HALBERD SYSTEMS
Incident Report [DECLASSIFIED — suitable for Cooperative Exchange use]
Date: 10 January 2022
Location(s): Plumely analogue area; Outposts Merwyn 1-3 / Strand 17 under WV Operations Center R
Personnel: [REDACTED — A] (designated squad leader), [REDACTED — B] (drone operator), [REDACTED — C] (communications & emergency support), and [REDACTED — D] (long-range munitions expert)
On 1/7 at 0600 hours, squad specializing in cold weather rugged terrain reconnaissance arrived at Merwyn-3 for insertion into Strand 17 and was briefed on objectives (standard exploratory mission). All four squad members passed through gate without incident. Maintained contact with Merwyn-3 via ansible at regular half-hour intervals and reported no signs of irregularities throughout morning.
At 1118 hours, [C] radioed in to report fluctuations in Möbius readings at their location near the summit of Plumley analogue. Drone readings indicated that fluctuations seemed to exhibit a radial pattern centered several miles away, close to river. Merwyn-3 control checked with Ops and determined that no local feedback was present in prime strand. [A] requested clearance to investigate source, which was granted.
At 1302 hours, instruments at Merwyn-1 and Ops (located ~30 miles distant form each other) both recorded spikes in writhe that suggested reverse-temporal interference linked to drone readings in Strand 17. Squad was appraised but they indicated nothing out of the ordinary.
At 1317 hours, [C] communicated that they had made visual contact with an anomaly that moved autonomously but did not appear to be physical in nature. Most image and video files transmitted via ansible were corrupted; three others showed only the squad in the midst of forest, river, and mountains. Verbal descriptions indicated that the anomaly was shadow-like in nature but did not display “shadow person” behavior (as catalogued by Halberd personnel and documentation available from Yamaguchi / Farsoom records). [C] relayed that they were keeping their distance and searching for a camp site.
Regular check-ins occurred at half-hour intervals until sunset at 1722 hours local time. At 1755, [A] confirmed that the designated sentry would be checking in every two hours (per SOP).
At 0341 hours on 10/8, after designated 0200 check-in, [D] informed Ops that he could hear movement near the camp inconsistent with known local wildlife in either prime strand or Strand 17. Available sensor data indicated small but recurring drops in writhe in the area surrounding the camp.
Ops contacted Merwyn 1, 2, and 3 for data validation. Merwyn-2 showed a substantial spike in ambient writhe; Merwyn-3 showed a small decrease; and Merwyn-1 did not respond until 0403, reporting that their electronics had been knocked offline and that no data had been measured or recorded since 0255.
At 0412 hours, [D] reported seeing a pair of red orbs of light resembling eyes approximately fifty yards away in the forest. Ops recommended waking other personnel, but [D] declined, saying he did not feel the orbs were a threat in any way. Ops then requested that [D] continue to monitor and track the orbs, and [D] acknowledged.
Upon waking at 0530 hours, [A], [B], and [C] all related clear dreams relating to potential future events. By 0645, each squad member had confirmed visual contact with red orbs, which were visibly connected to a shadow-like anomaly resembling the one they had seen the previous day, visible despite ambient darkness.
Ops directed the exploratory squad to forgo original mission objectives and maintain visual contact with anomaly, transmitting its approximate coordinates every 100 yards of movement. Upon receipt, Ops was able to confirm that writhe spikes and dips recorded at five sensor locations, including Merwyn 1-3, corresponded to the anomaly’s movement. Möbius waveform readings were consistent with interstrand activity.
Coordinated tracking of the anomaly in prime strand and Strand 17 began at 0738 hours on 10/8. Observations in Strand 41 were confirmed to correspond at 0802 hours and tracking began at 0819 hours. Cooperative Exchange with O-E (Strands 3, 61) was invoked at 0851 hours, and liaison indicated correlated sensor readings at given coordinates, both simultaneous and at multiple time stamps from the preceding twelve hours.
After strategic reallocation of personnel and resources from de-prioritized objectives, additional reconnaissance team was dispatched to Strand 17 via Merwyn-2 at 1422 hours to supplement original team. The two teams rendezvoused at 1705 hours.
Per SOP-399, shadow-type anomalies can be given “Mothman” status upon meeting at least four of the following criteria: (a) dreams or visions of the future independently verified by at least two personnel; (b) localized persistence for at least twenty-four hours; (c) pervasive feeling of impending doom independently verified by at least five personnel; (d) visual confirmation of shadow-type anomaly; (e) visual confirmation of red “eyes”; (f) auditory or tactile perception of “flapping” by one or more personnel; (g) writhe / Möbius / H-manifold distortions consistent across at least three strands.
Given previous events, Ops elected to allow additional time and conditions before confirmation. Criteria a, b, d, e, and g were verified at 0630 hours on 10/9, and Ops received authorization from Command to confer status at 0632 hours.
Temporal condenser (“weather”) teams were dispatched to prime strand, Strand 17 (via Merwyn-1), and Strand 41 (via Merwyn-3) at 0744 with the intention of taking temperature readings throughout the day. Condensers were deployed at twelve geographic locations with high writhe conductivity around the area throughout the day. Mirror was deployed at 2108 hours on 10/8.
Anomaly “Mothman 04-Vx6” was contained and retrieved in Strand 17 at 0531 hours, and was immediately prepared for transfer. Convoy arrived at Command at 1111 hours.
Ops was informed that initial electronic integration attempt commenced at 1231 hours. Subsequent details can be found in Report [REDACTED] from Command Lab 4.
Hello hello!
Mothman is IN! Calling it now, 2024 is his year. Let’s have more mothpeople in the world.
This is one of my favorite episodes this season. Figuring out how mothfolk fit into the universe of The Interstice opened up a lot of doors for me, both for this project and in others. Stay tuned for more in that direction!
Meanwhile, if YOU’VE seen Mothman, let me know about him in the comments. I had so much to say down here last season. What did I talk about? I have no idea. Too bad there’s no way for me to find out. ANyway, next week we check back in with our gunrunning friends at Anodyne. Don’t miss it.
See you soon!
:: Jaer
This is really getting weird and wonderful. Where can I acquire my own mothman?