AZEGAN FILES: SHEATHES-10 TROOP 002

GENERAL OVERVIEW

- The idiom 'Gentle Giant' describes a massive person whose size is rivaled by his/her timidity. By that definition, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler is one of the most 'Gentlest Giants' around.



SPECIFICATIONS OVERVIEW

- Subject Identity: FrX-Catenatus Crawler

- SHEATHES 'Number': 10

- Subject State: Machina

- Subject Tier: Advanced

- Length: 5500 meters, approximately

- Width: 4000 meters, approximately.

- Height: 4900 meters, approximately.

- Mass: Unknown; Internal Space can be manipulated.



PICTURE OVERVIEW

- 1: Coding-Panel Domes. The large central 'shell' and the two smaller 'shells' beside it house the gear to energize and create Machina Coding Fields without Emperor Vulcan needing to Manifest them personally. They are fuel tanks and complex limbs at the same time, in a sense. They contain the means and the resources with which to summon the main tools that the FrX-Catenatus Crawler uses.

- 2: Crawler Towns. If and when the FrX-Catenatus Crawler needs to make accommodations for others, be they other Monarch Subjects or members of another faction, Crawler Towns are where such passengers would go. There are different Crawler Towns for different sections of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler.

- 3: Assorted Machina Coding Fields. So far, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler has demonstrated rein over many types of Machina Coding Fields, but its preferred ones are the Kinetic, Aesthetic, Colletic, Ballistic, Hyletic, Zetetic, and Noetic Coding Fields. The Screens themselves can be Manifested anywhere near, on, or within the FrX-Catenatus Crawler.

- 4: Operations Facility. Contains any additional gear or equipment that the FrX-Catenatus Crawler may need. Weather Machines, Portal Formers, and Communications Devices are among the most common implementations. The FrX-Catenatus Crawler's Levitation Device and Retrocausality Device are also found here.

- 5: Nexa Bolt Chains. The main locomotion tool of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler. As one might have guessed, they make use of another of Emperor Vulcan's inventions from an Excell-Enclosed Reality that has a limited lifespan within a resident universe. Nexa Bolt Chains are what allow the FrX-Catenatus Crawler to classify as a Ground Unit, and not an Air Unit, and they are where this Subject's name comes from.



UTILITY OVERVIEW

- Seeing the FrX-Catenatus Crawler floating in mid air, one might immediately assume it's flying. It isn't. There is a unique Levitation Device that simply 'holds' the FrX-Catenatus Crawler in place above a planetary surface at a selected distance. How it works is nothing Emperor Vulcan cares to discuss, but what is known is that gravity still normally affects the FrX-Catenatus Crawler and anyone within it. In other words, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler is standing still on invisible legs when not moving. Attempting to apply pressure or weight on it from above or below will result in no changes in altitude.

- The Coding-Panel Domes are the second most prominent feature of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler aside its Nexa Bolt Chains. The larger Central Panel Dome is responsible for forming Machina Coding Fields that the FrX-Catenatus Crawler uses for itself. The two smaller Side Panel Domes are responsible for forming Machina Coding Fields that are used on everything else. All three Coding-Panel Domes house immense energy reserves of Dea Bolt Energy. Each 'segment' of the Coding-Panel Domes actually as a Machina Coding Field built into them, enabling said Machina Coding Field to devote its effects continuously on a single Target. In the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's case, the Coding-Panel Domes have Colletic Coding Fields built into them, allowing Emperor Vulcan to repair any damage to Coding-Panel Domes the instant it happens.

- Crawler Towns are exactly as they sound. The sheer size of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler is able to carry miniature cities. These collection of 'buildings' will house any passenger that the FrX-Catenatus Crawler will pick up. Crawler Towns aren't Construct-Type Subjects, despite appearances. They are more like the rooms on a Vessel-Type Subject, which is what the FrX-Catenatus Crawler will classify as whenever it has to carry someone; by itself, it's classified as a Troop-Type Subject, and it is classified as a Troop here because it does usually work as a single entity, whereas RkR-Ardeoira drones are comprised of multiple Subjects hitching a ride upon a core Subject. Normally, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler has no need for any form of Life Support System; it doesn't need to feed, or breathe, or dispose of waste. However, Crawler Towns can be transformed to be equipped with such things if their passengers need them.

- For all its tasks, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler uses Machina Coding Fields. Using the picture as an example, three types of Machina Coding Fields can be found. They all look alike, making them very hard for opponents to figure out what they do until it's too late:

- At the top of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler are Memetic Coding Fields. They among the simplest of the Machina Coding Fields, but also among the most useful. Memetic Coding Fields 'transfer' information from one Memetic Coding Field to another. The data remains as data, utterly in the Realm of Information until taken and acted upon by another Machina Coding Field. Memetic Coding Fields can then be said to turn information into 'mobile thoughts' of Machina State Subjects.

- Right by the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's frontal Crawler Town, in between the upper and lower Machina Coding Field sets, are three Zetetic Coding Fields. While Colletic Coding Fields 'preserve' information, Zetetic Coding Fields 'understand' information. Barring any Renaissance 'Villain' affecting Emperor Vulcan, Zetetic Coding Fields are essentially omniscient. This is because Zetetic Coding Fields operate on a Macro-Data Scale; they 'see' the 'information behind information', 'information about information', and 'information beyond information', grasping facts and events on more than an 'upfront' basis. Because Zetetic Coding Fields can 'see' the 'information behind information', they can pierce through any barrier or secrecy concerning data. Attempting to scramble the contents of a document via polymorphic coding will register to a Zetetic Coding Field as, "so-and-so person has scrambled *insert document content here* using polymorphic coding", or some variation of it. Because Zetetic Coding Fields can 'see' the 'information about information', they can 'purify' data before allowing others to view it. No matter how jumbled, lengthy, dangerous or unusual the data, a Zetetic Coding Field can present it to a view in the best way possible. Because Zetetic Coding Fields can 'see' the 'information beyond information', they can allow 'lesser' minds to fathom 'greater' things. If something is incomprehensible, unexplainable, or traumatizing to a viewer, Zetetic Coding Fields can simply 'download' an 'understanding' of such data into someone who needs it.

- There is a catch with Zetetic Coding Fields, and it is a big one. SHEATHES-10 is an Exploration-Oriented SHEATHES. That means Emperor Vulcan cannot deploy Zetetic Coding Fields outside of the Yggdrasil Galactic Triumvirate. He cannot use them to learn about other factions unless they enter the trio of galaxies that form SHEATHES-10's foothold in this Universe. Doing so would defeat the purpose of an Exploration-Oriented SHEATHES. As such, it is against his very Essence to perform. So, why can't Emperor Vulcan simply use them to know everything about about everything else? Technically, he could, but that privilege is denied to him in the Ancerious Galaxy by the Locking Glyphs. More specifically, the Authority-Locking Glyphs ensure that the Monarchs cannot use their 'All-Knowing' capabilities within, against or on the Ancerious Galaxy itself. Even trying to scan the Ancerious Galaxy from the outside will yield faulty data, which was why they got a little lost when they first entered the galaxy.

- In short, Zetetic Coding Fields are drastically limited within the confines of the Ancerious Galaxy, including any information they may gather from it. Fortunately, Zetetic Coding Fields retain their ability to have their viewers 'understand' data, as well as their ability to 'purify' data.

- At the lower parts of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler in the picture, just beneath its Operations Facility, are a bunch of Ballistic Coding Fields and Dominic Coding Fields.

- Ballistic Coding Fields 'propel' information. They are different from Memetic Coding Fields and Kinetic Coding Fields in that they can 'propel' Information from one Target into another. If Target A is 'wet' and Target B is 'on fire', Ballistic Coding Fields can 'propel' the 'state of being in wetness' into the Target with the 'state of being on fire', putting that fire out. Memetic Coding Fields 'transfer' data between each other, and Kinetic Coding Fields 'maneuver' the data directly with the Target in question still attached. With Memetic Coding Fields, data becomes a 'thought', and with Kinetic Coding Fields, data becomes a 'vehicle'.

- Dominic Coding Fields 'alter' data. Like the Memetic Coding Field, this one is simple yet super-useful. Dominic Coding Fields can only manipulate 'what any information is', not 'where' or 'why', or any other aspects concerning it. If something is 'facing left', they can 'alter' that fact into 'facing right', causing the Target attached to do so.

- The Nexa Bolt is another one of Emperor Vulcan's creations that hail from an Excell-Enclosed Reality. It too has its own unique function, and like all Machina Voltages, it can only last for so long before its existence is 'rejected' by the current Universe. Dea Bolts can 'empower' information into something more 'actual', Vora Bolts devour all energy no matter how exotic or trans-universal, and Ira Bolts are an infinite source of power. Nexa Bolts simply create an inseparable link between all energy within two surfaces, thereby 'connecting' energy with other energy. They radiate no heat or radiation, and the glow they emanate is normal infrared light. A Nexa Bolt can pass through flesh and leave it completely unspoiled. The only things they can influence are their Selected Targets, and even then, only the 'ends' of a Nexa Bolt do any interacting with anything. Their 'main body' is nothing more than an image.

- By using Dominic Coding Fields in tandem with Nexa Bolt Legs, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler can walk itself across any type of terrain. It will stroll on the surface of an ocean, straight up vertical cliffs, over pressure-triggered minefields without setting one off, or right through the busiest metropolis without so much as scratching the paint of a parked car. Kinetic Coding Fields supplement its travel methods in many ways. For example, one can stand on top of an FrX-Catenatus Crawler traveling at maximum speed and not feel the faintest gust; Kinetic Coding Fields will simply 'guide' the very air around the FrX-Catenatus Crawler (only letting in whatever is needed for passengers who may be outside to breath, and even then in a controlled manner) like a spaceship slipping through Space-Time in a Warp Bubble.

- Now, as omnipotent as the FrX-Catenatus Crawler sounds, one must remember the Locking Glyphs. While it is true that a normal FrX-Catenatus Crawler can render an entire Star System utterly impervious to even the nastiest Superweapons conceived, the Locking Gyphs shred the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's true potency to ribbons within the Ancerious Galaxy. That is, it cannot be Manifested in Ancerious at all.



TRAVEL OVERVIEW

- Maximum Land Speed: 308 miles per hour

- Maximum Hover Height: 2550 meters



ATTACK OVERVIEW

- It would seem that the FrX-Catenatus Crawler would make for a potent weapon, but it isn't. This is because of three reasons:

- One: it has zero attack capability outside the Yggdrasil Galactic Triumvirate. While it's true that Kinetic Coding Fields can manipulate the data of the very air to jettison it towards Hostile Targets in a compressed blast that can bore a hole through solid rock, or 'hurl' anything a Noetic Coding Field can fabricate, Emperor Vulcan's Essence disallows him from doing so, being the ruler of an Exploration-Oriented SHEATHES.

- Two: Planetary Terraforming must always be beneficial, even if the planet does belong to Emperor Vulcan. This is so he can't use a Scorched Earth Policy against anyone who might succeed in taking over his worlds.

- Three: Emperor Vulcan has loads of Subjects more suited for destructive means. He does like a specialization of forces, to a certain extent, which means he'd rather deploy a GrX-Catenatus Crawler when it comes to a brawl, and it is pretty much an FrX-Catenatus designed to pound any size of ego into dust using a ridiculous array of weaponry ranging from things that shrink objects to things that permanently scatter the Reality making up a Target across countless alternate dimensions, rendering even immortals as good as dead.



DEFENSE OVERVIEW

- This is where the FrX-Catenatus Crawler truly shines.

- The first line of defense is the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's Shields. The Operations Facility usually contains one or more Shield-Creation Devices, and they can transform Ira Bolt Energy into any kind of energy the FrX-Catenatus Crawler requires for shielding. The Shield-Creation Devices can also mould the properties of their fabricated shields, knitting them like chain mail or creating a single 'bubble' made out of many shields to equip to nearby Subjects, each with their own frequency and phase. However, since the energies used to create these shields are 'mundane', very scarcely of 'exotic' natures that stem from all sorts of 'exotic' Realms (be it Quantum or Nonexistent) the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's shields are always the first things to be breached. However, breaching them can be very difficult indeed, given the numbers and quality Shield-Creation Devices make them with. As a rule of thumb, when any hostile force expends so much effort to destroy a FrX-Catenatus Crawler's Shields, they are hellbent on starting a fiasco with the Monarchs, as anybody else would give up and ignore the peaceful FrX-Catenatus Crawler.

- And should things get that serious, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's adeptness at turtling comes into play.

- Aesthetic Coding Fields are essentially the opposite of Noetic Coding Fields. They 'abstract' Information, turning something 'actual' into its Data equivalent. A 'biological missile' will become the 'idea' of a 'biological missile'. It is impossible for something to get past Aesthetic Coding Fields without aid from a Renaissance 'Villain'. These Machina State Assets operate beyond merely digitizing their Target. Everything, is turned into Machina State Data, which by the way is incompatible with any kind of non-SHEATHES Techology unless converted by another Machina Coding Field for that purpose. Weaponized Gateways, like Empress Gaia's Wormhole Rifts, will be converted into data no harder than a catapulted boulder. Reality Warping, Immunities of any kind and potency, Power itself: whatever is converted simply becomes an 'idea' for Emperor Vulcan to exploit, whether the source is a machine, and entity or an ability. When a Target becomes data, a Target becomes data. No matter which way one looks at it information is information; once converted by an Aesthetic Coding Field, only a Noetic Coding Field can reverse the process. Magics could technically return the information back to being an actuality, but that's only if the spell meant to rescue a Target isn't itself caught and converted by an Aesthetic Coding field as well. The same goes for even the most Cosmically-transcendent of attacks, the most 'certain' ways to kill, and even the most perfect Ability-Nullifying Powers.

- Hyletic Coding Fields 'extract' information from a Target. Much like Aesthetic Coding Fields, they are used to great effect against 'real' and/or 'corporeal' Targets, and their function serves to take a 'form' and produce an 'abstraction' of it. Whereas Aesthetic Coding Fields completely turn 'something real' into data, Hyletic Coding Fields take 'something real about something' and turn it into data, taking away the fact from that which it designates. For example, if a Target is 'big', a Hyletic Coding Field can 'extract' the fact that is is 'big'. The fact that the Target is 'big' has not been changed, but that same fact is no longer 'attached' to the Target. As such, Hyletic Coding Fields can put a damper on Targets with extreme or drastic parameters and/or descriptions. If an energy beam can cut through anything, a Hyletic Coding Field will simply remove that 'data' from it.

- Zetetic Coding Fields can analyze and provide information while sieving through any harmful effects. The gaze of a basilisk will simply be reported as the gaze of a basilisk.

- Vora Bolt-Irradiated Plating allows the FrX-Catenatus Crawler to tank like a boss. As explained in one of SHEATHES-10's Assets Files, the Vora Bolt devours all energy, universal or not, and uses its prey to extend its lifespan. Irradiating the confidential alloys used to encase the FrX-Catenatus Crawler in armor enables the metal itself to absorb monstrous amounts of any energy in a single go. Only repetitive applications of energy will breach Vora Bolt-Irradiated Plating; the limit of energy this defense can absorb in one go is practically nonexistenct, but once it does absorb a 'batch' of energy, it will take some time for the Vora Bolt-Irradiated Plating to 'digest' its catch. If the previous 'batch' of energy has not yet been completely digested, the Vora Bolt-Irradiated Plating will not be able to perform its function against another. This delay between 'meals' creates a window for attacks to bypass Vora Bolt-Irradiated Plating, but it only lasts a few minutes no matter how much energy has been absorbed prior.

- One uncommon occasions, there will be a Retrocausality Device mounted on the FrX-Catenatus Crawler. It uses the Imbued Macro-Quantum Asset exclusive to Emperor Vulcan, which by the way is an Asset his Authority guards fiercely, to grant a designated Target the trait of being unbound by the chronological order of 'Cause and Effect'. The mechanics of the Retrocausality Device is highly classified, and can only be activated in short bursts, but it is another layer of protection that bolsters the overall resilience of the FrX-Catenatus Crawler.

- Placata Clausuram Broadcast Device: An uncommon but supreme defense mechanism that can only be mounted on larger Subjects. The PCB Device is a direct homage to a Wolfsbane Protocol of the same name. When utilized, it generates a Area of Jurisdiction that instantly, continuously and absolutely transports anything not of the Machina State outside itself. It is a simple defense in concept, but its abilities cannot be bypassed, whether by light, matter, gravity, dimension, time, or magic, for all such things can and will be relocated outside the PBC Device's Area of Jurisdiction. Only their Machina State equivalent that exists as part of SHEATHES-10 Territory will remain, and those are under perfect control of the Monarchs. Psionic Abilities (like those belonging to the 'Bittercress Walker') which would normally work as long as the Psychic Mind knows where its Target is located, are not able to affect Subjects within the bounds of an activated PCB Device. Unorthodox methods of delivering ordnance (like Empress Hecate's various Blast Spells, many of which create an explosion within their Target) are also ineffective; the ordnance itself, its entry point, the event of its appearance, and its effects are simply booted out of the PCB Device's Area of Jurisdiction. Speed of delivery is rendered irrelevant; no matter how fast the explosion, for all sakes and purposes it happened outside the PCB Device's Area of Jurisdiction. The major downside to the Device is the ludicrous amounts of energy it needs to operate. For every 1.5 minutes of activation, it consumes 1 Ira Bolt. Considering how Ira Bolts are supposed to be an infinite source of energy for as long as they exist, that gives an idea of how expensive (and potent) PCB Devices are.

- The FrX-Catenatus Crawler is not equipped with very many Ira Bolts, so it cannot make use of its Pacata Clausuram Broadcast Device as if it were a JiL-Hospital Ship.



EMPLOYMENT OVERVIEW

- First and foremost, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler is a protector. The whole point of its presence within a Star System is to ensure no harm will ever come upon it and its inhabitants. Using its Machina Coding Fields in combination with its Shield Creation Device, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler can nullify whole lists of misfortunes that it might chance upon. Where most other machines its size boast firepower, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler proclaims an embrace. That's not to say the FrX-Catenatus Crawler's work is even slightly laughable. It may take to babysitting worlds instead instead of obliterating everything in sight, but once the FrX-Catenatus Crawler gets its game face on, nothing short of an 'all-in and all-out' invasion will so much as disturb a single pebble on the soil it guards. What's worse, there's no guarantee any damage done will be long-lasting, much less permanent.

- The FrX-Catenatus Crawler can be used to terraform. By spreading its Dominic Coding Fields over an area, the FrX-Catenatus Crawler can change everything from climates to elevation. Mountains are flattened and forests dissipate to make room for bustling metropolises. In time, the entire planet itself may become a machine.



VARIANT OVERVIEW

- Mandatory Emissary Note: It is tradition for 'Watchers' to document a variant of a Subject from its Sibling-SHEATHES, if one exists. Despite their close bond, however, Sibling-SHEATHES are unable to exchange Subjects. Any Monarchs who have 'Lesser Numbers' risk dying from overexertion if attempting to accept a Subject from a 'Higher Number' Monarch. Any Monarchs who have 'Higher Numbers' are guaranteed to crush a Subject from a 'Lesser Number' Monarch in the 'grip' of their Authority. No exceptions. 'Higher Number' Monarchs cannot reinforce 'Lesser Number' Monarchs with Subjects. 'Lesser Number' Monarchs cannot evacuate Subjects into the SHEATHES of 'Higher Number' Monarchs. No 'Equal Numbers' exist for SHEATHES. All data contained herein applies to SHEATHES-10 and SHEATHES-700 only.

- The XrX-Catenatus Plodder is the 18th Generation Elite Version of the FrX Catenatus Plodder; both mecha have a guardian role much like the FrX-Catenatus Crawler, except that the former operates on a Multiversal Scale, as opposed to the Galactic Scale of the latter. In comparison, the Frx-Catenatus Crawler operates on a Star System Scale. Its Nexa Bolt Chains attach it to whole universes, and it allows the mecha to maneuver itself through the Hyperspace in between said universes. Unlike Emperor Vulcan, Empress Boudicca is not bound by the same SHIELDS Treaty, and she is more than comfortable using Aesthetic Coding Fields as weaponry, not that she needs to go that far; the Kinetic Coding Fields on an XrX-Catenatus Plodder can be ordered to shove one universe into another, effectively turning them into missiles.