Ship Log: PIE Recruitment Interview

Private channel open. 
Date: January 21st, year 115
Pilots present: Aethion Mirra, Sepherim Catillah

Sepherim > Ave Liuteneant
Sepherim > I apologize for closing your invite, must have missordered my pod
Aethion Mirra > No problem.
Aethion Mirra > You wish to be interviewed about joining PIE Inc.?
Sepherim > indeed, I sent the application a few days ago, and was told a propper interview was needed
Sepherim > I talked with Commander Shutaq briefly yesterday, but my pod's comm units broke and it was impossible to have a propper discussion
Aethion Mirra > Why do you wish to join us?
Sepherim > because, as far as pod pilots go, you are the strong arm of the Empire and have been key in completing the defense of the Bleak Lands and elsewhere since a long time before
Sepherim > even when I was in the Navy, the Praetoria was one of the few pod pilot corporation that was talked about with respect, as it has earned it more than enough
Sepherim > being a soldier as I am, it seems the most appropriate organization to belong
Aethion Mirra > Right.
Sepherim > it's the right place to be
A brief silence happens as pilots have other things to attend to.
Aethion Mirra > Brother Sepherim, you tell me that you are often confused with another man that went by the same name. Tell me about this.
Sepherim nods
Sepherim > it has happened, indeed, by pilots like Hitome Kei
Sepherim > I've investigated the man, and it seems like he was a... controversial theologian or philosopher of some sort
Sepherim > at least on the surface
Aethion Mirra > Tell me more.
Sepherim > under the surface, he created an organization called the Ordo Quaesitoris that has a quite... contronversial reputation such as he did
Sepherim > they were involved in many important issues back some years ago: they defended the Bleak Lands against the first Minmatarr invasions and then durnig factional warfare
Sepherim > they mediated between House Miyan and House Darabi when those Holder Houses went to ewar
Sepherim > protected the Speaker of Truths when he went to meet Articio Kor-Azor
Sepherim > these... positive elements, many of which were done in the company of your own organization
Sepherim > also add to more... complicated matters like having some sort of relations to Sani Sabik leader Revan Neferis
Sepherim frowns when he mentions the word Sani Sabik, which clearly he hates
Aethion Mirra > What relations would those be?
Sepherim > as well as known  pilots
Sepherim > hmm, that is unclear. Some say they were lovers, some say there was only understanding, some say he just talked to her to obtain information
Sepherim > rumours say that he even warned CVA of an incoming Sabik raid before it happened due to that information
Sepherim > but it is true that public records on IGS show Neferis granted him on two occasions the rings to most influential pilots in the cluster
Sepherim > a award that had other loyalist names on the list, like Admiral Graelyn (if I remember correctly), but also many names of enemies of the Empire, pirates, etc
Sepherim > so, as you seem, it looks like there as a dark for every light that man threw
Sepherim > he was even known for not approving the way our Empress reached her station
Sepherim > and, eventually, it seems like all these facts lead to the Ministry of Internal Order and the Theology Council to retire his pilot license
Aethion Mirra > Seems like a confusion between you and this man could put PIE in a bad place in some situations.
Aethion Mirra > Were you to join.
Sepherim nods
Aethion Mirra > How do you feel about this?
Sepherim > well, the OQ has brought forth pilots of proven light like Commander Shutaq and traitors like Holder Caine
Sepherim > but I believe that I can make clear to anyone that I'm not the same person
Sepherim > and, actually, most people flying no longer remember that pilot, nor his organization
Sepherim > so it probably won't be a subject that will be brought forth often, but I can make it clear that I'm not him in the IGS if you so wish
Sepherim > that would be no problem, I must admit I have no love lost for the man even if we may have been in the same war theaters on occasions we never actually met
Aethion Mirra > I usually say guilty by association but this is a complicated case...
Sepherim > that would make Commander Shutaq guilty as well
Sepherim  smiles, playful, and seems more relaxed now that the reference to the Sabik is far
Aethion Mirra > Ok. Let's continue to my next question. There will only be 2 for this interview, though long as they are it's enough.
Sepherim nods
Sepherim > very well
Aethion Mirra frowns and scraches his head... brought to internal conflict of the interview so far. Hoping it's downhill from now...
Sepherim smiles with tranquility to Aethion
A small silence follows between both pilots as their attention diverts elsewhere.
Aethion Mirra > Yes.
Aethion Mirra > Let's see here..
Aethion Mirra > I see that you used to live in a monastary. However you left rather suddenly.
Sepherim nods
Aethion Mirra > Tell me about it. Why you were there in the first place, how your stay was and why you left.
Sepherim > I should start by saying my time in the Navy wasn't the easiest
Sepherim > I was tortured by the Sani Sabik during... well, I...
Sepherim grows quiet for a second
Sepherim > I also saw a lot of friends die in the frontlines, and had to take many lifes as well
Aethion Mirra > If you wish not to tell the details of such times - it's ok I would understand.
Sepherim > as the years of service went on, those memories increasingly became a burden on me and my skill as a fleet commander
Sepherim nods, appreciating aethion's offer not to dwelve into detail into those days with the Raiders
Aethion Mirra > You weren't a capsuleer then right?
Sepherim > no, I was not, as there are no capsuleers in the Navy
Aethion Mirra > Right. Do continue.
Sepherim > I just became... uncontrolled you could say
Sepherim > my commanders said "sloppy"
Sepherim > and I'd say drunk
Sepherim > in the end, I had become a threat to that which I valued: the Empire, my brothers in arms,... everything
Sepherim > so retiring to a monastery was the way I thought I'd be able to forget all that and live a peaceful life of service to the Empire without remembering all the sacrifices
Aethion Mirra > Ok, and you turned to monastary?
Sepherim > it didn't work
Sepherim > yes
Aethion Mirra > Why didn't it work?
Sepherim > don't take me wrong, it was peaceful productive live in the monastery, and allowed me to regain control of myself and focus
Sepherim > but at night, memories would still come
Sepherim > and I would shake in bed... I hope this is not too personal?
Aethion Mirra > Not at all - as long as you are comfortable.
Sepherim nods
Sepherim > yes, this part I am confortable with
Sepherim > so, I ended up having horrible dreams that kept me from sleep
Sepherim > and guilt took a hold of me, as I felt a traitor and a coward for leaving all that mattered behind
Sepherim > someone said that the tree of the Empire has to be covered in blood of traitors and patriots for it to grow healthy
Sepherim > and I felt like I had ran away and rejected my part of the sacrifice
Sepherim > I couldn't take it
Sepherim > then, my father, who also was officer in the Imperial Navy before me
Aethion Mirra > Seems like you had high demands on yourself.
Sepherim > I have high demands on all who live in the Empire, Liuteneant Mirra
Sepherim > and I had failed to be the cog of the machine that should turn so other cogs moved
Sepherim > I couldn't stay behind while brothers sacrificed themselves for me
Sepherim > are those high demands? I think those are the only appropriate demands of an Imperial citizen
Sepherim > one way or another, we all sacrifice for the Empire in that which we are meant to do
Aethion Mirra > While demands should be high - one should also stay grounded and realistic.
Sepherim nods
Sepherim > true
Sepherim > I only ask that a miner mines, a worker works, a merchant sells, and a soldier fights
Sepherim > and I had failed to do my part
Aethion Mirra > If serving is not an option, then one need to look elsewhere - and working more religiously then seems like a good idea.
Sepherim > my father will probably never forgive me for not being willing to die for the Empire as I should
Sepherim nods
Sepherim > it does, but war still called for me in my cellar, it told me I didn't belong there but among the stars
Sepherim > I resisted the call for one year out of fear
Sepherim > I resisted a second one out of doubt
Aethion Mirra > Now however you cannot die, how does that change the situation?
Sepherim > I could die back then
Aethion Mirra > Yes, I know.
Sepherim > it was not until the third year that my father forced me to take the capsule compatbiility tests
Sepherim > and when they said I was compatible... I could not resist the call anymore
Sepherim > the message of my duty was too clear
Aethion Mirra > Tell me about your relationship with your father.
Sepherim > he's a stubborn and hard man, a soldier from the heart to the head, a man that knows no fear and no love
Sepherim > or, at least, doesn't know how to show them
Sepherim > he currently serves in the Domain Fleet, a Templar Liuteneant under Commander Urios Kador
Sepherim > but believes that my failure is a stain on the name of the family and doesn't forgive me for it
Sepherim shakes his head
Aethion Mirra > What do you think personally?
Sepherim > I think he's right
Sepherim > and I have to earn my right to be forgiven
Sepherim > I have to atone for the gravest of failures
Sepherim > and can only do so with an eternal service to the Empire
Sepherim > only that will allow me to sleep again, probably
Sepherim nods, firmly
Aethion Mirra > That is why you seek to join PIE?
Sepherim > it is the best place to serve the Empire, yes
Aethion Mirra > And you quit the monastary because you understood that you were pod pilot material?
Sepherim > yes, the tests proved I could be compatible, so I had to try
Sepherim > remaining behind would only be accepting my failure, and I could no longer do that
Sepherim > Brother Mashkarel also helped in that
Sepherim > he's a very kind man, and wise in the ways of the human heart and mind
Aethion Mirra > Ok, I think that answers my questions for now.
Sepherim smiles at the memory of the monk
Sepherim nods
Aethion Mirra > That concludes this interview.
Sepherim > very well, thank you for your time Liuteneant
Aethion Mirra > Thank you.
Sepherim offers Mirra a military salute
Aethion Mirra > Semper Pax
Sepherim > Amarr Victor

Private channel closed.