Vanguard's Operation Avalon Condemned by AEGIS Head

Operation Avalon Disrupts Upwell Interests

The Upwell Consortium has reported a new wave of raids on their planetary assets by Vanguard warclones. According to data packets intercepted by Upwell security teams, these raids are part of a Vanguard-led initiative called “Operation Avalon.”

The attacks come weeks after unverified reports that the Vanguard have broken ties with the Deathless Circle, along with the associated mercenaries of Arkombine. The Deathless were instrumental in the reinbodiment of the infomorph minds that make up the Vanguard and have been using the group as their own private army. What led to this schism is unclear, but the Vanguard’s departure is believed to have been less than amicable and involved the theft of an under-construction Forward Operating Base (FOB).

The location of the stolen FOB remains unknown, but the Scope has received reports of a rogue flotilla of Arkombine carriers. The flotilla seems to be constantly on the move, with representatives turning up across New Eden while Vanguard operatives carry out their raids on Upwell infrastructure.

According to Mordu’s Legion, who provide security services to Upwell, the goal of Operation Avalon is the theft of assets and gathering of wealth in order to retrofit the Vanguard’s stolen FOB, which the Vanguard have renamed the Avalon. The Legion has been quick to respond with the deployment of improved ground response teams.

According to Muryia Mordu, founder of the Legion, “Our elite specialists have been specifically trained to deal with the Vanguard threat. These warclones may have broken their association with the Deathless Circle, but that seems to only have deepened their commitment to vandalism. We will protect Upwell’s assets; you can count on that.”

AEGIS Head Calls Out CONCORD Over Vanguard

Provost Marshal Kasiha Valkanir has criticized CONCORD for failing to step in and deal with the Vanguard. The head of AEGIS, EDENCOM’s command group, Valkanir, was appointed by CONCORD. CONCORD has largely stayed out of the conflicts between Upwell and the Vanguard, allowing the mercenaries of Mordu's Legion to handle the response.

Valkanir has called this approach “unacceptable.” According to her, “the Vanguard represent the most advanced form of a decade-long existential crisis for our cluster. Unlike the capsuleers who preceded them, these warclones have proven themselves to be a menace. This latest variant has a twisted obsession with a doctrine they call “resonance”, a process by which they violate the ‘one body, one mind’ precedent that is amongst our civilization's most fundamental principles.”

AEGIS was placed at the head of EDENCOM in YC121 in order to lead New Eden’s defense against the Triglavian Invasion. Despite this AEGIS and the wider EDENCOM forces maintain separate command structures, as EDENCOM is made up of forces provided by the four major empires, while AEGIS is a largely autonomous group formed by CONCORD.

Officers from the wider EDENCOM forces were unwilling to speak on the record in either support or condemnation of Valkanir’s comments. Nor were they willing to comment on reports that AEGIS has siphoned significant funding into a black budget line item with no oversight from the Empires, CONCORD, nor visibility to the wider EDENCOM forces.

The four empires have so far officially maintained a similar stance to CONCORD towards the Vanguard. However, Upwell claims the secret services of these four empires have been funding Vanguard operations in return for tactical intel and strategic advantages.

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