One year ago on June 21, 2020, TEST announced the end of their NIP with the Imperium and the coming of the current war with a speech of sorts (well, an internal forum post that was leaked to Reddit). Now, one year later PAPI’s War has ground to a halt. TEST started this war; it’s on TEST to end it.
What follows is the speech Vily should give now.
The Speech Vily Should Give
Good Afternoon,
‘The Die was cast. We didn’t win the roll.’
The war in Delve has reached a point of stalemate. The Imperium is holding the line in O-EIMK, and we cannot proceed. PAPI is holding the line in E-V, T5Z, and the rest of Delve, and they cannot escape. Rather than prolong this stalemate to avoid what may come after, we are acknowledging the situation and taking steps to end the war.
Our enemies have accused us of building Serenity 2.0. As a final demonstration of the falsity of that accusation, this morning we communicated to our PAPI partners our intention to reset standings on July 1.
One year ago when we announced the ending of our mutual NIP with the Imperium and the beginning of this war, we acknowledged the risks of our endeavor and said “whatever happens it will be interesting, dynamic, vibrant and exciting.”
Now, a year later, we face the uncomfortable reality that in failing to take 1DQ we have failed to achieve our primary objective of the war. The Imperium has held the line. That fact makes our stated intention of living in Delve untenable without outside help. Although we are proud of what we have accomplished with our PAPI allies, we do not wish to depend on their help for our day-to-day existence. This coalition against the Imperium was never intended to be a permanent living arrangement, and now that ultimate victory is no longer in sight, we will not cling to it simply to avoid defeat by preserving an unhealthy stalemate.
We have no regrets about starting this war. The fact that Goons have been able to survive after so much has been destroyed shows such a war was necessary. The gains of the Rorqual meta required a purge, and the war provided both the best content and the greatest achievements EVE has ever seen. We are proud of what we have accomplished together and proud of the place you have earned in EVE’s history. We dismantled everything Goons built except for one constellation. We held together through the defeat of M2, rescued our assets by force from an unprecedented hellcamp, and went on to effect the greatest infrastructure purge in EVE’s history, including 36 Keepstars. At every step we accomplished things people said were impossible. We have pushed our enemies, ourselves, and the game’s mechanics and systems to the very limit.
That we would fail in the end is not something we could know until we tried. Our effort and commitment have proved the limits of EVE Online and the limits of attack and defense in this game. Congratulations to the Imperium for holding together and enduring under sustained pressure that we expected would break them.
Looking forward, we expect that hard times are coming for TEST. Our enemies have sworn vengeance against us, and we can expect that soon we will be the defenders. We intend to endure whatever the enemy throws at us. We will return to our home in Esoteria and fortify it in anticipation of an attack. Time will tell if TEST has the same durability that the Imperium has shown. We believe we do. But regardless of what happens in the future, each of you can always know that you executed the greatest attack in the greatest war in the history of EVE Online.
To all the pilots, FCs, leaders, propagandists, content creators, and everyone else–on both sides–who put so much into this war: Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for creating an epic story in the middle of a difficult pandemic year. We will never forget it.
To our enemies in the Imperium, congratulations on holding out. In the end, you mounted a steadfast and unbreakable defense. We expected less. We were wrong.
To our allies in PAPI, it’s been a pleasure fighting side by side with you for a year. Whichever side we’re on in the future, we look forward to seeing you in space again.
And to you, the line members of Legacy and TEST in particular, we could not be more proud of you. You have given your all and followed us at every step. You’ve risked more, suffered more, and achieved more than we had any right to ask. We’re sorry things didn’t turn out in our favor, but we’re so proud of the fight we waged together.
Specific instructions for withdrawal and next steps will be sent out over normal coalition and alliance channels.
New Eden Still Waits
To my knowledge, no one at TEST has any plans to issue such a speech. This is the speech I wish Vily would give. It certainly is a speech rooted in reality. But for now, TEST continues to rely on the rest of PAPI to keep them from having to make such a speech.
New Eden waits.
