Tyranus

Fantastic work!!

You're welcome! More will come.

Here's a bit more: Carlist Rieekan, unable to sleep, quietly walked the darkened ice halls of the steadily enlarging Rebel Base under his command. He mentally took stock of cargo crates and equipment as he passed by in the dim corridors. Even in the still, quiet of the early morning hour, the energy in the air was palpable. All who had come together here to fight for freedom now had a common, more imminent direction. Survival. It was his responsibility for their survival that kept sleep elusive. Much of the equipment from Yavin IV had been salvaged and would be put to use here. He nodded silently to the armed guard he passed as he turned and stepped through sliding blast doors into the main ground-level hangar. The pain in his knee was worse here, in all this cold and he stopped to rub the stiffening joint a bit before continuing on. The battle-worn X-wing fighters of Rogue Squadron lined the left wall; each of them individual, distinctive and unique, like the pilots who flew them. Far too many of both had been lost in the Battle of Yavin. Those ships and pilots that returned either safely and whole or limping and shattered, now led the squadron. His thoughts drifted back to Yavin as he glanced across to the other side of the hangar. The wall of the right side sported only empty alcoves waiting to hold each of the many Incom T-47 airspeeders on order. He shook his head in frustration as he crossed through the majestic silence of the cavernous room, heading for the other side, watching the icy ground below through his fogging breath. Even the simplest of purchases seemed to take forever to complete. Many layers of people had to be in place to buffer the manufacturers from their true customer. At this stage of the game they couldn’t be too careful. He noted the jaggedly cut openings for the turbo lift cluster, and walked over to inspect them. There were two small lifts for personnel, and a much larger one for moving small ships and supplies to what would become the lower levels of the base. Placing a gloved hand on the ice of the rough door frame, he leaned out, taking a look down. Twenty meters below, an ice cutter sat motionless at what was currently the bottom of the shaft. It silently waited for its operator and the task of burrowing ever deeper into the solid ice. As he pulled his head back out of the shaft and walked out into one of the many hallways snaking through the ice, he thought of the reactor that would soon reside far below. They needed power, not for the base itself. That would require a huge power generator. The reactor that would go below was needed to power one of the two V-150 Anti-Orbital Ion Cannons they had “liberated” from the Empire. The Intelligence had been absolutely accurate, and they had been very, very lucky. A smile crossed his face as he thought of the strike team that hijacked the Imperial transport ship just outside the Kuat Drive Yards. A second team had been working on the reactor issue. Scoring free Ion Cannons was great, but if you didn’t have a power source, they were all so much durasteel and permacite. In the wake of Alderaan’s destruction, many ships were destroyed or damaged as a result of the new, uncharted debris field. Shortly after securing the cannons, the intelligence sources located a damaged and abandoned Praetor-class battle cruiser adrift amidst the asteroid field which was unmanned and slated for salvage. With the help of multiple technical teams, the ships’ reactors had been removed for the sole purpose of powering the new Cannons. He would feel much better once their defenses were up and running. Having Mon Mothma present was a huge boost for the morale of the troops, but a huge security risk at the same time. Keeping the majority of Alliance command constantly moving on the ships of the fleet was the best idea for now. Her being in one place was risky. The dark corridor he was in finally emptied into a huge natural cave in which several transport ships floated on their repulsors. He made his way to the command ship and entered through a port in its belly. As he did, he saw his aide rushing toward him. “General, I’ve been looking for you.” “What’s wrong?” asked Rieekan. “Nothing immediate, sir, but we received a piece of intelligence from one of our Bothan spies that you need to see.” The aide produced a datapad. He entered a security code, opened the image and handed the pad over. “Apparently we didn’t get everyone we had hoped at the Battle of Yavin.” Rieekan looked down at the image of Vader’s damaged ship being guarded and undergoing repairs. “****.” * * *

I'm not sure how that would work legally. I would be all for it if it were possible. Does anyone know the legal implications of selling a book that uses canon LFL characters to the 501st only? I would also have to have someone render images for it or sketch something up myself, as many of the images were "FOUND" images after scouring the web for just the right fit. Thanks so much. I have really enjoyed writing it. It was started in the Fall of 2005 on a whim as a fictional backstory for our small local band of sandtroopers (The 104th Moisture Farm Patrol). Each of us created a personal bio and persona, and I took them and began writing. 5 pages became 10, and that became 30, and it just kept snowballing. It's a fun spin on the story we all know like the backs of our hands - from a fresh perspective, and one we can all relate to as Sandtroopers. I hope to carry it through the timeline of ROTJ.

Thanks guys. More is coming...I promise. I would love to put it out in Hardback when I'm finished...I just don't think LFL would be too happy about that. If I could get it put out under Lucas books or one of the other LFL publishing companies, I would be all over it.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the OLD DOME (shown here in the Gloss Black) and the NEW DOME (shown here in white). Note the subtle change of the angle. It's no longer so squared off:

Just a note . . . The FULL Kits will still have the old FX bucket with the original face piece and back. . . BUT, . . . they will be sporting a new dome piece for the top with a more rounded leading front edge, not so squared off anymore.

Thanks so much guys!! It means so much to hear how you are enjoying it, it really does. There is more to come . .. now to just find the time to bang it out! I worked on some ideas as a passenger on a long business trip today. Hopefully more very soon!

With her face pressed against it, she could see, if not believe, that on the opposite side of the transparisteel of her third story window, life went on. Her breath fogged a small portion of it as she took notice of the sun losing its firm hold on the afternoon and lazily slipping into early evening. Across the courtyard, a stand of trees swayed gently in the wind and straight down on the walkway below, several pieces of trash caught up in small whirlwind spun in tight circles, dancing on the vortex of air. She watched it spin uncontrollably, like her life, until the wind calmed and the trash settled once again to the ground. Staring blankly out at the remains of the day, Toryn Farr drew in a deep breath, followed by a labored exhale, as if it hurt to do so. There was no emotion, no expression and no reserves within to draw from. What day it was she didn’t know, and didn’t really care. She had stopped caring and lost track of what, where and when today and now was. Tears gathered now, welling along the lower lid as her green eyes stared blankly at the outside world. Nothing held meaning. The wrenching heartache in her chest felt as if it would drain the very life from her, emptying through the gaping hollow in her heart. So many people had been lost. In her mind, she pictured her family and friends, going about their business, as the entire planet was suddenly ripped apart in a blinding flash. Everyone and every place she had ever known . . .all vaporized in an instant. Tears finally fell from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. The only thing surpassing her bottomless ache and despair was the very primal, burning human need to find a way to strike back at the Empire. Through the pain and depression, a vision was coming into focus. She now knew what her direction was, what path had been laid out before her. She would heal herself by seeking out the growing rebel alliance. In the wake of this very public, horrific display, she would not be the only one looking for a way to serve against the Empire. It was sheer chance that she had been en route to nearby Talasea when Alderaan was destroyed. She wondered why that was. Why had she been spared? Her mind raced with too many thoughts; more than she could listen to all at once. Of them, none had been of suicide, but the attendants monitored her every move and came by to check her regularly. No, she would not take her own life. If her life was to be lost, it would be lost taking as many Imperials as possible with her. She pulled off the wrap that had been draped around her shoulders, stepped over to the intercom beside the door and pressed the CALL button. A moment passed and a voice came on the line, “Yes Miss Farr?” She composed herself and lied into the screened area. “I’m feeling quite a bit better now, and would like to discuss what I need to do to check out. I’ve been here long enough.” * * *

Thanks guys!

A second of my pieces has now been published online in the Winter Solstice edition of Riverbabble. The theme was death and decay. It's called NOT READY, and you can check it out here if you like, under FICTION: NOT READY

This is how I added mine: http://troopermods.blogspot.com/2006/04/fl...stallation.html

Full and Lite Kits should be ready by Friday. If you need a kit, drop me an email: tupperwaretk@yahoo.com

A thick hazy veil of dust fell from the shelf above as Topolev threw open one of the numerous plastoid containers in the racks of the cache. Holder sneezed loudly once, then again and again in rapid succession. He wiped his face, then sneezed again a fourth time, clutching his chest. Danz spoke up, lightly touching his own chest briefly, then his forehead in a sweeping motion, “Gods of Eisley bless you” and continued working on the shelves across the aisle. Topolev bent to one side and looked down to the lower shelf where Holder was, “You OK?” Danz turned around to check on his new Sandtrooper brother, “What’s wrong?” The ex-Commando wheezed and clutched at his chest, “My lungs are burning.” Felth spoke up from across the room without turning his attention from the holo-viewer, “Carbon freeze . . . especially those of a long duration, create a heightened sensitivity in the lungs to dust and pollutants.” Now pushing his chair back a bit, he turned to face the others. “The coughing and sneezing won’t last long. The acquired sensitivity will go away in time, but based on how long you were in, I wouldn’t expect it to be anytime soon.” Holder’s breaths began to calm down as the dust dissipated and settled again. He looked up, then cocked his head around to Danz, “The Gods of Eisley?” Danz looked back, “What?” Topolev now peered over the shelf at Danz. “Oh, you mean the Gods of Eisley thing?” said Danz. “Sorry, it’s almost subconscious. It’s something we said growing up as kids.” He looked back at the others who were staring at him blankly now. Topolev blurted out, “You grew up here?” Danz burst out laughing, “**** no! Eisley is a sacred temple complex where I grew up on Bestine IV, but . . . it is tied to this place. Colonists from Bestine came here almost a century ago in search of a new place to settle.” Topolev cocked his head and squinted his eyes in disbelief, “Really.” “Yeah, really. You know that hotel in the middle of town, The Dowager Queen” They nodded. “That was their starship. When they crash landed here, Mos Espa was pretty much the only settlement in the region. The survivors of the crash built this city, originally calling it Eisley, for the sacred city back on Bestine. They added the prefix name Mos later to blend in with the already established Mos Espa and to keep with local naming traditions. They also built the capital city, Bestine.” Topolev rested his arms on the edge of the plastoid container, “So, what is Bestine IV like? I’ve never been there.” The lift mechanism in the adjacent room activated and rose to the upper level as Danz paused a moment, remembering his homeworld, “Well, most of it is covered with water. The little bit of land that is available, is very rugged. Volcanic islands mostly, not much more than mountains and beaches. It’s very beautiful, just not very hospitable. Our ancestors figured out long ago how to build on the cliffs and live in harmony with the jagged mountain spires.” As the cargo lift descended back to their level, Topolev listened, slightly nodding in agreement, “Hmmm, sounds great. I could use some time by a lot of water. It must be hard coming from a place like that to a place like this!” 1265 and Blade stood in the doorway flanked by Deckard, helmets and packs off, perspiration gleaming on their faces. “I wish I was in a place like that right about now” said 1265. Blade wiped his face as he leaned against one of the racks, “Me too brother. That trip around the spaceport was hotter than flying through the five fire rings of Fornax!” Felth swiveled his chair around to face the group, “I just got a message from Rogue. It was a bit garbled and broke off before he was finished. Anybody else get it?” He glanced around the small room, but everyone shook their heads no. “I guess I’ll go topside and see if I can get better reception. This bunker must have some shielding in place.” Blade whipped his head around as Felth walked through the door to the lift, “Where is Rogue anyway?” Felth looked back over his shoulder as he walked past them out of the room, “He and 0600 went over to Darklighter Water . . . something about Tusken unrest or a break-in or something.” Holder, now sitting on one of the lower shelves, looked up as they entered, “Hey Deck, how’d the swoop do?” I crossed the floor, stepping down the one step into the slightly recessed area in the center of the room, “It worked well . . . smooth and pretty strong -” He interrupted me, “You were gone a long time.” Blade took note of the comment, his eyes darted over to me. “Yeah, well I had to stop out in the dunes and make a few adjustments. It took a little while to locate the problem.” “Think you got it all worked out now?” asked Holder. “I think so.” I replied. Etz shot a glance to Holder, “You feeling any better now?” “What’s wrong with him?” I asked, looking back over to the Commando. “Nothing a twenty year sentence inside a metal slab didn’t give him.” said Danz. “Yeah, it’s a little easier to breathe now.” Holder replied. Topolev pulled out a handful of items from the plastoid container he was leaning on and began sifting through them. Something on one of the items in his hands caught Holder’s eye, and he stood abruptly, grabbing one of the holo cards from Topolev’s hand. “Hey!” said Topolev as the other items fell away to the metal, grid of the floor below. Everyone turned toward the two, watching. The small black and white logo on the upper right-hand corner was exactly what he thought he had seen; the dark circular center, the ring of outward facing rays. Small flashing images and sporadic bursts of rapidly streaming and disjointed incomplete memories flooded in from the still-murky recesses of his mind as creases of concern furrowed his brow, perspiration forming. His mouth moved slowly, as if speaking to himself only, carefully forming whispered words that gave substance to the revelation he was having. “Black Sun.” * * *

I got this input from troopers on the FLORIDA GARRISON board - any thoughts? Input? IDEA 1: "Maybe someone spying on Xizor or Kaird and reporting to the Hutts? dunno." My response: I like this - perhaps a member of the original Dig Site team is a bit too nosy for their own good and witnesses something they shouldn't have. IDEA 2: What I would think would be cool is if you had some other Hutt secretly in league with the two and they later betray him and have him killed. This information is crucial to keep secret because the Hutts would have them executed if they found out. My response: This is a very interesting idea . . . and joined with the idea from above could easily be what transpired. Perhaps what is hidden in the buried saddlebag is a copy of the original dig site security holo recording which shows the murder. If it got back to Jabba, Xizor, Kaird and Black Sun would be relentlessly and endlessly hunted and fought by the Hutts.

Pappy, while I like your ideas (which feel alot like Sandtroopers meet the X-Files meet Kelly's Heroes meet A Bridge Too Far, meet LOST) I can't have too many troopers on Tatooine, or make this too much of a high profile issue. Tattoine is supposed to be the OUTER RIM - on the edges and fringes of esatblished, civilized territory. A place where even the Empire is scarce, and this group, the 104th Moisture Farm Patrol is operating outside the Legion, outside the Empire's official capacity - they don't exist. I need this to be something that makes the cool, collected Xizor sweat a little - something that makes him worry about it ever seeing the light of day, and the lengths that he would go to to make sure that doesn't happen. It must be something small - almost insignificant, yet absolutely explosive.

I agree he uses the rivalry to his advantage and enjoys seeing the rivalry between Vader and Xizor, as he did with Dooku and Anakin, but is he BEHIND the might that is BLACK SUN? I thought it operated completely outside the realm of the Empire.

Is Palpatine behind Black Sun? I thought it was a completely seperate entity from the Empire and/or Palpatine.

I understand thinking that, but truly, all I need is a scenario or item or scrap of information surrounding the securing of the Dig Site contract between Black Sun and exiled Jedimaster Dooku for delivering materials needed for Death Star I. It can be a stand-alone situation, and have nothing to do with anything else I have written. I just need something or some situation that surrounded the securing of the contract that could come back to bite Xizor and or Kaird in the **** if the Hutts found out why they lost the contract to Black Sun. So truly, no one needs to re-read any of the story . . . this can be a stand-alone thing.

<Han Solo voice> Don't everybody jump in at once. </Han Solo voice>

Hi guys, I really need some input on THE SANDTROOPER'S STORY. I know a lot of you guys read or have read the story so far . . . well, now I need your help to move it forward more. At this point in the story, I want to introduce Xizor and Black Sun (from the SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE storyline) into the mix of things, and have compiled some thoughts for how I think that can be achieved, but I need your help for a key part of this. Below in bold are my VERY rough notes, showing what I'd like to transpire. I need you to help me determine exactly what the damaging information might be that is mentioned below. If you wouldn't mind glancing throught the notes, stewing on this with me and posting in with some brainstorm ideas I would really appreciate it! ~ (19 years BBY) - Xizor's main rival for the position of Vigo in Black Sun was a Nediji assassin named Kaird. Kaird and Xizor were jointly working on the Dig Site operation. ~ XIZOR WAS AT THE BOONTA EVE RACE (32 years BBY) – as were other troops from the new Dig Site – Flashback to include Anakin Skywalker winning the race – troops paying up to Watto for bets made?? ~ Perhaps this is where Kaird, Xizor and Jabba met about the Dig Site Operation? ~ In present day, there will be an item or holo recovered in the cache (in the troop barracks lower level) with the BLACK SUN logo on it – this triggers a flashback memory in Holder’s still murky memories, of some bit of information he was entrusted with about the Coring Project and Dig site and how BLACK SUN secured the job, stealing it away from the Hutts. Holder keeps it as a secret. ~ It needs to be something that both Xizor and Kaird knew about and were covering up to keep the peace with the Hutts. (Something that threatens the unstable alliance between the two?) ~ Xizor saw this as something he could use to gain favor with BLACK SUN over Kaird, as both were competing for a VIGO position in the organization. ~ This information was damaging to both Kaird and Xizor, but could have been presented in such a light that it trailed back only to Kaird if presented by Xizor. If found on its own, out of context, it was potentially explosive for the organization and damaging to both Kaird and Xizor. ~ Without Xizor’s knowledge, someone else knew of the information, and years later passed it along to Holder (The Holder of Secrets) before he dies. Slicer (Holder’s squad-mate) witnesses this and is also pulled into the loop. Xizor is unaware the information has been passed along. Is the information taken and hidden? Perhaps hidden in the desert – in a dewback saddlebag hidden amidst the scattered bones of the fabled and elusive Bantha Graveyard? Could the droid Deckard repaired have a hidden tracking program to locate it? ~ Years later in or near present day, Xizor received communiqué regarding the dig site and the sensitive issue while he is pursuing 10-4TO on Coruscant – while clashing with Jedi Jax Pavan. ~ Xizor understands that the information was leaked out, and now seeks the information and those who may have known, inadvertently uncovering an aging Slicer and the preserved Holder. ~ Something Xizor (still one of the black sun viggos at this point) searches for to this day? A search he inherited from his predecessor – a search to recover something that threatens Black Sun and all he has built up also. Any ideas would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks!

My Sandtrooper Persona is Terek Deckard (TD2187) and the best way to understand how I fit in is to check out these threads and the fanfiction I am writing and appear in along with other members of the 104th Moisture Farm Patrol (MFP). Part I (Complete): http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=3699 Part II (WIP): http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=2148

PM sent about RPF cyliners run.

If anyone wants the larger FX bucket to be able to put in more electronics, etc, I have helmet kits ready to ship out. Email me at: tupperwaretk@yahoo.com for more information.

If anyone has a spare from a parts kit, or knows a source, I need the metal pin that the trigger pivots on. I have replaced the missing piece with a wooden dowel, which is OK, but I really want the original part. ALSO, TD-1549, what are you using for your mag-well cylinders, they look amazing!