Unlike the various meetings held planet-side, the somber meeting taking place in the main conference room aboard the Jupiter's Thunder was surprisingly silent, with none of the casual remarks and commentary that made earlier meetings feel so much more alive.
But for most of the people joining, that was all but expected of them. It's not every day your entire world is basically sterilized. Most of the people here had been directly involved in the efforts to prevent that from happening, and for those that had lived there, the situation looked grim, indeed.
"We've already had two attempted suicides, and I don't think those are going to be the last," Dr. Akagi said, as the meeting's topic turned to the evacuated civilians... or refugees, now.
"We need to organize something for them to do. Keep them occupied so they don't have so much time to dwell on what's happened," Fuyutsuki stated.
"I agree, but look at the statistics," Nabiki replied, tossing a datapad towards him. It slid towards him, only stopping as he brought his hand down on it, and she continued as he picked it up. "Almost half the people we rescued were families with children. Anywhere from grade-schoolers to high-school students. Even if we give them something to do, a large portion of the adult populace is going to be stuck watching their kids."
"Maintenance crews are already complaining about the places some of the younger adults are getting off to, too. They aren't just exploring; vandalism and random destruction is being reported across the ship," Captain Archer said, thumbing through his own datapad.
Misato Katsuragi slumped to the table with her head in her hands. "Lets face it, Tokyo-3 was one of the few places with normal- or above-normal- family rates. Partially because of the Marduk Report," As she said this she glared at Dr. Akagi briefly, before continuing, "and partially because the city was the proverbial beacon of hope."
"All posts aboardThe Nerve are currently filled by people pulled from theThunder, so not one of our Departments has a full staff. And there are differences between the engineering section of an Executor-class Star Destroyer and an ImpStar Deuce," Kei stated, getting slight nods from Mei and Nei.
"How are the logistics being handled for supplies?" Makoto asked.
"Currently, the liberated goods from the Tokyo-3 area are being used, after which I will begin beaming over stores from the Thunder," SHODAN replied, sounding rather smug.
"At least we're covered there," I muttered, knowing the ship was stocked with enough food to last years.
"Only if you like your food raw," Nei said with a scowl. "They don't have any cooks, so most of the food is being eaten cold. It's still fresh enough now, but in a few more days, if we don't get some sort of mess hall established, were going to be looking at a lot more problems."
"What about the refugees?" Lieutenant Ibuki asked.
I blinked. "Err, Maya, that's what we're talking about," I said, frowning at her.
She blushed and fidgeted in her seat. "No, that's not what I-" she took a breath, then spoke again, "I meant, why don't we see if they are willing to do that. There have to be some cooks down there; Tokyo-3 certainly had its share of restaurants."
Fuyutsuki nodded, and I shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Our basic statistics don't list things like occupations or previous work experience. Why don't you," I pointed at the three bridge bunnies, "get yourselves a portable table and start finding out who over there knows what."
"You also have most of the NERV Guards, Commander," Rei stated.
"Yeah," I replied, thinking about it. "Yeah, that's true. Fuyutsuki, if you could get with them, probably need SHODAN's help, too... See if you can get them a basic patrol route around the Refugee area."
"If you do that, I don't recommend arming them. At least, not as obviously as they were down... back... you know..." Nabiki said, faltering as she tried to avoid bringing up the recent past.
Kozo nodded, "I don't think leaving them unarmed is the answer, but I understand your concern. That ship is far smaller than the Geofront, so we can keep them grouped... Teams of three, I think; one with a side arm, and another with a radio."
Makoto nodded. "Enough to intimidate a gang of children, but not enough of a threat to start a riot."
"Right, so once that's done, we should have a better idea of what we have to work with," Misato said, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling for a moment. "We should probably keep the NERV Guards outside the Refugee area itself. If we evacuated the city, then there should be police officers in there as well that can work in the crowds without causing as much fear."
"We'll probably have to deputize some people if we do that. Tokyo-3's police force was heavily reliant upon NERV's support," Fuyutsuki said.
"I know, but we did have a few uniformed officers around. They should help give the refugees a sense of security and safety," Misato answered, her lips twitching as if she was just about to smile.
"You should also see about restarting schools. Without textbooks or terminals, it'll be difficult, but it should keep everyone my age busy some of the time," Shinji said.
Everyone stared at him for a moment, before Nabiki smiled. "He's right. That'll help cut down on the vandalism too, I'll bet. At least during the times school will be in."
"And where will you be, young man?" Fuyutsuki said, fixing him with a gaze that left little room for argument.
Shinji, instead of backing down, frowned, "I'm not with NERV anymore. I-"
"YOU-" I said, cutting him off, "-are an Imperial. And as such, are mine to command. Though you may hate it, Commander Fuyutsuki is correct. You should go to school." When Shinji started to protest, I waved him back, "Rei will be going too. And as soon as this refugee situation is taken care of, we'll probably find a better way for you to learn what you need to in order to 'graduate.'" I smirked at him slightly, before shrugging, "Besides, you're a hero, remember? Your example will help make this go smoothly."
"We should address that next," Captain Archer stated, somewhat awkwardly.
"What? Schooling?" Makoto asked, frowning.
"No, Milady, NERV, and the inevitable dissolution thereof," the Captain elaborated.
"Ahh, yeah. Actually, most everyone here has a rank already. If they intend to merge, I'd say Imperial Army Ranks of the same level, for almost everyone," I replied, glancing around the table.
"And Dr Akagi?" The Captain inquired.
I frowned. "Hmm... Ritsuko, you want to wear a uniform?" I asked, wondering how many lab coats she had. When she shook her head no, I shrugged, then turned to Captain Archer. "I'd say... simulated Naval Commander rank, full clearance with SHODAN oversight, and only has to answer to you, Makoto, Nabiki, Fuyutsuki or me."
Captain Archer quirked a brow, "And Commander Cantrall?"
I frowned, "got a glass of cold water handy?" My aide's eyes widened slightly, and I smirked, "I'm not angry at him, but I'm not going to go out of my way for him, either."
Captain Archer nodded, and I turned to Dr. Akagi, "that sound agreeable?"
"Just so long as SHODAN doesn't question everything I look up. I'm still trying to familiarize myself with the available technology," the faux-blonde replied.
"And Commander Fuyutsuki? There is no Commander rank in the Imperial Army," Archer asked.
"I could use his-" Nabiki paused, then turned to look at the elder Commander before restarting, "-your... help in Intelligence. I've seen what you did with NERV; I could use that level-headed thinking if... and when... things start getting... hairy again."
Fuyutsuki smiled slightly, either at the compliment, or the thought of being wanted, but then he shook his head. "Before NERV, I was a college professor... I've seen and done a lot in my life, and if there's one thing I wouldn't mind giving up, it's this militant command."
Everyone at the table stared at him, and he met everyone's gaze briefly as he swept his eyes across the room, before smiling wryly. "Before you all think I'm abandoning you, let me offer this suggestion: those refugees will have to get settled in eventually, and when they do, they'll need someone to come to, with both suggestions and complaints. While it may seem I'm trading one command for another, I think I'd prefer it if I could help there... help build, after all my life's work has managed to destroy."
Nabiki blinked. "So... some sort of Administrator?"
Fuyutsuki nodded. "If that's what it's called. I... I just think I could help better there than I could here," he said, with some finality.
I frowned, "You know at that level, you're going to be liaising with me... with us here an awful lot. And that's going to put you in the spotlight for every major dispute and complaint the populace has..." I trailed off as he nodded, holding his hand up for me to stop.
"I've considered all of this... but if you must, consider this my atonement for participating in something that I never should have let happen in the first place. I understand it'll be a lot of work, but it'll also be back among people who want to make the world a better place. No offense to you all, but NERV, and by extension now, The Empire, are both parts of my life I'd like to distance myself from." He looked down as he said this, and I imagined I could almost see the weight of all the years at NERV, silently watching the world move closer and closer to its inevitable apocalypse weighing down on him.
"Even so, like Kyle said, you're going to be dealing with the Empire a lot if you chose to help head up whatever government is eventually formed," Makoto protested.
Fuyutsuki nodded, "I can live with dealings and interactions. All I ask is that I be allowed to explain myself if I disagree with something, and I'm given some leeway to help establish a system that works for everyone."
I shrugged, "I can't really see why I'd have a problem with that. Just in case though, like Dr. Akagi, I'd prefer it if you had a simulated rank at the least, so that even if you aren't dealing with them directly, any enlistee or officer who you might meet will at least give you proper respect... and attention, if it's an emergency."
He nodded. "I can live with that. What did you have in mind?"
I frowned in thought, before turning to the Trio. "It's your ship, and everyone knows it, but would you mind having another Captain aboard, even simulated?"
The three shared a quick look, before Mei responded: "It's fine with us, so long as his orders don't interfere with ours."
Fuyutsuki smiled slightly. "I'll do my best to keep you informed if even the possibility of that happening exists."
I turned to Archer and nodded.
"Next, you have Chairman Lorenz to deal with," SHODAN interjected in the ensuing silence.
I frowned, "before that, anyone else not want an Imperial Commission? As you just saw with Com... Err..." I trailed off and a couple people around the table smiled at the almost-error. "Mister Fuyutsuki, none of us will think less of you if you decide to turn civilian. Everyone at this table has skills I'd pay for, even if you don't wear a uniform while performing them."
There was a moment of silence, before Maya Ibuki spoke up "I don't think any of us had any plans, Commander... At least, none that are really valid, now. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm comfortable with what we've just set up now..." She trailed off, and I noticed multiple heads around the table nodding slightly at that.
"Alright then," I said, looking everyone in the eye as I continued. "You'll have a couple weeks before everything is locked in, incase you change your minds, but unless you do, then let me be the first to welcome you to The Empire."
"Your Empire," Makoto whispered, leaning over to make sure I was the only one who heard.
Turning to meet her gaze, I quietly corrected her, "Our Empire."
She nodded at that, and I smiled softly, before we straightened back up. "As for Keele..." I shrugged as I considered it. "He killed your world. I won't insult you all by calling it our world, though in the time I spent there, I got to know it fairly well, and had begun to think of it as a home-away-from-home... that aside, however, you all have more say in this than I... you and the thousands of refugees currently aboard The Nerve."
Nabiki scowled, "as manipulative as it may sound, I really thing we should make his role known- to the point of embellishment- in what happened back on your Earth. A public trial at the very least... and if they ask for it, a public execution."
"You'd best ensure nobody is armed if you bring him out. A number of NERV Personnel already know what his role was. I personally briefed Section Two, in case he was ever in town so they would detain him with extreme prejudice," Misato snarled.
I nodded, "That makes sense. I think I'll leave that up to Administrator Fuyutsuki to handle. This is a Tokyo-3 matter. I'm merely the jailer in this case." I turned to Fuyutsuki, "That said, while I'll back up whatever you decide publicly, if your punishment fails to fit the crime in my eyes, I can't promise that I won't take some leeway in interpreting your decision."
Fuyutsuki frowned, "I really doubt that will be necessary. As the actual cause of Third Impact, it's safe to assume that he will be summarily executed."
I tilted my head in acquiescence.
"If we're currently talking prisoners, now would be a good time to decide what to do with Gendo," Nabiki stated off-handily.
"He should join Keele," Makoto spat from beside me, the venom in her voice readily apparent to everyone at the table.
"No!" Shinji said, jumping to his feet. When everyone turned their gaze on him, he visibly wilted under the pressure, before speaking again, this time with some hesitation. "I mean... I understand he killed one of your men, Sir," he said, looking at me, "but he's my family, and... I don't like him... and I don't know him, I suppose... but this feels wrong." Turning to look at me imploringly, he spoke again, this time barely above a whisper, "please, sir. Lord Kyle. Don't kill him."
I sighed, before turning to Fuyutsuki, "Kozo, you stood beside of behind him for years, both at NERV and Gehirn before it... You are, I'm sure, aware of my feelings on this, as you do Makoto's... and the rest of the Imperial staff, as well. Do you have anything to say in Gendo Ikari's defense?"
Fuyutsuki scowled at being put on the spot, but only for a moment as he leaned forward on the table and sighed, resting his head in his hands. "Gendo... is one of the most ruthless people I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. He's done anything and everything to achieve his goals, and I was- I'm sorry to say- right there beside him almost all of the way."
I nodded, trying to find the best way to apologize to Shinji, when Kozo spoke again. "However!" As his voice rose, he sat back and met my gaze calmly, "there was a time... brief as it was, when he was a man I could admire, though he would never be a friend. A person I both respected and admired, both for his skill, determination, and ability, instead of cold ruthlessness. And I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that Ikari himself knew it."
Fuyutsuki turned to Shinji, and sighed, before continuing. "You know I was a teacher, a professor, before I became the Sub-Commander at NERV... I knew how to read a person pretty well, and even Gendo gave away his thoughts and feelings from time to time... as hard as it may be to believe, Shinji, Gendo feared you. Why, only he can tell you. But I knew the man. Know the man... and dealing with you nearly terrified him."
Returning his gaze to me, Fuyutsuki sighed, before shaking his head, "I cannot tell you he is a good person. Even at his best, he was still somewhat cold. However, if you want to see the true Gendo Ikari, you'll have to bring back Yui."
I sighed. That wasn't really what I had wanted to hear, because despite what he had done, it was enough to make me feel a bit of sympathy for the man. I still didn't have enough to stay his execution, but before I could say as much, Fuyutsuki caught my eye and nodded towards Rei, who was looking somewhat thoughtful.
Knowing this wouldn't help my case any, but also knowing that, for the sake of fairness, I had to, I asked her what was on her mind.
"The Commander... cared for me. Whether it was because I look somewhat like Yui Ikari, or I was instrumental in his plans, I do not know, but even though he knew I could be replaced at any time until you arrived, when I was in danger, he did show emotion, and concern, for me, the one person nobody needed to." Rei's voice was quiet, but everyone practically held their breaths as they hung on her every word. When she finished, everyone turned to look at me.
Before I could speak, though, Nabiki snorted. "Right. He also had Unit-00's arm blown off without bothering to cut the nerve-link in the original fight against Bardiel, and aside from that incident during the re-activation test, did he ever show true concern for you? That incident was most likely the best way to cement your trust in him... a trust that was only broken once Shinji here repeated the action, only for the right reasons."
"She's right, Rei," Makoto chimed in from beside me. "Remember, originally, you yourself rejected Gendo for Shinji in the end."
"That may be true. However, your arrival invalidated that timeline, and the reasons that other me did what she did are not my own. In my time with both NERV and The Empire, I've seen both injustice and justice done... If you are asking me, my belief is that Commander Ikari be given a chance to defend himself and his actions. That is the way of the law, now that we are no longer at war."
Makoto and Nabiki collapsed back into their chairs, and I felt my argument slipping further. "Does anyone else have anything to say in Gendo's defense?" I asked with a scowl.
"He may be a user; and cold, callous, and apathetic to anyone else's plight but his own," Misato started.
"But...?" I prompted, already expecting what she said next.
"... but Rei is right. If he is to be sentenced, then he should be allowed to defend his actions. None of us may fully like it, but he wasn't..." she paused, frowning, before hesitantly continuing, "officially in the wrong, doing what he did. I brought you in unannounced and we were all assuming the power-outage was sabotage. While capturing potential enemies would have been preferable, the bay was a classified, shoot-on-sight location."
I sighed heavily, collapsing back into my chair much as Makoto and Nabiki had a moment ago. "Fine. I'll hold off on his sentencing... once you've set it up, Fuyutsuki, whatever court-system you establish will be used to try him. And the Empire will press for capital punishment."
Fuyutsuki nodded. "He may well deserve it... but it will be the law that decides. And I thank you for hearing us out."
I waved that off, annoyed at the unexpected and annoying turn, before turning to General Hongo, "General, I believe you're up."
Both General Hongo and Admiral Yuki read off the statistics of Imperial Equipment and Soldiers lost in the fighting. While SHODAN tried to retrieve as many bodies as she could in what little time she had, a number were buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings, and a total of 417 Stormtroopers had died fighting in the streets, Four TIE-Defenders to an overwhelming onslaught of missiles, a Bomber lost the same way. Aside from that, all our equipment on the ground had been left behind, as SHODAN was too busy teleporting people to retrieve the much more massive AT-STs and the AT-AT barges had no time to retrieve those that remained.
"As far as manpower goes, My Lord, that 417 is a drop in the bucket from the numbers aboard... the loss of equipment, however, was much worse, considering how few we initially carry. If we have the chance to resupply, I'd like to use a W-D to replenish some of our stock. And if it is likely to happen again, I'd like to request some space onThe Nerve be set aside for extra equipment," the General concluded.
I nodded. "Get with the Trio after this to find out what's available, and I'll see what we can find to replace what's missing. If some of them wish to, we can potentially recruit some new Stormtroopers, though that's a concern more for the future. Dr. Akagi, you're up."
The Doctor, who'd remained quiet for quite some time merely nodded, before typing something on the datapad before her. "Basically," she finally said, "I'm going to have Units -00 and -04 to remain combat ready, while Unit-02 stays in storage, observed for changes, and unit-01 will be prepped for a possible retrieval of Dr. Ikari. Damages sustained by Unit-04 were moderate, including major stress and damage to the legs when you leapt into the Geofront, as well as the occasional attack that got through. Unit-00 is also in need of regeneration, and I can't imagine what combat damage on unit-01 might transfer to Dr. Ikari if we were to proceed with our plan before healing all wounds there, as well."
She paused, to catch her breath, before summarizing, "in short, it will be a week at least before we can attempt the retrieval with Unit-01, and that's ignoring all other tasks. I'm also low on LCL, as we didn't have time to get more than a million liters shipped up before everything fell apart."
"Well, my plan was a good one, we just didn't have time to implement it," Nabiki grumbled.
"I doubt you're the only one feeling that way today," Kaji said, speaking up for the first time today. There was no laughter, but a couple people smiled slightly, and I nodded. "Do what you can, but I think we all agree that Unit-01 should be your priority for now. There are no more Angels, so Units -00 and -04 can wait for their repairs."
Everyone nodded at that, and I looked at everyone at the table, realizing everything that needed to be said was apparently finished. "Anyone else have anything to add before we all get to work?
"Someone needs to tell the refugees what happened," Lieutenant Hyuga stated.
Captain Archer spoke up, "While I believe some of your previously-discussed plans would help, as this is Lord Kyle's ship, a ship-wide speech might solve that problem and the morale issue no doubt beginning to encroach upon our own forces."
I blinked, before nodding slowly. "That makes sense. Give me an hour or so, and I'll do what I can... anyone else have anything else to add?"
There were no replies to that, and I finally smiled slightly, "Then ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude this final meeting between the Empire and NERV... and let's get to work."
Two hours later, speakers everywhere aboard The Nerve and Jupiter's Thundercrackled to life as multiple screens flickered on to display my face. As I stood on the bridge, trying not to think of the thousands of people I knew were watching me, I began speaking as the words appeared in the air before me courtesy of SHODAN and the holographic projector.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Tokyo-3... for those of you who do not know me, I am Kyle Kino, an ally of NERV, and Commanding Officer of these two ships..."
I paused for a moment, before continuing. "As you have probably heard by now, Tokyo-3- and Earth as you know it- has been lost; every living organism destroyed in a purposefully-instigated Third-Impact. While I will be releasing the paperwork explaining things in detail to you all shortly, let me just say that the final foe that drove most of you into the Angel Shelters was no Angel. It was mankind. Driven into Tokyo-3 through the lies and machinations of a shadowy group of men known as SEELE."
I waited a moment for that to sink in, and wondered how the people were taking it. There was one monitor I could watch that oversaw a large portion of the populace, but from this angle, individual faces were hard to make out. "We have since traveled to another universe, where the effects of Third Impact cannot reach up, and the ever present threat of the Angels is no more. More details on this, and other questions I know you all have are being made available to you as I speak, but I'd like to let you all know that the threat of the angels for us is over, and now is the time to begin rebuilding."
"An interim government has been established for now, but once we've squared away the necessities, an elected government, chosen by you, will liaise with my soldiers and assist in returning your lives to something approaching normal."
That was it. I nodded once, unsure what to close with, and the camera stopped recording.
"That sucked," I said, letting the rest of the air out in a heavy sigh.
"It was necessary," Nabiki replied, before plopping down in the chair across from me. We were in a small office near the bridge, which functioned as an informal sitting room after I'd had the large desk removed and some chairs and a thick carpet put in its place.
"Tell me about it. These packets," I said, waving a datapad towards her, "full disclosure?"
"To a degree. Character Summaries were wiped, and irrelevant information was removed to avoid confusion, but for the most part, everyone out there who bothers to read through it all will know what happened... from Second Impact to Third," Nabiki stated.
"How's the housing situation look?" Makoto asked, finally speaking up. She had been looking over a second datapad, which wasn't quite ready for release yet. That one detailing the ships, the three of us, and the Imperial Forces the refugees would be living with from now on.
"Not so good. At first, we were considering making room on The Nerve, but looking it over, nobody would want to live in a barracks... at least not families. We can only do so much modification to a ship without dry-docking facilities," Nabiki explained, though the smirk on her face made it obvious she had something else in mind.
"So what do you suggest?" Makoto asked; the first to bite.
"Well, it wasn't just me, SHODAN helped... a lot," Nabiki replied, her smirk disappearing as her tone softened.
"Credit where credit is due, Admiral," SHODAN said, her voice mocking and condescending.
"In any case," Nabiki started, motioning towards a large wall-mounted display panel, "after looking over the ship configurations in our databanks, I came across a somewhat odd-looking ship that just might work, with some major changes to its interior."
"You mean to say you came across a ship that was big enough to house a town, and made vague suggestions that I had to puzzle out and apply while you patted yourself on the back?" SHODAN asked, as the screen flickered to life, showing what looked like a Star Destroyer with four large spheres imbedded within its main body.
"An Interdictor," I mumbled, half-remembering the descriptions from some of the later Star Wars novels. "I thought they were smaller, not Star-Destroyer-sized," I said with a frown.
The screen changed to display a similar-shaped ship, though a moment later, the much, muchlarger ship that had been on it before appeared beside it, giving the image a sense of scale.
"The smaller Interdictor Cruisers aren't big enough for such a population... while the Interdictor Star Destroyer is actually too large. Only with massive automation and redesigning can we make something usable of it... observe." SHODAN's voice cut off as the screen changed, and the Interdictor Destroyer's surface began to shift.
The four orbs imbedded in the superstructure were the most obvious changes, as the outer skin of durasteel was replaced by transparisteel windows geometrically framed and showing off a corpse of trees within one sphere, and an oceanic-surface within another. A third was arid and frozen, with gray and brown rocks poking out of layered snow, and finally, the fourth sphere had a grass-covered field.
The rest of the ship was generally smoother, though a number of small protuberances dotted the surface, and a series of larger ridges ran along the length of the ship.
"So, you want to replace the Gravity Well Generators with bio-spheres... and what's everything else on the surface?" I asked.
"The smaller bumps are shield generators and emitters. Using what we know of the Shield generators from the Wing Commander Universe, as well as standard Star Wars-type shields, we've set up a layered defense that would be hard pressed for the Lance of Longinus to pierce. Included are also empty spaces for future technologies to be implemented, if anything of use is discovered." SHODAN stated.
"And the ridges?"
"Weapons emplacements. The grouping makes them an easier target, but with the shields in place, an enemy could look all they wanted, but do little about it. Since this is to be primarily a civilian "home" the design was modified to focus on defense, though the weapon placement give it an excellent range of fire, in the event that it can't get away."
"And now explain the interior," Nabiki said, smirking.
The display changed again, the outer skin fading and layers of the ship disappeared before a pair of very wide corridors became visible, running along both sides of the ship. Starting back near the engines, a cross-corridor allowed obvious access to the Reactor core, and smaller passages allowed access to everything else in the stern of the ship. As the corridors moved forward, they passed through the center of all four spheres, before coming together in a large hollow at the fore end of the ship.
A large 'structure" sat at the very end, it's back side literally up against the bulkhead of the nose of the skip, and a rather impressive view of yet another park-like clearing that separated it from a layered structure that looked like the interior of an extra-large shopping mall.
"The corridors provide a means of travel, with cross-corridors every couple hundred meters where the structure allows, and built into those are hundreds of apartments and domiciles, with actual home-sized living spaces the further back you go. Between the corridors, both above and below the cross-corridors, are the Imperial stations and barracks, and only authorized personnel can cross from the massive civilian sector to the utilitarian Military section. The biggest Imperial presence will be on the Bridge, of course, but the head of government will be here," Nabiki pointed towards the structure overlooking the park in the nose of the ship "while commercial ventures will be located here," she pointed at the area across the park, where the tiered set of platforms overlooked the open park from the opposite side. "The entire population of Tokyo-3 will fit in here, with room to spare, and a number of unused spaces can be used as storage for the remainder of the fleet, or whatever else we come up with."
I nodded slowly, "That's... fine, I suppose... but what about those domes? Why the diverse settings? I can understand the field... and maybe the forest, for oxygen reclamation, but the ocean, and the icy-wasteland?"
Nabiki just smirked, "That's because I haven't explained the best part, yet."
Makoto frowned, "and what would that be?"
SHODAN spoke up again, "Observe," before the image zoomed in on the park outside the Administrative center at the head of the ship. Looking closely, I noticed the grass was actually cut into a pattern of sorts, one that was vaguely familiar.
"Oh... No way," Makoto said, suddenly. And just then I realized what I was looking at.
"You've got to be shitting me," I said, tearing my gaze away to stare at her.
Nabiki just smirked, and pulled out a sheet of paper that she'd had folded up in her pocket. "Sensors only recently gave me enough to work with. We're still out past Pluto, so everything's literally hours late, but with some enhancement, we've confirmed television and radio signals, as well as an odd electromagnetic distortion that seems to happen multiple times a second, seemingly at random."
Unfolding the paper slowly and methodically, I finally revealed the grainy, yet-recognizable image printed on the paper before turning to look at her with a weak smile.
"This is going to be a fun one to explain," Makoto mumbled, as Nabiki waited for me to say something.
Finally I shrugged. "Well, looks like we've got a ship to build." Pausing for a moment, I frowned in thought. "Also, we've got a devastated population to house, a doctor to rescue from within a biomechanical construct, the Asuka situation, battle damage to repair, construction to finish... and finally, an entirely new population to obtain." I smirked, before adding, "or, as they used to say, back home... 'Gotta catch 'em all.'"
