G'day there, and welcome to the Vast Empire's Navy!

I'm Dunny, and I'm the substitute teacher at the academy.
Please be patient, none of our Training Officers (TO for short)  are online at the moment, but as soon as one logs on I'll direct them to you and we'll get started on your Naval Academy course.

I'll help ya out till then and point ya at some things ya can start on, so that when your TO arrives things'll be able to progress a lot faster, if ya like.

Excellent! Glad to hear I can be of service.

Okay, first things first, if you have IRC, feel free to hop onto the Naval Academy's channel: #VENA - this'll speed up the process a little. If ya don't have the client, you can find it on the Vast Empire homepage's left-side toolbar, under 'Java Chat'. If you'd rather we do this here, that is perfectly okay too.

Your first major decision within the Vast Empire Navy is to choose which division you're going to enlist into. We've got two currently active and recruiting: The Starfighter Corps and Fleet Command.

The Starfighter Corps (SC) places you in the cockpit of a TIE Interceptor for high-speed dogfighting action against the various enemies of the Vast Empire Navy, though as you progress you'll get access to Bombers and other, more elite craft. You'll be working with a Squadron of elite, dedicated pilots like yourself, and you'll be the first into the fighting and last out of it. If you like pulse-pounding action, then the SFC might just be your best bet.

Fleet Command (FC) will put you in the bridge crew of an Imperial capital ship - probably a CR90 Corvette (better known as the Blockade Runner) or an Imperial Star Destroyer. You'll work with this crew to operate one of the most powerful war machine in the galaxy. If godlike power, access to escape pods and being first in line for the cafeteria is your thing, then the CSC might be for you.

Take some time to think about it, as you can only choose one. If you want to hear any more about either corps, let me know and I'll gladly clear up any confusion or tell ya more. I'm with the SFC personally, so I can explain them a bit better, but I can easily drag in someone from the CSC to clear up anything with their division.

At the risk of having too many chefs in one kitchen, I'd like to interject with a quick clarification:

Command School trains you to become a Junior Bridge Officer - the lowest-ranked, entry-level member of a capital ship's crew.  Although it is technically true that your Navy career could lead to your own capital ship command, you'll be starting at the bottom of the chain of command.

Flight School trains you to become a Flight Member - the lowest-ranked, entry-level member of a starfighter squadron.  A career here could lead to you commanding a squadron of your own, or eventually transitioning to command a capital ship, but again, you'll be starting at the bottom of the chain of command.

In short: there is NO DIFFERENCE between graduates of Command School and Flight School, in terms of rank or position or power, other than the equipment on/in which they serve: FMs in starfighters, and JBOs aboard capital ships.  If you think it'd be more fun to pilot starfighters in a squadron, go that route; if you'd rather be a part of a capital ship's command crew, you can do that too.  Neither is inherently "better," either in-story or in the club's hierarchy.

Carry on, Ellesmere.