from the prison sector to the ship bay. Jex and the prison guard had raced to keep up, the guard radioing in for support as they ran. As they came around the corner to the bay--the dueling prisoners, followed by Jex with the guard--there was a sudden eruption of sirens and the sounds of clanging metal, and a voice called out, "FREEZE! Drop your weapons!" Turning and seeing the MANTIS squad already assembled, weapons primed, the duelers immediately came to a halt, and the slaver dropped his sword. The Kawa saw the opportunity and in a flash, brought her blade around at the slaver. He moved to dodge, but the blow caught him across the shoulder. Blood spattered, and he called out in pain. "DROP IT I SAID!" called the MANTIS commander, and the MANTIS soldiers rounded on the Kawa. The slaver slumped away, clutching his shoulder, but all the soldiers' eyes were on the Kawa. Sensing the soldiers' hesitation, she swirled around, grabbing Jex by the arm and sliding her blade against her throat. To Jex she intoned, "look, despite the way this looks I actually don't want to hurt you, so don't make me. No sudden moves, got it?" Jex nodded as best she could against the blade. "Listen up! I don't want any trouble and I mean MANTIS no harm, but if you charge me or get in my way from avenging myself against that slaver, I will show no mercy and your girl here gets it!" "Keep your weapons trained on her, But wait on my word!" the commander called to her troops. "I'm warning you!" AG week 62 by rodiziorobs, on Flickr "What is the value of your hostage? A mere pilot in the balance of us catching a deadly prisoner?" The standoff was momentarily interrupted by the sound of a ship taking off; the slaver, unchallenged, had escaped. "Deadly prisoner is the one you just let get away!" The Kawa spat. "This is your last chance!" The commander was about to give the order when another voice sounded over the bay. "Lower your weapons, this is general Teague!" Obediently, the soldiers backed away. The general approached the commander and in a low voice said, "Seliman, I admire your tenacity, and under normal circumstances your decision would have been correct. However, this pilot is Jessica DuBois, she is the one who survived the space/time anomaly on Jurin II. She is valuable to us, and we must tread lightly here." "You want to negotiate with a prisoner, sir?!" Commander Seliman retorted incredulously. "We are still trying to learn what happened, and she is our biggest clue. We cannot afford to lose her. And it seems..." the general nodded toward the bay, "that you already let one prisoner slip through your fingers. We'll have words on that later. Understood?" "Understood, sir," came the reply. The Kawa had not heard the discussion, but she could tell that the hostage she held was more than she seemed, if a general had come down to intervene--suddenly there was an ace in her hand. If she acted quickly, there might still be time to catch up with the slaver before he got too far. She whispered to Jex, "you said earlier that you could help release me. Maybe this isn't what you had in mind, but it's time for you to make good on that promise..."
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Location: C03 Torresta Tags: Military Building, Spaceship - - Thanks for looking. C&C is always welcomed.
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Location: Leone Cor Jr. Strategic Command Building, The Core, C03 Torresta Tags: Military Building - After his encounter with SPIDER on Forring, Hawk was called for a meeting with Maxximus Cor. While he was waiting for the de-briefing, he couldn't help but admire a statue of a MANTIS sword fighter Gnarl Graves in the plaza. At the bottom was an inscription, "an epic sword fight ensued." - - Hello - Oh, hello sir it's pleasure to finally meet you. - I'm sure it is. You must be Squak. I read your report and it certainly brings up some disturbing revelations that have the council of five worried. -Umm.... it's Hawk, and do you think it's a good idea to meet out here in the open like this. We don't know who can be trusted anymore. - - It's probably the safest place in the galaxy right now. I may not seem like it but everyone in this plaza is a trained MANTIS spec. ops. agent from my personal bodyguard. I picked them myself and have no reason to question their loyalty, but i do have some questions for you Hank. First, did you bring the data from the scientists lab. - - It's Hawk actually, and yes I did. This is all we could recover. - Very good.We will get our master Hackers to decrypt this immediately. This should help us a great deal in determining what threat SPIDER poses to MANTIS. Talking about threats, Your alien allies, the Thorne mercenaries, can they be trusted? They have been documented small scale attacks against all the corporations in andromeda including MANTIS. - I don't know if they can be trusted or not. Many of them have a deep hatred of the corporations, but their leader, Dax and I go back a long way. We served together in the Spyrius war and I trust him with my life. I believe he can be reasoned with. - So be it. You will be our new ambassador to these Mercenaries. Make sure they don't threaten our assets again Henry. - It's Haw.... Oh never mind. Yes sir. - - Very good. My next question is what do you know about my brother Leone Jr. and the MCS pride of Torresta - Only what everyone else has heard on the holo network. He went missing shortly after your fathers death. The Pride of Torresta was the greatest MANTIS star ship ever created and came under attack from space pirates in the early exploration of andromeda and no trace of it has ever been found. - What if I told you that we suspect he is behind the formation of SPIDER. I want to give you a new mission. You will answer to only Maxxine and myself until it is complete. We want you to to locate the MCS pride of Torresta and Leone Jr. You will be able to pick any crew members you want and have any resource at your disposal. Plus the pay will be ridiculous! What do you say Bill? - Wow, you weren't even close that time..... To Be continued. More pictures under the spoiler tag Thanks for looking. C&C welcomed.
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Location: F03 (Forring) Tags: Military Building Previously… Jex was shocked to discover that the mysterious claim ticket she held was for…a person? She turned to the guard, who had clearly been expecting the reaction. He pulled her aside and explained MANTIS’ policy on prisoners: agents who captured prisoners were entitled to a percentage of the bounty or negotiable benefit with other corporations, where applicable, and given a ticket to assert that claim. If after a year, no benefit was forthcoming, then the prisoner could be released at the capturing agent’s discretion. Jex then asked the guard how long the prisoner in question had been held. Checking the record, he replied, “since Septembrinali of last year* *The relevant story for the prisoner’s capture is in the TL;DR spoiler of the linked post (Ice Planet MANTIS). The guard noted that the record showed that nothing had come of her capture—Kawashita had tried a covert operation to recover her a few months after her capture, but that the prisoner herself had foiled the operation, revealing a Kawa mole in MANTIS in the process. Jex realized that the ticket in her hand was a get-out-of-jail-free card for the prisoner. She could use that to get the information she needed about Scorpio’s sister, if indeed the prisoner knew anything at all. She turned to address her: “My name is Jex. I am trying to find some information, and if you help me I can assure your freedom.” “Ha! I don’t believe that for a second. That fool Laszlowe tried to sweet-talk me with the same thing, and in the end, he turned out to be as low as the scum you put in the block with me!” Jex looked down to where the slavers were being held two cells down. “You know them?” “What, personally? Of course not. But I know who they are. I have seen them and I know what they have done. And if I ever get the chance…” Jex wondered what kind of past this prisoner had with the slavers, but her thoughts were interrupted as the prisoner continued: “what have I ever done that put me in here, getting the same treatment as those lowlifes?” And to that, Jex had no answer. Suddenly, the power fluctuated and surged. “Uh-oh,” the guard said. “that can’t be good.” And then the lights in the cells turned off—meaning that the restraints had as well. The prisoner stood for only a moment, until she saw the slavers racing down the corridor. “Speaking of…” she murmured, but then she was barreling out of the cell, knocking over Jex and the guard as she dashed after the fake Zoids. Alarms began sounding and lights flashing all around the compound. “Let’s go, we can’t let them escape!” Jex called as she helped the guard to his feet. She rounded the corner just in time to see that the prisoner had already caught up to the escaped slavers—-one of them at least. Somehow, both the woman and the remaining slaver had gotten hold of weapons. Needless to say, an epic sword battle ensued. ********************************************* Although the posing of the figs and some minor changes are new in the prison cell build, only the scene after the prison breakout is actually new and should be judged: Scene without ‘figs by rodiziorobs, on Flickr C&C welcome! Edit: like others, part of my build this week is a tribute to Gnewal Gwevus/Pvt. Gnarl Graves. Also, I hope I have done justice to what other AGers have written concerning the Zoids. While there have been some conflicting stories, MKJoshA managed to reconcile them pretty well here. I maintain that the villains in my stories have been impersonating Zoids all across Andromeda, causing troubles both for Kawashita and ALIEN (by besmirching their reputation) and for Octan (adding to the crisis northern Andromeda was facing by the real Zoid slavers), and for MANTIS (the PR scandal involving Laszlowe, etc).
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Location: C04 Aeristus Tags: My important underwater mission for M-Tron continues. Today I’m looking for- You’re not in M-Tron. Yes I am! M-Tron doesn’t exist any more. AFFIRMATIVE. What?... I… Yet another thing you’ve screwed up. Leave me alone! I’ll hide in that patch of seaweed. I’ll be safe there. His condition is improving now. How long before he wakes up? Perhaps a few more weeks. You can talk to him if you’d like. On some level, he may be able to hear the people around him. What… Who’s there? Me. Johnson! I told you it wasn’t safe. We all told you it wasn’t safe. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! There’s no escape from the web, Sal. You’ve made a lot of enemies in this galaxy, and you have no friends to help you. Some friends are always with you. An epic sword fight ensued. This post is dedicated to Gnewal Gwevus.
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Location: E01 - Donwarr. Tags: Military, Spaceship, Spying. Previously on Andromeda's Gates: The mark, Uplink, Pay dirt. Departure, The Gyrocube, Darksight, Jade Sun. Chapter 8: Fighter escort. Gently increasing power to the engines, Yseult manoeuvred Darksight into a high pursuit orbit from where she would be able to see anything that happened to the ore freighter during its orbit. Carefully, cautiously she thought to herself. I don’t even want MANTIS to know I’m here. She had not gotten far when another vessel emerged from the anomaly, it was a small, unassuming freighter of some kind. Yseult gave a suspicious from. The Jade Sun had emerged not two minutes previously. Unusual. She thought. For safety reasons, a ship’s GATE system would maintain a minimum distance between other ships, especially before special re-entry to prevent the risk of collisions once back in normal space. She diverted Darksight’s specialised scanners to the new ship. She’d been told to watch the Jade Sun but she knew to trust her knowledge, her instincts. The initial scan revealed no one ship, but two. The second was a small pod-like vessel. An escort? She thought. What is such a small freighter doing with an escort?. Most escorts kept their distance too, they want anyone nearby to know that this cargo is not for taking and not to be messed with, but this escort was flying so close to its mark, you wouldn’t know it was there… Yseult got the feeling something was up. She adjusted her course to follow the small freighter and set all scanners towards it. The ship and its small escort headed rapidly for the atmosphere, entering on an approach to the far Norh. Darksight had easily determined their com frequency so Yseult could hear all of their communications… which were none. The silence was damning. If it hadn’t contacted orbital control, and made a standard approach, something was wrong… something covert. The buffeting of the atmosphere bounced Yseult around as they descended into the thick air and sensors were temporarily disrupted in the heat. Once Yseult had slowed the Darksight sufficiently, she engaged the ramjets and increased the power to pursue her target. She glanced down as her scanners re-acquired the freighter… Was it the wrong one?, where was the escort? An alarm wailed, and Yseult looked up to see the pale speck of the escort flying straight towards her. Her instincts pulled on the controls rolling Darksight out of the way as the first few bolts of red plasma skimmed passed… A near miss. Yseult felt her heart beating… What do I do? She wasn't a fighter pilot and Darksight wasn't a fighter… Escape… Darksight was built to be fast. She applied full throttle to the engines, the ship immediately surging in acceleration. The force pushed Yseult back in her seat. Where are they?, Where are they?. She checked her sensors: only one marker disappearing rapidly behind her. Fighter or freighter? She wondered as Darksight was suddenly hit hard by something. The ship went into a fast right-hand banking roll, alarms blaring. Something above me hit my right wing… She tried to correct it but control was sluggish. Not just my wing, it caught my engine too. She was losing altitude but had slowly arrested the roll but the ship was trying to sink on the right side and turn sideways as it did. She countered the former by banking the ship to the left and the latter with rudder. She was now losing less altitude but was slowing down. Slow enough and she'd stall… One way or another, I'm going down. She immediately deployed the landing legs. The anti-gravity mechanism that gave Darksight its hover ability was built into the skids. It was strong enough to create lift and used as the ship slowed on approach and landing. The indicators on Yseult's display turned green as the front landing gear locked into place, then the rear left… Yseult waited… the indicator for the rear right was still orange; it wasn't deploying. The indicator went red as Darksight's systems confirmed what Yseult already knew. The hit must have damaged the gear too. She was struggling to keep the ship steady and the asymmetrical lift from the skids would only make it harder… I need lift. Just enough to put it down without a crash. Banking heavily to the left to counteract the anticipated effect, she activated the repulsors and engaged manual control. There was some maneuverability in the pads and Darksight normally automatically made adjustments to keep the ship stable. Disengaging the safety limits, she directed the force of the repulsors as far right as they would go, beyond what would normally be considered safe for stable flight. Darksight shook as the forces took effect. Feeling the motion through her seat and her body, Yseult countered gently and soon the ship was steady again. She checked her displays; she was still falling but had reduced the rate… it was enough. The ground loomed, she was in a vast, relatively flat plateau of tundra north of the tip of a forest-covered mountain range that was typical of Donwarr’s topography. She slowed Darksight as much as she dared without reducing her glide to a fall and at the last moment, levelled the ship. The two deployed skids did exactly what they were supposed to do; absorb the impact and allow the ship to slide across the ground. Where the skid hadn’t deployed, there was nothing. The right engine slammed into the ground, bodywork coming loose like shrapnel. The impact felt like it almost shook Yseult’s spine to pieces, and all she could do and the vessel slowly bounced and shook to a grinding halt was grimace in excruciating pain. When Darksight was finally at rest, the canopy automatically opened and Yseult climbed out; every movement sending waves of seething pain through her whole body. She collapsed onto the ground. What am I supposed to do? Will they find me? The sound of an approaching engine made her force her head skyward and through the pain, she recognised a ship landing nearby… The escort fighter; a heavily modified Quadstar in Octan colours. Fear gripped her. She was in no condition to fight. She reached out and held as best she could to Darksight’s hull, pulling herself up to her feet. Standing again, she looked back to the Quadstar only to see a man strike her in the chest. She fell on to her back, her air-pack taking the brunt of the impact and rolling her onto her front again. She could sense the man pacing around her. He grabbed her suit at the shoulder and pulled her up to her knees, the air-pack falling away, damaged. She was in too much pain to fight back. She heard a clunk of releasing clasps and a hiss of air as he lifted her helmet off and looked her in the face… He paused… then released her, throwing the helmet to the floor in disappointment. “I don’t know you.” He said in a grizzled voice. “I had hoped it would take MANTIS’s finest to find me… Agent G, Lady K, maybe even Hawk”. He shook his head in self despair. “I don’t even know who you are.” He pondered for a moment and Yseult sank, exhausted to the floor. She felt dizzy, the world sank into a haze. She heard the sound of metal slide from a sheath… He’s drawn a blade. She forced herself to look up at the man, now holding a long thin bladed weapon. “It would have been nice to kill someone famous.” He announced. “’Just another pilot’ will have to do.” He readied his sword. Yseult tried to find the strength to do something… anything. The man backed away. Something had caught his attention. His cocky stance had become defensive. He pointed his sword somewhere behind Yseult. “I know you” he announced with an angry determination. Yseult turned her head to see a figure standing nearby. She didn’t recognise… ‘it’, clad in armour with only a black void where a face would be. Was it just a visor? She couldn’t tell. It held a sword, huge and jagged like an over-sized scimitar that’d seen too many battles. The figure was serene, neither fear nor courage showing. She heard the man behind her call a battle-cry, she saw him run towards the armour-clad figure and leap into the air, sword poised to strike. She struggled to keep her head clear and her nerves steady, and as she lay upon the cold ground of Donwarr’s northern tundra… she struggled to believe what was unfolding before her very eyes as the armoured figure met the attack, and an epic sword-fight ensued. ... This chapter is dedicated to Gnewal Gwevus. 'To build is to live; to share your build is to live forever'. (Sorry about the length but I had to get from orbit all the way to an epic sword-fight) Notes for judges: Do not judge Darksight or Yseult. I've tried to create an image that demonstrates that spying is happening but I'm okay with however you take it. Overview of scene used at end.
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Location: F03 (Forring) Tags: Military Building (prison) As Jex was guided down to B Sector of the MSS Strata, she wondered what the claim ticket could be for? The claims agent said it wasn't what she expected. She couldn't puzzle this one out. Looking around, she guessed that B must be on the other side of the prison compound--she recognized the slavers Agent Blond had caught that she had read about. One of them tried to reach through the energy barrier and got himself shocked, while the other made rude gestures. Why would they build the ship so you had to go through the prison? It just didn't make sense. "Here we are," said the guard. "B Sector, cell 68. Ms. DuBois, meet prisoner #C04-k2." "Wait...what?" **************** I'll try to add links in to refer back to other stories, since this post ties together a lot of loose threads. More photos below, C&C welcome!
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Location:F03 Forring Tags: Military building - Welcome to my lab Hawk. At last I have you in my grasp... - Remember Sebastian, If you want to be a part of this organization, you have to be more ominous and use lots of spidery terminology. - Oh right. I meant to say the Hawk is now like a fly caught in my web. How was that? - - Much better. There is something I need to check on. I will leave you to whatever it is you do in here. - Very well. So Hawk, do you have anything to say before we start? - What do you want with me? - Oh thats simple. Revenge. I want to make you suffer like how you made me suffer under the rubble of that base on Jurrin 2. The Zoids had abandoned me and left me for dead. Luckily for me, Spider found me and rehabilitated me into what you see today. They truly appreciate my genius unlike those fools at Octan. - So Spider wanted you to build Hybrid soldiers for them to sell to those dust demons? - Not exactly. My work is a little more subtle this time, but it still has the power to topple an entire corporation if I so desired. - So what was in that cryo-tube - It's a mystery. Well that's enough chit chat. lets get started shall we. How about I perform a laser arm amputation. All the cool executives in Andromeda have been loosing limbs. -Computer: Arming laser. Amputation will begin in 5 minutes. - Excuse me. - - Wait what? You aren't supposed to be here. Explain yourself at once! - We are here to transport the prisoner. - What is this madness! I made no request. - No you didn't doctor. We are here for you. Thrugg, would you mind taking out that laser? - It be Thruggs honor to save birdee man. - - What do you want from me? - Alien has put a rather large bounty on your head for crimes you had committed against the zoids. How are you doing Hawk. - Took you guys long enough to get here. I almost lost an arm. - - We wanted to make you sweat it out a little. Just because you are Dax's friend doesn't mean we can't have a little fun at your expense. - Thanks. Do you still have the cryo tube? Do you know where the Spider agent is? - We lost track of her. We better get to the ship asap before they realize whats going on. Thanks for looking, C&C welcomed.
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Location: E01 - Donwarr. Tags: Civil, Spaceship, Spying. Previously on Andromeda's Gates: The mark, Uplink, Pay dirt. Departure, The Gyrocube, Darksight. Chapter 7: Jade Sun. Octan, Kawashita, MANTIS… In the year since they arrived in Andromeda, they’d swept across the Galaxy taking control of anything… everything, one way or another. They call themselves pioneers but to those that were already here, grafting the space-lanes, running the boxes, working the Galaxy, they’re nothing but poachers, using their influence to buy what they cannot earn and steal what they cannot buy. Yseult had never run freight for one of the big three, That was all taken from me before they arrived… And now I’m working for one of them… Doing their dirty work. Silently, Yseult had manoeuvred Darksight around to the far side of Donwarr, a world on the edge of the Galaxy in a contested region of space that some now called ‘The Quarrel’, a block of six worlds from Donwarr to Illustria that MANTIS and Octan had fought bitterly over. It was currently under MANTIS control but all of that Octan activity didn’t just go away; planets are big and the space around them is bigger. For Octan, this region was now about what you could do without MANTIS seeing or stopping. I guess that’s why I’m here she thought. At the appointed time, the recorded mission brief played. “Yseult.” The voice began. “This is Riddaeon. You have been selected for this mission by senior executives who are concerned about the loyalty of other operatives. A new form of refined liquid mythril has been manufactured on Freegate. It is transported to Mynderis via Donwarr on a super-freighter called Jade Sun but it arrives at Mynderis without the mithryl. Our sources believe that Octan is using planted operatives inside MANTIS to intercept the shipment but we have not been able to ascertain how. We believe Donwarr may be the location of the intercept as it will be easier for Octan to get it across the border through The Quarrel. Darksight was designed for silent pursuit and surveillance. Your mission is to observe the arrival of the freighter and covertly record its orbit of Donwarr before it re-enters the anomaly for the jump to Hunston. You are not to interfere with any transfers to or from the ship. Your data-file contains all of the information we have on the Jade Sun and its schedule… Good luck.” The recording ended and the data-file opened for Yseult to digest. Once she knew all she needed to, she began recording the activity of traffic between the anomaly and Donwarr. One hundred and thirty-eight minutes later, precisely on schedule, the MANTIS ore super-freighter Jade Sun emerged from the Donwarr anomaly. Thanks for reading. C&C welcome on both the build and the writing.
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Location: C04, Aeristus Tags: Vehicle, Piracy, Land Vehicle, Military, Spying Job: Driver Start Log: Back to work again, this time as part of time on Aeristus, sent to weaken Octan operations there. Naturally this was a stealth mission, so our vehicles were equipped with a darker colorscheme than usual, allowing us to blend into the night. Most recently we came across an Octan robot, it fled, but stood no chance against the cannons on my tank. Good to build for MANTIS again! The printed brick was a gift from Lady K at BFVA
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Slipwave is a heavily modified racing boat constructed by a team of MANTIS marine engineers and special forces agents on Sorn. The need to ensure critical MANTIS operations could continue following the planet's capture by Kawashita, the team developed a craft both fast and quiet by levitating the rear engine section out of the water and propelling it with an extra pair of anti-gravity engines mounted at 90 degrees. Compared to more traditional aquatic propulsion methods, the anti-grav engines are less powerful than hydro-jets and less responsive than propellors but with such a small displacement, resistance from the water is minimised allowing them deliver comparable power-to-weight ratios. The overdrive boosters positioned amidships burn Nitronium Oxide to super heat the anti-matter in the repulsers and provide more power but the system overheats quickly, utilising two dump-valves on each side to expel unburnt fuel and heat when the anti-matter reaches critical temperatures. The rear is suspended by two angled anti-matter repulsers which also steer the craft. The front-end maximised aero and hydro-dynamicity by reducing displacement and air/water resistance. Technical cutaway of front-end. Scrutineering: Thank you for looking.
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Hawk never cared about boats. He saw them as unnecessary and primitive devices that had long since been replaced by a common hover speeder. When MANTIS asked him to compete in the Andromeda games sea races he was already dreading the idea. - MANTIS gave him the new Wraith sea racer to compete with. He quickly fell in love with how fast it could travel over the water. It's ability to hydroplane reduced contact with the water and made it faster then most boats it size. He also loved how it's advanced maneuvering thrusters made it control more like a speeder. - - Thanks for looking. C&C welcomed as always. more pictures under the spoiler.
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Dona Flor had heard the news and couldn't wait to tell everyone: the three biggest corporations in the galaxy were hosting a series of games, just for them! The Space Geriatric Games. Did I mention Dona Flor was a little hard of hearing? Anyway, it wasn't hard to put together a five-man rowing team from the local homesteaders, and Dona Flor herself would be the coxswain. When the team arrived to claim MANTIS sponsorship, the MANTIS agent was sure that rowing wasn't an actual event, but after checking the rules, it simply said "boat race" and had only a size requirement, not age. "Why not," he thought to himself. "At the very least, it'll give those NBC morons some more human interest crap for their broadcast," and he signed them up. Besides, he had learned not to ask too many questions. **************** "Did he say to put on our tuxedos?" "I want some taquitos!" "Look, ma! I'm on TV!" **************** Pictures to show size. The red buoys mark every 5 studs from the dock to the yellow buoys, exactly 20 studs, and there is a space of 10 studs between the rows. Boat Race by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Boat Race by rodiziorobs, on Flickr
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Andromeda Olympics For the Water races at the Andromeda Olympics, the engineers over in M.A.N.T.I.S. have cooked up a fast craft with four engines. Unfortunately naming isn't their strong suit, so it got stuck with the name Quaddagger. They also botched the promo shot by using the wrong color for the upper windscreen (should be Tr. Clear) and using an egg piece that isn't in Mecabricks. Size Proof: C&C Welcome!
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M.A.N.T.I.S. mechanic Lyra Zema didn't know much about boats. But she figured they couldn't be much different from the spaceships she spent all day repairing at work. So she built the Stickleback. Some people said it looked too much like a spaceship. Some people got punched in the face. M.A.N.T.I.S. mechanic Lyra Zema didn't know much about accepting constructive criticism. Thanks for reading! Rendered using bublible's SunFlow MOD v20160717. C&C welcome!
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Sal still hasn't woken from his coma, and I'm no closer to finding out what the hell is going on. I thought I was onto something when I discovered a lab that wasn't on the books, but it turned out to just contain a ridiculous giant Sal mech. I have no idea why he built it, unless it was just sheer vanity. I ordered our engineers to reprogram it so we can enter it into the Olympic Games. May as well make use of the thing. Thanks for reading! C&C welcome!
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The Tourniquet The Engineering department at MANTIS has been hard at work producing The Tourniquet, a highly advanced mech, for the inaugural Andromeda Olympics. Let's take a look at their creation! And Here's the all existing parts version, which adds some grey spots. Size Proof: I think this is the best mech I've built so far, so C&C welcome! And check out the 360 view on Mecabricks!
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Presenting Lucha Verde, competitor for the Mech Wrestling event, representing MANTIS. AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Controlled by former two-time Robo-Force champion Anne Galloway, Lucha Verde is a middle-weight class mech, designed for quick, destructive punch-outs. Although not very quick on its feet, it has a very stable stance based on its large footprint and can turn about easily in one spot. AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Furthermore, it is equipped with medium-grade (as per regulations) gravitic dampeners at its heel to help dig in when on a rally against its opponents. AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Each arm is also equipped with rockets at the elbow to help accelerate its fists when delivering a crushing blow, and each armored arm also has a large shield at the back of the fist, for both defense and striking. AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr The frame encompasses a 20x20 square: AG Olympics - Cat A by rodiziorobs, on Flickr **************** This is the first mech I've actually ever built, so feedback is very appreciated!
