Ross Fisher

*Your entry has earned 3 XP (x2 for limited challenge)* I was in two minds about taking Lu'vel along on my next mission. On the one hand, she was an unknown quantity; someone who had no particular loyalty to me or my allies, whose skills and experience were unclear. Hell, I wasn't even truly sure she *wanted* to come along. But on the other hand, I didn't want to just leave her back at the shuttle. What sort of a crappy life is that? Moving from one world to another without really experiencing any of them. I figured the only way to figure out her talents and loyalties was to hand her a couple of blasters and see what happened. Better men than me have died from making decisions like that. But, frankly, I'd rather meet my end at the hands of a beautiful woman on an exotic world than from some painful disease or an angry superior officer. Unfortunately, we weren't on an exotic world. We were on Nixor, which was even more of a toilet bowl back in the day than it is now. And we were there to resolve a labour dispute with a trade union - about the most tedious, frustrating kind of job I've ever had to handle. I felt guilty for just inflicting that on the girl. Perhaps she would've preferred to stay with the ship? Or go off shopping? I hadn't yet sorted out her wage at that point. In the end, it was clear that the unions of Nixor were never going to agree between themselves what their demands were, never mind allow us to negotiate them. And since a united group of people with a grievance is the perfect seed point for a rebel cell, something had to be done. With sign-off from control, I set about removing the Union bosses from the table, one by one. And I must say, Lu'vel was a fairly decent spotter; innocuous enough that no-one gave her a second thought, but clear and concise in her information. With her help I was able to wrap up the situation rather cleanly. With Nixor under my belt, it was time to move on. So, it seems scratch-building vehicles definitely isn't my forté. The current Episode should be interesting. The thing I'm proudest of is getting a believable-looking sniper pose. I'll be using that again in the future...

Also, are speeder bikes distinct from swoop bikes? Are swoops the equivalent of drag-race machines?

@Darth Bjorn Oh, hold up, Speeder Bikes are ok? Hadn't realised that! That changes things!

@Fraunces Thanks! At the moment, I have high hopes they'll make it to the final.

@Bodi Thanks!

I have my team: The Ocean 11 have arrived.

"You watched them crash and burn in Bastion! You saw them rounded up and shipped out by the Provosts! Now, prepare to welcome; straight from the dreaded Chateau D'Ouennes; Oleon's Most Wanted; the impertinent; the incorrigible; the unforgivable; and now under strict new management; It's the OCEAN ELEVEN (Eleven, eleven...)" Announcer at the Ocean 11's first BTSC 619 game. Well chaps, they're back! And this time the Abbé is in charge! Since player-coach Merde the Murderer went AWOL after the last tournament, his place has been filled by Robin the cabin boy. While the Abbé is a famed disciplinarian, their opponents are scum, villains and foreigners, and the 11 have been promised their freedom if they win. Therefore, they will be playing unfairly. You have been warned... A 3 M 1 D 5

@goatman461 cool challenge, thanks! How heavily will you be penalizing the difference between landspeeders, airspeeders, truckspeeders, etc?

@blackdeathgr appreciated! I was keen to make sure I represented the varied culture of the Great Alliance States to the best of my ability.

I have my team, I just need to get round to photographing them.

@MKJoshA Can you update the points for Fnab? According to his holojournal he should 23 points:

Of course what I didn't anticipate was that, during the assault, there would be a change of leadership among the Mordageen. Ramara Till was killed in the confusion, and her sister, Brenta Till, assumed command. If she had harboured any thoughts of betraying us, the speed of Commander Bannon's assault left her no time to do so. And so, when the dust settled, and I returned to their compound to conclude the deal, there was an added complication. Till's people were, reluctantly, willing to return my weapon collection, but they had no interest in the Twilek hostage I had for them. As far as they were concerned, she was Ramara's slave, and therefore untrustworthy. They couldn't have someone like her wandering around, so they left her fate up to me. All of this left me in a bit of a quandary. I'm not keen on keeping slaves. In a delicate diplomatic environment their use offends too many people to be a benefit. Still, I figured I would take Lu'vel under my wing for the time being. I'm not the type to leave her to the tender mercies of the Mordageen. I quite wanted Fnab to have a Twi'lek companion, since one of their cultural proclivities is towards diplomatic work. However, they are also one of the most commonly enslaved species in the Star Wars galaxy, and I didn't want to skip past the darker side of that life. I didn't want my Sig to be the kind to want a slave, but he is an Imperial, so probably wouldn't have a moral objection to it. In the end I decided to reflect his more pragmatic nature, and highlight the fact that if he doesn't keep slaves, it's because they are awkward in a diplomatic context. Lu'vel will exist in a bit of a grey area in terms of status; Fnab can't grant her manumisson because he was never her owner. But he will protect her from any other claims on her ownership, and you won't see her wearing a shock collar any more.

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

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

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

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

@Gubi0222 Really nice way of continuing the story.

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

I've got no problem with that.

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

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

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

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

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