Who we are, and How we came to be...

In Sept of 2002, shortly after the ending of beta testing in EnB, then-lieutenant Grogan was just outside of Earth when he crossed thru the gate to Asteroid Belt Beta. In those days, star gates were not protected by turrets. Unsuspecting pilots were having their ships incapacitated without having a chance to defend themselves.  A small group of six pilots formed and decided to spend their evening defending that gate to Earth, protecting the weak, and helping those in need.

     At the end of the evening - those six pilots decided to form a guild. By vote of the group, Grogan was elected as Leader. Several names were discussed, and ultimately the name Blackhawks was chosen.

   Over the next year and a half the Blackhawks grew, into one of the largest and most powerful guilds in the game. With nearly 1200 members and the capability of beating any epic in the game, the Blackhawks never lost sight of their founders. To help others, to defend both their own brethren, and to achieve success in all their endeavors.

    Due to rumors circulating in January of 2004, about the impending demise of the game, Grogan began to research other online MMORPG's in the hopes of the team continuing on as a cohesive unit beyond the end of Earth and Beyond.

     Several months earlier, two of our most illustrious members, Orla and Legolauss, had left EnB to begin anew in Star Wars Galaxies. They, and others, founded their own guild. Orla was placed in charge of naming the new SWG team.

    Her original intent was to name the guild Blackhawks - after the EnB team. But since Grogan was not in SWG at that time, and in deference to the existing team, another name was chosen for both the team and the city  - Deux Soleil (French for two suns - which our home planet, Tatooine, orbits.

    In late January 2004, Grogan, now called Tiberius- Grogan, entered the world of Star Wars Galaxies. the first thing he typed: /tell Orla  - OK I'm here! Where are you?

    Within moments, the sound of  hooves on the pavement was heard as Orla and Lego came riding up on two enormous beasts. They led Grogan to their city and  old friendships were renewed , and many new ones were made. The guild was made up of quality players.

    A short time later - the announcement that EnB was closing was made. Having leveled up a bit in SWG, and by that time, elected leader of the guild, Grogan began stockpiling housing, vehicles, and weaponry for the incoming members who transferred over.
 

    Once Grogan had been elected leader, Orla shared with him her initial plan for naming the guild. Shortly thereafter a vote was taken, and the Blackhawks were reborn. The name Deux Soleil was kept as the city name, as an homage to the proud history that name bears.

The Blackhawks grew, became one of the largest and most powerful guilds on the Intrepid Galaxy.

In August of 2005 the Blackhawks held their first ever Gathering! Members from all over the country headed into Las Vegas Nevada for a fun filled week of sight seeing, fun, and camaraderie. The event went so well - it was decided to make it an annual occurrence!

But that was before the Great Nerfing Experience, Before the Dark Times...

With the second major control and combat change in the game, the entire SWG community was hit hard , including the hawks, by a great many players canceling their accounts. The SWG team faltered a bit, as long time vets began searching for a new place to play.

It was during this time that Grogan began an exhaustive search for a new challenge for the team. Testing virtually every MMO on the market, ultimately the game EverQuest 2 was chosen for its depth, guild based content, pricing compatibility with SWG , and overall fun factor.

The SWG team however would not, and shall never, die. Though somewhat diminished in strength Grogan continues to lead that team and will do so until the day SWG closes forever.

Today the hawks are, for the first time ever, a multi game guild. its a lot of work. In SWG they are working hard to rebuild, retool, and prepare for the next phase in SWG history.

In EverQuest 2  - they are a fledgling guild, but already the signs are there, the dedication, the fellowship, the bonds that only a Blackhawks member knows...

The great adventure continues... we hope YOU become a part of it!

Below are a few "historical documents" that you may find of interest...

9/15/05 Grogan's Three Year Anniversary State of the Guild Address

I stand here before you today in celebration of  three years in existence as a guild, a team, a family.   We have grown beyond the mere facades our avatars provide and become something greater, and so, tonight we will not only look back, and not only look at ourselves as we stand today, but we will also seek out the challenges of the future.

Originally, we were a team born of necessity. No one team existed in our original game that existed for the purpose of helping others. A flaw in the game provided us an opportunity , and perhaps it was fate that brought us together that night.

In the years since, we have traveled  to a new realm, and conquered it, shaped it, and made it our own.  We’ve done quite a bit as the game measures accomplishments, we’ve beaten the quests, gained the loot, killed the mobs. But more than that, we’ve established ourselves.

    We’re known as a city, and as a team, that is there to help. Just the other night, I was standing in Anchorhead, when a new player approached me. He did not speak English very well. He said “you are BH – you help yes?”. It always impresses me that we do such a fine job of spreading the word. Members here have learned to not only help, but to remind those we help, that anyone with the BH tag is there to help them.

This past year has brought with it many changes. Changes in the Council, the layout of the city, the membership of the team, and even the game itself. Its been a challenging year. Some of our challenges have been for new players to step up when old players fade out of the game, to find new events to run, to resolve the inevitable conflicts that arise when any large group or groups gather from diverse backgrounds.

  The past year has also brought with it a renewal of sorts. Old friends, long gone, have returned to the fold. New faces have integrated to make the whole stronger. And today – we stand with the elite teams of the servers. We’ve never set out to be the biggest, or the strongest, (these things tend to take care of themselves) – but we what we have strived for , worked for, endured for, is to be the most honorable team in the game. And my friends, I am proud to say, that I believe we have certainly accomplished that.

And now we must look ahead. For what does the future hold for the Blackhawks? The game, fortunately  - is healthy and alive, and is set to a course, while admittedly fraught with developer missteps, that will ensure its existence for years to come. The team too, is assured to continue. I am so certain of this  - I’ve renewed our website for another two years.  So what then, should we set as our challenges for the upcoming year?

Our challenges will be two fold: One is philosophical, the other is economic. Our city has always struggled with its economy.  We have many crafters and many vendors but we lack in some key areas of development.

 I believe this team should commit itself, that the next time I come before you for this Address, we have established Deux Soleil as a city where any player crafted item that a player might need can be purchased. Droids. Ships. Weapons. Harvesters. ARMOR.

The key essentials we need to succeed in the game. Lets become the powerhouse economically that we are in combat. Lets apply ourselves to crafting, vendoring, loot selling, with the same fervor and passion we apply to personal success and helping others. 

Our other challenge this coming year is one that relates to our fundamental philosophies. Simply put , to recommit ourselves to the founding principles of the team – those three rules that were our initial guidelines  - before the charter, before the faq – we had the THREE – 1.) Help others 2.) Don’t be a jerk 3.) have fun.  We certainly have the ability to handle these.

   I would be remiss in my duties as leader if I didn’t ask each and every one of you to re-examine your play style from time to time. Before you type /logout before the end of each play session, ask yourself :How did I improve someone else’s game play today? You don’t have to hand someone a million credits to help them. I’ve seen first day players light up someone’s day through a few kind words. Disagreements are a normal part of human interaction, but I would submit that we could do a better job of seeking resolutions rather than assessing blame. An easy challenge to be sure.

This teams brightest days are yet ahead. I believe that. We are, without a doubt, a success by nearly any measure. I believe that I have been blessed to have each and every one of you as a member.  I believe that there exists no finer collection of humanity in any server, on any game. I am proud to lead this team. And for your hard work, your endurance, your perseverance , your patience, and above all , your honor -  I am proud of all of you. You are my team, my friends, my family. For that I thank you.  Blackhawks forever.

Admiral Tiberius- Grogan

3/14/03 - Grogan's State of the Guild Address:

My fellow Blackhawks – thank you for Joining me here today for our six-month anniversary event. Before we begin our event today – I’d like to take a few moments to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and set some goals for our future,

    Now, as we evolve and grow into the truly elite class of guilds – I  am taking today to thank you all for your hard work, loyalty and dedication to this ideal. With that in mind, I also want to say that I am personally proud of this team,  of what it has become, and what it aspires to be.    Thank you.

3/13/03 - Members removed from team. - In an unfortunate turn of events - The team was forced to remove two members yesterday and today. So that there are no misunderstandings - I am posting the circumstances of these removals.

    ON 3/12/03 one of our newer members, COBOLT, escalated what should have been a minor dispute between himself and an officer, into a major disagreement. Instead of discussing the situation calmly and rationally, Cobolt chose to insult the officer, indeed all officers on the team (save one), the Guild, and myself. After repeated requests to stop, he continued his diatribe and was justifiably suspended from the team.

3/03/03 - BLACKHAWKS PRIDE - Greetings team, Grogan here with a tale of Victory, Honor and Justice:

The date: 3/01/03 The Place: Varens Girdle: While exploring and hunting in the Ostare Harvest area of Varen's Girdle, I was ambushed and had my kills stolen by another player. This player, Cloakedassasin, is a Jenquai defender. His method of attack is to warp into a target and fire at point blank range. It is an effective strategy, the only problem is that by the time he gets out of warp, the target is quite often engaged already, particularly in busy sectors such as VG.

    Knowing this I sent him a friendly hail of "excuse me but I had engaged that, I know it probably wasn't intentional, but you have KSed me twice." The response I got was quite surprising. "If you don't like it move somewhere else. I am not going to stop."

    Now having played the game since beta, I have only rarely met players with this complete disregard for honor, and , wanting to give everyone the benefit of the doubt I simply moved about 30k away and began hunting again. Cloakedassassin followed me and began KSing again.

   Well, enough was enough. "Listen - I have asked nicely and I've tried moving off, now I am telling you, STOP KSing or I WILL put and end to your hunt." He replied,"HA - I would like to see you try."

  And so, the call went out," Blackhawks - anti-KS squad needed in VG - I require assistance."

And the Blackhawks came. In force.  Among them, our first officer Kwynn, Fafhrd, McKinley, Giuseppe, Smudmagnet and several others. (Apologies to anyone I left out - didn't keep track of everyone.)

  The hawks met at a nearby nav and one final opportunity was given to Cloaked assassin," I am giving you one final warning. I have witnessed several players other than myself broadcasting complaints about your KSing and you have refused to stop. Will you please stop? Or do we have to stop you?"

"Go ahead and try."

"So be it."

The Blackhawks moved in and surrounded his ship. He made one attempt at a kill but it was quickly stopped.

"You have been Kill Stealing and despite repeated requests to stop, you have not done so. Your hunt here is at an end, please leave the sector immediately."

And, unbelievably, he did! With an apology no less! (note: two hours later Cloaked assassin did return, and conducted himself honorably for the duration of time he was there. He expressed a desire for "no hard feelings" - we agreed with him)

The point of all this is that, while I don't normally support "gunboat diplomacy", its apparently necessary to enforce it when regular channels fail. There are no official "Guardians of Justice" in the game. And, if occasionally, the Blackhawks have to fill that role? Well, then I am fine with that. So be it.

I am personally proud of the team and the way they conducted themselves with honor and skill. A side note, when another player was approached a short time later about KSing, he immediately apologized, asked to be grouped and after several hours of hunting together, became a good ally of the team. Two crises, one solved through diplomacy, the other solved at the end of a rack of missiles. Indeed I am proud. Proud of my team, my friends, the Blackhawks.

One final note to all of this. Guild Sergeant Fafhrd was present for the confrontation, and the ensuing hunt that lasted several hours. During this time he conducted himself in a manner truly representing the finest in what the Blackhawks strive to be. For this, he earned himself a promotion to Guild Officer. Congrats and well done. Until next time.... grogan out.

12/28/02 - BLACKHAWKS REPEL RED DRAGON INCURSION! - Arx Magister, Mars sector .... A squadron of Blackhawks responded to a distress call from new guild member Katiew today. Katiew  was visiting mars sector when her targeting computer picked up a large object headed for Arx Magister. Upon further inspection , it turned out to be a small Red Dragon incursion force, led by a lvl 50 Carrier - The Honor. Responding to Katiew's call for assistance were Tika, Sintergy, Pieeatinjabroni, Kingjord, and Guild Leader Grogan. Once all were in sector, The Blackhawks grouped and moved to repel the incursion.  Katiew was incapacitated when she attempted bravely to solo the lvl 50. Though incapacitated, her attack, and undoubtedly the presence of the Blackhawks team, caused the Honor to warp out of the sector, effectively abandoning several Missle Frigates that apparently were there to assault the nearby ship construction facility. After securing the area and notifying the proper authorities, The Balckhawks stood down from alert and returned to normal duty.

12/21/02 - BLACKHAWKS TO THE RESCUE - News Bulletin - Glory's Orbit sector. - Our Leader, Captain Grogan was leading an experienced combat team in heated battle with several high level Manes that were threatening the Mercury station area last night. Among those who fought alongside him were Hiromaru, Natiel, Steeler, and Heeler. After several dozen of the mobs had been put to rest - Hiromaru intercepted distress calls from all over the sector - Distress beacons began popping up all over the map. After informing the Captain, the Blackhawks went into full rescue mode.

    Apparently several All Out Assault Pilots had been involved in an unsuccessful attempt to take out a single level 33 mob near crystal point. Warping to their nav location - Hiromaru moved in to Jumpstart their entire group while the rest of the 'hawks easily finished off the mob.  No sooner had all six "thank yous" came over the com when a second group  - also partially made up of AoA members - also went down near Gharen's Rock. Once again - the Blackhawks led the charge to save the young pilots from their own inexperience (and several level 41 manes).

     When asked for comment, Captain Grogan said, "Its rough out here, some of these pilots can't even steer straight yet they're out here trying to run with the big boys - they were lucky we were here to pull 'em out of the fire - this time. But then, that's what the 'hawks have always been about - helping others."

   All Out Assault declined a request for an on-the-record interview for this story. 

 Do YOU have an exciting Blackhawks adventure story to tell? Email  Admiral Grogan today!