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The Battle of Septic Springs was a solo fight I did for photography practice and story telling. It serves as a prologue for my coming entry to this year's HH.

It's a BOL (Battle of Lego) shoot, meaning it was done on a live game of Brikwars. As opposed to a STIL, which is my acronym for Stories Told In Lego.

Here is my dA folder for it. It goes top-to-bottom, and if you click on the first one you'll be able to quickly move to the following image using the 'Next' button at the top left.

https://galacticmuhrine.deviantart.com/ ... ic-Springs

EDIT: Brikwarriors were ossum enough to tell me a quick way to use dA as an image host, so I've started transferring the whole tale here to Brikwars! I'll be doing this with all my STIL's too...

Dawn rises in the sleepy border village of Septic Springs on the developing world of Midway, so named because it sits in space roughly equidistant from the capitols of both the Federalist Star Union and the Berliniscow Naturalist Party.

Situated just barely on the Federalist side of the border with the BNP, the people of this town have become anxious as an uneasy peace stands between the two great powers. The BNP has recently become enraged that the FSU has been allowing neutral states on Midway to join with it, shifting the perceived balance of power and denying the opportunity to annex them itself. Over the last few days a surge of "accidental" attacks against border towns has occurred and a major conflagration appears imminent.



An alternative view of Septic Springs



The town mayor watches the scene from atop the general store, standing next to some machine controls. A high caliber pistol rests on a surface nearby in case of an emergency.



Next to his big fuel silo, Old Man Wyatt Byrd heckles two of his workers for being rude to customers.

"Stop bein' so dern short wi' the money!" shouts Mr. Byrd.

"But sir, nobody's come to get gas in days because of the war..." responds one worker.

"Oh, now you're gettin' sassy wi' me, too!"



Over at the garage, Mr. Byrd's other building, another employee provides security.



The two town techies perform daily maintenance on the primary generator.



Meanwhile, retired Air Corps Captain Menendez has awoken from a long-running PTSD induced nightmare. He's come out of his bunker shack with his lever-action, presumably looking for trouble.



The whole town seems to be going apart at the seams, as the owner of the nearby general store has left his house with a Beretta in hand! It seems he's been listening to too many DataSnores radio broadcasts about lizard men conspiracies.



Bored out of his wits at the lack of work, Mousse the Mustache practices his dance moves atop a crate of merchandise. Bill looks on as he quietly hopes the obnoxious youngster takes a nasty fall.



On the outskirts of town, Steve the drifter has gotten that funny feeling he always seems to get before something terrible happens, and has decided that it is time to move on. He's got his Tokarev and robotic mule and is going to grab the last provisions he needs before beginning his journey.



An alternative view of Steve's introduction.



On the north end of town the sunlight catches the warrior symbol above the town armory. Various citizens are armed but Options Military has allotted 11 military grade firearms for the citizens to protect themselves with until the pros arrive.



Across from Mousse the town pretty gals chatter on about vapid nothings. But what's this? It seems grandma has allowed her jealousy of the younger girls' good looks to get the better of her, as she is charging at them with her late husband's service revolver.



But before grandma can get off her first shot, Louis the lookout lets out a cry as he gestures out towards BNP territory.



Everyone who can looks where Louis is pointing and beholds an oncoming horde of BNP militia. The BNP's subjects are not normal minifigs, but genetically altered ones that have been engineered to be stupider and more aggressive than normal. The Federalists call these "synths," short for "synthetically engineered minifig life." Occasionally one of them will slip through the cracks and be highly intelligent. Often they'll try to please their masters by rallying their slower brethren into a rampaging mob to attack other factions. Like now.



There's quite a few of them, and they've brought some war-beasts and a siege engine with them.



Barely containing panic, the mayor reaches for his handgun...



And flips the alert siren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeRDVOUy7dY



The synths just surge forward a little faster at the sounds of distress.



The synth lieutenant orders his underlings onward. Is this how the story of Septic Springs is to end, in a one sided massacre by deranged, misshapen outsiders?



Perhaps not because look who just turned up southeast of town: it's the militia forces of the neighboring Neo Cantonal Confederacy, one of the nations which recently joined with the Federalist Star Union! And they've brought along an Options Military fire support vehicle to help!



Motioning towards the town and the synths, the NCC officer shouts to his men.

"Derre dey arr! Forrverd into seh villaaj! Ve must dehfend ah noo neybahs from zeez beasts!"



The synth warleader, however, is not impressed by the NCC detachment.

"Harl harl harl! Dash not innuf t'shtop me!"



"Wait, wush dat noise?" the warleader asks as his insults are cut short by a sound in the distance...

(Sorry for the lighting on this; I didn't realize the glare was this awful until after I'd taken down the set.)



https://soundcloud.com/jared_johnston/r ... -orchestra

Why, it's the Berismirov state militia, come to 'remove' the threat.



Septic Springs' odds are looking better and better as the tank blares the Berismirovite state anthem across the countryside.



"Onwards comrades," yells the Berismirov commander, "for glorious com-I mean...Capitalism!"

Having recently exchanged his Glorious Communist Vodka for Great Capitalist Ale, he can take a Yuge swig from it during the battle to perform one heroic feat.



Undeterred, the synths carry on.



A hush falls on the soon-to-be battlefield as both sides brace themselves upon the realization that the shooting is about to start.

The BNP contingent looks poised to make a powerful right-hook drive into the FSU left and storm the town. Will the motley crew of defenders be enough?



With the BNP taking first turn (recall this is a live game of Brikwars), the synths sense blood in the water due to the alert siren and move at double speed on the first turn.



The artillery beast's cannon is pre-aimed at the Berismirov troops for when it comes into range.



Meanwhile in the town proper, Mittens makes the calculated move to bail on grandma, jumping into the store owner's house through an open window.



The Berismirov Tank takes aim at the front line of synths in the hopes of giving the infantry just a little more time to take up defensive positions.



With luck on their side for the moment, the tank's plasma shot kills few and merely tosses a lot of synths backward. A little extra time was gained, however.

On the downside, the tank will have to reload next turn instead of shooting, leaving it out of the fight except for its coaxial machine gun until two turns from now.

(READER'S NOTES: I didn't have the parts to make elaborate explosive effects for this battle, so most always one will be "shown" by having a bunch of soldiers be thrown around where they were previously standing. Explosive effects are possible, however, as one could find on the Brikwars battle forums, and I intend to look into it for later shoots. For now, please bear with me.

Also, a hard and fast rule is that if someone is lying down and isn't holding a weapon, they are dead.)



Rushing now that he is in the midst of a full-on battle, Steve knocks the smaller crate off of the one he is interested in and tears its lid off...



...And pulls out of a MacGuffin of Presumed-Great-Power.

Who knows what kinds of esoteric and eldritch powers it holds? The power to send the synths into full retreat? To make a hero reach their full potential? To move the plot forward somehow?



Seemingly none of the above, as Steve and his companion make a break for it out of town.



As the synths draw closer, the Berismirovite troops take advantage of the covering fire of the tank to get into defensive positions.

A machine guns sets up in the shrubs to the left, a few troops shelter around the tank in the center, and a fusillade of rifles settle around the low rise to the right.



From behind the dozer blade of the tank, the Berismirov commander can see both his own troops and the synths.

Mr. Byrd's guard braces himself in anticipation of having to make a last stand between just himself, his 12-gauge, and the synths.



Seeing the synth horde's advance, Wyatt Byrd loses his last remaining marbles.

"Ermahgarsh!Just lookit all them customers wantin' refunds! I'M RUINED!"

"Sir, those aren't angry customers wanting their money back," began one of the employees, "that's an enemy army!"

"YER FIRED!"




Still dancing, Mousse makes his way into the armory to emerge armed next turn...



"Those darn Piltogg-Zion lizardmen will never take me alive!" declares the store owner as he readies himself to charge the synths.



At the same time as the store owner makes his declaration, Captain Menendez makes his way towards the synths as he mutters on about getting revenge for what the Pink Horrors did to Lieutenant Hoke 15 years ago.



Louis stares contemplatively at his .50 magnum. Perhaps he is wondering what it will do when it hits a synth's center of mass, or he is considering turning it on himself to evade a more brutal death at the invaders' hands.



Having flipped the alarm switch, the mayor loses control of nerves at last and crumples into the fetal position, still gripping his pistol.

(Sorry for the blurring, it's crap I know!)



All the ordinary, non-loopy townspeople make a bum rush for the armory. One of the girls seems to have a deficiency of nerve, and one of Byrd's workers falls into a crate they tried to jump over.



"W'hut waz I...I doing ah'gain?" asks a confused grandma after her former would-be victims ran for the safety of rifles and machine guns.



"Sorr, zuh people of zis town seem to have some'sing wrong vith them," begins one of the NCC soldiers, "are you sure veev come to zeh right villaaj to protekt?"

"Of course zis is zeh right place!" begins the commander in reply, "Zeh BNP is assailing zem, and vee are ahrmed and trrained mehn entroosted with the garrdianship of zeh FSU's citizens and territory."

"Perhaps derre vould be more to gaiin, zough, by abandoning zese hopeliss volk in lieu of safegaarding sumvun else."

"Baloney! Abandon zese people to an abyss of vi'lenss because of quirks vee find diztasteful? Unzsinkable! No; Zey are just as compliant vith zeh great FSU Constitution as vee are, and vee shall gaard zem from zis aggression, just as ah people vould expect protekshun fvrom zeh rest of zeh Union."



The NCC infantry part from their vehicle escort as they go into the town to setup defensive positions. The single-crew FSV, meanwhile, goes off to skirmish with the BNP by taking advantage of its long range Gauss cannon and high-explosive rockets.



The FSV sets itself up to engage the synth cavalry on a later turn.



The synths draw themselves up to the edge of rifle range with the Berismirovites. They spread themselves into a thinner line with the intention of attack the Federalists across a broader front.

Only time will tell how this tactic will pan out.



The tank fires at the BNP's left flank again, scattering more synths around the artillery beast.



On the BNP right, the warleader and his escorts see the FSV and set their steeds' course for it. To their left, synth infantry continue their long march to the town.



A perspective shot of the synth infantry in the center of the BNP line. The big ballista thing on the right is actually a hand-pushed rocket launcher.

In retrospect I wish I had posed these guys' legs. Like, at all. I did that for a lot of other shots but got slack on some of the synths on bases standing on carpet. Next go around, when I do a big shoot like this again, I'll have to put the proper amount of effort posing the figures, because I hate this static look that these guys, who are supposed to be running, have.



STILL dancing, Mousse shuck & jives his way out of the armory with a .30 cal.



As the other townspeople make their way for the guns, Mousse sets up his ad hoc machine gun nest atop a crate.



"Yo, granny!" shouts Mousse, "Help me keep this thing loaded while I blow away those synths!"

"Eh?" starts a confused grandma, "just help me find Mittens afterward."

"Uh...sure."



Together the oddest MG team in the world prepares to meet the enemy onslaught.



Having grabbed his personal shotgun, Bill has climbed on top of the armory and jumped over to the rooftop of the general store. There the mayor can still be seen cowering in terror.



On his way to war, Captain Menendez passes by the store owner's house. They notice and talk with one another.

"Hey, where you goin' with that big rifle?" asked the store owner.

"I'm goin' in for VENGEANCE!" replied Menendez.

"Hey, I want me summa that! Got room for one more?"

"Sure thing. You'll be my wingmate like I used to have in old times."

"Just one question first: are you a lizard man?"

"Are you under the thrall of a pink blob monster?"

"I like you."

Together the pair head for the synth horde.



As they reach the town the NCC soldiers fan out.



On their left, the machine gunner sets up in the window of Captain Menendez's bunker shack.



An overview shot for the audience which conveniently gives me an opportunity to describes what is going on where.

Top Center: south side of town where the NCC is.

Top right: Mostly empty space where the FSV and the synth warleader are squaring off.

Dead Center: Abandoned forge which the synths are passing through.

Center left: Berismirovite troops on the northwest end of town.

Bottom left: synths advancing on the Berismirovites.



As the moment of truth draws near for Menendez and the store owner, their lunacy blinds them to the odds of the fight they've picked.



As the NCC prepare for contact with the BNP, the townspeople emerge from the armory to form a scratch unit of riflemen.



Having gotten onto the roof, bill takes cover behind the alarm console. He intends to ambush passing synths with his pump-action.



Identifying Louis' lookout tower as the de facto best sniping spot in town, the NCC marksman climbs its ladder.



The NCC soldiers draw near to getting into their final defensive positions.



An alternative shot of Septic Spring 70's perspective that I found in my dataset and decided to upload anyway. It looks it a bit clearer and captures some different material. In particular it makes clear where the NCC guys are relative to Menendez and the store owner.



As Steve passes by, Wyatt Byrd begins muttering to himself as he flips switches on the fuel silo, seemingly at random.

"Razza frazzin' lazy workers! Ding-daggin' bothersome customers! I'll show 'em all! In one big ol' flash I'll show 'em all just what Wyatt Byrd is made of!"



Contact! Rifle fire crackles out of the Berismirov positions as the first synth comes into range. The Federalists get to fire first before the synth.



The first beast to be cut down by rifle fire crumples under the fusillade of the Berismirovites!



Even as the first one to come into range of the Federalists falls, its brethren keep up their advance.



On the other side of the tank from the cluster of riflemen firing from behind the brown low rise, the Berismirov RPD machine gun team observes the other advancing synths.

The gunner lets a hail of bullets fly as they come into range!



Scratch one! The RPD claims its first kill as its gunner tears a synth in half with the mighty weapon.



The synths still breathing move into rifle range to exact revenge on the Berismirovites...



"Comrade down!" cries out submachine-gunner behind the dozer blade as BNP laser fire causes the first Federalist casualty.



The assistant gunner, armed with a traditional AK, notices and targets a red synth charging out of the brush line.



His target falls to a hail of 7.65mm slugs.

On the other side of the battle, a synth lines up a laser shot on Captain Menendez as the latter comes into range...



It appears Menendez had gotten rusty over the years, as the synth got off the first shot and felled him in a single strike.



Menendez looks more at peace in death than he did in life. Perhaps in his departure from this world to the next he has found solace from the horrific memories which plagued his later years.



While the gunner attempts to let loose another torrent of bullets, the RPD jams!



Jumping across town again, the rocket ballista's first shot has scattered the center of the NCC formation. No casualties were incurred, however.

One man jumped backward and can be seen on his back in the foreground. Another's legs can be seen sticking out of the crates he jumped in among.



Laser fire pours out from the mass of remaining synths, cutting down the assistant gunner. The other Berismirovite that was behind them dives behind a nearby ruined fortification.



Overview shot from the perspective of the BNP's left flank. Synths are tearing it up on their left flank with the Berismirovites. Contact hasn't yet been made in the center even though the ballista has fired at the NCC and Menendez and the store owner have been mowed down in their 10-to-1 gun battle.

Almost forgot to mention that the stegosaurus with a cannon on its back bought it to the next round of plasma fire from the tank.



Having fired its cannon earlier (in a sadly not-photographed scene) and lacking the time to reload it, the FSV closes in to engage the synth infantry with its auxiliary rockets.



The high explosive rocket launched from the FSV blows away two synths and sends two others flying. This has blown a hole in the BNP right flank which will ease up the pressure on the Federalist left. Foliage is also blasted apart.

The carnage of the battle intensifies...



There is no way to describe this shot other than as the commencement of the battle on the BNP right in earnest.

The NCC's elite among the myriad militia of the FSU clash with a mob of riled-up BNP subjects. As the first synths come into range, assault rifles, a machine gun and a sniper open fire in an attempt to drop them as quickly as they come.



"Hey, old man," begins Steve as he detours from his evacuation to speak to Wyatt Byrd. "Why's that thing making all kinds of warning sirens?"

"I-I'mma make 'em all pay! All of 'em! And I'z gon' use mah musheen hee'ah t'do it!"



"What?" asks Steve.

"I'm innishiatin' her seff-deestruct seekwinss; she'll take the HO' TOWN wid'er!"

Taken aback for a moment, Steve briefly pauses before saying, "I can't let you do that..."

"Wah? Why, it'uh be over mah ded body 'fo sum youngin' tells mih what t'do wi' my own thangs!"



"If that is so, then fine," says Steve quietly before sending Byrd's head flying with a single magnum slug.

Steve's esoteric journey to take his MacGuffin out of town led him past Byrd's fuel silo just in time to prevent the detonation of a blast equivalent to a low-yield nuke.



Having saved Septic Springs for the sole reason of not being confident of his ability to escape the blast zone in time, Steve makes it out of town with a second robo mule in tow. Headed deeper into FSU territory, who knows where he'll end up with that Macguffin of Presumed-Great-Power?



Returning to the Federalist right flank/BNP left flank, another Berismirovite, the one with the RPD, has fallen as the synths just don't stop comin'.

It's become quite a bloodbath.



As the synths (sorry for the blurring on them) draw closer and closer, one Berismirovite lines up a grenade launcher shot in hopes of taking down more than one.



Ignoring their fallen comrades, the synths keep charging the Berismirovites.



The Berismirovites' situation grows more desperate as they continue to lose more men, though the tank remains undamaged and a pair of scratch riflemen approach through the alleyway between Byrd's garage and the general store.



Driven to please their master, the synths brave rifle and submachine gun fire as they close with a tank armed with a plasma cannon capable of vaporizing a whole squad of them at once. The Federalists can be disgusted at their lack of human dynamism but they can't fault their devotion to their creators!



The Berismirov's battle shifts into close range as the synths draw close enough to accurately fire bursts.



Over where the RPD was set up at, the surviving Berismirovites are pinned down by the yet still oncoming synths.



The Berismirovites aren't the only ones to feel the full weight of the BNP's numbers. Here at the BNP's center-right they push back the NCC. Said NCC's lead officer from earlier can be seen fallen at the top left.



Another perspective of the scene from the previous shot which better shows the surviving NCC riflemen. I also feel it shows off the weight of numbers the BNP enjoys.



An NCC soldier prepares to ambush a synth from around a corner. Other NCC soldiers setup to fire and a scratch rifleman can also be seen on the right.



The NCC machine gunner bought his farm, having been blown out of the shack he setup in.



Rounding off the current sectors of battle, on the BNP's right flank the warleader and entourage stand poised to close in and overwhelm the FSV.

The FSU's situation appears to have become truly dire, with many troops from both contingents of reinforcements having perished. Now with one of their vehicles under threat, the BNP seems close to pushing them over the edge towards losing this battle.



Some miles away from Septic Springs, from inside of FSU territory, a flight of aircraft head for the beleaguered village at top speed.



It's the Federalist marines!

The voice of a grizzled veteran crackles over the main FSU comms channels: "To all surviving Star Union citizens and soldiers in Septic Springs, this is Colonel Guri Yagarin of the FSUMC. We're inbound to you now and will be there in force within moments!"



Along with his own squad of marines, Yagarin managed to bring along a team of elite Options Civic police commandos riding in their own light attack helicopters.



True to his word, Yagarin's attack craft lines up for a strafing run on the BNP forces pressuring the Berismirovites.



Utter chaos ensues among the surviving synths. The machine gunner with the red energy pack is blown in half by a rain of high explosive rockets, and others from the previous shot dodge out of the way.



Its shooting complete, the marine attack craft turns left to make a wide circle in order to land its troops in the town.



With the marines passed the Options Civic helicopters move in for a second wave of airstrikes.

(These photos were hard to shoot; I couldn't get help shooting these so I had to both hold the camera and the toy aircraft, and it hurt the end product. I'll have to either get some help or think of a new technique for later shoots. For those of you thinking the obvious of "just get a tripod camera," well, first it might not work because I'd have to mount it ON the battlefield, and second I can't afford it...)



The first helicopter's nose-mounted rocket blows away all the old corpses and the synths from the previous shot. Is this the turning point of the battle? Is Septic Springs saved?



Its attack run over, the first helicopter makes a sharp turn to unload its pair of OC agents.



Light glints upon the blades of this helicopter as it loses altitude over the town.



Landing upon the store owner's house, the OC agents prepare to jump off their transport.



They move in to fight back the BNP.



Even with elite training and fortified body armor the odds will be against them.

They move in with guns blazing, and a moment later the synths turn their laser rifles away from the existing defenders and onto the OC agents.



The second helicopter moves in to pummel the BNP's left flank for the third time.

(Not taken because I didn't want to shoot the same but slightly different scene three times: The helicopter swoops around after its straging run to drop the second pair of OC guys off in the town.)



The second, final pair of OC agents disembark from their copter. This time they're going atop the general store.

Passing by a scratch riflegirl and Bill from earlier (who are both cowering like a pair of wussies) the OC agents move in like the pros they are to throw back the collectivist menace.



Returning to an angle on the town from much earlier, we see that the scratch units of armed townspeople have engaged the synths. Mousse and grandma managed to mow down a meesa in the center, and scratch units are moving in to help the NCC and Berismirovites on the flanks. On the left we can see that the synths got lucky and killed one of the agents, knocking him forward off the roof.



The FSV aims another rocket at the remaining synths, the warleader and his entourage being still out of range.



Returning at last to the Berismirov's front, their tank turns its gun left towards the BNP's center. There, a mass of synth infantry are on the verge of overrunning the combined strength of the NCC, the agents and the scratch units. Perhaps the tank's plasma cannon can reverse things.



Total devastation is expected.

(Not photographed because I'm a buffoonish amateur: The tank blows the crap out of them. This one cannon shot alone that's about to happen kills more than 10 synths and, after this point, gives the FSU forces an easy time winning the day. Bit of an anticlimax, I know, but that just seems to come with the territory of trying to tell a sort-of story through a live wargame.)



Sensing imminent victory, the surviving Berismirovites abandon their cover and make an all-out charge on what's left of the synths.

Everyone nearby is utterly deafened by the steady, seemingly endless 'DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN...' of their Kalishnikovs.



"Is go time, comrades! For glorious Star Union! What is saying? Oh yes! 'Elutheria!' *GLUG-GLUG-GLUG...*"



Empowered by liquid courage, the Berismirov commander rushes the nearest synth and bashes him in the face with the stock of his rifle, then knocks it to the ground with a kick.



"Is being end of collectivism, yes?"



Shooting the snarling lab experiment with his rifle grenade, the commander blows it apart at the tip of the Berismirov charge.



Their gunship landed in town, the marines begin to disembark. This truly looks like the end of BNP chances for a victory.



Colonel Yagarin readies his weapon and energy shield as he approaches the side of the transport.



The marines march through the space between the garage and the general store as scratch units and a Berismirovite straggler move out of their way. Over the din of gunfire everywhere, Colonel Yagarin's voice can be heard over a comms link in the helmets of his marines.

"Get ready to fan out as soon as we get through these buildings. Gunner, take rear and suppress anything that lasers at us. Lieutenant, take point! Everyone follow my lead and don't get too far from the tank.



Overview shot. If you've been following this beast of an experience along you should know what these are all about. The biggest changes are the airborne FSU soldiers and the vaporization of the big cluster of synths towards the top that the tank killed.



The handful of surviving synths on this side of the battle surround the commander, who in his haste got separated from his men.



Tragically they make short work of him. Yet his death, and the other sacrifices made in this battle, seem not to have been in vain as the same synths that killed him make a hasty retreat away from Septic Springs.



All across the battle line the few remaining BNP forces are in full retreat. The day is saved for Septic Springs!



Abandoning his plans to charge the FSV and take Septic Springs in general, the warleader and his escorts turn tail and rush back toward BNP territory.

"Dish izsh hopelezsh! We failed! We failed! Run fer it, lads, run!"

We are left to wonder if he has any idea of the magnitude of events his ambitions have lit the fuse for...

Glorious Communist Vodka is superior to any Capitalist Ale, how dare they do this?
Nice job though!