Given recent events in Kusari, the Tau border worlds & the Sigma region and information that has been received from a variety of different sources the Admiralty has seen fit to open an investigation into these events in order to address three primary questions:
1) Who is responsible for these attacks?
2) What are the Causes of these attacks?
3) What is the intention of these attacks?
The appointed head of this investigation shall be former Fleet Admiral, now Commodore, Edmund Steiner who is charged with investigating all current leads which have been obtained. Furthermore, given the limited ability of the Bretonian Armed Forces to operate outside of Bretonia the SIS will also be tasked with looking into these sources in concert with this board. This investigation is to be conducted with a mandate to pursue all available leads and will present their findings to the Admiralty Board once the investigation is complete.
This board will strive to identify the follow:
- The identities of persons of Interest, including but not limited to: Victims, perpetrators, civilian witnesses, intelligence informants, Military officials & Intelligence officers
- Methods of attack
- Motives & Causes for attack
- Location of attacks
- Groups or organisations who are involved
- Recommendations for retaliatory strikes (if applicable)
- Recommendations of countermeasures (if applicable)
Given the nature of this operation and the implications it has in regards to Bretonian Security and Geo-political relations all information is henceforth sealed under the Official Secrets Act
Information received
Current information originates from three primary sources; The Golden Chrysanthemum's (GC), The Mollies and an individual identified as 'Capt Harold Setter' of the BES Meles Incognito. For the purposes of categorizing, the following information will be put in order of dates received.
On the 21st of August a communication was received by the Foreign and Commonwealth office in New Tokyo from a pilot working for Border World Exports identifying himself as 'Captain Harold Setter' of the BES Meles Incognito (designation Delta 7-2). He communicated his belief that a major security breach had happened within the Intelligence Services based upon his transporting of a classified VIP passenger and a string of ambushes and attempted ambushes on his way to Kusari, he provided much evidence and many names in his communication but was unable to disclose the nature of his Passenger but did disclose in further communications that the reason for the visit to Kusari was medical in nature. The report has been collected and can be read Here. It is my opinion that the information received by the Foreign and Commonwealth officer should have been passed on to the SIS, yet this was not done and at current Mr Setter is missing. It should also be noted that Mr Setter expressed his belief that the Kusari Government may have been informed of his transit route to Kusari: '' I also have reason to believe that this information was available to Kusari intelligence services, at least to some extent''. How Kusari has come by this information or why is not as yet clear.
On the 27th of August a message was received from the Golden Chrysanthemum's which seems to confirm many of the statements and evidence Mr Setter provided on the 21st. Their communication confirmed Mr Setter's claim of being pursued by GRN and also expanded on his claims of Kusari Government involvement '' Lord Mitsuo contacted one of ours with the proposition for a ceasefire and to take out this Bretonian Lord together''. At current this board is aware that Lord Mitsuo is currently 'Lord Protector of Kyushu', further information on this individual is required. However it would also appear that the GC's are not completely aware of what was going on, they may yet hold information of value. I recommend the SIS or BAF seek out more answers from the GC in order to build a more accurate picture of events and gather more information on Lord Mitsuo. This communication can be read Here.
On the same day (27th of August) but some hours after the communication from the Golden Chrysanthemum's another communication was received from the Molly faction 'Republican Provisional Assembly' (RPA) and an individual known as Admiral Imogen O'Sullivan. In this communication there is precious little in regards to the events described my Mr Setter, although his claim that there were mollies present seems to be confirmed by the existence of this communication. While they are open in their own intention to kidnap Mr Setters passenger they make the assertion that it was the Imperial Kusari Navy that ultimately killed him, not them. This information requires verification by an eyewitness to be acceptable to the board. The Communication can be read Here
Finally, some hours after this communication two separate News announcements were made in regards to the event in question: One by the SNS and the other by the RPA News network MBS (Maguire Broadcasting Station). The SNS claims that it was a royalist incursion into Kusari that resulted in the unfortunate death of Setter's passenger and that the attack was repulsed by Lord Mitsuo, the MBS on the other hand claims that it was the IKN who destroyed the vessel, importantly we are given a name: Lord Lowfer-Ferrers (investigation into this individual is ongoing).
In summary; it is clear to the board that information pertaining to Lord Ferrers was indeed leaked by persons unknown to various sources with a strong indication that the Kusari Government was one of those parties. While the Mollies were clear in their intention to gain ransom it is not clear what Kusari had to gain by following this course of action. While the news reports indicate a rapid increase in military spending in Kusari there is no way to prove, at current, that this increase is a direct result of the attack on a Bretonian Citizen. Furthermore this is a weak motivator and we do not believe it was the only cause of these events, furthermore we are concerned about the possible leaks within Bretonian Intelligence. Director Victor Steiner has initiated an investigation into ranks to find any traitors or moles. In addition there are far too many unknown factors which need to be looked into. The SIS will begin to make inquiries into the events described here which are outside of the Armed Forces mandate.
Course of Action
It is vital that this investigation identifies persons of interest in the events described above therefore the board has established a course of action to be carried out by investigators. For clarity, the established procedures shall be as follows: This Board has been established under the directive of the First Sea Lord and operates under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces of Bretonia. All activities within Bretonian Borders (defined in the Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law) will be conducted by either the Armed Forces or the BPA (Pending Admiralty Board Approval). All activities outside of Bretonian Borders will be conducted by the Her Majesties Secret Intelligence Services (S.I.S).
Phase 1: Persons of (Primary) Interest identified within the received evidence are to be contacted and interviewed for information.
Phase 2: Persons of (Secondary) interest to be identified and interviewed. We anticipate the possibility that previously unknown persons may become known to this investigation through either gathered evidence or through the primary witnesses or potentially through information leaks. It is important to make allowance for such an event, however unlikely.
Phase 3: Information will be used to establish a timeline of events with key points being verified through witness statements, names and places.
Phase 4:An establishment of motive and effect
Phase 5: An establishment of perpetrators (Individual(s), groups or organisations)
The primary focus of this board is, as outlined in section 1, to determine the causes of this attack, the names of those responsible and their motives while also determining the threat posed to Bretonia (including Bretonian Citizens outside of the House) and the implications for Bretonian Foreign Relations going forward.
This investigation is to be conducted in secret from the general public and from non-participating investigators (excluding the Admiralty board).
The listed personnel are authorised investigators acting under the joint authority of the Bretonian Armed Forces, Bretonian Police Authority and the Secret Intelligence Service. They are granted access to all information pertaining to operation 'Malaya' only and have the authority to conduct their investigation without hinderance. They may exercise their respective powers within Bretonia as outlined by the Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law.
Chair: Commodore Edmund Steiner (BAF)
Richard Holmes (SIS)
James Skirka (SIS)
Zachery Statham (SIS)
Detective Chief Inspector John Steiner (BPA)
Lieutenant Richard Sharpe (BPA)
Constable Jasper Davies (BPA)
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