One year ago today 10 people left the ruins of what was the Hegemony of Periphery States to create something they knew well and loved dearly (OOC - a return to the Firefly/Serenity themed alliance). They made an agreement that no matter what they wouldn't falter from the founding ideals that the alliance was based upon. A year later those ideals and those people still remain.
The 57th Overlanders was created because the members wanted to go back to what they had attempted to build with HPS and failed to do. They wanted to create an environment that held true to the founding ideas of loyalty, honour, and a 'give em hell' attitude when people didn't like the way things were done. We weren't out to be friends with everyone. We wanted to make a few quality friends and do things the way we saw best and damn the normal conventions of things. I feel that we've done that as it seems we've just as many friends as enemies. And I don't regret it one bit.
So today, on our one year anniversary/birthday, we gather to celebrate our origins, our history, and our continued existence on Digiterra. We have come a long way from being 10 men and women and barely 100k NS to what we are today, and we could not have done it alone. A few special acknowledgments if I may:
- Conner, Erixxxx, Mrott, and the rest of Veritas Aequitas. We've known you all for a very very long time and I hope that we continue our friendship well into the following years.
- Phil, Alaric, Alex, and the rest of GLOF. You guys have been around and friendly with us since some of us were learning to walk in Browncoats. Here's to many more good times between our alliances.
- Mark, Champ, and all the other The Federation members. Well, when you can't get them to merge, you get them to become allies. To our friends in TheFed.
- Chuck, Constapated, and the other CRAP membership. From HPS to 57th, you guys were always friendly and supportive. I hope we've done the same for you.
- CoIN and Silence, our Brown brethren. You guys have been supportive and helpful even when we've been stubborn and pains in the arse. I don't think we could have found better friends on Brown. To the continued success of Nexus and our friendship.
- Kahn, Miasma, Anubis, and the rest of SSX. Kahn, you are a shining example of how things can change between one group of people in a previous alliance and groups of people in alliances becoming friends and allies. To a continued existence of prosperity between us.
And that is enough for the special recognitions. If you'd like, you may feel free to join us in #cn-the57th for drinking and general screwing around or even drop by www.the57thoverlanders.com/forums and say hello. We won't shoot you, unless we're drunk....ok, so you'll probably be shot. Don't worry, it just means we are having a good time or are really drunk and can't discern you from our own people.
And now that we've gotten the fun happy stuff out of the way...
One year ago I took up the mantle of leadership of the 57th and I promised that I would do my best to take the alliance forward into prosperity and success. Over that time we've broken 500k NS, grew to over 40 members, and established ourselves on the fringes of the Digiterra diplomatic stage. We found ourselves involved in the Karma War in defence of our allies. We even found ourselves embroiled in the tense and ever-shifting climate of the Brown Sphere politics. But through it all we held true to our ideals and our goals. I won't say it has been an easy 365 days because I'd be lying. It was hard, very little appreciation given, and sometimes I just wanted to wreck the damn thing into a mountain and say it is done. But I didn't. Because of my people and our community, I didn't give up but instead pushed on and continued down the path I felt was right for us.
And here we still stand.
But after a year of leading and making calls that people didn't always like to have made, I have grown tired and weary of my duties. I can no longer devote the time and energy as I once did to ensure that our boat, our home, stays true to course. Because of this, I am stepping down as Captain of the 57th Overlanders and turning the helm over to Veneke. He will be the one to continue the journey that I started out on, and I believe that he can continue to walk in my boots and ensure that what I helped build will continue on. I will remain on with the 57th as a Shepherd, an advisor for the new Captain and crew. I love this community and these people and I won't leave them for all the cashymoney in Londinium. But my time has come and my reign has ended.
So there it is, all there and laid to bare. 1 year birthday for the 57th and my resignation as Captain. Now lets go have a drink because my throat is parched.
Come a day there won't be room for naughty men like us to slip about at all. This job goes south, there well may not be another. So here is us, on the raggedy edge. Don't push me, and I won't push you. Dong-luh mah?
**edited because I forgot the flag**
57th
?! 
Veneke is an excellent replacement though, so good luck to my friends in 57th.
to see a quality guy taking the reigns