Eagle Eye

**Eagle Eye** is a surveillance initiative established by Aegis to monitor Thargoid activity. Using an array of six orbital installations, Eagle Eye intercepts transmissions from Thargoid Surface Sites, which are then used to predict the locations of future Thargoid attacks on a weekly basis. Aegis Core's former headquarters of Dantec Enterprise, Socho served a vital yet understated role in the array's operations by coordinating all communication between the installations, but this part of the operation has since been relocated to Sol for security reasons. As the data assembled by Eagle Eye is encrypted and stored in Unregistered Communications Beacons found near each installation, independent pilots can freely scan these beacons and decrypt the data to learn the relevant targets.

## History

### Activation

On March 9, 3304, Aegis announced a new operation to counter the Thargoids. The initiative, called Eagle Eye, involved placing six orbital surveillance installations in systems around the Pleiades Nebula, namely HIP 17225, HIP 17692, HIP 17892, HR 1185, Pleiades Sector IR-W d1-55, and Pleiades Sector KC-V c2-4, in order to monitor known Thargoid Surface Sites and collect data on Thargoid behavior outside of combat zones.

By March 16, Aegis reported that Eagle Eye was already producing results. According to Admiral Aden Tanner, Aegis's military liaison, the installations were able to track fluctuations in transmissions originating from Thargoid Surface Sites, and that these transmissions pointed to specific locations in human space which were likely future Thargoid attack targets. Tanner urged independent pilots to investigate a new set of signals detected by Eagle Eye to help thwart the Thargoids' plans.

### Anomalies and successes

On March 29, Admiral Tanner announced that Eagle Eye had detected no new signals from Thargoid Surface Sites, which he believed indicated a brief reprieve in the Thargoids' attack plans. The recently-deployed flagships Acropolis and Vanguard remained stationed in Irandan and HIP 21559 while Aegis awaited further developments. New signals were detected the following week, and the Thargoids resumed their offensive the week after by attacking Guidoni Enterprise in HIP 9599; this attack came as a surprise, since Eagle Eye's data had not indicated HIP 9599 was a target.

On May 3, 3304, Eagle Eye indicated that 63 G. Capricorni and Argestes were being targeted. Neither was attacked on May 10, indicating that independent pilots had successfully rallied to the defense of both systems for the first time since the Thargoid attacks began. This feat was repeated the following five weeks, with Dalfur, LTT 8517, Lalande 4141, Lwalama, HR 1257, Lusonda, LP 571-36, HIP 21559, Kung Mu, and Nauni all avoiding attacks. On May 31, Aegis and Admiral Tanner hailed these victories as proof of Eagle Eye's success and Aegis's ability to defend the galactic community.

On June 7, Eagle Eye unexpectedly indicated that Beaufoy Vision in Nauni was one of that week's targeted stations. This was unusual because, up to that point, the Thargoids had never before targeted a system which they had already previously attacked. At the time, Beaufoy Vision was still repairing the damage it had suffered only three months earlier, during the first wave of Thargoid attacks. On June 14, Eagle Eye traced a Thargoid transmission to Col 70 Sector FY-N c21-3, a permit-locked system notable for its apparent connection to Thargoid Probes.

### Protocol Xeno 55

On June 21, Hennepin Prospect in Assinda suffered an attack, ending the streak of victories over the Thargoids. The attack appeared to be an outlier rather than an indication of Thargoid resurgence, however, as Eagle Eye did not intercept any new signals from Thargoid sites, and all Eagle Eye installations began transmitting the same message: "no new signal detected thargoid activity unknown initiate protocol xeno 55". That same day, Aegis also declared that the Thargoids were retreating from the Core Systems and had been pushed back to their original beachhead of Bhal. Admiral Tanner thanked Commanders for their efforts in defending the Core Systems, but noted that while Thargoid incursions had been reversed in many regions, the Thargoids remained entrenched in the Pleiades Nebula.

On June 28, Aegis reported that Eagle Eye had detected a massive surge in Thargoid transmissions. Admiral Tanner asserted that the previous week's lull in activity in the Core Systems must have been only a brief delay while the Thargoids regrouped and summoned reinforcements from the Pleiades. Tanner issued an emergency call for aid for Garay Terminal in Deciat, which Eagle Eye indicated was the Thargoids' main target. While Deciat was successfully defended, the following week on July 5, Eagle Eye confirmed that the Thargoids had resumed their previous pattern of activity and were once more targeting pairs of stations in the Core Systems, which soon resulted in a fresh spate of attacks.

### System Error

On August 16, Eagle Eye began reporting a "System Error" and provided no new target data. Admiral Tanner subsequently announced that Eagle Eye had gone offline due to technical interference at Dantec Enterprise, Socho brought on by an influx of Thargoid Sensors. Dantec Enterprise was a linchpin for Eagle Eye and fed it a continuous stream of data, but with the station disrupted, the entire Eagle Eye array had been rendered temporarily inoperable. Tanner urged independent pilots to deliver Meta-Alloys to Dantec Enterprise so that the station could be restored and Eagle Eye could be reactivated. Despite this setback, pilots were able to determine that the Thargoids' most probable targets for that week were Hermaszewski Resort, LP 102-320 and Salgari Vision, Pemepatung.

Dantec Enterprise was restored within days thanks to the prompt delivery of tens of thousands of Meta-Alloys. On August 23, Eagle Eye reported "System Recalibrating", indicating that the array would return to full functionality by the next cycle. Pilots continued canvassing systems on their own and identified Khan Port, LHS 283 as a potential Thargoid attack target. Unfortunately, Henry Dock in Valkups was also a target, but was not identified until it was too late to come to its defense. While Khan Port was well-protected, the Thargoids struck the neglected Henry Dock on August 30. The restored Eagle Eye resumed analyzing Thargoid transmissions that week, but in addition to identifying the usual two targets, it also found signals pointing to The Gnosis, a research vessel operated by the Canonn Interstellar Research Group that was planning to attempt a jump into the isolated Cone Sector. During that attempt on September 6, The Gnosis was hyperdicted by Hydra Variant Thargoid Interceptors and left temporarily disabled in Outotz ST-I d9-6. At the same time as the hyperdiction, the Thargoids succeeded in attacking both Parry Terminal in Flech and Wheelock Ring in Zavijah.

In response to the repeated disruption of Aegis Core's operations and the ongoing deterioration of conditions in Socho, on August 31, 3304, Federal President Zachary Hudson announced that Aegis Core would be relocated from Socho to Sol, where it could be better protected. The relocation process was completed on July 4, 3305.

### Incursions

After a brief pause in the Thargoid offensive during the week of December 13, 3304, Eagle Eye reported a new wave of targets on December 20, all six of which were subsequently confirmed to have a Thargoid presence and were classified as Infested. Facilities in the affected systems issued a special notice:

>
> Please be on high alert for unknown ships travelling in our star system.
> The Pilots Federation is offering combat bond rewards for any independent help in repelling this threat.
> Exercise due caution and report any sightings to authorities immediately.
> Current threat level: Massive Thargoid presence.
>
>
> — STAR SYSTEM WIDE ALERT
>
>
>

On December 27, 3304, five systems were attacked, including one system that Eagle Eye had failed to identify. The statuses of these systems were upgraded from Infested to Incursion, and Thargoid vessels and independent pilots began confronting each other at AX Conflict Zones. Aegis deployed Megaships operated by the Aegis Defense division to each of the affected systems.

In subsequent months, Eagle Eye's record of reliability was heavily tarnished by a series of conflicting or erroneous reports. For example, Eagle Eye would report the same set of systems multiple weeks in a row. Other times, Eagle Eye would report a set of systems with no Thargoid activity at the beginning of a cycle, only to change that list to a set of Infested systems several days later. As Infested systems were difficult to locate manually, more of these systems were left undefended and suffered Thargoid attacks than ever before, including a wave of nine simultaneous attacks on February 21, 3305. Although Eagle Eye may not have been to blame and the Thargoids may have implemented a new, less predictable strategy, Aegis did not provide an explanation for Eagle Eye's inconsistency.

### The Witch Head offensive

On July 11, 3305, Aegis reported that Thargoid forces had, in a matter of hours, completely withdrawn from the Core Systems and the Pleiades Nebula with the exception of the Maia and Merope systems. Admiral Aden Tanner explained that Aegis's two main theories for the Thargoids' departure were that their numbers had been depleted or they were reconsidering their strategy. The withdrawal also coincided with Aegis's initiative to locate and exploit more Thargoid Barnacles, which had uncovered new sites in the Witch Head Nebula. Whatever the cause, Eagle Eye confirmed the development and reported "No Activity Detected" for that cycle.

On July 18, the Thargoids attacked three stations in the Pleiades Nebula without any prior warning from Eagle Eye, which continued to report "No Activity Detected". On July 25, however, the Thargoids immediately attacked the six new Ocellus Starports sent to colonize the Witch Head Nebula as they arrived. Professor Tesreau called on independent pilots to defend the stations, as otherwise the pioneer factions leading the colonization effort would be forced to retreat and thus reduce access to Meta-Alloys. Eagle Eye remained silent.

### Sporadic clashes

Eagle Eye resumed reporting on targets on August 8, 3305, after the Thargoids' incursions had been repelled, but the six targeted systems had no strategic value and were not attacked. The same six systems were repeated for 22 consecutive cycles through January 9, 3306, and there were no attacks or Incursions during that period. This reprieve in the conflict ended on January 9 with Incursions in six systems. Eagle Eye updated to report those same six systems until January 14, when it updated early to show the next cycle's targets.

January 30 marked a notable change in the Thargoids' strategy, as they launched especially fierce Incursions in four systems. While independent pilots had previously been able to clear as many as six Incursions in a single week, these latest Incursions demonstrated that the Thargoids had the capacity to carry out prolonged attacks with massive reinforcements. Pilots only managed to clear one of the four affected systems, Taygeta, by February 13, though some progress had also been made in reducing their presence in the other three systems. Two more systems were cleared by February 20, and Lembass was cleared by February 27. During this wave, no other Incursions occurred, and Eagle Eye reverted to reporting the six systems from the reprieve period.

Another long pause in the conflict followed this offensive and lasted for 44 cycles until December 31, 3306. On that day, a total of nine systems between the Witch Head Nebula and the recently colonised Coalsack Nebula experienced Incursions. The Alliance Defence Force was, as feared, too slow to prevent the infestations, and local security forces reported being overwhelmed. Admiral Aden Tanner warned that Aegis could not adequately respond to the situation due to recent funding and resource cutbacks, and called on independent pilots to provide assistance. Thousands of colonists were confirmed dead on January 7, 3307 as the offensive entered its second week, with only two of the nine affected systems cleared of Thargoid Incursions. Admiral Tanner reiterated that the nebula colonies had no other option but to rely on independent pilots for protection from the alien threat.

## Targets

Eagle Eye typically identifies up to six different targets that are potentially in danger of an imminent Thargoid attack. Some of these are false positives in the form of Thargoid Surface Sites, Barnacles, or previously attacked stations. On occasion, Eagle Eye has provided erroneous data and failed to predict a specific attack target.

Target systems that meet all of the following criteria are generally considered to be authentic, confirmed targets:

* Non-Human Signal Sources are present.
* At least one Starport is present.
* An Unregistered Communications Beacon labeled "Transmitter" is present near a Starport.
* At least one Ammonia World is present.
* System is in the "Infested" state.

The tables below list the systems and Starports (Coriolis, Ocellus, and Orbis stations) that Eagle Eye has identified as targets for Thargoid attacks. Generally, targets will be attacked the week after they are identified unless independent pilots destroy a sufficient amount of Thargoid vessels in each system and force the Thargoids to retreat.

Systems that experience an Incursion yet lack any Starports are not listed, as non-Starport facilities with docking services (Asteroid Bases, Flight Operations Carrier Megaships, Outposts, and Surface Ports) cannot be attacked as of update 3.3.

Notes
* Eagle Eye's data for the first week of attacks in March 3304 was not recorded, and the only confirmed target was identified by GalNet.
* Eagle Eye data between December 20, 3304 and February 28, 3305 may be incomplete or partially incorrect due to errors introduced by update 3.3.
* "Protocol Xeno 55" or "No Activity Detected" indicates that no systems are Infested that week, and there will be no new Thargoid attacks the following week.

### 3307

 January 7, 3307 - January 14, 3307
 January 14, 3307 - January 21, 3307
 January 21, 3307 - February 25, 3307(5 weeks)

## External links

* Canonn Research: Eagle Eye Installations

1. ↑ GalNet: Thargoid Surveillance in the Pleiades
2. ↑ GalNet: Thargoid Surveillance Continues
3. ↑ GalNet: Thargoid Sites Go Quiet
4. ↑ GalNet: Aegis Hails Eagle Eye Success
5. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Repelled from Core Systems
6. ↑ GalNet: Thargoid Assault on the Deciat System
7. ↑ GalNet: Eagle Eye Installations Offline
8. ↑ GalNet: Aegis Core Relocates to Sol
9. ↑ Frontier Forums: AEGIS Core faction sighted at Sol
10. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Withdraw from Core Systems
11. ↑ GalNet: Alternative Source of Meta-Alloys Identified
12. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Return to Pleiades Nebula
13. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Defend Meta-Alloy Sources
14. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Attack Coalsack and Witch Head Nebulas
15. ↑ GalNet: Thargoids Wreak Havoc in Nebulas
16. ↑ GalNet: Non Human Signal Sources in Huveang De