And If That Don't Work?
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fic thingy.
By Josh "Sunshine"
Here's the disclaimer of non-ownership: Neon Genesis Evangelion and its characters and settings belong Gainax and Hideaki Anno. Team Fortress 2 is owned by Valve. The Spoony Experiment is owned by Noah Antwiler
Other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
Other website
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter Ten: Defects and Acquisitions Part 1
The train was short, just an engine and a single passenger car. It had been traveling for over ten minutes in a gently curving tunnel that sloped upwards very slightly. Occasionally, cross shafts perpendicular to the tunnel the tracks revealed a far larger shaft running roughly parallel to the train.
If the passengers of the train had bothered to look out, they would have caught glimpses of large... things slowly lumbering through the parallel shaft. The tunnels diverged and the train slowed down. There were some gentle thumps indicating switching tracks. At the same low speed it navigated a wide right angle turn and then another as it passed through a dogleg. Finally, the train rolled to a stop and there was a series of chimes in the passenger cabin.
"This seems a bit much," Kiko complained as she cradled her carbine. The gynoid clenched her jaw. Her heads-up display indicated that she was once again in range of Nerv's radio repeaters.
Dressed in her plugsuit, Shinju looked up and sheathed the knife she was holding. "Security." She went to her carbine and inspected it. "But yes, your solution would be simpler."
Misako gave a somewhat strained little smile. Checking their gear was a time honored soldiers' tradition, but to see it in girls so young...
"Still, it's a bit much." Kiko shook her head. "We should have just killed the damn thing. It would have been fair."
"Fair?" Shinju asked after reloading her carbine and finishing the check.
"I think it'd take more than one death to balance things out," Misako stated.
"If you agree with me then why are you playing along?" Kiko demanded.
"I know what you've gone though." Misako's eyes narrowed.
Kiko eyed the clone. "Yes, you lived through the Second Impact."
Misako snorted. "I was there."
"Oh... yeah, you were built er... grown... before." The cyborg blinked. "So you were there to stop the Impact? Fight the Angel... what? Clearly the mission failed... right?"
Misako waved the question away. "This is war. We follow orders."
"War," Kiko snorted. "The Angels have certainty figured
that out. Not since the Red Army has
"It's
not just
"This isn't right."
"Not my decision." Misako looked up at one of the cameras in the train car's ceiling. "Come on guys, you know it's us." The clone sighed and crossed her arms.
A couple of silent minutes passed. Then there was a heavy rumbling as the armored door in front of the train slid aside. Remotely controlled in Central Dogma, the train rumbled forward and stopped again. The process repeated and the train surged forward into another tunnel. Unlike before this one was brightly lit and consisted of two tracks running parallel in a large constant arc. After transiting roughly half of the great circle the train stopped at another double set of titanic air-locks.
The last doors opened to reveal a giant chamber half a kilometer in diameter. Compared to the vast six kilometer diameter of the Geo Front this annex facility was much smaller and far barer. Its ceiling was simple, consisting of several radial arches that supported horizontal circular plating. Lacking trees, lakes, or even much in the way of buildings, the Caina Containment Complex had been built for one purpose.
A purpose
that Operation Chariot had hoped to fulfill, but after that Angel's premature
awakening within
Technicians from the Bureau of Technology's First Division had swarmed the facility activating mothballed equipment and repurposing whatever they could find. Several cranes stood still hanging over equipment they had just finished installing. A few others were pulling crates, beams, and anything else that lay within the Exclusion Zone.
Scattered around a set of giant doors to one side of the egg-shaped steel cavity were piles of spare oversize equipment that were being carefully ferried out. Though the arrival of the two Pilots had halted their efforts for the moment.
After clearing through an almost stunned Section Two security detail, Misako, Shinju, and Kiko left the rail-head and boarded a small electric cart to the wire fence that demarked the Exclusion Zone.
Unlocking a simple padlock,
Misako laughed. She then adjusted her sidearm and led Kiko and Shinju through. The
Nerv guards remained on the other side of the fence, not that it would make a
difference. Looking down she shook her head in disbelief. The fence posts were
not even bolted to the floor. The whole thing could have been pushed aside.
Her gaze rose and she let her
emotions settle. Misako knew that the true strength of this facility did not
lie in fences or even thick armored walls. Its strength came via other means. The
facility's curving outer wall was studded with a perimeter of slowly rotating pillars.
The surface of each was done in dense black tile with bright red trim. The
three Nerv soldiers then passed through another, smaller, circle of pillars.
In very center lay the fruits
of First Division's efforts. It looked a bit like a steel bottle laid on its
side. It sat on a trio of short pylons. Half a flight of stairs took the three
women to a gantry that ran level with the "bottle's" neck. They
passed through one last pair of thick circular doors. Inside was another
bottle.
Wreathed entirely with a
glowing yellow light, the inner bottle hovered on series of mag-lev pads on the
perimeter of the outer bottle. It was the same kind of containment field that
had been allotted to Operation Chariot, but never used.
In front of them was the two
meter tall "neck" of the inner bottle. Aside from the containment-field,
it was open, revealing the cell within the inner "bottle". The three
approached the translucent yellow boundary but stayed well behind a red line
that had been painted on the floor.
Inside the cell, a being that
appeared to be a young teenage girl with dark skin and a mix of southeast Asian
features raised an eyebrow. She sat on a plain metal chair. The orange ribbon
that tied back her strawberry blonde hair and the severe black and grey dress
she wore were the only real embellishments in the room.
Red and orange eyes glared back at her. The
grey-eyed Angel smiled, smoothed her skirt, and stood up. She waited while
Misako walked over to a phone mounted on the wall of the access gantry. There
Misako confirmed the containment's integrity, that backup was aware of the
situation, and that the surveillance feeds were active.
"Warrant Officers,
Captain. I'd offer you a seat but..." Iry waved to bare furnishings of her
cell. There was a bunk that folded from one wall, with a table that folded out
of the other end. She then sat back down on the cell's single chair. The very
back of the tubular room had an alcove that contained a compact toilet, sink,
and shower unit.
Shinju looked around their
side of the access walkway. First Division had yet to deliver spare chairs to
the Exclusion Zone.
"Iruel." Misako
stepped up to the line and looked at the smiling Angel.
"What do you want to ask
about, today?" Iry grinned. "I assure you, it would be my utmost pleasure
to help."
"Awww, she's
cooperating," Shinju pouted, fingering the grip of her pistol.
"I'm stuck here aren't
I?" Iry sighed and looked between the three young women. "So two of
the Ayanami and Nerv's Mini-Evangelion. Your species' reckless ingenuity does
you credit." Steeling herself she kept eye contact with the Adversary's
Shadow.
The diminutive clone for her
part simply gave a cheery smile and tapped the hilt of her knife.
Iry turned away. At least it
was not the full power of the Adversary. At least She was not here. "I
suppose the missing clone is with the human pilot in their Evangelions,"
she said, letting her attention drift back to the least threatening clone.
"You felt them
arrive?" Misako blurted before trying to regain her composure.
"Deductions, my dear, but
thanks for confirming." Iry smirked. "You're not supposed to answer
my questions. It's a basic precaution. If Nerv wants to interrogate me face to
face, then they'd send beings capable of generating AT fields. They'd also send
at least two Evangelions as backup.
"Really, they should send
you lot plus an experienced interrogator." Iry smiled at Misako. "No
offense, but this out of your sphere of experience. I suppose Nerv was lacking
someone with the requisite skills and the necessary clearances. A person like
that would be rare."
"You know a lot about our
systems." Misako stated.
"It was my job." Iry
shrugged, glancing at Kiko.
"So, you see Evangelions
and Pilots as part of the containment procedure?"
Iry laughed. "Oh no, the
Evangelions are to back you up, and you five can't be here all the time, not with
a war going on. No, containing me is simplicity itself."
"Is it? You're an
Angel." Misako stated.
"Let us consider the
actual security arranged against me. We can dismiss the armored walls, the
depth underground, the Section Two soldiers; that's all for keeping people out
rather than keeping me in." Iry tapped a hand on the table beside her.
"Even this containment field and the hex pillars are delaying tactics.
They simply serve to keep me in place just long enough for my true
warder."
"Which is?" Misako
asked while Shinju frowned and shifted her rifle from pointing to the wall to
the floor.
"An Azazel device."
Iry's grin sublimated and her tone became more clinical. "The conditionals
are easy enough to setup. Containment breach equals detonation. My only
hope is that your electricians are really good at setting up a stable power
supply. Oh, and that the system doesn't have a pretentious name. It would
really be a bit much to be imprisoned under a Damocles Device."
"You're joking?"
Iry sighed. She paused and
sighed again. "Breathing... still creepy. Captain, I'm a prisoner of
psychotic apes who have weaponized the power of life and the power of stars. Oh
yes, I'm also at the mercy of those who have died by the billion at the hands
of my kind. Humor is what keeps me sane."
"Sane?" Kiko
snorted.
"Though I'm surprised
that you brought Warrant Insana Soryu this time. Given her
temperament and what... happened."
"Engelsabschaum..." Kiko hissed. Her
choker flashed from green to yellow. Again she squeezed the grip and fore-stock
to her rifle. "What kind of joke is this? How can this thing look more
human than me?"
The Angel rolled her eyes. "Believe
me, I'm no happier about it than you are."
"Happy? Do you know what
happened to
Iry paused and stared at the
gynoid. "Of course." She shook her head in disbelief. "War can
be such a waste. Which is why I disagreed with the Little Impact."
"About that, what was
your contribution to the attack?" Misako asked.
"Targeting, training, and
simulations."
"You picked the
cities!" Kiko's anger died and her shoulders lowered. "
The Angel laughed. "I
wish I had picked the targets."
"You wanted it to
happen?" Misako demanded.
"No, destroying your
capital cities? What does that accomplish? Exchanging the life of one my
sisters for piles of dead humans? Again, that's a waste."
"So you suddenly care
about human life?" Kiko kept her voice even, but her choker had turned
yellow and was gaining red splotches.
Tilting her head to the side,
Iry's smile stayed the same but the emotion drained from her voice. "Not
in the slightest. What I care about, what I cared about, was accomplishing my
mission. The Little Impact just made you angry; it didn't really diminish your
ability to fight. No, my targets would actually have hurt you as opposed to
annoying you."
"Your targets? You had a
different plan? So, there was conflict in your command structure?" Misako
asked.
"Command structure? I
wish." Iry rolled her eyes. "I told you, we just have one leader: the
eldest of us. Not that age has brought wisdom or the ability to listen to
advice."
"Then what did you
do?"
Iry frowned. "I'll say it
again: training. I made sure her attacks would be on target. I also got Leli to
setup a simulator."
"But you didn't approve
of your leader's plan."
"That doesn't mean I
didn't want Saha to win.
Misako frowned. She knew the
prisoner would get maudlin if the subject lingered. "What was your plan? How
would you have beaten us?"
Iry looked up. "Do you
know what your power is?"
Kiko narrowed her eyes and
glanced at Misako. "Why are you humoring her?"
Misako wanted to backhand the
girl. Getting the prisoner to talk was the most important thing, once an
audience was provided and a dialog opened, the conversation could then be
steered.
"Fine." Iry crossed
her arms over her chest. She exhaled and gave a pout. "All these sacks and
tubes. How can you stand it?" She shuddered. "Power is your power.
Industrial power, scientific power, military power, they all require electrical
power."
"You'd hit our
power-plants?"
"Some, but only after the
first targets: oil-fields, coal seams, uranium mines, pipelines, tankers, ports
and tank-farms. Destroy the extraction, transport, and storage and your
civilization slows to a grind. I'd try to start as many chain reactions as
possible."
"You'd have our uranium
mines go critical?" Misako's eyes widened.
"I wish." Iry
laughed. "That's hard. However oil and coal-mine fires are easier, but
that's just a side effect. No for mines
like that I'm afraid infiltration and explosion within would be about the
best. It won't destroy the resource, but
will make it much harder to get to again."
"How would you choose
your targets? You couldn't destroy everything."
Iry sighed. "Maybe not, but
an event fifteen years ago was very illustrative."
"The Second Impact?"
"Why yes, it was easy to
track which areas recovered first, and which ones were reduced to
pre-industrial barbarity."
"But we'd still have the
Geo-Front, and no real military damage."
"You sound like
Her." Iry shook her head. "No patience. In time your supplies of
fuel, ammunition, and parts would be exhausted. You'd still be dangerous, but
you'd be far weaker. Even Tokyo Three for all its power and industry is not
self-sufficient. Half of your Evangelions were imported, as were most of the
parts for the other two."
"You realize the effect
your actions would have had on the population at large."
Iry raised an eyebrow.
"Certainly. Maintaining civil order would be a considerable drain on
military resources. Shame it wouldn't force you to expend your nuclear
stockpiles."
"Millions would die,
maybe millions more than died in the Little Impact."
Iry gave a tiny smile and
bowed her head.
"Monster! You said you
thought killing people was a waste!" Kiko shouted.
The Angel raised a finger.
"I said killing without accomplishing my mission was a waste. Removing
your industrial and military capacity would have suited my goals nicely."
Staring down the Angel, Shinju
inclined her head.
Iry blinked at the clone's
tiny approving smile. Suddenly, her skin felt oddly restrictive and bumpy.
Kiko glared. "That's
cold."
"That's practical, and
better than the alternative. Killing people isn't the goal. If it happens, it
happens. Killing you, in and of itself, is not a goal, conversely not killing
you isn't a goal either. However, killing without a goal is just childish
slaughter."
"I'm not sure those words
go well together," Kiko said.
Iry laughed. "Breaking
people, and people's things, without an objective in mind? What is that but a
temper tantrum? And what is a temper tantrum other than childishness?"
"Nothing is worse than
unbridled cruelty of a child." Misako looked Iry in the eye. "And
your Leader, this... half-Angel, she went with the Little Impact... it was a
tantrum?"
"Yes," Iry smirked. "You're
starting to understand what your enemy is."
"Why are you so happy?
You're still a prisoner."
"Yes, I am." the
Angel ran a hand along the side of her cell. "And you'll do everything you
can to win this war. Won't you?"
***************
Before the Little Impact,
before the incarceration an auburn-haired angel pinched the bridge of her nose
in frustration. Mikki looked at the
globe before her; it could have been worse, real lives could have been lost. "Enough."
She waved her hand and the translucent image vanished. Shaking her head she
stepped back to the couch and slumped into it. She stared off into the
featureless pure-white distance.
"What's wrong?" Leli asked, leaning on the couch-back. The even younger Armi looked
up with wide eyes.
The auburn-haired Angel idly
waved where the map was. "We lost, Iry... Saha..." She sighed again.
"But they'll be
okay?" Armi asked. The little Angel wore a crisp yellow sundress and
fidgeted with the bow that held her curly hair back into a ponytail.
Mikki gave a smile. "Of
course... for now."
"We can try again
right?"
"Well yes thanks to
you... but we're running out of..." Mikki turned to see that the young
angel had wandered off.
Smiling, Leli had zeroed in on
the clock that sat on the edge of the furnished portion of the white void they
inhabited.
The tanned Angel huffed in
boredom; Armi then started playing with her shoes. This caught Leli's eye.
"I hope you weren't going
to say time," Iry grinned.
Mikki shook her head and
looked to the garishly dressed angel standing next to the dark-skinned blonde. She
had tried explaining the finer points of fashion to Saha, but the green-haired
Angel had simply shrugged, and Iry had given that knowing little smile of hers.
The same she was giving now.
"We still have over a
week until Saha's debut. Why are you letting a training sim bum you out? We do
lose most of them." Putting stress on the "we", Iry's shoulders
sagged.
"I'm just getting
fatigued," Mikki bit her lip.
"Yes, only having a 10%
chance of success, with a 90% chance that Saha and I will die would bum you
out."
Mikki glared.
Iry looked to Armi who had
curled up on the couch and was lightly dozing. She had been told that Sandi
liked to nap as well. Poor little Sandi. "That just means you're
alive." Iry's tone sharpened and she glanced at Saha. "When we do
this for real..."
Mikki waved her hand. "I
have every confidence in you.
Saha frowned. "The enemy
are strong."
"That's why we
train." Mikki forced a smile. "That's why you'll hurt them. Hurt them
almost as much as mother did."
Iry rolled her eyes slightly.
Even at the most optimistic, Mikki's plan would result in an order of magnitude
less damage than Mother's provided Saha's rescue failed of course
"Your plan is too long
term, too slow," Mikki chided. "If we win this..."
Keeping her face towards
Mikki, Iry backed to the clock and looked down at Leli. "Yes, yes. It's
the same gamble. Everything or nothing. Why not hedge our bets? Why do we have
to attack them at their strongest?"
Crossing her legs, Mikki
straightened her back. "So, do you want to do my job then?"
"Why not?"
Mikki laughed. "You
couldn't handle it."
"I've-"
The auburn haired woman
extended her AT field, silencing her sister. "You've read about humans. That's
hardly experience. You think you could do my job? You think you could
infiltrate the humans, walk among them?"
"They're only
human." Iry raised an eyebrow. She blinked and paused, thinking.
"Only human? Aren't you
the one constantly talking up their strengths and how we need to train more to
defeat them?"
Iry frowned and reached up and
ran a finger over her mouth. "Like you're one to talk," she tapped
her lips. "You're the reason we look like this. Why not have us go among
them? Surely we could learn more and do more damage."
"And who would you
suggest for the job?" Mikki's arm swept over her sisters going from the
dozing strawberry blonde, to the slightly pale-haired girl enthusiastically
examining previous girl's shoes, to the girl in a dress of green and orange
paisley who seemed to stare straight up, and finally onto Iry who simply
glared.
"Crack troops, then?"
Iry stated after a moment's glare.
"Sarcasm, one of their
few inventions of note." Mikki chuckled.
"You're not insulting
us?" Saha asked glaring at Iry.
Iry paused, for a moment she
was reminded of just how large, how powerful Saha really was. "I have
severe reservations on how we're being deployed and if it's to the best end,
but I would never question your commitment."
"I will rescue mother. I
will find the humans where they hide and they will burn."
Iry clasped the tips of her
fingers together and held them under her chin. "Yes, but there's so many.
Care must be taken when selecting the targets."
Uncertain, Saha looked to
Mikki who shook her head.
"Dear Iry, your
cleverness is showing again. Your plan is too ambitious while also being too
slow. Hardly an appealing combination."
Iry's eyes narrowed.
"Take away their power and industry and science will fall, without
industry and research their militaries will grind to a halt."
Mikki shook her head. "You
are a being of half measures. You say one plan is not damaging enough but
another is too damaging."
"What?" Iry's voice rose.
"Rendering humanity extinct is an ideal goal. I merely question the
feasibility. Every single attempt to initiate the Third Impact has failed. They
have come to expect us to make a mad dash to Mother, and thus they have
fortified their position."
"Yes they have some
power."
"Some!" Iry
screamed, waking Armi and causing Leli to drop the sock she
had been examining. The tiny blonde angel looked around in confusion and fear.
"You live in their
'fortress city'. You've been inside the Geo Front. You've stood in the shadow
of their Abominations. And you've seen the Adversary and her Shadows!" Iry
exclaimed.
Mikki slowly closed her mouth.
She exhaled through her nose and waited... The others were agitated and looked
between her and Iry. She knew her AT field was powerful but if the others
united... it would be four against one.
Saha stepped forward, her eyes
glanced over Mikki's careful poker face and locked onto Iry's boiling rage.
"You're afraid of
them?" Saha's eyebrows raised.
"Only an idiot would not
be." The dark-skinned blonde spat. "They've killed seven of us. They
woke up Mother, withstood her wrath, imprisoned her, then cut apart her flesh,
and used it to make weapons, to kill us. Not that they needed to, they're quite
good at killing us without the Abominations."
Saha stared. Behind her Armi
whimpered and leaned onto Leli who tried to curl around the smaller angel,
making them less conspicuous.
"Yes they're
clever."
"Clever is having a few
tactical tricks and winning a couple battles. They've won. Every. Single. Time.
The best we've gotten was wounding one of their Pilots."
Mikki rose, sensing the
nervous shift among the Angels. "We have more power, and we have your
training. We will defeat them. We will rescue mother. We just need to try
again."
"Again?" Iry laughed
bitterly. " 'They came on in the same old way, and we sent them back in
the same old way.'
In the silence, the young Angel's
crying and Leli's attempts to reassure her dominated.
Saha let her arms fall to the
side and stepped back, then forward and then back again.
Looking at the others and
their nervous motions. Mikki found herself beginning to flush.
"We'll keep at it, and
for what? Even if we get to Mother, they'll just vaporize the whole facility.
We need Mother alive, they... don't."
Sensing the anxiety grow, Mikki
grabbed Iry's arm and began dragging her to the side... away from the others. It
did not matter how far they went, by the nature of the room, it was enough.
Pulling her hand free, Iry
frowned and looked behind her shoulder. She could see her sisters and the
furniture of their "room" off in the distance, an island in an
endless field of white. She turned back to Mikki.
"I'm worried." Mikki
lowered her eyes. "This defeatism... it's not you, and it's making the
others nervous."
"Defeatism?" Despite
herself, Iry began to smirk.
Mikki held up a hand.
"Please no historical lectures. I'm sure the humans have used those words
in similar situations."
"No, it's not that,"
Iry laughed. "Don't you remember when we first met? What was said?"
"I recall you marveling
at having bilateral symmetry."
"No, you said 'I fear we
will lose the war.' " The strawberry blonde's grin grew.
Mikki looked away. "And
now you're saying it."
"Contagion then?"
Mikki gave a little nod.
"Retaining morale is a
true challenge, even in the best of times."
Mikki laughed. "So you do
have tact then?"
"What of your
actions?"
Mikki stared at the younger
Angel. "Mine?" she asked her AT field flickering.
"Well... yes." Iry
blinked. "You take me and run off, leaving them. What if they do something
rash? Saha wants to prove she isn't scared and Leli and Armi are just plain
scared."
"No doubt you have a
solution I should try."
Iry turned back to her
sisters, off in the distance. "A victory would reassure them. Go with a
less ambitious goal. Force Saha to withdraw once the objective has been
met."
"What you propose is too
timid."
"What I propose leaves
Saha alive."
Mikki rubbed her forehead.
"And you want to spend even more time with humans."
"It hasn't seemed to have
done too much damage to you."
The auburn-haired angel's eyes
flashed red. "You think you can make light of my situation?"
"Why not?"
Mikki opened her mouth then
closed it. "You don't understand," she eventually said in a small
voice.
"Understanding is my
purpose."
"No." Mikki sighed.
"Your purpose is to rescue mother, to trigger the Third Impact."
"Fine, fine. You want
humanity exterminated. You want everything spawned from the Adversary
destroyed. Then what?" Iry leaned forward. "After we win, after the
global anti-AT field, what then?"
Mikki chuckled. "Now who
is being ambitious?"
"Goals are important, as
are the means to achieve them." After glancing back at her sisters, Iry
squared her shoulders. "Give me the means. If you won't approve the
missions I come up with, then let me do more research. Let me learn more about
the enemy."
Mikki blinked in surprise.
"This is more than you wanting to copy what I've done."
"Dear Sister, the thought
of playing secretary fills me with dread. As does the thought of existing as a
sack of bladders and gasbags, but to defeat the enemy, I fear, may require
attacking them from within."
The auburn haired angel nodded
her head with a smile that mixed pride and sadness. "I had my worries.
Worries that you would be clever enough...."
"You pull me aside
because you fear my defeatist rhetoric and now you try to flatter me?" Iry
laughed.
"I suppose I am that
transparent."
Iry smirked.
Mikki pinched the bridge of
her nose. "Fine. Something to placate you, then. How about a bribe?"
"What?" Iry inclined
her head. "What could you buy me off with?"
Mikki smiled. "Access to
information, the ability to do your own operations, greater independence. You
want to attack them from within, I can help."
"And the cost?"
Pacing, the auburn haired
woman's grin grew. "Obedience."
"Ah, how... direct."
"No reason to beat around
the bush." Mikki continued to pace. "You've grown. You're second to
me in seniority. Yes... you think you can run things better than me, why not
let you prove yourself."
"And you conveniently put
me somewhere out of the way?"
"Oh no," Mikki put
her arm around Iry's shoulder and started walking her back towards the others.
"No. You'll be right here, serving as a great example."
Iry saw that they were now
close enough for Saha and Armi to notice them. Even Leli had looked up from the
sofa cushion she had disassembled. Putting on a smile, Iry also put an arm
around Mikki's waist. "Yes, a wonderful example. If I succeed I show the
wisdom going along with the group, and if I fail I'll be a warning to the
ambitious among us."
Mikki squeezed her sister's
shoulder. "You always were a smart one."
***************
The Pilots left the locker
room. Rei was first, followed by her sister. Kiko walked next to the youngest
Ayanami and seemed absorbed in conversation. Toji was the last out, his
expression pensive.
Studying his ward, Lev Flyorov
nodded to himself. His men fell into place around the Children while the former
hockey player glided over to his pilot. After they went through a couple of
corridors they rode an escalator that took them into the vast interior of the
Geo Front. They emerged into a long lobby-like corridor full of escalators and
walkways that went to various points in Central Dogma. There they rendezvoused
with Katrina's Azazel platoon.
"You two ready for
tomorrow?" Toji asked Rei and Kiko. "I'm guessing you two aren't that
worried, especially you Red."
"What? Our range
training." Kiko asked.
"I think he means the
upcoming math exam. Since he asked us specifically."
Shinju nodded.
"Oh," the gynoid
shrugged. "I guess... wait why shouldn't we be worried?"
"Well because you're
a-"
"You had better finish
that by saying college grad," Kiko hissed.
"You've got a built in
calculator!"
The Evangelion sighed.
"Stupid, stupid meatbag."
Rei blinked.
"Technically, you are over eighty percent 'meat', Unit 02."
A couple of the Azazel guards
snickered.
"Really?" Kiko
crossed her arms. "Hadn't noticed."
"Be that as it may, you
really can't use an insult that applies to you."
"You're armored maybe we
can pick some sort of canned meat," Shinju offered.
Kiko ground her teeth. "Nein.Gottfluch
es. I don't even get the cool parts of being a robot?"
"At least you still have
a soul," Toji said as they crossed another security checkpoint.
"Great, what the fuck am
I gonna do with one of those?" Kiko demanded. "Bottle it and put it
on my mantelpiece?"
"Uh... pilot a giant
Robot so you can kill freaky aliens."
"Silence!" Kiko
smacked the side of Toji's head.
"Owww! See this is why
people think robots are plotting against us."
"You 'think'? I doubt
that," Kiko sniffed and turned back to Katrina.
"Tssch." Toji rubbed
his ear. "Man, can't believe I'm the only normal one. Shame about the Third.
I bet he was normal."
Shinju coughed and started
fidgeting with her holster.
Kiko stopped. "You... do
know what happened with the Third right?"
"Yeah, he died in that
first Angel attack. Got caught between the JSSDF and the Russians." Toji
shrugged. "Damn shame."
Kiko gave a thin smile.
"But you don't know who he was do you?"
Bearing a little smile, Shinju
looked up and took a step closer to Rei who automatically took the younger
clone's hand.
"Eh? Wasn't that a
secret?"
Kiko rolled her eyes.
"Yes, but it's not held very well. It's pretty obvious, I mean the Third's
father doesn't take loss well," the gynoid glanced at Katrina.
"Your commanding officer
is a very private man. You are correct; he does not take loss... well,"
Lieutenant Diebner eventually said.
"Wha? Ikari had a
son?" Toji whistled. "Damn, no wonder he's got such a hard-on for the
Angels."
Despite herself, Shinju
giggled, while Rei raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I can sorta see why
they'd keep that under wraps. Head of Nerv losing his kid, not very
inspiring."
"No, it's not,"
Shinju added in a quiet voice.
Lev watched the conversation. The
secret behind the Third Child was... anticlimactic but understandable. After
all, even Commander Ikari was only human, but... that did make it a useful
cover-story; not all cul-de-sacs were true dead ends.
"Still, woulda been nice
to meet the guy," Toji brightened slightly. "Least then I wouldn't
have been the only guy."
Kiko sighed. "The
commander's late son. You think he'd have been someone you'd have liked?"
"He raised Rei."
Eyeing Shinju, Kiko nodded.
"Good point, Meatbag."
"Yay, good work
Oneechan!" Shinju hugged Rei.
"Yes... very good
point," Kiko said.
Toji looked at the girl in the
ruffled and ribboned dress. "Yeah. So... anyway you worried about the test
tomorrow?"
"Not in the slightest.
Now if it was composition I'd be worried," Kiko said as they exited the
pyramidal structure of Central Dogma and entered the large plaza that fronted
the structure.
"I will perform
adequately," Rei added.
As they crossed the plaza Igor
and his platoon came into view. The man was holding a happily squirming ball of
grey fur. Shinju's eyes lit up and she ran towards her bodyguard. Rei followed
while Kiko walked off with Katrina and her men.
Toji watched the other girls
walk off and his shoulders rose in relief.
Igor put Flins down, the puppy
almost seeming normal size in the large man's arms. The fluffy, thick limbed
puppy ran over to Shinju where the little girl lowered her gaze and the dog
immediately sat down.
Then Shinju scooped up the
giant grey puppy and skipped over to her giant Slav. Watching with amusement,
Kiko went over to the other German woman and started talking, gesturing with
her armored hands.
After allowing enough time for
the other Pilots to be out of range, Lev leaned towards the teen. "Is
something wrong?"
Turning, Toji looked at the
scarred, crooked-nosed man. "Do you have to ask that every damn time I'm
not happy? Maybe I should hold in all my emotions, or I could constantly
complain and gripe."
"I suppose it would be
easier." Lev chuckled. "How about homicidally-chipper, that least you
could do?"
Toji arched an eyebrow.
"What, would your job be easier if I were an angry robot or a crazy little
girl?"
"Trade with
Katrina?" Laughing, Lev's grin grew. "Not for all the sturgeon in the
Caspian."
"Right. Fish. And
Shinju?" Toji shook his head. "Of course... she's happy with a new
ribbon or a new knife, but she's really happy when she's using a giant robot to
kill Angels."
"
Looking off to see the
Ayanamis exit the other side of the plaza, Toji shook his head again. "And
you're asking why I'm feeling glum? You seem to have a pretty good handle, and
I'm sure you saw my performance in training."
"You performed
well."
"Yes, Princess called me
'adequate'." Toji snickered. "Least it got Kiko jealous."
"What problem then?"
"Princess... Shinju then
mentioned that Shirane would have loved it. And... she's right."
"Ah," Lev nodded,
understanding. "You are unique among the Pilots."
"As I said, only
guy." He bet the Russians knew that the Ayanamis were genetically altered
clones, but it was best to not confirm it. After all, they knew more about the
Third Child than he did, but so did Kiko for that matter. Being kept in the
dark was really annoying, but that was how Nerv operated.
"No, only one with family
outside." Lev tapped his chin. "Kiko's father Nerv, and all Ayanami
are also."
"My father's Nerv."
Lev lowered his gaze.
"Right... I'm not worried
about him." Toji's shoulder's sagged.
"Sister problem,
then?"
"What am I supposed to
do? She's friends with Princess, and she doesn't have many friends. Heck,
Shinju doesn't either, not at least normal friends. Just my sister and Hikari's
little sister."
Lev shrugged. "Nothing to
do other than be a good brother, and a brave Pilot."
"Great... I should have
expected that: endure nobly and keep a patriotic one-liner ready."
"You've got the
propaganda poster part down pat."
"Swell, it's not like you
guys would let me get groupies. Oh no, that'd be a security breach. Bah. Then
again, Hikari would kill me."
"Yes, Miss Horaki is a
formidable young woman."
Toji blinked and eyed the
Azazel officer. "You see that, that right there's just plain creepy."
Lev smirked.
***************
Flins at her side, Shinju
entered the apartment. Her motions stiff and listless, she absently petted her
dog's head.
Igor stood at the doorway.
"You okay, seem distracted?" he asked shifting aside to let Rei
enter.
Flins whined and nudged his
mistress' hand.
"Da," Shinju gave a
smile and scratched her dog behind the ear.
The giant Russian frowned
slightly at the girl. "As you say." He looked to Rei and whispered in
Russian. "Please watch your little sister."
Brightening, Shinju giggled.
"Really? Trying to be obvious?
"You hear?" Igor
asked.
"Even in a low voice your
words carry, Lieutenant," Rei said.
"Also, mladshaya syestra?
I made that much out. That was far too clumsy and obvious. You wanted me to
know what you were saying to Oneechan." Shinju smiled.
"See! Spying cheer
everyone up!" Igor boasted. "Maybe after dinner I can take you both
to range. Pyotr has special targets... very reactive."
Shinju's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Little girls easy to
cheer up." Igor laughed. "You be good; I'll be back later." The
large man then closed the apartment door and locked it.
"That'll be fun."
Shinju chirped as she led Flins to the couch. She then sat down and ordered the
dog to do the same.
Silently, Rei entered the
living room and watched the clone, her sister, brush the dog. She went to her
room. Rei looked at her dresser and straightened the silver picture frame and
the glasses case. She then picked up one of the books the Commander had given
her and returned to the living room.
There she saw that Flins had
crawled up onto the couch and was resting his head on Shinju's lap. The dog
opened his eyes, looked at Rei, and went back to sleep.
Rei sat down opposite the dog
and opened her book. As she read she noticed Shinju pick up the remote and flip
the television to one of the music channels.
Frowning, Rei closed the book.
"The Lieutenant is correct. Something seems wrong."
Shinju blushed, lowering her
head, and absently brushed back some strands of hair that had escaped her
Alice-band. "Well..."
"Does Doctor Akagi need
to be informed?"
Shinju shook her head.
Flins woke up and blinked at
the two girls. His eager, happy expression shifted to one of attentive anxiety.
"The Commander?"
Shinju's blush grew.
"No..."
"Misako then?"
The pre-teen clone stared.
Ignoring the look, Rei nodded.
"That eliminates medical, strategic, and when combined with Lieutenant
Khariton's concerns, tactical issues." Rei glanced down at her novel.
"Is it romantic then?"
Shinju's flush turned bright
crimson "Oneechan! It's not like that!"
"Oh." Rei glanced
down at her book. "Are you sure? The symptoms seem to match, and I have
some ideas."
"What?" Shinju
chewed her lip. "Um... who?"
"It is like that
then?" Rei's smile while small was triumphant.
"No!"
Flins lifted his head and
leaned it onto Shinju who scratched his neck.
A frown flickered across Rei's
face. "Then what is it?"
"The Third child."
"What about him?"
Rei madly asked.
Shinju's mouth opened
slightly. "Oneechan..."
"Is that component in
your fabrication causing issues? I did ask if you needed to talk to Doctor
Akagi," Rei's tone was slightly disapproving.
"It's not that," Shinju
pouted. "It was just weird... I didn't think anyone.. knew. I mean I know
there was a grave... next to mother's but-"
Rei's eyes narrowed
fractionally
"But I don't know... it
sounded like Kiko and Toji were talking about a different person."
"They were."
Shinju's pout grew.
"That's not the answer I was hoping for."
"Why?"
"I'm more than just a...
component."
"No. By definition, the
part of you that was transferred from the Third into this shell was a
component."
"Oneechan! You make it
sound so cold, so clinical!"
"We were made in a
laboratory," Rei reminded.
Shinju made a little whimper.
Rei pulled the smaller clone
into a hug. "There's nothing wrong with what we are. We were made for a
purpose."
"But..." Shinju
leaned into the hugs, both her sister's and her dog's. "What about the
Third?"
"What about him?"
"You act like he's dead, that
I'm not him... or at least that I'm something new." Shinju sighed.
Rei shook her head.
"You're partially incorrect. The Third is dead. You were the Third."
She looked distantly. "The salvage operation worked."
"What if it didn't?"
"You would know; I would
know." Rei forced a thin smile as she squeezed Shinju's shoulders with her
arm.
"You would?"
"Absolutely."
Shinju looked to her sister.
"I'd know because... I wouldn't remember, right?"
Rei nodded.
"And you'd know... because
you remember."
Rei raised an eyebrow.
"You weren't salvaged,
right?"
Swallowing, Rei shook her
head.
"Right, so you'd know how
a clone without a Salvaged soul would act."
"I was also far younger
when I was activated," Rei said allowing herself to nod. Holding Shinju
tighter, she scratched Flins' nose.
Giving a little sigh, Shinju
reached out and hugged Rei. "It's okay Oneechan! You're not alone."
Rei brushed back some of
Shinju's hair. "That is true. Are you feeling better?"
Shinju
nodded. "Yup! But...."
"Yes?"
"Well, it's still weird. Toji
and Kiko know about our clone bodies but not the soul salvage? They even know
who I was, you know, before."
"Those are our
orders." Rei frowned again. "Technically, the Second should not even
know who the Third was."
"But she did."
"Yes, open secrets are
untidy." Rei looked vaguely disgusted. "I'm not sure why Commander
Ikari let such personal information be released."
"Don't be sad!"
Shinju hugged Rei again. "The Commander knows what he's doing."
"Yes, he does."
Rei nodded and returned to her
book.
Shinju turned to the TV, but
her attention was unfocused. She shifted her dress and checked her holster. She
then went through the same procedure to verify her magazine pouches and then
finally her collection of knives.
Seeing a flash of steel, Rei
looked up from her book. After Shinju started placing knives on the table, Rei
returned to her book.
As she continued to read she
noted when Shinju got up and went to her room. Flins got up and followed at her
heels. After a moment, the girl returned carrying an oilstone, cleaning cloth,
and light lubricating oil.
"Do you want me to
sharpen any of your knives?" Shinju asked after laying out her tools and rearranging
her knives.
Rei unclipped the combat knife
and scabbard she had slipped through her belt and handed it to Shinju with a
slight smile.
Shinju accepted the blade and
began to work. For a while the steady even sound of metal run against stone
filled the apartment. Rei knew that keeping a steady pressure and angle was
critical to honing an even blade. She also knew that the focus sharpening required
was fairly meditative.
There was a click as the front
door unlocked. Both Rei and Shinju put their hands on their sidearms, and
withdrew them when they saw the person crossing the threshold.
"I'm home!" Misako
said as she entered the apartment. Her sisters responded to her salutation.
After removing her shoes, Misako went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. She
sighed at the ranks of cans that looked back at her.
Tossing her jacket over a
kitchen chair, she crossed the kitchen and came to the living room.
Both Rei and Shinju looked up
and met Misako's eyes. Shinju frowned and looked back down.
"How's it going, you
two?" Misako asked, eyeing her youngest sister. She popped open the top to
her beer and sat down across from her sisters.
"About the same,"
Rei admitted. "Shinju is grappling with the existential crisis of being an
artificial shell containing a displaced soul."
"Oneechan!" Shinju
cried.
"But she is doing
well," Rei added.
"Huh," Misako took a
drink.
"Well... how do you handle
it, Oneesan?" Shinju asked.
"The job hasn't changed.
Kill the angels."
"Is that all there is to
life?" Shinju asked.
Rei tilted her head and looked
at Shinju uncomprehending.
"I'm..." Shinju
exhaled. "Kiko was talking about the Third and who he was and..."
"Oh," Misako gulped
down some more beer. "Yeah, that's pretty awkward. Makoto and Shigeru talk
about 'Misato' sometimes and..." the pink-haired clone tapped her fingers
against her chair's arm rest.
"We had hoped that keeping
as much information about your... about the Third secret would help
things."
Shinju gave a weak smile.
"It's more than that. It's easy, so easy."
"What?" Misako
asked.
The small girl waved a hand
over her body, over the bowed hairband and purple and black gothic Lolita dress
she wore.
"Oh." Misako
blinked. "You're worried about where that came from."
"The hairpiece came from
Misako, and the dress was at your friend's instance," Rei explained.
"But... is it me or
the..." Shinju bit her lip.
"Shinju honey, you're the
one in frills and bows. Rei and I aren't," Misako said as delicately as
she could.
Giving a slight whimper,
Shinju resumed leaning onto Rei. "Was it supposed to be this way?"
Misako laughed. "Of
course not. We didn't expect the Angels to start targeting the pilots, we
didn't expect the Russians to start nuking the Angels, and we didn't expect...
Shinju nodded. "The
Second Impact."
"Right kiddo."
Misako leaned forward and put her beer down on the table, next to the neat row of
knives. "You see, that's the thing life... isn't what we expect of
it." She extended her hand and gave Flins' side a scratch.
The dog rolled over and
revealed his belly.
"No, it's not," Shinju
said, nearly whispering. She continued to pet the large puppy.
"At least you've got us
now."
"And the Commander,"
Rei added.
Shinju began to smile, and
blush.
"Yeah! The old bastard
actually seems to like you. Guess he's not so heartless."
Rei gave Misako a sharp look.
"What? I'm saying, as
father... as father figures go... you could do worse." Misako looked out
the window and tapped the top of her can. Section Two had certified that this
room was clean; they had swept it this morning in fact. However, the problem
was that the Russians lived in the building.
Misako sighed. At least they
were constantly reminded of the layers of security and misdirection. The
illusion of normalcy never intruded into their lives. The Nerv officer wondered
if that was a hindrance or a positive on her sister's emotional state.
Shrugging, she asked as much.
Shinju blinked. "Well... I
don't have to pretend I'm normal. Do I?"
"Conformity is a burden
most Japanese schoolgirls must face." Misako's voice was distant
Shinju raised an eyebrow.
"But the secrets. This all came because Toji and Kiko don't know who I...
was."
"They do know about the
clones." Misako sipped her beer. "I'll talk to Ritsuko and the
Commander. See if they can be cleared for the Salvage project."
Shinju looked down at her
knives then at her dress.
"Is that what you
want?" Misako asked as she pulled herself forward. "It's in the past,
and they might think differently of you."
Shinju nodded. "But... they
are my teammates. Should they know? What do you two think?"
Misako looked to Rei. Both exchanged
a mostly befuddled glance. "I don't know. I suppose it depends on how open
you want to be with them."
"They're fellow
Pilots," Shinju tilted her head.
"Sure, sure. I'll still
ask Ritsuko and the Commander. If they say yes about disclosing the Salvage
Operation, then we can decide how much of your past to tell them. We could just
tell them that the technology exists. Warrant Suzuhara might want to know that
he's got more options available in case he gets hurt."
"Thanks Onneesan, that
could work!" Shinju smiled and returned to her sharpening.
"Don't get too happy yet,
they might say no," Misako cautioned.
"Doesn't that make things
simple then?" Shinju brightened. "That way I don't have to make a
choice."
"Uh, sure. Though I'm not
sure why they'd say no. It's not like those two aren't privy to most of our
secrets anyway."
Rei put her book down,
distaste entered her voice. "Compartmentalization and need to know are
critical elements to security."
"Yeah, yeah, but so is
making sure the people that do need to know are cleared for it."
***************
Director Pavel Beria stepped
into the restaurant's central dining room. Clad in dark wood paneling and
highly polished hardwood flooring, containing deeply polished tables,
glassware, and chandeliers, the large ornate room was much the same as the last
time. However, instead of being full of various military, political, and
scientific dignitaries the room was nearly empty.
The exceptions were the
ubiquitous Azazel guards at the corners of the room and a pair of musicians at
the small stage. An older Caucasian man in a black suit with a black bowtie and
hat sang with an accompanying pianist. The woman had stern features but smiled
playfully at the duet. In Beria's estimation she played well enough, though the
man sung, in English, with a deep smooth voice that like the room itself was
reminiscent of earlier times.
Reflexively the Russian's
suspicion grew. He tugged at his lab coat and frowned. His shirt and tie were
clean, but compared to the musician his clothing was rather natty. He took some
comfort in the idea of the pianist's little black dress being nicer than
anything Dr. Akagi would wear.
His eye turned critical and he
wondered who they were working for: CIA, FSB,
SIS, INSCOM, IPEA, or maybe a more obscure group like KJV.
"They ain't bad are
they?" a man with a noticeable twang in his voice said from behind.
Beria turned to see the
strong, stout form of Hiram S. Forsyth. The Russian's self consciousness
immediately evaporated; the Texan engineer was still wearing coveralls and work
gloves and had pulled his safety goggles down around his neck.
The Russian turned to read the
poster that had been leaned against the stage. "Harvey and Elizabeth
Finevoice. Name is accurate, I suppose."
"That it is," Hiram
agreed, stiffly as he made a similar paranoid evaluation. The Texan suspected
the duet to be working with NSA, ATFW, ONI,
TGW2, GRU, Mossad, or maybe even PSIA
"Chief Engineer,"
Beria said, respectfully inclining his balding head.
"Program Director,"
Hiram replied. He looked around the room, then back at the musicians. "I
suppose we're early."
"Leave it to Nerv to be
late," Beria sighed.
"Well, I'll take that
crooning over that tonic-selling miracle-man's babbling." Hiram grumped as
he pulled at his gloves. "Drink?" he asked, midway through removing
the brown and orange work gloves.
On the
dais the song ended and after a moment
"Sure, it's all coming
from the same UN fund."
"What's the old saying
you had back in the Commie days?" Hiram asked as they walked to the
polished brass and oak bar. "As long as they keep pretending to pay us,
we'll keep pretending to work?"
"Something like that.
Though from what I've seen, you do work." Beria cracked a grin, though his
eyes were cold and distant.
"Haven't killed an Angel
yet," Hiram grumbled before nodding to the attentive bartender.
"Whisky, and I'm guessing vodka," after switching to Japanese, he
looked to Beria who nodded, "for my... friend here."
The bartender bowed and poured
the drinks.
Beria took the offered glass
and smelled it, relishing the mild scent. "Your design lacks raw power,
but I cannot fault your methodology. The concept sound enough."
Hiram raised an eyebrow and
sipped his whiskey. "Really?"
"Oh yes, deflecting an AT
field in a pseudo-spall configuration has some basis. Instead of neutralizing
or brute-forcing the 'impenetrable barrier' you intend to turn the shield
itself into a weapon against its creator."
"Are we so transparent?"
Hiram put the glass down and turned away. He allowed a small smile. The YA11
was merely Republic's most... public of a three tiered development plan.
The Russian chuckled.
"Come, little white elephant is powerful, but-"
Hiram cut him off with a
resigned nod. "Right, the math is simple enough. We ain't got the power to
penetrate the shield. That leaves dang few options. Not hard to figure the one
we'll try."
"That which cannot be
broken can be bent. Is more elegant solution."
"Elegant?" Hiram
scoffed. "Yeah, that's a word for it."
"Concerns?"
"Damn straight. We're
fighting some pretty nasty customers and one of the big reasons we keep winning
is due to the enemy being dumber than a sack of hammers."
"And the strength of our
alliance and the unique weapons each side brings to the table." Beria gave
a cold smile.
Hiram raised an eyebrow and
leaned a boot on the brass rail on the foot of the bar. The eggheads assured
corporate that his consultations with the
Looking at the back of the
Texan's shirt, Beria's smile touched his eyes. "You yourself are a great
facilitator. Production models of the A-11 have started deployment." He
gulped down some of the vodka.
"Deployed? Hah. Most of
them are slated to protect the politicians, instead of being sent against the
Enemy." Scoffing, the shaved bald Texan turned to the wispy-haired
Russian. "You know how it goes."
Beria lowered his head.
"This true, I worry that my superiors overly conservative with deployments,
but I can understand defense of
Hiram took his refilled glass
and chuckled. "That's the difference between you and me."
"There are other
differences." Beria stated.
The Texan simply took a sip.
"We've been keeping up on
you, on your curriculum vitae." Beria folded his hands. "The scope
is... impressive."
Hiram laughed. "Pretty
words on pretty paper."
"Yes, I know
accreditation is half the battle, but needless to say: the number of degrees is
impressive. However, not much original research I'm afraid to say. No papers of
any note. Even your patents are pretty light. And it's not like you designed
that Antonov airframe, or that giant gun (that was Austin Advanced Technology),
or the reactor, Westinghouse did that. You simply assembled it."
Beria exhaled then continued.
"And yet despite all that you propose a way that may yet defeat the enemy,
and may do it without ridiculously expensive bio-machines or the mass
collateral damage incurred by brute-force solutions."
The Texan turned and raised an
eyebrow at the Russian. "I'm an engineer."
"Yes, you build things.
Make things work." Beria's smile did not reach his eyes.. "Systems
integration. But really, what else would a polymath with a dozen degrees
do?"
"Eleven. That management
one don't count."
Beria's smile warmed and he
inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Still, you've assembled your giant
gun, with which you just might kill Angels. What next? Even engineers don't
like to hang around production."
"What about you, Doc?"
Hiram held his glass. "You're an egghead. You had a hypothesis: nuclear
weapons can kill Angels. Guess what? You've upgraded that to a working theory. What's
next for you?"
"Well, I suppose we've got the same
problem." Beria's smile vanished but his eyes continued to warm up to
something that almost approached friendliness.
"I'm sure an enterprising
man like you will come up with something."
Holding his half-full glass, Beria
turned to watch the duet practice on stage. "At least there are advantages
to the abuse of power."
"You mean Nerv forcing
them to let us in for a late lunch?" Hiram asked.
"That. That and the piece
you carry. I'm surprised. A revolver more traditional no? But I suppose you are
special." The older man chuckled. "One wonders what you think such a
little weapon can do. Given what it takes to hurt enemy."
"I just like to be
prepared," Hiram's face clouded. "And unlike you I don't have my own
squad of heavies."
Beria shook his head and
finished his vodka. He watched the guards stiffen, then tap their headsets,
unconsciously nodding in acknowledgement.
"I reckon they've finally
come," Hiram said, making the same observation.
The doors popped open and a
man with tight blue gloves, silver and black spiraled goggles, and a long
flapping lab coat scrambled towards the pair. He turned to the bartender. "The
great hero of Science, Professor Insana demands a menu!"
Her expression mortified,
Ritsuko stalked behind him. She wore a blue dress under her more subdued lab
coat. A pair of spiraled goggles hung around her neck.
Beria raised his eyebrows and
gave a little shake of the head. Hiram gave a dismissive chuckle. The Russian,
the American and the Japanese woman were too engrossed in Insana's antics to
pay much attention to the musicians nor notice the slight start given by the
singer as the flailing figure of Insana entered the room.
“If you should want the moon
and the stars that shine, and the sun from up above, I’ll tear them from the
blue just to prove to you…”
Ritsuko sighed and smacked
Insana on the back of the head. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
the blonde scientist demanded.
"What?" Insana asked
as he adjusted his goggles. "You told me to be more confident."
"No!" Ritsuko shook
her head. "Why would I tell you a stupid thing like that? I told you to
not dress like a disheveled slob and act like a paranoid loon."
Insana blinked. "To
not... what... how?"
Ritsuko rubbed her forehead.
"He ain't all there is
he?" Hiram asked.
"You have no idea,"
Ritsuko said. She forced a smile and nodded. "Director, Chief
Engineer."
Beria shook his head.
"And you think you save world, yes?"
Insana raised his chin.
"I suppose, I always thought of that as more of a side effect of my work.
Secondary, of course. Perhaps tertiary, really."
As they walked to their table
Hiram raised an eyebrow. "And the primary, science?"
"Of course! I do what I
do for Science!" Insana raised his fist and shook it.
The Texan brushed the arm
aside and looked down at the slightly hunched man. "For science? Boy,
there's a war going on."
"Yes, an excellent
opportunity." Insana sat down and fiddled with his gloves. "Look at
all the research, look at all that we have accomplished!"
"You would call war a
regrettable necessity?" Beria asked.
"I'm not sure he'd even
allow the regrettable part. I know the type," Hiram muttered. His
employer, she, was a prime example.
"Don't we all,"
Insana gave a dismissive wave.
"I am a man of Science. War is simply a wilder class of experiment."
Hiram laughed. "Yup.
Definitely know your type. Turned his own daughter into an experiment. That
takes a special kind."
"Clean gloves conceal
dirty hands." Insana scoffed looking at Hiram's own gloves. "What of
you? You sell unproven technology that has yet to kill an Angel. And that's
merely what you've got in production. I'd hate to imagine what kludgy
prototypes you've wrenched together. What failures has your company buried deep
in some forgotten test cell? Or worse, what failures have you tricked the
military into buying so they can pointlessly shoot it at the Angels?"
"Tino..." Ritsuko
hissed.
"No, let the boy
speak," Hiram held up a hand. "We're all supposed to be friends
here," he added, his words curt and flat.
"Maybe we better off as
enemies," Beria mused.
"Damn right. Between
working with the godless Bolsheviks, the Japs, sorry Ma'am," Hiram bowed
his head to Ritsuko who glared. "and the ivory tower eggheads, I'm
starting to feel like my boss."
"Oh yes, Miss Johnson,
how is Auntie CC doing? I heard she had a spot of illness," Ritsuko
smiled, showing her teeth.
"Doing okay enough... Auntie?"
Hiram blinked. "Pardon?"
"Yes, my mother did a bit
of work for her. Down at your
"Ah, the testing
cores," Hiram nodded.
"Not quite as good as the
Magi, but... one works with the resources one has."
"Fifth generation organic
computers are still pretty handy. We never did get the bugs worked out of the
Personality Transplant OS, but we manage." Hiram flashed his own toothy grin.
"Shame about what happened. To Doc Naoko I mean; now she was a brilliant
scientist."
"Mother's loss was a
great tragedy." Ritsuko kept her forced smile.
"Nerv is making do,"
Beria said, though Ritsuko wondered if there was a not-so-hidden question in
the statement.
"They do have Naoko's
darling daughter." Hiram absently nodded. "And it seems she's got
some tricks of her own. Just like her momma."
Ritsuko eyed the Texan.
"Doctor Forsyth, you are
either a very polite man or a very sarcastic one." Insana cackled.
"I'm not sure I gather
your meaning, Boy," Hiram muttered.
"Now you're just being
obvious."
Shaking her head, Ritsuko
turned to look at the bar and the door to the restaurant's kitchen "Where
is the wait staff?"
"Maybe they're being
interrogated by Section Two?" Insana suggested.
Seeing one of the black-suited
guards talk into his lapel microphone, Ritsuko shrugged. "Sure, why
not."
"The Reds are eye-ballin'
us too."
"Reds? An upgrade from
godless Bolsheviks."
"Now's not the time for
socio-economic banter."
"Oh why not!" Insana
pouted.
Hiram stared. "Maybe you
can call your guards and rustle us up a waitress?" he then asked Ritsuko.
Insana was not deterred.
"
The table fell silent.
There was an awkward cough as
a young waitress with short brown hair in a pixie bob came up to the table.
"Um... can I take... drink orders?" Between the fuming scientists,
the men in black suits and the armed and armored Russians... she would rather
have gone up to the latter groups. "Or are you ready to order entrees?"
she asked in a hopeful voice.
Insana ignored the waitress.
"I'm not crazy! That's how this city is run!"
"The two are not mutually
exclusive," Ritsuko sighed.
Hiram looked to the waitress
and gave a big disarming smile. The effect was ruined by his overalls, welding
goggles, and almost invasive presence.
The situation was further
exacerbated by Insana looking up at her with his far more unnerving eyewear. "I
have demanded menus! I will have
them!"
"Coincidence your
daughter is robot, yes?" Beria asked Insana, ignoring the waitress.
Ritsuko coughed. "I'll
have a scotch on the rocks. Those two will have another round of their drinks.
And he'll have whatever sweet liquor you have," she briskly said,
indicated Insana at the end.
"Well... we have a liquorice
liquor..."
"Yes, yes." Ritsuko
waved her hand. "And we'll start with the house soup, and... this place
does steak right? You do have imported cattle meat, correct?"
"Um..." the waitress
blinked. Befitting its expense, most of the restaurant's cliental were Nerv
employees, contractors, and other governmental sorts. They had even hosted a
few official events, so she was used to some level of strangeness but this...
"Fine then," Ritsuko
pointed to Hiram. "This is your area right?"
"I guess that depend on
what they use to fire their grills." Hiram rubbed his chin. "I may
have to check out the kitchen."
Ritsuko held her forehead.
"Why can't it be simple?"
"Bah, nothin's simpler than
a good steak. You just need a slice of beef, some salt and some good wood
though hardwood briquettes will do in a pinch."
"Really? How
mundane." Beria smirked.
"What you think I'd use a
jet engine or an inductive cannon?" Hiram snorted. "Induction
cannon'll blast it to itty bitty pieces, rubbery pieces too. Engine'll dry it
out and make the meat taste like jet fuel... or radiation. Depending on the go
juice."
"Radiation has a
taste?" Ritsuko asked.
"Yes," the three
male scientists replied, nearly in sync.
Ritsuko glared at Insana.
"I can guess how they'd know, but you?"
"I'll... just get your
drinks and... soups... and um... see what the chef has special," the
waitress said before scurrying away.
"This was a bad
idea," Ritsuko moaned.
"This was your
idea," Insana added.
"Yes, yes it was."
Ritsuko looked around the room and spotted the waitress shuffling back towards
them. The young woman was taking extra care to make sure their drinks did not
spill.
The waitress approached the
table and began to hand out glasses. "Uh, I talked with the chef and he
doesn't normally run the wood grill but since this is a special event..."
"Well ain't that a
surprise, little lady," Hiram smiled. "Now you didn't happen to find
what you've got in stock?"
Watching the Texan smooth-talk
the waitress, Ritsuko found herself smiling. She picked up her glass and
sniffed the scotch. Part of her hoped that this could work out. Lifting the
glass to her lips she tilted it back.
Then her cell phone rang. Followed
by the phones of the other scientists. Using her free hand, Ritsuko pulled out
her phone and answered it. "Shit. Where? How high? What about its
Pattern?"
Beria listened and nodded.
"Da, I am with her." There was another pause. "Understood."
He hung up the phone and saw that Insana and Hiram had also ended their phone
calls. "Well?"
The Section 2 agents and
Azazel Naval Infantry also stiffened after their officers pulled out their
radios and began shouting orders. Some of them started towards the table in a
steady, serious gait.
Hiram eyed the Russian. "Bad
for you too?" He looked from Ritsuko who was still on the phone to the
increasingly nervous waitress. "I'm afraid we'll have to cancel that meal
Hon. Not your fault." The Texan coughed. "And you might want to get
to one of the shelters."
Insana held his phone like it
was a dead fish. "Why did they call me? They know where I am."
Ritsuko snapped her phone
closed. "This is your first time in
Some of his bravado deflating,
Insana nodded.
"When the red ball goes
up we all get the notice."
Insana frowned. "They
said there was an Angel, detected, not that it was coming here."
Hiram snorted. "Boy, this is
Ritsuko eyed the scientists.
"Enough, we're needed in the Geo Front."
***************
Ritsuko stepped into the
Beria had sidled over to the
Azazel liaison group; the Naval officers gravely nodding with the scientist.
Even the Texan had gained a new focus, quietly with one of the JSSDF generals.
The scientist fished a
cigarette out of her lab coat pocket. "Maya what's the status?"
Lieutenant Ibuki looked up
from her display. "NORAD and Azazel confirm our telemetry. Low orbit
presence. Massive size. Definitely not man-made."
"Angel," Misako
stated, she turned back to Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga. "Is there anything we
can equip the Evas with? What's the max range on the Mark 9's?"
"You'll want vertical
range, and no, this thing is in orbit, and over the
Misako nodded and contacted
Captain Sakharov
"Retrograde orbit,"
Maya added. "Still haven't gotten Pattern lock. Surveillance satellites
haven't gotten a visual yet, radar only."
Overseeing the procedure Gendo
nodded. He then turned to Beria and Sudoplatov. "Director, Admiral, what
assets does Azazel have?"
"Sir?" Misako asked.
"I don't like the idea of
having this thing overhead." Gendo forced a thin smile. "If our
allies could give us the courtesy of eliminating it before that
happens..."
Beria gave a little bow. "In
cooperation with the RVSN, Azazel has emplaced payloads on several of our
strategic rocket assets." The balding man then looked to Admiral
Sudoplatov who nodded. "However, some of the units had their boost and
targeting components... upgraded. I must admit, we did not intend to hit target
so... high."
"It seems that you are
about to be challenged." Gendo looked to Ritsuko. "What of the
Americans?"
Ritsuko tapped Makoto on the
back. "NORAD and Space Command are also tracking," the young
lieutenant answered. "They agree with the threat assessment. Damn... we
need a better downlink. I'm authorizing the Magi to patch into their systems."
Gendo nodded. "However, that's
not what I meant." His gaze went to the gaggle of JSSDF officers. Among
them was a taller man still wearing red coveralls and holding a pair of work
gloves. "You! Doctor Hiram! What do you know of American assets? Has
Project Jarngreipr gone
operational?"
Hiram looked up at the top
tier and squinted. "I don't know what you're talking about. Sir."
Gendo folded his hands before
his face. "Oh? I suppose your friends in
"Sir," Ritsuko said,
echoing many others. Before she returned to Maya's workstation she spared a
glance at the map display and the misleadingly slow, but inexorable movement of
the anomaly.
Fuyutsuki leaned to Gendo.
"I must confess, I never considered such an avenue of attack."
"After Gaghiel perhaps we
should," Ikari replied in a near whisper. He frowned. "This planet is
inundated with water and surrounded by vacuum. It is natural the enemy would
attack from those two locations. We should have seen this. Others have. Alert
the Prime Minister personally. It would be... embarrassing if something
happened. "
Fuyutsuki raised his eyebrows.
Lower on the command center
tower, Ritsuko had returned to the other scientists. "So Azazel funds are
going to your strategic rocket forces?"
Smiling thinly, Beria
shrugged. "Reasonable precaution."
"Yes, corrupt paranoia pays
off," Ritsuko groused lighting her cigarette.
"If pays off, not
paranoia," Beria replied.
Misako chuckled. "Can you
hit it?" she asked the Russian.
Beria gave Hiram a meaningful
glance. "Like the fist of an angry god!"
Hiram coughed. He hoped the
Looking at the altitude
information on the target icon, Beria then shook his head. "But... in...
time. We can intercept but... I fear what will do if we give it window."
Across the command center,
Insana shook his raised arms. "This is foolishness!"
Ritsuko slowly turned and
glared at Insana down in the left terminal annex. "Yes?"
"You really think it's
going to sit up there and wait for us to shoot it down?" Insana shrilly
shouted.
Beria blinked. "Yes, that
is fear."
"You realize that it will
see you coming; you think your little bombs will work?" Insana crooned.
"That is how we killed
several of them," Sudoplatov stated, now holding one of the secure analog
phones that had been installed in the command center.
"And now? Now, they're
clever."
Misako's eyes narrowed.
"And now this one just shows up. Where did it come from?" she turned
to Maya.
"It... it just
appeared," Maya said. "All telemetry shows a similar... effect."
"No launch from the
ground, no orbital insertion from outer space, it just appeared!" Insana
tittered. "And we still don't have visual lock on it!"
Holding his forehead, Beria
nodded. "Agree. No pattern confirmation, Angel wants us to know it
there."
"Chto za huy," Sudoplatov
swore, with the phone to his ear. "Apologies Sirs, recommend immediate
launch, Plan Zhar-Ptitsa. Repeat Zhar-Ptitsa." Behind him, several Azazel
officers were repeating targeting information to their equivalents in the Russian
Strategic Rocket Service and the Space Force
Gendo rose from his seat on the highest tier.
"What are you deploying?"
The Russian admiral looked up
at the giant world map. "Half a dozen rockets in staggered pairs. If our
scientists' babble is right, then this is some sort of ambush. Best to crush it
now." He looked back up at Ikari.
Ritsuko concealed a little
smile; even after everything, people still looked to him.
"
"We're now getting their
feed," Ritsuko added. "It's... it's bad."
"And naturally they
recommend
Admiral Sudoplatov nodded and
returned to authorizing the launch. The scientists resumed their research and
the officers returned to deploying their forces. With forewarning
"Evangelions are ready
for sortie!" Misako announced.
Gendo nodded. "Status of
the transport aircraft?"
Misako bowed her head and
called the airfield.
Fuyutsuki had ended his phone
call and returned to Gendo. "Concerned?"
"Certainly. This is too
handy. Our enemy is getting more intelligent, not less."
"Detecting multiple launches
from
The command center began to
hush as the Azazel rockets closed in onto the suspected Angel. It became such
that the clicking of keyboards and the half conversations of those using the
secure telephone units began to dominate the cavernous room.
"Now we shall see,"
Gendo said as the first of the blue diamonds began to overlap with the red
chevron.
"Premature detonation! Target
separation! No... multiple targets appearing. Ground approach vectors!"
Maya cried.
"We're getting Pattern
Orange on the ones that are within range of satellites and ground based
detectors," Shigeru said as many of the chevrons shifted to orange in
coloration.
With a flicker the holographic
display updated. Streaks of red now covered the map. The initial chevron had
turned into something resembling a blown over starfish as several targets
spread from the initial point of detonation.
Of more concern to the command
center were the many streaks that were suddenly growing, having appeared all
over the global map.
"Eight, a dozen, no... twenty...
twenty five. Thirty! Inbound echoes," Maya announced to the silenced room.
"Most seem... smaller than the original."
Noting that the Russians were
already giving new orders via the secure phones, Gendo stood. "Continue
targeting. I want to find out where these things are going. Also get me visual
lock on one of the damn things."
The scientists began to work
and soon the map started to update. Many of the tracks were taken out by the
Azazel missiles, but their efforts were largely limited to the starfish birthed
by the initial echo.
Several light red elongated
ovals began to cover the map. They represented the strike zones. About half were
smeared over
That left two over South America,
two on the eastern part of North America, and a smattering of single ovals:
southern Africa, East Australia, the Indian sub-continent and the
As Ritsuko, Maya and the other
scientists worked on the telemetry the ovals began to shrink. In the auxiliary
command section Insana was also working on the orbital problem. As the targets
became more apparent the splotches broke up and each oval became a darker shade
of red.
"Nailed it!" Maya
said triumphantly. "They're cities!" She then deflated and her tone
became more clinical. "Using the more remote echoes to start from and
calibrating them all, it would seem that they're headed for the capital cities
of the following countries," she said entering them on the central
display.
The holographic updated by
highlighting the twenty targeted countries and putting boxes around the
suspected... impact sites: over twenty cities on all six of the remaining
continents.
"The largest echo is en
route to
The map display made the other
targets clear enough:
"Should we have foreseen
this?" Fuyutsuki quietly asked.
"Yes." Gendo
muttered then looked up at the map. "We can take some comfort in it."
"Oh?"
"Capital cities. At least
they're not going after our industrial capacity." Ikari stood again.
"Alert all the targeted nations, and all Nerv branches."
Ritsuko nodded. "We're
feeding this data direct to any defense system that's answering. We think the
attack is still eight minutes out. There might be enough time to get their
defenses up, or at least evacuate to shelters."
***************
Shinju leaned back in the
plug. Controlling her breathing, she checked her weapon load out. Her
bandoleers had the full gamut of sixteen inch shells: green-tipped canister
shot, blue-tipped ground penetrators, red-tipped N2 warheads, and white-tipped nuclear
warheads. The armorers did not seem too enthused about the opportunity to send
up reloads. The front display of the plug was dominated by a tactical map. It
showed the cluster of red echoes that marked the Angel. At lower heights were blue
marks of Nerv, JSSDF, and Azazel assets. She made a point to not look at the
strategic map; she had to focus on this battle. She glanced at the clock,
enough time had passed. "ETA to impact?"
"Azazel hasn't even
launched their naval batteries," Misako's exhausted voice said somewhat
reproachfully.
"This is insane," Toji
said from Unit 03. "What do you expect us do to if Azazel doesn't get it? Catch
the damn thing?"
"Shut up. Just shut up,"
Kiko swore. Unlike the other pilots she had a sound-only link from her cockpit.
"No. If the enemy's
coming in too fast then... we'll hold off." Misako hesitated and looked
off the screen. Behind her the rest of the command staff paced between their
stations, the giant holographic display reflecting off their bodies.
Misako continued. "If the
roof gets a... minor rupture then we'll sortie you directly to the Geo-Front. If
the whole Geo-Front goes up... well," Misako laughed. "If it looks
like that, you'll be launched outside the city limits. If there's anything left
you'll make contact with what Nerv assets remain. There's a comm. team on the
AY-11. Failing that you'll take orders from the Azazel command post aboard the Admiral
Kuznetsov."
Toji flexed his fingers. "Shit."
"You do not see direct
combat, Captian... Oneesan?" Rei's eyes lowered slightly.
Misako gave a shrug.
"Either the Russians kill the thing, or it slams into the city. If it hits
it'll break through the roof armor or it won't," her words became more
distant. "Azazel's about to launch local assets."
Toji looked at the map. It was
anticlimactic. Blue dots scattered around
Toji set his teeth. He knew
that a nuclear blast could take out an AT field but it had to be right up
against it. Here the angel had split itself up was using each sub piece to
intercept Azazel's missiles. He saw that the enemy echoes were starting to
split up. One was still going to
He thought about his father,
sister, and Hikari but... it was like the other cities. They were already in
the shelters or they were not. The shelters would be deep enough or they would
not be. His stomach churned and despite the LCL his face felt like it had
started to sweat.
All of the Kanto region lit up
like a blue Christmas tree. This was immediately overshadowed by what looked
like a continuous blue fire as the batteries in the Kanagawa prefecture immediately
surrounding
"Damn," Toji mused.
He could imagine the fierce nuclear storm burning above the city as the missiles
pummeled the comet-like formation. A chain of horrendous airbursts would be
falling down towards the city. He swallowed his mouth feeling dry despite the
LCL. Toji knew he could access visual feed of the sky above them but... part of
him hesitated. He looked on the displays of the Ayanami sisters and guessed by
the churning orange reflections on both their faces that they were watching the
onrushing storm.
"It's not that
impressive," Kiko chided. "Most of it's JSSDF. Just N2's. Only one in
ten's Azazel. Rest are decoys."
Toji shivered.
"Holy..." A tinge of
color came onto Misako's face. "It's... slowing down."
"The bastard's trying to
land!" Ritsuko shouted from behind the elder clone.
"Final line! Weapons
free! Air Assets if you get a clear shot take it!" Misako shouted.
By now the Angel had just come
in range of the Azazel Su-33's and their Moskva
IIB's. Some of their icons vanished, it looked like the Angel had
counter-attacked. However, their launches were momentarily blotted out by the
batteries mounted on the ridges surrounding
Faintly, faintly feeling the vibrations
of the ridgeline batteries, Toji now felt the pressure waves of the twin
explosions hitting the Geo Front. The explosions were high up. Metal groaned
and buildings shook but it was no more than a earthquake; the ceiling held. Pattern
Blue alerts also flared on his display.
"It's..." Misako
coughed. "It's still alive. We gave the damn thing a cushion to land
on." She gave a brittle laugh. "Sorry kids, looks like I lied, turns
out you're fighting in the city. It's not moving much; we think the angel's
stunned. Go up and kill it."
Toji looked up as the rows and
rows of armored doors slipped aside clearing the catapult track. Despite being
on an oblique and indirect track to the surface he could still see a ruddy
orange-red glow at the top, like an over-stoked furnace. "Well,
shit."
"Come on, Rookie, this is
what they pay us for," Kiko chuckled, Unit 02 cocking its head in
something like a smirk.
The Fourth Child whistled. "Over
the top!" Shinju cackled as the catapult launched her Evangelion. Followed
shortly by the rest of the squad.
End Chapter 10
I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, DGC, and Wray.
And yes I did have a couple cameos that fans of Insana/o would be familiar with.
Also I know this is a cliffhanger, but do not worry, the next chapter is written and will be released once is had been pre-read and corrected.
OMAKE
Finishing his song,
The room was empty in its
elegance.
Then the lid of the baby grand
that Elisabeth Finevoice had been playing rose and a thin man with a genial
goatee and glasses climbed out. Standing
on the dais, he adjusted his loose fitting red tie and dark sports coat and
straightened his cap.
“I thought they’d never leave.”