UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL

UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL CENTER

Reconciliation Court, Building 1A

Strauss Archology, n.y. a0044-uta-001

United States of America, Earth

TOP SECRET

2 November 2795

Memorandum for the Secretary-General

Subject: Required Actions to Re-Establish Communications and Investigate Disruption of Same with the UESC Marathon and the Terran Colony, New Cascadia, at Tau Ceti.

1. Primary objectives. Re-establishing regular, reliable communications with New Cascadia (referred to as ‘the Colony’ hereafter) at Tau Ceti is absolutely essential. Establishing a dialog with the current Colony leadership or alternately, re-establishing contact with shipboard AI or colony AI. Furthermore, additional action must be taken to restore order to the Colony if the situation indicates such to be appropriate to accomplish these objectives.

   1. If upon arrival at the Colony it is discovered that the reliable and ongoing communication between the home system (referred to as ‘Sol’ hereafter) and Tau Ceti was interrupted by anti-government elements, we must establish a dialog with this group.

   2. It is important to mention here that there is a non-zero likelihood that the interruption in communications between the Colony and Sol originated in a possible rampancy event (ref. doc. V-17(m)07427/Traxus IV; 2206).

2. Secondary objectives. Experience has shown that positive action pulls our Allies with us, whereas inaction results in doubt as to our resolve. Announcement of additional steps to provide whatever additional aid the Colony may require, as well as future proofing the Colony’s ability to maintain reliable communications with Sol will demonstrate to Mars, Luna, and our Allies in the Main Belt, that the UESC is capable of providing aid no matter how distant the call. But the momentum of that advantage must be maintained by the timely manner by which we are able to commit those assets.

3. Direct assistance. The repair or replacement of the Colony’s communications array is our primary concern. In doing so, we must also discover the source of the array’s failure. Beyond this we must commit to the ongoing efforts of the advancement and success of the Project Marathon’s original mission.

   1. Determine nature of Disruption. Once the nature of the disruption is discovered every effort must be made to future proof the Colony’s communication apparatus against further disruption from this source.

   2. Reinforce Colony Infrastructure. The following vessel and personnel will be dispatched at the earliest possible opportunity to Tau Ceti.

      1. UESC Equanimity T-SR 151. Kingfisher-class[RM1] Salvage and Rescue craft to be refueled and overhauled, with modification made during overhaul to meet mission specific parameters.

      2. Command Personnel. A four-person command team consisting of the CAPTAIN of the vessel attached to the mission, a specialist Civilian Liaison Coordinator (CLC), a specialist Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), and the Commanding Officer of the attached Support Unit.

      3. Support Personnel. One platoon-strength Engineering Unit assembled from a pre-screened list of volunteers with access to 50 additional 2nd generation clones (ref. Ogun II~III or equivalent) will be re-deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

      4. Security Personnel. Two squad-strength units of specialized SPECFOR operatives assembled from a pre-screened list of volunteers with access to 48 purpose-built 3rd generation clones (ref. Harpē M1-2) will be re-deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

      5. Rampancy-centric response team. One squad-strength unit of specialized SIGINT operatives assembled from a pre-screened list of volunteers with access to 40 purpose-built 2nd generation clones (ref. Mimir Mk I-II, Odin Mk III-V, Athena α-δ, or equivalent) will be assembled and deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

   3. Decommission rampant AI(s). As there are eleven (11) AI in total (three (3) shipboard and eight (8) planetside), it is possible they will encounter eleven unique situations.

4. Indirect Assistance. Because of the length of the trip, the crew and complement of the attached vessel should be prepared to acclimate/integrate themselves into Colony society.

5. WORST-CASE SCENARIO. In the unlikely event that the Colony is found to be beyond recovery for any of the situations stated above, it may become necessary to destroy all surface assets and reassess potential sites for a new colony on Argolis (ref. doc. W-95(t)01143/Project: Marathon).

6. Future-proofing communications to Tau Ceti. In order to ensure uninterrupted communications more securely with the Colony, we propose building a network of self-regulating signal-boosting relay satellites between Sol and Tau Ceti.

   1. Proposed signal-boosting relay satellites. To be positioned at one light-year intervals. Twelve self-regulating Communication relay satellites transmitting data via a gravitation wave/neutrino modulator purpose-built by manufacturer decided by bid.­

TOP SECRET

DOWNGRADED AT 12 YEAR

SEALED UNTIL INTENDED ARRIVAL DATE: 20/4/2894

INTERVALS: NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED.

UESC DIR 6

UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL

UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL CENTER

Reconciliation Court, Building 1A

Strauss Archology, n.y. a0044-uta-001

United States of America, Earth

TOP SECRET

20 October 2795

Memorandum for the Secretary-General

Subject: Required Actions to Re-Establish Communications and Investigate Disruption of Same with the UESC Marathon and the Terran Colony, New Cascadia, at Tau Ceti.

1. 1. Primary objectives. Re-establishing regular, reliable communications with New Cascadia (referred to as ‘the Colony’ hereafter) at Tau Ceti is absolutely essential. Establishing a dialog with the current Colony leadership or alternately, re-establishing contact with shipboard AI or colony AI. Furthermore, additional action must be taken to restore order to the Colony if the situation indicates such to be appropriate to accomplish these objectives.

   1. If upon arrival at the Colony it is discovered that the cause of the interruption in communication was not naturally occurring, but that it was fabricated, or exacerbated, by anti-government elements (MIDA) to facilitate a disruption in communication between the home system (referred to as ‘Sol’ hereafter) and Tau Ceti and exploited to seize control of the Colony, all parties responsible for, or in support of, the act must be uncovered and neutralized forthwith.

   2. It is important to mention here that there is a non-zero likelihood that the interruption in communications between the Colony and Sol originated in a possible rampancy event (ref. doc. V-17(m)07427/Traxus IV; 2206).

2. Secondary objectives. Experience has shown that positive action pulls our Allies with us, whereas inaction results in doubt as to our resolve. Therefore, announcement of additional steps to provide aid and possibly to dissuade further aggression by anti-government forces is urgently required to demonstrate to Mars and MIDA, but also to Luna and our Allies in the Main Belt, that the UESC is capable of providing aid and projecting power no matter how distant the call. But the momentum of that advantage must be maintained by application of additional forces in a timely manner.

3. Direct actions. A series of direct and indirect actions against the on-site MIDA factions that may have taken advantage of the situation and/or potentially multiple rampant AI are discussed below. Also, disclosed below are a series of actions that could provoke local MIDA and pro-MIDA factions, thereby gaining increased political acceptability and justifying increased retaliatory actions against MIDA and pro-MIDA factions.

   1. Determine nature of Disruption and Secure the Colony. The following personnel will be dispatched at the earliest possible opportunity to Tau Ceti.

      1. Combat and Support Personnel. One company-strength unit consisting of three platoon-strength units of 2nd generation clones and one platoon-strength unit of 3rd generation cyborgs (ref. Mjölnir Mk VII- IX, Sharur Mk 2-6, or equivalent) will be re-deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

         1. ADNM: Isn’t Tau Ceti IV 2 atm at sea level? How are we planning on mitigating the loss in performance/risk of injury? I have my doubts that the 97-year travel time will be long enough to truly acclimate without spending so much time out of cryo’ that performance degradation due to aging will become an issue. [ASG MM; 20/10/95 17:15]

         2. ADNM: It’ll be mitigated with specialized external equipment. UIL’s crusade to uphold the 1 atm standard throughout the Sol system made sure development of any ecosystem specific clones/biosystems died on the vine. [SG AS; 20/10/95 18:21]

      2. Rampancy-centric response team. Two squad-strength units of specialized SIGINT operatives with access to 200 purpose-built 2nd generation clones (ref. Mimir Mk I-II, Odin Mk III-V, Athena α-δ, or equivalent) will be assembled and deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

         1. ADNM: The ratio of operatives to replacement clones seems abnormally high. Some justification will be needed to convince the appropriations committee. [SRSG LR; 20/10/95 15:38]

         2. ADNM: Although personnel attrition in dedicated electronic warfare units is typically below average compared to other paramilitary units, the potential for suffering catastrophic losses while attempting to decommission potentially multiple rampant AI in a semi- hostile environment is extremely high. [ASG RM; 21/10/95 9:53]

   2. Investigate source of Disruption. 

      1. Discover the source.

         1. If it is discovered beyond reasonable doubt that the source of disruption was a natural phenomenon, investigate the probability that the system failed or whether it was compromised somehow.

            1. ADNM: I am deeply concerned about how long it takes them to repair their com array. We know the equipment they shipped out with; we know their numbers and just the level of expertise of their personnel, and everything points to insurrection. Whether it’s all the way up at leadership level or what, I can’t say. I’ve looked at the psych’ logs on file and everyone looks solid enough, but we can’t discount that the time and the distance must have some effect on people. [ASG MM; 21/10/95 15:03]

      2. Reinforce Colony communications apparatus against any further disruption by the source.

         1. ADNM: I just want to restate I’ve run simulations and there is no way that any natural phenomenon should have prevented them from getting their communication equipment, both shipboard and planetside, up and running for more than two months. [ASG MM; 22/10/95 09:30]

      3. Decommission rampant AI(s). Note here about the number of and type of AI.

         1. Once decommissioned, recover AI logic cores for study. As there are eleven (11) AI in total (three shipboard and eight planetside), there are a potential eleven hardened AI enclosures that will require their own particular solutions.

            1. ADNM: [ref. doc. Y-05(m)12247/ w4-c/AI/...] and [ref. doc. Y-65(m)03545/1236c/manifest...] both indicate that the Colony AI roster includes a chevalerie-class AI. I have a feeling that I may have just discovered our source. [ASG MP; 20/10/95 09:59]

            2. 3_2_3_1_2. ADNM: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. The chevalerie have no meaningful history of instability. We’ve had an eighth-generation chev’ running Hy-Brasil since ’52 with no issues. The Marathon may have shipped out with an earlier model, but let’s not color perception with loose talk. Allow them to ascertain what happened once they get to the Colony. [SILSG IH; 20/10/95 10:12]

      4. Identify and neutralize all members of anti-government organizations.

   3. NUKE AND PAVE. In the unlikely event that the Colony is found to be beyond recovery for any of the situations stated above, it may become necessary to destroy all surface assets and reassess potential sites for a new colony on Argolis (ref. doc. W-95(t)01143/Project: Marathon).

      1. ADNM: While I can appreciate the idiomatic shorthand used here, employing the nuclear option would be short-sighted. Find a more nuanced option. [SRSG LR; 20/10/95 16:19]

      2. ADNM: We still have about two weeks to make a final decision on this, but I don’t see any issues with employing the nuclear option. Argolis is a Super-Earth, after all, and I’d assume we will have an embarrassment of potential locations well outside of any potential fallout patterns. [ABASG EM; 20/10/95 19:24]

      3. ADNM: I am well aware of Tau Ceti IV’s classification, but I question the wisdom of using nuclear weapons on yet another planet. Even antimatter demolition charges would be pushing it, in my opinion. Could the AI hardsites and other sensitive assets be reliably neutralized with conventional means? [SRSG LR; 20/10/95 20:03]

      4. ADNM: We’re putting plenty of feet on the ground for this, they could deploy antimatter catalyzed conventional explosive devices. That would be a lot of explosives sent a long way for a long time, though. Perhaps they could weaponize materiel from the main asteroid belt once they reach Tau Ceti—that would be significantly cleaner, as well. [ASG RM; 21/10/95 10:28]

4. Local Indirect Actions. The following actions should be considered for adoption in order to maintain the initiative and put increasing pressure on MIDA and pro-MIDA organizations both locally and at Tau Ceti to voluntarily remove their existing offensive weapons capabilities:

   1. Infiltration. Three platoon-strength units of specialized HUMINT operatives with access to an additional 400 purpose-built 2nd generation clones (ref. Loki Mk III-VI, Kaulu 2-5, Veles A-E, or equivalent) whose objective will be to expose, discredit, disrupt, and redirect the actions of, or otherwise neutralize anti-government forces. While this will be primarily a local operation, it may be necessary to expand this operation to the Colony depending on how the situation at Tau Ceti develops.

      1. ADNM: Are we really thinking of redeploying members from this group to Tau Ceti to conduct counterintelligence operations? Shouldn’t we be recruiting locally? This isn’t a concern about level of skill, it’s a matter of physiological adaptation. [ASG MM; 21/10/95 17:20]

      2. ADNM: We will redeploy from this detachment AND recruit operatives locally. We currently have no idea how pervasive anti- government sentiment is in the Colony, but information came to light post-launch that led us to believe that there were members of groups sympathetic to MIDA amongst the original crew. [SILSG IH; 21/10/95 19:01]

TOP SECRET

DOWNGRADED AT 12 YEAR

SEALED UNTIL INTENDED ARRIVAL DATE: 20/4/2894

INTERVALS: NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED.

UESC DIR 6

UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL

UNITED EARTH SPACE SECURITY COUNCIL CENTER

Reconciliation Court, Building 1A

Strauss Archology, n.y. a0044-uta-001

United States of America, Earth

TOP SECRET

22 October 2795

Memorandum for the Secretary-General

Subject: Required Actions to Re-Establish Communications and Investigate Disruption of Same with the UESC Marathon and the Terran Colony, New Cascadia, at Tau Ceti.

1. Primary objectives. Re-establishing regular, reliable communications with New Cascadia (referred to as ‘the Colony’ hereafter) at Tau Ceti is essential. Establishing a dialog with the current Colony leadership or alternately, re-establishing contact with shipboard AI or colony AI. Furthermore, additional action must be taken to restore order to the Colony if the situation indicates such to be appropriate to accomplish these objectives.

   1. If upon arrival at the Colony it is discovered that the reliable and ongoing communication between the home system (referred to as ‘Sol’ hereafter) and Tau Ceti was interrupted by anti-government elements, we must do everything within reason to establish a dialog with this group (or groups) or alternately, reinforce the Colony against further aggression by this group (or groups).

   2. It is important to mention here that there is a non-zero likelihood that the interruption in communications between the Colony and Sol originated in a possible rampancy event (ref. doc. V-17(m)07427/Traxus IV; 2206).

2. Secondary objectives. Experience has shown that positive action pulls our Allies with us, whereas inaction results in doubt as to our resolve. Announcement of additional steps to provide whatever additional aid the Colony may require, as well as future-proofing the Colony’s ability to maintain reliable communications with Sol will demonstrate to Mars, Luna, and our Allies in the Main Belt that the UESC is capable of providing aid no matter how distant the call. But the momentum of that advantage must be maintained by a timely manner by which we are able to commit those assets.

3. Direct assistance. The repair or replacement of the Colony’s communications array is our primary concern. In doing so, we must also discover the source of the array’s failure. Beyond this, we must commit to the ongoing efforts of the advancement and success of the Project Marathon’s original mission.

   1. Determine nature of Disruption. Once the nature of the disruption is discovered, every effort must be made to future-proof the Colony’s communication apparatus against further disruption from this source.

      1. Investigative team. One squad-strength unit of specialized HUMINT operatives with access to an additional 12 purpose-built 2nd generation clones (ref. Loki Mk III-VI, Kaulu 2-5, Veles A-E, or equivalent) whose objective will be to coordinate with Colony law enforcement personnel to determine whether ship or Colony based communications gear was tampered with.

         1. ADNM: This feels really unnecessary. By the time our people get there, the statute of limitations will almost certainly have run out. [SG AS; 21/10/95 17:20]

         2. ADNM: As I noted in [ref. doc. B-95(i)45255] I am deeply concerned over the length of time repairing the communications array is taking. It has the stink of anti- government sentiment all over it. [ASG MM; 21/10/95 18:45]

         3. ADNM: Mx Moreau, I haven’t called out your commentary earlier, but now I am going to caution you against any further inclusion of unsupported speculation in these documents. [SRSG LR; 21/10/95 18:48]

   2. Reinforce Colony Infrastructure. The following personnel will be dispatched at the earliest possible opportunity to Tau Ceti.

      1. Command Personnel. A four-person command team consisting of the CAPTAIN of the vessel attached to the mission, a specialist Civilian Liaison Coordinator (CLC), a specialist Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), and the Commanding Officer of the attached Support Unit.

      2. Support Personnel. One platoon-strength Engineering Unit assembled from a pre-screened list of volunteers with access to 50 additional 2nd generation clones (ref. Ogun II~III or equivalent) will be re-deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

      3. Security Personnel. Two squad-strength units of specialized SIGINT operatives with access to 48 purpose-built 3rd generation cyborgs (ref. Mjölnir Mk VII-IX, Sharur Mk 2-6) will be re-deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

         1. ADNM: This still feels like an unusually high number of combat personnel for what is essentially a humanitarian disaster relief mission. [SRSG LR; 20/10/95 17:42]

         2. ADNM: Be that as it may, we are still obligated to protect our assets and non-combat personnel, and I believe this is the absolute minimum to successfully perform that function. [ABASG EM; 20/10/95 18:24]

         3. ADNM: It should also be noted that although they share series nomenclature from earlier cyborg assets, these are not the battleroids of old. But I agree, we should not be giving the impression that we are sending an invading army to clamp down Tau Ceti. [ASG RM; 21/10/95 09:35]

         4. ADNM: If there is another type with less historical baggage that we can tap for this mission, we should do so. If we send even one Mjolnir, there is no way the colony will see that as anything but overtly aggressive. Find something else. [SG AS; 21/10/95 10:05]

   3. Rampancy-centric response team. One squad-strength unit of specialized SIGINT operatives with access to 40 purpose-built 2nd generation clones (ref. Mimir Mk I-II, Odin Mk III-V, Athena α-δ, or equivalent) will be assembled and deployed to the Colony at Tau Ceti.

      1. Decommission rampant AI(s).

         1. Once decommissioned, recover AI logic cores for study. As there are eleven (11) AI in total (three shipboard and eight planetside), there are a potential eleven hardened AI enclosures that will require their own particular solutions.

            1. ADNM: I just want to reiterate here that [ref. doc. Y-05(m)12247/w4-c/AI/...] and [ref. doc. Y-65(m)03545/1236c/manifest...] indicate that the Colony AI roster includes a chevalerie-class AI. [ASG MP; 21/10/95 10:05]

            2. ADNM: And I am going to reiterate that despite the fact that the project Marathon has been operating with what we might consider legacy technology, no regularly- maintained chevalerie-class AI has ever displayed any signs of rampancy. [SILSG IH; 22/10/95 09:10]

4. Because of the length of the trip, the crew and complement of the attached vessel should be prepared to acclimate/integrate themselves into Colony society.

   1. ADNM: I can’t believe we are expecting these brave souls to abandon everything they know and assimilate into what is for all intents and purposes an alien civilization. [ASG MP; 21/10/95 18:01]

   2. ADNM: They understand that this is a one-way trip. Even if everything goes exactly as planned, it would be a 200-year round trip. What they returned to after that amount of time would be just as alien as where they’re headed. [SG AS; 22/10/95 06:52]

5. In the unlikely event that the Colony is found to be beyond recovery for any of the situations stated above, it may become necessary to destroy all surface assets and reassess potential sites for a new colony on Argolis (ref. doc. W-95(t)01143/Project: Marathon).

   1. ADNM: This still feels unnecessarily short-sighted. We should always find a way to reuse assets in the field if at all possible. [SRSG LR; 20/10/95 18:44]

   2. ADNM: I agree 100%, but I also believe that in the case where that is not possible, we should have a plan. [ABASG EM; 21/10/95 10:45]

   3. ADNM: In that case, we should put further thought into the use of in-system assets to accomplish whatever may be necessary in that event. [SRSG LR; 21/10/95 14:01]

TOP SECRET

DOWNGRADED AT 12 YEAR

SEALED UNTIL INTENDED ARRIVAL DATE: 20/4/2894

INTERVALS: NOT AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIED.

UESC DIR 6