Von Braun City Raid Part 1

[thatseanguy]

WHO: Haman Karn, Klaus von Wulfenbach, Sousuke Sagara, Kurz Weber, Melissa Mao, Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari, Koji Kabuto, Asuka Langley
WHERE: Von Braun City, the moon, Side-3 Plane
WHEN: 6/17-18. ICly...evening? Dunno.
WHAT: Haman Karn leads a Syndicate team to raid Von Braun City for lunar titanium. Those sassy neutrals at MITHRIL get the idea to take advantage of the confusion. Bad things happen.
WATCH FOR: Baron von Wulfenbach singlehandedly stopping the IPA defense with a ray gun, why Shinji is different from other "reluctant but naturaly gifted" mecha pilots, Haman naming her minions after politicans, Rei showing emotion.
CHANGES FROM RAW: Fixed a few spelling errors, switched radio stuff a bit to just have scene-relevant drama and to flow a little better. Looking forward to seeing the Vanilla story, by the way!


Sci-Fi Sector - Side 3

In the year Universal Century 0079, the orbital nation known as the Principality of Zeon declared its independence from the Earth Federation, prompting the devastating One Year War. Side 3 is the location of Zeon, at the second Lagrange Point (L2), placing it on the far side of the Moon and out of sight of the Earth. It consists of some hundreds of orbital colonies, and the asteroid space fortress A Bao A Qu.
Each colony is a large, cylindrical spacestation holding roughly a million people, powered by a mixture of nuclear and solar energy. Within each colony, cities can be found, complete with manufacturing and commercial elements. The government of Zeon, however, directs their colonies in a totalitarian, fascist manner, to utilize their resources to the fullest in the war against the Earth Federation.
This makes this area a heavily militarized, tense place underneath the rule of the oppressive Zabi family. Nationalist rhetoric is at a premium, broadcasted throughout Side 3 nearly constantly. The military forces of Zeon are always on hand, stationed at A Bao A Qu, to protect their homeland and insure the populace stays in line for their war of independence against the Federation.

Von Braun City
It is a Federation city on the moon.

What do you want, details?

Von Braun City is actually mostly located just beneath the moon's surface, in a dome city, with an artificial sky that mostly resembles that of a regular city on Earth. In fact, once one gets past the docks and into the artificial gravity and terraformed inside of the colony, it's hard to tell that this is a space colony at all. It looks like a large, flourishing city with tall buildings, streets, traffic, and a roadway into the mines where the Federation searches for more stores of the heavy material used to build Gundams, lunar titanium.

Lunar titanium is also very expensive on the black market.

Haman Karn a.k.a Chini Pezzin has her orders. Secure the Lunar Titanium for Zeon, so that the Principality can build stronger, better Mobile Suits. She secretly bets they are getting ready to construct their own Gundam thanks to her espionage. While Commander Char deals with things outside the Dome, Haman and two other Zaku pilots infiltrate the City itself. Well, infiltrate might not be the best word for it when three enemy Mobile Suits come charging through a loading dock and into the city.

"Find the mine entrances! Secure them immediately. Look out for Federation resistance. They may have Mobile Suits!" The young Ensign barks into her radio to the other two. They may all be of the same rank, but she commands a bit more respect due to the way Char treats her and her very public actions in joining Zeon in the first place.

Promotion is only one successful mission away and she revels in this chance. Still, she wishes she were out in space, fighting side by side with Char. Of course, her mission is just as vital. "Syndicate Allies of Zeon, we appreciate your aid in this mission. As promised, you will be granted a portion of all Lunar Titanium seized. For the Glory of Zeon and the Strength of the Syndicate... ATTACK!"

The black market are not the /only/ people with a use for lunar titanium. A squad of a dozen robots perhaps twice the size of a human being is racing down the street, immense rifles of some sort in their hands. Running with them is a middle-aged man in a blue jacket and cape, and a dark-skinned woman in a red sweater and white jacket. Baron von Wulfenbach wants some lunar titanium for the creation of Clanks, and other experiments. The Clank squad is his strike team.

"Follow those...'Zakus'. But first we're stopping at a hardware store. I want a Plan B." This is the man. The woman laughs. "Oh, boss, you always overthing these. We'll just kill 'em all." "Dupree, I am not going to listen to that now. Hardware store." "Right."

And the little squad of steampunk robots stops outside the local Home Depot. A few minutes later, there is the sound of a pistol firing, and the man and woman walk back out, the man with several long pieces of metal and a few electrical components in hand.

The Syndicate are not the only ones with eyes on the proverbial prize; lunar titanium could greatly increase the combat ability of any machine modified with it, after all, and could prove dreadfully useful if a sufficiently skilled Whispered could get her hands on it...

But it simply costs too much on the market. The solution, of course, is obvious.

"Uruz Seven to Uruz Six. We have incoming...from the sounds of it, the Syndicate are coming for the objective. Prepare to provide cover fire."

Sousuke Sagara, in the currently invisible Arbalest, is hunched atop a building not too far from the mines. Two other ECS-equipped M9's are near the mines, as well, and when the order goes out, they will begin their own work.

Arbalest eyes both the clanks and the Zakus, and then braces itself against the top of the building - preparing to leap down and run interference.

"You're covered, Uruz Seven." Kurz's stealthed M-9 lies on the roof next to the Arbalest, his sniper rifle set up on a bipod. "Whenever you're ready!"

A metal, hidden within the depths of the Moon, Rei thinks as the Evangelion - transported to Von Braun City as part of the semi-randomized distribution of relevant forces that the IPA uses to keep the load on member forces balanced, through a Gate - begins its start-up sequence. Her lips tighten as a momentary pulse of feedback sends a twitch down her lateral muscles.

Some switches indicate proper activation. An access hatch that is just barely large enough for the crouching EVA-00 kick into operation, and it rises to the surface out in a scenic field. A rifle, pistol, and knife lay in front of it, in a rack made out of what appears to be the back of a tractor trailer. It kneels down, the cable connection trailing into the bowels of the colony. Little dots appear on a map in the plug; Rei opens her eyes, and picks up the knife and pistol.

She hopes, in the back of her mind, that they'll have backup cable connections somewhere.

Shinji Ikari is a little nervous today. In all fairness, this is pretty much standard practice for the Third Child-even when not fighting Angels, Shinji finds piloting Evangelion to be a nerve-wracking process. The physical and mental pain of basic use of the giant robot is hard enough to deal with, when you throw in working for your evil, neglectful dad, the veritable minefield of personal issues everyone involved seems to have, and, well...Shinji's special little problem. 'Though', Ikari glumly realizes, 'I'm really the only one who doesn't seem to like it...'

Shinji bites his lip, focusing on synchronizing instead of remembering the one day he overheard the techs chuckling about his Berserker state being more reliable than he was. He can do this. He can keep calm. He is IN CONTROL. Iron will, baby!

'You promised.' A Shinji-Within-Shinji mutters. 'You have no idea how, but you held it off during the Jet Alones thing, and now you know you owe it...'

The Third Pilot sighs, as Eva Unit-01 blasts out of the ground, tandem to Unit-00, and assumes The Position. 'They didn't need to send Asuka...maybe this'll be an easy one! Maybe no one'll get hurt too badly!' Shinji reasons with himself. Reasons, deludes, same thing.

Mao's watching the Zakus as well from her vantage point, frowning slightly. "Stay on your toes boys and try not to engage in close combat with those guys. We're much smaller than them." But this should be pretty obvious. The command AS is in a kneeled position, also cloaked. A machinegun has been equipped. "Stay on standbye Uruz 6."

"Don't worry about me, Uruz Two," Kurz replies playfully, "You know how I like to play hard to get!"

A whirring sound can be heard as, from a hatch positioned strategically near the city's entrance, slowly emerges a machine, about sixty foot tall in height, its eyes unlit, its body unmoving. Why did they store it there, of all places? Because it's easier to leave it there than to transport the whole thing everytime, of course! As the Mazinger has completely emerged, a teenager's loud voice is heard coming from a small white aircraft approaching the machine. "MAZIN GO!" The Hover Pilder, taking the time to perform a few all-important aerial tricks beforehand, locks onto Mazinger Z's head, the glass dome forming its brain of sorts. "PILDER ON!"

The bulky robot's eyes light up, and it poses triumphantly, before getting down to business and running towards the detected intruders. From what he heard, he'll be teamed up with a pair of kids, right? (Never mind that they're only about a year or two younger than him.) Then perhaps he can show them a thing or two about robot piloting! He turns on his radio, and introduces himself. "Oi! I'm Koji Kabuto, pilot of Mazinger Z, and I'll be your teammate today! Just follow my lead and everything will be fine!"

They didn't send Asuka, but this might be the next best thing.

Rei Ayanami says, "There are three mobile suits."
Shinji Ikari says, "Y-yeah, and we d-don't know what's hidden...is that a guy looting a hardware store with little robots?"
Amuro Ray says, "Are they of Zeon type, if you can tell? -Little robots?"
Shinji Ikari says, "Maybe I'm seeing things...how're things up there?"
Rei Ayanami says, "They seem similar... I cannot see the hardware store."
Shinji Ikari says, "S-syndicate forces! This...this is the Interplanar Police Agency! S-surrender now, and you w-will not be harmed!"
Shinji Ikari, trying to sound authoritative. Innit cute?
Klaus von Wulfenbach | Bangladesh Dupree laughs. It is actually a fairly nice sound.
Shinji Ikari, flipping through some kind of instruction manual! "Okay, r-regulations say we can e-engage now. I think. The kanji are so small on the translated page..."
Roy Fokker says, "Hey, Shinji, right?"
Koji Kabuto says, "Yup. The evil laugh is our cue!"
Shinji Ikari says, "Um, yes? Sorry."
Roy Fokker says, "Go ahead and go after them, kid. I'll make sure to keep anyone that gets on your case off of you."
Nanoha Takamachi says, "Isn't grand theft with giant robots a bit... excessive?"
Shinji Ikari says, "Oh. Okay. Sorry, t-this is my first mixed sorte..."
Koji Kabuto says, "You'll be fine! Just don't get in the way!"
Rei Ayanami says, "Please support us, until you are ready."

Wondering where the opposition will come from Haman is rather floored when some huge, clunky-looking giant robot appears from nowhere and charges towards her. "Abramov, DeLay," she commands her two fellow Zaku pilots, "Avoid direct contact with the large black and silver robot currently approaching. Concentrate on finding the mines. Look out for IPA reinforcements. I haven't seen any Federation MS yet but these otherwordly allies of theirs prove they're ready for us."

Her Zaku dodges to the side as she gets out of Koji's way, pulling her Zaky 90mm Machine Gun up and firing off a few shots, just to test how strong the alloy making up Mazinger really is. She has a feeling it's a might stronger then even Lunar Titanium and as thick as it looks, this could be a hard fight.
The 'little' robots crowd around Baron Klaus as he kneels, getting to work. He is smiling and he is muttering in the Madness Voice. "...yes...one shot. Must make shot count...Dupree makes shot...yes! Pick robot...hm...what did Edvard say about that pilot...oh, yes.../yes/. IT WILL WORK!"

Bangladesh Dupree, the woman in the jacket, grins. "I think he's having fun, don't you?" One of the Clanks looks at her, but does not respond. "Oh, I forgot, you guys don't think." "...click...click...we do not cogitate. We obey orders...clack..."

Sousuke Sagara, as ordered, remains on standby. The Syndicate and IPA forces are approaching, but with his ECS active, he won't be showing up on their radar anytime soon. In the meanwhile, a Mithril ground team is already at work, and preparations are being made. The question now is simply this: Can they do this successfully before anyone notices that someone other than the Syndicate is at work here?

Kurz, likewise, is on standby, though he's already starting to scout out his targets. His voice is cheerful and carefree, which seems at odds with the seriousness of his report, "I have two of those Eva units popping up, a Zaku-class Arm Slave, and," he gives a low whistle, "One Behemoth-class Arm Slave at the city entrance. They sure build them big around here, don't they."

EVA-00 turns its monocular orange-tinged head towards where the Mobile Suits are making their move. It steps forwards carefully as Rei concentrates, for now, on breathing evenly. Synchronization takes some time, after all, even when you have experience.

Oh, two Mobile Suits are flying off. Well, that's not good: she raises the EVA's left hand with a slow, easy move of the control surface, and flicks the switch that pulls the trigger, twice. It sounds, from the outside, like artillery going off; after this, two shells fly towards the Mobile Suits. It is a long-range shot, and Rei is not taking great care to aim.

Shinji Ikari could've sworn he saw an angry little man, an Asuka-esque Indian woman, and a bunch of little robots jacking a hardware store. He makes a mental note to find some relaxation time after this. He doesn't exactly frown at the Ally of Justice, Koji Kabuto!!, but Asuka's sass is sort of part of the package with Der Redhead.

Shinji suddenly feels a little shallow. "Oh, um, nice to meet you! I'm S-Shinji Ikari and...you're busy now sorry." The Third Child shakes his head, trying to break this weird funk he's in and get back in the game. Following Ayanami's advice, Shinji strafes through some buildings-careful to avoid civilians, as he has been ever since learning about Toji Suzahara's little sister, and how he put her in the hospital.

That thought makes covering the IPA advance with concentrated sprays of pallet rifle fire something easier to do than usual. Still...Shinji avoids the chests whenever possible, remembering just how easy it can be to kill a mobile suit pilot if you hit there the right way...

Mao waits just a little longer, waiting for the return fire and there it is. The pilot grins, "Alright boys! Let's move out while everyone else is busy." The "small" mecha rises from it's kneeling position and begins heading towards the mines to cover the rest of her men.

Koji grits his teeth as his Mazinger simply runs past Haman's Zaku. Curse all the other robots, for being more agile than his! "Damnit..." The robot skids to a halt, knocking a few parked Future Cars out of the way in the process, and turns back to face its opponent. However, it's greeted by... bullets?

Koji gives a little satisfied grin, and taunts, as the Super-Alloy Z coating of the machine deflects the attack without a single apparent dent. "Haha! You can't hope to hurt Mazinger Z with such a weak attack! Super-Alloy Z is the strongest metal in the world!" The world here meaning, well, his own. "Here, let me show you some real power! ROKETTO PUNCH!"

Its right arm extended forward, Mazinger Z's rocket-powered fist launches itself at the Zaku. Contrarily to Shinji, Koji doesn't particularly care to aim for the cockpit or not, mostly because 1- He's used to fighting things that aren't exactly human, after all, 2- He figures going all-out is the best way to survive, and 3- He's a bit of a jerk like that.

Haman grits her teeth as Rei's careless shot knocks the Zaku piloted by Ensign Abramov off course and sends it careening into a building. It will take precious moments for him to get back into the fray. Fortunately, Ensign DeLay manages to dodge and take cover among some of the taller building, popping out to fire at Rei's Eva unit while he runs for where the mines should be.

Haman, meanwhile, finds herself on the receiving end of a Rocket Punch. What kind of ridiculous weapon is that? A part of the robot flies off to deliver a hand-to-hand attack? Who though that up? Some derranged manga writer from a past century maybe? Still, it's a viable threat and Haman knows she has to get out of it's way. So, she takes a cue from her subordinate and ducks behind a building, which just happens to be a convalscent home for War Survivors.

Meanwhile, while the Grand Giant Robot Battles rage, the not-as-giant robots, with the indian woman and the cranky-looking middle-aged German man, are running through the streets that fights are /not/ happening on. They are hunting for the titanium depots, you see. It is the titanium they want, and they're small enough not to be Giant Robots in the Giant Robot Fight sense.

On the other hand, Clanks don't do quiet.

Sousuke says, "Affirmative, Uruz Two," and Arbalest rises, hopping from building to building. Mithril confirmed the location of the deposit weeks ago, and this entire operation is supposed to be a stealth op. Which is why it's bad that so much is happening - but then one can never really expect something like this.

Arbalest approaches the mines, and the ground team, protected by two other M9s, begin to load a few crates into an unremarkable eighteen-wheeler truck. Shortly, Arbalest will be there to assist, but as the invisible machine goes...

"...alert. Smaller machines are en route. They don't seem to know for sure where the mines are, but they'll be there soon."

Rei has no idea what's in the buildings. She assumes the civilians have gotten to shelter, which is the standard NERV guideline for interception operations.

She moves towards the faster Mobile Suit, staying in the open space outside of the planned city for now. The cable trails behind her, leaving a track in the planted grass and possibly creating a new small ditch. She fires again, another two rounds; she is paying more attention to where she is shooting, but the rounds are armor-piercing and may go through a thin section of building.

Shinji Ikari knew he heard something.

"I've detected more h-hostiles! Going after them!" The Third Child says-he caught a glimpse of the Clanks out of the corner of his eye, yeah, but third time's the charm. Shinji sends a few more bursts in the general direction of those jerks from Zeon, and after he's mentally plotted his course through the city, dashes after the strange man and his army of miniature...okay, human sized robots!

"U-um, you there!" Speakers carry Shinji's voice...they're set in the Eva's "mouth", creating the vaguely unsettling appearance that the Evangelion itself is talking. Though, Shinji's soft voice coming out of that purple and green demon is kind of funny, too. "Stop! There's l-live combat going on here, and you're going to get yourself and your friends killed! S-stop, in the name of...the law?" Trying to be commanding is -really weird- for Young Ikari.

The giant robots are doing what giant robots normally do: Fight each other. This is good for Kurz, as long as they ignore his building, he can cover Sousuke and the recovery team without a problem. "All clear from up here..." Through his scope the sniper trails over to the entrance to the mines and then to the nearby streets. True to the Clanks' name, its not his visual sensors that get Klaus's gang noticed, but their sound. "Correction, I've got movement. Foot squad, moving fast and loud for the mines," he grunts. So much for a quick mission. And sniping foot soldiers can get so messy too. Now all he needs is a clean shot...

Oh @#$*. "They just got confronted by one of the Evas, Uruz Seven," Kurz sighs. "I'll try to peel off the giant robot, the groundpounders are all yours."

"Running away?! Oh no, you won't!" While Koji doesn't normally let things like "Civilians casualties" and "Excessive collateral damage" bother him too much as he fights, he did get warned to be more careful when he joined the IPA. Thus, a raging battle in his mind is held between Devil Koji, advocate of just exploding the building and thus whatever is behind it, and Angel Koji, advocate of running up to the Mobile Suit and punching its head off. Devil Koji fires a Devil Blaster beam at its good counterpart, which then blocks with an Absolute Terror Field, detaches its halo, and shoots a Heaven And Earth One-Hit-Sure Kill Halo of Apocalypse, beheading the Devil, and thus ending the mental argument.

His decision made, Koji simply has Mazinger Z run up to Haman's Zaku, ignoring whatever projectiles might be in store, and winds up for a punch that could shatter mountains!

Oh, and the Mazinger sort of brushes off the side of the building in the process, making a small part of it collapse. Oh... well.

Haman is not behind that building anymore, she's behind the next one so Koji knocks over the side of the convalescent home, raining rubble down into the street only to find the Zaku behind the next building over and firing projectiles from it's machine gun. Haman is aiming carefully, right for the glass dome atop the Pilder. That's when the bullets from the Eva Unit strike her in the shoulder and knock her aim off, sending the shells flying wildly over the Mazinger.

"Damn, I forgot about the Monster Robots. Abramov, DeLay, I need backup! Aim for the cords leading to the two tall, slender robots! Sever those!"

She goes back to the task at hand, assessing damage and finding that her right arm servo is damaged, limiting the range of mobility on that side. So, she fires her boosters and power-leaps backwards in a spray of rocketwash from the chemical rockets in her backpack.

The two other Zakus begin firing on the Eva Connector Cables, trying to sever the weakpoints of the enemy units. Abramov takes another hit from Rei, his main camera in the Zaku head shattered, forcing him to switch to manual backup. DeLay misses and watches as his shells bounce off the hexagonal AT Field.

Klaus is caught between an unseen sniper and a giant robot. This is bad, even if the sniper is unseen and unknown. "Clanks - go on ahead. Dupree, stay here with me for a moment." "Oooo. That's big. How are we gonna kill it?" "We're not. Take this gun." Klaus hands the machine he made from the hardware store parts to Dupree. It resembles a long ray gun with wires running across everything. "You have one shot. Aim for the robot, do not miss." Dupree snorts. "I can't miss something /that/ big." "Good. The shot is conductive, so it should carry as long as you strike the torso or head. Then the internals will melt." "Oh. Damn. What is it?" "Confusion Beam." This conversation is carried out very, very quickly, as Dupree aims for Shinji's EVA. She fires. This is not exactly a /hard/ shot.

*pwing!*

The severed umbilical cable purges itself and falls into the field. Rei's head turns, and she looks, however briefly, concerned. She seems more determined as she turns her attention back towards the other mobile suits. EVA-00 drops the pistol and crouches, holding the knife still in the other hand.

After this, it leaps towards Abramov's mobile suit, the knife held in both hands and being raised upwards. It gleams and hums. She is, after all, under a time limit now.

Hopefully the Federation can attach a cable to the hamster wheels and throw it out where she can get it! They have four minutes and forty-eight seconds to do so.

Shinji Ikari says, "What the heck is-"
Shinji Ikari laser beam noises. "A-aaah!"
Rei Ayanami says, "Umbilical cable severed - Ikari."

Arbalest leaps on towards the mine, remaining ECSed while the loading continues. After a brief flurry of radios in that direction, Sousuke reports to the unit, "Uruz 6, back at the mine. Operation continues uninterrupted. Ground team reports we are at 80% completion."

His sensors alert him to the unusual sounds from the enemy, and Arbalest jerks its head around to gaze at both the people below, the (roughly) AS-sized machines accompanying them, and...the Evangelion. Sousuke frowns. "Uruz 6. Evangelion units sighted close to the mine. The smaller units are firing on them. I am prepared to try and buy us time if the battle gets too close."

The decision for Kurz is easy enough, he can actually see the Eva as opposed to the Clanks. "I'll give you a hand," he remarks with a grin, setting his scope for the base of a nearby futuristic radio tower. Shooting the Eva would be Bad. Buying time by throwing up roadblocks, however, is Good. And with a single shot aimed just right, he'll be able to topple the radio tower just so that it'll block the Eva's path. If any Clanks or whatever happens to be in the path of the debris, well, that's not Kurz's problem...

A look of surprise passes Koji's face as he realizes that his mountain-shattering punch is wasted on air and a lousy building! Bah! And the enemy is hiding again. And shooting at him. Badly, it seems. Wether Koji noticed Rei's intervention or not, he makes no indication of it. His surprised expression changes to one of Go Nagai Rage(tm) as the Mazinger (with roaring pilot!) doesn't slow down, keeping on charging, trying to veer off track a bit so the building won't get /too/ smashed up by his arrival. "KOSHIRYOKU BEAM!" The large, yellow eyelasers going through it (and hopefully hitting the Zaku in the process) might cause some damage, though.

Shinji Ikari's eyes widen as the Indian lady turns...something on him. Is that a ray gun? "What th-" Yep, its a ray gun all right! The device somehow slices through Shinji's subconscious Absolute Terror Field, and even through his Evangelion's armor! Those with visual hookups will see the beam blast Shinji right in the head-his actual head! Now, why the heck did that happen?

"W-what was that?! What did you do to me?!" Shinji cradles his head in his hands, and his Eva Unit echoes the motion-Ikari's Synch Rate begins to fluxuate rapidly, going from his all-time maximum to just barely synched and back again, like some kind of hellish yo-yo. "Everything's...all wrong...what..."

"Hi!" Shinji says. Well, Shinji-Within-Shinji. Usualy, the voices in Shinji's head are decent types-even the mean ones try and shove young Ikari towards personal growth. Sometimes, the kid needs it. Seeing as this Shinji, however, is grinning like a maniac as he carefully slices a piece of meat, and delicately puts it into his mouth, savoring the morsel of Toji Suzahara as he picnics on that very school ground where the angry boy knocked Shinji Ikari's block off for accidentally hospitalizing his sister...

Shinji figures this is not going to be a good psychedelic sequence. "Um...wh-what are you.."

"I'm going to be taking over for a while-man, what, did you get smarter or something? Normally I have to be all primal-screamy in your head." Savage Shinji mutters, all too casually. "But, anyway! A deal's a deal, and since you can't even handle the Syndicate, let alone the Angels that just showed..."

"A-angels?!" Real Shinji steps back, terrified. Eva's visuals activate...and young Ikari looks like he'll be physically ill, for a few moments, as he sees what they're doing to the Syndicate troops. "W-what? But, Ayanami..."

Savage Shinji rolls his eyes, stretching in the lazy manner of most predators and standing up. "Crippled or dead, probably. Thing tore through the IPA ranks-see the support units? Yeah...really, really messy. Tsk. Goes to show..."

"...all I can do is fail..." Real Shinji mutters, his hand squeezing in and out of...something.

"Yep! That's the difference between those little sources of self-confidence you've been hiding behind. People like you. Langley and Ayanami opening up a little. Your trying to make things right with your old man." The monster's grin widens. "Amuro? Sousuke? The difference between you and them, Ikari, is one inalienable truth. You don't get a happy ending..."

"...n-no...this isn't..a trick..." Shinji struggles, as his worse half puts his arms around the boy, forcing his hand into a fist.

And on the field, after what could be a few seconds, or an eternity, Eva Unit-01's mouth opens, it holds its head back, and ROARS!

On the plus side, Rei, Shinji doesn't need his plug anymore!

You switch armor modes to Berserker.

Shinji Ikari |Those folks with visual interfaces get to see just what Shinji looks like before a Berserker attack, before the comlink shudders and breaks into a wall of static.
Rei Ayanami looks stoic for those with video feeds. "I will stop Unit One."
Koji Kabuto says, "...What was that noise?"
Amuro Ray says, "Is everything okay?"
Rei Ayanami does not answer.
Koji Kabuto, with a misc. crashing sound in the backgroun, "Not sure! Busy fighting!"
Shinji Ikari and Unit-01's "voices" begin to meld together, as they bellow a rage-crazed, animalistic roar!
Darth Revan says, "Mmmmmm....I know that scream."
Amuro Ray says, "...Shinji?"
Koji Kabuto says, "Here it goes again!"

The falling radio tower crushes two of the dozen Clanks - the others react fast enough to avoid it, climbing over it easily. Clanks are excellent at reacting - it's /thinking/ they have trouble with. Behind, Klaus smiles. Theory proven. He then begins to run after the Clanks, followed by Dupree. "Come, Dupree! We must find the the mines."

Mithril's ground team continues its work rapidly. Just a little more...

Sousuke, meanwhile...stares up at the monstrous Evangelion, going out of control. "Uruz 6. The evangelion seems to have...I'm unclear what has happened. Lost control?" Arbalest leaps closer, alighting atop another building, watching intently. It remains invisible, but the Evangelions are powerful machines, and it's quite visible to ultraviolet scanners and the smell of Ozone...who knows how well a Berserker Evangelion might see it?

Kurz's first instinct is to say 'I didn't do it', but that can wait for the debriefing. "I see it," he flatly answers, an odd voice for the usually jovial sniper. Sousuke can't leave the team alone, not with those clanking whatsits still heading his way. And no Big Sis for backup. "I'll see if I can draw its attention, Uruz Seven." And with those fateful words, the Arm Slave's 57mm sniper rifle fires again, sending a shot directly for the very top of EVA-01's head. It shouldn't hurt anything, he hopes, but it should draw the Berzerker's attention his way instead of Sousuke's. The rest... is a matter of whether or not his M-9 can play hide 'n seek long enough to survive.

Haman was not ready for a beam attack from the eyes of the frankly ridiculous-looking Mazinger Z. The beams strike home in the center of the Zaku's chest, burning through several layers of armor and leaving a pair of smoking craters in the thick armor. The impact knocks the green, utilitarian war machine backwards, making it crash on it's back atop a nearby Government building. The roof was not meant to take the weight of a fully loaded Mobile Suit and collapses, droppin Haman's MS through the top four stories before she fires the rockets in her backpack again, setting the top of the building alight and scattered reams of paper to the sky. She's in retreat now, or at least, that's how it seems.

Abramov meanwhile, switches on his backup camera just in time to see Unit 00 bearing down on him with the Prog-Knife. The blade sheers neatly through the upper shoulder of the Zaku, severing the arm carring his gun and letting it clatter uselessly to the ground below. Abramov screams and begins trying to evacuate from his MS. Haman curses, wishing Zeon has included escape capsules in their original MS like Axis does in the later models.

DeLay meanwhile stares in horror at the rampaging Eva before him and tosses a few cracker grenades at it before firing his own rockets and leaping backwards to gain some distance, placing himself nearer to the mines, right at the entrance to one of them in fact. "Ensign Pezzin!" He calls back, "I've reached the mines. There seems to be some kind of Storage unit here, apparently full of unprocessed ore!"

"Secure the ore at all costs! Backup will arrive shortly!" Haman Karn growls under her breath as she issues the order, wishing she were in the Quebley or even a Gaza, just for the firepower she would have at her disposal.

Rei does not know what she is feeling, now. Unit One has been awoken by something. The fatalistic part of her mind - a very large portion of it - wonders if they will be, eternally, the toys of those who manipulate minds.

She disregards the Mobile Suit after landing, and tosses the car-sized knife aside towards a scenic pond. It splashes, epically, and fortunately will stop humming resonantly within an hour or so.

She leans forwards in the entry plug's seat as she steers EVA-00 forwards, now; it breaks into a run towards EVA-01, not slowing down while approaching. Rei is aiming to tackle the other Evangelion to the ground; she will worry about what to do after that when it happens.

00:04:02.2467

The Clanks, the Baron and Dupree are wonderfully ignored in all the commotion - it even masks some of the Clanks' moving! Such a wonderful thing, commotion. They make their way to the mines, heading in to grab ore. They are good at this, being sized right for not crushing crates between their fingers.

Ragehatehittearripsnarefatherbitechewhatekillhate-

Dully, the monster realizes something is shooting at it. It smells...something, and feels its rival-sister-SHOULD NOT BE-the blue one coming up behind. The machine gun fire does little damage to Unit-01, shots bouncing off of an AT Field wielded with an instinctual grace, as the monster in the machine moves. The Eva Unit crouches down even lower...sending a sweeping chop at the building where it smells the otherSPYenemytheyshouldnotlookBREAKITINHALF while trying to twist into a position where the Eva Unit can grab Unit-00 mid-air, reversing the rival beast's attack.

Where did it learn how to wrestle? something asks-its a trick, the something is trying to get back out, it is owed this time, it HAD AN ARRANGEMENT!

Rei Ayanami makes a noise best rendered as 'ghh!'
Amuro Ray says, "-Ayanami!"

Koji, seeing the result of his attack, fistpumps in his cockpit, a look of satisfaction on his face. The enemy hasn't been destroyed, but at least incapacitated. He makes mental note that Mobile Suits (the One-Year War era ones, at least) are ridiculously easy to damage. He then notices the damage left by the attack and its consequences, as if he only had a vague, indirect hand in it. He figures he'll probably have to get chewed out by Professor Yumi for it later, but right now that's the least of his worries.

Now that his opponent has been taken care of, (or at least he assumes, as he's turned his back on the retreating Zaku, a move he may or may not regret later) he tries to find someone else to punch, as trouble is still brewing in the area, and he's there to stop it, after all. He locates the rampaging Evangelion on his radar screen, seeing it as nothing but a question mark-labelled dot, and figures there might be as good a place to go as any, seeing how most of the commotion seems to be centered around it anyway. Run, Mazinger Z!

The Mithril team is in a warehouse in the mining compound. Poeple have finally found the mines, but Mithril's agents are wrapping up, loading one or two final crates. The M9s, invisible, prepare to engage the enemy. They are Uruz squadron vets; they will not be taken down by a force like this!

There may or may not also be traps present to discourage enemies from getting too grabby.

Meanwhile, as the mad Evangelion strikes out at Arbalest, there is a flash of electric blue, and the white mech is in midair, visible at last, twsiting from its evasive dive. "Uruz 6! Under attack, engaging the enemy! Get the shipment out of there!"

"Ruby One, copy that!" The ground crews move faster, loading the last crate. Will the Syndicate cause them any grief? Hmmm....

Haman blasts backwards, seeing the massive form of Mazinger Z heading in a different direction, she races towards the mines, using buildings for cover, to aid DeLay and Klaus as they attempt to secure the mineral resources. It seems someone has beat them to it.

Haman scowls, seeing the people take the ore and being in no mood to share after this, Haman levels her gun and opens fire on the ground crews, totally oblivious to the invisible M9s lurking about.

DeLay reaches down to pluck a few of the crates out of Mithril hands, sneering as he begins to walk through the ground crew, stomping on some of them with the giant metal feet of his MS. What do they matter? They're just in the way!

"Uruz Six, copy that." Kurz can't hold it anymore, and as his stealthed AS bounds over to cover Ruby One at the mines, he mutes his receiver. "No, you big dummy, you're supposed to go for ME, not Sousuke! There goes my big plan!" The radio clicks back on as he finds a good spot to cover Ruby One - who's now engaged with some familiar Zakus. "We've got company," is all the sniper notes as he quickly settles back down again and sets up the rifle to aim for the mecha going stompy-stompy on his crewmates. DeLay's unit really didn't need that head, did it? Blam!

EVA-00 is caught - it struggles in the grasp of EVA-01. Several seconds later, it is hurled into a building, landing against it with a heavy crash and the shattering of dozens of windows.

Rei disregards it. EVA-00 stands up again, staggering for a moment as the pilot's pulse and stress rates steadily increase. As it lacks weapons, it reaches out to try and grab EVA-01's wrists.

Rei says nothing as she does this; the Evangelion does not vocalize, either, although its body makes strange, twisting, creaking sounds that seem to echo.

The Clanks, having found no crates free, begin to fire their massive Clank Guns at the Mithril team loading up crates. They need those crates. Klaus and Bangladesh hang to the back, watching. Bangladesh Dupree looks unhappy about this, and says so in several languages, using interesting swear words. Klaus rolls his eyes. "The phrase is 'son of a /goat/,' Dupree, not 'son of a two-legged camel.'"

Ignore the above! The Clanks are happily - well, not happily, more like 'emotionlessly' - collecting crates of ore. The same conversation is happening, but is in regards to Dupree only being able to shoot something /once/.

Enemies surround it, some coming out of thin air, some from behind, and the thing that SHOULD NOT BE having the indecency to STILL EXIST and be doing it right in front of him. The beast's jaws hang open, as it briefly feels a spark of understanding about the Red One now. Glory is sweet.

Trapped inside, Shinji Ikari is synchronized enough to feel -everything- the Evangelion feels. His face trapped in a rictus grin, Ikari tries one last time to take control of himself...and is unable even to ignore the horrible truth that, on some terrible, primal level, he feels the beast's exaltation...

The monster is outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded by enemies. So, it improvises-the beast lets Unit-00 grab its wrists, feigning struggle for a few seconds...before grabbing Eva Unit-00's wrists in turn, and tugging the arms down with a sharp jolt, hopping upwards at the same time. Unit-01's legs perch on Unit-00's chest, and 01 bounces off of its sister unit, its horrible jaws opening to take a snapping chomp at the mysterious white robotic enemy. The spy.

NOM NOM NOM later, hit or miss, Unit-01 twists itself in the air to take advantage of Unit-00's now less than desirable footing, landing a devastating knee to the Eva Unit's chest.

Unfortunately, it can't do the rest because, damn, still has arms! With a ROAR, Unit-01 /tugs/, and tugs, and tugs, and with a meaty RIIIIIPing sound, pulls Unit-00's arms off like a pair of drumsticks. Moving quickly enough to be a purple and green blur, Unit-01 whips one arm at Sousuke's poor mech, another arm in the general direction of the jerk what shot him, and grabs Unit-00 by the throat...digging its free left arm into the small of 00's back with a gruesome, twisting noise.

Doubling forward, Eva Unit-01 lets another inhuman roar out, running to meet Mazanger Z's charge...with Unit-00 as its grisly human...well, Evangelion...shield and bludgeoning device!

Rei Ayanami lets out a wavering, agonized shriek.
Koji Kabuto says, "/What the Hell?!/"
Shinji Ikari and/or Unit-01 let out a triumphant, bestial roar!
The Doctor says, "Now, that didn't sound good."
Amuro Ray says, "What's going on there?!"
Greed says, "They'll let any clown on the radio these days, won't they?"
The Doctor says, "I have no idea but it sounded much like a tortured soul screaming out in pain and rage as he struggled with deep seated psychological issues in the midst of existential and physical combat against foes who are merely ciphers for the real problems boiling inside. Though I may be reading too much into things. Perhaps it's just a bear having eaten someone with a radio."
Greed says, "Maybe it's a figment of his imagination?"
Ridley says, "I need to get a bear."
The Doctor says, "A figment of the Bear's imagination? No, I think not. Bears have very limited imaginations."

Rei feels it, very clearly. As EVA-00's arms are gripped, there is a sensation that is almost pleasant for a fraction of a second of stretching, which rapidly turns into pain, then agony, then something transcending it...

This is where she screams. She doesn't realize she does it. She does not really realize anything.

EVA-00 staggers back. Hundreds of gallons of red fluid - is it blood? A lubricant or a hydraulic medium? - spray out, showering the buildings nearby in a grisly spray as it slumps down. The ragged edges of the armor plating over the upper arms conceal things, slightly.

It does not move after this. After a few moments, the spray stops.

Well, that's no good. Ruby Team dives as the enemies appear, easily evading bullet fire with trained preparation. Mithril's PRT is not something to mess with! Even so, there are limits to their agility, and poor Ruby 10 screams as his legs are crushed beneath DeLay's foot. Of course, the problem with that is that now the M9's are visible, decloaking and firing 40mm shells rapid-fire into his Zaku. Ruby Team grabs Ruby 10 and quickly leaps into the unmarked semi trailer, and the driver guns the engine, driving away at high speed. Hopefully, the bullets raining up at the Zaku will prevent it from pursuing.

As for Arbalest, uhm, it appears to have been eaten. Arbalest has no aerial mobility. The teeth come down, and Sousuke stares out the camera window, and something...clicks.

There is a tremendous explosion of blue-white light, the teeth halted millimeters from destroying Sousuke's cockpit and the pilot in it, although there is clearly damage to the rear. Lambda Driver active, Arbalest TEARS itself out of Eva Unit 01's mouth by any means necessary, leaping to the ground, drawing the 57mm "Boxer" shotcannon in preparation for war.

Sousuke Sagara switches armor modes to Lambda Driver Arbalest.

Upon arriving at the scene of Unit-01's rampage, Koji is not greeted by the most fun of scenes. "/What the hell?!/" So, the robot he was supposed to be assiting has gone all beast-like on them, and is proceeding to kick the butt of the other one, and one he isn't sure about. Oh, and look, he's now heading towards Mazinger Z, using part of Unit-00 as a bludgeoning weapon. How disturbing. The Mazinger merely raises its arms to block the attack, as Koji isn't quite entirely sure what to make of the situation yet. The Super-Alloy Z holds out fairly well even through the repeated strikes, but the machine slowly bends over, seeming like it won't be able to last much longer under the assault. After a particularly powerful hit, the Pilder's glass dome shatters, littering the cockpit with glass shards, and making sure to wound Koji just right so that it looks like he's crying tears of blood (as is required once per episode).

Gritting his teeth, Koji looks at the unidentified machine behind the rampaging Eva. "I don't know who you are, but you need to help me stop that thing!"

While DeLay takes fire from the M9s that have become visible, Haman swears under her breath about those tiny, invisible bastards always turning up to ruin things. "Klaus, if you can, deal with things here!" She says over the radio to her ally on the ground, "If things look too bad, withdraw with as much ore as you can. Then, let me know. I'm going to try and stop that truck."

Pulling a cracker grenade from under the skirt armor of her Zaku, she tosses it towards the M9s and times another rocket-assited leap to the moment the blinding explosion goes off. Sailing high above the buildings, the Newtype tries to cut the semi trailer off by landing in front of it and pointing her 90mm Machine Gun at the driver.

She makes a mental note to tell Char about Klaus's amazing work at keeping the IPA busy. That man deserves something for his quick-thinking and tactical skill.

Someone's trying to intercept the truck? MITHRIL to the rescue of... MITHRIL? Kurz deactivates his AS's ECS, grabs the sniper rifle with both hands, and takes a running leap off of the building, which - coincidentally - was next to where the semi was driving. "Fifth floor, Arm Slaves, Sniper Rifles, and MITHRIL Heroes, going down!" Landing on top of Haman's Zaku would be a waste of a perfectly good M9, so he instead lands right behind her mecha with the sniper rifle aimed right for the small of the unit's back.

Klaus von Wulfenbach replies via radio. "I'll try. Tink, Tonk - break off your collection. Protect the other eight collectors. You rest, collect as much as you can." The Clanks make affirmative noises, and two break away, aiming their Clank Guns at anyone within a hundred feet that they don't recognize. The other eight Clanks continue to collect crates.

Eva Unit-01 was right in the middle of the wonderful business of smashing the crud out of this fancy schmancy Mazanger...thing, when suddely, its teeth start to bulge. Fighting, the Eva Unit's jaw twists...and snaps open, most of its front "teeth" flying out as Sousuke frees himself!

'This...is...wrong?' Shinji manages-and is riddled with another sickening wave of, well, confusion. 'Can't..think...'

The Beast, however, can think. The flyer is the threat, and they will need to save the girl. /Shoving/ Eva Unit-00 at Mazanger Z, Unit-01 blurs as it hops up, and kicks off of Unit-00, managing to get air that, in less gruesome a situation, would be positively kickin. Its left shoulder pops open, and the Berserk Eva flings its own Progressive Knife at the speedy, glowing...bug like mecha.

Rei can't feel her arms.

They don't move when she tries to fold them together. She can feel the wrenching cold jagged surface across the upper arms, near the shoulder, tearing into the armpit. She slumps back in the plug as she feels things CRAWL, and then -

They work, and she curls up in the seat, the synchronization level falling away, agonizingly slow without benefit of manual override. She knows the pain will fade. It's nothing. It's nothing, at all.

Pin-sized automatic purge vents near the shoulder release the small quantity of blood into the LCL to be filtered out JUST as that foot hits EVA-00, slamming it down further against the ground with a sickening snap of something internal. Rei doubles over again, a hand going to her mouth and the other going to her shoulder. It's nothing. It's nothing.

Alas for Haman, the truck is not driven by just anyone - but by Uruz 10, Yan Junkyuu. The man famed for being able to drive any machine like a pro - except an ARM Slave. As the mammoth Zaku crashes in front, Yan is already reacting, slamming the machine into a rapid reverse. It's not as fast as he'd like, since the thing is huge, but Hama has no time to shoot at him for this right now - she's got a sniper rifle to her back.

The M9s simply continue to shoot. The Clanks are given minimal trouble; they are classified as a lesser threat than the titanic Zaku, which is why the Uruz vets are shooting it full of lots of holes. Besides, the Clanks don't seem to be bothering them right now...

Sousuke, meanwhile, stares in shock as a knife THAT BIG is THROWN at him. He's seen how the Amalgam enemies deal with things like this; they crush it. But a knife that large...it's impossible.

And for that very thought, Sousuke could never accomplish it, even if he should be able.

Sousuke instead leaps, attaining a height that the Arbalest should not be able to reach, and brings the shotcannon around. "Agreed," he replies to Koji. "Opening fire." And so saying, the shotcannon barks once, sending a slug more like a missile than a bullet flying through the air at the Evangelion's chest - a slug imbued with the very force of Sousuke's vision that it will tear through the Evangelion's armor and damage the monstrosity, slowing it down. It shines with a blinding blue-white intensity.

Haman calmly raises the hands of her Zaku into the air. The voice coming from her loudspeaker is calm and measured. "You have exactly one minute to surrender the shipment of Lunar Titanium to the Syndicate. If you fail to do so, I will detonate the reactors on the other two Zakus and destroy this city and all who live within it. If you agree, you will be allowed to keep one metric ton of the ore provided you surrender the rest to Syndicate control and vacate this city immediately. Fail to meet any of my conditions and you will all suffer nuclear annihilation."

Shutting down her loudspeaker, she keeps her arms in the air and flips a few special switches on the control panel of her Zaku, switches which send a signal to DeLay and Abaramov's Zakus, locking the controls. Another flip and they go up in fusion infernos, shattering the dome, destroying the mines, rendering this city uninhabitable without massive cleanup.

At Haman's threat, Klaus barks a rough order to retreat. All ten of the surviving Clanks grab as many crates already collected as they can carry and begin to run, followed by Dupree and Klaus, for the nearest Gate out of the city.

Mazinger Z flinches upon receiving the rest of the larger Evangelion, but the damage isn't sufficient to take the machine down just yet. Tossing it rather unceremoniously aside, (Koji figures by this point that the pilot is probably dead anyway), Mazinger Z takes position, raising its arms, its two breastplates shining a crimson red. Roaring, the pilot calls out the name of his (current) ultimate attack. "BURESTO FIYAA!!" With this, a veritable stream of flames is shot into the berserking Eva-01's direction, hopefully hitting at the same time as Sousuke's shot.

FUN ROBOT FACT: By Super Robot Wars terms, a Combo attack can only be executed under the following conditions. For Super Robots, the pilots all need to shout the attack's name at the same time, and for Real Robot pilots, they just need to all shoot at once in the same direction. However, with Koji and Sousuke being respectively Super and Real-type pilots, this is NOT a combination attack! Gasp!

Oh, and, um, there's a nuclear announcement of some sort. Koji might want to do something about it, but it's hard to interrupt your attack when you're in Nagai Rage(tm) Mode.

Great. Now Kurz has to play The Negotiator. The sniper M-9's loudspeaker activates, and its pilot lets out an audible sigh. "I'm not with the local military, lady, we're just a bunch of ragtag mercenaries looking for a quick payoff. So if you feel like wasting all of our lives over some stupid metal, that's your call. Me, I'm willing to take our loot and look the other way if you are." Kurz flicks off the loudspeaker and activates the secure channel, "Some people can just be way too greedy, can they? I'm open for any other suggestions!"

Shinji Ikari is on fire! Arrrgh, being on fire SUCKS! Unit-01 shoves its arm up, taking the missile-esque blast to the shoulder instead of the chest...which is cold comfort when said shoulder pops off-barely caught by the Eva Unit's good arm. The fire is taking its toll as well-while the AT Field blocks much of it, the heat is seeping through, and that's draining Unit-01's ability to function rapidly! It seems like the beast is beaten!

Well...it did. And then Unit-01 lurches forward, rolling /through/ a building to escape the fire, and shoves its arm back into the socket. There is an unpleasant, meaty noise-as the strange, techno organic bits of the Eva quickly regenerate, and then the purple and green armor ITSELF follows suit! Within seconds, Unit-01 is nearly as good as new! Its teeth are even back.

Celebrating this fact, it roars.

Off at a Gate to the Hub, Klaus and his entourage have made it. Giant robots tend to ignore things not on their scale, after all, or step on them. They have managed to avoid Option B. Thus, they make their escape with a dozen crates of ore.

Haman listens to reason, returns control of the Zakus to their pilots and steps aside. "Then go mercenary." It's all she says before turning back to her men. "Gather as much Ore as you can while the IPA is busy. We leave immediately." It won't be much considering how much damage the three Zakus have taken, but between them, they should be able to collect a couple tons at least.

The pain is starting to fade, slowly. Rei uncurls, just a little, letting out a shaky gasp. She trembles, violently.

The EVA has, thoughtfully, gone into standby life-support mode. The blood has already been filtered out into that interesting little place where it all goes, in the end.

Rei looks up towards the view, which is partially occluded by nearby structures. The synch ratio remains miniscule, leaving the only sensation a dull ache near the shoulders and a faint numbness in the arms.

Kurz 1, Haman 0? He's not that trusting, so the M-9's rifle remains raised into the air. "You heard the lady, Uruz 10, let's get out of here before the wrong cavalry arrives!"