Naval Academy

The Vast Empire's Naval Academy, or VENA

"...So don't just dream about applying for the Academy, make it come true! You can find a career in space: Exploration, Starfleet, or Merchant Service. If you have the right stuff to take on the universe, dispatch your application and join the ranks of the proud!"

―from a recruitment advertisement for the Imperial Naval Academy

Exposed to the bitter cold of Abrae on the rooftop of The Fortress, Academy students endure a physical stamina test as part of a survival course.

Overview

You've reached the online home of the Vast Empire's Naval Academy. Every member of the VEN starts his/her career going through the Academy's Basic Training program, which readies him/her to participate in the collaborative literary role-playing game we call the Vast Empire. Recruits will proceed directly from BT into Starfighter School (where they will learn more specifically how to write convincingly as a starfighter pilot in a shared Star Wars setting), or Fleet School (a parallel program for those who would rather serve aboard capital ships than in a cockpit). Participants in these programs graduate with the same rank, and are assigned analogous positions within the Division's hierarchy; neither branch of the Navy is "better" than the other.

Fleet School is currently open (sometimes FS is closed to new recruits). Please note: the VENA faculty members strive to keep these wiki pages up to date, but sometimes we miss little things; if something is unclear, or contradicts other information, please contact a faculty member via irc or ComNet PM.

But the Academy is not just for new recruits. All of the Navy's members, from the lowliest Crewman-in-training to the Naval Commander in Chief, are welcome to avail themselves of the resources and courses VENA offers. Everything VENA has developed throughout the years, under many different leaders, is preserved somewhere on the wiki. Most of it is still very valuable information for people who want to write collaboratively, and the most useful stuff has been kept up-to-date and in-use. Some of these programs and formal classes have associated prerequisites and coursework, but even those folks who have not yet achieved a required rank or position may still "audit" any of the information VENA offers simply by looking through the wiki (and though you won't be eligible right away for the rank bump or other reward that comes with formally completing a given program and doing the coursework, the insights you gain by reading will likely help you write better, which makes the play experience better for everyone, and garners you the positive attention of your superior officers.).

Decide now or risk it all...

Curriculum

Pilot Training, for those in the Starfighter Corps

Basic Training

"Try to remember that more than your own life is in your hands when you put on that uniform... Welcome to the Academy."

―Commodore Casabian "Shazam" Brite, former Training Officer

BT covers the ComNet, irc, and two of the Navy's branches: the Starfighter Corps and Fleet Command.

Starfighter School

SS consists of three (3) "Chapters," which gradually prepare new recruits to participate fully as active-duty members of a squadron of TIE Interceptors. Included: information on writing with others, general information about Star Wars canon and the Vast Empire's additions, and specifics about TIEs and tactics.

Beyond SS

Advanced courses and tests (mostly out-of-date) that help members of the Starfighter Corps who have been around for awhile expand their knowledge base, and prove to their commanders that they have the will and dedication necessary for advancement.

Bridge Crew Training, for those in Fleet Command

Basic Training

The same, whether you're eventually going to serve on a bridge or in a cockpit.

Fleet School

FS, like Starfighter School, consists of three (3) "Chapters," only these three gradually prepare new recruits to participate fully as active-duty crew members aboard a capital ship. Included: the same information on writing with others and Star Wars and the VE as that found in SS, and specific articles on capital ships and their tactics.

Beyond FS

A prototype version of the current Fleet School: incomplete and out-of-date.

Ship Captain Training Program

Open to capable, dedicated, active members of either Fleet Command or the Starfighter Corps, the SCTP is designed to train members of the Navy to command their own capital ship. Prove yourself as a starfighter pilot or as a crewer aboard a capital ship, and you will be eligible to attempt the SCTP. In Star Wars, capital ships are very powerful, and capital ship captains must therefore be very responsible; in the VEN, it's no different, since ship captains oversee new stories, and all the club members under their command. Candidates will be put to the test during the SCTP, and those who graduate will be those equal to the task.

Returning Veterans Training, for those wishing to return to active duty, whether from the AWOL list or the Reserves

Refresher Course

RC is a simple program for members who want to return to active duty after a long absence, designed to get them back up to speed on current Navy regulations, and to make sure that they can still write Star Wars short fiction.

The Naval Ancillary Skills program, for the entire Navy

The Naval Ancillary Skills program was put in place in order to prevent god-moding, by providing some structure for the role-playing game elements of writing in the VEN. You "level up" your player-character's skills by completing short missions, proving you're responsible enough to write believably about the various skills, thereby "unlocking" the ability to use those skills in official Navy stories. We all share the same literary universe when we're writing in an official story, so we have to make sure we're all working with similar standards, balancing exciting writing with verisimilitude.

The Naval Certifications program, for the entire Navy

Many Ancillary Skills are prerequisites for completing tiers of the Naval Certifications, which mark the successive degrees of specialization your player-character is pursuing within the Navy. Whether your goal is to be a hotshot starfighter pilot, a ruthless Intelligence operative, the captain of an Interdictor cruiser, or the Chief Medical Officer aboard a ship with a crew of hundreds of thousands of diverse sentient beings, your progress through the tiers of the associated Certification track will chronicle your ascent to excellence in your Navy career.

Advanced Courses, for the entire Navy

The STARWARS Workshop

A work-in-progress, this advanced workshop's acronym stands for Special Training and Auxiliary Regulations for Writing And Role-playing Stories. It is (or, will be) the culmination of a years-long effort to "raise the bar" for writing in the Navy, and establish a higher standard of collaboration etiquette among veteran members.

"The Fortress," the original headquarters of the Vast Empire's Naval Academy, on the surface of Abrae.

Resources

The VENA Faculty

A listing of the current Academy faculty and any other VENA staff: who they are, what they are like, and how best to contact them.

New Character Page Tutorial - Navy

The essential resource for creating your own character profile on the Vast Empire Wiki.

Checklists

Can't remember exactly what you're supposed to do this week?

Reports

Need help with reports? Look no further.

Naval Pilots' Manual

The Manual is an old resource, but still relevant. If you have a question about the Navy, chances are there's an answer in the Manual.

Officer's Manual

A partial database of Naval information previously used in the training of officers. There are two sections to this handbook: Equipment Training and Tactical Training

Salvage Yard

The Salvage Yard section is a place to lay old material to rest. Any information here is no longer in use, and is not required for any current training programs.

Final Note

The Vast Empire's Naval Academy (VENA) exists for one purpose: we make sure everyone in the Navy is on the same page. All of the rules and regulations, the classes and the command structure, the etiquette and protocols that we've developed exist only to ensure we're all writing and role-playing in the same universe: a slightly altered version of the Star Wars Galaxy. In short, everything here is designed to help make things fun, for everyone.