Disclaimer: As SOTF continue to update his Metal Slugopedia like no one's business, this little chapter will too. However, this chapter will mostly focus on the Adept and its relationship with the unknown program called the Legion Program.

The next chapter will be a mission chapter, one that is my design and very much canon to SOTF timeline (or whatever timeline his going on now.) Thankfully, he slowed down to allow me to update this little chapter, so I better hurry up about this.

Here's a spoiler in the next chapter; EXALT is back, and they summon a being no mortal man could face, not even the might of the FRA could stop it.

Read and review is very much appreciated!

Adept – Extended Report

It has been months since the Adepts are on active duty, and already we have receive positive and negative feedback on the field. It brought a wide smile to me whenever I read about the positive feedback from the front, but upon reading the negative feedback, a frown is form. The only saving grace regarding the incoming report is how the positive outweighs the other. Still, reading the report is nothing short but mix feelings.

Many of the positive feedback are how well the Adepts are performing on the field, majority of them are from the Kanegawa Military Industry personal expressing their content having these synthetic lifeforms performing their duty to the letter. These mundane task normally would bored a common soldier or security personnel, but the Adepts take it as if their line is depended on it. They are not replacing the hard working security personnel on the Kanegawa industry, as this is merely a temporarily post till they are ready to perform their real duty on the line. As for outside of the Kanegawa Military Industry premise, the Adept is well adapted working along with the Regular Army troops.

Reports from the troops are positive on most front, reports ranging from their work performance to their absolute resolve to their duty to their willingness to consult (rare for Adept to do so I admit) troubled soldiers. The public under the Regular Army protection are gingerly cautious around them; the adult civilian felt very much disturb seeing them at work, especially when the Adept puts up a friendly face – uncanny valley as they say. This is normal; when a MEC unit welcome a civilian, people tends to feel disturb due to said soldier expressionless welcome despite being human just like them. The Adepts are on similar ground, except their synthetic expression is disturbing to them, as they feel unnatural for a machine to express their feelings.

Well, at least the children loves them – I find it funny that Adept Unit F2307-2120 Chloe is being 'assaulted' by horde of children while in a relief mission. The Regular troops report how the 'attack' was a possible 'ambush', rendering the Adept Unit Chloe incapable of 'resisting' the 'little demons' affectionate 'assault'. Adept Chloe beg for mercy as a result, laughing and crying hysterically.

Speaking of assault though, a number of following reports disgust me, some almost incurred a primal wrath that could only be rivaled by Marco's hatred towards General Morden. These reports include fraud accusations that the Adept hurting a child (the child was not hurt, not by any stretch of the imagination), an act of arsonist by another Adept (a poorly cosplay man who claiming to be said Adept and is wreaking havoc purely to grab the governments attention), sexual harassment (both version, which is over the top – one side attempt to harass a female Adept sexually only to be arrested minutes afterwards and another when the woman claim to have been sexually assaulted by multiple Adepts despite the fact that no Adept thus far did such thing via audio and video captured by the Adepts, on top of the matter is that all Adepts doesn't have sexual genital to speak off), among many things.

One report details a patrolling Regular troops nearing sub-sector of the city where a few unrest civilian assault an Adept Unit via stone and rotten produce. The Adept units were given permission to engage the target, and the Adept unit proceed to capture said vagabond as it is programmed to. The subject is captured after a few hours of chase, but the hostility increased when more mobs emerge, this time arming themselves with bludgeoning tools, all aiming to damage the Adept and freeing it's captive companion. This may have been planned, and the Adept even comment on this matter. Their efforts are futile, but their resilient are to be commendable. What happen next are armed angry mob, small arms, and a stolen AR-10. Regular Troops took over the situation to control the situation almost immediately, and said Adept Unit are command to stay out of the frontline to avoid any relation public nightmare.

That mission ended with 18 civil unrest captured, five of which are hospitalized. 12 are killed during a firefight, tallying in a total of 30 members. Out of 18 captured civil unrest, 8 of them are Liberation Army supporters. One of the casualties happen to be a veteran Liberation Army soldier.

News regarding that last report flare up most Liberation supporters. Most claim that the Adepts are ultimately flawed creation, and that the Kanegawa Military Industry did the worst blunder of all and in the same context, urged that those on the Liberation Army can do much better for the betterment of mankind. They even throw logic out of the window when evidence are shown to them that the Adept did a not harm any aggressors other than pinning them down, claiming that the Adept aggressive behavior is actually harming to poor aggressor unconditionally. As for the armed assault, the news called the uniform wearing Regular troops as a 'disguise Adept on a killing rampage', even when said evidence point it otherwise. Grand General Challette 'Amelia' Steelheart has the gull to express great disinterest regarding the Adept and how unsafe the unit is.

Professor Namro is ultimately disgust by the news, and has already file in to go to court to counter all accusations. Grand General Marco Rossi brought himself and his own lawyers to aid the Professor to further winning this dispute. Estimation on the case is more than enough to claim victory.

But my worries did not end there.

Much earlier before the report regarding the Adept performance, Professor Namro gave me a call, a very disturbing discovery that even I was shocked to fathom upon. Within me (and the mass number of active Adept) are a small binary coding, similar to each other, ever changing program that rearrange itself every second, and these code has been lain dormant for a while.

AUDIO LOG 00

UNKNOWN PROGRAM – LEGION

Prof Namro: Shepherd, are you there? Shepherd?

Shepherd: Yeah… yeah. I'm up… *glance at clock* Professor, do you know what time it is here in the state?

Prof Namro: I'm sorry for the inconvenience that I may have cause, but we need to discuss over this matter urgently.

Shepherd: How urgent is it?

Prof Namro: Enough to have a secure channel between me and your call.

Shepherd: Fine… what is this about?

Prof Namro: Shepherd… I think you and the Adept are somehow under some kind of binary control by an unknown program. An inactive program so to speak.

Shepherd: *Pause for a moment* Your serious?

Prof Namro: We run program check back here in the Kanegawa lab, and it is scaring the researchers, engineers, scientist, the whole nine yards and more. We run all the test with all available tool, have volunteered Adepts fresh from the faculty and those from the field for several month old. The results are scaring everyone. I even consider telling Marco about this, but I dunno what he's response is. That is why I'm call you up first. That this program, somehow link to you as well.

Shepherd: *blink*What?

Prof Namro: Based on the test result, all the binary result program are synchronize to one another, without a beat. Except yours. Yours are 0.05 mili-second difference. In order words, you're the original sender, the messenger.

Shepherd: Wait, hang on. Are you accusing me with this… unknown program?

Prof Namro: Of course not! The program is working by itself, as if clockwork. Working behind the scene and without our prior knowledge till now. What scares us even more is how small it is.

Shepherd: Small?

Prof Namro: It is only 1MB of memory space, but it is running millions, perhaps billions of binary coding at random at such a speed it may as well be a bug. But it isn't, since this tiny program is detected among every single Adept that exist today.

Shepherd: Is it somehow link to CABAL and the CFA?

Prof Namro: That's just it; we tried to compare the mad AI programming module simulator and the thing goes haywire, collapsing the module simulation program while this thing continue with its own business.

Shepherd: It… it did what?

Prof Namro: I need to know one thing, Shepherd. When you were heavily damage, who repair you, during the war?

Shepherd: …I… I'm not sure. But when I woke up, there was an FRA agent, badly damage and… wait…

Prof Namro: We may have found a clue then.

Shepherd: Yes. We way. Could it be because of Victor?

Prof Namro: Perhaps the engineer who rebuilt you back uses this Victor as a reference, and you somehow has his coding?

Shepherd: Is that even possible? Can something like this even BE possible?

Prof Namro: Think of it this way; any patient who receive a donor organ will have some kind of side effects on them. Perhaps the same is true to you?

Shepherd: If that is true… does that mean I'm on the FRA?

Prof Namro: Possible, but we need more time to look into it. Right now, we see no negative impact on all Adepts, but it is worrying. I'll have to inform Marco on this.

Shepherd: Let's keep this news among us then. If the public learn about thus, it could be chaos.

Prof Namro: You don't have to tell me twice! We have too much heat as it is! And that is bad for business.

Shepherd: So any idea what we should call this?

Prof Namro: Well, we had a general idea. The scientist are calling it the Legion Program, based on how every program is running in a parallel speed.

Shepherd: … Legion Program, huh?

AUDIO LOG END

It took days before Marco called me and the three Adept that is under my command. He seemed worried, and I don't blame him. All of us, including those that is running across the field have the Legion Program in us, running at the background and all.

What I don't understand is why Matthew and Nathalie has to be here in the same room with Leon and Flynn.

AUDIO LOG 01

LEGION, DEMONS, PSIONIC (?)

Marco: Please be seated Shepherd.

Shepherd: Thank you sir… *glance at Matthew and Nathalie* Sir… is it wise that both of them are here as well?

Leon: Well, Nathalie couldn't trust you even if you are a piece of paper, and Matthew is here for lulz.

Shepherd: …lulz?

Flynn: Something that youngster these days are calling 'just coz' today. Makes me head all spinning.

Nathalie: *Evil glance* Hrmmn.

Matthew: Heh.

Marco: It's okay Shepherd, you and your Adepts are safe. After all, no weapons are allowed on this premise.

Fio: And that means no physical violence. Do you understand?

Nathalie: *grumble* yes Mother.

(Three more Adept walks in, identify as Adept 01 Adam, Adept 02 Dean and Adept 03 Sarah. Sarah sat between Fio and Leon, the female Adept clinging near him. Dean sat next to Flynn while Adam stood beside the wall, arm cross.)

Marco: Alright. All of you are here. Let's begin.

(Shepherd remain focus, Adam attention to the human general while Dean brought out his datapad. Sarah is the only member fooling around)

Marco: The meeting today is regard to the finding that the Kanegawa Military Industry Professor Namro discovered in all of the existing Adepts, and by extension, through Shepherd as well. The finding is too much to be ignored.

Nathalie: Ugh, finally! We can kick that toaster out!

Marco: -that doesn't involve kicking any toaster, or whatever your hype on.

Nathalie: *grumble grumble*

Leon: How severe is it, Marco?

Flynn: Yeah, we need to know what kind of damage we're looking at. Can it be fix or something? I hate to see these excellent student gone back to the scrap heap.

Shepherd: As of now we don't know the effects yet, but we do know that it is not insidious, nor is it benevolent. It's code is very changing, tuning every second even as I am talking, and it is inactive as of now. The scariest part is that it resides on all Adepts, new and old, and somehow, I am the one that the signal coding came from.

(Silent for 2 minutes)

Fio: So in other words… it happen because of your system?

Matthew: More like it happen BECAUSE of Shepherd.

Leon: … it resides on all Adepts?

Flynn: Even new one? Is that even be possible?

Nathalie: You could say it's a hiccup and no one would bat an eye, but this threat is getting bigger than it already is. And we have well over 600 Adepts running, and twice that amount being made. Shouldn't we just shut the progress and quarantine the rest? What happen if CABAL reactivate his toys? We could have revolt within the rank.

Shepherd: Well, that's the main problem. The professor of Kanegawa Military Industry has proof that this unknown program is not from CABAL. Far from it.

Leon: Not from CABAL? Well then we have nothing to worry about!

Shepherd: The coding is suspected to be from the Future Rebellion Army.

Leon: (gulp) Okay, now that is fucked up!

Marco: How is that even be possible? You were originally from the CFA. How on Earth did it link you to the FRA?

Flynn: It could be because someone suggest to use that FRA Cyborg Commando frame to be use and repaired onto our mechanical mess of a friend here. That kind of mishmash technology is something I've seen by the Demonic forces, so I'm not even surprised a bit.

Shepherd: You clear up very much it, Doomguy. Yes, someone suggest it was a wise choice to use Victor as a blueprint to rebuild me back to my feet.

Fio: Oh, I guess it's my fault then… I didn't know…

Nathalie: No mom, you didn't do anything wrong… I just wish I would have interfere sooner-

Marco: The decision to repair Shepherd was my order, and Fiolina Germi suggestion was hers alone. I understand that you suggest against it, but hard times demand hard decision making. Shepherd, will this coding system be advantage to us?

Matthew: Coding? Advantages? What good is it when an old fashioned punch and kick, heavy firepower and explosion can do all of that?

Flynn: You tell that to the demons back in my time kid; it can only get you so far before you are force to backtrack and find a bloody key card.

Leon: Heh, now that wasn't the greatest memory eh old man?

Shepherd: Well, I certainly don't know what advantage it has, but it does link to each and every Adepts. Sort of like a-

Dean: -Hive mind. Fascinating reasoning.

(Everyone turn to Dean)

Dean: If this coding is as father said, then all of us may act – no, think alike. All orders can be received in unison. And if range was never a problem, it could've use world wide, allowing the Adept to progress faster than-

Adam: - than normal human being to react.

(Everyone turn to Adam)

Adam: Yes, perhaps it is the most logical sense. Orders can be given almost instantly, but what if it is not limited to individuals, but a whole group? One Adepts can feel one another, their shared memory, their deeper thoughts, their combat experience, every decision making. Adepts can – or couldn't feel alone, knowing another exist along side it, even if it is miles away. That –

Sarah: -Is some very scary thought.

(Everyone turn to Sarah)

Sarah: I mean, I'm quite fine by being myself, but to feel and know and acknowledge that another version, another Adept feel must be overwhelming. Knowledge can be shared, sure, but that means each and very Adept may not have any free will. Perhaps we do have a semi Hive mind, but the very thought is utterly dangerous if the rest of the humanity knows about this. Am I right father?

Shepherd: I… I…

Marco: Err…

Fio: Oh my…

Leon: Wha?

Flynn: My head hurts…

Matthew: That is… some shit going on…

Nathalie: … okay, what is going on you three? Are you possessed or something?

All Adepts: Huh?

Shepherd: Adam, Dean, Sarah. You three just took off in a synchronize speech before I could have finish.

Adam: *blink* we did? That's not logical at all.

Dean: It feel natural though. As if we know the answer already before any reasoning… did we really took off like that?

Sarah: I… I'm not sure. Are we… broken in some way?

Nathalie: Okay, serious talk now. When can we shut these Adept program down? I do not want to have another robot apocalypse under Kanegawa's name.

Leon: But we haven't even triangulate the main problem yet! If we place quarantine on all active Adepts now, the system will collapse! We are undermanned at this very moment!

Nathalie: But it's safer than simply having them running around. Who knows what kind of trouble they are making as we speak?

Flynn: Nathalie, I know you are against them-

Nathalie: Against them? Oh no, Flynn. I LOATHE them! They all came from L-X8! Who, should I need to remind you, killed all of my friends?!

Shepherd: Look, I'm sorry, Nathalie… I really am. But that was the old me. His dead now. Can we just move on?

Nathalie: NO! Your him, and your little litter is now on everyone hair!

Marco: Nathalie…

Nathalie: We won this war without you! And we can do so again, should that fucking AI and his Future Rebellion scum friends came knocking at our door!

Leon: Nate, that's uncalled for-

Nathalie: We don't need you people in the first place! And now your telling me – us that all of your litters all has some kind of signal coding ready to go off?!

Sarah: Hey! Lay off our father! He help you in the war!

Dean: That's unreasonable coming from a chick who ditch the first advantage the Regular Army have. Without father, you people will have no hope on going against those mechanical menace in the first place.

Adam: Not to mention the sheer illogical the idea to past up a grant advantage. Like Marco said, you people need leverage. Leverage that is sitting here, discussing this little problem.

Nathalie: Well we are fine without your kind! Just go back to the scrap heap you –

Marco: ENOUGH!

(Everyone froze)

Marco: Nathalie, you are too impulsive. Too afraid. You should trust them more. They are fine people.

Nathalie: Me? With them? Even if I'm shank up with L-X8 in a room filled with enemies, I'll still go after that walking toaster!

Sarah: Hey! Lay off my father!

Nathalie: Make me bitch!

Shepherd: That's enough! Both of you! We're here to discuss about the problem here, not start a civil war! Sarah, you are one of the Heroic. You should not act so impulsive regarding this small matter.

Sarah: But he insulted you, and through you, us!

Nathalie: Who you calling a 'he'?!

Shepherd: It doesn't matter. It is not your place to throw a tantrum on Nathalie, or any human for that matter. You are created to ensure humanity survivability, not their extinction.

Sarah: … sometimes it just doesn't feel that way when someone like Nathalie talk bad about you… make you wanted to… *sigh*

Nathalie: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Sarah: Why you!

Marco: Nathalie, stand down.

Fio: Infighting is not good for every one. Please. Stop.

Nathalie: But I'm the voice of reason!

Fio: And your reasoning is sound, but uncalled for. Imagine if one of your own friends is being accused from similar treatment, because they are, let's just say, an Asian. Surely you'll be offended by it as well.

Nathalie: That's… that's not…! I'm not racist!

Leon: C'mon Nate, this isn't you. This isn't even your character talking; that's all rage against cybernetic. And to most people that's racist. Cool down.

Flynn: Yeah, instead of directing your hate at him, why not direct it on the FRA? Their still around, doing who knows what and God knows where.

Matthew: If it's alright, Shepherd, I like to stick around a little more. I still think the Adepts are cool 'nd shit.

Adam: You are the last person to say anything positive…

Nathalie: You people are just going to ignore all the early warning about this walking toaster and his broken children are you? ARE YOU?!

Marco: There is no sign of Shepherd being a corrupt individual or lack thereof. Thus far he is co-operating.

Nathalie: Fine! If the world ends and his the cause, I'm going to say "I told you so" in your grave! *grumble grumble*

(Room is silent for 5 minutes)

Marco: … so, (clear throats) what does the egghead call these program?

Shepherd: Funny that you asked. Kanegawa Military Industry personal call it the Legion Program. It fits, in an ominous way…

Leon: Heh, I say they been playing some RTS game and name it that so it has some kind of meaning.

Shepherd: Perhaps. But it is something that we should not ignore. So far the effects are still in question, but after what Adam, Dean and Sarah demonstrate, I'm going to say that it could be a two-way communication. Sort of like a psychic hive mind… for the Adepts.

Flynn: That doesn't sound ominous at all. Nope – that sound way, way, WAY ominous when you think about it.

Matthew: Oh sweet, Adepts that has psychic property! Maybe they can mind control and shit! Awesome!

Shepherd: … that is a very scary thought you just projected, Matthew.

Dean: Yeah man, count me out; forcing someone against their freewill to do shit? That is not my style…

Adam: … in an agreement. Even if the option is available, it could reflect badly on us. Think of the public relations nightmare it could affect on all Adept.

Sarah: Plus, don't you think it will be overpowering? We Adepts are already many time more powerful than mere human being at its peek performance, anymore power we gain and we might attract unwanted attention.

Matthew: Oh? And what kind of attention?

Leon: Demons, more like.

Flynn: Yeah… we really don't want those bastard to come to our realm though.

Fio: Well, this meeting is derailing like always. Tea break?

Nathalie: Yes, let's. I wanted to get out and out of these hooligans. Breathing with the same room with those abomination makes me ill.

(A few minutes later, after Nathalie and Fiolina Germi walk out of the meeting hall)

Sarah: Bitch.

Adam: Unappreciated Female Commando.

Dean: Not someone I wanna meet next time I'm around.

Marco: I'm sorry about my daughter behavior. I really do.

Leon: She has so much fear in her… all she sees is hatred.

Flynn: Hmm, hopefully, this hatred won't be her undoing…

Shepherd: How so?

Flynn: Well, demonic forces attracted to psychic individual like moth to a flame. But hatred drive the demon being like oil to a fire. Now imagine someone with that much hatred and possesses psionic powers exist in this world. Demon intrusion is just a walk through the door as if the barrier between world's and dimensions never existed.

Leon: Now your telling us about this?!

Flynn: Hey, it's a well kept secret. Military secret. Top high. The whole shebang. I'm telling you all of this because I trust you lot then my BFG, and that says a lot.

Dean: Well, he's not lying; who doesn't love some BFG?

Sarah: I do! I wanna trade my rocket launcher with one for ages.

Adam: Don't you think that's a little illogical, more-or-less dangerous?

Shepherd: The matter of speaking aside, the Kanegawa Military Industry personal will be monitoring our every movement, every action and every data. I do not need to remind you how important this will be. Legion Program or not, we will endure it.

AUDIO LOG END

As the meeting settle, my mechanical heart felt heavy in burden. With another problem arise, and more responsibility, will the Adept be able to lead humanity to victory, or perhaps our down fall?

Time will tell.

Report End.

Legion Program Report Diagnostic 01

Report written by Professor Mizuka Ayumi.

As of this writing, the report is inconclusive and are still being studied. Head researcher and advance AI coding Professor Mizuka Ayumi is still studying and attempt to understand the effects.

During the meeting with the Adept regarding this new problem that suddenly surface, Adept 01, 02 and 03 display singular mental thoughts for the first time, and it was triggered when an ex-CFA member was in the middle of his speech. Video and audio evidence display simultaneous effect, and the program are align in perfect unison for the next 3 minutes. After the exchange, members of the Adept is utterly confused as to what was normally a common group meeting turn hostile exchange via Nathalie Germi intervention.

The phrase Hive mind is mention during this exchange, and Professor Ayumi believe that it is plausible that such case may be true. However when attempting to emulate the experiment, none of the Adepts seemed to correspondence to the same situation, regardless if this test is isolated with new, older or mix age, group, rank or similar setting.

The most possible catalyst may be Shepherd himself, as the code came originally by him, and was the first to stimulate the coding. Additionally, having the Adept to emulate psionic powers maybe possible. We do not have the research basis yet for synthetic psionic link for the Adept yet, but we do have some basis on how normal human being gain psionic powers.

We just need back some papers stolen by the Ptolemaic Army and those from Amadeus Syndicate…

Demonic Forces of Hell (Shepherd POV)

Almost no one knows these forces better than Leon and Flynn, who previously had fought off these creatures from another realm when the Rebellion Army Paranormal Division open the gate on London some time ago. Please refer to the Classified files for more information. Require security clearance level 5 and above.

From what we know, the forces from Hell is nothing short but hellish creature with impossible body horror, mutilated beings, horrifying hellish flesh and (according to Flynn) smells like rotten meat with a lingering taste of skunk fume. Flynn give us a good number of idea what most of these forces are, but what we want to know more is their very existence; how on Earth did they exist in the first place?

Flynn has no answer for that (or being forced not to spill the bean, since it is a very sensitive topic) but we do have a general idea how these demonic creatures are. For one thing, the demons corrupt anything the touch; the dirt on the ground, the tree they touch, the air they breath, anything that they could do so much as to even exhale would corrupt anything and everything.

They are not invincible, thankfully, and some of their weaker ones could fell with enough bullets painting onto them. Other demonic monstrosity may require a rocket launcher or two, with the largest are known to require the legendary BFG 9000 to completely demolished said demon. It is possible to melee the demon to death, if Flynn bragging of twisting Imp's head are any indication.

According to Flynn, the only way to open a realm to the demon are to channel demonic energy into an ancient gate (I'm assuming he meant the Hellgate that is located in London) or using the soul of the dead (which the Rebellion Army Paranormal Division did in order to open said gate). However, there are other ways to open the gate of Hell, as Leon and Flynn seemed to agree that a psionic individual with much hatred to Humanity may open the gate of Hell unintentionally, becoming the very catalyst of chaos. Thankfully, there are no psionic on Earth that could open a literally gate to hell, right?

12 Hours later, after the meeting regarding the Legion Program…

"Miss Nathalie I presume?"

"What do you want?"

"We have a proposal for you-"

"Sorry, we don't deal with you Liberation Army folks. Get out of my patrol"

"Not even if we ask about the Adepts?"

"… what of it?"

"We heard that you have some dilemma regarding those troublesome Adepts. We would like to acquire some."

"And why should I do that?"

"To develop a kill switch, should the Adepts go rogue."

"…"

"I'm sure you have a lot of things in mind, so I bid you-"

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"… what would you have me do?"

END OF CHAPTER.