Intergalactic Summit

Having been removed from the Gallente militia for a month now to pursue my own interests, I got to thinking...does there not seem something suspicious about our so-called "faction warfare"?

Really, think about it. Pilots who fight in the militias are presented with a startling amount of uniformity of everything from baseliner naval opponents to the very interfaces on their ships. Take, for example, the military complexes we find in the systems. They are uniformly found in deadspace, randomly placed about a fixed set of systems, and whose contents are almost identical. The plexes are the same sizes, with the same stipulated control conditions by each faction, and whose paltry naval guards are uniform as well. For example, a 'small' plex will always have one destroyer and its acceleration gate limited to frigates and destroyers. More worryingly, there was a time where the navies bothered to have more ships guarding these complexes, and all at once they decided to draw back and leave quite paltry guarding of the same. And the so-called "button", that small structure always within several KM of the warp-in, is even the same, no matter which militia is actually in control of the system.

Going back to the uniform set of systems thing for one moment: why does the fight for control never leave these systems? Sure, you can take a ship into enemy hisec, or even enemy losec that is not inside this seemingly designated warzone, and it won't matter one bit what you do to change the sov holder of that system.

Then there is the fact that every pilot's interface for these wars, regardless of who they fly for, is the same in appearance regardless of militia. While I have not flown for any of the others, I have seen imagery from pilots' drones with their interfaces overlaid atop the image, and they are all the same. Same "system control" bar, same "factional warfare" window that contains the relevant Navy's strategic maps.

There is also the matter of the loyalty stores operated for each faction. I cannot help but notice that they are extremely similar in costs to the pilots, from basic ammunition, to ships, implants, even the uniforms. There are variations for each faction, to be sure (ever heard of a Caldari Navy laser crystal?), but there is a noticeable pattern to it.

Lastly, why were the powers so ready to sign onto CEWPA? Yes, you can reasonably claim that Gallente-Caldari tension after the first invasion of Luminaire, coupled with the whole Nyx-crashing-into-a-peace-conference thing, would be enough cause for warfare. And the Minmatar's Elder Fleet invasion of Amarr space would provide enough justification for those powers to go to war. But these events were almost simultaneous.

Any one of these things could be written off as happenstance. But...doesn't it seem like there's just something fundamentally wrong with it all?

The people to feel sorry for are the colonists who are stuck in the endless to and fro of what is little more than a political flex to the masses.

And the poor bastards who crew the ships, thinking this is the only way to provide for their families... y'know the ones who aren't immortal capsuleers.

There's a reason a number of us (often loudly) hold the opinion that the proxy wars are a waste of time for all practical intents and purposes.

Systems 'flip' back and forth so often these days that any sort of lasting plan held by the governments rarely comes to any sort of fruition. Just look at the so-called auction of development rights for the State's megacorporations over Federation space in Placid and other regions. What hope have they of actually getting anything back of their investment if the systems keep flipping ownership so rapidly that by the time they move back in, it's already time to evac?

When I graduated from the Academy I had originally had my sights set on militia service. Looking back, changing my mind when I found steady contracting work directly through the Federation Navy was one of the better career decisions I've made over the years.

Sure, I could've gotten stupid rich (for a capsuleer) reasonably quickly. But on the other hand, scraping by at first, learning to pace myself and thinking carefully about large purchases and how I would afford replacements and the like, taught me a lot more than just stuffing my wallet full of ISK would have.

Instead of becoming someone who just threw ISK at a problem I learned how to look at the situation from different angles, then find and act on the best solution(s) available. Usually with my own hands, so to speak.

That's not to say that you can't learn anything from militia service, but in my case I think I was better served by changing my mind when I had the opportunity.

Tuulinen-haan, honor the warrior, hate the war. It's an endless cycle of violence. Surely you'll agree with that, though we'd both agree that it's better to be on the winning side even if there is no end.

Edit;

Additional thought. Given the structured restrictions in the warzone, we tend to see a much higher proportion of light craft such as frigates, destroyers, and cruisers. While the capsuleers engaging in combat see those ships destroyed wholesale, this also means a much lower loss of baseliner life due to the small crew requirements of those craft.

Interestingly, by structuring the conflict in this way, CONCORD has also likely reduced the amount of lives lost due to perpetual capsuleer warring.

There have been times I've wondered if all the resources expended in setting up and keeping the warzone going couldn't have been better spent on making and distributing a kickass holographic space combat simulator.

I will stress that although I have little time for the conflict itself, I don't consider that any reflection on those who fight in it. True, there are many who simply seek an easy source of constant violence, but there are also some (Pyre Falcon being a prime example, from what I've seen) that are fine bodies of men and women worthy of my respect. Just because the war itself is a joke of a cause does not mean that there aren't causes to fight for in it.

Why its almost as if the faction war is a manufactured stopgap measure designed to prevent full blown total war from breaking out. A safety valve.

A meat grinder designed to kill a few brave volunteers so that the hapless trillions do not need to suffer the horrors of war, and at the same time can cheer on their favorite teams from the safety of their homes ensconced safely in high sec.

Minus the few people who still bother (or have no choice but) to live their lives out in the warzone. Still, can't afford too much consideration for that, since there are games to consider!

The proxy war is just the overworked bouncer telling four belligerent drunks to "take it outside."

There is no defined end point. Which is ridiculous, I know - believe me that whilst I see the need to be out there, I won't be at all upset when the proxy war is over. I do still have hopes that with the cooling of the war between the Federation and the State and with the matter of Home resolved for the moment, we might see an end to it sooner rather than later.

But that's WELL above my pay grade.

Given the nebulous loyalties of most Capsuleers in the Militias that would be a VERY bad idea.

Can I say that all this wider 'geo-political' stuff is over my head then, if not my pay grade? I mean, I wasn't even a very good diplomat, so what makes you think I ought to be making decisions affecting the wider cluster?

I was never batched with that role in mind.