The events at Azdaja Redoubt trouble me deeply.

The Triglavian Collective has struck the Drifter Nexus structure in that system and destroyed it. It claims to have acted to end the instability afflicting Pochven. I do not find this explanation convincing. We still do not know what the Collective truly seeks to accomplish, and the destruction of this installation offers, to my mind, no cause for reassurance. That capsuleers of New Eden should have answered its summons and fought at its side troubles me hardly less.

Nor has the matter ended with the structure. An unknown artifact has emerged from its wreckage, and the great powers of New Eden already contend for it. The Drifters themselves remain a power whose capabilities we still understand only imperfectly. The Imperial Navy, which has held watch over Sanctified Vidette since YC127, knows this better than any.

I served during the evacuation of Raravoss in YC122. I have not forgotten what the Empire lost there. Raravoss taught me to no longer grant the Collective the benefit of the doubt. That it now makes war upon the Drifters changes nothing.

The territories we have lost must not be forgotten. Yet our first duty remains to preserve those that still stand under Imperial authority.

It is not my place to judge the dispositions made by the command of House Sarum. Even so, silence would seem to me unbefitting in the face of what has just occurred. The movements of the Collective demand our vigilance, and our forces must remain ready to meet new threats.

House Yshar has served the Sarum for generations. My departure from active service has changed nothing in that fidelity. My new condition as a capsuleer now grants me other means to honor it.

I have therefore resolved to place my new capabilities at the service of House Sarum, contributing to the security of its holdings and the defense of its interests.

I fear we have not yet grasped the full measure of these events.

May God keep House Sarum, and the Throne it upholds.

With respect and fidelity,

Semeth Yshar
Designated Heir of House Yshar
Former Commander, House Sarum Naval Forces