RocketBoy

*Your entry has earned 7 XP* Part 1: The Sound in the Streets (Surface Battle) "Aboard the Peace and Quiet", by journalist Gutat Lupak. Pre-Battle Briefing from Data Master Bey’wan Pwua’Tua About the Ship: Meet the Crew! Additional Pictures for Judging Huge thanks to the other CFS players, who are a consistent source of feedback and good company. To be concluded in Part 3.

Genuinely blown away by the response, guys. Especially thankful the colors have gone over well (that was a gamble). Thank you all so much!

The yellow industrial frames and everything is a great choice. You have a really good layout just in general, really.

*Your entry has earned 6 XP* Day 1 of CFS Intervention in the Pyerce Affair. When the Empire fell, not everyone was happy to see them go. Was Fondor one of them? Well, when the second Death Star exploded into tiny pieces, and people across the galaxy celebrated, Fondor’s security force put down the demonstrations as “disturbances of the peace.” So what do you think? Alright, I’ll be blunt: there are a lot of people on Fondor giddy at the thought of being ruled by the first Imperial Warlord that shows up on their doorstep. Pyerce fits the bill. While Pyerce’s Insurrection schmoozed the Fondor government, foot soldiers moved into the streets to quell any anti-Imperial sentiment. The slums, the old warzones, ruins and industrial areas. Y’know, places where people live. You can bet it was a shock for the locals to see those gleaming helmets again. Different, but not enough that it didn’t bring back bad memories. A couple of meetings behind closed doors and it’ll be like the last few years never happened. Most people on Fondor weren’t exactly happy about it, and they were keen to let the higher-ups know it. They took to the streets with banners and signs, while Stormtroopers played with their triggers and the pro-Imperial citizens tried to block their way. Things were getting testy. That’s where we come in. What’s the CFS doing on Fondor during a political coup? Well, not all of us have the patience to be farmers, as much as we love the spirit of the colonies. We get antsy if we’re not out doing something a little more direct to spread our beliefs. Core belief being displayed today? Tyranny sucks. Coordinating with local resistance, we launched strikes on government and Pyerce targets. Undermining surveillance, breaking up meetings, destroying outposts. “Why so much violence?” you ask, while I look at you like you’ve sprouted the head of a Gundark. “They’re just holding meetings, right?” I hate that we have to fight anyone. I hate that people believe the lies they hear and make the decisions they do. If only they could get a glimpse of colony life, maybe they’d change their minds. But we’re not in the colonies. We’re on a pro-Imperial world, where an Imperial warlord is goose-stepping into a power vacuum. Have you forgotten what the Empire was like? If we let this go too far, it’s not so easy to stop. Evil like the Empire—the kind that seems polite—thrives because people try to treat it with civility. Talk to me about civility when some crisp uniform is pulling you away from your family on suspicion of “rabblerousing”. Well, ordering some stormtrooper pull you away. They’d never actually do it themselves. I might have fleas, after all. We’ve got a small team, all of us from CFS Battle Group Andor, a tiny intelligence unit stationed aboard the market ship CFS Peace and Quiet. The fish-man is in charge: Captain Kelp, scariest Mon Calamari I’ve ever met. Bit crusty around the gills. He’s furious that there even are Pro-Imperial planets, much less that we have to step foot on one. I think he feels like these places are a lost cause, waste of time. Maybe the noise from the protests in the streets could convince him otherwise. Our tech guy is Rorgarr, a Wookie. I have a hunch his fur might be a lighter color than anyone’s ever actually seen—he’s perpetually stained with oil, so we’d never know. The furball and I get along; maybe because we’ve got a common ancestor somewhere. Sometimes he teaches me Shyriiwook (I’m getting there) and we discuss how we’re feeling about things. We see a lot. Feels good to open up, lean on someone you can trust. Makes you feel safer in the field, too. And me? I’m Fenree Kel. I’m not really much more than an extra gun and set of eyes, but leadership knows I’m committed. I’ve spent years throwing my life into the cause, first against the Emperor, now against whatever lowlife tries to repaint his banner. I’d give my life to keep these people free. I know that sounds idealistic—hokey, even—but I’ve stared down enough E-11s that I know it’s true. That used to scare me. Not anymore. Rorgarr helped me process some of that, that lovable sponge. As for the plan, it’s pretty simple: While the protestors clash with the Pro-Imps and Pyerce’s troops, we’re going to take down a listening post that’s tracking protest coordination and receiving communication from the orbital blockade. They won’t see us coming, and once it’s gone, they won’t see anything else coming either. Some wordplay, there. I’ve got a good bite, but my bark is surprisingly sophisticated, too. The tricky part is this: once we’ve loosened Pyerce’s grip planetside, there’s no reason they won’t blast the karf out of Fondor City. That’s where the timing comes in: the CFS Peace and Quiet is supposed to arrive by the end of the day with a few cruisers to engage Pyerce’s ships in orbit. They get here too late and we get bombed. Too early and the ground forces go into high alert, and protestors get shot. It’s a narrow window, but there’s no one I’d rather rely on than Admiral Yima. He’s a weird old guy, but he knows what he’s doing. Alright, focus up. Fighting for freedom here. Blow up the tower. Help the protestors. Fight Pyerce’s guys. Clear the path for the Auxillary fleet. __________________________ Build Pictures and Design Notes Big thanks to Goatman, Pombe, and bigmike for their contributions. Part 2 (Cat C): The CFS Peace and Quiet

*Your entry has earned 2 XP* Unveil the spoiler, and immerse yourself in the adventures of the newly-courageous Professor Floon! Professor Floon's Next Adventure, in the jungles of Imynusoph!

Thank you! Yes, Mathfful is absolutely a Wookie Mandalorian. Why would you think he isn't? Of course he is.

Fantastic! Really striking. The shaping on those angles is primo.

I appreciate the hospitality, but I'm a dyed-in-the-wool born-again CFS man. I think Mathfful is the same, he's a CFS-affiliated bounty hunter, not tied to a particular clan. (At least not Clan Eldar.) No disrespect intended! I'm a big fan. Thanks! It was an early foliage test when I first got some of those parts. It feels kind of lively.

*Your entry has earned 2 XP*

Love the architecture, the floor, the greenery, and that jetpack effect. Really nice. And lovely writing! Naturally.

As always, great writing. Fnab is easily my favorite Factions character. Love the suggestion of a blockade runner-esque cockpit. It does the job but saves you a lot of effort. Kudos. It could maybe use a tad more detailing? Maybe even just some grilles or lights on those front brackets. The bunker door is great, as is the snow around the edges. Maybe some detailing on the right side of the build could've added something? Mayhaps a few vents or a window or some exposed metal under the wall of ice and snow. Those are really just nitpicks. Excellent work all in all.

Great build, and legitimately excellent narrative there. So sad for Go-A Tman. The tactical droid detail is great, he obviously did his research and due diligence. What a tragedy that it ended so rocket-ey and "that thing's operational!"-ey. Maybe you could add some unedited photos of the build?

Nice scene! If this is your Cat A, you may want to make sure it says so in the title of the post (check the Episode post for details). I like the landscaping, the rock and tree especially feel natural, particularly with the mix of greens. If you have a few slopes, they might add to the sides? I'm confused by the minifig choice - Pyerce is an Imperial warlord, his soldiers should probably look like Stormtroopers, not non-human rebels. I was kind of looking forward to the TT posts and their Stormtrooper vs Stormtrooper battles, but it's your build!

Love the breakdown/commentary! The build is fantastic, the light details and everything is great. The standing water gets too zigzaggy and pervasive right outside the door for me, and the reflection of the red lights might be better left to the plastic itself, but I love the idea. I love the minifigs outside with the umbrellas, it really sets the scene. And inside looks so cozy. The detailing on the resturaunt is awesome. Great stuff all around!

I really admire the scope of all this. Great work all around.

The podracer comparison makes me like it even more. This might be rude, but a thought about the underside of the plates under the "windscreen": maybe you could rotate that bracket, which keeps the windscreen wedges in the same place but also let's you decorate that front/under part, maybe with grilles or something? Just a thought! Feel free to ignore. Edit: I just looked at it again and realized what I said is impossible, but maybe you could add another bracket where that black tile is to give you more options there. Who knows.

The color layering on the ground is great! I would say the bunker should be all one color, but I relate completely to navigating part limitations. Also, I honestly think the scene would be stronger/more focused without the scout trooper and speeder bike, but I get wanting to show that off too. The posing on the ewoks is also really good. Them suckers is hungry.

Seriously, the posing is what gets me. It's so clear what's happening, and it doesn't feel cartoonish at all. Great stuff. And the Bike is a fun big clanky thing, too. It's "wings" kind of look like big paddles. Maybe another accent color could make the whole thing pop?

Thanks everyone for all the comments. I'm glad people are enjoying the story (and very ramshackle Skakoan)!

Me too! Stories like this have always been personal for me, but by the nature of what it is it should be a bit lighter from here on. Metaphorically, Mato just "died" and was brought back to life. Going forward he gets to learn how to live that life in his new context, so expect more wacky Farmers and joyful agrarian community life! (But also Techno Union conflict, naturally! There's more to come on that.) Also, I just like jokes. I'm planning to make my Episode builds more comedic/whimsical in tone. Thanks so much for reading!

Love the vocabulary, especially the jargon. "Flying slow on the sublights" is just so cool. And as you know I admire making a small build go a long way. Great work.

Very sleek. Great photography.

The angles you've pulled off here are great. And the branch on top is really good, it shouldnt be overlooked. Great detail.

Thanks for reading. This one was surprisingly emotional to write. I mean, it's just Legos and Star Wars but somewhere along the way I guess I bought in, haha. I think I'm around halfway through the story I want to tell here, so I'm excited to continue (and do some builds I've been planning haha).

It's odd, huh? I guess that speaks to the community life in this one colony. Thanks! It was a butt to figure out and get right. I still wish I could have made it wider and have more of a background, but that's just something to remember for future stuff. Thanks, I appreciate it! I didn't anticipate investing as much as I have in the story, but I'm enjoying doing it. Trying to tell something that's straightforward and archetypical and has everything clearly spelled out, but still manages to be meaningful. Up to you guys how well I'm doing that. Thanks for reading!