Regarding recent events
30 Oct 2020Seth Bradwell
OOC note: This is a brief interlude from my exploration diary to provide an in-character perspective on events since Galnet suddenly jumped back into life.I have watched with increasing anguish the recent news regarding events in the Empire, here on this far-flung mining colony on the far side of the Bubble. Up till now I have elected not to get entangled in Imperial affairs again, but I have realised that the Empire is not as dead to me as I keep telling my peers. A terrorist attack on starports right at the heart of the Empire is something that made me sit up and take notice. The fact that the weaponry was based on Thargoid technology made it all the more disturbing, as I watched the news on the holo-monitor and saw pilots of ships great and small trying to evacuate the stations, yet there were many more who did not survive this terrible carnage. Then what really got me going was the revelation of the perpetrators of this - the now infamous Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army (NMLA). The memories of my time at University suddenly came flooding back.
Some background for you. I was involved heavily in the Marlin Duval Society during my time studying at the prestigious Waterford College, Conversion, serving as its treasurer at one time. Let's be clear, we NEVER advocated violence, indeed Marlin Duval herself considered violence anathema unless there was no other way to defend yourself. We went about trying to promote Marlin's ideals to a largely apathetic to hostile crowd. However we never stopped trying, petitioning Senators to stop mistreatments of citizens and indeed call for an eventual abolition of slavery, protesting military aggression by the Empire and calling for a permanent accord which would pave the way for eventual cooperation with the Federation. However there were always those among our movement who went that bit too far, who wanted nothing more than a ruckus with the IISS, and it was usually people like us who paid the consequences, and it was only due to having friends and family in high places that we weren't unceremoniously thrown out of university and sent to a penal colony for a year's hard labour.
During my first few months as a pilot I took a lot of work for organisations sympathetic to Aisling Duval, although I never signed up for the Blue-Haired One myself, discontent with the idea of shuffling leaflets from place to place in the name of Her Highness. During that time I participated in an underground railroad to help liberate slaves from Kumo space and help them start a new life under Aisling's protection, whilst doing the usual merc jobs for Aisling-affiliated factions. I later helped with creating a brand new colony of liberated slaves in Uibuth, bringing in Imperial slaves to the system by the T9 full. So I remained quite the idealist for a time. Of course I became rather jaded when I bore witness to the impoverished conditions that these new colonists suffered under, and the last straw was when I strayed off the beaten track when in Cubeo and saw beggars everywhere in corridors strewn with rubbish and rife with vermin. This was the beginning of the end of my time working for Aisling, and the start of the events which lead me to here.
Back in the present, I found it hard to suppress my rage at these so-called "neo-Marlinists". How dare they besmirch Marlin Duval's name in this manner! Marlin would have condemned this bloodbath and wanted nothing to do with the perpetrators. Yet again, noble ideas get corrupted and bastardised by people who seek power above all else. My anger grew when they then assassinated Prince Harold Duval, Aisling's father. What was that going to achieve? For the first time in several years, I felt sorry for Aisling, now having to live without either parent. Whilst Aisling's high ranking meant she was in no position to fully embrace Marlinism, the wider Marlinist cause still considered her an ally, particularly in regard to her stance on slavery. Some would say this was counter productive, but to these people, "neo-Marlinism" is the excuse, power seeking is the motive, and they ultimately want to destabilise the Empire to further their agenda. Which many would have no problem with, accused bunch of totalitarian slavers that we are, yet innocent lives always end up caught in the bloodshed. And so it was thus in Cemiess (Aisling's home system to boot - fanatics tend to hate moderates far more than non-believers), Gabjaujis, LHS 4031 and Rabh. I wanted to take off there and then and join in the hunt for these bastards.
Yet... further news from the Empire and the Imperial authorities' reaction to the NMLA attacks troubles me. Firstly going in all gung-ho against Liz Ryder then beating a retreat when she was vindicated. Totally irresponsible at the very least and doing nothing but ensuring the real perpetrators continue to evade justice whilst Imperial lives were lost in a needless conflict. Then there was Denton Patreus' crackdown on Marlinists of all stripes, with martial law and lockdowns in effect. I always have hoped the Empire would eventually turn away from its authoritarian underpinnings and the Emperor become a figurehead in a true democracy resembling Marlin Duval's original vision. This was a step in the wrong direction. I never liked Patreus, even by Imperial standards he tolerates little in the way of dissent where he holds influence and it would be just like him to use the current crisis to launch a cynical grab for more power, taking out competing interests. I am torn between two desires: firstly to see every least NMLA member and those that support them sent to the Void, yet still wanting to keep the flame of true Marlinism alive. Unfortunately to Denton Patreus the only good Marlinist is a dead Marlinist, and even in more 'liberal' parts of the Empire there have been disturbing stories - back at Waterford and higher education institutions throughout the Empire, esteemed academics have been forced to make public denunciations of Marlinism or quit their tenure. This has set off several student uprisings which have been subsequently smashed by IISS thugs. The situation is barely any better in systems where Aisling holds influence, even if she wanted to make a stance she would jeopardise her own standing in the Empire, and indeed risk unravelling the work she has achieved in building the anti-slavery movement. Denton Patreus has turned a molehill into Olympus Mons, and his actions unfortunately will play into the hands of the NMLA as moderates become radicalised through this injustice.
Meanwhile the Federation has tried to prove it has the moral high ground by taking in the Marlinist refugees. I have no love lost for the Federation but the Empire is now a very dangerous place for anyone seen to be a Marlinist, especially in places under Patreus' control. The Empire has complained about this, saying that the Federation seeks to destabilise the Empire and is also providing aid and comfort to terrorists. I hope that the refugees do find safety, yet I am certain the Federation is not doing this for completely altruistic reasons. Also as much I believe (unlike the Imperial authorities) that the majority of those seeking safety in Federal space are bona fide refugees, I am certain that the NMLA will use the refugee situation and the goodwill of the Federation to their advantage. Furthermore, the Marlinists have yet to discover how bigoted Federals can be towards any Imperial, Marlinist or otherwise. Federal propaganda loves to talk about how Imperials look down on those with Federal accents, especially in Achenar, but they fail to acknowledge how poorly they treat Imperials who venture into their space. Indeed it is only thanks to their Shadow President, Felicia Winters, that they continue to be there at all - President Hudson would have sent them back to the Empire and left them to the mercy of Patreus if it wasn't for her veto, although Hudson (a pretty unpleasant man who in my view aspires to be as much of a tyrant as Patreus) is currently up to his neck with allegations of complicity in the attempted assassination of his predecessor. I find the whole idea of "illegal immigrants" hard to accept, personally, it's not as if there isn't room, that argument may have held some water back on Old Earth, but the Federation has hundreds of systems with new colonies springing up all the time, so a couple of thousand refugees should be no problem for them.
So to conclude, I am faced with a moral dilemma I haven't had since my more idealistic days. I seriously want to hunt down every last member of the NMLA and terminate them with extreme prejudice, for all the bloodshed they have caused and for disgracing the name of Marlin Duval. Yet the Empire's response is to oppress millions of its citizens, most of whom abhor what the NMLA has done, and if I can help to stop this authoritarian backlash in its tracks, I am ready to do my contribution whilst trying to clear the reputation of the true Marlinists. I wonder what my adopted family think of this all, but at present I daren't discuss this with any of the Wallises in case someone is spying and I draw unwanted attention to them, they were already struggling to stand tall under Patreus' yoke even before this. In any case, it looks like my time as a lone miner on the frontier is about to at be at least put on hold as I bide my time, and await the next development.