Sansha Invasion Underway
New Eden – Over the last two days, Sansha incursions have been reported in multiple systems across New Eden. On 12.05.112, four more raids took place, with True Slave transports apparently abducting people from the planets below.
Niarja, Balle, Tama and Kamela systems were attacked by Sansha's Nation today. Sansha's Nation fielded an estimated 50 vessels in Niarja, mostly of Sansha custom design, but brought in carriers similar to the Amarr Archon in Tama and Kamela. The fleets appear to have entered the target systems through extremely unstable wormholes that seem to be under Nation control; capsuleers report that they are blocked to non-Sansha ships and seem to close if the Sansha forces are destroyed, or when they achieve their goal and depart.
Niarja VII was the first of the attacks where it was confirmed that the Sansha had abducted approximately 50,000 citizens from the planet's surface. Imiarr Timshae, one of the many capsuleers who came to the system's defence, said "…The speed at which capsuleers arrived was admirable, but being on the scene there were simply not enough. Too many pilots were concerned with destroying the battleship-class attackers and the transports slipped through." The Sansha fleets abducted an estimated 100,000 in Tama and another 50,000 in Kamela, bringing the total count of people taken to at least 200,000. Sansha have been alleged to implant captives to create more True Slaves, but their intentions for these captives are as yet unknown.
Tama appears to be the first verified system in the current set of raids where an Archon-class carrier was deployed by Nation forces with a full support fleet of battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers and frigates. Again capsuleers of all races banded together to defend the system from the common enemy. Pilots on the scene report that a Scorpion pilot from the Caldari Navy successfully hacked into at least one of the Nightmare battleships, causing it and some of its fellows to turn on the carrier. Gallente pilots in the fleet then allegedly turned on the Scorpion pilot, possibly trying to obtain the unknown technology he used to accomplish this feat.
Another Nation Archon and support fleet were deployed in Kamela, but beaten back swiftly by a combined defence. Once the Sansha fleet had been routed, an Imperial Navy commander gave orders for all allied pilots to open fire on the Minmatar who only moments before they had considered fleet mates. “This is Admiral Ihsam Dasirel of the Amarr Navy High Command elite taskforce. All faithful squadrons are hereby instructed to engage all Minmatar Republic ships."
Julianus Soter, founder of the Synenose Accord, whose channel SYNEpublic has become an unofficial central point of coordination for the capsuleer defence fleets, believes he may have some insight into the Sansha. "We have suspicions that these attacks are somehow related to the system the Ducia Foundry attack reported several days ago… The system with the locus signature of J235456" and is asking all pilots to be on the lookout for a wormhole that may lead to this system.
Mr Soter is also believed to be in possession of a series of leaked DED documents. These documents, known as the ISHAEKA Leaks, were published with the message "CONCORD is hiding something from you. Look further. Spread the truth." and contain information on a CONCORD investigation into directed transmissions from Stain into Gallente Federation space. Following public statements from the Synenose Accord on the Inter-galactic Summit, further ISHAEKA documents were leaked that seemed to indicate that the Synenose Accord has been placed under CONCORD surveillance. Further, a statement in ISHAEKA-0018 alleging the agreement of a media blackout with CONCORD's news outlets has been denied by the Interstellar Correspondents' Editor-in-Chief, Serathu Ashk.
One message has appeared at least twice in communications with the Sansha. Slave 32152 has twice referred to "a mistake" that is being corrected. "Capsuleers are the heirs to a mistake, and we are the correction." While the most obvious reference would seem to refer to the four Empires attacking and nearly exterminating the Nation years ago, capsuleers have postulated that capsule technology itself might be the error to which the Sansha refer.
Pilots deployed in systems around the Minmatar Republic after the attack in Kamela, attempting to anticipate the next target, but no further attacks have occurred at the time of writing. Six systems - Kaaputenen, Frarn, Renyn, Ashab, Eystur and Urlen - were reported by capsuleers as having been attacked on the 11th, with another four systems - Niarja, Balle, Tama and Kamela - being invaded on the 12th, when over 200,000 people were abducted in a continuing series of apparently unprovoked attacks by the Sansha. A possible seventh attack on the 11.05.112 in the 3-CE1R of the Jovian Empire, remains unconfirmed.
GalNet References
Ducia Foundry Team Target of Mysterious Attack
The ISHAEKA Documents
Reactivation of the Synenose Accord
The Scoop Campaign for Public Disclosure
SYNE Emergency Briefing on Sansha Activity
Eleutherian Guard Condemnation of Federal Response in Tama
After Action Report - Federation Defence of Tama
The Nation-inflicted Death Toll
Hacking the Sansha Threat
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