OFFICIAL AFTER-ACTION REPORT
REF: OPERATION PAPER TIGER, MOURNING FOG // FINAL REPORT, CASE CLOSURE
SUBMITTING OFFICER: Silas, Field Handler, CAT-5, Blackcoat
DATE: [01/08/20██]
RECIPIENTS: Castle Director F. Espada, Upper and Lower Four
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At 18:00 hours on Day 5 of Operation, the reconstituted Executioner Team Noatmos initiated final engagement protocols against primary target Li Hua // OGRE anomaly. The engagement was preceded by an unplanned, violent altercation with NYPD assets that resulted in one officer killed by the team and significant collateral damage. The team successfully tracked Li Hua to her palace (an abandoned cinema), engaged, and terminated the anomaly. The mission is closed.
However, operational success was achieved in spite of the team’s conduct, not because of it. The mission profile was CAT 1; the resource expenditure, timeline, and collateral damage incurred are consistent with a CAT 3 or 4 scenario. This report details severe disciplinary and procedural failures alongside the tactical victory.
NARRATIVE CHRONOLOGY
1. Civilian Law Enforcement Engagement & Compromised Status
The team, seeking updated intelligence, made contact with two NYPD officers outside Mandarin Dragon Imports. Executioner Paco Bell impersonated the deceased Julian Thorne to facilitate interaction. After obtaining unverified data on 20-30 additional disappearances, the interaction degraded rapidly. Executioners Ailene and Dale Orr attempted to flirt with an officer, misreading his sexual orientation. Upon disengaging, Executioner Dale Orr directed a homophobic slur at the officer, prompting an attempted arrest.
The situation escalated to lethal force. Executioner Sakuma Hakuba knocked the first officer unconscious. The officer’s partner discharged his firearm. The altercation concluded with Executioner Lilith Belladonna crushing the second officer with his own vehicle, killing him. Paco Bell then used his FILTER ability to sanitize the scene, stripping the police cruiser of identifying marks and creating an unmarked white vehicle for team use. The team fled the scene, leaving one unconscious officer and the bisected corpse of his partner in a public street at night.
2. Pursuit & Final Engagement
Using the commandeered vehicle, the team observed Li Hua abducting a known civilian, Brenda Cho (formerly of Mandarin Dragon Imports). They pursued at a distance to the anomaly’s palace: an abandoned movie theater.
Inside, they discovered the theater had been converted into a “palace.” The remains of forty-two (42) confirmed victims were suspended from the ceiling, transformed into macabre lighting fixtures. Li Hua engaged, demonstrating advanced environmental manipulation (sealing egress) and a potent regenerative factor.
3. Combat Log Highlights & Casualty
- Executioner Dale Orr’s use of SABRE ordnance was ineffective.
- Paco Bell’s tactical clone was eliminated immediately.
- Sakuma Hakuba utilized a ████████ability (acquired off-record) to inflict critical damage.
- CASUALTY: Executioner Biggby was killed in action. Li Hua utilized a biological inversion ability, turning his organs inside out while he remained conscious, before incorporating his remains into her structures.
- The killing blow was delivered by Executioner Vivienne Westwood, whose attack caused a cascading systemic failure in the anomaly, resulting in total termination of the Li Hua and the OGRE entity.
4. Exfiltration & Aftermath
The team retrieved a foot from Biggby’s remains as proof of death. Exfiltration was conducted via non-standard transport (an unmarked black bus). The commandeered police vehicle was retained pending authorization for future use.
POST-OPERATION INTELLIGENCE: The unconscious officer left at the initial altercation scene was later reported MIA. The absence of remains and specific contextual clues (missing shoes) strongly indicate the officer was consumed by the secondary anomaly, DRIFTER “TWIN”, raising its confirmed kill count to two.
OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT
Tactical Outcome: SUCCESS. Primary target terminated. Threat neutralized.
Strategic & Conduct Assessment: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE.
- Gross Unprofessionalism: The team’s conduct with civilian law enforcement was indefensible. It included sexual harassment, a homophobic slur, assault on an officer, theft of a police vehicle, and the murder of a second officer. This represents a massive breach of the Organization’s low-profile mandate.
- Excessive Resource Allocation: A CAT 1 anomaly required nine Executioners, five days, and the loss of one high-value operative. This is a staggering misallocation of assets.
- Self-Sabotage: The investigation was consistently hampered by the team’s own bigotry, poor impulse control, and reckless decisions, extending the timeline and increasing risk exponentially.
- Collateral Damage: Civilian casualties directly or indirectly attributable to the team’s actions include: 1 NYPD officer (killed), 1 NYPD officer (fed to a Drifter), and the complete compromise of operational secrecy in Chinatown.
PERSONNEL ACTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
- Promotion to CAT 2: Approved for Sakuma Hakuba, Paco Bell, and Dale Orr. This reflects accumulated field experience and successful engagement of the primary target, not an endorsement of overall conduct. (See attached caveats).
- Executioner Dale Orr: Is to undergo mandatory Cultural Sensitivity & Conduct Rehabilitation (CSCR) training. Future deployment is contingent on completion and evaluation. A formal reprimand is entered into his permanent record for the use of a slur and instigating a lethal confrontation.
- Executioner Lilith Belladonna: Is to be formally reviewed for use of excessive force against a non-anomalous human target. While the officer was hostile, the method of termination was gratuitous and drew unnecessary attention.
- Executioner Biggby: Status changed to DECEASED.
- Team Noatmos: All members are to receive a formal briefing reiterating the Organization’s rules of engagement regarding civilian authorities and the absolute necessity of operational discretion.
FINAL MISSION TALLY
- Anomalies Neutralized: 1 (Li Hua/OGRE). 1 (DRIFTER, TMID-997 “DOG” from supplemental). 1 (DRIFTER, TMID-127 “TWIN”) remains AT LARGE.
- Civilian Casualties (Anomaly): 42 (Li Hua victims).
- Civilian Casualties (Team Actions): 1 NYPD Officer (Lilith Belladonna). 1 NYPD Officer (indirectly, via TWIN).
- Organization Casualties: 1 Executioner (Biggby, KIA). 1 Asset (Morgana, terminated by Handler Fumagalli - see Supplemental Report).
- Friendly Fire/Incidentals: Numerous self-inflicted wounds and injuries from poor tactical choices throughout the operation.
This operation is closed. The file is a textbook example of how to neutralize a target while failing at every other metric of a successful operation.
The “win” is pyrrhic. The cost was too high, the conduct was abhorrent, and the only lesson is that overwhelming force and stubborn luck can sometimes overcome profound incompetence.
We will do better. We must.
▽ AS ABOVE, SO BELOW.
SIGNED,
Silas
Field Handler & Debriefing Officer
Executioner Division
CAT-5
Blackcoat