Last time around, my contributions to the UT-AT were a little more anemic. The2ndQuest, Lit Forum Mod at TheForce.Net, wrote a majority of the story, and I believe he named it as well (alas, the AT-CS never had a chance). This time, however, I was given the chance to provide a significant portion of the backstory for this small craft.
You'll remember this is the speeder that Anakin flies in Episode III from the Jedi Temple to Palpatine's office, to arrive just in time to stop Mace from killing Palpatine.
This is a pivotal scene, of course, and to be given the honor of contributing to any part of its background elements is really overwhelming to me.
Three things about this entry stand out as points of personal pride for me:
1) Not only did I provide the backstory, I invented a new aerospace company - DayStar Craft (the DC of DC0052).
2) No only did I do that, but invented a new class of thruster pod - the Sono-Class thruster.
3) Most importantly, and I didn't realize the importance of this until the entry came out - this is the last craft the "best starpilot Obi-Wan had ever known" flew as Anakin. Ever. he would never again pilot any craft as Anakin Skywalker.
Below is my original entry, in order to show what parts were mine. One of the most innovative parts of the actual published entry, however, must have come from Nathan - that being the "rapid depoloyment" panel - a sort of trap door that allowed Jedi to spring into action without bringing the craft to a halt. There were several elements of my entry that weren't used, as you'll see, but most key points were, and that just tickles my ego bone immensely :0) ...
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My "DC0052 Intergalactic Speeder" original entry for WTS Round 5:
The DC0052 Intergalactic Speeder, popularly nicknamed the "coinbox" speeder, is a small, one-person, short range commuter craft made popular by its high-end acceleration and top speed.
Manufactured by Daystar Craft, this repulsor craft has a mid-altitude ceiling of 170 kilometers and a top speed of 800 kph.
Designed in part by subcontracted firms who later produced the T-47 civilian speeder, the Intergalactic made use of aerodynamic surfaces and a robust powerplant to rocket the tiny craft over urban areas. With twin Sono-class thrust pods and four stable but light Daystar Craft repulsorlift generators, the Coinbox speeders were made to provide swift, cheap, reliable point A-to-B transportation. Advertisers picked up on the craft's starship-like design cues and heady power-to-weight ratios and dubbed it the 'Intergalactic" in a series of ad campaigns.
The Jedi maintained a small fleet of 16 of the inexpensive craft to provide them with a means of traveling relatively quickly throughout the capital world without relying on pressing expensive Jedi starfighters into cross-world commmutes. The Intergalactic had a range of 2000 km, which gave the Jedi quick access to many points on the planet while remaining sub-orbital.
Anyway, "Deece" was taken...