DC Evangelion
Chapter 8: Opening Maneuvers
Shinji Ikari was not a happy teenager.
He had been practically ordered to come to Tokyo-3 by his absentee mother and hence his rather boring but peaceful routine had been totally disrupted by this sudden uprooting.
Furthermore, he had been forced to take a series of transfers onto several different magnetic levitation trains that had not by any stretch of the imagination been simple or straightforward.
In fact if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that the itinerary that the travel agency had forwarded to him had been deliberately arranged so that he had been going around in circles (which he actually was thanks to the paranoia of Internal "We're On Your Side!" Security).
So it was not totally unexpected that he was a trifle bit upset. But he sure as heck hadn't been expecting this.
"Where's the rest of the TRAIN?" he demanded, his nose pressed against the transparent plastic window set into the rear door of the plush passenger compartment as he frantically tried to spot the rest of the train cars.
He wasn't having much luck.
"The other cars have been diverted to alternate tracks, Passenger Ikari," a smoothly mellow voice informed him.
Shinji glanced over his shoulder to glare at the floating servitor robot, "Why?" he demanded.
"Because of the state of emergency," the robot informed him calmly.
Shinji bit back a sigh of exasperation. Screaming at the stupid tin can wasn't going to do the least bit of good. The servitors were smart enough to do their jobs but anything that required a bit more intelligence was just beyond them and they were incredibly and mindlessly literal.
"What state of emergency?" Shinji asked in a calm tone of voice.
"The JSSDF declared a state of emergency 1.21 hours ago for the entire central Kanto Region of Japan. They immediately executed an override over the magnetic levitation train's destination with the exception of the special passenger car," the robot informed him.
"What's this big emergency?" Shinji asked confused and somewhat concerned.
The robot paused and then, "That information is not in my databanks. I am currently querying the main computer, please wait," the droid said, holding up one hand up. The optic sensors of the robot flashed as it initiated a hook up to the central mainframe that ran everything on the mag-lev trains throughout Japan.
The double doors whooshed open as Matsuda strode into the Communications Chamber, Ivanov and Zhang trailing behind him.
Science Department Head Kozo Fuyutsuki looked up at their arrival and nodded a greeting as the trio entered the room. At his side stood Yui Ikari, Bio-Genetics/Bio-Mechanics and Ritsuko Akagi, Technical Sciences. Together, the six of them consisted of the Command Team of Fortress 1.
Arrayed before them were six separate holographic screens floating in midair, each showing the face of a different Fortress Commander around the world with additional text information inset beneath them. It was an eclectic mix of scientists and military personnel. The scientists all nodded courteously while the soldiers all saluted.
"Status report," Matsuda commanded.
GERMANY. Jay Garrick straightened slightly. His brown hair was graying at the temples but the former scientist's mind remained as quick as it ever was. "Fortress 2 is fully on-line," he said. He looked calm and serene. "EXO Frame 2 is currently at 100 percent and the Pilot is doing rather well in the simulations. No major problems," he reported.
Matsuda nodded. Fortress 2 was probably the least of his worries though. The others however...
UNITED STATES. Colonel Alan Scott shrugged in his drab olive green Army uniform. "Fortress 3 is fully operational. EXO Frame 3 is on standby," and then he hesitated, a bit of worry appearing on his face. "and ... well, you know about our problem with our Pilot Candidate," he finished with a grimace.
"I thought you said there was a potential replacement," Matsuda asked with a faint scowl.
"I did. The replacement however..." Scott looked frustrated and a bit disgusted, "I'm not sure about his suitability."
"We're running out of time."
Scott looked pained. "I know."
Matsuda studied him for a moment and then gave a curt nod, "Very well."
He could order Scott to recruit the Pilot Candidate but it wouldn't be right. Scott was the man on the scene. He knew what the problem facing them and Scott was right too. They couldn't place an unsuitable person to control the most powerful super weapon the world had ever known. So Matsuda would have to trust him to do what was best. That was what delegation was all about.
He looked at his other problem children.
BRAZIL. Air Force Commander Diana Lance looked calmly from her holographic screen. "Fortress 4 is operational. Our efficiency levels aren't quite as high as I would like but most of the staff has only be working with the systems for two months. I'm sure they'll improve. EXO Frame 4 is approximately 75 percent complete. They currently estimate that it will be another 3 months before it is finished. Our Pilot Candidate is working up on the simulators. I think she might eventually give Langley some competition," she finished with a sly smirk at Garrick who merely spread his hands with a smile.
"She's welcome to try," Garrick said.
Diana brushed back a lock of her short dark hair. "Her scores are still in the 50 percentiles but she's steadily improving on a daily basis."
Matsuda nodded. That was better than he hoped.
EGYPT. Matsuda studied the bleary eyes and deep grooves and lines of the face of Carter Hall with some shock. He had not spoken face to face with the Egyptian Fortress Commander for some time but still, the fresh lines engraved on the man's face was not from age but exhaustion and worry. His entire body seemed to sagging with fatigue and the expression on his face looked harried. Which was another shock because Hall was … or rather used to be the very model of poise and composure. This was a man who was pushed to his very limits and was being forced to drag himself forward through sheer will alone.
In a hoarse and weary voice, Hall gave his verbal report. "The inner Fortress is finished but the outer works is still 40 percent unfinished. And the outer defenses are even worse. We're running in a lot of problems over here. Mostly sabotage, terrorism, and Hell, just plain obstructism by the different governments. My people are working double, sometimes triple shifts and we're still nearly two years behind schedule," he finished with a grimace.
Matsuda bit back a curse but he knew that Hall had been practically killing himself struggling to maintain the back breaking schedule. It wasn't helped that Fortress 5 was being built in a region of the world that was not exactly known for it's stability.
Hampered by several dozen languages, four different alphabets, almost as many different religions, and all of them blatantly hostile to one another. Not to mention all the fanatics and terrorism cells that had sprung up in the wake of Second Impact had plagued the construction of the project for the past several years, delaying the completion of Fortress 5.
The most notable one, the terrorism group Black Mecca had set a series of bombs that caused a tremendous landslide that destroyed eight months of excavation and killed over fifty men and women.
He looked sympathetic, "I see."
Hall wearily grimaced, "I hate making excuses and letting you down Hiro ... but Fortress 5 is not ready. I doubt it will be ready within another year," he said shoving his hand up through his blonde hair which were stranded with more white than Matsuda remembered just six months ago.
"And EXO Frame 5?" Matsuda asked a bit gently.
Hall bit his lip and shook his head. "Barely 15 percent completed." he said with a wince. "It seemed far too risky to start the really critical work without more of our security screen in place."
Garrick looked concerned. "I had no idea it was that bad," he remarked.
Every other single person in the room or watching via hologram shared his expression and concern.
Ivanov added in, "It also leaves a rather big gap in our defensive coverage," he added in his gravely voice.
Matsuda knew he was right. Fortress 5 was their weak link at the moment. The other Fortresses had the outer defensive works in place at least. Matsuda made a face, "Well we can't do anything about it right now," he said and then glanced at the final screen trying not to look like he was bracing himself for the news.
AUSTRALIA. Terry Sloane smiled back. "We're about finished with the final construction on Fortress 6. We probably need at least another month to complete and figure another two weeks or so to chase all of the bugs out. EXO Frame 6 is 55 percent complete. No significant problems detected so far," he said confidently.
Matsuda nodded grateful that everything at Fortress 6 was going smoothly. The last Fortress to be established, Sloane had stepped in to assume command from Wesley Dodds after his unforeseen heart attack. It was a tremendous blow since Dodds had been an important member of the JSA since practically its very inception but Wes admitted that he simply wasn't up to the demanding burdens any longer. Fortunately the JSA' Chief Medical Doctor Charles McNider reported that Dodds was recuperating and already making a nuisance of himself.
Matsuda made a mental note to float the idea to Dodds of staying on in an advisory position to the JSA.
Upon replacing Dodds, Sloane had proven himself to be a terrific asset, literally shaving off weeks in the work schedules. Which was even more important considering the shape that Fortress 5 was in.
Matsuda folded his hands behind his back, "My thanks to each and everyone of you. You all have done a magnificent job," he addressed the various holograms. "I am hereby implementing a first stage alert. Upgrade your status to Level Orange. I want you all to remain tied in real-time while we—"
There was a buzzing chime that cut him off. Matsuda looked up irritated at the interruption as a new holographic screen flashed into existence. It was a black screen with three rotating circles arranged in an upside down triangular pattern. Each of the circles pulsated in synch. "Excuse me for interrupting," a deep resonant masculine voice sounded throughout the room.
Matsuda nodded, "Yes, BRAINIAC?" he inquired.
Matsuda could never rid himself of the disbelief that he wasn't interacting with a real person whenever he spoke to the sophisticated computerized artificial intelligence. Matsuda suspected that was what Naoko Akagi had in mind when she created the booming, deeply authoritative voice for her quantum computer. It just sounded too human. In fact, Matsuda mused not for the first time that BRAINIAC sounded an awful lot like a 20th Century African-American actor known as James Earl Jones.
"The aerodyne attack upon the XT is about to commence General Matsuda," the AI informed him then after moment, "I thought you would like to know." BRAINIAC said.
Major Hikaru Goro resisted the urge to sigh and tap his fingers impatiently. This was not the task he relished. He had joined the JSSDF Tactical Aircraft Wing in order to fly fighter jets, to thunder across the skies at supersonic speeds.
Not plod along in something that looked like a badly designed brick with a pair of stubby rounded wings stuck on as an afterthought, Goro thought with a bit of a headshake. Maybe it was just simply vanity or something but he wanted his aircraft to look sleek and menacing.
Not for the first time, he wished he had blown a few percentages off his test scores so to have evaded the 'honor' of being assigned one of the newest, most advanced technological aircraft in his country's military forces. Lucky me, Goro thought sourly.
The Kamikaze-Class Aerodyne was perhaps one of the most sophisticated and also the most powerful aircraft in the world. It was a cross between a helicopter and jet and some might consider it the modern day descendant of the vaunted United States' tilt-rotor aircraft known as the Osprey.
The large oversized ducted wing rotors enabled it to slow, hover, and maneuver like a helicopter while the jet turbines gave it the ability to execute high-speed sprints. It was in comparison, about as slow as a World War II jet fighter and considered a slug by modern high-tech standards. However speed was not a premium here and the Kamikazes had never been designed to fight at lightning speeds.
The aerodynes had been designed to combat gigantic XTs. And while it was slower than a modern jet, it more than made up for it in sheer maneuverability and no jet ever carried such powerful armaments.
In a sense, it was a total revision of design philosophy. For the later half of the 20th Century, the greatest asset of jet fighters was speed. Now, he was flying what was essentially a gigantic tank/ammunition storage depot.
On the other hand, being assigned to the Kamikazes meant that he would be one of those to fight the XT. It took all of his self discipline and control to prevent himself from snarling at that pleasant thought. He had gotten the report just a few moments before the squadron had been ordered to take off. The Mitsubi. Lost with all hands.
Including Captain Ichiro Goro. His only uncle. He felt the swift stab of pain. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain calm and focused.
Anger erodes judgment, he heard his flight instructor lecture him when he was a flight cadet, and the one thing that a fighter pilot needs above all else is good judgment, his instructor's voice concluded sharply with a glare at Goro who felt his heart start to beat slower and he took a deep cleansing breath. And it's even more essential when you happen to be the squadron leader, Goro reflected.
He tapped the communication panel, opening the squadron channel. "Listen up, we're coming up on the XT. Prep all weapons. Tac officers, get ready. Pilots, look sharp. Don't get killed out there, you know how much paperwork I'll have to fill out if you do. And you all know how much I hate paperwork."
Goro heard a few chuckles and brief snorts of laughter and smiled. Then his smile faded as he saw the gigantic figure striding towards them.
"OK. Break off into pairs and accelerate to attack speed!" he barked, "Let's go Blackhawks!" he screamed and shoved hard on the throttle.
He felt the entire aircraft frame shudder as it leapt forward, the roar of the turbines increasing to a shrill shriek as he rushed towards Sachiel. Around him, the 101st Aerodyne Tactical Fighter Squadron, the Blackhawks followed.
A/N: For those of you who were wondering, all of the other Fortress Commanders happen to be members of the "real" JSA or the Justice Society of America. Or at least, their real identities.
Jay Garrick is the original Flash. Alan Scott happens to be the first Green Lantern although he is referred to as Sentinel these days, apparently to distinguish himself from the modern day Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and John Stewart. Dinah Lance is better known as Black Canary and Carter Hall is Hawkman. Terry Sloane was the first Mr. Terrific, Wesley Dodds was the Sandman, and Charles McNider was the original Dr. Mid-nite. The last three are currently deceased and have their identities inherited by their individual successors.
Hikaru Goro is my own original character although his Aerodyne Squadron, the Blackhawks were named in tribute to the original Blackhawks who were a group of international fliers who lost their homelands to the Nazis during WWII and they banded together as a small elite and independent strike force.
Apparently a version of them still continues to exist to this day in the DC Universe. I think there is a civilian run organization called "Blackhawk Express" which acts as a some sort of mail courier service while a more militaristic version also actively uses the name of the Blackhawks as a sort of covert group of elite pilots performing black ops missions.
Originally, I hadn't intended to name the Aerodyne Squadron as the Blackhawks but I had a moment of last minute inspiration and I thought it added a bit more of the DC Universe to my story. I switched out the original name of the Kamikazes and instead used it as the class name of the Aerodynes instead.