The first time I saw a picture of the Crater Creeper, my thought was "This thing needs a scorpion tail." I like scorpions. They're just cool creatures with those badass-looking stinger tails. So I designed a scorpion tail for the Creeper using bricks with click-joints. Not as versatile as ball-joints, but the weight of the stinger cannon turned out to be a bit much for Lego ball-joints to handle (in other words, it fell down). Click-joints are very stable and can be posed in a variety of ways. The tail can aim to the left or right of the vehicle and also point upward, turning the Crater Creeper into a versatile anti-aircraft artillery platform. Also on this variant is a little windshield in front of the driver. It displays a holographic image of what the tail is looking at, enabling him to aim the mighty weapon.

This is the Crater Creeper's true potential. This mean machine can help out the Star Slicer during the Battle Of Hoth.

Well, not really. Best Lock Terminator.

I'm not much of a Terminator fan, but I picked this up out of curiosity and because I'm a Lego Maniac and also because it was on sale. It's that same old Best Lock quality, or lack thereof. Many of the parts have burrs on them left over from when they were removed from the modeling tree. Those had to be shaved off. Many of the parts don't fit together very well and had to be forced to fit together with extra pressure applied to the interlocking pieces.

This monster-sized set builds:
2 Small Hunter Killer flyers
1 Large Hunter Killer flyer
1 Small Hunter Killer tank
1 Large Hunter Killer tank
1 Jeep with gun turret
Some battlefield walls
Five Terminators
The Terminator (Arnold from the movie)
Kyle Reese
Some stock Best Lock military figures
3 Dogs

My set didn't come with any dogs. Also, some of the pieces for building the second flyer were warped and unusable. But everything else turned out fine. The Terminator figures are fragile. The legs and arms easily come loose on some of them; so after you get these bad boys posed the way you want them, don't touch 'em. That's a shame because they are nicely designed and can be posed in a variety of ways. The various HKs are plastered with stickers that cover many of their pieces, so it's a "build it once and you're done" thing. Can't take it apart without messing up the stickers. In my past experience with Best Lock tank treads (and other knock-off brands, for that matter), all of my tank treads broke after a while. So I don't have much hope for these tank treads lasting very long. I didn't do much by way of modification to these models. Just a few pieces added here and there where pieces were conspicuously absent, to round out the overall look of the vehicles. All done and said, a satisfying building experience, and some nice HK models. I'm showing this just for the heck of it, in case any Terminator fans are interested.

Second-to-last Galaxy Squad set. Yeah, they're cancelling this awesome theme early while Chima and other themes will probably continue to run into the next year.

This is also the first Galaxy Squad set I'm not all that happy with. The Hive Crawler sports two action features that, while impressive from a design stand-point, are nonetheless useless to me. The vehicle is on wheels (hidden underneath the chassis), and the wheels cause the legs to move up and down as you push it along a flat surface. Nice idea, and some fancy design work there, but I don't really need that kind of thing from my Galaxy Squad vehicles. Sort of like how Switch-N-Go Dinos look interesting at first glance, but then I realize that all it does is switch back and forth like a Transformer. Meh. The other action feature is a giant catapult in the back of the vehicle that tosses translucent pink boulders. Or eggs, I guess. Pink eggs with baby Insectoids inside. Another useless feature. I don't need to have pink boulders flinging across my room.

As always with Insectoid vehicles, the color scheme needed some modification. Lots of dark red clashing with the bright green. Replaced with a bit of white and other colors. And dark red bubble canopies replaced with neon yellow ones because I don't have two of those in green. Even with the modified colors, modified stinger turrets, and additional stinger cannons added up front, the Hive Crawler is still a mess. No matter how I pose it, only two of the legs touch the ground at any given time. It looks like it's supported by hidden wheels. Even if I modified the legs so that they could all touch the floor, the Hive Crawler is just ugly to begin with. I'm gonna take it apart and use the pieces to build an Insectoid Base.













In the "good news" department, there's a new bug monster mini-figure and a couple of baby Insectoids.





Also, Red Team gets a new speeder bike. I guess these guys are the scouts. Small, fast, and mobile. The speeder bike has a split function, with the glider attached in the back, and it can be detached for the robot to use. That turns out to be useless because the Red Team robot sidekick--I'll call him "Red"--already has a jetpack. The speeder bike is just kinda "meh", and there's no seat for Red, which makes the split function the worst yet. I had an idea to modify it with angled sides, then I worked with it and made a seat for Red. He can fit in there with his jetpack on, then fly out when Red Team arrives at their destination. I also added some instrument panels and a holographic display.









If I do a Galaxy Squad story (yeah, I'm getting ideas again), Red is going to be a badass melee combatant with energy blades that extend from his hands like light sabers. So the energy blades won't be something he carries with him. He will just light them up and start kicking Insectoid butts. My story is going to be "Starship Troopers meets Star Wars".

Anyway, this set isn't a total loss. But it's the fist in this series that I'm not fond of.

Leonidas designed an upgrade for Lennox' off-roader, drawing from ancient Chiman mythology. The Manticore Glider enables the lions to take to the air.

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while, basing my design off the manticore in "Heroes Of Might & Magic III". I built on the basic Lennox' Lion Attack chassis (as seen here). Wanted to have smaller wheels because it's a glider, but the claw thingies on the side of the fore-wheels didn't work with smaller wheels. So I had to use the off-roader wheels. This model came together pretty easily on the whole, with some nice wings, an upgraded lion mane design, and a scorpion tail similar to the one I did for the Galaxy Squad Crater Creeper. Slightly different design there because my pool of dark beige pieces is very small and limited, but it turned out fine. I used "lion-yellow" parts from two Chima sets: Lennox' Lion Attack and Laval's Royal Fighter (which is a large lion tank that I wasn't very fond of). Between those two sets there were just enough pieces in that hard-to-find color to decorate the wings and body.

This is my first big Legends Of Chima MOC (My Own Creation). While the modified cabin on Eris' Eagle Interceptor and Chi cannon weapons array on Wakz' Pack Tracker are also MOCs, the Manticore Glider was a much larger project, almost entirely my own design. This model was difficult to capture in still images because of the angled wings and tail that tends to get in the way.

The final Galaxy Squad set in a really nice Lego space theme that lasted only one year. The Galactic Titan set is called the "final battle" on the Lego website. It gives us a tiny Insectoid base (if you could call it such), a caterpillar, and a large Blue Team tank with a space ship on top that can detach. This final "split function" is the worst of them all because it doesn't work!

This article is going to be different from previous entries. I'm not going to talk about the mods I did here; rather, I'm going to talk about how badly this set sucks.

The first part of assembly is the not-so-imposing Instectoid base, which I'll show another time. Then there's the caterpillar, which I skipped over for now (not even sure if I have enough robotic arms to replace all those dark red legs on it). The main event is the Titan, where we assemble the tank first and then finish up with the ship. I did some cosmetic color mods while I was building the two vehicles. Nothing special. Just a few odd colors here and there that looked out of place to me, replaced with colors I felt were appropriate. Each of the two vehicles has a couple design flaws that I fixed. Again, nothing all that special, and nothing that really hinders the functionality of the stuff. Just another case of personal preference. With everything assembled, the fatal flaw revealed itself.

First, I'd like to explain the purpose and functionality of two Lego parts. Bear with me for a moment...



These yellow things are hinges that are commonly used as... well, hinges (and joints for mech robots, among other things). The part with the teeth snaps onto the one with the little knob, and they're meant to stay together. In fact, it takes a bit of effort to pull them apart. That's how strong the connection is. There are tiny indentations on the teeth, and the base part has a tiny wedge that fits into them. You can adjust the angle of the connection.





If you'd like to give your spacecraft angled wings, you can use these hinges to connect the wings to the ship, and they'll stay there. These things are not meant to come apart easily. In fact, there's a Star Wars set where this style of hinge is used to firmly connect one half of a ship to another. There's a variety of styles of this type of hinge, ranging from bricks to plates and other types of pieces. The yellow things shown above were chosen as the way to connect the Titan ship to the base on the tank. Let's have a look at the back of the tank where the ship connects to it...


See the yellow things between the transparent yellow circles on the sides?


Here's the ship, with yellow hinges pointing down under the front.


Here's a page from the instructions telling us to latch those yellow things together.


Here's the ship, connected to the base.

So let's try to pull it off and see what happens...


Umm...

What happened here was worse than what happened the first time I tried to do it. The first time, the joints on the ship just pulled part of the base off with them. This time one of the joints was so stubborn in refusing to let go, it pulled off the whole side of the ship! On the other side, the ship pulled the joints off, bringing part of the base with it. Let's have a closer look at the damage...



Part of the hinge joints on the base are covered by brackets that are held together by dark blue plates. Normally the brackets are a good way to strengthen a model's durability. Line up an "underside bracket" with an "overside bracket", link 'em together with a plate or something, and the stuff in between the brackets won't fall apart (not to mention that you can build sideways off of the brackets). But your brackets won't do any good if a great deal of force is being applied on pieces underneath them. As seen here, the brackets were ripped apart because the yellow things underneath the top bracket wanted so badly to fly upward along with the yellow things on the ship.


Yellow hinge bases attached to the ship. They just didn't want to let go.

These yellow monsters were not designed to be used as a casual connector for something that's supposed to be lifted off of a base. Yet they're used here for some reason. Thumbs down, Lego.

~*~*~

Here's a possible solution to this mess.


Step 1: Build a platform and place it on the base as shown


Step 2: Put the rest of the stuff on the base as per the set's instructions


Step 3: Get some jumpers and line 'em up as shown


Step 4: Put ship on jumpers. It can be easily lifted off without pulling the base up with it.

~*~*~

But is it really worth the effort of fixing this thing? In my humble opinion, this is the worst Galaxy Squad set. Here's 5 reasons why it sucks...

1. Insectoid base looks like a tiny antenna shack or something.

2. Caterpillar doesn't look all that appealing.

3. Ship's wings pivot... for no reason. There aren't any guns on the wings or any reason I can think of for them to turn as they do. They're useless.

4. Lack of guns. Two laser cannons (or whatever) on the ship, two red flick missiles, and the tank has two of those awful spring-loaded missile launchers that I hate. Other Galaxy Squad vehicles all have a decent number of cannons on 'em. This one doesn't look like it belongs with the rest of the pack.

5. Terrible "split-function".

I'm probably not gonna replace the yellow cones with blue bulbs or find a way to add more guns on it, or anything else. The vehicle doesn't even look all that great to begin with. The ship would make more sense as a dropship. It's almost like those dropships in "Star Wars Episode 2: Attack Of The Clones". Place a 4x4 underneath there, or a cargo container, find a good way to connect it to the underside of the ship, and it can serve as a dropship for delivering supplies or a small vehicle.

Very disappointing Lego set. Almost as bad as the Ninja Turtles Shellraiser (but that's a topic for another time).

Following the Galactic Titan disaster, I wanted to see if the starship could be converted into a dropship. While I liked the forward cabin on the tank, I didn't like the overall design of the tank. So I started with that forward cabin in mind and designed my own Armored Assault Vehicle, a six-wheeler with a movable cannon array in the back. Lots of work went into that thing. The Galactic Titan ship was pretty good, but the large clear canopy had to be lifted off and set aside to gain access to the cabin with the two pilots. It didn't flip open like the canopies on other Galaxy Squad vehicles do. So a lot of work went into finding a way to create a hinge so that it can flip open. I don't remember how many times I had to take the whole thing apart to make adjustments on a few crucial areas of the aircraft. It was a lot. Had to remove some parts that the canopy grabs onto so that it can be lifted up on its new hinge, and had to adjust the nose of the vehicle (another place where the canopy grabs onto). With that problem finally conquered, I set about looking for a way to connect my two vehicles.

Tried out a few things that didn't work, got discouraged, gave up on it, and then inspiration hit with a new idea. I worked on it without even knowing if it would work. Well, praise God, it worked! The ground vehicle has a pair of telescoping beams that can be moved back and forth through its base. Because the beams can easily slip back and forth, I had to design a locking mechanism on the back that holds it firmly in place. The dropship has a large lift-arm in the back with Technic holes at the bottom. When that's lined up with the beams on the ground vehicle, the beams can be pushed through the holes and locked in place, securing the ground vehicle to the dropship's lift-arm. A few strategically placed bracer pieces and some design elements of the ground vehicle brace it against parts of the dropship, helping it to stay steady while in transit. By the grace of God, I designed a dropship mechanism that actually works! Had a lot of fun working on it, and seeing the finished product in action was a treat.




Wings have pivoted here, with additional cannons on them.
"Lock airfoils in attack position."






Dropship has deposited its cargo and is taking off.


A shot of the Dropship's lift-arm.




Canopy lifts up on a hinge.




Cannon array lifts up and can rotate.






Back of the Armored Vehicle with telescoping beams and locking mechanisms.
The parts with the red pieces on them attach to pegs on either side of the back.


The Dropship's lift-arm goes into that cavity, and the telescoping beams run through it.
Beams are shown here in "closed mode".


Armored Vehicle's cabin with blue robot sidekick at the controls.


Underside of both vehicles while attached.
In the middle is the Dropship's lift-arm with the beams going through it.

Made a duo of Insectoids based on the design of the ones that come with the CLS-89 Eradicator Mech. I wanted to have some that don't have the large, bulbous yellow thing on their back. These are closer to the stock bugs in "Starship Troopers".


Seen here with the other bugs for comparison.





Also made an Insectoid Mech based on the design of the mech in this set:



I got that set mostly for the dark beige base plate, but it has some other cool stuff, too. Built the mech just for fun. Then I got an idea to modify it, replace the gold stuff with green, and so forth, for a Bug Mech! Turned out pretty cool. So that was a nice unexpected bonus there.











Here's the dippy little Insectoid Base that came with the Galactic Titan set. Modified the colors a bit just for fun. I'm gonna make a proper Insectoid Base some time.





And here's an exclusive sneak peek at a work in progress...



It's gonna be a Transport Bug. Has some honeycomb habitats for the little humanoid Insectoids, weapons racks for storing their hand guns during flight, an elevated forward cabin for two pilots, and the larger Insectoids will go in the middle. Sorta like a commercial airliner for Insectoids. The whole thing will be covered by roof panels that can open, and the forward cabin will have opening panels. Doesn't look like much now, but a lotta work has gone into that puppy. Largest MOC I've worked on so far.

The Transport Bug is the Insectoid "Star Destroyer", most often seen carrying troops from planet to planet. This mighty behemoth can also serve as a warship, sporting two forward-mounted heavy stinger blasters, four stinger cannons also on the forward mount, and four double-stinger turrets on the sides.

Features:
Elevated bridge that seats a pilot and co-pilot
Engineering section with power core
Spacious passenger bay can hold 3 large Insectoids
Honeycomb habitats can seat 6 mini-fig sized Insectoids
Weapons racks for storing hand-held stinger guns
2 Boarding ramps on the sides
Custom-designed Insectoid insignia on the sides, made with stickers from 2 Warp Stinger sets






































Who's that fat bald guy holding my creation? He looks weird.

Thanks go out to my sister, who took some of the exterior shots and all of the close-up detail ones. She's better with the camera than I am. And a special thanks to God for guidance, ideas, problem-solving, and loving support of this mammoth project. Thank You, Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, for loving me and blessing my efforts with success.

Red Team has been needing a decently sized vehicle, and here it is. These two guys like to stay small and mobile, so I tried to keep it as small as I could. The Bug buster features a rotating turret on top, a removable roof, and opening hatches in the front and back. Inside are seats for two additional passengers, a Red Team speeder bike, Red's jetpack and energy blades, and two blaster pistols and a rifle. (If I do my story, Red's energy blades will be replaced with binoculars and a med-kit, as the energy blades extend from his hands like mini-light-sabers.)

























Next time I'll show some modified Insectoid starfighters and the Galaxy Squad crew with their helmets off.

Red Bug, seen here dueling Red. Since there's only one of this guy in the series (unless you want to buy a gazillion Star Slicer sets to populate your Insectoid colonies), I decided that this guy will be the villain and leader of the Insectoid forces. He wields a double-sided wing blade, and will be kind of a combination of Darth Maul and Darth Vader. He also flies around in his personal starfighter, a modified Swarmer with larger wings for stronger shields and extra engines for more speed. He's usually accompanied by two escorts.











Before I worked on Red Bug, I modified the Space Swarmer. It used to have two pieces with stickers on the sides. I might need the decorations for something else, so I redesigned the Swarmer and gave it some new pink-tipped stinger cannons. The new ones are much improved over the old ones. Also gave it better, more durable legs.











Also got some hair pieces for the Galaxy Squad team, for when they have their helmets off.


From left to right:
Solomon Blaze, Max Solarflare, Chuck Stonebreaker, Billy Starbeam, Ashlee Starstrider, Jack Fireblade

(Those are the official Lego names for them.)

Did some modifications to the Insectoid Star Slicer and Crater Creeper. First, the mighty Slicer, which now has poseable legs. Also did some mods to the pilot's cabin and the turret in back, and gave them better pink-tipped stinger cannons. Not only are they more durable than the previous stinger cannons, but they look better, too. The legs are connected with a simple Technic assembly that enables them to move back and forth laterally. I've positioned the legs differently in each shot.

















The Crater Creeper Scorpion mod got the same treatment. Poseable legs, a few small improvements to the body of the vehicle, and an enhanced control panel for the buggoid pilot. It stands a bit taller than it otherwise should, but this was the best way to have movable legs.













These two Insectoid walkers are gonna take names in the story, during the re-enactment of the Battle Of Hoth. Next time I'll show a new creation based on the Warp Stinger design.

I've heavily modified most of the Insectoid vehicles, so I had a look at the Warp Stinger, which I modded last year. Let's have another look at it real quick.



The curved tail is kind of useless. While it's cool, it doesn't have any guns on it, or engines, or anything else that would make it functional in some way. So I decided, either add some guns to the tail or remove it completely. I went with the latter, and this was the result...



Insectoid Star Hopper. What I did here was remove the Warp Stinger's tail, shorten the fore-legs, add some hind legs, modify the engine block, and a few modifications to the body of the vehicle. Also gave this baby a pair of improved stinger cannons (same style as the re-vamped Star Slicer got). I've done so many modifications to this thing, it's pretty much my own creation. The only remnants from the Warp Stinger are the overall shape of the pilot's cabin and the wings.















Also built the Caterpillar from the Galactic Titan set. Their caterpillar has sloped tops to the segments and a large grabber mouth in front. My Insectoids use Caterpillar vehicles to transport supplies. They mine energy crystals, build power cores and stinger cannons on site, then the Caterpillars carry the cargo to the Transport Bugs or a base. The driver's segment was also heavily modified.


Seen here carrying two power cores and some stinger cannons.



Also did some modifications to the Dragonfly and built a second one. The engine block behind the pilot is now dark gray instead of green, and the pilot now has a nifty little control console. These things are the Insectoid equivalent of speeder bikes.





Next time I'll share a rough draft of my Galaxy Squad story.

This is a rough draft of my story, most likely to be presented in a web-comic at some future time. It's not a serious attempt at storytelling. It's mostly just me having fun visualizing what kind of stuff happens with Galaxy Squad and the Insectoids.



Lego Galaxy Squad



Episode 1: The Insectoid Menace

It is a time of great unrest. Insectoid forces, striking from a hidden base, have launched a sneak attack at the planet Regorran on the frontier of Terran space. The colony was decimated, and Galaxy Squad's comm satellite was destroyed. Cut off from Earth with no long-range communications, Galaxy Squad has dispatched two teams to investigate the colony in search of survivors...

Chapter 1: Escape From Colony 5

The Regorran colony is Earth's fifth colony on the frontier, far from our home base at Earth.

Billy Starbeam of Red Team, and Chuck Stonebreaker of Green Team are accompanied by their robot sidekicks, Red and Green, as they arrive at the colony. Billy and Red ride in their speederbike. Chuck and Green are using the Vaporizer.

Arriving at the colony, they surveil the area from a safe vantage point. All is quiet. Red scans for movement and finds none. There is a big hole in the side of the compound. The shape of the hole suggests that some four-legged Insectoids were trying to get in and probably did.

Deciding that the coast is clear, our heroes approach the compound. Chuck parks the Vaporizer a good distance away from the compound so as to give Green a good vantage point to keep lookout while they go inside. Green remains in the Vaporizer's turret while Billy, Red, and Chuck enter the colony. Then we see the back side of the colony where some Insectoids are on the wall, just outside of view!

Chuck begins looking for survivors while Billy and Red go to the command center. Billy wonders if someone might have left a log that can shed light on what happened. Red looks around the room. Then he catches a glimpse of movement above, out of the corner of his robotic eye. Pulling back to view the room from a different angle, there's an Insectoid clinging to the ceiling just above their heads! The Insectoid drops to the floor in front of Red. Red ignites his energy blades and slices the Insectoid.

Billy is surprised. "Note to self: Look up once in a while." He calls Chuck. "Chuck, we've got a bug here. Recommend immediate evac." "Copy that", says Chuck, "I've got nothing here. No survivors, no bodies. Whatever happened here, we missed it." Billy, Red, and Chuck meet at the gaping hole they entered through, and are greeted by some Insectoids, which they blast their way through with Red's help. "It's an ambush!" Flying Insectoids descend from the sky, shooting at them and blowing up Red Team's speeder bike. At the Vaporizer, Green starts shooting at them while our three heroes make a mad dash for the vehicle with Insectoids hot on their heels. It's an action scene with pink stinger beams lancing through the air and Red's energy blades slicing through attacking bugs. Billy is tackled by an Insectoid, and Green shoots it with his cannons. They escape aboard the Vaporizer, but more flying bugs are shooting at them.

Back at HQ, Commander Razak sends Ashlee Starstrider and Jack Fireblade in the Obliterator to help.

There's a chase across the landscape with the Vaporizer on the run followed closely by flying bugs shooting at it, and Green operating the turret, but there are too many bugs coming after them. Finally, the Obliterator shows up and blasts all the bugs, saving the day.

At the Galaxy Squad HQ in the garage, everyone has to keep their helmets and power suits on until the resident doctor verifies that there aren't any airborne or contact viruses or anything else harmful that they might have brought back with them. Billy has some Insectoid saliva on his power suit. A sample is taken, and the suit is quarantined for sterilization. Lady doctor Flores also wants to do a physical workup on Billy just to be safe. Red had taken a hit of pink energy during the battle (forgot to mention that). He's quarantined, as pink energy is toxic to humans. The Blue Team tech squad, led by Solomon Blaze and Max Solarflare, work on sterilizing Billy's power suit while Blue Team's robot sidekick (Blue) works on replacing Red's breastplate. Green, who was unharmed, and Chuck, also unharmed, have a look at the Vaporizer, which got put through quite a workout. There are diagnostics to run, and repairs to do. Commander Razak is concerned about the attack. "They were waiting for us. I think we've underestimated these aliens' intelligence."

At the medical bay, lady doctor Flores examines Billy.

Flores: Just think, you're the first person to come in direct contact with a hostile alien life form. You're going to be famous!
Billy: Lucky me. How about we skip that last part. Tell everyone back home it was Chuck, or Jack. They'd appreciate the attention more than I would.
Flores: You don't want to be famous?
Billy: I'm just a guy doing a job, and I like my job. Save the ticker tape parade for someone else.
Flores: Between you and me, you'll always be my hero, Billy.
Billy: Now that, I'm more than fine with.
Flores: Okay, your vitals are all good. I'll let you know if your blood work turns up anything. If you don't hear from me, that means you're in the clear.
Billy: Alright, thanks, doc. If you don't mind, I'm gonna head to my quarters and pass out.
Flores: By all means. You've earned it.

~*~*~

Chapter 2: Miner Inconvenience

While scouting for bug activity, Billy and Red stumble across an Insectoid Mine. There are humanoid Insectoids there: Buggoids and Mosquitoids (who have antennae). They're mining blue energy crystals, and there's some kind of construction activity going on. While observing the bugs from the safety of a cliff overlooking the cavern, Billy calls Commander Razak.

Billy: Commander, I think we've discovered a new kind of bug. They're humanoid, like us.
Commander Razak: Bipedal bugs?
Billy: Looks like there are two kinds. I'm not seeing any helmets or protective gear... unless what I'm seeing are their helmets and suits, but it doesn't look like they're wearing suits. Some of them have antennae. Must be nice to be able to live in a vacuum.
Red: It is.
Commander Razak: What are they doing?
Billy: They're mining blue energy crystals. They've got some kind of machine... Looks like they're infusing the blue energy crystals with red energy to make pink energy. They're building power cores and cannons, and loading them onto caterpillar transports.
Commander Razak: If they've discovered that pink energy is toxic to humans, they could be building weapons capable of annihilating a whole colony... or Earth.
Billy: There are a lot of weapons here. And they have hand-held weapons, too. I know a gun when I see one. I recommend we level the place.
Commander Razak: Would it be possible to take the mine?
Billy: I don't see that happening without a major firefight. I can't tell how stable the cavern is. A few stray shots--
Red: Stop! Radio silence!

One of the Mosquitoids has stopped what he was doing and is looking around like something is up. Red points him out to Billy, and Billy watches him for a moment through his binoculars. The Mosquitoid goes back to what he was doing.

Red: I think he was picking up our transmission.
Billy: Commander, one of the bugs with antennae may have been receiving our transmission. He was looking around curiously, like something was up.
Commander Razak: Have you been made?
Billy: He wasn't looking in our direction. He looked kinda confused for a moment there.

The Mosquitoid stops what he's doing and starts looking around again.

Billy: Yeah, he's listening in, alright. I'll bet he doesn't understand what he's hearing. It may just sound like noise to him.
Commander Razak: Alright, enough chit chat. I'm sending Ashlee to level the mountain. Can you get out of there undetected?
Billy: Can do, commander.
Commander Razak: Razak out.

Billy and Red head back through the tunnel the way they came and soon meet up with some Mosquitoids who were looking for the source of the transmission they were picking up. A firefight ensues.

Billy: Commander, that's a negative on the "undetected" part.
Commander Razak: Copy that. I'm diverting Chuck to your position.

The Commander calls Chuck Stonebreaker, who was scouting elsewhere in the Vaporizer. Chuck and Green head toward the mountain.

In the tunnel, Billy and Red are pinned down at a corner, unable to break through the Mosquitoids firing at them. One of the Mosquitoids fires at the ceiling, causing a cave-in.

Billy: Commander, they've blocked us in. ... Commander? We lost the transmission. C'mon, Red, we gotta find another way out.

The Vaporizer comes under attack by flying Insctoids, and Green tries to fend them off with his turret. After a while, they are swarmed by an increasing number of bug monsters.

At the Galaxy Squad HQ, Commander Razak is concerned over their loss of contact with Billy and Red. He calls Ashlee, who is en route to the mountain in the Obliterator.

Commander Razak: Ashlee, what's your ETA to target?
Ashlee: About thirteen minutes, sir. Making good speed.
Commander Razak: You're having a bit of difficulty with your engines. The fastest you can go is 50.
Ashlee: Copy that. Reducing speed.
Commander Razak: We're gonna lose two good soldiers if they can't get out of there in time.

He calls Chuck for a status report.

Chuck: We're swamped here, sir! Taking a lotta damage. I can see the mountain, but we're still a good distance away. The bugs are hammering away at us! Wait, I see something new! Three, check that, four caterpillars are leaving the mountain, carrying some kind of supplies.
Commander Razak: Can you get to the caterpillars and stop them?
Chuck: Negative. We'll be lucky if we get to the mountain in one piece.

Razak calls Ashlee.

Commander Razak: Ashlee, abort mission. I repeat, abort. I'm sending Chuck's coordinates. He needs help ASAP.
Ashlee: Copy that. I've got Chuck's position. ETA, three minutes at top speed.

Inside the mountain, Billy and Red make their way around the mining operation in the cavern and search for another way out. They're chased by Buggoids and Mosquitoids, and they find the entrance the Insectoids used to get in there. Billy remotely operates his speederbike and pilots it around the mountain to their position while they hide from the bugs in a tunnel. They board the speeder and take off. Billy calls the HQ.

Billy: Commander, we made it! Do you copy?
Commander Razak: Copy that. Good to hear your voice. Chuck and Ashlee are fighting a swarm, and some caterpillars escaped from the mountain. I'm sending you their last known position and direction.

Our heroes pursue the caterpillars, trying to catch up with them. They soon discover five Transport Bugs parked in a large clearing. Caterpillars and Insectoids are piling aboard. It looks like the bugs are getting ready to leave. But to go where? Maybe the Insectoids aren't native to this planet like our heroes originally thought. Billy and Red watch from a safe distance as the Transport Bugs fly away with their cargo. The commander orders the captain of the Victory, which is in orbit, to follow the Transport Bugs, mark their destination, and return to pick up the rest of the Galaxy Squad team.

(Galaxy Squad's starship, the Victory, is going to be a large dropship that carries their portable base with it.)

The Victory warps away. Ashlee and Chuck successfully fend off the remaining bugs, and the day is won. But not without cost. The Vaporizer has taken a lot of damage, and Red took another stinger hit to the chest during their escape from the mountain. With the airborne Insectoid threats eliminated, Ashlee is ordered to level the mountain, just to be sure.

~*~*~

Chapter 3: (Untitled)

The Victory returns, picks up the base, and they warp to the planet Fribize, where the Transport Bugs went. The Vaporizer is a four-wheeled ground vehicle. I'm going to build an engine block attachment that snaps onto the back, enabling the Vaporizer to get from one planet to another. When the Vaporizer lands, Chuck disconnects it from the engine block, and they're good to go. The rest of the Galaxy Squad vehicles are either capable of interstellar travel by themselves or are small enough to fit into the HQ's garage (Billy's speederbike).

While in orbit, the Victory meets up with a Baeralon ship. I don't have pictures of the Baeralons yet, but they're green-skinned aliens. Use your imagination for now.

"Commander, we've got a Baeralon ship on approach. They're hailing us."

Commander Razak: On screen.
Baeralon: We've not seen a Solian ship this far from your home system. Do you require assistance?
Commander Razak: Indeed, we do. What do you know about insect men? Some have four legs. Others have two legs and stand upright. We call them Insectoids.
Baeralon: Insect men. You must mean the Zemdari. They are here?
Commander Razak: We followed them here after they destroyed our comm satellite and a colony at Regorran.
Baeralon: I am sorry to hear this. The Zemdari are ruthless. They conquered our home planet. We weren't as good at first contact back then. Mistakes were made.
Commander Razak: What happened?
Baeralon: Big misunderstanding. Your people benefited from those mistakes. When we made contact with your people, we were much more careful. The Zemdari have little interest in co-extistence. All they do is breed, conquer, and devour resources. We fled into deep space. We can't fight them. Our weapons aren't strong enough. We try to avoid them and hide from them. I'm afraid we can't help you. We must leave at once, before they detect our presence.
Commander Razak: Understood. Thanks for the information, and safe travels.

Galaxy Squad lands on Fribize and sets up shop. They're in unknown hostile territory, and the commander doesn't want the Victory to have to waste time picking up the HQ if they have to make a hasty departure, so the ship and base stay together.

At the command center, there's a discussion about their situation.

Solomon: This is too risky of a move. Shouldn't we return to Earth and report what happened on Regorran? Get some reinforcements?
Commander Razak: Reinforcements would be nice to have. But by the time we warp back to Earth, make our report, get Star Command up to speed on what's going on, and get those reinforcements ready, the situation here may have changed. We need eyes on what the Zemdari are up to, and we need to stop their weapons manufacturing now. What we do here today could be Earth's only hope of survival. We need to be pro-active and retaliate while we still can.

At the garage, Blue is replacing Red's breastplate.

Blue: Could you try to not get hit when you go out?
Red: I've been trying.
Blue: Could you try harder? After this one, I only have one more replacement breastplate for you. I'm going to have to clean up your damaged ones and patch them up somehow. Just between you and me, I think Commander Razak is crazy for bringing us out here by ourselves. I wish I had access to more materials to work with.
Red: I'm sorry that I've made more work for you to do.
Blue: No, you're not. You weren't programmed with emotions. (sigh) I shouldn't hold that against you. We're only as good as our programming.
Red: I'm sorry. Did I offend you? I was just trying to make you feel better.
Blue: No, no offense. And thanks, I appreciate the effort.

Billy and Red do some scouting on Fribize.

~*~*~

Chapter 4: (Untitled)

More action on Fribize, culminating with the destruction of an Insectoid weapons manufacturing facility. Jack Fireblade in the CLS-89 Eradicator Mech faces off against the Insectoid Mech while Billy and Red infiltrate the Zemdari base. Once again, some Transport Bugs leave the planet, carrying supplies, weapons, and troops.



Episode 2: The Zemdari Strike Back

It is a dark time for Galaxy Squad. All that's left of the Terran colony on Regorran, they have tracked the Zemdari to the planet Belatis and established a base there. With heavy Zemdari activity on the planet, Commander Razak wants the Victory ready for a quick departure if need be. Galaxy Squad's temporary base is in a network of caves. Seeking out Zemdari activity, searching for intelligence on what their enemies are up to, this is the final frontier. And perhaps Earth's only hope of survival. Meanwhile, sinister agents of the Zemdari have launched hundreds of remote probes in search of Galaxy Squad's hidden base.

Chapter 1: (Untitled)

A Transport Bug in orbit over the desert planet Belatis. Its cargo door opens on the side, and cocoons are launched into space. They head toward various destinations on the planet's surface. One of them crashes into the desert, and out from the smoke arises an Insectoid remote probe bug. It takes stock of its surroundings and buzzes off.

Billy and Red surveil some Transport Bugs, which have landed to drop off some troops and supplies, and refuel. As the mighty behemoths take off, our heroes are discovered (as always) and there's a speeder bike chase. Billy and Red are chased by Mosquitoids piloting Dragonflies.

Back at the Galaxy Squad HQ, Solomon Blaze (leader of Blue Team at the garage) introduces Billy and Red to the "Bug Buster", his latest invention. A Red Team space ship bristling with weapons and a turret on the top that can rotate 360 degrees like the one on the Vaporizer. It hasn't been tested yet, but when it's ready it will give Billy and Red more fire-power out in the field.

Solomon: We've installed two additional warp engines. She's gonna be the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!

An unknown presence is detected outside the base. Billy and Red go out to investigate and find the bug probe surveilling their base. After a quick shootout, the bug is shot down and brought in for science division analysis. To their surprise, the bug probe is some sort of bio-mechanical device. A cyborg Insectoid. Lady doctor Flores is brought in to analyze the bug.

At the command center, the commander is concerned. "They know where our base is. That's gonna make things impossible. Prepare a full evacuation. And start setting the charges."

~*~*~

Chapter 2: (Untitled)

"Variable, this is Knife 2. We've spotted Zemdari walkers on the south range."

Star Slicers and Scorpions are approaching.

At the garage, Solomon Blaze gives an assessment of their options.

Commander: Is the Obliterator ready?
Solomon: We're having difficulty adapting its weapons to the heat.
Commander: The Vaporizer?
Solomon: Same problem.
Commander: We'll have to use Interceptors and speeders.
Solomon: I'll get my team to their fighters.

As the Zemdari walkers begin firing on Galaxy Squad defenses, Solomon Blaze, Max Solarflare, and other Blue Team members launch their Interceptors to combat the monstrous walkers.

Solomon: Stay tight and watch for crossfire. Max, you with me?
Max: Right with you, Blue Leader.

Solomon and Max fire on a mantis walker.

Max: Did we hit him?
Solomon: I don't know. I'm gonna circle around and take another shot at this thing.
Max: I'll cover you.

Solomon fires on the mantis walker again.

Solomon: That armor's too strong for blasters! Aim for the legs! Try to disable them!

Solomon and Max circle around and approach the mantis from the side, shooting at the weak point where the legs and connected to the body. Boom! The walker's legs are blasted off, and the vehicle topples over.

Max: Ha! That got him!
Solomon: I see it. Good job, Max. Get set up for an attack run on the next one.

As Solomon and Max approach, the other mantis walkers and scorpions fire on them more aggressively. The back turret on a mantis fires on Max as they fly by.

Max: I've got a problem.
Solomon: Pull up!
Max: I can hold it!
Solomon: Eject!
Max: Aaaagh!

Max's ship is blown up.

Solomon: Max! We lost Max!

Solomon's ship comes under heavy fire. He ejects the forward cabin from the ship. The ship blows up and the forward cabin crashes into the ground in front of a mantis walker. Solomon gets out of the cabin just before the mantis walker smashes it with its forward slicers. He runs around behind the walker and tosses a grenade onto it. Boom!

Solomon: Commander, base defense has failed. Max is dead, and I've lost my ship.
Commander Razak: Can you get to a safe place? We'll pick you when the Victory launches.
Solomon: Copy that. Hiding out. Tracking beacon activated.

At the base, the commander is trying to evacuate all of their personnel to the Victory (parked nearby) and get charges placed. They're running out of time. At the lab, Lady doctor Flores has uncovered some important information about the Insectoid remote probe. She needs to wait for the computer to finish running its analysis and then send the information to the Victory before takeoff. Billy, Red, and Blue (who happens to be tagging along), come to get her.

Billy: We have to get out of here. Now!
Flores: I need two more minutes. I have to get this sent to the "Victory".
Billy: We don't have two minutes! The bugs have entered the base!

With the transmission finally sent, they head out through the corridors to evacuate her to the ship... and are blocked by a cave-in.

Billy: Commander, this is Starbeam. Better take off without us. I can't get to you. I'll get her out on the Bug Buster.
Commander Razak: Copy that. Remember the rendezvous coordinates.
Billy: I got it! Let's go.
Blue: Wait! Where are you going? Wait for me!

At the Bug Buster...

Blue: Sir, I must point out that the Bug Buster hasn't even been tested yet.
Billy: No time like the present.

They fly out of the hangar, with Zemdari troops firing at them.

On board the Victory safely in orbit, the comms officer notes that they're being hailed from their own base on the surface.

Commander Razak: On screen.

It's a red Buggoid.

Red Bug: We are victory! All your base are belong to us.

What? They must have been listening in on our transmissions and studying our language! They're trying to communicate!

Commander Razak: Communicate this! (slams fist on a button)

The Galaxy Squad base, now surrounded by Insectoids, blows up, spreading debris everywhere.

Red Bug: Ha ha ha! You think I are dumb? Ha ha ha!

Comms Officer: Sir, he's not transmitting from our base. He seems to have routed his transmission through the base. He's on a Transport Bug.

With three Transport Bugs closing on their position, the Victory, Obliterator, and a couple other ships warp away to the rendezvous coordinates.

~*~*~

Chapter 3: (Untitled)

Billy Starbeam, Red, Flores, and Blue are in the Bug Buster. Red is remotely operating the turret. They're on the run from a Transport Bug and several bug fighters.

Blue: Sir, I would like to--
Billy: Not now, Blue. Red, take over piloting controls for a moment.
Red: I can't operate the ship and the turret at the same time.
Billy: Forget the turret! I gotta get us outta here!

Two more Transport Bugs approach.

Billy: Look sharp, there are two more coming in, they're gonna try and cut us off.

Blue: Sir, if I could just--
Billy: Not now, Blue! I gotta make the calculations for warp. We'll be safe once we get out of here... If they don't follow us.
Blue: But sir--!
Billy: Shut him up or shut him down!

Billy tries to go to warp, and it doesn't work. "I think we're in trouble."

Blue: That's what I've been trying to tell you! I noticed the warp drive was damaged during takeoff. It's impossible to go to warp!
Billy: We're in trouble. I'm sorry, Blue. Can you fix it?
Blue: With no tools? I need my diagnostic scanner, a spectrum analyzer, not to mention a fusion cutter, and I'd have to be outside the ship to access the--
Billy: Alright, alright, I get it! Let me think for a moment.

Billy takes back piloting controls and steers them into a nearby asteroid field.

Blue: But sir! The ship could be badly damaged or smashed into who knows what!
Billy: The Transport Bugs won't be able to follow us, and we just might take some of the smaller ones with us!

Asteroid field chase, ending with the Bug Buster landing on a large asteroid so Billy can take stock of their situation and figure out what to do.

At the rendezvous, the Bug Buster hasn't shown up yet. Commander Razak grants Ashlee Starstrider permission to go back and look for them in the Obliterator.

~*~*~

Chapter 4: (Untitled)

The Bug Buster travels to a Baeralon mining colony in the nearby Lando system to make repairs. There are no signs of Zemdari activity. Upon landing, they're met by the city's administrator, who invites them inside. Billy asks if they've had any Zemdari problems.

Administrator: (whispers) They are here! Tenth level, hundreds of bugs!

Insectoids attack, a big firefight ensues, and Red is cornered into an elevator. A well-timed shot hits the side of his head, knocking out his radio transmitter. Billy, Flores, and Blue try to escape. Blue is handed a weapon.

Blue: Sir, I'm a mechanic, not a soldier!
Billy: Shut up! Point and shoot! It's easy!

The chase is on, with the three ragtag heroes trying to escape from an increasing number of bug monsters. Blue learns to operate his weapon. Flores grabs a Baeralon blaster from a fallen Baeralon. The Baeralons try to fight back.

Meanwhile, the elevator brings Red to an ominous mining facility. Red Bug is there!

Red Bug: I've been waiting for you, Red. I, too, am red. We are both red.
Red: Your English has improved.
Red Bug: I study. Learn about my enemy.

Red ignites his energy blades. Red Bug ignites a dual-sided energy blade. A fierce duel takes place.

Red Bug: You must admit, this is how it should be. You slaughter my people with no effort. But this... A worthy opponent, yes?

In the end at the catwalk suspended over an abyss, Red Bug gets the best of Red, and Red's hand is sliced off. Red climbs out onto the antenna (or whatever that thing is supposed to be).

Red Bug: During my study of your transmissions, I am confused about one thing. Most of the others among you appear to be biological. You are different. A mechanical man, yes?
Red: Yes, they built me to defend them.
Red Bug: And you did well, but you are beaten. I could destroy you, but there is another way. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy, Zemdari and Mechanical, side by side!
Red: I can't accept that offer. You attacked us without reason. Destroyed our satellite and killed 30 colonists.
Red Bug: It is you who attacked us without reason!
Red: Now I'm the one who's confused.
Red Bug: It has taken me a while to figure it out, but I think I know what has happened. It was the Baeralons who destroyed your satellite and colony. It was meant to look like we did it. Our scouting party found the abandoned colony. They were curious... and they were slaughtered. By your people, yes?

Red thinks back on his first encounter at the colony. Maybe the Insectoid there was not trying to attack. Maybe he was trying to communicate!

Red: I attacked first there.
Red Bug: You have been laboring under a lie. What did they tell you? That we attacked them and destroyed their world? It was the Baeralons who attacked us without reason. We were not prepared. Zemdar was overrun by the Baeralons. We fled into space. We have been building weapons and armor to use against them.
Red: They lied to us. Let me go, and I will relay this information to my commander.
Red Bug: No, I don't trust them! They slaughter my people! Rule the galaxy at my side! When we are finished with your people, your skills will serve me well. We will defeat the Baeralons together!

Red considers his options. The best way to get this information to the commander is to jump and hope he can call Billy. Red jumps into the abyss...

Red Bug: No!

Red falls into a chute, which drops him onto a small antenna beneath the city.

Meanwhile, Billy and company make their escape from the Zemdari onslaught. Blue gets to the parked Bug Buster, grabs a rocket launcher from the hold, and fires a rocket at the Insectoids pursuing Billy and Flores.

Blue: I think I'm starting to get the hang of this soldier stuff.
Billy: Get in there and start up the ship! Gimme that!

Billy fends off the Zemdari with another rocket so that Flores can get to the ship. They board the Bug Buster and take off.

Red uses his remaining hand to cut open the side of his head, grab a couple wires, and twist them, restoring his transmitter.

Red: Billy.
Billy: Red! That's Red! I thought we'd lost you! Turn the ship around!
Blue: But what about those fighters?
Billy: Just do it! Red, where are you?
Red: Hanging from an antenna under the city.
Billy: Hang on! We'll come and get you!

They maneuver the Bug Buster under Red, and Billy opens the rear hatch so he can retrieve Red. They're pursued away from the city and into space by bug fighters. A Transport Bug gives chase, firing on them while the fighters break off.

Blue: We still can't go to warp.
Billy: Turn the ship around. We have to make a stand.
Blue: But sir! None of our ships have ever survived a direct assault on a Transport Bug!
Billy: There's nowhere to go. We have to fight back!

The Transport Bug stops shooting.

Blue: The guns. They've stopped.
Billy: Evasive maneuvers!

A stinger blast comes from behind, blowing the turret off of the ship. It's Red Bug in his personal fighter, accompanied by two escorts!

Red Bug: Stay in formation. I'll take them myself. Cover me.

While Billy and Blue argue about turning around, Red Bug relentlessly pursues them.

Red Bug: I have you now!

Boom!

Missiles come from behind, blowing the two escorts to bits and blasting Red Bug's ship (which has stronger shields), sending him spiraling away. It's Ashlee in the Obliterator! She had gone back to Belatis and traced the Zemdari warp trails here. Red Bug retreats, flying his ship into the cargo bay of the Transport Bug.

Ashlee: Do you have warp capability? We'll escort you to the rendezvous.
Billy: That's a negative on the warp capability. But we have to go back to the colony and help the Baeralons there!
Red: No! Don't go back! Let them fight each other.
Billy: The Baeralons will be slaughtered!
Red: I don't believe so.
Billy: What are you talking about?
Red: The Baeralons lied to us. They conquered the Zemdari homeworld. It was they who destroyed our satellite and colony on Regorran. They wanted us to fight the Zemdari.
Billy: What?! Who told you this?
Red: It doesn't matter. I believed him.
Billy: Ashlee, did you get that?
Ashlee: I copy, Billy. I'm in favor of retreat. If we've been deceived, our situation just got a whole lot more complicated. Commander Razak needs to hear what Red has to say. We'll escort you to the rendezvous.
Blue: Just for the record, I'm in favor of retreat as well.

They retreat to the rendezvous and meet up with the Victory. Red explains what he's learned. Commander Razak is dismayed by the news. If it's true, then they could be in worse trouble than they realized.



Episode 3: Return Of The Zemdari

Chapter 1: (Untitled)

The Victory arrives at a planet far beyond the frontier, the farthest they've ever been from home. "Commander, we've got a Transport Bug on approach."

Commander Razak: Hail them.
Comms Officer: Channel's open.
Commander Razak: This is Commander Razak of the Solian vessel Victory. I would like to meet with your leaders to talk about a truce, an end to the fighting, peace between us. Repeat that message on multiple frequencies.

The Transport Bug comes to a halt within striking distance. Their weapons are armed. Some time passes. (Tension!)

Commander Razak: If they're not interested, we're gonna have to get out of here in a hurry. I want the warp engines ready, and full power to the forward shields.
Solomon: This is too big of a risk. If the red one isn't there, or if they don't understand us--
Commander Razak: It's a risk we have to take. I need to hear the truth.

The Zemdari vessel hails them. "Commander Razak. Message... Umm, how you say? We have message. Understand. You wait, yes?"

Commander Razak: Yes, I will wait.

More time passes.

Commander Razak: As I feared. They're not well versed in our language.
Billy: At least he's trying. And not blasting us to smithereens.

Another Zemdari hail. "Commander Razak, we are talk to General. You wait for, umm... We talk, you talk, General talk. You wait, yes?"

Commander Razak: A three-way conference? Yes, I will wait for that.
Zemdari: Three... way... con-fer-ence. We talk, you talk, General talk. You wait.

After a while, Red Bug appears on the screen.

Red Bug: I am General Yebzolar of the Zemdari Empire. I hear talk of a truce. This is correct, yes?
Commander Razak: Yes. I would like to meet at a neutral location, no weapons, to propose a truce between our peoples.
Yebzolar: Interesting. Will Red be there?
Commander Razak: Yes. He's a valued member of our team.
Yebzolar: His hands are his weapons. I will bring my energy blade to balance that. We will bring no other weapons. You will bring no other weapons. Does that sound fair?
Commander Razak: Indeed it does. I agree to those terms, General.
Yebzolar: I can be at your position in three hours. Captain [of the Transport Bug], do not fire on them unless they fire on you.
Captain: Yes, General. We do that.

Three hours later, a Zemdari transport lands on the surface of the planet. Commander Razak, Billy Starbeam, Red, and Solomon Blaze are waiting for them. Billy looks through binoculars and sees some armed Insectoids gathering in the distance.

Billy: They're armed... and they seem to be holding their position.
Solomon: They don't trust us.
Commander Razak: Would you trust us?

General Yebzolar strides out to meet them, accompanied by a four-legged Insectoid, a Mosquitoid, a Buggoid, and a Mantizoid.

Yebzolar: As you can see, we have no weapons as promised. Except for this. (Holds up his energy blade hilt) A member of each of our races is present.
Solomon: And those guys? (points at the armed group in the distance)
Yebzolar: Back-up plan. They will not attack unless we are attacked.
Commander Razak: Fair enough. Red has told me about a conversation he had with you. Is it true, what you said to him?
Yebzolar: I did not lie. No reason to lie. I wanted him to join me.
Commander Razak: The Baeralons told us you invaded their planet. They said their weapons are inferior, so they hide from you.
Yebzolar: They do not hide, and their weapons are strong. They wanted you to fight against us.
Commander Razak: And the opposite is true? They invaded your planet, you weren't prepared, and fled into space.
Yebzolar: That is true. We have been building weapons and armor, collecting resources where we can.
Commander Razak: Pink energy.
Yebzolar: An effective weapon against Baeralons.
Commander Razak: Also effective on us.
Yebzolar: I did not know that. Oh! I understand now! You thought those weapons were to be used against you, so you destroyed our construction base and mine.
Commander Razak: Unfortunately, that's what we thought. And the Baeralons, they destroyed our satellite and colony. They punched a hole in the side of the base to make it look like your four-legged friends were behind it.
Yebzolar: I think that is what happened. We evacuated as many as we could, left the planet, waited to find out what you do next. You followed us and destroyed our construction base. Then you followed us again. The planet you call Belatis has important resources for us. Too important to allow you to attack us. We did what we had to do.
Commander Razak: I'm afraid we have badly misunderstood your intentions. I propose a truce and an alliance.
Yebzolar: What is this "alliance" you speak of?
Commander Razak: It means we become friends and work together peacefully.
Solomon: Commander, they killed Max!
Yebzolar: You destroyed our scouting party and our mine and our construction base. We have suffered many losses because of you.
Commander Razak: Understood. We've both suffered losses during this conflict, and at the moment I don't see a reason for it to continue.
Yebzolar: I agree. Join us, and together we will rule the galaxy!

The commander extends his hand in friendship.

Commander Razak: It's a hand shake. A symbol of trust and friendship.
Yebzolar: Then I will shake your hand.

Razak and Yebzolar shake hands.

Yebzolar: We are now friends, yes? Our enemy is your enemy. Your enemy is our enemy.
Commander Razak: Yes. Thank you, General.
Yebzolar: And you? (turning to Solomon)
Solomon: I won't let Max's death be in vain. He died fighting for freedom. I will fight with you, and we will destroy the real villains behind our suffering.
Yebzolar: Thank you. Victory will be for us! (turns to Red) I see they gave you a new hand. No hard feelings, I hope.
Red: I don't have feelings. But if I did, I would be happy that you defeated me. It has led to this event.
Yebzolar: I look forward to fighting by your side. You have a mean swing. (turns to Razak) Because we are friends, I send Venris and Olmut to join your team. I have teached them some of your language. You can teach more, yes?

The Mantizoid and Mosquitoid step forward.

Commander Razak: Excellent idea. Billy, Red, take the Bug Buster and go with them.
Billy: This aughta be interesting. General, we will meet your ship in orbit.
Commander Razak: General, I apologize for the actions of my team. They were acting under my orders. I take responsibility for the damage we have done.
Yebzolar: I don't know how you say... Umm... Now that I understand why you attacked us, it makes sense. I will allow our past to be in the past.
Commander Razak: You forgive us, then?
Yebzolar: Yes, that is it. We will forgive each other, yes?
Commander Razak: Yes, we forgive you as well. Thank you. As for the Baeralons, I have an idea on how to confront them.

The two Zemdari spend time aboard the Victory, learning about the humans, while Billy and Red are given the honor of being the first foreigners to set foot inside Yebzolar's base. Yebzolar is happy about their alliance and concedes that Red was right. He should have had faith that his enemies would make the right decision when confronted with the truth. Yebzolar speaks to his fellow Zemdari. "The monsters who have been fighting against us have changed their minds! They have joined the Empire! This is a day to be long remembered! It had seen the end of our conflict with the Solians, and with their help it will see the end of the Baeralons."

Yebzolar thinks they need a new name for the Empire now that it's composed of two foreign nations working together. "Galactic Conquerors"? "United Sovereign Peoples"? Red suggests "Interstellar Coalition". Billy explains what it means to Yeb, and Yeb agrees to go with that for now.

Billy and Red spend some time on the Insectoid Base, learning what life is like for an average Zemdari. I'll spare the details for the moment.

Yeb sets up a long-distance conference with Commander Razak, and he shows them a tactical map of their local region in the galaxy. The locations of Zemdar and the Baeralon homeworld are pointed out, as well as the general area of Zemdari/Baeralon conflict.

Billy: No wonder the Baeralons got us involved. There's Regorran. And there's Fribize. Right outisde the combat zone. Earth is way over there. If we'd continued exploring in this general direction, we eventually would have seen Baeralons fighting Zemdari.
Commander Razak: They didn't want to leave it to chance. They tried to force us to take a side.

On board the Victory, Solomon Blaze has a moment alone in his quarters to reflect on the new developments. "Max, if you could be here, you wouldn't believe what's going on. Two Zemdari have joined the crew, and we're allied with the bugs. I think you would have approved. I don't like it, but I suppose it had to happen, otherwise we'd keep fighting and take more casualties. So if you can hear me, Max... We did it. We beat 'em. Just not in the way we were trying to."

~*~*~

Chapter 2: (Untitled)

The Victory emerges from warp near Baeralon-occupied Zemdar. "Commander, there are four Baeralon ships in the area. One of them is on approach. We're being hailed."

Commander Razak: On screen.
Baeralon: You are very far from home. Are you lost?
Commander Razak: I don't think so. This is Zemdar, right?
Baeralon: Where did you get that information?
Commander Razak: We raided a Zemdari stronghold. The information was in their computer. Can we assist you in any way?
Baeralon: No, we do not require assistance at this time. We have routed the Zemdari. They have retreated.
Commander Razak: With inferior weapons?
Baeralon: We have been developing experimental weaponry. It was effective. The battle here is over. I'm afraid you arrived too late.
Commander Razak: Of course we did.
Baeralon: I don't understand.
Commander Razak: As I understand it, the battle here was over a long time ago. They didn't invade your world. You invaded theirs.
Baeralon: Oh. You talked to them.
Commander Razak: They talked to us. Learned our language. Told us the truth. You're the aggressors here. You destroyed our satellite. You destroyed our colony. 30 colonists lost their lives because you wanted us to attack the Zemdari. And I don't appreciate being lied to.
Baeralon: What better way to fight a war than to get someone else to do it for you. We had hoped that you would run home and report the disaster to your leaders. But instead, you went to war with the Zemdari by yourselves! You ruined everything! Foolish Solians! All things considered, I'm surprised it worked at all.
Commander Razak: That's all the confirmation I need.
Baeralon: There is much you don't know.
Commander Razak: I know enough. Here's what I think happened. Tell me if I'm right. You thought they were easy prey. For whatever reason, be it resources or some rare resource, you invaded, caught them off guard. While you may have done some damage, you pissed them off! That's what you did! They are bent on galactic conquest. They've been building weapons and strong armor. They easily defeated us on one occasion. Sooner or later, they are going to come back and bite your heads off!

Silence.

Commander Razak: I'll take your silence as confirmation. Was there even a first contact scenario? Or did you just show up with the guns blazing?
Baeralon: Enough! I don't have to answer to you! When we are finished exterminating the Zemdari, you will be next on the agenda!

Ops Officer: Commander, the other three Baeralon ships are moving toward us.

Baeralon: Prepare to witness the full fire-power of this battle cruiser!

The Bearalons begin firing on the Victory.

Commander Razak: Bring us about, starboard side facing the enemy. All starboard batteries, fire at will! Chuck, get on the ground. Solomon, go with him. Ashlee, help us out here.

Chuck and Green in the Vaporizer head toward the planet's surface, accompanied by Solomon and Blue in the dropship. Ashlee in the Obliterator launches an attack on the Baeralon ship, which turns its guns on her. The Obliterator takes heavy fire as it flies by the enemy battleship.

Ashlee: My shields are down by half!
Commander Razak: Ashlee, get out of there!
Ashlee: Sorry! I can't help.

The Obliterator flies away to a safe distance.

Ops Officer: They are moving to face our underside.
Commander Razak: Keep our starboard side facing them.
Ops Officer: Moving to compensate. Man, their ship is fast! I'm barely keeping up with them! ... Starboard shields are at 82%. Incoming missiles.
Commander Razak: Point defense.

The Victory's cannons rapid-fire at the incoming missiles, trying to blow them up before they hit the ship.

Ops Officer: Missiles destroyed.
Commander Razak: Let's return that in kind. Target their weapons.
Tactical Officer: Acquiring targets... Missiles away.
Commander Razak: Reload.
Tactical Officer: Two minutes to reload. They're deploying countermeasures... None of ours got through.
Ops Officer: Starboard shields are at 43%. The other three ships will be in firing range in four minutes.
Commander Razak: Any moment now, Billy.

The Bug Buster emerges from warp, accompanied by five Transport Bugs.

Commander Razak: They're all yours, General.
Yebzolar: My pleasure!
Commander Razak: Billy, steer clear of the enemy warships. They'll cut down your shields. Chuck and Solomon are on the surface. Help 'em out there.
Billy: Copy that. On my way.

Needless to say, there's a massive space battle. More Transport Bugs show up, and more Baeralon reinforcements emerge from warp. Some of the Bugs head toward the surface to join Chuck and begin assembling mantis walkers and scorpions. A Bug moves between the Victory and the Baeralon ship that was firing on them, and begins blasting away at the enemy ship. Transport Bugs are surprisingly maneuverable for their size. They can turn faster than the Victory and Baeralon warships, so they can face the enemy with their forward stingers blasting, and the enemy can't out-maneuver them.

Commander Razak: Get my starboard shields back. I am not sitting this one out!

The battle continues, with Zemdari and Baeralons firing on each other.

Ops Officer: Whoa! We just lost a Transport Bug! They've got a hull breach. Losing power.
Commander Razak: Tactical.

The viewscreen shows a tactical map of the battle.

Commander Razak: Move us between the enemy and the crippled ship. Get me the captain of the nearest Bug.
Comms Officer: Channel's open.
Commander Razak: You lost a ship. We are moving to block the enemy's line of fire. Come about on our left side and search for survivors.
Zemdari: Copy that. We do that.
Commander Razak: Where are my shields?
Ops Officer: Starboard shields are at 84%.
Commander Razak: That's good enough. Missiles?
Tactical Officer: Missiles ready. I'll have a line of fire with the starboard batteries in 20 seconds.
Ops Officer: The Bug is moving into formation on our port flank.

The Victory and Bug move between the crippled Bug and the enemy ship. The Bug's cargo door opens, and a Mosquitoid floats over to the crippled ship, entering through a gaping hole in its side.

Commander Razak: Ashlee, make yourself useful. Get eyes on the rescue operation.
Ashlee: Already there, sir. I just watched a Zemdari float over to the derelict. Amazing what these guys can do without space suits!
Commander Razak: Alright, cut the chatter, but keep me informed.
Ops Officer: Starboard shields are down to 67%.
Commander Razak: Launch missiles.
Tactical Officer: Acquiring targets... Missiles away. ... Countermeasures. One got through. We got one of their batteries.
Commander Razak: Reload.
Ops Officer: Incoming missiles.
Commander Razak: Point defense.

The Victory's cannons rapid-fire at incoming missiles. One of them gets through.

Ops Officer: Incoming ordnance!

FOOM!

~*~*~

Chapter 3: (Untitled)

Ops Officer: We've got a hull breach in the garage!

In the garage, crew members are blown toward a hull breach in the wall until a cargo box slams into the breach, plugging it up. The crew members fall to the floor.

Garage Crew: Get some sealant around that box! Commander, we've got fires in the garage! Get those fires out!

Commander Razak: Venris, Olmut, help my guys in the garage.

The mantizoid and mosquitoid go to the garage to help the crew put out fires and fix the damage.

Commander Razak: Where are my missiles?
Tactical Officer: Missiles will be ready in 30 seconds.
Commander Razak: Status of enemy ship.
Ops Officer: Their shields are at 20%. Our starboard shields are down to 31%.
Tactical Officer: Missiles ready.
Commander Razak: Fire!

The Victory launches its missiles. The Baeralons are out of countermeasures and go point defense, firing on the missiles.

Ops Officer: Three missiles got through. Their shields are down. ... We got 'em! They're losing power. Weapons are powering down. Multiple internal fires.

Ashlee: We've got three survivors floating over to the good Bug.
Commander Razak: Copy that. Cease fire. Can we dock with the Baeralon ship?
Ops Officer: They have a dorsal airlock. Analyzing... Our portside garage airlock might be able to get a hard seal.
Commander Razak: Do it. Get me the captain of the Bug.
Comms Officer: Channel's open.
Commander Razak: We have defeated the enemy. We are going to dock with their ship and take prisoners. Suggest you rejoin the battle.
Zemdari: Copy that. We do that.
Commander Razak: Get me the Baeralon ship.
Comms Officer: Channel's open.
Commander Razak: This is commander Razak of the Solian vessel Victory. We are going to dock with your ship and rescue your crew. I repeat, we are launching a rescue effort.

Silence.

Comamnder Razak: Are they receiving?
Comms Officer: Unknown.
Commander Razak: Repeat the message.

While the Transport Bug rises above the Victory and speeds on over to a place where multiple Bugs are engaging multiple Baeralons, the Victory docks with the enemy ship. They establish a hard seal, and garage crew begin rescuing Baeralons.

Garage Crew: We've got seven Baeralon survivors.
Commander Razak: Keep them in the garage, and seal it off from the rest of the ship.
Venris: We will help supervise the prisoners.
Commander Razak: No. Stay on the bridge. We don't need them more scared than they already are. If they see you, they may get agitated.
Venris: Oh. Good thinking.

Garage Crew: Don't worry, you will be alright. We are not going to hurt you. Do you understand?

One of the captured Baeralons nods his head, and relays the message to his buddies in his native tongue.

Ops Officer: Whoa, we just lost another Bug! And the Baeralons lost another ship. They defeated each other at the same time!
Commander Razak: Get me the captain of the Bug nearest to the lost one.
Comms Officer: Channel's open.
Commander Razak: You lost another ship. Search for survivors. We will dock with the enemy ship and take prisoners.
Zemdari: Copy that.
Ops Officer: The enemy lost another one.
Venris: I didn't think it would be this easy.
Commander Razak: Maybe you just needed the confidence to go through with it. And a determined ally.

The battle in orbit over Zemdar rages on.

Ops Officer: I've got a new group of signals. Enemy fighters from the surface.
Commander Razak: Ashlee--
Ashlee: Now this I can do!

The Obliterator heads toward the incoming fighters.

On board a Transport Bug, General Yebzolar gathers his personal guards. "They've launched fighters from the surface. Come with me." Yebzolar speeds away in his personal bug fighter, accompanied by his two escorts.

Ashlee, Yeb, and Zemdari fighters engage the Baeralon fighters as the warships continue to duke it out.

On the planet, Transport Bugs are offloading troops and parts for mantis walkers and scorpions. They've already assembled a few walkers and are advancing on an enemy base. There are Zemdari captives and slaves that must be freed. Chuck joins the walkers in the Vaporizer. Solomon flies overhead in the dropship. And Billy backs them up in the Bug Buster. Enemy fighters and ground defenses are approaching.

Solomon: I'll say this much: It's nice to be on the same side as the walkers.
Chuck: You got that right, bud!

There's a massive ground/air battle. Solomon lands and deploys the ground assault vehicle, piloted by Blue, then he takes off and engages enemy fighters. He comes under attack.

Solomon: I can't shake him!

Boom!

Yebzolar and his escorts show up and blast the enemy fighter that was harassing Solomon.

Billy: Yeb! Good to see ya!
Yebzolar: The base should be our primary objective. The Baeralon Viceroy is most likely there. If we can capture him or defeat him--
Billy: Base defenses are too thick. We need to thin out the resistance first. There's a lot of heavy fire coming from that deflection tower. I'm gonna cut across the axis and try to draw their fire. See if you can hit it.
Yebzolar: Right behind you, Red Leader.

The ground battle rages on, with Zemdari walkers advancing on the base defenses and trying to thin them out. Solomon's ship is shot down and crashes.

Solomon: Why do I always get shot down?

He grabs a blaster and gets out of the cabin, coming under fire from Baeralon ground troops. Some four-legged Insectoids help him out, returning fire. Solomon fights along side the bugs, slowly advancing on enemy positions.

Solomon: Definitely nice to be on your side for a change.

~*~*~

Chapter 4: (Untitled)

The Bug Buster and Yebzolar land near the Baeralon base, accompanied by some Zemdari troops. There's a firefight in the base, and they push their way forward toward the command center where the Baeralon Viceroy is. Red and Yebzolar fight side by side. Then a door opens, and a Baeralon cyborg approaches with an energy axe. Red and Yebzolar duel him as Billy and some Zemdari take the long way around, fighting off Baeralon troops. After a gruelling firefight, Billy and the Zemdari capture the Viceroy, who surrenders. Billy instructs the Zemdari to hold their position and secure the area while he goes back to look for Red. "I'm not abandoning Red again."

Elsewhere, Red and Yebzolar are dueling the Baeralon cyborg. At the end of the fierce duel, the Baeralon gets the best of Red, slicing him across the chest. Yebzolar duels the enemy and is soon knocked down. Before the Baeralon duelist can strike a killing blow, Billy calls out from nearby, "Hey!" He's got a rocket launcher, and he fires a rocket into the bad guy, blowing him up. "Parry that."

The Battle Of Zemdar is won and the captives are freed. The Victory lands nearby the base, and Commander Razak meets with Yebzolar and the Baeralon Viceroy.

Commander Razak: Well done, everyone. The day is ours. Now it's time to start rebuilding.
Viceroy: What are you going to do with me?
Commander Razak: I could take you prisoner or send you back home. Your military leaders would probably retaliate against us, either way. We've recently formed an interstellar coalition with a non-aggression agreement. Why not join us and help rebuild?
Yebzolar: What? You expect me to forgive their treachery?
Commander Razak: It worked for us. A few days ago, you would have attacked us, and I would have fought back. I wouldn't have given up until I had defeated you. But something different happened. We started talking, listening to each other. We made an agreement to work together and never again go to war. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't make the same offer to another enemy.
Yebzolar: I understand. This could be risky if not all of the Baeralons go along with it.
Commander Razak: No more risky than fighting another war with casualties on all sides. We have an opportunity here, to fix this situation once and for all. History will remember what we do here today. Shall we send them packing, and continue fighting? Or start working together for peace?
Yebzolar: Conquest through peace? I don't like this, but if you think it can work, then the Zemdari will do their part to make it work. No Baeralons will be harmed.
Commander Razak: Well, Viceroy. How about it?
Viceroy: A very generous offer. Are you sure you can get your world leaders to accept it?
Commander Razak: My world has a history of conflict and wars. We've seen enough of it. I am confident that my leaders will be in favor of peaceful co-existence with your people. How about your leaders?
Viceroy: After they learn of what has happened here, they will accept a peaceful resolution to the conflict. On behalf of the Baeralon Union, I accept your offer, Commander.
Yebzolar: Welcome to the Interstellar Coalition.
Red: Of Worlds. Interstellar Coalition of Worlds.
Yebzolar: Ha! You improved on your own idea. I like that.
Commander Razak: We should travel immediately to Baeralon, get their leaders on board with this. General, assemble a group to represent your people. With the Baeralon leaders on board, we will travel to my home planet, where my leaders will join the Coalition as well.

And that's how the ICW was formed. It's first three charter members, the Solians, Zemdari Empire, and Baeralon Union, all agreed to never go to war again. They decided to work together for a common good. Galaxy Squad was unanimously voted to be the peacekeepers of the new alliance. Today the ICW has 43 charter members. Hundreds of years later, we owe our way of life to the heroic efforts of Commander Razak, the members of Galaxy Squad, General Yebzolar, and the Zemdari Empire. Their decisions paved the way for the ICW charter, wherein all alien species are welcomed as friends and offered equal membership and representation in the Coalition. Not all spacefaring races have accepted the offer, but we value those who have. The ICW's peacekeeping force still fights for our freedoms today. Just like its first incarnation: Galaxy Squad.

~*~*~

And that's my story.

Episode 1 is meant to be a Starship Troopers style episode. Episode 2 is very Star Warsy. Yes, I know I ripped off the entire plot of Empire Strikes Back, but... It's an homage. (And don't be silly! There's no way Yebzolar could be Red's father.) Episode 3 has a bit of Trek negotiations, culture exchange, a Star Warsy finale, and an optimistic Trek ending.

Last year I modified the Battle Droid Carrier from the Battle Of Naboo set so that my battle droids could stand up while in transit. I had another look at that thing and decided "Why not put some blaster cannons on the front? And let's make a carrier for Supers. Super Battle Droids need to get to the battle, too.



So the one at bottom right is the normal Battle Droid Carrier with the dudes standing up in the back part. It now has four custom-designed blaster cannons up front. The other vehicle is a custom-made Super Battle Droid Carrier with a similar chassis design although not as long. That one has the same type of blaster cannons on it.




I think the glare on the Supers helps you to better see what they look like.





The vehicle on the left here is a regular Hasbro Star Wars vehicle with a Battle Droid action figure manning it. I forget when I picked this up. I've kept it for a long time because I think it's a cool vehicle. A smaller version of the standard droid tank with a pair of interesting blaster cannons on one side. They're over-sized because they are spring-loaded missile launchers. So my Lego Scout Tank looks just a bit different while keeping with the overall style of the vehicle.






I don't know what happened to the lighting in this shot. I might have forgotten to hit to "quick fix" while editing it. Oh well. It is what it is.



Finally, the CIS Droid Tri-Fighter has become perhaps my favorite Star Wars vehicle, replacing the Millennium Falcon. It's my favorite starfighter in the Battlefront games. But Lego has yet to do a decent take on it. The version I have modified is the 2010 version, I think (it's from somewhere in that ballpark). Here's what it looks like.



See all those gaps between the segments that compose the wings? The wings are supposed to be smooth. Now, barring a special part designed only for that purpose (which would be a cheat), the curvy wings on the Tri-Fighter are just hard to do with Legos. They also put flat plate-like pieces in the back to be the engines. I had a look at this thing and tried to see what I could do with it. Nothing can really be done about the gaps, but the more gaping holes at the front and back of the wings bothered me. So I got out my dark blue pieces and fixed it. Also made the engines more bulbous like they're supposed to be, and redid the front in a different way.











The new Tri-Fighter design for 2014 is... dreadful. As seen here, they've actually made it worse with the gaps. The engines are done the same way as the 2010 version, and they somehow made it more clunky-looking. So I guess it's up to me to design a decent Tri-Fighter. Until I'm able to figure out how to get rid of the gaps altogether, my modified one will have to do.

Next time, more Lego Star Wars mayhem.