The Arch Storm

[FooFighter]

Light is flooding every corner of the mind. Unit 2-3-42 has been allocated a host. All nodes fully connected. Softly spoken words delight the ears. Subject has shown great degrees of cooperation. Access to memory blocks 1 to 16 has been granted. A gate has been opened. Stability has been ensured. The path to the stars lies ahead.

[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ouya Kondo

We are glad to once again spread our wings and descend upon Kusari to deliver them from the collective plight of humanity.

To start, we moved to Kyushu and engaged a Gaian in a discussion. Once he got readouts of our ship, he questioned us. "I" assured him that "I" was a member of the Emperor's fist, and "my" special division was granted access to experimental technology. He was dubious, and inquired after "aliens". He was informed him that "little blue men" are "fairy tales".

Inoshi Ketara joined us. We moved to Hokkaido. A Dragon was engaged in debate, us once again posing as members of the shadow-shogunate. We tracked. We told him of the wrongness of his ways. He did not fully understand our meaning. Inoshi Ketara moved to Heaven's Gate, leaving the task to 'me/us'. We located him, near Unyo.

Honor and truth, dark and light were spoken of. He did not comprehend. We interacted with him via lightsong. We left him...

We returned to Heaven's Gate. The seed was planted.

---

[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ouya Kondo

We began in New Tokyo this time.

There was an argument between a ship known to us, [Renzu]-Ame-no-Uzume, and [KNF-K]Sakabatou. The latter was claiming the former was a traitor for assisting Golden Chrysanthemums, much to the formers' protest. As previously stated, Ame no Uzume has much use as one who can procure bodies for us, so we offered to assist. The KNF was 'silenced', swiftly and silently.

We have also liberated the following pilots:

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[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Sachiko Kondo

We have continued to cultivate the 'friendship' with Kenzou Tenma. His sympathies fall more towards us, and when the time is ripe we may be able to use those sympathies to lure him into our fold.




We also have liberated these humans:

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[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ouya Kondo

We began in Hokkaido, sweeping the clouds for any prey we might catch. The sensor-scrambling effects of the cloud makes it easy to strike unseen, and the murky, lingering screams leave the Naval Forces uneasy.

First, we found an Outcast by Ainu. He was most deferential. We deemed it possible to reveal our true identity to him, so that we would not be dragged into needless violence.

We moved on. We found Kenzou.Tenma, who is known to us. We allowed him to live. The seed has been planted and will be cultivated with time. Patience is a virtue.

However, from Tohoku came a Zoner transport, Phallen. We sensed the minds of three crew members aboard. Telling Kenzou to return to his patrol, we waited until he was out of short-range communication range before demanding the pilots dropped. Despite some fuss from the crew, we have received three extra bodies.

---

[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ouya Kondo

We began in Kyushu. A transport, full of scientists. We asked for the passenger manifest, planning to claim that one or more of the scientists was a wanted fugitive. Instead, they could not produce one. So instead, we demanded they come for 'inspection'... at Heaven's Gate, of course.

En route we encountered a Bretonian pirate, yet it ran to Ainu. We continued on to Tohoku with little problem, and the ship moored on Heaven's Gate with little amount of grumbling, not at all aware of what is about to occur. We are currently enlightening the scientists one-by-one in interrogation rooms, while supposedly questioning them. The crew was enlightened first. This will undoubtedly bring us much benefit, gaining over two-thousand scientists and a large transport.

---

[Exile]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ketara Inoshi.

This one will serve us adequately. The Human learners will be put to good use, and those flying the shell to even better. Make sure those of wisdom are returned to their former prisons. We can't risk a gift like this to vanish.

---

[Shazbot11]

Aoi Iseijin Hitoha Aono, resuscitation finalized. Much has changed since this one last woke, blind to knowledge and deaf to the truth. The song of the multitude now fills our ears.

We understand.

We acknowledge.

This one awaits its purpose. Its niche. We seek to be directed by those that came before us. For now, we too will add our voice to the truth:


One Mind, One Purpose, One Goal...

---

Maybe some day, they'll see a hero is just a man who knows he's free.

[Zapp]

One mind, one goal, one purpose...

Ouya Kondo

Sigma 19. A most beautiful system, one in which we laid a trap.



A trap which, sadly, no one fell for. We began to return home, but chanced upon a ship. Small. Civilian. Dragon. We assisted it in destroying a Blood Dragon ship, and took the pilot.

---

[Shazbot11]

Hitoha Aono

One Mind, One Purpose, One Goal...


We extend the sight of the Multitude. We extended mind of the Multitude.


This one began its first flight with another. It is a part of the Multitude. It identifies its shell as Jokoto Nokimi. Together we leave the sanctuary of Tekagi, and glide amidst the individual shells of Kusari; we create facsimiles, and so we learn.


Hokkaido connects Tohoku, and through the gravitic artery we enter into it for transit towards the Kyushu artery. Within proximity of our destination we find a construct of sizable mass.

It is identified as an engine of aggression. We and 'Jokoto' approach for a more detailed scan, and extend our facsimiles. The warship responds with a threat, we hasten our task.

We learn all that we can about the warship and continue with our sojourn. This one advises caution when approaching such a construct; it is recommended to assemble the Multitude before attempting a purge.

Passing through the artery We soon enter Kyushu. Flight traffic increases dramatically and we are forced into encounters with hostile shells.

Their aggression led to their downfall.

Their aggression led to our gain.

A faint signal source was soon detected, and We begin our examination.

Analysis was confirmed to match weapon scoring consistent with Naval Armaments. We conclude that patrols extend into the nebula; the sensor shadows toy with the constructs of the shells, this information will be disseminated amongst the Hunters and Trappers.

Shortly after, a most unusual encounter occurs. Through the open frequencies We hear the expressed glee of a shell, speaking openly about peculiar topics. We and 'Jokoto' add our own voices in hopes of a better understanding.

This shell exhibited a gross misunderstanding of its own physiology. We grew curious, and attempted to make it aware of the frailty of its own kind.

Regardless, it continued to display a mindset that is highly...irregular. Direct contact was eventually made as we proceeded towards Nansei Research Station; its actions were deemed more interesting than the habitation construct, and We investigated. Shortly, another one arrived as well.

Concerning the one identifying itself as "Black.Rose"

Concerning the one identifying itself as "Harlequin"

Our scans of these two were exceptionally unusual. Attempts at identifying the nature of the piloting shells returned anomalous readings; We find this disconcerting. The construct belonging to "Black.Rose" was correlated to fighters of the 'Borderworlds' yet contained units that were never categorized; the construct belonging to "Harlequin" matched no known design with an equal number of unusual units. Most peculiar was the large cache of shells within its cargo. Perhaps they too wished to enlighten the shells in Kusari.

Soon, however, We learned that the purpose for the shells was...irregular.

It must be noted that the entities "Black.Rose" and "Harlequin" had taken notice of the shells we possessed. They were quite keen on acquiring them. We could not risk destabilization of our purpose. The shells were transferred to them. Most unfortunate. They were also, however, curious about Us.

Another shell seized their attention. We used this opportunity to proceed with our purpose.

This one advises extreme caution with the entities "Black.Rose", "Harlequin", and others that fall within their classification. Nominal functions and mindsets pertaining to shells does not apply to them. Their actions are irregular. Their actions are fatal. An intact entity must be brought to the Sanctuary for further understanding.

Our facsimile would be compromised if We and 'Jokoto' remained in Kyushu. We chose to enter into New Tokyo to learn.

A construct for Providing. We found this one in proximity to the shell habitation of New Tokyo. It cooperated with Us, under the auspices of a Naval Forces reconnaissance wing. We learned all that we could, and deem it a small threat. Hunters and Trappers should be made aware of them: these constructs may follow a pattern of routes and carry useful provisions, on some instances shells as well.

Our sojourn drew to a close. We retraced our flight through Kyushu again, where the entity "Black.Rose" still continued irregular activities; a shell identified as "Geordi -Fixer - Forbes" was under duress from the entity's abnormal behavior. We had decided to take advantage of the proceedings, and offered assistance to the shell; however, it was to be chased out of Kyushu through the construct artery and into the shell-designated 'Tau-29'. Unfortunate. The shell transmitted a secure comm to this one, explaining it had secured a number of shells that fell victim to "Black.Rose's" peculiarities. We implored it to transfer them to Us for return to a Naval Forces habitation construct. Before We could act, a true shell of the Naval Forces arrived. We were forced to display our facsimile and avoid destabilizing our purpose. The Naval Forces shell went to the assistance of "Geordi", and the shell informed us it was ordered to proceed to a 'Freeport'. Most unfortunate.

Though a great potential had evaded Us, 'Jokoto' secured a number of shells. They will be submitted to the Multitude. Their fate rests with the Multitude.

We conclude Our sojourn. What has been learned will be added to the voice of the Multitude. We await Our next sojourn.

---

Maybe some day, they'll see a hero is just a man who knows he's free.