Behold I come to you all at the beginning of the chapter this time.
Thanks to all those who have read and reviewed so far, it means a lot, I honestly wasn't sure what the reception would be. It's good to see I wasn't alone in wanting a God-Machine in EVA.
This chapter is not going to have a battle scene as the first did, and for that I apologize, I promise they shall return next time however.
I also believe I have finally figured out , the story manager is a peculiar thing, and it seemingly removed all my formating and story breaks from the first chapter. This one should be better.
I guess I should probably add this lest GW get sue happy with me
I do not own Warhammer 40,000 or any of its respective terminology or concepts, nor do I hold any ownership over any property relating to Evangelion. I make no profit off of any works posted here.
Anyway, without further ado; here it is, the next part of Neon Genesis Sinistramanus Tenebrae, hope you all enjoy!
Neon Genesis Sinistramanus Tenebrae 1.2
Within 15 minutes, the giant machine was sitting in Unit 01's former hangar. Within the Control Sanctum Lanthanein stilled the God-Machine and began the process of putting the colossus to sleep. "Somnum." he spoke, and the Sleepers were injected with strong sedatives, they ceased their writhing in a matter of seconds embracing the merciful respite offered by the dreamless sleep of the drugs. The psionic governors and void shields shut down as well. Power cut out to the Sinistramanus Tenebrae. It went dark and the infernal sense of wrongness faded as its capacitors drained.
Pain went still as the sleep drugs were pumped into her veins as well along with a few regeneration boosting stims. The psycho-somatic scars would not fade anytime soon but she would at least be physically healed by the next time Lanthanein had need of her. "Serenitatem" Silence went still as well, the drugs bringing him to blissful oblivion. The mundane weaponry of the God-Machine went into shutdown, the Arioch uncurled its fingers to hang at the titan's side, the Las-blasters ceased their interminable whine as power to their capacitors was drained. The Heart cycled down into low range mode, currently only needing to power the displays and sensorium.
"Oblivio." Lanthanein intoned finally, one by one the screens in the control sanctum blinked out, the manifold slowly faded as Darkness embraced his own rest. The sensorium systems shutting down one by one. Lanthanein was left in total darkness in the control sanctum. He pressed a button on his throne and a collection of small, red, emergency lights turned on throughout the titan. Lanthanein pushed the rings of the Ciricrux Anima aside to allow him room to stand up and stepped down from the control dais.
He turned and drew his gamma pistol from its place on the side of the throne, checked it to ensure the safety was on and placed it into his own hip holster. He stepped to the door of the control sanctum and took his coat from the small storage area there, the coat was thick black wool with silver and green stitching and came down to just below the knee. Gold epaulets were mounted to each shoulder as a sign of his rank as Preceptor-Intendant. Once the coat was buttoned, he reached down to the shelf just above the floor and retrieved his 'inhibitor'.
The inhibitor was an immense, wearable piece of poorly understood archeotech granted to him purely for times when liaising with Imperial officials was a necessity. It was a massive metal collar that rested on the shoulders and came down to about mid-chest, the chestplate held controls for its output and the backplate contained the integrated power source and refractor field projector, the collar came up to just below his nose. The function of the device was to suppress his blank aura, similar to a psychic limiter a Psyker might wear to suppress his powers. Lanthanein's was a bright shiny silver with the badge of the Ordo Sinister placed at the center of the chestplate, the snarling lion head with its ruby eyes that gleamed when he powered the device on.
With that, Lanthanein reached into the storage bay one final time and retrieved his hat, it was tall and on its raised brow held the Imperial Aquilla and the symbol of his Ordo beneath it. He placed it atop his head and stepped from the control sanctum following the narrow passages through the body of the God-Machine to the embarkation door to the rear.
NERV, meanwhile, was on high alert, none really knew what the machine would do once it was inside the hangar. Ground troops from the base's defense unit were rushed into the hangar as the immense machine came to a halt on it's lift pad. All felt fear, not due to the size of the machine for an EVA was larger still. This fear was, to them, totally sourceless which only made it all the worse. Men shifted and glanced uneasily at the machine, it was totally still. Unknown to the men, the fear they were feeling was itself being bolstered by the left arm of the God-Machine. Upon its shutdown, that effect began to dissipate among their ranks. When the claw on its right hand uncurled with a sound of groaning metal, all of them jumped. Thankfully none fired their weapons in their fright, the whine from the upper guns ceased soon after as well, but none noticed it had even been there until it wasn't any longer.
The gantry the men stood upon was at about eye level with the snarling lion's head motif on the machine's chest. After about ten minutes of no further sound from the gargantuan thing the commander stepped forward to take a look at the frightful figurehead. It was mounted in a ring, wider around than he was tall, the upper half of which resembled a star; the lower had the teeth of a cog every tooth marked with a different rune. Each of the ruby eyes of the lion about the size of his own head.
It's visage was startlingly realistic, were it not clearly made of metal he would have feared it might attack him. He glanced at the engraved metal bannerwork affixed around the head, making mental note of the bizarre message written upon it: 'Ordo Sinister - Pavore Dominetur' read the upper banner, the lower more simply 'Borealis Aristaios'. The commander didn't know what any of that meant but he thought it might be useful later.
The sound of heavy steps on the gantry got all of their attention and they brought their rifles to bear as a figure stepped from behind the great metal behemoth, the sergeant ordered the unknown figure to halt. He continued walking until he reached a crossroad in the gantry and saw the soldiers. He halted at last. The sergeant took in the man's appearance and marveled yet again. The man had, from the half of his face that was visible at least, vaguely Asiatic features with rather thick eyebrows. There seemed to be a few cables sticking out from under the peaked cap he wore that ran around behind his head to connect somewhere in his neck. He wore a long, black, greatcoat with what appeared to be a ridiculously high collar and a large metal chestpiece with a gorget that extended to just below his nose. He wore no other armor, but that collar, that collar stuck out and folded down over top of the gorget.
Lanthanein was annoyed. He had just exited his God-Machine and now he was being held at gunpoint like some Exertus deserter. He could understand trepidation, particularly in such dark times and given the secrecy of his Ordo, but this was ridiculous; was it not clear he was no traitor? The one he assumed to be in command of these men shouted at him in the local tongue again. Lanthanein did not speak the local dialect, but the gist was simple enough. Likely along lines of ' hands up, drop your weapons, no sudden moves' or something of the like.
The strange man complied putting his hands up and rolling his eyes. He called from his position a few hundred meters away "unus ex vobis loquimini High Gothic?" the commander glared back at him speaking in English now he responded (perhaps a bit harsher than necessary) "What are you saying? Who are you and why are you here?"
Finally hearing something he understood, Lanthanein replied emotionlessly in Low Gothic. "I asked if any one of you spoke High Gothic, clearly not. I am Lanthanein, Preceptor-Intendant of the Terranic-Pattern Ordo Sinister Psi-titan Borealis Aristaios. I must speak with your commanding officer, or barring that, someone with any semblance of decision making power." He answered the irate soldier with just as little emotion as he would any other Imperial official.
At this a door opened at the other end of the gantry and two women walked in, one in a three quarter length white jacket the other in what appeared to be some form of officer's fatigues the two of them stopped upon seeing the scene ahead of them, NERV troops holding a bizarrely dressed stranger (seriously who wears a collar that high?) at gunpoint. Maya took a step around her mentor and called to the stranger in Latin "Preceptor-Intendant Lanthanein?" at this he turned his head, nodded to her and replied, unamused "Salve, Itane tu benignus esses ut impetum canum tuorum revocet?" Maya puzzled at this for a moment as she parsed the phrase and then waved to the soldiers telling them in japanese to lower their weapons, Ritsuko stood a few feet behind her looking a bit stuffed, it wasn't everyday your former student suddenly starts taking charge of situations and ordering soldiers around.
The commander of the soldiers apologized to Maya in Japanese before informing her that the stranger also appeared to speak English. Maya turned to the Preceptor-Intendant "The soldiers tell me you speak English as well, is this true?" Lanthanein shook his head, responding in English "No, I speak Low Gothic and High Gothic, I know none of your local dialects, I assume you are the communications officer Maya Ibuki I spoke to over the vox?"
Maya seemed confused by the man denying he spoke English as he was speaking English, but quickly got over her confusion as Ritsuko approached at last. It was Ritsuko who spoke next "Preceptor-Intendant Lanthanein?" she confirmed "If you would be so kind as to come with us, we wish to take some time to try to understand what happened and how you ended up here." The Preceptor-Intendant nodded taking a step onto the main gantry ready to accompany the two doctors "Very well, I shall offer what assistance I can in that regard but I must return to Terra posthaste, I am sure you are aware of the current siege" he replied
Before anyone else could make a move the speakers in the hangar gave off a whine and another voice, that of Gendo Ikari, spoke. "Doctor Akagi, you will disarm the intruder and detain him in one of the interrogation rooms, those are the orders I gave you." The Doctor turned and addressed the silhouette in the launch control room. "Sir, there is no need to be so hostile towards him, he is not our enemy, clearly." Gendo scoffed, through the speakers it came out as a harsh growl "Captain" he addressed the commander of the men still on the gantry. "Disarm the intruder and escort him to a cell until we are ready for him."
At this, Lanthanein drew his Gamma pistol, arming the weapon as he turned and brought it to bear on the soldiers "Prohibere!" He shouted at the men on the gantry. They understood this well enough though they did not speak the language, and obeyed, none wanting a shootout with this man and his admittedly large handgun in the hangar. Turning his attention to the speaker from above he spoke in Low Gothic the anger clear in his voice. "I am Preceptor-Intendant of a God-Machine of the Ordo Sinister, Ive no intention of being disarmed by a PDF garrison who were not even able to defend their city from one Neverborn beast!" Gendo pushed a button in the control room and a significantly larger number of troops rushed into the hangar, all trained their guns on the stranger. Gendo replied with one word. "Yield."
Lanthanein looked around. His refractor field could probably take the stub rounds from the few original soldiers, but there was no way it would hold up for long enough to deal with this many, nor did he think he had the ammo to do so. He lowered his weapon and reholstered it. He put his hands up once more and the soldiers quickly surrounded him. They took his gamma pistol and Gendo spoke through his speaker again "Confiscate his coat and collar as well" he ordered.
Lanthanein complied. 'If they seek the full brunt of my condition, so be it' went his reasoning, he turned the limiter off before sliding it up over his head and handing it off to one of the soldiers with instructions to not drop it. The man nearly did so immediately when he underestimated its weight, a stern glare from Lanthanein and he moved away, suddenly sick to his stomach in the man's presence.
Lanthanein handed his coat to the next man who approached and was quickly overcome by his aura as well, handing the coat to yet another man and dashing to the gantryside emptying his stomach over the rail. Lanthanein stood, impartial, still clad in a black dolman with gleaming silver buttons and braiding, his trousers were much the same, black, military pants with bright silver braiding running down the outside of each leg to his tall black jackboots. Gendo did not order Lanthanein's hands bound and so he was led away to a nearby interrogation room as Maya and Doctor Akagi watched him go with concern and annoyance at Gendo in equal measure.
Lanthanein was locked inside a bare grey room with a single bar light on the ceiling. It cast a bright, clinical, white glow around the room. In the center of the floor was a robust metal table, bolted to the ground with a metal folding chair on either side of the table. 'This is an interrogation chamber? Where is the excruciator? The restraints?' the Preceptor-Intendant thought as he sat facing the right wall of the room, he expected at least one wall would be a one way window and he felt like unnerving a few menials.
After an amount of time that Lanthanein could not determine, the door finally opened and a young woman in a similar uniform to Maya's entered with a small pad of paper. Lanthanein turned his gaze to her but said nothing merely staring through her, totally expressionless. She sat down across from him, opening her notepad and spoke. "Good evening… Lanthanein is it?" she asked, when he didn't respond she continued, uneasy "I would like to -um- get a bit of information regarding your presence here and how you came into possession of a machine such as yours." she finished and wiped her brow, suddenly nervous.
Lanthanein stayed silent for a moment longer, his attention on the interrogator fully now, he remained expressionless as he spoke "I will speak with your base commander or the communications officer known as Maya Ibuki. I have nothing to say to you, no further information will be forthcoming until my ultimatum is met." The interrogator sat back, stunned, she was not used to being given demands by people who were ostensibly prisoners. She opened her mouth to point this out to the stranger but found she could not make so much as a single syllable come out, such was her unease in the presence of this man. He was still totally expressionless and merely staring at her, she looked into his eyes and could not see any life there, it was if there was nothing behind those eyes, no soul, just… nothing.
The interrogator opened and closed her mouth a few times as if trying to speak, Lanthanein smiled internally 'Had they allowed me my damper I may have been more willing to answer to subordinates like this one' the interrogator finally broke under his gaze, unusual for her, and she ran out of the room in a near panic. She did not even stop at the observation room to see what the man would do without anyone in the room but rather dropped her notepad outside the room and ran directly to the nearest bathroom.
Maya and Doctor Akagi watched these happening from the other side of the one way window, relieved Lanthanein was no longer staring at them as if he knew they were there, that was impossible right? The two could now see the lower half of his face, which prior to his disarmament had been obscured by the strange collar, his jaw was extremely square, as if sculpted by some Greco-Roman sculptor. He sported no facial hair but there was a scar crossing the left side of his face from just below his nose to his chin. Maya turned to her mentor. "Looks like he wants to talk to me…" she said, trailing off at the end. Ritsuko replied without looking at her student. "Seems so, he seems to have a very unsettling effect on most of the staff, are you sure you can handle it?"
Maya looked unsure for the first time that evening. "I don't know, I could feel it a bit before but its gotten a lot worse since he removed that collar thing he was wearing, I'm not even relaxed in here where he cant even talk to us." Ritsuko nodded "I know, I can feel it too, I'll try to convince Ikari to give him the collar back even if just so we can talk to him. I don't know what it is about him but his presence is just unnerv-" she stopped, staring at the one-way window.
Lanthanein was standing right in front of it gazing through at the two women as if he could see through it. He knocked once on the wall with his knuckle and spoke "I assume either the vox operator Maya or the Logoi with her in the hangar are in this observation room. I would speak with either or both of you, you may wish to petition your commander to return my inhibitor however, lest you end up like that sad excuse of an interrogator."
Maya got up heading for the door. "Well Sempai, wish me luck" she said.
Ritsuko called after her. "Wait, Maya! Where are you going?"
Maya turned and faced the doctor. "He wants to speak with one or both of us, I'm going to talk to him." she explained then turned towards the door as she heard it open behind her.
Misato had stepped in carrying the large collar in both hands. She set it down on a table near the door with a heavy clunk and a large exhale. "Jeez, he wears this all the time?" she asked rhetorically.
Maya bowed to Misato greeting her with a "Misato-sama, what brings you here?"
" Great god Ikari's been watching on the cameras, he figures you might get more out of him if you let him have his contraption back." she answered with a great deal of sarcasm, seating herself in the chair Maya recently vacated.
"Well, great, I'll see what I can get out of him then!" Maya replied cheerfully walking over and trying to pick up the large collar, she quickly found just how heavy it was after she nearly dropped it on her feet.
Ritsuko jumped up to help her "I guess we're both going after all." she laughed as she helped the smaller woman lift the large metal item. "Will you be staying here Misato?"
Misato yawned and sat up straight "I'll stay and keep an eye on you two in there, careful."
Maya entered the interrogation chamber backwards as she was busy helping Ritsuko carry the immense collar through the door, They set the large bit of tech on the table in the center of the room with a resounding clunk. She addressed Lanthanein in the peculiar Latin he seemed to prefer. "Salve Lanthanein, Ritsuko et inhibitorem tuum attuli. Paenitet me quod ex te aufero."
Lanthanein stood, crossing his arms over his chest and hooking his thumbs into each other before bowing to the two women "Habes multas gratias, dominae. Ave Imperator." He rose from his bow and continued in Low Gothic "but we needn't converse solely in High Gothic, particularly since neither of you seem wholly comfortable with it's conjugation and idiosyncrasies." He added with a small exhalation from his nose that could be interpreted as a chuckle.
He reached down for the inhibitor and easily raised it over his head lowering it down onto his shoulders and turning the two main dials. The pressure in the room immediately eased and both women visibly relaxed. With both women now standing in such close proximity to him, they could finally get a glimpse of some of his less blatant facial features. His eyes were a very dark blue, almost black. There was something deep in those eyes, as if he had seen things that could not be described.
"Now, we may speak." He said as he sat and folded his hands in front of him.
Maya sat across the table from him as Ritsuko pulled in a chair from the hall, taking a seat herself next to Maya. "So, Preceptor-Intendant Lanthanein, we would like to know a little bit more about you and your machine. Is there anything you can tell us? Where you are from? Your age? The origin of the machine that allowed you to so easily dispatch an Angel?" Maya asked this stream of questions in a manner that would imply no small amount of nervousness, Lanthanein merely nodded at each new question and then started from the top.
"There is some I am permitted to tell you, it may be stretching the exact wording of the Emperor's writ to an extent, but I believe in this sort of scenario that will be forgiven. I hail from Terra, Birthplace of Humanity. I am currently 24 years of age, I have been in service to the Master of Mankind for 18 of those 24 years." He paused here for a breath before forging ahead "I am Preceptor-Intendant of a Psi-titan in service to the Ordo Sinister. I arrived here due to an incident with a detonating warp weapon opening a portal without my intention. It is imperative that I return to Terra with utmost haste. I do not know if you are aware, but, Terra is currently under the greatest siege in galactic history. If you have access to astropathic communication upon this world I would petition its use for a short time to contact my Ordo." Lanthanein finished as Ritsuko took frantic notes on a clipboard and Maya looked at him stunned.
Ritsuko broke the silence first as she finished her notes. "You say you came from Terra? As in… Earth?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice as she squinted at her notes.
"Yes. That is a more archaic term, but Yes, Earth is just as valid if not the currently preferred term." Lanthanein explained as he reached up and adjusted one of the dials on the inhibitor, its previously unnoticed whine getting quieter as he rotated the dial down.
Maya and Ritsuko shared a look and Maya spoke next "Um… Lanthanein…You're on Earth…" she trailed off, not sure what else to say to someone who didn't know what planet he was on.
"Ridiculous, This cannot be Terra! Where is the Imperial Palace? Where are the great walls Dorn built to protect it? Where is the Warmaster and his traitorous ilk? I do not like being played for a fool Communications Lieutenant Maya, what would you try to deceive me with next? Will you tell me it is not in fact the thirty-first millennium?" The Preceptor-Intendant scoffed, shaking his head and standing up pacing his way to the far wall before turning and leaning against it, facing the two women with his arms crossed over his chest and head down, looking at the floor.
"Thirty-first millenium?" Ritsuko asked "It is at most the second millenium, Lanthanein." She corrected "Unless your machine somehow has the ability to travel through time, there is no way you could be correct as to the year…"
Lanthanein's head shot up, eyes wide as he pushed off from the wall. He began to pace the back wall quickly muttering to himself in what he called High Gothic Borealis Aristaios can and has manipulated time in the past, and does so each time I heal the God-Machine's wounds in combat, but to travel so far, even with the aid of a warp transit, should have exhausted my entire supply of psykers and more. He snapped his head to the two women "What are our current coordinates?" he snapped as he halted in his pacing.
"35 degrees north by 139 degrees east" answered Maya, as if from memory, earning her an odd look from Ritsuko.
"Impossible… It cannot be…" He knew with certainty those were the coordinates of deployment for his last walk. His gaze refocused on the two women, now looking thoroughly off put by his behavior. He turned his inhibitor up higher, the whine returning. "Suppose for a moment that I believe you, that this is the second millennium… Prove to me I am still on Terra." He came and sat back down heavily, steepling his fingers across the table from them in a pose very similar to the one Gendo regularly used at his own desk.
"How exactly do you expect us to do that?" Ritsuko asked, incredulous.
"I can envision one way that would be very simple. However it will require my being given access to my God-Machine again. Borealis Aristaios has a galactic positioning system that updates when it is connected to Imperial Noosphere systems. While it is clear the Imperium's light is foreign to this benighted world, a simple hardline connection to a satellite network or other positioning network should be sufficient for the Machine Spirit to parse the data it has and obtain any further it needs." Lanthanein explained. Maya and Ritsuko listened intently to his plan and both slowly nodded as he finished speaking.
"And so long as we comply with this request you will answer any questions we may have? Regardless of whether or not you get the answer you want?" asked Ritsuko as she stood and stepped away from her chair.
"Yes, you have my word." Lanthanein replied. Ritsuko nodded once and turned to leave the room
"Maya, keep an eye on our friend and see if he's willing to tell us anything else in the meantime. I'll see what I can get Ikari to agree to." The scientist said as she left the room hurriedly.
Maya looked to the Preceptor-Intendant and thought for a moment before speaking "So why Preceptor-Intendant?" She asked him. He glanced back at her with a perplexed look.
"I do not understand what you mean Lieutenant Maya. It is my title, I have no other." He replied slowly, not sure how to answer her question
"What I mean, Lanthanein, is that it is a strange title. I've never heard it before, what does it mean? Moreover, what is it that you do as a Preceptor-Intendant, aside from the whole piloting a giant robot?"
"I would ask you not insult Borealis Aristaios with such heretechnical terms First Lieutenant, you are not familiar with the customs of the Imperium and Mechanicus so I will not take offense. Borealis Aristaios remains a God-Machine, no matter His further augmentations, call Him such or call Him a titan. On that front, I do not care, but Borealis Aristaios is far more than a mere 'robot'." Lanthanein said, his face stern while he explained proper terminology "As to your question, my purpose is singular, I command Borealis Aristaios. That is my only duty, it is my purpose for being, to command my titan and enact the will of the Emperor." He turned in his chair as he heard the door to the hall opening again, another, different woman stepping into the room.
Maya turned in her seat "Ah, Misato-sama, come in please" she said to the other woman as she closed the door and headed for the table herself
"Where'd Rits-chan go in such a hurry?" the woman asked her subordinate as she pulled the chair out and extended a hand to Lanthanein "Hello, I'm Misato Katsuragi, I command the Central Dogma here at NERV."
Lanthanein looked at the hand strangely before rising from his own chair and doing the same odd gesture as before, crossing his arms over his chest and hooking his hands together at the crook of his thumb and bowing. "Ave Imperator, Commander Katsuragi, I am Lanthanein."
Misato took a moment to be confused at his odd greeting and lowered her still outstretched hand slowly. She looked to Maya who shrugged. Misato shrugged as well and sat down, Lanthanein doing the same shortly after "So, Lanthanein, did I hear you correct? You called your 'titan' a God-Machine? Why?"
"Borealis Aristaios is more than any simple 'machine' He is, to some extent, alive. Not to the point that He can act of His own accord, for that would be an abomination, but He does have a will of His own that must be mastered in order to command Him. This ' is also constantly trying to break the hold of its Princeps or Preceptor-Intendant and subjugate them to itself. If such a thing occurs the Princeps would die." Lanthanein answered
Maya's eyes were wide, Misato looked confused and asked him "so basically youre in a constant battle of wills with the machine you pilot, and you still worship it as a god?"
Lanthanein sighed "Worship it? No. Respect it? Most assuredly. Borealis Aristaios is called God-Machine because His power is akin to that of a god. He is an avatar of the Omnissiah, not a god directly but the closest Man can get to building one." He leaned back in his chair but sat bolt upright when the door banged open behind the two women. His hand flew to his holster, but found it empty.
Both Maya and Misato swung around at the crash of the door to see Ritsuko standing in the doorway, looking disheveled, as if she had just run the entire way from Gendo's lair. "We're clear, we can give him the proof he needs." She huffed out as Misato tried to stifle a laugh.
Maya asked her what happened, why she was out of breath "Because I ran all the way back here, we have half an hour." Ritsuko explained. Misato burst out laughing at this and got up. All three women stepped out of the interrogation room and Lanthanein followed, as he exited the room Ritsuko handed him his coat which he thanked her for and put on.
As they entered the hangar the NERV sergeant from earlier stepped forward the greet the four "Commander Katsuragi, Lieutenant Ibuki, Doctor Akagi, Preceptor-Intendant, welcome. Ikari has authorized you for a half hour to do your test. We shall remain here to ensure you are uninterrupted." He said with a salute to the two ranked women. "It is our understanding that a direct line connection would be necessary for the test you are going to attempt, we have this, its 20 meters of line with a Sat5 connector on one end. Its runs directly to the Magi, you should be able to get any information you need from there." He said to Lanthanein as he gestured to a large spool on a wheeled cart.
"Many thanks Sergeant, this will be sufficient." Lanthanein said, returning to his expressionless demeanor. He took the end of the line from the man holding it and led the way through the door in the back of the titan. It was a bit of a climb to reach the door, as the gantry did not perfectly line up with the door. The three women had a small amount of trouble finding footholds on the body of the great machine, but eventually, all three made it in after the Preceptor-Intendant.
As they walked through the body of the God-Machine the three non-Imperials had to step carefully both due to the dim red lighting and the bulkhead-like passageways. Eventually they reached what the door proclaimed to be the 'Control Sanctum'. This passageway had a large, thick door that needed to be cranked open, once the door was open they followed Lanthanein into the relatively spacious room.
The Preceptor-Intendant took his hat from his head and placed it back on it's hook in the storage cabinet by the door. Ritsuko gasped when she looked back to him half his skull was a solid metal plate with a series of wires that ran down the a port in his neck "Lanthanein, what exactly happened to you?" She asked him.
He turned around to her as he removed his coat and hung it on its own hook in the cabinet as well "I do not understand what you mean." He said
"The metal… in your head. What happened?" she clarified as he stepped over to one of the many consoles in the room. Maya and Misato took the opportunity to spread out into the room and look around, still half listening to the conversation.
Lanthanein touched his implant and thought as he removed a panel to access the cogitator's line-in ports "It is part of the MIU connection implants that are required to interface with a titan. This is the less invasive version." He stated matter of factly as he plugged the wire into one of the ports and stood back up as the cogitator's screen flashed to life. "Ordinarily a fully ordained tech priest would be required for an operation such as this, but we of the Ordo Sinister are a bit less dogmatic about such things, as are our engines." Lanthanein told them as he tapped a few buttons and the screen changed becoming what was clearly a progress bar. "Fifteen minutes." He stated, stepping away from the cogitator.
"Less invasive? God, what's the more invasive version?" Ritsuko asked as she stepped closer to the computer and looked at the screen. Latin scrolled across the screen.
"Direct connection." Lanthanein answered "Either direct wiring into the titan or internment in an amniotic casket. Due to my unique position as a member of the Ordo Sinister, neither was a option due to my need to liaise with other officials outside of my God-Machine on occasion." Lanthanein was about to continue but was interrupted by a scream from Maya who had made her way to the slightly lower level chin seats.
"Lanthanein… y-your crew" she stuttered out as he stumbled back up the few stairs. Misato and Ritsuko rushed over to comfort the young woman, Lanthanein followed at a more leisurely pace.
"This God-Machine has no crew aside from myself." He stated as he arrived. Maya looked up at him horrified Misato took a moment to step down into the lower section as well and came back looking slightly ill.
"What do you mean no crew?! What's with those three corpses in those chairs down there?" Maya asked slightly hysterical.
"Those are not a crew. The are barely above cogitators. They are Servitor-Moderatii, they have been lobotomized and merely serve to assist me in bearing the strain of commanding the titan." He explained as he looked down at Maya, who had gone to her knees at this point.
Ritsuko stood up and glared at him "Your Imperium lobotomized three people and grafted them into a machine just to act as pain shunts for their pilot? Why? What would ever make such a thing necessary?"
In reply Lanthanein reached up to the dials on his chestplate and deactivated his limiter. A sense of unease immediately settled on all three of the other occupants "How do you feel?" he asked them
Misato replied first "suddenly worried, like there's just something wrong about you. I don't know how else to explain it, Slightly nauseous too." The other two echoed this statement almost exactly describing Lanthanein as 'off-putting' and 'strange'.
Lanthanein turned the limiter back on. "That is why, most humans have a similar reaction to those of the soldiers when I removed the limiter earlier. Immediate sickness and overwhelming fear or unease. I am what the Imperium terms a 'blank' or 'null'. I have, for lack of a better descriptor, no soul. My presence in the warp is non-existent. This makes most humans uneasy around me at best, at worst, totally incapacitated. My mutation is so rare that less than 100 of every billion inherits it. That is why the Moderatii of this God-Machine are the way they are. The chance of finding four blanks also able to master a titan is so unlikely that it was deemed not worth the effort. This solution was simpler to implement."
Maya asked him, finally recovered from her ordeal "But none of us got sick or passed out? Why not just find people like us? Your 'Aura' only seems to affect people near you. Why do that to three innocent people?"
"That can be chalked up to the ammunition. A collection of Psykers are interred in coffins within the God-Machine. They fuel its Sinistramanus Tenebrae, it's Left Hand of Darkness, as well as its more arcane powers" Lanthanein explained, walking back over to check the cogitator
"Psykers?" Misato asked "What's a psyker?" Ritsuko chimed in
"All humans, Save nulls like myself, have some extent of connection to the Immaterium in layman's terms; the Warp, a realm that is both adjacent to and below our own composed of the thoughts and dreams of sentient life forms. Some humans throughout human history have had the ability to draw upon the realm for power, in the Imperium we call these beings psykers. Their lot is both a gift and a curse, for while they can gain immense power they also leave themselves open to unimaginable danger from the innumerable neverborn entities that inhabit the immaterium." He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing his explanation. Ritsuko, by this point, had moved to investigate the large throne in the center of the control sanctum with all the rings around it.
The presence of this many beta and alpha grade psykers in connection with the titan means that anyone connecting via the MIU needs to remain unaffected by psychic phenomenon, lest they be corrupted or killed. This cockpit is shielded, even if the sleepers were awakened you would all be fine so long as you did not try to connect to the MIU. Myself however, were I not a null, I would be driven mad at best and mutated beyond recognition at worst." Lanthanein explained as he checked the progress. The bar sat at ninety percent, currently not moving noticeably, he turned back to the three women in the control sanctum.
He spoke to them again "As for the assertion that all of these souls are 'innocent' I will tell you, only half of them are here by choice. Some chose this to ease their pain, others are here in penance" Maya looked up at him from the rune on the Ciricrux Anima she was examining "Are you?" Lanthanein gave her a small, sad smile "I will leave it at this: two of those in this command sanctum are here of their own volition. I am not one."
Ritsuko called from the other side of the Throne Mechanicum, "What's the deal with this chair Lanthanein? It's not what I'd expect as a control system for a war machine. It looks nothing like the control system we use for the Evangelion"
"The Throne Mechanicum is the primary linkage system for the Princeps of a titan. It holds the hardplugs for the MIU. The ring system you see around it is the Ciricrux Anima. It both allows me to manipulate the more arcane aspects of the titan as well as providing information about the state of the titan and handling some of the more basic procedures of maintaining the God-Engine." Lanthanein told her as he made his way around the other side of the throne.
From across the chamber the console dinged and he returned to inspect the results. Lanthanein was silent for a long time, the three others eventually approached him and he stood slowly. "You were right." were his only words to them. He did not turn to face them this time "This is Terra, twenty-nine thousand years before my time." The three NERV personnel stepped out of his way, unsure how to respond, as he went a sat heavily in the Throne Mechanicum. There he sat for minutes on end, elbows on his knees and hands crossed over his mouth.
Maya took this time to parse the Latin text on the screen and saw that he was correct, it was a date change prompt that would roll the Machine's calendar back to '014.M2' the previous date had been set at '014.M31'. She turned and spoke to the unmoving man "Is there no way for you to return? After all you came out of that 'warp portal' as you called it, right? Cant you generate another and just reverse the process."
To his credit Lanthanein did explain the problem with that solution despite his shock, "If this time had a warp drive they were willing to overload, perhaps, but highly unlikely. When I was taken from my time I had just destroyed a berserk engine of the same provenance as mine, likely its own Sinistramanus Tenebrae breaking down is what caused that portal to open. My Engine had taken a good deal of damage when the hostile God-Engine's weapon overloaded and I had engaged one of Borealis Aristaios' other abilities. An Ordo Sinister titan has the ability to heal itself to a degree, it does so by reversing the flow of time immediately around the God-Machine. This can cause damage to repair itself as it is reverted to a state prior to the damage having been caused. I had thought it possible when you mentioned the year which is why I asked to carry out this test. I wanted to be certain before I voiced my suspicions. I theorize that using that ability while being pulled into the warp likely had unintended consequences, dumping me here, though why I was ejected at the precise time I was seems particularly convenient. I predict that it was partly the result of interference by some form of immaterial entity." He finished as he looked over at the crew from NERV, that same sad smile from before on his face once again.
Ritsuko spoke to him next "Lanthanein, during our development of the EVAs, we have detected some traces of what we've been calling a meta-physical plane. I wonder if its not in some way connected to what you've described as the Warp. If you're willing to stick around, I'd be more than willing to take some time and try to figure some ways you might be able to get back home."
Misato stepped forward as well now "And the way you dealt with that Angel… it was honestly pretty amazing, we could use your help dealing with them if you're willing to offer it"
Lanthanein stood from the Throne Mechanicum "I appreciate what you three are trying to do. You think I am bereft of purpose now that I find out the Imperium does not become a reality until twenty-nine millenia from now. I have already come to a decision however, Humanity is in danger in this time, the first and most important part of the oaths I took when I joined the Ordo still stand. They state to ensure the survival of Humanity wherever it may be. My Duty to The Emperor and Humanity is clear, Borealis Aristaios will Walk in your defense." He stepped over to the cogitator, turned it off and disconnected the wire from it. The three women smiled at each other and at the Imperial and followed him out of the titan.
When they reached the catwalk where the NERV sergeant stood Lanthanein handed him the wire he had been gathering as he returned. As the four began to head back to the interrogation room Gendo Ikari stepped through the door at the end of the gantry flanked by two more guards. "Well… Lanthanein is it? Have our assertions been confirmed? Do you finally believe that you are no longer in your time?" He said as he angled his head just right that his glasses caught one of the lights in the room and the glare obscured his eyes. His attitude was clear however by the snide smile that graced his lips.
Lanthanein did not fall victim to such tactics however, he had seen and stood against far more frightening beings than this man who stood a head shorter than him. "Yes, I acknowledge the truth of your Adept's statements, and as such, I would like to offer my assistance and that of my God-Machine to Humanity in it's time of need."
Gendo was surprised by this, expecting he would have to trick or blackmail this man into helping NERV. Not that his willingness to help would stop Ikari from blackmailing the man, but that was beside the point. "Well, very good then. Follow Doctor Akagi, we need to get a few records straight if you are going to be joining NERV, and we will need to assign you quarters. You may need to share quarters with another for a time, we are currently at a bit of a drought I'm afraid." He said, clearly not sorry at all about NERV's supposed 'lack of accommodation'.
Likely an attempt at keeping tabs on me. Lanthanein thought as he nodded at the peculiar man and followed Logoi Akagi and Maya from the hangar. Behind him Gendo stopped Misato and demanded a report, unseen by the newcomer and the NERV research staff the conversation between Misato and Ikari became quite heated. A few minutes later the three, Imperial and NERV, reached the medical wing. As they walked through the sterile white halls Lanthanein paused outside one heavy steel door. He could swear he could hear the muffled sounds of someone being savagely beaten from within. Without a handle he could do nothing however and stepped from the door not seeking to anger new allies so quickly, he made mental note of it however planning to investigate at some later date if such proved necessary.
The rest of the trip to the exam room was uneventful. Ritsuko stepped into the room first and she pointed to a chair along one wall asking Lanthanein to remove his coat and take a seat, Maya said her goodbyes and headed of to return to her station in the Central Dogma for the last part of her shift. "Can you roll up your Sleeve Lanthanein? I need to get a blood sample to keep on file in case it is ever needed." She asked, Lanthanein obliged and remained silent as she took the sample "Do you have any known medical conditions I should be aware of?" she asked after sitting in the awkward silence for a moment
"Hmm?" he hummed as he looked over at her as if startled from a deep train of thought "There is my MIU implant obviously it is connected directly to my nervous system and a significant portion of my brain. At 16 I shattered my jaw after a fall during a physical training accident, it was replaced with a steel augmetic. My appendix was removed during my time with the Mechanicus due to being a useless organ." Ritsuko glanced up at that almost incredulous "I elected to have a series of multi-tools implanted in my fingers and hands after my tenure with the Priesthood of Mars was complete, they are no longer organic."
Ritsuko stayed silent for another moment after Lanthanein ceased speaking then asked "Is that all?" he nodded once "Yes that is all. Overall I am almost ninety-seven percent organic."
The doctor chuckled at that "I think its clear the Imperium and NERV have very different definitions of 'nearly organic'." She replied as she removed the needle from his arm and held a compress to it to stop the bleeding. She took the vial from the adapter on the needle and sealed and labeled it, placing it in a rack to be dealt with later. "Alright Preceptor-Intendant, just need a few X-rays and a basic checkup from you and you'll be good to go."
"Alright Lanthanein, it seems to me you are more than fit for duty here at NERV. I've given Commander Katsuragi a call, she should be by soon to collect you and take you to your quarters. I must say… It has been very interesting meeting you, I hope you find everything to your liking, and I look forward to working with you." And with that she stepped out of the room leaving the Imperial alone and feeling like he had seen enough people for three lifetimes. Upon considering that though he realized he would likely only have one lifetime, this world did not seem to have access to Juvenat treatments. Strangely enough he was not overly bothered by his sudden realization of a drastically shortened lifespan.
Knock knock knock "Enter!" the Imperial called as Misato opened the door. He had already donned his coat and hat once more. Misato looked pleased that she wouldn't have to wait for him and waved for him to follow her "Come on, Lanthanein, lets get you situated somewhere." she said tiredly as she started off at a brisk pace.
Lanthanein easily kept pace with the NERV commander and about ten minutes into their walk he asked her "Commander Katsuragi, it is my understanding I will likely have to share quarters with someone else, would you mind informing me if such is the case? I have no issue with doing so, I merely seek to figure out a plan for when to use my Inhibitor."
"You are not going to have a roommate right now, Lanthanein, though you may in the future. I don't think you'll need the inhibitor too much, at least not while you are sleeping or off duty. You might wear it when around the other employees here at NERV however, they seem more affected by you than many of those you've met so far strangely enough."
"Understood. I would assume the command team that I've met would be living within some proximity of me to some extent then?" was his next question. She looked over at him, and while the lower half of his face was hidden behind the collar as they walked she could see the curiosity in his indigo eyes
Misato merely hummed at this as they entered an elevator. She pressed a button and Lanthanein felt the lift begin its trip upward. A few moments later they stepped out on a floor of what looked to be a standard Imperial hab block. It was an open walkway with habitation units on the outer edge of the square and a large empty core in the middle of the building. Lanthanein glanced around as the walked around the open-air center of the spire. Eventually they stopped in front of a door which the NERV commander opened and swept her arm out to with a cheerful "Welcome home!"
She followed him inside the small hab, showing him around the place. They started in the kitchen to the right of the door, it had what appeared to be a cooking range, some small box like appliance adorned with a numerical keypad and the usual water fixtures. They walked around the table in the middle of the room and into the hall off to one side, she pointed to one end of the hall "Down there will be the bathroom, and this is the bedroom" she said as she stepped up to a door at the other end of the hall. She opened it and inside was a simple and sparsely furnished room. A mat and small cylindrical pillow lay on the floor, a desk sat in one corner and a curtained window adorned the far wall.
"So, I'll leave you to get situated in here Lanthanein, I'm just going to check and make sure everything is in order in the rest of the unit." She said as she walked out of the bedroom and across the apartment. Lanthanein looked around the small, sparse room and felt pleased. It was not all too different from his cell in Fortress-Crypt Borealis. A loud horn began blaring repeatedly outside the building. Lanthanein rushed into the living area, trying to draw his gamma pistol before realizing again it had been confiscated.
"Come here Lanthanein, you should see this!" Misato called as she opened the blinds on the large picture window on one side of the unit. The sun was just coming up on the horizon and the horn was still blaring repeatedly. Suddenly the ground began to shake and as Lanthanein approached the window he saw buildings rise from the ground around them. What had previously been a relatively flat expanse with only very short buildings, that looked quite desolate to him when he had been in his God-Machine, was now much more reminiscent of the hive cities he was familiar with on a smaller scale. He stood there, dumbfounded that even in this ancient time such things were possible, perhaps he had misjudged these people, they clearly had some advanced technology at their disposal.
"This is Tokyo-3 Lanthanein…This is the city you defended." She said echoing words she may have said in a very different location in another time. Lanthanein had stepped back from the window and for the first time she saw him yawn and stumble, he caught himself with a hand on the back of the sofa but he looked as if all of his energy had suddenly drained away.
"I believe the combat stims have finally worn off, I shall be turning in early if you do not mind Commander Katsuragi." He said as yawned yet again.
"Alright, Lanthanein, you shouldn't need to leave your Inhibitor on, so long as you aren't in the same room as any of the other NERV employees, the effect doesn't seem that bad. And please, call me Misato, you constantly using my title sounds too formal" she offered as she headed towards the door of the small apartment.
"That is very generous Commander Katsuragi, but I am used to ensuring the comfort of those who are not afflicted with my condition before myself. Sleeping with such unease and worry as my condition causes even among the strong willed does not make for restful slumber. I shall leave the Inhibitor on for the time being. It also would not do for me to become too familiar with my commanding officer, as I assume you will be, But thank you, commander, and good eve to you." He replied politely before turning and closing the door behind her. He made his way to the bedroom of the small hab unit, it was a bit larger than the one he had been assigned at the Fortress-Crypt
As he took his coat and hat off and laid them on the desk he thought back to the day's happenings and wondered what was next, these were the thoughts still on his mind as he lay down on his back on the mat. He allowed the gorget of the Inhibitor to support his head as he drifted off to sleep. His mind taking him back to the battle that started the current, confusing course his life had taken.
End 1.02