The Echelon Union ended on Sunday, June 28th, 2009. In its place has risen a new group, called the Tetra Combine, made up of nearly everyone who left Echelon. An intensely-planned and fairly well-executed transition of power was launched on Saturday night and continued through Sunday by nearly all of the Officers and NCO’s of the Echelon Union.
The Echelon Union in its last hours at Vadoo Reef: "null and void."
Within hours, Echelon was already smaller than the group attempting to take its place, and by the end of the day Vadoo Reef was locked down and the Echelon Union was soon composed only of Archlord Roo Tenk and those dwindling numbers of Echelon who had not yet signed on to hear the news.
If anything in combat on the grid comes close to a coup, this was it, and it was pretty much complete and total. Roo soon found himself the last member of his own group and announced that it was all over on his profile by Monday.
As Roo put it, "Echelon is dead. (The period at the end means it's final.)"
In the process, the coup, which in practical terms took the smallest of the Iron Symphony groups, made it slightly smaller, and then took it out of the Iron Symphony altogether, nevertheless shook combat on the grid in much deeper ways.
Its unfolding offers lessons for leaders of all militaries with regard to considering the goals of their soldiers, and perhaps also offers inspiration to those who feel, rightly or wrongly, that their groups are headed in the wrong direction.
All the while, the coup also displays some of the impacts of the everpresent issues of combat in Second Life today. It caused a real stir within the Iron Symphony by taking out its fourth member overnight, while also furthering rumors that its third might soon follow, while also revealing the subtle paranoia some of the members have against other members. It gave the Chaos Decretum a place to further its own ambitions and to claim, wrongly, that it destroyed a member of the Iron Symphony, which also brings up the continued question of where Dark Svenska draws the line between roleplay and serious operations.
And as the coup spread, over thirty ex-Echelon members set out, ordered a new region and are building up their own forces in preparation for the inevitable retaliation.
So then the next questions then are comparatively obvious. What happened with the Echelon Union, and why?
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
“When you make peaceful revolution impossible…”
The saying above finishes through with the fact that you make violent revolution inevitable. Echelon has been racked with protests and complaints by its members from perhaps the very beginning. One of the most colorful outbursts Echelon hosted was a series of protests back in October of 2008.
Freedom isn't free, but apparently, it is flammable.
Months after the first protests, Roo Tenk, increasingly concerned about the Iron Symphony’s goals, chose to eject Dezno Parx over vague claims of stealing and distributing gear belonging to other members of the Iron Symphony.
Most of the group was against the ejection – including Dante Indigo, who was co-leader of the Echelon Union along with Roo Tenk. But while they discussed the issue, Dante was soon convinced that Echelon was headed in the wrong direction and left the group when Roo chose to eject Dezno anyway. There was no longer an Echelon high command as it once existed, and Roo was firmly in charge. Those who were against the ejection believed that Roo had done it under pressure from his allies. Echelon founder Darakon Kayvon explained the situation to me.
Darakon Kayvon: Mercz pressured Roo to boot Dezno from the Group..Believing Dezno was a Copybotter..Dante spoke out against it, and Roo didnt..Without Dante’s approval Roo booted Dezno in order to appease the Merczateers..Dante left..He couldn’t work with someone like that
Caine Constantine: So was there ever any proof of the copying?
Darakon Kayvon: Negative
And, properly following this conclusion, one of the underlying worries of many members of Echelon was that its leader cared more about the Iron Symphony than the Echelon Union.
The group was also tired of being so restricted in its combat operations. Though this list is in dispute because of the circumstances of why various groups are on it, Echelon could not engage with the following groups in normal combat. Please keep in mind that the totals are rounded and approximate and based mostly on land groups and shouldn’t be viewed as an authoritative or comprehensive list in terms of group size.
Banned outright:
Chaos Decretum – 70 members
Guerilla Rebels – 50 members
Vanguard Armed Forces – 150 members
Functionally banned:
Raven Raiders – 50 members – none of the group’s weapons were allowed in combat.
Allied:
Merczateers – 355 members
Ordo Imperialis – 265 members
Militant Collective – 115 members
Neutral:
Alliance Navy – 75 members – though they were allowed to engage if they gave one another forewarning, one must ask if that is the way a real fight should go?)
If you tally all of this up, even excluding the groups whom are not formally banned but whom it’s really unlikely that Echelon could have had a decent fight with, it’s still over 1000 people. Echelon was barred from fighting every major group, and other groups like the Chthonic Syndicate didn’t particularly like to visit Vadoo Reef anymore due to the fact that many of their weapons were banned by the Archlord.
In addition, the recent and questionably-authorized practice by the Merczateers of declaring unilateral protectorates over other groups was another problem to the Tetrans. Gordo Kohn, a Tetran leader explained it to me.
Gordo Kohn: Sometimes a new group would pop up and without anyone’s consent the Mercz would issue a protectorate or something and keep any IS from attacking them.
Caine Constantine: Forefront?
Gordo Kohn: That happened with Forefront and Silver Hawk just before they were added to IS.
Gordo Kohn: The FF protectorate really hurt IS internally imo
Caine Constantine: How so?
Gordo Kohn: It almost came to EU and Mercz exchanging killprims
Gordo Kohn: Proteus said that if EU attacks FF that Mercz will gun us down
Caine Constantine: Wow
Gordo Kohn: We thought it would be a lulzy raid
Gordo Kohn: In Mercz defense, they adjusted it so that if EU attacked Mercz would stay out of it.
Gordo Kohn: But for about a week we were told we cant touch FF without even letting us have a say in it.
Caine Constantine: Do you know if they ever asked Roo or anyone else before admitting new groups into the IS?
Gordo Kohn: We never got any information on any IS meetings or anything
Gordo Kohn: But I doubt Roo even knew what his group’s wants were.
Gordo Kohn: Personally I dont think EU’s voice was ever heard in IS.
Gordo Kohn: You know they say Christoph uses VG like a toolbox, but I think the same could be said about Mercz and the IS, but that’s just me being cynical.
Gordo Kohn: honestly I don’t think EU, MC, Dom, or SCS had much voice in IS matters
Gordo Kohn: I could be mistaken as I haven’t ever been a part of any discussion or meeting with IS leaders, but everyone feels like its that way
So who was left to fight? Not enough people to keep Echelon interested, it would seem. But what’s more interesting perhaps is the way in which Vanguard got on the list of banned groups. Billyjoe Benoir, a big contributor to Echelon’s land fund as the sponsor of its project with the Militant Collective to create a joint third sim for both groups, tried to talk to Roo about the blockade with Vanguard from the perspective of looking for more combat for a group not seeing much of it. The Tetrans said that this conversation was one of the last straws that made the specter of open rebellion into an inevitability.
Billyjoe Benoir: So VG, where are we going to stand on blockading them or not?
Roo Tenk: Blockade the fuck out of them, anally, and vaginally.
Billyjoe Benoir: Don’t you think it would be healthier for us though to not blockade them since we are rarely being attacked by anyone lately?
Roo Tenk: …
Roo Tenk: Okay, let me ask you.
Roo Tenk: Have you ever fought VG?
Billyjoe Benoir: Nope
Roo Tenk: That’s why you don’t understand.
Roo Tenk: They have tech, that just straight up dodges bullets.
Roo Tenk: …
Roo Tenk: As in, cannot be hit.
In this grainy file photo smuggled out of Verklund at the cost of many returns to my homepoint, we can see Vanguard's secret bullet-dodge tech.
Roo Tenk: That’s just one example.
Billyjoe Benoir: I don’t think they will be using the same shit twice in a row
Roo Tenk: ………….
Roo Tenk: It’s VG.
Roo Tenk: They don’t learn, it’s that simple.
Billyjoe Benoir: How about this then
Billyjoe Benoir: Let them attack once and if they use the same shit fine, if they don’t and have changed lift the blockade entirely
Roo Tenk: Billy, they shouldn’t be on the grid. We aren’t unblockading them.
Roo Tenk: Not to mention they are close with Chaos.
Dark Svenska: It seems Christoph wants to consume Chaos. He deemed us as 'Poland'.
Billyjoe Benoir: Christoph and Dark hate each other
Roo Tenk: Officers from VG went to Chaos.
Billyjoe Benoir: Caine was yelling at Dark the other day in NJ when he was harrassing Christoph.
Roo Tenk: OFFICERS.
Roo Tenk: Not commanders.
Billyjoe Benoir: Mmhmm
Billyjoe Benoir: So are we going to blockade RoG as well?
Roo Tenk: RoG is going to die.
Billyjoe Benoir: Well practically everyone in RoG is going to be going over to Vanguard when it starts up again
Roo Tenk: Yeah, so they will be fucked.
Billyjoe Benoir: Not to mention Moky is going over as well, you going to ban him as well?
Roo Tenk: RoG is another shit storm of SL combat.
Roo Tenk: And I already told Moky. If he leaves, he won’t be allowed here.
Roo Tenk: You don’t know Moky…
Roo Tenk: Like… Before you joined.
Roo Tenk: He wasn’t always so well behaved.
Billyjoe Benoir: Yeah well if he was he’s changed since then
Roo Tenk: Yeah, he has, unfortunately, not the rest of VG has.
Billyjoe Benoir: Also that stuff about bullet dodgers is BS, I have seen VG randoms that have attacked Vadoo that weren’t that hard to remove with bullets.
Roo Tenk: Ask one.
Roo Tenk: They have it.
Roo Tenk: They use it.
Billyjoe Benoir: Well they don’t use them anymore most likely cause they realize how dumb they are.
Roo Tenk: ……………
Roo Tenk facepalms.
Roo Tenk: They used them for 12 straight months.
Roo Tenk: With constant criticism.
Roo Tenk: They knew that people didn’t agree with them the whole time.
With Echelon’s soldiers feeling, rightly or wrongly, like there was just not enough fighting for them, the blockade of a new group that even had some fellow Echelon in its ranks just because of its past, without so much as a thought about how Vanguard may fight now, was too much. Soon after this conversation – which essentially said that a band of perhaps 30 people merely wanted to be able to fight a group several times its size rather than just ban them – the plotters of the coup came to believe that there was no hope with Roo.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
The Plot Thickens
One of Tetra’s leaders, Likmai Woodget, told me that the original plan was for Roo to be presented with four main demands.
1. EU is to reinstate Darakon Kayvon as Archlord
2. All blockades are to become null and void
3. Power is to be more spread out for officers
4. EU will begin a transition out of the IS.
They predicted correctly that these demands, especially numbers two and four, had little if any real hope of being fulfilled. They planned to present them to Roo nevertheless, hear his response, and then leave the group when they were inevitably rejected.
However, some Ordo Imperialis soldiers came to Vadoo Reef to talk about what they had pieced together of the plot so far. Surprised that word had gotten out about their plans to leave the Echelon Union and the Iron Symphony, Billyjoe decided to lock down the base and keep Ordo out of the region. He believed that the coup had to be launched then and there before word of it spread any further. This brief ban on Ordo was soon revoked by the other members though who believed it stood against the “no blockades” principle of the new group and it was agreed that it had been a rash, mistaken reaction. But nevertheless, word was out.
And so, with that, resignation letters were sent out via group notices en masse over the Echelon Union’s main group.
Dozens of letters were sent out, one after another - along with a few AK-47's to commemorate the revolutionary mood.
The letters – which had all been written independently – revealed that this coup was the product of a good deal of thought and planning, and that it was nobody’s first option. The leaders of the rebellion, Likmai Woodget and Gordo Kohn, now Tetra’s co-leaders, had two especially interesting letters of resignation, which summed up the general consensus of the coup and what it aimed to do.
“My friends, Brothers and Sisters in arms, tonight I come to you looking for your support. For too long the Iron Symphony has made our community a mere shadow of its former self, and tonight a group of us have decided to do something about it. We are breaking free from the Echelon Union and the Iron Symphony. Breaking away from all of these things that are strangling us as a whole… I ask that you will follow us into this new age and come to join us in arms with a new group. A group that isn’t plagued by blockades or bans, but one free to fight who it pleases! If you do not wish to join us, take a good look at what you have been doing in EU since you have joined. Look and see that while there may be many in sim, there is no one to fight. Do you really want to stay in a group with nothing to do?
We just want to fight. That is what this is all about, and why we must break free from the current community norms. I only ask that if you do not follow us you take charge and realize what is wrong with SL combat today and try to fix it.
I hope to see you on the battlefield.
-Lik”
Gordo’s letter touched on many of the same theme’s as Likmai’s letter.
“For all of my friends here, it has truly been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. Unfortunately we all have our own path to follow and my time here in EU has come to an end. For months I have dedicated my service entirely to EU, working to create a solid and innovative structure to the mess that I’ve found internally. And for the few of you that have helped me accomplish this, I’ll miss you.
As for now I have found myself conflicted however. I’ve come to believe that the morals and attitudes that drew me to EU in the first place have all but vanished. The care free, laid back atmosphere that I had loved so much had lifted and what was left I hardly recognized. Blanket bans and blockades had taken the place of rich combat activity. I’ve seen EU become a complete EU had turned into more of a political machine focusing more on IS’s goals rather than EU’s.
And beyond that I can no longer stand the blatant corruption that I’ve observed in both EU and IS… Blackmail, Espianoge, and Extortion… Aside from the blatant Hypocracy that is IS… It is my belief that this practice is far from expected from your leaders and its something I cannot morally be a part of any longer. So for all of you, I ask that you look carefully for a millitary showcases your own values, and if that is not possible…
Fight for yourself.
Gordo Kohn
Support Komdiv”
Billyjoe Benoir expressed another side of the discontent with the Echelon Union in his letter.
“My patience is at an end.
The actions of our so called “Allies” in the Ordo Imperialis combined with those of lack of leadership and in general not caring by our “leader” Roo Tenk have worn my patience to the breaking point. As of this moment I have resigned all duties pertaining to being in the EU. I do so with a heavy heart as EU was everything to me but it is now evident to me that things are not going to improve here. With this I must bid my adieu’s to the military that I grew to love so much and had so many good memories from it as well.
I now must bid you all farewell and hope to meet you in the next incarnation of EU.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————–
The Rebellion Begins
And with that, the Tetra Combine was founded. Now, the Tetrans, who’d been forced to act before their sim was open, decided instead to camp out at Vadoo Reef, offering the chance for a new start to anyone who wanted to leave Echelon and join their ranks. All of the active members of Echelon left EU and the IS for Tetra’s goal of more combat for all.
The Tetrans, who were just looking to swell their ranks with the rest of the dissatisfied Echelon Union, were soon faced with questioning over their goals and intentions by other members of the Iron Symphony. This had been going on for some time according to the Tetrans. Gordo told me about a recent incident where a member of the Ordo Frumentarii questioned a member of Echelon on their feelings toward the Iron Symphony and then asked it to be kept secret.
Aelus Janus: What are your thoughts on staying in the Iron Symphony?
Aelus Janus: Locke Tomba was recently talking about splitting with the IS.
Madison Foyston: I feel that important to stay together.
Aelus Janus: This to remain between you and I.
Aelus Janus: I agree! I think the Union is part of the definition of the Iron Symphony.
Madison Foyston: I wish we cooperated more
Madison Foyston: We should do more scrimmage matches, and try to create a tighter union.
The questioning and secrecy really bothered Gordo, who said it was nothing new.
Gordo Kohn: Usually I wouldn’t care much about something like that but he told Madi to keep it a secret.
Gordo Kohn: Anyway Madi ended up just telling him what he wanted to hear
Caine Constantine: Looks like she just told him what he wanted to hear. (This was one of those cases where two people have the same thought at the same second.)
Gordo Kohn: Which is what everybody does its because we’re used to this shit by now.
Gordo Kohn: Not the first time we had something like this happen, and I’ve seen it happen in other groups too
Caine Constantine: Other members of the IS?
Gordo Kohn: Yeah, basically anything that isn’t Mercz or Ordo
Gordo Kohn: Or if they do they spy on themselves, which is even worse.
Gordo Kohn: I don’t know, those kinds of things along with Lurdan basically telling everybody that the VG blockade sticks without even giving VG a chance to prove themselves.
Gordo Kohn: I just couldn’t stand the hypocrisy anymore, and from the support we’ve had everybody else felt the same.
Soon there was talk of an attempt by the Merczateers and the Ordo Imperialis to send troops to Vadoo Reef and keep the situation under control until such time as Roo could log on and deal with the problem. Chaos forces simultaneously decided to intervene, hoping to help the Tetrans keep the Iron Symphony out of Vadoo Reef. Though there were some sporadic verbal exchanges, most of the fighting was impossible because, as a void region, Vadoo Reef could only have 20 people in it at a time and was full of Tetrans and Chaos.
With 20 people already in it, Vadoo Reef was impenetrable.
The Tetrans were mostly waiting out and recruiting any Echelon who came by. In time, the Chaos and the Tetrans, presumably bored, had a dance party.
Roo soon logged on, and Chaos kept him from banning them all for a brief time by repeatedly killing him in his spawn. He turned off physics and scripts and soon locked the sim down and kept everyone out. The Tetrans regrouped elsewhere and the Echelon Union was now dead.
————————————————————————————————————————————————–
The Chaos Factor
Immediately after the Tetran coup it was assumed by many that Chaos, whose presence was part of the day’s events, had helped further the coup. Talking to Dark Svenska, it sounded like he believed this to be the case. And while Dark is not often one believed by the members of the Iron Symphony, they all seemed to believe at first that he was telling the absolute truth when he claimed credit for what had happened.
Dark Svenska: So, did you hear?
Dark Svenska: Me along with Tetra consumed EU after a great siege of the SIM.
Caine Constantine: uh huh…
Caine Constantine: From what they tell me
Caine Constantine: you guys just spawnkilled Roo for a while
Caine Constantine: and had a dance party
Dark Svenska: Actually this was going on way before Roo was even online.
Dark Svenska: This is how it went: Tetra and i poured in a legion of Decretum soldiers. We stayed there hoping that Ordo or Mercz would drop by and give us some sport. Sadly though the SIM was filled to maximum capacity resulting in IS trying frantically to get in and try to stabalize the SIM. They tried and failed, with no resistance. So we sat there thinking. “Maybe some EU will log on and ect..” Then Roo hops on and we’re like “Oh sweet maybe he`ll fight us.” Then boom.
Dark Svenska: All of it was for two purposes, Tetra did it for their reasons. We however did it because i wanted revenge on Roo for the ejecting of Dezno Parx.
Caine Constantine: Did they ask you guys to come in or did you come in on your own?
Dark Svenska: I told Tetra it was pretty boring right now, and i said. “Hey who wants to scare things up a little?” They agreed and i TPed a legion of Chaos not expecting that the SIM would fill. I blame LL for that though.
Dark Svenska: I mean hell we all wanted IS to come storming in. It would of made a epic fight.
Dark told his group that they had indeed helped to destroy one of the members of the Iron Symphony, and that trophies would be awarded to all who participated in the event. In Dark’s words, things unfolded according to Chaos’s goals and plans.
"I guess what matters is we decimated a group that deserved destruction."
It all made me ask why some leaders will ignore Dark when he claims to do something positive and then believe him totally when he takes credit for something that the people he says he helped say he has no responsibility for – the coup against Echelon.
Indeed, according to the Tetran leadership, Chaos was more an eager supporter of the circumstances than a group that the Tetrans wanted help or friendship from.
Likmai Woodget: Although Chaos was present at Vadoo Reef on the day of our uprising, I would like to make it clear that we are not openly hostile with Chaos, or allied with them in any sort of way.
Caine Constantine: Did they cause the uprising in any way?
Likmai Woodget: No, by the time they had learned about what we did they came to show support in our actions.
Likmai Woodget: And that is as far as it goes.
In fact, even some of the leaders of the Iron Symphony couldn’t understand what some of the Chaos were even bothering them about. One member of Chaos makes an ill-fated attempt at being…evil?
Slovic Jaggernov: Good your here. Tetra has overthrown Echelon with the help of Chaos. Ordo and we think IS is trying come with personnel to stabilize the situation until Echelon Admins get on.
Slovic Jaggernov: Bad news. Echelon Admins= Tetra Admins. EU has dissolved. Revolutions FTW good sir. Have a nice day.
Slovic Jaggernov: Oh and the sim is full of Chaos and Tetra personnel who have their spawnpoints et within the sim. Extreme Defensive Positions have been acquired.
Slovic Jaggernov: We’ll sit here all night for you Anthony. One man at a time.
Slovic Jaggernov: ;)
Slovic Jaggernov: Who says Chaos isn’t evil?
Anthony Lehane: I don’t understand why you’re being condescending, if the members of EU wanted to create a new group they have every right to.
Slovic Jaggernov: Aryte sees it as EU being defeated and is trying to attack the sim with your members.
Slovic Jaggernov: Open warfare with us before our own sim Meliae is open.
In the final analysis, it appears a large group of bored Chaos soldiers came to Vadoo to help keep out any attackers by jamming the sim. In terms of making the revolution a success, it’s really doubtful that they played any role in this, unless the Iron Symphony really was planning to attack the Tetrans for trying to leave Echelon.
But it’s pretty questionable whether this would have even happened considering that it would have essentially said that the Iron Symphony is a group you can never leave on your own accord. All in all, Chaos did only what it does best – create chaos and have fun doing it. For everyone else, they confused the real issues of the coup.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
The Last Echelon Soldier
Echelon Archlord Roo Tenk had become the last man in his group, aside from those who had not yet logged on to jump ship. He sent out a few notices through various Iron Symphony groups to express his feelings on the subject, especially focusing on the minor role Chaos had played in the revolt. He sent the following over a group of the leaders of the Iron Symphony.
“I’ve purged all groups except main, and land. The officer “revolution” was a massive misunderstanding. I’ve been inactive for the past 2 months. Darkdirt and Darakon had been in control. Apparently, no one else knew that. I came online to be spawn killed with riots in the sim, joined by Chaos members, and none other than Svenska himself. I don’t have time to rebuild Echelon to what it once was, so it’s over. I have no plan of restarting it. I’m sorry.”
He told the members of the group about some plans for it in the future.
“I have no ambition to restart this group. It’s over. Feel free to stay in this group, or the main group, or leave. It doesn’t matter either way. I will figure out some use for both of the groups. I may open a combat sandbox in honor of the former Echelon group. I’m really not sure yet. I’ll keep you all posted.”
Another point he insisted on making was that it was not himself who was in charge of the Echelon Union anymore, and hadn’t been that way for a month.
“Attention misinformants: I haven’t been the Archlord of Echelon since at least a month ago. I gave command to Darkdirt and Darakon. I’ve only been paying tier. But I guess you didn’t understand that.”
But probably his clearest statement with regard to his position on the rebellion was when he rejected any of the demands made by the former Echelon Union soldiers and seemed to blame it all on Chaos.
“I really don’t care. I’m not leaving EU to let you all turn it into Chaos II. And anyone in TC (Tetra Combine) can go fuck themselves, we aren’t leaving the IS. I don’t care if I’m the only person left in EU, I’m not allowing it to leave the IS, nor turn into Chaos.”
I knew that I had to talk to Roo if I wanted this to be anything resembling a legitimate article and not just something akin to the Tetran Declaration of Independence with pictures. What follows is an extensive discussion with Roo on the subject of the end of his group, and his beliefs with regard to the role of the Iron Symphony and the Echelon Union in each others affairs. At times it seems like an argument or a debate, but it’s an attempt to get out the information that people in our wide spectrum of readers would like to know about.
Caine Constantine: Hey Roo, do you think I could talk to you about the recent events surrounding Echelon and the new group Tetra?
Roo Tenk: I guess. But Tetra is apparently already experiencing difficulty. From what I’ve heard, the person paying for their sim is no longer going to pay for it.
Caine Constantine: Ah wow, so you have no love lost for the new group?
Roo Tenk: The thing people don’t understand is this. I have been inactive for the past 1-2 months. I gave full group power to Darakon Kayvon and Darkdirt Ohara during this period. I was only paying tier for the group. I had no involvement as far as command was concerned.
Caine Constantine: I talked to them about that this morning and they told me that while you had given them power in the group, you were still running all the “foreign relations” as it were.
Roo Tenk: Yeah, most of the officers had bad connections to either the Mercz, or Ordo. And I don’t really care whether they like it or not; I wasn’t going to allow them to leave the Iron Symphony. Because as you can see, they are now with Chaos. If that doesn’t tell you how poorly they are doing, I don’t know what really can.
Caine Constantine: So there was no way you guys would have ever left the IS?
Roo Tenk: While I was still breathing, no.
Caine Constantine: Why is this?
Roo Tenk: Because we shared the same values with them, and we were nothing like Chaos.
Caine Constantine: I think the statement was, even if I’m the only one left, we’ll never leave the IS, paraphrasing of course.
Roo Tenk: Obviously not. The group is done. So basically anything I am saying is past tense.
Caine Constantine: Is the choice really just Chaos or the IS?
Roo Tenk: I’m using them as an example. Considering Chaos was a large part of the disbanding of the group, they are sort of a primary example.
Roo Tenk: Chaos jumped on the first chance they saw to destroy an Iron Symphony group. No surprise there. Amirite?
Caine Constantine: Definitely understandable given much of their past.
Caine Constantine: So you think Chaos made it possible?
Roo Tenk: I could send you these photos I have… They are of Chaos notices.
Roo Tenk: Showing their direct involvement.
Roo Tenk: They take credit for it, if you’d look.
Caine Constantine: They do take credit indeed
Roo Tenk: And then afterwards, it seems they gave “trophies” out to anyone involved.
Caine Constantine: What did Chaos actually do to further the end of Echelon though?
Roo Tenk: Well, when I logged on, there were many Chaos members who attempted to spawn kill me. At which point I turned off sim access.
Roo Tenk: Dark Svenska himself was in the sim, and had gotten access to the land group.
Roo Tenk: Many Chaos members were invited to the land group after that, and set their home to Vadoo Reef.
Caine Constantine: But wasn’t the real damage the fact that nearly all of the officers and the NCO’s left?
Caine Constantine: Versus Chaos antics the day after?
Roo Tenk: I suppose. I mean, the officers leaving wouldn’t have really been so bad. But you know, then everyone else just plays follow the leader. And at the time, I was on a two day absence. So I didn’t have the chance to log in and neutralize any issues.
Caine Constantine: Yeah that can make things difficult, definitely.
Caine Constantine: Did you ever get to see the list of demands that the Tetrans were planning to put forth to you? I was wondering if I could get your thoughts on them.
Roo Tenk: Nope. I wasn’t really told anything. But the thing is, I don’t really care at this point. I have my own future ahead of me. And it doesn’t involve Tetra, or Chaos. I was, and still am inactive.
Caine Constantine: What are your plans, if you can disclose them?
Roo Tenk: Probably just work with Hua more and expand Imperium for a while. I’m have no ambition to start a new group, if that’s what you were asking. I may join another military group, though I’m not sure which. It’s all just whenever I have time to really get on SL more often. Right now I’m swamped with work. I can’t log on very often.
Caine Constantine: Well if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you about some of the reasons that the Tetrans said they left Echelon, because it would be good to get the other side of their points here.
Roo Tenk: Sure. Although I’m not sure I can answer some of them, as I wasn’t informed of almost anything – hence my inactivity.
Caine Constantine: Alright, thank you. Okay, the first one I heard the most was that Echelon just was not getting enough combat.
Roo Tenk: That’s a bit hypocritic… Any of the officers who left could have lead attacks. Like I said though, I was offline, so there’s no way I could have lead the attacks myself. When I was online I was updating scripts, or dealing with inter-group issues.
Caine Constantine: Definitely, but what I found was that Echelon was not allowed to fight Vanguard, Chaos, GR, RR, Mercz, Ordo, MC, or AN, and it seems like this represents about a thousand people.
Caine Constantine: I was wondering if this was an accurate list.
Roo Tenk: No, it isn’t…RR is not banned, although most of their weapons were banned from OUR sim, due to intense lag. Their men, armed with other weapons were more than welcome though. Vanguard was dead the entire time EU was undergoing these combat constraints… So that’s sort of a null point. GR was dead most of the time we were in this situation as well. GR was actually banned by Dante way back in the day… But then they just died out.
Roo Tenk: And it’s obvious we aren’t going to attack our allies.
Caine Constantine: So then any lack of combat was the fault of the leaders of the group at the time, Darkdirt and Darakon?
Roo Tenk: No. Not really. Any of the officers could have lead attacks as well. Leon, Billy, Gordo, Likmai, you know… All the same people who complain about lack of combat? They could have attacked… They just chose to complain about it, instead of leading one themself.
Caine Constantine: The second major criticism most of the people in the new group had was that you were not really interested in considering any of their thoughts or new ideas in your decision making.
Roo Tenk: I had no decision to make. I gave entire control to Darkdirt and Darakon. I also gave specific officers full rights to make necessary changes while I was absent.
Caine Constantine: Well for example, I was given this notecard that they felt was “the last straw” or one of them in terms of deciding to leave the group. They said it illustrated this point.
I then sent Roo the conversation he had had with Billyjoe over the Vanguard blockade.
Roo Tenk: The IS decided as a whole, that we were going to blockade VG.
Caine Constantine: You, Aryte, Anthony, Lurdan and Raideur you mean?
Roo Tenk: Yes, and there was a notice sent out in the IS group about it too.
Caine Constantine: Did you talk to members of Echelon before making the decision for the group, or did you make the call yourself?
Roo Tenk: I believe I told you earlier that I was handling most outside policy, due to some of the officers having hate towards our allies. Such as Gordo, hating the Mercz. Leon never liked the IS either.
Caine Constantine: Did most Echelon like it?
Roo Tenk: Some. Others didn’t. But that wasn’t their issue.
Roo Tenk: We joined the IS before I was even in command.
Caine Constantine: It was not the issue of the soldiers what alliance they were part of?
Roo Tenk: Kudos, I guess you have a point. So allow me to reillustrate my point…
Roo Tenk: Have you ever heard the term…”I know what’s best for you”? That applies to their circumstances.
Caine Constantine: Not trying to make points, just trying to ask the questions I think people might ask. You know?
Caine Constantine: So just so it doesn’t seem like I’m trying to prove you wrong or anything.
Roo Tenk: It’s okay. You made a point, whether you were trying to or not. Hah.
Caine Constantine: So you think the IS was good for Echelon even though most of them didn’t want to be a part of it?
Roo Tenk: I wouldn’t say most of them…Most wanted to be in it.
Roo Tenk: Look at the IS, it’s the largest group by far. You can’t say most people don’t want to be in it. Most do.
Roo Tenk: If most people didn’t want to be in it, Ordo and Mercz wouldn’t be as large as they are.
Caine Constantine: Most Echelon left the EU though in large part over that issue.
Roo Tenk: I told you before, follow the leader.
Caine Constantine: So I am asking though, if most Echelon wanted to be in IS?
Caine Constantine: Was that the case?
Roo Tenk: One decided to have a butt-hurt about it, so everyone else followed.
Caine Constantine: They’re really that…simple?
Roo Tenk: It’s just a person sitting behind a monitor. That’s as simple as it gets.
Caine Constantine: But I mean, you’re saying the people who left Echelon, including the officers you entrusted with running it right down to most of the enlisted, left the group essentially because one guy did it?
Roo Tenk: Not one guy. A few. Gordo, Leon, Likmai, Mokymok, and Billy.
Caine Constantine: But how did they even convince the founder of the group, Darakon, to join them then if it was just on a whim?
Roo Tenk: Darakon was a large part of it too. I suspected Darakon was against me for a while. He stayed impartial up until that point.
Caine Constantine: Do you think they had any valid points in their decision to leave the group and the Iron Symphony?
Caine Constantine: Or was it really just shortsightedness?
Roo Tenk: I can’t speak for the opinions of others… Some see the IS as a beacon of fairness, others see the opposite. It’s really dependant on the person.
Caine Constantine: Yeah I see what you mean
Roo Tenk: As you can CLEARLY see, not everyone likes the IS.
Roo Tenk: But some really do.
Caine Constantine: All of the people who left EU and founded Tetra who I talked to told me that they were convinced that you cared more about the Iron Symphony and personal friendships with the leaders of those groups than you cared about the Echelon Union, and they said that in fact Echelon was as one of them put it, a “trophy army” useful for allowing you to be a part of the IS.
Caine Constantine: What do you think of that kind of accusation?
Roo Tenk: It’s a really simple response.
Roo Tenk: EU was in the IS before I was a leader. So that’s nonsense.
Caine Constantine: But you said you’d never, ever leave, even if all Echelon members left or wanted to leave.
Roo Tenk: Yeah, I saw it as our “ally”… That’s what the IS is, it’s an alliance. It’s more than an alliance, but evenso… That’s what you want you allies to be like. With you until the end.
Caine Constantine: But you’d really sooner have stayed in the Iron Symphony even if all of your members thought it was the wrong thing to do?
Caine Constantine: Because when you describe it that way, it does sound like you’re saying you are more loyal to the IS than to Echelon
Caine Constantine: Allies to the IS to the end, even at the loss of all of Echelon.
Roo Tenk: I’m saying we are set with our allies. If you don’t like it, join somewhere else.
Roo Tenk: Would you join the Mercz if you hated the IS? Not likely.
Caine Constantine: Sure, but if 90% of Echelon wanted to leave because they thought IS had become a bad institution, you’re saying that it wouldn’t make a difference, right?
Roo Tenk: I’d rather see EU die with a decent reputation, than seeing EU turn into Chaos. Is that understandable?
Caine Constantine: Definitely. And that reputation can only be had through the IS?
Roo Tenk: No. But in our case, we were already in the IS.
Roo Tenk: For the third time. We were in the IS before I became an Archlord.
Caine Constantine: I understand, definitely. The reason the point keeps coming up though is because it seems that you are saying to some degree that the IS is more important to you than the goals of the majority of the members of the group, which you seem to be saying is not relevant because you know what’s best for them in that respect. I am just trying to get what’s here clear.
Roo Tenk: The IS is a base to our group. The values, I mean.
Caine Constantine: Understood. Do you have any other comments you might like to share on the happenings of the past couple days?
Roo Tenk: Not really. I think I’ve expressed my discontent, yet uncaringness.
Roo Tenk: And if I haven’t…
Roo Tenk: I don’t care.
Roo Tenk: But I am discontent.
Roo Tenk: (expressed.^)
Caine Constantine: I appreciate all of your patience in discussing this with me Roo
Roo Tenk: No problem, Caine. Happy editing. This is a long log…haha.
Caine Constantine: Definitely, but I think it’s all pretty relevant. I wish you the best of luck with your new projects.
Roo Tenk: Thanks. I wish you luck with the Journal.
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
The Tetra Combine
In the final analysis the most important effects of the coup are that the Iron Symphony has lost a member, and the combat community has gained a new face while losing an old one.
The coup brings up some questions about whether the Iron Symphony is an alliance that responds to the needs and wants of its member groups, both for combat and for recognition as an equal. This is an important question to consider when the Iron Symphony in the past month went from five to three members with the expulsion of Silver Hawk as well. With rumblings in other groups, you can bet they are going to do their best to make sure this number doesn’t go any lower, with the lessons learned from the Tetran coup.
Though it was later rescinded, the Merczateer protectorate over Forefront and the threat to shoot any Echelon who might try and fight Forefront – in essence, siding with a protectorate over a long-time ally – was definitely a blow to relations between the Iron Symphony and the members of the Echelon Union, even if officially Roo himself did not care. Though Forefront needed breathing room, forcing it on allies was unpalatable.
Furthermore, the decision to blockade Vanguard, while definitely understandable in many ways on the Merczateers or Ordo Imperialis sides, seeing as how Christoph had done the groups and their leaders much harm in the past, nevertheless seems much weaker when it comes to the Echelon Union – many of whom had never even fought Vanguard and who were appalled at the idea of yet another group being banned.
While the Merczateers and the Ordo Imperialis may see combat all the time, Echelon didn’t. For them to lose the chance to fight a major group when they already couldn’t fight perhaps a thousand people was a big loss, especially when the justification Roo provided was made without consideration of the goals of Echelon soldiers.
Furthermore, the Tetrans have created a new enemy for nearly everyone to fight – themselves.
Sporting Soviet assault rifles new uniforms made on commission by Kamil Noel, the new Tetra Combine fully looks the part of revolutionaries.
They’re currently working with members of the Militant Collective to acquire new weapons for use in battle. Furthermore, both groups have joined together to create “The Iron Outpost,” now a joint MC-TC project by which both groups will have an equal stake in an extra battlefield for both sides to defend and hang out at. So far, it would appear that the Tetrans are drawing close to their former ally, and developments between these two could also have far-reaching implications for combat on the grid.
The biggest lesson learned though is this. Even when a leader owns the land and is the only one with full authority, they disregard the wishes of the majority of their soldiers at will. The Echelon Union was a group with very strong morale – that’s the only way you can explain all of them but one leaving at once. But as an astute observer once put it, this is Second Life and you can join – or form – any army you like for any reason you like. And if you expect to keep a group together, they’ve got to be happy and having fun, too. Armies on the grid are not based on conscription, but instead on consent. And while pride and a desire to create and improve means people won’t automatically flock to greener pastures, they’ll sure think twice if the ones they’ve got look worse each day.
That said, one thing is sure – we’ll all be hearing more from Tetra real soon.
-Caine Constantine
I asked Dark if he had any systems in place within his infastructure, to reward the members. Unlocks, achievements and a motivation source is something I like to see in new militaries.
With this, Dark told the Journal that he wants to support role play, but it’s not heavily implimented.
Shown above, I was caught up in a crossfire; the building I was seeking refuge in was being fired upon in all angles, as I was carpet bombed by arial units.
Explosions continue. And I make my departure.
Shown above, the town of the Guerilla Rebels, 2000 meters in the air.
