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GRID E4 STUDICA – GRID Q6 GENERAL MAP (APPROX) After the successful offensive movements of the COAC, it was time to seize enemy territory. This is a territory divided by a river. Erotema is on the left and Briolui on the right. Not a very wide and deep river, but enough to difficult the crossing without special means. A lonely combatant is searching the area, with his .50 sniper rifle. He doesn´t seem to wear the standard Briolui uniform. Maybe a mercenary? A member of a local militia? Who knows… 1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr A few minutes later, an EROTEMA MRAPv (Mine-resistant, ambush protected vehicle) arrives at the area. They are inspecting the border. 3 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 3 1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 3 2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr This vehicle features a quad 7.62 mm machine gun to provide support and self-defense, however other versions can carry a mortar, a TOW missile… Suddenly, the MRAP crew spot the sniper, who opens fire against them, so they have to do something... -Sierra 1, we are under sniper fire, we return fire, we return fire. 4 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr And the machine guns take no time in silencing the enemy. 5 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr After this small skirmish, the 2 members of the crew decide to inspect the river… 6 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr -We need the bridge layer tank, call the HQ. Call for an EOD team and the HUMINT cell, we need to get info from that fighter´s gear but there may be bobby traps or IEDs; however we will have to identify him and take his body for a proper burial. -Yes, Sir. They left the area and a few minutes later a bridge layer tank arrived. As many other armoured vehicles in Erotema, it shares the same hull than the previously seen SPH and AAA tank. 7 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 7 1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 7 2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr This model can save obstacles up to 14 metres long (approx). A future version will have a longer bridge (the real Leguan tank can save obstacles up to 24 m). The first thing the tank must do is lower the front support. 8 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr And after a short time the bridge is laid. The advantage of this sliding bridge is that it is difficult to be seen from longer distances, as the overall height is lower if we compare it with older bridge layer tanks. This model is inspired on the German Leguan bridge layer tank, in use in many European Armies. 9 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 9 1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr So the tanks can cross the river. Let´s slip the dogs of war!!! 10 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Another member of the same-hull-family. The MBT has a 125-mm smooth bore gun, a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun and a remotely operated 7.62 mm machine gun on the turret. 16 multipurpose grenade launchers (smoke or fragmentation grenades) complete the weapons array. As it has the engine in the front, it can be used as an APC. 11 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 11 1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 11 2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr 12 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr The bridge is left so other members of the COAC can enter Briolui with heavy vehicles.

My entry for Round 3 of the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics over on MOCpages. My category this time was Amon Hen. My opponent’s homepage. I really enjoyed this build, and it was fun to do a decent sized landscape again. I was a little apprehensive about having to build so many trees, but they ended up going quite quickly. In total the build took 8 days to complete. A huge thank-you to Graham and Michael for all their support and critiques along the way, I know it wouldn’t have turned out as well without them! Lots more pictures on Brickbuilt. Thanks for looking, C&C welcome

[GBW] - CP 1 - EROTEMA – HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN INVASION There is a meeting at the Erotema´s Army Headquarters. Two officers of the Army Staff give instructions to prepare Erotema against an invasion from Briolui, and there is an officer of the Combat Engineers Brigade and another from the Mountain Brigade. There are also orders to improve Refnor´s and Filace´s land defenses. PREPAR1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Combat Engineers have many main functions: provide protection for their own troops by building shelters and other useful structures; provide mobility by clearing mine fields or building roads or bridges; and impair enemy movements by laying mines or preventing the use of bridges, roads, etc. This is what our 4-strong Combat Engineers squad is doing today. They have to prepare explosive charges in a bridge that leads to the capital town of Erotema, located in grid D4. It will be not the only bridge being prepared for an eventual invasion, of course. All the main bridges are to be prepared for an invasion (in grid E4 also). IMG_20170401_095522 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr IMG_20170401_095541 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr This bridge can hold the weight of a 70-ton MBT at a time (no more than 70 tons at the same time), so it is strategic for the defense of Erotema. Here we can see the squad leader discussing where to place the charges and the amount of TNT to set. dialogo ingenieros by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr They decide to go down rappelling. The bridge is completed and ready to be blasted if necessary. This other bridge is easier to sabotage, and they use the zodiac to set the charges. ZODIAC1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr They are struggling with the water to complete their mission. zodiac2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Beaches must be prepared too, in grids C3-C4-B4-B5-B6-C6. They are laying an anti-tank mine. The Erotema Army has 2 types of anti-tank mines. Those which blast by pressure and anti-handling land mines. The latter can´t be moved and will blast if a heavy vehicle passes by very close. IMG_20170329_205909 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Walls also provide protection. These group of builders have selected a place close to the border with BRIOLUI to raise a wall, in grids E4-E5 and in the borders of REFNOR with other RON nations (grids E5-E6-F6-F7-E7-D7). The wall also covers the borders of EROTEMA with the allies FILACE and REFNOR (C3-D3-D4-E4-E5-D5-D6). IMG_20170401_113817 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr The wall is very high, more than 3 metres, and has machine guns, grenade launchers and detection devices all along it. IMG_20170401_114058 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr In another part of the country we have a brave squad of the Mountain brigade. They have the order to set up an anti-tank sites in a hilltop, and this is only one of many. Grids G3 and E5 in Filace, Erotema and Refnor. HILLTOP1 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr HILLTOP2 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr One of them must climb first and secure the way for his comrades. HILLTOP3 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Of course, it is a hard climb. HILLTOP4 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr It´s a hard work. Why? HILLTOP5 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr After a few hours they have finished. HILLTOP6 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Another view. HILLTOP7 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr And they show us how to deploy in case of a threat. HILLTOP8 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr Close up on the Anti tank missile launcher. Inspired on the TOW, it has the same features, with a Night Vision sight and possibility to engage slow helicopters. The other weapon is a more conventional grenade launcher, with two types of warhead: HEAT and fragmentation. The first one is against “hard” targets (tanks, not able to destroy but able to cripple; APCs can be blasted) and the second is for “soft” targets (HUMVEES, trucks or similar). Without wind, they can target a slow helicopter too. HILLTOP9 by green helmet spanish AFOL, en Flickr

I built my first Japanese themed MOC tp try out some ideas. It's just a smal scene, I hope you like it: Full album: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=568715

"The Crash at Crater Canyon (part 1)" is a thrilling two-part episode of the 1950s / 60s TV series Woody's Roundup. In this episode, Jessie the yodeling cow-girl is knocked out by Prospector Stinky Pete, as she had discovered Pete's plans for Sheriff Woody and the town he protects via the mine tunnels under the town filled with dynamite and nitroglycerin, set to blow up high noon the next day to destroy the town in a giant sinkhole. Jessie is then placed unconscious on a steam loco which is uncoupled from it's train and sent hurtling uncontrollably through the wilderness to Crater Canyon, where it will meet the Cannonball passenger train on the bridge. (Thus destroying the only fast way to town and keeping Jessie out of the way for the town to explode with Woody saving Jessie and not in town to stop Pete's plan.) Naturally, Woody rides out on his horse (Bullseye) to save Jessie,who has at this point woken up and discovered the throttle lever missing and steam loco's brakes disconnected. This episode ends with this scene above: Jessie reaching for Bullseye and Woody while both trains are barreling towards each other and certain destruction, while the timer on the clock in town square ticks ever closer to noon. What happens in the next episode will never be known, as the show was pulled from the airways as the film office where the future episodes and unfinished scripts were kept burned to the ground, destroying all the un-aired episodes. It is assumed, though, that Woody rescues Jessie, stops the town from exploding, and jails Pete all before the credits roll. The real scene takes place on my Eads bridge with engines 2 and 3, plus the passenger train for the latter loco. The yellow steamer is not even finished: the side not shown is missing one wheel and moving piston and was carefully staged to hide this fact! The story behind the picture is 100% fake, as the Woody's Roundup only exists in Disney / Pixar "Toy Story" films. (specifically the second one) I tried using every to make the story sound believable for that era of TV it was set in, such at the middle 1950's to early 60s when Howdy Doody and Westerns in general were very popular. What do you guys think?

Here is my final design of the St. Louis bridge, commonly known as the Eads bridge because of it's designer, James B. Eads. It uses Indiana Jones roller-coaster ramps for the arches, which looks pretty cool. The bridge is nine tracks total in length and 10 bricks high from base to track. (this means about seven brick of clearance between arch top and floor, so some ships could pass through!) First, a little background info from Wikipedia (which is also where this picture came from): "The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, the Eads Bridge was the longest arch bridge in the world, with an overall length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). The ribbed steel arch spans were considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary structural material: it was the first such use of true steel in a major bridge project. The Eads Bridge, which became an iconic image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch was constructed, is still in use. The bridge crosses the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. Today the road deck has been restored, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail line has used the rail deck since 1993." This is a rough representation, as it is missing a lot, (I.E. no car deck, single track instead of double, and a bunch of parts missing to make the tunnel under downtown and the East St Louis ramp approach.) Here is the modular component, of which I would put three of the big sections together to make the whole bridge. The railings are not quite finished yet... I need to order 31 more 1 x 8 tiles dark bluish gray. These four Technic pins connect each section together. To makes the blue base of the bridge I had a friend cut up a 48 x 48 stud base-plate into eight 8 x 24 stud chunks. Six were used on the bridge, and two are left over in case of future additions. The (Updated) LDD file is available in this link here. As usual, comments, questions, and complaints are always welcome!

Usually I try build completely original mocs but once I saw this scene I could not resist. It is based off the main setting for the cinematic story trailer. I would have loved to use olive green but unfortunately I have nowhere near enough :P The characters where fun to make even though they may not completely resemble their original source. I don't play the game (because off our old family PC) but I would highly recommend it to anyone as it looks amazing. Hope you enjoy :D This is also a chance to try out the new peices from my first BL order. Mainly bley tiles :P

The landscape for this scene was built as a commission, and then I finished the build by adding some houses, the fences, and figure activity. After learning that medieval roads often had fences or walls to allow animals to be moved effectively, I wanted to include that detail here. Brother Steven inspired the woodwork on the water mill. This is an entry into the large miscellaneous category of the Colossal Castle Contest. Market day makes for a lot of traffic on the village road as animals are taken to be sold, or purchased and brought home. The watermill is also a popular location as villagers purchase flour and bring grain to be ground. As usual, there are more pictures on brickbuilt. Your feedback is always welcome

Hello again :) I built this MOC for competition in Polish forum. We should build MOC matching climate to any LEGO set, which was not spent years beyond 1997-2005. Our hero must go through the bridge which rotates clockwise when we draw Technic axle. Gallery on Flickr.

Mod note: Zombie-bumping this because of major updates to the structure and the possibility of really building this is pretty high. I hope this is ok. This bridge was inspired by Bad Cop's Pursuit (set 70802) and the short section of railroad bridge included with that set. When I first saw it, I thought it would make a great play feature for a train bridge that is actually usable by trains. Here is the result of all that working and reworking: 12 sections of PF / RC train track (It won't work with 9V, sorry!) with 1 section "failure point" plus 2 studs of space to separate the moving from non-moving items and allow the hinge to do it's job. The track leading up to the "failure point" as I call it, is raised ever so gently at an angle of (at most) 1 1/3 bricks high per 1 section of track. (The angle of ascent / descent depends on which part of track you are on, but for the most part it's consistent.) The design of the bridge is modular so that you can easily disassemble the bridge for transport. It disassembles into 2 lower ramp sections consisting of 4 tracks each and 2 flat sections placed onto plates with the 1 "failure point" module consisting of a hinged (on one end) two-track section in the middle. The bridge when the track is safe to cross: the pins are inserted and it should be stable. Naturally, a very heavy engine will snap the Technic rods in half, breaking the bridge permanently. Thus you can only use this engine with Small engines like my 2-6-0 + it's consist, (AKA the Lone Ranger train) the My Own Train series engines, or something of comparable weight. I don't think putting a articulated such as a Union Pacific "Big Boy" or even a non articulated Pennsylvania "T1" would look very good on this bridge, as these (among other large types) are longer than the bridge gap itself. This is how it works: Their are two hidden Technic rods under the track that should allow trains to pass by safely overhead. Pull the Technic connector and your bridge collapses. Lift the bridge up and move the rod back in to reset the bridge for the next adventure. To give you a bit of perspective on this mode's progression as a concept, here is the original idea from February 2015. It was a lot more complex with two rods and two break points, plus in all likely hood it would not have held up well if carried with the flimsy base-plate underneath. Nowadays we have only one drop point and reinforced regular plates! (this model is not in the LDD file, and is just for demonstration purposes) Updated LDD file for the newer bridge model: http://www.moc-pages...1472495977m.lxf As usual, all comments are welcome, be they questions, suggestions, or complaints. Thanks for reading!

This is a set 76057 (Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle) inspired model in single track train bridge form. It can be easily extended to make a higher or shorter / longer bridge, depending on your needs, but as it stands now it's 10 tracks long with two 6 track long ramps. The connector clips between the roadway and tower are not connected because they were crashing LDD with it's many rotation issues, though it works in real life the same way as in set 76057. Without the ramps attached. The deck has been lowered and the tower added some height to let a double stacked container train of 10219 style cars through, (those are the tallest cars Lego has made) The model has two towers, four deck sections, and four deck with connector modules, plus two ramps. (one left and one right) The (UPDATED) LDD file is available here: http://www.moc-pages.com/user_images/80135/1472311962m.lxf As usual, Comments, Questions, and Complaints are always welcome! NOTE: quote edited to remove my name and substitute it with my username "Murdoch17".

Having recently bought the Spider-Man Bridge Battle set, I thought it would be amiss not to display it and make a chaotic diorama out of it. IMG_9275 by J G, on Flickr I'm not much of a MOCer (at least not anymore), so there's not much modification apart from the Sandman's 'sand hands', taken from that awful Sandman/ Rhino set. IMG_9282 by J G, on Flickr I'm glad the bridge comes with a birds nest on top, so I could make this lame joke with the Vulture. IMG_9292 by J G, on Flickr Ben Reilly's having some trouble keeping this taxi out of the water below, though his troubles are far from over. IMG_9285 by J G, on Flickr Whilst Spider-Girl faces off against the Scorpion and Kraven, Deadpool follows in the footsteps of the Great Oily Lord Ainsley Harriott and gives his meat a good old rub. IMG_9280 by J G, on Flickr Here is an under-shot of the entire thing. I had a lot of fun putting this together, and I can't recommend this set enough. IMG_9293 by J G, on Flickr Link to the album here; https://www.flickr.c...157670900135582

This truss bridge's design was started a decade ago when I received CITY set 7900 (Heavy Loader) for Christmas 2006. I loved the truss part's Technic-y design, but it didn't work with my original black and red trains, so I shelved the parts, hoping that someday reality would catch up with my dreams. After about 4 years, I designed a workable bridge using most of the parts of Bionicle set 8995 (Thornatus V9) which was purchased for the parts alone in 2010. It looked bad and wasn't tall enough for most of my trains, so I tore it apart in 2012. (you can see it in the LDD screenshot above) I kept sitting on the idea for another year and a half until 2014, when I designed this current bridge. This bridge was just finished in Real Life yesterday due to constantly tweaking the design and perpetually fearing it wouldn't work right. The model is five tracks long, but the bridge itself is four tracks. The reason for the extra track is to give the engines preparing to cross the bridge room to straighten out from curves / switches. I still have another two pieces of flex track (not shown) before the bridge as well for evening five tracks out to six.... it makes layout planning so much easier when (mostly) everything is in even numbers of track. The model is not able to be doubled up to make a two track wide bridge without significant modifications. The model can fit 8 studs wide trains with ease, and is tall enough to let all my trains (and most, if not all, of the official sets) through. The bridge is even strong enough to be carried by the top grid-work, as long as you don't swing it around / slam it down hard. LDD file for the newer gray-scale bridge: http://www.moc-pages...1451924070m.lxf Comments, Questions, & complaints are always welcome!

Thanks to de Gothia for letting me put this build in Benoic! As usual on the farm, there’s much to be done: feeding, watering, and milking the goats, feeding the chickens, and most importantly: heading back to the house for some breakfast. Lots more pictures here: Link C&C very much appreciated

Riverwatch Falls A watchtower protecting a bridge over a wild river, situated just above a small waterfall. Semaphore tower with signal engineers, signal fire and drawbridge included. Built as part of a Local Challenge for the Lands of Roawia. More images in the flickr album.

Happy November, Train Tech. I feel like I've occasionally seen bridges posted here, but for most bridges some sort of elevation change or slope is needed to integrate it into the layout. I wanted to share a simple design I came up with that addresses this issue. The basic idea is that the parts of the bridge that hold on to the edge of the gap don't extend underneath the track, so the "floor" of the bridge is at the same level as the rest of the layout: I tried to keep the bridge easy to build, using mostly basic bricks, plates, and Technic beams. The trickiest parts to find are probably the studless beams. While writing this post I realized I had made a mistake, and the bridge shown in the first photo actually spans a gap of 34 studs, instead of some multiple of 16; I've since fixed it in the CAD files. The idea is that the bridge should be as long as common baseplate lengths to integrate into layouts easily. For example, here's a 48-stud long version: Since there are repeating 16-stud sections in the bridge, it's easy to extend it. I haven't tested to figure out what the longest stable length is, but the bridge should be stronger in scenarios where the table extends down and gives the underhanging part of the bridge something to push against (like in the second image above). What do you think? I've attached the CAD files if you want to play around with them. Brickshelf (pending moderation). girderBridge_32.lxf girderBridge_48.lxf

It took almost exactly two years from the first idea to completion of this diorama of a railway station. There is less emphasis on the station itself, as my main goal was to present it in the natural environment and have a try at building a landscape. A railway line running at the foot of the hills, with railway station and adjacent bus stop, bridge and tunnel. Station building in masonry style. Bus stop with shelter Covered bike racks Some maintenance work on underground wiring needs to be done. Functioning railway signal. The photo was deliberately taken with incorrect settings so that the light from signal could better be seen. Bridge Tunnel entrance Detail of landscape The river offers plenty of chances for recreation. Aerial view. The entire thing measures 127x77 centimeters, while the estimated brick count is at least 10.000. A few more pictures can be found here.

Hi all, I normally work on Town based MOCs but recently I've been building a few more 'historical' themed MOCs. This is my first: 'Fight Over Lava River'. The video below describes it and explains a few of the building techniques. Hope you like the video. I'd love to hear your comments. Mike

Hi All, I've spend the last weeks time on building a new bridge for my trains. I wanted something that was big enough for ships to pass through, inspired by JANGBRiCKS' Drawbridge. With the 42042 set containing a lot of liftarms, I got a set off that and started to work. The result is a blue/grey bridge spanning over 64 studs, and raises for ships to pass: LEGO Train bridge The mechanism uses the boom system from the Crawler Crane, with some modifications: LEGO Train bridge LEGO Train bridge LEGO Train bridge It's all controlled from the house next to the bridge: LEGO Train bridge Where the person in charge has a nice view of the tracks and bridge: LEGO Train bridge LEGO Train bridge Here is a little video of it in action. Video of trains passing: Now I just need to build a harbour... ;-)

Hi. This is the first time I've posted a MOC on Eurobricks, and I'm a bit nervous doing so given the high standard on here. But I've learnt a lot from seeing what the awesome builders on this forum create, so here goes. This is something I put together a few months ago. It started as an attempt to build an arched bridge with no arch pieces and grew from there. Hopefully whats happening is self explanatory from the title! ;-) Give Way to Wizards! Give Way To Wizards 7 by Magma Xenoliths, on Flickr (Edit 17August: Changed the first pic to reflect feedback about the original overview being a bit static) Original Overview: Give Way To Wizards 1 by Magma Xenoliths, on Flickr Close up of the "action" Give Way To Wizards 3 by Magma Xenoliths, on Flickr Reverse Angle Give Way To Wizards 6 by Magma Xenoliths, on Flickr No special techniques or anything - just trying things I've seen on here and online. I wanted to build something for the local Lego show as I've never built anything for it before so that will be another first for me. Thanks for looking. Edit: Album here for completionists: https://www.flickr.c...157654102415161

Hi, this build is my way of trying out different tree building techniques as well as doing something with that minifigure (and justifying the purchase :P). Some say it's a gnome, but let's settle for troll for this build. I used water technique I tried out in my previous MOC here: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=111354. I am particularly happy about the foliage right next to the river (and the carrot top usage :) ) I hope you'll enjoy this one. Full gallery is here: http://bricksafe.com...i/trolls-bridge

Here are my Dad's custom buildings from the mid 1990's - early 2000's, excluding his train tunnel (which I forgot to to take pictures of). Pictures taken from my cellphone, so please excuse the crappy pics. This double track train shed was built by my father way before I had built my first LEGO system train. It was originally single track and used parts using several copies of set 6380 (Emergency Treatment Center) from 1987. Around 2005, I rediscovered the model and he decided to add a second stall to the engine shed, which he did (using a rather new website called Bricklink) He even added brick built re-railers to in-between the rails. Here is the rear of the shed, which can't fit any of my custom engines or large-N-long official trains like the Emerald Night. This is the grain elevator that my dad hasn't finished (yet). It has been sitting since 1999-ish with white splotches where their should be old gray. (see over by the loading bay) It also needs work on the delivery method to the train cars. Right now it just has a open spot in the roof and swinging double doors to stop the flow of tan 1 x 1 cylinders to the track below. I have suggested adding a conveyor belt to the building to increase capacity, but only time will tell if it is implemented. The bridge was built in the mid 1990's by my Dad and features the base-plate from set 6552 (Rocky Retreat) from 1993. This factory was by my Dad around the years 2000 - 2004 with parts from several Sand Red supplemental packs available at that time. It does not feature any interior, nor does it have a removable roof. But this thing is built STRONG: you have to really put your weight on it to press the roof together. It has never been determined what this factory made in-universe, though for my own purposes, I pretended it made beverages. What beverages, you ask? Why, Dr. Leg O. Brick's Root Beer of course! Thoughts, comments, and complaints are always welcome!

This was my entry to the Medieval Husbandry category, of the CCC XII, over on Classic-Castle: Link to more pictures: Link All C&C appreciated

Hello, One of the first things I built as an AFOL was a bridge made of blue old LEGO track. I know that the idea to use the blue LEGO track is not new - I think I have seen this in some of the old LEGO idea books. Now it took some years to "finish" it and make this small diorama to present the bridge. At the end of the 19th centuries they built these beautiful portals for train bridges - I like them very much - so I wanted them on my bridge, too. (larger images can be found in the flickr album) Hope you like it, Steffen

I can hear them. In the distance, the group of Rebels that shot us out of the sky and forced us into this gorge. It’s quite beautiful here, but something gruesome is about to happen. We don’t have a lot of time. “They have a laser cannon with them. I bet that was what shot us out of the sky. It slows them down though. They won’t attack until they have its support here.” [soNE Ep. VII] What you can't do by Bert.VR, on Flickr “I can take out those troops, but I won’t stand a chance with that cannon here. They will just shoot and make us an icy grave. Someone needs to take it out. Someone needs to find a way around that armour.” I already feel what’s coming. I’m the only one with a precision blaster. I’m the only one who knows how to handle it. “Tyrus and I will stay here. I’ll try to get those troops to leave the safety of the cannon. The bends in this gorge will prevent that cannon from shooting from a distance, so they’ll be without cover. Even though they’re Rebels, they’re not stupid, I guess. So they won’t go too far ahead. It only spreads their attack out, and what’s more, it will draw their attention. But whatever you do, officer VeR, stay low when you hide in the top floor of that building there. Wait until you get a clear shot at the gunner. You won’t get a second chance. And shoot before they do. That’s our only chance of survival. Now quickly, take your position. Tyrus, you stay here with me. Let’s give them a surprise.” It’s clear how agent An rose through the ranks so quickly. I can’t see a better way to save ourselves. But I have to do it. I have to pull the trigger. If I don’t, we’re dead. I have to do it. No time for compassion, no time for reason. What a beautiful building. I can see a haunting glow coming through the hallway, but that’s not the way I have to take. The ancient stairs take me to the place where it’ll have to become thirteen. Just as I squeeze myself into a dark corner with a good view of the bridge, agent An makes eye contact and starts shouting, starts shooting. And hides. [soNE Ep. VII] No time for architecture by Bert.VR, on Flickr The shouting grows louder, and a Rebel appears from around the corner. It’s the first time I actually see a Rebel trooper. I only took out fighters. He could be one of my comrades. But he isn’t. He wants to kil lus, and so do the other Rebels that start crossing the gap to examine the shouting. Soon, they will be no more. Agent An prepares to take them out. I can just wait, watch and shiver. There’s nothing I can do. Nothing I can do to avoid the killing. Nothing I can do to stop this war. Now, I can only do what I need to do to survive. The cannon is here. [soNE Ep. VII] It's what I can't do that makes me who I am by Bert.VR, on Flickr I have to do it. But can I do it? The shot is possible, especially with this particular blaster… A blaster that once was thrown away to save a life. A blaster that was used to talk about bravery in battle. A blaster that was given to me to be brave. To take this one shot. It was an object of battle, but the acts of a very special person made it an object of love. But that’s not how people saw it. That’s not how my parents saw it. That’s as I can’t see it right now. It has to become an object of horror once again. My finger is around the trigger. If I shoot, my shot will only make two victims. The Rebel will die, a part of me will die, for the thirteenth time. If I don’t shoot, my comrades will be killed. I will, eventually, be killed. One against three. It can’t be clearer. Do it. Make it thirteen. It won’t stay with one dead Rebel. The thought resonates through my head. If I shoot, not only the one Rebel I hit will be killed. Not only the others will be killed by my comrades. Hundreds, thousands, millions will die. If I kill, it will be yet another death in the long, interrupted chain of killings in this terrible war. It will hit the next homino and war will keep raging, the horrible killing will continue. Who knows where it’ll end. Don’t do it. Don’t make it yet another million. If I shoot, I’ll lose all hope of ever defeating war. It can’t be vanquished by always more killing and killing. It can only be vanquished by throwing away this blaster. If I shoot, no matter what someone will get killed and war will have yet another victory. And if I don’t… There’s an overwhelming chance I might die and war will have yet another victory. But if those Rebels decide not to shoot as well… If we, by some kind of beautiful Force, would now decide to throw our weapons down, war would be defeated. It can’t be clearer. If I shoot, I will lose all hope. If I don’t, I might lose my life. If I do, I will lose all hope. I’ll destroy everyone else’s hope that this war might come to a peaceful end, that all wars might come to an end right here, right now. It has never been so clear. It’s what I can’t do that makes me who I am. I can’t pull this trigger. But that gives me so much more power than someone who can. Finally, after months of ‘training’, of dedicating myself to this cause, I can’t kill. It’s something that a lot of people never learn. Everyone’s always busy to learn to do new things. No one ever wonders what they have to learn not to do. But I did. And there’s a minuscule chance it might stop this war. With what we can’t do, we can change the world. My thoughts never rushed so quickly as in this moment. And yet, I’ve never felt more enlightened. In these buildings, made by a civilization I believe was captured by that same light. Yes, that’s what these buildings were made for. But now, they’re going to be destroyed. The cannon still hasn’t fired. I wonder… But the gunner has his finger around the trigger. But I have hope. I’m prepared to die, because if I don’t, the world will be a very different place. [soNE Ep. VII] How to survive by Bert.VR, on Flickr __________________________ This blaster has become a symbol of love and hope once again. I called Alderaan my home. It’s where I was raised. It’s where my parents were raised. It’s where my great-granduncle threw this blaster away. To many people, Alderaan is the most peaceful planet possible. But not entirely. People of my planet always had that sense for opposition somewhere inside them. It’s one of the reasons they were the only ones to stand against this Empire, to no avail. That opposition was especially strong in my family. For generations, we stood against the rule of Alderaan. The reason why didn’t matter much. There’s always a fault to be found. There’s always the need for someone going in against the tide. That’s what my family stood for. That’s what they took up the weapons. Almost exactly a hundred years ago, the conflict culminated, and there were several coordinated attacks on the existing rule. They might have had their reasons, but that’s not of importance. Two brothers, my great-granduncles, fought in the army the opposition formed at the time. The resistance against the cruel acts of the opposition grew and grew, and a civil war broke out. The attacks grew more and more violent, more and more people died, and conflict without near end began. Both camps dug their selves in, with the occasional raid boosting the number of casualties. And in this conflict, the two brothers remained as close as two brothers can be. They looked after each other. When the oldest returned after a raid, only to found his brother hadn’t, it became apparent that they loved each other more than they hated the enemy. Ignoring the orders of his superiors, he threw his blaster away and ran back to the battlefield, to find his dear brother. War didn’t bother him, he only cared about his brother. He was killed, and found with the dead body of his brother in his arms. [soNE Ep. VII] Past - No blaster, no bravery by Bert.VR, on Flickr This story has been told countless times in my family, but not quite in this version. The only thing that mattered, was the bravery of the brother. Without fear of the enemy, he returned to the battlefield, even when it was not his to fight on. His blaster became the ultimate symbol of his bravery. It was passed on in my family. Until was passed on to me. The brother had no fear of the enemy. My family said because of his total hate for his enemy. I say because of the total love for his brother. I always opposed my family. But they only encouraged it. Opposition is key, they said. They didn’t see I wasn’t opposing what they stood for. I was defending what I think was right. The blaster came to me, and they got me a post in the Imperial army. It would give me the opportunity to oppose the opposition to the established order, what I liked to do according to them. I had nothing to say in it. And since everyone on Alderaan is gone, I had no place to go to, nothing else to do. But now I do, no longer armed with this blaster. It has become a symbol of love and hope once again. _______________________ Well, take a deep breath, that was it. I hope you enjoyed the story and please spare it some thoughts. Let me know what you think. This was built in quite a hurry, with the festivities and the exams. Because of that, the past scene isn't nearly finished. There should be more buildings in the background, and a more elaborate dropship. I hope you can see beyond those failures though, and enjoy what's there. This build and this story is a collaboration with fellow Imperials Lord Tyrus and goatman461. Thank you guys for all the inspiration! I hope there is still a lot to come. If you still can read, check out their topics here: Stranded, by Lord Tyrus (prequel to this story) War Hammer, by goatman461 (happening simultaneously with this story) Rescue Mission, by Commander Beltar (giving a glimpse how this story continues...) And to finish, as always, the LXF file is availble through this link. PS: the story of the two brothers is based on actual events. A hundred years ago, in the First World War, mygreat-granduncles, the Van Raemdonck brothers, went through a simular tragedy. Their act of love is used as a symbol of the Flemish movement to this day. So you see: my stories don't just belong to a galaxy far far away. I hope this is a proper tribute to them. Learn more about them on Wikipedia, and this page has a nice picture, and if you translate it, the whole story. PPS: here is a short version for everyone who has little time or trouble with English: