Press Release: Tayno Shosuke's Body Recovered - Autopsy Discoveries Unsettling
25 May 2023Antraeon
Excavation workers of The Ken'Tarii Mandate have recovered debris on Amitae II that is confirmed to have belonged to the Anaconda once flown by Tayno Shosuke, the last monarch of the former Tau-Ceti Ken'Tarii and chief deity of the Mandate's organized religion. Among the wreckage the salvage crew discovered a captain's chair with a mummified female body with its skin and bones fused to the seat; "The body that we've found today", the excavation supervisor reported, "is in all likelihood the body of the late chieftain. It has been exhumed with great care and the Arch-Bishop has already been notified of the discovery... We've found The Matriarch! We've found (Tayno) at long last!"The overwhelming joy of the discovery gave way to eerie reflection, however, as the body's remains were sent in for forensic analysis and autopsy. The body HAS been confirmed to belong to Tayno, but there is no indication that she died immediately upon impact. According to her autopsy report, Tayno's internal organs were not impacted or punctured, despite having been impaled thru the midsection and pinned to the seat. Her spine and skull, the mortuary assistant reported, had also sustained zero damage from the crash. The most likely cause of death was revealed to be asphyxiation, caused by the inhalation of smoke and carbon monoxide gas, with her extremities only sustaining superficial first and second degree burns before she finally suffocated.
"Learning that she was essentially burned at the stake only adds insult to the injury of her loss," remarked the Arch-Bishop in an interview with local journalists. "... She did not deserve to go that way, and knowing that we could have saved her, if we had known where she was at the time, is probably the worst part of it."
Further analysis of Tayno's remains had shown orthodontic abnormalities as well, with the majority of her teeth having been visibly filed-down to a sharpened point. The contents of her gut upon dissection, however, caused many of the medical and mortuary staff to leave the room immediately in disgust. The two of the original twelve team members who stayed began the process of removing the partially-digested human flesh from her stomach cavity, placing them into a separate bin to identify later.
The Arch-Marshal only shook his head and gave a brief statement when made aware of the discovery. "Cannibalism was a fairly common practice among the Ken'Tarii long ago, but it was never well documented. To my knowledge Teegan has never himself engaged in it, but he's never told me about seeing Tayno practice it at any point before this."
A set of clothes belonging to a Federation officer were also discovered in a foot-locker aboard the wreckage. It was initially believed that this uniform may have once belonged to Arch-Bishop Perry, as he once served as a Federation Rear-Admiral, but it was later confirmed that the uniform was far too small for him. Teegan Perry refused to comment on the discovery, simply requesting that Tayno's body be properly laid to rest as soon as possible.
A funeral/memorial service for Tayno Shosuke will be hosted in the Amitae system at Shosuke Vision, two weeks from the posting of this report on June 7th, 3309. Attendance is open to the public and anyone participating is asked to wear appropriate attire and remain respectful of the proceedings at all times.