NEON GENESIS EVANGELION was created by GAINAX. Space Sci Fi influences from various sources. NEGEV Chapter 1: Wuss Boy/Zombie Girl by E.L.Toh contact: teloong@cwcom.net or toheel@singnet.com.sg archive: http://www.teloong.mcmail.com/ A.D. 2118. Galactic core outer rim planet 'Reuben' First Expeditionary Force Vice Admiral Jakob Van Heemskerck was grim as he relayed the news to the ExFor Commander. The battle of control of this first planet was going badly. "AJAX to ARIADNE. We've just lost the HECTOR." "Acknowledged, AJAX," came the response from the command carrier, "This is Admiral Bearn to Destroyer and Frigate Group 3. Fill the breach and press on with the attack." "We're hitting it with everything we've got! N2 warheads and our main guns are having no effect at all! Request..." The transmission from the Group 2 lead destroyer PLUTO was abruptly cut off as a particle beam sweep across it and its two flanking ships. Their hulls were torn apart as easily as tin foil, disgorging twisted wreckage and orange flame. "ARIADNE to all main battle cruisers. Concentrate your forward positron cannon fire on these coordinates! On my mark!" 'Jean Bart Bearn is trying to break through the enemy's defensive field with a coordinated burst of firepower,' thought Van Heemskerck as his bridge crew linked their targetting computers to the flagship. A hellish red nimbus of heavy energy built up in the front of each surviving battle cruiser, including his own. "FIRE!" Nearly two dozen surviving battle cruisers simultaneously poured forth their rage, the red beams streaking towards a single point. The resulting collision of energies momentarily flooded the AJAX's sensor arrays with white noise. As the interference cleared away, Van Heemskerck's eyes widened in disbelief. 'This is impossible!' Their enemy was unscathed. Van Heemskerck watched in horror was another particle beam shot right through the ARIADNE. The super-structure of the once proud flagship folded and fused like candle wax in a furnace before erupting in a huge ball of fire. -NE- -G- -EV- Present time. A.D. 2124. The United Nations Defence Force spacedocks in geo-synchronous orbit around Europa, the ice moon of the gas giant, Jupiter. Milling around the docks were mining vessels and freighters. Mixed detachments of missile frigates, ungainly hammer-headed battle cruisers and escort carriers held formation, awaiting the coordinates of their next designated staging point. In contrast to the busy humdrum of the main spacedocks, the installation on the dark side of Ganymede was much more subdued. Laser turrets and hunter-killer probes made sure that ordinary commercial and military traffic did not stray into the vicinity of this classified shipyard. It was therefore more than a little unusual when a prowler dropped out of warp just a few hundred klicks from the installation. Half a dozen security and weapons systems immediately locked on the newcomer. With a mental command, the pilot sent his clearance code which disengaged the defence systems. As the fighter approached the installation, it became clear that the shipyard was really a girder-like exo-skeleton encasing a massive warship. It resembled an old style aircraft carrier without the conning tower. Part of the propulsion systems jutted out prominently from the stern in the form of massive triple barrels which were complemented by huge arch-like folds flanking the starboard and port, extending their way to a third of the ship's length from the stern. He could easily see the ship's name which was spelt out prominently on its port bow. "Wussboy to NEGEV, permission to dock." There was a brief pause in the radio comms, interspersed by mild crackling from the background cosmic radiation. "Wussboy, this is NEGEV. MAGI will adjust your approach vector. Docking will be in the Seventh Cage." "Understood." With that, the prowler veered to the right, entering the command carrier via the opening double doors of a hangar within the port arch. -NE- -G- -EV- Shinji 'Wussboy' Ikari removed his helmet and stowed it in the cockpit before disembarking from the prowler. Hangar techs and DRDs had already started their maintenance runs on his fighter craft as he threw a jacket over his skin-tight blue-white flight suit and made his way towards the exit where there was someone waiting to receive him. "Lieutenant Commander Ikari Shinji, reporting for duty," he said, saluting formally. "Welcome aboard," replied his superior officer as she returned the salute, "and I see you're still as much of a tight-ass as ever!" Misato broke into a grin. "Oh, come on, Shinji! 'Lieutenant Commander Ikari Shinji, reporting for duty,'" she imitated in mock serious fashion, "Really! It's not like we're complete strangers, you know. Still, it's great to see you again!" Shinji rolled his eyes. "Well, I suppose it's good to see you too ... Hey, cut it out!" he protested as she mussed his hair. "Awwww..." pouted Misato, arms akimbo, "you're no fun. You know, you used to be such a cute kid. Well, at least you're grown into something quite yummy." "And you haven't changed a bit," sighed Shinji, his expression between annoyance and amusement. "I can't believe someone as irresponsible as you was promoted to Commodore. With your very own command! High Command must have gone completely off their rockers! Nice uniform though." "Congratulations accepted!" said Misato cheerfully, as she twirled around once to give him the full benefit of her red jacket, black blouse and short red a-line skirt. Well, make that very short red a- line skirt. "It's not reeeally my own command though. This is an Admiral's flagship after all. I'm more like the XO." "I thought the only XOing you do is from a cognac bottle." "Oh yeah, that reminds me! I've got to show you something really great! This baby may not be my command but I still got to do some really nifty modifications to the ship!" winked Misato. "Oh no," groaned Shinji, a hand over his face, "not some new private beer stash again..." "Nope! It's even better! Come on! Let me show it to you. Gotta see it to believe it!" Misato grabbed his arm and began to pull him down the corridor. "Hey! Let me go! I've got to..." "Your girlfriend can wait! She's waited six months since you were assigned to a tour on deep space patrol! However... the wonder of the universe that is Commodore Katsuragi's Onboard Microbrewery cannot!" "What about reporting to the Admiral?!" offered Shinji rather lamely, even to himself. "Your dad's in a meeting. Man, you must be desperate to get away if you want to use him as an excuse. Don't worry, the beer's good! I promise!" "Misato!" -NE- -G- -EV- Earth. A globe of blue interspersed with swirls of white and brown-green patches. Around the moon is a continuous metal ring of uneven proportions. The Lunar Orbital Defence Ring. An asteroid hurtling towards Earth from the depths of space. A frantic volley of fire from the positron cannons on the LODR impact against the asteroid, breaking it into several chunks before those are, in their turn, reduced it to space dust. The holographic replay of these events fades. Present: General Secretary, United Nations United Nations Security Council Representatives for North America Central & South America Europe North Africa & Middle East Sub-Saharan Africa Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia & Oceania Admiral of the Fleet, Fleet High Command Assistant Chief of the United Nations General Staff, Planning Assistant Chief of the United Nations General Staff, Intelligence Assistant Chief of the United Nations General Staff, Operations Assistant Chief of the United Nations General Staff, Logistics Commanding Officer, Planetary Defence Deputy Commanding Officer, NEGEV Observer Status: Committee for Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) "That was too close," remarked the monolith carrying the voice transmissions of the United Nations Security Council Representative for North America. "There was no risk to Earth. We had land-based and Earth orbital defence systems locked on this latest asteroid," said CO, Planetary Defence. "Even though our defences at Ursa Major, Proxima-Centauri and Jupiter intercepted most of the asteroids in this latest attack, that one still managed through and come within several thousand kilometres of our home world," noted UNSC Rep East Asia & Oceania. "We may not be so fortunate next time! If there is a concerted strike against us, an even larger swarm of these asteroids could overwhelm the defences. If even one got through, we could have a repeat of the Second Impact of 25 years ago!" protested UNSC Rep North Africa & Middle East. "We should strike at the source of the problem and eliminate it once and for all," stated UNSC Rep Central Asia. "No one can fault that logic. But although the Committee for Planetary and Lunar Exploration has managed to narrow down the star systems in the galatic core that have been the source of the asteriods, the total loss of our First Expeditionary Force - dozens of capital ships and tens of thousands of personnel - represents a serious setback to our efforts," opined ACUNGS, Planning. "If that wasn't bad enough, there are strange and powerful entities guarding the key planets that bar our route into the galatic core. These 'Angels', as designated by COMPLEX, are unlike any foe we faced before. If these entities were to venture out of the galatic core, the results could be devastating for us!" noted UNSC Rep Central & South America hotly. "Which is why COMPLEX and UN Fleet High Command have been working on NEGEV," said ACUNGS, Operations. "Vice Admiral Fuyutsuki will explain the proposed strategy." Star charts and schematics began feeding through to the other members of the meeting. "The NEGEV is the largest command carrier ever built, over 1,600 metres long and laid down according to the Amagi class aspect ratio. It is able to operate without support ships as it incorporates features of a warship, research vessel, production facility and so on. Ideal for deep space missions, the NEGEV will reconnoitre and clear the way - enabling the spearhead elements of the Second Expeditionary Force to secure lines of communication for the main fleet. We expect Project E will provide the solution to our Angel problem..." "We expect a white elephant, built to satisfy the megolomania of Ikari Gendou, to be able to face an enemy that decimated an entire fleet of our finest ships?!" interrupted UNSC Rep South Asia. 'Damned Gendou always sticks me the most tedious tasks,' groaned Fuyutsuki mentally. Taking a deep breath, he then drew on his scientific expertise to fend off the opposing arguments. And failing that, to browbeat his opponents into submission with obtuse technical jargon and sheer obfuscatory long-windedness. -NE- -G- -EV- "Have you heard about the pilot that just transferred in, sempai?" asked Maya as she looked up from the vast array of engine room instrumentation before her. "You mean Shinji?" responded Ritsuko who was keying code into Melchior at lightning speed. With one hand. The sound of her keystrokes were almost musical, set against the soft constant hum of the air scrubbers in the ventalilation system. "Yes, that's right. He and Commodore Katsuragi seem to know each other really well. Do you think they're...? Well, not that there is anything wrong, in principle, with someone older seeing someone much younger," winked Maya with her last comment. "Haha," laughed Ritsuko dryly as she continued to type, "it's not like that at all, Maya dear. Misato was his mentor and guardian at the Academy since his early teens. You could say she's like a big sister to him." "Oh, I see. I didn't notice that in his file," nodded Maya. "And now that he's here onboard, you won't have to chance to harrass you-know-who." Klak-klah-klak-klak-klak. "Hey! I do not harrass!" protestd Maya. "And besides, who cares about her? You're the only one for me, sempai!" "Yeah right," snorted Ritsuko, "now, let me see, what were those fusion reactor calibrations again?" "But you are! My heart belongs to you and you alone!" declared Maya as she glomped onto Ritsuko's arm. "Just keep that in mind the next time another skirt crosses your path," harumped Ritsuko who finally gave pause to her keying in of commands. Brushing a stray lock of blonde hair aside, she reached for a ready mug of coffee, fresh from her own customised Cup'o'matic. "Oh sempai, you're not being fair! I..." Maya's voice trailed off as she blinked once in surprise. Then, slowly, she shifted her gaze to the instrumentation around the two science officers. Ritsuko's visage scrunched up into the sourest of grimaces as she took a sip of her coffee. 'Uugh, this tastes more like toothpaste.' "Sem-pai..." Maya enunciated the honorfic slowly with just a dash of nervousness creeping in. "What is it now, Maya?" asked Ritsuko absent-mindedly as she began to disassemble the coffee machine while muttering to herself about configuring the damned thing right this time and why it was important to humour Maya by allowing her assistant to address her by that honorific. "Sempai, I think we have a problem," said Maya who was sporting a huge sweatdrop. "Hmmm? Oh, that. Don't worry about it. My little tweak to Mother's algorithms will give the propulsion systems a 2.5% boost in efficiency! All those red lights, dials and indicators should return to normal riiight aaabout... now." -NE- -G- -EV- Shinji threw his arms against the right bulkhead of the corridor for support as the whole ship suddenly seemed to spasm violently. All the lights went blacked out for a second. And with the return of illumination, came the sound of alarm klaxons. "What the..." And then from absolute chaos, it reverted to 'A-O-Kay' before he could even complete his thought. "..." Shinji shrugged and continued along his way. After a lot of trekking around the expansive interior of the command carrier, he finally found himself at his desired destination. Entering the holodeck, he noted that the simulation portrayed the setting as a large hall filled with pillars that were spaced widely apart. Illumination was provided by occassional circles of light beamed down from an unseen ceiling far above, creating intermittent areas of deep shadow. A low mist crept around the floor - just to add to the atmosphere. 'Hmm. An armed melee combat training scenario,' thought Shinji. "MAGI, load Wussboy melee weapon beta." He gripped cold steel as a glaive appeared in his hand. He hefted the broadsword and, satisfied with its weight and balance, swept it in a wide motion from his shoulder to his waist. Poised with the tip of the blade pointing at the ground, Shinji awaited the attack. -NE- -G- -EV- "The activitation of Unit Zero was successful. A satisfactory synchronization ratio was achieved by Zombie when Unit Zero was assimiliated with a prowler and then later, a combat mech," reported Admiral Gendou Ikari, hands steepled just under his nose, as he addressed the single monolith before him. "And what of Unit One?" asked Lorenz Kihl, his holographic image towering over Gendou's seated figure. "I have been informed that the pilot and his prowler has just arrived. We should commence the preliminary trials in a few hours time." "From the reports, I've gathered that this pilot, call-sign 'Wussboy'..." Kihl paused momentarily. 'I'm sure that stupid boy must have deliberately chosen that call-sign so that he could find a new way to embarrass me.' Unbidden, this thought surfaced in Gendou's mind for the umpteenth time over the past few years. "... this pilot," resumed Kihl, "is your own son. Aside from the suspicion that you're packing the crew of NEGEV with your relatives, and former colleagues, he has got quite a disciplinary record. Three counts of insubordination. Among other things." "We have been through this before. And you've seen all the test reports," said Gendou flatly. "Yes. But it still remains to be seen whether the selected pilots or EVA Units will prove their worth in combat," noted Kihl gravely. "And for the Units to be operationally ready for combat, we will need the Dreieinigkeit Combine's S2 engines. The limits of battery technology mean that, at present, EVA Units Zero and One cannot function for more than fifteen minutes at a time without an external power source. Umblical cables are fine for experiments but are barely acceptable even for limited land operations." "I am well aware of that," replied Kihl, "the Combine is in the final phase of its testing of the S2 engine production model in concert with EVA Unit 02 at the Ursa Minor facility. My question to you is whether you can keep continue to keep the plebians on the Security Council at bay without our intervention." "I am sure you and I both have supreme confidence in Fuyutsuki's ability to defend Project E," said Gendou whose lips curled into a smirk, hidden by his hands. "You yourself insisted on bringing him onboard. I have secured the qualified support of East Asia & Oceania, Europe and North America. Besides, ours is the only weapon that can defeat the Host." "Indeed," said Kihl as he acknowledged Gendou's points. "And to ensure that we stay within the schedule, NEGEV should launch and then proceed to rendevous at Ursa Minor in 72 Earth Standard Hours. There, you will take the S2 engines, Unit Two and Valkyrie onboard." "That is acceptable." "Ikari, you and I both know that what is at stake here. We cannot fail." With that, Kihl's monolith vanished. Gendou remained seated, motionless, amidst the darkness and his own thoughts. -NE- -G- -EV- Shinji whirled around just in time to parry a blow aimed at his neck. He barely had time to recover from the force of that strike. Or even to register the physical presence of his assailant - save for the flash of two blood red orbs - before she retreated, with a backwards leap, into the shadow and mist. Gripping the glaive with both hands, he held it before him in a guard position. He was starting to have to take deep breaths but hadn't broken into a serious sweat. Yet. Suddenly his six senses screamed at him. Right! Right! He spun towards that direction, swinging his sword to counter the rain of thrusts and slashes that emerge from a humanoid-shaped blur of white. His opponent pressed with her attack, making this the most sustained encounter of the duel thus far. Shinji smiled to himself as he recognised the weapon she was using - an extremely wicked sword favoured by the Ancient Egyptians. They used the hooked end of the blade to puncture the shields, armour, helmets and, subsequently, various body parts of their enemies. Then he saw an opening. His attempt to exploit it was countered at the last minute by that hooked sword. Now with swords crossed at about shoulder level, he could just make out her person. Even so, it still shimmered and swayed like a distant mirage. Shinji grunted and pushed forward with all his strength, hoping to throw his opponent off balance. She had other ideas. With a subtle shift in her weight and a deft twist of her weapon, Shinji found that not only was his glaive pried from his grip and was taking a trip into the far reaches of the hall, one way, he also realised he was over-extended and off-balance. In other words, he was going to land flat on his face. Until an arm intercepted his waist on its way down and set him back on his feet. As that left arm moved to encircle his back, the right found its way around his shoulders as the Egyptian blade clattered onto the floor. A head of light blue hair nestled against his left shoulder and Shinji found himself overwhelmed by a flood of sensory and emotional signals. The fragrance of her hair, the warmth of her body through her (snugly fitting) white flight suit, the sensation of her nuzzling his neck. He embraced her tightly for a few long moments. Brushing back a stray lock of hair from her forehead, he gently stroked her chin and then lifted her face towards his. "I missed you," she said quietly, those strange red eyes speaking of wistful longing. Her right eye was framed, above the eye brow and edge of her temple, by a metallic rim complete with tiny ports and indicators. "I missed you too, Rei. It's been six months. Six months too long," sighed Shinji. Rei cocked her head slightly to one side. "Your swordsmanship has slipped." "Well, it's a bit difficult to train when you're stuck in a cockpit. The result of Dad kicking me onto the deep space patrol shift. By the way, I see you've been training hard on your cloaking technique. Nice work," smiled Shinji. "You could still sense me," pointed out Rei who nonetheless blushed slightly at his praise. "Only just barely. I..." "Lieutenant Commander Ikari, come in please," announced the communicator, on the wrist of his flight suit, which had come online. Shinji shrugged in vague annoyance. "This is Shinji. What's up?" "Please report to the Third Cage immediately," declared the disembodied female voice. While the request was worded strongly and officiously, the tone of its delivery was surprisingly meek. "Acknowledged. On my way," stated Shinji as the transmission was terminated. "Anything on right now, Rei?" "Just this flight suit," she said with a completely straight face. "..." Shinji scratched his head and chuckled to himself. Despite having a strong and long-standing relationship with her as well as his ESP ability, sometimes he still couldn't tell if Rei was joking or not. "Come on," he said, taking her hand, "let's go for a walk." -NE- -G- -EV- "Excuse me, just *WHAT* are you doing to *MY* prowler?!" demanded Shinji. Maya straightened her hair after Shinji's verbal onslaught. "Well, what we did was to remove the old command module from your long range, deep space fighter and replace it with a core and plug that forms the nexus of EVA Unit One." "It looks disgusting!" protested Shinji, pointing at the outgrowths from the new cockpit that had spread throughout the body of the prowler. They looked like a cross between varicose veins and tree roots. A gnarled and bulbous cable snaked its way from underneath the Unit to a power source in the hangar. "That can't be helped. The EVA Units have a substantial biological component that we can't completely modify to suit all of our tastes." "And what are these EVA Units anyway?" asked Shinji, still rather distressed at the changes to his pride, joy and penis extension. Rei patted him on the back lightly in an effort to comfort him. "Well, it's hard to explain simply," began Maya, "these Units are designed to, theoretically, counter the protection of the targets of the coming operation. They're designed to be transferable between existing UNDF weaponry, most importantly the deep space prowler and the combat mecha, as it is anticipated that they will be deployed in ground, atmospheric and space operations. This also allows for combined arms deployment as well." Her fingers were crossed behind her back. Shinji frowned at the number of caveats, explicit as well as implied that he heard in Maya's explanation. Unusually, he couldn't sense if she was telling the truth. "This is part of Project E, isn't it? The plan to penetrate the galactic core. This is my father's work." "Correct," boomed the voice of Admiral Gendou Ikari as he looked down on all of them from the observation deck, high above. Drawn up to his full height, his posture nonetheless indicated his sense of ease. He was framed in the light from the deck's ceiling illumination, casting most of his features in some shadow but not enough to completely obscure his slightly mysterious but definitely smug and all-knowing smirk. "It's been a while." "Hi, Dad," Shinji responded without much enthusiasm as he winced internally. 'He can be *such* a drama queen.' "You have been designated as the pilot and operator of EVA Unit One. The activation test will commence shortly. Doctors Akagi and Ibuki will oversee the experiment." The smirk had faded, replaced with an icy, professional air. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Oh, by the way, I like the beard." Gendou's non-response was to turn around and walk out of sight. "Alright,we're ready to start the experiment. Please enter the Unit now, like you would a normal cockpit," announced Ritsuko from the control room of the hangar. -NE- -G- -EV- 'Oh marvellous,' thought Shinji sarcastically as the entry plug of the EVA Unit filled with a viscous orange fluid. 'Well, at least the controls are pretty similar to my prowler specs.' "So how do you feel, Shinji?" asked Ritsuko as a holo-screen of the faux blonde scientist appeared before him. "Like I'm being prepped for cyro or stasis," replied Shinji, who swallowed some fluid in the process. "Don't be such a baby, Shin-chan," said Misato as her image appeared next to Ritsuko's. "Rei had to spend a lot more time in an entry plug for the development of the prototype." "That was just an observation, not a complaint, Misasto-san," noted Shinji, "so what am I supposed to do in this test?" "For starters, we've started taking readings of your synch ratio, that is, how responsive the EVA Unit will be to your mental commands, very much on the same principle as your original prowler, except this is more biological than mechanical, and it's much more sophisticated. Right now, you're doing very well, over 60% on your first try. You might like to know that the LCL, besides supplying you with oxygen and other goodies, helps reduce any interference between you and the EVA. I'm trying mint flavour this week. So what do you think?" "Errr... it kind of tastes more like coffee," came Shinji's slightly hesistant reply. A light bulb lit up figuratively over Ritsuko's head as she slapped her right fist over her left palm in a 'Oh I get it now!' fashion and her holo-image vanished abruptly. "Ritsuko, just *what* are you doing, wandering off like that?!" asked Misato, an eyebrow twitching. "Sorry," said Ritsuko, who had the good graces to look a little embarrassed, as her image reappeared but this time she was carrying her coffee machine, "I just realised something." "Oh man," sighed Misato, "don't you ever learn? Remember the last time you got distracted and resulted in Rei's little accident?" "What happened to Rei?!" demanded Shinji, by now, rather anxious. "No one told me she was injured!" "Oh, don't worry, kiddo," purred Misato reassuringly, "our great scientist-engineer-doctor-rolled-in-one accidentally tapped into my micro-brewery together with the LCL plant. Rei drank quite a few pints before anyone realised what was wrong." "I never realised just how many bawdy drinking songs Rei knew!" chipped in Maya. "Needless to say, Rei got a little tipsy and she totally trashed the hangar when she stumbled around with her combat mech," said Misato. "Okay. Okay, rub it in, alright?" grumbled Ritsuko as her hands absently fiddled with the Cup'O'Matic. -NE- -G- -EV- 'I still can't get to sleep,' thought Shinji as he stared at the ceiling, 'must be Ritsuko's coffee-spiked LCL.' 'Well, this sure beats deep space patrol. Even if this outfit is run by a total jerk who happens to my Dad. The XO is a lush and the Chief Science, Engineering and Medical Officer is a scatterbrain but they've both got their hearts in the right places. But most important of all...' "What are you thinking about?" asked Rei quietly, her head resting on his shoulder, her red eyes softly curious. "Sorry Rei, did I wake you?" "No," she replied and continued to gaze at him expectantly. "I was just thinking about how happy I am to be with you again." Rei smiled faintly while snuggling closer to Shinji. And sleep eventually stole over them. APPENDIX A: International Law in Space International law in space had traditionally been governed by the under-mentioned conventions, as agreed by the superpowers with space programs at the time: 1967 UN Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (henceforth the 1967 Outer Space Treaty); 1979 UN Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (henceforth the 1979 Moon Agreement); The key aims of these agreements was firstly, to declare outer space to be the part of the common heritage of all mankind - i.e. no state was allowed to exert sovereignty over any part of outer space, the moon or other celestial bodies. A corollory of this was that the exploration and use of outer space was, in principle, supposed to benefit all human nations and not simply those with the capacity to do so. The second key aim was to prevent the militarisation of space with explicit guarantees that it was forbidden to test or deploy weapons in outer space. This was agreed upon by all parties as a means to limit the spiralling costs of maintaining offensive and defensive capacities. However, due to technological and political changes, pressure to reform the legal regime in space finally coalesced in the form of the two under-mentioned treaties: 2079 UN Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of Commercial and Corporate Entities in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (henceforth the 2079 Corporate Space Treaty); 2100 UN Treaty Establishing the United Nations Defence Force - Fourth Protocol for Establishing a Fleet High Command for the Defence of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (henceforth the 2100 Fifth Protocol); The principle of outer space as the common heritage and province of all mankind was abandoned in all but name as territoriality and sovereignty crept into the picture. The technological capacity to exploit mineral and other resources in the planets and asteroids of our solar system (mainly due to the discovery of warp speed travel) meant that commercial activity in space needed to be regulated. A system of auctioning various surveying and mining rights to corporate entities was developed. These entities, which were often had governments as shareholders, then had legal personality in the national courts of the state where they were incorporated. The 2079 Corporate Space Treaty merely codified what had, by that time, become accepted if haphazard practice. The formation of a Fleet High Command for outer space (alongside the Army, Navy, Air Force and General Staff arms of the international and supranational United Nations Defence Force) marked the decisive end of space as non-military - although one must acknowledge the presence of armed para-military units formed by governments and corporations to enforce a semblence of order in the colonies and space stations. The new Fleet and its Space Marines Corp was deployed to put an end to the massive outbreak of piracy and insurrections in the outer star systems, percipitated by the temporary collapse of authority in the wake of the Second Impact. The last major holdout against recentralisation was only reclaimed as recently as 2117 with the fall of Proxima-3 in the Alpha-Centauri system to UNDF forces. The most significant development has been the Second Impact when Antarctica was struck by a huge asteroid. The Earth was knocked off its axis. The immediate blast, followed by widespread flooding and famine wiped out nearly half the human population. Various regional and world powers were able to organise relief and recovery through inter-state, inter-regional and international cooperation. The final result was the reorganization of the world according to regional blocs - North America, Central & South America, Europe, North Africa & Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia & Oceania - to which states transferred theirs power of decision with respect to outer space, especially when it was determined that the Second Impact was the work of a threat external to Earth. For reasons of history and resources, outer space (and its attendant organisations) continues to be dominated by the blocs of North America, Europe and East Asia & Oceania and the corporations that span them. Thus, most of the colonies and installations will subject to their legal codes as well as the relevant UN directives. End of Chapter 1 AUTHOR'S NOTES First off, disclaimers and acknowledgements. I know about >.< this much about astronomy. If there are any factual errors, do let me know. I'd be most grateful. Influences for this chapter consciously include Starcraft, Star Trek, Starship Troopers (the movie), Farscape, Babylon 5 and Revolutionary Girl Utena as well as Joyce Wakabayashi's fic 'Urusai Asuka!'. Secondly, almost the entire cast has been tweaked in (hopefully) unexpected ways as compared to the original series. I was hoping to write about Shinji without his usual hangups and to have a Shinji x Rei story! 16 Oct - 1st draft. 18 Oct - 2nd draft: removed Gendou vs. Shinji slapstick to out-takes. Inserted activation test and current WAFF end scene. Title of Ch 1 changed from Gotterdammerung. 25 Oct - 3rd draft: New opening scene. Prowler entry scene trimmed. 31 Oct - 4th draft. Small but impt plot changes. 14 Nov - Finally final. I hope. Plus HTML version. My thanks to Harold Ancell, Rocci Cirone, Glazius Falconar, Alain Gravel, Jerico Mele, D.B. Sommer, Long Tsun, Darth C Wader and Jonathan Wang for c&c.