Denys Elara was standing on the bridge of the Imperial-II class Star Destroyer Challenge and stared into space. In the distance she could see the massive triangular shape of the Star Destroyer Avenger. And though she couldn't see, she knew there were dozens of TIE Fighters of all sorts buzzing around the TIE Corps capital ships.

'Admiral Plif's shuttle has cleared the hangar bay, sir,' came the voice of one of the bridge officers. Elara nodded without looking at him. She smiled. She waited for another two minutes, then raised her hand. 'Captain, it's time. Execute flightplan Sigma.' A grunt told her the Challenge's new Captain had heard her. A moment later, she could feel the massive warship shift as it slowly changed course. The distant Avenger slowly drifted out of view. 'Comm silence,' she said.

On his shuttle, the TIE Corps Commander could hardly beluieve what he was seeing. The mostly rebuilt Star Destroyer was breaking away from it's designated place in the fleet. He grabbed the comms unit and punched some buttons. 'Star Destroyer Challenge, this is the TIE Corps Commander. Break off whatever you're doing and get back in line!'. He continued looking at the Star Destroyer, but his words didn't seem to be having the desired effect. The shuttle's pilot flipped a switch. 'No good sir,' he said. 'The message isn't getting through. they've blocked all comms channels.' Plif sat back down and closed his eyes for a moment to think. When he opened them again, he selected a different channel.

Warrior, this is Admiral Plif. 'Move in to intercept the Challenge. Don't let her get away. You are authorized to use whatever force necessary.' He flicked the comms off, and stared. This time his words did have the desired effect, as another Star Destroyer broke formation and started to come about. Plif shook his head. The distance between the ships was too great. And then the Challenge was gone, as it made the jump to light speed.

On the bridge, the captain turned towards Elara. 'This is pretty much the end for us,' he said. 'He'll never let this slide.' Elara nodded. 'Perhaps. That will all depend on the outcome of our mission.' She looked at the man standing a few meters away from her. 'And only the future will let us know that.'

He nodded. 'Well, the cards have been dealt and the hand has been played. Whether or not we win will depend on factors out of our control now.' he looked at a display. 'We'll be arriving at Lorest in 15 hours.'

Elara didn't respond. She did hope this would all be worth it in the end.
 

There's not much going on at the moment. A few smaller competitions yielding medals, and soon (although I'm not sure how soon exactly), Imperial Storm III will commence, pitting the Battlegroups of the Warrior, Challenge and Hammer against one another. For this ,i>Challenge, GN Silwar Naiilo will be taking point, and he will take control of our engagements and making the strategic decisions. I have faith in his abilities there. Now let's not disappoint, pilots!

As you know, the TCCOM is now taking applications for the position of Challenge Commodore. Anyone is free to apply, but the TCCOM has made the stipulation that any applicant needs at least 8 months of command experience. This can be any position, like Squadron Commander, Wing Commander, or Commodore, or a combination of the three. Send application emails to the TCCS.

Every now and then, you see something rare happen. This week, the honor of this befalls SL Xylo Pethtel, who has become the first Sub-Lieutenant ever that I can recall, to win an Iron Star with Gold Wings in a flying competition!

Also, welcome back to SL Jax, who had joined the TC earlier this year and has now returned from the abyss. May your second stay be a successfull one!

It's also good to see the new sub-lieutenants on the ship getting the hang of things. They've all started submitting LoCs, and earning their first advancement in the Combat Ratings. Well done!
 

TRANSFERS

Challenge ship-wide competitions:

Dempsey's Weekly Screenshots

Every week, the report will have a screenshot. Not necessarily from a Star Wars movie. First Challenge pilot to send the correct answer to the mailing list wins. Each victory earns you an IS-BR. Unless it's a 5th victory, you then get a IS-SR. Unless it's a 10th victory, which gives you an IS-GR!

Current screenshot:

Last week's winner:
LCM Wreckage for The Day the Earth Stood Still

Current standings:
7pts: COL Stryker
6pts: MAJ EvilGrin
3pts: COL Mell Kerrigan, LC Tygra Shadowclaw, LCM Wreckage
2pts: CM Richlet, LC Phalk Sturm, LC Kadon Beir, GN Elwood the Brave, COL Marenta, GN Silwar Naiilo
1pts: LCM Dougal Cealleigh, CPT TI-40026, CPT Kalve Ryder, MAJ Talon Jade

As it stands, this ship has 57 members, 1 Commodore, 1 Wing Commander, 5 Squadron Commanders, 14 Flight Leaders and 41 Flight Members, leaving 5 open spots in 2 squadrons. Of these Flight members, there are 4 Sub-Lieutenants, and I expect them all to be promoted before I leave! Let's make it happen!

COM-TACA-FSE/HA Anahorn Dempsey/ISD-II Challenge, signing off

MoH/ICx2/OoR/GOEx3/GSx21/SSx43/BSx39/PCx16/ISMx9/MoT-51rh-52gh-9bh/MoI/MoC-11doc-11poc-11goc-10soc-91boc/IS-12PW-192GW-443SW-408BW-4PR-18GR-
   21SR-89BR/LoC-PSx9-RSx2-IS-CSx2/LoS-PSx23-RS-IS-CSx3-Rx4/DFC-SW-Rx3/CoS/CoEx4/CoLx14/CoB/LoAx3/OV-14E [Imperator] [Tan] [TAR]
{IWATS:MCBS-XAM-XMD-TM/1/2/TM/3-XTM/1-MP/2-AMP-XWAI-BFM-TT-XTT-SFT-CTW-AT-SU-CM2-MD1-DT3-ARTY1-VS4-ST-SC-SEA-SD-SZ-SR-AIR-CC-SFW-WPN-
    XWAC-ESET-ISET-TIE-SMA-AWAK-BWAK-XWAK-YWAK-SN4-SM/3/4/5}
{IU:C/TC,C/DB,C/DIR,S,UL,CRD,EJE,TD,REP,WM,FT,IO,INST,MI,BTL,LDR,COE,WD,AIM,ICQ,MS1,TLN,ASP,BX,CSS,CBX,DW,FLA,LIN,GFX,IBX,JS,WIKI,PHP,VBS,XML,
    MAN1,MAN2,WKS,INO,HIST,INTEL,PRER,GR,SPW,HAD,GHA,THR,OSS,M/1/2,IIC/1/2/3,IA,CA,ARG/1,STM}