The Imperial Commission tasked with conducting a Full Audit in Q6 reported a relatively clean bill of health for the governance of the Quadrant. Some minor officials were arrested on several specific counts of corruption but they were acting against the knowledge of their superiors.

Report of Imperial Warrant Holders on investigations into Quadrant 6

The Warrant Holders were tasked with the examination of the situation in Quadrant 6, where it was feared that Governor Armstrong had exceeded his authority in the conduct of operations on Amoss.

We are pleased to be able to allay fears on this score. Cooperation from all local Imperial armed forces and civil bodies was prompt and complete in all cases. Local military and political leaders were closely questioned, and there is no evidence of any conspiracy, collusion or overarching plan to bring the Empire into disrepute or otherwise damage its interests. Consequently the Commission moved quickly on to an Audit of the key local decision makers and their actions, and an assessment of the Amoss situation and possible resolutions to it.

Some cases of financial mismanagement, sexual pecadilloes, graft, corruption and nepotism were found among various officials, but no more than would be expected of a thorough audit of Quadrant governance of this type. Appropriate action has been taken by the IAO in these cases.

We find that the Admiral has acted within his brief (from Governor Armstrong and IEN High Command) at all times, and in what he judged to be the best interests of the Empire. No blame is attached to his conduct.

The situation here is slightly more complicated. Governor Armstrong has initiated the actions at Amoss, in the form of covert aid to the Von Strucker movement. However, the escalation of the conflict was due to orders issued by the office of the First Minister. Orders, by former FM Lee Zhang, in mid-3207, authorised overt aid and direct military involvement to deter Sirian attempts to regain the system. This was, we consider, the most significant escalation.

While we find that Governor Armstrong may have interpreted his brief in the most hawkish possible manner (the prevalence of views supporting Von Strucker and his authoritarian stance was noted among Governor Armstrong and his senior staff), he nevertheless acted within his brief at all times, and if criticism is to fall on his actions then it must be directed at least as much, if not more, at the at times contradictory and over-generous instructions he has received from Earth.

A detailed examination of the circumstances of the construction of the Naval Repair yard at Weygand was made. This arose from a series of options examined by advisors to the governor in a planning paper. Among the options considered were more GF forces, more repair yards, a shipyard to build armed merchants for a longer-term struggle against local Sirian forces, a request to Q0 for more ships, and a de-escalation of the conflict.

The recommendation to build the shipyard was made by John Smith, whom we consider to have been in serious error, while we wish to commend Lester Larkin, who argued cogently and vociferously against it. It should be noted that while the construction of a Shipyard in a colonial Quadrant may be against all good ‘custom and practise’ of Imperial operations, and is not only ineffective in terms of cost-benefit but poses significant political risks, however, it is NOT actively illegal.

Nevertheless, we find that in following the recommendations of his advisors Governor Armstrong exercised questionable judgement. We do not however consider that this demerit warrants his immediate replacement, and have been content to let him remain in place (albeit more closely monitored) for the time being, while making recommendations below which the Imperium may wish to consider. In the meantime, we have ordered that the construction of the repair yard (which is still at an early stage of construction) be continued. A more proactive media policy needs to be pursued to set the record straight that this was always the case, and that the Governor was misquoted and misrepresented by local media in reporting that a shipyard would be constructed.

We have been unable to formulate a satisfactory way out of the Amoss debacle. The seriousness of this crisis has been exacerbated by interference from Q0 by both the Sirians and the Empire. While we acknowledge that a friendly state in control of Amoss would be of real benefit to the Empire, we consider that this is a small gain set against the very real threat of a more general war, and the damage done to Earth’s reputation more generally. We have carefully examined all possible military options for resolution of this matter and found them unsatisfactory. With local Venerian and GFA forces now on the verge of opening fire on IEN forces, sympathy for the Sirian cause now heightened, and Sirian resolve to retake Amoss no matter how long it takes undiminished, the only possible military solution would be to drive off local forces (possibly including GFA/RNV naval units) and station a large task force permanently around Amoss. We judge that the cost of this both politically and economically would far outweigh any benefit.

A political solution to the matter looks remote at this time.

We considered a Quadrant-wide summit to try and settle matters, but decided that we had too few cards left to play in order to win back GFA/RNV support for a negotiated settlement that saved our blushes. In our view, therefore, the only practicable solution at this stage is a withdrawal of Imperial forces and leaving Von Strucker to his fate. The Sirians will take at least two years to recover control of Amoss at any rate, by which time the colony will be practically worthless in economic terms. It is possible that our withdrawal may leave the option open for a negotiated settlement further down the line, provided that we stress the self-determination angle. While we acknowledge this may be a bitter pill to swallow, this appears to be the least worst option for the Empire at the moment. We have accordingly ordered the immediate removal of all Earther military assets from Amoss.

Admiral Senator Kowloon adds: This individual is clearer highly capable and charismatic and has substantial influence over not only on Amoss, Douglas & Blenda but also to a lesser extent on Weygand, the Q6 Imperial capital. This may be a simple confluence of supporting factors but there is the small possibility that Von Strucker could become a significant factor in the quadrant and a potential problem. I recommend he be kept under observation. I also suggest that we investigate bringing him fully into the imperial family (and control), if that fails he could be isolated.'

1. If future Imperial policy is to be directed towards intervention in secessionist struggles like Amoss, more Ground Force capability needs to be available at a local level, both in terms of available troops and lift/assault capability, on a ‘Martian’ model. Lack of this capability has hampered our ability to make a decisive intervention at Amoss.
2. Policy towards Sirius needs to be thought through in a more ‘joined-up’ manner. We consider that there is no point in drifting into a war with the SSR in an accidental manner over a single rich (or formerly rich) colony. We acknowledge that Sirian bloody-mindedness has exacerbated the situation and dragged the homeworlds into it, but - that being the case - if there is a government decision that war should be prosecuted against the SSR, it were better made in Q0 and not by a local colonial governor, and a fully coordinated strike should be made. A better attempt to secure our flank by keeping key players on-side (eg the GFA, RNV) would be a necessary prerequisite of any such move. Since this falls outside the purview of the Commission we cannot enact, only recommend.
3. Amoss is, bluntly, not worth the candle, and by escalating we have robbed ourselves of the option to back out gracefully. We recommend any future involvement be lower key and more in line with the previous strategy of ‘minimum regret’. Long-term relationships with other powers might also be regarded as potentially more valuable than a single colony.
4. Governor Armstrong has generally worked within his brief but has shown some instances of questionable judgement. We consider that any attempt to remove him via a criminal case would be bith unhelpful and unsuccessful.
5. Guidance offered to governors should be more in terms of setting objectives and ‘red lines’ not to cross. There has been we consider both too great an attempt to direct events at Amoss by the Imperium, and – given the involvement of the Sirian government in Q0 - too much leeway to set Imperial ‘foreign policy’ given to a local colonial governor.
6. We wish to note the contribution made by Admiral L Phillips to our work. His foresight, advice and expertise has been invaluable, and some form of public commendation would, we feel, be appropriate.

We remain, your obedient servants;

Admiral Senator Kowloon

Admiral Puzo

Deputy Audit Director Van Helsing.

~~DISCUSSION~~