ONN: Attack On Arboria Tactical Systems Headquarters
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Originally Published on July 22nd, 2488
Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Reporting
When Arboria Tactical Systems arrived at Cocoon Station, it was inflicting fear at first, and not only to the perceived Corporate Criminals and the perceived security issue, but to the established, law abiding residents too. ATS, as it was soon abbreviated, arrived at our station to replace the previous security provider in what many considered to be a blunt, and decisive blow against the criminal element found in Cocoon. Many took exception to this, considering that ATS's ruthless aggression and approach towards these corporate criminals would inevitably impact the citizens in the Underground half of the station, Sectors One and Two, considered the most populated. With dubious approaches from past Agents, such as Snowden, who had been accused of attempting blackmailing Community Representative Akio Saito and even their own superior, as well as their controversial actions in Chinatown, led to a vast divide within people, sometimes coming to very sharp disagreements as to how ATS's arrival should have been interpreted, was it a much needed response for enhanced security, or was it an occupation?
While standard Security Corporations eventually break deals with a very large criminal element to keep the peace and public safety in mind (Such as was the case with ATS's predecessors, who brokered the peace with Twin Dragons by recognizing their autonomy and sovereignty on Sectors One and Two and kept levels of violence low, while allowing Twin Dragons to police their turf themselves,) ATS has been very clear in their approach: There are no deals, and no concessions to anyone. While some of their actions (such as calling a social gathering of three or more on the street a "Potential Criminal Activity In Progress, or even attempting to set curfews) being questionable at best, it was just a matter of time before the general public not only did their voice their displeasure, but they even started to shift their views, while some who were traditional Twin Dragons followers, started to think that maybe stricter security policies were necessary to ensure stability and security to the Station. The public was divided, and has remained divided ever since, with views shifting every so often, it's unclear to determine which one is more favorable than whom: ATS protecting corporate assets over people, or Twin Dragons preaching rights to people no longer associated with corporations and the need to have a form of government independent of corporate meddling.
The disregard of the people from Sectors One and Two eventually led to displeasure, and then anger. Right or wrong, something was going to happen, right or wrong, eventually, someone would rise up and take action and start a revolution. Unfortunately, there are no revolutions with no casualties. Last night, Twin Dragons marched on full force towards Sector Three and launched a full out assault on ATS's headquarters. With the public who were used to seeing Twin Dragons being neutral and favoring the Underground in any other way they can, with enterprises and events, shocked to see them finally break and launch a ferocious attack. Broken windows, destroyed synths, breached blast doors, dead ATS Agents, and the integrity of the massive ATS Tower being threatened, Twin Dragons cut, shot, and exploded their way inside. The results were devastating, and it seems Twin Dragons had been planning this attack for some time now, as they knew how to move, where to move, and what to get. Allegedly, Twin Dragons was able to secure a lot of sensitive ATS information, as well part of their technology that, undoubtedly, will make it to the Black Market, replicated, laundered (which makes it nearly impossible to track down or identify,) and ready to be sold. ATS Agents and AI's were deployed to the scene, as the attack was calculated, most ATS Agents were out on patrol or training, so a minimal crew, plus nearby Agents were able to mount an extremely improvised defense. With the fire and explosions going on the outside and the lobby, several residents were unfortunately reached by this furious attack, with a death count of 95, a destroy count of 347 (Not counting ATS personnel,) and injured and malfunctioning synths (residents and civilian models) being rushed to Genetectic and OTB respectively for attention and repairs.
At this moment, it's not exactly clear the real scope of the damage from this assault, but there were concerns that the Tower would eventually crumble as explosions continued to be registered throughout the more than five hours of fighting that took place. Reinforcements would arrive in the form of Arboria's exclusive Spinners, that were promptly shot at, with a few crashing on the streets, some getting caught on platforms above and even a few crashing through the windows of the Arboria Tower, causing a spectacular inferno while the fight continued to rage on.
With Twin Dragons forcing their way in with vast numbers and capable assassins, ATS Agents kept pulling back until they mounted a better defense on the very top floor of the Tower, where the assault climaxed, with both sides suffering massive casualties and exhaustion. As the warzone continued to witness the fight inside, outside, hundreds of residents looked on with shock and horror on their faces. Constant explosions, and audio of both sides calling for the other to be destroyed, they were certain something even worse was about to happen.
| "I don't know what's going on, I've lived on this station for ten years! I've never seen anything like this before," Tetsuo Ishii, an independent pilot and Bunkr regular stated, "I mean, I knew there were some security issues, what station doesn't have them? But this... This is insane!"
When asked what he thought caused this assault, and if he favored one side or another, this is what he had to say "I... I don't know man! ATS has been pushing some people hard lately, but does it warrant something like this? Putting people's lives at risk? Is it really worth it?" |
Many others voiced his same opinions, while others were more divisive.
| "ATS has all the right in the world to defend themselves, they are just trying to help and fix the problem with rampant criminality! Look at that! This is nothing but mere punks throwing a tantrum because ATS has been raining down on their business! They don't have it as easy as they used to, do they?" Marlene Gordon, clerk to the Void Sisters Shop stated angrily. While she said she had never suffered an attack from Twin Dragons herself, or even gotten mugged in Chinatown, she had this to add "Twin Dragons and other groups like them take jobs from honest people by having their Black Markets! We all have to pay taxes, we all have to make sacrifices, why not them? I work an honest job for my credits, I pay rent, and I pay for every service I use! If you want more stuff, then work more, it's as easy as that!" |
The opposite scope of Marlene Gordon's opinion was soon heard too.
| "There's just so much you can oppress before people start fighting back, THIS is all ATS's fault! You are supposed to mediate, not impose! That's not how you get people to change their opinions on you!" John Nguyen, Designer and Engineer for Virtual Angels "Listen, these guys represent those who can't defend themselves and had to take it up the ass from Corporations for years! What the hell did you expect would happen when they would decide they finally had enough? This was gonna happen no matter what! And we're all in the middle suffering the consequences, if these people had worked together and found a solution that benefited both sides, NONE OF THIS would have happened! And now you gotta deal with a lot of injured people, dead people, a lot of malfunctioning synths and destroyed ones! This is the sign that these people have had enough, and you know what? Shit, I would be the same if I had gone through the same stuff these people go through every day!" |
With a lot of unconfirmed information still coming through, and with an evacuation order coming in at the end of the massive confrontation, unofficially we know that Twin Dragons had an escape plan and left, while ATS Agents also evacuated the scene themselves, we're left with the image of a desolated tower that once housed all powerful security providers, with the mark of the Twin Dragons deeply embedded into it. We have unofficial information that the most severe casualty suffered by Twin Dragons is Akio Saito himself, also known as Zero and one half of the Twin Dragons leadership, at the time of this broadcast, understandably, ATS wasn't available for comment or confirmation of these rumors.
With the demonstration of the fearsome power the Syndicates have, able to top, and sometimes surpass Corporate Security, what is your opinion? Should ATS be allowed to continue to push their occupation? Should a more sensible solution like mediation between both sides be allowed to be pursued? Are people from the Underground justified into raising up against the system that has oppressed them for so long? As many express their support of ATS's actions and even justify the arrests, disappearances, and oppressive tactics towards people no longer affiliated with Corporations, there are others who agree with this uprising and even determine it was a long time coming and that it was just a matter of time.
What is certain, however, is that both sides have the conviction to push their ideas and their vision of what society should be: Strict corporate regulations that determine how to live and what to do, versus the idealized version and vision of Freedom, where people govern people and everyone, despite social standing, get the same chances at life. As these two polar opposite ideas collide and consume each other, we can choose to either remain on the sidelines and cross our fingers hoping that our preferred way of life and philosophy prevails, or, we can actually make a difference, become part of history and determine the direction we want to take.
Attached to this report, is a picture of the aftermath of this terrible incident, a scar on the face of Cocoon.
