// This document was created with the approval of KuGov on behalf of Werdackel. I thank him, and the HIGHCOM of all Kusari state factions in their support. This document predates recent lore developments regarding jump drive technology. Whilst I personally have grievances over such a destructive retcon, this document will be retained as is.
Public Security Section 49, Kusari Office of Intelligence, Kusari Imperial Government
This document consists of classified information pursuant to the National Secrets Act of 829 AS. Any persons found accessing or disseminating these documents without authorization from the authoring office or appropriate agencies or personnel may be subject to extrajudicial punishment.
NATIONAL SECURITY DOCUMENT № 9377 : OITA INCIDENT REPORT
AUTHPTY: Deputy Secretary of Public Security Section 49, Honshu District - Kazuto Onoda
RELPROC: NOFORN/NOPUBREL-CIRR/SECRET JUNKO
DOCID: 3481210
REPID: 9377
TAG: OUROBOROS, HANAMURA NODOKA, TERATK, KISHIRO, ESPIONAGE, MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT, COLLATERAL DAMAGE MANAGEMENT, NATSEC MIZU, CIRR
This document is classified SECRET JUNKO in its entirety. This document contains information bearing CATASTROPHIC INTELLIGENCE RELEASE RISK (CIRR). Under no circumstances is this document to be declassified or disseminated beyond the Kusari Imperial Intelligence Community unless overridden by the Prime Minister or Imperial Throne. Please contact the Kusari Office of Intelligence, Office of Domestic Affairs, for more details.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Brief: Ouroboros
Brief: Nodoka Hanamura
Brief: Kishiro Technologies (Relevant Information)
Incident Precursors
Incident Timeline
Incident Aftermath and Findings
National Security Assessment
Formal Review and Recommendations
Foreword
This document has been requested at the behest of the Director of the Kusari Office of Intelligence in New Tokyo for review by the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and the Commands of the Armed Forces, pertaining to actions undertaken by the terrorist group Ouroboros and response of the KOI and IKN to the incident in the city of Oita, Planet Honshu. As the person responsible for overseeing national security operations in coordination with regional elements of the IKN and KOI, On December 27th, 835 AS, a fleet of ships belonging to the Ouroboros terrorist group jumped into the Honshu system, and began jettisoning escape pods from multiple ships carrying infantry to commence an assault on the Kishiro Cryogenic Technologies (KCT) facility in the city, supported by snubcraft and gunships. The incident has resulted in the destruction of the majority of the Ouroboros forces, but at the same time, has resulted in severe damage to the city of Oita, and forced the use of KOI forces to eliminate or 'resolve' any survivors to ensure national security.
For all intents and purposes, this incident has been remarked as a catastrophic fusion reactor failure to the media and through official outlets. We have managed to contain the information on the incident to the best of our ability, however as detailed within the document, the House remains, and likely will remain in a precarious situation for the forseeable future. Kishiro Technologies has cooperated to the best of their ability in this situation, to ensure mitigation of intelligence on PROJECT SHIRAYUKI, which if revealed, could result in domestic and inter-house uprisings against House Kusari for the exploitation and kidnapping of colonists for experimentation during the early years of colonization of the Sirius Sector.
This document overviews (In brief) the primary subjects of interest in the incident, the timeline of the incident, intelligence known leading up to the incident, and a general assessment of the National Security situation at this juncture following these developments, as well as recommendations from the DNS pertaining to best course of action for the Imperial Government and the higher commands of the KNF and KOI.
Brief: Ouroboros
Established originally in 825 AS, the terrorist group Ouroboros was formed by Nodoka Hanamura, a woman whose history shall be detailed in the following chapter. Founded to establish a rump state in exile and challenge and eventually depose the Empire, the movement has had multiple setbacks, primarily caused by collaborations of the Kempeitai with the GMG in 825 to advise Keiji Namura of the whereabouts of their main base, Maehara, in the Sigmas. Routed in the Taus, the group was forced to flee towards the Taus using a series of jumps through un-settled space, however their flagship, the Aquilon-class OCS Abdicant Seraphine, suffered catastrophic damage and was scuttled.
Continuing onward with the remainder of their fleet using cryopods kept as a fallback in event of emergency, the fleet continued through uncharted space until arriving in the Tau Corridor around 834 AS. From there, intelligence suggests contact was made with the IMG, and from there possible contact with local unlawfuls, such as the Blood Dragons, Mollies and possibly Unione Corse.
The faction identifies itself as a progressive leftist paramilitary movement, much in the vein of the Rheinlandic Bundschuh cell 'Der Platform', and the recently encountered 'Task Force Prometheus' Hellfire Legion remnant cell established under the Technocracy of Auxo. It also pushes for transhumanist beliefs and democratic systems of governance that conflict sizably with our current hybrid democratic system. It also finds much of its' grievances in left-wing populist ideology, against the Keiretsu, especially Kishiro, driven by Nodoka Hanamura's past with the corporation, and with the Kusari state. Its' rank structure and ORBAT shares similarities to Libertonian configuration, which in turn stems from pre-colonization 'NATO/Alliance' standards.
As of this juncture, due to reports of mass exodus from the movement prior, and the loss of many of their known vessels, including their flagship OCS Utsunomiya, and personnel during the engagement in Oita and following engagements after, the movement has effectively been routed, and has supposedly moved to sell remaining assets on the black market to fund a microstate in the Omegas, the Utsunomiya Commonwealth. At this juncture, we firmly believe that Ouroboros, or the successors in the UC, do not have the capacity to further wage conventional warfare against the Empire of Kusari.
Brief: Nodoka Hanamura
Born to Ayane Hanamura and Kyle Hanamura nee Andrews around approximately the mid 2100s AD, Nodoka Hanamura is one of the few remaining Japanese Remnants, or Ichi-sei, of the transit from the Sol Sector to Sirius. Records confirm she was born at the Utsunomiya General Hospital in Greater Tokyo on Earth, and briefly pursued a degree at Tokyo University in Military Science prior to the Coalition reclamation campaign reaching Earth. Her father, a member of the Alliance and CO of the ANS Covington, had been responsible for leading the defense of the colony ship fleet's escape from Sol under fire, as well as reportedly taking part in multiple actions during the Sol Conflict.
Hanamura, along with others, were preliminarily chosen for PROJECT SHIRAYUKI by the colonization oversight committee upon arrival in the New Tokyo System, prior to vessel touchdown on Planet New Tokyo. As such, she had been retained on Life Support, and her family chosen to be part of the final thaw group. They, being Ayane and her remaining son, Keitarou, had been advised that their daughters/siblings had gone missing during the first night after landing. Visibly distraught, they nonetheless continued on with them until their deaths in 51 AS and 82 AS respectively.
Nodoka Hanamura was originally unthawed in 823 AS, as part of her being selected for experimental testing. Upon resuscitation by Kishiro technicians following a brief surgery for installation of a neural lace and pre-programming with vital information, she was combative, and managed to escape the facility using lethal force after disarming multiple guards. Using stolen credit cards, she arranged for the purchase of a starflier originally belonging to one Dr. Takeo Cohen, a Breto-Kusari scientist working at Kishiro as part of a Artificial intelligence project.
Upon escaping New Tokyo, her vessel was disabled by two AI onboard, originating from Dr. Cohen, who had died several months prior - K/WA-11 S/N 0027 and S/N 0028, 'YORUHA' and 'PALE BRIDE'. Originally flagged by the AI to KSP inspectors for boarding and detainment, the AI, supposedly turned lulled into cooperating with Hanamura, fired upon an inspector in EVA, killing him instantly, before fleeing south to the Republic of Liberty.
Upon this situation coming to the attention of the Kempeitai, they advised committing to a gaslighting campaign to mitigate any risk of Hanamura disseminating any information she may have known about SHIRAYUKI to the public en masse, sufficiently. Whilst this has been effective so far, irregardless, she has established herself as a notable figure in the Omicrons, having for a time, been the administrator of Freeport 11 in Omicron Delta, following the forcible departure of Kyu Akibara by the Order. During her time in the role of the administrator, she had obtained access to the Fearless-class Cruiser Rathgrith, and Aquilon-class Carrier Dragostea, which would be later re-christened Abdicant Seraphine - the one and the same used operated by Ouroboros until lost in 825 AS. Following her departure from Freeport 11, Hanamura would undertake establishing Ouroboros.
Hanamura reportedly also had close ties to Joshua Hunt of the Technocracy of Auxo, as well as other parties across the Sirius Sector, such as Elena Graham of Graham Technologies in Cambridge, Harpy Squadron, Order defector Vex Upsilon, former Core operative Ezrael Vertiga, Prominent figures in Zoner society such as Jerard Voncloud, Dr. James Erzie, Kyu Akibara, Ex-Hogosha member Akira Kiyoshi, former GMG operator Aiko Tsukiko and reported former blood dragon Mei Ayasato. Currently however, she has multiple connections in the Sirian underworld, and is believed to use shell companies to evade criminal and civil restrictions on profit-making and other activities in Kusari, Bretonia and Liberty, where she is wanted.
At this juncture, Hanamura is currently acting head of state of the Commonwealth of Utsunomiya, and whilst knowledge obtained from the Oita incident makes her a critical threat to Kusari, even with aforementioned social warfare campaigns, we cannot rule out disclosure of such information causing catastrophic impacts towards the Empire both domestic and foreign. This being said, Hanamura is likely aware that Kusari is willing to partake in an exercise of mutually assured destruction, if such information is disclosed. Ergo, whilst part of the final review of this document, we advise strongly that the state partake in this game of 'intelligence brinksmanship' with Hanamura, and not pursue her or Project SHIRAYUKI any further.
PROJECT SHIRAYUKI was a program developed in coordination with what would later become Kishiro Technologies, for the kidnapping of and cryogenic freezing of persons of interest for genetic and other experimentation. This project was formulated to collect the 'best of the best' of the Kusari people and later expanded to viable subjects from neighboring houses of Rheinland, Liberty and Bretonia. This Project spanned from 0 AS to 121 AS and would be reactivated sporadically over the centuries to continue research and development programs into genetics and other experiments that may be considered unethical.
Primary storage and experimentation operations were originally located in Shiminoseki Ward, Planet New Tokyo, but following the incident with Nodoka Hanamura, the facility was relocated to Oita on Planet Honshu. Whilst Hanamura has repeatedly attempted to out the project's existance, intelligence community members have been able to sufficiently engage in gaslighting and trolling campaigns to delegitimize her grievances and evidence, at least on the Neural Net. However, in private, she has come to be reportedly very convincing to individuals across the Sirius Sector, which has had minimal effect so far, save her repeated attempts to rally interested parties to revolt against the state.
As of the time of the Oita Incident, approximately 8,000 people were retained in cryostasis out of a total 14,000 subjects in the program. Out of the 6,000 who have been removed from cryostasis, 792 died from shock, 192 died from suicide attempts, 2,391 were retained for further experimentation leading to death, permanent internment in medical or psychological care facilities, or were otherwise rendered unable to be repurposed, and the remaining 2,625 were later released into society after experimentation completed following memory reprogramming and identity suppression.
Following the attack, the facility was destroyed. Approximately 7,000 subjects had been killed in cryostasis upon the impact of the OCS Utsunomiya and IKN Yuudachi with the city, with an additional approximate 1,000 having been stolen from the facility by Ouroboros transports that had managed to escape. Their whereabouts are unknown at this time. The program according to the National Bureau for Military and Industrial Sciences, has been permanently terminated, and Kishiro Technologies has been advised to disavow the existance of the program, in coordination with all relevant government agencies.
Incident Precursors
Reports of instability and lacking numbers in the Ouroboros movement began in November 835, as issues with logistics and establishing a base of operations in the Taus became more unsustainable due to repeated harassment by Gallic Royalists and Brigand Terrorists. Intelligence on the matter is limited, but it is believed that around this time, Hanamura had devised a last resort action if the Ouroboros could not reach critical mass to stage a campaign against the Empire. Whilst information about this 'Shuuban' plan as it was called, was initially limited, we knew it would be a targeted attack of some sort. Initially, intelligence suggested an attempted use of a nuclear weapon on the capital district of New Tokyo, in an attempt to kill not only Prime Minister Miyasu, but the entire upper chain of command of the Kusari Empire's executive branch and imperial family.
Reports from agents in the movement suggested that there were plans to procure a formerly deactivated NEMP device from persons believed to have been associated with the Molly movement for rearming and utilization as a WMD. Limited intelligence sharing with Bretonia prevented us from knowing ther Mollies' ability to produce nuclear weapons of mass destruction, and as such, we believed this would be the most precise course of action. However, sadly - this information was a deceptive, house-grade act of counter-intelligence operations. Decrypting surviving intelligence from the databanks of the Mendicant Didact's wreckage, we can confirm that the Shuuban plan was intended from the start to be a reported liberation campaign for Hanamura's sister and fellow SHIRAYUKI subject, Nanami Hanamura, as well as intending to cause as much damage to Kishiro Technologies and the Empire as possible in the process.
Prior to the Shuuban plan's initiation on December 27th, at 0320 Honshu Local Time, the Utsunomiya Battlegroup initiated a slipspace jump reportedly originating from the Kyushu system, bound for the Honshu system. Sensors indicate they had penetrated Kusari core space 10 minutes prior by way of Tau-23 through the Ohka Dust Field. Upon arrival into the Honshu system in Sector E2, in the periphery of the Hiyo Cloud. From that point onward, multiple Dromedary-class vessels seperated from the battlegroup, consisting of the OCS Kuga, Manabe, Runitai and Ikuni. These vessels commenced with a wide-scale electronic warfare attack against the Battleship Sado and Yukawa Shipyards, that disrupted the ability for security forces to detect the rest of the battlegroup as they approached Honshu at full impulse. Snubcraft followed up from the Tochigi and Utsunomiya, launching to establish BARCAPs around the area of operations to interdict any patrols.
At approximately 0400, the battlegroup approached Honshu, and in coordination with other electronic warfare units, launched a barrage of Harpoon-class VLS fires against the East Hemisphere Aerospace Defense subgrid, resulting in 14 of 21 batteries to be taken offline, mitigating air defense coverage. At 0405Z, it is our belief that this is when the 'Shuuban Plan' Zero hour commences.
Incident Timeline
0405Z (Zero Hour):
OCS Tochigi concludes VLS fires against the defense grid.
Condition Red is issued planet-wide for Honshu. Civilians are advised to seek shelter.
Scramble orders issued for snubcraft aboard Battleship Sado, Kansai Research Institute, Border Station Akita. QRFs from all nearby patrols are activated and mobilized to rally to sector E3, Keypad 5 for emergency response.
0410Z:
IKN Utsuho (DD-203) and IKN Omori (BB-430) respond from New Tokyo, time to on station is 20 minutes.
Ouroboros Kotetsu Fighter Brigade's 1st and 2nd Marines move to muster stations for mass deployment to Oita via escape pods, in lieu of Orbital Dive Pods. OCS Rathgrith II, OCS Manabe, unmoor from airlocks aboard Tochigi, carrying heavy armored air defense and anti-personnel vehicles to support the assault.
OCS Runitai engages two times Neko fighters from the 190th Aerospace Defense Squadron, Honshu Defense Precinct. OCS Ikuni and Kuga are engaged shortly after.
Procedures to deploy the IKN Yazawa (DD-198) from moors for emergency response commence. Time to on station is 30 minutes due to having to take on crew originally on leave.
0415Z:
OCS Tochigi, ODS Mendicant Didact, and OCS Utsunomiya release escape pods, fired towards planet Honshu. Even if operational at full capacity, the escape pods' radar cross section prevents radar guided fire by planetary defenses.
OTV Kobayashi Maru, a Big Dragon-class transport, is detected on Radar from the Hiyo cloud, heading towards the New Tokyo jump gate. Two Neko fighters are scrambled from Kansai for Alert 5 intercept.
OCS Runitai splashes both Neko fighters but sustains moderate damage. It retreats to support the Kuga.
0419Z:
IKN Utsuho, IKN Omori arrive in the Honshu system via the New Tokyo jumpgate. Time to on station, 10 minutes.
Ageira liaison reports to Department of Transport that the New Tokyo-Yukawa and New Tokyo-Osaka trade lane is suffering intermittent issues, possibly due to a cyberwarfare attack by Ouroboros to delay a QRF response.
OCS Kuga, OCS Runitai, sunk by elements of the 190th ADS, Honshu, but they suffer extensive damage. Forces fall back as support from Akita and Kansai arrive on station against the battlegroup. Troops are in contact in the Utsunomiya combat perimeter at this time. Picture of the battlespace clears up at this point, revealing the full extent of the combat environment.
0422Z:
OTV Kobayashi Maru is picked up on long range sensors by interception flight Tooru-1. Tooru-1 reports EOTS imagery shows makeshift weapon mounted amidships aimed at the approaching IKN Omori. Energy readings report the weapon is charging for some sort of attack. Tooru-1 is advised by KNF command to expedite intercept - however the ship has reportedly battleshorted cruise engines and is outside cruise disruption range.
Ouroboros Snubcraft belonging to the 1st Fighter Squadron of the Kotetsu Fighter Brigade, led by Major Alexei Miranov, make contact with defense forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Gendou Ikazura.
Ouroboros First Marines, Second Marines of Kotetsu Fighter Brigade touch down in Oita. Minimal initial casualties suspected. Forces rally to the Kishiro Cryogenics facility at 4-1-1 Arasaka.
0425Z:
OTV Kobayashi Maru charges the makeshift spinal cannon at its' midships, firing at the IKN Omori. The Omori sustains a heavy EMP attack, bringing drives to a halt, causing shield failure and sending the Omori's reactors into an emergency SCRAM. The Kobayashi Maru continues on course. Its' snubcraft escort merges with the Kobayashi Maru, but cruise disruption fails due to the drives having been disabled manually - forced reinitialization to slow the ship is no longer possible. The ship is now only maneuvering via RCS thrusters, possibly via manual control rather than via astrionics. Snubcraft also confirm that the Kobayashi Maru is unmanned, and likely is a VBIED. The IKN Utsuho opens fire upon the Kobayashi Maru to attempt to stop the ship from impacting the Omori. Omori crew brace for impact.
0426Z:
OTV Kobayashi Maru, sustaining heavy damage from fires by the Utsuho, impacts the IKN Omori. The Impact penetrates the hull, causing decks B through K to be compromised shortly before a miniature nuclear device fires, splitting the Omori amidships. Severe casualties are expected as the CIC, DCC, Fire Control Radars and reactor are lost. OTV Kobayashi Maru meanwhile is totally destroyed by the attack, leaving only remains of the unmanned bridge.
Ouroboros ground forces , approximately 1,300 men strong - break up into four companies - A Company, headed by Nodoka Hanamura, B Company, led by Jae-un 'PALE BRIDE' Song, C Company, led by Brett Kensington, and D Company, led by Amelie Delmas. A Cpy and B Cpy move towards the facility as fragged prior. C Cpy is tasked to pull security around the perimeter of the facility. D Cpy moves to rendezvous at Kawatori Park three clicks from the facility to support unloading OCS Manabe to establish an air defense battery at the park to ensure area denial.
OCS Skidbladnir, reportedly requested to be on standby alongside OTV Pudica and OCS Furude for extraction of personnel and materiel from the facility.
0428Z:
30% of Ouroboros Aerospace forces in the theater are lost. Meanwhile, 50% of on station security forces in the Utsunomiya perimeter have been killed or rendered combat ineffective. OCS Tochigi, OCS Utsunomiya and OCS Harpy open fire on snubcraft.
OCS Utsuho reports that is will not be able to move to respond as it must commence CSAR efforts to recover survivors from the Omori. IKN Saba (BB-162) and IKN Yuudachi (BC-199) report they will be on station in 10 minutes once Saba has charged its' slipspace drives.
IKN Yazawa reports it is away with minimal crew due to emergency circumstances. Admiral Tenjiro Shimura reports expected 70% combat effectiveness. Battleship Sado sends bomber complement to support the Yazawa.
0431Z:
Ouroboros A Cpy and B Cpy report on station. They establish a perimeter whilst waiting for C Cpy to relieve them. All Companies at this point are confirmed to be in contact with Kusari State Police, which report massive casualties. At this juncture, we still do not know their intentions.
Honshu planetary aerospace defense forces scrambled 5 minutes earlier arrive on station to suppress Ouroboros Ground Forces. They are met by gunship fire from the OCS Rathgrith II, which destroys 3 of the 8 fighters tasked to the support effort. Close Air Support efforts remain suppressed for the next 15 minutes.
IKN Yazawa reports the Utsunomiya battlegroup on long range sensors. It also reports that multiple KSP snubcraft have entered the battlespace to support the engagement.
0434Z:
Ouroboros C Cpy arrives on station to relieve A and B Cpys. A Company moves into the facility to secure the cryostasis facilities and extract subjects. B Company moves to server rooms for access to the greater Kishiro Technologies network. Kishiro security personnel and KOI attache agents are overwhelmed by the assault and sustain massive losses, eventually being overrun, all souls KIA. Civilians are in panic and flee the building. Ouroboros forces do not open fire on civilians, but seem to direct them to leave the city as soon as possible.
Kishiro Technologies notifies the KSP and KOI of a network and facility breach in Oita. Attempts to lockdown the facility are halted by B Company leader Song utilizing remote code execution attacks to grant root access to the facility's central computer system. Kishiro security forces on New Tokyo are ordered to scramble to Honshu.
0438Z:
IKN Yazawa is on station and begins to fire on the OCS Tochigi. The Tochigi exchanges standoff VLS missile and torpedo vollies initially, before commencing fires from primary and heavy batteries. Ouroboros Bombers originally on standby move to attack the Yazawa. In response, KSP forces are requested to delouse snubcraft from the Yazawa so fires can be prioritized on the Tochigi.
IKN Saba and IKN Yuudachi arrive on station after jumping into Honshu, 15K from the engagement area. OCS Utsunomiya and ODS Mendicant Didact scramble all snubcraft to attack the Saba and Yuudachi. The Utsunomiya commences electronic warfare against the Saba and Yuudachi to prevent standoff missile fires from locking, as it burns towards Honshu's atmosphere.
Ouroboros D Cpy establish air defense coverage with support from the OCS Manabe. Kappa 8 of the planetary QRF originally sent is the only remaining unit and is advised to retreat for reinforcements. Ouroboros retains aerospace superiority over Oita for the moment.
Ouroboros A Cpy breach into the cryogenics facility. Priority is placed on Nanami Hanamura, which is reported by the codename 'HUSHED CASKET', along with others from the Kusari.
0440Z:
IKN Yuudachi turns to intercept the Utsunomiya as the Saba continues on course to press the Mendicant Didact. OCS Tochigi is deshielded and proceeds to hit from broadsides against the Yazawa. The Yazawa moderate damage from the battlecruiser grade weapons systems aboard during the broadside attack and pulls back to resume standoff fires - the Tochigi recharges shields and presses the Yazawa, whose' backup shield capacitors were not fully charged at time of departure from Yukawa.
Ouroboros A Cpy reports 10% of the cryostasis pods have been readied for transport. OCS Skidbladnir affirms and is reported enroute with its' accompanying transport package. Its' position is unknown as it is not reporting over datalink according to captured records at this time.
0446Z:
OCS Tochigi fires a Sunwreath plasma battery at the IKN Yazawa, hitting it amidships whilst unshielded. The blast causes breaches at the bridge and CIC, and cooking off torpedo stores. IKN Yazawa acting commander orders surviving crew to muster stations to abandon ship. The Tochigi shifts to attack the IKN Yuudachi, firing from VLS Cells. The Tochigi at this point has sustained moderate damage.
OCS Utsunomiya, approaching the Honshu Karman line, opens fire on the Yuudachi, only causing partial deshielding due to the weak firepower aboard. The Tochigi's fires make contact with the Yuudachi, deshielding it proper.
IKN Saba is pressed on by standoff fires from snubcraft from the Utsunomiya and Mendicant Didact. Fighters are scrambled to intercept and clear a path for the Saba to advance and break up the forces.
OCS Tochigi commander Mercury Graham reports that total recovery of all subjects, or the recovery of at least 25% of them in cryostasis is no longer possible, as the tide turns in favor of the Empire. Hanamura advises B Cpy to conclude data capture and to retreat to Cryostasis bays to support extraction. C Cpy and D Cpy are advised to commence preparations for extraction.
0448Z:
OCS Utsunomiya descends into the Karman line, smoke billowing from its' reactor and drive decks. A light transport escapes the ship as it falls towards Oita. Time to impact is 15 minutes.
IKN Saba fires upon the Mendicant Didact. It fires all batteries forward in response as the Saba attacks. The Mendicant Didact is quickly deshielded and sustains heavy damage as it presses towards the Saba, supported by its' sole remaining capital escort, the OCS Anko.
Ouroboros Cpy D reports Troop Transports and snubcraft fast approaching Oita. This force is approximately 2,300 men strong with a 20 man force composition. Rathgrith II reports on standby to intercept.
OCS Skidbladnir reports it is on re-entry and ready to recover with its' flight package.
0452Z:
OCS Mendicant Didact is hit in the fore, suffering critical damage. Crew move to muster stations as the ship continues on course to impact the Saba, possibly as a last ditch effort to prevent the ship from commencing with ship-to-surface fires.
OCS Utsunomiya continues to exchange fire with the Yuudachi, passing the Karman Line as well. Navigation advises to manage speed lest it also impact alongside the Ouroboros ship.
OCS Tochigi continues to fire on the Yuudachi from the Karman line, before halting fires at T-8 to impact.
0456Z:
OCS Skidbladnir arrives on station with its' package. OCS Kuga and Furude move to recover C and D Cpys as A and B Cpys begin extracting cryopods to Pudica.
Forward snubcraft package arrives on station over Oita. OCS Skidbladnir, Rathgrith II open fire with SSbM (Ship-to-Snubcraft Missile) fires and primary anti-snubcraft fire. Ouroboros Snubcraft decend through atmosphere, passing the Utsunomiya, moving to support evacuation teams.
OCS Mendicant Didact makes contact with the Saba, but is destroyed by the shielding before it fails from fires. Fires against the Saba persist from the Anko. Intelligence from the Mendicant Didact ends at this point.
Planetary Defense Command advises that no further action can be taken with regards to Oita - all civilians are advised to brace for impact, all forces tasked to the area have their taskings aborted.
IKN Yuudachi reports that impact with Honshu is imminent and they are unable to correct due to high mass at terminal velocity. Crew are advised to move to muster stations, but the fall of the ship and gravitational effects from Honshu make traversal of decks difficult.
0459Z:
Troop transports arrive on station but immediately retreat upon visual contact of the impending impact of the Utsunomiya and Yuudachi. OCS Skidbladnir moves to land to support exfiltration.
OCS Kuga and Furude lift off carrying members of C and D company.
0502Z:
OCS Skidbladnir takes off, carrying 2/3rds of the cryostasis subjects and B Company. OTV Pudica shortly thereafter follows suit.
IKN Yuudachi transmits final message. "Amaterasu carry us through to the heavens, for we have given all we can for the Emperor."
Defense Command orders all ships prioritize intercept of the Tochigi and other Ouroboros remnants. 2 out of the 14 disabled defense batteries are brought back online and begin firing on the Tochigi.
0504Z:
OCS Utsunomiya makes impact center mass of the KCT facility's tower, plowing through and destroying the structure initially from the 22nd floor to the 45th. The ship continues to pass over the city, descending and causing debris to fall onto the streets below before impacting 8 kilometers west of Tatsumori Beach on Oita-jima. IKN Yuudachi follows suit, ramming directly behind the Utsunomiya, likely impacting the reactor chamber.
Following the impact, likely as a result of damage taken and the impact causing debilitating damage to the superstructure, a massive detonation occurs, originating from the nuclear reactor onboard the Utsunomiya, and possibly caused secondaries from stores aboard the Yuudachi, as well as spread of radioactive material from its' reactor. Radioactive material is expected to be spread across Oita at large, forcing the island to be abandoned.
IP Detonation causes a shockwave approximately 40 kilometers in diameter, shattering windows and resulting in mass casualties for those not in shelter within 15 kilometers. The immediate area around the Kishiro facility is decimated and covered in radioactive material, possibly having leaked from the Utsunomiya prior to impact.
OCS Tochigi and its' remaining complement from Oita begin to burn out of atmosphere towards the Hiyo Cloud. IKN Saba is tasked to intercept at the Karman line. To prevent further damage and loss of civilian life, Saba is advised to avoid fragging any heavy Ouroboros ships before they have reached escape velocity.
0505Z:
+1 hour from Zero Hour.
0506Z:
MASINT from the Saba's passive sensors, correlated against background radiation sensors at Kansai, confirm charging of a jump drive by the OCS Tochigi. Destination at this juncture is unknown.
0507Z:
OCS Tochigi, other ships, after reaching atmospheric escape velocity, cut engines and veer 20 degrees port and 20 degrees nose high from its' path of flight. IKN Saba burns towards the Tochigi as it passes 5km ahead of it, drive still charging. The Saba commences standoff fires towards the Tochigi, in coordination with allied snubcraft. IKN Midori and Chiba, both Gunboats, arrive on station shortly after to support by fire.
0508Z:
OCS Tochigi opens a slipspace rupture upon drive activation. All ships maintain attitude, commence an 4-second full burn and enter the rupture. IKN Saba, Chiba and Midori follow through the wormhole at speed to continue the engagement.
0509Z:
IKN Saba and accompanying ships drop into the Fischer system, Sector F4, Keypad 9.
OCS Tochigi battlegroup drifts away from Fischer-1171 black hole as the Saba continues at speed upon exiting the rupture. Upon realization by Saba CIC, acting commander orders all stop to prevent penetration of the event horizon, which is 25K away. Given the originally strange-seeming actions taken by the Tochigi and its' forces up to this point, it is all but certain that Ouroboros intended to jump the Tochigi into the Fischer system to delouse any trailers from Kusari using the Fischer Black Hole as a trap.
0510Z:
IKN Saba attempts to reverse burn to stop descent into the event horizon. IKN Midori and Chiba, having accelerated past Saba briefly before transit through the wormhole, are fast approaching. Time dilation prevents the Saba from warning both gunships in time to cut engines. Both eventually do cut engines and attempt to burn away from the event horizon, but eventually pass it. At this juncture, datalinked sensor and communications data from the IKN Midori and Chiba, even those relayed from the Saba, are lost.
It can be assumed, given simulations of the engagement, that the Tochigi utilized a geodesic orbit *away* from the black hole to escape it.
0511Z:
IKN Saba continues to burn to save itself, but eventually finds itself within the event horizon. At this point, all sensor intelligence, communications and data from the Saba is lost. Snubcraft continue to pursue the Tochigi group, being light enough to escape the event horizon, but it is assumed that all hands aboard the Midori, Chiba and Saba are inevitably lost. At this point all snubcraft either continue to engage the Tochigi group until destroyed or routed.
Incident Aftermath and Findings
With regards to the Fischer encounter, we can sadly without a shadow of a doubt confirm the Saba, Midori and Chiba are lost with all hands as a result of being consumed by the Black Hole. Scientific simulations suggest that upon entering the Schwarzechild Radius (Rₛ = 6km) that all ships succumbed near instantly, vaporized by the accretion disk before spaghettification would bring the hulls into the singularity.
Snubcraft that survived the engagement with the Tochigi, primarily remnants of the Saba's aerospace complement and elements of the Honshu Aerospace Defense forces, initially had difficulty transitting out of the deep Omegas, suffering a moderate attrition rate due to navigational hazards, unaffiliated terrorist and Corsair attacks, systems failures and lack of resources such as food or water. Approximately 12 personnel out of the 890 personnel that pursued the Tochigi battlegroup into the Fischer system survived the engagement.
With regards to Oita and vicinity, the ensuing tsunami caused by the impacts of the OCS Utsunomiya and IKN Yuudachi was mitigated by coastal uplift as a result of the tectonic shift along the Ueda fault line, contributing to chaotic interference that disrupted the effects of the impacts. However, the overwhelming majority of Oita City and its' likenamed island has been doused in radiation, which likely has begun to have been absorbed into the soil. As a result of this, civilians who have survived the incident have been transferred to medical facilities at the Arch under obfuscation, and subjected to memory correction procedures to expunge any memory of visual contact with the Ouroboros, or the impact of the ships near the city.
SIGINT captured from Kansai suggests that the descent of the Utsunomiya was not intentional, at least in so far as a suicide attack on the city of Oita. The Yuudachi continued to fire on the Utsunomiya against orders to cease fire and stop the ship from hitting any populated areas. However, we believe that fatigue brought on from the situation exacerbated the inability to maintain a chain of command. The intent of the Utsunomiya was likely to occupy the Yuudachi to prevent tactical planetary bombardment of Ouroboros infantry positions.
Regarding the IKN Omori, it is our assessment that given the nature of the attack, in that it was multi-domain (cyber, kinetic, and passive electronic warfare) that no action could be taken to save the vessel and intercept the OTV Kobayashi Maru successfully. The utilization of a high power pulse weapon in coordination with unmanned, possibly optical terminal guidance by a dumb shipboard AI that was able to 'manually' guide the ship in whilst preventing drive reinitialization, likely as a result of blowing pre-programmed charges to sever power and control lines to the drive permanently.
Whilst one could critique the response of the Omori and Utsuho to the Kobayashi Maru once in weapons range, the time to respond in that window was less than 20 seconds - insufficient given that EOTS records show the hull was reinforced against fires from capital ships, sufficient enough for the short time frame to attack. We can assume that Ouroboros was prepared for some sort of response from New Tokyo, and had prepared the Kobayashi Maru in an attempt to deny or disrupt such a response.
With regards to subjects stolen from the Kishiro Cryogenics facility, their fate is unknown. None of their neural laces have come online - we assume Ouroboros is either keeping them under sustained cryostasis, or have flashed new NNUUIDs and firmware for their laces, causing tracking of them to be rendered impossible. If they are awakened, and Ouroboros had somehow managed to revitalize them in the same way Nodoka Hanamura was, we must assume they will inevitably, invariably be living amongst us.
With this being said, we can assume Ouroboros, or rather, its' newly reported successor 'state', the Utsunomiya Commonwealth, which resides in the Everon Region of Gran Canaria, in its' more Temperate Alpine north, and that survivors of Project SHIRAYUKI have resumed their lives there as citizens of the successor state, possibly having undergone extensive orientation to prevent disclosure or otherwise have been rendered not an immediate threat to the Empire or Utsunomiya Commonwealth, possibly through memory suppression or aggressive hypnotic suggestion.
National Security Assessment
It is the firm belief of Public Safety Section 49, that, understanding the psychological profile of Nodoka Hanamura, the dispositions of her surviving personnel, and all assets at their disposal, especially that relating to intelligence on Project SHIRAYUKI - that continued pursuit of Ouroboros splinter cells, the Utsunomiya Commonwealth, Nodoka Hanamura, her sister, or any accomplices to which be avoided at all costs to prevent the risk of a likely implementation of a dead man's hand scenario, which could see this information leaked to the general public -NOT BE ATTEMPTED FURTHER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, COVERT, OVERT OR BY PROXY.
Whilst they carry the documents on the project, and inviolable provenance tying it both to Kishiro Technologies and the Kusari State, in any fashion, we cannot rule out the risk of mutually assured destruction - wherein for instance, the murder, kidnap or grevious injury of Nodoka Hanamura, or her associates, at the hands of anyone believed to be working for the Kusari State or Kishiro Technologies, could trigger catastrophic trans-house and internal civil, defense and financial repercussions that could risk the total collapse of the Empire into anarchy, coup d'etat by Ouroboros sleeper agents or other threats to the Throne, or result in occupation by foreign houses.
We believe with high certainty that the 'Shuuban Plan' was an act of last resort by Ouroboros as their chances of amassing sufficient resources was reaching an point of unrecoverable decline due to logistics and morale issues. The high casualty rate of Ouroboros forces in the theater, as well as assets, leaves us to believe that Ouroboros will under no circumstances, unless provoked, pose threat to the Kusari Empire, in the conventional warfare domain. This being said, we advise the prime minister and ministry of defense to partake in 'intelligence brinksmanship' to deter any attempts to leak any part of the project.
Formal Review and Recommendations
Upon extensive review of the situation at hand, we find that the course of action taken by regional security forces, within existing doctrine, to be acceptable, given the circumstances of the encounter, this would not have happened were it not for lax security in the Honshu system. Whilst regions like Shikoku and Galileo are on high alert at this juncture as a result of tensions with the Republic of Liberty, we find that the Ouroboros attack was a result of both the expertise of Nodoka Hanamura and her command staff in multi-domain warfare, using a surprising degree of peer adversary electronic, cyber and even physical strategy and hardware at the tactical and theater level to deny the ability for security forces to respond efficiently, swiftly and brutally - buying the Ouroboros time to insert into Oita, grab intelligence and materiel, and retreat in a vulgar smash and grab campaign.
With regards to cover up, we believe that the current coverup plan of a nuclear experiment going wrong in Oita, with an extensive neural net purge of footage of the engagement - is the best course of action, controlling the narrative is absolutely paramount. Tradelane attack should be written off as a terror attack from the Farmer's Alliance in conjunction with contacts in the Lane Hackers - Ouroboros shouldn't be given any credit. We should also continue pursuing and 'tending to' of any witnesses, in our ranks or otherwise. Personnel who survived the Fischer incident should be tasked to standby security in Tohoku at Ichigaya. Other personnel should be retasked to peripheral patrols and other taskings that keep them from general population. IKN Saba and her escorts should be remarked as missing in action and having been last reported in the Sigma-13 system. As far as anyone's concerned, that is where the Ouroboros forces were last seen. Any persons at Kishiro or otherwise in government or miltary involved in Project SHIRAYUKI should be terminated with absolute prejudice. We can expect to continue to suppress Hanamura and anyone who follows her. But someone in our own ranks, or in the ranks of the Keiretsu, must *NOT* be able to spread this Infohazard like the carcenogenic virus it is.
In depth, we also find that:
The IKN Omori, and IKN Utsuho, given the circumstances of the Kobayashi Maru ambush, exercised the best possible course of action to prevent the destruction of the Omori, even if such action was futile.
The IKN Yuudachi's command deck had been overwhelmed by snubcraft reports, callouts from helm, CIC, weapons, and other crews, making cohesion difficult, and also making it difficult to adjust course to avoid reaching a point of no return. Furthermore, the commander at the helm, Shohei Matsuda, has had a reported psychological profile that matches a somewhat zealous demeanor. Ergo, insubordination may not be wholly ruled out.
The IKN Saba and its' escorts lacked the ability to identify the destination of the jump hole - we can assume this was a byproduct of proximity to Fischer-1171's event horizon, delaying or interfering with slipspace rupture analysis. Any sane person would not willingly throw themselves at a black hole to get rid of a tail, but yet, the Ouroboros did it, likely saving themselves by burning immediately upon exiting slipspace, in retrograde from Fischer-1171. A testament to their desperation, bravery or insanity. Ergo, we can assume that the Saba and other ships had little chance to react in time, whereas the Tochigi was prepared to burn well before entering the slipspace rupture.
The use of Electronic Warfare by Ouroboros is comparable only to the likes of the Order, Lane Hackers and foreign intelligence communities, which comes as a surprise from a collapsing paramilitary like it, which implies there may have been rehearsals of the plan weeks or months ahead of time.
Our reliance on solely domestic intelligence to prevent terrorism and stymie insurgencies like the Golden Chrysanthemums, Blood Dragons or now defunct Ouroboros was, of all things, our weakest link in this situation. Had we known the attempted mass murder nuclear attack on New Tokyo was a blatant ruse, which given Hanamura's history of supposed emotional instability at some junctures, was reasonable if her command was not sufficiently keeping her in check - we would have been able to at least piece together a greater intelligence picture that could have led to preparations to fortify both Oita and Honshu.
The recommendations by Public Security Section 49 are as follows:
Prioritize normalizing relations with the Bretonian, Rheinlandic, Gallic and if and when relations stabilize, Libertonian intelligence communities to participate in cross-house intelligence sharing to bolster counter-terrorism efforts.
Invest in reinforcing the planetary defense grids of all major planets in our domain, to prevent an attack such as this from occurring again. Further investments in ECCM technologies is strongly advised. We should also frown upon underestimation of domestic terror. If the Ouroboros could do this much damage, and disrupt us to this degree in responding to a clearly sub-peer adversary, fighting above their force capabilities, then there is no telling what the Blood Dragons or Golden Chrysanthemums could do if they find out about this and find themselves emboldened by it.
Lax defenses in areas not directly part of the defense of the home systems and capital contributed greatly to this incident taking place. We must ensure that both areas of concern regarding Liberty, and the interior of the house are prioritized to acceptable degrees.
ABANDON PROJECT SHIRAYUKI. It is this agency's findings that this project's benefits are not only outweighed greatly by its' risks to our house, but if looking at the greater picture of Sirius, risks mass destabilization that could provoke the Slomon K'hara to instigate influence, infestation and destruction campaigns on par with or exceeding that leading up to the Colony War. Any benefits from human experimentation on 'clean' specimens is outweighed by the diplomatic, economic and social catastrophe that will lead up to it. Centuries of secrecy are now on the line. Please kill this project, before it gets all of us killed.
Advise and train fleet captains to exercise self-preservation above all else - sacrifice should only be done for the emperor if it is not immediately in vain. The losses of the Saba, Yuudachi et al could have been avoided, even if it meant that Ouroboros would have still escaped capture or destruction. Ships and weapons can be replaced. People, not so easily.
Commanders should be briefed on a fictionalized scenario based on the Tochigi's escape, so that they are aware of, and know to not pursue ships that are 'crabbing' before making contact with a slipspace rupture.
Tighten network security within the MoT to ensure future trade lane attacks are not possible, or are easily reversed.
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