Adeptus Evangelion Strange Aeons (IC)

[Transcendent]

It was early on a Saturday afternoon, the Miskatonic Institute was for the most part empty outside of some wandering staff members and students who decided to keep up with the week’s work. Today was special, at least for the pilots and operational director of Chicago. It would be the first time that they would have a chance to all meet face to face. Each one had received an E-mail from Caitlyn Johansen’s desk that things were about to go into full swing and it was time that the group got to know each other better. They had been told to meet in one of the many lounges that dotted the campus. The email itself ended with the image of a rather happy looking smiley face with a patch for an eye.

The lounge they were in was like many others, it had a fully stocked fridge, a coffee maker which had been set to brew before even the first of today’s occupant’s arrived. It of course caused the room to smell of the heady scent of coffee. It wasn’t the best made stuff in the world, but, it would be enough to take away the grogginess from the night before. Upon the counter rested a coffee cake, made by the school’s cook not even a half hour ago. For one particular student, selections of fresh fruits were provided to break their fast. A large plaque was displayed on the far wall, it looked almost as if it had been hung recently it stated simply thank You for not smoking.

Beyond that it was a normal day; the sun was shining, despite the cool air which was only enhanced thanks to breeze rolling off the now blood red Lake Michigan. It was almost enough to lull the civilian population of the city into a state of relaxation. The calamity from fifteen years ago had come and went, sure, there was talk of revolution… yet, they felt safe knowing that the NERV organization was here to protect them. If only they knew what was to come in the future, they might have chosen to relocate.

[Lothmar]

Project Bradi
Adam rarely took time off from his Internship with the Nerve science teams, however the corder had come down from command and so he was obliged to attend the meeting no matter how much he'd prefer not to.

The Day had been very casual so far, after his morning routine he'd had time to work on a long running personal defense programming project he'd been persuing during his free time since he'd moved from Boston, only pausing briefly for a late but reasonable lunch that consisted of a small salad and a chicken sandwich. "I sense change..." He adds setting his fork down on his now mostly cleared plate. "Im not accustomed to change..." He sighs for a moment wiping his mouth with a napkin before folding it and placing it neatly in the trash can as he procedes to the sink to clean his dishes before drying and putting them away.

The screen of his laptop flashed awake from the sleep mode he had placed it in during lunch as a reminder alarm flashed. "If I leave now I can still have some time to continue working before the meeting." He adds going through the process of checking his saved work before packing up the personal computer in its carrying case and exiting the front door, pausing in rhythmic precision to close and lock the door once on the other side before proceding down the stairs.

A short walk across campus following the directions he had taken the time last night to memmorize lead him to the room. Thankfully for the most part the walk was free of people giving him lots of room to walk without having to worry about spacing or pacing or talking to someone that striked up one of those so called 'casual' conversations which usually had something to do with a homework assignment it seemed. Regardless he was here now and the first one here since he had taken the time to schedule arriveing early. He spends the next few minutes pacing the room gauging the windows, their lighting and whether they are opened or closed ; the location of the vents and lights as well as the various appliances were critical and by the time he was finished he thankfully only had to move a chair a few inches for optimal placement for his needs.

So he sat down and began unpacking his laptop and proceded to place it upon his legs as he leaned forward over it and began to continue working on the computer programming at hand.

[Jade_Tarem]

The Patch (http://www.bayleefbeach.com/images/smilies/84.png). Just remember, this is your fault. :smalltongue:

Despite keeping a measured pace and despite the fact that the door was standing wide open, Jane still manages to burst (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJiOf_sld3k&feature=BFa) into the room. She sniffs deeply, and then immediately homes in on the coffee, still as-yet unable to distinguish the quality of most foods or drinks, and instead delighting in most of them.

After pouring herself a cup, Jane takes in her companion, eventually dragging a seat over to sit right behind the screen of his laptop, facing him. "What's up? What are you working on?" Not "who are you?" or "are you one of the other pilots" - she's far more interested in what he's doing.

[Lothmar]

Project Bradi
He pauses, his eye twitches for a moment as the atmospher suddenly changes - not to mention how many variables just changed in his optimal seating forumala he had taken quite some time to consider on his arrival. And though the value of the location had been diminished, it was within acceptable ranges.

The part of him that logged his experiences regarding social interaction, found the lack of introduction or greeting odd - but at the same time the clinical part of him found it easier to just skip that step entirely.

"Well that's entirely based on perspective and ~ Oh right, slang?" He adds curiously while continuing to type. "Simply put, im disecting and analyzing some security software on my computer to see if any of it is worth keeping, modifying or enhancing for another project of mine. Unfortunately most of the project i've had to code from scratch, but occassionally I can find something that makes it a net gain of a few hours in comparison. Hopefully I'll be able to piece mail the layers together one day, but i'd certainly need quite a lot of raw processing power or time for that and even the most advance systems likely wont be able to run it indefinetly."

He finishes his sentence as the laptop beeps and signals its completion as he works to select and isolate a few pieces before moving them over to another area as he saves his work. "Another piece of the puzzle." He adds with a slight note of satisfaction. "Are you actually interested?" He adds pausing to turn and quirk his eyebrow slightly wondering if she even understood any of the programming.

[Whiskeyjack]

The well. The entire place made him somewhat...nervous, in a way he hadn't felt in years. The last few times he had ben down here, it had been in UN or NERV installations. Behind electrified fences filled with crack troops, assault rifles, and rocket launchers, with snipers unseen in the badlands surrounding each base, and layers and layers of armor...he wasn't out in the open except to transit from the Kiev airfield to the heavily-armored passenger jets with their squadrons of escorts, or in the newest state-of-the-art APC. And upwell...well, nobody was up there but NERV these days. Not even the UN, just NERV, and the most "public" he got was test runs.

Nasr slid a hand into his pocket, back out with a tiny plastic cartridge, placed a thin film of mint on his tongue. One hand carried a plastic cup of tea from some forgettable fast-food vendor. That he had ventured out to get it was itself remarkable, but he hadn't been alone, not really. Section 2 was keeping a close watch on him, and Robin had been there briefly before he had to run off to a meeting, promising that he'd be at this upcoming meeting too. Still, for a boy who had never been outside the presence of another person (or at least a servant), being alone was more than a little disconcerting.

He had arrived aboard the UN supercarrier Galahad just weeks before, the voyage delayed due to an unusually aggressive winter storm season in the Atlantic. He forgot how that was a thing in the well, how gravity couldn't just be turned on or off to suit the needs of the latest test or whatever. It had been frustrating, the seasickness, the cramped quarters. But there had been people and he hadn't even been allowed to accompany Unit-00 to its holding chamber. That had not gone over well. Someone had gotten a hard slap to the face and the "Do you know who I am?!" speech, although they seemed unimpressed.

But even that insult paled compared to the horror of the hotel. They wanted to put him in a massive suite alone and he'd had a panic attack, thinking of all the places someone could hide, how he couldn't watch everything, how he didn't even have a real weapon. He had started breathing heavily and was almost in the process of shattering a mirror for a makeshift knife when someone had the good sense to get him out of there.

So he had been staying with Robin. It wasn't so bad, even if Robin was...Robin. Nasr had corresponded with him for the better part of a couple years from upwell (though he hadn't been allowed to say where he was) and in the absence of his big family--who now didn't seem to talk much to him or his father--Nasr had not so much latched on as demanded to be provided for emotionally. Apparently Robin had something to give with that, more than the other kids upwell at least. Robin wasn't competition. Robin just...was there. Was damaged too, Nasr thought in some pretty unspeakably pathetic ways. But they had hit it off, and since Nasr had never had an older brother, just a very indulgent uncle, Robin sort of filled both those voids.

So I'm supposed to go here...as if they can teach me anything. Still, he was impressed. Miskatonic was a premier university...or high school, or whatever the Americans called it. A preparatory school in their system, very exclusive. As if I would have accepted anything less. Top-notch faculty, top-notch peers, in one of the more heavily defended cities in the world.

But they sent the Eva with me. That fact gnawed at his mind. It would be one thing if he were here alone: it would mean he had failed, had been cast off, had been sent to live as just another member of "the one percent." That would have been unspeakable, but with the Eva it was different. he was still valuable. But that fact just spawned innumerable other questions. Unit-00 was...special. He'd been given the privilege of checking out the technical specs on some of the other Evas, and he had scoffed when he saw them. All were of slighter build, and one was practically scrawny. Two seemed to be bred for docility, like little foo-foo dogs instead of mastiffs. And two had virtually been bought and built by corporations, their wings bedecked in logos like cheap prostitutes, whereas Unit-00 was all muscle and hard edges and hugeness and armor, painted like a proper Islamic flag. But each Eva was special in some way, that he knew even though the details were lost on him, and knowing that there were at least 3 other Evas here immediately put him in competition with their pilots for...something. He wasn't sure exactly what, but he knew there had to be a prize for being the best. There always was.

These thoughts occupied him as he made his way into the school. This particular area hadn't been on the New Students Tour. Oh, the building had, but this floor hadn't. Some small study area or meeting room or something boring like that. He had flipped open a tablet PC when he entered, thumbing over to a page about the newest car models, looking to add some small part to the pile of unused parts littering the couple rooms in Robin's house he had claimed for himself. Even if he usually slept in Robin's room somewhere. The bed was gigantic enough for both of them at any rate, but there were futons and chairs there, in the library, the living room...he hadn't liked to be alone even there, even if Robin was just a room or two away. And sleeping amid all the metal bits, while comforting in some ways, reminded him too much of the state of the world upwell. Too much nostalgia for that.

He walked into the room straightaway, seeing two: a boy and a girl, at least one seemed to be his age, with a face buried in a computer in classic nerd pose. "Pff," Nasr snorted briefly, face wrinkling as the smell of inexpensive coffee hit his nose. He gave a quick glance at the food table, folded the tablet back up and stored it in his bag, and flung himself into a plush chair, a lg over one of the arms, sipping his tea. He just looked back and forth at each, eyes settling on the girl. There was something about her that was...familiar. "You. Did you happen to be in Kiev about a year ago? Hong Kong? Rwanda?"

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane smiles easily. "Not even a little," she says, completely without malice. She starts to say something else, but is cut off by the arrival of the new boy. Something about him bugged her immediately, but she kept it to herself. "Maybe." She shrugs. "Was I wearing black and red digital camo? If so, probably yes."

She actually didn't know everywhere she'd been. Whenever she did travel, they generally kept the locations as secret as possible, especially from the pilots. The Appalachians had been a rarity, but there was no way to keep the girls from seeing the road signs other than stuffing them in a box.

She knew that she'd been to more than one Asian city, though, and quite a few military bases. She'd even slept in an igloo once, although whether it was in Northern Canada or Antarctica, she couldn't hazard a guess.

What was she supposed to do now? Oh right, be friendly. She liked making friends, although none of them meant to her what Cassie had. Yet.

She should offer him something, probably. "Coffee?"

[Whiskeyjack]

"Thank you, no," Nasr replies, "I prefer tea." He holds up his cup, thinking. Both of these people were American, or at least Caucasian. Nasr was dark, though not as dark as some in his family, owing to his mother's mixed-roots: Persian, Pakistani, probably some British in there from the Raj somewhere. Still, he was noticeably darker than the other students in the room, though he had seem some Middle Easterners on the campus tour.

He shrugs at her other replies. "I don't remember anyone in camouflage like that. But maybe." Another shrug. "I'd remember you in Hong Kong, and if you were at Kiev, we'd have seen...more of each other I think. But I wasn't exactly keeping an eye on the obvious UN forces in Rwanda," he adds, giving a half smile and shaping his free hand into the analogue of a pistol. "Oh, what am I thinking? I suppose you're both students here, right? Hrm...classmates Robin wrangled into helping me feel 'at home' here or something?" Nasr gives a mock shudder, though it comes across more standoffish than funny, and he sips his tea. "Nice fruit spread though."

[Lothmar]

A couple of things ran through Adams mind at the moment, the most prominent being 'why did you even ask then?' but he honestly was not curious to inquire in the least. "At least you're honest." He adds rolling his neck slightly.

As he levels his head once again he pauses to look at the newcommer with a relatively unchanging expression as he gives a partial bob of his head as if to casually aknowledge his presence without having to actually speak to him; thankfully he seemed preocuppied addressing his uninterested distraction. He wasn't quite able to guage the tone of the conversation though and so he abstained until he was partially aknowledged in a following statement. "I may be a student, but im no welcoming comity." he adds with a slight smirk almost amused at the thought of someone thinking he would be helpful in such a fashion.

"I'll take a cup please, two spoons of salt." He adds tilting his head back to look at the cieling as if in contemplation. It was unfortunate but moving onto another task seemed pointless at this time as things were likely to become much more distracting and soon and he refused to work on his assignments in such conditions.

[Cyborg Mage]

Rounding a corner in Chicago's city centre, the Section 2-owned car that was carrying Fai to his new lodgings swerved uncharacteristically for a small sedan-owing to about four inches of armour plating. Nerve paranoia, as always. Everything that had anything to do with him was to be treated as though he was some kind of war criminal. Was trying to escape a life of slavery a war crime in this day and age? And Nerv insisted that his escape had nothing to do with it. Armoured cars and Section 2 escorts and partial house arrest were all for his own safety, they told him. Typical Nerv, taking oppression and dressing it up as protection. The boat voyage over was even worse; never once was he allowed to leave his room without at least four guns pointed at him, and on the few times he left it appeared to him there were almost as many guards as most ships had entire crews. He knew Nerve was keen on him not escaping, but he certainly shouldn't warrant as much security as they had...

Mired in thought, the car stopping almost flung him forward into the chair in front. A button press from the driver pops open the vehicle's back doors as the Section 2 guard next to him practically snaps his seatbelt off and shoves him out of the car. "Get moving, kid." His legs almost buckle before mechanically springing into action, and the agent's words are met solely with a steely glare. All three agents had now left the car, two dragging him through the Institute's corridors, and a third with a mobile phone clasped to his head. Fai's feet barely have the time to touch the floor at the agents' pace, and within a few minutes, the group arrives at the lounge. One guard keeps Fai's arms pinned to his sides while the other shunts open the door, standing point as Fai is led in.

[Jade_Tarem]

"Well, I am a student here, but... at home?" Jane asks of Nasr while making Adam's coffee. "I don't remember getting any instructions like that."

She blinks when Fai is hustled in. "Oh, wow, those boys from lunch the other day were right. Detention really is brutal here."

Sorry for the awkward pacing and placement of this post, but I didn't want to not post it and I couldn't earlier.

[Astro_sol]

A cacophony of saxophones, drums and cymbals of jazz blared from the speakers stationed throughout the minibus. The sounds resounded off of the walls and ceiling, only to be absorbed by the red shag carpeting. What remained made its way to the ears of the driver, who kept a stoic expression as drove at his usual speed of precisely 10 mph over the posted speed limit. An unchecked cigarette hanging from his lip regularly belched out grey clouds of caustic smoke, which quickly escaped the confines of the vehicle into the open air.

The driver flipped out his cell phone. He could have read the email in his head, if he wanted to, but this was Sub-commander Johansen we were talking about. He had to be sure. And sure enough, he had the room number correctly remembered, as well as the address of the building, the names of all the parties involved, and the correct time listed.

He was 2 minutes, 47 seconds late. And counting.

Looking at Captain Robin Taylor, one might think arriving on time would be the last thing on his mind. His hair, which he assured anyone who asked was washed twice daily, with rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner (it was custom ordered from a salon, not the drab name brands found in common supermarkets), was in its usual messy state. His clothes were equally unkempt, and he would swear on his mother's watery grave that he didn't sleep in them. His car was littered with cigarette butts that were thrown back in by a consistent rebellious back-draft, which had the effect of giving the floor a crispy polka dot pattern. His glasses, small and perfectly round, constantly slid down an equally perfectly slanted (at least, in his mind) nose, only to be met by firm and insistent resistance from the middle finger of his right hand (and it was always the right).

He quickly made sure he had everyone's dossiers memorized correctly. Bradi, Adam. Probably the smartest - or perhaps, more accurately, the most intelligent - of the bunch, and knew his way with computers. Someone he could speak techno-lingo to. Interesting. And involved with the dummy plug project, which he would have to speak to him privately about.

Bryant, Jane. Trained from an incredibly young age. Knew her way around with a gun. All business. He made a mental note to himself to figure out her hobbies, give them some encouragement. She'd trained for years, she'd be fighting for her life soon enough, and the constant stress would be incredibly detrimental. Maybe take her out for ice cream.

Zhuang, Fai. Another interesting one. A transfer from Hong Kong. Had some major behavioral issues. At least one major escape attempt on record. Maybe he'd take him out for ice cream, too.

Nasr Abd al-Aziz ibn Abbas al-Rashid Al Saud. The mouthful, literally and figuratively. He'd been living with the boy for a few weeks now, enough to get a slight handle on him. More behavioral problems, but nothing ice cream couldn't handle. Everyone loved ice cream. Although he would have to talk to him about unnecessary clutter in his house. Sure, Robin only actually used the kitchen (and really, only a quarter of that), part of the living room (for the TV, situated over the perfectly symmetrically organized fireplace), and the master bedroom. However, there could be a time when he would need one of the many extra rooms to store...something in. It could be anything, and that was the point.

He pulled up with a slight shriek of protest from the brakes, but he knew they were fine, as he had installed them. The cigarette was spat unceremoniously out the window with a slight twitch of his neck, and he lightly kicked the door open while opening the latch. His burly beast of a PC was slung over his shoulder as he strode into the institute, one hand keeping the case from swinging at his side while the other was on glasses duty. He scanned the door numbers idly until he found the right room; he knew it was the right one not only from the correct number label, but also from the rather relieved Section 2 agents standing outside. Robin nodded to them, though his mind was elsewhere. He opened the door with a simple push of his index finger, and took one step inside. He glanced over at all the pilots - no, the Children - with a glazed over grey eyes. His mind was still slightly elsewhere, but he needed to socialize.

"Good afternoon - or is it evening? - anyhow, good to finally meet all of you. Or, rather, one of you, I've met the rest of you. I'm Captain Robin Taylor, and I'm the one who's going to be in charge of keeping you all in one piece over the next indeterminate amount of time."

He blinked, and almost considered reaching down for a cigarette before a sign rather rudely reminded him that smoking was not allowed on the premises. If he was feeling rebellious, or stupid, he would have lit one up anyway, but he hadn't disconnected the fire alarms in this room. Yet. "Now, I don't know if you've already spoken to each other, and I'm not one for speeches. You know my name - or if you didn't, you do now - but you may not know each others'. How about we have one of those shindigs where we tell each other our names, our favorite food, favorite movie, and a hobby of yours. And if you don't say anything, I'll be happy to speak for you," he finished, his face deadpan. He lifted a finger and started to bounce it between the pilots. "And let's start with...eenie, meenie, miney, you," he finished, pointing at Nasr. Firsties came with the numerous other perks of living with Robin.

Magic reorganizing for you, Jade.

[Lothmar]

Bradi made it a point to quirk his eyebrow questinoatively at the statement she had just made. "Sarcasm right?" he asks in her direction praying she didn't actually believe what she just said, but at the same time was a horrible judge of people and situations like this.

He turns his head back though at Robins entrance as he adds a monotone but respectful nod as he flatly states. "Captain Taylor."

He waited respectfully as Robin addressed the room and though it wasn't quite something he wanted to do he would comply with the presented ritual when his turn came; until then he waited patiently.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nasr just rolled his eyes. "Come on Robin, what's your game here? Really, whoa re these people?"

He sighs. An unfortunate side-effect of living with Robin is knowing that he doesn't bluff, or that he won't hesitate to follow through on some embarrassing white Westerner course of action. Nasr straightens in the chair and leans forward onto his arms. "Nasr Abd al-Aziz ibn Abbas al-Rashid Al Saud. Yes, if you Google me there will be quite a number of media pictures and stories, no I don't care to talk about them. Moving on. Favorite food, uhh, lentils. Movie? Four-way tie between La battaglia di Algeri, Seven Samurai, The Matrix, and Harvest Beneath the Flamingo Moon, you know, that 2024 Chee Young Bronsen movie about those Chinese rice farmers going crazy after the oceans turned red? You know it, don't claim you don't or you're just an infidel. And hobby...cars and movies obviously, I can go on but eh, one of these people might surprise me with something cool so may as well get it going." He leans back in the chair.

[Astro_sol]

Robin's facial expression did not change throughout the introduction. He had seen that movie. He'd seen better, but he knew it was best to sometimes (for some people, most of the time) to keep his mouth shut.

In fact, that was simply the best option for most of what Nasr said.

"Thank you, Nasr, that'll do just fine. Next, thou." He moved his finger to Bradi.

[Lothmar]

Bradi's mind was hard at work processing the only important info he truly got from that greeting as he tried to memmorize Nasr's full name. He may have even succeded but whether or not he can correctly pronounce it or not is a different story entirely. However it was his turn.

He lists his answers methodically as if he was reading them off a list or a program had just finished its search and was compiling data. "Adam Bradi. Favorite food, Toast. Favorite movie, it's a wonderful life. Hobby, people watching, reverse engineering mechanical or electronic components, programming and design. Currently Employed as an assistant for Nerv research and Development." This of course made most of his hobbies sound more like his professional skills and it was true that they did overlap in some ways.

[Astro_sol]

Yes, Robin could definitely talk to this one. He needed to loosen up, though. He was definitely getting the ice cream treatment as soon as everything got settled. It was fortunate that his side job matched his hobbies, as this led to both an increase in output and employee satisfaction.

"You enjoy your job. That's a good thing. Very good." He'd thought about bringing a clipboard in order to look more professional, but Nasr would have probably called him out. His brain was doing just fine as an informational storage device. He next turned to Zhuang. Then to the Section 2 agent who was still holding his arm. "Is that really necessary? Leave him be, I'm sure he won't try an escape attempt here. There are two guards stationed just outside this door, and all it takes is a push of a button - " he twirled his phone, his eyes never leaving the agent " - for him to be detained. Besides, no one likes a personal space invader." He waited for the agent to comply before turning back to Zhuang. Robin's facial expression still hadn't changed from its usual blank stare. "You're next, kiddo."

[Cyborg Mage]

Oh, don't mind these goons. For my protection, Nerv tells me, amongst other things. The boy speaks in a measured, almost uncomfortably formal manner, his Chinese accent almost completely obscured by his clipped speech-though the venom and sarcasm in his voice could be picked up by a child, his spiteful remark matched with a hateful glare towards the Section 2 agents. He remains mostly silent until Taylor's gaze drifted to him, and with more than a hint of contempt-though looking relieved at the Section 2 agent having released him-he begins to speak. Fai Zhuang. I'm not particular about food; if it doesn't taste like dirt, I'll eat it. As for hobbies or movies, you'd be surprised how much time an organization like Nerv gives you for these things-though Dr. Kuai once brought in Inception to celebrate me passing my initial synch test. Wouldn't call it a bad movie at all.

[Astro_sol]

That does it. I'm setting aside a movie night for this kid. Most likely enjoys psychological thrillers, though there's also the possibility that he enjoys action. Perhaps I could lend him my Die Hard collection. I'm going to need a few tubs of ice cream at the rate these kids are going. Dammit, NERV. This kid warranted further investigation. What the hell had they done to him? He made a note to tell the Commander to get the Section 2 agents to back off from Zhuang, give him some space. Although he had no intention of easing up his security detail.

As per usual, Robin's mask held up nicely. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at what the future has in store for you, Master Zhuang. You should have quite a bit of free time in the future, if I have anything to say about it. And I do."

And last, but not least, he turned to the perky girl making coffee. Caffeine. Glorious. Of course, Robin had already had 3 shots of espresso to liven up his day."And you, young lady?"

[Cyborg Mage]

Fai nods silently; probably not out of anticipation, and certainly not out of respect-sheer reflex, maybe? He looks more than a little dishevelled-his medium-short black hair has been reduced to a tangled, unkempt mass of strands, and he clearly hasn't slept well in days, weeks even. His clothes-otherwise completely forgettable street clothes-are whitened with dust and sand, crumpled as if they are the only thing he has worn for a long time. He regards the room and people around him with preylike suspicion, his stance and quiet Chinese muttering suggesting he simply cannot feel safe anymore.

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane automatically and unconsciously shifts to an "at ease" position that really doesn't look all that at ease. "Jane Bryant. My favorite..." she hesitates. "I'm not sure I've seen enough movies to have a favorite. Those superhero ones from right before Second Impact were pretty good. I'm fine with just about any food. For hobbies, I like track and target practice." Actually, she enjoyed most of the sports at the Institute and was having a hard time picking just one, but everyone assumed she liked shooting and running since that's what she could usually be found doing immediately before or after class, and she found it easier to claim those as hobbies than correct people.

Jane looks over uneasily at Fai, and then at Nasal Tel Aviv in Abba, or whatever his name was. Neither one of them looked like the sort who would have a problem with giving less than 100%, and that was, in and of itself, a problem. But she would wait and see how they did in the sims.

[Lothmar]

"Would you like to address the group in the same manner then Captain, or shall we procede to the likely business at hand?" Bradi asks looking over quisitively a little disappointed he doesn't have his coffee yet when he can clearly see it, but is understanding due to the situation - besides it's not like she was getting paid for this... At least not in the form of a tip for this service anyway.

"That is assuming everyone is here for the same meeting and we're not waiting for anyone else." Bradi adds in his continued casual tone only slightly interested in the details of how did the subcommander put it 'things going into full swing soon'.

[Astro_sol]

The Captain finally allows some remote semblance of a grin to appear as he hears the Bryant girl mention "superheroes". These kids would be the closest thing to superheroes for the world in the coming months. Of course, they weren't looking exactly like Justice League material.

He looked over the kids again. It seemed like Bryant was the nicest, if you really wanted to get right down to it. Next up was Bradi, who came a close second, but probably shared the same problems that most intelligent people shared: coming across as a sarcastic bum nugget, whether he was one or not. Meanwhile, Nasr could actually be a bum nugget, but anyone would be after going through what he went through. Except maybe Jesus. And Zhuang...Zhuang needed friends, soon, or he was going to snap. And Robin was going to have to have a long talk with whoever had decided to let the agents treat him like dirt.

"I might be a Captain, Ms. Bryant," he said, raising his glasses up with his finger, "but you won't have to worry about military formalities with me. Well, most of them. It's rather satisfying to be referred to as sir, and I guarantee you that most officers feel the same way. But I have enough people calling me that. So we should get to know each other better, all of us, and to do that, let's call each other by our first names. Nasr had a head start, in that regard."

He picked the most comfortable looking chair and sat down. A cigarette found its way into his hand, which he started to roll between his fingers.

"Do you all know why you're here?"

[Lothmar]

The phrase 'you wont have to worry about military formalities with me' registered strangrely in Bradi's mind - not quite an error, but more like incompatable software or programming.

"Well we can certainly speculate with the data available, but I doubt any of us would be one hundred percent correct. Im assuming we the independent twigs are to be bound together to make us more difficult to break. To what extent though, is the real question..."

[Whiskeyjack]

"Second Impact ruined my country and my family. I owe a great debt to NERV which can only be repaid in the blood of those who destroyed the world. That is both riba and rizq owed or deserved to NERV and my zakat to the injured world as a whole," Nasr says coolly, getting up to procure some fruit. "As to how,that's classified and Robin never said you people had clearance. And if you really are just some weird welcome committee for me, then I suppose you can deal with the awkwardness or Robin will just assemble a new one," he shrugs, biting into a date.

[Cyborg Mage]

I'm here, Captain, for the same reason everything else has ever happened in my life-because of Nerv. Fai barely even tries to conceal his distaste at this point, almost speaking through his teeth, glaring for a moment at Robin before returning to a more passive, sweeping gaze. The official stance is that I will be fighting the Angels, and whether I do that in an Eva cockpit or the very next building they bring down is my choice. Speaking aside, somewhere between talking and sighing, he continues; (Chinese) And such a liberating choice it is...

[Whiskeyjack]

"Hm, oh, someone said the magic words. Good to know that the curtain can come up then. Abracadabra...or more properly, avada kedavra," Nasr says with an unpleasant look, spearing a very-ripe strawberry on a plastic knife and watching the red juices trickle out before popping it into his mouth.

[Jade_Tarem]

By this point, even Jane's temper is starting to fray a bit. "That's the only choice there ever was." She says, evenly. "The Angels are capable of destroying all life on the planet unless they're stopped. As the pilots are the only ones who can operate the Evangelion units, it is our duty to defeat any Angelic threat that appears. Choice isn't the issue, here," she says, gazing evenly at Fai. "And it isn't a game," This was directed at Nascar Aladdin the Second, or whatever his name is. "If we show up just once without our 'A' game, everything ends. Fairness isn't a factor."

[Whiskeyjack]

"Don't presume to know anything about me or my motivations or my outlook, Sporty Spice," Nasr says, quiet and cold. "I'd tell you I'd give you the same courtesy but I could give two lame camels why you're so gung-ho and he isn't." He motions at Fai. "And if there's one thing I care about less than your motivation or your Captain America speech, it's seeking your approval and being lectured to by you as if you know anything."

He crumples the empty cup and flings it into a trashcan. "Robin, are we done here?"

[Cyborg Mage]

Choice isn't the issue? Fai's voice burns with incredulity, seeming alert for the first time since he entered the room. He almost spits as he talks. Bái chī! Do you know anything about me? I have never had a choice in my life, stupid girl. Choice is the entire issue. Taking a step towards Jane, he continues, almost visibly having to restrain himself from lashing out at her. You would do well not to lecture me about things you know nothing of.

[Lothmar]

"Those that Can do and what not... But yes I agree with Ms Bryant however, without further data logic dictates that this basic hypothesis is correct. However with everyones assistance, ‘was’ may one day soon enough be the appropriate word." Bradi says calmly.

"Until then however, we will not only need to act - we will likely need to develope cohesion to better handle threats that no single individual or their system can contend with alone. Which is why choice is unfortunately not an option at this time, but we can work so that the choice is one day within reach for those who cannot or simply do not wish it..." there is a slight and obvious pause.

"Unfortunately because of what we are capable of and what we've seen and what we will probably bare witness to in our time, even should we no longer be needed to pilot an Evangelion in the future, our actions will likely be monitored and limited for the rest of our lives to some degree ." He states this in a very matter of fact way having long accepted his station and purpose, very content to fullfill the roll Nerv created him for ; Hopefully they will find some other purpose for him afterwords, if not he would prefer termination to a simple continued 'existance' without purpose.

'While man is born with the inate ability to think, reason and act - this also means that man is able and therefore susceptible to behave in ways that seek to control or restrict the thoughts, reasoning and actions of others.'

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane doesn't back down, but she doesn't respond right away either - she's not quite sure how to process his behavior. Fortunately, Adam's response gives her time to come up with a suitable reply. As with many things she opts to fall back on what her instructors told her - and by this point she's mad enough to have shifted completely to her professional side.

"I'll do well regardless. You could to, if you would stop blaming your superiors for everything and do your duty, instead of trying to desert. What were you thinking? There are three billion people counting on you to protect them - and one of them is you! There is no summer break for an Eva pilot. There is no non-NERV option that ends with you surviving." She almost stops there, but then a terrible notion hits her. "Did... did you bring anything to this team besides an attitude problem and hypocrisy? Or are you going to tell me that you know everything about my life? Because from the way you're acting I'm not sure you were even briefed."

[Astro_sol]

Robin watched as the children - they certainly weren't young adults, not yet - began to argue. Nasr had just about given up. Adam was attempting - and failing, from the looks of things - to be the neutral party. Jane was getting belligerent, although she brought up good points; she was just a bit...off. And Fai looked ready to go to war. He privately mused that that rage would serve NERV well, if they could redirect it at the Angels.

"That is quite enough," he breathed, his voice still completely calm. He even actually felt that way. No need to get worked up by the Children. "Now we can continue to sit here all day if we have to, if you all want to continue acting like spoiled infants. So no, Nasr, we're not done here. Not quite yet. Now, if I would very much like to continue, but the only way I can do that is if you all sit down and start acting like adults. The sooner I can finish, the sooner you can all go about your day. Possibly go to the mall, watch TV, play with dolls, whatever." The Captain leaned forward and pressed his palms together. He had picked up the habit from Duval, although he was privately aware that he did not quite hold her intimidation factor. "Therefore, I'll offer you all a choice. You can either sit down and allow me to finish this briefing, or continue to act like toddlers, in which case you will be treated as such." He gave a pointed look at Zhuang, just barely tilting his head.

"Now, Mr...no. Fai. I trust that you're aware of the Section 2 agent still across from me. I'm under no impression that I will need to give him orders, but he looks quite ready to sit you down himself. And that would be in no one's best interests, I assure you." He directed the look at the agent, whom Robin had seen tense up when the Chinese boy had approached Bryant. The agent relaxed, at least a bit. I really must learn Chinese at some point in the near future.

"Adam. I thought I made it clear that we were to begin referring to each other by our first names. I'm not asking any of you to like anyone else, even me. But we will establish a working relationship with each other. We will be working together for a long time, and it's best that we are at least civil. I will say that you are right about a cohesive team being much better than an individual, especially against the Angels."

He withheld a sigh, barely. "Jane, I would ask that you accuse your colleague here with desertion without knowing the facts behind it. Fai is willing to fight the Angels, which, according to our calculations, can withstand anything and everything that mankind can bring to bear, apart from our Evangelions. None of you here are cowards. You may not have been given a choice, but you are willing to fight. And that's good enough for me.

Now, are we going to be civil, now?"

[Whiskeyjack]

Nasr makes an annoyed noise in the back of his throat and flops back into the cushy chair. "Fine, just because you asked so nicely," he scoffs, grabbing a croissant and absently pulling it apart, wrapping sections of it around dates.

"Can I go to the cage later? My access badge still isn't done so you have to take me. You'd think that they'd actually want a pilot to have their access card quick just in case, you know, I'd need to get to HQ or my Eva in an emergency or something."

[Cyborg Mage]

Fai turns his head abruptly as Robin speaks, only a fraction of his prior fury gone from his gaze. He doesn't seem to hold much respect for the captain, although well aware of his authority-and the Section 2 agent standing only a few feet behind him. Looking almost relieved at his remark towards Jane, the Chinese boy shoots her one more spiteful glare before stepping back again, adopting as much of a passive stance as it seems he can manage at this point. As you wish, sir. His typical venom and sarcasm shows through in his last word, and he begins leaning against the wall, apparently ready to listen-though by no means calmed, it would appear.

[Lothmar]

The technical programming of his mind finally clicked to appropriate acceptance. While he prefered to address adults or authority figures in a respectful manner, he realized that by not follow the commands to address Captain~ Er robin in the proposed manner requested would be disrespectful despite his intentions otherwise.

"Appologies Robin, I shall try harder to address you and the members of this team in the manner you requested."

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane's mouth actually snaps shut as Robin starts talking. When he's done, she's gone scarlet, although she does manage a "Yes, sir." She makes a point of not looking at Fai, not wanting to lose any more control than she already had. If he's only going to complain, I'll at least need to make sure that he doesn't bring down *my* performance.

She calms down. The other two weren't so bad. Nasr - that was his name - seemed to be willing to do his part to take down the Angels, at least, and Adam also seemed to at least be ready to foster teamwork.

[Transcendent]

The door swung open once more, this time, a tallish woman with strawberry blond hair entered the room. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a slightly too tight red-shirt. Of course, the most prominent part of her appearance was the many scars that covered her flesh, and the patch that was covering one of her eyes. She looked the room over, obviously feeling the tension within.

She had expected this, tossing a bunch of kids in the throws of puberty was never pleasant, particularly when they were either trained or created for combat. She had to let out a little sigh before she took a big gulp from the energy drink that she clenched tightly in her mostly unmarred right hand. These were going to be bad times, not just for the pilots but for everyone involved in the project. She really couldn’t do much to solve the issue.

“Attention.” She said rather nonchalantly, waiting to see how the group would respond. She figured the group, outside of Fei would more than likely respond as any soldier would. Yet, she was curious just to gauge their responses.

[Lothmar]

Bradi is responsive per his programming and stands from is seat respectfully to attention. While perhaps not as crisp or quick as a true military trainee it was an obvious and practiced response.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nasr blinks as he subconsciously sits flat, stands, straightens, and crisply salutes: fingernails of his right hand touching his forehead, thumb bent up into the palm and palm facing this woman. He holds it for several seconds before relaxing to a military stance, legs slightly spread, hands crossed behind his back.

He had heard that some high-up in the chain was a one-eyed woman who dressed as if she belonged in an Alabama kicker bar. Or at least Robin had said that over video chat once when he was drunk. Whatever that had meant, Nasr thought he understood now.

May as well play nice for the one who assigns the budget, he thought idly, considering how best to...upgrade Unit-00 when the time came.

[Cyborg Mage]

Fai almost reflexively straightens himself up as the newcomer announces herself, shooting her a sidelong glance-then, well, if he could have rolled his eyes any further he would be would be short one sense. Almost instantly he relaxes again-slumps, even-and even through his Chinese accent his utter disgust and dejectment are clear. (Chinese) Ah crap, here we go. His stare returns to the sub-commander, and in a cold, flat tone he says just loudly enough to hear; "Just get this over with.

[Astro_sol]

Robin was not exactly the best of role models, but he certainly gave respect where it was do. Plus he just plain liked the Sub-commander. He stood, stashing the cigarette behind his ear and almost - almost - lazily saluting with the same hand.

"'Sup. Ma'am."

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane snaps to attention, still not fully recovered from what she viewed as a massive dressing down. She salutes as well, happily noting that Nasr did the same. He seemed to be disciplined enough, at least, even if his introduction to the group had been strange.

[Transcendent]

“At ease.” The woman was pleased to see the response of the group. Even the rebellious pilot still seemed to have some military instincts. This meant with a bit of work they could be brought to the surface once more. She had to remind herself though, these were simple children they weren’t military recruit even if that was essentially what they were made and raised for. She had to have a lighter hand. Her gaze wandered to the section two guard. “You're dismissed.” She said with a little smile, the silent man simply got up and left.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you were called together today.” She said, as she placed her beverage on a nearby counter, before plopping down beside it rather gracelessly. She crossed her long legs as she looked once more over the operations director and the pilots. “Things are going to really start heating up soon, and I do mean soon.” She said, at least if one could believe Amber Davis’ ramblings before she disappeared from the cell in one of Seel’s bases.

“This means that we’re going to be increasing your training regimens. I know, this means you won’t have a lot of free time, but, I think everyone here knows that the fate of the world is more important than a social life.” She took another deep breath. “Also, please don’t let your grades plummet too far otherwise we might start getting complaints about favoritism… and we are trying to keep the institute’s true purposes a secret. Do you all understand?”

[Lothmar]

Bradis body shifts relatively subconciously in response to the words 'at ease', however it was more like a secondary setting on a lever rather then true ease.

'Considering we're still talking about training, I take it then there hasn't been a sighting so how do we know?'

"Understood. I'd be interested in learning the specifics of how we came up with such projections, but since we have time for training that can probably wait. If possible I would like to request copies of the results from the training data, both personal and simulation to help me contruct more accurate data models for project review purposes. "

Everything else was a simple matter of waiting for disclosure on the training regiment and schedule which he assumed would come with time and so he felt no need to ask.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nasr resolves to procure some hash for the two high-strung male pilots. He's fairly sure Robin either has some laying around or has procurement connections.

[Jade_Tarem]

Jane blinks, uncertain of how to respond to that. She doubted that the new training regimen would be up to the standards of her old one, although she regretted the loss of time she would be able to spend exploring the 'real world,' as her new friends called it.

[Astro_sol]

Robin looked over the kids as the Sub-commander spoke. Of course he was slightly perturbed at the news, but he saw the sense in it. He would of course still arrange for the pilots to have what downtime they could.

Of course, it wouldn't be right to speak his protests in front of the Children. Thus, when Johansen sat down, he did as well, his saluting hand falling as lazily as it had risen. His lighter came out, and he began to absently open and close it, letting the others speak. His part of the briefing was over, for now.

[Transcendent]

“It will be, for the most part be… typical.” She said with a little shrug of your shoulders. “But, there is one test that will be rather important…” the woman fiddled a bit nervously with her eye patch. “You see, the military has decided that the Evangelions are well, nothing more than glorified toys being piloted by well.” She scratched the back of her head. “Spoiled children, they’ve been doing their own research into how to defeat the Angels and well they’ve managed to get a few of their toys approved. I’m not sure what dumb ass politician thought this up but, we’re going to be having a little war game.” Her gaze fixed on Brady. “I’m not quite sure what they’re going to be fielding, I want you to see what you can dig up.”

“Beyond that, we’ve set up simulated combat. Since we’re not sure what we’re going to deal with I want to make sure you folks are prepared to fight against humans. As such, you’re going to get a chance to clobber each other to get that excess aggression out. We’ll have a reward for those who come out on top.” She said with a little a little grin, hoping that the promise of a reward would at least excite the pilots.

“I do have one other little announcement, you’ll all be moving in with Robin here. I know it seems kind of strange, but, we’re trying to build camaraderie and all that.”

[Astro_sol]

So much for my part being over.

"Right. First things first, ma'am. I'll help Adam with intel. Someone wants to throw us for a loop; only fair if we return the favor." He would have been grinning, if not for the other bit of news. He hoped his blank stare said we're going to talk about this later, with a major part of this discussion detailing me having a bit of prior warning, but what he said was a bit more diplomatic. "I guess that makes sense, considering my living arrangements." He turned to the other pilots, his glare becoming decidedly more friendly. "It's a big place, so you shouldn't have to worry about doubling up, unless you really want to."

Inwardly, he facepalmed. It was enough having to live with Nasr. I had to move my stash from the usual place, hide the booze in the master bedroom, and throw my erotica into my gun safe. And now they're throwing four hormonal teenagers under my roof. Four teenagers. One bachelor. Jiminy Cricket, this'll be tough.

[Whiskeyjack]

"War game? And they have things they think are comparable to Evas? Do you mean like...T-RIDEN-Ts? Oh, I'm sure what I heard about that project years ago is nothing like a production version, but before I met 00 it was all I could do to get in the T-RIDEN-T qualifier bracket. And when I heard about the Evas I thought no way they could ever beat out a T-RIDEN-T, I mean it was supposed to be a flying dinosaur! Of course that was before I found out about the A.T. Field, and those certain other special things the Evas can do. Yeah, I think I did meet the qualifications for pre-commission pilot training, but before it could start was there when, err.........I guess one of the tests made me more suitable to have my file transferred to NERV or something," the change in his vocal tone is quite noticeable, from an almost childlike excitement to a more serious and solemn tone.

"Not that I'm not grateful. Unit-00 is probably the best thing that ever happened to me, given everything that came before," he adds quickly.

[Lothmar]

"I'll certainly do my best to assist in the operations. With appropriate resources we could likely achieve results better, but it would likely leave a most obvious 'signature' - so I think we'd be better served requesting a small team and a mobile station so that our work is more anonymous. I'll draw up a proposal later." He adds with a nod slowly moving to sit down as the fingers of his hands staying on the arm rests begin to tap as if pressing at keys for a few seconds as Nasr begins to talk about the Trident's.

"Interesting. Nasr if you'd be willing, i'd certainly like to hear more about this piece of equipment later - in fact with enough time and detail, I think me and the lads at design and engineering at R&D could possibly create a rough generalized schematic and then from there possibly develop ideas about the structure and likely advancements that could have projectibly occured since you were last involved with the project. Especially if you have any hard data or information on the contractors or who might be fabricating the parts or weaponry if there was any obvious corporate symbols, their systems may be easier to compromise. But that's assuming we're fighting something developed by the same people, it may not be the only manhattan project out there as it were." He sighs for a moment realizing he had gotten off track and is a little disappointed he cant continue.

"But I digress, the only possibly achievable super science that I think would give people any actual fighting chance against the angels and the AT field without possessing one would probably be in the field of Positron beam weaponry." He adds with a slight humming sound as if sounding a little akward as he calculates there odds having to face something with a positron cannon.

"What are the terms of these war games? It would certainly make a difference tactics and strategy wise to know. I doubt the powers that be would consent to anything that could truly damage the 'massive' investments of either party such as live fire excercises and dummy ammunition leaves the Evas as a clear advantage when it comes to the AT helping to deflect or block actual contact." Bradi adds praying that the excercises would not be entirely 'simulated' involving sensors and painting subjects in the sense of not counting the AT field which was one of their major advantage.

"With practice, I may be able to develope a sensory ping technigue based off of a practical theory i've been wanting to try for a form of AT 'radar' as it were - with a little extra power, I may be able to expand the details of whats detected even down to human scale AT strength and wavelengths as miniscule as that may be. With that I think we could easily aim for the cockpick or crew of the enemy equipment assuming it's not obvious, however I think i'd prefer not to do that if this does turn out to be a live fire excercise..." He adds as if sounding only slightly guilty about the idea but would probably still do it if ordered.

On the thought of moving however you can tell Bradi has a bit of a sour look on his face. "I understand." He adds in a dejectedly defeated tone to this, not necessarily oppossed to the idea of moving as he was sharing a living space. Too many variables... So many people, touching so many things... Germs aside - what if they didn't share similiar tastes in pantry orginization or if he could hear them moving around or making noise at any or all hours of the day or night - he'd constantly be on edge! Too many variables!

[Whiskeyjack]

"So let me get this straight. We're going to get to beat on each other in pure simulation with no lasting repurcussions, and then we get to have a war game with some pissant little national militaries about whose WMDs are better?" Nasr is virtually vibrating with excitement.

Nasr shrugs at Adam's questions. "Keep in mind I heard scraps about it like...six years ago. Seven? I don't remember. But 'flying dinosaur gunship' is a good way to describe it.

"It was a UN thing, so whatever corps had it in good with UN lobbying in the late 20-teens to early-2020s probably had a hand in it. I'd guess Halliburton, Boeing, Lockheed, John Deere...at least from the letters my father got. Probably a few in German and Chinese too, but hell if I knew what those letters meant.

"Seemed like a good plan though, even if the design was crazy. You ever see Robotech? Or Macross? Some people think they're the same, they're really not but that's another story. Anyway, in those shows they had this thing called a veritech fighter that could transform between a fighter jet and a humanoid battle robot. It also had a third configuration called 'Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint' mode. It's a holy mouthful but imagine a jet fighter with a pair of chicken legs sticking out the bottom, arms like a man's under the wings. You get the idea. T-RIDEN-T looked like that, but also a dinosaur."

He shrugs. "I'll try to remember the specifics, it was a big secret UN thing. I only know about it because they were testing kids for training, you know, hand-eye aptitude, ability to withstand multipls Gs of acceleration, processing targeting data. Basically grow them up learning to work these things and raise themselves a generation of ace pilots." He leaves the obvious implications for NERV hanging in the air, smiling smugly, but waves a hand dismissively. "And believe it or not there are human weapons that can blow through an A.T. Field. Or so I've seen in the sims they ran, mostly the tech-nerds telling me 'hey avoid this kind of weapon or you'll lose all your skin, or get a hole punched through your chest, or get your arm torn off, field deflection or not.' As if I'm an idiot going to stand still while someone shoots a missile at me. But even blowing through an Angel's A.T. Field isn't enough they say, you have to really take it apart to make it stop moving. Same with the Eva! Not like a fighter jet or a battle walker where you blow up a wing or tear off a leg and it's done, even if those things can pack more offensive hardware and have a longer operational life than an Eva. Even with all that there's no human machine that can compete with my Unit-00. Of that I'm absolutely sure. Especially if they think hanging in VTOL mode a hundred meters off the ground can stop me from getting to them," he grins.

[Jade_Tarem]

"He's right." Jane throws in. "About the weaponry, at least. AT Fields are very powerful, but they're only as much protection as the entity generating it can manage to make them. 'Conventional' weapons for the Eva can punch through AT Fields of a certain strength if the hit is hard enough and accurate enough, as can every other kind of weapon - I know because they had me doing it as part of my training. I doubt they'd have working positron guns at this point, simply because that would place them light-years ahead of 'our' team when it came to weapons technology, and if that were the case there'd be no point in having a war game to show who's the best. Also firing one would take the kind of energy normally produced by Japan's entire power grid."

Jane tilts her head as she places one elbow in the other hand. "On the other hand, there are other ways for them to surprise us. No one guaranteed that this would be a fair war game, did they? We may find ourselves in a setup or terrain that favors a mobile airborne gun platform a lot more than the Evangelions. And if we're told to start without external power, all they have to do is run for a few minutes to win."

[Whiskeyjack]

"That just makes them look like assh---err, jerks," Nasr says, quickly correcting with a glance at Robin. "What would it prove, other than Eva battery life needs a workup? Nothing, and then they just look like assh---yeah, you know. Even if there are, uh, certain workarounds of complete external power loss," he adds quietly, clearing his throat.

"And if anyone had polyphonic weapons or whatever, you don't think the UN would have said 'ooh, gimme gimme' already? I mean, they can and they would, I bet. Not even America could last under modern UN sanctions! It isn't like the world before. Without coastal California and the Rio Grande to grow food and all the offshore platforms wiped out by the tsunamis, not to mention the volcano eruptions...there's a reason everyone gave power to the UN, and it's not because they wanted to, it's because of just how bad the world got turned on its head.

"Like I said, an aerial gun platform had better be pretty far up there to get away from me. That's one of the tests they had me do a lot. And that kind of thing makes for one easy shooting target too. But of course it'll be unfair. No country likes to give up its sovereignty. They all want to show they can do better by themselves than the UN can with worldwide help."

[Lothmar]

"Pinpoint barrier system." Bradi Snrks remebering the track ball efforts of the crews defending the macross. "It's certainly more information we had to go on than before, thank you." He adds continuing to air type against the arm rest as if logging information into his brain.

"Well yes of course I understand that the probability of breach exists, but as you stated it depends on field strength. I wasn't necessarily refering to Eva field strength though, afterall the Eva's currently can only generate so much based on our capacities for control and synchronization as pilots and therefor only possess the possibility to neutralize an equivalent strength. Thus the necessity for multiple units if an angels AT field is double, triple, or god forbid much stronger then any single evangelion. If we can at least reduce the probability strength of a field below one hundred percent or to a point where our or some weaponry can breach it entirely we at least have a chance of destroying the enemy." He adds with a slight pause.

"But you're right, I think on average without closer examination of readings our forces would have a form of to quote table top games a 'fifty percent miss chance' as it were against conventional weaponry if it doesn't have the capacity for breach. The only things I think would have the capacity at that point, would be very powerful indeed and would likely cause massive collateral damage as a result - so if it's live fire it'll likely be an isolated stage to prevent any meaningful destruction." He adds continuing to speculate internally hoping for some information on an actual schedule for these events, especially the date of the change of residence.

[Cyborg Mage]

So, right now, the fate of the world depends on proving Nerv has the shiniest guns? Fai almost chuckles-filtered though his usual deadpan pessimism, of course, but it seems he does have a sense of humour. Oh, this is rich. The end of the world is staring us in the face and we still can't agree on anything. He straightens up once more, his formerly depressive stance taking on an almost callous element. If we're not up against Angels this time, then we get back in to tactics, and that is where I shine. Suddenly grimacing, the Asian boy continues to himself; And I know who to thank...

He stands pensively for a few moments, almost forgetting the impromptu briefing taking place around him. Suddenly snapping back to attention, he gives the room one more suspicious sweep for good measure and then continues. Whatever you know, Nasr, I need to know. What do they do that we don't? What kind of firepower are they carrying? Tell me where the armour is, tell me where the chinks are, rattle off the whole damn specification if you can, but the point is- Fai steps forward at this point, and one can almost see the dozens of plans and stratagems circulating behind his eyes. "If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without jeopardy." And right now, knowing my enemy is the one thing I'm not doing.

[Transcendent]

The only response that Robin received was a wink… or was it a blink. It was difficult to gauge when the person taking part in the gesture only possessed a single eye. Was the sub commander actually taking pleasure from the Operations Director’s discomfort? She took another sip from her beverage.

“Truthfully Bradi, I can’t tell you what the terms of engagement are. It’s being kept secret until the day of the event, at least from NERV. The last thing I’m trying to tell you do is TRY TO DISCOVER THE RULES before the event.”

She turned her attention to Fai. “Yes, NERV does have to prove we have the shiniest guns out there. You might want to roll your eyes, but, being able to prove our capabilities is key to getting further funding. Which is beyond important, if we’re going to keep improving out armaments we have to show we deserve the cash.” She shrugged her shoulders.

[Lothmar]

"Understood... Those are some steep variables to overcome though, makes it harder to shift the odds in our favor." Bradi realized the importance of events like these which influenced funding however as that meant his own project could easily be on the chopping block if they failed.

It gave him the sort of do or die motivation he would need. "So then, do we actually have a date for this event, or are we just on high alert for some time they choose in the near future?"

[Astro_sol]

At the Sub-commander's wink/blink, Robin withheld a sigh. She just loved to obfuscate. Still, he could ignore her antics as easily as he ignored her all-too-tight shirt, which he swore broke a few regulations...but he was certainly one to talk.

"Is there anything else, ma'am? Has Section 2 taken care of their belongings already, or am I going to have to make some trips? Otherwise, I'll be taking Nasr home, unless anyone else needs a ride." The cigarette was back in his hand, being twirled between his fingers. "It's going to be a long night," he muttered, aware that he was going to have stay up finding out all he could on this upcoming test. He would also have to cooperate with Adam the next day, and possibly over the next several days, depending on when this shindig went down. He wasn't worried about the job, though. He was behind 7 proxies, and had been breaking into databases for years. The military would be nothing; they used 12345 as a password for just about everything, anyways.

[Transcendent]

She shook her head a bit as she slipped of the counter without much grace, for a moment it appeared almost as if she might end up falling face first into the table, before she extended a scarred arm outward catching herself. “Eh, guess I still haven’t recovered from last night.” She mumbled before giving a little stretch.

"As for the date, we’ve got seven days to make sure you’re ready. I know it’s not a lot of time, but, I’m positive our equipment will far outpace anything that the military is going to throw at us.” She looked to Whiskey “Try to get everyone up to speed on the V-tols, and if anything else comes to mind feel free to email me.”

Her attention than shifted to Robin. “There things are being transported to your place as we speak, so, you might have a big pile of luggage sitting on your drive way when you make it home.”

[Lothmar]

The words 'transported as we speak' stuck in his mind and his face gave an obvious nervous tick in response... This meant that someone was in his place. Not only was someone in his place when he wasn't there but they were touching his things!

This meant depending on the level of professionalism, he'd not only have to give everything a good cleaning - but that he'd likely have to re-organize his various possessions if they were not packed correctly. There's also the possibility of tampering, he would have to inspect his furniture and possessions as well as the room and the house for bugs and not the crawly kind... Though if left outside on a driveway... OUTSIDE! My god, bugs could be crawling onto, over or even into their posessions!

"We should, probably get going then..." He adds standing up.

It was obvious Bradi was thinking very hard about something as he prepared to depart. 'Im not quite sure I like this idea, yes while it allows us to concentrate security and intelligence around defending one key point - that means that one attack at a key moment or one specific operation could take out or prevent every pilot from reaching Command in an emergency.' However he was not one to refuse orders and so would follow them for now until he could sate his curiosity. He'd be very suprised if no one had considered what he's thinking right now though.

[Whiskeyjack]

"Uh, yes ma'am, I'll try to remember something more," Nasr says awkwardly as he mentally combs through Robin's house and tries to determine how to contain the crawling chaos that is now about to infest it.

All of them moving in with Robin was going to be a disaster, he was just sure of it.

[Jade_Tarem]

"Understood." Jane nodded. She'd try to give all of this a fresh start tomorrow. Who could tell? Maybe this would be five times as neat as bunking with Cassie.

[Astro_sol]

"Well, if we're done here..." Robin began, getting up himself, "I suppose I should give all of you kiddos a ride. C'mon, we'll pile up in the Joybus."

As he made his way to the door, he stopped by the Sub-commander. "We'll discuss this later," he said in voice only she could hear, his face still holding that lazy amused look. Of course, even behind the mask, he wasn't all that upset. Maybe a bit frustrated. But he knew that she would simply grin back, which ruined any real anger he had. It reminded him of his aunty, forcing away any anger he harbored with smiles and a light lilt to her voice.

He missed her.

[Cyborg Mage]

At the mention of leaving, Fai almost seems to cheer up-or as much as it seems he will under the circumstances. Casually dusting himself off, and not without a hint of smugness, he remarks, "Well, as much as I'd hate to leave my good friends in Section 2 behind, I suppose I must be going." The boy strides casually over to the door, and for once seems to have stopped scanning the entire room as though the floorboards are going to try and stab him. Finally, he seems to be in a good mood.

[Whiskeyjack]

"Kalishnikov!" Nasr shouts, running out. "I mean 'shotgun!'"

[Astro_sol]

The minute Robin was outside, he flipped his Zippo open and lit up the cigarette.

“Rule number one, kids. When Robin wants a cigarette, Robin has a cigarette.” He leaped into the minibus, not particularly paying attention to who sat where. When everyone was settled, he started up the engine. The rumble of the enhanced 8 cylinder engine was almost drowned out by the chaotic cacophony of jazz that blared from the equally enhanced speakers. The multiple windows throughout the minibus were cracked open from the pull of a single handle; Robin loved natural ventilation.

“Rule number two. If you have nothing nice to say about the bus, don’t say anything.” With that said, he threw the Joybus into reverse and floored it out of the institute, not paying attention to silly things like speed limits. A part of him was aware that his house was only a couple of miles away from the school, but he liked to try to beat his record of 4 minutes 12 seconds on every run-through. Thus, he was too preoccupied by the timer built into the dashboard, his cigarette (which, no matter how long it took, was always finished the second he pulled into his driveway), and the blaring of his choice music to pay attention to the small crowd gathered in his VW (the front logo of which had been replaced by the symbol of NERV). It was a great day to drive; barely any cars to avoid, the sun was shining near the horizon, and any happiness he had felt from the drive vanished upon remembering that he was moving in with 3 other teenagers.

And where else would they go, eh? Private quarters on base? With no real guardians or anything? That’s what they were worried about with Nasr, so of course they’d want the rest to have some sort of stable home life to go to. And it’s oh-so-convenient that the Operations Director, the one who’s going to have the most hands-on experience with the kids, has the perfect house to have them all live together, nevermind that he’s single and has almost no experience with this sort of thing-

He could imagine Johansen’s response to that.

Oh, but Commander! We’ve already lumped him with Nasr, surely he could handle 3 more! They can’t be as bad as Nasr.

Oh, he could beg to differ. Fai could snap at any second, Adam was a ticking time bomb who had the emotional range of a robot, and Jane, while seeming the most stable, just had to have something going on in that head of hers. Children her age were good at hiding things like that, and she seemed to be using her military training to cover a lot of grief. He planned to look more into that incident in the mountains. His paranoia told him something had happened. Fai and Adam’s files were chock full of CLASSIFIED, which he planned on breaking through at the first given opportunity. It was a wonder that the Captain got any sleep, ever.

He shook himself back into reality at the sight of his home, up a ways on top of a hill. That was because of his aunty, she always liked the view. He never really left the house, though, so he never really appreciated it like she seemed to. The house old, built long before the turmoil of Second Impact, and had somehow survived the turmoil of that time. It looked almost like a castle; grey bricks all around a two story house. It looked almost Victorian, something Amber had wanted when getting a place here in Chicago. She’d also apparently given zoning laws the finger, seeing as the two stories were separated with an incredibly high ceiling.

“That’s the place,” he said, pointing at it with his severely shortened cigarette. “There’s plenty of room, as you can see, so I’ll leave picking rooms to you guys. And gal. I don’t want to have to pick for you, so if you fight, I’ll pick for you. There’s 5 rooms on the top floor, not including mine, and another 7 on the bottom, not including Nasr's. Just avoid his room, it’ll be the one with most junk in it.” He gave the boy an aside glance. “I know he has stuff lying around in a few other places, but don’t worry about that. Just say you want it and he’ll be happy to move them into his room, where I’m sure he has plenty of space.”

He screeched into the parking lot, which stretched quite away from the street. If he recalled correctly, Amber had bought two properties; one was the yard, while the other was the house itself. It seemed a bit wasteful, in his opinion, but it was certainly a nice yard. Imported redwoods were scattered throughout, almost like joint middle fingers shared between his aunt and mother nature, directed at the rest of the city. If it were really his place, he’d have them all removed, but she’d always liked them, so he had them put up for if…when she got home.

He pulled up outside the garage at the back right of the house. “Well, here we are. C’mon, I saw a bunch of junk lying out front.” With that, he got out and walked ahead, nodding at the agents who were just finishing up moving the boxes. They had to walk around the tower that marked the front right of the house, which was really just a cool exterior for the spiral staircase leading up to his room. He walked to the huge double doors that marked the front of the house, traced with vines and leaves into the woodwork. He considered that you’d probably need a battering ram to get through, seeing as the inside had at least 4 different locks, all unlocked with the same large brass key in the same keyhole.

Amber may have liked the Victorian era, but Robin was much more of a fan of technology. The doors creaked open to reveal a tall hallway that led a short way into a huge common room. There was a large TV, several leather couches, and a few tables with antique lamps that were spread throughout. The floor was hardwood, which was essential for Robin’s allergies and sanity in cleaning the place, and the common room was large enough to have two fans constantly blowing. The fireplace was old brick, topped with a huge painting of some hunting dog scene. He thought the artist had done a much more spectacular job drawing the fox than he did the actual people, who seemed to be pivotal in the scene. Old books acted as impromptu walls, stacked on bookshelf built into the building. He’d read through most, if not all of them, and knew precisely where each one was, seeing as he’d been the one to painstakingly alphabetize them.

The hallway split left and right, one way to the kitchen (which was larger than it should be), and the other to the stairway that led to his room. Both ways had rooms along the way, and there was another stairway off to the side in the living room that led to the rest of the upper floors.

“So? What do you guys – and gal – think?”

Oh god how did this get this long.

Also, please note that I have an Artistic License in architecture. I don't know **** about how to build a house, I just looked at my friend's house and built off of that...if you'll pardon the pun.

[Lothmar]

"Late again, oh well im no good at shooting anyway and that's a lot of responsibility." Bradi adds after Nasr calls shotgun thinking back to the likely origins of the term as the one who rides up front with the coach driver with the shotgun - not fully understanding that the way the phrase is currently used no longer entails any shooting responsibilities.

'Hmm so if we dont want him smoking we need to convince him he doesn't desire one... Tricky, but I think I can come up with a logical argument if I put my thought to it.' Bradi thinks to himself getting in the back of the vehicle and strapping himself in before opening the window to reduce the amount of second hand smoke he had to breath on the trip to the house.

'I suppose that's fair, one should offer constructive feedback when one offers criticism.' Bradi continues to silently think to himself, assuming as long as he also paid a compliment he could then be critical. However Bradi had more criticism for the driver then the actual vehicle having trouble releasing his death grip on the seat until a minute after they had finally arrived. 'I think im going to continue walking or using public transportation when I can help it...' He thinks to himself as he finally manages to get his heart rate back down.

"Hmm I get the feeling they're not going to stick around to help us get everything in..." Bradi says in regards to the two agents Robin nods towards.

"Do you really want to know Robin, oh regarding the house - uhm How many bathrooms?" Bradi asked as various irksome little thoughts and insecurities raced through his mind, but when it came to the house was the only real question or opinion Bradi had after hearing about the number of rooms and getting a general view of the front, oh how he hoped it was at least two if not more...

"We should probably get everything moved from the outside into the hallway or the common room first off so we can take our time deciding where everyone will stay at which point the trips coming and going will be shorter. Then when it's down to the heavier stuff at the end we can partner up after a short rest break." Yes this seemed like the most logical course of action.

[Jade_Tarem]

"No, that's actually a bus." Jane's tone of voice makes it impossible to tell if she's making fun of Nasr's shotgun call or not.

Following rule number 2 precisely, Jane says nothing as the bus - which is apparently powered entirely by the screams of pedestrians and moving violations - takes them to their destination. Still silent but slightly green, she emerges from the car and inhales deeply, grateful to be alive.

Jane's set of possessions is, in defiance of all gender roles, the smallest by far. In fact, she's got it inside and in one of the rooms by the time Adam has finished talking. Striding back out into the hall, she looks at the rest of the group. "I'm moved in. Does anyone else need help?"

[Astro_sol]

"Do you really want to know Robin, oh regarding the house - uhm How many bathrooms?"

"There's one per bedroom, but 2 of them down here don't have showers, and 3 upstairs don't as well. There's a toilet per room, though. Like I said, plenty of space for everyone."


"We should probably get everything moved from the outside into the hallway or the common room first off so we can take our time deciding where everyone will stay at which point the trips coming and going will be shorter. Then when it's down to the heavier stuff at the end we can partner up after a short rest break." Yes this seemed like the most logical course of action.

"Way ahead of you," Robin replied, lugging in some of the larger boxes. He watched Jane simply grabbed...was that 2 boxes? Is that all she had? She needed to go shopping.

...Not that Robin would be the one to do it. Shopping wasn't his thing, and anyone could tell from looking at his attire that fashion wasn't exactly his forte.

[Cyborg Mage]

Eh... we'll have a great distraction if the Angels ever attack us on foot? Fai seems a little bewildered by the Captain's... dated... taste in vehicles. He spends some time looking around the inside of the minibus quizzically-until Robin starts trying to win the Chicago Minibus Grand Prix, of course. Although silenced, he seems almost perfectly at peace with Robin's nigh-suicidal driving technique-or at least until you notice his bone-white knuckles, clasped for dear life around one of the door handles.

After the Joybus stops, Fai takes a minute to dust himself down and, it would appear, make sure all of his limbs are still attached. Reassured that Robin hasn't just cost him an arm, he looks up at the spire of the Victorian-style house in amazement. This wasn't post-Second Impact construction, and it was certainly nothing like the shacks and battery houses of China's border towns. Muttering softly to himself in Chinese, Fai follows the OD inside almost trance-like-and, conspicuously, not even glancing at the pile of luggage lying outside.

The boy's apparent surprise outside, however, is almost nothing compared to the impact the interior has on him. He stands in place for a few moments, as if struggling to process what he sees. His silence is startling compared to his sudden yell; Wā! This-this makes Nerv Hong Kong look like some kind of shack! He almost seems to be holding himself back from tearing off and inspecting every inch in wonderment. Calmed down slightly at Robin's mention of accommodation, his response is curt and measured once more. I would prefer a room on the top floor. I'd like some seclusion.

[Lothmar]

Bradi does a momentary but slow double take in response to Jane's quick work. "Hmm~ Well..." Braid adds looking at a few boxes wondering what it was okay to let people, let alone a girl help him with - unfortunately she looked far more capable then he so he. "I'd certainly appreciate that. I'll handle these boxes since they're delicate ~ anything from here over is fine though." He adds referencing to four other boxes next to the three marked fragile.

He could take out the pins on his bedframe and break it into more manageable parts quickly enough - afterwhich it would probably go into storage however once he had picked a room.

"Just~" Bradi Adds to Robin after he answered his bathroom question with a huff picking up a box marked 'Electronic Scrap' it was a cardboard box he used to store and sort old non delicate components however it seemed to be of a similiar type to the moving boxes and whoever was labeling the moving boxes scribbled over the 'S' to which Bradi had not noticed yet. "verifying that at least Jane had a private room for that and whether or not I had to create a schedule or not for showers and things of that nature." He adds knowing that women have personal space issues in regards to the bathroom and the various things they kept there, mainly because 'mother' had explained to him in an akward talk in his younger years after such an incident.

That was before she sent him away to live and assist Nerv Boston with research, part of him assumed it was at least one of the reasons which. And so he grew up with the assumption that most people had personal space issues in regards to where they slept, ate and did other assorted activites and so he was actually quite suprised by the current set up compared to his last apartment.

[Whiskeyjack]

Nasr doesn't look particularly impressed, nor particularly helpful, as he tries to puzzle out who owns what. He had arrived with quite a few things, both collected during training and those put in storage in London for him before he had gone. This seemed quite paltry by comparison: a bag or box or two per person.

Nasr watches as they ooh and aah over the house, absorbed in the sheer amount of space. Nasr had done the same originally, having forgotten the concept of a large and well-planned house in his training days, but the memories of palaces and manors had flooded back quickly, turning an awestruck eye into a critically appraising one. He hadn't found the house wanting though, but these people probably had never lived in anything grander than a brownstone or, heaven forbid, a condo.

He definitely had to take Jane shopping. Probably get the other two laid. He looked at Adam for a long second. Or just get that one a nice cactus or pet rock.

[Astro_sol]

Wā! This-this makes Nerv Hong Kong look like some kind of shack!

So there is some life to him after all. Robin was happy to see that Fai could have some modicum of excitement, but of course he kept his face blank.


I would prefer a room on the top floor. I'd like some seclusion.

"Have at it, champ. If you find one with Nasr's junk in it, he'll move it. Won't he?" he finished, glancing at his experienced house-mate. It wasn't really a question.


"Just verifying that at least Jane had a private room for that and whether or not I had to create a schedule or not for showers and things of that nature."

That actually caught him a bit off guard. The only way anyone would have been able to tell would have been Robin's slightly slacked jaw, but since he didn't presently have a cigarette attached to it - a marvel - there wasn't really any visible indication. "I don't think any of you will have to worry about that. Hot water isn't an issue, either, so don't worry about showering at the same time.

Now, if there aren't anymore questions, I'll help you all get your stuff settled in. We'll have dinner in a few hours. Just help yourself to the cupboard, I keep it stocked with basic necessities."

Robin wasn't exactly a cook, but he'd have to find some way of keeping these kids fed correctly. He sure didn't want to learn the culinary arts, but at this rate, he might not have much of a choice.

He was definitely emailing the Sub-commander at the first given opportunity tonight. A strongly worded letter. Well, strong for him, anyways.

[Lothmar]

After getting his things inside Bradi procedes to do a slow walk of the house as he takes out a notebook and its accompanying micro-pen from his back pocket. He begins to tour the house and making himself a crude floor plan trying to better understand the layout so that he can make a more logical choice in rooms.

After considering small details like distance to exits, showers the kitchen the main room and of course the other occupants rooms he eventually places a claim to one on the ground floor so he is directly no ones neighbor, while at the same time far enough away from the stairs and doors or other central activity points so their use would not pose a distraction to him while in his room.

After all his boxes are moved into this room, he assures everyone he can finish unpacking himself from there. "Robin, shall we pay you directly for rent and utility, or will Nerv be reimbursing you seperately as when they provided my last Apartment? Just verifying that terms and conditions are the same or if I had to talk to someone in book keeping to make sure funds are transferred appropriately or go back into general pay so I can adjust my budget and pay you on the appropriate dates." There is a slight pause. "My services are open if you need assistance with managing the household finances." Afterall, one or two people was one thing - but five people was a whole different animal when it came to issues of food and utilities and it could get very overwhelming for one person quickly.

[Astro_sol]

"Robin, shall we pay you directly for rent and utility, or will Nerv be reimbursing you seperately as when they provided my last Apartment? Just verifying that terms and conditions are the same or if I had to talk to someone in book keeping to make sure funds are transferred appropriately or go back into general pay so I can adjust my budget and pay you on the appropriate dates."

"Don't worry about all that. We have an entire department dedicated to all that. My pay won't be docked for taking care of you kids, and yours surely won't, seeing as NERV is responsible for you."


"My services are open if you need assistance with managing the household finances."

"That won't be necessary. Thank you for the consideration, though."

[Whiskeyjack]

"OK, so they're here, can we do something now, this is terribly boring." Nasr nudges an expanding pile of electronics junk into some semblance of shapelessness, but with less sprawl. "I haven't even seen my Eva in like four days, this is unacceptable!"

[Astro_sol]

Robin raised an eyebrow at Nasr's outburst. He was more than used to it by now, though. He walked towards the small doors underneath the TV and opened them to reveal an old video game system. After putting a cartridge into the console, he held up 4 simple controllers, each with a gamepad and 4 buttons. The TV turned on behind him, revealing the opening screen for a game. There were several giant robots, colored in various arrays of what could be called ridiculous colors, poised to fight. The title "Super Robo Fight XVII" flashed above them in a way that guaranteed future seizures. For a moment, Robin's glasses gleamed, obscuring his eyes with an unnatural shine.

"Training."

Gotta love what NERV R&D comes up with in their downtime.

[Cyborg Mage]

... And how is this supposed to help? Does this even count as a simulator? Fai's voice holds the incredulity and sarcasm that seems almost typical of him. He seems puzzled by the sheer cheesiness of the whole thing, unfamiliar with the whole kind of media.

[Lothmar]

"True but if you're paying for everything things tend to add up, im just trying to be practical in my thinking as a tenet." He nods slightly. "Very well then... Your hospitality is appreciated Robin." He adds in his usual respectful tone while trying to bestow some semblance of gratitude but it probably doesn't show very well.

Watching Nasr fidget with a pile of components, Bradi almost feels a bit sorry for them as internal plans for a method of sorting and properly storing the pieces begins to take shape. "Are you really that interested in it?" He questions not quite understanding his desire to see the evangelion, naturally as a researcher he's probably more exposed to occassionally seeing the units or related machines or at least data or projects pertaining them on a more regular basis then the regular students, so maybe the 'wonder' had just sort of worn off. Then again he was never really the type of person to experience 'wonder'.

"Besides you heard the sub commander, there will be plenty of tests and enhanced training coming at us this week so you'll probably get to see it plenty then." Bradi adds making his way to the kitchen. "Best to just have patience." he adds flipping to a new section in his notepad as he begins to take inventory of everything related to 'food' in the kitchen from appliances to utensiles. He would have to compare and visit the local stores in the area to gauge price and quality so he could figure out where to shop.

Listening from the kitchen he pauses and leans around the corner to comment. "It only counts as a simulator if you use the joystick controllers and the fat head interface." His tone suggests he's not joking, but anyone would probably assume that was some kind of sarcasm. He adds in reference to the game and the helmet visor system. "But I dont think those were ever approved for the actual release when they sold the rights and data to the game producers... I might be able to dig some compatable pieces up from storage though since they were scrapped in the pre beta beta before the actual more realistic simulator systems were finalized."

[Whiskeyjack]

"Interested? Interested?! You think I have some kind of...passing scientific itch about the Eva that I need to scratch? You...what...have you ever seen an Eva up close? Been inside of one? Actually synchronized inside the plug and made it move? Felt the power of moving a giant dozens of meters tall with just your mind? The weight of ten thousand layers of armor like a feather on the shoulder, and knowing that the A.T. Field is unlike anything save the works of God Himself..." he shrugs, unable to come up with a better description. "No, it's not interest like looking at a rock or dissecting a frog. The Evas are power incarnate and we are the only keys. Those feelings...being needed like that, wielding that kind of power near-effortlessly, feeling cocooned inside the Eva, its every fiber in tune with your own...those are just...exhilarating! There's no such thing as plenty! There's never enough time for it!"

Then Nasr's eye twitches. "Have...have you ever been exhilarated like that before? Felt that feeling at all, with anything? If not, it's okay I guess. I don't know how to explain it better and if you can't relate...Seems like trying to explain colors to a blind kid."

He stands there for a moment looking at everyone looking at him and throws up his hands. "Fine, I'll wail on someone in this thing, though I will say Robin, it's no XBox, and it's hardly even a PlayStation. You'd think with the budgets you talk about, NERV'd make it a little more impressive."

[Lothmar]

'Yes' was the only thing he could really think of in response, but he had the feeling that if he said it Nasr would probably continue yelling so he decided not to. However part of him knew that it was likely entirely different despite his understanding. His mind really seemed to focus on one thing in particular though.

"Have...have you ever been exhilarated like that before? Felt that feeling at all, with anything?"

"No..." He adds his eyes narrowing. "It does make me a bit jealous though." he adds with a slight chuckle not quite understanding why as he returns to the kitchen. At least that's what he assumed the feeling was, he didn't quite fully understand the full spectrum of his emotions quite yet as he'd honestly failed to experience many.

'Perhaps it's the fundamental difference between the driver of a car and a part specifically made for it. Wait, cars dont have auto-pilots yet. Maybe a plane would have been a better analogy.'

[Astro_sol]

"...And how is this supposed to help? Does this even count as a simulator?"

Robin blinked. "It's simply fun, kiddo. Plus it'll help you think strategically. You can have different loadouts, weapons, armor, that sort of thing. Plus you'll have to either fight each other or enemy boss units, so it'll at least let you get a feel for each other. It's nothing like getting into a plug, but it's mostly designed for fun."

When Nasr nearly exploded, Robin let him vent. As long as he didn't start actively insulting his teammates, he'd let it slide. It was really just him being all excited about something, and Robin wasn't about to take that away. However...


"Fine, I'll wail on someone in this thing, though I will say Robin, it's no XBox, and it's hardly even a PlayStation. You'd think with the budgets you talk about, NERV'd make it a little more impressive."

Robin just smiled. "You don't need fancy gadgets to have fun, Nasr. Just friends."

[Jade_Tarem]

"Besides which, I'll take you on!" Jane takes the second controller and peers at the screen, trying to decipher which controls and weapons do what. "But yeah, I'd like to get back in the Eva too. Very relaxing whenever you have to wait a while."

[Cyborg Mage]

Fai mutters to himself, Thinking strategically is all I was ever supposed to do... His gaze flits from Robin to the TV screen to Nasr and Jane-more than a little suspicious of their enthusiasm for Nerv and the Evas, it would seem. A few moments pass, and he eventually manages a sort of "what the hell, why not" sort of shrug and mumbles to no-one in particular. I suppose that leaves me... I don't really have anything better to do right now... Casually strolling over to the couch, he snatches up a controller and taking stock of what game mechanics he can, eyes darting across the screen inquisitively.

[Lothmar]

Bradi prepares a pitcher and some ice but pauses when he gets to the drink mix. "Anyone want something to drink while im making it? Wait, Robin we allowed to have drinks in that room?" Bradi adds deciding to confirm now instead of being sent away on arrival. Afterall, there was furniture and books and fancy electronics in that room.

After he confirms if anyone wants anything he returns to the main room to watch the initial rounds of gameplay. He waits patiently and will volunteer if the fourth controller becomes available and someone needs a partner, but has little active interest in actually requesting a 'turn'.

[Astro_sol]

"Wait, Robin we allowed to have drinks in that room?"

Glad that everyone seemed to have settled for playing the game, Robin settled back into his favorite red leather chair. He lit up a cigarette.

"Sure. You spill it, you clean it up."

[Lothmar]

After the sever and much anticipated ass whopping Bradi recieves at the game due to his focus on trying to pull off the longest most complicated cheat code he knows and always getting interupted before its completion, Bradi procedes back up to his room to begin unpacking and checking over his belongings and the room itself for signs of tampering or bugging.

Bradi spends the remainder of the night unless disturbed examining the house and making notes on how to improve the security and saftey of the house and property on sliding scale budget as he does not know how much if anything he may be able to convince Robin or the others to donate towards such expenses. Worse case scenario it's something Bradi can set a portion of his disposable income toward and install small projects as he can afford them. Afterall, an ounce of prevention is worth a decent sized repair bill mitigated at a possible point in the future.

After he hooks up his computer he then procedes to change his delivery address on his appropriate online accounts for purposes of food and various mail order deliveries wherever he can avoid actually having to call and deal with the actual staff.