Today the United States are mourning four Americans killed during yesterday's attack on the Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, during which the newly appointed ambassador Chris Stevens and three others lost their life. This tragedy caused another "nation" to mourn one of their own: the large and diverse community made by those that play EVE Online.

One of the four victims of the brutal attack was Information Management Officer Sean Smith, real world diplomat by day, and capsuleer (and dimplomat as well) by night in EVE Online. Going by the name "Vile Rat", he was a prominent member of the Goonfleet corporation and also a former member of the Council of Stellar Management. We can definitely say that he helped shaping the EVE Galaxy into what we're playing in now.

According to the leader of Goonswarm The Mittani (Alexander Gianturco) Sean was actually online on Jabber when gunfire forced him to log off, shortly before he was killed.

I will refrain from commenting on the attack itself. This isn't the right place or the right time to do so and I'll let that task to the "official" press.

Personally, I've always been one of the most vocal enemies and detractors of Goonswarm and its policies. Yet, I can't help but join Goonswarm and the rest of the EVE Online community in mourning, because even if Sean was "one of theirs", he was actually "one of us", no matter if his virtual guns were pointed at my virtual face, or if the diplomacy skills for which he died put me at a disadvantage in the game. He flied in the same world in which I did and that creates a connection that I can't forget or ignore. It still hurts where it really matters.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and his two children that lost their father due to nonsensical religious fanaticism. I'm here with tears in my eyes, and I really don't know what else to write.

Fly safe, Vile Rat.