Intergalactic Summit

The Amarr have been kind and loyal friends to us, and it would be shameful for us to betray that friendship. I don't want to fight the Matari - I've spent time and isk and blood bringing slaves back to the Republic, in fact - but they are true friends to us.

I understand your feelings on this - I feel them myself, too. We believe in freedom - real freedom. We won't tell you what to do, nor will we tell the Amarr what to do. All we can do is act kindly to our friends, and honourably to our enemies.

I hope that this pointless war comes to an end, soon. Until then, I promise my Imperial friends that I will help protect their homes and families as best I can, and I promise my Matari opponents that I will treat you honourably, treat all prisoners of war with respect, and will bear no needless grudges. Is this agreeable, in the interim?

Let me explain. Our story is set in a 0.5 security system - High Sec. At a station that just happens to be Amarrian there is a large freighter class vessel - it's capsuleer owner asleep at the helm. The vessel drifts in front of the station - a hazard to navigation and... who am I kidding? It was a big fat target.

Knowing from the start that our ships were forfeit, a group of us took the cheapest fitted Catalyst class destroyers and headed to the system. En masse we engaged the target vessel - in full knowledge that both Concord and the Station Defences would engage us, eventually.

The target's shields fell quickly. Then it's armour. By now defence forces had arrived - but we had only the hull to destroy! Sadly the target vessel had an enormously reinforced hull and before we could neutralise it as an economic threat, a combination of Concord and the Station defences had destroyed all of our Catalysts.

In Mercenary terms it was a "High-Risk/High-Value target" and sadly, sometimes you eat the Caracal and sometimes the Caracal eats you. Of such choices is a life of danger and daring made. All part of life's rich tapestry.

Oh dear... seems you Caldari have a terrorist on your hands. Don't worry, we are used to dealing with these. A combination of ignoring his words and hounding his ships will serve you well. Meet his arguments with a wall of silence and his hulls with a wall of missiles.

Wow. Admirable.

I recently invested around ten billion kredits into a cultural outreach program in Matari space. This investment is ongoing and not only financial. I have employed no less than five capsuleers to bring a message of tolerance and inclusiveness from my people to yours by basing their operations in a system common to new Matari capsuleers starting their journey.

These pilots, on behalf of the Dusette family, have opened a small corp dedicated to encouraging, inspiring, mentoring and tutoring in-space new Matari capsuleers who begin their journey in that system. Billions are being invested into the local market to make ships more accessable and affordable to young Matari capsuleers. Public fleets to teach new Matari pilots the basics of flight, mining, and carrying out tasks for local agents are being run regularly as well as day trips into Anoikis, escorted when possible by pilots from Isogen 5 or my family's organization, Anoikis Ronin Alliance.

This project has been well recieved locally and will be ongoing at this stage. It should be seen as a mark of respect toward the Matari from this Achur and her family.

So, Mr Bedala, while you swim in racist generalizations, murdering civilian pilots merely ferrying commercial goods because they're "Caldari", remember this Caldari and the work she is doing for your people.

I am Erica Dusette, sir. I am Achur, and I am ... or maybe was, even engaged to marry a Matari gentleman. I have also indulged in the slave trade in years past, purchasing slaves myself ... only to sponsor them as capsuleers, offering them freedom and money when they graduate. You would be wise to narrow and focus your aggression, Mr Bedala, as the next ship you hit may contain a Caldari individual just like me.

Who then will be the one who is harming your people?

It's a fair thing, though I've met too many Amarrians with good hearts to think so poorly of them. I disagree with them on a great many things, as an Empire, and can only hope that the future brings them a just and agreeable peace with you.

But until then, don't think too poorly of us. Until the day we can be friends, we will try to be the best of your enemies - we will keep you nimble and sharp, so that you are at your best. I know you probably don't see what that means - to us, at least, a good enemy is a more valuable resource than a hundred poor friends.

A brief perusal of your public record shows you're not qualified to judge Pieter's combat abilities.

A brief perusal of your posts suggests you're not qualified to judge much at all.


I'm glad you're giving back to your community.

Sorry I try not to feed the obvious trolls.

The operation straddled that line where it was far too orchestrated to be a spur of the moment action and yet not organised enough to actually succeed, Makkal. I believe the target vessel was a known associate of war targets who we believed was rendering material aid and comfort to the enemy - the high sec system in question is right on the border of low security space.

Again, if you look through my record, you'll see that I don't make a habit of hitting industrial targets.

Here is yet another example of why this pointless war should end. The Caldari people are essentially good. Of course they are subject to the bad political leadership that can afflict any of the people of the cluster from time to time.

Merchant vessels of your enemy are a legitimate war target. It is important to remember this war will not last forever and the time the Caldari have been a good friend to the Matari people certainly is longer than this period of hostilities is likely to last.

As Matari we need to try and influence our ally the Gallente to soften their political/ military conflict with the Caldari. We know what it feels like to be invaded and have foreign troops enforcing customs upon us not of our choosing. Mutual respect carries with it mutual responsibilities.

Although I enjoy verbal sparring here on IGS with our Caldari brethren I do not hold them in contempt, we will fly together again as honorable allies in the future of that I am sure.

I thank you for all you have done for the Matari people especially because you did it from the heart with an eye towards the future. Supporting new capsuleer pilots helps us all find a better place to create common interdependencies and shared experiences to make this cluster a better place for all of humanity.

I hope the Matari get to play an important role in the resolution of the ongoing conflict you have with our ally the Gallente, sometimes it requires the input from a perspective both parties to a conflict respect to help them change long held peace blocking political positions. I want that to happen before the slavery cultists try to "reclaim" the Caldari, I have no desire to see your people suffer slavery at the hands of demonic cultists whose primary goal is implementation of their sick beliefs upon every human in New Eden.

While I am in no way an official representative of the CBD Corporation, I have been it's employee for a majority of my life and I still am a citizen, so I believe I hold some merit to allow myself to represent my home in a unofficial manner in this thread.

Signing contracts for Amarr labor? Unless you can provide clear evidence that CBD has been involved in the purchase or trafficking of slave labor, or that the Corporation has broken any State or Empire laws while operating in their respective sovereign territories, the only explanation for your actions that I can see is barbarism and stupidity.

CBD has trade links far and wide. Yes, we trade directly with the Empire but we also do it with the Federation and your Republic. Even now, despite the proxy wars between the nations, these trade links are alive and pulsing. There is no discrimination here, as long as contracts are honored and no laws are broken, business will continue. It's not the Corporation's place to question or "take a stance", as you put it, on how the Empire should conduct its own affairs, its policies or its dealings with the other nations, as long as its actions do not directly threaten the well-being and safety of Caldari State. I believe same treatment applies to the Republic and the Federation. I very much doubt that CBD cares if the product purchased or payment received has been made or generated with the help of legal slave labor, robotics or hired personnel within the Empire's own borders, if the product is of right quality or the payment of right quantity, it is simply none of our concern.

If you wish for CBD to stop doing business with the Empire then I would suggest for you to first, file a formal complaint regarding whatever issues you have with the Corporation's business practices to an appropriate department, this can be done in any of the CBD's stations, and second, most importantly, invest all your energy in improving the economy, living standards and labor efficiency of your own nation in hopes of being able to offer a bigger demand, better deals, product and stability than what the Empire can. Until then, these fits of violence will serve nothing but chip away at the hopes of better relationships that some of your people express for our two nations.