For all of the organization's technical wizardry Kaworu Nagisa couldn't help but compare the industrial lift he was currently riding in to something from a coal mine. The dozen other NERV workers and technicians in the lift, all in blue overalls similar to his own outfit, did not notice the pale lock of hair he tucked back under the hat that hid it from more observant electronic eyes. For their part the others in the lift never even noticed the new addition to the now routine trip into the hangers that held the organization's fighting machines. Why would they? He thought to himself, he was just another in the hundred score of people that worked to maintain what NERV called Evangelions.
The idle chatter that had filled the lift ceased as the red giant that was Unit two filled the came into view, the open design of the lift giving a full panorama of the cage the both stored and restrained it. The trip down may have been one of routine for most in the lift but the sight of something twice the size of the Brandenburg gate was always able to cause a pause. Especially when one knew it could move about as easily as a normal man, like the men that currently swarmed around the red giant as they prepared the facilities newest arrival.
As the lift came to a halt and workers flowed out toward Unit 2, the albino deigned not to follow the flow and proceeded toward the purple behemoth on the other end of the hanger bay. It was a victim of its own success today, as his own benefactors had been alarmed at its victories. NERV, they had decided, needed to be hindered- as task they had convinced to be best left in his hands.
The fools, he smirked, the lot of them.
The Evangelion stood stoic as he approached, its inert form not reacting to his presence as he stopped in front of its towering head. He raised his hand toward it and his smirk broke out into a smile has the machine reacted. Unit One's eyes glowed and threw its head back against the restraints. "Rise and shine Mrs. Ikari." He spoke as if talking to an old friend, even as alarms began to blare. "Not that I wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job - No-one is more deserving of a rest, And all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until... well, let's just say your hour has come again." Kaworu ignored the crowd swarming toward the exits, only noting it as a way to cover his exit from the base. "The right person in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mrs. Ikari - Wake up and smell the ashes." Kaworu Nagisa stepped back as Unit One went truly berserk.
The Pribnow box was quiet aside from the beep of computers as they monitored the pilots and the simulation bodies they were in. "Don't you think these quiet days are the best?" Maya asked as she turned toward the other two women in the room.
"Perhaps," Ritsuko Akagi allowed to her younger assistant. "But," She smirked. "I think some may be of the belief that routine is overrated."
"I was going to go with boring." Misato replied as she spun about her own chair, opting to sit in in backwards as she watched the two scientists work instead of displaying any of the decorum one might expect from one of the senior command staff of the most powerful organization on earth.
"But we're almost done with getting Unit 2 ready for deployment." Maya replied. "That has to mean something."
"Yes," Misato replied. "It means I'm-" The rest of her sentence was cut off as Maya interrupted.
"We just lost the cameras in the Eva bays." She announced, even as the blonde doctor came up beside her, hand on the back of assistant's chair.
"Malfunction?" She asked, her tone concise and professional.
"Doesn't look like it ma'am," All three women looked up as Aoba's voice came over the phones speaker. "The interference is coming from the camera's themselves."
Any further discussion was cut off as alarms blared followed by commentary from Aoba, voice surprisingly level despite the sudden shift in events. "Unit one's gone berserk!"
"No it hasn't." Akagi interjected as she brought up a screen on her own terminal next to Maya's. "It's more controlled; in fact it looks more like it's being piloted-"
"Piloted by whom?" A gruff voice asked in a tone more akin to a command then a question as Commander Ikari's face, the control room in the background, filled up a screen.
"No one apparently," The doctor replied and continued before the next obvious question posed itself. "And I have no idea how that is possible." Around her the screens that had been showing warnings were replaced by a timer as the countdown for the evangelion's internal batteries started.
"Forget how it happened for now." Misato replied having taken a standing position behind the two researchers allowing her to observe the status of multiple screens. "What's the status of the maintenance staff?"
"They evacuated when the alarms sounded ma'am." A new voice replied Hyuga joined in the voices feeding information to the.
"Enough, what is the status of the Unit?" Gendo Ikari asked even as he keyed something shutting down the audible alarms.
"No damage yet and the restraints are holding …" Akagi paused a second as she found the appropriate screen before continuing her reply to the commander. "The pilots are still in the simulation bodies and unharmed."
"Is it an angel?" Misato asked as she watched the countdown ticked down.
"No- no code blue, it's not an angel." Akagi replied even has a new set of alarms started blaring. "All telemetry from the evangelion is gone- the battery should be running out… now." The doctor sighed as the alarms continued to blare.
"Primary head restraint has been disabled – left six and right five are now sending error messages, status unknown!" Aoba announced, panic leaking into voice at the unexpected turn of events.
It was then that the entire building, perhaps even the complex shook. "What... was that?" Misato asked wearily, even as the others received an answer in quick order.
"The restraints were meant to hold out against an eva only for as long as it had battery power and we passed that point already." Akagi announced. "The restraints will never hold against something like this- they were never meant to." She added, heading off the obvious inquiries.
This point was true; the system of restraints around the evangelion could withstand its sheer brute power, but only for so long. Even as the doctor spoke the metal beams twisted and tore like paper as the invisible force pushed out from the evangelion's skin. Massive purple hands tore the empty gantry in front of it out of its frame sending it crashing into the shrinking pool of LCL that surrounded the machine.
"All restraints are reading as destroyed." Akagi announced. "Unit one is now most likely free from its restraints."
"Activate the Bakelite!" Misato ordered.
"No" Gendo countermanded "It would take too long and we cannot have the unit threaten the others – Incapacitate it with the defenses, Unit one is now a target." Gendo looked impassive as ever from behind his steepled fingers as he gave the order. "Now"
Across the ceiling of the cage turrets revealed themselves and trained upon purple machine before firing in concert – and splashing harmlessly against the unit's AT field.
"AT Field detected from Unit 1!" Hyuga announced providing news of what could not be seen.
Akagi looked up startled. "There's no pilot- how's that even possible?"
"Second AT field detected… Inside unit one!" the bridge officer closet to Akagi announced.
"NOW Is it an angel?" Misato snapped, getting a negative reply just as quickly.
Inside unit one, now finally staggering back from the unrelenting assault of computer controlled fire, was an entry plug. It was left inside the evangelion as a precaution against the normal insertion systems failing and it now, on its own accord, rocketed out as explosives blew away the neck plating covering the location of the plug. The computer dutifully ignored the projectile- as it was not unit one.
Unit one then went silent.
Everyone on the bridge went silent as the computer deactivated the turrets. "Anyone care to explain what just occurred?" Gendo asked as he looked over the bridge from his seat.
"I would if I knew sir." Misato replied.
Beep
Everyone looked up at that single sound.
Beep
"Sir…" Maya started tentatively. "We're detecting life signs inside unit one's entry plug."
Beep
"Call section 2 tell them to get a security team ready." Gendo rose from his chair. "Major Katsuragi, take command in the command center - you are in charge from here. I will be heading to the hangers."
It took only a few minutes for commander Ikari to emerge from the lift onto a gantry overlooking the main work floor. The assault team had already surrounded the entry plug; which had, aside from the life signs, remained silent since its ejection. Gendo motioned to one of the armored agents. "Open it."
The agent opened the plug and along with orange LCL out came a middle aged woman. Few of the agents visibly reacted to this, but many looked toward their commander as he froze on the gantry- hands tightening around the railing.
Across the distance few could see this reaction. But contrary to popular belief Gendo Ikari was, in fact, human. So it should have been no surprise that he would have reacted to who came falling out the entry plug unconscious. But like his reactions the distance between the commander and the team below muted his words even a medical team was waved forward.
"Yui?"