A null-sec alliance should hold character in high
regard. Entities that respect their
enemy, offer equal fights, honor diplomatic agreements – both in letter and in
spirit – and have pilots who honor 1v1s, don’t scam, and abide by their word
will face adversaries, not enemies.
Hatred, spite, and deceit do not contribute to a positive reputation. Another player can respect your alliance even
if they are opposing it, but only if you have good character.
I’m starting to think Insidious Empire has poor character.
Is that because I was killed afk-ratting up my sec status in
Tenal while I put my daughter to bed?
No; I was afk, they killed me; that’s how the game is played.
Is it because Insidious Empire now controls Cobalt Edge,
space Razor had previously controlled?
No. We didn’t offer even one
fleet to defend it. Our plan was to use
it for renters, but with the CFC rental program up and running, that plan went
to the wayside well before any of us knew who EMP was.
No, the reasons I have no respect for Insidious Empire lie
with how they operate, not what they
do.
The first thing that made me question their character was
Phreeze’s news postings on TheMittani.com about Razor’s activity. Not only is it inappropriate for the leader
of an alliance actively engaged in grinding structures from Razor to post
updates about Razor, but he took the opportunity to spin the facts multiple
times.
For example, I’d be okay if he said, “Insidious Empire
conquered Cobalt Edge”. Technically
that’s true, but his boys faced no resistence.
But stating, “Insidious Empire conquered Cobalt Edge from Razor Alliance” without immediately
following up with, “When contacted, Razor confirmed that it had no interest in
Cobalt Edge and wished Insidious Empire well,” misrepresents the action
entirely. It implies that plucky pilots
from EMP overcame noble defenders and deserve a triumph through the streets of
Rome. Even had another reporter written
the story, it would be more forgivable.
As it is, he did a shady thing, for no real purpose; EMP has no hope of
taking Tenal; Razor has no interest in taking Cobalt Edge.
But the other issue I have with EMP comes from the line
members. Beyond a general arrogance and
fifteen-year-old demeanor in local (perhaps I’m just sensitive to this, since
Razor has a no-local-talk policy that really makes sense), I’ve seen no
evidence that EMP has any interest in engaging at equal numbers – or even when
they slightly outnumber their enemy.
Where is this coming from?
Last night, I and six other goats were hunting a small EMP gang that
decided to camp A1RR. They had a Falcon,
Vexor, Thorax, a couple tacklers, and a couple more DPS ships. Yes, remember that: a Falcon.
We had a Vagabond (me), prober (my alt), Rapier, Harbinger
Navy Issue, a Vulture, and a Sabre, and another DPS ship. We were light on tackle other than our
Rapier, but we did have a Vulture and a Sabre.
I believe we were dead even on numbers (if you include my
prober, which was in a scary Buzzard), but that Falcon would completely
eliminate one or two people from the field.
Had we been in EMP’s gang, we would have burned off from the gate, or
warped to a nearby planet, set up, and engaged.
Their reaction? They
fled for the hills. We tried to chase
them – becoming strung out in the process – and they still fled. That got me thinking about previous engagements
with EMP.
I don’t believe any EMP pilot has ever agreed to a 1v1 with
me. I don’t believe any EMP fleet has
ever engaged at equal numbers, regardless of composition (and, let’s be honest,
the fleet we had yesterday was a kitchen sink response fleet; hardly very
organized).
One might argue, “Yes, but they didn’t know what you had in
nearby systems”.
If by “didn’t know” what was in the nearby systems, you mean
they didn’t take the time to check local as they fled across the breadth of
Tenal, then yes, you’re right. ::sarcasm::
They also have static campers throughout our major systems. They did know what we had.
“But, do you expect them to engage when they aren’t assured
of victory?” Yes; we did. It’s called a game. If you only engage when the outcome is
certain, what’s the point of playing?
We’re not talking about sov warfare here; nothing was at
stake except a couple hundred million isk each – a paltry sum – but as they
say, “blood will tell”. When roaming
pilots are risk-adverse, it says something about the character of the alliance.
They came come up with all the agit-prop they want; no one
in Razor is going to fear them unless they demonstrate the warrior’s way, and
ganking ratters isn’t it. By all means,
continue ganking ratters, just be honest about what you’re doing; padding your
killboard, not improving your skill.
Not hating, just saying…
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