TCIA report on Kilrah events

# 942

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TCIA report on Kilrah events

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Confidential report sent from TCIA to Senator Taggart. (the following timeline events have their own records. I added them here for completeness) Timeline: 2681.018 14:41 - Confed Astronomical Station K-105 picks up unidentified energy surge near Kilrah Prime. Surge is identified as an equipment malfunction or the reflection of a solar flare 20:22 - TOBY drones from TCS Devereaux destroyed while exploring Kilrah Prime 20:25 - Devereaux destroyed 22:15(est) - Sivarist monastic outpost on asteroid K-14G destroyed 23:51 - Astronomical Station K-105 destroyed. Fighters scrambled from Surveillance Outposts Bravo and Delta to recon and respond 2681.019 00:22 - Recon group from Outposts Bravo and Delta jump to site of K-105. They have not reestablished contact 01:44 - Kilrathi colony on Kilrah 6 attacked 01:58 - Last known signal from Kilrah 6 02:15 (est) - Previously unknown Kilrathi smuggler/insurgent base on Kilrah 7.4 destroyed 03:30-03:38 - Surveillance Outposts Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta attacked 04:15 (est) - All Surveillance Outposts presumed destroyed. Kilrah system presumed fully in enemy control. 17:00 - First of seven recon missions dispatched into Kilrah systems from Tal'q Naval Station. It does not return as scheduled, all contact lost. 19:00 - Tal'q sends FLASH message to Terra, goes to full alert status 21:32 - Major Leeward Washington discovers remains of smuggler's base on Kilrah 7.4 during the 7th recon attempt from Tal'q.. 22:08 - Major Washington completes recon of Kilrah 7.4 and begins return trip to Tal'q 23:10 - Major Washington returns to Tal'q with photos and possible enemy artifact. His is the only recon mission of seven to return as scheduled, others presumed lost. Recon missions terminated pending analysis of known data. 23:45 - Strike group, lead by Corvette TCS Brack, dispatched from Tal'q to Kilrah 6 2681.020 03:37 - Last transmission from TCS Brack 07:30 - Initial TCIA report on incident compiled and dispatched. Everything destroyed in attacks except the previously unknown Kilrahi base was hooked in to Confed Subspace Data Network. All facilities sent regular data packets to nearest subspace hub, in this case Tal'q Naval Station. Automated subspace data sent at regular intervals. Twice per day from Sivarist enclave in Kilrah belt, every five minutes from Brack while on status alert. Aliens able to jam all communications. K-105 observatory detected tightly focused pulse of energy .165 of a second in duration, measuring 47,000dG in intensity and crossed the subspace spectrum from mk 1772 down to mk3500 (lower limit of K-105 equipment). Occurred at 2681.018.1441.26, manually flagged as probably false reading by technicians at K-105 at 15:02. Nothing to link energy pulse to the wormhole. Transcript of Kilrah 6 message ... monitor buoys (not?) responding, extensive damage to the ... ground forces not ... (bunker?) ... (can't) receive so just listen. Confed forces cut out completely ... (civilian?) losses at 100 percent, property destruction total ... building gone, just a big hole in the (ceiling?) ... will attempt visual ... (Delay of approximately 40 seconds, speaker presumably away from console). Saw it ... huge. Nothing else alive out there. (Colony?) flattened. Nothing moving (outside?) ... just ... overhead. Never seen anything ... (not?) Kilrathi. Don't know ... (report?) but will keep talking. What else ... [Message ends]. Kilrah message apparently sent by a female human in her 20s or 30s. Unconfirmable, but likely that the speaker is Coretta Tokagawa, 25, a technician at the Kilrah 6 Colony Communications Center. K6CCC only facility on planet's surface with facilities for a subspace voice transmission. Message was a direct broadcast signal. Message was presumably able to get through due to failure of alien jamming. K6CCC constructed mostly underground. Ceiling of central processing room approximately 11 meters below street level. Message indicates the "ceiling had been laid open to the sky by the force of the attack." Major Washington's report. Washington's squadron is Second Long-Range Patrol Squadron, "Hugyn," 71st air-defense battalion, Tal'q. Squadron scrambled when Tal'q got the alert at 19:00. In briefing told that five recon pilots had already been lost and second squadron were taking over the duty. Lt. Katrina Shea volunteered for first pass, leaving just before 20:00 and didn't report back. Washington left at 20:58 in an Excalibur refitted for trans-system surveillance. Only weapons lasers. Made series of in-system jumps. Jumped in to the system, arriving in the inner Oort Cloud of the system. In system jump to 5 million kilometers outside the orbit of 7th and outer planet of the system, a small gas giant with a minimal ring and 6 significant satellites. Kilrah 7.4 a dead rock moon, about 21 kilometers in diameter. 200 kilometers out optimum sensor range for Excalibur with trans-system surveillance. Kilrathi base had been concealed by about five meters of rock. Base contained remains of two cargo shuttles with enough wreckage to account for several more. Base could support a couple of hundred Kilrathi without crowding. Remains of two Dralthi in orbit. All bodies gathered by enemy after attack. Washington found alien object 1.88 meters by 1.33 meter by 28 centimeters in size. Had an odd sheen like a fish's scales or the inside of a seashell. Dark color, almost black with a bit of purple or red. Tractored the artifact Artifact primarily silicon. Surface glossy, displays moire or "shimmer" effect under direct light. Substance 1.8 times as hard as Confed fighter hull metal, but slightly more brittle. Concave side of artifact has one large and three small depressions. Depressions resemble a hand-print or claw-print. Depressions may represent controls or switches of some kind. TCS Brack group sent in to Kilrah consisted of the Brack (corvette) and "less than a dozen tactical fighters". Mantu, alien race that came into conflict with Kilrathi approximately two Terran centuries before Kilrathi encountered humanity. Been 250 years since Mantu conflict. "Kilrathi myth holds that in ancient times, warrior-gods descended from the stars and challenged the warriors of Kilrah to battle. But when the Kilrathi army assembled, the gods scorned the force, pronouncing the Kilrathi unworthy of their attention. The gods left promising to return and battle the Kilrathi when they became worthy." "All battles, including the Mantu, Hari and Terran conflicts have been seen by the Cult of Sivar as preparation for the final challenge of the star gods. Specifically, the prophecy states that if the Kilrathi ever faltered in their path of conquest, the gods would return and destroy both the Kilrathi remnant and their conquerors." "The Cult of Sivar viewed Kilrathi history as heading towards one of only two possible outcomes. The first, Tr'thrak is a sort of Ragnarok - a glorious final battle against the star gods where the Kilrathi would find either final victory or eternal honor in dead. The second, Kn'thrack, or "void," would occur if the Kilrathi were defeated by unworthy opponents and the star gods returned to annihilate the race without honor."