Excubitors have been involved in the actions over Kahah III the last two days. Given the sheer amount of speculation I am seeing, it seems necessary to make a statement about our overall Organizational role in the fiasco.
PIE Involvement throughout the escalation of events that began with the Deathglow attack on Rens has had primary goal of deescalating the conflict wherever possible and preventing escalations that would result in the loss of life within Amarr. We have condemned these deathglow attacks, including the one on the Republic, and will continue working until the perpetrator is removed as a threat, however long that may take.
Our limited involvement in the particular mess in Kahah has been a part of this effort. We do not know the situation on the ground in Kahah, other than that it is quite grim, but it seems obvious that adding an army of foreign mercenaries and terrorists into the mix would only result in continued escalation. As such, when the long term terrorist organization the UshraâKhan declared that it was attempting to drop a corps of marines and freedom fighters, as well as weapons such as void bombs, on the planet, PIE needed to become more directly involved that we had been thus far.
Up to that point PIE involvement has been limited to our Sarum pledged faction, headed by Lady Admiral Newelle. The Newel objectives have been stated elsewhere on these forums. Those objectives were neither endorsed nor condemned by PIE. Some notable moments in the Newelle deployment, however, include the decision to allow a UâK pilot to bring humanitarian supplies to Kahah and an attempt to rescue survivors in the aftermath of the Fweddit Massacre. While it is paltry compared to the scale of Fwedditâs atrocity, hundreds of slaves owe their lives to the Newelle deployment.
As a note: PIE condemns, in the strongest terms, Fwedditâs actions. They have been KoS to PIE for years and PIE actively applauds retaliations against the blood cultist scum responsible for that massacre.
UâKâs Operation Starfall represents a change in PIE deployment and included members of the organization outside of the Newelle operation. It is absolutely unacceptable for foreign nationals and known terrorists to attempt a planetary invasion against an Amarr planet. Upon hearing of UâKâs plans we gathered a small battleship fleet of Amarr militia and loyalists to attempt to limit the damage that UâKâs attack could cause.
When UâK deployed, it was clear that they outnumbered us and outweighed us by well over two to one. However, when they attempted to land their forces, Khanid defense forces deployed to attack the invasion force. The Amarr fleet under Captain Newelleâs command engaged the UâK forces at that moment, resulting in the destruction of several battleships on both sides. Given the weight differential, our engagement was a tactical defeat but a strategic victory. Our force suffered well over 50% casualties, but the remainder retreated in good order with the primary objective complete. While we were on the field the UâK freighter had been destroyed, and their invasion had failed utterly. PIE is proud to have stood tall against superior numbers to prevent an invasion of an Amarr planet by an organization dedicated to destruction.
UshraâKhan logistical efforts being superior to what we had on hand, PIE left the field after the initial engagement. It is at this point that UâK decided to sacrifice tens of thousands of Matari lives to demonstrate how angry they were at CONCORD.
This action by PIE is not an endorsement of Khanid methods in dealing with the planetside disaster that has developed on Kahah in the aftermath of the Blood Raider Deathglow attack. The situation is chaotic and capsuleer military intervention can only make things worse. We have forwarded the information we have on those attacks to the proper authorities, and will continue to work with those authorities to find out who is responsible for this debacle and bring them to justice.
Anyone involved in illegal attacks on Amarr, in any way, is our enemy and we will work to mitigate the damage that they can do to the populations under the protection of Amarr.
âSo the Lord sent forth the Chosen,
to bring forth the light of faith
And those who embrace his love
Shall be saved by his grace
For we are his shepherds in the darkness
His Angels of Mercy.
But those who turn away from his light,
And reject his true word
Shall be struck down by his wrath
For we are his retribution incarnate
His Angels of Vengeanceâ
-Lord Admiral Gaven Lokâri
Co-Chapter Master of the Excubitoris Chapter of the Sacred Throne Order
Divine Commodore of the 24th Imperial Crusade