On the Reclamation of Floseswin

[Ekaterina_deSilvestris]

My Lord,

Although my part in this Victory, Granted by God, was but small, it was an immense Honour to serve under your Command, in the Service of the Sarum Family and Her Imperial Majesty.

Amarr Victor.

Aspirant Ekaterina deSilvestris

[Aldrith_Shutaq]

Ave once again, Intergalactic Summit.

As thirty-two days ago, the Empire has today regained control of the Floseswin system. As before, I will not present a sure vision of what this shall mean for the relations between our nations, nor for the people on the ground directly involved. However, I believe the implications of the struggle are being made manifest before our eyes.

The hopes that the Republic’s control of the situation on planet IV be maintained have been proven false. It is clear that both sides are powerful and motivated enough to fight for the system with all of their might, and that this means the war shall be long-term. Indeed, here lies the potential for an unceasing conflict as the Empyrean Wars seem to have been meant to be, but with a far more grim and grievous intensity that has not been seen since the end of the conflicts that forged the Yulai Accords. Perhaps this is a means to an end. Perhaps that itself is the goal. The goals of whom and what I will not speculate on, nor shall I judge them. This is simply as it is.

I lay these facts at the feet of the Intergalactic community. I present them to the Inner Council, and to the leaders of both the Empire and Republic that are responsible for the decision to go to these lengths, and those responsible for the prosecution of their orders. Consider what is occurring. Act in the best interests of your people. Act in the best interests of all peoples of the cluster. Fight for what you believe in, but compromise to save what you love.

I will continue to fight to the best of my abilities until it is unnecessary to do so. This I swear. I will not expect anything less from either my comrades or my enemies.

Spread the flames or stop them. My choice is made. Makes yours soon.

Amarr Victor

Lord Aldrith Shutaq Newelle
Lord Consort to Lady Mitara Newelle
Divine Commodore of the 24th Imperial Crusade
Paladin Ordinary and Navarch of the Excubitoris Chapter of the Sacred Throne Order
Twice Victor of the War of Floseswin

[sten_mattson]

Amarr Victor!

[Arrendis]

@Aldrith_Shutaq

Indeed, here lies the potential for an unceasing conflict as the Empyrean Wars seem to have been meant to be, but with a far more grim and grievous intensity that has not been seen since the end of the conflicts that forged the Yulai Accords. Perhaps this is a means to an end. Perhaps that itself is the goal. The goals of whom and what I will not speculate on, nor shall I judge them. This is simply as it is.

At this point, Aldrith, I’m not sure there will be any peace in Floseswin until some outside power tells all three: The Empire, the Republic, and CONCORD to sit down and shut up, and enforces a Pax Imperialis by sheer force of arms. Who knows, maybe the Trigs will do it.

[Aldrith_Shutaq]

Somehow I am led to believe their culture is not one that values a Pax of any sort.

[Kyle_Saltz]

Amarr Victor
On Behalf of our Margrave Equinox Daedalus and the whole of the Providence Marches we would like to congratulate the valiant efforts of the 24th Imperial Crusade. It is your honor and faithful duty to God and Empire that has truly seen to the victory in Floseswin.

The road we have traveled has been rough. However, we have walked it together. Floseswin has been a true uniting point for the Amarrian loyalists not only just in House Sarum but for the Crusade and its allies. We have found common ground through many of our differences.

I would say we have traveled too far, fought too hard, died too often, and prayed too long to allow Floseswin to simply fall back into the hands of the Matari forces forever. The very space of Floseswin has been consecrated by the blood and sweat of the faithful. For this reason I would argue Floseswin is a Holy objective that must be preserved.

For these reasons the Forces of the Providence Marches will continue to stand with our brother and sister Paladins. We will continue to aid in Pilots and materials to the utmost of our ability. If the Matari wish to continue to throw themselves against our guns then so be it. They will only find the inexhaustible will of the Amarr Forces. For we are powered by something greater than man. We are powered by gods will.

Amarr Victor,
Paladin Warden Kyle Saltz
Hand of the Margrave
Ambassador to the 24th Imperial Crusade

[Arrendis]

Well if they don’t, I might have to.

And if ProviBloc decides to interfere in any meaningful and sustained way, that gets more likely, @Kyle_Saltz

[Aldrith_Shutaq]

You are more than welcome.

I already said that I’d expect nothing less from my enemies.

[Pol_Macsliebh]

This hasn’t even started…

[Aldrith_Shutaq]

Of course it hasn’t.

[Zakir_Fereyd]

@Elsebeth_Rhiannon

If it were our sanctions over Kahah that made Sarum so desperate they had to antimatter bomb civilian targets on a backwater planet, those would be damned impressive sanctions and I’d have to seriously devise my estimates of the relative power of the nations. (Of course, seriously, they did no such thing, and are not a reason but an excuse .)

I would say the Federation and Republic sanctions were a failure of diplomacy – specifically that of coercion. Coercion requires the compelling of action through the application of pain, in this case, economic pain. Unlike deterrence which only requires an adversary from refraining from performing an action; coercion requires the active co-operation of an adversary to meet a desired outcome.

The requirements of adversary co-operation in coercive diplomacy raises complexities. Since coercion requires overt compliance with demands a degree of public humiliation is inherent – is the adversary prepared to suffer such damage to their reputation and prestige? Are demands and incentives articulated effectively such that the adversary has a clear choice between further pain or its cessation through compliance? Given the centrality of communication in coercive diplomacy, is there robust knowledge of the adversary politics, culture, fears, and vulnerabilities such that it is likely they will comply at all?

The answer to all these questions raised by Federal and Republic sanctions is no.

The response it has engendered instead by the use of coercive diplomacy is the application of another form of diplomacy by the Royal House of Sarum. A more cruel and vicious diplomacy, but diplomacy nonetheless, that obviates the need for adversary co-operation through the application of military force.

[Arrendis]

@Zakir_Fereyd

A more cruel and vicious diplomacy, but diplomacy nonetheless, that obviates the need for adversary co-operation through the application of military force.

Does it, though? It’s not getting Amarr the economic considerations the sanctions interrupted. At most, it’s given them a carrot to offer in exchange for lessening those sanctions. But at the same time… is that carrot even notable? Not for the Federation, at least: nothing of theirs is at risk. And the Republic, let’s face it, has in all likelihood written off the CEWPA systems as surely as the Empire has: they’re meant to be considered a lost cause, the battlegrounds of a war designed to never end.

Sure, there’s some bad press involved in not retaking Floseswin, but if the Republic Fleet’s^[1] actions are any indicator? Then it’s quite possible the Republic doesn’t really give a damn, either. Either way, Sarum’s actions are not, in and of themselves, achieving the level of economic benefits needed to offset the sanctions (and thus, obviate the need for co-operation to remove those sanctions).

---

^{1. Let’s remember, the Republic Fleet is not the equivalent entity to the Sarum Fleet. That would be the Sebiestor or Brutal Tribal forces—neither of which has a clear mandate over that territory the way Sarum has. So the Republic Fleet may be constrained by not wanting to provoke a response from the Imperial Navy. None of the individual Tribes’ forces have a claim to overseeing the area, so they can’t really (or don’t have a pressing PR need to) intervene. In effect, the designation of the area as solely the responsibility of one House gave the Empire a specific level of military hierarchy that could act without having a proportionate option available to the Republic.}

[Tyrel_Toov]

TL:DR The Federation and Republic sanctioned the Amarr for being assholes and the Amarr are throwing a tantrum like petulant children.

I think that about sums it up.

[Zakir_Fereyd]

@Arrendis

Sure, there’s some bad press involved in not retaking Floseswin, but if the Republic Fleet’s[1] actions are any indicator? Then it’s quite possible the Republic doesn’t really give a damn, either. Either way, Sarum’s actions are not, in and of themselves, achieving the level of economic benefits needed to offset the sanctions (and thus, obviate the need for co-operation to remove those sanctions).

In my opinion, there is fair criticism of House Sarum strategy in Floseswin: the inability to achieve escalation dominance over the Republic at present. In the current era of CONCORD, the Republic would know there are significant constraints on Imperial ability to bring to bear its full military weight against it in Floseswin. This allows the Republic to refuse Sarum compulsion due to the reduced stakes at play.

[Tyrel_Toov]

So the old “let the child fuss and throw things until it gets tired” tactic?

[Zakir_Fereyd]

I would say a measure of success might be found in turning the Crusade similarly to the Vindication Wars: declare Holy War against the Apostates of the Republic and erode the will to resist over decades or centuries.

[Tyrel_Toov]

I doubt the Republic’s will to resist is being eroded here. Our patience, yes, but not our will to resist.

[Arrendis]

In addition to Tyrel’s entirely accurate point: I am not an apostate. Neither am I a heretic. I have never been a member of the Amarr faith. I was never brought up in the faith, or taught anything about it. I am far from the only member of the Tribes about whom this is true.

I am a heathen. I’d even give you infidel. But I am not an apostate, and neither are most of those in the Republic.

[Zakir_Fereyd]

@Arrendis

I am not an apostate.

Your ancestors however were apostates. That renouncement of the Faith is now a sin all those in the Republic are now culpable.

[Arrendis]

Only if they accepted the faith at some point. Many, even among the slave populations, did not. Many more—for example, the Thukker and Krusual Tribes—remained largely free.

And the will to resist has only grown stronger. Come, bring your war, bring your Reclaiming by the Sword. It is only proof that not only is your religion flawed, your faith in it is weak, as well. If you truly believed that your god was the truth, you wouldn’t need such extreme measures as forced conversions and enslavement. You would need only the message of your faith and the example of a society reaping the benefits of that faith.

But your society ossifies, and cracks. Your highest levels of the faith continue to become more and more greedy and corrupt, issuing authoritative declarations about the nature of the immaterial and unknowable that are obviously just meant to placate the masses and provide fodder for the Empire’s military.

You base your claims on lies, and when challenged for even a single piece of empirical evidence, fall back on zealotry, propaganda, and appeals to the authority of those who most benefit from the things that they tell you are true.

Your Empire is moribund. Your great houses are cowardly and venal, grasping desperately at the increasingly tattered reigns of power as they see one among them who, once scorned, has outmaneuvered them all. Whose ascension is now inevitable. Your religion is corrupted and twisted. Each one a vine of poisonous fruit, wrapped together as a single cable, binding you all to your self-destruction.

Pray, capsuleer, that you do not live long enough to see the inevitable end state, to be forced to kneel before Emperor Khanid the First-and-Last. Pray… and know your prayers are in vain.

You will break before we do. We are Matari. We endure. And neither your Empire-that-is, nor the Khanid Empire to come, will end us.