Konnichiwa all!

Here's the second half of Part 4 of Angels and again, some constructive
comments would be appreciated.

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 othercopyright 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.

Babylon 5: Angels
A Babylon 5/Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover
By Mark Craig

Part 4B - Always With Angels

     In the four years since coming to Babylon 5, Lt. David Corwin had 
just about seen everything from his post in Command and Control. He 
stood watch over the starscape outside from the command console. Corwin 
was one of those guys who treated even the most unusual situations as 
commonplace as breathing. He found it easy to lose himself among those 
glowing stars. Hard to believe all that's gone on here the last three 
years. Two wars, breaking away from Earth, Sheridan going off to 
Z'ha'dum, the campaign against Earth, and all the stresses associated 
with all that. Yes, Babylon 5 had certainly changed over the years, and 
he had changed along with it.
     The jumpgate sequence activated, breaking his train of thought. 
Two more Earthforce ships exited the gate and approached the station. 
Corwin knew before the station's computer identified them they were the 
Griffin and the Missouri. The Missouri was rather hard to miss; it 
being the only full battleship in Earthforce. And with the
Griffin's approach, Corwin got his first look at a Warlock-class 
destroyer. An impressive pair of ships, he thought. It would be more of 
an honor than he thought he deserved to serve on either one of them.
     "Lieutenant," one of the techs called from below him, "the 
captains for both ships are on-line."
     "I've got it," Corwin said, opening the link. "Griffin and 
Missouri, this is Babylon Control. You're cleared for priority docking 
in Bays 15 and 16."
     "Confirmed, Babylon Control," came the crisp Captain Emily Lind of 
the Missouri. Lind was a typical ship's captain, or so Corwin thought, 
with that severe look most captains had developed over the course of 
age and experience. Only her green eyes and auburn hair really betrayed 
how young Captain Lind was.  Hard nosed, high-strung, disciplined, 
those were the traits of a typical Earthforce captain, and she 
displayed it all perfectly.
     "Roger that," Ivanova said. "It's good to be back, Lieutenant."
     "Likewise, Captain," Corwin replied. He always had a great deal of 
respect for Ivanova, who had been his superior officer for much of his 
time here. Ivanova always had a unique insight on things not often 
found in most people. He always found some humor in her dry little 
asides regardless of the crisis of the moment. He got on the 
internal link and contacted Captain Lochley to let her know they had 
arrived.
     "I see I've taught you well, Lieutenant," Ivanova observed. "I 
take it Captain Lochley and President Sheridan know of our arrival."
     "Yes, Captain."
     "And Commander Ayanami-Miranami?"
     "She will be awaiting you and Captain Lind in the conference room 
on Blue-3."
     "Very well, Lieutenant. Inform them we will be on-station 
shortly."
     "Yes, Captain, Babylon Control out."

     Within moments, shuttles were launched from both ships and entered 
The station's main docking bay. The automated docking control systems 
flawlessly guided both shuttles to their respective bays.
     "So this floating tin can was your old stomping ground, eh, 
Captain?" LaSalle said in the cockpit of the lead shuttle.
     "It was," Ivanova replied. "But it's a pretty big tin can."
     "I'm not sure I could handle a posting on a front-line station 
like this. Having to deal with races at each others' throats day in, 
day out." LaSalle shook her head. "Not for me. All I ever wanted was a 
tall ship so I can sail among the stars."
     "I didn't know you were so poetic, Commander," Ivanova observed.
     "I'm not. It's the simple truth. I'll take a ship posting over a 
station desk job any time. There's a certain beauty in serving aboard a 
ship."
     "There is that," Ivanova admitted, gazing at the approaching bay. 
"Still, as Mr. Garibaldi once said, it is a big tin can in outer 
space."

     The shuttles completed docking without incident. Both captains and 
their execs made their way to the customs area, where Ivanova saw 
Sheridan and Lochley waiting for them. Customs officers checked in all 
four officers and they met up with Sheridan and Lochley.
     "It's good to see you again, Captain Ivanova," Sheridan said. 
     Ivanova gave a slight smile. "It's good to see you too, John. This 
is my executive officer, Commander Claudia LaSalle."
     LaSalle nodded in acknowledgment as Ivanova turned her attention 
to Lochley. "Captain Lochley, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I 
can see Babylon 5 is in capable hands."
     "Thank you, Captain. I only wish this were under better 
circumstances."
     Ivanova nodded. "Mr. President, Captain, I take you've met Captain 
Emily Lind of the Missouri, and her exec, Commander Richard Reider."
     "I told you I'd be back one day, Mr. President," Lind said, 
shaking hands with both Sheridan and Lochley.
     "Captain Lind," Sheridan acknowledged, "Commander Reider."
     "Mr. President," Reider said.
     "Well, we don't want to keep Commander Ayanami-Miranami waiting," 
Sheridan said at length. "She, Lt. Commander Akagi, Ambassador Delenn, 
Mr. Allen, and Mr. Garibaldi are waiting for us in the Blue-3 
conference room." With that, he led the others out of the customs area 
down a Blue Sector corridor. 

     Jesa strode purposefully down the Green-2 main corridor towards 
Ambassador G'Kar's quarters, a load of questions on his mind after 
examining the data the station's computers provided him concerning 
G'Qeth and his writings on Impacts and the Angels. Perhaps the Narn 
ambassador could help him answer those questions, being as 
knowledgeable with Narn history and historical figures as G'Kar was.
     He reached the door outside G'Kar's quarters and tapped the door 
tone. He waited a few seconds before he heard "Enter," from inside and 
the door slid open. Jesa stepped into G'Kar's quarters, which resembled 
surroundings he'd probably see if he ever went to the Narn homeworld. 
G'Kar sat behind a stone table brought from Narn doing ambassadorial 
paperwork. The room glowed a reddish color. To Jesa's right on
the table sat the copy of the Book of G'Quan, a Narn religious figure 
about a thousand years ago in whom G'Kar believed in rather strongly.
     G'Kar looked up at his visitor and nodded in recognition. "Ah, Lt. 
Commander Marason," he said pleasantly. "What can I do for you?" 
     "Ambassador G'Kar," Jesa said slowly, "I don't mean to disturb 
you. I was just wondering if you could provide me with some 
information."
     "Of course." G'Kar indicated a chair in front of the table. 
"Please, sit."
     "Thank you," Jesa replied and took the offered seat. 
     "Now, Lt. Commander, what is it you needed to know?"
     "I was wondering if you've heard of a Narn philosopher named 
G'Qeth."
     G'Kar gave it some thought. "I know his time was about 150-200 of 
your years ago. Relatively speaking he was a contemporary thinker. But 
among my people G'Qeth was considered a radical. His followers are few, 
and most are on Homeworld. He wrote about entities which existed before 
the Vorlons and the Shadows, visiting other worlds, including your own. 
I believe you called them Angels, did you not?"
     Jesa nodded. "He was supposed to have predicted with frightening 
Accuracy when the Angels would strike at Earth, as well as the Second 
and Third Impacts. My question is, how could he have such insight into 
a world your people would not encounter for almost 200 years?"
     "That is still being debated to this day, Lt. Commander. No one 
who has ever studied G'Qeth's writings has ever agreed completely on 
what he was trying to say until we made contact with your world and saw 
the truth of what he had seen. G'Qeth also considered himself a 
prophet. He made predictions about our world concerning these 
entities which were quite honestly too preposterous to believe, that 
they would cause a cataclysm which would engulf the galaxy."
     "Fourth Impact," Jesa said, "some radical groups in Earth Alliance 
believe essentially the same thing, about the Angels returning to see 
mankind has not evolved and the whole galaxy would be punished for it."
     "Do you believe that, Lt. Commander?"
     "To be honest, no. I don't. I'm not a very religious man, G'Kar. I 
only believe in two things: my squad, and the Starfury I have in Cobra 
Bay 4."
     "Then I don't understand why you're asking me about G'Qeth."
     "An Earth woman started ranting about Angels and Impacts a few 
hours ago, and she mentioned G'Qeth's name. Security Chief Allen also 
told me she was in possession of a Book of G'Qeth. I was trying to 
figure out what was going on."
     "Indeed." G'Kar said, intrigued.
     "She was a Starfury pilot before the civil war, fighting on the 
side of President Clark, then after Proxima-3 she was given a psych 
discharge from Earthforce. She became a trader among the Non-Aligned 
Worlds and later the IA. What I can't figure out is what she would be 
doing with a Narn text."
     "Perhaps it's the only thing she can find which contains the 
answers she seeks. It is common for other races to study the writings 
of our spiritual leaders and philosophers. We would never accept them 
as true followers, of course, but they still can learn a great deal 
from those words of long ago."
     "At the time she sounded rather hysterical and crazed, but the 
more I think about it, the more I worry. And we've got three Earthforce 
ships, including one from Nerv, here on a mission concerning the 
Angels. I have a bad feeling about this, Ambassador. A very bad 
feeling."
     "G'Quan once wrote 'anxiety leads to knowledge. Instinct is a 
valuable tool to those who know how to use it.' Trust your instincts, 
Lt. Commander Marason, and all will be well."
     Jesa got up and headed for the door. "I always do. Thank you for 
your time, Ambassador." 
     "Not at all, Lt. Commander," G'Kar said and Jesa left the room. 

     Garibaldi, Delenn, and Zack sat at the large table in the Blue-3 
Conference room. He saw Commander Miranami standing at the head of the 
room in silent conversation with Lt. Commander Akagi, awaiting the 
arrival of Sheridan and the others. Garibaldi looked warily at the Nerv 
emblems on the two officers at the head of the room. For the longest 
time he felt Nerv was as trustworthy as Psi Corps. And given
the information he dug up about Nerv and its connection to Bureau 13, 
he felt he trusted Nerv too much. Especially in light of what's been 
going on with the rumored Nerv-Earthforce split back on Earth, the 
restoration of Eva-01, and Seele prowling around again. This mess will 
get out of control, Garibaldi thought. It'll get out of control and 
we'll all be lucky to live through it. 
     The thought of the Evangelion units returning made Garibaldi even 
More nervous. After briefing Sheridan on what he found, he persuaded 
Zack to let him see Eva-02 himself. Zack agreed and they examined the 
unit. From what Garibaldi could tell it did indeed appear to be 
operational. The history of the Evas was well known to everyone who was 
in Earthforce. These were the machines which saved Earth from the
Angels, machines which some have said were the same as the Angels they 
fought, and which also were responsible for the Third Impact. And now 
they're starting to appear again. What the hell does this mean?
     Moments later Sheridan walked quickly in, followed by Lochley, 
Ivanova, Lind, LaSalle, and Reider. Sheridan introduced Rei Ayanami-
Miranami and Mina Akagi to Ivanova and the others. It felt like the 
Babylon 5 of old now that Ivanova was back on-station, Garibaldi 
reflected. Once the introductions were completed, Sheridan indicated
everyone to sit. 
     When everyone was seated around the frosted glass table, Sheridan 
said, "Commander Ayanami-Miranami, it's all yours."
     "Thank you, Mr. President," Rei said as she pulled out a data 
crystal and inserted it into the crystal port next to a wall monitor. 
An image of an approaching planet appeared.
     "This is the planet M-235, located in Sector 999," Rei began. "It 
was first discovered by the Tycho deep-space probe in 2105, then it was 
charted by the destroyer Damocles in 2257, under Captain Lochley's 
command, I believe."
     "It was part of a three-month stint where we did a preliminary 
survey on Sectors 995 to 999," Lochley said by way of explanation. 
"This was in preparation for a mission by an Explorer-class ship later 
that year, when those sectors would be charted in greater detail. At 
the time we didn't find anything particularly unusual about M-235, so
we moved on."
     Rei nodded. "For the past several years, Nerv has charged us with 
the task of determining where the Angels went after Third Impact. Our 
mission led us to M-235 less than twenty-four hours ago. We picked up 
some unusual energy readings from beneath the surface of a type we 
could not identify. So I personally went down for a closer look when we 
started picking up Angel signatures. I flew over a large crater and
discovered this."
     The image changed to a tannish-black creature like nothing 
Garibaldi had ever seen; a creature with impossibly thin arms and a 
face uglier than any he had ever seen before lying on the surface of M-
235. A large orange hemispherical protrusion stuck out of its lower 
abdomen and its legs were little more than nubs. 
     "What the hell is that?" Garibaldi asked.
     "That," Rei replied, "is an Angel. More to the point, it is 
Zuriel, listed in Nerv records as the 14th Angel, and our comparisons 
on what we found based on those records confirm it. We picked up what 
appeared to be two more Angels rising out of the surface but we weren't 
able to identify them. We believe the Angels may be poising
themselves for another strike at Earth and, our resources believe, the 
possibility of a Fourth Impact."
     An uneasy murmur filled the room as Rei let that sink in. The 
Third Impact was cataclysmic enough, up to 2/3 of Earth's population 
were wiped out because of it, and here she was talking about a Fourth 
Impact which may no longer confine itself to Earth, but spread outward 
like ripples in a pond. She's just full of good news today, Garibaldi 
mused. Maybe I should have taken that leave on Disneyplanet last year 
after all.
     "Which is why," Rei said after a moment, "we've come here to ask 
or your help in defeating the Angels before they can leave M-235. The 
Earthforce fleet is still rebuilding after last year's civil war, and 
the Perry, the Griffin, and the Missouri are the only Earth ships 
available. Everything else is scattered throughout known space. We
would never be able to assemble them together in time."
     What exactly is she hiding? Garibaldi asked himself. Nerv doesn't 
give you anything without an exorbitant price tag attached.
     "But with help from the Interstellar Alliance, we may be able to 
stop the Angels and avert the Fourth Impact."
     Convincing argument. Maybe too convincing. "I don't like this," 
Garibaldi said suddenly.
     "Problem, Mr. Garibaldi?" Rei asked, arching one eyebrow.
     "Frankly, yes. Let's get right down to it, shall we? Nerv is the 
most secret organization in EarthGov. Always has been. You always use 
Special Ops whenever you need support from Earthforce. For security, 
you say. Talk of the Angels has always been very hush-hush, even in the 
prison that is Nerv headquarters. And now you're suddenly opening up, 
coming to us for help saying you need us to beat these fraggin'
Angels back to wherever the hell they came from.
     "And at the same time, you're asking us to trust Nerv, an 
organization partially responsible for the Third Impact, with Seele and 
the Human Complement Program being the other half of that particular 
equation. And Nerv was under President Clark's control during the civil 
war back home. On top of all that, Nerv swallowed up Bureau 13 members, 
and inherited all those dark little secrets as well, and placed Bureau 
13's leader as its commander. How do we know you're on the up-and-up, 
Commander Miranami? How do we know this isn't some sort of elaborate 
setup instigated by Nerv, Seele, or both in return for overthrowing 
Clark?"
     "Nerv does not operate that way," Akagi said hotly. "We never have 
done Clark's bidding. Or anyone else's, for that matter."
     "So you say," Garibaldi countered. "You are, of course, aware that 
there are factions within EarthGov which still support Clark's regime. 
And the head of Bureau 13 would love to take a shot at us, and this is 
the perfect opportunity."
     "Mr. Garibaldi, we are not Bureau 13 or Nightwatch," Akagi said 
vehemently. "And I resent your implications otherwise. Whether you 
believe it or not, the Angels are back. I've seen them, so has the 
commander. Soon you all will, too."
     "Commander Akagi, please," Rei said suddenly, raising a calming 
hand. She glided towards Garibaldi, looking at him like he was some 
curious new microbe to be studied. Those red eyes staring at him made 
Garibaldi even more nervous. This woman can't be human.
     "You don't trust us, do you, Mr. Garibaldi," Rei said. "I don't 
blame you. Given recent events involving Earth and Babylon 5, were I in 
your position I probably wouldn't trust us, either. I can't make any 
one of you trust us or Nerv, so I won't even make the attempt. All I 
can ask is you hear us out, because on my honor as an Earthforce 
officer, what we're telling you is the full truth."
     "Garibaldi has a point," Ivanova broke in. "How do we know Nerv is 
not going to stab us in the back when they get us out in the middle of 
nowhere?"
     They won't," Rei said flatly. "For one thing they would have 
nothing to gain by it. They are upset with Earth Alliance for taking 
over the Angel situation, and the repercussions of the whole mess will 
take some time to reconcile, if it can be done at all. As it stands 
now, the Angels are an Earthforce matter. I am here on the direct
orders of President Luchenko to request your assistance in dealing with 
the Angels."
     After a moment's thought, Sheridan said at length, "I see no 
reason to doubt the commander's word on this matter."
     "Neither do I," Delenn agreed. "I know what happened with the 
Angels before and we need to stop them before they can cause any more 
harm."
     "I agree," Lochley said.
     "So do I," Lind added.
     "Commander Reider?" Sheridan said.
     "With all due respect, I have no love for Nerv. I have never been 
able to trust the organization partially responsible for the Third 
Impact, and I never will trust them, either. But that is neither here 
nor there. Commander Ayanami-Miranami is an Earthforce officer, as is 
Commander Akagi. They wear Earthforce blue. The civil war with Earth is 
over. Earth is part of the Interstellar Alliance, and it needs their 
help."
     "I agree," LaSalle added.
     Sheridan nodded in satisfaction. "Mr. Garibaldi, you do have a 
valid point, but Commander Miranami deserves to be heard, and I see no 
reason why we shouldn't help them. Please continue, Commander."
     "Thank you, Mr. President. Once this meeting is concluded I'm 
going to upload all the data we have on the Angels which threatened 
Earth from 2000 to 2015 into Babylon 5's computers. They will be able 
to instantly recognize any of the Angels we may encounter. There are 
seventeen known Angels we encountered in that time. Let me give you a 
rundown on what exactly you may be dealing with, how they operate,
and what their capabilities are."

     When Jesa returned to his quarters, he was more than a bit 
surprised to see Lt. Rico Vazquez and Lt. Laura D'Amico lounging about 
on his couch. Wait a minute. This isn't poker night, is it? No, it 
can't be. I've got to change my lock code more often. 
     "We hope you don't mind, Jesa," Laura said in her semi-apologetic 
voice. "We just let ourselves in."
     "We missed you at Earharts'," Rico added, "so we wanted to see 
what was up."
     "Oh," Jesa said, getting out a cold soda and taking a swig. "Was 
that last night?" He shook his head. "Sorry, I was distracted with 
something else and completely forgot."
     "The crazy woman?" Rico inquired.
     Jesa choked on his drink, clearly taken aback. "How did you know?"
     "Come on, Jesa," Laura replied. "Don't play dumb with us, you with 
the BaBearLon 5 Teddy Bear. Your encounter with her is the talk of the 
whole squad. And what's all this we keep hearing about Angels and 
Impacts?"
     "I'm not completely sure myself," Jesa admitted. "The woman seemed 
to be just ranting on about the Angels, Impacts, and G'Qeth. At the 
time it didn't make sense, but I had the computer run a search on those 
words. You remember in Earth history what happened with the Angels and 
the Second and Third Impacts, don't you?"
     "Not really," Rico said. "I wasn't really much into history. I was 
too busy chasing these three girls in history class, all at the same 
time."
     "Rico, you should've studied more," Laura chided. "Second Impact 
happened over Antarctica when the first Angel exploded back in 2000. 
Third Impact occurred in 2015 after Eva Unit 01 stabbed itself with the 
longinus spear and combined with Units 05 through 13."
     "I see," Rico said. "But who or what the hell is G'Qeth? What's he 
got to do with this?"
     "He was a Narn philosopher who lived during the time of the 
Impacts," Jesa replied. "He was somehow able to predict the Second and 
Third Impacts even though at that time we wouldn't make first contact 
with the Narns for over 200 years. He even wrote about these entities 
which have wandered the stars since before even the Vorlons, the 
Shadows, or even the First Ones, entities which were supposed to 
resemble the Angels."
     "But weren't the Angels 98% human?" Laura asked.
     "So some of the surviving Nerv records say," Jesa agreed. "But 
nowadays, nobody knows for certain any more."
     "Getting back to the subject at hand," Laura said. "I managed to 
get her name. That is, if you're interested, Jesa."
     "Do I want to know how?" Jesa asked, giving her a suspicious look.
     "Jesa Marason, you should know I'm not that way," Laura said in 
indignation, then softened up a bit. "But I confess I used my not 
inconsiderable charms on an innocent, young security officer."
     Rico shook his head. "And she yells at me for playing the field."
     Laura cuffed him on the shoulder and turned her attention back to 
Jesa, now sitting at his breakfast bar with his usual soda. "Anyway, 
her name is Danielle Asuka Langley."
     "I remember now," Jesa said. "Captain Lochley mentioned Danielle 
when I first met her. She was one of the best 'Fury drivers in 
Earthforce before Proxima-3. Danielle had claimed she saw images out 
there during the battle, but to this day, nobody knows what happened to 
her out there."
     "There was something else," Laura added. "Apparently Danielle was 
chasing a red-and-gold Starfury when she went nuts. And who around here 
has a red-and-gold Starfury?"
     Jesa gave it some thought. "Hmmm. I remember during the battle 
there was someone chasing me around ships and other fighters, or at 
least trying to. I couldn't shake whoever that was, they were pesky and 
very skilled. I finally lost him when the dying White Star rammed the 
Pollux. And now you tell me this crazy woman was the pilot I faced at 
Proxima. It's a small universe after all."

End Part 4B

Comments can be directed via private e-mail to mcanime@swbell.net. 
Constructive comments are welcome and will be read. Non-constructive 
Flames will be used for PPG target practice.


-- 

-Mark
Eternally Lost Member of Oklahoma Megazone / Babylon 5 Fan / Follower of
Ivanova's Recommendations / Friend of the People / Enemy of the State / 
In the Memory of the Nine and the One / "I have always been here."