Paved With Daggers

[Zapp]

Sometimes thoughts come unbidden of that fateful day, when I was joined with the Community and group consciousness. KNF High Command was getting suspicious about activity in the Tohoku system, especially then-unconfirmed rumors of the LNS Tundra operating in the area. I was one of the fighter squads assigned to dragnet the system. It was pointless, as we never got within scanner range of Heaven's Gate... it was an unspoken rule. While some of our patrol paths crossed right over it, we still looped around.

Of course, that didn't really help. As I learned later, it was all a ploy. Nagano had pushed for increased patrols in Tohoku to flush out whatever might be supposedly residing there, and he had been well aware of what would happen to them -- to us. The LNS Tundra was waiting. It knew exactly where we'd be, and used advanced Electronic Warfare systems to separate us and hunt us down one by one.

I wasn't the only one to be taken that day. Not even close. There must've been near fifty...

Most recently, the LNS Tundra was "reassigned" to the Aoi Iseijin for a brief period, and was used to capture several Naval Forces officers. Information provided by Nagano was critical in the operation, but all too soon the Tundra disappeared back into the deep Omicrons -- it was a ship of such high profile that it couldn't afford to hold the same position for too long. The quick boost of combat-elite Naval Forces veterans was all the Aoi Iseijin needed to begin a more aggressive policy, and now their ships are actively seen outside of Tohoku, albeit disguised. The KNF has all but ceased guarding the Tohoku jump hole.

...This is our past.

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