10-May-YC123

I am convinced my days can be divided into two distinct types.  On any given day I am extremely busy, but I either appear to have little to show for all my effort, or there is a plethora of wildly varying results.  Yesterday was the latter.

Of prime importance, of course, was the Procession.  It was marvellous, a true sight to behold.  Countless clergy, as expected, and though Father Mikhail may not have had all the pomp and ceremony of those higher in the Church, he was, without doubt, the most dignified.  Representative Orlov was there, on behalf of the Sarum Family, and besides myself, Papa, Mama, and Nikolai, there were faces from the other important families; Holders, merchant Houses, everyone who is anyone.  All joined together to give thanks for our Victory in Floseswin, and to Pray for the victims of all the attacks against us.  It was a symbol of unity amongst us.  Even Danylo Koval had a kind word to whisper in my ear, at which I could not help but smile.

And, oh! The people! The crowds of people! The main plaza was completely filled, and the holo-screens showed it was no different in any of the other plazas on the station.  Felix told us it was the same on the Sarum station.  There was an vast ocean of banners, placards, and, of course, portraits of loved ones lost, held by those left behind.  It was a beautiful, yet heart-wrenching site.  Even now, sitting in my rooms, my tears at the thought make it so hard to write.  Anyone can say as they wish about my home, my Nakri, but we are as one people, one soul, one heart.

Afterwards, to clear my mind, I took Dido out into the stars.  Nowhere in particular, though the system I jumped in to had a designation.  It was full of those mysterious Sleepers, but I left them well enough alone and they simply ignored me.  It was peaceful, I enjoyed it.

Then, of course, came the most unexpected turn of the day, all born, as it were, from a conversation on The Summit, about children.  Arline had her little bundle of joy Alyssia, who made my heart absolutely melt.  I was selfishly bemoaning the fact that I have no such happiness in my life yet, when Lady Deritan contacted me.  She had been listening to the conversation, and had the strangest proposal.  An adoption!  When she explained to me the circumstances behind her suggestion, I could not but accept.  The story is a tragic one, and though I have no doubt of Lady Deritan's kind and noble heart, her situation is such that caring for the children is impossible for her.  So, soon enough, our house shall have not one, but two little additions. I have told Mama, and she was as thrilled and surprised as I.  Papa was also pleased, but he is ever such a soft one for little children.

I am still absorbing the impact of this change to come.  I am sure that this family will be a perfect place for two small souls to find the safety, care, and love that an other cruel universe would deny them.  I have no doubt that God has acted through Lady Deritan in this, for why else would things come together so neatly with no apparent cause?

All the more reason, then, for this family to continue the task that God has set before us.

 05-05-YC123

May God Bless us all.

My hands are still shaking.  I have always dismissed Equilibrium of Mankind as fringe lunatics but the horrors of today have proved me terribly wrong.  An Avatar, escorted by Revelations, and the Avatar commanded by none other than Chakaid himself.

He fired on Kahah III multiple times with the Doomsday Weapon on his vessel.  I cannot begin to -   I cannot even write about it.  I am going to order some of our Forces, including the 601st, to the planet, to see if we can help.

I look back on the engagement.  It was a scant couple of hours ago, yet feels both like I am still in the midst of it, and that it is years in the past.  I did so little, I think, yet at least I did something.  It fought as hard as I could for what is Right, for the Light against the Dark.  At least I can say I was there.

And so another enemy uncoils from the shadows in which they have lurked for so long.  We shall face them as we face all others.  They shall throw themselves against us, and we shall stand strong.  They shall fail, we shall persevere.

It seems so foolish now, stones against the storm, but I swore at him, the traitor Chakaid.  In Local! "Idi v rot tvoyey shlyukhe-materi!"!  How ill-disciplined of me.  I reported myself to the Chaper Master and Paladin Commanders, of course, for Conduct Unbecoming.

They gave me a medal.  Papa will be proud, but I think I shall tell Mama it was for standing firm in the face of the enemy.

Try as I might, I cannot help but think of the suffering on the surface of Kahah.  I know I shall have nightmares, even with Esfand to help me sleep.

I wish I did not have to be alone tonight.  Any night.

 04-05-YC123

So the circle is complete.  Following a terror attack against the State's Chief Executive Panel, no doubt backed by the Federation, if not carried out by them directly, prompted an immediate response.  One must admire the State for its swift answer, even if their bombardment of Tierijev IV was short-lived.  Regardless, war is now a step closer.

I do feel pained for Edward.  He has clearly taken the Federation to his heart, and his anger was understandable.  Indeed, it mirrors mine at the Tribal and Federation attacks against us.  I am not sure what Yassavi was expecting from him, all but accusing him of hypocrisy at not being outraged at any other attacks.  Why should he be?  Does she rail against our strikes to the Republic?  Of course not, why would she?  She is not as clever as she believes herself to be.  A shame the Holy Institution of Holdership is not based on intelligence; the Empire would have far fewer problems.

And fewer problem is something I would cherish at this moment.  A common brawl broke out last night amongst the 601st, between Alpha and Omega teams.  An overspill of tension apparently.  An unsatisfactory excuse, but I see little point now in punishing any of them.  The sooner they are in action, the better.  I just pray they always come back, all of them.

I had better ready myself for action as well.  It is strange how I do not seem to feel much emotion at the prospect of all-out war.  Perhaps it because I care little for my own fate in it, so long as I serve my Motherland, my Empress, and my God as I should, and bring them no shame.  Perhaps it is because I feel a purpose in it I have long since searched for.  The Proxy Wars are, in reality, unwinnable, without end, and thus feel meaningless to me.

Yet this War, if it comes, may very well be what God and The Eternal Empress have intended for me ever since my time away.  I did not die then.  Perhaps this was the reason.

 29-04-YC123

Now the Gallente attack us, again using a cynosaural field to hit a planet in a high-security system.  Will our supposed allies in the State turn on us next, I wonder?  Our enemies are ranged against us, but we will not cower, we shall not turn from this fight, any fight, and we shall take not a single step backward!  Let them all come, all of them. We shall be ready, and we shall strike them with the fury of God.

All the Royal Houses and their vassals have fully mobilised.  Our own Household forces are assembling as I write this, and very soon I shall be joining Papa to address them.  We shall all fight, of course; myself, Sasha, my dear Kolya. Even Papa will be doing his part with the Admirals and Generals.  Only Mama and Felix shall be left behind.  I pray they will not worry overmuch.

Whilst we cannot rest our efforts against the enemy within, at least inter-family rivalries shall be put aside.  The Kovals are mustering their forces too, and who knows, perhaps we shall all fight side-by-side in the Name of God, for Her Imperial Majesty, for Amarr, for our Motherland.

Edward was in Girani-Fa when the attack happened.  I have asked him why he was there, but he has sent no reply.  I should have known.  Just like everyone else he cannot be trusted.

I feel that Unclean Force, that Darkness coming upon me ever quicker, but this time I shall pray to God to grant me the strength to turn it outward, to turn the hate, the anger, the fury that comes with it upon our enemies.

God Feedeth The Ravens

Sumus Silvestre

 28-04-YC123

The Tribals attacked Tanoo II today with an Orbital Bombardment.  Three Dreadnaughts, along with some support ships.  Of course, they did not last very long against our defences.  Indeed, it took me so long to clone jump to Mehatoor and then travel to Tanoo that by the time I arrived it was mostly over.

I do not know what damage has been done, early reports, as always, are somewhat vague, though ACN is reporting damage as light.  I understand they used a cynosaural bridge to bypass the Ammatar border, but the real question is how shall we respond to this blatant act of war?

Oh, of course, there are voices already saying that we ought not to be too hasty in our judgement, that this was a lone act by some fringe radicals, but unless I am mistaken, at least some of the enemy were Brutor Vanguard, so either they act without any regard for the Republic's own government or that government was in full knowledge of the event.  Others, as might be expected, have yelled the age-old cry of false flag.  Personally, I would not be surprised if it is a double-bluff.  What better way to hide the obvious than in plain sight and have everyone look for a secret conspiracy that never existed.  How ironic that would be after everything in Nakri.

I have to focus my efforts on Nakri.  I feel that Taint, that Darkness rising again.  It is not simply the nausea that I get from clone jumping that make me feel so wretched.  It is long overdue, I suppose, but before I find myself again assailed by thoughts of doubt and despair, I must make sure everything is in place here at home.  Chief Sokolov will announce some arrests soon, and we can have a show trial or two.  Changing direction at such short notice was not easy, but Nauplius' involvement may actually make some things easier for us.

I feel unwell.  I think I shall have Karine fetch some Esfand from my usual contact here.  It should help me sleep, or at least grant me some distracting dreams.

 06-04-YC123

Slava Bogu!

The Operation on Floseswin IV was a success.  Through Prayer and Fire we have freed our brethren and sistren from the torture camps of the Tribals.  What a glorious sight it was to behold the mighty vessels of the Crusade in orbit above the planet.  With God's Grace and Mercy the opposition was minimal, and purely planetary.  The oh-so-very-brave capsuleers of the so-called Tribal Liberation Force and their baying curs did not even attempt to prevent our work.  No doubt they were safe in their holes where they can spit their meaningless curses and empty calls of "freedom".

Indeed, let them do so, for it works only in the favour of Operation Snegovschina, which may now move to the next stage.  Doubtless there are already questions being asked of how so many attacks could be carried out against defended Tribal sites by forces already present on the planet.  There will be recriminations, accusations, and retributions.  I positively plan on it; and whilst all this goes on, and more and more innocents are accused of collaboration with the hated slavers, more and more fall foul of vigilante justice, the would-be saviours of the people of Floseswin IV will sit there, safe and hidden, yet shouting loudly enough that all will see what their devotion to the "liberation" of their people is truly worth.

How busy I am kept.  Aside from that, Edward has asked me to persuade the Holders in Basan to allow a contingent from his group to operate against some mutual enemies there.  It is never a disadvantage to find opportunity to develop contacts and favours.  It is made easier, I suppose, by the fact that Edward's Nadire group has apparently decided not to renew its contract supporting the Federation's war effort.  I must admit a personal satisfaction at such a decision as well.  It will make it much easier for Edward to visit me in the Empire.  I hope he shall do so more often, and be less inclined to hurry back home afterwards.  A foolish indulgence, but I rather like keeping him as long as can.  Perhaps that is encouraging his developing feelings toward me, despite our unspoken agreement that this was just a fling, an idle love affair.  He has obviously picked up some of that well-known Gallente romanticism.

The only blot in this beautiful picture is, as one may expect, Nauplius' continued baffling attempts to besmirch my family.  What would he do were he to find out that aside from Sasha being quite open about his relationship with Ishta, I myself am engaged in a torrid affair with a profligate libertine known throughout New Eden as an insatiable rake, a turncoat-turned-playboy?  No doubt the word "fornicate" would frequently usher forth from his mouth!

The heretic fool's latest spark of genius is drones floating around our properties chanting his vacant-headed slogan.  Fortunately, our dear security services have been very quick at intercepting and neutralising them, though I believe more than one was the source, or perhaps I should say target, of youthful entertainment for some of the boys and girls in the locality.  I rather think we shall see some new sharpshooters amongst our younger recruits in a few years.  I suppose that is something to thank Nauplius for.

The drones do give me an idea.

 02-04-YC123

Operation Snegovschina is proceeding well.  I firmly believe that the results, whatever the outcome of the overall mission of which it forms just one small part, shall be more than worth both the effort and the wait.  How fortunate that Aldrith hit upon his daring plan, or else I might never have been able to put this into motion.  No doubt, of course, Ishta will return with certain reservations; she does seem to be developing quite the moral compass; but at least I can be confident Sasha and the rest of the 601st shall follow their orders without question.

I met with Lady Renaud, Abigail, last night.  I have not had opportunity to speak with her before, and how overdue it was!  Not only do we have much in common, but also our families share mutual interests.  The Renauds require, it appears, security personnel, whilst we, of course, need a reason to rebuild and strengthen Gagana that will satisfy any immediate curiosities or concerns of most observers.  Thanks to Nauplius' little escapade, I know there are mutters and whisperings of suspicion around the Court about our intentions in suddenly acquiring the remnants of a failed military contractor, as well as some doubts about why such a successful company did indeed suddenly fail.  I very much doubt they shall ever discover the truth, but there is never any harm in taking as many precautions as possible.

Besides, another friendly connection is, in and of itself, a benefit beyond measure.  Lady Renaud is clearly an intelligent and ambitious Holder, and if her companion Celeste is anything to go by, someone with a keen sense of judgement of others.  I rather think we can be of great support to one another.  Times are undoubtedly changing, the Empire is changing, even if certain people cannot see it.  I have every intention that my family take full advantage of these developing times, and I believe Lady Renaud has the same attitude.  Trusted allies will be of inestimable value in the very near future.

Speaking of allies, I must arrange a meeting with Security Chief Sokolov.  The people will be expecting an outcome of the investigation into Nauplius' disruption, and a trial needs to be arranged.  It has to run as smoothly as possible if it is to serve its proper purpose for us.  After all, justice must seen to be done.