View source for ONN: The Aftermath – An Editorial By Grant Jones

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''Originally Published on November 10th, 2493''<br>
''Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Editorial''
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Cocoon Station, the main property of CocoonCorp but definitely not its only one, has had an interesting story and many developments as of late. Originally designed as a medium-sized space station with temporary housing arrangements for workers, it slowly grew beyond its original plans, with corporations investing and placing branch offices as well as offering a myriad of products, in turn, it attracted more people seeking a new beginning, and it opened the door to many shady and unsavory criminal organizations. From that moment on, Cocoon Station was known to be a gray area, a place equally favored by corporations and criminal organizations.

This unique position has made Cocoon Station the stage of many dangerous acts, from the raid on the AICHI Tower in 2487, the rise of the Twin Dragons Syndicate that same year, to the assault on the Arboria Tactical Systems headquarters, and the destruction of the Dragon Tower in 2488. The rise of the Hidden Demons somewhere between 2488 and 2489, and an invasion led by the Asakura Gumi on behalf of the then-existing Council of Oyabuns in 2489. An invasion that was repelled in a most violent fashion by the Hidden Demons and that would eventually lead to the mysterious disappearance of the entire Council of Oyabuns in 2490. 

Every criminal act, be it great or small, has usually been paid by the same currency every time: Blood.

The attack on the tower wasn’t an attack on a megacorporation, a megacorporation will fold and leave when they start losing more money than they are making. The same happened during the Mars Wars, and depending on your perspective, ARES either lost the war or decided to drop an asset that kept burning a hole in their pocket, while at the same time, setting Mars as a stage to showcase their weapons. The attack on the tower was an attack on regular people. An attack that would have been even more brutal if Genetectic hadn’t stepped up, if ARES hadn’t arrived to perform emergency repairs and upgrades on life support systems, and if Matsumoto hadn’t arrived to assist Genetectic. Was this affair a demonstration of what happens when powers unite? It absolutely was, the corporate order depends on a very delicate balance, and when this balance is upset, things like this happen.

Cocoon Station will recover, ARES and Matsumoto will withdraw, Genetectic will return to normal working hours, a new corporation will take the security contract to the station, and life will return to a new normal. Hopefully, the future generations of revolutionary leaders and rebellious characters will take to heart the events that transpired on October 29th, 2493, and decide if they really want to fight perceived oppressors, or if they are just a directionless anarchistic force of chaos with little to no regard for the lives of innocent people.

The story of the trio, Bruno, Nichols, and Mizuno is a story that also needs to be told, it’s a story of survival, devotion, loyalty, and the bravery to try and do the right thing. At the moment, Armitech has plenty of information to go through, including that of external actors, but they are confident that they will find the author behind this attack. It’s unclear what they will do once that happens, perhaps that will be another story to tell.

This is Grant Jones reporting, good night.