06-06-YC124

I should have stayed in Raravoss; at least the Triglavians inflict physical wounds.  Ishta has every right to be angry and upset, to be worried for Sasha and to be frustrated at not being informed of the situation, but to call me scum?  To hold this family in the same contempt as she holds slavers and unsavoury, abusive Holders?  Sometimes I think Nauplius is right, Matari can never change their spiteful, hate-filled nature.

Well, she need not worry for Sasha anymore.  There shall be no wedding now, of that she can be sure, and I shall be there for my brother when he wakes and his family, his real family, shall help him recover.  I do not know how he is going to react to being rejected and abandoned, not to mention having his daughter taken from him.  Felix shall miss the Little One as well.  No-one to read stories to every night.

I am sure she shall have plenty of people to take care of her in Gottin's Lamp, and I expect the Directrix will look after her.  I hope Ishta does not wound that caring soul.

I should have expected this.  I should have trusted my instincts at the start.  We are too soft as a family, too trusting and accepting.  Too forgiving.  I wish Ishta no ill-will, but to direct such venom and hatred at me, at us, is unacceptable after all we have done for her.

No more.  We must harden our hearts, as painful as that may be.  Strangely, though, as shocked as I was when she had her outburst, I feel no pain.  I do not feel anything at all, in truth, neither anger nor hate, nor sorrow.  Just a vague sense of loss, but mostly I just feel numb.  Yet what is there to do except pick up the pieces and carry on?

Just as we always have.

 04-06-YC124

I visited Sasha as soon as I got to Arx Garum.  He was sleeping, still recovering from his injuries.  The doctors say he is likely to require a replacement eye and hand, but other than that he should fully recover, in time.  Ishta was there, of course, but she barely said two words to me.  She is worried and afraid, which is understandable but sooner or later she will lose Sasha regardless.  Such is the price for immortality.  Major Natashova spoke to me regarding Ishta, telling me she had been tired and stressed.  For all her flaws and doubts, Ishta is quite a gentle, soft soul, deep down.

The team are stood down on Arx Garum until further notice.  They need time to recover and rest.  I, however, have no such luxury.  After seeing Sasha I immediately clone-jumped home to Nakri, then took a shuttle to the State.  LUMEN anti-piracy operations are under way and I must do my part there as well.  I am rather looking forward to being back in a pod, in all truth. It has been some time.

The vodka and bath shall simply have to wait.

 02-06-YC124

I write this sitting in the compartment of an armoured transport.  We are on our way back to Arx Garum after six months planetside.  It has gone rather quickly, I feel.

All in all, Operation Sanctity has been, to my mind, a success.  Enemy communications disrupted, materiel destroyed or rendered beyond use, key personnel neutralised.  We have taken casualties, some serious, but, God and The Eternal Empress be praised, no fatalities; and the number of enemy souls we have returned to the judgement of God is beyond counting.

The evacuation was precarious, I must admit.  The enemy had the area surrounded and we had to clear it before our transport could come in.  Not an easy task with two wounded, and Pankov and Idrisov had both been injured by the time we were lifting off again.  They will make it to Arx Garum, though, and they will recover.

The most important victory, though, is symbolic.  We have shown that the Empire does not simply surrender its sovereign territory to a merciless invader and their unprovoked offensive.  They may have temporarily taken these systems, but we will still strike back at them, wherever and however we can.  We have also shown that traitors, cowards, and collaborators will not escape our wrath either.  I cannot deny I would rather have simply executed that pitiful excuse for a Holder and his family as we pulled them from their bolt-hole, but Il-Khan Oniseki-Kley prefers that they stand trial and so shall it be.  It shows, I suppose, her worthiness to take the title, or at least that she meets the necessary standards of integrity more so than those who failed Her Imperial Majesty.

Ishta did not appear, so I can only assume she found out where Sasha is and went to him instead.  I shall no doubt have to face her when we arrive at the station.  I already know she will not see our Operation for what it is, but I care little, for my team, the 601st, they do understand, and as I look around the compartment at their faces, I can see that they know the value of what we have done, of what we do, and of the sacrifices we make.  Even Bordashevskaya, with her breathing heavy after the gas attack, looks contented with duty well done.

Once I have deal with Ishta, I am going to get a vodka and a bath.

Amarr Victor!

 08-05-YC124

Apparently Ishta has gone Absent Without Leave, according to the Directrix's communication with me.  Taking into account the information Commander Kley passed to me, I expect to see that impetuous girl arriving at my doorstep any moment.  What does she hope to gain by coming here?  She should be at home where her responsibilities are, or does she simply expect my family to bring up her child should anything happen to her?  No doubt she thinks she can simply ignore death as an inconvenience now she is a capsuleer, but she confuses immortality with invulnerability.  It is not as if we are truly immortal as it is - there can always be mishaps.

If and when she does arrive, we may not even be here.  Section One is now cycled back to Imperial space, the casualties all at our medical facility, and Arline has given me new target for Section Two.  Asset Acquisition. We have a general location, and I cannot imagine it shall take us long to pinpoint our quarry.  I doubt they are likely to come quietly, given they know Imperial Justice awaits them, but we are hardly inexperienced at this particular undertaking.  If Ishta does turn up in time, she may actually be quite useful.  Which may, in turn, make me somewhat more disposed toward being lenient.

Whether the Directrix may be is quite another matter entirely.

 26-04-YC124

Arline tells me Ishta is coming here, to Port Sarum.  That girl is indefatigably wilful, but what am I to tell her when she arrives?  Sasha is not here waiting for her - he is on his way with another three of our comrades to a military hospital.  His wounds are serious, but not fatal.  He was lucky.

We did not expect the enemy to have such war machines as they did and defeating them was no easy task, especially not with their cluster munitions.  I expect they will have more of them, but we shall armed with knowledge next time and know how to deal with them quickly.  They seem vulnerable to a strong electro-magnetic pulse, the discovery of which we have Mechanic Dyachenko to thank.  Once disabled, albeit momentarily, they fall to concentrated fire.  A well-placed sniper shot can severe a fuel-line as well.

With Section One cycled out and Section Three in, we can begin our next objective.  Arline expects this to give us a psychological edge, and I am inclined to agree.  It shall certain help our morale and, one hopes, that of remaining civilian survivors.  It may even encourage more partisans.

We truly are doing the right thing here, liberating our people from a hated invader.  I at first found it unsettling, even disheartening, when some of our own - by which I mean natives of New Eden, not Amarrians - sided with the enemy, but now I realise they were as spiritually lost as the Triglavians themselves.  We shall send all their souls back to God with flame and fire, to be purified.

We are doing God's Work.

That is why our injuries, especially my own, are as nothing.

 21-04-YC124

I should be happy if I never see that vile garish colour again.  I think we all shall.  This the aftermath of whatever dark science the Invaders used and I can only imagine how those trapped here felt as the star that had once given them life sickened, twisted, and all but died.  We are doing all we can to avenge that evil.

It feels strange, but as busy as we have been, with striking against the Triglavians in all manners at our disposal, I also find enough time to dwell on any number of subjects, mostly in relation to our enemy.  I did wonder if Triglavians were capable of feeling fear, and now I know that to very much be the case.  It should have been obvious, of course, but they have been quite a mystery in many ways so one could not be sure.  That particular matter, however, has been quite thoroughly answered, along with any questions about the physical and mental capabilities of the enemy to resist enhanced questioning techniques.

Do they have souls?  Perhaps that is a question best left to theologists and philosophers, but my personal opinion is that they must do.  Are not all things creations of God, even these corrupted beings?  Perhaps they are what happens when a race completely abandons God, turning their back once and for all on all that is Holy.  Even the Tribals that have rejected The Faith still cleave to some form of spiritual belief, which, one could argue, stills shows some understanding of The Almighty, if somewhat clouded and child-like.  But these things!  I have seen nothing that resembles even the most debased of religious practices and am very much convinced I never shall.

Yet no-one can truly escape God.  Everything exists under The Almighty's watchful eye and all must bow, knowingly or not, to Divine Will, even these benighted creatures.  I have heard some whisper that the Invaders are some sort of punishment sent by God for the sins in New Eden, whilst others have seen them as a test of Faith, or at least as such for those of  The Faith.  I am not sure I am convinced either of those are the case.  The more I contemplate the broken body and smashed face of the one lying in front of me, the more I think that they were not so much sent to us by God, but directed here by the Unseen Hand of the Divine.  Why would God do such a thing?

Perhaps it is not God's design that they have been sent to punish us, but instead have been driven to this place so that we may save them, through fire and flame.

Fire and Flame to return them to Paradise.

I think it is time to cycle my team out.  They have outshone themselves in action here.  Thebeka and Floseswin will seem as nothing compared to what we have faced, and achieved, in Raravoss.  They deserve to reap some reward.

 06-04-YC124

I am forgetting how long we have been here.  I had not actually realised the time that had passed until I shuttled back another casualty a few days ago and spoke, very briefly, to Ishta.  It was a pleasure to see her, although she could not hide the anxiety in her eyes.  I could not tell her very much, of course, other than reassure her that Sasha is well.

Arline's declaration shall cause quite the stir, I should imagine.  I wonder what Lord Sarum shall make of a commoner claiming the Holdership of Raravoss.  One hopes that the intention is not lost, showing the invader that we have not relinquished territory that is rightfully ours, granted to the Empire by the Grace of God.

I wonder if anyone shall care who Lady Crow is.  Likely not, and likely she shall be ignored and looked over in the Final Victory.

The time has come for me to join the 601st fully on the ground, I think.  I wish to be there with them.  Our gains have been tremendous in terms of what we have done compared to our numbers.  Linking with pockets of resistance and supplying them not only with equipment and materiel, but with hope and the knowledge that they have not been abandoned and forgotten.  All the time striking against the enemy, inflicting far more damage than we take.

We will defeat the enemy, we will drive them out of our homes, and God will Bless us with Victory, for we are His Chosen People.

There can be no other way.

I am looking forward to this fight.

God Feedeth The Ravens.