((Source Bundle -
The Death of an Independent Terra))
"To any of you Terrans listening in, this is Leo Mill. This report is delayed, recorded from within the Wing City Government building, currently on lockdown after what appears to be a
terrorist attack of devastating magnitude."
The black screen cuts to images of carnage as yet untouched within the buildings halls, furtive screen caps taken of Terran militiamen sifting through the chaos. There was no warning of graphic content, nothing obscured the blood and bodies of the photos.
"The images just displayed are uncut snapshots taken shortly after I snuck into the building. As you can see, clean up has not commenced. Which is damned good, in my opinion, since I now have facts to work with."
"At first, I thought this might have been the work of a group of terrorists working in tandem. However, I managed to find a survivor of the attack, getting from him several unsettling bits of information. First. This attack was the work of a
lone agent. Second. This agent was able to not only defeat the local security forces, but somehow get around the blast doors designed to halt such attacks in their tracks." An image of one such blast door was shown, blood splashed on its surface. "And third. This agent was a woman. Alas, I did not get the opportunity to get a picture and an interview."
The as yet to be shown reporter chuckled dryly, his tone changing. "Having some experience in investigation, I poked around to see what I could find. Although I did find some interesting leads, at the same time, clean up began to commence. Some evidence has been lost, and so there is an incomplete picture. Stay tuned for my extrapolations at the end of my broadcast."
"From my investigation, I have pieced together that this woman possessed some sort of superhuman ability. From tracks on the floor, I found a path where I am making an educated guess she walked, and the walls around this path are full of bullet holes. Additionally, my witness reports that she walked
through blast doors. On a separate note, I managed to overhear a list of known KIA and have noticed that several high level members of the government have been killed in this attack. This may be anomalous data, due to the extensive mortality rate of this attack. However, there is one disturbing bit of information that my witness conferred."
"This agent was blind."
"More on that in a moment. Recorded conversations of the militiamen state that it was, oddly, Aschen soldiers who apprehended the agent. From all reports, she was removed from the building and taken to an unknown location."
Over the course of his monologue, various associated images had flashed across the screen of his broadcast. A screen cap of the hallway, a scrolling list of faces and names of the confirmed dead, and visual only representations of audio recordings. Finally, however, it cut to a video. A man stood in a dim pool of light, his face hidden in darkness. The tilt of his head indicated he was looking at the camera.
"Now, by now I'm sure I have your collective attention. I am knowingly on quarantined property, performing an unsanctioned investigation, and recording this broadcast for later dispersal. And now, I'm going to breakdown my findings."
"For all appearances, this was an isolated incident. However, the inclusion of high level policy makers in the death toll hints that this was not, in fact random. I think this was a cover for assassination. The claimed abilities of this agent, adding to the fact that a witness claims she was blind, leads me to suspect that she either possessed magical talent or psionic power. Neither of which are uncommon on Terra, but this distinct fact of her blindness might lead to revelations of some as to the agent's identity. Finally, we come to the arrest. I am sure the Terran Militia can handle a rogue mage or psionic. I know Terra is once more independant. So really, why are Aschen soldiers making an arrest within our own planet's jurisdiction. Given the track record of the Aschen, to which I know you all can attest, I wouldn't put it past them that there's more involved in this "seemingly random act of violence" than first seems. End extrapolation."
"Thus concluding my broadcast. Citizens, by the time you see this, if you see it, I will have exfiltrated the Government Center and uploaded this to the 'Net via a public terminal. Download this broadcast. Share it. Watch and Listen."
"Leo Mills, out."
