Neon Genesis Evangelion
A Thousand Years of Secrecy
Disclaimer: I own neither Evangelion nor Altered Carbon (or any other book in the Takeshi Kovachs series). If either Gainax or Mr. Morgan have an issue with any of the content presented, please contact me by e-mail to remove it.
Nine – Impede / Succeed
"The spear of Longinus, set ablaze with the vengeance of its victim. There is no Roman shield great enough to bear it."
"Murakami-san." It wasn't so much that she wasn't happy to see her.
"Good afternoon, Misato-san." Envoys never took the time to call each other for the purpose of regaling their days in the dojo together. They never made idle conversation with each other. Not the way the children did. Not the way she could do with Fuyutsuki. Or Kaji. For two very different reasons. But whenever Ai Murakami, or any of the council, would call her, something was up. Something unpleasant. It was that way with all of the council.
"I trust things are going smoothly in San Francisco." The longer it took for the real conversation to start, the more threatening or dangerous the news. It's sort of like an unwritten rule between all of them. Like when a doctor says "you should sit down for this." That was the purpose of this preamble. Misato knew it. Ai knew it. Kaji, who was pretending to look out of the blinds of her bedroom window, knew it.
"Very smoothly, Ai. How is China treating yourself?"
"The same as always. Like a foreigner, not that I need the last name to remind me. Or the dirty looks. I see Kaji's still just as fidgety as ever," she replied sardonic, her vision turning from the center of the screen, one so vivid that almost looks as if she was inside the room with them, looking directly at him.
He ran a hand over his stubble and made an awkward smile. He was already familiar this routine. Some say he might have even been the one to start it. But Kaji was always the sociable one.
"Looks like you haven't changed either Ai, it's been... what now, a—"
"A little over a year. Not that you've forgotten." Her eyes stayed placid as did her tone.
"Fuyutsuki told me to reach you as soon as possible." Misato felt herself holding her breath. "The China branch is being officially shut down. We've still got enough favors and bribes to make things... safe, hopefully." She could feel Kaji over her shoulder focusing on their fellow Envoy, imagining the conditioning jumping around in his tactical mind and recalculating NERV's situation. Globally diminished, whatever it might be now.
"Before we begin destroying everything here, I'm supposed to hand over any information regarding Russia. Fuyutsuki has some suspicions about their troop movements in Siberia and around the arctic. It's nothing too obvious from what we've gathered from our sources here, which would make it all the more strange on Russia's behalf. They're usually pretty brazen with their posturing."
Kaji was by her side; all previous good humor had vanished. He could sense something wrong as well.
"The west coast is within striking distance of seventy-five percent of their inter-continental platforms. You don't think we have another Tokyo-3 shaping up here, do you?" he asked quietly.
"No. Not from what we've gathered anyways. I'll send you our last fifteen years of official and unofficial troop movements from around the Arctic Circle. MAGI analysis is currently leaning in favor of a coordinated aerial assault with a target size reaching as far in as Mt. Sinai."
"With the US having four times as many planes not to mention a ten-year advantage on the technological curve for all their aeronautic systems? Nobody is going to try zipping over all of Alasaka and the North Pole with those kind of odds. I don't think so, Ai." Misato shook her head.
"Neither do we. It's still a mystery at this point. The most obvious target of opportunity is the US branch of course. But, unless our snow-covered friends have done something really revolutionary with their depth charges in the last three months there is no way they could even begin to come close to endangering the facility. Especially given the number of fighters the US could scramble in time."
"Of course. Submarines are clearly the major threat to the Alcatraz facility. So just what does that leave exactly? In terms of targets," Kaji asked, Envoy skepticism and intuition thrumming in his tone.
"Well, you guys, pretty much. The only exposed target SEELE would have any real interest in."
Misato had assumed it was coming but the answer still stung. She bit back on the fear she felt growing within her. Not fear for her own life—the conditioning would never allow for that kind of response out of an Envoy—it was fear for the children. Parental instincts and all.
"A cruise missile would be intercepted by the US and NERV's combined safe watch systems before it's a third of the way over the Pacific," Kaji continued through her silence.
"Which leaves some sort of special operation sortie as the most probable solution. We think. For now, anyways. But that doesn't really match up with the figures the MAGI are giving us. The scale is all wrong. No sub-orbital shuttles fast enough, nothing plainly stealth enough to even attempt something."
"Hmm, so what's the good news exactly?" Kaji said, trying to lighten the mood.
Ai made a guttural laugh that didn't intend to sound amused.
"The good news is that I'm getting the fuck out of Shanghai and re-assigned somewhere that people won't bitch at me for speaking their language too well."
Kaji's smile returned, less enthusiastic.
"Anyways, the data will be coming to your unit through the MAGI once we're done here. Don't bother calling HQ back. All of the incoming circuits will be burned or cut by the time we've sent you everything. You can reach me on my personal unit instead if you have any questions."
"Wow, they're getting you out of there in a hurry, huh?"
"Fuyutsuki's orders. China's bureaucracy has started to become more of a burden than a blessing if you catch my drift."
"Money talks, eh?"
"Not ours any more. I suppose were done here?"
"Yeah, good seeing you, Murakami."
"You wish. Good luck."
An Envoy joke. Misato played out the answer Fuyutsuki had drilled into them in training.
"Luck never was part of the equation."
"Nope. Bye now."
Her face had not even finished fading from the screen when the MAGI began generating their encryption keys.
"Well, it couldn't last forever I suppose," Kaji sighed.
"What couldn't?"
"Our network. The one thing Germany taught me. People are stupid enough to be scared of the power they can see and touch, not the invisible one."
"What was it like living there, Kaj'?" She said, suddenly growing curious.
He turned into a stance that resembled someone perhaps just barely caught off guard, assuming such things were possible in an Envoy conversation.
"In Germany? There's nothing like being afraid you're going to die every day for six years to make you really appreciate life. If SEELE hadn't been so busy trying to bust Fuyutsuki's balls everywhere else on the globe, I'm sure it could have been worse."
"Liar. You weren't scared for your own life..." Parental instincts and all.
"She's a good kid, Misato-chan. She's had a bad life but, she's a really, really good kid." He sounded faintly sad and happy too. It was the sort of tone of voice she missed from him, the one always covered up in bravado and a carefree attitude. Covered up with all the other nasty life experience they both had accrued by now.
"There goes that sensei-student attachment," she didn't quite accuse. Kaji shrugged in response. "He really always gave you the hardest missions, didn't he, Kaji-san?"
He laughed and pointed at her.
"Not me, Misato. There was always someone a little more capable on the council to take care of those."
"Still, I wasn't practically camping out in SEELE's back yard—"
"I was talking about Shinji-kun," he said, darkening.
"I know." She looked very tired in that moment. "I know you were."
"So is she your girlfriend or what?"
"Well... it's, uh, complicated."
"Uh-oh. Another man? Want me to take care of him for you?" Shinji cracked his knuckles.
Touji chuckled and muttered something slangy sounding under his breath.
"No, it's nothing like that. Just. Bad timing, I guess." He was brooding again. The way he'd first been when Shinji started this line of questioning.
"Don't tell me she said she wasn't ready for a boyfriend. You guys are graduating next year."
Shinji aimed a nice wad of spit and snot at the roof of the deli across the street.
"You've got it mixed up. I'm the one who wasn't ready." Direct hit. Sort of.
Now it was Shinji's turn to laugh.
"You mean she asked you and you shot her down? Come on, Touji, she's cute and judging by the look on your face today I'd say you agree."
Touji colored a little and looked away into the sunlight to hide it.
"Well. I asked her a little over a week ago. And then like two days later..." Tears brimming in the eyes, twinkling in sunlight.
And then two days later Tokyo-3 happened and Touji's sister, his only surviving relative after the floods, disappeared with thirty million other people; and she was gone. Not just "across an ocean" gone, not just "in another country" gone, permanently so. Nice work there, Shinji.
"Oh. Fuck. Dude I'm sorry. You should have just told me to shut up."
"No, I'll." He drew in breath sharply, knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on the railing. "I'll be okay."
Shinji waited for him to continue, suddenly finding his feet kicked out from under him in the conversation.
"So it was just, like, awkward timing I guess. I told her I needed some time alone and that it wasn't that I didn't want to date her I just... I just needed to work some things out, I guess. Anyways, we hadn't really seen each other at all since today so."
"So she was trying to remind you why you asked her in the first place." He winked at his roommate, happy to see him positive again.
Touji looked away, reddening swiftly again. "Yeah, something like that."
"Look at you! Who woulda thought mister martial arts guy is really a softie!" He nudged him good-naturedly.
"Hey shut up! Geek!" he laughed back at him.
"Geek? Geeks ride motorcycles now? Besides, Asuka's the computer whiz."
"One more word from either of you and we find out what you look like thirty floors down. Dinner."
The red bangs flew back inside as the glass doors slid shut silently, the same as they'd opened.
"It's like ESP or something, I swear," Touji pondered.
"I know. It's hard enough to get a word in edgewise with her."
"So what about you and her? Or is it Rei you fancy? You seem quiet enough."
"Touji..." He was rolling his eyes trying to pretend the question did not bring up complicated feelings swirling around with teenage hormones. But it did.
"What?" he asked innocently enough. "Do opposites attract?" He grinned.
"I could tell you..."
"But you'd have to kill me?"
"Something like that." Shinji laughed with him and ran a hand through his hair as they made their way back inside and back to dinner.
Dinner was quiet. The sun was dipping through their kitchen's slatted shuttered, pulling its light from one gap to the next; it was a calming effect, painting shaded lines across each of their faces as the meal progressed in silence. Asuka seemed agitated, stirring food around her plate. Kaji chewed hard, jaw muscles clenching around each bite as his eyes drifted up at the slow spin of the ceiling fan. Rei was somewhere that was certainly not the dinner table even though she remained seated beside them.
"So we heard you had a little run in with the FBI today."
Fuck. I forgot to tell her.
All four of the children stopped eating. Kaji crunched a little more merrily, glad to see someone else in the hot seat for a change.
"Misato, I... forgot."
Her eyes flashed towards him then away to the rest of them.
"I can see that." The anger had not disappeared. "They've been tailing you ever since we entered the country. Home land security has you all on their watch list, red flagged and all."
"And what about you? How are we the fucking threat?" Asuka fumed.
"Language," Kaji reminded.
"We're on there too. We've already had a run in with one of their higher-ups." She looked over at Kaji momentarily. "And no, I'm not telling you any more than that."
"I suspected a possible two or three units using chameleoflage in the tree branches above us. These were part of the FBI's surveillance team?" Rei interjected.
Shinji blinked at her and turned to his sensei for confirmation. He hadn't noticed.
"Correct," Misato continued. "Which makes your conduct unacceptable Rei. The attacks you used were upper-echelon Envoy techniques, not to be performed within the public sphere and certainly not while being watched."
"But there was an innocent citizen being threatened," Touji protested. She turned to him with a mix of something malignant and determined in her eyes.
"Irrelevant. Your priorities here are maintaining your own cover and survival. Everyone else comes secondary to that."
"Understood," Rei replied in the same whispery tone she used with all direct orders and most casual conversation.
Touji slammed is fork down into the plate and crossed his arms. Asuka looked ready to do the same.
"As for you, Mr. Suzuhara. You compromised the name of our enemy and a cherished secret of NERV which, without our intervention—" The burning surveillance van. So that's why he let us go. "—would have most certainly headed straight to Langley and then to the top of the US government, getting us all arrested in the process."
Touji's open mouth clamped shut. He made a face as if he were wrestling his tongue into submission.
"Both of these actions were unacceptable and both will be punished as I see fit."
Rei nodded. Touji did not.
"Of course, thanks to your newfound lodgings, you do have the option of sharing your punishment with your roommate if they agree to help you." Touji and he exchanged glances. "I can't say either of them will be easy."
Her eyes locked onto Kaji's. They placed their utensils down slowly and carefully and headed towards her bedroom.
"Rei and Touji. Do the dishes. When Kaji and I are finished taking care of this we'll be back and explain the punishments in full."
Asuka shrugged her shoulders at Shinji's confused gaze and even Rei appeared to have her head cocked to one side as the two of them disappeared into the other room.
"Bad news?" Touji asked of the quiet kitchen what they'd all been thinking.
From the deck of a UN cruiser the way one tends to look at the world begins to shift subtly. It's the only united force for peace and prosperity since the disastrous flooding years, so far gone from its original iteration that why they kept the name remains as an odd mystery to any historical observer. Gone are the politicians and corrupt ambassadors, wallowing in their greed and diplomacy games. Instead they have been replaced by a handful of nations who think they know what to do with the rest of the world and have the guns to back it up.
It was only a portion of the fleet laid out before his eyes and yet the sight was still majestic, militarily speaking. Cannons, missiles, aircraft and covering all surfaces like too many symmetrical barnacles on the sleek gray hulls. The joint-strike fighters perched on the biggest gray monsters like so many tiny misshapen diamonds on a playing card. Arrays of spinning radar and lidar dishes as far as the eye could perceive and grumbling whir of nuclear-powered engines beneath it all, the ever-present reminder to the UN's most effective and terrifying peacekeeper in the twenty first century: the N2 Mine.
The UN was simply not the same entity it had been in the twentieth century. A different world called for a different sort of united front. One that was armed to the teeth with little to no bureaucracy for using such methods. America, Germany, China, Russia, the UK, Spain, Brazil and handful of others with enough unflooded territory and GDP to participate called the shots now. Micronesia's votes were most firmly out of the picture not to mention it was submerged with most of the South Pacific. Japan had somehow found its way into this elite few, governed by principals set forth in the aftermath of what some called the Third World War and others simply called the darker days.
The mandate was worded clearly enough: any country, part of the UN or not, who attempts to subjugate another through military or economic means will be invaded until suitable replacement leadership has been found. Any country caught developing nuclear means other than those accepted into the UN already will be annihilated in a N2 salvo of apocalyptic proportions. And any country caught using N2 weapons outside of this mandate will face a similar fate.
SEELE had gotten Japan into an extremely tricky situation and the first instance of mandate part three. The Japanese government was already facing the consequences, this much Fuyutsuki knew. What remained to be seen was whether or not the UN would follow through on their swift retribution pact. Thirty million dead, a number that would have seemed typical during the floods, was quickly becoming an outrage in the post-flood world.
China was absolutely livid, proclaiming that if the psychopaths running the Japanese government could nuke one of their own cities, their largest city, there was nothing to stop them from jumping the sliver of water between the two countries. Other members of the UN remained more cautious with the US, still after all this time, Japan's closest and staunchest ally in the face of the accusations.
It was nonetheless a pickle for the UN to be in. Now was the first test of their post-flood rule set and it was someone other than a few meddling terrorists or the rogue eastern Europe state; both had not needed a full N2 demonstration to bring them into line. But Japan. It was Japan's esteemed status within the UN that posed the biggest problem—these were, after all, the nations which were supposed to be civilized enough to not do things like this.
He'd seen it in Turner's eyes as they'd spoken on the bridge of the largest sea-going vessel the world had ever seen; he'd seen the doubt, doubt in a system that was supposed to stop things like Tokyo-3 from ever happening. At the minimum, he suspected, Turner would want some sort of regime change and a war crimes trial of those responsible in the Diet. It would jive well with the whole "enlightened nations" theme of the UN and still make it look like they were getting the job done.
But if SEELE had any sort of wits about them, they would prevent such measures at all cost; trying to re-infiltrate Japan's parliament for a second time would take far too long for their taste and leave Fuyutsuki an open window back into the nation—two problems that would prevent them from allowing such a trial, even at the expense of the UN's credibility. As long as people continued to believe it was some bureaucracy preventing the UN from action rather than some much more conspiratorial power, SEELE would be content. And if they could find a way to pin the attacks on NERV, he suspected Chairman Keele would be nearly dancing with his good fortune.
The biggest unknown for SEELE and NERV in this equation was Turner. Because the Admiral had a tendency of not playing by the rules. Fuyutsuki liked to think that, coming from the same generation, they shared some common bond. But reality was not so simple. Turner had never seen the floods coming long before they hit and he certainly was not aware of SEELE's existence yet. It would have to be seen whether or not he would play into NERV's hand or against it but, his wildcard factor would be enough to at least slow down some of SEELE's damage control measures.
Unfortunately there were only two viable branches of NERV left to work with. A few minutes ago there'd been three. But Fuyutsuki had apparently struck a nerve with SEELE or the Russians or some combination of the two. With countries as corrupted as Russia and China it was hard to tell the difference between what was their own initiative and what was SEELE's.
"Structural integrity is heavily diminished. The north-eastern block has already had one full collapse and the south-eastern block is tagged as extremely volatile by the MAGI," Aoba read aloud to him. He turned awaiting further instructions.
"Keep monitoring the structure and give me an update of anything else important happens. Ibuki?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Locate the orbital platform we have over the China branch and run the startup routine for a fire lance."
"Yes, sir."
Ritsuko scribbled something vigorously on her tablet, speaking to him as she wrote. "MAGI shows preliminary reports stating a terrorist attack on the building blocks. They are still being acknowledged as apartment buildings at this time. Russia's weapons platform on the western border has not been fingered although there's little way the Chinese could not know it was them."
Fuyutsuki had something like a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "SEELE will make them play nice, I'm sure."
"MAGI has identified 742 individual heat signatures so far within the building that are not burning equipment. Sixty percent of them are still moving."
Fuyutsuki sighed.
"Only the relevant data, please Doctor Akagi."
"Orbital platform seventeen is passing over our Shanghai window in two minutes with the lance ready and prepped to ignite," Maya broke in. Her tone was colorless but Fuyutsuki could see otherwise in her eyes.
"Good. Have one of our beekeepers in the surrounding neighborhood release a few colonies post-detonation to make sure nothing usable is left over."
Ritsuko turned from the tablet in hand. "You're going to have to tell her at some point. She and Murakami were just on the phone together."
"I know. Have the MAGI recover whatever is left of the data stream between their units, working backwards from the last known encrypt key. I'll be in my chambers. Don't disturb me unless the situation changes. You have my permission to release the lance when it is capable."
"Sempai, I..."
"Don't worry, Maya. I'll do it."
He could hear the girl whisper some small thank you to herself as he swept out of the command deck.
"It exploded. It and the surrounding three city blocks."
Silence on the other end.
"The Chinese are proclaiming it the terror tactics of a religious cult or several. As far as the public is concerned, they won't ever know the building was there until the government tells them or shoots them into not protesting about it anymore."
"Murakami is..."
"Most likely lost along with the rest of our China team. If SEELE did it through the Russians like we are assuming, they'll have done it in such a way to preserve the inner workings probably for the purposes of retrieving the best bits. We are taking care of that as we speak."
"You're bombing it again."
"A stealthed orbital relay has already launched the necessary munitions. China won't see it flying in of course and even if they know we did it they're unlikely to point the finger at anyone other than the cult."
"And what about our personnel down there? What about Murakami or Alexei?"
"You would have them be interrogated and disappear into the hands of SEELE to face an even worse and far less instantaneous death? You know what else is inside those buildings. Envoys do leave a man behind and they always kill him if they do. That's a cardinal rule; as sub-commander and a council member, I would have expected you to understand that."
She swallowed. In other words, he was saying to keep her compassion in check.
"What happened?" Kaji whispered, grin entirely missing.
"We're not sure. We had bribed all the proper officials for a safe pull out but something must have triggered SEELE into acting. Most likely, something Murakami was sending you."
"The reports from the Arctic Circle."
"Whatever was in those histories, SEELE is making damn sure we don't have them. They're doing something with the Russians now, that much is clear. Without those records, however, we're flying in the dark."
"And the only surviving copies..."
"Are about to be dust in a little under two minutes. I don't have time to shift other operatives to your position with China to clean up. For the time being you will have to work with the Second Branch."
"Even if our NSA man is correct about them?"
"We cannot confirm or deny that. Use what you can from the local branch but don't get so involved that they learn something they can use to hurt you."
"And the Russians?"
"We will deal with them when they come."
"You're certain we're the target then."
"It's the only thing I'm convinced about. I'll see what else I can have the MAGI retrieve from the transmission to get you as up to date as possible. Take whatever records you have and bring them to the nearest server bank. MAGI already has a few dummy companies picked out we control. Copy them to a couple locations across the country. Then start looking at what you have and report back to me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"I want you to sleep on it. This Russian situation has changed too quickly to have a firm grip on it in just a few hours."
"Where are you going?" Asuka demanded.
"To a bar. Or several," Kaji replied, eyes refusing to meet hers.
"Why?" It was Rei now, perplexed.
"Because we really need a drink," Misato answered.
"Or several," Kaji added.
"You're just going to... leave us here?" Touji sounded unsure about being happy. Their senseis' faces did little to reassure him.
"It's Saturday night. Go out. Have fun. Be teenagers," Misato reminded, shuffling through the kitchen cabinets with an unusual haste.
"What about our punishment?" Touji continued. Asuka snarled under her breath in German and looked as if she might nearly lodge her fork in his throat. Nearly.
"You're off the hook," Kaji answered, slipping on his shoes at the front door.
"For now," Misato reminded.
Then they were gone. And the four children were left staring at each other.
"Well, that was weird," Shinji remarked after a few beats of silence.
"Agreed." Rei's face looked as if she might have seen an alien. Which was to say she was squinting slightly at the front door.
"What do you think that was all about?" Touji pondered, stirring his fork around his plate. The two senseis hadn't even moved their dishes from the table.
"Beats me. I've never seen Kaji look so... well, serious, I guess," Asuka answered, looking away into the San Francisco night. Something on her face made Shinji think she was remembering a time before when Kaji had looked that serious. And something made him feel uneasy watching her with that expression.
"Well, Misato does drink a lot," Shinji tried; it didn't quite lighten the mood.
"Fuck it. Let's get smashed," Asuka proclaimed, rising from her seat.
"Do you have a fake?" Touji inquired.
"No, but I do have a fridge full of beer and a cabinet full of licquor," she replied, yanking both open for dramatic effect. Misato did drink a lot. A whole lot.
"Wow," Rei said, voicing what their gaping mouths were saying.
"What, you guys didn't know about this stuff?" Asuka laughed, winking at Shinji.
"Asuka. There's enough alcohol in their to get us drunk for a month."
"Maybe for you lightweights," she said, jabbing her finger at them. "But we Germans grew up on beer! I've been drinking legally for two full years already. Here, let me show you guys how to make a Manhattan."
Warning lights were flashing in Shinji's head. Some mix of Envoy prescience and the oddity of the day so far, telling him that this was not the time or the place to be getting drunk. Not with all the weird sexual tension I feel creeping into my spine when Asuka looks at me like that. Not with the way Misato's face looked when she'd gone flying out the door. Not with the... no, fuck it.
Asuka was already deciding what drinks they'd be having.
"Touji, you look like a screwdriver man to me. Rei, we'll start you off with a Sex on the Beach. Shinji... hmm." He felt like the antelope on the Serengeti. Back when antelopes and lions had lived there anyways. "We'll try a Margarita for you."
"And what are you having, Asuka?" he asked to the mischievous gleam of her eyes as she arranged glasses and other instruments on the counter before her.
"Tequila. Straight up."
Some part of him gulped at the riling tension flying up his spine again.
Nine Fin
A/N: Massively late. Apologies, blah blah. No, truthfully I feel superduper guilty. You see, I'm in love with this story. The more of it I write, the more excited I get. It's just that over the month of May I've been in Tokyo, New York, and Washington DC. I've started working for Congress. And I've started making a movie of Chapter One (I told you I love this story). So when I say I've been busy, I'm not bullshitting you guys. I really have been absurdly busy. But I promise to continue writing this.
Once again, my readers rock. You guys actually give real reviews which is like a miracle considering most of what I see on FFN. I feel like I've found some gloryhole of smart critics hiding on the site, waiting for good stories. And like I said before, I'm open to all critiques, although I encourage people to read more than the first couple of lines. :P
Anyways, the next chapter will be out "some time" I'm hoping for sooner rather than later but you know how life is. I'd also like to take this time to thank my subconscious, who showed me how to complete this chapter after I asked nicely before I went to sleep. I don't really remember the dream but I like the results.
Japanese lesson for this chapter:
-"senseis" does not exist, except that in English we like to add s to pluralize things. Doing it with foreign words is crossing a fine line but I live dangerously, what can I say.
-I'm about ninety percent sure that, officially speaking, Japan is the US's closest non-english speaking ally. Interesting huh?