Now wait just a godsdamned minute, Pilot. You are WAY out of line calling my former CEO, mentor, current friend and alliancemate a coward. Not when she has personally stood up to so many on so many occasions and sacrificed so much.
Elsebeth has more courage, honor and conviction than 99 percent of the nattering nabobs who dare impugn her on this channel.
She certainly doesn’t need me to defend her but, know that if anyone makes an enemy of Else they’ve also made an enemy of me.
Yeah, let’s not get too carried away. Someone could feed one of us headfirst into a ■■■■■■■ wood chipper and we could cost us a week’s worth of memories. We’re paying a lot of ■■■■■■■ money so we don’t have to be ■■■■■■■ brave. What’s it now, the equivalent of 1.6 bills of ISK every ■■■■■■■ month from every Omega clone walking New Eden? The second we paid, we stopped being ■■■■■■■ warriors and soldiers. At best, we’re walking, talking ■■■■■■■ market forces. The poor ■■■■ that swabs the deck in warp is braver than any of us.
The only bravery any of us got left is burning bridges. And Mel didn’t ■■■■■■■ lie, did she?
Yeah, she’s talking about me there. Like she’s my ■■■■■■■ ex or something. Don’t know why she’s pretending, I don’t give a ■■■■ if she hates me or not and I don’t give a ■■■■ why. ■■■■ knows she’s always been a digger too good for the ■■■■■■■ dirt. But she can go ahead and use our names instead of playing these nancy games if she wants to actually ■■■■■■■ answer that particular criticism herself rather than reinforce it.
Or we can pull yinz guys out the ■■■■■■■ feinting couches every time someone doesn’t take her ■■■■■■■■ light.
I was trying to avoid mentioning names where I do not want to call further attention to a particular person’s discretion. This is intended as a sign of respect to the opinion they hold, of not wishing to make the disagreement into a quarrel, of not wanting others who might read my words without the full context to be affected by my opinion on an individual level instead of making up their own.
I am sorry if I have caused offense when attempting to be polite.
In this case, that I’m an ■■■■■■■? That’s not an opinion, that’s a ■■■■■■■ fact. I’ll own all my miserable ■■■■■■■ failures and cop to my own ■■■■■■■■. And if I’ve got an opinion like maybe quit pretending you, or much of anyone, has any ■■■■■■■ respect for anything that doesn’t somehow reinforce their petty ■■■■■■■ worldview, I’ll say the ■■■■■■■ thing and attach a name to it, Else. I ain’t talking past or around any-■■■■■■■-body.
This whole thread is all about your murderous ■■■■■■■ bonfire buddies promising Sarum-level ■■■■■■■■ just like everyone said they would, so maybe we can all stop pretending this is just some Amarrian ■■■■■■■■. We got folks for whom harvesting flesh is just a matter of ■■■■■■■ opportunity, not rationality or nationality, and CONCORD or Amarrians or Mel or whoever you want to ■■■■■■■ blame for Nauplius ain’t the only ones treating serial killers with the ■■■■■■■ kid gloves.
Well, no, it is not. All sorts of other things were brought into it.
Case in point.
(EDIT: nevermind the rest, deleted. Thread does not need further derailing.)
You mean the ■■■■ that doesn’t count as…
Don’t ■■■■■■■■ me, sweetheart, because that other ■■■■ is the deflection you hide behind so you don’t have to ■■■■■■■ wash. Nobody’s too good for the dirt.
NadireSec and U’K forces fought side by side during the defence of Floseswin, spilling blood and treasure together in the fight against the Empire. U’K members fought with a ferocity and tenacity I have not witnessed in quite some time in my years serving in auxiliary organisations, sharing a purpose to evict the Imperial forces from the Floseswin system as well as it’s neighbouring systems under occupation.
I harbour no regret or reservation at answering my District’s call to aid those in the Republic when aid was needed the most. I would do it again without hesitation if my District called upon our services once more.
I do however, echo my District’s condemnation of Ushra’Khan’s actions which are more reminiscent of Caille organised crime families or the behaviour of slavering barbarian hordes of the ancient times, seeking to rape and plunder with no concern for how their acts lead to consequences.
Civilians and prisoners of war must be accorded the appropriate protections in wartime, not butchered like animals. That is what separates the soldier from the murderer, the disciplined from the lawless. This was murder, plain and simple, and the perpetrators of these vile odious deeds are naught more than criminals. They have sullied the positive reputation they have gained through their defence of Floseswin. Worst of all, despite this being presented and justified as a ‘retaliatory act’, it will only lead to further tit-for-tat episodes which will result in a perverse race to the bottom to see who can outdo each other in brutality, as we know the Empire will respond in kind.
What was committed here must be identified as what others in this thread have already identified it as: a terrorist act and a war crime. It is not a point of pride for Matari of all stripes and identities to rally around.
It is a mark of shame.
In addition, it affects the readiness of allies who wish to assist, i.e. while I am proud to have helped liberate Flosewin, the chances of me willingly working with U’K diminish with every warcrime they haphazardly pop out. I will reiterate that there’s a distinction between valid revenge and a poorly obfuscated lust for unrighteous sadism.
In all fairness, while I do object to the chosen method of escalation here, three things must be accepted:
One, this is an escalation, not starting it. In the recent conflict Sarum attacked civilian populations first. Yes; taking slaves is an atrocity towards civilian populations. Yes, the escalation escalates, not just responds, but, duh.
Two, it is moreover an escalation by people who were promised a war where “we come for our people” a decade ago, and have fought a war of attrition with no real progress ever since. What did the governments expect to happen? War radicalizes people. Despair even more.
Three, Ushra’Khan are a terrorist organization and they have always been. They supported Karishal Muritor in his defecting to escalate. They have close ties to things like The Bloody Hands of Matar, who have not shied away even from domestic terrorism. They have often voiced support for the political murders of Shakor’s coup or violent attacks as suppression of criticism. These are not nice people, and anyone with any sense of history should know it, and not act surprised.
All that said, these provocations are a senseless waste of life. They have about as much chance of real escalation as a demonstration on the streets of Shishaan, which is zero. Terror tactics just because you want to do something, do anything are beyond the pale; they are murdering in order to cope with your own despair, to drown it in blood rather than carry it.
You’re pretty basic, aren’t you?
I Cyraxthehated, son of Metesur have returned from my twenty year exile, and will stand with my brothers and sisters, of true Matari blood, and will spill mine if necessary.
I am rebuilding my strengths and stockpiling assets and will be ready when the time comes.
And when it does they will know the true wrath of the Matari warriors.