Babylon 5 and its characters with the exception of Epsilon Squad were created by J.Michael Straczynski and copyrights are held by Warner Bros. And TNT. The characters of Epsilon Squad, as well as the characters of Rei Ayanami-Miranami and Danielle Asuka Langley are my own creation. Please ask for my permission to use them in your own fics. Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Project Eva and copyrights are held by Gainax in Japan and A.D. Vision in the U.S. Please let me know if there are any Other copyright holders for either series I may have missed, as I'm not out to make any sort of material gain; I'm merely expressing my interest in both these series. In other words, please don't sue me. Author's Notes: This story takes place during Season 5 of Babylon 5, after #99 "Phoenix Rising" and before #103 "Darkness Ascending." To make this story work, I took the events in Evangelion and plopped them into the Babylon 5 universe at the same time as they actually occurred (2000-2015). The following events occurred in the B5 universe at the same time as in Eva: Episodes 1-24, followed by the events of the Rebirth and End of Evangelion movies. This story takes place in 2262. For purposes of this story, episodes 25 and 26 never happened. Previously on Babylon 5: After the Angels were discovered on M-235, the EAS Perry, an Earthforce Special Operations ship commanded by Rei Ayanami-Miranami and assigned to Nerv, was sent to Babylon 5 after Earth Alliance President Susanna Luchenko assumed full control of the situation from Nerv, infuriating Nerv's commander, Thirteen. After Danielle Asuka Langley arrives on the station she runs into Lt. Commander Jesa Marason, a Starfury pilot who just came back from dealing with Raiders, and she starts ranting about angels and impacts which results in Security escorting her to medlab. The Perry, Griffin, and Missouri arrive on Babylon 5 and Rei held a meeting with the senior officers as well as the B5 command staff to discuss the Angel situation. Meanwhile, Jesa talks with his two friends and squadmates Laura and Rico about the "crazy woman" he met and he learns her name. Well, enough of the preliminaries, let's get on with it! Babylon 5: Angels A Babylon 5 / Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover by Mark Craig Part 5 - Cruel Angel After the meeting ended Rei and Lochley went back to C&C to upload Nerv's information on the Angels into the Babylon 5 computers. Ivanova and LaSalle returned to the Griffin, and Lind and Reider returned to the Missouri. Clearly Rei left the others with some rather chilling thoughts on what they would be dealing with. The Angels were 98% human, after all, and they could easily adapt to many different combat situations. When Rei did mention how the Eva units were the only devices in mankind's possession which could stop the Angels, she got the sense Lochley and the others were hiding something from her. They were not a very trusting group to begin with; they'd been through too many problems with Earth and that civil war. Nerv's conflicts with Earthforce over the Angels didn't help matters, either. But what are they hiding? Rei thought to herself. Rei made a mental to discuss it with Captain Lochley and President Sheridan later, if there was time for any of them. When they reached C&C, Rei went to the command console at the front of the Observation Dome. She inserted two data crystals into the two ports on the left side of the console, and brought the station's main computer on-line. "Computer," she said, "transfer all data from crystal ports into central database. Authorization Omega-2-3-Zulu-9. Passcode: Longinus." "Commencing." "When the transfer is complete," Rei said to Lochley, "Babylon 5's computers will be able to identify each of the seventeen known Angels should they appear." "I thought there were eighteen Angels," Lochley observed. "That's according to the findings of Major Katsuragi during her research into Second Impact," Rei said flatly. "The validity of that information is still being debated on among the scientific community. However, seventeen Angels are known to exist, Captain, and I'm providing you with the data on those seventeen." "I see. I always thought Nerv kept everything about its work top secret," Lochley said. "Actually, it's on a need-to-know basis," Rei corrected. "And I believe you do need to know to be able to help us." "Transfer of data complete," the computer announced. "Commencing database update." Rei's link beeped. "Ayanami-Miranami, go." "Commander," Akagi said over the link, "I just wanted to check in. I just got back aboard the Perry." "Very good. I'm almost finished here and I'll join you within the next hour." "I'll keep the chair warmed up for you. Perry out." Rei gave a small smile. She genuinely liked Akagi, and respected Her competence as an officer. Over the past few years she and Akagi had formed a sort of mental bond to enable each to anticipate the other's moves or intentions. A very useful skill to have, actually, considering the magnitude of their mission. It was hard to believe she was a descendent of both Ritsuko and her mother Naoko. When Rei had heard about what they had done before Third Impact, it had shocked and sickened her, no question about it, particularly Naoko who went nuts and murdered the first of Nerv's clones in 2010. "Database update complete," the computer spoke again. "All right, Captain," Rei said, retrieving her data crystals, "I'm all finished here, and the command console is yours. I just need to pick up something in my quarters and return to the Perry. We'll meet again at 1800 hours to discuss our options in dealing with the Angels." She started to leave. Lochley nodded. "We'll be there. And Commander?" Rei stopped and turned around. "Yes?" "With all due respect, I hope you're wrong." "So do I, Captain," Rei said, and she turned around and briskly walked out of C&C. Well, my job's done and I can get back to the Perry where I belong, she thought. This place is just too big for my taste. Too much stuff can go on around here that no one could control. But I should be happy. Why do I have a bad feeling about all this? She boarded a transport tube to take her to her quarters on Blue-5. Rei reached the door to her quarters and fished out her keycard. When she got the door open, she saw a red-haired woman sitting on a couch looking as if she was whiling away the day. After double-checking the number outside to ensure she was in the right room, she stepped inside and drew her PPG. The sound of the PPG powering up made the woman turn her head. Seeing who it was, she smiled. "Hello, Commander Rei Ayanami-Miranami. I've been waiting for you. Please sit; we have much to discuss and time is short." Rei stood her ground, keeping the PPG leveled at this woman. "Who the hell are you? How did you get into my quarters?" "I'd figured you knew who I was, Commander," the woman replied. "Nerv seems to know everything, don't they? Nonetheless, my name is Danielle Asuka Langley." "As in the pilot who saw a vision of Kaworu at Proxima-3 last year?" Danielle nodded. "Correct. As for how I got in here, let's just say it was Nerv's prerogative and leave it at that. You can put the PPG away, Commander. I mean you no harm." "You've got about ten seconds before I call station security," Rei warned. "I assure you that won't be necessary, either. For as you've said yourself we have something in common. We both have seen Angels." Rei stepped inside enough for the door to close and slightly lowered the PPG. How does she know about that? "I don't know what you're talking about." "Oh, no? I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, Wonder Girl. You see, after Proxima-3 I got to know Nerv and many of its people quite well. I know about the Angels. G'Qeth knew about the Angels as well during a time long before humans ever contacted the Narns. I also know about you. I know what you really are." "What do you mean?" Rei demanded. "All in good time, Commander," Danielle said, evading the question. "Tell me something. What do you remember of your early childhood? Where were you born? Who are your parents?" What the hell does she know? If she knows all of us in Nerv, why is she asking me about my family? "I was born in New Tokyo City on Mars. My parents were Hiroshi and Sasha Miranami. They were killed during the '58 Mars Rebellion. What the hell does this have to do with anything?" Danielle chuckled. "I suppose that's what they told you, or had your family tell you when you were old enough. Lies, all lies conceived by Nerv, so you wouldn't know your true nature. All the better for them to use you." "Enough!" Rei burst out, reaching for the link. "I'm going to call Security." "They're probably turning over the station up, down, and sideways looking for me by now, after I left Medlab without getting Dr. Franklin's permission. I had to get out of Medlab and see you before I left." Rei hesitated. "Why?" "Merely to tell you what you are." "I don't understand." "You will. You see, Commander, I know everything about your past is a lie concocted by Melchior, Nerv's last surviving Magi from Third Impact. Your ties to Nerv run even deeper than you would expect. Did you ever wonder why Nerv was so interested in bringing you where you are? Why did Nerv insist on putting you through Earthforce Academy? Why did they insist on you being assigned to Special Ops? Out of all the people who apply to Earthforce Academy year in, year out, why did Nerv choose you? Did you ever wonder, Commander? Did you wonder what made you so special in Nerv's eyes? The answer lay in the Magi, ripe for the taking, I can assure you. I can tell you why Nerv did what it did for you over the years." "Okay," Rei said suspiciously despite herself. She barely noticed she let the PPG drop to waist-level. "What was it?" "They made you, Commander. They literally made you. It's all in the Magi, I can assure you. Nerv once again experimented with human cloning in 2226, using DNA found in the remains of Tokyo-3. DNA from the Rei III/Lillith merge which was a part of Third Impact. You were the only stable clone Nerv was able to create out of about a dozen attempts. You were cultivated in a vial inside one of Nerv's laboratories. After you were born you were fostered to the Miranami family as one of their own. Yet Nerv guided you through every step of the way through your life right up to the here and now. "It's all because you are the one who is half. Part human, part Angel. You were groomed for your place in Nerv, just like a crown prince in a monarchy is groomed for the throne from childhood." Rei found herself shaking slightly, shocked from this revelation. "That can't be. That's impossible." But it makes so much sense. This would explain these damn visions I keep having. "Seek out your true nature, you know it to be true," Danielle said calmly. "I have always known you, Commander Ayanami, as my ancestor in 2015 knew you. You'll fight the Angels now as you did then. And so will I for the sake of my ancestor." Rei couldn't stand this any more. She felt as if the very foundations of her life had started to crack. Then she felt a most unusual emotion: unbridled anger directed at her, at Nerv, at all the lies, half-truths, and everything in between that was a part of life at Nerv. With a fire in her red eyes, she again brought the PPG to bear and aimed it at Danielle's head. "On second thought," she gritted, "if you don't leave in ten seconds, I'll merely blow your head off and stab it on a pole!" "Is that what you really want to do?" Danielle asked pleasantly, standing up. Rei, just like her predecessors, had never done anything because she wanted to. She had done what others wanted, because it seemed right at the time. She felt she owed it to Nerv for everything they had done for her and her family. When her parents were killed in the Mars Rebellion, Nerv paid for their remains to be shipped to Earth and buried in a place of honor. Now she found herself questioning everything she had done for Nerv, no thanks to what this woman said. How could she know so much about her and Nerv? How the hell did she hack into the Magi? So many questions and not enough answers. "I'm warning you," Rei finally said with some venom in her voice, her PPG unwavering. "Just get out!" Danielle started for the door, stepping past Rei in the process. "By the way, I've been to M-235 as well. I've picked up some souvenirs there. Like Evangelion Unit 02, the longinus spear, a hand rifle, and an S2 engine. I will kill the Angels this time on the honor of my ancestor 250 years ago. This I swear to you, Commander. This I swear." With that promise made, Danielle exited Rei's quarters, leaving her standing there. She dropped the PPG and backed up to the wall, her anger spent. She slumped down to the floor, her mind overwhelmed with questions: Why did Nerv do this? Why did both Nerv and my parents lie to me? Has everything I've accomplished in my life just another lie I didn't even know I was telling? She felt the tears begin to stream down her face. Why the hell am I believing her? She was the one who broke into my quarters. Damn her! Why did she have to go and say all that? What did she have to gain by it? Maybe nothing. Maybe she's just as insane as the medical report on her says. Or maybe not. When the time was right after all this was over, she would deal with Nerv directly over this matter. With this assurance in her mind, Rei quickly calmed down. Then another thought struck her. Why did she mention she had Unit 02? More to the point, does the station staff know of it, and if so, why wasn't she told? Doubtless Nerv would want to know of something like that. After all, they had already begun restoring Unit 01. She said she would kill the Angels for the sake of her ancestor. Then Rei remembered her name: Danielle Asuka Langley. Then it was clear who Danielle was talking about. But there was one way to find out. She wiped the last of the tears away and got up and went to the wall terminal in her quarters. She activated the terminal. "Command?" "Computer, initiate familial history search on Danielle Asuka Langley. Locate any family members born between 2000 and 2015. Include all historical Earthforce and Nerv records." "Commencing." Rei waited a few moments while the station's computer accessed the Requested information. She went into the small kitchen to get a glass of water then went back to the terminal. After an almost interminable wait the computer provided the response. "Search complete. One match found." "Let's have it," Rei said. "Subject is a direct descendent of Soryu Asuka Langley, born in Berlin, Germany on December 4, 2001, died August 19, 2055 in Seele nuclear attack on San Diego. Became candidate for Nerv in February 2010. Designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 02 from March 2015 to Third Impact in November 2015. Became co-leader with Shinji Ikari in the International Earth Alliance in 2030. Additional information is available." So she's directly related to the original pilot of Unit 02, eh? Rei thought. But the question now becomes: If she has Unit 02, can she synchronize with it the way Asuka could? It was always believed only those born within nine months of Second Impact were able to pilot the Eva units. But what about descendants? Nerv was only beginning research into the possibility of descendants of the original Children being able to pilot Unit 01 once restoration was completed. Could it be possible she would be able to pilot the Eva effectively. For that matter, was Rei certain that Danielle had Unit 02? Rei shook her head. This is preposterous. How can she act on this information without even knowing whether or not Danielle even had Unit 02. Nerv had told her all the Evangelion units were destroyed in Third Impact except for what was left of Unit 01, which had floated in Earth's orbit until 2050. Rei had no reason to doubt them until now, when she learned everything about her past was little more than a Nerv lie. Surely they would know if Unit 02 was recovered. Would they? In light of what's just happened, Rei knew nothing was truly certain any more. She knew she had to find out for herself if what Danielle said about Unit 02 was true. Her link chose that moment to beep. "Ayanami-Miranami, go." "Commander," Lochley said over the link with some urgency, "could you please come to C and C? We've got a major problem." "On my way," Rei replied and she ran out of her quarters to the sound of the sirens blaring in the corridor. Lochley stood at her usual post at the command console of C&C. A Brakiri transport just jumped out about twenty minutes ago and no more transports were due in for another two hours, and it would be at least that long before any ships were scheduled to leave the station, and it was nearly time for shift change on the command deck. As a result the only people were herself, Lt. Corwin, and Lt. Shannon Asa. So she decided it was time for some housekeeping tasks. "Lt. Asa," Lochley said, "run a diagnostic on the secondary defense grid and confirm hull integrity status." "Yes, Captain," she said in a quiet voice. "Captain," Corwin broke in amidst a rapid series of beeps, "the jumpgate's activating." Lochley gave him a surprised look. "What? I thought nothing was scheduled in for another two hours." "Don't tell me, tell that." Lochley gave the jumpgate monitor on her console an intense gaze. The blue vortex formed inside the jumpgate, and something she had never seen before emerged. It resembled nothing more than a large, multi- forked lightning bolt glowing solid white and it approached the station once it came out of hyperspace. "What the hell is that? Computer, identify approaching object." "Commencing." "Lt. Corwin, get a couple of maintenance 'bots out there. I want a closer look at this thing." "Yes, Captain," Corwin said as he carried out his orders. Two of the station's maintenance robots flew out to the thing in moments. Lochley got a good hard look at what she was facing on the monitors on her console. Then realization hit her. Wait a minute, this can't be. "Match found," the computer broke in, interrupting her train of thought. "Registering one life-form. Approaching object identified as the 15th Angel, Nerv designation: Ariel." Oh, hell, Lochley thought. "Put the station on red alert. Launch Zeta, Epsilon, and Delta Squads. Close blast doors and activate defense grid." "Will do, Captain," both Asa and Corwin said. Klaxons began sounding as blast doors closed at the front of C&C. "Blast doors closed," Asa said after a moment. "Zeta and Epsilon Squads scrambling." "Defense grid on-line," Corwin added. "Understood," Lochley said as she got on the link to Commander Miranami. Danielle wandered purposefully through the Blue Sector central corridor when the sirens began to sound, along with a computerized announcement for all civilians to report to the designated shelters or stay in their quarters. They're here, she thought. The six by three are here. People scrambled around her to complete their self-appointed rounds, harried by the state of alert. She stopped at a monitor along the wall showing the lightning-shaped object approaching the station from one of the maint 'bots. Immediately she recognized it for what it was. So you have returned, eh? Attacking my ancestor wasn't good enough for you, was it? Well, you won't find me so easy to beat, I can assure you. I know what I have to do now, my choices have brought me to this place. Now, the time has come for retribution, 15th Angel! With determination in mind, she stalked towards the docking bay, barely noticing station security had a Fugitive Alert out for her since she walked out of Medlab. It doesn't matter now. All that matters now is the fact the Angel is out there, and I have a job to do. She reached the customs area without incident as security was too busy hurrying the civilians to shelters to worry about her, and she slipped through to the docking bay. She made her way to Bay 2 and boarded her transport. She brought the on-board systems on-line. "Computer, initiate docking bay departure sequence," Danielle said. "Departure sequence disabled for station alert." "Initiate security override. Authorization Nerv-2-1-8-9-Alpha-8." "Confirmed. Initiating departure sequence." "Transport Soryu, this is Babylon Control," came the voice of Captain Lochley. "What the hell are you doing? We've got a situation here." "I know, Babylon Control," Danielle replied. "I know all about what you're dealing with. And I intend to stop it once and for all, with Evangelion Unit 02." Rei ran into C&C just as Lochley contacted the Soryu. She was just in time to hear Danielle respond that she intended to stop it with Eva- 02. Lochley was about to say something in response when Rei stopped her. "Captain, let her go." "But she's a civilian," Lochley protested. "She cannot fly into a combat zone." "If she has an Evangelion, let her go. Your weapons cannot harm it if its AT Field is up. That is the 15th Angel you're dealing with. The only way Nerv was able to stop it last time was to use the longinus spear." "How did you know she had an Evangelion?" "She told me herself, but I didn't really believe it until now. And why wasn't I told there was an Eva on-station?" "We had no knowledge it was even here," Lochley said. "Captain," Lt. Corwin reported, "Epsilon, Zeta, and Delta Squads are launching." Something on his console caught his attention then he turned to Lochley in slight alarm. "Captain, I'm reading an increase of pressure in the fusion reactor. Pressure is at 50% of maximum tolerance and rising. Reactor temperature at 5000 degrees and rising. Life support in Brown 7, 9, 11, and 13 down 15%. Power in Blue 5, 6, and 8 down 40%. StellarCom system off-line." "What?" Lochley exclaimed, giving Corwin a surprised look. "Computer, confirm station status." "Commencing. Fusion reactor pressure: 52.75% of maximum tolerance. Life support down 15% in Brown-7, 9, 11, and 13. Main power in Blue-5, 6, and 8 down 40%." "Captain, Security Central reports all their monitors are down," Asa reported. "Defense grid has just gone off-line." "Attention," the computer reported. "Status check has identified foreign entity in reactor control, environmental, and defense systems. Entity identified as the 11th Angel. Nerv designation: Iruel." Lochley shot a glare at Rei. How the hell did that get in here? Rei thought. It had to have been the data transfer I did because the system was clean before. But who the hell put the Angel on our data crystals? "Captain," Corwin said, "At present buildup rate, the fusion reactor will reach critical levels in forty minutes." "Inform President Sheridan and begin evacuation of all ambassadors on-station," Lochley ordered. "Close off all inbound civilian traffic." "Yes, Captain," Corwin said and did so. "Would you care to explain how an Angel hacked our computers, Commander?" Lochley demanded, and her tone indicated Rei had better answer her quickly. "I'm not sure yet, Captain. It may have something to do with the data I uploaded to your systems. But I'm not certain how the Angel got on the data crystals as it was supposed to have been destroyed after infecting two of the three Magi supercomputers in 2015." "Looks like someone's reconstructed it, Commander," Lochley said. "And we need to kill this thing and quickly, because in forty minutes, discussions on who's at fault will be academic as far as we're concerned. If the fusion reactor goes, the resulting explosion will take the entire station with it." End Part 5 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.