Chloe O'Rourke

Chloe is a skinny ginger, with stringy shoulder-length red hair, a face positively full of freckles, and thanks to puberty, a left side that's a bit larger than her right. She has a pair of glasses which she wears infrequently. Her eyesight is just enough to avoid glasses, but sometimes her NERV-appointed guardian forces her to wear them. Her eyes are green much like her father's. Her body has already begun to develop into that of a woman's, but she is far from finished growing. She wears unflattering, baggy clothing when given the choice, and despises dresses. The notable exception is a T-shirt that she purchased that states: "Luck of the Irish" on it. It reminds her of her father Liam, and she seems a bit more at ease while wearing it. She does not wear many accessories, usually no more than a simple set of stud earrings, a cellphone strap, and a very nice lady's watch (birthday present for turning 14).

Chloe is an extremely self-conscious individual and tends to feel sorry for herself, which carries itself over into her posture. Her low self-esteem stems from her difficult childhood and the fact that she is in a very confusing time of her life. She gets confused that she doesn't know what to do, and worries constantly about doing what she is supposed to. This in turn leads to frustration because everyone else seems so much more together than she is. A fan of logic puzzles, she spends a lot of her free time playing chess, reading history, and trying to find the courage to go out with the people from her school.

A large portion of her psyche is dedicated to analyzing her own particular faults. She is smart enough to understand that there are many problems in her life, but not experienced enough to know how little control she has over the majority of them. Her inferiority complex is a coping mechanism to give her the illusion of control over many of her own circumstances. By blaming herself as weak, lazy, untalented, or just a lack of effort, it, oddly enough, makes her feel valued. This desire to feel valued has made her a bit of a doormat, quick to capitulate if anyone states how much a favor might mean to them. On the converse, when she does well, she tends to obsess over her victory, trying to memorize exactly what she did right so she can do it again.

She craves her mother's Morgan's approval, and misses her father dearly.

Chloe tends to fidget constantly. When thinking about a particular problem, sometimes she chews on her long hair. When stressed, she tends to lean forward and cross her hands over her chest. She usually takes a one hour nap after coming home from school, and is a light sleeper. Her idea of appearing grown up is having coffee every morning, and because she dislikes the taste she puts a lot of cream in it. She never eats enough for her growing body. People try to refrain from giving her pencils because she taps them on desks and it gets quite annoying. Her favorite food is french fries.

Second Impact changed everyone's lives, and the world in which they existed. Even if they hadn't been born yet, and could conceive of nothing except of a world post-Second Impact. Chloe was born in such a world, conceived in a crowded refugee camp in the Kerry Mountains after much of the Irish lowlands suffered from the floods that would consume the rest of the world. The hardy Irish folk, not one to give up, hunkered down and made the most of the rugged terrain. The United Kingdom was a presence, of course, but the Irish were their own country, and their own government had their own problems to deal with.

Chloe's father and mother were never very close to begin with. Chloe was conceived more out of a fear of being alone than genuine affection between a man and a woman. Even from an early age, it was not love that she was raised on, but obligation. Rations were tight in the refugee camp, and her father's green thumb turned into a secret bed of potatoes kept away from others. Her parents were Catholic, but faith and ritual is one of the first things to go when life is a struggle to stay alive. They did the best they could, with much of the group being used as labor for agricultural projects in exchange for rationing and protection. Lawlessness was commonplace in the camps, with gangs muscling over the smaller groups, providing protection from themselves in exchange for food, women, what have you. Life was difficult, but it was better than the alternative, wasn't it?

Chloe only dealt with the aftereffects of living in such an environment, as she was swept up by the United Kingdom because her father and mother were recruited by NERV early in the group's development, he as a biologist, she as a computer operator. Instead of the terribly painful, unclean births that many in refugee camps were forced to suffer through, Chloe was born in a NERV hospital 14 days premature, and received all appropriate neo-natal care.

She grew up in Germany, and her early childhood was spent playing pretend with her stuffed animals and trying to ignore when Mommy and Daddy were shouting. They were gracious enough not to do so in Chloe's presence, but children have a way of getting into places and learning things their parents try to keep from them. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Chloe, her parents spent long hours at NERV, and that minimized the fights.

Oh, how Chloe adored her father! He told her stories about where the sun went at night, and what earthworms said if you saw them eating the vegetables in your garden (it's not because they don't like you, they really like your potatoes!). He was never around, but the times they spent together were precious to her. Her mother was around a little bit more, but she remained distant from Chloe. In truth, it's because she didn't know about how to be a good parent ever since her own father abused her from an early age while her mother watched. Don't do that, certainly, but when being in the same room as your daughter can, with one innocent word, throw her mind back to an unspeakable childhood...it makes it difficult to be an approachable parent.

Life progressed as it always done, slow and sure, with Chloe attending school when she was old enough. Chloe was bright, but in truth, her shyness prevented from connecting very well with her other peers. She didn't like to be alone, but with so few people around to watch her aside from appointed NERV guardians, who merely made sure she ate and didn't get in trouble, she didn't have any friends. Second Impact made education focus more upon making productive members of society quickly, and that left little time for socialization. She started to grow, like a bean sprout, tall and thin, for a girl. Being awkward and shy, she was a favorite target for mean-spirited boys to push into the mud and put bugs in her hair. She didn't know what she did to make everyone so mean to her, that her confusion only spurned them on.

Her grades were quite good, but she didn't play well with others. Picked last for team sports was a blow to the morale, and she cried in school more than once. To make matters worse, her father was selected for a project in Japan, and he would be gone for a long while. She started skipping meals and blaming herself for her troubles. To her young child mind, everything was wrong, since nothing seemed to go well. The only common factor among this was herself, and so it followed that somehow she must be to blame.

In rapid succession, she was hit with a set of monumental life changes. Her mother received a letter stating that her father had been killed in some sort of experiment, and that they would be transferred to Ankh-1 in the Southern Pacific. Chloe cried night and day, pining for her father. Puberty had made life difficult enough, now she had to do it without the minimal framework that she had in Germany. Her father and best friend were gone. Her mother wasn't much worse. Although she didn't love him necessarily, they still were together, and someone who shares your life and a child cannot leave without an impact. To make matters worse, she tried to put on a strong face for Chloe, but this only made it seem like her mother didn't care about her father, which hurt very deeply.

After what her mother said was a CAT Scan, a routine medical test, things started to change. NERV agents showed up at her residence with alarming frequency. There was talk about a "Child" and a "Pilot." Chloe wasn't sure what that meant, but it meant a barrage of tests, some of which required her to disrobe in front of strange doctors, causing her no end of embarrassment.

And then, just like that, when she was just starting to integrate as an outcast in school, she was brought by her mother to NERV HQ and told the fateful words: "You will pilot Evangelion. You carry the fate of the world on your shoulders." She accepted, but she wasn't sure what exact;y that meant. She was told that now, the world was going to need her, and that she had to pilot Evangelion in defense of the world. She doesn't know anything about what is going on. Her father is gone, her mother is at work over 15 hours a day, her NERV guardian is tight-lipped, and everyone else gives her a wide berth. She isn't sure what she did wrong this time, but she really wants to fix it so things can go back to normal.

"Mom, where are we going?" The red-headed teenager asked her mother, who was leading her by the arm through a set of white corridors.
"They're just going over the testing results for you. Just listen to them. Please..."
"But wwwhhhyyy???" Chloe whined, much to the grating of her mother's teeth.
"Chloe, just do it."
Chloe couldn't help but start to feel guilty at her mothers exasperated tone. Here she was, being selfish and annoying, when all her mother was trying to do was look out for her health.
"Ok...sorry, Mom." Chloe studied her shoes for a second while her mother led her along.
"No, that is...Chloe, I mean. It's fine." Her mother struggled with words, which served as a reminder that despite all that happened in her life, Chloe was indeed the daughter of Morgan O'Rourke.

The pair went down the hallway and up and elevator. On the higher floors, the white drywall became wood paneling, and the desks became mahogany instead of composite plastics. Even the nameplates looked better than frumpy Chloe, who was told by her mother to dress nice and had put the bare minimum effort required into making herself look good, and more to the point, it showed. The dress was about a half-size too small, and her earrings and shoes did not match. A fashion faux pas to be sure, but Chloe couldn't help as they saw people whispering and pointing in her direction...something important was happening.

"Chloe." Her mother snapped her back from her reverie, and a slim receptionist had gone into the office to fetch whoever was important enough to get her out of school and talk to her directly. But instead, after a minute, she came and ushered Chloe and her mother into the room instead.

The first thing Chloe noticed about this office was the painting on the wall. A picture of God touching Adam upon his finger, bringing him his wife Eve and granting him human knowledge. She noticed this picture even before she noticed the room's luxurious leather chairs, and before it's owner, a tall, broad-shouldered man with perfect teeth and hair just barely graying. Chloe blushed a bit when she saw him, not sure what to say to someone who was so handsome.

"So, this is your daughter, Morgan? She must take after her father. She doesn't look much like you." The gentleman was smiling wide, and his voice was pleasant to listen to. He strode over and closed the intervening distance between him and her with a careful pace, not one to ruin his immaculate suit. "Good afternoon, Chloe." He extended his hand to her warmly.

"Uh...um....hi." Chloe blushed a bit more furiously and tried to avoid eye contact.

"Haha." He laughed again. "I take it back. She is exactly like you. Now, Chloe, you had some tests a while back. And I've called you here to discuss the results."

"Were...were they bad?" Chloe wondered. She didn't eat well a couple days, and was certainly stressed out enough during the brain scan.

"Ha. Quite the contrary. Your mind is in the peak of health. It is so well, in fact, that you have been selected to help us out on a special assignment." His face notably became a bit more serious. "You may not know...but Second Impact changed the world in ways you can't even imagine. There are...threats out there that if left unchecked, could mean the annihilation of mankind. And only a few certain people, with their own special minds, can stop it."

"Wait...you want me to...be a soldier."

"Not at all." He tapped a few keys on a keyboard, and a holographic display came up on screen. It depicted a humanoid robot, large and fortified. "This is Evangelion, the last hope of mankind. With what we've read from your mind, we know that you can pilot it. And I know, in meeting you, that you can pilot it." And with that, he did something that she did not expect. He knelt down, in that expensive suit of his, and clasped her hand with his. "And you must. Please. Not for me. Not for yourself, but for everyone in the world."

Chloe was swimming in a fog she could not understand. Here was an adult, here, on his knee, begging for her to save mankind. The blood rushed to her head, and she thought she was dreaming. But she wasn't. Her feet were cold, which was a dead giveaway that she wasn't dreaming. And he was serious too. And in that moment, she didn't know what she was getting into, but she knew she had to accept.

"All...all right."

The next few minutes were scheduling her informational briefings, and she was graciously excused while the adults talked their talk. She wasn't understanding, but someone would be there to show her around. After all, she had to be a hero.

Later, in the very same office, two men were speaking.

"Quite the show."
"I could have conscripted her. But this way was what she wanted."
"You're getting awfully sentimental."
"She will respond better if she wants to. You know this better than any other."

Taking a deep breath, Chloe sat in the entry plug, wearing the tight plug suit and A10's. Even though she was clothed, she felt naked wearing a suit that left nothing to the imagination. Her throat was a iron lump in her throat ever since she saw the EVA, violet and orange, sitting in a pool of what smelled like blood. The techs told her it wasn't. It was coolant, and the blood smell was a mixture of the aforementioned coolant, oil, several other hydraulic fluids that made the EVA support it's own weight, not to mention a psychosomatic response that made people who saw red fluid that they didn't know as blood, complete with corresponding smell. Chloe didn't quite buy it.

So now she was here, sitting in a small capsule, wondering what was going to happen. 'Don't be scared,' was the basic mantra they were giving her. This was just a test to see how well she could control the robot. Just relax, and think of moving the robot when they told her to. And then after that, she could go home. The chances they would ever need her would be slim. After all, no nation could really muster the resources and manpower to go to war against the United Nations. So perhaps she was simply a deterrent force.

Suddenly, she heard a noise, something that sounded like water coming from a great distance. She thought it must be the hydraulic fluids the techs spoke of, and the test would come soon. However, to her utter horror, instead the plug began filling up with a strange, orange liquid. She screamed in terror as the liquid gushed in, starting to fill up around her ankles.

"HELP! HELP!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "HELP!" It was already past her hips, how quickly it flowed in. She grabbed the entry valve and tried to turn it, but no matter how much she pushed, it wouldn't budge. "NO!" She shouted, pulling her head back in a vain attempt to keep it above water. She started to cry once her head was completely under, beating futilely on the hatch, holding her breath to try and stay alive long enough for someone to rescue her. Her chest hurt after mere seconds, and she couldn't keep her eyes open, and so she pulled, weaker and weaker on the hatch, trying to get it open. And when her body couldn't bear any more, she gasped, taking in the orange liquid in a big, involuntary gulp.

And...felt like she was breathing, but different. Not like breathing smoke. There was nothing to ever relate this to. She could feel the liquid inside her lungs, making her feel heavy. Her lungs felt a little stronger, as they were pushing out dense fluid instead of light air. After a few more deep breaths, her heart slowed, and she started breathing. 'Don't be scared.' they said. Is that what they meant?

And so, if they were right about that, they had to be right about something else too. She tried her best to slow down even more and pretend that she was the robot she saw. She grabbed the two handles and tried to concentrate. The robot shot off up the launch tube, and she could feels the G-Forces pulling down on her, threatening to squash her flat. Then, she came to an abrupt stop, but the liquid in the plug kept in her place, moving but a little. Now she had to do what mother had said, and so, she thought very hard about moving.

She didn't feel anything, except maybe a little stupid. Just a little girl in a big doll. How could she possibly make a big thing like this move? This was gigantic and she wasn't some fusion generator. She was not meant for this.

And then, she was falling forward. She stepped forward with her other foot to try and catch herself, trying to right herself before falling face-first into the...tiny road? She managed to catch herself and right herself before she was really thinking about it, but suddenly she realized she wasn't in the road...she was in a vat of orange oxygen liquid.

A message came to her and she heard the familiar voice of her mother: "Your ratio has dropped a bit, Chloe. Don't lose focus." Yes, she was controlling the robot! She tried to calm herself down and see what the robot was seeing, but she had lost it. Chloe started to hyperventilate again, because she was screwing up when she was being counted on.

And just like that, Chloe felt incredibly warm. And for a second, she was reminded of being hugged by her father when she was a little girl, and that warm feeling of being loved spread throughout her entire body. Warm, comforting. Like she wasn't alone. Like there was someone holding her hand the entire time. And she went deeper without even realizing, accepting the feeling inside of her. And she was not looking through her a robotic sensor. She was seeing where she was, and she wasn't thinking, just being happy and walking. It had been a long time since she felt so warm...and tears flowed down her face yet again.

Inside the command center, Morgan O'Rourke looked at the results on the screen.

"Is that sync reading accurate?" she spoke to one of the operatives in the control room.
"Yes, ma'am. No mistaking it. Your daughter's synced well once we got it calibrated. She's a natural."

Morgan O'Rourke debated on whether that was a good thing.