Journal entry, 16 June 2026, Exordium, somewhere between the four imperial sectors.

The Four Empires

Exordium is more than a training ground.

After the first orientation and the career agents, much of it still felt like a large, well-meaning training environment. CONCORD and AIR explain procedures, hand out ships, assign work, and check whether you have grasped the basics.

But this place is only neutral at first glance. Amarr, Caldari, Gallente and Minmatar each have their own areas here, their own representatives, and their own stories they want to show new capsuleers.

Which makes sense. Capsuleers are expensive, dangerous and useful. Make a good early impression and you may be supported later. Or get assignments. If not out of loyalty, then at least out of habit.

Things used to be simpler for me. I was Caldari, bound to a corporation — not romantic, just practical. Reporting lines, KPIs, responsibilities, sign-offs. You can leave that behind, but you cannot just switch it off. Culture does not disappear simply because you get a new body and a capsule.

As a capsuleer, much of it is different anyway. I can decide which ships I fly, what activities I pursue, who I work for, and whether I serve an empire at all. Possibly several. Possibly none.

AIR calls the empires’ grand introductory tour an Epic Arc. In elaborate simulations you witness defining events and perspectives from their history. If you are still in Exordium after the career agents, you should look at these simulations yourself.

Not just for the rewards. Four major productions show how differently the empires see themselves: which tradition each of them maintains, and which pilots they want to win over with it.

You should not go in entirely unprepared, however. The career agents teach you a lot, but they do not yet make you a good pilot. At the latest in these simulations you notice whether you are merely using your ship — or whether you have a rough sense of why it is fitted the way it is.

For each imperial simulation you fly ships from the corresponding faction. Sensible, but as a Caldari not automatically comfortable for me. I had had little to do with Amarr, Gallente or Minmatar ships up to that point. Some skills I simply did not have.

Luckily I had received a free AIR Enforcer Expert System AIR Enforcer Expert System (free). Temporarily unlocks a selection of combat and ship skills without training. Three-day duration. . I am still getting used to that. I used to read documents, attend courses, and wait for clearances. Now I connect a system to the neural interfaces of my clone and, for a limited time, can do things I do not actually have the training for. Fly a Rifter Rifter — Minmatar combat frigate. Versatile fitting, one of the best-known T1 combat classics. , for example. Only temporarily, but still.

Some learning was unavoidable. Several tasks required skill books I had not even been aware of. How would a former analyst know what a Target Painter Target Painter I — module that electronically marks a target. Makes the target easier to lock and hit. Multiple painters stack with penalty. is? The Minmatar simulation called for one — so I learned Target Painting.

I attempted the Gallente and Minmatar simulations on the very first day — in hindsight perhaps a touch optimistic. The Gallente one dragged on, because some opponents were tougher than I had expected. I brought them down in the end, but it was not elegant.

The Minmatar simulation then went even worse.

I got a gift box — inside it a Vigil Vigil — Minmatar EWAR frigate. Fast and agile, with a bonus to Target Painter. Not a classic combatant but a marking platform. , a Target Painter, and a Data Analyzer Data Analyzer I — hacking module for electronic security systems. Opens data containers in space anomalies. . The contents were mine to keep. Nothing else was in the box. I was told I still had to arm the ship. That was correct — but only of limited help.

So there I was with a half-built Vigil and no idea which weapons made sense, which modules fit, which ammunition I needed, or how much of it. The Help channel in the NeoCom was very helpful. A handful of pilots explained the basics to me, and I somehow got the Vigil ready to fly.

Inside the simulation I had to warp out repeatedly to avoid losing the ship. Not particularly dignified, but effective: out, repair, think, back in.

In the end the opponents were down — and then nothing happened. No clean conclusion, no next instruction. Apparently a technical fault. Such things can happen on the first day, especially when an environment is new.

I reported the issue. By the next day the simulation had been reset — and felt revised at the same time. Instead of the Vigil I was handed a Rifter directly, this time with weapons and ammunition. The simulated opponents also seemed less tough.

Apparently I had not been the only new pilot whose feedback had reached the people responsible. On the second attempt everything went considerably more smoothly.

I do not want to say too much about the rest. These simulations work better when you have not had them retold beforehand. They are a good chance to see the four empires behind the names on the map — as powers with their own history and their own intentions.

I also see ships in action that, in the daily life of a new pilot, still feel a long way off. For me that was a glimpse of how far this road might still lead.

Who I will serve in the long term, I do not yet know. After these simulations it has become clearer to me that the four empires are not just scenery. They court new pilots, each in their own way. For now I collect impressions, skills, and occasionally ships I could not fly before.

— Ariane Quell