“I cannot reconcile the lifestyle you’re condoning with the values I believe in as a soldier of the Republic!” I yelled at Rixx while nearly passed out on my back, drunk on the cold metal floor of my station quarters. I had been engaged in some serious soul-searching regarding my future after having failed to secure a seat on the CSM yet again, as well as my continued disillusionment with the war effort.

“Look, Roc,” Rixx began. “It’s simply a matter of perspective. Yesterday, I dove into a skirmish with two other pilots simply to save our corp mate from being podded. We all knew we would most likely die doing so, but we did it anyway. If that isn’t a hero, then what is? The cause for me has always boiled down to my fellow pilots, and the common spirit we all share, against the tyranny of the empirical forces allied against us. The Empires and their proxies CONCORD are the ones that label us, marginalize us and regulate our lives. And now their militias have decided they can ‘own’ our space? Our blood has been spilled to keep our space free from their tyranny. They cannot own anything we don’t allow them to. It is the common clarion call of all oppressed people, the right of self-determination. The right to live free. The right to provide for our friends and families in peace. In this light, from this perspective, we are the real heroes of New Eden. The only ones brave enough to stand up and fight.

I had heard this type of argument several times during my lives – from Mynxee, from other Hellcats, from the Bastards. There was this sense of entitlement about pirates, a deeply seeded rationale they seem convinced of. I had always assumed it was delusions of grandeur, that facing the truth of their pathetic existence would be too much to bear. I had never heard them identify themselves as ‘heroes’. Funny how times changed. I sat upright, ready to yell at the main screen on the wall.

“But it is not ‘our’ space. We were created as extensions to serve the needs of the Empires. How quickly we have forgotten our original purpose! That is why our militias fight to regain control of Empire space, re-establishing our borders to protect our citizens from the very hubris of the immortals! Still, everything I’ve done, everything I’ve given and lost, all in the name of the Republic. Shakor won’t even open his door to me. The Tribal Liberation Force has become nothing more than glorified hounds on an all too tight leash.” Rixx remained silent as I argued with myself, point to counterpoint, my own worst enemy.

“Bah. Maybe it’s for the best that I put the politics behind me, live my own life by nobody’s rules but those we make for ourselves. For all I know we could do more good for the Republic, for the entire galaxy, without limiting ourselves within its constraints. I need more to drink.”

Rixx’s face simply smirked at me, nodded once, then disconnected. I shrugged, falling backwards once more to the floor. Me, a pirate. I laughed. Loudly.

A few days later my ship holds were full with much of my local possessions, ready to head to Federation space.

Stay Frosty.