[Wild Goose]

Okay, here's the proper story list post for the OFM fics; I'll continually update it and Ghaz can link it to the main page.

A little bit of backstory is in order; around August 2007, Kagerou approached me and told me that he was taking a group I had created (a PMC of magic users) and was porting it over to the Nanoverse, having recently discovered Outer Cadia. We both worked on the OFM's history, ideas and backstory, building up things, with a bit of give and take in our approaches (Kagerou favored more fantasy-ish elements, I was a more mil-sf/tactical/hot blooded approach to things). The OFM was our joint project until Kagerou moved on to real life, so that's why some links will be written by me and some by Kagerou.

In brief, the Order of Freelance Mages are the TSAB's blackops people. Anything secret, anything black, anything that can't see the light of day: these are the guys and girls who do the TSAB's dirty work.

What is the OFM?
OFM Primer

The Erusian War of Subjugation

Briefing Document/OFM Overview

Spoiler for Excerpt from OFM "handbook":

Why does the Order use conventional weapons?

When the OFM infiltrates a non-administrated world on a mission, they go in very deep undercover. Think Special Forces in Afghanistan among Pashtun undercover. In those circumstances, there will be situations where not having a gun can create very unpleasant and uncomfortable circumstances - people will wonder why the hell you are not carrying a gun. (Especially in gun-happy cultures - again, like the Afghans and the Pashtun).

Secondly, while a non-admistrated world may not have the ability to detect the magical usage, it can still detect the magical effects. Look at MSLN and A's; each time Nanoha & Co use spells, there are all sorts of effects; the hugeass tree that grew in the middle of Uminari, for instance, the huge Divine Buster beam she fired... one large weakness of the Mid-Childa and Belkan styles is that because you've got the loud noise of the casting cirlce/triangle, plus the bright glows, and the beams: you can't be stealthy if you use magic - and the OFM is primarily a stealth-based unit. Like the SAS and Delta Force and other special forces, they will inevitably end up blowing up stuff at some point, but they do so as stealthily as possible, without raising weird questions.

Third: This ties into the reason why US Special Forces will at times use AK-47s in the field instead of HK416s, SIG 552s or M4A1s: when you want to be black and deniable, you use weapons available in that area that the enemy uses so as to throw them off track. To give a modern example, suppose Delta had an op in Iran. They come in using M468s and the Remington 6.8mm round, make their supressed shots, police their brass, and hightail it out. No one has detected their presence. But later, when investigating teams comb the bodies, they will find the 6.8mm rounds used by SOCOM units in the bodies. And if one Delta Operator misses just one shell casing, that discovered casing can lead investigators back to Uncle Sam. But if they used AK-47s or local weapons with generic ammo... then they'd throw the investigators off-track.

To give another example: Let's say that Ivanovich has is doing a redux of his "graduation excercise." He's going to snipe a corrupt official in a car. Now, suppose he uses his Rifle Device Harvest to do so, on a world that is at 20th century tech levels. He'll fire a powerful green beam that will light up the night, which will slam into the target's car, and blow it up... and when investigators examine the car the next day, they will observe that the damage is nothing like they've ever seen before, and then they'll start to wonder about just how the hell somebody made a man-portable beam weapon which hasn't been worked out yet. But if he were to use his conventional sniper rifle, then it'd be easier for the investigators to accept, and easier for the OFM to cover their tracks. It's easier to explain away a 14.5mm rifle round than an energy beam.

Fourth: The OFM operates black, to allow O'Neill and Special Operations plausible deniability. As such, they have to take actions that will not be detected by the TSAB proper, thus limiting their usage of magic (meaning that barriers to mask magical discharges are out - and pointless, really, since it moves the mage out of synch with time and normal humans, who are almost always the targets. When everything goes right, such as in Snatch & Grab, there's no problem; but sometimes, as in Platinum Lucifer/Silver Angel, OFM mages may be forced to "break protocol"; when that happens, O'Neill and Leti will help to cover for them, but there's a limit to how much cover a Lt. General and an Admiral can do, and they can't be covering for the OFM all the time.

Fifth: If Ivanovich has to assasinate someone, he'll use it with his rifle, the same rifle he scored his graduation kill with. Because he's the Sergeant Major, he's one of the most experienced and skilled snipers in the TSAB, and because he's that badass. (His magical affinity is for "Real Man Badass", afterall. XD)

The People:

Erick von Long, Commander of the Order
- Spell List

Glen Schattenmann, Executive Officer of the Order
- Spell List
- Id

Emili Nailo, Officer of the Order
- Spell List

Franz Jaeger, Platoon Commander of the Order
- Skillset & Spell List
- Relationships (In progress)

A.J. Ivanovich, Sergeant Major of the Order
- Spell List

Naomi Jaeger, Aerial Mage of the Order
- Spell List

Master Chief John-117, Non Comissioned Officer of the Order
- Abilities, Skills, & Spell List

Mikhail Dornitz, Intelligence Officer of the Order

The Gear:
Type-G3C Barrier Jacket / Ghost Armor
Type-ODST Barrier Jacket

Entropy through Order: From the files of the Order of Freelance Mages:


Intro pieces: (Alpha Canon)
200th Hour (MC0072: Naomi experiences her 200th hour during a training excercise)
Platinum Lucifer/Silver Angel (Emili on a black op gone wrong)
Ash to Ash (Glen vs Signum)
Elevation (Erick assasinating a corrupt TSAB official)
Five Minutes to Lose, pt. 1 (Franz is "befriended" by Nanoha)
Five Minutes to Lose, pt. 2

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Operations:
Sorairo Days -- First Arc: The Light Before We Land
Sorairo Days -- Second Arc: Sky-colored
Sorairo Days -- Third Arc: Liberation of Belzac, Part 1
Sorairo Days -- Third Arc: Liberation of Belzac, Part 2
Snatch & Grab (Ivanovich and Franz lead Bravo Squad, Assault Platoon, in capturing TSAB traitor Vincenza Blueno)

====================
Light Hearts, Hot Blood, Crack, and Lulz (Semi-canon, not directly affecting Alpha)
Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Misunderstandings on relationships)
Three guys and a bottle of Vodka (Franz and Mikhail receive an unexpected old friend while drinking)
PT is lotsa fun...Right? (Franz and the Assault Platoon enage in epic lulz during PT)

====================
Crack:
On Call (An OFM mage cancels Valentines plans to respond to a terrorist threat)

For those interested, the OFM's influences were, in no particular order: Delta Force, SAS, SEAL Team Six, ODST Marines, ONI.