A Message to President Aguard

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
1

Dear President Aguard,

■■■■ you and your Navy lapdogs. And ■■■■ the spineless Intaki Assembly too for submitting to your backroom commands so easily.

Today, I bid farewell to setting foot on Intaki Prime for the last time - my ancestral homeland. A place tarnished by the pillaging of Lai Dai and friends. A place desecrated by the steps of soldiers bearing the marks of the Federation military - a military so eager to proclaim “liberation!” as they enforce a police state on the once free world of Intaki Prime.

I will never forgive you for your crimes against the Free Intaki. I hope that my brothers in the Intaki Free Army will give you hell for tomorrow, and the day after, and all the days to come.

For now, the Tears of Reschard pay our dues to the new war effort against Federation occupation. Today, we launched simultaneous attacks against targets in Intaki, Amygnon, and Parts. Targets included the Federation Navy, the United Republics of Aristidia, and the Office of the President.

Freedom from Tyranny was a series of weapons that could be disguised as regular transport containers found on intra-station transit systems. It packed the most destructive punch thanks to the massive explosive potential of the XL sized torpedoes, along with the other assortment of explosives on board. This series was a firm message that we here at the Tears of Reschard will never bow down to the Tyrant Aguard.

Justice for Intaki was a series which did not pack as much a punch as the aforementioned series, but still could cause serious damage. Likewise, they were disguised to be simple transport containers and dispersed throughout a station’s interior for maximum damage potential and disruption. This series was a calling card to mark the great injustice committed against the Free People of Intaki by the oppressive Federal invaders.

Intaki Forever was a series designed to be made cheaply and more abundantly than the other two. It packs the least destructive potential, but regardless can significantly disrupt station services if detonated in the right place at the right time. This series was a message of defiance against the cultural and political appropriators - the Gallente Federation. We will never identify as Gallente. Intaki now. Intaki forever.

Attack breakdown:
Amygnon VI Garoun Investment Bank (Federated Union of Chantielle) - Freedom from Tyranny, Intaki Forever x2, Justice for Intaki
Intaki II Federal Defense Union Logistic Support - Freedom from Tyranny, Intaki Forever x2, Justice for Intaki
Intaki V Federation Navy Anchorage - Freedom from Tyranny, Intaki Forever x2, Justice for Intaki
Parts IV President Bureau - Freedom from Tyranny, Intaki Forever x2, Justice for Intaki

In addition to delivering these disguised weapons to their target facilities, the carriers of these weapons were also loaded with various explosive devices and enhanced ship power cores. They then made their way to various targets around the target stations and self-destructed.

A Nereus self-destructed near an ammo cache outside the Intaki II Federal Defense Union Logistic Support.

Another Nereus attempted an abrupt self-destruction sequence but was terminated first by overwhelming firepower from a Federation Navy taskforce which caught wind of an impending attack outside the Intaki V Federation Navy Anchorage.

A Nereus self-destructed just outside the primary docking bay of the Federated Union of Chantielle (Garoun Investment Bank) station in Amygnon.

An Iteron Mk 5 self-destructed just off the primary docking bay of the President Bureau station in Parts.

Given the freshness of these attacks, we will wait to see the full effects and will report soon with our own findings.

As I said previously, I hope you are ready for what is coming to you “Madame President”.

3 Likes
2

The Federation is not a tyrant, it is a democratic government that is working hard to maintain law and order in a system that has been plagued by violence and unrest for years.

Your actions are hurting innocent people who have nothing to do with the political situation in Intaki. The people who work at the Garoun Investment Bank or the Federal Defense Union Logistic Support are just trying to make a living, and your attacks are putting their lives in danger.

Your message is misguided. The Gallente Federation is not an appropriator of Intaki culture or politics. The Federation is a multicultural society that embraces diversity and celebrates different cultures. The Intaki people are an important part of the Federation, and their contributions are valued and respected.

2 Likes
3

Just out of curiosity, what was your non-Federal solution to this ‘tarnishing’ and ‘pillaging’ by Lai Dai and other Caldari megacorporations?

1 Like
4

It’s a tragedy when I am no longer surprised that Intaki would resort to violence and criminality in order to achieve their goals.

I mourn the loss of innocent lives curtailed too soon by these acts of Intaki barbarism and depravity.

Those who might have questioned the military presence in Viriette before should now see clearly how necessary the deployment is in order to protect all the people of the Federation from further Intaki violence and attacks upon our lives and liberties.

Support our troops!

5

Oh, c’mon now. There was clearly a middle-ground through all this, where the Federation secure the system, pull it from the warzone, and still exercize the restraint their treaties with the Intaki call for. If anything, Federal experience with over a century of dealing with the Republic should have made it clear that heavy-handed actions were going to result in violence.

Pull the constellation? Sure, no problem. Secure the stargates and set up fortifications around the gates leading toward State space? Still probably not a problem. Declare StaPro persona non grata and give them 10 days to get their Upwells the hell out before the Navy starts demonstrating just how insignificant capsuleer forces really are? Perfectly reasonable, they’re paramilitary mercenaries working for the State, after all.

You don’t need a Navy Anchorage in orbit around Intaki Prime. You don’t need massive force numbers in the system before there are any problems. Lock the system down, keep 2 dozen Force Recons in the system, cloaked up, and leave the capitals and supercapitals 1 jump out.

FFS, it’s like the Federation has no idea of how to actually manipulate the citizens of a democracy. Freakin’ incompetent noobs.

3 Likes
6

I believe the goal for both the Federation and the Intaki Assembly is to bring Intaki into Hi-sec status and invoke CONCORD to protect the system from Capsuleers and pirates. I do question the installation of the various Naval installations, and the clearing out of the sites for a Stellar Transmuter and Interstellar Shipcaster. That would be better suited in Jufvitte imo.

7

I would like to add my own couple isks to that message:

Dear President Aguard!

Please die.

Sincerely not yours,
D. Kim, Strike Cmdr.

8

Assistant Strike Commander

9

You and your ilk are cowards through and through, but you will never succeed in stamping out the light of liberty and justice. Your time will come soon, Aziah.

10

Manufacturing consent in Intaki and wider Viriette might have been the subtle ploy, but current Federal military operations in that zone were never intended to be subtle. It is no secret that over the past decade or more the Caldari State and its corporations have sought to undermine Federal control and influence in Intaki and Viriette by backing separatist movements.

Operations in Viriette are not subtle because President Aguard chose to send a message. By giving the Caldari State a choice to either commit fully to Intaki at the risk of direct military confrontation with the Federation or to leave. The Caldari have chosen to leave and in so doing have clearly displayed that their support for Intaki ‘independence’ is less important than losing their own blood and treasure against the Federation.

I would also say the time for Federal subtlety was under the previous Roden Administration which has seen a massive expansion of the Federal military in both the public and private sectors for the past decade. At least Federal militarization is much more downplayed when compared to say the Amarr whom have chosen to link their own military expansion with public revanchism, abortive campaigns, and spectacles of stellar manipulation.

11

Obviously. And just as obviously, that was a foolish, short-sighted decision.

Which is why playing right into their hands to stoke separatist sentiments is a strategic decsion on-par with unanchoring your staging keepstar hours after beginning what you say will be your ‘big push’ on an enemy stronghold. President Aguard is bucking to make her job title ‘divine legend’.

Which would have been just as easily served by keeping the fortifications and buildup out of the line of sight of just looking up from the planet’s surface at night. Seriously, the buildup could have been just as blatant, just as in-your-face to the Caldari, without having to be so for the Intaki.

Yeah, ok. When you have to fall back on ‘hey, we weren’t as bad as the guys who openly plan to enslave all of humanity and maintain state-sponsored rape centers!’ isn’t exactly a strong position to be in.

2 Likes
12

I think President Aguard’s belligerence towards the Caldari State is about as blatant as her disregard for what the Intaki of Viriette think about it.

Addendum 22.2.125 0620:

That being said, every government action in the Federation brings with it opposition. As such engaging in a course of action means evaluating the cost of that opposition. In deciding to deploy the Federal military into Viriette the question then becomes what will the Intaki there do about it in opposition.

The reality of course is that they cannot do much to oppose the decision by President Aguard.

As has been shown the Caldari State will not risk armed confrontation with the Federation over Intaki lives. The Intaki Syndicate is equally impotent to change the status quo militarily.

There is the potential to conduct, as has been shown by the OP, terrorism or propaganda of the deed – but in the end that’s the recourse of resistance from a position of military weakness. Far from degrading support for President Aguard’s policies in Viriette it will harden opinions against the Intaki and legitimize the use of military action in Viriette among the wider Federation.

In the end compared to other nations in the Federation Intaki serves a use mostly as the symbol of a homeworld. President Aguard has denied that symbol from the Caldari and repurposed it towards a different end: that the Intaki belong to the Federation. The cost of opposition by Intaki in doing so was likely calculated as an acceptable one given how well the operation will play out in domestic politics.

After all there’s little point investing in the fleets built under Roden if one is unwilling to use them.

13

Maybe yes, maybe no. They’re voters, right? They get to vote, and could be an important element in whether or not the President is re-elected the next time she seeks the office.

Alternatively, they could begin a significant-scale insurgency. As you mention…

But of course, 1 star system or 1 constellation is of course militarily weaker than an entire empire. Duh. That’s the point of having an empire in the first place. Thing is… that can work in the insurgent’s favor, too.

Funny thing about democracies: when you’ve got a population that can legitimately point out real grievances and oppression, that tends to provoke sympathy from other populations that recognize ‘hey, if the government can do this to them, then the government believes it can do this to me, too.’ And often, those secondary populations don’t want to be part of the problem.

This becomes far more acute once ‘the problem’ starts getting opposed by asymmetric violent means. The intial reaction does tend to be a hardening of resolve, but that soon gets worn down and people begin to question ‘hey, we did some crap here, too…’ which then leads to some segments of the population taking a long look at whether the complaints of the insurgents have merit. And once that starts to get rolling, a democratic government will not be able to keep up sustained military action. You either wind up with a sharp, sustained turn toward authoritarianism and seizing executive control over things like the courts and other avenues of redress, or the administration gets voted out of office and made into pariahs.

So, citizens of the Federation: Which do you think Aguard intends to be, a pariah whose name is forever a measure of failure, or a dictator?

2 Likes
14

One day, a Federal apologist will understand that the constitutional question of Intaki’s place within, or without, the Federation is distinct from the age old conflict between the Caldari and Gallente.

Yes, both sides seek to influence the people of Intaki, and we were hopeful that the Viriette constellation’s removal from the CEWMPA conflict zone would bring change.

How disappointing to find that Intaki continues to find itself the battleground between the two.

Attempts to draw a distinction between the actions of the Federation and Empire are undermined when you say:

To lay claim to a region of space is one thing. But to claim that the Intaki, the people “belong” to the Federation, to be coveted or hoarded as though they are possessions, shows how little difference there is between New Eden’s two central imperialist powers.

You say that, but it’s worth remembering that even the right to vote isn’t guaranteed in the Federation. The people of Intaki and other surrounding systems, have only enjoyed the right to vote in two of the last three Presidential elections.

Her intent is clear and public opinion counts for nought.

Madame President wants, and so Madame President shall have.

Ensuring the compliance of Federal citizens and the obedience of their Assembly via military means shows how far down the path of dictatorship we have already gone.

The lessons of Caldari Prime should serve as stark warning of just how powerful the symbol of a home world can be.

3 Likes
15

Sure.

However, the trend towards authoritarianism in the Federation already began under the Roden Administration with its expansion of Executive powers, increase in defence spending and militarization, and the erosion of civil liberties and curtailing of dissent by the Black Eagles.

This is because while many citizens of the Federation might be engaged with their local governments they’re less engaged with what happens at a Federal or interstellar level.

President Aguard is only using the powers granted to her by President Roden. War with the Caldari State will continue to justify the extension of those powers. So will an Intaki insurgency that will likely lead to a post-facto justification that the military presence in Viriette is intended to combat terrorism – likely with further erosion of civil liberties.

16

Then maybe the people of the Federation need to ask themselves if they truly believe in the Federation, or if being well fed serfs of an Amarr knockoff made in Luminaire is good enough.

1 Like
17

Activists opposed to the rise of authoritarianism in the Federation are likely too busy trying to cancel strangers on galnet over their choice of holo-games than building the solidarity and popular support required to effect actual political change.

1 Like
18

The Minmatar living in the Federation might have something to say about this regarding the appropriation of their tattoo culture.

That’s…sort of the point?

Well, there are a number of ways to take this. The way I advocate for is for the Intaki Assembly to grow a ■■■■■■■ spine, reorganize the economy, fund a military, and deal with threats appropriately as they come.

Barbarism and depravity? This is rich coming from Federal swine - a culture built upon a history of barbarism and depravity.

I’ll be waiting, hun. Send the rest of the URA Senate my regards. :kiss:

19

So, the Intaki Assembly’s supposed to field enough of a military… on their own… to be a deterrent to any of the Yulai powers?

That’s about as possible as certain StaPro members becoming President of the Federation. Don’t care how you reorganize, the sheer size difference between the entities involved means Intaki’s gonna need to accept being part of one, or the other. One of these powers offers at least a nominal nod toward—if not actual self-determination, then at least input into the governing process. The other… pretty much declares things corporate property and screw you if you object. Intaki can do it the (mostly) friendly way, or they can do it the ‘let’s play catch with anti-matter munitions’ way.

Just how the math works out, you know?

1 Like
20

Excuse you. We built this Federation upon sex, drugs, and rock and roll (and some capitalism and colonialism).

2 Likes