Good day, this will be chapter three of NGST however it technically would be episode two. I'm using the #.# system in case I ever have to split one episode into many parts as was demonstrated with the past two chapters. this is also by far the longest chapter I've put out so far at ~12k words, I am not sure how to feel about this. we do get a battle scene here at the start and next chapter will include a far larger one being the first time the Preceptor-Intendant is deployed.
I've had a few people ask questions and comments about the story so far, and I thought I'd take a bit at the start of episode two here to address them as best I can without too much spoilage.
From kukuhimanpr:
"so shinji didn't exist in this au then?
i'm dreading the moment lanthanein meet asuka. that'd be a very tense relationship if he had to deal with asuka's infamously extreme-tsundere-temper that hides her total insecurity"
for the first question all I can say is Shinji does exist, technically, I'll let you judge for yourself if the changes that I've made really qualify him as being the same character. but the whole goal of this fic was to try and use 40k to make the ending of EVA better, yes I know Bhepin technically already did this, but it was a bit too mundane for my taste, in other words not enough 40k in the 40k crossover.
as to the Asuka question, I personally am really excited to get to episode 8 and beyond, and it's getting genuinely difficult to not rush through straight to that. I've got a lot of ideas that become feasible once we get the full team, and I think you all will really enjoy them, (particularly the game of swordfight) but I know if I rush the rest of the story will suffer, so I'll just keep them locked up in my head for now.
from Brother Bov:
"Thank you for the chapter.
There was 1 or 2 grammatical issues.
Criticism out of the way, I cant wait for the other pilots to be introduced. Our Princeps, veteran that he is, can take the role of mentor that every one of them seem to lack"
I try to keep the mistakes as minimal as I can, but I haven't heard from my beta in nearly two weeks, so I've been doing my own editing. hopefully this chapter is a bit better. as for Lanthanein taking on a mentorship role, potentially, he might not be that much older, but Lanthanein is still a trained titan princeps and has been for almost 5 years by this point. that might not seem like much in the scale of the Imperium, but he also grew up and was trained in the years leading up to the Heresy. Basically while he's the newest member of Crypt Borealis, he is far from inexperienced.
I want to offer thanks to anyone else who left kind words in the comments of the last two installments and I hope you all enjoy episode two.
NGE:CA 2.1
Chapter 3
Ignota Laquearii
Lanthanein lay in the silent, dark room. He had finally gotten to sleep after nearly sixty-seven hours awake (Imperial combat stims are a hell of a thing), but one could hardly call it restful, he tossed and turned as he unconsciously relived the events of the past three days. Sun streamed through his window but he took no notice of it, this was not uncommon for those coming down off high doses of combat stims. In Imperial custody, he would likely have been put into the care of the medicae as the drugs were filtered from his body slowly over the course of a few hours to limit the extent of the crash. Fortunately included as part of his MIU implant suite was a 'filter' of sorts to ensure his brain did not go into a coma from the crash, but it worked slower than the full size imperial machine.
Within his muddled mind Lanthanein saw himself back in the control sanctum of Borealis Aristaios being transported from the Fortress-Crypt to Cuniculum D-16 Zephyrus to deal with a fellow God-Engine driven mad by the loss of its Preceptor-Intendant. Its name was Polaris Ephialtes, it had been deployed to the tunnel to stem a tide of traitor engines. They had gotten the better of it and it was currently advancing up the causeway acting on its own, firing at friendly Custodes forces, and was headed down a tunnel that ended in the lower levels of the Imperial Palace itself. It was imperative it, and the traitor Legios behind it, be stopped. Given as Borealis Aristaios was the only currently unoccupied Ordo Sinister God-Engine in the area, its deployment was imperative.
The immense cargo mag-lev blew its horns as it slowly slid to a stop at the end of its track. The station clamps locked the train into the station and the God-Machine which dwarfed even the incredible size of the cargo train blew its warhorns and began to walk. As he kept the titan walking with part of his mind Lanthanein only half-listened to the briefing being given by Grandmaster Ferromort, the man had come up with plans to take out a fellow Psy-Titan nearly two decades ago just in case such a thing was ever necessary.
Things were far too quiet, he thought, as each foot crashed down on the near mile wide catwalks of the tunnel. Lanthanein sent a pulse to Darkness and switched his displays to an overlay of EM and thermal, he still saw nothing, not even any living Custodes. He set Silence to expand his search area on all sensorium fields, not five minutes ago he had heard a report of steady but bearable engagement from the Shield-Captain assigned to this segmentum of the palace, entire Custodes shield-hosts were not supposed to disappear without a trace in the middle of combat. Lanthanein kept an eye on any pings he might receive from the Moderatii-things and blink-clicked a rune in the manifold, bringing up a text document of his orders for this operation and laughed at them again.
"Disable Polaris Ephialtes without causing Engine-Death. Use of Sinistramanus Tenebrae NOT authorized prior to pacification of Polaris Ephialtes. Destroy or halt passage of Traitor forces following in wake of Polaris engine at all costs. Return to Fortress-Crypt for debriefing." He sighed "And how do they expect me to do all that without using the Left Hand?" he asked to the semi-sentient not-men bound to the three moderatus positions by nests of wires and cables. Silence thrashed about, but none answered.
The Preceptor-Intendant looked over the half-things in front of him once again, he had lost count of how many times he had looked them over by this point, they just seemed to draw the eye. Darkness had no arms or legs. He was bolted into more of a cradle than a throne, Bolts driven through his shoulders and spine held him in place, his primary MIU connection drilled straight into where his eyes once were. Silence retained his arms down to the elbow and had cables sprouting from the stumps as well as from the bottom half of his torso which simply ended just above his navel and became a mess of wire and metal framing, his primary implants burrowed into where his jaw and lower face once was. His throat bulged from the mass of wires that forced their way down to his vocal chords. Pain was the most intact of the three having full limbs that ended where her hands and feet would have been. Her arms and legs were held to the throne by a set of welded manacles. Wires and cables flowed from the stumps of her limbs into various panels around her, her primary implant fed into the sides of her head where once ears dwelt.
Silence pinged the Manifold and Lanthanein had his void shield up before the sound had even faded. Las blasts slammed against the shield to the fore as it flashed a bright blue and the whole God-Machine shook under the force. A blast from the Left Hand of Polaris Ephialtes flew by at a leisurely pace, Lanthanein found it odd the berserk machine was seemingly only firing charged shots. The orb of cannot-be hit a wall of the tunnel and left a perfect 12 meter wide hole where it impacted. Firing poorly or not one hit from the Tenebrae will be the end of me. he thought as he maneuvered Borealis Aristaios behind a collection of pillars to provide some cover.
The berserk God-Engine fired with is carapace blasters on the collection of support pillars anyway, not understanding or not caring that none of its shots hit its target. As it continued its las barrage Lanthanein took a moment to plan his approach. If he could get into melee range of the berserk Engine he could incapacitate it easily, particularly since its void shields appeared to be offline, however approaching to that range while it battered him with lasfire and potentially shots from it's Left Hand of Darkness was not conducive to his own survival.
The Preceptor-Intendant pulled up a 3d map of the local area through a Noospheric overlay and immediately noticed more pillars of similar layout and construction on the other side of the tunnel walkway, an idea began to form in the back of his mind and he quickly tasked a portion of the God-Machines cogitator array with devising a short simulation of the result of a loss of support in this section of tunnel. As the cogitator ran Lanthanein took a step out from behind the mass of pillars and traded lasfire with the maddened God-Machine, he was pleased to see its void shields remained down when his fire crashed into its carapace armor blasting through in two places and leaving large smoking craters. Borealis Aristaios drove back into the cover of the pillars as the void shields continuously flashed from blue to an angry orange under the hostile fire.
The cogitator chimed as the simulation finished, Lanthanein blink-clicked it back to the forefront of his vision and watched as the simulation showed the roof of the tunnel collapsing and making the entire causeway impassible. He knew that with the way open he only had a short time before the Traitor forces reached him and he was trapped between two enemy forces out for his blood, he made a decision and opened fire on the pillars as well.
Moments later, the pillars he was using for cover were reduced to little more than standing rubble, multiple shots from the Polaris engine broke through the near pulverized pillars and impacted on his void shields. Lanthanein made ready for his charge. As his God-Machine pounded around from behind the ruined structural supports he pushed the Heart as much as he dared without dropping his void shields and forced the machine into a run. Keeping a warlord titan running was not an easy feat, not only because a machine its size was never meant to cope with the repeated stress that running put on its joints and structure. Balance was also a concern yet somehow the Preceptor-Intendant kept the immense machine upright and underway until its charge plowed it right into its foe, shoulder-checking the other giant machine into the other collection of pillars. It tipped back and cracked a few under its gargantuan bulk, but it did not fall far enough and was able to right itself.
Lanthanein used the few milliseconds of breathing room to route power from his motivators back to the tri-las blasters on his carapace and opened fire at point blank range on the other God-Engine. It's warhorns blared as it got back up and brought its Arioch around in a punch that smashed right into the side of Borealis Aristaios' head, Lanthanein grit his teeth and growled against the pain as the whole machine staggered back. The entire control sanctum shuddered. He checked the Manifold, the armor was holding for now. Lanthanein blared his own warhorns at the berserk machine and advanced on it, still firing, he swung his machine's body around and backhanded the other with his own Arioch shouting "Mori in nomine Imperatoris!" as he struck.
Darkness overlaid a priority warning in the corner of the manifold, power buildup in the Left Hand. Lanthanein looked down and saw the telltale signs of the Sinistramanus charging and quickly swung his Arioch down to bash the Psycho-arcane weapon's muzzle away from his God-Machine. It fired a split second after his Arioch crashed into it and the orb of nonexistence flew harmlessly off into the other grouping of pillars. The tunnel shook and some pieces of rockcrete fell from the ceiling to the causeway below.
The berserk God had risen again by now but was pinned by Borealis Aristaios against the group of pillars. Lanthanein grabbed the other machine's helm in his power claw and threw all the force he could muster into pushing it away. Polaris Ephialtes stumbled back crashing through the pillars behind it and staggering further as large chunks of masonry fell on top of it, crushing one of its lasblasters which promptly exploded leaving a gaping hole in its left shoulder. The Enemy's Sinistramanus Tenebrae now hung limply from its mount and the God-Machine's warhorns blared as if it were in pain. Psychic phenomenon began manifesting around the machine as it tried to fire its Left Hand but was unable to direct the energy to the weapon. Lanthanein closed in one final time and, using his Arioch, dug his claws around behind the head of the crazed Psy-Titan and tore its head from the rest of its body.
Borealis Aristaios dropped the head by its foot as it and its Preceptor-Intendant surveyed their handiwork. Lanthanein blared his warhorns in triumph and pulsed a data packet and gunbox footage to the Polaris and Borealis command cadres that the titan was pacified. He took a moment to catch his breath. His breath quickly and immediately caught in his throat when Silence pulsed a warning that the power draw to the wreck's Left Hand had risen to far beyond firing level. Lanthanein tried to swing Borealis Aristaios around to get out of range of the detonating weapon, and very nearly did, but a God-Machine can only move so fast…
Lanthanein awoke with a loud clatter as he sat bolt upright from his slumber, his Inhibitor did not move at quite the same rate and he whacked the bridge of his nose on the rim of the gorget. He cursed under his breath and rubbed his face. Misato heard the commotion and stuck her head into the bedroom "Welcome back to the land of the living, Lanthanein, you've been out almost 24 hours!" she said cheerfully.
He looked at his wrist chrono, he wasn't even sure if it remained accurate, 06:00 it read. Lanthanein grimaced and stood, stepping over to the desk and pulled his tall boots on. Misato chuckled at his clear distaste for mornings and sleeping attire "You know you didn't have to sleep fully clothed right? This place is yours." she pointed out as she smirked at him
"I did not think to pack for an extended stay in a temporal backwater Commander, my apologies." He replied icily as he rose and placed his hat back on his head, he decided to leave his greatcoat for the time being.
"You didn't really need to bring nightclothes, either, I promise not to come over and peek" she said totally straight-faced.
Lanthanein narrowed his eyes at his supposed 'superior' (who was clearly barely holding back laughter) in his bedchamber doorway in a thin sleeveless yellow top and exceptionally short grey shorts and spoke "Of course not, that is why you are here in my hab at 06:00 in the morning" he said tonelessly before changing the subject "Has humanity developed some form of Recaff by this time? Or will I be forced to go without?" Misato's composure finally cracked and she burst out laughing as she stepped out of his doorway to the apartment's small kitchen.
"Recaff? You mean something along the lines of coffee or tea?" she asked opening a cloth bag and removing a can, setting it on the counter. Lanthanein looked at it, the can was marked with a strange collection of symbols he could not decipher. Misato meanwhile fought with the bags to get the rest of their contents out and arranged on the counter
"Recaff, it is a beverage. Usually brown or tan in color, depending on the drinkers tastes and additions. It is made by running hot water over the ground remnants of a bean and collecting the liquid that filters through." He explained as he yawned and watched the woman do battle with the contents of the bags she had brought
"Lanthanein, you just made coffee sound like the most unappealing drink Ive ever heard of… good job on that, Ritsuko will love it." She laughed as she slapped a hand on top of the can "Here's your Recaff, you seem to understand how to make it well enough, the machine is over there" she said as she pointed to an oddly shaped machine a few feet away.
Lanthanein stepped up to it picking up the machine and examining it, he found the hatch to access the water reservoir and basket easily enough, and as he was about to ask for some form of filter he found Misato had already found and handed him one from one of the small white packages she had laid out on the counter. The process of filling and doling grounds into the machine went by without incident. Then he closed the lid and clasped his hands in front of him as if praying. His mouth moved silently forming words quickly and with precision, after a few seconds he opened his eyes and pressed the activation rune.
Misato watched him through his ritual with confusion, when he opened his eyes and pushed the power button she asked "What was that all about?" he turned to her and looked back, just as confused "What was what about?"
"The… I dunno… it looked like you were praying to your coffee machine. Do you future people worship coffee?" she asked with a laugh
"I was merely observing the Ritual of Activation. Surely you also offer praise to the machine so it functions properly in this time?" he asked still confused by her line of questioning
"N-no…We don't…At all." She replied even more confused than he was now.
"Well then, it's no wonder your construct was unable to defeat the Neverborn beast. How do you expect to have technology work properly if it is not appeased?" Lanthanein scoffed as he watched the coffee machine brew.
"Anyway Lanthanein" Misato began, changing the subject as she opened the fridge, lest they end up on some form of religious tangent she placed a large cardboard box at her feet and began emptying its contents into the fridge. "We're going to have to go into NERV in a little while, I've got my duties and there's a bit more onboarding and paperwork that needs to be done to get you fully in NERV's database." She pulled out a can from the box and sat down at the table opening it and taking a long draft from it. Lanthanein sat across from her with his coffee, his face immediately scrunched up in distaste.
His eyes lit upon her beverage "Synthol? At this hour Commander Katsuragi? Where did you even obtain it, I know there was none in here yesterday." he asked, his dislike clear in his voice and expression
"What do you think was in that box I just emptied into the fridge there? It's warm, but at this point I don't really mind. And what's wrong with having it now? Do you Imperials not drink in the future?" She joked as she took another drink from the offending can.
Lanthanein bristled at that remark "It is not that we do not consume Alcohol, most Imperial citizens simply do not begin consuming it immediately after awakening." He replied icily taking a sip of recaff from his own mug. Upon actually tasting it he held the mug up in the air in front of him, nodding approvingly at it.
Misato noticed his approval of the coffee machine's labors and shot back "Look you, give me a break or I'll revoke your coffee privileges, I can take that can away as easily as I brought it." she threatened. This was enough to get the Imperial to cease his haranguing over her habits, some things just span the gulfs of time and the human love for hot morning caffeinated drinks seemed to be one of these things.
"Commander Katsuragi-" he began before Misato interrupted him again
"Misato! Lanthanein, Misato! Just call me Misato." She shouted then preempting his response "That's an order, no more of this 'Commander Katsuragi' crap. Particularly when we're off duty."
Lanthanein looked a bit miffed, but continued with his question, trying out her given name for the first time "Misato… would it by chance be possible to retrieve my gamma pistol once we return to the facility? I admit to feeling rather indecent without it."
Misato looked at him, incredulous "Lanthanein, I have never heard anyone make 'I feel naked without my gun' sound so un-cool, you've got a real talent for that." She said before bursting into giggles. Lanthanein continued to look miffed.
Trying to arrest her giggles she forced herself to be quiet then mumbled to herself with a faux accent similar to his own "I admit to feeling rather indecent without it" before bursting into giggles again. She finally regained control of herself a few moments later and answered him "Yes, Lanthanein, we can stop and get your gun."
"My thanks" was his only reply as he stood and rinsed his cup in the sink, he looked around for soap and some way of scrubbing the cup but found nothing; he reluctantly left it on the counter. Misato appeared next to him and pushed a small bottle of blue liquid and a cloth across the counter to him
"This might help." She said. Lanthanein nodded his thanks and placed them near the sink and turned away "It seems we could both serve to get ready for the day if we must leave soon, I shall take my leave to do so." He said as he headed for the hall and the bathroom.
"Well, you're not wrong Lanthanein, I'll come get you in a few minutes given as you still don't have an ID to get in through the gates" Misato told him as she headed for the door
Lanthanein exited the bathroom a few moments later, he had done the best he could but there were some rather integral personal supplies that he did not pack when he walked with Borealis Aristaios, as such, he had no toothbrush or comb or even soap for that matter. He resolved to request a trip to the commissary before the end of the day, he was sure the base would have one.
Misato was still missing when Lanthanein stepped back out into the kitchen. In her absence he decided to do something about the state of the kitchen, starting with the dishes. even in the twenty-nine thousand years in the past humanity still took care of meal cleanup in a similar manner. It only took him a few minutes and he soon found himself continuing with organization, almost forgetting he was not back at the Fortress-Crypt. By the time Misato stepped back into his kitchen, now dressed as she had been the day before in that same black dress and red jacket. He had totally cleaned the kitchen, including storing the various necessities she had left him, plates, flatware, cups, glasses.
Misato looked at her watch as he turned to face her "We should get ready to go, I have to report in an hour and we have a few things to do before that." She told him as she stood near the door.
"Very well, I shall retrieve my greatcoat." Lanthanein said as he disappeared into his room, he returned a moment later with the coat on and buttoned. Misato had no idea how he got it under the collar he wore so quickly
"Isn't that collar heavy? You have to get tired of wearing it at some point right?" she asked him as he followed her out of the hab, closing the door behind himself.
"It is necessary. My presence leads to increased tensions and generally anger, sometimes towards me other times just general agitation. Nevertheless in order to promote an efficient environ I wear it." He replied as they walked down the balcony towards the elevator.
She paused for a moment before something else occurred to her "Hey Lanthanein, does your titan have any sort of radio communication system? I think it could help us coordinate the next time you're deployed."
"Radio? As in a vox? Yes Borealis Aristaios has a vox unit, it operates off of an encrypted channel, but I can provide the codes. Logoi Akagi and Communication officer Maya's solution, while ingenious at the time, would be far too slow and complex for use in combat. Alas if only your organization had access to some form of Noospheric or Manifold connections, the data exchange and monitoring could be far more effective, the vox will really only allow us voice communications." Lanthanein said as they waited on the lift to arrive on their floor.
Misato looked up thoughtfully "We might have something, or at least have a way to kludge things together, I'll give Rits-chan and Maya-chan a call and see if we can swing by when both of them are in today" she said as the elevator arrived surprisingly quickly. It was, thankfully, empty.
"On the topic of today's agenda, would it be possible to stop by the base commissary Misato? I am a bit embarrassed to admit but I did not come prepared with the proper supplies for an extended stay away from the Fortress-Crypt." Lanthanein asked as he took a position in the far corner of the small metal box of the lift.
"OH!" Misato's head shot up in surprise as she realized "You're right, you don't even have a toothbrush do you? I'm sorry Lanthanein, none of that even occurred to me last night." She answered upon the realization that she had actually made him spend the night with literally nothing but the clothes on his back.
"An apology is unnecessary. Tensions were high, I was running on nothing but combat stims and I am sure NERV had likely been on high alert for a long period as well." He explained while they stood in the quickly descending elevator.
Misato reached into her coat pocket to retrieve her phone and gave Ritsuko a call "Hey Rits" … "Do you have time this morning that you could meet up with the Preceptor-Intendant and I?" … "He has something he want to discuss with you about his titan and communication, hey, bring Maya too." Misato flipped the phone closed and returned it to her pocket then addressed the Preceptor-Intendant "She says she can meet with us later this morning, I'll go check in at the Central Dogma and after that I should be free to head down there with you."
"In that case, does NERV have some form of archive I could browse? I wish to familiarize myself with the history of this time." Lanthanein asked her as the lift dinged and the doors opened
"We do have an archive, I don't know how much information we will have that you don't already know, the records from the thirty-first millennium must be more complete than ours are" She answered him, stepping from the elevator and starting off down yet another hallway identical to the many others in the geofront
"There lies the problem Misato, the Imperium retains almost no information prior to the advent of the Age of Strife circa M20. I, prior to my arrival here, had no idea that Humanity of M2 had access to even what technology I have seen so far." He said as they turned down another identical hallway.
"Really? Wow, what happened in M20 that Humanity seemingly lost its entire history?" she asked stopping in front of a door marked with more odd symbols, and beneath it in Low Gothic, read 'Armory'
"To My understanding? A collection of calamities, the opening of the Oculus Teriblis, the war with the Men of Iron, and then a massive upswing in the number and severity of warp storms galaxy-wide leaving much of Mankind cut off from itself and in a state of starvation, war, and death." He told her, following her into the armory and looking around, taking in the various and numerous stub weapons on display. "Does NERV maintain a firing range?" he asked idly as he stepped away to look at a collection of blocky black pistols on a nearby counter.
Misato's eyes went wide at his description, she didn't know what a 'warp storm' was or a 'Man of Iron' but if it was bad enough to kill an entire galaxy spanning empire it was clearly serious. She did her best to answer his next question while also negotiating with the armory attendant to get his gun back to him "Yes NERV has a firing range, it's next door but you'll need an ID to swipe first. When we meet with Ritsuko later we can handle that too."
He finished examining the weapons on display, the armory attendant shooing him away multiple times as he tried to pick up weapons that were still undergoing repairs and maintenance, and stepped back to where Misato stood. She looked at him bemusedly as he came back He's like a kid in a toy store she thought. "You can have it back, but I've been ordered by Ikari to tell you not to pull it on anyone who works for NERV" she told him, stepping aside to let him collect his sidearm from the case it had been placed in.
He checked it, ensured the safety was engaged, and placed it in its holster under his coat. Having the weight of the Gamma pistol back on his hip was comforting to the Imperial, like a little piece of home he could carry with him. Lanthanein smiled. "You have my thanks Misato, I appreciate the trust you are showing by vouching for me on this matter."
"You're welcome, I don't think you're going to go trying to take over NERV or anything like that. Come on, I'll take you to the archives and give you a chance to look some things over." She said as she led him out of the room and back out into the repetitive halls of the Geofront.
The two walked through the halls in companionable silence until they reached another, larger, door. Misato swiped her own ID card in the reader to the right of the door and led Lanthanein inside. The room was long and crowded on all sides with filing drawers and boxes of paper. Down the middle of the room was a number of tables laden with cogitators and more papers, overall the room was a rather cramped affair. To Lanthanein it looked very similar to some of the deeper chambers of the vaults of Mars and the lower levels of Fortress-Crypt Borealis.
Misato had left him there after ensuring he knew how to access the cogitators and logging one on with guest credentials, Lanthanein sat and began to browse, starting with NERV itself, he found out some basic information about the function of the EVAs. Nothing, however, to explain why the immense machines seemed to bleed. He tried to look deeper, to locate documentation on how the machines were constructed but he always came up with documents either so heavily redacted they were unreadable, or sequestered documentation that was not even on hand. The Preceptor-Intendant was becoming frustrated at the utter roadblock he was repeatedly running into. He decided to make note of things and begin looking into personnel records to try to get a sense of the competency and accomplishments of the people he would be working with. He moved quickly through the command cadre of the organization: Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, Ikari, and two he had yet to meet Makoto and Shigeru. All of their pasts were more or less as he had expected, all were highly skilled and had been handpicked by NERV for their respective skills, this was perfectly reasonable for such an organization.
It was then that Lanthanein stumbled upon a folder titled . He opened it in the cogitator's interface and saw three files listed. They were labeled simply and in order; First Children, Second Children, Third Children. He clicked the first one in the list and it opened to a profile of a blue haired, red eyed, young woman. She looked to be more or less his age, and aside from her peculiar hair and eye color she looked to be entirely ordinary, he noted she was only a few years younger than he was, 20. Then he scrolled past the initial profile of the girl to her history and prior assignments and was met with a single line. It read 'Currently assigned as Pilot of Evangelion Test Type Unit 00' the rest of the document was a solid mass of redaction. Lanthanein scoffed at this, what was the point of even having the document when the redaction-ism was this heavy? He looked for the location code of the paper copy of the document, this one, unlike all the other documentation he had found so far held a different and very clear locus code: Ikari, Central Dogma, 001.
Lanthanein moved on to the next file, He planned to prod Misato with questions later about the other pilots he would be working alongside. He tried to open the next file, but found that the Cogitator would not respond to his clicks, he delivered a light blow to the side of the machine while reciting the Litany of Rapid Processing. It didn't help, the machine still would not let him access the file titled Second Children. He moved to the third, this one did accept his clicks, but it did not display a file. Instead he was brought back to the initial directory and given a warning that read [ACCESS DENIED]. Lanthnein sighed inwardly again, NERV was clearly hiding a great deal.
A few moments later he had moved on to trying to learn more about Tokyo-3 and the NERV base, this 'Geofront'. He found some basic information about the city: population, location, industry information, expected growth projections, none of this was particularly useful to him. He tried digging for information about the Geofront but soon realized that was the wrong move. He was yet again kicked back out to the initial directory, only now he found himself totally locked out of all data on the cogitator. Lanthanein stood from the desk and looked at his wrist chrono, if it were accurate he had been here for two hours.
He dug through the filing cabinets for a while, but most of what he found was either useless to him or so heavily redacted that it was unusable. he took notes on what little he was able to gather and returned the documents to their proper places, he had gotten no information on history in this period, the NERV database had nothing on it about anything prior to 'Second Impact' and he could get no uncensored information regarding that event either. He wondered if this city had some form of schola, he did not desire to sit through lectures with children, but it may well be his only option to learn the history of this archaic time. Another thing to ask Misato about.
Misato returned to collect him a few minutes later, seemingly unaware of his difficulty. He stood and stretched as he followed her into the hall. "So did you find what you were looking for?" she asked cheerfully as they walked through the featureless halls
Lanthanein looked at her out of the corner of his eye, deciding what to tell her. "In all honesty? No, I did not Misato." was his answer as they made a turn and she pressed the call button for a lift.
"What happened?" she asked, turning to face him with her back to the lift.
"I was initially browsing information on your own machines, these Evangelions, I found basic data but nothing to inform me of their strengths or weaknesses in combat. I then moved on to try to get a sense of who I would be working with and while the Command crew's profiles were readable with no issue, when I moved on to try to get a sense of the other princeps I would be fighting alongside I hit a rockrete wall. Only Rei Ayanami had even basic information listed and aside from her current assignment nothing else was readable. The locus code states the document is kept in the office of Gendo Ikari." Lanthanein stopped speaking as the elevator doors opened, inside stood Gendo and Fuyutsuki, clearly their conversation had been interrupted as well by the elevator doors opening on this particular floor.
Gendo smiled coldly when he saw Lanthanein, he tilted his head in such a way that the light in the ceiling of the lift car glinted off his glasses just right so as to obscure his eyes from view. "Lanthanein, good to see you" He said, his smile only growing colder "It is my understanding that you have been looking into our history, trying to familiarize yourself with the modern world. Tell me, have you had much success?" he asked stepping to the door and holding it open with one hand, clearly not intending to leave until he received an answer.
Lanthanein glared at the head of NERV. He did not trust this man as far as he could throw him, which admittedly was probably rather far he was far from the most imposing man Lanthanein had seen. (the inhibitor was heavier than Ikari looked to be.) "I have found some of what I was looking for, I sought some files on recent history but NERV does not seem to possess such data." Lanthanein answered icily.
"Hmm. A shame, perhaps try a library?" Gendo replied as he stepped back into to elevator and addressed Misato for the first time "You can take the next car I trust, Yes Commander Katsuragi?"
"Yes sir" she replied as the door closed.
"I think it's clear who locked you out of the system, right?" she asked Lanthanein once the door was closed fully.
"Clear as Armourglass." He said dryly as they stood awaiting the next (hopefully empty) car. "I was serious about the lack of historical records not pertaining to NERV in the database, I would like to get at least a basic grounding in local history and potentially language if I am to be living in this time for an extended period. I hate to cause such disruption to the current period's scholum but I would appreciate the chance to sit in on a few of the lectures."
Misato caught onto his meaning quickly as the next elevator car arrived. "Well, putting you in a class with schoolchildren would be rather disruptive, I agree, but maybe not so with a university class. You're about the right age that people normally attend university, I can have some primers brought from a local library to give you a basic grounding in history and then get you enrolled in a few classes at the University of Tokyo-3." She thought for a moment and then asked him "How fast do you usually pick up on things Lanthanein?"
"I have, in the past, had to study and retain the entire history of the Martian Mechanicum in a matter of months. While I did have the help of a more basic stage of MIU implant, it was still approximately five thousand years of history in under a year. Does that give you a sufficient idea?" he asked in reply. His tone was curious, not superior or self-aggrandizing, Misato took this to mean he genuinely didn't know that this was a rather notable feat.
"Do you think you can get a basic grounding of a few thousand years in about a week?" she asked him, more direct to her point now "Because I can likely get you a start date of next Monday. You arrived at a good time; its not too late in the year, you can probably catch up, and Rei is enrolled at the University too. Having someone else her age there from NERV might be good for her." She explained.
Lanthanein nodded at the NERV Commander's idea "Yes Commander I believe that may just work. If you are able however, I would still like to take a look at the specs on the Evangelions. The profiles of the other princeps I am going to be working with as well. Knowing what their general dispositions are prior to meeting them could assist me in promoting good relations."
"I can get you the specs for Unit 00, Unit 01 was destroyed immediately prior to your arrival, so its specs are moot. As for the other pilots, the only Pilot currently here is Rei, you'll meet her yourself next week. She was badly injured when Unit 01 was destroyed, but you can get to know her then." Misato told him, she saw him grimace when she suggested he get to know her himself. "What's that face for? You don't want to meet her?" she asked.
"I merely find it beneficial to have some idea of who I am meeting prior to our first meeting, particularly those who will be fighting directly at my side." He told her as she smirked at him.
"What I'm hearing is 'Lanthanein is shy and doesn't like meeting new people" she laughed, the elevator door dinged and she stepped out "Don't worry Lanthanein, she's really a nice girl, a bit quiet, but so are you. You'll get along fine I'm certain, just socialize a bit."
Lanthanein 'hmphed' to himself as he followed the NERV Commander out of the lift and a short way down the hall to Ritsuko's lab. The two of them stepped in and were greeted by both Maya and Ritsuko standing at a table in one corner, both looking out of a window at Borealis Aristaios. Maya turned as Lanthanein and Misato came in and said hello, Ritsuko called her own greeting over her shoulder too occupied with whatever they were watching through the window.
"What's got you two so focused?" Misato asked as she and Lanthanein made their way across the room. When they got to the window her question was answered. A crew of workers was lowering a series of wires and cables down to the top of the God-Machine. Lanthanein stiffened when he saw the crew. "What are they doing?" he asked the two researchers.
Maya turned to explain "They're working on connecting Borealis Aristaios to the diagnostic system we use for the EVAs, we thought we might be able to see if he needs any repairs or anything. We also have a simulator that I'd love to be able to adapt to work with your titan, not just for your own training, but to help our other pilot get used to the abilities of your God-Machine once she's better."
Lanthanein nodded in acknowledgement "Very well, however, please consult with me before undertaking any major repairs, I do not think Borealis Aristaios will mind a diagnostic but if repairs are completed without proper sanctification or reverence His machine spirit will be wrothful." He warned her as he observed the workmen connecting the last few cables. He placed his hands together and offered a Prayer of Appeasement to the machine spirit of the God-Machine. He realised he would need to find someone in this time who held the sort of reverence for machines that was necessary when maintaining an Engine, a problem for the near future, he thought.
Maya watched him as he conducted his odd ritual, Misato had told her and Ritsuko about the coffee machine incident earlier on the bridge, she had suggested that with a machine as complex as a titan, it must have some form of minor AI to handle its lesser functions, and perhaps it was just self aware enough that it could demand 'respect' from its users. She had suggested they hold off on any repairs until Lanthanein could clarify for them, which he had just done.
Ritsuko stared at the screen of her laptop which she had a number of cables plugged into from the wall. She tried the usual way of pulling an EVA diagnostic and got a collection of errors. Maya walked over the take a look as well and after a few moments of intense whispering, pointing, and wild gesticulation Ritsuko suddenly cried out "Maya you're a genius!" and the screen began scrolling with an immense amount of information.
Lanthanein walked over to the desk, judging by the titan's lack of reaction they had not angered it. "Have you succeeded?" he asked the two Logoi.
"I think we have, I've got specs and diagnostic data here coming thru the Magi, I had to route it through there but it seems to be able to learn your more advanced systems without too much trouble" Ritsuko told him. She turned to him for the first time since he had arrived "Misato said you wanted to talk about comms between the Central Dogma and your God-Machine?" she asked as she let the Magi translate the data it had pulled to english.
"Yes, Misato had suggested the vox, but if your cogitator array can, in fact, commune with Borealis Aristaios then a Manifold connection may be plausible" he told her as he leaned over to see the screen of the small cogitator. After a few moments of studying the screen he turned and nodded "It appears your 'Magi' is more capable than I expected. It is having little difficulty with the understanding the Manifold. I believe if I were to connect to the MIU link in the control sanctum I could communicate with you through the manifold, possibly even wirelessly." He mused as he browsed the data coming from the God-Engine.
"Lets give it a shot!" said Misato, she wasn't sure precisely what the three were on about but she understood enough to be able to tell that it was a good sign. "Ritsuko, do you think we could route things to the simulator control room to test that out at the same time?"
"I don't see why not, Maya grab your laptop, I think I'll need you to try to catch anything major before it hits the sim control and crashes it." Ritsuko said as she disconnected her own computer and headed for the door.
Misato took Lanthanein to the hangar and let him in before rushing off to the control room herself. Lanthanein made his way into the titan quickly and took his seat upon the Throne Mechanicus. He offered the machine a quick series of the Litany of Joining and plugged into the machine. His mind raced as he felt the familiar rush of being joined with a 30 meter tall war machine, he also felt the anger of the machine; not directed at him but there nonetheless. Misato had gotten the vox codes for the titan's vox before she had left him and once he had brought the Heart up to a minimal output level he accepted the transmission.
"Lanthanein, can you hear me?" she asked, testing if the codes were working
"Affirmative Commander Katsuragi, We hear you." He said "What is the next step?"
Maya chimed in now "We have everything set up on our end, I suppose start by bringing the titan online if you can"
Lanthanein thought for a moment before replying "I cannot bring the machine to full wakefulness, that would be too much strain on my Servitor-Moderati for any sort of regular use, it would also mean that any action I take in the simulation Borealis Aristaios would mimic. I have heard, however, of princeps in the legio titanicus occasionally 'dreaming' with their titans. The princeps and God-Engine relive a past battle and potentially even take different actions to what truly happened allowing for both to learn from past mistakes. I will attempt something akin to this now, I do not know what will result. Brace yourselves."
He let himself go deeper into the link, rousing the machine spirit to wakefulness but not any of the Titan's systems he felt it's desire for war, it's rage, it's strength, the raw power he held at his command. He willed it to commune with the Magi system and it obeyed. It reached out and found the threads that the Magi left for it and followed them, The Machine, guided by it's Preceptor-Intendant found it's way to a void. Lanthanein opened his eyes on the Throne "We are here." He said.
Meanwhile, throughout NERV, the lights dimmed or flashed, some computer terminals glitched or crashed and the Magi flickered in and out of connectivity before everything stabilized. A vitals box, similar to that of an EVA connection appeared on the main screen in the simulation control room. it displayed Lanthanein's vitals as well as a live feed of his face, his eyes had rolled back in his head they could see, it was rather unnerving for all in the control room. "We are here" Lanthanein spoke.
Misato answered as Maya and Ritsuko were busy high-fiving and celebrating "We have a connection Lanthanein! How are you feeling?"
"The strain is bearable for the moment. Is the simulation system working?" he asked unsure if he just wasn't comprehending the data.
Maya returned to the line "I'm bringing it up now, I don't have any sort of model for your Machine right now Lanthanein, so I'm using the old Unit 01 model for the purpose of this test. We just want to see if you can hold a connection and maybe take a few steps"
"I understand. I am ready to start when you are." He said and soon a cityscape was laid out before him. He realized he stood in the retractable part of the city, giving him a large open area to maneuver in.
"Ok Lanthanein, let's start by taking a few steps forward" Misato said. Lanthanein complied and took a few steps forward. The simulation took this without an issue, and the model EVA took a few steps forward.
"Connection holding" He said over the link. He flexed his right hand unconsciously and the model EVA did so too.
After trying out each of the other cardinal directions the two Logoi deemed the test a success, their final test being a wireless test. Borealis Aristaios was patched into the Magi by way of a wireless link and the hardwire connections were disengaged as the work crew left the hangar. The simulation held, the EVA model was still able to move on command from Lanthanein. The comms remained strong throughout. Maya wanted to do a shooting test, but when Lanthanein tried to 'power' his las-blasters the simulation began to glitch out. Maya took this as a sign that enough was enough until she could solve the whole "incomplete data" issue.
"Alright, test complete Lanthanein, if possible Id like to get some specs for your machine so I can get the simulator set up to work with Borealis Aristaios." Maya told him as the cityscape vanished from his vision
"Understood Lieutenant Ibuki, I shall send a data pulse of basic information regarding my Engine along with a basic 3d model from the onboard cogitators. Use it for whatever needs NERV may have for it, I expect you may be interested in keeping it on file to be aware of the abilities and limitations of Borealis Aristiaos. Should you have any further questions regarding the function of a God-Machine, I will answer to the best of my ability. It is my understanding that I am to be provided with identification and communications devices this day as well" Lanthanein said as he sent a data pulse with the information promised through to the MAGI system for Maya's use.
"Yes, I have an ID and phone for you Lanthanein, make your way back up here once you disconnect from your machine and I'll get you set up and make sure you're comfortable with them." Ritsuko answered at his mention of an ID and communicator.
Understood Logoi Akagi, I will make my way back to the control room straight away. Ave Imperator, Gloria in Excelsis Terra. Lanthanein Ex" He signed off and went about the painful process of disconnecting from the God-Machine and returning to life as a normal human again. The pain was minimal this time due to the fact he did not fully wake the Engine but it was still there. He felt the need to reconnect almost as soon as he pulled his MIU plugs, he fought it down and stood from the Throne. Lanthanein strode from the titan and out of the hangar, retracing his steps back to the simulation control center.
He entered the control room and was greeted by a smiling Maya and Ritsuko, Misato was nowhere to be found it seemed. "Excellent job Lanthanein." Ritsuko congratulated him "So there's a few things I need to get straight, mostly to ensure the safety of our crews when the do work on your machine. Firstly, how is Borealis Aristaios powered?" she asked, pulling up a document on her portable cogitator.
"Borealis Aristaios is powered by a Mars Pattern Plasma reactor. I will mention that before I deploy again I will require more coolant to be loaded into his tanks. Forwarded with the specifications of the machine are procedures that I compiled to the best of my memory for creating things like lubricants and coolant that will be acceptable to the machine spirit." Lanthanein explained, looking to Maya for confirmation when he mentioned the plans for various procedures, the communications officer nodded back as she checked the inload from the MAGI.
"Alright, do our crews need to worry about radiation when working on or near the reactor?" Ritsuko asked him as she noted down his response
"Only if the casing has been breached" he relied quickly
"Ok, next question, do we need to do anything to make sure the organic aspects of Borealis Aristaios remain…alive?" she hesitated on the last word, she was not sure if anything in that state could be called 'alive'
"No, the God machine retains enough nutrient fluid to keep all three Servitor-Moderatii operational for three years under full operation and ten in slumber. The reservoirs were freshly filled prior to my leaving the Fortress-Crypt, barring major battle damage I should retain enough for a significant period of time." He responded as he fixed his eyes on her from across the cogitator screen. The door to the room slid open and Misato stepped back in, she stayed near the door to allow them time to speak.
"Ok I think Ive got everything, so here is your ID" she said as she handed him a card, it had a magnetic strip on one side. The other had a pict-capture of his face and his name next to it as well as the NERV logo in the top right corner over the pict of his face. "I assume you have never used a cell phone before correct Lanthanein?"
The Preceptor-Intendant nodded, he was not certain what was even meant by 'cell phone'. Ritsuko handed him a small, crimson, polymer brick, about the size of the one Misato carried, that hinged in the middle. He opened it and stared at the keypad. Ritsuko took a few moments to explain the concept of a phone number to him and he interrupted her halfway through "What you are describing sounds near identical to the function of a direct contact code for a vox unit."
Ritsuko stopped, he seemed to understand the concept reasonably well so she moved on to an explanation of using the keypad as a keyboard to send a text message. He picked this up quickly and sent a message to Maya, who had offered to be the target for his first attempt. After going through the rest of the device's functions Lanthanein asked another question. "How will I know the contact code of another person? I did not think there were Noospheric augmentations to display such information in this time."
Ritsuko and Maya both looked at each other, perplexed. "We don't have any sort of augmentations like that Lanthanein." Ritsuko told him
"Then how do you know each other's contact codes?" he asked back
"We usually just ask the other person and then save them to our contacts list here." She helped him navigate to his contacts list. Misato had approached the group and now stood behind Lanthanein, looking over his shoulder. She grinned at her two friends and put her hands on the shoulder plate of his inhibitor as he squinted at the screen.
"Look at that Lanthanein, you got three girls' numbers and you didn't even have to ask. Good job." Lanthanein jumped when she unexpectedly spoke, whipping his head around to look at who had gotten the drop on him. He relaxed when he saw it was merely Misato, but he could not stop his face from burning as he knew it was when he finally processed her words. He ducked his head further down below the collar of the inhibitor.
"Will that be all Logoi Akagi?" he asked quietly.
"Yes I think so Lanthanein, thank you for coming by." The doctor replied as she turned her head to try to hide the smile at his expense that came to her face.
The Preceptor-Intendant rose and nodded to Maya and Ritsuko before leading the way out of the room, Misato following close behind. She explained that she was still technically on duty and led him back to the elevator to the hab tower. He was technically not assigned a post other than his titan and so was free to spend the day as he saw fit for now. Misato promised to look into enrolling him in the 'university' as she had called it, and to have some historical primers delivered to his hab unit for him to begin reviewing. Lanthanein accepted this with thanks and returned to his hab for the time being.
He had been sitting in his hab doing essentially nothing for nearly twenty minutes before he started to go mad from boredom. He walked around the entire unit enough that he was surprised he had not worn a rut into the floor. He sat and stared out of the window at the city, he noted the total lack of flyers and aerial transit. He tried to turn on what he assumed was the vidcaster, but he could not understand the words of the speaker. He did recognize some dark blurry images if his God-Engine engaged in combat with the creature however. He watched the broadcast until the announcer had moved on to other matters, it took a surprisingly short time, as if attacks from unknown beasts being stopped by equally as mysterious machines were a norm here.
Eventually he decided that for lack of anything else to do, he could at least write a report. He was not sure who would read it, but he knew that it always took his mind from matters when he did it in the past (future? He wasn't sure the proper way to address that). Lanthanein sat down at the desk that had been provided in his sleeping chamber and began to write, he was detailed but to the point. Just as he was finishing the buzzer at the hab door went off, drawing his attention. He had removed his inhibitor and hat and placed them in one corner of the room. He stowed his auto-quill back into the implant in the back of his right hand and went to the door.
The deliveryman suddenly felt very uneasy with his choice of actions, countless nightmare scenarios played through his mind of what sort of horrible monster lived in this apartment. He was not sure what brought him to this certainty, but he felt totally sure that the inhabitant of this unit would be the death of him in some horrible unspeakable way. He became more and more worried as the seconds ticked by, he started to feel sick around the time the door opened.
The inhabitant was a man about his height, his hair shaved from the sides of his head, leaving one strip on top of his head. One side of his skull was bare metal with a few wires sticking out and wrapping behind his head. The man greeted him in another language and stood there expectantly in his black and silver almost napoleonic style outfit. The deliveryman stuttered out a "D-D-Delivery." And handed the man a stack of heavy boxes from his hand truck, the odd man took them with little effort and put them inside his apartment. He said something else in his odd language and started to close the door.
"W-Wait, I-I-I need a sig-nature" stuttered the deliveryman as he held out a clipboard to the bizarre inhabitant who looked as him with expressionless eyes. The man took the clipboard from him and his hand split open, a small instrument settled itself between his fingers and he quickly scribbled something on the page. He handed the clipboard back to the thoroughly terrified deliveryman and the device retracted back into his hand as the door closed. The deliveryman ran to the railing and immediately emptied the contents of his stomach over the side. When he returned to the dispatch center his boss would send him home for the day due to how pale he had become, as well as the occasional mumblings about metal headed cyborgs with pen hands.
Lanthanein was glad for something else to do. He did not realize until Misato returned later that day that he had neglected to replace his inhibitor before answering the door. He had made a large dent in the books she had acquired for him by that time, his implant helping him catalog and recall information as he moved through each tome with impressive speed. Misato let herself into his apartment, he had yet to lock the door once. She stopped a little way into the kitchen as she felt the familiar and uncomfortable sensation of his aura. He stepped out to see who had entered and greeted her. Misato for her part merely waved back before asking him if he could put his inhibitor on. The Preceptor-Intendant's eyes went wide in realization and he nearly dashed into his bedroom, he came out a moment later with the metal monstrosity resting on his shoulders as he adjusted the dials.
"Better?" he asked as he looked at her, trying to locate any discomfort in her expression.
"Yes, Thank you, Lanthanein" she said embarrassed that she had to ask him to wear the contraption. "I see the books came, good" she noted, changing the subject.
Lanthanein picked up her desire and nodded thankfully "Yes they have arrived, I am honestly amazed that so much progress has been made in such a short time." He noted as she took a seat at his table
"I was able to get you added in to the roster at the university, they just had a transfer out of the history program so you were lucky to get in… Can you hand me a beer from the fridge there?" she asked him as he walked by the fridge to sit himself.
He slid one across the table to her and sat "So, when will I be starting these courses" he asked as she cracked the can open and took a long gulp.
Misato sighed happily at the contents of the can and took anther drink before answering. "You start next week. Monday morning at 08:00. I talked to Ikari, he was not happy with the idea at first, but eventually he came around. You will still be on call, if a angel attacks you'll be expected to get here asap to launch."
Lanthanein nodded "Entirely reasonable, particularly given I am the only currently active princeps."
"So I said I would take you by the commissary to get you what you need this morning right?" she asked rhetorically as she drained her beer and stood. She dropped the can in the receptacle under the sink as Lanthanein stood as well.
The two left his hab with Misato in the lead. Lanthanein checked his chrono, which he still had no inkling of the veracity of, and noted the time 15:00. He increased his stride until he was right next to her. three-quarters stride he thought in the back of his mind. "Misato, I have been trying to determine if my wrist chrono is correct all day, can you confirm whether or not I have the correct time?"
"Does the Imperium even operate on a 24 hour day as we do? With a galaxy spanning empire that's got to be tricky." was her reply, genuinely curious.
Lanthanein chuckled at the clever question "that depends on the planet, some operate on Terran time, others utilize their own planetary timescale. I was asking after the current time here on the Homeworld."
"Right now it is-" she checked her own watch and the display on the touchscreen display in the elevator car they had just stepped into "-15:02"
Lanthanein checked his watch nodding when he saw he was correct down to the second according to the lift car. "excellent."
The two of them walked into the base commissary a few minutes later, and Misato went off on her own claiming she needed to pick up a few things she needed. Lanthanein walked up and down the aisles of the small mercantile and wondered at the selection. No Imperial commissary Had ever been so well stocked in his experience, the only problem was that he had no idea what most of it was. He was able to find personal supplies easily enough however. He picked out what he could identify, given he could not read the packages he did rather well.
When he came back around to the section of the commissary stocking food he hit a roadblock again. Nothing looked even slightly familiar to him. He moved on from the section of foods stocked in wrappers and foil bags, if anything held true from his time, those items were hardly the healthiest or best tasting. Eventually he came upon a large refrigerator case, it appeared to be full of meat, none of it seemed familiar to him. It surely wasn't grox. Eventually he decided to just grab a bit of everything in the case. He hardly thought NERV would stock anything poisonous or overly dangerous to the body in their own commissary. When he made his way to the front of the shop carrying a precariously balanced stack of various boxes, packages and bags he saw Misato was already there.
Misato stifled her laughter as she saw Lanthanein carrying an almost cartoonishly large and unstable amalgam of items. She had already paid for her things and had been making small talk with the clerk, she stepped aside as Lanthanein reached the counter. It took the clerk a considerable time to get over her own fit of giggles and actually ring up the collection of items Lanthanein set before her. When it came time to pay it took Misato a bit of effort to explain to him how to do so, he had never had to pay for his own items before as the commissary in the Fortress-Crypt was little more than a stockroom, eventually they did work things out. She was thankful NERV had an expenses line tied to employee IDs, it simplified the task of explaining money to someone who had never even been paid before significantly.
As they returned to their level of the hab, Lanthanein posed a question he had been wondering about for the past few hours. "Misato, I assume I will begin having some form of regular duties within NERV at some point, I would know what they might be."
Misato slowed down to more comfortably speak with the Imperial "Honestly, aside from being on call in case of an angel attack, you really don't have many duties aside from making sure you're training regularly. Once Maya gets Borealis Aristaios added into the simulator we'll begin regular exercises there. Until then, I guess just stay active, you had interest in our range so feel free to use that. You look to me like you also work out on a regular basis, given you're coming from another military I'm assuming that's the case, so feel free to use the gym too, its on the same level as the range, but on the opposite end."
Lanthanein looked thoughtful as he reached his own hab unit's door "I would like a map." He told her simply.
"There should be one in the desk in your room." She told him
"I shall look for it. Thank you Commander, for everything." He replied. He made the sign of the aquila and bowed. "Ave Imperator" he said as he opened his door.
Misato answered him before he stepped inside "You're welcome, if you need anything else, don't hesitate to let me know, I'll see what I can work out for you. See you tomorrow Lanthanein." And with that the man disappeared into his apartment.
Lanthanein made a simple meal for himself that night consisting of what one package proclaimed in low gothic subscript to be 'chicken' and a collection of other items that the shelf tags had identified as 'potatoes' in a simple soup. It was not much, but until he had time to experiment with various other combinations, it was sufficient. Sitting down to eat he realized just how tired he truly was, he had not so thoroughly engaged in extensive social interaction in such a short span of time in years. He turned in early that night and slept soundly and dreamlessly. For once he was thankful that he did not relive any of his past battles.
The rest of the week passed with little incident. He woke early each day at 04:00 and ate a simple meal of eggs and something that resembled grox strips calling itself 'bacon'. He would then dress and make his way to the NERV gym, having spent two hours there he would return to his hab to shower and change. He would take the lift with Misato back down to the main levels of NERV and head for the range, after the first time when he tried to use his gamma pistol and melted a shooting lane, he would stop by the armory first to check out a stub pistol. He would spend an hour or two shooting, occasionally trying out different weapons. Then he would return to his hab and spend the rest of the day reading, studying, and preparing for the start of his history remedials.
Around 20:00 he would emerge from his hab yet again and make his way to the hangar where Borealis Aristaios was slumbering. Most days this area of the facility was empty save for the odd patrolling guard, they saluted his passing now and went about their duties. On his fifth day he encountered someone else, he came around the corner of the hall where the access door to Hangar 01 was and saw a figure he didn't recognize staring almost longingly at the door. This clearly was no soldier, firstly he was unarmed and unarmored, secondly he wore a red hooded jacket and carried himself with a slight slouch about his shoulders. Lanthanein was initially wary and called to the figure as he came down the hall.
"Good day, might I inquire as to the purpose of such an intense examination of my God-Engine's hangar door?" he asked the unknown figure who visibly jumped at being noticed. The figure turned towards him and through stuttering speech answered Lanthanein's question with one of his own.
"S-sorry Sir, can-can I ask, does this machine -um- move when you aren't in it?" he inquired as he shrank back from the door and Lanthanein as he approached.
"He can. Why do you ask?" the Imperial asked standing in front of the door "And who exactly are you anyway?"
"I-I'm Aida" he spouted still exceptionally nervous, Lanthanein turned up a dial on his inhibitor, increasing its effect, he had turned it down to encourage the menials to leave him alone. "Kensuke Aida, I work here nights mostly, in engineering. I'm here on an internship from the university robotics engineering program. I usually get stuck with the grunt work, like walking around making sure everything is in order before we leave at end of shift. The other night I had opened this hangar to look in on that colossus and I swear I saw it move its fingers." The young man threw his hood back after introducing himself, allowing Lanthanein to see his features clearly.
He was young, very young. Younger even than Lanthanein, in fact, the boy looked barely out of schola. His eyes were brown and full of something Lanthanein could not place, having never had such feelings directed at him before. He wore his blond hair short, coming to about the bottom of his ears, and slightly mussed. (likely from the hood) Aida was of a fair complexion, with chogoran features and held himself with determination now that he had recovered from the shock of being discovered and Lanthanein's aura.
"That colossus is Borealis Aristaios, Aida. Don't worry, He was probably just dreaming."
"You're really him aren't you?" he asked in a whisper, still in shock at actually meeting the man he had heard so many rumors about recently "You're the pilot of that thing in there."
Lanthanein thought for a moment, he had seen similar dispositions in the younger tech-adepts and enginseers on Mars during his time studying in the collegia. This was good, the young man may be just what he needed. .He decided to humor him. "I am Preceptor-intendant Lanthanein, yes." he said as he slid his ID and walked into the hangar, stopping just inside and waiting for Aida to follow.
"You said it was dreaming? You talk about it as if it's alive." Aida said as he hesitated at the threshold
When the young man stepped through the door the God-Engine turned its head towards the two slightly and flexed its Arioch "Borealis Aristaios is not dead metal Kensuke Aida, and He dislikes confinement" Lanthanein said, his voice echoing through the vast hangar with ease. Kensuke, for his part took having a thirty meter war machine look at you in stride.
"Why, Preceptor-Intendant?" Aida asked, following Lanthanein to directly beneath the plate covered head of the massive construct.
"Look at the size and power of Aristaios, my friend, where He walks the ground shakes. In His limbs resides the power to burn cities. He is used to being free. Titans loathe being boxed in like this. They loathe the impotence of dormancy." Lanthanein said as he gazed up at his Engine, taking a few steps closer to it until he stood right beneath its nameplate.
"What were you here for Preceptor-Intendant?" Kensuke asked him, backing up to the gantry rail to try to get a better view of the machine
"I came to think, to remember. I am part of Borealis Aristaios, Aida. We are one and the same, He and I. Admixed, like an alloy. I don't like to be away from Him for too long." With those words Lanthanein touched the nameplate of the God-Machine and its warhorns blared. Inside an enclosed space like Hangar 01, it was deafening. Lanthanein did not even flinch as he had been expecting it, Kensuke Aida was not. He'd had enough bizarre mechanical happenings for one day, despite his awe and burning desire to know more about this man and his machine, he ran.
"I should really go and report to my supervisor Preceptor-Intendant" he said as he turned and dashed from the hangar.
Lanthanein did not turn around but bid the young man farewell nonetheless "On your way Adept Aida, safe night to you. I expect we will meet again." Kensuke, having already slipped out the door, did not reply.
End 2.1