The Black Armory Papers

Entry 10 I'm a mother to a beautiful daughter. A daughter who talks to people who aren't actually there. Normal kid stuff, sure. Reminds me of my own childhood. Like when my mother would tell me ghost stories. They fascinated me. Especially the really…

Entry 25 We are not alone with the Traveler. Something else has been detected out there. An anomaly of sorts. I'm lucky to have friends in informative places who tell me these things. They don't know what it is. But there is something. Could be another…

Entry 37 So this is what success looks like. We three, putting a stake in the ground for what we believe in. Some may disagree with what we're doing. I don't care. We have to champion all that we hold dear. Who we are: our values, our cultures… all that we…

Entry 41 Our forge is up and running. The first of its kind. This is momentous for us. For the Black Armory. I should be thrilled. "Should" being the key word here. But I didn't ask to build a mobile weapon factory. I didn't come up with the idea. Helga…

Entry 50 Today I gave Helga a piece of my mind. She came to me with another "opportunity" for the Armory. Another chance to increase our production. But this project is really crossing a line for me. Exos. I never liked the idea of them in the first place.…

Entry 67 The Traveler is on the move. And they say it's coming here. To earth. I didn't take the news of Titan's evacuation seriously enough. I should have. I should have listened to Helga and Yuki. This is bigger than just me. It's about all of us. If…

Entry 70 The howling is loudest at night. By dawn, the quiet returns and with it, the horrid smell that brings the dogs. I long for the moment I can pry those doors open and leave this place. As I tried to sleep, I realized I couldn't recall the last time…

Entry 92 This whole thing was supposed to be about life. And here I stand, not by choice, looking out into the void. Only death stares back. I'm told to hold my emotions inside. To be strong. But how? Under these circumstances, who in their right mind…

Entry 99 It's noon and the trucks are finally loaded. A late start. Dead crows on the ground this morning. A bad omen. Only Yuki, myself, and three more of our Black Armory family remain. Well, the five of us and… the Exo. I only caught a glimpse of her so…

Entry 104 Well, today was horrible. We had some downtime, so Yuki wanted to test the Exo's new functionality. This was the entire purpose of the Exo in the first place. Project Niobe. Helga's great experiment to make our weapons more deadly through a sort…

Entry 108 Yuki… is dead. It didn't happen like I thought it would. One of the men who had attacked us returned. This time with an offer. He wanted the Exo. He had seen what she was capable of back at the truck. How she turned our weapons into something even…

Entry 115 The airport isn't safe anymore. The control tower is ablaze and the monstrous sounds on the wind will keep us from investigating any further. --- Entry 116 We walk parallel to the roads and lie down in hiding when we hear other travelers. My…

Entry 123 Nostalgia overcame me today. We came upon an amusement park I used to love, back before all this. But now, nature had begun to lay claim to this place. Fortunately, I could still describe most of it in detail. I showed her where I liked to eat,…

Entry 142 My head has been down as I walk through this new world with such an inquisitive young soul. Her gaze is often to the sky, and today we were rewarded with our first living creature in a while. A butterfly. She was lost in its beauty. The wings…

Entry 150 I put this journal aside for a long time. I've been too tired to write in it. My clothes are looser, and she is concerned that I'm "shedding mass." This is not how I ever wanted to get to know her. At night, I started singing to myself to calm my…

Entry 157 We've arrived at the shoreline. There's a small, organized camp here. Unfortunately, all that floats, and some things that don't, have already set to sea. There will be no boating away from Europe. Corsica is off the list for now. --- Entry 158…

Entry 170 Last night, the peace of the refugee camp abruptly ended. Thunder and lightning reverberated in our ears. The people with drones fought a battle in the camp against other people with drones. She and I took this opportunity to escape by following…

Final Entry Dear Adelaide, When those people and their drones found me alone at that deserted intersection they demanded to know where you were. I offered them the Obsidian Accelerator. I gave it freely. You promised you would leave me, and you did… but…