Intergalactic Summit

As reported previously by Gutter Press, the Amarr Imperial Crusade had wrought havoc on Minmatar space, causing billions of refugees to flee to avoid slavery!

However, the Tribal Liberation Force have turned this around, and have now driven out the Crusade forces from Republic space!

Freshly liberated civilians have been celebrating, and Gutter Press was able to catch up with the distraught mother who feared for her husband!

"My partner's alive! and on the first ship here, we're going to start a new life together, away from the horrors of war" she said.
"daddy made bad men go away, daddy is best" said the child.

Several other refugees have stated their intention to seek a new life in Pator and surrounding systems, far from the front lines of the war, raising questions about the infrastructure in Republic heartlands, and also about the conduct of the war itself, where vast resources are spent to occupy uninhabited areas.

Gutter Press, covering the news the Scope doesn't.

Again: the "crusade" referenced here was the work of individual, greedy capsuleers with no interest in the purposes behind the conflict from either side and no interest in or loyalty to the Empire; it was a move for ISK payout and nothing more. That the Empire even allowed this farce to take place is evident of the ridiculousness of this new "arrangement" agreed upon by CONCORD and the four nations.

There was no "mass slave raid" that took place.

I'm quite sure the Metropolis populace was informed well in advance by the TLF that they wouldn't put any effort into defending their systems for them, giving them plenty of time to abandon the systems before the TLF let it fall to the enemy.

If there had been Slaves taken by legitimate Holders under the good auspices of the system that is supposed to guarantee the physical and spiritual welfare of the newly enslaved then the words reclamation would, indeed, be appropriate. Such Slaves would be destined for useful labour and religious instruction that would, with the passage of time, eventually lead to the enlightenment that you suggest.

However it seems that any slaves that were taken in these raids were taken by unscrupulous individuals and then either butchered out of hand when the raids ended or else were sold on for profit to various underworld vendors. This sort of slavery is the regular sort such as might be found with the Sansha, Blood Raiders or other criminal cartels.

The only motivation is ISK. I don't care for the Minmatar peoples just as I don't care for the Amarrian peoples. ISK is why I fight, it's also why I die...

But are we not entertained?

Isn't this why we all love being capsuleers? We can die as much as we want, and be as entertained as we need!

Don't you agree Mr. Thessalonia?

The rules of engagement for capsuleer militias are set by CONCORD as per the Emergency Militia War Powers Act. These rules include, among other things, the rewards offered to participating capsuleers for their deeds in the operational theaters.

Capsuleers, being what they are, can buck the rules and ignore the incentives - after all, many capsuleers participate in the CONCORD-sanctioned militias while still engaging in those acts of piracy that CONCORD frowns upon. For the most part, however, these incentives will guide the activities of the militias.

In this bounded war, material rewards are offered for acheiving specific 'mission' objectives, attacking and capturing designated strongholds in space, and for shooting down enemy capsuleer-piloted vessels. No material rewards are offered for defending systems or maintaining the integrity of the sovereign borders of our employers.

In other words, we are paid to attack, not to defend.

As long as this situation persists, militia members will do what will rationally yield the maximum return for their time. Rapidly-shifting borders and dramatic turns of fortune will be the norm in this conflict, with most capsuleer combatants deferring defense in favor of launching a counter-offensive after the "enemy" has finished their push.

My own corporation is a privateer organization, and is not exempt from this general trend. I will be frank in saying that most of our membership is quite mercenary in their outlook towards this conflict. The overall outcome of the war is less important than how well we are paid for participating in it.

And, indeed, we are paid quite well.

In short, the kind of dramatic advances and reversals reported recently by the "Gutter Press" are not unusual in the slightest. If the overall situation produces dissatisfaction, look to CONCORD and the governments of the four nations for change. We, simple mercenaries, are merely doing our jobs within the parameters they have set out.

What is the ultimate meaning and/or objective of these wars?

Oh wait, that's right: There is none.

Except maybe to keep a few dangerous half-insane children occupied with toys that go "bang" and "pew."

Oh look, father! Shiny! How precious!

So silly of me to forget.

[/cynicism]

The wars are only meaningless to the short-sighted, which includes a large number of us unfortunately.

Even if someone believes they are meaningless, there are still people who suffer because of them on a daily basis, economies are shifted, lives are lost, jobs are destroyed and created and other consequences exist. I would suggest that the wars themselves are not the problem, it is the ones fighting them that have forgotten the reasons behind them or simply forsaken those reasons that are the problem.