Star Wars Vector, Chapter 3: Rebellion

Well Vector has moved forward in time once again, just a decade or two this time, from the Dark Times after the creation of the Empire to the time when those who hate the Emperor have amassed their forces and declared open rebellion against the Empire. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and a few lesser known series regulars face up to the terrifying Rakghoul plague in the third chapter of Vector.











The story slots into issues 15 and 16 of the Rebellion series, following on from 3 successful story arcs. Though a lot of series regulars appear in the book (and it is a direct continuation of the Rebellion storyline, so it doesn't disrupt regular readers) it is still very easy to follow from the previous chapter of Vector and since a lot of the key Star Wars cast are involved it's not too unfamiliar territory.

Well I'll quickly pop up a review for you all, remember this will be very spoilery so if you are keen on getting it yourself you may want to skip the rest of this...ok let's go. Our troubled heroin Celeste has been on an abandoned moon for a little under two decades, the soul keeper of a plague spreading talisman and the ghost of a Sith Lord driving her mad - the only positive effect seems to be that she hasn't aged a day!!

Well she has been abandoned, but she hasn't been forgotten - Vader remembers the powerful Jedi he left behind and the even more powerul weapon around her neck. He sends an expeditionary force, when he hears that the force has crashed and lost contact after sighting an individual on the planet he knows she is still alive and leaks the information to the rebels in the hope that the plague will spread and destroy them.

The plucky team of rebels land on the planet with a full commando force including Able, a clone soldier from the Clone Wars and Deena Shan a young and nervous volunteer who has been a key player in the series so far. The rebels find the crashed Imperial landers and are soon assaulted by the stormtroopers they brought down, now transformed into monstrous Rakghouls. Han and most of the others are pushed back to the Millenium Falcon and forced to leave Luke, Leia and Abel behind. The ship is soon harrassed by a Star Destroyer ordered by Vader to get the rebels to flee back to base, and so cannot return to rescue our heroes.

Luke ends up backed into a cave and is suddenly attacked by Celeste, crazed by her abandonment and the whispers of Karness Muur. Leia and Abel arrive to help Luke, but this further enrages Celeste, who assaults Leia and turns Abel into one of her mindless monsters. Karness however sense an opportunity for galactic conquest and the talisman leaps towards Luke and Leia, but Celeste, regaining her senses retrieves the talisman and once again accepts her burden - to keep Karness prisoner in her body and to halt the plague as much as possible.

She walks off, discarding Luke, who is eager to know more of the Jedi, but she has decided to explore the galaxy and takes of in the rebel assault sguttle to see more of the galaxy. As she leaves she passes the waiting Star Destroyer who are still listening for Vader, who realizes too late what is happening, the ship is overrun by the plague and crashes into the planet. Meanwhile the Falcon has been able to shake it's pursuers and rescue Luke and Leia who return to the fleet to mourn Abel and others lost and to contemplate the future of the Jedi and of the Rebellion.

Well the Legacy portion of Vector is currently being published so I'll share what happens next with you all in a month or two, that portion will be collected in the second volume of Vector along with the Rebellion story - Volume 1 of Vector will be released in January.

SF at the Movies

Well we've hit October and so it's time to quickly fill the silence with a look at what's going to be showing at the flicks this month. I'm afraid the cupboard's pretty bare, or at least the Sci-Fi shelf is, with the new Bond out it can't be all bad for cinema goers I suppose. Anyway, let's keep to our remit shall we?

City of Ember
Released 10/10/08







As far as I'm concerned the only 'proper' SF release this month. City of Ember is set in a hidden underground city where for 240 years the remnants of mankind have stayed and survived so long they've forgotten where they came from. But there's a bit of a problem with that as the city was only meant to hold humanity for 200 years and now the generator is failing. Two youngsters happen upon an ancient plan, a away to get out of the city and do all they can to escape and save humanity. It's very good, though a little slow in parts and doesn't hold back though it's meant for a younger audience...

Igor

Released 17/10/08









...unlike some films! This is a film about mad scientists making stuff and so falls roughly into our chosen field it's about a novice who wants to invents some kind of evil science thing and...ooh it's CG...again, people are still impressed by that...aren't they?

Infestation

Releases 17/10/08

Some guy wakes up and finds a giant spider and...wait, didn't they do this film already?...like five times...two at least!!

Enjoy

Matrix Online: Things to do part 2

Curiouser and Curiouser: More things to find and do in Uriah

Well blogging seems to have died down a bit so I'll try and liven things up with another promotion of Matrix Online, the online multiplayer that lets you live out the future of the Matrix storyline. While at some point I'll get on and tell you about that story, for now I'm going to try and tantalize you with some of the things you can do and enjoy in game, and all just in the first neighbourhood!

Mercury's Sixth

OK so if you've gotten started in the Matrix you may have met Mercury who I posted about last session. Merury is one of several "contacts" whi give you mission and are located in most of the city's neighbourhoods. Each gives a set of five missions, but just to make it interesting for new players the developers added a sixth. In this mission you learn more about Mercury, his work and his relationship with Pepper, an exile from Downtown who you won't otherwise meet until you're much further in the game. And you won't go unrewarded for your mission.

Codebase

Codebase is a recruiter for the Machine organization, who you may want to try joining. He is found adjacent to the first hardline you discover. He is also friends with Mercury, and if you get a note from Mercury for completing his last mission he'll reward you with an exclusive "Industrial" jacket. He is also interested in taking down the Chopper gang in Uriah, and will reward you with both info (money) and experience code for retrieving one of their keys, this can be a great boost to a start up operative. For the more sentimental types he also offers a souvenir version of the chopper keys, to remember your early days by.

Mars Industrial Storage

Mars Industrial Storage is a warehouse, but it is also the first of many "hideouts" in the game, they are marked on your map with an orange arrow symbol. Gangs lurk below ground in these hideouts, often unusual in nature. Operatives often test their strength against these gangs by trying to get through the subterranean chambers, from which there is only one way out - getting past the gang's leader. But defeating the leader usually results in a reward, so many will try it. The gang in Uriah are called the Unclean, old disease spreading programs from an older Matrix. While they are fairly weak, defeating them and their leader Zero is still a challenge. These gangs also carry pills that can alter the look of an individual in the Matrix, from hair to skin tone to body size. These are valued by operatives, but also by Kimree, who stands outside the hideout, and will take a full set of the pills they carry and trade it for an "Industrial" fedora, which will complete your collection nicely.







The Headless

The Unclean are not the only ones to hide below the warehouse, on the fourth sublevel another exile group exist, known as the headless. Generally hidden, but when an operative approaches their leader Barebones, then a headless attacker of similar strength to them will emerge and attack. Defeating Barebones will stop these attacks, but also the reward for fighting them. These strange program drop a unique type of code fragment, collecting a complete set of these and returning them to Kimree, will reward you with the Headless Glasses, a popular Matrix item.









So for those of you with a taste for combat and cool clothes that oughta keep you happy. Well whenever I get round to it next I'll tell you about some of the other adventures you can be having in the Matrix.

Sam's follow up thingy

I couldn't resist.
Deadpool

Deadpool, the "Merc with a Mouth" Pretty much the same powers as Wolverine (See Aled's Post, only a little faster and sans the Admantium skeleton. He does make up for the lack of claws with a huge arsenal of weapons.
Another upside to Deadpool is the comedy. Unlike the dark stories of Wolverine and Hulk, Deadpool's tales set out to make you get the giggles.
Pour Example,

Anyhoo, the product of Weapon X (Responsible for Wolverine, Sabretooth etc.) he recieved his healing powers from DNA meddling, based on wolverine's powers.
There's a couple of Marvel characters with the "Healing factor", notably Sabretooth, Maverick, Omega Red, Kestral and Silver Fox, most of which were in Team X (Weapon X's Black Ops Team, Led by Wolverine. Even Professor X and Iron Man have Healing Factors now.
Well, thats all i can be bothered to write. If you want to know more, just wait till the Wolverine movie. Pretty much all of the above are in it.
(Note, these are NOT from the Ultimate Universe. I cannot be bothered and it would complicate things if i went through each of the above's counterparts. That's what Wiki is for)
PS. Wolverine's Origin has been revealed. It's in a graphic novel cleverly named "Wolverine : Origin"

Power Trip 5 - Rapid Cellular Regeneration

One of the key Heroes in the show is Claire Bennet. From early on in season one her magnificent and gross stunts made her popular as well as the catchphrase "save the cheerleader, save the world" which became synonymous with the show. Even after she was saved she is still a key character and her relationship with her "normal" family and the friends around her have been of much interest. But Claire's ability, while a protection, also makes her a target for those who want to possess such a great gift.

Claire's ability is rapid cellular regeneration, that is the ability to rapidly regrow and repair any part of her body when injured. This extraordinary gift means she can survive even the most grievous injury. She has been seen surviving falls, burns, bone breakages and even a car crash. Claire has had some of the most gripping scenes in the show, such as when she wakes up with her chest cut open for surgery, recovers from a nuclear fire or in series 2 when she successfully cuts off and regrows her toe. She has pushed her ability to the limits, and yet she may be capable of much more...


















Part of the genius of series 2 was to introduce some character who had the same abilities as others as well as new powers. This gave the series a more grounded feel, like it wasn't just a crazy diversifying bunch of wild traits, but that there was some kind of regularity to the so called "evolution" of humanity. The introduction of Adam Monroe, alias Takezo Kensei, ads a new dimension to the ability. He is centuries old, meaning that 'powers' aren't necessarily a new phase in humanity and also that his ability (and quite possibly Claire's) means that he doesn't age and can live healthily for a long time. Another development showed that his and Claire's blood could be used to heal the injuries of others, which has much potential for the future. But then Adam carried out his cliched plan to end the world and got himself locked in a box forever (which totally doesn't work - he'd just suffocate, you can't "regenerate" air!!!) and Claire has recovered her father, but at a price.

Well let's have a look at where this power comes from. It almost undoubtedly has it's roots in nature where animals such as certain lizards, starfish and other creatures are able to regrow limbs when needed. However the creatures are usually limited to limb regrowth and don't have the complete death defying self-repair ability that most regenerators in comics do. While mythological character may have been able to access healing, it has always been through some form of magic, and often with a cost. Creatures such as the hydra has rapis regenearation, probably inspired by the aforementioned creatures.

I like to quickly make a bible reference here, but off the top of my head I can't think of anyone who healed themselves, there are certainly many healings, but they all come from God, demonstrating that we cannot fix our own sickness, the great sickness of sin, but we need to rely on God for he alone can heal us. The only character who definitely could have healed himself, Jesus, was the one person who actively chose to suffer as one of us, identifying with the human race in all it's aspects. And when the ultimate suffering came on the cross, even though he sweat blood with fear at the prospect, he still chose to face it to save undeserving sinners. There's been a lot of talk about the maturity and development of heroes recenlty - if you want to find the ultimate hero you need look no further than the heroic sacrifice on the cross. This is something I want to develop more, but I'll leave it for now and move on to popular fiction.
















The power of regeneration or self healing is by no means new, though it is explored well in the show. There are a number of character whop posess the same ability to come back healed from the most dangerous as it is quite a useful gift when fighting other superpowered enemies. The most popular and dynamic of these is undoubtedly Wolverine a popularity renforced by dramatic demonstrations of his abilities in the X-Men movie trilogy. Wolverine's longevity and origins are also a mystery and his metallic claws (only convievable with a healer) make him an iconic figure. Wolverine was part of a Weapon X program which features other healer such as Sabretooth, Deadpool and Lady Deathstrike. There are also characters who can heal in adition to other powers such as the Hulk. I trust Sam to bring more of these to light - I know he's a Deadpool fan so surely he can't resist!

So there's a rooted tradition behind Claire's ability, coming from nature, comic books and a desire to be invincible hidden within us all. We know how fragile the human body is how potentially weak it can be and how the slightest accident can cause injury or death to any one of us. Is it any wondee then that we create characters who can bounce back from all this and fight another day, is it any wonder we want to be like these heroes?

SF at the Movies - September 08

Well let's see what September has in store for us eh? Oh also apologies for missing out Babylon A.D. last month, it's still out, but I'm undecided as to whether to go and see it. Anyway, moving on to September, what's out then...

And basically nothing is the answer! September seems to be a surprisingly slow month movie wise, especially in the Science Fiction department, about the only thing I could find was slightly dystopian "Death Race" where convicts have to race armoured cars to gain the prize of freedom - basically Running Man with cars by the looks of it - haven't seen the trailer, not sure if I will.

Well that was rubbish, I'll have to think of something else to say now!

Star Wars Legacy #25-26: Updates and Review

Star Wars Legacy 25-26 (The Hidden Temple)

It's been a while, but I'll bring you briefly back to the world of Legacy where in this two-parter Cade Skywalker takes a trip to the ultra secret Hidden Temple of the Jedi. Cadw wants the help of the Jedi so that he can stop running from Krayt and the Empire, but when he arrives he naturally finds more than he bargained for.

The Sith don't really feature in these issues so I'll move on to the Jedi, naturally there are a stack of new Jedi what with it being a Jedi temple and all so I'll update that in a follow-on post soon, but for now I'll just update the Jedi already featured in the series.

Jedi Updates

K'kruhk

Severely injured in Darth Stryfe's decimation of the Jedi temple he was nonetheless able to keep his friends alive. In need of healing he revealed the location of the hidden temple to his companions. Still recovering from his injuries, the Whiphid had been appointed to the temporary Jedi Council at the temple when Cade arrived.

Shado Vao and Wolf Sazen

These two travelled with master K'kruhk to the hidden temple after the Ossus temple was destroyed. Both were glad to see Cade, but were troubled by his plan to assassinate Krayt - Shado confronted Cade, intending to show him his own darkness, but Cade refused to be goaded.

Nat Skywalker

Nat agreed to take Cade to the temple and was welcomed by the Jedi council despite having left the order many years previous. He discussed Cade's plan with the Jedi, reluctantly accepting that his drastic plan might be right.

Imperial Knight Updates

Marasiah Fel and Company

Sia, Antares and Ganner act together in this one so I may as well update their story in one go - actually, these updates might be getting old, I'll have to think about it. Sia and her crew tail Cade's ship to the hidden temple and land near them in their cloaked shuttle. This displeased Cade who along with Shado, attacked the Knights for their intrusion until the Masters arrived and halted the dispute. They then proposed an alliance between the Jedi and the Imperial Knights, which had a mixed reception

Azlyn Rae

She succesfully led the Imperial Knight team to the base, earning the respect of her fellow Knights, but angering Cade and concerning the Jedi, who wanted to reconsider joining the order. She questioned this, but Marasiah mentioned that the only Knight to leave the Imperial order died shortly after.

Well that's most of the story, Cade and co get to the hidden temple, a collection of old starships embedded in a swamp hidden in an asteroid. The Imperial Knights follow, but are cautiously welcomed by the Jedi council. Cade then brings up his plan to assassinate Lord Krayt, which disturbs the council, but intrigues others. Jariah Syn, cade's crewmate sees the Jedi who killed his father and confronts him, but is defeated and forced to see the truth about his father, that he was a criminal with no honour who killed and pillaged for fun. The council eventually decided not to pursue Cade's path, but the Imperial Knights agreed and Antares, Ganner and Azlyn joined Cade's crew, along with Shado to go and cut off the head of the Sith.

I think I'm gonna have to rethink how I do these, with more categories being added the "updates take up most of the space now, I might just leave it for new characters or if one of them dies or something. We'll see - I'll update the new Jedi from the temple soon.