Life in the Black Series – George Mason, Freelance Writer
As a retired UEE Naval Command and Flight Officer, Captain Schlomo ‘NAFOD’ Lipaz had a variety of career options following his separation from the Navy; executive for a ship-builder, finance director for off-world banking institutions, or a comfortable retirement enjoying his Empirical Service Pension. A graduate of the UEE Naval Academy at Ganymede, Capt. Lipaz also holds a Spacecraft Systems Engineering degree from University of Mars, Olympus Mons, so imagine this reporter’s surprise to find such a well-qualified officer and pilot at Silas Koerner’s recent media week in support of the latest production run of Consolidated Outland’s ubiquitous and multi-tasking mighty-mite, the Mustang.
Of course, it is not at all uncommon during a ship-maker press week for the manufacturers to trot out their demo and sales pilots and crews in the very latest shiny prototypes. After all, they want to influence our opinion so that we can influence our readers. Admittedly, Silas Koerner is no ordinary CEO – a Billionaire before founding Consolidated, he is an active race pilot, he was also reportedly deeply active during the design and layout of the Mustang, especially as it relates to the core multi-function nature of the ship family. But in previous press week outings I have found Koerner to be surprisingly approachable when not surrounded by his overly protective underlings.
My surprise in finding Captain Lipaz at CNOU headquarters on Rytiff however was that he was not present as an official representative of Consolidated Outland, but rather as a newly minted MobiGlas Adventure Blogger. We spent some time discussing his journey from retired Naval Officer to blogger and it became obvious why he was on Rytiff – he is a genuine ambassador for the brand – he is not some highly scripted holo-bot sales pitch at a showroom, nor is he one of the stunningly attractive and leggy young women who know more technobabble about their wares than a jaded journalist like me could ever hope to. Captain Lipaz knows the ship well, and speaks highly of the design and utility, acknowledging not only its strengths but its weaknesses as well.
Captain Lipaz has spent the last 14 months in a Consolidated Outland Mustang Beta in pursuit of new jump routes into the Branaugh System in an attempt to improve Tevarin access to the wider systems economies for their fuel refineries at Branaugh III. He credits the Beta’s small size, maneuverability and ability to mount up to 4 weapons for making possible a rapid search for jump point connections into/out of Branaugh as well as helping him get out some pretty tight situations.
He related one encounter where he was so engrossed in chasing down a potential jump entry point on the outskirts of the asteroid field between Branaugh II and Branaugh III that his first indication he was under attack by a couple pirate vessels was when a missile with a seeker malfunction flashed past his canopy. After a brief dogfight he had scuttled one pirate Aurora and watched as the other snuck back into the asteroid belt. He has outfitted his Beta with a mix of energy and ballistic weapons to match its great maneuverability.
While it is not always polite to ask a Flight Officer the nature of their callsign I was compelled. Some are obvious, a play on family names, but most are earned by doing something memorable, either good or bad. Captain Lipaz was a good sport and explained that on a cruise near Vanduul space in the Oberon System, he was ordered to escort a civilian settler convoy. When the convoy came under attack he positioned the UEE John Paul Jones, an Idris class Frigate, between a fleet of Vanduul heavy cruisers and the convoy while the civilian ships jumped out of the weapons effective zone. He earned a commendation for bravery and the pilots of the Gladius element assigned to the Frigate held a callsign board when the ship put in for repairs. NAFOD stands for No Apparent Fear Of Death.
Interestingly though it is the subject of the economic performance of the Beta where Captain Lipaz really lights up. Having studied the history of the Tevarin War, Captain Lipaz, who is a devout Jew, turns surprisingly philosophical about the situation the Tevarin find themselves in, and he sees his work in expanding access for them as a way to improve their position within the UEE and with other races.
Branaugh is only served by a single joint route which limits economic access. The low operating costs and self-sufficient nature of the Beta allow Captain Lipaz to spend a substantial amount of time trying to locate different/better jump points and routes. He reports his average cruise lasts up to 3 weeks between port calls and that is more for putting in for supplies than rearming or refueling.
It brings to mind old biases that I was initially shocked to find such an educated mind contained within a recently retired career soldier. His command of the history of the Tevarins was astounding, as was his dedication to improve their lot even though most Tevarin themselves still have little use for humans, let alone former Earth military.
And so that is how Captain Schlomo ‘NAFOD’ Lipaz spends his days.
Trying to help make a difference.
Out in the black.
Captain Lipaz’s MobiGlas blog, NAFOD’s Ramblings from the Rim can be found with an ARK Database search.
As a retired UEE Naval Command and Flight Officer, Captain Schlomo ‘NAFOD’ Lipaz had a variety of career options following his separation from the Navy; executive for a ship-builder, finance director for off-world banking institutions, or a comfortable retirement enjoying his Empirical Service Pension. A graduate of the UEE Naval Academy at Ganymede, Capt. Lipaz also holds a Spacecraft Systems Engineering degree from University of Mars, Olympus Mons, so imagine this reporter’s surprise to find such a well-qualified officer and pilot at Silas Koerner’s recent media week in support of the latest production run of Consolidated Outland’s ubiquitous and multi-tasking mighty-mite, the Mustang.
Of course, it is not at all uncommon during a ship-maker press week for the manufacturers to trot out their demo and sales pilots and crews in the very latest shiny prototypes. After all, they want to influence our opinion so that we can influence our readers. Admittedly, Silas Koerner is no ordinary CEO – a Billionaire before founding Consolidated, he is an active race pilot, he was also reportedly deeply active during the design and layout of the Mustang, especially as it relates to the core multi-function nature of the ship family. But in previous press week outings I have found Koerner to be surprisingly approachable when not surrounded by his overly protective underlings.
My surprise in finding Captain Lipaz at CNOU headquarters on Rytiff however was that he was not present as an official representative of Consolidated Outland, but rather as a newly minted MobiGlas Adventure Blogger. We spent some time discussing his journey from retired Naval Officer to blogger and it became obvious why he was on Rytiff – he is a genuine ambassador for the brand – he is not some highly scripted holo-bot sales pitch at a showroom, nor is he one of the stunningly attractive and leggy young women who know more technobabble about their wares than a jaded journalist like me could ever hope to. Captain Lipaz knows the ship well, and speaks highly of the design and utility, acknowledging not only its strengths but its weaknesses as well.
Captain Lipaz has spent the last 14 months in a Consolidated Outland Mustang Beta in pursuit of new jump routes into the Branaugh System in an attempt to improve Tevarin access to the wider systems economies for their fuel refineries at Branaugh III. He credits the Beta’s small size, maneuverability and ability to mount up to 4 weapons for making possible a rapid search for jump point connections into/out of Branaugh as well as helping him get out some pretty tight situations.
He related one encounter where he was so engrossed in chasing down a potential jump entry point on the outskirts of the asteroid field between Branaugh II and Branaugh III that his first indication he was under attack by a couple pirate vessels was when a missile with a seeker malfunction flashed past his canopy. After a brief dogfight he had scuttled one pirate Aurora and watched as the other snuck back into the asteroid belt. He has outfitted his Beta with a mix of energy and ballistic weapons to match its great maneuverability.
While it is not always polite to ask a Flight Officer the nature of their callsign I was compelled. Some are obvious, a play on family names, but most are earned by doing something memorable, either good or bad. Captain Lipaz was a good sport and explained that on a cruise near Vanduul space in the Oberon System, he was ordered to escort a civilian settler convoy. When the convoy came under attack he positioned the UEE John Paul Jones, an Idris class Frigate, between a fleet of Vanduul heavy cruisers and the convoy while the civilian ships jumped out of the weapons effective zone. He earned a commendation for bravery and the pilots of the Gladius element assigned to the Frigate held a callsign board when the ship put in for repairs. NAFOD stands for No Apparent Fear Of Death.
Interestingly though it is the subject of the economic performance of the Beta where Captain Lipaz really lights up. Having studied the history of the Tevarin War, Captain Lipaz, who is a devout Jew, turns surprisingly philosophical about the situation the Tevarin find themselves in, and he sees his work in expanding access for them as a way to improve their position within the UEE and with other races.
Branaugh is only served by a single joint route which limits economic access. The low operating costs and self-sufficient nature of the Beta allow Captain Lipaz to spend a substantial amount of time trying to locate different/better jump points and routes. He reports his average cruise lasts up to 3 weeks between port calls and that is more for putting in for supplies than rearming or refueling.
It brings to mind old biases that I was initially shocked to find such an educated mind contained within a recently retired career soldier. His command of the history of the Tevarins was astounding, as was his dedication to improve their lot even though most Tevarin themselves still have little use for humans, let alone former Earth military.
And so that is how Captain Schlomo ‘NAFOD’ Lipaz spends his days.
Trying to help make a difference.
Out in the black.
Captain Lipaz’s MobiGlas blog, NAFOD’s Ramblings from the Rim can be found with an ARK Database search.
