Memoirs a Wing Man

History of the Jedi

2006-09-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a holonet reference for those who wish to know.

I found this as part of my studing for my Admiral's test, and I want to share with you.

Aren't I nice?

Jedi History

An old Joke

2006-09-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

But, I had not head it in quite a while, intil recently, when it was told to me by a an ensign.

An Old Arconian man lived alone on his home planet. He wanted to dig his tomato
garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard.

His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man
wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my
tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a
garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the
plot for me.
Love Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Not for nothing, but don't dig up that garden.
That's where I buried the BODIES.
Love Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, Imperail Secret Service agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left.

The next day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.
That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love Vinnie

Promotion?

2006-09-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am truely ready for a promotion.

You are ANY MORE USELESS, I'D BE A CAT
Take Which Useless Man are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You are ANY MORE USELESS, ID BE A CAT, a fun-loving mixed mutt with a red nose causing controversies with your common sense. You can be found both behind and in front of a camera, occasionally at the same time. You are happy to hone a skill, or ham it up, but you are the penultimate friend, always available to help someone renovate, fix a car, or move a body. Mainly, if you are ANY MORE USELESS, ID BE A CAT, it is because you do not like cats.

And I thought that...

2006-08-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, my fellow space travelers.

Here I thought that being on the 'List' for promotion into the admiralty would be my ticket to easy street, but, as it turns out, all those still above you want you to prove yourself and your loyalty by assigning you duties that seem somewhat unnessecery or down-right silly.

I have been very busy shuttling between Coruscant and Other worlds to escort ships, or oversee and inventory of a facility, or conduct a shakedown cruise of a new vessel (which is actually fun).

All this reminds me of the sort of things we had to do back when I first joined the Rebellion. We had our heads shaved and we were called 'Pods' becuase of how funny most of us humans looked with bald heads. The hazing is a way to see if you follow orders and will do whatever you are told without question.

So, it has been a while since I was able to sit down here at my temporary office and really write something worth reading. I still have not selected an aide, but I am starting to look at those I work with as potential victims, er I mean candidates.

Just to Clear things up...

2006-08-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

The previous post / test was based on the 'extended universe' characters of out world. This is all the books and comics that have been published over the years. Of course all you REAL Star Wars fans know this, so if the rest of you are a little confused, that could be the reason.

As for me, I am planning on starting a new corporation that will get contracts from the Republic's Military. Our job will be parking starships in space-dock. I am sure that I could prove to the Republican Council's sub-sub-committee on military costs, that I could do it faster and cheaper than the military personnel. It would be the most expensive valet service in the galaxy!

Well, I am done parking the big-ships, so it is my turn to head planet-side and have a little fun.

Have a good weekend, my friends.

Why I love to hate questions...

2006-08-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

I was visiting Jaina and decided to take this little test:

I took the New Jedi Order Character Quiz and All I got was this lousy picture.

this quiz was made by jedifreac

This is the Anankin, the younger, not Anakin/Vader. So, I guess it's OK.

Up On The Bridge

2006-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

It was a big week, last week, and this one should prove interesting also.

Now that I have been put on the promotions list, my life has become a little more complicated. First, I need to identify and start grooming my replacement for Rogue Squadron. I have a couple of people in mind, but I have not decided yet on who to choose.

The other big new duty is I am on the duty roster for bridge commander rotation. This means that I report to the bridge as the Admiral's replacement, or second, or what-ever, when the Admiral is not available.

The fleet is has now returned to Corsecant and I was ordered to 'bring the fleet in'. This meant that the Admiral could take his shuttle planet side while I parked the carrier and positioned the fleet. It looked easy, reading it on the montior, but it is a detail-oriented process that takes many hours.

The captain of the Organa also flew off with the Admiral and his scond-in-command, Lt. Commander Grish, stood ont the bridge with me. We did have fun inching the big vessel into spacedock.

Now, instead of heading planet-side, I am requried to visit each ship in the fleet and personally inspect their skeleton crews to ensure that they can be ready if we need to ship out at a moment's notice.

See, isn't flag command a bunch of fun?

Another Monday

2006-07-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate 'em?

The fleet was in transit from the outer-rim maneuvers headed back to Corellia for upgrades and repairs. I will be able to stop back on my home planet and spend a little time with old friends and relatives.

On the way we pulled over for fuel and R&R at a small system called Vejas. It is an oasis system that has become popular with cargo vessels hauling ore and other materials from the outer rim into the Republic's growing economy.

Everyone on the fourth planet (the only inhabital shpere in the system) got really nervousl when the fleet popped in unannounced. But as soon as we let them know we were only passing through, things settled down and most of the crew got liberty and enjoyed themselves.

But, now we are back on the road again and slowly headed back to our military headquarters. Maybe I am hungover this morning, but I still hate the first day of the week.

Promotion Status

2006-07-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have a little time on my hands, and the where-with-all to post a blog. Being on the promotions list for Admiral has not only changed my behavior, but also the behavior of those around me. Did you know that as an Admiral I will have the authority to do the following?

* Grant field promotions up to the rank of Captain. This may be done at any time, but should be reserved to times of conflict when such promotions are important for the success of a battle or skirmish. Now if you think that I am going to be near another battle or skirmish until I retire, you are crazy.

* Have access to any Class 3, or lower, transport at any time. I will have at least three dedicated shuttles and shuttle crews assigned to me for my personal use. But, if I am somewhere where a shuttle (a Class-2 transport) is not appropriate, I can commandeer a bigger transport, if one is available.

* Have up to three officers and five enlisted personnel for my personal staff. That means I can dump my lazy-assed civilian aide and get some real military professionals to help me out.

* I also get a personal budget (which I am not at liberty to disclose the amount) to buy stuff and decorate whatever office I am assigned to.

Speaking of assignments, my sponsor, Admiral Gringe, said that when I do get promoted I will probably be assigned to a fleet command, because of my battle experience. In fact, he revealed, most of the selection board was very happy to hear that I finally put my name in and made the list. It seems that many of the battle-grade admirals now on staff have not been directly involved in any major battles. OK, so I am hoping that nothing big happens before my retirement party.

More Complements (21-30)

2006-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I take another deep breath, and, while I am waiting for my civilian aide to finish cleaning my office and do the back-log of filing, continue with my meme from Jon. I am supposed to hit one hundred people, but I think I might just start repeating the same list a couple of times. I'll just change the spelling on the names and you guys won't be able to tell the difference, will you?

This group will focus on family

21. Mom - you always did make the best gringle pie for the holidays. Thanks for teaching me the basics in the kitchen. It helped now that I live by myself most of the time.

22. Dad - I know it was a struggle for all of us, especially when the Empire took over the ship yards and cut everyone's pay. Still, you managed and we were never without what we needed, especially your love and attention.

23. Carynial (my big sister) - You were a good sister and covered my butt more than once. We watched each-other's backs for a while.

24. Maytaia (little sister) - Although you were a pain when I was growing up, you were still a lot of fun to tease and goof off with.

25. Ragnat (pet Borlanine) - My four-legged friend that was always good for an afternoon of chasing sticks and swimming in the quarry lake.

26. Tuffren (childhood best friend) - Thanks for discovering the opposite sex first, and having an older brother who told us both the facts of life. Although most of it turned out to be Bantha fodder, it was still exciting.

27. Mr. Benahipply - My high school math teacher who showed me the fun of numbers and put me on the road to astrodynamics and flying.

28. Uncle Hacknoy - Who taught me to shoot and hunt. I still use those strategies that we used hunting wild Creech for dinner.

29. Old Mr. Vernatcoh - Thanks for selling me your ex-wife's old speeder.

30. Hack and Zeph - Thanks for showing me how to fix up that old speeder into something that would give me the urge to go higher and faster.

From the Holonet:

2006-07-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Your Theme Song is Beautiful Day by U2

"Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away"

You see the beauty in life, especially in ordinary everyday moments.
And if you're feeling down, even that seems a little beautiful too.

What's Your Theme Song?

More Complements

2006-07-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, getting to 100 people will take some time, but here is another group from my earlier years:

11. My Ex-wife. Yes, I know I look like a virgin, but I was married once, for a short while. It was on the planet Felucia with a group of Special Ops. She was/is very pretty. (I'll save this story for a later post.)

12. Han Solo - Despite that fact that he still owes me money, he was a big help during the rebellion... ah I mean liberation of the Republic.

13. Princess Lea - Thanks for the incentive. We all admired a woman who could handle a blaster rifle.

14. Mon Motha - Your stoicism and dedication in helping us get what we needed to defeat the Emperor are worthy of sainthood.

15. Chewy - You are a handy creature to have around when we need to rig up a peice of machinery or spare part. If you could keep your shedding fur out of the intake ports.

16. Porkins - I miss ya man, and you were a good pilot, even though you often stole my dessert.

17. Darth Vader - I don't really know what you did to light a fire under Skywalker's butt, but it worked. He went froma whiney farm boy to an appreciated leader.

18. Jug-jug the Ewok - It would have been a very lonely night there on Endor without you.

19. Lando Calrissian - You know how to handle a space freighter, General, but if I catch you cheating at cards again, we will have words.

20. Zarboff the Cook - Ummm, not that many troops got sick from your cooking, so nice job. But when you give people a haircut, could you do it somewhere else besides the kitchen?

Jon throws down the gauntlet

2006-07-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Things are VERY busy here on the carrier, so I have not had a great deal of time to get on and blog. Not only that, but my civilian aide has been strutting around telling everyone about my recent promotion. He thinks he is going with me to my next assignment (ha!).

So Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator wrote and challenged me to a meme. It is his "100 Complements of Summer". OK, it sound easy enough, and I can probably think of 100 people to complement, so here goes (just for you Jon):

(Of course, not all 100 will apear in this post, but I will do my best to get them all listed by August 30)

1. Jon, the Intergalatic Gladiator - (Actually, I think he gave me the challenge just to see his name at the top of some list.)

2. Mister Yoda - who seemed to be the instigator of many blogs in this funny little universe.

3. Lt. Commander Oneida - for giving me incentive to maintain my vigilance in this and reading other blogs.

4. Jaina Solo - for showing me what it is like to try and harmonize two blog story lines. She did a good job.

5. Jabafatboy - Made me appreciate the more humorous side of this universe even from other life-forms.

6. Army of (Cl)one - The personna that I love to hate. For a bottom-feeding scum bucket, he is a nice guy.

7. Fluke Starbucker - Sometime inspiring, sometimes just psychotic.

8. Captain Typho - I am jelous (yes, I admit it) of his relationship with Oneida, but dude, can't you use your one good eye and really see what's in front of you?

9. Padame - And I thought your daughter was hot!

10. Mr. Sprok - Thanks for trying to provide some logical guidance to an illogical friend.

OK, that is the first ten, and I must get back to polishing my new ensignias.

Later...

This is Scary!

2006-07-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

I found this link on the 'Unplugged' site:

You scored as Luke Skywalker. You are most like Luke Skywalker. Charismatic, loyal, diplomatic and brave. You helped the alliance defeat your father Darth Vader and the empire, offering your hated father guidance back to the light. Once defeated, you forgave him without a second thought.

You train in the lightsaber form Shien/Djem So which channels your opponents offense, and your defense, into attacks against them. You believe in aggressive defense.

A pillar of light in a dark time, you helped to re-establish the republic and rebuild the Jedi Order.

Luke Skywalker

89%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Post Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

86%

Darth Revan

82%

Mace Windu

79%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Pre Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

75%

Qui-Gon Jinn

68%

Anakin Skywalker

64%

Yoda

64%

Bastila Shan

61%

Darth Maul

57%

Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus

50%

Darth Vader

46%

Darth Sidious

43%

Exar Kun

36%

What Star Wars Jedi or Sith character is most like your personality?
created with QuizFarm.com

I guess a lot of Skywalker rubbed off on me.

It's payback time, Jon!

2006-07-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, your Duck Cuddles has passed away.

The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," he replied.

"How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around, and left the room, and returned a few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table, and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog and took it out, and returned a few moments later with a cat! The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!!"

The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150.00."

The Tarot Test

2006-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Commander Oneida offered up this little Tarot test. Now, I am not one to believe in these things, but here are my results. Based on my career, I would agree. I have caused much destruction and death in my history, but I am not all that happy about it.

You scored as XIII: Death. Death is probably the most well known Tarot card - and also the most misunderstood. Most Tarot novices would consider Death to be a bad card, especially given its connection with the number thirteen. In fact this card rarely indicates literal death.Without "death" there can be no change, only eventual stagnation. The "death" of the child allows for the "birth" of the adult. This change is not always easy. The appearance of Death in a Tarot reading can indicate pain and short term loss, however it also represents hope for a new future.

XIII: Death

81%

VIII - Strength

75%

II - The High Priestess

75%

IV - The Emperor

75%

XI: Justice

69%

XIX: The Sun

69%

XVI: The Tower

63%

VI: The Lovers

56%

X - Wheel of Fortune

50%

0 - The Fool

44%

III - The Empress

44%

I - Magician

38%

XV: The Devil

Which Tarot Card Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Still, we beat the Empire, despite overwhelming odds.

What card are you?

This is just WRONG!

2006-06-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Good News:

I passed my written exams for promotion, and rumor has it that I did well on my oral interviews. So, my name will appear on the promotions list that will be submitted to the promotions subcommittee of the Republic Senate, and, if I make the cut, will be moved upward through the process. Someone I met during this rigamaroll mentioned I should get a publicist to get my name visible. It would increase my chances for being chosen.

Whatever...

Anyway, I came across this item while futzing around the office the other day.

Vader's First Battle

Later people.

Pa dump dump. (rim shot)

2006-06-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not posting for a while. I have been doing interviews over the holonet for my admiralty test requirements. So far, rumor has it, I am doing well.

What is especially frustrating for me is the fact that I had turned down the advancement many years ago, not wanting to become a part of a burgeoning bureaucracy, and preferring to stay in the cockpit, I turned down the promotion. Not that I am sorry for all the excitement I have had, but now there is a significant difference in getting promoted.

So, as I said before, I have been polishing my brass and memorizing regulations for the last couple of weeks.

On top of that, my civilian aide has been dorking around with his own blogs, including some story about a government on a fictional planet. Sounds like a waste of time, if you ask me, but I have been so busy myself, I can't keep track of him right now.

By the way, when we finally caught up with the rest of the fleet, and our own timeline. There was a big bump, a flash of light and zippity doo dah, there we were.

What is interesting is that while we were back in time we had three births (yes it is a big ship), two deaths, and over two hundred birthdays. Now, the births and deaths were recorded on the same 'day' that we returned to normal time. As for the birthdays, some people think that they should be counted twice, while other don't want to count either one.

It's always something.

Monday's desire

2006-06-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

I read Jon's blog this morning and took the donut test.
Because it is a Monday morning...

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.
You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.
You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

Hmmmmm...

Would you like a cup of Joe with that?

Be back Soon.

2006-06-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hey kids.

Sorry for not posting in a while. I have been studying for my Admiral's exam. I know that I have avoided a promotion for some time (cuz me luvz to fly), but now that I am looking retirement down the throat I want to get my pay grade up a notch so that I will have a little more of a cushion for my 'high-livin' life style.

The exam is this weekend, and I have been diligently reading and taking notes to be sure I pass this puppy. So, I will be back soon with more memoirs.

Later, space cadets!

Wedge

That was fun... NOT

2006-05-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well, my fellow time travelers, it was quite a weekend. I have been studying for my practice exam (which was on Saturday) to maintain my flight commander status. I tried to make the case that in 'real time' I didn't need to take this exam for three more weeks. However several other people tried to use that excuse and it was denied by the admiralty.

So, I took the test a couple of days ago and now I am waiting for the results. The actual exam is later this month. OK, enough of that.

The bordom here is really setting in. The admiral has ordered all the commands to start regular drills and physical training sessions to keep discipline on the vessel. This included all civilian personnel. Needless to say my civilian aide is a little pissed about suiting up and breaking sweat with the pilots and mechanics in the squad.

On the upside, at least we know what happen with Jaina, so now I am only searching for M5. My office is now cleaner than the day I moved in. I am now going to clean out my bunk area, if my roommate has not beat me to it.

More of Mr. Yoda

2006-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I also found this out-take for a public service anouncement that the Jedi Temple was putting out a long time ago.

Video2

Boy, the things you find when you have time on your hands.

What Mr. Yoda is doing...

2006-05-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering why Mr. Yoda was so forthcoming with Mr. Kanobi, this may answer your question.

Video

As if we didn't have enough to worry about.

Who phoned home?!?

2006-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, space fans, it would appear that SOMEONE, may have tampered with the timeline!

I don't know who to blame, but Lt. Solo has not been seen for many days now (but then neither has M5).

This transmission came in yesterday...

I must caution you that this transmission contains adult themes.

Video

Everyone, PLEASE BE PATIENT! We don't want any more of this type of thing to happen.

Hittin' the books!

2006-05-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well, with all this time on our hands, someone had the idea to review all the personnel records for the crew. It seems that I am die for retraining on both my command requirements (per the GCMJ) and on my x-wing pilot certification. The second one should not be a problem because I do keep current with my flight craft.

The command reqs, however, will need to be re-read. I have not really looked at the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for my rank classification in a long time: not since I made Commander. So, while we try and pass the time here, I will call up the regulations on my terminal and start to study.

The other news worth talking about out here is the interesting way people are dealing with the boredom. It seems some real adventurous crew members have set up traps to catch the 'space rats' that permeate the ship. They are then cooking the vermin and selling the meat to other unsuspecting crew members. Once the Admiral had the med droid prove the food was safe, he let it go on. The Admiral was happy that someone was actually getting rid of the unwanted pests.

There is also a rumor that someone has built a still down in engineering, but I haven't seen any alcoholic beverages floating around for several days. Maybe they are perfecting their recipe.

A long weekend

2006-05-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, things got really scary there for a while. I was on the flight deck when it happened. Apparently a random patrol was detected near by and we had to totally shut down the ship. The whole place went to emergency battery power and turned off every non-essential system. Then most everyone huddled in the flight bay to keep warm. We did not want to be detected by the patrol droids.

The little buggers hung around for just over 36 hours! Needless to say things did get uncomfortable for everyone. At one point, the Admiral even shut off the gravity generators and we all just floated for a spell. Actually, I liked that part because I was able to get some sleep.

The worse part about the situation is that after a while, everyone starts to smell a little. When the alarm went off and this whole thing started, I was playing jungball with some of the pilots, so I was sweaty from the beginning. I was very ripe by the end of the alert.

Once we went back to normal power, it took a few more hours for the water system to get back on line so everyone could have a shower, but water is still being rationed, so all I got was a bit of a rinse-off. It helped, a little.

The problems with time travel

2006-05-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

As we sit out here, on the edge of nowhere, everyone was starting to relax and enjoy the down time. Then the Admiral has us all gather on the flight bay for a full-crew briefing. The scuttlebut was that we were going to head for home and not wait for the remaining two weeks to pass (and "catch up" with ourselves).

The Admiral took the podium and started to talk about the complications that occur with time travel. Apparently every flag officer (Vice Admiral and above) goes through special training about the theory of time travel and parallel universes. The admiral gave everyone a summary of the issues and even showed us pictures.

Admiral Blackstone:

"Ladies, gentlemen and fellow sentients, I cannot give you details, because they are classified, but the Federation Military does have confirmed data about what can happen if the time line is fragmented."

"What you see here is a child of any standard Federation planet.

"Some time back, a research group discovered a method to move around in time and collected evidence of the results of their visits. After one visit, the same baby ended up looking like this:

"The visit was minor, but the change was dramatic. After a second visit, this was the result:

"The third:

"And another:

"As you can see...

"Each visit seemed random with the changes...

"Finally things got out of control, and leaders realized that not only was this a dangerous thing...

"but also these lab boys were having way too much fun at the expense of a small child.

"The whole project was disbanded and all those involved were given the choice to be sworn to secrecy or sold into servitude to the hutts. As such, I am ordering all of you to be patient. If we make any contact with anyone or anything in our present situation, the consequences could be dramatic and tragic."

Every one just stood there dumbfounded. I think the Admirals' talk had the desired effect.

Where to now, St. Peter?

2006-05-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Admiral has issued a full-silent order, until further notice. We have also moved out from the Endor system to a small, quiet system.

The Admiral is very afraid of something happening that might have a causality effect on our future. As we slowly come forward in time, back to (hopefully) the original timeline that we were on when this crazy adventure began, everyone wants things to get back to normal as soon as possible.

OK, so now we have more time to kill. Because we are in silent mode, we can't even recieve vids or holonet signals for entertainment. I hear that there are some heavy-duty Sabacc games popping up. I also hear that they have made some room in the flight bay for recreation.

Well, that give me some time to catch up on paperwork and try to find M5. I just realized that he has been missing for over a week.

Now I just heard that Jaina is missing! And here I though we were out of trouble.

What Next?

2006-04-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

As we came to a stop the navigator took his seat where Jaina had been sitting. They drug her off to sick-bay as soon as we knew that we were in normal space.

"Where are we, Captain Fortriel?" The admiral asked.

The captain was leaning over the shoulder of the lieutenant who was looking at the data but did not appear happy.

"Admiral," the captain finally spoke, "we are in the Endor system, very close to the forest moon."

"Very good. Chart us a course back to the fleet, captain." The admiral was getting up from his command chair.

"Admiral, there does seem to be a problem with that." The captain looked pensively at the flag officer.

"Well?"

Everyone on the bridge had their eyes on Captain Fortriel, waiting to hear what other information that he held.

"Sir, the issue is not only where we are, but when. It seems that our little incident has caused us to jump back in time."

The admiral remained silent. Everyone knew what the next question would be, so we all held our breath.

"Ah, approximately three months, sir. We will have an exact figure in a little while, but the telemetry that we are picking up is around 93 days old, admiral."

The Admiral stood there thinking. I can see why he is considered one of the best leaders in the Republic's military. He only made snap decisions when he had to, and right now he needed to think.

"Senior staff to the briefing room. Captain Fortriel, take us to a safe place where we will not be seen for a while. Then, stand down from battle stations, and you have the bridge."

Suddenly the bridge was full of voices giving orders and responding to orders as people shuffled around to different positions. I made my way out to go to my office before heading to the briefing room. On the way I was wondering if this temporal shift meant that I still had to make the payments on my speeder for three more months.

Going home?

2006-04-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

There was a deep rumble from the belly of the carrier. The SS Organa started to shake and make noises that no one could explain.

"Common, baby, don't let us down." I heard the Admiral say to the ship.

I looked over at Hobbie who was holding on to Jaina. She was passed out and the bouncing of the ship almost had her on the deck. The med-droid was just hanging on to a control panel to keep from falling over. In fact, everyone was grabbing something, or someone.

"Hey Wedge, watch the hands!"

"Sorry."

Through the main viewport the multi-colored mess, that had been there from the beginning of this adventure, started to fade and a small dark hole appeared at the center of the screen.

"I think it's working!" Someone yelled.

From the communications station a voice rang out, "Admiral, I am getting telemetry!"

"Roger that. Flight bay, shut down your hyper-drive!" The Admiral sang out.

Two seconds later the vibrations subsided and the view screen turned black with the streaks of light that meant we were in hyperspace.

"All stop!" The exec spoke in the standard military tone.

"Aye, sir, all stop." The lieutenant at flight control responded. We dropped out of hyperspace and you could feel the whole crew exhale. Man, what a ride that was.

Running out of time

2006-04-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of hours we have been weaving around in this void. Maybe 'cork-screwing' is a better word, because we have been turning in three dimensions.

Jaina Solo is finally up on the bridge at the helm. She has been trying to sense which direction is our best bet for getting back to our galaxy. Unfortunately, she seems to be on the edge of sanity herself. Just as she seems to be feeling good about a direction, she quickly starts to get the dry heaves and abruptly steers the massive ship in a different direction.

Hobbie, her fellow pilot and friend, is there next to her encouraging Jaina to stay awake and keep trying. He's doing a good job considering that Jaina tried to kill him with the Force a couple of days ago.

Our next concern is that we are running low on fuel. Not for the generators, but for the impulse and directional controls. Our sub-hyper engines (for normal space) run on hydrogen and oxygen. This stuff is normally 'scooped up' and stored using magnetic force fields. Out here, however, there is nothing to scoop up, and the fuel tanks are getting low.

I walked back to the bridge and leaned close to Jiana. "Lieutenant Solo, I know this is difficult, but you need to make a decision soon. Remember that we are all in this together and just put your faith in the Force."

Jiana was breathing deeply and starting to sweat (sorry) perspire heavily. I didn't think she was going to last much longer. Just as one of the med-droids was moving towards her, Jaina raised her head and began to smile.

Her hand moved down the control panel and activated the hyper drive. Once I realized what had happened I reached for a com-link, but the Admiral beat me to it.

"Activate the x-wing hyper-drive now!"

Here goes nothin...

Adjustments

2006-04-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

So, this is like trying to adjust your TV antenna (or dish) with your wife. (Now some of your younger people may not know what this is, what with cable TV being so prevalent.)

After running the engines for a short time, I would go back to Jaina's door and talk to her, "Is that any better?"

"I can't tell a difference." Jaina softly responded.

SO we turned port and fired the engines again.

"How's that?" I asked.

"A little better, yeah." She responded.

This went on for about three hours. It would get better, then worse, then better again.

Somehow, we found a spot that was 'cool' enough so that Sticks at least opened the door. Immediately two med-droids pounced on her and started taking her vital signs.

She's a little dehydrated, but she is not in any medical danger, the lead droid finally said.

"I'm hungry." Jaina finally spoke.

"OK, Hobi, get her some food and then get her on the bridge!" I operated the com-panel on the wall. "Admiral, I think we are ready to try this."

The PA system started to blare out the emergency klaxton horn. "Battle stations, battle stations. All personnel, to your battle stations."

I headed for the flight bay to double check the second hyperdrive unit that got us into this situation. Man, what I wouldn't give for a good slug of Andorian scotch right now.

Still out here...

2006-04-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well, so far my grat idea has gotten nowhere. Lieutenant Solo has decided to lock herself in her room and is jabbering about the Force pulling her over to the dark side. Okay, so now we need to think of a "Plan B". Actually I do have an idea about that, too.

I had a long conversation with the Executive Officer (Vice Admeral Cosiegan). Ever since we arrrived in this neitherland we have not even tried to fire up the engines. I am hoping that this negative effect on Sticks is localized. Maybe moving in one direction (any direction) will reduce the effects that Solo is feeling.

At this point, it is worth a try. If it doesn't work, we will probably try the double-warp drive idea anyway and trust that Fate has mercy on us.

The way out

2006-04-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have a plan. All the experts agree that the best way to extract the ship from this dimension is to power up the main hyper drives then fire off the same x-wing generator that caused this problem in the first place.

One of the unknown variables is what course we should take when we enter hyper-space. All of our navigation equipment is going bizerk with the strange data that is coming in over the sensors, so re-creating our path is impossible.

My idea, and I really don’t like it, is to have Sticks use the force to find the way out. From what she has been dreaming about and the reaction she has been having ever since we arrive in this place, I believe that her force powers have been trying to tell us something. (The stories about her dreaming of Vader are starting to give me the whillies!) I think we should start listening.

So, I am going to talk to Ms. Solo and see what she thinks of the idea. If she is willing, then I will take the idea to the Admiral. It will probably mean that Sticks will be at the controls of the carrier, but hey, she is a pilot.

Getting Video Feeds

2006-04-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, we actually are getting some data over our sensor array. This came in through the static...

I think these are very old transmissions or we are in bigger trouble than I thought.

Video 1

Video 2

I better go check on Sticks.

Still in the void

2006-04-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, between the Equinox-day celebration and the stuff we’ve been doing to figure out where we are, I think we finally have a solution.

It seems that while we were in hyper-space, someone was working on their hyper-drive unit and tried to activate it. Now, it’s one thing to have a few vehicles flying close together, but, as far as anyone here knows, no one has tried to activate a hyper-drive while within a larger, hyper-drive envelope.

It seems that we have dropped into some trans-dimensional void. All the experts (which is a bunch of young geeks who are hyperventilating) have said that our sensors are showing that we are under the event horizon of a black hole. If that were true, then we should be dead by now, according to theory.

So, now the problem is how to get back to where, and when, we were before.

This situation has been especially hard on Sticks. I ordered her to sick-bay, but they can’t seem to find anything to help her. She says it is a problem with the Force and that this environment is playing hell with her Midichlorians, whatever that means.

So, I have been down at the hanger with some of the engineers trying to offer ideas on how to reverse the process that got us here. I'll be back when things change.

Hey, where is M5?

No answers yet...

2006-04-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

What with all the scrambling around, no one has come up with a good explanation of what happened, or better yet, what do we do now?!?

What we do know is that all the clocks have jumped forward on full hour... exactly. No one can explain it, but all the computers, droids and chronometers have move done hour and have a gap between 0200 and 0300 hours from yesterday.

Curiouser and curiouser!

At least the view 'outside' has changed.

Lost?

2006-03-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it took a lot longer to get here than I had anticipated. The real problem is, where is 'here?'

We have not had any offical word on where we are, but here is the view out of the front port:

There are several theories that we have slipped into some kind of dimentional hole at the edge of our galaxy. Hmmmm.

Well, while I was killing time, I celaned up my office and found some stuff that Luke had left behind on his last visit. Here is a home movie that he had in a box of other 'stuff'. I'll give this to Sticks, nest time I see her.

Luke's Home movie

I'll post again when we figure out what happened.

Tagged By Hudson!!

2006-03-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well, that doofus, ground-pounding, maniac, Hudson has tagged me! Man, if I ever catch him in this reality plane, I'm goin'a have words!

Well, actually I had M5 dictate some answers to my civilian aide.

1. Favorite Chocolate (Dark, White, Milk): I really like, and really miss the Dark Chocolate M&Ms! They don't make them anymore.

2. Favorite Pizza Toppings: Sausage and mushroom

3. Favorite Food Question (It's obligatory that every quiz ask this): Pad Thai.

4. Favorite Cheese Type: Swiss (me likes the little holes!)

5. Favorite "Pirate" Word or Phrase: "Avast, me hearties, get to the yardarms, ya bilge-rats."

6. Favorite Music Genre: 70's Rock and Roll!
7. Favorite Music Artist: If I had to pick only one - Elton John.
8. What are you listening to now?: Joe Walsh, "The Smoker You Drink"
9. Favorite Movie Genre: da Sci-Fi
10. Favorite Movie: No way that I can choose that. Too many great films out there to choose just one, even in the sci-fi realm.
11. Favorite TV show: The West Wing (and I'm a conservative!)
12. Favorite Console Game: X-box. Don't have a new 360, yet. Waiting for my birthday.
13. Favorite Computer Game: PC- Civilization 4 (Every body wants to rule the world!), X-box - Ghost Recon (Death comes in the dark!)
14. Favorite Board Game: Galactic Risk (Every body wants to rule the world!)
15. Ever play Dungeons and Dragons?: Yes, does that make me a geek? I also once was a dungeon master. Does that make me a full-blown nerd?
16. Where are the Cheetos?: Things you find in a Jedi Temple chair cushion?
17. Can I have a Mountain Dew?: Yes, and while you are out getting that, pick me up a six-pack of MGD, please.
18. Believe in some sort of higher power?: Yes. I just don't know what it is.
19. How many of these quizzes have you ever taken, email or blogs, in your net-surfing career?: I have been working with computers for over 30 years. My first hook-up to the holonet was through a mainframe on Coruscant, so, let's say a lot.
20. On a scale of banana to zebra, banana being "pink polka-dotted slippers" and zebra being "WTF?", how surreal would a guy taking a shower in a tub full of brightly coloured wrenches and monochromatic cat toys be?: I would rate it at calliope: interesting choice of objects, but not that deep.
21. Have any pets?: I travel too much to justify having a pet.
22. If yes on 20, what is the silliest thing you have seen them do?: I will assume you mean question 21. I had a dog and used to let him drink beer with me. I would then get him to chase his tail until he fell over. (Hey I was a kid!)
23. You think Karnov should have ended this quiz 20 questions ago?: Actually, I think it should have never started (damn that Hudson!).
24. Ever Play 20 Questions?: Yes, but finding someone intoxicated enough to play with is difficult.
25. Think I get bored on my lunch breaks?: Is this a rhetorical question?
26. Who would win in a fight between Mr. T, Chuck Norris, and that giant robot from that one goofy Beastie Boys Video?: My money is on Mr. Norris.
27. Could you conceivably use a Terrabyte Harddisk?: Why would I want to use something that small?
28. HAH! HAH! I ACTUALLY HAVE A 28th QUESTION!!1! (Unfortunately it is more of a statement.): You epitomize the concept of nerdism.
29. Paper or Plastic?: Paper. I deal with enough artificial things in my life to turn my back on organic materials.
30. Who will you tag to take this quiz next?: Good question... Lt. Cmdr Oneida, Capt. Picard, and Mr. Windu. Yeah, that will help me make friends.

Lightsaber Safety

2006-03-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

You know that I respect the powers of the Force. But I recently came across this video that makes me think that Master Yoda is not keeping an eye on things like he should:

Younglings with Lightsabers

I don't think these guys are even old enough to have a speeder's license, are they?

Been Busy

2006-03-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

Again, my appologies for not posting in a while. Things have been very busy around here. We have been doing repairs and stocking up on supplies. It is my guess, from the scuttlebut and orders, that we are taking a long jump to somewhere and staying a while.

Of course the location and duration is a secret and we won't be told until we are in hyper-space. There are the betting pools going around about where we will end up. The way the Admiralty has been running the fleet around lately, I wouldn't begin to guess, so my credits are staying in my pocket.

I am still concerned for M5. The mechanics couldn't find anything wrong, but he still is behaving different. Maybe it's me. Sticks offered to look at him, but she has better, and more important things to do. So, I am going to check out my x-wing to make sure it is ready for a scramble when we come out of light-speed.

My Civilian Aide

2006-03-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Hello.

I have been having a talk with my 'civilian attache' about his spending too much time on his movie blog instead of on keeping up with my filing and note transcriptions and blogging updates.

Yes, I know the 'Forcies' and someother award show was on last night, and that his personal time is his own, but he has seemed distracted the last few days and not focussed on his job.

"Hey," I told him, "I often work weekends, or if there is an alert, I am on duty 24/7 for the duration. You don't hear me complaining, do you?"

He gave some lame excuse about being a civilian and that being stuck on a carrier was bad enough... blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, I think we got things back on track, now that the awards thingy is over with.

So, I sent him off to take M5 to the shop. The little guy is starting to make a funny noise and is behaving... I don't know... funny, in some way. I just hope there is nothing wrong with him. I need him to download all the diagnostics from all the craft involved in our last alert.

My Aide

2006-03-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

BTW, my civilian aide has been goofing off and sneaking away to the movies. He has posted his critical analysis of these films on his cite: Cinema Fan. Now that I have appeased his whining requests I can put him back to work in the file room.

Pilot Test

2006-03-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

So you think you want to be a pilot, do you?

You also want to be a fighter pilot, maybe fly an x-wing, maybe even with Rogue Squadron? (Doesn't everyone?)

Here is a simple test to see if you have something of what it takes.

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor
and make clockwise circles with it.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your
right hand.

Did your foot change directions, even for a short moment? Be honest now. Try it as many times as you want.

Thank the Force that we never have to do anything like that in the cockpit of an x-wing because, quite frankly, I can't do it either :-)

Race Results

2006-02-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Not really a race, but the results of the alerts and sortie scrambles have been tabulated and published.

As I expected ( or rather hoped) Rogue Squadron was first in most of the categories. We came in second for available craft because some of our support crews were out on shore leave and one x-wing was grounded for safety reasons.

Still, with a back-up craft and a full complement, we did very well.

We also came in first in tactical management, where Luke Skywalker did some last-minute downloads of formations for different situations.

I don't want to seem partial, but having Jaina here got everyone motivated, and she also one best over-all for the pilot statistics. I was going to let her know personally, but I heard she was down in the recreation bay with Lieutenant Fel and the rest of the squad.

Good Job Troops! Dessert is on me tonight!

Busy Weekend

2006-02-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

It was a busy weekend. We were doing some extra scramble drills, where we see who is the first out of the launch bays and in defense formation.

As you may know, Luke and Jaina came up to partake in the drills and offer some training. Jaina did her amazing work and always seemed to be in the first wave. I guess her Jedi ability allowed her to sense the alarm and get a jump on everyone else.

Mister Skywalker, along with R2, did some observations and also made some recommendations. One of them will require a re-design of the carrier itself, allowing multiple passageways for pilots scrambling to get to the launch bays, but I don't think that will get approved. Still, it is a good idea.

As for R2, all the comments and ribbing has dissipated and things have gotten friendlier between him and M5. In fact, I saw the two of them meeting in the hanger after the last sortie.

So, with the weekend lost to the military, again, I guess it is time to get back to paperwork.

R2 "Squeaky" D2

2006-02-23T11:07:00.001-08:00

The Legend:

It is a little known fact that the famous side-kick of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is also known as "Squeaky". The highly intellegent R2 droid obtained that nick-name after recieving battle damage in the historic "Battle of Endor", where the second Battle Star was destroyed. This reporter spoke to R2D2 with his translator and companion C3PO.

"R2, what can you tell us about the famed Battle of Endor?"

"Burrr...whistle...beep...beep...bruut."

"Yes, R2 says that it was a very harrowing time for everyone involved, especially because he was very worried about our master, Luke, who was on the Death Star just before it exploded."

"It was about that time that you got tagged with the name "Squeaky". How did that come about?"

"Whistle... whistle ... beep ... burrr... groan... squeak... beep...burrrrp"

"R2 says that while we were fighting Emperial ground forces on Endor he recieved dmage to some of his abulation components that aquired a high-pitched whine when he moved around. It was quickly repaired. He appreciated the humor of the situation as the name "Squeaky" was bandied about by his fellow droids."

"Very good, R2. I want to thank you...."

The Truth (as I remember it):

Yes, there was a Battle of Endor, and yes, R2 was down on the planet helping General Solo disarm the force field that protected the second Death Star.

How much actual enemy fire that R2 recieved is not clear, but with his limited mobility in that type of terrain, it is doubtful he was very active in combat.

When R2 returned with the rest of the Rebel entourage to the carrier, we all noticed the squeaking noise as R2 rolled around bragging about his exploits. It was most noticeable when he was sitting still, so it could not have been his wheels. We got tired of him telling the story over-and-over, so we pinned the name 'Squeaky' on him.

It took technicians over four days to find out that a little creature was living deep inside R2, next to his main power storage unit, where it was nice and warm. It is very embarrasing for a mechdroid to have unexpected noises, and R2 was upset with the nick-name, no matter what he said.

Look Who's Here...

2006-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

So, Mr. Skywalker arrived, along with lieutenant Jaina Solo, and of course R2 (squeaky). It seems that the Jedi Master had been working with the Big Brass and came up with some different tactics and maneuvers for the wing.

We did a pre-flight briefing and then flew off. We are still orbiting the Hoth system, so everyone knew the area very well.

Skywalker took command of Rogue squadron for the operation, and I was asked to hover around and observe. Fine with me, I was able to watch all the pilots and do a critique of the new styles. After watching the drastic maneuvers for a while, I was glad that I didn't participate. With the Gee-forces they were pulling, my hemorrhoids would have been singing in a matter of minutes. (Ouch!)

What I did get from observing is that something is brewing somewhere, and it is not a normal enemy. There were too many snap rolls and hit-and-run plays in this strategy to me another remnant of the old Empire.

I also noticed how Jaina and her uncle work in close harmony using the Force. I wish more of my pilots had that ability. It would make flying formations a snap.

So, we get back to the carrier and as we are getting out of out craft I hear some beeps and grinds and hissing from M5. He is apparently getting some sub-sonic messages from R2 and is starting to get miffed. I told M5 to remind R2 why he is known as "squeaky" in the squad. That settled things down right away.

Back at the Carrier

2006-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

So, I have returned to work. The fleet is still in the Hoth system, but we had a nice three-day break, what with "Chancellor's Day" and all. Of course there have only been four Chancellors in the New Republic, but we also remember all the Old Republic leaders (except for you-know-who).

So, I was off to Corellia to visit family. There is a public spaceport on Hoth, what with all the recreation on the planet now, so I decided to hop on a commercial space liner from here to Corellia.

Unfortunately, my flight was cancelled, so I had to wait until Saturday to get out of Dodge. I made it home and had a nice break, thank you.

Now I am waiting for some 'fun times' to happen. It appears that Mr. Skywalker and his niece, Jaina Solo, are coming aboard for a mission.

That means I will need to clean up my office today. I also must remember to have a little talk with M5. He has some of the memories from R3 (that were transferred). I don't want him going off on Skywalker's R2 unit. I mean, I enjoy a good droid fight now and then, as do most guys. But I don't think Skywalker would appreciate it, and I don't want to make things uncomfortable for Lieutenant Solo.

We'll see how it goes. I just don't hope Luke starts spewing old war stories. I will really need to bite my lip if that happens.

Deja Vu (All over again)

2006-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow star pilots.

We had a scramble alert on Wednesday morning. The klaxton went off and I tripped over my own feet trying to find my boots.

I don't know which Admiral is trying to score points with the Galactic Congress, but this rash of alerts and simulation is starting to get a little old.

Anyway, Rogue Squadron was not the first to get out of the flight bay, so we will need to work on that, but being second when the first squadron (Jed Narwick's Condor Dragons) has three less birds to send out, is still good.

We all flew around into our defensive postures and then got the word. The whole fleet was making a jump... to Hoth. * Oh Man!

A couple of hours later all four squadrons of x-wings were swooping around a derelict star destroyer that had some drones shooting back. The master computer system was tracking hits and operating the tie-drones. Actually this system was doing a good job of fighting back.

You may not know, but one of the big attributes of a full dark lord is the ability to control many people through the force. The dark side lets one leader plan and execute military tactics without the need of verbal or electronic communications (that can be jammed).

I found out later that this alert was executed just to test this new software, and I was a very realistic simulation. When the smoke cleared, Rogue squadron lost only five of the twelve birds. Everyone else lost at least half their group, either damaged or destroyed.

We all thought that it was good fun, especially because no one actually was hurt, and we were forming up to return to the carrier when the second phase of our alert was announced: bivouac on Hoth! And I did not pack my long-johns!

So, we swooped down and started blasting out ice caverns. We made caves large enough to park our fighters (two in a cave), then pulled out our survival kits and prepared to sit out the long, long, cold night. We kept two birds in the air for as long as possible to watch for any wompas. I spent most of my time checking up on the squadron and making sure that they all had the necessities for surviving.

Actually, the hard part of this type of survival is keeping your cave warm enough to prevent frostbite yet not so warm that you are swimming in ice water. Sure enough, the next morning, three birds had to be chipped out of the ice.

So, we took off the next morning (I doubt anyone got any real sleep), and then had another mock battle. Those units that were knocked out the night before got to head to the carrier, which made things tougher for the rest of us.

I guess someone had made adjustments to the enemy system because it ended up wiping out all four squadrons. So, now I am back on the carrier waiting for the evaluation results, and then I will need to sit down with the other squadron commanders and go over tactics. There goes my weekend.

Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

To all my blogging friends:

You are the Death Star of my heart.

Happy Valentines Day!

Back in the saddle

2006-02-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

Whew, what an experience. After having my head in so many places I was feeling rather woozy and went to sick-bay. They gave me something to swallow and I woke up yesterday afternoon with a shuttle-load of stuff to do.

But, here I am back at work on Monday morning.

I know that tomorrow is a special day for couples, and if I had a "significant other", or a girl friend, or any woman who I was stalking, I would be getting my box of candy and a nice card all ready. Alas, this latest transfer put and end to my previous relationship, and I now must start over. That is why I thought it would be fun to go on the dating, blog, thingy and see if I matched up with the bachelorette du jour.

I also just found out that I have a real mission comming up in a couple of days, so if I have nto updated my post, then that is probably why. I am sure it is a simple recon mission to some outpost, but we in Rogue squadron never take anything for granted.

How about some visual entertainment while you are waiting?

Musical Juggler

Later...

Leading man

2006-02-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

I hate to take the easy way out, but I was stuck on a transport yesterday due to inclement weather planet-side. I now must catch up on all my correspondance and other duties.

So... for your enjoyment...

Clark Gable
You scored 33% Tough, 9% Roguish, 19% Friendly, and 38% Charming!

You're a helluva guy, a real split personality and a bit of an enigma. On the one hand, you're a man's man, tough talking and ready for anything. But on the other hand, you soften your rough and tumble core with a disarmingly smooth exterior, and you make the ladies swoon. You're equally admired by both men and women alike, drinking other men under the table all the while charming the socks off half a dozen lovelies. You're a commanding presence, and you know how to get what - and who - you want when you want it. You're drawn to women who, like you, are savvy enough to deal with the world on their own terms. You work well with spitfires. Leading ladies include Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, and Jean Harlow. No damsels in distress for you.

Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 55% on Tough

You scored higher than 13% on Roguish

You scored higher than 30% on Friendly

You scored higher than 74% on Charming

Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I think this is fair, based on what I know of old movies, but "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Memories of Corellia

2006-02-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

As this is a Memoirs Blog, I found some time is my busy life to reflect on a few things. I was ‘volunteered’ to be part of this inspection team that will be doing spot-checks around the carrier. True, the SS Organa is less than a year old, but it is a very large vessel, and some parts of it were actually fabricated over five years ago.

So, I guess the Admiral found out that I know a little about building such large ships, and next thing I know, I am poking around and looking at specification manuals, and trying to read engineering drawings. Man, give me a dogfight with a hyper-active tie fighter over this at any time!

But, I digress.

I was remembering growing up on Corellia, and every so often the Empire would allow the companies to have ‘family day’. This was nice, if you had a family. In my early years, it never struck me as odd that most of the families that showed up were human. There were very few other species that had children. And any non-human children were either very wealthy, or very shy.

As I grew older and more curious, I realized that the Empire did not favor non-humans. In fact, most of the non-human people that I would run into were forced labor. The Empire was using the highly secured ship yards as prisons for ‘Political Discedants’.

At night, my father would talk about the old Republic, but he also said that things were better for us, now that the Empire was building many new and larger ships for their fleet. At first, that was true. My dad was promoted and we had more money. But by the time I was in High school and working part time at the docks, it was not as good.

The company said that people had to work longer hours and expected more results. The general economy of Corellia seemed to be slipping and things were costing more. I was even putting in extra time flying my loader at the docks just to help out with money at home.

(Right out of a Dickens novel isn’t it?)

I will continue with this memory next time. Now, I gotta go stick my head into a head.

Holding my nose

“Wheew! Man, who, or what, last used this thing, a Hutt?”

My Number

2006-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

I am
p

Everyone loves pi
_

what number are you?

this quiz by orsa

The Stupor Bowl

2006-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hey, remember when we were young and anyone over 30 years old was considered too old to be doing true Rock 'n' Roll?

So why do we think it is cool for a 62 year-old man to be still prancing on stage with his AARP friends and playing rock music.

Could Rock be going the way of the Big Band Era and folk music? Will RAP and Hip-Hop become the true sound of the 90's generation?

It is very possible. As one regime dies off and another one takes over there is always resentment and friction.

Hey, I am an ex-Rebel, so I understand.

A new game

2006-01-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hey boys and girls, its your old friend Uncle Wedge with a fun new game for us to play together.

It's called, "Spot the Wookie!"

(kids yelling "Yeeeaahhh!")

So, I will show you some pictures of different aliens, and if you spot a wookie, what do you say?

(kids yelling "Arggghooouughhh")

Good job. Here we go with our first picture...

(kids are silent)

Good job, that's a big ugly creature, but it is not a wookie.

Next,

(kids yelling "Arggghooouughhh")

Yes, that's correct. Good job kids!

Now be careful because it will start to get harder.

Next picture please...

(a couple of kids "Arrghhhhouuugh!")

No, a few of you made a wrong guess, but a nice try. These creatures are hairy and strange looking, but they are not wookies.

Do you want to keep going?

(kids yelling "YYEAHHHH!)

OK, Spot the wookie...

next picture, please...

(kids yelling "Arggghooouughhh")

Yes, good job in spotting the wookie! Uncle Wedge got that one right away, too.

Next picture please...

(kids are silent)

Wow, you boys and girls are very smart. This is another animal entirely. Excellent job!

Concentrate real hard and, spot the wookie!

(kids yelling "Arggghooouughhh")

Oh, wonderful, a whole family of wookies! Great job!

Get ready...

Next picture please...

(scattered sounds of "Arrgghhouuuughh")

Oh, no. This is a tricky one, but these are not wookies. See, I told you this was getting harder, but you guys are doing great.

Ready for the last one?

Take your time and look carefully because it is tricky...

SPOT THE WOOKIE!

(sounds of indecision and "huh?")

Don't feel bad, because I can't tell either. Even our experts were stumped with the one, so we will leave it up to you at home to decide for yourself.

Well, our time has run out. This is Uncle Wedge saying thanks for playing, "Spot the Wookie!"

More on Hoth

2006-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

I hope I didn’t offend too many people yesterday with the joke, but it was sent to me by a woman and it did make me laugh. What with all the stupid jokes that I hear and get on my terminal (via the Holonet), I do like to share the better ones with others.

So, I was talking about Hoth… and tauntauns… and how cold it was.

You may have noticed that on my list of previous jobs (when I got tagged by a ‘friend’, I listed tauntaun wrangler. Well, I learned that skill on Hoth because when we first arrived we had no speeders. It seems that who ever ‘donated’ the speeders to the cause (the Rebel alliance did have some substantial backers), got them on the cheap and they were not quite adapted to the extremes of the ice planet.

So, we had to go out and round up these creatures. Well, after the Admiral asked for volunteers, and no one raised their hand, the Colonel took over and had a lottery. What a bad day to be ‘lucky’!

I and four others were recruited to hunt down, capture, return and saddle up at least ten of these creatures. So off we went. We did have some wheeled vehicles that got us around, but they were very inefficient and had a limited range.

We ran into an outpost of miners who were trying to see if there was anything valuable at the core of this force-forsaken place. We learned that the ice was riddled with caves and that there was algae and moss to be found in the caves. That was where we would find tauntauns. And close by, there would be caves with wompas, hunting the tauntauns.

It turns out that you could often smell the front of a cave and figure out if tauntauns or wompas lived there. And what does a tauntaun smell like? Think of a gym sock that has been left in a locker for the whole summer, rub that on an old, dirty dog that is eating moldy liver, and you sort of get the idea. Mostly it is their breath, so it was not too bad riding them.

Joke going around

2006-01-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

I heard this one in the mess this evening, and I must share it.

A woman goes into Jawa-Mart to buy a rod and reel for her grandson's birthday. She doesn't know which one to get so she just grabs one and goes over to the counter.

A Jawa-Mart associate is standing there wearing dark shades.

She says, "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and reel?"

He says, "Ma'am, I'm completely blind; but if you'll drop it on the counter, I can tell you everything you need to know about it from the sound it makes.

She doesn't believe him but drops it on the counter anyway.

He says, "That's a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel and 10-LB. Test line. It's a good all around combination; and it's on sale this week for only 20 credits."

She says, "It's amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping on the counter. I'll take it!" As she opens her purse, her credit card drops on the floor.

"Oh, that sounds like a Galaxy Card," he says.

She bends down to pick it up and accidentally breaks wind. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who tooted. Being blind, he wouldn't know that she was the only person around.

The man rings up the sale and says, "That'll be 35 credits please. " The woman is totally confused by this and asks, "Didn't you tell me it was on sale for 20 credits? How did you get 35?"

He replies, "Yes, Ma'am. The rod and reel is 20 credits, but the Duck Call is 11 credits and the Catfish Bait is 4 more."

Sittin' out in space...

2006-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a small accident when we were leaving the Alderaan asteroid field. Some debris got into one of the engines and the carrier couldn’t make the jump, so we sort of chugged along on standard power until the techs could figure out what happened.

While we were stuck out there I ordered Rogue Squadron to scramble and we had more practice on carrier defense. There were the usual moans and groans because everyone thought they were going to get some down-time while the fleet waited for the repairs.

At the de-brief I made my usual “expect the unexpected” speech, but I could tell these pilots were a little tired. Still, everyone stayed sharp.

I only mention this so that all of you readers will feel safe knowing that the Republic’s military defense is always ready. That and I got so bored sitting out here in this asteroid field that I wanted to make everyone else suffer too.

You know having General Solo here did bring back memories. I was thinking about the times we sat around during the Rebellion, waiting for something to happen.

It seems that the General does have a propensity for gambling. On Hoth, we would have tauntaun races in the hangers and there was General Solo making side bets with whoever was willing to give him odds. He was always looking for a sabacc game going on.

Hoth is a very cold place and the nights get down to well below freezing. I was very surprised when we got there that there was any indigenous life, but there was: tauntauns and those nasty wompas and the ice rats! Creatures that evolved as the planet cooled off over a few hundred-thousand years.

Why do I call those the ‘good ol’ days’?

Been Busy...

2006-01-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

I know I have been neglecting my blog, but I have been busy.

You may remember that we have a 'famous' VIP with us out here in the Alderaan asteroid field. Well, we have been conducting drills to hone out skills in avoidance and capture in such fields with 'His Highness', "Grand Lord Solo." So, between the time I have been setting up all the training, and observing and flying, and (hardest of all) listening to people complain about General Solo's demeanor, I have had my hands full.

Mostly the complaints have been about getting him things. "Could you get me more coffee, please? And not that stuff from the machine, go to the officer's mess and get me a double espresso with a pinch of cinnamon." Or, "Oh lieutenant, would you rush down and get me another of those Nubian honey rolls?" And then the classic, "Have they started serving lunch, and can we get it brought up here?"

So, I assume you can get the gist of where the General's mind is most of the time. He did offer some good suggestions and would regale anyone who stood next to him too long with the story about landing in the gut of that space slug. (Man, if I had a credit for every time I heard that story.)

But we (I) managed to get through it. We actually did not do that much flying through the field. We used remotes linked to a simulator or our actual x-wing cockpits. That way no one got hurt if they made a mistake.

We kept score by how many remotes a person lost during training. The top five (least number of remotes) were really no suprise:

1. Jaina Solo 19 sorties 2 remotes lost
2. Kryalac Brazone 15 sorties 3 remotes lost
3. Judd Maloone 12 sorties 4 remotes lost
4. Morice Freebird 12 sorites 5 remotes lost
5. Abagail Leonite 10 sorties 5 remotes lost

Notice who did not make the list? Yeah, me. As I have said, this is a job for young and quick minds. We had a limit on remotes, so once you lost five, you were out of the picture. Jaina's four, extra trips were solo missions of increasing difficulty against drones. Lt. Brazone conceded the win to Lt. Solo.

When I finally stopped the training I did get some flack from the General. "Hey, she's still not done!"

"I'm sorry, General, but we need to move on."

"Oh, OK. Well then, I'm going back to my cabin and get ready for dinner. Hey, you.. yeah you, lieutenant, could you go to the officer's mess again and have them send up some hors d'oeuvres to my cabin please?"

Man, how does he stay so thin eatin' like that?

Tagged?!?

2006-01-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

Don't read too much into this. I don't have a whole lot of time this week to spend on my blog. But, I am not one to turn down challenge. OK, not a challenge, but a tagging is a tagging.

Four Jobs YouÂve Had In Your Life:

Transport / Delivery Driver
Electronics Technician
Pilot
Ton-Ton Wrangler

Four Places YouÂve Lived:

Corellia (LA)
Yamen (Chicago)
Hoth (San Diego)
Planet Vegas (now thatÂs what I call livinÂ!)

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:

West Wing (cancelled!?!)
Lost
GrayÂs Anatomy
Nova

Four Places YouÂve Been On Vacation:

Corellia
Yamen
Hoth
Planet Vegas (what happens there ends up on the internet!)

Four Blogs You Visit Daily:

Mister Yoda
Lt. Cmndr Oneida
Fluke
Jon - Intergalactic Gladiator
(I have more, but these are the first four on my ÂfriendsÂ list.)

Four Of Your favorite Foods:

Sushi / Sashimi (I know this place on Celius 4Â)
Steak
Lasagna
Anything NOT served in a navy mess.

Four Places YouÂd Rather Be:

Celius 4 (there is this restaurant with this waitressÂ)
Behind the stick of my x-wing
A special beach on Naboo
Did I mention Planet Vegas?

Four Albums / CDs You CanÂt Live Without:
(Just four?)

Supertramp: Crime of the Century
Derek and the Dominos: Layla
Rennesance: Novella
BachÂs Greatest Hits (yes it is a real CD)

Four Vehicles YouÂve Owned:

1957 VW Btotaledbad I totalled it)
1964 Â½ Ford Mustang (wish I still had it)
Ford Explorer
Hyundai Tiburon (donÂt laugh, I can fit into it)

People To Be Tagged:

(I don't have that many friends...)
Jaina Solo (the new girl)
Elvis (where ever he may be)
Captain Picard

Space-net mail order

2006-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Why you should get your kilt at a shop, and not through the space-net:

Was this meant for a Hutt?

Asteroid Training

2006-01-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

So, here we are with the carrier, and a small support fleet, just on the rim of the Alderaan asteroid field. We are going to do some flying and training on avoidance and asteroid tactics.

The Republic's flight manual and training does cover the tactics and typical maneuvers for this type of flying, but it is brief. The basic theory is that dog-fighting is a better use of time and materials, and it uses many of the same techiques as asteroid avoidance. It really is mostly speed and hand-eye coordination.

So, the rumor of the morning is that some special consultant came on board to head up this little adventure. Sure enough, at the morning briefing, there he sat, the consultant who was the 'expert' on asteroids:

"General Solo, good to see you again."

"Hello, commander. I had to look twice when I saw your name on the command roster. I would have thought you would be retired by now."

"I think they will ask me very soon, but I still have something to offer these young pilots and the Republic. And you, General, looking well." At this point I didn;t think it would be approriate to remind him that he still owed me 50 credits (plus interest) for that bet we made back on Endor.

"Thanks, Wedge, but I am retired, so you can just call me 'Grand Lord Solo.' I'm here for a few reasons: to see my daughter, protect any iterests of Alderaan property that we might encounter, and help with the exercise." He smiled that 'scoundrel' smile of his and drank his coffee.

Jaina Solo, daughter of Han and Leia, is a member of Rogue squadron. I don't talk about it for security reasons (her mother).

I nodded and found a place to sit for the briefing.

In summary, we were going to practice both attack and evasion tactics in the asteroid field and "Grand Lord Solo" was going to observe and advised. Yes, he did manage to evade capture during the rebellion using an asteroid for concealment, but why this?

My guess is that he did have time to kill, decided to come out and visit with his only daughter, and needed a reason to have the Republic pay for the visit. Another example of RHIP.

Maybe I will find the time to drop the hint about my 50 credits.

The Kilt

2006-01-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

Not wishing to demean, or outdo, or otherwise undermine Lt. Cmndr Oneida's post, but I will leave it up to you readers. Yes, everyone has their own personal taste.

The Commander does not care for Manpris, especially when they are tight. (I am only guessing, but probably if Capt. Typho showed up in a pair of tight Manpris, she may make an exception.)

It was suggested by the Commander that a kilt would be in order, for those of us who get really warm wearing pants (of normal length and fit).

So, for your review, here are some men in kilts:

This guy seems comfortable.

Even I would consider being seen with this handsome devil.

A more casual, every day sort of look.

Even a man's man can carry it off.

I always go too far don't I?

As for myself, I can't see too much difference. But, neither am I trying to date myself.

Friday

2006-01-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Here it is Friday. I kinda had plans for the weekend, but that got kibashed when we were told to ready for a star-jump. We ended up at the Alderaan asteroid field. The word is out that next week we will be conducting more maneuvers and practicing tactics.

Now, why we had be out here on a Friday is beyond me, but we are very far from any other 'habitable' planet. Certainly too far to get anywhere on a shuttle or in an x-wing. So, I guess I will do some more exploring of the carrier. There is a movie tonight in the flight bay about two guys on an outpost who realize that they really like each other. I think it is called "Spina Bifida Moon". OMG! Who picks out these films!

Oh, wow, I just realized the irony of the Carrier Organa out here picking over the remnants of Alderaan.

Duct Tape

2006-01-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

Duct Tape: It is like The Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Thank you for the reference, Mr. Yoda.

My old mech-droid

2006-01-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

I keep finding old memories in the boxes that I am unpacking. Yes, I am a bit of a packrat, but after being an outcast rebel for so many years, you tend to hang on to those things that you can carry in a flight bag and an x-wing storage compartment (which is not very big).

I remember some of the guys grumbling about how they had such a small space for personal effects, while the princess got to fly in her space yacht with her entourage. Well, she was an unofficial ambassador for Alderaan, so RHIP, fellas.

“And anyone who starts bad-mouthing the princess will have to DEAL WITH ME!” Yeah, my testosterone ran pretty high back then. Of course being on the run, like we were, gave us very little time for social interaction, if you know what I mean. But, I digress…

Anyway, I found a piece of my old mech-droid, L3-G3. He was a good droid, but towards the end, after being hit a couple times during battle, he had problems. It is funny how we get attached to our droids.

Even though R3 was starting to lose control of his fluid container, I kept him around and cleaned up after him. Yeah, I would get complaints and ribbings from the guys, but L3 was a good companion. I guess the worst part of those later months was the grief that L3 took from the other droids. Especially that uppity R2 unit that belonged to Skywalker.

I mean, I was watching while L3 was doing some welding repairs on my x-wing and R2 rolls buy and starts squeaking and beeping real loud. Something about oil and fluid on the floor, and how can someone let these retarded droids work out here.

Well, I walked over to see what the commotion was about and R2 just rolls off as if nothing was wrong. I looked for a spill and, yes, I found a few drops of oil where L3 had been working, but nothing to blow a motivator over.

Well, after a while, I realized that it was time. L3 had a constant leak that the techs couldn’t repair without pulling his core and motivator apart. He was constantly making noises during shut down and the smell of servos grinding away was embarrassing.

I took him to the repair station myself…one day. I didn’t tell him where we were going. When the maintenance tech opened his access panel, I was the one who pulled the cord. At least his parts went to good use, helping the alliance. I did keep the part of his mechanical arm. That is what I just pulled out of another box.

I know, I’ll use it to stir my coffee!

Old Pictures

2006-01-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

So, I am cleaning out some boxes from my old office and I came across a bunch of stuff that I will share with you.

First are these pictures from somewhere near Regalius. This was many, many years ago, back when I was with the 'rebels'. We were looking for a place to get fuel and food on our way to the rim of the galaxy (for the third time), and came across this place.

This is a Hutt outpost, or that is what I was told, but this was not one of the more lucrative group of hutts. I took these using a disposable camera that I got at the 'General Store'. I never saw any officers of any rank inside, but who knows?

Anyway, here are a couple of the pix...

I was particularly impressed with their ingenuity.

Trying to convert this vehicle into a speeder, was very ambitious.

Then there was this:

Again, creative, but missing the mark, I think.

Finally, I noticed this:

Yes, they have very interesting ideas of transportation on this moon, or planet, or whatever it is...

Anyway, I remember also our meeting when we talked about the possibility of staying here instead of going all the way out the 'edge of the galaxy' again.

I voted thumbs-down for that. Just being here for a couple of hours somehow made me feel like my IQ dropped.

Keep 'em Flyin'...

Training Update

2006-01-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

So, I get this e-mail today about updated flight regulations and safety requirements. OK, now I am supposed use my terminal to read the information and take the test, rather than go to a formal classroom, like at my old station.

Now it turns out that I do not have access to the training program. I called the techs from the flight deck to see if any of them could help me. They all said that access had to be granted from the central computer, and only flag officers and their staff had access. (I also noticed that they were snickering and smiling after I spoke to them, but it was probably nothing.)

So, I turned to my latest, trusty mech-droid, M5-K9. "M5, come here, fellah. Yes, good droid." I rub him behind his motivator and he makes some squeaky noises. "Can you patch into the ship's computer and get me access to the training programs?"

"Beep, rrrrr, burp, tweet."

M5 extends his little probe and plugs into the extra terminal plug in the office. Some more noises emanate from my electro-mechanical companion and then my terminal starts to change screens.

"Bruuup, boop, whistle, rrrrr."

"You can't? You can't find a work-around, or a back door?"

"whirr, boop."

"OK, thanks for trying. Go clean up my room, please."

"Wheee..."

Suddenly my e-mail icon start flashing and I have an urgent message from... Yes, it is the second-in-command, Commander Lachatarrialistanchuck. Most everyone calls him either Chuck or Lackey, depending on their recent opinion of him. He is in charge of the secondary operations of the ship, and that includes the computer. By the way, he is a Mon Calimarian.

Although I tried to explain my situation, and even used the "trying to ensure the safeguards were in place" excuse, I was generally told not to use my droid for such purposes again, and that someone of my rank and status, blah, blah, blah. You know, looking at those fish-eyes can be very mesmerising. He also metioned something about back when someone had a bunch of clones try and do the same thing and what a fiasco that was, but by then I was into a fantasy about being on a resort planet with someone special...

"Antillies! Do you understand?!"

"Uh, yes sir. It won't happen again. My only problem is that training is due in two days and it is supposed to take three days to get my terminal linked up to the training program."

"I will wave your training until that is done." The commander typed out a few things on his terminal and the looked at me (I think). "You are dismissed, commander."

So, now I think I can milk this training deferment for a couple of weeks. I am sure that I submitted the request, but I may have forgotten a few key items, like my name, on the form. Gee, I hate it when that happens.

Speaking of rank

2006-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

OK, so I took off on Friday to go visit some friends back on Corellia. I probably should have also paid a visit to my Mom's but I chose not to. The guys and I spent Friday night and most of Saturday playing such sports as 2D-dogfighting (using speeders instead of fliers), droid paintball, and clone rugby (playing against a clone team is tougher than it sounds).

Anyway, my post today is not about my old friends (all of whom are younger than I), but about the inability to get a good seat on a military transport nowadays.

As a member of the Republic's Armed Forces, I have the ability to fly for free to anywhere... that the air/space force goes. The drawback is that I must find a flight that is convenient and goes close to where I want to go. Now, there are many flights to Corellia. Mostly, however, they are commercial shipping vessels bringing in raw materials or parts for the shipyards. There are not that many military flights.

Now my research said that there is a regularly scheduled shuttle from Corsecant to Corellia three times a week. This was apparently set up so that government officials could keep an eye on government contracts. I called and got my name on the standby list, and was told, at the time, that there was plenty of room.

When I got there, it was a different story. It seems that some senatorial junket had commandeered the shuttle to make a run to Yavin 4. It turns out that some developer has transformed the moon into a luxury resort with some very nice golf courses. He invited many senators to come for a 'inspection' of the facility to be sure it meets current permit regulations. There was not enough room on the 'official' transport, so the shuttle was 'borrowed' to accommodate the rest of the Senate Regulatory Committee.

I was probably standing with my mouth wide open as the sergeant at the dispatch desk told me this story. He knew that I was not happy, and he was worried that I was going to take it all out on him.

Now, I typically do not pull rank, but I have found that it does help to grease the wheels at times. I took a deep breath and asked the NCO in front of me if there were any other options. After all, I had made plans.

It turned out that I could make it to Corellia if I didn't mind a short layover and changing craft once. So, I managed to catch a freighter from Corsecant to Hypori, then change ships and jump to Corellia. It should only add a couple of hours to my trip, and I should arrive on time to meet with my friends on Friday night.

Unfortunately, the ship from Corsecant to Hypori is both a cargo and personnel transport. I ended up sitting with several families of women and children who's husbands worked for the company on Hypori. They were going to visit husbands and fathers. Thank the Force that I carry an extra set of headphones with me in my flight bag! I was able to mask out most of the crying and yelling from the children during the flight. Unfortunately, I forgot that these transports do not carry food or booze. It was a long, long, trip.

Maneuvers

2006-01-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry about missing a post or two, but it happens. We had an alert and were told that we were going out for maneuvers. This is a pop-quiz sort of way to ensure that our group can react to emergency issues without killing ourselves.

For me this is nothing new. During the rebellion I was always ready for the klaxton to go off and scramble to my x-wing. Now days, in 'peace time', we are expected to get in our craft and get out of the launch bays just as fast.

This practice session lasted for two days. During the lulls, I was able to link up to the carrier and log on, as some may know from my comments, but I really didn't have the time to write a post.

Why am I boring you with all this? No reason. Probably sleep deprivation from sitting in the cockpit for so many hours.

One of the lieutenants asked me about my age and why I have not made Admiral by now. Well, in truth, I once made that rank, and I fortunately get that pay scale, but after sitting behind a desk, and dealing with the bureaucratic nonsense of the 'New Republic', I made an arrangement with the military to be demoted back to Colonel status (Commander to you navy folks), so I could keep flying.

Now, I may have lost that edge and quickness that these younger hot-shots have, but, as I proved on this last simulation, I know tactics and the performance limits of all these space craft. During a mock attack on an old Star Destroyer, my little rogue squadron scored more hits and had less damage than these new Y-wing and needle fighters.

So, I'm off to get some sleep and enjoy more R&R time. I get tomorrow off because of the extended duty. Flight rules, and all.

Paperwork and paranioa

2006-01-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I have quite a bit to get doen today. After yesterday's little episode with the fire control system, now the Captain wants all the section heads (that includes me) to fill out a report on how we reacted to the multiple alarms. I heard a rumor that he was going to verify the reports with all the camera recordings that were saved from yesterday. It turns out that there are many little eyes watching around the ship.

I didn't know that. I guess I will need to be a little more aware of what I am doing when I 'think' I am alone. Oh man...they are watching ME... I KNOW THEY ARE!! AAGGHHHH!!!

Big Mess on Monday

2006-01-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

What a morning it has been.

My day started as a normal work day, but just as I was getting to my office, a bunch of alarms went off and all heck seemed to break loose. The fire alarm went off, so I headed off to the hanger to man my safety post. Then, before I go to the hanger, the decompression alarm went off, so I ran to the nearest safety locker to get an air suit. Then the AG (Artificial Gravity) alarm went off, so I also got a pair of mag shoes. Once I put all that crap on, I headed for the hanger.

Now you must remember that this is a new ship and the crew is still new also. There was a lot of yelling, and arm waving, and people not knowing what to do, just a general panic. The good thing was that there was no smoke in the hanger and all my squadron showed up right where they should be. (I do enforce a sense of discipline.)

In about five minutes, all the alarms were turned off and we got the all clear. I put my safety equipment in the return bin and then proceeded back to my office. On the way there from the hanger, I stopped by the galley for some coffee and heard the skuttlebut about the alarms.

It seems someone was goofing off in the gym and banged into one of the fire sprinklers. Next thing you know, there is fire suppressant everywhere. That set off the fire alarm. Then some idiot though he would open an outer hatch to blow out all the foam. That set off the decompression alarm. With the decompression, the foam began to soften and liquefy and shorted out the gravity plates in the gym. I had to smile when I heard all this. I am sure the ship's captain (Admiral Huntington) is going to have a few words with a few people.

At least I got my coffee.

Porn names?

2006-01-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

I did the anagrams on Wedge, and found that there is no anagram. My last name resulted in a list so long that it seemed silly to include.

However, this did result from another of Fluke's links:

I kinda like it and maybe I'll have it stencilled on my x-wing.

Why I am not in Starfleet

2006-01-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

This is why I have a problem joining Starfleet.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3904801718913997188

Either this guy is really obsessed with himself, or your cloning restrictions are not being followed.

Back to work!

2006-01-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

I just got back from another orientation meeting on the amenities and regulations here abourt the 'Organa'. It turns out that it was named after the Organa family, and not just the Princess. I am sure that you can think of all the 'nick names' this massive vessel has aquired in its short lifetime.

Although the parts for this massive craft came from many different places, the superstructure was built and outfitted at Hypori. I heard that Corellia couldn't take the contract because it was too busy, but it did build many of the systems used on board. So I do have little parts of home around me.

As for my little space, I share an office with Major Garraph and I am bunking with a Captain Beumont. The Major is the CO of Duece Squadron, a fairly new flight of x-wing pilots. He's got two women under his command and I can't wait to hear what issues he has with that. Beumont is a shuttle pilot and also has command of a tie-fighter wing. It's just three vehicles, just like the old Empire used to do. In case of an attack, his team, and nine other teams, are the last line of outboard defense. After that are the laser cannons on the ship.

Both guys saw some action after the fall of the Empire, in cleaning up the old holdouts, but neither has as many combat hours as I do. So, I should feel pretty smug, shouldn't I? Not my style, actually (yeah, right).

Anyway, this is a big ship. I finally found the mess hall and where to get coffee and where the head is located. So, at least, I can get settled in. Next week I will meet my new CO. For now, however, it's Friday! Unfortunately, I spent my allowance on my trip home, so I guess I will just watch vids in the day room. Maybe learn this new game, "Texas Holdem" that they play here.

Porkins

2006-01-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

One of the comments I recently recieved mentioned a rather robust campanion of mine, namely Jek Porkins. Jek was a good friend. He bit the big one during our attack on the Death Star.

What I remember most about Jek was his good sense of humor. True, we had to use a droid to squeeze him into his x-wing, and if you got in the chow line after him, you may miss getting desert, but he was a good man and a good pilot.

One funny story I do recall is when we returned from patrol and Jek opened his hatch. Well the 'methane' build up was too much for his air scrubber to handle, and there was a mech droid very close to his ship. The droid was welding, the 'methane' ignited, and the resulting fire ball set off the sprinkler system. No one was hurt, and the sight of Jek, with no eyebrows and smoldering, was so hilarious that the whole squad laughed for days after.

After that we all had to sit down for a lecture on our dietary intake, and how we needed to stay in shape, and now we were required to vent our flight decks before landing, and yada, yada, yada...

I found out later that the ground crews were issued some detectors to use before fully popping the hatch. It seems like the brass has no sense of humor.

I must share this...

2006-01-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

To all my friends who care, thank you!

Thank you!!!

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes cause I now have to get a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can of soda I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca-Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually AlQaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda,Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.And thanks for always correcting me with "gotchas" from "Snoops" who knows it all.

Thanks to you, I am totally in the know.And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump.

I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's secondhusband's cousin's beautician...

Have a wonderful day....

Back On Post

2006-01-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

Hello again, everyone. I hope that your Holiday break was as relaxing and enjoyable as mine.

I had a good time visiting my old home and my mother. I got to see friends and eat and drink with friends and eat and watch the local vids... and eat. "Gee whiz, Mom, I've had enough!"

"But Chrissy, I made your favorite, deep-fried koruth livers."

"Mom, don't call me that! Call me Wedge."

Well, the holiday went on like that for many days. My mother is 80-something, and she still thinks of me as a child.

So, between the constant flow of starches and the brews with some guys that I knew from school, I seem to have put on a couple of pounds. I noticed it this morning when I (tried to) put on my flight suit.

"Hey, R7 (my latest astro-mech droid), can you come here and help me with this zipper?" Boy, was that embarrassing. Thank goodness no on else was around to see that. I guess I better head back to the gym and start working out.

At least I did get some well-deserved rest. Of course, with all the eating and 'beverages' I was often asleep on my mom's couch. Anaphylactic shock will do that to you.

Anyway, I am back on my new carrier, in a new office, and new quarters. I now need to go and see my new CO. Wish me luck.

Re-posted

2005-12-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

OK, so today is my last day of duty before my holiday break.

The good news is that I got my personal terminal working back at my quarters. I did some tinkering and a great deal of swearing, and now it is operating reasonably well.

The bad news is that this morning I got some transfer orders. I must clean out my desk and locker, and stuff, and box it all up. When I get back from leave, the whole squadron will be re-posted to another carrier.

So, I get on the phone and call my CO and try to find out what the heck is going on. I get a stpry about 'consolidating resources'. It seems that my old carrier, RMS Phluptah, is going to be retired. They want to put Rogue Squadron on a newer, more efficient, carrier the RMS Organa. Yup, you guess it, named after the princess. I just hope it is not all pink and lavender on the inside.

So, instead of finishing up paperwork for my leave, I will pack everything up and then head for Corellia. When I get back, then I will spend my first days looking for my new quarters and office.

Keep 'em flying, people.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

Gotta see this.

2005-12-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

It is amazing the things I have been finding cruizing the blog world:

http://www.lego.com/starwars/anakin.asp?x=x

I now appreciate you Jedi guys a little more.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

The Holidays

2005-12-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

So, because it is the winter solstice on Corsecant, the whole fleet is getting a few, well deserved, days off. I'm up for that! In fact, I am using the time to head back to Corellia to visit family. On Corellia, we have our own seasons and holidays. I say this in case I end up having such a wonderful time and I don't post quite as often.

It is also winter back home, but it is actually cold where my mom lives. The winter holiday on Corsecant is from eons of tradition. The whole planet is one big city, so they really do not understand the concept of 'Winter' anymore. Plus, while the Emperor was in charge, such celebrations and observances were suspended. Now, personally, I think that was the Emperor's real downfall. All the people had to celebrate was Palpatine's birthday (or rather birth-month). There were parties, and vid specials, and parades, and decorations. This would go on for several weeks at a time.

Now on most of the outer planets, like where I grew up, the local beliefs were overlooked by the governors, as long as they were subdued. Our local reverend did keep his head down, but then he took off to other worlds.

Thinking back on it now, we did dress up sort of funny, but I was a kid and thought it was fun.

So anyway, I wish you all Happy Holidays.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

He got WHAT?

2005-12-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

To continue this tale,

You probably know the rest of the story. Most of Red Team gets knocked out, taking most of the tie-fighters with them. The main assault cannot seem to hit the air vent, so Red Team starts going in to give it a try.

After Red Leader gets hit from behind, Skywalker's on the com, "Oh! Oh! Let me try!"

At this point, I am in charge of Red Team, as anyone else of rank is either dead or out of the battle, so I figure, why not? This kid has been the luckiest son-of-a-gun I've ever flown with.

"OK, Red Six, go on in. I'll try to hold them off up here."

In he goes. He is just about to get his little fanny blown up when, from out of no-where comes this Corellian freighter, and blows away the last of the trailing tie-fighters. Red Six makes his shot and everyone, who can, turns tail and hits the after-burners.

Kaboom, yadda, yadda, yadda, and we all celebrate. When we all get back to the hanger on Yavin 4, Princess Leia Organa shows up all happy and looking real nice so I'm thinking of combing my hair and all. Maybe walk up and introduce myself. Youknow, "Hi, I've seen you around here before" and stuff like that.

Damn if she doesn't run up to Skywalker and this Solo guy and get all chummy with them! Hey Princess, the rest of us could use a little gratitude too!

To top it all, and end this silly flash-back, what's left of the squadron and all the rest of the Rebel base personnel are ordered to fall out for a formal presentation. Well, guess who is decorated AND promoted? Oh Brother! It took a lot of self-control to stay quite while standing there, but you could hear the moans and groans from the guys around me.

On one hand I can understand Skywalker getting an award for blowing up the Death Ballon, but Solo? And, I heard that alll that they gave his Wookie co-pilot was a bag of kibble! And I hear that Solo got to keep most of those credits he was given before the battle started. Yeah, Han, don't think we didn't see that! There is no justice in this galaxy. As the saying goes, "I'd rather be lucky than good."

So, I plugged along, keeping my skills sharp. Eventually, after Skywalker left the military to revive the Jedi Knights, I was promoted to Rogue Leader.

At least I survived the overthrow of the old Empire.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

Why do they call it a Death Star?

2005-12-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

A couple of posts ago, I was telling a story about my first encounter with Mr. Skywalker. Then I got a little sidetracked, a little drunk, and my terminal terminated. So, now I want to finish my story about that day.

OK, the squadron is headed down, toward this really big sphere called a 'Death Star'. I don't know why it is called a star. It doesn't glow or anything, at least as far as I could see, but OK, they have to call it something. Also, it certainly doesn't have the mass of a star, or even a planet. I was watching my gravitometer and I noticed that it did not have the gravitational pull that its size would indicate. Hey, that's no moon, its a balloon!

OK, so Red Team is zooming around doing our best to knock out the Empire's tie-fighters. These guys are pretty good, but they do not have the guns that an x-wing has. They do maneuver better, however, so that can be a problem.

Here I am watching Skywalker's (Red Six) right side. Over the Death Star's short horizon comes a wave of ties. An obvious flanking move by the Empire. I don't think that they have figured out our strategy yet, so we are doing fine.

The ties fire some energy bolts and then I hear red six screaming into the microphone, "Yeee Gods! That one was close! Oh man, are all those guys heading for US?!?"

"Calm down, Red Six! Yes they are trying to attack the flank. That means they are ours."

"Ours?"

"That's an affirmative. Red Leader, this is Red Three, we have contacts on the right flank." I knew what the next move would be, but I didn't want to tell Skywalker, in case he started whining again.

"Roger that. Red Team, this is Red Leader. Stay on me and go to formation Gamma."

Now it was time to break the news to the kid. "Red Six, turn right, and follow the lead fighter. I'll still be on your six."

Actually, the screaming was tolerable. I also figured out that when he was especially high pitched he actually flew very well. Must be a fight-flight response. Also, I am glad I stayed behind him. He flew so erratically that the tie fighters appeared to be confused and even afraid of him. When they would dodge out of his way, I ended up with an open shot. I had three kills within 10 minutes.

At last I saw some energy bolts coming out of Skywalker's guns. Good, he found the trigger. I really did not have the time to talk him through that part. With some dumb luck, and also scaring the poop out of the enemy pilots, Red Six nailed a couple of tie-fighters himself.

"Hey, look Wedge, I got another one! I got another one! Wow, this Force stuff is pretty cool!"

I had no idea what he was taking about, but we seemed to be doing well in our efforts. And Skywalker was settling down, so I turned the volume of my intercom back up. Now what I really needed was a couple of Tylenol.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

Terminal down!... I got a terminal down here!

2005-12-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Few things are more frustrating than having your personal terminal go down, especially on a weekend. On a weekend it is very difficult to get any support. Well, it appears that the mass storage device on my personal terminal decided to die on me yesterday. So, I am in the pilot's lounge, up here on the carrier, the NRS Phluptah (don't ask me), and I am trying to finish this post before anyone sees me.

It is not against the rules to do this, I just don't want the other guys to know that I blog for fun. You know, a group leader needs to maintain some mystic and be stoic, and this kind of thing gets laughed at.

Anyway, I spend the whole afternoon and evening yesterday trying to figure out what was wrong with my terminal. It crashed a couple of times, then would not boot. I got tot he point where I re-loaded the operating system and next thing I know the BIOS is not seeing the storage device. (I put this terminal together myself).

Bantha Fodder! Well that will just have to wait. At least I have this other means of... HEY! Shut up Williams! I am not a weenie... Uh, I gotta go.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.

On my day off

2005-12-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

People have asked me, "Hey, Wedge, you are such a fun guy, what do you do on your days off?"

Well, first I tell them, "Mind your own damn business! I don't give autographs anymore and no, I can't get you a lock of Chewbacca's hair!" I am a little sensitive about such things, especially after that stalker thing, but that's a story for another time.

But, as it is Saturday, and I don't have OD duty, I typically head planet-side, which-ever planet we happened to be next to, and shop or try the latest fad-food restaurant. One thing I have learned is that this galaxy seems to be getting smaller.

It used to be that each major planet had a unique feel and culture about it. True, many of them weren't to my taste, but most were pretty interesting. Nowadays, they all have the big malls and the same stores and the McBurgerland and Astrobuck's coffee places. You know, I was back on Endor a few months ago, and the actually have a Vallerie's Secret store? What's up with that? Since when do these creatures wear lingerie?

So, in many ways, everywhere can seem like home. The only real problem is when I want to see a movie. It sometimes gets difficult to find a place that has a film in my language. Most have a version in Galactic Basic, but those translations are very hokey. On the other hand, if you want a real laugh, go watch "Gone With The Wind" on Kashyyk.

I was hanging out with Chewy, and we got kind of drunk, and we went into the Millennium Falcon and he put on this old vid of that movie and it was hilarious. I mean when this one chick starts talking like Chewy, I lost it. It was "Grrrwahh this and Hrrrghlawhh that". Man I was almost on the floor fromlaughing so hard. Things got a little fuzzy after that, but I do remember that part.

Well, I have cleaned my quarters, made my bunk, and now Major Jenkins and I are headed down to Planet Acturus. He says he knows a special spot down there that he heard about from some marine named Hudson, I think. Gotta go.

That's no moon...

2005-12-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

So, as I was saying, this Skywalker kid finally starts to settle down and stay in some sort of formation. Next we are supposed to jump to hyperdrive and zoom off with the rest of the fleet to protect our secret base from this giant ball that will be attacking.

Now this is a short jump, just to get us close to the vehicle as soon as possible. All the coordinates have been input by the general's master strategic computer, so all you need to do in your x-wing is push the little button and off you go. Well the countdown is going and next I hear from Skywalker is some babble.

"Wait! What do I do? Where are we going?" Then there are some beeps and boops from his mechadroid telling him to activate his warp drives and the computer will take over from there.

Now, I have seen guys do dumb things, in my many years of flying for the Rebel cause, and I myself have taken advice from a droid, especially in a combat situation. But to have your mechadroid tell you how to fly, well, that is just SAD! I'm just sitting in my cockpit shaking my head because I know that Red Leader is going to find a way to blame this on me.

"Red six, you need to take some deep breaths. Then find the blue switch on your right side panel and turn it on."

"Uhhh...Oh yeah, there it is! Wow, it lights up!"

"Yeah, it lights up. Now just hold on, everything is already programmed into the system. When we drop out of hyper-drive, follow Red Leader, he is the second guy on your left, and I will be on your right. Got that?"

"I guess so, but I thought we were going to bomb the Death Star, not fly around like a flock of minoch."

"It'll happen sport, just be patient."

So, we zipped off into trouble. Man, this day was starting off bad and somehow I knew it wasn't going to get any better.

I've Got Your Six...

2005-12-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may not know what that means, it is a term used in combat saying I am watching your rear. This should not be confused with "I am on your six" which means I am right behind you.

Now one of the duties of a wingman is to protect the leader, or pointman, in a formation. This only works if your point-man knows what he is doing. That does not mean flying around like a idiot with a bad twitch. It is a team effort.

I bring this up because I had a flashback last night playing video games... I mean during simulator training. I was "practicing" with my friends and we were attacking this huge fire monster..er... Old Empire battle cruiser, and my buddy Diablo was in front of me.

So, naturally, I told him, "I got your six" and then started watching his flanks and rear to protect him. Next thing I know, Diablo has moved, didn't say anything to me, and now I am zeroed in on by some ti-fighters.

My flashback was remembering when that new kid, Luke Skywalker showed up and was assigned to Red Team. He flew pretty well, for a kid from the outer rim, but man, the boy knew nothing of teamwork. He was just flitting around, yelling into the microphone, "Wheee, this is fuuun!"

Captain Fyunndlick, or leader that day (most leaders don't really last very long in combat), told me to stay on Skywalker's wing. Yea, and why don't I go pull a hutt's tail, while I'm at it. I mean this kid was all over the map.

"Hey, Skywalker, ease up a bit, man. You don't want to break your ship on the first day."

"Oh yeah, sorry. This is a whole lot better than the speeder I had at home. I mean, I have flown before, but nothing this nice, just some tractors and haulers. And Han, he would never let me have a turn flying his precious ship..."

I interuppted, "Roger that, red six, red four on your three." Geese, kid don't you ever stop talking?

"What? Who said that?"

"I did. I am on your right side watching your flank."

"And who are you?"

I couldn't believe this. "You are red six, and I am red three."

Thank goodness red leader jumped in. "Red three, you want to keep the chatter down?"

WHAT? Why is he telling that to ME!?! I wasn't the one doing all the talking!

There's more to this story, but I need to go so I will finish it later.

A crackle of static...

2005-12-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

This is Rogue Squadron... checking in... Can anyone hear me? This is Red Leader... Uploading my personal log...

You know, being a 'space jockey' does have both advantages and dis-advantages. At least now, working for the New Republican Navy, I get paid better and I can get back to Corellia, my home, on a regular basis. See my folks and siblings.

Boy, I remember when I decided to join the Rebel alliance and become a pilot. My dad was so pissed at me! "No," he said, "I've saved up so you could go to the acadamy! I've worked in the shipwards all my life, and you do this to me?"

Of course back then I was young, stupid, and got drunk a lot. You know, a tyical high school student from a blue-collar planet. It was either the service, the rebels, or doing shift work building spacecraft.

The Rebel alliance didn't care that I wasn't college graduate. They would teach me to fly! Besides, one of their leaders, Princes Liea, she was pretty hot! Now that's really worth fighing for!

So, at the ripe old age of 18, I joined up, went through flight training and officer training and next thing I know I am behind the stick of an old XT-17 trainer. Many hours of simulation training and some "accidents" in the training vehicle (I told them I would pay for the damage I caused), someone noticed that I was a pretty good pilot.

Now, all this took another couple of years, mind you, but soon I was assigned to a group called Rogue Squadron. One of the generals said it was the Rebel Fodder (what ever that means) and that they had a glorious reputation. So off I went to some forsaken planet half-way accross the galaxy and landed at a 'secret' base. Let me tell you, I started having second thoughts about all this. In order to keep the base secret, I had to be transported in a cargo vessel that was also carrying food and live animals (damn Banthas!).

So I get to the base and there is this Colonel Ficus, or something. He's a Mon Calamari. I had never met one before, so I was not sure how to act.

It took me a while to understand him. With those thin lips his basic was terrible. "Waaas eooouu fafeit ghooleer?"

"I'm sorry Colonel, I didn't understand you."

"Whaas eough fafourt cooler?"

"Cooler, Coloner, did you ask if I had a cooler?"

"Shsssfiffp! Whas yeour fafort collar?"

"Ohh, what's my favorite color? Yes, I would have to say blue."

"Whuee haf no blu. Pich nother."

"OK, then red, yes."

"Ghood."

He pressed some buttons on his console and then in walked another human (thank goodness).

"Hello, Ensign Anitllies, I am Captain Richards, Red Leader. Welcome to Rogue Squadron."

And that is how I got into the famous (well, now at least) Red Wing of Rogue Squadron.

Please, remember those who are fighting for your country this holiday.