State of the Rebel Squadrons

December 2019

I. Foreword
II. Squadron and Academy Updates
III. Awards and Recognition
IV. Mission Briefing
V. Conclusion

I. Foreword
To the officers of the Rebel Squadrons:

Welcome to another State of the Rebel Squadrons bulletin. As always, the newsletter is designed to give a briefing as to the ongoings on the state of Rebel Squadrons and its arduous battle for democracy against Titan. This will also provide news in regards to the various activities offered to all of its members. Finally, the newsletter will give recognition to the brave and the bold who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in making the Rebel Squadrons the definitive Star Wars gaming club.

Lucas Benoit-Stark will fill in the position of Executive Officer (RSXO). Command staff positions in the RS take true dedication and effort that goes beyond the pale of normal participation in the Rebel Squadrons. High Command thanks you for your willingness to step up to the plate, Stark.

In addition to the single player missions and the cooperative activities, the RS will take part in competitions versus the Emperor’s Hammer and the Dark Jedi Brotherhood in a multitude of games including the following: Overwatch, Battlefront II (Classic and New), Jedi Academy, X-Wing Alliance, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, and many more. The hope of this is to promote competition and collaboration between the different clubs. The current scheduled gathering is Saturdays at 5 pm EST. The link to the Discord server can be found here: https://discord.gg/nPEprM

II. Squadron and Academy Updates

For her continuous activity in siming, LJG YlvaUlfgangur has been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. In a similar fashion, Ist Lieutenant Soryn Ink has been promoted to Captain. Congratulations to the two of you and continue to carry the banner of Diamond Squadron.

Additionally, in constantly being the beacon of activity and participation, particularly in regards to fiction, Danny “David Lee Japan” Qatar has been awarded the Iridium Spire.

III. Awards and Recognition

Session results for Hammerfall - Triage can be found here: http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/test/?dateSelected=1&date=55.

At 26 ITOD activity points, FA Lucas Benoit-Stark has earned the RS ITOD Top Gun award for Hammerfall - Triage. Further, at 256 leaderboard activity points, he has earned the RS Activity Top Gun for this session as well. Congratulations Stark!

The active participants of Resurrection Squadron have earned the RS Top Squadron medal!

The following officers have earned the Citation of Victory for leading their respective objectives:

• FA Lucas Benoit-Stark for both Simming and the Operations Special Directive.
  
• FA Danny “David Lee Japan” Qatar for X-Wing Miniatures and Fiction Writing.
  
• MGN CrazyCarl for X-Wing Alliance

IV. Mission Briefing - Hammerfall - Dying Embers

Commodore Xyla Xuana - Lt. Mon Calamari Cruiser: Fortitude

On the command deck of the Fortitude, Commodore Xyla Xuana stood before a display panel that listed the two separate missions designed to crack the anonymity of Titan’s intrusion of the Baphomet System. With nothing more than a single transmission notifying the Republic Shield of Bethlamore’s downfall, the former Intel specialist desperately sought out information. The sneak attack not only left the bulk of their arsenal battered and bruised, but it also severed a vast wealth of resources at their disposal. They needed information. They needed to prepare for the worst, even with the length of deaths, injuries, and repairs needed on a whole host of transports and capital ships. Uncertainty made the hairs on Xuana’s arms stand on end.

Recent news brought about a sense of optimism. Aurek Squad, Sentinel Company returned days ago and the information acquired parted some of the clouds of obfuscation. Senator Ryan, who had escaped from Bethlamore, described targeted assassinations of RS friendly politicians and military personnel by a new breed of special operative, sewing chaos mere moments before their invasion of the Baphomet system. These new operatives seemed to expand even further upon the genetic engineering Titan utilized for its most dangerous agents, being faster, stronger, and more ruthless than their previous incarnations. Skittish and on edge, the Senator’s picture provided understanding as to how Titan pierced its tendrils into the system, but he escaped, retreating into hiding before he could gauge how bleak the planet became. And he had no idea of any Republic Shield infiltration team.

Stams Renshaw, the contact associated with the corrupt Mayor of New Morea, also described how Titan purchased the loyalties and silence of the independent elements operating the Baphomet System’s mining station orbiting Mormo. However, when the time came, Titan reneged on several deals and simply took the mining station. Whether it was based on treachery or greed, he did not know. What he did know was an elaborate scheme to pit the three factions of the mining station at odds with each other, resulted in his hospitalization. Had it not been for a team of medics of Sentinel who worked on his delicate condition and the team that carried his unconscious frame out of the planet instead of leaving him at Titan’s mercy, he’d surely be dead.

The other associate who aided in Sentinel’s escape, Glis Scherer, was a smuggler she dealt with many moons ago. According to Xyla, the Republic and the Imperial Remnant struggled at odds with each other that they neglected the individuals in the middle: the petty or pirate, the smuggler, the scoundrel who placed all of their chips on a chance to make money and survive in a world that often shunned and neglected them. Glis cared little for either side and opted to keep his nose clean. But his connections were often one step ahead. He suspected Titan’s betrayal as soon as Bethlamore fell and made preparations to get his people out. Glis made it into exile, but the extent of his peers who survived remained unknown.

So Xyla Xuana understood Titan’s power play. Now, she wanted to know their next move.

Suddenly, her screen cleared and a message appeared. Xuana suspected it to be the device that she issued Mizra Klements, as she was possibly the only sane person in the bunch. That device allowed for a single message that would bypass any jamming methods or firewalls constructed by Titan, as until that point, there were no messages coming from or going to the Baphomet system. Xuana punched a button on her console, and the message came to life. She stood, officers and tech on board the command station inching closer to see and overhear the message. The dictation of said message came not from Klements herself, but an officer of the 501st.

Xuana found that odd, and her green eyes widened as the message played out. The Temple of Ayrid Hai had...something...happen to it. Republic Shield working with the 501st signaled a last ditch effort for an escape. She froze on the word “assault”. Xuana suspected an attack, as the planet Bethlamore and its neighboring planet of Eden provided almost infinite resources. What mattered more was that Baphomet was the backdoor to Greeop. Combine all of the resources on Bethlamore with the first wave crippling an already battered group of Rebels, and the Greeop System was ripe for the taking.

The end of the video showed an appearance from Qel-Droma himself. “Ok folks, that’s the best detail I can get you. Tell that bitch Xuana we ain’t dead yet.” The Commodore scowled. Not because Qel-Droma was alive (she suspected his craftiness and penchant for avoiding danger) but because he lacked any tact or manners. Of course, once the group released that message, the wrath of Titan would swarm on them like locusts, enveloping them in a black cloud of misery and death.

“Get me the Fleet Commander,” Xuana spat out in the crowd. “It’s of dire importance.”

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Transcription of intelligence report, unknown 501st operative & Cody Qel-Droma
Contents: Status of Bethlamore and Titan operations following Titan occupation of the Baphomet System

Transcriber notes: Transmission was an audio/visual message of reduced quality due to the encryption and countermeasures overcome to secure receipt by RS listening devices. Qel-Droma appeared to be engaged in combat with several adversaries including, but not limited to: Black-Armor Stormtrooper Commandos, standard Stormtroopers, a repulsorsled mounted E-WEB emplacement, and a rancor. Imperial forces identifying with the Imperial sub-faction ‘The 501st’ were also engaged in the fight and appeared to be coordinating with Republic Shield personnel. An unknown 501st operative provides the bulk of the intelligence. Shortly following the message, the transmission device appears to have been jammed inside of an enemy unit’s helmet and left online, presumably as a means of distracting Qel-Droma’s pursuers to chase the active subspace signal.

Message begins:

501st: “I think you need to understand the extent of the southern continent. Ayrid Hai has Titan patrolling the city. They got a base set up in one of the large edifices. But they don’t need stormtroopers on patrol, the citizens celebrate their newfound masters and will rat out anyone who doesn’t fall in line…. ABG did a real bang up job… It’s also where the roughest part of the storm--...--surges through. If we make it to the city, we must lay underground like the others, and hit the north edge of the southern continent, where the river divides the continents. That’s where the starport is. On last report, it looked like they were prepping for an assault. All I know is this: If you plan on leaving the system, you’ll have to get airborne through the maelstrom and past that orbital blockade.”
((Transcriber note: The ‘they’ in reference to the assault has been assumed to be the Titan faction.))
501st: “I’m running out of men, Rebel. If you have any other tricks up your sleeve, now would be the time.”
Qel-Droma: “I’m full of tricks. Before we possibly die here, what’s the storm and what’s with the black-clad Titan troopers?”
501st: “Something happened to the temple. The storm seems to have emerged from there. That’s all I know. The black-clad Titan troops are genetically modified assassins and hunters. Vicious bastards, like the blue ones…”
Qel-Droma: “Ok folks, that’s the best detail I can get you. Tell that ***** Xuana we ain’t dead yet.”

Transcriber note: Per standard protocol, Qel-Droma’s colorful euphemisms are redacted from the official log.

Activities:

A brief note: The Operations Office is accepting suggestions for new activities to support! If you are willing to become the leading voice encouraging participation in an activity and coming up with an objective for the RS to do, contact Fleet Admiral Cyrel Vandroth about becoming a TFL!

A second brief note: Both historical reporting and MP as SP credit (where you can report any multiplayer activity for activity credit so long as you are representing the Rebel Squadrons when you do) has had their point caps increased to 999 each. Go crazy! Recall that reports should be no more than 4 per hour, should be submitted within 3 days of playtime, and reports for durations longer than 15 minutes require a starting and ending screenshot that displays the timestamp or some other approved record of timekeeping. It is acceptable to document start/stop gametimes in the everything_else discord channel, provided your report also has a gameplay screenshot showing all participants.

Hammerfall - Triage Results

• Minis - Minor Victory: RS forces harassing the edge of the Bethlamore system were able to damage an interdictor enough to take its hyperspace interdicting systems offline, but its fighter compliment and other weapons remain. The exit corridor lacks major mines, so the infiltration teams attempting escape from Bethlamore will have an easier time escaping.
  
• Writing - Minor Victory: The infiltration group reveals the essential gist of Titan's plans and gives some means of planning for what is to come. As such, the Republic Shield will have some awareness of the next mission and have some means of preparation. The infiltration group will have some resistance in their escape, but they'll be able to partake in the next mission.
  
• Special Directive - Minor Victory: The RS manages to get their house in order, restoring at least some of the supply lines throughout the Greeop Sector. Starfighters have access to typical ordinance (Concussion Missiles, Proton Torpedoes) but lack access to their higher tech variants.
  
• Simming - Major Victory: Sentinel Company escaped with awareness of Titan’s ploy. In addition, the company acquired a vital person of interest, who outlined details on the extent of resources sacked from the Baphomet System. As such, through the evacuation of Mormo, RS forces have access to medical equipment and supplies from the escaped business factions. Participating players are awarded 10 CP and 2 FP.
  
• XWA -Major Victory: Despite the hazardous conditions of the asteroid field and the Titan ambush, RS forces successfully escorted the bulk of the convoy away from enemy apprehension and destruction. In turn, RS forces sustained minimal starfighter losses while dealing significant losses to the Titan ambush squadrons and will rendezvous with the convoy group on Tarsonis, providing valuable resources needed to repel Titan’s assault.

Hammerfall - Dying Embers

Session Start: 00:00 EST, November 1st, 2019
Session End: 23:59 EST, February 28th 2020

Operations Special Directive: Hammerfall - Dying Embers

Overseeing Officer: FA Cyrel Vandroth

Objective Instructions: An armada of Imperial capital ships and landing craft have launched a full-scale invasion of the RS homeworld of Tarsonis (Greeop System), sector capital of the Greeop Sector and primary bastion of remaining RS control in the region. As if the sheer quantity of Imperial Star Destroyers, Victory Star Destroyers, Strike Cruisers, Dreadnaughts, Interdictors, and swarms of TIE Fighters were not enough the Super Star Destroyer Titan herself leads the charge in order to crack the remaining planetary defenses of the RS Homeworld.

This is the last and best chance the RS has to potentially destroy the Super Star Destroyer Titan, which would cripple the Imperial's momentum in this conflict and give the RS a fighting chance to survive. Strike teams and surgical strikes are being sent from nearly every division of the RS in order to try to disable critical systems or at least hinder the Titan's ability to annihilate the RS fleet long enough to bring her down. To give those teams time to work, the RS must hold its own against the Imperial armada and hope there is enough firepower left on the field to deal the finishing blow to the Imperial flagship.

Participant Overall Objective: Participate in multiplayer activity! Record your activity using the Reporters -> Generic Reporter tool. After you have at least one entry, submit a report to this objective with a link to your activity profile (the url that shows up after you go to the Leaderboard then select your name). Solo reports are capped at 999 points. Reminders: No more than 4 reports should be submitted in a one hour period. Activity should be reported within 3 days of its occurrence. You may report durations longer than 15 minutes with a single screenshot if, and only if, a) the screenshot contains a duration metric -or- b) you post your start and stop times in #everything_else on discord. Failure to follow any of these guidelines can result in your reports being disqualified.

Individual Scoring: Your ITOD score will be based on your total score displayed on the Leaderboard MINUS the 'ITOD' column.

RS Defeat: The RS suffers catastrophic losses during its engagement with the SSD Titan.

Stalemate: The Titan armada's numbers advantage is proving to be too much for the beleaguered RS forces which are suffering losses faster than the Imperials. At this rate, the entire RS fleet will be destroyed by the time the Titan is defeated, if it goes down at all...
Objective: At least 125 hours of activity (500 points) reported. At least 10 participants score more than 15 points. At least 2 participants score more than 50 points.

Minor RS Victory: The RS barely holds its own in the fight, with both sides suffering losses and neither gaining a clear advantage...
Objective: At least 300 hours of activity (1200 points) reported. At least 10 participants score more than 25 points. At least 4 participants score more than 100 points.

Major RS Victory: The RS shows a ferocity and tenacity the Titan fleet did not expect, inflicting significantly more damage than they received. The Titan armada is being whittled down faster than the RS, and if they keep this up, the RS might actually come out ahead!
Objective: At least 400 hours of activity (1600 points) reported. At least 10 participants score more than 40 points. At least 4 participants score more than 200 points.

Simming Objective: Hammerfall - Dying Embers

Overseeing Officer: FA Cyrel Vandroth

Objective Instructions
Using our home as a staging ground, the Titan Fleet has gathered the full might of their assault force into RS Territory for a final, decisive strike into the Greeop sector aimed at the heart of RS control in this region of space: Tarsonis, Greeop System.

The Super Star Destroyer is a mobile fortress that has enabled the Titan fleet to crack planetary defenses and march inexorably forward in its campaign to conquer all that the RS has sworn to protect. The RS's only chance to eventually reclaim its lost territory, including Bethlamore, is for the Titan to be destroyed.

Participant Overall Objective: Participate in sims! Make certain that every week, at least ONE sim happens. If GMs are not available to run an official sim, get together with others and have a character sim (free form RP session). The requirement of an aGM being present is waved for this session, provided logs can be given to an aGM (or higher), or it is done on discord.

Individual Scoring: To receive credit for this ITOD activity, you must submit a report to this objective including a synopsis of one or more of the sims you participated in this session. Your final score (out of 10) will be based on your participation in sims (70%) and the length and quality of your synopsis (30%).

RS Defeat: The ABG is unable to assist in disabling any of the Titan's systems or have any meaningful impact on the battle. (Side projects and businesses are unable to produce gains for the next session. All skill/attribute upgrades cost 1/5 more CP than normal.)

Stalemate: The ABG gets into the fight and starts to make progress in whittling down the Titan's offensive capabilities... (Businesses, side projects, and upgrades function as normal.)
Objective: At least 100 hours of total sims reported. ((3 characters + 1 GM count as 4 hours per every hour they participate.))

Minor RS Victory: The ABG is able to inflict minor damage, potentially reducing the damage that some of the RS' ships take. (As stalemate, plus all participating players are awarded 1 FP and 5 CP.)
Objective: 200 Hours of sims reported, 5 hours of character sims reported and/or major objective completed in any GM's campaign.

Major RS Victory: The ABG meaningfully contributes to the battle, reducing the damage the Titan does to the RS and its allies. (As stalemate, plus all participating players are awarded 10 CP and 2 FP.)
Objective: 300 hours of simming reported. At least 1 member successfully takes their aGM, GM, SGM tests OR at least 10 unique players participate in a sim during the session.

Writing Objective: Hammerfall: Dying Embers

Overseeing Officer: FA Lucas Benoit-Stark

Objective Instructions:With the limited information on Bethlamore's importance, Titan's ultimate plan manifests itself, forcing the motley crew of the Republic Shield's expendables to take action. With nothing more than a lone transmission to the heart of the Republic, the group must now find a way into the battle, as numbers may change the tide.

Participant Overall Objective: In a fiction based story, RS forces will work together towards a common goal: escape the planet of Bethlamore and disrupt Titan by any means necessary.

Individual Scoring: IronMan will once again GM the story. Scoring will take place based on the number of post per each session. There will be 3 major phases, one for each month. If that requirement is met, then the total words from posts will be tallied. Extra points will be given for joint posts or creative/witty actions, and whether or not objectives have been met. (Joint posts will share the number of words in the posts). Bonus points will be factored in for creativity, humor, and joint posts among peers.

RS Defeat: The insurgent group suffers one of two setbacks: 1) The group is held in captivity OR 2) the group's means of escape suffers a massive delay, giving Titan a massive advantage in their unknown tactics.

Stalemate: The insurgency group finds a way off the planet; however, their delay in escape creates a setback that grants Titan an advantage in regards to their tactics..
Objective: At least 5 unique post will take place for each phase of the thread (15 total). This must be done for two out of the three months. Joint post between several individuals will count as multiple post depending on the number of individuals involved in said post.

Minor RS Victory: The infiltration group gains access to one of Titan's capital ships. This gives the group the possibility of disrupting Titan's overall objectives and can create an opening for the Republic Shield to counter Titan's actions. If they infiltrate the Titan, they will be met with heavy resistance.
Objective: Stalemate objectives must be met for all three months. In addition, at least one (1) joint post must take place AND/OR at least two (2) post must be over 500 words per each phase.

Major RS Victory: The infiltration group will directly affect the actions of the Super Star Destroyer Titan. While resistance will be heavy, the group will be given multiple avenues to match said attack and provided additional reinforcements to help with their efforts.
Objective: Minor Victory Objectives. In addition, there must be at least (1) post over 1000 words per each phase.

Inter-Club Objective: Hammerfall: Dying Embers

Overseeing Officer: Lucas Benoit-Stark/Ceradan Jade

Objective Instructions: While Baphomet, Aurora, and Greeop remain the final holding points for the Republic Shield’s survival, the Cadrel Expanse remains a contested window for other adversaries to pounce and pick up the pieces. In order to prevent another opening for enemies to enter and further disrupt the Republic Shield, several infantry groups will be escorted into contested territories and disrupt further advancement into Cadrel.

Participant Overall Objective: RS forces will battle against inter-club opposition in several multiplayer platforms

Individual Scoring: Overall participation will initially serve as the driving factor for scoring. The more RS individuals enter the battlefield and join the fight, the more successful the blockade into Cadrel Expanse will be.

RS Defeat: Several planets in the Cadrel Expanse will fall under enemy hands. The RS will lose a significant percentage of fighters and resources, further creating a dent into the war campaign versus Titan along with any other enemy resistance.

Stalemate: One or two planets in the Cadrel Expanse will remain contested, but predominantly under RS control. The RS Group will ultimately suffer losses, and a percentage will be taken away in regards to the Titan defensive.
Objective: An average of 3 RS members will take part in the inter-club skirmishes versus the EH, the DJB, and any other opponent they may face throughout the length of the ITOD.

Minor RS Victory: The RS will repel the offensive against any other adversary bold enough to venture into Cadrel. The RS can afford to send a fraction of resources and support back to Greeop and Aurora to play a factor in the Titan battle, but not enough to effectively change the tide.
Objective: An average of 5 RS members will take part in the inter-club skirmishes versus the EH, the DJB, and any other opponent they may face throughout the length of the ITOD.

Major RS Victory: The RS will completely repel the offensive against any other adversary bold enough to venture into Cadrel. Due to the efficiency of this defense, the RS can afford to send more resources back to Greeop and Aurora, bolstering the defense against Titan in their homeworld.
Objective: An average of 8 RS members will take part in the inter-club skirmishes versus the EH, the DJB, and any other opponent they may face throughout the length of the ITOD.

V. Conclusion

With the conclusion of the Titan Conflict dawning upon the fate of the Rebel Squadrons and the multiple forms of media involving the Star Wars universe, there is plenty of interest to go around. It truly is an exciting time to be a fan. With that said, fresh new ideas and new blood is always welcome. Feel free to pop in on Discord to discuss any new and innovative ideas that you may have to contribute to the success and prosperity of the club. See you all out in the trenches.

Regards,

Rebel Squadrons High Command

FA Licah Fox
Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander
Contact the Fleet Commander

FA Lucas Benoit-Stark
Rebel Squadrons Executive Officer
Contact the Executive Officer

FA Cyrel Vandroth
Operations Officer
Contact the OO