The right choice.

OOC: I've wanted to write this post for some time, infact it's taken nearly two months of writing and re-writing over and over again to get to a position where I've been happy to publish it. Yes it's going to be a bit TL;DR for some short attention span types, doubly yes it's full of inaccuracies from a meta-knowledge point of view. What this is, right or wrong, is merely one man's opinion on something very close to his heart. Enjoy.


The sound of a recorder clicks on, little noise is heard, save for the feint crackling of an open fireplace and light breathing. This is broken briefly by the noise of glass chiming as a bottle comes into contact with a shot glass, as liquid can be heard trickling in. The thud of the bottle gently setting down on the table is prelude to the sound of Caellach drinking the glass' contents, before letting out a small sigh as he set the glass down upon the table.

Beginning recording, open log.


I don't often let my thoughts wander publicly, usually only after a few drinks and that never ends well. But in my time travelling the cluster and people asking about my story, they always follow their initial intrigue with the same line.

"Why the Angel Cartel?"

It's a question that gets pushed onto me by cynics and doubters. People who believe through blindness and indoctrination that they're better than me, because they simply take orders from a different mouth. One that a collective organisation has deemed a part of their society.

But who truly is in the right? What Government, what organisation in this damned bit of space can honestly raise their hand and claim to be a pillar of virtue? I hear all too often everyone's opinion about my decisions, it would only be fair to answer that question with my own opinion of everyone else. So you've been warned, this isn't what I've been told to say, nor does it reflect anyone else's thoughts but my own. So don't go running to my boss if you think I've said something nasty about you.

So where to begin, CONCORD? They're but a smoke and mirror, promising security and safety to all who follow their laws, and yet have been seen freely shooting at anyone who crosses their path in lawless space, no different to Pirates. Shooting first and asking questions second, not discriminating their guns are trained on anyone.

The Federation? Please, under Foirtain it was a promise of great hope and virtue quietly ruled by an iron grip kept hidden in the Shadows, unbeknown to the general public who were too busy feeding at the tidbits he threw them. His lapdog Blacque was taking the very ideals that made the Federation the beacon of hope it should be, and freely pissed on them as he went about his immoral actions. Now we have a President for whom many never voted, who has yet but to raise a finger and already looks good by the actions of others whom he hasn't assisted, and he's ready to take credit for their hard actions. A warmonger with a war already prepared for him and ready to drive the Federation into endless strife to settle feuds that should have died ages ago.

On the other side of the Warzone you have the Caldari, a society that values people by little more than how much they're worth, and how much more they're worth when you use and then discard them. A society baying for blood over events they weren't alive to be enraged about, with some crazed flavour of the year at the head saying what they want to hear, and leading them to their own damnation. The Gallente will never destroy the Caldari, the Caldari will never destroy the Gallente, a pointless war that has a pointless ending. Doubly so when the Caldari is more likely to destroy itself through its petty greed and obsession for the almighty ISK.

A small pause can be heard, as bottle meets glass once again, liquid flows and another mouthful of drink is consumed before Caellach continues on.

Then we come to the Amarrians. What moral right, religious bullshit aside, can any race who believes they have the right to enslave free people claim? They are as immoral and as hypocritical as anyone comes. They claim to be doing the work of their God, and by doing so they feel it right to act as masters to their equals. Are they trying to worship their God or emulate him in some blasphemous fantasy? They are bullies, and little more, yet in one of life's more beautiful ironies, they are also slaves themselves. They believe their religion with such fanaticism and are so well indoctrinated by those controlling them with its lies, that they dare not question it but simply accept it and believe it.

They are puppets themselves, their strings pulled by their own masters who make them leap and dance to their merry tune, without question or refusal. It is those at the top of this chain of deceit who truly run the show, not some figurehead whose story is as plausible as the rest of their fantasy storytales. Those behind the curtain, secretly turning the cogs and weaving the fabric of illusion, they inspire and order others to commit atrocities by filling their heads with lies. Beyond who or what lies at the nerve center of the Sansha following, there is no greater evil than those at the heart of the Amarrian Empire.

This is an evil that spreads itself into a corruption of power further afield. You only need to look at the CVA and its hypocrisies when it comes to whom it allows and disallows within its borders. To be free of pirates and yet to shoot on those who come with peaceful intentions, yet fly with those CONCORD and their own Empires deem to be outlaws at their side. They are victims of Amarrian indoctrination turned into a weapon that threatens to engulf the outlying systems. Their pride is a great boon but will ultimately lead to their downfall, they can only bite on so much before they find they find it impossible to swallow.

Then we come to the Matari, a race you would think to have done little wrong, a race that instead has suffered a great deal for no reason, and yet survived. Admirable traits, but those who fail to see the bigger picture are only satisfied with what they have done, not what they should do. The Matari are held back from their obligations to themselves and the cluster by one thing. Fear.

They fear the Amarr, it is that fear that has stopped them from launching a second wave of justified vengeance, from penetrating the rot at the heart of the Amarrian Empire and cutting it out. All because they fear some overblown figurehead, or more her great weapon of unexplainable origin which has never been seen since the last time. Surely if the Amarrians still had such a weapon they would have used it to "reclaim" all worlds and systems by now, as they keep saying their God commands them to.

The Amarr should fear the Matari, each of them should be sleeping at night with one eye open, praying to their God for safety in fear of the vengeance that should be inflicted upon them. But they are not, they live carefree in the knowledge that the Matari will not act because of something that has become little more than superstition. The Matari hold themselves back from being what they should be, and those bystanders who refuse to act are no better off than those committing the atrocities.

Thankfully not all Matari are as weak willed as their Leadership. There are many out there in defiance who band together despite the apathy they are given as an example by their Elders. The methods of some are questionable, are they terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Are the people they fight against, and the cause they're fighting for justification for their actions? This is where you draw a line between what's truly right and compromising for the greater good, something I do all too often with the Cartel.

But it's not just people like Electus Matari and Ushra'khan, in all the races of the Empires there are those who defy the status quo their Governments set. There are many who refuse to back the trend of wrong doings that their leadership, who become the exception to the rule.

I've often thought about my own CEO Marcus Gord, and how he's become pretty much a good friend as well as a trusted associate. The Caldari and the Gallentian, two men sharing drinks and without any racial hatred between them, indoctrinations long worn off and them both able to see each other for what they do. Not to mention he's got more moral fiber when it comes to dealing with people than probably the entire directorship of any Caldari Megacorporation.

But for those like EM and UK, like Marcus, to me these are truly the great people of the cluster, and sadly the ones whom are forced to often operate without the support from the Empires that they would benefit from.

Another pause, for another drink. This time though the pause is longer, the sigh heavier as a second shot is poured and consumed before Caellach continues on.


So one must look beyond the Empires and toward the outlaws. Growing up on the mining rigs gave me plenty of experience with the Serpentis, thugs in labcoats. If they're not bullying the locals they're selling them the latest addictive substances, caring little that it'll lead to kids dying in the streets and nightclubs that evening. Scum the lot of them, and not even likable scum. I'd be ashamed to admit a sly grin curls across my lips each time I blow one of their ships apart, but they're a scourge of greed and apathy on the cluster.

The Sansha aren't even worth the time to explain about, bunch of twisted zombie freaks. The Serpentis might be scum, there's not a word degrading enough for the Sansha that comes to mind, and I'd gladly see their extinction at any cost. I'm not a man who believes in the harming of innocents, but I will always believe in a greater good. To me, there is no cost great enough to see their ilk removed forever.

The Blooders are no greater than the Amarrians, and mix their own twisted version of the great lie with an excuse to indulge in their sick hedonistic pleasures. I'm not sure they'd ever consider themselves any form of virtue or right, beyond self serving their own perverted needs.

The Guristas are little more than street thugs, often you could say Rebels without a cause. A prime example of Caldari failings when their own well trained Military turns against them, and as amusing as it is to watch, how can one condone what is honestly little more than the Space equivalent of armed muggers in backstreets in some run down city area? They're a brutal and often effective, but with little moral conscience other than to watch out for their own, at the expense of everyone else.


Then you've the Equilibrium of Mankind, another collective of fanatics who go even further than the Blood Raiders to prove how dangerous the Amarrian lie is. How religion can be twisted and construed to serve any one person's purpose, and how it can be projected on others to guide them down near any path. This Death Cult is a mistake of the Amarrian Empire, but that does not excuse what it acts out in any way. Terrorists with no love for life as they so freely seek to slaughter innocent civilians each day in their attacks.


So yes, while members of the Cartel may have a hand in Slavery, and while I am forced to compromise against my will and turn a blind eye at times, there is much they offer me. A platform upon which to do good work across the Cluster, helping out the innocent and defenceless wherever they may be. That I can prove, just like those people I spoke of before, that it is not who you are, or in this case who you associate with, but what you do that you are judged by.

Are CONCORD happy to let a member of the Cartel roam freely across their patrolled space? Not really, there's been a few interesting words said in communication from time to time, but can they justify attacking me in a region of space where the public has a fixed eye on them? No, as long as I stay on the right side of the law I'm untouchable to them, and every action I take has given them little choice but to bolster my rights to operate where I please.

With that right of freedom, my association to the Cartel and not to the Federation for example gives me the chance to operate where I like without the worry of disapproval simply because I helped the wrong people in their eyes. History has documentation of the Cartel providing humanitarian aid and relief before, in various locations and different Empires. Without the bullshit of diplomatic relations holding me back, I can help Civilians pretty much where I want.

Finally though, the Cartel shares a vision of mine I previously stated. To eradicate the presence of the Sansha Nation, and they have the wealth and logistics to fund such an effort that I could not simply do alone.


And that is the reason I do not work alone, why I choose a side in all of this instead of going independent. I fight with my conscience over the compromises I make each day; knowing that the Serpentis fund the coffers of other orders of the Cartel, knowing I am associated with known Slavers. Yes the Cartel is itself a creator of wrongs, but at least they're honest about what they do, and do not hide behind excuses and lies to justify their actions.

Infact that brings to an interesting point. In Naraka there is a rather notorious Slaver, and until a couple of weeks ago I had not even made so much as exchanged greetings. This was not by circumstance but by choice, I have no need to associate directly with nor aid or require the assistance of Slavers in any matter.

Infact this particular Slaver was the one who approached me a couple of weeks ago in the Skyhook on matters regarding a mutual friend, a co-worker of mine. An interesting side note, I had just started composing this entry the first time around when they approached me, such as it is that I have wanted my thoughts properly documented here. I made my stance clear that I had nothing more of interest to discuss with them and should the situation ever change, which it won't, I will let them know. I make compromise by tolerating their presence, but that's where I draw the line and it's still further than I'd like to go.


Glass clinks together once more, the sound of liquid however does not follow. A heavy sigh of disappointment is heard as both glass and bottle are set down on the table heavily.


But on the subject of independents, even among them there are those who are a failing upon this cluster. Mercenaries who take on any job, for any person, as long as the price is right. Where ISK becomes a greater value than life itself once again.

Another group of independents are the so-called power brokers, people of little worth but great self important value. They shout as loud as possible till the noise is impossible to be ignored and you're forced to listen to their rumours and half heard truths. Their knowledge little more than snippets of conversations that are either lost in translation or faded with history. They seek the value of fame and importance while doing little more than be a leech on society, playing games with those weak enough to not shut out the noise and let them rant to themselves. I've little time nor will to ever become a gossip King.

In truth the few people who successfully operate independently do so because they've amassed the excess wealth and resources to achieve this. But in truth they still require connections, favours, friends in certain places to get their goals done. I haven't the resources, the wealth nor the connections and would only ever find myself indebted to multiple groups of people and in a position where I'd run the risk of compromising my ideals further than I would ever allow myself, because I owed people favours. With the Cartel, with Naraka, there is a mutual understanding of where I draw the line, and this isn't challenged or deemed unsatisfactory.

In conclusion I believe there is no "good" force out in this endless mess of Space. There are no pillars of virtue, only various degrees of "evil" and in my choice I know I have not only sided with one of the lesser evils, but the one that allows me to do the right thing more so than any other choice would grant me.

And that is why I compromise to align myself with the Cartel.

Recording ends.

Click.

Deja Vu

Private Audio Log entry, password SJ111 SK104



Beginning playback of ship log: Sanguinary Judicator - Azhgabid : 18/12/111

-------------------------------------------

Armour holding stable sir, no less than at 95%

Good, more power to the Engines, let's chase the last of these Frigates down.

Understood sir, compensating now.

Captain Marellus sir, we've a lot of Radio chatter coming in, seems the Serps have called for Reinforcements.

Let them come, should be nothing more than we can manage. Let's switch to the Battleships, how's the Shield recharge coming along.

Slow sir, but we never expected it to be at all stellar, the armour's holding solid though.

Break, sir we've got incoming.

Numbers?

I count eight to ten Sir, mixture of Frigates and Battleships, they're locking us.

She can take it, proceed as normal.

They're jamming our warp engines Sir.

We won't need them till they're dead anyway, continue as normal.

Sir, there's an issue, their fire is much higher than we're use to for Serpentis ships.

Can we handle it?

It'll be close Sir so long as the reppers run we shoul... shit..

Engineering, what the hell's going on down there.

Sir everything's cutting out.

What do you mean cutting out?

The repairers sir, they're not responding.

Damage increasing sir.

Compensate as best you can, overload the guns we need those Frigates out soon.

Sir we can handle this.

Then get handling it already!

Armour dropping to sixty five percent.... fifty five.

I can't keep the repairers stable.

The hell are you lot doing down there?

Thirty Five percent..

Sir the Frigates are too small for our fire.

Fifteen percent!

Set all crew to Abandon shi...


Log Ends.

-------------------------------------------------

There is a sighing noise followed by a pause of silence.

Two months.. they had two months of checking it over. Those damn Godheads insistent on their technicians and crew running the ship had two months to make sure they'd got the hang of the damn technology.

And in four days their oversights on electrical faults left her nothing more than a crippled hulk. The Eternal Guardian rescued her, the damage was intense and some parts of it were beyond repair. Her crew was lost, useless the lot of them, won't be missed.

The Empire doesn't know she was recovered, if they did they'd send more of their useless Godheads down to make the same errors again. Only my most trusted crew members have been given access to the Hangar she's stationed in. Heck even the system isn't publicly known, I won't rule out the option of sabotage last time.

I didn't rule it out the time before either did I.


There is the sounds of a datapad chiming as various commands are entered into it.


Beginning playback of ship log: UoC S24 22/07/104

--------------------------------------------------------

UoC S24 this is ground control, you're clear to launch.

Roger that ground control, engaging launch thrusters in three, two, one. Thrusters engaged.

All systems look fine on the ground here, heat levels stable, inertia stable.

We have lift off, elevating to twenty five thousand feet.

Understood, proceed along the planned course at two seven zero and proceed along the premarked course at three hundred.

Copy that ground control, proceeding along the course now.
Approaching first marker in three...two...one... Marker passed.

Noted 24, you're looking good out there, continue as planned.

Approaching second marker in three...two..one.. Marker passed.

24 we're showing some odd readings in your starboard engine. Check and confirm all systems intact.

Ground control, sensors show nothing here. Fuel lines are connected, engine stable with no loss of propulsion.

Alright 24, keep one eye on the sensors.

Will do Ground control. Approaching third beacon in three..two..

The chat is broken up by a sharp beeping noise.

Ground control this is 24, computers are saying the Starboard engine has cut, ship velocity has gone down, thrusters are not responding.


Copy that 24, we've got the same data on our screens. Refire the engine from a cold start, and cut and reignite the thrusters.

Roger that ground control.

There is a moment of silence before multiple alarms go off on both sides of the communication.

Ground control this is 24, Starboard engine has exploded, wing has taken heavy damage.

Roger that 24, turn down Port engine and use the thrusters for an emergency landing.

Negative Ground control, thrusters not responding. Ship is entering a spin, Starboard wing has gone.

24, eject now. Eject.

There is a brief pause of silence once more, before a very quiet shaken voice comes over the communique.

Cael, the hatch is jammed, the eject sequences aren't responding... I can't get out!

Understood 24, try to stay calm.

Cael I'm losing altitude, she's going down fast, twenty thousand feet and it's going faster!

Sahrii, stay calm alright, now listen, can you reverse the port engine to try and get the Shuttle stable? We're going for an emergency crash landing, there's a deep water source seventy five off your Starboard.

A-alright, I'll try... it's responding but the velocity isn't slowing down. She won't survive the landing.... ten thousand.... five thousand...

Sahrii...

Cael, help me, he...


Log ends.

-----------------------------------------------------

There is an uneasy silence, broken by panicked breathing and sniffling. Eventually broken by a deep sigh.


Another fault, it was checked over time and time again without ever being detected. I should know, I checked it. I've gone through the logs, my staff have gone through the logs, nothing to hint to the electrical failures that put the Judicator in such a crippled state. Lightning doesn't strike twice in that case...

I won't yell sabotage now, but as I said in either case. I won't rule it out.




OOC: CCP bugs pretty much duffed up the Legion, their logs as ever showing nothing. Down but not out though!

Overdue

Been too long since I last wrote here, a bad habit I suppose.

A lot's happened I suppose, many changes have come and gone. One boss in PRELI replaced another, complete antisocial she was, couldn't get on with her no matter how hard I tried. Even wrote a song about how she should lighten up, everyone else laughed... she was about set to tear my throat out with her teeth given half a chance.

Still she vanished off and now Marcus is in charge. Feels weird having a boss that's been around for less than me, feels even weirder to take orders off a Caldari but the guy's pretty reasonable, hell there's even rumours of him flying a Catalyst abound. That and well, he seems to make Aurora happy, they're hitting it off rather well.

Guess what I'm saying is he's so good, you'd think he wasn't Caldari. Pity the brick jawline screams out Civire or I'd probably otherwise forget.

Ah the Caldari, something weird's happened recently, since the election results the Federation's finest have actually got their shit into gear and started taking back systems and doing stuff. The new President hasn't even raised a finger and already they're making him look good... fucking Roden, last thing we need to get rid of Heth is a damn clone of the scumbag.


Still, hope they do well, even if it gives Seriphyn an even bigger ego. He beat Morwen a while ago in a one on one in Inara's latest idea Deadspace, I had a good 50 million on her, guess that's the price of faith in your fellow man at times huh. Still, she seemed to take it pretty bad, I'm not going to exactly hold it against her, she was nervous before hand poor kid. Guess she's had enough crap with her bitch ex vanishing and then this contest being lined up that she didn't have much time to think. That and hanging around with Repentence and Inara is hardly a tonic for anyone's sanity... still avoiding Inara like the plague, after the argument with Repentence on slavery I don't really feel like confronting the source of the whole damn thing. I know I'm turning a blind eye and I shouldn't really compromise but what can I do eh?

The Cartel's more and more of a good home to me, the Roden bullshit pretty much had me turn my back to just focusing on the Federation and got me thinking. There's people of all races out there who need my help, why just focus on trying to help those who can't be damned to show appreciation for it? Have I given up on the Federation's people entirely? No. Just means I'll be spreading my wings a bit.


That said they kept me busy with some things. Took a night off and dropped planet side in Vittenyn a few months back, went out to the local nightlife only for my night to turn sour when three kids dropped dead off a bunch of contaminated drugs. Traced it back to the dealer trying to find a source, traced that back to the Serpentis, low-grade scum that they are. They might pay the Cartel for some security and protection but seeing as we don't see a damn ISK of that in Naraka I'll gladly keep blowing their Drop addicted asses out of the skyline. Traced the production all the way back to a Lab site up in Cloud Ring in an asteroid field out there. They weren't much of a problem but a local alliance spent some time trying to hunt me down, looks like the Serps are paying more than the Cartel to protect their worthless asses, still complex gone, job done.


In all these various changes though there's been two constants. Shae and her never ending love and patience, and my gratitude for having her in my life. I don't see as much of her these days as I'd like, work keeps me busy. Though it allows me to appreciate the time we spend together more often.

Secondly is a plan, if I'm to work across the four corners of Empire space I need a ship to get the job done, I need something that is fast, effective and knows how to take a beating. I need something versatile so no matter the situation, I've got the craft. Don't get me wrong the Dominix is a fine ship but she handles like a fat whale in a bowl of jelly.

So my last few months have been in preparation for a Legion. I know Godhead tech, but they're good at making ships built to last, that can pack a punch and move swiftly, been a guilty pleasure ever since I first tried out an Executioner and eventually got myself a Slicer, damn those things are fast.


She's in a hanger in Jita at the moment, flies out in a few hours. Haven't thought of a name still, nor where my first port of call is. It's all just a great unknown right now, like the space I find myself flying into once again.

Lessons learned.

As I write this, eyes half covered in sleep and a coffee in my hand, I think back to last night's events and how really it goes back a few days in truth.

As part of PRELI Wormhole operations are a good part of pilot income, and our director Lilly Terranova had made assignments for fleet operations over the weekend. So on day one we had a Fleet, but no wormhole. Day two however we had a peach of a wormhole to pick apart, and no fleet. Day three we had the fleet again, and the wormholes vanished. Just one of those things sadly.

So, not really wanting to fly the Eternal Guardian out one more time back up to Vittenyn I decided to stick around Goinard for the night. Watching the local communication channels I couldn't help but notice a certain character jumping into the area, staying for a while then disappearing, only to come back later.

Grabbing a complimentary Velator I decided to do a round trip of the stations of Goinard, seeing where he was and what he was up to. With no sign of him anywhere I made a few requests to Naraka to possibly track this guy down, and see what he was up to in our system. These were somewhat ignored until Morwen Lagann decided she'd pin him down. To our surprise he was actually erecting a pretty large PoS which had gone halfway through completion with its shield's active but no online weaponry.

With a fleet scrambled including Fear Incarnate's Moros and a few helping hands from our local friendly Veto corporation we started the long and wonderful task of popping the bubble that was preventing us from having at what was inside.


Believe me, despite the pretty light show, it was a damn sight less fun than it looks.

Anyway soon enough the owner of this fantastic piece of Gallentian architecture came back with another haul of goods, only to find we'd started putting a few holes in the shield. We offered terms, I'd say fair terms but it's such an objective line these days so lets say they were fair to us. His counter offer was pretty negligible so we continued firing. Shield on the tower was at around sixty percent or so at this point, so he mustn't have seen us as a threat.

As time ticked on and people started to feel tired, we realised this station wasn't going to go down any time soon, and the owner had conceded to abandon it rather than pay a reasonable ransom fee. So a good two hours later we finally burst the shield and started scratching the bodywork of the thing, a regrettable choice of action but it got a desired effect. With pilots dropping out we called the owner's bluff once more and negotiated a reasonable term of monthly rent with him. Satisfied with a result, even if it wasn't the big pay day we'd hoped for, we returned to base and to beds.


So in short, what have I learned from this weekend's experiences?

1. I need a Covert Operations Frigate with Probes so I can start hunting down Wormholes myself.
2. If I've got a hunch in future and no one can check it out, to just go out and check it myself.
3. Never attack another PoS with it's shields up when you've only one Dreadnaught in the Fleet.

I need another coffee.

Thought of the day...

They might be run by ruthless loathsome bastards, but the Caldari do churn out some good Capsuleers to work with.

Also, it's so nice to be as far away from the Bleaks as possible, damn backwater.

The return home.

((Audio Log, recorded in the Pod of Caellach Marellus))


For some time now I've been doing my homework on flying Battleships. After my positive experiences flying both the Vexor and the Myrmidon I continued the trend of Drone ships and focused my research on the Dominix. Boasting an even larger Drone capacity than the Myrmidon and superior bandwidth that could support five Ogre Heavy Attack Drones at once, I tackled this project with a strong enthusiasm.

During this time I was given some exciting and positive news. Our new CEO at PRELI Perry Maximus revised the combat rules for our members, realising that our current restrictions to support PRETA caused too many issues when trying to work in Gallente space. And so as of last week the green light was flagged granting us the right to engage Serpentis Pirates in high security systems.

I punched the air a few times and drank in celebration to that one, not too much mind.. Shae found me in a complete drunken state the other day when she came home from a week in Wormhole space, was not a fun evening. Honestly I wonder how she puts up with me.

But I realised this was my opportunity to come home, hunting down Sansha is a great and noble act, but damnit if those Amarrian Godheads haven't pissed me off enough by now. Don't get me wrong however, I still have no love for the Gallentian Government, but I miss my home, my family, my people. A month away from them is a month longer than the most time we've spent apart, and I intend to make up for it.

So I waited for this day, when I finally completed my Battleship training. She's been lying in wait for about a week, fit to go just needing a Pilot. Took the time to handpick the Crew, got to know as many as possible on good terms, my closest interim of course are ones who've flown with me before. From as early as The Redemption right up to the Apostate's Call.

And today, she left the station as I heard the communications between my Crew and the Hangar staff call out her name, the Eternal Guardian. An Amaranthine Watchman in the Gallentian skies, an Unyielding Sentinal watching tirelessly over the people of the Federation. Never giving up on them, never abandoning them.

And on it's way now to begin delivering Justice to those who wronged them.

Of Ghosts and Ghost Festival.

Coffee doesn't quite taste normal when you've been drinking Vodka all night, even more so when it's 4am.

So here I was, a lovesick puppy with no direction in his life. What I thought I believed in I realised I didn't, it was someone else's dream and I'd dedicated my own life toward fulfilling it. Now that was gone, and everything I seemed to know about anything was wrong. All I knew was I still wanted to help those in need, those unable to defend themselves. I could go solo but that'd be suicide.

It was at this point that this amazing woman became even more so.

Shae had an idea, she told me more about the Pirate Corporation called Ghost Festival, or PRETA. They have a sister corporation, PRETA Light Industries (PRELI) a humanitarian corporation focused on legitimate business operations. The same PRETA that runs the Skyhook that I'd found myself being more and more a frequent visitor of. I'm not a great believer of destiny but this was starting to feel more than coincidence. More so that the next time I happened to be in the Hook, I had a chance meeting with PRELI's CEO, Selkie Lochran. My eyes were widened when she told me how the Navy had been concealing truths about the operations they ran, the true story behind the origins of the Serpentis and the actual work both they and the Angel Cartel had carried out.

I'll admit, I was confused and unsure to believe, when Shae stepped in and gave me the gentle nudge through the door. Perhaps in hindsight I had grown too much trust in her to not question her judgement, but heck what did I know then, or even now. Space truly is much bigger than I imagined, and the politics behind it a myriad of well spun stories and tales that web around the truth thicker than titanium plating.

Regardless I joined, there were drawbacks. A no fire policy on both the Serpentis and the Angel Cartel meant my days in Gallente Space were near an end, and I'd end up working regrettably for those Godhead Amarr. However it meant blowing those Sansha freaks out of the sky, every cloud silver lining and all that. The Amarr and I have worked out a good understanding, they pay me to kill Sansha and don't mention anything to do with their "Slaves" I'll gladly break another nose the day they ask me to recover their "lost property." Bah, viewing people as property is utterly disgusting.

The other side to all this, well there's the mining and the hauling of things, is the operations in Wormhole space, to deal with the Sleepers that await us there. I remember seeing the horrible images of Seyllin, if these things were truly the cause they must be stopped, they're clearly a greater threat than any pirate or rogue entity within the four empires.

But despite all that, I've been troubled. Not a day goes by without more bad news from home. The Factionists losing almost all of the lowsec systems to the Caldari, Foiritain's crazy actions followed by his resignation, the auctioning of the systems by the Caldari like it was a cattle market. I bit my tongue knowing there were others out there still fighting that fight, and I could depend on them to go where I could not.

Then we came to tonight, the Skyhook moved to the PRETA/PRELI headquaters in Goinard, a lowspace system in Sinq Laison not too far from where I worked for the Gallente Navy. I recently bought this apartment there, and furnished it thinking of not just myself but Shae. With it being in low sec for her, and in a system I'd occasionally operate, and eventually at a bar we both drank at, it was a perfect idea for somewhere to settle down and share together.

And so we went to the party, Shae had taken me out shopping yesterday for something to wear. People told me I looked good in it but honestly? I felt a complete prat. Couldn't say the same of Shae though, when I saw her in that dress before we left I wanted to just tear it off and have her there and then... but decided it'd be better to get a few drinks in first so she'd be less annoyed if the dress got ripped.

The night started well, the place was so busy I could barely hear myself think. They had a DJ on, one Andreus Ixius, a major character in the Gallente Factionists. After proving a point that I couldn't dance, Shae and I headed to the bar when the DJ decided he'd make an announcement. He decided that tonight of all night's he'd leave the Federation publicly and go Pirate, he'd had enough and couldn't tolerate it further, and encouraged everyone to raise their glasses to "Fuck the Federation"

I was speechless, one of the real last Bastions of hope for the Gallente people throwing them away, then I looked to my side and there she was with her drink raised in the air with the rest of them. I felt my head spin and my chest tighten and I instantly got out of there, I'm not sure to where or what end, but I found myself quickly heading towards the hanger where the Aposate's Call is docked. I won't lie but a good portion of me was ready to fly right out to the border and cause trouble till either a miracle happened, or I was little more than atoms to identify.

Then an arm grabbed me to stop me, Shae's arm. In my honesty I was surprised she even knew I had left the Skyhook she seemed so caught up in the moment. We yelled, we argued, we cried back and forth with tempers rising and emotions sky high.

And that's when she told me that she loves me.



No one's ever said that to me before now, and those words stopped me dead in my tracks. Those words stopped me from going off on a suicide martyrdom, and they're why I'm now awake writing this while she's in bed asleep.

I still don't even understand it all.