The knife jammed into the core like a key into a lock, and the angel staggered for a moment before the core self destructed completely, blasting a massive christian cross clear into space, while shearing off the umbilical cables of Unit 01 even as the armor and AT field kept it mostly intact.  Maria's deflective barrier held most of the force of the explosion at bay, but what was left was still enough to blow a massive hole straight through the mountain, exposing the tunnel below to sky.<br/><br/>Down in NERV HQ, Major Mecci had already made himself scarce while everyone was busy staring at the explosion, somehow vanishing in the blink of an eye.  "The target is confirmed destroyed!  Nothing remains of the body except a puddle of DSR!"  Ritsuko yelled, carefully analyzing the debris left by the massive explosion.  "Everyone performed within operational limits."  Naoko confirmed, seemingly ignoring the mysterious dissaperance of Major Mecci.  On the news networks shown on the communication link, every eye in the world had turned to the battle against the alien invaders, the sudden reversal of fortune that sent the bombers back to base.  "Incoming call from the UN Security council..."<br/><br/>(The group gains 25 surplus and 22 research, in addition to 4 points of research invested into N2 shell technology by Naoko Akagi.)<br/><br/><br/>Naoko stepped up from her chair and gestured imperiously.  "Begin salvage operations on Unit 11!  The pilot is to be kept under strict quarantine procedures!  The rest of the pilots are to be personally debriefed by Dr. Akagi and their commanding officer, including the usual medical and psychological exam.  We've got a lot of work to do on the effectiveness of our weapons against the Angels!"