Dust Brigade Attacks Omni-Med

[joshuacrime]

Well, Xhairs, you and I are in agreement on most of what you say. I too do not think that we Clanners should blame Omni-Tek for the actions of our predecesors. However, I'm not hearing a lot of sentiments to the effect of what you said. In effect, it was wrong for the old Omni-Tek administration to do what they did, but you have lots of people in your organization that would like to see Clan territory reduced to a big pile of rubble. No, there isn't a lot of apologetic commentary coming from Omni-Tek's screed machines. So, I wish you all thought that way (you in particular sound honorable) but very few of your faction say what you say.

You can make that comparison to the current attempted comparison of Clan organizations to the Dust Brigade (or the Sentinels for that matter). Oh, it's OK for certain people to make scurrilious accusations about Clan that way, but when I can, accurately, by their own quotes, say that you have people in your faction that still wish to destroy us all in Clan, you can say that "oh, it's just nutcases like Seventshadow or complete Omni propaganda spin doctors like Marisha". I wish I could say different, but the arguement doesn't fly as well as I think you had hoped.

When I hear people in your faction say "Oh, let's just frosh the entire northern hemisphere with nuclear weapons" or "well, I'm just glad that the operation came under budget" after a very vicious attack on non-threatening Clan (and Neutral and Omni fighters) during the vehicle crash in Mort, it's not giving me warm fuzzies that most Omni-Tek employees regret what has happened in the past or currently. Apparently, some Omni cannot (or do not care to) see how this might make Clanners a bit su****ious that the attitude of the average Omni-Tek employee towards Clanners probably hasn't changed much since those days.

The same attitude permeates this discussion. Where is it written that Omni-Tek is immune from any sort of criticism regarding it's past and how it currently operates, while you can disparage Clan for having "alleged ties with a terrorist organization" and make it sound like it's fact. Well, it's not. It is unsubstantiated vitriolic drivel and it's beneath most people other than the incorrugable Omni-Tek apologist. The kind of people that cannot see that their side can possibly do any wrong whatsoever. I can with my side, how is it so hard for those of you that think that way? That I do not understand at all.

[Marisha]

Originally posted by joshuacrime
Where is it written that Omni-Tek is immune from any sort of criticism regarding it's past and how it currently operates, while you can disparage Clan for having "alleged ties with a terrorist organization" and make it sound like it's fact.

I would say that the actions of our great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfathers were wrong, and were addressed in the Clans Rights Treaty of 29233. On the other hand, the allegations of the clan leaders having ties to known terrorists are little more than two years old at best, and have been answered with “but the Dust Brigade isn’t a clan.”

Ancient addressed problems, versus recent unaddressed problems. What would be your response? Can you honestly say that the rational response would be to continue to harp on the ancient problems?

[Vixentrox]

The DB just as easily could be on OT-RK payroll. Ross using them to take out his enemies be it Clan or within the company, his very own secret attack dogs.

[Daimoness]

Fine, so what makes a clan a clan? Do I simply become a clan by saying so? If this is the case, when exactly did Dust Brigade declare they are a clan? And even if there might be differences between clans, so far there have been no attacks by clans on other clans.

I know that Omni-Tek propaganda will continue to claim Dust Brigade is a clan, and the sad thing is that there are enough gullible people around who will believe it if it's repeated over and over. But that does still not make it any more the truth. They are terrorists, attacking anyone they feel like, when they want and where they want.

I also repeat that I have personally participated in several attacks on Dust Brigade troops and the only known installation. I have so far to learn of any Omni-Tek attack on Dust Brigade. But then again it is easier to attack the city of Athens instead, as the guards there are not as powerful as Dusters.

Half of the major Clans, the Eco-Warriors, the Sentinels, the Knights ar run by lunatics.

So? Just cause they seem like that to you does not make it true. They have an agenda that you think is crazy, but then again, this is what I think about the ICC and Omni-Tek's claim to own a planet.

Also, I never expected any Omni employee to join a clan. Unlike maybe most other clanners I believe that Omni-Tek is free to do business here, and even own land, but under the control of an elected government. Power always needs to be controlled. Else, power will corrupt those who wield it.

We have allegations of financial support from the old Council

Yes, that's the point. Allegiations, no facts. Now this claim is as old as I have not seen a single piece of evidence to support this claim. I have called for it and others have done the same. Nothing ever happened, so I must consider it baseless propaganda. All I have ever seen is press releases by Omni-Pol, a department which is not to be believed, ever, unless they can support their claims with incontrovertible truth.

We have tracked a financial trail suggesting that the old Council was giving financial support.

Yes? I hear you well, that's the same stuff I hear for over a year now, but just by claiming you have it you don't prove anything. o before you call on us to prove we're not, first see that you can prove there are ties. But I am repeating myself.

We have, however, asked for evidence stronger that “but they aren’t” when we point to possible clan/Dust Brigade ties.

Excuse me! Now, since what time is a baseless accusation enough to have someone defend himself? One of the principles of law is that an accusation must be supported by evidence before the accused person has to prove otherwise.

The specifics of the Clan-Omni conflict on Rubi-Ka is that there are no frontlines. The 'war', such as it is, comprise mostly of covert operations and raids. There is absolutely no reason to involve the Neutrals in it.

You make the right observation but take the wrong conclusion from it. If you really see this as a sort of civil war - and those are the wars without clear frontier lines - then name a single civil war with neutrals. I don't know any.

[joshuacrime]

Sorry, but saying the Dust Brigade is a Clan organization is just plain political spin, but that's OK. The basis of your assumption is that "silence is complicity" and that's bogus. So I won't even dignify such a screed with a comment. However, when I check their IFF, it reads Neutral. Hmmmm, guess the Dust Brigades are really part of the Neutral Faction and it should be read that all Neutrals are now a threat to us all from the Dust Brigades...oh wait...Neutrals were attacked by the DB as well...hmmmm, guess that kills that.

And the "Clan Rights Treaty" you so splendidly tout was violated more times than a skinny nanomage prison inmate on Wash Day, so we can dispense with the "why do you all hang onto ancient history" when quite simply stated, the ills that befell Clan in those days has not been adeuqately addressed by Omni-Tek and to this day the actions of the Corporation are deadly to Clan. So, maybe when you all stop trying to kill us just by walking in the front door of an Omni city, maybe we won't think you mean to kill us all. And yes, we have guards that do the same to you now (In OA, Simon's goons can't keep crap out of Tir). But remember, the business of having "guards" preventing Clan from entering other cities on Rubi-Ka was your invention. Not ours.

I've been thinking about it, and sent a comment elsewhere in this forum about the possible Dust Brigade origin, and there are just too many to make the guess from. However, I'm certain that whoever it is wishes:

1. To see that the overall defenses, morale and confidence of the powers that exist are not able to make their own citizenry feel safe.

2. To keep Omni-Tek and Clan at each others throats with accusations about who the attackers are in league with (of course, it doesn't help that they don't need to do their own propagandizing, our own political hard-liners do it for them), keeping us fighting each other for their benefit

3. To insure that they are the only power that remains on this planet

After seeing that, I'm convinced that the DB is not affiliated with either Clan or Omni, but possibly Neutral in some hard-line faction. I doubt most of the Neutrals out there support the actions of the Dust Brigade. No, what makes more sense to me is someone from offworld that has an interest in Rubi-Ka or an already present power structure that wants the same.

I was thinking perhaps they were ICC agents, maybe Cyborgs in disguise, perhaps agents of the Sol Banking Corp or another corporation that Omni has peeved off in the past and wants revenge, or perhaps they are just a bunch of megalomaniacal terrorists of homegrown origin that want to take over the planet and crush it under their dung stained bootheels.

Again, we don't really know where they are given support from or what their overall objectives are. We just know that they are hitting us all now, and it's a problem that we Rubi-Kaeans should be dealing with collectively.

[Marisha]

Originally posted by Daimoness
I also repeat that I have personally participated in several attacks on Dust Brigade troops and the only known installation. I have so far to learn of any Omni-Tek attack on Dust Brigade.

The investigation is ongoing. Has it stalled due to the constraints of the current conflict? Probably. Has the lack of a clan government thrown a spanner into our ability to investigate matters inside clan held territories? Possibly. Would it be appropiate to release details of the investigation while it is ongoing? Most defiantly. Should Omni-Pol share their research data with clanners who view them as terrorists? I don’t think they should.

In your numerous attacks, have you personally ever discovered anything about the Dust Brigades plans or strongholds? Can you say that your efforts have brought the situation any closer to resolution?

Originally posted by joshuacrime
And the "Clan Rights Treaty" you so splendidly tout was violated more times than a skinny nanomage prison inmate on Wash Day, so we can dispense with the "why do you all hang onto ancient history" when quite simply stated, the ills that befell Clan in those days has not been adeuqately addressed by Omni-Tek and to this day the actions of the Corporation are deadly to Clan.

It was violated, yes. The clans were granted a limited lease on land from Omni-Tek in return for an end to all future armed hostilities and the continued cooperation with Omni-Tek's mining operations. And we never received an apology,

Originally posted by joshuacrime
But remember, the business of having "guards" preventing Clan from entering other cities on Rubi-Ka was your invention. Not ours.

Indeed. We should have patented it then, as we could of made a ton of credits from the licensing rights for “Guard ™.” In all seriousness, I doubt that Omni-Tek invented the concept of “Guards” or “Guarding.” I’m not a pre-winter historian, but I’m pretty sure that the concept comes from the monkey time, around the same time that the monkeys realized that fire was good and that they only had to wear the skin of the dead animal.

[Daimoness]

Now it seems that after a serious word-throwing we start getting down to the point where we can talk facts and set aside the usual differences.

First, Joshua, your assessment of the Dust Brigade's goals from what we can judge is pretty good. They aren't neutral however, unless you take neutral for what it really means today, which is much closer to ther word "other" than to the real meaning of "neutral". What their true agenda is, who sponsors them with their superior technology, and where their real hideouts are is beyond our knowledge. It is suspected that their stronghold is somewhere outside the terraformed zones where we cannot reach yet. I am also sure that whatever advanced technology they have cloaks them from Omni-Tek's orbital surveillance and other recon attempts.

Second, as to Marisha's comments - I am quite sure that the ongoing hostilities have thinned the resources available for investigations into Dust Brigade. Also, the exploration of the Shadowlands has led to a widespread neglection of the planet's problems, for which we now paid the price.

Indeed, we do have some intelligence from our raids on the compounds, but due to my retirement from active military service I cannot tell if any new findings are around. Still, I think that we should share whatever we know about Dust Brigade across the oh-so-customary front lines. Even though I do bear a long-nurtured hatred against Omni-Pol - I take you got that by now - I would even work together with them. Maybe since Mr. Meister is no longer a ranking officer they improved from what they used to be?

The fact that I do support the Sentinels with my clan does not mean that I refuse to talk to Omni-Tek employees. I said several times already that this conflict will not be settled on the Battlefield.

-D

[Cogs]

Ancient addressed problems, versus recent unaddressed problems. What would be your response? Can you honestly say that the rational response would be to continue to harp on the ancient problems?

Unfortunately, miss Douroussau, this does not hold water. As was pointed out by Joshuacrime, to high a percentage of your people still beleive that the annihilation of the Clans is the only solution.
So, the accusations keep flying, based on the actions of rouge elements on both sides. No side any better than the other.
My proposal would be; use your influence and polemic skills to enlighten your own people first. We of the Clans should do the same.
One can dream, can one not........

[Naefen]

Originally posted by Vixentrox
The DB just as easily could be on OT-RK payroll. Ross using them to take out his enemies be it Clan or within the company, his very own secret attack dogs.

Thats gotta be one of the most vicious and furthest from the truty theory out there.

If it had even a thread of truth in it and The Dusters actually are used to root out in-company people then why would they attack so wide open? I seriously doubt Mr.Ross would not use slightly more subtle means.

Wether you actually ment it or not simply thinking that way makes me sick. I am convinced the Dusters dont work for anyone but themselves. They have theyre own agenda and theyre own goals. If they should ever reach that goal..... I dont think any of the rest of us would be very happy about it.

[joshuacrime]

I find it rather amusing at how the OT apologists and blind backers continue to twist and pull on the strings of the past to make whatever they want come out of any statement made. This "he said, she said" thing has gone on long enough, as all it is doing is not furthering the debate, but helping us all practice our wordsmithing skills. Not that I don't relish that, but this is serious business.

Given this some more thought, one of the things that stands out is that, for the most part, what have they attacked:

1. Power structures (Omni-Pol, etc)
2. Places of Congregation (Omni-Ent, OA Hill, Bor, etc)
3. Administration and Services (Omni-Med, etc)

I think it's safe to say that they want us to be fearful, impotent and su****ious of one another. Since they aren't really sparing anyone here on the planet as far as faction goes, I'm still leaning more heavily on off-planet sources. Still though...it could be one of our own RK factions that are doing this secretly. Certainly we have some ambitious people here already.

Could you say that the Sentinels are really the Dust Brigade in disguise? A political/military wing of the terrorist group? You could and I'm sure you could take enough from the circumstantial evidence present and make that case.

I could easily make the case for a Neutral organization, where it's clear they were hit far less, and to me would indicate that the DB settled a score in the Neutral territory, and then moved on to their exterior enemy.

I could quite easily make the case for any number of Omni-Tek organizations too. Omni-AF, with their loss of prestige and lack of glory since they are purely a police force now, which Omni-Pol is trained and equipped for. Perhaps they would like to reclaim old glories and prestige within the Corporation by drumming up violence that only they can remove? Or how about Omni Mining? After a period of time, the profits may be hit so damn hard that the ICC and others will send troops en masse to help deal with those pesky problems that prevent Omni Mining from making the books sing every quarter. After all, as Frank Herbert said "the ****e must flow". Or notum, in our case. I think we could make cases for having a nice little political death squad to deal with politcal axes that need grinding, and nearly all of the factions here "could" be to blame for that.

No, what we have is flimsly and thin evidence as to the origin, affiliation, signature and goals of the DB. So, anyone who says they are this or that or something else knows something we don't. So...tell me, all you brainiacs out there that know it all already...what are you keeping from us? Hmmmmmmm?

We do have to deal with the issue of the current conflict in one way for another, even on a limited basis, to deal with this scourge. As I have mentioned many times, the FIRST thing that must happen is that Omni-Tek must make a paradigm shift in their thinking. You no longer RULE us. Get it through your heads. Certain people like to drum up all sorts of "Omni-Tek said this, and Omni-Tek said that, and you signed this and you signed that, and we still have the authority" blah blah blah blah blah. No you don't. Omni-Tek has NO authority over Clan territory as far as I'm concerned and as far as Clan in general is concerned. You LOST that authority when we split from your "loving corporate care". Now, we do not recognize the ICC or anything that you say that gives you authority to rule this planet. No, you have the bottom half, we have the top half, Neutrals get the middle. But you do not "rule" us, so when you Omni zealots get that through your skulls and deal with Clan as an equal partner and not as a "rogue element", then things might change in Clan thinking. But probably not until then.

[Xhairs]

Originally posted by joshuacrime
you have the bottom half, we have the top half, Neutrals get the middle. But you do not "rule" us, so when you Omni zealots get that through your skulls and deal with Clan as an equal partner and not as a "rogue element", then things might change in Clan thinking. But probably not until then.

That is one of the main problems. The Omni hardliners have wind in their sails due to that even if the Clans gatherings like CoT looks like a goverment, it realy is not. When OT got back the mines after the Tir Accord was signed they was supposed to be left alone. Still, some Clans and Clan members (real or not) attacked the instalations, giving the hardliners the excuse they needed to fire up the warmachinery again. As long as Clans can do things like that, and the CoT will just go "Sorry, but we have no power over them." then the hardliners will have everything they need.

Toughen up the Council, make it a real goverment, make all those Clans that are members face their wrongdoings, and hang those that will not be a part of it and follow it´s rulings out to dry. That way you will show not only Omni Admin that you are for real, but you will also show the rest of humanity that you are, and in the same blow pull out a few teeths from the maw of the hardliners.

[Kithraks]

Originally posted by Xhairs
Toughen up the Council, make it a real goverment, make all those Clans that are members face their wrongdoings, and hang those that will not be a part of it and follow it´s rulings out to dry. That way you will show not only Omni Admin that you are for real, but you will also show the rest of humanity that you are, and in the same blow pull out a few teeths from the maw of the hardliners.

Well said.

[Naefen]

Originally posted by Xhairs


Toughen up the Council, make it a real goverment, make all those Clans that are members face their wrongdoings, and hang those that will not be a part of it and follow it´s rulings out to dry.

That most surely would gain a huge burst of confidence from Omni Admin. Sadly, I have no confidence the Council will ever be able to effectively "punish" its own members.

[joshuacrime]

Guys, guys, guys...Clan is not a big happy family. Never has, never was. We don't get the Omni-Tek "workaday happy pill" with our daily rations to keep us all in line. The Council are merely the affiliated clan organizations that decided to confederate for limited purposes. We usually have different goals, different agendas and sometimes we even tend to not like each other very much.

As I have mentioned previously, this is not how Omni-Tek works, but it does work for us. Once the Omni employees understand this, then we have a reason for continuing along this line. As long as you still insist on assigning a "he's guilty, he's Clan, therefore they must be punished", then the rest of the reasonable Clan organizations will not care what Omni-Tek says, because that military-like "collective punishment" crap doesn't fly with us. I was once a trooper, and I can assure you that now that I am not in a military organization, I do not act like that any longer. Certainly, I am prepared for combat, but no psychological claptrap is going to convince me of anything like this.

As for punishing a particular Clanner, and by this I assume you mean Simon, I would say...OK...but first...you must bring out those who were in charge of the operations that began this whole debacle from the Omni Mining division, and also the Omni-Pol, AF, Command, etc and do exactly the same to them as you will plan to do with Simon Silverstone. Fair is fair. If you want blood, you got it. How much can you yourselves spare since many, many more on the Omni side were responsible for the events that led to the rebellion.

No, if you want Simon for his "crimes", we want Phillip Ross's head on a stake. I'm quite certain that, given your bureaucratic organizational structure, the troops don't deploy unless HE says so. And probably a long list of thousands of Omni-Tek employees that were silent when all of the abuses, killings and destruction against the workers were going on (since I keep on hearing about how "silence is complicity"). I kind of don't see that happening, so I think that perhaps you need to leave the Sentinels out of it.

Currently, Simon Silverstone has a political agenda, and it's not very favorable to Omni-Tek and the Neutrals. Well, maybe they shouldn't be. As I have mentioned before, the actions of the corporation began the rebellion, and Clan is a reaction to that. Once Omni-Tek deals with the people responsible, then and only then will people in Clan believe that we need to be punishing anyone.

[Keldros]

Originally posted by joshuacrime

As for punishing a particular Clanner, and by this I assume you mean Simon, I would say...OK...but first...you must bring out those who were in charge of the operations that began this whole debacle from the Omni Mining division

Don't worry, I'm sure Omni-tek knows exactly where their remains have been for the last 150-175 years. No doubt they will be dug up and handed over for a proper trial.

[Marisha]

Originally posted by joshuacrime
As long as you still insist on assigning a "he's guilty, he's Clan, therefore they must be punished", then the rest of the reasonable Clan organizations will not care what Omni-Tek says, because that military-like "collective punishment" crap doesn't fly with us.

I believe you have missed the point, or are deliberately avoiding the topic. What was suggested was that the clans themselves police themselves. Colective punishment was also not mentioned, just that if a clan who is a member of the Council of Truth violates its principles, they should be held accountable. Likewise, if a non-member clan violates the council’s efforts to restore order, they will be held accountable.

At no point was it suggested that Omni-Tek police or administer the clans justice system, should one come out of the Council of Truth. I fear you are permitting your paranoia to take hold of your judgment.

[joshuacrime]

What is being missed is your obdurate sense of loyalty towards your organization and how it clouds your overall judgement. The avoidance of the whole issue of the conflict has been sitting and simmering like a nice hot stew since the beginning of this thread, and yet, all I hear is more and more "lawyering" from the "spokesman" of Omni-Tek. Now I know good and well that no one speaks for Omni-Tek but Phillip Ross. Anyone else doing it is just blowing so much smoke and mirrors.

No, I'm not missing a thing. As I mentioned, I personally do not care about what Omni-Tek thinks about how we administer ourselves in the Council of Truth. Nor do I care how Omni-Tek and it's drones think about how our system of governing isn't conforming to your way of thinking. Too bad, I really can't be bothered.

What I think is truly being missed is that the arguements are slowly being lost and you have no way of defending yourself other than to point out things that were written into contracts as old as the history of this conflict. The Tir Accord, as you well know, was broken up by Omni-Tek because of the dissapearance of the CoT. And why was that? Could it be that Omni-Tek's smoke and mirrors arrest spree that went on? Hmmmm? Could be...

In any event, we police ourselves as we like. Whatever Omni-Tek says, they say to themselves as far as most Clanners are concerned. Interfere with our internal politics and you will find how rabid and hateful Clanners CAN become when pushed. We have had relative peace on this planet since the Tir Accord was signed and subsequently broken. And the more you bat around the simpleton notion that the Dust Brigade has anything to do with the Council of Truth or any affiliated Clan organization is so flimsy and betrays your true feelings. No matter what we say, no matter what the FACTS say (as thin as they currently are), you believe them to be a Clan organization. Well I'm terribly sorry, but they are not. At least, no data shows them to be, anymore than it shows them to be a Neutral or Omni backed faction. Give it a rest.

Currently, because of Omni's hindrance of anything remotely concerning a lasting peace process (you broke the accord, not us), the Sentinels are going to have a lot of support in Clan circles, and until Omni-Tek can prove to those of us that you can act as a peaceful neighbor until such time as your silly lease runs out, then don't expect much sympathy for your plight. It concerns me not.

I have bigger things to worry about. Like how nothing has come out of any of the investigations regarding the crashed craft in Mort. Now that concerns me, yet I hear NOTHING from your overly secretive, lying propaganda hounds. Of course, the Sentinels are being pains in the keister as well. 7 of 10 clanners do not like the Sentinels, by the way, but they DO have a voice on the Council, even if they wish not to use it.

[joshuacrime]

...I read my history of the conflict as much as anyone else does. A sense of irony is required here at most times, simply because passing out "punishments" of things that happen during wartime is like giving out speeding tickets at the Yalmaha 500. It isn't likely to happen, since most of what has gone on HAS passed on into history and isn't exactly uncommon to either side of the conflict.

The Omni's didn't self-administer themselves when their troops opened fire into the demonstrators, so why the hell should we give up someone like Simon? To whom? To Omni-Tek? Laughable. Or anyone else for that matter. Prove to us that you can do your own bloody internal policing, remove YOUR rogue elements and your overzealous law officers and Armed Forces personnel and give them public trials, and perhaps you might see Clan doing the same with more radical and fringe elements under our umbrella.

As I see it, Simon Silverstone helped keep Clan together under a single banner when the leadership of the Council was temporarily lost, and he is admired (and feared to a degree) because the Sentinels are a very powerful organization and defended Tir when it was needed. Now the Vanguards are doing much the same in Old Athen. No doubt that other Clan cities will start forming militias based upon strong organizations under their roofs.

[Keldros]

Originally posted by joshuacrime

As I see it, Simon Silverstone helped keep Clan together under a single banner when the leadership of the Council was temporarily lost, and he is admired (and feared to a degree) because the Sentinels are a very powerful organization and defended Tir when it was needed.

You evidently weren't present when Midia sent an army of medusae to destroy the city of Tir, and Simon Silverstone and the Sentinels opted to cower inside the city walls while clans and neutrals defended the city.

Just as a recap, a combined force of clanners and neutrals annihilated the attacking forces with no assistance from the Sentinels. When Midia herself came into the city to negotiate, the Sentinels welcomed her with open arms while they shot neutral defenders in the back.

In a later encounter with some of the Sentinels, they said anyone who didn't declare themselves to be a clanner was their enemy--which obviously wasn't the case, considering how they reacted to Midia. When I asked why she wasn't attacked, they told me "she has ICC credentials," which sounds like a bogus excuse considering they came to power by attacking ICC troops in the first place.

Now the Vanguards are doing much the same in Old Athen. No doubt that other Clan cities will start forming militias based upon strong organizations under their roofs.

Actually the Vanguards are doing something quite different: They are welcoming anyone who hasn't declared opposition to the clans. They recognize that this will improve the local economy, and their revenues can be used to assist in rennovating Old Athen.

I admire the pride of the Council in wanting to rennovate their city. I spend a considerable amount of time in Old Athen myself, and I would gladly assist in this, but reading between the lines of the public records of Council meetings seems to hint that they do not want (or at least have never considered) monetary support from neutrals like myself. I have to wonder if that's not some Sentinel influence there, showing once again how their xenophobia overrides concern for the well-being of the clans.

[joshuacrime]

You are correct, and actually I was "around" when the Medusa army came into Tir, but much less experienced in the political ends of the conflict. Mostly, I didn't care about all of the things going on behind the scenes, especially things that didn't directly concern an up and coming trader as I was back then.

If it makes you feel any better, what the Sentinels do goes against the grain of what I believe when it comes to Neutrals, with an exception. Although a neutral wouldn't necessarily think it is important, showing a hint of allegiance in some fashion is quite important to Clan people. Given the nature of the Neutral cities (more Omni there than Clan, and probably even Neutrals), it's quite reasonable to assume that the majority of Neutral symapthy in the conflict goes to the Omni more than it does the Clan. Using this as a guideline, it's also safe to assume that Omni-Tek gets quite a lot of useful intelligence from their Neutral friends (since you have access to both Omni and Clan communcation channels), far more than Clan does. I myself just this weekend caught a Neutral walking the fringes of a very heated tower war in the Clan areas, no doubt reporting numbers and ranks to the Omni's in the combat zone. So, seeing that sort of thing, it's understandable that Clanners have issues with a lot of Neutrals. Neutrals, after all, are supposed to be dispassionate with regards to the conflict. Some are, and quite a lot are not.

Having said that, I think the Neutral attitude towards the Sentinels is well founded and deserved, and this sort of thing feeds on itself. Most of us Clan people don't care for their tyrannical behaviour, but then again, it's only Tir. Do not Neutrals have fairly free reign in Old Athen and many other Clan cities? One group of dunces does not a faction make. Lots of smoke and mirrors comes from the Omni interpretation of this very personal problem between Clan and Neutral, and a lot of Neutrals buy into the Omni way of thinking, and this also tends to breed more hatred towards Clan activities. I also never cared for Clan organizations attacking Neutral notum tower areas, but again, I have seen Omni doing it as well, so we're not totally complicit here.

No, you'll not find any overwhelming allegience to the Sentinels in Clan circles, but then again, Simon Silverstone might be a complete bastard but he's a complete Clan bastard.

Hope to see you in Old Athen (where most Clan people are these days anyway). Tir is a ghost town except for the arena, where the overexuberant dips with a very poor sporting sense and a severely imbalanced competitive spirit will go to prove how big their privates are to themselves. I couldn't be bothered.