Null swarm

The **null swarm** is a warmoth swarm which, under the command of Brevet General Kel Cheris, besieged the heretical group occupying the Fortress of Scattered Needles. The swarm appears in Ninefox Gambit and is mentioned in Raven Stratagem and Revenant Gun.

## Overview

The swarm was selected by Cheris with support from the revenant of General Shuos Jedao. It included two cindermoths and thirteen bannermoths, along with seven boxmoths to transport infantry.

To avoid bannering the Deuce of Gears, the swarm used the null emblem.

## Tactical Groups

After the boxmoth *River Full of Stones* was destroyed, the six remaining boxmoths were distributed two per tactical group.

### Tactical One

* Led by cindermoth *Unspoken Law* under Cheris and Commander Kel Nerevor (later Acting Commander Kel Hazan).

### Tactical Two

* Led by cindermoth *Sincere Greeting* under Commander Kel Paizan.

### Tactical Three

* Led by bannermoth *Red Stitch* under senior bannermoth commander Kel Rai Mogen.

### Tactical Four

* Led by bannermoth *Starvation Hound* under Commander Vidona Diaiya.

## Moth Kel

* Cindermoth *Unspoken Law*: Corporal Kel Hadang, Kel Jua
* Bannermoth *Spectrum Fallacy*, Commander Kel Irio
* Bannermoth *Spiders and Scars*, Commander Kel Tavathe
* Bannermoth, Commander Kel Agath
* Bannermoth, Commander Kel Hapo Nar
* Bannermoth *Auspicious Glass*
* Bannermoth *Unenclosed by Fear*, Commander Kel Koroe
* Boxmoth *River Full of Stones*, Kel Nhiel
* Boxmoth *Autumn Flute*
* Boxmoth *Six Sticks Standing*
* Moth *Trading in Solstice*, Kel Shan
* Moth *Essential Verses*, Kel Liai Meng
* Moth *Badger's Stripes*

## Infantry

The swarm's infantry commander was Colonel Kel Ragath.

Infantry Kel included:

* Corporal Kel Iasure, Kel Niaad
* Lieutenant Kel Mikev; Eggshell; Trigger
* Captain Kel Zethka; Lieutenant Kel Hren; Kel Chion; Kel Huo
* Captain Kel Miyaud
* Captain Kel Jurio
* Captain Kel Mieng, Battalion 3, Company 2, with Kel Ajerio
* Captain Kel Belleren
* Major Kel Ula, Battalion 7, with Captain Kel Zhan Goro and Kel Naraucher
* Captain Kel Jaghun
* Captain Kel Iziade

## Rahal

Captain-magistrate Rahal Gara replaced the original Doctrine officer on the *Unspoken Law* in order to watch Cheris for revenant bleed-through. The Doctrine officer on *Sincere Greeting* was likewise replaced.

## Shuos

A Shuos team led by Captain-analyst Shuos Ko included Senior Analyst Shuos Veldiadar, Analyst Shuos Teng, Analyst Shuos Mrai Dhun, and Analyst Shuos Liis. Shuos infiltrator teams included Shuos Imnai and Shuos Haodan.

## Nirai

Cryptography was led by Captain-analyst Nirai Damiod. Captain-engineer Nirai Weinat oversaw the use of the swarm's threshold winnowers on the Fortress of Scattered Needles. A number of Nirai were also assigned to infantry.

## Servitors

All moths in the swarm had servitors, who were organized differently on each moth.

The servitors on the *Unspoken Law* were represented by a deltaform from Servitor Overgroup One. Other *Unspoken Law* servitors included Servitor 124816, Servitor 7777777, Servitor 244666, Servitor 819825, and Servitor Overgroup Three 13610.

*Sincere Greeting's* servitors were represented by Over and Sideways.

*Spectrum Fallacy's* servitors were represented by five differently-formed servitors.

*Spiders and Scars's* servitors were represented by at least one servitor, a snakeform.

Servitor 10 was also part of the swarm.

## History

The null swarm was scrambled by General Shuos Jedao and Brevet General Kel Cheris at the black cradle facility, assembling in 5.9 days. Among its high officers, Commander Diaiya's *Starvation Hound* was chosen over two alternatives, *Simplicity Eye* and *Six Spires Standing*, despite concerns about her record, and Jedao flagged some of the infantry's Nirai for extra management by Colonel Ragath. To tighten Jedao's leash, the Rahal replaced the cindermoths' Doctrine officers and the Shuos inserted Shuos Liis into the swarm's analysis team.

The null banner was chosen as a substitute for Jedao's infamous Deuce of Gears, and Cheris chose *Unspoken Law* for her flagship, despite Commander Paizan's seniority, to keep Commander Nerevor in line. The swarm traveled in stellate formation for 19 days before reaching the edge of the Fortress's calendrical rot, encountering a guardswarm there which increased its numbers with a kaleidoscope bomb before engaging them. *Starvation Hound* broke formation during the battle, resulting in its own destruction and a crippling engine hit for the boxmoth *River of Stones*; *Auspicious Glass* also took damage but reported as functional. After destroying the guardswarm, the null swarm switched to invariant drive and stopped using composite marionettes as it moved into the afflicted calendrical terrain.

[Breach of the invariant ice; landing of infantry; swarm's activity during siege]

As the Fortress's calendricals normalized, information indicating that Jedao was slipping Kel Command's control reached the hexarchs. Hexarch Nirai Kujen, with the other hexarchs' backing, insisted on the destruction of the swarm in a strike intended to kill Jedao. While Kel Paizan and *Sincere Greeting* were warned and broke formation to escape, the rest of the swarm was hit by a carrion bomb from the bannermoth *Coiled Stone*, killing over 8,000 Kel and seconded personnel as well as disabling the swarm's servitors and severely damaging its warmoths.

## Trivia

* The swarm was projected to take 21.3 days to reach the zone afflicted by calendrical rot, but instead reached it in 19.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7
3. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7
4. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 6
5. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7
6. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 8
7. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
8. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 9
9. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
10. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapters 21-24
11. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7
12. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9