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Shimamori · 12-21-2022, 01:57 PM,

All Honshu Network:
News and Entertainment from the Eastern Jewel of Kusari

Daring Slavers' Attack on Keijo. More Questions than Answers

Konnichiwa! This is Ito Fumihiro and you are watching "Hi no ki” (//Mood of the Day) on All Honshu Network. We are offering news on the latest developments in Kusari and beyond. Today in the spotlight of our programme is the artefact trade in Kusari.

Over two weeks have passed since the disturbing events in the Fukuoka system (//Sigma-21) took place. On the 3rd of December, a group of outcast slavers managed to overcome the defences of the Republic of Keijo, a small protectorate colony of Kusari established earlier this year on a planet also known as Saigon, and kidnap an undisclosed number of civilians into slavery. This gruesome act sent shockwaves among the community of prospected colonists and puts the whole existence of the colony into question. Such developments have not gone unnoticed by the netizens both in Keijo and within the Empire and have been labelled a disgrace for the Kusari authorities. Many people are confused: how this could have happened to an entity recently declared a proud protectorate of the Empire and why the KNF did not prevent such a situation.

From the scarce logs obtained in the aftermath of the events, the investigators tried to restore the course of action. Around 6 PM NTST, a group of outcasts of no less than three fighters appeared in the orbit of Keijo, possibly scouting the area for the slaver transports. Meeting no patrol or opposition, the outcast force moved closer to the city of Keijo, the only large settlement with fortifications on the planet. This move was finally noticed by the local authorities that immediately issued a warning and a distress call to all the ships in the area. However, no KNF, KSP, or even Keijo Self-Defence Forces (SDF) vessels responded. In a dire attempt to organise a defence, Keijo authorities requested the assistance of freelancers and mercenaries in the area to stage a rag-tag defence. A freelancer under the callsign "Redemption" and a Shimamori clan mercenary under the ironic for the situation callsign "Slave Labour" dashed to the orbit to fend off the outcasts. The distress call was also picked up by a corsair pilot Leonidas Lykoudis from the "Deterrence" Cretan faction. To the surprise of the defenders, the corsair rushed to assist the Keijo relief forces as the corsairs, apparently, never turn down an opportunity to fight an outcast.

Regretfully, the rag-tag defenders failed to take down the outcast vessels and were forced to retreat under the cover of the planetary defence grid, leaving the rural surroundings of the Keijo city unguarded. While their valiant defence managed to buy some time for Keijo citizens to pull back to shelters, the fabled piloting skills of the Maltese allowed them to shred through the resistance quickly enough for the following transports to drop slavers' team and cut off a sizeable number of citizens outside the city walls. The total number of abductees is still not released to the public but is assumed to go beyond a hundred. This number might look small and the outcasts certainly would have enslaved more people if they had more cargo vessels available at the time. However, even a hundred people (and possibly a few hundred) is a severe blow to a small colony like Keijo.

Rural suburbs of Keijo

A significant share of the population gone is not the only obstacle to the survival of the colony. Many colonists are now doubting the capacity of the Empire of Kusari to provide the needed protection from potential threats. The KNF command has remained mostly silent in the aftermath of the abduction. Offering condolences to the relatives of the kidnapped, the KNF spokeswoman Terada Sakiko assured that the case will be investigated not only by the KSP but also by the military specialists and that the KNF will do its best to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future:

"We are all appalled by the events in the Fukuoka system. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the abductees. For those concerned, I assure you: the KNF stands firm on continuing its duty to protect the subjects of Kusari and those of our protectorate territories. We will launch an extensive investigation into what happened and why the KNF forces under the command of Lord Protector Mitsuo failed to respond to the distress call in a timely manner. We will also cooperate with the KSP to investigate the destination of the slavers and do everything in our power to return the victims of the raids home. I assure the colonists of Keijo that the situation is under control and although the KNF forces are spread thin after the war with Gallia, they remain dedicated to tirelessly protecting Kusari and its people."

- Terada Sakiko, KNF Spokeswoman

The comment provided by the KNF assumes that the KNF forces do not have enough capabilities to cover every hole in the defence of a sparsely populated colony which is fair. A recent change to the scope of responsibilities of the Lord Protector might also have contributed to the detrimental spread of the limited forces under his command. It, however, does not explain why the KNF battlecruiser from Matsumoto battlegroup that has been entrusted with the protection of Keijo failed to provide cover or dispatch a fighter squadron when it was supposed to be orbiting Keijo. It is possible that the battlecruiser was away from the orbit on a patrol, or was away for some other KNF task the authorities would rather not talk about, possibly due to the GMG. The presence and interests of the latter in the system make the situation even more complicated. Formally, the GMG claims Fukuoka as their own, however, the results of the war with Rheinland over the system granted Kusari the right to consider the system a protectorate. This status solidified even more after the institution of the Republic of Keijo and its subsequent plea to Kusari to become an imperial protectorate. Whether the GMG was oblivious to the outcast raid attack or intentionally let it happen to force the colonists is unknown, although the harsh stance of the Guild on the Cardamine trade and continuous hostilities with Malta over the Sigmas support the former option.

The KNF is not the only one to face criticism and blame for inaction. The SDF of Keijo also failed to show up. Whether due to their low numbers, lack of material base or training, or other reasons, the citizens of Keijo look up to their authorities and are met with dead silence even now, more than two weeks after the incident. With the SDF and the local authorities failing to provide the desperately needed on the frontier safety, the opinion of the Keijo citizens is getting polarized. One side claims that the SDF will never be on par with the outcasts and only the stronger presence of Kusari can help. This argument goes as far as to directly call for the incorporation of Keijo within the Empire of Kusari. The other side objects, quoting how the KNF failed to show up and that they were no more reliable than the SDF. The supporters of this narrative call for increasing the budget of the SDF to make it a small yet professional and mobile force to respond to threats like the slavers' raid. It is unclear, however, how to amass the finances needed for such a budget. A less vocal minority is also advocating for hiring a professional mercenary force akin to the retinues of the noble clans of Kusari or a private military company, or the GMG paramilitary forces for protection. The authorities of Keijo have so far been listening to the criticism cautiously without acting or making loud statements and requested the Kusari authorities to consider an extension of the rights of the BHG in Honshu and Fukuoka systems. Here are a few comments from the neural network to illustrate the ongoing debates:

MasanoriXxX Wrote:The imperilas have ditched us. How was everyone so blind to support asking them for help? Even the GMG would have been more useful - at least they are invested in the system. But as they say: you want to do something good - do it yourself. Make the SDF useful or something, so far they are just patrolling the rice paddies around the city with their heads deep up their arses.

MyakoNyako32 Wrote:My heart is with all the relatives of the abducted. I feel their anger and understand them but we can't keep blaming everything on the KNF. Kusari lost a lot of ships in a war against Bretonia, then Gallia, then we had a civil war and even saw Rheinland ships in Honshu. And you know what? The KNF stood its ground and suffered heavy losses but protected the people of Kusari. You cannot expect them with the resources available after all of this mess to cover every inch of a huge planet. Yes, there are things about the KNF (and KSP, lol) I want to criticise as well but they are the best we've got. No mercs or militia can replace them, you saw it yourself in the outcome of this mess.

MyHand♡EmiShiromaEveryDay Wrote:Kekeke, those idiots on Keijo establish a colony on the frontier and then get pikachu face when they get raided by outcasts? Suck it up and grow some balls. If you gonna live there - at least get some mercs. Or buy cardi so that the oc leave you alone, idk

XenoPedo117 Wrote:Look at the zoners and how literally everyone tosses them around like a sack of flour. You want that? So unless you have a large corpo behind you, swallow your pride and bend to the nearest House. Nobody can offer you better protection and nobody would care. Mercs will sell their asses to any bidder with a heavier purse (cough - the GMG- cough) and leave you exposed to all sorts of "nice" people. SDF will never have the budget of professionalism of a proper navy. Bow before the emprah today, save your relatives tomorrow (invite the hogosha the day after).

Yorokobiganai.08 Wrote:A sad day for Keijo indeed, my condolences to everyone affected by this ordeal. Such a dent in Kusarian defence is unacceptable. Perhaps, it was indeed a good move to befried the sairs - they hate the oc more that anything and will be a good shield against the slavers. I also thought the sairs were no better than the rest of the criminals, but damn, one of them helped Keijo, maybe the others will follow the suit and share his sentiments.

The wild card of the event surely was the corsair. New Tokyo and Crete have recently reconsidered their bilateral relations and set in motion the process of decriminalisation of the corsairs within the Empire. The corsairs are still looked at with suspicion by the majority of the Kusari population, notably for their previous infamous record in the Sigmas and Kusari borders. This considered, the imperial government so far allowed the limited activity of the corsairs within the system of Honshu to test the ramifications of such cooperation and to avoid the ire of the other Houses viewing corsairs as savages and pests. The Fukuoka incident can be the starting point of swaying the Kusarians towards a lighter approach towards the Cretans. Whether Leonidas Lykoudis was acting out of spite towards the Maltese, a benevolent desire to help the people, or his own other reasons, he shed blood for the people of Keijo and earned respect among the locals. If more corsairs are seen aiding the Kusari or Keijo authorities, their public image may quickly change.

The investigation is expected to shed more light on why the outcasts managed to penetrate the defences so easily. Until then, many questions remain unanswered. This will conclude today’s programme. We hope that the authorities of Keijo and Kusari will carry out the investigation transparently and impartially, and provide the needed help to the relatives of the abductees. Follow the development of the story on AHN and for additional information check out our social media where you can also share your thoughts with us. This was Ito Fumihiro for AHN. Thank your for watching and sayonara! This programme was brought to you by

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