CASE FILE NA-279.2
OFFICIAL AFTER-ACTION REPORT
REF: OPERATION PAPER TIGER, MOURNING FOG
SUBMITTING OFFICER: Silas, Field Handler, CAT-5, Blackcoat
DATE: [12/25/20██]
RECIPIENTS: Castle Director F. Espada, Upper and Lower Four
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the disciplinary conclusion of the previous file, Executioner Team Noatmos (now reduced to elements Lilith, Paco, Johnny, and Biggby) was reinserted with a new tactical overseer, Executioner Sakuma Hakuba. The team immediately re-engaged with the primary anomaly, Li Hua, successfully interrupting an attack on Person of Interest Julian Thorne. An initial tactical success was negated by subsequent catastrophic operational mismanagement. The team attempted to use Thorne as bait in a controlled environment, a plan that drew the attention of a secondary, uncontained anomaly (Drifter: TMID-127 “TWIN”). A chaotic and poorly executed engagement resulted in the total loss of Person of Interest Thorne (KIA, consumed) and near-fatal injury to Executioner McGee Jr. The team has retreated to a non-secure location for emergency recuperation, mission incomplete, and operational integrity critically compromised.
NARRATIVE CHRONOLOGY
1. Post-Disciplinary Reinsertion & Initial Engagement
Following their removal from the Crimson Cat Lounge, the team was temporarily extracted for a disciplinary debriefing. Executioners Dale Orr and Go Ku were retained for remedial conditioning concerning their conduct with Informant FUJI. The remaining four members were re-briefed and paired with Executioner Sakuma Hakuba, deployed to provide ethical and tactical stability.
Reinserted near the rendezvous point with Julian Thorne, the team witnessed Thorne being actively attacked by Li Hua in her fully manifested state (approx. 10ft, composite ink/paper/lantern material). Sakuma, demonstrating immediate initiative, used his SEVERANCE ability to decapitate the anomaly. The subject caught its own head and retreated into an anomalous fog, unable to be pursued. Thorne was recovered, having been partially encased in ink, which he subsequently purged via emesis.
Note on Team Cohesion: The approach to Thorne resulted in self-inflicted injuries for Executioners Biggby (failed jump), Sakuma (fall), and Johnny (accidental impalement on own weapon during a stunt). Only Lilith and Paco descended the stairs without incident.
2. Interrogation & Catastrophic Bait Protocol
The team escorted the traumatized Thorne to his office at Mandarin Dragon Imports for questioning. Under duress—including physical assault (gut-punch) by Executioner Biggby—Thorne confirmed he terminated Li Hua for chronic tardiness. He admitted to knowing about systemic workplace bullying and abusive conditions she endured, and had sought to discredit her via corrupt police contacts out of fear of retribution—a fear proven valid.
Disregarding standard containment or extraction protocols, the team elected to use Thorne as live bait. Executioner Sakuma rendered Thorne unconscious, and the team transported him to an abandoned warehouse on the Import lot to await Li Hua’s return.
3. Contact with Secondary Anomaly & Loss of Asset
At approximately 0300 hours, the warehouse door was knocked upon in a distinct pattern (three knocks, pause, three knocks). Executioner Lilith opened the door, observing what she mistakenly identified as a “mumbling crazy old man.” The entity, later classified as a Drifter: “TWIN,” exhibited rapid, jerking movement, closing distance each time the door was opened out of morbid curiosity by team members.
Executioner Johnny opened the door a third time and was seized by the TWIN. The entity pulled him against a smaller, secondary face concealed within its jacket, which inflicted psychic damage by whispering “dark truths” while simultaneously crushing him.
The team responded. Executioner Biggby used his STOP ability to temporally freeze the TWIN, but conventional weapons proved ineffective against it. Lilith executed a hazardous grab-and-extract, pulling Johnny free and barricading the team and Thorne inside.
The ensuing strategy devolved into panic. While Sakuma, Lilith, Johnny, and Thorne were barricaded inside, Paco and Biggby fled in opposite directions (Paco to a concealed position, Biggby to the rooftop). An attempt to create a diversion via thrown debris failed. A planned breakout—involving using Thorne as a distraction—failed catastrophically when Johnny, attempting a simultaneous physical and psychic attack, triggered a latent anomaly infection from a prior engagement. His chest ruptured internally, causing an immediate critical hemorrhage and loss of consciousness.
Sakuma was forced to abort the plan. He dropped Thorne, retrieved the downed Johnny, and fled the warehouse with Lilith. The team regrouped and retreated to a safe distance, leaving the unconscious Thorne completely undefended.
4. Asset Loss & Retreat
From observation, the TWIN recovered Thorne, carried him to a storm drain, and, after a brief, unsettling interaction, consumed him head-first via a pharyngeal jaw. It retained his shoes as a trophy.
The team, with Johnny critically injured, retreated to a pay-by-the-hour motel of ill repute (“The Hourly Haven”) to stabilize. During self-administered treatment, McGee Jr. over-exerted his psychic healing, resulting in a permanent physiological alteration: the development of four irises (two per eye), granting him the ability to see through non-organic matter at will.
OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
Tactical Success: The initial engagement with Li Hua was a qualified success. Hakuba’s intervention saved Thorne’s life at that moment and demonstrated effective use of ability against the primary target.
Strategic Failure: The decision to use Thorne as bait was ill-conceived and executed with gross negligence. The plan had no viable containment strategy, no fallback extraction, and directly led to:
- The loss of a critical Person of Interest (KIA).
- The near-fatal injury of a team member.
- The consumption of a civilian by an uncontained secondary anomaly, likely strengthening it and guaranteeing its continued, dangerous presence in the area.
- The complete waste of intelligence gained from Thorne.
Personnel Notes:
- Sakuma Hakuba: Demonstrated sound initial judgment and ability use. However, acquiesced to the catastrophic “bait” plan. His performance in the subsequent retreat under duress was adequate.
- Biggby: Caused unnecessary injury to a poi during interrogation. Failed to provide effective support during the TWIN engagement beyond initial temporal freeze.
- Lilith Belladonna: Showed courage in retrieving McGee Jr. but failed to exercise good judgment in discouraging the reckless plan.
- Paco Bell: Contributed minimally, prioritizing self-preservation during the engagement.
- Johnny McGee Jr.: Actions directly led to the compromise of the bait operation and his own critical injury. New physiological mutation requires evaluation.
KEY INTELLIGENCE UPDATES
- LI HUA: Confirmed as a direct physical threat. Capable of rapid regeneration/reassembly (decapitation was not fatal). Motivation strongly linked to workplace trauma.
- NEW ANOMALY: Drifter “TWIN” is active in the Chinatown AO. Displays predatory, mimic-based behavior. Physical attacks are ineffective; temporal manipulation appears to stun it.
Status: UNCONTAINED. - CASUALTY: Julian Thorne – Terminated (Consumed by TWIN).
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Immediate Medical & Psych Evaluation: Executioner Johnny McGee Jr. is to be given a full medical and psychic evaluation at the earliest opportunity after the conclusion of the mission. His new mutation must be studied for utility.
- Mission Reassessment: Operation Paper Tiger, Mourning Fog is now a dual-threat scenario. Priority must be split between Li Hua and the newly identified, highly dangerous TWIN.
- Team Reinforcement: Given the injury of McGee Jr. and the demonstrated lack of tactical discipline, consider reinforcing the team with additional support.
- Review: The decision-making process that led to the “bait” protocol and the abandonment of a poi must be reviewed for systemic training failure.
The team is currently holed up in a non-secure location, licking their wounds. They remain the only active asset in the immediate AO but are operating at severely diminished capacity.
SIGNED,
Silas
Field Handler & Debriefing Officer
Executioner Division
CAT-5
Blackcoat
END REPORT