While not corresponding to a particular chapter of In The Service, this and a forthcoming chapter about Sein can probably be considered a prequel to the ninth chapter, Don't Wake Me. It would be fair to assume that Sound Stage X is occurring in the background, with minor cosmetic differences; Hayate's "dream team" of the Bureau's most powerful mages can be assumed to fill in the roles of anyone I borrow for A Numbered Existence. The Combat Cyborgs have also greatly enhanced their standing with the Bureau; retroactively their first official mission can be considered the Other-Wolkenritter's attack on Cranagan, not the Marine Garden fire.
I've gone with a "sarcastic, angry Subaru" interpretation of Nove, basically as she was in the show and Soundstage X. We're still far chronologically ahead of her appearances in ViVid and Force so I think it works.
Nove
The Infinite Library, like many libraries that dealt in subjects of power, had restrictions on some things. Many of these were things that dealt with mass weapons; the Bureau might reject their use, but it had active programs in research and development to make sure it kept a generation or two ahead of any Non-Administrated World. Others dealt with subjects the Bureau regarded as ethically problematic; the use of magic for brainwashing and torture. Then there was Special Restricted Access.
Even the librarians were not allowed in Special Restricted Access without an armed escort. The knowledge kept here was not guarded to preserve the balance of power, but because it was actively dangerous to the knower. Belka had explored every possible concept of warfare, and in their time had discovered things that other cultures considered only nightmares. Books that read in their proper order could brainwash people into performing a certain act a set time period later and images that could cause the viewer to suffer a pyschotic break just by viewing them were the most commonly cited objects stored in Special Restricted Access.
By curious quirk, Jail Scaligetti had worked almost exclusively in Special Restricted Access when he was in his teens. Most people did not consider that coincidence. It did, however, mean that he had extensive experience with the sort of threats kept there. Leaving nothing to chance, and perhaps with thoughts of later weaponizing some of what he had learned, Jail had ensured his daughters were protected against such things.
This meant that they often found themselves there, guarding the librarians who worked in the section. Unlike any other guard assignment, however, their job was to guard the rest of the world from the librarians in the event something went wrong. By the same token, many of those who worked in Special Restricted Access were familars. They were defended against its horrors by their construct nature…though it was rumored some of the things stored there had been specifically designed to effect familars.
Thus it was that Nove and Arf found themselves together, checking a shelf towards the very back of Special Restricted Access. Though the Belkans had developed these books as weapons, they had also seen their use in controlling the flow of information. It was to such rigged books that they had commited the most dangerous knowledge the Belkan Empire had possessed.
Arf was reading from a book that dealt with everything the Belkan Empire had been able to glean about the Book of Darkness. It was a large book, since they had basically taken a shotgun approach to the subject and commited all their working theories and exhaustive accounts of all their contacts with the Book and its masters or servants to paper. Every few pages was a sanity-blasting fractal image. Arf barely registered them as interesting. Nove noticed they gave her a headache if she stared.
"Got it." Arf announced, carefully closing the book again and placing it back on the shelf. Nove was curious as to what the binding material was, as it looked like no other book binding she'd ever seen, but then realized this was a line of thought she probably didn't want to pursue.
"So where do we go?" Nove asked. Arf, like her mistress, had been recalled to active duty following the Other-Wolkenritter's attack on Cranagan; she had after all fought Zafira to a standstill. Unlike Fate, Arf had been assigned along with a number of the Combat Cyborgs to locate this new Book.
In the aftermath of the Ligeia debacle, it became clear that no one had traveled from Midchilda to there, and so they were given a new task: find out how the Other-Wolkenritter had even known to attack Midchilda and Cranagan in the first place. It might well be impossible, but they had put some of the Bureau's better minds on it to back up the field agents.
Unfortunately, the developing Mariage crisis on Mid was getting the attention of a lot of people, so at the moment only Arf and Nove could be spared to chase down a lead. "Non-Administrated World 157." Arf replied.
Nove stared. "You're making it up."
Arf shook her head. "Nope. In the book it goes by the name Rasalhague." To the Bureau at large, it had no actual name. Something had gone horribly wrong on Non-Administrated World #157 in the dim past of the Belkan Empire. To this day, magic did not work correctly there. That was why Nove was essential to any trip there; as a Combat Cyborg she was not dependent on it. She would have preferred, however, to bring a few other people, like say all of her sisters including Ginga and Subaru, and the Combat Cyborgs that had joined the Saint Church too. Rasalhague had an evil reputation. Arf noticed Nove's expression. "Scared?"
"Don't tempt me to have them make a full scan of your head for memetic contagion." Nove shot back.
"Point." Arf conceded. "Do you think we can round up anyone else to go with us on this trip?"
"That depends on how much pull you have with the Saint Church." Nove replied.
It actually turned out to be a fair amount of pull, but the Saint Church was only willing to part with Otto for the moment. Likewise the Navy had no warships to spare for transport, so a naval courier vessel usually used for personnel transfer would get them there…and land them there. Neither teleportation nor magical flight could be relied upon, so a direct landing was necessary.
For Arf, it was an extremely unnerving experience. It felt like something was nibbling at the edge of her mind. As a construct, she was too solid a creation to be injured by a simple AMF or unstable background magic; a will of her own protected her from it. That didn't make it pleasant. Nove could feel it as well, though her own magical skill was minimal and she depended on her cybernetics; she was edgy, fidgeting. Otto might have as well, but the boyish, stoic number didn't let on.
Rasalhague had once been a living, vibrant world, as bright and green as any planet ever was. Non-Administrated World #157, however, was in the category the Bureau classed as "habitable; dead", an apparent contradiction borne of the horrors of the Belkan Civil War. It still rained, there were still oceans, mountains, hills and valleys and rivers, and you could still breathe the air. But everything including virii and bacteria had been exterminated. Perhaps it had been planet-wide neutron irradiation, perhaps the infamous Life-Eater Virus, perhaps something else the Bureau had no name for. The phrase never again was inscribed into the collective soul of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau, for this was what it had been formed to prevent. Everything else the Bureau had accomplished was just extra.
Nove kicked at the dust and sand beneath her feet, the literal gravedust of the Belkan Empire. This place gave her the creeps. It was the silence; with nothing alive, there were no birds, no animals, no people. The wind presaged only sandstorms. And only half of her normal gear was useful as Jet Edge didn't work except on a reasonably solid surface, making her feel like she was half-naked.
"There are ghosts here." Otto said softly. "Those who died without ever knowing why." The boyish number softly recited a Saint Church prayer for the dead. Nove gave the eighth number a sideways glance and wondered how anyone got religion that fast.
"Less of the creepy." Arf requested seriously. The familiar lead the two Combat Cyborgs towards the only visible structure.
Nove caught up with her before she could enter. "Can't let you go first. Fate would murder me if you got hurt. She has a powerful family, might even get away with it."
"You've never actually met Chrono Harlaown, have you?" Arf asked. Arf often helped watch Chrono's children, so she knew him well. In the foxgirl's opinion, Chrono was likely to be harsher on a family member accused of a serious offence then he would on someone he didn't know.
"Nope. Plan to keep it that way, so stay behind me." Nove replied.
The foyer was expansive, and had once housed impressive statuerary. The marks on the floor where they had been and other signs told the story; an archeological expedition had been by in the year or so. "We appear to be late." Otto opined.
"Give me some credit for research." Arf replied. "We need to go to the lower galleries. They never did. Too dangerous for civvies."
"Why can't we decide it's too dangerous for us too?" Nove asked.
"Because Mid might end up cinders and ash if we don't." Arf replied.
"She makes a convincing argument." Otto had the barest hint of a smirk.
Seeing in the absolute darkness was not a problem for the three. The guiding principle behind the creation of a familiar is that it must be able to protect its master or mistress at any time, under any conditions. The Combat Cyborgs had to incorporate all the abilities of a Device-armed mage, so they too could see in absolute darkness. Better than Arf could, in fact, as Nove raised a hand for a halt and bent down to examine the floor.
What is it? Arf asked. Darkness and silence were the norm down here, so it seemed wise to keep both.
Nove tapped her foot. Footprints. The younger Combat Cyborgs were much more dependent on their enhancements then the first round of activations, as their native mage ranks were very weak; most of them might make D on a good day. Even telepathy required a lot of focus, and Nove didn't have the patience to spare.
Arf shifted forms. She sniffed the air. Only the scent of the Combat Cyborgs, metal, a slightly off smell of skin, and the faint whiff of ozone from high-energy activity. She put her nose to the ground and started checking that too. Nothing. Only Nove's scent. Only familars could pass without leaving a scent, being a magical construct meant they didn't have any conventional scent to be smelled. Familars, and Wolkenritter.
Arf shifted forms again, and warned her companions. They proceeded, slower and more carefully, for Nove and Otto could not locate a set of footprints that lead out. But they met no one, although the groaning of stressed stone around them made them rather worried several times.
Someone had been here recently, though. The item they had come for was gone.