"There is no Nova Imperium. There is only the Empire"

[Anxiety]

It’s imperial politics as usual. Supporters of failed coups rarely fair well in the most just and fair societies and the empire is neither.

 

[zimms]

So they do fare well?

 

[Han_Zen]

"Aislings mother was a dirty Fed" keyword there was. She saw the good in the empire unlike most feds. Arissa is a duval weather you like her or not.
If you think Hadrian should Emporer you have as much of a brain as the Nova Imperium.

Eccy only saw the good in Harry’s bank accont. Harry loved to party it up with Feds.

I don’t blame Arissa and her mother for getting rid of Hengist and stealing the Empire. It was a fair revenge for the killing of Aristid.

Arissa is a good emperor, but she is no Duval.

 

[BDelacroix]

Glad to have been able to help bring a traitor to the quick justice he deserved.

 

[XanderVekk]

Nah dude it would be a short war. I hate Hudson and it pains me to say but I’d be on the front lines to kill NI had they seized power. So for now i’ll settle for killing Torval slavers.

FDEV is going to drag this event out as long as they can, like a bad TV series that just won't get cancelled no matter how few people watch it.

You're delusional if you think it will be over quickly.

 

[insanephoton]

Eccy only saw the good in Harry’s bank accont. Harry loved to party it up with Feds.

I don’t blame Arissa and her mother for getting rid of Hengist and stealing the Empire. It was a fair revenge for the killing of Aristid.

Arissa is a good emperor, but she is no Duval.

Which may be why she's a good emperor But then again isn't she just the continuity candidate, essentially Anders Blaine's front woman, while he retains the control he had while the old Emperor was alive?

 

[Gemai]

It is unlikely Patreus would dogtail behind Blaine unless he has shown competence beyond a doubt. Otherwise going against his own ideals and meritocracy, Patreus would not support such a puppeteer move.

Alissa is very likely a Duval, just a b-astard (FDev that is NOT an insult). That she merged the families and put her mothers name first is fine. It happened with historical families in power too.

And yes, FDev effectively offered players to revive NI by pushing the faction back up in Galnet today. So we now have to babysit NI to always be a "dead" faction. The moment we fall asleep FDev might bring this narration back... because Patreus failed to imprison the one person he had to... Hadrian.

 

[BaddMongo]

I for one approve of this genocide.

Round them all up and throw them out the nearest airlock. It's how we do things in the Empire!

 

[Gemai]

As one of the warlords inside the empire, this anti-traditional, anti-decentralization movement is not really that healthy for you though. Aren't you cheering for your own butcher?

 

[Rade Konn]

What happens if Arissa suddenly dies? She has no successor unless I am mistaken.

 

[Gemai]

The senate would elect between Aisling and Hadrian. And with the reactionaries dead... I would say the vote is either pro Aisling or pro Patreus, as in abolition of monarchy.

 

[Saool]

It's not about law in the sense of criminal law.
You used the analogy of a pirate crew. Lets assume some officers of that pirate ship planned a mutiny. The second in command kills the offenders without the captain demanding their heads.
The captain could claim that the second in command acted on his/her own will. But this would imply that the second in command acted without considering the will of the captain to be important. The captain looks weak as he/she got ignored by the second in command and didn't have the total control over the situation.
Doing something to be able to deny it later on is weak as it gives the impression that the captain him-/herself isn't confident in the decision. If the fate of everybody is depending on the swift and good judgment of situations from the captain in charge anything that looks like making decisions that even the captain isn't sure about is a really bad sign.

Any ruler, who rules by force/will, absolutely needs to make perfectly clear that he/she is in complete control of the situation. Failing to do so opens up possibilities, possibilities that ruler surely doesn't want.
Display of power needs to have a very clear message. Not only is it important that the actions have the right results, they need to send the right messages too.

The Emperor now looks weak. Sure, the traitors got the punishment they deserved. But it wasn't the clear will of the Emperor that resulted in their deaths. It was Patreus who did what had to be done.

And speaking of clear messages, killing somebody without the traditional show trial sends the very clear message that those who got killed where to dangerous to stay alive. And again the Emperor looks weak.

At the end of the day we have:
Patreus being the strong man with a clear vision and doing what had to be done.
The traitors being dead, but the Empire acknowledging that they posed an essential threat to the Emperor.
The Emperor did nothing to solve the crisis.

And we all know that killing a criminal only sends one message to other criminals. It's not "don't be a criminal", it's "Don't get caught".


(I'm curious how FDev is going to continue that story line - if at all.)

You are making a whole stack of assumptions here.

Everything that happened could have been Duval's planning. It is made pretty clear that her previous 'inaction' was a show whilst they got there people in position. And I would find in highly unlikely that any of Patreus's actions will have been done without her knowledge or consent. Yes there was a definite threat. And it would appear it has been decisively dealt with. I don't see that she looks weak in any way at all.

 

[Saool]

federation... Freedom and democracy

I loled.

 

[Captain Thea Kreutzer]

What happens if Arissa suddenly dies? She has no successor unless I am mistaken.

Aisling would be next in line. She is the only other true duval.

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

…
Everything that happened could have been Duval's planning. …

I assume that it was all planned by Arissa Lavigny, she is a very smart person and knows how to play the game of power.
Patreus is the most valuable asset of the Emperor. Both are very good at tricking their opponents into underestimating them.

I'm not so sure if that tactic is a good one when applied to the general populace of the Empire.
Most of my comments where intended to be about how I think the event would be perceived by others. In short, I think it's not just about the result, but also about how others perceive it. I think the Emperor missed an opportunity to show power in a way that is easier to understand for the average imperial subject.

 

[Logan Darklighter]

Most of my comments where intended to be about how I think the event would be perceived by others. In short, I think it's not just about the result, but also about how others perceive it. I think the Emperor missed an opportunity to show power in a way that is easier to understand for the average imperial subject.

I think you're overthinking this.

Emperor Arissa and Senator Patreus enter the senate chambers.
Standing before them is a man who tried to usurp the throne of the Empire (by proxy).

Emperor Arissa and Senator Patreus leave the senate chambers.
Lying behind them on the floor of the Senate, with several superfluous and structurally unsound holes in him, is someone who tried to usurp the throne of the Empire (by proxy).

What's there not to understand?

 

[Gemai]

Logan carefully left out the other dozen of senators gunned down in the background as they walk out.

 

[Captain Thea Kreutzer]

Logan carefully left out the other dozen of senators gunned down in the background as they walk out.

The other dozen senators who also committed treason.

“Suddenly, the Imperial Guard opened fire, gunning down senators Pal Vespasian and Eloise Winterstone, and others who had supported the isolationist cause.”

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

…
What's there not to understand?

From my experience many humans have difficulties when it comes to learn from mistakes others made. Look at history, people make the same mistakes somebody did before them all the time, it's basically the main reason for history.

In the case of just killing a traitor, most observers/bystanders will probably laugh at the stupidity of the dead man and then do the same thing thinking that they are way to clever that this could happen to them.

That's why educational show trials have been invented.
Not to solve the problem of the misguided person who thought treason might be a good idea, but to solve the problem of others who might be inclined to do think that a change of leadership might be a good idea by preventing them getting the idea that a change of leadership might be a good idea in the first place.

 

[Gemai]

The other dozen senators who also committed treason.

Allegedly... even the news didn't go as far as give a definite answer to that. Which is the main problem. There is a difference between voicing support for proper procedures of DNA testing... and actually supporting a rebellion or supplying weapons and monetary aid. The whole outrage was never about Mordanticus, guilty as can be, but the unclear actual guilt of those killed.