Combat Frame Data: ΛΕΩ-01 Pontifex

Soon after the Coalition renewed contact with Earth, the monastic Saeculum foresaw their imminent persecution and fled into outer space. There they established a number of secret monasteries, first within the Earth Sphere, and as TC/D technology proliferated, in the ExSols. At each of their hidden redoubts, the order established one of their precious Witness repositories of lost knowledge.

With the Military Reorganization Act following Ynzu Controller Barbarossa’s attack on Earth in CY 60, the SOC found its influence greatly reduced. Agents of PAX, an organization founded by exiled Nouvelle-French royals, made contact with a far-flung Saeculum colony soon thereafter The order proved eager to update their records with memories of the preceding lost generation.

In CY 98, the Saeculum dispatched Legate Jonah Isidore Benito to the PAX asteroid Avignon. On his scholarly and diplomatic mission, Brother Jonah piloted a custom combat frame assembled by the Saeculum from past CF designs in their vast database. The ΛΕΩ-01 Pontifex shared many similarities with the XCD-101 XSeed Ezekiel, including the ability to launch self-propelled remote modules armed with laser weapons. Unlike Ezekiel’s remotes, which merely reflected shots from its shoulder-mounted laser cannon, each of the Leo’s cross-shaped modules incorporated its own 7 MW laser emitter. The added weight was mitigated by eschewing a dedicated remote launcher, requiring the remotes to deploy under their own power.

Saeculum military doctrine embraced Sun Tzu’s dictum that the best victory is obtained when one needn’t fight. To that end, the Leo carried a crosier bearing a cross made from pure diamond crystals manufactured by a proprietary process. High-powered laser light shone through the crystal produced a stunning burst of light capable of dazzling hostiles, jamming sensors, and repelling Ynzu over short distances. In the unfortunate event that the Leo’s defensive weapons failed, the base of its crosier mounted a high-output plasma lance.

As an order dedicated to preserving knowledge from tyrants, the Saeculum held secrecy in high regard. They taxed their humble resources to the limit equipping the ΛΕΩ-01 with a TC/D drive and borrowed gravitic cloak technology from PAX’s Phantom.

The order’s crowning technological achievement, however, was its extensive catalogue of memory engrams gathered from significant historical figures. Perfecting their own advanced A.I. and holographic technology, the Saeculum created Witness galleries–living libraries where researchers could consult inheritors of recurring historical roles in person. The Pontifex carried a compact Witness repository, enabling it to store additional memories discovered in its travels. The Witnesses could also serve a role similar to other combat frames’ A.I. operating system, giving the Leo’s pilot the advantage of their military experience.