Humanity presents something of a unique challenge to Central Intelligence at this juncture. Although it is impossible to deny that the energies wielded by their champions operate on similar foundations as Uninvolved interaction with reality, their ability to spoof the ascension web is deeply concerning. Though these abilities do explain much of their rapid development from a Tributary to a true danger within the space of less than a century, it raises other concerns.
Key among these is how humanity gained these abilities, a question that remains without a clear answer. The Consolat archive provides no explanation for a species acquiring this sort of access, but it is a matter of record within CI that the archive is ultimately incomplete. A team has been dispatched to the Origin, to search for any clues that their passing might have left. Little hope is given to this work, but it must be attempted.
First, it must be noted that humanity has completely purged their system and technology base of all backdoor access routes. This includes those hardware level exploits that should be quite beyond the ability of such a young species to detect. It is possible that these vulnerabilities were revealed by the observation subnet during its destruction, though CI does not believe this was the source of humanity's knowledge. That, again, we would lay at the feet of their most enigmatic ability.
The loss of the subnet in its entirety, all the way down to Tombstone protocols, means that we are forced to rely on fleet intelligence assets. With the total destruction of Tribute Fleet Burnt Unto Dawn on humanity's first assessment, it is difficult to effectively judge their development since first contact. But scans from the 112th Regulars and 7th War Fleet, as well as testimony from the survivors of their assaults on humanity's home star, have painted a grim picture.
At a technical level, human naval specifications appear a close match to current generation Regular Fleet technology when taken on average. Although their weapon profiles are judged previous-generation at best, the observed survivability of human naval craft is significantly beyond that of standard designs, giving human capital ships the ability to trade effectively with Regular Fleet models. Observed sublight drive technology holds primarily to the same limits as our own, with one notable exception - see Personal Combat Frame Analysis, Initial, Classification Fleetlead and Higher.
Additionally, Fleetlead Vilortet noted in their report a distinct and highly worrying mastery of void combat by the leader of the human fleets. A mastery that should not, by all rights, be possible without access to tactical manuals that Tribute Fleets do not carry, or far more exposure to advanced space combat than considered plausible since first contact. A detailed check of Burnt Unto Dawn's database before departure fifteen centuries ago has yielded no hidden tactical manuals, and as such the source of this knowledge base remains unknown.
It is not, however, the only example of humanity exhibiting knowledge that they should not possess. Human FTL capable fleets sallied against the 112th Regulars within minutes of their reversion to realspace, a response judged impossible without prior knowledge of the fleet's arrival within jump range. Further, the special assets deployed by humanity in that battle choreographed a response to Soultear weaponry before the vessels carrying them entered the field.
It is possible that humanity has seeded their interstellar surround with a lagless detection web, likely in fact given the scale of fortifications under construction within their Stellar Exclusion Zone. But this answer does not explain their preemptive response to Soultear deployment by the 112th. That Fleetlead Vilortet acted as swiftly as they did in deploying those weapons is a point to their credit, and close-range scans received from the engaged battlegroups show a marked decrease in combat efficiency from the human combat frames. This further evidences the connection between these systems and Uninvolved capabilities - a disturbing datapoint.
Interrogation of the human Frame User captured by the Light In Shadows during the destruction of the Lumen-class stellar disruptor deployed alongside the 7th War Fleet has also proven a complex task in itself. The nature of that capture adds yet more questions. Although the existence of these platforms is known to most ex-tributary species as a result of historical data transfer, their schematics are highly classified. Which raises a key question: How did humanity recognise the Flames To Silence when it was deployed?
Unfortunately, it is not the most important question raised by that battle. That honour is granted to how a race less than a century past its first contact constructed a functional Orrery. The fortifications and internal sensor net observed by the 112th Regulars during their assault was certainly capable of providing the fine-grain sensor coverage required by such a system. Converting that data into a functional defence system, however, requires mastery of lagless computing technology generations beyond current ex-Tributary designs.
This remains the most dangerous example of human ingenuity, as if they can produce this system, they can share it. Although there is no evidence as yet of actions by the current population of galactic society, it is a matter of record that the mystique of a War Fleet has long since eclipsed its pure combat capacity. If humanity can make contact and spread this information, it would present a serious blow to galactic stability. If they prove capable of sharing their Orrery technology, itself a matter of generational development fully within the production capabilities of most current races, current models predict total galactic conflict within a handful of cycles.
Yet all of this pales in comparison to the danger presented by their champions - conspicuously absent from the last battle for their home star. Penetration of the human dataspace has remained beyond our grasp for now, and with it full detail of their identities. But any handful of individuals capable of simultaneously generating and restraining an energy burst on the scale of full stellar output, whilst affected by Soultear systems, cannot be underestimated. It is hoped that the deployment of Eyes The Sun and their associated penetration assets to human space will yield the results necessary for a proper threat profile.
-Excerpt from Humanity Opposition Brief, Initial, Classification Central Command Only
