![[initiation.png]] *Added to the Codex on* ***December 5th, 2023*** --- ### Quotes "In the land reclaimed, a secret in transit." - Valkyrie "It's time. New threat to balance of power. Must stop. Find my marks. Leave signal." - Valkyrie "Final test. Prove worthy." - Valkyrie <br> ### Description "In the land reclaimed, a secret in transit." That was [[Codex/Profiles/Valkyrie|Valkyrie's]] first direct message to the former [[Codex/Profiles/Exodus|Exodus]] [[No-Pats]], to draw [[Tombstone Squad]] to the [[Arkangel]] shipment in [[Reclaimed|Czechia]]. They recruited [[Codex/Specialists/Ji-Soo Paik|Paik]] to their cause. The [[Missing No-Pats|missing No-Pats]], [[Boreas]], Arkangel. Connect the dots. Or start to, at least. Then came Tombstone's initiation. "It's time. New threat to balance of power. Must stop. Find my marks. Leave signal." Tombstone signaled they were ready. "We begin. In sands of time, proof of evil hides." Tombstone traveled to the desert. Valkyrie delivered their next message. "No-Pats missing. Bogeyman hunts them. Rumors of evil. Proof contained here." They recovered the proof Paik had left at one of their sites. Cracking the code took time; it was one of their older numerical systems, from the organization's past. His Dark Creations Will End Us All. Valkyrie thought often of this. "Arkangel. Crimes in darkness. Punish. Where hope lifts off, send message." Tombstone traveled to the launch site, one of Arkangel's ascension satellites was preparing to lift off. "Prove loyalty. Arkangel launch. Overload. Destroy. Mind your haste. Four as one. Find brief." If they were reluctant, they didn't show it. They completed the instruction and recovered the data drive: the instructions for one last trial, from Valkyrie's superiors. "Final test. Prove worthy. [[Codex/Specialists/Santiago "Dozer" Espinoza|Santiago]]: Protect land and take thirty souls, close and personal. [[Codex/Specialists/Pyotr "Boris" Guskovsky|Pyotr]]: Wreak havoc from your shoulder to ten steel beasts. [[Codex/Specialists/Maria Falck|Maria]]: Save ten allies without falling. [[Codex/Specialists/Wikus "Casper" Van Daele|Wikus]]: End eight souls from great distance. Reveal thirty souls your allies must depart." There was always a feat of strength, a test of battlefield resolve. That was their way since their formation. If Tombstone Squad were to be recruited into their ranks, they had to earn it. And they did not disappoint.