Brethren of Galeres,

I want to begin this report by saying Happy Memorial Day! The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 was this weekend and, undoubtedly, many of us used the weekend for rest & relaxation - grilling hotdogs and hamburgers while we guzzled our beer of choice. However, I hope each of you took a moment today to stop - and reflect. At 3pm EST today, America observed a National Moment of Silence. In 2000, Congress passed legislation to make this moment a National Moment of Remembrance. And, again, in 2010, President Obama released a Presidential Proclamation asking for all Americans to observe this tradition. If you have not taken a moment of silence today, I implore you to take an entire minute and think.

Over 1,300,000 active soldiers and over 800,000 reserve soldiers served in 2016. These men and women serve with distinction and courage that few ever can muster. Less than 1% of the US serves to defend the men, women, and children of this country. While many individuals will go on to gorge themselves on reality TV, fast food, and their every day comforts... a small percentage will be fighting for those freedoms overseas. Often, they will be in cramped barracks, overheating on patrol, or canned like sardines aboard naval vessels. They will witness death. And far too many will never come home. On average, there are over 30 burials in Arlington Cemetery each weekday. And over 260,000 graves were decorated by The Old Guard (3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment) today in an event called "Flags In" at Arlington today.

Our online community is filled with active and retired soldiers. Take a moment today - or any day - and thank them for their pledge of service. What they do is special. It cannot be discounted, nor should it ever be taken for granted. To the men & women that serve, or have served, I want to say THANK YOU!

The Old Bull and The New Calf

Recently, we retired the active Battle Team Soulfire to Legendary Unit status. A what?! A Legendary Unit is a unit that is no longer an active team, but a retired team where members from all of Clan Arcona can come together in a fictional setting - often for the purposes of common interest or role-playing. For example: The Legendary Unit Void Squadron serves as a place where members can come together with a common interest in Piloting (S) in the Clan. It provides our members a richer, immersive experience for character development and fictional flavor in major House, Clan or Brotherhood events.

To offset the loss of Soulfire - our no-nonsense-fuck-everybody-up military strike team - we are introducing a new dimension and depth to House Galeres: the Tal'mahe'Ra. The team concept was carefully built by our very own Zakath and Tamashi but they recognize and credit all of the hard work & concept design to their members (whom continue to flesh out every detail of their new team presently). I will not steal the thunder of their announcement or fiction, but I will say this: I am very pleased by the combined efforts of the members of Tal'mahe'Ra in their pursuit of building a new team from scratch. I look forward to seeing you all drool over their new Wiki Page and Introductory Fiction. I know I was excited about the team after reading the first five pages of their official fiction.

Not Gone, Not Forgotten

House Galeres has been long dominated by one Battle Team in particular - The Nighthawk. This group continues to be the heartbeat of our House despite many changes over the past 10 months. It seems like whenever I think they may fall from grace, they rally together and pull off something truly amazing or unique. Despite the loss of some prolific members, one man continues to be at the heart of this team: Rulvak 'Warp' Qurroc. This may not have started as his team, but his fingerprints are all over the ship that calls him Captain Qurroc.

As Warp has grown, his focus has grown as well. As many of you know, Warp & Celahir provide us the ever-popular Arcona Gaming Dominance that runs for two months straight before taking a month off. This month, though, instead of resting and relaxing, he is providing the entire Dark Brotherhood an epic Destiny Throwdown. I encourage any, and all, of our Destiny Gamers to pick-up their sticks and come out to support Warp as he pulls off his first major DB-Gaming event. For those of you whom do not own Destiny, there will also be events that are Destiny-themed you can come out show your support with!

While his focus continues to expand and provide our Brotherhood Gamers with unique opportunities, I have seen a veteran step forward to provide unique content for the crew of the Nighthawk - Kharoc Garrlan. Known by many as Kant, or James, he often can be found posting pictures about heresy in our chats. Kharoc is a valued, veteran voice on a team full of All-Stars. And I wanted to publicly - and loudly - thank him for his support and assistance. As I continue to pull Warp's attention further and further away from his Battle Team, it is the Galeres Way for members to step forward to produce and consume content for their brothers and sisters. Thank you, Kharoc! You are a lifesaver and a saint.

Eyes on the Future

"What's next?" It always seems to be the question on my mind. Often, I feel like I am holding back younger, more energetic blood from taking the helm in House Galeres. And while we have so, so many good things going in our favor, I cannot help but find my work incomplete. But it is not my House, it is our House. And I need each and every one of you to help me bring my dream to fruition.

I need Writers: to pen the next Chapters in our House's saga I need Wiki-ers: to bring our entire codex into relevance I need Artists: a story is eloquent, an image is timeless I need Producers: to help take the workload off my leaders I need Consumers: to get you promotions and awards you deserve I need You: to embrace your potential and help our House fulfill its potential

My deadline is August 14th, 2016 for my phase to be complete. After one year it will be time for someone new to take the reigns of this House and propel it forward. Please help me. I do not want to leave my work undone or incomplete for the next great chapter in Galeres history. Dare to be great with me, Galeres, for just three more months. And I promise it will be worth it.

I am, your servant,

Braecen Kaeth
Quaestor of Galeres