Asteroid Blues

***In Memoriam – Kisha Katayotta***

“It is with a heavy heart that I must inform our viewers that Kitsune News 5 field reporter Kisha Katayotta was killed in the field earlier today.

Kisha was a valued member of our team for 15 years, and it comes as a great surprise to everyone involved.

What we know is that Kisha was following a detachment of valiant Ikari soldiers deep into the Jiyuan Open-Pit Ops Hub, escorted by the best Wu Ming troops Ikari could bring, when the detachment was ambushed by a group of alien Tohaa insurgents.

Considering the recent truce between the Tohaa and the free nation of Japan, we find their actions to be incredulously ruthless and barbaric. The Ikari forces, led by the reputable Lieutenant Makiko, fought bravely to hold the line.

We have rough footage captured on Kisha’s aerocam that detail the hectic state of affairs early in the combat. Kisha attempted to climb to a vantage point where the only inhabitant appeared to be a cowering civilian, and that is the last we heard from her.

We have Lieutenant Makiko live. Lieutenant, how are your troops fairing in this trying time?”

“Hi Tom. We are battered and bruised, but not broken. The Wu Ming troops took the brunt of the attack and lost their lives attempting to halt the advance of an alien warrior wielding a destructive missile launcher. As always, our brave Yuan Yuan defenders managed to curb the sharp end of the Tohaa’s advance on our position, while I led the Wu Ming into a commanding position in the center of the field.

Our alien skirmishers engaged the missile-touting unit of Tohaa to the right flank, but they were unsuccessful in preventing them from getting deep into our lines. Our saving grace has been the Rui Shi piloted remotely on our left flank which has secured the area around him.

Unfortunately, Doctor Etta was taken down in the fighting as well. He will be remembered as a brave, selfless soul that risked everything to help his fellow man.”

“Thank you Lieutenant. Were you able to secure the Ops Hub as initially planned?”

“Unfortunately not Tom. For now, we have had to retreat back towards the Main Strip to regroup and await reinforcements.”

“Thank you for talking us through Kisha’s final moments Lieutenant. We’ll let you get back to your important work now.

From all of us here at Kitsune News 5, we wish Kisha Katayotta’s family well. We will continue to provide updates through this crisis that has engulfed Novyy Bangkok in recent weeks. Stay current with the station’s leading unbiased coverage.

I’m Tom Shillingworth.”