[SONE Freebuild 1] Left For Dead

[sin]

Rumors were flying the during graduation ceremonies at the Imperial Military Academy, word was the rebel base had finally been located and a major assault was only days away. We all assumed we would get our first taste of battle during this coming campaign, and we were hungry for it...

When our orders came down, the disappointment was clearly etched on the face of every trooper in my squad. We were held in reserve and would stay with the fleet above Hoth unless we were called upon. The battle turned quickly into a rout and with the rebels scattering we finally received our orders... We were being sent to Tatooine to search for any rebels who may have fled into hiding there. It was not the glamorous assignment that we had envisioned, but at least we wouldn't freeze to death...

We dropped into an area known as the Jundland Wastes and began our scan... 3 days went by and our search had yielded nothing. Perhaps we had become comfortable with the notion that we would end our mission without finding a trace of rebel activity, and thus became careless...

The last thing I remember as we entered the canyon was thinking to myself, "wow, what an ideal location for an ambush". I barely had time to finish the thought. After the first jarring explosion all I could see was black and I struggled to stay conscious, I had been flung like a ragdoll into a crevasse in the canyon wall. I could hear frantic radio chatter from my squadmates, they were clearly in trouble. I couldn't believe my luck that my rifle lay within feet of me. I reached out to grab it, but failed to pick it up. Bewildered, I reached again this time noticing the shiny arc of crimson trailing from the end of my right arm. My hand was gone... My knees went limp and everything faded to black.

When I came to I realized that I had no idea how much time had passed. I didn't hear a sound aside from the breeze channeling through the rocks. My attempts to radio my squad went unanswered and I started to crawl out towards the floor of the canyon... then I saw the first of them. They hadn't just been killed, they had been butchered. Worst yet, whoever our attackers were had stripped them of the majority of their gear and armor leaving the corpses to the scavengers.

I considered giving up right then and there, I was so lightheaded that I could not think clearly and coming up with a plan to save myself seemed almost laughable. Delirium was surely setting in... I knew I had to get it together or I would be just another skeleton in the wastes. I lifted my head and out of the corner of my eye noticed a splash of color, green was it? I was so thirsty I could barely separate my lips. "I'm losing it for sure" I thought. Stubbornly and painfully I crawled forward. Every inch I got closer I imagined the utter devastation I would feel when I reached my goal and found that my eyes had betrayed me.

"Haha!" I cried out loud when I saw a muddy hole tucked in besides a few tufts of scraggly grass. I ripped off my helmet and lowered my face into the muck, sucking as much water as I could through my teeth in a vain attempt to keep the mud out.

I struggled out of my harness and tossed my gear aside, rolling onto my back. I stared up at the evening sky, content that this was the end...

Well, this is my first ever MOC , I would like for this to be judged - I have some catching up to do!

[BEAVeR]

Welcome to the Empire, and not a bad build at all to begin with!

The story is really nice, although it's pretty dark. The build itself is rather nice as well, with the excellent texture of the ground. That really delicers the sand feeling to me! The scraps of junk are nice, but seem a bit too random. Instead of only loose parts, try making some little assemblies to give us a sense where all this stuff is coming from. If you would want to take this even further, you could think of an irregular base or some more (different colored?) rock work (you're near a anyon after all).

Please survive this, trooper. I think we'll really need you!

[sin]

Thanks for the feedback! I like my stories dark and gritty , I also love a good laugh I'm just not so good at writing the funny stuff...

I like your idea about assembling some of the junk that is scattered around. Your idea for a base is a good call as well, I will have to devote some time later today to tinkering and see what I can come up with.

[MKJoshA]

Your story writting is amazing. I'm eager to see where it goes next! The clutter in your build does seem a little random, but I love the landscaping you've done with tan plates. Great job on a first build!

[sin]

Thanks!

I took both of your advice and put some more time into the debris and the base of the build. I edited the new pics into the original post.

Here is a pic of the 1st version to make it easier to see the changes:

[Flare]

Thanks for recounting your story, trooper... and awesome build! The landscaping is quite nice. Good job!

[Andeh]

Nice little MOC here.The landscaping you did is really effective.

[sin]

Thanks for your comments! Part two is in the works...

[Shadows of Nar Eurbrikka]

Judges have awarded you 3 XP. Your character's stats will be updated shortly.

[WarSquirrel]

This is a great moc and story- please make more!