Terra Group Headquarters

F.A.Q.

Answers to your questions about Terra Group...

Terra Group FAQ Version 2.0

Contents

Terra Group Project Boussh Operation Arrakis: Operation Darkness: Odds 'n' Sods Related Links

Section One - Terra Group

1.1 What is Terra Group?

SCI: Terra Group is probably the stupidest idea I've ever had--and that's saying something.

*Everyone else nods*

SCI: *scigh* A very large, multi-writer, continuous fan fiction project, a large offshoot of the newsgroup alt.fan.wedge, is the most succinct explanation I can come up with.



1.2 OK, so who belongs to Terra Group?

SCI: Terra Group currently consists of:
  • Terra Leader: Sci
  • Terra One: Kristy
  • Terra Two: Bethany Brown
  • Terra Three: Becki/Durandir
  • Terra Four: Majick
  • Terra Five: Josh Nolan
  • Terra Six: Nick Coghlan
  • Terra Seven: Josh Cochran
  • Terra Eight: Arrek Lorrdain
  • Terra Nine: Vickie
  • Terra Ten: Brad
  • Terra Eleven: Sylvana Lorrdain
  • Terra Twelve: Emily Janson
I'd like to point out that my role as Terra Lead was something similar to the role Face takes on when he became Wraith Lead. That is, not a position anyone takes all that seriously.


1.3 What does Terra Group do?

ARREK: Terra Group is about half of the Men In Black. We are repsonsible for hunting down illegal aliens, regulating alien contact with Terra, and keeping Terra off the galactic charts. The other half, the "clean up" half, is outsourced to a small organization in Marin County, CA.


1.4 Who's in charge?

NICK: Short answer: No-one

CRISPY: Long answer: Everyone

BETHANY: Correct answer: Scifantasy (Sci) proposed the idea of TG in the first place, and served as "coordinator" (archiving posts and maintaining story order) for Boussh. The rest of the writers are justly awed by Sci. We don't show it very often, though.

SCI: Co-coordinators for Arrakis are Josh Cochran and Becki. Brad's coordinating Darkness...

SYLVANA: Allegedly.

NICK: When it comes to the stories, we submit them to the rest of the group, who then make suggestions, offer praise, roll on the floor laughing or whatever.

MIKE: It's all very democratic.

SCI: If it's the website you're talking about, the space is owned and maintained by Kristy.

BRAD: No-one's in charge of the marbles. That's why so many have been lost.

VICKIE: They gave themselves to the cause.

ALL: *Sniff*



1.5 Can I join Terra Group?

JOSHC: Oooohhh... Yes, but... Once a story is very advanced, introducing new characters is tricky. This very question led to a -remarkably polite- flame war on AFW.

ARREK: *looks skyward and whistles innocently*

JOSHC: *cough* If you do want to join, e-mail Sci.



1.6 Why pick the name 'Terra'?

BECKI: We wanted a cool sounding name for our group, and 'Earth Group' didn't really cut it. When Terra Group was suggested, it just fit.


1.7 What are the Terra Group stories?

VICKIE: Currently, TG has two completed adventures and two ongoing, one of which is non-canonical. Project Boussh, our founding adventure, and Operation Arrakis, the official second story, are completed. The current "canon" story is TG 2011.

BRAD: Operation Darkness is our side-story, not officially happening, but what we do when we get prodded by Muses with no official story to add to.



1.8 How is it decided whether a story is included in a group adventure?

NICK: The story has to fit into the general running of the storyline.

SCI: It can't contradict the existing canon.

MIKE: It should be at least semi-relevant to the plot development.

VICKIE: That can be difficult...

MIKE: ...as we often don't know where the plot may take us next.

SCI: In short, a prospective story should be well written, respect what has gone before, and allow room for further development.



Section Two - Project Boussh

2.1 What is Project Boussh?

SCI: Project Boussh (AKA PB, Boussh) is roughly defined as "the gigantic mother of all AFW story threads." It was the first Terra Group adventure.


2.2 How did it start?

KRISTY: Boussh was an offspring of the 'Wedge Antilles for President' campaign that ran on AFW for a number of months prior to the 2000 American presidential elections.

Quiara, the campaign manager for the Antilles ballot, disappeared from AFW a short while before the election took place. Project Boussh was launched when it was decided that Imperial involvement--technically, renegade Imperial involvement, as PB takes place after the Hand of Thrawn--was the reason behind her disappearance.


2.3 Who wrote Boussh?

MIKE: The writers (and, for the most part, founding members of TG), as they appear on AFW, were:
  • Alison Sky
  • Brad Corletti
  • Durandir (AKA Rebecca 'Becki' Bush)
  • Emily Janson
  • Josh Cochran
  • Josh Nolan
  • Kristy Henscheid
  • Majick (AKA Michael 'Mike' Clark)
  • Zeynep 'Morwen' Dilli
  • Nick Coghlan
  • Policrat (AKA Arkady Hodge)
  • Scifantasy (AKA...Well, we don't know.)
  • Vickie Boyd
Kelly Grosskreutz has also written for Boussh, but is now retired from the Project. Flarestar has also contributed, but is also likewise retired. Ditto Sharon Kerr.


2.4.1 When did it start?

SCI: I suggested the idea on the 31st of October, 2000, and posted the initial piece a couple of days later.

CRISPY: The initial aim of rescuing Quiara got sort of shunted sideways in the intervening time.

MIKE: I blame the Ewoks.



2.4.2 When did it end?

SCI: The writers had been asking themselves that, with increasing degrees of desperation, since late November 2000. Truth be told, Boussh had grown way beyond what was initially planned. It did draw to a close eventually, however, and...

CRISPY: Surprisingly...

SCI: *scigh* The sun's still here. The last story was posted on January 10, 2002.



2.5 What leitmotifs developed over the course of the project?

MIKE: I'm glad you asked... A quick survey of Boussh writers produced the following suggestions: Sci doesn't like Jedi.

SCI: Hey! I like Jedi, they just can't do stuff to me.

BECKI: Nick and Josh like Ewoks a little too much.

KRISTY: Josh the stormtrooper

EMILY: Becki's music, and her cats

SCI: Clones (Groan...)

MIKE: Vickie and Pash...

CRISPY: The Uber-Gand, and his Findsman abilities.

NICK: Vickie the marble-less

SYLVANA: Mike's coat

VICKIE: Emily, Alison and sharp objects

ARREK: Crispy Fried Aussie (tm)

BRAD: Trust

BETHANY: The Super-bago

MIKE: And there are many, many more. Try and find them all, and believe us, no-one's managed it yet... Oh, and if you don't understand any of them, go read it all over again!



Section Three - Operation Arrakis

3.1 What's Operation Arrakis?

JOSCHC: The second major Terra Group operation, and the first large-scale operation to take place since the official commissioning of Terra Group, Operation Arrakis is the current canonical TG story.

BECKI: A planetary shield has been stolen from an Imperial Remnant supply depot, and the Intellgence services have leads on Terra. The agent they sent, however, has gone missing, and Terra Group has been called in.

SCI: These two were the cooordinators, and truth be told they probably had a tougher job of it than I did.



3.2 "Arrakis"?

NICK: My brilliant idea. You'll see the wisdom of it soon enough.

SCI: Yes, that Arrakis.

Section Four - Operation Darkness

4.1 So if there's Arrakis, what's this?

BRAD: A result of bad timing and Muses. One day, I needed to write--badly--but Arrakis hadn't begun. So I started a non-canonical side project, detailing the arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong on our doorstep.

SCI: As such, in true TG style, the first writer became the coordinator.

BECKI: Mostly, we write for Darkness when we have a cool idea for it, or when, like Brad, we find that we need to write but don't have something that'll fit our current official story.

Section Five - Odds 'n' Sods

5.1 What exactly is...?

...a 'back rub Wes'?

EMILY: Welcome to our fantasies. From one of our strange conversations arose the determination to open a Rogue cloning shop. Now, for a very low price, you too can own a customised Rogue or Wraith. The price? Why, all you have to do is write a fanfic about what you and your chosen character get up to.


...an 'Ewok ranch'?

CRISPY: In the flat I share with Nick, there is a fold in space and time, which allowed him to build a fully functioning Ewok ranch in my bedroom. By the time I found out about it, it was too late to complain. This was the source of all the Ewok products available on AFW, but has now had its production toned down somewhat, as a result of an uneasy alliance between Nick and the Ewok leaders.

MIKE: Recent events suggest there may be more than one ranch, however, and chances are these may be operating at full productivity.

NICK: I'd like to request that any society for the prevention of cruelty to animals be left out of the matter...

SYLVANA: Possibly due to what Josh keeps in *his* bedroom.



...a 'TAWG'?

KRISTY: A True Animist Warrior God. This explanation is from the AFW NewbieFAQ:
Well, aside from the fact that he's obviously immortal (he's survived more battles than anyone), Wedge has been proclaimed the True Animist Warrior God by Prophet Kristy. She has written the Book of Wedge, a must-read for true WedgeFans, which is available on the AFW page, as is her original prophecy. Wedge's feast day is officially 28 August, but it is celebrated on the 28th of every month. [Are we serious? Probably not. Prophet Kristy is a practicing Catholic.]


...a 'stupid boy plan'?

KRISTY: As originally envisioned by Amy M. Wade and myself, if a boy makes a plan, and it's incredibly stupid, it will actually work. The original was written by Amy Wade and can be found (along with following ones, and general rules for Stupid Boy Plans) on my SW fanfic site. There's a striking example of one by Tycho in the "Masquerade" comics ("I'll run at these guys even though they're armed and I'm not"). Josh's run at the walkers in Project Boussh's "Ground Defense" could also be counted a Stupid Boy Plan. (As well as the Terra Group propensity for giving *Ewoks* high-powered weaponry!!!)



5.2 So, isn't this just yet another Star Wars Mary Sue?

NICK: You could look at it that way.

CRISPY: Although we hope it's good anyway.



5.3 But, a near-omniscient human ysalamiri? Unkillable 'normals'? *Elves*?

SCI: Uhh. . . yeah. Trust me, we're cruel enough to our characters that it's actually good. After all, I know everything. *grin*


Section Six - Related Links

6.1 Terra Group HQ: http://www.swfanfic.com/terragroup

6.2 AFW Central: http://www.swfanfic.com/afw

6.3 Star Wars Fan Fiction: http://www.swfanfic.com

6.4 Jedi Child Spaceport, and Rent-a-Rogue HQ: http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/jedichild/index.html

Questions and comments may be addressed to terragroup@swfanfic.com

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