[ARC] Athounon data capture

Pilots;

ARC has received several instances of video data from corrupted trinary via gray data market intermediaries. The video appears to show a penetration of an as-yet-unknown facility but as-yet-unknown parties, as previously released via ASMR-. We can of course theorize that this is an essential part of the mobilization of State and Federal forces in the Serthoulde constellation, but the exact nature of the discovery and its importance to interstellar politics remains unknown

ARC is currently offering a bounty for additional information or data, given our policy of neutrality re: Yulai Accords powers.

In service,
Makoto Priano

Clip 1
Clip 2

13 Likes

Not like you to be a step behind, Mak. Still, nice to see you taking to the field again. Don’t touch any strange plasmids.

3 Likes

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance, as they say.

2 Likes

I love watching you folk perform. It so makes CONCORD squirm, despite their best efforts to mask it.

3 Likes

Given their only known source, is this not the same as essentially placing a bounty on the destruction of Caldari Navy vessels? Specifically the ones currently facilitating the apparent search and rescue mission the video fragment depicts? Seems rather poor form.

2 Likes

Mr. Shutaq, you might not be aware, but Federation ships are also evidently in possession of the data.

2 Likes

So you’re putting a hit out on both the Caldari and the Federation navies?

1 Like

Actually, no. You see, the majority of the acquisition of data is happening from abandoned wreckage following clashes between the State and Federation navies.

Intervening is an excellent way to get hunted by whomever happens to be around; salvage is quite another thing.

2 Likes

Ms. Priano…please tell me you are not so deluded that you are willing to ignore the fact that this bounty will indeed entice individuals to destroy ships of both State and Federation navies. Yes, members of these navies have sworn their lives and know they may very well perish on their deployment. But shouldn’t one try to avoid giving people a reason to kill others? Or have you become so desensitized to the fact the majority of people in space are not basically immortal. Research goals aside, and using “salvaging” as an excuse to justify to yourself what you’re doing is fine-- this is wrong.

I would expect this from many, many capsuleers in various organizations both friendly and hostile. But this is a new low for you, Makoto. I am ashamed to see what you have become.

And before anyone implies this is I-RED’s opinion, this is my own as one human being to another. Perhaps this sort of personal opinion on the value of life is getting more and more rare these days.

6 Likes

Ms. Avala, I absolutely appreciate the value you place on the lives of other people. I completely agree, and share the desire to preserve life.

The reason why I’m willing to risk this incentivization? Because, to be perfectly frank, an imbalance of power at the cluster level will lead to more loss of life, greater bloodshed. You’re part of the Caldari Militia. The pilots you don’t criticize are, day in and day out, engaged in the killing of other people. They desire an imbalance of power such that they can, potentially, complete the conquest of another nation. Let’s not forget that the most fanatical of them even advocated for the deployment of Titan-scale armaments against an inhabited planet. Some of them, to this day, believe the only possible final resolution of the low intensity conflict is the obliteration of the Federation.

So, yes, I understand completely that there is a risk that this incentive structure may cause further loss of life.

My belief is that by attempting to ensure the spread of information, we can maintain the balance and restrict the bloodshed to this localized conflict.

And I should add? At this very moment, the majority of ARC’s trinary data from Athounon is from Caldari Militia sources.

Look to your own first.

4 Likes

If you are insinuating I don’t criticize those people as well, you would be wrong on a multitude of levels.

Stop diverting blame away from yourself. I am not bringing points up about them. I’m bringing them up about you.

I once respected you, and truly believed the work you did over the years would make a difference in one way or another. And maybe it did. Maybe it still will. But that doesn’t change the fact that what you are doing is wrong.

I will remove myself from this thread, as I’m sure my viewpoint is entirely unwanted and you want to get back to your data. Good luck.

4 Likes

I’ve never seen you do it publicly, Ms. Avala, so indeed I don’t believe you do. Perhaps you’ll provide proof of the ideals you espouse here in other places, and I’ll believe this is anything but posturing.

Meanwhile, indeed, ARC will continue to work for the betterment of humanity.

Best of luck inside the State Protectorate.

2 Likes

…case in point on who we have to constrain.

1 Like

Going completely mask-off with this ridiculous tripe I see.
I would legitimately like to address this point by point, but what you are saying is so detached from reality I genuinely do not even know where to begin from.

Shame on you and shame to your entire organization of demented imbeciles fashioning yourselves not only as “researchers”, it seems, but now arbitrators of balance between the CONCORD signatories?

Shame on you.

3 Likes

If I may, there are ways to ensure the ‘ethical’ sourcing of these materials through legitimate salvage in the wake of clashes between the Caldari and Gallente Navies, but a bounty is not the way.

If ARC is concerned about how these objects are procured, might I suggest they instead contract specific trusted capsuleers who will not instigate or facilitate the murder of national military personelle in order to obtain bits of data for blurry found-footage reels.

That is, of course, if ARC does care about that sort of thing. If not, please go right ahead and use the morally bankrupt method of paying any spaceborne murder hobo that has them.

5 Likes

Ms. Priano,

While I would be willing to believe you…

… Considering ARC’s current leadership it would be quite likely that people would question ARC about this.

1 Like

Hrm. So back when I took issue with ARC housing a corporation that kept being militarily active within Republic space - against Republic loyalists - I was largely considered something of a bully for holding the alliance responsible for such clearly non-neutral activity.

Now these days as ARC actually maintains far more neutral stances, the outrage towards them has increased by orders of magnitude.

Have to wonder, what happened to make them this unpopular all of a sudden? They certainly haven’t gotten any more questionable, dangerous or otherwise unpalatable than back then. Their critics certainly haven’t gotten more principled all of a sudden either, so one has to wonder what kind of conflicts have arisen backstage for this play to become quite so fraught with anger and bitterness.

1 Like

Ms. Del’thul, honestly, it’s the way of it. We’re alternatively too partisan, or not partisan enough, for the combatants, who in this case seem to be making a point of wanting to avoid any casualties-- which is somewhat remarkable for a, uh, former Collective supporter and an Imperial combat captain with approaching fifteen thousand logged kills.

So it goes.

3 Likes

When an organization places “the good of humanity” first - whatever that term implies - it means that rather than serve any cause greater than itself, the interests of that organization eventually become “the good of humanity”. Without sturdy roots of authority and tradition, the vine twists and their first loyalty becomes their own ambition.

We are now watching this play out before our eyes. Priano-haani, shame on you. Honor the memory of your ancestors and mend your ways before it is too late.

2 Likes

You know Ms. Priano, I know a whole bunch of people who might possibly have very valuable information that ARC may want, possibly. You want me to send you their names and general locations? Nobody would miss them if they were unfortunately found murdered by mercenaries, I assure you.

1 Like