Crossroads, an Evangelion/Rifts Crossover
Neon Genesis Evangelion is used without permission. It is copyright by
Gainix (wonderful folks!). Rifts®, Palladium Books®, Mechanoids® The
Mechanoid Invasion®, Rifts®, Megaverse®, RECON®, and After the Bomb®
Are registered trademark owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books, Inc. Cyber-Knight(TM), Coalition States(TM), Triax(TM)
Nightbane(TM), Nightlands(TM), Heroes Unlimited(TM), Villains Unlimited(TM),
Beyond the Supernatural(TM), Boxed Nightmares(TM), Ninjas & Superspies(TM),
Mystic China(TM), Palladium Fantasy RPG(TM), Mindwerks(TM), Vampire
Kingdoms(TM), The Juicer Uprising(TM), Phase World(TM), Wormwood(TM),
Psyscape(TM), Mega-Damage(TM), S.D.C.(TM), I.S.P.(TM), P.P.E.(TM), SAMAS(TM),
Splugorth(TM), Cyber-Knight(TM), Glitter Boy(TM), Juicer(TM), Mind Melter(TM),
Psi-Stalker(TM), Coalition States(TM), Northern Gun(TM), Erin Tarn(TM),
Naruni(TM), ... and other names and titles are trademarks owned and licensed
by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books, Inc."... and are also used without
permission. Please don't sue me; I am a poor college student! If you sue
me I won't be able to waste my money on your wonderful products! 8^)
Wow, has it been awhile... my bad. I have no real excuse for this delay either,
and that's the worse part. I promise that I'll try EXTRA hard to get chapter 9
out ASAP. Now, recap of chapter 7: Shinji, Asuka, and Rei couldn't go on the
class trip (no real change...), Rei confronted Shinji about his powers (causing
Shinji to panic ever so slightly), the battle with the Angel in the volcano
happened, and Misato now suspects that Shinji DOES have feelings towards
every ones favorite red head (not Carrot top baka's, Asuka!). But other things
are transpiring as well; all is not gumdrops and cherry soda in Eva land. What
will come of the plottings of the other new factors? Read on and find out!
Chapter 8, How the Game is Played
The apartment should have been quite; it was a little after three AM on a
Saturday night/early Sunday after all. It wasn't though. The heavy shades
were drawn and soft red light filled the apartment as the group of visitors from
a different future prepared.
["Are you sure you're up to this?"] Alister asked.
["Well, it's a pretty tough AI, but since I'm only doing back up, I should
be OK. Just glad I'm not the one that's going to be running it, that's all,"] Kyle
replied evenly. They both turned to look at Melissa as she double checked the
various cables and wires she was connecting to the multiple of computers, TW-
modules, and finally to the cyber jack in her head.
["Please... it's just a matter of getting in and out before they can get any
of the really good computer techs in. Since they just got done doing a
diagnostic on Friday, all the first line techs are home sleeping, and those still
there aren't going to be at their best. It's the perfect time to try,"] Melissa said
for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Before she could continue with her
explanation of why this was the best time to attempt this, Ferris and Hector
came into the room.
["We're all locked down. If they want in, they have to break down doors
to do it, and we still have that magic passage to the warehouse in here as a
bolthole,"] Ferris said with a grin, patting his CP-50 "Dragonfire" rifle. ["'Sides,
even if they do manage to get past all that, they go to deal with me. We got this
covered."]
["I agree with Ailssster, thisss issssss dangeroussss. However, I alssso
agree with Melissssssa, when will we have a better opportunity. We mussst
try."] Hector said as he coiled himself and faced the door to the outside.
Alister sighed, and looked to Anika and Amber for support. He didn't
find any though. Amber was deep in a trance, mentally patrolling the area, and
Anika was keeping a watch on the balcony, holding her own CP-50 under a
Naruni active camouflage tarp, made from the same material that allows her
armor to become 'invisible'. She wasn't wearing her camo-armor, but she did
have an armored trench on. Before he could formulate any other sort of
argument against this, Melissa announced that she was ready. With another
sigh, Alister flipped off the lights and sat down in the middle of the apartment
they were using, mentally going over spells he could use to defend himself and
his friends.
Multi-colored lights flared through Melissa's senses as she jacked into
the self contained staging matrix on one of her networked computers. She
could feel Kyle's ghostly presence becoming more and more... real, solid, next to
her.
: You ready? : He asked.
: Sure am. Are YOU ready though? : She replied, excitement plain in her
mental voice. : Fact is, I'm really looking forward to this. I just can't wait to see
what juicy little secrets that those Seraphim level files have in them. :
: Spoken like a true hacker. Let me start up a few redundancy programs
and I'll be ready to go. : Kyle said as he began to open the scrambling programs
that he would use to throw off anyone trying to trace them or I.C.E. Melissa.
: OK, ready. Let's go. :
With a smile, Melissa logged into the Magi system through a series of
remote servers and dial ups. After a few minutes of wandering around some
public domain directories and file servers, she 'wandered' over to an access
node. After making sure that she hadn't set off any alarms she entered her
hacked access code for Throne level clearance. With a happy chime that
sounded kind of like a cat's meowing, she had access to the first and lowest
level of secure files. : So far so good, how's it going with you? : She asked her
backup.
: No problem so far, I had one tracer inquiry, but I grounded it to a UN
official somewhere in Europe. After that, the tracer lost interest. Keep going. :
Kyle replied.
Melissa smiled again. She aught to just try and crack the next level up,
the Cherubim level files, but she didn't want to take the time. : OK, screw
Cherubim, I'm going straight to the top,: she announced.
: You're the expert...: Kyle said, preparing the 'distracter' and scrambling
programs he was in charge of.
Melissa went to another access terminal, and began to run a decryption
program, looking for a password. It was a race at this point. Would her
program finish before the watchdogs in the system noticed what she was doing,
what she was trying to access. The terminal chimed happily in front of her, and
the room shifted. Before there were files upon files, all spread about a virtual
area that seemed to stretch into infinity, now however she was in what
appeared to be a temple dedicated to some digital god, information rising in
glittering, double helix shaped towers of photons. : Pretty... and crafty to boot:
Melissa mumbled to herself. With a grin she entered in some final codes and
the temple re-reazed before her. :But not crafty enough...: Then, with a grin
she said, out loud, ["I'm in, keep frosty."] Without further adieu, she began to
ransack. She wasn't at it very long when the first alarm went off.
: Shit,: Kyle said simply.
The third shift bridge crew was, to say the least, not prepared for this
level of crisis. Appropriately enough, they were on the verge of panic now
because of it.
"Why won't Dr. Akagi answer?" one of them asked as she dialed the
number for the fifth time.
"Major Katsuragi is drunk! I don't even know if she understands what
I'm saying," said another.
The third just looked blankly at his phone. "Does Commander Ikari even
HAVE a phone number?"
"Yes, I do. But I'm also alerted automatically when any blue level or
higher situation occurs," came the Commanders voice as he rose to the
command platform behind them. "Contact section two and tell them to go to
Dr. Akagi's apartment to retrieve her. Don't bother Major Katsuragi, this is not
a tactical situation."
The three looked at him in shock for a second, before quickly turning
around and doing as he said.
: How's it going Mel? : Kyle asked, a hint of concern in his mental voice.
: Well, as soon as I figure out what I should take and what I should just
leave behind, it'll be going peachy. Why? : She replied, stress creeping into her
voice.
: I can only keep the hounds busy for so long...: He said.
: All right, I'll get what I can; tell me when they get close. :
Dr Akagi was there in less then fifteen minutes. She came into the
command center at a run, clothes disheveled and lab coat only half-on. "What's
the situation?" She demanded.
"Approximately twenty five minutes ago, an unknown source accessed
Seraphim level files. We have neither been able to boot the hacker, or trace the
connection successfully." One of the three replied.
"Have you tried to manually boot them from the system?" The doctor
asked.
"Yes ma'am, but they were able to counter it somehow." Another tech
replied.
"Damn it." Ritsuko sat down at an empty terminal, and began to type in
code with blazing speed.
: Holy shit,: Melissa mumbled. Whoever had just showed up was good.
Her countermeasure programs were being circumvented one by one. At the
same time, the data locations were being shifted, making it hard to find the files
she still wanted to download.
: Melissa, you need to get out now. The dogs have the scent.: Came
Kyle's disembodied voice.
Melissa came back to her senses in the apartment as she pulled the
neural jack out of her head, gasping at the sudden change in stimuli.
["You ok?"] Ferris asked.
["I'm fine. I hate jacking out like that..."] she said as she quickly wiped a
trickle of blood that was seeping out of her nose. After a few tense minute, Kyle
took his hands off the joystick like grips on his own deck and looked over at the
hacker.
["How much did you get?"] He asked
["About half of what was there. I'll start to sort thought it tomorrow, but
for now, I need some sleep..."]
["I think we all do,"] hissed Hector. ["That isss, if Kyle believessss it to
be, sssafe,"] he said, looking at the Headhunter.
["Yeah, I booted out and threw the hound programs a few dozen bones.
If they aren't here yet, I doubt they will be,"] he said with a grin.
["Well, I think we better at least keep some form of a guard. Hate to get
caught with out fur wet, right?"] Ferris commented. ["Hell, I'll even take first
watch."]
There were general sounds of agreement and every one went to their
rooms to find what sleep they could, leaving Ferris to watch the full moon and
make sure that his friends would awake the next morning.
Things were nowhere near as peaceful at NERV. The chaos of the late
night hacker carried on well into the next day. When the first shift crew came
in they relieved an exhausted and stressed third shift team. Ritsuko was still
there when second shift checked in, and didn't leave until well into the third
shifts return. Then it was only to report to Commander Ikari.
"Well" the supreme commander of NERV said flatly.
"The hacker, or hackers, used very sophisticated programs to spawn
access codes in the Magi systems, and then used the codes to break into the
secure data files. When we attempted to trace the access, they led the tracing
programs down over forty false routes. We are still trying to verify them, but I'm
almost certain they are all false trails. Whoever did this was exceptional, and
was able to fool a Third Generation AI. The rest of my report is in here," with
that she put a folder down on the commander desk. "If that will be all, I need to
get some sleep." The commander nodded his dismissal and the doctor turned
and left.
Ikari pushed the intercom on his desk. "Fuyutsuki."
"Yes sir?" Came the reply.
"Send in Agent Kaji. I have a little job for him."
Shinji decided to stop by mercs place on Sunday afternoon. This was far
better then having to deal with his conflicting emotions on the 'Asuka issue,' as
well as Misato's pointed hints on the same. As Kyle let him in, he noticed the
normal activity was subdued, and was centered on the computer at which
Melissa was working.
["Oh no... you... you...."] Shinji stammered out, shock overcoming him.
["We sure did,"] Melissa said calmly, turning the monitor to face him. On
the monitor was a reconstruction of the NERV high-level files system. On
another monitor that Alister swung into place were detailed schematics of
Evangelion Unit 04, currently under construction in the US. ["Pretty cool,
huh?"]
Before Shinji could say anything, Amber handed him a cup of tea. ["You
might as well sit down Shinji, we have some explaining to do."]
"You have some explaining to do Ikari!" Said the black monolith labeled
SEELE 10: SOUND ONLY.
"You most certainly do. How could you allow the Seraphim level files to
be breached? This could be disastrous! Your mistake could very well upset
years of planning. This sort of incompetence will not be allowed!" Came from
the monolith labeled SEELE 3.
"Quite the contrary, the hacker never gained access to those files."
Gendo Ikari calmly assured.
"What? You had best have a good explanation for this then..." said
SEELE 1.
["We do Shinji, really."] Anika reassured him.
["You have to be kidding!! What possible justification could you have for
breaking into NERV's secure data?"] Shinji almost yelled in exasperation.
["Some people might be... might be... losing their jobs right now because of
you."] He finally sputtered out, at a loss for anything better to say. Then,
finally, in a small voice, "and I trusted you..."
Melissa's head jerked up at that. "Shinji," she said, switching to
Japanese as well, "we didn't do this to betray you. We did this to help. NERV
is keeping secrets. They're keeping dark, dangerous, secrets, ones that put
every man, woman, and child on this planet in danger. Intentionally in danger I
might add." With that she hit a few keys and a file labeled 'Human
Instrumentality Project' came up. "And let me tell you, this wasn't easy to get
either..."
"It's not as if we just leave those files there for the taking. What the
intruder gained was nothing but misinformation. False files set up in a pretty
pattern to attract the ignorant." Gendo said with a cold confidence.
"The thing is, it looks like NERV was expecting something like this to
happen, so they had a whole mess of dummy files. It was pure luck, and
maybe a bit of magic, that I noticed the keyhole to the real files. I don't know if
they noticed." Melissa explained calmly.
"So, did the old men believe you Ikari?" Fuyutsuki asked calmly.
"Yes, and it's good that they did too." Gendo replied, his normal cool
almost dissolved. The two were walking down the empty halls between the holo
conference room and the commander's office. "Has agent Kaji checked in yet?"
"Yes, he's waiting in your office." The sub commander replied. Despite
everything, he was rather amused to see his former student squirming like this.
He'd have probably made a comment on it, except for the dire seriousness of the
entire matter. "Besides Ikari, are you sure these, individuals, are behind this?"
"Besides, we threw so many false leads out there, it can never be traced
back to us with any certainty, so no worries, right?" Melissa said confidently, a
playful grin on her face.
"I guess not..." Shinji said, dumbfounded by the situation.
"So commander, what did you need to talk to me about?" Kaji asked
casually. He knew of course, but the two of them understood the game, and
neither wished to break the rules.
"There was a disturbance last night. The Magi may have been...
compromised," the commander replied coldly.
"Really? Well, that certainly can't be tolerated, can it? But what do you
want me to do? Ritsuko is the computer expert after all..." Kaji replied
offhandedly.
"I realize this, however, I already have suspicions of who is behind this.
What you are about to be shown is not to go beyond this room. If this becomes
known to... other concerns, your usefulness will come to an abrupt end."
Kaji grinned wolfishly. "Why of course commander. You have my word."
Ikari snorted, and indicated a file on his desk. Kaji picked it up and
began to read through it. As he came to the last page, his demeanor changed
suddenly. "Is this some sort of joke Ikari?"
"No, these are observation photos and notes from various section two
surveillance teams. They are by all counts legitimate. These are whom I believe
responsible. You will confirm this."
Kaji nodded his head dumbly and put the file into the commanders
waiting hand. As he left, he almost chuckled to himself. The commander
shouldn't be worried about him telling, who would believe him?
["Great,"] Melissa said with a grin. ["Now, there is some stuff here that I
think you should know, and it isn't pleasant. The question is, do you want to
know?"]
Shinji stopped and thought about this for a minute. Did he want to
know? He had once heard that ignorance was bliss, and there was some truth
in that. But he had also heard that knowledge is power. Bliss, or power? He
though about what Melissa had said, how every man, woman, and child were in
danger. ["I don't want to know, however, I think I need to know,"] he finally
answered, in a shaky voice.
The others smiled. ["Alright, first things first, how much do you know
about this 'Second Impact?'"] Melissa asked, sitting down at her computer. The
others spread about the apartment, taking what seats they could, and listened
as well.
Rei Ayanami was rarely curious. It was not that it wasn't in her nature,
it's just that she either simply put it aside as being irrelevant to her purpose, or
she would simply ignore it. But she most defiantly was now. This curiosity
drove her to question one of the section two agents as to the location of the
source of her curiosity. The Third Child. More importantly, she was curious
about his seemingly newfound awareness. This is why she was calmly walking
up to the door of the apartment he was said to frequent. It is also why she
evaded her section two escorts when she came here. She knocked. There was
the sound of some movement within. She was about to nock again when a lean
man in his late twenties with sandy blond hair opened the door. He adjusted
his glasses and calmly asked ["May I help you?"]
["Yes, I am looking for Shinji Ikari, he is here, correct."] Rei said this
simply, less a question and more a statement.
["Excuse me, who?"] The man was clearly caught off guard by this.
["Shinji Ikari. He is here at the moment, is he not."] Again, it was not a
question, but a statement.
["Why... are you a, friend of his?"] He replied.
Rei pondered this question for a moment. Was the younger Ikari a
friend? She suddenly flashed back to the day when they had defeated the fifth
angel. His happy expression on her being safe then his words: 'You could just
smile.' She though a moment more before she said ["Yes, he is a friend."]
["Hold on a moment Ms. Ayanami."] The man turned and said something
in a language that Rei was not familiar with. In a few seconds Shinji was at the
door.
"R... Rei? What are you doing here?" Shinji was obviously confused (this
was turning into a rough day for him). Then, in a far more nervous tone, he
continued. "Did my father send you?"
"No. I came here on my own initiative. Even section two is unaware of
me being here." Rei said calmly.
["I'm being a terrible host, come in. My name is Alister."] The man who
had answered the door said, ushering her in. As Rei took off her shoes, Alister
shot Shinji a pointed, and questioning, look. Shinji simply shrugged in return.
He was as shocked to see her here as the rest.
As Rei walked into the living room, she took in her surroundings. There
were a great many oddities in this room, even to her. The table in the kitchen
was covered with a cloth, not unusual in itself, but there seemed to be a great
many objects between the table and the cloth. There was a tall bookcase
pushed up against one wall that seemed to be covering up some damage done
to said wall; a hole of some sort. Probably damaged in an Angel attack... Then
there were the computers. Several CPU's were wired together, and this array
was linked to three screens. Finally, she began to look at the other inhabitants.
There was the tall man with the artificial arm that Shinji trained with. Then
there was the woman who had been at Shinji's 'test.' There was another woman
leaning against the back wall. Rei guessed that she was about the same age as
Captain Katsuragi, and she had the look of one trained in combat, just as the
man with the metal arm did. Finally, there was another woman sitting at the
computers. This one was the youngest of the group; she looked to be in her
twenties, with long dark hair tied back into a ponytail, and a haggard, tiered
look about her. Dark circles under her eyes spoke of a sleepless night.
As Rei studied the mercs, they in turn studied her. Anika seemed taken
aback when she met eyes with Rei, but quickly regained her composure.
Melissa barely looked up at the girl, more intent on digging through files. Kyle
looked at the girl with suspicion, he remembered her from the test, but he
didn't know if he could trust her. Mentally he was mapping out the quickest
way to his guns. Anika on the other hand was looking at her intently. Then
she smiled ever so slightly. ["Well, well. This is a bit of a surprise,"] she said
aloud, before walking over to offer her hand to the teen. ["My name is Amber,"]
she said pleasantly. Rei took the offered hand and nodded slightly. ["The
young lady at the computer is Melissa,"] Melissa idly waved. ["The brooding
man over there is named Kyle,"] Kyle kind of grunted a hello. ["The other young
lady in the kitchen is Anika."]
["Hi,"] she said with a curt nod.
["And the man that let you in is has already introduced himself if I'm not
mistaken. Why don't you have a seat Rei, and you can tell us what brought you
here,"] Amber said, indicating a chair. Rei looked at it for a moment then sat.
["Thank you,"] she said softly. ["I believe that you know why I am here
though, do you not Miss Amber."]
["I've guessed, but why don't you tell us, so there is no mix up," Amber
said with a smile.
Rei nodded. ["I am curious to know why, and how, you have been
training pilot Ikari to use his... gift."]
There was silence in the room. Kyle was torn between going for his guns
and just letting his jaw drop. Melissa stopped typing and looked up at the girl
in surprise. Alister was glad he had closed the door, this way he had something
to lean against. Anika placed her hand on the energy rifle that was around the
corner, out of sight of the girl, but though better of it. Shinji just looked more
nervous then before. Defiantly not shaping up to be a simple day. Amber just
grinned; she was also the first to break the awkward silence.
["I could ask you much the same child. You seem to have a more then
adequate control over your own, gift, and I'm curious why you were taught and
the others, not."] The elf said, still smiling.
["Aww, shit. Another one,"] Kyle said under his breath.
Several hours had passed, and now Rei was in on the secret as well, at
least part of it. They were keeping the hacking out, but the rest she was told:
the time/space travel, the magic, the weapons, the 'bots, and the training. All
in all, she took it rather well. Shinji had never seen Rei's jaw drop before, and
it was probably an image that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Luckily
for all involved, Rei was used to what would generally be referred to as
unbelievable and rebounded quickly.
"Oooh...." This was not what she had been expecting.
["Well, I guessss the quessstion issssss, where do we go from here."]
Hector said, patting the girls' hand with his tail in a reassuring manner.
["You got that right scaly,"] Kyle muttered.
["Well, I guess we can extend to Rei the same offer we made to Shinji.
She keeps our secret and we will help to really train her gift. What she has now
is, adequate, but it could be more..."] Amber said.
Rei considered this for a moment. ["Thank you, but no. I have no desire
to formally train my gift any further. But, I will keep your confidence. I see no
reason that it would interfere with NERV or its operations. Besides, it would
cause Ikari, discomfort, to betray it."] The last was added almost as an
afterthought.
The mercs looked at each other.
["Interfere with NERV. Neh, why would we?"] Ferris said calmly.
["Yeah, probably be more trouble then its worth."] Melissa said just as
calmly.
Rei nodded. She wasn't very skilled at reading between the lines.
["Well, now that that's settled, Shinji how about you and me figure out
some movies to get. There's too damn many of them for me to figure out what's
any good."] Kyle said as he stood up and started for the door. Shinji nodded
and happily followed.
["Actually, I just saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy on sale the other day. I
think you'll like that."] Shinji said with a smile. The dark and horrible secrets
hinted at earlier pushed out of his mind.
As they were about to walk out the door, Anika suddenly stood up. ["I'll
come along; I could use the fresh air."]
Kyle seemed to freeze for a moment. ["Suite yourself,"] he said coldly.
The three left, leaving an odd silence in their wake that even Rei picked up on.
["What is the matter?"] Rei asked the large, talking snake.
["I have no idea...."] Hector replied, dumbstruck.
["Oh."] Rei said simply.
The three had driven to the mall and headed for the media outlet. Kyle
was wearing a leather jacket to cover up his metallic arm. Once they got there,
they let Shinji lead them to a video/music store.
["Best Buy?"] Kyle read aloud.
["Yeah, it's some American chain that started opening up branches in
Japan about 5 years ago. OK deals, and a decent selection, but they have a
special boxed DVD set of Lord of the Rings on sale this week."] Shinji said as
the three walked in.
After they had found the movie section they split up to wander the store.
Shinji said there were some classical music SDAT tapes he was thinking of
getting and headed for the music section. Kyle continued to browse through
the movies, and after a few minutes Anika joined him.
["What?"] Kyle said curtly.
["The girl, Rei,"] Anika began. Kyle didn't respond, but he seemed to be
paying attention.
["I think she's... artificial..."] Anika whispered. Kyle put the DVD he was
looking a back on the shelf and turned his mirror shade covered eyes to the
woman.
["What?"] He said again, this time in a more startled voice then rude.
["Listen, I was stationed at.... Lone Star...... for quite some time. My
security clearance after, you know,"] Kyle more then seemed to and grunted for
her to go on. ["Anyway, I was allowed into some pretty high level shit, including
some of the... the... cloning center. Human, cloning."] The last part was said
very quietly, fearfully even. Kyle just nodded impatiently for her to continue.
["Anyway, most of the clones had... problems. The most prevalent problems
were in the pigmentation. They were usually albino, and sometimes had weird
hair colors. When I saw that, Rei, I flashed back to those tanks were Bradford
kept his, shells."] Anika trailed off. This situation was awkward, and a little
painful.
["Ok. Why this pressing need to tell me?"] Kyle responded coolly.
["You were leaving her earshot first, and... well.... you were....."] This
defiantly trailed off into awkward silence.
["Yeah, I was,"] Kyle responded, even more coldly then before. Then, his
voice thawed a bit ["I'll.... I'll see what I can remember, OK?"]
["OK.... I hope I'm wrong, but..."] she answered.
Kyle simply nodded, and went back to looking at the movies. Anika
walked away.
Shinji watched silently from a few aisles over. "Wonder what that was
about," he mumbled. He then shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking
through the music.
Kyle ended up buying the 'Lord of the Rings' boxed set, as well as the
'Original' Star Wars Trilogy. ["I once saw these when I was a kid!! These movies
rocked!"] He said enthusiastically as they left the store. Anika and Shinji
exchanged looks behind his back, and shrugged. Kyle just pretended not to
notice.
The rest of the day improved markedly for Shinji as they all settled down
to watch the Ring trilogy. As Shinji predicted, it went over quite well.
Unfortunately, it seemed to end all too soon. By the time they had finished
'Fellowship of the Ring,' it was already getting dark. With a regretful sigh,
Shinji said, ["I should be going. School starts back in tomorrow and I have to
finish off some homework."]
Rei also stood, ["I also must leave. It has been,"] she then paused for a
moment as if looking for the right words, ["nice to meet you."] She then paused
again and turned to her fellow pilot. "I will see you tomorrow in school Ikari."
She then bowed slightly to the mercs, and putting on her shoes left the
apartment.
["Well, that wasss mossst certainly unussal..."] Hector said after Rei had
left.
Shinji, who was at the door putting his shoes on turned and asked,
["Yeah, I've never seen Rei act like that. Going out of her way to ask questions
and stuff. Really odd..."]
["Really, that isss rather odd. But I wasss referring to the film, not the
girl. Who would be foolisssh enough to invessst that much of their power into a
sssingle object? Very foolisssh indeed..."] Hector said indigently. Shinji,
chuckling, said his goodbye's as a debate broke out between Alister and Hector.
Kaji had been watching the apartments for the better part of the day. By
studying the section two surveillance team reports he was able to figure out
where they had set up shop for their now cancelled observations. He had
watched Shinji and the other two, Marine and Ranger, leave and return. He
had then waited for several hours. He was about to pack up and call it a day,
when Rei Ayanami stepped out. Now that was certainly interesting. Shortly
after Rei, Shinji also left the apartment. He looked around, probably for Rei
Kaji thought, before he headed back toward Misato's. "Well, this is interesting.
I wonder what Ikari would say if he knew Rei was..."
"Was what?" A soft voice said, interrupting Kaji mid sentence.
Kaji spun, hand going for the gun in his jacket. It was Rei. Kaji forced
himself to relax. "Ahh, Rei. I didn't here you. What can I do for you today?" he
said, turning on the Kaji charm to the max.
Rei looked at him. That's all, just an impersonal, calculating stare.
Then, after carefully measuring her words she said, "I don't believe that
Commander Ikari needs to know that I visited the friends of pilot Ikari. I don't
think it is relevant to any of your tasks." There was intensity to her quite
words.
Kaji was taken aback. This was not like Rei at all. He though about it
for a moment. Then he smiled. "You're quite right Rei. You're a mature young
woman who can easily choose her own friends. It will be our little secret," he
said with a wink.
Rei looked at him for a moment, then nodded and left.
Kaji watched her leave, a grin spreading across his face. "The plot
thickens..." Then, he too, walked calmly away. Neither saw the loan shadow
detach itself and flit away to report to its master.
["Ok Melissa, spill,"] Ferris said after the teens had left.
Melissa, who had been working at her computers the entire day, finally
looked up. ["This is really, really bad... lot's worse then we thought."] She said.
["How so?"] Amber said calmly. ["I can't imagine it getting much darker
then what we already know."]
Alister and Hector had stopped 'discussing' and where now paying full
attention to Melissa. ["Well, we know that approximately fifteen years ago, a
resssearch group in Antarctica, backed by an organization called SSSSEELE,
made contact with an entity they called 'Adam.' Thisss, for sssome reasson we
have not yet determined, causssed a disssassster of biblical proportionss. Sso
violent wasss the explosion that it caussed thisss Earth to sshift out of itsss
proper orbit. However, the public wasss told that this was actually an
asssteroid or meteorite. At thisss time, an organization called GEHERIN wasss
formed, again backed by SSSSEELE, to resssearch and develop, in sssecret, the
first true artificial ssssentience and to develop Evangelion, sssome sssort of
'sssynthetic life form,' in anticipation of more entities like Adam, given the
generic name Angelss, who are prophessied to arrive. Thisss isss also kept
from the general public; typical politiciansss. Now, the interesssting
(transsslation: disssgusssting) thing about thessse Eva'sss, isss that they
ssseem to involve some sort of quasi techno or bio-wizardry, asss they have a
human ssoul trapped within. This sseemsss to relate in sssome way to itsssss
operating mechanisssssm."] Hector looked around at the others. ["Did I misss
anything?"]
["Yes. There's us. We seem to have been allowed here by an entity of
some sort, for God knows what reason."] Alister said.
["Quite right, I had forgotten that..."] Hector said.
Everyone else nodded.
["Well then, hold on tight. It's time to hear about 'The Human
Instrumentality project..."] Melissa said.
... to be continued.
Author notes: Again, sorry about how late this is in getting out, but like
promised, it is out. Between chapters 7 and 8, I did get around to building a
webpage, check it out: www.angelfire.com/fl5/sprainoge. This is where I plan
on posting all my further GM notes (although they'll still be in the ff.n posting of
the chapters as well), along with new Rifts goodies I cook up, D&D 3rd odds and
ends, and other stuff as I get time to work on it. I try to update once a month,
but sometimes I get ambitious and I get two in a month.... this doesn't happen
as often as I'd like though. Anyway, I'm about 5 pages into chapter 9 right now
(this is due to the splitting of the chapter) and it will deal almost entirely with
the fight against the seventh Angel (the spidery-acidy one unless I miss
counted). It should be done in a few weeks as I have time to type. Thanks all,
feedback is more then welcome, flames will keep we warm through the end of
this bitter Minnesota winter. If you need to contact me, my email is
ismau@nerv-hq.zzn.com, and my ICQ is 20130664. I love feedback of all kinds,
so FLAME away!
Now, for a little Omake theatre!
The third shift bridge crew was in a panic. A hacker was invading the
Magi and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
"Why won't Dr Akagi answer her phone?" One said with desperation in
her voice.
"I got Misato, but she's drunks as a skunk? You think she'd know what
to do anyway? Please god..." The second said.
The third looked blankly behind them at the command platform. "Please,
oh please let him be passed out drunk. With a hooker. Plotting to bring his
dead wife back from the grave and destroy the world. Anything..." However,
her prayers weren't answered. With a mechanical 'whirring' noise, Gendo Ikari,
Supreme commander of NERV entered the scene. The third shift collectively
shuddered.
The commander, decked up in his favorite bunny slippers and wearing a
woman's frilly pink bath rob, and nothing else, took command of the situation.
In his all to disturbingly normal nightly attire, he began to bark orders.
"Why us?" the three bridge bunny's said in unison.
OK, not my best work to date, but it just fit soooo well!
Thanks again to my prereaders:
Even
Sarevock
Nevyn
...and the other's I'm sure I'm forgetting (I really appreciate the feedback from all
of you though)
My thanks go out to Annie the Laughing Kookaburra and my congratulations
on her engagement! (Hoopy!)
...and finally my dad who gave me a good final proofread on this one!
Rough draft v 1.0: 02-10-02
Rough draft v 1.1: 03-12-02 (split chapter into two bite sized portions)
Final draft v 2.0: 03-14-02
Neon Genesis Evangelion is used without permission. It is copyright by
Gainix (wonderful folks!). Rifts®, Palladium Books®, Mechanoids® The
Mechanoid Invasion®, Rifts®, Megaverse®, RECON®, and After the Bomb®
Are registered trademark owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books, Inc. Cyber-Knight(TM), Coalition States(TM), Triax(TM)
Nightbane(TM), Nightlands(TM), Heroes Unlimited(TM), Villains Unlimited(TM),
Beyond the Supernatural(TM), Boxed Nightmares(TM), Ninjas & Superspies(TM),
Mystic China(TM), Palladium Fantasy RPG(TM), Mindwerks(TM), Vampire
Kingdoms(TM), The Juicer Uprising(TM), Phase World(TM), Wormwood(TM),
Psyscape(TM), Mega-Damage(TM), S.D.C.(TM), I.S.P.(TM), P.P.E.(TM), SAMAS(TM),
Splugorth(TM), Cyber-Knight(TM), Glitter Boy(TM), Juicer(TM), Mind Melter(TM),
Psi-Stalker(TM), Coalition States(TM), Northern Gun(TM), Erin Tarn(TM),
Naruni(TM), ... and other names and titles are trademarks owned and licensed
by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books, Inc."... and are also used without
permission. Please don't sue me; I am a poor college student! If you sue
me I won't be able to waste my money on your wonderful products! 8^)
Wow, has it been awhile... my bad. I have no real excuse for this delay either,
and that's the worse part. I promise that I'll try EXTRA hard to get chapter 9
out ASAP. Now, recap of chapter 7: Shinji, Asuka, and Rei couldn't go on the
class trip (no real change...), Rei confronted Shinji about his powers (causing
Shinji to panic ever so slightly), the battle with the Angel in the volcano
happened, and Misato now suspects that Shinji DOES have feelings towards
every ones favorite red head (not Carrot top baka's, Asuka!). But other things
are transpiring as well; all is not gumdrops and cherry soda in Eva land. What
will come of the plottings of the other new factors? Read on and find out!
Chapter 8, How the Game is Played
The apartment should have been quite; it was a little after three AM on a
Saturday night/early Sunday after all. It wasn't though. The heavy shades
were drawn and soft red light filled the apartment as the group of visitors from
a different future prepared.
["Are you sure you're up to this?"] Alister asked.
["Well, it's a pretty tough AI, but since I'm only doing back up, I should
be OK. Just glad I'm not the one that's going to be running it, that's all,"] Kyle
replied evenly. They both turned to look at Melissa as she double checked the
various cables and wires she was connecting to the multiple of computers, TW-
modules, and finally to the cyber jack in her head.
["Please... it's just a matter of getting in and out before they can get any
of the really good computer techs in. Since they just got done doing a
diagnostic on Friday, all the first line techs are home sleeping, and those still
there aren't going to be at their best. It's the perfect time to try,"] Melissa said
for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Before she could continue with her
explanation of why this was the best time to attempt this, Ferris and Hector
came into the room.
["We're all locked down. If they want in, they have to break down doors
to do it, and we still have that magic passage to the warehouse in here as a
bolthole,"] Ferris said with a grin, patting his CP-50 "Dragonfire" rifle. ["'Sides,
even if they do manage to get past all that, they go to deal with me. We got this
covered."]
["I agree with Ailssster, thisss issssss dangeroussss. However, I alssso
agree with Melissssssa, when will we have a better opportunity. We mussst
try."] Hector said as he coiled himself and faced the door to the outside.
Alister sighed, and looked to Anika and Amber for support. He didn't
find any though. Amber was deep in a trance, mentally patrolling the area, and
Anika was keeping a watch on the balcony, holding her own CP-50 under a
Naruni active camouflage tarp, made from the same material that allows her
armor to become 'invisible'. She wasn't wearing her camo-armor, but she did
have an armored trench on. Before he could formulate any other sort of
argument against this, Melissa announced that she was ready. With another
sigh, Alister flipped off the lights and sat down in the middle of the apartment
they were using, mentally going over spells he could use to defend himself and
his friends.
Multi-colored lights flared through Melissa's senses as she jacked into
the self contained staging matrix on one of her networked computers. She
could feel Kyle's ghostly presence becoming more and more... real, solid, next to
her.
: You ready? : He asked.
: Sure am. Are YOU ready though? : She replied, excitement plain in her
mental voice. : Fact is, I'm really looking forward to this. I just can't wait to see
what juicy little secrets that those Seraphim level files have in them. :
: Spoken like a true hacker. Let me start up a few redundancy programs
and I'll be ready to go. : Kyle said as he began to open the scrambling programs
that he would use to throw off anyone trying to trace them or I.C.E. Melissa.
: OK, ready. Let's go. :
With a smile, Melissa logged into the Magi system through a series of
remote servers and dial ups. After a few minutes of wandering around some
public domain directories and file servers, she 'wandered' over to an access
node. After making sure that she hadn't set off any alarms she entered her
hacked access code for Throne level clearance. With a happy chime that
sounded kind of like a cat's meowing, she had access to the first and lowest
level of secure files. : So far so good, how's it going with you? : She asked her
backup.
: No problem so far, I had one tracer inquiry, but I grounded it to a UN
official somewhere in Europe. After that, the tracer lost interest. Keep going. :
Kyle replied.
Melissa smiled again. She aught to just try and crack the next level up,
the Cherubim level files, but she didn't want to take the time. : OK, screw
Cherubim, I'm going straight to the top,: she announced.
: You're the expert...: Kyle said, preparing the 'distracter' and scrambling
programs he was in charge of.
Melissa went to another access terminal, and began to run a decryption
program, looking for a password. It was a race at this point. Would her
program finish before the watchdogs in the system noticed what she was doing,
what she was trying to access. The terminal chimed happily in front of her, and
the room shifted. Before there were files upon files, all spread about a virtual
area that seemed to stretch into infinity, now however she was in what
appeared to be a temple dedicated to some digital god, information rising in
glittering, double helix shaped towers of photons. : Pretty... and crafty to boot:
Melissa mumbled to herself. With a grin she entered in some final codes and
the temple re-reazed before her. :But not crafty enough...: Then, with a grin
she said, out loud, ["I'm in, keep frosty."] Without further adieu, she began to
ransack. She wasn't at it very long when the first alarm went off.
: Shit,: Kyle said simply.
The third shift bridge crew was, to say the least, not prepared for this
level of crisis. Appropriately enough, they were on the verge of panic now
because of it.
"Why won't Dr. Akagi answer?" one of them asked as she dialed the
number for the fifth time.
"Major Katsuragi is drunk! I don't even know if she understands what
I'm saying," said another.
The third just looked blankly at his phone. "Does Commander Ikari even
HAVE a phone number?"
"Yes, I do. But I'm also alerted automatically when any blue level or
higher situation occurs," came the Commanders voice as he rose to the
command platform behind them. "Contact section two and tell them to go to
Dr. Akagi's apartment to retrieve her. Don't bother Major Katsuragi, this is not
a tactical situation."
The three looked at him in shock for a second, before quickly turning
around and doing as he said.
: How's it going Mel? : Kyle asked, a hint of concern in his mental voice.
: Well, as soon as I figure out what I should take and what I should just
leave behind, it'll be going peachy. Why? : She replied, stress creeping into her
voice.
: I can only keep the hounds busy for so long...: He said.
: All right, I'll get what I can; tell me when they get close. :
Dr Akagi was there in less then fifteen minutes. She came into the
command center at a run, clothes disheveled and lab coat only half-on. "What's
the situation?" She demanded.
"Approximately twenty five minutes ago, an unknown source accessed
Seraphim level files. We have neither been able to boot the hacker, or trace the
connection successfully." One of the three replied.
"Have you tried to manually boot them from the system?" The doctor
asked.
"Yes ma'am, but they were able to counter it somehow." Another tech
replied.
"Damn it." Ritsuko sat down at an empty terminal, and began to type in
code with blazing speed.
: Holy shit,: Melissa mumbled. Whoever had just showed up was good.
Her countermeasure programs were being circumvented one by one. At the
same time, the data locations were being shifted, making it hard to find the files
she still wanted to download.
: Melissa, you need to get out now. The dogs have the scent.: Came
Kyle's disembodied voice.
Melissa came back to her senses in the apartment as she pulled the
neural jack out of her head, gasping at the sudden change in stimuli.
["You ok?"] Ferris asked.
["I'm fine. I hate jacking out like that..."] she said as she quickly wiped a
trickle of blood that was seeping out of her nose. After a few tense minute, Kyle
took his hands off the joystick like grips on his own deck and looked over at the
hacker.
["How much did you get?"] He asked
["About half of what was there. I'll start to sort thought it tomorrow, but
for now, I need some sleep..."]
["I think we all do,"] hissed Hector. ["That isss, if Kyle believessss it to
be, sssafe,"] he said, looking at the Headhunter.
["Yeah, I booted out and threw the hound programs a few dozen bones.
If they aren't here yet, I doubt they will be,"] he said with a grin.
["Well, I think we better at least keep some form of a guard. Hate to get
caught with out fur wet, right?"] Ferris commented. ["Hell, I'll even take first
watch."]
There were general sounds of agreement and every one went to their
rooms to find what sleep they could, leaving Ferris to watch the full moon and
make sure that his friends would awake the next morning.
Things were nowhere near as peaceful at NERV. The chaos of the late
night hacker carried on well into the next day. When the first shift crew came
in they relieved an exhausted and stressed third shift team. Ritsuko was still
there when second shift checked in, and didn't leave until well into the third
shifts return. Then it was only to report to Commander Ikari.
"Well" the supreme commander of NERV said flatly.
"The hacker, or hackers, used very sophisticated programs to spawn
access codes in the Magi systems, and then used the codes to break into the
secure data files. When we attempted to trace the access, they led the tracing
programs down over forty false routes. We are still trying to verify them, but I'm
almost certain they are all false trails. Whoever did this was exceptional, and
was able to fool a Third Generation AI. The rest of my report is in here," with
that she put a folder down on the commander desk. "If that will be all, I need to
get some sleep." The commander nodded his dismissal and the doctor turned
and left.
Ikari pushed the intercom on his desk. "Fuyutsuki."
"Yes sir?" Came the reply.
"Send in Agent Kaji. I have a little job for him."
Shinji decided to stop by mercs place on Sunday afternoon. This was far
better then having to deal with his conflicting emotions on the 'Asuka issue,' as
well as Misato's pointed hints on the same. As Kyle let him in, he noticed the
normal activity was subdued, and was centered on the computer at which
Melissa was working.
["Oh no... you... you...."] Shinji stammered out, shock overcoming him.
["We sure did,"] Melissa said calmly, turning the monitor to face him. On
the monitor was a reconstruction of the NERV high-level files system. On
another monitor that Alister swung into place were detailed schematics of
Evangelion Unit 04, currently under construction in the US. ["Pretty cool,
huh?"]
Before Shinji could say anything, Amber handed him a cup of tea. ["You
might as well sit down Shinji, we have some explaining to do."]
"You have some explaining to do Ikari!" Said the black monolith labeled
SEELE 10: SOUND ONLY.
"You most certainly do. How could you allow the Seraphim level files to
be breached? This could be disastrous! Your mistake could very well upset
years of planning. This sort of incompetence will not be allowed!" Came from
the monolith labeled SEELE 3.
"Quite the contrary, the hacker never gained access to those files."
Gendo Ikari calmly assured.
"What? You had best have a good explanation for this then..." said
SEELE 1.
["We do Shinji, really."] Anika reassured him.
["You have to be kidding!! What possible justification could you have for
breaking into NERV's secure data?"] Shinji almost yelled in exasperation.
["Some people might be... might be... losing their jobs right now because of
you."] He finally sputtered out, at a loss for anything better to say. Then,
finally, in a small voice, "and I trusted you..."
Melissa's head jerked up at that. "Shinji," she said, switching to
Japanese as well, "we didn't do this to betray you. We did this to help. NERV
is keeping secrets. They're keeping dark, dangerous, secrets, ones that put
every man, woman, and child on this planet in danger. Intentionally in danger I
might add." With that she hit a few keys and a file labeled 'Human
Instrumentality Project' came up. "And let me tell you, this wasn't easy to get
either..."
"It's not as if we just leave those files there for the taking. What the
intruder gained was nothing but misinformation. False files set up in a pretty
pattern to attract the ignorant." Gendo said with a cold confidence.
"The thing is, it looks like NERV was expecting something like this to
happen, so they had a whole mess of dummy files. It was pure luck, and
maybe a bit of magic, that I noticed the keyhole to the real files. I don't know if
they noticed." Melissa explained calmly.
"So, did the old men believe you Ikari?" Fuyutsuki asked calmly.
"Yes, and it's good that they did too." Gendo replied, his normal cool
almost dissolved. The two were walking down the empty halls between the holo
conference room and the commander's office. "Has agent Kaji checked in yet?"
"Yes, he's waiting in your office." The sub commander replied. Despite
everything, he was rather amused to see his former student squirming like this.
He'd have probably made a comment on it, except for the dire seriousness of the
entire matter. "Besides Ikari, are you sure these, individuals, are behind this?"
"Besides, we threw so many false leads out there, it can never be traced
back to us with any certainty, so no worries, right?" Melissa said confidently, a
playful grin on her face.
"I guess not..." Shinji said, dumbfounded by the situation.
"So commander, what did you need to talk to me about?" Kaji asked
casually. He knew of course, but the two of them understood the game, and
neither wished to break the rules.
"There was a disturbance last night. The Magi may have been...
compromised," the commander replied coldly.
"Really? Well, that certainly can't be tolerated, can it? But what do you
want me to do? Ritsuko is the computer expert after all..." Kaji replied
offhandedly.
"I realize this, however, I already have suspicions of who is behind this.
What you are about to be shown is not to go beyond this room. If this becomes
known to... other concerns, your usefulness will come to an abrupt end."
Kaji grinned wolfishly. "Why of course commander. You have my word."
Ikari snorted, and indicated a file on his desk. Kaji picked it up and
began to read through it. As he came to the last page, his demeanor changed
suddenly. "Is this some sort of joke Ikari?"
"No, these are observation photos and notes from various section two
surveillance teams. They are by all counts legitimate. These are whom I believe
responsible. You will confirm this."
Kaji nodded his head dumbly and put the file into the commanders
waiting hand. As he left, he almost chuckled to himself. The commander
shouldn't be worried about him telling, who would believe him?
["Great,"] Melissa said with a grin. ["Now, there is some stuff here that I
think you should know, and it isn't pleasant. The question is, do you want to
know?"]
Shinji stopped and thought about this for a minute. Did he want to
know? He had once heard that ignorance was bliss, and there was some truth
in that. But he had also heard that knowledge is power. Bliss, or power? He
though about what Melissa had said, how every man, woman, and child were in
danger. ["I don't want to know, however, I think I need to know,"] he finally
answered, in a shaky voice.
The others smiled. ["Alright, first things first, how much do you know
about this 'Second Impact?'"] Melissa asked, sitting down at her computer. The
others spread about the apartment, taking what seats they could, and listened
as well.
Rei Ayanami was rarely curious. It was not that it wasn't in her nature,
it's just that she either simply put it aside as being irrelevant to her purpose, or
she would simply ignore it. But she most defiantly was now. This curiosity
drove her to question one of the section two agents as to the location of the
source of her curiosity. The Third Child. More importantly, she was curious
about his seemingly newfound awareness. This is why she was calmly walking
up to the door of the apartment he was said to frequent. It is also why she
evaded her section two escorts when she came here. She knocked. There was
the sound of some movement within. She was about to nock again when a lean
man in his late twenties with sandy blond hair opened the door. He adjusted
his glasses and calmly asked ["May I help you?"]
["Yes, I am looking for Shinji Ikari, he is here, correct."] Rei said this
simply, less a question and more a statement.
["Excuse me, who?"] The man was clearly caught off guard by this.
["Shinji Ikari. He is here at the moment, is he not."] Again, it was not a
question, but a statement.
["Why... are you a, friend of his?"] He replied.
Rei pondered this question for a moment. Was the younger Ikari a
friend? She suddenly flashed back to the day when they had defeated the fifth
angel. His happy expression on her being safe then his words: 'You could just
smile.' She though a moment more before she said ["Yes, he is a friend."]
["Hold on a moment Ms. Ayanami."] The man turned and said something
in a language that Rei was not familiar with. In a few seconds Shinji was at the
door.
"R... Rei? What are you doing here?" Shinji was obviously confused (this
was turning into a rough day for him). Then, in a far more nervous tone, he
continued. "Did my father send you?"
"No. I came here on my own initiative. Even section two is unaware of
me being here." Rei said calmly.
["I'm being a terrible host, come in. My name is Alister."] The man who
had answered the door said, ushering her in. As Rei took off her shoes, Alister
shot Shinji a pointed, and questioning, look. Shinji simply shrugged in return.
He was as shocked to see her here as the rest.
As Rei walked into the living room, she took in her surroundings. There
were a great many oddities in this room, even to her. The table in the kitchen
was covered with a cloth, not unusual in itself, but there seemed to be a great
many objects between the table and the cloth. There was a tall bookcase
pushed up against one wall that seemed to be covering up some damage done
to said wall; a hole of some sort. Probably damaged in an Angel attack... Then
there were the computers. Several CPU's were wired together, and this array
was linked to three screens. Finally, she began to look at the other inhabitants.
There was the tall man with the artificial arm that Shinji trained with. Then
there was the woman who had been at Shinji's 'test.' There was another woman
leaning against the back wall. Rei guessed that she was about the same age as
Captain Katsuragi, and she had the look of one trained in combat, just as the
man with the metal arm did. Finally, there was another woman sitting at the
computers. This one was the youngest of the group; she looked to be in her
twenties, with long dark hair tied back into a ponytail, and a haggard, tiered
look about her. Dark circles under her eyes spoke of a sleepless night.
As Rei studied the mercs, they in turn studied her. Anika seemed taken
aback when she met eyes with Rei, but quickly regained her composure.
Melissa barely looked up at the girl, more intent on digging through files. Kyle
looked at the girl with suspicion, he remembered her from the test, but he
didn't know if he could trust her. Mentally he was mapping out the quickest
way to his guns. Anika on the other hand was looking at her intently. Then
she smiled ever so slightly. ["Well, well. This is a bit of a surprise,"] she said
aloud, before walking over to offer her hand to the teen. ["My name is Amber,"]
she said pleasantly. Rei took the offered hand and nodded slightly. ["The
young lady at the computer is Melissa,"] Melissa idly waved. ["The brooding
man over there is named Kyle,"] Kyle kind of grunted a hello. ["The other young
lady in the kitchen is Anika."]
["Hi,"] she said with a curt nod.
["And the man that let you in is has already introduced himself if I'm not
mistaken. Why don't you have a seat Rei, and you can tell us what brought you
here,"] Amber said, indicating a chair. Rei looked at it for a moment then sat.
["Thank you,"] she said softly. ["I believe that you know why I am here
though, do you not Miss Amber."]
["I've guessed, but why don't you tell us, so there is no mix up," Amber
said with a smile.
Rei nodded. ["I am curious to know why, and how, you have been
training pilot Ikari to use his... gift."]
There was silence in the room. Kyle was torn between going for his guns
and just letting his jaw drop. Melissa stopped typing and looked up at the girl
in surprise. Alister was glad he had closed the door, this way he had something
to lean against. Anika placed her hand on the energy rifle that was around the
corner, out of sight of the girl, but though better of it. Shinji just looked more
nervous then before. Defiantly not shaping up to be a simple day. Amber just
grinned; she was also the first to break the awkward silence.
["I could ask you much the same child. You seem to have a more then
adequate control over your own, gift, and I'm curious why you were taught and
the others, not."] The elf said, still smiling.
["Aww, shit. Another one,"] Kyle said under his breath.
Several hours had passed, and now Rei was in on the secret as well, at
least part of it. They were keeping the hacking out, but the rest she was told:
the time/space travel, the magic, the weapons, the 'bots, and the training. All
in all, she took it rather well. Shinji had never seen Rei's jaw drop before, and
it was probably an image that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Luckily
for all involved, Rei was used to what would generally be referred to as
unbelievable and rebounded quickly.
"Oooh...." This was not what she had been expecting.
["Well, I guessss the quessstion issssss, where do we go from here."]
Hector said, patting the girls' hand with his tail in a reassuring manner.
["You got that right scaly,"] Kyle muttered.
["Well, I guess we can extend to Rei the same offer we made to Shinji.
She keeps our secret and we will help to really train her gift. What she has now
is, adequate, but it could be more..."] Amber said.
Rei considered this for a moment. ["Thank you, but no. I have no desire
to formally train my gift any further. But, I will keep your confidence. I see no
reason that it would interfere with NERV or its operations. Besides, it would
cause Ikari, discomfort, to betray it."] The last was added almost as an
afterthought.
The mercs looked at each other.
["Interfere with NERV. Neh, why would we?"] Ferris said calmly.
["Yeah, probably be more trouble then its worth."] Melissa said just as
calmly.
Rei nodded. She wasn't very skilled at reading between the lines.
["Well, now that that's settled, Shinji how about you and me figure out
some movies to get. There's too damn many of them for me to figure out what's
any good."] Kyle said as he stood up and started for the door. Shinji nodded
and happily followed.
["Actually, I just saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy on sale the other day. I
think you'll like that."] Shinji said with a smile. The dark and horrible secrets
hinted at earlier pushed out of his mind.
As they were about to walk out the door, Anika suddenly stood up. ["I'll
come along; I could use the fresh air."]
Kyle seemed to freeze for a moment. ["Suite yourself,"] he said coldly.
The three left, leaving an odd silence in their wake that even Rei picked up on.
["What is the matter?"] Rei asked the large, talking snake.
["I have no idea...."] Hector replied, dumbstruck.
["Oh."] Rei said simply.
The three had driven to the mall and headed for the media outlet. Kyle
was wearing a leather jacket to cover up his metallic arm. Once they got there,
they let Shinji lead them to a video/music store.
["Best Buy?"] Kyle read aloud.
["Yeah, it's some American chain that started opening up branches in
Japan about 5 years ago. OK deals, and a decent selection, but they have a
special boxed DVD set of Lord of the Rings on sale this week."] Shinji said as
the three walked in.
After they had found the movie section they split up to wander the store.
Shinji said there were some classical music SDAT tapes he was thinking of
getting and headed for the music section. Kyle continued to browse through
the movies, and after a few minutes Anika joined him.
["What?"] Kyle said curtly.
["The girl, Rei,"] Anika began. Kyle didn't respond, but he seemed to be
paying attention.
["I think she's... artificial..."] Anika whispered. Kyle put the DVD he was
looking a back on the shelf and turned his mirror shade covered eyes to the
woman.
["What?"] He said again, this time in a more startled voice then rude.
["Listen, I was stationed at.... Lone Star...... for quite some time. My
security clearance after, you know,"] Kyle more then seemed to and grunted for
her to go on. ["Anyway, I was allowed into some pretty high level shit, including
some of the... the... cloning center. Human, cloning."] The last part was said
very quietly, fearfully even. Kyle just nodded impatiently for her to continue.
["Anyway, most of the clones had... problems. The most prevalent problems
were in the pigmentation. They were usually albino, and sometimes had weird
hair colors. When I saw that, Rei, I flashed back to those tanks were Bradford
kept his, shells."] Anika trailed off. This situation was awkward, and a little
painful.
["Ok. Why this pressing need to tell me?"] Kyle responded coolly.
["You were leaving her earshot first, and... well.... you were....."] This
defiantly trailed off into awkward silence.
["Yeah, I was,"] Kyle responded, even more coldly then before. Then, his
voice thawed a bit ["I'll.... I'll see what I can remember, OK?"]
["OK.... I hope I'm wrong, but..."] she answered.
Kyle simply nodded, and went back to looking at the movies. Anika
walked away.
Shinji watched silently from a few aisles over. "Wonder what that was
about," he mumbled. He then shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking
through the music.
Kyle ended up buying the 'Lord of the Rings' boxed set, as well as the
'Original' Star Wars Trilogy. ["I once saw these when I was a kid!! These movies
rocked!"] He said enthusiastically as they left the store. Anika and Shinji
exchanged looks behind his back, and shrugged. Kyle just pretended not to
notice.
The rest of the day improved markedly for Shinji as they all settled down
to watch the Ring trilogy. As Shinji predicted, it went over quite well.
Unfortunately, it seemed to end all too soon. By the time they had finished
'Fellowship of the Ring,' it was already getting dark. With a regretful sigh,
Shinji said, ["I should be going. School starts back in tomorrow and I have to
finish off some homework."]
Rei also stood, ["I also must leave. It has been,"] she then paused for a
moment as if looking for the right words, ["nice to meet you."] She then paused
again and turned to her fellow pilot. "I will see you tomorrow in school Ikari."
She then bowed slightly to the mercs, and putting on her shoes left the
apartment.
["Well, that wasss mossst certainly unussal..."] Hector said after Rei had
left.
Shinji, who was at the door putting his shoes on turned and asked,
["Yeah, I've never seen Rei act like that. Going out of her way to ask questions
and stuff. Really odd..."]
["Really, that isss rather odd. But I wasss referring to the film, not the
girl. Who would be foolisssh enough to invessst that much of their power into a
sssingle object? Very foolisssh indeed..."] Hector said indigently. Shinji,
chuckling, said his goodbye's as a debate broke out between Alister and Hector.
Kaji had been watching the apartments for the better part of the day. By
studying the section two surveillance team reports he was able to figure out
where they had set up shop for their now cancelled observations. He had
watched Shinji and the other two, Marine and Ranger, leave and return. He
had then waited for several hours. He was about to pack up and call it a day,
when Rei Ayanami stepped out. Now that was certainly interesting. Shortly
after Rei, Shinji also left the apartment. He looked around, probably for Rei
Kaji thought, before he headed back toward Misato's. "Well, this is interesting.
I wonder what Ikari would say if he knew Rei was..."
"Was what?" A soft voice said, interrupting Kaji mid sentence.
Kaji spun, hand going for the gun in his jacket. It was Rei. Kaji forced
himself to relax. "Ahh, Rei. I didn't here you. What can I do for you today?" he
said, turning on the Kaji charm to the max.
Rei looked at him. That's all, just an impersonal, calculating stare.
Then, after carefully measuring her words she said, "I don't believe that
Commander Ikari needs to know that I visited the friends of pilot Ikari. I don't
think it is relevant to any of your tasks." There was intensity to her quite
words.
Kaji was taken aback. This was not like Rei at all. He though about it
for a moment. Then he smiled. "You're quite right Rei. You're a mature young
woman who can easily choose her own friends. It will be our little secret," he
said with a wink.
Rei looked at him for a moment, then nodded and left.
Kaji watched her leave, a grin spreading across his face. "The plot
thickens..." Then, he too, walked calmly away. Neither saw the loan shadow
detach itself and flit away to report to its master.
["Ok Melissa, spill,"] Ferris said after the teens had left.
Melissa, who had been working at her computers the entire day, finally
looked up. ["This is really, really bad... lot's worse then we thought."] She said.
["How so?"] Amber said calmly. ["I can't imagine it getting much darker
then what we already know."]
Alister and Hector had stopped 'discussing' and where now paying full
attention to Melissa. ["Well, we know that approximately fifteen years ago, a
resssearch group in Antarctica, backed by an organization called SSSSEELE,
made contact with an entity they called 'Adam.' Thisss, for sssome reasson we
have not yet determined, causssed a disssassster of biblical proportionss. Sso
violent wasss the explosion that it caussed thisss Earth to sshift out of itsss
proper orbit. However, the public wasss told that this was actually an
asssteroid or meteorite. At thisss time, an organization called GEHERIN wasss
formed, again backed by SSSSEELE, to resssearch and develop, in sssecret, the
first true artificial ssssentience and to develop Evangelion, sssome sssort of
'sssynthetic life form,' in anticipation of more entities like Adam, given the
generic name Angelss, who are prophessied to arrive. Thisss isss also kept
from the general public; typical politiciansss. Now, the interesssting
(transsslation: disssgusssting) thing about thessse Eva'sss, isss that they
ssseem to involve some sort of quasi techno or bio-wizardry, asss they have a
human ssoul trapped within. This sseemsss to relate in sssome way to itsssss
operating mechanisssssm."] Hector looked around at the others. ["Did I misss
anything?"]
["Yes. There's us. We seem to have been allowed here by an entity of
some sort, for God knows what reason."] Alister said.
["Quite right, I had forgotten that..."] Hector said.
Everyone else nodded.
["Well then, hold on tight. It's time to hear about 'The Human
Instrumentality project..."] Melissa said.
... to be continued.
Author notes: Again, sorry about how late this is in getting out, but like
promised, it is out. Between chapters 7 and 8, I did get around to building a
webpage, check it out: www.angelfire.com/fl5/sprainoge. This is where I plan
on posting all my further GM notes (although they'll still be in the ff.n posting of
the chapters as well), along with new Rifts goodies I cook up, D&D 3rd odds and
ends, and other stuff as I get time to work on it. I try to update once a month,
but sometimes I get ambitious and I get two in a month.... this doesn't happen
as often as I'd like though. Anyway, I'm about 5 pages into chapter 9 right now
(this is due to the splitting of the chapter) and it will deal almost entirely with
the fight against the seventh Angel (the spidery-acidy one unless I miss
counted). It should be done in a few weeks as I have time to type. Thanks all,
feedback is more then welcome, flames will keep we warm through the end of
this bitter Minnesota winter. If you need to contact me, my email is
ismau@nerv-hq.zzn.com, and my ICQ is 20130664. I love feedback of all kinds,
so FLAME away!
Now, for a little Omake theatre!
The third shift bridge crew was in a panic. A hacker was invading the
Magi and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
"Why won't Dr Akagi answer her phone?" One said with desperation in
her voice.
"I got Misato, but she's drunks as a skunk? You think she'd know what
to do anyway? Please god..." The second said.
The third looked blankly behind them at the command platform. "Please,
oh please let him be passed out drunk. With a hooker. Plotting to bring his
dead wife back from the grave and destroy the world. Anything..." However,
her prayers weren't answered. With a mechanical 'whirring' noise, Gendo Ikari,
Supreme commander of NERV entered the scene. The third shift collectively
shuddered.
The commander, decked up in his favorite bunny slippers and wearing a
woman's frilly pink bath rob, and nothing else, took command of the situation.
In his all to disturbingly normal nightly attire, he began to bark orders.
"Why us?" the three bridge bunny's said in unison.
OK, not my best work to date, but it just fit soooo well!
Thanks again to my prereaders:
Even
Sarevock
Nevyn
...and the other's I'm sure I'm forgetting (I really appreciate the feedback from all
of you though)
My thanks go out to Annie the Laughing Kookaburra and my congratulations
on her engagement! (Hoopy!)
...and finally my dad who gave me a good final proofread on this one!
Rough draft v 1.0: 02-10-02
Rough draft v 1.1: 03-12-02 (split chapter into two bite sized portions)
Final draft v 2.0: 03-14-02