Raid on Byss, Thousands of Abyssins Freed from Slavery
Hacked by: Crueya Vandron - Faction: Holowan
Date: Year 16 Day 205 Location Unknown
Holowan News Network - Ardroxia System, Halla Sector
Raid on Byss, Thousands of Abyssins Freed from Slavery:
Today, Holowan declassified reports of recent special operations commandos raids resulting in the liberation of over two thousand Abyssin refuges. These refuges were recently freed from Imperial slaver and concentration camps on their home world. Byss, once a tranquil planet covered in lush forests and filled with luscious lakes, now exists only as a harsh and ruined wasteland, its inhabits forced into the shackles of slavery by the Imperial occupation. Conditions for the native Abyssins have decayed dramatically with vital foodstuffs and medical supplies being dangerously scarce, that the Byss that once was is now only referenced as a legend, destined never to come again under Imperial tyranny.
Despite these harsh and unforgiving conditions--intentionally crafted by Imperial brutality and barbarity--many Abyssins have started rebelling against the Imperial occupation. Earlier this year, one Abyssin resistance cell was able to make contact with Holowan Intelligence operatives, starting a campaign to free the Abyssin people from Imperial oppression. Over the past year, Holowan forces have managed to penetrate the Imperial defensive perimeter around Byss on several separate occasions, most recently through the use of intelligence operatives and special operations commandos. While more reports are still being processed by the Ministry of Intelligence to determine which documents can be declassified for the public, sources suggest that a clandestine operative was able to infiltrate the local sector Moff’s headquarters on Byss.
Holowan operatives were then able to single-handedly disable the planetary defense network, enabling the strike-class medium cruiser HMS Caesar to land on the planet and conduct special operations commando raids, against two nearby Imperial concentration camps, freeing the Abyssins and recovering the intelligence operative. Holowan military forces where on the surface of the plant Byss evacuating the newly freed Abyssins for more then two days, and were able to evacuate the camps before any Imperial counterattack could be launched. Analysis of intercepted signals intelligence suggests that Imperial forces were unaware of the security breach over the course of those two days, and were only able to restore the plantery defense network after Holowan forces had left the system.
As mentioned, this is not the first Holowan operation successfully freeing Abyssins from destitute enslavement. On two previous occasions, Holowan operatives were able to bypass Imperial security and evacuate thousands of Abyssins through the use of forged or expired security clearances. During another operation, Lord Protector of Holowan, Gabriel Kaine, was able to exploit the institutionalized corporation within the Imperial hierarchy itself. A clear violation of the Imperial diplomatic stances and trade ban laws, local Imperial Moff Bill Maxwell approached the Lord Protector in an attempt to purchase assets he owned within Imperial territory. Thinking himself above imperial law and expressing one of the many forms of corruption rooted within the core of the Empire, Moff Maxwell offered to trade several of his Abyssin slaves in exchange for Lord Protector Kaine’s family holdings within the Deep Core oversector. The Lord Protector quickly dispatched a small commando team to Byss under the guise of evaluating the value of the slaves. Moff Maxwell willfully granted the Lord Protector’s men access to the camps where the slaves were held, only to discover that the small commando force proved too experienced for his own forces, and were able to evacuate the camp.
Despite the reoccurring poor judgment and multitude of violations of Imperial law, Bill Maxwell stills holds his position as a Moff. This suggests that either Maxwell was able to bribe his way out of being replaced, or that the Empire has simply run out of competent officers to replace those who prove insufficient. Either way, Holowan’s repeated successes at freeing Abyssins from the shackles of slavery on Byss prove that the empire is in decline.
Continued Dissent Within the Empire over Executor’s Failures:
Recently recovered files and signals intelligence from the raid on Byss suggest that there is continued dissent within the empire over the continued failures of the former Imperial Executor. Despite almost two years since the event, the circumstances surrounding Year 14 Day 232 which lead to the capture of Seele and the subsequent ransom payment of a super star destroyer for his return, continue to cause disappointment and disdain for the former Executor within the Imperial rank and file. The personal journals and files of enlisted members, acquired through recent raids, suggest that many considered the payment too high a price for a 'narcissistic megalomaniac’. One officer wrote that he considered it, ‘the lowest point in Imperial history’ and believed that the former Executor ‘should have paid for his gross negligence with his life’. The fact that these comments continue to be made two years after the event suggest that the rank and file members of the Empire hold a clear and deep antipathy for the former Executor.
Recently Seele has withdrawn from official events and has made no recent public appearances, leading many to speculate whether or not he is still alive. Many more suggest that he is likely undergoing psychiatric treatment for what was perceived to be his deteriorating mental state. What is known is that the position of Executor has yet to be filled, and the members of Imperial high command are currently engaged in a secret struggle, involved in backroom deals and backstabbing vying for greater power.
