Shingeki no Tenshi: Adeptus Evangelion [IC]

[Amaril]

http://i.imgur.com/ZQF7Rze.jpg

On that day, humanity received a grim reminder...

We lived in fear of the angels.

Shingeki no Tenshi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEsVMxIwoY4)
Adeptus Evangelion

Episode 1: Fear Them

09:36, 17 April, 184 NTC
NERV Headquarters
New Tokyo-3

In the halls of NERV's subterranean fortress, warning lights flash, bathing their surroundings in red. The blaring of a siren nearly drowns out the assorted shouting and scuffling of hundreds of personnel rushing frantically to their posts. The workers here may be accustomed to acting hastily, but now a current of panic runs through the normally somewhat familiar proceedings. Angel attacks are nothing new, of course--but today, something is different.

"Action stations! Action stations! All personnel, proceed to Condition 2! Pilots Atame, Quinn, Pierce, Samuel, and Takara, report to the briefing room ASAP! This is not a drill! Repeat, action stations..."

Condition 2. Almost no-one in the base has ever heard that code spoken over the intercom; those few who have hardly find it any easier to believe. Condition 2 means an Angel has breached the Wall, an event unknown in Tokyo for more than fifty years. Worse still, there was seemingly no warning before this announcement--no call of Condition 3 while the Angel struggled to force its way into the city. Only the most seasoned veterans of NERV have ever had to respond to a Wall breach, and no-one in their right mind would be excited about the prospect.

As the announcement indicates, all five pilots mentioned are in HQ already. Regular medical exam and synch test checkups are standard for new pilots in the weeks following graduation, to make sure the final stages of the bonding process are proceeding smoothly before the stress of real missions is introduced. Several hours of getting prodded by med-techs may not be an ideal way for a teenager to spend a Sunday morning, but such are a pilot's hardships. However, just as it seems you're about to be set free again, any such hopes are dashed by the sirens and the intercom starting up.

With things sounding this serious, you'd best report in on the double...

[Jacior]

Montague looked up from the book he'd been reading, already dreading the noise from the moment it started. Another Angel attack, how long had it been since the last one? Days, weeks? It wasn't long enough, that's for sure. He hoped this wouldn't be his first call into action. He knew his first time wouldn't go very well. And then the code came through. "Condition 2... And they're calling me in." He could feel his heart jump into his throat. This was it. He was going to die today. And never have done anything with his life.

Montague looks around and groans. They'd know if he just hid. They'd probably kill him if he did. At least one of the others that had been called in was crazy. Probably two of them. He wraps an arm across his chest and closes his book. "No point in delaying the inevitable." He murmurs to himself. He takes a deep breath before trudging his way to the briefing room. Maybe they'd just let him go if he was really late.

[CrimsonKnight]

Rin was alone in the female pilots' locker room about to change out of her plugsuit and enjoy a good shower after the hours of testing when the familar sound of the alarm sounded. She rolled her eyes.

"Angel attack, huh? Seems like we just had one. Wait... did they just call for me? I'm being activated? Well, about damn time. Guess the jerks couldn't keep me sidelined forever. Maybe headshotting an Angel will finally make some of them back off. But what the hell is a Condition 2? It sounds so familiar... oh crap."

Condition 2. An Angel had breached the Wall. It hadn't happened in decades! In fact, the closest they'd ever come had been the battle when her father... now was definitely not the time to think about that. She quickly resealed the suit at her neck and donned her gloves, then exited the locker room at a dead sprint. She'd never been in the briefing room before, but a lack of friends had left her with plenty of free time to explore the facility at her leisure, and as a result, she made good time through the hallways dodging out of the way of various personnel rushing about until she'd skidded to a halt before the doorway to the room.

Adjusting her scarf around her neck (a personal touch she'd taken to wearing most of the time as it made it easy for her to hide her face behind it), she pushed through the doorway and scanned the room. She was the first pilot to arrive it seemed, and dragged one of the chairs from the table over to a corner where her natural paranoia could be assured no one would sneak up on her, then plomped herself down and waited. She was patient by nature, an asset for a sniper who spent a lot of time waiting for the moment to strike. And while she didn't necessarily expect to be attacked in the briefing room, that didn't mean somone wouldn't take the opportunity to mess with her if they could, especially when none of the adults seemed to care at all how she was treated. Well, she'd show them. She'd show all of them not to underestimate her.

[Ecksdee]

For the first few moments of the announcement, Junko stared up at the nearest intercom in shock. She knew what Condition 2 meant. It'd been drilled into her head along with a manner of other emergency situations during her training. But she had never considered it actually happened. Angels hardly ever breached the Wall. Hadn't it not taken place for years now? As she snapped out of her stupor and started to make a beeline for the briefing room, Junko started to feel the adrenaline kick in. Despite any misgivings she may have felt, she'd been trained for situations like this. There was no use showing fear or hesitation -- no matter how much she wanted to. She was an Eva pilot. And now she was being called in to fulfill her obligations.

Rounding the corner she sped up her pace, running as hard as she could. Athletics had never been her strong suit, but thanks to the situation she didn't even feel tired. Or rather she couldn't afford to feel tired. Her hard work paid off when the doors to the briefing room came into view. Not slowing down she leaned forward and burst through them, only stopping once inside. Panting heavily, she bent down with her hands on her knees, trying to calm down her hammering heart. Once she was able to collect herself she stood up straight again, immediately laying eyes on the only other pilot in the room so far -- Rin.

"Ah! Did I hear right?! We have a Condition 2 on our hands?!

[Fearan]

Remi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_TdHrXKOW4&index=13&list=PL1DAC719D9D4F7A57) was exiting a shower after a series of tests, or medical examination, or whatever - he actually didn't care, what he was needed for - whet it struck. With the announcement from the speakers, funnny humans became extremely agitated, rushing here and there as if excessive rush of the second technician of the whatever department would save the world. When the voice requested his (fortunately, along with some other pilots) presence in the briefing room, he smirked and calmly moved to the destination, freaking the personell wih his calm face and absence of any signs of rush.
Hello, suicide squad - he announced while entering the briefing room. Then he took a look on the faces of the people present there. Something was clearly wrong. Maybe, Remi should've put on something more, then just underwear...

[Amaril]

As Remi stands in the doorway, an exasperated sigh emanates from behind him. Motioning for the unfortunately under-dressed pilot to step aside, Lady Kaede Tanaka, Ops Director for NERV's Evangelion program, sweeps hastily into the briefing room and moves to stand by the large viewscreen facing the terraced seats. "For God's sake, Quinn, nobody here needs to see that."
Turning back towards the four of you, she quickly scans around to make sure everyone is present. Of a height with Rin despite being almost twenty years older, Lady Tanaka's stature belies her ruthlessness and strictness as a commander. Despite the haste with which she must have made her way here, her jaw-length black hair and NERV officer's uniform are immaculate as always. "Alright kids, we're obviously short on time, so I'll have to make this fast." Retrieving the viewscreen remote from the table beneath it, she taps a button and activates the display.
The footage on the screen appears to be from one of the many surveillance cameras arranged along the top of the Wall; the timestamp indicates that it was recorded just over three minutes ago. The relevance of the video is readily apparent--approaching the wall, clearly situated at the center of the picture, an Angel is immediately recognizable. Though it's somewhat difficult to get a sense of proportion from the camera's perspective, the entity is obviously gigantic; its long, serpentine body is pure white, broadening out to an abdomen shaped somewhat like the hood of a cobra near its front, before tapering back down to an eyeless head dominated by a huge, gaping mouth. On the front of the Angel's main body, a set of growths that look almost like ribs extrude around a bright red sphere--the Core.
As the footage rolls, the Angel approaches at an almost leisurely-looking pace; it appears to be levitating several meters above the ground. "This Angel," Tanaka explains, "was detected approaching the city only forty-six seconds before it reached the Wall--a shorter window than any other attack on record. Pattern Blue was confirmed immediately; based on what you're about to see, it's been categorized as the first Seraph-class entity ever known to appear. Watch..." The video footage is momentarily distorted by a liquid-looking shimmer passing across the lens, the visible sign of Tokyo's city-wide AT Field being raised. At the same time, noise suddenly erupts from all around as the various mounted guns and missile launchers positioned nearby on the Wall open fire on the creature. Without slowing its approach, the Angel begins to rise in altitude, the top of its body swiftly disappearing out of view. A second later, the camera pans up to keep it on-screen. As it looms over the Wall, four of the growths surrounding the Angel's Core unfold and reveal themselves to be arms, each ending in a three-fingered, skeletal-looking hand. Reaching out slowly, the Angel places its palms against the dome of the AT Field...and simply pushes it aside, as easily as opening a door. Within seconds, the opening is large enough for the creature to fit through completely; not even seeming to notice the continued barrage of weapons fire directed at it, the Angel resumes its previous pace and slips through the breach, disappearing off-camera within another few seconds.
Tanaka hits another button on the remote, and the footage pauses. Her expression grave, she looks to each of you silently, letting the impact sink in. "So, I assume you realize what this means we're up against?"

[Priest_Of_Banjo]

Samuel

The alarm was blaring and interrupting his deep sleep. He panicked. He knew that he had ot move as fast as he could.

Goddamn plugsuits being just too tight for comfort!

He sprinted down the hall, half in and half out of his silver plugsuit, trying to get to the briefing room in time. He ran down the corridor and heard the voice of Lady Tanaka.

The voice, while graceful, held steel in the tone. "So, I assume you realize what this means we're up against?"

He burst through the doors, having gotten his plugsuit fully on. "Pilot Samuel, reporting for duty Ma'am! Sorry for my lateness."

He bowed deeply in apology, silently paying to whatever gods that he would be allowed to stay.

[Jacior]

Montague blushed and covered his face when Quinn showed up to the meeting in his underwear. Montague guessed he couldn't blame the others for showing up in various states. He'd come in ungodly early for the testing so not only would the rest not see him, but he'd have more time to deal with it if they found anything wrong with him. They didn't, of course, but it never hurt to be safe. But now it didn't matter, he realized as he watched the FIRST Seraph-class Angel just waltz right through the AT Field without a second that. They were all going to die today. "W-why would you call us in for this? Why n-not use more experienced pilots?!" The stress caused his voice to crack at the end of his sentence. "You're just going to send us to our deaths?"

[Amaril]

If Tanaka is at all surprised or startled by Samuel's late arrival, she does an excellent job of not showing it. With an exasperated sigh, she waves him inside, not looking in his direction. "Get on in here, Sam, but I don't have time to go over everything again."
Turning to Montague, her worry is visible in her expression, an unusual event. "You're absolutely right, Pierce. You kids are the greenest pilots we have, and you're in no shape to be taking on a mission like this. Unfortunately, without the delay normally provided by the Wall, we can't afford the time to scramble any of the other Evas. We need to deploy now, before this thing can cause any damage. And since you just happened to be testing today, and your Evas are already mostly ready to go...you're it."
"So," she announces, clapping her hands and suddenly sounding far more her normal confident self. Raising the remote once more, she taps another button, and the screen's display changes, displaying a map of New Tokyo-3's northern urban sector. Five Eva deployment shaft exits are picked out with flashing markers. "You five are all going to deploy to the edge of the city proper. You will meet the enemy out in the near countryside, engage, and prevent it from approaching any further. You are not expected to neutralize the entity yourselves--if you can take it down, do so, but don't take any unnecessary risks. Your objective is merely to delay it and provide time for us to deploy reinforcements. We're already scrambling Akechi and Delacourt; as soon as possible, they'll deploy and take over handling things, while you remain within range to support them. Remember, your top priority is keeping the Angel away from the city proper; if this thing causes any more damage than it already has, civilian casualties will occur in record numbers, and NERV will have to deal with more blowback from the higher-ups than we're in any shape to handle. Are we clear?"

[Priest_Of_Banjo]

With relief evident across his features, Samuel takes a seat and listens intently to his superior.
Huh. Must be big if they're calling in Akechi and Delacourt. We're going to have our work cut out for us.

He looked around the room, quickly glancing at his fellow pilots.

We're goddamn newbies and they're launching us against something that made it through the Wall. We're either gonna die or be heroes.

He sighed and smiled to himself. "Yes Ma'am! We will defend this city to the last! Right guys?" He said, looking around the room for support.

[Fearan]

They kinda said it was an emergency and I had to get here quick, Lady Tanaka - Remi answered his superiour's query concerning his looks - Besides, I'm going to be in a plugsuit soon, so why bother - he added then. Some of the concepts of polite society have clearly eluded him.

As the commander described their mission and the following shivering of Montague Remi listened to the explanation with the head inclined to the side in a very bird-like manner. Then he shook his shoulders.
- We are to serve as initial threat response and soften the Angel, while saving as many civilians as possible until golden boys come and claim this "glory" thing, they like so much. Clear as day, Lady Tanaka. He looked at his teammates - Let's go, or what?

[CrimsonKnight]

Rin silently ground her teeth over in her corner perch. She'd expected her first mission to be with an experienced, battle-tested squad... not like this. God, they must be desperate. No wonder they were finally letting her deploy after dragging their heels so damn long. She glared contemptuously over at Montague, who was still looking absolutely terrified.

"You scared, Pierce? You afraid of dying? Then why the hell are you even an EVA pilot? We're soldiers and this is a war, in case you forgot. Soldiers die in war. As long as we stop the Angel from attacking the city directly... nothing else matters."

She grimaced.

And no matter what happens, no one will say that Naomasa Atame's daughter died a coward.

[Amaril]

"Now that, Atame, is the kind of attitude I expect from my soldiers." Though the Ops Director's grim expression never wavers, Rin is surprised to hear something unfamiliar in her voice, something she has precious little experience hearing from anyone in the past few years--pride. With that final sentiment, Tanaka dashes for the door, beckoning you over her shoulder. "Alright, pilots, suit up and get ready to ride, on the triple! Move it, move it, move it!"

[Ecksdee]

Seeing the way the Angel so easily bypasses the city's AT Field makes Junko gasp. What the hell?! They could do that now?! What did that mean for their own personal AT Fields then? She was so shocked she didn't notice Quinn's scantily clad form at all. Remaining quiet as the plan was laid out, Junko continued to try and swallow her fear. Right. They didn't have to try and kill it. Just... stop it. The people of the city were counting on them. Taking a deep breath in, she turned to look at Tanaka, nodding affirmatively. And it certainly helped to hear Rin's words. A good 'real talk' pep talk always got Junko moving.

She wordlessly rushed after the OD, heading for the locker room.

[Jacior]

Montague flinches visibly as Atame yells at him. "Of course I'm afraid! W-who wants to die?" He gives her a look that borders on crying before his eyes suddenly harden. "Not all of us are so eager to rush to our deaths like fools." They go wide with fear again and he nearly pulls his sweater up over his head. "I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T HIT ME!" He was very confused where that came from and now Atame was almost certainly going to hit him. With a yelp, he scrambles towards the door and down the hall, trying to avoid getting close to Rin.

[CrimsonKnight]

Rin shook her head at the retreating Montague.

Hell, they'll stick anyone in an Eva if they're compatible, won't they? And they said I was a disgrace to the program?! Well, the only consolation is that he'll be closer to the Angel than I will in this fight. Thank god for small favors.

As she ran out the door, however, she was feeling conflicted towards the Operations Director. She'd agreed with her, hadn't she? Was she actually going to treat her as a soldier and not a mistake to be corrected?

[Priest_Of_Banjo]

Samuel grinned. He'd been training for two years, having the various quirks and techniques of the EVA drilled into him.

It was time. He had no idea what he was facing beyond the fact that it was big and destructive. He was scared, incredibly so, but that same fear gave him an adrenaline rush that could overwhelmed the terror.

He left the room, following the rest of the pilots to their respective changing rooms.

Just like the old days.

[Amaril]

Although NERV may have lost practice at responding to Angel attacks with haste, the original architects of HQ hadn't had time to make the same mistake. The pilot locker room is just a few feet down the hallway from the briefing theater; with only around fifty pilots in the program at once on average, one room has always been plenty to store enough plugsuits. On the other end of them from the hallway door is another exit that opens straight onto the Eva launch bays. Meanwhile, Tanaka makes her own turn and heads off to the CIC, leaving you to follow the procedures you've been trained for.
The locker room is as sparsely furnished as any similar facility in any ordinary gym. Rows of full-height lockers, each bearing the name of a particular pilot and their NERV ID number, are arrayed along the walls and across the tiled floor. There are no private rooms for changing, but the rows of lockers themselves block lines of sight with enough effectiveness to make them unnecessary. Remembering their locations easily, it takes each of you only moments to find your locker and don your plugsuits.
Emerging from the second door, you find yourselves on the massive balcony overlooking the cavernous space of the Eva launch bay. Each of the base's many such facilities is large enough to hold several commercial office buildings--or, more practically, up to five Evangelions, and all the heavy machinery necessary to equip them before battle. Along the balcony ahead of you stand innumerable computer terminals, monitoring stations, and control suites, all surrounded by uniformed NERV techs going through their pre-launch procedures. And off to the right, facing away into the darkness of the high-speed magnetic rail tunnels, stand your Evangelions. A narrow catwalk extends from the balcony towards the entrance to each of your entry plugs, all empty and with their display screens and controls powered off.
As soon as you enter the bay, the techs wave you over--you'll need help getting sealed into your plug and ready to launch. Once you're in and powered on, you know Tanaka should contact you again from the CIC via your commlinks, and the mission can begin in earnest.

[Jacior]

Montague checked for the fourth time to make sure he'd put his plugsuit on correctly. Last thing he needed was to have missed something and screw up how his Eva responded in the middle of the fight. Like something bad wasn't already going to happen. He sighed before checking again. Despite his sigh, Montague was actually working on keeping a bubbling feeling down. He'd noticed it the last couple of times they'd done training, well it'd been going on for a while, but he didn't recognize it till then. Being in the Eva was addictive. He didn't have to worry about people when he was in it. He actually was growing to hate getting out and being so small and weak again. But he kept this to himself. No need to worry people about it.

He follows behind last in the line, making sure Rin wasn't going to be able sneak up on him. He resists the feeling to check his plug suit again, instead crossing his arms across his chest. The plugsuit wasn't exactly comfortable. But they could have done a lot worse designing it. Montague looked at the Eva's and plugs, shivering first in fear and then again in... anticipation? It didn't matter right now. He walked over to the tech guys, trying to hold his breath as he got nearer the plugs. The smell always made him sick to his stomach.

[CrimsonKnight]

Rin jogged through the locker room without breaking stride. All of a sudden, she was really glad for the weekend testing that had fortunately required her in her plugsuit now that it saved her time to get to her EVA. Like hell she'd be the last one ready to deploy on her first mission. She emerged from the lockers into the cavernous space of the launch bay and the Evangelion cages. Despite the imposing bulks of the Evangelions lined up awaiting their pilots, the tense actions of the technicians as they finished preparations, and the unmistakable reek of LCL that permeated the air, this was probably Rin's favorite place in the entire base.

Whether it was the fact that the staff members here were too professional and busy to waste even one second bullying her or that the mere presence of the EVAs was enough to inhibit any of her fellow trainees from harassing her, this was the one public area in the facility that she actually found more than tolerable, no matter how bizarre that may seem. And that didn't even take into account the comfortable and protective bulk of her own EVA. Inside that frame, nothing could hurt her or haze her or torment her other than the Angels, and for them, she had a gun and the training to use it. She took a deep breath. Even the blood smell of the LCL was more comforting than anything else to her, if only by association with the EVA.

It's finally happening, it's finally happening! Please don't let this be a dream or I will completely lose it.

Rin let the techs inspect her plugsuit seals and check the readouts from its monitoring sensors before giving her a thumbs-up and escorting her over to the entry plug. She strapped herself in and tried to relax as the hatch was sealed, the internal lights powered on, and the pumps began to fill the plug with sticky reddish-orange LCL. All just like in training, nothing to worry about... and yet, she was on the edge of her seat from the excitement.

"You gonna insert this plug already? Come on, I'm ready to go."

[Fearan]

Despite having less clothes to change, Remi haven't shown up in the Eva hangar first. In fact he almost have shown last, for he wasn't really in a hurry. His relaxed attitude with which he got into Machaon's etry plug was almost annoying. A routine check of the systems - the Eva responded eagerly, as always, though Remi knew it will cost him a massive headache later - it always did. After a moment of static buzzing on his screen, the synchronisation came online and Remi could see the hangar with the eye of his Eva. He vaguely remembered, that he probably have forgotten about something. Oh, yes, report.
- Remi Quinn, Machaon. I beleve, I supposed to say "All green" - then he heard Rin's bragging about "inserting this plug allready".
- Atame, you do understand, that sounded awfully suggestive, do you?