Intergalactic Summit

Compared to the rest of the crap that's happened the past few months, this really didnt make me bat an eyelid.

Worrying if and only if the Empress takes this individual seriously. It all seems to be a political move on the Holder's part, which likely does not even need the recognition of his claim by his betters to improve his standing among like minded peers and those occupying rungs on the social ladder that lie in their shade. To this end, I hope the Empress has the foresight to see it as such, let the Holder have his fifteen minutes of fame and glory, and roundly ignore such saber rattling.

The very worst thing that could happen would be the validation of a shortsighted , frankly uninspired, power play as policy worthy of discussion beyond this very forum and The Scope.

I'm quite sure there is room for a "Barking slaver hounds" proverb in here somewhere.

Right idea, wrong target.

The Republic is doing enough of a good job self-destructing im the international arena at the moment. Everyone knows the Federation is the real prize, and where any upcoming conflicts ultimately need to be settled.

While it's undoubtable that the Republic has somewhat alienated most of the cluster at the moment, The Federation and CONCORD foremost, I wouldn't bet on them being thrown completely to the wolves.

As I'm sure the Empress is well aware of, the Federation has always been an economic political power above all else, and they have (in my opinion) enough investments in the Matari regions to be worth defending regardless of any short-term animosity. As for CONCORD, their mandate is almost literally to ensure the status quo of the four major signatories remains above all else, something I doubt they're quite ready to abandon.

But, even if they did end up forsaken, well... It's still don't think invasion is paticularly likely. The Empire has underestimated the Republic Fleets ability to subvert their numerical advantage in the past, and the lesson probably yet lingers. More then that, it has always been better suited for conducting a defensive war then an offensive one - And with the lack of internal conflict to slow down it's war machine in the present political climate, they could easily end up biting off more then they can chew. Especially since the State is still cleaning it's own house.



...With all respect, miss Vitalia, not only is the Federation Navy stronger at present then it's been in decades under Roden, but it's also likely enjoying a considerable lull hostilities with the State as the result of recent events.

If the Empire had a mind to invade at all, this would be, if you don't mind me saying, probably the worst timing imaginable.

I see what you're getting at, miss Akahoshi, but I'll note that miss Vitalia has gone on the record in the past as saying that, despite her... Affiliation, she ultimately still "roots" for the Empire, so to speak - Or perhaps more generally, her people - In regard to interstellar politics. So I'm inclined to suspect she would genuinely be wishing them them well in such a conflict, were it to occur.

This is just a PR puff piece, isn't it? For domestic consumption?

Merrimeth looks like a tough hardliner, taking a stance against those who attack the Empire from within and without, but he knows that Auntie Empress would never actually greenlight a war OR a new Reclaiming. Then he can go home and regretfully say 'The time is not right for all sorts of reasons.'

As for Lady Vitalia's scheme, whilst it sounds good in theory, I can honestly say that the State has never been LESS interested in military adventurism. The Patriot faction, most likely to take up such an offer, is in rebuilding and consolidation mode - Kalaakiota will most likely be repairing the damage caused by Heth for a generation to come, and they aren't going to want any part of this sort of risk taking.

For the most part, the State has all the room it needs, we're still developing the systems under our control. The last thing we want are large hostile populations to oversee - we don't have the temperament or the experience for it.

Gwen - you should also take into consideration that the Empire has never, repeat, never experienced a state of total war. It has never, in fact, even fought any type of war against an opponent at technological parity with the exception of the short-lived war of Reclaiming against the Jovians, which ended in such a catastrophic failure it came within sight - albeit distant - of toppling the Empire. When the Empire met the Federation, it immediately recognised that the Federation was, despite controlling a smaller amount of territory and a smaller navy, potentially its military equal, and instead signed a trade agreement without any attempt to dictate terms to the Federation - an event essentially unheard of in prior Amarrian history.

Currently, the military forces of the Republic are deployed to defend its borders from incursion against small detachments of armed forces. If the Amarr were to attempt an open war of Reclaiming with the full might of its armed forces, its unlikely the Republic could hold against them - and the Republic knows this, so it wouldn't try. It'd go for softer targets. If I know the Republic, they'd begin guerilla warfare within the Ammatar Mandate and the Empire proper. Destroying supply lines, wrecking stations, all the way up to glassing planetary colonies. It might not be pretty or honourable, but neither is the very concept of slavery, and I don't doubt that it'd be effective. If the Federation didn't come to help, and the Republic knew it stood no chance of winning the war, I'm pretty certain they'd make damn sure the Empire couldn't win it either.

Scorched earth might also be practiced - destroying assets that were under critical threat instead of allowing the Empire to capture them. If the Republic knew that they were doomed, I am utterly certain that they'd drag the Empire screaming into hell with them. I don't necessarily think this is morally upstanding, but the citizens of the Republic have experienced slavery once before, and to be honest, if the Empire make the fatal mistake of attempting to subject them to it again, the consequences of that attempt would be upon their own heads.

But of course, the tacticians of the Empire probably know all this, which is why there likely won't be another Reclaiming.

Now don't get me wrong; I'm all for Reclaiming, but... Lord Sarum's proposal is a bad idea.

Even setting aside the "Amarr Empire is not allowed to Reclaim civilian populations anymore" treaties that our ancestors signed, the military might of the Minmatar is by no means a pushover. When the Empire first met the Gallente while we were doing our big Reclaiming, our forces found their military capable of matching us, and wisely chose to leave them alone. Now, all four empires are more or less even, and the Matari have proven in recent history capable of knocking a dent in the Empire when they feel like it, directly via their Elder Fleet which the Empress did stop, and indirectly via their more recent strikes on the Federation.

Even with the animosity from the back-and-forth between Republic and Federation, they are still allies as far as I am aware. If we attack either, the other will retaliate. With the State currently repairing itself, their ability to help us in turn might be limited, allowing Gallente and Minmatar fleets to overwhelm and potentially devastate ours. Not to mention the lack of desire to go to any war that Sir Tuulinen pointed out. Then there's CONCORD to worry about on top of that, as if we needed more enemies, because they enforce interstellar laws such as the aforementioned treaties. No doubt pirates and capsuleers operating in the lawless regions would then notice our severe disadvantage and pounce on the opportunity it would present, making things even worse.

All in all, rekindling the Reclaiming at this particular time, while it sounds like a good idea in theory and would bolster morale with fervor, would probably lead to our ruin, or at least a major diminishing of our power. It is on par with Reclaiming the Jove in terms of how bad an idea it would be. This is something that will have to wait until a more opportune time, such as if the Republic antagonizes the Federation enough to cause the dissolution of their alliance, or escalates the war with the Empire enough for CONCORD to permit a slightly less limited form of Reclaiming. Alternatively, if they self destruct as a nation such that the Republic that signed the treaties no longer exists, then we might be able to "provide assistance and shelter to the Minmatar refugees" alongside the Federation and possibly the State. Granted, ours would be handled by Holders in compliance with the Scriptures, but that's just a minor detail the Matari need not worry about unless their Republic crumbles.

Until then, we're best off sticking to our border skirmishes and enslaving the survivors from their military vessels. We at least can still do that much, even though with the capsule vessels we don't get a whole lot of POWs that way.

I like the part where everyone thinks the Federation would fight with guns and ships instead of, ya know, intel...spies...sleeper cells.
Cause that NEVER happened before. Nope we never went and equipped the Minnies and utilized subterfuge to mess with Amarr.
Nope, not us!...