Chapter 4: A Human Work

Part 2: Jet-Alone! Sabotage!

##

The next morning,

"It's hard to believe that this place used to be the flourishing capital known as Tokyo." Misato said as she stared out the window of the KBYEV-22 VTOL she and Ritsuko were flying in.

"We're here," Ritsuko said, her face buried in paperwork.

"Why are they having this in a place like this? Is the SSDF getting involved?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko harrumphed softly and replied, "The Strategic Self-Defense Force? No. They're not allowed to interfere."

"I see. That's why they can do whatever they like," Misato sighed.

##

"Thank you, thank you all for coming to this special demonstration of Japan Heavy Chemical and Industrial Cooperative's latest product," a man at the podium in a large conference hall said through a microphone. "In a few minutes we'll be taking you up to the control room to observe the actual demonstration. But first, we'll be answering some of your questions here."

"Yes," Ritsuko said, raising her hand.

"Ahh, the famous Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. It's our pleasure to have you here for this demonstration."

"Thank you, Mister Tokita. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course, certainly."

"The unit is equipped with an internal Nuclear Reactor. Is this correct?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard.

"Correct. This is our product's most distinguished feature, guaranteeing over a hundred and fifty days of continuous operating power."

"I see, but from a safety perspective, isn't it rather risky to incorporate a Nuclear Reactor in a land-based weapon designed for hand to hand combat?"

"We think it's more practical than a weapon that won't work for more than five minutes," he replied.

"But, in an emergency, there would be problems with remote control. Computers are easy to overload. If it were damaged, your weapon wouldn't work."

"But it's more humane than a system that induces tremendous mental stress and causes mental instability in the pilot. Pilots who are children, I might add."

"Cut it out, you're acting like children," Misato mumbled as she chewed on a straw.

"We've tried using adult pilots. They just don't work, yet. With your system, there's still an issue of manual control."

"I would think that it is much safer than an extremely dangerous weapon that injures it's own pilot with the damage it sustains. If the pilot loses their mind from mental stress and physical pain, then there's no control. A weapon that can't be controlled is insane, it's like a hysterical woman. Completely out of control."

Misato gritted her teeth while the whole room tittered. She clenched her fists and looked about ready to stand up as Ritsuko clapped a hand on her shoulder. Misato looked up to see her friend looking as cool and unflappable as ever.

She felt calmed down a little as Ritsuko countered with, "Our technologies already can limit the pain induction and reduce mental stress. The pilots themselves can also set the neural synchronization ratio, within the limiters allowed, further limiting pain and stress at no loss to combat efficiency."

"You're saying that Science and human courage will tame the savage EVA beast? Are you serious?"

"Yes, of course I'm serious."

"And because it depends on something as fragile as a child's heart, NERV has allowed the situation to get completely out of control. The UN has already had to approve an enormous supplement to your existing budget, and as a result, twenty-thousand people in a dozen countries are starving to death."

"Disposing of the remains of the Angels takes up more of our budget than even maintenance of the Evangelions at this point. You're right, we should let them lie there and rot, spreading God only knows what diseases. Skulls on poles to warn off the rest of them. How barbaric of you."

"Of course the actual cause of all this is still under investigation. Why don't you at least take responsibility for your handiwork. How fortunate that your organization is above the law."

"It doesn't matter what you say. The fact is, that NERV has the only weapon capable of defeating the enemy."

"You mean the AT field. That is simply a matter of time and research. NERV's day in the sun will not last forever."

Ritsuko sat down and smirked as he continued, "Now, if there are any more questions..."

##

"Hysterical woman! Smug sexist bastard. I want to bend him over backwards and shove his head up his own ass!" Misato snapped as she kicked a locker.

"Calm down. He's small fry. Not even worth getting worked up over," Ritsuko replied as she flicked her lighter on and smirked.

The folder with papers began to burn and she dropped it in a wastebucket and watched it, a slight giggle escaping her lips as she indulged her inner pyromaniac just a little.

"Oh yeah, totally fine there, Rits," Misato replied, hands on her hips as she glanced over her shoulder at Ritsuko.

"I'm not the one worked up about his comments. He'll be humiliated soon enough."

"What do you mean? Wait, has NERV done something to sabotage the robot?"

"Not NERV, no. The robot wouldn't stand a chance against an EVA, much less an Angel. They field it when an Angel attacks, it gets destroyed without so much as a pause on the Angel's part, then the EVAs engage the Angel in what the Americans call a 'Curb-stomp'. Thus we prove how much a of waste resources this really is."

"You sound awful confident."

"I have every reason to be."

##

"We are ready to begin the Jet-Alone activation test," a technician called.

"Don't worry folks, there's no risk at all. Please, make yourselves comfortable and watch through the observation window." Tokita called, "We're ready to begin, let's start the test."

Misato leaned back against the wall with Ritsuko, her hands on the binoculars she wore around her neck. The rest of the guests stood directly in front of the observation window, binoculars trained on a large hangar building.

Technician chatter began as the Hangar building split in two and slid apart. "Discharging the power core... ...Pressure levels nominal... ...Powerplant cooling system circulation normal... ...Releasing the control rods... ...Extending heatsinks from the torso..."

Massive rods slid out of robot and it's systems energized as a tech called, "Reactor coming online, power output normal."

"Begin walk cycle." Tokita said.

"Beginning walk cycle. Walking, forward ahead, slow," a technician said at the primary console. "Forward right leg... Roger... Balance is nominal. Power core status, nominal."

"Roger. Now, forward left leg. Keep her steady... Forward left leg, aye. Balance is nominal..."

"Oh boy, it's walking. That's certainly something to be proud of," Misato jeered as other members of the crowd called out praise.

A light went off as did an alarm on a console. "What's wrong?" Tokita asked.

"It's odd, the pressure in the reactor is increasing." a power technician called as his counterpart added, "The temperature of the primary coolant system is also rising."

"Valve open. Insert the Neutron Deceleration Fluid," Tokita ordered.

"No effect! The pump output isn't increasing! Initiating valve system check!"

"All right, emergency stop, cut off the power." Tokita said, "Activate safeties."

"Abort signal transmission confirmed... It's not accepting it! The radio circuit is being blocked! It's out of control!" a comm technician called.

"This can't be happening!" Tokita replied, transfixed as his creation stomped toward the dome.

"It's coming right at us!" someone screamed just before a massive foot came down into the room.

"This robot's as badly behaved as the idiots who built it!" Misato shouted as Jet-Alone stomped off in a straight line through the dome.

"The compression valve is operating irregularly! The control rods aren't working!" the second power system tech shouted as the first relayed, "Possibility of meltdown imminent!"

"Impossible. The Jet-alone's on-board computer system has been programmed to handle all possible contingencies and scenarios. This kind of thing simply can not happen!" Tokita said aloud, trying to rationally deny watching his pet project malfunctioning like it was.

"Well then you're about to have an impossible nuclear meltdown out there," Misato called with a hint of irony in her voice as she walked toward him.

"At present our only viable option is to wait for it to stop itself."

Misato snorted before replying, "How likely is that? Oh let me guess, less than one percent?"

"Zero point zero zero zero two percent. It would be an act of God!" a technician called.

"Acts of Men are better than Acts of God. Tell me how to stop that thing."

"We've already tried every possible option."

"Not yet. There has to be a last resort, a way to wipe out everything. Tell me the password."

"The password to delete all programming is top secret. I don't have the authority to release it. I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to tell you!"

"Then you'd better get the clearance bucko. DO IT!"

He picked up a phone and dialed out. After a moment, he said, "Tokita here, let me speak to Mr. Manda in Tokyo-2. That's right, the Director of Internal Affairs."

##

Nearly 10 minutes later, and almost as many calls, he nodded. "Very well."

"Bureaucracies," Misato growled.

He hung up the phone and said, "A written order has been sent. Once it arrives I'll give you the password."

"That'll take too long! Once the reactor red-lines it'll be too late!"

A technician tracking it's movement while still trying to send overrides to it called, "Movement vector verified, Jet-Alone is heading for Atsugi city."

Misato turned to face him, "Time's up. I'm invoking UN Special Order D-17. This operation is now under NERV's control."

"Misato!" Ritrsuko snapped as Tokita yelled, "Y-you can't do that!"

She pulled out her cell phone and as she dialed said, "Rits, the Commander and Vice Commander are out of the country, so that leaves me in charge. I can do something, so I will."

She jerked her thumb at Tokita, "If I do nothing, those people will die, and that makes me worse than he is."

The other end picked up and Misato asked, "Hyuga, what Evas and pilots do we have available right now?"

"Unit Zero is on hot standby. Unit Five is being refit for testing with F-Type and Unit One is in cooldown after a Core check."

"Then prep Unit Zero and load it on an aerial transport. Have the pilot link in communications to this facility once she's airborne. I'll be running the operation from here."

"Why?" he asked, his voice echoing slightly as he switched to speakerphone.

"The new Jet-Alone Robot is out of control. We need to stop it before it's reactor goes critical."

"What's the drop point?" He asked, as she heard typing, and muted talk from Aoba and Ibuki.

"We need to hotdrop it near Atsugi. And before you ask, yes, I'll give you telemetry data on the target as soon as I can link my PDA into tracking system here."

"What equipment loadout?"

"Time's of the essence. B-type should suffice," came her response.

"Okay."

"You can't do this," Tokita said as he stormed toward her.

She ignored him and held her PDA as she turned towards a technician, "I need tracking and telemetry data so we can drop an Evangelion to stop it."

"We can't let you damage it!" Tokita snapped.

She spun and pinned him with a glare, "Damage it, or kill two hundred twenty thousand people? You're the one who harped on twenty thousand starving around the world, and yet you're willing to let eleven times that number die when your robot goes critical? Hypocrite."

"Get this PDA linked in now," she snapped at the technician.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, taking her PDA. He smiled at seeing the brash military woman handing his superior's insults back at him, and got her PDA synched with their computers.

After verifying the link worked, he gave the device back to her, "All done, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

##

Rei sat in the entry plug of Unit-00, as Misato briefed her remotely as they approached the drop site.

"So, basically it's this, Jet-alone is out of control, not responding to commands, it's reactor's going to go critical and it's heading right for Atsugi."

"Understood. Initiating Unit Zero power up. Plug depth locked at point seven. A-10 Connection achieved, Synchronization holding at forty-six percent. Batteries fully charged."

She felt the transport dive, taking her to a safe drop height.

An indicator lit up and she said, "Unit Zero Synchrostart."

The Evangelion came to life, powered by the aircraft as it leveled off. Rei called, "This is the First Child. Thirty seconds to drop. I have initiated Synchrostart, and Unit Zero is active."

"Drop when ready. Try to restrain the robot and suppress the blast with your AT field. You have three minutes before it goes critical."

"Releasing locks," she called over the comm, and the EVA slid off the rails, and in doing so, switched to internal power.

Unit-00 fell only a few hundred feet as the transport banked away, it's right wingtip only meters off of the ground as it throttled up and circled upward. The Evangelion's retros fired and as she hit the ground, she ran for Jet-alone.

She leaped over it, twisting in mid-air, then braced herself and launched Unit-00 at Jet-Alone in a tackle, bear-hugging it to stop it in it's tracks.

"Power surge detected in Jet-Alone!" a technician called.

Unit-00 staggered a few steps back at the electrical discharge that flowed through her. Rei shrieked from pain momentarily, and it echoed through the command center. After a few seconds, she said, "Jet-Alone robot engaging me in combat. Maintaining defensive stance."

"Jet Alone armor has been polarized! Combat systems are engaging."

"What? No! Try to override them!"

They watch as four 150mm Cannons popped out of Jet-Alone's upper body and struck at Unit-00, which stood there as the HEAT rounds exploded harmlessly against it's armor. Smoke shrouded the Evangelion but cleared quickly as Rei commented, "That's it? That's all it's got? Charged armor and some cannons? This'll be easy. My trainees put up more of a fight learning how to move than this thing will."

Back at Headquarters, the Bridge crew and four pilots all laughed, and the sound of it came through the multi-way communications link.

Tokita turned red and demanded, "What? It's not supposed to be armed! Who the hell armed it?"

Ritsuko snorted, her voice acerbic, "Oh, look, it's going to fight Unit Zero. Well, not fight. More like... flail angrily."

"I don't know Sir!" a technician called, "We're still locked out of all systems!"

A female voice came through the speaker systems. "This is Unit Zero. Permission to engage Jet-Alone in combat?"

"NO! We can't risk the prototype!"

Ritsuko pitched in, "So now we come to it. You think by building this bomb on legs, you can do better than us and with less risk? I give your robot thirty seconds tops before Unit Zero takes it apart."

Misato ignored the protests and called, "Limited engagement only, disable, not destroy. Am I clear?"

"Confirmed Major. I will endeavor to do minimal damage."

"You can't do that!" he called as the EVA gave the robot a nasty uppercut.

"You're the ones with an out of control prototype. A weapon that can't be controlled is insane right?" Misato bit out, "And in case you forget, I've already invoked UN Authority, and in turn, NERV's. We'll stop your toy and with minimal damage."

##

Rei smiled and ducked under the next cannon volley, closing to melee range, readying a punch.

She hit Jet-Alone with an uppercut, causing it to fly upward and back, where it slammed into the ground and skidded for a few hundred meters, leaving a long furrow of upturned earth as the rods on it's back snapped off.

She drew her Progressive Knife and changed her hold on it. The Other beckoned again, but she suppressed it even as her synch ratio climbed rapidly. It stood up, and she was already moving, feeling as if she were becoming one with her EVA, closing the distance before it could fully right itself. She two-stepped in, coming in low, then slashed the blade across it's chest, then rotated, bringing her foot up in a reverse spin-kick, driving it back as mechanical servos and it's gyro attempted to compensate.

She leaped in, aiming behind the staggered Robot for her landing. She hit the ground, and spun, sweeping the robot's feet as it clumsily attempted to turn towards Unit-00. It toppled to the ground, and she slammed the knife into Jet-Alone's head, causing the robot to shut down as part of it's computer system was compromised.

Jet-Alone twitched and lay still. Rei pulled the Progressive Knife out of the head, folded it back up and placed it back in the shoulder pylon as she called out on an open Comm channel, "Situation Normal. Jet-Alone neutralized with minimal damage. Readings indicate hard safeties have engaged and the reactor has shut down. Placing Unit Zero in standby mode, three minutes twenty-three seconds of battery remaining."

She dropped her EVA to a kneel and powered down everything but communications and life-support.

"Good job," Misato called, "Damage to Unit Zero?"

"It scratched my paint-job, nothing more. It was a weak opponent. I didn't even need to use my AT field."

##

"I don't believe it. Jet-Alone's a total failure. It didn't even faze your Evangelion." Tokita said. He slumped forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands.

"The EVAs are literally the only thing that can stop an Angel, and we field them in pairs as most Angels are more powerful than any single Evangelion." Doctor Akagi said, her arms crossed and her expression amused, "Jet-Alone wouldn't even distract an Angel if it can't even damage one human controlled Evangelion."

"What are the Evangelions?" he asked.

"That's classified well above your pay grade," Akagi said with a smirk. She pushed away from the wall as Misato called, "Okay, let's grab our stuff and head home, Rits."

##

That night,

"Recovery of Unit Zero is complete. There was no radioactive contamination. Except for Captain Katsuragi's operation, everything went according to plan." Ritsuko said.

"Very good. Now that the Jet-Alone program is being retooled, the Committee and the UN are pulling funding for it." Gendo replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Making sure we stay the leader in possible anti-Angel technologies?"

He shrugged. "As Rei proved, even without her AT field, the Evangelions are more than a match for anything Mankind can make except another Evangelion. My only concern is that Evangelions Six and on will be held for use against us."

"Even so, with only Dummy systems, the rest shouldn't pose much of a threat against trained human pilots."

"Speaking of which, how are the Fifth and Sixth progressing?"

"Very well. They seem to have movement and grappling down, for the most part. Shinji will begin firearms training with them in a few days."

"Excellent."

##

Okay. Everyone hates the Jet-alone episode. I hate the Jet-Alone episode. All I can think of while watching it is Konata Production's EVA Abridged.

Shinji: Seriously! One good leg-sweep!

Misato: You're putting me on the walking bomb and that's final!

Gendo: Are the preparations complete?

Saboteur: Yes. I've added my... special touch... to the project. It should go as expected.

Gendo: Well, you're cryptically obtuse enough.

Saboteur: Jet-Alone! Sabotage! *click* *dial tone.*

Gendo: *sigh* Thank the pitiless forces of emergent causality that I'm absent next episode. Translation: Oy vey.

So, why is it here, if you the writer, also doesn't like it, you ask? Well, it's canon, like it or not. So it'll be here.

I'm also trying to address plot holes even if it's not convenient to do so. There's no real reason for Misato to try entering the robot. So, just leg sweep it, hold it down, and suppress the blast with an AT field is what she's thinking.

Unforunately, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

KBYEV-22 is the number for a sadly discontinued model kit of the VTOL used in EVA.