Battle Droid meets Clone Trooper:



http://www.starwars.com/databank/droid/l8l9/index.html

Anyone have any suggestions for putting this guy together?

Here's a link to Chapter 1, in case you missed it.








CORUSCANT: CAPITOL OF THE REPUBLIC





A lone, factory-fresh LAAT rumbles through the morning air. The steady rapping of the engines echoes against Coruscant’s mighty facades, creating a strangely calming white noise for the warriors aboard.

But no rhythm can calm the angst in one soldier’s soul. The freshly christened LAAT Scourge III is on a rare but important Homeworld mission. The group is en route to intercept a replacement for a fallen brother.





It is the kind of mission Commander Koe abhors. He always knew replacing one of his own would be hard on him. He could hardly imagine replacing his Jedi.





Fifty-seven.

The number pierces Koe’s best attempts to distract himself with the scenery as the LAAT dips into a thick fog hovering among Coruscant’s towers.

Fifty-seven special operations without losing a man . . . and I lose my Jedi, my gunship, and those worthless pilots all at once.





Only three days earlier, Koe was celebrating the success of another mission with Jedi Master Jole Suud, a Gran warrior of the highest ability and ferocity.





The celebration had been premature. The Killers let their guard down early, and Suud had paid the price for their lack of focus.


 

A droid sniper team had made its way into the extraction LZ and put a blast in the base of Suud’s neck.





A consummate warrior, Suud drew his blade and turned to fight in spite of his mortal wound.

The hail of fire was too intense. He didn’t have a chance.





Suud hit the dirt and took his last breath. Koe’s boys threw fire up at the sniper’s position, and Koe – for reasons he still couldn’t explain – scooped up Suud’s light saber.





The volley continued as the Killers attempted to cover their commander’s retreat.


 


Before the squad could board for takeoff, a frag missile exploded over the cockpit of the gunship, killing the pilots and knocking most of the Killers out, including Koe. The soldiers already aboard the Scourge II had been sheltered by the LAAT’s reinforced armor. They evacuated every Clone – even what was left of the pilots - before launching the crippled Scourge to a low flying attack cruiser.





...the Jedi was left for dead.

Koe would return the light saber to the Jedi Order. He felt personally responsible for the loss of Master Suud’s body, and would make amends before he took on this new Jedi.





The whole incident was just the kind of disaster Koe had learned to avoid over the course of so many battles.





As a senior Asset Recovery Officer in the early days of the war, Koe was specially trained for work on sparse, often booby-trapped battle fields. His missions were always simple. Destroy remaining CIS ordinance. Recover salvageable Republic gear.





Make sure no injured Clones were left breathing.





He’d finished off many of his brothers on the field of battle. He had always done so without so much as a blink before pulling the trigger.





Clones were tools of the Republic, and he was assigned to decommission them.





But as the war moved from months into years, Koe encountered more and more cases of Clones showing something he had never seen among common grunts: a will to survive and keep fighting. Clones began to ask to be saved and returned to service.





It was a rare enough occurrence that Koe had been able to slip most of the fallen who asked for help back into his salvage cruiser’s medical bays. The wounded were healed with bacta treatments. Clones with lost limbs were fitted for cybernetics.

Each became a fine soldier and bore out a new breed of Clone. Not a commander, but a free-thinking, fiercely loyal warrior that instinctively knew the art of survival even in the most perilous battle.





Koe was soon reassigned to lead his band of salvaged soldiers. The team was attached to Homeworld Security Command as a special ops unit, and was matched with Master Suud and his extensive battle resume.

In a war where Clone casualties by the tens of thousands were hardly a cause for concern, Koe had defied the odds and kept his small band intact for well over a year.

Then Suud died.

Today they would meet Suud’s successor.

Koe could only hope his new, young Jedi could fill the mighty Gran’s boots. . .





“Sir, how do we feel about this new Jedi?” Qoz, Koe’s most trusted brother in arms, breaks Koe’s train of thought with a question that cuts right to the point.





“I can’t speak for you, Qoz, but I know he’s green. I know he’s bookish. I know he carries a light saber like the rest of ‘em. Other than that, I have no idea.”





“Seems the Jedi are digging deeper into that Temple for warriors lately,” Qoz huffs. “If I may say so, sir, I’d much rather have a fighter like Master Suud.”





“We have to take what we’re given, Qoz. We’re not permitted to go blowing up the galaxy without a Jedi in tow. Command and the Council see something in this young Knight.





“Besides, whatever he doesn’t know about warfare, we can teach him better than any book...





“At least he’s punctual. That’s a start.” Koe points out a group of shadows below as the pilot steers the Scourge III toward an empty spaceport.





The rapid pattering of the LAAT slows as the pilot points the belly of the gunship at the approaching platform below. The morning fog is too thick to get a good visual, but the crew know who waits for them below.





Jedi Knight Sedo Crus: the newest of Koe's Killers.

---

I hope you all like it. Comments are encouraged.

On to Chapter 3

So I made this guy some time back with spare parts. The main thing I'm not too keen on is the elbow area. The funky ball joints from the Ask Aak forearms fit OK in the sockets in the Plo Koon upper arms, but the look is awful. I was thinking of taking strips of paper towel, newspaper or maybe even shreds of tissue and dipping it in a solution of elmer's glue and water, then wrapping the area to build up the upper sleeve over the lower arm. Anyone ever try this?

I's also like to create half shoes for the ankles and perhaps a scarf to fix the so-so marriage of the Ask Aak neck and Koon shoulders...

Depending on how this works this guy will be a Jedi or a thug... right now he's more of a thug.



Does this sound like it would work? Other suggestions?

Looks like the new Commander Cody will be no better than parts fodder for Cody customs. For some reason the big H decided he didn't need ball joint shoulders. 

http://www.rebelscum.com/tf2006/tf06-HasbroTSC/image7.asp

The meditation chambers in the Jedi Temple were swirling with angst and trepidation. Newly knighted Jedi Sedo Crus sat in his usual place, arms at his side, eyes closed as he allowed his mind to harmonize with the Force.



Crus:
"Master, I sense… fear."



Kit Fisto:
"You are nervous, Sedo. Do not confuse your feelings. You must fully understand your feelings if you are to be a complete Jedi. Use your training and the Force to guide your thoughts. Trust them to guide you, and they will serve you well."

Crus:   
"Yes, Master."



As he closed his eyes again, the young knight’s mind swirled with terrible thoughts. They did scare him, but he dared not speak of his fear aloud. He had been trained to deal with that cousin of self-doubt through endless training in the two decades since his arrival at the Temple.

The next morning Sedo Crus would assume command of a Clone unit; soon after he would see combat with the Separatists' Droid Army.



His "promotion" was not a glamorous one by any measure. Instead, his assignment was a glaring reflection of the mounting death toll among the Jedi.

He was more spiritualist than fighter. His Master knew this; his Master made sure the Council knew this. There was no question that the Force worked through his mind, not his light saber.

But it was his saber that was needed, the Council decided.

Crus had never shirked his responsibility to take up arms, but he always doubted his ability. A battlefield is no place for an intellectual, he thought. Yet here he was, a student by nature, about to travel to some desolate Outer Rim world worth its weight in Battle Droid parts to cut off the Separatist supply lines and hopefully shorten the war.

It was a simple mission. Land on the planet undetected and sabotage the foundries and factories that were churning out more and better Battle Droids for the CIS.

The system targeted was poorly defended. There were few if any aboriginal species that might pose a problem. The Clones Sedo would lead were seasoned, and would get him through the campaign with little danger to himself.

Still, he could not help but doubt everything around him since receiving his new assignment. His eyes sprang open to meet his Master's watchful gaze, and Sedo attempted a final plea.



Crus:
"Master, I know you have always looked out for me, and I am grateful and will remain so for all my days, but… "

Fisto:   
"It pains me that you have to do this, too, Sedo. This War has asked more of the Jedi than we ever imagined. If the stakes were not so high, I would protest this assignment with you.

"We are Jedi, Sedo, and our duty calls. I can only assure you that this course is the right one. It is up to you to see the reality that it is so.

"You will leave tomorrow, and I will send you off. You will complete your mission, and I will be here to receive you when that happens. Your Clone unit will be waiting at the deployment point. I am assured that any doubt you harbor for this mission will be settled when you meet your unit commander, Commander Koe. I am told he’s…



"...special."

Crus:
"I am sure you are right, Master."

Fisto:
"Continue your meditation. Your mind is your strongest weapon, Sedo. It needs to be sharp for combat. I will see you in the morning."

Crus:
"Yes, Master."

With that Master Fisto retired, leaving Sedo to contemplate his situation.



Despite Kit’s assurances, Sedo distrusted Clones. Intensely.

In studying the history of the Clone Army – the so-called “Grand Army of the Republic” - Sedo had discovered that the Kamino had built the army with minimal initial involvement of the Republic.



In fact, the army had been requested by a lone Jedi - now dead - purporting to act on behalf of the Republic.



Then, instead of cloning a truly mighty warrior – like Master Windu or Master Yoda – the Kamino had cloned a ruthless bounty hunter named Jango Fett.



They allowed for changes to the growth rates and intellect to make the Clones reach maturity quickly and ask few questions.

It was an unsettling - and frankly illogical - set of facts that Sedo could never resolve, despite thousands of hours of research.

He had met Clones on Coruscant – mostly police forces. Each seemed unusually absent of the Force, but very obedient to orders or even suggestions from Jedi. They simply lacked a real spirit.



They were solid fighters, to be sure, but every Clone Sedo encountered seemed less like a living being and more like a droid. Had the cloning process diluted the Force right out of them? Were they less than living beings? If given a choice in how to live their lives, would they make one?

No, of course they wouldn’t, Sedo thought.



The Clones were not to be trusted, but they were the only tools at his disposal. He would trust them as much as necessary to survive his mission…



…to destroy the CIS Foundries on Odos Five.


--
Click here to move on to Chapter 2...

Sorry about relying on soe production shots for the intro there. I'm sort of learning as I go...

Comments are very much appreciated.

I'm new to the boards, but I've been lurking for a while and have been spending a lot of times at other customizing sites. Any feedback is appreciated, as I'm trying to ramp back up in the hobby. Thanks in advance.

First up is my Nemoidian Field Officer. I was thinking of doing some fanfic for this guy, but I kinda like the idea that he's generic for some reason.







Next up is my take on the Heavy Clone, adapted in part from the new stills for Battlefront II. I do have this guy marked for and placed with my own fanfic unit, so I'll eventually name 'im.







Finally are two group shots of Clones in my custom unit. It's commanded by Koe, the one in the middle of the first pic. The custom AT-RT driver is a scout I'm calling Qoz.



The two guys in front are grunts. I need (I think) three more to make a proper unit of eight.


Thanks!

In Rem
http://www.hobbygeek.com