Closed are the Gates of Heaven 1a (AdEva, IC)

[PalusAbel]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/Crimson_Knight06/Forum%20Images/PreventThirdImpact1a.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Crimson_Knight06/media/Forum%20Images/PreventThirdImpact1a.jpg.html)
This is the in-character thread for the first team of pilots, consisting of Ty Kirby, Layla Tremaine Zhao, Gilles Duceppe, and Grace White.

Mechanical Information (Sixteen Questions and FAQ):


Expectations:

Be courteous to others, and follow the ToS. This goes without saying.
Please be literate with your posts. If you can reasonably respond to another person with a one-liner, and writing more would only bog things down, then there is no problem with doing so. A common example of this might be combat, but even then melodramatic narration occasionally has a place. Otherwise, writing very short posts can leave other players at a loss when they have to write reactions.
Players need to either have watched the Evangelion TV series, or else not mind spoilers. Other references and inspiration may also be taken from End of Evangelion or Rebuild. I do not profess to own any of these media.
If you are going to apply, please commit yourself to the end. One player dropping out can destroy an otherwise successful game.
On that note, players will be expected to post reasonably often, at least every once in three days. More would be appreciated. Players will be messaged by the end of the fourth day, and if by the end of the fifth day no post or explanation has been given, I will fill in as best I can based on my understanding of the character. If you know ahead of time that you are going to have problems with this pace, please message me beforehand.
My word as GM is final. If you have a problem with anything that happens, you are free to appeal, but I am not obligated to rescind any ruling. Please do not think that I am trying to be mean. I will try to the best of my ability to keep the game fun for everyone.


Sixteen Questions
1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
Dark Heresy

2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
Adeptus Evangelion, set in the near future in a world similar to that established in the TV series.

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
Four or five, the fifth being an Operations Director. Ideally, there should be one character from each background and one in each career. This will not be strictly enforced, but it is encouraged.

4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
PbP here on GitP.

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Characters will begin with 400 xp that does not count toward rank progression, in addition to the normal starting traits.

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
Not applicable. If there is an item that a character wants/needs and could reasonably obtain directly or indirectly through Nerv operatives, it will be granted as dramatically appropriate.

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
As above, I would prefer there be one of each career, if possible. Homebrew suggestions are welcome.

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
The standard four backgrounds are allowed, but alterations may be proposed. If suitable, such changes will be permitted.

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
As described in the variant rule section of Borderline, starting characters will use a 141 point buy. Do note that we will be using the condensed skill list, also described in the variant rule section. See below for more details. Evangelion creation will be handled and described separately.

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
There are no character alignments provided in the system. I do expect, however, that there be consistency in the characters' actions, barring extraordinary circumstances (I'm looking at you, Arael).

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Generally no, but I may be persuaded otherwise if a good case is made. It would be handled on a case by case basis.

12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Players will roll dice for appropriate actions when needed in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301496). This is so that the players will not need to post twice to take an action, and then describe its aftermath. It also keeps the posts a little cleaner.

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
These are extensive, and will be described in their own spoiler tag. In addition, suggestions are welcome.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
I am looking for thorough (though not necessarily lengthy) backgrounds that give me a proper sense of who the characters are. Particularly well-written backgrounds will receive a small experience reward.

15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
Roleplaying and combat will be a large part of the game, but there may be some puzzle solving to resolve plot elements. Nothing too difficult.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?I have decided to use Borderline 1.19 as the basis for this game, with select references to AdEva v2.5. Mind also the errata for these documents, and those of Dark Heresy itself. Here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wX11RS2zRxTKV6lm16MBMOT6_0nSHcKUCFg7eSHQWRE/edit) is a collection of pertinent resources players may find useful.

FAQ:
Q: What happened to the canon cast? Dead, cast adrift in the bureaucratic shuffle, never born in this strange alternate universe?
A: The second comes closest to what I had in mind. There may well be a Shinji Ikari and a Misato Katsuragi and all the rest, but they will not be interacting with the story in any major way.

Q: Why has the southern hemisphere been evacuated?
A: The near-constant expansion of the Torre del Cielo terrified the majority of the human population. Eventually, the UN mandated immigration into the northern countries. There are still pockets of people scattered about in the south, but they are neither supported nor protected by the UN or any of its members.

Q: Do pilots receive standard issue firearms?
A: Anything on the personal scale will be provided as necessary, or denied as dramatically appropriate.

Q: How is Chile able to support a base, financially?
A: Largely through the U.N., because there is no other substantial presence in Chile other than Nerv.

Q: How many resources were pulled from the other Nerv branches to support the one in Chile?
A: There are no Evas present in any of the other Nerv branches, and the Chile complex is more or less a dedicated Evangelion workshop in and of itself. The other branches are assigned to research, and only given resources to that end.

Q: Where are the Evas made?
A: Presumably the active Evas were built either in Chile itself or shipped from the pilots' home countries.
History:
A summary of in-game events can be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rI6r8HaDyYT8y65UaJC54xUSmqX8DnPu3SJXyzgDQ0k/edit). This document will be edited as necessary following pivotal in-game events.

Current Roster:


Player
Character
Evangelion
Background
Career
Rank
Status
Evangelion Status


Zazax
First Children
Ty Kirby (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HoMzWLN7Cj4f6a1SwX3bdLQ_2znKYpwWWmgSNIHkJAc/edit)
Unit-00
Manufactured
A.T. Tactician
Potentate (2600/3999)
Alive
Red


CrimsonKnight
Second Children
Layla Tremaine Zhao (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KjJ2IMUYZSrsoYHELz1LjXDG7WNKjFsavjpny1xDBoA/edit)
Unit-01 "Grendel"
Prodigy
Berserker
Slayer (2600/3999)
Alive
Green


garter_snake
Third Children
Gilles Duceppe (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JABnpb__bxAU6rLeaIJqfZ2xJT6llstOE-i-_arpjkc/edit?usp=sharing)
Unit-02
"Comrade Prime"
Neospartan
Point Man
Charger (2600/3999)
Alive
Green


AmberVael
Fourth Children
Grace White (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gD5Aja1lPRqbHlaSokeu_zgr0L_DkimFM1las2W1KS8/edit)
Unit-03 "Helel"
Prodigy
Skirmisher
Lancer (2600/3999)
Alive
Green


Durami
Mathew Grey (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OUD7VkCSa9vOqiDk5vB5WHyYwX8_y6x4Jeo5YCj34N8/edit)
N/A
Survivor
Operations Director
Lieutenant Colonel (2600/3999)
Alive
N/A



Variant Rules Currently in Play:
An extensive list may be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZIe1XmpPVA7L13WQKYlfmSdQ8T6-c5okXekqKjqD80g/edit). It is subject to change over time.

Homebrew Currently in Use:
An extensive list may be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ThkCvStmtvGU9f5KVbnML01VpRRXG7EQhZLlvJrLf9M/edit?usp=sharing). It is subject to change over time.

Known NPCs:
As with the variant rules, the list of NPCs has been moved to its own separate document (https://docs.google.com/document/d/12V6bW-10qqdMdAo4cO-GAG4ukYipucG5B_gu7eTyjik/edit).

[PalusAbel]

With the aid of the U.N., the entirety of Cape Horn and its surrounding islands was converted into a sprawling city in a span of only two years. Only the U.N. itself knows how much of the world's resources were funneled into this project, and what means were used to complete the construction so quickly. Conspiracy theorists speculate that many of the buildings were prefabricated and simply shipped to their final destination.

Regardless of how it was done, the once separate landmasses are now connected by an elaborate series of armored bulkheads, run through by countless subways and other means of transport. Enough infrastructure is in place for Nerv-Chile to function without major issue, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Under the direction of Operations Director William Elveness, four batteries of turrets have been installed along the city perimeter, waiting to intercept an enemy two years late in its arrival.

The four chosen pilots have all been summoned to this fortress of an island to do what only they can do; control the forty-meter tall superweapons known as the Evangelions against the prophesied Angels, beings from another world whose only goal is to destroy mankind. It was thought that they would be needed two years ago, but the prediction proved to be false, tearing apart many otherwise well-laid plans. To their credit, or at least to that of their handlers, the pilots have not spent the two years idle. They are as ready as they will ever be, considering the rapid increase of activity from the Torre del Cielo.

Today the pilots are scheduled to meet the Commander of Nerv-Chile in one hour's time. Presently, they are standing by in a waiting room of sorts while the Commander attends a conference. They have been given basic dossiers describing the other pilots, but this is the first time they have ever met face to face. If there was a time to introduce themselves, this would be it. After all, there was no telling how long any of them might survive.

PUBLIC INFORMATION:
Operations Director: You aren't exactly in play yet. You can still post, if you like. Have William overseeing construction or filing paperwork or doing whatever else suits him. He'll be summoned to the pilots' meeting to introduce himself once they're all done with one another. You can assume that the pilots' conversation is recorded for later review (without their knowledge, of course), so William will know anything that is said.

All Pilots:

The pilots know that they are to fight Angels, but Nerv has been unable to describe in any satisfactory detail what an Angel actually is. As such, pilots may either just accept that they do no know, or come up with some idea on their own. However the pilot chooses to act, players should consider what would best suit their characters.
All of the pilots have synchronized with their Evangelions before, but have no reason to believe it is anything more than a giant bio-mechanical superweapon. That is, they have never seen one Berserk or otherwise show any sign that they are sentient in their own right. Pretend that they all watched Pacific Rim and are comparing their lives to that movie, if you like.
Considering the above, the pilots may withhold information about/describe briefly/brag about their Evangelions as their temperament prescribes. Layla, I'm looking at you.


Dossiers:
This section describes what the pilots are allowed to know about one another. No one knows, for example, that Ty is not an ordinary human, other than Ty himself.

Ty:

Ty grew up locally, raised by his foster family. His parents were evacuated out, but his sister remains.
Has led an extremely sheltered life, to the point where he has only ever had meaningful social interaction with his family. Because of this he is very shy, to the point of becoming visibly distressed in crowds, and socially awkward, but if his relationship with his family is any indication he tends to form very close bonds with a small number of people once they're through his armor. It is likely that he will become quite attached to the first person able to do so, being quite literally the first friend outside his family he's ever made.
Despite his shyness, he is actually quite intelligent, driven, and courageous. Don't mistake his social anxiety for timidity or passiveness.
Is currently being medicated for debilitating muscular disease, and because of it his parents also felt that school would be unsuitable for him. As such, he's been home schooled, and has never actually attended a day of regular school.
Has displayed a propensity for wearing sunglasses, even while indoors. In fact, he's probably wearing them right now.
Has had no military or even self-defense training, and is rather lackluster in any sort of actual fighting.
Is unflinchingly loyal to and fiercely protective of those he cares about.
Underneath all that shyness he is actually quite sociable, even if he prefers listening to speaking. Is also always willing to help with damn near anything, whether it's some zany scheme, some kind of work, or even just hanging out and chatting.
Due to his remarkably stable (if sheltered) upbringing, he's actually quite normal beyond the social anxiety thing. That combined with his willingness to help means he also makes a good, probably willing, target for anyone needing to vent, angst, or otherwise deal with personal issues.

Layla:

Australian orphan, parents both died when she was very young, later adopted by Chinese immigrants
VERY competitive, very self-confident, and very loud
Gets bored easily, which commonly leads to getting herself in trouble somehow in new and creative ways
Based on combat simulations, she lack formal training and discipline and is extremely reckless in combat; however, her extreme determination, refusal to quit, and street-level instinct for finding a target's weak areas and hitting them with overwhelming force makes her a scary opponent in melee fights (which, if you can't keep away from her, tends to be how every fight ends); the only effective strategies against her tend to involve maintaining a good distance and liberal use of more dakka
Rather fond of her EVA, an easy way to distract her is to get her rambling about the newest upgrade/system update for Unit 01
Is convinced that the Angels are invading space aliens, and that they caused Second Impact by dropping the meteor/nuke/whatever that caused the resulting devastation. The red seas were presumably some kind of failed terraforming project. All together, is very eager to finally fight them for real and kick their asses back to whatever rock in deep space they came from.
Gilles:

'WORKERS OF THE WORLD, lend us your attention! While the ANGEL MENACE leaves the Fascist with sweaty brows, and the Capitalists to throw their money at the walls in desperation, we are not daunted! BEHOLD!'

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Wgke0sn05Qmpyk5f3Bp_9-TMlRD9mSpqiHBvbvytspwgWkd4NxYLwWZFflDUaOQ2NQYjlcRH l-GpMOXVQ86v9E0oP6WiumbpK2sU2H0YkjRXY9jQAXXLEIIz

'THIS is the New Soviet Union's answer to the ANGEL MENACE! COMRADE PRIME, the NSU's first combat ready Evangelion! Combining the BRILLIANT MINDS of our brightest scientists with the UNSTOPPABLE INDUSTRY of the NSR and, most importantly, the BLOOD SWEET AND TOIL of countless WORKERS LIKE YOU! It stands as a testament to the UNBREAKABLE WILL of the WORLD REVOLUTION!'

'And the pilot of this MIGHTY MACHINE is none other than young COMRADE GILLES DUCEPPE!'


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/jcnZA0CEZQvhQCHD_9_2dczLaqglf6GGWr1AYH00O77A-KFxnJTC1Sig9B-CbmAewyAD2Ot0ciNmpUoiR4O8M80WH_AHVLbfzs69MOPh_MzXi WZODXa57q7m


'Born from imigrants who weathered the STORMS of the second impact to the NSR's BEACON OF HOPE, they joined the fellow members of the WORLD REVOLUTION to found a WORKER'S REPUBLIC! Gilles is a child of the revolution, FORGED in the FIRES of POST-IMPACT SCARCITY and HARDENED in the HARSH SIBERIAN WINTER. But despite all of this, Comrade Duceppe DID NOT FALTER! Comrade Duceppe's admirable life and elite training under the Red Child program have shown his resolve and strength as a VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION!

Facts about Comrade Duceppe:
-Outmanuvered and defeated five trained Spetsnaz BY HIMSELF!
-Crossed the width of the Caspian Sea in only simple swim trunks, WITHOUT STOPPING!
-Upon the death of one of his comrades, erected a ten foot headcross WITH HIS OWN HANDS!
-Defeated a chess grandmaster on HIS FIRST GAME!



EXTRATERRESTRIAL INVADERS!
Remember, and Beware!
The vigilance of the revolution and the vengeance of the workers does not sleep, it waits!

Grace:

Grace doesn't know who her parents are - she was raised in an orphanage called Saint Joseph's for all of her life up until now.
On a related note, she has no idea quite how old she is, or when her birthday is. It's just kinda become tradition for her to celebrate it on the first of January.
Grace has no experience with EVAs or even military training. She usually does her best to cooperate, but doesn't have any instilled discipline or understanding of tactics and weaponry.
She was recently released from an extended period of hospitalization, but still suffers from a major injury that impedes her physically.
Grace has a preference toward well-lit areas.
Grace is a social person. She'd generally rather be talking than not, and discussion is how she tries to solve problems.
Theology, mythology, and religion in general are of great interest to Grace, and are generally her favorite subjects.

[Swordslinger]

William sat comfortably in a chair with his wounded leg resting on a footstool; he took a sip from a cup and placed it on the table next to a black and white tiled board. On the board there where several pieces, one which he reached out for, a moment’s hesitation, then he moved with a quick and resolute motion.

"What did you think about the Eva’s? Finally we have them all under our roof; I hope they did not decide to cut any corners where they thought nobody would notice." His opponent sitting on the other side of the table asked him while sounding slightly distracted.

"There where inspections but who knows? Hopefully there will be time for a full check off them." William answered. "The monstrosities makes for a quite a sight as if one wasn’t impressive enough. The Russians made good use of their usual subtlety in design, way to rub it in that the Americans and Chinese could not a find a suitable candidate to justify an Eva program."

A quick laugh came from the other side of the table followed by the sound of a piece moving. "Increased activity from the Tower and the children are finally all here with their toys. Maybe you will finally get to direct an actual operation."

"Haha" William said with a try tone, made a move and removed a piece, his opponent made a grimace. "that joke became old half a year ago."

A sigh came from the opposite side "You play a mean game as usual, I think I'm just going to call it here. I guess that puts you back in the lead."

William took a piece from the board, a queen, and looked it at. "Chess is simple, not easy perhaps, but simple. You know what pieces the opponent has and you know what they can do. If only it was so simple in a real battle, half the fight is just to figure out what pieces is on the other side of the board and the information becomes obsolete almost as quick as you get it. Not to mention your own pieces, in chess your knight will always remain where you need it until called for, it will never wander off or get stuck in mud. Until combat have begun you can’t even trust which piece is what."

William twirled the queen back and forth between two fingers while looking at it.

"When combat begins you might find that what you thought was your queen really was a pawn all along." He put the queen back on the table, "I should get going." With his hands he moved his foot off the footstool and back down on the floor. He grabbed his crutch and stood up putting most of his weight on his good leg.

"You off to meet your pieces?" came a question to which William’s only replay was a sad sounding sound. "I guess things might be busy for the both of us from now on."

William half turned on his way across the room and said "Yeah, I think we will have to assume that our next game will be whenever some free time pops up." before he continued on his way.

"Alright, talk to you later."

William made a quick wave gesture with his free hand in farewell and left the room the crutch making a rhythmical sounds as he walked down the corridor.

[Zazax]

Face buried in the dossiers he'd received, Ty glanced up at each of his fellow Pilots in turn as he finished them. He thanked his lucky stars they couldn't see that he was looking at them from behind his glasses; if they did, one might try to talk to him. At the thought, his face paled and his stomach clenched.
He shuffled back in his seat in a futile attempt to hide.
He hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

Well, isn't this ridiculous, he thought. Not scared at all by whatever these Angels are, but just sitting in a room with three strangers is enough to give me butterflies.

He glanced up from the dossier again to take the trio in again. None of them seemed to be paying attention to him yet. Good. Maybe if he didn't say anything they wouldn't notice him.
No, moron, he argued internally, of course they'll notice me. I'm wearing a bright red jacket and sunglasses inside. I probably stick out like a sore thumb. They'd have to be as unobservant as I am to not have noticed me already.
Well, maybe they'll just ignore me then, he countered.
Not likely. Normal people tend to want to introduce themselves to people they'll be working closely with, his inner Devil's Advocate quipped. Besides, they look like nice enough people. I might even actually make a friend.

He paled again and readjusted his glasses so they hung firmly on his head.
Abruptly, he smiled as the ridiculousness of his mental exchange hit him. Did he just lose an argument with himself?

He continued reading the dossier. Nothing for it, then. If someone talked to him, then they talked to him. Maybe he was right and they'd be nice.
He just hoped he didn't blurt something out or hyperventilate or something first.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla was not reading the dossier she'd been provided. She'd only given it a cursory scan for any good and juicy dirt on her new teammates, and was disappointed to find it a rather dry and boring read. Clearly NERV intelligence analysts had no idea what the IMPORTANT stuff was. So now she was putting the document to better use and making herself a paper airplane out of it. Examining the finished product, she lightly adjusted one of the creases, then gave it a nod of approval and abruptly shot to her feet so fast the chair slammed straight into the wall behind her with a clatter.

"Alright, that's ten minutes sitting down quietly. Now it's time to do something fun!"

Planting her feet like a javelin thrower with right hand cocked and ready to throw, she sighted in on her target: the loudspeaker in the opposite corner of the room that would, in an emergency, broadcast facility-wide announcements. With the plane lined up for its "bombing run", a cocky grin split her face.

"Alright Eagle Leader, this is your final mission: destroy the enemy communication device, and the war is won! Unfortunately, we don't have any bombs or bullets for your plane, so you'll have to give the ULTIMATE sacrifice and perform a Kamikaze Suicide Ramming Attack! Now go, for the glory of all your peoples!"

She flung the paper airplane forward, and started to bounce lightly on the balls of her feet in anticipation as the airplane flew closer... closer... and barely kept its height long enough to deflect off the loudspeaker's cone with a faint fwip. Layla's arms shot up in victory.

"Yes, bullseye! Well done Eagle Leader, your sacrifice will long be remembered in the annals of... neh?" While she'd been busy starting her impromptu victory dance, the stricken airplane, robbed of its previous momentum, had plummeted downward... straight onto the head of the shy-looking boy across the room who'd been hiding behind his dossier like it was a defensive wall. Layla winced, rubbing at her head in embarrassment as she attempted to apologize to Ty.

"Oh geez, friendly fire, I didn't mean to, I was just... I mean, I'm sorry. That was mean of me, are you okay?

[Zazax]

This was it. He was going to die.
Okay, no, that was an exaggeration. But not too far off.

Slowly he reached up and retrieved the crashed paper airplane from where it stuck ridiculously out of his hair. He examined it momentarily, then set about awkwardly trying to straighten out the wrinkled nose. He had yet to make eye contact with its creator.

Just FYI, that's incredibly rude, he thought. Steeling himself, he gathered his courage and looked up.
His eyes, mercifully hidden behind his glasses, bulged out of his head and he nearly choked on, apparently, nothing.
He immediately looked back down at the airplane. His feeling of impending social death re-emerged.

Of course it'd be a pretty girl. He'd heard stories from Nell about how utterly terrifying pretty girls were in her school, apparently devouring foolhardy boys alive or twisting them around their fingers. How such a thing was physically possible, or even legal, was beyond Ty, but it worried him all the same.
He would need to tread carefully.

Clutching the paper airplane, he reached out and handed it back to her.

Remember, she asked a question. Right. She had. What had it been...?
Well, here goes nothing.
"Uh, fine. Yes. I'm fine." He chuckled nervously. "... How are you...?"

... Smooth.

[AmberVael]

The clatter of Layla's chair and her enthusiastic narration of the heroic and tragic last flight of Eagle Leader startled Grace from her light sleep. She wasn't sure when she'd drifted off; she hadn't meant to at all, but her dreams the night before had been troubled and she'd arrived here rather early. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes the dossiers they'd given her slipped from her lap to the floor, and she scrambled to recover them.

Grace noticed the other pilots as she returned the dossiers to their folder, and gave them a quick wave and a small smile. "Hello." A glance at the situation gave her the suspicion that the other girl's antics had probably been the reason she woke up- and that maybe she should give the boy some space. He looked a bit like a deer in headlights, and she doubted she would make things any better by forcing conversation on him.

A glance at the doors and the clock revealed that there was still quite a bit of time before the meeting though, so she wondered if she should make an attempt anyway. Though Grace had brought a book with her, it wasn't her favorite way to pass the time, and she didn't know if she wanted to sit quiet and still for an hour.

"Are you the other EVA pilots?" She asked, noting that they had the same dossiers as she did, even if one of them was now an airplane.

[Zazax]

Ty glanced over to the new speaker, and tensed again.

It's okay. I can do this, he thought. There's two of them now, but they seem nice enough so far. Just, try not to embarrass yourself.

He pulled his jacket tight around him for whatever feeble protection it granted him and adjusted his glasses to keep them in place. After a brief glance from the first girl, Layla, if his memory of the dossier served, to the second, Grace, also pending memory, he gulped and, just barely not meeting Grace's eyes, nodded very slowly.

[garter_snake]

Ignoring the others, Gilles flipped through the dossiers he had been given for the other pilots.

Grace White. He glanced at the red headed girl to his left. Orphan. A recent recruit, out of an orphanage looks like. High social skills, interested in spirituality and mythology. Why would they recruit someone like that to pilot the most powerful weapon the world has ever known?

Flipping to the next page, Gilles glanced over at the tall, tan, brown haired girl standing to his front and right.

Layla Tremaine Zhao. Another orphan, but adopted by Chinese farm immigrants. Brought into the eva program with no formal training. Profiled as competitive, and social, with an attitude that can charitably described as devil-may-care.

Gilles flipped to the third page.

Ty Kriby. Gilles looked next to Layla, where a very tall teenage male was trying to make himself look very small. Another orphan. What the hell, do the Evas have a grudge against parents or something? A local boy, raised by a foster family. Homeschooled too. Described as shy, but smart and driven. Again, no formal training.

Gilles flipped to the fourth and final page, his dossier. After staring in bemusement at it for a moment, he quickly balled it up and threw it at the nearest trashcan, and put his face in the palms of his hands.



What the hell? Three orphans, with no formal military training, randomly given controls of the most powerful weapons known to man. No, there has to be something more going on here. These must be some types of cover stories, and the dumbasses down in the Party General must have gotten themselves conned into thinking this was some kind of propaganda opportunity, instead of the shell game it obviously is. Well, when you walk into a room and find a group of stone faces playing a card game you've never heard of, there's only one thing to do.

Gilles stood up.

Sit down, bet high, and bluff.



"Soviet planes don't crash into their comrades, Comrade... Zhao, correct? Consider flying a Flanker, rather than an Eagle, next time."

Gilles nodded to himself. Obviously that bit with the plane earlier was her declaring her allegiance while keeping her cover. By doing the same, they would have a starting point with which to exchange information. Now for a blunt question: see if any of them knew what NERV was playing at, calling them together so suddenly.

Turning to the door, Gilles spoke sideways to the others. "Does anyone know why we were called here? The meeting notice said that it was to meet each other for the first time, but it seems a bit abrupt for that, to be honest. Is there a special occasion?"

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla graciously accepted her paper bomber back, then gave Ty what she thought was a reassuring pat on the head but was probably closer to her slamming her palm down on it repeatedly.

"Glad to hear it. Sorry about that. And me? I'm doing great! And yes... She turned towards Grace, showing she hadn't missed the other girl's question. ... I'm an EVA pilot. Layla Tremaine Zhao, pilot of EVA Unit 01 "Grendel". Nice to meet ya."

She turned again as Gilles spoke up, slightly confused about his comment on the plane type. "Uh, sure, okay, if you say so. Not really the expert on planes other than they look cool, I guess. *psst* Hey, uh... kid I just hit with the airplane, what's a Flanker?"

She snorted at the Soviet boy's query. "What kind of dumb question is that? Hello, we're all EVA pilots, we're all here so we can kick ten different kinds of Angel butt whenever they finally decide to invade, gotta get to know one another before we can get down to the ass-kicking part!"

[Zazax]

Ty winced and gave a nervous chuckle as Layla gave him a light pat on the head. It was more than a little embarrassing.

He watched the conversation unfold, glad that the attention was off him once again, until Layla leaned in to whisper a question to him.
He shrugged and whispered back. "Given the profile in his dossier, I would guess some sort of Soviet plane?"

She began to converse again with the Soviet boy, and Ty sighed lightly and gathered himself. This wasn't so bad. It certainly wasn't as bad as Nell had led him to believe, although in hindsight she'd been grinning that whole time, so maybe she had been pulling his leg. He could never tell.

When Layla finished speaking there was once again silence, and feeling slightly more confident Ty mumbled, barely audible even to himself, "I think we're here to meet the Commander."

[AmberVael]

"I heard we were going to meet the commander too." Grace said, nodding in agreement with Ty as she gave him an encouraging smile. "But it does seem a little sudden. Maybe they have some new intelligence? They might want to get us in a group before having us do anything, after all."

Grace might have considered that line of thought a little more, but Layla's introduction distracted her. "You mean, Grendel like from Beowulf? Kind of a weird name choice, but I guess if they've called the enemies we're going to fight 'Angels' its at least fitting to name an EVA after a monster of Grendel's lineage."

She broke off from her musing at this point, realizing she hadn't introduced herself. "Oh! I'm Grace. It's nice to meet you." Grace got to her feet and made a polite curtsy. Seemed like the thing to do, even though she wasn't normally so formal.

[garter_snake]

"Gilles Duceppe. I'm the third child, pilot of Comrade Prime." Gilles returned Grace's curtsy with a crisp salute, which quickly became awkward as he tried to direct it at each of the other three pilots at once.

These guys are good. I can't get a read on them at all. Kirby seems to defer to Zhao, but he seemed to relax when she took his attention off of him. Could they be allies, with her as his superior? Or maybe she has some dirt on him?

As for White... 'beowulf' must be some sort of code name. Judging from the context, some kind of anti-angel program? I should probe for more information.


Lowering his hand and unconsciously putting it in his pocket, Gilles said. "Comrade White, I'm not familiar with the name 'Beowulf'. Would you mind explaining the reference?"

[AmberVael]

Grace looked startled at the question. "Oh, um- Beowulf is one of those old, book length poems- like the Iliad and the Odyssey, except it's Germanic, rather than Greek. It's about the deeds of the hero Beowulf, mostly Beowulf killing the monster Grendel, though there are a few other things in it too, like the mother of Grendel, and a dragon later on. Beowulf dies against the dragon though."

By this point, Grace has warmed up to the topic, and is talking in an easy, enthusiastic voice. "Grendel is supposedly a descendant of Cain; you know, like Cain and Abel from the bible. There's a popular interpretation that says Cain's children, um, mingled with fallen angels, and so his line is full of evil giants and monsters and demons. Which is why I suppose they named her EVA that- if you're going to oppose angels, I guess you do it with demons, right?

"You can just call me Grace, by the way." She added as an aside.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla listened with interest as Grace explained the name. To be honest, she'd never really thought much about the name before, having never read or even heard of the epic of Beowulf due to her woefully incomplete education in almost every subject except math and science (and even those two were only due to NERV instructors trying to get her where she could keep up anytime the discussion involving her EVA turned even remotely technical). It actually thrilled her to learn it now, even if the character named was definitely not the hero of the story.

"Demons and giants, huh? Ace. Suppose an EVA is kind of a monster really. I mean, what would you call a giant biomecha... biomechani... robot with squishy parts but can still crush tanks like they're kid's toys, eh? Besides, if anyone should be scared, it should be those Angels whenever they finally get tired futzing around and show up. After all, we're here to put the fear of God into them before ripping them to shreds. Well, some of us anyway. I figure Comrade Red here doesn't believe in God, right? Not part of the Soviet Ortho-whatever, hmm?"

[Zazax]

The exchange had surprised Ty. He'd had no idea a name could mean so much or have so much symbolism behind it. Now that he thought about it, he supposed it made perfect sense, but he'd never realized it before. His education had been directed by Nerv, mostly the sciences and scraps of info about the Angels and Evas themselves. He'd always been happy with his life to this point, he had no complaints. He'd never thought he had any business in the world outside Nerv and piloting an Eva, but that one tidbit of information had been enough to pique his curiosity.

As Layla directed a question at the Soviet boy, Ty shuffled over to to the fourth pilot and gave her a pathetic wave. "Um, hi. Grace?"

Of course she's Grace. She just introduced herself a couple of seconds ago.

Very nervously and with exceeding slowness, Ty extended his hand and mumbled. "Ty Kirby. First Child. Pilot of Eva-00." She has the dossiers too. She probably knows all that already. "That Beowulf thing sounds interesting. I've never heard about anything like it. Where did you learn something like that?"

[garter_snake]

...the hell was that? Gilles thought after hearing Graces explanation. Allright... so if the angels are the Angels, Grendel is the Eva, 'Beowulf' is something that kills the Eva but dies to a dragon? OK, that's pretty easy to follow, although what the dragon is I have no idea. Then it gets weird. So Grendel, that is, the Evas, were born from Cain and Abel, who are humans in the bible, but Cain mingled with fallen angels. Christ, all these bible metaphors...

So my best guess is that whats going on is that these two are communicating that there's some threat to the Eva program besides the Angels, this 'Beowulf' codeword, and that it can be stopped with a 'dragon' - whatever the hell a dragon is. And that whole bit about Grendel's lineage must have been an allegory to the creation of the Evas - humans working with alien tech. So those two, White and Zhao, must be in deep with the people who made the Evas: Nerv. And her explaining this to me means that Nerv wants help against this 'Beowulf'.

Alright- I'm getting closer to figuring this all out. Now I need to figure out what the relationship is between all the players. And start watching their faces more closely and see if I can pick up the lies.


"Of course I understand 'belief in God' in God, Comrade Zhao, just as one might understand 'belief in Opium.' They are much the same, in that they are tools used by the ruling class to lead the working class astray and give them false hope." Gilles said. "Still I am heartened by your zeal to destroy the extraterrestrial foes of the world revolution, if your values are a bit strange. Where did you obtain them?"

[AmberVael]

"It does work, but it seems like they should have named them after heroes or good guys of some sort." Grace replied to Layla thoughtfully, "But this way does make them seem pretty dangerous. Maybe that was the point."

The fourth child waited curiously for Gilles to respond to Layla's question, but redirected her attention to Ty as he spoke to her. She had of course read the dossiers- or at least most of them- but she didn't comment on the redundancy, and instead just politely shook his hand.

"Well, all over the place, really! A lot of it I just learned from reading, but I've also had some tutors, and then I picked some stuff up just by looking around on the internet too. It's sort of a hobby of mine." It occurred to Grace that while not hearing about Beowulf was understandable (though a lack that definitely needed to be remedied, if you asked her), not hearing about anything at all like it was rather odd. Sheltered was one thing, but not really knowing mythology at all? Weird. But maybe she was just the odd one, for liking all that stuff so much. No one else here had known the name Grendel, after all.

"If you're interested, I do have a copy of Beowulf on my laptop- I could email it to you." she offered. "Though there's a lot more stories than just that. I've been reading a lot of Norse sagas lately; the heroes of those are really crazy. They get drunk a lot and challenge each other to absurd fights and randomly drink the blood of dragons... they're um, kind of bad examples, but it makes them fun to read about. I like the heroes from the Indian epics a bit more though- they have really interesting codes and morals, and they're just as awesome in their own way. They perform these really intense acts called tapasya to show their devotion to the gods and to master these divine weapons called astras that can do things like turn into tons of snakes or summon tornadoes. I have one of those stories on my laptop too."

Grace smiled sheepishly. "This is one of my favorite topics. I'll talk all day about it if I don't catch myself."

[Zazax]

Something that could be called a distant ancestor of a smile spread across Ty's face. "I don't mind. I prefer listening over speaking anyways."

He fidgeted slightly and took a brief moment to think. "That'd be nice, I think." He blinked and quickly added, "The email thing, I mean. Nerv has had a handle on my education for as long as I can remember, and I've never really had an opportunity to look into anything other than what they set aside for me."

He met her sheepish smile with one of his own, although significantly more anxious. The sunglasses didn't make it any more dignified.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla made a face on being referred to as "Comrade Zhao again" by Gilles. Ugh, Soviet Wonder Boy sure laps up that Commie This and Socialist That bunk. I probably couldn't go a single sentence reciting that crap with a straight face. Ah, you poor, sheltered Commie Boy, I am going to drag you into the light of freedom even if you're kicking and screaming the whole time.

She cleared her throat, then gave Gilles a standard "B" rated glare (you had to work hard at pissing her off to upgrade it to an full "A" grade one, and there was an unconfirmed rumor that she had an S ranked glare capable of literally punching holes in the wall).

"Look, do you mind knocking off the Comrade Zhao crap? It's wearing thin in a hurry. Once was odd but forgivable, twice was irritating, and the third time better not happen or I may have to resort to a more violent means of persuasion. It's Layla. JUST Layla. I also answer, in some cases, reluctantly, to Ms. Zhao, Layla Tremaine Zhao, LTZ, Second Child, EVA-01 pilot, Hey You, Layla The Magnificent, Awesomesauce, The Great Destroyer, Jerk, Jerkass, Jerkface, though those three will probably lead to violence as well, and Four-Eyes, which WILL involve me beating you with the nearest convenient blunt object."

She turned away for a moment and slid her hands inside her jacket pockets, trying and failing to cool the rising passion igniting inside her. She took a deep breath, then turned back towards the Third Child.

"You wanted to know why I feel like this? Why I hate the Angels so much? Well... why the hell NOT?! They ruined the world! They ruined my home! Don't know if you know much about Oz, but it got annihilated! Half of everyone dead, everything but the North Coast destroyed by the goddamn tidal wave. And my parents... I can't even remember their faces clearly any more. All I have left of them's a vague memory of the shape of their faces. Then years in those ai yah tien ah camps, a refugee in my own country. Yeah, I know, thanks to that propaganda passing for an intel dossier, you saw the same thing no doubt, emigrating from Canada to Siberia. Doesn't change how much it pisses me off! And THEN, after screwing our entire planet up completely, they have the nerve not to show up when they're supposed to and let me kick their F***ING TEETH IN!"

She'd been inching closer and closer towards Gilles during her rant until they were practically face to face, which with her five inch height advantage left her towering over the boy. She backed up, breathing heavily for a few moments before speaking again in a much quieter voice.

"Sorry, didn't mean to take all that out on you. Not your fault any of it happened of course, I just... it just pisses me off to no end. You know?"

[garter_snake]

Gilles listened with a slightly stunned expression to Layla's rant. Merde. They really did give the most powerful weapons known to man to a bunch of random orphans. Gilles massaged his temples for a few moments, as if dispelling a headache.

After a few seconds, he dropped his hands and put them in his pockets, and spoke casually. "Alright. Let's not be comrades then, Second. In exchange, don't apologize to me. Through clenched teeth is the proper way for opposites to talk to each other, and I think that's what we are." Gilles closed his eyes, as if remembering something, and spoke bitterly. "I really can't stand people like you, people who wear their hearts on their sleeves and make decisions based on their emotions. They always seem to get themselves and others killed fulfilling their own selfishness. And I intend to survive this."

Gilles pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, thinking deeply. Abruptly reaching a decision, he raised his right hand to his mouth and bit the inner part until a thin stream of blood ran down the side. He thrust the hand at Layla, holding it open for a handshake. "It can't be helped, I think. I don't think our foes can be defeated by going it alone, and this is the only bond I know of that can make two opposites fight together." Taking a deep breath, Gilles looked Layla in the eye. "Layla Tremaine Zhao." He said formally. "Will you be my sibling?"

[CrimsonKnight]

For a moment, Layla was stunned into silence. It was not the first time her hotblooded nature had led to an emotional outburst of this sort, and she was used to people's responses ranging from pity to sympathy to derision to simply ignoring it and pretending it hadn't happened. She had, in fact, expected Gilles would probably use it as an excuse to mock or belittle her for being so passionate. Which made it so surprising instead when, despite having obvious distaste for her emotional drive that was so at odds with his own cold logic, he was still offering his hand, and after intentionally hurting himself no less to seal it with blood, in friendship to her. No, not friendship, in kinship, becoming as close as family.

Layla looked down at his hand... then a faint smirk began to cross her face. "Hell with it. Why not? Blood kin it is, Third Child. Or Gilles, if you prefer." She brought her own hand up to her mouth and gripped her palm in her teeth until a tear formed and blood began to trickle from the gash. As her hand came down, her smirk had increased to a full-blown smile of approval. She gripped his hand tightly, her torn palm twinging from the contact even as their blood intermingled. She seemed to be trying to remember something, and after a moment began to recite a short passage from memory.

"Though born on seperate days and with seperate names, we three resolve to die on the same day. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may the Heavens and Earth both strike us dead." She laughed. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Peach Garden Oath, or a paraphrase of it anyway. Just because I didn't read Beowulf doesn't mean I don't read anything, and when you have Chinese foster parents proud of their cultural heritage, well... you tend to read Chinese epics. Though it was quite interesting a read. Anyway, as Second Child, that makes me the elder sibling and thus now you have to honor and respect me as your elder or pay the consequences." There was a twinkle in her eye as she made that last comment, an indication she wasn't actually being serious about the "elderly respect" due her now. "Don't go thinking this'll make me go any easier on you if I need to ride you hard for screwing up... but God help any Angel that dares to get in our way."

[garter_snake]

"That's fine." Gilles responded ambiguously to Layla's speech. "So long as the day we die is a long way away." Gilles inspected his right hand. "By the way. You don't have AIDS or anything like that, do you?"

[PalusAbel]

"Rest assured, the pilots possess no such diseases. For good or for ill, any pilot with a condition like that would promptly be removed from the program." A tall and dignified man in a black, knee-length coat spoke from the opposite end of the room. "We have need of children like you to pilot the Evangelions, but even then we have no need of medical liabilities." His expression intensifies as he stares at Gilles. "Why you and the First were retained this long escapes me. If I were Commander, I would have had you replaced two years ago. Alas, I am only Vice Commander, and so I must concede." His stride is long, powerful, and most of all precise. From his posture to his breathing, the Vice Commander seemed always to have a sense of unswerving purpose. "I am Vice Commander Lonell. If I were pleased you meet you, I would say so. Come along then." He ushered, or more accurately shoved, each of the pilots toward their meeting with the head of Nerv-Chile.

The Commander's office is neat and organized, but not overly so. A carelessly opened book here, a skewed pile of papers there, and other such miscellany at least lets the pilots know that the space is owned and used by a person, rather than a robot. Behind a desk slightly too tall for her was the Commander herself, dividing her attention between two clipboards. She gave no sign that she heard the pilots come in until Lonell cleared his throat. "Oh, hello there! Glad you guys could make it! I'm Commander Sheridan. I've seen you all before, but never all in the same room. Hopefully you were able to get acquainted while you were waiting." The Vice Commander is visibly unsettled by his superior's lack of formality. This was the person in charge of mankind's first line of defense against whatever horrors came forth from the Torre del Cielo. He was able to relax slightly when she got into the briefing proper. "There hadn't been much by way of anomalous activity from the Tower up until about three months ago, discounting the nature of the Tower itself. Yes, it's been expanding, but slowly. In the past three months, however, the Tower has been flaring with greater and greater rapidity. Our best guess is that an Angel is finally coming through."

"We have at our command four of the greatest weapons mankind has ever created, the Evangelions. Yet, powerful as they are, they have not been tested outside of the laboratory, and even then never all at once. This is the plan, then: to help you all get used to fighting the Angels, we'll be conducting our first multi-pilot combat simulation. All of the simulation bodies have been updated with the most recent data on your performance and preferred loadouts. For this experiment, the First and Second Children Ty Kirby and Layla Tremaine Zhao will be teamed against the Third and Fourth Children Gilles Duceppe and Grace White. The purpose of this test will be to evaluate how you act in a group, as well as how the Evangelions perform against enemies of similar scale and ability."

The Commander got up from her chair, in so doing revealing the reason her desk was too large for her - she was scarcely more than five feet tall. Her chair had been stacked with pillows to accommodate her, but even so the desk was clearly designed for someone much larger. "Before I ask if you have any questions, please locate Captain Elvenes and bring him here, Lonell. Thanks." The Vice Commander stiffly nodded his compliance and left. "Ah, he can be a real pain sometimes. I think he takes his job too seriously. Now, I'm sure you're brimming with questions." She smiles in a warm and disarming way as she looks over the children who must either protect the world or let it die.

[garter_snake]

Gilles raised his hand. "I have some, yes, Comrade-Commander. First of all, what are the Angels? The only thing I know of them is that they are aliens, but where did they come from? And how do they fight?"

[PalusAbel]

"Hmm... we have no idea!" The Commander replies cheerfully. "No one's ever seen one before. I was told that the extraterrestrial beings we call Angels were supposed to attack two years ago, but we got the Tower of Heaven instead. I think the best way to imagine what an Angel will be like is to look at the weapons we developed to fight them. What kind of enemy would require a forty-meter tall biomechanical humanoid as an opponent?"

"The Angels will probably come from beyond the rift in the center of the Tower. How they get from there to here is as much of a mystery as what they are. There's really not much else to tell you at this point. We know that there are Angels, and that we need the Evangelions to fight them, but that's all."

[Zazax]

Having been silent for some time and hanging somewhat back from the rest of the group, Ty slowly raised his hand.

"Um, I have a question about that." He fidgeted. "Are we sure they'll be coming here? If we don't head them off right as they come out of the Tower they have free reign to go wherever they want. The way I see it that could be here, or anywhere else." He adjusted his glasses. "I'm not a tactician or anything, but I'd imagine that if they wanted to wipe us out they'd hit population centers first, and bypass fortified positions like ours."

Wow, I think that's the most I've said at once since leaving the house this morning.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla frowned. While the announcement that they would be fighting each shortly in a simulated battle had begun to get her fired up and ready to go, she was brought back down by the questions being asked. And, especially, the lack of information possessed by the adults who were supposed to be in charge and knowledgeable. A thought came to her and she chimed in as well.

"I have a question too: how do we even know they're coming from the tower? I mean, you just said nobody's ever seen one or knows anything about them. How can you be certain about anything with them? You yourself said, and I was told this as well when I was recruited, that they were supposed to show up two years ago. Yet they didn't. If they're aliens, what's to stop them from dropping straight into the heart of a major city? Or sending an army of thousands and overwhelming us wherever and whenever they feel like it?"

She wasn't finished, though she didn't want to say the next part for fear of questioning what she considered to be the greatest gift she'd ever gotten.

"Why do you even need us to fight? We're all still kids, in case you didn't notice. Yes, they said it has to be kids, that the EVAs only work if a kid is the pilot. And yes... even if it's just been in sims so far, piloting an EVA is hands-down the most awesome thing I've ever done in my life. Okay, fine, but what exactly is it that four large robots that probably cost more than I could possibly imagine can do that a whole planet of tanks, planes, ships, and nukes can't?"

[PalusAbel]

"Hmm... Those are all good points that you're raising, but I don't have the answers for you. We are operating on the assumption that the Angels will come from the Tower, but it's reasonable, as far as we can tell. That rift is the source of the aurora, and the crystal that forms the Tower itself. If the Angels don't come from there, we're out of luck, but if they had the power to appear anywhere at any time, we would be out of luck then, too. Deploying the Evangelions requires highly specialized infrastructure that the U.N. can't afford to build and maintain in too many branches at once. The other Nerv branches are capable of producing spare parts for us, but that's the extent of what they can do."

"And as for your last question, Layla, that's part of the reason why I'm having you do the combat simulation. Your Evangelions have a function that has been suppressed up until now. We call it the Absolute Territory Field, or A.T. Field for short. With it, an Evangelion can reject all but the most powerful conventional weapons. Even nukes would be hard-pressed to bring one down. Tests have shown that the Tower is essentially a crystallized A.T. Field, which explains why nothing we've thrown at it has even scratched it. The way to bypass an A.T. Field is to slam another one into it - they erode one another upon contact. That is why we need the Evangelions, our only weapons capable of producing A.T. Fields, which, in turn, is why we need you, the pilots."

[AmberVael]

The more Grace listened, the more confused she became. The facts and answers they were given seemed to conflict- or at least not add up as they might be expected to. But then, maybe they were just being lied to; as long as Grace wasn't the one planning or designing, what would it actually matter to them if she didn't know what was really going on? No one here actually needed to tell her the truth to accomplish what they wanted; she just had to be a pawn for them. If they were lying though, they'd prepared very poorly.

Either way, it would be interesting to see how they'd explain it all, so Grace spoke up. "So... we've never seen an Angel. We don't know what they look like, what they can do, or where they come from. But we're certain that they exist, and that they'll be coming here- so certain that we've built up all this stuff to fight them and are still waiting two years later. And even though we don't know what they're like, the EVAs are specifically designed to counter the Angels?"

Grace paused for a moment, confusion and skepticism warring on her face as she tried to put form to her questions. "How do we know they exist? Or that they're coming, and hostile? If we don't know anything about them, how do we know the EVAs are a good design to fight them with?"

[PalusAbel]

"The Evangelions constitute the best weapon we have not just because of the A.T. Field, but because they surpass every other man-machine interface we possess. It takes both skill and talent, just as with any other weapon, but Evangelions are ultimately more flexible than, say, a tank or a jet. You can do almost anything you put your mind to once you're synchronized. I wouldn't say that the Evangelions are specifically designed to counter the Angels, but that they have the best shot at fighting them from what we do know."

"Our proof that the Angels are hostile is Second Impact itself. A scientist by the name of Katsuragi discovered the first Angel, Adam, who had been sleeping under the ice for who knows how long. He and his team devoted themselves to studying it. Everything that we know about Angels comes from their reports, sent to various U.N. research facilities around the world via satellite. Something he or his team did awakened Adam, who then self-destructed. I wasn't entirely honest when I said no one has ever seen an Angel - we have pictures of Adam while it was asleep, but there are no survivors to tell us what it was like when it awoke."

"Some say that Second Impact was more of a retaliation than an attack, but the U.N. thought otherwise. They predicted that more Angels would appear in 2015, and when the rift appeared above the South Pole it seemed like they were right. But they weren't, as you know, and maybe that was for the best. There is a theory that the Tower itself is an Angel, creating a facsimile of Adam's resting place. I don't know if that's the case, but I know that it isn't just for show. No matter what convinced the U.N. to create Nerv and Project E, the Tower is all the evidence that I need to prepare for a fight against the Angels. I hope it is for you, too."

[garter_snake]

Gilles put his hands in his pocket and fingered his dice while the commander talked. This woman is our commander? She can't even get a chair that fits her, how is she supposed to wage a war? At least the Vice Commander seems like a normal person. And what is all this about AT fields? I have never heard of such a thing. A shield that can stop nuclear weapons. How could they have kept such a thing secret?


As the Commander answered the other pilots' questions, Gilles let his gaze drift around the room, reading the titles of the Commander's books and paperwork and trying to identify if anything stood out.


Senses roll.

[roll0] TN 30

[PalusAbel]

There are a number of academic books on her shelves, and many binders of records organized by category. Each pilot has his or her own binder. The clipboards she was looking over before contain diagrams of the Nerv-Chile complex with certain junctions circled, presumably ideal places for infrastructure.

[Swordslinger]

The door to the commander’s office was opened after a quick knock.

"You summoned me, Ma’am?" William asked in an upbeat tone as he walked into the office. He stopped hallway across the room and looked over the children while leaning on his crutch.

[PalusAbel]

"Ah, Captain. Yes, I had sent for you. Looks like the Vice Commander saw fit not to return with you. I trust that he's off being productive somewhere. But never mind that. I want to introduce you to the pilots. You've seen their dossiers, no doubt, but that's not the same as meeting them." The Commander looked at her watch and creased her brow. "If you don't mind, Captain, I'd like to start the combat simulation as soon as possible. You'll have time to speak with the pilots over the comm while they get ready. I'm sorry to have you come all this way for nothing. Please report to your station on the bridge and standby while I escort these children to the simulation bodies."

The simulation bodies were essentially Evangelions that had been stripped bare. With no arms or legs, they possessed the means to house and use an Entry Plug, but were otherwise incapable of movement or activity. Instead, the Magi supercomputers would create a digital world in which a virtual avatar of the corresponding Evangelion could train or experiment. Commander Sheridan brought the pilots to the cages where their Entry Plugs awaited before returning to the bridge herself. "The pilots will begin the simulation momentarily, Captain Elvenes. Please prepare your address to the pilots."

[Swordslinger]

"It’s no problem ma’am." He looked at the children and gave them a nod "We’ll talk in a moment."

Well protected underneath the city proper lay the military command center usually just called the bridge. And it was a fitting name he thought as he walked in, with the large screens in the other end of the room and the computer stations he could almost imagine it begin the bridge of a futuristic ship. Centrally placed there was a chair that had been set up for him, where he would have easy access to information and give out commands. Had things been different he might have preferred to remain standing should a situation occur, unfortunately with his leg the way it was remaining standing for what might be hours was something best avoided if at all possible.

He heard the door open behind him and the commander enter.

"Will do, ma’am." her replayed to her.

A short while later after the pilots had gotten into their plug suits and the Evas William started speaking through their coms.

"Greetings pilots and welcome to NERV, my name is William Elvenes and I am the director of operations here at NERV Chile."

"I understand that a battle simulation right now might feel a bit sudden and that you are all eager to get settled down in your permanent residences and unpack. But we have a lot of empty hands down in the tech labs just itching to get some data they can analyze; they did not outright say there would be murder if we did not get starting on the simulation, but it was implied."

"So for now let’s try to put other things out of our minds and focus on the task at hand. Soon the simulation will start up and from there we'll take things step by step but do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions underway. I know this is a simulation but I expect you all to treat this seriously and do your best, the experience you gain here could turn invaluable in the future."

[garter_snake]

Gilles climbed into the entry plug, and sat down at the control chair. He watched the LCL fluid uneasily as it filled up, reluctantly taking a breath of it once it reached his mouth.

As the bubbles of his last breath of air reached the ceiling, Gilles brought up his comms. "Comrade-Captain. What are the parameters of this battle? What are the win conditions, and what is the terrain going to be like?"

[Swordslinger]

"The battle will be set in a fortified city environment auto generated by the MAGI similar in style to the actual city. The battle will when one of the teams is unable to continue fighting or yields. The main goal for you four is to learn how to generate the AT field and gain experience in utilizing the Evangelion as well as fighting an enemy of the same scale and power as the Eva’s."

"We are trying to make the conditions as close to reality as possible but since it is after all just a test we will have several safe guards in place to protect you from undue stress and pain. So beware that an actual battle will be worse then what you experience in the simulation. "

"Just as a remainder, there will be two teams consisting of Gilles and Grace on one team and one with Layla and Ty. Teammates will start close to each other so don’t go shooting at the first thing you see. For that matter, no combat is to take place before everyone has successfully managed to activate you’re AT fields."

"Another thing to keep in mind is your surroundings; try to act as if this was a real battle in the middle of the NERV fortress city. So be careful and try not cause any destruction you don’t have to, pretend that there might be people in the buildings, we will keep track of the damages done and discuss it afterwards to help you improve. But still the main goal is to defeat the angels or in this case the other team, some collateral damage is unavoidable, don’t let fear of destroying something get in the way of accomplishing that goal. The damages from failure would be nothing in comparison."

[Zazax]

Ty hesitated before stepping into his Entry Plug. Glancing around to make sure nobody was looking, he briefly removed his sunglasses and studied them. Would they be okay in LCL, or impair his vision? He hadn't worn them during his first test; there'd been no need. There was now.
He shrugged and placed them back over his eyes before stepping in. He'd find out.

He barely reacted as his Plug filled with LCL, lost in thought as he was.
I'll be fine. If there wasn't something I'm good at, Nerv wouldn't have let me pilot an Eva.
But I don't have any sort of combat training. I've never even been in a fistfight before.
Neither Layla nor Grace have training either, according to those dossiers.
But Gilles has.
True. That just means he's a known threat. There's probably reasoning behind these teams; maybe Layla's got some sort of secret, anti-Soviet weapon on Eva-01.
Damn it, this isn't the time for jokes.
It's always time for jokes; the type of joke just changes. Think of it this way; do I trust the Commander?
Not really. I just met her, and people don't get to positions like that by being neighborly.
... Okay then. Do I trust her to at least do her job to the best of her ability?
Yes.
Good. Then trust she knows what she's doing by making you a Pilot and, in this case, pairing you with Layla. I'm 99% sure she knows more about the other Pilots and the capabilities of the Evas than I do, especially considering that 'AT Field' thing she mentioned earlier. There's reasoning behind this.

He smiled. He just lost another argument with himself. Can't go making this a habit.

He shifted in his oddly-shaped chair and waited. He had no idea how long he'd be in here, but might as well get comfortable.

[CrimsonKnight]

The discussion with the Commander had done little to reassure Layla. "Wonderful. The Commander's a useless ditz, the Vice-Commander looks about as pleased to see us as he would a rotting corpse, and apparently the super secret and super advanced organization responsible for defending the entire planet from the Angels doesn't know what they are, what they look like, or even if they're going to attack at all. Are they really expecting us to fight like this? I hope this Operations Director knows what he's doing, because this whole setup stinks."

Arriving at her entry plug, the sight of the simulation body, even if it wasn't her actual EVA, still managed to cheer her up from her gloom. She could worry about all that stuff later. Right now, it was time to have a little fun. She climbed inside the cylinder, settling into her seat as the techs sealed the entry plug and began pumping in the LCL. She closed her eyes and relaxed as the liquid reeking of blood steadily filled in all around her.

The first time adjusting to breathing the fluid had been... awkward, but she was determined not to let herself be so affected again. As it crept upwards past her neck, she took one final breath of air, then exhaled as her head was submerged, clearing the last of the bubbles from her lungs. She couldn't help from coughing at the drowning feeling as the LCL poured inside her, but the sensation soon passed as her lungs were completely saturated and her body adjusted to the fact that she was still getting all the O2 it needed. She opened her eyes and grinned.

"Damn, I'm getting used to this pretty quick. Okay, I'm ready to go. Load the sim up already!" While she was waiting for the visual screen around her to finish booting up, she searched through the control console.

Where's the comm controls on this bloody... aha, found you! Okay, now to make a private call to EVA-00, don't want the other two listening in... there we go! One of her arms pumped above in victory, then returned to the controls as she began to speak."Ah, EVA-01 to EVA-00, come in. Can you hear me, First?"

[Zazax]

Ty blinked at the sudden sound of Layla's voice, then fumbled around his controls to find the comms for future reference as he spoke. "Uh, yes, I can hear you loud and clear. What can I do for you, Layla?"

To his own surprise, he sounded somewhat more confident than before. He guessed it made sense. This was work now, not socialization. He was unsure how that distinction helped, exactly, but it seemed to.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla paused for a second, surprised at how much more confident Ty sounded now than before.

"Hi there, Ty. Just interested in finding out what your preferred method of fighting is, seeing as we're partners for this one. Don't want to get in each other's way in the fight and look like a couple of drunken drongos, now do we?

[AmberVael]

The captain made a better impression on Grace than the commander and the vice-commander, but she reminded herself that he was part of the same organization, and closer to the commanders than he was to the pilots. She gave him no response and asked no questions, but instead focused on the somewhat daunting test before her. They'd run her through simulations a couple times before, but nothing like this- not in front of and against her peers. Gilles was on her side, luckily, but maybe that would just make things worse.

She didn't even know if she'd like it if she won- that might just make the others feel bad.

Grace took a deep breath as she changed into the rather embarrassing plug suit, and reminded herself that winning wasn't really the goal here- just to gather data and get familiarity with the EVA systems. They'd be happy so long as she gave the giant machine a good test run. Don't hold back. Make things interesting. Give them something to study.

Then, she stepped into the entry plug. Though she braced herself against the flood of LCL, she still gave a shiver of disgust as it filled the cockpit. Trying to ignore it, she examined her controls, familiarizing herself with the setup before attempting anything. Eventually, once she thought she had the feel of things, she sent out a short general message. "Ready to go."

[Zazax]

Ty briefly wondered what a 'drongo' was before ultimately deciding it didn't matter. "Er, I'm going to have to apologize on that front, Layla. I couldn't fight in close if my life depended on it, and I'm only a passable shot. I'll probably be hanging back, if at all possible, although we may want to wait and see what this 'AT Field' is before devising any actual strategies, especially considering that generating one is one of our primary goals in this simulation. It sounds important."

Not sure whether or not to expect a response before the sim started, he leaned back and closed his eyes. He was in his element now; fulfilling his purpose. He was an Eva pilot, and not just any one, but the original. He was the First Child; the very first person chosen to pilot. He may not be the greatest fighter of the four Children, but he would at least prove himself worthy of his label.

[CrimsonKnight]

"Well, if shooting's all you're any good at, then do it. I can't hit the broad side of a skyscraper myself... but I do know how to scrap it up hand to hand. So then, you just cover me while I charge in and smash them. Simple, yeah?"

Satisfied with her "plan", Layla leaned back and awaited the start of the sim, fingers resting lightly over the controls.

[garter_snake]

Allright. Gilles thought. My opponents are Kirby and Second. If Second is as emotional on the battlefield as off, she shouldn't be too difficult to subdue. The unknown factor is Kirby. Therefore, it'd be best to take out Second, then finish Kirby together.


Gilles activated his comms, opening a channel to Grace.


"Comrade White. I believe I have a plan with a good chance of success.

From their personalities, my guess is that Second's going to take point, while Comrade Kirby backs her up. We'll deploy in a linear formation.

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/9939/z7z7.png

Our goal will be to draw Second out, away from Comrade Kirby. We'll retreat a bit and force her to overextend.

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/7998/ohvr.png

After she does so, I'll intercept her, while you move in behind us and cut her umbilical cord.

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/5493/luqv.png

After which, I'll deploy smoke and we fight defensively until she runs out of battery.

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4378/vynu.png

After that it's just a matter of double-teaming Comrade Kirby.

This plan requires two things from you: the speed to evade Second and the precision to cut the cord. Would you be able to follow through with it?

[AmberVael]

Grace bit her lip as she thought, and tweaked her comm systems to talk just to Gilles, or at least just exclude her other two peers. If the techs or captain wanted to listen in, they were welcome to it. "Maybe. My EVA isn't slow, but it has some heavy armor weighing it down. If I can get to the cable though, I should be able to cut it pretty easily; the weapon systems they gave this thing are crazy. Well... in melee at least. I'm still pretty awful with a gun."

NERV had been trying their best to bring Grace up to par in the areas she was lacking, but between her injury and complete inexperience they were having a rough time of it. Fortunately, Grace had a little self defense training (not an uncommon skill in the current day and time), and was found to be terrifyingly talented in melee, at least with the help of an EVA. There was a lot left for her to learn, but in the meantime at least she wasn't incompetent with all weaponry.

"Won't there be replacement cords she can use though?" Grace asked curiously. "What if she just picks up one of them?"

[garter_snake]

"It's a possibility that they may have spares in the course." Gilles conceded. "But recharging stations should be a lot easier to damage than an Eva, and one can't attack and run to a recharging station at the same time. I think even if they do, I can slow her down while you destroy the spares, and the smoke should make it difficult for us to be damaged."

[AmberVael]

"Alright then." In truth, Grace wasn't sold on the plan- but Gilles had training, and she didn't. Maybe it would work out better than she thought it would actually go. And, looking on the positive side, either they'd expose a serious flaw in EVA design, or they'd demonstrate that limited duration of power wasn't as bad as it seemed. Either way, a good bit of data for the engineers.

"Do we just turn it into a straight up fight if we can't manage to do it?"

[garter_snake]

"I think we'll have to play it by ear. I don't know what their loadouts are, what their fighting styles are, or what this 'AT Field' does, so there are a lot of unknowns." Giles said absentmindedly. Conversationally, he continued. "Comrade, a personal question. Going by your gut, what do you think our odds of winning this battle are?"

[AmberVael]

"Please, just call me Grace." She wasn't entirely sure why being addressed as 'comrade' bugged her, but it didn't really sit well- something about it seemed stilted. Distant. "Um, maybe about fifty-fifty. Why do you ask?" It didn't seem like a very personal question to her, but Gilles had led a very different life, after all. Maybe military observations were personal to him. It was a very odd thought, and kind of a sad one too.

[garter_snake]

"One to one odds, eh? That's fine." Within the entry plug of his Evangelion, Gilles face split into a broad grin. "Then- I will up those odds and give them back to you. Ten to one that we will win this! Here is the bet: I will wager ten handcooked meals that we will win this, to your one that we will lose this. Meaning: if we lose, I owe you ten meals. If we win, you owe me one." Voice rising a bit with excitement, Gilles asked, "Will you see me?"

[AmberVael]

The unexpected bet prompted a grin on Grace's face as well, and her reply came swiftly. "You're on, Gilles." If they won, she'd win- and if they lost, she got a consolation prize. How could she refuse? For a few moments she thought over the few things she was confident that she could cook well, and then a question occurred to her, which she voiced with good will and genuine curiosity. "Do you cook?"

[garter_snake]

"Well enough to live on." Gilles replied.

Let's see. Gilles thought. What game is native here, anyway? There's probably some type of deer - deer are everywhere - but that's proboly too big a kill. Armadillo, maybe?

[PalusAbel]

"I believe they have had enough time to chat. Commander, I respectfully request that you start the simulation." Vice Commander Lonell cut straight to the point. "The Magi have better things to do than stand by entertaining the conversations of children."

"Dry and impatient, as usual. Very well. Remove the core limiters. Pilots, this may feel strange. You may think you've synchronized before, but this is the real deal. Don't be afraid. Just let yourself expand outward. You'll know what I mean in a moment." The Commander kept her voice level, reassuring the pilots that there was no danger.

"A.T. Fields are spreading," the doctor at the foremost console called out. He was a large man, easily more than six feet tall and three wide. His sculpted physique was scarcely concealed the tight black shirt he wore beneath his lab coat. "Fields spread to capacity and holding. Looks like we have the right kids, Commander."

"Good. I'll be damned if we waited two years for nothing. Pilots, once everyone gets accustomed to their A.T. Fields, we will begin the simulation. I'll be watching to the end, so don't disappoint me."

Here (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5244a9f815cbe) is the most recent map. When you guys take actions that merit a change, go to the image, drag your character to the new spot, and hit enter. That will generate a new URL. Post a link to that in your post.

Everyone will start with their A.T. Fields fully spread as befits their current Synch Ratios. As a reminder, the initiative order is:
1. Layla
2. Gilles
3. Grace
4. Ty.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla stuck her tongue out in frustration. More waiting, yet again. It seemed like she'd been waiting forever for this, and now they had to tell her to wait just a little while longer. She sighed.

"Ugh, how long is this gonna take? I thought we were supposed to be fighting! Damn it... so what's so important about these AT Field things you keep talking about anyway?"

[Zazax]

The Commander hadn't been kidding. A slight shiver ran up Ty's spine as the AT Field spread. He could not put the feeling into words himself, but the Commander's description seemed apt enough; it was as if he was expanding outwards. When it was fully spread, he hesitated a moment. The Commander had said that AT Fields were impervious to everything except other AT Fields, but while it had been expanding it had felt... what was the word...
Malleable?

Steeling himself, Ty focused on the Field. He ran through various means, ranging from pressing buttons to voice commands, all without effect, before going with his gut and simply imposing his will on it. Abruptly, the entire Field around him shifted, rearranging itself entirely in some imperceptible way.

Ty flinched. Opening a comm to the Commander, he tried to keep the surprise from his voice.
"Uh, Commander? Is the AT Field supposed to do that? Or did I just break something?"

[PalusAbel]

The Commander pursed her lips. "The A.T. Field is an extension of your will. That's why it's such a powerful weapon - it can do anything you can think of, as long you think hard enough about doing it. Think of it as an irresistible force intertwined with an immovable object. I can't really say more than that."

[AmberVael]

The field was even stranger than synchronization, but Grace felt that there was something comforting to it. It was a power radiating outward, and a fortress set about her, at once a weapon and a wall; it was an inviolable sanctuary that was also an expression of something familiar to her, though what it was she could not entirely decide. But most of all, it felt like a beacon, a radiance that she could almost see. No wonder they'd named her Eva 'Helel.'

Grace kept her thoughts to herself though, and tried to focus on the test ahead. Best to keep her mind on the task, rather than letting it wander. She waited for the fight to begin.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla snorted dismissively. "Do anything I want it to? Let me guess, I just gotta clap my hands and believe, right?. Bah, enough of this bunk! Let's go Ty, I'm sick of waiting around here any longer. I don't need some magical invisible field to go kick some pommy arse."

The right arm of EVA-01 raised over its head with the spear it had been clenching since the sim loaded as Layla verified that the controls were working like she had been trained on. Satisfied that it was apparently responding as it should, she grinned and twirled the spear overhead in a show of confidence (that move having required from her a month's worth of training in her spare time with sticks to get it right, but oh so worth it). Her EVA turned its head towards EVA-00 behind her, and she gave a nod to her squadmate for this fight.

"Ready or not, here we go. EVA Team Awesome: CHARGE!"

She could worry about AT field metaphysical nonsense at a later time. Right now, it was time for a little fun.

Actions:
Full Action Move
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/52450b67a40ed)

[garter_snake]

Sweat beaded on Gilles forehead as his AT field flickered to life. At a steady pace, Gilles moved back next to the building to his rear.

Gilles than spoke into the comms channel he had open with Grace. "Comrade, I do not yet have a visual. Can you see either of them?"


Half action to spread at field as a deflective field, and half action to move 1 square right and 3 squares back. (if someone can move my piece, id appreciate it, cant with a touchscreen.

[AmberVael]

"I see Layla!" Came Grace's quick reply. Her eyes flicked to the heavy attachments on the Eva's wings, and after a moment she recognized them for what they were. It was a bit different than in the manual, and from how they were attached to her own Eva, but it was close enough for her to know- or at least suspect.

"Gilles, she's loaded down with batteries." After her earlier uncertainty, this fact didn't really feel like a surprise to her, just a confirmation of her earlier worries. Grace hesitated a little, uncertain of how to proceed, but swiftly decided to keep going with their original plan. At the very least, it would give them time to think of something else. She decided against pulling off to the side- it was a little too far away- and instead just pulled straight back.

Grace makes a Full Move action.
The Map! (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5247ac223f5c9)

[Zazax]

Ty nodded back at Layla, still experimenting with his AT Field as he followed after her. He hadn't been able to manage anything other than those two patterns so far, but he was working at it.
As he caught up to her, though, he did... something.
Information bombarded Ty. He flinched and grit his teeth as he tried to make sense of the overwhelming sensation. It didn't take long.

He opened a channel to his partner, trying to keep the strain from his voice. "Layla, I think I can sense their AT Fields. One of them is dead ahead, but the other is just to the side, behind the building. Be careful."
There was something else in all this information too. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he intended to figure it out.

Full Action - Full Move
Free Action - AT Power: Ping
Awareness Test for Scan Field, using Synch Ratio instead of Perception due to Mind's Eye: [roll0]
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5247b364928d1)

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla had a puzzled look on her face. "You can do that? How did you... ugh, these AT field things are freaking weird. Well, I hope you're right, I was planning on running down Grace. But if the Third is waiting to ambush me around the corner..."

Moving a bit more cautiously than she had originally planned on spotting Grace, Layla's EVA approached the corner of the building and popped out just far enough for her to get a good look to the side... where Gilles' gold and red EVA was waiting, right where Ty had said it would be. She laughed in realization.

"I'll be damned, he IS here! That AT field is some kind of bloody witchcraft. You are the man, Ty." She momentarily keyed her comm to a general transmission that every EVA would pick up.

"Nice try Third, but you'll have to do better than that to get behind me! Your move, Comrade."

Double Move
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5247c429c402d)

[garter_snake]

Ignoring Layla's broadcast, Gilles responded to Grace. "Ah, I can see her now. Hmm." Gilles assesed Layla's Eva. "She's in a pure melee loadout, though. And those battery packs are going to weigh her down... I think we can just play keep away with her once we sever the cord."

The question is whether to intercept her now, or pull back a bit more? Second is at a good distance, but I don't see Kirby. Given their initial positions, that means we're either being flanked, or he's acting as long range support.

"Comrade, we're amending the plan a bit. Those packs mean we can't just wait for Second to run out if power, we'll need to apply pressure on Kirby as well. I'm going to intercept Second. You swing around her right and cut her cord, then move on to their start point. If Comrade Kirby is there, he's ranged support; tear him up. If not, he's flanking our left, destroy his power supply and we'll try to stall them out."

Finishing, Gilles kicked off the building's wall and sprinted at Layla, sliding under her spear and grabbing her Eva into a joint lock.


Full round charge action. Charging to the square right below Layla, with the attack being an unarmed grapple attack. Succeeded in die roller.

[AmberVael]

Grace saw just how helpless and vulnerable a position Gilles had put Layla's Eva, and she wondered at his directions, why he was so focused on taking out the cord. Did he know something she didn't?

Maybe he did. Maybe it would take longer to take them down directly than it would to simply wait it out- and more dangerous, too.

She saw the Evas start to twist as they maneuvered, and lunged forwards, charging across the battlefield at them. With a quick, precise thrust she sliced through the umbilical cord, leaving Grendel without power.

As a free action, Grace takes a half aim- thanks to the Precise quality of her spear.

As a full action, Grace makes a charge, and a called shot on Layla's umbilical cord.
Attack is a success. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16120005&postcount=21)
Due to grapple, the attack cannot be parried or dodged, and Grace automatically overcomes Deflection with her ATS plus her breach.

The new map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5247e7763719b) Edited in the position of Gilles too.

[Zazax]

Ty blinked as he saw the sudden onslaught, the overwhelming burst of information fading away. He got what he needed from it, though.

Well, that just happened.
I'm suddenly feeling very outmatched.
Just shoot. Whatever happens, happens.

He opened a channel to Layla. "You okay?" He hesitated, running over the earlier information he'd acquired. "Not intending to be a bother, but when you break out of that, I think we should gang up on Grace. She's got the stronger AT Field of the two of them, to the point where Gilles should have a hard time hurting us at all out of grapple."

Ty lined up a shot and fired, aiming for Grace, mumbling "sorry" to himself as he did so.

Half Action aim.
Standard attack against Grace's Eva.
Attack succeeds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16120048&postcount=23)
I believe Ty overcomes Deflection (?). Waiting on Dodge attempt.
Damage roll is 7 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16120055&postcount=24)+2. Penetration is 4, so armor is ignored. -4 damage from Toughness, leaving 5 on Helel's left arm, pending Dodge.
Edit: Also added something I totally forgot about. Hope nobody minds.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla grunted as Gilles slammed into her and wrapped his EVA's arms around her own, yet, if even, she was grinning even more fiercely than before.

"I'm fine, don't worry, we're just getting to know one another through a little bit of violence! Wait, what is she doing?"

With Gilles pinning her, she'd expected Grace to start working her over (cheap schoolyard bully tactics at its finest, and something Layla was quite familiar with), yet the Fourth Child had targeted something else instead: Grendel's umbilical cable. Suddenly, a flashing indicator started counting down from 2 minutes: her remaining time on internal power.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be? Win on a frigging technicality?! Hey Ty, change of plan: shoot THEIR umbilicals. They want to win the EASY way, they can learn the HARD way that I've got more battery power than they could possibly be expecting. Now then Third: let... me... GO!"

Full Round Action: Break Grapple
Opposed Strength Test (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16122160&postcount=25)
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5247e7763719b)
garter snake, make an Opposed Strength Test to resist my breaking the grapple.

[garter_snake]

"Tch." Gilles growled as Layla forced him off.

Well, her cord's off at least. Now I just have to stall her.

Comrade Prime dropped down and struck at Grendal with a low kick with it's left leg, but the giant Evangelion didn't even stumble. Using its right to surge upward again, Comrade Prime slipped the shotgun behind Grendal's left arm and then used it as a lever to crush them close, once again initiating a grapple.


Half action to try a Knock Down, which failed, and then a Half Action to initiate a grapple with a standard attack. The knock-down failed, the grapple succeeded. Posts 28-32 in dice roller thread.

[AmberVael]

As Ty's shot slammed into her arm, Grace grit her teeth. It hurt more than she had expected, and the fact that he could hit her at all felt wrong to her with the strength of her field around her. She didn't let it distract her from the plan though, and so she carefully pulled away from Layla and edged along the building, trying to keep a bit of cover between her and Ty.

Grace uses the Disengage action to get away from Layla.

New map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/52496ebdbfbf1)

[Zazax]

"Their cables. Got it." Ty responded as Grace ducked to one side. No problem.

Provided I can actually hit them.

Something occurred to him, and he opened a channel to Layla again. My, was he ever chatty today. "Hey, since I'm back a ways, at least until Grace decides she's had enough and closes the distance, if you need me to call up an umbilical port back here in the next little while, just say."

Grace may have been taking cover, but her umbilical still trailed behind her, and she had previously been standing out in the open. Lining up this significantly more difficult shot, Ty fired again, suppressing an urge to divert his eyes at the last second.

Half Action Aim
Called shot against umbilical.
Shot misses horrendously. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16128272&postcount=34)

[CrimsonKnight]

This time, Layla was ready for the grab and twisted herself free before Comrade Prime could lock its arms. Eying the cable snaking outward behind Gilles, she smirked: two could play that game, especially if she was the one with multiple battery backups. She lashed out with her Prog Spear, but the slender cable proved to be too much of an elusive target, and her strike went wide. Gritting her teeth, she began circling her EVA around that of the Third's, not wanting to be trapped between both Gilles and Grace.

"Might as well Ty. Don't need it just yet, but in a few more rounds..."

Free Action: Aim
Half Action: Called Shot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16128686&postcount=35) on Gilles' Umbilical (Miss)
Half Action: Half Move
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5249d5535709d)

[garter_snake]

Yes, this is fine. Gilles thought as Layla moved away from Grace and slashed at his cable. Holding its shotgun uselessly in its right hand, Comrade Prime reached up with its empty left hand and pulled out its Pneumatic Tonfa. From its left shoulder came a slight beeping, and then a cloud of smoke 60 meters in diameter and 20 wide spread out from Comrade Prime.


-Half action to ready Pn Tonfa
-Half action to fire the smoke launcher in Comrade Prime's right wing. Rather than actually fire it, I'm setting off the grenade inside the wing, soas to not have to deal with scatter. Since it is treated exactly as a blind grenade in DH(except for longer range and scaling and Unnatural Senses don't help), and you can totally just pull the pin on a grenade and let it blow up without throwing it in DH, I don't think this is an issue, but tell me if it is. Grey x's indicate the area of the smoke cloud in ditze.

Blind Grenade rules:

'Blind Grenades blah blah blah In calm conditions the cloud of smoke is roughly 3m wide and 2m tall and lasts 3 rounds. In high winds this may be reduced.

Blindness: Blind characters blah blah blah automatically fail all BS tests and any other test that involves vision. Such characters take a -30 penalty to all WS, Dodge, and Parry tests. Finally, blind characters move at half their normal rates when in unfamiliar enviroments as they must feel around to make their way. Should they attempt to move faster, they must succeed on a Difficult(-10) Agi test or fall to the ground at the end of their movement.

Pg 136 DH core.


Also, map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524a2a30e5e31)

[AmberVael]

As Ty's shot whizzed past her, Grace saw her chance. It wouldn't matter much how well she did in this one instant, so long as she closed the distance and didn't give him the opportunity to safely back off and keep firing. So she leveled her spear and lunged forward again, the simulated buildings rushing past her at a speed that seemed ludicrous to her.

Her aim was a little off, and she adjusted to try and compensate at the very last minute, bringing her spear up and under Ty's guard- if he wasn't quick enough, he'd end up with the head of it in his chest.

As a free action, Grace takes a half aim.
Full Action: Charge at Ty.
First attack fails. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131054&postcount=36) But I used a fate point to reroll (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131066&postcount=37) and succeeded due to beginner's luck.

The hit will land on the body of Ty's Eva and deal 14 damage if he doesn't dodge or parry.

Map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524a2ee8e2dd1)

[Zazax]

It was times like this Ty really wished he was quicker. Or at least luckier.

Grace's spear took Eva-00 right through the chest. In his Plug, Ty's vision momentarily blurred from the pain. It took him a moment to recover.

He opened a channel to Grace, for a change. "Ouch. That was..." He took a moment. "That was a good shot. Really got me there. Nice work."

I can't take another hit like that. He glanced up at his attacker. If all three of them are even close to that, I am SO out of my league here.

His face hardened. There was still one thing he could do. Repeating what he'd done earlier, he... what should he call it... 'pinged' his AT Field once again. He actually got more this time. He could sense the patterns their AT Fields had taken. Interesting but, at least right now, completely useless.
He could sense Grace's powerful field in front of him, and there was Gilles' weak one. That must mean the third was Layla's.

Quite calmly, he opened another channel to his partner. "Layla, just a heads up, Grace seems to have impaled me through the chest. I'll do what I can, but unless I get extraordinarily lucky you may find yourself fighting both of them very soon. Since I may not get another chance, I've called that umbilical for you. Since up here is now unsafe, I'm deploying it near you, inside the smoke. Judging by how I'm guessing you're facing due to Gilles' position, it should be arriving just to your left." He paused momentarily and smiled sadly to himself. "Sorry I was so useless."

Turning his attention back to Grace, he readied his pistol. He may not be a good fighter, but that didn't mean he'd just lay down when the going got tough.

Free Action - AT Power: Ping (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131588&postcount=41)
Half Action - Call Umbilical (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131571&postcount=40)
Standard attack: Hits (Fate's here too) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131640&postcount=42), but does no damage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16131647&postcount=43) (On another note: aw, come on, dice roller. You're making this even more of a curb stomp battle than it otherwise would be.)
Fate Point - Recover 3 Wounds
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524a4986d6c7f)

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla swore violently as visibility around her dropped to zero, yet she couldn't help herself from laughing at the farce of a battle (as she saw it). She keyed her comm back over to open broadcast. "So, Gilles. Arm wrestling, targeting my power supply, smoke grenades? I didn't realize you were too cowardly to actually fight me like a man. Guess the "Glorious Motherland" doesn't make them as tough as she used to."

Moving forward cautiously in the thick smoke, she managed to stagger her way clear without falling. She was pondering how to proceed when Ty called her again... and not doing so well. She pounded her hand down hard in fury. Damn it! It's all my fault, I shouldn't have left him alone. Against a trained fighter like Grace... I have to finish this, fast, before she

As if to punctuate her dark thoughts, a muted explosion signaled the loss of her first battery, its charge expended. She looked around, but with that damned smoke cloud, she couldn't see any of the other EVAs, just the simulated buildings... wait. Two of those had cables running out. Her grin returned. They may have cut her power supply and cut her off from Ty, but they had left their own power supplies dangerously unguarded in the process. Hefting her Prog Spear like a javelin thrower, she lined it up on the umbilical station west of herself, and hurled it with all her might. For a moment, it looked like it was going to overshoot, before dropping suddenly and impaling the building right through the center of it in a hail of sparks and explosions.

"Just stay alive Ty. I'm coming, you hear me?"

Half Action: Half Move
Free Action: Half Aim
Half Action: Throw Spear (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16136019&postcount=44) At Gilles' Umbilical Station (Used a Fate Point to Reroll (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16136025&postcount=45) the BS Test)
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524b310a41273)

[PalusAbel]

The umbilical station was not built to withstand a spear throw, much less one with an ultrasonic blade. It crumples upon itself in a mad spray of simulated debris. "My, my. These kids are brutal. It's good that they're taking it seriously, but still." The Commander smiles to herself, pleased with her prudence in selecting the four pilots. "What's the current damage report?" One of the assistants stood up and presented her with a tablet. "Not too bad so far, but the battle's only just getting started," she says before handing the tablet back. "We'll have to see how things turn out."

The current Collateral Damage total is at 12. Here's the breakdown.
+2: Gilles' Charge and Grapple
+2: Grace's Charge and Attack
+2: Gilles' Knock-Down and Grapple
+1: Ty's Missed Shot
+1: Layla's Attack
+2: Grace's Charge and Attack
+2: Destroyed Umbilical Station

I'll put another link to the fixed map here (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524b3e2f8a089).

[garter_snake]

Gilles heard the screeching of the electromagnetic catapult and the pounding on the ground of Grendal's feet as Layla moved away. Merde. She must have called up an umbilical and moved away. Gilles deduced. I didn't think that she had that kind of speed and precision, to do it so quickly. I underestimated her. I'll have to hope I can destroy the cord in the through the smoke. Comrade Prime dropped the Pneumatic Tonfa and reached out blindly, hoping to grasp the cord from the area that Gilles had heard the sound come from. His hand touched it and pulled it back, to find there was no resistance.

...what the hell? Gilles thought, feeling the heavy dangling weight of an unconnected umbilical cord. She didn't connect it? Was it a bluff or something?

Just then, the lights in Comrade Prime's cockpit flickered, and a battery power indicator lit up. Well. Better lucky than good, I suppose. Gilles ejected his now useless cord and dropped the shotgun, then plugged in the new one that Ty had sent up, watching as the battery indicator disappeared.

Now then. I wonder what is going on out there? Gilles thought as Comrade Prime picked up its shotgun.


Free action to drop tonfa
Free action to drop shotgun
Half action to Ready cable.
Half action to Ready shotgun.

Map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524b78e822814)

[AmberVael]

Grace flinched as Ty fired another shot at her, but it simply rolled off Helel's armor, clattering to the ground. It was a relief to know that Helel could at least stand some punishment. After the last shot she had wondered if the Eva was capable of taking as much as she originally thought.

An idea came to her, a strategy; Grace leaned her weight forwards, committing to another strike as heavy and all out as her previous two. The spear flicked forward, and then- stopped.

A split second later, perhaps while Ty was trying to catch his balance after a dodge, Grace followed through with a powerful, accurate attack against her opponent's already weakened torso.

Half Action: Feint. Grace gets a 34, and thus beats her TN by 26. This is an opposed WS test, so I don't think Ty can even succeed without using a fate point.

Free action: Half action Aim via Precise quality.

Half Action: Called shot. Her first roll is terrible, but since this is a standard attack with a Precise weapon, Grace can use her Precision talent to reroll, and gets a 22, which is a success.
With a -20 penalty, she can increase that roll to an effective 42 for determining hit location, which puts it on the body.
Assuming Ty fails his opposed check on the Feint roll, he won't be able to dodge or parry this.

Her damage roll is 17, with penetration 6... if I calculated correctly, Ty's Eva currently has 4 wounds remaining on the body. Subtracting those and toughness together would still leave the total at -10.

All the rolls are right here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16137980&postcount=46)

[Zazax]

Ty hesitated, warily watching his opponent. Quickly Grace leaned all her weight to one side and flicked her spear out, but it seemed... exaggerated?

Well, I may be toast, but there's no way I'm falling for that.

Suddenly Grace surged forward, and despite his best efforts she once again struck him, the force shearing the simulated Eva-00 clean in half.

His controls dimmed and he grit his teeth from the pain. Despite how bad it was, he suspected that, in a real fight, it'd be much worse.

Well, that's that. Kind of a feeble display on my part, but it's about what I was expecting. I hope Layla can put up a better fight than I did. He leaned back in his chair. At least it's good to know my fellow Pilots are this capable. I'll have to make a note to congratulate them, regardless of who wins.

I somehow actually passed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16138275&postcount=47) the WS test to avoid the Feint, but once again failed my Dodge.

[PalusAbel]

"And we have our first casualty. A matter of poor compatibility, that was. Dr. Cazada, connect Unit-00 to the visual and audio feeds so that Ty can watch the rest of the fight. I'm sure he feels he owes Layla that much." The doctor nods and presses the corresponding buttons on the console. In his entry plug, Ty would see his displays flicker back to life, showing the simulated battlefield from a number of different angles. "It's two on one now, Layla. How will you deal with this?"

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla was, for a change, unusually silent. In fact, there appeared to be no reaction at all from her... other than a few droplets of blood flowing away from her palms where she was digging her fingernails clear through the skin. Grendel appeared unusually subdued as well as it marched over and grabbed the Progressive Spear from the ruins of the destroyed station. It was an uneasy quiet for both of them, a calm before the storm that was likely to follow.
Wanted to make a more detailed post than this, but blah, busy. Figured you'd rather keep the fight going.
Half Action: Move
Half Action: Grab Progressive Spear
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524b94da04989)

[garter_snake]

Comrade Prime moved to the edge of the smoke, taking advantage of its concealment a bit longer. Within its plug, Gilles strained as he tried to manipulate the Eva's AT field, targeting outward and towards the direction where he last heard Grendal's footfalls.


Half action move
Half action activate Neutralize AT Power, spending 1 ATP.
Map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524c991c26313)

[AmberVael]

With the most immediate task taken care of, Grace relaxed a bit and sent her own message to Ty through the channel he'd opened, her voice apologetic. "Sorry Ty. I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

She then pinged Gilles, taking a quick scan of her current position as she spoke to him. "Ty's down. I'm in good condition. Can't see you through the smoke. Plans?"

Grace felt she could take her time here, and that taking her time would in fact be the best option. The longer they held out, the more likely it was that Layla would run out of power. However, she wanted to be close enough that she could move in to help if necessary. So she moved around to the opposite side of the building between her and the others, figuring it would be better go around and possibly flank than to charge blindly into the smoke. She'd still be close enough to intervene, if necessary.

Full Move action.

New map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524ced3bd4bc1)

[Zazax]

Watching the situation unfold, arms crossed in his plug, Ty responded to Grace. "Don't worry about it. This result is pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Never even been in a fistfight before, so I didn't exactly have high hopes for a giant robot battle."

He then opened a channel to Layla but hesitated before saying anything, unsure if he'd get in trouble for communicating with his teammate while he was supposed to be dead. This lasted only a moment before he continued.
"Sorry, Layla, I tried. She's good. Cut Eva-00 clean in half." He paused for a moment. "If you're lucky you may be able to defeat Gilles before she can get to you, and if worse comes to worst you could always try to make your way up to Eva-00 and take its umbilical. Mine was never destroyed, and it might still work if you can get here."

In hindsight, yeah, he'll probably get yelled at for that, but he wasn't going to just watch his partner get double-teamed when he could still offer help, however limited.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla sighed. This hadn't gone at all like she'd thought she would. She'd let herself get isolated and positioned where both of them could take her apart, and all her wild flailing had managed absolutely nothing so far.

Goddamn it... partner gone, power supply cut, and so far neither one of them has so much as a frigging scratch. How did I screw this up so badly?

She slammed her fists down, then shook her head in anger at her self-criticism.

Screw it. You got yourself into this, so man the hell up and quit whining. If it's a choice between getting stuck between them and torn to pieces or simply waiting until my power runs out, I'll take the hero over the coward any day.
"Don't be sorry Ty. I was lead, I should have covered you. It's my own damn fault... tempting as that umbilical may be, I'm sure Grace is just waiting to pounce on me. Only thing left is to see just how tough Grendel is."

EVA-01 advanced, moving a bit more agilely as the second battery fell away, leaving her now with only her internal power supply.

Half Move Action
Readied Action: Attack first target in melee range
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524e020743fd8)

[garter_snake]

Gilles responded back to Grace. "A moment, Comrade White. I'm waiting for the smoke to disperse myself."

White took him out quickly. Gilles glanced at the clock. It's been 1 minutes 15 seconds. ((5 rounds)) So if those internal batteries are standard, Second should be down in 15 more seconds.

Gilles moved back to the location he dropped his tonfa. As the smoke cleared, he took stock of the situation, noting his destroyed power station.

"At this point, Second has two options: Try and reconnect to a power supply, or go on the offensive and hope for a lucky kill. If she does the former, the best thing to do would exploit the opening and go for a direct kill. If she does the latter, it would be best to double-team her and fight defensively, I think. Therefore... we should keep our positions until we determine her course of action, then move in and apply pressure."


Half action move
Half action ready Pn Tonfa.
Free action to maintain neutralize at 1atp

EDIT: forgot the map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524e3874b649c) >.<

[AmberVael]

"I'm on the opposite side of the center building from where you and Layla were before." Grace informed Gilles, clarifying her position while she had the time. "Waiting behind a corner. I've got Ty's umbilical port behind me- if she cuts my cable, I can replace it with his."

As she talked, Grace shifted her stance, taking up the best defensive position possible.

Full Action: Defensive Stance.

[Zazax]

"It's likely they'll just stand around and wait for you to run out of power if they can get away with it." Ty remarked to his partner as he observed the simulation, quickly switching through multiple angles.

This must be what mission control feels like all the time; able to dispense advice but powerless to intervene directly. Can't say I much like it.
Still, I can't help but feel like I'm cheating a little bit. I'm talking while I'm supposed to be dead.
I'm not supposed to be dead, I'm supposed to be defeated. Unless they get into the Plug itself and kill me, I'll still be alive in the wreckage. What a lovely thought.
What's the difference?
As long as I'm alive, I can still help.
That's kind of a flimsy justification.
Flimsy is the best kind of justification.
Frankly, I'm surprised the Commander hasn't cut me off yet.
Maybe she appreciates thinking outside the box and bending rules? After all, they never said you can't use your new camera view to help your partner.
The old "ain't no rule" approach? When has that ever worked?
It's working so far.

Ty spoke up again. "You could always duck around behind that building next to you and call up a cable. Grace won't be able to see you, and you'll only have to deal with Gilles." He drummed his fingers. "Or, if this is getting irritating, I could just shut up and watch."

[CrimsonKnight]

"Yeah, and how many umbilicals are there to call up? Not to mention if they realize I've got one they'll just both charge me at the same time. No, your first thought was the right one. They're separated, I'll have a little time to do what I can one on one... and Gilles is the weaker fighter. If I can get just one... good... hit..."

Grendel suddenly leaped forward, running faster than it had moved all battle now that they were freed of the encumbering batteries.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Screaming wildly, Layla thundered straight ahead at Gilles, ignoring finesse and elegance for a single, brutal strike aimed squarely at the head of Comrade Prime.

Free Action: Half Aim
Full Action: Charge

So yeah, that's a definite hit with enough Breach to overcome Deflection and 16 damage to the head. You don't avoid this, I get to take your head as a trophy. :smallamused:
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/524e62525bc99)

[garter_snake]

Layla's spear slammed into Gilles's tonfa as he deflected her blow by a hairsbreadth, the letting out a loud screech as the progressive blade than ate its way into the ground, leaving a deep trench.

The screech was followed shortly by a clatter as Comrade Prime's shotgun hit the ground, as the Evangelion reached out and attempted to bear-hug Grendal.


-Free action drop shotgun(as I'm not sure if you can grapple without a free hand, and I don't really want to waste the time looking it up >.>
-half action attempt a grapple. Success
-half action to attempt a grapple. miserable, miserable failure.

[AmberVael]

Layla's heedless charge and the shriek of weaponry alerted Grace to action, even if Gilles said nothing to her. Perhaps he was a little too distracted by his situation to make a report?

She urged Helel forwards, dropped her defensive stance, and raced around the corner of the building she was behind. In moments she found herself behind Layla, and her suspicions confirmed.

Full Move action.

Map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5251987de70a4)

[Zazax]

Ty was checking his cameras when Grace took off running.
Uh oh. They're going to flank Layla. There's got to be something I can do without outright saying "Grace is behind you"...
"Uh, Layla, just a reminder to always be mindful of your surroundings. Especially behind you."

Smooth.
Shut up, it was the best I could do on short notice.
The Commander will never figure out what I'm trying to do with subtlety like that.

Subtlety...

He spoke again. "Layla, earlier you implied you have more battery power than anyone would expect. I'll assume this means you have internal upgrades of some kind. Now, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but you could always fake running out of power when you normally would, provided that time hasn't passed. On the one hand, they may see through it since the simulation will keep going, but on the other they'll probably not expect a tactic like that, especially if they have no reason to think you're packing extra power."
He shrugged. "At the very least you could surprise one of them."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla glanced behind her. Of course. Well, this fight was fun while it lasted.

"I see her. Kinda hard to miss a 40 meter robot, mate. *sigh* Yeah, I have more power. If I didn't, I'd be down already. Only problem is, I'd only be able to fake it for about 30 seconds before I actually run out for reals. And that's assuming Grace isn't smart or ruthless enough to stick me anyway where I'm laying to be sure. Hell with it, I'd rather go down kicking and screaming."

Layla lashed out desperately at Gilles, but the sight of Grace behind her had rattled her enough that she swung wildly, both strikes going wide by a longshot.

Free Action: Aim (Gilles)
Half Action: Melee Attack (Gilles)
Free Action: Aim
Half Action: Melee Attack (Gilles)
Both attacks missed horribly (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16166656&postcount=60).

[garter_snake]

Comrade Prime stumbeled back from the attempt at pinning Grendal down, pushed back by the fierceness of the blue Eva's spear strikes.

Zut. Ahh, that was reckless of me. Gilles thought as Layla's wild strikes rained down around him. Should have waited for support. Comrade Prime took up a defensive stance as Unit 03 rounded the corner and moved into position.



Full action defensive stance, -20 to WS tests to hit CP.

[AmberVael]

With two against one, the odds were against Layla- but Grace felt like playing it safe. After all, if Layla downed one of them then their chances would be even more slim, and even if they played too cautious to be offensive, she could run out of batteries. So she attempted a quick jab that didn't really leave her open, but might distract or damage Grendel.

Half Action: Move
Free Action: Aim
Half Action: Guarded Attack. First roll fails, but the Precision Reroll (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16167172&postcount=63) succeeds.
Forgot a +10 bonus from ganging up. The first attack succeeds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16167159&postcount=62) though really it doesn't change anything.

Damage if it isn't parried is 14. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16167159&postcount=62) It'll hit in the Body. Penetration 6.

[Zazax]

Watching through his sunglasses, Ty tensed but remained silent. As much as he wanted to help, at this point there was nothing he could do.

See? If I'd been able to last even a little bit longer, maybe Layla would have dealt with Gilles and this would be an even fight.
You know, for once I can't think of an argument against that.
That's because there is none. I screwed up.

When Grace jabbed forward, Ty covered his eyes with one hand, looking out through a small gap between his fingers.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla managed to bat Grace's jab away with the haft of her spear, but the fight was over. She tried one last time to get past Gilles' formidable defense, but Grendel's final attack once again failed to get past Comrade Prime's guard, even after she tried faking him out with a fake jab to the legs first. Sinking to her knees, she slammed the fist of Grendel's free hand down in frustration even as the counter dropped to zero, and suddenly the cockpit became pitch black as everything shutdown from lack of power. The spear dropped from the now nerveless hands to the ground, and the Evangelion sank further on its haunches until it had fallen to a more or less sitting position resting against the umbilical station.

Inside the plug, Layla swore profusely, but there was a resignation in it. She'd been simply outclassed, plain and simple. No fancy talk or false bravado could change the fact that she'd just gotten her ass handed to her without delivering so much as a single scratch in return. Her head drooped down lower and lower in a motion eerily similar to that of her powerless Evangelion until her face was pressed down into the control panel, and she gave a long sigh of disappointment.

Da... damn it. No way to change the fact: I was completely outclassed. Ty may have gone down a lot faster, but that's only because he didn't have an EVA built like a fecking tank with plenty of battery time to boot. Hell, they didn't even need to beat me in a fair fight, just kept bouncing me around like a tennis ball until I ran out of juice. Am I... do I belong here? I can't hold a candle to trained soldiers like Grace or Gilles. They outfought and outmaneuvered me. Hell, even Ty seems like he might be able to do some crazy **** with the AT field if he just works at it. As for me... completely fecking useless.

Feint and Attack. Both failed horribly again.

[PalusAbel]

"Looks like Layla finally went down. But the fight's not over yet. Gilles, Grace, you must never allow yourself to believe that the enemy is defeated until you see it die before your eyes. Finish the job." Unlike before, the Commander's words carry a solemn finality. Such is the nature of Nerv's war against the Angels.

[garter_snake]

Slowly and deliberately, Comrade Prime brings his tonfa down on Grendal's torso.





-half action aim, I guess. Not much else I can do w/o metagaming that Grendal's going to berserk >.>

-half action standard attack.


No headshot, sadly. Still, an auto hit is an auto hit.

11 damage, pen 2 to Grendal's body.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla's eyes almost bugged out from hearing the announcement, and she began to swear again, this time much more angrily. "Are you out of your goddamned mind?! Game over, I lost, better effing luck next time! I don't need to-"WHAM

Her rant was cut off by the sound of one of them slamming a blow into the chest of Grendel. She rocked back in her seat, but apart from the initial shock of being knocked about, she didn't think it had actually done too much damage. Sim or not, Grendel can certainly take a good hit. Too bad I'm dead in the... what the hell?!

Suddenly, without warning, the cockpit came to life around her, the displays that had previously shut off now restored, though at least half of them were flashing red alert warnings that were completely unfamiliar to her. Even crazier, Grendel was beginning to move again. Without power. Without Layla's hands on the controls. "Um... hello?! This bloody thing is moving on its own without any juice! Is this crap sim broken or something?!"

Up to this point, Layla had been mainly confused and mildly alarmed by this new chain of events. When the EVA began to unmistakably GROWL at the other EVAs... she began to feel unmistakably afraid. It was the only warning any of the pilots would have, as suddenly Grendel turned around with surprising speed and lunged at Helel. She didn't know why it had focused on Grace when they hadn't fought since the umbilical cable was first destroyed. Maybe it thought she was the bigger threat... or maybe there was something else. Either way, it didn't matter as Grendel batted away her spear before swinging a hard-hitting palm strike at Helel's head.

Berserk Check: Unleash The Beast (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16168062&postcount=72)
Half Action: Feint (Grace)
Half Action: Attack (Grace)
Feint and Attack were both successful (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16168167&postcount=73). And that's... 23 Damage with 1 Penetration to the Head. So, you need to win the Feint and make a successful Parry, or I explode your head with a single punch.

Abnormal Status:
Berserk (+20 Strength/Toughness, +10 WS, +2 Breach)
Body Wounds: 8/14

[AmberVael]

Grace let her guard down a little when Grendel deactivated, and was about to congratulate Gilles on his plan when the commander gave her admonition to them. It came a little too late, however- Grendel surged back to life before Grace brought her spear up. She just barely noticed the trickery in the Eva's movements, reacted appropriately, but couldn't quite bring her weapon to bear in time...

Grendel's hand smashed through Helel's head effortlessly, a hammer cracking an egg.

A short shriek escaped Grace's throat, a combination of shock and horror. There wasn't much pain due to the work of the MAGI and the sheer brutality of the blow, but the savagery and suddenness of it was terrifying enough to make up for it. What sensory input there was cut off almost immediately, but Grace still shook after it ended, her hands going to her scarred side. NERV had been slowly trying to acclimate her to attacking others, but being attacked in such a final and gruesome manner was new to her.

Well, mostly new. And to be honest, that was part of the problem. The pain and blood were all too similar. Grace closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else- anything else, her pounding heart going back to normal so very slowly as she managed to fixate her thoughts elsewhere.

[PalusAbel]

"My God. Terminate the simulation! Retrieve the pilots now!" Commander Sheridan's command comes so loudly and so suddenly that many of the operators jump in their seats. Dr. Cazada hammers away at his station only to slam his fist down in frustration. "We can't! The Magi have already disconnected, but Unit-01 is maintaining the program on its own! None of the pilots' entry plugs are responding - we're completely cut off!" The Commander hurls her coffee mug clear across the room. "Gilles, if you can hear me, you need to put Unit-01 down," she snarls into the dead mic. "And Layla, take control of your bloody machine."

[Zazax]

Despite the sudden chaos, Ty reacted without missing a beat, doing the only thing he could.
He opened a channel to his former opponent. He figured it would be the nice thing to do, considering she probably just felt her head explode, or at least something like it, and Gilles had his hands full. After all, she may have been his enemy in this simulation, and she may have just cut him in half, but he wasn't going to hold a grudge for it. From now on they were going to be allies.
His voice was quite calm as he spoke, though there was audible sympathy as well. "Grace, this is Ty. Are you okay?"

[Swordslinger]

After the introductions where done and the pilots had asked their questions William sat back and listened to the pilots strategize among themselves on their private com channels, which was less private then they might believe. Zaho and Kirby made a straightforward plan based on their respective strengths, Duceppe on the other hand anticipated their moves and identify the obvious weak point of the Evangelions, that he actually had military training gave him as expected an advantage when it came to combat.

Truthfully he was pleased that Duceppe and White where going for the cables, the Eva’s without power was just very large and expensive statues. Facing the threat of power failure directly should teach them the importance of protecting their cables better than words could.

He impressed by how quickly they took to the AT Field even if he had expected based on what he had been told. He sat silent and observed while the pilots fought, this was primarily a science experiment and not his show to run, giving them advice would be against the point of the test.

The battle was over, or so he thought, the children had learned many important lessons. And gained some very valuable experience with an actually fight that some of them lacked. He sat up in his seat when it became clear that Unit 01 was going out of control. These things could go out of control to this degree?! How was that possible, it should have run out of power.

[garter_snake]

Gilles's eyes widened in shock as Unit 01 shot up and punched Unit 03's head clean off. As Unit 02 took a half step back, Gilles heard Unit 01's low, wet, familiar growl and froze in fear.


Jovan and Gilles stared in unmoving terror at the animal that had just bit clean through Anna's head. The two-meter long creature pushed her body down with it's right paw, over twice the size of a human skin, and began eating her flesh. It came off in strips, each one making a wet sucking sound.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them breathed. The two teens stood like statues in the third floor reading room of the abandoned hotel the Commissar had sent them in for their 'mission'. The moment in time seemed to stretch for forever, until the tiger raised its striped head and let out a low, wet growl.

They ran.


The sickening crunch of Unit 03's head and the resulting shower of blood snapped Gilles out of his reverie, barely in time to cover Unit 02's eyes.. Hastily snatching up Unit 02's shotgun, Gilles ran away from Unit 01, north and around the corner of a building, and out of its line of sight.


-Half action ready shotgun.
-half action to move 12 dam.

I failed the roll to avoid blindness, but I'm spending a fate point using 'lucky bastard' to reverse the digits of the roll, turning the 40 to a 04, and a pass.

Map. (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5254d931c5935)

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she watched her EVA smash Helel's skull apart with a single, gruesome, deadly blow. Even as the blood from the stump where a head had been a few seconds ago proceeded to drench everything within 50 meters, Grendel raised its arms and let the blood flow down its body. She had the weirdest feeling that if it hadn't been for the metal armor mounted over its face, it would be screaming and howling its lungs out right at this very moment. It was terrifying almost beyond the capacity for rational thought to be inside such a monster... and yet she had never felt so exhilarated in her life. The rush of adrenaline pumping in her veins was like jumping from a plane and falling for miles with a parachute that failed to open until mere feet above the ground. And they wanted her to shut this down?!

"It's your damned machine, how the hell should I do that?! Whether it's the sim gone haywire or the Entry Plug, there's not a whole lot I can do. It's doing whatever the hell it wants, I have NO control at all! And besides... I'm winning now, right? Hell, I'm finally getting to kick some ass! No more of this dodging and running away until I run out of power ****e! Isn't that the whole point, to win the match?! You're the one who said it wasn't over until all enemies were DEAD. "See it die before your eyes." THAT SOUND PRETTY FECKING FAMILIAR?! So me and Grendel are gonna go finish the fight by your goddamn rules. You can go deal with any control issues."

A feral-looking grin that looked like she'd stolen it from a shark had formed on her face as Grendel turned away from the dead EVA-03. Wiping at the blood dripping into its eyes, it managed to spot the dropped Progressive Spear by its feet and picked it up as it looked around for Comrade Prime. Gilles hadn't wasted any time however and had already hightailed it away, and there was no sign of EVA-02... except for the umbilical snaking around the corner and the station it was plugged into. Layla nodded her fierce approval as Grendel brought the spear down and smashed the station apart. See how he'd like it to be the one with imminent power failure to worry about for a change.

Half Action: Grab Progressive Spear
Free Action: Aim
Half Action: Melee Attack (Umbilical Station)
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5254f120bdc80)

[PalusAbel]

Another umbilical station fell by Layla's hands. Her seething speech never made it to Commander Sheridan - Unit-01 had disconnected itself from the bridge, instead focusing its efforts on the simulation. The operators back at Nerv-Chile were not so lucky, The simulation body that Layla was using was exerting an A.T. Field stronger than it was ever meant to handle. The very walls of the containment room began to crumple underneath the pressure. The simulation body writhed in its bonds, little more than a skeleton, and yet so much more alive.

"Well, Captain," Commander Sheridan called to William as she stared at the blank display. There was no way for her or anyone else to see or hear what was going on in the digital world that Unit-01 now controlled. "We may have gotten more than we bargained for. This is the power of an Eva." The latest report on the simulation body's activities was forwarded to her tablet. She looked it over grimly. "The simulation bodies weren't meant to be active like this. They're designed to synchronize with the pilots and link them to the Magi for analysis. This just shouldn't be possible."

[Swordslinger]

William brought up a hand to his chin as he thought quickly and went over what he knew about the simulation bodies and the various systems.

"hmf, since it is a simulation the physical damage will hopefully be contained to the testing area" He said as he listened to reports trickling in from his com. "Our first priority is the safety of the pilots. Can the technicians manually lower the pilots synch ratio to protect them from any feedback?

Where is the thing getting power from anyway? If it could take over the simulation it might still be drawing from the grid, once we have done externally what we can for the pilots or best bet might be to shut down the power to the entire block."

[PalusAbel]

The Commander shook her head. "I don't know how it could have the processing power to run the simulation, but that's exactly what Unit-01 is doing. The Magi were disconnected at the first sign of trouble, and electricity to the simulation bodies was cut off soon after. Whatever Unit-01 is doing, it's forcing the other pilots to play along with its game." She smiled weakly. "At least it doesn't seem to have changed any of the existing parameters - I guess Grendel likes a fair fight."

"This incident is unprecedented," she went on, her expression hardening. "Nothing like this ever came close to happening during the solo simulations. I wonder if this is a reaction to the pilots coming together for the first time?" The Commander bit her lip, her thoughts racing. "We're going to have a long debriefing when this is over."

[garter_snake]

The lights in Unit 02's cockpit dimmed, and the battery indicator popped up. The Eva stood with it's back to the building as Gilles considered his next move.


Gilles and Jovan sat with their backs pressed against the locked hotel room door. Directly outside came the occasional low growl to remind them that the tiger was still there, as it paced silently outside.

As the fading sunlight streamed through the window, Jovan spoke in a lowered voice, his left hand clutching the red and yellow Soviet flag it had been their mission to retrieve. "There's not much time left until sunset. One of us is going to have to break for it."

Gilles nodded. It was a logical choice. Break out and maybe be eaten alive, or fail the mission and be executed as a result. That was just the way it was. "it's to far to jump to the ground. I think... were going to have to try for the stairs." Gilles pointed to the balcony. "The balconies are close enough that we can move to other rooms. And if we head opposite ways, it can only follow one of us at once. We can throw the flag out the window and whichever of us makes it can take it."

Jovan laughed, the fading light casting across his face and making shadows appear under his high cheekbones. "'Whichever of us makes it?' My, you're a cheery fellow as always. Maybe try betting on 'everyone getting out alive' once in a while?" Jovan's voice turned horse at the last bit. He spoke again, taking on a forced cheerfulness. "Since you're always mucking around with all those herbs and spices, I'm sure you're nice and tasty. Bet you tomorrow's rations that it'll go after you first."

"That's fine." Gilles said absentmindedly. "I don't think I have much to worry about. Sound travels faster then scent, and you always take to much noise." Gilles smiled a bit, then straightened his expression. "...I'll head north. Let's go on three."

Gilles reached out his AT field and applied it against Unit 01's. Unit 02 edged to the right a bit, peering around the corner of the building to try and see if Unit 01 was approaching.


-Half action neutralize AT power @4 ATP on Unit 01.
-Half action Delay. The trigger will be 'when Unit 01 moves into Unit 02's line of sight, or if it hears it move within 8 dam.'
map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5254f120bdc80), No movement.

[CrimsonKnight]

Grendel shook the last of the blood free, then began to trudge its way forward, spotting Comrade Prime as it came around the corner. Yet, it seemed distracted. Layla could feel a heavy presence weighing down on them. She'd faintly noticed but ignored the sensation earlier in the fight, but perhaps as a result of the EVA's altered state, it seemed much stronger now.

What is this? I feel so exposed... it must be the AT Field. Is Gilles doing this? Can we do this as well?

Whether from listening to her inquiry or simple dumb luck, Grendel responded in kind, sending its full AT field outwards towards EVA-02.

Half Action: Move
Half Action: Neutralize (6 ATP)
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5257482e644e5)

[Zazax]

She's not answering. Is she just ignoring me, or is something wrong?
Well, Eva-03 did just get its head punched off. It probably really hurt.
Eva-00 got cut in half and, while bad, the pain wasn't enough to incapacitate me. I suspect the simulation has buffers against it. It's got to be something else.
Then, try again.

Ty hesitated, then spoke again. "Grace, I imagine I'm presently the only other person who knows what it feels like to be 'killed', although judging by the situation that may change soon. If you need to, I'm here to talk."

As soon as that message was sent, he switched channels. "As awesome as that was, Layla, I thought you said you were about to run out of power. What happened?"

[AmberVael]

"...sorry." Grace's voice was quiet, maybe even soft enough that Ty wouldn't hear it. After a moment more though, she managed to pull herself together enough to make a more distinct reply. "Sorry. I-I'm okay. Just a bit, um, rattled."

She was calming down, but her heart was still pounding and she could feel adrenaline flowing through her. The worst part was really not being able to see anything; since she was out of the fight, and hadn't been patched into the video feed, all she had was the light of her console to work with, and it was not quite enough to make her feel comfortable.

"Um, Ty, can you see what's going on? I don't seem to be getting anything but comms."

[garter_snake]

Behind Unit 02 raised it's shotgun as Unit 01 moved out into view, Gilles breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his face from the strain of maintaining his neutralization effect.


Gilles knelt behind the dresser in the bedroom that the creature had trapped him in, breathing quick, panicked breaths. Outside, the tiger circled the entryway. Gilles raised his small survival pistol.


I think I have a shot.

Gilles rapidly depressed the trigger, firing three quick shots at the beast.


The shots sped through the darkness, making a loud cracking sound as they impacted against the wall.


The shots sped across through the dust and debris kicked up by the Evas' massive footfalls, making a loud klanking sound as they rich-rocketed off Unit 01's armor.


-Delayed half action went into standard attack, aiming and dropping tonfa as a free action.

-Normal action went to semi-auto burst, aiming as a free action and maintaining Neutralize as a free action.

A total of 1 damage was dealt, to Unit 01's right arm. It was on the second semi auto roll of the burst.

[CrimsonKnight]

"Hell if I know, Ty. Must be the stupid sim breaking. Grendel's moving entirely on its own. Oy, if anything it seems to be hitting a lot harder than it was before the battery died, so between that and apparantly not needing power after being told about a million times how dependent we are on our umbilicals... oh crap!"

Layla almost missed Gilles whipping his shotgun up and firing as Grendel moved into firing range. At this range, you'd almost have to miss on purpose, and Layla winced in anticipation of the pain from the blast... only to feel nothing but a mosquito bite to the arm. Layla blinked once or twice and looked down, then whistled in amazement. Grendel had just taken a giant shotgun blast that, had it been one person shooting another, would have likely resulted in the loss of the arm entirely. Yet her EVA's arm, its ARM, not even the most heavily armored part of the body, had shrugged off most of the pellets like they were BBs hitting a steel plate. She began to laugh.

"Grendel may not be the fastest, but damn can he take a hit! Hey Gilles, you listening? Protip: don't bring a gun to an EVA fight. At least unless it can penetrate several meter thick armor. Whoa, here we go!"

Grendel had lurched forward in a half-circle to pick up speed rapidly, charging forward and bringing the spear across in a wide slash that looked to catch Comrade Prime's left arm if Gilles couldn't block it.
Free Action: Maintain Neutralize
Free Action: Aim
Full Action: Charge
Attack Successful (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16203463&postcount=90); Comrade Prime takes 9 damage to the left arm, including 2 Critical Damage if unable to Parry/Dodge; don't have the rules handy so I can't look up the Critical Effect
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/52594e58ad56b)

[garter_snake]

Gilles brought his shotgun up met its but with the haft of Unit 01's spear, deflecting it upward and over his head.


Moving across the room as swiftly as an arrow and as silently as a ghost, the tiger leapt over the the dresser and crashed into Gilles. Gilles felt the wind leave his lungs as he was pushed to the floor, his pistol leaving his grip and skidding across the floor.


Unit 02, pushed back by the force of Unit 01's assault, reached out with its left hand and grabbed the fallen Pneumatic Tonfa, bringing it up in a large arc.


Gilles's left hand grabbed his combat knife from his sheath and brought it up in one final, desperate stab.


Unit 01's cockpit went dark.


-half action pick up PN tonfa with left hand
-half action attack with pn tonfa- missed.
-free action maintain neutralize.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla screeched like a barn owl as Comrade Prime slumped down, its battery exhausted.

"Yeah, that's right! Now who's got no frigging power, huh?! Shoe's on the other bloody WHOA! Hey, what are you doing now, Grendel?"

Despite the fact that Gilles no longer posed any threat to her, EVA-02 still brought the spear up, aiming carefully, before spiking Comrade Prime straight through the head, ripping it clean off the neck, and flicking it carelessly into a nearby skyscraper. The resulting blood geyser left it coated with yet another coat of EVA "paint".

"Jesus... what is with you and ripping off heads?! Not that that wasn't ten levels of awesome, but seriously, you need to chill down. Hey, are you listening?!"

Apparently not, as Grendel turned and without anything more dangerous to fight, began smashing the simulated buildings apart. Layla was less than amused now by her EVA's lack of restraint.

"Idiot robot! The fight's over, we won, no need to smash every building in this frigging sim!"

After knocking several more of the skyscrapers, Grendel seemed satisfied and finally stopped moving. Layla laid back in her seat in relief.

"Finally. Hell. Damn machine's one crossed wire from becoming a loose cannon, though I can't complain much about the results. Well, now what? Is this damn thing over yet?"

Off with Gilles' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16204650&postcount=93) head! Then, an EVA temper tantrum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16204717&postcount=96). 5 (simulated) Collateral damage. And a week's worth of scrubbing off EVA blood if this hadn't been a sim.

[PalusAbel]

As if on cue, the simulation began unraveling at the seams. The sky and buildings gave way to a wire-frame floor, then to blackness. The Evas were the last to go, with Grendel remaining the longest so that she could survey her conquered brethren. On the other side, Gilles, Grace and Ty are the first to have their entry plugs ejected from the simulation bodies. They are each met by a flock of concerned engineers as they return to terra firma. Layla, in shocking contrast, leaves her entry plug in the custody of an armed guard, who bind, gag, and blindfold her as they spirit her away to who knows where.

END OF EPISODE ONE
________________________________

The First, Third, and Fourth Children are brought to the Commander's office for another debriefing, though the Commander herself is not in attendance. The Vice Commander is acting in her stead, with Captain Elvenes by his side. "You performed fairly adequately during the simulation. Pilots Duceppe and White deserve particular commendation for their teamwork. Pilot Kirby..." He makes an almost imperceptible grimace. "...made an effort. There are more pressing topics at hand, however. What happened to Unit-01?"
_________________________

Elsewhere in the Nerv-Chile complex, Layla awakens in an entry plug of some sort. Her hands are locked into the manual controls, and her feet are similarly fixed to the floor. She is forced to look only forwards by vise-like grips on either side of her head. An image of Nerv's logo appears in front of her with the words "01 - Sound Only" written across it. "Layla Tremaine Zhao, the Second Children, pilot of Unit-01. What happened in the simulation?" A deep, garbled voice poses the question over the comm.

[Zazax]

Having reverted to the shyness normally expected of him immediately upon being removed from the plug, Ty wrung his hands and shifted uneasily, LCL rolling off his sunglasses in small droplets.
He hadn't had the chance to dry them off in private yet.

"Um, I was watching and talking to Layla, sir. We were trying to find a way to turn things around when she mentioned she was about to run out of power. I guess she did so." He rocked uneasily on his feet. "Then Gilles hit her, and Eva-01 stood back up and proceeded to win single-handedly. I asked her about it and she said she had no control over it, and that it was operating without power."
The entire time he spoke he did not make eye contact with anyone, instead studying something intently on his feet.

Even the Vice Commander realizes how far out of my league I am.

Abruptly something clicked, and after a brief glance to either side he finally met the VC's harsh gaze. "Where is she anyway?"

[PalusAbel]

"Maintain eye contact when you speak to me, Pilot Kirby," the Vice Commander warned. "We had active video and audio surveillance until the moment Unit-01 went out of control. It would seem that the trigger was Pilot Duceppe's final blow, as you stated. However, you failed to give me any more information than we already had. What I am asking you for is the reason that the Second Children lost control. What about the rest of you? Do you have anything more to add?" He surveys the pilots with something approaching malice. No mention is made of Layla's whereabouts, and it is clear he will not entertain that line of questioning.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla was expecting a lecture, some harsh words, maybe even some screaming upon exiting the plug. She still didn't know what she could have done to stop the crazy stuff at the end from happening, but she was fairly confident they'd try sticking it on her somehow, and spent her time waiting for the entry plug to be retracted practicing some "prideful, indignant retorts". She was not, however, expecting to pop out in a rush of LCL to be surrounded by a squad of heavily armed soldiers, much less to be promptly bagged, tagged, and sedated into unconsciousness before she'd even had a chance to open her mouth, much less put up any kind of resistance.

She came to groggily, mind clouded from the sedative, and looked around in confusion. An... entry plug? This isn't Grendel's. Where the hell am I? Ugh... can't move either. What is this?!

An image of NERV's logo appeared before her and a digitally distorted voice began to speak. Layla sighed in resignation. Yup, she'd called it: big, scary interrogation time. Well, they could ask, but that didn't mean she had to just roll over and cry uncle the instant they decided to play mean.

"What do you mean? Grendel and I kicked ass, busted some heads, and won the match. Hell, I'll go for another round if you can hire some programmers who don't suck at their jobs and patch the glitches. Aw, but don't worry about it, these things usually come out buggy as hell. Need a good beta tester? Pretty sure I've got the free time."

[AmberVael]

"Um, not really." Not if they saw everything that Grace had seen, at least. Even if they had heard her comm chatter, Grace hadn't heard anything from Layla. She didn't know what they expected her to add to their observation. Though, there was one thing bothering her about the question that he had asked, but she hesitated to bring it up- especially given how they had responded to her last questions. In fact, as she looked at the Vice Commander's hostile features she felt increasingly inclined to keep her thought to herself. Why betray that she had seen something off about his assumptions? If it was a mistake, it was probably that he had unintentionally revealed one of their many secrets. Better to keep quiet and let them think she hadn't noticed.

'Lost control.' That didn't sound like a glitch in the simulation, and it wasn't how she would have described what happened at all. At least, not with what she had seen. So how exactly did one lose control of an Eva... and how was it that you even could? Maybe it had something to do with losing conscious control? What made things stranger was that Grendel had definitely seemed deactivated, but maybe Layla had just been bluffing.

[PalusAbel]

The speaker is not amused. "Why did Unit-01 reactivate?" A second image appears beside the first, this one marked "02 - Sound Only". "Isn't it obvious? It rose up in self-defense. Unit-02 attacked when Unit-01 had run out of power." A third image, "00 - Sound Only". "Are you suggesting that the restraints we installed only function while the Evangelions have power? Need we experiment with the other Units?" "You forget that we are speaking in the presence of the Second Children," the first voice admonished. "I ask again, why did Unit-01 reactivate?"

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla had to restrain herself from laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Here she was, all tied up God only knows where, and after going to the trouble of using voice scramblers and no video feeds to speak, they were ARGUING in front of her? What a bunch of pommy dipsticks. Though she was perfectly okay if they wanted to keep spilling info in front of her. Though what was all this talk about "self-defense" and "restraints"? That would imply consciousness and independent thought, and the EVA was just a big, dumb bio-mechanical robot... right? She decided to try fishing for a little info while playing along by answering the question.

"I don't have a clue mate, sorry. I was just sitting there twiddling my thumbs waiting for the sim to end when Grendel went all crazy on its own. Like I said, it was probably just some stupid glitch in your system or something. Computer must've decided Grendel wasn't dead, so it reactivated and started going all on its own. I wasn't in control after I lost power at all. What else could it be? I mean, it's not like Grendel can just move on its own whenever it feels like, right?"

[garter_snake]

There was a sound. It was somewhere between a woman's scream, a lion's roar, and a child's whimper. Then the creature collapsed, covering Gilles with its massive weight as hot, dark blood streamed down its neck and onto his body.

There was a sound. It was somewhere between the screeching of metal, the crunching of breaking bones, and the tearing of flesh. And then it came; Gilles gasped soundlessly as he 'felt' Unit 01's spear rip through 'his' throat. For a moment, he couldn't breathe, and he strained against his seat's restraints, clutching his throat. Then he dropped back and sighed.

Ah. I died. Gilles looked up at the ceiling as the flashback ended and he returned to reality Well, I guess that's just how it goes. Luck doesn't last forever.

______________________________

Gilles stood in the small puddle of LCL that had formed beneath him while the Vice-Commander interrogated the three of them, a neutral look on his face as his eyes glanced around the room.

The commander isn't present. Interesting. And it looks like Second's comeback was Not As Planned for NERV.

Gilles closed his eyes, standing up straight, and answered the Vice Commander's question. "It is as Comrade Kirby has said, Comrade Vice-Commander. After I delivered a blow to Second, as the Comrade Commander ordered, her Evangelion reactivated and attacked.

As to 'losing control.' Unit 02 functioned as per its parameters for the duration of the simulation. I cannot speak for any of the other units." Gilles opened his eyes. "I am unfamiliar with the specifications of Unit 01, as I am not its pilot. For that matter, I am also unfamiliar with the Second Child's normal patterns of behavior, although I have begun learning them (to my chagrin.) Therefore, I request clarification as to what should be considered 'normal' with respect to those two." Gilles said with a carefully expressionless face.

[Zazax]

Ty shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable. This time, he made a point of looking the Vice Commander right in the eyes, although it may have been hard to tell from the other side of his glasses. "From our brief conversation, Layla didn't seem to know any more than we were able to observe. She mentioned that she thought it was something wrong with the simulation itself."

Considering this reaction, that's probably not the case.
Maybe not, but he already seems to dislike me. No need to press this issue.
There is one thing that could do with pressing, though.

Ty drew himself up and summoned his courage. This was probably a really, really bad idea, but, as far as he was concerned, it needed to be done. Eyes still locked on the Vice Commander, and showing just a hint of defiance, unseen behind his glasses, he spoke again.
"Forgive me, sir, but you didn't answer my question. I'm concerned about my partner. If you won't tell us where she is, can you at least tell us if she's okay?"

[PalusAbel]

"I appreciate your detailed response, Pilot Duceppe." The Vice Commander affords Gilles a small compliment. "It seems that Unit-01 did not change any of the simulation parameters..." He paused a moment to think, and noticed that Ty had bothered to make eye contact from behind his sunglasses. "Pilot Kirby, you test my patience. Remove those ridiculous glasses." He clears his throat. "Pilot Zhao is being debriefed in a separate room. To the best of our knowledge, she was acting in accordance with her psychological profile for the duration of the simulation that we could monitor. Similarly, Unit-01 did not exhibit any unusual abilities over the same duration. Did Pilot Zhao seem unstable to you at all after Unit-01 assumed control? Furthermore, did you notice any other radical changes in Unit-01's operational capacity beyond its reactivation?" He directs the questions all the pilots.

_________________________
"The Magi are immune to error. That is the purpose of their construction. The anomaly is Unit-01. It was never designed for independent action, and should not be capable of it," the third voice says. "The fact remains that Unit-01 possesses the ability to move on its own. The question is why," says the second. The first voice sounds exasperated, even through the filter. "There is something else to consider. It is not that Unit-01 itself went berserk, but only a simulation of it, along with its simulation body. Our data shows that Unit-01's actual body was completely inert during the entirety of the simulation. That is why, Second Children, we are questioning you. What was the simulation like after Unit-01 went berserk? We understand that few, if any, of the simulation's original parameters were altered. Do you agree with this account? Were there any strange sensations in the entry plug?"

[Zazax]

Ty made no move to comply. "Sorry, sir, I can't. Sensitive eyes. An unfortunate side effect of my condition that my medication doesn't help."

Wow. I never expected to have to say that to the Vice Commander of NERV. I'd have thought he already knew why I wear these.
Given what I've been able to gather of his personality, he probably just doesn't care.

After a brief hesitation, Ty continued. "I can't speak to her stability, though she was able to hold a conversation, but she did mention something about it seeming like Eva-01 was hitting harder than usual."
He wrung his hands again. He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't helping his situation much.

[garter_snake]

Gilles considered the question. "In total, Unit 01 lasted at least 3 minutes 15 seconds, over four times the operational time limit of a standard Evangelion's power supply. ((15 sec*13 rounds)) It may have continued longer, I lost visual after I lost power. I observed that Unit 01 had battery auxiliaries mounted on it, was its operational time consistent what they would have provided it?

[AmberVael]

Grace kept her silence. She didn't have anything to share even if she had felt inclined to share it- her best offer would be explaining how Grendel had punched off her Eva's head, but frankly, given how easily she had bisected Ty's Eva, that seemed like normal operational capacity to her, especially since she hadn't been expecting the attack at all.

She was considering the Vice Commander with growing irritation though, and crossed her arms as she kept her mouth shut. He might be in charge here, but she didn't have to like him.

[PalusAbel]

The Vice Commander is unconvinced by Ty's excuse. He knows the truth, but refuses to indulge anyone other than himself, and perhaps the Commander. "Your medical report mentioned nothing of the sort. As long as you are in my presence, you are not to wear sunglasses. That is an order." He accesses the Commander's computer and opens some documents. "Pilot Zhao did express a desire to increase Unit-01's operational time, but what you describe is beyond what our technology is capable of at the moment. And yet..." He looks up. "You say that she was still conversational? That is... very interesting." The Vice Commander looks distracted for a moment. "I will be joining Pilot Zhao's debriefing soon. Do you have anything else to add?"

[garter_snake]

"I do not believe so, Comrade Vice-Commander."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla wished she had a hand free so she could slam it down in frustration. She had to settle for rattling them against the restraints holding them in place.

"I don't know what you... parameters? Um... I guess it got stronger than it was before the power loss. And it was able to swing that spear I had faster too. Pretty cool actually, wish it'd been that good from the get go. That's the only thing I noticed. You know, apart from the glaringly obvious issue of it going completely out of control after it should have been bloody dead from no juice!

And I don't even know what you want me to say about sensations. Uh... I could feel the LCL around me? I could feel myself breathing? I could feel Grendel's physical sensations, same as before. I was eventually able to feel that AT field after Gilles used it to knock down my own field. And I felt the scratch when he shot me point blank and still only nicked me with that crap gun you issued him which, by the way, news flash: the guns you issued suck completely. Grace and me were the only two to do any serious damage, and that was with a frigging spear and my EVA's bare hands.

Bulls*** questions. Hell, all of this is BS. You built the damn thing, I don't know the first thing about what makes it tick! Why do you think a teenager is going to know more than your stupid scientists?!

It had not been an entirely truthful answer, for she had withheld one piece of information: she had felt... something, in the cockpit. The terror and the exhilaration that had coursed through her: had that been all her? Was it just a response to seeing Grendel so easily tear its way through the opposing team? Or was there... something else?

[Zazax]

Well. Here goes nothing.

With exaggerated slowness Ty reached up and removed his glasses, squinting to compensate and looking right at the Vice Commander. When he spoke it was once again quiet, just above a mumble.
"Nothing comes to mind, sir."

Note to self: time to invest in contacts.

[Swordslinger]

He was disturbed to learn that the EVA units were acting in ways that even the scientist did not understand and had been unable to predict. He needed to have a talk with Doctor Eli about just how much they truly understood about the EVAs. It could be beneficial for an EVA unit to be able to get back up and fight even after it had ran out of power and taken to much damage, it could be the difference between victory and defeat if they were attacked by forces unknown. But if it could not control then the risks could be enormous as well.

At least three of the pilots had come out of it seemingly no worse for wear. He had worried for them and was still worried about the second child. The pilots where synchronized with the EVAs and there had to be a deep mental connection there for the pilots to be instinctively able to use an inherent function like the AT field as if they themselves possessed the ability. If the machine went out of control what kind of effect would that have on the pilot it was synchronized with? Mostly he was worried that a child could have been seriously injured in this experiment although that did not seem like the case based on the preliminary reports, however the colder more analytical part of him worried about the tactical consequences of losing a pilot. The Vice-commander might complain about the selection, but really the other candidates where even less suited then the current kids, it was all downhill from here if they had to start switching out pilots.

He stood next and a little behind the Vice-Commander as the handled the debriefing. Personally he would have preferred to do it on his own; the Vice-Commander could get a written report. As the meeting proceeded he looked over at the Vice-Commander and he scowled slightly as he silently wondered if he could get away with knocking Lonell’s head against a desk, just a little bit.

He cleared his throat, “It sounds like we have covered the points of immediate concern. Want me to take them from here so you can get going?”

[PalusAbel]

"Very well, Captain Elvenes. Show the pilots to their rooms." Lonell picks up a clipboard from the Commander's desk containing the sheets describing the pilots' room arrangements and hands it to William. "That is not to say that I am finished with you three," he adds, turning back to Ty, Grace, and Gilles. "I want a written report from each of you, with as many details as you can remember. We will go over them after Pilot Zhao's debriefing. Dismissed." The Vice Commander draws up more papers from the desk and takes his leave glaring at the pilots, his eyes boring into Ty's in particular.
_______________________________________
In response to Layla's rattling, the restraints deliver an electric shock. The jolt is only slight, but it is enough to serve as a warning. Had she exercised more discretion in her speech, she might have avoided what came next. "Increase the LCL pressure," the first voice commanded flatly. The interior of the plug is flooded with over ten times the amount of LCL required to operate an Eva. Layla would feel the liquid seize up in her lungs and press down upon her skin from every direction at once. She was in no danger of true suffocation, for the LCL oxygenated her blood directly, but for a few interminable minutes she was deprived of even the idea of breathing.

"Your insubordination is hardly amusing, Second Children. I will ask you once more. When I release the pressure, you will answer my question. When Unit-01 took over, did you notice any change in the simulation? Did the scenery change? The other Evangelions? Any of the conditions and restrictions laid out by the Magi when they developed the program? These are what we need to know." The excess LCL in the plug receded little by little with agonizing slowness. How long it takes is not certain, but eventually the plug returns to its normal state. "Most importantly, we need to know how you felt while Unit-01 was in control. You were able to hold conversations with the other pilots, correct? Did you not sense anything from within the entry plug?" The voice speaks with urgency, and not a little desperation.

[Zazax]

Ty's gaze followed the Vice Commander out of the room, meeting him unblinking.

Well then. That was an excellent start to my career. A feeble display in the combat simulation followed shortly by a confrontation with the Vice Commander. What a great first day.

The moment the Vice Commander had left the room, Ty's hand shot up and replaced his glasses. His eyes once again covered, he let out a barely audible sigh and visibly relaxed, then turned back to the other two Pilots and the Captain, and waited without another word.

[CrimsonKnight]

The electric shock was annoying, but not much worse than sticking your finger into a wall outlet. Layla was just getting warmed up on a spiel about needing to hire better electricians along with the computer programmers when the second punishment kicked in. The LCL over-pressurization was much, much worse, as she suddenly found herself being expanded from the LCL inside her lungs even as the LCL around herself forcefully pushed her inward on every inch of her body. The pain was indescribable, and to compound it she couldn't move, couldn't breath, couldn't think... there was nothing but the immense pain and pressure.

At last, it cut off and began to relax. Layla leaned back in agony, coughing and sobbing in between pained breaths that she knew weren't actually needed but couldn't help herself from doing. She had severely miscalculated the situation and what these people would and would not do to her if they felt like it. She hadn't expected she'd be part of an organization that was apparently okay with torturing a teenage girl.

God... damnit. I'm such a fool. It's the bloody goddamn camp all over again. Only now I'm stuck on a fecking island in the bottom of South America... F***!

Her spirit was unbroken, and knowing what she was dealing with now and what they were going to do with her actually made it, in a way, easier. She looked up and glared at the three displayed icons before her.

"I see, so this is how you get your jollies off, is it? Hurting a girl who's strapped to a chair and can't move so much as a bloody inch? Jesus, I should have know you sick f***s were no different than the last group of government a**holes who were "looking after me". Go to hell, you pommy bastards."

[Swordslinger]

"Well, sounds like you guys have some homework for this evening." William said kindly once the Vice Commander had left

"I’ll send you a description on how to set up a report on your internal emails and instructions on how to turn it in later today. The Vice Commander likes that things looks proper. Now let’s see." He took a look at the clipboard.

"I’ll take you to your rooms. Your personal effects should already have been delivered and you will find a folder with various information included how to access services like the email waiting." He walked toward the door and made a gesture for them to follow with his unoccupied hand.

[garter_snake]

Gilles glances around the room, taking in all the computers and analytical equipment, before finally looking back down at his feet, which had been soaking in the puddle of LCL. "...Comrade-Captain. Is it alright for us to walk around base like this?"

[PalusAbel]

"You see? I told you we would never get anything useful this way." The third voice says with righteous indignation. "The alternative may be radical, but it guarantees results." There is a pause. Then the first voice concedes. "I had hoped to persuade the Second Children to volunteer information on her own, but that seems to be impossible at this point. Commence synchronization." The images cut off abruptly, and the entry plug lights up with strange, indescribable colors. Layla would begin to feel a pull both like and unlike that she experienced when she synchronized with Grendel. This presence was far, far stronger, and it dragged Layla into itself rather than let her simply sink in. Even with the LCL back at its normal levels, Layla would feel herself drowning again, but not merely physically. That would be too merciful.

[CrimsonKnight]

"What is this, what are you... GAH!"

Apparently, they had worse means for coercing her cooperation than she'd first realized. The physical trauma of the LCL over-pressurization had been extremely painful, but that was all it was: pain. After four years in a refugee camp where the older kids would beat her unconscious on a daily basis until she learned how to avoid them and, later, how to fight back and beat them to a bloody mess instead, pain was something she was both all too familiar with and able to shrug off with the ease of experience. But this now... it wasn't just the sensation that her body was being dragged down, it was the mental feeling that she was being dragged down, down, down into some black abyss. It was so different from before. What had changed? Why did she feel like she was drowning within Grendel?

Why? You protected me before, why are you doing this now? Why do I feel so goddamn afraid?

She gritted her teeth against the indescribable sensation, focused only on two things: staying conscious and not throwing up. She didn't want to give any of these bastards the smug satisfaction of her body just giving up and quitting via passing out, and she really, really did not want to have to deal with the unholy mess that would result from vomiting while inside a Entry Plug filled with LCL. And apart from that, she had to stay conscious because she couldn't afford to miss any detail they might reveal as to their identities or what they were so desperate to pry out of her.

[Swordslinger]

William glanced back at the children "No, don’t worry we will stop by the locker rooms first."

[PalusAbel]

Whatever it is that Layla is synched to pulls at her memories. In her mind she can almost feel something sifting through her thoughts, past and present, searching for answers. The sensation is utterly alien. Each time the unspeakable thing focuses on a particular memory, it appears before her eyes before being sucked away into the void. Despite her best efforts, Layla cannot withstand the strain on her psyche. She succumbs to fitful sleep.

Layla eventually awakens upon a bed. She has been gently deposited there atop the sheets, still fully clad in her plugsuit, though fortunately it seems to have been cleaned of any trace of LCL. If she reached up to her neck, she would find a metal collar fixed there, preventing her from removing the suit. It is made of some lightweight alloy, so it does not bother her in that sense. However, each time she turned her head or swallowed particularly hard, she would be reminded of it. A short tone signals the arrivals of the other pilots into the main common room, led by William. Gilles, Grace, and Ty have each had time to change into casual clothing.

Here is a basic map of the room layout. I intentionally left the description of the room rather vague so that you, the players, can populate it with personalized furniture and the like. Each pilot has his or her own bedroom on the boys' or girls' side, and each side is connected to the main common area by a gender segregated common area. Bathrooms and such are found there.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k636/SoldatoJ/room_zps4a6df714.png (http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/SoldatoJ/media/room_zps4a6df714.png.html)

[AmberVael]

Once Grace was changed and out from under the eye of at least most of the people in charge, she felt a bit more relaxed and like herself. William was still following along, of course, but he at least seemed less hostile than the Vice-Commander.

"You okay Ty?" Grace asked, looking to her fellow pilot as she took a seat in the common area. "I know I hit you pretty hard..."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla sat up slowly, once again groggy, disoriented, and trying to remember what had happened. What... ugh, how did I get in bed? I thought I was drowning in the entry plug. Was it... could it have been just a dream?

She rubbed at her face in an attempt to wake herself up, only to stop in surprise as she noticed the gloves on her hands. Looking down, she realized she was still clad in her plugsuit, though it appeared to have been rinsed clean of the LCL. Maybe it had been a dream. Maybe something had happened to her after the test had ended and the events that had followed had been just a terrible nightmare. Right at this moment, all she wanted was a good, long shower to forget anything had ever happened. She reached for the clasp at the back of the neck to begin removing the plugsuit only to be surprised again as her hands found instead a rigid metal ring that had NOT been there when she'd put the suit on this morning. She searched for a clasp or other device holding it shut, and when she realized there was nothing but smooth metal all around her neck, pulled at it in growing frustration. When it failed to slide off, something close to panic began to set in.

No, no, no... goddamnit, it wasn't a dream. What the hell did they do to me? What the hell IS this damned thing?! She gripped at the ring with both hands and yanked as hard as she could, hard enough that she very nearly started to choke herself in desperation as she tried to get it off, only to lose her grip suddenly due to the slick surface of the gloves and slam her head into the wall behind her painfully. Collapsing onto the bed, she did nothing for a moment but shudder as her rage, pain, and mental stress all percolated in her head in a steadily intensifying tempest until she let it all out with a single scream.

"AUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!" She slowly picked herself up, emotionally and physically exhausted from her short outburst. She curled up in a ball on her bed, head cradled in her arms.

Stupid, stupid, stupid... how could you let this happen? You escaped one Hell only to willingly throw yourself right into another. It's your own damn fault, you stupid, stupid fool. It's the world at stake, I'm sure the adults know what they're doing... HA!

Layla's internal self-flagellation was interrupted by the door tone followed by muted talking that sounded like Grace. It was the other pilots. Did they know what had happened? Would they even care? She stood unsteadily and walked over to the door, hand grasping for the handle... before reaching up a little higher and locking it instead. She turned and sank down against the door, wrapping her arms around herself and bowing her head low.

Who can I trust? How do I know one of them isn't working with these bastards? Hell, I don't even know who it is doing this. How can I trust anyone here? How can I know they won't betray me? Tears began to fall unbidden, followed a moment later by racking sobs as she gave in to her grief. She was all alone in a deep, dark Hell, and she couldn't see any way out for her except death or fulfilling whatever their purpose was (assuming that wouldn't also end in her death).

[garter_snake]

Gilles followed after William, and then past, sitting in a recliner with his back to the far wall, taking in the room. It appeared to be a fairly sparsely apportioned room, but comfortable despite that. An old CR-TV in the corner, a small kitchenette, Two sofas and two aged recliners, a coffee table, and a dining table with four wooden chairs. It would have reminded Gilles of a bit of a college dorm, if he had had any idea what one of those looked like.

When he was done, he turned to William. "So... Comrade Captain. Besides our meeting with the Comrade Commander, I don't think we've had any sort of orientation about the base rules, such as where we are to go and what our day to day duties are. Is that what we are here to go over?"




Built scenery a bit, as you said we could decorate our quarters. Also:
Awareness check to look for overlarge air vents, windows, removable ceiling panels for repairmen/janitors, or anything else that could be used to Dues Ex-around.

[roll0] TN 30

[PalusAbel]

Gilles' analysis revealed no such passageways; the walls and ceiling are almost completely flat. The air vents are large enough to fit a very intrepid mouse, provided said mouse had gone without food for a substantial period of time. There are screens here and there that look somewhat like windows, and indeed their function is to provide a simulated view of the outside. The crimson-stained ocean is visible through the "window" on the far wall, whereas the others show different parts of the facility. It stands to reason that each of the screens corresponds to a camera on the building's exterior. Of ceiling panels there are none. If ever maintenance needed to be done on the recessed lights or on the cables running inside the ceiling, it would have to be done some other way.

[Zazax]

Ty was lost in his own head when he heard Grace's question. "Hm? Oh, I'm fine." Rather than sitting, he leaned on the back of one of the sofas, leaning on his elbows and hands folded in front of him. "That was a great shot, though. Even Layla just took off heads, you completely bisected Eva-00." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Remind me not to piss you off."

He looked down and wrung his hands, then mumbled to himself, so quiet he hoped nobody else heard. "Good to know some of us can fight, at least."

Oh, come on. Stop moping. If I want to be here but don't think I'm worthy of it, sulking won't help. Do something about it.
Easier said than done. What use is sensing AT Fields and seeing through walls when I get taken out before I can do anything except tell the others about it?
The Pilots are a team. If that means I am the one who warns them about stuff before they can see it and require them to take it out, so be it.
Still doesn't seem too useful, though.
I guess I'll see.

He looked back up at his fellow Pilot. "How are you? I at least got video feed so I could watch what was happening. Sounds to me like you got your head taken off, then had to sit in darkness by yourself. That can't have been fun."

[AmberVael]

Grace shifted on the sofa, trying to find a more comfortable position, then looked up at the ceiling. She got back to her feet to get a closer look, then glanced about the room for a cabinet or closet area of some kind. "I can safely say that I don't recommend decapitation." She replied to Ty, trying to keep her voice light. "There wasn't much pain, but it was unnerving."

It didn't take too long for Grace to locate a broom closet, which she promptly opened and examined the contents of. She didn't take anything out, but she shifted some of the items around as she looked for something in particular. However, she looked back towards Ty occasionally as she searched and continued speaking. "Honestly, before NERV drafted me, I was pretty much a pacifist. I still kind of am. Life is precious- I'll fight in a sim, but I wouldn't... I don't start fights. And I don't want to hurt people. EVAs were made to defend people, and that's what I'm here to do." She drew a small cardboard box out of the closet and turned it over in her hands, reading the labels and instructions on it. Then she pried open the lid and carefully extracted the object inside.

The light bulb was a pretty hefty one, probably meant for the recessed sockets. Grace examined the spare and held it up towards the ceiling, comparing it with the others to make sure it was the same type, then replaced it in the box and tucked it back into the broom closet before she returned to the couch.

[Zazax]

Ty watched Grace's search with interest, but said nothing of it. "I'm in a similar situation, I guess, in that I don't like hurting people. I vastly prefer to help. I've never been in a fight before myself." He smiled briefly and gave another nervous chuckle. "If it wasn't obvious."

He thought for a moment before looking down again. "I've never really thought about what I'm here to do before. I've been marked as a pilot for my entire life, so I've never really had to. It was just another fact of life, as ingrained in me as breathing."

Well, what am I here to do? Am I here to defend people, like Grace? Am I here to kill Angels? Both? Certainly, given what we all just saw, I'm not here to be a warrior.
A better question may be if my reason is the same one NERV has for me.

He straightened and closed his eyes, one hand resting on the back of the sofa, and began to think, once again lost in his head and only dimly aware of his surroundings. Nell always said that when he got like this she could 'hear the gears in his head turning'.

[Swordslinger]

William walked into the center of the common room and took a look around.

"Yes you are right." William turned toward Gilles "Today has been a bit rushed, but as I said before a lot of people was waiting for the test to be completed so they could get on with their work. I will fill you in on the various rules of which there are many and how you will be spending your days from here on out. However I’d like to wait a little while for Miss Zhao to join us so I don’t have to repeat myself.

This will be your home for the time being, this is the common room where you can spend off time together. To your right and left there is a door leading to a smaller common area, your private rooms and bathroom. Kirby and Duceppe you have your rooms at that end while White share that end with miss Zhao.

Obviously you are not to venture into the other common room without the knowledge and permission of the inhabitants."

William sat down on a couch and placed the crouch next to him.

"Why don’t you guys go explore your new rooms while I check up on how Zhao is doing and order some lunch, it should be about time for that." he reached into a pocket and fished up a cellphone.

Two phone calls later William put down the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"White, could you knock on Zhao's door? She should already have arrived here." he called out to Grace.

[garter_snake]

Nothing? Hm, I'll have to move the furniture latter and check under it." Gilles thought after giving the room a once-over.

At Captain William's explanation, Gilles nodded, his brows furrowing a bit, and stood up. "Very well, Comrade Captain."

Gilles walked out of the middle common room to the male one, glancing at Grace and Ty as he opened the door, before continuing on, shutting it behind him. He then leaned back against the door, pinching the bridge of his nose.

All right, todo... Determining how much of the facility is bugged. Deciding how to pay off that bet I made with White. Figuring out what the hell happened in that sim, and how Second won. Identifying an auxiliary exit to the barracks in case I need to make a quick escape. Establishing contact with the NKGB before they think I've gone AWOL. Removing the taste of LCL from my mouth. Getting a freaking drink. Gilles sighed. Well, two of those I may be able to solve. Let's see if my 'mouthwash' made it through screening with the rest of my personal effects.

Gilles pushed off the door and headed into his room.

[AmberVael]

"If they've had their eyes on you that long, they must be confident in you. And if you fighting was so important to them, they'd have started training you earlier, don't you think? Even Vice-Commander Scowls didn't criticize you about today, so you must already doing something right." Grace smiled at Ty in an encouraging way. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. We have time."

Grace's attention swiftly turned to William as he spoke, and she gave him a polite nod of acknowledgement, then hopped up from the couch again and headed towards the girl's common area. She stopped for a moment to peek into her own room and make sure everything had made its way there, then went over to Layla's and knocked gently on the door.

"Layla? You in there?" She pitched her voice enough that it would carry through the door, but not so much that it'd be jarring. "We're back from debriefing- they didn't really tell us anything, but they said some weird stuff. Are you alright?"

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla had finally managed to stop crying, but had yet to move from her spot on the floor leaning against the when the knock came. She looked up wearily at the door handle above her head. She opened her mouth, but it took several moments before she could force herself to speak in a subdued tone. "I'm... no, I'm not really okay right now. Just leave me alone!"

Shouldn't have answered. Just pretended you weren't here, maybe they would have gone away, maybe... but what's the damn point? You can't hide in here forever. Sooner or later they'll send more big men with guns to drag you out and stuff you into an Entry Plug or whatever the hell else they want. They've got you all wrapped up like a Christmas present for the Devil himself. So what now? Are you just continue beating yourself up for the fact you got suckered by a bunch of a**holes into letting them chain you like a dog? Or are you gonna do like you did before and wrap that chain around their goddamn necks?

Slowly, hesitantly, she picked herself up, then rubbed at her face before nodding as she made her decision. What choice was there but to fight?

So, how am I going to do this? I can't do it all alone, especially if they already suspect me for whatever the hell it was that happened with Grendel earlier. I need help. I have to trust somebody with my life. Can't be any of the adults. They all work for NERV. Any of them (or all of them) could be one of the ones responsible: the Commander, Doctor Cazada, the Operations Director, any of them could have been the ones who put me through that nightmare. No, the only ones I can trust... is the other pilots. I know nothing about them, they could be working for anyone (hell, Gilles flat out admits he's with the Soviets)... but I don't have a choice. I have to trust that they're in the same boat as me. Suppose the worst that could happen is the bastards punishing me again, but I doubt there's much more they could do to me without ruining me as a pilot, and given THIS little gift they left me, obviously they have no intention of doing that. Okay then.

Layla turned and opened the door, hoping to catch Grace before she'd left after being blown off.

"Grace? Grace wait, I'm sorry. That was rude. I'm... not having a very good day."

[Zazax]

The other Children having departed, Ty silently turned and strode to his room. Upon entering he was greeted by a small number of boxes; no doubt the personal effects the Captain had mentioned. He closed the door behind him and moved to the center of the room for a quick look around.

Finally alone once again, or rather, away from people he didn't know, he exhaled. All the tension drained out of him and he visibly relaxed. One hand reached up and plucked the sunglasses from their place on the bridge of his nose before falling back to his side, and the other rubbed his eyes shortly afterwards. He placed the glasses on one of his boxes, then walked to another.

He quickly checked it was the right one, then opened the top and withdrew a specific item, protected inside several layers of bubble wrap. He quickly unwrapped it, then smiled fondly at the picture in his hands.

It hadn't been taken that long ago; must have been only a month or two before his parents had been forced to evacuate. The two of them stood in the back row, his father caught mid-laugh and his mother wearing that serene smile she always had when everything was just right.
In front of them stood Ty and his sister. Nell, grinning from ear to ear with her characteristic gusto, had one arm wrapped around Ty's neck and shoulders, almost pulling him off his feet with the force of the awkward sideways hug. For his part, Ty remembered that he had spent just as much effort trying to keep his balance as he had trying not to flush with embarrassment from being overpowered by his sister on camera. Neither attempt had worked very well.

Still smiling, he walked over to his bedside table and placed the picture down on it. He thought it only fitting that it be the first thing he unpacked.

There we go. Now this place is a little closer to home.

Glancing back to the rest of the boxes, he unpacked a little more before glancing at the time, donning his glasses, and making his way back out into the common area.

[AmberVael]

Layla's response shocked Grace, but it prompted worry rather than offense. She hesitated in the doorway, wondering whether she should press the issue a little more or just leave- she didn't like the idea of just leaving Layla when she was obviously upset, but they didn't really know each other and the situation wasn't exactly encouraging her to step in. She bit her lip and took one step back from the door, thinking that maybe it would be better to just go away. How well had meddling worked for her before, after all? But part of her wondered if that was the right way to look at it, if maybe it had been about lack of compassion...

Of course, then Layla came to the door and rendered Grace's dilemma irrelevant. She swiftly and gratefully pushed her thoughts away, then blinked as she noted that the other pilot was still in the form-fitting plugsuit. Had she not been able to change? Grace had done so as soon as the opportunity was offered, after all- she found them rather embarrassing, even if they were flattering. But then, this looked different from the suit that she remembered Layla putting on before, and she didn't quite know what to make of that.

"What's wrong? I mean- um, if you want to talk about it. You don't have to, but maybe it would help?" Grace made the offer genuinely, even if she was a little uncertain. She held out her hands for Layla to take if she wanted, and continued speaking quietly. "We could sit over there. This our common area, so the guys won't be poking their heads in too freely."

She knew that Director Elvenes probably was expecting to see them soon, but she decided that Layla's comfort took priority. Besides, the meeting would probably go better if Layla was more at ease.

[garter_snake]

Gilles walked into his room. It was almost completely sparse, his belongings still packed in duffel bags on the bed. Opening one of them, he rummaged around before pulling out a large white plastic bottle marked 'Listerine: Extra-Large!' He then carefully unscrewed the white plastic cap and carefully poured a precise amount in to the cap, and proceeded to down it in one go.

That took the taste out, at least. Gilles rubbed his throat. It burnt a bit. That LCL stuff tastes like blood.

Screwing the cap back on, Gilles stuffed the the bottle back in the bag, zipping it up. He then walked slowly and carefully out of his room, closing the door behind him, and continued onward to the common room, sitting down in the recliner that he vacated.

May as well wait... Gilles kicked the recliner back and closed his eyes.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla walked over and slumped down in the chair in the corner, moodily picking at her gloves only to realize that they, at least, could come off, even if nothing else would. She quickly ripped the bindings off of both and hurled them through the door to her bedroom (or at least what she assumed must be it, given that they'd left her there on the bed and she'd seen a few of the boxes she'd packed before coming here sitting in there), before leaning back and locking her fingers behind her head.

"Ugh... don't really know where to begin. Okay, so you remember what happened in the sim, right? Grendel was dead from power loss, you and Gilles should have won, game over, I lose. Except that it woke up somehow, went to town on both of you without me doing anything, and beat both of you without hardly breaking a sweat. Which I won't deny was pretty sweet at the time. Hell, I didn't have a clue what was going on, other than that the fight apparently wasn't over until Grendel decided it was. I just thought it must be a glitch in the computers running the sim, or maybe something with the EVA control system. I couldn't tell you what, not like I'm a bloody computer expert or anything.

But I am pretty sure that all the people running the show were pissing their pants when it happened. Not just surprised, but absolutely terrified. Scared enough they treated me like a frigging terrorist the second I left the plug. Bagged me, literally, with a bag over the head and everything, and tagged me with a drug. Knocked me out damn near instantly. Next thing I know, I'm in an entry plug I don't recognize with them reading me the riot act. Bastards didn't even have the decency to do a face to face, they were using voice scramblers and all that spy sh*t while I was in the plug. It wasn't a normal one either. I doubt that restraints, electroshock leads, and a system to overpressurize the LCL until it nearly implodes your skull are standard fecking installation.

And then they did... something else. I think it was a Sync Test, kinda. If the Test involved having your whole mind stretched out like a rubber band to see how far you can go before you snap. Thank god I passed out before they could find out. And then I was here, in this stupid new plugsuit which I can't get off thanks to this damn collar. Bet you ten bucks it's got some kind of tracking device in it so they can keep tabs on me. Twenty it's got a listening device, and if that's the case, F*CK YOU NERV. Thirty they've also got something if they ever decide to "discipline" me again. F**k. So... yeah. Our bosses are d**ks, I'm effectively under house arrest, and I can't even take a shower to wash this damned smell out for the foreseeable future, not unless I want to do it in this suit. Like I said, not a very good day."

She looked down at her hands for a moment before looking up again at Grace. "Could you do me a favor? Gilles and Ty, and you of course, are free to talk if you want, but I really don't want to talk to another frigging adult the rest of the day if I can help it. Don't know who it was that did this to me, jerks were paranoid with the cloak and dagger to hide their identities, so I'm trusting none of the NERV staff until I know otherwise. Can't trust anyone here, really... no one except you three.

Layla smiled, but it was a pained one that did little to hide her unhappiness. "Got to hope for something, I guess, though my judgement's obviously been pretty poor if I ended up in this mess in the first place."

[Zazax]

Ty entered the common room quietly, giving a quick glance around, gaze passing quickly over the Captain and Gilles.

The girls aren't back yet. Looks like there's still some time.

He walked over to one of the sofas as quietly as he'd entered and plomped down on one side of it. After a moment he began softly drumming his fingers on the sofa's arm and humming a tune under his breath, quiet enough so that nobody else could hear. At least he hoped so.

[Swordslinger]

William looked toward the girls common area wondering what was holding them up; perhaps Layla had not recovered completely. Fortunately he was not in any hurry at the moment as he had cleared up most of his day, if he gave them some time they might show up on their own.

He turned his attention toward the other two who was sitting there in silence.

"How do you guys feel about today’s test? It did not quite go as planned but it was your first real chance to properly pilot the EVA’s. It must have been quite the experience." He asked them in a casual tone breaking the silence.

[AmberVael]

Grace's eyes widened as Layla began to explain, but by the time she had finished, Grace's expression had settled. She did not really look surprised, but looked almost more resigned, perhaps even pessimistic and aged. It sounded like NERV was entirely detached from the well being of their pilots, caring only about the results they could provide. The methods they were using were more drastic and nefarious than Grace would have guessed, but she couldn't really say it was unexpected. What she didn't understand was the why. Their reaction to what had happened seemed out of proportion, especially since it didn't sound like Layla had done anything intentionally.

Unintentionally though... and maybe that was the key. 'Lost control,' the Vice-Commander had said. So NERV seemed to suspect that Layla was strongly involved, even if she hadn't done it consciously. And they clearly didn't approve of it. Why? Was it too dangerous to have it happen? But then, why not approach it in a more rational manner, and encourage the pilots not to let it occur? But if they wanted to keep it secret, surely they would have passed it off as a simulation glitch while they still could. Their actions didn't make a great deal of sense yet.

"...director Elvenes is waiting in the common area." Grace reluctantly explained. "He told me you were probably in your room- I think he wanted to have a meeting. I could give an excuse for you though, if you wanted me too."

She set that problem aside though, and kept speaking. She was aware that NERV was probably listening in, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. "You can count on me. I don't know how what we can do, but I'll help however I can, okay? Even if it is just listening."

It felt like an inadequate thing to say. So far from enough. She fidgeted, then stepped over to Layla and hugged her- maybe a little uncomfortably, due to positions, but the intent was there.

[garter_snake]

In response to Captain Elvenes's question, Gilles opened one eye and stared at the ceiling. "I think it went very poorly. I made at least three blunders that could have cost the win, and one of them did." Gilles looked down, across the room at Captain Elvenes. "Something about the match has been nagging at the corner of my mind, though, and perhaps you can answer it. Who sent up that umbilical cable to Unit 01's position in the smokescreen?"

[Zazax]

Ty turned his attention to the others in the room at Gilles' question. "Oh, uh, that was me. I realized how hopelessly outmatched I was against Grace and did the one thing I could think of to try and help Layla. It... kind of backfired."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla closed her eyes in resignation as she listened to Grace's words. Hiding away sounded nice, but she doubted the "not feeling well" excuse wouldn't last long under the current circumstances. Caught up in thinking of alternate ways to avoid having to go out, her eyes shot open as she was caught completely by surprise when Grace out of nowhere embraced her. Her immediate reaction to the sensation of arms wrapped around her, born out of years of abuse which the day's events were quickly dredging from her memories, was to spear her arms upward to free herself, then shove Grace back to give herself enough room to get clear of the corner. Yet she managed to stop her instinctive reaction before she'd done anything more than her initial twitch of surprise. This was not someone trying to choke her out or molest her, but an unexpected gesture of kindness, one Layla was unprepared for. Even with her foster family, such physical gestures had been rare, to say the least, a product of their cultural heritage even if they had grown to care for Layla and her adopted brothers. Yet it was... nice.

So, she simply leaned into the embrace. A tingling at her eyes hinted that the earlier tears were trying to make a comeback, yet it wasn't from sadness and despair this time. She reached up and grasped Grace's hand with her own as a sign of her gratitude. Finally, she gently pushed her back and stood up, rubbing the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and flashing a smile that was far more hopeful than it had been less than a minute ago.

"I don't know why you did that, but, umm... thank you. I needed that... comfort, though I never would said so before just now. Okay then. Much as I'd rather avoid it, I'd better get this meeting over with now. Think I've got enough trouble on my plate already without making more with someone who may not even have been responsible for it. Doesn't mean I'll be especially pleasant... just give me a sec to go wash up. Haven't even had the chance to do that yet, ugh."

She turned towards the open doorway into what she assumed must be their shared bathroom and stopped just before crossing it to turn and give Grace another smile. "And Grace? I know I said it already, but thank you again. You end up needing any help of your own, you can count on me too."

She headed into the bathroom and flicking on the lights. Running the faucet, she let the cool water run over her hands for a moment before splashing some over her face and letting it run down, not having to worry about wet clothing when she was wearing a suit designed for submergence in LCL. She repeated the gesture before grabbing a dribble from the hand soap dispenser and beginning to wash her hands, eying her dripping face coolly. The signs of crying had more or less washed off, and while she was still more than a little afraid, her former steely resolve had returned. She would fight this, somehow. No matter what they did, she would not let them break her spirit. She would get the people responsible for this, or go down trying. She turned off the faucet, dried herself with one of the towels, and headed back into the sitting room towards the door that she knew must lead into the main common area.

[garter_snake]

Gilles sat up and stared at Ty. "That was you?" Seeing Ty's assent, Gilles put his face in his hands, cradling it. Then he threw his head back and laughed. BWAHAHAHA! Вот это да!" Gilles shook his head, still grinning. You gave me quite a fright there, Comrade Kirby. I was sure that Second would take the cable and put me in a pretty pickle. I wonder why she didn't..." Gilles gaze sharpened a bit. "However... the question is only half answered. That smoke cloud I deployed should have made it impossible for you to determine her exact location. How were you able to designate the cable's deployment so precisely?"

[Zazax]

Ty wrung his hands and leaned forward. "Uh, I just used my AT Field to ping the other AT Fields on the field, sort of like radar. It was the same way I detected you through that building and warned Layla of your ambush right at the start. He scratched his chin and shifted nervously. "I just identified each of you by the relative strength of your AT Fields, and called up the cable port just off to the side of the one I was pretty sure was Eva-01."

[garter_snake]

Gilles blinked. "You can do that? Gilles covered his mouth with his hand and shifted his eyes to the side. That's insane. Something that is a shield, that can also neutralize opponents fields, and on top of that act as sonar?


Gilles was quiet for a moment. Then, he turned his attention back to Ty and spoke. "...What else can you do with that 'AT Field' of yours?"

[Zazax]

"Um, not that much, actually." Ty leaned back. "I can switch the pattern it holds when idle, but I have no idea what that does, if anything. The rest of you all have the same one." He fidgeted. "I stumbled upon this accidentally, so I'm still figuring out how it all works, myself."

The Commander said it can do whatever I can think of, if I think about it hard enough. Whatever that means.
Well, this is certainly worth investigating, especially since both Layla and Gilles have seemed surprised by my ability to do this. Is this not something all the Children can do? More experimentation seems necessary.
Maybe this is why NERV keeps me around. Or maybe I just got lucky.

[AmberVael]

"I did it because I care. Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on, right?" Grace explained simply, smiling back at Layla. "Besides, we're going to be a team. We have to look after each other."

As Layla got up and started moving, Grace made her way to the door to the main common room. "I'll tell the others you'll be out in a sec. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and this will only take a bit." She looked back to give Layla one more reassuring smile before she rejoined the director and her fellow pilots in the main room of the dormitory and walked over to the couch she had sat on earlier.

"Layla's coming. Apparently the aftermath of the sim took it out of her, she was resting." Grace told them as she settled back into her seat. "So, what are we talking about?"

[garter_snake]

"The events of the sim battle, and AT Fields. Apparently, Comrade Kirby can use his field to find other fields." Gilles told Grace as she sat down. Turning back to Ty, he asked "You said you could tell our Field strengths as well, right? How do we compare to each other?

[Zazax]

Ty glanced from Grace to Gilles. "Er, well, Grace and I are about equal, Layla's is a tiny bit weaker than ours, but yours is actually pretty weak, Gilles. It's just over half the strength of ours." He gestured to himself and Grace.
He gave a nervous laugh and shifted uncomfortably. "Not that it seems to have helped much. Grace and I were the first ones down in the sim despite having the strongest AT Fields. Maybe they're not all the Commander has cracked them up to be."

[garter_snake]

"That explains some things, actually." Gilles leaned back. If AT Fields are to be the magic bullet against the Angels, then that might be why NERV chose the other Children. I don't think the NUSSR considered AT Fields in their criteria for choosing pilots, which is likely why I'm on the low end.

Gilles kicked the recliner back and resumed staring at the ceiling. "Well, I've got nothing more to ask."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla stared at the door handle for a second before willing herself to open the door. The other pilots and Captain Elevenes were all apparently waiting for her as she slipped into the room. She wished she could feel as relaxed as the other three pilots all looked right at this very moment, especially as the the regular clothing they'd had the opportunity to change into was in sharp contrast to her own plugsuit (and not even the same one she'd been wearing the last time any of them had saw her). Glancing at the Operations Director out of the corner of her eye, she spoke without looking directly at him, and doing nothing to mask the hostility in her voice that hadn't been there before the sim.

"Pilot Zhao, reporting as ordered... sir."

[Zazax]

Ty glanced over as Layla entered the room, and actually smiled at her. He imagined that, considering his normal expression of discomfort in the presence of the Pilots, it probably looked rather alien on him to everyone in the room.
"Hey. You okay? I tried asking the Vice-Commander where you were, but he wouldn't say. There was actually a small confrontation between us over it." He unconsciously adjusted his glasses at the memory. "He drilled us with questions and didn't seem keen on reciprocating."

[Swordslinger]

"I was quite impressed by how easily you all took to using the AT field. Learning that was the most important aspect of the test on your part. I am looking forward to what else can be done with the field once you start to get experience in using it." At the same time he was worried what kind of problems could pop up underway but he did not say that out loud, hopefully today’s incident was an one time incident. "You also managed to keep damages to your surroundings at an acceptable level."

He turned his attention toward Layla when she entered and he regarded her with a neutral expression. She seemed upset and the hostility was clear in her voice. He could understand that, she had probably been through quite the ordeal and might be blaming NERV for it and he had to admit that was pretty justified. He wondered why she had not changed out of the plug suit, those weren’t supposed to be stored at the dormitories.

"Yes, demanding answers form the Vice-Commander is futile and will only gain you his ire." he said in response to Ty’s comment about the Vice-Commander. Then he made a gesture toward Layla indicating that she could relax "There is no reason to be so formal here; I won’t expect you to act with military etiquette. You don’t have to participate in this meeting if you aren’t feeling up to it; it just an informal briefing about rules and what your days will look at from here. I can talk to you about it later if you want to rest. Although lunch will be here soon if you are hungry, we will wait for you if you want to get changed out of the plug suit, those aren’t meant for daily use."

[AmberVael]

Grace wished now that she had tested out her field a little more than she had after hearing what Ty had been able to do with it, and that learning about them had been the real point of the exercise. She honestly hadn't paid much attention to the AT field after first expanding it, and it hadn't seemed to do much of anything to her. "Will we get more chances to train with the AT Fields, sir?" She was uncertain of what his answer would be- on one hand, it made a lot of sense to allow them to train more, but on the other hand... her eyes flicked towards Layla.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla picked at the collar of her plug suit moodily. Either he honestly didn't know, or he was just a good liar, but it didn't really matter so much either way.

"Apparently someone disagrees with you on that, Mr. Elvenes. After passing out during my... "enhanced" debriefing, they decided to stick me in this new suit and rigged it so I can't take the damned thing off. Unless you know how to remove this collar? *sigh* Forget it, let's just get this over with so I don't have to deal with any more of NERV's bullsh*t for the rest of the day."

[garter_snake]

Gilles cracked open his left eye and glanced at Layla. It quickly flickered down and up, before he closed it again.

She got here before us. Interesting.

"If we're all here, should we start?"

[Zazax]

Ty gave one more worried glance in Layla's direction.

'Enhanced' debriefing? And why have they locked her in her plugsuit? And a new one, at that?
Don't forget the Vice-Commander's refusal to tell the rest of us where she was. Wherever it was, it really agitated her.
Something is going on here, and whatever it is, I bet the Vice-Commander knows about it.
Wonderful. Because I really needed yet another reason to be uncomfortable in his presence.

He blinked, then turned back to the rest at Gilles' question. His response was a simple, silent shrug.

[Swordslinger]

William frowned slightly. That she could not remove the suit was odd, he guessed there had to be some medical or technical reason for it although he wondered what she was doing already back in her room if there was any negative effects. And what did she mean with ‘enhanced’ debriefing? He guessed she was not feeling her best right now and any debriefing with the Vice-Commander was not the most pleasant of experiences which would not make things any better.

"Yes there will be other opportunities to test the AT Field." He answered Grace’s question, "but not right away. There are obviously some problems to look into first." He glanced over at Layla worried she might have a negative reaction on being told she might have to pilot again. And they would have to do further testa, likely even if the problems were not solved. Many powerful people sufficiently believed in the threat that they had put more resources into the EVA project that frankly anyone could afford and too many resources to have it go to waste because the pilots did not have enough training. Any machine was only as good as its pilot.

"Anyway, let’s move on. Perhaps I should start with saying a few words about myself. My name is as you know William Elvenes and I am the Operations Director. This means that in a case of a combat situation I will have command of NERV forces, although the commander can overrule any decision made. You can also consider me your closest superior, if you have any question or concerns you can talk to me. The Commander is a very busy lady and the Vice-Commander even if he had time…. Yeah.

I was born in Norway, which is today a part of the United Scandinavia. I joined the military and after Second Impact I was down someplace at the border of India as a part of a mostly Russian division working on stabilizing the territories. After I received an injury" he tapped his leg "I was sent back to Europa and worked with mostly strategic tasks until I joined or rather was handed over to NERV Berlin. Two or so years ago I was sent her to Chile when it was first expected that something would come forth from the wall. One year ago I took over the director position and have been working on coordination between the various military forces here as well as helped plan and oversee the construction of the cities mundane defenses."

As you know this city is very large and although it has a decent population it is mostly concentrated at specific locations. The main residential area is located further north from here well out of the way and you will need to take a short ride with a high speed train to reach there. Most civilian facilities such as malls, cinemas and such are located there and other locations and not spread out all over like a normal city. Although you will find some smaller stores in the vicinity and services run as a part of the headquarters.

Now, unless you have any questions let’s start going over the various rules and regulations you subjected to as a citizen of NERV Town."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla grimaced and looked down as William answered Ty's question. Problems? PROBLEMS?! Yeah, right. More like the person that you're convinced caused the problems, whether or not she was actually responsible for it. And considering what the "solution" was...

She kept her mouth shut and spent the rest of the speech pointedly looking away with her arms crossed, not replying to his question but merely shaking her head to indicate a No.

[garter_snake]

"I have some, but I'd rather hold them until later."

[AmberVael]

While Grace did her best to listen attentively, part of her was still focused on what Layla had told her and on her fellow pilot. What should they do from here? Could they trust anyone, or was the organization corrupt to the core? And what exactly had happened to Layla, before and after that incident?

Noticing that Layla hadn't taken a seat, Grace caught her eye and then gestured to the open spot on the couch beside her- then realized that Director Elvenes had stopped talking. Her eyes flicked back towards him, and she took a moment to recall what had just been said. "Okay." There might have been one or two things she could have asked, but she thought he'd probably address them in what he said next anyway.

[Zazax]

Sitting by himself on the other sofa, Ty resumed nervously drumming his fingers to the rhythm of the tune he'd previously been humming.
He had no questions of his own, or rather no questions he felt like asking, so followed the example set by the other Pilots and gestured for the Captain to continue.

[Swordslinger]

Seeing as no one wanted to ask anything he continued on "Alright, then we move on. I’ll start with going over some rules, what will be expected of you in general and then talk about what your days will look like. Let’s start with your dormitories," he made a gesture to indicate the room "first off you are the ones responsible for keeping it clean so you will have to arrange between you how to deal with the common areas..."


I am not going to go into to much detail here since it is not really important and I don't know them in the first place, better to just assume he tells them what they need to know. And that the keeps talking into lunch arrives.

[garter_snake]

Gilles lay back on the recliner as William continued with his discussion of the base rules and regulations.

It's bugging me. Gilles thought. Just what did they do with Second? Gilles cracked his eyelids open a hair and stole a glance at Layla. We didn't take that much time to change out of our plugsuits, and that's obviously a different model than what she was wearing before. From that metal ring around her neck, and from what she said earlier, it didn't go on with her consent. So, assuming that it took her at least the same time to change suits as we did, for her to be here before us meant that her debriefing was over before ours, which is odd.

Gilles pulled a die out of his pocket and rolled it across his fingers. Alright, the alcohol looks like it's starting to wear out. That was dumb of me, taking a drink with an officer present. Gilles pocketed the die, and kicked the recliner up, so that he was sitting erect.

When a lull appeared in William's explanation, Gilles asked "By the way, Captain. What did you order for lunch anyway?"

[PalusAbel]

A tone signals the arrival of another guest. It is Commander Sheridan herself, pushing along a lunch cart. There are five covered platters, all clearly labeled with their intended recipients. "Yo! Brought some food. I bet you're all starving after that simulation. I took a peek at your files and ordered your favorite meals from the cafeteria. It's not five star cuisine by any means, but it's edible." The Commander brings the cart before William and each of the pilots, delivering the corresponding platter. She comes to Layla last. "Layla, I'm sorry for what happened, and for what I'm about to do." She uncovers the Second Child's dish, which consists of some nutrient tablets, a water bottle, and a dehydrated slab of something trying to pass as cake. "The higher-ups decided that you weren't ready for real food yet. I know it doesn't look like much, but there's something in here that will help you feel full, and Dr. Cazada tells me that yours is the most nutritious of all the meals here, so it's not all bad."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla stared down at the platter, and said nothing for a moment, though the slight gritting of her teeth and tightening of her fists seemed to indicate she was resisting the urge to scream in protest. And possibly throw the platter in her face for good measure. In fact, she was fighting the urge to break out in near-hysterical laughter at having her own worst fears confirmed.

Control my food. Control my appearance. Control my actions. Soon enough, it'll be control my speech, control my thoughts... control my very soul. You sons of b*tches picked the wrong girl to try and make your damned puppet. Strings can be CUT, after all.

Once she'd managed to get her emotions under check, she looked up and gave a sigh even as she nodded to Sheridan. Of her guilt, Layla had no question. Whether or not she had been one of the three voices interrogating her, there was no way the commander of all NERV forces in Chile to not know about what had happened and condone it, not when she'd been seized so blatantly from the entry plug to wherever it was they'd taken her.

"It doesn't matter. Nutrients are nutrients, taste is... less important."

Ironically, Layla was actually being truthful (well, mostly anyway) about not caring about the unappetizing nature of her meal. When you spent a few years scrabbling just to get enough calories in you each day to survive, you learned how to tell your tastebuds to shut their mouths just because your meal tasted like crap. Sure, she would have much preferred a juicy cheeseburger over whatever the hell this "cake" was supposed to be, but she could still eat it just the same.

Of course, as she picked off a piece and chewed it with a look of disappointment on her face, that didn't mean she liked it any. She tried to avoid looking at the others' lunch as she asked the Commander the question that had been bugging her since she woke up.

"Speaking of higher ups, Commander, how long do I have to keep this thing on? Hell, what's the point of wearing a plugsuit outside of an entry plug anyway?"

[PalusAbel]

"I'm glad you're tolerating the food," the Commander says with a strained smile. "As for the plugsuit, well, there are some that think it will help stabilize you. It's a precaution; they're just worried about you, and about the rest of us, too. The plugsuits were designed to be worn for extended periods of time to begin with in case the entry plugs ejected to a location where retrieval was difficult. If you end up having... what did they call it... 'unreasonable difficulty with daily living', Dr. Cazada is authorized to remove portions of your plugsuit, but that collar and the primary suite of synch aids," she pauses to point at the devices on Layla's shoulders and sternum, "Those will have to stay on, regardless. In other words, you can ask Dr. Cazada to remove the sleeves and the leggings, but most of the torso area will have to stay covered. Think of it as a kind of swimsuit." The Commander laughs awkwardly, then continues in a more serious tone. "That's just the way it'll have to be until such time as you are no longer thought to be a liability."

"I think I have something that might take the edge off all that." She puts lightness back into her voice. "Have you kids ever had your own cell phones before? Let me tell you, consumer technology outside of Nerv is quite a few steps backward from what we have. Here, these are called 'smartphones'." The Commander retrieves a small satchel from the cart's lower shelf and produces four phones. "William already has one, and all your numbers have already been saved to his. Likewise, each of your phones has all the important numbers pre-programmed..." Commander Sheridan describes the phones' various functions as she distributes them.

[Zazax]

In spite of himself, Ty cracked a slight smile.

Out of everything they could have in my file, they bothered to waste ink including my favourite food?

The smile promptly disappeared, however.

On the other hand, if they have details as minor as that, what else is in there? Just how closely are they keeping tabs on us?
NERV has been monitoring me my entire life. This isn't new.
Well yeah, but not every minute of every day.

Ty grabbed his platter and sat back down, but hesitated in removing the lid After a moment he tilted it open and peeked inside. Chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies, just like Mom used to make. Sort of. As close as cafeteria food could get.
He appreciated the effort.

He glanced up at the others and noticed Layla apparently trying to stare down her 'food', and felt a pang of guilt.
He glanced down at his own meal and closed his eyes.

Don't do it. I'll draw attention to myself, and apparently this comes from higher up. Don't want to piss them off.
She didn't look particularly happy before, and she looks miserable now. At home everyone was always happy at mealtime. I can't let this continue.
She doesn't really look like she wants my pity.
This isn't pity. I'm trying to be nice. She looks like she could use a friend.
... Because I'm an expert in that field, right?
Enough. I've made my decision.

Without a word Ty stood up and began slowly walking, listening to the Commander's talk about 'smart phones' as he went. Despite the sunglasses, he kept his gaze aimed at his feet, partly out of embarrassment and partly out of fear that eye contact with anyone else in the room would break his resolve. He remained staring at his shoes even as he arrived at his destination beside Layla, where he waited only a moment for the Commander to finish her description.
"Um, if you want, I'd be willing to share. It's nothing fancy, just some chicken and potatoes." His voice was quiet, and there was a nervous quake to it. "I, uh, don't eat much and there's too much for me here anyways." Despite staring at the floor, he gave a nervous laugh tried to punctuate his white lie with a smile.
He was unsure of its success.
He gathered himself and continued. "After all, we're..." He paused to remember "...'Eva Team Awesome'. Partners. We need to look out for each other, right?"

He couldn't bring himself to actually check, but he felt sure something like this would draw looks. Oh god, this was embarrassing. He unconsciously shrank back a little, withering somewhat under what he was sure was the gaze of everyone in the room, even if he couldn't confirm it for himself, fixated on the floor as he was.
Nonetheless, he stood firm and awaited a response, pointedly not looking at anyone, but especially Layla or the Commander.

[PalusAbel]

The Commander sighs. "I'm sorry, Ty. It's really nice of you to want to do that, but I'm afraid you aren't allowed to share. Layla has all the food that she's going to get until her next designated meal time." She puts a hand on Ty's shoulder. "I appreciate what you're doing, but there's nothing you can do in this case. Return to your seat." The Commander steps away from Ty and Layla to address the group as a whole. "My treatment of Layla might seem overly cruel to you, but there are certain measures we need to take to keep everyone safe. I know that sounds like Layla's suddenly become the enemy, but please understand that we're looking out for everyone's best interests. If you have any questions to ask me before your next briefing, now is the time to ask."

[Zazax]

Ty waited a moment, then nodded and returned to his seat at a half-run, where he proceeded to sink as far into it as he possibly could.

Well, I knew that was coming before I even stood up.
Still had to try. Wouldn't have felt right otherwise.
And now the Commander probably thinks I'm an idiot, and everyone else is probably going to tease me about this until the end of time. Unless I miss my guess, my face is redder than a cherry.
I regret nothing.

Pressed as far back into the sofa as he could manage, which was further than most people would have thought possible as he was quite practiced, Ty slowly ate as he waited for someone else to speak up. Let someone, anyone, else shift the group's attention away from him.

[AmberVael]

Grace tried to keep calm, and kept her eyes on her own food as the commander explained. She didn't really understand what they were trying to accomplish, but all this only made it seem worse. The bland meal was small enough that Grace felt she could ignore it- it might even have a real reason behind it, after all- but she clenched her fists under the table as Sheridan casually, enigmatically tried to explain it all away.

When the commander asked for questions Grace looked up from her untouched meal and examined the woman, weighing her for a moment before she spoke in a carefully controlled tone. "Commander, is anyone going to explain to us what happened today?"

She pushed her plate to one side- she could eat in a moment, if she actually wanted to. She wasn't entirely sure she did, at the moment. She crossed her arms on the table in front of her, took a breath, then continued. "No one is acting like that was a simulation error. So- an Eva can do that? And that somehow makes Layla a liability? Why? And if it's bad, like you all seem to think, then shouldn't you have warned us?

"Is Helel going to decide to just stand back up again after shutting down? And if you want me to do something about it- what? As a potential liability, I kind of have an interest in this!" By the end Grace realized she was losing her cool and quickly clamped down on herself, but she didn't make an apology or back away from what she said. In the back of her mind though, she worried that she was going too far- there didn't seem to be any reason to them, or care for the pilots. Maybe the commander wouldn't answer, but would just find an excuse to crack down on her as well.

[PalusAbel]

"We didn't warn you because we didn't expect it to happen ourselves," the Commander says evenly. "As far as we can tell, Unit-01 hijacked the program when Unit-02 attempted to strike a finishing blow. At least, the simulated Unit-01 did. I can tell you that Unit-01's actual body was inert for the entirety of the simulation. Its corresponding simulation body, on the other hand, began moving on its own after the digital Unit-01 took over. Maybe it was the other way around. Maybe the simulation body woke up and caused whatever happened in the simulation."

"The simulation bodies are basically lobotomized clones of the Evangelions - they're given the bare minimum of life support and cybernetic enhancements in order to serve as testbeds for synch experiments. I have never seen a simulation body move the way Unit-01's did today. It shouldn't be possible. Thus, it was decided that the fault lay not with the inactive Unit-01 nor its simulation body, but with Layla herself." The Commander pauses. "Tests are being run on all the simulation bodies and the Evangelions as we speak. Nothing has come up yet. It may be that Unit-01's going berserk was only possible in the simulated world the Magi had created."

"If you're worried about being a potential liability, Grace, I can arrange for you to have the same treatment as Layla. That goes for you, too," she adds, referring to Ty and Gilles. "We have no reason to suspect unusual activity from the three of you at this time."

[garter_snake]

Gilles carefully lifted the lid of the platter and peeked inside.


Gilles sat with his back to the granite outcrop. Jean sat besides him, eyes closed, and enjoying a break from the hike.

"Just look at it!" Their Dad boomed. He stood near the edge of the cliff overlooking the river, gazing down at the lake valley. His shirt was wrapped around his chest, his hands holstered at his hips as the sun shown off his muscular arms. "Most beautiful scenery in the world! I'll tell you, boys, we're really lucky to live here. This right here-" he tapped his foot on the exposed rock "-Is fully exposed rock, the result of glacial impact during the end of the Pleistocene epoch scraping away the upper layers of soil. The ice sheets are also what carved out all of these beautiful basins and..."

"Is he going on about the glaciers again?" Jean muttered, his eyes still closed.. "Seriously. We're going to be here for another half hour at this rate." Jean held out a hand. "Pass me one of those pasties, would you?"

Gilles handed one to his brother and took one for himself as well. He unwrapped it from its foil and bit into it.


It was thick, and tasted a bit indistinct. It had cut up carrots and beef strips inside a mush of mashed potatoes, and a thick flaky crust. It was a solid meal, one that would stick to your ribs, but- Gilles wiped a smear of gravy from his upper lip. -somehow it wasn't as satisfying as he remembered.

Yeah. Gilles set down the pasty and glanced around the room at the expressions on his teammates faces. Disappointment, shame, anxiety. Gilles looked sadly down at the meat pasty and sighed. The food is the least important part of a proper meal.

"I think that would be for the best, Commander." Gilles said, rejoining the conversation. "Eating normally in this situation is tasteless."

[CrimsonKnight]

A loud racket arose from the corner of the room as Layla's lunch platter (with the majority of the food on it still untouched) went flying into the wall. She'd been trying her best to fight it, but her feigned anger had been replaced by actual fury over the Commander's dismissive words until she could no longer keep it in check.

"I knew it. I just f*cking knew it! It couldn't be the giant robot that create bloody magic forcefields that violate the laws of goddamn physics that you don't even understand a single thing about that could possibly be at fault! No, of course it's the pilot's fault that the EVA you GREW god-only-knows-how can somehow hijack an entire fecking supercomputer! You know, despite having never actually Synchronized before with one, much less controlled it!"

She was beginning to cry again despite the rage on her face, her still fragile emotions overloading themselves.

"If I'm such a goddamn liability and you're all so scared and convinced it's going to happen again... why the hell am I even still here then? Surely there's more than four kids in the entire frigging world who can operate these things, and at this point, if being treated like this for the foreseeable future is what I have to look forward to, why should I even bother staying? Can you even promise this will get better at all?"

[Zazax]

Ty watched from his sofa, his tray sitting forgotten beside him at Layla's outburst.

In the silence that followed, he spoke just loud enough to be heard. "Actually, I'm curious as to why this is such a big deal."

The gears were turning in his head again and he stared straight ahead, lost in thought. "It's not as if Eva-01's activation was the only odd thing that happened in that simulation. I can sense things without sight and detect AT-Fields in Eva-00. I have yet to hear my ability to do this be explained beyond 'AT Fields can do anything you can think of, if you can think of it hard enough'. You said so yourself, Commander. If that's the case, is there any reason to believe this is anything other than Layla thinking about wanting Eva-01 to reactivate hard enough? Perhaps the only way her AT-Field could accomplish this was taking control of the simulation and changing the parameters, given that it was merely a simulation and not real. If so, why is she being treated as some kind of time bomb and not me as well when I can also do impossible things with it? If not, then what else could it be?"

As he spoke his gaze slowly made its way to meet the Commander's, hidden behind his sunglasses. His voice remained measured and somewhat quiet throughout.

[PalusAbel]

"Layla, you need to calm down." At the Commander's words, a needle on the inside of Layla's collar administers a small dose of sedative. It is not enough to knock her unconscious, but it should take the the edge off her emotions. "You are getting to the heart of the matter, though. There is no one besides you four that can pilot the Evangelions now. We have need of you here, Layla. You can choose not to pilot for now, if that's what you want. You can just stay here. If I ever need you, though, you're getting in Unit-01 if I have to strap you into the plug myself."

"Detecting other A.T. Fields is an entirely different matter than forcibly reactivating an Evangelion and somehow wresting control from three of the greatest supercomputers in the world, Ty," she adds, turning to the First Children. "What you can do now, and hopefully what you have the potential to do, looks to be under your control. Layla, on the other hand, seemed incapable of self-restraint. By the simulation's end, Layla and Unit-01 had caused nearly as much collateral damage as the three of you put together. What if it hadn't just been a simulation? The only one who we truly regard as a 'time bomb' is Layla."

"If you are so keen on me treating you all equally, so be it. The briefing will have to wait for another time. Captain Elvenes, return to your quarters. I will deal with these four." Outside in the hallway, more than a dozen Section 2 special agents, clad in their iconic black suits, quietly assemble.

[Zazax]

Ty scratched his head and mumbled. "I guess there is a bit of a difference in scale and degree of control, now that you mention it." He diverted his eyes once again to the floor. "It's just, we haven't had a lot of time to process this, and while I can't speak for the others I at least have no real idea what's going on. I'm not even entirely sure how I managed that little AT-Field trick; it was more gut feeling than anything else." He glanced to the other Pilots. "We're flying kind of blind here, and I hope you can understand that it's a little bit unsettling, Commander. It's a bit scary to think the Evas, which we're supposed to be using to protect humanity, are capable of things we cannot, as Pilots, control. I just don't think that is necessary, is all." He gestured towards Layla. "Surely with all NERV's resources there's a better way."

Abruptly, he blinked and his head shot up. "Wait, what was that last bit?"

[AmberVael]

It was easy to take what the commander was saying as a threat- and as she dismissed the director, it seemed a certainty. Apparently even a little questioning and doubt was too much for her liking, and any critique was going to be deemed as pushing too hard. Grace bit back what she'd like to say, deciding that it was pointless. They were already proving themselves to be unreasonable, and so there was little else worth saying.

What Grace took away from this was that she had her own advantages though- she was unique, and she had control of an Eva. She could find a way to use that. In the meantime, she sat silently and watched the commander with a cold stare.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla's anger and disbelief was at a fever pitch, and she knew that the situation had grown entirely out of control and that she was, at least partly, responsible for it. Now the entire group, not just her, was at risk. But it was so hard to think clearly through her rage. Something that felt like a mosquito bite tickled the back of her neck, and her fury began to recede even as a mental fog clouded her thoughts and the stark clarity that she had previously had. Her rubbery legs beneath her confirmed to her muddled mind what had happened.

Of course. Another system of... control. Knew it was more than... just a padlock for this suit... damn it, I can't think... straight.

She practically collapsed back into her chair from the disorientation caused by the drug, but despite her desire to just lean back and let it completely disconnect her from her anger and pain, she focused all her remaining willpower on maintaining her clarity. Or at least, long enough to try and fix this nightmare before it continued to spiral out of control.

"STOP! Please, just... stop. Don't do this. You don't need to be dragged down along with me."

She stared all three of them in the eyes. Grace, who seemed so cold at first but so easily had comforted her at her most despondent. Ty, who had tried his best to watch her back in a situation he was not prepared for and who she knew had a potential with the AT Field beyond what any of them could hope to do. Gilles, the New Soviet wonder-child who'd gone and offered her the strongest bond she knew of freely. She scarcely knew any of them, yet they were all her friends, and she wouldn't, she couldn't let NERV paint them all with the same brush of "threat" that had already marked her.

Please, Commander. Don't punish them. Do as you want with me, I won't fight, but please don't mistreat them because of my actions."

[garter_snake]

...this is getting to be a scary situation. Gilles thought as the implications of what the commander just said sank in. ****, this is what I get for letting sentiments take my mouth. ...Alright. How am I going to get my ass out of this without a ****ing metal collar on my neck?

From what I've seen so far, the Commander is someone who'd prefer to have people 'follow the carrot' rather than 'run from the stick'. If I can give her a convenient 'carrot', the 'stick' will stay at her side.

My guess is that her goals here are: 1. Get us pilots to accept the chain of command. 2. Prevent Second's berserking, or whatever one calls it, from compromising NERV's goals & control. 3. make us an effective fighting unit. So if I can offer her a way to capitalize on #1 and #3, she might compromise a bit on #2, if she can do so from a position of power.

However... any offer needs to be acceptable to the other pilots as well. If they think I'm 'selling out', they might just shoot me in the back at a later time.

I think my best bet is to do some ass-kissing with some party rhetoric, with the goal being to convince her that our discipline can be improved by treating us as a combat unit, making us all wear uniforms and such and share in Second's meal situation, and that the morale loss from equipping us with control collars isn't worth the gain in discipline through fear.



"I think I may have miscommunicated myself, Comrade-Commander. This science and gob-, ah, inteligista dialogue is all a bit over my head. The security of the revolution from the extraterrestrial menace is my mission, and I lack the capacity for more esotaric subjects. However, eating richly while a comrade must subsist goes against the spirit of the world revolution! Gilles puffed out his chest, and started speaking in an exuberant tone of voice. "Yes! For what bond can compare to those of comrades, struggling together against oppressors in pursuit of a classless society? Therefore, for a revolutionary, there would be know greater honor then joining Comrade Zhao in the knowledge that beneath one's uniform-" Seriously, why didn't you guys just throw a uniform over her plugsuit? It's thin enough. What, did you think Second would take well to walking around looking like she was wearing a latex glove? "-one is constantly equipped for combat with the Invaders at a moments notice!

However, we must also be prepared to show the Invaders our dignity as the superior species!" Gilles stood up and paced the room, gesticulating with each word. "Indeed! My first impression upon meeting Comrade Zhao was a favorable one at her impressive display of zeal in wishing to defend her family from the menace of the Invaders. The one she gives now-" Gilles indicated her expression, affected as it was by the sedative. "-is much less so! I FULLY support an increase in combat readiness and discipline, but-" Gilles stood closer to the door now, and he turned, giving a salute. The power of human spirit and dignity is our greatest weapon, and should not be curtailed!"

...I can't believe I actually said that. This may be a new low for me. Gilles tensed his leg muscles slightly, prepared to bolt for the door at a moments notice.


Charm roll, success. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16284116#post16284116) One or two degrees, depending on if I'm still drunk.

[Zazax]

Ty eyed Gilles throughout his speech.

Does he rehearse these things, or just make them up off the top of his head?

As the other boy continued, he slowly edged his way around the room until he was close enough to mumble and still be heard.

"Sorry Layla, I think I may have helped that escalate, but they made us partners. That means win or lose, sink or swim, we have each other's backs. Even if that means metal neck clamp things."
You're also the closest thing I've ever had to a best friend, which is kind of sad now that I think about it, but I'm embarrassed enough right now without exposing myself to the universe, thank you very much.

For now he turned back towards Gilles and the Commander. Looked like he was nearly done.

[PalusAbel]

The Commander laughs unabashedly. It is a condescending sound, full and loud, that bounces around the room. "I didn't expect that out of you, Gilles. What are you suggesting, then? That 'Comrade Zhao' be let loose? There are a number of reasons why we cannot let that happen. I didn't want to be the villain here so early, but..." She reaches into her coat, pulls out a pistol, and immediately fires two shots at Gilles' legs.

Commander Sheridan Readies her pistol as a Free Action, then takes the Semi-Auto Burst Full Action. Her attack is a success, and she fires two shots, one at each of Gilles' legs. The shot to his right leg would deal 7 damage after Toughness Bonus if not Dodged, and the shot to his left would deal a whopping 22. Due to the Commander's talents, Gilles suffers from a -20 penalty to Dodge, so his TN is only 18. It is, however, a nonlethal weapon, so he need not fear dying - the worst critical result he can suffer from is for 5 Impact damage.

Rolls are here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16284895&postcount=100), here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16284914&postcount=101), and here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16284926&postcount=102).

[garter_snake]

Oh, balls.

Gilles tried to move out of the way, but the commander's aim was too quick. The first shot grazed his right leg, and the second knocked his left out from under him.

"****!" Gilles swore, clutching his left leg. It hurt like the dickens. "Damn it! Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculer ta mère." Then, he looked up, seeing the barrel of the Commander's gun still pointed at him. "...ow."

[PalusAbel]

"I told them to make a nonlethal weapon. I guess I'm just too good a shot," the Commander muses as she lowered her gun. "I tried to have a little patience with you all, but I reached the end of that some time ago. I will not have you second guessing me. You are my tools, and little else." She looks over at Grace and Layla. Ty is beneath her notice, and she is confident that William will obey the chain of command. "Are you going to stand down now? Or do I have to shoot you as well?"

Tactical map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/5269e02521c44), based on assumptions about the characters' locations. Only vaguely to scale. Commander Sheridan is represented by an Angel mask for the time being, and the grey squares denote entrances and exits.

[CrimsonKnight]

Everything happened so fast in a flash that Layla's drugged mind could scarcely keep up with what had happened. It was so hard for her to keep focused, much less will her numbed body into moving.

Get up! Get up, damnit! That b*tch shot Gilles you pathetic excuse for an EVA pilot. Just... move... f*ck! It was no good, as her muscles refused to comply and leaving her still seated for the moment. She tried pleading again, hoping to buy herself a little more time to get her body to finally do as it was told.

"I said I'd comply! Just stop hurting them, please!"

Failed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16287180&postcount=106) the Toughness test and the Fate reroll (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16287203&postcount=107), though at least Thrill Seeker kept the Fate point from being wasted. Gained 1 level of Fatigue, can take no actions this turn.

Notes:
Fatigue: 1/3 (-10 to all Tests)
Fate: 2/4

[Zazax]

Ty froze and his eyes went as wide as saucers. In response, however, his mind kicked into overdrive.

Holy crap! She shot him!
Non-lethal.
She still shot him! Why would she shoot him?!
I believe the terms 'second-guessing' and 'tools' were used.
But we were just talking!
She probably saw Gilles' offer as insubordination. Questioning her command and all that.
But we weren't questioning her!
Technically we were.
We were asking her questions. That's different. I was just curious about their extreme reaction. The most we've got out of them is that they don't know exactly what happened, and since they believe their equipment infallible they're blaming Layla. How do they expect her, and even the rest of us, to keep things under control if they won't even tell us what the problem is?

He glanced around the room, so tense he could barely move.

This is bad. This has gotten so out of control. She's even threatening to shoot the girls.
Don't do anything stupid.
I can't just stand and watch the Commander gun down the only people that have ever been close to being my friends. Especially after all that "we're partners" stuff I was just spewing.
And what do I intend to do about it? Throw my tray at her?
If I have to. I can't fight, but I could do something.
And then what? Not only will she shoot me too, but I've now assaulted my commanding officer. There's already definitely going to be some sort of disciplinary action for this; probably whatever they did to Layla. That would make it worse.

Frozen to his sides, Ty's hands balled into fists.

... They could do something to Nell. Send her away, or worse.

He grit his teeth and his knuckles turned white.

But... I can't...
Look, I'm supposed to be smart, right? So start being smart! Think of something! There's the possibility that this situation can still be resolved peacefully, however remote. And I never give up, right?
... Right.

Voice shaking, Ty began to speak, trying to keep his tone level, although he imagined he failed. He remained otherwise totally motionless, eyes locked on his feet.
"Commander please. We're not second-guessing you; we're merely trying to understand the factors behind your decision. It will be a lot easier to prevent another accident like the one in the simulation if we could just understand what it was and why it necessitates this response. Sort of like knowing what emergency there is by whether it's the police, fire department, or an ambulance responding. That's all."

No initiative, because Ty realizes that he's utterly useless at the moment and that he has more than just himself to worry about as far as consequences are concerned, as much as it's tearing him up to admit it.
Unless it's required for participation on the level of, say, conversation, in which case just say the word and I'll roll.

[AmberVael]

"Gilles!" Grace started towards him, but then stopped and looked uncertainly towards the commander, hesitating- wondering if she'd even be allowed. Despite all that she had already seen and heard of NERV today, she was caught off guard by this. She might have expected to be restrained, stifled, or even punished for just asking a question- but shooting one of them, even with something nonlethal, when they weren't offering any resistance? That took things to another level. It made no sense at all, had no basis in rationality. In fact, none of what had been done to them today made any sense- it all could have been handled so much better, in ways that could have gotten the pilots on their side, rather than turning them against NERV so swiftly.

She's insane. The thought floated through Grace's mind, an oddly calm and passive realization. She's mad, and she's somehow in control.

Resisting was pointless. She didn't have the strength to do it, and even if she somehow fought back against the commander and won, nothing would come of it- there was too much to fight against. It would only make things worse. The commander would just see it as a stronger rebellion, and crack down harder, might even do something that would do lasting damage to them. And then it wouldn't just be the pilots that suffered, but the world. If Angels even exist at all.

"I won't resist." The words came quietly. It all seemed so surreal and strange- it was hard to believe this had all happened so quickly.

[garter_snake]

Ruefully, Gilles moved his hand up and down his leg, checking if anything was broken. A sharp pain echoed each time he pressed, but it was bearable. Nothing feels out of place. Lucky. That hurt like hell though, I'm suprised I didn't pass out. Must be the alcohol numbing the pain. The pounding of his blood from the burst of adrenaline was beating in tandem with that of a growing headache from the pain. Gritting his teeth, Gilles pulled the bullet out of the hole it had left in his pants and pocketed it. ...there's no entry wound. Gilles noted. It didn't break the skin. That's... nuts...

Gilles slowly raised his hands in the air, palms open, and stayed where he was, back leaning against the door.

[PalusAbel]

"Your compliance, Layla, is not the same as theirs. No matter; all of you seem to realize your place. Except you." The Commander raised her pistol and fired two more shots at Ty's arms. "You do not need to understand anything other than the fact that I am the one in charge. It is enough simply to know that I have made a decision. Any inquiries regarding the reasoning behind it constitute insubordination, and will be dealt with accordingly."

The Commander takes another Semi-Auto Burst (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16289346&postcount=109) action. No Righteous Fury this time, so Ty would "only" take 15 Impact damage at most. He may try to Dodge, but would suffer a -20 penalty to do so.

[Zazax]

Ty pointedly, and very obviously, didn't even bother trying to move out of the way. Both shots hit his arms, but his only outward reaction was a sharp intake of breath and a step back to steady himself. He didn't even break eye contact, although that was impossible to see behind the sunglasses.
At this point he was so far past fear and outrage that the only expression he could properly emote was one of complete indifference and disinterest.
In his head, however...

Holy-! She just shot me! For trying to be diplomatic! What is wrong with these people?
This is nothing. Not even an hour ago I was cut completely in half. This pales in comparison.
That was dulled by the sim, though. This is substantially more visceral.
We 'do not need to understand anything', huh? If that wasn't a big neon sign saying "we're hiding something important from you", I don't know what is. That "I don't trust the Commander" thing from just before the simulation? Good call, me.
I just can't see the logic in her actions here. She's admitted to needing the four of us, and unless she's lying about that the thing she needs us for is piloting giant robots of death. Surely she can see that you want the pilots of the walking WMDs to be loyal, and that shooting people doesn't typically inspire their loyalty.
They could have countermeasures in place. Ways to prevent pilots from going rogue. It would explain why they're so nonchalant about this.
Well, yeah, but the only ways I could think of would be disabling the pilot, or some kind of mind control. If they really need us, they can't use the first option too much. What if all four pilots go at once? They wouldn't be able to do whatever they need us for, fighting Angels or otherwise. As for option two, if they had that, this entire sequence of events would be unnecessary and would have never happened. Either they have something else, or the Commander is totally nuts.
Or both.

There was a moment of silence as Ty rolled his shoulders in a futile attempt to combat his injuries. When he spoke, his previous signs of fear were gone, replaced by the same tone his expression suggested.
"My apologies, Commander, I was merely trying to help. I do not have a military background, and I was unaware of this protocol. I am sure it is similar with the other pilots."

May have a bit of an underreaction to his injury there, but I'm not 100% sure what he's being shot with. I'm assuming something vaguely similar to a beanbag shotgun in pistol form and not something like a tranq pistol or an actual gun?

[PalusAbel]

"I must say that I'm impressed. I thought you'd have a little more of a reaction to being shot at." The Commander offers Ty a smile. "Do you understand now? Your trying to help is meaningless. Do as I say and everything will be just fine. That goes for all of you." She surveys the rooms, looking for any last signs of resistance.

[garter_snake]

Gilles kept his hands in the air and didn't move a muscle.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla's fists balled up as she finally managed to get her feet under her and stand slowly, swaying from side to side as her muscles protested even this much action from her. She knew she should sit back down and just shut up, that any further actions would only worsen the situation (though she wasn't exactly sure how given how bad it had gotten already). A small voice of reason in the back of her mind was trying to talk her down from the extreme stupidity she wanted to give in to.

Shouldn't be doing this, you damn fool, just sit your ass down and don't say a goddamn... oh, f*ck it. At least actually hit her you moron, Gilles and Ty deserve no less than that."

Layla looked down and inhaled deeply. As she exhaled, the faintest trace of a smile crossed her face... and then she was charging the Commander, swinging wildly and frenetically even as she started screaming.

"I TOLD YOU... TO STOP SHOOTING... YOU F*CKING BITCH!!"

Survival Instincts? What's that? :smallbiggrin:

Half Action: Move
Half Action: Melee Attack (Unarmed Strike)
Attack was successful (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16293183&postcount=110). And does crap all for damage even if she somehow doesn't Dodge it and isn't wearing armor of any kind, as I'm sure her Toughness bonus is more than up to dealing with 2 points of damage (though it WOULD Fatigue her if she fails to Dodge which would be hilarious).

[PalusAbel]

"Oh, Layla." The Commander expertly deflects Layla's swings with a few well-placed palm thrusts of her own. Then, sensing an opening, the Commander switches to the offensive. Her palm strikes only empty air as Layla, even in her drugged state, managed to duck past it. At this, Sheridan becomes slightly miffed. She establishes a stable stance, then launches into a barrage of attacks with her empty left hand. The pistol is still clutched in her right.

The Commander attempted a counterattack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16293303&postcount=112) against Layla, who successfully dodged it (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16293393&postcount=113). Sheridan then uses Lightning Attack (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16293516&postcount=115) as her action for the new round. Sheridan's two successful attacks would deal 2 and 10 damage respectively if not Dodged or Parried, along with a level of fatigue per strike.

Please include an updated tactical map on your next post, CrimsonKnight.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla deflected the one strike high but couldn't stop the other that left a nasty little bruise across her leg. She knew what was coming for losing her temper. A severe beating, a broken nose, a tooth or two knocked out, cracked ribs, maybe a fractured bone... all familiar sensations for her. If NERV thought the threat of physical violence would be enough to intimidate her, they'd quickly find out otherwise. She knew they couldn't hurt her any worse than that, not if they wanted her still in physical condition to pilot their damned EVA. She bulled forward recklessly, making little effort to protect herself as she threw one wild blow after another at the older woman.

"B*tch... b*tch... B*tch... B*TCH!"

Parry against the 10 damage attack was successful.

Full Round Action: All-Out Attack
Attack missed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16298883&postcount=116)
Wounds: 15/17
Fatigue: 2/3
Fate: 0/4
Map (http://beta.ditzie.com/12/526ca861d3eae)

[PalusAbel]

Commander Sheridan went for another Lightning Attack, landing all three blows (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16299464&postcount=117). The first two deal 8 damage apiece, the third 4. Regardless of whether or not Layla Parries one of the attacks, she will be put at 4 Fatigue, knocking her unconscious for the next seven minutes.

"Mind your language, dear, and who you're speaking to." The Commander effortlessly dodges Layla's desperate attacks, mocking her while doing so. "You have the second-best rating in hand-to-hand combat among the pilots, and this is all you can do? Pitiful." Sheridan switches to the offensive first with an elbow strike to Layla's solar plexus, then an uppercut to her chin. Layla collapses to the ground in a heap. "At least you had the gall to challenge me. That's more than I can say for Grace," the Commander adds as an afterthought.

The Section 2 agents finally open the door and flood into the common room, wordlessly apprehending the four pilots. "Take them to Dr. Cazada. Tell him that they're all to receive the same treatment as Layla, as per their own request. I will join you shortly." They nod in acknowledgment before they heft the pilots off to the doctor's laboratory. As soon as they are gone, Commander Sheridan falls to her knees, overcome by a wracking cough. Rivulets of dark, almost black blood slip between her closed fingers. She recovers slowly, and looks at the pool of blood in her cupped hand before tossing it away disdainfully. "You are not to say a word about what happened here to anyone," Sheridan snarled as she staggers to her feet. "That is an order."

The pilots were sedated en transit to Dr. Cazada's laboratory, and were deep in the land of murky, unmemorable dreams by the time he saw them and shook his head disapprovingly at their injuries. Orders were orders, and he got to work fitting each of them into his or her own plugsuit complete with individualized collar. "Sorry about this, kids," he said to no one in particular. "It might seem bad now, but Sheridan's got your best interests at heart. Believe that."

END OF EPISODE TWO
____________________________________________

The pilots shudder awake to the classic chimes of a school bell (http://www.greyware.com/tryout/chimes/Westminster_Classic_Chimes.mp3). At the front of the room, an elderly gentleman raps on the podium with a ruler. The date on the board beside him indicates that only two days have passed since the confrontation with Commander Sheridan. "Welcome to class, everyone. Homeroom is starting." This man, whose name tag identifies him as Edward Swanson, is unbowed by age, but he is clearly far from young and spry. His tweed suit shows signs of wear and tear, but has been as carefully tended to as his immaculate comb-over. Mr. Swanson pauses as he spies four students just rousing themselves from sleep in the back of the room. "Let me see here... ah, the transfer students. Misters Kirby and Duceppe, Misses Zhao and White, please come to the front of the room to introduce yourselves."

When the pilots regain their faculties enough to evaluate their situation, they would notice first that each and every one of the seventeen students is in a plugsuit and collar. Some have personal accessories and articles of clothing to go with theirs. There is a jacket here, a skirt there, necklaces, ties, and so on, but just as many students wear their plugsuits and nothing more. Despite the oddity that this would seem to present, no one is the least bit alarmed. The pilots would find themselves wearing casual clothing from their own wardrobes arranged into a passable outfit. The only other change is that Ty's suit now bears the same shoulder-mounted devices as Layla's does; Grace's and Gilles' remain standard-issue plugsuits.

[garter_snake]

With the sound of the bell, Gilles fitfully rose himself from sleep.

"Urg." He said, holding his head in his right hand. His brain ached. Where am I- He thought groggily before the sight of his hand, covered in the elastic material of the plugsuit, jolted him to wakefulness. Carefully moving his hand down to his neck, he felt his fingers cool as they touched the metal collar that had been put on him.

Oh, balls.


"Welcome to class, everyone. Homeroom is starting."

Gilles started at the sound of the teacher's voice, looking up. The tweed suited man occupied his attention at first, but it was swiftly stolen by his classmates: each and every one of them in a plugsuit, with a metal collar to match.

Am I dreaming? To be sure, Gilles pinched himself. It hurt. Nope! What is going on here?


"Let me see here... ah, the transfer students. Misters Kirby and Duceppe, Misses Zhao and White, please come to the front of the room to introduce yourselves."

"Eh? Right." Gilles responded instinctively to his name being caused. Still a bit off balance, he attempted to rise to his feet before remembering his leg.

That's right, my leg, it's... perfectly fine?

Gilles flexed the muscle, feeling no pain whatsoever. Gilles hesitated a moment, then stood up and walked to the front of the class, then proceeded to stand there looking a bit uncomfortable.

...am I expected to say something? What is this place, anyway?

[AmberVael]

Gilles wasn't the only one confused by the change. Grace blinked a few times, trying to figure out her surroundings. Wait... so did they drug me, then dump me off at a school unconscious? And... no one commented? Weird as it was, it sure beat being shot at by the commander, so Grace let it slide. School was fine. She could deal with school, even if it was a school inexplicably populated with children wearing plugsuits. Why are they all wearing plugsuits?

She got to her feet at the teacher's prompting and followed Gilles to the front of the class, managing to give the classroom a wave and a small, uncertain smile. What school was this, exactly? Maybe it was run by NERV?

"Um, hello. I'm Grace." It felt a little redundant after her name had already been spoken, but it would at least clear up which of the new students she was. She wasn't sure if there was anything else to say though, so she just smiled a little awkwardly and waited for some cue.

[Zazax]

Ty's reaction was somewhat different from his peers'. Upon waking up the first thing he did was fumble around, still half-asleep, for his sunglasses. Once they were safely on, he took in his surroundings.

His face paled.

No. Nononononono. I can't deal with this.
Why are there so many people here? Where am I?

The man at the front of the room, the only one not in a plugsuit, spoke.

Ah, school. This is far more terrifying than Nell ever described.
Speaking of, maybe Nell's here somewhere? There can't be many schools in session here anymore, what with the evacuation.
I can explore that possibility later. For now I need to find a way out of here, or at least try to fly under the radar until I can leave.
It is kind of odd that everyone's in a plugsuit, though. And they all have collars...

The man, presumably the teacher, spoke again.

Oh, hell no.
There is no way I'm going up there.
I'm not feeling too well...
Well, there's Grace and Gilles.
No, seriously. I think I may be sick.

Ty remained frozen and firmly planted in his seat, looking somewhat ill and white as a ghost.

Got nausea (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16302432&postcount=118) on the Social Anxiety roll.
Might as well ask: since we're out of combat, when will Ty be able to test to Snap Out of this, since it's one he can?

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla was the last to rouse herself, perhaps as a result of the sedatives and her being beaten into unconsciousness, or perhaps a sign they were already drugging her more heavily than the others given her intransigent nature. Whatever the cause, she returned to the land of consciousness grumpily.

...again with the knockout drugs? Man, I am getting really, really sick of NERV and their love affair for sending me to chemical dreamland every five minutes. Though I think this one felt longer than the other two did. Okay, physical check: no broken bones, ribs feel fine, all my teeth are still present. Hell, they didn't even break my nose. Pretty piss poor beating if you ask me. Guess the damn drugs left me so weak it took that woman only a few hits to put me lights out. Figures NERV, can't even do a proper beatdown, can you? How am I supposed to be intimidated by that if you don't leave any permanent damage to remember it by?

She yawned and scratched at her neck, unsurprised to find that damned metal ring still there and the plugsuit with it. Hearing someone talking, she finally cracked her eyes open against the bright glare of artificial lighting with a wince as she adjusted her glasses and began to take in her surroundings.

What. That's... I don't... okay, reassessment: maybe they did knock me around more than I thought, because I must be hallucinating right now. How else you do explain a classroom full of students all wearing plugsuits? Well... at least I won't feel so awkward being stuck in mine, at least.

She listened to the instructor (the only person in the room not wearing a plugsuit, she noticed) speaking for a moment and realized he was introducing the four pilots to the other students. Her eyes tightened as realization sank in. Apparently NERV had figured out a way to effectively punish her after all: stick her back in school. Class time. Boring lectures. Written tests. Goddamned homework. While still having to be an EVA pilot. For the girl who had year-wide gaps in her knowledge from her time in an orphans camp coupled with her short attention span and dislike for the scholarly arts in general, it was a fate worse than death. Her head dipped in defeat.

I'm gonna kill that woman, I swear to god, I will kill you kill you kill you kill you...

Layla sighed and stood up, a little wobbly from having been sedated for two days straight. Gilles and Grace were already moving to the front, but she noticed with puzzlement that Ty was still frozen in his seat with a look of terror across his face that not even Sheridan had been able to put there with a gun. A memory of when they all had first met in that waiting room flashed through her head, and Layla nodded slowly as she realized the problem: he was a total dweeb at dealing with social situations and unfamiliar people. She walked over to him with a reassuring smile. It was definitely not a problem the extroverted Aussie girl had ever had to deal with (in fact, her biggest social issue was being completely alone with no one around at all), but she could understand what he was going through all the same.

"Hey, you doing okay, Ty? Come on, get up, the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can go back to trying to hide under your desk. And hey, if anyone bothers you, you have my personal guarantee their ass will be flying through the air before they even know what him them."

[PalusAbel]

Mr. Swanson chuckles. "It seems like none of you are social butterflies by any stretch. Do you four know each other? All falling asleep at the same time and whatnot." His laugh gives way to a minor cough. "Ahem, excuse me, I seem to have swallowed down the wrong pipe. Ah, look at the time. I am afraid you will have to make more thorough introductions on your own time. There are other announcements I must get through. You two make take your seats," he says as he gestures to Gilles and Grace. "Now, let me refer to my notes. All students are not to return to their residences unaccompanied. Everyone, when you leave the school, make sure that you travel with at least one person at all times, and that at least one of you has a cell phone. Furthermore, construction is scheduled to take place every weekday from now on starting at 9am and lasting until 5pm. Thus, all students are strongly encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities so that they may be wholesomely preoccupied until construction has ceased."

"Oh, look at that. There is a specific provision for the four transfer students. You must all be part of the same foreign exchange program then," he mumbles. The school bell cuts off anything else that he had to say. "Ah, the bell. Well, transfers, it was nice seeing you. You four, make sure you report to room 335A once class is dismissed for the day. Have a good one, all." Mr. Swanson gives a short bow as he walks out, just barely dodging the next teacher to walk in. She is an Indonesian woman, standing at 4'10". Her name tag identifies her as Dewi Hartono.

"Good morning, class. I see we have some transfers in the back. According to the seating chart..." She pauses to look at a clipboard upon the podium, and her eyes flick up to attach a face to each name as she reads it. "Gilles Duceppe, Ty Kirby, Grace White, and Layla... Excuse me, Miss Layla. I have written here 'Layla Tremaine Zhao'. Is your surname Zhao, or Tremaine Zhao?"

[Swordslinger]

When a lull appeared in William's explanation, Gilles asked "By the way, Captain. What did you order for lunch anyway?"

"I didn't ask for anything specific." William answered in replay , "Probably will be an assortment of different…" he trailed off when the a tone rang out and the door opened to reveal the Commander herself with a lunch cart. "Ma’am." He said in greeting, he was not surprised by her presence itself but rather that she had the time to come by right now with what had happened. He took the plate from her with a nod and placed it on the table.


"If you are so keen on me treating you all equally, so be it. The briefing will have to wait for another time. Captain Elvenes, return to your quarters. I will deal with these four." Outside in the hallway, more than a dozen Section 2 special agents, clad in their iconic black suits, quietly assemble.

William hesitated for a moment then replayed with an affirmative and got up from his seat. It was true that losing control of the EVA was a liability and could cause enormous damage if it happened outside a simulation but he thought the commander was being overly hash, he highly doubted that Layla had done it on purpose. A scolding might just make things worse at this point, surely they could be convinced that whatever precautions where being made where in their interest as much as NERVs, which they indeed, even if it caused some discomforts, the commander was making it sound like punishment. Then again perhaps that was the best way to deal with the situation, William would be the first to admit that he did not have much experience with handling children.

He grabbed his crutch and made his way to the door leaving his lunch on the table and unopened.


Ty scratched his head and mumbled. "I guess there is a bit of a difference in scale and degree of control, now that

William closed the door behind him silencing what Ty was about to say next. He looked around and frowned. "A dozen of you for a couple of children?" he said to the Section 2 members gathered in the hallway while wondering why exactly they where here in such numbers. William turned toward one in particular, "Joseph, what is this all about?."

"Orders." the man answered with a neutral voice that betrayed nothing. To neutral William noted compared to when he usually spoke to the man off the clock, but that was in private and this was work and Section 2 did not make a habit of sharing what they where doing with others unless necessary, even if that other was the Operations Director.

"I see." he answered while he turned his head and looked back toward the door "hmf." Without further word he made his way down the hallway with the steady click sound from his clutch following him.

____________________________________________

Later that day William made his way down to the laboratories, it was just after work hours but he had a good hunch that he would find the man he wanted to speak with down here, especially after today's events.

He swiped his ID card in front of a panel next to the door and walked in when it opened up.

"Evening Doctor." he said to Doctor Eli "Made any headway with figuring out what happened today? I thought you said the MAGI was unhackable".

[AmberVael]

"...335A..." Grace muttered to herself, memorizing the number as she walked back to her seat. So, they were probably going to be escorted back to NERV after school, while the other students remained here. There is some distinction between us then. But the plugsuits are such high tech... I don't think they would hand them out without a reason. Hm.

Her eyes wandered over the other students as she thought, and then she decided to take the direct route- why bother speculating when she could at least get a hint, after all? As the teacher put her attention on Layla, Grace leaned over to the nearest student and lightly tapped them on the shoulder. "Hey, so what's up with these uniforms?" She whispered, keeping one eye on the teacher just in case.

[garter_snake]

Gilles returned to his seat, his mind begining to settle.

So this is a school? Come to think of it, the Captain did mention that we would be attending school when he was telling us of our duties. So could it be that the entire class is in plugsuits because of my suggestion? Gilles sighed inwardly. This is what I get for opening my fool mouth. Well, I think it would be a good idea to keep my head down for a bit. No reason to go and get myself shot again right away.

[Zazax]

Ty's eyes flicked up to Layla, standing beside him. He had enough time to get out a mumbled "I appreciate it, but..." before the teacher announced there would be no time for introductions. He tried (and failed) to force a smile and added "Thanks anyways."

Oh, thank god. That could not have ended well.
I'm still feeling ill...
As long as nobody draws further attention to me, I should be fine, for now.

He pressed back into his chair and tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Ty failed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16307933&postcount=120) to Snap Out this time around. Previous post messed up the dice roller, so it doesn't say, but TN is 40.

[PalusAbel]

"I don't recall ever saying that the Magi could never be hacked. I'm not a fan of speaking in absolutes. With a sufficiently powerful computer or system of computers, even the Magi would eventually fall. The real oddity here is how the Magi were hacked in the first place. The Evangelions have computers integrated into their bodies as well as the entry plugs themselves, but those aren't nearly as advanced or independent as the Magi are. If anything, the Evangelions' onboard computers should be fully subservient to the Magi." Dr. Cazada fumbles with his pencil as he sips his coffee. His legs swing idly from one side to another, causing his swivel chair to emit short but harsh squeaks.

"Unit-01's real body was completely inert during the simulation, and a simulation body has even less processing power than an Eva, because so many of its functions are directly controlled and monitored by the Magi. Layla herself hasn't shown any particular proficiency with hacking, and in any case it's highly improbable that she could hack not one, but three supercomputers at the same time. If those were the only factors to be considered here, we might have been able to just call the case unsolvable and move on. However, there's one thing that we didn't account for in our description - the A.T. Field."

Dr. Cazada props his elbows on his knees and folds his hands together in thought. "When you were a child, did you ever torture a spider? I've heard that some kids pin a spider down and tear all its legs off. I never did that myself - I couldn't stomach the thought. Can you imagine laying there, writhing in what little capacity you could, unable to do anything but wait and die? I never thought of the simulation bodies that way before, but that's just what I saw today. It was pretty obvious from day one that we were dealing with something beyond our understanding, but what happened in there puts a whole new perspective on it. They decided to have Unit-01's simulation body destroyed, you know. Too much of a security hazard. We're still patching up the walls of the containment room."

Dr. Cazada intends to ramble on, but at that moment the Section 2 agents walk in with the unconscious pilots. "Ah. I think I understand what happened." Joseph, the agent closest to the doctor, merely nods, which in turn prompts a sigh from Dr. Cazada. "Very well. Take them to the back rooms. I'll see to them shortly. Alas, Captain, my services are needed elsewhere. Perhaps we'll chat of this another day." Dr. Cazada stood up, adjusted his lab coat, and bid William farewell.
_____________________________

The student beside Grace, a boy about her age with copper hair and hazel eyes, whispers back a reply. "Your guess is as good as mine. The school was established almost a year ago, and this has been the uniform since then. It hasn't changed at all." The girl in the next seat over joins in the conversation. "I heard that these suits have something in them to make us smarter!" Another boy joins in. "No, don't you realize we're in a warzone? This is to help us survive when the bombs come down!" All at once the back of the classroom is aflame with whispered rumors, which cease being whispers as excitement and tempers rise. Ms. Hartono bangs a ruler against the podium, quieting the din. "You're being very rude, class. I was asking Miss Layla a question." She turns her attention back to the subject of her inquiry. "I hope you don't mind me using your given name, dear."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla frowned, but nodded as the bell rang signaling their next class was starting. "Alright then. But hey, you need anything, I've got your back. That's what partners are for, right? And I don't leave my partners, and especially not my friends, hanging when they need help."

A new voice was calling her name and asking a question, and Layla sighed and turned away. Hopefully Ty would work his way out of this funk on his own. "Zhao is fine, ma'am. The Tremaine is from my dead birth parents, but I was adopted by a... Chinese family... oh, you have got to be f****ing kidding me."

She'd been so distracted by Ty's dilemna that she hadn't seen the teacher enter the classroom, and thus didn't get a good look at her until she in the middle of answering the question. More specifically, at her skin color, clothing, and name tag. A familiar feeling of disgust that two years spent in NERV America had mostly erased crawled right back out from the darkest part of her mind where she'd buried it, and her mild frown at Ty's unhappiness now held a distinctly nasty edge. A goddamn Indonesian. Not five minutes awake and I have to deal with one of those thieving, murderous bastards?!

Whether it was simple chance or someone in NERV Intelligence doing their homework on which of Layla's buttons to push was the most likeliest to put her at her most hostile and uncomfortable, it, combined, with her normal dislike of school to begin with, meant Ty would now have competition in the "Who Hates Classtime The Most" category. And added yet another tick to her list reasons for hating NERV. After a moment, she shook her head contemptuously and stormed back over to her desk.

"It's Ms. Zhao to you... ma'am." If there was an ideal state of pure disrespect for another person, Layla easily made it 3/4 of the way on that last word.

[PalusAbel]

Ms. Hartono furrows her brow. "I apologize for using your given name out of turn, but I do not believe I deserve the level of disrespect that you have shown me just now. Consider this a warning, Ms. Zhao." She turns to write on the board, but stops before the marker touches the white. "Transfer students, did Mr. Swanson describe the layout of the school to you? Or the arrangement of the classes? Mr. Kirby, sit up in your seat please." After a moment's deliberation, she shakes her head. "Mr. Swanson is supposed to go through these things in homeroom. Mr. Velazquez, please take these four students on a tour through the school. The five of you will be excused for morning classes, but you will be fully responsible for all missed work."

"Yes, ma'am!" 'Mr. Velazquez' turns out to be the copper-haired boy from a moment ago. "You guys can call me Rafael. Let's head out now - it'll take a while to make the rounds." He leads the pilots out of the room, heedless of their willingness or lack thereof to come along. The piercing eyes of Ms. Hartono would see that none of the four transfer students would remain behind. "The layout of the school is pretty elaborate, but it's easy to get used to. Viewed from above, it resembles a ladder with three rungs. Each of the five main hallways is assigned a hundreds digit: the west leg of the ladder is the 100 hallway, the east is the 200. The northernmost "rung" is the 300 hallway, the middle is the 400, and the southernmost is the 500. The school also has five floors, lettered from the ground floor, A, to the top floor, E."

"Our classroom is 200C, so we're way up in the northeastern corner of the school on the third floor. You guys are headed to 335A after school, right? That's on the first floor, closer to the west wing than the east, but all the way up north." Rafael, standing just outside the classroom, points toward the wall to the pilots' right. "I know it sounds complicated, but it's really not so bad once you get used to it."

A moment alone with a classmate going on an unsupervised tour of the school. Plenty of time for Q&A, or other things if the pilots are so inclined. If you need a map, I can draw one up.

[Zazax]

Seeing an opening, an opportunity to escape, Ty lurched out the door after his fellow Pilots. Out in the hallway he felt significantly better, away from most of the class, and despite still feeling slightly nauseous he thought he could handle it. He could deal with four people. Probably.

He closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and tried to gather himself. After a moment he opened one eye and mumbled in Layla's direction. "Thanks again. I don't know what I would have done if not for that last-second save, but it's good to know someone's watching my back." He fidgeted and paused. His nausea was not helping with this part. "Um, you know... if you ever need help with something... anything, I'd be happy to help."

Wow, that was embarrassing. And a bit pathetic. Mostly embarrassing, though.
You know, at this point I'm actually glad to have the nausea. Hopefully the paleness will cancel out the flushing.
One can hope, but somehow I don't think that'll work.

[AmberVael]

Grace tilted her head back, focusing elsewhere as she envisioned the layout, then nodded to herself. She could picture it. "Sounds a little weird, but I think I'll get it. So, the school has only been around for a year? Where did people go before that? And does everyone attend here now, or are there other schools?"

[PalusAbel]

Rafael rubs his chin. "As far as I know, most of the students here are the children of Nerv employees. I mean, I never talked to anyone that didn't have a connection to Nerv. Speaking of, you guys are transfer students, aren't you? Where'd you transfer from? Oh, wait, let's whistle while we work - I'm supposed to be giving a tour here." He leads the pilots down the 200 hallway, indicating the passage to the right as the 300 hallway. "You can kinda see it if you squint, but that's the 100 hallway all the way down. That's west, you know."

[garter_snake]

Gilles followed the group out of the classroom, in step with the group.

"I came from the NUSSR. Part of a student exchange program." Gilles said blandly, his face not changing during the lie. Then he gave a loose smile. So far, it hasn't been what I've expected. It's been interesting, though, that's for sure... Gilles habitually tried to put his hands into his pockets, only to find they weren't there. He let them hang limp at his side instead. "Anyway, this place seems really big for just children of NERV living here. Just how many students are there?

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla had to fight the urge to run from the classroom, and as it was moved fast enough that she led everyone else out in her haste to get away from the teacher. She tried not to think about the fact that it would be a temporary reprieve at best. She slowed down once in the hallway, allowing Ty to catch up, still looking distinctly unwell. She listened to his thanks and nodded, her bad mood fleeing along with the presence of Ms. Hartono.

"Of course. Hey, are you sure you're okay? You honestly look like you're going to be sick. You want to get that kid to give us directions to the school nurse or something?"

She didn't add that by escorting Ty to said nurse, it would be an excuse for her to delay returning even longer to the class.

[Swordslinger]

William listened to Dr. Cazada talk with a growing unease; he was starting to wonder if using technology that even the scientist barely understood was such a good idea. What would happen when their A.T Fields whose capabilities they hardly knew anything about clashed against a foe that understood it and could utilize its capabilities to the fullest? The Eva’s could quickly turn out to be even bigger liabilities that he had first thought at no fault of the pilots.

He was about to interrupt the doctor to ask about the damages to the containment room and what security measures were being taken to protect from similar events in the future when they were interrupted by someone entering the laboratory. He turned to see the agents from Section 2 filling into the room carrying the unconscious pilots, his grip on the crutches handle tightened and his knuckles turned white. He gave the agents a hard look and none of them would meet his gaze. He bid the doctor farewell and stood watching until the unconscious pilots where carried away into the back room, then he turned and left the laboratory.

He returned to his office after taking a walk, it was starting to get late. His foot had started to hurt; it always got worse toward the end of the day although taking a long walk did not help. He sat down in the chair and opened one of the drawers in his desk revealing a few books, some papers and an unopened bottle. He looked at the bottle for a little while considering it and then closed the drawer. Instead he put his hand in a pocket and drew forth a small white container which he unscrewed the top off, took a few pills from it and swallowed them dry. He did not know what had happened after he left the children’s dormitory but something had obviously gone very wrong. Hopefully there would be a report about it and the status of the pilots tomorrow.

The next day he stood at the cities harbor looking out over the water and at the Tower of Heaven in the distance. "Test firing will commence shortly" a voice next to him said and he merely nodded in replay. He had received reports about the children’s first day at school but nothing about what had happened yesterday. He had tried to get in contact with either of his superiors but they had been occupied. The fact that there was no mention about what had happened was in itself worrying; he had to keep an eye out on the situation, mistreatment of the few compatible pilots of the Eva’s was highly counterproductive. He would have to talk with the commanders and the children to find out what was happening.

"10 seconds." Someone said and William lifted a pair of binoculars he was holding in one hand up to his eyes and focused on a ship out in the harbor. There was a loud firing noise and the ship was obliterated. He turned to look at the giant turret that had just fired, it was the most powerful land based artillery ever constructed. A lot of the military had high hopes that once the angels A.T Field had been neutralized by the Eva’s it would be possible for conventional firepower to finish it off. William was actually hoping for that as well, which was the main reason he had supported and pushed for the construction of the giant turrets. The turrets did share one thing with the EVA’s and that was that they were large. Most of their main defenses were at their most effective against large opponents, he dreaded what would happen if something attacked that was as small as a car or even a person. If the enemy could house the A.T field in such a small chassis they would be in trouble, after all the EVA’s, the turrets along with most of their military firepower would be useless if the enemy could slip into the cities corridors. He doubted the blast doors that would separate each section would do much to stop something that had an A.T Field and they would be down to using small arms which would no doubly be ineffectual. This was one of the worse scenarios that had been thought up. He turned toward the other observers, the excitement had lasted for only a few seconds and now there where meetings for the rest of the day to look forward to.

He had no more luck in reaching the commanders the next day; at least it looked like they were well enough all thing considered based on the reports he had access to. When they were back from school he would have to stop by and see how they were doing for himself.

[Zazax]

Ty was only half listening to their guide as he spoke, just enough to form a mental picture of the school. His side conversation with Layla took place at the same time.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but it's not as bad as it looks. I'm just not good with..."
He cut off mid-sentence as what Rafael was saying sunk into him.

Five main hallways. Five floors to a hallway. Classroom ID numbers go up to at least 35. All classes seen or mentioned so far have been ID'd as multiples of five. Assuming Class IDs go up by fives instead of one at a time, and that each floor/hall combination has the same number of classrooms, that's still...

He briefly ran the numbers through his head.

... 175 classrooms. And that's low end; Halls 100 and 200 are longer and should have more.

He froze in place, lost in his own head and oblivious to the rest of the group. He was paler than ever.

There was 18 people in that class. If that's a reasonable average, then that means there should be somewhere around 3000 students in this school.
Oh god. I'm going to die here.

His eye twitched and he stood in place, staring straight ahead.

What fresh hell is this?

So unless I can actually succeed on a roll for a change, Ty's going to be essentially catatonic with shock for 5 rounds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16320216&postcount=123). Here's hoping someone notices he's stopped, haha.

On the math, no idea if you were intending there to be that number of students, Palus, but of course Ty's math could be wildly off. He's never been to school before; he's making quite a few assumptions just based on his observations, including average class size and number of rooms in the school. He's even assuming that every single one of those rooms is a classroom, which is obviously ridiculous.

[PalusAbel]

There is a knock at William's office door. "Hey. I heard you blew up a ship yesterday. Did you enjoy yourself?" Commander Sheridan's voice is tired, defeated, and bitter. "I'd never have approved building those turrets if they couldn't hit a boat a couple miles out. They've got the best targeting systems in the world, and even forgetting that there's enough of them that a target can't even hope to evade the barrage." She walks over to his desk and takes a seat at its edge.

"Ah, sorry for being so rough. I got chewed out for what happened with the pilots. They charged me with abuse of authority and excessive force and what have you. I call it putting the pilots in their places." She lets out a long, slow sigh. "I can see why I might have been misunderstood. We're on a strict timer here, William. The pilots need to be ready when the Angels come. They'll be here soon. I can feel it." Sheridan clutches her stomach, her last words barely above a whisper.
_______________________________

"They told us at the beginning that this school was built to hold three thousand students or more. At the moment, though, I don't think there are even two hundred people here, including all the faculty. But the NUSSR, really? What made you come here to the other side of the globe? ...hey, are you all right, buddy?" Rafael reaches out and shakes Ty by the shoulder. "Hey. Can you hear me?" He turns to Layla. "You seem like you're pretty close to him. Does this guy have a... um... condition? Should he go see the nurse? The nurse's office on each floor is room 350. Maybe you should take him?"

[garter_snake]

Gilles followed Rafeal's attention to Ty. Oh no. Gilles thought as he took stock of Ty. Pale skin, irregular breathing, Gilles reached out and put his palm on Ty's forehead, feeling the cool, clammy skin under a layer of cool sweat. cold skin, and now it lookis like he's in shock. There's only one reasonable explanation. GIlles clenched his fist as realization sank in. "They must have overdosed him on whatever that stuff was that they used to knock us out. ****, this could be bad."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla frowned as she noticed Ty's glassy-eyed blank stare. "Ty? Ty?!

She waved a hand in front of his eyes, then tried snapping her fingers right in front of his face in an attempt to get a response from her partner, but there was none at all. "I think you're right Gilles, he's totally catatonic. Damn it, I knew he didn't look right ever since we woke up. Thought it was just social nerves around so many people, but this is obviously much worse than that."

She spun around to Rafael. "Room 350, you said? That's down this hallway to the right, correct? Okay, thanks for the directions. I'm gonna take him there right now. You all don't have to come if you don't want to. He's my partner, so it's my responsibility. I can always get the tour later."

She grabbed Ty's arm and began dragging him down the hallway behind her.

In the event he's unable to walk, assume she resorts to supporting him with his arm over her shoulder or even carrying him along if necessary.

[AmberVael]

"Canada for me- but things were getting..." Grace trailed off as attention shifted over to Ty, his growing nausea, and then his sudden slip into a state of shock. For a moment Grace wondered if the others were overreacting, but he did look bad. Really bad, actually. Something about the conclusion they were jumping too didn't seem quite right to her though, and she frowned as she thought- then she remembered that little handout she'd been given.

She quickly took after Layla, lengthening her stride and lowering her voice a little. "Layla- didn't those handouts we got say something about Ty having a serious condition of some kind? I remember something about medication... do you think we should call NERV?"

The last thing Grace wanted right now was to see anyone from NERV, but they probably knew all about Ty's health, while a school nurse probably didn't. And might not be able to do anything even if she did.

[garter_snake]

"That... would be a good idea." Gilles said in response to Grace, running along with her. He patted his plugsuited body in vexation. Wish I had one of those 'smartphones' the commander was handing out earlier. Should have pocketed mine before getting myself shot. Manuvering himself opposite Layla Gilles grabbed Ty's other arm, placing it over his shoulder and lifting him up. "I'll help you carry him; we can move him faster that way." Turning to Grace and Rafeal, Gilles continued, "White, Velazquez, can one of you run ahead to the nurse and let her know we're coming, and see if she can get into contact with Dr. Cazada? I think our orientation mentioned that he was responsible for prescribing medication, so he might know if whatever Kirby is taking is related to this."

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla nodded to Grace. "You're right, I think it did mention something like that. Damn, completely forgot about that."

To be fair, it HAD been a fairly eventful orientation day, especially for her. She grimaced at the idea of calling Dr. Cazada, being almost convinced he was one of the ones responsible for dragging her off and starting the whole mess after the simulation to begin with. But she was willing to brave his presence if it meant getting him some help.

"Yeah, we should call him. Not really looking forward to it... let's get it over with. Grace, do you have the mobile phone they issued you handy? The bi... the Commander said they had preprogrammed numbers, so the Doctor's number is probably one of them."

[PalusAbel]

Rafael follows along at a trot. "So there is something wrong with him? Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." He notices Gilles patting himself down. "Are you looking for your phone? You could always borrow--"

"That won't be necessary, my boy. Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I'm their assigned doctor in fact. Go ahead back to class. I can take care of them, and finish the tour if they're up to it." Dr. Cazada walks up behind the pilots and gives Rafael a reassuring pat on the back. The boy nods after a few seconds and takes his leave. "You guys can relax a little. This isn't a result of medication, or a lack thereof. He's having a panic attack is all, but a pretty bad one by the look of it."

Dr. Cazada kneels in front of Ty and takes the boy's hand. "Hey there, kiddo. It's me, Eli. I heard you were in trouble and came right up. Can you hear me? It doesn't look like you can move much right now, so just blink once for yes, or twice for no. Actually, make that twice for yes and thrice for no, since I want to make sure it's not a coincidence." While he speaks, Dr. Cazada checks Ty's pulse and makes note of all Ty's external symptoms.

Dr. Cazada's attempt to soothe Ty's nerves will make the Willpower Test to Snap Out of his catatonia an Ordinary (+10) Test if Ty accepts the assistance. If Ty doesn't trust Dr. Cazada, he may still Test to Snap Out of it, but the difficulty remains Challenging (+0).

[Zazax]

Ty's inner monologue was near-incoherent by the time Dr Cazada arrived. 3000 people? Really!?

As the doctor spoke, Ty's thoughts slowly began to make a bit more sense.

He's from NERV. The Commander of the entire base shot you only two days ago. Don't trust him.
He's trying to help.
He could be up to something.
Like what? He's taking my pulse and talking. I'm no use to anyone like this; let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
I'm going to regret this.
Maybe. Maybe not. The Captain seemed nice enough, and he hasn't shot me. Maybe not everyone at NERV's like that. It can't be easy to get that many crazy people and stick them all in one place without something falling apart.
Ugh. Why do I have to be so disgustingly idealistic all the time?

At the doctor's question another small panic seized him.

How can he see if I'm blinking? Did I lose my sunglasses somewhere in the hallway and not even notice?
None of the other pilots have said anything, so even if I have maybe they haven't noticed yet.
I hope not. I don't know if I could handle that too.

Nonetheless, he blinked twice.

Fifth time's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16326016&postcount=125) the charm, apparently.

Massive edit: Dropped the last bit of the post. More interesting this way, if a bit longer.

[PalusAbel]

"...I realize that it doesn't help to tell someone to blink if you can't see their eyes, but from the color returning to your face I guess you've come back to us, Ty." Dr. Cazada stands up and lets out a booming laugh that causes echoes within echoes in the hallway, which is too small by far too contain his voice. "So other than going into shock at seeing all your wonderful classmates, how are you guys liking your first day at school? I mean, it's only been, what, half an hour by now, but you must have an opinion." His radiant smile fades a bit as he realizes that the pilots' opinion is not likely to be all that positive. "Actually, hold that thought. This is probably a conversation that we should have in private. I'm sure Ms. Hartono in the nurse's office wouldn't mind having us."

Dr. Cazada leads the pilots to Room 350C where the nurse is looking over medical records on her laptop. "Ah, Eli. Welcome back. And I see you brought the children." She closes the computer and cordially waves to the pilots. "Good morning. My name is Sri Hartono. My twin sister Dewi is the teacher for your morning classes, isn't she? I'm sure you'll learn to tell the difference between us eventually," she says warmly. In truth, that claim is dubious at best. Sri looks to be a perfect copy of her sister except for her uniform, which is more typical for a school nurse than for a teacher. If they switched outfits, one would be hard-pressed to identify which sister was which.

"Thank you, Sri, but we're here to use the counseling room if you would be so kind. Mr. Kirby here just got over a panic attack, so I'd like to get him in a chair, and after that the five of us can have a talk." Dr. Cazada's voice is low and firm. The nurse nods as she walks over to unlock the door. "It's all yours," is her last remark before she turns on a noise maker for privacy and returns to her desk. Dr. Cazada waves the pilots inside, closes the door and takes a seat. "Well, now it's just us. I want you to start at the beginning. What happened with Commander Sheridan?"

[Swordslinger]

He had seen the pilot’s unconscious at Doctor Eli’s laboratory and if she had been called in for a chewing out then it had be bad. He really wanted to yell at her but it was not really his place to do so and it sounded like she had already been yelled at by those whose place it was to yell at her. It would not do any good or fix the damage already done. Instead he sighed and said

"Rough day huh, I take it you aren’t of the opinion that the activity at the gates will calm down again. The children behaved as I expected them to." It was the commander who had behaved unexpectedly but that was not something he would say aloud. "You can’t beat into them discipline and everything else you need of them in the span of a day or two, all you’ll get is their silent resentment. But if whatever you did was a net gain in the end is not for me to judge. If we had the time I would have recommended sending them all with the exception of Duceppe to go through basic training, maybe in Germany or France.

As it is we might have to make do with what we got, there is only so much that can be done over a short time span when dealing with people. It could have been a lot worse, imagine if the angels really had shown up two years ago, compared to then we are much better prepared now.

So what is the plan for interacting with the pilots from now on?"

[PalusAbel]

"The plan," Commander Sheridan says slowly, "Is to remain vigilant. We don't have the ability to launch an offensive against the Torre del Cielo, and I wouldn't take the chance even if we did. Our pilots are too new, and we don't know nearly enough. As much as I hate being passive, all we can do now is wait to be attacked. It took me two years to bring the pilots together. There's no way in hell I'm going to let that go to waste."

Those kids probably hate me now. I don't care. Let them hate me as long as they can fight. If their hatred for me ties them closer together, so be it. I've sacrificed too much to trust the survival of this world to a bunch of wishy washy teenagers.

She lets out a sigh. "Might you have an idea about how to form them into a more cohesive unit, Captain Elvenes? Some kernel of wisdom from your military days? I'm sure they'll trust you more than they do me."