Intergalactic Summit

And there it is. Ell, I can give you no comforts but only one promise: Whether we succeed or go down in flames, you will not be alone.

So, let me get this straight: you are basically arguing that the demonstrations that were used to argua for and to pretty much force our hand to the "reform" were actually never about that?

Well, that fits.

I apologize for my less than accurate wording. I did not mean to imply that everything was just peachy until then; I meant to say that she was rightfully called on the dissolution decision. I, again, point to the fact that I am not criticizing anyone for protesting at that point.

The... what?

He does not have to do anything - he can sit there and claim that the threat of the Amarr is the reason he acts, and while that threat hangs over our head we cannot go forward. He can enact any legislation or give any decree and as long as he claims it is for the protection of the Republic - Those that would protest politically are silenced by the simple rebuttal - " Well how do we stop the Amarr from crossing our border if we even look like we are weak? "

Hells - those who could do something about the Amarr are busily fighting a toy war - pretending it makes a difference - nicely sidelined out of the way. How many times have we asked for military co-operation with the fleet, and how many times have they said yes.

Others have left the toy war to do other things with other corps for good or ill.

Sometimes I think that the so called toy war is perfect stagnation - whilst we have it - we cannot go forward and those in power are going to do all they can to make sure it never ends. No one in their right minds wants 3000 + capsuleers to suddenly have nothing better to do - for they know just how shallow their control is over pod pilots.

I'm not trying very hard though.

The funny thing is that while the CEWPA war is an absolute dead end for the Matari State, it is a perfect source of power for the usurpers of the Republic. A constant state of crisis is a wonderful thing for a regime that lacks any legitimacy whatsoever.

The best hope the Matari have at this point is to start working in good faith for a lasting and sincere peace. Of course, the second that occurs, the current government is likely to be strung up by their own people, so the current government has no incentive to work towards peace. And for that matter, the current government would not be trusted (with good reason!) to be working in good faith. This means that they have to be removed for the Matari to survive as an independent state. If they stay in power, I expect it is only a matter of time before they do something (else) that is monumentally stupid. Whether that ends up being alienating the Federation or attempting another all or nothing invasion, or some other insanity, doesn't really matter so much as the fact that those actions strengthen the Amarr warhawk argument for outright invasion rather than the current situation of suppression.

The largest place in which I disagree with your analyses, obvious cultural differences aside, is that I cannot imagine a more surefire way to destroy the Matari State than opening a full scale war. Amarr has been at the forefront of technological innovation recently and our navy has more practical recent experience fighting large scale engagements than any of the others. The material cost of the Blood Raider War, Sansha's War, and the Drifter incursions has certainly been high, but we can afford those costs better than the other empires. More importantly, the combat experience that we have gained from those actions is invaluable. Those who survived the trials of the last decade are the most combat experienced of naval forces. When you combine that with our edge in resources and manpower, a full scale war with Amarr would only end with catastrophe for the Matari. You might hurt us quite a bit as you died, but you would not survive doing so, and you might strengthen the very aspects of Amarr society that you most despise.

So, if we accept the following statements: 1. The CEWPA war hurts the Matari more than the Amarr in relative terms. 2. Total war would almost certainly end in Matari destruction and 3. The usurpers have no domestic incentive to end the CEWPA war with a peace, then the only conclusion I can see is that the usurpers must be removed from power as soon as possible and a new regime that is not invested in a losing war must take their place.

This then raises the question of what conditions need to be in place for a change of government in the Republic to a rational government that is be willing to make the compromises needed to create a lasting peace. As you have mentioned, either a civil war or a simple assassination would be a poor idea if the goal is the survival of the republic. Such an event would strengthen the Amarr hawk factions and create a strong argument for a real invasion to end the threat to Amarr.

So that cannot be the answer. But they need to go. What mechanisms exist that could remove them from power?

One obvious one from my, admittedly foreign and hostile, perspective is the CEWPA war. So long as the Matari have occasional victories in the CEWPA war, the usurpers can spin those victories into domestic support. They can create the illusion that the CEWPA war can be sufficiently victorious that it actually ends up strengthening the Matari state. This will never happen, but the hope that it could keeps dissent down.

One question I would raise is "what happens if the Matari were unequivocally losing the CEWPA war?" The actual harm to the state would not be significantly higher than the current situation, the CEWPA war is pretty limited in that respect, but the political effect would be to remove the war as a support for the Usurpers. I would suggest that by fighting to help the Matari in the CEWPA war, you directly lower the probability of the survival of the Matari state in the future.

I'm sure there are other pillars to their power that are opaque to me from my position on the other side of the battle lines, and probably ones that are less problematic to deal with than the CEWPA war. But, whatever they are, they need to be removed one by one so that the usurpers lose their hold on the mechanism of the Matari state. This needs to happen relatively peacefully, and the new government needs to offer an olive branch to our new government. I do not see any other way to avoid catastrophe.

Combine their efforts to do what? Which way is forward?

I'm sorry if I am contrary and keep on coming back to this - but it is really at the heart of the issue. Combined forces doing ineffective things is just two times zero.


Nice try, Admiral.

It is however by now a clearly established fact that if one side holds the complete field, exactly nothing happens. Handing you the Bleaks on a plate would also change nothing.

We of course also have no way whatsoever to enforce a ban on fighting, so even moral and efficiency concerns aside, your suggestion is not practical.


Yes. And there is the fact that at its time, the Militia Act was a somewhat clever move: it allowed us to de-escalate from a full-out war after the Elder Fleet's actions. As a permanent solution, however, it will be the death of us.

Your analysis office should advice you that this is completely unfeasible. There are always people willing to fight, and nothing to stop them. Even if everyone currently in space agreed to simply stop (which is implausible in itself), new captains will come from the academies every day with their eyes shining with the recruiter's promises of glory and isk.


I don't know what is the matter with people. I have said, repeatedly, that I do not think a solution exists. Yet some keep on asking me one, and others criticizing me of believing in silver bullets.

I am also not looking to go back to what we were. First, what has happened is part of our living tradition now, and you cannot just pretend it never happened - and second, it's not like we did not have problems those days too.

No, with "solution" I mean pretty much anything that is possible and does not mean the end of us as a free people.


Your concern for the safety of what you see as "your people" has never been in question or unclear in my eyes.


Maybe it is of some consolation to you then that they have been nothing but predictable for almost ten years now.

Ok, I give you that.

And also thanks for actually making me laugh.