Logistics experience

I was happy to contribute, a couple of days ago, to LUMEN's efforts against the Blood Raiders. My vow of non-agression restricts me to logistics, but this is a valuable fleet role, and a while ago Lord Garion Avarr suggested I train these skills. Lord Utari Onzo helped me train logistics in practice rather than in theory. Not so long ago, I would never even have dreamt to be mentored by persons of such high station!

The operation against a Blood Raider station went unopposed, so I did not have to send remote repairs to anyone. Nevertheless it was a good exercise for one as inexperienced in fleets as I am.

Back home

I travelled back to Mehatoor, after a stopover in Amarr to sell off stuff that I found while exploring in Deklein. With the loss of the Indagatrix, I had to use my funds to replace the ship. The sell has helped me replenish my ship replacement fund.

Lately, there are too many wars and battles to follow. Having witnesses the eviction of RHP and the destruction of their magnificent Keepstar structure by the Volaens, I stumbled into yet another warzone on my way back from ROIR-Y. Two erstwhile allies, Brave and Test, were bashing eachother to death in the Black Rise region, a sad spectacle. Meanwhile, in the civilized world, LUMEN has been gloriously successful in defeating the Kybernauts in Eruka, and the Blood Raiders in Girani-Fa. 

It was nice to see Mittens again, who practically jumped on to me as she saw me. I think mr. Jensen is glad he could hand his charge back to me, he looked somewhat frayed.

Expedition's end

I have to admit failure. I find more Takmahl relics than here on a bad day in Araz by lifting a random stone and looking under it. I've been out here exploring now for a while, but the expedition has had no success. On top of that, the new local warlords associate me with the Ancien Regime, and I've escaped their attacks narrowly a few times.

Moreover, news has reached me from LUMEN headquarters that war broke out again with the Kybernauts. I'll be needed in the chapel in our Mehatoor, if not for the capsuleers then for their crew or their crew's family. And I plan to continue with the chronicles of our alliance's wars, and want to get first-hand witness reports.

I'll be heading back first the ROIR-Y, to tally up my relic and data site findings, and to pick up my crew. Then, we head back to Mehatoor. The expedition was no success, unfortunately. But I learned from it, and adjust my theories.

Doubt

Still no success. I deployed combat probes this time, hoping to find ancient ships or structures easier. Apart from some hidden modern infrastructure, there was nothing. Or rather, at some point I found a derelict unidentified ship.

Could it be a cryoship? I warped to it, and it looked like some ancient vessel, or at least something made with simpler technology. It had been shot to pieces, and there was nothing useful left to salvage. I analysed the hull remnants, and found that it had been attacked by Guristas. So, the timeframe is wrong. It is probably a recent vessel from some backward planet abandoned colonists that got blown up.

I am starting to think I may have been wrong.

The wheel of fortune

Another day of exploration without success. Perhaps I was wrong about Sabik cryoships heading here...

On my way back to RIOR-Y I stopped by the place where the RHP keepstar was. It is gone. Nothing left but small rubble, the larger pieces have been removed already, and of course any useful loot is long gone. It is humbling to see how such a large structure, that put me in awe of its large hangars and endless spires just a week ago, has so quickly been evacuated, abandoned, and destroyed. How quickly the new order brings down what the once-mighty built!

Hah, to think that I was offered ownership of the doomed edifice for 235 billion! I felt in my bones that it was a ripoff. It was partly an offer to involve Amarr in their lost war, and partly a way to get cash to help them rebuild in Impass, where they planned to flee too. Of course, I was protected against any foolishness by my vow of poverty, praise be to St. Tal-Romon.

Continued exploration

The nullifier device worked as a charm. The Blobbites has set up a camp in the 8S28-3 system, and plastered the gate grid with interdiction bubbles. I was able to go straight through and land on the gate without harm coming to me. The only drawback of the device is that it has a relatively long cooldown time before it can be reactivated. For that it is still nice to have a safe spot to park and hide while it gets ready to work again.

I have been able to continue my exploration unhindered. However, I still did not find any hoped-for trace of the Takmahl. I did find a Tetrimon base, and relayed my thanks for saving my crew. They answered along the lines of "you're welcome but now shut up and don't use covert frequencies." 

Interdiction nullifiers

Every capsuleer death is a teaching moment. The unfortunate incident getting caught by an interdiction bubble has taught me about a device on the market to counter the effect of bubbles: the interdiction nullifier. 

The Indigatrix II is now equipped with one. The salesperson who traded it to me extolled its virtues and explained its use. Basically, I should activate it before warp, and then the warp interdiction bubble can't stop my ship any more. The only difficulty is that I cannot activate it while cloaked (unless it is a gate cloak). So, the order to activate the modules is: interdiction nullifier, warp, and cloak. Even if the nullifier deactivates before I reach my destination, the salesperson assures me its effect will carry me through. I will continue my exploration, hoping that this device works fine.

I am not taking the crew along for my next round of exploration in the pentagram subconstellation. So, I'll be somewhat more sluggish and will need more time doing some tasks. A couple of the most loyal crewmembers want to go back to their posts and are pushing the others, but I also sense hesitation in some of these others. That is very understandable so short after surviving the attack and waiting for rescue in their escape pods. So I stood firm, I do not want to risk any more lives, I will go alone. 

The crew's tale

I arrived back at the Sisters of Eve bureau in ROIR-Y. I met up with the survivors, and we visited my injured crewmember who is still recovering in the Sister's medical facility on station. There is a "worship room" in the hospital, a neutral quiet space suitable for any religion to pray and meditate. We held a ceremony there for the crew that passed away. 

After that we went to the station's food court, to the noodle place where the RHP diplomat took me. Ah, that seems ages ago now, in stead of days - is that the effect of clone death? Anyhow, they ate and drank and we talked about what happened. They told me a remarkable story. 

Their escape pods were not picked up by a rescue vessel from the Sisters of Eve, as I had imagined. Rather, they were rescued by warships of the Order of Tetrimon, that detected the Amarrian-type distress signal from their escape pods. Warships? I couldn't quite believe it at first. But they were adamant: the Order has bases in this region of space now. God knows why they establish outposts all the way out here! 

Of course, it is not my place to ask or speculate, but the crew offered a possible explanation that they got from their rescuers. It seems the Order knows about the Blooder presence and is hunting them also out here, at least for the time being. The crew received first aid by the Tetrimon, and the rescued survivors were then dropped off at the Sisters' station by a Tetrimon knight posing as a miner.

The crew also told me that the victory of the Voltans and Blobbites over RHP is now complete. A large RHP evacuation fleet has set sail: they are moving far away to the south, to the Impass region, with all their belongings. They will try and resettle there. Probably their spiritual needs came forth from facing adversity. Barbarians only pray to God when they need him to help.

As for the remaining missionary that came along with us, he was gone and took the scripture datapads with him. He has checked out of his quarters. He must have left around the time that the news broke of the Indigatrix's destruction. Whether he boarded a ship to go back home, or whether he left with the RHP caravan to Impass to preach the faith to them, I do not know. 

Disaster strikes

I continued my exploration of the pentagram pocket. The Voltans and their "We form Blob" allies are busy destroying the RHP structures, and left me alone. I still did not find any traces of the Takmahl, but to my surprise I found a Blood Raider data network node that is active. This is far away from the Blood Raider bases in Delve, so I see it as an interesting clue. Indeed, their presence can point to a historical connection with this remote area, corroborating my theory that Sabik cryoships arrived here long ago. I dismantled the node and took the evidence with me to bring back to the attention of the MIO.

I could no longer use the RHP Keepstar freeport in E3UY-6, as it is under attack and being evacuated, so I decided to return to my original base of operations, the Sisters of Eve station in ROIR-Y.

The war fleets in their cat-and-mouse games place interdiction bubbles at the warp gates, in the direction from incoming warp gates. So I avoided coming in from a straight line, and took care to warp to a safe or a celestial first. But in E-9ORY, a mere two systems out from my destination, disaster struck. There were interdiction bubbles also at unlikely angles to the gate, and my ship was stopped dead amidst hostile forces. I could not use the cloak, as the electrical storm was still raging. It took them a bit of time to lock me up, time used to try and get the crew to eject in the escape pods. But for me and the ship it was too late.

Moments later, I woke up in a new clone, disoriented and worried for the survival of the crew. My death had set into motion a chain of events designed to get me back in a ship as fast as possible. The insurance money was paid, and a business representative on Amarr received the message to activate buy orders of a list of equipment to be installed in a new Anathema hull. I got on board of a shuttle and flew over to Amarr making best speed.

While in transit to Amarr, I received the news that six of the eight crewmembers survived, and were now in the care of the Sisters of Eve in their station in ROIR-Y. One of the survivors is badly injured, the other five are shaken and somewhat bruised but for the rest OK. The remaining two of my crew are confirmed dead. Gerulf, my cloak technician, stayed too long onboard trying to overcome the interference from the electrical storm, and his brother Arnulf, a hangar worker, would not leave without Gerulf. My prayers are with them and their family.

Having reached Amarr and boarded the Indigatrix II, I am now flying over to ROIR-Y to meet up with the survivors.

It is not clear to what warring faction, if any, our murderer was linked. From his name, I would suspect RHP, but from the region he was in, it could be Volta. Or, maybe it is more likely that he is an assassin working for the Blood Raiders. While I did not have the gifts of technology for the barbarian warlords on board, nor the missionary, I did have the evidence I gathered on Blooder presence in the Deklein region with me. That precious intelligence data has been destroyed.

Change of power

I have started the exploration of the pentagram constellation, from my forward base, the E3UY-6 keepstar. The pentagram pocket is quiet, so I could look around and make some safe spots for hiding. However, I did not find any traces of Takmahl today. None of the five systems showed signs of their presence. 

There are some stations, but they are not accessible to me. However, now that I am in their space, it has become more easy to converse to leading members of RHP. I was able to talk to a warlord called Nelson Higgins, who is part of the leadership cabal of RHP. 

He was open to my requests, but said that RHP is leaving the region. They are losing the war against Volta, and are keeping up resistance for the moment only in order to evacuate their assets. The stations are either under attack or being dismantled. I am free to use the keepstar, but according mr Higgins it would make no sense for me to stay around long in it, nor one of their other stations in Deklein. Moreover he cannot make promises of safe passage while armies of both sides are battling each other and many opportunistic brigand or vulture are waiting to strike anyone left in the power vacuum.

So, it seems I will soon have to negotiate with new warlords, who will no doubt see me as an infiltrator collaborating with their old enemies...

The Keepstar

Early this morning, I set off with my loyal crew and the one remaining missionary. There is a fifteen jump trek towards my destination and the idea was to scout out the route, and possibly create some safe spots along the way. These are not only good as hiding places, but also allow to jump towards the gate from an unexpected angle and thus hopefully avoid warp disruption bubbles and other traps by highwaymen.

Unfortunately, we hit stormy weather. The exotic matter storm is still raging, and a few systems out this was exacerbated by an electrical storm. This was what I feared: in the electrical storm, the Indigatrix's cloaking does not work. This was of course used by hunters in the system, there were combat probes everywhere on d-scan.

We made it unscathed trough the region affected by the storm. However, as we were getting closer to the border of "RHP", the  Respect Honor Passion alliance, there was a marked increase in mercenary gangs associated with their rivals, "Volta". A large troupe of their warriors, under the banner of "we form blob" (really, the names in these parts...) was in 8S28-3. One system onward, in E3UY-6, there was a fleet of RHP ready to face off the Volta's.

In that system, I saw one of the largest privately held structures I ever encountered. A "keepstar" station, owned by RHP. It is immense, two large towers with living quarters and offices connected to a base with large hangars. The thing would dwarf Farthest Shore. It is a freeport, so I could dock up - I wanted to meet the locals. It had been under recent attack, and was reinforced into armor.

The commander of this immense station is a capsuleer named Leutnant Odin. I had the pleasure to briefly meet him - we from the core worlds are certainly a curiosity here. He tried, and I cannot emphasize how weird this was, to sell me the station. Lock, stock and barrel. For a mere 235 billion isk, a good price according the the lieutenant. I think RHP is losing the war, and cannot hold their keepstar... It also may be another attempt to bring in the Amarr Empire on their side. 

These lands are ripe for the picking. If the Empire wants, they could reclaim these parts with just a bit of divide and conquer strategy. And they must be not completely devoid of industry, otherwise they could not have built the massive structure in E3UY-6.

Outer rim diplomacy

The meeting with the diplomat did not go as well as I'd hoped.

We met in the food court of the Sisters of Eve station. Their station in ROIR-Y is what you'd expect at the frontier: it is patched together from stuff that can be found locally and from whatever can be traded in these forlorn parts. It is not smooth and polished like the new AIR stations, but it consists of a collection of panels and machinery from all four empires that somehow got welded together and interfaced. Not always successfully, the hangars have loose cables and pipes and broken lighting here and there.

Walekh Hemanseh, the diplomat, is a jovial man of Amarrian ancestry. He has facial piercings and a wide mouth that from time to time opens up for a bellowing laugter. He speaks a Dekleinian dialect, but no standard Amarrian or any of the other Empire's languages. As they do not have universal translator devices, he brought a human translator with him. This translator is a henchman he calls Mike, and who speaks very rudimentary Amarrian. Mike also carries a gun and a large knife, and I think he was high on Frentix.

We sat down in a small diner, and were served steaming bowls of noodles with chunks of undefinable meat, and a piece of dried out bread. The conversation was not easy, Mike was not always able to understand what I said. And he cut his lip trying to use the big knife to eat pieces of meat out of his noodle bowl. 

It soon became clear that Walekh cannot represent the Federation of Honor Passion Respect Alliance as a whole. He works for the Honor Passion Respect coalition, which is a small part of the alliance. His chieftain, for which he works as a diplomat, rules one star system far away from where I need to be, and they also have a wormhole operation.

He wanted to hire me not as a priest but as a diplomat to the Empire. Their alliance is at war with "We Form Volta", yet another outer space independent barony that contests their sovereignty. He hoped I could get the Empire to come and help them to fight against Volta. He boasted that he had slaves and would give them to me as part of the deal. I had to disappoint him. Truly, these "diplomats" in the outer worlds are very naive and unrefined.

The only positive thing that came out of our conversation was that he assured me that indeed his people are in need of spiritual guidance, and he accepted a shipment of scripture datapads. Two of the missionaries will go with him, the third one wants to go deeper into the unknown. I am keeping the supercomputers, the nuclear reactor, most of the holoreels, and two crates of scripture datapads for later on. 

I will have to proceed without "laissez-passez" from the local warlords.

Travel to the frontier

Things have accelerated ever since I got a reply from the Dekleinian diplomat.

The Indagatrix was prepared and ready for take off a while ago, so I could leave immediately. Or almost: while she was loaded with gifts for the barbarians, I now took on board also a shipment of missionary material - datapads with scripture, books and holoreeds on the faith, a few relics for a starter chapel. I also picked up three guests at the Theology Council Law School in Gheth, missionaries that I got into contact with after my message to the Theology Council.

I am setting up a basecamp for my exploration in ROIR-Y in the Pure Blind region. The Sisters of Eve have a station orbiting the second planet, and it is open to the public. It is probably the last publicly accessible station before the empty wastelands of Fade and Deklein, a battered frontier outpost, peering into the dark beyond.

The flight over there went smoothly, except for the last part where we flew through a exotic matter storm. It fills space with a sickly greenish mist, and will make warp disruptors more effective. That's not as bad as an electrical storm which would deactivate my cloaking, but it was enough scare my passengers.

I've arranged a meeting with the diplomat here.

A reply

The spiritual needs in the outer worlds are far greater than I could anticipate.

Finally, I found a diplomat that has not yet been executed by his master, and he replied to my letter as follows:

you are the best guy in Eve I have ever met in the game!!!!
You've got it down with the roleplaying! chapeau!
I need guys like you.
Could you imagine offering your wonderful services to me?
I would be happy if you would at least think about it.
We can discuss details of your services in Teamspeak.
I remain in hopeful expectation of a positive answer

They are clearly overwhelmed, and overexcited. They must be unaccustomed to contact with the core worlds. 

Also it appears that they desperately need clerics, and ecclesiastical services. Missionary work tends to focus on more highly populated regions rather than the desolate edge of our cluster. The barren regions with not much souls to reclaim are neglected. I have written a letter about this to the Theology Council, and also contacted archbishop Constantin Baracca. He is famous for leading the missions in Minmatar space, and he knows how to preach to a rough crowd.

My expedition started purely as a scientific mission of exploration, but now it seems I must add a strong component of peaceful reclamation and promotion of our faith. The ground in Deklein is ready for sowing and yearning for the seed. May God help me and grant me that I can baptize some warlords there! 

But let me not get carried away. First, I must figure out this "Teamspeak". It is a communications program on Galnet. Phoenix Naval System uses it for their operation comms, so it is probably safe.

Family visit

I returned back to Mehatoor today, but not before visiting family here in Kothe.

That was not easy.

My elderly mother stays at a service flat that was funded by the Dulcia Foundry, but now that I'm a capsuleer I can provide for it. Dad died long ago. The Sisters of the Blessed Age help out with household work like cleaning and cooking, and with their help mother retains a lot of independence. However, she's never quite forgiven me for joining an asteroid monastery. Usually, a cleric is the pride of the family, but if you're an only son it is different. You get blamed for abandoning your mother, and for not providing any grandchildren. That makes a visit difficult. Even more so because I was not able to visit during my secluded stay at the monastery, and I postponed visiting as a capsuleer.

I am glad I finally visited. Even though I got scolded for being a bad son... 

I will try to go there more often.

Canonization and miracles

Among the brothers there is a hope that our dear abbot will be canonized. Unfortunately, this is more of an expression of our admiration and love for the abbot, and not a realistic short-term expectation.

Canonization is preceded by a long and difficult process. Many stages must be traversed, where sainthood is the last and highest level that can be attained. Indeed, just as our station in life is subject to hierarchies, our holiness after life is subject to hierarchies too. First one proceeds through the ranks of the venerable and then the blessed before reaching the ranks of the saints. In principle, each stage requires a petition and an investigation according to the Codex Iuris Canonici, and a subsequent approval by the Theology Council's office for the Causes of Saints. As a result, few new saints are nowadays added at the Empire-wide level, although locally everywhere there are people who are venerated as unofficial saints.

In particular, almost always there has to be a miracle which must be attributed to the intercession of the candidate-saint. But, just like our life and our afterlife, there is a hierarchy of miracles as well.

"Top" miracles, miracula quoad substantiam, achieve something that is completely impossible in nature, like the resurrection of the dead. Saint Jamyl's return constitutes a good example. Note that resurrections have become more difficult to prove, given cloning.

"Second tier" miracles, miracula quoad subjectum, do something that in principle does not go against natural law, but nevertheless cannot not be achieved by the subject. Regrowing a chopped off limb or shattered organ is now more difficult to prove as (second tier) miracle, since technology could have replaced the candidate-saint's intercession. However, the appearance of a speaking dog would still count.

"Lower tier" miracles, miracula quoad modum, do something that nature can do in principle, but simply not in that particular way. For example someone who heals from a disease that cannot be cured yet by modern medicine, after touching a relic.

Sometimes I think that we just miss many miracles happening around us, because we don't pay attention and attribute things that happen to alien technology or coincidence. We shrug off the miraculous, and in doing so have become somewhat deaf to God's direct messages.

Goodbye to my guide and teacher

Sad news has drawn me away from Mehatoor this week.

Abbot Bavo, my guide and my superior at the asteroid monastery where I spent most of my live, has passed away at the tender age of 223. He was a wise man, always caring for his monks and doing everything to lead them closer to God. His main character trait was compassion. Not the kind of compassion that goes along with pity and resignation. The kind of compassion that makes one get up and help.

This saintly man showed me monastic life, and it is because of his teachings that I decided all those years ago to renounce a worldly life and become a monk.

The order held a vigil and a ceremony in one of our main monasteries in Kador, on Kothe XI, rather than on the asteroid monastery where he was Abbot. I think they wanted to make it possible for members from systems farther away to go to a more accessible location. But I can't shake the feeling that abbot Bavo would have preferred his own secluded surroundings as a final resting place.

I went there, and participated in the three-days vigil at the cathedral where he was laid in state. After these days of prayer and contemplation, he was laid to rest in the cathedral's catacombs. 

Even though the past days have been marked by grief and sadness, there was also a good aspect. It brought me back in contact with many of my Brothers, whom I have not seen for almost two years. Joining them in prayer, sharing simple meals in communal fashion, and listening to the stories of what happened to them, brought great comfort and pleasure. 

Dear Abbot, I am grateful for this final gift of bringing us back together.

Still No News

Still no news from the Dekleinians, it is frustrating.

Perhaps they have been cut off from the core worlds for so long that Amarr has become a myth and they are stunned by a missive from within the Empire? Or think it is a trap? More likely the diplomat that I wrote to has already been strung up on the highest branch of some tree by a fickle and vicious chieftain and my letter arrived in a dead man's mailbox. I will send it to another diplomat on their list.

Surprisingly, it appears they still have access to galnet, and even a chat channel, no doubt tenuously relayed back to the core worlds. I can attempt to start a discussion there if the second letter does not elicit any response either.

If all else fails, I am of a mind to go out there anyway, permission or not. 

Thing is, now I have bought two nuclear reactors and two supercomputers for these barbarians. What will I do with this junk? Also, I bought a bunch of holoreels. Expensive ones! Educational ones. The Amarr News Network's much lauded 393rd remake of the "History of The Empire" series. It is the most recent version completely edited and approved by the MIO. And I also have all 220 episodes of the series "Scripture in Moving Pictures", in a collector's edition no less. 

Ingrates.

A day of remembrance

It has been one year since the Triglavian invaders formed Pochven. And, although we beat back the Kybernauts, the core Empires are still far from reconquering the lost systems. So, it was a day of remembrance, a day to renew our resolve.

The occasion was made even more special since our beloved Empress personally officiated prayers in the Grand Basilica of St. Gheinok! I put up a screen in the chapel to follow the memorial for our righteous martyrs live. It warms the heart and the soul to see the Empress and to hear the wisdom of her words.

There weren't many capsuleers present, though. Most of them are in Yulai tonight, for a kind of international remembrance event at the seat of power of EDENCOM, where a new monument was unveiled...

Meanwhile, I sent off  my missive to the diplomat of the wildling king of the north, and I'm eagerly awaiting their answer.

The wrong scratching pole

I've been looking for someone to take care of Mittens while I'm away on expedition. Mr. Jensen volunteered, and I was surprised. Mittens is fascinated by the slow movement of mr. Jensen. I think she first assumed that he was stalking prey, moving slowly so as to better pounce on, say, a library user with overdue books. She mimics him, sitting a crouched position, with her head outstretched and gaze fixed, moving slowly towards him, and enjoying the game.

While this is innocent, she has also been using his leg as a scratching pole at times, and I've had to scold her severely for that. But despite shredded legs, mr. Jensen seems to have bonded with the cat and I am grateful that he will take care of her during my absence.