Kaaloaka cited notes found on the scene, as well as mails discovered to have been sent shortly before the hauler arrived. “They took the time to say goodbye to loved ones and generally described a state of despair, but didn’t give specific reasons. We don’t know what to make of it yet.”

The play, written 600 years ago by Ammatar author Dekkameron, explores the issues of power among the powerless. Set on an Ammarian plantation, the play focuses not on the cruelty of slavery but the cruelty amongst slaves. The Ammarian slave holders, rather than being the antagonists, are portrayed as benign individuals whose good intentions are abused by those slaves who seek power over their own kind. Rydd explained “The play is not about slavery, it is about power. The juxtaposition between slave and slaveholder, which shows the latter to be basically powerless against a small group of slaves that effectively run the plantation, is a brilliant literary device that Dekkameron uses to great effect.”

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.”

“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.”

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.”

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.”

Stripped of their former power and coming to a nation that views them with centuries of built-up suspicion and hatred, the Elite have been faced with challenges that many of them have not been able to overcome. “I oversaw an entire planet in the Mandate,” said Ramius Throten, a former Mandate district governor. “I did what I could to assist my fellow Minmatar. I made sure the slaves kept in my district were well treated. I turned a blind eye to raiders whenever I could, which wasn’t often enough for some. Despite my efforts, I have been ostracized in the Republic.”

Throten is one of many who has been soured by the prejudice he has faced. Though he spent over a year living in the Republic, he has recently immigrated to the Gallente Federation. “In the Empire, I was derisively called ‘minnie’ and treated as inferior to any Amarrian. In the Republic, I was called slaver and always viewed as a traitor to my people, even though I’d come back.” He added, “I had everything and now I have nothing. There are days I wish I had never defected. At least in the Federation, I can live in relative peace.”

While some have taken Throten’s path and left for the Federation, others have stuck with the Republic. “I can’t run back to the Mandate,” said Sadamang Suh, a former Ammatar Consulate official. “My family and I left most of our belongings behind. We had so little time to evacuate. We are penniless, so we cannot leave. I have a janitorial job with Eifyr and Co. It’s better than nothing. Things will get better. They can’t get any worse.”

“Sansha’s Nation was a threat over a century ago,” said Professor Fontine Mereux of the University of Caille, a leading expert on the history of CONCORD. “But in the cluster’s darkest hour, all of the empires banded together to smash them. Sansha’s Nation is now resurgent. For too long they’ve been allowed to fester in Stain. It’s time that the four empires band together once more to wipe it out.”

Thousands of others have raised similar calls to arms, believing that the only way to counter the Nation’s threat is through cooperation between the four empires, but years of mistrust and fighting between the empires has made that path appear unlikely.

“If it wasn’t Sansha’s Nation doing it, it’d be the Amarr,” stated Jorel Yat, a high-ranking Vherokior tribesman. “I say the Republic should focus on stopping the Nation from attacking us and let the others worry about their own citizens. Make us a less appealing target and we’ll be left alone.”

Gugiere Ladux, a Gallente politician, said, “I heard the Caldari Navy managed to hack an invading force and turn the Nation’s agents against each other. If they really wanted to help, why haven’t they turned this technique over to the rest of the cluster? If we sent our Navy into Stain, what’s to stop the Caldari from hacking the Sansha to kill us first?”

The effort has not been aided by CONCORD, who continue to insist publicly that the Nation is not a threat. “At the present time, CONCORD does not require additional empire-provided manpower to deal with pirate incursions,” a short statement from the CONCORD Assembly read.

“Approximately one million are reported missing from Schmaeel,” stated a Kor-Azor family official tasked with keeping track of the raids. “However, we have a list of names numbering barely half that many. We know the numbers are right, but we do not know the full identities of those missing.”

The Amarr Empire isn’t alone in having these problems, as large numbers of missing civilians from colonies in the Republic, Federation, and State also remain unidentified. According to recent reports, nearly thirty percent of the colonists abducted by Sansha’s Nation remain unidentified by their empires.

“It’s a simple matter of logistics,” said Sister Amia Kathis of the Servant Sisters of EVE. “Many of the colonies being assaulted by the Nation are remote and poorly defended. Census reports may be years or even decades old. Say a new colonist arrives days before the Nation attacks. Who will miss them? Who will report them missing? What records will state they were ever there?”

Kathis is one of many in the SSoE who is trying to uncover the identities of those missing. “We owe it to those poor people to figure out who they are. Imagine suddenly vanishing from existence and no one caring. It’s a terrifying thought.” According to Kathis, efforts have been stymied by the empires’ reluctance to allow outsiders access to census records.

Among the four empires, the Caldari State has been the most diligent about identifying its missing citizens. Currently, nearly 90% of those taken from Caldari worlds have been identified. Asked for an explanation, PR representative Yukuro Shiba of NOH said, “All colonists are employees of a corporation. Discovering who is missing is a simple task of cross-checking corporate rosters.”