Yay! It's back:

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

And she was even sober the whole time.

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

But they were screwed up before she ever met them, so no one blames her
for that. ^_^

and eventually my aunt as well.

Some of the few things that I remember about my parents

I think 'One of the few things' works better there.

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.

% heh. Nice nickname.

   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.

% Like Ulysses S. Grant?

  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.

% Ah, supposedly cleaned up her act, then.

   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;

Heh. He managed to get ahead in life.

<(*)>

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.))

Heh. Nice touch.

   "Stop hogging the sheets, and maybe I won't have to move closer."

Ah. The problems of being in telepathic contact with your 'spouse' at all
times.

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...

Nice scene that shows their hesitation at what the future holds and the
caution they know they still have to display.

   "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?"

Heh. I picked up on that too.

   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....

heh. And we quikly learn the group's social dynamics.

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.

Well, looks like they're going to have to redraw the maps again ^_^

clear that getting Raven
out

of the way wasn't going to succeed, Kendra looked for other options.

% Shoot Raven? ^_^

   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,

Hmm. Shouldn't that be '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.

That sentence feels, I don't know, unecessary. it might be just a style
thing, but I think I'd drop it.


 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.

Might be resting in peace, actually

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."

The least she deserves.

   Kendra looked stunned.  Admittedly, that's exactly what Raven

deserved,

but....  "Your own daughter, ma'am?"

Captain Ayers: Do you think I should have her shot immidiately instead?

it.  Thanks."  She then turned to her charges.  "Any questions?"
   "none,"

None

Rei said in her usual monotone.

   "None for me," Toji replied, his voice unsure and his face pale.

I think you can drop the second 'his'

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

I

hink the pilot of Unit 03

didn't make it.  the

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?"

I take it back. You're deliberately not capitalizing any words in her
sentences. Any particular reason?

   "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

It would or 'It'd' if you want to go that way.

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.

Probably the primary reason to keep things on hold.


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?"

Given Carter's feelings for Raven right now, it's going to be a miracle if
they can actually act as a team.


Hmm interesting bit. Can't wait to see the next part already.

D.B. Sommer