Intergalactic Summit

Poor, deluded Edaine. Yours is the weak mind that Ston and his disciples love to corrupt. I cannot be held to account for the actions of a handful of over-zealous slavers, can I? I do not condone the use of slaver hounds or torture among my slaves. In fact I have seen to it that several have been made capsuleers and am working alongside them for our mutual benefit.





In short, no. I do not abandon slaves. Aside from the purely economic reason not to abandon my slaves - having invested plenty of time and ISK into ensuring that each of my slaves is educated and are filling appropriate billets in either my perosnal household staff or on the production lines of my corporate facilities - I am not a monster. I do not toss away lives of any sentient being without due process.

As for your matriculation thread, I have indeed read through your self congratulatory propoaganda. All I see is a list of 'liberated' slaves and a rough, almost naive attempt to retrain them and release them. This is, at best, and amateur attempt to brain wash former slaves into beleiving that the entire Amarr Empire is an evil one and wants nothing more than to maim and abuse them....this simply is not true.

What are 10 Marines, 160 Militants, 21 Slaves, 20 Tourists, 1 VIP, and a handful of slave traders all doing floating about in a jet can on the borders of Amarr and Caldari space? The answer to this question is what we hope to discover in the next day or so as we interview those who were rescued by our brave Khanid friend (name withheld for privacy) and transferred to us, minus the slave traders.

We have a guess that, unfortunately, fits with the typical M.O. of the slave trading scum that we encounter in our travels. Our guess? Those in the transnational slave trade also often take on other passengers for hire. Sometimes, when reaching border gates, they will dump the whole lot, rather than separate illegal passengers from others. If paid up front for passage, there is no reason for unsavory types to complete the journey. I wouldn't be surprised that this is the case, but time will tell.

The militants will be transported to our detention facility in Korama until we find out who they are. The Tourists are free to go as soon as we know they are OK and have helped them contact loved ones. We do not yet know who's military the Marines are a part of, when we are assured that they are legit, they are free to go.

As for the "so-called" VIP. We have no idea who he is, and he has not yet identified himself. We will keep the community updated when we receive more information.

DSTON Corporate News:

We are very excited to report a new development that will help us tremendously in our mission in days to come.

It was exactly as Manwe earlier mused. The passengers had booked passage on a freighter for Caldari space. Since the passengers had paid for passage, the pilot decided to dump the whole lot of them along with the slaves at the border. Why? He wanted no witnesses to the fact that he was jettisoning slaves.

Here is the fun part of the story. The VIP and the "militants" were a security head and personal from a Caldari finance company on a return trip from a security symposium in Amarr space. After observing our Matriculation operation first-hand, the VIP has requested a position in our organization. He said to Elder Gladius, "Having seen first hand, together with my men, what these slavers are willing to do to people, we have questioned just what we are doing in life." We are delighted to welcome these professional men and women to be a part of our Matriculation efforts. They will be starting out at our biggest Center where security experts are most needed. They will be working together under the Elders to develop and implement a plan to keep our centers safe for the families who are in them. We are pleased with this turn of events.

The Marines were a detachment attending the same symposium. They will be arranging transportation back to their base. However, some of them have been talking about joining the new security efforts at our Matriculation Centers. They are free to do as they wish.

Beware booking passage between Amarr core systems and Jita! You may end up as these passengers did.

Finance News: I have begun a program to donate 10% of my mining earnings to the continuing work of the Disciples. Our expenses remain relatively low by capsuleer standards, so I think we will be in good shape financially.

DSTON Corporate News:

We are pleased that the new head of security has been in communication with Republic Security Services and our station sponsors to secure the integrity of our communities. The Elders are concerned that with the recent attempts to re-enslave those rescued from space, our communities may have some security vulnerabilities that may put families at risk. Those with expertise in intelligence (RSS) and those with expertise in protection (our new security team) are combining efforts to keep our communities safe for as long as the residents chose to stay in them.

As the effort grows, the complexities grow as well. We are grateful to have new resources and willing people to see that we do our very best to serve those we have rescued.

The Disciples of Ston reached a milestone today. When we began our rescue and Matriculation service, we desired to see rescued former slaves be able to make decisions to shape their own destiny, decide their own careers and settle in communities of their choice. When 10 former slaves requested to enroll in the Electus Matari Freedom Program, we arranged their transport into Republic space and their introduction to Mr. Ebbon of the Freedom Program.

We chose a Tribal Liberation facility to make the transfer. "Liberation" was an appropriate symbol for the event.

Blessings to my ten friends. Farewell, I hope we shall meet again in our journeys.

Ston seldom takes the time to defend himself when someone tellslies about him or misquotes him. He is typically too busy doing what needs to be done to entangle himself with the likes of "Rad'Sham." The advantiage of not technically being a Disciples and not always having to turn the other cheek is that from time to time I am free to react, just for fun.

Below is the exact post that Mr. Sham referred to earlier:

WHAT WE LIKE, WHAT WE DO NOT LIKE

When the Disciples of Ston began our Rescue and Matriculation program, we committed to provide a means for rescued former slaves to exercise self-determination. The values that we espouse are not always shared even by those we rescue. We would "like" if all our matriculants chose the path of freedom and peace. We would "like" if all those we rescue would chose to live non-violent lives and free men and women. However this is not our choice.

One of our first Matriculants, Tobias, chose to return to an Amarr Holder. That was his choice and part of his self-determination. The 10 Matriculants yesterday chose to enter The Freedom Program of the Electus Matari. They will likely pursue military careers. That is their choice and part of their self-determination. Some of the choices we like, some we do not. That is the nature of a free society. We do not see the need to control other people's lives as some do. Rather, we seek to enable people to be able to exercise their own free choice.

I am glad additional slaves are being rescued from death. Their lives have value and should be saved. But, I am very sad that some have chosen to rescue slaves for the purpose of returning them to slavery. That is a great sadness.

We know that our rescue methods and ideas have been taken by slavers now and these slavers are in "competition" with us. How unfortunate. However, we will still do our best to rescue as many as we can as often as we can. Every life that is freed from slavery is worth our effort.

The Disciples of Ston bid you peace.

Nothing that Mr. Sham said is true. The Disciples are not training former slaves to be militia. Ston didn't say that the 10 joined a militia, only that they expressed a desire to. All the Matriculants know our pacifistic leanings and respect that. But it isn't forced on them. They are not our slaves. Oh also noticed that you failed to mention that we return to Holders, those who express a desire to do so.

Next time that rectal opening you call a mouth speaks, get your facts straight.

Only a man who cannot hold his own character captive, holds other men captive.

WHERE IS DIGNITY?

Since we began rescue efforts, the other work of the Disciples often receives a lesser focus. I will try to mention the core mission of being a non-violent presence in places of violence. Jita is a place where people choose violence for violence' sake. There is no cause, just the desire to be violent.

Today I received a request from a pilot to return his body. While on the way, I recovered three more bodies. Sometimes the senselessness of the killing is just overwhelming. I have received letters from pilots in response to our offers to return their body describing thousands of poddings. I have received less savory letters describing things that some pilots do to bodies found in space.

The Disciples believe that part of personal health is striving for dignity. Dignity is an essential human characteristic. Dignity is under assault in many ways in our cluster. The violations of Slavery, Violence and Greed are everywhere. Capsuleers are using their superior intelligence and verbal skills to justifiy and support these assaults. The Disciples strive to develop ways to promote and return dignity in whatever way we can.

I happen to be writing this as I return from returning a body. As I entered Jita, I found another corpse, belonging to a pilot who chose "Thong Undies" as her Avatar name. I am not claiming that this is an undignified name, that would be presumptuous, or would it?

PAPERWORK IS BORING

I am way behind on my paperwork. I don't feel like doing it. I'd rather go hunting with my friend planetside and eat venison steaks by the fire and listen to the frogs croaking by the side of the river as the sun sets.

The Disciples of Ston bid you peace.

Saisa,

This morning I rescued 14 slaves and took 2 slavers into custody in the Caldari-Amarr border region. I have no wish to detain the slaves, nor to sell then at market. How can I drop them off at one of your rehabilitation/matriculation centres?

Captain Pang,

I would be more than happy to take those poor souls off of your hands. I operate a small facility of my own for helping to get these individuals back on their feet. I would also be most pleased to compensate you for your time taken away form other tasks and reward you for your humanitarian efforts. Please contact me at you earliest convienance to discuss.