Blurb

S.O.N.G's war was over. The super-villains were defeated, and no more earth-threatening events would occur. Just like that, peace on Earth was maintained, would be maintained. But humanity's struggle was far from over. Energy demands were rising, along with the population. Humanity turned its eyes towards the other planets—and S.O.N.G would take the lead.

In the wake of their beautiful display in averting the global crises, the world called for S.O.N.G to generate power through Phonic Gain. Try as they might, their methods were inefficient and placed a great burden on the Symphogear users. Out of options, they looked towards the Frontier Shard that had been sent into space.

But after collecting its contents, the research party suddenly faced a new threat. A sudden and inexplicable attack shook the ship. Would they be able to uncover the Frontier's secrets? This is the story of S.O.N.G's fight to embark into space.

Bataille d'Espace

Gelbin Ims held tightly onto the harness holding him in place. He wasn't of the strongest constitution, and the weightless sensation of spaceflight made him feel rather ill-at-ease. From about him came the excited murmur of the rest of the research crew led by Dr. Dienheim. Ims felt the harness press against him lightly—the minute force of deceleration, the first sign of their destination, the Earth-Moon Lagrangian Point 1. The excitement rose, cresting as the ship shook slightly into a stop, before ebbing away slowly as preparations to head out were made.

Ahead of them an airlock opened, let through six figures fully clad in protective gear, and closed itself again. The tension around him was palpable, rising like a pot about to boil over. After a few drawn-out minutes, report reached them: the room remained pressurized, the air breathable. Heaving a sigh of relief, the men and women aboard loosened themselves and, nearly tripping over themselves in the process, rushed out the now-open airlock.

Ahead of them stood the six Symphogear users that had scouted the area. Beyond them, the grand interior of the Shard that had broken off the Frontier years ago sprawled out. Stone walls lined with glowing channels encapsulated a small pool of unknown liquid, in the center of which stood a small altar. The location remained undisturbed from when the body of Professor Nastassja was retrieved from it years prior. The researchers gaped in awe at the view. Ims' face showed an expression of almost-childlike wonder, betrayed only by the slight creases that revealed his middling age.

A short while had passed until finally Elfnein herself emerged from the group and turned to face them. With a sign from her, the gathered scientists disbanded to various positions within the hall. A probe was released from the shuttle they came on to record the outside surface of the Shard. Only after Elfnein had walked a few paces forward did Ims manage to shake himself from his wonder and start following her. Ims had joined S.O.N.G a long time ago, when he had been a good bit younger. He was around when Elfnein took on the deceased Carol's last names, and also when she published the papers that kick-started the science of alchemy. Without Carol's powers, Elfnein too had grown since then. Somewhere along the way, he reminisced, he became somewhat of a right-hand man for her.

They quickly arrived at the altar at the center of the room. Before them, four flattened crystalline pillars stood in a half-circle, each displaying various images and glyphs. In the middle of them laid an orb half the size of a man, recessed a third of the way into the floor. This, evidently, was the central control panel of the Shard. Elfnein quickly got to the matter at hand.

'What do you think of it, Ims?'

'Quite amazing, naturally.' What else could he say? 'Though,' he remarked, 'it's a bit plainer than I had expected.'

'Well! Not quite sure what you did expect then,' said Elfnein in response. She couldn't help laughing a bit. 'Though, as I expect you understand, the devil here is in the details.'

'Of course,' Ims agreed, then grinned slightly, 'I'm not quite sure what I expected myself. But indeed there is no doubt that all is more than it appears.'

'If you have no other direct observations, then,' she continued while giving him an inquiring glance, 'I suppose we may as well start immediately. I know I have none at this moment.'

Ims only gave a curt nod in response. With that exchange, the researchers' work began in earnest. They all started documenting anything they could find, each group in their own area. Then, one group moved over to the next, the group there onto another, all around until everyone was in a new position. Meanwhile, the Symphogear users scurried around, carrying with them both digital storage volumes and refreshments for the researchers. It wasn't until hours later, when everything had been double-checked, triple-checked, that they dared take a break.

Afterwards came the second step. It would only be after thoroughly documenting everything that they would dare experiment with the mechanisms, as a matter of course. This time, the team moved as a group. None of them dared be reckless. Far more than fearing putting themselves into danger, they feared that any action of them would destroy valuable data. The Symphogear users felt quite tense. They could only hope nothing unexpected happened.

In the end, the data collection went without a hitch, and the unexpected tension wasn't resolved until the group boarded the shuttle again and set course for Earth. During the time they worked, the shuttle's probe had made a dozen rounds around the Shard.