Both Steve and Dan battled with the old Cal-Neva club, Steve being one of the founding members. There were four of us huddled around my little work bench in the unfinished basement of my parent's house diligently working away in the early spring of 2004. Steve was building his first ship, HMS Invincible, along side my SMS Hindenburg and another fellow and his Derfflinger. We battled for the first time in April 2004 with another member from Berkeley. It was crazy! Here we were shooting and shooting (and sometimes hitting) and all with smiles on our faces. The club grew quickly for a couple years, and Dan made his way up for a build session and then a battle in 2006. Steve was a pretty experienced captain by then and the more we shot up the boats, the more fun we seemed to have. Of course life changes for us all sometimes, and I moved to Nevada full time. Some of the other club members were hit very hard by the 2008 recession, and some moved to other parts of the country where they still battle. Years passed. I learned of Steve's passing through Gary when he encountered the gentlemen selling off his boats. I was able to confirm that they were indeed Steve's. I was saddened that we would never be able to battle again. It's funny reading over the last battle report from 2007, the last time we faced one another on the pond. First battle was a stalemate with damage too close to matter. We patched up and went out again, but rain rolled in and we never finished. Just as well, as we both left the pond that day with as big a smile on our faces as ever. Out of the blue, Dan contacted me around 2010, wanting to know more about fast gun as it had changed quite a bit since the 90's when he last had played. We talked on the phone a bit and as I happened to be heading down to LA for a battle arranged to bring him along. Dan watched the battle, but he was just starting his business with his wife and work kept him from fully enjoying the event. Dan, like many others, went back home and kept battling but I never did get to battle with him after that. As Gary mentioned, Steve had a lot of ships. I think it would amuse him that now some of them reside in my workshop and are being readied for combat. Steve and Dan, good guys, good friends, and will be missed.