It wasn't the air circulation system. Or something like that. Upon further investigation the sound was detected throughout the Geofront. And it was getting louder.
"We cannot ignore the possibility that it's caused by an Angel," said Fuyutski .
"Agreed," said Gendo, "that's why I called this emergency staff meeting." The fact that it was an emergency meeting was obvious. It was 3 a.m. and everyone looked very tired and disheveled. Of course, NERV was a paramilitary organization, so their "tired and disheveled" was the common person's "alert and immaculate." But they had all worked together long enough to tell the little signs, the slightly slower speaking, the one or two out of place hairs, or the wrinkle in the uniform.
Does anyone have any possible scenarios?" asked Gendo, looking around the room.
"Could it be some sort of sonic weapon the Angel is powering up?" said Maya.
"It reminds me a little of the noise the Fifth Angel made when it was drilling through the Geofront," said Hyuga.
"I agree," said Misato, "It does sound like that. I think we may be dealing with another digging Angel."
"But how could it have started digging without being detected on our sensors?" asked Shigeru. "Hell, how could it have started digging without someone seeing it?"
"It could have started burrowing from really far away," said Misato, "or it could be smaller than most of the Angels we've seen so far. We've never come across any concrete reason why they have to be gigantic."
"I think Hyuga and Misato's theory deserves further investigation," said Gendo. "We should deploy seismographic teams immediately determine the direction and distance of the sound's source."
"Most of our seismographs are large and fixed," said Fuyutski, "we'll have to bring in some more portable ones."
"Captain Katsuragi, please get a team requisitioning seismographs immediately," said Gendo.
"Yes sir," said Misato, "it shouldn't be hard, we aren't that far away from Mount Fuji. I'm sure some universities will have some we can borrow as well."
"We should also place the pilots on standby as soon as this meeting is over," said Gendo. "Correct that, Captain Katsuragi, call them right now and place them on standby."
"Yes sir," said Misato. She pulled out her cell phone and began dialing Rei's number.
"Um, Commander Ikari?" said Hyuga, a worried look crossing his face.
"Yes?"
"Misato's mention of Mount Fuji just gave me a disturbing thought. What if we didn't observe the Angel digging on the surface because it didn't start from the surface."
Gendo, as usual, showed no emotion, but Fuyutski's eyes widened visibly.
"Are you implying," said Fuyutski, "that this Angel may be tunneling up from deep within the Earth?"
"It's possible sir, the Earth's crust is pretty thin in this area."
"If that's the case this could be very bad," said Fuyutski, "we have virtually no defenses for an attack of that sort."
"Agreed," said Gendo, "let us expedite the acquisition of the seismographs and begin planning for possible defenses immediately. Captain Katsuragi, your strategic input will be needed, so you should delegate some subordinates to acquire the seismographs and to brief the pilots upon their arrival."
"Yes sir," said Misato. She looked very worried. "I sure as hell hope we've been woken up and started doing all this work for nothing."
"We all hope that," said Fuyutski.