Intergalactic Summit

With the recent activity and chaos over the events in Floseswin, I have once again forgotten our anniversary. May 4th was the second anniversary of The Disciples of Ston. My, how time flies. The challenges of our work continue and the challenge to stay true also continues. I need time to debrief from recent events. Having been drawn into the ugliness of violence to far greater degree than I would have chosen, I am feeling a great deal of disonance internally. What began with what seemed like a simple rescue ended up pulling us into a firestorm that is yet to be completely resolved. Mr. Cobbs is still in the custody of Pilot Sky if he is alive at all. DSTON will be endeavoring to secure his release in whatever condition we may find him.

Another public thanks is due to Scherezad for the great and successful effort to decode Mr. Cobbs inteligence data. Operation Whitehall was pivotal. Scherezad, you continue to rise to the top in character, intelligence and unselfishness.

Wall of Shame:

115.05.05 22:15 Star Bugg 26 people
115.05.06 14:02 John Hwang 20 people

P.S. Mr. Biko, sorry for the confusion. Some time ago, we set a policy that when a pilot abandoned a can (Blue), their name would be withheld from the Wall of Shame. Often these cans are labeled, "rescue", "slaves" etc., indicating that people are on board.

That Ms Sky thought it fitting to visit such violence upon the Cluster with a Nyx supercarrier as had been done those years ago is a direct insult to Ishukone and the State, even beyond the horrific destruction it might have caused. We at Lai Dai Research Spacelane Security feel it only our duty to prevent such an atrocity, but that it comes so close on the heels of the Malkalen incident makes it especially rewarding.

We are, as always, pleased to help.

Between 32,000-72,000 crew are dead and for what? What insanity has posessed those currently in places of power? There are reasonable ways to influence and pressure an ally in times of disagreement. Throwing thousands of human lives away in a futile gesture is not one of them. I will risk offending many in what I am about to say. While I believe that Heth is not quite sane, the offer given to help The Sebiestor tribe with Karin Midular, had it been accepted, would perhaps have moved the Gallente justice system towards cooperation with far greater force than the futile and empty violence enacted yesterday. Instead tens of thousands of families have been unalterably broken and grieved. Also an important alliance and balance of power is shaking apart. Likely, even more will because of it.

I do not claim to understand the forces of deeply held convictions that are driving people to this insanity, but I beg those involved to examine those convictions and to draw the distiction; the line when a conviction becomes foolish, childish, and destructive pride.

Wall of Shame:

115.05.07 14:11 IShamani 6 slavers, 21 former slaves
115.05.08 11:44 Helenne Troya 10 people

Should I swear oaths of fealty? Yes, but not to people, not even to my family or my nation. Does that mean that I am not faithful to these most important insitutions? No, but it does mean that something else is to transcend these institutions. To what, then should I swear fealty? If oaths are to be taken, let them be taken towards and upon that which is immutable or at least more so than fallible people and the institutions they form. Swear fealty to Justice then. Swear fealty to Mercy then. Swear fealty to honesty then. Swear fealty to selflesness then, and on it goes.

In a very technical respect, an oath of fealty makes the oath taker the vassal and the object of the oath the master. The oath is binding and ought not be easily broken. I bring this subject to this note because of the recent conglomeration of events. I have found many people pointing back to oaths of fealty as the reason for their actions. On the one hand I respect the justification, because it shows that the oaths were taken seriously. On the other hand it exposes the weakness of the oath in the first place.

If I owe fealty to a man or woman of goodness and justice who later becomes a murderer, I am still bound by honor to the master under whom I have placed myself. But...If I have sword fealty to Justice, Mercy, Humility and Love, these masters will not change with shifting tides. Nor are they vulnerable to the decay of sanity or the temptations of political gain. They are vulnerable, of course, to redefinition and interpretation, but far more stable than the former.

Take your oaths, then, but take them to what is larger than your nation, your leader, your tribe, your family. Then your oath can be a better tool of accountability when other things around you collapse. And, collapse they will as we have seen.

My respect for those who have taken oaths and are faithful to them ends at the object of the oath. Is the object worthy? Mercy will always be worthy, but a merciful man may not stay that way. I will swear fealty to mercy, then.

Wall of Shame:
115.05.09 11:43 Blogul 15 people
115.05.09 19:46 Amar Haim 58 people, Meero Naj 15 people

I have sworn oaths to my Clan, my Kingdom, and my Faith. Do those oaths often demand much of me? Yes. I do not shrink from that.

Are these entities less than perfect? Yes. I do not shrink from that. I am an imperfect being. Who am I to demand perfection from the universe? Life is messy and sometimes difficult.

As for things like Truth, Justice, and Mercy, those are fine things, but you are merely swearing an oath to your interpretation of them. It is a safe bet because you will always assure yourself that you've done the right thing.

Mr. Cobbs seems remarkably well considering the ordeal he endured. He says that he does not remember his interrogation and that he thinks they used a drug to enduce him to give the information they wanted. We told him that he is welcome to stay with us as long as he likes. We also told him that the capsule with the encoded data was decyphered in time that many were dispatched and that Sky's ship was destroyed before she could carry out her planned attack in Luminaire. He seemed relieved.

"Can I know your real name?" I asked him. "No" he answered. "Would you like me to contact the Republic government for you?" I asked. "I don't know, let me think about it." He replied.

Wall of Shame:

115.05.10 21:22 Akyridon Patheon 10 people

Between two pilots listed below, 296 slaves were being illegally tranported out of the Amarr Empire for sale in the other sovereignties, likely Jita. The irony is that while the transport of these people is illegal, their sale is legal once aboard a station. Capsuleers can legally advertise and sell human being via the market. This is rotten to the core. We have repeatedly called for reform in this area and do so again. As long as human trafficking is legal in all sovereignties, this travesty will continue.


Wall of Shame:

115.05.12 12:27 Torsten A Manske 78 people, Nursultan Dartanzaf 218 people

I assume the proper authorities were informed and the criminals in question dealt with? Honestly, I often question why the Empire even allows slaves to enter the SCC markets when our own laws specifically limit such trade to licensed slavers and Holders. That they would be made available to anyone with ISK to throw around is a clear violation of Imperial Law, the SCC be damned. In fact... I'm going to start asking some uncomfortable questions right now... looking up contact info presently.

Customs laws dictate that when a jet can registers "yellow" on the scan, its contents legally belong to the pilot listed on the register. When I first became a capsuleer, I used to feel that acutely. I was raised to respect the law and obey it. Only when the law represented gross injustice, was it to be violated; then only with the most sober of attitudes. Our rescue work has not become routine, but it has become systematic. Systematic can be a close neighbor to routine. *pauses to take a sip of bad coffee* I write this sort of as a recommitment to my respect for the law and an acknowledment that my daily breaking of it is specific and value driven. It is not wrong to leave people to die in deathcans and to rescue them is right. We must break customs law to do this. So shall we continue to do so until the laws are changed. We who crew the Mayfloweer are willing to endure the risk of loss involved.

The other reason to write this today is to build a fence, so to speak, between neighbors "systematic" and "routine." It is a high fence to keep them apart lest one be confused with the other.

Wall of Shame:

115.05.14 19:30 Azwon 18 people
115.05.14 22:53 Brianum 8 people
115.05.15 13:03 Spirro Ex 10 people (Former Elite Slaves)

Today is one of those days when the heaviness of life pulls hard. Most days are OK. We go about doing what we believe is right and we are functional. There are time, though, when you look at all the brutality, hate, and senselessness, and you begin to collapse inside. These people listed below did not deserve to have their live disregarded as they did. They did not deserve to be thown out like waste.

What will we as capsuleers end up seeing in the end of our time. If there are not fundamental changes in our values, we cannot survive.

Wall of Shame:

115.05.16 19:41 Dorve 86 people
115.05.16 22:25 Tigerxxxi Assene 10 people, Namo Aratar 24 people
115.05.17 00:47 Bimbin Petrovich 45 people
115.05.17 14:00 (name withheld) (blue) 75, Bruce Carbon Lakeriver 20 (former elite Slaves)
115.05.17 17:53 Kytora 80 people