posted April 24, 2000 11:17 PM               

Admiral Scarecrow sat at his desk and looked out into the vastness of space from his office aboard the Devastator. Surveying the damage from the Navy�s latest battle, a small sigh could be heard in the quietness of the room. The battle had not gone well for the Navy. Repairs were
proceeding nicely on both ships, however, and were slightly ahead of schedule. It will
still be some time before the Coruscant was ready for action again, though. As he looked around his office, he thought back to the glory days of the Navy when FA Reinthaler was in command and the Navy was a proud, but small fighting force. Admiral NiksaVel, Admiral Schnapps and himself had rounded out the High Command for the Navy and those days had been great. How long had he been in the VE he wondered? He followed Reinthaler here, and had been with him for 4 years before that. That was a long time, and another lifetime it seemed. His command structure now was all new members. They had not been in their other positions long when he had to field promote them to their current ranks and positions to fill the void left by NiksaVel and Sesswanna. They were all fine officers though, and the Navy was actually in a position to be better than ever. The reports in front of him listed all of the support craft, starfighters, and other equipment lost during the last campaign saving the Coruscant from the Rebel attack. The losses were heavier than they should have been and this troubled him greatly. If not for the arrival of the Mustang, the losses would have been even greater. "We must be better prepared the next time the Rebels try to attack", he thought. "If we cannot defend ourselves, how can we ever hope to attack?" It was then that an idea began to form. He reached over to a large command station built into his desk and pressed a button on the console. Admiral Atrus's office was immediately summoned, and a message dispatched for him to meet with Scarecrow later that afternoon. He turned back to the reports and again there was an audible sigh that penetrated the otherwise silent room as he once again leafed through the reports.
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A few hours later, there was a buzzer outside his office door.
�Yes?�
�Admiral Atrus, sir�we have a meeting this afternoon.�
�Enter�
The door opened, and Admiral Atrus stood in the doorway. He looked at Scarecrow and realized the Fleet Commander looked a little older now. His face had a few more wrinkles and his hair showed a few more gray hairs since this last campaign had started.
�What do you think of the battle we just came out of, Atrus?�
�It was a bloody war, but we survived, sir.�
�Exactly what I was thinking�we survived. The VE Navy should have come into this system and annihilated everything in its path, but we didn't. The blame for that rests squarely on my shoulders.�
�Sir, if I may�."
"...Admiral, we have better things to discuss than past errors, what is done is done. I do have a few ideas I would like to discuss with you, however."
�Of course, sir."
"First, I think the Naval High Command should have their own squadron. It will allow us to participate in more activities and give us some flight time as well. Any suggestions on a name?"
"I like the name Firehawks myself, sir"
"Not to fond of that one, how about Talon?"
"That does not invoke fear and frankly sounds kinda dull, sir. How about Thunderbirds?"
"No...don't like that one. Emerald?"
"Sir...only the Rebels use colors for their squadron names!"
"True...very true. I was going for majestic sounding, but you are correct."
"What about Raptor?"
"Raptor...that is not a bad name at all, Atrus. In fact, I think that is the right name. We will create a squadron called Raptor for the High Command Officers so they may participate in the competitions and get some flight time as well."
"I will see the Flight Officer makes the appropriate changes to the schedule, sir"
"Thank you. Now, the other matter I would like to discuss with you. I understand we have in our files, older missions that deal with the beginning of the Vast Empire. I would like to distribute these missions to the squadrons for some inner-squadron competitions. Not only will this take our previous mission off the minds of the pilots, it will give them a chance to practice in some friendly competitions among one another."
"I will post those missions immediately for the pilots to access."
"Excellent, I will develop a story line for a run-on story competition well. I would also like to see pictures, and would be very pleased to see missions that some of our pilots have created."
"That would be extremely beneficial to have, since they could be used in future competitions."
"Exactly. All submissions should be sent to your attention, and then the results forwarded to me. We will give 3 points to a squadron when a member from that squadron flies a multi-player mission, between 1 and 3 points for each story posted on the Storyboard, between 1 and 3 points for each picture, and between 1 and 4 points for each mission created. The top squadron at the end of the competition will be given the title of the Fleet Commander's Own and will fly my banner. We will also be awarding medals and possible promotions for those who participate in our competition."
"I will make the necessary arraignments immediately, and get the competition underway."
"See to it, Atrus....you are dismissed."
Admiral Atrus turned to leave and as the door closed behind him, Admiral Scarecrow turned back to face the emptiness of space. "We will not be caught like we were again. The honor of the Navy depends on us being ready at a moments notice to go into battle. Our pilots are the best in the galaxy, and I intend to prove it!"

All pilots are hereby ordered to participate in the Naval campaign currently being held. The competition will run through Friday May 12th, with results posted shortly thereafter. Further instructions can be found on the Navy Message Board at http://www.guston.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000086.html Good luck!

Admiral Scarecrow

[This message has been edited by Scarecrow (edited 24 April 2000).]