INCIDENT REPORT - CLASSIFIED - SECRET
Document No. 30-004-5997-K
Routing No. G426-27
1. BACKGROUND
The State of California contracted Lorus Laboratories to develop a new weapon for the California Guard to use protecting against border incursions from the Badlands. This weapon, the Childe DS-21 man-portable particle cannon (CA Contract No. N9705973) emitted a tightly controlled beam of charged protons accelerated to very high speeds, and capable of cutting through nearly anything at a great distance. The first prototype had been promising, but was prone to massive overheating and internal melting if used for more than a single shot. After two years of experimentation, a method for injecting most of the excess heat back into the beam was found, and a new prototype was constructed.
2. INCIDENT
This new Mark II gun was being transported by armed convoy to our secure testing range in the Mojave Desert. The convoy was ambushed on CA Highway 58 approx. 15 miles east of the junction with Hwy. 395. The assailants used buried explosives and missile launchers to disable the vehicles, then killed any remaining soldiers and technicians. There were no survivors, and the particle cannon was stolen. Intelligence indicated the convoy was attacked by The Raptors, a notoriously savage booster gang operating out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
3. RESPONSE
In the interest of protecting the secrecy of the project and to avoid triggering inter-state conflict with Nevada, The governor's office chose to hire independent contractors to infiltrate the Raptor's stronghold in the abandoned remains of the Bonsanca Hotel in central Las Vegas. Their orders were to locate and retrieve the weapon by any means necessary, but were advised that no rescue would be possible if they were captured, and that the State would disavow any knowledge of their operations as well as the existence of the weapon.
4. OUTCOME
The contractors were able to successfully locate the weapon and take possession of it, but the objective was destroyed during the resulting combat. The team was able to escape alive, but were unable to secure any remains of the weapon, nor provide any evidence of its destruction. The official status of this operation is "unresolved," but the absence of any intelligence indicating that the weapon or its remains have been traded or used lends credence to its elimination.
5. FINDINGS
A. The incident has brought to light an intelligence leak in our classified projects division, either through a mole or computer intrusion. A thorough investigation must be launched immediately to find and terminate this leak.
B. Lorus should be directed to immediately begin construction of a new prototype for testing. Funding should be made available for this though the usual channels.
C. Security for transportation of the device to the testing facility will need to be significantly increased
END REPORT
