TO: Pilots of Battlegroup I
FROM: Admiral Phoenix Berkana
DATE: 2022-12-8
SUBJECT: Status Update - Battlegroup I
MEMBER COUNT: 67

Well, where to begin, somehow it is already December 2022 which frankly just doesn't feel possible already, yet here we are!

November was a great month for the Hammer, we finished the month in very strong positions across all three killboards and have taken a very strong lead going into the final round of TIE Corps in Battle which is due in a few days time (read more below under competitions!)

We've seen a number of pilots depart but have also picked up some new members so our numbers are hovering in the high 60s which is great to see.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that CPT KEBLAOMEGA will be stepping down as Commander of Beta Squadron at the end of the year, so if you'd like to have a go at commanding a squadron please reach out to me before the 11th of December, I plan to name the Captains successor on or around the 18th of December to allow for a handover.

There are a number of Hammer wide competitions going on at the moment - three specifically for us - and several for the TIE Corps so please make sure you check out the competition centre to stay on top of what you can compete in. Results for our Hammer Nickname & Motto competition can be found below, as can the results for the trivia. Well done to all who took part!

	Silver Star of the Empire GN Coranel Both GN Elwood the Brave GN Genie x 3 GN Jarek La'an MAJ Solohan50 CPT DemWookieeCheeks CPT KEBLAOMEGA CPT TheBlackxRanger CM Syntroth LCM Maximus Meridius LT TecGenie
	Bronze Star of the Empire GN Jarek La'an CPT DemWookieeCheeks CPT Xye CM Aaron Cremel LCM Asen Starlancer LCM neurotictim x 2 LCM Nova Discordia LT Leofric
	Palpatine Crescent LC Alejandro Araujo MAJ Solohan50 CPT KEBLAOMEGA x 2 CPT TheBlackxRanger CPT Witchblade x 2 CM ElleOhh x 2 CM Elwood "]Merlin[" Wells CM Milo Antu CM Wolve Excelsior Berkana LCM Calvin Phrick LCM Dekar Jansen LCM Delta Striker 4 LCM Hopfot LCM Maximus Meridius LT Lenan-she Chabaar LT Tiberius Duck
	Imperial Security Medal LC Highlander x 2 MAJ Witcher CPT Aval CPT Gytheran CPT Wildfire x 2 CM Elwood "]MERLIN[" Wells CM TheHowler LCM Aisling LCM Asen Starlancer LCM Cthulhu_saves LCM Varik Kassal LT Blaster72 LT Galen Kir'ek LT Ty Seerlan
	Iron Star with Platinum Wings GN Genie Iron Star with Gold Wings GN Elwood the Brave GN Genie x 2 CPT Gytheran x 2 CPT KEBLAOMEGA CPT TheBlackxRanger CM Wolve Excelsior Berkana Iron Star with Gold Ribbons GN Genie CPT Gytheran Iron Star with Silver Wings GN Elwood the Brave GN Genie x 2 CPT TheBlackxRanger LCM neurotictim LT TecGenie x 2 Iron Star with Silver Ribbons CPT Gytheran CPT TheBlackxRanger x 2 Iron Star with Bronze Wings AD Phoenix Berkana GN Coranel Both GN Genie GN Jarek La'an CPT Gytheran CPT KEBLAOMEGA CPT TheBlackxRanger CM Syntroth LCM Maximus Meridius x 2 LT Kyle Nooneman LT Leofric Iron Star with Bronze Ribbons GN Coranel Both GN Genie x 2 CM Aaron Cremel Iron Star with Copper Wings MAJ Solohan50 CPT DemWookieeCheeks CM Wolve Excelsior Berkana LCM neurotictim LT Tiberius Duck LT Ty Seerlan Iron Star with Copper Ribbons HA Plif CM Asen Starlancer
	Operational Readiness Award HA Plif x 2 AD Phoenix Berkana GN Coranel Both GN Elwood the Brave GN Genie x 4 GN Jarek La'an MAJ Solohan50 CPT DemWookieeCheeks x 3 CPT Gytheran x 4 CPT KEBLAOMEGA x 2 CPT TheBlackxRanger x 4 CPT Xye x 2 CM Aaron Cremel CM Syntroth CM Wolve Excelsior Berkana x 2 LCM Asen Starlancer x 2 LCM neurotictim LCM Nova Discordia LT Galen Kir'ek LT Leofric LT TecGenie
	Imperial Achievement Ribbon GN Genie GN Jarek La'an LC Highlander MAJ Solohan50 x 2 CPT Aval CPT DemWookieeCheeks x 2 CPT Gytheran x 2 CPT KEBLAOMEGA x 2 CPT TheBlackxRanger x 2 LCM Delta Striker 4
	Medal of Instruction CM Wolve Excelsior Berkana LT Galen Kir'ek

Lieutenant Commander Syntroth was promoted to the rank of Commander
Lieutenant Asen Starlancer was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant CobraSparkles was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Cthulhu_saves was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Dekar Jansen was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Delta Striker 4 was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Lenan-she Chaabar was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Steel was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant Vrak was promomoted to the rank of Lieutenant

COL Aticus Jade was assigned to Beta 1-3
SL (now LT) Matthew Steel was assigned to Beta 3-4
SL Shay was assigned to Delta 2-3
CPT Drake Starfire was reassigned to the Reserves
LT Brobruhlone was reassigned to the Reserves
LT D_e_l_t_a was reassigned to the Reserves
SL Albert was reassigned to the Reserves

A full list of TIE Corps competitions can be found here look for those listed for your squadron, Battlegroup I or the TIE Corps.

Trivia for the Hammered Season Six
Trivia for the Hammered returns with Season Six!
Each week, four questions will be released via the TIE Corps timed competition system. For each question, the quickest pilot to answer correctly receives 3 points, second quickest with the correct answer gets 2 points and all other pilots with the correct answer get 1 point.
After 8 weeks, points will be tallied for a final set of awards.

Hammer Festive Expansion
During 2021/2022 the crew of the Hammer developed a number of NPC (non-player characters) who occupy a plethora of positions aboard the ship.

These characters can be found on the Wiki or the Hammer website:
https://wiki.emperorshammer.org/Category:People_of_the_ISD_Hammer
http://www.isdhammer.org/flightops.html

This competition is about fleshing out one or more of these characters, feel free to pick any of them and work them into a fiction that takes place at the end of the TIE Corps‘ recent skirmish with the Ishtari around Tusorix. Pieces can be dramatic, funny, you name it and can be written from any perspective you feel comfortable with.

Minimum length: 1000 words
Deadline will be the end of January, after the festive season.
Please send pieces to your BGCOM at phoenixberkana@gmail.com

Hammer Holiday Puzzle 2022
Happy Holidays pilots!

To spread some holiday cheer for the Hammer, I feel a puzzle is in order! Pilots will compete for the best time with medals up for grabs for the top 6 fastest pilots. Pilots who complete the puzzle under 5:00 minutes will earn an Operational Readiness Award (ORA). The link to the festive puzzle can be found here: https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=148897abe10c

Rules: Screenshots need to show the number of pieces from the bottom-left corner of the screen, the time shown in the middle, and the completed puzzle. Working through the puzzle multiple times and using all the options available in the app are allowed, except one: Don't change the number of pieces from 72.

When you're satisfied with your time, take a screenshot and send it to theblackxranger@gmail.com. One entry per pilot, multiple submissions will not be accepted and only the first submission will be counted.

TIE Corps in Battle Season Five
One battle each from TIE, XvT, and XWA will be assigned monthly. Pilots will fly the battles and submit their pilot files through the database normally. The TCCOM receives a copy of all BSFs, so neither pilot files nor BSFs need to be forwarded to the TCCOM unless the submission gets queued in the database. In the case of a queued submission, send the pilot file to the TCCOM.
Rounds in Season Five will run for one month each starting from mid-month to put TCiB on a slightly different schedule from most competitions. For example, the first round is starting on the 16th of August and will end at 2359 on the 16th of September.
The pilot with the highest score each month in each platform will earn 9 points. The next highest score will earn 8, then 7, and so on. All submissions will earn at least 2 points. Any mission high scores will earn 1 bonus point and any battle high scores will earn 2 bonus points. High scores are evaluated in the order the pilot files were submitted, but both pilots will receive the bonus points if a processed high score is overtaken later by another pilot. Points will accumulate for the season for more awards and the overall top pilot will also receive the title TIE Corps Battlemaster.
The points earned by each pilot will also be added to their squadron's total and their ship's total. At the end of the season, the participants from top three squadrons and the top ship earn awards.
Click the link above for this rounds assignments!

Trivia for the Hammered - Season 6 - Round 1

The results for the first round of Season 6 for the Trivia for the Hammered are in, with four questions about the first Death Star our winner was LCM Nova Discordia who receives a IS-SR. Our runner up was CPT KEBLAOMEGA who receives a IS-BR with third place held jointly by CPT TheBlackxRanger and COL Talons Pryde who both pick up a IS-CR.

Results:
LCM Nova Discordia: 8 points (1, 3, 3, 1)
CPT KEBLAOMEGA: 7 points (1, 0, 3, 3)
CPT TheBlackxRanger: 5 points (3, 0, 1, 1)
COL Talons Pryde: 5 points (0, 2, 1, 2)
GN Coranel Both: 4 points (1, 1, 1, 1)
CPT Gytheran: 4 points (2, 0, 0, 1)
LCM Lenan-she Chaabar: 4 points (1, 1, 1, 1)
GN Genie: 3 points (1, 0, 1, 1)
CM Aaron Cremel: 3 points (0, 0, 2, 1)
LCM Varik Kassal: 3 points (0, 1, 1, 1)
LC Highlander: 2 points (1, 0, 0, 1)
LCM Asen Starlancer: 2 points (0, 1, 0, 1)
COL Aticus Jade: 1 point (0, 0, 0, 1)
SL Shay: 1 point (0, 0, 1, 0)

Q1: Around which world was construction of the Death Star begun?
A1: Geonosis

Q2: In which Star Wars movie were plans for the Death Star first shown on screen (in-universe chronological order, not real world order)
A2: Attack of the Clones

Q3: Around which moon was the first Death Star destroyed?
A3: Yavin IV

Q4: On what world was the Citadel Tower?
A4: Scariff

Nickname & Motto Competition

I had nine entries for this competition, so thank you to everyone who took part. Results and winner below!

LT Galen Kir'ek takes first place earning a IS-SR.
Nickname: Emperor's First
Motto Strike Fast. Strike Hard. Strike for victory.

LCM Dekar Jansen takes second place earning a IS-BR.
Nickname: The relentless Hammer.
Motto: Strike hard. Strike again.

LCM Nova Discordia takes third place earning a IS-CR.
Nickname: Emperor's Anvil
Motto: By Hammer & Emperor's Will Do Our Foes Fall

Special mention to CPT TheBlackxRanger with his Hammers Toolbox name and Well equipped to handle any job the galaxy throws at us! motto. It definitely made me chuckle.

Always a pleasure reading through the number of medals we get, and as mentioned earlier I am thrilled with how we did on the November killboards. Congratulations all and have a great end to 2022!
Signing off...

   Admiral Phoenix Berkana  
BGCOM-SIMS/AD Phoenix Berkana/Battlegroup I
GSx5/SSx3/BSx9/PCx26/ISMx26/MoI-BC/MoC-5doc-5poc-6goc-6soc-43boc
MUA/IS-GW-3SW-3BW-2GR-5SR-34BR/ORA-1C/LoC-CS/LoS-TS/CoLx8/CoB/LoA/OV-23E
[Decurion] [Certified] [Private 1st]
{TCCORE-SM/1/2/5-WIKI}