March 2003

Greetings,

<salute>

It is with a sad heart that I must announce my resignation as Reconnaissance Officer of the Emperor's Hammer. I'm not sure how many of you may remember when I was appointed two years ago, many new members have joined since then. I remember when I was a flight member and I heard of a Command Staff member resigning, whom I've only known in that position. It seems really different because that person was no longer particular officer. I guess the point I'm getting at is, change is a good thing, and though it was the hardest thing I had to do - resigning as Reconnaissance Officer - I am pleased that I feel I have done a good job. I enjoyed this position so much. I loved talking with famous actors, actresses, authors, and artists. I enjoyed hearing how members enjoyed the IRC Interviews of Project Cordial. It made me feel so happy that the members enjoyed the projects of the Reconnaissance Office. It made me feel that what I was doing was worth while.

I must admit that I am pleased with what I have accomplished during my time as Reconnaissance Officer. I gave it my very best effort, and turned out to be my most cherished time in the Emperor's Hammer. I would not trade the experience for anything!

For the past few months, since December of 2002, I have found myself having less and less time to devote to the Reconnaissance Office. Though it maybe arguable, the Reconnaissance Office does require a lot of time. Unlike the other offices of the Emperor's Hammer, this office does not have concrete duties. This office's duty is to find new ways to expand the Emperor's Hammer on the Internet and in the real world. Very hard, at times, but very rewarding!

Taking my place will be my CA, Vice Admiral Joe. Months after his appointment as CA, he is continuing to come up with new ways to improve the Reconnaissance Office and the Emperor's Hammer. I do not believe I could leave my treasured office in more capable hands.

I will not forget... what I have done and what has happened while I was on the Command Staff. Treasured these memories will become.

To the members of the Emperor's Hammer, thank you for everything!

The era of Keiran Idanian as Reconnaissance Office is now at a close. A new generation will enter to follow in my footsteps, and make their own. It's time for a new person to enjoy this position. A new person to invent new ideas. A Reconnaissance Officer for a new era.

It is with much despair, that I officially resign as Reconnaissance Officer of the Emperor's Hammer.

-= High Admiral Keiran Idanian, Reconnaissance Officer =-
RO-VROY/HA Keiran Idanian/CS-12/SSSD Sovereign
MoH/GOE/GS/SS/BSx2/PC/ISMx3/MoI-BC/MoT-1rh-1gh/LoC-ISx10/MoC-4BoC-5SoC-3GoC-3PoC-1DoC/CoL/CoB/LoAx11/OV-3E [CAVL] {IWATS-AIM-ASP-BX-CBX-CHAR-FLA-GFX-IIC/1/2/3-JS-M/1/2-RPG-SM/2-TM-TT-VBS-XAM-XML-XTM-XTT}
KE (Krath)/CON/Clan Alvaak
(SC-SoA)/(SE)/(BNG)(BN)/Cr-1R/(LSAg)/CoL {SA: CORE}
"For the honor of the Emperor's Hammer"

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Keiran for his dedication to this club...He is responsible for more Star Wars Celebrity contacts (EH Articles) than ANY other EH Member, including myself ! I remember his early days...so unsure of himself and always bugging me via AIM...But he has learned a lot and has grown into quite a mature and loyal Imperial Citizen. He is a shining example of what ALL EHers should strive to achieve...My hat's off to ya, Keiran...well played ! :)

Keiran will be taking over the Position of EH Special Operations Director (SOD) to try complete the EH Movie...!

I also wish to congratulate RA Joe as Keiran's replacement. he is also responsible for obtaining autographs to the EH from Bonnie Piesse (Beru) and Michonne Bourriague (Aura Sing)...Welcome !

Grand Admiral Ronin
Fleet Commander/Founder - Emperor's Hammer
FC/GA Ronin/CS-1/SSSD Sovereign
MoH/IC/GoE/OoR/PC/MoI-dc/ISM/MoT-rhx2/MoT-ghx8/LoC-CSx5/DFC/CoS/OV-8E/LoA
DC/[DJP(Sith)/Overlord of Alvaak, SL] {IWATS-Core}
http://www.emperorshammer.org

CS Awards

For his exceptional high level of work since getting SCO, Fleet Admiral Ender mBind is awarded the Grand Order of the Emperor (GOE). For their
service so far in their positions, the OPS (Khaine) and TO (Keldorn) have been promoted to full Admiral.

Greetings sirs,

I have been the Hammer's Fist Prefect for almost two and a half years. The HF has enjoyed high periods and suffered through low ones, but overall I believe I have elevated this subgroup and carried it farther than it has gone before. Many changes and strides have been made through my own work and that of my excellent staff.

I have largely enjoyed my turn being at the helm of (arguably) the oldest subgroup of the Emperor's Hammer and am grateful for an understanding staff and dedicated membership. The HF has always had a small core of diehards who will keep the HF going. Sometimes their views conflict on the best direction. It has been interesting watching the debates and weighing in on points myself. The HF is nothing if not a lively and challenging place and I was hoping to have a longer run at the top.

My energy for keeping up with this wild horse has waned, however, and I am finding it impossible to drum up the same level of enthusiasm that I had at the beginning. Sure I have had slumps before, some lengthy, but this feels more enduring. Back in January, I had given myself until March to see if I could climb out of my tailspin but it is obvious I am going to have to ditch. I am not pulling out of it and the HF is starting to fly as low as I am.

I have had a good run. I've heard I am the second-longest sitting SGCOM so that's a nice feather in my hat, but here it is: I am planning on stepping down on April 14th. That will be exactly 2 years, 6 months as Prefect. I want my successor to be the current HF XO, COL Mordred ( hf_mordred@uol.com.br ). I will be moving into the comfortable chair of Advisor to the Prefect where I can focus on (besides advising) my pet HF projects that I was never able to do as Prefect. COL Mordred cares as much for the Hammer's Fist as I do and has been consistent in the execution of his duties. He has made my life easier and should have no problems with the duties of Prefect.

[salute]

Prefect, Hammer's Fist
PRF/FM Ares/GS-1/DREAD Retribution =MS=
[LC/OGD/DSS/HCx3/LoSx5/MoD-GC/CoOx3]
IC/GOE/SS/CoL/LoAx2
{IWATS-M/1-IIC1/2-RT-TT}

The FC and XO have accepted Ares' request to appoint the HF XO (Mordred) as the new Prefect of the Legion. Ares tenure as SGCOM is almost unprecedented in the history of the EH ! He will be sorely missed as PRF...!

Overview

The position of Chief Game Master will require a multi-disciplined applicant that is well-versed in a range of areas.

Selection Criteria - Essential

1. Experience in roleplaying, preferably in the online arena
2. Proven command experience, at least at the level of TIE Corps Wing Commander or similar
3. An acceptable level of online presence
4. The ability to work with a range of EH personnel, including the Executive Officer

Selection Criteria - Desirable

1. Current member of the Fringe
2. Intimately familiar with the upcoming Star Wars Galaxies Massive Online Roleplaying Game

In addition, you should supply supporting documentation of the roleplaying games you have played (any platform) and games you have run
as game master. All criteria must be addressed with supporting evidence. Simply saying "Yes, I can do that" isn't good enough. You must also
include three (3) references. At least one of these must be a current (preferable) or former superior. Applications should be directed to the
Fleet Commander ( fc@emperorshammer.org ) and the Executive Officer ( xo@emperorshammer.org ) with the subject "Application for position of CGM".

SA Astatine - XO

Finished the backup of the TIE Corps site this week. It was certainly a lot less painful than the last time (coughwhencrystaltechbooteduscough)
mostly due to having a lovely DSL link. This means I can now get back to developing on the site. One change that has been introduced is the
expansion of the time zone list on personnel profiles. Eventually I'll code up a system where members can view other members in their own
timezone. This will make things like multiplayer events easier to organise. I've also fixed the problem form on the XO site
( http://www.emperorshammer.net/xo/problems.asp )

A few projects I'm looking at doing will be at automating various competition type things, such as ladders. I'll also be looking into setting up a bug submission/feature request form so members can submit ideas for new features or information about bugs they've run into.

I've also decided to repeal Executive Order 3 regarding name changes ( http://www.emperorshammer.net/orders.asp ). Basically it's just not
needed now and adds extra time and work in members wanting their names changed.

That's about it.

SA Astatine - XO

SETI@home Project (Arecibo Phase) Comes to End, CPT Stuart Earns a GoE: 03.20.03
As Submitted From: Fleet Commander (GA Ronin)

On March 18-20 2003 we travel to the Arecibo radio telescope to re-observe the most promising "candidates" produced by our search so far.
There is a chance that these new observations will yield the first real evidence of extraterrestrial life. Thanks for being part of this history-making effort! According to our records, you have processed 82 work units, the most recent on March 15, 2003. Your contribution of computer time to SETI@home is greatly appreciated.

Support SETI@home - Join The Planetary Society
----------------------------------------------
Without the unwavering support of The Planetary Society, we would not be embarking on this round of re-observations. We strongly urge all SETI@home users to join The Planetary Society and help keep our project alive. If you join now, you'll receive a free poster titled "Is Anybody Out There?" featuring an evocative image of the millions of stars near the center of our galaxy. Go to:

The Planetary Society supports several different searches for extraterrestrial intelligence, as well as extra-solar planet research and many other worthwhile projects. For a look at the full range of their activities, visit http://planetary.org

Thanks also to our other major sponsors: the University of California, Sun Microsystems, Network Appliance, Fujifilm Computer Products, and Quantum; and to individuals around the world who have generously donated to SETI@home: see http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/donor.html

Scientific News
---------------
With the help of participants like you, SETI@home has analyzed about 10,000 hours of data from the Arecibo radio observatory, producing a database of several billion events (spikes, Gaussians, pulses, and triplets). From this database, we have extracted the "candidates" that, in our judgement, have the greatest likelihood of coming from an extraterrestrial synthetic source. The factors in this evaluation include:

- Signal power
- Goodness of fit
- Detection several different times
- Proximity to a nearby star, especially one similar to our Sun.

Our next step is to re-observe the top candidates by pointing a radio telescope at that location in the sky and checking for a similar signal. We applied for telescope time at Arecibo and were granted 24 hours, in three 8-hour chunks on March 18-20, 2003. If everything goes well, this will be enough time to re-observe about 150 candidates.

The re-observations will be done using the main receiver at Arecibo, which has a smaller beam and greater sensitivity than the antenna we normally use. We'll record the re-observations on magnetic tape, both in our usual format of 2 bits per sample, and in a higher-resolution format with 8 bits per sample. Then we'll analyze the recorded data in three ways:

- We'll do a fast analysis using computers at Arecibo; this will guide us in choosing candidates on which to spend more time.

- We'll analyze the 2-bit data using the current SETI@home client; this will take place during the week or two after the Arecibo visit.

- We'll analyze the 8-bit data using a new client program based on BOINC (see below), yielding better sensitivity. This will take place a month or two after the Arecibo visit.

More information on the re-observation project is here:

Project News
------------
The re-observation is just one of the things keeping us busy. We have built a new data recorder capable of handling the 13-channel multibeam receiver at Parkes in Australia. This will produce data for our new "Southern SETI@home" project, which we hope to start later this year if we can raise the necessary funds. In addition, we are preparing a new distributed computing project, Astropulse, that will analyze our current SETI@home data, looking for evidence of evaporating black holes, fast pulsars, and new types of ET signals. See http://www.planetary.org/astropulses.html

Our upcoming distributed computing projects will use the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC), which we are developing with support from the National Science Foundation. See http://boinc.berkeley.edu. BOINC will also be used by science research projects in other areas, such as molecular biology and climate prediction. BOINC lets you choose how much computer time to devote to each project. The transition from SETI@home to BOINC will be gradual. We'll continue to record new data at Arecibo even while BOINC ramps up; for now you can help us most by continuing to run SETI@home.

Whether or not the re-observations find an ET signal, SETI@home has been a tremendous success and a lot of fun. We are very grateful for the participation and enthusiasm of our users all over the world, and we look forward to continuing working together to investigate the mysteries of the universe.

Dr. David P. Anderson
Project Director, SETI@home
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu"

As promised when this project began, the EHer with the highest number of results processed was:

Name (and URL)	Results received	Total CPU time	Average CPU time per work unit	Date Last Result Received	Country
1) CPT Stuart - TiTaNiUmBoY	14453	15.492 years	9 hr 23 min 22.9 sec	Thu Mar 20 14:38:15 2003	Canada

Outstanding work...!!! For his efforts, CPT Stuart has been awarded the Grand Order of the Emperor (GOE) medal...

Description	The Emperor's Hammer is the largest online Star Wars gaming club on the Web...
Web site	click here
Members	142
Results received	57450
Total CPU time	90.536 years
Founder	Ronin

Greetings Mr. Perry,

My deepest apologizes for the amount of time it has taken me to send you this interview. Much has happened in my personal life, it just interfered with my work in the Emperor's Hammer.

No problem. Life does that.

1.) What do you think about the Emperor's Hammer?

I confess I haven't time to consider it all that deeply, but it seems like a fun place.

2.) Why did you want to become an author?

Always wanted to tell and write stories, and I especially wanted to impress my 11th grade English teacher, Mary Ann Brown, who was drop-dead gorgeous, which is where and why I wrote my first science fiction story. (It did impress her. And I still send her copies of my new books every time one comes out.)

3.) Who are your inspirations?

Too many to list, really. I like all kinds of writers, from Isaac Asimov to Roger Zelazny, and most of the alphabet in-between.

4.) What is your favorite book, and why?

Can't really narrow it down to one, there are too many I enjoy. (If you are talking about my stuff, I like them all ...) Zelazny's Lord of Light is a favorite, but I a fan of Bill Gibson's stuff, and most of what John Irving has written -- Hotel New Hampshire was one of my favorites. I have eclectic tastes.

5.) What is your favorite movie, and why?

Pretty much the same reply as the favorite book. I can list bunches -- here are a few: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; The Big Chill; Grand Canyon; Personal Best; All that Jazz; Forbidden Planet; The Day the Earth Stood Still; and the first SWs trilogy, considered as one movie.

I have to confess I thought the first two LOTRs were pretty spiffy, too.

6.) Where did you first see Star Wars?

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the first week it came out. On a Tuesday, around noon. Enjoyed it tremendously, though at the time, I thought Lucas took my idea -- I had written a story about a mystical fighter who used something very similar to the Force a month or two before I saw the movie -- I called it The Wave. Great minds and all ...

7.) What is your favorite thing about Star Wars, and why?

The sense of wonder, the fun of it. It's a Samurai Western with all those wonderful Hero's Journey archtypes. Great stuff.

8.) What are some of your hobbies, and why do you like them?

I study an Indonesian martial art, penjak silat, which I love, and I am trying to learn how to play classical guitar. They engage my mind, body, and spirit.

9.) What is your favorite thing about being an author?

I can get up as late as I want, set my own hours, and I get to make up stuff and get paid for it. How terrific is that?

10.) Do you have any current projects that you are working on that you are allowed to talk about?

Sure. I'm working on a novel in my Matador series, called The Musashi Flex. Doing another book in the collaborative Net Force series, from Tom Clancy. A couple of spec movie scripts with Mike Richardson at Dark Horse. Oh, and a pair of Star Wars novels with my friend Michael Reaves (he wrote Shadow Hunter, the Darth Maul book). These are paperbacks set during the Clone Wars.

My magic realism novel, Windowpane, just came out from Five Star Press.

11.) What kind of music do you like?

All kinds: Rock, blues, classical, country, jazz, doo-wop. I'm not a big rap fan, being a middle-aged Louisiana cracker and all, and I think it's a young person's genre, but I respect the folks who can pull it off.

12.) Who is your favorite band, and why?

Beatles. Because ... they're the *Beatles.* All time favorite piece of music would have to be Pachelbel's Canon in D, but I like Hey Jude and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, a lot, too ...

13.) Who is your favorite character in Star Wars (movies and books), and why?

Hard to nail that one down. I love the orginial cast for ANH, ESB, and ROTJ. Princess Leia was always the coolest character for me. I have to say I think Xizor is a pretty neat villain. I always identified most with Han Solo, of course.

Smartest character in the all the movies? I'd have to go with Threepio ...

14.) Was there a reason you decided to write Shadows of the Empire?

Well, they asked me. <grin>. More seriously, it was a chance to put my favorite characters through their paces, to answer some questions I'd had, and to get inside their heads and see what made them tick. What Darth Vader thinks when he goes into the hyperbaric chamber? I know. I got to say. How Luke built his new light saber and how he went from whinning boy to Jedi Knight? I got to show that. How Princess Leia felt about Han being frozen? I got to tell readers that, too. I loved it, it was a great experience.

15.) What did you use for inspiration when you wrote Shadows?

I set out to make SOTE the movie that should have gotten made between ESB and ROTJ. I got to use Darth Vader, and a neat new villain, Xizor (pronounced "Shee-zor," by the way.)

16.) Is Dash Rendar really dead?

Nope. Dash lives. He even got a cameo at the end of the five issue miniseries I wrote for Dark Horse Comics: Shadows of the Empire: Evolution.

Once again, thanks a lot!!!

You are most welcome.

Highest Regards,

-Keiran Idanian
High Admiral/Emperor's Hammer
www.emperorshammer.org

Steve
http://users.easystreet.com/~sperry/

Interested Imperial Citizens can visit the Articles Page for a listing of all Honorary Members interviews and submissions.

FC Ronin,

I wanted to write to you and let you know that I have really enjoyed my last 2 years in the Emperor's Hammer. It kept me out of trouble during college (hmm Drink Beer or fly 100 missions tonight :p) and it has kept me entertained in my professional life.

I received orders on Friday that I will be leaving very very soon (I am packed) for the Persian Gulf. I am a Infantry Lieutenant with the 101st Airborne. As of Today I resigned my EH positions to move to the reserves until I can return.

Once again, I just wanted to thank you. If I get the opportunity I will email the EH and let them know how things are going over seas. Thanks!

=====

PROF COM/VA Khameir Sarin/ISD Grey Wolf
SW Khameir Sarin (Sith)/AED/Oriens Obscurum of Arcona

As some of you may be aware, there are MANY Members of the EH in the USA armed forces (or the armed forces of their own respective countries). Although life in the EH is an "escape" from the rigors of day-to-day life, we should NEVER forget these brave souls who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and rights. I have taken extra special pains to express my gratitude to these "real life" soldiers...The young men and women who protect us every day...

I would like to ask that ALL Members of the EH shows their appreciation whenever they get the chance (i.e. IRC, IMs and the EH message boards). No matter what your feelings are about current world politics and events, ALWAYS remember to appreciate your defenders. They need our support !

I for one think their individual sacrifices (and those of their families) surpass anything that this humble online organization can provide for its Membership...

Following the review of three serious applications received, Darknyte has been selected as the new EH Lord Ambassador (LA).

<SALUTE>

Sir,

Well, I really don't know what qualities you're looking for since I couldn't find anything online about LA, so as per your instructions here's an application that's more a piece of prose than anything else about me wanting the job.

I think I could fulfill the duties of LA in an acceptable fashion. Some time ago(2 years or more) I was an Envoy in the AG. I served under LA Dan Malaktos and directly reported to Ambassador Prophet. I got stationed to hang out with the Rebel Squadrons guys on IRC. It was a fun experience, even though those guys are a bit whacked always talking about sexual matter with animals and stuff...but, what can one expect from a Rebel?

I'll admit, I don't know a great deal about other clubs, I never really joined any of them for any length of time. I was in the RS for about 2 weeks at one time, but got a little frustrated by their lengthy training process and left.

I am willing to learn though, and do feel that given some training material or even just some basic guidelines of what's expected of me I could fulfill the job's requirements. I already have one idea relating directly to the AG that I would like to implement. As I said on IRC, I'd like to offer allied clubs an opportunity to broadcast a weekly show on the HARA/WEHR radio streams. Nothing involving propaganda or interclub promotion, just letting them come in and see how the radio works and spreading the idea around. Perhaps a small message in each show stating something like "This show sponsored by 'Club Name'" or something on those lines.

As for other ideas, the only real ideas I have at this point (I never really considered LA as a possible job until a minute ago) is to just get the EH and other clubs closer together online and get everyone to just get to know each other and enjoy themselves online. I had thought of perhaps creating a new IRC channel that is not owned by any one club, just a place where any member of any club can come and hang out and talk to other people with similar interests. We're all in these clubs because we like Star Wars and we like games, so we'd have much in common with the members of the other Star Wars clubs. Perhaps we could even work with the Fringe to create an Inter-Club RPG session online or invite members of other clubs to partake in the EH MUD.

That's really all the ideas I've come up with for now, as I said I've only really thought about this for a few minutes and was able to come up with those ideas. In time I am sure I can come up with many more ideas to help the EH and the AG prosper and maintain good ties with all clubs.

Respectfully Submitted,

Darknyte

Other qualified applicants included:

Darknyte is herein promoted to the "probationary" rank of Rear Admiral (RA) commensurate with his new Position...

Firstly, I upgraded my PC recently and have had a hard time getting stuff reinstalled. As I write this report, I'm currently backing up the TC database and all that. Any development work on the site will have to wait a few days.

Next, I'm beginning to wonder what's wrong with the SGCOMs as a whole. There's been a general lack of effort in things. Firstly, only one SG managed to get a roster to me (BHG), only one SGCOM responded about my directive to give MB access to certain parties (the IWCOM) and the update responses show a lack of overall progress or "care-factor" on the history project. Couple this with the fact that some COs thought it was smart to *argue* with me about my "Things for 2003" emails and I'm left wondering who's actually serious about making their bit of the EH
better. Make no mistake, guys. We are looking at very lean pickings from Lucasarts in the neart future in terms of decent games and we all need to pick up our game to maintain and improve the EH. Automatic responses like "It's too hard" or "It's too much work" to ideas given by
myself or members won't cut it anymore. If a member suggests a possible game platform, it will be investigated.

Recently, I've felt that the usual light banter of subgroup rivalry has reached a point of outright bashing of subgroups and areas of the EH.
This just isn't on, since we're all part of the same big thing and this sort of petty infighting is unprofessional and makes us look lame to prospective members. We should be promoting each other, not putting each other down. In the next couple weeks, the HCI will be making an example of a couple members who did this. This will continue until people start getting a clue about it.

An issue of clarification about expelled members - they aren't allowed back in. This is regardless of their status on the most wanted list. Being on the MWL means we can ban those people on sight. Being simple expelled means the person can be in the EH channels, etc but we are not
bound to give them the same benefits of the rules that we give other EH members. That means we can ban the person without going through the usual CoC/AoW process of warnings, etc. The only way an expelled member can be left back in is via approval from the FC, XO or HI and in all cases, a period of probation will be in place. In addition to probation is usually some sort of blackban upon awards, promotions and
appointments as well. Keep these points in mind if an expelled member approaches you about rejoining and remember that being allowed back in is not a flippant thing that the FC, HI or I do for kicks. It's an important decision that involves a lot of trust on our part.

SA Astatine - XO

Greetings all and welcome to this week's report from the Flight Office...

News...

March Madness Results

Congratulations to the ASD for defeating the ATF in their multiplayer competition on Saturday. The final scores were:

ASF: 239

ATF: 131

In the individual stakes:

XWA
1st Iron Star - Gold Wings: LCM Yilana
2nd Iron Star - Silver Wings: CPT Pete Mitchell
3rd Iron Star - Bronze Wings: CM Jaron Kai

XvT
1st Iron Star - Gold Wings: Vice Admiral Darksaber
2nd Iron Star - Silver Wings: General Kaerner
3rd Iron Star - Bronze Wings: CM Jaron Kai

Congratulations to those pilots and thanks to everyone who took part and helped run the competition.

Grey Wolf Commodore Resigns

Due to RL commitments, Vice Admiral Sarin has resigned as Commodore of the ISD Grey Wolf and moved to the Reserves. We wish him a speedy return to active service.

Without delay a new COM is in place...congratulations to Rear Admiral Khadgar who takes over the position for a second time. And he's already put out requirements the new Wing Commander:

Applicants should consider the following criteria when applying:

a.. Proven experience as Squadron Commander or higher.
b.. Familiarity with TIE Corps procedures.
c.. Familiarity with X-Wing vs TIE Fighter in terms of Multiplayer and Single Player.
d.. Able to handle any E-Mail requests promptly and write regular reports.
e.. Able to work with flag officers, as well as members of the Wing.
f.. Additionally, applicants must also fulfill the position requirements as listed in the Training Manual.

You are also encouraged to note any special skills that may help in the position, such as web design ability. All applications should be addressed to Rear Admiral Khadgar and Vice Admiral Darksaber.

Good luck to those of you who apply.

Vanguard Commodore Promoted

In recognition of his continuing work as COM, Rear Admiral Sickman has been promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral. Congratulations!

TIE Corps Meeting

At last Sunday's TIE Corps meeting, we had around 70 members attending, which is one of the highest numbers I've ever seen. Many thanks to those of you who took the time to attend. A reminder that TC Meetings are held every Sunday in #tiecorps at 9PM GMT / 5PM EST.

And congratulations again to RA Khadgar, who receives an Iron Star - Bronze Ribbon for winning the Trivia.

DISTINGUISH YOUR SQUADRON!

"Have you ever wanted your squadron to perform a special duty? Have you ever thought about accomplishing something to distiguish your squadron? Soon, you'll have the opportunity to do it! The SSSD Sovereign League 2003 is coming! More details very soon!"

Respectfully,

High Admiral Priyum
Flight Officer & TIE Corps Commander
---------------------------------------------------------------
FO-TCCOM-PROF/HA Priyum Patel/CS-4/SSSD Sovereign
MoH/IC/OoR/GOE/GSx3/SSx3/BSx2/PCx5/ISMx10/MoI-BC/LoC-CSx9/MoC-3BoC/CoLx3/CoB/CoE/LoA/OV-4E
[DRAG] {IWATS-GFX-IIC/1/2/3-M/1/2-RT-SM/1/3-TT}

Members of Emperor's Hammer. I come to you to announce 3rd summer meeting of EH members in Poland. Just like last summer, meeting will last for 4 days (or more) and will be in July.

Place:

Thanks to our very own, LCM Jonny Sawicki, we will be able to use his summer house. It's great place located around 30 kms south from the city of Bialystok. For those who don't know, where Bialystok is I can tell it's the city located in North-Eastern Poland, near Byelorussian border (around 50kms). To locate our meeting place you can check this link: http://www.mapapolski.pl/index.php3?Z_CITY_NAME=wojszki&form_t=1. This red circle is Wojszki village, and we will be very close. If you can see the bridge on Narew river, then we are 1km from there.

Location is great. Woods, fields, fresh air, river. Nothing you can find in city. Last two meetings we had great weather. Warm, no rain. Excellent place to rest.

House itself has kitchen where you can cook meal, two small rooms, one bigger with fireplace and veranda. It small so most of the people sleep outside in tents. Capacity is rather unlimited, since Jonny's location is big, and we have small field nearby, where we can place our tents.
And the most important thing, we have swimming pool. It great to sit in there, drinking beer.

Requirements:

First you need to get there (check next pagagraph). And when you will be there you will need few basic things. You will need your tent, and if you can't get one, you should inform me. Also you need sleeping bag, clothes, and some cash for food and beer. Food is really cheap here, so it should not be a problem. You can get your games with you and your joystick, cause we plan MP competition.
And I think that's all you need. And of course, the most important thing: will to join us.

How to get there?

It can be pretty tricky if you are not from Poland, but nothing is a problem for us. We have agents in main polish cities like Warsaw, Gdansk or Lodz, so if you will get there we will guide you. If you travel by plane then you will probably land in Warsaw. Don't worry, we will send people to pick you up from Okecie Airfield.

If you travel by car then you should drive on Warsaw. Then you should head for Bialystok and meet me there, or use the faster way. You can turn right city Zambrow and drive on Bielsk Podlaski. There you turn left and head for Bialystok. While you will reach bridge on Narew river, you will be there.

If you travel by bus or train, you just go to Bialystok and we will meet you there. Online map of poland is located on www.mapapolski.pl use it. :)

Who will be there?

I am never sure who will be there. But I think you will meet me, my girlfriend Tissaya Argat, my brother Adam Szydlowski aka Wiesio, pilots of Diamondback Squadron: Derek Dan, Tvan Oris, Michael Krzyzanski, Chris aka Elvis, Marcin Kaczynski, Linoge and Drako. What's more. Maybe our SCO Ender MBind and our good MP Pilot, Erik Tarkin, Gutt from US, Mark from Warsaw, Thorn and his buddies, Balrog, Diablo and Ann, Jonny, Per-Aa and Airamags, Frey Gallandro and many others. It hard to say precisly who will be there, but if you won't be there although you can and have resources to, you will be disappointed and you will miss great fun!

What can I expect?

First and most important, great FUN! River of beer, multi player matches and all those fancy staff. You will be able to meet the infamous "Cheater's Hunter", in other word me, you will be able to meet one of the best pilots in TC. If Ender will be there you will be able to meet our SCO, who will give us all quick lesson about OPTing and patching :P

Yes, you will meet new people, and I can tell you from my own experience, you career in EH will not be the same after meeting and you will join us next year for sure. You will spend last buck to get there :)

And of course you will be able to rest, drink some beer, chat, listen to EH famous stories like "The Legend of infamous Death Riders" or "Zulus story". You can expect great fun!

I don't know Polish

But we know English, so it's not a problem. Besides most of people in Poland speak English more or less, so they will be able to help you.

I love it, I want to join, what should I do now?

Just email me ( pbmike@go2.pl ) and let me know and I am pretty sure we will be able to arrange everything.

Cya there.

Admiral Marcin "Mike" Szydlowski
---------------------------------------
Tactical Officer
Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet
#3203 < pbmike@go2.pl >

Interesting EH Web Archive Discovered: 02.27.03
As Emailed From: Fleet Admiral Yodavin

I sent an email last week about reports and rosters. Specifically to SGCOMs, it was about how reports aren't in the format that is required
in some cases, such as a lack of roster count at the top (or at all) and so on. Also, the database dumps I'm supposed to be getting had totally
dried up. Just a reminder that these rosters are due at the end of each month, in comma delimited format.

An issue that has popped up this week is one of people using achievements in one subgroup to back up their application for a position in another. This is okay in theory, but in the case of the one that popped up, the person in question hadn't been properly vetted. So, while their history in one subgroup seemed good or okay, their career in the TIE Corps was rather woeful and inconsistant. Implementing the sort of tracking, such as on the TC database's historical records can help, but also not blindly relying on a couple recommendations is a good idea.
You can never check too much about an applicant's suitability for a position.

In other things, I'll be looking at increasing the number of automated competition systems for the TIE Corps and EH in general, such as a new
EH Ladder code base that integrates with the TC roster and an automated version of the squadron league. The idea with these is to allow them to be easily setup for repeated executions and free staff to make other competitions.

SA Astatine - XO

FA Brad Awarded the Order of the Renegade (OoR) Medal: 02.27.03
As Submitted From: Fleet Commander (GA Ronin)

For his dedicated and CONSISTENTLY effective work as EH Security officer (SO), FA Brad is herein awarded the Emperor's Hammer Order of the Renegade (OoR) Medal. He has tirelessly and without complaint performed admirably at perhaps the least respect position on the Command Staff...He keeps us all honest ! :)

I would like a moment to point out the Infiltrator Wing Training Academy. The IWTA has evolved greatly over the past year and has grown from a simple couple of courses to a full fledged academy with new courses being added almost every week. All the courses are of the highest quality, which is insured by several officers evaluating new courses before acceptance.

The IWTA is organized very similarly to the IWATS, with a bit of difference. Where IWATS mostly offers courses that help you broaden your knowledge of computers and programming, the IWTA is oriented strictly on the Infiltrator Wing/Emperor's Hammer and the STAR WARS universe. It is run by the IW Training Officer, Rear Admiral Gavin Strongarm and his staff.

Words from the IWTO:

There are many courses offered here on the Destrier, most of which are to supplement your career in the IW. Courses are just that, supplements. They are here to benefit you. A course is a test that is designed to be enjoyable and make the member a more useful person within the Infiltrator Wing. Another benefit of courses is that they allow for something different for members to do. Had enough of flying this week, why not brush up on your Starfighter General Knowledge? Courses can be used as prerequisite for positions within the Infiltrator Wing. For example, a Wing Commander may wish all applicants for an open commander position to have passed the Squadron Command course as it provides important information and hints that the applicant will need in his new position.

There are also, currently, three exams here at the IWTA. An Exam is a test that a pilot MUST take in order to be promoted. For example, there is no way to be promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJ) from Cadet (CDT), except by taking the Lieutenant Junior Grade Exam. You also need to take the LTJ exam in order to be placed in an active IW line squadron.

I hope you enjoy these courses and your time in the Infiltrator Wing

Infiltrator Wing Training Officer
Gavin Strongarm

The URL of the IW Training Academy is: http://www.infiltrator-wing.com/iwta

I would also like to request that the IWTA be added to the listing of the EH Academies at: http://www.emperorshammer.org/academy.htm

Respectfully submitted,

Admiral NiksaVel,
Infiltrator Wing Commander

IWCOM/AD NiksaVel/IWCS-1/MC-90 Renegade/IW/EH
[GoE/NDM*2/DSM/LoM*4/SV*4/MoD*5/VC-ebony/CBV/IW/MC1st*8/MC2nd*2/BSx5/PCx5/ISMx8/LoC-CSx9/LSM-oc/MoT-17rh-1gh/MoI-bc(8members)/HSM*2/MoC-3BoC-1GoC/CoB/LoAx3/OV-4E] [PLDN]
{IWTA-SGK-SCC-SRW} {IWATS-IIC/1/2/3-M/1-PHP/1-R-RPG-SM/1/2-TM-XTM} [MA-W Black Arrow]
DJK Draggore (Sith)/RM-FM/Archanis of Taldryan
"Blood and Honor"

Something I forgot to add to my report was a new Press Release from Lucas Arts on the 5th.

From: http://www.lucasarts.com/press/releases/64.html

"LUCASARTS TO RELEASE ENHANCED VERSION OF STAR WARS�: THE CLONE WARS� FOR XBOX LIVE THIS SPRING

Critically Acclaimed Star Wars Game to Offer Expanded Content for Dynamic Internet Play

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- February 5, 2003 -- LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC today announced it is releasing a new version of Star Wars: The Clone Wars for Xbox� Live this spring. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the first LucasArts console game available for play over the Internet and will offer expanded combat action specifically designed for Xbox Live.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars for Xbox Live will allow simultaneous play for up to eight players over the Internet. In addition to voice communication capability, the game's new features consist of Conquest Mode, which includes a variety of new weaponry, boost power-ups, and battlefield teleportals.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a ground and air-based combat action game inspired by and expanding upon one of the Star Wars galaxy's most dramatic and intensely fought conflicts. The game, published and distributed by LucasArts and developed by Pandemic Studios, released for PlayStation�2 and GameCube� fall 2002."

LO/AD Tron/CS-11/SSSD Sovereign
GOE/MoC-10BoC-1SoC-1GoC/CoL/LoA/OV-5E [LANC] {IWATS-SM/2}
SWL Tron Sadow (Sith)/FM/Ludo Kressh of Naga Sadow
SB/GCx2/(SC-SoP)/(SE-WG)/DC-KC/(GN)/(BN) {SA: G:LS}