Winter 3 - Connection of Black and White

I DO NOT OWN INFINITE STRATOS


|I|


December 21st, 20XX

Kurokishi POV

Several more guards pop up in front of me, two operating railguns. The air cracks, tungsten rounds missing and flying further down the short corridor. Several light bullets (danmaku) float slowly towards them, bracketed by faster danmaku to limit their options. I waltz past them, and am greeted by the sight of twelve servers. Several screams later, I hear the railguns crack a round past me, connecting with the concrete ceiling this time. I sigh, summon one of my own railguns and vaporize one's head with a round.

"You are threatening yourself by continuing this farce. Shut your weapons and run, you'll live longer that way." The second railgun operator stops reloading the rail and thinks for a second, then resumes. Danmaku flows towards her body in response, and I turn back towards the servers. I pull out a small wire and connect it to one of the hard drives, data flowing through. I grin – the servers are crunching data on the latest version of Valkyrie Trace, even if all legal research centres have stopped producing data. The fact the servers are still crunching data means that the IS Academy's VT Incident data has arrived here.

The fact that the data hasn't been processed fully yet, I'll just leave it up to several servers being shut down. I look through the data's contents for the core header – something supposedly Tabane could modify – and gasp. There are several different IS using VT, since it includes both Schwarzer Regen and…"Winter of Ice" signatures. "Winter of Ice"? No, that must be a new core, but Tabane would have notified us, unless…someone has managed to manufacture an IS Core.

This, this I need to notify Tabane and the Knights about. At least I can tell Shirone now.


|II|


I connect to the IS Core Network's gateway. Two guardian AIs stand in front of it. "Core Header required to access network. Please provide a Core Header or face connection termination." Let me correct that, two dumb AIs, fit only for operating IS.

I copy my core header and provide it to the AIs. They start examination and finish a second later. "Core header accepted. Welcome to the IS Core Network, Kurokishi, Core Number 476." They open up the gate, and let me through, open space greeting me. I look around, watching for any open doors that signify passage to another IS Core. None are open, and I stand for a few minutes, amusing myself with counting stars.

"We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting, stars…" A zipping sound from behind me. I turn, and a door to an IS Core is open, holographic label above it stating "Byakushiki: Core Number 001". I chuckle to myself, and start pacing towards it. When I walk within ten metres of the door, Shirokishi comes out, wearing her White Knight ceremonial suit.

"Hello Shirokishi. It's been a while since I last saw you in person." I bow respectfully to her – although I am the first of the Eternals, she is the first of the Infinites, and the first to lift the curtain to the world.

"It's, been a while, Kurokishi. Have, you been in contact with Mother?" She looks at me from under that helmet, most likely wearing a disappointing frown on her face. I know her well, but not that well. Still, I chuckle, pondering when next to contact Tabane. Oh, right, there's that information about new IS Cores…I'll have to make it soon then.

"Not as of recently. Shall we move to somewhere quieter?" I gesture to the open portal, and she nods before proceeding through. I do a quick spin before leaving through the portal. Can't have someone finding out I exist, after all.


|III|


I pop into her IS maintenance facility, and wince. A majority of it is grey wall, with a red couch on one side. Byakushiki stands centre stage, several dozen manipulator arms surrounding it, one or two actively repairing damaged armour. A slight flicker draws my attention to a workbench, where prototype expansion armour flickers slightly. Shirone sighs as she approaches it, watching the diagnostics work its magic.

"The, next prototype of the expansion armour keeps gumming up its pneumatics. I, am not sure how to fix it. Any, ideas?" She watches as I look through the blueprint she provided me. While revolutionary in how the pneumatics are designed, the design also holds some disadvantages – namely, limited airflow to the expanding pneumatics systems.

"If you are going to continue with this design type, you would have to build grooves for the air to go through and optimize code-side to be able to withstand impact cannon hits. Otherwise, I would maybe look into the impact cannon as possible inspiration – vacuum-based expansion, although I believe you would need to rework the armour composition so that doesn't immediately blow out either." I shake my head, knowing the tough choice she has ahead of her. "It really isn't that much of an option. Any other concepts you're working on?" She ponders a little, before nodding and pulling out one of my older shield emitters.

"I, have already managed to embed these into the Byakushiki's armour. I, was considering using these as atmosphere buffers, artificially increasing pressure to ensure proper airflow." It's a sound idea – increasing air pressure on the outside to increase the airflow going through a limited size hole, although it would mean one would have to micromanage the pressure both internally and externally to avoid blowing up like a popped balloon when a round penetrates the shielding. "I, hadn't thought of that. Maybe, combining that with the vacuum-based expansion?"

"It would be more vacuum-assisted than vacuum-based, if you're going along those lines. A consistently maintained internal vacuum to increase air intake and expansion speed. You could try reversing it for retraction, but I doubt it would be effective in the time span given."

"Retraction, will be mostly done by the opponent's weaponry. I'm, aiming for consistent but limited expansion. After, all, having it retract would mean I need to keep all of this bulk." She highlights two thirds of the pneumatics mechanism.

"It would be quite effective, and interesting to watch it work in practise. But enough about tech. How have you been, Shirokishi?"


|IV|


"I, have been well. Thank, you for asking, though. I, trust your work has kept you busy?" She starts walking towards the couch, summoning a small bottle of wine while we sit down. She pours some out, passing me my wine glass before I speak.

"It has. It's been fruitful in a way, I suppose. Some more intriguing things have popped up recently, though, after the meeting was arranged. I hope you do not mind if I leave a more detailed data packet with you on those occurrences after we talk?" I retrieve a small data storage device and leave it on the table.

"Well, you have just done so. I, take it this has something to do with my latest televised duel?" Sip.

"Yes. It was an impressive fight, by the way, even if they cut the cameras off when it started. I wonder, how was your cyber-fight? I know you were asking about AI-operated IS functions, so you had figured out what it was, but you never release the combat video of them." I twitch a little under the constant glare. "OK, OK, fine, I'll stop asking about it."

She giggles. "I'll, give you the combat video of Valkyrie Trace. After, I get out of the ceremonial armour. I, need to show you the armoury. Need, to reforge one of my weapons after it was melted." I pause at the thought. A cyberweapon hasn't been damaged in cyberwarfare ever. How does one melt a cyberweapon? "I, do not know either. Needless, to say, I am very pissed off. And, very intrigued." She gets up off the couch, and teleports to the door.

I follow her through, quietly noting the industrial design. Several katanas are holstered on the right side of the room, a suit of lightweight combat armour in front and her taking off the ceremonial armour to the left. I spot a hilt sitting on a worktable beside her, and walk towards it. The melt occurred towards the hilt, several bits poking through the glass in the centre.

"Why do you not share your combat footage? Just don't want people to…ok, wow, the blade really did get melted through. Unusual design choice with the glass centre, but still. How does Valkyrie Trace melt through cyberweapons?" Her hand pries the hilt from my hand, and I turn to face her. The armour stand retracts partially into the wall as she walks over to the workshop hidden behind the combat armour. She leaves the hilt on the worktable and walks in front of the foundry.

"This, is from the Golem cyber-fight. I, don't have anything from the Valkyrie. Still, need to examine the remains of that place. Want, more goodies." The crucible heats up as I glance at the metal composition listed. It's a well-balanced composition, capable of taking hits, but incapable of bending to any significant degree, ensuring all hits will pass on some of the impact.

"Anyways, I managed to find the Valkyrie Trace research servers. The data packet contains all of the data from the centre. It contains data from two sources, one of which is your duel with it. The other is from a Core named 'Winter of Ice'. Someone's managed to make IS Cores, and it's not Tabane." She pauses, hand hovering over the hologram. She turns to me, stares me in the eyes.

"What, did you say?"

"Someone other than Tabane has managed to make IS Cores. The Core Headers are different to Tabane-pattern Cores." Silence reigns supreme.

"You, confirmed what I heard. I…I, shall prepare what I can."


|V|


"New IS Cores aside, what I did read from the data is extremely unnerving. The pilot was left alone intentionally during that entire mess." She flinches a little, before returning to working the holographic display.

"That, was me. I, went after Valkyrie Trace's core during the cyberfight. It, cut its own core in half." Her head tilts down further, embarrassment evident from her learned gestures. I sigh at the thought of a submissive Shirone – it just wouldn't fit with the badass assassin I've seen during duels. "Although, Orimura Ichika did strike another blow against it by halving its core again." My eyes widen on the reminder of her pilot.

"Speaking of Ichika, how is he for a pilot? He's quite the inspirational character, almost as if he's the main character of a light novel or manga, but I don't get into regular contact with the guy." Her face brightens a little, before lowering yet again.

"…" She mutters something under her breath, so quietly I can't even hear it. "He's, quite the gentleman to his female friends. Although, I am not sure if he should really lead that many girls. It, ends up with him getting beat up a lot." I start openly laughing at the absurdity of th-

Teehee~

"…What was that?"

"…Teehee…" She flinches under my open glare.

"No, seriously, what was that?" A faint white dress dances past me. My eyes track onto it, but there's nothing there. That can't be, though – I know there was a dress there.

"Anyways, I wish we weren't always cooped up at the Academy. Otherwise, we could have a meetup, face to face. It's, been a while since we communicated Core to Core. Do, you think Charlemagne would be able to make it too?"

"I'll have to make it so. After all, it is not a true Forgotten Knight's meeting without all the Knights." She nods quietly to herself, as if thinking.

"Then, you do not mind if he visits the Core Network. After, all, you would not be extending this without acknowledging that fact." I nod, even if she cannot see it. Who would I be to deny meeting someone new?


|END|


Author's Note:

Kurokishi has danmaku cannons! Don't think anyone can survive the light bullet hell this time around, though.

As for the storage device, the scrapped name would have been the DNASD – a DeoxyriboNucleic Acid-based Storage Drive.

Date Started: 23/08/17 (DD/MM/YY)

Rewritten: 0 times

Date Completed: 01/09/17 (DD/MM/YY)