Secrets of the Wolf

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"SECRETS OF THE WOLF"

Secrets of the Wolf' is a historical text written in Year 2 , and is a biographical survey of Zee Wolf the Elder, the Leader of the Rebel Alliance in Year -1. Despite its clear bias, it offers one of the most comprehensive historical perspectives on the shadowy years at the beginning of the Galaxy about which much has been lost.

Rise Of The Wolf

35 years before the foundation of the Rebel Alliance, somewhere in the mystical reaches of the Galaxy, a child was born to the wife of Republic naval captain Davin Wolf. The boy was named Zee. A childhood spent on his father's ranch amongst the wonders of nature, animals, trees, and plants, produced a peaceful boy - not a warrior. This was of some disappointment to Davin, who had hoped his child would follow him into the Republic navy and eventually command his own starship someday. Instead, Zee coasted through his schooling with average grades and became a carpet salesman.

The period of Zee's life between his years selling carpets and the time he joined the Rebel Alliance at the outbreak of hostilities over the Emperor's New Order are not clear. Whatever happened to Zee, it equipped a relatively average young man with a violent, vehement hatred of the rising Empire and a bloodlust against the Emperor. Zee changed, and developed new dimensions - many of which are still unknown today. AAdmonished by some, hated by others, he has been called everything from "the best thing that happened to the Alliance" to the "King of all bull". One thing is for certain, however - Zee was not as crystal clear as history books would make out. The man renowned for his militaristic and centralised government of the Alliance was often called Imperialistic...and this may not be far from the truth.

Tiger Leader

Command of a Starfighter Squadron, Year -1, Day 100

Zee Wolf joined the Rebel Alliance half a year after Supreme Commander Maverick had torn it from the hands of Jacen Lord, a poor leader whom Maverick crushed in an uprising. It was a very different organisation then, in -2/-1. Built up of essentially six different autonomous organisations working in union under the umbrella of three fleets (Conquest Fleet, commanded by Admiral Keeval, Falcon Fleet, by Admiral Falcon, and Maverick Fleet under the direct leadership of the Supreme Commander), it was a sea of corruption, disagreement, and conflict. No less than 11 hopefuls had tried to oust Maverick in leadership duels, and Maverick relied on several key figures to keep the Alliance under some semblance of peace; including Jeremy Slavin, Senator Dreadguy, KnnOs, Wedge Antilles, and Enn Seasee.

Wolf joined the Starfighter Corps, and was given command of Tiger Squadron; a Z-95 fighter squadron. Unbeknowst to Wolf, the Tigers would later become an elite special operations unit attached to the secret Ice Warrior Fleet, and enjoy a long period as rivals to the Rebellion's already existing celebrated squadron, Wedge Antilles' Rogue Squadron. It was as Commander of Tiger Squadron that Zee first met individuals who would later become some of the Alliance's greatest heroes - Kith Kanan, who served as his Lt. Commander, Gilthanas (later to become Air Chief Marshal of Fighter Command), and various unsung heroes who have since faded into the past including Dragonstar, Avatar, and Nosferatu.

The small squadron did well under Wolf, and bonded together. Within a week or so, Zee Davin Wolf had stumbled across information about a secret Imperial weapon - a "European Division". A cunning and surprisingly simple Imperial fleet consisting entirely of Europeans, thus able to attack the mostly American Rebel Alliance whilst they lay in their beds. As a Brit in a mostly European squadron, Zee Wolf's Tigers seemed the obvious choice to take on the fleet.

Thanks to information from an individual named Chester (who was later to change his name to Celtic Warrior, and then to Liquid Snake), Wolf's Tigers were able to gain the top secret passwords to the ED's websites and monitor their movements and capabilities. As Maverick sanctioned enlargements for the Tigers, including the donation of heavier support warships (one commanded by Chester), Zee Wolf began to build up a force to take on this threat.

And then something significant happened. The identity of the Hooded Men has never really been understood, nor what actually took place behind the doors of the mighty and in the corridors of power over the issue. What is known, however, is that the Hooded Men dogged the Alliance for the entire rest of the SWSIM, well beyond the time when Zee Wolf physically outlawed them in the summer of -1. That March, a group of individuals claiming to have a membership base of around a fifth of the Alliance wrote to the Rebels and informed them that should they choose en masse to rise against Maverick, the current Leader, their own strong leader would arise and take control of the Alliance. They cited flaws in Maverick's personality, in the organisational style of the Alliance, and most significantly, its lack of democracy. This went down very badly with Maverick loyalists, most notably KnnOs and Enn Seasee, who wrote lengthy tomes drawing attention to the unintentionally Imperial use of language by the Hooded Men and other worrying characteristics by the creepy organisation.

What Zee Wolf actually did to this group was never to be discovered, a secret that died with Maverick and was never revealed by Wolf. Indeed, Rebel Intelligence (then commanded by Director Alfo) always denied that any covert operations concerning the Hooded Men ever went through their channels. Either way, the Hooded Men vanished almost as quickly as they appeared - for the time being, anyway. Maverick, reeling under some of the serious political issues the Men had raised, found that he needed to do something to placate those who had agreed openly about the lack of democracy. He therefore sanctioned the construction of a new Rebellion Senate, and needed someone trustworthy and politically savvy to run it. Having proven himself through his work against the Hooded Men, he chose Zee Wolf.

Seal Of The Presidency

President of the Senate to XO of the Rebel Alliance

Zee Wolf's inauguration as President of the New Republic Senate, with Jacen Lord's responsibilities over Rebellion politics, coincided with the re-organisation of Tiger Squadron into a new fleet. The flagship was to be a cruiser. The fleet was to be named the Ice Warriors, and was to be a top secret covert operations fleet.

Supreme Commander Maverick offered Wolf promotion to Grand Admiral; as the CO of a fleet the structure and procedures of the Rebel Alliance dictated this. Wolf denied the promotion, arguing that he preferred to remain a fighter pilot. As a compromise, Maverick invented a new rank, High Commander (a rank later to be used by many factions in many capacities), and promoted Wolf here instead. In due course, a death threat and a bounty on his head forced him out of the cockpit of his fighter and into the Rebel Alliance bulk cruiser, the Ice Maiden.

Zee Wolf's responsibilities were growing. Within three weeks of joining the SWSIM, Wolf was not just now in command of a fleet so powerful and potent that not even the other commanders knew about and with carte blanche over recruitment, but also with sole responsibility for writing up a constitution and forming a governing and advisory body for the entire Alliance. Initially, Wolf had opted for a "New Republic Council", but Maverick vetoed this and decreed that it be called a "Senate" and enlarged.

The close position of Zee to Maverick was growing stronger. Maverick continued to rely on Wolf for advice and direction, hanging on his every word. Within a short space of time, Maverick decided to make a physical expression of Wolf's importance to the Alliance and promoted him to Lt. Supreme Commander. This brought Wolf into direct conflict with the existing LSC, Falcon, who also commanded his namesake division. On day 175 of year -1, Supreme Commander Maverick suddenly, and without warning, resigned. In his wake, he left an Alliance full of divisions and angst. In a brief ceremony and a few comforting words of encouragement, he left the Rebel Alliance in the control of Supreme Commander Zee D. Wolf.

The Seat Of Command

From Day 175 until end of Year -1

Zee Wolf's succession to command came as little or no surprise to most. He had been practically running the Alliance on behalf of Maverick for the past few weeks anyway. What did come as a surprise was Wolf's first act; to hold a vote-of-confidence in his leadership. Leaders were never elected in SWSIM. There was little or no say from the masses in their selection. This was the first time democracy had ever been introduced into any faction ever. Needless to say, the "nobility" (although admittedly even holding an election suggested an element of undefeatability from the Wolf camp) of the action, coupled with Wolf's popularity as a strong leader resulted in no less than a 100% victory in favour of his leadership. With this mandate behind him, Zee Wolf began his reforms. These led to a very structured organisation, described by Wolf's own propagandists as "an efficient fighting machine". The Alliance was arranged thus, around day 320 of -1 at the climax of Wolf's government. The Rebel Alliance was divided into several Commands; Surface Command, Naval Command, Intelligence Command, Support Command, and then a series of miscellaneous positions held by several individuals.

Surface Command was headed by High Commander Conix, formerly CO of the special forces and subdivided into the Rebel Air Force (airspeeder squadrons), New Republic Marines (which featured infantry troops, artillery, and mobile attack vehicles), and the New Republic Special Forces. All new recruits to the Alliance were now required to spend at least three weeks in the Marines, which had the triple-fold purpose of sorting out active simmers from inactive ones, keeping the most unpopular division full of a constant stream of simmers, and allowing new simmers time to become acquainted with the game and the Rebel Alliance.

Naval Command was run by High Commander HDandy, and comprises the Rebellion's fleets (Conquest, Ice Warrior, Sentinel, Saracen and Harrier) and Fighter Command. Fighters in Wolf's regime came under the command of the Navy because the Rebellion was entirely mobile; there were few planetary garrisons. Assigning the fighters to the Navy made command and communications streamlined and strategy easier. Fighter Command was subdivided into four groups, each with one type of starfighter, and then squadrons of six pilots under that (Commander, Lt. Commander, Pilot Officers). Every squadron was assigned a fleet.

Intelligence Command, under Shalon T'Kai, comprised Rebel Intelligence (the main espionage agency), Rebel Investigative Agency (main police body), and Tactical Command (recon co-ordination centre). SIU was attached directly under the command of the Supreme Commander and was not involved in Intelligence Command.

Support Command was the umbrella for the office of the Rebellion Quartermaster, a role created by Wolf and the first time a central administrative officer had been used in the Alliance; Inferno (the ground combat training school); Firestorm Down Fighter Weapons School (the now legendary training school for fighter pilots and well-known throughout the universe at the time; indeed, other factions expressed an interest in sending their pilots here); the New Republic Naval Institute; and the Medical Task Force. The MTF, under Rendalin Kai, was charged with the Alliance's medical frigates.

Miscellaneous roles on top of these included the Rebel Technology Agency (responsible, famously, for the development of the Home One cruiser and the galactically renowned Mon Calamari MC60 "Light Calamari" after Wolf's decree for the design of such ships) which by that point had had their size and funding greatly decreased by Zee Wolf, and was now known as Flag Officer Technology (Johan Solo) and his deputies. Flag Officer Foreign Affairs was occupied by Kith Kanan, and the Master At Arms (in charge of keeping general order with the Rebel Investigative Agency) was Targ Seth'Gul.

Breeding A Wolf: Influences On Wolfian Government Style

Influences on Zee Wolf's government style were diverse and out of step with the popular philosophies of the time. In the Alliance, the most prevalent ideology was that of the ad-hoc, purist democracy presented by the Star Wars trilogy; a central council where decisions were debated and plans formed, incorporating powerful divisional commanders mostly autonomous in their own spheres, and a leadership functionining more as a facilitator than a director (a governing style closesly resembling that of the old USSR). In the rest of the galaxy, the writings of ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu were commonly adhered to; indeed one Emperor even gave himself that handle. By contrast, Wolf scorned what we saw as an American-led over-indulgence in "poetry", believing Sun Tzu to be little more than colourful and wise-sounding nuggets (a la the Biblical book of Proverbs) utterly useless in both modern warfare and online simming. He instead, somewhat arrogantly, opted for more contemporary skeletons on which base Wolfism.

Zee felt that the Vietnam War and World War II both provided useful parallels, and his organisational style and leadership moves represented a fusion of the Allied Forces in BCGT 60-55 and the Vietcong. Wolf's vision of the Alliance was as an unlikely, mismatched band of heroes united only by a common enemy; and believed that this was similar to the union of British, Canadian, Dutch and Polish fighting the Battle of Britain (BCGT60-59) prior to US intervention in the War. The organisation of the Vietcong into various cells, each knowing little about each other and making clandestine attacks on badly defended US installations (thus slowly whittling down the US forces) provided a useful template to maintain security and effective assaults on the Empire.

Wolf also drew from the free-market economics of BCGT 10s Thatcherism (known in the US as Reaganomics) which envisaged a highly competitive society, each element competing to the be the best and therefore resulting in maximum productivity from all concerned. He made efforts to introduce healthy competition between Alliance divisions, each trying to better each other in terms of effectiveness. This, Zee believed, provided camaraderie and kept Rebels active. Friendship bonds between all Rebels developed at regularly-held parties, and kept everybody jocular. These parties tended to be highly informal affairs, mostly due to Wolf's distaste for pomp and circumstance.

Evidence of Zee Wolf's influence by the World War II Allied Forces was obvious. The re-design of the Starfighter Corps into Fighter Command (under an Air-Chief-Marshal), the creation of Flag Officers in High Command, and even the cosmetic name of the RAF (Rebel Air Force, the airspeeder division) all displayed this and received mostly positive responses - though drew some criticism as what some called "creeping anglocisation".

Despite a general dislike for the major philosophies in the sim, Wolf still subscribed heavily to militarism advocated by the likes of PaulDaJedi, as opposed to "politicism" advocated by figures like Dreadguy and Maverick - who saw the Alliance as a pseudo-state or polity which should elect a Senate, it's leaders, and so on. Militarism viewed the Alliance as a pure military. Zee took elements from politicism, but these represented his own style of ad-hoc democracy based on friendship.

It has occasionally said that Zee was influenced heavily by the Empire. Indeed, Zee was denounced once by General Balseraph (commander of the Emperor's personal legion of bodyguards) as a "secret Imperialist". On a practical level, this was never the case and Wolf never stole any ideas from the Empire (though they notoriously copied many of his, including an entire security protocol document which was still visible on the ING a year later, as were Zee's Rebel TV broadcasts). On a philosophical level, this may well have been true to an extent. Rather than be influenced by the SWSIM Empire itself, he was probably influenced by the breed of thought that was partially responsible for Imperialism; an emphasis on militarism, on selective use of democracy, and on order and hierarchy. Whilst this is a view that can be successfully argued in favour of, it is important to point out key differences between the Imperialism of the Empire and of Zee Wolf's Rebel Alliance.

Firstly, Wolf's militarism was only temporary, an interim measure. It was only contingent until the Empire could be cut back to such an extent that a democratic state with elected leaders and a functioning legislative body could be established, whereupon the militaristic Rebel Alliance would be disbanded. Secondly, Wolf fused militarism with a friendship-based "family" feel; the Alliance was not cold, it was warm, and democracy took place all the time, just not in an official constitutional way. Thirdly, Wolf borrowed Coxall and Robins' definition of the British Conservative Party, "an autocracy tempered by consent"; he was in sole command, it was true, but this was only due to the Rebellion's allowing of it. They could have removed him from power at any time. This was shown in summer of BCGT 1 with the Vote of Confidence. Had Wolf gained less than 60% of the vote (what he deemed a decent mandate), he would have resigned.

The Hidden World

Intelligence and counter-intelligence

As far as Zee Wolf was concerned, intelligence was of immense importance. A small, limited army able to make considered and perceptive assaults was far more likely to gain victory than a large army with limited information. Thus a heavy emphasis of Wolf's command was intelligence-gathering and spyhunting, and Wolf capitalised on SWSIM's lax rules on spying. Indeed, when SWSIM's successor, SWCOM, outlawed more or less all spying it attracted extremely heavy anger and criticism from Zee.

One of Wolf's first moves as Lt. Supreme Commander and Maverick's right-hand man was to introduce a controversial counter-espionage agency that ultimately proved his first misjudgement, the Security Guard. The key problem with the organisation was that, despite gaining a high number of applicants for positions, it's brief was highly antagonistic to the democratic sensibilities of the Rebellion at the time. Compared to the Gestapo by some, there was significant outrage across the Rebel mailing lists over its introduction. The agency, with its frightening shark logo and PR focussed on its iron-fisted approach to order keeping, seemed like too much of an Imperial move. Despite some successes, when Wolf ascended to the Throne he quietly disbanded it and shifted it's responsibilities to a more approachable internal police force under the RIA and the command of a legitimate figure, a Master At Arms.

Wolf set up a central co-ordinative body, Tactical Command, under the leadership of Shalon T'Kai to keep track of intelligence reports from Rebel shipping (which was now compulsory under Wolf's new rules) and plot them on a galactic map. The RIA was subdivided into the aforementioned police force, and an intelligence-gathering wing that was further divided by department into career Rebel agents, recon pilots for special missions, and defectors, who were now required to spy on the Empire for at least a month prior to their actual transision to the Rebel Alliance. Furthermore, a network of spies was cultivated in the Empire reporting either directly to Wolf, to the new Secret Intelligence Unit (see below), or to T'Kai. Rebel intelligence was mostly successful under Wolf , but there were three important blunders. Firstly, the Archer Gantt fiasco led to the loss of one of the Alliance's most promising spies. Secondly, a special operation known as Operation Black Knight, designed to prevent the ascension of Spytek to the Throne was ruined when Wolf was betrayed by the Imperial Vice-Admiral Simms (which again resulted in the loss of an important spy), and finally the failure to catch an Imperial operative at an extremely sensitive level in the Rebellion.

These however were matched by considerable successes. These included the seduction of successive Imperial R&D heads into Rebel intelligence, meaning that for months the Rebels knew exactly what technology the Empire had and was planning; the fact that the Rebellion was receiving Imperial information on some topics even faster than many members of the Empire was; access to almost all passworded Imperial websites; and the theft of a Victory Star Destroyer. Indeed, the SIU was also successful in several misinformation campaigns.

The SIU remained undisclosed by the Wolf regime to the extent that the majority of Imperial intelligence never realised it existed; a highly secretive and elite organisation entirely separate from the Rebel Intelligence Agency. SIU's brief consisted of two broad fields, espionage and counter-intelligence. SIU's espionage wing featured a fairly small number of highly specialised agents gathered from all areas of the Alliance; ladies and gentlemen who had shown high degrees of intelligence, dedication, and ability. These agents were either inserted into the Empire or used in other operations. Counter-intelligence featured a very small number of investigative agents, and a body-guard division equipped with the very best technology and entrusted with the protection of the Alliance's most important figures.

Secrecy and surprise were hallmarks of Wolfian government policy. The Wolf regime also managed to keep secret the existence of the Ice Warrior Fleet for an inordinate amount of time. To this day, no spy has ever been known to have served in the fleet and the very fact that it was ever even real has only become apparent after SWSIM ended.

Whilst the Ice Warriors remained top secret, there are questions marks over the success of the SIU, however. Some evidence exists that SIU was infiltrated by an Imperial agent, a Dark Jedi, who worked in the bodyguard division. Needless to say, if this was the truth and he had not been discovered in time, it could have had serious repercussions. The Empire has never confirmed this, and before it's disbansion SIU refused to admit whether or not this was the case, nor who it was.

If secrecy and surprise were the first two "s"s of Wolfian intelligence then 'security' was the third. Wolf charged SIU officer Datahack and Fighter Command pilot officer Raptor911 with building an IP-based central passworded system linked up to all Rebel sites.

Foreign And Personal Affairs

Allegiances and liaisons

At the time, the number of groups in the SWSIM was limited. The Empire was the largest, followed by the Rebel Alliance. There also existed the Smuggler's Alliance, the Black Sun, the Bounty Hunter's Alliance, and the Merchant's Guild. Several other sector governments were set up by sim admin during Zee's time in government; Maharettan, Klysteron, Kanchin, and Hapan.

Wolf managed to negotiate the entry of the Smuggler's Alliance into the Rebellion, a success based both on Wolf's promise of spaceship hardware for the Smugglers and the turning of a blind eye to smuggling activities in Rebel-controlled space. It was probably also based on Gwain, the Smuggler leader, falling in love with General Crackerjack of the Rebel Marines. Crackerjack was well-known as one of the Alliance's most eligible females, and was purported to have had an affair with Wolf. Several members of the Merchant's Guild were also convinced to join the Alliance, but Wolf's proudest achievement was less direct and more subversive.

Each of the sector governments was armed with at least 10-15 combat warships. The Alliance itself only had around 50, so this was a significant number. Wolf, acting as a "facilitator", launched what he called the "United Planets", a NATO-style defence treaty between the sector governments designed to help them combat Imperial aggression. This was initially treated with some scepticism, but then the catalyst he had been hoping for arrived - the Empire tried to blackmail Maharettan into allowing the construction of an Imperial garrison there and shipyards. The sectors jumped into life, and all but Hapan (later to become the Hapes Consortium) signed. Rebel Intelligence estimated the combined military forces of the three signees as around 40 combat warships. If the Empire acted aggressively towards the UP, which by its very nature it had to - the sector governments occupied Imperial territory and the Empire wasn't in the business of handing out autonomy - it would find a force almost the size of the Alliance greeting it. Combined with the power of the Alliance itself, and this posed a major threat to the Empire. Wolf assumed that if the Empire entered into warfare with the UP, the UP would probably work alongside the Alliance. Unfortunately, the sim crashed and the fruit of this power-play was never tasted.

Perhaps controversially, Wolf also had a close working relationship with Gabriella Storm, leader of the Black Sun, and trade between the Rebel Alliance and what was essentially an evil organisation took place regularly and secretly. Wolf was able to gain significant information and materials to fight the Empire with from the Black Sun. One of Wolf's weaknesses however was women. He had a stormy relationship with the Rebel Princess, Jaj Solo, and relations with two female fighter pilots, a Rebel spy and a member of Surface Command.

The Final Hours

The end of SWSIM

The end began very quietly and under the cloak of normality. It happened during the summer, in early August. The sim software, without explanation, suddenly crashed and refused to work. In a few hours time, a message was circulated by Sim Admin stating that the sim was undergoing "routine maintenance" and would be back online within a few days. This was not seen as significant at the time, and things carried on as normal. The sim was never to come back online again. Aaron Dougherty, as of that point, had vanished.

SWSIM continued for another two months under the interim leadership of TJ, the most junior member of Sim Admin but seemingly the only one responding to e-mails, while everybody waited for the supposed return of Aaron. Nothing had really changed in the game, except the disappearance of new recruits, unable to join through the sim software. Yet mounting concern over the future of the game began to result in the players taking action.

In the Rebel Alliance, Zee Wolf commissioned several Rebel Intelligence officers and a few other gifted Alliance members to find Dougherty. They had some success; but the phone numbers unearthed by investigations proved useless. Elsewhere in the Galaxy, the Empire continued to bombard Sim Admin with official-sounding e-mails. The situation began to grow serious, and Zee Wolf entered into talks with Gabby Storm of the Black Sun and Veynom (Imperial Navy) of the Empire about the future of the SWSIM. At this time, TJ broadcasted an ultimatum - either the game would return within a few days or he would formally shut it down. In the final hours, a split occurred between the factions involved in determining the future of the sim.

Zee Wolf led a field of thought that felt that the sim should wait for the return of the senior admin members. They cited a wide volley of reasons justifying this position. Veynom, Spytek, and PtJedi with their new friend Fizzban, eager to seize a chance to redeem their Empire and start afresh, felt that a new sim should be launched to continue where SWSIM left off. As the hours to the end of the sim counted down, Zee Wolf entered into discussions with his High Command over whether or not the Rebel Alliance would join the Empire in this new venture. It was deemed disloyal, and so controversially, they decided not to. A follow-up decision was made by Zee Wolf's "inner circle" of High Command officers, including Rear-Admiral Kith-Kanan (Flag Officer Foreign Affairs), Air Chief Marshal Gilthanas (Fighter Command), and General Crackerjack (Rebel Marines) to disband the Rebel Alliance, and declare the end of SWSIM with a Rebel victory.

As the Empire made use of its extremely lucky and golden opportunity to start all over again, the High Command of the Rebel Alliance tendered their resignation en masse, and Zee Wolf appeared on Rebel TV declaring the Rebel Alliance's decision not to follow the Empire into the new sim. The new sim would have to form a new Rebel Alliance. The Alliance declared a victory over the Empire, on the basis that should the battle engine be launched today, the Alliance would have thrashed the Empire.

On a Friday in October, TJ Sweet declared that the Star Wars Sim was officially over and disbanded. Without hours, Zee Wolf declared the same of the Rebel Alliance.

Kith-Kanan, Crackerjack, Gilthanas, and Zee Wolf, with the majority of Rebel High Command and Rebels left the sim world. Some High Commanders later joined the new sim, but from that moment, the Rebel Alliance of the SWSIM and of Zee Wolf had died.

The end had come, and Zee Wolf's Presidency was over.

Zee Davin Wolf: In Conclusion

Zee Wolf represented a leader of immaculate contradictions. A capable, calm, consummate politician/tactician and a first-rate negotiator with a penchant for attracting people to his side; he was also a temperamental, impetuous womaniser. Several fundamental aspects of Zee Wolf's character set him apart from both his contemporaries and the previous occupants of the Seat of Command. Wolf was ruthless, and devious. He felt that his task was simply to destroy the Empire, and this literally was to be achieved by any means possible - honourable or not. More than one Rebel oofficer's career faltered permanently by Wolf's hand as they were believed to be a liability. He believed in a powerful chain of command. He believed in an ad-hoc style of democracy.

Wolf became something of a Rebel hero, however. For years afterwards Rebels would refer to -1 - and a brief four week return around day 90 of year 0 - as the Rebellion's golden hour. Until year 1, his dead body still held the highest Imperial bounty, despite his disappearance into the sands of time many literal years ago. For years, Zee Wolf was the only individual the Empire wanted dead rather than dead or alive. As SWSIM closed, within eight or nine months an Empire lay in tatters and an Alliance stood streamlined, powerful, and combat-ready. A famous man, however, once said that a leader is nothing unless he has the right men around him - and this is more than true. Zee Wolf would never have done anything of note without the right Rebel officers beneath him. And this is perhaps the first of Wolf's most significant achievements; to accurately and eruditely select some of the best officers seen in SWSIM or SWCOM and bring up a whole generation of Rebel Officers in a particular mould.

What today is regarded as the old guard; men like HDandy, Kith-Kanan, Jeremy Slavin, PaulDaJedi, Hobbes, Smithy, and KnnOs all owed their success and careers to their selection for key positions to Zee Wolf. The officers he selected conformed to a mentality; they had demonstrated a tendency to work for the greater good over their own, they had never craved positions of power and were instead loyal and dutiful, they worked to their best of their ability and most importantly, were of high skill and calibre in relation to the jobs Wolf wanted them for. They had ingrained into them a natural sense of duty and as such a calm competence pervaded the corridors of Rebel power.

Secondly, Wolf's timing was immaculate. Not only did he highly significantly time his changes just right to not stand on anybody's toes, and to not confuse anyone, but he also identified the correct order in which to bring in his reforms. He began low and small, starting with the Rebel Marines, and working up. It is very easy when confronted with a lot to change to leap in willy-nilly, but Wolf started in a small, controlled area, and built up. This had the important effect of not only maintained stability during his changes but promoting a continually united front throughout it. Wolf's reforms were seen as less fundamental than they really were, which helped to silence critics and promote the Alliance.

Thirdly, Wolf's propaganda abilities served him well. He gained support and garnered followers with ease, and his mix of methods for keeping Rebels interested and supportive were highly successful. Rebel propaganda was highly controlled and centralised under Wolf, and succeeded in attracting a variety of non-Rebels to the cause, including the head of the Smugglers Guild and the Sector governments. Examples include his penchant for attractive websites, and the existence of Rebel TV - a satirical production at the Empire's expense so funny that the Imperial News Grid even used it. He was also a charmer; and was able to negotiate treaties with other powers and even ten Home One battle cruisers for the Alliance, one of which became his flagship, NRN Illustrious.

Zee Wolf Today

The modern-day

Zee Wolf shared the same fate as the rest of the Rebel Alliance's history. Despite a long history since -3, the Alliance always has trouble remembering back more than two years. Zee Wolf, in due course, ceased to be a celebrated and awed figure, and instead, slipped into obscurity - and now, virtual unknowness. He vanished into the same darkness as the Alliance's first leaders, Jacen Lord and Maverick. It took longer for him, of course, due to his occasional forays into the world of Rebel politics (often emerging with egg on his face) - but ultimately, the Alliance that fights the eternal battle is made up of the same fresh-faced warriors that Zee Wolf once was, and they don't remember his battle. They were, after all, the very children that inspired Wolf so much back then.

For years, many small remnants of Zee Wolf's administration remain in SWCOM. There was an "about" scroller, for example, written by him, and he coined the "SWCOM, it is unescapable. It is your destiny" tagline. The advertisement text for each faction on the faction screen was also his for years. In the Alliance, the prefix "NRN" for Rebel Navy ships was a Wolfian addition, the security guidelines for both Empire and Rebel Alliance, though broadly modified now, are his. For years, the Rebel Alliance maintained his Code of Laws complete with his "You're the last hope for the galaxy - so act like it" line.

Several attempts to build Rebel Museums have failed, their inspiration orchestrated over the dying request of Wolf (that an Alliance museum be built to honour those who had gone before) to the hapless President Aarkon. The enemies of Zee Wolf pervaded the Alliance long after he had gone, and such people were quick to employ means to erase his memory. Yet Wolf has not died in all minds yet. Some remember him. The former Emperor, Connel, spent many hours jousting with Wolf, and formerly high ranking Rebel officers in Wolf's government can now be found in outer rim territories - if you look hard enough.

The lack of physical evidence and tangible fodder for memorials has probably contributed towards the forgetting of the Alliance's past, and it is certainly true that very little remains. But there is something important Zee Wolf, as a renowned womaniser, had an illegitimate relationship with a starfighter pilot in his own Tiger Squadron. From this liaison was born offspring, a child. There is a son.

See also

• Zee Wolf the Younger, a statesman in the Galactic Empire.
• Zee Wolf the Elder, a noted leader of the Rebel Alliance.