Private Chat convo that was spawned by the Summit. Was good stuff.
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Channel ID: -31479953
Channel Name: Private Chat (Malcolm Khross)
Listener: Gottii
Session started: 2012.06.19 22:52:37
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[ 2012.06.19 22:53:25 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote nods once with a smile. > Saisa, thank you.
[ 2012.06.19 22:54:49 ] Gottii > /emote nods his head, his expression neutral> You're welcome, though Ive done you no flavors.
[ 2012.06.19 22:54:52 ] Gottii > favors*
[ 2012.06.19 22:55:05 ] Malcolm Khross > You have proven that you are willing to listen and that is more than many.
[ 2012.06.19 22:55:20 ] Malcolm Khross > Even if you do not agree.
[ 2012.06.19 22:55:26 ] Gottii > /emote nods slightly at that>
[ 2012.06.19 22:56:21 ] Malcolm Khross > The principles that I speak of when I say that I fight for them are the principles that once governed our people, those being the idea of personal and communal honor, strength of character and integrity and the philosophy of serving one another...
[ 2012.06.19 22:56:28 ] Malcolm Khross > ....sacrificially so that all benefit.
[ 2012.06.19 22:57:06 ] Malcolm Khross > Principles that have been sadly lost through the years and, more recently, used as political tools by our current "executor."
[ 2012.06.19 22:57:23 ] Gottii > /emote nods slowly, frowning slightly>
[ 2012.06.19 22:58:24 ] Malcolm Khross > Have I said something that troubles you?
[ 2012.06.19 22:58:43 ] Gottii > No. Merely listening.
[ 2012.06.19 22:59:43 ] Malcolm Khross > I fight in the Protectorate simply because I wish to try and create a strong defensive border to the State so that the constant changing of occupmancy will cease throwing the lives of...
[ 2012.06.19 23:00:07 ] Malcolm Khross > ..those living in the border systems into turmoil. It is...unjust that they should suffer in this way and they are often neglected.
[ 2012.06.19 23:00:29 ] Gottii > /emote nods> It is.
[ 2012.06.19 23:00:54 ] Malcolm Khross > It is my hope that by defending instead of conquering, a focus on internal affairs can be brought to bear and maybe we can see abotu developing some manner of stability and security for them.
[ 2012.06.19 23:01:43 ] Malcolm Khross > And maybe, if we can sour the war enough, Heth will lose the stranglehold over the corporations that he has becuase his platform will no longer be considered prudent.
[ 2012.06.19 23:02:14 ] Gottii > You...seek to undermine State offensive actions?
[ 2012.06.19 23:02:47 ] Malcolm Khross > No, that would make me a traitor. The Honor Guard does not participate in them and does not offer intel for them, we operate entirely defensively.
[ 2012.06.19 23:03:14 ] Malcolm Khross > It is my hope that by forcing the Federation to reconsider its own offensive actions, they will form a strong defense to keep the State's at bay. A forceful truce, as it were.
[ 2012.06.19 23:05:14 ] Gottii > Hmm. Thats a fine line, Captain. Your peoples have been in a civil war for generations. It seems a fragile peace plan. Though one, for what its worth, I hope works.
[ 2012.06.19 23:05:42 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote takes a deep breath. > It is worth fighting for...and that is all I am doing.
[ 2012.06.19 23:06:13 ] Malcolm Khross > I do not have the power or authority to negotiate peace or put an end to war, I only have the power to fight for a cause I believe in and this is my cause.
[ 2012.06.19 23:06:47 ] Malcolm Khross > There are many in the STate that support a similar ideal, but they are overshadowed.
[ 2012.06.19 23:06:59 ] Gottii > I assume you were a soldier before you entered into a pod. Every soldier knows that half-measures often cause much suffering.
[ 2012.06.19 23:07:25 ] Malcolm Khross > Actually...I wasn't.
[ 2012.06.19 23:07:43 ] Gottii > No? May I ask what you did?
[ 2012.06.19 23:07:50 ] Malcolm Khross > I was a wanderer, to put it most accurately. I was born to dissenters and nomadic pirates.
[ 2012.06.19 23:08:20 ] Gottii > Gurista aligned then?
[ 2012.06.19 23:09:06 ] Malcolm Khross > I do not know, to be honest. I was taken from that world when I was very young, as my parents were arrested and repatriated.
[ 2012.06.19 23:09:37 ] Malcolm Khross > I became a capsuleer shortly after graduating from planetside academcis with a degree in mechanical engineering.
[ 2012.06.19 23:10:01 ] Gottii > There are many dissidents and dispossed within the State. It is hard to rise from their ranks to the peak of Caldari society. You must have done well for yourself.
[ 2012.06.19 23:10:10 ] Malcolm Khross > I chose the path I walk now after a great deal of time spent in careful though, self-reflection and...a good measure of blind hope.
[ 2012.06.19 23:10:44 ] Malcolm Khross > I dedicate myself wholly to whatever task is at hand, that tends to award one merit in the State.
[ 2012.06.19 23:11:47 ] Gottii > /emote snorts> Well, my "rise" such as it is, had little to do with merit. Often its opposite.
[ 2012.06.19 23:12:05 ] Malcolm Khross > I would be honored to learn more of you, if you will share it.
[ 2012.06.19 23:12:42 ] Gottii > /emote sits very still> What would you wish to know?
[ 2012.06.19 23:13:52 ] Malcolm Khross > Am I correct in understanding that you are what many carelessly label a "freedom fighter?"
[ 2012.06.19 23:14:49 ] Gottii > /emote laughs> No. At least, not in the way Outsiders think of such things.
[ 2012.06.19 23:15:01 ] Malcolm Khross > Hence the term "carelessly."
[ 2012.06.19 23:15:16 ] Gottii > I am no Ushra-khan radicial or Defiant. I am too old for such things. That is a young man's fancy.
[ 2012.06.19 23:15:33 ] Malcolm Khross > How would you describe yourself, then?
[ 2012.06.19 23:16:07 ] Gottii > There was a time that the Kre'al'tor burned within me, but that was long ago. I grew wiser, or perhaps simply grew tired.
[ 2012.06.19 23:16:29 ] Gottii > I am a Matar, I am a Brutor, of Clan Avenar, the Vrek'shar Sept, of the Lodge of the Snow Leopard.
[ 2012.06.19 23:16:39 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote blinks. > Kre'al'tor...define this term, please?
[ 2012.06.19 23:17:06 ] Gottii > /emote shrugs> Uhh..."self-consuming fire"....kind of. Anger.
[ 2012.06.19 23:17:15 ] Malcolm Khross > Ah, thank you.
[ 2012.06.19 23:17:24 ] Malcolm Khross > The passion that your people show vibrantly.
[ 2012.06.19 23:17:44 ] Gottii > We have many passions. We simply have little chance to show others.
[ 2012.06.19 23:17:58 ] Malcolm Khross > That is unfortunate.
[ 2012.06.19 23:18:29 ] Gottii > Yes, it is. That is what I wish most. I do not wish to hate those who enslaved us. I wish to care nothing for them anymore. And for the People to do the same.
[ 2012.06.19 23:18:57 ] Malcolm Khross > That is an honorable viewpoint.
[ 2012.06.19 23:19:27 ] Malcolm Khross > So you fight to remove them from your territory and keep them out?
[ 2012.06.19 23:20:19 ] Gottii > I was a slave Malcolm. I was born to a slave family. I want my family back. As would anyone, I would think.
[ 2012.06.19 23:20:59 ] Gottii > Amarrian apologists say this means I wish "offensive action". But the Empire declared war on my kin long ago. I simply wish to defend them.
[ 2012.06.19 23:21:56 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote furrows his brow a moment before nodding slowly afterward. > This is something I cannot pretend to fully relate to, but I can understand it.
[ 2012.06.19 23:23:34 ] Gottii > /emote stares a moment> I was born on a high-gravity mining colony. I left when I was a child of maybe 12 winters.
[ 2012.06.19 23:23:49 ] Gottii > It took me....a long time....to "feel" Matari. Sometimes I still dont.
[ 2012.06.19 23:25:08 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote frowns heavily.
[ 2012.06.19 23:25:31 ] Gottii > I'm going to ask you a question, Captain Khross.
[ 2012.06.19 23:25:34 ] Malcolm Khross > This is something you do not wish for future generations to suffer through?
[ 2012.06.19 23:25:38 ] Malcolm Khross > Very well.
[ 2012.06.19 23:26:50 ] Gottii > I will give you a choice. You have two choices, you must either kill some of your family, or all of your family suffers and lives at the whims of overseers.
[ 2012.06.19 23:26:54 ] Gottii > Which do you chose?
[ 2012.06.19 23:27:28 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote blinks, startling back a bit in his chair, clearly surprised by the question.
[ 2012.06.19 23:28:44 ] Malcolm Khross > I...
[ 2012.06.19 23:29:03 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote frowns. > I would choose the former and pray they could forgive me.
[ 2012.06.19 23:29:17 ] Gottii > /emote sniffs, then mutters> As did I.
[ 2012.06.19 23:29:49 ] Gottii > Every time I open fire upon an Amarrian warship, Captain Khross, I know that there are thousands of Amarrian slaves crewing it.
[ 2012.06.19 23:29:55 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote nods somberly.
[ 2012.06.19 23:29:57 ] Gottii > Thousands...for just one battleship.
[ 2012.06.19 23:30:28 ] Gottii > Ive the blood of my family on my hands. My kin.
[ 2012.06.19 23:30:51 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote clenches his jaw briefly.
[ 2012.06.19 23:31:10 ] Gottii > You ask me what drives me? To make that sacrifice worth it. And yes...to visit war and death upon the people who forced me to make such a choice.
[ 2012.06.19 23:31:38 ] Gottii > Im here not because of my "merit", as you are. Im here....<snorts>...in more ways than you know...because I am without merit.
[ 2012.06.19 23:31:51 ] Gottii > I am a murderer. And I have to be. And every day I mourn that.
[ 2012.06.19 23:32:01 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote interjects pointedly. > I disagree with you.
[ 2012.06.19 23:32:16 ] Malcolm Khross > You say you are without merit.
[ 2012.06.19 23:32:29 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote shakes his head slowly. > I would say you are wrong.
[ 2012.06.19 23:33:23 ] Malcolm Khross > You have conviction and it drives you, you have determination and it sustains you, you have passion and it fuels you. You have made an impossible choice and you are doing all you can to make it worth the cost.
[ 2012.06.19 23:33:38 ] Malcolm Khross > This gives you merit, a great deal of it.
[ 2012.06.19 23:34:05 ] Gottii > Well, thank you for your words. But I am a kinslayer.
[ 2012.06.19 23:34:16 ] Gottii > Thats why we Matari hate the Empire cross. Not just for enslavement.
[ 2012.06.19 23:34:36 ] Gottii > But...for making us take up arms against our brothers and sisters, to save our sons and daughters.
[ 2012.06.19 23:35:27 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote nods slowly. > I do not know what spiritual beliefs you hold to, if any...but I believe those that are lost in your fight would count it an honor to you even through your grief, and theirs.
[ 2012.06.19 23:36:00 ] Malcolm Khross > I...do not think your ancestors disfavor you for this.
[ 2012.06.19 23:36:34 ] Gottii > /emote shrugs> Perhaps not. But its too far along now.
[ 2012.06.19 23:36:37 ] Malcolm Khross > Though, I understand now, much more completely, the bitterness of your struggle...
[ 2012.06.19 23:37:33 ] Gottii > So...that is why Im against the Empire, the State, and everyone who supports this....this system...who made me make these choices.
[ 2012.06.19 23:37:43 ] Gottii > I did not wish to be...this. I had finally found a home...a clan...a place.
[ 2012.06.19 23:37:56 ] Gottii > I just wished to be Matari. To belong to the People.
[ 2012.06.19 23:38:33 ] Gottii > That is no small thing when youre born outside of the Tribes, and come to the Republic on the cusp of adolescence.
[ 2012.06.19 23:38:35 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote nods slowly, his tone apologetic. > You do not believe me when I tell you that the State does not support the "system" you are referring to but has little choice in the matter.
[ 2012.06.19 23:39:22 ] Gottii > I understand you feel that way. But I will not allow the State to sacrifice my kin to save their way of life. Nor would you, if our positions were reversed.
[ 2012.06.19 23:40:23 ] Malcolm Khross > You are right, I would not. But...the State doesn't sacrifice your kin. It doesn't use slave labor, it arrests slavers that venture into its borders and it staffs its own stations and ships....
[ 2012.06.19 23:40:37 ] Malcolm Khross > We don't make use of slave labor and never will.
[ 2012.06.19 23:41:32 ] Gottii > It buys the goods produced from slave hands. The Caldari are too savvy economically to know that if you purchase a thing...you drive up the demand...you drive up the demand, you encourage others to increase the supply.
[ 2012.06.19 23:41:40 ] Gottii > to not know*
[ 2012.06.19 23:42:44 ] Malcolm Khross > Again, we have very little choice in the matter. We are constantly beset by the Federation who placed us in a very similar position to you, though not exactly the same position.
[ 2012.06.19 23:42:55 ] Gottii > /emote raises a hand> I do not wish to argue this Khross, I doubt I will convince you of the State's culpability. And I know you will not be able to convince me of its innocence.
[ 2012.06.19 23:42:58 ] Malcolm Khross > We have to purchase supplies and materials from somewhere...
[ 2012.06.19 23:43:26 ] Malcolm Khross > I know the State's hands are stained with blood, Gotti...
[ 2012.06.19 23:43:31 ] Malcolm Khross > Believe me...I know it.
[ 2012.06.19 23:43:54 ] Malcolm Khross > I know that is far from innocent, in a great...great many things.
[ 2012.06.19 23:44:10 ] Gottii > The Federation never whiipped you Khross.
[ 2012.06.19 23:44:28 ] Gottii > The Fedearation never tinkered with your DNA, tested your ability to withstand pain.
[ 2012.06.19 23:44:35 ] Malcolm Khross > No, it did not. It struck us in a much different way.
[ 2012.06.19 23:45:27 ] Malcolm Khross > I...am not attempting to downplay the suffering of your past, or to claim that we are equal in such a way. Please understand that.
[ 2012.06.19 23:45:52 ] Malcolm Khross > Well, suffering of your past and present.
[ 2012.06.19 23:46:09 ] Gottii > /emote shrugs> We all have our burdens we must carry in our Walks.
[ 2012.06.19 23:46:25 ] Malcolm Khross > Yes...
[ 2012.06.19 23:47:07 ] Malcolm Khross > I would rather not see the tension between the Matari and the Caldari get worse. I know we have wronged you as a people, I know that we have contributed to your current suffering.
[ 2012.06.19 23:47:41 ] Malcolm Khross > We are fighting our own battles and it is a bitter thing that doing so requires us to also carry burdens and make choices we do not wish to make.
[ 2012.06.19 23:47:51 ] Gottii > Keep in mind, many of the Federation soldiers are Matari themselves, fighting for their adoptive home.
[ 2012.06.19 23:48:26 ] Gottii > The traditionists among the Tribes view "nationality" through kinship, not borders.
[ 2012.06.19 23:49:00 ] Gottii > I know you do not wish conflict with the People. We did not wish it either. But it is here.
[ 2012.06.19 23:50:11 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote sighs. > So because I defend my people from yours fighting for their adopted home, I am an enemy to you and your people.
[ 2012.06.19 23:51:54 ] Gottii > War is many things. Fair it is not.
[ 2012.06.19 23:52:26 ] Malcolm Khross > A painful wisdom.
[ 2012.06.19 23:52:47 ] Malcolm Khross > You may view me your enemy, Gotti and I will understand though it will be a pain to me.
[ 2012.06.19 23:53:53 ] Malcolm Khross > I do not consider you an enemy, nor the ones living in the Federation. But, as choices go, I have few. It is my people or yours when they are in State space.
[ 2012.06.19 23:54:56 ] Gottii > /emote stares for a long moment, then speaks softly> You would do well to think of me as an evil man Khross. For as your people are concerned, I probably am. I wish ill upon them.
[ 2012.06.19 23:55:20 ] Gottii > I am perhaps an evil man who mourns, but the unsaid truth is most evil men mourn, in one way or another.
[ 2012.06.19 23:55:30 ] Gottii > Thank you for this talk, Captain Khross.
[ 2012.06.19 23:55:43 ] Malcolm Khross > /emote simply nods quietly and disconnects.