Neon Genesis Evangelion:
The Bond
By Rob Barba
Series initiated by James Lee
Neon Genesis Evangelion is copyright Gainax and ADV
Part Three:
Resonance
Dear Diary,
Today was an interesting day. As a favor for my teacher, Aunt Rei got
General Katsuragi to give a lecture to our class while she was here this
past week to open the Ascension War Museum. The lecture was interesting,
and I got to meet one of the few people that is, in a sense, family to
me--she was the guardian for both my parents and eventually my aunt as well.
Some of the few things that I remember about my parents was that my father
always spoke of her in the same way he would an older sister, and even
though my mother was her plainspoken self about it, it was clear that she
cared for the general as well.
As my class toured the AWM, Aunt Rei--who, as both an adult in
attendance with our class and needing to be there anyway for the
presentation, told me a little about the general before the ceremony. From
what she told me and Fubuki (that's my best friend, though you probably know
that from the millions of times I've written about her), the general is not
only famous for her command of the old Geofront Ops Center, but also was
single-handedly credited for taking over command of the NERV Loyalist forces
when Gendo the Manipulator made his final ploy.
General Katsuragi Misato is very different from what I pictured a flag
officer to be like. What I had in my mind, based on my aunt's description,
was that of an ice queen, imperious and lording over her troops with a
benevolent iron fist; as sure of her purpose as General Washington, Admiral
Togo, or other famous military leaders of the past. What General Katsuragi
turned out to be was a nice woman in her early fifties, an odd cross between
the typical mother and the eternal teenager; the last thought evident by her
nickname of "Ol' 151", rumored to be her kill count during the War of
Ascension but more likely a reference to "151-proof", considering how much
of a drinker apparently she used to be. Personally, I would think she is
still, considering the small aluminum flask she carries around with her,
though Aunt Rei says it's herbal tea. Despite her wild reputation, the
general hasn't had a drink since her bout with alcoholism a few years ago,
or so my aunt says.
After a nice dinner with her and the general, we all talked for a few
hours. Fu-chan, who was also there, asked the general a few questions for
the school paper, which Misato (she asked us to call her that, but for some
reason, I feel uncomfortable doing so) not only answered, but also gave
Fu-chan the home number to none other than Aida Kensuke, the senior CNN
correspondent at the New Pentagon; she said he was an old friend of her and
Aunt Rei's and would be more than happy to give her some info.
Additionally, she told me a few other stories about my parents that I could
scarcely believe. It's old stuff that Aunt Rei told me about time after
time, but with the way that the general tells it, it makes it seem as though
it happened yesterday, instead of years ago. I thought it very touching
when her eyes began to well as she talked about my parents. It was very
clear to me then, at that moment, that despite the fact that I am the
granddaughter of Gendo the Manipulator, who my family really is, who ended
up steering my parents and aunt to the people they became.
Well, I gotta go to bed. I promised Aunt Rei that I would go with her
to New Yokota to see the general on her departure back to Washington-2, and
so we're going to have to get up a little earlier than normal. But I'll
write again soon. I always, do, don't I? ^_^
Mata ne,
Ikari Yui Langley
<(*)>
"Well, that's that." With the installation of the plant over by the
window, Shinji put the finishing touch on their apartment. The group was
going to be coming over later for a housewarming dinner, which he'd have to
start, shortly. The pair had agreed to switch off on cooking days, and
today would be his. Behind him, the warm, soothing tones of a cello played.
He smiled; she was almost as good as he, the almost simply because she
wasn't totally used to the physical properties of it. "The cello sounds
beautiful, Asuka."
"Danke," she replied, distractedly. She was focused on the music,
trying to learn it her way, not so much out of a need for independence, but
a way to expand her--their--skills.
He looked back at the past week, and how different things were for him
now. Most of his life, he'd felt like, what was the word?--malcontent.
Yes, that was it; like he was born in the wrong era. From what he'd heard
from Misato, he'd have fit right in during, say, the 1990s or so. But that
was then. Now, here he was, feeling a little more in his time, in his
place, and thanks, ironically, to an Angel. But that was the way things
went, the way the world moved.
((Perhaps, just maybe, if I have to spend the rest of my life like this,
it can't be that bad.))
"Maybe, maybe not," she agreed to his unspoken question. "But time will
tell, won't it?" Beginning to play once again, she added in her mind,
((Now, if you'll stay on your side of the futon, we'll be fine.))
"Stop hogging the sheets, and maybe I won't have to move closer."
"What do you mean I hog the sheets?" she demanded.
"Well, your feet are cold at night, so what choice do I have?" He
shrugged. "Fortunately, the rest of you is pretty warm."
Although he'd said this matter of fact, Asuka didn't take it that way.
*"What?"* Dropping the cello, she leapt to her feet and said, "What did you
mean by that, Shinji?"
Shinji took the offensive route as well. "Well, I didn't mean anything
by it, but ice princess, if you're going to have that kind of attitude...."
"What do you mean by that, you idiot?"
"Hear me out, Yuki-onna, your feet are cold, but the rest of you is
pretty hot! I was being matter-of-fact about it, but if you're going to act
like that," his eyes blazing indignant fury for a second or two before he
found he didn't want to say anything more to her. "Awww, fuck it."
Storming towards the door, he had every intention of getting the hell away
from her for a few hours...well, at least physically.
He'd made it no farther than the door, when he felt a pair of arms grab
him from behind and a voice whisper, "Shinji, I'm sorry."
"Let me go, Asuka," he said in a tight, controlled voice.
"Shinji, don't leave me," she said in a small voice, a soft tone that
was just one step above a whisper.
"I can't," he said, his voice one step below a snarl. "Even if I wanted
to--and I'm damn well tempted right now--I can't. I won't do to you what
our parents did to us." He turned around and faced her. "I'm stuck with
you." As he completed his turn, he realized that they were facing each
other.
"I'm glad, Shinji," Asuka said with true feeling. "I'm glad." She
looked at him, not letting go.
The pair stared at each other for a second. Two. The emptiness became
oppressive, the quiet thunderous in its silence. And with no concrete
agreement, the pair kissed. At first it seemed a sloppy, unsure kiss, the
kind that people have done for the first event since time upon time began.
However, it didn't take long for them to really get intense about it, as
their emotions and the tension of the moment flowed into that once space
between instants, that one infinite pass of time that seemed to loop forever
into nothing and everything and anything, all at once and never at the same
time.
However, Shinji broke off. Asuka, fearing rejection, didn't bother to
hide the fear in her face, or in her mind. Knowing what she felt, he said
nothing, simply thinking it, and letting her probe. As she looked within,
she instantly understood, instantly.
"You're right, Shinji," she answered. "We did, didn't we?"
"Yeah," he droned, clearly somewhere between embarrassed and longing.
"Misato warned us about that. I guess we'll have to be more careful about
that, then." Her answer was to lean against his chest, letting him hold
her. They both knew what was happening to them--the bond that they had was
causing them to fall for each other. Despite their short time together, the
bond had intensified what one knew about the other, and vice versa. In the
three weeks they had been in this situation, they may as well have been
together for years.
Looking up at him, she asked, "Shinji, do you think...?"
"Someday," he sighed. "Someday. But we can't let it be now. We're too
young, and although we have no choice but to stay with each other for life,
it would be a long time to regret mistakes."
"You're right," she said, looking at him again, even as he looked at
her. Once again, nature danced before them, and the pair's lips moved
closer to each other, brushing gently against the other, as doves on the
wing...
...to be rudely interrupted by a phone call. Caught off guard, both jumped
as though spooked by the very specters of the past themselves. Asuka
recovered fast enough to dive for the phone. "Yeah, wa's up?"
<<Asuka, this is Misato over at Terminal Dogma. I need you and Shinji
to get down here immediately. There's been another attack.>>
"Funny, I didn't hear the Civil Defense systems sound off," she
commented.
<<The attack wasn't here. The Angels hit the base at Los Angeles-2.>>
There was a rustle of voices in the background for a second before Misato
came back on. <<Civil Defense is sending a police cruiser your way to pick
you up. Be suited and ready in the Briefing Room in 40 minutes. Misato
out.>>
<(*)>
Los Angeles-2, Nevada, United States:
Out on the farthest reaches of what was once eastern California, lay the
newest part of the state of Nevada, the 15 counties that made up the section
of Nevada known as the California corridor. Mankind had built there after
the San Andreas faultline had slid beneath the waves, taking a massive chunk
of the Western US with it. Cities such as Los Angeles-2, New Francisco, New
Honolulu, and San Diego-2 were the successors to their original towns,
having the pace and feel of their predecessors, though those were lost to
the bottom of the sea so long ago.
The largest city on the West Coast, Los Angeles-2 was known for not only
its posh Nuevo Beverly, glamorous New Hollywood and trendy Westwood-2
districts, but also had as part of the city two of the largest bases on the
West Coast, Joshua Tree Naval Base, and Edwards Air Force Base. While
Joshua Tree was the home of the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet and
Combined UN Fleet Operations--COMUNFLEOPS, Edwards was also no less special.
It housed both the Headquarters for the US Air Forces Pacific, but also had
as a tenant command, something a little less known, the North American HQ
for NERV, commonly called Branch-2.
Its existence was known only to a few people on base. Outside of
Edwards, the only thing known about the monolithic black buildings in the
middle of the desert was that it was a "DOD Laser Weapons Test Site". A
generation ago, the citizens of a major metropolis would have railed against
having such a major weapons test platform so close to them. The death of
most of humanity had changed such an outlook drastically. Now, they were
glad that such an important facility was close to them. It represented
safety; it represented protection.
Not today, however.
Out in what was left of the New Watts district, a giant plastic-looking
object was setting the financial district of the city ablaze, turning it
into so much ash and cinder. The object in question was a chromed torus
with a star-like light in its center hole. Occasionally, that star would
fire a bluish-white beam that would incinerate any ferrocrete building that
happened to be in its path. At the moment, the Navy and Air Force had their
F-22 and F-23 fighters airborne, launching everything they had at it.
Artillery and tanks from Fort Schwartzkopf up near Las Vegas would still
take a few hours to get here, and what forces the Army had on-site were
currently ineffective. Just about every type of weapons system short of
N2-class weapons were being launched at it, but to no avail as the Second
City of Angels was being destroyed by its extraterrestrial namesake.
Deep below the surface of the ocean sat the main operations of Branch-2,
commonly called the Frontier. In the cavernous facility underneath the
shore, bedlam was breaking out.
The base commander, Naval Captain Pamela Ayers turned to her
second-in-command, Lt. Col. Pat Sumner, and shouted, "Where the hell are the
EVAs? Why the hell haven't they been launched yet?"
Sumner looked at his boss. "Captain, the pilots are climbing into the
spine tubes. At the moment, all civic power is being shunted to the launch
catapults."
"What's the status of the EVA Units?"
"Unit 03 is being powered up at the moment. Unit 04, as usual, is
combat ready. Unit 05 just went on-line, and is going through the
preliminary operations procedures."
"OPS!" Ayers shouted, this time at a slightly younger woman with long
calico-red hair and green eyes, windowed behind a pair of glasses.
"Lieutenant Chapel, is your team ready for this? Really ready? They've
never been in combat before, and, let's be honest, Lieutenant--they're just
kids."
Kendra Chapel, Lieutenant, US Navy, looked at her CO and said, "I hope
so. Raven seems a little ready for combat--of course, when is she *not*
ready? Carter is sardonic about it, but he'll manage. The only one I'm
worried about is Wendy. She's not at her peak, but she's the only one who
can pilot Unit 03."
Ayers, apparently looking to rage over something, commented, "You call
your junior officers by their first names, Lieutenant Chapel?"
"Captain, they're kids, ma'am, freshmen in high school. They have no
one. Carter's parents were killed in the tsunami that destroyed Hawaii.
Wendy's parents were also lost when LA-1 went under the Pac. And Raven,
well..."
"They're not just 'kids', Lieutenant," Ayers growled. "They're all
commissioned officers in their respective services, and it would behoove you
to treat them like that."
"Aye, Captain." Arguing with the way Captain Ayers treated the
kids--especially the CO's own daughter--would do no good. The child was
treated as though she were nothing more than a tool. It was little wonder
that Raven lashed out at everything, considering how her mother treated her.
A young man's voice came over the comm system, and a visual display
showed up, revealing the pilot within. <<Frontier, this is EVA Unit 05,
going online. Kendra, what's the situation?>>
Kendra smiled. She could always count on Carter to take control of the
situation. He was responsible and reliable, even if somewhat of a social
recluse. "We have a UFO currently tearing up the New Wilshire section of
town. Confirmed DEFCON-1. This is no simulation, guys, it's the real
thing. We have an Angel on our hands."
*<<All right!>>* a second voice shouted, as the visual display for Unit
04 came into view. <<Let me at the bastards! I'm going to tear out their
cajones, and show them who's boss!>>
Kendra grinned. "Wait until you're on the field, Raven."
<<Gotcha, Kendra. Oh, if I draw first blood, the pizza's on you
tonight.>>
<<vegetarian, please,>> a quiet, demure voice said as Unit 03's
connection came online. <<i don't care much for meat.>> And with Wendy
joining them, the trio was set.
"All right, bastard!" Kendra shouted at the image of the torus Angel on
the second monitor. "Time to get what's coming to you! EVAs away! Repeat,
EVAs away!"
<(*)>
Geofront, Tokyo-3, Five Lakes region, Japan:
From their seats in the briefing room, the four pilots of Branch-1's
EVAs watched the combat unfold on the panorama hologram system. In the
center of the room, Misato was pointing out tactical strategies that the US
forces were applying against the Angels. The Children were trying to soak
it all in. Rei watched the events unfold with the usual expressionless look
on her face. Toji's visage revealed shock at the situation that was unfoldi
ng, half a world away. But the most odd look was saved for Shinji and
Asuka. Their glances could best be described as cool, calculating, as
though they watched the moves that the Angel made and were plotting eight or
nine other ways to combat it, as though they were playing a chess game in
their heads.
The first to speak was Toji. "Misato, call me stupid, but where are the
power tethers on those EVAs?"
Misato grumbled. "Call the Americans stupid. Their EVAs run on nuclear
reactors. Seems they didn't listen the last time when someone tried that
stunt." She refused to say anything further, as it left a bad taste in her
mouth. She already knew the true results of that incident with the French
mecha's malfunction two months ago, and what that meant made her feel all
the more uneasy.
In the far corner of the display, three new images came into view,
colored black, gray, and white, respectively. Units 03, 04, and 05. Unit
04 seemed to be moving faster than either of the other two, and definitely
on a combat course with the Angel.
This was not lost upon the children. "major," Rei asked, "what is the
build on unit 04? it seems to have better agility than the other two."
Misato answered. "Well, Unit 04, like our Unit 01, is equipped with a
different propulsion system. While Unit 01 has the S2 organ that it
ingested from the 6th Angel, Unit 04 has what the Americans are calling a
'Studer' drive--an S2 Derivative system. Based on what research we gave
them regarding the 6th Angel, they were able to come up with something.
Although it's not as good as an actual S2 organ, it's still pretty fair.
We're hoping to have them installed aboard all the EVAs sometime in the
immediate future.
Toji watched as the Angel vaporized another set of buildings in its
path. Despite the speed that Unit 04 was putting on, and the fact that the
other two EVAs weren't that far behind it, something wasn't right. "Why are
they all attacking separately, Misato? Didn't the American Army teach them
group tactics?"
Asuka answered that. "This is their first operation, Toji. They're not
used to working together yet, as we are. And besides, you haven't been in
combat yet! How the hell would you know?" At her side, Shinji chuckled.
Misato interrupted them. "EVA Units engaging!"
<(*)>
Nuevo Olivera district, Los Angeles-2.
The 7th Angel, code named Maruiel, was so far unstoppable. Nothing had
been as of the moment, able to do much damage against it. On the other
hand, it was doing quite a bit of damage itself. If it wasn't running into
buildings and knocking them over, it was firing a beam of AT energy from its
central maw every so often, the bolt slashing through and immolating
anything in its path. The Angel was proving to be a force that would not,
could not, be stopped.
Someone, apparently, didn't tell that to Raven. Without thinking twice,
she raced forward, not even pausing to pull out her prog-knife. She was
going to rip it to shreds and teach it a lesson about fucking with her home.
Then, she'd drag the corpse of the thing and either get her mother to give
her some respect, or she'd shove the thing up her full-bird ass.
Over the videocom, Carter's visuals came. <<Raven, back down. We have
to give a chance for Wendy to set up a sniper location, alright?>>
"FOND, Carter," she snarled venomously, using the old acronym for Fuck
Off 'N' Die. God, he annoyed her. ((Man thinks just because he gets the
highest scores on the system that someone died and made him God.)) Turning
on the radio in her EVA--if her mother knew it was in here, she'd kill
Raven, but Kendra and Colonel Sumner allowed it--she was popping in a
MiniDVD of her favorite retro-techno group. After all, it was better than
listening to either of the idiots. As the synthesizers kicked in with the
bass, Raven dashed forward in her silver and cobalt EVA, closing the
distance between her and the Angel. She was their close-in fighter, so she
should be doing that close-in kind of stuff. Carter was their melee gunner,
and the damn mouse was best at sniping. "Okay, Angel-baby," Raven screamed,
"are you ready to rumble?"
From his point, Carter had moved behind the Anno Bancorp building and
was setting up to fire. Behind him, Wendy, in her EVA, was doing the same.
In his cockpit, he looked at her visuals with a warm, fuzzy feeling. The
Mouse, she was called around the Frontier; a fourteen-year-old girl with a
slight build, plain brown hair and eyes, glasses set on a freckled,
plain-Jane face. She was quiet and unassuming, and in truth, most people
forgot that she was there half the time. But she had a knack for
intellectual stuff, and when it came to sizing up the enemy, there was
probably no one out of the three who was better at it than she. Plus,
unlike that psycho Raven, Wendy was actually nice--and she was kinda
cute....
"Lined up for a shot," Carter commented, "Calibrating final solution."
This was going to take several rounds, and it might not even be enough,
unless they found out what the Angel's weak spot was. Of course, with Raven
racing towards it like a juggernaut on too much caffeine; and Wendy trying
to probe it and sense a weakness, hopefully there'd be an answer before it
was too late.
<<understood,>> came her reply. <<plasma rifle initiated, and ready for
fire. all we have to do now is to wait for raven to get out of the line of
fire.>>
The original plan had been for Raven to dash over to the armory tower in
the center of Nuevo Olivera, picking up a plasma rifle of her own. With
Carter to provide a distraction by running out and strafing the Angel with
fire, it was expected that Maruiel would charge up its center weapon and use
it against him. At that time, both Raven and Wendy would open fire on that
spot, hitting it and hopefully setting off a chain reaction that would
destroy the Angel.
Of course, no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy, and
especially when Raven took matters into her own hands, charging the monster
instead of sticking to the game plan. Now, Carter was stuck with the option
of running towards the armory tower and wasting valuable time, or setting up
alongside Wendy for a combined fireburst. He chose the latter.
He only hoped he made the right choice.
<(*)>
In the Frontier, Kendra watched as her forces raced into combat. Her
stomach butterflied like there was no tomorrow. This was the first combat
situation for her troops, the first chance that they would go into battle.
Scariest of all, these were kids, just barely starting high school, and now
expected to save the city from an unknown threat.
"LT Chapel," a voice at her side called out, "AMHA missiles in the New
Westwood district are launching. Total payloads are N2 warheads. AMHAs
should impact in ten seconds." A dance of seconds played out torturously as
the monitor showed the tracks of the weapons systems as they stitched a
pattern across the angel, detonating nearly simultaneously, but doing no
damage whatsoever. In fact....
"Oh my God," a sensor tech screamed from his location. "The Angel has
fully absorbed the blast! Energy bleed is nil, repeat, energy bleed is
nil!"
The senior command of the Frontier stood there, transfixed, all three
collectively not knowing what to say, when all of a sudden, the same sensor
tech called out, "Unit 04 is preparing for engagement in H2 conditions!"
Kendra was the first to snap back to reality. "Unit 04, what do you
think you're doing?"
The call came back loud and clear. <<I'm going to play rough and tumble
with this thing. What the hell does it look like I'm doing?>>
"Raven!" Kendra roared, "Get back to your station at once! You're
jeopardizing the mission, dammit!" When it was clear that getting Raven out
of the way wasn't going to succeed, Kendra looked for other options. "Damn
it, she's going to ruin the mission!" Turning to one of the ops techs, she
asked, "Who's closer, 03 or 05?"
"03 is, ma'am," the OS replied. "05 can get there faster, but 03 can
stop 04, then hide behind the Bank of North America building and resume her
firing solution. We can send 05 over to the armory tower at the corner of
Mendoza and 17th, and he can take up Raven's sniper position. As for 04,
she's going to have to be powered down, or else she'll try it again. We can
access remote AT shielding from here, so that she'll live until we can open
fire."
"Shit," Kendra swore. "Raven's got a lot of explaining to do." Moving
to a personal channel, Kendra said, "Unit 03, get a hold of 04 and get her
the hell out of there! Unit 05, remain on standby until we can get them out
of there! Revised OPLANS are being uploaded to your TACOMPs."
Meanwhile, Raven had already reached the closest point of attack, and
whipped out her prog knife. "Okay, donut-from-another-planet, let's play
slice and dice!"
*<<RAVEN!!!!!!>>* Kendra screamed over the comlines. *<<GET BACK, NOW,
DAMN IT!!!!! THAT IS AN ORDER, ENSIGN AYERS!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!?!>>*
Raven ignored the comments and turned up her MiniDVD, tuning in to an
oldies song from the last century that she really thought was cool. As she
leapt towards the Angel, she sang along with the music, canting, "Here in my
car, I feel safest of all...."
"Lieutenant Chapman," someone shouted, "The Angel is charging up another
blast of energy, and it's aimed right at Unit04!"
"What?!?!?" Kendra dived at a keyboard and brought up a HUD that showed
exactly what was about to occur. If the Angel fired its AT beam, would
Raven be able to get her AT field up in time to counter? Also, that beam
seemed stronger than the normal AT field, so would the EVA's field have any
countering effect at all?
They couldn't afford to lose Unit 04 due to Raven's stupidity. At the
top of her voice, Kendra shouted, "Unit 03, you have authorization to stop
Unit 04 by any non-lethal means! Unit 05, open fire on the Angel and draw
it away from them! Hurry, Carter!"
Wendy dropped her rifle and ran towards Raven as fast as she could push
the EVA. The mission had been blown, no thanks to Raven, and now they'd
have to find a new way of dealing with the beast. Hopefully, there was some
way to do so. Wendy sighed. With the city at red alert, they weren't going
to get much rest tonight. Then as she reached Unit 04 and saw the Angel
floating above, ready to rain down death on them, she realized she'd be
lucky if she got any rest at all.
Everything happened so fast, it was impossible to believe that it had
happened at all.
Having been given the go ahead, Carter opened fire on the Angel, a
volley of depleted uranium 50mm CWIS-type shells ripping away from the
autorifle and slammed into the side of the torus, actually affecting it long
enough to jitter its aim. Maruiel's blast was loosed, a shaft of
otherworldly energies that meant to core everything in its path, Unit 04
included.
Unit04 would have been cut to tinfoil ribbons if it weren't for Unit 03
bodyslamming it and pushing the silvery EVA out of the path of the beam. As
it was, there was a price to pay: the beam sheared into the spinal area of
EVA03, slicing almost straight down the spine of the black biomech, sending
a shower of sparks, ichor, metal, LCL, and other materials into the
superheated air, most vaporizing in the wake of the destruction that had
just been caused. The azure beam continued on, boring through everything in
its path.
Deep in the Frontier, the operations staff went deathly silent, despite
the General Quarters klaxons that were sounding off all around them. It was
as though it was a diorama in a wax museum, detailing an event in history.
No one moved, no one dared to breathe as the watched the beam immolate the
dorsal side of EVA Unit03.
Across the Pacific, in Tokyo-3, the combat team of NERV-1 watched in
complete shock as the damaged Unit03 fell to the street, crushing cars and
unfortunate innocents under its blasted, heavily-damaged exterior. Though
Rei, Asuka and Shinji had had many close calls themselves, to see another
suffer the fate that they so feared completely unnnerved the trio. As for
Toji, a lump built in his throat as he realized that this could be his
possible fate, were he not careful about his actions in combat.
In the cockpit of Unit 05, there was total silence for a second as
Carter's jaw dropped in total shock, realizing what had just occurred. Once
he did, thought, he bellowed an inhuman roar that rivaled anything the EVAs
could have ever done, and stood up, laying full-out on the trigger. A storm
of bullets tore across the distance between him and the Angel, each
supersonic round hammering across the breadth of its AT field.
As the miniature booms echoed in the concrete canyons of the city's
buildings, life kicked into forward gear again in the Frontier. Captain
Ayers stood from her seat and bellowed, "I have the conn! Control Team
Bravo! Power down Unit 04 while its grounded and force up its Emergency
Defense Field! Control Team Alpha, monitor Unit 03 for any life signs.
Control Team Charlie, get through to Unit 05 and notify of second change in
OPLAN." Finally done, she turned to her OPS Officer. "Lieutenant Chapel,
report to the CSAR team. We'll handle the withdrawal from here."
"Withdrawal?" Lt. Col Sumner spoke, for the first time since the crisis
began.
"Yes. Withdrawal. Our forces are scattered. Now all we can do is to
try to get our remaining EVAs out of the fray, and attempt recovery of Unit
03." Turning back to Kendra, she said, "Once Unit 04 has been recovered, I
want Ensign Ayers placed under arrest and thrown in the brig pending
charges."
Kendra looked stunned. Admittedly, that's exactly what Raven deserved,
but.... "Your own daughter, ma'am?"
"I don't need to be reminded of my relation to Ensign Ayers," Captain
Ayers snapped. "She is a Naval officer and understands the risks of her
actions...or at least I thought she did. That will be all, Lieutenant.
Report to the recovery teams."
Somewhat disgusted at the whole turn of events, Kendra was about to leave
the Frontier's Ops room post haste, when she heard someone call out, "What
the hell..."
"Speak up, soldier!" Sumner bellowed.
"Captain! Unit 05 is...."
*"IS WHAT?"*
"Unit 05 is trying to take out the Angel by itself, Captain!"
He wasn't really sure why, but at the moment, it really didn't matter.
Shouldering a plasma rifle in each arm, Carter aimed both at the...thing
that had((...no...why her? Why her, damn it?))
*"WHY HER, DAMN YOU?!?!?!?!"* he screamed as he pulled both triggers at
the same time.
Twin shafts of crimson death blew their way out of the barrels of the
gun as they raced towards their target. Carter, with no way to brace the
rifles, felt the kick of both of them, knocking the EVA back until he
slammed into the side of the Orbital Musicorp building, caving it in. The
building groaned but stood firm, holding his weight and stabilizing him as
he held the triggers down, barely conscious due to the impact against the
structure.
Meanwhile, the two beams danced forward, piercing through and coring the
star that was at the center of Maruiel. The star flickered out, guttering
like a candle before turning into a miniature circle of its own. Finally it
burst like a balloon, sending the energy from its explosion to rain against
the chromed side of the Angel's body. When that happened, the torus began
to glow with every color of the spectrum, becoming translucent and turning
into a ball of flame before...
<(*)>
Geofront, Tokyo-3, Five Lakes region, Japan:
<<We lost the signal, Major,>> a voice commented as the hologram
disappeared from the central display. <<Shall I try to raise it again?>>
"No, that's okay, Tech Control," Misato answered. "Don't worry about
it. Thanks." She then turned to her charges. "Any questions?"
"none," Rei said in her usual monotone.
"None for me," Toji replied, his voice unsure and his face pale. What
he'd seen in the past twenty minutes gave him more understanding of the
concept of war than he'd ever wanted.
Misato turned to talk to Asuka and Shinji, but stopped short. Asuka,
regulations be damned, was snuggled against her bondmate, not out of any
sort of romanticism but more akin to a security blanket. As Shinji held
her, he looked at his guardian, his eyes baleful in their tale.
Misato nodded an unspoken agreement, then whispered, "Dismissed, guys.
We'll take this up tomorrow after school."
As the EVA pilots walked out of the 4th gate, headed for the downtown of
Tokyo-3, the quartet were eerily quiet.
"Do you think they're okay?" Toji said, a few minutes and blocks later.
"I don't know," Asuka replied, her voice a reedy whisper. She looked to
Shinji, but one glance at him was enough to know that he had no more answers
to the mystery than she did.
After a few more minutes, Rei spoke. "i think the pilot of Unit 03
didn't make it. the shot looked as though it completely destroyed the
interface plug." Everyone looked at her in amazement, but she continued to
walk on, in her own little world, wherever that was.
"She spooks me," Toji whispered.
"She spooks all of us," Shinji replied. He would have added more, but
their cel phones went off all at once.
Asuka was quickest on the draw. After answering it, there was silence
on the line. When her face grew grim, Toji and Rei took note. When Asuka
*and* Shinji's faces grew grim, that really caught the attention of the
other two. Finally, after a few minutes, Asuka shut down her phone, a
troubled look on her face.
"what is it?" Rei asked, seemingly ambivalent.
The redhead briefly looked at her bondmate, as though asking him
something silently; he nodded in reply. After taking a second to clear his
throat, he spoke, his voice uncertain. "That was Misato. She said for us
to go out and enjoy tonight, because tomorrow we're on call again."
"What's going on?"
"She didn't say," Asuka answered. "It's just...Misato sounded...very
worried, as though she was afraid that what's about to happen will be a
no-win situation." Turning to Shinji, she said, "Let's go home. Please."
He nodded, and putting his arm around her waist, they turned to leave. But
before they did, Asuka turned and asked her friends, "Um, what are you two
going to do tonight?"
"I dunno," Toji answered. "My sister's in infection quarantine for the
next couple of days, so she can't see any visitors."
"i have no plans," Rei responded.
The pair looked to each other for a second, then Shinji spoke. "Tell
you guys what: why don't you come over for dinner tonight? I'd be nice to
have some company for a change. Besides, we're a team, right? We should
get to know each other a little better."
"it seems you know shoryu well enough, ikari," Rei replied, unaware that
her innocent statement could have--and was--taken in another meaning.
To add insult to injury, Toji wisecracked, "So, Shinji, let me get this
straight: you and the wife are playing the hosts tonight, ne?"
The look on the faces of the two was hot enough to fry okinomiyaki on.
Their eyes squinted with a leashed anger that gave Toji pause and even made
Rei wonder what was wrong. After a second though, Asuka relented, calming
down and giving a reply of, "Well, in a sense. So, our place in an hour?"
"Sounds fine to me."
Rei was silent for a second before issuing a simple, "i will be there."
As Shinji and Asuka walked the rest of the way home, arm in arm, Toji
watched his friend and fellow combatant walk off. Sighing, he mused, "At
first, I never woulda thought it."
"excuse me?" Toji reacted at the ghostly sound of Rei's voice; in all
that had occurred, he'd forgotten that she was there.
"Well, I never woulda thought that Shinji would ever get a girl--I
always thought he was a wuss. And I never woulda thought that he would end
up with Asuka, from when I first met her. Now...." He continued to walk
with Rei, both silent for a few heartbeats before he admitted, "Well, no
matter what, Shinji's my pal. And if he's happy with Asuka despite...well,
whatever's happened to them, well that's fine by me. But I gotta admit that
I'm really wondering if they'll get one of those Happily Ever After sorta
lives."
"why say that?"
"Because after what I saw on the holodisplay today, I'm wondering if any
of us will live long enough to think about a future."
<(*)>
Naval Station Joshua Tree, Los Angeles-2, Nevada, United States:
A burly Marine Corporal, hand on his pistol as he knocked on the door
said, "Ensign, ma'am, please come with me." Behind him, as was the
procedure, another brig guard stood by, armed with a pump shotgun.
Admittedly, the need for weapons in the brig at the Naval Station wasn't
standard procedure. Then again, this was no ordinary prisoner.
Ensign Raven Ayers, US Navy, looked up from where she was lying down on
the cot in her cell in the brig. She was in the standard khaki uniform of a
naval officer, sans any pins of rank, ID tag, or decorations. Frankly, if
they'd have let her, she would have rather been in the normal clothing of
someone her age. But she was, she thought ruefully, a US military officer,
and not just a simple girl.
Damn the world. Damn everyone and everything in it. Damn herself,
especially. Her own stupidity had gotten Wendy killed. Not that she really
liked the other girl, but.... She certainly didn't intend to.... Raven was
at a total loss for words. A good portion of LA-2 was in ruins, saved only
by Carter's last-minute Super Soldier tactics. There wasn't even enough of
Wendy left to hold a burial, much to the chagrin of the Air Force, and for
her role in the debacle, well, she was here, right?
But the twin pains in her heart were that of Wendy's sacrifice, and her
mother's dejection. Raven hadn't expected The Mouse to do anything like she
did. All the time, all she ever did was poke fun at her and the way she
was, a shy, unassuming girl. Now, Raven realized that girl had a heart of
gold, and now that heart was nothing but disassembled molecules somewhere in
the atmosphere.
And as for her mother.... A lone tear, a symbol of pain, sorrow, and
rage slid down her cheek. She knew that she was adopted, not her mother's
natural child, but she was hoping that meant that at some degree, her mother
loved her. Couldn't she see that was all she wanted, damn it? She didn't
care about being some EVA jock, she didn't care about wearing the blue suit,
she just wanted some acknowledgement that she meant something to her mother!
Raven collapsed, depressed and spent on the cot, ignoring the guards.
Let them shoot her, she decided. It would probably save the Nav the cost of
a General Court-martial, she mused bitterly.
*"ATTENTION ON DECK!"* the Corporal bellowed, coming to attention right
along with his fellow guard. Even Raven, with her ingrained training hopped
off the rack and snapped to. As she stood there, waiting for whoever,
Raven's mind hummed. Any officer above a certain rank required such
protocol; there were certainly enough COs and flag officers that rated it.
But in truth, only two officers who deserved that sort of laurel would come
visit her. One, unlikely, was a high-ranking JAG officer; the other was...
As a female voice called out in commanding tones, "Carry on," Raven knew
who it was in a second. As the base's Commanding Officer came into view of
the cell, she told the guards, "Wait outside. I have some business with the
prisoner." With smart crisp salutes, the two guards stepped out of the
containment area.
Raven dropped into parade rest, protocol guiding her actions. Mother or
not, Captain Ayers had never shown any slack on her daughter in military
issues, and it wasn't likely to happen now. So she was a bit surprised when
she heard the Captain say, "Drop the military bit, Raven. I'm not here as
the CO."
Pamela Ayers sighed and grabbed a visitor's chair on her side of the
bars, sitting down in it as though gravity was having fun pummeling her
down. "I just got back from a meeting with Admiral Coxswain. Frankly,
she'd like to see you in Leavenworth, turning big rocks into little ones.
What you did today was stupid, selfish, and unthinking. You nearly got 4
million people killed today. You *did* succeed in getting your teammate
killed, and 450 million dollars in damage done to EVA Unit 03. If it wasn't
for Unit 05, we'd all be very much dead.
"I did what I had to do. Your EVA was shut down. You've been removed
from the flight roster. You've been placed under arrest, pending NCIS
investigation of your actions. Your career, and a good portion of your life
are in jeopardy of being spent in that hole in the middle of Kansas, Raven."
At this point, Raven was about to launch out with some--any--response.
Her mother had relaxed protocol, so she could damn well say whatever she
wanted to...and there was plenty on that list to say.
So she was totally stunned when her mother said, "I'm sorry, Raven.
This is all my fault." Before Raven could say, "Huh?", Ayers continued.
"Raven, dearest, I have to admit that I've failed you as a parent. I've
been pushing you a little too hard, and I've made a jackass out of both of
you and me in the process. I know all this time, your gung-ho attitude has
been mainly to impress me, and I'm proud of your initiative, but I can't
show that in front of the others. But I never pulled you aside at home and
told you that, either.
"So this all resulted in what happened." Ayers then muttered something
that Raven never expected to hear. "I've been treating you just like your
father did."
"My what?" Raven stammered, incredulously. "What did you just say,
Mom?"
"Your father." She gave her adopted daughter a wan smile. "Does that
surprise you to know that I knew your real father? Raven, don't ask me
about him. I don't respect the man. He gave you away when you were a
little girl, Raven. He didn't care about you at all. I made it my business
to take care of you and raise you as my own. I may not say it much,
sweetheart, but I love you and am proud of you.
"Which is why I'm here to tell you this: you're being released into my
custody, Raven."
The girl blinked. "Why?"
"Well, despite the fact that you have most of the Pentagon pissed at
you, there's three main reasons why. One is the fact that we're at war, and
we can't afford to squander our resources. You may be a troublemaker as far
as the Navy is concerned, but you're one of only a handful of people who can
pilot an EVA. No one's forgotten that.
"Number two is that our active EVAs need to be deployed immediately for
an operation. We're picking up DEFCON-1 activity near New Vancouver, and
you know what that means. One EVA alone isn't going to cut it. You're all
we have, and we don't have anyone else in the quadrant identified as
capable, much less trained. Your team is deploying immediately.
"And number three?"
Pamela Ayers gave a bright smile. "Because despite what they think of
you now, they also know me. And they know that I treat you no differently
than I would any of my other officers. And bearing that in mind, if I'm
willing to go to bat for you against the JCS, that means something to them.
I gave you a break today because you're a good officer, but more so because
I owed you one as my daughter. Don't blow it, Raven."
The young girl blinked back tears as she said, "I won't, Mom. I
promise."
"Good." Getting out of her chair, Ayers' demeanor changed, and ended
the familial chat. Turning to the far door, Captain Ayers shouted out,
"Corporal, I believe you have the keys to this cell?"
<(*)>
Geofront, Tokyo-3, Five Lakes region, Japan:
Misato shifted in her seat, much to the amusement of Ritsuko. God, she
hated conferences, especially these teleconference ones. As the Acting Base
Commander in Commander Ikari's absence, she was required to deal with it;
Ritsuko only here for advice purposes. So far, she really hadn't been of
any help. Some advisor, Misato thought acidly. At least some good had come
out of it; she was able to send Shinji and the rest home early. With a
tense lull at the moment, and NERV's senior officers at a conference in
Europe, things weren't exactly easygoing for her as Acting Base Commander.
Onscreen was her Branch-2 counterpart, looking rather disheveled.
Misato knew that feeling intimately; she'd dealt with it more than enough
times in her life. <<And so, Major, with our drydocks hit hard by the
attack, we've got no repair facilities for Unit 03. We were hoping that we
could send it to your Branch for repair.>> Although Misato and Ritsuko
spoke fair English, they were reading the computer-enhanced subtitles at the
bottom, as their brains were a little too exhausted to deal with anything
else at the moment.
"Lieutenant Chapel," Ritsuko asked, "If we do take on the repairs for
Unit 03, do you have anyone ready to handle the EVA?"
<<Frankly, Dr. Akagi, no we don't. Our manpower assets in the US have
already been tapped out, and neither Canada nor the Mexican archipelago has
been able to give us any sign that they've identified a candidate. Branch-3
in Europe is just getting their program off the ground, so we can't expect
any assist from them.>>
Double-checking the term the American was using for a Child, Misato
said, "Well, we've identified a new...Candidate...on our end. If it is okay
with your superiors, we'd like to use her. It would give her practical
training in an EVA until we can begin construction on a new one, and will
supply you with a pilot in the interim."
<<I'll have to check with my higher ups, but I don't forsee a problem,>>
Lieutenant Chapel answered.
There was a sudden burst of activity in the background, followed by
someone trying to flag her attention. After a second, Chapel said, <<If
you'll excuse me for a second....>>
As the screen went into a blank "hold" mode, Misato turned to her
advisor. "So what was that about? You don't think they just got another
Angel to deal with, do you?"
"It's possible," Ritsuko conceded. "We don't have--or want, I'd
think--a monopoly on them, you know."
A warning flicker appeared on the screen, and Chapel was back. <<Major,
I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. We have a serious problem on
our hands, and I have to attend to it immediately.>>
"Something the matter?" Misato asked, sitting up in her seat. Things
just got uncomfortably more interesting.
<<We're detecting DEFCON-1 up near New Vancouver. We're deploying both
of our EVAs to investigate.>> At those words, Misato and Ritsuko went
slack-jawed in shock. New Vancouver was the world's main N2 explosives
manufacturing facility. If Blue Patterns (what the Americans were calling
DEFCON-1) had been detected up there, the situation was in horrid shape.
Worse yet, if they were using both EVAs, that meant that they were pulling
the second pilot out of confinement, which meant that the situation was
worse than the Americans were saying.
"Lieutenant Chapel!" Misato called out. "Do you require assistance?
We can have a strike team in the air by tomorrow morning."
The American paused in thought for a second before saying, <<Yes. Your
people are more combat experienced than mine are. I could use the help.
NERV-2, over and out.>> With no further ado, the line was cut.
Misato wasted no time. Vaulting from her chair, she turned to Ritsuko.
"Okay, you're in charge while I'm gone. We need to get everything set up
for an 0800 launch from New Yokota." Reaching for the phone on the desk,
she groaned, "And I'd promised the kids some downtime, too...."
As Misato began dialing, Ritsuko pointed out, "If that factory goes, the
rest of the world's N2 factories won't be able to handle the strain. We
can't afford to give them time off."
Misato mumbled mournfully, "I just know I'm going to regret this,
Ritsuko. I really will." Waiting for the phone to connect, she finaly
said, "Moshi moshi, Shinji. It's Misato. Listen, I'm sorry to flag you
down so soon at home, but--oh, wait? Is that everyone else there, I hear?
Damn.... Look, you're being recalled now. We've got a crisis brewing and
I.... I know, I know what I said, but I didn't expect this to come up,
and.... Look, I'm sorry, okay? Just have all of you report in. Thanks.
Bai bai." Wistful, she hung up the phone.
"What's wrong?" Ritsuko asked.
"Apparently I just interrupted a time when they were team building.
Damn. You know what they say about all work and no play...." She shook her
head sadly, and the argument was done with. "Now, I'll need you to ready
Repair Bay 8 for Unit 03. While I'm gone, begin training our newest Child,
and make sure she'll be ready for combat as soon as possible..."
Next:
Part Four:
Communion
Author's Notes: Okay, you've twisted my arm on it, and I think whoever did
the email writing campaign overdid it, but you guys win. I'm restarting the
series again, as you can tell, and I hope to be able to continue with it for
quite a while. Thanks once again for your comments. It makes it all the
worthwhile, and even tells me when I should keep a series going! ^_^
Additionally, a few people have said that I use a lot of specialized
terminology in this series. Well, I do, and I don't plan to change that.
However, at this time, I would like to see if there is any interest in me
creating a glossary. If you would like to see that, pleae let me know.
Ja ne,
Rob
"Tell me who admires you and loves you, and I will tell you who you are."
-Charles Augustin Sainte-Beauve
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