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Open Log classified number: Pangolinus recording. I've been dispatched to the already M.A.N.T.I.S. controlled Hunston planet, although it is now empty of personnel. I was ordered 2 weeks ago to withdraw from normal Expansion operations to find a suitable planet. For more info on my operation check the classified section below I've entered a strait on one of the larger islands and am continuing to search for the ideal locations. Ending Recording. Execute Scramble Protocol 5947. The colors in these pictures were altered because i had to rely on msx80 and his awesome program Bluerender, due to a graphic card failure. (Thanks msx80!) C&C appreciated!
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Identification: Paul Bricktron Occupation: Explorer Report Code: PB - WB1 - B06 Location: Sorn Objective: Construct base - Explore wildlife - Research local resources Report: Underwater station construction ready Report: Laboratory ready for operation - scientists encouraged Report: Explorers ready for operation - scubas equipped Report: Found weird funugs plants Report: Taking fungus samples for research Report: First analysis of sample material - High Awesomnium percentage Report End
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Location: A06 - Guinevere Tags: A06, MANTIS, Military, land vehicle AG: Battle on Guinevere by David FNJ, on Flickr Dave Daring------Starstriker---------Ninja Nin------Mark of Orion----Paul Bricktron--Scorpio Starstriker--Isaac Redsyn-----Little John-------Ace Jagjit LET'S DO THIS THING! Watch out for that dropship! It's got missiles! Wow...uh, why don't our robots target it? Great...so much for the robot upgrades.... That blasted robot is in my way from firing at the dropship! Yeah...and now it's headed towards us.... Maybe if the robot would only aim its weapon TOWARDS THE SKY!! I think I got a shot at this! Turning death ray to medium power.... It's too late! Here it comes! I knew I should have picked the death ray...wait... BOOM! OH YEAH! That's what I'm talkin' about! That was just AWESOME! Way to go guys, that was close. Double D! A Kawawiwhatever is coming up on your right! Thanks LJ! The air is now clear! I've been able to pick off a bunch of troops and blow up some of those drones from back here. Let's finish this! Man...didn't get to use my death ray mode... Oh look, NOW our robot is starting to work. I guess it only does well when there are no airships? That's kinda lame. ............that was easy enough. I guess that's what happens when MANTIS is on the battlefield - TOTAL DOMINATION! And...uh, is anyone else's stomach feeling a little icky today? Anyway, Ace, I need you to help blow up a bunch of these Kawashita drones things. I'll be sending you the coordinates once I get back to the dropship. I'm on it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note, this story takes place right before Ace Jagjit's build: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=110912 The spoiler has some black light shots, close-ups on the machines, and minifigure-free landscape shots. AG: Battle on Guinevere by David FNJ, on Flickr
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Excerpt from the lab book of Big Sal: Date: 18 Junali 3815. Experiment Code: K7C02. Lead Scientist: Big Sal. Laboratory: M.A.N.T.I.S. Supply Ship, Kitchen 7. Hunston orbit. Excerpt ends. ...and how are my improvements to the water hydrolyser turning out? Very well sir! The last batch of water was over 160% hydrolysed! Excellent! How are the enhanced larvae doing Hamilton? They're growing well Sal - we're on target for 100% coverage in the cafeterias this week. Fantastic! It's such a relief to be doing real science again after all those plants... Excerpt from the lab book of Big Sal: Aim: Improve physical abilities of M.A.N.T.I.S. personnel through enhanced foodstuffs. Method: Awesomnium serum was introduced to larvae growth media. Prediction: Personnel eating the enhanced larvae will show enhanced physiology. Excerpt ends. SAL! Chief Accountant Long! I didn't know you were... I mean, what a pleasure to see you! You're looking as beautiful as ever! Spare me the sarcasm Sal. I'm here to shut this little experiment of yours down. What? But it's only been running a week! I need more time! Absolutely not. Shut it down. We've been getting reports of stomach problems and nausea from across the organisation all week. That could be coincidence! We've only had one larvae Friday so far, it'll take more time for the results to manifest. The costs are minimal! Sal, in the last week our toilet paper bill went up by 600%! And yet none of the troops have developed the superhuman powers you promised. Not to mention the effect on morale if the troops work out it's the grubs making them sick. Larvae Friday is the highlight of the week for them! This experiment is over. Excerpt from the lab book of Big Sal: Results: None. Experiment terminated early. Conclusions: None possible. Excerpt ends. Thanks to my team mates for taking the time to work this story into their builds all week! Comments and criticism welcome
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Location: C02, Hunston Tags: MANTIS AG: The Quiet Land of Hunston by David FNJ, on Flickr After an epic battle on Guinevere, Dave Daring heard of the cease fire with Kawashita (guess Kawashita were scared ;) so he decided to take a little vacation and go sight-seeing. He decided to venture with Ace Jagjit and visit Hunston. On the edges of many of the islands were these small rocks with blue moss-like plants growing on them and orange trees with strange trunks. But most interesting of all were the cute little critters that hopped about so happily in their little world. It seemed that they could protect their large eye by tucking it away in its cushiony body. The first picture does not fit within the 24x24 limit, so I took a second picture and took away a bunch of the blue studs. For judging, please ignore the opening picture in this post. I noticed that builds should be purist, but lacking enough orange leaves to fill the trees I used the awesome altbricks. Are these disallowed? I used them before in another build, then noticed the rule, and then saw that it didn't seem to be a problem.....so I went ahead and used them again in this challenge build. However, if it is not allowed in challenge entries especially, then judging can take into consideration the below photo which is very close to what the scene would have looked like with purist LEGO leaves in the normal green color: Personally, my non-purist methods include minifigures and altbricks leaves (because they look awesome, and because some glow in BLACK LIGHT which makes them even more awesome), but if this is a problem, I guess I'll be editing my leaves to LEGO colors because I don't have enough of the normal leaves to do something like this post (except with dark green). Anyway, I hope you enjoy! For the might of MANTIS!
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Private Gnarl Graves had been wandering the desert for hours when he came upon the small crew of Karashita pirates. He saw them a day back near one of M.A.N.T.I.S.'s camps, "parlaying" with the guys in charge. When they left, though, Gnarl saw they had taken a crate with them... a crate filled with M.A.N.T.I.S.'s gold! https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/10830842_10206656869037725_4116858647834040075_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=9046ae3ea56c3f30ecce81b0635b0007&oe=55895460 The first was foolish enough to bring a gun to a sword fight! https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11538108_10206656869397734_4963928587866073754_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=41d90f6f125351220f74df0d8420bb7c&oe=558A89D5 But the second stood his ground and drew his blade. https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11429911_10206656869917747_1271139698112378954_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=099c23e718184e8eaa0044689583bf50&oe=558A6988 An epic sword fight ensued. https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11411705_10206656870357758_7427917702568260928_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=abf583ce2622b226817aefa0876e5194&oe=55894AFE Later: https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/10669337_10206656870397759_8533081164922815515_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=53acbb3350ced35602f5fcc6f1a6221c&oe=5589A662 "Huh. I wonder why this crate of MANTIS gold has 'property of Kawashita' written on the back. Must be a typo." I may upload the photos to an actual photo hosting website tomorrow. But I don't have time to do so today. My brother showed me tou can host pictures on FB, and that's worked for me so far, haha.
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Participants: Master Data, Agent G Begin Log: I'm supposed to pick up yet another food shipment from the labs on Hunston to deliver to our forces throughout the sector. I suspect that one of the opposing corporations is going to try and sabotage my mission, so I've brought Agent G to ensure I make it there in one piece. Scanning the island chains for Big Sal's lab. I'm supposed to pick up a shipment of some new type of larva for the cafeteria. Hold on, I'll run a scan of the surrounding islands. Computer, set us on course for Big Sal's lab. Computer: Of course sir... You are 12,000,000 space-specs off course. Preparing to recalculate. GAHHH! Computer, why couldn't you warn us earlier?! I don't want a repeat of last time! KABOOM! We've been hit! What? There aren't any other corporations on this planet yet! Computer: It appears that the Kawashitan malware you picked up on Guinevere activated a M.A.N.T.I.S. defense drone. Useless computer... Agent G, blast it! I can't - you didn't build any guns into the ship! Oh...well, I hope you can swim! Master Data, I hope you haven't left yet! The order just got cancelled! Something about causing stomach problems across the sector... So that's what it was...
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Log of Agent G - Dave Daring and were sent to Guinevere to help with the "treaty" between Mantis and Kawashita. After "negotiations" between the two companies, we're now proceeding to head back to Torresta for a well-earned rest.- "Er, do you hear something G? "Yeah... Sounds like Yallorn nomlas fish blowing bubbles... But we aren't on Yallorn, so what is it?" "Call this a wild guess, but it seems to be the lava wyrm coming up out of the conveniently close lava, but, you know, I could be wrong" "AHHHHHH! Shit! Computer! Tell me these things earlier! Computer: Hiya sir! It seems to be that you've encountered a Guineverian Lava Wyrm. Nasty little situation you got there, seeing how it's against galactic regulations to kill it, endangered species and what-not. "G! Could really use some help over here! Stop blabbing and help me kill it! This things hide is tough! "Gah! What hit me?! I think it took it took at my cam!" Computer: Seems to be another one, sir! "Fine, you want to play, let's play..." "You've got to admit, these thing put up a good fight." "It also didn't make it any easier that you barely helped..." "Barely helped! It knocked out my cam, I could barely see! ... We should be heading back though, however endangered these things might be, there's still sure to be more... C&C very welcome.
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Location: A06 (Guinevere) Tags: Piracy Science Land Vehicle It had been a pretty busy week on Guinevere for Scorpio and Elbow and Pitt, his two assigned SPIT (Special Police in Training). After dispatching the Octan spy, they discovered a few more Octan agents nearby—which with some efficient work from the SPIT quickly became a few less. They may be a bit dim-witted, but the SPIT sure knew their way around an assault blaster. Scorpio was still a bit bummed about that having given his grubs to them. Even more so because today—larvae Friday, course—he had missed lunch, due to an over-long briefing with his superiors. When he got back, the SPIT had seen to it there were no leftovers, except salad. Meh. The brief had been long because Kawashita troops had touched down on the other side of Guinevere a few days previous. The council was deliberating the best course of action, and had orders for Scorpio to not engage in a violent encounter. In the SPITs’ mind, that took all the fun out of it, and Scorpio had to agree. He had decided that even though being a scientist wasn’t bad, he enjoyed these more exciting kinds of missions. Scorpio and the SPIT went to the Kawas’ landing site. Although there weren’t many of them, clearly they had gotten right to work right after landing, as there were several crates already filled with gold. As the M.A.N.T.I.S craft was approaching, Scorpio saw them all stop to watch. He could see that although a few of them were carrying arms, they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to shoot. He imagined they had similar orders from their higher-ups to avoid armed conflict, which was somewhat reassuring. One of the Kawas, clearly their leader, emerged from the back and advanced toward Scorpio. “This is our claim,” he insisted. “You Mantite scum better get on outta here.” “Sorry, M.A.N.T.I.S. already claimed all of Guinevere. So, you’re the ones on our turf.” As he spoke, Scorpio suddenly realized that he had underestimated their numbers, and hoped his hunch about their orders was correct. “Ha!” the Kawa leader laughed. “It doesn’t matter. We have already extracted almost everything here, as you can see—” he motioned towards the crates. “But I’d like to see you try and make us leave, anyway.” “I’ll tell you what,” Scorpio replied. “Let’s make a deal, you and I, to see who leaves this spot, and who can stay.” The Kawa leader laughed again, followed by the rest of his team. “What kind of a deal? You can see, I have more men, more arms, and more gold! And I have my orders. What could you offer me?” “Oh, this is not an offer. This is a challenge. We challenge you to a contest—you win, we will leave you in peace to do whatever you please in this place. We win—” Scorpio paused to look around at all the Kawashita troops, “and you leave forever. Not just this spot—but the planet. You leave Guinevere for good.” “Ha ha! This insect is a joker! I will indulge you, what kind of contest did you have in mind?” “How about a race? Ah never mind, you wouldn’t stand a chance against us. Let’s pick something more fair…” In his mind, Scorpio counted to three. He only got as far as two. “You boast, Mantite! Kawashita engines are the fastest, and our drivers the most skilled! I accept your challenge, if only to teach you humility!” “Very well, then. Your fastest land craft against ours. You pick your racer, and Pitt here,” Scorpio motioned toward the more dim-witted of the SPIT, “will drive for M.A.N.T.I.S.” As Scorpio and the Kawa leader shook hands, Pitt leaned over toward Scorpio and whispered, “I don’t think I can. I’m not that good a driver—not as good as these Kawas, for sure—and I’m starting to feel a little sick. Like I’m going to…” but he never finished his sentence; the words were drowned out by awful wretching noises, and drowned in a pool of sick. “I feel sick, too, sir.” the SPIT leader, Elbow, intuned. Then, looking over at Pitt, said, “but I think I’ll be fine.” “Well good, because I need you to come with me.” “What about me, sir?” Pitt inquired. “You still have to drive,” Scorpio answered. “But don’t worry; it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, just as long as you drive for at least five minutes or so.” “Why doesn’t it matter?” Elbow asked. “Because,” Scorpio began, “while all these fools are cheering on the race, you and I are going to steal them blind and make a quick escape. Don’t worry, Pitt, we’ll pick you up in the ship. Elbow, come and help me set up some telesponders over here.” While the Kawa leader was explaining the course and rules to Pitt and the Kawa driver, Scorpio and Elbow set up the antenna-like devices around the crates of gold. As the start pistol fired, Scorpio summoned the teleporter crate and quickly rerouted it to the telesponders; before the dust had even settled, Scorpio, Elbow, and the gold were all gone. ********* Other weeks I have incorporated the story with the build, but this week the story is really just to build-up the, uh, build. With both teams landing on the same planet, it was fun to think up some way to bring conflict into the mix without any actual conflict. C&C welcome, as always! More pictures under the spoiler: See more on my Flickr page
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Challenge #1 Location: C02, Hunston "Volcanoes eons ago created jagged mountain islands which life clings to" As the M.A.N.T.I.S. Exploration team began their descent into Hunston's atmosphere, jagged peaks began to loom before them, piercing the crystal blue waters. Although the intrepid explorers were still several miles up, caves, cracks and crevices could be seen among the rocks which had grown smooth from millennia of wind and weather. What sorts of life might be dwelling therein? Hunston's jagged cliffs by rodiziorobs, on Flickr ********** Seems like a lot of people have been doing microscope for their challenge builds, and I haven't tried microscale in long enough I wanted to give it a go. I thought the jagged mountain features turned out quite well at this size. Thanks Bob for making the Challenge available as long as it is still Sunday somewhere, and thank you Pago Pago for being that somewhere Edit: I just saw Bob's post in the Intro thread, so I guess this was too late. Rats. Some weeks just don't have enough hours in them...
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A pretty straightforward build, didn't have time for anything spectacular. I wanted to see if I could really achieve a really liquid-like texture since I lack the right color of bricks to do it with water. I think it turned out pretty well.
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Location: A06 - Guinevere Tags: Military, Piracy, Land Vehicle. M.A.N.T.I.S Special Forces log: Myra Dynarski 21 Junali 3815, M.A.N.T.I.S. supply camp on Guinivere. Previous entry I'd been feeling nauseous, so I stopped by one of the supply depots for some meds, only to find a bunch of Octan and Kawashita agents sitting around chatting like they were at a tea party, rather than in the camp of their sworn enemies (or at least business competitors)! I don't think they were even armed - at least they didn't put up a fight. They all escaped in vehicles, and I was unable to keep up. I did manage to steal [Redacted - All M.A.N.T.I.S. operations are 100% legal] liberate their leftover drinks.
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Today on Galactic Geographic, Episode 1 On Hunston life begins to awaken in Spring. Winter has been harsh and the warm air and water beckon all kinds of life to begin again. The water full of rich nutrients sprounts a bright green algae like substance that enriches all plants and animals that feed on it. The Water Blossom Tree blooms bright pink flowers on large soft lavendar leaves while the Neo Jellies glide peacefully in the water below. On the steep sharp sides of the mountain peaks, made of nutrient rich lava soil from the volcanoes that formed this beautiful landscape many an eon ago, bloom the fragrant Teeney Flowers and Wandering vines. High above on a plateau blooms the beautiful but deadly HarvestMe Plant. If one were to attempt to actually harvest this rare bush like plant to eat the unfortunate would find himself the meal instead. This wondrous place seems so peaceful and would be if not for the bright yellow tusks emerging from deep inside on of the old lava tubes. As the beast beneath awakens with the spring also, so begins the harsher side of Hunston.......eat or be eaten...that is the way of life here. Hope you enjoyed your visit to Hunston. Top photo is correct size and the bottom photo is 28x28. C&C always welcome.
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Now that M.A.N.T.I.S. operatives have begun to be issued with Mk.1 Assault Drones, Myra has sent her old recording probe to search for valuable resources on Hunston. Report: Scans reveal most of the water would need major treatment to be fit for human consumption, and the abundance of potable water on Yallorn makes this logistically unfeasible. No accessible form of awesomium, gold, mithril or copper detected. Large quantities of biomass detected, both in the form of flora growing in the fertile soil around long-dormant volcanoes, and in the form of fauna, particularly the large flying creatures, fittingly decorated with black and green feathers. Some kind of enormous, spiny aquatic creature also observed, though the water has prevented a detailed scan. Conclusion: Biomass present and worth extracting, water present but not worth extracting at this time.
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Location: D02, Barker's Folly Tags: Exploration It's hard not to be impressed by the natural beauty of this asteroid belt, all the awesomnium ripe for the picking doesn't hurt either... I don't do many all LEGO scenes, usually opting for a complete 'model' rather than an immersive picture, so this was rather fun
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Location: A06-Guinevere Tags: Vehicle, Building Job: Driver Start Log: I wasn't surprised to be stationed on A06, after MANTIS' successful infiltration of the planet, I knew that drivers would be needed to help gather gold. Some MANTIS engineers had quickly erected processing plants to separate the gold from rock. My task was to use the T-7 dumptruck to haul loads of gold to transport ships that then delivered it back to MANTIS headquarters. This mission I even had a co-pilot, Massi Editoro, who would man the truck's cannon in case of attack. MANTIS didn't take any chances when hauling gold, even dumptrucks received serious firepower. All in all, a pretty fun job, but the desert heat seemed to mess with my stomach... T-7 Dumptruck: Maintenance rover: The processing plant and dump truck actually work!
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Excerpt from the logs of Captain Carter: Date: 19 Junali 3815 Time: 0906 hours Location: En route to Terrial Major Comments: The pilots tell me we'll arrive at Terrial Major in approximately 2 hours. Our mission is to map the surface since no one has been here since the first Gate explorers. As usual, their description of the planet is brief: "A massive, freezing planet. The entire planet is basically a ball of frozen pure water. Vicious local wildlife." --- Time: 1138 hours Location: Skies of Terrial Major Comments: Well, the description was accurate, save for the fact that there doesn't seem to be any wildlife at all, let alone anything dangerous. There's just vast, almost entirely featureless snow, as far as the eye can see. The tedious landscape is doing nothing to distract me from the stomach troubles that have been plaguing me all week. --- Time: 1443 hours Location: Skies of Terrial Major Comments: Just as I was about to order to crew out of the atmosphere, having seen nothing but snow for hours, we spotted a small patch of tan on the horizon along with a thin line of blue. At last, something that wasn't white! As we approached the tan resolved itself into a small forest of sickly looking trees, around 10 metres tall. The blue line was in fact a crevasse with liquid water at the bottom! I suspect the presence of the trees near liquid water is no coincidence, though how they can gain any benefit from it is beyond me - the crevasse must be at least 30 metres deep. On even closer approach we finally spotted the wildlife. Camouflaged in white, two titanic reptilian creatures engaged in a territorial battle! The early explorers were right to call them vicious, but I'm amazed they didn't mention the sheer size of the creatures - they tower over the nearby trees! These creatures definitely warrant further study, and could make a valuable asset for the glory of MANTIS! Excerpt ends. I have to congratulate the judges for this competition - it was a great stimulus for me to build outside of my comfort zone. Comments and criticism of the result welcome! More pics in the spoiler:
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Location: Planet Guinevere, Sector A06 Tags: A06, MANTIS, Spying Time: --- Log_M_1: After having received coordinates from D.D specifying the multiple locations of Kawashita drones, I followed up on his work of "deactivating" them.... End Log_M_1 BOOYAAH!!!!! "Another down, and a bunch more to go! This is fun!" New_Transmission: "Agent Jagjit, this is Lady K. We are in the process of negotiating with Kawashita regarding Sector A06, don't do anything rash, and hold off on destroying any drones." End_Transmission Oops... New_Transmission: Ace! This is D.D, don't destroy the drones just yet! Apparently, we are negotiating with...." "Yeah, I know, I just got a transmission from Lady K." "Oh... Just wanted to let you know before you destroy any drones.... Let me guess though, you've already destroyed like fifteen.." "I've only destroyed a couple..." "Only a couple huh?" "Well......" "Well, don't destroy any more... Anyways, got to go, D.D out!" End_Transmission Hehe, He always leaves with the "D.D out" thing. I don't have a "thing" like that because I never get to hang up first with these M.A.N.T.I.S. people.... Anyway, I guess I'll just chill till I get new orders, until then, I'll try out this new food stuff from Big Sal... I heard it's a new concoction..... -------------------------------- ---------------------- Yay! First build for M.A.N.T.I.S. from me! This was quite fun to make. As you can see, I incorporated David FNJ's drones, plants, and birds to somewhat tie this build to his.
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Log of Agent G - Dave Daring and were sent to Guinevere to help with the "treaty" between Mantis and Kawashita. After "negotiations" between the two companies, we're now proceeding to head back to Torresta for a well-earned rest.- "Er, do you hear something G? "Yeah... Sounds like Yallorn nomlas fish blowing bubbles... But we aren't on Yallorn, so what is it?" "Call this a wild guess, but it seems to be the lava wyrm coming up out of the conveniently close lava, but, you know, I could be wrong" "AHHHHHH! Shit! Computer! Tell me these things earlier! Computer: Hiya sir! It seems to be that you've encountered a Guineverian Lava Wyrm. Nasty little situation you got there, seeing how it's against galactic regulations to kill it, endangered species and what-not. "G! Could really use some help over here! Stop blabbing and help me kill it! This things hide is tough! "Gah! What hit me?!" Computer: Seems to be another one, sir! "Fine, you want to play, let's play..." "You've got to admit, these thing put up a good fight." "It also didn't make it any easier that you barely helped..." "Barely helped! Bah! We
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Open Log: This is Pangolinus. I've been assigned to deliver a hazmat unit to Big Sal's laboratory. Agent Myra Dynarski reportedly made a large mess there. Approaching the target. Analyzing environment.... safe to land. Landing now. Switching to multi voice recording. Computer: Beginning Unload. Cleanup Crew Guy: That was a stuffy ride. Robo Guard: HALT! Robo: State your business. Guy: Cleanup. Why do you have one arm? Robo: I'm unfinished. You have clearance. Captain Pangolinus you may take off. Cleanup Agent you may enter the lab. Guy: What the?! Myra!
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Excerpt from the lab book of Big Sal: Date: 14 Junali 3815. Experiment Code: L3A05. Lead Scientist: Big Sal. Laboratory: Yallorn II, Laboratory Outpost 3. Aim: Analyse items obtained by field agents. Excerpt ends. Ah, it’s good to be back in the lab. I can’t believe how long it took to analyse all of Lafevre’s seaweed samples after she inconsiderately got herself killed. I’ll be happy if I never see another plant for the rest of my life. Right, let’s see if I can figure out this… thing… that Arariel stole from Kawashita. At times like these, delicate scientific technique is called for. This thing is useless! I bet Arariel just swiped the first ornament he saw from the public lobby of that museum then came back and made up some story about his amazing infiltration skills. Maybe I’ll have more luck with the tentacle from the creature Mark of Orion encountered here. Can’t be bothered with DNA analysis, I’ll just inject some awesomnium extract and see what happens… … … … Ugh, looks like it’s just going to be one of those days when nothing works. Excerpt from the lab book of Big Sal: Method: Conducted highly scientific analysis of object K-5654 and Yallorn II xenos sample. Results: Detailed analysis of both items revealed nothing of use to M.A.N.T.I.S. Conclusions: None. Safety Report: None. Excerpt ends. Was that a ship landing outside? Best go check it out. Alright mate, got a delivery for Big Sal. That’s me. Nice one pal, I’ve been all over the place trying to deliver this. Sign here please. Righto. What have you got for me? What the hell?? What's with all the plants?! Long story mate. They were meant to go to Dr Lefevre on Barnius, but when I showed up there it turned out she was dead. So I look at the personnel files and the next most qualified botanist is Dr Johnson on Linopeia III. Would you believe it, I turn up there and he’s dead too! Never knew plants were so dangerous, heh heh. Anyway, I figured I’d just bring them to the ranking scientist to deal with, and that’s you. But I hate plants! Take them to Dr Arkov! Nah pal, you signed for ‘em, see? Not my problem any more. But… but… See ya! Didn't have time to do everything I wanted with the story, but oh well. I tried to include as much stuff from other M.A.N.T.I.S. builds as I could. Comments and criticism welcome! More pics, including proof that the lab is inside the building, in the spoiler.
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Shibboleth Location: A06 (Guinevere) Tags: spying science After Scorpio's brief adventure on Barnius, the council had decided that--despite the sustainability of the planet--M.A.N.T.I.S. resources were needed more urgently elsewhere. His discovery of foodstuffs had earned him an impressive commendation from the Council (“such an excellent variety of mushrooms! And the Barnian grubs are the finest we have tasted in Andromeda!”), so he imagined he would be sent on yet another food-finding mission. Yet the brief Scorpio received was nothing he had ever expected. “We need you to go to Guinevere. On a spying mission.” “What? But I’m not a spy!” “Not important now. We need you to go because you’re resourceful…” “But…” “…dependable…” “But…” “…and most importantly…” “…Yes?” “You’ve got a bribe bag.” “Ah, well then, fair enough.” “Your dossier will contain further instruction. Any questions?” “Yeah, do I get a cool special suit or something?” “<sigh> Yes, I suppose you’ll need one.” Scorpio was to be accompanied by a small detail of special forces, as M.A.N.T.I.S. had gathered that there were be hostile forces starting to build on the planet’s surface. Further investigation had confirmed these reports, also adding the reason for their suspected colonization: gold was found in tremendous supply. Scorpio’s mission was to (1) determine the strength of any enemy forces on Guinevere. Once that was accomplished, he was to (2) obtain a sample of the gold for analysis, and make observations considering large-scale mining and extraction. The rest of the unit’s mission was to guard the gold Scorpio the gold. If the team’s presence were discovered, the special agents were to terminate any enemy threats, with interrogation and torture optional. Scorpio almost laughed when he was introduced to his team—they were not full-fledged agents, but Special Police in Training—SPIT, as they called them back on Torresta. It was actually a term of endearment, and was no way a knock on their abilities. The brief had just made this sound like such an important, high-profile mission, and here he was, a non-spy, being sent out with two—yes, only two—rookie guards. Oh well, at least he got a special suit. As a scientist, he outranked the SPIT, but this essentially just meant they called him "sir" all the time and then did whatever they wanted. Not that Scorpio minded; it seemed like they knew their job pretty well. They touched down on Guinevere, and the heat was overwhelming. The air, despite the sulfuric odor, was safely breathable, so long as you had a filter against the volcanic ash. Scorpio took off his helmet in an attempt to cool off, but the SPIT left theirs on (“combat gear, sir”). They ambled around until coming to a low, bubbling volcano. Scorpio’s scanner was picking up a weak signal nearby, when suddenly he was distracted by the sight of gold. Right on the surface. Sure, it was surrounded by molten, bubbling lava, but this was no different than back on Torresta! Mining and extraction would be a cinch. First to procure a sample for analysis... He took his pick and extracted a nugget, then summoned the teleportation crate. The gold secured inside, he punched an auto-analysis formula, and the code to return the crate to the ship. One thing he liked about this mission already was that he got cooler toys. Scorpio then had to turn his attention away back to his primary task: spying. “Why couldn’t they have sent an actual spy?” he muttered to himself as he fiddled with the calibration. They could see no signs of activity, so why was there a signal? Suddenly, one of the SPIT broke the silence. “FREEZE!” Scorpio spun around and saw a man in an Octan uniform just a short distance ahead, hands up. He dropped his instrument. "Found an Octan agent, sir!" The lead SPIT reported. "No, no, guys, you've got it all wrong! I'm here with you guys!" "They why you wearin' that Octan gitup?" The lesser SPIT spat. "Well, uh, we heard reports there might be Octan personnel in the vicinity, so the, uh, Lady K sent me in disguise, just in case." Scorpio thought the scenario sounded fishy. "The Lady K, huh?" he asked. The stranger nodded. "Then where is the rest of your unit?" "We crashed on entry to the planet. I have been wandering for hours—good news, I haven’t seen anyone else. I reckon Octan is light years away from this place. The real Octan, that is. You know. Not me. ‘Cause I’m not Octan. I’m with you fellers.” "Do you want me to blast this liar?" The SPIT interjected. “Well, you see, I would have radioed in, but my coms broke," the stranger explained. Scorpio ignored him; his patience with this Octan spy had worn thin. "Who was your unit leader?" Scorpio asked. "Uh, Dave. I was a part of Dave’s team," came the reply. Suddenly Scorpio's expression changed. There had been two missions sent to spy on Guinevere--Daring Dave had been the one leading the team on the opposite side of the globe. They had supposed to have contacted each other shortly after landing, but Scorpio had been unable to reach him. What if this guy wasn’t actually a spy? Perhaps he was telling the truth. "Did anyone else survive the crash?" "I don't believe so. I was unable to survey the wreckage because of the flames." Still, Scorpio couldn’t tell if he was for real. They hadn’t noticed any smoke from wreckage, yet given the planet’s volcanic activity, how could they? He needed a test, to make sure. Then, an idea came to mind. He whispered to the SPIT, “Private--keep your guns trained on him for just a second." Then to the stranger: “Well, we’re sorry to hear about the crash. I had better send a report to the Lady K immediately, and see what she would have us do. In the meantime, I am sure you are quite hungry..." "Oh yes, do you have any food?" came the earnest reply. "Why, of course.” Scorpio pulled out a jar, which he had kept from his trip to Barnius, and it pulled from it two fat, wriggly grubs. He could practically feel the anticipation in the air as the two SPIT licked their lips. "Well, here you go. A real tasty morsel, to help calm your nerves after all that you've been through." The stranger stood motionless. Week 4 of Andromeda's Gates by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Week 4 of Andromeda's Gates by rodiziorobs, on Flickr Week 4 of Andromeda's Gates by rodiziorobs, on Flickr "Boys, he's all yours!" Two quick pulse blasts later, the lesser of the SPIT inquired, "Do you think he really was an Octan, sir?" "Certainly; he wasn’t one of us, I can promise you that. He was probably sent up here to investigate our arrival, and the rest of his buddies are down there over that ridge setting up their own mining encampment. We had best proceed carefully.” This encounter raised a lot of questions: how did this spy know about the Lady K? and Dave? Was it a just lucky guess? or had Octan cracked their encoded communications? Or worse, yet, was there a mole in M.A.N.T.I.S.' operations? Surely the answers would not come easy. But in the meantime... Week 4 of Andromeda's Gates by rodiziorobs, on Flickr "Looks like Friday came early this week, boys, but I think you've earned it. Eat up, and let’s go see what we can see."
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Location: A05 - Yallorn II. Tags: Military, Piracy, Building. M.A.N.T.I.S Special Forces log: Myra Dynarski 14 Junali 3815, Yallorn II. Previous entry An Octan spy infiltrated one of our compounds in order to steal our precious larvae! Whether this was done in an attempt to demoralise our brave forces, to discover the source of our strength and good looks, or simply because they like the taste is unknown. Enemy spy neutralised, no opportunity for interrogation, larvae recovered. Possible connection to issues encountered by expedition MRV1B04? They stole it from us! Sneaky little Octanses. Must have the precious! Image of the whole build:
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Location: A06 - Guinevere Tags: A06, MANTIS, Spying - Equipment: Spying Outfit Double D's log 2: After a successful mission on Barnius, I was granted with a Spying Outfit and commissioned to head to the planet Guinevere. I ended up in the middle of nowhere in the blazing heat - but he was already used to that, and the new suit helped keep me cool. Finally, after hours of searching for life on the water-deprived planet, I came across a group of bird-like creatures nibbling on gel-like cactus plants that somehow acted as a source of water and other nutrients for the bird...things. Hey, my major is not in Biology. Unfortunately, some Kawashita drones were observing the birds too...but no matter, my new suit was equipped with one of those W.A.C.H. systems Massi had fumbled with a week earlier. The hack informed me that there were 2,000 drones like the ones here all across the planet. But these were....ehehm..."test" drones. Apparently Kawashita did not expect MANTIS to arrive a week early, so I easily decrypted their communication codes and transmitted some of my own to put them into a state of hibernation (no self-destruct mode unfortunately). Then I downloaded the drones' findings and mappings of the planet ;) ~ DD out AG: New Ground by David FNJ, on Flickr ------------------------------------- The cracked soil and the multi-colored rocks were quite fun to make! I didn't think masonry bricks would work that well with the stratified rocks.
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Location: A05-Yallorn II Tags: Vehicle, Exploration Job: Driver Log Update: After operating the TR-2 Mining Rig, it was a welcome change to use the T-4 Buggy to scout ahead on planet A05. The individual front and rear suspension soak up even Yallorn II's mountainous terrain, and it's one of the fastest vehicles I've driven. The scouting expedition itself was mostly uneventful, I ran across a few small aliens, but they scampered off quickly. I made sure to keep an eye on them though, as harmless looking creatures often turn out to be anything but that. The T-4 Buggy features working suspension, and the ability to swap out modules for different missions. Weapons module for scouting missions: Cargo module: Secondary cockpit module: I tried to capture a rocky moss covered look to represent Yallorn II's mountainous landscape. C&C welcome
