The time has finally come... six years ago today, I was first stationed as an Ensign into Iota Squadron on the ISD Chimaera. Young and bright-eyed, it was to be the start of a career that moved up through the ranks to become First Officer of the very same ship. And oh, how things have changed since then!
Before I get on to the reminiscing, I'd like to say that it's been a real delight and a stupidly large part of my RL to serve the Empire. Calder, LaFo, Vort, Fel, Jag, Stolle, Broliv, Draz and all the rest - I've never in six years regretted signing up. Say - it's great to see you back. As you'll see from the log of the Call To Arms meeting, you had a forming effect on my career... that's rather worrying.
Now: the archives! Note that most of these are copy/pastes, with the odd formatting cleanup and/or removal of personal information.
Specifically, the fall of Imperial Nexus and the rebirth of the Empire...
------
My records (currently accessible) date back to the 2nd February 2002. Though few of us realised it, this was to be the start of a dark period in the Empire's history. By this time I had been promoted to Sub-Lieutenant and positioned in Iota 3-1. The very earliest E-mail I have is a fleet memo from GA Daemon... http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sjoh2340/ge/daemon1.html Pay particular attention to point #9. Seemed so subtle and innocent at the time...
The next mail comes a little under two weeks later. Someone has just been promoted to Captain of the Chimaera... http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sjoh2340/ge/vort1.html
A month later, and people are starting to point out that, um, nothing has happened in the last month. I had hoped my archives at this time were slightly more complete... GA Daemon sent this E-mail to everyone on the rosters.
What happened next is a blur. A group of respected officers - my former squadron leader Stolle amongst them - decide enough is enough and leave for the Star Vipers. In response, Daemon decides that drastic words are needed, more promises of action are required, and sends this memo entitled, forshadowingly, Empire Reborn. Those who had left (that had been named 'separatists') were not impressed. Although that E-mail was not addressed to me, I had come to within a breath of resigning and going with the SV people. It was Calder who convinced me to stay; and for that, I am still grateful.
Evening passed and morning came... repeat a number of times. Dissent grew. Nothing happened. Daemon barely showed up anywhere. I wrote my Report on Increasing the Activity of Imperial Officers about this time. It's a work I'm still pleased with.
And STILL nothing happened... I miss out a lot of things (LaFo's promotion to 1O, for one) and skip forward to December 2003. STILL Admin was inactive. The dissent reaches its peak. Daemon sends out a remarkably ill-typed and rushed-seeming memo provoking a response (I received this from Wedge, not sure of the original author) and a Call To Arms.
I made the meeting. I came home early from wherever I was beforehand. I sat hunched over my desk, with my PDA connected via IR to my phone, connected to O2's WAP service - the only way I could access the net at that time. I Graffiti'd my messages slowly and one line at a time. There's a log (MS Word, sorry).
What that log doesn't show (and actually, this could have been some while later, I don't recall) is a conversation between myself and then-VA Polanski. I can't quote it exactly but it was along the lines of:
<Muscat> Would you class the current situation as an emergency?
<Pol> Yes.
<Muscat> There's a bit in the GE charter that says, in times of emergency, the highest-ranking naval officer can take over...
On the 28th February 2004, Emergency Status was declared and Polanski became Supreme Commander of GE Forces.
-------
That's all I have time to put online now - more later, I promise. And it'll be some more lighthearted stuff, too!
For now - the drinks are on La Forge in the Striker bar!
Again, it's been a pleasure to serve with you; maybe, just maybe, I'll be back someday...
