Section 8's command has been informed by Operative Witness of your sudden and unexpected reappearance following your equally sudden and unexpected disappearance circa two years ago. Congratulations on your return to your duties at the Marinenachrichtendienst, even if in a lesser capacity than that of the of Büro's director.
Witness has also forwarded your request to be briefed on new developments over the past two years. I am certain you have been made well aware of the discovery of new, natural jump hole anomalies across the Omega region, leading deeper into the Walker Nebula. Section 8 has conducted little reconnaissance into these newly found systems. However, the intelligence that we have gathered indicates that the Omegas' criminal elements wasted little time laying claim to these "deep" Omegas. The Corsairs, Red Hessians, and Coalition have all made forays through the jump holes, some with greater success than others. The Cretans have established a semi-permanent operation in the Omega-43 system, basing patrols and expeditionary actions out of the modified liner Santa Lucia. Various third parties have also struck out into the deep Omegas, including independent researchers, freelancers, and Zoners, but, unfortunately, also Wild raiders. I am afraid the chaotic, anarchic nature of the deep Omegas will prove to be a fertile breeding ground for their numbers.
Section 8 currently considers further exploration of the deep Omegas a low priority and will not permanently assign any assets to the region.
As for other alien activity, there has been little of import as far as Rheinland and its surrounding systems are concerned.
In return for this report, Section 8's command expects to be briefed on the circumstances of your two-year absence, your new role in the Büro, and the capacities in which you can be expected to cooperate with Section 8.
Thank for resuming communications, previous communications were beneficial for both parties and I hope they will be the same going forward.
The circumstances of my disappearance are difficult for me to recollect, I was kept in stasis after being shot down for a little over a year if I had to guess. The date I was awoken from sedation following my discharge from stasis was quite some time as well. Nursing me back to full health was a miracle in and of itself but the side effects are apparently a poor recollection of the events leading up to it. I had left for personal reconnaissance following the successful destruction of Valhalla shipyard, I closed in on the scene and can't remember much after that. Either I was shot down there, or somewhere else entirely, I awoke in Omega-49 - very far from home.
The Buro has deliberated over my position and whether or not I am fit for full duty. They've found no reason to distrust me, no signs of infection, no compromised intelligence - nothing. My value to the Buro more so than a Director has always been in Rheinland's R&D department. I've a much more conservative approach to the department than my predecessors, some of our donors dislike it, but the Bundestag and our current Director finds it reason enough to trust me.
As Director I had several outlying ties to various individuals and groups in Sirius that helped me safeguard Rheinland from alien threats primarily. While we have several human adversaries, those responsibilities have always been delegated to different departments. Alien threats are a priority for Rheinland given the result of nomad war we both are painfully aware of.
While I am no longer in control of the Buro's combat doctrines, large-scale diplomacy, and personnel delegations; I am still in control of R&D and overseeing potential Alien threats as they arise.
Cooperation with the Order is irrefutably the most important of relationships. The Bundestag's dependence on APM and IC make open cooperation impossible for the Bundestag and Overwatch, but that doesn't mean we can't cooperate, at least I see it that way.
Getting up to speed, it seems like the same Harbinger we spoke of before is still at large. A division of the Bundschuh called the "Platform" has personnel encountering it still, the Bundschuh historically claims to be a close ally of the Order. I'm still gathering evidence on this matter, but I'm curious to hear if you've seen anything similar recently. The Bundschuh - while influential Sirius wide - are held up primarily in Rheinland, where they seek to make their goals a reality.
Section 8 possesses little detailed information about the Platform beyond it being a cell within the larger Bundschuh movement. Relations between the Order and the Bundschuh have experienced some strain over the past few years due to unfortunate friendly fire incidents, but remain otherwise positive. We expect this to apply to the Platform as well.
As for Harbinger, there have been no recent sightings. The last sighting dates back to July 835 and may be of some interest to you. The read-only report is attached below. You may also access the file attached to said report. Unfortunately, we have lost track of Dr. Thallia Thorn since our operative Warlock was killed in action not long after this incident.
I hope this information proves useful to you. We of course expect it not to be shared with outside parties without prior consultation.