(IC) Gavin looked down to his dress uniform, complete with medals, sash, and half cloak. *I look like a desk pansy in this thing* he thought to himself. He continued down the hallway of the Ad Astra, drawing close to the conference room where the other members of his squadron, as well as support personnel, were waiting. The halls of the RgF flagship were oddly quiet now that the tension of battle was seeping away.

Depressing the button on the conference room door greeted Gavin with a whoosh and the chatter of pilots describing their various heroics in battle. A non-commissioned officer near the doorway snapped to attention and bellowed out, “Ahhhtension!”

The chatter in the room abruptly stopped, replaced by the clatter of chairs as all present stood and went to rigid attention. Gavin stepped through the entrance and made his way quickly to the podium erected at the front of the conference circle.

He looked across the assembled gathering, placed his notes on the podium saying “Be seated”, again hearing chairs and other sounds as the pilots took their seats.

(the following is In Character, but based on IRL)
Gavin cleared his voice and began his brief speech:

“Greetings Red Dragons,

“Rahvin was going to be out of town for this week and asked that I send out a NL for him. And since Carth is currently on LOA for an indeterminate amount of time, I’m stepping in as aCO. So…sit back, relax, and well…read on.

“As you all have no doubt already read, we are now VSGers, and are being lead by the infamous BGN Rekio. With this merger we are now competing through the Balance of Power add on pack to XvT as well as X-Wing Alliance. The idea of the new starfighter group is to give all pilots the opportunity to fly both XvT and XWA to the glory of one squad. The Red Dragons proved themselves for years in the RgF, and as a result we have the privilege to keep our roster and squad in the new VSG. I am very proud of this, and you should be as well. On that note, let’s look at the final RgF mission results.

“Compared to past missions, our turnout for the final was anything but spectacular. I’m as guilty of complacency as everyone else, since I only flew the mission once or twice. Only two scores were for points (mine and Guybrush’s) with a third (Rahvin’s) being a zero report. So, we ended up in fourth place. Over the course of the entire tour we ended up in third place, out of 6 squads. Not too shabby, especially considering that the bulk of our numbers came from 4.10 and 4.11. The final mission wasn’t our finest moment to be sure, but that’s never stopped us in the past, and it won’t stop us in our new Group.

“With the creation of the new VSG, all past efforts are frozen and every unit is effectively starting fresh. Through the upcoming missions we can strike fear in the hearts of our competitor squads, by coming out strong and hard. I for one am looking forward to the new mission setup. By reporting our first mission result, we can make the ITOD plot interactive and fun, but still retain competition through the traditional means.

“Before the new mission is upon us I’d like to get a game plan set up so that we can have the most fun with the least amount of headache. Lets get some discussion going on the board. There are two things that we need to talk about.

“The first is: Who has both BoP and XWA? I have both; however, as far as I know I’ve never flown an RS XWA mission. So, who among us has experience with altering the mission list and such in XWA and can help those (like myself) who don’t have the experience? As an aside, if you need XWA or BoP, they can be attained from Rekio and others. Go ahead and get copies of these ASAP.

“The second topic of discussion is somewhat more in-depth. What are you hoping to get out of your experience in the RS, as well as the VSG in particular, and what could be done to make it better? We had great teamwork toward the end of the RgF 4 tour, but that fell away quite suddenly. What happened? For me, I’ve been extremely busy with school and haven’t felt motivated to fly because only one other member was. So, what’s up guys? Is there a strategy of working the missions that you particularly liked, such as some of the first flyers reporting mission strategies back to the squad? With two games for competition, I don’t think we can afford to have pilots not reporting. In addition, if there are pilots in the squad that aren’t flying – then there’s something that needs to be changed. Another thought that I had was to start the running narrative in the squad like we used to do years ago. So, what’s everyone’s thoughts?

“Now to the part most of you guys probably scanned the rest of the NL for! Promotions, medals and commendations. Let’s take the awards for the tour first. Per Rahvin’s desire, there are three individuals that are deserving of award for participation and leading the squadron through the course of the final RgF mission tour. The medal that has been earned by these individuals is the Alvace Star! The description of this award is as follows:
Awarded for exemplary efforts marked by a consistent and dedicated performance to a member's unit with activity over a period of time or through multiple competitions. The medal may be nominated by a Squadron Commander or higher ranked individual within the Chain of Command.
Text Representation:

“On the authority of retired RDS CO Rahvin, I hearby grant this award to three individuals who have helped to keep the RDS alive and competitive in this tour: Hermann, Guybrush, and myself. Congratulations gentlemen!

“Next up is a promotion that should come to no surprise to any of you. For excellent activity and all around coolness, I hereby bestow the promoted rank of Major to the one, the only, Guybrush! Congratulations Major, you’ve earned it.

“The Final commendation that I would like to bring everyone’s attention to is likely going to be the last time that this medal is ever handed out. I, along with Lamin Zykara, created this award and brotherhood nearly five years ago and it is awarded to the best of the best in the Renegade Fleet. Only those members who give their all to this fleet and would die to see it succeed are worthy of the award. The medal and honor is induction into the Order of the Renegade! Everyone please stand and applaud as the newest member of the Order comes forward. Colonel Rahvin, you’re a shining example of what it means to have the RgF at your core – and still being loyal to your squad. I salute you sir!

“And that wraps up the RDS NL for the end of RgF Tour 4! I hope that you guys have had as much fun as I have over the past year or so. Let’s continue the tradition and show these new squads in the VSG what it means to fear the Dragon. Defend the Faith, Red Dragons!”

Gavin stepped down from the podium and the same non-commissioned officer again commanded “Attention!” Just as Gavin was leaving the room he called over his shoulder, “Corellian Ale on me!”


~Gavin C. Kravis
Rear Admiral
-Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander Emeritus (9/15/03-2/25/05)
sabreslash@aol.com

www.rebelsquadrons.org
The Rebel Squadrons
A H.I.E.R. Organizations
(Honor, Integrity, Equanimity, and Respect)