2175 C.E.

XVIII: The Terrorists

This is EPD station to all units. We have a 450 at base. All power is down. Interference with computer backups. Say again we have no power.

Dispatch 13. Do you suspect sabotage, over?

Unsure. Mainframe functionality is down across base. Lights and surveillance are affected.

Base confirm. Is this a power grid issue?

Negative. Only station systems affected.

Sounds like an outside hack. Recommend we enact escape attempt protocol.

Agreed. Run manual sweeps of holding rooms. All dispatch return to station and form perimeter.

Confirmed base.

Power outage is confirmed outside influence. Unauthorized access to systems detected.

Patrols check in to perimeter positions.

Patrol dispatch 13 checks in.

Patrol dispatch 6 checks in.

Patrol dispatch 7 checks in

Alert base. Officer down south corridor, unconscious.

Interrogation room 3 is unoccupied. Mattingly and Aucaman are gone.

Suspected terrorists are confirmed missing at 1347. All patrols deploy.

Dispatch 13. Station, please confirm time.

Confirmed. Time is 1347.

Negative. My clock says 1402.

Patrols, please confirm time?

Dispatch 6 confirmed. Time is 1402.

Dispatch 7 confirmed. Time is 1402.

Station internet service is re activated. Time is confirmed. Escape noted at 1402. 15-minute time discrepancy noted.

Internet records confirm. We were out for fourteen minutes. Power has been shut down for that long. Hacker has left no trace.

Issues APB for Mattingly and Aucaman. They are considered highly dangerous.

Scramble all patrol areas and establish search perimeter. Code 555. Over.

News Article: The New Montana Chronicle: Published 07/31/2175

By Shannon Drake

Notorious terrorism suspects William Aucaman and Cynthia Mattingly have escaped police custody. They were being held by the Ellensburg police department while they were awaiting their case to go to trial in Helena shortly. Zaha-Katchem leadership has also expressed an interest in interviewing the terrorists and putting them on trial for the murder of a Zaha-Katchem citizen.

The troubled teens turned terrorists broke out of the Ellensburg police office at around 2 PM local time. Authorities currently have very little to go on to ascertain how they escaped or where they might be going. A statement by the station's spokesman Alistair Calvin said that at approximately 1:47 PM, a power outage disabled all security systems at the station for 15 minutes, allowing Mattingly and Aucaman to escape from the building. It is expected that they had outside help; police are searching for the families of the escapees, but are unable to locate Mr. and Mrs. Aucaman. It is considered highly unlikely that Mr. and Mrs. Mattingly were part of this conspiracy.

Hegemony officials have pledged to support the efforts of state and local police in tracking down the terrorists. No statement has been released by the Zaha-Katchem, but sources close to the scene indicate that a Zaha-Katchem is present on location. Accounts put it in the Ellensurg Police Department office at around 5:00 PM local time.

This incident is considered to be the latest in a series of terrorist and anti-Hegemony riots and violence that have spread across the globe for the past several months. Many have been sparked by the anti-Hegemony rhetoric of Gennady Semyonov, who has openly called for the dismantling of major Hegemony infrastructure elements such as the Interlink neural network and the Hegemon government in Beijing in favor of a more Novan government. It is thought that Semyonov may have been a major influence for Aucaman and Mattingly, since they were both followers of dissident agenda propaganda.

The Hegemony has made pledges to cut down on the dissemination and creation of Novan propaganda and programing with new, safer Interlink hardware and software as well as the suppression of disruptive dissident elements. Semyonov himself remains at large however.

Personal Communication: From Ambassador Dumarith: To Theresa Mwangi: 07/31/2175: Translated by Ibrahim Wassume

Esteemed colleague and representative of the African dissident movement,

The escape of terrorism suspects Cynthia Mattingly and William Aucaman represents an unusual opportunity for your movement and my government. According to your news outlets and my intelligence, these two were awaiting extradition to the Zaha-Katchem warship for justice hearings. If you or I were to interview the suspects, it would perhaps provide intelligence regarding the Zaha-Katchem. To this end, it would greatly interest my government in contacting Mattingly and Aucaman before they are apprehended by the Terran Hegemony. My government and special forces stationed on Earth are at your disposal in the execution of this action. I hope you forgive the curtness of this communication; in my view, it won't be long before they are recaptured, and haste is of the essence. I have not even gained clearance from the Praetor to raise this possibility. However, I feel that its execution may be vital to Grushan interests.

Dumarith, Ambassador of the Grushan Federation

The Thoughts of Yong An-Hong: Translated by Alexandra Yuan: Copyright 2205, Centauri University Press: Hanson Harbor, Nova

07/31/2175

I begin to hear voices in my head during the day. They say "Shalvool nos Ravanoch. Zakal-Faah menoo." Now I know why. Oh madness! Oh calamity! Oh end of the world!