Dannylonglegs

Haha! Awesome scene! Great reference to Bond, and really well done build. The amount of colour is just right. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Love your terrain work DD! You're quite the master of controlled, yet natural feeling groundstuff. Here, again, that shows. Even your smallest builds are expert quality. great simple build. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Wow, I've gotta go back and freshen up on all your story builds that I've missed, because this is tense, and I really want to see where it goes! Great build! Like, really great! Your microships are well done, but the office steals the show. Also, Chogg's vehicle is really great. I can't wait to see what happens next! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

As others have said, the lighting certainly contributes to an ominous tone. It'd be too dark to really make out what's happening, if the story didn't answer that, but the tension it lends the scene is worth i5. Great job! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Lovely taxicab! I love the use of the old road piece! The trouble with GPS is instantly relatable, and hilarious, and the overall scene is great for the characters. Can't wait to see how this progresses. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Delightful simple build! Smooth and clever, this is a great small build. I love the use of that panel piece as a filing cabinet drawer. Perfect use... although I wonder why our corporations still use filing systems such as these in this farflung future. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

I don't think I've seen a bad build or story from you, ever, and this week is no different! Sal's misadventures are one of AG's funnest things to watch! The story is great (as is Moose's story that this adds to. I loved that, Moose!) And the scenery is lovely, as always! Great work! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Love the smooth yet blocky style of the ship. Very Octan. The large front and slick back reminds me of a trilobyte somewhat, which is cool! The story is nice (Kodan cares far more about the wellbeing of his employees than Dr. Long. ) and the scenery is really nice. Simple and clean. I'd have covered the studs on the edge of the grate-plate, but that's a very minor nitpick. Awesome work! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Alright, I guess I won't be the only one to have scored a 1! but seriously, great to see your dedication to our beloved Octancorp! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

I love this build, and the story is wonderful! As you know, I love back story builds, and there's plenty of lovely characterization going on here! I can't wait to see how this resolves itself. In addition to a lovely story, the builds and set pieces are inventive and welldone! The DJ's club is great! A perfect amount of colour and character. The little pilot testing ships are fun, and the pod housing is a really cool concept. Great job! Also, your build from the previous week is super cool. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Thanks! Glad you like it! The hardest part of the rig was figuring out whether I wanted the cylinder in the back to be more horizontal or vertical. The drill itself was actually the first part of the rig that I built. It's what lead me to make this a boring drill instead of a bulldozer/dumptruck. The drill bit actually spins, by the way. It's connected to the cylinder by a long pipe/tube piece that travels the length of the drill bit. The cylinder is supported by an axle. If I had to fault the rig for one thing, it'd be the bare/structural front. It could have used a few pieces there, but I didn't feel like spending more time on the crane part. wow. I wasn't trying to be sneaky about that at all. I actually just forgot. Oops. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Tags: Land Vehicle, Air Vehicle (2 land vehicles ), Civil Structure, Science Planet: F03, Forring Translated from a Language of clicks and purrs Green helmed Alien: "The hour is late. The diggers are upon us. The eight carbon chain hive of humans has not abandoned their search as we had hoped." Bright Green helmed Alien: "I assume this was the work of that one scientist?" Green helmed Alien: "It would appear as such. Have our people been evacuated?" Bright Green helmed Alien: "All lives have been saved. Cocoon has been loaded." Green helmed Alien: "And the databanks?" Bright Green helmed Alien: "Clear" Green helmed Alien: "And the map?" *Crash* *boom* *VRRRRRRRRRRRRR* Bright Green helmed Alien: "..." Green helmed Alien: "We must flee." Bright Green helmed Alien: "But the map..." Green helmed Alien: "There is no time." _____________________ Several Hours Later Doctor Edris (seated figure): "Good news?" Masked Mook 1: "Fortune and glory, Dr. Edris, fortune and glory!" Dr. Edris: "That's what I like to hear!" Hatted figure: (Whispered) "Hail... MANTIS...." Octan Employee (Shorty): "Why did you get to have the chair? Is it due to your rank?" Dr. Edris: "I brought this chair. You'd have one too if you'd brought one. let this be a learning experience." Dr. Edris: "Excellent! Shorty, open a line of communication with the Axle. Get me Odus on the line." *Pew pew* * * Dr. Edris: "Roachbot! What have you done?" Roachbot: "I work for MANTIS now. They've offered me the one thing you all never could: Respect." Masked Mook 2: "Who the megablock programs our robots?!" Hatted turncoat: "Kill him, Roachbot. Take Shorty hostage and leave Doctor Edris to me." Shorty: "Why'd it have to be a Spec-ops Robot!?" Roachbot: "My armour is resistant to most forms of plasma-based weaponry. Please comply." Several Minutes Later: *Vrooooooom* "Hello. I'm Dave, from accounting. I've been informed by my corporate espionage agent that you've uncovered some very valuable objects from these ancient ruins. As you should be aware, this territory belongs to MANTIS, and thereby all artifacts found therein are forfeit to acquisition by MANTIS personnel." Dr. Edris: "You're an accountant?" Dave, from Accounting, "I never said that. Now, hand over the Artifact. All your digsite are belong to MANTIS." Dr. Edris: "MANTIS. I hate those guys." Dave, from Accounting: "What!? But! How!? I thought you were a scientist! What kind of scientist can take down a trained soldier?!" Dr. Edris: "I'm an Archaeologist." *bashes Dave with hilt of sword.* *shing* Dr. Edris: "Hello, Odus? Yes, I know she's on sabbatical. I need you to contact her. Tell Dr. Long that it's real, and we've found it. The item from her dreams. We've found it." ___________________________________ Sans People by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr Pictures of the vehicles: Drill rig by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr Drill Rig by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr Mantis Speeder by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr Mantis Speeder by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr Mantis Speeder by Danny-Longlegs, on Flickr I love that little speeder so much, I think I'll keep it around for a while! I'm back for the summer! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

"Dr. Long's office. Please hold." "Dr. Long's office, Odus speaking." "Her Secretary." "No, I can't transfer you. She's on sabatical. I'm speaking on her behalf." "Dues? Oh yes, we can do that." "Alexis, please transfer 33 credits from Dr. Long's expense funds to CFO Bob." -Odus

I wasn't sure it would. Thanks for the swift ruling on that, I will amend it. edit: he's more clearly a robot from the other angle, but either way, I'm sure he wouldn't count. And, yes, I will add the building tag. By the by, do builds set on supermassive space ships such as the Axle count as civil buildings, since they don't count as spaceships? Either way, there is a civil building depicted in the tunnels Dr. Long is remembering. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Planet: E01, in orbit Tags: Civil, building, Science "Internal Monolog Date, 14, This... this is Dr. Danielle Long. Me. Myself. They're about to run the tests on me. Maybe... maybe I will be able to use this data to determine what has happened to me... why I cannot remember the past months. A virus was identified on my drone. It was neutralized, but all data of the events has been lost. My log book is likewise compromised. The only log databank unaffected my hacking is the one within my skull... and I cannot remember anything. But... lying on this Gurneybot, I feel... feel something... familiar. My body seems to recognize this position... the cold. The feeling of being observed as a specimen... this feeling... cannot be erased. I will find out what has been done to me... and when I regain my memory... I will have my compensation." ~Insectoid Aristocrat

"All Dr. Long's credits to Bob. Boy do I miss her. Fortunately her autopilot has been keeping me company. Dr. Long is always so prepared! She even programed demeaning comments about my work ethic and attire into the AI! It's done wonders for morale... although continues to diminish my self-esteem." ~Odus, Dr. Long's secretary

Thanks all! Glad to be back! Wish I could have opened with a better build, and I haven't been completely away from Lego in my hiatus. I've got a few WIPs that'll be shown in some subsequent weeks that're superior to this. It was a solid return build though. Certainly better that some of the other stuff I was churning out before I took off. I definitely think the Hiatus was good in regards to my own personal quality control. Now that I've got it out of my system that I have to post "every week" I hope to be able to put forward a lot fewer 3s, and a lot more of the 4+ towards which we all aspire. Thanks for the feedback all. When I first tried the cylinder embedded in the earth technique for my first Zotaxians build (Enter Stage Right) the tunnel was deeper and it was easier to conceal the backdrop. I tried to ameliorate the problem with better angles in the updated pictures, but ultimately it is a fault of the build which I will keep in mind when I try this technique again (this is a common feature of Zotaxian architecture, which may reappear) Pombe story will definitely be a concern of Dr. Long's in subsequent weeks... although once she stops eating lotus, she'll be immediately more focused on her own mind, and reconciling with her new role in Octan, having been stuck on this planet for months... and not realizing it... it isn't Decambrili anymore, afterall... ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Planet: F03, Forring Tags: Science, Civil (the structures are not militant) "Log Date 008. This is Dr. Danielle Long. Log Dates 005, and 006 are missing from my personal Log. I worry that this data corruption may be due to the new chip I have been using since the temporal fluctuation incident. I will be sure to have this fixed upon my return to the Axle, which is scheduled for tomorrow: Desembrinali 23. Furthermore, I suspect there has been some forms of sabotage to my personal Octancorp temporary habitation pod. I noticed this morning that 2 months worth of rations had gone missing, along with several other inexplicable differences to the pod that make me believe someone had been inside it... either that or I've been sleepwalking, a noted side-effect of the BonNuit ™ sleeping pill... but that doesn't explain the missing rations... nor, more importantly, does that explain the lack of communication I have with the Axle. I've never gone even a day without coordinating with the Axle... and now I find that my communications device is unable to reach them. Surely this will be straightened out when I return to the Axle tomorrow. This bizarre morning has only continued to become more and more disconcerting. The Unidentified Artifact I was deployed to investigate deems to have... already been somewhat escavated. There are clear signs of very recent work on the Alien structure. All these signs lead me to believe I am not the only one down here interested in this artifact. Perhaps Mantis?... but they have no presence on this planet. I, a woman of science, must admit, I find these turns of event somewhat... Eerie. But I must not let sentiment get in the way of my work. I will have my drone, who's memory banks seem to have been wiped clean last night, investigate the recent cave in that appears to be blocking further access to the tunnels that comprise this structure. When originally reported, just over a week ago, it was mentioned that these tunnels seemed to lead far far underground. I wonder what could have caused the tunnel's collapse... and what is causing the dull throbbing pain on the back of my head. Dr. Long out." Better pictures are up. I should be getting a better camera soonish. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

I concur. it's about time Dr. Long got back to work! I wonder what could have become of her... maybe we'll find out this week... Swell build, Medium! That ship is really sweet! I love the unique shape of it. ~Insectoid Aristocrat.

I suggest getting a Flickr account (free, just make a free a Yahoo account for it) and uploading your image to Flickr and then deeplinking to the image. Euro bricks is not an image hosting website, so you'll need to upload it through an external source. A much less complicated process that doesn't involve making any new accounts is simply using "tinypic" to host the image. You'll need the image to be medium to small sized. Flickr let's you choose your size, which is its biggest advantage. Medium for a square is about 500-500 pixels (or a bit bigger) tinypic just hosts pictures. It doesn't let you change the picture's size. You'd need to do that on your own computer before uploading it. Once you've hosted the picture, you can take the picture's url and post it here, surrounded by the following code: [img] [/img] like so: [img] www.example.com [/img] That will do it for you. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Absolutely not! You can be anything from a priest or missionary to a trader or adventurer to a humble bread baking colonist or an artisan, or an extravagant aristocrat, or even a pickpocket stowaway. Of course you can also be a member of Oleon's famous Navy, as many have already done. It's all up to you! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

OK Captain Pirate Man, I'll try to answer tou. First off, welcome to BoBS! Second, there are plenty of places you can place your fort. Before you do any posting though, I'd post your sigfig, at least so that we can index this all. If you are anxious to post it this week, before the first Contests even start, you have a few options, but if you're willing to wait a tad bit, there have been ruminations regarding the reveal of a new island to inaugurate the first challenge, but this isn't yet 100% sure. If you don't want to wait, there are a few options for you. If your Fort and town are temperate in local, feel free to place them in Oleon's Mainland. The only named city yet is its Capital, Granoleon. If the location is a bit more tropical, Oleon has holdings in the Tropics, so you've chosen your allegiance well! Oleon holds the Island of "LeBellon" in the Sea of Storms" which is about as tropical as the Carolinas, I think. On LeBellon are the two named cities of Bresaun, and Eltina. And, additionally, Oleon holds "New Oleon" which is also Tropical, if I'm reading correctly. This nation has no named cities yet. Also, regarding the Junk, earlier, there's no released map yet, but the Brethren Court considered that there would be a vaguely Asian Analogue region on the south continent of the main land (below New Oleon) although, certainly a Junk could originate from wherever you like. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

All the factions have traders. Even the Sea Rats can conduct trade of sorts... (although, their former of trade is more akin to smuggling, I'd say, as they trade in often stolen or illicit goods.) Each faction has a distinct flavor and culture, however, and one should try to consider that while constructing one's character. A trader from Oleon will likely worship Poseidon as his patron deity (or the lesser god Hermes, if that's your thing) and would certainly clash with the aristocracy, or else be a partner of one of the Aristocratic lords, or, even, a trader sanctioned by the Order of the Faith. An Oleon trader may be critical of the gods, or devout, and will likely have members of his crew on both sides, depending on discretion and dramatic considerations. And, of course, an Oleonder trader would best remember that the Order can commandeer his vessel should they need it... The Oleoders can be critical of traders, fearful of the new ideas they may spread, but again, traders sanctioned by the Order will certainly demand respect, and the clergy of Poseidon definitely supports trade, as Poseidon claims dominion over and offers protection to those who ply the seas for profit. Furthermore, an Oleonder trader benefits from the military might of their nation, and are more likely to receive military protection than a less powerful nation. Additionally, Oleonder traders have plenty of land to trade with, as Oleon is famous for its land owning culture. An Eslandola trader benefits from the whole culture revolving primarily around his craft, and receives privilege and respect for plying the seas for legitimate coin. He may be a member of an established company, or forge his own ways. A trader in Corrington benefits from the forward thinking and orderly culture. A Corrington trader makes use of the best navigational tools and charts, and ships his wares on time. Likewise, a Corrington trader is likely to captain his crew with military precision, and perhaps peruse the latest scientific journals in his downtime. Their wares are heavily taxed, but they love their Queen, and acknowledge the taxes go to benefit their highly developed infrastructure. It helps keep the ships arriving on time, and allows for efficient trade. And, lastly, a Sea Rat trader can come in many types... but most are your Smugglers of lore. Your Han Solos and Mal Reynalds. These rebellious scoundrels specialize in getting goods from point A to point B with as few imperial entanglements as possible! Whether they have a heart of gold, or a heart longing solely for gold, they get the job done, or else get in trouble with their employers. They smuggle and launder the Ill begotten loot of the Pirates who call Bastion their home, as well as their legitimate craftspeople, in trade for the goods necessary for survival... those that cannot merely be taken from other merchant vessels by piracy, that is. Also, the Sea Rats can trade in inherently illicit goods, where certain goods are outlawed (where there's a tobacco embargo, you'll find Sea Rat Tobacco. Where there's a liquor Prohibition, you'll find Sea Rat Bootleggers. Where there are Sumptuary laws, you'll find Sea Rat dye.) Also, they trade Parrots pretty legitimately. These are the rough and tumble smugglers and traders, bound to no country or company, just trying to make their way in the world. ~Insectoid Aristocrat