Fuel Rats don’t get paid by such trivial things like credits. We enjoy the heat of the rescue, the adrenaline rush of dispatching five cases simultareously, and being hailed by the community (sometimes).
Yet that is not all. Since the Fuel Rats are a honorary service, we also have Rat’s honours that show our dedication, and achievements.
The morale patches are constructed as a basic roundel with ‘decorators’ that go around it based on achievements. You start with this:
The basic Rat Roundel.
Full gongage: A. basic roundel, B. 3301 veteran, C. Dispatcher's hat, D. O2 Code Red rescuer, E. 5 Fuel Drops for 100 rescues each, F. 500 rescues coronet, G. 1,000 rescue crown, H. Epic Laurel for special achievements. All graphics courtesy Father Cool.
Examples for applied Rat Roundels
Left: PVC badge with gongage (Surly's Rat shop): Epic Rat, 3301 Veteran, Dispatch, O2 rescuer. Right: Iron-on version (Uvelius).
How to get them?
- If you’re on the leaderboard, you can have the basic roundel. Congratulations, you are a Fuel Rat.
- If you accomplished a rescue during calendar year 3301, in which we were founded, you are entitled to the ‘3301’ tag. Eventually, when you are old and your hands are too creaky to work a HOTAS, you will waveringly tell awestruck kids, “I was one of the 3301” and they’ll ask you why you didn’t die with King Leonidas.
- If you’ve ever served as DISPATCH you are entitled to the talking hat.
- If you’ve done a successful CASE RED rescue you can sport the notorious “red blub blub” tag.
- For every 100 rescues up to 500, you can add a rescue pip.
- Over 500 rescues you may add the 500 rescue coronet.
- 1000 rescues and up, you own the leaderboard and the crown of amazing rescue accomplishment is yours. Remember, it would be false modesty not to display it.
- The laurels of epic accomplishment are for Fuel Rats that have participated in an epic rescue or done something epic. For one thing, an epic rescue is alwaysany rescue where you travelled more than 10,000ly to save someone. But the epic accomplishment laurels may also be granted for other epic things, to be determined.
- How are epic accomplishment laurels given out? It’s simple: some other rat has to nominate the recipient for the laurels. If you did an epic rescue, nudge one of your buddies and have them put you in for it. If someone did something truly amazingly epic, like pulled David Braben to safety as a piano was about to fall on him from a 6th story window, thereby rescuing the entire game universe: that’s epic too. Put them in for it. Access this link to nominate a Rat
- Submit your information here. Eventually, you will get an envelope. In the envelope will be your badges. If “eventually” drags out too long, you may wish to “nag” me. The UK postal service appears to occasionally eat packages; they don’t like Fuel Rats probably because we deliver farther and faster than they ever will.