Council of Truth Conducts Intelligence Operations, Encourages Clans to Arm Themselves

[Faye]

Tir, Atlantean, Rubi-ka (24 Jun, 29480)

Five months have passed since the Council of Truth's first offer of diplomacy to Tarkhan Zora. During those months, Zora continued to refuse diplomatic relations, Omni-Tek departments continud to increase defense and weapons research spending by 50% or greater, and Unicorn forces violated neutral rights by moving on Borealis.

In response to the increased spending and blatant disregard for diplomacy, the Council of Truth approved and provided personnel for an operation to seize a high-yield particle-accelerator weapon from an Omni-Research Center in Eastern Foul Plains on 29-Apr-29480. On 04-Jun-29480, Bahirae Serugiusu, of Omni-Pol, accused Eleanor Kiamarli in a broadcast over channel 42 of using the seized weapon to disintegrate a ship inbound to Rubi-Ka which contained, "a specialist branch of my department, soldiers costing in excess of nine-hundred billion each." One must wonder why a key witness to the destruction of the ship on 12-May was an employee of Omni-R&D; was this an experiment which he was observing? The Council Staff are unaware of the seized weapon being used for any such purpose; however, Ms. Serugiusu's statement is proof that the destruction was caused by a weapon developed by Omni-R&D. While we must question the veracity of whether the inbound ship contained specialist soldiers of such a high cost, the statement must be considered an indictment of increased military spending for a department whose focus is on the clans and not on Kyr'Ozch defenses.

Tarkhan Zora's con****uous refusal to meet with the Council of Truth combined with increased military spending directed at the free peoples of Rubi-Ka leave the CoT no choice but to encourage its member clans to offer armaments to new arrivals in West Athen. LIkewise, the Council will provide defensive armaments to local citizens of Rubi-Ka via the Council of Truth building in the Free City of Tir. The Council of Truth regrets that such steps must be taken, but Zora's destructive disposition toward the clans cannot be ignored.

The full text of Ms. Serugiusu's 04-Jun broadcast over channel 42 can be seen below:
Bahirae: Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring this information to you in the hope that it will clear misunderstandings on all sides.
Bahirae: The attack in Pleasant Meadows upon an Omni-Tek ship was not commited by Aliens, or the Neutrals, but was infact done by the Clans.
Bahirae: Eleanor Kiamarli, the clans new "tactical advisor" took it upon herself to fire their newly aquired weapon, which is being housed in Tir by the way.
Bahirae: Omni-Tek will not stand for this insolence. This outright act of war, that ship contacted a specialist branch of my department, soldiers costing in excess of nine-hundred billion each.
Bahirae: While I will not go into detail as to the specifications of those soldiers, I will say that such will take us to adopt a more....drastic approach to dealing with clans and neutrals.
Bahirae: Eleanor Kiamarli is now considered a criminal in Omni-Tek's eyes, her capture and subsequent delivery to Omni-Tek will result in a reward of one million credits.
Bahirae: Depending on who else is brought with her...That bounty may increase.
Bahirae: Borealis as you are well aware is under the control of Omni-Tek. We will not stand for any form of resistance from the clans as this planet was ours in the first place. Your resistances are null and void.
Bahirae: Omni-tek will continually strive to return Four Holes to our control, to the point that if need be, we will annihilate the branch of the clans that insisted on this attack. Our cause is just.
Bahirae: The loss of lives on clan side is irrelevant, as with that of the neutrals, until you convert to omni-tek you are worth less than nothing. The protests are useless.

To join or learn more about the Council of Truth, visit their gridsite at http://www.counciloftruth.org/.

[Dabblez]

This is typical Clan double talk. Blaming Omni-Tek for escalating the war right after the Unionists sieze Four Holes is a little bit hypocritical, no? You steal OT technology (the particle accelerator weapon, the notum tower technology which he Sentinels stole), take away our territory (Four Holes) and generally speaking have had the ascendency in the Notum Wars. And yet keep playing the victim once again. Give it a rest.

Also, what is the big deal with Zora meeting the CoT? By its own admission the CoT is not the Clan government, it does not represent all Clanners nor does it have any executive powers. Heck, even member of the CoT, the Unionists, don't see fit to consult the CoT about major initiative like the occupation of Four Holes. Zora might as well meet with the West Athen Bridge Club for the difference it wold make.

If the Clans want to arm thier citizens, just do it. Why blame everything on Omni-Tek? Grow a spine, take responsibility for your actions.

Savoy

[Astera]

I believe by our actions in the Council, that we are taking responsibility for the well being of the Clans from the increased aggression of Omni Tek.

There is no double talk, only measures taken to protect the Clans.

The facts are all there yet are mostly ignored. We tried to meet with Zora, he refused by ignoring our request. Keep in mind that he did not just ignore a bunch of pro-war clanners, he ignored Henry Radiman, Aideen Landau, Simon Silverstone, Alan Jacobi, Xavier Humbold and Eco Red to name a few. They are clan leaders who we all look to, yet got the same treatment by Zora. So, there is no clanner that he would have met with regardless if we were a true clan government or not. ...or at least that is the impression we got.

As a clanner who is part of the CoT, I can't ignore these facts like your CEO ignores an attempt at diplomacy.

Look at it another way...

I felt that Zora would have ignored our request regardless. We are "terrorists" who broke away from the Corporation. He's stated in several speeches that we will be dealt with harshly. He wasn't implying that clans who do this or that, he was saying ALL clanners, regardless of what you do.

[Hermiaa]

Didn't know there was a West Athen's bridge club... hmmm, something to look for.

[Carogelw]

There is war coming nad the Clans must arm themselves to protect ourselves from the naked aggression of Omni-Tek. They are the ones who moved first by seizing Borealis from the peace loving Neutrals and clan who lived there. It was they who mowed down in innocent blood Clan who were checking on their loved ones. It was they who proceeded to kill innocent folk who just wanted to live their lives in peace without being involved in the war.

Dont give methe oh the innocent Omnis were just doing their job. This was naked aggression on their part.

[Dabblez]

The attack on Four Holes can not be considered as retaliation for the Omni occupation of Borealis. The two were virtually simultaneous. Either this was just a coincidence or... the Clans knew in advance about the plalnned Omni attack on Borealis and took advantage of it.

If it is the latter, you have to wonder why the Clans did not warn the Neutrals in advance?

But the point is, I can understand the Neutrals accusing Omni-Tek of naked aggression. Fair is fair. But in light of the invasion of Four Holes, Clan accusing OT of naked aggression is very rich indeed.

And that is my whole point about double talk. The Clan want to act like Omni-Tek, bully the Neutrals, play dirty, **** the planet of its resources, exterminate sentient races, make lot's of money and live the high life... but still expect every one to treat as if they were the victims. They still expect to come out smelling of roses. That is hypocrisy of the highest degree.

If you want the moral highground, go out, do something worthwhile to earn it. Don't give us this "we have to protect ourselves" line, when half the time you have the rest of the planet trying to protect themselves from you.

Savoy

[Kotts]

Speaking of the moral high ground. What ever happened to Ross?

[Xaun]

-chuckles at Savvoy as she reads her morning news-

[Astera]

Ross might as well be dead. Especially with that Bahirae spouting off about neutrals. Ross wouldn't have allowed that. He knew how to play a game of deception.

[Hermiaa]

And that is my whole point about double talk. The Clan want to act like Omni-Tek, bully the Neutrals, play dirty, **** the planet of its resources, exterminate sentient races, make lot's of money and live the high life...

Well, at least I suppose it's a good thing that you're finally admitting your corporate misdeeds and even being so kind as to enumerate them for us. Clarity is always welcome. Though I'm vaguely curious as to which species our respective sides are eager to commit genocide upon... can't think of any the Clans have made widespread efforts against to be honest... or is this a case of projecting your own agendas upon your foes and trying to pass it off as world-weary cynicism becaues it's the only way you can look at yourself in the mirror?

[Dabblez]

Well, at least I suppose it's a good thing that you're finally admitting your corporate misdeeds and even being so kind as to enumerate them for us. Clarity is always welcome. Though I'm vaguely curious as to which species our respective sides are eager to commit genocide upon... can't think of any the Clans have made widespread efforts against to be honest... or is this a case of projecting your own agendas upon your foes and trying to pass it off as world-weary cynicism becaues it's the only way you can look at yourself in the mirror?

Maybe I've just been unlucky, but most times I've swung by the Yuttos village in the Wailings Wastes there will some some Clanner hunting them. Is this done to protect the Clans from the Yuttos naked aggression?

And was it not popular up to a couple years ago for Clanners and Neutrals to head out into Newland Desert to kill rhinomen?

Let's not be coy here, we all have innocent blood on our hands.

Savoy

[emmies]

Eleanor Kiamarli wasn't that the woman who was at gorgefodder3's trial? standing side to side with Dr. Stillian Seist? Heh! some enemy... If i was Bahirae I would know what to do with those omni-pols...

[Hermiaa]

Ah, yes, the actions of a few members of a given faction equating to the shame and horror of publicly sanctioned, if not outright encouraged genocide by the Clans, Omni-Tek, and/or Neutrals as a whole... Hard to believe that anyone in Omni-Tek could possibly be that naive and foolish as to even suggest such a thing. Perhaps we should form a Kyr'Ozch Defense League to protect them from our obvious mutual aggression as well?

I have attacked a Rhinoman or two in my time I will admit, but exclusively in self-defense as they can be quite hostile to anyone coming within a certain distance, much like their namesakes. Not all of course, but some of them certainly can be, particularly when the females aren't nearby... perhaps it's something to do with female pheromones calming them, or simply that overly aggressive males that have been driven out, but self-defense is still a perfectly valid reason to kill something.

As to attacking Yutto... given my near familial relationship with Ergo and his compatriots, I can say that the thought has never even occurred to me. I cannot speak for other of course, at least not with any certainty, but I have never met a Clanner who had ever attacked them, much less hunted them to my knowledge. Nor have I met any such OT employee for that matter.

Perhaps you might benefit from the understanding that while Omni-Tek does indeed seem to codify and attempt to regulate not only the actions, but thoughts of its employees, the Clans do no such thing. On one hand, the Clans are accussed of a cohesive, malicious unity of sinister dimensions when it suits Omni-Tek's purposes, and yet when it comes time to acknowledge any sort of leadership of the Clans, we are a disorganized group of thugs and terrorists who don't listen to our leaders in the first place and so are dismissed as a non-entity it would be pointless to negotiate with. Which is it to be then?

[Dabblez]

Excuses, excuses, excuses. It's not a few rogues. A whole generation of Clanners and Neutral speed through security clearance levels 20 to 30 hunting rhinomen, at the time you would not have found a single aggressive rhinoman in the wild. The ceaseless hunt only stopped when it stopped being profitable. Even now very few rhinomen are aggressive. You can spot them miles away, there really should be no need to engage them.

But this isn't really about the rhinomen, or the yuttos. It's about hypocrisy and double standards. In the five years I've been hear I've seen plenty of evidence of the Clans being just as greedy, aggressive and ruthless as Omni-Tek ever was. You guys just seem to be living in denial about it.

Honestly, I am not unsympathic to the Clans desire for self-determination, but I do resent this "holier than thou" attitude and constant playing the victim card.

Savoy

[Stillian]

That's Sergeant Doctor Seist, Mr. Seisler, and no, I was in the witness position, although your claims of subterfuge at the event created such a haze, I guess I can forgive you for your eyes being...10 metres off. Good day to you.

[Hermiaa]

I can think of several places off the top of my head where the rhinomen are quite aggressive... a few isolated spots in Newland Desert and in several locales in Varmint Woods. And as to knowing that they are aggressive or not requires either being instructed on the matter or finding out first hand... and I can't think of many occassions where it occurred to me to even bring up Rhinomen to new recruits with all the other dangers one can run across as the surface of Rubi-Ka is travelled. But that is neither here nor there ultimately.

In case you hadn't noticed, hypocrisy and a 'holier than thou' attitude are in no short supply on any side of this conflict. Nor is there a shortage of double standards in place with any side. Every side plays up the victim card, be it as the oppressed masses of our fair planet, or as the victims of terrorism and extremism at someone's hand. Someone has a legal right to this, a natural right to that, a leet-given right to this other thing... no one can claim innocence unless they're fresh off the boat, so to speak, and that isn't an attitude that's allowed to persist too long for any side.

But... we are a social group of species, and as such, we engage in political behaviour, and that means we spin, we distort, and we outright lie to make ourselves look good and make the other guy look bad. I don't think we can really help it in a lot of respects, it seems to be something the human breeds have hardwired into our brains, and likely we don't even conciously think about it when we do it. Just look at things historically, how the actions of our forefathers were justified to themselves, how the most heinous of acts were made to look honorable and just because the other guy was so horrible, which was hardly ever actually based in fact... the reasons are many and varied as to why, but ultimately, it really doesn't matter. It's what humanity does. Accept it, move on, and maybe if you're of a mind, try to notice it in yourself and curb it as you would.

[Xaun]

Actually, Eleanor Kiamarli was there to aid me in the detention of Gorgefodder as well as coordination with the Men-At-Arms to ensure no Legionaires showed up during the trial.

[Kayisa]

When you compare the attack on Borialis with the liberation of the Four holes there are a few points you should take into consideration.

The Omni attack on Borialis is an aggression without provocation on a people who's expressed desire is to be left out of the conflict entirely. It is in fact an act of the most purnacious evil in that it strikes at Innocents.

The Clan Liberation of the Four Holes strikes a blow at Omni-Tek which refuses to parley and has been increasing their war machine. After so many months of CoT requesting discussions and being ignored and given the evidence that Omni-Tek is set upon destroying everything not under their control no matter what the cost. That the Clans would strike a blow seems only logical.

Obviously striking at innocents can not be compared to a blow taken against an aggressor by people who have been trying to parley for a long time but are continuously ignored.

As for the speed of the Clan responce. We would be a rather rediculous people given the nature of our enemy to be unprepared for Omni aggressions. The Clans stand guard.

[Dabblez]

Kayisa,

Two wrongs do not make a right. Four Holes is not an Omni military base somewhere in Clan territory. The region contains four towns with a civilian population which at present has either been killed by the Unionist Clan, driven away from their homes or (in the case of most shop keepers and vendors) is still trapped indoors inside occupied territory. That is the stark reality of your "liberation".

I don't approve of either invasions, I have made an official protested to regarding the Borealis invasion at the Omni-Tek Rubi-Ka Board of Directors meeting. But if you really want to compare the Borealis and Four Holes crisis, consider this. Joe Neutral, born in Borealis can still walk the streets of his town. Heck even Bob Clanner can now walk the streets of Borealis safely - the Omni guards will not open fire on Clanners there anymore unless fired upon. Meantime, Tom Omni, born and bred in Four Holes cannot walk safely on the streets of his home town because Clans guards have an shoot on sight policy against the local population. No questions asked, no prisoners taken.

You may also want to consider this. ICC Peacekeepers, who guarded Borealis before Omni moved in (and are still there in reduced numbers) are not a local militia in the way that the Newland City militia are. The ICC Peacekeepers are just guards paid for by a coalition of megacorporations called the ICC, of which Omni-Tek is the largest member. The people of Borealis have never had any control, authority or say over the ICC Peacekeepers; they were as much a foreign occupation force as the Omni-Tek forces are.

What actually happened is that Omni-Tek and the ICC struck a deal via which part of the ICC forces in Borealis were withdrawn and replaced by Omni-Tek forces. That neither ICC nor Omni-Tek bothered to ask the people of Borealis how felt about this is both inconsiderate and arrogant, but it's still perfectly legal and what it really suggests is that Borealis should follow in the steps of Newland and not rely on outsiders for its defence.

There are still important issues at stake in Borealis regarding the right of self-determination of Neutrals, that is true. Omni-Tek should have never have put the Borealis mayoral election on hold. But at the end of the day while the people of Borealis lost the right to vote, the people of Four Holes have lost absolutely everything.

The bottom line is, neither of these events are the action of a civilised people. But fair is fair. And if you claim it's "okay" for the Clans to come and invade Omni-Tek lands this way, then you would have to also agree that it would be just as okay for Omni-Tek to take over some a Clan town like Raising Sun or Blossom. If the later would fall under the heading "Omni oppression" then so is the invasion of Four Holes "Clan oppression". This isn't rocket science. Wrong is wrong no matter who is responsible.

This is about as dispassionate and even handed an account I can give of the current events. Now if you prefer to view the facts through the twisted glasses of ideology, there is nothing I can say will make any difference to you anyway.


Savoy

[Xaun]

Until rubika is free of Omni Oppressor.. The clans will keep liberating.. it is the only way to deal with a mega corp that won't even send us a diplomat... let alone a communicae..