Group Pleads for "Civilized Conduct" in Vagaari War

DATELINE TELACIA

The specter of slavery haunts the psyches of many beings, dredging up images of starving innocents, shattered families, and the shadowy tactics and cruelties of the long-vanquished Red Eclipse syndicate, whose name many still can not say without instinctive fear. But if slavery causes fear to the innocent, slavers themselves must surely dread nothing more than being caught in the Golden Empire, whose wrath against slavers is the stuff of criminal nightmares. In its last major campaign against slavery, the 29-30 YGE Hunt for Red Eclipse, those slavers taken prisoner on Harth Gool were disemboweled and burned alive. During the Liberation of Quadia in 2 YGE, the slavers who had held the Qua homeworld in thrall were crucified and left to die of exposure.

Now, with the heavily-laden word "slavers" attached to the Vagaari Empire, which invaded Tenupe earlier this week, a prominent advocacy organization is already calling on the Empire to moderate its approach to slavers.

"If half of the allegations about these Vagaari which have emerged from Chiss worlds are true, then they are surely heinous and depraved in every sense of the words," said Korfflus, a Dronos spokesman for the Telacia-based Society for Humane Standards. "But we gain nothing by matching them in their depravity."

The Society for Humane Standards publicly called on the Empire to follow what it calls "minimal principles of decency" in combat against the Vagaari, pleading for "a war which, while relentless in the protection of the innocent, shows civilized conduct, even against an uncivilized enemy." The Society seeks a public commitment from Prince Tariun Sakaros, Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu and Prime Legate of the Armada, to prosecuting the war against the Vagaari in keeping with the Society's standards.

Response to the Society's declaration has been swift and largely unmerciful.

"Thousands, perhaps millions, of Chiss are dead on Tenupe," said Human Urlan Karbolek on Mezlagob. "And a Centurion too, the way I hear it. And these people are more worried about protecting the trash who did the killing than avenging the people who got killed."

The late Centurion is Tesshen Manytrek, who was Consul of Tenupe until the time of his death. In a brief statement two days ago, Lord Sakaros said initial reports from survivors of Tenupe agree that Manytrek died fighting, and in fact intentionally sacrificed his life to allow his senior staff to escape.

Mezzel Neerk Surji agreed with Karbolek's assessment, calling the Society's plea, "seriously misguided and offensively timed."

Unexpectedly, some Chiss have voiced support for the Society.

"The Chiss always defended our territory, but we never indulged in the brutality of our enemies," said a Chiss on Cormit who asked to remain unnamed.

The Society for Humane Standards opposes all forms of torture and torturous execution, and was formed during the reign of the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob. It was occasionally suppressed by the Tetrarchy, though allowed some leeway given its location on one of the founding Tetrarchy worlds. Since the Great Liberation, the Royal government has taken no steps to silence the Society, but nor has it heeded the Society's call to disavow its famously frightening executions for slavers.

"And to be perfectly frank, it works," argued law enforcement correspondent Fal Gurkum, a retired officer of the Synno Gendarmes and regular contributor to News First Mezlagob. "We're not talking about the Tetrarchs torturing people for peaceful protest; slavery is a crime we can all get on board with loathing. The Empire's reputation when it comes to slavers is perfectly clear, and how many organized slaving syndicates have we seen since Red Eclipse?"

The Society for Humane Standards plans a peaceful demonstration at the Grand Academy of Arts and Letters in Telacia's capital next week. Local police say they are already planning for a counterdemonstration and are committed to upholding the rights of all parties to speak without being molested.