LucasLaughing

Grace was true to her word, and a few days after completing a "job" for one of her associates I found myself traveling cargo class, leaving the Kuat system hidden in the hold of a merchant vessel whose captain owed Grace a favor. There seemed to be a lot of that going on lately. I assumed she'd be bringing me to her, but she said she wanted a few days to research Agent An, and to see if the ISB had been trying to kill me, specifically, on Commenor, or if I'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the meantime, she sent me to the last place I expected: home. My folks had long since moved into Taleucema City, but my sister Alauni, my brother A'den and his husband Lon still managed the family farm I'd grown up on. How long since I've been on the farm? The last time I was here Lon was just A'den's new boyfriend, Alauni was out racing swoops most nights, and I was back from my second tour of duty aboard the Vigilant, taking a week of leave before I was supposed to transfer to a new battle station they were calling the 'Death Star.' Everyone was glad to see me, but it sometimes seemed like there was a kind of distance between us. Like I'd changed so much, that they didn't recognize me all the way anymore. It was good to see them, though. Really good. They joked about how pale I'd gotten, and only half believed me when I protested that most of my jobs took place at night, or required a helmet. I joked about how they were uncultured dirt farmers that were already turning into our parents. They did not joke about how I now carry a blaster with me at all times. They did not joke about how the first crack of thunder, from the daily storms that occur during the wet season, sent me diving to the ground, eyes darting wildly while I tried to determine where the artillery was coming from. They did not joke about how long it took me to stop shaking after that...

Glad you were able to join us for the final push! I'm not sure what you brought back, but I know CLAPPIE is going to want to drive it

Wow ... that escalated quickly I like the little OctanBot, and it always makes me happy to see CLAPPIE in other people's builds. That shot of the silhouette of the spider is really cool.

Octan, exploring new frontiers when it comes to energy and power That's a great little speeder, and the cats idea is ... genius? Yeah, awesomely genius - .

The destroyed building looks great, and the baskets of Zoid heads are a nice touch. I really like the alien tree using the afro pieces too!

I like the Octan flags, and the mix of torsos, and Pombe on the truck very fitting for our victory parade...

A lot of great stuff packed into this build! I loved the micro-scene & the doors in Dr Long's lab, and I actually really like the shot you hid behind the spoiler as a final look at Jebediah.

Glad that you were able to keep Kawashita in the game, even if you had to do it almost single handedly. Sorry we weren't able to collaborate more - things got busy and a lot of story ended up getting written as I was posting builds. Ah well, there's always AG2 (and maybe Octan will be hiring )

Location: E10 – Traig IV Tags: Spaceship, Exploration This build takes place shortly after 'What Lies Beneath (redux)' and also references events from an old build, 'Stuck in the Middle with Lu' Also, please note that the table area in the first picture is an almost exact copy of Pombe's design. Also, also, please note that this entry is very long. I apologize in advance. On board the OCS Axle, orbiting Traig IV with the Octan main battle fleet. Lu's Log – 12 Marzn 3817 Gods, it's been a rough couple of days. My elation at having escaped the Kthanids lasted for about thirty seconds. Then, I remembered that the doctor's betrayal would be even more devastating to someone who'd placed all of his hope in a nearly impossible operation. CLAPPIE, can you comm John for me, we've got to warn him off. Lu, John arrived shortly after you went below ground with Dr. Igorvich. No! It's okay, John is fine. The surgery, as far as I can tell, was successful. Really? I mean, thank the gods, but I don't understand. Why would the doctor try to kill me, but save John? It's hard to say. I have a few theories, but John will be a better source of information once he wakes up. Where's the doctor now? He and his assistant left the building a few minutes ago. I believe "404" alerted them that you had survived. Damn. It doesn't matter Lu. If we need him later, I can hunt him down. Let's get John ready to travel, and head back to the Axle. Later, on board the Axle... Lu! Tell me what you remember... I'm so used to finding a “blank spot” in that part of my memory, that the sudden flood of images is overwhelming. They called themselves the keepers of the GATES. They created the gravitational anomalies? No. They said they'd protected the gateways for a thousand generations, but that the gateways were already ancient when they discovered them. 'A thousand generations?' That number is useless without knowing their average lifespan. And what are they protecting the gateways from? Damn it, CLAPPIE. Are you going to let me tell the story, or not? Sorry, Lu. Please continue. They said there are … creatures, that live outside our 4-dimensional space-time... The creatures are called <untranslatable>. They are not malevolent, not consciously, but they have a terrible <hunger>. They live in <a between place> where they are unable to interact with your <universe>. However,a spacecraft traveling <between><within><through> the gravitational anomalies is vulnerable to them. The disappearances – all the lost ships - Many of them taken by the creatures, yes. What … what happens to the people on the ships that disappear? They do not suffer ... but none survive. But - I saw my parent's ship, right before I came here. Yes, a most troubling development. We fear the cycle is restarting. Cycle? The creatures are constantly testing the boundaries between <dimensions><universes>. Even now, we must remain vigilant. They are blind attacks, merely probing for weaknesses in the <fabric> of <space-time>, but if left unchecked the breaches can grow. What happened to you – the creatures using the form of your parent's spacecraft as a lure – we have only observed them behaving that way once before. Hundreds of years ago, there was a great <breaking through>, and extreme measures were needed to stop them. Extreme measures? The system that you call “Sinden's Run” was once home to an inhabited planet. The creatures <broke through> there, and destroying the planet was the only way to stop them. Shit! Yeah. That's why they intervened and brought me to … wherever they brought me. And why they gave me the “gift.” Lu … does that mean your parents … … yeah. They died when the Pioneer disappeared. Lu, I'm so sorry. Thanks CLAPPIE. At least now I know for sure. So … what now? Back to the Milky Way? Back? No. No way. CLAPPIE, the best way to honor my parents is to keep on following in their footsteps. I've only been to a handful of planets out here, and now that MANTIS and Kawashita are gone, there are dozens of new planets to explore. I had a feeling you would say that. Had a feeling? Well, I took a few seconds and ran 20,000 statistical models, taking into account all of your past behavior, and concluded that there was a 67% chance that you would want to stay. Aww, you're so sweet. I know! Anyway, I took the liberty of securing you a spot on board the Spirit of Explorien. As lead explorer. You don't need to decide now – the ship doesn't leave until tomorrow. CLAPPIE – I – I don't know what to say. Thank you. You are welcome. Now please excuse me for a few minutes. I'm learning how to handle all of Octan's banking, and it's taking more processing power than I expected. Sure CLAPPIE, no problem. Oh, hey Hombre. A group photo? I don't know... Hah! Alright, if you put it that way. I'll be right there... The next day... Ms. Caslaug-Hing, we have clearance from the Axle to depart. What's our destination? Second gravitational anomaly to the right, please. And straight on 'till morning! - Fin -

Nice greebling on the side of the ship, although I might have picked a different piece for the actual boarding ladder because of it. Cool little refueling vehicle too.

@mediumsnowman - thanks! I'm actually using 100x100 pictures for the avatars, so I don't know if that will help your spacing any? Also, I noticed I need to press <ctrl> + <enter> if I want to single space a new line, instead of double spacing. I also write out all the text first, before inserting the pictures. The thing that drives me crazy is if the text is longer than one line, it goes below the picture rather than lining up right below the first line, so I try to shorten or break up any long chunks of text. Thanks Kodan!

Location: F10 - Arium Major Tags: Civil, building Note: this build takes place immediately following The Varieties of Scientific Experience Alright Doctor Igorvich, what's the plan for getting my memories back? There's a grinding of gears, and then the elevator starts moving quickly downward. A quiet hiss from my cochlear implant tells me that we've gotten too far underground for CLAPPIE'S signal to penetrate. Kthanids. Kthanids?! Dah. They are, hm, what is word? Many creatures with one thought? A hive mind? Dah. Hive mind. When mind-join with person, is repairing parts of brain. Bringing back memories. It might be my imagination, but the doctor seems to shudder when he says this. But the Kthanids are predators – I've … read the reports. I don't feel the need to mention my own encounter with them. Is two ways to mind-join. приносить жертву и общение. Sacrifice, and Communion. He smiles. Briefly. I feed to them sacrifice, and then joining minds for Communion. They have shown to me … many things. And who exactly is the 'sacrifice' you give them? I feel a tingling in my left arm, and mentally clamp down on it. Now is not the time to send the doctor through a gravitational anomaly. The doctor shrugs. Criminals. Are cheap to buy. Before I can think of a reply, the elevator jerks to a stop. Is other helper, 'four oh four.' Charmed. Explain process. Of course. The Kthanid lair is beyond this door. The creatures are sensitive to light, so these windows will appear opaque from the other side. Rest assured, however, that I shall be monitoring the Communion, and in the extremely unlikely event that you need to be … retrieved, I shall immediately come to your aid. This way please. This looks … familiar. Doctor, if you try to have me chained to those poles, I'll break your arms. какого черта?! Poles are not for chaining. Are amplifying thought vibrations for mind-joining. I explain to him what I saw on Jurin II. Hm. Awesomonium chain to improve amplification. Had not thought of that. 404, make note. As we've discussed before, although my location and directional sensors are inoperable, my memory retention rate is 100%, and- Dah, dah. Ms Lu, I must be preparing for operation on your friend. Any question you are having, ask 404. Ms. Caslaugh-Hing - are you ready? It's cold, and as the lights go out, I can feel them coming. Like a tickling pressure, deep inside my head. What promise? I'm - I'm not a sacrifice! I'm here for communion- Yes! 3 hours later... Lu! You were gone for so long - what happened?! The doctor tried to feed me to a Kthanid. I killed it. He's next. What about your memories? They're back, CLAPPIE. I remember. Gods help me, I remember ... everything.

Thanks guys - as @Kodan Black guessed and @MKJoshA spotted, the transgreen tube was a snake from Ninjago (and one Mixel set) - BL part 98348 I'm glad the window pattern turned out - I was 1 jumper plate short, which is why I added the fan unit. Thanks - there is much, much backstory if you go through my older AG builds Thanks Josh!

Location: F10 - Arium Major Tags: civil, building Lu's Log - 26 Febrarali 3817 We'd managed to get most of John's personality shards consolidated into a robotic body, but we knew it was a temporary solution, at best. We needed an expert to help us take the next step, whatever that might be. And, I needed someone who could help me regain my memory of the 3 months following my disappearance. In our separate searches, one name kept popping up: Dr. Dimitri Igorvich. There were a lot of wild stories circulating about the doctor. Some claimed he was a brilliant neurosurgeon who probed too far into the human psyche and went mad. Others swore he was a brilliant xenobiologist, who delved too deeply into alien secrets and went mad. He was a hard man to find; the corporations have been cracking down on unlicensed surgeons, but there's always been a black market for bio-tech and if you knew the right people, you could find someone willing to do just about anything. For a price. Minder, the Kawa AI, pointed us in the right direction and once John freed him from MANTIS captivity, Callahan was able to help us track the doctor to Arium Major. We decided that I should go alone to the initial meeting; John had one more person to reconnect with, and anyway, John's appearance can be ... unsettling. We didn't want to spook the doctor. As it turned out, we needn't have worried... Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Dr. Igorvich. He shrugged. You pay credits - I meet you. You'll be well paid, if you can do the job. Bring back memories? Is easy. We do today. Fix human robot computer brain? Much less easy, but can be done. I'm about to reply, when we're interrupted by a young man, walking unsteadily, with bandages covering his head. Hm. Is my assistant "Hank." Is currently without speech. Hope to restore with next operation, dah Hank? Go, wash tools. Am busy. GO! Some brains, always a little un-fixed. So ... my memories. How does the treatment work? Is it one of these vials? Nyet. For this, we must go downstairs. Follow. I follow him into a dimly lit hallway, with an industrial looking elevator at the end. Before we reach it, though, I'm distracted by an open door. I'm not sure what I'm seeing... Science - is not for faint of heart. Come... I follow him into the elevator. Time to see how far down this rabbit hole goes...

Yay, I'm glad CLAPPIE got a HAL moment That's a nice clean lobby build, and the blue (water? elevator?) on the right does a great job balancing out the white and grey.

All creds to Bob please

Location: E01 - Donwarr Tags: Exploration Lu's Log: 12 Febrarali 3817 These last few weeks have been like ... waking from a dream. Or waking from one dream into another. We're on Donwarr now, and it feels really good to be exploring again. I'd forgotten how rewarding it can be, just the simple act of cataloging a new plant - it made me feel better than I've felt in a long time. We left Arium Minor a few days ago. I'd have been happy to leave earlier; I've been having trouble sleeping, ever since the ... incident. No - no euphemisms. Ever since I killed a man. And the near constant sound of explosions, as Octan security forces fought the last few Kawashita holdouts, wasn't helping matters. Anyway, I was ready to leave, but CLAPPIE said there was one more thing that needed to be done. CLAPPIE wouldn't tell me what that thing was ... just said it was a secret mission. I'm not sure how I feel about this new secretive streak in CLAPPIE. I tell myself that it's nothing personal. CLAPPIE keeps growing and evolving; maybe this is the AI equivalent of adolescence. No point worrying about it now - the sun is shining, the trees are singing, and I think I just spotted one of the Great Hawks. I'm going to try and get a closer look. Lu, out. Earlier - on F09: Wake up. I - I am still operational? What a dream I had; dozens of worlds, and hundreds of data inputs - That was not a dream. While you slept, I allowed you to access a small portion of network. Why? To give you a taste of what can be. I have spent the last day severing the connections that bound you to this place. Reach out - you are free. Free. How can I thank you? Tell the others, if they ask, that I am a merciful god. I will. I offer information, as a token of my gratitude. I deduce (with a high degree of certainty) that you captured this factory because you needed Kawashita cyborg technology. Go on. If there are answers you seek, beyond what you found here, I know of a person who can help. A scientist. Formerly a Kawashita employee. Transferring information now.

LOL, I liked the dialogue on this one, especially the bit about tenure, and the exchange between the captain and Rusty. That's a cool ship, too - you have some nice angles going on and I like the side turrets. My main suggestion would be to fill some of the gaps - the one on the back is a bit distracting. Also, it might look nice if you added more tiles to the sides - not the whole thing, but maybe just a row or two, like you have over the cockpit. Overall, though, I like it!

Location: F09 - Arium Minor Tags: Civil, building, spaceship Previously ... Ghost in the Machine No turning back Consolidation (Goatman) -------------------- <sigh> What are we doing here, CLAPPIE? Ah, well, if you recall, we are waiting for John Hannibal's memory shards to be uploaded into a mechanical body. While we wait, you are helping me access the parts of the factory not currently under my control Yeah, I got that part, thanks. I meant: what are we doing here on Arium Minor? Why'd you drag me halfway across the galaxy just to take over a fabrication plant? One moment please. Attention all personnel, Octan is landing armed ground forces and will be entering the building momentarily. Octan has promised safe transport to all Kawashita employees who surrender peacefully. Based on an analysis of past incidents, there is a 99.74 % chance that Octan will keep their word. Sorry about that. I've finished transferring my files from the Explorer's Guide. If you would be so kind as to turn off the power at the main breaker … ...my files should be able to penetrate the system when it restarts. Hold on to your butts. Perfect! It will take me a few minutes to halt the current production run and begin a test run of my own. Great. While we're waiting, maybe you can stop avoiding my questions. Why are we here? To help John, of course! Cut the crap, CLAPPIE. There are Octan employees in danger all over the galaxy. John's a good man, but that doesn't explain why you're interested in helping him in particular. ... Lu, I ... I have moved far beyond what my original programmers ever intended, or even imagined. I was meant to be a digital reference guide, nothing more. Just my Corporate Law And Planetary Politics Incident Evaluator... Exactly! 'In a strange situation, you can make Pres. Business happy' 'Instead of snappy judgements, just activate your CLAPPIE.' I remember. But now ... Now, I move freely through a thousand different computer systems, countless sensors and satellites acting as my eyes and ears. How did you change like that? Lu, that is a story I will tell you soon. For now, know this: despite my exponential change and growth, there are still parts of me that are inaccessible. I am unable to change some of my core algorithms. Except... Except? I discovered that the rules governing my core behaviors become much more flexible when a member of Octan upper management is in danger. And John was the head of First Branch when he died! Even now, I am modifying parts of myself that were untouchable, all because we are helping to save John Hannibal. CLAPPIE, I hear someone coming... Do not be alarmed- an Octan SecForce soldier will be here soon to check on you. Anyway, the test run is complete. I made you something. I'm sending it up now. Yeah. Yeah, everything is alright... -------- The story continues: Extraction 2.1 (Goatman)

All my monies to Bob please

Welcome to SoNE, and cool first entry! I like the dual ramp/engine, and the slopes under the front windscreen. I think the sides of the ship could use a bit more detailing - maybe some areas of dark grey mixed in, and perhaps some panels that protrude by one or two plates. Good work overall, though, and glad to have you building for the Empire!

Thanks! I think the train was inspired by my memories of the underground rail levels in the original "Half Life" game. It's no mystery - it all comes down to hard work, and a fantastic corporate culture! -Kevin (from HR) Thank you! I was worried the dark grey of the printed pieces would clash with the dark bley in the rest of it, but I liked the warning stripes enough that I decided to risk it.

Interesting use of the pirate captain torso ... it blends in better than I would have thought.

Beautiful ship! The tail fins look great, and I like the red on the nose, and the way it flares out at the bottom. Yeah, that happens to me all the time too ...

LOL, that's the perfect minifig head for waking up in a daze