Night of Fire

On the 17th of February 28 YY, Pillagers struck a total of 16 military targets with a variety of attacks. With hundreds of injured and 82 deaths, the so-called Night of Fire had a massive impact on society. According to interrogated Pillagers, their intent was to inspire the population to rebel against the 'oppressive military regime'. In reality, the only protests were from those believing the Military Court was too lenient with their punishments.

Preliminary

For several years, various groups of thieves had been striking both military and civilian targets for supplies. Usually they struck during rainstorms, which complicate drone communications and made it hard for Defenders to respond to the attacks. Casualties from these attacks were low and fatalities among either side were extremely rare. However, Black Lung conspiracy theories were playing a part in the radicalisation of these thieves, which by this point were formally called Pillagers.

Terrorist Strikes

On 17/02/28, during a lengthy rainstorm predicted several days in advance, Pillagers struck with extreme violence. This time they did not care for stolen goods, they only cared for collateral damage. Some places were hit with fire bombs, others with explosives, and some sites the Pillagers attacked directly with firearms. This was the first time that the Defenders realised some of their own were traitors. While all assassination attempts of important targets failed, the damage and bodycount was still incredibly significant.
Pillager intent, according to interrogations afterwards, was to make the people realise that the army could be defeated, if only they all rose up. Most Pillagers had been outside society for so long, they horribly overestimated how disgruntled people were with Black Lung containment protocols, assuming the population would gladly fight on their side. Instead, the civilian bodycount only served to turn the population against the Pillagers.

Aftermath

The Military Court took three months to finish all courtcases, performing due diligence to eliminate as much the shadow of a doubt in its impartiality. It stuck to the restriction that the death penalty may only be given to Defenders, and only gave it to Pillagers that were proven to be aware of the death toll risks. It also prosecuted 11 Defenders for desertion, of which 7 were convicted and dishonorably discharged.
Martial Law was scheduled to be downscaled for the fourth time in the summer of 28 YY, giving more authority to the civilian government. However, as a direct result of the Night of Fire, the downscale was canceled. Until now there have been limited objections voiced over this, though it is suspected that this will change over time. There has been no new date announced for the downscale, causing a significant delay in the independence of the civilian government.

Date

17 February 28 YY

Casualties

• 322 Defenders (43 dead)
• 59 Civilians (29 dead)
• 43 Pillagers (10 dead)

Convictions

• 56 Pillagers sentenced to 4~10 years
• 39 Pillagers sentenced to death
• 7 Defenders discharged for desertion