Disclaimer: See Part II.
Deus Ex Machina
Chapter 6
"No, still nothing." Maya Ibuki frowned at the blank screen before her. "There! Wait-" the screen had flickered momentarily. "Do what you just did."
Below her, Dozer shifted a set of wires. "Like this."
The woman nodded. "Yeah, it's on now."
"I can't just stay here and hold this," grumbled Dozer. He was lying on his back under the third control station. Maya sat on the chair with her legs pulled under her, to avoid stepping on the tech's torso while he worked.
"There must be a loose connection somewhere." After a few moments of prodding wires, he found the offending plug and tightened it. "Did that help?"
"Yeah, it's on now," said Maya. "This ship has been more trouble than the other two put together, I think."
"You can say that again," said Makoto Hyuga, climbing through a hatch in the floor. "We found the wiring problem under the deck. Station one should turn on now. Maybe." He sat at the first of the three control chairs and turned the power on, watching the screens come to life.
Once he was certain that they wouldn't fail or explode, he leaned toward the hole he had climbed through. "That did it, Tank."
They were in the command room of the Eva transport ship Melchior. It was built from the same basic design as its sisters, the Casper and the Balthasar. However, the Melchior was proving much more difficult to complete.
"I could do a better job wiring while I'm drunk," Tank claimed, climbing out of the hatch. "What were those construction morons doing?"
"They were behind schedule," said Maya. "Perhaps they were rushing to finish the ship?"
Dozer's voice floated out from under the third station. "All the problems seem to be here in the control room, fortunately. Still, it is pretty bad, even for a rush job. And Tank, I know for a fact that you can't tie your bootlaces, let alone wire anything, while drink."
"Shut up, Makoto," Tank growled at his laughing friend. For the next few hours, the three men shared each others' embarrassing stories while they worked, mostly involving things done while "young, drunk, or both." Maya was silently grateful that these three Natives couldn't know any incriminating college stories from her life in the Matrix.
Shinji stood at the apartment balcony and gazed toward the Project complex. The Casper had reached Zion two days after he got there. The hovercraft landed on the frame built over the Eva bay, and lowered Unit 01 into place.
The Evangelion was heavily damaged. The head armor was gone, and much of the torso armor was misshapen from melting under the extreme heat of the Angel's attacks.
Shinji imagined that he could see the Eva from the building. After two days, most of the armor was been replaced. The damaged pieces were taken to the massive forge to be recast. In Zion, everything that could be recycled or reused was kept.
"Hey, are you going to stand there and stare into space all day?"
Shinji turned to see Asuka emerge from the apartment, with a small bag slung over her shoulder. "Is it time to go?" he asked.
The redhead nodded. "Yes. Try to keep up, the professor hates it when someone is late." With that, the girl slid down the stair rail and set off at a brisk walk.
Shinji had to run to catch up, and he fell in a few feet behind Asuka. He was still awed by the incredible size of the Geofront, and by the city it contained.
Zion was dominated by the pyramidal hill in the middle of the city. The hill's flat top was capped with a man made pyramid of stone and steel; the Temple, Zion's social and political center.
Around that was built a fairly typical medium-sized city, though one that was entirely self-contained. Zion was a city of war, a fortress, and a shelter from the extinction of freedom.
Everything was focused on the fight in the Matrix, even the school he was about to join. Zion's high school existed to train young people to support the war. Freed youth were helped with adjusting to the real world, and prepared for operations in the Matrix. Natives learned the technology of Zion, to support the war effort. A select few were trained to Operate.
Shinji knew all this because it had been loaded into his memory when he had his "training" on the Nebuchadnezzar. He knew his way around the whole city, though he had not yet seen most of it. He knew much about the life style of the citizens, though he had met only a handful of people since his arrival. The small paradox this caused kept his thoughts occupied for the rest of the walk.
The school sat on the edge of one of the small lakes, on the other side of the city from the Project Center. Rei Ayanami sat at her desk and stared out the window, secretly wishing she were deaf as well as mute.
"Come on Rei, give me some details," the bespectacled boy pleaded. "I waited all weekend to find out what happened to the purple Eva. Was it in a battle? Why weren't the other two Evas used too? I know you and Asuka were here, so who was the pilot? Was it a victory? Is the Matrix down?"
Rei sighed quietly, and turned to face her interrogator. Kensuke could wear her hands out, if she let him. Fortunately, one question's answer walked through the door. She nodded toward Shinji and Asuka. "He is the new pilot."
Kensuke turned. "Him?" He examined new boy, noticing his short buzz of hair and thin frame. "He looks like he just got out. How much training did he get?"
"None."
He did a double take at that, wondering if he misread the signed answer. "No training at all?"
Any answer he might have received was cut off when the old professor entered the room, followed by a teenage girl. "Good morning class. We have two new students today, who will introduce themselves to you."
The professor turned and looked expectantly at Shinji. He turned and saw the whole class with a similar expression. "My name is Shinji Ikari, I just came to Zion four days ago." Slightly embarrassed by the attention, he hoped that he had said enough.
The professor seemed satisfied, and nodded to the girl next to Shinji. "Hello," she began. "I'm Hikari Horaki. I arrived in Zion on Saturday, after the Oracle sent me out of the Matrix."
Shinji looked at her, realizing that he had seen the freckled girl when he visited the Oracle. She had long brown hair then, worn in pigtails. Now she had a cloth wrapped around her head, hiding her lack of hair.
"Thank you," said the professor. "Please, find seats for yourselves."
Shinji found an empty desk near the middle of the class. This put him close to the only people that he knew. Rei was ahead and to his left, and Asuka was behind him, and to the right.
The boy in front of him turned around to face Shinji. "Rei said you're an Eva pilot. Is that true?" When Shinji nodded, he continued. "That's so cool, I'm jealous of you. I wish I could get in an Eva and battle the machines. I'd teach them not to mess with humanity."
Shinji sighed. "It's not that great. It was...painful."
"That's not how Asuka describes it," the boy objected. "And even if it is, we're soldiers, and must persevere. But fate has conspired to keep me out of the Matrix, even."
The boy sighed theatrically, and ignored the quiet "idiot" that came from a few seats back.
Shinji looked at him, puzzled, and the boy held up his arms. They were unmarred by anything metal. "No holes; I'm a Native of Zion. Kensuke's the name. Pleased to meet you."
Shinji smiled. "You too. Um...should we be talking while the professor is lecturing?" he whispered.
Kensuke glanced over his shoulder. The old man was standing at the window and staring out with a far off look on his face. "Nah. He always starts the day telling about his adventures in the Matrix. He's mostly deaf anyway, and won't notice-"
"Mr. Aida!" Kensuke's smile dropped and he slowly turned toward the front of the classroom. "Please sit properly in your seat," the professor ordered. He then turned back to the window and continued speaking, telling a story that all but two members of his captive audience had heard many times already.
Neo and Trinity walked hand-in-hand down the streets of Zion. Since the day Neo "died", four years before, they had been inseparable. Some people admired the strength and depth of their relationship, something joyful in the bleak world. Others got annoyed with "all that lovey-dovey crap", as a certain operator once put it.
Morpheus was bemused by it all. After his adopted daughter, they were his family. He wouldn't begrudge them their happiness. They still had a dark road to face before the Prophecy was fulfilled.
"`Morning," they called as they reached Morpheus. He was waiting next to the entrance to Zion's command center. The long two-story building served as the fleet's command and training center, and air traffic control for ships that came and went.
"So what's this meeting about?" asked Neo.
"Commander Lock wants our impressions of the battle against the Angel before the council meeting this afternoon," answered Morpheus.
"Why us?" Trinity asked.
Morpheus shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps he is impatient for this afternoon's council briefing."
The trio entered the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor. As they approached it, the door to the commander's office opened and Captain Niobe stepped out. She smiled to the three Neb crewmembers. "Good morning."
"`Morning Niobe," answered Trinity, noting that Morpheus's step had faltered slightly at the woman's appearance. "What's up?"
"Just getting orders for my next mission," the captain replied. "I'll see you guys at the council meeting."
"Later," Trinity and Neo said, watching her descend the stairs. Trinity gave Morpheus a knowing elbow to the side, confusing the otherwise oblivious Neo.
They entered the office and found Commander Lock at his desk, reading his terminal screen. He greeted them and motioned for them to sit.
"Neo, you went aboard the Casper, right?" he asked.
Neo nodded. "Yes, along with Apoc and Misato, who helped Casper's crew during the battle."
"In you opinion, how well did they do?"
"They successfully destroyed the Angel," Neo answered. "They engaged it after the machine's N2 weapon didn't destroy it and-"
"I know all the details," Lock cut Neo off. "What I want to know is how did the Project E staff carry themselves in a battle?"
"Sir?" said Morpheus, wondering why Lock would ask something like that.
Lock leaned back in his seat. "A lot of time and resources has been devoted to the project. There's no doubt now about the need for the Evangelions, but we still don't understand the enemy. Fuyutsuki reported that the Angel was heading in the direction of Zion after it thought it defeated Unit 01.
"My job is to worry about protecting Zion. If these Angels pose a threat to the city, I need to be certain that they will be destroyed before they can attack it."
"So you're worried about Project personnel directing combat?" asked Trinity.
Lock nodded. "Well, they are mostly scientists and engineers. The people who you've helped them recruit have rarely ventured back into the Matrix. They can build these things, but can they use them effectively?"
Morpheus nodded a silent agreement and turned to Neo. "I can't say that they were or were not fully prepared for combat," Neo began. The One realized that his answer would likely have an effect on the upcoming council meeting, and possibly the future of Project E and Zion.
"They were using an untrained pilot in and untested weapon, against an unknown enemy," he continued. "If Shinji had been familiar with the Eva, he might have fared better against the Angel. He did destroy it, though they don't understand how."
Lock was surprised by that. "What do you mean?"
Neo shook his head. "I didn't understand all of it, but it sounded like Shinji wasn't in control of the Eva when it destroyed the Angel. It was...going berserk, one of the techs said."
Lock's expression was a mix of anger and fear. "They lost control of it? That's not supposed to be possible. If one of those things were to go berserk here-"
"That wouldn't happen," interrupted Morpheus. "Rei and Asuka have been training with the Evas for years, and nothing remotely like that has ever happened."
Lock's anger met Morpheus's cool determination as the two men had a brief stare down.
Trinity spoke up before the tension got overwhelming. "We should probably wait for Commander Fuyutsuki's report about that."
The Commander nodded as a silent agreement was reached between the two men. "All I care about is the safety of all the free people, especially the children we're throwing to the forefront.
"I'll see you at the council meeting," he said in dismissal.
The other three rose and turned for the door. After Neo and Trinity left, Morpheus turned back. "If I may make a suggestion, perhaps you should offer some combat trained personnel to the Project. Someone who could at least train the pilots in battle tactics."
"I'll think about it," the commander answered.
Shinji had spent his lunch with the professor and the other new student. The old teacher had wanted to find out what training and experience his new students had picked up. He was pleased to learn that Hikari had come straight from the Oracle, while Shinji had already visited Her.
While Shinji had gone through the standard training on the Nebuchadnezzar, Hikari had grown ill after getting out, and hadn't had any training yet. This meant she would be excluded from the afternoon exercise, while she got the basic programming.
Exercises happened once or twice a week, and were always looked forward to by the students.
Unless they got a team assignment they didn't like. "What do you mean I'm paired with that idiot?!" Asuka yelled to the teacher.
"I ain't so thrilled either, Red," the boy sneered.
"Touji, call me that again, and I will hurt you."
"Sorry. I meant Red Devil."
SLAP!
"We are going to own them," Kensuke observed to his teammates. Rei nodded in agreement, while Shinji wondered if the professor was punishing the boy for being late to class.
"If all the teams are ready," said the teacher, glaring at the two arguing teens, "please go to your stations." Around the room, freed youth climbed into link chairs, while their Native classmates prepared to operate for them.
Kensuke stepped forward and inserted the link plugs for Rei and Shinji. He quickly returned to his small console, and started the instructor's program.
The professor walked around the room, explaining the drill as he checked each team's readiness. "This will be a regular capture the flag game. All teams will begin an equal distance from the objective. Find it, obtain the flag, and return to your exit before somebody else takes the flag from you."
Shinji glanced at Rei. She lay quietly in her seat, eyes closed, as the professor spoke. Shinji thought she was asleep at first, until she turned her head, tracking on the professor's walk back to the front of the room.
The professor looked around the classroom. "Begin."
Shinji looked over to Kensuke. The Native grinned madly as he furiously banged away on his keyboard. The first step of the drill was connecting to the Construct, simulating the process of making a connection to the Matrix.
Kensuke flashed a thumbs-up to the two. "We are jacking in," he announced. With a final push of a button, Shinji and Rei were connected to the artificial world.
A cramped office appeared around them, the phone on the desk ringing insistently. Rei picked it up and held it to her ear for a moment, then set it down again. Her gentle voice rang clearly in Shinji's ears, though her lips never moved. "Kensuke says the necessary data is in a folder."
Rei turned to the cluttered desk and picked up a file that sat on top of the mass of papers and books. Scanning its contents she turned back to see Shinji staring at her. "What?"
Shinji shook his head quickly. "Sorry. I guess I'm not used to hearing you speak."
"Does my voice bother you?"
"No, not at all. You have a very nice voice," Shinji said. "Uh, I mean, that it's nice to actually hear you speak. Er...uh, what I mean is..."
Rei waved the folder in the air. As much fun as it would be to watch Shinji stick his foot further into his mouth, they had a task to complete. "We should go."
Shinji nodded agreement, knowing his pride had been beaten beyond recognition.
They stepped out of the office and into the kitchen of a bakery. They walked through it, and out the front door. The employees spared them a quick glance, but did not interfere.
Shinji looked around as they stepped out. "Where are we?" he asked.
"Europe, I believe," answered Rei. They were in a small mountainside town, under the shadow of a snowcapped peak. The rest of the town was laid out below them.
Shinji took a moment to examine himself. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt, similar to his old school uniforms. A dark jacket was added to this, and he could feel the weight of a pistol in a shoulder holster. It felt familiar, despite the fact her had never carried one before.
He glanced over to Rei. She was dressed in similarly; black slacks, white shirt, and a black jacket, which hung to her knees. A gust of wind blew the jacket open around her, and Shinji spotted the pistol holstered on her hip.
Rei opened the folder, showing it to Shinji. "We must go to a bank to retrieve the flag."
Shinji looked at the single note inside the folder, telling them where to get the object. "How do we get there?" He asked.
"Call our Operator," Rei answered, as though it was perfectly obvious. She started expectantly at Shinji.
Shinji eventually caught on. "You want me to call?" When the girl nodded, he began searching his pockets. He found a cellular phone tucked into one of the jacket pockets. He pressed the phone's talk button and held it to his ear.
The phone rang once. "Operator," he heard.
"Kensuke, it's me, Shinji."
The Native sighed. "Yeah, I know that. You need directions or something, right?"
"Yes. Do you know where we're going?"
"Yeah, it's the town's main bank. Go south about three-quarters of a mile, then go east after you pass the town hall and you'll see it. Simple, right?"
"Yeah," Shinji agreed.
"Good. But there are a lot of cops active for some reason. I don't think there will be Agents, but be careful," Kensuke warned.
"Okay. Um, anything else I should know?"
"Probably. Call me if you get lost. Operator out." Before the phone disconnected, a faint, amused "newbies" was heard.
Shinji turned to Rei, pocketing the phone. "He said go south, then east at the city hall." The girl started down the street, and Shinji followed her. "Oh, he also said there were a lot of cops around."
Rei nodded and continued walking. Shinji looked around as the road led them downhill, into the heart of the town. "Where are we, anyway."
"This is called EuroTown, one of our training maps." They walked in silence for several more minutes.
A military jeep approached them, with a soldier manning the roof mounted machine gun. "Did Kensuke mention military forces?" Rei asked.
"No, he didn't," answered Shinji, watching the vehicle pass. The gunner glared straight at them, and Shinji was certain the machinegun would swing toward them at any moment. It did not, and the vehicle continued on down the street. "Will they come after us?"
"Possibly," answered Rei. "The professor does do things like that," she added.
They quickly reached the town hall, and turned down a side street. They arrived at the bank and Rei stopped, looking around. She pulled out her own cell phone and called Kensuke. "Has anyone else arrived?"
Kensuke took a moment to answer the question. "I don't think so. The other teams should all be getting close though. Get the flag and get out quick."
"What about the military?"
"They seem to be spread randomly around town. Try not to make them angry."
Rei sighed and hung up the phone. "Let's go," she said to Shinji.
They walked into the bank and looked around. Rei nudged Shinji forward, toward the teller counter. The woman behind the counter looked up and smiled blankly. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm here to get the flag," Shinji said.
The woman continued to smile. "I'm sorry, what do you need?"
Shinji glanced back at Rei who stepped forward. "There should a package waiting to be picked up."
The woman looked down at the counter. "One moment, let me look."
As she searched the area behind the counter, the doors to the bank opened. Shinji glanced over his shoulder and saw two other students enter. In the blink of an eye, Rei had her pistol out, aiming at the boys. They dove for cover as she fired, drawing their own weapons. Shinji flung himself to the floor as they returned fire.
"Um, sir?" Shinji looked up and saw the teller leaning over the counter, still smiling. "I believe I've found your package." She handed a box labeled "Zion" to him.
Shinji numbly took the box, noting the blood flowing down the woman's shirt. She sat back on her stool, ignorant of the wounds, and continued her work.
When the other team stopped to reload, Rei rushed forward. She leapt forward and viciously kicked one boy into the wall, then spun and fired her last two bullets into the other. She turned to Shinji as she slid a fresh magazine into her pistol. "Do you have it?"
Shinji stood shakily and held the box up. "Let's get out of here," he suggested, looking at the damage. Blood pooled around the two fallen students. Shock and adrenaline caused Shinji's stomach to churn.
They stepped onto the street and heard police sirens approaching. "This way," said Rei, grabbing Shinji's sleeve and running into an alley. Using the town's side streets and alleys, they managed to avoid the police and soldiers. Sporadic gunfire told them that some of the other teams were not so lucky.
They got lost once, and had to call Kensuke for directions. He quickly got them back up the hill, within a few blocks of the bakery they would escape through.
As Shinji rounded the last corner, a fist appeared and smashed into his jaw. Shinji tumbled back, dropping the box as he fell. Touji appeared over him, grinning. "Sorry, new kid. I'm afraid I had to do that."
Rei grabbed her gun, but had it kicked out of her hand as Asuka leapt forward. Shinji tried to stand, only to be kicked away by Touji. The boy grabbed the box and turned to run.
"Shoot him!" Rei yelled. Shinji drew his pistol and automatically sighted on the fleeing boy's back. He held his aim, but couldn't make himself pull the trigger.
Behind him, Rei threw Asuka over her shoulder. The redhead landed on her back next to Shinji. Before she hit the ground, her weapon was out, and she fired a single round into Rei's chest.
Shinji gasped as his teammate dropped to the ground. "How...how could you?" he asked.
"Idiot. It's not real, this is a simulation." Standing, she demonstrated by shooting Shinji in the shoulder.
The boy fell back, instinctively clutching his wound. He gasped at the burst of pain, and its immediate disappearance. "It's not real," he echoed.
"Right. If you hadn't hesitated, you might have shot my moron teammate, and then maybe had a chance at winning. Maybe." Asuka leaned forward, tapping Shinji on the head with the barrel of her pistol. "Next time, DO NOT HESITATE." She turned and strolled down the street, mumbling loudly about incompetent boys.
Shinji's cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and pressed talk.
"I'll log you out now," said Kensuke.
Shinji pulled the phone away from his ear, and stared at his blood-coated fingers. Everything flashed green for a moment, and then went dark.
Shinji opened his eyes to find his Operator standing over him. Kensuke reached around and removed the link plug from his head. He looked over to the other chair. Rei's plug was already removed, but the girl still appeared to be asleep. She lay there for a moment, before her eyes fluttered open.
"I'm sorry about that," Shinji began, when she turned to him.
"Do not worry about it," Rei signed to him. "You did well for your first exercise."
"She's right," added Kensuke. "You managed not to get hopelessly lost or do something stupid. That's better than most newbies do." Kensuke leaned back in his seat and sighed. "This sucks though. If those two win, we won't hear the end of it."
Rei walked around to Kensuke's operator panel to watch the developments. "Perhaps they will be too busy arguing about who deserves more credit," she offered.
Kensuke smiled. "I hope so." He pressed a few buttons, and a section of the code on one screen changed slightly.
Shinji stepped next to the other two and watched the screen with them. "How do you know sign language?" he asked the operator.
Kensuke glanced pointedly at him. "I learned it the old fashioned way. They don't let idiots into the school, you know." His expression quickly changed to a wry grin. "Well, not idiot Natives, at least."
"Kensuke believes knowing how to communicate with me will get him assigned to the Neb someday," Rei said.
"Jeez, you make it sound like I'm a stalker or something," Kensuke complained. "I'm just trying to be the most complete operator that I can be."
Rei did not respond to Kensuke's defense, calmly watching the code. After a moment, she sighed faintly, and turned toward the other end of the room. "They will be out in a moment."
Motioning for the boys to follow, Rei crossed the room to Asuka and Touji's station. Their operator greeted them cheerfully. "Hi Rei, Hi Kensuke. You guys did pretty good."
"Not good enough," grumbled Kensuke.
"Hey, there's always tomorrow," she offered. "You're Shinji, right?" she asked, offering her hand. "I'm Kelly."
Shinji shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."
She smiled brightly. "You too." Kelly, Shinji thought, was a girl who was not bothered by anything.
Kelly swiveled in her seat, turning her headset on. "Operator." She paused for a moment, then continued. "One exit, coming right up."
With the press of a few buttons, Asuka woke from her digitized dream. "You don't have to let Touji out, do you?" she asked.
Kelly laughed. "Too late."
Touji woke with a smile on his face. "Who's the man?" he asked loudly.
"Not you," said Asuka.
"What?!"
"You took off running as soon as you got the flag, abandoning your own teammate. Fortunately, I was able to keep Shinji from putting a bullet in your back."
"You're just mad because I'm the one who got the flag."
"An idiot like you would think that."
"Shut up, Red."
"Don't make me hit you again!"
"Are they always like this?" Shinji asked. Rei, Kensuke, and most of the rest of the class nodded.
"We should leave before they start throwing furniture," said Kelly. "Again."