The fall of Ancient Belka and the death of the Sankt Kaiser have been researched and documented countless number of times throughout the ages. New artifacts and "gospels" have been unearthed over time that give new insight to the event and change the views on how everything had played out. Amongst these accounts, a common reoccurring event is described: The Cataclysm. It is the great betrayal that slew the holy Sankt Kaiser and shattered the foundations of Ancient Belka, leading to the great Ragnarok that would burn a great civilization into ashes. In particular, the blame falls upon the favored Knight of the Sankt Kaiser, and Great Traitor, Noland Reiniger.
This Traitor has been considered the primary reason for the collapse of the Belka civilization, after losing his sanity and his soul to the unison device Cocytus. Priceless testaments surviving from those days of infamy state that in his madness, he overwhelmed the Knights he once served and lead, butchering them without hesitation. Soldiers and civilians alike fell to his onslaught, his rampage unyielding as he tore through the castle of the Sankt Kaiser. During that fateful cataclysmic final battle, Noland Reiniger pierced the holy armor and tore out the Sankt Kaiser's heart. This vile act of betrayal cursed his very existence, his hands forever stained to drip the blood of his murdered liege. The entire kingdom was driven into hysteria and panic when a grand cross was erected at the castle's highest point, upon it their beloved ruler, crucified like a criminal. No one is sure what happened to the Traitor following the catastrophe, as Noland left no trace of his presence. The entire civilization was drawn into a dooming downward spiral.
Thus, the tale of Noland Reiniger was passed down as the story of the greatest Traitor Knight.
However in recent times, a manuscript was unearthed within an archaeological site that was of Belkan design. It was leather-bound and written on papyrus sheet with ancient text that was difficult to translate. The entire manuscript is exists as three separate documents, collectively known as the Codex Tchacos. Currently, it exists as thousands of pieces with many sections missing; some only words, others as whole sentences. Of the original thirty-one pages, only fifteen remain. Despite that, many grueling hours of painstaking reconstruction and preservation were spent in effort to recover and translate the text. The first two documents were found to be supplements to the tale already commonly known, one document being copy of a letter between Knights, and the other describing the aftereffects of the Cataclysm. The third document and its contents were, however, by far the most shocking.
Conservatives and the orthodox label it as heretical material and denounce it as fictitious history, whereas others have hailed it as the greatest discovery in centuries. Written in the third document was a gospel that told the story of the Cataclysm from a completely different standpoint. The gospel labels Noland not as a traitor, but as a fanatically loyal servant. Here, he is considered a sacrificial lamb next to his liege, to be abhorred and hated as he lifts the Sankt Kaiser to an even higher state of existence. Regardless of opinion, there is only one desire shared amongst those studying and researching this manuscript: the desire for truth. Without bias and in full neutrality, we will attempt to present this tale as best we can.
This is the Euangelion Ioudas, the Gospel of Judas.
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Mid-Childan Calendar Year 073, October 10.
With a tired sigh, Yuuno Scrya leaned back into his chair and turned his gaze towards the ceiling, feeling the stress bleed out of him slowly. It had been almost a year since he had released that primer, introducing the Gospel of Judas to the public for the first time, and what did he have to show for it? For months now he and a group of fellow librarians had been working on the translation of the Codex Tchacos, but very little progress had been made. In addition to being written in text unseen and unused in centuries, the documents themselves were in hundreds of pieces with no obvious clues as to how they were originally arranged. It was a giant puzzle without a single piece that fit together – eyeballing it was impossible.
Outside of the project, a good deal of drama was stirred up due to the Belkan Saint Church conservatives loudly voicing their protest to the project, sometimes violently so. Team members came and went, and work was just so damn grueling.
The protests were disheartening, considering the widespread influence of the Saint Church, and if the arguments get too heated, they may be forced to abandon the project. What a terrible waste it would be, if it were to come to past! He and his team had invested an incredible amount of time in working with this text, and to abandon it all now would just be a colossal waste. Still, what he would give to have a legitimate reason to not be here. Oh to be in the field again, getting his hands dirty and his head deep in actual excavations! Alas, he was trapped here attempting to cipher the same damn document fragments over and over again instead of doing the field work he enjoyed far more of.
“Lo, there do I see my mother,” Yuuno muttered to himself as he read over the piece of translation. “Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my sister and my… flailing strumpet whore?! Dammit this isn’t it!”
The young man dropped his stylus pen with a huff, burying his face into his hands. He could feel the stress building in him, like an overflowing boiling pot with its lid haphazardly dancing in the heat. And like that pot, it eventually exploded.
“RAAAAAGH! THIS IS THE INFINITY LIBRARY! WHY DOES THIS PLACE HAVE TO BE SO FREAKIN’ MESSED UP?!” Yuuno leapt to his feet and bellowed into the darkness, wholly expecting no answer in return. He would get none, anyways, as his crew consisted of only a few living individuals and a great number of robotic assistants. As efficient and precise the robots were, they were hardly good conversation material, and those living that worked here cheered whenever quitting time came about.
And Arf, bless her heart, she came by every now and then to help out… even if it was just to pull prank after prank on him… How he missed the days of her companionship, the good and the bad, altogether did help to pass the day, though their actual productivity was hit or miss.
Arrgh! If only the budget adjustment requests weren’t always rejected! Maybe then he could have a larger staff! Maybe then he could get some actual research done instead of simply reorganizing the largest source of information in the known galaxy (of which, was already a daunting job). Maybe then, he could actually organize some sort of official expedition instead of relying on third-party organizations and imprecise “stumble-upons!” He had proven to be an excellent field researcher, as per some of his earlier works, so why didn’t they just give him the funding to go out and do it again?!
The archaeologist plopped back into his chair, exhaustion creeping right into his shoulders and back. Head met desk as his body slumped forward, all will to work leaving him along with his tired soul.
“This sucks. I’m getting fat just sitting here all day. My eyesight’s getting worse from reading all the books. My social life is nonexistent...”
Yuuno’s eyes shifted to a nicely framed photograph that seemed better cared for than virtually anything else on his desk. Taken a few weeks after the Book of Darkness incident, it marked one of the last times all of them had been together. Particularly precious was how closely a certain girl had hugged he, a blonde girl, and a brunette.
“Nanohaaa~!” he croaked futilely to the picture, one hand grasping uselessly for the freedom and love he so desired. How long has it been since he’d seen his precious childhood friend? They had all been so busy – their relationship hadn’t progressed at all!
Wallowing in his despair, Yuuno barely registered the ringing beep of an incoming call. No… rather, he didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“Go awaaay,” he moaned, willing for the irritating thing to just disappear. “Leave me alone. Let me wallow in my despair.”
But beep it did. Several times, in fact, before the librarian finally mustered the will to look up at the caller ID.
Seeing it, Yuuno’s head snapped up. “Chrono? AHH! IT’S CHRONO!”
What a strange sight it must have been, to see a grown man hug a small holographic screen as if it were a lifeline, a piece of salvation that one would not dare give up. Ah. Wait. This is the same guy that got him in this wonderful position in the first place. This was all his fault!
“Professor Yuuno Scrya, I respectfully request that you stop molesting the holoscreen,” the messenger suddenly said. No. Chrono?! When had he pressed the accept button?!
“S-Shut up! It’s my holoscreen! And don’t call me Professor! I don’t have my thesis to submit to the Miskatonic University done yet!” Yuuno stepped back from the screen and crossed his arms, doing his best to maintain an indignant appearance amidst the embarrassment.
Wait. Why is the bastard smiling? This can’t be good AT ALL!
“I am not smiling. And you should not voice your thoughts out loud, unless you mean for them to be heard… Ferretboy.”
“AAAAAHHHHH! HE CALLED ME FERRETBOY!” the archaeologist recoiled back as if bitten, pointing a finger at the man responsible. “Even you betray me, Harlaown!”
“Sir, I respectfully request that you keep your voice level at civil level. We are in a library, after all,” the mechanical speech of a librarian automaton droned; if this thing had a face, it would have looked rather condescending. Its message complete, it returned to doing whatever its job was. It wasn’t like anyone actually came to this forsaken place willingly, lest they had a request for something truly awfully obscure.
“How cruel! How unfeeling! My own egotistical staff has left me in despair!” Yuuno wailed to the sky, his hands mussing up his already unkempt hair further.
The good Admiral Harlaown… had nothing to say.
“U-huhuhuhuhuu… I’m convinced. I am going to die down here if I don’t do anything!” Yuuno’s eyes were wide with insanity as his mouth twisted into a lopsided mad grin, grabbing onto the hologram as if it were a lifeline. “I don’t care what it is, just GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
Chrono in turn had a great sweatdrop coming right off his head. Had he called in at a horrible time? Or maybe he was the bringer of good news for the ferr—err—archaeologist.
“Funny you should mention that, actually. I have received a request from the top, concerning an exploration team requisitioning men, material, and firepower for salvaging a fully intact ancient Belkan swordship.”
That piece of information perked the Chief Librarian up better than any tea or coffee while at the same time banishing whatever dementia held his soul. Swordships were rather common Belkan craft, but the ravages of war and time had reduced a once great fleet into scattered bits and pieces. To find a whole ship, fully intact, was a fantastic find indeed.
“What? Really?! How come I wasn’t informed of this?!”
“It was a very recent discovery, so I understand; only just a few hours ago did the request climb this high up in the chain of command.”
“Ah, that’s bureaucra…wait, firepower? Troops? What do they need them for?”
“The swordship is still active,” deadpanned the admiral. “Intel from recon reports there is a flotilla of defensive satellites surrounding the ship, and the exploration team cannot approach without putting themselves in harm’s way, obviously. They want someone to help destroy the satellites and perform a preliminary search of the ship in case of unsavory passengers.”
This was an opportunity the archaeologist could not dare to miss! After all, there must have been a reason for the great Admiral Chrono Harlaown to make a personal call to him.
“I see… and I take it you want me to come along as an advisor?”
“Sharp as always,” Chrono nodded his approval and confirmation. “Yes, I felt that it would be wise to have a historian and seasoned archaeologist as part of the group during the ship investigation. Heaven forbid we set off something because we do not know what it does.”
“Good idea. Who else will be coming along?”
“You will enjoy this outing that I am certain, for due to the sensitive nature of the matter and the importance of the ship, an elite team of high-ranked mages of my own choosing will be deployed in the operations zone. Since the number of defense satellites are rather impressive and the danger level quite high, I think seven should be adequate for the boarding party.”
Yuuno gave a light chuckle. There was no doubt in his mind who this elite team was. It’d be like the old days again, when they were more carefree and not as tied down. There was one thing that was off, however…
“But I wonder… why would they request an Admiral, especially you of all people, to do this job? Also, sounds like they are requesting quite a bit of firepower just for one ship.”
“As much you and I would question the motives of my peers, my superiors, and myself, would you really want to pass this up?”
“Ehheheheh-heh. N-No, I definitely don’t! I look forward to it then, Admiral. When will the operation begin?”
“0900 hours two days from now. We will embark aboard the UNS Claudia and travel to the swordship’s location. A briefing will occur en-route.”
The archaeologist nodded. Forty-eight hours was plenty of time to gather what he needed and inform the others of his extended leave of absence. There was a gleam in his eyes, however, as a thought entered his mind.
“If I may, Admiral?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t mention my presence until the end. I want to surprise them,” Yuuno chuckled evilly.
That same empty grin returned, killing Yuuno’s good mood in an instant. “Come earlier, then. Now, if there is nothing else…”
“Chrono, one more thing,” Yuuno used the familiar name to separate business.
“Yes?”
“Are you... doing okay?”
The admiral almost seemed to sag tiredly as he nodded. A tremendous, invisible weight seemed to crush his very soul, as reflected by his dimmed eyes. There was much he wanted to say, yet no words would come.
“For the children, I must be strong. I shall see you later, Yuuno.”
The archeologist waited for the transmission to terminate before he sighed himself. That man’s wounds were still fresh; the tragedy was terrible for all of them, but for Chrono, it was utterly devastating. They all had tried to help him, but his method of escape was to bury himself into work. It seemed that only just yesterday…
Dammit. Stop it.
With a grunt, Yuuno shook himself out of his stupor. Dwelling in the past would serve no purpose now! He had focus on the future, of this new discovery. Besides, the fact that Chrono was communicating with everyone again meant that he was finally beginning to heal.
He didn’t realize it, but a crack of a smile appeared on his face as he thought of his friends, the grin widening as he imagined how the reunion would go.
To see them again; Vita, Signum, Shamal, Zafira, Fate, Hayate, and of course, the girl that brought them all together…
Nanoha.
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The days passed extraordinarily fast, a combination of excitement and anxiety for the upcoming mission. Still, the forces of the Time Space Administration Bureau worked quickly and efficiently to equip and stock the Claudia for her journey. The crew, assembled and the proud warship, ready; all that were left were the players of this magnificent team. Engineers and other crew stopped to watch as the Three Aces of the Bureau made their appearance, arriving upon wins of gold, magenta, and black. Following them were the elite Cloud Knights, a legendary team on their own. They were silent in their reunion, however. Work had to come first, but afterwards… well, it was obvious how happy they all seemed.
There was one extra to the group, however. Due to the abrupt nature of the mission, there was no time to find an adequate caretaker; neither Arf or the Harlaown family could be contacted in time. It took a little convincing, but a young Elio Mondial was allowed onboard following his guardian.
As soon as the Claudia was spaceborne and navigating the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea (a record breaking 24 minutes from launch), the briefing began. Three aces and four knights sat comfortably in the ship’s primary meeting room, their commander of the mission by the projector screen.
“Listen carefully. This is a mission with security level code Violet. Anything said within this room cannot be repeated anywhere else. Understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. You were all brought here today not because of your positions or job within the Bureau, but for your combat capabilities. Together as a team, I am expecting you all to perform at your very best. This is an objectively easy mission, but the task is anything but. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir!”
Chrono nodded, gesturing to the presentation screen as the lights dimmed. Leaping to life, the screen presented a data-filled image of large ship, shaped much like an ancient longsword, floating amidst the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea. Unlike the elegant ships of the modern Mid-Childan Navy, this sword-shaped ship had Spartan feel to it, rough and minimalist, and painted a dull grey. Surrounding it was a great number of satellites, though their purpose indeterminate at the moment.
“At 1630 hours, October 1st, a Bureau patrol ship detected a strange anomaly within the dimensional sea during one of their operations. Upon investigation, they found this ship, a fully intact Belkan swordship. The last time we saw any of these was during the Belka-Mid War, and even then they were rare. Of course, this discovery leads to a great fervor with archaeologists and researchers, since this is one of the first fully intact ships. On October 3rd, exploratory vessels arrived at the coordinates and attempted to investigate the ship. However…”
The image changed, showing the same ship and satellites, but with a multitude of beams and rays choking the space in front of it. So thick was the barrage that making out the swordship itself was difficult.
“When a research vessel came close, the satellites surrounding the ship activated and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately at whatever approached. Fortunately, the vessel was remotely piloted, so no lives were lost. This did present a great problem for the scientists – the sheer number of satellites and their combined firepower was too great for them to continue on.”
Another image replaced the old one, showing the swordship apparently landed upon a frozen tundra, strange little shapes forming two lines to and fro from the ship.
“Currently, it has landed on a non-administered planet, best described as an ice planet: mostly lifeless, rich in mineral deposits, but cold as the ninth circle of Hell. We believe it landed to replenish supplies for repairs and maintenance, the lines on the ground being various autonomous robots gathering raw materials. Therefore, this is the best time to strike.”
The image zoomed in, showing the swordship in greater detail. From a top down view, the craft truly did seem more of a weapon for a giant than a ship, a deceptively simple craft that seemed to hide away its secrets and guarded them with a fury unmatched. Off to the side, Nanoha noticed another person slip into the dimmed, somber lighting of the briefing room, but the darkness masked his face. She could not think more of it, however, as Chrono continued on.
“Your objective is to neutralize the threats around the swordship, opening a path for our marines to get in, and infiltrate it. Once inside you may take command of a squad or platoon as you see fit, and do not worry for I have already briefed the enlisted chain of command. They have their orders, but if you need them, they are available to you. Now, remember: speed, efficiency, and ruthlessness are the keys to your success in this operation, because the cold climate here rates a Class-II Environmental Hazard. Strike Team you cannot afford to jaw jack or make any mistakes for a prolonged battle will surely spell our doom, even with the adjustments our technicians will make to your Barrier Jackets.”
Now, the holoimage changed to a simple presentation slide, summarizing the briefing into a concise frag-order: the situation, the mission, their execution – intent, service support, and command and signal.
“The ship itself must be sterilized of any hostile forces and made secure for research teams, whom will follow you afterwards. As it is of Belkan origin, we believe an AMF field to be present at and around the ship, so be wary of that. The Claudia will remain out of range of the satellites, but we will provide fire support if needed. Enemy presence is unknown inside the ship, but outside, there are well over a thousand of these satellites, both active and dead.”
There were shocked looks abound at the numbers, but Chrono had expected such expressions. How quick they were, though, to school away the surprise and return to professional calm. Good. This meant that they were confident in their ability to take on the mission. The lights came back on, though the image remained on screen. Standing next to it, Chrono faced his friends and subordinates. “Any questions?”
Seeing none, he continued on.
“Oh yes. One more thing. Due to the sensitive nature of the ship and our lack of intelligence, we will be assigning a specialist with you once you clear away the satellites. He is an experienced archaeologist, with a Class-AAA Geohound license, and he will be assisting you within the ship. I am sure you are all familiar with him…” Chrono gestured to the briefing room entrance, the newcomer’s presence finally made known to them all.
“Ah! Yuuno-kun!” Nanoha couldn’t hold back her out burst, her voice outright happy with the appearance of her precious friend. Neither Hayate, Fate, nor the entire Wolkenritter could hold back their smiles; it was a like a grand reunion!
“As previously stated, Scrya will be accompanying you on the ship. That concludes the briefing. I am needed at the bridge, so I will leave you all to chat and reconcile,” Chrono gave a small smile and nod to the gathered group, slipping out the door quietly amidst the goodbyes.
With Chrono’s leave, the room seemed to explode to life, chatter flying back and forth as old friends reconnected and reminisced. No other had the focus of the discussions as Yuuno did, smiling as he recounted his past expeditions and adventures to a rapt audience. Stories were traded back and forth; Nanoha describing her exuberant students while Hayate discussed recent operations, the excited Vita chiming in now and then along with cheerful Reinforce Zwei. Shamal and Zafira were content to just sit back and listen while Signum chatted with Fate about work. The two nodded to each other, though, as Fate stood up from her seat and edged towards the exit.
“Fate-chan?” her departure did not go unnoticed by a certain White Devil; all conversation grinded to a halt with the blonde girl’s interruption, causing the girl to blush at the attention.
“Ah. S-Sorry, I need to visit the bathroom,” Fate gave a bashful reassuring smile. “I will be right back, I promise.”
The energy level seemed to return to normal as she stepped out, assuring her that no one suspected. Fate’s walk was gentle but brisk, heels clicking softly as she slipped down the hallway towards private quarters. Something was bothering her, and long ago she had learned to follow these hunches closely. Her only obstacle now was a single security door, a keypad blinking as it waited for her command. Fate licked her lips, finger floating over the numbers as a nostalgic thought returned to her.
Tap tap tap tap. Bing!
She smiled. The password had not changed in all these years, even with the transfer from the venerable Asura to the Claudia. The black-clad sorceress slipped in with the grace of a cat, silent in her hunt. The one she sought was in the bathroom, the sound of running water the only noise masking her approach. Even as she approached, her figure reflecting in the mirror inside, Chrono did not seem to notice her at all.
“Onii-san,” she whispered softly, though for Chrono it was like a siren’s call.
The man whirled around, hands still wet from washing. Caught off guard, he could only stare incredulously, with a rare boyish stutter. “F-Fate? What are you doing here?”
“It’s been a while, onii-san, ever since…” soft as ever, Fate nevertheless sounded strong. Her adopted sibling’s uncharacteristic blunder brought a wistful smile on her face; Chrono Harlaown in her opinion had always been a boy who acted much too old, or at his worse, a borderline obsessive paragon, and his ideal: control.
“We are adults now, Fate. You do not have to call me that anymore,” the young admiral recovered quickly, reaching for a towel and drying his hands. Control exerted its influence, widening an invisible gap; he kept an eye on her through the reflection upon the mirror, “After all, we are not related by blood, logically speaking. If you would like I could arrange for you to carry on your family-“
She shook her head, bringing the topic back on course, “You did not forget, did you? You…you look much better now, compared to last time, back then. But…” However, the blonde-haired enforcer could not help but feel a little hurt that he dismissed their relationship in such a cavalier manner.
“Nay, Fate,” Chrono murmured as he reached for a pair of shear white gloves lying on the basin counter top, wholly unprepared for what happened next.
The young daughter of Precia reached in and grasped Chrono’s hands -- his ruined hands -- with her own, soft flawless skin feeling the texture of rough scars and caressing the calloused flesh. The admiral stiffened at the contact, his breath catching in the back of his throat. For a moment, Chrono’s expression flashed between almost a sullen nostalgia and a wolfen snarl of disgust, but he mastered himself just as quickly. The mask of control slipped back on, burying the flicker of intense emotion beneath the depths of his heart, as his jaded blue eyes met with Fate’s pleading red.
“Please, promise me! Promise me you won’t do anything that stupid ever again! And these--”
The admiral stared at the thin fingers that clasped his scarred hands. Idly, he wondered how her hands remained so soft despite fighting with Bardiche so much. He nodded slightly and quietly agreed, “I promise.”
Sighing in relief, Fate slowly released her grip on her brother’s hand, watching it as it dropped almost lifelessly back to his side. She remained staring at that spot, a surge of emotion broiling in her eyes, even as Chrono moved around her, passing her with barely a sound. It was such a relief that her daze remained interrupted until broken when he stopped at the door; the enforcer whirled around to face him.
“You ought to know, I would not do anything to disappoint you, ever,” Harlaown spoke over his shoulder, not even turning his head to look at his adopted sister. With those words hanging in the air, he slipped into the hallway and marched towards the bridge, leaving a very worried and apprehensive Fate. She knew those words should have comforted her had he been a normal man, but…
“Onii-san…”
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Upon the frozen wasteland of an unknown planet, two ships rested. One ship had a distinctly modern look to it, sleek and almost frail in the chilly atmosphere. It kept a good distance away from the other, a safety precaution after the initial encounter. The other possessed an elegant yet distinctly militant design of a sword, hundreds of strange satellites drifting nearby. Below the swordship scurried about a number of robotic gadgets, carrying pieces of equipment and raw materials.
Whereas the swordship possessed no real sign of life save for the strange drilling procedure it seemed to conduct, the exploratory ship buzzed with anticipation and anxiety – so close yet so far! The researchers and scientists on the ship could just taste it on the tip of their tongue, all that wonderful lost technology and history just waiting to be examined, yet those defense satellites threatened to completely annihilate them should get they get too close. If only help could get here faster…!
The silent plea was answered with a flash of light, the familiar twin-boomed shape of the cruiser Claudia coming into visible view next to the researcher ship. At last, their hope had arrived.
“Sir, we’ve arrived at the target zone. We are currently outside of the satellites’ maximum range and are holding position.”
“Shields are at maximum.”
“Teleport coordinates set.”
Admiral Chrono C. Harlaown nodded from his seat, rotating it to face his friends and away team, “Thank you. Strike Team, are you ready?”
“This is Alpha team, we’re ready to go,” Nanoha saluted her friend and superior, a gesture mirrored by the rest of the team. Chrono’s return salute doubled as the go-ahead sign, a bright light encompassing the away team as the teleport spell powered up.
“Be careful out there,” Yuuno called out to them, flashing them a smile.
“Of course!” the girls and one guardian beast responded in unison just as the teleport spell completed itself. In a flash of light, the team was whisked away.
Aces, to battle.