RAU-4

RAU-4 was originally designed by the Kingdom of Oran's military-industrial bureaus, supposedly an advanced automated economic expansion program designed only to be employed in the most dire situations when the war with the UCS brought logistics to the ground. The emergence of the symptoms of the Silence was presumably seen by those on Evalahiye 1749 as a sign that RAU-4 was to be deployed to aid in counter-constructive efforts and ley line restoration; as is apparent, however, this never came to fruition. Centuries of accelerated magical mutation of the foundation of RAU-4's computational matrices in the midst of the Silence's magical storms has resulted in what is now practically living organism, albeit much vaster and composed of arcane machinery.

Composition

RAU-4 employs advanced combat designs never seen before in charted space; presumably, these are localised adaptations of the various blueprints for experimental spacecraft that were in development on Evalahiye 1749 at the time of the Silence's emergence. While experimental, they are fairly limited in scope, likely due to the logistical constraints of wartime development at the time - all employ arcane disruptors capable of ripping ships out of aether flight and into pieces, and an array of thaumoplasma weapons.

Recognition

Most regions that have since been classified as RAU-4 infected were once believed to simply have been affected by the ebb and flow of the Silence itself: its primary symptom is a significant uptick in the number of ships failing to reach their destinations, leaving only a handful of quickly-silenced distress calls drifting out from the reaches of deep interstellar space.

The true nature of these symptoms was not realised until a heavily armed fleet escorting a pre-Silence vessel was able to fend off a RAU-4 interstellar ambush - the vast majority are assumed to have starved to death in deep space, but the presence of the voidtech asset allowed a handful of survivors to escape and report back to base. Upon questioning, the survivors were able to produce several fragments etched with serial numbers and insignias - these have since been referenced with pre-Silence documentation found inside drifting courier vessels of the Kingdom of Oran.

Containment

It is not yet known how RAU-4 behaves, how it replicates, or why it has placed such emphasis on stealthy operation, contrasting with the ostensibly noncombat role outlined for it in the (assumed) original document. The extent and possibility of RAU-4 operation deeper into Silent Space is unknown. So far, the ambush behavior has been the only one observed by a surviving and/or cognizant witness, and containment measures will reflect this.

All expeditionary forces sent to regions with suspected RAU-4 activity are to arrange the acquisition and use of an interstellar semaphore array, in lieu of working pre-Silence communications and/or transportation technology - as was exceptionally the case in RAU-4's initial discovery - to alert local forces of a RAU-4 presence. Merchant vessels should travel in groups, and merchant fleets should also arrange for an interstellar semaphore array where practical.

If a mobile arcanofusile relay device on either side of a stellar corridor is available to repurpose, regular patrols may be made, accompanied by four times the complement of detection devices typically allowed. Using the relay devices, these patrols may then loiter at predetermined spots along a trade route to scan for RAU-4 vessels before moving on - however, in the (likely) case that such is unavailable, a slow-crawling flyby rescue vessel carrying a large complement of missiles may be arranged for fleets that have been intercepted and are able to send out superliminal distress signals.

Rumors of the subversion and overtaking of stations and installations by rogue technology have circled around RAU-4 affected space; while existing colonial disappearances seem to be quite consistent with Silence activity, information regarding this possibility is highly sought after. Anyone who is able to provide the following data to the Hledat Security Administration will be rewarded handsomely:

• Samples and data regarding a hypothetical RAU-4 factory vessel.
• Proof of RAU-4 exploitation of mineral and energetic resources, as predicted by the document.
• Proof of (or proof against) an ongoing RAU-4 incursion into an inhabited planet or system.
• Capture of a working RAU-4 pre-Silence drive.