Deklein

Lord Lok'ri and Lady Emerita Mithra are organising a conference on “The Emperors’ Pax.” I have submitted an abstract a while ago, I want to present a talk on emperor Queron I. This is one of my favorite historical periods in the Empire.

It is also the period when the Sabik fled Amarr and went to Araz to start the Takmahl Empire, so it is a very useful period to study, for me. During my research for the preparation of the talk, I have been digging deeper in the Sani Sabik symbolism of that period. I have been collecting a lot of information on the Queronic purges and the exodus of the Sabik. 

It is clear that they had access to major relics, even those that were hidden away from the Imperial Palace and kept in the secret vaults of the Council of Apostles and the Speakers of Truth. They took these relics with them as they fled.

In the Sani Sabik symbolism of that time, the pentagram appears in many places. A pentagon, with an inscribed five-pointed star. Five points all linked to each other. As a seal of the Sabik order, as a secret sign to identify members working in the imperial admistration, as a symbol of protection. It is not surprising to me any more that they chose the Araz constellation for their destination - it has the form of a pentagram.

There is one other pentagram constellation in the entire cluster, in the Deklein region. From the data, and old records, I am getting more and more convinced that there was also a colony of Sabik cryoships heading for that particular constellation. The relics that they stole would have been divided between the colonies for the two pentagram constellations.

I want to go out there and explore. However, it will require some preparations. The systems are nowadays under control of a barbarian tribe called the "Federation of Respect Honor Passion Alliance". I will need to contact them and barter for safe passage through their realm. I'll try and talk to Amicia to get tips on diplomacy with the warlords outside the civilized worlds.

I think I might also need a more sturdy vessel than the Indagatrix. Maybe a reconnaissance ship? Or a Stratios covert exploration cruiser? That would require some additional funds... But let's take this one step at a time.

Autumn cleaning

The alliance is doing an autumn cleaning of Domain. It appears that capsuleer planetary industry can be blockaded when someone starts to build a customs office - for import and export of goods from the surface - but does not finish it.

As long as it is a gantry that is not yet an operational station, the company holding that has a monopoly, and no-one else can put a customs office there. So, by keeping the thing "in construction", one effectively blockades a planet for capsuleer trade. Whether that particular kind of trade is always beneficial is quite another discussion, but everyone agrees blockades are bad.

So the alliance has been sending out fleets to clear up abandoned and neglected gantries. After removal, they put up there own business offices, which should bring in a nice amount of cash through customs tax. 

These kind of operations are quite uneventful. They have allowed me to train support ships a little bit, offering remote repairs to fleet members. While last week I tried this on a frigate level (in the warzone), this week I could attempt using a cruiser for this task, much more comfortably. It will still take quite some getting used to, but I am starting to enjoy this support role, even though it is not spiritual support, a role much more familiar.

Tapeworm worries

I worry a bit about Ishta. I saw her last week, and she was not her usual self. She was troubled by nausea attacks, had a bit of swelling in the abdomen, and had strange sudden cravings for food. She ate banana icecream with spinach.

That sounds a lot like she might have contracted Mehatorian tropical tapeworm. Of course, one has to rule out pregnancy too, so I got her a self-test kit from the medbay. It came with a pack of condoms and a stern warning from the nurse, showing kindness in her misunderstanding of the situation. But when I gave it to Ishta to test herself, she disappeared. Probably just went off to ther quarters. Of course it's a private matter, I understand, but still, a bit of news would stop me from worrying...

Message from Sarachem

I was happy to receive a message from brother Sarachem today. I was relieved to hear that he and the other Goners are safe and sound.

They did not have any important assets in our station. But still they wish to express sorrow at the loss of the station, as - I quote - "your station was blessed home for us for long time".

It is not clear to me what they will do now, but they still have other holy places, and also the Grand Tour (a pilgrimage to circumnavigate the cluster).

Mittens was not his cat.

I think I am glad to hear that, I've grown fond of Mittens and her quirks. And I would be unhappy if I had to part with her.

The hardcore believers

Now, merely a week after they were brought in our care, many Lunarists show very clear signs of progress and recovery. Lunarisse came by and talked to them, confronting their beliefs that she is a prophet with reality. It is so much easier to deprogram cultists if the cult "leader" works along!

While the recovered now deal mostly with shame, there are some hardliners that do not accept what Lunarisse says, and prefer to believe they are being tricked by some evil entity. I found effigies of the "True Luna" in their quarters.

The True Luna has blonde hair, commands the Sefrim, has a decapitated Nauplius corpse at her feet, and will still come to deliver them and bring them back to the gas planet. She is called Aspenstar, not Phonaga. She is clad in gold and light emanates from her (the statuette has an opening for a small candle). She has helpers called Arias, who carry burlap bags and mallets to knock down unbelievers and drag them away.

Of course the True Luna is distinct from the Deceiver Luna, who wears a disguise to look and sound like the true one. They are convinced Phonaga is a word play on "Phony". Also, the Deceiver's helpers (that would be me and dr. Tekitsuno) are not Arias, we are false SFRIM. 

I think they hang on to their belief with increasing despair because the alternative is maybe too humiliating or too painful to consider. I continue with the strategy of having the recovered cultists talk to them, but often the discussions become heated and have to be aborted. It seems the hard-core believers will need a lot more time to adjust back, and maybe even another approach altogether.

War worries

Pochven seems to be heating up again. The Triglavians, loathe as ever to engage our forces themselves, have found new henchmen. Nullsec barbarians have replenished and complemented the defeated khybernauts. They attacked Smokey, the station where most of the fleets from the first war were staged.

The combined capsuleer fleets of the different empires assembled to defend Smokey once again, and the attackers were scared away.

This does not seem like much of a fight, but to me, it feels like a prelude. Poking around at our defenses, checking out what kind of fleet we bring up for these defenses. It does not seem unlikely to me that we will face war again in the Pochven domain...

New doc

The deprogramming is going well. Luckily, the new layer of cult was only seven years old, and there was still a strong, fertile layer of orthodox faith beneath.

Right before and also during this emergency, I met the new doctor at the medical facility, Jamika Tekitsuno. I discussed my cloning problem with her, and found her willing to help me! So I got my hopes up that she can provide me with a clone of the Takmahl corpse. She wanted to study the matter further, probably she was a bit taken aback by the strange nature of my request.

She's new. She still has to learn that strangeness is the capsuleer normal.

Deprogramming

I have to admit I don't know how to deprogram groups of cultists. I can't remember they ever taught us that at the Theology Council university. Or it must've been an elective I didn't take.

So, books to the rescue. 

The first few volumes I picked up were no help, really. Bishop Ainslie's "Breaking down Will" doesn't tell much about reconstructing a faith after the breakdown. "Exorcism for dummies", from the famous "for dummies"-series was not quite on topic. Hedion University Press's "Programming for Scientists and Engineers" did not say anything about deprogramming. It made me wonder though, why they make a distinction between scientists and engineers.

Finally I found what I needed in the Theology Council's "Short guide to deprogramming in six parts". Why is it that whenever a book title says "short introduction to..." these turn out to be massive tomes with at least 2000 pages? I think the authors want to brag that their subject is actually so difficult that even a short introduction will take you years to read. Or maybe academic handbook authors are all sarcastic.

Anyway, I could skip the first two parts, "Tome I. Kidnapping the Cultist" and "Tome II. Isolating and Breaking Down the Cultist". Those are better left to MIO professionals. And our cultists are already under guard in the Refugee Center.

Also, I skipped the third part, "Tome III. Discrediting the Cult Leader". I don't think it applied here, Luna is their "leader" against her will. She didn't try to take advantage of these people or lie to them, so I don't see why I have to discredit her. Also, applying Tome III's recipes will land me on the wrong side of an airlock with the book stapled to my chest.

I started with "Tome IV. Presenting contradictions". This is about confronting the false beliefs with reality that contradicts it. Or accounts that contradict it. The book says it is best done by former cult members, and I am glad to say there were some non-believers in the group. They didn't speak out before, because they didn't dare to. But now, encouraged by me, they help. We talk in small groups to the others and expose the nonsense and the contradiction. When Luna feels better, she can contribute to this, by telling people she's not a saint. If she tells it herself, this is much more powerful than when I tell it, and it keeps me on the right side of the airlock.

It's going well, and some groups have already moved on to "Tome V. Encouraging Confession", which is about the cultists themselves voicing their criticism about the cult. After that there's only "Tome VI. Crossing Back to Orthodoxy", which is about the cultists starting to identify themselves with the deprogrammers and seeing themselves as opponents to the cult rather than adherents of it. It is only at this stage that they are ready to see their sins and do penance to rejoin the True Faith.

Lunarism

The last couple of days have been very busy. I was called in for an emergency: a group of cultists arrived in the refugee center and they need to be "deprogrammed". Why this was an emergency -the cluster is full of heretics- was not clear to me, but I went down to the center as soon as I could.

There, it appeared that this particular cult worships our Directrix. Not in a figurative sense; not the benign  admiration that many corporation members have for her. No, they do so obsessively and they adhere to the delusion that she is a prophet of sorts. They were clamoring to see their "savior" and I had the greatest difficulty calming them down initially.

Now, the reader may wonder: what is the origin of Lunarism? 

Apparently, Lunarisse had an industrial plant, I think it was on a gas giant planet in Nibainkier. Seven years ago, she stopped planetary production orders. Probably she assumed that the Nibainkier colony would be simply disbanded, but there must have been a miscommunication. In stead of being evacuated, the colony was left to fend for itself, while colonists were waiting for new orders to come for what must have seemed an eternity.

During the long wait, the figure of Lunarisse as the bringer of goods from outside the colony started to get mythical proportions. Prayers for news from her became prayers to her. Folks were waiting for the coming of Luna like they were waiting for Sefrim to come down and bring deliverance. They adorned the landing pad with effigies of Luna. Megacorp CEO's in the State can only dream about this level of devotion (as I suspect they do).

Needless to say, it all went very wrong. There was a schism when some of them heard propaganda of Nauplius and turned Luna from a saint into a demon. Some sort of civil war ensued. Meanwhile, Luna, not knowing what had transpired, had remembered the planetary industry colony and wanted to check it out. As communications had broken down, she went over to find out what happed. What she found must have been a nasty surprise...

To cut a long story short, the colony is now really disbanded, and the Lunarists have been transported to Mehatoor, where I and lord Garion Avarr face the difficult task of deprogramming them...

War zone patrol

During the attack on Farthest Shore I regretted that I was not able to help more actively with the defense of this structure. I wished to do more.

I have taken a vow of non-agression, which forbids me to inflict damage ("dps") on other capsuleers. And frankly, I prefer peaceful exploration and research to any combat.

I fully intend to keep my vow, and so I must find a role in fleet that allows me to do just that. Logistics, repairing damage done to my fleet mates, fits for me and allows me to keep the vow. Yet I know nothing about fleets: even though I have the repair skills on paper, I have no experience. 

So I was happy that lord Gallus-Onzo organised a teaching fleet and patiently explained to me the basics of remote repairing in practice. That practice was actually a war zone patrol, where I did manage to briefly give repairs, before my little training frigate was primaried. Nevertheless, I was happy to join and experience the talent of lord Gallus-Onzo as a fleet commander and teacher.

Back in Mehatoor, I encountered lord-consort Newelle and lady Yassavi. They appeared congratulatory, content that even a scholar would contribute to the effort in the war zone. I think Lady Yassavi interpreted my participation as if I had finally laid down my fickle powerlessness, and have now embraced the power to harm others.

I'm afraid they have misread my motives. My goal is not the become a warzone soldier - it is to learn logi... I got the impression that lady Yassavi feels power only flows from the barrel of a weapon; this a fallacy all too common in military circles. It disregards the true power which is exerted by diplomats such as Amicia or Lunarisse. Making allies, friends, is what brings victory, in a way that a single pilot or terrorist blinded by the "power" of their gun can never match.

Cat flap

I started installing a cat flap in the door to my quarters, so Mittens can move from the library to my cell freely. 

Drama ensued. 

The station's quarters have a type of sliding doors full of electronics for proximity activation and breach detection. Little did I know I wasn't supposed to use a diamond blade jigsaw on that to make a hole for the cat flap. The breach had been detected, alarms were blaring in some control room, and half a brigade of armed security were moving in, stormtrooper formation.

Apparently there have been some security issues and attacks and such in the past at the Lamp and they're very very jittery. So when the alarms went off of someone sawing through a door they took no risks. But really, a stun grenade? Was that necessary?

And then you would think that they would be happy there was no real emergency this time (except for my eardrums), but no. I was told in a very impolite way to have the door replaced immediately and not to drill through it again.

To be honest, I was going to replace the door anyway. Turns out I hadn't thought it through very well: with the cat flap thing attached to it, the sliding door didn't manage to slide all the way any more, thunking the protruding cat flap against the side and going back and forth. 

Maybe I should make a hole in the wall next too the door?

Mittens settling in

The cat is adapting well to its new environment. My monk's cell is too small for it, so I let her go about in the SFRIM sections of the station, in particular the library. She's been given a tracking chip so I can find her when she would get lost. 

She's a brindle cat with an M on her forehead, and white paws. I've started to call it Mittens because of her paws, and she seems to agree with that name because she responds to it. I don't think she liked being called Saint Snuggles.

Unfortunately, Lunarisse is allergic to cats. It didn't take her long during one of her visits to the library to get full-fledged allergy symptoms... I'll put up a notice and get some extra vacuuming bots for the library, especially when Mittens is shedding fur.

Goodbye Farthest Shore

Farthest Shore is still on my mind today. I wonder why the pirates wanted to get rid of it soo much that they accepted great losses at the hands of our pilots.

The station did not have a flourishing market, being in a dead end system of an out-of the way constellation. It's significance as a reasearch outpost for the Gate has dried up since the coming of a brand new Kor-Azor research outpost. The scientists making observations of the gate prefer the new and state-of-the-art equipment at the new outpost.

Farthest shore did not have a military strategic significance. At least, not as long as Eve Gate doesn't miraculously re-opens, but only the Equilibrium of Mankind death cultists believe that, not the roadside brigands of White Sky.

Being highwaymen, they make a living of robbing and murdering pilgrims and visitors that travel the lonely path through Eve constellation towards New Eden. There are no public stations around for several systems around, so their victims can't dock up... unless they find Farthest Shore. It has a reputation of welcoming visitors. Of course, there are also some murderous psychopaths among the pirate capsuleers, who just wanted to murder for fun. 

But in the end I think that the station thwarted too many of their highway robbery attempts. And, I guess they had to strike now or never, before the Paladin fleet gets integrated in the alliance fleet... 

Anyhow, enough theorizing: I have to go get a litter box and cat litter. Farthest Cat chose a 300k ISK sister's core scanner probe as its favorite toilet substitute.

 

Battle at the Gate

What we feared has happened. Farthest Shore has been destroyed by the enemy, the brigands of White Sky and the pirates of No Forks Given.

Last night's evacuation went well, so the relics and the station clergy and personnel are safe and sound in highsec Empire space. Thank God, there are no civilian victims.

Lumen light brigade squadrons, helped by friends from Brave, stayed behind to face the enemy. And face them fiercely they did. Outnumbered and undershipped, our valiant fleet of assault frigates and harbingers nevertheless tore through the initial waves of attackers, forcing them to reship and bring ever larger vessels into the fray.

A dreadnought! They brought an Eater of Fleets. But Farthest Shore did not surrender. Its fighter pilots and station gunners pounded the dreadnought. The missile tubes of the station glowed red from the constant firing. Assisted by this barrage, the light brigade managed to destroy the dreadnought - making sure that any enemy victory would be pyrrhic at best.

At this point our enemies were out of their doctrine vessels, and were bringing in whatever kitchen sink ship they still had on hand at their barracks in Central Point. Another dreadnought and an Apostle capital ship were brought in. Ah, how close did the station gunners get to destroy it too! Alas, our fleet was getting whittled down from wave after wave of attack, and could achieve no additional miracle.

At 5:39, Farthest Shore's hull collapsed and the station exploded. 

Most of the light brigade fleet succeeded in retreating, using deep safe points that were made during all these years of observation in New Eden.

The last service at Farthest Light

All those that stayed on their post till the last evacuation vessel were gathered in Farthest Light chapel. The clergy and monastics of the Little Sisters of the Most Holy Sword were present. Also some station personnel that did a last sweep through the station attended. The burly barkeep of Farthest Star was still here, eyes wet now that the capsuleer bar has been dismantled and parts shipped off. Some pilots who fight in the battle in a few hours time were also here. I've only seen the pews soo full on one occasion, Luna and Franco's wedding...

The service was sober, and yet intense. There are three relics that sanctify the chapel: a book from Scripture, an artifact dating back from around the time the Gate must have closed, and a relic from saint Junip.They were all transfered to travel reliquaries, according to the prescripted rite of Translation of Relics. 

They were brought in procession to the blockade runner vessel that will fly them to safety, along with the clergy and the last station personnel. I followed in the Ratakh Hubrau.

Now only the pilots and their volunteer crews -knowing very well the risk- remain in the station. Maybe all in all a few hundred souls will spend a short tense night in this vast station, made to easily house tens of thousands.

I felt anguish as I closed the doors of the chapel, maybe for the last time. I will not sleep tonight, rather I will keep a vigil and pray for our soldiers.

Taking in a refugee

I docked up at Farthest Shore. The station looks battered and bruised, but at the same time there is a buildup of energy, nanites ready to repair it.

I don't have a lot of stuff here, mostly artifacts I gathered while exploring the system. I've loaded it all up in the Ratakh Hubrau, double checking that its cloaking modules and warp core are in perfect working order.

Luna has asked me to hold a service at Farthest Shore's chapel and perform a rite of Translation of Relics. The relics that sanctify the chapel will be moved to safety. They will be evacuated along with the clergy that is still around and the last of the station personnel evacuees. As these logs that you read are public, I will not write more about it today, but report on it tomorrow, after hopefully everyone is safe and sound in highsec Empire space.

I've taken on a refugee too, and she will accompany me home in the Ratakh Hubrau.

I found her in a part of the station that was already evacuated, or rather, she found me. 

As Brother Sarachem did not answer my call, I went to check if he is not meditating in his hermit's cell and missed the evac. He chose to live in a part of the station that is rather derelict even in normal times. But now, with the evac, it is downright ghostly there. There's no-one around, and many parts are already in low-power mode. Expensive enough stuff that can be moved has been removed, even from the walls, so some parts look as if they were ransacked.

The doors to Sarachem's cell were powered off, so I had to pry them open. He wasn't there. I couldn't decice what to do with his stuff, but in the end I decided to leave it there. There wasn't much in his ascetic cell anyway. 

I met her when I walked back through the abandoned passageways, not far from the hermit's cell. A scrawny cat, most probably a feral thing that hid in unused spaces. She came up to me and lept up, jumping on me and meowing. Purring when I picked her up, bumping her head against me. 

Animals feel when things are wrong, I am sure this kittycat feels the danger now. Maybe on a normal day she'd shred me if I tried to pet her, but now she treated me as if I was Gheinok himself. 

The other thing is, cats and kittens are my soft spot. They sense that as well. So I could not leave her behind... I brought her on board and fed her. I still have to find a name for her. I lean towards Gates, or maybe Farthest Cat, or maybe I'll ask for suggestions at the next callsign ceremony.

Evacuation notice

Now that Farthest Shore is reinforced to hull, evacuations are taking place of all personnel and equipment that is not strictly necessary for its hull defense.

So, I have sent word to warn my friends in New Eden of the precarious state of Farthest Shore. 

Professor Moriarty, an expert on ultra-high-velocity experimental ships, was in New Eden several months ago. We met and had very pleasant discussions. He taught me the stellar bounce manoeuver. Maybe he still has assets there? He is a bit distracted, almost stereotypical for a professor. I'm afraid any automated message about the hull reinforcement may have been snowed under by urgent messages from his students or his team members. Anyway, I sent him a message.

Then there's Brother Sarachem. He and Father Sartorius belong to the Goner sect that believes in a "Mother Earth" beyond the Gate. The sect is heterodox but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to reach them. They fly to the Gate using corvettes. In between the long flights by which they slowly inch their bookmarks ever closer to the Gate, they rest up in the station, I can see them in the guest manifest. They can be quite... deeply meditating, and may not heed the evacuation notices. I sent a message, but I'm afraid it won't reach them in time.

They stay in parts of the station that are otherwise unused (Farthest Shore is far too big for a system that has as little traffic as New Eden). It helps them find peace and meditate. I'm afraid they will be overlooked. I plan to go over to Farthest Shore to get out some personal stuff I have there, and while I'm there I will check that brother Sarachem is safe.