Turns out the Writer's Guide maxes out the number of characters in a single post, so I'll have to split it into separate posts. Spoiler: Section 2 - The USS Nerv and Its Evangelions THE STARSHIP NERV THE U.S.S. NERV -- NCC-71855 One of the newer vessels of the Galaxy class, a sister ship with the Enterprise. Twice the length of the original starship Enterprise and thus approximately eight times the interior volume. (See cover illustration.) She retains much the same symmetry which includes an engineering module with twin nacelles and, of course, a great saucer-shaped command module. It is the home for over 700 people who live and work there over the course of its mission. (Unlike typical Galaxy-class vessels, the addition of Evangelion support areas in the saucer section reduces the crew and civilian complement.) The Main Bridge The COMMAND AREA of our Main Bridge is a semi-circle of control seats where the Captain Ikari, his next-in-command Fuyutsuki, and advisors are located. On the stage-right side of the Bridge are three duty stations called STARBOARD CONSOLES. These three stations center on sciences, due to the nature of the NERV’s missions. From fore to aft, these are: SCIENCE I. Used by researchers, science officer, mission specialists, and the like. Typically manned by Ritsuko whenever she is on bridge duty and during Evangelion operations. SCIENCE II. Additional console to allow researchers to interact with each other. Typically manned by Maya. SCIENCE III. Additional console. Typically un-manned. The rear of the Bridge has a raised semi-circular area, separated from the Command Area by a railing which is also a set of console stations. This is the TACTICAL CONSOLE. At this position, Aoba plus any necessary assistants are responsible for weaponry, defensive devices (shields, etc.) plus ship’s internal security. The rear wall of the Bridge is an additional set of duty stations called AFT CONSOLES. From left to right (facing aft), these are: SCIENCE IV. Used by researchers, science officer, mission specialists, and the like. Typically unmanned. MISSION OPS. Used to monitor the routine activities of Away Teams. Evangelion operations are monitored at the forward OPS station. Typically manned by Ensign Kitakami. Life support and related environ-mental engineering functions. Typically manned by Lt. Nagara. ENGINEERING I. Supplemental console to com-plement ENGINEERING II. Typically manned by Ensign Tama. ENGINEERING II. This is a double-sized, major bridge station which includes control of matter and anti-matter engines. It is the center of Kaji’s engineering functions when he is on the Bridge. It is capable of more than the other aft consoles. No one ever sits here except Kaji. The stage-left side of the Bridge features three additional duty stations dedicated to Communications and will be typically unmanned except during battle operations. From fore to aft, these are: COMMUNICATIONS I. Primary station for management of external ship’s communications. Functions usually assumed by Aoba at Tactical except during battle operations, when these functions are transferred to allow tactical to focus. COMMUNICATIONS II. Back-up station. COMMUNICATIONS III. Back-up station. Just ahead of this are two FORWARD STATIONS, “OPS” and “CONN” positions. For vessel control and navigation. Usually manned by Hyuga but is occupied by a supernumerary when he’s not on the Bridge. Evangelion and vessel operations. Position usually manned by Misato. Occasionally the job will be handled by a supernumerary when Misato is off-duty, on an away mission, or is elsewhere on the ship. Also on the stage-left side of the Bridge are two Turbolifts and a door leading to the Captain’s Ready Room. On the right side of the Bridge is a door leading to the Bridge head and washroom. Main Viewer The forward part of the Main Bridge is a large wall-sized holographic “viewer.” This Main Viewer is usually on and will dominate the Bridge and the action as the original framed viewscreen could never do. Observation Lounge Just behind the Main Bridge is a large Conference Room lined with huge windows facing rearward and giving a spectacular view. Captain's Ready Room On the left side of the Main Bridge (facing forward) is a door leading to the Captain’s Ready Room. It contains the Captain’s private head and washroom. The Ready Room is intended as a private office for the Captain, offering both a confidential and convenient place to work and rest; but it serves a second and equally important dramatic function: It can be used for personal and private conversations. Turbolift The Turbolifts allow our crewmembers to travel vertically and horizontally to any part of the Nerv. The interior is comfortable, relatively spacious cabin eight feet in diameter. To use the Turbolift, a crewmember simply enters the compartment and speaks their destination aloud. Example: “Sickbay” or “Bridge.” The Ship’s computer will instantly compute the most direct route and send the Turbolift to the exit nearest the desired destination. Because the ship’s computer is constantly monitoring the daily routines of our people (something that really bothers Kaji), there will be many times when it will know exactly where to deliver the Turbolift’s passengers without their even having to say (but if it does need instructions it will ask for them). Ten Forward A dramatic set, located on Deck Ten-Forward where the star clusters of the Milky Way seem to be rushing in and under the huge window ports. In the 20th Century, it would have been called a bar and lounge and does serve a similar purpose on our Starship except for the fact that alcohol is no longer consumed by humans. However, Ten-Forward treats the same kinds of needs; i.e., a place to physically relax, conditions where judgement can be relaxed, where reality and dreams mix, where varied beliefs and performance are accepted rather than tested. One thing that helps make this possible is a substance called synthehol which acts much like alcohol when consumed but with effects that can be dismissed from one’s consciousness at will. But Ten-Forward offers more than just that. It is not a duty station but a place where the crew can interact with their friends or meet new ones. We will see non-uniformed people there, but these will usually be crewmembers rather than family members or passengers (who have similar facilities available). Another plus here on this deck is varieties of drink and food taken from the best in the entire quadrant of the galaxy. Now and then we’ll see something being served that looks rather spectacular. Holodeck On first view, the Holodeck appears to be simply a large, empty set – until its computer magic happens. Then, depending upon what has been programmed in, the Holodeck becomes anything that exists in the starship’s vast library memory banks – jet-setting spy adventures, any number of sporting events, film noir private eyes, and so on. If the Holodeck has a flaw, it may be that it is so rich in story possibilities that the producers must limit its use to three or four times a season in order to keep the subject matter of episodes as broad and varied as the series format deserves. Sickbay As in the Original Series, but vastly improved: a three-room complex including the CMO’s office, a set of diagnostic beds with complete medical monitoring, and a state-of-the-art medical research facility. Corridors Again, as seen in the Original Series, but without the same battleship sterility. The new Corridors are wider and more friendly-looking and (as elsewhere) will include vegetation. Senior Officer's Quarters Each person (with notable exceptions) has personal quarters of their own. These quarters are much more spacious and livable than we have seen in the past. Each person’s quarters will reflect their own background and tastes. (This will be a standard set, redressed as necessary.) Junior Officer's Quarters Slightly more compact than the Senior Officer’s layout and also without windows to provide a view outside the ship. Officers below the grade of Commander occupy these still very livable layouts. Transporter Rooms There are several Transporter Rooms throughout the vessel. The one we will see most frequently will be an updated version of the original Transporter Room and, as before, a Transporter Chief stands at a separate console opposite the Transporter platform. Main Engineering Our Engineering room contains a huge matter/anti-matter blender. It is located near the base of the main module of the ship. Stellar Cartography An impressive two-story set featuring a near 360° backdrop display of whatever section of the galaxy that may need to be called into view. At the second level is a catwalk extending to a platform with a control panel in the center of the room where our characters can manipulate star charts and review data. Jefferies Tube An angled shaft containing electrical conduits and light-fiber cables, the Jefferies tube is large enough for a human being to crawl through. Jefferies Tubes provide direct access to various parts of the ship’s control mechanisms and computer monitoring systems. Shuttlecraft The NERV Shuttlecraft are eight-and-a-half meters long, five-and-a-half wide and three meters high. They are comfortable landing vehicles for travel between the ship and a planet when the Transporter is not available or practical to use. The interior of the shuttle can seat eight passengers and two operators comfortably. The passenger would be removed to convert to a cargo or ambulance shuttle. They also have interplanetary capabilities but at a speed of only warp one. Runabouts The NERV has multiple Danube-class Runabout patrol ships stationed onboard which allow our characters to travel to numerous star systems in the immediate sector of the ship for longer periods than a shuttlecraft. These ships are twenty meters long, with impulse and warp capabilities, a maximum speed of warp 4.7. They’re generally operated by a two-person crew, but a single pilot can control them if necessary. They can transport up to forty people, but that’s a crowd. There are cramped, uncomfortable sleeping quarters for six people. A multi-purpose room for meetings and dining is located at the aft section. Battle Bridge In extreme emergency situations, the saucer section of the Nerv detaches (“saucer sep”) from the warp drive section of the ship in order to seek safety, enabling the Captain and minimum crew to face the danger. Control of the warp section is maintained from the Battle Bridge, a much smaller auxiliary Bridge as compared to the Main Bridge. Like the Main Bridge, there is a Captain’s Ready Room adjacent to the Battle Bridge. Evangelions 40 meters in height, humanoid in general shape, the Starfleet-designed Evangelion-class mobile units are quite like the canon counterpart. They’re designed for quicker-reaction close-combat situations against Angels that starships, shuttlecraft, and one-man fighters are just not designed for. Each unit of the Evangelion class are named for cities in Japan. The Nerv will carry three Evas early on in the show’s run: USS Tokyo, MU-00. Piloted by Rei Ayanami. The pet project of Dr. Naoko Akagi before her death. MU-00, 01, and 02 were all designed and completed at the Daystrom Institute’s Hakone branch. Following the accidents that happened to both doctors Ikari and Soryu, future construction contracts were agreed to be given to other shipyards as Daystrom-Hakone was informally thought to be cursed. A maximum of two Evangelion-class contracts are awarded to each shipyard, up through unit 13. USS Hakone, MU-01. Piloted by Shinji Ikari. Shinji’s mother, Dr. Yui Ikari, was the lead designer for the Hakone. USS Kyoto, MU-02. Piloted by Asuka L. Soryu. Kyoko Z. Soryu was the assigned designer and developer for this unit. Starfleet Evas are generally alike in their design. Only MU-00 has some different detailing as the protype model. The Evas, as is tradition in Starfleet, are a base naval gray in color, with the familiar “Aztec” patterns giving additional detail to the external structure. The major flashes of color will be the yellow denoting the thruster emplacements, robin’s egg blue at the external plating hatch, and the familiar red in the typical Starfleet livery of identification logos and registry. The unit’s name and registry number are printed on the upper shoulders and on the spinal column assembly below the plating hatch. Hidden beneath external hull plating in the chest of the Eva is the familiar core, typically referred to as the “AI Core” in the show. The Evangelion lifeform itself is not affected by being in the vacuum of space, so the hull plating does not act as a spacesuit. Pilots board a specialized entry plug system to connect and synchronize with the core AI of their assigned unit. Entry plugs are approximately 6 meters long and are inserted into the spinal area of the Evangelion via tractor beam. A hatch in the spinal hull plating opens to allow access to the entry plug tract. Once the plug has been seated into the entry tract, it is automatically pulled and locked into position by internal mechanisms. The plating hatch then reseals, adding a further layer of protection for the pilot inside. The cockpit of the entry plug is designed like shuttlepods – a solitary, faux-leather textured seat with lumbar support and extra cushioning for the pilot’s comfort (as well as a harness to keep the pilot safe during high-G maneuvers in battle), and an angular control panel. Behind the pilot are status readouts and emergency function panel for egress as well as isolinear chip access panels. To the pilot’s front is a fully three-dimensional viewer that provides the pilot a nearly uninterrupted forward view. Control of the Evangelion itself is done via neural connectors that are clipped in the pilot’s hair. With the advanced technology of Trek’s 24th century, there is no need for LCL to be a part of the pilot interface. The pilot handles all physical manipulation of the Eva via thought. Communications, weapons, management of life support are handled through the control panel in front of the pilot seat. Communications inside the Eva can be done in two forms. In non-battle scenarios, the main viewing screen doubles as a comm screen. During a mission, holographic displays are generated above the control panel so as to not completely obscure the pilot’s view. These displays can also show aft and/or oblique views via internal cameras in the Eva’s structure. Sound-only communication is also possible through internal speakers in the cockpit. Pilots board the entry plug from directly above the pilot seat – the orientation of the plug is perpendicular to typical deck plating. Due to the grav-plating in the plug, the occupant will automatically stand on the floor of the plug upon entry. Access to the plug consists of two doors – the inner door slides to the pilot’s aft and the outer door slides to the pilot’s left. Evangelions are equipped with standard Starfleet defensive weaponry – phaser strips on the forearms, mini-photon torpedo launchers built into the shoulder/upper chest assembly. RCS thruster emplacements are located in strategic points across the hull plating – rear edges of the shoulder torpedo launcher assembly and the soles of the feet. Main propulsion is provided through an impulse engine integrated with the rear assembly, almost looking like a backpack on a typical Starfleet spacesuit. (NOTE: great care should be taken to ensure that it does not resemble the rocket pack of a Gundam or similar type of mecha. Rather than A.T. Fields, Evas utilize standard Starfleet deflector shields as starships. The main shuttlebay complex in the Nerv is structured differently from the typical Galaxy-class starship to fit the holding cages and support facilities for the Evangelions. The units are stored standing up in the saucer section and launch from hatches in the dorsal of the saucer. Synchronization testing chambers are just off the shuttlebay. Eva simulations are done in a dedicated holodeck facility nearby to the testing chamber. Initial startup and synchronization testing on the Evas are never done aboard a starship after multiple incidents during the development process showed that the mobile units are safety hazards in enclosed spaces, as Ensign Ayanami can attest.
Our main cast: Spoiler: Section 3A - Main Character Bios CHARACTERS - EVANGELION PILOTS Crewman Shinji Ikari 14, born June 6, 2358. Assigned pilot of MU-01. Son of Captain Gendo Ikari and Dr. Yui Ikari. Following Yui’s death in a contact experiment, Gendo tried as best as he could to raise Shinji on his own, but ultimately, he was too broken of a man and too focused on his career as a Starfleet officer. Shinji was sent to live with his paternal grandparents on Earth. In the subsequent years since then, there’s only been the sporadic communications and visits when Gendo was near Earth or for birthdays. The relationship between father and son is a bit warmer than in the original show, though a measure of distance remains between the two for having been living separately for so many years. Shinji’s personality and demeanor are mostly like the canonical EVA universe. However, by benefit of being in Trek’s 24th century, Shinji is a bit more well-adjusted, capable of snark levels that can amuse, impress, and irritate just about anyone within his orbit. Shinji is certainly not a Wesley Crusher in the brains department, but he takes an almost scarily quick adaption to piloting an Evangelion that makes him rival the skills of Asuka, much to her annoyance. Shinji’s grandparents were a bit traditional in the age of the 24th century and generally tried to live their lives with as little technology as possible, outside of Shinji’s schooling. Their home was partly a diner, with Shinji’s grandmother being a rather renowned ramen chef in their corner of Kanagawa. Shinji’s grandmother taught him how to cook from the moment he arrived at their doorstep as a way of bonding with him and trying to pull the shy and insular child out of his shell. There may not be many things that Shinji could distinctly point to as a passion, but cooking would be the closest. The next closest on that list would be his cello, something his grandfather encouraged Shinji take a stab at learning. Shinji’s grandpa is a musician in the Tokyo Orchestra and one of the leading cellists on Earth, and he was eager to pass down those skills to his grandson just as his wife wanted to teach the boy to cook. Being so young, Shinji doesn’t quite have a direction he has in mind for his life as he gets older, music and cooking seem to be mere hobbies for him. The thought that he could turn one of those into a career someday doesn’t quite compute for him. Before he’s called up by his father to join the crew of the Nerv, Shinji is an average high-school freshman. He had no active aspirations to someday be a Starfleet officer like his father. Indeed, Shinji feels the responsibility of suddenly becoming an acting ensign rather overwhelming and finds difficulty dealing with it for a long time. Unfortunately for Shinji, this triggers his existing problem with anxiety and panic attacks in stressful situations. Ensign Rei Ayanami 14, born March 30, 2358. Assigned pilot of MU-00. Background details and family information unclear. The official records state that Gendo encountered her as a homeless orphan during an away mission some years after his wife Yui’s death and adopted her. Since then, she’s lived with Gendo during each of his postings aboard various starships. What is known is that Rei is only part Human, meaning that she has certain strengths and abilities that exceed that of an ordinary teenaged girl. Thankfully, given that this is the 24th century, many of these abilities aren’t looked upon as odd or strange, so she’s not under as much pressure to keep them hidden (though there are still some abilities and secrets Rei has sworn to keep with her life). Shinji initially resented Rei after learning about her adoption, but Gendo encouraged the two to talk as often as they could. Over the years, they’ve developed a friendly relationship. Indeed, it’s this friendship that has also helped Gendo to keep in touch with his own son and try to prevent their relationship from going cold. Rei seems rather reserved to those who don’t know her. Some almost think she’s a Vulcan without the ears. Once Shinji and Rei start spending more time together after he comes aboard, she starts to come out of her shell. Though she’s very capable as a pilot and an officer, Rei is still sent to school aboard the Nerv each week in an effort to give her as normal of a life as possible and to get her to socialize with others her age. This was done out of a measure of guilt from Gendo who always regretted not being able to give the same thing to his own son. Rei is quite intelligent, so she has to put forth little effort on assignments and tests to get excellent scores. Lieutenant Junior Grade Asuka L. Soryu 14, born December 4, 2358. Assigned pilot of MU-02. Child prodigy and ace pilot, renowned throughout Starfleet for her rapid ascension through the Academy and pilot training. Asuka has an innate ability to figure out how to pilot just about any ship or shuttle within minutes of stepping into the cockpit for the first time, no matter what world it’s from. She’s the daughter of Dr. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu and Pieter Langley. Langley separated from Soryu not long following Asuka’s birth and disappeared; his whereabouts are still unknown to this day. Asuka was orphaned following Kyoko’s death from complications due to an experiment with MU-02. Briefly raised by associates of Dr. Soryu before she quickly showed academic aptitude and entered Starfleet Academy at the age of 10, declaring herself to be emancipated. Asuka is still a tsundere in the finest fashion here. Overconfident, impatient, and a stickler for doing things her way. She finds it very difficult, if not impossible, to admit when she’s in the wrong, often leading to contentious situations. Rumor has it she challenged a group of Klingons to a bat’leth competition during her third year at the academy and won. (Though, her prowess with the bat’leth belies a deeper psychological issue she refuses to discuss.) Her general attitude at the academy largely isolated her, leaving her alone and practically friendless. Asuka graduates from Starfleet Academy with the rank of Lieutenant J.G., a feat that’s rarely been accomplished since Jim Kirk graduated a century before. Indeed, she’s the second person to have won the Kobayashi Maru simulation, and she didn’t have to reprogram it to do it. She still got the commendation for original thinking, however. CHARACTERS - U.S.S. NERV SENIOR OFFICERS Commander Misato Katsuragi 29, born December 8, 2343. Chief Operations Officer of the USS NERV. Wears command red uniform instead of operations gold, much to the confusion of everyone aboard, including herself. Misato does an impressive Gendo impression at the drop of a hat... whenever he’s not around. On duty, Misato is impeccable at her job and completely professional. It’ll be little wonder that every ship in the fleet has her high on the list every time a first officer position comes open, but she turns them down – Misato loves what she does on the Nerv and can’t bear to be separated from her friends and new family she’s found there. Misato is the daughter of Dr. Katsuragi, the science officer of the ill-fated USS Asimov that was destroyed during the Adam Incident 15 years before the start of the series. She’s the only survivor of the ship’s destruction, which left her with trauma that took some years to get through. Misato’s mother took care of her, refusing to let her be institutionalized in an antiseptic environment. This close and safe situation allowed Misato to gradually come out of her shell; she was able to make up for the time in school she missed and quickly enrolled in the Academy at the age of 19. She quickly found her footing in the command track at the academy, making herself out to be a capable leader and outgoing friend to anyone. A personal point of pride for Misato is making friends with a severe introvert like Ritusko. On the other hand, a point of shame and regret is her time with Kaji. The relationship did not end pleasantly, and neither of them handled it well. Imagine her frustration the moment she realized she’d be serving alongside Kaji once again after she was assigned to the Nerv. Kaji and Misato will tease and push each other, giving and getting equally, though Kaji will usually get the upper hand. Off duty, Misato is as big of a slob as ever, with her quarters looking like a disaster zone within a day if Shinji isn’t around to keep it cleaned. Initially, she takes in Shinji because she feels sorry for the lonely child. Captain Gendo Ikari 48, born April 29, 2324. Commanding officer of the USS NERV. As is tradition, Gendo is still a plotting, scheming, magnificent bastard. However, the distinction in this timeline is Gendo managed to deal with Yui’s loss a bit more healthily and managed to keep his relationship with his own sanity and Shinji intact. As discussed, Gendo had Shinji live with family on Earth following Yui’s accident, deciding it would be safer for the boy and him while Gendo continued his path to becoming a starship captain. Yui’s death shattered him, and it took some time for Gendo to recover. He eventually dove into his work as a Starfleet officer to keep the memory of her loss from overtaking him. Gendo is rather taciturn and often gruff, making much of the crew confused at how the hell he ever became or even wanted to be a starship captain. However, beneath that exterior, he’s a sharp and decisive leader. Gendo cares for his crew and will protect them at all costs... he’s just almost incapable of outwardly showing it. This behavior endears and frustrates the crew, with nearly everyone having their own Gendo impression of his signature stoic finger-tenting pose. Gendo’s relationship with Rei is a tad bit warmer since he adopted her and took her under his wing after “finding” her during an away mission not long after leaving Shinji on Earth. She’s like a beloved daughter that he dotes over, and he’ll go into papa bear mode whenever the topic of boys comes up. From the start of the series, Gendo wears a VISOR of the same type sported by Geordi La Forge for all seven seasons of TNG. Whether we ever get down to explain how or when he acquired it has yet to be seen. Commander (Doctor) Ritsuko Akagi 30, born November 21, 2342. Chief Science Officer and Head of Evangelion Development Project. Ritsuko is still the stoic, somewhat socially awkward genius as in the canonical timeline here. She’s the Nerv’s third-in-command after Fuyutsuki and Misato and is an efficient bridge officer. Project E and the Evangelions are her children, and she takes close care of her eventual brood of five. Beyond the Evas, Ritsuko has her beloved cat, Spock, living with her aboard the Nerv. Spock only seems to get along with her and, most improbably, Gendo. Ritsuko first met Misato and Kaji during their time at the Academy and befriended them both. By her mother’s association with Section 31 and SEELE, Ritsuko has been acquainted with Gendo and Shinji for many years. She’s somewhat of an aunt to Shinji (she hates when Shinji calls her “aunt Ritsuko” or any variation of it), though the relationship between them is awkward at times due to their introverted natures. She has a close professional relationship with Maya, her equivalent of a “number one” in the Nerv’s science division. Ritsuko and her mother never had the closest relationship growing up, which fed into Ritsuko’s introverted personality. She never knew her father, with Naoko never being completely honest as to what happened to him. Lieutenant Commander Ryoji Kaji 30, born June 17, 2342. Chief Engineer. Kaji is sly, confident, jovial, and dedicated to his job as the Nerv’s engineer. Although, Kaji projects a laissez faire and non-committal energy in most situations to downplay any intensity. The ship is like a child to him, at least that’s how he likes to think it must feel like. Unfortunately, Kaji never knew his parents – he grew up as an orphan and faced a challenging childhood and adolescence. From an early age, Kaji was passionate about starship design and warp engine mechanics. Even through the hard times he faced, his burning desire was to eventually go to Starfleet Academy and become a Chief Engineer aboard a starship. He spent a few years as part of the engineering department on a couple different ships following his graduation. His posting to the Nerv was his first shot at being a Chief Engineer, and he takes the post seriously, despite his outward demeanor. He shares a common past with Misato and Ritsuko from their time at the Academy together. Kaji and Misato dated for a few years before she abruptly broke things off when they graduated, and they parted ways. Not really being fully mature yet and driven by his career aims, Kaji didn’t try to chase after Misato, and just dived back into his career. He forms a tight and efficient team in his engine room, with Takao as his right-hand man. Takao might be the closest to being Kaji’s best friend. They worked together on their previous posting and got along so well that Kaji instantly requested from Captain Ikari that he be transferred as his assistant chief. Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki 59, born September 4, 2313. First Officer of the USS NERV. Fuyutsuki is warm and genial to everyone he comes into contact, a stabilizing presence on the bridge and the ship in general. Some are rather surprised that he’s not the Captain, but the Commander is perfectly at home in his current position and can’t see himself anywhere else but at Gendo’s side. Fuyutsuki spent years gradually rising through the ranks before requesting a sabbatical from starship duty. At the time of the Adam Incident, he was an adjunct professor at Daystrom-Hakone, teaching in metaphysical sciences and biological technology integration. It was during his time at Daystrom that he became acquainted with Yui and Gendo Ikari. In the years before Yui’s death, Fuyutsuki would eventually become friends with Gendo after understanding his odd quirks. He even was a sort of grandfather figure to Shinji and Rei. Following Yui’s accident, Fuyutsuki decided to end his time as a professor and take up starship duty again once Project E had progressed far enough along that space testing would commence. Principally, Fuyutsuki did this out of concern for Gendo and to make sure he would be okay (in some ways, their dynamic is similar to Kirk and Bones McCoy). Gendo and Fuyutsuki end up serving together as Captain and First Officer on the USS Nerv, acting as the mobile testing laboratory for Project E. Lt. Commander Mari Makinami 38, born August 22, 2334. Ship’s counselor. Eccentric is one word to describe Mari, some might say looney is another. Very few people aboard the Nerv can understand how Mari became the ship’s counselor when she seems to be a scatterbrained cloud cukoolander 99% of the time. It’s this perception that Mari uses to her advantage in her job each day, especially with some of the tougher nuts to crack amongst the crew. To her disappointment, Gendo is the only one she hasn’t gotten yet, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to stop teasing the living shit outta him anytime soon. If asked, Gendo would honestly say he couldn’t figure out whether dealing with Makinami or Q is worse. Outside of her needling of Gendo, Mari is a surprisingly calming and understanding voice amongst the crew, easily demonstrating why she chose psychology and mental health as her field of expertise. She takes a keen interest in the mental wellbeing of the Eva pilots. Even in this timeline, Mari wears her trademark glasses. She’s one of the rare people that are allergic to Retinax V and the idea of a laser scraping off part of her retinas doesn’t sit too well with her. At this point in her career, Mari uses the glasses to her advantage in certain situations, with them mysteriously glazing over when she’s attempting to be intimidating. Lt. Commander (Doctor) Hitomi Amagi 27, born February 23, 2345. Ship’s Chief Medical Officer. Hitomi is one of the kindest people onboard the Nerv, even giving Maya a run for her money in the sweetness department. She always wears a crescent-shaped hair clip with her duty uniform, which she somehow got past the regulations. Hitomi has a clear passion for her profession, which has a personal meaning for her. She treats Sakura as her little kouhai and is eager to show her the ropes in Sickbay. At the time of the Pilot, Hitomi is still new to the Nerv. This is her first shot at being the CMO for a starship, so she’s eager to make a good impression and do her best. Unfortunately, she was never told she’d be serving with Dr. Katsuragi’s daughter. The two have a shared past that will be gradually revealed over the course of the series. Misato is a bit of a sore spot for Hitomi. She’s not outright rude to Misato, but the room temperature certainly drops a few degrees when they’re together. On duty, she does all she can to be professional and respectful and is almost always successful.
And the supporting cast and characters: Spoiler: Section 3B - Supporting Character Bios CHARACTERS - U.S.S. NERV CLASS 2-A Touji Suzuhara 14, born December 26, 2358. Even in this timeline, Touji’s still the brash and loud-mouthed hot head, but is dedicated to his friends. He’s girl-obsessed, as is to be expected of a growing, hormonal boy, except for Hikari. Their personalities are practically oil-and-water, but because they grew up together, they know each other well. Before meeting Shinji, Kensuke was Touji’s best friend for just about as long as they’ve both known Hikari. Touji and Sakura are twins, with the former always needling the latter about how he’s the older brother, even though he only came out a few minutes ahead of his little sister. He’s fiercely protective of Sakura, sometimes getting irritated when Sakura gets ga-ga over Shinji. He’s the more athletic of the two and is something of a star athlete of all the kids on the ship. Touji can even give some of the young ensigns a run for their gold-pressed latinum. Touji and Sakura’s mother died at some point in the past, so their father, an officer in the Nerv’s sciences department, has raised them on his own. As a result, Touji and Sakura are very close with their father. On days when they’re not in class, one of the twins will come to visit him during his meal break on duty to keep him company. Sakura Suzuhara 14, born December 26, 2358. Touji’s twin sister. She has a pleasant and sweet demeanor, making friends easily. The one exception to this is Touji; she loves the hell outta her brother, but dammit he can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Sakura has a bit of a complex about being the little sister between the two and hates it when Touji calls her that. She’s got aspirations to go into medicine and someday be the Chief of Starfleet Medical. Hitomi sees this budding passion and is all too happy to get Sakura some on-the-job training to help get her started. We’ll see her occasionally shadowing one of the doctors or nurses in sickbay to get a head start on her future career. Sakura literally runs into Shinji minutes after he first arrives on the Nerv, finding him cute and feels embarrassed for having made such an awkward impression. Once she finds out that it was Shinji was the pilot of the Eva that saved the ship and Earth later that day, she develops an instant crush on him. Shinji is flattered, flustered, and worried by this, typically at the same time. Kensuke Aida 14, born September 12, 2358. Kensuke is very much the Starfleet otaku in this universe. Kinda like Wesley in Encounter at Farpoint, he can name just about every control on each bridge console panel, a fact he will always be proud of. It doesn’t take much for Kensuke to go into intensively technical runs of dialogue explaining various tech, which will usually earn responses of “in English, Kensuke, please!” From the moment we first meet him in the series, Kensuke’s got an obsessive drive to learn as much as he can about the Evangelion-class and is just as obsessed to get to pilot one. Hikari Horaki 13, born January 25, 2359. Sisters Nozomi (younger, living with her family aboard the ship) and Kodama (older, attending school on Earth). Prim, proper, and a bit stuck-up, our Class Rep is very much the same here as in the canon. Hikari rules the classroom with a tritanium fist and doesn’t hesitate to smack Touji or yank on his ear to get him to act right or get his attention. She instantly gets along well with Shinji when he joins their class. Mana Kirishima 14, born April 11, 2358. Mana is outgoing and intelligent, always casting a curious glance at anything that interests her. At least, outside the times her teacher isn’t lecturing during class. Her time spent sitting next to Rei in class has pushed her into becoming a voracious reader. They routinely recommend new books and articles to each other. She has an interesting relationship with Kensuke. Much of their interactions are teasing done with equal measure from both sides. It’s hard to tell sometimes whether the teasing is meant seriously or if it’s all in good fun. CHARACTERS - U.S.S. NERV JUNIOR OFFICERS Lt. Maya Ibuki 24, born July 11, 2348. Executive Science Officer under Ritsuko. In a ship where it seems like everyone is broken in one way or another, Maya is a bit of an oddity. She’s nearly always upbeat and probably the most “normal” of the bridge crew. The only issue she has is her tendency to be a bit timid and squeamish. Choosing a career in Starfleet and working with gigantic robots made from aliens makes for an odd dichotomy in that case, but somehow Maya makes it work. Because of the intense and complicated nature of Project E and the intensive missions that put incredible strain on the Evas, Maya naturally spends long hours on duty working with her senpai, Ritsuko. She developed an instant crush on sight, which only deepens as time goes on Maya is close friends with Hyuga and Aoba, having served together on a previous posting before getting assigned to the Nerv. As is tradition on many starships, the three often have poker nights in one of their quarters. Much to the annoyance of Huyga and Aoba, Maya has a knack for winning most of the time. If real money were still a thing, they’d be indentured servants to Maya at least until the 27th century at this point. Lt. Makoto Hyuga 26, born February 13, 2346. Chief helmsman. Makoto is a sharp and decisive officer and an imminently talented pilot. He handles the Nerv as if it were a sleek shuttlecraft, to which the crew is thankful for inertial dampeners. Tends to be chosen to be part of Away Teams and may have somehow died and been resurrected a couple times (to which he usually responds with a flat “it’s a long story” whenever someone asks about it). Off duty, Makoto is a bit of a nerd for old manga, movies and TV shows, or “classical literature” as he facetiously calls them. He’ll often use the holodeck to act out moments from his favorite series, often roping his best friend Aoba into coming along as a sidekick. Makoto is the least sore loser out of the three poker buddy bridge bunnies. As he often says, “a loser in love, a loser in cards,” so he takes Maya’s often wins in stride. He’ll often try to get some of the other bridge crew or even the Eva pilots to join the poker games, which gradually meets more and more success. Lt. Shigeru Aoba 27, born May 5, 2345. Head of security and tactical officer. The closet nihilist and semi-professional cynic is ever present at the horseshoe on the bridge, taking his job as security chief very seriously. He tends to nerd out on new advances in Starfleet defense and weaponry and keeps up to date as much as possible. This common trait of nerding out endeared Aoba to his best buddy Hyuga ever since their days at the academy and first starship posting together. You’d think that his dedication to security and weaponry advancements would leave little time for hobbies, but Aoba is a man of many talents. He’s been a guitar player since he was a kid and keeps a couple on hand in his quarters. Lt. Koji Takao 32, born 2340. Assistant chief engineer, works side-by-side with Kaji. Takao has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge about every system on the Nerv yet is happy to take a backseat to Kaji because he doesn’t desire the leadership position. Kaji views him as the glue that holds his team together, thanks to his calm and welcoming demeanor. That doesn’t mean that Takao is a pushover; if anyone on the team speaks outta line or gets insubordinate, he’ll put them in their place so fast, they’ll wish they were back at the Academy. Ensign Midori Kitakami 24, born 2348. Engineering division, bridge bunny. Midori tends to have a prickly personality, every bit the opposite of Takao. She tries to control her anger issues, but her record shows a couple instances of reprimands for some incidents occurring off hours. She tries to excuse it by saying that she’s never happened on duty but is quickly reminded by Misato that she’s not helping her case. Lt. Sumire Nagara 29, born 2343. Engineering division, bridge bunny. Sumire tends to blend into the background while on the Bridge, preferring to get her job done. Unfortunately, her station is right next to the outspoken Kitakami. The stress of that situation might just turn her gray at an early age. Ensign Hideki Tama 24, born 2348. Engineering division, bridge bunny. Shy and serious, Tama is still learning his way as an Ensign (he’s the Boimler of the Nerv). He deals with the stress of Imposter Syndrome almost every day, and almost can’t believe someone like Kaji would have enough faith in a green kid almost fresh out of the Academy for a major bridge position in the main engineering station. He acts as Kaji’s eyes and ears whenever he’s not on the Bridge. CHARACTERS - SUPPORTING AND RECURRING Pen-Pen 5, born 2367. The “Spot” of our series, Pen-Pen is the beloved hot-water penguin pet of Misato. He only ever speaks in variants of the word “wark.” Regularly seen sharing morning coffee with Misato before she goes on duty, and occasionally a draught of synthehol in Ten-Forward when she’s off-duty (in the 24th century, a penguin throwing back a drink or two at the bar is probably one of the least strange things you might encounter). Pen-Pen is super intelligent, though we’ll leave how that came to be a mystery. Commodore Lorenz Kiel unknown age. Senior member of Section 31. His method of running his department means he doesn’t have to repeat an order twice to ensure it gets carried out. He is an imposing, even terrifying figure, though he fails to intimidate Gendo in their many conferences. Kiel has an unwavering motivation to see the Nerv’s mission being successfully carried out, practically to the expense of any crew member’s life.
Welcome back (kinda) to EVA-Trek! We're now in the seventy-fourth day of the Writer's Guild strike as of this posting, with the situation seeming to deteriorate by the day. Not only that, but the actor's guild, SAG-AFTRA has now joined the WGA in striking for fair pay and better contracts effective yesterday. I won't belabor the point of everything going on, but suffice it to say that shit is going sideways... At this rate, it may be a while longer than I predicted before I resume posting regular episodes of the series. Production is still continuing behind the scenes, however. I'm currently working on the first draft of episode 16, hoping to finish it this weekend. If things continue like this, I may be able to post episodes twice a month after the strike is over. Stay tuned to see what happens. This month presents something a little different. I decided to take a shot at writing in novel format for once as opposed to script format. What follows is partially based on the "unmade pilot" for EVA-Trek. I'd originally planned to just write/draw a one-shot manga for the series and call it done, however (as discussed previously), things expanded significantly. In the spirit of not letting things go to waste, I decided to rework the material from nearly two years ago into this. And now, on with the show! -------- He was having that same dream again… It always hit him around the same time: before and after fighting against those living nightmares, jokingly called “angels.” Although, Shinji Ikari never thought anything about them was remotely a joke. That didn’t change the fact that he was being dragged into his personal hell once more by his own brain. It was like being forced to sit down at one of Lt. Hyuga’s movie nights to a movie that he was the star of. He saw his hands around a slender neck, yet he could feel the pulsing of blood through the veins there. His arms quaked from intense effort. A flash of the most brilliantly red hair, so utterly familiar. The feel of a bandaged hand caressing his cheek. The smell of humid air, laden with a faint whiff of blood. The sounds of waves lazily crashed near him. Shinji finally forced himself to glance at his surroundings, breaking out of the narrative he found himself in. The waves he heard… such a strange color – orange! He’d heard the diffraction of light on the surface of Vulcan, coupled with the ever-present dust, could turn its scant bodies of water an orangish hue. This? This was different. The more he stared, the less he was convinced what he was seeing was even water. Not that he was a scientist, but the density looked off. Suddenly, a wave of nausea overtook him, as though a sense memory pushed his eyes away. Something further towards the horizon, dark and unresolved, in the corner of his vision filled him with terror. He wouldn’t look at it; he couldn’t look at it. Instead, he tore his eyes skyward… Oh, my god…! A crimson stain far above, like someone painted a brushstroke in orbit, hitting the moon along its arc. He had never seen anything like it in his life… but yet, he had? Somewhere, deep within him, none of this felt like a dream, rather a distant memory. “Disgusting…” A voice, not his own, broke Shinji’s reverie. He knew that voice… or maybe, he thought he did. It filled him with a pit of shame, hopeless and endless. “Shinji,” the voice range out again. Insistent, beckoning. Reluctantly, Shinji turned… -------- The idiot was really pissing her off… Lieutenant Junior Grade Asuka L. Soryu stood next to her dual-tier bunk bed, frowning at the occupant of the upper bunk in her shared quarters aboard the Galaxy-class vessel USS Nerv. She tapped her foot impatiently against the deck, an effect somewhat undercut by the beige carpeting dampening the sound. It was bad enough that Asuka had been volun-told by her superior officer to share quarters not long after arriving aboard, but to have to deal with the textbook definition of wasted space annoyed her to no end. Said waste of space had his face half-mushed into his pillow, with a large puddle of drool drying from somewhat rapid breaths, Asuka noted. His eyebrows were somewhat knitted together, as though he were in distress. His own fault, Asuka thought to herself, he takes forever to fall asleep and wakes me up all the damn time. Turnabout’s fair play, and all that. Asuka’s gaze moved on its own, watching the rise and fall of his… bare chest… that peeked out from the edge of his bedsheet. Dammit, I really have to check the environmental settings in here. He’s been messing with it again, I’m sure of it. She suddenly felt flushed, tugged on the red-trimmed collar of her Starfleet duty uniform and wished the Uniform Code would permit rolled up sleeves on regular duty. Asuka shook off the thought and frowned once more. She’d already tried to wake him up the easy way… so now it was time for the hard way. Her favorite way. She took a breath. “STUPID SHINJI,” Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs. Later, Asuka would chuckle to herself about the near-perfect slapstick routine Shinji unwittingly played out for her. At the current time, she merely frowned as his eyes shot open as if he’d been hit with a Klingon pain stick. He wordlessly sat bolt upright and turned to let his legs hang off the edge of the bed and tried to jump down. Unfortunately, his right hand trapped the sheets around his legs like a cocoon, so Shinji only succeeded in toppling off the bunk. One short scream later, Shinji found himself with a face-full of carpet, having landed painfully on his stomach. Asuka’s impatient foot tapping merely increased in tempo as she watched Shinji groaning in pain, slowly waking up. And once more, she found her eyes operating on their own… tracing their way down Shinji’s bare back, and ending on his butt, perfectly molded by the immaculately tailored gray trousers of his cadet’s uniform. Wait, Asuka suddenly thought to herself, why am I focusing there? Damn my eyes. A split second later, Asuka’s reasoning center finally activated as she felt the blush light her cheeks aflame with a feeling she couldn’t explain. Naturally in this case, there was only one reaction… “You perverted creep!” -------- “Dammit, not again…” Even through the closed door in the living room, Commander Misato Katsuragi was able to hear Asuka’s yell, followed by the sharp crack of a slap, and a yelp from Shinji in short order. From there, muffled voices carried on. Misato sighed into her first cup of raktajino of the day – the best one of the day in her eyes. She mused aloud, “I thought we were supposed to be past interpersonal conflict by now in the 24th century.” If this kept up, she was going to need multiple cups of the Klingon coffee she developed a taste for during the time she served at Deep Space Nine. Misato sighed when she realized that would only create more opportunities to be around Nerv’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Amagi. The Doctor was more likely to shove Misato out of the Eva Cage egress hatch than treat her for hypertension. A warbling voice came from beside her, “Wark-wark.” It was Pen-Pen, Misato’s penguin… sidekick? Yeah, that seemed to be the best way to describe him. Pen-Pen detested the word “pet,” and “friend” also didn’t seem right, either. Pen-Pen was next to Misato on the couch beneath the oblong windows filled with streaking stars as the ship passed by at warp speed. He calmly sipped on a mug of tea she’d gotten for him from the replicator only a few minutes ago. A mug she was seriously considering tossing in his face. “Oh, shut it, you,” Misato angrily hissed at him, “Dr. Amagi is a different matter entirely, and you know it!” To this day, Misato still didn’t quite understand how the Universal Translator could make Penguinese sound so condescending. She swore Ritsuko did that as revenge for all those arguments she lost. In response, the suddenly taciturn penguin merely shot a sharp side-eye at her that spoke volumes more than any words could. No, Misato thought, withering in his gaze, Ritsuko didn’t make the translator do that, Pen-Pen’s just a dick. ------- Asuka kept a fast pace down the corridor as they approached an intersection on their way to class, not wanting to look at Shinji at the moment. She grumbled, “it’s bad enough I’ve gotta see you all the damn time at home, but do you have to sleep in nothing but your pants? It’s disgusting!” Asuka noticed the occasional crewman glance in their direction at the tone of her voice. Good. Once again, it’s the idiot’s fault he’s being publicly embarrassed. Inwardly, Shinji wanted to protest. He was so exhausted after they got back from yesterday’s sync tests that he only had enough energy to take off his shirt. He’d fallen asleep before getting changed into his pajamas. Outwardly, Shinji just rolled his eyes, by now his typical conditioned response after being around Asuka so much since she arrived a few months ago. Just let her complain until she burns out and stay silent until it’s over, was the standard plan that he and his “little” sister, Rei Ayanami, figured out. The only problem with this plan was… “Tell that to your inability to look above my waist this morning…” Shinji’s mouth sometimes moved faster than his brain… It was only a low mutter, but Asuka’s well-tuned ears picked it up. In the blink of an eye, it was like Asuka loomed over him, taking up the entirety of his vision, one eye twitching, a vein throbbing at her temple, and a dark aura seemingly surrounding her. “What. Was. That?” Asuka spoke each word deliberately with emphasis. A deadly, final emphasis that could possibly mean sudden death if challenged. A chill ran down Shinji’s spine. He would rather go face-to-face with another angel than be on the receiving end of that look. “Nothing,” was all he managed to squeak out. He could feel himself physically shrinking in size. As Asuka returned to normal, even Shinji was smart enough to not dare bring up the light but obvious blush that had now formed on her face. “Th – that’s what I thought!” Asuka would never dare admit to Shinji she was replaying the view of his butt from this morning in her mind. Again. The only natural way for her to cover her tracks, so to speak, was with a swift punch to Shinji’s shoulder. “Pervert!” “Hey!” Shinji clutched his arm, more irritated than in pain from the smack. “Stop that, Asuka!” Sakura Suzuhara’s voice, loud and angry, approached from the opposite direction down the corridor. Shinji turned to see his… well, Sakura was certainly a friend… but also something more? That was a dangerous question to contemplate, especially when around Asuka for some reason. Bringing up the rear behind Sakura were her “older” brother Touji (by five minutes, as he always liked to boast), and Kensuke Aida. Touji and Kensuke had become Shinji’s closest friends since coming aboard nearly a year ago. Occasionally, he’d hear someone in class referring to the three of them as the “three stooges.” Shinji wasn’t sure what a stooge was, but he had a feeling it wasn’t a good thing, so he didn’t want to find out for sure. That was a thought for another time, because at the current moment, it appeared there was a situation between Asuka and Sakura that Shinji needed to defuse before it blew up in his face. Two fighting, angry Capellan power-cats had nothing on this. Sakura angrily walked up and barked at Asuka, “I don’t care what might’ve happened just now, don’t you hit Shinji!” Sakura promptly hugged Shinji by the arm, her ever-present position whenever she felt like asserting her dominance over others trying to claim him. S-so soft, Shinji always noticed. In a normal situation, Sakura would giggle when Shinji blushed a little at the close contact of her chest against his bicep, but she had bigger fish to fry. “Yeah, if you wanna pick on someone, you try me,” Touji boasted, trying to look tough. Asuka frowned at the Suzuhara twins, not quite sure which one irritated her most. Maybe the one forcing herself on my idiot – Asuka stopped that thought train right then and there. He’s not my idiot, dammit! Kensuke sardonically jumped on, “so, what did Shinji do this time? Open a portal to Devidia II in the sonic shower? Threaten to sell your image data to the character modelers of Vulcan Love Slave, Part IV?” “Not like there’s much there to model,” Sakura added with a sneer, glancing at Asuka’s chest. “You’re one to talk…,” was all Asuka could utter. Shinji’s panic levels were skyrocketing as he swore he could hear the grinding of Asuka’s teeth, followed by the clenching of her fists. His current fantasies of, um, size comparisons would have to wait for another time. Someone was about to get hurt. He desperately gestured to the two girls, “c’mon, guys, can we let this drop for today?” He looked pleadingly at Sakura. How could she turn down that face? “Fiiiiiiiiiiine,” Sakura said, not altogether convincing as she sighed dramatically. Now it was his turn to look at the Medusa – er, Asuka. “Please, Asuka? Remember what Counselor Makinami ordered?” There was a twitch of a muscle at Asuka’s brow. Counselor Mari Makinami… god, how she detested being in those sessions, and it wasn’t even because of her idi – dammit, not that again. She didn’t want to follow the advice that weirdo prescribed, but an order from a superior officer was an order. Asuka recited Makinami’s words, “pause, take a breath.” Shinji nodded, “right, and let it go. This isn’t worth getting us put on report again, is it?” From his vantage point, Touji could hear the growing grumble from Asuka’s throat when she suddenly turned on Shinji, eyes fiery with rage. Just the sudden movement caused Shinji to flinch, moving his body to shield Sakura. But then, Touji could swear he saw something register on Asuka’s face. Was it sadness, or maybe guilt? From the Red Demon herself? She turned quick enough to hide her face that Touji figured he’d just imagined it. Asuka cranked up her typical haughtiness, “Fine!” She turned to Sakura, trying to stay somewhat civil. “I’ll lay off for today, Suzuhara. Just stay outta my way if you wanna live.” A very satisfied smile crept across Sakura’s face. “I’ll do my best, ma’am,” her voice dripped with honey and sarcasm. Ignoring the glare that Asuka was now shooting her way, she turned to Shinji, “I have a couple of things to take care of in Sickbay before class starts, so I gotta run. See you later, Shinji!” She took off down the corridor, waving to Shinji before she was out of sight. Resisting yet another wave of anger, Asuka turned to see the three stooges just standing there. It only served to piss her off even more. “Alright,” she barked out, “this isn’t a cadet review. Let’s get going to class already.” Touji and Kensuke merely rolled their eyes, saying a monotone “yes, ma’am” in unison as they took off down the corridor together, with Shinji bringing up the rear. Asuka waited a moment, then took a few long strides to catch up with Shinji. She could feel his whole body tense up when she put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. That… didn’t have the effect on him she was hoping for, she noted. Leaning in close, Asuka whispered into his ear, “and you,” even she could tell she didn’t know what kind of tone she was going for in her voice, but she continued, “I’ll deal with you later.” With that, she quickened her pace, taking her ahead of Shinji once more. Well, I’m dead, Shinji thought to himself as a cold sweat broke out down his face. Maybe I should ask Misato to prepare a burial torpedo for me? It was going to be a long day on the USS Nerv for Shinji. ------- “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.” Dr. Hitomi Amagi frowned, annoyed as she stared at the balding medical library in front of her. She couldn’t figure out why Starfleet Medical programmed the Emergency Medical Hologram to sound so damned condescending. Hell, its default facial expression had enough smug on it for five human beings. It was a big reason she (and a lot of other fleet doctors) hated using it to begin with. If it weren’t for – The doors to sickbay opened, and Sakura bounded in, all smiles. “Hiya, Doc,” she excitedly beamed. “Good morning, Sakura.” Hitomi smiled, always happy to see her young assistant/intern whenever she was able to stop by. Sakura quickly moved to the main medical display on the rear wall that Hitomi was working at, “I see you’ve already got Emmett fired up.” “Emmett?” “Oh, just toying around with something to call him. ‘EMH’ sounds so… clinical and cold, doesn’t it?” Hitomi smiled, “I suppose so.” It was a little more than a year ago that Sakura’s father had mentioned her interest in medicine during his initial physical. Hitomi was only too glad to agree to let Sakura visit and check out sickbay. Sakura quickly impressed her with obvious drive and curiosity with medicine and physiology. By the time her visit was over, Hitomi had offered Sakura an intern position. Since then, Hitomi wouldn’t hesitate to call Ms. Suzuhara an essential part of her staff. “Are you sure you wanna do this,” Hitomi asked as they turned back to ‘Emmett.’ “We’re not going to be using it enough for anyone to have any real interaction with it.” “Him, Doctor,” Sakura gently admonished. “He might be a hologram, but he was made into human form for a reason. Why shouldn’t we make him more personable?” “It’s not like I’m saying you’re wrong, but… the last personality subroutine we tried on him was too… too handsy.” Hitomi frowned, remembering the EMH somehow found its way to her chest when she tried giving it less of a bed-snide manner and more of a bed-side manner. She cursed the fact her hand just went through empty photons when she tried to slap its infernal smug visage. Sakura innocently shrugged, “trial and error. Issues are bound to happen while we fine-tune him.” Hitomi rolled her eyes, deciding she’d play along for now. As long as the next version doesn’t go after Sakura, I guess… “Okay, let’s try this again.” She hit a couple buttons on her tricorder. “EMH personality subroutine overhaul, Mark II.” At the bleeping of a computer chime, the EMH’s posture relaxed. He turned, looking at Hitomi with… charm? However, when he saw Sakura, he frowned instead. “What in blazes is a-goin’ on here?” Sakura and Hitomi looked at each other, confused at how the EMH had adopted an American accent, specifically a southern one. Hitomi turned back to the EMH, “I don’t understand your meaning?” “The kid! What is this, a sickbay, or a daycare?” The EMH’s usual disinterested gaze at Sakura had been replaced with open hostility. Sakura pouted peevishly, “I’m not a kid! I’m her intern!” “My god, an intern! In my time, we’d never have kids in my sickbay unless they were a patient!” The EMH stalked away from them, shaking his head in irritation as he scanned the room, waving at the LCARS displays. “They keep replacing basic human care with a bunch a’ damn computers! I always warned Starfleet Medical that engineers love to change things.” Hitomi turned to Sakura, “what the hell did you use for the baseline?” Sakura grabbed her PADD, paging through her notes. “I took some bits and pieces from some past CMOs – Phlox, McCoy, Pulaski, and others, but…” Her words trailed off as she caught something in her notes. “What is it,” Hitomi asked, while she noticed the EMH critically eyeing the row of illuminated specimen jars in the corner of the room. Sakura groaned, “I asked Lt. Hyuga for some help with this, since I hear he’s got experience with programming characters, and… he got a bit carried away.” “How carried away?” “The personality file is twice the number of quads it should be, with no mention of anyone but McCoy, and I see some notes in here from a guy named Felix, too.” Sakura shook her head; she shouldn’t have gone to Hyuga about this. Makoto Hyuga, Nerv’s chief helmsman was well-known aboard the ship as a holodeck aficionado and cinema historian. Most enjoyed the taste he had in those “movie” things he showed every couple of weeks, and the attention to detail was spectacular. But this… this was too much detail. Hitomi sighed. Back to the drawing board. “Alright, at least this one kept its hands to itself.” She called out, “computer, uninstall personality subroutine and deactivate EMH.” The EMH abruptly turned, looking offended as he lifted himself up on his toes a couple times impatiently, “dammit, I’m a doctor, not a –" His words were cut short as the EMH shimmered and vanished. Hitomi and Sakura shared a disappointed look for a moment. Sakura sheepishly admitted, “guess we’ll have to try again…” “Yeah…” Hitomi really wasn’t looking forward to it. “Some other time, however. You’re going to be late.” The surprise registered on Sakura’s face as she realized. “Oh, crap! Sorry, Doc, I’ll see you later!” She started out on a run. “Next time, though,” Hitomi called after her, making Sakura stop for a moment, “don’t go to Hyuga.” Sakura sighed, on the same wavelength, “yes, Doctor…” As the doors closed behind Sakura, Hitomi suddenly had the feeling it was going to be a long day for her. ------- Bonus artwork - unfinished pages from the abandoned EVA-Trek manga one-shot. Spoiler: Pages 1-3 As mentioned prior to the episode, these are the three completed pages from the abandoned one-shot manga. I did sketches for all 15 pages of the planned manga, but the remainder are so rough that I'd rather not subject anyone to them.
The prose version really works well. Some good word painting and standard Anime/manga tropes give it very much the feel of an Anime Trek. Thanks! rbs
I'm not much of a mecha artist, so I've only ever drawn a canon Eva once a while ago, and I did a concept art for one of the Evas for EVA-Trek as part of the artwork for episode 3.
But that is fantastic and worthy of admiration. You participated in the conceptual art of a classic work and a reference in anime.
[EDIT, 2023.08.25: Uploaded a new version of the theme with better mix and more visuals] Once more unto the breach, dear friends, it's EVA-Trek time! At this point, we are into day one-hundred and eight of the WGA strike, exceeding the 2007-8 strike by nine days. It's only been in the last week that the AMPTP has finally come back to the negotiation table, but seemingly in bad faith, disregarding their own media blackout request and trying to spin the talks with media outlets. We'll see how the situation develops. I would very much like to go back to posting new episodes each month, but until the writers are able to back to work with a fair contract, we're still on hiatus. As far as future episodes go, drafts are ready to go through episode 17. Work begins next week on 18's first draft. From there, the final third of the series is already mapped out and will hit the (digital) typewriter in short order. Instead of a short story this month, I'm doing something a little different. If you remember back in episodes 1 and 2, I mentioned EVA-Trek's main theme is based on Shiro Sagisu's piece "EVA-02" / "Ambassadrice Rouge". Finally, all these months later, I took advantage of a break week from the writer's room to compose the full theme. Luckily, I realized "Ambassadrice Rouge" is already structurally similar to the main theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Even the orchestration lined up, alternating sections lead by the horns/brass and strings. Once I located a midi file of "EVA-02," I plugged it into Guitar Pro 5... and promptly had to do a bunch of cleanup on the base orchestrations before doing anything else. Next step was coming up with the ethereal opening, which had to be pitched up to match the rest of the song. I'd wanted to use the opening melody from "Rei I," but it just didn't work. So, I kept a bit of Alexander Courage's melody in there. It was only logical to use the vocal melody from "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" in place of the TOS fanfare after that. For the main body of the song, I only had to do a bit of trims of the arrangement to make it more like Dennis McCarthy's rendition of the TNG theme. The final step was filling out the arrangement with additional wind/brass instruments and percussion to round it out. Final audio mixdown and sound emulation was done in Acoustica Mixcraft. A little audio easter egg appears at the end like any proper Star Trek theme. And now, the stage is set, the orchestra is tuned up, and the conductor is aching to go. 3... 2... 1.... LET'S JAM! This is dedicated to Shiro Sagisu, Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and Dennis McCarthy, without whom, I could never have made this possible. See you all next month!
Howdy out there to everyone in the known regions of Federation space and beyond - Firebird here, hoping everyone is as ready as I am to finally be getting out of this scorching summer season into a (hopefully) more temperate fall. I'm sure everyone in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA on the picket lines are looking forward to not melting in the heat. Speaking of the strike, we're currently into day One-Hundred and Thirty-Six since the AMPTP abandoned their common sense and failed to negotiate in good faith with the WGA's bargaining committee. On the SAG-AFTRA side, it's day Sixty-three. After things stayed pretty much at a standstill over the last month, the past couple weeks have been rather eventful. Warner Bros suspended deals with several high-profile writer/producers, such as J.J. Abrams and Bill Lawrence in the wake of announcing a $500 million loss due to the strikes. (Coincidentally, that's the same amount as WB CEO David Zaslav's bonus, but who's counting, right?) This week, Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher decided they were above the regulations of their unions and are going to bring back their shows and cross picket lines. Barrymore's crew was abusive and rude to audience members who wore WGA or SAG shirts/buttons, which ended up motivating the audience members to join the picket lines. And in just the last couple days, a bill is moving its way through the California senate that will provide unemployment insurance to WGA & SAG members on strike. Coincidentally, the AMPTP then announced that they were suddenly calling the WGA back to the negotiation table in this coming week. All this because the studio CEOs refuse to give up less than 1% of their annual profits to the writers who create the entertainment that give them their cushy executive positions in the first place... Moving on from your monthly edition of strike news, I'm happy to present a couple more special videos, expanding EVA-Trek's original soundtrack recording. We've got the "Commercial Bumper" and the End Titles. First up is the "Commercial Bumper" fanfare. In future episodes, you'll see this at the end of act two, which roughly lands at the midpoint of the story. You see something similar to this in most anime, and even TNG used one during its original syndicated broadcast. Evangelion used one, sans music. Eventually, I'd like to add some animation to this of the USS Nerv warping into the image between the title typeface, but I lack the tools for that. The composition for the bumper music popped into my head nearly fully formed, and I had it completely finished in about 90 minutes. Finally, we have the End Titles. The music itself used the same arrangement from the main title theme, but eliminated the ethereal opening. I also adjusted the instrumentation to switch the muted trumpet to a standard trumpet. At the coda of the video, there's a special audio treat for 90's Star Trek fans - it was something I knew was absolutely necessary for a Star Trek-style end credits sequence. When I was putting this together tonight, I got a bit of inspiration - what if I made this a full credits sequence, with titles and the starfield background? So, I found a suitable starfield loop, and put together the titles based on TNG & DS9's end credits. I used this as an opportunity to list my inspirations for this series, ranging from directors, to actors, to screenwriters, and even fellow fanfic authors. I feel like this came together so amazingly well, and I'm proud to present it here. Both of these videos, along with the main titles, will be embedded with future episodes in their proper placement. This will give each EVA-Trek episode that extra touch of period authenticity that I've been striving for. One final word for this month. Since the strike may either end anytime between October and the end of the year, I'm curious what readers would prefer for the release schedule of future episodes. As of now, I have six episodes of the back half of the season at a final draft stage, mostly with a couple rounds of revisions. With the strike over, I could conceivably have anywhere between seven to nine episodes in a releasable state, and the rest not far behind. So, I'm curious what your opinion is: Weekly release schedule, taking off traditional American broadcast TV holiday/sporting event breaks Alternating weekly releases, ignoring any holidays Continue monthly releases My preference is #2, releasing every other week. This allows me to continue production on later episodes while readying others for release, and saving my sanity in the process. Weekly could be done if the strike doesn't end until 2024. I don't want to do monthly releases, because I'd rather make up for lost time and not keep everyone waiting for the finale. There's a lot of stuff coming in the next 13 episodes that I'm proud of and excited to release. Let me know in the comments what you'd like for the release schedule! That's all for now. See y'all next month with... well, I have no idea, honestly. I don't have any plans for more side stories, and I think 3.5 minutes of musical score is as much as I'm capable of composing. So, we'll see what happens! Live long and prosper, friends - hailing frequencies closed.
After a long break due to the writer's strike, EVA-Trek returns with new episodes! Because there's an increased audio-visual component to new episodes, I'm keeping things short and sweet in the thread, and encourage getting the full experience over on Ao3. EVA-Trek - Episode 1x13: "Lonely As You" Stardate 49046.6: Cross-synchronization tests are interrupted by an angel attack, resulting in the kidnapping of one of the pilots. https://archiveofourown.org/works/50812954 Next time on EVA-Trek: "Learn to Fly" - coming in two weeks, thanks to getting ahead on future episodes during the break.
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49101.5: Nerv is assigned a fourth Evangelion unit and a new pilot is chosen. Welcome back to the 24th century! Gonna keep comments short and sweet this week. Thanks for continuing to read and (hopefully) enjoy EVA-Trek. With all the craziness in the world at the moment, I can only hope I'm providing some refuge for an hour or so. Up in the writer's room on the Firebird Pictures lot, production is progressing ahead at a good pace. I'm getting detailed script outlines written for episodes 20 through 25 so I can bang out the first draft scripts in quick order and keep up the bi-monthly release schedule through March - which actually pulls the finale up by two months sooner than I'd originally forecasted! I say this often, but it's hard to believe I'd be this far along with the series when, just two years ago, I never thought I'd make it past a couple episodes at most before the network (or rather you, dear readers) cancelled the series. As mentioned last episode, I'm still looking for illustration and musical collaborators for future episodes if anyone is interested in helping me out.Time to turn the lights down low, ease back in the recliner, and let a new episode unfold... https://archiveofourown.org/works/51161689
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49120.1: A suspicious new arrival to the USS Nerv is interrupted by an angel attack that may exact a higher price than anyone expects. And we're back! This week's EVA-Trek comes out with good news – the SAG-AFTRA strike has finally come to an end after 118 days. With this, American film and television productions can finally resume after the hubris of overpaid executives caused the industry to shut down for over six months at the cost of billions of dollars. Anyways, episode 15 continues the mini-arc that kicked off with episode 13. A lot of pieces are starting to fall together that will play into the final act, and another of our key players arrives onboard. Writing on future episodes is progressing well – I'm due to finish the detailed outline for episode 23 next week, which just leaves one full episode to outline. It's possible I might have first draft scripts for the rest of the season done by New Years! Get ready as we present the following program in living color on [NETWORK NAME REDACTED]! https://archiveofourown.org/works/51504247
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49120.4: The crew picks up the pieces from Zeruel's attack while Asuka... goes where few have gone before. Surprise! With the Thanksgiving holiday kinda throwing my week for a loop, I decided to upload the new episode a day early so I can enjoy my extended weekend. For once, I'm going to actually keep my comments brief before this week's episode, mainly because there's not much new going on. Hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the series as it develops towards its conclusion. This week is the culmination of the mini-arc that started the second half of the season. And now, roll 'em! https://archiveofourown.org/works/51789529
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49176.6: On the hunt for angel life-signs, Nerv must negotiate with a hostile species for passage through their region of space. A 24th century odyssey returns with this week’s installment of EVA-Trek. This will be a bit of a “breather” episode that took advantage of the narrative space and became a story that’s the closest to an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that I can possibly reach. I’m quite proud of this final product and hope you enjoy it. Behind-the-scenes, work is going at an incredible pace to complete the story. Shortly after publishing episode 16, I finished all of the script outlines through the rest of the season, and in the last week, I’ve written three complete first draft scripts, up through episode 22. Altogether, that’s 155 pages, or the equivalent of about two-and-a-half hours of television. Episode 23 will be tough to land, so that will undoubtedly take a bit more time. The final two episodes will only increase the difficulty in the effort to land this show in the way I’ve been envisioning for the last two years. With that, Firebird Pictures is proud to present a new chapter of our story... https://archiveofourown.org/works/52126198
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49179.4: Dr. Akagi and Commander Fuyutsuki have gone missing, and it's up to Kaji to find them before time runs out. Welcome back and happy holidays, all you royalty of Starfleet, you sovereigns of the quadrant! EVA-Trek is continuing to barrel towards its finale with an episode that could become a turning point for the series. A slight content warning – episode 18 includes scenes of torture that may be too intense for younger viewers. EVA-Trek has never been a lighter and softer reimagining of Evangelion, and the subject matter this week is certainly no exception. Behind the scenes, the writers' room has been abuzz with activity. First draft scripts have now been completed through the penultimate episode of the series. Final drafts have been locked up through episode 22. All-in-all, that makes five episodes written in December alone, with sixteen having been completed in 2023. Compare this with 2022, where I only finished nine scripts in all that time. Over the Christmas holiday, I'll be working hard to deliver the first draft of the feature-length finale, "The Last Song," by the first of the year. If I manage this, I'll have completed the last major bit of writing for the series exactly two years after I delivered the pilot episode's first draft script. Kind of insane to think how far this series has come, and indeed how far I've come as a writer since then. With that, I leave you with the final new episode of 2023. Not exactly the most festive Christmas episode ever, but still one that I think is worth reading. https://archiveofourown.org/works/52429369
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49185.7: While Nerv comes to the aid of a Cardassian freighter, Asuka challenges Shinji to undertake Starfleet Academy entrance exams. Happy 2024 out there! Hopefully, everyone has had an enjoyable and restful holiday season and is ready to come back and attack the new year with a vengeance. Before we get into the episode, the casting department has handed me a couple notes: The role of Gul Recad has been given to Ray Chase, also known for the Netflix voice of Gendo Ikari. For the role of Recad's engineer, they somehow managed to get John Goodman in the booth to record. So, that's enough of my gabbing. Let's get on to the main course with the first episode of 2024, brought to you in living color by the Studio Firebird Television Network! https://archiveofourown.org/works/52837315
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49187.2: The crew tries to come to terms with loss in their own ways while life and their duties must continue. And we're back! EVA-Trek continues its march toward the end with this week's installment. Not many new things going on to announce this time, other than all scripts for the rest of the series have been locked, so it'll just be picking up any minor changes. After the last couple years of intensive effort, it feels sorta weird to not have to break any new stories. I've got so much time on my hands now! One thing I'm still on the search for is a collaborator to write a two-minute piece for cello and acoustic guitar to be used in episode 21. I'm trying my damnedest to write it, but I just don't know if I'll have enough time to get it right in the next couple weeks. Let me know if you'd be interested in collaborating! With that, we've got the digital film print ready in the projector, so enjoy the latest installment of EVA-Trek, "Show Me How!" https://archiveofourown.org/works/53157028
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49199.9: During the investigation of mysterious lifesigns on Iota Cassiopeiae IV, an angel of light puts the Eva pilots in jeopardy. It is time once more to sit upon the ground and tell stories of the twenty-fourth century, to paraphrase a certain English playwright. We're down to the last block of EVA-Trek episodes. In fact, the finale is just two months away at this point! Things are gonna start heating up from here. One thing you'll notice throughout the episode is the musical piece Shinji has been working on as far back as episode 13, "Lonely as You." It had been my intention to have it ready by the time the episode dropped, but... I ran out of time, and I couldn't wrack my brain for additional inspiration between finishing this and future episodes, along with illustrations I'm working on. I'm intensely sorry that I couldn't successfully include such an integral piece to the episode. Perhaps once the series is over, I can go back and try to finish it then. For now, you'll have to use the theater and symphony of the mind... And speaking of said theater, allow me to lower the lights and turn on the projector so we can watch our twenty-first episode, "Headwires." https://archiveofourown.org/works/53482468
From the TV Guide listing... [P+] EVA-TREK (CC) -- Science Fiction/Drama Stardate 49212.9: Tensions between Kaworu and Kiel come to a head as the young pilot re-evaluates his mission. Short and sweet with the comments this week, folks. Efforts are continuing in the EVA-Trek production offices as we are bringing the plane in for a landing. By the time this episode drops, I'll have "locked" all scripts, except for the finale. With that, here is the twenty-second installment of EVA-Trek, "Have it All." As you will come to see, that title will explain quite a bit. https://archiveofourown.org/works/53848330 Spoiler: Next Time on EVA-Trek... While on the run, Nerv encounters a mysterious anomaly that illuminates dark secrets in Rei’s past. Episode 23, “Erase/Replace,” coming March 1st!