Dark Intentions borne on Black Wings

Eka bikids olloran veertye revyaar reviraat taarvat; naa avetyvahaacu naa avrashokra kiapahyk parnaact

“There are only two mistakes on the road towards the truth; not starting and not going far enough.”

The abrupt and decisive Federation occupation of the Intaki homeworld and neighboring systems in the Placid region has drawn widely varied responses from the Empyrean community, luminaries and reprobates alike. There are detailed discussions of legality, vitriolic arguments over the larger conflict between Federation and State, and concern for the worlds caught in the crossfire.

But there is something missing from this wide-ranging dialogue, an absence all the more conspicuous for its central importance: why the Federation took these drastic measures. Obvious, comfortable answers present themselves to those who wish to understand the occupation in a way that suits their own agenda, but there is a deeper truth, seldom spoken, which bears repeating now.

The Intaki people have long been, and continue to be, the single greatest threat to Gallente hegemony, and thus to the stability of the Federation.

Now, this is a claim many will scoff at. Doubters might cite the looming threat of further Triglavian conquest, which have ravaged the very stars themselves; or the ongoing conflict against the immense military and economic might of the hostile Caldari State; or the looming enmity of the Amarr Empire; or the ongoing predations of the Sansha or Serpentis. These and other threats naturally seem far more dangerous than a dispersed, demilitarized people - a founding member of the Federation in good standing, no less.

And yet, in this time of turmoil and uncertainty, surrounded by dangers and enemies, the only "threat far too grave to acquiesce before,” the only issue which necessitated direct and overwhelming military action was the subjugation of the Intaki system and the surrounding regions in Placid. So, there is more than may meet the eye.

As the Federation is rather fond of reminding all and sundry at every available opportunity, its government is democratic in form and function. In lofty sociopolitical theory, this means that every citizen, every voice, every vote matters. In practice, only the votes sufficient to build a governing majority are strictly relevant. And though many coalitions, governments, and agendas have held sway over the last century, an enduring feature of their composition has been an ethnically Gallentean, Luminaire-centered bloc.

This should not, in itself, be surprising. Power, whether economic, military, or political, naturally coalesces and centralizes; and once obtained, those who possess it will guard it with jealous diligence. While the Gallente lack both the numerical majority and rigorous ideological cohesion to directly rule the Federation democratically, their dominant plurality confers a status as a first among equals that ensures their interests are protected.

But where there is a first, there must be a second, a potential challenger, and in the Federation that ill-fated group is indisputably the Intaki. While the Gallente comprise some 30-35% of the overall population, ethnical Intaki contribute a sizable 20%, and the Mannar, the Jin-Mei, Matari expatriates, and sundry other peoples are increasingly fractional components of the remainder. Their numbers alone would guarantee them relevance in any political process of democratic form, but the Intaki are notably more culturally cohesive and politically unified than their peers, forming a political bloc that is the only substantive challenge to continued Gallente political hegemony within the Federation. This is doubly true in the wake of the devastation of the Caldari secession, after which it is manifestly clear to all parties that the Federation could not endure a second widespread rebellion. And so, again and again over the last century any hint of Intaki political independence is opportunistically and ruthlessly quelled by the duly elected democratic offices which claim to represent their interests.

Sometimes, these actions took the form of overt repression. After the end of the Gallente-Caldari war, the Ultranationalist government rounded up thousands of Intaki dissidents and summarily marooned them in deep space to die slow and lingering deaths. While the exiles themselves stubbornly declined to expire in the black (and eventually became the Intaki Syndicate), the act did accomplish a chilling effect on the Intaki, remaining in the Federation, precisely as intended:

“We were afraid of those ‘in power’. (…) [Violence was] never threatened openly. But when our fellow Federation citizens were bombarded, it was not a huge leap of reasoning to believe that any others expressing rebellious attitudes would be similarly dealt with. Whether it was true or not, I don’t know. But we were afraid, and so many remained quiet and sought other ways to continue. Some left. Others became politicians.” - Vremaja Idama

Sometimes, they are acts of such blatant negligence that their intent is still clear. When the prosperous Intaki colony on Reschard V burned in a cataclysmic attack by a never-identified aggressor, the Federation government was so unmoved by the deaths of millions of its citizens that third parties had to start rescue and recovery efforts. The result: the Intaki populace reduced not insignificantly in numbers, with much of their resources and attention diverted to dealing with recovery efforts for years to come.

“We have been left to suffer.” - Vremaja Idama

And sometimes, greater political events transpire that “just happen” to isolate and marginalize the Intaki, particularly their original homeworld. When the newly formed CONCORD was sorting out the security apparatus for the systems in the cluster, the densely populated, industrialized, culturally significant system of Intaki Prime was consigned to a lower security status. Perhaps the nameless bureaucrats were attempting to honor the concerns of Intaki elders about undue military presence in their skies - though those wishes had been voiced some two centuries prior, before the advent of modern interstellar piracy, the Caldari secession, the Empyrean revolution, and countless other developments that transformed the cluster. Whatever the intent, this categorization isolated the Intaki homeworld from its disparate peoples, imperiled its commerce, and kept the Federation navy far from its influence.

History repeated itself in Concord’s Emergency Militia War Powers Act, which consigned the Intaki system and the surrounding region to a theater of conflict in which the Gallente and Caldari navies could vent their fury upon each other without recrimination or consequence. Well, except for those lesser mortals who had the misfortune to dwell in those systems, who have been alternately exploited, bombarded, blockaded, manipulated, and caught in the crossfire for over a decade. Again, the architects of this reclassification and their motives remain obscured, but the practical impact of isolating, endangering, and marginalizing the Intaki is undeniable.

Not content with merely oblique repression, the Federation Senate stripped the voting rights of all those citizens which fell under the temporary sway of the Caldari navy and its Empyrean militia. Dozens of predominantly Intaki worlds were thereby robbed of their supposedly inviolable democratic rights for the crime of the Federation Navy not fighting hard enough to control their spacelanes. The Intaki bloc was again fragmented and neutralized, preventing them from coalescing into any kind of opposition.

While the ebb and flow of Gallente and Caldari influence through the “warzone” changed over the years, the Intaki Prime system itself has been under the sway of the Caldari (particularly Ishukone) for some years. This worked yet again to divide and disrupt the Intaki who now had to contend with the occasionally… rapacious Caldari corporate administration. But, as time passed, the Intaki and Caldari reached a more tenable equilibrium of interests, and with each passing year they grew more entangled and integrated and independent of Federation influence.

And this is why the Federation has abruptly invaded. It is not to “rescue” the people who were thriving under Ishukone administration. The Intaki certainly were not consulted on the matter, let alone requested for gunships be deployed to terrorize their civilian centers. No, this is merely the latest incident in a long tradition of Gallente repression of the Intaki populace for even the possibility that they might exert some measure of independence, especially when other dangers rear their head. The Gallente bloc cannot admit this fear, because to give voice to it risks it becoming real. As before, so again the black eagles skulk in the shadows while the theatre of politics draws the eye of the cluster.

Will it work? Quite possibly. Gallente apologists are skilled at their craft, and already have taken advantage of Empyrean myopia to shift the discourse towards discussions of legality, macropolitics, and the bitter feuds between hostile militia factions. For its part, the Intaki populace that lives within the Federation has had generations of practice being duped, distracted, and intimidated into kneeling before their ostensible peers and allies.

But this universe is governed by entropy, and patterns will eventually be broken. Perhaps, this time, the Intaki will no longer meekly accept subjugation. They might actually become what the Gallente have always feared: a powerful, self-determined people no longer willing to mortgage their futures for the advantage of those that have always feared and abused them.

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I’m extremely impressed.

You have, in a single statement, very elequently detailed the historic and ongoing concerns of those of us who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of the people of Intaki.

That this comes from someone outside the Intaki Liberation Front is extremely encouraging. It tells us that we are not a lone voice within the wider Intaki diaspora.

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My mentor was Intaki, by comparison my genetic heritage is relatively insignificant.
Although he was far from a political activist, he was quite eloquent in describing his cultural beliefs as a rich tapestry, not as a doormat.

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I was going to refrain from commenting but against my better judgement, I will.

I commend the eloquence and the artistry of your work but it is a narrative history not an objective one.

First, you dress your own narrative as a ‘deeper truth’ to make it appealing.

You deliberately misquote President Aguard at the very opening of your argument, undermining the entire premise. President Aguard cited the reasons for the military offensive but you attempt to dress them up as an ulterior to her actual motives.

If every ‘hint’ of Intaki independence over the last century was quelled as ruthlessly as you suggest, Intaki Prime would’ve been subjugated years ago to silence the entire movement.

You then cite the original events leading up to the formation of the Intaki Syndicate which occurred during a time of political upheaval following the breakout of a war and the division of the unity of the Federation which occurred under an ultra-nationalist regime that was removed from power and been almost universally opposed by the greater populace of the Federation; including the ethnic Gallente.

With great reverence for Vremaja Idama, it is important to stress that while a venerable voice, it is still only one voice and not the voice of an entire people. The quotes cited here refer to the same incidents under the same regime and not indicative of the relationship between the Federation and the Intaki since; particularly given that the Syndicate has maintained good diplomatic relations with the Federation ever since.

You then paint your own narrative onto the events of Reschard V, describing the Federation as uncaring and unmoved while ignoring the fact that it took seven months for humanitarian aid to even be able to reach the planet’s surface. The Federation, while slower to respond to the crisis than a dedicated humanitarian relief effort, did respond with relief and recovery efforts and all of this occurred while the standing president was of Intaki descent and elected largely as a result of the Intaki voter bloc; making it even less likely to have been a deliberate negligence.

Citing the denial by the Federation of occupied territories from involvement in the internal politics of the Federation is inane. To allow an occupied territory to influence the internal political arena of the Federation would have been foolhardy, at best.

You then site an Ishukone source as evidence that the Intaki people were ‘flourishing under Ishukone administration’ which is circular.

Your entire article is a politically polarizing narrative filled with spin and designed to tilt opinion in one direction, not an objective explanation of events. It is counterintuitive to the pursuit of truth. It saddens me that it is a popular narrative.

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This is a wonderfully written conspiracy.

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The Intaki-Gallente partnership is far from perfect (or even equal) but it is one of the most successful examples of multi-ethnic collaboration in history. Those who would like to tear it down are playing with very dangerous forces indeed, as summarized here.

First, the Intaki diaspora is so widespread that talking in general terms like this is fruitless.

Second, who would the supposedly homogeneous Intaki turn to as allies? The Onikanabo? The Aenebra?

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Far be it my place to comment on the eloquent words of all those who have spoken above but I think it’s delightful to see so many Intaki in this discussion(No offence ment to our non Intaki commentators). I would ask that some points raised by the original poster are not simply brushed away as conspiracy.

These matters are difficult and I don’t think a consistent move is to note the ultra nationalistic nature of the Federation president at the time of exile.

The tenor of a president is not really concluded by the voting block which picks them, the actions of said president still have time to tell a story. I am not convinced either way what that story will be in fact it could be many stories.

Broken promises, liberated people’s, escalating wars or excruciating warcrime’s all and none of the on the above could be possible, time will tell.

The important question for the Intaki here is what will our actions be on this matter.

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Well spoken yourself.

It is true that the damage done by a president during their tenure doesn’t end when that president is removed from office or leaves office. The Federation is an ever growing and learning entity.

Hard-learned lessons from the past have left indelible scars on its history and its people but it has learned from these scars and is better today for it. There’s no denying that it will continue to make mistakes and that there is still damage to overcome, mistakes to correct and relationships to repair.

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How short memories are, Suresha. The narrative above is well known and widely accepted (at least in these circles). The real question is as your colleague has framed it.

I like to think you know where I stand on that and hope there is still room for common ground between the ideal of full independence and the more practical semi-autonomy supported by the Syndicate.

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Auriga I would ask you kindly not to use my words to humiliate or discredit the Suresha. If you had not previously reached out a hand of friendship to our organisation my actions now would not be difficult to determine.

I will simply note that this use of my words is highly distasteful and I would politely to request at this time that it is not done again.

At risk of seriously offending my colleagues within the Federal Navy, I believe it is within the right of the Intaki people to declare their independence. They may not be able to resist the might of the Federation Navy, but they are capable of insurgency. The issue with that is the fact that a guerilla war would last for decades and plunge the region into chaos. What can be done alone?

The Intaki must find allies, both military and political. The Chief Executive Panel may be willing to tip their hand for a price paid in ISK. The Syndicate would surely be interested in consolidating their power and may even join outright if promised a seat at the table. A plethora of Federation expats, Intaki or not, may fly to the new state’s aid. The SoE, Upwell, and even the Society of Conscious Thought may be persuaded to extend their support.

With enough backing, and enough of a fighting chance, an Intaki Confederacy could be forged. A successful petition for CONCORD to accept this new power would act as a final word, hopefully precluding further bloodshed.

All histories are narratives, usually told by those with power to justify their possession of it. Truths are harder to come by, because they are usually not convenient or reassuring or pleasant to hear, and so there will always be resistance to them being voiced.

I am not attempting to subvert or misinterpret the words of Celes Asguard. I am calling her a liar. Of course, this is not, in itself, particularly significant - politicians are professional liars - and so to understand why the Federation has done this, we must examine what has been done and who benefits. And the pattern here of Gallente blocs intimidating, disenfranchising, and repressing the Intaki is quite clear. The only part of that speech which is true is that the Federation occupation was in response to the perception of a dire threat, which is quite obviously demonstrated by the massive invasion fleet and why it was the only statement worth quoting.

Of course, the Gallente bloc cannot ever openly tyrannize or admit to its long-running, deliberate repression of a member state, because of course that would betray everything the Federation claims to stand for. This would quite possibly create the threat they have successfully culled for the last century. Whatever fault one can find in their motives, it is difficult to fault the Black Eagles for insufficient cunning or subtlety.

The Duvalier regime fell quickly after the expulsion of the Five Thousand, it is true. The moderate government under Jen Yoina surely would have immediately rescinded the unjust exile of its people, then? Well, it was a busy time. But they’d have done so eventually, yes? Or sent humanitarian aid? Restored stargate access? Ever even publicly admitted fault? For any lingering in suspense, the answer to all of these questions is “no.” Indeed, at no point in the intervening century has the Federation government ever reversed the trumped-up convictions of the Five Thousand or apologized for what it did. Yoina and the rest since are tacitly complicit in the crimes of Duvalier by their inaction and silence.

Vremaja Idama can speak for himself and clarify his remarks if he so wishes. But the idea of the Federation maintaining “good diplomatic relations” with the Intaki Syndicate is farcical. It sends black ops agents to attack Syndicate facilities; it makes regular unauthorized incursions into Syndicate space, it makes covert deployments of marines to attack our people, it constructs provocative military bases without consultation with local authorities, and many more constant acts of aggression without respect for Syndicate sovereignty on a daily basis. They have never forgiven us for having the temerity to survive and thrive in the black. Small wonder that the Federation and the Syndicate are absolutely not aligned together.

I cannot but marvel at your claim that negligence of the largest bureaucracy in the cluster during the Reschard catastrophe is aspersions of ulterior motives because its current figurehead shared a nominal amount of genetic material with the victims. It is either willful naiveté or shocking effrontery, and I cannot tell which.

Setting aside the issue of what relevance the predominantly displayed flag of naval forces above a world has on that people’s say in the future of formation of laws and leaders that will govern them, don’t you find it curious that Federation just happened to mostly lose worlds with Intaki populations? That all the might and power of the Navy that just effortlessly occupied them just… didn’t bother to do that in the intervening years? What faction could possibly benefit from the diminished electorate sculpted by such losses?

You fault some of the sources cited here, yet provide none of your own. Does Ishukone have a vested interest in maintaining good public relations? Certainly. But even their detractors will admit that Ishukone is notably forthright for a megacorp, and their investment in the Intaki system and its people is well documented by their diplomats. Are there alternate sources you can cite? Or will those need to be delayed until they can be fabricated by Black Eagle false flag operations?

Not quite. A conspiracy is usually understood as involving secret and unlawful action, and those who have participated in the long tradition of Intaki suppression are quite adept at ensuring their actions pass legal muster of the code they themselves write.

I am not advocating any particular course of action. My sympathies are clear, but I do not dwell in the affected systems and unlike the Federation Senate, I will not try to make decisions for the people who live there. I, like the descendants of many who survived Duvalier’s attempted slaughter at Poitot, do wonder at how long our kin will endure such ill-treatment. How many generations of Intaki must suffer to protect the soft tyranny of the Gallentean plurality before something is finally done? How far will Asguard go to ensure that this does not happen? Given their apparent desperation, I would be less than shocked to see the Federation anchor a stellar transmuter in the Intaki system.

But the Federation is cleverer than this, and overt action is unlikely. There is always another ploy, a reason, an excuse. The existence of such excuses is proof only of the credulity of those which accept the propaganda deftly spun in the halls of Caille: that the Gallente elite is the first and only cadre of power-hungry narcissists in the whole of human history to take the reins of an empire and not jealously hoard power, wealth, and influence from those who they fear might displace them.

vashka uuhdyaravant huuniahd paheyk nekriitakol

“by his deeds a man is known”

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Never the less your words are of some import as I said previously it is good to hear from Intaki on such issues.

I feel all Intaki voices should be heard on such points.

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Are you sure? This looks like advocacy.

If you’re not advocating, what is the point of your statement?

My own great grandfather was among the 5,000. My grandfather was born in Poitot. I continue to serve Khararjya Achaert. I have every reason to be suspicious of the Federation’s good faith. Nothing you have said is news to anyone even vaguely familiar with the events. Complaining about the unfairness if a situation is easy. Offering solutions is much harder, especially if those solutions have a chance of actually surviving contact with reality by involving difficult choices and unpleasant compromises.

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My intention was simply to remind your Suresha that others have stood by the ILF consistently for many years in advocating for the rights of the Intaki member state to govern its own affairs and to agree with you that the wounds of the past are less important than the choices made now.

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This matter is no mere trifle. It is at least two blatantly dishonoured contracts.

The only thing Aguards’ handlers have achieved in their grasping for “what is ours” is the degradation of the value of Federal treaties.

Ultimately it can only lead to atomisation and dissolution of Empire.

Noted, I will let Suresha Bataav respond in whatever way they deem appropriate.

@Bataav I apologise for speaking out of turn.

I will state from the beginning that I do not cite any sources because I replied predominantly from your own cited sources. The exercise is more of a peer review than a counter argument.

This is true, the government could have rescinded the exile but it didn’t. I am curious if they would even have been interested in returning, if I’m being honest, given that they had already expressed anti-Federation sentiments. This isn’t a justification for the situation, merely idle curiosity.

Yeah, I never stated they were ‘aligned together,’ merely that they have maintained strong diplomatic ties. Which was information drawn from your own citation.

For the record, I merely stated that your accusation of ulterior motives made less sense given that the ‘regime’ in power at the time was in place largely because of the Intaki voter bloc, it would have had a vested interest in maintaining that voter bloc in order to maintain the popular vote needed to stay in power. I also pointed out that the response by the Federation, while slower than that of the dedicated humanitarian response of the SSOE, was to provide relief and recovery efforts once the planet was accessible. Again, using information available in your own citation.

First, what the Federation has recently done in Intaki is a violation of standing law, namely the CEMWPA and so to state that it ‘could have done this sooner’ is to completely ignore the gravity of what was done. As stated in President Aguard’s speech, the Federation was law-bound to leave the area to the CEMWPA designated militia forces and, while always displeased with the State occupation of Intaki space, did not wish to breach international law to rectify the situation. It is only now that the Federation has decided enough is enough and would rather face the ramifications of breaching CEMWPA than continue to leave the situation alone.

Second, the State forces have made it a point to maintain as much presence in Intaki space as they could, reinforcing the area regularly with their militia. If you have a point of contention it isn’t with the Federal Navy, it’s with the Federation-aligned capsuleer militia that failed to retake and secure the area against State incursion. I’m not a member of the militia so I can’t speak fairly regarding the logistics and struggles in accomplishing such a task, merely pointing out that it was the battlefield of the militias not the navies.

I merely pointed out that your reference was circular which is ineffectual in the construction of a solid argument. I have not maligned the integrity of the report or its writer.

This statement has aged like milk.

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