[AD3VA Beta] Another Day 1a

[PalusAbel]

Nerv-Brazil, nestled deep within the Amazon basin, is a fortress-city built around an artificial lake. More accurately, the heavily-fortified infrastructure is all carefully arranged around a hemispherical body of water some 14km in diameter, with a greenery-studded shell sitting on top like a lid. The camouflage, supplemented by a number of technological countermeasures, is remarkably effective, especially considering the sheer scale of the construction.

Yet this massive site contains only around three-quarters of a million people, most of whom are Nerv-affiliated. A fair number of these are strictly non-combatants who generally comprise the nuclear families of those that do serve in some combat-related capacity. Indeed, there is no illusion here that the citywide peace will last forever; there are semi-frequent drills at random intervals to maintain a constant level of alert- and readiness. Only the need for vigilance is made public, however, not its object.

The pilots have had to put up with this strange, expansive new atmosphere for at least a few days now. Their recruiter had insisted on escorting each of them personally, so the earliest arrivals were put up in fully public living areas to await further instruction. Up to this point their lives have been as routine as everyone else living in Nerv-Brazil - assigned ID cards permitted them access to basic utilities across the city, and an issued smartphone gave them limited updates as to the status of their recruiter.

It was through these smartphones that the pilots received the notification to meet up in the early morning of August 12th, 2017.

______________________________

The room to which the pilots have been summoned is a nondescript staff lounge, one of countless near-identical copies peppered throughout the Nerv-Brazil complex. There are four leather sofas arranged around a circular table. The Lazy Susan built into the center of the table is burdened by a large messenger bag containing two thick binders and enough open space to carry a third. This last binder lays open in the hands of a fidgeting teenage girl seated on the sofa facing the door.

Even seated, it is obvious that the girl possesses a high degree of physical fitness. Her evident nervousness aside, her posture is perfectly straight, and her immaculately tailored suit somehow manages to present an air of modesty while not leaving any of her physical assets to the imagination. In fact, her appearance echoes that of a certain Nerv recruiter, albeit smaller and significantly less intimidating. That idea, along with her possession of the binders, seems to indicate that she is the contact specified in the summons.

That being said, the girl pays no heed to the new arrivals; she is hopelessly preoccupied with absorbing every word written on the pages of the so-called Nerv Pilot's Uplifting Primer and challenging the world record for "deepest forehead wrinkles".

[Zazax]

Eric strode confidently into the room, absently twirling a pen around his fingers as he went, and quickly took in its furnishing and then its single occupant. His eyes flicked down to the binders on the table, then up to the one in the girl's hands, and with only a moment's hesitation he made his way over, grabbed one, and wordlessly plopped onto the sofa to the girl's left.

Hmm. Comfy.

He quickly flipped open the binder and, ignoring the words which took up the majority of the room on each page, glanced over the pictures instead.

There's me. There's that girl. Two more, also girls. We all look about the same age. Probably the other pilots. An introductory booklet of some kind about each of the Pilots? Feel like I'm missing out here.

He closed the binder and placed it back on the table, then glanced over at the only other person in the room. He shuffled over to the armrest, leaned as close as he could, then stuck out his hand.

"Hi. How are ya? Eric Flynn. My friends call me Eric." He grinned. "Or they would if I had any friends."

[PalusAbel]

The girl fails to respond immediately. She blinks once, twice, before raising her eyes from the binder. "Eh?" A flat, monosyllabic response. She calmly flips back to the beginning of the binder where the pilots' pictures are posted. It takes her another moment to make the connection. "Ah! I'm Eric Flynn! No, I mean you're Eric Flynn!" She flails about in a panic, tossing the binder to the floor.

"I'm sorry! Theytoldmetohavethismemorizedbytoday-
butthatsjustnotsomethingIcandoImeanwhatcanthey-
possiblyexpectfrommethatsreallyoutsideofmyfieldbut-
ohImsupposedtobeintroducingmyselfokay!"

The burst of hyper-energetic blabbering comes to an end as quickly as it begins. She claps her hands together as if shutting the door on her outburst, takes a breath, then follows up much more calmly. "Hi, Eric. My name's LN. That's Ell En." She traces out the letters in midair with her finger, not realizing that a) for Eric, they'd be backwards and b) Eric wouldn't be able to read them in the first place. The way that she distinctly emphasized each syllable ought to get her point across regardless.

"They told me to have this memorized by today, but that's just not something I can do. I mean, what can they possibly expect from me? That's really outside of my field, but... Oh, I'm supposed to be introducing myself. Okay!"

[Aneurin]

Sophia

"Salut? Anyone home?" Sophia peers around the doorway, and her slight frown is immediately banished by a beaming smile. "Ah! At last. I think they have built this place solely to confuse me. I am Sophia Maria Delaroux," she she announces proudly, as she walks in. She's tall for her age, with the dark-haired, dark-eyed gallic look to her. She's dressed in some sort of formal clothes, a navy blue blazer over a white shirt and a mid-length skirt. Oh, and she has a hat with a large, pink flower on it that's doing a poor job of hiding - or, at least, containing - her long, brown hair.

As she takes in the room, and spots the binders she hesitates, a flicker of doubt crosses her brown eyes. "...this is the pilot meeting, correct? I have not wandered into another staff meeting?"

Salut = Hello.

...for the record, I don't actually speak French. As such, you won't be seeing all that much of it from Sophia, and what you do see may very well be utterly wrong since it'll be from either French lessons I had ten years ago, or the internet - neither of which will be terribly accurate.

[PalusAbel]

"Ah, Sophia! Yes, this is our meeting. Come on in." LN beckons to Sophia in a warm display of hospitality. Readjusting her tie with an uneasy smile, she adds, "Tanaka made me wear this to show that I'm in charge until she gets here, even though I hate constricting clothes like this. Don't worry, we're all pilots here."

"We're waiting on just one more person to show up. If you like, you can help yourself to coffee," she gestures to a vending machine in the corner of the room, "Or you could start browsing through the Primer." LN turns to indicate the binders on the table, but notices that the one she dropped earlier is still on the floor. She retrieves it post-haste, then places it beside the bag.

[CrimsonKnight]

There is a sudden burst of noise from the hallway, followed a moment later by a girl in a purple sweatshirt and sweatpants running headlong past the door with red-haired pigtails and a Hello Kitty messenger bag flying behind her before disappearing from view again. "Crappity crap crap! Four days stuck in this place, and I still manage to get lost on the way to finally meeting the other pilots! Why don't they have maps like, every ten feet telling you where you are? ...waiiiiiiit a second. I think I just missed something super important."

The odd girl peers cautiously around the door, followed immediately by a fat grin breaking across her face as she gets a second look at the other teenagers. "Awesome, I found you! Maybe if Ms. Rotten So-And-So had bothered to give me a tour before dumping me... *ahem* Hi there! I'm Jill, Jill Hawthorne! Sorry I am so frigging late, this base is craaaazy huge! So you must be the other pilots, right? Oooh, what's that, something interesting to read?"

She walks over and grabs one of the binders and begins to flip through the pages seemingly at random.

[PalusAbel]

The Primer is equal parts travel brochure and instruction manual. The introduction contains a pilot-oriented mission statement and short bios for each of the four children; nothing is written that would cause undue controversy or embarrassment. For those familiar with the concept, it's fairly similar to what one might find in a school yearbook. That said, it's clearly worded to portray the pilots and Nerv itself in as positive a light as possible.

LN claps her hands together again. "Great! Now we're all here! For the sake of keeping everyone on the same page, let's go through introductions again. Hi! My name's LN." Once again, she makes each syllable distinct and traces out the letters with her finger. She continues with a smile that's every bit as sunny as Jill's. "Compared to you three, I've been living here in Nerv-Brazil for quite some time, so that makes me your senior! And as your senior it's my job to show you the ropes. I got a little info on all of you from the Primer and from the reports that Tanaka showed me, but I'm still not quite sure who you all are or what you might know. That's why, starting right now, it's time for some Q&A!"

[Zazax]

His grin softened into an empathetic smile at LN's somewhat flustered response, and Eric withdrew as the others arrived. He leaned back and lounged on the sofa, still twirling his pen. He wasn't used to such a comfortable place to sit, but damned if he wasn't taking full advantage of it. He listened to each introduction, and LN's explanations, before speaking again.

"Nice to meet all three of you. Eric Flynn." He gave a small wave and friendly smile to the other three, acknowledging each in turn. "My friends call me Eric. Or they would if I had any friends." He added the rest of his oft-used and well-practiced introduction of choice. It was the perfect mix of strange and amusing, he found. He thought it fit him perfectly.

Eric glanced back towards LN. "Q&A, huh? Well, I suppose we could start with the obvious questions. Such as, why exactly this organization went out of its way to collect a bunch of specific kids, namely us?" He stopped twirling his pen for a brief moment, then resumed, but in reverse. "Not that I'm complaining."

[PalusAbel]

"Well, Tanaka knows more about the specifics than I do, but the four of us have an exceptionally rare ability - the ability to use the... uh... wait." LN cuts her proud, escalating speech short to rummage through her coat pocket. She fishes out a crumpled and well-worn scrap of paper. After clearing her throat, she picks up where she left off in both speech and volume. "The Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon: Evangelion!" She pauses for dramatic effect.

[Zazax]

Eric blinked and hesitated a moment, then clapped his hands and grinned. "Awesome. Cool. That's great." Without missing a beat, he chuckled and his tone changed to one of amusement. "What's an Evangelion?"

[PalusAbel]

LN visibly deflates in awkward silence. "Oh. Well, you see, it's an all-purpose... human... weapon... thing." She scratches her head and turns the scrap of paper over and over in her hand as if more detailed answers were hidden somewhere upon it. In reality, only the one phrase is scrawled there, and in barely legible handwriting at that. "It'll probably be easier if I just show you, but Tanaka said she wanted to be there for your introductions to the Evas, so can you just hold that thought?" She sheepishly turns to the other girls. "Do you two have any questions not related to the Evas?"

[Aneurin]

Sophia

Having declined the offer of coffee, and politely taken a seat after Jill's rather rapid arrival, Sophia picks up one of the binders and begins leafing through it with slow deliberation. English is such an obnoxious language, and grammatical nonsense - how anyone can read such an abomination with ease is quite beyond her.

As the chatter picks up, though, she lowers the papers and glances around the room. When LN asks for more questions, she raises her hand.

"Yes, I have a question. Who is "Tanaka"? And why must we wait for... her? You said "she", correct?"

[PalusAbel]

LN blinks, genuinely confused. "I'd think you'd know her. Tanaka's the one who recruited you all - she's the Operations Director here at Nerv-Brazil."

[Aneurin]

Sophia

Sophia puts tilts her head to one side as she eyes LN.

"I was brought here by a mademoiselle Smith," she says carefully. "I do not recall her mentioning an... Operations Director? One who is in charge of the tasks? Is this the same person?"

[PalusAbel]

"The person who brought you here has to be Tanaka-san," LN shrugs helplessly. "There's just not anyone else who'd do that. Around here, the Operations Director is like an army general, police chief, and shift supervisor, all rolled into one." She pauses to count on her fingers, mouthing what is presumably a list of the Operations Director's duties. She seems to have a problem starting at around seven. "A-Anyway," she breaks off suddenly, "I'm sure it was Tanaka who brought you here. She's got a meeting of her own, which is why she wanted me to meet with you first. She should be done soon. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe."

The Japanese honorific -san is roughly equivalent to Mr. or Mrs. in English.

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill looks up in alarm. "Wait, the same person who recruited us is also gonna be our boss?! Aw man, this is gonna be a long year with that woman in charge of us. Ugh!"

She flops down next to Sophia dejectedly, picking through the primer briefly before dropping it onto the coffee table.

"Evangelion, huh? Well, at least now I know what Project E stands for and what NERV spent years and billions of dollars making in secret. Real curious to know what they could have possibly made, or why they need a bunch of kids like us for it. Ugh, I suppose that's worth dealing with the dragon lady. Barely."

[PalusAbel]

"Dragon lady? But I thought--" "Is that what they're calling me nowadays? I guess it ain't half bad." The burly recruiter leaning on the door frame makes herself known, cutting off LN's continued confusion. Indeed, the girl seems absolutely relieved that the Operations Director has finally shown up to assume responsibility. "Yo, kiddos. Glad you all made it here in one piece. I'm on a tight schedule, so we'll talk on our way to the Eva cages."

Given the speed and surety of Tanaka's strides, the walk to the Eva cages is practically a jog. LN seems not to mind, trotting after her boss with all the enthusiasm of a loyal puppy. "As this little one here said, the name's Tanaka, not Smith," the Operations Director calls out without turning her head. "The brass told me to use a pseudonym out there in the 'outside world'. Not really sure why I had to bother - it's not like anyone could confuse me for someone else. Anyway, I'm in charge of you guys until such time that your services are no longer deemed necessary. There's no ETA, so don't get your hopes up."

Tanaka stops only when she reaches the elevator, a massive wire basket clearly meant for cargo more than personnel. "Quick word of warning: The Eva cages stink something awful. Pinch your noses if you like, but it won't help."

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill practically jumps off the sofa in surprise at Ms. Smith, or rather, Tanaka's unannounced surprise appearance. "I didn't... it was just something I read in a book... crap. Dummy."

She sheepishly follows along quietly as the Japanese woman leads them swiftly through the facility, though despite her small stature and short legs she seems to have no problem keeping up with the brisk pace.

"Bad smell? Like, are we talking dog poop bad, or sulfur rotten eggs bad, or chemistry class formalde... OH. MY. GAWD."

The wall of the shaft in front of them falls above as they continue to drop, replaced by an absolutely massive room stretching away hundreds if not thousands of feet to the far wall. Below them, a small army of technicians, engineers, scientists, and soldiers are busy scrambling over various catwalks and an assortment of platforms that almost resemble islands suspended across a lake of a strange, viscous, reddish liquid. And in the center of all this, and rather obviously the focus of all the equipment and personnel scattered across the mammoth chamber, four titans stand neck deep in the red lake.

"Giant robots. Giant robots! The Evangelions are giant robots?! YOU MADE GIANT ROBOTS?! This is so... AWESOME!!!"

The second the elevator reaches ground level and the safety railings withdrawn to the sides, Jill rushes forward eagerly, dodging between angrily squawking personnel finding themselves almost tripping over the overexcited girl as she heads towards the nearest of the giant machines, a pink and purpled machine with a single giant eye.

"So this is Project E... man, the guys are gonna be so angry if they ever learn they missed this."

[PalusAbel]

"Uh-huh. Mind, you'll probably be terminated if you share this with anyone. Top-secret and all that." Tanaka threatens Jill with all the casual ease of ordering a drink. "Gotta correct you on one thing, though - the Evas aren't robots. You there, lift up Unit-13." She calls out to the engineer manning the crane console, who nods and hits the appropriate levers.

The third "machine" in the lineup is the largest of them by far. As fluid slides off the Evangelion's armor in torrential sheets, its exposed throat, hands, and midriff clearly show its organic nature. "That's Liner," LN chirps merrily. "He's my Eva. He's, uh, kinda the reason the Eva cages smell so bad. Oh, here it comes..." Having been taken out of the pool, Liner's body releases its powerful stench. The slightly salty atmosphere in the room gives way to nauseating fumes with all the subtlety of a plane crash.

Tanaka follows up without missing a beat. "As you can see, Unit-13 is one of the few Evangelions whose biological components are immediately evident, but all Evas are like that beneath their armor." LN, also unaffected, adds, "My Liner is the strongest of the four units we have here, and he has the thickest armor as well. When the battles come, we'll be sure to take the front line for you."

[Zazax]

Threat of execution? Well, that certainly beats out threat of dismemberment. New record for Officer Friendly.

Despite the casual intimidation, Eric, his nose tucked beneath the collar of his shirt to only partial effectiveness, studied the four Evas with an interest bordering on awe. He'd never seen anything even remotely like them before.

He tore his gaze away and directed it back towards LN and Tanaka. "Wait. So are we supposed to drive these things around or something, then? I don't even know how to drive a car." His eyes momentarily flicked back towards the Evas as his mind processed LN's most recent contributions to the conversation. 'Her' Liner?' "And on an entirely unrelated note, which one's mine?"

[PalusAbel]

"It's nothing like driving a car, silly. You just jump in and move it with your mind. It's really easier done than said." LN smiles, looking pleased with herself. She points to the Eva farthest from the group, saying "Yours is the skinny black one down at the end, Eric. Unit-07's real twitchy, but its reaction speed is second to none."

[Aneurin]

Sophia

"Terminated? The robot from the film? I am not sure I- Mon dieu! That smell!" Sophia tries not to retch as 'Liner' is winched out of the depths of... whatever. "What is wrong with it? Does it need new biologicals?" she gasps. "And you say it is controlled with the mind? How could that be? But... then you have said 'cage' and 'biological'. Are they alive, then, if they are not robots?"

She tries to keep her distance from Liner - not, in all honesty, that it makes a great deal of difference. Truly, it is incredible what they have done here. The... creations... are magnificent - it is just a pity they can do nothing about the terrible, terrible smell.

But what could such a weapon ever be used against? Do they expect her to invade other countries?

[PalusAbel]

Tanaka clicks her tongue disapprovingly. "You're going to be in for a rough ride if you're that delicate. They are all alive, yes, with numerous mechanical additions to help us control them. The extra armor is just a plus." She takes a few steps towards Liner, inspecting him from head to toe. "This smell is just one of Unit-13's quirks. If it were really necessary, we might be able to replace his biological parts. But Evangelions represent a significant investment of resources, and we can't afford to use them frivolously."

The Operations Director stops, then gives LN a signal to follow through. "Yes, the Evas are technological marvels beyond the scale of anything else on the planet, so we shouldn't mess with them unless we need to. I've spent the last two years testing these Evas to make sure they're fit for battle. I might not look it, but it turns out I'm universally compatible--" "Because your head's empty."

"That's right, because my he-- Hey!" LN stamps her foot indignantly. "That's a horrible way to put it. Though it's probably true that there can't be any interference if there's nothing to interfere with..." She kicks at the ground moodily, lost in thought.

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill has the ecstatic gaze of a kid in a candy store who just got told everything in the shop was free. Both the implied threat by Tanaka and the previously-warned of stench from Liner do little to dampen her enthusiasm.

"So... cyborgs, basically? And we get to pilot them?! This is officially the best day ever! Which one's mine, which one's mine?!"

At the back of her mind, a nagging doubt tries to penetrate through the wall of excitement flooding though her mind but fails. A question she should have been asking if her ADHD wasn't currently in overdrive...

[PalusAbel]

"I suppose you could call them that. I don't know enough about the nuances of the word to argue." Tanaka answers dismissively while looking at her watch. She heaves a sigh and walks off with one arm raised in parting. "Ever since you kids got here it's been meeting after meeting. Honestly, it's such a pain. I'll leave the rest to you, airhead."

"Yes, ma'am! I am not an airhead." LN turns back to the group with a slight pout. By the time her next words are out of her mouth, her sullenness has completely disappeared. "By process of elimination, your Eva is the next one over. It's the one with all the fancy things sticking out - you can't miss it. Unit-09's practically Liner's opposite - scrawny, but incredibly precise with ranged weaponry. Even an inexperienced shooter like me can get good shot groups with that one."

"And that about wraps up the Eva introductions." she declares. Then, as an afterthought, she adds, "Unless you wanted to see a demonstration or something. I think you're scheduled for testing later in the week, but maybe seeing how it's done first will help you out. Yeah, it might be better not to be surprised for your first time."

[Zazax]

Eric's eyes followed Tanaka for several seconds as she departed, then snapped back to Unit-07. It was certainly gangly, as LN had said, and while the other Evas seemed to have multiple colors, Unit-07 was completely black. Shiny, too. Shiny was good.

As he watched, one of its long, thin fingers moved ever so slightly. He arched an eyebrow in response.

Well, LN did say it was kind of twitchy. And it is apparently alive.

He turned back to her. "A demonstration? As in, you getting in one and showing us how they work? That could be awesome, and I want to see these things in action." There was a short pause as he worked out the one word Tanaka had used that had gone completely over his head. "That wouldn't be using them... 'frivolously'... would it?"

[PalusAbel]

LN sticks her tongue out in good-natured humor. "Scared of getting in trouble? I had you pegged for the mischief-maker type. But don't worry, we'll be in those Evas for all sorts of tests soon enough. They're scheduled pretty frequently, so running an extra or two won't hurt. Wait right here, I'll go get changed." She giggles, then bolts off before anyone can respond.

[Zazax]

As LN bolted off, Eric shrugged and spoke to nobody in particular. "Actually, if it's using them frivolously, then I kind of want to see it even more."

He waited for a moment, then exhaled, clapped his hands together, and turned to face the other two girls, grinning. "So this is pretty cool. I can honestly say when Ms Smith, or Tanaka, or whatever we're supposed to call her, picked me up I was not expecting to be driving a giant robot. Cyborg. Whatever."

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill leans over the railing, staring up at the still orange and silver frame of Unit-09 above her. It was smaller than LN's Liner and Sophia's machine, thought not as wiry as Eric's all black one at the end.

"So cool, I still can't believe this is real. And we're supposed to control this with our minds, huh? I wonder how that works. I mean, I've heard of biofeedback for helping with prosthetics for missing limbs, but this is a whole different ballpark than that. Whew."

She stares at LN's retreating form for a moment before furtively looking over at Eric and Sophia. The question that had been buzzing around the back of her mind had finally forced its way to the forefront, and she wanted their opinion without Tanaka or LN around to hear it. Granted, LN seemed nice enough... but she also clearly seemed to be much more connected to everything than the three recent arrivals were. And definitely a little too close to that unpleasant woman for Jill's comfort.

"So... am I the only one who thinks this is a little weird? Not that I don't think this isn't the coolest thing ever, but why are we here? These things aren't some little science project, they had to have spent years and billions of dollars making them. Why would they have a couple of kids like us be the pilots?"

She swallows before continuing. "And what exactly are these Evangelions for? All this secrecy and security... these things are weapons, aren't they?"

[Zazax]

Eric drummed his fingers on the railing absently as Jill's question caused him to recall his first encounter with Tanaka.

"Well, when she picked me up, Tanaka did say something about having to fight when they said to fight, so these being weapons seems like a good bet. Although if that's the case she failed to mention who we'd be fighting."

His brow furrowed.

She also said something about dying when I was told to, but that was right after she'd threatened to cut my hands off. Was probably just intimidation. Right?

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill thinks back to her own "interview" with Tanaka, wincing at the unpleasant memory.

"Well, I was a little distracted at the time, what with her threats and violating my personal space in a totally uncool way and by the way did I mention I really, really don't like that woman, but she did mention something to me about the world being in danger and that we would save it, somehow. At the time, I thought she was just being a little melodramatic just to scare me even more. Hmm... well, if they are weapons, what would be the point then? I mean, something that big is just a sitting duck for missiles from jets and big groups of tanks and stuff. I think. Not a military buff like some of my friends. Of course, it'd be great if we were fighting Godzilla, but heh, not like there's actually giant monsters attacking cities and all, right?"

[Aneurin]

Sophia

As Tanaka-Smith-Whoever leaves, Sophia sticks her tongue out at her retreating back. As Jill starts asking questions, she shrugs slightly.

"I was told it is something to do with the future of mankind. Something to do with my papa's work," she says vaguely, as she looks around the massive hangar. "Surely they cannot be weapons, though - we are not soldiers, and we have no reason to fight for this country. Besides, what enemy could ever be fought with only four Evangelions? Perhaps it is some form of research, instead?" she finishes, a little lamely seeing as she can't think of any research that they could actually be useful for.

As she talks, Sophia wanders over the the rail and leans over it to look down at the reddish liquid the Evangelions seem to sit - well, stand - in. She also runs her eye over the line of giant robot-things, and starts ticking them off in her mind. If that one belongs to Jill, and that one is for Eric, and the one for LN is gone then that last one must be...

"...Mine," she says at last, then stops and stares and the great pink head with it's single, enormous eye. "Why is it pink? And why does it only have one eye?"

[Zazax]

Eric stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced sideways at Jill. "You don't like our 'glorious Operations Director' very much either?" He asked, the sarcasm around the term blatantly obvious. He grinned again after a brief pause. "Glad I'm not the only one."

Turning back to the railing, he leaned slightly over to get a better look at Sophia's Eva. "Heh. At least yours has some actual color to it and doesn't look like it'd collapse like a tower of toothpicks in a windstorm at the slightest breeze."

While his eyes were still locked on the Evas, his expression made it very clear that he was aware of how... odd... his simile was, and that it did nothing but amuse him further.

[PalusAbel]

“Um… Can you hear me? Can you see this?” LN waves her hand in front of the on-board camera. She had summoned the other pilots to the observation room, and was attempting to communicate with them from inside Liner’s entry plug. With the camera on its lowest zoom setting, the majority of the plug’s interior is visible; the cockpit consists of a cylindrical chamber with a throne-like command console. Two control sticks rise up on either side of the central column, which itself is dotted with myriad buttons, levers, and switches.

“I know this looks complicated, but it’s easier than you might think. If I can do it, then there’s no way you can’t.” She delivers self-deprecating reassurance with a smile. “So, first things first: Before you get into the plug, you ought to be wearing one of these.” LN indicates her form-fitting body suit, which features an assortment of molded armor plates and a chest-mounted defibrillator. The suit is a glossy black, just like Liner's armor, with the piping and other highlights in blazing neon pink. “This ‘plugsuit’ and its matching headset are packed with important monitoring and interfacing equipment. It’s very difficult to pilot an Eva without them.

The headset comes in a number of different forms, from hair clips to helmets. I prefer this particular helmet model myself, since the display goes all the way around and doesn’t cut off my peripheral vision.” She gives her wraparound visor a quick knock. A sheet of laminated glass forms an arc from temple to temple, with HUD elements are projected directly onto the surface for ease of access.

“The next part is really important, so listen carefully. Controlling the Evangelion involves syncing its body with yours, and we use a liquid medium to make that process easier. But the main thing is that it’s also what you’re going to be breathing so long as you’re in the plug. Watch closely - I’m about to trigger the LCL pump.” As she pushes one of the buttons on the console, the plug begins to fill up with a viscous orange fluid. LN doesn’t panic even when the fluid rises over her head. Instead, she calmly and slowly inhales the liquid into her lungs.

“The trick is to breathe this stuff, not to drink it. Learning the difference can take a while,” she says after a few moments. “If you think you’re going to puke, make sure to let someone know so they can drain the plug.” LN smiles awkwardly before quickly jumping to another topic. “Anyway, once the plug is filled up, you hit another switch to make the LCL transparent, and then you set the computer to read your brainwaves. The standard software includes both thought and voice recognition, but they’re language dependent.

After all that, I’m finally ready to pilot Liner. ...wow, this really is easier done than said. If I didn’t have to give the play-by-play, I’d have been done so much sooner.” LN scratches her helmet, not realizing the futility of the gesture.

“Well, last thing on the list is demonstration.” She raises her hand and gives her audience a quick wave. Out in the cages, Liner mimics the gesture within a fraction of a second. “The mechanical controls are best for precise movements, but big gestures like this translate easily from pilot to Eva. That about wraps up Eva 101. Any questions?”

[Aneurin]

Sophia

From the observation room, Sophia watches the demonstration with a mixture of awe and bewilderment. It is certainly an incredible achievement, but why do parts - the 'LCL pumping' in particular - remind her of her father's work? And just why does LN know so much, and why is she trusted to show them what to do on her own? And none of this has answered the question of why they are brought here.

There is something very strange going on.

"Yes," she raises a hand as she speaks. "What is 'LCL', and why is it needed? How does an Evangelion work? Why do you have one? Why do I have one? Why do you know so much, when we know so little about them? What are they for?" Sophia purses her lips a moment in thought. "And... a lot of things, I suppose. How do the 'plug suits' work?"

[PalusAbel]

LN is quite visibly overwhelmed by Sophia's barrage of questions. She stumbles through her answer, grasping at straws. "Ah, um, well, I've been here for about two years now, so I've seen and done a lot of the things that we'll all be expected to do. Um, I don't know about the rest of your questions. I couldn't catch them all, so..."

She grinds to a halt. Then, wilted in both form and tone, she confesses, "I read a lot of that stuff off a prompt. They haven't told me about any of the technical details, and I probably wouldn't understand even if they did. I'm older than you guys, and I've been here longer, but that doesn't take you very far as a pilot. Most of what I 'know' only stuck after lots of repetition."

[Aneurin]

Sophia

How disappointing. She stifles the urge to sigh, as she swings her feet under her chair.

"Humph. Then do you know why we are children?" she frowns a moment, that's perhaps not the question she wanted to ask. Stupid English. "Rather, do you know why it is children who have been selected as pilots? It is rather strange, non?"

[PalusAbel]

"It all has to do with compatibility. All of us have been tested for it at one time or another - your guess is as good as mine as to whether our age is a coincidence or not." LN relaxes, as this is evidently a question she is comfortable addressing. "This isn't something I know for certain, but I think the fact that we were all born after Second Impact has something to do with it. After all, our job is to prevent something like that from happening again.

...wait, do you guys even know the truth about Second Impact? Did Tanaka tell you before you came here?" She abruptly switches topics and asks a question of her own.

[CrimsonKnight]

"Yeah, no, she was a little too busy threatening me and being intimidating to actually tell me anything informative. Why do you think we've been grilling you so much the Evas and... wait a frigging second."

Jill glances over at Eric and Sophia for a moment with a puzzled look on her face that slowly morphs into suspicion. Second Impact had been a meteor strike from a micrometeorite travelling at a significant fraction of the speed of light. This wasn't like a bad movie, she knew enough about basic physics and astronomy to know you couldn't even SEE something like that coming, much less stop it from happening... assuming, of course, that that was the actual cause of Second Impact.

"What do you mean, prevent Second Impact from happening again? What... truth?"

[PalusAbel]

LN blinks in genuine surprise. "I didn't expect Tanaka to leave that to me. Hmm, where do I start? Ah, I suppose I could say that the real cause of Second Impact is the thing that the Evangelions are meant to fight." She pats the console in front of her affectionately, as if petting a dog. She pushes a button to bring up a holographic keyboard and quickly types in a few commands. A small picture superimposes itself on the observation room viewscreen, depicting top-secret satellite footage of Antarctica moments just before Second Impact. LN inputs another command, and the picture crawls frame-by-frame through the sudden detonation of the southern ice cap... along with a quartet of wings rising from the epicenter.

"Second Impact was the result of mankind's first contact with the beings known as Angels." This time LN doesn't even try to conceal the fact that she's reading off a script. "The sleeping giant discovered beneath the polar ice was awakened as a result of the research team's actions, and subsequently self-destructed. The entirety of the expedition was annihilated with the exception of one teenage girl. This cataclysm, known as Second Impact, resulted in the devastation of the continent of Antarctica and much of the southern hemisphere... I think you know the rest." LN trails off, leaving the image of Second Impact to loop over and over.

[Zazax]

Eric listened to the conversation, making terrible, sarcastic jokes to himself as it carried on, his stupid grin etched onto his face.

Why are we all children? Because we're not old enough to be adults, obviously!

Did Tanaka tell me about Second Impact? Well, actions speak louder than words, and it seems she was screaming at me.

When the video of Second Impact came up, his grin evaporated.

"Wait. So this thing destroyed an entire continent and caused a global disaster just by waking up, and we're expected to somehow fight it, or other things like it? This seems like we're being asked to punch above our weight class here. I've fought people before, and I can handle that, but I wouldn't even know where to start on something like this." He gestured towards the looping cataclysm on the screen before him.

[PalusAbel]

"You're right. Humans by themselves have no chance against the Angels. But we have something to level the playing field - a decisive battle weapon seventeen years in the making." LN smiles weakly, and tries to run her hand through her hair, though again she seems not to realize she's wearing a helmet. "I know it's intimidating. I know that. You have to believe me when I say that there's no one else who can do this.

The Evas are picky about their pilots. The four of us are some of the only people in the world who are compatible. There might be at most a few dozen other candidates, but considering the effort it's taken to get you here, bringing in more pilots might not be an option. Tanaka says we're running out of time as it is. From what she tells me, we've got around a month to 'achieve combat readiness'. I'll do what I can to help teach you, but that's cutting it real close for rookies that have never seen an Eva before."

[Zazax]

Eric kept his eyes locked on the looping video for several seconds more before he spoke again. Something she'd said...

He turned back towards the image of LN, his brow furrowed with thought. "A month? Why a month? It's been seventeen years since Second Impact and I, at least, haven't heard anything about any other continents being destroyed in all that time. What's the rush? If we're up against something like this, why not make sure we're as trained as we can be?"

[PalusAbel]

LN flails in what she hopes is a reassuring manner, which Liner comically imitates. "Oh, sure, sure, more training is better. It just that I'm not in the loop as far as details ago. Apparently Nerv HQ had a prediction about when the Angels were supposed to return - two years ago, to be exact. You're right in that no Angels have blown up any other continents because, well, they're two years late. But the Commander of Nerv-Brazil thinks she has a more accurate schedule this time around, and she says we have to be ready by next month."

[Aneurin]

Sophia

"Que? We are expected to fight something that nearly destroyed the world simply by waking up? Would the world not be destroyed when the others awaken, before they are defeated?" Sophia says warily, after she stops, well, gaping at the incredibly far-fetched explanation. Mind you, it's only slightly more far-fetched than giant biologocial not-robots, so...

"And how does anyone know when they were supposed to awake? Would it not be easier to destroy them while they still sleep?"

[PalusAbel]

LN thoughtfully traces her lips with the tip of her finger. "You might be able to get better answers directly from the Commander. I'm working with second-hand information that Tanaka gave me, and she explicitly said that she couldn't tell me the details. Should I wrap up here and bring you to the Commander's office? Although she might prefer that we made an appointment..."

[CrimsonKnight]

"Well... geez. Not asking for much, are you? Just take on monsters powerful enough to literally destroy half the planet just from waking up. Piece of cake... hahaha."

The laughter is nervous, and Jill plops down in a chair, staring out the window at the row of Evangelions in the cages.

"I'm getting the feeling that your bosses have to be just a little desperate if they're putting the fate of the entire frigging planet on our shoulders. I mean, I've never been in a fight or fired a gun in my entire life! Even if these things control like you say just with our minds, that doesn't mean I can do cool soldier stuff or unleash some kung fu attack or whatever. One month is not gonna be even close enough time..."

She looks down and seems to be contemplating something, before nodding and leaping to her feet with renewed confidence.

"You know what? Heck with it. Come on, we've got giant cybernetic machines that we control with our minds! This is so far beyond normal that we've got no choice but to go with it. Yeah, I don't really like how we were recruited and I'm no fighting master with years of training, but... that doesn't matter now. I've gotta believe this isn't hopeless. Even if it's only a small chance of success, you can count me in! What's the alternative, we just sit back and let them kill everyone and everything on Earth without even trying to stop them?"

Jill turns and addresses LN.

"You said the Commander knows how we can stop the Angels? Then let's go. Knowledge is power after all. And knowing is half the battle!"

[Zazax]

Eric reached into his pocket and withdrew his pen as Jill spoke, twirling it as he had done before.

When she was finished, he piped up. "Way I see it, there's only a few possible outcomes here. If we fight, the Commander could be wrong, in which case we get a month of driving around giant robots for pure funsies, or the Angels show up and we beat them, in which case we're all heroes, or the Angels show up and beat us, in which case we're dead. If we don't fight, either nothing happens, or the Angels show up and kill us anyways." He shrugged, and his grin split his face once again. "Two out of three seems like better odds than 50-50 to me, and frankly, I've got nothing back home that beats driving around giant robots. I'm in, and ready to meet this Commander whenever."

[PalusAbel]

LN smiles mischievously before grandiosely declaring, "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, after all, so I'll take you to see the Commander. I just hope she's in her office right now, and not at some meeting. Preferably alone." Her speech levels off, then falls to nearly a whisper by the time she utters the last word. She is so preoccupied with her worries that she shuts off the display without any further warning. Out in the cages, it's clear that she's started the process of draining the plug.

________________________________

The vaguely toroidal fortress-city of Nerv-Brazil features the head administrative building as a sort of crown jewel at the northern edge of the lake. It takes the form of a massive stepped pyramid, at least three hundred meters long on each of its four sides, that would perhaps be more at home in a Mexican setting. The main stairs, which lead almost directly into the water, are split into four sections: two motorized, two hewn from solid stone. The contrast is somewhat jarring, though the need for automation is clearly apparent. Climbing seventy meters of stairs before reaching the main building itself is no mean feat.

LN stops at the base of the steps for a quick tour-guide summary. "Call it old-fashioned, but the Commander supposedly insisted that the HQ be one of the biggest buildings in the complex. We have several skyscrapers that are taller, of course, but this building is still the most impressive by far. Oh, it's got a metal skeleton - the stone exterior is real, but doesn't run all the way through." She giggles, then hops up the escalator three stairs at a time.

[Zazax]

Slowly following LN up the escalator, Eric leaned against the railing as he made no effort to actually climb them himself. His hand, and its accompanying pen, had returned to his pocket once again, and he studied the enormous structure before him with a whistle. The sheer scale of the place had surprised him, although in hindsight he had only had the his home slums for reference. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd been expecting.

This place is so unlike what I'm used to, but I suppose it's my home now. Not that I've ever really considered a specific place 'home' beyond that place having all my stuff, but the sudden change is still a bit jarring. Tanaka said I'd have a roof over my head, so I suppose that means there's a house or apartment in the city somewhere where I'll be staying? It's been so long I don't even remember what that's like.

I need to remember why I agreed to this, though. It wasn't for the place to live; I was surviving just fine back home. These people know something about my parents. Living here should make it easier to find out what exactly that is. Keep your eye on the goal, Eric.

He noticed the growing gap between himself and LN, still bounding up the escalator. His brief bout of introspection over, he pulled himself back upright, replaced the thoughtful expression that had grown on his face with his characteristic grin, and began to make his way to the top, drumming his fingers on the railing to an arbitrary mental rhythm as he went.

[Aneurin]

Sophia

So, answers must wait until the commander or Mademoiselle Smith gives them, hmm? How irritating, Sophia muses as she follows LN through the complex, and up the ludicrously tall buildings.

"Do you mean to say that this whole complex was built just for Nerv?" Sophia asks, momentarily taken aback by the scale. She'd just assumed the facility had already existed and was just modified, but LN's comment about the commander insisting...

[CrimsonKnight]

Jill's legs are too short for her to match LN's step skipping, and she is forced to run up the escalator just to keep up.

"They built all of this in the middle of the jungle just for the EVAs? Incredible! I know they rebuilt all those cities destroyed by the Second Impact waves in only the past ten years but this is just... wow. Heh, you know this is like one hollow volcano away from being the ultimate super-villain lair, right? So what's with the big pyramid? ImeanIknowthey'resupposedtobeextremelystablestruct ureswhatwithbasicgeometryandtheforceofgravitypushi ngthetopsectionsontotheloweronesandthatswhytheanci entEgyptiansandChineseandMayansandAztecsand..."

Somehow, her mouth seems able to run nonstop scarcely interrupted by breathing despite the quick pace LN was setting.

[PalusAbel]

"That's right, Sophia. There's no way a facility as specialized as this would have been built by someone else. I mean, we have our own artificial lake." LN stops to point at the body of water at their backs - a perfect circle hundreds of meters across. Jill's enthusiasm, meanwhile, starts going over her head again, so LN just offers a vacant smile. "Um... Like I said, the Commander wanted HQ to stick out, so maybe she picked a pyramid shape because they look cool...?"

The escalator moves quickly enough that LN, at the head of the pack, hits the top shortly thereafter. Facing away from the building, however, she only realizes this when her heels hit the lip of the stairway, causing her to careen backwards. Despite her surprise, LN recovers spectacularly with a backwards handspring into a somersault, landing with feet together and arms spread wide. She blinks, at a complete loss for words, until she finally utters, "Ah. Um, tada~?"

First dice roll of the game. Going to test Finesse to see if LN can keep her balance. She'll spend 1 Luck to increase her TN from 38 to 48. Here goes.

Finesse: [roll0]

Awesome. Four degrees of success.

[Aneurin]

Sophia

"Ah, magnifique," Sophia applauds politely as LN performs her acrobatics, and follows after her with a little less tripping over inanimate objects. "When you say facility, doyou mean just this building, or...?" she trails off with an expansive gesture that indicates the view from the windows, and the sort-of-city below.

[PalusAbel]

"Ahem, well, I probably should have said 'complex' rather than facility. Everything you see here was built at most a month ago. Construction's been going on pretty much nonstop from before I got here two years ago up until very recently. We might not be operating at 100% capacity yet, but all the necessary infrastructure is in place. Or so Tanaka tells me." LN brushes herself off and tries to play off her narrowly averted accident as an intentional stunt.

"You know, sometimes I get the feeling Tanaka isn't telling me things for my own benefit, but just so she can organize her own thoughts and feel like progress is being made. She tells me I'm a good listener all the time, but I tend to tune things out when I don't understand them, and that happens a lot..." She bites her lip as she trails off, seemingly afraid that she said too much.

[Zazax]

"Well, you're not alone in that, L." Eric leisurely made his way up the final few steps, finishing his finger-drumming with a flourish, and gave LN a reassuring smile. "I know I'm having trouble wrapping my head around all this myself. Besides," He grinned again, and his eyes sparkled with thoughts of mischief. "I can be quite a 'good listener' too. I'm sure Tanaka will be absolutely thrilled at that."

After a moment, he quickly added, "Oh, and sweet landing," and followed it up with a brief golf clap.

[PalusAbel]

The remainder of the trip passes with little other excitement. The foursome stop in front of a plain wooden door, its equally plain brass plate bearing the words "Commander Tanaka Kamiko of Nerv-Brazil". LN knocks thrice, then opens the door wide.

The Commander's office is a cube ten meters to an edge, and all six sides appear to be television screens; the couches, lamps, and bookshelves seem rather out of place in an idyllic cliffside meadow. The Commander's desk itself is situated a meter or two from the cliff's simulated edge, and the accompanying chair spun around to face the virtual ocean.

"Um... Commander Kamiko?" LN tentatively calls out. She does a poor job of making her voice heard over the seagulls' cries, however, so she tries again, a little louder this time. "Commander Kamiko? I brought the other pilots."

Unbeknownst to her four guests, the esteemed Commander is asleep in her chair, drooling on her fist. As her name might imply, she does seem to be the spitting image of the Operations Director, though Kamiko is smaller by far and blonde to boot. She has none of her sister's ferocity, especially not in her current state.

[Aneurin]

Sophia

"Tanaka? Is she not in a meeting?" Sophia eyes the door plaque a moment, before it swings open and she follows LN inside. "...oh. A different Tanaka? she adds, in a whisper as the sleeping Commander is revealed. "Should we be in here while she is like this?"

[Zazax]

Eric froze. "A different Tanaka? There's more than one of them?" He blinked. "And this one is the Commander?"

He glanced around, taking in his surroundings and judging the distance from his current position to the door. You know, just in case.

"That's... cool?"

[CrimsonKnight]

"Another Tanaka?! Oh great, I was just thinking one of them wasn't enough. Ugh."

Jill's eyes bug out as she takes in the office's panoramic view. "Oh, that is cool! I wish I had something like that for my room. Bet it'd be pretty hardcore to play a shooter with this set-up. Um, is she even here? Last thing I need is to be yelled at just for entering her office uninvited."

Peeking around the chair, she jumps back in surprise at the sight of the sleeping Commander. "Eeeeeeek! Um... hey, I found her."

Well, at least she's easy to tell apart from the other one. Hope her hair isn't the only thing different between them.