Collecting for MS Society, Wirral Branch

The 99th was despatched to a gathering outpost called The Cherry Tree in a place called Liscard, Wallasey. We took our universal translators because we had heard the natives spoke a different language to Imperial Troops.  The local fund raiser, Karen Parsons had decided she would help to raise much needed funds for the new Death Star but she had heard of plans to thwart this effort by rebels.  This is where we came in.

As usual we arrived incognito and in various guises.  We armoured up and descended upon the place where the trouble was expected to be.....a clearing in the provisions area of this Cherry Tree.  Lord Vader was the first to arrive and was not impressed to be without his Imperial Security detail

Vader is miffed

The first of the detachment to arrive was one of our undercover troopers dressed as Boushh. She wasnt used to this type of mission and being in awe of Vader tried to offer him a present. The rebuke took longer than anyone anticipated so the troops took a break

Do you know who I am??????  No I am not Mr Stevens!!!

It wasnt an easy sortie into this area and before long Boushh and the Clone trooper were having a disagreement about something to do with the detonator.  Someone had swapped it for a Terry's Chocolate Orange and the Clone was the only 'orange ' in the area.  

There was a small amount of trouble when one of the locals decided to challenge the Clone trooper to duel.  Fortunately for this local he was not permitted to fire when his auto targeting system realised the 'weapon' was in fact a walking aid.

Local traders were keen to show their support for the Empire and invited the troops to see how they made the popular local brew.  We were offered to sample this fine product but we declined because we were on duty. There was however some suspicion that three stormtroopers took advantage of this brew and were later found in a state of bewilderment by the sergeant.

Despite all this it was a good day and no rebels were found in the area.  During some of the quieter moments we took the opportunity to show the locals what it could be like in the Imperial Navy and tried a bit of recruitment.  However Lord Vaders way of dealing with recruitment was not overly popular with the locals

It was all a little too much for this youngling

The day ended well with no locals injured an no claims for compensation!  Lord Vader even assisted with the draw to see which of the lucky locals would be finding their way into the Empires finest at no cost to themselves.  The winner was duly clamped in binders and marched off to the transport ship

Once the total amount raised is counted the 99th will post it here and where locals may be found to congregate.  

The 99th Garrison would like to thank the management and staff of the Cherry Tree Shopping Centre in Liscard for letting us into their centre again and for their hospitality and generosity (refreshments and sandwiches). Also thanks to the volunteers from the MS Society and in particular Karen Parsons for inviting us.  Also thanks to the people of Liscard for making our day a busy one and for all the donations - large and small!

Thanks also to the troopers from the 99th Garrison who made the journey. It is a pleasure and an honour to troop with you all.....Darran, Emma, Paul B, Paul T, Chris, Andy, Anna, Mayah, Colin, Eric, Jim, Dave, Simon, Grant, Jay, Damon, Mark and John!

New Imperial Propaganda Material

The 99th Garrison was called on by the Emperor to help create a new batch of propaganda posters for distribution around the various worlds the Empire protects.  This was a great honour for the chosen few and rumour had it that the Emperor himself and Lord Vader would be attending.

We chose a nondescript location for the this as we were concerned that the Rebels may try to disrupt the occasion.  One of our loyal supporters offered their premises for this - Tapeswitch - in a place called Ch'orl'ee.  The Empire, and the 99th Garrison in particular is grateful for their support.

The troops assembled early in the morning and as usual arrived incognito to avoid raising any interest from rebel spies.  Even in this Imperial stronghold you cannot be too careful.  The day started with image captures of the Emperor with and without troops for protection.

The Stormtroopers proved difficult to pose

Lord Vader, The Emperor and security detail

As the day progressed the images became quite easy to do and even the Sith seemed to be enjoying themselves.  The troops were briefed on their roles and duties and the performed them well

The new holographic facility

Three Siths in one image

The 99th Garrison employed a number of droids to take the place of real troopers and bounty hunters for this event to ensure the local garrison was not depleted too much.  As you can see from the images below it is difficult to tell the difference.  Once the images are put into their final places they will have served their purpose and will be deactivated.

There was a slight issue with two of the droids dressed as TIE Pilot and AT-AT Driver.  During the image taking operation the constant flashing of the lights must have upset the AT-AT circuitry because it decided the TIE Pilot was an enemy infiltrator and was going to blow its head off!  Fortunately the Garrison armourer had taken the charge packs from the pistols!!

Other than the slight issue noted above the day went very smoothly and all the participants felt they had contributed towards a worthwhile cause.  It was good to see Sith mingling without trying to destroy the place

Thanks to improved holographic technology two Vaders were present! 

As you will probably realise from these images: the real Darth Vader and Emperor did not attend the venue. For purposes of security it was decided the risk was too great with only a small squad of live troops in attendance.  We used droids for most of these images and once completed the droids had their memories wiped and the costumes were incinerated to ensure they could not be used again.  All traces of our being in the facility were carefully removed.

Thanks to everyone who turned out on this day.  Gary, Alan, Chris S, Craig, Jim, Wayne, Steve, Ken, Paul, Darrell, Scott, Andy, Anna, Mayah, Chris E, Trevor, Dave P, Dave L, Darren, Emma, Sarah, Damon!

The next photoshoot for the Empire will be on 19th April.  Please look in the forum for the location