YULAI – The maverick DED commander who took his fleet into unregulated space turned himself in today at an undisclosed location without incident. The commander’s name is Tantoseisen Kakkichi, the head of Internal Security at the DED. Sources close to CONCORD believe all ships reported missing were accounted for, and that all of the officers-- including Kakkichi--were arrested on arrival. Some of the returning ships were reported as displaying extensive battle damage.
Within 30 minutes of the arrests, a lawyer by the name of Datannen Fisk, claiming to represent the incarcerated commander, released the following statement to reporters from the DED headquarters in Yulai:
“Commander Tantoseisen Kakkichi has formally been charged with conspiracy to commit treason, unlawful use of government property, and disobeying a direct order from a superior officer. He has asked of me two things. First, he requested that I be his legal counsel for these court martial proceedings. I accepted this request unconditionally. It will be an honor to represent one of the most distinguished military officers in CONCORD, and I will defend Commander Kakkichi as fiercely as I am capable of--that is, of course, assuming these same charges against him aren’t dropped once CONCORD learns the undeniably justifiable reasons for his bold actions.
“The Commander’s second request is that I read to all of you the following statement which he prepared himself:
“To the citizens of every sovereignty in EVE: Do not make the mistake of questioning the integrity of CONCORD or my own personal conviction towards its primary mission. Let me assure you, CONCORD is stronger now than it ever was, and while my own actions may seem contradictory to that assertion, the truth to these affairs will soon set the record straight. As my friend and counsel Datannen is reading this to you, knowledge is being imparted to CONCORD that will be of great interest and concern to all of our citizens. I imagine it will become publicly available in very short order.
“What you do with this knowledge, as always, is strictly up to you. With it, you will be empowered to make decisions for your own well-being, safety, and perhaps even prosperity. My mission, and that of the men and women who risked both life and career to assist me in this quest, was to bring that knowledge first to CONCORD, and then to you. May the powers that be take note of the fact that my actions were selfless and intended solely for the greater good of the citizens we are sworn to protect. Nevertheless, my crew and I stand ready to accept the consequences of our actions, whatever they may be.”
Counselor Fisk would not take any questions from reporters, and no official statement from CONCORD was made available.