The Completion of the Reclaiming

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
161

Respectfully, Isha, that capitalized “WILL” seems more like a statement of faith than of fact.

If, hypothetically, the other empires, and particularly the Republic and Federation, drove the Empire to collapse, they’re very unlikely to escape unscathed themselves. The people best-placed to take advantage probably wouldn’t be the empires, but the “pirate” factions, the most hopeful option among which would be the Angel Cartel. But actually the most likely would be the Blood Raiders or Sansha’s Nation.

Sansha’s Nation would move in its usual way, just (assuming they have the resources, and they do seem to) on a larger scale-- an Empire-sized Incursion with little organized resistance and massive “uplifting” operations. Maybe they’d take the population and disappear to process them, but actually it seems more like they’d just move right on in and make themselves comfortable.

The Blood Raiders would have an even easier time; Amarrian culture is highly focused on the distribution and control of power, on who gets it, how much, and why. That focus is an opening for the Sabik, whose answer to those questions boils down to “anyone who can take it and as much as they can grab, because that’s all that matters.” A mass crisis of faith such as the Empire’s fall would leave them with basically a whole empire of recruits and victims.

Neither one would stop there, either. The Empire’s a seriously vast pool of resources, and an entity that moved swiftly and successfully to harness them would be able to draw on enormous power. Sansha Kuvakei shows no signs of wanting to live in peace, but the Raiders would base their conquest largely on a promise of restored glory. Bloody Omir would declare vindication and some grand crusade of conquest, glory, and vengeance. They’d gather all the power they could, slap some red paint on whatever survived of the Golden Fleet, and they’d come for the rest of you with their usual nihilistic zeal. They’d probably throw the whole society into it.

They’re horrible, Isha. If you want to talk “barbarians,” well-- it’s hard to find purer examples, and hard to describe what the Sabik create as a civilization. And it’s inherently, internally unstable because it creates no basis for loyalty besides fear. Every servant is encouraged (even expected) to plot against their masters and each other. It’s a slow-boiling civil cold war of all against all until it goes hot and the civilization evaporates in a puff of horrors.

But in the meantime, if the Takmahl are any example, it’ll do pretty well for itself. Omir might accomplish some very scary things before his empire finishes rotting from within, and I wouldn’t wish the Sabik on anyone.

Anyway, the victors in an Imperial collapse wouldn’t be your people. The victors would be the vultures who came to feast on the Empire’s corpse.

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162

Respectfully, you place entirely too much faith in the Blood Raiders and the Nation. I feel inclined to accuse you of wielding them as a convenient excuse to escape blame.

The pirate factions are not going to take over Amarr space and rule as some kind of newly minted imperial power, come on now.

The various Empires would not leave such a vast region of space to struggle on it’s own. The kind hearted will help the people rebuild after the collapse. And the less kind hearted will annex them. Which would still put them in an empire that holds its people in higher regard then the Amarr, because there really isn’t an Empire that holds them in lower regard (I am considering slaves part of the people here.)

The idea that the Blood Raiders or Sansha’s would suddenly organize themselves so well as to replace the Amarr Empire is absolutely laughable. It is not going to happen. And yes, the other Empires will help the Amarr regions.

If we have time and ships to throw at obscure threats like wormholes, renegade drones and triglavians, then we have enough time and ships to throw at the salvation of an entire empire’s worth of people, except this time, everyone would be saved.

They would still be in for a very rough few generations of course, but yes, it will get better. I consider that a statement of fact for everyone except the true Amarr in that empire.

And all the galaxy would be better off without that sick golden shadow looming over it.

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163

Are you maybe thinking of the Blood Raiders and Sansha as, like, scattered pirate gangs, Isha?

They’re interstellar powers in their own right, both of them. Sansha’s Nation in particular is a literal hive mind-- organization is what they’re about.

And it’s true that the other empires might be able to do as you suggest, if and only if they themselves survive relatively intact. They might manage that if they all united against the Empire the way they did against Sansha’s Nation back in the day, but they won’t; there’s no way the Caldari State could accept the strategic situation that would follow. What’s much more likely is that all of them would be weakened, possibly fatally. They might be able to defend their own territory, but, that’s apt to be a stretch.

Nation manufactures soldiers out of captives. The Blood Raiders would barely need to “conquer” anyone-- Amarr tend to respond in a certain way when their faith breaks.

I don’t think your confidence is well placed.

Also, if I hadn’t made this clear already: I’m interested in your opinion, but please don’t expect me to care what you hold me responsible for. In the end, there are two people in this world whose opinion of me I care about strongly: one by oath, one by affection.

Since you judge them both harshly, I’m proud to be held culpable alongside them.

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164

It is more likely that Amarr would descend into fractious warlord states. We’re a feudal society, and that would double-down on itself if the Empire were to come apart. Maybe the blood raiders or sansha or one of the other powers would be able to make inroads, carve little pieces out of the Empire, but it’d be successor Holder nations that would control most of what remained of Amarr.

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165

I … kind of don’t think Isha’s got any intention of leaving that much of the hierarchy standing, Samira.

(Even if it’d be hard to avoid in places.)

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166

The Republic has the power to bring the central government of the Empire to collapse with the application of the right pressure. It doesn’t have the power to conquer all its lords and territories. We know that, they know that. What you would do is, once the central government collapses, go to each of the surviving blocs and either offer aid or threaten retribution depending on their willingness to keep holding slaves. Those that dropped it would probably be allowed their independence and be spared any assault, so it’d become a patchwork of Republic (and Federation) “protectorates” and those too stubborn or powerful (through political alliances and the like, some of which may be to blooders/sansha) to submit.

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167

If the Empire were a conventional monarchy I might agree, Samira. But you’re neglecting the spiritual significance of such an event, which is pretty unusual for you of all people.

Also, I … really kinda doubt the Republic does have that level of power. If it were easy, I’d expect them to have done it long ago.

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168

The obvious solution would be to put Empress Synthia in charge of the Amarr Empire, and trust in her good judgement, benevolence, and compassionate nature.

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169

Well … it would be … Efficient?

(For reference, Isha, Queen Synthia’s court and her city-state of Kaztropol is probably the least-horrifying incarnation of Sani Sabik activity on a large scale you’re likely to find. It’s still basically government-by-whim, though.)

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170

I shouldn’t have to tell someone like you how pressure points work, Aria. It’s not easy, no, but I don’t for a second think it’s impossible. Especially in the Empire’s current state.

And no, I’m not neglecting it. But I think you at once both don’t understand how shaky it is, or how strong it can be. In the event of collapse, those with false faith and lip service would show their real colors, while those with True faith would survive and find a way to move forward.

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171

Maybe. But if you frame it that way, there’s the question of risk and odds of success. A pressure strike can be crippling if it lands. Miss, and you’ve done basically nothing, and if your target is aware of what you tried to do you now have an alerted and very angry target.

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172

I’m pretty sure we’re already far past that point.

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173

Oh, so you’re seeing this as a thing that’s already been done. Hm.

…

…

Don’t … really think so, Samira. Guess we’ll see, though.

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174

No, I’m saying that we’re all already aware, alert, and angry.

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175

Did you already forget that a part of the Elder Fleet was literally knocking on the proverbial heavens door over a Heir family’s home planet? One system away from Amarr Prime? With a Ragnarok spearheding that fleet, no less? Technically it was not the Republic’s doing, but it was done with Republic’s technology as well as who knows who created the technology to evade the cynosural jammers in high-security space exactly (my bet is on the Thukkers).

Honestly, what probably is keeping the Elders in check in not burning Amarrian throne worlds and Amarr itself in nuclear fire is the presence of our kin on those worlds. That, or just their human decency not to visit the same atrocities on the Amarr that they visited on others. And many other reasons, not least of which them with their sheer size being a meaty shield against the Nation, Drifters and possibly Triglavians, if recent rumors are true.

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176

??

Okay, I guess I wasn’t clear. I meant that at that point the war goes hot, the Imperial Navy crosses the border, everybody stops listening to CONCORD, and one way or another the balance of power breaks violently. I don’t see the Empire responding to an attempted beheading with anything less than total war.

The last to do such a thing were, famously, the Drifters, and it really left a mark. To this day the Directrix still doesn’t seem comfortable with the idea that Drifters might in some real way be people.

(Admittedly there’s more than the average level of reason to wonder about that.)

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177

Well, I wasn’t think of a beheading. Not so directly, at least.

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178

I … really don’t know what you’d have been thinking of, then, Samira. The Empire’s a vast feudal hierarchy, and every part I’m aware of has a replacement part ready to slot into place almost the moment it’s needed. You could obliterate Dam Torsad and the Empire would keep right on ticking. Heirs under attack can summon their vassals (those same lords you were saying the Republic can’t fight), and seem highly likely to close ranks to come to each other’s aid against an outside attacker.

After thousands of years of unbroken Empire, the Amarr kind of seem to have the process of doing repairs and maintaining order down. It’s unexpected stuff from outside-- running into real viable rivals in the State and Federation; the Jove and Vak’Atioth; the Elder Fleet; the Drifters-- that really seems to pull them up short and give them pause (and create an opening for further unexpected stuff, like the Minmatar Rebellion).

What pressure point is there that won’t just result in some short, brisk process swinging into motion to patch the hole?

The closest thing I can think of would be something like the Book of Records, but that thing’s got to have more backup copies than Mizhara.

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179

The Empire isn’t the State, Aria. The internal infighting doesn’t get put aside when an outside threat comes in. It gets exaggerated. Imperial leaders are power players, always looking for an opportunity to get on top of everyone else. And the most opportunities come about when the well-cultivated order comes apart. Those holes don’t get patched, they get exploited.

We still exist as a nation today, sure, but the Empire has been through thousands of factional squabbles, betrayals, and splinter states. Such as, for example, the Minmatar Republic, which makes this whole war itself an example of a broken empire.

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180

Hm. Well, I guess we’ll see.

Are you sure your opinion of the Empire’s spiritual state isn’t flavoring your thoughts about its politics, though?

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