Tormark Exposes Black Market 'Mech Ring 6/27/3132
INN - Interstellar News Network
ELBAR—Prefect Katana Tormark today announced the results of what is reported to
be a year-long inquiry led by Tormark herself. Sources say that Tormark, with the aid
of the ultrasecret Order of the Five Pillars (O5P), is responsible for gathering the
intelligence that led to the arrest of several top interstellar trade organization leaders,
corporate officers, and the implication of dozens more.
"We first became aware of 'Mech trafficking after a unit of the Prefecture III border
patrol intercepted an unregistered vessel entering the Prefecture from the Periphery,"
Tormark said in her press conference. "They were carrying nine 'Mechs, whose
registry showed them as decommissioned and dismantled.
"I immediately formed a special task force to investigate," Tormark said.
The press conference was held on Elbar, just beyond the borders of Prefectures III
and IV. Elbar has twice been given the opportunity to join the Republic but has
declined, some say because of its ties to radical anti-Republic militants. One local
official informed AP-HPG News that Elbar appears to have been the control center of
the 'Mech smuggling operation. The official also stated that arrests made by Tormark
herself in concert with the O5P and a special Prefecture task force group came only
after a bloody battle that left as many as 100 smugglers dead and might have included
a brief 'Mech battle. This information could not be verified. No one would comment
on any losses to the O5P or the task force group, but one source who declined to be
identified suggests that Tormark did not lose a single soldier in last night's lightning
operation.
A member of the press corps asked why no information was released concerning the
earlier arrests.
"Those smugglers were unimportant," Tormark said. "We needed to discover who
had faked the decommissioning papers, who had moved the 'Mechs, and who wanted
to buy them. During the last year, we learned deeply disturbing facts about a large
number of corporate and public officials. Their plans have backfired."
Tormark refused to identify these officials, only stating that the investigation
continues. With regard to the identity of the persons currently being held by the O5P,
Tormark said, "They are being questioned. When we have identified all the high-level
coconspirators, we will release their names."
When asked to explain "their plans," Tormark declined comment, stating only that the
smugglers were supplying 'Mechs for "a broader treachery."
The discovery has stunned officials across The Republic. Exarch Damien Redburn
was reached for comment. "This operation shows why Katana Tormark was
nominated for Knighthood. She is brilliant and tenacious, and deadly to any force that
stands against the Republic."
Lord Governor Sandoval of neighboring Prefecture IV added, "It's a damn shame that
she declined that nomination imagine what she could do on a Republic-wide scale if
she's able to find poisonous insects way out there in the Periphery?"
Some are questioning whether Sandoval's recent trade agreement, which brought
Earthwerks a large set of contracts in 'Mech integrations systems, might not be a
good idea in light of the discovery of this smuggling ring. "If anything," Sandoval said,
"those deals will help assure that the Republic can stand against anarchists who want
to build secret armies."
INN - Interstellar News Network
ELBAR—Prefect Katana Tormark today announced the results of what is reported to
be a year-long inquiry led by Tormark herself. Sources say that Tormark, with the aid
of the ultrasecret Order of the Five Pillars (O5P), is responsible for gathering the
intelligence that led to the arrest of several top interstellar trade organization leaders,
corporate officers, and the implication of dozens more.
"We first became aware of 'Mech trafficking after a unit of the Prefecture III border
patrol intercepted an unregistered vessel entering the Prefecture from the Periphery,"
Tormark said in her press conference. "They were carrying nine 'Mechs, whose
registry showed them as decommissioned and dismantled.
"I immediately formed a special task force to investigate," Tormark said.
The press conference was held on Elbar, just beyond the borders of Prefectures III
and IV. Elbar has twice been given the opportunity to join the Republic but has
declined, some say because of its ties to radical anti-Republic militants. One local
official informed AP-HPG News that Elbar appears to have been the control center of
the 'Mech smuggling operation. The official also stated that arrests made by Tormark
herself in concert with the O5P and a special Prefecture task force group came only
after a bloody battle that left as many as 100 smugglers dead and might have included
a brief 'Mech battle. This information could not be verified. No one would comment
on any losses to the O5P or the task force group, but one source who declined to be
identified suggests that Tormark did not lose a single soldier in last night's lightning
operation.
A member of the press corps asked why no information was released concerning the
earlier arrests.
"Those smugglers were unimportant," Tormark said. "We needed to discover who
had faked the decommissioning papers, who had moved the 'Mechs, and who wanted
to buy them. During the last year, we learned deeply disturbing facts about a large
number of corporate and public officials. Their plans have backfired."
Tormark refused to identify these officials, only stating that the investigation
continues. With regard to the identity of the persons currently being held by the O5P,
Tormark said, "They are being questioned. When we have identified all the high-level
coconspirators, we will release their names."
When asked to explain "their plans," Tormark declined comment, stating only that the
smugglers were supplying 'Mechs for "a broader treachery."
The discovery has stunned officials across The Republic. Exarch Damien Redburn
was reached for comment. "This operation shows why Katana Tormark was
nominated for Knighthood. She is brilliant and tenacious, and deadly to any force that
stands against the Republic."
Lord Governor Sandoval of neighboring Prefecture IV added, "It's a damn shame that
she declined that nomination imagine what she could do on a Republic-wide scale if
she's able to find poisonous insects way out there in the Periphery?"
Some are questioning whether Sandoval's recent trade agreement, which brought
Earthwerks a large set of contracts in 'Mech integrations systems, might not be a
good idea in light of the discovery of this smuggling ring. "If anything," Sandoval said,
"those deals will help assure that the Republic can stand against anarchists who want
to build secret armies."
| June 27, 3132 |