Babylon 5 and its characters with the exception of Epsilon Squad were
created by J. Michael Straczynski and copyrights are held by Warner
Bros. And TNT. The characters of Epsilon Squad, as well as the
characters of Rei Ayanami-Miranami and Danielle Asuka Langley are my
own creation. Please ask for my permission to use them in your own
fics.
Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Project Eva and copyrights are
held by Gainax in Japan and A.D. Vision in the U.S. Please let me know
if there are any other copyright holders for either series I may have
missed, as I'm not out to make any sort of material gain; I'm merely
expressing my interest in both these series. In other words, please
don't sue me.
Author's Notes:
This story takes place during Season 5 of Babylon 5, after #99
"Phoenix Rising" and before #103 "Darkness Ascending."
To make this story work, I took the events in Evangelion and
plopped them into the Babylon 5 universe at the same time as they
actually occurred (2000-2015). The following events occurred in the B5
universe at the same time as in Eva: Episodes 1-24, followed by the
events of the Rebirth and End of Evangelion movies. This story takes
place in 2262. For purposes of this story, episodes 25 and 26 never
happened.
Previously on Babylon 5:
Out in Sector 999 near the Rim, the Earthforce Special Operations
frigate Perry, Rei Ayanami-Miranami commanding, discovered the Angels
have returned on a planet known as M-235. Afterwards President Luchenko
gave Earthforce jurisdiction over the Angel situation and has sent the
Perry to Babylon 5 to request help from the Interstellar Alliance in
dealing with them. Thirteen, a former Psi Cop who was head of Bureau 13
and who is now the commander of Nerv, vehemently protests Luchenko's
actions. Meanwhile the transport Soryu, piloted by Danielle Asuka
Langley and carrying Evangelion Unit 02, arrives on Babylon 5.
Danielle was a Starfury pilot aboard the EAS Damocles psychologically
discharged after seeing the 17th Angel at the battle of Proxima-3.
Kaworu showed her the fight between him and Eva-01 in Nerv's Terminal
Dogma back in 2015 from the entry plug of Eva-02. Meanwhile, Sheridan
and Delenn discussed the Angel situation and the events of the Second
and Third Impacts.
Well, enough of the preliminaries, let's get on with it!
Babylon 5: Angels
A Babylon 5 / Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover
by Mark Craig
Part 3 - Arrival
Lt. Commander Jesa Marason was having another of those days not
worth writing home about. Responding to distress calls from Alliance
merchant ships under attack by Raiders had that effect. In the wake of
a series of attacks from an unknown adversary on Alliance shipping
lanes, everyone in the Alliance was becoming more and more on edge with
each passing day. And with each new attack came an even greater
possibility that the Interstellar Alliance would be no more after less
than a year. Great, he thought demurely. Something good comes out of
all this mess with the Shadows, the Vorlons, and Earthforce and now we
got this unknown whatsitsface jumping our shipping lanes.
Jesa led Epsilon Squad out of the jumpgate in Sector 15. Epsilon 2
determined the transport's position at 135x21x35, only a few minutes at
maximum burn from the gate.
"Epsilon 2, are you still getting transmissions from the
transport?"
"Confirmed, Epsilon Leader," Epsilon 2, piloted by Lt. Philip
Castro, replied. "They report the Raiders have intensified their
weapons fire."
Raiders. It figured. I wondered when their scum would try and take
advantage of the shipping lanes situation. They had to come back sooner
or later. "All right, boys and girls, we're going in weapons hot.
Epsilon 8 and 9, stay at the gate in case anyone tries to make a break
for it."
"Will do," they both replied.
"Everyone else, follow me, maximum burn. Stay in formation until
we have visual, then break and attack. Epsilon 4 and 7, you'll be my
wingmen."
Jesa hated Raiders. He always had. His father was a transport
pilot before the Earth-Minbari War, and Raiders were a constant
problem. One day, he was hauling some Quantium-40 for construction of a
jumpgate in Sector 843 when he was jumped by several Raider ships. But
Duke Marason was nothing if not resourceful. He powered up some on-
board pulse cannons and nailed five of the bastards, but there were
just too many of them, and they got him in the end. They spaced him and
stripped the ship of everything remotely valuable it had. That's what
the Raiders always did. Profit was all that motivated them. As a result
Jesa had no tolerance for Raiders. Absolutely none. Jesa reflected on
his Raider-elimination missions while stationed aboard the Churchill.
He killed a number of them back then, and it was during this campaign
he was given command of Epsilon Squad.
Minutes later the squad made visual contact with the transport. At
least a dozen triangular Raider ships circled around the transport like
vultures, firing sporadically.
Caught you with your hands in the cookie jar this time, Jesa
thought as he opened a channel to the Raiders. "This is Lt. Commander
Jesa Marason of Babylon 5 to raiding parties. Surrender your vessels or
be destroyed."
Several of the Raider ships veered off and headed straight for the
approaching Starfuries under maximum power. Jesa could see the fight
would begin at any moment.
"I repeat, surrender your vessels or be destroyed."
"No way, Earthforce scum," a Raider replied. "That cargo's worth
millions to us. We're not giving it up."
"Well, now, that's too bad, guys, and I use the term loosely
because there's no way in hell you can possibly be human, but you're
not getting it. I command you to surrender your vessels or be
destroyed. I've dealt with your kind before. If you force me to, I'll
gladly deal with you as I did your predecessors, and send you straight
to hell where you belong."
"Jesa," Lt. Rico Vazquez in Epsilon 7 broke in on a private
channel, "are you by chance taking this a bit personally?"
"Damn right I am," he retorted. Come on, scum, give me a reason to
fire. I dare you.
Sure enough, the Raiders obliged him, firing first. Their opening
shots missed everyone in the squad. Will they ever learn their
targeting systems are so out of date you could foil them with teddy
bears?
"Break and attack, everyone," Jesa called out, "These guys are
designed for atmospheric flight as well. Target their exhaust ports,
that's where they're most vulnerable."
"Will do," everyone replied at once.
Jesa engaged the lead Raider. He cut his thrust to let the Raider
go by him. He spun his Starfury around and planted two sets of plasma
rounds in the Raider's backside, blowing it with a plume of flame.
Splash one.
Jesa turned around and saw Epsilon 4, piloted by Lt. Laura
D'Amico, engaging another Raider. He then saw two others converging on
top of her. Immediately he thrust at them, putting the Starfury in a
series of barrel rolls, trying to engage them before they could fire on
her. "Laura," he called. "You've got two of them almost on top of you.
Break off, break off!"
She did so, spinning around and taking out both ships with a pair
of pinpoint blasts. She then thrust above Jesa to take out another
Raider closing in on Jesa's tail. Splash four. Jesa then saw Rico
forming back on his wing and the three of them went around the
transport hunting more prey. Four more Raider ships awaited them as
three others engaged the other Epsilon Starfuries.
"Now we're even, again," she said.
"We've got one to our left and one to our right, boss," Rico said.
"Two more passing between us," Jesa added. "Starburst break on
three."
"Right," they both said.
"One...two...three...break!"
Jesa thrust upward and back towards the Raiders while Rico and
Laura crossed paths and flanked him. They opened fire on the slower-
turning Raiders and obliterated all four of them.
The rest of the squad mopped up the remaining Raiders in fairly
short order as they were too stupid to realize they were outclassed.
They didn't even have time to make peace with whatever God they served
before they were destroyed. When it was all said and done, all the
Starfuries surrounded the transport.
"Transport Aristotle, this is Epsilon Squad from Babylon 5," Jesa
said over the link in satisfaction, "your Raider friends are gone. I
doubt they'll bother us again for a while. We'll escort you to the
station."
"Thank you," said the relieved pilot. "A few more seconds and we'd
not be having this conversation right now."
"Our pleasure," Jesa said. "Okay, Epsilon Wing, our job's done,
let's lead the transport back to the barn."
Jesa was back on the station a little over an hour later without
further incident. It turned out the Aristotle was carrying medical
supplies bound for Babylon 5. The drugs contained on that ship would've
brought millions on the black market. It gave Jesa a feeling of
satisfaction whenever he was able to put an end to any Raider
operation. Maybe this would help things around here. But it's not
Raiders doing the attacks on the shipping lanes. Something else is out
there. But what the hell is it? Could it be the Centauri? If so, what
would they have to gain by attacking fellow members of the Alliance? It
makes no sense.
Oh to be back in my quarters again, he thought as he exited the
transport tube on Blue-7. Just me and my soda propped up on my couch
watching vids. His quarters were only a short distance from the tube,
that was part of the reason he selected these quarters after his
promotion. He briskly walked toward his quarters, running a 20th-
century rock tune in his head, he couldn't remember which, when he
reached an intersection with a short hall leading towards the center of
the station. A woman came out of the hall and slammed into him wearing
a reddish-brown outfit which Jesa thought had seen better days and
carrying a backpack. She looked at him with a rather distressed look on
her face.
"Sorry," she said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "I didn't realize
where I was going."
"It's all right," Jesa assured her.
"I am a bit lost, actually. I think I'm on the wrong level. I'm
looking for the Guest Quarters Requisition office."
He nodded. "That's on Blue-14, Suite 27, I think. You're on Blue-
7." He indicated behind him. "Transport Tube 5 is just down that way."
She shook her head. "Thank you. I never thought this place could
be so big."
"Your first time here," Jesa guessed.
"Is it really that obvious? I just haul goods and materials to the
Alliance worlds. I thought I'd rest up a couple of days before moving
on."
"Where?"
"The Rim," she said. Suddenly she clutched her head and gritted
her teeth against something. Jesa looked at her in concern. What's with
all this? "Hey, are you all right?"
"No, not again," she cried, doubling over. "You've done enough to
me already, haven't you?"
What the hell is she talking about? Who the hell is she talking
to? Looking around, Jesa could see he was the only other person in this
part of Blue-7. It was after midnight station time, after all. Still,
he was about to activate his link to call Medlab when she rose back up,
looking at him with a wild, darting gaze. Her very demeanor seemed to
change right before his eyes.
Even her voice seemed to change slightly, like it was touched with
something. "Always with Angels will our struggles begin," she began,
almost like she was reciting something. But what? "Six by three they
would come and the universe shall know pain like no other. The Impact
will come as never before."
Jesa didn't like where this was going. "What are you talking
about?" he said as calmly as possible. "What Impact."
"The Impact prophesied by G'Qeth. The Impact which has happened
times three," she replied, now in near hysteria. "Do you understand? It
is happening as we speak, exactly as it was written long ago. It will
come to pass, and you are all dead."
Slowly Jesa backed away from this strange woman and activated his
link. "Marason to Security, I've got a disturbed woman on Blue-7 near
Suite 33."
"We're on our way."
Jesa closed the link and warily faced the woman again. She was
still staring at him with the wild look of a madman, mouthing something
to herself he couldn't make out.
"I don't understand," he said, trying to make some sense out of
this, if that was possible. "What exactly are you talking about?"
"The Impact!" she cried, grabbing his uniform with both hands like
vises. "The Impact is coming! Angels always with Angels does the Impact
come. Always with Angels did the Impact come last, and so shall it be
again."
This was going absolutely nowhere. The woman was obviously
demented. Nothing of what she was saying made any sense at all. She
backed up against the wall and slumped down to the deck, burying her
face in her hands. "I'm sorry, G'Qeth," she whimpered. "I have failed
you. They didn't listen. They never listen."
Jesa heard footsteps behind him and Security Chief Zack Allen
appeared with two of his officers, PPG's drawn. Zack gave a nod to the
officers picked up the sobbing woman. He then turned his attention to
Jesa.
"What happened here, Commander?" he asked.
"I was on my way back to my quarters after fighting Raiders when I
accidentally bumped into her," Jesa explained. "She seemed rational
enough at first but after a moment she grabbed her head like she was in
some kind of pain. Then she looked back at me with this wild look in
her eyes. She started ranting about angels and impacts and G'Qeth and
on and on. It didn't make any sense, really. Then she broke down when I
failed to understand her, and that's when you and your people appeared."
Zack nodded. "All right. I may have to come by your quarters
sometime today to take a statement from you. We'll check her belongings
and her identicard and see exactly who it is we're dealing with." He
turned to the officers. "Take her to Medlab. See if the Doc can figure
her out."
"Right, Chief," one said and they took her away.
"My guess is she's either on something or she's had some sort of
mental and nervous breakdown," Zack continued, giving Jesa a slightly
concerned look. "You okay, Commander? You look a bit pale."
Jesa nodded. "Yeah, Zack, I think so. To think, an hour ago I was
fighting Raiders and I come back to a lady's dementia. It just shook me
up a little. A not-so-perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day."
"Look, why don't you go to your quarters and rest up? We'll take
care of this from here. I'll stop by for your statement later this
afternoon."
"Thanks, I might just do that," Jesa said, heading to his quarters
again.
He pulled the keycard out and opened the door to his quarters. He
got out a can of his usual soda pop. He had long since found it to be
the best for calming one's nerves, even better than alcohol.
I could use some calming now, he thought, sitting down at the
small computer terminal on his desk. Man, that unnerved me to no end.
Even if the woman was demented, what she said freaked me out. A thought
suddenly came to Jesa. Impact. Angels. She couldn't mean the Second and
Third Impacts, could she? Well, there was one way to find out. He
activated the terminal.
"Command?" said the voice of the Babylon 5 central computer.
"Computer, initiate multiple keyword search. Designated keywords:
Angels and Impact. Locate all files containing those keywords. Include
all Earthforce historical records in the search."
"Commencing."
"While you're running that, initiate second keyword search on Narn
language for G'Qeth."
"One reference. G'Qeth, Narn philosopher. Born Earth Year 1987,
Died Earth Year 2105. Author of the Book of G'Qeth. Information
follows."
Jesa saw additional information on the Book of G'Qeth appear on
the display. Much mention was made of the Second and Third Impacts on
Earth, though that was not what G'Qeth called them. The Book spoke of
entities beyond comprehension wandering the heavens, entities even
older than the Vorlons, even older than the Shadows. G'Qeth wrote that
he even foresaw the Third Impact. How could a Narn philosopher know
about events on a world his race would not encounter for over 200
years? Maybe Ambassador G'Kar might know. The Book also mentioned a
cataclysm which would ravage the universe itself were it to take place.
"Multiple keyword search will take 1.2 hours to compile all
requested information."
Jesa inserted a data crystal into the port next to the terminal.
"Transfer all information to crystal port once it has been compiled."
"Confirmed."
As the computer began its work, Jesa had only one thing on his
mind as he headed for his bed. His curiosity would wait until morning,
but what the hell's going on around here?
Danielle had no idea where she was. When she awoke, she found
herself lying on a bed in a gray-blue room with harsh lighting around
her. Staring at a point on the far wall, her vision cleared slightly
and she sat up a bit. She saw a sign which had a stylized pattern
running perpendicular through a galaxy. Beneath was another sign
which read: Medlab 1.
How did I get here? Danielle wondered. Last thing I remember I
bumped into that pilot in the corridor, didn't get his name. He gave me
directions to Blue-14 and then what?
"Could someone talk to me?" she called out, her voice slightly
raspy.
A gray-clad dark-skinned man went quickly to her. "Hey, hey, easy
now. You've been through quite an ordeal," he said, gently restraining
her.
She looked at him. "Who are you? How did I get here?"
"I'm Dr. Stephen Franklin, the medical chief of staff here. As for
how you got here, Security found you on Blue-7 slumped on the floor and
brought you. I had to give you a sedative to calm you down, and you've
slept for the last nine hours."
"It happened again, didn't it? Just like at Proxima-3." She shook
her head as Franklin picked up a medscanner and examined her with it.
"I thought I was over it by now."
"Well your brain wave activity is slightly elevated," Franklin
observed. "Look, just get some rest, okay? I'll be back to check on you
in a few minutes." He turned and went out of the infirmary.
Looking through a window outside the infirmary Lochley watched
Danielle warily. Just like aboard the Damocles last year, she thought
upon receiving word of what happened on Blue-7. What was it, Danielle?
What was it that happened to you out there?
A nearby door slid open and Zack Allen walked in. "How is she?"
"I'm not sure. Dr, Franklin says there's nothing physically wrong
with her. Her mental state may be another matter. What did you find out
on her after leaving Earthforce?"
Zack went over his report. "After Proxima-3 she ordered a
customized Earth transport ship from the New Glasgow shipyards. How she
could afford something like that I still have no idea. We checked the
logs and she's been hauling cargo for most of the Non-Aligned Worlds.
She has even brought food and medical supplies here late last year. The
interesting thing is this: the logs show she made three trips to Sector
999 in the last five months."
"That's near the Rim," Lochley observed.
Zack nodded. "Exactly. Each time she has landed on one planet: M-
235."
"M-235? We charted that sector when I was in command of the
Damocles. Danielle was assigned to one of the EVA teams to the planet
surface. They reported there was nothing unusual on M-235 and we moved
on."
"If there was nothing unusual about the place," Zack said, "why
would she make three runs out there? That planet is uninhabited; it has
been for some time. The nearest jumpgate is over six hours away from M-
235. Could she have found something out there?"
"It's possible," Lochley replied, trying to recollect something.
"M-235. That's where the Perry found the Angels. And Danielle's been
there three times in the last five months. Very curious."
"You think there might be a connection?"
"I don't know. But it's one hell of a coincidence. And could these
trips also have something to do with whatever happened to her at
Proxima-3? Maybe all of it is related."
"Here's something else," Zack revealed. "Among her belongings in
the backpack, we found a copy of the Book of G'Qeth."
"That's a Narn book, isn't it?" Lochley asked.
He nodded. "According to Commander Marason's statement, she
mentioned G'Qeth, Angels, and Impacts before we picked her up."
"Usually Narn texts are meant exclusively for Narns. Why would a
human be in possession of one?"
"Well, she has been to the Narn homeworld on several occasions
during her travels as a trader. It's possible she might have been
exposed to G'Qeth's writings in that time."
"I think we should pay Ambassador G'Kar a visit," Lochley
concluded. "Maybe he can tell us something about this G'Qeth."
"Commander Marason's been doing some outside research and when I
took his statement he gave me everything our computers had about
G'Qeth. He was a Narn philosopher who believed in certain entities
nearly identical to the Angels. It was during his lifetime that the
Impacts occurred on Earth. In addition, given the current situation,
and the fact this is going beyond the scope of Babylon 5, I felt it
prudent to provide President Sheridan with a copy of this report as
well."
She nodded. "Good idea. With a couple of more people in on this it
might make it easier to figure out what the hell's going on."
"You really think there's anything to the Angels coming back,
Captain?"
Lochley turned to face Danielle lying on the infirmary bed. "I
don't really know. Maybe after the Perry arrives I won't want to know.
Chief, did you check her cargo?"
Zack pulled out his scanner. "That's the other thing I wanted to
talk to you about. We scanned the ship's cargo bay and it appeared
empty. We went inside and opened up the cargo hold and we found this."
He called up an image on his scanner and handed it to Lochley. She
saw a large red metallic humanoid some fifteen meters tall sitting face
down. Sticking out from the neck was a white capsule-like device. A
couple of fin-like protrusions jutted out from the shoulders. It was
also equipped with a thruster pack for moving around in space. She
focused the image on one arm, having an idea of what this thing was.
When she enhanced the magnification on the right arm of the device,
what she saw confirmed her belief. Lettered in green on the side of the
forearm was "Eva-02 Product."
"That's Evangelion Unit 02," she exclaimed. "I thought that was
destroyed in Third Impact."
"So did everyone else," Zack added. "Including Nerv."
"How did she get a hold of it, and where did she find it? Not only
that, how the hell did she get it to its current state? From this image
it looks operational."
"According to our scans, it is. But it doesn't appear to be a
threat to station security. At least for now."
Dr. Franklin came out of the infirmary to join them. "Did you find
out anything more, Doctor?" Lochley asked.
"Physically, she suffering from mild shock but otherwise she's
fine," he said. "Mentally, I'd say she has some form of post-traumatic
stress. According to her medical records, she was given a psych
discharge after the battle at Proxima-3. I understand you were her
commanding officer, Captain. Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Lochley took a deep breath. "She was a part of Gamma Wing, unit
number DMFD-1006, the White Knights, while she was aboard the Damocles.
Our orders at Proxima-3 were only to provide fighter support to the
Herakles and the Pollux. According to the data recorders in Danielle's
fighter, she engaged a red-and-gold-painted Starfury, Commander
Marason's, I believe, and she was caught too close to the explosion
when a White Star ship rammed the Pollux head-on. She came through the
explosion with minor damage, but she just cruised out of the combat
zone. I sent Gamma 1 and 3 after her, and she suddenly screamed over
the comm channels. When she came back aboard, she became nearly
hysterical, not too different from what happened on Blue-7. I
authorized a psych discharge on the advice of the ship's doctors
and she was sent to Earth."
"Well, that would certainly explain a few things," Franklin said.
"I'm going to keep her in here for at least another 24 hours. I'll
download her psychological records from EarthDome and draw up a full
psychological profile on her."
"Very well, Doctor." Lochley gave one last look at Franklin's
latest patient. "Danielle Asuka Langley. She was the best Starfury
pilot under my command, one of the best in all of Earthforce. What was
it she saw that day to reduce her to this? Keep me informed on what you
find."
"Will do, Captain."
Lochley turned to leave. "Chief?"
Zack followed her out of the Medlab facility and into the Red
Sector central corridor. "I'm sure you're aware of Commander Ayanami-
Miranami's arrival at 0900 hours." Lochley said. "I'll need you and a
pair of officers to join us at customs when they arrive."
"You'll have them," Zack promised.
"Good, Chief. Carry on, then. I'll be in C and C if you need me."
Sheridan was back in his office by 0830 the next day, going over
Zack Allen's report on the disturbance on Blue-7. How could a fighter
pilot afford a custom-built transport costing several million credits?
The report also mentioned the ship carried an Evangelion unit. This
interested him greatly. The Evas were believed lost after Third Impact,
or so the official history according to Nerv went. How the hell did
this woman find Unit 02, out on the Rim, no less? More to the point,
how was she able to restore it to an operational state?
He heard footsteps entering his office. Looking up, he saw it was
only Michael Garibaldi, the Covert Intelligence head for the
Interstellar Alliance, dressed in his usual brown suit. Sheridan also
noticed he had a data crystal in his hand and a knowing look on his
face.
"Mr. President, I think I've found something you should take a
look at."
"Does it have something to do with President Luchenko's takeover
of the Angel situation?" Sheridan asked.
"And then some," Garibaldi assured him.
Sheridan leaned back in his chair. "All right. Let's have it."
"About a year before we broke away from Earth, Bureau 13 seemed to
just disappear right after that business with Abel Horn and the Free
Mars group."
"I remember."
"We'd heard intermittent rumors since that Bureau 13 was actually
absorbed into Nerv. We'd never been able to confirm this until now;
this has strictly been on the Q.T. among the top brass in Earth
Central. But I was just contacted by a Ranger in the Earth Sector
aboard White Star 40. He has confirmed that Bureau 13 is now a part of
Nerv. The head of Bureau 13 was a Psi Cop listed in Earthforce records
as deceased."
"Yes, I believe her code name was Thirteen," Sheridan said,
nodding. "I later found out she was in charge of Project Lazarus."
"Right. After Nerv took over Bureau 13, this former Psi Cop became
Nerv's commander. She was reportedly irate that the President would
have the audacity to steal the Angel situation from Nerv jurisdiction.
That really stuck in Nerv's craw, and apparently Nerv is beginning to
sever ties with the rest of Earth Alliance. Not only that, Nerv is
gaining political and rumored military support from individuals and
groups within certain elements inside and outside EarthDome, elements
still loyal to President Clark. Special Ops is in an uproar over the
fact Nerv has commandeered over half their staff and equipment for
their missions, and most of the civilian and military divisions in
EarthDome are upset over Nerv's inflated budgets every year since Clark
took office. This sort of thing could get real ugly."
This was a bad sign. This wasn't something Earth needed at all,
but it looked like Clark's legacy would be around for a long, long
time. "With the financial backing Nerv has from parties outside of
EarthGov, I'm forced to agree with you," Sheridan said grimly. "We just
got out of one civil war. What the hell is Nerv trying to do, start
another?"
"With Nerv, who knows? This whole Angel mess is causing quite a
stir in EarthDome. I wonder if our incoming VIPs realize how big a can
of worms they've opened back home."
"I've always thought of Nerv as being overly paranoid about
secrecy," Sheridan observed. "They always have been. They're no
different now than they were after Second Impact. With Bureau 13 and
all its black projects as a part of Nerv, I can see the reason for the
paranoia, Mr. Garibaldi. Plus who knows what technological secrets
Nerv has been able to reacquire from the years between the Impacts.
Even though most of those secrets are over 200 years old, they could
still be powerful enough to give Nerv an advantage if it ever came down
to a shooting war. Any ideas as to exactly who's providing Nerv with
this support?"
"Not yet, though I'm still looking into it. The Ranger also
revealed rumors of Seele possibly reorganizing and being back on the
prowl."
Another disturbing thought. As if Sheridan didn't have enough to
worry about. "Seele was pretty much finished after their members were
all executed five years after the San Diego bombing. Who's reorganizing
them, and why?"
"I couldn't tell you," Garibaldi admitted. "I still can't confirm
if Seele even exists, never mind figuring out what sort of agenda they
have or who their members might be. I tell you this much, John. If
Seele's out there, they're keeping a very low profile. I don't have
much to go on right now, but I'll dig deeper and I'll let you know if I
find anything."
"Good. If Seele is back in business we need to know about it.
Anything else?"
"Here's another bit of information from the Ranger. Nerv has
supposedly acquired the remnants of Evangelion Unit 01 and has begun
the process of restoring it."
Sheridan arched an eyebrow. This was certainly an eye-opener, on
top of the fact Unit 02 was sitting on a transport in Bay 2. "I thought
Unit 01 was destroyed in Third Impact."
"Damn near," Garibaldi said. "A recovery crew found what was left
of it orbiting Earth around 2050, when manned space missions resumed
after Third Impact. All records of it from beyond that time were
apparently deleted by an unknown party. According to the Ranger, Unit
01 fell into Nerv's hands sometime last year."
"This is interesting," Sheridan said as another thought came to
him. "I just got a report from Security Chief Allen stating his teams
discovered Evangelion Unit 02 inside a customized Earth-built transport
in Docking Bay 2. It's apparently operational according to the report.
And now you mention Unit 01 is back in Nerv's hands."
"Interesting, indeed. Who's the transport registered to?"
"Her name is Danielle Asuka Langley," Sheridan replied. "She was a
Starfury pilot with Clark's forces until she was given a psych
discharge after Proxima-3."
"I received the report on what happened in Blue-7 and I did some
checking. According to her records, she became a trader among the Non-
Aligned Worlds after leaving Earthforce. But even so, ships like that
transport cost well into the millions. How could she afford it? Another
mystery to solve. Tell you what, I'll look into that too." Garibaldi
handed Sheridan the data crystal. "Everything I've found out is all
here. I'll let you know when I turn up anything more."
Sheridan nodded. "Thanks, Michael. Keep me informed."
"No problem," Garibaldi said and left the office.
Sheridan turned around in his chair and stared at the crystal.
Secrets, so many secrets, he thought. And we'll all pay the price one
day for all of Nerv's. Secrets nearly cost us everything 250 years ago.
They could do so again this time. Maybe Katsuragi was right when she
said mankind was the 18th Angel.
His link beeped. "Sheridan. Go."
"Mr. President," Lochley said over the link, "The Perry's just
arrived. We're meeting her in Bay 17."
Damn. It figures that they'd be early. "I'm on my way," he said,
getting up and heading out of his office in a near-rush.
Lochley stood at the front of C&C monitoring some routine
maintenance outside Cobra Bay 2 when she heard Lt. Corwin over a string
a beeps from his console.
"Jumpgate activating."
She quickly turned her attention to the gate displayed on a
monitor on her forward console. The jumpgate powered up and the blue
vortex appeared, disgorging an Earthforce frigate with the ship's name
stenciled along each side near the bow: Perry.
The Perry looked identical to an Omega-class destroyer except it
was a third smaller. The Forrest-class frigate was the smallest class
of Earthforce ship equipped with jump engines. Beneath the ship's name
was the blue Earth Alliance insignia and the red Nerv insignia,
indicating the ship was a Special Operations vessel assigned to Nerv.
Hell, Lochley said to herself, they're early.
"Captain, the Perry's commander is on-line," Corwin said.
Lochley opened the link to the Perry. A blue-haired red-eyed woman
appeared on a monitor next to the image of the powering-down jumpgate.
"Earthforce Special Ops frigate Perry, I'm Captain Elizabeth Lochley,
commander of Babylon 5."
The woman nodded. "A pleasure, Captain. I am Commander Rei
Ayanami-Miranami of the Earthforce frigate Perry. I wish this were
under better circumstances, but I'll need to meet with your command
staff, President Sheridan, Ambassador Delenn, and the senior officers
of the Griffin and the Missouri as soon as they arrive."
"It's all being arranged, Commander," Lochley replied. "The
Griffin and the Missouri will be arriving shortly. Welcome to Babylon
5."
"Thank you, Captain. My first officer and myself will be coming
aboard."
"Very well. You're cleared for priority docking in Bay 17. We'll
meet you in the customs area."
"Confirmed, Babylon Control," Ayanami-Miranami replied. "Perry
out." And she closed the link.
Lochley started to leave the Observation Dome. "Lt. Corwin, C and
C is yours. I have to personally meet our guests. How soon will the
Griffin and the Missouri arrive?"
"Approximately twenty minutes, Captain," Corwin replied.
She nodded. "Good. Contact me upon their arrival and give them
priority clearance when they are ready to dock."
"Yes, Captain. Shall I alert President Sheridan?"
"No, I'll do it. Just notify me when they arrive."
"Yes, Captain," Corwin replied as Lochley rushed out of C&C. En
route to Bay 17 she notified President Sheridan and Security Chief
Allen of the Perry's arrival. She could already tell it was going to be
another one of those days. And we have a decision to make. Since she's
with Nerv, do we tell her about Eva Unit 02?
Within minutes of the Perry's arrival, Rei's Thunderbolt launched
from the fighter bay, carrying Rei and Akagi to Babylon 5. Rei
effortlessly brought the Nerv ship in sync with the station's rotation
rate and entered the docking bay. When she reached the second chamber
the outer doors closed behind her and a landing platform rose up from
underneath. Dropping the Thunderbolt's landing gear, Rei set the
fighter down. The docking computers did their job as they brought the
fighter onto the deck of Bay 17.
Rei powered down the Thunderbolt and removed her helmet. "Let's go
deliver the bad news, Mina."
Akagi opened up the canopy and the two Nerv officers climbed out
of the Thunderbolt. "I don't know, Rei," she said uncertainly upon
stepping onto the deck. "Do you really think the Interstellar Alliance
can help us defeat the Angels?"
"I hope so," Rei replied. "Because if they can't, we're going to
end up with a lot of dead people on the deck. Maybe a whole lot of dead
people. The Fourth Impact will see to that. And it won't just be Earth
that goes this time. The Fourth Impact will spread beyond the bounds of
Earth and it will destroy everything it touches. And with Nerv and
Earthforce having a good old-fashioned marital argument over the whole
thing, the Interstellar Alliance may be our only hope of defeating the
Angels this time."
Akagi nodded in understanding, then she decided to change the
rather depressing subject. "You once served with President Sheridan,
didn't you, Rei?"
"If you call two months on an Earthforce destroyer as a young and
very green cadet serving, I suppose," Rei replied, lightening up a bit.
"As young as I was, I thought Captain Sheridan knew everything, though.
He did, too. My Academy class was divided up into groups of ten; each
group was assigned to a two-month tour as part of a ship's crew as part
of their fourth-year studies. I was assigned to the Agamemnon under
Sheridan."
They began removing their bulky flight suits to reveal their usual
uniforms underneath. "I remember my real-life tour segment," Akagi
confessed. "My group went on board the cruiser Vicksburg under the
command of Captain Rachel North. My classmates and I always called her
Captain Terror. I mean, the woman was an absolute slave driver, and
nothing was ever good enough for her. Still, she had a soft spot for
refugees from oppression, especially children. It was two weeks into
the tour. We were patrolling Sector 22 because Earthforce had gotten
reports of an increase in Raider activity. We picked up a distress call
from a ship under a Raider attack. And when the captain learned the
ship was carrying a group of innocent men, women, and children away
from the civil war on Rigel-5, she charged right at the Raiders. She
opened a jumppoint right in front of them and blasted their command
ship before it could even respond. She sent a Starfury squad in to mop
up and essentially declared 'no quarter.' All the Raiders were utterly
wiped out and we escorted the transport to the next jumpgate. Afterward
she said to all us greenies, 'That, ladies and gentlemen, is why we're
out here. To ensure one man and his family have a chance.'"
"She was right, though," Rei agreed. "The first day aboard the
Agamemnon, Captain Sheridan took each of us aside and asked why we
joined Earthforce. We all had our different responses. Some wanted to
see what was beyond our blue-green world; they wanted to be amongst
these stars, to be part of the great adventure which was space. They
weren't fettered by the fact the Earth-Minbari War had only ended a
few years before. Some were either forced to join by one circumstance
or another. Others just wanted to be away from home."
"What was your reason?" Akagi asked.
"I told him it was where I could do the most good for the greatest
number. He then replied how he could get a feel of what kind of
officers we'd become based on the answers we gave to that one question.
And I'll be damned but he was right. Most of those same classmates have
unimportant desk jobs right now. And here I am, ready to deliver
information which could bring about the death of us all. Ironic, isn't
it?"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Rei. The Minbari have a saying. I
think it goes 'The universe puts us in exactly the right place at
exactly the right time.' The universe put us aboard Babylon 5. You'll
do the greatest good for the greatest number here."
"You're right," Rei said, smiling slightly. "With all that's gone
on the last eighteen hours I'd practically forgotten why I chose the
path I did. Come, they're waiting for us."
Akagi followed as Rei led them out of the docking bay towards the
customs area. When they got there Rei immediately recognized Sheridan.
Ten years, a beard and the loss of the Earthforce uniform couldn't
disguise the fact she was looking at one of her greatest heroes while
going through the Academy. John Sheridan, the man who scored the only
real victory in the Earth-Minbari War, the man who commanded one of the
first Omega-class destroyers off the assembly line, who would go on to
command this city in space called Babylon 5. Standing at Sheridan's
side was the unmistakable Ambassador Delenn. She appeared even more
impressive than in the vids, especially after Rei had seen Clark's ISN
garbage about Babylon 5 and its inhabitants which aired last year. Rei
knew Clark had it all wrong. The impression Rei got from Delenn was
that she was a very formidable force in the new alliance, and not
someone to be trifled with. Her look suggested that when Delenn made up
her mind to do something, she was stubborn enough to see it through to
the end. It was only that kind of commitment which could have ended the
Shadow War and sent the Shadows and the Vorlons beyond the Rim.
Captain Lochley was also there standing next to Sheridan opposite
Delenn, her hands clasped behind her watching the new arrivals
intently. Rei recognized her from aboard the Perry, though the two
officers had never really met. She seldom met anyone from Earthforce
outside of Special Ops. Nerv considered anyone outside of the
organization to be too much of a security risk to make contact with.
Rei had always found the idea a bit repulsive. Nerv considering their
race to be outsiders? An asinine idea to say the least. Still, that was
life in Nerv. She and the Perry had largely been spared from that
little bit of paranoia because they had only returned to Nerv
headquarters two or three times since their initial departure in 2256.
Rei knew Lochley was a very capable officer. She knew Lochley had
once been solicited by Nerv to join them once during the civil war as
their chief tactician, but she turned them down. That alone impressed
Rei; anyone who could get that kind of attention from Nerv was a rarity
indeed. Lochley had a look which was strictly no-nonsense; she would
never give in to anyone regardless of any personal risk. She obviously
ran a tight station, and she made damned sure her people towed the
line, or else it was a trip into the Long Dark, the hard way.
Rei and Akagi had their identicards scanned by two customs
officers wearing Security green and were waved on through. Sheridan was
the first to extend a hand when Rei and Akagi met the waiting party a
few meters from the customs checkpoint. "Commander Miranami," he said,
"it's been a long time."
Rei shook the offered hand. "It has at that, Mr. President," she
replied. "I only wish the situation was not so serious." She stepped to
the side and indicated Akagi. "This is my first officer, Lt. Commander
Mina Akagi."
Sheridan nodded as Lochley stepped in. "Commander, C and C reports
the Griffin and the Missouri will arrive in approximately twenty
minutes. We'll meet in the main conference room on Blue-3 when their
senior officers come on-station."
Rei nodded. Lochley was certainly efficient. She would have served
Nerv well. "Very well. May I assume on-station quarters have been
arranged?"
"They have. Security Chief Allen will escort you there personally.
Chief?"
Allen indicated a direction behind the rest of the group. "This
way." Rei nodded and she and Akagi followed him and into the nearby
corridor.
End Part 3
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