Mekhios – From the hushed and pensive opening notes to the stirring triumphal finale, Khitian Maritak’s choral Sarum Symphony held listeners entranced for the entirety of its three-hour length. “I wanted to express [the Empress'] rise to power as the journey of her lifetime, to make the audience feel her experience,” the honored composer stated later in an open interview. Home viewers may not have received quite as powerful an experience as the attendees, but the program has been recorded to produce the closest possible facsimile and will be available next month for purchase.

Featuring the vocal talents of soloists Ameyn Jural and Louwi Kil, the Symphony presented an immersive experience incorporating subtle lighting to enhance moods and utilizing to their fullest extent the unusual acoustical properties of St Nhyron’s Basilica. The extensive twelfth movement, expressing the climactic battle above Mekhios, has already been called a “marvel” of precision composition, with singers representing both the Sarum fleet and the Minmatar Elder fleet passing around and amongst the audience in a recreation of the chaos and unpredictability of the fight, and culminating with the Elder fleet singers faltering and scattering from the Sarum singers’ concentrated sound. Members of the audience flinched from the blinding golden light which was projected from behind soloist Kil, filling the Grand Nave with radiance recalling the Empress’s finishing blow to the Elder fleet titan.

Impressions from the audience have ranged from “moving” to “breathtaking.” Privy Council member Arem Mecshilad enthused, “I have never heard — experienced — something so powerful. The five minutes of total darkness with the single soloist [Jural] representing Jamyl’s lost years was especially poignant.” No reaction has yet been issued by the Empress, though she and her retinue were in attendance in full formal regalia.

Composer Maritak appeared unconcerned by the lack of comment. “The Symphony was written of her, yes, but not for her. She was there, she does not need to experience it the way her people do.” Added Maritak, “this is the story of a remarkable woman who has had the Lord’s hand upon her shoulder, and we must all remember that.”

PATOR – The Minmatar People’s Theatre announced their new season today, drawing fire from media watchgroups outraged at the inclusion of what they call a “rascist” play. The MPT, who were the last group to receive funding from the now-defunct parliament, will stage a version of the 600-year-old ‘Plantation’ by Ammatar author Dekkameron. Though the play is considered by many a classic, at least one of the groups, Equality in Action, plans to protest the show. “There is no redeeming social value in this play whatsoever, and it is disgusting that government money would go towards perpetuating racist stereotypes” said Keinnan Bakkia the group’s spokesman.

The vast majority of Ammatar who returned to the Republic to reform the Nefantar Tribe were commoners in the Mandate. They are now coalescing into the new tribal leadership. Among those former Elite who defected, however, are some who believe they should lead the tribe’s rebirth.

“I was more or less a Holder in the Mandate,” said Rafin Chorda, who was the owner of a large number of slaves during his time in the Mandate. “I know how to organize the masses, how to keep proper account of funds and manpower. I have experience in diplomacy and business negotiations. I’ve had to face down Amarrian Holders and Caldari businessmen. I am the right man to lead the Nefantar people.”

Many of his fellow Nefantar are distrustful of Chorda, however. “He owned slaves,” said Domash Kroil, a political opponent. “How can he face the leaders of other tribes? How can they not look down on him? The Nefantar would never achieve anything with men like Chorda in charge. We would forever be burdened by the dark treachery that those like him perpetrated against the Minmatar people.”

Chorda is dismissive of such claims. “I was a kind and just master. I was less a master and more of a caretaker. I rescued abused slaves and rehabilitated them. I gave them proper care and attention. When the time came, I freed them with the help of the Elders.”

Opinions from Chorda’s former slaves are mixed. “He wasn’t the best master I ever had,” said one former slave of Krusual descent. “But he wasn’t the worst, either. Can’t say it’d be easy to deal with him on even terms now. Doubt I’d be too fair with him.”

Despite people’s generally low opinions of him, Chorda remains confident he can rise to the top of the Tribe’s ranks. “I have enough supporters,” he said, “who know that I will provide the best leadership the Nefantar can ask for. Some will always doubt me, but after I show my talents, many doubters will quickly come to realize how wrong they were.”

While many of the ex-Ammatar elite who returned to the Republic following the Elder War have found the transition difficult, there are a good many who have retained the optimism that led them to defecting in the first place.

Omad Durgen was a Vice-Admiral in the Ammatar Fleet before the Elder Invasion. He and a group of loyal officers commandeered a ship and defected to the Republic, even aiding the Elders for a brief time before the ship sustained too much damage to continue. “It was glorious,” Durgen said. “We all thought we’d come to the Republic as heroes. The wayward sons, returning with the heads of our enemies held high. It wasn’t to be so.”

Durgen, like many others, found that the long-held beliefs and hatreds that had developed in the Republic were difficult to overcome. “It didn’t matter that I had defected. All that mattered was that, at one time, I had fought the Minmatar on the side of the Empire. I was a murderer, a butcher, a race-traitor,” he said. “I hoped to enlist in the Republic Fleet, but they would not have me. I was a security risk, they said. A potential spy for the Empire. ”

Durgen has been able to find work, as a low-grade security operative for the Minmatar Mining Corporation. “It’s respectable,” he said. “It doesn’t pay well and I’m constantly being watched by my superiors. Many of my co-workers hate me for the crimes they believe I committed against the Republic, but I will win them over eventually. It will take hard work. I never expected this to be easy.”

Ation – Nearly 750.000 Federation citizens were abducted from the Ation system by Sansha’s Nation in a recent raid. Much like in previous raids the Nation left the attacked sites nearly devoid of human life, carrying off everyone from the newly born to the elderly.

Estigone, a settlement of nearly 200.000, was one of the main sites of the Sansha attack. Before the attack it was a bustling industrial community in growth, centered around several factories belonging to Aliastra. Now it lies deserted, with nearly every one of its citizens taken during the Nation raid.

Across the settlement, evidence of its previous inhabitants is easy to come by. Half-eaten dinners sit rotting on tables. Holoplayers loop their reels unceasingly. Computer screens display incomplete messages. Unfiled reports sit on office desks. Family pets claw at cages and gnaw at restraints.

Perhaps most baffling is the lack of evidence for any resistance. Though Estigone had an organized and armed police force, there is little indication that they mustered any opposition to the Nation’s raiders. Weapons remain unfired in their lockers, the safeties still on. While there are some small signs of conflict, such as blaster holes and scattered debris from small explosions, much of the city is undamaged.

“It’s almost as if everyone just got up and peacefully walked into the Sansha dropships,” said Therion Niemann, a representative of the Sisters of EVE who was dispatched to search for survivors. “I’ve seen some disturbing battle sites before, but nothing has been quite so eerie as this.”