Welcome to the Vast Empire Naval Academy, Crewman Kassel.

My name is Warrant Officer 2nd Class Wyl Trykon, and I'll be your Training Officer (TO) while you go through the Academy's Orientation program.  I'll be around to help get you acclimated to life in the Vast Empire (a process we call, "Basic Training"), the most important part of which is learning how to role-play as an Imperial character (a starfighter pilot or junior officer aboard a capital ship) in an ongoing, collaboratively-written story.  If you choose to serve in the Starfighter Corps, these skills will be taught in a program we call, "Flight School," and if you choose to serve in Fleet Command as a junior bridge officer aboard a capital ship, you'll learn these skills in a program called, "Command School."

But with all that said, Training is fairly straightforward, and very quick.  Heck, with your first post here on the Naval Academy board, you've already completed Imperial Initiation, (well done) and are hereby clear to choose a training School, which will prepare you for daily life as a pilot in a VE squadron or on a ship.

Your next step should be to visit the VE Wiki page for Basic Training, found here, and read through the information provided.  Choose a School (Flight School if you want to pilot a starfighter, or Command School if you want to serve on the bridge of a capital ship), and begin working on Chapter 1: Character Development by clicking the appropriate link.  When you finish the assignment, post your work here (bio and ID line), so I can review it, and we'll proceed from there.  Please note: here in the VE, we write stories in the third person, past tense; you should too.

If you need further guidance, please send a Private Message with your questions to "Trykon" here on the ComNet, or go to the Naval Academy channel on IRC, which is #VENA, and make an inquiry of any staff member.  Good luck with your training, Crewman, and again, welcome to the Vast Empire.

Sincerely,

WO2 Wyl Trykon, your TO

Useful Links:
  •  An overview of what exactly we do here in the VEN
  •  The Vast Empire Naval Academy wiki page
  •  The wiki page for Basic Training
  •  Flight School: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
  •  Command School: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
  •  How-to-create-a-wiki-page Tutorial
  •  Java-based IRC chat