Difference between revisions of "Nation war of resurgence"

Revision as of 11:02, 26 January 2011

This article gives context on the Sansha's Nation attacks. If you want to learn more about the specific warships Nation is now using in the large-scale incursions across New Eden, please refer to the Sanshadex.

In the last eight months we have seen a remarkable shift in the geopolitical and military strategic balance throughout the sector. Far from being the broken and crumbling remnants of the empire destroyed a century ago, Sansha’s Nation appears to now be in the final stages of a longstanding military and political campaign whose goal is the destruction of the four empires. Serious questions have arisen concerning Nation’s military might and capabilities, and their seemingly limitless ability to strike anywhere at will has challenged and undermined the widely-held public perception of CONCORD being the ultimate arbiter and enforcer of the peace within Empire space.

In order to arm the average pilot for the road ahead, this GalNet page is meant to serve as a listing of key events, documents, and information regarding the Sansha’s Nation resurgence. Due to security concerns it is not meant to serve as an end-all source, but please note it will be periodically updated and revised as necessary. Questions over content may be directed to Julianus Soter (CEO of Moira), or Commander Samuel Baxter (Synenose Accord Communication and Coordination Officer).

Key Events

YC 108: Signs of Re-Emergence

It is now believed that Nation’s campaign was well underway by YC 108, pointing to and underscoring the long-term planning and preparations necessary to support the activities of the last eight months. In the middle of that year, sources in Stain and lower Catch began reporting increased probe activity, and the reorganization of Nation fleets in Stain. There was also much-derided public commentary by an individual identified only as “Sansha’s Speaker,” who openly threatened war against Angel Cartel assets operating in former Nation territory [1].

05.07.112 – 05.10.112: Ducia Foundry Attack and the Ishaeka Reports

While there were likely many events that preceded the campaign of the last eight months, the first shots were likely fired in the X-70MU system when a Ducia Foundry outpost was attacked by then-unknown forces in 05.112 [2]. Following news reporting of the incident, a Synenose Accord report is believed to have attracted the attention of a still-unidentified source, who sent the following message to Justin Vallar.

Attached to the message was a GalNet link leading to a series of documents hosted on an external server (at the time only Ishaeka 01 and 15 were available). Report 15 concerned the Nation's involvement in the Ducia Foundry attack (at the time, Nation had not been considered a suspect). Acting on the information contained in the reports, a joint expedition (including assets of the Synenose Accord, Moira, and Kumiho’s Smile) attempted a search of the X-70MU system for further evidence but found nothing. At approximately the same time as this search, the W-space J235456 (System) was identified as the staging grounds for X-70MU attack.

05.11.112: Ishaeka Reports Public Dissemination and CONCORD Response

Public dissemination of the Ishaeka Reports did not take place until 05.11.112, and transpired in response to Nation incursions in the Kaaptuenen, Frarn, Renyn, and Ashab systems. CONCORD Task Force Ishaeka, the primary unit involved with anti-Nation operations at that time, is believed to have attempted an (unsuccessful) removal of the information from public hosting. Task Force Commander Vieve Creston, in a public statement, also attributed the success of ongoing incursions to capsuleer involvement [3].

05.17.112: Raid on the Taisy System

While the majority of Nation’s incursions to date have been focused on the “harvesting” of new slaves, a sporadic pattern of attacks aimed at gathering specific resources has also been noted. One of the earliest of these attacks took place on 05.17.112 in the Taisy system, home to the Kyonoke Pit. Post-battle analysis of communications records suggests approximately 5000m3 of unidentified substance was removed from the System by Nation forces, but according to Federation Navy officer Omune Balenne the pit itself was not breached [4].

05.20.112: Operation Bad Moon

The use of commercially-available ECM gravimetric equipment as a weapon against Nation wormholes was first pioneered by a group of volunteers during Operation Bad Moon, which took place in the Romi system on 05.20.112 [5]. Since then ECM equipment has become standard-issue at all incursion engagements.

Nation Tactics, Training, and Procedures

Denial-and-Deception Operations

In the last two months, Nation has placed increasing emphasis on operations aimed at misleading and reducing capsuleer response capabilities to incursions. Much of what we know on this subject comes from the high-priority Monalaz Constellation Operation of 12.05.112, which was executed ahead of schedule in order to avoid the “peak hours” of capsuleer activity [6]. Other indicators of the new focus also appeared in the disputed contents of Nodes 06 and 07, which contradicted each other in key details, such as as the presence of a fourth commander and the actual attack times [7]. This pattern of deception by Nation forces continued on 12.13.112 in Node 09, where the attack times were correct, but the raid targets in the decrypted information were incorrect.

Anti-Nation forces have also observed an increase in the number of Nation commanders relocating to alternate sites during incursions, prolonging the duration of the attack and increasing the likelihood of accomplishing designated objectives. Until the Monalaz Constellation Operation this tactic was a rare occurrence, but it may have since become more prominent in Nation tactics due to its success in Monalaz.

Infiltration of CONCORD and the Empires

Nation has also placed emphasis on the infiltration of CONCORD and Empire militaries in the last several months. The activities of Sutola Endoma, now known as Slave Endoma01, should be taken as evidence of Nation’s seriousness on the subject [8], [9]. Specific individuals, including CONCORD Special Operative Haeldone Dorgiers, have also been targeted based on their high level of interaction and coordination with the capsuleer community. (In the face of stiff opposition, Nation conducted multiple attacks in the Antem system on 12.13.112 in order to hack Dorgiers’ personal communications.) There has also been recent Nation interest in the Amarrian Justiciar military unit, for unknown reasons.

Intelligence Gaps

The Jove Angle

So far to date, Nation has had two known interactions with the Jove Directorate or Jove technology. Two other interactions are suspected.

The first of the confirmed incidents occurred on 06.26.112, when imagery captured by Pilot Mouse Nell identified a large concentration of Nation ships in close proximity to a Jove station (later identified by CONCORD Special Operative Haeldone Dorgiers as the Prosper Vault in the 3-CE1R system) [10]. On 12.09.112 Task Force Ishaeka issued a report, after months of rampant speculation within the capsuleer community, stating that the station had since been re-secured, nothing of value was removed, and the Nation’s objectives were not met [11].

The second confirmed incident occurred on 06.27.112, when Nation forces successfully captured a Jove frigate and cartesian temporal coordinator in the Antem system.

The first suspected interaction may have occurred in August 105, with the defection of Jovian Admiral Ouria and reports of his meeting with still-unidentified parties in the Stain region (long a hotbed of Nation activity) [12].

The second suspected interaction may be through complex fullerene shards, which were detected aboard Nation capital ships at several incursions in late 112.

Wormhole Device

Little is currently known about the device being used to artificially generate the wormholes, key to the Nation attacks. Based on information learned during "Project Hydrogen Bomb", it is believed that the device has been used in every attack, to date [13]. Nation capital ships have frequently been observed in close proximity to the wormholes, suggesting a strong need to stabilize them due to the high volume of tonnage passing through. As of this update (01.20.113), anti-Nation vessels have been unable to traverse these wormholes. The location and destruction of this device is considered a top priority by both the Federation Navy and the Synenose Coalition.

Antem

Since the first incursion in the Antem system on 06.27.112, Antem has been attacked, at least, six times, the most of any system in New Eden. Three significant events have occured in the system or its neighbors: the 06.27.112 capture of the Jovian frigate and cartesian temporal coordinator, the Monalaz Constellation Operation on 12.05.112 (ref. news report), and the re-use of the Monalaz uplinks on 12.13.112 to download the personal files of Haeldone Dorgiers. Why this system and the surrounding area has been the focus of such high-profile activity remains unknown.

Useful References

- The Ishaeka Reports

- Sansha Nation Strategic Intelligence Analysis (Darranibal Colpia)

- Special Contingency Von Dach: The Use of Planetary Defense Infrastructure During Incursions (Star Fraction)

- Understanding the Sansha Threat (Federation Navy Report)