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August 11th, 2492 // Lost Sector, Cocoon Station // Huntsman Cairo reporting
Pulling the dead out of the lower districts in Cocoon station is nothing new. The poetically named Lost Sector has been a 'last known location' entry on many a missing persons report in the unresolved incident file server archive at Arc-Sec, a server affectionately known as 'The Graveyard' by some of the older vets who've worked the station for years, and have seen it all.
Until last night...
The Arc-Sec agents on patrol between the Lost Sector and the Industrial District may have expected to see the results of the grisly remains of a harvester attack, or gang warfare attrition, or the random expired soul while looking down from their patrol vehicle while flying through the area, what they found instead was a dead body with something new. A man, loosely defined as 'face down', with his cranium entirely melted away in a pool of what could only be described as 'head soup' by one Arc-Sec agent who refused to be identified.
The individual, who has not been identified thus far, was untouched save the liquification above the neck, our Arc-Sec contact commented: "I mean, flying through that area, you're used to seeing the worst ways people can think of to kill another person... but when we saw that, my partner and I were both like 'huh....well, that's new'." It was this unexpected newness that inspired some of the Arc-Sec agents to make their excursions into the lower districts exciting again:
"Well look, the whole goddamned place is a shit-show, you just get used to it, nothing's gonna surprise you after awhile," said our contact, "but when we found the guy, we called it in and some of the other guys were coming 'round to have a look, and we all agreed none of us had seen some poor sad-sack with his head burned completely off, you know? So as my partner and I were talking, we realized we could make something out of it, we're gonna prep up a few bingo cards for the guys, just come up with the more outrageous ways to die for the slots, and work 'em over the month for soy-caf money..."
When asked about whether Arc-Sec would be investigating the death that brought them a new way to spice up their patrols, our contact responds with a tentative 'maybe'. "Guy had no identification on him or personal effects, if we get approval to run DNA then we might do something, depending on what comes back..." So while it seems potential justice for the dead and notification to friends and family may have to wait, there is at least memorialization for the individual in a new office game for those working patrols around the lower districts. When asked if 'head burned off' would be a tile on the new cards, our contact replies: "It'll be the free space..."
A better tombstone to mark his passing than some get in the lower districts...
-This has been Huntsman Cairo reporting, for ONN news.
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