[SoNE Ep. VIII] Sabotage

[Jannik]

Sergeant Diggs took cover behind a moisture vaporator and beckoned us forward. I could see him starting to sweat, the rebel soldiers wore improvised gear and the more vocal members of the team had complained bitterly that they were not properly equipped for the dry heat of the desert. We were on Tatooine, the evening before the annual pod races. I still don't quite understand why this was of such interest to the Alliance, but the intelligence agent had stressed the importance of sabotaging the entry by a pair of Bith brothers. They didn't know which organisation was really behind the unlikely race entry, but suspected that it was funded using Imperial credits.

The Sergeant had requested my help on the mission because of my previous life as a mechanic. Apparently one of the pod racers engines had been down on power during testing and had been returned to a secret workshop owned by the brothers. This was to be our target. He made it very clear that I still wasn't officially part of his squad, but I knew that this was the best chance I had to join the rebellion so had agreed to come along.

I hoped that I wouldn't regret that decision as we held position and waited for a squad of sandtroopers to pass, luckily they headed off down a different alleyway. This area of Mos Escaat was like a wampa rat warren of alleyways between run down looking buildings.

After the troopers were safely past, I asked the Sergeant how he knew whether we were in the right place in this maze of sand coloured buildings. The level of security is normally a good indication of being in the right place he said, gesturing upwards towards the look out at the top of a tower. I nervously trained my blaster on the Trandoshan, despite guessing that he was out of range. However he seemed more interested in tracking the sand trooper squad and didn't seem aware of our presence.

As the others prepared to enter a small building opposite the tower I started to wonder whether this mission would be my first and last with the rebel soldiers.

I heard a dull thud from inside the building, and we moved inside quietly. Inside, the Sarge stood on a walkway, with an unconscious guard at his feet. Looking over the railings I saw that the rocks underneath the building had been carved away, turning this inconspicuous looking small building into a two storey workshop large enough to hold the single pod racer engine that was suspended by chains from an overhead gantry. As I set to work removing the access panel from the starboard side of the engine the Sarge planted an empty bottle of Correllian whiskey next to the guard. As well as suffering the blow to the head he would now wake up to be punished for drinking on duty, negating any claims that he might make about being assaulted.

As the others prepared to move out, I inserted the charges deep inside the engine. If we were lucky the engine wouldn't be started until it was on the start line for the race, meaning that any bets made on it would still be valid and wasted. If not then at least those Imperial credits would have gone to waste. A small mechanic droid assisted me in replacing the engine cover, and I was grateful that he would be unable to tell his owner about the acts that he had just participated in.

At the far end of the workshop a ramp provided our exit, which was also carved into the rock beneath the thin covering of sand on the ground.

At the top of the ramp, a GNK power droid waited patiently. Sarge I said, there is one way to increase the odds that they don't try and start the engine before the race. All we have to do is steal their power droid...

Overview:

Thanks for looking

[MontyPython]

Fantastic MOC, really enjoyable story and great photography. Great job!

[Graham Gidman]

Fantastic build! Definitely gives the Tatooine feel.

[Lord Tyrus]

Looks great! Not bad for a Rebel!

[Tariq j]

Great work! Your buildings are amazing.

[WickNole]

Good, really good. Your builds are better and better each time.

The garage interior is really well done. And the exterior catches the spirit perfectly.

If talking on the cons: I'd really recommend to try to develop the base's "walls" (the grey "ground"... sorry, don't know the proper word for that) - maybe add layers of different colors... or smth similar.

[Kodan Black]

Great build, very Tattoine! It feels bigger than the actual footprint, which is tough to do. You also write a very good story. Excellent overall, though I still hope you Rebels lose.

[goatman461]

Lots of great details. A little more variation in the ground might liven it up a bit. The garage scene is phenomenal; the dark red really pops; the lighting is great; and the scale works really well.

[LucasLaughing]

Awesome entry - your photography made the scene seem much larger than it is. Did you plan out some of your shots beforehand, or do test photos as you were building? Also, nice job with the 'action' poses of the minifigs, and the little mechanic droid is a cool detail.

[MKJoshA]

Wow. Great story, great build, great characters, great pod engine! This build reminds me of the Tatoonie map in Battlefront.

[Naijel]

I love it. Nice work.