| Mission Report: The Death of Bishop Two | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 16, 2038 |
| Author | Felix Antonio |
| Internal Name | mr_march16 |
Mission Report: Knight 6 on March 16th, 2038
"The Death of Bishop Two"
This is Knight 6 reporting, the date is March 16, 2038; the time is 2:15 a.m.
I must admit, I don't know where to begin. The mission this report recounts will be analyzed, scoured for details, read and listened to countless times for years to come. Every officer who sets to examine it will search endlessly between the lines, hoping to find an answer as to why events unfolded in the manner that they did. As for answers, I may not have any to give. All I can do is recount the details of this failed mission... to the best of my ability.
What I am about to say is my utmost best recollection of the events which claimed the life of Bishop 2 and an estimated three thousand civilians, on March 15th, 2038. I have gone over the data, the facts, as many times as I can bear to look at them.
9:47 a.m.
We received word from the King, informing us of a hostage situation unfolding at the International Commerce Center in Hong Kong. At that time Aether was over Kyoto, Japan at 35.0000 degrees north, 135.7500 degrees east. Keeping with procedure, as the closest C-3800 to the incident, we altered course immediately.
10:15 a.m.
Myself, Bishop 2, Rooks 12, 18 and 32 were briefed by the King with more details on the situation. At this time we were informed that up to two-hundred civilians were being held by members of the Long Dragon Syndicate, inside the center, on the 30th floor. In their press demands they stated that unless we sent Bishop 2 in to negotiate, they would begin shooting hostages.
10:32 a.m.
We arrived at 22.3034 degrees North, 114.1602 degrees East, above the International Commerce Center in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. We attempted communication with the Long Dragon Syndicate inside the building, but there was no response. At this time, Bishop 2 was preparing for his freefall into the city.
10:56 a.m.
Bishop 2 had just landed, it was a clean flight - no problems. We started to worry however, after still not receiving word from the LDS members inside the center. At this time, Rook 12 spotted several dozen unmanned stealth fighters approaching on our position and this was the exact moment Bishop 2, I swear on my mother's grave, just vanished. At the same time both his C.M.C. began malfunctioning and his vitals flat lined. By God, we were blind and powerless to help him.
11:01 a.m.
An explosion, or rather several concurrent explosions, went off in the International Commerce Center. It was clearly a controlled demolition and the building simply collapsed before our eyes. I was... we were... stunned. This was of course when the stealth fighters decided to open fire on us.
11:09 a.m.
Aether sustained heavy damage from the initial attack. Systems began failing at an alarming rate. With my consent, Rook 12 executed a retreat as opposed to a counter attack. Let the record state that despite not being able to contact Bishop 2, and still being uncertain of his status due to the unusual nature of the situation, I gave the order for Rook 12 to bring the remainder of my crew to safety. Given that a fire fight over a densely populated area could have resulted in even more civilian casualties, retreat was the only acceptable course of action.
11:30 a.m.
Rook 12 succeeded in getting Aether out of firing range. What I'm mostly presuming were LDS fighters did not pursue, but our primaries had taken considerable damage and our secondary was leaking fuel. We contacted the nearby Macau air base, and initiated emergency landing procedures.
11:59 a.m.
We were able to make a successful emergency landing at the Macau airbase, 22.1494 degrees north, 113.5917 degrees east. Upon arrival we received confirmation on the death of Bishop 2. His body was found under pieces of wreckage, several blocks from the collapsed building. The casualties from the center's collapse, at the present time, are estimated to be over three thousand.
I can assure that there are no errors in the times I have used, nor the items associated with them. I have tried my best to keep my personal feelings out of this report, so as to not skew it with my bias - but admittedly, this was not an easy thing to do. The civilian casualties, the needless loss of life, including that of our own Bishop 2... has shaken me to the core. The failure of this mission is my failure as a Knight, and I take full responsibility for it. May God have mercy on me.