Well, there are multiple potential interpretations.
1. Rise 2.0
- Was this a mistaken shipment? One of the potential side effects of Rise withdrawal is depression and suicide.
2. Rogue Drone infiltration
-
http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Independence The nomenclature fits, but why would Rogue Drones use nanobots in pills?
3. Sansha's Nation
- I described the theory above.
4. Anti-Nation Counter-terrorism
- Self explanatory, and touched upon by others.
5. Conspiracy Theory #1,309,502 (Or, the Texas Sharpshooter Method of Discovering Everything About EVE - "TSMDEAE" for short, also known as "Niki, you're going to give me another headache again aren't you?")
- This is a variant of Rise.
- The Intaki had a hand in this
- Vorada Kuvakei. Is there *really* no connection there?
- Wormholes are the KEY TO EVERYTHING!
- Intaki was the target of multiple attacks by Sansha's Nation. Really? There's *no* connection?
- Yes, this is so unlikely that it's crazy. But then again, there is The Broker for precedence.
- There are many copies. They have a plan. One of my friends played for a short while, and he said that a certain CONCORD guy stated that they had retrieved multiple duplicates of multiple individuals from wrecks of Sansha ships at the attack sites.
- Everything is connected!
- CONSPIRACY! CONSPIRACY! OMG!
7. The slightly less manic Conspiracy Theory (or: Putting it all together, with the potential that this is completely off-base).
- We know that Nation forces have at least been seen around a Jove station.
- Rogue Drones can build "pseudo-Jove" station-like structures as hives.
- There is an exploration site called "Independence".
- Sansha's forces now use "liberation" as a term for what they are doing.
- There are tenuous links between the Serpentis and Rogue Drones.
- There are Chronicle suggestions of a link between the Intaki, SOE and Serpentis. Further, this link leads even further afield via Serpentis links with Ishukone, and back to Intaki through the deal Ishukone, Mordu and the Intaki government reached to provide economic and military assistance.
- If you take a step back, these are *very* tenuous connections. What does it all mean?
Looking further:
- There were multiple attacks in Intaki.
- "Ishaeka" is a possibly Intaki word, the name for the investigation into Nation forces.
- RISE was initially created by an Idama.
- A compromised member of CONCORD was Intaki, as well as the individual behind the investigations in the first place.
- Said liberations are suggested to be "uplifting" individuals from lives of drudgery and unhappiness. What is the stated goal of the Idamas (well, at least the oath they apparently take according to AURORA event actors if I interpret the EVE wiki correctly)?
As long as space endures
As long as sentient beings exist
Until then, may I too remain
And dispel the miseries of the world.
As you can see, many of these theories can be mixed and matched to create semi-believable links. However, at this point we do not have sufficient evidence to draw any lasting, provable conclusions.
Finally, here's the most likely scenario due to Occam's Razor, and linking the suicides with the "mystery cargo":
1. This is a RISE variant.
2. The shipment was meant for "that other colony" where the suicides took place.
3. Simple human error just revealed something bigger, and we will not know the full extent of what is going on for some time.
4. Take note of what you see, and hopefully by the time everything is clear, there will be something for you to do beyond posting on forums.
I for one welcome our new beloved overlords, and hope that their benevolent leadership shall ensla... I mean, enlighten you all!