BBC Special Report: Incursion at Kismayo (Episode I)
Anchor: Thank you for joining us. We’re here tonight with our foreign correspondent Allen James, recently returned from Somalia, where he witnessed both the Genoshan invasion of the city of Kismayo and the clash between the Brotherhood and Excalibur that ended the occupation. Allen - good to see you, and relieved to see you looking so well.
James: Thank you, Charles. Suffice to say I’m relieved to be home.
Anchor: I can only imagine. Now, we’re coming to you tonight because the government has finally agreed to release some of the additional footage you shot during the fighting. I gather there was some concern about revealing too much information about Excalibur’s operations…?
James: Yes, and as much as I would like to share everything that we shot, I quite understand the need for caution. From what I learned, this was a difficult operation, one that rested on some of the lesser-known capabilities of Excalibur operatives. It’s only logical that our government would request that some of the footage be held back.
Anchor: I’m sure our viewers understand that as well. I gather that there is a possibility of more footage being released over the course of the next few days, so I want to assure all of you watching that you’ll see it as soon as we have it. For now, Allen, we’ll rely on you to give us some of the background to what we’re seeing.
James: Of course.
[The image of the studio is replaced by the streets of Kismayo. The camera skews upwards just in time to catch a quick glimpse of two blurs - one blue, one glowing like a rocket.
James, on the video: Good lord, they’re heading somewhere fast. I wonder-Christ!
The camera quickly moves, focusing on a building two streets over. Six stories tall, it is collapsing almost in slow motion, and the camera catches screaming people at the windows. More than one of them is moving to jump, but even as they fall, they’re caught. Four people jump; none of them hit the ground, although the fourth comes very close before he’s scooped up. Once they’re clear of the collapsing building, both Cannonball and Transonic slow for long enough to be recognized as more than blurs and deposit their burdens on a nearby rooftop before flying straight back to the rubble. The clip ends.]
Anchor: That is… tremendously impressive.
James: Two of our less well-known Excalibur members - Transonic and Cannonball. This isn’t the only footage we shot of them. They put that tremendous speed to good effect. There are a number of Somali civilians who owe their lives to these two.
Anchor: So it’s clear that Excalibur’s mandate in this encounter prioritized protecting civilians caught in the crossfire, then.
James: Oh, absolutely. I’m sad to say that I did see Transonic being medevaced, somewhat later in the day - I’m not certain what happened there.
Anchor: You got rather a lot of footage of the aftermath of the fighting. I’m told that there were some dramatics at one of the field hospitals being run by Mutantes san Frontieres. Let’s roll that clip as well, shall we…
[The next scene is of a crowded field hospital erupting into chaos as two very large and obvious mutants burst into the middle of things, lashing out at medical personnel and patients alike. Before they can do any real damage, they are abruptly confronted by Finesse, armed only with a gun and her bare hands but quite obviously not letting that stop her. When one of the bricks slaps the gun out of her hand and sends her flying with another blow, she immediately improvises a weapon from a fallen IV stand and comes right back at him. The other brick moves to intercept her-and immediately falls into a hole of absolute blackness that opens up under his feet. His companion, distracted by his sudden disappearance, gives Finesse an opening and winds up getting on the wrong end of the IV stand. The clip ends.]
James: I wasn’t familiar with the young woman-she introduced herself as Finesse, once things had settled again…
Anchor: Did that, ah, take long?
James: Well, that big one she… ah, impaled did have a little more fight left in him. She discouraged that quite handily.
Anchor: And the one that disappeared? Although I suppose I shouldn’t be coy. Laynia Petrovna did demonstrate her powers in public for the first time in this very studio.
James: Yes. That happened… more than a few times, over the course of the day. Oddly, I never did see her. Darkstar wasn’t the only Excalibur member who was clearly there, but yet managed to avoid the cameras. Things were moving so fast… it’s pure luck we were able to catch as much as we did.
Anchor: And we’ll look forward to seeing more soon.
James: Thank you, Charles. Suffice to say I’m relieved to be home.
Anchor: I can only imagine. Now, we’re coming to you tonight because the government has finally agreed to release some of the additional footage you shot during the fighting. I gather there was some concern about revealing too much information about Excalibur’s operations…?
James: Yes, and as much as I would like to share everything that we shot, I quite understand the need for caution. From what I learned, this was a difficult operation, one that rested on some of the lesser-known capabilities of Excalibur operatives. It’s only logical that our government would request that some of the footage be held back.
Anchor: I’m sure our viewers understand that as well. I gather that there is a possibility of more footage being released over the course of the next few days, so I want to assure all of you watching that you’ll see it as soon as we have it. For now, Allen, we’ll rely on you to give us some of the background to what we’re seeing.
James: Of course.
[The image of the studio is replaced by the streets of Kismayo. The camera skews upwards just in time to catch a quick glimpse of two blurs - one blue, one glowing like a rocket.
James, on the video: Good lord, they’re heading somewhere fast. I wonder-Christ!
The camera quickly moves, focusing on a building two streets over. Six stories tall, it is collapsing almost in slow motion, and the camera catches screaming people at the windows. More than one of them is moving to jump, but even as they fall, they’re caught. Four people jump; none of them hit the ground, although the fourth comes very close before he’s scooped up. Once they’re clear of the collapsing building, both Cannonball and Transonic slow for long enough to be recognized as more than blurs and deposit their burdens on a nearby rooftop before flying straight back to the rubble. The clip ends.]
Anchor: That is… tremendously impressive.
James: Two of our less well-known Excalibur members - Transonic and Cannonball. This isn’t the only footage we shot of them. They put that tremendous speed to good effect. There are a number of Somali civilians who owe their lives to these two.
Anchor: So it’s clear that Excalibur’s mandate in this encounter prioritized protecting civilians caught in the crossfire, then.
James: Oh, absolutely. I’m sad to say that I did see Transonic being medevaced, somewhat later in the day - I’m not certain what happened there.
Anchor: You got rather a lot of footage of the aftermath of the fighting. I’m told that there were some dramatics at one of the field hospitals being run by Mutantes san Frontieres. Let’s roll that clip as well, shall we…
[The next scene is of a crowded field hospital erupting into chaos as two very large and obvious mutants burst into the middle of things, lashing out at medical personnel and patients alike. Before they can do any real damage, they are abruptly confronted by Finesse, armed only with a gun and her bare hands but quite obviously not letting that stop her. When one of the bricks slaps the gun out of her hand and sends her flying with another blow, she immediately improvises a weapon from a fallen IV stand and comes right back at him. The other brick moves to intercept her-and immediately falls into a hole of absolute blackness that opens up under his feet. His companion, distracted by his sudden disappearance, gives Finesse an opening and winds up getting on the wrong end of the IV stand. The clip ends.]
James: I wasn’t familiar with the young woman-she introduced herself as Finesse, once things had settled again…
Anchor: Did that, ah, take long?
James: Well, that big one she… ah, impaled did have a little more fight left in him. She discouraged that quite handily.
Anchor: And the one that disappeared? Although I suppose I shouldn’t be coy. Laynia Petrovna did demonstrate her powers in public for the first time in this very studio.
James: Yes. That happened… more than a few times, over the course of the day. Oddly, I never did see her. Darkstar wasn’t the only Excalibur member who was clearly there, but yet managed to avoid the cameras. Things were moving so fast… it’s pure luck we were able to catch as much as we did.
Anchor: And we’ll look forward to seeing more soon.