[FFML] [Rough Draft][GVR/NGE] AGFV chp 6

A Guyver Forever Voyaging

By: Matthew De Mouy aka FOG3

C&C very welcome, realize this is my first fanfic.

Chapter 6: This is not a game

< > actions, sounds

* * thoughts

[ ] Telepathic communication

Here is the completed Chapter 6. Still in need of some refinement though.

Disclaimer: Fanfiction writers are like free advertising for various series we can cause people's interest to be piqued enough to seek out the series in question. Do I really need to say Guyver belongs to Yoshiki Takaya? Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Gainax and Hideaki Anno.

Note: Previous chapters were written in MS Works this one was written up in MS Word which results in differences like with the line breaks.

Ritsuko, Maya, Sho, and a NERV research detail had been assigned to study the remains of their latest attacker following the Second Battle of Tokyo-3. Largely intact it made a good specimen and much was being learned from the corpse.

Misato showed up with Shinji and called Ritsuko down. Leaving Maya in charge as she went down to see her friend. Ritsuko had seen the report that had initiated Misato's review as well as additional reports, which had been delved up in the ensuing investigation. She had to admit she was surprised her friend got away with only being demoted to First Lieutenant. It actually changed little except though except insure that Misato couldn't override any other member of the bridge staff's authority. Which at first thought might be considered an effective countermeasure, but Misato hadn't had the authority to do several of the things she was in trouble for now. It made her suspect there was more to this than she knew but neither Gendo or Fuyutsuki were telling her anything. Of course, it could have nothing to do with them, there were other powers at work here. Men with secrets they didn't want to get out.

"So this is what the enemy looks like up close." Shinji stated rhetorically.

"Thanks, Shinji. It's an ideal sample for our analysis. I'm very grateful."

"So what have you found out?" Misato inquired.

"Can I see your security clearance, Lieutenant?" *I'm not going to get in trouble just to satisfy your curiosity, Misato.*

"No, Misato. Your current security clearance. Your old one is no longer valid."

<grumble> Misato pulled out her present much reduced security clearance and handed it over. "Here."

"Temper, Misato." Ritsuko examined the card. "Okay your clearance is still enough I can show you the part you'd actually be able to understand."

"Enough wisecracks about my intelligence, Ritsuko. I'm not an idiot."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Be that as it may, you still don't have a good grip of your father's S2 theory and you never took medical level biology. Let alone stuff that would allow you to understand such alien biology."

Misato gritted her teeth, while Ritsuko just smirked. "Okay, okay I give. Now, what can you tell me."

"Well we know that the Angel is composed of matter that has the properties of both particles and waves, just like light."

"What about its power source?"

"What do you think this is some giant mecha anime and these are giant robots? Even you should recognize there some form of lifeform. What would you define as your power source Misato? Alcohol? We did however find something like it but we have no information on its working mechanism."

Misato became defensive. "What? I only drink.."

Ritsuko cut her off. "More then the average persons liquid intake in beer on a routine basis. You really should stop unless you want to be hooked up to a dialysis machine the rest of your life. That's of course supposing it doesn't decay your brain enough first that you cease to be able to hold a job and thus would have no medical insurance."

Ritsuko lost her teasing smile for a moment. "I'm serious, Misato. It isn't at all healthy to be drinking as much as you do. Oh, there was one other thing I thought you might find interesting."

Ritsuko brought up a colored chart that resembled nothing so much as the graphs used to chart DNA. "This is the Angel's inherent wave pattern. While the constituent elements are different, the arrangement and coordinates are a 99.89% match with humanity's."

"99.89% means."

"It proves how shallow our knowledge is. Yet another thing you didn't learn in College, Misato. Exactly how little you do know."

------

Fuyutsuki and Ikari Gendo entered shortly thereafter to personally inspect the progress of the research team. Maya started to move to address them but they already seemed to have things in order. They walked up to some staffers who were lowering the largest reasonably intact part of the core they had been able to recover. Meanwhile, Sho was inspecting a fragment that had broken off from the core with great interest.

"Ok. All right. Stop it." A member of the Engineering staff directed to the person hoisting the core sample down.

"This is the core." Fuyutsuki observed. "How's the rest?"

"The degeneration is very serious. It isn't suitable for a sample."

"That will not be a problem. Discard all other parts." Gendo commanded in that soft and quiet, yet compelling voice.

Shinji looked out from the room in which Misato and Ritsuko were talking. If his father was aware of his presence he didn't in anyway acknowledge it. Of course, his disappearance and what was the focus of his attention did not go unnoticed by a certain individual who was more than happy to not only acknowledge it but tease him about it. When it was all said and done Shinji did in fact discover why his father's hands were burned. That he would endanger himself to save Rei caused Shinji to slightly change his perception of his father, maybe he wasn't heartless.

------

"What's this supposed to be?" Ritsuko inquired.

"Curry."

"I see. So you've continued to eat instant foods."

"This is instant? How can you mess up instant food?" Maya commented.

"Uhm. you've been invited to dinner, so don't complain!"

"Misato-san?" Shinji called attention to the fact Misato's instant ramen was done.

"Would you put some of that into this, please?"

"Are you serious?" Shinji asked incredulously.

"Normal curry ramen doesn't taste nearly as good as this. The trick is to not put in to much water so it forms a sort of sludge."

"I guess you cooked this, Misato?"

"Oh you noticed?"

"It was the taste. Although the raw materials are retort foods, you make such a ." Ritsuko paused. "in the future, please invite me when it is Shinji-kun's turn."

"You mean she does this on a regular basis Sempai?"

"Yes. You'd think between now and when she got out of college she'd improve." Ritsuko turned to address Shinji.

"Shinji-kun you can always move out you know. You don't have to let your ill-behaved roommate ruin your life."

"I'm used to it." Shinji responded lamely.

"He's right, Ritsuko. Don't make light of humans' ability to adapt to their environment. Besides if he does move he'd have to go through a lot of red-tape. Shinji-kun just received his formal security card, you know."

"That humans were designed to be able to adapt and survive in hostile environments doesn't mean they have to remain in such environments. It would be quite easy for Pilot Ikari to change residence. Having defended the city from several attacks and NERV's influence ensures he could obtain lodging anywhere in the city he desires. Those cards can easily be reissued especially if all that needs to be changed is the address. Admittedly security needs to go over any residence selected but they are quick and efficient. As you should know Misato-san, as you did cause him to cancel his security card yesterday." Sho stated.

*Designed?* was running through several heads when Ritsuko decided to change the subject. She'd inquire about this later but it was best to distract the others now. Especially with some not in the loop on Sho's unique disposition present. "So Misato are you going along to the Jet Alone demonstration tomorrow? Or has your reduction in rank prevented you from going?"

"Yes, I'm going. I'm still NERV's senior military officer."

"Which is pretty sad when you take note that is only the rank of First Lieutenant. Then again Captain is only one rank above that. With the firepower at NERV's disposal you'd think the Commanding Officer would be a Colonel at the very least."(1)

"Ritsuko!"

"I'll be bringing Sho along."

"Sempai can I go with you, too?"

"No, Maya. I'm leaving the command of the Science division in your capable hands while I'm away."

-6:00 AM-

Hyuga Makato picked up Ritsuko, Sho, and Misato early the next morning to transport them to Old Tokyo. They could have taken a commercial airline but in this case using NERV equipment was cheaper. Not to mention it gave them a plane all to themselves.

"Sho did you examine those Jet Alone blueprints I gave you?"

"Yes Mama-san. There are several flaws which should prevent it from being deployed as a combat unit."

"If I don't cover it feel free to ask about them."

-6:45 AM Old Tokyo-

"I hope you enjoyed the complementary breakfast that was provided for you. I'd like to thank you all for coming to this special demonstration of Neppon Heavy Chemical Industrial Co-operative's latest project. In a few minutes we'll be taking you to the Control Room, to observe the actual demonstration. But first we'll be answering some of the questions here." Announced Tokido (2), a lightly built man with an officious air about him.

Tokido in addition to being the presenter for Neppon Heavy Industries demonstration of the Jet Alone was also the head of the project, which had developed it. As such he had a personal investment in its success.

Ritsuko stood up and announced her presence, "Yes."

"Ah, the famous Doctor Akagi Ritsuko. It is our pleasure to have you here for this demonstration."

"Thank you, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"The unit is equipped with an internal nuclear reactor, is this correct?"

"Yes, this is our product's most distinguishing feature. It guarantees 150 days of continuous operating power." Tokido boasted.

"I see, but from a safety perspective isn't it rather risky to incorporate a nuclear reactor in a land based weapon designed for hand-to hand combat?" Ritsuko riposted.

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

<snort> "Is that right? So you think a machine with a gratuitous amount of excess fuel in a combat situation, where it is guaranteed to suffer damage, we should ignore the possibility of your toy developing a radiation leak? Or did you forget this was supposed to be a combat unit?"

"Who said that?"

A distinctive woman with red hair and striking green eyes in a navy blue dress stood up and stated, "Romanova Kakaru, JSDF Colonel. You and your backers may have insured that the JSDF can not interfere but that doesn't mean I can't attend in a non-official capacity. That however doesn't prevent me from asking questions. Why use a nuclear reactor on a land based combat unit? Especially with all the Japanese restrictions on nuclear devices of Japanese soil?"

*The JSDF isn't supposed to be here. This isn't how it's supposed to go. Maybe if I..* "Doctor Akagi, as I was saying.."

Ritsuko watched the beginnings of the exchange slightly amused. Romanova Kakaru had quite a record as a tactician, for taking an unusual approach and winning. It would be interesting to see what developed.

"Hey, you haven't answered either her or my question. Stop trying to weasel you way out of it. Perhaps if I rephrased the question? Why did you favor nuclear power over other options knowing its risk and the restrictions in place by the Japanese government? More importantly why doesn't your design contain any mechanical fail-safes on the reactor? There should be multiple fail-safes to prevent the possibility of a radiation leak."

"We decided to favor nuclear power because it seemed the most efficient. The Jet Alone is computer controlled and we programmed it against all contingencies." Tokido finished with confidence.

"I see. If I understand correctly it is supposed to be remote controlled, ne?"

"Yes that's right." *This isn't turning out so bad.*

"Is that for combat action as well?"

"Yes."

"So you're taking a machine with a dangerous power source, that is already clumsy, and adding the addition clumsiness of remote control. The method of which could be damaged putting this toy of yours out of commission. Or worse rampaging around out of control until the JSDF stops it. You truly think such a clumsy flawed design is prudent to be used when the fate of the world is at stake?"

*I spoke to soon.* He looked at his watch. *Saved by the bell.* "I'm sorry we've used up our allotted time for questions. If you follow me we'll proceed to control room from which you will witness the actual demonstration of the Jet Alone."

-7:00 AM, Old Tokyo-

"We are ready to begin the Jet Alone activation test. Don't worry folks, there's no risk at all. Please make yourselves comfortable and watch through the observation window. We are ready to begin." Announced Tokido to his audience.

Turning to the staffers manning the various control stations he gave the order, "Start the test."

"Discharging the power core."

"Pressure levels normal."

"Coolant system circulation normal."

"Release the control rods."

"The reactor has reach nominal power status. Output is normal."

"Begin walk cycle." Tokido directed.

"Walking, forward ahead slow. Balance is nominal. Power core status nominal."

"It's walking. That's certainly something to be proud of." Misato commented.

Almost as if Misato's comment had somehow jinxed it the control staff started to report trouble. "This is odd. The pressure inside the reactor is increasing!"

"The temperature of the primary coolant system is also rising."

"Valve open! Insert the neutron-deceleration fluid!" Ordered Tokido.

"Ineffective. The pump output is not increasing."

"Initiating valve system check."

"It's no good."

"Emergency stop! Cut off the power!"

"Abort signal has been sent."

"It isn't accepting it. The radio circuit's been blocked."

As the implications of this statement set in Tokido desperately tried to do something to regain control but all to no avail. Some of the spectators noticed the machine was headed right for the building. As if to punctuate the fact that it was out of control its foot came down in the control room. Luckily the only thing seriously hurt was Tokido's pride and the roof.

As the Jet Alone prototype began walking into the distance Colonel Romonova commented, "All contingencies?"

Tokido appeared to be in denial but was saved from having to answer by the announcement from the control staff that compression valve was malfunctioning and the control rods weren't working. In short the reactor was on its way to melting down and creating a serious radiation leak wherever it happened to be when that happened. (3) In effect it was a big walking time bomb just waiting to go off. As the realization that this wasn't some bad dream finally seemed to hit Tokido his eyes came to rest on Colonel Romanova.

"You have to do something. It's out of control."

Kakaru folded her arms in front of her. "Even if your corporate backers hadn't ensured the JSDF can't interfere, there is little we could do. Damaging the torso would lead to the reactor melting down that much faster. The best option for us to use some Blackhawks to get some personnel in radiation suits into its core to shut it down. Taking out its legs would slow it down but then we would be slowed down by the passages being a weird angles. However we do not have the luxury. There is someone here who can help you, though but they might be reluctant given how rude you were being to them."

Tokido looked desperate, "Who?"

"NERV. The same people you were trying to put out of business. They have a mecha comparable if not superior to your own and the resources to successfully pull this off. If you ask them nicely I expect they will help you."

Tokido's desperation was quickly replaced by reluctance as his pride resurfaced. "No, I'm not working with them."

"What are you expecting it to stop on its own?"

"Well yes that's a distinct possibility."

"And how probable is that exactly?"

"The probability of that is 0.0002%. (4) It would be an act of God." Announced a dutiful member of the command staff.

"There are people's lives on the line here and you are responsible for whatever your little toy does. So are you going to ask these people for help or are you going to have blood on your hands?"

"We'll help." Announced Misato.

Tokido look petulant.

"Okay hand over the passcodes."

"Those are confidential. I'll have to get permission."

<sigh> "How much time do we have remaining?" Kakaru inquired.

"Little more than thirty minutes. Until 7:35 AM."

"I'll give you fifteen to try and get permission. Lieutenant Katsuragi, Dr. Akagi I suggest you start getting things in motion we don't have much time if we're going to make a difference."

"And you?" Misato asked.

"I'm going to change into my combat fatigues. This dress might be nice for social functions but it isn't very comfortable."

-7:17 AM, Old Tokyo-

"Okay Shinji after your air dropped you'll need to move behind it and place Misato on its backpack. Then you are to get in front of it and try to hold it back." Ritsuko briefed Shinji.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes but we don't exactly have a choice. The projections show it'll meltdown in the middle of Tokyo-2 if we don't do something. As is the Jet Alone will be just outside of the outskirts of Tokyo-2 when we intercept it."

"Can't we.."

"Warn? Evacuate them?" Ritsuko asked with a touch of irritation, which was not directed at him. "We cannot because of the actions of Neppon Heavy Industries. We do not have the time to do the legal paperwork and have it processed."

"Yes, but."

"Why don't we let the JSDF do it or at least help?" Ritsuko finished for him. "Because Neppon specifically used their influence to insure they couldn't."

*That wasn't what I was going to say.*

"Anymore questions?"

"Can't we use weapons?"

"No. For starters with the Jet Alone designed as it is likely to melt down from the damage. Knee capping it would slow Misato down, as the passages would be at weird angles. Most importantly there would be legal repercussions if we were to damage it, which we don't want to have to deal with." *Especially with our budget constraints,* Ritsuko mentally added.

Shinji seemed to have exhausted his supply of questions for the moment so Ritsuko looked around. Hyuga had been able to collect up Shinji and get the EVA transport with Unit 01 aboard in record time, which was still cutting it close. Ritsuko checked to see that Sho was doing all right as he transmitted coordinates to Hyuga. Hyuga would need to plot the intercept course en route. Misato had ended up with the responsibility of actually going into the Jet Alone.

-About ten minutes ago-

"Well Hyuga will be on his way with Unit 01 shortly now all we have to is figure out who goes inside." Ritsuko observed.

"Can't we just send whats-his-name to do it? I mean he designed the thing."

"Tokido doesn't have the guts and Neppon would sue us for endangering one of their employees if we tried. As stripped for money as we are, NERV can't afford to have to deal with that. Besides I already told Hyuga to bring a radiation suit in your size."

"Me?!!"

"Who would you have do it? Hyuga needs to fly the transport, Sho isn't even allowed to stand on his own due to his injuries, Shinji needs to pilot the EVA, and we don't have the time the pick up anyone else to volunteer from NERV's staff."

"What about you?"

"Well for one thing my authority is greater than yours, Lieutenant." Ritsuko smirked a bit as she emphasized Misato's rank. "Besides overseeing that everyone is briefed, I also need to do the paperwork so we don't get burned for this operation. Or would you prefer to do that?"

At the mention of the paperwork and legal issues that would have to be dealt with Misato paled. Deciding she was getting the better end of the deal she agreed. Truth be told it had been her intent to go into the Jet Alone originally but she felt Ritsuko was being presumptuous.

-7:18 AM, Old Tokyo-

"Any Luck?" Kakaru inquired.

"No. They want me to file a written request." Tokido admitted.

<sigh> "Why am I not surprised? Have you come to your decision yet?"

"Almost."

Tokido walked over to where Misato was standing. He addressed her, "Katsuragi-san?"

"Yes?" Misato replied.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I don't know can you?" Misato smirked remembering a stunt her English teacher had once pulled when a student had asked about going to the restroom. It was good to not be made to feel stupid for once.

"Huh. Katsuragi-san, do you really intend to go through with this?"

Misato look thought and after a moment responded, "Yes. Yes, I do."

<sigh> "Okay I'll tell you the code." Tokido admitted with a defeated air about him. "The password to delete all files is 'Hope.' "

"Thank you."

"No, it is I who should apologize and thank you. My pride threatened to condemn an entire city to death. Realize though I have likely condemned myself to death for leaking company secrets. However I'm satisfied knowing that someone will at least stop the thing I created."

"That's really touching." Kakaru quipped in. "Mind if I talk to her a bit?"

Not waiting for an answer she dragged Misato off to the side. "Here." Misato found a contraption with various leads being shoved into her hands.

"What's this?"

"Something to help you." Kakaru responded cryptically. "It's likely that the Jet Alone going on the rampage wasn't an accident. If that's the case the code he gave you may not work."

"What?!" Misato checked her voice at Kakaru's glare but still caused some heads to turn. "Are you suggesting?"

"Yes. Neppon shouldn't have had this catastrophic a failure without something happening. As rushed as the project may have been even they aren't that careless. Getting back on topic that device you hold in your hands should allow you to do the same thing the code would. All you need to do is hook it up to an active port. It will do the rest itself. Know however if the problem is not just in the software that won't help. Oh and I never gave you that." Kakaru walked away.

------

"Deploying EVA."

EVA Unit 01 slid down the ramp built into the specially designed EVA carrier aircraft before beginning its descent. Shinji suppressed his natural fear of falling. If he wasn't very careful the shock from impact might kill or knock out Misato not only causing possible injury, but making the mission impossible to complete. He could not afford fear. Misato and the population of the local cities was in his hands.

Impact. The EVA landed on its feet but elongated the fall by continuing down into a crouch. A glance at the individual in its hands confirmed it had been enough. Remembering Ritsuko's orders Shinji moved to the back of the giant robot they called the Jet Alone.

While an EVA resembled a stretched out human the Jet Alone resembled nothing so much as a headless deep se diver with an exaggerated backpack and what appeared to be six black spikes sticking out from the top spreading out like the tail of a peacock. A Gundam Otaku might think of it as an ugly rendition of a Z'Gock but likely wouldn't use the reference as he wouldn't want the association to be made. It was the exaggerated backpack where the necessary access hatch was located. The machine continued to plod along its overly long arms swinging as Shinji brought Unit 01 into position matching speed. Misato check the seal on her Radiation suit. They all seemed to be find but for some reason the suit seemed significantly lighter then the last time she wore one. *Maybe I've gotten stronger.* Another part of her mind pointed out she hadn't been exercising at all since the last time she wore a radiation suit and there was no good reason for it to feel lighter. Misato decided to squash these thoughts she had a job to do.

Misato jumped from the EVAs hand to the Jet Alone's back. Just as she got a solid hold on the rungs the Jet Alone stumbled nearly throwing her off. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if she had jumped just a little later. She quickly pulled herself up and entered the hatch. It wouldn't do to be outside when Shinji tried to hold it back.

Shinji moved around to the front of this thing Ritsuko told him was called the Jet Alone. Facing it he was reminded of some sumo wrestlers he had once seen on TV as he moved to restrain its forwards movement. The Jet Alone didn't seem to really want to go in for that though as it mindlessly continued to try to plod on. Shinji found that the difficult part wasn't so much preventing the Jet Alone from going forward, but preventing himself from accidentally causing it to overbalance and fall over in the process.

-Inside-

Misato rushed down the halls trying to get to the control room. This resulted in her beer gut paining her. *Damn, I really need to cut back on how much beer I'm drinking.* Of course, she didn't have any real intention of cutting down the amount of alcohol she consumed, but she wasn't going to allow a little thing like that stop her from complaining about its consequences. The shock from the initial contact when Shinji had apparently first started his struggle with this piece of junk and the occasional jarring around had thankfully not resulted in her hitting any of the walls that hard. Which was not to say she didn't have a few sore spots to complain about. With a not exactly small amount of cursing Misato eventually made her way to the door to the Control Room.

*Stupid Robot.*

Misato tried to kick the door in from the built up frustration she had gather from being jarred around so much trying to get here only to find much to her chagrin after kicking it a few times a sign saying 'Pull.'

*Stupid Door.* having reached the goal room Misato took a minor break and reflect on her actions up to this point. "Why am I acting all irritable?" <Pause> "Did I just say that out loud?"

Deciding she didn't have time to waste arguing with herself while standing in the middle of a reactor just waiting to melt down Misato searched for the command console. Her movements seemed to be unusually slow and everything heavier then it should be as she moved towards the console. As she tried to bring it up the command to delete all files and use the password Tokido had given her she found that it didn't accept it. *Well I guess Colonel I'll get to use that thing you gave me after all.*

Some fumbling later Misato pulled the device out and managed to find a corresponding port for one of the various connectors. As she began to see it take effect on the system she began to feel a little weak in the knees.

"Daddy don't leave us."

-Outside-

Shinji kept doing his not so successful job of holding the Jet Alone back while at the same time insuring that it didn't fall over. There had been a few times there when it had gotten a little out of hand. He had to stop himself from falling over and taking the Jet Alone with it when it finally went limp in his arms he had gotten used enough to impeding its movements in that short period of time. Then he heard Misato's voice over the com link but it was so very unlike the Misato he knew. It was more like a child Misato instead of the capricious woman he had came to know.

"Daddy don't leave us."

-EVA Carrier-

"The Jet Alone appears to have stopped Dr. Akagi. It appears our operation is a success." Hyuga reported from the cockpit.

Ritsuko got up from dealing with the not to be underestimated amount of paperwork, that needed to be filled out to cover for this situation, to go see for herself. Also it did give her something of a break. Sho stayed where his wheelchair was strapped down near the table Ritsuko was working at. He looked up taking interest in the event but went back to helping his mother with her work as he couldn't really see anything anyway.

About this time a voice both of them recognized immediately as Misato's but was at the same time quite unlike her came over the comlink.

"Daddy don't leave us."

Ritsuko went over to the communications gear. "Misato come in. Snap out of it. Are you okay?"

All they got was a repeat of the previous statement. Ritsuko looked over at Hyuga whose face showed a considerable amount of concern at this development.

"I think she might be suffering from delirium."

"We need to help her." Hyuga insisted.

"What would you have us do? We don't have any spare radiation suits so even if you could somehow get to the Jet Alone you'd being putting your life at risk trying to get to her."

"I don't care. I'm not going to let Misato die." Hyuga fired back his voice grief stricken.

Ritsuko wrestled with him for the controls. "You can't hover with a plane like this and there's no real way to get up there if you land. Even if the reactors shut down that place is still flooded with radiation that will take some time to dissipate."

"Are you just going to let her die?! She's in trouble and I thought she was your friend!"

"I'm trying to be reasonable. Evangelion Unit 01's batteries should be almost out of power by now and there's really no way for us to get in there in time to make a difference even if we didn't have to worry about sentencing ourselves to death in the process from radiation poisoning. We can call people with the proper equipment to take care of this." Ritsuko tried to reassure him.

"Fine."

-9:30 AM just outside Tokyo-2-

A pair of Blackhawk Helicopters approached the immobile Jet Alone. Evangelion Unit 01 still stood in front of it like a pair of giant statues. Having finally gotten the ban lifted with no small amount of sword rattling the JSDF was here. Both landed on the giant robot's backpack and in short order several soldiers in radiation suits shimmied down ropes to the access hatch. They made good time to the control room where they found First Lieutenant of NERV, Katsuragi Misato still in radiation suit curled up in fetal position babbling incoherently. The squad medic moved to see if she was okay while another member checked the radiation levels. The medic felt her pulse by feeling the artery in the underside of her arm (5). Placing his hand on her chest he checked her breathing and generally assessed her condition as much as possible through the suits.

The individual with the Geiger counter reported, "The radiation is still high enough to keep that it would be best to keep the suits on, Sergeant."

The Medic reported, "Would should be able to move her."

"Okay Private Sonada you're carrying her now be careful with her."

Yet another individual moved and picked Misato up. Thankfully she didn't seem to be in the mood to struggle in her apparently delirious state. They made good time getting back to the access hatch. Just as Private Sonada began to reach for the rope someone bumped no pushed him from behind. The rest of the squad could only look on in horror as the two individuals fell over 100 feet to the ground.

The individual who was obviously in charge of the operation turned to the apparent cause of Private First Class Sonada's fall. "Private Hirai what the hell do you think you were doing?"

------

Private First Class Hirai is declared dead. Autopsy later reveals death to be by poisoning.

Investigation into events is requested, but denied by high command.

JSDF sends their condolences and the body of the late First Lieutenant Katsuragi Misato to NERV.

Funeral services are scheduled for PFC Sonada.

To be continued.

Authors notes: Finally managed to finish this chapter. As you may have noted it is significantly longer than my previous chapters. Between having to rewrite this entire chapter from scratch after the hard drive it was on bit the dust, adapting to life as a College Student, and the work that comes with taking General Chemistry for Engineers, Calculus 2, Advanced English Composition, and Intro to Engineering Design I've been rather busy. This has delayed this more then I would have liked.

Yes, I killed off Misato. Before you decide to write me off for this let me at least say something in my defense. There are both in story and out of story reasons this was done. In story she was shown to be a potential threat to a certain group of people because she might let loose certain facts she knows. Outside the story I don't particularly like Misato and I don't think I can write her well. So instead of ruining her character I'm having her go down saving an entire city. There's not so subtle hints why Misato started acting all weird inside the Jet Alone but I think I'm going to hold off until the next chapter to make it clear exactly what the deal with that is as this chapter is already rather long as is. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out soon. I intend to put several rather amusing bits into it.

1) I'm using US Army military ranks if you were curious. Under which a Captain is an O-3, a First Lieutenant a O-2, and a full Colonel a O-6. I opted for this because despite the frigates NERV seems more of an Army like organization than a Navy like combat organization.

2) In the scripts when he calls up Mr. Manda he says, "Tokido here."

3) As you may or may not know a Nuclear reactor doesn't blow up when the reactor goes critical. It will effectively irradiate the local area but no boom.

4) Just for comparison purposes the likelihood that Evangelion Unit 01 would activate was 0.000000001%. Jet Alone automatically stopping is 200,000% times more likely.

5) Heard about checking it this way to check a baby's pulse in a CPR class. Seems like it should work without compromising the suits protection which having to raise the hood to check at the neck would.