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. Sailor Moon and its characters were created by Naoko Takeutchi, with the exception of Shane and Selene. Again, I didn't plan on it when I conceived this story, it just happened! Previously on Babylon 5: After the Earthforce Special Operations frigate Perry comes to Babylon 5 after discovering the Angels on M-235. Their orders are to enlist the aid of the Interstellar Alliance to deal with them. While the Perry's commanding officer, Commander Rei Ayanami-Miranami, is on- station the 15th Angel comes out of the local jumpgate and the station goes on full alert, launching fighters. Danielle Asuka Langley also goes out in Eva-02 to face down the Angel which attacked her ancestor. When he is the first Starfury pilot to penetrate the Angel's AT Field, Lt. Commander Jesa Marason is psychologically attacked by the Angel, and is driven to a suicidal rage quelled only when he is forcibly pulled away by two fellow pilots. Meanwhile the station itself is threatened when the 11th Angel awakens and begins infecting Babylon 5's computers. Danielle ultimately kills the 15th Angel, but at the cost of her ability to pilot the Eva, as her purpose in piloting it had been fulfilled. After the battle the Interstellar Alliance Council votes to engage the Angels at M-235 before they can threaten Earth or anywhere else. Upon hearing this news, Jesa volunteers to pilot the Eva because he doesn't want anyone else to suffer at the hands of the Angels like he did. A fleet of Interstellar Alliance ships gathers at Babylon 5 and Sheridan lays out his plan. Jesa and Danielle confess their love for each other just before the battle begins. It is a brutal affair, with several ships destroyed and others heavily damaged, including the Griffin and the Missouri. Well enough of the preliminaries, let's get it on!" Babylon 5: Angels A Babylon 5 / Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover by Mark Craig Part 12 - Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Commander," said Lt. Jeanette Deveraux from the Perry's tactical station, "Range to target 25,000 kilometers." "Status of Eva-02?" Akagi asked from the command chair. "Unit 02 is still active," said Lt. Sara Mirai from one of the three Ops consoles monitoring the Eva's progress. "Slight damage to forearms, but no major problems. Commander Marason's synch rate is at 85.1% and increasing." Damn, he's a natural, Akagi thought. I'll have to see to it Nerv knows about this. "Very good," she said. She did wish her captain were here. Rei should be directing this fight from here rather than with Sheridan and Eva-02. Still, they needed Thunderbolt Omega and its AT Field, and Rei was the only pilot aboard the Perry qualified to fly it. Akagi then got a good look at the reddish-orange colored 7th Angel on the Perry's main view screen. While it didn't really look too imposing it could still put the Perry in a world of hurt if she got too close to it. "Angel's AT Field is active," Deveraux said from her console, wiping away a stray brunette ringlet. "Registering Pattern Blue." "Activate our AT Field and maintain course. Mobius Squad and all ships, stand by." "AT Field is active and at full power." "Understood," Akagi said. "All engines ahead 1/2." "Aye, Commander," said Lt. Dana Mihoshi from the helm. "Engines ahead 1/2." "Bring Mobius Squad to an elliptical escort formation. White Stars 11 and 13 and Centauri cruiser Turhan on left flank, White Stars 19 and 30 and Centauri cruiser Caliban on right flank." "Aye, Commander," Deveraux said. "Commander," said Lt. Michelle McDonald at the communications console. "The Griffin has engaged the 10th Angel and is taking heavy fire. The Missouri has also engaged the 16th Angel. Status of engagement unknown. The others are moving in and will engage in a matter of moments." This coupled with the fact Eva-02 is locked in combat with Sachiel, Akagi thought, as are Rei and Sheridan. "Time to intercept 7th Angel: thirty seconds," Deveraux reported. "Forward batteries, stand by to fire on my order," Akagi ordered. "Target the Angel's core." "Understood, Commander," Deveraux said in acknowledgment. "All ships, stand by. Target the Angel's core but hold your fire until we've neutralized the AT Field." "All ships have acknowledged," McDonald said. "Good. Perry to Mobius Leader." "On-line," said Lt. Commander Dana Komiria, leader of Mobius Squad. "Commander, we're nearly in weapons range. Remember, keep your attacks perfectly synchronized in order to defeat this Angel, and don't let it touch you whatever you do." "Understood, Perry," Komiria said with the confidence Akagi had come to expect in a Starfury pilot. "We'll be ready." "Good luck, Commander," Akagi said and signed off. "Commander," Deveraux broke in, "We are within weapons range. Range 12,000 kilometers. Contact with AT Field in eighteen seconds." "Stand by," Akagi repeated. "Fire on my order and not one second before." "Range 10,000 kilometers. The Angel is moving towards us. Contact in ten seconds." What's on your mind this time, Israfel? Akagi thought. "Five seconds to contact," Deveraux reported. "Four...three... two...one...contact." The bridge lurched slightly as the two AT Fields met each other. Out of reflex Akagi gripped the sides of the command chair, as did Deveraux and McDonald with their consoles. "AT Fields neutralizing, Commander," Deveraux said as the bridge shook again. "Range 5,000 kilometers. Angel is accelerating towards us." No, not yet, dammit! "Hold your fire." After another tense moment, Deveraux finally said, "Commander, the AT Fields have been neutralized. The Angel's gone to Pattern Orange. Range 2,000 kilometers." "All ships, open fire." The White Stars and the two Centauri ships opened up with pulse cannon fire on the Angel's core. The Perry joined in with fire from her main guns with weapons fire from the lead fighters of Mobius Squad, penetrating the core of the Angel. "We got it," Deveraux claimed. "We ran the core through." "Don't be too sure of that, Lieutenant," Akagi advised. Just as she said that, the Angel split itself into two entities: one the original orange color, the other a grayish color. "See what I mean? Mobius 1, 2, and 3, move in." As they started to do so, the Angel split itself twice more for a total of eight entities. The Caliban fired on one of the gray spawn and it immediately turned around and lunged at the Centauri ship's upper hull. It clawed its way into the hull and into the decks below. The Caliban's guns blazed away on the spawn's core and it split itself again. Akagi winced as the two Angel-spawn continued their handiwork of systematic dismantling of the Centauri cruiser, sending Centauri bodies into space. Another Angel-spawn also jumped on the dorsal side of the cruiser, activated a small AT Field and began pummeling the engine housing. "Commander, the Turhan is moving to its sister ship," said Deveraux. "Weapons are hot." No! "Lt. McDonald, hail them. Tell them to back off." "I've been trying to hail both ships, Commander," McDonald said in near desperation. "No response." Damned Centauri! "Perry to White Stars and Mobius Squad. Prepare to fall back. Do not fire on them; we need time to regroup." "Understood," everyone said. Four of the Angel-spawn now were on top of the Caliban, pummeling and ripping at the besieged Centauri ship. The Turhan closed range quickly and opened fire with its main guns and struck one of the Angel- spawn. It split into two more entities and one lunged at the Turhan and began pummeling away at the bow. The other three gray Angel-spawn continued mauling the Caliban while the Angel and the others waited impassively. Akagi couldn't bear to watch as the two Centauri ships were mercilessly ripped apart at the seams, sending more debris and bodies into space. Moments later, the Caliban erupted in an orange-red fireball as the engines and the reactor were ripped wide open. The Angel-spawn then turned their attention to the Turhan and ripped it apart in a similar fashion. Moments later, the Turhan also exploded in a fiery orange blossom. Akagi again had to turn her head away from the main screen. "All ships, fall back," she ordered. "Helm, all back 2/3." "Aye, Commander," said Mihoshi. "Helm answering all back 2/3." "Commander," Deveraux said. "The Angel and its spawn are moving to surround us." It figures! Akagi thought to herself. Persistent bastard, isn't it? This is the kind we women hate the most. "Helm, belay that order. All back full." "Aye, Commander, all back full," Mihoshi said. "Tactical display, Deveraux. Now." She did so, replacing the main screen image with a display showing the immediate area. The Perry was in a state of retrograde with the four White Stars and all of Mobius Squad. The Angel and its ten spawn quickly moved to encircle the Perry, destroying six Mobius Squad Starfuries which had the misfortune of being in the way. The enemy's faster than us, Akagi thought. It's pointless to try and outrun them. like she really needed a tactical to tell her that now. In moments, the Angel and spawn completely surrounded the Perry and began circling around her. Wait a minute. This might be our chance. "Helm, all stop. All ships, circle the wagons. Move as the Angel moves. Interpose yourselves between the Angel and the Perry, aligning your weapons systems with the cores. Mobius Leader, you're on point." "Roger that, Perry," Komiria said. "Mobius 3 and 5, form on my wing. Synch with the Angel itself. Line up on the cores of all of them. Make it good, people. We may have only one shot at this." "Roger that," came the reply from the rest of Mobius Squad and the four White Stars. As the Angel and spawn circled the Perry, Mobius Squad and the White Stars did their best to match them. Akagi watched the tactical with fascination as the fighters and Angel-spawn rotated laterally around the Perry, each slowly becoming aligned with its target less than 1,000 kilometers from the Perry's bow. "Looking good, Mobius Leader," Akagi said. "The decision to fire is yours." "Roger that, Perry," Komiria said. Tense seconds ticked by as the Starfuries and White Stars continued to position themselves, matching vectors and velocities with the Angel and spawn. Akagi had to keep from biting her nails down to her elbows as time itself seemed to slow to a halt. Finally after when seemed like an eternity, the fighters were in perfect alignment. "Mobius Leader to all ships, prepare to fire." Five more seconds passed, then Komiria rapped out. "Let 'em have it, everyone." As one, the nine Starfuries and four White Stars fired, each hitting the cores of the Angel and the Angel-spawn simultaneously. Within seconds, they blasted through all the cores and all ten spawn and the Angel itself disintegrated in a flash of bluish-white light, leaving the embattled ships behind. "We've done it," Komiria called. "Cease fire." "Confirmed," Deveraux said. "The 7th Angel has been destroyed, Commander." Only then did Akagi allow herself a sigh of relief. "What's our status?" "Six Starfuries destroyed: Mobius 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 13," Deveraux clipped off. "Plus the Caliban and the Turhan. Remaining fighters, all four White Stars, and the Perry are undamaged." The price of victory has already been high, Akagi thought, and this isn't over yet. Not by a long shot. "Status of remaining groups," she said, eyeing the continuing battle around them. "White Star Prime and Eva-02 still engaged with the 3rd Angel," Deveraux began. "Thunderbolt Omega is still active. The Griffin has lost most of its group to the 10th Angel and has taken very heavy damage. 2/3 of its Starfury squads and 1/2 of her Thunderbolts are destroyed. Commander, the 10th Angel is less than 1,000 kilometers from them and looks set for the kill." "What's our distance to them?" Akagi asked. "75,000 kilometers, Commander." Damn, too far away. "What about the others?" "The Crystal Tokyo battlecruisers are just now engaging the 4th Angel. The Missouri has taken damage from its own group which has been partially infected by the 16th Angel. They've been forced to fire on their own ships. Distance to Missouri 60,000 kilometers. The Minbari- led group is engaging the 14th Angel, and it doesn't look good for them. White Stars 16 and 18 destroyed, the Narn cruiser Tu'Prna has taken heavy damage; its jump engines off-line, its fighter squads all but completely wiped out. White Stars 15 and 17 are damaged but are still active. One Minbari cruiser-" "Distance to the 14th Angel?" Akagi interrupted. "40,000 kilometers." Akagi's decision became brutally clear. The Griffin and Missouri are too far away for us to be able to help them. We'd never make it in time. Rei and Sheridan have the 3rd Angel in hand. And the Minbari-led group is embattled with the 14th Angel. "Send word to the lead Minbari ship. Tell them we're on our way to assist them. Inform President Sheridan as well." "Yes, Commander," McDonald said as she sent the message. "Helm, take us to the 14th Angel, maximum speed. Perry to all ships, follow us." "Aye, Commander," came the resounding chorus. As the Perry raced towards the northern polar region of the planet above which the battle with the 14th Angel raged on, Akagi tried not to think too much about the plight of the Griffin or the Missouri. She would get around to them if time allowed it, and if Zuriel left them with anything to assist either ship. Jesa winced in pain again as fire from the 3rd Angel grazed the Evangelion's left shoulder. The shot also hit and damaged Epsilon 6 and 10, but thankfully, Jaclyn and St. John were able to eject before both Starfuries exploded into deadly blossoms with another shot. He brought the palette rifle to bear, hoping they were all right, but the Angel snatched the rifle away and tossed it aside. It grabbed the Eva's left hand and stabbed at it with that damned energy lance repeatedly. Jesa's own hand felt as if it were being impaled with staples from a staple gun over and over again. Jesa grabbed the hand and clenched his teeth against the pain. He was not about to give the Angel the satisfaction of his scream. He brought one leg up and kicked the Angel away again where plasma cannon fire struck its core, knocking it back even further and giving Jesa a much-needed break. He thought it was Rei at first until the comm channel opened. "Greetings, Jesa," called a familiar voice. He looked around and saw his own Starfury forming up behind him next to Rei's Thunderbolt. What in the- "Danielle, is that you?" "In person, Jesa," she said cheerfully. "I couldn't keep out of this fight, and someone just left this Starfury sitting on White Star Prime's hangar bay, so I hope you don't mind me borrowing it." "But I thought-" "Jesa, I may not be able to pilot an Evangelion any more, but I've been flying Starfuries a lot longer." "You know, if you scratch my fighter, I won't let you get away without some form of retaliation," Jesa said in mock seriousness. "Come to think of it, if we both live through this, I still won't let you get away with without some retaliation because you're using my fighter. Just come out of this okay, and we'll finish what we started when we get back." "Now that's a proposition if I ever heard one," Danielle said. "Okay, Jesa, it's a date." "Jesa, watch it!" Rei yelled in warning. He turned around to see the Angel had closed back on him again. Before he could react it fired again, the cross-shaped shot hitting the Eva squarely in the chest. He gritted his teeth and grunted loudly as he felt someone took an acetylene torch to his chest at full intensity. "Jesa!" Danielle screamed. "No!" Feeling as if he were in a sea of fire Jesa pulled the Eva downward and he went towards the progressive knife which was still embedded in the Angel's core. "That hurt, dammit!" he cursed, angered by the constant abuse he was taking. He rose up and grabbed both the Angel's arms and twisted them into awkward positions, putting the positron rifle aside for the moment. He willed more power into the Eva's arms and after a few more seconds the Angel's arms gave out, the forearms ripping out in the Eva's hands. Jesa then grabbed the progressive knife and started to pull downward. The Angel looked at the Eva as if to fire again but was stopped by a combined attack from Danielle and Rei, blowing the Angel's head off again. Two additional shots from White Star Prime took care of what was left of the arms. "It's all clear, Commander," Sheridan said over the comm channel. "Kill this thing." "With pleasure, Mr. President," Jesa said tightly and still in a sea of pain from the beam attack. With one final pull the lower half of the core shattered and the Angel was finally defeated. He extracted the progressive knife from the remains of the Angel and retrieved the positron rifle, his pain slowly fading. "Rei, Danielle, do the honors." Both the Starfury and Thunderbolt opened fire, tearing the Angel to shreds until there wasn't enough left of the damned thing to regenerate. "Angel destroyed," Rei said. Jesa sat back in the entry plug, breathing heavily after what he had just been through, his chest and arms smarting after this first battle. Then he saw the Griffin's battle in one of the monitors. Oh, hell, Ivanova's in trouble. "Mr. President, the Griffin's in trouble with the 10th Angel. I'm going to go help them." "Go, Commander," Sheridan said. "We're right behind you." Going to maximum burn, Jesa whipped Eva-02 towards the Griffin and the 10th Angel, hoping he wouldn't be too late. He saw Rei and Danielle right behind him along with the rest of Epsilon Squad, with White Star Prime following. The three Crystal Tokyo battlecruisers led two Brakiri cruisers and White Stars 26, 27, 28, and 31 towards the 4th Angel, a reddish slug-like creature with two glowing tendrils along either side. In addition, Delta Squad provided an additional escort to the battlecruisers' own fighters. Each ship had only one squadron of fighters despite their size; most of that was taken up by the twin accelerated railguns each ship was equipped with. Only the larger heavy carriers and the dreadnought Tranquillity possessed more fighters. Neo-King Endymion sat at the command position of the lead ship watching the Angel on the forward screen intently. The bridge, like most of the ship, was composed largely of solid crystal, save for the control positions, displays, and deck plates. The crystal walls gave the bridge a slight pinkish-red hue light generated by the crystals themselves. Endymion called up the strategy board at his chair which showed the ships under his command were in place. This was Crystal Tokyo's first joint engagement with ships of the Interstellar Alliance since their admission in mid-January, and it was just as well Luminous and Selece commanded the other two battlecruisers; he knew they were experienced tacticians in their own right, and he needed that experience with such young crews for all three ships. "Sir," said the weapons officer, Blaustein, "Range to target 15,000. Bearing directly." Endymion decided to pass on royal protocol, as there was no time for that nonsense here. "Very well. Status of its AT Field?" "Blue wavelength pattern, sir. Angel's AT Field active." "Understood." "Sir, the Brakiri ships and all White Stars report ready," said Fauster, the communicator. "Delta Squad also reports ready." "Fire control, charge railguns and lock on target," Endymion ordered. "All ships, lock weapons on target and prepare to fire." Lt. Commander Tom Mosvani had seen many an engagement in his twelve years of being the best Starfury pilot he could be. The last three of those years had him stationed on Babylon 5. But as the 4th Angel loomed ahead of him and the other fighters of Delta Squad, he knew he'd probably never be on another mission quite like this in his lifetime. "Okay, Delta Squad, listen to your master's voice," he said. "We're almost in position. As soon as Neo-King Endymion fires the railguns we move in and attack the Angel. We snake 'em right, that Angel will never know what hit it." "Understood," came the reply from the squad. Still more seconds ticked by as the distance between himself and Angel closed. 10,000 kliks now, 9,500, 9,000. Unexpectedly the Angel got impatient and lashed out with those whip-like energy tendrils towards them. Before he could give the order to evade, they had sliced Delta 3, 6, 9, and 13 in half, exploding a split second afterward. Bloody hell, this thing can kill us all without thinking about it. That is, if it even thought at all. "Delta 1 to all fighters, evade, evade!" Starfuries and Crystal Tokyo Hotaru-class medium fighters scattered in the wake of the Angel's attack retreating back towards the battle cruisers. Come on, Endymion, fire the damned railguns! A series of explosions rang out around him as the Angel simultaneously ripped apart three Hotaru-class fighters and the Starfury designated Delta 8. Other crystal fighters moved to attack the Angel, joined by the White Stars, concentrating their fire on preselected locations to attempt to penetrate the AT Field. Mosvani could see Delta 2 and 7 joining him as the Angel whipped at both Brakiri ships, destroying one before it even knew what hit it and slicing the lower section completely off the other. As they retreated, the Angel then turned its attention towards them. Oh, damn, "Delta 2 and 7, break now!" They did so. Mosvani arced the Starfury upward and spiraled back downward in what Jesa Marason called a Spiral Hammerhead maneuver. Mosvani barely escaped one of the tendrils and Delta 7 joined him a moment later. Delta 2 wasn't so lucky. He tried spinning away from the Angel, but the tendril vertically sliced through the center of the Starfury before it, too, exploded in a mass of flame and debris. "Delta Squad," Mosvani called out, "fall back, regroup behind the lead Crystal Tokyo battlecruiser." "One Brakiri ship destroyed, the other lost its lower 15 decks," Blaustein reported. "Delta Squad has lost five Starfuries. White Stars are undamaged." That was in a span of mere seconds, and it did that much damage? Endymion thought incredulously. "Status of railguns?" "Railguns charged and loaded." "Lock railguns on target. Target the center of the Angel. And get me Delta Leader." "Yes, sir. Railguns locked on target." "Delta Squad Leader on-line," Fauster said. "Commander Mosvani, I'll apologize for my lack of foresight later. Our original attack plan still goes. We'll penetrate the AT Field with the railguns and you can strike at the Angel's core." "With all due respect, I hope you're right, Neo-King Endymion," Mosvani replied, "because I've already damn near lost half my squad to this thing." The Angel whipped its tendrils onto White Star 31 and it sheared off the port and starboard sections. The White Star turned around and returned fire, but its rounds impacted harmlessly off the AT Field. The energy tendrils then finished the job by snaking through the ship's midsection, sending White Star 31 to a fiery death. Then it cut a swath through the crystal fighters which nearly eliminated two entire squadrons. "Railguns standing by," Blaustein said. "Luminous and Selece report ready," said Fauster. "The Angel's attacking White Star 27." "Fire," Endymion ordered. Two projectiles shot out from each of the three Crystal Tokyo ships and struck the AT Field at a velocity near the speed of light. Even an AT Field couldn't withstand that kind of piercing abuse and it soon collapsed. "AT Field is down, Delta Leader," Endymion said. "Move on in." "Roger that," Mosvani replied. "Move in and watch out for the bullwhips." "Have our surviving fighters go with them," Endymion ordered. "Yes, sir," Fauster said. The Angel's attack grazed White Star 27 and it joined White Stars 26 and 28 in the attack run with Delta Squad and the surviving Hotaru fighters, striking the Angel with concentrated weapons fire and retreating before the Angel could counterstrike. But when Delta Leader made his attack run, the Angel managed to shear two thrusters off his Starfury, spinning it out of control and slamming it into the Angel's lower section, destroying the Starfury and damaging the Angel slightly. May your way be green and golden, Commander Mosvani, Endymion thought sadly upon seeing Delta 1's demise. Five more Hotaru fighters also exploded against the Angel's attacks. "Railguns reloaded," Blaustein reported. "Target the core and fire." Endymion's ship fired two more railgun rounds, this time striking the Angel's core with accuracy. Sparks flew out from the core as the surviving Starfuries and Hotaru fighters opened up on the core, a small measure of redemption for what the Angel's attacks have done. After the White Stars added their firepower the Angel went completely silent, its core blackened and nearly shattered beyond repair. "4th Angel destroyed," said Delta 4, Lt. Janine Caspar. "Status report," Endymion demanded. The situation wasn't good. The Angel had wiped out two and a half squadrons of their more advanced Hotaru medium fighters. One Brakiri ship was heavily damaged and another destroyed. White Star 31 destroyed. White Star 26 damaged but able to continue. More than half of Delta Squad destroyed, including Alpha Leader. Despite their losses, the commander of the Brakiri ship contacted Endymion and vowed to stay in it as long as he was able to do so. After quickly checking the overall situation, Endymion decided the only course of action was to assist the Missouri against the 16th Angel. "Helm, lay in a course for the Missouri. The 16th Angel is our next target." "Yes, sir." What the hell is it waiting for? Ivanova's mind screamed, glaring at the three-eyed 10th Angel from what was left of the Griffin's bridge. It's got us dead to rights, so why doesn't it finish us, the sassy bastard? "Captain," Tasuki said. "Engine room reports maneuvering thrusters are back on-line. However, main engines are still down." "That'll do," Ivanova said. "Weapons?" "Negative, Captain. All weapons systems are still off-line. The Angel's still primed to fire." We've got to move this crate. "Helm, back us away five degrees starboard, best possible speed." "Aye, Captain," Tasuki replied. "Reversing maneuvering thrusters." The Griffin backed away from the Angel at an agonizingly slow pace. Ivanova watch the Angel's AT Field visibly intensify as a rippling in front of it, as if it were saying, "You won't get away. I won't let you." "Captain, its entire AT Field is increasing," Tasuki said urgently. "I think it means to ram us." We're dead, Ivanova thought. Suddenly an intense white light formed behind the Angel. At first she thought it was some new weapon the Angel was using, until she saw its port side get blown completely off and it's AT Field collapse. "Captain, the AT Field's down; it's gone to Pattern Orange," Tasuki said in obvious relief. "Sensors indicate residues from a positron weapon." "Positron weapon? But that would mean..." She saw Evangelion Unit 02 appear above the Angel and interpose itself between the Griffin and the Angel, progressive knife in hand. Starfuries began appearing around them all, buzzing around the Angel and from their markings Ivanova could tell these were from Epsilon Squad. As one, the Starfuries peppered the Angel with plasma fire while Eva-02 stabbed the core with the progressive knife. White Star Prime also appeared with Thunderbolt Omega and White Star 23. Eva-02 left the knife in the Angel's core and proceeded to rip the core open with its hands. Within a few moments the Angel was engulfed in a blinding white light, forcing the remnants of the bridge crew to turn away. When the light faded, Ivanova saw the Angel was gone, leaving the Griffin, White Stars Prime and 23, Epsilon Squad, Thunderbolt Omega, and Eva-02. "Griffin, this is Eva Unit 02," she heard the strained voice of Jesa Marason over the link. "The 10th Angel has been eliminated." "Confirmed, Commander Marason," Ivanova said, trying to hide the relief from her voice and for once failing miserably. "Your timing's something else." "We were preoccupied," Sheridan replied. "What's your status?" "Not good would be an understatement," Ivanova admitted. "We've taken a great deal of damage and I have over two hundred dead and injured, plus our fighter complement has been all but wiped out." "Understood," Sheridan said. "Commander Marason, proceed to your next target, the 14th Angel. They need your help and quickly. Take all the fighters with you. We'll stay behind and render assistance to the Griffin." "Of course, Mr. President," Jesa said and Eva-02 departed, taking Epsilon Squad and Thunderbolt Omega with him. Godspeed, Jesa Marason, Ivanova thought. She knew Jesa had already been through a great deal in the Eva, and the 14th Angel would be the most dangerous one yet. The Missouri's bridge shook repeatedly as fire from nearly three entire fighter squads taken over by the 16th Angel peppered the bow and midsection of the battleship. Small fires broke out from a couple of blown-out consoles and the bridge smelled of acrid blackish smoke. The main doors along the aft wall were little more than piles of shattered glass. Lind reluctantly returned fire on her own fighters from the secondary guns and the close-in defenses and destroying several of them. White Star 3 made an attack run and scored a direct hit just above the bridge, setting the remaining consoles afire and damaging the main screen. The sounds of escaping gas from a broken conduit nearby filled the air . Lind looked back and saw Reider had been caught in the explosion, a gaping gash on his neck and obviously dead. Still more fighters fell to the Missouri's onslaught. Fire from the fighters also damaged the non-infected White Stars 7 and 10. "Captain," Miles said, his voiced ragged with despair, "the Angel is moving towards us." "Target secondary guns and fire at will. Helm, turn us away, 20 degrees to starboard, 10 degrees down. Engines ahead full."` "Aye, Captain," Hiyama replied. "20 degrees starboard, 10 down, engines ahead full. Helm answering, but sluggish." "Understood." As the Missouri began to turn the Angel struck the bow, all its strands reunited into one rope-like form. Growths began appearing on the bow and began spreading rapidly aft as the infectious nature of the Angel was felt by the Missouri and her crew. "Captain," Miles said. "The Angel is penetrating the ship. Internal sensors register foreign organic substances in Decks 2 through 15 spreading rapidly along the entire ship." More Starfuries and Thunderbolts exploded into a multitude of Blossoming fireballs as pilots pulled their self-destruct systems. "Captain," Miles continued, "at present rate, the Angel will fully absorb itself into the ship in less than five minutes." Captain Emily Lind realized there was no hope for any of the Missouri's crew if the Angel did merge with the ship, and she didn't see any way of forcing the Angel out, either. Plus, the crew would also be infected like the dozens of fighter pilots she'd been forced to kill. A captain was responsible for the lives of the crew, and when the reports started coming in from the affected areas of men and women being infected by this Angel, Lind's heart sank in a mix of horror and despair. She knew her crew didn't deserve to suffer like this; they'd been through too much together and too loyal to her and to each other. The infection spread to the bridge, veinous growths spreading along walls, the ceiling, and the deck plates below. Still more sparks flew as wiring conduits broke in protest over the Angel's intrusion. The main screen finally gave out and a glowing human form appeared in front of it, looking like a 14-year-old version of Rei Ayanami- Miranami. She smiled on the remnants of the bridge crew as she floated towards the command chair and Captain Lind. Lind then felt something crawl up her legs. She looked and saw the Angel beginning to infect her. The infection spread like a dry brush fire to her abdomen, chest, and arms, as well as visible growths encroaching her face. Her hands became gnarled with these same growths as well as she stared into the eyes of the Angel. Lind found herself on a beach, along the coastline near what was Tokyo-3, looking up at a reddish-purple sky. Waves from the ocean lapped gently around her as the air smelled faintly of salt water. She slowly got up and noticed the infection had vanished. A few feet away, hip deep in the rolling seawater stood the human form she saw on the bridge of the Missouri looking straight at her with bright red eyes. "Who are you?" Lind got out, her voice sounding ragged as well. "Are you an Angel?" "What does it matter?" the girl said in a soft voice betraying absolutely no emotion. "You of the Lillin see us as you wish to see us. I see your people really have not changed since the Third Impact. You must follow our way now or we will punish you again as we never have before." "It is not your place to decide our fate for us, Angel!" Lind shot back. "Oh, but it is, Captain Emily Ann Lind. You see, the First Ones were wrong about the Lillin. So were the Vorlons and the Shadows. They all were wrong. The Lillin are not truly ready to decide their own fate. They themselves have proven it. You have learned nothing since Third Impact, and the time of your judgement is close at hand." "Judgement?" Lind said uncertainly. "Yes, Captain," The girl replied. "Judgement. Judgement of the Lillin and all the other races in the galaxy. For you see, you are all of the Lillin. Humans, Minbari, Centauri, Narns, Drazi, Brakiri, all of them are of the Lillin. They are descended from Lillith, the keeper of all souls." "You will not extinguish us, Angel!" Lind shouted. "We all have been through too much to allow ourselves to be defeated by your kind. We proved we don't need the Vorlons, the Shadows, and the First Ones directing our existence in the universe, and we don't need Angels either. All this is ours now. We will decide if we stand or fall. Do you hear me, Angel?! We will decide!" And Lind found herself back on the bridge of the Missouri, the contact with the Angel broken, and she noticed the infection spreading throughout her own body, and through her bridge crew. She heard the shrieks, screams, and moans from the links of her infected crew. They were infected as she was, and slowly dying as she would. She gave an angry defiant glare at the Angel, she set out to do what she knew she had to do. "Computer," she said with some venom in her voice, "activate self- destruct sequence. Authorization Gamma-6-3-Omega-9. Set for one minute to detonation. From this time forward, no command in the universe can abort your destruct orders." "Confirmed," replied the Missouri's master computer, "Commencing self-destruct sequence. Sixty seconds to detonation." "Noooo!" the Angel screamed and it sent the surviving fighters to ram the Missouri, hoping to hit the computer core and stop the destruct order from being carried out. "Captain Lind," Miles said, "it has been an honor to serve with you." "Same with me," Hiyama added. "Likewise," Lind replied. The bridge sat silent as the seconds ticked off. It shook with more impacts but even they couldn't stop the Missouri's countdown to its final act. Lind sat at her chair to await the inevitable. "Neo-King Endymion," said Delta 4 over the comm link. "I'm picking up a building of energy into the Missouri's main engines and to various points around the ship. The Angel has assimilated nearly 70% of the entire ship." Oh, in the name of the moon, Endymion thought in half-shock, half- horror. "The infected fighters are trying to ram the Missouri. Lind's invoked a self destruct order." "How soon, Delta 4?" Endymion asked. "Less than thirty seconds." We'll never get there in time, Endymion thought in despair. She's sacrificing herself to destroy the Angel. You're a valiant woman, Emily Lind. "Endymion," Luminous broke in over the link. "I recommend we break off our present course and help deal with the 14th Angel." "Agreed," Endymion responded. "All ships, break off present course to intercept the 14th Angel." As the group turned towards their new target, Endymion got one last look at the largest ship Earthforce had ever produced, now in flames and infected by the 16th Angel, a shell of what it once was. He felt sadness, pity, and regret over what the 16th Angel had done, and wondered if any of it would have happened if he'd gotten there any sooner. Farewell, Missouri. The human form the Angel took gazed over everyone on the Missouri's bridge with a look of contentment. "Twenty seconds, Captain," Miles said. "I can see we were wrong about you," the Angel said. "You have the courage to decide your own fate. I realize that now. The Lillin have evolved, and this day has proven it to be so." "Ten seconds," Miles continued. In her final act, Lind gave the Angel a contemptible glare. "See you in hell," she snarled. "Five...four...three...two...one...Destruct." One by one explosive charges detonated at critical points of the Missouri's hull. The explosions progressed their way aft, systematically blowing apart the superstructure. Soon after two blinding explosions obliterated the bridge and most of the bow. Then the main engines went, sending up a fireball which engulfed the entire ship, the light bright enough to rival the nearby local star. All combat momentarily ceased upon the death of the Missouri. Jesa, in Evangelion Unit 02, had to turn away as the Missouri erupted several thousand kilometers to his right, the light bathing the interior of the entry plug. He could not believe the largest ship in all of Earthforce had just fallen. We fought alongside her and we fought against her, he thought. The Missouri was a tough ship, just like her captain, and a fine ship to behold. "Laura, did you see that?" Rico called from Epsilon 7. "That's the Missouri. It's got to be." She shook her head in disbelief. The Missouri, the ship she spent her two-month tour aboard back in the Academy just after it was re- commissioned after the Earth-Minbari War. She always thought the Missouri would survive no matter the conflict. But despite how much she didn't want to believe it, the Missouri was no more. "Yeah, Rico, it's the Missouri, all right." This is something else we owe the Angels for. "Laura, we'll intercept the 14th Angel in thirty seconds," said Shanna Adams from Epsilon 3. No time for self-realization now. "Jesa, you copy that?" Laura asked. "I got it," he said, still with a strained sound to his voice. Laura wondered briefly if it was the result of the damage the Eva took or if it was due to the Missouri's demise. She concluded it had to be the damage the Eva took. The blast to the chest had to hurt like hell, and all that added to her abject hatred for the damned things. She couldn't begin to guess how much pain he was in, but with a synch rate now pushing 90% it had to be considerable. Hold on, Jesa, she willed to Eva-02. Just hold on. We've only got one more of these things left to fight. From their respective ships, Ivanova and Sheridan stood in shock when the Missouri went up, taking the 16th Angel with it. Ivanova recalled that was how Eva-00 had to destroy this Angel the last time, by self-destructing it. When the explosion faded, the sensors showed little trace of the ring-like thing that was the 16th Angel. Ivanova had to conclude the explosion killed that Angel this time. At the cost of 1,200 men and women aboard the Missouri, she thought, plus all the pilots Emily Lind was forced to kill during the battle. The cost of this battle has already been immeasurable in lives and equipment, higher than in any previous conflict humans have been involved in since the Earth-Minbari War. Tasuki handed her a full damage report as acting XO following LaSalle's injuries. LaSalle had been taken to one of the overflowing medical bays after Sheridan arrived. Dr. Piper had assured Ivanova that her XO would make a full recovery in a matter of weeks. And Ivanova believed it would take four to six weeks for repairs to her ship. All this destruction already, and the 14th Angel may be the worst of all, Ivanova thought demurely. It'll be a great miracle if we manage to live through all this. Commander Mitchell Slate knew he and his people were in some very serious trouble when he saw the 14th Angel looming outside the cockpit of his Starfury designated Alpha 1. That thing looks twice as ugly as in the briefing, he thought, and twice as menacing as well. His demeanor was hardly improved when the Angel extended its mono-molecular arms and initiated the battle by slicing through most of the Minbari and Narn fighters flanking Alpha Squad, and a few of Alpha Squad's as well with four well-placed blasts shaped liked crosses. Great, just like the 3rd Angel, only this bastard can fire more of them at once. The Minbari and Narn cruisers returned fire as well as White Stars 15, 16, 17, and 18. The Angel, in turn, whipped out an arm and sliced White Star 16 in half bow to stern, after which it exploded. It then fired another cross-shaped blast at White Star 18 which did not quite dodge it and the aft half of the ship wound up being completely destroyed. The rest of it exploded soon afterward. Alpha Squad also joined in on firing at the Angel, but its AT Field proved too strong for their weapons. Alpha 4, 6, and 8 combined their weapons fire on one spot of the AT Field, and Slate saw the Angel whip an arm around and slice through the Starfuries as if they weren't even there; they blossomed into three orange-red explosions. "Commander," said Lt. David Reeves in Alpha 7. Reeves was normally reliable and unflappable, but Slate sensed some fear in the man's voice this time. "This Angel's killing us out here, and we're not doing squat to it in return. How the hell are we supposed to kill this thing?" Slate saw the Minbari and Narn ships line up on the Angel and training their weapons on the AT Field right on the core. Both surviving White Stars followed suit. "There might be a way. Alpha Squad, form up. Target the core of the Angel, but hold your fire until my order." "Yes, sir," came the replies from the remainder of Alpha Squad. "Minbari cruiser Tuzanor, this is Alpha Leader. We're going to fire at the same location you are. If we all combine our fire we might be able to break through this thing's AT Field." "Precisely our thinking, Commander," said the captain of the Tuzanor. "Stand by, we are sending you our exact targeting data." Slate received it in a few seconds and passed the information on to the rest of Alpha Squad. He then locked the Starfury's weapons on the Angel's core. The Angel moved slowly towards them and the order came to fire. As one, all ships opened fire on the Angel, peppering the AT Field covering the core with weapons fire. The Angel retaliated by taking both arms and slicing the Tuzanor into thirds, destroying the lead Minbari cruiser in the blink of an eye. The Angel fired from its eyes again, damaging the other Minbari cruiser, the Anla, and the Tu'Prna. Two more Starfuries, Alpha 8 and Alpha 12, a Nial fighter and a Frazi fighter also perished in angry red-orange blossoms courtesy of the Angel's blast. White Stars 15 and 17 moved in to make strafing runs on the core. As they left to make another pass, the Angel whipped an arm around and sheared off White Star 15's port side and White Star 17's starboard side, sending them spinning out of control away from the action. It also cut through White Star 15's bridge and Slate couldn't bear to see its bridge crew flung out into space as it continued to spin away. This is not good, Slate thought as two more Alpha Wing Starfuries exploded near him and he barely missed being sliced himself. This Angel's taking us apart. "Commander," Jeanette Deveraux said from the Perry's tactical console, "time to intercept the 14th Angel: forty seconds." "Understood," Akagi said from the command chair. "All ships, stand by. All White Stars, take flanking positions, 11 and 13 port, 19 and 20 starboard." "Understood," came the replies from the four White Stars, all captained by Rangers. "Mobius Leader, you're on point." "Roger that, Perry," Dana Komiria replied. "Mobius Squad, form up until we reach weapons range, then break and attack. Use 'stick'n'move' tactics." "Weapons status?" Akagi asked. "All onboard weapons ready to fire," Deveraux replied. "Sensors have a solid lock on the Angel. Time to intercept: thirty seconds." "Commander," Michelle McDonald broke in, a tone of despair in her voice, "the Missouri. It's going up." Akagi went over to McDonald's console and witnessed the Missouri's fiery death as a faint orange glow bathed the Perry's starboard side. Oh, damn. How much more will this fight cost us? "Range 20,000 kilometers," Deveraux said. And Zuriel's wiped out much of the group assigned to deal with it. They really didn't have a chance. Let's hope we fare better than they. "Helm, all ahead full," Akagi said, returning to her chair. "Lt. Deveraux, activate AT Field. " "Helm answering all ahead full," Mihoshi said. "Aye, Commander," Deveraux added. "Deploying AT Field." Akagi opened a link. "Any ships in Group Four, this is Lt. Commander Mina Akagi of the Perry. We're on our way to assist you." "Glad to have you here, Perry," said a male voice over the link. "Your timing's something else. We're getting cut to pieces out here and we could use the help." "Just hold on. We'll be there in fifteen seconds. Who might you be?" "Commander Mitchell Slate of Babylon 5. Leader of what's left of Alpha Squad." Akagi saw the debris field ahead and even though this was the 14th Angel they were fighting she still could not believe what she saw. All four White Stars crippled or destroyed. One even had its bridge sheared off laterally. One Minbari cruiser destroyed, the other crippled. The Tu'Prna was also crippled but still fighting like Narns always had. Nearly all Minbari and Narn fighters, plus about half of Alpha Squad destroyed. What a mess! "Commander," McDonald said, "Eva-02 and Epsilon Squad are moving in on the 14th Angel as well. Thunderbolt Omega is with them. They will intercept in twenty-five seconds. Group Five is also moving on the 14th Angel. They will intercept in one minute." "Understood," Akagi said. This is it. The last Angel. "Commander, we are within weapons range," Deveraux reported. "However, AT Field power is reading at only 60%." Of course it would be from when we neutralized the 7th Angel. "That'll have to do, Lieutenant. All ships, target the core and fire when ready. Helm, initiate evasion pattern 2-1-7. All White Stars, strafe it, maximum speed and use erratic evasion tactics." Weapons fire from the reinforcements of the Perry, White Stars 11, 13, 19, and 20, and Mobius Squad lashed out and impacted the AT Field covering the Angel's core. The four White Stars darted in at maximum thrust, concentrating fire on the core, nearly all bouncing harmlessly off the AT Field; they moved out of range before the Angel could strike back. It grazed the Perry on its port side with another blast from its eyes, the ship taking damage despite its own AT Field being deployed. "Slight hull damage to Decks 10 and 11," Deveraux reported as the bridge shook briefly. "Minimal damage to gravity controls. Gravity on Decks 10-20 reduced to 0.8G. AT Field generator damaged. Field power reduced to 45%." That can't be. "Switch to evasion pattern 1-1-9, starboard down variation," Akagi ordered. "Engines ahead full. All batteries return fire." The Mobius Squad Starfuries employed what Komiria called "stick'n'move" tactics, hitting the target hard and getting out before the target could retaliate. This group of Starfuries proved to be more elusive than the Alpha Squad Starfuries the Angel had munched on. The remaining Alpha Squad Starfuries then formed up with Mobius Squad just outside the Angel's attack range. The Perry's main guns once again fired on the Angel, striking the AT Field above the core. Are we damaging this thing at all? The Angel's retaliatory blast grazed the port side once again, and the bridge once again shook from the impact. "Hull damage to Decks 9, 10, and 11. Gravity controls also hit, as well as port main batteries." "Change course, evasion pattern 1-3-5, port up variation. Range to target?" "13,400 kilometers and closing." "Status of AT Field?" Akagi asked. "AT Field at 28%." With her AT Field that low Akagi knew she couldn't slug it out with this Angel and expect to win. She also knew the Perry would still be subject to some damage if the AT Field dropped below 50% due to the fact it could not block all of the energy from the enemy's weapons. If she made the attempt now, the Angel would cut the Perry to ribbons. That's what happened to the original group sent to fight this thing. She couldn't drop the AT Field, either because that would yield the same result. Also, to neutralize an AT Field the power level also had to be above 50%. So she had to borrow some power to build the AT Field back up. "Helm, reduce speed to 2/3. Deveraux, power down aft batteries. Transfer all excess energy from the engines to the AT Field. Use power from the jump engines if you have to." "Aye, Commander," Mihoshi replied. "Slowing to 2/3." "Transferring energy to AT Field," Deveraux added. After a moment, she continued, "Transfer complete from both main and jump engines as well as from aft batteries. AT Field now at 85% with 20% power from the jump engines remaining." Still not where she wanted it, but it would have to do. "Okay, Deveraux, tell Engineering to keep that 20% power in abeyance if we need it. Helm, take us right to that thing." "Aye, Commander," Mihoshi said. "Commander," Deveraux broke in, "Eva-02 and Epsilon Squad are in range." As the Perry started to turn to the Angel, Eva-02 led the next wave of calvary followed by Epsilon Squad and Thunderbolt Omega. Bloody hell, that's a big sucker, Jesa thought, still smarting from the encounter with the 3rd Angel, though no blood had appeared under the uniform yet. "All right, Epsilon Squad," he heard Laura say over the comm channel. "I think it's time we used our own version of "Wraith" tactics. Break into two-by-two cover groups and smite that thing." Jesa had to smile, wondering what Allishar would think of Epsilon Squad taking a page out of Tau Squad's playbook. Oh well, I guess he'll just have to deal with it. "Rei, you and Danielle cover the Eva. Jesa, it's your call." "Okay, everyone," Jesa said, still sounding strained due to the abuse his chest had taken. "Coordinate your attacks with Mobius Squad. Break off...now. Rei, Danielle, it's time to punch the core." The Starfuries broke away into multiple diamond formations and thrust away to join Mobius Squad and the remains of Alpha Squad. Eva-02 followed with Danielle and Rei in formation towards the core. Here we go, Angel! Jesa thought as he threw on the Eva's AT Field. Time to send you where your friends are! "Commander," McDonald said. "Epsilon Squad is moving in to join Mobius and Alpha Squads. Eva-02 is moving in to engage the Angel directly." He's going to try to cut through. "Ops, what's his synch rate with the Eva now?" Sara Mirai turned towards Akagi. "93.8%." Damn, Nerv will find out about this if I have to personally tell them. We may have a need for a combat-ready Evangelion pilot when we restore Eva-01. "All fighters concentrate fire away from the Angel's core. We don't want to risk Eva-02 being hit by friendly fire." "Understood, Perry," Komiria said. Another blast from the Angel struck the Perry's bow, and the bridge shook violently once again. "Damage?" Akagi demanded. "AT Field power down to 30%," Deveraux said. "Hull damage to Decks 2 through 8. Main power down on Decks 9 and 15. Secondary guns off- line. Gravity controls hit again. Main gravity down to 0.7G, gravity on Decks 11-20 down to 0.6G. Commander, we risk going z-gravity if we take another hit." "Noted. Main batteries return fire, Deveraux, and apply that 20% power to the AT Field." "Aye, Commander. AT Field power now 55%." A few seconds later the Angel's arms whipped around and hit White Star 11 with a grazing shot, slicing off a portion of its starboard side. The other arm sliced off White Star 13's nose and the remainder exploded into white-hot nothingness. The Angel cut a swath which eliminated Alpha 13, 14, 15, and Mobius 4 and 12. Epsilon 11 had one thruster surgically removed as well. It gets bumpy from here, Akagi thought. Del Tarrant in Epsilon 5 had just barely dodged an attack by one of the Angel's arms and it struck Epsilon 11, piloted by Lt. Sandra Levitt. Sandra had started to dodge when the Angel sheared off her upper right thruster. The same attack wiped out five other Starfuries, and he angled over to assist Epsilon 11. "You all right, Sandra?" he asked when he reached her. "I will be in time, she replied. "Del, look out!" Del arced up and back just as another arm shot between him and Sandra. Spinning the Starfury around, he hit upon an idea. He extended the grapple and grabbed the thin arm of the Angel and started to pull at it to buy time for Sandra to escape. "Go on, you'll only get yourself killed if you stay." "Sorry," Sandra said and Epsilon 11 limped away. Del saw the Angel turn its attention to him and he gave it a defiant glare. Let's see how you like one of these arms ripped off. You can't kill me; I've got someone to go back to. He looked at the picture of Saki Nijino he had in his cockpit, the only true love he ever had in his whole life. He knew he would come back for her. He had to, for she would never be happy again otherwise. He applied more thrust to the Starfury and saw the Angel's eyes start to glow. Oh no you don't, his mind yelled out and he dropped the Starfury down, still grappled to the arm. Suddenly the arm lurched back and flung Epsilon 5 off, ripping out the grapple in the process, sending him spinning away towards the derelict White Star 15. He regained control in moments and barely avoided being hit by one of the cross-shaped blasts which finished off the dead White Star. He was then met by Epsilon 9, Lt. Naoko Kaguya. "Are you all right, Del?" she asked softly. "Fine, just like those old mechanical bulls you still see in some bars in Texas. Yippie Kai Yay! Come on, let's rejoin the others." "5,000 kilometers," Jesa said softly to himself as he approached the Angel. He had just seen Del Tarrant get flung off one of the Angel's arms he had grappled and nearly kill himself against a dead White Star. Interesting trick, something I probably would've done. Saki would kill him if she knew how much of a daredevil he's being. "Twenty seconds to AT Field." He knew he himself could neutralize the AT Field of this Angel, but he also knew Rei had the Thunderbolt's AT Field up as well, and both in tandem could accomplish the task in half the time. Danielle also flew in with him, heeding his instructions to hold her fire until the AT Field was neutralized. She was also positioned in such a way so she could get some clean shots of her own and quickly dive for cover behind the Thunderbolt or the Eva. Hit and run, those were the tactics called for today. They made contact with the AT Field and the Angel finally noticed them. Jesa targeted and fired the positron rifle on the Angel, just missing the core by a hair. Rei and Danielle also opened fire and scored several hits on the Angel itself. In an angry swath the Angel sliced at the three new attackers. Jesa and Danielle dodged, but Rei was hit in the upper left engine and she spun away from the Angel. "Jesa, she's in trouble," Danielle said. "All right, go help her. I'll be all right," Jesa replied, and Danielle took off after Rei. And the Angel wasn't done yet. Before Jesa could react, another slice forcibly removed the positron rifle from Eva-02's left arm. He screamed as intense needling pain ripped through his right arm as the attack had actually penetrated the Eva's skin as well. The rifle floated off and exploded some meters away. He looked at his arm and saw blood seeping into the sleeve of his uniform. He saw the Angel attack again and dodged, but the arm sliced off half the Eva's left leg. Jesa felt his own leg being torn apart, muscles tearing and even the bones of the lower leg cracked and broke, sending an intense pain through Jesa like none he had ever felt before, seemingly amplified by the fact he was so in synch in the Eva. Damned neural feedback! No wonder they said the original children went insane in these damned things! He transferred the palette rifle to the Eva's right hand, still gritting in pain from both the right arm and left leg and he angrily opened fire, emptying the rifle into the core of the Angel. The rounds did penetrate the core, but the Angel still did not go down. Instead it fired another shot and blew off the Eva's right arm completely. "Jesa!" he somehow heard Laura cry out. His right arm felt as if were dipped in liquid fire as the skin burned, the muscles strained and ripped, and bones broke. The pain from his leg didn't go away, either, but intensified anew and Jesa felt as if he would pass out, and a part of him wished he would. He leaned over the edge of the pilot's seat, screaming like he had never done before. White-hot fire burned all over him, from his legs to his arms. In a red haze of pain and suffering, he saw Mobius Squad attempt to engage the Angel, and another cross-shaped blast wiped most of them out. The remainder of Alpha Squad fared little better against the Angel as another pair of swaths decimated them as well. The Perry took another hit, as did the newly arrived Delta Squad, and two more Starfuries went down. Even the Crystal Tokyo ships were not spared damage from the Angel's continuing attacks. Oh, damn! Everyone's dying! With the good left arm, he grabbed the progressive knife and charged at the Angel. With one of the arms the Angel grabbed the Eva and spun it around. Jesa grunted as the left arm was wrenched by this attack. The other arm snaked around and opened up the lower abdomen area of the Eva. Jesa screamed again as the fire spread to the pit of his stomach And intensified as the Angel ripped out a reddish sphere from the abdomen of the Eva. His stomach felt as if someone reached in and ripped it out the hard way. He was barely aware that the Eva's S2 engine had just been ripped away. The Angel tossed the sphere aside and did the same to the Eva. He barely realized the internal batteries kicked in and the Eva had five minutes of time remaining before it completely shut down. Oh, this was a bad idea! he thought He saw three Starfuries flying in towards him: Rico, Laura, and Danielle, and with sheer force of will, he steadied the Eva, surprised he had the progressive knife still in hand. The pain subsided slightly, but it would not let him forget the abuse his body has taken this day. His breathing came in short, rapid, gasps, his heart rate had to be near 200 beats per minute, and every nerve in his body throbbed with pain. "Jesa, are you all right?" Danielle asked with a mix of concern and worry. "No, I'm not," he admitted, his voice ragged from all the screaming. "I feel like I've just been put through a damned sausage grinder, and I've got less than five minutes before this Nerv contraption shuts down. How's Rei?" "She's fine, Jesa," Danielle replied. "She sent me back here when you were attacked." "Jesa, you're hurt," Laura cautioned. "You're on reserve power and you've only got one good arm. Get out of that thing before you do get yourself killed." "So far it looks like I'm the only one who's been able to do anything to this Angel. I've got 4 1/2 minutes remaining and I've gotten damn good with the prog knife. So as long as there's power in this monster I've got to keep at it or else we'll all go down." "But, Jesa-" Laura voiced in protest. "He's right," Danielle said. "Our side's getting slaughtered out here. The Eva may be our only chance." "Now go on, Laura," Jesa added, trying to sound commanding once again, "you've got a fighter squad to lead. And I'll make it through this." "You'd better, Jesa," Laura replied. "Come on, Rico, let's rejoin the others." The Crystal Tokyo-led group arrived within range and Delta Squad Immediately flew out to bolster Alpha Squad. White Stars 26, 27, and 28 also moved in to engage the Angel. Epsilon Squad and Eva-02 were also out there and they had just moved into optimum firing range for the railguns when the Angel attacked them. Halo's ship became crippled within moments, no main power or weapons, and Torrent's was not much better, and Torrent had been apparently injured in that last exchange and his condition was unknown. The bridge of the lead battlecruiser shook with another hit. Neo-King Endymion gritted his teeth at each impact. "Damage?" "Helm control 2/3 down," Blaustein reported. "Number One railgun rack damaged. Plasma batteries not functional. Main power down 25%. Targeting systems destroyed. Jump engines down. Number Two railgun loaded and ready to fire. Range 5,000 kilometers and closing." "Best guess on the Angel's core and fire when ready." "Firing, sir," Blaustein said, and a single railgun round shot off, grazing the Angel on the left shoulder. The Angel retaliated by slicing through White Star 26 and part of White Star 27. Then two more Starfuries interposed themselves, only to be sliced in half for their trouble. Another shot grazed the battlecruiser's bow, and the bridge shook again. "Forward hull damaged. Main power down 40%. Sir, recommend we withdraw." Reluctantly Endymion had to agree. He was in a bad position against the Angel and he knew it. Better to retire and save your ship than try and push a bad position. Besides, the two sister ships were even more damaged than his own. "Agreed. Contact President Sheridan and inform him we have been forced to withdraw. Then back us away from the Angel. Rendezvous with White Star Prime and the Griffin. It's all up to the Earth ships and the White Stars now." "Aye, sir," Fauster said. "Initiating full reverse." Good luck, my friends, Endymion thought. Good luck from all of us. The Perry's bridge shook from another grazing hit from the Angel. "Status?" Akagi demanded. "AT Field at 47%" Deveraux reported. "Maneuvering down 1/3, jump engines down, main batteries just came back on-line and charging. Secondary guns off-line." "Status of Eva-02?" "Damage to chest area indicated," Mirai said. "Half the Eva's left leg and the right arm destroyed. Positron rifle destroyed, palette rifle destroyed. She glanced at her console as a new indicator came on and quickly turned back a horrified look in her eyes. "Commander, the Angel just ripped out the S2 engine." "What!?" "Confirmed," said Lt. Karsten, another of the Ops officers monitoring the Eva. "S2 engine has been disconnected." "Eva-02 has switched to internal batteries," Mirai added. "4 minutes, 55 seconds of activation remaining." "The Angel just tossed Eva-02 aside like a doll," Karsten said. Akagi's heart sank. She could not begin to comprehend the agony that Jesa Marason had to be suffering with that much damage to the Eva. With a synch rate as high as his, he'll probably be spending several weeks in Medlab, and he's still going. "Commander, Eva-02's pulled out the progressive knife and moving back in on the Angel," Deveraux reported. "Status of Thunderbolt Omega?" Akagi asked. "Upper left engine destroyed but it's still active. Commander Miranami's on-line." "Rei, this is the Perry, are you all right?" "I'll live if that counts for anything, Mina," Rei replied. "What's left?" "Not much, I'm afraid. Mobius Squad's been all; but completely wiped out. Delta Squad had joined up with the remainder of Alpha Squad. Epsilon Squad's lost five fighters, status of pilots unknown. The Griffin is disabled and unable to continue. The Crystal Tokyo ships are also damaged and unable to continue. They're meeting up with White Star Prime at the fall-back position. Three White Stars are still active and in the fight: 7, 10, and 23." "That's it?" Rei said. "I'm afraid so." "All right. Have all ships provide covering fire for the Eva. He's still got about four minutes left. We need to keep the Angel distracted until Jesa punches the core." "Understood," Akagi replied. "I'll move in and give the Eva some covering fire as well." It'll take him half that time just to get back into range, Akagi thought. "Very well. The AT Field's at Pattern Orange, but we still haven't been able to cause much damage to the Angel." "I know, and maybe we won't have to. All we have to do is keep it distracted and let the Eva do the rest. Good luck, Commander Akagi. Ayanami-Miranami out." Good luck to us all, Akagi thought as Rei signed off. "All ships, this is the Perry, we're going to provide covering fire for the Eva. Stand by to open fire on my signal." And if Jesa can't kill this thing before time expires, God help us all. Jesa kept himself fixated on the Angel which caused him such grievous harm just moments ago as he moved a crippled Evangelion towards it, progressive knife in his good left hand. I started this fight, and by God I'm going to finish it. That was one of Jesa's pet peeves. He hated leaving things undone. He hated that as much as the Raiders he fought what seemed like millennia ago, but it was only a few days. Before he ever thought of piloting an Evangelion. So to leave the battlefield with this one Angel still active was unthinkable, because if it survived and something cataclysmic were to result, i.e. a Fourth Impact, who's to say he wouldn't be held responsible? He checked the activation timer above him and just to his right. Four minutes remaining, and two of those would be spent getting back within melee range. That leaves two minutes to stab the core and kill it. Plenty of time. "Laura," he heard Rico say over the comm channel, "Epsilon 12 and 13 just went down. Status of pilots unknown, but Del and Naoko said they saw them eject." Epsilon 12 and 13, Jesa thought. Tom Carrollton and Leorna Dermott, respectively. Also Epsilon 11, Sandra Levitt, withdrew from the battle at Del's insistence. Five fighters destroyed, one more withdrawing. Damn! At least only one pilot was lost in this fray. Sorry, Phil. I tried to stop them from taking any of us. He also knew Jaclyn and St. John were also floating out there in lifepods. Assuming anyone survived this, their locator beacons would enable any rescuers to locate and safely retrieve them. "Understood," Laura replied. "Epsilon Squad, form up and let's give the Eva some cover." "We're on our way," said Shanna Adams in Epsilon 3." "Jesa," Laura said, "Rico and I are going to join the others." "Right," Jesa got out, his voice both strained and ragged from all that's happened. "Good luck." "Good luck to you, Jesa. Danielle, stay with him." "Not a problem," Danielle said as Laura and Rico took off ahead of them. Jesa glanced at a scanner just below him. Ninety seconds to melee range and 3 1/2 minutes of time remaining. "Danielle?" "Yes, Jesa?" she replied. "I'm sorry," he said in regret. "Sorry? About what?" "It doesn't look like we'll be able to finish what we started when we get back." "Don't say that, Jesa," Danielle interjected. "We'll make it through this. Look at it this way. You're alive, that's all that counts right now. So we'll have to wait a while. I know how you feel about me, Jesa, and I feel the same way about you. So I'll wait, as long as it takes." Jesa's heart lifted upon hearing her say that. It was as if her words alone could help lessen the pain he felt from the Eva's damage. He knew then she was the one for him now. Barring some unforseen circumstance, he and Danielle had a bond which could last a lifetime. "Thanks, Danielle," he said from the bottom of his heart. "That helped a lot. Now you keep your end of the bargain and survive this, too." "Depend on it, Jesa." As one, Eva and Starfury pressed on, closing on the Angel for one last battle for everything they held dear. This one's for all of us, Jesa said to himself in determination. For my family and friends I pilot Eva. My mother and sisters Shanna and Juliet, and Laura, Rico, Allishar, Allyson, Devon, Del and Saki, Danielle, and all the others, you all are the reason I pilot Eva. I'm expendable but none of you are. So let's end this once and for all, Evangelion. The timer showed three minutes activation remaining. "Mobius Leader," Rei said over the link, "who's left?" "Just myself, Mobius 5, and Mobius 15," Komiria said in regret. "Okay, Dana, hook up with Epsilon Squad; they're nearly in position. Key your attacks from them." "Will do. Good luck, Commander." And with that the three surviving Mobius Squad fighters veered off towards the approaching Starfuries. "Rei, White Stars report ready," Akagi said from the Perry. "Eva- 02 will engage in one minute." "What's his time like?" "Three minutes to activation limit, Commander," Mirai said. She's a young officer yet, Rei thought. She'll be one of our best, it'll take some time. "Mina, can we expect any additional assistance from the Crystal Tokyo ships?" "I don't think so. They're already withdrawing with two of their battlecruisers disabled." Rei nodded grimly. "Well, they put up a hell of a fight. I'll have to send my regards to Neo-Queen Serenity for their valor today." "They did at that, Commander." "And we will make it, Mina," Rei said with conviction. "We will because we still have faith. For as the Minbari say: 'Faith manages.'" For long seconds the group of ragtag ships and the 14th Angel stared each other down like two champion prizefighters sizing each other up. The Angel raised its arms, ready to slice anything that came too close. "Commander," Lt. Deveraux said over the link, "the Angel's AT Field is reforming. It's back to Pattern Blue!" Oh damn! "All ships, open fire!" The Perry, White Stars, and Starfuries opened up on the Angel again. Rei moved her damaged Thunderbolt towards the Angel, her own AT Field up as well. Only 40% power. Hell, that'll have to do. 1500 kilometers out. The Angel just stood there while fire from the weapons banks poured into the newly formed AT Field, causing no effect whatsoever. The Thunderbolt contacted the AT Field with its own. Rei could see The wavelengths converge as the AT Fields interacted with each other. Let's hope I've got enough left to take it down. Well, faith manages, so there has to be enough. The power levels dropped: 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, and the wavelengths finally matched, neutralizing the Angel's AT Field as the Thunderbolt's AT Field gave out. "Pattern Orange," Deveraux said. "Commander, you did it." In retaliation the Angel sliced off the lower right thruster and sent Thunderbolt Omega spinning out of control towards the Angel. "Rei!!" Akagi yelled. Seeing she wasn't going to recover this time, Rei pulled the eject levers above her and the Thunderbolt's cockpit shot down and away form the Angel. A split-second later, Thunderbolt Omega exploded upon crashing into the Angel's head. Well, I've done what I could, Rei thought as the lifepod floated away from the battlefield. It's up to Jesa now. "Commander," Deveraux reported, turning to face Akagi, "Thunderbolt Omega destroyed. Angel's head damaged. Its eye lasers appear to be nonfunctional." "Lifepod confirmed," McDonald said. "Reading strong beacon signal. Commander Miranami's alive." Akagi breathed a sigh of relief. "Prep a shuttle to retrieve her as soon as the Angel falls." "Aye, Commander," Deveraux said. As Jesa and Danielle closed on the Angel they saw the demise of Thunderbolt Omega as it spun into the Angel's head and exploded, sending the Angel lurching back a few meters. "Danielle, check for the lifepod," Jesa said. "On it, Jesa," she said. "Confirmed. Wonder Girl made it." Jesa breathed a sigh of relief as well. "Okay, Danielle, we're entering melee range. Look sharp." "Epsilon Wing, maintain continuous fire," Laura said over the comm channel. Jesa engaged the Angel with two minutes activation remaining. He could see the head start to regenerate as the Earthforce ships relentlessly pounded away on it. The Angel fixated its attention on the approaching Eva and it lashed out. Jesa saw an arm coming in and spun out of the way. Another lash went right for the Eva's head and Jesa pulled up the progressive knife. The mono-molecular arm split right down the middle and missed the head entirely. The Angel got another grazing his on the Eva's chest and Jesa gritted his teeth against the stinging effect. He took the progressive knife and sliced the Angel's right arm, the one that split and struck him, in two. Then in a fit of pure rage he dropped an AT Field below the Angel, bent the Eva over and drove the good shoulder into the Angel's midsection, sending it crashing into the AT Field. The Angel tried to fire its eye lasers but Jesa stabbed them, breaking part of the progressive knife in the Angel's eyes. Pulling the stubby knife he re- extended it with additional sections stored beneath the handle. One minute remaining. Using the flat end of both arms, the Angel pushed the Eva away. Danielle couldn't believe she saw the Eva give a textbook shoulder tackle to the Angel. Or was that a Spear? Jesa's been watching too much wrestling, she concluded. Just like that arrogant, stuck-up idiot Allie. She saw the Eva get pushed back and Jesa stabilized the machine about fifty meters in front of her. "You okay, Jesa?" she asked. "Fine. This thing's pissing me off." And with a yell from Jesa, Eva-02 jumped back into the fray. "Commander, I can't believe this," Mirai said from her console. "His synch rate is now at 105%." Oh, hell, what the hell is he? Akagi thought. Nerv could definitely use him. "Time?" "Forty seconds to activation limit." "All ships, cease fire. Let Eva-02 finish this." Come on, Jesa, kill this thing. "He's going in again," Deveraux said. Jesa re-engaged the Angel with a single-arm takedown on another generated AT Field he was using for a wrestling mat, ripping the left arm away. He jumped off the Angel and stabbed down at the core with the progressive knife. Thirty seconds. The knife stabbed the bullet-riddled core and red sparks flew out. "Die, you son of a bitch!" Jesa growled. Twenty seconds. The Angel still wouldn't give up, slashing at the Eva with what was left of the left arm. Jesa grunted at the pain but he held fast, trying to drive the knife deeper. After another slash from the right arm, Danielle grappled it and pulled it away. He saw the Angel struggling to break the arm free. Don't let it kill you, Danielle. Hold on, hold on, dammit! Ten seconds. In one last thrust Jesa pushed on the progressive knife with the last of his and the Eva's strength. Suddenly the Angel's left arm regenerated, reared back and stabbed the Eva in the forehead and right eyes. Jesa howled with agony as his right eye seemed to rip apart. Blood rushed out of the eye and forehead as the core finally broke. As it broke the activation timer hit 0:00:00 and Evangelion Unit 02 shut down, the entry plug going to a dark blue light as the monitors and all systems went out. Jesa doubled over with the pain of the Angel's apparent final act ad the blood flowed freely out from his head, chest, arms, and legs, crying out as he had never done before. Lt. Mirai stared at the status display of Eva-02, or rather, at the portion of the display showing the Eva's time limit had expired. "Commander," she said shakily, "Eva-02 has reached its activation limit. It has ceased operation." "Status of the pilot?" Akagi demanded. "Unknown beyond the fact he's still alive." "The Angel has gone silent," Deveraux said in relief. "The 14th Angel is defeated." We did it, Akagi thought, relief filling her being like it never had before. We actually did it. We won this day, but what a price to pay. "Stand down from battle stations. Lt. Deveraux, launch that shuttle to retrieve Commander Miranami. Damage Control, begin assessment of total damage and commence repairs. All ships regroup and rendezvous with White Star Prime." Laura nearly screamed when she and Rico returned to Eva-02, one of the Angel's arms still embedded in the Eva's head. No, Jesa, that can't be fatal. You can't die, you promised me you'd come back. She saw Danielle fly over to the Eva as well. "Jesa, this is Laura," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Can you hear me?" "Yeah," he replied weakly. She knew he had to be in a great deal of pain. "I'm here." "You're alive!" Laura said excitedly. "If that counts for much, yeah, I'm still alive and with you. Barely, though. That last shot hurt. Did we do it?" She finally allowed some tears of joy to flow. "Yes, Jesa, you did it. The Angel's dead." "Hooray for our side," he cheered weakly, then coughed a bit. "Hey, Jesa, just take it easy," Danielle interrupted. "You've been through enough hell already without you adding more for yourself. Laura, why don't you and Rico help me get him back to White Star Prime?" "We'll help out as well," said a new voice. Laura recognized it as Commander Mitchell Slate of Alpha Squad. Lt. Commander Dana Komiria of Mobius Squad also appeared with Slate. "But won't we injure him more by moving the Eva?" Laura asked in concern. "No," Danielle said. "The neural connections broke away when the Eva shut down. It'll be fine." Laura, Danielle, Slate, and Komiria each grappled the Eva and Epsilon Squad led them away from the dead Angel and back to White Star Prime. I can't believe it's over and we survived it all, Laura thought. No matter what happens from now, Jesa will probably never be the same person he was before the Angels came. "Epsilon 14, did you find our missing pilots?" "Sure did, Epsilon Leader," Will Jansen said. "Shuttles from the Griffin are already on the way to pick them up. So Jesa, what'd you think of the Eva?" "Painful, Will," Jesa replied. "Very painful. I don't recommend it." Almost the end... End Part 12 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.