I've been MIA for far too long around here. I've not been entirely idle though: some elements of my 15mm sci-fi project.
Arrivals: our intrepid explorers gathering at the spaceport.
The motley crew.
ATV and Security Detachment.
The Drop ship flies in.
An overview of the space port, a typical 'bush' field. Landing pad on the left, hardstanding, control hut & fuel storage on the right.
A pilot's eye view.
Support crew arrive to service the machine.
"Houston, we have a problem...."
Fuel Plant.
Service vehicles....
..and personnel.
"These are not the droids you're looking for....."
"Duck" with tattoo.
Spaceport police.
Around the town....
Some of the more presentable staff of
The Event Horizon, the dingiest bar in town.
Some of the more exotic inhabitants.
Townsfolk.
Some of the local transport.
The natives aren't friendly......
Terror Birds - these might not look very terrible, but these are the chicks - about 6 foot high.
Adult Terror Birds, about 15' high.
A foraging flock of Terror Birds. These ominvores eat anything.
Meer-rats. Social animals, up to 4 foot long. Live in large colonies & eat anything.
Perente - large lizards, primarily carnivorous ambush hunters.
A Perente lurking in the undergrowth.
A herd of Gruffalo. Predominantly herbivores but very bad tempered & territorial.
One of the local Earth Worms.
Ants, lots of ants, giant ants.....
The local Militia. Although nominally on the side of the
Forces of Law & Order in practice they tend to follow the dictates of their own commander. Lazy, venal & corrupt, they're always amenable to a bit of unoffical work on the sly. On the positive side, liberally greasing their palms usually makes the problem go away for a while. Here they prepare for a raid on the shanty town, looking for 'contraband' to confiscate. (or more likely resell).
The Militia move in.
Commander 'Bull' Schmidtt & his 'clerk', Ebony.
Alien Bounty Hunters, slavers & smugglers. Led by Captain Kra'gg these freebooters work on the margins of legality. They are always happy to accept commissions to find & 'recover' sentient & non-sentient individuals, dead or alive (dead is not a problem for Kra'ggs marauders). Those unwilling or unable to pay the bounty or commission may find themselves being sold off to the highest bidder. Kra'gg knows his way around the various bureaucracies that exist only to interrupt the
'free flow of interplanetary trade' (Captain Kra'ggs word), more commonly known as smuggling. Here the crew return from a successful 'business transaction'.
Two sniper teams from the local resistance organisation. Or
'Rebel scum' according to Commander Schmidtt.
Setting up for the kill shot.
The local indigenies turn out to give their visitors a warm welcome.
There are two intelligent mammaloid species, living in a quasi-symbiotic relationship. They live in mixed villages & predominantly live as hunter/gatherers, using tamed Gobbledock as hunting animals. Xenobiologists are unclear as to whether the two are actually related species or examples of parallel evolution that have developed a symbiotic relationship. Their research is made difficult by the natives unfortunate habit of killing & eating unwelcome visitors. There are rumours that some colonists have 'gone bush' & joined the natives, where they seem to be generally tolerated.
The natives are at a state of development roughly equal to Earth's Neolithic period. They have however been quick to adapt any bits of non-native technology that they can acquire, such as metal scraps & debris, which can be found in abundence near Colonial settlements.
The mixed villages are a combination of straw/palm huts & hide tents. The tribes are migratory, following the herds of gruffalo across the plains, but they tend to return to the same campsites every year; leaving behind them the frames of their huts for use in following years.
A pack of Gobbledock. They are ferocious scavengers, with a weakness for salty food. they hunt mostly by following scent trails & can be tamed to some extent, often being used for hunting. Their high pitched cry of
chippeee, chippeee accompanys their voracious assault on any available food stuffs. As they are omnivorous then potentially anything edible is fair game. Fortunately they usually stop to eat whatever food is thrown to them, allowing their smarter prey to escape. The cry of
chippeee, chippeee in the night air chills the blood of most colonists.
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June 05, 2024, 10:50:49 AM
August 22, 2008, 11:52:14 AM