Tales from the Hoffmeyer Quarantine Facility
A Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Enforcer Side Story
Disclaimer: MGLN and all related materials were created by Tsuzuki Masaki and is also the property of Geneon Entertainment.
A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
I have been told that when telling a story, it is best to start at the beginning. I have also heard that one should 'start with an earthquake'.
As I was not there at the beginning and, to my knowledge, no earthquakes of note occurred that had an impact on the events that shaped my and my siblings lives, I shall try to be as complete as possible.
Jail Scaglietti, the 'mad doctor' who was funded by both the TSAB High Council and by Lieutenant General Regius Gaiz of the TSAB Ground Forces, at first pursued two different schools of thought in the creation of the 'perfect warrior' to aid him in his quest to learn the secrets of Ancient Belk and Al-Hazard; the Artificial Mage program and the Combat Cyborg program. While both programs had their successes in the past Scaglietti initially chose to focus most of his considerable talent into the Combat Cyborg program because he felt that, at the time, there was a lack of suitable genetic material to use for the Artificial Mage program.
Which is why I was created.
Of perhaps 'born' is the correct word, it is difficult to say from my perspective.
A Combat Cyborg is created by using a type of cloning to create an embryo through artificial insemination and then genetically altering it in order to both instill specific traits and to reduce the chances of the new life rejecting the cybernetic implants. Once the clone is mature enough it is then operated on, implanting the various components needed to allow the Combat Cyborg to function. Once the process is complete, the Cyborg is faster and stronger that the average human and often has extremely heightened senses. Also, the Cyborg is often able to use mana and process it in an extremely specific way to produce the singular effect known as 'Inherent Skill', or IS for short. Scaglietti took this process a step further by using means to cause the embryo to grow rapidly, instead of letting the clone mature naturally, resulting in a clone reaching the age equivalent of someone in their mid-teens within a few months.
I am the fifth such Combat Cyborg that Jail Scaglietti created and the fourth to be activated.
My name is Cinque.
According to the TSAB and the Mid-Childa government, I am considered a 'human with advanced cybernetic implants'. Meaning that, for all intents and purposes, I am a 'normal' person…
I will leave the debate as whether or not I was 'born' or 'created' to those who care about such things. What I do know is that I am not 'normal'. I know exactly what I am.
I am an infiltrator, a young child, a demolitions expert, a big sister, a legacy of a mad man, the backbone of my family, a thief, a guardian, and a killer.
To explain what I am how I became this way, I must first explain about my family…no, my sisters. While Scaglietti may have used his own genetic material in all of us to one degree or another, he was never a father figure to us. To him, we were only his 'great creations'.
When Scaglietti first began to create his Combat Cyborgs fifteen years ago, he had planned to create only five of us; a leader and assistant, an espionage agent and assassin, a combat specialist and bodyguard, an information specialist and strategist, and an infiltrator with combat demolition capabilities. In this he succeeded and the five of us began to perform our assigned duties beyond his original expectations. However, a year after our activation, the first wrinkle in his plans happened, although Scaglietti only saw what happened as validation of his work.
A member of the TSAB Ground Forces led a raid against an illegal research facility that was creating Combat Cyborgs based off of Scaglietti's own work. According to information we later learned, that facility had been using Scaglietti's old research for a number of years and had several fully operational Combat Cyborgs, the majority of which were unfortunately killed during the raid or later died due to rejection of their cybernetic implants.
A few, however, did survive and their bodies were able to adapt to their implants. These Zero Type Cyborgs (as Scaglietti called them) were able to live relatively normal lives and many end up being adopted by several families. In fact, the leader of the raid ended up adopting two of the Zero Type Cyborgs.
Her name was Quint Nakajima.
For the first few years after I was activated, I simply drifted along and preformed my duties. My fellow sisters during this time kept busy; Uno and Quattro were constantly working on projects with Scaglietti, Tre was perfecting her combat abilities, Due was off doing who knows what, and there was me. I won't go into the specific details of my actions during that time, however I'm sure that if someone were to do a database search using the keywords mysterious and unexplained explosions and research facilities many of the resulting matches would most likely have been caused by me. Basically, my duties consisted of going out to locate specific research or materials and secured them when sending the so called 'Gadget Drones' instead wouldn't guarantee success, often times completing my assignments by making sure that the facilities I raided would not be able to continue their work.
While I was quite good at performing my duties I found my existence…lacking.
Compared to the others, my skills were underutilized, although Tre was a close second except she viewed everything she did as an extinction of her duties as a bodyguard. And, while I left the various bases we worked out of more often than the others save Due, I made it a point to complete my missions as quickly as possible and to return to our base as soon as I could.
Looking back on that time, I would say that, well…I was honestly bored.
That all changed eleven years ago…
My sisters and I were at one of our facilities when the perimeter alarms were breached. It didn't take us long to determine that a seven-man squad from the TSAB Ground Forces had infiltrated the facility. After activating the automated defenses, which quickly proved to be ineffectual, it was decided by Uno to activate the Gadget Drones on premises and to dispatch Tre, Quattro, and myself to eliminate the threat.
I won't go into the details of what happened that day again as I have already been asked about it several times and have nothing more to add about the specifics of what happened. However, something important did happen that day…something that changed me.
As I said in previous interviews, the last member of the TSAB Ground Forces left standing was Zest Grangaitz, a S+ Class Ground Mage, who I killed in one-on-one combat. However, what I have not previously mentioned is why I was the one to kill him.
At that point, four members of his squad were already dead and two others were currently trapped in a battle with the Gadget Drones on the other side of the facility. Zest was alone and wounded and Tre was about to finish him off…
But I stopped her.
I declared that I would fight him and I stepped forward. Why I did this, I honestly don't know. Although my skills in a fight are quite good, I'm nowhere near as good in a straight-up one-on-one melee fight as Tre is, so I had no business stepping forward like I did with her present.
Perhaps it was out of boredom, or perhaps it was a way to justify my existence, or maybe, just maybe, I was hoping that I would lose. To this day, I still can't say exactly why.
The fight itself…there's no easy way describe it. I have already given a blow-by-blow account of what happened, but that really doesn't capture the sheer…beauty of that fight. Zest was good, no, saying that he was good is and understatement. Looking into his eyes, I realized that he knew he was dying, and yet, he still gave it his all. Throwing everything he had into his attacks, I met each of his strikes with my own. I was nearly killed several times and I was severely wounded and even lost my right eye, but I was victorious. In the end, I gave him the one thing that Tre would have denied him…
A death worthy of a true Belkan Knight.
Only, blinded by my loyalty to Scaglietti, I stole the only honor he had left; only I did not realize it at the time.
I was the one who suggested that we take Zest's body to our main facility. After all, he was a powerful mage and I was sure that Scaglietti could make use of his genetic code. Quattro then suggested taking all of the team, certain that they could be made useful. In the end, however, only Zest and one other were taken, Megane Alpine, who was barely clinging to life. Four members of the team were deemed 'unsuitable' and the fifth, Quint Nakajima, was left behind by order of Scaglietti, who said to leave her out of 'professional courtesy' and that he did not want to 'tamper with the results of another scientists experiment'.
Upon returning to our main base, Scaglietti showered me with praise, calling me a 'Combat Cyborg capable of defeating a S+ Class Mage', and even agreed to my request to not have my damaged eye repaired. I wore my eye-patch with pride, not because I defeated a S+ Class Mage, but because I fought Zest and, by doing so, I gained something that I was lacking. A sense of purpose.
This sense of purpose wasn't because I killed Zest. No, his death is secondary to how I felt. What was important was that I had fought Zest and won, something I shouldn't have been able to do. I had exceeded my parameters as a Combat Cyborg and I was more than the sum of my cybernetic parts.
I was, dare I say…human?
Do I regret killing Zest? At the time…no. Even if we had walked away at that moment his chances of surviving were slim, his injuries were that severe. Later, however…yes, I did later come to regret killing him.
Anyway, back to my…revelation? Discovery? Insight? Whatever you want to call it, it was something I kept to myself. My sisters were proud of what they were so I didn't say anything to them. Instead, I began to research what I could about humans and how they lived. Scaglietti and my sisters were either indulgent of me because of my victory or because the more I knew, the better I could perform my duties as an infiltrator.
During this time as I was recovering from my injuries, Scaglietti had his attention divided between several different projects. The first was his renewed activity with the Artificial Mage program. While he never abandoned his research, he now had access to what he called 'superior material' in the form of Zest, Megane, and her daughter, Lutecia Alpine; whom he had Due 'acquire'.
The other project that took up most of his time was the Combat Cyborg program. Bolstered by my 'success', he decided to create more of us and bring them on line. His plans outlined an additional six Cyborgs to be created, with the flexibility to create more if necessary. Scaglietti was even grateful enough to ask my sisters' and my opinion on what our new sisters would be capable of.
Between these two projects and an additional side-project I knew nothing about, it took several years for anything to come to fruition. Of course, this was mainly due to a setback that happened in 0071 when Quattro attempted to secure a Relic at Costal Airport 8 that had unknowingly been damaged in transport.
We all know what happened there.
The first project to be done was the cloning of Zest, using the Project FATE data. Just over four years after his death, Zest once again walked the earth and, ironically, I was the one who was asked to care for him.
Unfortunately, the process was not a complete success. While Zest's powers and capabilities were increases by quite a bit, including the ability of flight without a specific Movement Spell being cast, his genetic code was unstable and he would be dead within a few years.
The short time I spent with Zest became important to me, and it was from him that I learned the most of what it truly means to be 'human'. After he explained his beliefs to me, the eye-patch I wear, which was once a badge of honor, became a mark of shame. I finally understood that I robbed him of his final dignity by suggesting that he could be of use to Scaglietti and, to this day, I still regret making that suggestion.
Yet…he didn't hate me for what I did. In fact, he forgave me. Something I'm still trying to understand.
Zest didn't stay with us long, not that I blamed him. He agreed to help up with locating and securing the Relics but, besides that, he wanted nothing to do with us. I know my sisters viewed him as a disposable tool, however I did and still do miss our discussions.
The next two projects to be completed were my sister Sein and, ironically, Deici. I made an effort to get to know the both of them, which was…interesting, to say the least. Deici fit right in with us, quiet and reserved, but Sein? All she cared about was having fun, up to and including the one and only prank to have ever been pulled on Uno.
Anyway, by this time, Due was never around to see her new sisters and Tre was concerned with making sure that our two new sisters were capable to doing their jobs. Uno was as helpful as she could be with them, but there was an almost perceivable barrier between our oldest sister and our newest siblings. This left Quattro and I to take care of them.
Quattro took an interest in Deici for some reason, while I had my hands full with Sein. And a handful she was. Don't get me wrong, I do love Sein, but she was nothing like I had ever encountered before. She was…fun. And fun loving, and filled with a boundless curiosity.
Fortunately, for me at least, Wendi was the next to be activated a short time later. Wendi and Sein share a lot of similarities; however she was more happy-go-lucky that Sein is. Because of which, the two of them hit it off and I was able to spend time with both of them without loosing my patience with Sein.
The only thing I regret about that time was not spending much time with Deici. If I knew then what I know now…
Anyway, the next project to be completed was Lutecia. What Scaglietti did was radically different than anything else he had done before. By utilizing the gene therapy that is normally used by the Combat Cyborg program to prevent rejection and to instill specific traits, he used her mothers DNA to alter Lutecia's genetic makeup using the basic patterns for increasing the magical potency that is a part of the Artificial Mage program. In this, he was more successful than he anticipated.
At the time of Megane Alpine's capture, she was ranked by the TSAB as a AA-Class Ground Mage, and according to Scaglietti's research, if Lutecia was allowed to grow naturally, she would have had the potential reach the equivalent of a B-Class Ground Mage. However, based on the data he shared with us after his procedures were done, Lutecia now had the potential to become at least a S-Class Aerial Mage or greater.
Anyway, after Lutecia joined us, she affected us all. I can't really explain why, but we all treated her with respect and cared for her a great deal…
At least, I thought we all did.
I was not surprised when Zest returned and insisted that Lutecia accompany him, especially after Scaglietti said that it would take the 11th Relic in order to heal her mother. I myself believed this to be the truth; however, once everything was done and Scaglietti's plans failed, I wasn't surprised to learn that it was the 11th Relic that caused the fire back in 0071.
It was a short time after Zest had left with Lutecia that things once again changed. The location of another Relic was found and Uno sent some Gadget Drones to secure it; however they were intercepted and destroyed. Not that the Gadget Drones being destroyed were anything new, for some time we were aware that there was someone out there who was trying to find and eliminate them. No, it was who destroyed the Gadget Drones this time that changed everything.
Riot Force Six.
From the first time we saw them in action it was obvious that Scaglietti was obsessed with several members of Riot Force Six, three of them in particular. His obsession went so far as to not only decide on the creation of a twelfth Combat Cyborg (whose growth he accelerated even faster than normal), but he also made major last minute alterations to Nove, who was just about to be brought on line.
Events were beginning to move quickly, but I made it a point to get to know our newest sister. The fact was I was worried about Nove. Unlike myself and the rest of my sisters, who were designed to perform specialized duties, Nove's alterations only served one purpose, to act as a foil against the Zero Type Cyborg that was working with Riot Force Six. Coupled with the fact that the first time my sisters encountered the Forwards of Riot Force Six, Scaglietti refused to allow Nove to participate and serve her limited propose left her a very angry person.
I spent as much time with Nove as I could, trying to help her adjust and to sooth her anger. Quattro also told me that she was willing to take time out of her busy schedule to help Nove which I appreciated greatly, only for it to turn into yet another thing I regret.
Before I knew it, the last three of my sisters had been activated and Scaglietti's plan advanced.
Like with what happened when Zest and his squad all those years ago, I've already been repeatedly questioned about the day we attacked the Press Conference being held at the TSAB's Ground Forces Headquarters and Riot Force Six's Headquarters and I have nothing additional to add about our actions that day.
However, my fight with Ginga Nakajima, the eldest of the Zero Type Cyborgs, was different that the fight I had with Zest, not just in our objectives, but in my motivation as well. What she lacked in power, compared to Zest, she more than made up for it with speed. Had my instructions not been to capture her if possible, it would have been a much different fight; which is why I called in Wendi and Nove to assist me. Had my objectives been different it would have been a much different fight, one which I couldn't predict the outcome of.
After my sisters arrived, we were able to quickly subdue the elder Nakajima and were in the process of retreating when the younger Nakajima sister, Subaru, showed up.
Seeing her tear through Nove with a complete disregard for either her or her equipment's safety, I quickly ordered my sisters to retreat. Why did I do this? I could say that our mission was too important and we had already succeeded in our goal: the capture of a Zero Type Cyborg. The truth, however, is quite different.
For a single moment, I put myself in her place. Had I come across the Nakajima's holding one of my sisters in the same condition that Ginga was in, nothing could have stopped me from saving my sibling.
My fight, if you could call it that, with the younger Nakajima was nothing like my previous one-on-one battles. With Zest, I was a worthy foe. With Ginga, I was an opponent and an enemy. But with Subaru…I was simply an obstacle in her way.
For the first time in my life, I felt fear. Fear for my sisters, fear for myself. Had Sein shown up a few seconds later…
The next clear memory I have is laying on a bed, looking into the face of Agent Fate T. Harlaown; the 'great success' of Project FATE.
I knew right away that it was over. My body was mostly healed, but the majority of my systems were offline, something that had never happened before. After Agent Harlaown formally introduced herself she gave me two options; I could either corporate fully with her investigation and be sent to a Quarantine Facility until it was decided what to do with me, or I could be tried as a criminal and be sentenced to solitary confinement in prison.
By that time, I only cared about one thing. I asked about my sisters.
In truth, I didn't expect her to answer. After all, the fate of my sisters could have been used as incentive to get me to corporate and I had no way of knowing if she told me the truth. However, she surprised me by telling me.
Everything.
The Saints Cradle, the Vessel of the Saint, Vivio, the 'conversion' of Ginga Nakajima, the battles both in our main facility and in the Abandoned Urban Area, Scaglietti's back-up plan, Due's death…
…Quattro…
Once she was done, Agent Harlaown told me she would give me a little time to think about my options and left. And think I did. One of my sisters were dead, four of them being tried to the fullest extent of the law, and six of them being held in quarantine and helping with Agent Harlaown's investigation.
To me, there was no choice to be made. My younger sisters needed me.
My questioning proceeded far quicker than I anticipated; Agent Harlaown and a TSAB Inspector by the name of Acous knew just the right questions to ask. It was the questioning sessions themselves that began to convince me that Agent Harlaown had been telling the truth about where my younger sisters were; the facts and details they knew could have be gotten out of computers, but opinions and thoughts? It was Inspector Acous paraphrasing something I once heard Sein say when describing Tre to Wendi, except what he said was much more polite, that gave me hope that my younger siblings were indeed being treated well.
Much sooner than I thought would be possible, I was told that charges were not going to be leveled against me, due to both my full corporation and the presence of a control device implanted in each of us. Was I being controlled the entire time? I want to say no, that the things I did that I used to define myself were of my own doing, but I may never know the truth.
If there is even such a thing as 'the truth' for someone like me.
Even though in the eyes of the law I wasn't guilty of anything, I was told that I wasn't getting a 'free ride'. Nearly all of my cybernetic implants were deactivated and or sealed with magic and I was to be sent to the Hoffmeyer Quarantine Facility where I would remain for an unspecified period of time. Once there, I would under go frequent psychoanalysis and be entered into a reformation program with the goal of eventually being integrated into normal society.
When I arrived at the Hoffmeyer Quarantine Facility I was both surprised and relieved to see that my younger sisters were in fact there. What's more, they were…happy. However, what surprised me the most was the fact that Ginga Nakajima was in charge of the program and that both her father, Genya, and her sister Subaru were frequent visitors.
We quickly fell into a routine, between our frequent psychoanalysis sessions and reformation classes; we were allowed to pretty much do anything we wanted during our free time. Within limits, of course.
It was a year after the end of what became known as the JS Incident that we received our first real surprise. I had, up until then, harbored secret doubts about the truth of why we were here, because of who and what I am I couldn't help being suspicious. However, when we were told that Otto was cleared to leave the Facility, I was shocked beyond words.
When we found out, Otto told us that it was her intention to join the TSAB. Immediately, my suspicions were raised once again. Were we being used without even knowing it? Otto quickly dispelled my worries though by telling me that she was planning to join the Disaster Planning and Humanitarian Aid Unit where Subaru was stationed.
During the past year Subaru had visited several times, each time expressing an interest in us and actually making an effort to become our friends. Even Nove and myself. Of course she also talked excitedly about her job and how she was helping people. So looking back on it, it wasn't that much of a surprise that Otto would want to help her; after all, Subaru had inadvertently introduced a new idea to us.
Redemption.
Were we worthy of being redeemed for the parts we played during the JS Incident? Was I?
After Otto left, several of my sisters discussed this. Many of them liked the idea of using the powers and skills that we were created with the help people. As for myself, my sisters wellbeing was more important that anything else. If there was such as thing as redemption for someone like me, it would be ensuring that my sisters had the chance to find their own places.
Three months after Otto left, Wendi was released. Before she left, she had confided to me that she though she could have left earlier that she did, but was afraid of being out on her own so did what she could to convince Ginga and the people watching over us that she wasn't prepared to enter normal society. Because of this, it came as no surprise that she followed Otto's footsteps with the goal of joining the Disaster Planning and Humanitarian Aid Unit.
After the two had left, there was an almost palatable change in the air. Although, due to security risks, they couldn't visit us, they both sent us video mail frequently and we were allowed to reply. By listening to Otto and Wendi, we learned that not only were they fitting in, but they were being accepted by the others around them.
Something that none of us believed would be possible.
The next to leave was Deed, who was released two years after our quarantine began, nine months after Wendi left. It was made apparent to us that the only reason she was kept at the facility so long was that, since she was the last of us to be activated, she was severely lacking in basic knowledge about things that even someone like myself knows.
Deed is currently enrolled in the Ground Forces Military Academy and is considering either trying to join her sisters or to take up an…interesting proposal given to her by the last person we would have ever expected. It was difficult keeping the video mail that Deed sent to me from the others but, if they knew, it could cause some problems. Especially for Dieci.
However, life is not without problems, especially with my remaining sisters. Sein has obviously been delaying her release as much as she can. She, like myself, played a much larger role in the events that brought us to this point than our younger sisters did. And she also shares the same private doubts that I do that we could ever truly find a place for ourselves.
Nove, however, is a different problem altogether. She was designed to counter the Zero Type Cyborgs' Strike-Arts and the first opportunity she had to use them she was denied the chance. Then, when she did have the chance to face off against one of them, she was tricked once and brushed aside twice. Finally, she was 'replaced' by a 'superior model'. Because of this she is quite angry, which I've since learned was fueled by some of the 'talks' she had with Quattro. Her problems are getting to the point that there has been some discussion by Ginga to bring in a specialist who deals specially with anger management to help her.
The main problem is, even with many of our systems deactivated and sealed, the systems that are still working, which are necessary to keep us functioning, also still leave us stronger and faster than a normal person. Were Nove to strike out in a fit of anger, she could seriously harm someone. Even the lukewarm friendship she has with Subaru has not diminished her anger.
Finally, we come to Dieci. Even now, nearly three years after we were brought here, she still is plagued with violent nightmares. Between her encounter with Captain Takamachi near the end of the JS Incident, what happened in the Throne Room of the Saints Cradle with Vivio, and Quattro's words to her; Dieci was left in a bad mental and emotional shape. Even the fact that our sisters are being accepted outside isn't helping her. To her, the rest of us have skills that could be used to help others, even me. But she now sees her IS as nothing more that a way to cause more destruction.
Quattro…even now knowing what happened, I still have a hard time believing what she did to Dieci and, to a lesser extent, Nove. We were created as sisters for a reason, we were supposed to be there to help and support each other. Instead of helping Dieci, Quattro used her words to twist and skew Dieci's view…
I truly hope that I never encounter Quattro again. If I do…I honestly fear that I will kill her.
As for my remaining three sisters, I doubt that either Uno or Tre will ever be offered the chance our younger sisters have. Uno was too close to Scaglietti and was instrumental in all of his plans. If it weren't for her, none of what happened would have occurred. Tre, on the other hand, is too loyal to Scaglietti and wouldn't even think of betraying him. As for Sette, Ginga has talked to me several times about seeing if she would be receptive to the idea of entering the reformation program. However I doubt she will ever accept, for reasons almost identical to why I chose to come here. She spent all of her time with Tre and never really got to know the rest of us. To her, Tre is her most important big sister and she'll never betray her.
And as for me? I have doubts that the reformation program will be as successful for me as I hope it will for my younger sisters. I've done too many things to ever be able to join normal society. However, as long as my sisters can find their own places, that will be good enough for me.
Excerpt from an abandoned data pad found at the Hoffmeyer Quarantine Facility dated 0079, June 3rd. Data pad found on 0081, March 22nd, two days after the Combat Cyborg known as Cinque was released from the Hoffmeyer Quarantine Facility after being the last Combat Cyborg to complete the reformation program to begin her training under Sister Schach Nouera of the Saint Church to become an Inquisitor for the Saint Church.