The Dead Gate

by Zodnocroy

A dysfunctional gate has been found by the Spiral Order. Such a phenomenon was not seen else where, and must be observed until Lieutenant Vaeyln says otherwise. This dysfunctional gate shows no energy signatures, and sits still as if it was a piece of the clockworks that was completely broken. Further investigation is required - Qulian

Deep within the delves of the endless machinations of the clockworks, stood a single cog tower that was not operational. Amongst the countless pieces of machinery that were buzzing with life, filling the planet's depths with deafening sound. This particular section stood silent, dead and completely still. None of the gears made a single sound, and refused to move even a single inch. In fact, those who encountered this gate reported that the sound was so absent that they could hear the sound of a single crimsonite shard hit the ground. The entrance of this gate was the farthest anyone had ever ventured; like the rest of the stratum, the elevator sat still.

Such a phenomenon was only ever encountered in the rescue camp, though this was resolved when ██████ restored power to a small chasm through a generator that was hidden beneath the surface. This event gave the Spiral Order a small hint that some of the clock works was man made, and independent from the power surges given from the Core after every gate activation. What purpose this "dead" stratum served however, is completely unknown. Technicians recently assigned a daily watch to the entrance of this intriguing gate have reported that daily energy surges only have enough power to make the screen of the elevator flicker for a short moment. However, no icon could be made out from the constant static. The mystery of what this gate contains is still unclear, but such a small hint from the static screen has given researchers assigned to this task a clue that indeed, power surges do influence this gate's power in some way.

Permission to rappel down the chasm was requested by Scarlet Scout Lieutenant ██████, accompanied by ██ other knights. Permission was granted on Soqonn 13th, Solari 145. The team was given access to experimental scanning tech integrated into their comlinks, so they could report any findings that were unorthodox of the current knowledge of cradle, or anything strange in particular. Shockingly however, much like the incident with the alpha squadron, their comlinks went dead the moment they were out of sight from the on-field technician team responsible for overseeing the gate. Interestingly however, small amounts of chatter from the missing team could be heard over random comlink channels during the event of a daily surge. Technician Arvin, responsible for over seeing communications stated that he was taking his break and listening into the coliseum channel when he heard the familiar voices of the missing squad members. He states the following.

Arvin, 15th Technician Division Enlisted Personnel: "They were confirming that they had made it to the first level below. I heard █████ trying to inform us about a broken gate switch that refused to operate. From the way it sounded however, they managed to get through it by powering the gate and switch their emergency energy reserve. What bothered me however, was that their entrance to the first level was about █ days ago."

His testimony was questioned multiple times by multiple interrogators. It held up to countless scrutiny, and the only details he missed was what he ate for lunch that day; regardless however, menial details such as that are not important to the case of the "dead" stratum, or the missing squad of Scarlet Scouts. Spiral HQ has considered sending a legion of Recon Rangers to find and rescue these missing knights. However, due to the nature of the mission, they have decided to label this expedition as a special case.

They decided that a guide was needed before the Recon team embarked on the perilous journey, and a gremlin by the name of ██████ ███ ██████ was contacted in a sub town nearby the "dead" gate that goes by the name of ██████. The locals there warned against traversing the stratum, but the Spiral Order promised an ample supply of food and water if they were willing to assist in the operation by sharing any kind of information they knew. The gremlin who was contracted for the operation is more than capable of defending himself, and happened to also have information regarding gremlin theories of engineering and computing; given his background and the situation at hand, Spiral Order considers him a valuable asset, and a possible ally in future operations.

Although the operation has been anticipated, and countless time and resources were spent on making the expedition as safe as possible; the Spiral Order is still wary about the over all mission, and has the power to cancel the operation at any time.

Soqqon Solari 145.

- Qulian; Strategic Operations and Negotiations Officer.