It is with great pride that I am able to formally announce the conclusion of the Navy’s most recent multiple-story plot arc, the Counterpunch Campaign. The four run-ons of this arc were all popular, but the most recent of them – Counterpunch: Death – is now officially
the most successful story thread in the history of the Vast Empire’s Navy division! 20 individual writers came together, and over the course of just 3 months, we managed to write 174 posts in that thread, totaling over 194,000 words!
And while those unprecedented statistics are impossible to ignore, that meta-level success story of breaking the division’s record is actually
less compelling than the actual tale those 20 writers have managed to tell!
Now, the enemy the Navy faced in this arc was not new. For many years, the VEN has used the nefarious Imperial Dominion as a primary antagonist, and the in-story timeline of enmity similarly stretches over
years. This was an enemy we have spent a long time learning to hate. They poisoned our officer corps on Cappadocious Station, infected a civilian planet with a deadly Hive Virus, and even attacked our division's home system of Vectra during the Battle of Abrae. But the Dominion was more than just another rival faction in the post-Palpatine Galaxy, that happened to keep popping up in our stories; they were a foil for us. Whereas the Vast Empire is an embodiment of everything that makes “Imperials” at least potentially heroic, the Dominion had developed into a representation of all the villainous possibilities of the Imperial way of life. The bad guys in the original Star Wars saga were plagued by the same shortsighted prejudices and inflexible command philosophies that ultimately doomed the Imperial Dominion over the run of this story arc. And with the final victory of the VEN in this epic struggle, we’ve shown how much more capable and effective our kind of Imperial Navy can be. And isn’t that what this club is all about?
So I encourage everyone to reread the Counterpunch Campaign stories, especially Death. Taken all together, it’s a very long tale indeed, but despite the pitfalls of this collaboratively-told format we use, it’s still a great read. And that’s pretty darned impressive.
Now, without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to announce the rewards for the members of the Navy division who contributed to this record-breaking story. As befits such an unprecedented joint accomplishment, the individual rewards are quite numerous and varied.
We’ll do these in the order in which people posted to the story, but it’s worth noting that these awards recognize
all activity of the past 3 months (not just contributions to the story):
Trykonx2 promotion to Vice Commodore,
Imperial Grand Cross,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Note: the abbreviation for the Legion of Conquest ribbon (which is new, inspired by this record-breaking story) is [CNQST].
Avalar“I’m happy to announce that Avalar has accepted the position of Squadron Commanding Officer for Jexxel Squadron, which is hereby opened to Player-Character pilots. Chlovi Cat Squadron is now closed to PC pilots, and almost all Blade Wing PCs will be consolidated into Jexxel and Strill. For her excellent contributions to the story, and for her work as SXO of Strill Squadron, which was truly above and beyond the call of duty:”
x2 promotion to Chief Petty Officer,
Distinguished Service Medal,
Cross of Bravery,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Hades“For the story, to which he contributed more than 20k works, and for his continuing work on the awesome Snakepit:”
x2 promotion (from Lieutenant Junior Grade, which he earned for his FOCE) to Lieutenant Commander
Victory Cross (Silver),
Merit Cross 2nd Class,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
DeepSix“For the story, to which he contributed almost 10k words, and for his continuing work on his outstanding – and innovative – series of linked stories for VENI, incorporating Ancillary Skills posts and Naval Certifications work:”
Victory Cross (Ebony),
Distinguished Service Medal,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Serpent“For the story, to which he contributed a staggering 35 posts and over 40k words, and for his tireless dedication to his duties:”
x2 promotion to Commander,
Cross of Bravery (extra “pip”),
Imperial Navy Cross,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
“Serpent, you're the best XO a guy could ask for.”
Cervidae“For her brave leadership of Chlovi Squadron during trying circumstances, and for a great showing in the story:”
x1 promotion to Petty Officer 1st Class,
Mentioned in Dispatches,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Joamer“Strill Squadron is going to be kept small for a while, until numbers in the starfighter corps can rebound a little bit and Jexxel finds its stride, but the current roster of Strill pilots has done very well indeed, so the three remaining Player-Character pilots of Strill Squadron have been issued the Vast Empire’s version of the TIE Hunter starfighter. Details of the fighter will be up soon on the ComNet. For leading Strill Squadron competently though trying real life circumstances, and pioneering new communications and collaborative techniques, and for contributions to the story:”
x1 promotion to Ensign (provisional until completion of FOCE),
Victory Cross (as far as I can tell, Blue),
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Twitch“For great story contributions despite challenging circumstances:”
x1 promotion to Petty Officer 1st Class,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Xanin“For consistent activity before he was forced to leave, and for significant contributions to the formation of Strill Squadron’s identity:”
x1 promotion to Petty Officer 2nd Class,
Mentioned in Dispatches,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
RikkyCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Cabby“For consistent activity before she was forced to leave, and a great showing in the story:”
x1 promotion to Petty Officer 1st Class
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
StOrMzCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Gurlanin“For the story, to which he contributed 19 posts and over 16k words, and for his OOC contributions to the character and camaraderie of Strill Squadron, and for his dutiful utilization of the Ancillary Skills and Naval Certifications systems:”
x2 promotion to Petty Officer 2nd Class,
Victory Cross (Blue),
Combat Achievement Ribbon (for the reckless - but life-saving - shuttle flight),
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
KilroyCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
SturmwindCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
DunnyCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Maroy“For her steady contributions to the story, which came despite trying circumstances, including the departure of most of her squadron mates in Chlovi Cat Squadron and many real life challenges:”
x1 promotion to Warrant Officer 1st Class,
Mentioned in Dispatches,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
TosthAaaiser“For his outstanding activity, both in-story and OOC, with his great personal plotlines about naval doctors and his laudable efforts to finish the Naval Timeline Project:”
x1 promotion to Chief Petty Officer,
Naval ‘E’ Ribbon,
Victory Cross (Silver),
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
RomanflameCounterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Taltos“For his promising active-duty debut, which included great story posts, a willingness to edit and revise and adapt, and a great OOC attitude:”
x1 promotion to Petty Officer 2nd Class,
Mentioned in Dispatches,
Counterpunch Campaign Award for participation in Counterpunch: Death,
Legion of Conquest Ribbon for contributing to the Navy’s #1 story of all time
Congratulations, everyone! You should all be very proud. Remember to update your ID lines on your personal wiki pages, and in your ComNet profile and signature. Keep working on skills/certs posts, and ideas for the new Heart of the Second story thread, and get exciting: Chapter 9 is coming very soon. And the Navy's success in the Counterpunch Campaign means the Chapter 9 storyline is going to bigger than anything that's come before... The long march Coreward begins in earnest, in just a few short weeks!
