The Absolute Zero
Situated amongst the hypnotic lights of Shinjuku is the famous host bar known as the 'Absolute Zero'. During the Shem-Ha Incident, this particular bar played a vital role in the counter-operations against the Great Surgeon, contributing to S.O.N.G.'s narrow victory by lending the technical assistance of its IT-focused regulars. The Absolute Zero has become a reliable reservoir for rumours in the proceeding years. By maintaining connections with its No.4 host - Ogawa Suteinu - the field agents of S.O.N.G. are able to access information related to the underground markets, ensuring successful operations against domestic terrorists, traffickers of heretical technology, and Illuminati Remnants.
Task Force Harmony
In the months leading up to the Shem-Ha Incident, a plan had been personally proposed by Kazanari Yatsuhiro. This contingency plan involved the formation of a rescue force to support the Adaptor Corps during conflicts that would stretch its limited numbers, thereby assuring the world's protection during large-scale paranormal disasters. The idea was shelved when Yatsuhiro tragically lost his life at the hands of Kazanari Fudou. But with the arrival of the Distortions, the world council has chosen to push forward with its implementation, purely out of a desperate need for a specialized military against this new opposition.
Task Force Harmony is comprised of hand-picked individuals from across the globe with branches located within each council member nation. All of their equipment is funded directly by the world council itself, providing them with the best and latest available hardware on the legal market. Their combat doctrines primarily center around the use of ground vehicles for rapid counterattacks, enabling the swift elimination of threats in an urban battlefield where aircraft has mostly been made a liability. As of now, Task Force Harmony is legally restricted to conducting its operations solely against Distortions at the world council's discretion. They are undeniably a far cry from the plans proposed by the late Yatsuhiro. But even then, an organization akin to S.O.N.G. can ill-afford to turn away their assistance. Especially in the face of a foe that threatens the entire planet.
Aiko Shinonome (Part 1)
Mysteries aplenty surround the amnesiac woman who had been discovered alongside an Illuminati hibernation pod in Yamaku City's outskirts. Having been found on the same day as Cassandra Jiang Lanfen's official entry into S.O.N.G., Commander Kazanari made the official decision of placing Aiko under Symphogear Team-04's care for the sake of her steady recovery. All public documentation regarding this woman are seamless fabrications by S.O.N.G. and Clan Hida. Her name had been selected of her own volition and Aiko relies on a range of prescribed medicine to treat an ailment that is suspected to have been a result of Illuminati gene-experimentation. Nevertheless, Aiko exhibits little worry about her memories nor her circumstances. She instead showcases a fascination with the world around her, treating every aspect of it as marvels to witness, all while Aiko's eyes secretly gravitate towards the monochrome warrior who had saved her.
Yuki Godai (Part 1)
Born on the 18th of March, 2026, Yuki is a graduate from Lydian Academy and an ex-initiate of Clan Hida. After losing both of her parents to a tragic car accident during her penultimate months in school, Yuki spent the years following her graduation living under the parental care of her great-uncle, Godai Yusuke. Personal connections provided by him eventually gave Yuki a chance to become an initiate under the enigmatic Clan Hida. She took the opportunity without a second thought and endured the harshest of the Clan's training regimens with a free-spirited nature that can only be attributed to her guardian. But to the surprise of even Grandmaster Ogawa Souji, her journey towards becoming a full-fledged shinobi would suddenly halt when Yuki bent the proverbial knee, relinquishing her goals to become the fiancé of her long-time lover, Kaburagi Otome.
Komichi Ayano (Part 1)
Born on the 18th of April, 2026, Komichi is a graduate from Lydian Academy who wasted no time finding whatever jobs she could get to assist those in need. As a connoisseur of sapphic media, Komichi can typically be found with at least one or two books located somewhere on her person wherever she goes. Certain circumstances would eventually bring Komichi onto S.O.N.G.'s doorstep with an offer to join them. Against the wishes of friends and family alike, Komichi claimed her first ever chance to aid people on the supernatural field, incidentally becoming one of the organization's top sharpshooters in the process. She is second only to Yukine Chris in the use of ballistic firearms. And yet, Komichi's penchant for removing targets with extreme prejudice has never once hindered her dream to see a world where nobody would ever need to fear the paranormal.
Souji Ogawa
Souji stands as the firstborn child of the Ogawa siblings. Known particularly for his aptitude for command, Souji rose to the position of Grandmaster after the passing of their father nearly fifteen years ago. The eldest of the three brothers chose to distance himself from his two younger siblings upon attaining his rank. But the passage of time has softened Souji's demeanour, letting him rebuild the bridges that he had initially burned to become the Grandmaster which Souji foolishly believed that Clan Hida required. His authority is symbolized by the ceremonial katana which Souji carries as a weapon of office and his relationship with Tsuchiya Kagero is known only to a few. As Souji is aware of the inherent power imbalance between a superior and subordinate, the two made a promise to only pursue their desires once both of them have left the webs of Clan Hida.
Suteinu Ogawa
Suteinu is the youngest and brightest of the Ogawa siblings. He is the favourite of many a patron in the Absolute Zero and knows at least fifty different tricks to entertain his countless customers. But Suteinu's playboy persona should not be reason to underestimate someone who had learned twenty different language's for the sake of it. Although free of the responsibilities that his older brothers both took up in order to give him a chance at forging his own path, Suteinu acts as a S.O.N.G. informant in his spare time. By observing the black market, Suteinu keeps track of any paranormal transactions, ensuring that all heretical technology is detained through violent, armed interventions.
Isamu Yaiba
Few individuals are close enough with Isamu to learn of anything meaningful about them. Known primarily for their role as a Field Captain in Task Force Harmony's Japanese branch, Isamu can always be seen leading counterattacks against the Distortion threat directly from the frontlines. Remarks from the agender soldier claim that they had lost their mother during the global attack, granting them a simple motivation to join the specialized task force like so many who ended up being affected by the worldwide tragedy. Their background aside, Isamu stands as a reliable ally of S.O.N.G. from Task Force Harmony, makin them a convenient confidant for Commander Genjuuro to confide with.
Keith Silverstein
As the father to Cassandra Jiang Lanfen, Keith was a skilled cook, an avid chess-player, and a reliable field operator. On November 2015, he had been marked as a casualty of a Noise attack at a paranormal dig site. Members of Section Two would then discover his injured body and nurse him back to health before offering a chance to join their ranks beneath a new identity. Keith took to his new duties without a care for what little he needed to leave behind. In time, he would later fall in love and propose to the woman who had personally saved his life. Both would unfortunately be called for an urgent mission on April 30th, 2044, leading to their tragic deaths during the investigation of rising cults in the European continent.
Margaret Jiang Pao-Lin
As the mother to Cassandra Jiang Lanfen, Pao-Lin spent most of her youth living in Malaysia before settling in Japan. A latent talent for combat and espionage would lead her to be hired by Section Two, where she would rack up a reputation as a ruthless field agent. Aside from her militant skills, Pao-Lin had also taught herself to wield numerous forms of traditional weaponry, fostering a collection that she would keep in pristine condition at all times. The investigation of an excavation site which had been attacked by Noise would cause Pao-Lin to cross paths with a man whom she would eventually marry. Having suggested the identity that Keith ended up taking in light of his legal death, the pair relished the joys of a happy marriage which would only end at the occultic hands of the Bavarian Illuminati.
SG-r04 Sword of Damocles (Part 2)
"Symphogear-Weapon-of-Relentless-Destruction."
Nearly half a decade had been dedicated towards the development of S.O.N.G.'s Symphogear Destroyer. The required funding for a brand-new Symphogear in and of itself exceeds the resources needed to construct the paranormal task force's latest underwater vessel. And yet, none of this is an issue for the world council who had funded its development. By employing the fragment of a famed philosophical weapon, the Sword of Damocles bears a power fueled by harnessing the dread surrounding its possible utilization. Such a force is considered even by its backers to be a measure for extreme circumstances, prompting the decision to restrain its full might with built-in limiters.
In its restricted state, the Sword of Damocles takes the form of a thick arming sword for its Armed Gear. Meanwhile, the mental state of its current Wielder, Cassandra Jiang Lanfen, forms the chess-themed design of its monochrome armour, assembling a functional form for standard supernatural combat. But when the limiters within the Sword of Damocles are removed, its metal edge is replaced by a plasma projector which channels the vigour of the philosophical weapon into a blade of all-consuming crimson. Though incapable of deicide, its magnetic field-shaped blade suffers no resistance against whatever matter it faces, melting its way through even the unbreakable as its banshee-like wailing heralds imminent obliteration.
S.O.N.G. Multi-Tool
First proposed on December 25th, 2045, the S.O.N.G. multi-tool is one invention among many of Professor Elfnein Ficus Dienheim. It is issued to all S.O.N.G. members upon enlistment and is designed to provide numerous role-dependent services to its user in one compact, bulletproof package. Communication devices, map displays, cameras, and audio translators are standard features across all departments. Personnel who are expected to operate in the field are outfitted with hacking add-ons and scanners. Those who are primarily stationed in the organization's submarine instead receive additional features to assist in file organization and data-base updates. A feature exclusive to its most recent Wielder - Cassandra Jiang Lanfen - is her access to secret records pertaining to the Adaptor Corps. Due to her role as the proverbial sword who hangs over their heads, Lanfen carries unrestricted access to learn how her fellow Adaptors operate in combat, shining a light on their strengths and weaknesses altogether in order to better perform her one true duty.
S.O.N.G. Field Drone
The first prototype for Professor Elfnein's latest invention came about on February 10th, 2047. Designed to accompany both field agents and Adaptors into operation zones where surveillance is either unavailable or limited, the field drone provides a bird's eye view of the environment through lenses that have access to multiple visual frequencies. The machine itself is propelled by experimental anti-gravity hover technology, allowing the drone to soundlessly navigate in 3 dimensions with ease. As these drones are still in the process of being rolled out, their current versions require a field operator to direct their movements and cameras within a distance of ten kilometers, thereby necessitating the deployment of S.O.N.G.'s personnel wherever these surveillance drones are desired.
Category-2 Distortions
Casualties arise whenever Category-2 Distortions make their entrance on the battlefield. According to Task Force Harmony observations, the chances of a Category-2's arrival during the average incursion rounds up to a 44% chance. Even the most stalwart of Harmony's personnel fears a confrontation with these automata as their speed, resilience, and strength makes it elementary for a single Category-2 to turn entire squads into gore across the pavement. Symphogear-Wielders are therefore the desired solution in the face of an implacable enemy, even if an Adaptor can end up finding herself on the backfoot were she to underestimate their ability to fight with perfect coordination. Less than a month has elapsed since the Distortions first appeared. And yet, over 70% of recorded military casualties thus far have been a result of unsupported, desperate encounters with these ruthless constructs.
Category-3 Distortions
Among the three documented threat-levels posed by the Distortions, the Category-3s are the rarest, owing to their single appearance on December 22nd, 2049. Four locations reported the distinct signatures of these advanced automata at the exact same moment: Yamaku City, Sydney, New York, and London. Within moments, entire swathes of Task Force Harmony soldiers were reduced to a statistic. Their power proved to be an obstacle for even the Symphogear system and result in the fiercest incursions seen since the global attack. Symphogear Team-01, 02, and 03 eventually defeated their respective opponents through the magnifying strength of the unison. But Team-04 had been forced to rely on the blight of the S.W.O.R.D., ironically leading to a whole separate incident. The world council fears the next time where the forces of S.O.N.G. would have to face these monsters again. And it is a fear which is hardly misplaced when no one can know for sure how many more of these automata lurk beyond reality's fragile barriers.
Illuminati Hibernation Pod
The archives of S.O.N.G. contain one file after the other on the alchemic devices used by the Bavarian Illuminati. Their hibernation pods can be considered one of their more "humane" inventions. Developed during the waning months of 1945, the hibernation pod is regularly used to cryogenically preserve key members of the Illuminati who have yet to attain a Perfect Body of their own. Recent developments allow these pods to preserve their occupants for up to several centuries, all while their armoured exteriors grant the pod limited protection against firearms. When human experiments arose as a 'trend' amongst the alchemists, these pods were then used as convenient shipping containers for their test subjects. Some would regret their methods as experiments such as VMP-001 - otherwise known as "Millaarc Cranstoun" - would regularly cause the destruction of these priceless items during the Illuminati's attempts to deliver their living cargo.