I’m always incredibly excited and emotional about the achievements of my guildmates. The recent promotion of Av’ar Royan to captain was no exception.
For months now I’ve watched as he diligently worked at honing his skills as a pilot. It was an honor to make him his official captain’s uniform. I’m so proud of him.
With his commission, Captain Royan obtained a YKL-37R Nova Courier which he christened the Destination Infinity.
I felt quite lucky to be there as he took his rightful place on the bridge of his beautiful new ship, in his sharp new uniform with his well deserved promotion.
Congratulations, Captain Royan!
A while ago I obtained a deep fryer. It came with a partial recipe for Corellian Fried Ice Cream. I wasted no time obtaining the ingredients listed and made a guess about what might complete the recipe. I fried it up and created some of my very own fried ice cream…
Upon first tasting it, it was as delicious as it looked…. but immediately my stomach made a horrible noise and I felt very sick. Undaunted by my failure, I encouraged my friend Jaegen to make a batch. With a different ingredient surely he’d have better luck…
Then again, maybe not. I almost felt bad enough to help him clean the vomit off the floor…. almost.
I can always tell when Bermuda is getting ready to skip out of town. It begins with the valuable gifts he bestows on me for no reason. Inevitably, he asks how many credits I have in the bank. Despite the fact that he’s often gone for long periods of time, he’s always managed to make sure that I’m well cared for during his absence.
I rarely get any official notice that he’s left. Days go by, weeks even, and I come to the realization that he’s not been around in a while. I live with the reality that at any time, he could suddenly be gone.
And now, it seems, he is. Again.
Of course I’m sad that he’s away again. But I can’t claim I didn’t know what I was getting into all those years ago when I decided to throw my lot in with him.
When I first met Bermuda I was all of 15. My parents and I lived in a small town in a distant galaxy. I first saw him while making my daily trip to the Bazaar to sell my parents’ products. He was there, selling hides and meat from recent kills.
This old photo just doesn’t do him justice. He was quite handsome back then (still is). He immediately caught my eye… and I guess I caught his as well. I can’t recall what we chatted about that first day. I only remember that we talked for a very long time. I left wondering if I’d ever see him again.
I did. He was there at the Bazaar again the next day at that same hour. He played it cool and claimed that it was coincidence… but I knew better. We continued to meet there each day for the next week.
He loved to tell me stories about the places he’d been. Though he refused to tell me how he ended up travelling the universe alone, it was clear from his stories he’d been taking care of himself for at least a couple of years. His tales left me breathless one minute and laughing hysterically the next. But mostly they made me jealous of all he’d experienced.
As my parents’ only child, it had always been a given that I would take over running the family business. For my parents it was a foregone conclusion that I would marry a local boy and live in that same small town for the rest of my life.
Faced with a peer who’d already lived more than either of my parents ever had, I realized I had a choice. My life’s script wasn’t already written and I didn’t need to go on pretending it was.
As that week ended, Bermuda prepared to move on as he was accustomed to doing. I inquired where he’d go next. With a sly grin, he asked if I wanted to go with him to find out.
The smile quickly faded from my lips and I stared at the ground, holding my breath. How could I possibly do such a thing? I couldn’t. Could I? I sat in silence, tormented by the choice he’d put before me.
To understand the significance of what happened next, you need to understand that Bermuda is never affectionate in public. Ever. The most you’ll ever see him do is occasionally smack my bottom or pat my back. You won’t find him kissing or hugging me, not even in saying goodbye. He’s just not that way.
But that day, as I sat there paralyzed, he reached over and gently lifted my chin till my eyes met his. He leaned in close, swept his finger across my cheek and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. Then he cradled the back of my head in his hand, looked me in the eye and whispered, “Would you go with me?”
Suddenly the difficult choice didn’t seem so difficult. With tears in my eyes, I told him I would. And he kissed me. Yes, right there outside the Bazaar. In all the years since, that hasn’t happened again. I have to steal kisses from him behind locked doors.
I knew there was no way my parents would ever understand so I didn’t bother to discuss it with them. I left that night while they slept, leaving only a brief note behind saying that I was leaving and that I probably wouldn’t return.
Shortly thereafter Bermuda and I found ourselves in the hustle and bustle of the Mos Eisley Starport.
It’s true, I spend a lot of time in my Theed shop. Sometimes it seems that my work is never done. Keeping vendors stocked, servicing customers, filling special orders and experimenting to find new outfits to sell keeps me pretty busy.
When it all gets to be too much, you’re almost certain to find me engrossed in my other obsession, fishing.
I first went fishing with Bermuda on our honeymoon in Lake Retreat. I’m not a real fan of the great outdoors so I really didn’t expect to enjoy it all that much. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Shortly thereafter I set up a fishing vendor in Lake Retreat and began selling poles and bait to the tourists. It gets a surprising amount of business for place so far out of the way. But then, there’s no better place to fish in my opinion.
I’ve taken to carrying my bathing suit, pole and bait around with me recently. Rather than wait till I had time to take a proper vacation in Lake Retreat, I’ve found it helpful to sneak in a bit of fishing here and there when I need a break from work.
It’s also opened the door for me to pick up and take others fishing. When I happen across someone feeling a bit burnt out, one of the first things I do is hand them a pole and take them fishing. They usually find it as therapeutic as I do.
There isn’t much I’d rather do than go fishing with friends.
The Beowulf Fleet recently held it’s first round of ship contests. Using only the most basic of ships, members were invited to paint and stuff a single ship full of goodies and enter into 3 separate contests.
Since I don’t fly myself, I was recruited to help judge the beauty contest. From aboard my yacht, the other judges and I watched as each contestant showed off their best design. As you can see, it was a difficult choice to make…
Then it was on to the race and finally a contest to determine skill in battle. Despite the fact that I know that it’s just among friends and no one is really out to hurt anyone, it was still a little nerve wracking for me to watch them fight.
In the end, Admiral -Haruko- won this round of competitions. But with the determination and dedication of our group’s pilots and shipwrights, I think she’s in for some serious competition next time around.
While fishing one day I pulled up a data disk. Upon examining it, I discovered it was infact a map to some treasure. I’m not foolish enough to attempt to recover such a thing myself so I managed to enlist the help of several friends.
My dear friend, Ikohara, noticed my attire was less than battle worthy and was kind enough to offer me a set of armor to wear.
I hate armor.
I hate feeling the weight of it on my body. I hate the sound it makes as you walk. But most of all, I hate the smell. I’ve never met a set of used armor that didn’t emit a malodorous mix of metal and sweat.
This armor was no exception. I looked as ridiculous, uncomfortable and smelly as I felt and when I said so I’m afraid I may have inadvertently insulted Ikohara…
But in the interest of safety, we all agreed I should wear it anyway.
We followed the map to the exact location specified. As we expected, there were a few obstacles between us and our treasure. My friends quickly rid us of them. We greedily opened the box…
and were disappointed to find nothing of great value. I will think twice about going on another treasure hunt. I’m still trying to get the smell of Rodian and smoke out of my hair.
Last night was The Admirals’ Banquet. Nian and I worked overtime getting everything ready. I was running around like crazy till the very last minute but I’m happy to report the whole event went off without a hitch.
It was a celebration in honor of Admiral -Haruko- and Admiral Fenris.
Many of the Beowulf Fleet members attended…
I provided the food for the buffet and Nian provided the wonderful entertainment with the help of Eos’. Nian even performed a special song for the Admirals…
As far as we could tell, a good time was had by all.
Have you seen this Twi’lek?
We’ve lost contact with Wing Commander Klitos.
If you see her, please tell her to contact us.
With encouragement from many of our guild members and help from Nian, I’ve been busy preparing for a party. With the recent promotion of two of our own, an Admiral’s Banquet seemed like a great idea. However, I hadn’t realized what a large undertaking this would be.
I wrote up and sent out invites….I’ve been busy preparing dishes…. we had to secure a venue and decorate and come up with contingency plans…. Nian has been a wonderful help, volunteering her time and expertise. But with only days till the event, I’m feeling a bit stressed.
Most of the work is finished. I’m almost certain there will be enough food and drinks and with Nian in charge of entertainment, I know that everyone will have a good time. So why am I so stressed?
Well, at some point I’m probably going to have to make some kind of speech or introduction. And I’m scared to death I’m going to make a fool of myself. So much so, I still haven’t sat down to write out what I’m going to say. I don’t even want to think about it. Instead I put my energy into thinking about how to get out of it….
If you have any suggestions, or would like to volunteer for the job, let me know 
