OFFICIAL AFTER-ACTION REPORT
REF: OPERATION PAPER TIGER, MOURNING FOG // SIDE OPERATION ASSET RETRIEVAL
SUBMITTING OFFICER: Silas, Field Handler, CAT-5, Blackcoat
DATE: [01/04/20██]
RECIPIENTS: Castle Director F. Espada, Upper and Lower Four
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At my discretion, elements of Executioner Team Noatmos (Biggby, Paco Bell, Sakuma Hakuba) were seconded to support an inter-divisional retrieval operation led by Senior Handler Giulia Fumagalli. The objective was the secure acquisition and assessment of a juvenile potential manifestor, Morgana █████ (13, F). The operation resulted in the successful location and initial stabilization of the subject. However, the operational conclusion, overseen directly by Handler Fumagalli, resulted in the TERMINATION of the subject. The liaison team returned with zero casualties but exhibiting severe psychological distress. All objectives of the supporting liaison were technically met, though the ethical and operational fallout is considerable.
NARRATIVE CHRONOLOGY
1. Liaison Initiation & Context
At 0900 hours, the liaison element was contacted at their temporary safehouse by three Executioners operating under Handler Fumagalli’s direct command (Personnel Designations: █████, █████, █████). Agent Hakuba immediately recognized the handler’s name and provided contextual warning regarding her notoriously devout methodologies and prior “cleansing” actions at Watchsite-44.
[INTERNAL HANDLER NOTE]: My authorization for this liaison was given with the understanding that the subject was a high-risk, active manifestor requiring specialized containment. My relationship with Handler Fumagalli is… complex. She is my elder sibling. Our doctrinal and operational philosophies have been diametrically opposed since ███████ ██████. My consent was a calculated risk to maintain a veneer of cooperation, not an endorsement of her methods.
2. Subway Search & Initial Contact
The combined team entered the New York subway system to locate Morgana. During the search, they made contact with hostile elements of the apostate organization U//H (“Under // Heaven”), who issued threats. These were ignored. The liaison element successfully located Morgana ahead of Fumagalli’s team. Through calm negotiation spearheaded by Agent Hakuba, the subject was pacified and moved to a more secure, public area within the station to rendezvous.
3. Critical Incident & Manifestation
Upon rendezvous with Fumagalli’s team, one of her operatives (Designation: █████) moved to physically seize Morgana. The subject, frightened, experienced an uncontrolled activation of her abilities.
INCIDENT REPORT - MANIFESTATION:
The resultant phenomenon is described below.
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Summary: Operative █████ was completely erased from existence. No biological or material trace remained. The display left all present personnel in a state of profound shock and horror. Morgana subsequently exhibited a strong attachment to Agent Hakuba, who maintained his composure.
4. Exfiltration & Street Engagement
The team successfully exfiltrated the subway with Morgana, moving several blocks north. They were interdicted by a second U//H squad. The engagement was terminated with three U//H Binders eliminated. No serious injuries were sustained by allied personnel.
5. Handler Fumagalli’s Assessment & Termination
At the designated extraction point, a non-descript SUV arrived. Handler Giulia Fumagalli emerged to personally assess the subject. After listening to the team’s report, she initiated a direct, violent assessment protocol.
INCIDENT REPORT - TERMINATION:
Handler Fumagalli physically broke Morgana’s hand in an attempt to trigger a controlled manifestation. Dissatisfied with the subject’s reactive output, Handler Fumagalli utilized a defiance ability, summoning conflagrant blades which cleaved the juvenile subject into three distinct sections. The termination was instantaneous.
[INTERNAL HANDLER NOTE]: The termination of Morgana constituted a gross mishandling of a volatile but stabilized situation; she was a child who had just been traumatized into killing a man. It was an execution, not a practical assessment. Fumagalli’s report will classify this as the “neutralization of an unstable, catastrophic-level threat.” For the official record, I must concur with the classification. For the unofficial one, this incident perfectly encapsulates why we are not on speaking terms.
6. Post-Operation Actions & Psychological Aftermath
Handler Fumagalli expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance in delivering the subject “in one piece,” before re-entering her vehicle. As a final gesture, she threw a small gold cross onto the body. Agent Biggby, in an act of defiance, used his REVERSAL ability to return the object to her hand. Handler Fumagalli was noted to be both annoyed and amused before departing.
The liaison team was left with the remains. Agent Biggby provided dignity by covering the body with his coat. The team conducted an impromptu, silent vigil in the ensuing rain before using controlled psychic ignition to cremate the remains on-site, preventing any possible biological scavenging or analysis by hostile parties.
The team returned to the primary safehouse but have been psychologically compromised. They have not debriefed the rest of their team, and are exhibiting signs of acute grief, moral injury, and dissociation.
OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
Tactical Outcome: All operational parameters set by Handler Fumagalli were met. The subject was located, secured, and delivered. Hostile U//H elements were engaged and reduced. Liaison team sustained zero physical casualties.
Strategic & Ethical Catastrophe: The operation resulted in the death of a civilian juvenile who was under the protection and control of The CAIN Organization. The method of termination was extreme, gratuitous, and has severely damaged the morale and trust of a critical asset team. The potential intelligence value of a cooperative, powerful young manifestor was permanently destroyed.
Personnel Notes:
- Sakuma Hakuba: Demonstrated critical calm in stabilizing the subject. Post-operation psychological state is of high concern. He formed a brief bond with the subject and witnessed her brutal death.
- Biggby: Showed commendable initiative and defiance in the face of abusive authority. His act of returning the cross, while insubordinate, was the only moral stand possible in the situation.
- Paco Bell: Performance was adequate but overshadowed by the traumatic conclusion. Psychological evaluation recommended.
- Team Noatmos (Liaison Element): Collective efficacy rating remains high. Collective psychological stability rating has plummeted to CRITICAL.
KEY INTELLIGENCE UPDATES
- U//H Activity: Confirmed active and aggressive in NYC subway infrastructure.
- Morgana (Civilian/Manifestor): TERMINATED. Manifestation triggered by fear. No further study possible.
- Handler Fumagalli’s Operational Threshold: Confirmed as extremely low. She considers potential threats to be disposable if not immediately conformant to her will and paradigm.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Formal Complaint: An ethical complaint regarding Handler Fumagalli’s conduct and the wanton destruction of a high-value asset is to be filed through confidential channels.
- Compartmentalization: Details of Morgana’s termination are to be sealed and withheld from the broader team until psychological stability can be assured. The official story for Operative █████ is MIA in the line of duty.
- Inter-Divisional Relations: Future liaisons with Handler Fumagalli’s command are to be considered HIGH-RISK and require explicit approval from a trusted Handler and vastly more detailed Rules of Engagement.
This operation succeeded by the blackest letter of its mandate and failed by every measure of humanity and strategic wisdom. The cost was a child’s life and the moral integrity of three of our best operatives.
SIGNED,
Silas
Field Handler & Debriefing Officer
Executioner Division
CAT-5
Blackcoat
END REPORT
Attached is a transcript of a transmission from Handler Silas to the liaison team’s comms, timestamped 23:17, concurrent with the team’s vigil at the termination site.
START
(approx. 8 seconds of open channel static, followed by a shaky, controlled inhalation)
“And a little child shall lead them… but woe to him through whom the offense comes.”
(4-second pause. Audible wet sniff, breath held.)
(Transmission cuts abruptly. Log shows channel was manually severed from Handler’s station.)
END
This broadcast was a breach of operational radio discipline. No disciplinary action is recommended, given the extreme circumstances.