From: Alcenor, Kyriotate of War - Intelligence Division - 19:32 hrs.

To: Michael, Archangel of War

CC: Laurence, Archangel of The Sword

Re: Recon Operation X11095AZ

Preface - The following file is a transcript of a recording found in central Peru on July 13, 2001. The recording has been identified as the mission recorder of Recon Unit X11095AZ with an 87% percent chance of certainty. Further analysis of the recorder will be impossible as all hard copy files and recordings have been personally confiscated by the Archangel of Judgment as of 19:31 hrs. I have also appended additional commentaries where information not contained in the transcript has become available. I feel it of pressing significance to include that the Archangel of Judgment has specifically ordered me not to give out information regarding this operation and to inform him if anyone should come looking for it. By sending you this file, I am in violation of an Archangelic decree. I hope you find this as disturbing as I did, and that I survive to continue to serve.

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  Tuesday, May 29, 2001 - 05:30

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

  Due to loss of contact with several servitors of Animals and Flowers in the local region, Recon Team has been ordered to the area to sweep for signs of Diabolical influence and to attempt to reestablish contact with missing servitors. At local celestial's request, team X113 has been ordered to reinforce us. Uncertain as to reason reinforcements were requested as my team has seen heavy combat before, but Elohite Zola reports that local Animal and Flower servitors show an unusually high level of fear. Attempts to ascertain causes have proven inconclusive, but the rest of the team attributes it to choice of Superiors.

  Have received additional orders from ranking Flowers servitor. Ordered to bring 3 Soldiers with us as guides to the forest. Am uncertain as to the wisdom of this decision, but have been assured that the Soldiers are well versed in local geography and are capable of maintaining stealth quotient. Symphony rings true, but still feel uneasy.

Saturday, June 2, 2001 - 05:30

Secondary Tracker Kyriotate Simone speaking -

  We've been searching for 4 days now, but have found little to no signs of the Flowerchildren or the Animalkin. Primary Tracker Lytal is concerned that we have found so few traces, however I am still not convinced that we are in the right search area. Ofanim Dylan and Migia insist that we are still on the right track, as are the soldiers that we brought with us.

  The forest here is much denser than we anticipated, and travel has been slower than we had planned. Having to stop to allow the humans to sleep has further hindered our progress, but I must admit that the decision to bring them along was wise. Malakite Kyra nearly lost her vessel due to not listening to Denise's warnings about quicksand. Mulcav has stated that he believes that this is a fool's errand and that the missing angels will either show up in Heaven or wander back into the encampment that we are heading for any day now.

  I don't know why, but for some reason I tend to doubt it.

Sunday, June 3, 2001 - 19:43

Tertiary Tracker Kyriotate Mylda speaking -

  We've reached the forward encampment that we were told about. There's dust everywhere - this place hasn't been used for a long time. Our human associates seem concerned, as does Zola for some reason. Reports indicated that this place was a hotbed of native activity, but if that's so, then something is definitely wrong.

  We've found some evidence to support the idea that there were children here at some point, as we've found several drawings and pictures hanging on the walls. Nobody told us that they had children out this far in the jungle. But then again, if better records and accountings had been kept by Flowers and Animals, we wouldn't be out here, now would we?

  Nellie, the only Mercurian in the group, seems concerned about something. She isn't speaking about it, but I've noticed that she has a tendency to chew on her lip when something is bothering her. I imagine that if she believes it important, she'll make sure to let us know.

  Monday, June 4, 2001 - 02:08

Tactical Support Agent Malakite Kyra speaking -

  Malakite Zephram has gone missing. No one remembers seeing him leave, but the last time any of us can place him is 01:15. Cherub Omalia reported that she has an attunement on him, but could not place precisely where he was. She then became agitated and started shaking her head violently - when I questioned her about it, she just kept saying that something was very wrong and insisted that we had to find him.

  The Kyriotates have spread out trying to find him, but Mulcav has insisted that all of them retain one vessel here in the encampment. Nellie has been sticking close to the humans, which is typical for a Mercurian, but it seems almost like they're comforting her, rather than the other way around. Michelle, one of the soldiers, has privately told me that she's got a feeling that something is seriously wrong out here.

  I'm beginning to understand what she means.

Monday, June 4, 2001 - 08:47

Soldier of God Robert Davila speaking -

  This isn't the proper thing to say about angels of War, but people are freaked.

  I don't know what to make of it - the Cherub has been reversing directions on an almost hourly basis. She says that she's attuned to the Malakite that vanished, but it's almost as if she's walking in circles. The two wheels have been trying to help her, but I'm seeing looks of powerlessness on their faces too. I've been told by Nellie that Ofanim can't track a person the same way that a Cherub can, but this seems different.

  The Seraph in charge of things is really getting on us to pick up the pace. I guess that once he lost one of his own people in this operation, the reality of it sunk in. Myself, I understand the reality of this all too well - if I die in the line of duty, it's not like I have a guarantee of coming back, after all. I could really use a break - the girls didn't manage to get any sleep, and neither did I. Duty calls, of course...

Tuesday, June 5, 2001 - 03:45

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

I have decided to make camp for the night to allow the soldiers to get some sleep if they are able. The decision was made easier in a way by the fact that Omalia has now lost her attunement on Zephram. I am now quite certain that we have hostile forces out here - Zephram would not have simply walked off for no reason. All attempts to contact him have failed for the past three hours, and I am forced to declare him a loss. Hopefully, once we complete our assignment, we will find him in Heaven waiting for us.

Tuesday, June 5, 2001 - 04:01

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

  Zola started screaming earlier, pointing out into the woods and cowering behind the two wheels. Lytal and Simone have been out in the direction that she pointed in, but have found nothing out of the ordinary. I am at a loss to explain what could have caused the Elohite to react in such a manner, but I do not need her resonance to see the terror on her face. She keeps asking us if we saw 'it'. I do not know what she is talking about, and I do not believe that anyone else does either. She has been unable to describe what she saw to me, but I have the distinct impression that whatever she claims to have seen may have been a delusion brought on by the stress of the situation.

Tuesday, June 5, 2001 - 23:16

Support Agent Elohite Zola speaking -

  My associates have told me of an incident that occurred this morning, which I am at a loss to explain. I find myself with a gap in my memory approximately twenty minutes long, during which time this supposed 'panic attack' occurred. Were we not in the middle of a mission, I would request to have myself examined by several other Elohim to have my mental stability checked. I mentioned this to Mulcav, and he agreed that once the assignment was over he would see to it that I was given the requisite time off. Zephram told me that this happens from time to time, and that I should be fine. The calm that he displays during this time of stress is refreshing, and I believe that a few hours on patrol with him will help bring my psyche back into equilibrium.

(Intelligence note - Low-level analysis of the recording showed signs of a sonic disturbance somewhere in the background during this section of the recording. We have been unable to identify its source or type.)

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 - 05:30

Acquisition Officer Ofanite Migia speaking -

  Zola has gone missing. She left to get some additional firewood around 04:00, and has not been seen or heard from since. Omalia has managed to keep her attunement stable this time, and has reported that she has her position some twelve miles from here. I find this somewhat odd as I know for a fact that Zola doesn't have Celestial Motion, which is the only way she could have covered that much ground so quickly.

  Something is seriously screwed up around here. There's no way that we can back out of this operation, but I've got to admit that the thought of just taking the dissonance and getting out of here before any one else just drops off the face of the Earth.

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 - 11:00

Primary Tracker Kyriotate Lytal speaking -

  We've found some strange sigils carved into a tree. The Cherub says that she's never seen anything like them, and I have to agree with her. It's not Angelic or Helltongue, or any other language I've seen before. I tried utilizing a song of Corporeal Tongues on myself to read it, but I've told everyone else that it doesn't help. And that's completely true.

What I failed to mention was the way that the sigils started moving of their own accord when I started looking at them. I've managed to convince everyone else that this is just the work of our enemies, trying to make us stop and try to figure things out. That, or trying to scare us. If they're trying to do the latter, they're doing a damn good job. Those sigils gave me a headache something fierce, and it's not just in these vessels.

I keep hearing something out there in the woods. No one else is hearing it, but I know it's out there somewhere. This is not just in my head. I know it.

(Intelligence note - that sonic disturbance is back again. We've started trying to isolate it, but the analysts are having problems picking it out.)

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 - 11:05

Primary Tracker Kyriotate Lytal speaking -

I want to get out of here. Now.

Robert, one of the soldiers who came with us, is dead. I told everyone else that he fell out of the tree, but the real truth is that I pushed him. His eyes... they looked fine when they saw him on the ground, but when he climbed up into the tree to take a look at the symbols, he touched one of them. If you've ever seen the movie Pitch Black, think about that character Riddick. The one who has his eyes mirrored and blackened. That's what his eyes looked like when he touched that thing.

I've never seen anything like it, and I pray to God Almighty that I never do again. But I swear that when he turned to look at me and started to open his mouth, I just knew that if I heard what he had to say that I was going to be following in Zola and Zephram's footsteps. I'm pushing for an abort of this mission, as of now. I can't tell the others what I saw - they'll just think that I'm crazy.

Maybe they're right. I sure as hell hope so.

(Intelligence note - The sonic's still there, but we can't lock it down yet. Three different analysts are picking up different signatures, so it's apparently quite complex.)

Thursday, June 7, 2001 - 05:30

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

We are walking in circles. Dylan and Migia are claiming that they are unable to find our trail back to the encampment. I do not understand how this is possible, but I have to privately admit that I no longer doubt them.

After I detected that Lytal was lying to me about what had happened with Robert, I decided to query the Symphony about the meaning of those sigils using the songs of Symphony. I would normally have saved the essence, but given the circumstances and the vehemence with which Lytal attempted to abort the mission, I felt it justified. I asked a relatively simple question to my mind - what did those sigils on the tree mean?

The answer I received was a hissed, almost serpentine voice that said "Nothing but words." I have never heard anything that chilled me to my bones before, but that managed to do it. I am specifically _not_ asking the Symphony for its opinions again until I can get that voice out of my head. The Symphony has never sounded quite the way it does now, and although I have ordered us to continue on, I truly agree with Lytal''s assessment.

Apparently, we are screwed.

(Intelligence note - We are detecting a form of Symphonic warping, similar to the effects one encounters after an exceptionally large disturbance. It is possible that this could have affected the team's capabilities to perceive Symphonic effects.)

Saturday, June 9, 2001 - 19:20

Extraction Agent Ofanite Dylan speaking -

We have been trying to fix the recorder after the past 2 day's events. This mission has collapsed. Those of us that are left have told Mulcav that if we don't find the people we're looking for by noon tomorrow, he can shove this assignment. We were sent out here to find the infernal forces, after all. And apparently, they found us instead.

The two remaining soldiers, Denise and Michelle, just lost it today. They started screaming and yelling, and then turned on Nellie. Tore her apart - literally. I didn't believe it until I saw their eyes. Was like staring into outer space - the light just kinda fell into empty sockets. The way they moved, too... it was like a Shedite possession taken way the hell too far. Heads turned further than they should have, legs dislocating in ways that should have taken them down. Was like something out of a bad horror flick, except that this time there wasn't an off button for the VCR. The three Kyrio's managed to take them down, but there were a few seconds there where I really wasn't sure of the outcome.

Migia died today as well. At least, I think she did. She was charging at Denise full speed, and then... and then she just wasn't there anymore. Didn't get touched, didn't Motion out, didn't ascend... just one moment she was there and the next, poof! Omalia says that she's alive, but that she's not coming back. I don't know what that means, but for some reason it scares the hell out of me.

The weirdest thing about all this is the way that the humans died. When they were finally taken down, there wasn't any sort of disturbance at all. Even when someone's possessed, there's a disturbance. But here, the Symphony didn't even make a peep. But then again, the Symphony sounds just wrong right around now. I haven't told Mulcav 'cause I know he's just as freaked as I am, but right now I can't use my resonance on anything outside line of sight. I don't know how we're going to get out of here.

Did you hear that?

(Intelligence note - The sonic is back again, and I've got some disturbing data on it. This is incomplete at best, but I've got no one else who'll touch it left. The sound is being heard differently by everyone that hears it, but it has a definitely negative effect on the mind of whoever hears it. We ran it through a few computer systems at Jeantech, and it sounds like muttering mixed in with giggling of some sort. There's absolutely nothing like it in any database we have access to. We'll keep you posted.)

Sunday, June 10, 02:15

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

That's it. We're leaving. Screw this.

There is something out there in the woods. I can see movement out there, but we can't find a source for it. Omalia has vanished, and I'm down to 6 people out of an original 14, myself included. The Symphony has become silent in my ears, as well as to the rest of my team. I think that there isn't any choice left but to return directly to Heaven and explain this to Michael. He may be upset, but we'll be alive to hear him scream at us.

(Intelligence note - As of this point, all Symphonic activity on the mission recorder has ceased. Background noise indicates that there is that muttering sound that we've been picking up, as well as some sort of rhythmic pulse every couple of seconds.)

Sunday June 10, 02:17

Team Leader Seraph Mulcav speaking -

Dear God.

We can't ascend to Heaven. We're trapped here. There's... ment in the... we are tr... but there's littl... we can not... oh g... the sten... summoning failed... somebo... try again.. we must hold the... we have to... help, plea.... he....

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