Well, this one had a bit of a wait for it didn't it? Longer than my usual output at least. Sorry about that. Between Thanksgiving, writers block, and then deciding attempting to cure the aforementioned condition by starting another run through Katawa Shoujo and subsequently falling down the fanfiction rabbit hole, I've not taken as much time to write of late. Hopefully things pick up now though, part of what held me up here was fitting everything I wanted in here so I can pick up with the Ramiel next time. Ramiel is gonna be a fun arc for you all I think, lots of combat that's certain. From there things will start to pick up plot wise, hopefully it wasn't too boring sitting through these first few chapters of mostly stage dressing. Anyways enough of my ramblings, hope you all enjoy this next chapter.
NGST 4.1
Recuperatio/Princeptii
Darkness reigned over the mind. A light, small at first, but growing fast, overthrew the tyranny of the dark. The boy awoke to a new ceiling. no, not a new ceiling an old one from long, long ago. He remembered this ceiling, though he could not place from where. The boy sat up and looked around, A room, His room, he felt as if he had not seen it in years, decades even.
"BOY!" came a gruff shout from beyond the door, the boy's head snapped around, eyes fearful. He remembered that voice, but from where… where… the heavy thud of booted feet came closer. The sliding door slammed into its pocket in the wall, silhouetted in the doorway of the still darkened room was a man of about 40 years. He was stocky and round, his hair was greying in spots and his dark eyes were furious. "What were you told yesterday Boy?!" the man growled.
The boy knew this man now, it was his uncle, he was not sure what he had been told yesterday however. The boy began to panic, His uncle stomped into the room. "You were to take the burnables with you on your way to school! Not only did you not get up on time, but you didn't take them either!" the man snatched up the boy's uniform and shoved it into his arms before bundling him out of the room roughly "Don't just stand there with that stupid look on your face! Get going!" his uncle shouted at him.
The boy threw his clothing on quickly and grabbed the offending bag of refuse. He heard a woman shriek as he rushed out the door "first your good-for-nothing father kills my sister, then he drops you off at our door you useless boy?! I'll never forgive him!" that would be his aunt he thought as he rushed out the door, narrowly avoiding her wrath as she stomped down the hall to intercept him.
The morning was off to a relatively normal start for him all things considered. He didn't think it would be all that smart to go back home tonight given their current mood, good thing it had been warm at night of late. He dropped the burnable garbage off at the designated area and headed down the road to school. He was a few minutes away from his destination, crossing a bridge over a small wooded stream, when he first heard it. It was a voice, starting soft and mumbling something he couldn't make out. The boy stopped halfway across the bridge and looked around, the voice came back sounding all around yet distant at the same time. " Come to me, boy" it whispered in his mind, the boy may have been young but even at his age he knew following the orders of disembodied voices was a very poor idea, he turned to continue on his way.
" BOY!" the voice shouted, sounding angry yet enticing at the same time. "Come here, I have a …gift."
The boy stopped again and spoke for the first time that morning "Who are you? I don't see you anywhere."
"Who I am is unimportant boy, what matters is my offer, no?" it said, returning to its soft, barely audible whisper.
"Following sourceless voices in the woods is a pretty common way for children to die in stories, I'll pass" he said aloud. The voice chuckled as if amused.
"A smart one aren't you? I do not intend to cause you harm boy, I wish to offer you an escape from your torment" It said, this got the boy's attention and he stepped off the road.
"What's the price?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh… nothing right now, merely your trust" it tittered cheerfully. The voice seemed to have a direction to it now and the boy took a few steps towards its source. He thought about what it was saying, if it really could offer some alternative to his current living situation it cant be that bad right? It wasn't asking for anything, maybe it really was some benevolent entity, that was possible right?
"W-what are you offering?" he asked it, suddenly nervous about the whole situation.
"As I said boy, escape. A freedom from your mundane worries, glory in service to the ever-shifting, all these and more… for nothing more than your trust and a moment of your time" the boy approached the creek side and stood on the edge of the small muddy ledge. It was very convincing, he peered through the bushes on the bank to try and catch a glimpse of the unidentified speaker. He could see very little and so he leaned further out from the edge. The boy lost his balance and tumbled down the bank and into the middle of the mostly dry creekbed. From the dark space under the bridge he heard movement, the boy got back to his feet and turned in the direction of the bridge.
Standing between him and the bridge was a cloaked man. He seemed to be very tall, almost otherworldly so. his cloak was torn and ripped in many places giving him the appearance of a vagrant. All the boy could see of the man was his general outline, as he was being very careful to not move more than necessary.
"Ah, there you are boy, it is good to see you face to face at last." It made a sound in the back of its throat that sounded like a mix of a chuckle and growl. "I don't often see children, I forget just how small they can be."
The boy stood unmoved by the odd, tall man. He narrowed his eyes at him "You said you had an offer, all I've heard so far from you is riddles."
"Ah, ah, ah, boy, all in good time. Change takes time after all, and that is what entices you about my offer is it not, Change?" It seemingly warbled these words out as if incredibly amused by some joke only it was privy to. The being glode back to the dark underbelly of the bridge, moving so smoothly it almost seemed to not be walking at all. It returned a few moments later with a small shiny sphere cradled in its greyish-blue, wrinkled hands. "Here, boy, my gift. As promised, no harm has befallen you." it chirped, sounding almost excited.
"A shiny ball? I don't see how this will help me" the boy said as he looked quizzically at the trinket the cloaked thing offered him.
"Oh ho ho ho ho! A shiny ball he calls it! What fun this child is!" the cloaked being chortled "This, boy, is the answer to your problems. Here, take it, take it, it is a gift after all!"
The boy held out his hands as the being dropped the odd ball into his grasp; it was a shiny multicolored metal ball which seemed to have a collection of tubes and the bottom portion of a skull attached to its lower half. There was only one button on the device that glowed a faint purple, it was significantly heavier than it looked and the boy nearly dropped it when its weight hit his hand. "It's heavy, but you still haven't explained how this is supposed to help me" he told the cloaked figure as it slowly moved away from him.
"Simple, my boy, simple; merely depress the activation rune on its surface. All will be fine from there" the thing rasped "Good luck boy, I will see you very soon."
The boy depressed the button on the strange device and waited, it did nothing at first and he looked up to confront the man only to find him nowhere in sight. He took a step forward, searching for the figure who had seemingly disappeared without a trace, then the device he held in his hand began to whine and vibrate. The boy looked at the thing in his hand and then, with a sudden and bright flash, knew no more.
Lanthanein shot upright as his dream came to a crashing halt, his nose also coming to a crashing halt right into his inhibitor's collar. He rubbed his face as he came to his senses, looking around the room. Aida stood near the bed, a chair tipped over onto the floor behind him, he looked at Lanthanein with concern.
"Preceptor-Intendant! You're awake!" the young man exclaimed as he recovered himself, he picked the chair up off the floor and took a seat again.
"Agh, how long have I been out? The Imperial asked, trying to take stock of the situation.
"About a week, Preceptor-Intendant, Touji and I have been here every day after class to see you, hoping you would wake up." The mechanical engineering student explained offering the titan Princeps a glass of water.
"Thank you Aida, the sentiment is appreciated." Lanthanein said, taking the glass and draining it quickly "Have you been tending to your duties? I would know how my Engine fares if you know."
"Well… Borealis Aristaios hasn't taken any further damage, but we also cant seem to repair anything on Him either, He keeps trying to electrocute the repair teams." Kensuke explained, clearly unsure how to articulate his thoughts in a coherent manner.
"I expected as much when I agreed to work with NERV, they do not know how to venerate the Machine Spirit properly." Lanthanein mused he turned back to the trainee engineer "Adept Aida, what is your opinion of Borealis Aristaios?"
"Me? Well, He's amazing. Simple language like that really doesn't do my thoughts justice but I don't know how else to put them into words. Borealis Aristaios is without doubt the greatest machine I have ever seen in my life." Kensuke replied, needing little time to compose his thoughts on the great Machine.
"Not as devout as the Priesthood of Mars, but Borealis Aristaios would likely accept it." Lanthanein mused. He addressed the man by his given name for the first time, banking on the implied familiarity to swing his decision. "Kensuke, I want you leading the repair efforts."
"ME?!" the other man exclaimed nearly falling out of his chair again "Why me? What makes you think He will accept my work any more than any of the more experienced engineers?"
"Because, you clearly hold great respect for Him. Yes, you ran on your first meeting with Him, but so did I the first time I saw a Princeps in communion with his Engine. The fact remains even after that experience you still venerate Him without fear. That is what is truly required here, the rites and sacraments are merely expressions of that respect and admiration. They can be taught, the more base emotions cannot. I want you to lead the repair team because you are the only one, aside from myself, the Machine Spirit will see as genuine in your ministrations." The Preceptor-Intendant replied swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
"But I don't know anything about this priesthood you're talking about! How would I even know what to do?" Aida answered him, still panicking over the responsibility being thrust upon him
"I will take you through the more basic rites, the ones I have participated in. The rest I will forward to you from the cogitators of Borealis Aristaios Himself." Lanthanein attempted to stand and found his legs extremely weak after his week in bed. Kensuke was up and caught him before he could fall, but Lanthanein sat back down for the time being.
"Aida, you are the only option I have right now, I have interacted with other repair staff at NERV, none of them have to correct disposition for this task. They think of my God-Machine as little more than any other mechanical construct, this is the root of the current problem. The Machine Spirit demands both respect and the correct rites and sacraments or it will rebel. You respect the God-Machine, you have the one thing I cannot teach. Please Kensuke, take this burden; if not for me, then for all mankind." Lanthanein's voice went quiet, he truly had no other option, that was enough for the young engineer.
He stood and bowed to the Preceptor-Intendant, "I will do as you have asked Lanthanein. I'm honored by the trust you are showing by asking me to lead the repair crew."
Lanthanein nodded in acknowledgement "My thanks Adept Aida. I suppose we should make our way to the hangar to get-" the man paused as he heard the door open.
In walked Touji, looking thoroughly flustered and red-faced, and Misato who gave Lanthanein a warm smile and wave. "Lanthanein! Good to see you awake at last! Is the 'sleeping long periods after piloting' a common thing with Imperial equipment?" she asked him cheerfully
"Usually, yes, however most God-Engine Princeps are at war for days, weeks, or months at a time. These Angels are certainly potent to be able to render me to such a state after so short an engagement." I have underestimated the enemy. I must not do so again, I may not be so lucky to survive next time the Preceptor-Intendant thought in answer to his own statement.
"Well it's good to see you up anyway. Its been lonely, not having you as a next door neighbor this past week." Her tone implied this was a joke, but Lanthanein couldn't help but see some true sadness in her eyes. Suddenly Misato's face fell, now looking concerned, but not at him. Lanthanein looked to his bedside for the first time since Misato entered the room and saw Aida was more or less out of action, his jaw had dropped open and he was staring straight at Misato clearly seeing nothing. "Is there something wrong with your friend?" she asked looking side-eyed at Kensuke.
Touji spoke up from his place leaning on the foot rail of Lanthanein's hospital bed "Lady, did you say the two of you are neighbors?" he asked softly, almost sounding defeated
"Yes, Lanthanein has the apartment right next to mine, which works out since as his commander I can keep an eye on him." Misato answered, getting annoyed now.
Kensuke finally closed his mouth and spoke at just above a whisper "That's it, His arrival consumed the entire pool of luck for all men for the next hundred years" He slumped on his chair as Touji nodded sagely and slowly sank to the floor at the end of the bed. Lanthanein looked between his three visitors, confused, but in better spirits than he remembered being in in a long time. Misato looked to him as if he had an answer for their behavior and he began to laugh.
Misato shrugged and walked over to the bed, setting the rectangular object she had been carrying down on the bed next to him. When his bout of mirth had passed she spoke again. "You had asked me a while ago for a way of doing your own research. I put your request in to Director Ikari but he denied it so here's my solution: This laptop is, for all intents and purposes, 'lost.' You didn't get it from me, in fact, I was never even here." With that she turned and headed for the door. She stopped before she walked out "And Lanthanein, it really is good to have you back, I was worried." And with that she slipped out of the hospital room quietly.
Lanthanein pulled the portable cogitator into his lap and opened it, it seemed similar enough to Imperial equivalents, if in a smaller more compact form factor. He spent a few minutes clicking his way around the desktop and familiarizing himself with its functions. It might take some relearning but I should be able to make use of this to break some of NERV's file encryptions he thought as he finally closed the device. Touji was standing and looking at him again, still incredulous.
"How is it that you get to live next to a hottie like that for three weeks-" Aida interjected from the bedside here "-And pilot an awesome giant war machine-" Touji gave his friend a stern look and continued "-and already have her into you?"
Lanthanein glanced between the two, confused "Into me? I very much doubt that. She is my commanding officer, it is only logical for her to want to check to see if I yet live, particularly given my position as the only currently combat viable Princeps in NERV's employ."
Aida stood and moved to Touji's side "Nah, I think she's definitely into you, L"
"L?" The Imperial asked
Kensuke and Touji both nodded
"You have left off ninety percent of my name" Lanthanein replied, deadpan.
"Well that's the only nickname that works for you, nothing else feels right." Touji explained. "You're a friend now, gotta have a nickname."
"I see" said Lanthanein, though he did not, not really. It warmed him to be called a friend nonetheless. "I had promised to head down to the hangar with Kensuke, I should ready myself and we can head there immediately. Have either of you seen my dolmen and breeches?"
"They're over here by the window" Aida replied, walking over and holding up the dolmen "They're not in good shape though."
'Not in good shape' was an understatement. The dolmen itself was soaked in dried blood and torn in multiple places. The breeches could be assumed to be in similar shape, the Imperial despaired at his decision to not pack for a longer period. That had been his only uniform, now what would he do?
"We saw that when we left the titan and figured you might need something else to wear when you left the hospital." Touji said, lifting the bag he had been carrying when he came in from the floor and setting it on the bed near the cogitator. "So I brought some of my stuff. I figure we're about the same size, so they should do until you can work something else out."
Lanthanein took a look through the bag Touji had offered him, it was not his preferred type of clothing. It looked more like the sort of thing he would wear to the NERV gymnasium, but it was clothing, he sighed and thanked Touji for the kindness. His two new friends left the room to allow him some privacy to get dressed. When he had finished he stepped out the door to join them, bag of clothing over one shoulder and the bag he had found to carry his ruined uniform in in his other hand.
The man looked extremely uncomfortable in his new outfit, he felt underdressed, as if he were running around in his undergarments. The three set off down the hallway in the direction of the red glowing 'exit' sign. "I should stop by my Hab and drop these things off, they will only get ruined if I bring them to the hangar." he told his two companions.
"You think your hot neighbor will be around?" Aida asked hopefully
"Unlikely. She is on duty on the bridge most days." Lanthanein told him, entering the elevator to take them down to the Geofront. He was not sure if he was technically allowed to bring Touji down here, but he figured he could smooth over any challengers they encountered well enough.
"Unit 01 is destroyed?! How is that possible? The Scrolls did not predict this!" the man under the Yellow spotlight asked, this was expected, he had always been the most cautious and mystical of them.
The Blue spotlighted one spoke next, "First your progeny disappears without a trace, and then Unit 01 is destroyed as well. A significant amount of resources have been sunk into the Evangelion project, Director. I think I speak for this entire council when I say that we are beginning to question if putting you in charge of NERV was the best choice."
Gendo sat at his desk and glared at the council. His hands crossed over his mouth and head angled just right so the glare from his lenses obscured his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the Red.
"And to top it all off you allowed a totally unknown third party access to the Geofront and NERV as a whole! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HIS MOTIVES?" the Red shouted, his general hotheaded demeanor shining through.
The Green spoke up next, "Now, now, perhaps this newcomer offers an opportunity, his technology seems leaps and bounds ahead of our own even from what little we have been able to glean. I have see the studies from NERV's science team, this 'Preceptor-Intendant' and his machine are surely something we can learn from."
The head of the committee at the glowing white head of the table had remained silent up till now, his eyes unreadable due to the large visor he wore. He shifted in his seat and spoke for the first time. "It is this council's opinion that answers are required to these questions. If you cannot provide satisfactory answers, Director, then we may be forced to find a suitable replacement for you and potentially even the organization known as NERV itself."
Gendo took the pause in Lorenz's monologue to speak. "I have compiled what answers I was able to in anticipation of this meeting gentlemen, with your permission, I shall bring you all up to speed on what we know now."
Lorenz's mouth shut as Gendo took the opportunity to interrupt his diatribe "Very well Director Ikari, Proceed."
"The whereabouts of my son, Shinji, the Third children, are still unknown. As such I cannot provide any further insight as to what happened on that front, however something interesting has come to our attention pertaining to our guest combatant. I asked Doctor Akagi to get a blood sample from him when he chose to join NERV, upon analysis he seems to be a near direct descendant of myself and Yui. None of this is known to him and we aren't certain ourselves as to the full implications of this information." The five old men at the table with him shared a look at this revelation, but none tried to interrupt him.
"The fate of Unit 01 is unfortunate but far from disastrous, our combat effectiveness is actually higher now than prior to the arrival of the Imperial. We will soon be back to full strength once Unit 00 is brought back into operation. The Second children has been called up and is currently being prepared and briefed for relocation to Tokyo-3. The Marduke Institute has begun searching for the Fourth, information will be forthcoming as soon as it is available. The curiosity of the Imperial is an annoyance that I had not anticipated, but I think he can be kept under control so long as he is kept out of NERV databases. Overall the Instrumentality Project is in a better place now than it was prior to the arrival of our guest, even considering the loss of Unit 01, I have no doubt that with currently available resources I can hold the Geofront indefinitely." Gendo went through his own monologue that he had thought up for the express purpose of appeasing the five old men currently appraising him.
"Director Ikari" said the Blue "You mean to tell us you think the Imperial is another clone of sorts?"
"No, were he a clone he would share no genes with Yui, or he would not be he. His genetics seem to suggest he is a near direct descendant of both of us, as if he is directly our child." Gendo clarified as the Blue and Green shared a concerned glance.
Lorenz asked the next question, one Gendo had been expecting since he had dropped the information. "Has it occurred to you that this man could be your son, the Third children? Is this possibility being explored?"
"I have ordered Doctor Akagi to investigate it as covertly as she can. I do not know how the Imperial shares my son's genes but it seems clear that my son could not have survived thirty thousand years." Gendo finished as Lorenz looked around the table
"Very well Director, you have sufficiently appeased this council for the time being. We expect you will continue to keep this information from your guest until we know the full implications of it, and we expect to be the first ones to hear any new information that you discover." The head of the instrumentality committee paused and stared Gendo down behind his visor "Keep the Imperial under control. He is a wild card, and could easily destroy years of carefully laid plans. That is all."
With that the lighted sections of table blinked out one by one and the lights in the room returned to their normal level gently. Fuyutsuki stepped up next to Gendo "You don't think he could be him do you?"
"Impossible. There is no way my son is still alive." Gendo replied, his voice annoyed "I'm going to see Akagi." With that he stood and stalked out of his lair, Fuyutsuki was left standing behind the desk looking out the window at the Geofront. The old professor shook his head "A dangerous game you're playing here, Ikari."
The three men walked into Hangar 01 to a scene of chaos, there were engineering staff running back and forth all over, Borealis Aristaios' upper chest armor plate had been removed and was currently hanging from a gantry crane in one corner of the hangar. The service catwalk immediately in front of the exposed machinery was charred and blackened. A man in a white hard hat came over to the three, looking vexed out of his mind.
"Aida! Just what the hell are you doing here at this hour? And who's this?" the man grumbled in heavily accented english, gesturing to the odd man with the big metal collar dressed in a t-shirt and track pants.
"Chief Steiner! This is Preceptor-Intendant Lanthanein, he asked me to come with him to check on the work on his God-Engine." Aida stuttered out, not expecting the head of the department to actually be around at this hour.
Lanthanein gave his usual salute and bow to the man "Salve."
"So this beast is yours then? Could you tell it to quit trying to kill us when we try to fix it?" the engineer scoffed and turned back to yell at one of the junior workers who was getting too close to the machine for his liking.
"Have you completed the Rites of Repair?" Lanthanein asked him matter of factly
"That religious mumbo jumbo that command forwarded? There no way this thing actually needs that crap, there's probably just a short in there somewhere. If we could get the reactor to shunt its power elsewhere I'm sure we could find it." Steiner replied incredulous.
"Ignoring 'that religious mumbo jumbo' is precisely why you are having the troubles you are. I am aware that the Truth of Mars is foreign to this time, but when I provided Lieutenant Ibuki with information on the requisite rituals for repair and rearmament of Borealis Aristaios I had expected them to at least be perused out of courtesy. I am not pleased engineer Steiner." Lanthanein took a step towards the shorter man, almost looming over him. To his credit Steiner didn't waver in the face of the Imperial.
"You want me to waste time swabbing your big robot with oil and waving incense around? Oil, mind you, that your directions say is supposed to be blessed, which I don't even know where to begin with, and incense that is basically just burning gasoline mixed with frankincense? You do realize how insane that sounds right?" Steiner turned to go back to work when Lanthanein's hand came down hard on his shoulder and spun him back around to face the Imperial.
Lanthanein spoke quietly even as fury shone in his eyes. "Engineer, I have been more than accommodating to your own beliefs, heretechnical as they may be, had you merely asked I would have gladly undertaken the ritual to bless the oil for you. I am ordained to carry out such tasks. I will NOT however stand here while you dismiss both my own beliefs, and basic necessities in maintenance of my God-Machine, to the detriment and endangerment of your own crew, myself, and this entire city. How many men have been killed so far due to your stubbornness?" Lanthanein paused, clearly expecting an answer.
It took Steiner a moment to catch on that the Imperial wanted an answer, he gave Kensuke a look but the man simply backed up a step further staring at the machine locked down in the hangar. "I haven't had anyone killed, no thanks to that thing." He jerked a thumb at the God-Engine in the bay, still not noticing the quiet that had enveloped the hangar. "But five of my boys have been zapped by that short in there that we cant seem to pin down." Finally noticing the quiet that had descended over the hangar, he turned around to yell at his crews to get back to work only to stop short when he saw the machine's metal plated face pointed down at him, he couldn't pin down how, but he knew the thing was staring straight at him.
"Chief Steiner, I will make this request once. I want Adept Aida to take over the lead of the repair crew for Borealis Aristaios under my guidance." Lanthanein said as he stepped up behind the man, ignoring the titan glaring down at them. Aida had recovered from his surprise and had approached the rail of the gantry to get a closer look at the damage to the machine. Touji had accompanied him but was clearly out of his element with this whole situation.
"Aida? Aida is nothing more than a trainee! He isn't even out of university yet! I cant let him lead my men." Steiner replied, indignant enough to tear his attention away from the glaring machine.
"I see. I believe have erred then, Chief Steiner," the Chief nodded smugly before Lanthanein continued "I told you I was making a request. I was not. I was presenting a demand, you will turn over leadership of this repair crew to Aida. I do not care how you run your others. The other machines of NERV are not my concern, Borealis Aristaios is. If you refuse to turn over this repair crew I will eject you bodily from this hangar if I have to, it is your choice. Consider which will allow you to retain the most respect from your subordinates and decide, we shall be waiting." Lanthanein gave his ultimatum calmly and stepped away to wait with Aida and Suzuhara.
Steiner stood dumbfounded, this new pilot was coming into his hangar and trying to order him around. He was impressed at the man's gall, but there was no way his stupid superstitions were necessary. "Now hold on just a minute! Who do you think you are? You cant just come in here and try to stage a coup against me in my own hangar, even if you do pilot this thing!" he shouted, waving an arm at the immense machine as he finished.
Lanthanein turned and glared at the 'Chief Engineer' "I can, in fact, do exactly that Chief Steiner. by disrespecting Borealis Aristaios you put not only your repair crews at risk of injury or death but myself and the entire city's population as well. If an angel were to attack right now, can you honestly say NERV would be prepared to defend the city? I refuse to allow this city to fall if I ca he n at all help it." He stepped up and put a hand on Steiner's shoulder "Now, it is about time you were on your way Chief Steiner." He told him rather forcefully as he half-led half-shoved the man to the door.
"Director Ikari will hear about this! You cant do this!" the man protested as he was shoved out the door. It slammed shut and locked behind him before he could rush back in.
Lanthanein turned and addressed the entire assembled engineering team, "Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, we can begin in earnest." He turned to the nearest junior engineer "You there, junior adept, bring me a drum of oil and twelve more labourers." The man rushed off, assumedly so he too didn't get tossed out the door. "Enginseer Aida, Suzuhara, I would speak with the two of you" Lanthanein called as he made his way to the walkway erected in front of the God-Engine's torso.
Kensuke and Touji approached him cautiously, judging by the scorch marks on the impromptu catwalk neither was sure they were comfortable being so close to the machine. Lanthanein remained silent until the junior engineer returned with a cargo pallet bearing a drum of oil and twelve extra men he had found somewhere. "Ah very good. Most of this blessing process is simple and can be consecrated by one person, but the number of disciples is rather important. Any twelve people will do, as there is only one set of tasks." Lanthanein explained to Kensuke as the two of then went and gathered around the oil drum. Lanthanein quickly undid the band holding the lid on and removed both.
"O Omnissiah! O Machine God!
We, thine humble servants, beseech thee.
Bless this, thy Holy lubricant,
That it may guard against friction
That it may protect against corruption
That it may safeguard the operation of Thine works
In nomine Deus Machina, et Omnissiah, et Vis Motivum
Amen"
The collection of men standing around the barrel shared a skeptical look but said nothing. Lanthanein deployed on of the other various tools contained within his augmented hands, this one a small blowtorch, and lit the surface of the oil in the barrel. The labourers surrounding the barrel all jumped back in surprise as the fire caught and flared up quickly. Lanthanein let it burn for a few minutes before slamming the lid back down on the container and putting the retaining ring back on.
"The Holy Oil is now blessed. Enginseer Aida, I trust you will find a source for frankincense, however for the time being, Borealis Aristaios should be content with this humble appeasement."
At Lanthanein's direction, the work crews quickly got to work on appeasing and then repairing the titan, each step he explained the reasoning for to Kensuke, fully intent on the man being able to take over such tasks as soon as possible. By the time the sun was setting above ground the crews had made excellent progress on the repairs, the structural damage being surprisingly rather minimal. The majority of the internal damage was in the form of misaligned parts which were quickly put to rights. What little did actually need replacement was thankfully all simple mechanical components that NERV had easy access to. The crew was not done by the end of the day, but they had determined that the titan would be able to be brought back to full operation within a matter of days.
Lanthanein and his pair of comrades left the hangar about an hour after the Preceptor-Intendant called a stop to work for the day. They had spent time talking after work had ceased, mostly Lanthanein explaining some of the finer points the Cult Mechanicus to Aida. Touji had listened but he honestly could not say he understood most of it. It seemed like a lot of religious jargon but it also seemed to work when they were repairing the machine. They now headed back to the elevator to Lanthanein's 'hab' as he called it. The man still looked uncomfortable in his borrowed clothes. The two men wished they could help him, but neither quite knew how.
The three entered Lanthanein's apartment only to find his commanding officer sitting in his living room. The Imperial's comrades looked between each other and Misato for a moment in surprise until Lanthanein greeted her casually, seeing nothing strange about her being in his apartment or his living room. Misato responded with a friendly wave and a "Hello" before noticing what the Imperial was wearing. Her mouth curled into a smirk and she repressed a laugh at how out of character he looked.
"Lanthanein, it's good to see you cutting loose a little bit, I was starting to wonder about you, always wearing that stuffy uniform" Lanthanein frowned at that, being reminded yet again about the bizarre feeling of wearing something other than an Ordo issue uniform.
The Preceptor-Intendant sighed "I do not wear this by choice Comm- Misato." He corrected himself, trying to comply with her requested informality, at least off duty "Alas my dolmen and breeches were ruined during my last Walk. I have yet to locate a sartorium to have another made."
"A what?" Misato asked not familiar with The Imperial's language as her colleagues were.
"A…" Lanthanein searched his mind for the word in Low Gothic "A fabric worker… someone who makes and fixes clothing" he finally settled on merely giving the definition.
"Oh like a tailor? There's probably a bunch up in the city." She answered, returning to watching the television, seemingly able to understand the gibberish local dialect that went right over the Imperial's head
"Feel free to make yourselves at home." He addressed the both of his companions before turning to Kensuke "I shall gather as much information as I can for you Kensuke and send it to your personal terminal so you might study it in your off time as you asked."
Lanthanein made his way to his bedchamber to retrieve the cogitator Misato had given him earlier that day. Aida and Suzuhara spent a moment standing in the entryway after their guide had run off when Misato addressed the both of them from her place on the couch
"Good to see you two stuck around, I'm glad he's meeting people outside of NERV" both me exchanged a glance, neither one exactly sure what to say in response to that. The silence stretched into awkwardness before she spoke again "So what do you think of him?"
Touji was the first to speak up in answer "Lanthanein? He's certainly… intense."
Misato snickered "Well, I won't disagree with you there, but I was referring more to what you gather from him as a person?"
"Well before I met him I wanted to beat his ass honestly." Touji replied "But after actually seeing him fight-"
"-Seeing him fight and getting your ass handed to you-" Kensuke interjected with a chuckle, much to the chagrin of his friend.
Touji fixed him with a glare, his face coloring at that embarrassing little factoid coming out in front of the dazzling commander. "Yeah… that…. But really, after seeing him fight and the effort and pain he goes through… I think it's a miracle that the city itself hasn't been totally destroyed by these things. I'm glad he's helping us out, we'd for sure be worse off without him."
Misato nodded at that before standing up and fixing her gaze on the other man "What about you?"
Kensuke's head jerked up from the screen of the laptop he had brought with him from the hangar "Me? What about me?" he stuttered out, not having been paying attention.
"What do you think about Lanthanein?" Misato asked again, rolling her eyes
"His beliefs are certainly different, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe they aren't correct. Once we got started doing things his way on Borealis Aristaios we had no issues at all" Aida answered her.
It was about this time that Lanthanein returned with his laptop. He remained standing in the entrance to the living room as he watched the three guests talk. "Interrogating my friends about me, are you, Commander?" he asked, his voice taking on a distinct aspect of humor at catching them in their conversation. He opened the cogitator and approached Kensuke a wire already plugged into the side of his machine. "This is everything that I was able to pull from Borealis Aristaios' cogitator array. It may take a while to copy all the data over, as such, I would extend an invitation to all of you for an evening meal."
Kensuke relinquished his machine to the Preceptor-Intendant, who placed both on the short table in the middle of the living area. Misato grinned at his offer "Aw, thanks, Lanthanein. I'd love to stay for dinner." Touji nodded in agreement walking over and finally taking the man up on his original offer of 'make yourself at home' as he sat down on the couch.
Misato returned to her own seat on the other end of the couch where she quickly sprawled herself out. Touji became particularly stiffer in his own mannerisms when she began encroaching on his side of the couch. Kensuke followed Lanthanein into the kitchen, partly to see if he needed help and partly to pelt him with more questions about the Priesthood. The Imperial was actually rather pleased with this outcome, certain he had made the right choice of Enginseer, he hoped he was up to the task of training him.
Within the space of an hour Lanthanein called all his guests into his rather small kitchen, the meal would be a simple and close affair, with four people in the room stretching the comfortable occupancy a bit. Touji and Kensuke both expressed great appreciation upon tasting his cooking and let themselves get wrapped up in the excellent food rather than start conversation.
"So, Misato, what brings you to my hab today? I do not believe I took the opportunity to ask earlier." He inquired as he put his utensils down for a moment. Misato put her own utensils down as well, a pair of sticks that she had attempted to show Lanthanein how to use but that he had never been able to get down. Her eyes went a bit wide at his question, as though she weren't sure herself.
"Oh…Well…Ritsuko asked me to let you know she wants to try a dual training between you and Rei when she heard you were awake." The woman hurriedly explained.
"Ah. Very well, tomorrow morning I expect?" the Imperial asked, clearly pleased at the thought of working with the other pilot for the first time.
"Yeah" she replied calmer now that it seemed he accepted her reasoning "Rits said 8:30 is when she'd like to start"
"Excellent, I look forward to working with Princeps Ayanami" he said.
After the meal had been finished Lanthanein's two fellow students took their leave Lanthanein agreed to lead them back to a surface lift that they could use and so left his hab with them. Misato walked with them for a time, not having anything else to do. She eventually stepped up next to Lanthanein
"Hey Lanthanein, you said earlier your uniform had been a bit ruined, we could head out tomorrow afternoon and look for a tailor if you wanted" she offered
"Wouldn't that interfere with your duties Misato?" The Imperial replied, pressing the button on the elevator for the two men and giving both his customary salute.
Misato answered as the doors closed behind his friends "Well, part of my duties are taking care of my pilots, ensuring you are properly dressed qualifies I think, no?" she said with a grin
Lanthanein chuckled at her insouciant interpretation of her duties "I suppose it could be interpreted that way. That sounds acceptable Commander, I appreciate the thought."
"Hey I heard about what happened in the hangar. I know Steiner can be stubborn, but throwing him out of the bay isn't really the best way to handle that." She said, trying to hold back a laugh and remain the picture of 'displeased commanding officer'
"He was doing nothing but injuring his own men and angering the Machine Spirit, what else was I to do? Lanthanein asked, unapologetic.
"Well, I don't know, what would have been done in the Imperium?" she asked. His response came immediately and without hesitation
"He would have been shot."
"Oh, right, well…" Misato trailed off and they walked in silence for a few moments "I talked to him, and he has agreed to stay away from your titan, but he wants his night crews to keep working on it" she said after deciding the silence had reigned for long enough.
"I have begun training Aida to lead the repair team for Borealis Aristaios. For now, so long as the crew continues to apply the oil I provided earlier, work should be able to continue through the night without incident. You can let them know this with the caveat that should any issue present itself, no matter how minor, they locate and inform me immediately." Lanthanein told her. They reached his door and Misato nodded.
"Alright, well, try not to throw anyone else out for the time being" She chuckled, "I'll let the crews know they can resume work. Have a good night Lanthanein."
"Thank you Misato, you as well." He replied as he entered his hab and shut the door behind him.
Lanthanein awoke at his usual pre-dawn hour once again and arose, he donned his training bodyglove and his inhibitor as he was about to leave his hab he remembered his power sword. He had left Borealis Aristaios with it on but it had not been in his medicae room when he woke up. He returned to his bedchamber, his sword was there, leaning against his desk. He would have to remember to thank Commander Katsuragi for bringing it back to his hab for him.
He spent his usual two hours in the gymnasium working at his physical training, after finishing however instead of retiring to his hab as he had done prior he went to the larger open room connected to the machine room. Here he ran himself through a series of basic one person exercises with his unpowered blade. He made his way back to his hab at 07:00 for his usual routine of a shower and to change into his uniform. He grimaced upon remembering he no longer had one.
When he reached the door to his hab he caught sight of someone disappearing into his hab as the door closed behind them. He loosened his power sword in its scabbard and approached his door carefully. He turned the knob and pushed the door carefully, drawing the blade as he went. The Imperial took a few quiet steps to the doorway to the kitchen, having heard noises from that direction, and slid his head around the corner just enough to see.
"Commander?" he asked stepping around the corner and sheathing the sword again.
Misato started and spun around to face him with a gasp. She was fully dressed today in he usual attire. "Lanthanein! I had thought you were still asleep!"
"No Commander, I rose this morning as I do every morning to train. It merely took me an extra hour today due to having use of my power sword once again." Lanthanein made his way over to the counter as she stepped away. She had already readied the recaff machine. He smiled and nodded to her in thanks as he gave it a prayer and pressed the activation rune.
"I must offer my thanks Misato, for dropping my power sword and gamma pistol off here in my hab after I lost consciousness. I genuinely appreciate it." he said after short silence.
"You're welcome, I wasn't sure if you'd want them right away but I also didn't want them to disappear on you." She said before lapsing into silence again.
"So what brings you here at this hour of the morning? You do not seem like a morning person to me" Lanthanein asked.
"I just wanted to let you know that we are all going to be meeting in the simulation control room before we begin the joint training. Ritsuko heard about your affect on Rei and wanted to discuss what could be done about it." Misato replied.
The two left the Imperial's hab a few moments later, Lanthanein carrying his recaff in a travel cup and made their way in companionable silence to simulacrum control. Ritsuko and Rei were already there when they arrived. It was a few minutes earlier than the time Ritsuko had specified but she addressed them as soon as the entered the room.
"Misato, Lanthanein, good to see you two. We were just talking things over, come on over." She said. Lanthanein nodded at the other princeps who stood expressionless as seemed the norm for her. at least she doesn't seem to be nauseous at my presence today he thought.
Ritsuko turned from the desk her cogitator rested upon and spoke first to Lanthanein "So Rei was telling me a little about the affect you had on her before the last deployment. It seems like you two should stay well apart from now on." Ritsuko told him.
"I agree Logoi Akagi" Lanthanein nodded "Given her condition and the affects I have on those like her, the two of us keeping our distance is only logical." He looked over to Rei, standing across the room from him and seemingly trying to ignore his presence. "I apologize again for the affect I have on you Princeps Ayanami, it is nothing I do intentionally, I would hazard to guess that you are more or less unaware of your condition, yes?"
Rei looked at him, confused, and shook her head "Condition?"
Lanthanein nodded "It is clear to me you are a psyker of some power. That is the only explanation for why you reacted in the way you did to my proximity in the lift." Ritsuko scribbled furiously on her clipboard and Misato stood next to the Imperial, not fully following the conversation.
"What do you mean she's a psyker?" Misato asked, he had mentioned psykers before but had not delved into much detail.
"Exactly that Commander, she has some considerable potential to be so affected by me. I do not think it should prove to be an issue so long as we are kept apart." He paused as he gathered his thoughts, "I am not overly well versed in pskyer-lore, but judging by the fact she is not currently retching or shrinking back in terror, I would judge that at full output my inhibitor is able to make me bearable at this distance. Am I correct in that assumption Princeps?"
Rei nodded, turning her attention away from him again. Risuko looked up from her scribing "Well, I guess that's about all we can do for now, given they both seem to have preexisting conditions we cant exactly force them to disobey their basic nature." She took a moment to look through her papers, "Lanthanein, Misato did mention in her last debrief that you said something about keeping your titan away from Rei and Unit-00 correct?"
The Preceptor-Intendant nodded, "Yes, given the Nature of Borealis Aristaios and its powers, allowing a psyker to get within close range of Him puts her at incredible risk of corruption. It is my understanding that prior to the age of strife the warp was far calmer, but there still exist a number of predatory entities that could target her if she is left too open to the warp." Lanthanein took a breath and fiddled absentmindedly with the dials on his inhibitor "A warp breach on Terra at this time would be bad enough, if the breach were to lead to the corruption of one of your Evangelions, the calamity would be made even worse."
Misato voiced a question to anyone in the room who chose to tackle it "So, If we were to bring another pilot in, how would we know if that pilot were going to suffer from the same condition?"
Lanthanein gave her a pleased smile "An excellent question Commander. However, given you were unaware of Ayanami's sensitivity, the only way I can give you to reliably test that is to bring me into their vicinity and have me turn my inhibitor off. If they are suddenly taken by the symptoms Ayanami exhibited, they share her condition."
Misato and Ritsuko shared a glance at this. Ritsuko scribbled something else down on her clipboard. "Well, if that's everything, lets get started with the exercise" Misato said, clapping her hands together. "Did Maya get everything set up?" she asked Ritsuko
"She did, the exercise for today should be a mock battle between you two and the two Angels we have already encountered. We'll start off with one on ones, and then move on to both of you working together." Ritsuko stepped over and checked her cogitator again and called over her shoulder to the Imperial "The report from the repair crew working on your titan says they think they've gotten the repair fully completed and are only waiting for Aida and you to replace the main chestplate."
"Excellent, I shall join Aida when he arrives for his shift this evening and we shall guide the process. Thank you for the update Logoi." Lanthanein seemed genuinely excited at that prospect. Misato gave the two pilots the all clear and they both left the room to prepare for their first joint training.
Lanthanein had placed his inhibitor in the locker and used a spare data cable to connect the cogitator Misato had gifted him to the array within the control sanctum. He had spent a few hours the night prior in a data-sermon, crafting a simple litany to grab as much data from the Magi as it could without being detected. He hoped something of value would be gleaned, preferably some of the information Ikari wanted hidden.
Lanthanein had a bad feeling about the coming communion. He still felt the desire to join with Borealis Aristaios once more, but he also suspected he would suffer Engine's anger at it's mistreatment. Suffer he did, as if the machine were laying in wait for him to connect, it pounced on his mind as soon as the last plug seated itself in his implant. Every nerve in his body screamed in pain. The enraged Machine Spirit tore at his mental defenses, Lanthanein grit his teeth and tried to reassert his dominance over the machine.
They fought back and forth, Lanthanein trying to block the Maddened things access to his mind, the Machine throwing itself at him over and over. After what felt like hours (but was likely only a few seconds) the Engine finally backed down. Lanthanein took a few moments to catch his breath before establishing a connection to the Magi. The connection felt different this time as the three Magi partitions connected.
They patched themselves in in sequence this time, the first one identifying itself as Darkness-Inferior, as the display came alive in his mind he found himself back in the cityscape once more. The next to connect was the one ident-tagged Silence-Inferior. Lanthanein's simulated auspex flared to life, he could detect the NERV Engine nearby in its own lift shaft. Its readings were odd, it seemed to have next to no reactor flare on thermal or radiation auspex channels. He noted the third partition connecting itself when he felt his body become that of his Engine. It, predictably, held the designation Pain-Inferior. Lanthanein went through a check to ensure the titan itself had not awoken, it had not it seemed Maya had done some improvements after his most recent Walk.
A ping in the vox system alerted him to a connection request. He blink clicked it in acceptance and heard Maya's cheerful voice greet him over the line "Morning Preceptor-Intendant! What do you think of the new layout?" she asked him excitedly.
"Ah, Lieutenant it is good to hear your voice. I was curious as to the provenance of my new 'Moderati-Inferior' as they seem to be called. They are your work I take it?" Lanthanein asked, unable to keep his own interest from his voice. She seemed to have a nigh preternatural sense for Imperial systems, he found this very interesting even if he could not identify how she worked ancient and Imperial systems together so seamlessly.
"Yep, we got all that data from your last deployment and I couldn't help but notice a number of improvements that could be made to make it a bit more familiar to you. How'd I do?" the excitement in her voice gave way a bit to be replaced by professional pride.
"Exceptional work, Lieutenant. I appreciate your attempt to make this simulacrum as accurate as possible for me." Lanthanein replied. Another pulse came through the vox and he connected it as well.
"Everything good on this end Maya?" Misato's voice came across the shared channel
"Yeah it should be al- OH! That's right! Lanthanein, this training session is going to be broadcast live here on the bridge. Orders from the Deputy Commander, so give it your best!" Maya answered.
"Very well, thank you for the notice Lieutenant. Commander Katsuragi, I am ready to begin if you are." The Imperial said, returning to his usual stoic demeanor.
"We're good on this end, Maya lets get the inter-machine connection online so our two pilots have direct comms." Misato gave the order in a friendly tone
"Yes Ma'am, bringing up the connection…Now." Maya complied quickly, getting down to business.
A small display flashed up in Lanthanein's Manifold showing a live feed of the woman in commanding the other machine. Lanthanein greeted her with a nod before realizing she likely could not see him, given the lack of cameras in the control sanctum. "Princeps Ayanami." He spoke after realizing his error.
A nigh imperceptible nod and short "hmm" were her only reply.
"Alright, this is going to be a simple training exercise." Misato began "Considering what we have seen of the angels so far, they don't seem to have any standard bodyplan so we'll be utilizing the program for the Third Angel: [ Sachiel]. The changes made this time are that this angel will have the telekinetic abilities of the Fourth as well as its original armament." Misato paused for a moment and Ritsuko picked up as if on cue.
"We aren't quite sure why the Fourth had telekinetic powers, but if this is going to be a common thing we need to be prepared to deal with it." Ritsuko answered, clearly an attempt at providing a reason for the change.
Lanthanein spoke into the silence that fell over the comms "The beasts are Psykers. This much is clear."
"What do you mean? How do you know that?" Ritsuko asked him.
"Aside from the fact that they can seemingly move objects with their minds? Borealis Aristaios can detect warp taint through its sensorium. It was how I identified the first abomination I defeated as hostile. No wholesome creature is that tainted." Lanthanein explained, his simulated titan shifting in its lift shaft impatiently.
"Well, it doesn't matter much right now." Misato interjected, wanting to get the training back on schedule "We are going to spawn [SACHIEL] and both of you should work together to kill it. We'll do two rounds, to start off Lanthanein will take the lead and Rei will act as support. After that we'll switch off." Misato nodded to Ritsuko who sent a clear signal to the bridge. Maya hit the key to begin the program. Se looked around as the program began and saw her fellow junior bridge officers Makoto and Shigeru whispering back and forth as they watched the screens. She wondered what that was about.
Lanthanein left the lift shaft at half stride, expanding his auspex out to the maximum range he could. The creature was not in visual range as of yet, but the simulated psykana auspex was detecting something large off to the east. That was likely it. He pulsed this information to the other engine and triggered his vox, "Unit 00, this is Aristaios, we are detecting a strong presence to the east; bearing 087." Rei nodded on his screen in response, her machine drawing a large rifle from one of the nearby silos, she shouldered it and began to advance at a half crouch towards the indicated location staying a few hundred meters behind Borealis Aristaios at all times.
Borealis Aristaios moved down one of the many raised highways in the direction of the presence. It was now visible on Aural and Radial Auspex as well now. They still had yet to make proper visual contact, but Lanthanein kept the other engine and command updated with datapulses at regular intervals. He came around a corner between two unretracted buildings and caught sight of the beast. It was currently demolishing a series of hab blocks, paying no attention to the adversary to its rear. Lanthanein tasked Pain-Inferior with maintaining a lock on its center mass and pulsed a target sighted warning to the other engine. Unit 00 finally replied with an acknowledgement pulse and took up position about a kilometer behind him. Unit 00 opened fire, striking the Angel's AT field and getting its attention. It ceased its wanton destruction and turned around. Its eyes blazed with an unnatural un-light, as if they were consuming the light around them.
Lanthanein opened fire as well with his las blasters. Unit 00 let loose another burst of fire from its rifle, both barrages striking AT field once more. The pseudo-angel raised one of its hands and lifted a large number of abandoned cars from the street flinging them at the two human machines one by one, like bullets from a gun. Lanthanein noticed when it began to utilize its powers its defensive field seemed to shut down. A few of his las blasts struck its hide before his vision was obscured by a number of explosions flashing on his voids from the Angel's attack.
Lanthanein turned his attention to his companion engine. Unit 00's AT field flashed repeatedly as another collection of cars impacted it. "00, Aristaios, The beast has to drop its defense field to attack with its telekinesis. We will try to bait it into striking again. When it does, close to melee range, we will soon see it dead."
Unit 00 responded with a pulsed negative. "00, What do you mean negative? We can have the beast dead in moments!"
Rei spoke over the vox at last "Engaging Angel in melee combat is an option of last resort. The option that best protects NERV and NERV assets should be first priority."
Lanthanein balked at that reasoning. Was this how NERV really trained its princeps? Not to engage enemies in the most efficient manner but rather to engage in the manner that limits damage to the machine most? This was unheard of even for the most devout of Legio Titanicus legions. A titan was a machine of war. To not utilize its full ability to eradicate the enemies of humanity was wasteful and stupid at best, heretekal at worst. He was quickly beginning to see Director Ikari as some sort of deranged heresiarch.
Lanthanein was shaken from his thoughts as another collection of groundcars slammed into his shield. He pulsed and acknowledgement and request for ranged support to the useless NERV machine. Disregarding its presence he took his chance, he brought the God-Machine up to a full stride, pounding down the asphalt towards the abomination. His warhorns sang as he slammed his clenched power claw into the thing, knocking it backwards against a nearby building. It splayed out as it hit, he brought Pain-Inferior's target to its core. He felt his Sinistramanus reach full charge and killed this simulacrum of his first opponent in much the same way as its original.
The bridge erupted into a mix of excited cheers and groans. Maya looked around and saw Makoto pass something to Shigeru under the desk his head in one hand not looking at the screen. Fuyutsuki quickly called the room to order and gave the command for the training to continue.
Misato spoke through her party line to the two pilots "Well done you two. We'll reset the sim and switch things around. Rei, you'll take point this time." Rei nodded in affirmation. Lanthanein bristled at her first comment. 'you two'? the NERV machine did little in this battle, and in fact, wanted to allow the beast to survive for longer, doing greater damage to the city and likely ending more human lives in the process. Then he actually processed the last part of her statement. Ayanami would take point this time. He groaned internally, this was going to be a long day.
A long day it was. The Angel flung its next barrage of items at them, this time consisting of large chunks of masonry from an unretracted spire it had collapsed two hours ago. It had been using the same building for ammunition since. Five. Hours. FIVE HOURS they had been in this simulation, all because the NERV princeps refused to diverge from protocol. Their machines did remain largely untouched, but at the cost of a significant swathe of city being left in ruins. He pulsed yet another request to move in on the enemy, it was denied outright as all the others had been. He let his lasblasters open fire on the beast once again. Its AT field did not reassert itself. Unit 00 marked the creature's core as a target, requesting a strike. Lanthanein obliged, the simulated opponent disintegrating into data fragments just as it had done earlier that morning.
"Exercise complete." Misato groaned over the vox "Both of you, head back to the control room before you leave. Lets go over what happened." her vox line shut off. Lanthanein fumed as he began to bring the titan back to full dormancy. Maya spoke to him over a private line she had pinged him with during hour three of the exercise. "Well, glad that's over." She commented dryly
Lanthanein grunted in reply. "Ikari came up with that protocol?" he asked through gritted teeth
"I would guess so. Misato is our tactician, but I don't see her coming up with that." She told him, her voice low so as not to carry too far on the still silent bridge.
"Nor do I Lieutenant. I suppose I must be on my way. I will speak to you some other time… and thank you." He added sincerly
"For what?" She asked
"For providing some small distraction from the farce that just played out. There was a time I could spend days on end sitting on guard in my Engine. Clearly I have been spoiled by this time and it's shorter engagement length." He ended with a wry chuckle
"Yeah." She sighed "Talk to you later Lanthanein." She said, closing the line when he "hmm'ed" in assent.
Lanthanein stalked into simulacrum control a few moments later, he'd put his inhibitor back on but he was greatly regretting not donning his coat earlier that day. He wasn't cold, but it might make him look a bit less ridiculous. The other princeps, the one that seemed more servitor than woman was already there, he scowled at her. She ignored him. Misato turned as he walked in, waiting until he approached the group before she began speaking.
"Well, that was a very useful training session bo-" Lanthanein could not stomach any more beyond that.
"No, Commander, it was not useful. It offered no valuable insights as to the capabilities of NERV's engines of war whatsoever. The capabilities of my Engine are already known to all and do not need to be further displayed. If that is how NERV teaches its princepture to handle threats, then I would venture it is no wonder that you all nearly died the day of my arrival!" Lanthanein growled and stepped away, pacing back and forth as he continued his rant "Who exactly came up with the ridiculous concept of protecting the Evagelion to the detriment of the city? And why did you not shoot them for cowardice Commander? I have never seen a more asinine warmaking strategy in my life!" Misato started to take a step forward to try and calm him down. Lanthanein spun on his heel and continued undeterred "You do not strike me as an imbecile, Misato, I have my suspicions about who came up with such a nonsensical plan but it appalls me that you have not countered him. Your life is on the line as much as any of the citizenry of this city!"
Ritsuko and Misato shared a look, he just kept going, Misato wasn't sure she'd ever heard anyone rant so verbosely before. She wasn't really fond of Gendo's insistence upon the strategy he devised for dealing with Angels, but she'd also never seen Rei hold to it so insistently before. She had just begun to tune the raving Imperial out when her phone rang, she pulled it from her pocket and turned her back on the scene before she answered.
"…Princeps Ayanami, what precisely is the purpose of stringing the foe along for hours before killing it?" Lanthanein shouted his question but he did actually pause as if waiting for an answer. Rei glanced at Ritsuko as if asking for permission to speak, the doctor shrugged back at her.
"To preserve Evangelions and NERV assets to the greatest possible degree to ensure future effectiveness in combat." She answered him in a monotone.
"And is that the strategy you used when you fought the initial angel this joke of an organization contacted?" He spat back
Rei looked confused, for a moment "I have no-" Ritsuko jumped up to interrupt the conversation but found her attempt unnecessary as the Incoming attack alarm began to blare throughout the base. Everyone but Misato looked around in confusion but all fixed their attention on the Commander when she snapped her phone shut and began to speak over the din of the klaxons
"Rei go get suited up. We have another Angel incoming and Ikari wants you deployed this time. Unit 00 will be waiting for you when you're done" Misato said, Rei nodded and left the room at a jog. She turned to Lanthanein "We're calling in the repair crews, how long will it take to get Borealis Aristaios put back together?"
"Should not be longer than an hour. The front plate is a simple job Aida can handle it I am certain." Lanthanein answered, his rage seeming to cool.
"Good, we'll send a car for him. You're coming to the bridge with me, if Rei needs your help you can head to the hangar then." She told him. She nodded to Ritsuko and strode out of the room, Lanthanein on her heels.
"RRRRRGH!" the redhead shrieked as she stomped back and forth in the near empty briefing room "What's so special about him? Why is everyone so intent I see how he kills Angels? I know how to kill them better than he does, I've trained all my life for it!"
The only other person in the room answered, trying to calm her down "I think the goal is more to show you how he works, not imply he's better than you. Besides, the best way to show all of them how much better you are is to go there and show them right?' he replied, his voice smooth and clear
The woman stopped her pacing at that, whipping around to face him. The grin spreading across her face was absolutely nightmare inducing "I think… you're absolutely right, Mr. Kaji. They'll see just how worthless his stupid hunchback robot is when I get there."
END 4.1
So, there we have it, things are gonna pick up next time I promise. But now, onto a few reviews that have come in since the last time I did this:
Guest
my brain hurts by the level of cringe, i'm bouncing
Yes I know, chapter two is not my greatest work, if by chance you are still reading m8, I ask you give chapter three a chance, it gets better, I promise.
As for the rest of the reviews, thanks for all your compliments, it's heartening to see that this little work seems to be well liked.
