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Showing results for tags 'Piracy'.
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Location: Arium Minor F09 Tags: Piracy, Spaceship, Land Vehicle, Exploration "Agent Hailey, you still haven't told us why we need to get to Onix so fast." said Captain Mesabi. Traveling 6 GATE jumps had taken a toll on him. "Right, well, you know what biological warfare is?" Agent Hailey replied Onix by North White, on Flickr "You mean like germs and stuff?" Answered Captain Mesabi. "Yes, well it seems Octan has been weaponizing a version of the 'Black Eye' disease in the Oni Ren. http://www.eurobrick...74#entry2595813 "And? I'm a Pilot, I fly things." Captain Mesabi replied incredulously. "No, You're a Pawn. Just like the rest of us. And your Orders are to recover samples of the virus so we can develop an antidote." Agent Hailey said darkly. "We're going to capture a small Octan water tanker leaving Arium minor. You'll use this to infiltrate Cerberus station on Onix." "Right...." "Agents, We've sighted the tanker, right on schedule." Yelled Bo'sun Jacobs from the cockpit. Onix by North White, on Flickr "You know how this is done. Suit up." Said Agent Hailey. Onix by North White, on Flickr "Closing in, Hang on!" Yelled the Bo'sun. The Silence of Space filled Captain Mesabi as he stepped out in his suit. Onix by North White, on Flickr Before him was the Tanker, he ran forwards. Onix by North White, on Flickr A short leap through space, terrifying. Icarus Returning was far faster than the tanker, and so such a maneuver could be done. Onix by North White, on Flickr He latched onto the side. The Pilot inside looked scared. He pulled open the door, and grabbed him. Onix by North White, on Flickr The two ships docked, the prisoner was tied up, and Captain Mesabi took control of the tanker. Onix by North White, on Flickr ****************************************************************************************************** The Tanker was feet from the landing pad, Captain Mesabi turned the ship to face the correct direction. Onix by North White, on Flickr Onix by North White, on Flickr "Why do I always forget, the gauge is on the side with the nozzle..." He muttered to himself. An Octan guard walked out, holding a ladder. Onix by North White, on Flickr "Thank goodness, we're almost dry." The Octan Guard siad Onix by North White, on Flickr "Yes, I am an Octan Water Tanker Pilot. Filling Water is My job that I enjoy much." Captain Mesabi said, "Look, just fill up the tank." Onix by North White, on Flickr "Well, First I need to TANK! you!" He jumped into battle. Onix by North White, on Flickr He Grabbed the rifle, The Guard shot into the air, "Security Breach", he yelled into his helmet Onix by North White, on Flickr The Guard tossed him off, and fired. Onix by North White, on Flickr Onix by North White, on Flickr Mesabi rolled just in time, dodging the bullets Onix by North White, on Flickr He ran up and kicked the rifle out of the guards hand Onix by North White, on Flickr It flew over, and landed in the lava river, Onix by North White, on Flickr Crackling, it melted to a crisp, firing as the heat disolved it. Onix by North White, on Flickr A swift uppercut to the guard sent him sprawling Onix by North White, on Flickr Picking up the ladder, Mesabi slamed it down, knocking him out. Onix by North White, on Flickr Onix by North White, on Flickr At once, he became aware of the alarms blaring. "Security Breach, Security Breach." Cried the monotone alarm system. He ran towards the door. Onix by North White, on Flickr "What do I do? This isn't going as planned!" Mesabi yelled into his helmet. "Find the Computer system and unlock the following doors:" Onix by North White, on Flickr *Meanwhile, on the upper level Gardens." Onix by North White, on Flickr "That's weird...." Onix by North White, on Flickr "Woah!" Onix by North White, on Flickr *Splash* Onix by North White, on Flickr "Where am I going! this place is huge!" Captain Mesabi yelled. "Go left, right, left, left, right, and get into the elevator." Hailey radioed him. Onix by North White, on Flickr "Aw man, they have a bowling alley! we don't even have one on Orinshi!" "Stay on target, now run forwards, and jump out the window." Onix by North White, on Flickr "What?!?" "Just do it." *meanwhile* "The Infection is getting worse. I'll expect some results by the time I get back." Said Doctor Long. http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=137990 Onix by North White, on Flickr "YAAA!" Onix by North White, on Flickr *SMASH* Onix by North White, on Flickr "I'll do the best I can but," *THUNK* Onix by North White, on Flickr "What was that?" Dr. Long asked. "Beats me" answered the scientist." Onix by North White, on Flickr "I really hate Mondays." Said Captain Mesabi. FIN Hope you liked this weeks build(s) I hope I didn't break any rules, I just wanted to get a lot of the story knocked out. Thanks to Dannylonglegs for letting me use her charecter. I hope you liked this weeks build, if only one of the vehicles can be judged, please do the Octan tanker, and thanks for viewing!
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Planet: Donwarr (E01) Date: 31 Janurali 3816 Mission: To Analyze Design Of / Destroy Octan HydroComm Unit Team: Lady Kianna / ORB (in combat mode) Tags: Engineer, Land Vehicle, Spying (Sabotage), Piracy Engineer's Log: Remote location on Donwarr, Octan HydroComm Unit ORB and I have arrived at the remote location of Octan's Flagship HydroCommunictions Unit. The design is very simple yet very effective. A central communications tower is powered by the four power units at each corner. These four units convert enery from the vast water source directly below the structure. This gives the entire unit zero emissions which in turn hide it from all sensors.......until today, that is. OK ORB this is it. Strange no one is here.....the communications we intercepted indicated a repair worker would be here. Well, um....yes it is strange...... These outer poles are the ones the message indicated were weak and needed repair....grab that one over there ORB and I'll grab this one. On the count of three we pull hard and run once they start to fall. If they fall on us we could be killed from the power surge..... Good job....wait....what is that..!!? My Lady Kianna...may I introduce RPC (RoboticPowerCart). Squeak, #### Hello####. Nice to meet you RPC.........wait...you know him ORB? Yes.......and I have to admit...I knew the signal was from him. He wants to join us and leave Octan for M.A.N.T.I.S. Octan has all but abandoned him with jokes about ancient PC technology. In his prime he was a highly respected member of any repair team. After my leaving, others now want to follow in my path. Squeak,####Yes,Please####IGoWithYou#### So, I am know starting a home for unwanted, outdated robotic tech......Sure why not! Squeak,####Yeah,ThankYouLadyKiannaAndORB####MyNewFriendsForever#### The two of you follow me..........WAIT.........IS THAT A RHHC(1)? With Awesonium injected fuel rocket engines, rotating map system, superior sound system........! And a M.A.N.T.I.S Plasma Cannon mounted on top?....Ok, this baby is going with us! Are you feeling that sub woofer Kawalski..... Would you like me to give you some options Skipper..... Finally, all the builds together... Thanks for viewing and reading. C&C always welcome. The longest story with photos for me yet....
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Location: C04, Aeristus Tags: Vehicle, Piracy, Land Vehicle, Military, Spying Job: Driver Start Log: Back to work again, this time as part of time on Aeristus, sent to weaken Octan operations there. Naturally this was a stealth mission, so our vehicles were equipped with a darker colorscheme than usual, allowing us to blend into the night. Most recently we came across an Octan robot, it fled, but stood no chance against the cannons on my tank. Good to build for MANTIS again! The printed brick was a gift from Lady K at BFVA
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The Red Wench by skapunkplaything, on Flickr (Click the picture for more views, of course..!) The 'Wench is an 'Ugly': an amalgamation of different ships to form one, odd whole. With the central core of a ore loader and the surrounding hub stolen from a Russian stealth gunship, the 'Wench mixes a rugged centre with a high-tech ring around it, the latter able to cycle power levels at the whim of it's captain and fire it's main weapons for sustained periods. A commerce raider, the 'Wench is often employed by the highest bidder in trade conflicts between the Sol cartels. It's exclusively female crew are famous for their fidelity to a contract, whilst never forgetting a double-cross. Length: 133m Crew: 24-40, mission dependent. Armament: 2 x fast tracking ion turrets, 2 x Armour-Piercing STS cannons, 2 x forward-facing M-66 Pulverisers. Computer: Kolnanov XV (Salvaged from the ship's hub)
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Location: D04 Terrial Minor Tags: Engineering, Structures, Military, Piracy Job: Engineer Engineer's Log: 26 Julali 3815 ORB and I have just finished with the new landing pad for an advanced light spacecraft currently under construction. Along with the landing pad, we were assigned the task of developing and building a deep space sensors piracy tower. Any data collected from any deep space sensors placed on this planet will now be automatically re-routed to a receiver inside the tower itself. Using the new advanced light spacecraft we can now fly in, download the data to on board computers and fly out in a matter of minutes. It gives us more information on the strange signals coming from the center of the galaxy. "Ok, ORB, hold that panel still while I finish securing it". "ORB"? "What is it, you seem ill at ease"? "My Lady, I don't know, something feels off". "Are your operating systems functioning properly"? "Yes, my Lady, I just ran a diagnostic and all is within normal range" "ORB, what you are feeling is us being watched, from a short distance by two of the local population". "We are being watched"! "Yes, ORB, by peaceful Terrrians". "I don't see them my Lady, all I see are strange plants". "Why do you think I had you wear plants today....so you would appear peaceful as well". "Good thinking my Lady". Sorry about the poor lighting for the final photos, a storm was moving in. I hope you enjoyed your tour of Terrrial Minor. C&C Welcome and appreciated.
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Location: D04 - Terrial Minor Tags: MANTIS, piracy, vehicle Job: Driver Start Log: After a rather uneventful mission on C04, I got another more exciting assignment: capturing some Kawashita vehicles and equipment. I even had the help of the drones I'd previously confiscated from Octan hands, though now they have a much more suitable paint job. They were pretty thrilled to receive an actual combat mission, and get to drive some sweet new MANTIS rigs: The MANTIS bulldozer/tank features a spinning cockpit, and opening cargo bay; the MANTIS hovercraft features hinging sections, the MANTIS motorcycle features an opening rollcage; and the Kawashita cargo truck features a working tailgate. See more pictures here: http://www.brickbuilt.org/?p=1999
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Location: Jurin II, Sector E02 Tags: E02, MANTIS, Piracy Log_M_3: After M.A.N.T.I.S. received reports of Octan intel gathering Biomass from the stomachs of the great Vlorms in the forests of Jurin II, I have been sent out to pick up the packages they have very kindly (and unknowingly) prepared for us. The exact location of where I have been sent happens to be the great mushroom forests of Sector E02.... End_Log AG: Battle of Jurin II by Andrew JN, on Flickr
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Location: Lesser Drigo F02 Tags: Vehicle, Landscape, Piracy Job: Driver Start Log: After MANTIS' domination of A06, I was given a new highly classified mission along with Scorpio Starstriker, and Double D. Our job was to infiltrate F02, and deal as much damage as possible to Octan operations, whether that be through sabotage, piracy, or spying. We were dropped off on the planet with the new MT-X all terrain truck. After dropping the other two operatives off, I headed towards a canyon that Octan had built a base in. A few Octan robots seemed busy taking inventory of some supplies, I was a little surprised to see that the rumors of Octan robots doing all the work, were actually correct: Seeing as they were unarmed, I decided I could use a diplomatic approach: : You are not authorized to be in this space Hard at work, I see. Don't you guys ever get to do anything fun? I do not understand. Well all you guys get to do is move supplies, mine, and do physical labor. Haven't you ever wanted to drive a vehicle? Or actually get to carry a weapon? With MANTIS, I get to drive things like that sweet truck... We are not authorized to drive vehicles. Join MANTIS and you could be, we get to do all the fun stuff. You could even go into special ops if you wanted. That does sound more important than moving crates. We're in! Alright! We might as well take some of these supplies with us though, I'll back the truck up: Now hop in, and I'll show you what this truck can do! After convincing the bots to join MANTIS, I headed for the rendezvous point to pick up Double D and Scorpio. ... More pictures of the build: And the blast doors actually work! See them in action on (embedding it wasn't working properly for some reason )And just for fun, a group picture of my MANTIS vehicles thus far:
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Location: Lesser Drigo, F02 Tags: Vehicle, Piracy Job: Driver Start Log: The vehicle MANTIS let me drive this week was even cooler than usual: the LW-2 Rover, an amphibious vehicle than can handle land or water with ease. My job remained the same, confiscate whatever Octan equipment I could. This week we ran across an Octan employee in a speed boat, it seemed he was analyzing the water. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea what our vehicle was capable of. He simply laughed when he first spotted us on shore, figuring he was completely safe in his boat: His expression changed quickly after we simply drove in after him: We even gained another Octan robot out of the deal, as the boat was being piloted by a driver bot: Bonus pictures: It was interesting making the build in such a way that I could put the truck in the water, or on shore
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Location: B03 - Linopeia III Tags: Military, Piracy, Building. M.A.N.T.I.S Special Forces log: Myra Dynarski 20 Maian 3815, Linopeia III. Previous entry "I've arrived at the building. It looks secure, but their security protocols are very poor. I guess they don't have visitors often. Stun gun is fully charged, combat analysis probe is deployed. Injecting stimulants and engaging the enemy." "All enemies subdued. Heart rate up 20% from usual, adrenaline levels up 200%, accuracy up 1.7%, reflex speed up 30%. Mission successful, awaiting retrieval." The door opens! Okay, in future I'm making sure I edit out the background before I shrink the pictures.
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Ordered by Kawashita superiors, Wilhelm has launched an expedition to The Hamilton Belt to hear any transmissions for any alien activity. So far there has been no sign of activity in the area, so Wilhelm believes. Their old Grouper TX-51Z ship, armed with some classic plasma cannons on the sides is ready to deal with any hostiles that may pose a threat to Kawashita explorers. The Grouper, of course, is inspired by the "Goliath Grouper", an ancient specie of fish found on Earth. The ship may be slow but it sure is a juggernaut and is built to last... for a while.
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Sector 7 The Hamilton Belt - 3185 It was Koro's first time piloting his Zero in such tight conditions. The asteroids of the Belt flew past him, pinging his HUD with collision warnings. He manoeuvred through them, wishing repeatedly that Kawashita would get busy designing a single-pilot combat capable space-mech with better miniaturization. Some of the asteroids were the size of hail, and those were the dangerous ones. He was far from an ace pilot, and it was all he could do to keep the Zero intact as he closed in on the opportunist pirates that had taken up operations in the sector. He finally spotted a gun platform, its cleats lodged deep into the crust of a small asteroid. Most of the rocks in The Belt were the size of large boulders, and many of them had Awesomnium crystals visibly jutting from otherwise unremarkable balls of old rock and useless minerals. The pirates lacked the technology and know-how to extract the real wealth from those rocks, and waited to prey on mining expeditions or trade caravans just as pirates had done as far back as the nautical age. The gun platform spotted him and opened fire and, just like that, it was on. He blasted through dozens of asteroids, gun platforms, and highly-manoeuvrable spacewalker units. The Zero was more than a match for them, but Koro was troubled anyway. He noticed their discipline, the sophistication and uniformity of their equipment... something was wrong here. Very wrong. But he filed the information, and the feelings, away in some corner of his hardware. He focused on the mission, blasting the asteroids where the pirates had set up, dispersing them with judicious bursts of plasma from the Zero's triplicannons. He took on the aspect of an angry angel, delivering wrath to the darkest kind of space. Alternate Shots:
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Tags: Spaceship Spying Piracy Field Log: Reporting Agent: Arariel W- Mission: Operation W1DG3T Mission Objective: Infiltration of the Kawashita museum corvette Masamune, and Retrieval of Object K-56543 Status: Complete Stealth Rating: Trending towards poor. Personal Thoughts: I really, really hate shinobi... The mission was successfully captured on film by drone unit 77777, alias "Sevenses". Myself carrying Object K-5654. Security cameras are surprisingly hard to use as part of parkour... Agent "Blue" and a selfie by Sevenses - I really need to have a talk with him about that...
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Dust Demon Base (Alleged) Lesser Direstan - 3185 Koro's infiltration of the base on Greater Direstan yielded plenty of actionable intel, and he was told that it was instrumental in foiling the interference of this mysterious "Dust Demon" force. However, there's no rest for the wicked and honor doesn't grow on trees. Not in Andromeda, anyway. So Koro barely had time to sneak back out of the base before he was tasked to pursue the Dust Demons to a secondary base on Lesser Direstan. Hopefully this would bring him closer to their leader, of whom all is known is his "Commodore" callsign. Still, it seemed easy enough to sneak into a second base. Why not? Well, it was a trap. That's why not. Just as Koro cleared a tunnel and emerged out onto a grassy plateau, he realized that he'd been lured here to this very spot... "Uh oh..." ...and awaiting him was a camouflaged gundrone. An extremely dangerous adversary. His pistol wouldn't do him any good against its armor, so Koro decided that the only school was the old school. BUILDER'S NOTES: You'll probably spot the BURPs used here. I've never experimented with BURPs in a MOC before and I actually think this turned out good. The mech is based off the Desert Runner drones from Appleseed Alpha, a really pretty but kind of shallow CG anime adaptation that came out last year. There's a bunch more pics of different angles for the build on Flickr. Thanks for looking!
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After being dropped off on Greater Direstan by command, Wilhelm was directed to search for any supplies to help Kawashita, even if that means taking goods that don't belong to them. After walking through the thick brush, Captain Clank [Leader in middle] spotted some peculiar looking cubes. They began to approach the objects and they realize they are unmarked crates. They do not bear the emblem on Octan or M.A.N.T.I.S so they must be from the natives that live on Greater Direstan or are old crates from before the corporations were founded. Nonetheless, they take the crates and prepare a beacon for pick-up. - LOOK AT WHAT WE GOT HERE BOYS! - What are they, sir? - MY MEMORY UNIT TELLS ME THEY ARE SUPPLY CRATES. - Full of what, sir? - GOODS. LET ME REPORT THIS IN SO THE NAUTILUS CAN PICK THESE UP. - Aye aye, sir! - WILHELM! - YES, SIR? - WATCH THESE CRATES WITH YOUR LIFE UNTIL THE NAUTILUS PICKS THEM UP! - YES SIR! - SAME GOES FOR YOU PRIVATE! - Sir yes sir! The crew that waits until The Nautilus arrives and captures the crates. Wilhelm and the private guard the crates with their life, as commanded. Wilhelm is using one of Kawashita's latest Plasma Rifle, standard issue, not so unique with a Plasma Pack on his back. The private is using a simple lead-spitting semi-auto rifle - reliable and hard hitting.
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Desatoya Mountains Greater Direstan - 3185 Using the Less Than Zero, Koro managed to infiltrate Greater Direstan ahead of the main Kawashita expeditionary forces. He tracked the pirates he had encountered at Hamilton's Belt into a secure mountain bunker. Thanking those intrepid Kawashita engineers who invented it, he initialized his Active Camouflage and proceeded to gather as much intel as possible. Any information he acquired could be used to disrupt the pirates' plans for Greater Direstan, but more importantly he might find out who exactly is behind them... He stalks the corridors, waiting for pauses in the hum of the ventilation cyclers. He stays out of the light. He listens and tracks the patrol routes to areas of interest. He counts every minute without having to fire a shot as a significant victory. And he learns what he can: The pirates call themselves the Dust Demons. Their leader is a mean son-of-a-laser-gun that they call The Commodore. Koro files this away, along with the structural layout of the bunker and the best ways to completely devastate it before anyone even knows he's there. He imagines that after this, they'll have to call him Koro the Demonslayer or something suave like that.
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Location: Lesser Drigo, F02 Tags: Vehicle, Piracy Job: Driver Start Log: For once I had two missions in a row on the same planet, though this time I got to use the MW-4 Mech to do some underwater pilfering. The MTD's that Double D had snuck into Octan's water purification plant had given us the location of several other Octan water filtering devices. It was an easy matter to access some of the shallower locations, and then use my mech's powerful arm to grab some Octan machinery. I'm sure our scientists will enjoy tinkering with it, and when they're done, MANTIS will have a pre built water purifying system. The MW-4 mech features moving legs, a working claw and missile launcher. It was fun using a bunch of assorted parts in 4 different blues for the landscape. C&C welcome
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Tags: Spaceship Spying Piracy Field Log: Reporting Agent: Arariel W- Mission: Operation T3DDY World: Barnius Mission Objective: Re-infiltration of Kawashita museum corvette Masamune and Retrieval of Object K-34534 Status: Complete...I guess? Stealth Rating: Non-Existent Personal Thoughts: Can the third time still be the charm, if there isn't a ship to be the charm? Also, what exactly is a golden statue of a teddy bear going to contribute to the Glorious Mother M.A.N.T.I.S.?
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Grand thief spaceship. So, I stole an Octan hover cycle from an Octan spaceport on Arium Major. It handles nicely. I may re- paint it in the near future... (I got the Idea after seeing the 10-year old putting together the motorcycle part with the X-wing thingys on the side and said, That's genius! (And I turned out as a nice little vehicle. I only had the pieces in white( So far... ), so I made it Octan) Hope you like it. C&C welcome.
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Location: A06 - Guinevere Tags: Military, Piracy, Land Vehicle. M.A.N.T.I.S Special Forces log: Myra Dynarski 21 Junali 3815, M.A.N.T.I.S. supply camp on Guinivere. Previous entry I'd been feeling nauseous, so I stopped by one of the supply depots for some meds, only to find a bunch of Octan and Kawashita agents sitting around chatting like they were at a tea party, rather than in the camp of their sworn enemies (or at least business competitors)! I don't think they were even armed - at least they didn't put up a fight. They all escaped in vehicles, and I was unable to keep up. I did manage to steal [Redacted - All M.A.N.T.I.S. operations are 100% legal] liberate their leftover drinks.
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Private Gnarl Graves had been wandering the desert for hours when he came upon the small crew of Karashita pirates. He saw them a day back near one of M.A.N.T.I.S.'s camps, "parlaying" with the guys in charge. When they left, though, Gnarl saw they had taken a crate with them... a crate filled with M.A.N.T.I.S.'s gold! https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/10830842_10206656869037725_4116858647834040075_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=9046ae3ea56c3f30ecce81b0635b0007&oe=55895460 The first was foolish enough to bring a gun to a sword fight! https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11538108_10206656869397734_4963928587866073754_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=41d90f6f125351220f74df0d8420bb7c&oe=558A89D5 But the second stood his ground and drew his blade. https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11429911_10206656869917747_1271139698112378954_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=099c23e718184e8eaa0044689583bf50&oe=558A6988 An epic sword fight ensued. https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/11411705_10206656870357758_7427917702568260928_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=abf583ce2622b226817aefa0876e5194&oe=55894AFE Later: https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t35.0-12/p720x720/10669337_10206656870397759_8533081164922815515_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=53acbb3350ced35602f5fcc6f1a6221c&oe=5589A662 "Huh. I wonder why this crate of MANTIS gold has 'property of Kawashita' written on the back. Must be a typo." I may upload the photos to an actual photo hosting website tomorrow. But I don't have time to do so today. My brother showed me tou can host pictures on FB, and that's worked for me so far, haha.
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Location: A06 (Guinevere) Tags: Piracy Science Land Vehicle It had been a pretty busy week on Guinevere for Scorpio and Elbow and Pitt, his two assigned SPIT (Special Police in Training). After dispatching the Octan spy, they discovered a few more Octan agents nearby—which with some efficient work from the SPIT quickly became a few less. They may be a bit dim-witted, but the SPIT sure knew their way around an assault blaster. Scorpio was still a bit bummed about that having given his grubs to them. Even more so because today—larvae Friday, course—he had missed lunch, due to an over-long briefing with his superiors. When he got back, the SPIT had seen to it there were no leftovers, except salad. Meh. The brief had been long because Kawashita troops had touched down on the other side of Guinevere a few days previous. The council was deliberating the best course of action, and had orders for Scorpio to not engage in a violent encounter. In the SPITs’ mind, that took all the fun out of it, and Scorpio had to agree. He had decided that even though being a scientist wasn’t bad, he enjoyed these more exciting kinds of missions. Scorpio and the SPIT went to the Kawas’ landing site. Although there weren’t many of them, clearly they had gotten right to work right after landing, as there were several crates already filled with gold. As the M.A.N.T.I.S craft was approaching, Scorpio saw them all stop to watch. He could see that although a few of them were carrying arms, they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to shoot. He imagined they had similar orders from their higher-ups to avoid armed conflict, which was somewhat reassuring. One of the Kawas, clearly their leader, emerged from the back and advanced toward Scorpio. “This is our claim,” he insisted. “You Mantite scum better get on outta here.” “Sorry, M.A.N.T.I.S. already claimed all of Guinevere. So, you’re the ones on our turf.” As he spoke, Scorpio suddenly realized that he had underestimated their numbers, and hoped his hunch about their orders was correct. “Ha!” the Kawa leader laughed. “It doesn’t matter. We have already extracted almost everything here, as you can see—” he motioned towards the crates. “But I’d like to see you try and make us leave, anyway.” “I’ll tell you what,” Scorpio replied. “Let’s make a deal, you and I, to see who leaves this spot, and who can stay.” The Kawa leader laughed again, followed by the rest of his team. “What kind of a deal? You can see, I have more men, more arms, and more gold! And I have my orders. What could you offer me?” “Oh, this is not an offer. This is a challenge. We challenge you to a contest—you win, we will leave you in peace to do whatever you please in this place. We win—” Scorpio paused to look around at all the Kawashita troops, “and you leave forever. Not just this spot—but the planet. You leave Guinevere for good.” “Ha ha! This insect is a joker! I will indulge you, what kind of contest did you have in mind?” “How about a race? Ah never mind, you wouldn’t stand a chance against us. Let’s pick something more fair…” In his mind, Scorpio counted to three. He only got as far as two. “You boast, Mantite! Kawashita engines are the fastest, and our drivers the most skilled! I accept your challenge, if only to teach you humility!” “Very well, then. Your fastest land craft against ours. You pick your racer, and Pitt here,” Scorpio motioned toward the more dim-witted of the SPIT, “will drive for M.A.N.T.I.S.” As Scorpio and the Kawa leader shook hands, Pitt leaned over toward Scorpio and whispered, “I don’t think I can. I’m not that good a driver—not as good as these Kawas, for sure—and I’m starting to feel a little sick. Like I’m going to…” but he never finished his sentence; the words were drowned out by awful wretching noises, and drowned in a pool of sick. “I feel sick, too, sir.” the SPIT leader, Elbow, intuned. Then, looking over at Pitt, said, “but I think I’ll be fine.” “Well good, because I need you to come with me.” “What about me, sir?” Pitt inquired. “You still have to drive,” Scorpio answered. “But don’t worry; it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, just as long as you drive for at least five minutes or so.” “Why doesn’t it matter?” Elbow asked. “Because,” Scorpio began, “while all these fools are cheering on the race, you and I are going to steal them blind and make a quick escape. Don’t worry, Pitt, we’ll pick you up in the ship. Elbow, come and help me set up some telesponders over here.” While the Kawa leader was explaining the course and rules to Pitt and the Kawa driver, Scorpio and Elbow set up the antenna-like devices around the crates of gold. As the start pistol fired, Scorpio summoned the teleporter crate and quickly rerouted it to the telesponders; before the dust had even settled, Scorpio, Elbow, and the gold were all gone. ********* Other weeks I have incorporated the story with the build, but this week the story is really just to build-up the, uh, build. With both teams landing on the same planet, it was fun to think up some way to bring conflict into the mix without any actual conflict. C&C welcome, as always! More pictures under the spoiler: See more on my Flickr page
