Recently, Dreadnought Serenity and her counterparts have returned from a brutal and costly Operation on the edge of Vast Empire Space, they have returned from the Yetton System. The System holds Outpost: Viverro, a listening outpost that sent a distress signal. The following information has been taken from the log of multiple Kaph Squadron members, and was presented during the initial briefing:

“Recently, the Vast Empire Imperial Naval High Council received a Code Zero Alert from the Vast Empire Naval Listening Outpost Viverro. This alert matches recent alerts from other systems of hostile forces attacking the outposts, and attempting to take over the area. The Outpost is lightly defended from hostile forces, with only Two Lancer Frigates and a TIE Interceptor Squadron as its garrison. It is not equipped enough to fight off the hostile forces that were detected from the outpost the first time it detected the Hostile Fleet.”

The information above was taken from the log of Zhar Bacredi, who at the time was positioned as Kaph 2. The information above was what sparked the Operation and the initial formation of Task Force: Iron Sweep. When the Task Force was sent on their way to the Yetton System, the Dreadnaughts Lobo and Serenity were accompanied by a large force of Lancer Frigates, the infamous Corellian Corvettes, Carrack Cruisers, and the venerable Kaph Squadron. This mission marked Kaph Squadron’s first mission since their re-opening, as their previous mission had been a training mission to help the new pilots, this was the new Kaph’s first real mission. The Task Force entered sublight speeds just off of Vectra, the Naval High Command headquarters. The initial approach would take two days, and give all the crew members a time to get briefed on the mission.

During the first hour, the four Squadrons attached to the Task Force (Kaph Squadron, Devil Squadron, Twilight Squadron, and Crimson Squadron) were briefed on their upcoming mission. On the Lobo Kaph and Devil Squadrons were briefed by their respective leaders, Ensign Fox and at the time Warrant Officer Second Class C-3PX2. While on the Serenity Twilight and Crimson Squadrons were briefed as well. They were told that an unknown warlord force was in the Yetton System, and they were to rid the system of that force. At the briefing, the forces of the unknown Warlord threat were read as:

– Dreadnaught (Flagship) – Identified as the Amaranth
– Carrack Cruiser
– Lancer Frigate (x3)
– CR90 Corvette (x4)

The Task Force easily outnumbered the mere force of the Warlord, but the Task Force leaders speculated that the Warlord’s ships had modifications that could make them a deadly threat to anyone, even this venerable task force. And soon after that, the Executive Officer of Kaph Squadron, whose name is not being released at this time was replaced. He was soon after given the position as Flight Leader.

Two days later, the Task Force arrived in the Yetton System. Immediately a shuttle was sent to Outpost: Viverro to see if it was defendable, or should be evacuated. It was chosen to be defendable, and soon after the shuttle left the Outpost. But halfway through the shuttle’s flight to the Lobo, it was brutally shot down by warlord TIE/D Defenders. The Outpost, which was housing Kaph Squadron at the time for a briefing then received a small signal, one that died shortly thereafter. Kaph Squadron was immediately alerted of this, and set out to fight. When they reached the Shuttle’s debris field, they saw 5 TIE/D Defenders. They immediately began to battle them, and shortly after the TIE/Ds were destroyed. Warlord forces soon entered the system, but for unknown reasons left minutes after they entered, only to leave four CR90s in their wake, along with 45 TIE/D Droid starfighters.

These starfighters would prove deadly for the four Squadrons, and Devil Squadron was almost entirely taken out. Except for a few members which were transferred to Kaph Squadron. Eventually the TIE/Ds would be taken out, with a cost of course, almost all the squadrons had suffered losses, except for Kaph who had merely suffered injuries. Kaph Squadron, and the other three squadrons then headed for the enemy CR90 Corellian Corvettes, after the enemy lost two of their CR90s the warlord re-entered the system. But unfortunately the Warlord Flagship, collided with the Lobo, destroying both ships and moving the Serenity to the flagship. The next dilemma that happened was the loss of the Vast Empire Lancer Frigates, and then the rest of the Warlord forces were allowed to retreat.

The aftermath of this Operation, was a large question: “Are we safe?”. Many people are wondering that, as the Ios, Bannth, and Yetton Systems were all brutally hurt in this wake. The Ios and Bannth systems will take years to recover. And Naval High Command has issued alerts to all neighboring systems about this warlord threat.

I am Zhar Bacredi, thanks for stopping by.

I know many us being Star Wars fans have thought about the What Ifs of the saga. In this 2 part article I aim to explore some of these questions and provide reasonable answers.

1. What if…. George Lucas would have chosen to go on with episodes 7, 8, and 9 instead of the prequels(1, 2, and 3)?

I believe that the prequel trilogy is a very necessary part to explaining  the originals. The prequels gave you an in depth look at the transformation of Anakin to Darth Vader. But, If the movie making giant George Lucas decided against the prequels and went on with the sequels(7, 8, and 9) we would have gotten the chance to see a new generation of jedi and the New Republic trying to defeat remnants of the empire. This would have given George Lucas an opportunity to not be as tied to the rest of  the saga and to be more original.

2. What If…. Luke would have gone over to the darkside?

If Luke Skywalker would have gone over to the darkside the course of Star Wars would have been extremely different.  The reign of the empire would have continued for many more years, the rebellion’s morale would have fallen and would have lead to their defeat. Of course, there would have been a way George Lucas would  bring back the jedi (probably through Leia) and the empire would have still lost its iron grip eventually.

If you load up the main Vast Empire Page and look on the left hand side, you will see the following: General, Divisions, Logistics, etc. When you look at logistics you will see Battle Board, First Galactic Bank, etc and you may wonder “What are they?” That is what this article is about, it describes everything from the Battle Board to the richest members of the First Galactic Bank Fortune Guild, everything that you need to know about these services are in this article-and I mean everything.

Battle Board:

Lets kick this article off with the Battle Board, the Battle Board is the heart of interactive online gaming of the Vast Empire, on the Battle Board you can challenge another member to XvT, JK, and many other games that vary from multiple platforms. To start off a Battle Board experience you would need to be challenged by another member in a online multiplayer game, if you accept this challenge you and the member that challenged you would need to agree on the terms of playing (Cheating is strictly prohibited) and then you two have a fun match against each other. Once this match ends and a Victor has come forth you and the member that challenged you would submit the a statistical outcome from the game, the Battle Board would then put the statistics that you and the other member entered into the Battle Board and reflect it in your gaming profile.

Useful Battle Board Links:
– Battle Board News/Home Page
– Battle Board Rules
– About the Battle Board

The First Galactic Bank:

Commonly refereed to as FGB, the First Galactic Bank is were you wire Imperial Credits (ICs) or your own possessions to other members, change your account info, and view the Fortune Guild. The First Galactic Bank’s Wire Transfer function (On the site it is referred to as ‘Wire Funds’) is were you may wire Imperial Credits to other members of the Vast Empire, first you would need to click the ‘Wire Funds’ link on any of the First Galactic Bank Pages, and then a page will come up displaying a drop box (Only if you click the box). If you decide you want to wire funds you would need to select a member from the box, once you do that you will need to type your password in the given box, and the amount of funds, and you may also add comments to your transfer. Once the transfer is completed email notifications will be sent out, to both the sender and the receiver.

The Fortune Guild is were only the wealthiest in all Vast Empire, Force Elite Soldiers, and many other Group’s lands are allowed to be displayed. At the top of the page there is a sorter that allows you to sort the members from different groups. Currently at the top of all the groups, and the Vast Empire group is Supreme Moff Kadann, his balance stands above one billion Imperial Credits.

Useful First Galactic Bank Links:
– First Galactic Bank Home Page
– Account Services
– The Fortune Guild
– Your Possessions
– Organizations
– Wire Funds/Transfer Products

The Imperial Center Store:

Arguably the most renown and notable Service in the Imperial Network, the Imperial Center store was started back when Coruscant was a little town with a well. At the Imperial Center you can buy a wide array of items, from the Acclamator I-Class Assault Ship to Imperial Urinal Cakes, at the Imperial Center you can buy almost everything (They explicetly state: ‘Imperial Center is a store, not a slave market. We will not sell lightsabers, Mandalorian armor, Spaarti cloning chambers…’). The staff of the Imperial Center will gladly help you with any questions you have regarding the problems, and will help you find anything that they have in their shelves. Currently, the most popular item is Imperial Urinal Cakes.

Useful Imperial Center Links:
– Imperial Center Main Page
– Imperial Center Section Capital Ships
– Imperial Center Section Personal Items
– Imperial Center Section Droids
– Imperial Center Section Starfighters
– Request an Item

Imperial Vigil Enterprises:

The Imperial Vigil Enterprises is the main manufacturing plant for the Vast Empire, the Enterprise builds all of the weapons, spacecraft, and armor that the Vast Empire and her divisions wear into combat and out of combat. They cater to large companies in bulk, such as the Imperial Center Store (See Above). They do not cater to civilians, this is because of the reason that civilians do not order in bulk, nor do they need to. Imperial Vigil Enterprise’s site shows the Completed Orders, Manufacturing Orders, and Pending Orders.

Useful Imperial Vigil Enterprise Links:
– Enterprise Home
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Orders
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Completed Orders
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Manufacturing Orders
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Pending Orders
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Outlets
– Imperial Vigil Enterprise Products

Impericare Benefits:

Impericare Benefits is were you may decide wether you want a mansion, or a one room apartment. It provides a vast amount of giant options for your Imperial Needs. Some such needs are dental, were you may have Standard Dental Plans, or a Huge Expensive plan. Or Vision plans, were you decide what type of vision care you may have.

Useful Impericare Links:
– Impericare Home
– Impericare Dental
– Impericare Health
– Impericare Food
– Impericare Housing

Today, Grand General Talon, a veteran of the Vast Empire and her divisions opened up to a Vast Empire Today reporter, describing the past state and present state of the Vast Empire, and many other interesting things about the Vast Empire, including a sneak peak on Chapter 9! The veteran is currently retired from the Vast Empire Army and the Vast Empire Navy, but is currently active in the High Council and the Dark Jedi Order. Talon, commonly known on IRC (Internet Relay Communication) as Chesh has recently returned from overseas, and the Vast Empire as a whole is glad to welcome him back into the community. Many of the younger recruits do not know much about Talon, only noticed him a few times from looking at old ComNet posts, hopefully this interview will give you younger recruits some idea on who he is:

Questions:

Blue-Leader: Since you just returned from overseas. What is your outlook on the Vast Empire currently? Have any of the divisions changed from what you last remember them to be? The people inside them?

-Talon: “The active members change quite often. Being here eight years means lots of time to watch the member turn arounds. There are the ones that are marginally active throughout that time, but the ones that are super active normally come and go. The Vast Empire is definitely on the upswing of activity though, it is good to see.”

Blue-Leader: What plans do you and the other command staff have for progressing the Vast Empire Story line?

-Talon: “We’ve been trying to bring the Vast Empire past the Thrawn timeline for some time now and break away from the Expanded Universe’s more strict items. One little spoiler I will mention is that we would like to keep Thrawn alive so that he could come back later into our timeline.”

Blue-Leader: Can we get a possible sneak peak on some ideas for Chapter 9?

-Talon: “The Vast Empire is still making its push toward Coruscant in an effort to reclaim our capitol from the New Republic. Part of the storyline is fixed, but the Empire’s progress largely depends on the support we get from the troopers and pilots. One thing that the Vast Empire’s members don’t understand a lot of times is that their actions dictate the extent that we are able to continue our push. Acitivty means more worlds conquered.”

Blue-Leader: What is your background and how did you progress to your present position? Have you had a rocky path to your current position? A smooth one?

-Talon: “I started out playing Jedi Knight on the Zone. Trigit, who was a First Sergeant at the time, found me and had a request. I was doing some slight mercenary-esque work and part of his payment for me was directing me to a really cool Jedi Knight mod that was made by Darth Haun. I started poking around the web site and found out that the Vast Empire wrote stories as a branch of the Empire. I signed up in the Army as Talon. I was originally placed in the Panther squad, but quickly moved to Iron Horse under TJ. TJ and I brought a level of activity to the squad that the Vast Empire had been lacking at the time and the first Elite title was given out to Iron Horse. Right around this time, I joined the Dark Jedi Order as well as the Navy under the callsign Claw. Shortly after joining the Navy, PJ (TJ’s alternate nickname) and I brought Viper the Elite title as well. My first command position was under Trigit as the A:CoT which I held for about two weeks before he stepped down from his position. I was given the position of CoT as a Second Lieutenant. I was also made the Training Officer in the Navy under Atrus during this time. I reached NXO before stepping back down to more of an advisor position in the Navy, but continued up the chain in the Navy to AXO and finally Prefect. By now I was in the Dark Council of the Dark Jedi Order and on my way to the Deputy Grand Master’s chair. By the time I made it into the Operations Officer position, I was Grand Master of the Dark Jedi Order. I have sat there for some time, but have enjoyed my positions. As for the smoothness of my time here, I’ve had my fair share of rough patches, but its shaped me into a better leader dealing with difficult bosses and subordinates.”

Blue-Leader: What was your first impression about the Vast Empire when you heard about it?

-Talon: “My first impression was that this was a very well put together group. Even Kadann’s old design looked good back in 2000. I went into the IRC channel and saw all of the higher ups that I later worked with as gods of their domain. It’s rather funny to hear the same thing out of people today as they join.”

Blue-Leader: What is your favorite part about the Vast Empire and her divisions? Your least?

-Talon (Favorite): “I would have to say finding that group of people that you can plan out a really great story with and even surprise yourselves when you don’t plan it, but you’re thinking along the same lines. Once the story is done you can look back and say, ‘That was a lot of fun.'”

-Talon (Least Favorite): “My least favorite part is the feeling of “playing daddy” that sometimes comes around when I have to do my moderator duties in the IRC channel and ComNet.”

Blue-Leader: How many divisions have you been part of in the Vast Empire? And how many of these divisions are you still an active member of?

-Talon: “I’ve been a part of all of the divisions. I’m retired from the Army and Navy. I am the Operations Officer of the High Council, Grand Master of the Dark Jedi Order, and the CEO of the Engineering Corps.”

Blue-Leader (8.1): What are some of the most difficult problems that the Vast Empire have faces? What about the Army? The Navy?

-Talon (8.1) “Well, we’ve had at least three run of the mill mutinies that I can think of. There have been the attempts to discredit members of the High Commands in various divisions. The biggest problem that the Vast Empire has ever faced is lack of activity. There have been some pretty low lulls in its history and I hope I never see it as bad as it has been.”

Blue-Leader (Followup 8.2): May you go further into the mutinies against the members of High Command?

-Talon (8.2) “I would like to refrain from naming names, but there was one member in particular that had been around for a very long time. Longer than I have. He didn’t like that his circle of friends that used to run things had dwindled. He saw me as some sort of ring leader against him and tried to get me fired by stretching truths and spreading discontent.”

Blue-Leader: Did you ever think about leaving the Vast Empire? Have you?

-Talon: “There was a time that I seriously considered it. See the “playing daddy” comment for further explaination. I also had personal issues at the time that were bringing me down, so that didn’t help. Aside from bouts of inactivity due to being in the US Navy, my eight years have been consecutive though.”

Blue-Leader: What did you eat for breakfast today?

-Talon “A pepperoni Hot Pocket, breakfast of champions.”

And there you have it folks, Talon. This man has been through the most drastic times of the Vast Empire, and has still come out in one piece. He has gone up against a false mutiny, being a IRC Moderator, and just being around when someone needed his help. I would like to give special thanks to Grand General Talon for his time, High General Cosmic for his ideas, and the Engineering Corps.

I am Blue, thanks for stopping by.

This morning, a convoy of spice was viciously attacked by the Imperial Warlord. His name has not been released at this time, yet it is believed to be Teraloc. This group of terrorists decimated all 8 frigates, killing all 50 people on board the craft. The spice was en route to the planet Reegee, a planet filled with poverty. Expect more information about this horrific incident as it becomes available.

Another Imperial Warlord assaulted the Vast Empire controlled Yetton System. Kaph Squadron is believed to be in conflict above Yetton V’s small moon. The last received report showed promise. Eleven of the original forty-five Droid-manned TIE Star fighters remain, along with four CR90 Corvettes.

Nazgul Squadron suffered horrible loses as a Vast Empire Firebase: Calamis, exploded in close proximity to them during a heated conflict with the so-called Imperial Warlord Drakan. Five members of the Nazgul Squadron were gravely injured in the explosion. Over 500 brave Troopers lost their lives when the pretender to the Imperial Throne executed his dastardly plan. The Bannth system will be torn apart for quite some time due to the enormous amount of energy let out by destroying the stations reactor during the atrocious event.

The crime lord, Brrak Vrushekr, has been apprehended by authorities. He faces numerous accounts of murder along with spice smuggling and various minor charges.

The man accused of beating his wife to death with a lamp has been found guilty of 1st degree murder. Jrohnk Vaskli has been sentenced to death by a light bulb. His execution will begin at Twelve o’clock P.M. on Friday the thirteenth.

The oldest woman in the galaxy died today. Beatrice Ghrod was bungee jumping when the cable snapped. She fell five stories before slamming into the concrete surface below. Coroners are saying that she suffered a blood clot as she left the deck, effectively ending her life before the rope broke. She was 129 years of age.

In other news, the Galactic Decimators, a robotic football team, has disbanded. the coach, AE-129, had this to say, “The cost of keeping the robots in top shape along with the field they play on and the cost of traveling got to overwhelming for the owner. The robots will be auctioned off this Saturday starting at 4 P.M. galactic standard time.”

I am Stormz. You stay classy VE.

 

 

 

 Well for what its worth Lucas seems to  keep changing his mind.  It was told  after Revenge of the Sith that  it was the last movie. Then we had gotten the cartoon tv shows of clone wars. Taking place right before Revenge. Now we have more! Another movie – Clone Wars: The Clone Wars- Once more. Yet this time it will be done in CGI and will be a two hour movie before eventually being broken up and placed as a tv show for cartoon network.

 

 

It came as a suprise. Or should it?  That  sense the cartoon  became such a hit that a new  set was made. CGI becomming more and more part of our movies it only makes sense. With the eventual Live action TV series heading out in the near future, Star Wars will continue to live on. In this movie we  will get to see not only the older heros and villians but also  new characters. Such as Anakin’s Padwan Learner named Ahsoka. Thus far the cast  of the movie is  Anthony Daniels (C3PO), and  Matthew Wood (General Grievous)  and is directed by Dave Filoni.

 

So as any Star wars fan I  can say this will be one summer movie I will not miss at all. Hopefully, many of you all enjoy it too and lets hope the CGI does it’s magic and  pulls the watchers directly in to the heart of Star wars once again on the Big Screen!

 

 

 

Pictures are taken from Fandago

Since the first “Star Wars” movie was released, everyone has been in awe of the mind boggling ability that only a select few are capable of. The “Force” was first seen when Obi-Wan Kenobi manipulated the minds of a few stormtroopers in Mos Eisley. Since then, most every Star Wars game has come with some way to use the Force. The first game was Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight, a then state-of-the-art game with amazing graphics and never before seen abilities. As gaming advanced, however, so did the amount of incredible feats you could accomplish.

LucasArts is continuing to advance the wonderful Star Wars universe with yet another epic video game. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed submerges it’s players into Darth Vader’s “secret apprentice” and promises to bring new revelations to the Star Wars universe. The intriguing story is set between Episodes III: Revenge of the Sith and IV: A New Hope. Players will assist the iconic character dispose of the traitorous Jedi, while at the same time creating decisions that could ultimately change the course of the character’s destiny.

As the name mentions, The Force Unleashed redefines the force as we know it. Not only does the game highten the scope and scale of the Force by taking advantage of never before seen technologies called “Digital Mollecular Matter” (DMM) that was created by Pixelux Entertainment and “Euphoria” made by NaturalMotion Ltd. LucasArts paired those with the “Havok Physics” system. Together, they created a gameplay so advanced it could only be used on the next-generation of consoles. DMM uses the physical properties of anything in the enviroment so that everything acts correctly- wood breaks like wood, Glass shatters like normal, etc. the Euphoria engine is for behavioral-simulation. It causes characters to act, move and even think like a normal human being would. As the enviroment changes around them, their behavior will adapt on-the-fly resulting in a different action each time.

Staying on the note of the different engines that run this incredible new game. Let’s disect DMM for a moment. DMM is a new, unprecendented level of realism for the new generation of consoles. Everything in the game has molecular properties that act as they would in real life. Whether it is a wall that you destroy, glass you shatter, or plants you make sway, anything visible is affected and moves without a single frame of animation. How does this affect the game? During an action, a Jedi manipulates the force like never before. It may be a simple force push that chucks a helpless stormtrooper, into a wall causing it to dissintegrate. Moments later, the cieling crumbles from the lack of support.

What about Euphoria? What is Euphoria? The answer is simple. Euphoria is a revolutionary behavioral simulator. What makes it so great is that it recreates the unpredictability of real life where no two instances are exactly alike. How does will this new engine benefit TFU though? Take a stormtrooper standing on a narrow bridge. Now, force push that same trooper. With Euphoria activated, the stormtrooper will begin stumbling and flailing his arms in an attempt to keep from falling to his grave. But maybe say there are now 5 troopers on that same bridge. Will they all fall or will they all live? No one knows because Euphoria is a simulated not a scripted engine. No matter how many times you try the same thing, you will never finish with the end result.

Only time will tell how well all these new engines all work together. One thing is for certain though, no matter what this next video game is like, it is sure to be a ground breaking sequel to the best selling franchise in the world.

My next interviewee for the “View from the Top” series will be Merrick. Long-standing Army veteran and infamous IRC Moderator, not many people may know of Merrick, her role within the VE, or even the person behind Merrick. Well now you do.

————————————————————————————-

Hello Merrick. First of all, on behalf of the VET, I’d just to welcome you here, and thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Now, according to the roster you are Colonel Skyalin “Merrick” Tel’sha, Second in Command of the Vast Empire Stormtrooper Corps, can you tell us more about who you are and what you do?

Being second in command means that I have a number of responsibilities including generally overseeing everything that happens in the army, approving medals and promotions and being around to help any other command staff with their queries or problems. I also act as the head of the army in General Fury’s absence and have the power to approve – or not – any projects that the leaders of the squads and platoons would like to take on.

You’re also one of the chief moderators on the VE IRC channel, why did you decide to take up this role, and do you enjoy it?

Initially I took on the role as a favour to Fury, but I was not the Army Executive Officer at the time. Being in a vastly different time zone meant that I was – in general – around at the times that the other mods weren’t, and so it was hoped that I could rein in some of those who were taking advantage of these more relaxed times. Having been subjected to a lot of inappropriate banter in the channel myself, I was at the time keen to keep the channel friendly, especially to younger members.

I don’t enjoy the role, I never really have. People see me as the fun police when all I am really trying to do is keep the peace between members. I do not enjoy being forced to kick or ban people – though I have been known to do it as a joke when I know that the “victim” won’t be offended by it – as I like to think of the main channel as an opportunity to meet and get to know people from all over the world.

You’re known to take a very “tough” line when it comes to moderating, yet you also have your funny side. How do you choose your stance when faced with different situations?

It’s never easy to have power over people and there are always those who will differ in their opinion of what went on. In the end I have the trust of General Fury in all matters of channel moderation. I try my best not to take complaints personally, and to keep all decisions fair. There are times when humour is called for, but in general I choose the path that is most likely to defuse the situation and have the best outcome for all parties concerned. There are people who continually question and test my authority, and it’s a matter of course that they end up with the worst punishments – and usually the loudest complaints. There’s also the odd occasion where someone forgets that what they are saying is inappropriate and so I will choose not to be as hard on them as I might be on a repeat offender.

Obviously you would have had to have been around a long time to attain such a rank; when did you join the VE, and what positions have you had in the past?

I actually sat around in the VE channel for roughly a year before joining, as I was in a club with whom the VE shared an IRC channel. I officially joined in February of 2002, making my start in the army in Wraith squad. I can’t recall who was squad leader at the time. For a long time I sat in Wraith waiting for things to get interesting, posting and developing my character. Then when Kiption got his own squad (Jester) I was invited to join; I was still a PFC at that stage. Once in a squad that was getting somewhere, I rose through the ranks relatively quickly to become the ASL of Jester squad until I was promoted to Leader when Kiption went on indefinite leave. After a brief stint away from active duty – spent away from VE in general and on the roster as Fury’s assistant – I was promoted to the position of Executive Officer. A number of times I have held Squad Leader positions concurrently with the XO position with a couple of different squads; Jester a couple of times and Nightstalkers for a time. I recently retired once more from active duty with Jester squad, though this time simply as a trooper.

I have taken long leave from VE twice in my career, and a couple of shorter breaks. After one such long break I returned mid-story to save the day as the undercover thief that stole the plans to an important rebel military asset.

Now, these days you tend to prefer spending time as the IRC channel mod, then posting in the stories. Why did you decide to take a back seat?

It’s not so much that I prefer not to be in active duty, but that I have many more time constraints than I once had. In the end it was the good of my respective squads that has seen me leave – to make room for someone who could be more active. It’s always a tough call to leave your comrades in such a fashion, and I have never liked doing so.

Would you ever consider getting back into posting?

I have made a few attempts to return to active duty, but as I mentioned getting the time to do my squad the justice of being active is a hard hurdle to get over. I know that everyone suffers from the burdens of real life considerations, and many are much more active than I am, but I have lately lacked the motivation to make more time for VE. I hope that once my real life situations calm down this will be resolved and I can enjoy the benefits of being a more active member of the army, whether in a squad or simply as a member of the command staff.

In terms of where you are in the VE, do you have any more ambitions, or are you happy in the role that you’re in? Is there anything else you would like to do?

I recently made an attempt at the Dark Jedi Order, but as I mentioned time is not something I have in large quantities. I think that any part of the Vast Empire deserves more dedication than I can give it at the moment. So I guess my ambition is to become more of an asset to particularly the army, but also to the VE as a whole. Who knows, perhaps I will one day succeed Fury as the Prefect of the Army.

And finally, as some of our readers may not know, you currently reside in Australia – What is it like living in the future?

I don’t live in the future, you guys just live in the past.

I love my country, despite the recent government changes. I have considered living in the United States but in the end this is my home. I’ve lived in many towns and cities throughout the country, and realised that the particular city doesn’t matter so much as the people I am surrounded by. I also love my job too much to leave it and I think that I lack the strength of character to be content if I were to move such a great distance from everyone I care about. While I have some great friends in America, they are spread quite far from one another. Besides, it gets way too cold in most US states!

Once again, thank you for agreeing to this interview, and we look forward to seeing you around on IRC.

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Stay tuned for more interview’s in “View from the Top”. Thanks for listening.

“This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force.”

―Obi-Wan Kenobi

Today is the day that The Empire Strikes Back Filming started. Yes, good old March Fifth, 1979 was the date filming for the beloved movie. Now I think we have all seen The Empire Strikes back, that’s almost a no brainer. Just incase you haven’t and your some lunatic who is on a Star Wars game but has never actually seen this movie, watch it. I highly recommend it to anybody who calls themselves a star wars fan, and even if your not then watch it anyways.

Now, this was George Lucas’s 2^nd movie, but the fourth in the series. Now whatever spiked Lucas into making the story of star wars and making it a movie, well bless it. None of us Star Wars fans would be hear on this site if it were not for him, praise the man I say. Now ESB (Empire Strikes Back) was originally released in 1980.

It was in the top five for best selling movies for theaters, and proved has always been popular by millions of fans and hundreds of cities. But did you know in 1997 it was released with changes? It was in fact the special edition. Personally I didn’t but that’s just me though. Even a 3D version of it is planned, but as of now no actual date is really known for its release though.

The movie made a fantastic outcome, it brought in a heck of a lot of money and it was truly a good movie too. Many love it, I know I love it. Fans all over the globe treasure this series and some say this is the best one of them all, I don’t kow, what do you think? This is definitely not a movie to miss if you ask me. This wasn’t really a movie that sci-fi lovers couldn’t get into.

The Tech in the movie for its time was outstanding, but as of now, it’s really kind of not that good. But what always gets me is why the technology in the actual movies is better in movies 1-3, and not in 4-6? 4-6 may have been made first, but as a later time shouldn’t they have even better tech? I have a few ideas as to why this may be though.

Lets just run through a quick summary for those who like to reminisce. The film is basically about the Rebel Alliance and its struggle against the Empire. Han, Chewy and Princess Leia are always being perused by our beloved Vader, and of course those elite forces too. Then meanwhile Luke Skywalker begins his all important Jedi Training with the all so famous midget master Yoda! After confronting Lord Vader, Luke has his horrific realization, and then has to face his destiny.

“Episode V
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

It is a dark time for the

Rebellion. Although the Death

Star has been destroyed,

Imperial troops have driven the

Rebel forces from their hidden

base and pursued them across

the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded Imperial

Starfleet, a group of freedom

fighters led by Luke Skywalker

have established a new secret

base on the remote ice world

of Hoth.

The evil lord Darth Vader,

obsessed with finding young

Skywalker, has dispatched

thousands of remote probes into

the far reaches of space…”

Movie Info:

“We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy. I want proof, not leads!”

―Admiral Ozzel

Now of course the main events in the movie are these:

• · The search for Skywalker
• · Battle of Hoth
• · Destiny of a Jedi
• · City in the Clouds
• · Duel with the Dark Lord

The director of the Movie was Irvin Kershner, the Producers Jerry Kurtz and Rick McCallum. The writers were of course, George Lucas, then Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. Then for those of us who don’t know or just can’t remember some of the Actors names then here they are:

• Mark Hamill- Luke Skywalker
• Harrison Ford- Han Solo
• Carrie Fisher- Princess Leia
• Billy Dee Williams- Lando Calrissian
• Anthony Daniels- C-3P0
• Peter Mayhew- Chewbacca
• R2-D2
• Frank Oz- Yoda
• David Prowse- Darth Vader
• Sir Alec Guinness-Obi-One Kenobi
• Voice of Darth Vader- James Earl Jones
• Ian McDiarmid- Emperor Palpitine

The Distributor of the movie was 20^th Century Fox, the Release Date of the movie was May 21rst, 1980. Now just for kicks, the Runtime of the movie was approximately 124 minutes in the normal edition, and the special edition was a whole whopping 127 minutes. The budget for the movie was about 18,000,000 dollars.

Critic Reception:

“Since the release of its sequel, Return of the Jedi, many consider this installment to be the best of the entire saga. The acting is arguably much stronger than in any of the other Star Wars films. The direction is arguably the most operatic and confident, and is not over-reliant on editing.

According to the actors, Irvin Kershner would encourage group discussions and improvisations from the actors, and would do many takes of each scene, in contrast to Lucas, who would always stick to the script, usually do about three takes, and offer little direction to the actors.

It is believed to be the most morally ambiguous and darkest of the original trilogy; it is also the only one of the six Star Wars films in which no major character dies.

The Empire Strikes Back initially only received mixed reviews. Many critics had problems with the story, but at the same time said the film was a technical achievement. Only in later years was the film considered the greatest in the Saga by many of the fans. Critics had various reactions to Changes in introduced in re-leases of this film.”

My Critique:

Well, this is a great movie I recommend it to any people who watch movies. Out of 10, I give it 10. Personally I like movie 3 the best, but that’s again just me. So if you like Star Wars or just like watching movies, or even if you don’t, do not miss out on this movie, or any of the other Star Wars movies too!

Star Wars Author Steven Gerber born on September 20th, 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri passes away on February 10th, 2008. He died in Las Vegas Nevada. For those of you who have heard of it, Gerber was an the Author of Tatooine Sojourn, and also a famous American Comic book writer. He was notable for creating “Howard the Duck,” but he also did many other comics including several Marvel comics as well. For those of you have haven’t heard of him, or Tatooine Sojourn then here is this that might help.

Tatooine Sojourn:

( sorry the quality isn’t any good, it just loaded that way)

Published by Los Angeles Times Syndicate. It was only published in the U.S, and Canadian Newspapers. It is available in the Webstrips section of Hyperspace, and collected by the Classic Star Wars, The Early Adventures 4. It was written of course, by Steven Gerber, and drawn by Russ Manning. The Illustrator was Ray Murtagh, and it was published on September 10th, to November 5th, 1979. To see more follow this link: The Tatooine Sojourn.)

After corresponding with fellow youthful comics fans Roy Tomas and Jerry Bails, and starting one of the first comics fanzines, Headline, at age 13 or 14. Gerber went to college at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the University of Missouri, and St. Louis University, where he finished his communications degree and also some post-graduate work.

He then soon began to work as a copywriter for a St. Louis advertising agency. During this time he wrote short stories, some of which, such as “And the Birds Hummed Dirges”, later appeared in Crazy Magazine during his stint as editor.

Some time in the early 1972, Gerber asked Thomas, by this time the Marvel editor-in-chief, about writing comics; Thomas sent him a writer’s test — six pages of a Daredevil car-chase scene drawn by Gene Colan — which Gerber passed. He then accepted a position as an associate editor and writer at Marvel Comics for $125 a week — $25 less than at the ad agency — and $13 a page for writing. Thomas said in 2007,

Steve and I had been in touch, off and on. …I [eventually] got a letter from Steve saying, in essence, ‘Help! I’m going crazy in this advertising job’. … So I thought, ‘Gee, he’d be a good person to get up here, so if he wants to make a change, let’s give it a try’. He was brought in to be an assistant editor on staff. That didn’t work our so well, because for whatever reason … he had trouble staying awake. At the time, he wasn’t a staff kind of person, at least in terms of what Marvel needed, but he was a real good writer and did some interesting things….”

Steve Gerber penned stories for title’s some such as daredevil, and Sub-Mariner. Gerber was said to have had a unique voice in his writings. He has also scripted Man-Thing, which is about a swamp monster empath, Omega the unknown, which explored the strange link between a cosmic superhero and a boy, and Howard the Duck, which artist Val Mayerik and Steve Gerber created as a throwaway character in the Man-Thing story. Then later Gerber and Artist Gene Colan teamed up to make Howard the Duck syndicate comic strip. Gerber recalled this:

“We had some problems with the Howard newspaper strip, which led to problems with the Howard book, which ultimately led to the lawsuit. Marvel wouldn’t pay the artist to draw it. Gene Colan and I were supposed to get a percentage of the syndicate’s take for the strip. The problem was, the money came in 90 days, 120 days, six months — I don’t remember how long exactly — after the strips were published. So, essentially, the artist was working for nothing up until that time, and no artist can afford to do that. [In comparison with Stan Lee and John Romita‘s Spider-Man comic strip,] Stan, as publisher of Marvel, had a regular salary coming in, and John Romita, I believe, was also on staff at the time. They didn’t have quite the same problem.”

It was said that Gerber was noted for “memorable supporting or guest characters who would become cult favorites in their own right. Among his best known are Everyman Richard Rory, who has appeared off and on in most of the Gerber books, and the Foolkiller, a psychopathic vigilante who inspired several different individuals to adopt his identity over the years and acquired his own 10-issue limited series in 1990.” Gerber was also responsible for the creation of the “Silver Samurai during his Daredevil run, and the female Red Guardian when writing Defenders.”

Then sometime in 1979 Gerber left Marvel, and launched a lengthy legal battle for control of Howard the Duck, and during the late 1970s and 1980s he did some work for DC Comics, and and for independent comic companies. One of his first major works was Stewart the Rat, which was away from marvel and done for Eclipse Comics, with art done by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Then finally in1982 he teamed with Jack Kirby at Eclipse to create Destroyer Duck, which was a comic which raised funds for his court case and Kirby’s similar legal battles against Marvel. Gerber and Marvel reached a settlement in the case.

Later in his life he still completed many more comics. He many at first for Marvel. Then he did Void Indigo for the Epic Comics imprint in 1983 and The Legion of Night and Suburban Jersey Ninja She-Devils in 1990) and DC (including A. Bizarro and Nevada for the Vertigo imprint in 1998). Then Returning briefly to Marvel, he had a 12-issue run on The Sensational She-Hulk, a three-issue run on Cloak and Dagger, had Hawkeye get shot and wear a new armored costume designed by Tony Stark in Avengers Spotlight, and wrote two issues of Toxic Crusaders, all for Marvel. During this time he also did a serial in Marvel Comics Presents featuring Poison, a character he created in The Evolutionary War crossover.

He also wrote the two-issue Freddy Krueger’s A Nightmare on Elm Street which delved into the backstory of the character with a depth the films never displayed. Plus he even partnered up with Beth Woods to write the episode “Contagion”, which was an episode of the syndicated television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Gerber worked in television animation, working as story editor on the animated TV series The Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Dungeons & Dragons; created Thundarr the Barbarian; and shared a 1998 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class — Animated Program, for the WB program The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

His the Berlin Wall episode of The Puppy’s New Adventures was heavily censored to prettify East Berlin, resulting in Gerber’s mock-slogan “ABC Standards and Practices… Protecting Your Children With Lies”. He also wrote the pilot episode of the animated TV series Mister T. He was also one of the founders of the Malibu Comics Ultraverse, co-creating Exiles and creating Sludge. For Image, he co-created The Cybernary with Nick Manabat and disbanded Codename: Strykeforce (in their crossover with Cyberforce, in which Gerber showed the impossibility of one leader leading two teams with any effectiveness).

In addition to guest-writing Pitt. In 2002 he created a new Howard the Duck miniseries for Marvel’s MAX line. For DC he then created Hard Time, which outlasted the short-lived imprint DC Focus

In 2005, when Marvel Comics sponsored a vote on which of four unused characters to revive, Gerber asked his fans to vote against Wundarr the Aquarian. ( a supporting character he had created in Fear and Marvel Two-in-One.) Wundarr took second after Death’s Head. He stated numerous times on his blog and elsewhere on the web his opinion that no one should write another’s characters without the creator’s endorsement. He himself endorsed the 2000s Foolkiller series,starring a character he had created in Man-Thing.

Later, Gerber wrote the Helmet of Fate: Zauriel one-shot and continued writing the Doctor Fate strip in the Countdown to Mystery limited series for DC Comics up to the time of his death, working on stories in the hospital.

Then in 2007, Gerber was suddenly diagnosed with an early stage of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and was eventually hospitalized, but while continuing to work. He had gotten onto the waiting list for a transplant at UCLA Medical Center. Sadly though, On February 10, 2008, Gerber died in a Las Vegas hospital from complications stemming from his condition. At the time of his death, Gerber was separated from wife Margo Macleod, and a daughter, Samantha Voll.

During his life he recieved awards such as recognition for his work in comics with several awards and nominations. He was nominated for several Shazam Awards, including for Best Writer in both the Dramatic and Humor Divisions in 1974. He was inspiration to the Marvel Universe character named Stewart Caldwell, who was a TV writer who later became “Thundersword.”

Here are just some of his collections of writings,

• Essential Daredevil Vol. 4, Marvel
• Essential Defenders Vol. 2, Marvel
• Essential Defenders Vol. 3, Marvel
• Essential Howard the Duck Vol. 1, Marvel
• Essential Man-Thing Vol. 1, Marvel
• Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1, Marvel
• Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 1, Marvel
• Essential Tales of the Zombie Vol. 1, Marvel
• Giant-Size Marvel, Marvel
• Hard Time: 50 to Life, DC
• Howard the Duck (MAX), Marvel
• Nevada, DC
• Omega the Unknown Classic, Marvel
• Stewart the Rat (with Gene Colan and Tom Palmer) About Comics, 48 pgs

While Steve Gerber may have passed on, his work will still live on throughout all his fans lives. He did a few things for Star Wars, but also did many more things for others too. He was a fantastic Comic Book writer and his works will probably become very rare in the near future. May we honor Steve Gerber, and the many works he has created for the world, and may he never be forgotten.

Article Links:

• Wookieepedia-Steve Gerber
• Wikipedia-Steve Gerber
  
• Wookieepedia Tatooine Sojourn

For more poeple associated with Star Wars like Mark Haigh-Hutchinson,who was a member of development staff of several Star Wars videogames, and also a project leader for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Shadows of the Empire, then follow this link:

Wookieepedia Main Page

Or if you want to see the article for Mark Haigh-Hutchinson then follow this link:

Mark Haigh-Hutchinson-Wookieepedia