ONN: Tragedy in Chinatown
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Originally Published on June 28th, 2488
Orbital News Network/Grant Jones Reporting
Chinatown has been a point of contention for the past year. Most of our Residents remember names like the Shinigami and the Vipers, groups that, at one point, held some degree of independence, influence, and even in some cases, dominion over Chinatown. It is a pivotal location for the backbone economic activities of black markets, and informal commerce of all types, as well as hosting the densest concentration of this station's population. The culture is unique as well, although mainly of Chinese influence (hence the name Chinatown,) the inhabitants hail from different cities, and have different customs and backgrounds, making Chinatown one of the most diverse Sectors around. The opportunities to open your own business often abound. For almost a year now, Chinatown has been under the influence of the Twin Dragons Syndicate, be it as clients, providers, beneficiaries, or simply a political position, most of our newer Residents will always see Twin Dragons and Chinatown to, oftentimes, be a synonym of each other, because it just so happens that most Twin Dragons operations that we know of, have relied on Chinatown at one point, and most of the residents of Chinatown have benefited from Twin Dragons in one way, shape of form. To many, it has been a symbiotic relationship, and a testament to an Underground Revolution.
Earlier this morning, at around 03:15 local time, most people were already in their homes and the Chinatown Marketplace was almost completely deserted. Accounts from witnesses are varied. Some claimed that black cars parked on the street level and blocked any exits, while men wearing black suits and brandishing firearms and energy based weapons. The execution was slow, and calculated. Several innocents lined up and executed with shots on the back of their heads. One troubling report suggests these men went into several homes, hacking the automatic doors and executing entire families. Children were removed from their beds, and soon, the sounds of firearms and energy based weapons blasting away in the middle of the night were joined with screams and cries of pain and anguish.
Several stalls were burned to the ground, and many of the sellers were either chased away or killed on the spot. Among the survivors are Kiyuri, Concor, and the enigmatic Tina. Nirvana suffered minor damage on the exterior, as well as Doc Adam's establishment. Ray's Pizza Parlor had several windows broken and a few of its furniture burnt. Kazuma's Pawnshop had broken windows, and some of the vehicles on display from Akira's Automotives were also damaged considerably. Another neighbor describes a grim view on the street leading to Sector One, the children that were taken from their homes had been executed and lined up perfectly on the street. An emblem to the Twin Dragons Syndicate was also found on the street, crossed out with what appears to be blood.
You may remember that a few weeks ago, there was an attack with people matching the description provided in this article, and one of the people involved was Akio Saito, also known as Zero. Could this be a gang war finally igniting in the Underworld of our station? How will the Twin Dragons react? Does this mean yet another wave of violence that is almost out of control will hit the innocents of Sector Two? Who are these people and what do they want? Why execute innocents in such a way? Unless they never intended to take over.
ONN advises its viewers and readers to take extreme caution when traveling to Chinatown, and as always, we will continue reporting on this story as it develops.