CONCORD Announces Discovery of Abandoned Bases – Treason Charges Dropped Against DED Internal Security Chief

YULAI – After a week of silence since the arrest of Commander Tantoseisen Kakkichi for his unauthorized expedition into unregulated space, CONCORD released a public statement announcing the discovery of dozens of uncharted, abandoned stations in deep space. According to their statement, the Commander played an “instrumental” role in the discovery of these hidden outposts, though the exact details surrounding his initial decision to bypass the DED chain of command about their discovery remains unclear. There is little known of the original owners of the bases or why they were constructed, and an investigation is well underway.

The following text is the official press release from CONCORD: _“Approximately one week ago, CONCORD learned of the existence of dozens of abandoned stations in deep space. As of this moment, CONCORD reconnaissance elements have confirmed the locations of exactly 69 outposts in 23 regions outside of Empire borders. These stations have been deserted for some time and were constructed 20 or more years ago by a mysterious organization that called themselves ‘Immensea’, presumably after the first region they settled in. There are no known affiliates or personnel alive today who are associated with this group that we are aware of, and efforts are underway to locate individuals who may have some insight on what exactly caused their disappearance. What we do know for certain is that the Immensea went to great lengths to hide their existence, and at one time possessed enormous wealth and influence.”

“Every station we found has severe internal structural damage that appears to have been inflicted by the original inhabitants. The data cores on each of these bases are permanently damaged and barely able to manage crucial systems such as power grids and life support. We did not find a single station with more than one functional module onboard. In some cases, entire sections of the inoperable modules were observed venting directly into space. Shields are still online at each station, but no sentry guns or other point-defense systems were encountered. Automated harbor control will reject all docking requests until the shields are disabled and the station’s online authentication systems are reset from the inside.”

“Because these stations lie beyond the jurisdiction of CONCORD and cannot legally be claimed by any sovereignty with representatives in the Assembly, they are free to anyone with the resources required to take them. We are hopeful that this unexpected expansion of deep space platforms will create new economic opportunities for our citizens and revitalize commerce between unregulated and empire-controlled space.”

“Commander Kakkichi was instrumental in the discovery of these abandoned bases and had legitimate reasons for withholding that information from his superiors until he was personally able to verify it. As such, the treason and unjustifiable use of government property charges have been dropped. However, the charge of disobeying a direct order from a superior officer still stands. CONCORD is a functional, effective law enforcement agency specifically because of our established chain of command, and we do not tolerate breaches of that protocol. Commander Kakkichi has pleaded guilty to this charge in exchange for the unconditional pardon of the officers under his command during his unauthorized journey to deep space. However, in light of the circumstances and the brave conduct displayed by the Commander throughout the course of his ordeal, his sentence will be reduced to a temporary demotion in rank, effective immediately.”

“DED stellar cartographers are currently working to plot station locations as our scouts return from deep space with the required navigational information. Once all coordinate information has been retrieved, we will upload the data to the primary CONCORD Navigational Services World Map database for public use. Further information will be released as it becomes available. Estimated time of full public release is within the next 24 hours.”_

Commander Kakkichi and his lawyer Dantennen Fisk are still under gag order restrictions and thus unavailable for comment.