// 1st November, MC0072. Time-Space Administrative Bureau //
“You can’t be kidding, can you?”
Chrono shook his head. “This just came from the 721st Unit. They have the latest information regarding the whereabouts of the Gale Whistler and they want us to act fast,” he spoke.
Nanoha, Fate, Hayate and Keroko batted an eyebrow. “The Gale Whistler? What… or who is that?” Nanoha asked.
“He’s the surviving descendant of the Chronomancer Dynasty,” Chrono began the briefing.
“Our mission is to bring him to the TSAB, and if possibly, prevent other factions from getting him first,” Chrono answered and noticed the Aces’ uneasy look on their faces. “I understand the situation you’re facing. I understand how similar this crisis to the Lost Logia case was.”
“It’s not that, Chrono-
kun,” Hayate spoke. “But how are we supposed to take care of a person we don’t even know who he is?”
Chrono gestured to Armstrong. “Then I’ll hand this briefing over to the Wind Talkers,” he spoke. “Mr. Armstrong.”
The Wind Talker nodded and took over the briefing. “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to begin the briefing with this footage.” He signalled at Snow Wolf to dim the light and at Faye to play the video. “This site was discovered in the Valley of the Gatekeepers 37 years ago during the archaeological expedition to Narulia. It contained the remains of Chronomancer Dynasty, who, for thousands of years, had played the role of the planet’s protector.”
The footage was later showing a royal tomb being unearthed by the archaeologists, and everybody watched in full attentive. “This tomb contained the mummified remains of King Zen II, the last ruler of the dynasty. And the archaeologists had stumbled across this ancient artefact,” Armstrong continued and put a box on the oval table. The staffs waited in intrigue as Armstrong took a medallion out of the box.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Armstrong spoke. “Unison Device Halcyon.”
The four Aces took a closer look on the medallion. The artefact was intricately decorated with quotes written in ancient language, and glittered in bluish sparkles when exposed to light.
“What is this medallion for?” Nanoha asked.
“It’s so beautiful,” Fate cooed.
“This is a Unison Device?” Hayate pondered and glanced at the equally interested Reinforce Zwei.
“I can’t believe something attractive like this can be a Device,” Keroko spoke.
“This Device has been inactive for 350 years,” Armstrong continued. “Studies showed that to activate the Halcyon would require its masters to have blood-related descendants, but King Zen II died without leaving a legitimate inheritor to his throne. We presumed that the Halcyon would remain inactive forever.”
“Until four months ago,” he said.
“Four months ago?” Kha asked.
“This is why I summoned all personnel here,” Armstrong said and signalled Faye to play another video. This time, it showed the audience a video footage of a frantic battle at Kiev. The Aces looked at the person who was firing wind projectiles at biomechanical beasts before freezing the entire arena with a stopping move. “For years the Wind Talkers have been monitoring this person after he had been discovered to be aptitude with magic.”
“Hold on a second,” Nanoha interfered. “Did you just say aptitude with magic?”
“That is correct, Nanoha-
san,” Yuuno later answered. “Our initial attempts to approach him had been unsuccessful since he was committed to his responsibility as the Ukrainian government’s special agent. We also didn’t know how long he had been a magic user, since we knew nothing of him until Armstrong-san met him four years ago.”
“It was after I discovered that the inheritor of the Chronomancer Dynasty still existed that I began searching for this lost treasure,” Armstrong said. “I met him while travelling to North Korea with my family. At first, I thought I must be joking myself because he did not show any sign of a magic user.” He gestured at Faye to play another video. This time, it showed to the people how the boy Armstrong was talking of was creating magic symbols from his palms and under his foots during a practice. “Until I saw this.”
“Those magic symbols…” Hayate gasped.
“A pentagon?” Nanoha asked.
“It’s the symbol of Narulian magic system,” Yuuno answered. “It relies on the techniques of neutralizing the opponents’ power and reversing the attacks thrown at a Narulian mage. The system has been thought to be extinct for a century but the boy may prove us wrong.”
“And there’s an unpleasant aspect I need to inform everybody inside this meeting room,” the ferret boy continued. “The boy is a Chronomancer.”
“That doesn’t sound pleasant, but what is exactly troublesome about the Chronomancers?” Shinnosuke said.
“They practiced the art of Chronograph and used to fullest extent techniques based on manipulation, distortion and control over the element of Time,” Yuuno replied. “In other words, they were Time Mages, and Time Mages were thought to be the most dangerous opponent as they could turn the tide of battle however they liked.”
“A Chronomancer also possessed an overly huge amount of Linker Core,” Armstrong spoke (behind him were various footages of the boy in his years, displaying his prowess as a fighter). “And they had found another use of the Chronograph: they would use it to replenish their Linker Core by circulating Chronograph circuit into and around it.”
“That’s impossible! If they did that, they could use magic spells many times without risking their life,” Fate objected.
“That’s what I had originally thought of,” Armstrong said.
“So what are we supposed to do about the boy, then?” Hayate asked.
The video play ended, and the meeting room was lit up. “He had been recently relieved from duty,” Armstrong said. “We lost track of him again, but the Wind Talkers have traced his route back to North Korea. He’s believed to be returning to his hometown.”
“Our mission here is to meet him and try persuading him to join us,” Chrono spoke. “If we can get him to become a TSAB member, we can study his magical aptitude in close safety.”
“However, I have been told that we must not provoke him no matter what the reason may be,” Armstrong warned. “He has been reported to go berserk not once but many times, and many had died under his Berserker form.”
“So this means we can’t attack him even if he attacks us first?” Keroko asked.
Armstrong nodded. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Wind Talkers will be honoured to have the Riot Force 6 helping us in this mission. It is crucial that we must work together as a team, because we may never know what lies ahead of us.”
“Nanoha Takamachi, Fate T. Haraoun, Hayate Yagami, Keroko Georashi Takamachi.”
The four Aces immediately stood up.
“Haii!”
“I assign you to the Wind Talkers,” Chrono spoke. “Do make your unit proud.”
They (and the rest of the RF6 members and allies who had stood up as well) saluted Chrono. “We will try our best, Admiral,” they replied and turned to Armstrong. “Lost Property Riot Force 6 at your service. Let’s do our best together.”
Armstrong saluted them in return. “I’m counting on you, as well, everyone.”