ONN: Hades Colony Devastated, ARES Releases Statement
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Originally Published on July 22nd, 2490
Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Reporting
Hades Colony has been for the longest time associated with crime, and even anti corporate culture. Many of our readers would definitely be more than familiar with the Martian Colony, as some are even residents there, and they have their lives set there. Hades Colony was once stated to be a social experiment by Advanced Research and Experimental Systems, moving the criminal elements away from the rest of the colonies and cities on Mars directly to Hades Colony. And for a time, it worked. Crime went down significantly on the rest of the planet, and it also meant that ARES would only need to keep eyes on one location instead of the rest of the planet, it was a successful move on both sides, keeping the population safe and satisfied, and saving a significant amount of credits in operations concerning security for the entire planet, while somewhere at this time, the Hidden Demons otherwise known as the Kakusareta Akuma (now a Clan within the Martian Native Tribe Clans) moved in on the colony and established themselves there. With time, many of their biggest operations would be carried on in a way that Hades Colony would always be involved, they would smuggle people of all kinds into Hades Colony (most notably during the highly controversial E.V.I.L Act) and members of the Hidden Demons would even offer a new home for those who wanted one and were willing to work for it, away from corporate influence. At the time, ARES was not concerned because it meant that the colony would continue to be profitable. It was a symbiotic relationship that apparently got both sides exactly what they wanted.
When the Declaration of Independence was distributed, a little bit over a month ago, the Martian Wars officially started, and this painted a target on both the Martian Native Tribe Clans, the Hidden Demons, and by extension, Hades Colony. With the War raging for over a month, Advanced Research and Experimental Systems was quiet for the past five days. Even after highly controversial actions such as blowing up space stations, and dismantling entire corporations, to many, that was a sign of ARES taking advantage of the War to dismantle competitors, but for both ARES and New Geneva, it was a critical operation to cut off external support to the Martian Native Tribe Clans, and it seems that the effort has either been deemed enough or 100% successful.
At 6:30 pm Local Time, an ARES Juggernaut-class capital ship, flanked by three Omega-class orbital bombing ships made a silent approach to Hades Colony, shut off their communications, and commenced a brutal attack on the colony that is still raging on as this report is being prepared, and near seven hundred Omega-class Elite Assault synth units were also dropped on the vicinity of Hades Colony, as the main attacks from the ships took place, the Assault synths would rapidly move through all strategic exits and safe refuges, no lives would be spared, and the mission objective was clear: Destruction.
In an exclusive statement for ONN, Colonel Nathaniel Harker, an Areios One type Military Replicant, and commanding officer to the assault, has offered a statement on behalf of Advanced Research and Experimental Systems.
| “At 1830 hours, we were given the green light for Operation Shutdown. With this, the High Command at Advanced Research and Experimental Systems's Military Operations has finally taken direct action against separatists holed up in Hades Colony.
The orders we received were clear: All non essential personnel were to be executed on sight, no prisoners, no escape. There were assets that were specifically targeted as well, of note: The Water Merchant Guild and their water containers holding approximately 113,789,170 gallons of water, as well as the freighter fleet that had been assigned to it. The so-called Industrial Sector was also targeted, and the Deep Mining operations were successfully and permanently disrupted. And while we were given orders to find, seize, or destroy, a highly functional Artificial Intelligence locally known as 'ADAM', we were unable to find traces of it, although a subject known as 'Prophet of the Faith' was found on location with signs of self termination. After successfully breaching the top dome of Hades Colony's artificial atmosphere, we proceeded to bombard the colony with photon impacts, terminating several targets via secondary fire. There were a total of 49 downed shuttles that attempted to escape, and several buildings were destroyed in the process. Of the 43,153 targets that Hades Colony houses as per the last census of 2489, we can confirm over 42,500 terminations, with the rest presumed to be missing, buried under the debris, or attempting to escape using the alleged subterranean tunnels that the Natives have used in the past, as the attack is still ongoing, we will have updated numbers as the time passes, but we are more than confident than the missing 653 individuals will be accounted for in due time. Advanced Research and Experimental Systems will now have a permanent aerial presence overlooking the ruins of Hades Colony, and a semi permanent ground presence with occasional patrols, as we expect some business to try and seek normalcy as we know that the Red Light District was for the most part unaffected, we also know that when this happens, some Hidden Demons members will try looking for others, and when that happens, we will be ready. This does not mean we will not repeat our attack if necessary, we have the means, and the resources to do so over and over again until we obtain the results that are deemed acceptable to High Command, for those of you seeking normalcy n Hades Colony: Beware, association with the Hidden Demons, and any element of the Martian Native Tribe Clans may result in extreme prejudice and actions taken against you, we are not in the habit of taking prisoners either. Even if during our procedures, we detected a small interference in our operation, and that some communications may have gotten out, it was promptly taken under control and Operation Shutdown is considered a resounding success. This is merely the beginning, the Martian Native Tribe Clans wanted a true War, and now, we at Advanced Research and Experimental Systems will provide them with one full blown War. Thank you.” |
With these actions, it appears that ARES is finally rolling into the War in a brutal way by decimating one of their own assets and taking absolutely no prisoners, or qualms about gunning down anyone on their way. As we speak, the ruins of fallen buildings and the remains of structures continue to burn and the losses, as catastrophic as they may be, appear to be more than acceptable to Advanced Research and Experimental Systems, and their own efforts to win the War.
What are your opinions on the latest actions of ARES? Have their tactics paid off? Does this dark chapter in the current War paint a different scenario for you? Do you believe the Martian Native Tribe Clans still have a chance to win Independence for Mars? Please share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comment section below. We will keep you updated with this development as more information becomes available.