Destruction of the Black March Delegation Base of Operations
"Fire in the Skies Incident" redirects here.
The Destruction of the Black March Delegation Base of Operations, more often known as the Fire in the Skies Incident (FITSI), was a suicide terrorist attack carried out by an unknown organisation on the 10th of January, 12252. That morning, a shuttle with a Technocracy transponder carrying three diplomats launched from the Elijah's Landing starport and docked with the BMDBoO. These three individuals likely carried hundreds of kilograms of high explosive concealed on their person, which they carried over to, and detonated across multiple areas of the base. The bombing resulted in over a thousand casualties and sparked the Draconian Civil Intervention Initiative. The main bulk of the wrecked starbase landed in the relatively remote plains north of Tatsu Park, only narrowly avoiding hitting any major population centers.
Both the Technocracy and Eldership claimed the opposing side were responsible for the attack. The Technocracy claimed that the bombing was the work of Eldership loyalists who opposed perceived Federation imperialism and conducted the attack with the intention of relieving the Federations political pressure on the Eldership leadership. The Eldership conversely reported that the bombing was a false flag operation conducted by the Technocracy to defame the Eldership in the eyes of the galactic community. Nonetheless, the Black March's general public were outraged by the incident and initiated a referendum urging the Black March military to conduct more intensive peacekeeping operations on Arkas.
The bombing resulted in the deaths of all 1,047 individuals onboard. These included prominent diplomatic foreign mission staff from the Black March and the United Terran Federation. Renowned Black March ambassador Hans Bluewing was among those killed. Further, the destruction of the base represented a loss of ₰250 billion in orbital infrastructure. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack in Draconian history followed by the Fenrir Bombing. The bombing destablised Draconian foreign relations for both factions. Cleanup of the wreckage (formally designated "Bravo Crash Site") was not initiated until the 7 Standard Cycles later when the Technocracy took power and was completed within 18 Arkasian days thanks to extensive funding as a part of the Illija's economic reforms.
Mass murder
(1,044 staff + 3 terrorists)
