Generations Monthly Newsletter - December 2006

Editorial - MilleSabor

We have no news from WoW this time - the quiet before the storm as everybody is waiting for the extension which is due to be released in January - this will be an especially long issue of "Generations Monthly" however: enjoy!

New Players in SWG and... Eggs! - MilleSabor

A hearty welcome goes out to our newest member: Lyfoh - a swiss Australian (one of the very first GEN-members from "down under" and friend of Eyevi.

AceBeorn has created some alts: AceLardo and AceLaredo, one of which is an entertainer, a sad looking Sullustan (for those who know the films but are not versed in Star Wars-lore: Lando's Co-pilot in "Return of the Jedi" is Sullustan.

And (drumroll!): Eggs is back - with half a dozen toons! Welcome Ouraob, Oniard, Thiffy, Davaar and Reddev - glad to have you back.

Achievements in SWG - MilleSabor

Draino and Eyevi's alt 'luger are close to mastering pilot-profession and just lack their final mission (destroying the Imperial Corvette "Star Ravager" in Kessel-space) - GEN-members will of course support them.

Iflassi has ascended to the rank of lieutenant and Mille has become major in the raging galactic civil war (ranks being: private, trooper, high trooper, sergeant, senior sergeant, sergeant major, lieutenant, captain, major, commander, colonel, general)

Galactic Civil War - MilleSabor

As a revamped Galactic Civil War (GCW for short) offers some nice rewards for acending in rank GENs (escpecially yours truly) are busy decimating Imperial troops.

GENs space-force no longer consists of just light fighter-squadrons but has formed a task-force that includes the use of heavy multi-player-ships as those provide the chance to gain not only space- and combat-XP but points needed for a promotion in GCW and a lot of fun as well for everyone on board.

Report from our war correspondents in SWG - MilleSabor, Iflassi

There are pearls of sweat on my forehead and my palms are wet from the pure dread I feel as the "Maid of Aabenraa" settles down on the worn-down landing platform of the rebel outpost on Rori. Avoiding the recruiter, whom I sometimes have a brief chat with, I sneak into the cantina he stands in front of, pass the common room and make for the backroom: I am not going to have a drink this time... The door opens with a hiss and I take a deep breath as I reluctantly enter for I have to face the source of my uneasiness now: I salute the general as I approach him and briefly wonder if the old Mon Calamari ever sleeps. He is always here, always standing at this very point like fixed with glue and always droning on and on and on. I cannot escape his tireless tirade: I have to ask him for a mission after all! It apparently doesn't occur to him that someone might not be interested in those same old stories he tells again and time again. When I finally get my mission (Imperial patrols in Yavin-space - I knew it beforehand, it is ALWAYS Imperial patrols in Yavin-space...) at long last after what seems to be hours to me, I calm down: The worst is over now, what is to follow will be business as usual. I shouldn’t complain: There are not many pilots who have the privilege to get these missions at all, only rebel ace-pilots like me or members of Crimson Phoenix Squadron who have ascended in rank at least high enough to be even noticed by general Ufwol have access to those duties. But such is the nature of the human race: never to be satisfied...

I smile broadly as my crew gathers at the Labour Outpost on Yavin 4: My trusty navigator and co-pilot Iflassi, the silent Doc, the burly Wookie AceLardo and the bubbly AceBeorn - I have a special treat for them today! The usually empty cantina is occupied this time: A sad-looking Sullustan is playing a lively tune. I have hired him earlier because I feel that we could use some distraction before we are going to risk our lives again. Our spirits rise while we listen to the music and discuss the final details of our mission and it is with the growing confidence that our next promotion won't be too far ahead that we leave the inn - not before I have generously tipped the lone musician though. 50,000 credits used to be an extraordinary amount but inflation has been soaring and tipping him the mere 1000 credits that would have been appropriate just a few years ago would make me look avaricious...

We gather around the launch pad and the "Maid of Aabenraa" again launches into the element for which she was built. The crew takes it's usual positions and Iflassi nods curtly at me as she punches commands with an efficiency and calmness that only comes with long experience into the v6-flight-computer while we run through the checklist together:

• Weapons-Capacitor Overcharge 4?
• Weapons-Capacitor Overcharge 4!
• Weapons Overload 3?
• Weapons Overload 3!

The first waypoint is 13 clicks away and the time is barely sufficient to get those first crucial commands loaded. Overload-commands put a heavy strain on the ships components but weapons would run out of energy too soon if we didn't overcharge the capacitor - and the benefit from overloading the weapons is just too great to be skipped. "Approaching first Waypoint - get ready!", I shout when we are a mere 2 clicks away from our first designated encounter with the enemy. Iflassi and AceLardo scramble into the gun-well while Doc and AceBeorn remain standing in the cockpit - I always marvel about that because the Nova-Courier-class is carefully designed and the "Maid of Aabenraa" has a functional yet pleasant interior and provides ample and comfortable seating. Funny, how the mind wanders to those indifferent topics even though one is going to put his life at stake...

And there it is! The first TIE-fighter, our first prey of today, zooms screaming over the "Maid", greeted by furious defensive fire from our guns. I switch to the operators seat, still warm from Iflassi, and intend to load the remaining command, engine-overload 4. The "Maid of Aabenraa" is a fine ship and I fitted her with a superior engine that grants her an amazing top-speed but she is sluggish as a harbour-tug and improving her yaw-, pitch- and roll-rate would enhance her handling tremendously. I ponder briefly whether I should overload the reactor first as usual but decide against it - the ship's reactor ought to provide energy aplenty even when not overloaded. Dead wrong!

I hear it already when I have hardly finished typing the overload-command: Complaints from the gunners - the weapons are disabled! Aw, shucks! There is nothing I can do right now however - the flight-computer is still processing the engine-overload command and won't be ready to accept another command so soon. Seconds tick by while the ship is mercilessly pounded by the TIE-fighters blasters. I smile contemptuously: a single TIE-fighter is not able to harm the "Maid" - it would take an entire squadron, blasting at her unopposed for hours on end to put her into danger: There are just two types of ship in space: The "Maid of Aabenraa" and targets!

Finally! The flight computer is ready to accept another command - I have prepared it already and Doc watches, silently as ever, as my fingers fly over the keyboard: "Reactor Overload 4". The guns come alive again and roar their hate towards that lonely TIE that obliterates into a cloud of debris. More TIEs will follow, in ever increasing waves, but we have been through this dozens of times already and know what to expect. Then disaster strikes!

The upper gun-turret falls silent. Iflassi who occupies the lower gun, realizes immediately that something is wrong and asks for support - as her turret is limited in its firing arc, I have to roll and pitch the entire ship so that she can bring her guns to bear. AceLardo's corpse obstructs the upper turret and it takes AceBeorn some time before he can remove it (no time for sentimentalities...) and take over as gunner. We proceed from waypoint to waypoint, everything seems to run smoothly now and we expect no further surprises. Well, there would be only one surprise in war: If there were no surprises at all...

An outdated YT-1300 Corellian transporter approaches: Sevener Foxx, self-appointed captain and ruddy civilian hails us! He challenges the "Maid of Aabenraa" to a race - we just don't care to accept it: Our mission is more important than some hurt pride - and our patience pays off anyway: The next waypoint is 10 clicks away. The engine howls as I rev it up, even giving Sevener a slight head-start. The YT-1300 falls far behind as our trusty Nova Courier speeds dead straight towards our next encounter with Imperial TIE-fighters - there are no cheers on board when we outrace Sevener's ship and approach our destination first. We are a crew of cool professionals that knew in advance what our ship is able to do... Minutes later the YT-1300 arrives and follows every movement of the "Maid" - in other circumstances we'd suspect that it would relay our intentions to the IMPs but we know Sevener for years already: He may be obnoxious sometimes but he is trustworthy. His ship severely obstructs our field of view however and so we have to experience our second casualty: It's the occupant of the upper turret again who becomes victim of this cruel war. I continuously pitch and roll the Maid again and watch in awe as Iflassi takes out several TIE-fighters single-handed in quick succession. While we could fight like this we want to get this over with quick and I decide to support her, leaving the comfy pilot-chair and running to the gun-well where I climb up and enter the upper turret. "Take this as revenge for AceLardo and AceBeorn, you bastards!" I think while I pull the trigger - again and again and again! It is hard work, running to and fro between cockpit and gun-well now and my task is not made easier by the fact that we are attacked by at least four enemy fighters simultaneously as soon as we approach a patrol-point but we have been through this already and it's sheer routine by now - even the last five ace-pilots with their Advanced TIEs that the Empire throws at us can't scare us - on the contrary, we are eager to take them on as we know that our duty draws to a close. A satisfied smile on my face I walk over to the escape hatch after we have received notification from rebel-command that our mission is over...

GEN-forum - MilleSabor

Please make sure to register at our forum (http://forum.genguild.com) and ask for access (please use one of your ingame-names so that admins are able to recognize you): It is a great place to stay in contact with other GENs (or get acquainted with them - there are some nice guys there even if they play a different game), talk about geeky stuff, upcoming games, books, music or get help with whatever your heart desires. You might even find some useful stuff there such as a table with ingame-abbreviations... Make sure to read our FAQs first!