⧫ Battleship Nekhbet
⧫ Omicron Epsilon
⧫ From: Order Overwatch, Captain Yukio Akagi
⧫ To: Unknown sender, Auxo origin
Reply
Konnichiwa, this is Captain Yukio Akagi, interim commander, identify yourself before we can call Storgen since he is outside and busy. Leave us a name and your intentions.
⧫ Battleship Nekhbet
⧫ Omicron Epsilon
⧫ From: Order Overwatch, Commodore William Storgen
⧫ To: Raven
Reply
Don't you afraid your location gonna be tracked, Raven?
Assuming we actually completed our talk there and how many months have passed, we can go forward. A lot of things happened including Sentinels after us who ended up when we arrived at Omicron Minor several weeks ago. However, there is something unifying every time Sentinels have been met - a strange entity called itself "Harbinger".
Raven, what do you know about that thing? What brought you and Abrams to all this since you both were around Kepler's anomaly? Tell us everything you know and we can begin to work with it if Harbinger is the threat, from the beginning without hiding facts. Because Sentinels are.
Commodore William Storgen
Task Force "Black Arrow", 2nd Battlegroup, 18:06, 27.07.829
Good thing I know about basic masking. No pun intended.
That's... Very odd. Do you have any data regarding that Minor incursion? Did the Sentinels attack him? I want to analyse it, see if I can give more insight, it seems like we've had different experiences.
What the most peculiar thing is, I have seen Harbinger come under attack from the Sentinels. But... Indeed, it has been a long time, my memory has been hazy, not to mention all the close calls I've had damaging me. But I am very certain I have seen him under attack - indirectly and directly. As for his intentions, I do not truly know what he wants yet, I am trying to determine that myself.
From what I know is that the Sentinels are a brood of Nomad - if we can even call them that - that are designated to protect Vaults. The Nomads seem to call them graves, I do not know what is contained in storage, but I cannot believe that it is anything good.
What me and Vincent stumbled across was entirely an accident. We got pulled in and began to study these Nomadic appearances, until we realised that they were something far more vicious. The moment we accidentally stumbled upon it, is when we were roped into this forever. We were marked by them. Even if we decided to leave them, they would always come chasing.
⧫ Battleship Nekhbet
⧫ Omicron Epsilon
⧫ From: Order Overwatch, Commodore William Storgen
⧫ To: Raven
Reply
I personally cannot confirm Sentinels have ever attacked Harbinger. Neither me nor my guys or anybody else. Sentinels sowed chaos every time Harbinger appeared nearby – Omicron Minor, Liberty, Freeport 11, Orkney, and I can continue this list eternally.
Speaking of their past major attack in Omicron Minor, I can tell you Sentinels probably were after us. You see, we have harmed them enough to switch their attention from Houses to us, and only us. Fortunately, their dreadnought has gone with our combined power, and Sentinels' attacks stopped there.
Analyzing their attitude, my men suppose they are nothing but pure biomechanical machines, led by a single order. Just like robots controlled by humans, Sentinels are controlled by something or someone. Theoretically, we could permanently stop them if we found a “switch button” to “turn them offline”.
I would also say, we have to find a way to terminate Harbinger. His presence is dangerous, intentions – hidden in fog, people suffer and die and my task, as Order, is to seek and stop it for good. However, this entity seems invulnerable to ordinary energy weapons, so we have to discover its weaknesses.
Commodore William Storgen
Task Force "Black Arrow", 2nd Battlegroup, 20:43, 27.07.829
Got any data with how the Sentinels and Harbinger interact? Or the times he was around when they were?
You'd be right in essence that the Sentinels are ... hollow machines. Where they are being controlled from, can't determine that yet, but presumably it is beyond the anomaly. There must be some kind of central unit to them - a master mind. They can build, plan, and retreat when necessary. But, they are relentless, and hold no means to communicate. As if they were some kind of ... malfunctioning plague. All in all, this will make it far more simpler to sterilize them.
Yes, of course, you cannot kill Harbinger without killing his nodes - his hive. The same as any Nomad - you kill their central network, you have a chance of killing their true self where they will have no body to retreat to, but nobody knows where he resides.
Now... What you are witnessing, is not truly Harbinger, but another essence of his will, though I have my doubts about the eye being impervious. Or it even him.
... although I wonder if the Eyes we are seeing are even Harbinger - but are a mimick of him - a false copy. Each encounter acted differently. Thought differently. Spoke differently. There was some theory regarding this Sentinel hive assimilating technology and thought patterns of living creatures, including other Nomads.
Hm... You know. I think there is far more to this than we realise.
Pass me any recording, notes, and visual data of this Harbinger you saw with the Sentinels, and I'll try to find the key notes within them that may give a clue. Perhaps where they appear may draw a clue where one may find them again. I can try to find backups of my data to crossreference to.
I think what is most important here is to either mitigate the damage the Sentinels can do, so that we can surgically strike their central node. Making specialised weapons for responses won't be useful, you cannot respond to every location at once - or in time.
⧫ Battleship Nekhbet
⧫ Omicron Epsilon
⧫ From: Order Overwatch, Commodore William Storgen
⧫ To: Raven
Reply
Sentinels have appeared every time when Harbinger showed up, but they have attacked everything except Harbinger itself. Nothing in particular to log, any appearance was accompanied by fighting Sentinels. They seem at low for now, but remember words, they will begin hunting season on us once we leave drydocks. However, I am fine with it as long as they don't ransack Houses.
Your explanations in regards to Harbinger sound woefully, but not surprisingly. Seeking and hunting all potential hives is not an easy task. We managed to detect and destroy one of Nomad hives in the past year, but we don't know if it was a normal hive, or specifically Harbinger's hive. It is noteworthy that Sentinels were also present among ordinary Nomads.
By the way, I can send you frames of the recent battle in Omicron Minor, you may see Harbinger there.
Commodore William Storgen
Task Force "Black Arrow", 2nd Battlegroup, 8:43, 29.07.829
I'm afraid there's not much we can do to Harbinger for now. He will persist, no matter what.
But the Sentinels, as I said, are a special case. They are a larger threat than the Nomads at the moment, and I have a very strong belief that there will be millions more - if not trillions - of more threats appearing from the Sentinels disturbance. We have the opportunity to disable them far easier with their centralized bio-neural setup.
Without minions, Harbinger is powerless. He is weak with no powerbase. He is nothing but a distraction, a dog walker with a leash. No dog, no threat.
Now... The question is... Are you willing to put aside hostilities and work with me in order to find new technologies to resist the inevitable Sentinel onslaught?
You may hate me and disagree with what I have to say, but we're reaching a point where everyone must forego politics and team up against the larger threat. Humanity's survival may very well depend on it.
We need technology. Knowledge. Numbers.
I know... Toledo hit your people hard. I recall the nightmares too. I was there too, I ran away from the invasion order - lied about 'fulfilling my orders'... Core abused the desperation of the situation to backstab - to use Nomads as a weapon, but... we're not them. We're not interested in anyone's extinction. We're learners - preservers - architects, always have and will be.
⧫ Battleship Nekhbet
⧫ Omicron Epsilon
⧫ From: Order Overwatch, Commodore William Storgen
⧫ To: Raven
Reply
I cannot answer positively to your suggestion, and will not. Are you suggesting that I drop everything at a time when hundreds and thousands of people are counting on me and the team? There is no way I would ever betray their hopes. I am warrior, but not a politician, diplomat, or scientist and I am useful by being in my place. Our principle has always been and remains unchanged - to be a shield for those in need.
Apart from Sentinels, my battlegroup has a number of tasks that require time and attention, and I can't ignore those threats either.
However, I agree with one of your statements – everyone must forego politics and unite against mutual threats, and my advice to you is not only about you, but also about Auxo Technocracy in general: stop turning the Houses or anybody else against yourselves with a chance of pitting them against each other. Liberty and Bretonia are good examples for you. Tell them about the hidden menace – one House fleet is way larger than Order battlegroup and they can do much more in critical need.
I am closing this transmission now as I am leaving Nekhbet for doing some work. I want to warn you that the controlled area is put on full alert, which means any organizations that do not have a Silver Clearance will be destroyed on sight without warning. The situation compels us to take these measures.
Godspeed, Sapphire Raven.
Commodore William Storgen
Task Force "Black Arrow", 2nd Battlegroup, 15:27, 03.08.829