And If That Don't Work?
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fic thingy.
By Josh Temple
Naturally, I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. So here's the disclaimer:
Neon Genesis Evangelion and its characters and settings belong Gainax and Hideaki Anno
Other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
Other website
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter Four: Resource Management
Leaning against the railing,
Asuka watched the gleaming VSTOL transport approach. Pausing to note the turrets
added to the side doors she watched as the craft angled and touched down on the
flight deck. As its turbofans spun down the sound assaulting her ears shifted
to that of heavy rotors and turboshafts.
She looked up and watched a
pair of large insectile helicopters move from a their flanking positions and
one at a time approach the carrier. By the time her attention returned to the
transport it had disgorged a contingent of soldiers. Wearing black berets with
the tricolor of the
Asuka caught a glimpse of a
young woman and a much younger girl as they stepped out onto the flight deck.
"There you are,"
Kaji stated, causing Asuka to spin around in surprise.
"Don't sneak up on
me!"
"You should be down by
the flight deck." Kaji mildly said, brushing aside her irritated gaze.
"Don't you want to meet the Ayanamis?"
Stealing a backwards glance,
Asuka gave dismissive shrug. "I suppose, I should give them a good first
impression."
Kaji peered down and looked at
the pale sisters. "Yes, you only get one chance to make a first
impression." He stood up and made for the door. "Right. Let's
go."
"What do you think?"
Asuka asked as they entered the carrier's island and walked down a flight of
stairs to get to the flight deck.
"We seem to be holding
our own. Nerv took out the last two Angels. Hopefully we won't need anymore
nukes."
For a fraction of a second
worry crossed Asuka's face. "No problem. If a test pilot and her runt
sister can fight off the Angels, just imagine what can happen with a proper
pilot and Eva."
Kaji held his tongue.
"Well?" Asuka
sharply asked.
Kaji opened the armored door
and stepped out to the flight deck. "Asuka, the test pilots are the ones
with the most experience. They're the ones that figured out how to make it work
in the first place." He hesitated. They were also no longer
"mere" test pilots; they were combat veterans, unlike Asuka.
Two squads of Azazel troopers
cut Asuka's retort short. The redhead looked past them to the Ayanamis. The
older one was dressed in a Nerv tactical uniform, including the red coat and
beret, that while primly cut showed off her lithe body.
Asuka's attention focused on
the younger. The girl walked with a measured, deliberate pace and for a moment
Asuka thought she was wearing some kind of flounced, ruffled dress.
Instead, the younger Ayanami
wore some sort of girl's sailor suit, complete with the pleated skirt, wide
almost cape-like collar and big bows over her chest and the back of her waist. A
lacy purple hair band contained much of her long blue hair while a set of
purple tinted glasses kept the remainder from getting into the girl's eyes.
"I'm sorry you couldn't
bring your friends." The older sister's tone was far too energetic for how
softspoken her voice was.
Asuka frowned at the Russians,
up close their harsh, suspicious demeanor formed an almost tangible field. The
strongest came from a glaring giant of a man who hovered behind the younger
sister.
That girl's tenor was
appropriately reserved for her voice. "I didn't ask. It wouldn't be
professional." She looked around the ship in a measured sweep taking care
to look at people and then at the other vessels. "Shirane would have loved
this, though."
"She would," Misako
chuckled and sighed; she had been dreading this moment. The Azazel troops moved
to include the two other Nerv personnel on their cordon. Misako then inclined
her head at the scraggly man. "Special Inspector Kaji Ryoji."
Shinju mirrored the gesture,
causing her hair to spill over the bows on either side of her hair band.
"Pilot Soryu."
Kaji glanced over to find
Asuka staring into the slight girl's scarlet eyes. "Yes. Captain Ayanami,
Misako. Asuka." He cleared his throat.
"Right. Uh... Pilot."
The redhead blinked and pulled away from Shinju's eyes, and ended up looking
straight at Misako's.
"Where's Captain
Groves?"
"He's up in the flag bridge,"
Kaji pointed to one of the levels in the island.
"Right," Misako
stepped past him and started talking with a naval officer a few steps behind
Kaji. The forty foot hike up four decks was conducted silently.
Turning around Kaji chuckled,
the almost rudely brisk demeanor was very reminiscent. Though the dossier he
had read did indicate the Captain and the Project E Director were close. With
Asuka at his heel, he followed the Ayanamis as they made their way up the
Kaji was wrong. Captain Robert
Groves was not in the flag bridge, that sparse room was completely emtpy.
Entering the full bright
control room, Misako looked to the left and saluted. "Captain."
Bearing a bushy moustache and
burly arms, Captain Groves repeated the greeting. His expression hardened as he
turned to look behind her. "Kaji, I didn't invite you up here.
Kaji gave a disarming smirk.
"Sorry about that."
"We appreciate your
assistance with the transport of Eva Unit 02." Misako paused, letting her
statement hang.
"Here's the specification
of the emergency power socket," Misako pulled a folder out of her valise.
"I haven't heard any
request to mobilize 'that' doll at sea."
Misako sucked air through her
teeth. So that was the game Third Branch was playing. "Just think of it as
a backup in case of emergency."
Misako blinked. Most of the
planes on the deck bore UN markings, though a few... a few were more...
specific.
"This is a massive escort
for guarding a mere toy. The entire
Pacific Fleet is mobilized."
Misako nodded in
understanding. A certain organization had turned them into messenger boys, then
another had turned them back into sailors. "Considering Eva's importance
it seems too... small." Misako wanted to say "slow"; though what
she really wanted was to bust some heads at Third Branch, or at least have a
beer while she ordered Sakharov to do it for her. "Well, please sign these
forms."
"Then, when will you
transfer command?" Misako calmly asked, sympathizing with how Third Branch
had hamstrung
Oppenheimer cut in. "After
unloading the cargo at Shin-Yokosuka."
"I understand. In an
emergency, however, please don't forget that Nerv has-" Misako caught
herself. In truth, Nerv did not have authority. JSSDF had overall authority,
and that was only on Japanese soil. Out here... Azazel was the more likely
authority, being, nominally, a naval organization.
Recovering from her stumble
Misako kept her tone level. "Nerv has considerable experience. Captain Sakharov
can lend some of Azazel's experience as well, if the situation arises."
"We appreciate that Nerv
sent out some officers to discuss things and help with emergency
management,"
Misako coughed. "Third
Branch deserves the credit. They were quite insistent on taking
responsibility."
"Yes, they were."
"Sir," Misako
saluted.
Oppenheimer chuckled. "Times
change."
"I heard that Congress
has put its hopes in that robot."
"In that toy? Idiots!"
Oppenheimer shrugged. "Do
you expect congress to spend it's money wisely? We should count ourselves lucky
we have what we have."
***************
In the mess hall. Misako,
Shinju, and Sakharov sat on one side of the table while Kaji and Asuka sat on
the other. The remaining Azazel troops sat around them in a relaxed but alert
state.
Asuka looked across the table.
Then she looked to Kaji. As she waited the pressure came to a head. "What
was that all about?"
Kaji waited to see if anyone
else would answer; he then suppressed a sigh. "
"Then why didn't they say
it?"
Kaji shook his head.
"They're soldiers. One doesn't question orders."
Looking at the two implacable
crimson eyed girls, Asuka snorted. Derision was better than worrying about what
they were thinking. "And what's Third Branch doing that's so wrong?"
"The Nakajima-Douglas YC-59
Mobile Operation: Evangelion System is capable of carrying a battle-loaded Unit
nearly four thousand kilometers," Shinju stated.
"
"The 59 also has
in-flight refueling capability," Misako flatly added.
"So... why didn't they
fly my Unit, then? Wouldn't it be faster?" Asuka blinked.
"Yes, but Third branch
felt that this would be a more reliable way. Those transports haven't carried
any Eva's very far." Kaji suddenly turned to Misako. "So, are you
seeing anyone?"
Tilting her head a couple
millimeters, Misako stared. Some things never changed. Deciding no response was
worth the hassle she kept silent and waited him out.
"Oh, you're so
cold," Kaji teased. After he laughed he looked to see those red eyes still
quietly, distantly measuring him.
Kaji let his attention drift. "So
you came up with the battle plan against Ramiel?" he asked Shinju.
"How do you know
that?"
Kaji brushed the question
aside. "It's no surprise, you're famous in our society. The Fourth Child,
who's tied for the Angel kill record. You fought one Angel alone and then
launched from eight kilometers in the sky to defeat another. A little girl
selflessly fighting to save humanity. Of course people are going to look up to
your courage."
Underneath the table, Asuka's
fists clenched.
"Not really. It was
training." Shinju made a note to inform Section Two of a possible
intelligence breach.
The younger girl's bland,
modest demeanor ate at Asuka and the Second Child openly glowered.
"Training?" Kaji
raised an eyebrow. "That's a skill. It's part of your destiny. It's your
talent." He got up. "See you later, then."
Asuka lingered but quickly
decided that needling a distracted Kaji was preferable to the company of
Russians and creepy sisters
After the redhead left
Sakharov stood up. To the casual eye the sisters' expressions seemed neutral
and idle, but he had been around the Ayanamis long enough to pick up on their
minute facial tells. The slight wrinkling of the brows, the bare narrowing of
the eyes, the straightened shoulders and back....
"Who wants some
tea?" he asked, hoping to improve their spirits, or at least lessen their
stress. "Anyone hungry? I'm sure they can at least make a sandwich or
two."
***************
Kaji leaned against a bulkhead
and looked out at the ocean. "What do you think of Ayanami Shinju?"
Holding herself up on the
railing, Asuka swung her legs back and forth. "She's dull. I'm
disappointed that a girl like her has been chosen as the Fourth Child."
Asuka held back her unease, Kaji seemed perfectly fine with the sisters. He
even hit on one of them; Asuka's grip tightened.
"The first time using
Unit 01, her syncro-rate exceeded sixty percent." Kaji smirked.
Asuka froze. "No way! No
one's that good!"
Kaji disarmingly, and
defensively put his palms up. "The kid's a natural. It's in the
blood."
"She's only a Pilot
because her sister's one," Asuka spat.
"Well... yes. Siblings of
Pilots would have much higher than average odds of being a Pilot themselves –
it's genetic," he explained, then hastily added. "It's just... Shinju was too young."
"Until the Third Child
died."
"Yup, in battle," Kaji
stared into the distance. The story was... odd. Those two Ayanamis were definitely
sisters. It would be hard to fake that kind of effortless familiarity, not to
mention the obvious physical and mental similarities. However it all seemed
too... neat. It all made Nerv HQ seem, suddenly, too on the ball.
"Evangelion didn't even
sortie," Asuka snorted replacing the word battle; in her view an N2 mine
followed by a nuclear cruise missile did not count.
Kaji idly wondered how the
elder Ayanami would handle Asuka; Azazel training figured prominently in his
suppositions.
"And what kind of a girl
wears bows and a hair band like that?"
"She does." Kaji
shrugged. "It works for her."
Asuka glared before pushing
herself off the railing. She marched back into the ship and returned to the
mess, where she found the Ayanamis and Russians sitting around the same table.
The redhead put her hands on
her hips. "Fourth Child! Come with me!"
Shinju's eyes narrowed
fractionally, and Igor moved to face the interloper; like an avalanche, scale
made his motions look slower than they actually were.
"What's this about?"
Misako crisply asked.
"I want to show her my
Evangelion."
"Oneesan?" Shinju
asked.
Misako frowned. The years had
not tempered Asuka, on the contrary. "If she wants to show off, let her. I
wanted you to be familiarized with Unit 02 anyway."
Looking at Asuka's triumphant
smirk, Shinju gave a small nod.
"Igor. Take a squad and
one of the Mi-24's"
"They're coming?" Asuka
felt she kept her tone controlled.
"That's the purpose of
Lieutenant Khariton and his men." Misako smiled slightly. Sakharov had
already briefed her on the composition of Asuka's protective platoon.
Looking between Misako's
miniscule expression of mirth and a Igor's gigantic grin, Asuka started to
regret her actions. However, some of the Russians had already stood up and
began to escort Shinju out of the room.
***************
Asuka almost flounced down the
walkway on the Othello. The helicopter ride had been hair-raising. She wondered
why Nerv would let its Pilots risk their lives in such dated and dangerous
machines. However her spirits soared as she drew nearer. With a flourish she lifted
up the corner of the immense tarp that covered the cargo hold of the ship.
To her satisfaction even the
Russian soldiers gasped. Turning around she wanted to capture the Fourth's awe.
Instead....
"Unit 02 is red."
Shinju flatly observed.
"That's not the only
difference!"
"Proper color at
least," Igor noted sagely. The titanic war machine was laying in a pool of
lilac-colored coolant liquid. The left side of its head was submerged
Asuka sniffed and stepped down
to the floating dock that lead to the Unit's head and plug. "After all,
Units 00 and 01 are prototypes. They're just test models. That's why it
synchronized with someone who hasn't had any training. However, Unit 02 is
different. This is a true Evangelion, the first on Earth to be built for actual
combat. The final model."
She turned to see that Shinju
had followed her while most of the Russians had remained atop up on the deck.
Only the giant of an officer had come down with the petite Pilot.
Shinju gave a slight nod.
"Correct. Unit 02 has better internal batteries, especially in recharge
speed. The shoulder pylons were upgraded structurally and given supplemental
defensive measures. The progressive knife is a new model with a backup blade
mechanism. The targeting computer had a new software version . The armor on the
arms and chest is of a stronger alloy, and the hips joints are more
flexible."
Asuka blinked.
"Oneechan and I were
briefed on Unit 02's capabilities."
"Well yes, it's much
better than the others."
Shinju blinked.
Sighing Asuka climbed off of
Unit 02's head. At least she had not gone with her original plan and climbed to
the summit of its back for her declaration. Stepping onto the floating dock,
she nearly fell because of a sudden and
deep explosion.
"What's happening?"
Shinju demanded of Igor.
The Russian barked a few
orders to his men before speaking into his radio.
"A cruiser just got hit! Broke
up amidships. Something huge!" Sergeant Ginzburg shouted from up on the
the deck.
Shinju frowned. "That's
an Angel."
"Is that a real one?"
Asuka started walking down the dock. She jumped up the steps and looked out
into the water and saw another ship get hit. "Chance," she whispered,
a feral smirk growing on her face.
She turned around and bumped
into a glowering Slavic giant. "Hey, where're we going?"
***************
"What do we have?"
Misako asked as she stepped into the command center. Through the window she
could see a few of planes taking off from the deck and many of the ships firing
as they separated. The missiles and torpedoes hit harmlessly, but Misako
surmised, damage was not their purpose.
"Pattern Blue, it's an
Angel." Commander Oppenheimer looked up from a display. "Fleet is
nearing separation point."
Captain Groves nodded and
looked up to Misako. "National Command Authority has ordered us to use
non-UN resources and weapons."
"Sakharov contact
HQ." Misako's attention returned to
"So far we've contacted
the USS's
"What of Unit 02? Are you
planning to launch before support arrives?" Misako asked
Before the Capitan could
respond, Igor radioed in. "Capitan Ayanami, Pilot Soryu request
launch."
Oppenheimer's eyes widened. "Is
she serious? Unit 02's still configured with B-equipment."
Misako's eyes hardened and she
briefly promised to take Third Branch to task for this... treasonous incompetence.
The timing... the timing merely heightened her paranoia. "Denied. Igor
take the Pilots. Get them as far away as possible. Use whatever means
available," she stated into her radio.
"Very well, we can have
Unit 00 on it way with a functional load out but..." Misako shook her
head.
Misako nodded.
Sakharov leaned in and
whispered into Misako's ear. "Capitan, 00 and 01 are being equipped and
loaded. Director Ritsuko also asked about the Special Inspector?"
Her stomach tightening into a
cold knot Misako turned her head. "Send out your men, contact ship
security. Find him. If he tries to leave, kill him. This isn't adding up."
Grinning coldly, Sakharov
nodded.
***************
"B-Type? Chyort voz'mi!"
Igor swore; he had herded the Pilots back into the cargo area and had a his
squad take a defensive position, though the way that monster cut through
ships....
"Oh," Shinju almost
growled as she pulled out her handgun and worked the action. She knew it was
useless against an AT field, but there was no reason the enemy had to be
limited to just giant Angels.
Asuka blinked at the weapon.
"So?"
Shinju gave the redhead a flat
gaze. The paralysis due to being submerged was a primary deficiency of B-Type
equipment. That was why Shinju requested a different load out for the Jet Alone
wargame. "If you fall into the sea, it's over."
"If I don't we'll be
okay," Asuka countered.
By now Igor had received his
orders. "No go. No launch." He changed the channel on his radio.
"Sergey start the engines. We leave! Now!"
"What?" Asuka
screamed. "Who's going to fight the Angel?"
"Not you," Igor
stated.
"No, I won't go! I've got
to stop it!" Asuka started walking down the dock.
"What are you going to
do? Jump from ship to ship?" Shinju held kept her gun pointed to the
floor.
"Bakapor. No time!"
Igor ran up and cut the girl off. "Orders. We leave."
Anger welled in Asuka's face
and she opened her mouth.
Before she could speak, well
measured, a ham-hock of a fist launched at the redhead and hit her in the face.
Momentum alone knocked the girl into a sprawling heap, which Igor rapidly set
upon, securing her ankles and her wrists behind her back with zip-ties. One of
his sergeants then grabbed Asuka's duffle bag.
After quickly checking her
breathing, taking her pulse, and making sure that the bleeding around her nose
was not severe, he hefted the girl on his shoulder and was relieved to see that
Shinju and the rest of his men were already running aft towards the helipad.
Barely minding the load he sprinted down the ship and caught up with the other
Azazel troops. The Mi-24's powered-up turboshafts were music to his ears.
Busy with general quarters,
the ship's crew hardly noticed as the Russians pushed the girls into the
helicopter which immediately took off. As the lumbering aircraft ascended they
watched as the immense wake of the unseen enemy shoot towards the cargo ship.
They were barely two hundred
meters up when the Othello was struck. Her keel broken, the ship separated and
there was a flash of red as the tarp was pulled back, briefly exposing the Evangelion
before it sank to the bottom. Hearing the ship's death Asuka screamed and thrashed
but was held by the two troopers who flanked her.
Grimly, Igor made sure that
the Captains were informed and that Sergey's heading, towards land, was the
best one.
***************
As his call connected, Kaji
heard another batch of explosions. "That kind of attack won't penetrate
its AT-field," he grimly muttered, knowing full well what kind of attack
would.
Looking out the portal of his
cramped room, he sighed and presented the correct authorization codes to the
operator.
"Yes?" the irritable
deep voice answered.
"I never expected an
Angel attack here." There was another ineffective explosion as an Exocet missile...
nearly hit the angel. "They- this isn't like what you said," Kaji
cursed his slip and watched a couple of seconds of battle before it slipped out
of view. The Navy was not aiming to damage the Angel. They were making sure
they could hit it.
Kaji frowned at the phone's
silence.
"That's what Unit 02 is
for, and another Pilot's there as a reserve. If the worst happens, escape by yourself," the man's voice ordered.
"I understand."
The connection terminated.
Sighing again, he picked up the
reinforced suitcase and left his small overnight bag. Kaji opened the door and
stepped out into the corridor, the alarms signaling general quarters increased
in volume and assaulted his ears.
"Halt!" a voice
shouted in accented English.
Kaji turned to see a trio of
Azazel soldiers raise their weapons at him. Standing behind them were some
irate USN sailors; though their
rifles were lowered.
"What's going on?"
The lead Azazel trooper spoke
into his radio. "We got him. Leaving room. With suitcase." The last
statement came out of Sergeant Zlatoust's mouth laced with venom.
Kaji tried a disarming smile.
"I'm operating under Nerv orders."
"So are we,"
"Look, I'm under orders
to take care of this package."
"Which you will put
down."
Kaji stiffened in realization.
They were under attack, and here he was sneaking out with a strange, heavy
case. "Oh come on, it's not like it's a bomb." He then winced. That
was not a wise thing for a suspected saboteur to blurt.
"Put case down,"
Kaji lowered the suitcase to
the floor. "This is Top Secret Nerv. You can't just crack it open."
"That's for Tactical
Operations to decide."
Kaji exhaled. The chain of
command had him in the right; these brutes just had to be informed. "Just
tell the Captain to contact her superiors. That'll clear this all up," he
disarmingly said.
With a grunt,
"And then what?"
Kaji eyed the case.
Kaji shook his head. At least
they caught him early. He did not want to contemplate what they would have done
if they had found him in the hanger, or worse if they saw him taking off in a
commandeered Yak-38.
***************
The USS Inyokern was about to
end half a century of American atomic abstinence. Operating on the Northern
periphery of the fleet it received word from command. The sounds or breaking
hulls was a minor part of the sonar "picture".
A target of unprecedented size
was streaking among the fleet. Several times longer than a Nimitz the target's
immense cavitations were quite useful. The constant formation and collapse of
bubbles and wake made the beast trivial to track.
Captain Enrico Teller leaned over
his sonar operator's shoulder; the thing's heading might has well have been put
up in neon. The only question was if they could get within range before it
decided to turn and head back.
"Bastard's turning, again."
Lieutenant Ede Fermi stated. "Damn thing's wallowing like a sow."
"It's not built for
maneuvering." Teller muttered, hearing the cavitations grow as the ungangly
beast tried to turn and ended up wallowing as it shed velocity. The enemy was
optimized for speed, and had to take wide turns in order to circle back to take
another pass at the fleet.
"We're in range!"
Lieutenant Farrell, one of the weapons officers shouted.
""Fire tube
three," Teller stated, despite the dryness in his mouth.
***************
The Mi-24 landed at a JSSDF
airfield near Shin-Yokosuka. Igor removed the heavy anti-radiation blankets
that the Pilots had been wrapped in.
Shinju gave a nod of thanks
and stepped off the helicopter, while Asuka glared from her bloodied face.
Taking measure of her expression,
Igor only cut her leg bindings, and picked her up by the shoulder.
"Stop it!" Asuka
cried as she was manhandled out of the helicopter.
Once on the pavement her
thrashing stopped and she looked to see the young Ayanami staring out toward
the water. Asuka glared at the girl, then at the helicopter, then at the
helicopter's pilots. "Wait... why were they wearing eye patches?"
"Same reason we were told
to keep our eyes closed." Shinju stated, averting her gaze from the water.
"In case the flash from the fireball blinded them."
"That's crazy."
Asuka pulled at her wrist bindings. "I would have had this thing fixed by
now.
Igor looked the girl over,
there was little bruising and she did not seem to have a concussion but... "We
going," he rumbled, motioning for them to get into the tower building. It
was cast concrete and provided some measure of protection and the airbase would
have a doctor that could check her out.
"Pulling your best Pilot
away from the battle." Asuka snorted as they entered the building. "What
kind of officer is Misako?"
Shinju turned, a disarmingly
small frown on her face. "Why are you making things more difficult?"
Holding a mobile phone, his
radio was out or range, Igor stepped up to Shinju. "Director Akagi called.
Your transport is flying in."
Asuka's cheeks flushed. However
her retort was cutoff by a distant, thunderous explosion.
"May not need Eva
then," Igor muttered before going back to the tower phone. "We just
heard explosion. Status?"
"Scheisse," Asuka
swore.
"See?" Shinju asked,
just before another shockwave buffeted the building. They were too far for it
to be much more than wind and noise, but it was still impressive.
Asuka glared.
Shinju stared back. "You
would have just been in the way."
***************
With the sound of supersonic
shock waves in the background, Gendo looked over his steepled hands. "You
had both of your Pilots retreat from battle, let one get assaulted by an Azazel
soldier, lost an Evangelion, stood by as the American Navy destroyed the Angel,
and then detained Special Inspector Kaji preventing him from making a critical
delivery. Explain yourself Captain."
Misako Ayanami looked past the
Commander and out at the panoramic view of the Geo Front through the glass
behind him. "I merely gave the best orders given the situation."
Commander Ikari inclined his
head slightly and stared down at the albino clone.
Fuyutsuki found his attention
drawn to the projection screen that had been lowered from its ceiling-recess.
On it was shaky camera footage of the battle. An underwater explosion displaced
tens of thousands of tons of water in what resembled a titanic frothing bubble
and vaporized nearly as much. After it had collapsed into a boiling sea another
explosion came and reignited the maelstrom. By miracle, and dispersal of the
fleet, few ships were capsized by the blast. Many were bathed in radiation,
though their crews had time to make sure no one was on deck.
"Is that true?"
Gendo's eyes were locked onto Misako's.
The camera switched to one
from the deck of a ship. The stability indicated that it was on some kind of
remote mount. The impassive, implacable camera tracked pair of missiles as they
streaked in.
Misako held fast. "Sir,
given its condition, deploying Unit 02 would have been disastrous."
The missiles slipped into the
water and after an agonizing, anticipating moment detonated. The twinned
explosions combined and formed smaller but fiercer blast-waves. Behind the
displaced water, fireballs and flashes of stark-white flesh were visible. Gaghiel's
AT field collapsed, its core ruptured, and man killed another of Adam's
children.
"Yes, the B-Type
equipment."
Fuyutsuki could detect a
slight undercurrent of disgust in Ikari's statement. This time the professor
had to suppress a smirk.
"Sir, permission to speak
candidly?"
Gendo nodded.
"To date every enemy
Angel has attacked from the ocean. To not equip an Evangelion crossing two oceans
with aquatic capable equipment..." This time Misako's eyes went to the
screen as it looped, showing the same footage from another set of cameras.
"We are either dealing with negligent incompetence of such a scale to be
criminal or outright sabotage and treason."
Ikari concealed a small smile.
"Oh?"
"First Third Branch drags
their feet on the Reorganization, then they do everything they can to delay
shipping Unit 02 and its Pilot. Finally, when forced to transfer the Unit, they
pick the slowest, and easiest to track, transportation method possible. Then
fail to equip the Unit such that it can fight."
Briefly wondering if the
Captain had gotten some pointers from Akagi before hand, Fuyutsuki gave a
slight nod.
"The Evangelion could
still generate an AT field," Gendo Stated.
"To what use, Sir? With
B-Type, Unit 02 would be immobile the second it hit the water. That left
staying on the cargo ship or some insane ship to ship skipping. Neither option
would work against a wholly aquatic Angel." Misako slowly turned back to
Gendo. "I'm sorry to say Sir, but sunk at the bottom was the best place
for Unit 02 in this battle."
"And the assault on the
Second Child?"
"She refused a direct
order." Misako crisply stated. "And in doing so, placed herself and
others in danger - including the Fourth."
"Gaghiel did destroy the
cargo ship soon after the helicopter left. Further delay would have been
disastrous." Fuyutsuki pointed out.
"Which just leaves the
detention and interrogation of the Special Inspector," Gendo stated.
"When the ranking Nerv
officer of a convoy vanishes during an attack on the convoy, that is suspicious.
When there is strong circumstantial evidence of sabotage and the officer in
question is found sneaking out of his room with a container he refuses to open,
that is more than suspicious."
"He was operating under
orders," Gendo's gaze sharpened.
"Without proof it was
merely the word of someone who planned to flee the battle in a jet. Until I got
confirmation from you or Sub-commander Fuyutsuki, I treated him as a potential
hostile. Traitors are capable of lying, Sir."
"Is there the possibility
of your previous relationship affecting your judgment?"
"Sir, I'll admit that Katsuragi's
relationship with him did give me an insight into his character and his
capability of duplicity. I hoped he was operating legitimately but he was the
only Nerv officer there. The only other Nerv personnel were a skeleton crew of
technicians who died when the Othello sank and the Second Child."
"You have kept Kaji in a
detention cell," Fuyutsuki reminded Ikari.
Gendo pushed his glassed up
the bridge of his nose and wondered if the "Zeroeth" Child was
referring to her old self as a separate person out of a desire to
"maintain character" or out of genuine feelings. He would have to
consult Dr. Akagi on the subject. "The situation is most vexing, and I am
short on satisfactory answers. At least some of my officers have their
loyalties in the proper place."
"You suspect Third
Branch?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"The Captain is correct.
Their actions leave two unpleasant options."
"And several unpleasant
consequences, Sir." Misako added. "The Americans have pulled their
Naval forces out of the UN fleet. The Russians will soon follow."
Fuyutsuki looked to the
display. "That matches the Russian's desire to expand Azazel, and the
American's pursuit of a sister program."
"Who proved their effectiveness
during the battle."
"Yes, without them, the
UN fleet would have been reduced to a tithe instead of merely decimated..
"Allowing host nations to
recover even more of their ships." Gendo stated. "Without the
Americans and the Russians, the Europeans and the Chinese will be next,
followed by the remainder."
"And Nerv gets the
blame," Fuyutsuki frowned.
"Sirs, it is Third
Branch's fault, and the guilty parties should be charged fully," Misako's
voice was cold and clipped.
"An investigation would
help us determine whether it was sabotage or incompetence," Fuyutsuki
allowed.
"And a court martial or
two would show Nerv's commitment while focusing the blame onto Third
Branch." Gendo put his hands down, revealing his cold smile.
"Captain, I believe you have another Pilot to train. Dismissed."
***************
Asuka glared at the wall. At
least she had been given her own apartment. Given what had happened to her
Evangelion, it was the very least Nerv could do. Her anger renewed at the
injustice against her.
The apartment door cracked
open and a deep contralto assaulted her ears. "Feh, so they did manage to
find an apartment that they had yet to stink up with borscht and vodka."
Hearing German, Asuka could
immediately recognize the Low Saxon accent. She turned to face the woman and
had mixed surprise. The stout, strong blue-eyed, short blonde haired middle-aged
woman was quite Germanic, though the Russian Naval Infantry uniform showed that
she would have fit in on a Russian farm as easily as a German one.
"And you are?"
"You did not read the
report?" the woman frowned and stepped into the room.
Asuka glared.
"Lieutenant Katrina Diebner,
Azazel. My platoon has been assigned to you," Katrina stated, closing the
door behind her.
"Right." Asuka sighed.
"Well, you speak German passably enough. Are you going to punch me in the
face too?" she asked, stepping into the kitchen.
"If you refuse an order,
yes." Katrina stated. "And I am more German than you are."
"Right, because German
citizens can serve in the Russian military."
Katrina gave a brief smile.
"Says the American."
Asuka narrowed her eyes.
"Blame my father for that."
"I was a citizen of the
German Democratic Republic, until I was sixteen and that country ceased to
exist. Then my family moved back to
"You're not calling it
"Use the General's name? Yes
the Motherland defeated the fascists, and I suppose that is reason to take away
that land from the Fatherland." Diebner shrugged her shoulders. "That
is the past."
"Huh... so you went with
the Russians?"
"The Fatherland would not
take me. Not with my family's history."
Asuka blinked.
"What?".
"No matter." Katrina
walked around the room. "As I said, my platoon has been assigned to
guarding you, and if I can force that collection of potato-digging peasants
into a batch of real soldiers, imagine what I can do with you."
"Hey! I'm the-"
Katrina snapped the back of
her hand across Asuka's face. "You are slow! You are an insult to the
Fatherland. It is a good thing you are a child. If you were an adult your
treachery would have gotten you shot."
Face reddening, Asuka glared
at the scared-woman. "I wanted to fight!"
Katrina sniffed. "Your
fighting spirit is not lacking, only your sense."
"I knew the risks! I'll
die to kill the Angels."
"Must I repeat
myself?" Katrina shook her head. "The time may come when your life
will be spent, but I should hope it would not be cashed in on such a foolhardy
endeavor. A water battle would have been suicidal, and worse you would have
gotten in the way, preventing others from killing the enemy."
"That's not my
fault!"
Katrina's eyes hardened.
"Yes. It is."
Asuka paused.
"Who's Evangelion is
currently resting on the ocean floor?" Katrina asked in a disturbingly
jovial German.
Asuka's reply was automatic.
"Mine."
"And you knew the limits
of your equipment." Katrina savored the frightened look in the young girl.
"Did you not anticipate an aquatic battle? Did you not force those
technicians to request the necessary equipment, before the convoy stated? Is
Unit 02 not your responsibility?"
"I-"
"You what? You sunned
yourself on the deck? You chased after that Nerv Inspector? Did you train at
all on the journey?"
"No. Of course not."
Katrina glared.
"What? I couldn't very
well activate my Evangelion."
"Fah, so much work to
do." Katrina turned to the door. "Come," she ordered without
turning around.
Reluctantly, Asuka followed. Stepping
out into the hallway, she saw the depressingly familiar grouping of Azazel
troops. They walked down the hallway, passing several open doors. Which
contained idle soldiers most were resting, reading, or playing card games, but
one had a quartet practicing on their instruments.
After a trip in the elevator
they cut through the lobby. Sandbagged positions, tripod mounted machine guns,
and various supply crates were glaringly conspicuous. Exiting a side door they
stepped onto a grassy side yard.
There Asuka stared as she
watched two of the Ayanamis... fight. Both were in stripped t-shirts and shorts.
The younger one was wearing her hair band and those purple glasses. The older
one was nearly identical, save the two years of growth, shorter hair, and
ruby-lens glasses.
Each held a black, rubber
knife and to Asuka's slight confusion were leading with their empty hands. Overseeing
their sprawling combat, was the giant that had punched Asuka.
A measure or pride crossed the
man's face as Shinju knocked one of Rei's legs and as the girl fell repeatedly
jabbing her practice blade into Rei's side. He then frowned when Rei flipped
her blade and poked Shinju's neck.
"Everyone loses!
Hahaha!" He then helped the two girls to their feet. "Let this be
lesson for you," he informed Shinju after examining her neck, and Rei's
leg. "You did well! Both of you.
"Knife fight ugly."
He dusted his big hands and turned to Asuka. "Oh no, you I do not
forget!"
Asuka's shock at seeing the
sisters go from pummeling each other to their strange... staring evaporated
under the fierce hate she radiated towards the big man.
"The Second Child needs
training," Katrina said, switching to Japanese.
"Dah."
"Perhaps a spar to see
where she is?"
Igor examined the Asuka, then
slowly turned to the Ayanamis. "You are no match for them!" He
laughed darkly. "Go run home to Mama!"
Asuka's face reddened to match
her hair. "Don't you dare... don't
mock me! I'll take them both on."
Katrina sighed, at both Igor
and Asuka. "I should have waited until it was Pyotr's turn to train. He
knew how to keep his mouth shut."
Igor gave a bearish grin.
"I'll practice with the
Second," Shinju quietly offered.
***************
Kaji leaned against the bolted
down chair in his cell. Ikari was supposed to straighten this all out. He was
supposed to straighten out that pink-haired Captain and her Russian goons. Instead.....
"At least they're not
going to kill me," he muttered looking at the armored door. "Ayanami
could have dumped me overboard after taking the case."
He watched as the door opened
and a pair of black-suited Security Intelligence agents stepped in and took
positions flanking the door. "Hey guys, either of you got a smoke?"
he asked, an easy grin forming on his stubbled face.
The smile cracked as a pair of
meaty Russians stepped into the room and took position in the corners adjacent
to the door and leveled their rifles. His expression broke completely as
Captain Ayanami strode in, her hands clasped behind her back.
She stopped several paces in
front of Kaji and the affixed table before him. To keep clear lines of fire he
realized with slight dread. "Mister Ryoji Kaji," she flatly stated.
"Why hello
Misako-chan." Kaji smiled.
"Captain Ayanami."
Misako coldly clarified. "Mister Kaji-"
"Shouldn't I be Special
Inspector Kaji then?"
"Mister Kaji,"
Misako repeated, her voice sharpening briefly. "There are several
irregularities about your recent behavior."
"Oh?"
"As the ranking Nerv
officer during Unit 02's transfer were you aware of its inadequate
loadout?"
"Oh?" His smile
faltered briefly "That's not my responsibility."
"So Third Branch released
an Evangelion with only a skeleton maintenance crew and a Pilot?'
"It's her Eva."
"Does Third Branch make a
habit of such negligence?"
"Why don't you ask
them?"
Misako frowned. "When did
Director Harteck give you the case?"
"The day the Othello left
"Did he recommend against
the airlift?"
"Nope. I think that was
Commander Bothe's choice. He was always jealous of Ikari. The other branches are
loath to give up their Evas. As you should know being from First Branch. How is
Major Proust doing? Her sister's still trying to get into Nerv?"
Misako paused. "You kept
the case near Unit 02 in case of an Angel attack. Did it not occur to you to
verify the Eva's usefulness?"
Kaji's grin shifted slightly.
"So do you like being back with your sisters? Must have been a while since
you last saw them."
"Every attack has
originated from the Ocean, and yet when the Commander in Chief of Nerv tasks
you with guarding critical equipment, you do not ensure that the Evangelion
with you could survive getting wet?"
"There were nukes."
"You decided that Nerv should
once again depend on another organization's protection?"
"Well, no."
"Did you inform the
Commander of this change in defensive strategy?"
"What?" Kaji's eyes
sharpened. "You kept me from leaving!"
"If you had gone through
proper channels your leaving during battle would not have been
suspicious," Misako mildly stated.
Kaji gaped. The implacable red
eyed woman glanced to her guards. "You can't be serious," he moaned.
"As a Special Inspector
you are supposed to provide oversight to Nerv operations. Why did you not
report Third Branch's gross violations?"
Kaji's gaze fractured.
"The Unit wasn't my responsibility. The case was."
"Why didn't you petition
a faster mode of transportation?"
"I don't have that kind
of authority."
Misako gave a slight nod.
"And unfortunately,
neither does Commander Ikari."
"Is that your reason for
not informing him?" Misako asked, noting his grin beginning to return.
"Oh, I told him, but the
Commander insisted I stay with the Evangelion."
"Did you inform him as to
its deficient equipment?"
"Well.... no." Kaji
looked up. He would have preferred to see her give a victorious little smile or
a smug smirk or even any kind of satisfaction. Instead her face was cold and
distant.
Misako briefly lowered her
head. "What do you know about B-Type equipment?"
"I thought it was just
basic. It's not like I'm part of Nerv Tactical. Like you or your
predecessor."
Misako cocked an eyebrow.
"Why did Third Branch not assign Soryu's tactical officers?"
"Bothe felt that
Lieutenant Clusius would be a burden. Maybe he didn't want to pay for the
return fare."
Misako frowned at his joke. "Petty
corruption? Why didn't you report it, Inspector?"
Kaji bristled. "It wasn't
part of my mission."
"Escorting a package did
not take up all of your time. Was some other job dividing your attention?"
Misako asked mildly.
Kaji's smile flickered for
half a second. "That information is classified, only Commander Ikari has
need to know."
"Very well," Misako
then pulled back her ear and tapped the headset clipped to her ear. "Hello,
Commander sir? Yes, he went with that excuse. Understood." Finally
smiling, she turned to him.
Kaji stiffened. "He's
coming isn't he?"
"This won't be a waste of
his time. Will it?"
***************
Ritsuko looked up from her
paperwork and sighed. She had hoped, however slight the chances were, that this
appointment was a joke. "Yes?" she asked eyeing the two... German
women.
"She bit me!" Asuka
screeched. "That creepy little freak bit me!"
Ritsuko's souring gaze went
from the Second Child to the Azazel lieutenant. "While I have a medical
degree, I hardly think going all the way to Central Dogma is appropriate for
such a wound."
"Not about wound. Injury
was dressed after sparring, very little bleeding," Katrina stated.
"What kind of psycho is
the Fourth?"
"You did knee her in the
ribs." Katrina's voice had a touch of pride.
"And she bit me! Right
through my leg."
"Yes, the distraction allowed
her to flip and subdue you," Katarina patiently explained.
Ritsuko rubbed her forehead.
Originally she had skimmed Azazel's Pilot training reports. Then came the pig
and the knives. There was a reason the Ayanamis were vegetarians. Ritsuko felt
a headache begin to form at the memory. "Isn't this more of a Tactical
Branch issue?" She sighed, if it was not... then Misako would need to be
adjusted. "Where was Captain Ayanami in all this?"
"The Captain is in
Central Dogma, investigating the previous battle," Katrina crisply stated.
"And it's not like she'd
be any help," Asuka glowered.
Resistance crumbling, Ritsuko
opened her desk drawer and pulled a pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She
offered the pack to Katrina, who politely declined. Lighting up, the
bottle-blonde returned her gaze to Asuka. "Are you trying to protest your
commanding officer?" Ritsuko blew out a plume of bluish-smoke "Is
this an attempt to go over Misako's head?"
Seeing the doctor's frustrated
amusement, Asuka hesitated. "I thought you'd be impartial."
"Impartial? Hah! This is
Tokyo Three. Do you have any idea how deep the nepotism and cronyism runs
here?"
"What?"
"You're angry because the
other Pilots are related to the tactical commander and that I'm friends with
her? Of course we're all close. Those girls are all that's keeping
Ritsuko took a drag on her
cigarette. "Never-mind that they're being trained by their rival
organizations. Never-mind that it was an Azazel training session that's made
you so pissy, or that it was Azazel personnel that you owe your life to. You're
angry at the officer who kept you from running off and getting yourself
killed."
"You can't speak to me
this way," Asuka glared.
Ritsuko gave a manic laugh. At
least she did not have to deal with seemingly compliant but judging eyes, no
this was simpler fare. "I'm the Director of Project E. There's only three
other people you can talk to. One you've already bypassed and the
others..." She leaned forward and pulled her lips back and held her
cigarette in between her teeth. "Maybe you should try to talk to Commander Ikari."
"Maybe I will!"
Asuka shouted.
"Nein, bad idea,"
Katrina intoned.
Ritsuko lit a fresh cigarette
and rubbed out the old one on an astray. "The way I see it, you've got two
choices. You can do whatever Nerv tells you to do, or you can go back to
Asuka's face colored.
"But... there's only Three Pilots."
"And? Nerv can't afford
the risk of an insubordinate Pilot. Do you know the damage a berserk Pilot
could cause us?" Ritsuko looked the redhead in the eye. "If you want
to stay here you'll obey, and I will be reporting this conversation to Captain
Ayanami."
Staring Asuka took half a step
back.
Ritsuko turned to the Azazel
officer. "Lieutenant take her back home."
Katrina nodded and took the
muted Child away. Outside one of Katrina's squads formed up around them in a
protective detail. Once they had gone down the hallway from Ritsuko's office
the German-Russian woman spoke. "I told you."
"I..." Asuka glared.
"Who does she think she is?" she demanded punching a wall.
"Director of Project
E." Katrina reminded. "It's not wise mouth-off at superiors."
Asuka withdrew her fist.
"It's not supposed to be this way."
As they got onto an escalator,
the solid woman snorted. "So?"
"So?" Asuka turned
to the blonde. "I'm a Pilot! I'm the Second Child. I was trained to be the
best. I'm not supposed to be pushed around and ignored. I'm not supposed to be
outclassed by a test pilot and her little sister!"
"Your insistence to refer
to them that way does not change the underlying reality. They are the veteran
troops. You are not."
"Only because I wasn't
here yet!"
Katrina glared. "That's
my point. They have killed Angels. You are an rookie, green, untried. Their training has been grueling and
encompassing, you spend the last couple
weeks on a cruise."
"That's not my
fault!" Asuka wailed.
"Disappointment happens. Deal
with it." Katrina's eyes narrowed. "I saw my country collapse and
crumble like a wet sandcastle. A whole state gone, just like that. Then I saw
the decay grow, and an entire political existence shatter and blow apart. Then
came the Second Impact." Katrina chuckled.
"This is different!"
"Yes, you're being a
petulant child. My world died. Your world may die too, and I ask: So?"
Katrina's eyes hardened.
"I don't get it."
"What does crying solve? What
does yelling solve? Pathetic mewling like that makes you a disgrace to the
Fatherland." Katrina looked to one of her Sergeants and barked an order to
him in Russian.
"You work for
Azazel."
"You don't work for the Bundeswehr
either."
"That's because they
don't have Evangelions," Asuka reminded while the contingent passed
through a security station. The Nerv Tactical personnel slightly wary of the
Azazel troops.
"Neither do they have
nuclear arms." Katrina smirked and turned back to the Sergeant who
informed her that their surface transportation was ready. "What do you
want Pilot Soryu?"
Asuka opened her mouth, then
closed it. She was silent for a few moments. Then when they boarded an elevator
she had her answer. "To be the best Evangelion Pilot."
"Is that it?"
Katrina tapped her chin. "Then swallow your pride. Become a good little
soldier, do everything that these people tell you to do."
Asuka turned to the Russian
officer.
"They control Evangelion.
You Pilot at their whim." Katrina's blue eyes twinkled. "Prove them
wrong. You think you're better than them. Show them. Be the better soldier. Be
the better killer. Be the better Pilot."
"But I am!"
"Nein," Katrina
shook her head. They then stepped out of the elevator, linking up with the
squad members that traveled ahead of them. "How many Angels have you
killed? Words are cheap. Akagi showed you that."
"So, I need to prove it
to them?"
Katrina smirked, the teen
sneered but only slightly. "It should be easy. You know your Unit best,
you have the best Unit, and you have me."
"Oh?"
"I know how Azazel works,
and I can certainly train you better than that fat, bald lunatic and his mute
friend."
Crossing a vast wide corridor,
Asuka frowned. "What about the other Pilots? Those sisters don't like
me."
"That is troubling."
Outwardly, Katrina bore a frown that mirrored her charge's. They passed through
another security station and entered an underground garage, where their APCs
waited. "However, I have a plan. You won't like it, but it has to be
done."
***************
Shinju turned the page on her
copy of "Guerrilla Sniper" and read a few paragraphs. After a couple
minutes she found her mind slipping from the text and lowered the book.
Sitting on the opposite end of
the couch, Rei paused reading and lowered her book: a
Shinju let a small smile form
on her face, and took a few seconds to relish the concern someone else had for
her. "Yes, Oneechan."
Rei gave a curt nod.
"Long range support is an ill-suited role for Evangelion,"
"It's not that."
The middle Ayanami raised an
eyebrow.
Shinju waited until she could
express herself. "I'm concerned about the Second Child," she
eventually said.
Rei nodded.
"I know you only saw her
during sparring today, but what do you think?"
Placing a bookmark in her
text, Rei then folded her hands over the closed book. "I think you're
correct. Concern is prudent."
Shinju smiled slightly.
"She will be trained, and Oneesan will command her. Will that make her a
good Pilot?"
"It made you one."
Noticing her sister's contented and continued silence Rei searched for another
sentence. "And if it doesn't work, Misako-san will not let her
Pilot."
Shinju nodded at that, but she
was still focused on Rei's first statement. "The Second Child is alone. No
family. No friends."
Rei inclined her head and
waited for the clone to elaborate.
Shinju's little smile
returned. "Thanks, Oneechan!" she exclaimed before picking up her
book.
After making sure the
conversation would not resume, Rei returned to her own reading. Several silent
minutes later, Shinju looked up to the clock below the television and retired
to her room.
Knowing that it was merely part
of her sister's daily hair care, Rei continued reading. While she understood
why her clones had a different hairstyles, she was still relieved that she got
the least time-intensive cut to maintain.
Several minutes after that,
the silence was broken. Frowning slightly, Rei answered the apartment's
intercom. Her displeasure increased markedly as the conversation progressed.
Breaking the connection, Rei
placed her book on the kitchen table and waited by the door. There was a knock
and the First Child opened the door. Glancing past her visitor she nodded to
the Azazel troops standing in the hallway.
"May I come in?"
Asuka asked, wondering if the pale girl was being rude or socially stunted.
That Rei paused and actually seemed to actually consider the question, pushed
Asuka's estimation towards the latter category.
Rei stepped back from the
threshold. "Yes." Her eyes briefly went to the barrette-like
interface headset clips on Asuka's head.
Entering the apartment, Asuka
looked around. It was similar in layout to hers, but a bit larger, and warmly
decorated to a shocking degree. The fact that there were any personal touches
like photographs, game systems and knickknacks stuck out in Asuka's eyes. From
her impression of the Captain and the Fourth, Asuka half-expected the Ayanamis
to have been grown from pods.
The door clicked shut behind
her; Asuka spun around to see Rei blankly staring at her. For a moment, Asuka
glared at those red eyes but then remembered her mission. "Are your
sisters around? I..." the redhead faulted. "I have something I need
to tell them."
"Misako-san is still at
the Geo-Front. Shinju is in her room." Rei pointed to the small hallway
off the right side of the living room.
"Thanks," Asuka
walked across the dining room and paused. Human touches aside, the apartment
had an almost oppressive silence. The redhead felt her confidence begin to
slip. "Um... Rei... can we be... friends?"
Rei looked over to her book on
the dining room table. "Why?"
Asuka smirked, this was firmer
ground for her. "Because it'd be convenient, in lots of ways."
"If I'm ordered to, I
will."
"Talk about odd."
Asuka muttered under her breath. "Is that a joke?" she asked looking
at Rei.
Rei frowned impatiently.
"People comment on my sense of humor."
"But yeah... people can't
be ordered to be friends and expect it to work?"
Rei tilted her head. "Why
not? It's how my family does it."
Looking past Rei at the exit,
Asuka nervously chuckled. "Yeah... I get it." She shook her head. Gott im Himmel, even with her "Sense of
humor" she's the sanest one; she hasn't bitten me or ordered a hulking
madman to beat me.
Turning away from Rei, Asuka
let her expression slacken and walked down the little hallway. Knocking on the
thin door, she found it sliding open under her palm. Running on oiled tracks
the door slipped aside revealing Shinju's room.
Asuka's eye twitched at the
adorable assault. The walls were dominated polished-steel-framed, press-glass
propaganda posters. Across from the door was one featuring Unit 01 standing
with its gun raised as Azazel jets flew in the distance. To the left of that
was one with the Prototype and Testtype; to the right were the three Ayanami
sisters, the captain in her formal uniform, the Pilots in their plugsuits.
On the left wall was an aerial
shot of the Russian aircraft carrier, which looked suspiciously less dirty than
it should have been to Asuka's eyes. On the wall opposite that one was an image
of Shinju being lifted up by the square-jawed Azazel pilot. He was wearing a
dress uniform while she wore a white party dress.
Avoiding the walls Asuka found
the furniture even worse. From the dresser, a gaggle of over-dressed
over-styled dolls stared at her. A sickeningly-scaled miniature vanity was
covered in makeup cases, ribbons, knives and magazines, both fashion and
munition.
Finally, sitting on a fluffy
ruffled comforter was the Fourth Child; power-blue hair spilled around her in
silky pools as she worked a silver hairbrush through the freely flowing
strands. Red eyes peeked out from behind the mass of tresses that ran down her
face. Her brush stilled as the small girl paused. She then grabbed her hair
band, pulled her hair back, and slipped the bowed-band behind her ears.
Face mostly visible, Shinju
turned to Asuka and slowly blinked her slightly tinted eyelids expanding and
contracting as her long lashes embraced then separated. "You're
staring," she observed in an even, quiet voice.
"Err... its just the....
posters," Asuka gave a bit of relief. It was nice to see that the perfect
little princess actually was vain, egoless good-girl act to the contrary.
Shinju gave another measured
blink. "Yes, we'll have to do another photo-shoot. Now that you're
here." A tiny smile formed. "Though we'll have to wait for your
Evangelion for those shots."
Cheeks reddening, Asuka glared
at the younger girl. "Wait, what?"
Slight smile still present,
Shinju tilted her head in innocent confusion.
"Oh," Asuka blinked.
"So, why are you
here?" Shinju asked.
Asuka looked down. " I
think we got off on the wrong foot."
Shinju cocked an eyebrow.
"I shouldn't have gotten
mad at you, you were just following orders." Asuka's eyes narrowed.
"Until you bit me."
The clone's eyebrow lowered.
"That was a bit enthusiastic of me."
"Enthusiastic."
Asuka's skeptical tone was almost as dry as Shinju's original statement.
"Do you all have the same broken sense of humor?"
Shinju frowned slightly.
Asuka stared at the identical
expression. It's like they were
mass-produced...
"We will be working
together." Shinju stated studying the other girl.
"Yeah, we'll make a good
team." Asuka found her confidence. "And you Pilot very well, for
someone your age."
Still scanning Asuka, Shinju's
little smile returned. "And you're so pretty! I can just eat you up!"
With that exclamation her crimson eyes sparkled.
Asuka's eyes widened.
"What?" she asked as her hands twitched..
Shinju's open, exuberant
expression became tinged with slight confusion. "What shampoo do you use? You
smell great! Or is that your soap?"
Taking a step back, Asuka
cursed showering after that sparing session. "It's my shampoo. It uses
apricot extracts."
"Oh? I use a lilac blend
for my hair. Yours must work great, I don't see any split ends."
Asuka almost wished that she
had lost all of her luggage. At least then she would have been forced to use
Katrina's shampoo, which certainly did not smell... inviting. "I try take
care of myself."
Looking away Asuka tried to
find something... stabilizing to look at, something that was not cute,
grandiose, or upsetting. The silver picture frame did not help. Seeing six
staring red eyes was the opposite of what she was looking for; that the Captain
was smiling in the picture did not help either. "You like music?" Asuka
asked, her gaze shifting to a mini-CD player next to the frame.
Shinju nodded.
"Play an
instrument?" Out of the corner of her eye, Asuka caught Shinju's eyes
widen and the young girl deeply frown.
"Yes, but its been a
while, I haven't played since I... came to
Looking back at Shinju, Asuka
noted that the girl's expression was back to distant and neutral, but so was
her voice. "Yeah, I didn't bring my instrument either. What do you
play?"
"Cello."
Imagining the dainty girl
playing a hundred and twenty centimeter instrument Asuka snickered. "Sorry,
nice instrument What size did you play half, one quarter?" Often a cello
would be scaled down, not by half but only slightly, to help musicians with smaller
arms play.
Blushing, Shinju looked down.
Asuka grinned, at least
someone in this family had emotions.
"Do you play an
instrument?"
"Violin back in
university." Asuka's hopes that the Fourth Child would rise to the bait
were dashed when the young girl simply blinked.
"Oneechan played the
violin too," Shinju had never seen Rei open the case, but she had helped
move it and a small folder of sheet music into her new room.
"That's... good. Maybe we
can all play sometime."
Shinju nodded.
Asuka tapped her chin.
"No, that's real good. Add a viola player and we've got a String Quartet. Maybe
the Fourth could-"
Shinju flashed a quick glare.
"Sorry, Fifth
Child." Asuka winced at the faux-pas, it was all to easy to forget that
Nerv had already lost a Pilot. "Well... I'm glad that we talked. I think
we'll work good together."
"Oh don't worry, we won't
have a choice," Shinju happily said.
"What?"
"If we fail,
thermonuclear destruction will be rained down upon us." The young girl's
subdued smile had a fierce focus. "Just like yesterday."
"Yeah..." Asuka took
a couple steps back.
"See you during
training," Shinju smiled warmly.
Looking away from the eager
and... anticipatory eyes, Asuka nodded and continued to back out of the room.
Once in the corridor, Asuka stepped into the living room. There Rei looked up
from her book and silently tracked the redhead.
"Guess I'll see you at
training too," Asuka stated.
Rei inclined her head and
returned to her reading.
Similarly mute, Asuka left the
apartment. The door closed behind her, she leaned on the hallway wall and
sighed. "What have I gotten into?"
***************
"I met the Second Child
today," Ritsuko sliced open a fresh cigarette pack.
"How did her medical
screening go?" Misako asked leaning back in the office's spare chair.
"I know Maya double checked yesterday but that was just for radiation
exposure."
Ritsuko tapped the pack.
"Didn't do it. She came to complain to me."
Misako rubbed her face.
"Little brat. She really needs a session in the Eva-Sim."
"I told her to go to
Gendo if she had a problem with your command style."
Misako's eyes lit up and for a
moment she seized up, then the clone burst into laughter.
"It shut her up."
Ritsuko chuckled. "She's not totally senseless."
Taking a sip of water, Misako
shook her head. "It's not that. I
mean trying to pull rank and get Gendo in; Kaji was being an ass."
Ritsuko tapped the packet
idly. "Yes, typical of him."
"Then he tried to pull
some Need to Know garbage. So I called the Commander in." Misako's broad
smile revealed her teeth.
"Wow." Ritsuko shook
her head. "It's a real good thing Asuka backed out."
Grinning Misako nodded.
"Gendo was not happy."
"Well of course, Third
Branch's little power play caused a disaster. We could have lost two pilots, an
Eva and you."
"Good thing the Americans
ignored the UN and brought nukes," Misako shivered.
"So Third Branch, was
this really all incompetent posturing on their part?"
Misako sighed. "That's
the only reason we got out of him. Kaji could have been a patsy."
"So, what next?"
"Captain Horaki's running
down the paperwork going over the shipping records and memos. Security
Intelligence and Azazel are picking up the top Third Branch officers."
"You're using Azazel
troops?" Ritsuko pursed her lips.
"Do you trust Security
Intelligence?" Misako mirrored the doctor's expression.
"You're at least sending
men from our Security Intelligence ," Ritsuko observed.
Misako nodded. "I'm
afraid Third Branch is a complete write-off."
"On the upside, this'll
allow us to move the S2 research to this facility."
The elder Ayanami's eyes
narrowed slightly. "Did you know something about Third Branch?"
"Only that their reports
were riddled with obfuscation and their experiments were dangerously lacking in
rigor."
Mirth replaced suspicion in
Misako's eyes. "You're sounding like another Director I know."
Ritsuko chuckled.
"Beria's right about one thing S2 engines have an incredibly high energy
density. If a prototype test went bad..." the scientist shook her head.
"Thank goodness for Matsushiro."
"Yes, that is the purpose
of a Secondary Experimental Facility." Pulling a cigarette out, Ritsuko
studied its filter. "How tough do you think Ikari's going to be?"
"Third Branch's petty
power play eliminated all of the work we'd done in repairing Nerv's image. Once
again, we were unable to effectively sortie and had to be saved though the use
of nuclear weapons. Once again, a lot of soldiers died before the Angel could
be killed. But this time-" Misako curled her lips in a simulacrum of a
smile. "the Angel was only able to attack because Nerv screwed up. How
tough do you think Ikari's going to be?"
Flicking her butane lighter,
Ritsuko stared at the jetting flame.
"Yes that's about
right." Misako's face shifted to a true smile; however it was an
expression that clashed with her vegetarian diet.
Ritsuko took a drag. "So,
not only do we roll up the incompetents and malcontents , but we also play the
part of reformer and inspector."
"It's the best we can do
to repair our image and distance ourselves from Third Branch."
"The next Angel?"
Spilling slightly, Misako
refilled her glass. "We'll have to be decisive."
"The Second Child?"
"She's the unknown
quantity. She has the least real experience and the most Old Nerv training and
no New Nerv training. I have some ideas but..."
"But she's the first
non-Ayanami pilot." Ritsuko tapped some ash into the belly of her
cat-shaped astray.
"Which makes her an
important symbol to reduce the nepotism cries." Misako sighed.
"You think she'll be much
of a problem?"
"During her first combat
experience she disobeyed orders and had to be physically subdued and
restrained. Then in the course of normal training she got upset and tried to go
over my head." Misako gripped her glass. "It's bad enough that we're
putting the fate of the world in the hands of young girls, but an unstable
one?"
"You can always ground
her."
Misako scoffed. "Well of
course. If she keeps this attitude and fails her training, I'll have to. We
can't hide her performance. Not with the JSSDF handling the wargames and Azazel
doing their physical training."
"We can't keep her out of
the cockpit. For one, we could easily need three Evangelions." Ritsuko lit
a fresh cigarette from the stub of her old one.
"We can't put a failure
in the cockpit either. Just imagine the fallout an incompetent or mutinous
Pilot would cause."
"You girls have really
spoiled me." Ritsuko shook her head.
Misako smirked. "We can't
all be your obedient clones."
"Oh? A subtle hint to
lean on the Marduk Institute?" Eyes twinkling, Ritsuko blew a smoke ring.
"I was wondering if it'd
be possible to smooth her emotions out actually, but your idea's better."
Ritsuko chuckled.
"Challenging, she'd be suspicious if she started taking medication and
found her moods changing."
"Then get us another
Pilot. That'll also force the Americans to give us one of their Units, and if
not... that gives us an excuse to be selective with who we let sortie."
"And First and Second
Branches would be on edge, given what's about to happen to the Third
Branch."
Misako chuckled.
"Even if you get another
pilot, you'll still have to deal with Asuka. What if she doesn't respond to the
training? What if she screws up in battle."
"Depending on the screw
up we'll either all die in a nuclear fireball or the Third Impact. For minor
infractions, there's always a court martial."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.
"Technically they're not soldiers."
The clone's laugher returned.
"Oh?"
"I talked with the
Commander, and he's open to the idea."
"And the Pilots?
"Shinju and Rei won't bat
an eye, and you think the Second Child would let that get in the way?"
***************
Behind his cyclopean visor, Keel
Lorenz stared down at the man across from him. "Unacceptable."
Sitting on his own
white-lighted dais, Gendo inclined his head. "Why?
"This investigation is
disruptive and far too damaging," the man bathed in yellow light intoned.
"I concur." Gendo
stated his hands neatly folded atop his desk. "Unfortunately," he
glanced at the empty blue seat. "This investigation is the least damaging
option."
"You've leveled charges
against half of Third Branch's senior officers!" the green representative
shouted. "How is that the least damaging?"
"Because it preserves a
shred of Nerv's credibility."
"And this matters? Given
this committee's full support, Nerv is untouchable," Lorenz dryly
remarked.
"Is it?" Gendo's
eyes flashed between the empty chair and the green one. "For the second
time, weapons prohibited by the UN have been deployed, to great effect."
"It does not matter how
the Angels are defeated." Lorenz stated.
"To an extent."
Gendo gave a ghost of a smile. "Project E and associated endeavors are
quite expensive. The Plan's solvency depends on Nerv's success."
Lorenz chuckled. "The...
competition worries you."
"Presuming the work of
outside agencies is logical, if Azazel and the US Navy-" Gendo looked to
the green representative. "- were the work of this committee... then they
are an effort of sheer counter-productivity."
"You dispute the utility
of these weapons?"
"I dispute their
use," Gendo adjusted his glasses.
"When the Third Angel
attacked you had only one functional Evangelion and no Pilots. When the Fifth
attacked you had two Pilots but no functional Evangelions. Those would seem
ample opportunities to use... insurance."
"The First Child could
have fought Sachiel and the Third would have arrived, if not for the insurance.
As for Gaghiel, reinforcements were enroute and Adam was secured with a top
officer."
"Still relying on
nepotism to ensure loyalty?"
"Among other
things." Gendo spread his hands. "If not for Third Branch's gross and
petty incompetence Unit 02 could have destroyed the Angel. This would have
bolstered Nerv's credibility."
"Instead you propose a
witch hunt," the crimson representative drawled.
"Examples will be made
and those allowed to remain will know the reality of the situation. Their games
can not be allowed to risk the Plan. We have gone too far to be undone by the
childish tantrums of the ignorant."
"An investigation will
tarnish Third Branch's reputation." The French representative smirked.
"Any attempt to salvage
Nerv-03 will merely incriminate the rest of Nerv. Third Branch had their
chance. They failed."
"And their failure turns
to your success." Lorenz frowned.
"Our success." Gendo
steepled his fingers. "If the Evangelions are to succeed in their true
purpose, they must first succeed as weapons."
"That may be, but we
cannot eliminate your competition for you." The green representative stated.
"On that issue, what have
you learned of Azazel's intentions?" the crimson Englishman asked.
Behind his hands, Gendo
smiled. Their clumsy transparency was comforting in its own way. "As you
know they have pursued their own research in metaphysical biology. Given their
limitations they focused on smaller timescales. However, it is safe to presume
that like Gehirn their focus was on the modulation of AT fields."
"Their destruction using
brute force," the Frenchmen's dismissive tone had an undercurrent of
curiosity.
"Yes, weaponizing devices
used to usher in the Third Impact. Absurd."
A frown crossed Lorenz's face.
"The possibility is... under consideration."
"Maskirovka, always
maskirovka. Deception, distraction, misdirection. Do not do what your enemy
least expects, do what they would never think to expect." Gendo made sure
his face was concealed.
"Then why have they not
struck?" the emerald American asked.
"The same reason we have
not struck them." Gendo lowered his hands. "Continued existence suits
our mutual goals. However, we face an enemy that believes they can usurp our
Plan at the moment of their choosing."
"Instrumentality can not
be achieved by such crude means," Lorenz scoffed.
"Do you suggest I correct
their ignorance?"
"Disinformation would be
too risky."
Gendo bowed his head.
"However, the Plan will
need further exploration," the green representative frowned.
"Especially given
Azazel's desire to export their technology," the French representative
coughed.
"You knew?" Lorenz glared.
"Their motivations seemed
mercenary enough, but in light of their goals..."
The Brit raised an eyebrow.
"Proliferation of a dangerous technology."
"Thousands of which can
be produced for the cost of one Evangelion. Including delivery systems," green
added.
"Would that give them
sufficient coverage? An anti-AT field that size-" glancing at Gendo, the
Frenchman caught himself.
"They'll have more than
enough reserves. The only question is calibration."
Gendo nodded. "Why do you
think they are so eager to use their weapons?"
"Every time they detonate
an AT field..." The Brit paled, his color shifting to a more pinkish hue.
"Correct, their knowledge
grows."
Frown deepening, Lorenz turned
to Gendo. "Very well, do whatever it takes to ensure that there are no
more detonations."
"That will increase
confidence in Nerv, while denying them critical information," the
Frenchman nodded.
His visor giving its flat
unblinking stare, Lorenz slowly turned away from Gendo. "The rest of this
meeting does not concern you," he airily said before the various
projections cut out one by one.
Before standing up, Gendo gave
the seat to his left a second's glance. Outside the teleconferencing room, he
gave a slight grin as he adjusted his gloves. Back in his office, Gendo nodded
at Fuyutsuki who was waiting for him. Once the security scan cycled he turned
to his old professor. "Your thoughts?"
Fuyutsuki glanced at the
monitor that displayed the currently empty teleconference room. "I've
always admired their ability to think ten steps ahead."
"A delightful
failing." Gendo looked to the photo frame on his desk. "After truth,
plans are the first casualty of combat. The problem with chess-players is their
belief in complete information. They expected to know the movements, attacks,
positions, and limitations of every piece."
Gendo chuckled. "But
worst of all. They expect the enemies to have the victory condition that they
do."
"Chess is one of
"So is poetry, but I
don't expect them to defeat us with poems."
"The big question is:
what do the Russians want?"
"Close. But not the real
question." Gendo chuckled. "Will the Russians interfere with our
plans?"
"I hardly think they'd be
agreeable to our goals."
"Oh? I'm certain they'd
object to the Old Men's Plan."
"Unless they happen to be
Seele's catspaw, and exist as a check on our solvency."
"Perhaps, but such a plan
has a central failing. Those in on Seele's conspiracy are going against
everything Azazel stands for. Such actions would be... counterrevolutionary."
Smirking, Gendo turned to look
out the panoramic view. "Azazel exists to destroy the Angels and save
humanity. The rank and file believe that and will turn upon any traitors within
their organization."
"The same can be said of
us."
Gendo looked down at the
artificial world spread below him. "No."
"No?" Fuyutsuki
carefully asked, wondered if things had.... changed. Ikari had been spending
more time with his wife's shadows.
"With the liquidation of
Third Branch, the final pieces fall under our control. For now our tasks are
complete."
Standing behind Gendo,
Fuyutsuki nodded. "What is our move?"
"The Second Child is a
potential risk."
"We can use only so many
Ayanamis."
"It's not that." Gendo
frowned. "It appears Third Branch's training is as scattershot as their
logistics."
"We cannot afford another
failure in battle."
"Which is why I approved
of Captain Ayanami's proposals. I would rather be short a pilot than invite
further failure."
"Marduk, then?"
"No, we'll see how she performs.
Azazel training and JSSDF wargames will challenge her for once. There is a
chance her pride could be directed in a useful direction."
"Understood." The
sub-commander frowned. "What of Inspector Kaji?"
"A witness in a trial of
global importance? Protective custody is only prudent. A man in his position
would have many enemies."
Fuyutsuki smiled. "And it
would be our duty to make sure they're found."
***************
"All hands bury the
dead," Commander Oppenheimer shouted as the carrier's crew fell into
parade rest. He then glanced at their guests, relieved that they were carrying
themselves respectfully.
He then turned back to Captain
Groves, who stood off to the side of the row of stands. After the dozen sealed
metal caskets were placed foot first on the stands, flags were presented and
Geiger counters discretely checked the seals.
Wanting to adjust the tan skirt
of her uniform, Asuka stared ahead. As bugling tore at her ears she watched the
gigantic gantry a couple kilometers ahead of her. Bolted atop a cargo ship, the
entire apparatus looked like the union of several cranes and a skyscraper
frame. Six cables, large enough that Asuka could clearly make them out, dove
down into the ocean.
As quick prayer washed over
her like so many waves she turned her head slightly. On either side were
Ayanamis, who seemed much more at ease with their uniforms. Beyond them were
Azazel troops, standing in their neat ranks, with their rifles held at their
shoulders.
"Firing party, Present
Arms." Commander Oppenheimer ordered. The stands were lifted and the
caskets slid off and after a silent second hit the water in one simultaneous
splash.
Asuka had to keep from
grimacing as the bugler started up, but was relieved when the noise was
dampened by the firing squad. Their three volleys and the playing of taps
concluded a heavy silence came over the ship.
Wondering when they could go,
Asuka returned her attention to the salvage ship. She almost sagged when
another batch of pallbearers cut through the parade formation. After being
placed on the freshly emptied stands, Asuka's interest spiked when she saw the
flags being placed on them. The black, red and yellow tricolor was immediately
recognizable and wrong.
The redhead frowned. She knew
the fleet was international, and should not have been surprised that Germans
died, but... without the eagle it was merely the civil flag. She thought the
Fatherland called for burial with the Naval Ensign or at least the Bundesdienstflagge.
Her interest grew when Captain
Ayanami stepped out from her left side and crisply marched to the side of the
stands, next to
The Second Child's eyes went
from the caskets to the salvage ship. Her unit was not the only thing being
raised from the Othello's wreck. Her stomach tightened as the Captain went
about her speech. I didn't even know most
of their names. They were just... there. As long as my Unit was working I
didn't care and now... I get my Evangelion and they get dumped back in the sea.
Asuka's eyes shifted to see a
young seaman with a video camera up to his eye. At least they'll get... something. Nerv isn't just forgetting them.
She shivered slightly as the ceremony concluded with Taps and gunfire.
The crowd broke up with most
of the sailors returning to their tasks. Misako stayed with the ship's officers
while the Azazel Naval Infantry maintained their protective positions.
"I don't think I'll ever
get used to that." Once again, Asuka eyeballed the stands.
Shinju nodded, her gross-violation hair
swishing around her non-regulation headband. "Death is tragic."
Asuka turned to the pale
sisters. "I guess you've done this before?"
Rei stared blankly, but Shinju
shook her head. "No, not at sea at least."
"Oh?"
The First Child's pupils
dilated slightly. "The Third Angel, caused much damage."
Asuka frowned and turned to
look out over the water. Beyond the crane-ship was the rest of the fleet. "Least
they're not that damaged."
Rei looked up the jet
contrails in the sky.
"Most of the ships the
Angel hit were sunk," Shinju stated.
"Not many bodies were
found. Though I'm sure the crews working on the Othello wreck found more than a
few," Katrina privately wondered how many of those caskets were merely
filled with ballast. Anyone close to the blast would simply have their flesh
boiled away and their baked bones scattered about. Those sunk by the Angel,
however, could be in a more... intact state. Her countries were not above such theatrics,
but the West might quail at such methods.
"Yeah...." The winch
drew Asuka's attention. A dark shadow formed below the surface and resolved into
a humanoid shape. In a churning splash, a titanic head broke the surface.
Rapt, Asuka watched as the
crane pulled her unit up by the shoulder pylons. Water poured down from the
humanoid figure as it was lifted from the sea. Asuka glanced over, and saw
everyone else had their eyes glued to the Evangelion.
"Even defeated it
rises," Katrina stated in accented English. The immense sixty meter tall
crane dwarfed the warmachine, which limply slouched from its cables. For
stability, the Unit's hands were secured behind its back and its legs were tied
together at its ankles.
Combined with the cables
securing its head the whole apparatus was a macabre marionette, a galling
gallows. A couple of armor pieces were missing, revealing corpse-white pulpy
material and gashes and cuts crossed the armor sections that remained and one
ankle bent oddly while an elbow bent out at an odd angle and in an extra
location.
"It'll fight again."
"What of the damage?
"
Her chest constricting, Asuka
narrowed her eyes. "It can be repaired."
"It looks worse than it is,"
Misako assured as she approached. "Immediately after battle, a salvage
crew sent their robots down. Power was restored and the systems were
stabilized. That's why it took so long to raise. They didn't want to move it
until they were sure the Evangelion could handle it."
Asuka bit her lip. "But
the damage... I didn't even fight."
"The Angel rammed the
Othello, obliterating her. Fortunately it's all impact damage. Nothing too
difficult to repair."
Stepping towards them
"Oh?"
He sighed. "This time its
only an Evangelion and a three submarines that were recovered, but the message
is the same. You've been given a second chance. They caught you with your pants
down before, don't let it happen again."
Asuka looked up at the burly
sailor. "Uh, yes, Sir."
***************
Panting slightly, Asuka kept
her pace up. Three paces ahead of her the pale sisters ran in unison.
"Wow, you're as good as
they are," Hikari puffed as she ran alongside.
Asuka smiled slightly, the
freckled girl was nice and as a Class Representative seemed to understand
authority. "Of course, all Pilots have to be the peak of physical condition."
Hikari chuckled. "Of
course, my little sister goes on and on about it."
As they turned the track,
Asuka blinked. "Oh?"
"Yeah, Nozomi,"
Hikari gestured to a brunette that ran ahead of them with the red-eyed girls. "Shirane
and her are friends with the Ayanamis. Sis goes on and on about all the great
training you Pilots get: guns, knives, hand to hand, simulators, full-on
war-games."
Half hearing the other girl, turning
the redhead confirmed that the rest of their classmates had cleared out on this
half of the track. She wondered how much of that was due to the security cordon,
including Katrina who effortlessly ran on her left side, and how much was due
to the Ayanamis being... Ayanamis
"Though it only makes
sense. You're Pilots. Your training has to be tough."
"We are the best,"
Asuka smirked as she kept her pace. Her expression flattened when the other
pilots began to... sing.
"Krutye parni po vsey
stranye, kto svyazan druzhboy s vedeve, takoye bratstvo -- nadyozhnyi shchit,
nikto Rossiyu nye pobedit!"
Asuka blinked their voices
sounded almost... passionate at the last line. "What the heck?"
"Ah here's the
refrain," Katrina smiled.
This time the Anayamis were
joined by the bulk of their cordon who bellowed out in time: vedeve -- s nyeba
privyet, ultramarinovyi nabok beret, tyelnik s volnoy i more pogon, s nyebom
naveki desant obruchon. vedeve, skolko pobyed! iz parashutov byelyi bukyet.
radugoiy mirnoy paryat kupola. slava dyesantu! chest i khvala!
Sounding almost... happy the
sisters sang the next part by themselves. "v tsentral'nom parke salyut v
Moskve, mechtayut parni o vedeve. lyubym oruzh'yem vladyet lyegko, znamya
pobyedy glavneye vsego."
"What are they
singing?" Asuka asked.
Katrina smiled. "In the
central park of
"Okay...." Confused,
Asuka nearly stumbled, but was shocked when the Azazel troopers, once again bellowed
out the refrain.
"VDV - regards from the
sky. The ultramarine beret tilted to the side. Telnik with a wave, and a sea of
epaulets. The airborne are forever engaged with the sky." Katrina
dutifully translated. "VDV, how many victories! A white bouquet of
parachutes The canopies float like a peaceful rainbow. Hail the Airborne! Credit
and praise!"
Asuka felt her neck spasm.
"Well... it does keep
them in good time as they run," Hikari allowed as the group
enthusiastically repeated the refrain.
"How often do they do this?"
Asuka asked as ahead of them the sisters and their... entourage turned the
corner.
Still synchronized, Rei and
Shinju sang their lines. "v goryachikh tochkakh, v gorakh, lyesakh. ataku
vikhryem vedyot desant , sryvayas livnem vnezapno vniz, i tolko stavka po
zhizni zhizn."
Asuka almost stumbled again;
from her vantage point she could see the pale girls... smiling.
Hikari shrugged. "They
run every day, always singing something."
Smirking, Katrina continued to
translate. "In the hot spots, in the mountains, forests. The airborne
perform their whirlwind attack. Rushing down suddenly like a downpour And the
only stake in your life is your life."
After enduring another
ear-splitting refrain, Asuka sighed. Her relief was short lived when the
sisters soft singing started up again.
"Ah you missed the first
part," Katrina chuckled. " Though guys across the country. Tied by
friendship with the VDV. Such brotherhood is a reliable shield. Nobody would
defeat
"Too cute," Hikari
laughed.
Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Right...
cute."
"You should see them when
they've got their rifles. Pyotr's got their motions set pretty well,"
Katrina smiled and made sure that Asuka kept up.
"They know Russian
already?"
"It's part of their
training. Not every Azazel trooper knows Japanese. The higher ups, Pilots, and
the Naval Infantry Company do, but that's about it."
"But why a paratrooper
song?" Asuka asked, holding an arm to her side.
"The last Angel to attack
Asuka coughed.
"It is impressive to see
them sing. It's hard enough to talk while running," Hikari gasped.
Katrina smirked. "There's
a reason cadences are a part of training."
"Right," Asuka
gasped as they completed laps. She looked up and saw the Ayanamis pull out
water bottles. The redhead glowered, they even drank their water synchronized.
***************
"I can't believe they
made you an officer," Nozomi said as she and her friends sat under a tree
in the Eva Pilot's compound.
"She's not an
officer," Shirane corrected.
Nozomi blinked. "But...
warrant... officer."
Shinju brushed a bit of her
hair behind her ear as she carefully laid a line of oil on a milky-white stone.
Shirane narrowed her eyes.
"It's a type of non-com, enlisted."
Nozomi sighed. "Isn't
that short for non-commissioned officer?"
Leaning on the tree, Rei
looked up from her novel.
"Senior enlisted. They
don't have a commission, hence the Non-com."
"So they're not
officers?"
"Depends on the
service. Some, like the US Army have
them as essentially junior officers. The
Canadian Army on the other hand has them taking up many of the roles of
sergeants, more traditional non-coms.
And don't get me started on what the British do."
"Fine, I don't
care." Nozomi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Still, why did Nerv
decide to draft you all? You're already Pilots."
Looking up from her oil-stone,
Shinju's lips curled downward and her eyes glistened.
The freckled brunette turned
from the pale girl to her older sister who had resumed her bodice-ripper.
"Fine. Be that way."
Shirane gave the youngest
Horaki a sympathetic pat. "They can't tell us everything."
"I liked it better when
they simply said 'It's classified'. This pouting is too much."
"At least she didn't
actually start crying, this time." Shirane snickered, before her expression
grew serious. "Just think of the timing. Recent events and all."
Nozomi nodded. "Still,
why this rank? Why not make them officers?"
Shirane frowned. "Huh... yeah
you girls could be whatever rank they wanted to make you."
"Traditionally many
militaries give their pilots commissions, but sometimes the number of pilots
exceeded the officer pool. The solution was 'Flying sergeants' who did not have
the same leadership responsibilities an officer did and could focus exclusively
on piloting," Shinju recited as she pulled out a set of slim double-bladed
knives.
"Oh," Nozomi stated.
"Huh, I should have
thought of that." Tapping her chin, Shirane looked over at the, seemingly,
lounging Naval Infantry. "But Igor and Pyotr are lieutenants, aren't you
above them?"
Rei frowned. "They're
security and training."
Steadily running a blade over
the stone, Shinju gave a slight nod.
"Still if you ordered
them in battle..." Shirane's joking smile froze when she saw Igor extend
his pointer and middle finger and extend his arm.
The bearish man laughed and
mimed firing a handgun. "Pow! Haha!"
Shirane shook her head.
"Okay then... Well, what about the new Pilot?"
Rei turned to a new page on
her book. "Different."
Listening to the steady whisper
of honing metal, Shinju concentrated on keeping the pressure even and the blade
angle fixed.
"What do you think,
Shinju?" Nozomi prompted.
Flipping the blade to sharpen
the other edge, Shinju paused. "Yes."
Nozomi turned to Shirane.
"This is what we've got to deal with."
"My sister's gotten
pretty chummy with her," Nozomi offered.
"Oh? Huh... from my
brother's griping it sounds like Asuka can out-Hikari Horaki."
"She's not that
bossy!"
"Exactly. Asuka's even
more bossy."
Shinju held up the blade and
carefully ran the tip of her finger perpendicular to the blade. She repeated
this process at several locations, gauging the sharpness. She looked up and
caught Igor giving an approving nod. Blushing, Shinju cleaned the blade and slipped
it into a holster strapped to her thigh. Adjusting her ruffled hem, Shinju
picked up the next knife and resumed working.
"Fine, I guess she's
bossy." Nozomi rolled her eyes. "It's kind of weird how she always
wears those clip things in her hair."
"Her interface headset?
Nah, that makes sense. It shows she's ready for battle."
Shinju pursed her lips and ran
the blade against the oil-stone.
"It shows she wants to
show off to everyone that she's a Pilot," Nozomi groused.
"I think the large
Kalashnikov wielding Russians following her accomplish that," Nozomi
noted.
Shirane looked into the
distance. "True. Azazel is hard to ignore."
Looking in the same direction
as the black-haired-girl, Nozomi blinked. Wearing a blue and white horizontal
stripped shirt, camouflage pants, boots, a Nerv beret and shooting glasses
Asuka strode toward them.
The brunette chuckled,
doubtless Shirane's focus was on the rifle slung over the redhead's shoulder
and the curved leather magazine pouch on her hip. As the redhead approached her
detail spread out, merging with the one guarding the two Ayanamis. Nozomi noted
a muscular and scarred blonde amble over to Igor.
"At least there's an
upside to these Russians," Asuka smirked as she unslung her rifle.
Shinju briefly looked up to
make sure the second child had the gun pointed towards the ground, that the
redhead's finger was off the trigger, and confirmed the accessibility of her
own sidearm.
"Keep your stock
unfolded," Rei noted.
Asuka blinked.
"What?"
Shirane nodded. "Yeah, it
only folds for storage. Like in a pack, vehicle, or para-drop. If you needed to
fire it right now, you'd have to spend a second unfolding the stock."
Asuka coughed. "Well,
there's not going to be fighting now..."
"That's never our
decision," Rei replied before returning to her book.
Nozomi frowned at the redhead's
shooting glasses. "Green? What's with that?"
Asuka pulled off her glasses.
"It just worked better than the other colors."
"Green mixes the
anti-glare and minimal color distortion of gray glasses with the blue-light
restriction and contrast and depth perception heightening of amber
lenses," Shinju evenly recalled as she tested the second blade. Frowning
at the slight unevenness she returned to the oil-stone.
Asuka blinked. "Uh...
yeah."
"Kind of like your purple
ones?"
Shinju nodded. "Mine
combine vermillion, which is good for highlighting the target against poor
choppy backgrounds and gray. Oneechan simply uses vermillion."
"Well, it's not like we
can wear these glasses in the plug," Asuka said idly spinning her glasses.
"Visual Control Seven can
toggle preset visual tinting between on-off-and target highlight, though the
last relies on AI or transmitted targeting data."
Asuka quickly nodded before
turning to the Ayanami's friends. They seemed normal.
"So you're from Third
Branch?" Shirane asked.
"Yup," Asuka's smile
was cut by the other girl's pensive expression.
"It's good that you're
getting trained here then," Shirane nodded.
"What?"
"Don't worry, when Shinju
got here she was completely harmless, and just look at her now."
Despite herself, Asuka turned
and saw the young girl, in a frilly dress, sharpening knives. The small girl
looked up and Asuka froze when those red eyes locked onto her. Smiling broadly,
Shinju gave a happy wave, causing Asuka's left hand to go down and rub her
right thigh, where the wound still itched.
Shrugging, Asuka started to
walk away.
"So, your going in to
change?" Nozomi asked.
"Yeah, are you gonna come
back out?" Shirane skeptically followed up.
Asuka's face reddened.
"Well... I lost most of my stuff when the Othello sank."
"Oh? So you don't have
any clothes." Shirane's eyes twinkled.
"Well, I was planning on
getting some later...."
"Great we can go
now!" Nozomi smirked.
"What?"
Nozomi turned to Shinju. "What
do you say? You want to go shopping."
Shinju shrugged, but her face
held a little smile.
Shirane looked over and saw
that Rei had put her book down. "See! This is exuberant for the
Ayanamis."
"I'll order the BTR-80s
up and running," Katrina shouted from the cluster of Azazel officers.
"Wait... I didn't mean
now!" Asuka cried.
"What's wrong with now? Not
like we're doing anything else." Shirane stood up and stretched.
"I've still got a
gun!"
"Yes, Warrant Officer Soryu,
you do."
***************
Shinju lowered her arms.
"You don't like it."
Staring at the... thing in the
small girl's hands, Asuka took a half step back.
Turning the object around,
Shinju looked at its face. "But it's so cute... it's so... you." She
lifted her arms holding the redheaded doll up to Asuka's face.
The redhead screamed and
lurched back. "No! No! Get it away!" Shaking, Asuka averted her gaze
while regretting letting Katrina carry her rifle.
Shinju frowned slightly.
"Girls like dolls."
Nozomi looked between the twitching
Pilot and the... cute Pilot. "Not all girls."
Turning to face Nozomi, Shinju
tilted her head. "Really?" Confusion colored her pale face.
"Yeah... your sisters
don't like dolls," Nozomi clarified.
"Oneechan and Oneesan are
older. At thirteen, Soryu is younger."
"Huh," Shirane put
down the Joint Strike Fighter kit box she was holding. "So, your thinking
was that Asuka would be just young enough to appreciate a doll that looks like
her. Not that I'm not impressed that you managed to find one, but really?"
Shinju looked at the doll.
"There's some facial resemblance, but the hairstyle is too long."
"You picked a redheaded
doll with blue eyes," Nozomi dryly remarked.
"I was looking for
something that I knew Asuka would like."
"I don't like
dolls," Asuka glared.
"Just be glad its not a
month from now." Shirane noted as she rooted among the model plane boxes.
Her eyes fixated on the doll,
Asuka felt her stomach knot at that statement. "Why?"
"That's when the
figurines come out. Kotobukiya Hobby has a whole bunch of 1/7 scale Pilot and
1/200 scale Evangelion figures coming out next month."
Nozomi sighed. "I told
you, my sister's already got your wish list."
Shirane spun around and hugged
the freckled girl. "You're the greatest!"
"And you two are the...
normal ones." Asuka turned back. "Gah! Get that thing out of my
face!" she yelled batting the doll away.
"But.... it's... cute."
Shinju whispered, lowering her head.
"What are you
doing?" Shirane asked.
"Princess over here was
shoving that doll in my face." Feeling her back tingle Asuka turned around
and saw Rei standing behind her, carrying an armload from the bookstore next
door. "Genetics? Were they out of trashy romance novels?"
Rei narrowed her eyes.
"You're making Shinju
cry," Nozomi said.
Asuka glared. "Really? Looks
like she's just moping to me. Seems to me that she's been coddled."
Looking out through her long
bangs Shinju whimpered slightly.
"I don't like
dolls," Asuka stated.
"How about clothes? You
like those?" Shirane dryly asked.
Asuka eyed the black-haired
girl, and the military model boxes she held. "Yeah, of course."
"Then you're done
here," Rei stated.
Shinju gave a slow nod as she
placed the redheaded doll back onto a display rack.
"The clothing store's not
too far away," Shirane said as she and Nozomi walked to the register.
The Ayanamis followed, leaving
Asuka seemingly alone. "Awfully prickly today," a deep feminine voice
said from behind.
"Yeah, well I really
don't like dolls. They're... creepy, Katrina. All dead and not... real." Asuka
gave the redheaded doll a hateful glance before walking after the other girls.
"You certainly showed
that you won't let yourself be pushed around." Katrina said before
radioing the rest of her team that they were moving stores.
Asuka smirked. "That I
did."
"Yes, that prepubescent
preteen knows that you won't be pushed around by the likes of her."
"I'm only a year and a
half older than her." Asuka raised an eyebrow. "And besides, I don't
want a knife in my back."
"Or a shovel to the
gut." Katrina added as they crossed the mall atrium.
"Right." Asuka
looked up and saw a few Azazel agents in battle dress on the higher floors, overlooking
the atrium. Her gaze leveled and she saw more of them moving around the
hallways that branched off the central room. A few black-suited Section 2
agents were further back.
Asuka frowned. Before... that
would be the most security she would expect compared to the mass of
rifle-bearing Russian soldiers they seemed vestigial and impotent. Entering
into the clothing store, Asuka froze.
"There you are! Maybe you
can convince Shinju to try it on." Shirane held up a dress.
Memory flickering, Asuka
started at the collection of white ruffles, purple ribbons and layers of black
silk. "Err... you think she's going to wear that."
"Don't you think it's
totally Shinju?"
Asuka swallowed. "Yeah, it
is."
***************
Standing in the upper deck of
the backup
"Going through some basic
motions." Major Osumi leaned into the microphone at his station. "Warrant
Soryu, proceed to rally point Seven." The JSSDF officer muted it and
turned back to the general. "Okay enough. We haven't done much beyond some
basics PT duty. She can operate it at least."
Ishikari nodded. "Doctor,
any problems running three Evangelions?"
"No, Sir. The Magi can
handle the simulation load just fine." Ritsuko did not look up from her
terminal.
"Unit 02's moving a bit
sluggishly."
"It's still being
repaired, or the Pilot needs more experience," Ritsuko smirked slightly.
Misako frowned slightly, but
the new pilot could synchronize. At least
Third Branch could manage that much. Now just to finish cleaning up their mess,
she thought grimly.
"Second, how are your
visuals?" Ritsuko asked
"Not bad, not bad,"
Asuka moved her Eva's head, seeing the rolling hills scroll past her. Icons
appeared over the other two Evangelions and Asuka started lumbering towards
them.
"Didn't Third Branch have
a simulator?" Shinju flatly asked.
Asuka glared at the
albino-bearing panel projected onto her screens; she wondered if she was
paranoid or if there was something to the Fourth's tone. "Yes, but ours
just had the plug go into a simulation body."
"That explains the lack
of fidelity," Ritsuko transmitted.
"Not everyone has the
skill to wire an Evangelion dummy system," Osumi chuckled. "Now
Pilots, we've got some gunnery Second Branch and the US Navy are shipping in
the next batch of weapons."
"Loading
"Those look... primitive,"
Asuka muttered. There was no magazine feed and they bore a strong resemblance
to a break-action hunting shotgun, only with a twenty meter barrel length.
"Just be glad they're not
muzzle-loading," Misako cut in.
"They're based on the 16"/50
caliber Mark 7 guns the US Navy pulled off their mothballed battleships. They
were the only big guns in good enough condition." Osumi briefly pondered
the irony. Seventy-year old weapons designed and used to destroy the Japanese
military were now in the hands of... He shook his head. "We'll start
getting you used to the kick of these weapons. Proper foot placement is very
important. These things could knock back a fifty-thousand ton battleship."
"Each of you take the
weapon that matches your Pilot Number," Ritsuko ordered.
Unit 01 strode forward and
picked up one of the guns. Careful to keep her finger off the trigger and point
the weapon away, Shinju flicked the lever atop the gun. Via a heads-up cutaway
display, she saw the breech blocks revolve to unlocked position and retract,
the hydraulic locking pins release, and the entire barrel assembly rotate
downward on a gigantic hinge shaft.
She flipped the gun closed and
was relieved at how fluid the action sealing was. Repeating the process she got
a feel for how responsive it took, and wondered how representative the simulation
was.
Finally she held the action
open and peered down the cavernous barrels. Rifling spiraled down the deep bore
length. She closed the action and looked at the side. Stenciled in meter-high
letters on the stock was: BB-64 "Wisky".
"Why aren't we matching
Evangelion Number?" Asuka asked looking at her weapon: BB-62 "Big J".
"Because The four
Rei picked up her weapon and
gave a thin smile at its name: :The Big Stick". Unlike the stubby,
blunderbuss-like Little David, the weapon had a sweeping elegance and mass.
"Have you no
romance?" General Ishikari laughed.
"They can call the guns
whatever they want," Ritsuko sighed. "This is all a stopgap, until
the UN decides we need to lob even bigger shells even faster."
Asuka eyed the lone
Iowa-rifle. Despite being a computer simulation of an inanimate object, the
third gun, "
"That situation is being
addressed, Warrant," Ritsuko nearly snapped.
"Err... right."
Asuka then went to the ammunition case. The twenty shells in their neat rows
appeared innocuous enough, until she realized that it was the size of a bus.
Picking up one of the gleaming brass cases and steel bullets she gave a slight
whistle. Longer than her Unit's hand it looked like an elephant-gun cartridge.
The half-meter diameter brass casing itself was three meters long.
Asuka could see this data on
her HUD, but more impactful was that the casing was thicker than one of her
Unit's fingers and ran from her wrist to the Eva's second knuckle where it
necked down to the pointed bullet itself, which jutted out beyond her digits by
another knuckle spacing.
The redhead stared as the
misleadingly skinny-looking shell that dominated her palm. She was used to
holding things that were out of scale with an Evangelion, but for the first
time she held something that made her feel... small. It was as if the
ammunition was too big for her Unit.
"That's a Mark 9 shell. The
warheads being largely 'off the shelf', the breakthrough was combining the
propellant and the payload. Each one contains nearly seven hundred pounds of
smokeless powder and lobs a shell weighting up to 2700 lbs." Osumi stated.
"Big," Asuka idly
noted.
"There's bigger, the
Little David fires a shell over twice the diameter at 36 in, 914 mm. It lobs a
3700 lb shell."
"Wow... that's big."
"Now, your training
rounds are merely filled with a ton of high explosives. In battle you'll use N2
or nuclear warheads," Ritsuko smiled at the feed from Asuka's plug.
The redhead's eyes widened.
"We're going to fire nukes, from artillery? Isn't that... insane?"
"Not really, nuclear
artillery is a half century old technology," Ritsuko sighed.
"Indeed. Even firing them
out that gun of yours is an old idea. The W23 was built in the early sixties, though
that bomb was only 20 kilotons." Osumi's chuckle had a nervous undertone.
Misako cut in. "But we
anticipate you using the N2 warheads. Those bridge the tactical gap between an
Azazel strike and a knife fight."
"But we'll still have
nuclear weapons?"
"Just in case. Most of
the time an N2 is enough." Ritsuko paused. "Look, only two weapons
can kill an Angel. You might as well have both, and you should definitely be
trained in how to use and survive both."
"Now today we're going to
work on basic gunnery and ergonomics here. Fortunately, it's not too difficult
to manufacture new grips. We can also learn what kind of stock is best." Osumi
stated.
"And possibly
retrofitting to a different action," Ritsuko said with a half-concealed
sigh.
***************
Looking up from his desk,
General Yubari nodded to the younger general. "How was today's
training?"
"Nerv's still running
them through some synchronization experiments, or something, but I felt you'd
want a report right away." Ishikari sat down in a chair and stretched
slightly. "The Ayanamis preformed as expected."
Yubari chuckled. "Of
course they did."
"Warrant Officer Soryu on
the other hand...."
"Ah, disobedient?"
The middle-aged man shook his
head and pulled a slim report out of his steel briefcase.
Yubari glanced at the dozen or
so papers that plopped onto his desk. The document had the standard triple
representation. On the left was the half fig-leaf, partially obscured and
staggered Nerv lettering, and motto of: "God's in His Heaven, All's Right
With the World." On the right bearing the word Azazel, a stylized spear
cleaved a cleaved a shield. Bellow, was: "Each Man is a God, Each Man is
Free."
Centrally and contrasting with
the two crimson logos was the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces. On a
field of blue, a winged, golden parachute was above a matching set of olive
branches and below Rising Sun flag and JSSDF in white letters.
"She'll take orders, but
she's got to unlearn a lot of habits." Ishikari shrugged.
"Third Branch trained
her."
Ishikari nodded.
"Ah, that kind of
training."
"Yes, Rei had only done
activation tests and Shinju was almost a complete blank slate. Really, they
were nearly ideal."
"Yes." Yubari
skimmed the report. Ishikari had noted as much, though had used slightly more
colorful language, especially in reference to Third Branch, and why not. They
were already going to take the fall, why not add a bit more. "Nerv made
sure they could pilot Eva, and we
make sure they know what do with the damn things ."
"And Azazel hones their
bodies outside of Eva. Not a bad compromise."
"Especially at the mere
cost of subsidizing
Mock surprise graced
Ishikari's face. "But Sir, UN funding is only supposed to cover costs
directly related to Azazel."
"Handy how the entirety
of
"Still, less corrupt than
Nerv."
Yubari gave a fatalistic
shrug. "So it goes"
"With Soryu, she has the
potential."
"I would certainly hope
so, given she Pilots the most expensive weapon devised by man." Yubari
looked at the hastily written report. "Is she ready?"
Ishikari shook his head.
"But when has that stopped us? Remember Shinju's first battle? We don't
have very much margin here."
"We have three functional
Evangelions, two proven Pilots, one rookie Pilot, and enough strategic weapons
to ensure that while we may lose the enemy certainly won't win."
"Yes, but as the last
battle shows, there's not much in between an Evangelion strike and a nuclear
strike."
"Blame AT fields. We can
either erode them using an Eva's field or brute force 'em. We should be happy
that Nerv figured out how to replicate the enemy's abilities." The younger
general shared a meaningful glance with the elder. "Can you imagine
fighting this war without Evas?"
"Hence our research in
combined arms. Speaking of that. How did the
"The simulations worked fine. I'm not certain how adequately that'll
prepare them for the real thing."
"You sound like Director
Beria." Yubari flashed a quick smile.
"Real world testing is
the best."
Yubari leaned back. "And
it's good that the Americans hung onto those guns for so long. Though there's
something... odd about us using them."
"The ships were only
decommissioned two decades ago. The guns have been in a ready state for the
majority of their existence." Ishikari gently corrected. "There were
even plans to make them part of the UN fleet."
"What fleet? With JMSDF,
the Russians, the Americans, the Brits, and the French pulling out, there's not
much left."
"I think
Yubari shook his head.
"Non-nuclear powers. Everyone with nukes is pulling in their forces and
readying their weapons."
"Can you blame them? People
are wondering if the Angels will keep attacking
"A fortress is useful
only if the enemy has to attack it."
"Yes." Ishikari
cleared his throat. "How do you think General Abukuma is doing?"
"The proposal is
interesting. It's only a supplementary system, but it could fill that gap of
ours," Yubari allowed.
"Yes but Nippon Heavy
Industry Solidarity is involved. You think they can cut it?"
"They're not the primary
contractor this time, and it's not like they're the only second stringer
involved."
"I'm not sure about that.
Westinghouse and Antonov are doing quite well, but Fairchild barely survived
the post Second Impact defense buildup and Austin Advanced Technology only has
prototypes."
"Well, we've only now
just gotten the first mass production Evangelion. Hopefully this group can give
us more flexibility."
"And put a weapons system
under our full control."
Yubari raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, that is a factor."
***************
As the plug drained Asuka
leaned back and absently massaged her right shoulder. Compared to the various
AT field tests the gunnery exercises were a godsend. Frustration was preferable
to boredom. Her memories of that gun firing were cut off as the main plug hatch
opened and a support crane grabbed the cockpit module and raised it out of the
plug tube.
Looking over, the redhead
paled. On the catwalk below her, the youngest Ayanami blandly tracked Asuka's
movements. The second the cockpit was secured, Asuka jumped up and grabbed the
catwalk's railing for balance.
Impassively staring, Shinju
stood in front of her. Asuka looked past the lavender-plug-suited girl to Unit
01. The purple Evangelion bore a pair of halos stenciled on the side of its
head and had a large jump-patch on it's shoulder pylon. Hearing no motion,
Asuka slowly, reluctantly turned back to the younger Pilot.
Asuka tensed and Shinju sprung
forward. The tiny girl nearly tackled the redhead and used a bear-hug to pin
Asuka's arms to her sides. "You were adequate today!"
Relaxing a bit, Asuka wondered
why she had to be the only Pilot with any social graces "Uh... I'm a
Pilot. We're the best."
Quickly pulling her arms back,
Shinju gave Asuka a critical eye. "Yes," she said before spinning on
her heel and walking back down the catwalk.
Noticing the suspiciously
shaped bulge on the small of the fourth child's back, Asuka blinked and ran up.
It was mostly hidden by the thick fall of LCL-soaked hair. Getting a closer
look, Asuka boggled at the rounded vaguely-L-shaped water-tight pouch. It had a
set of quick release buttons and another, thinner sealed compartment that ran
the long side of the L.
Shinju stopped and looked over
her shoulder. "I don't wear it on my back when piloting. There's a clip on
the right side of the seat."
"A handgun? In an
Evangelion?"
"Pilots carry sidearms."
Shinju continued walking.
Asuka inhaled. They had
already been drafted and had just practiced shooting nuclear naval artillery.
"Fine, but isn't that a bit weak?"
Joining them at the junction
of Unit 00's catwalk and Asuka and Shinju's, Rei fell into step next to her
sister. "The left side of the seat has a sealed compartment containing a
survival kit, including a compact carbine," the middle sister stated.
"Really?"
"You are using the new
plug design. Weren't you paying attention when they were briefing you?"
Asuka froze, for a moment she
could not tell which sister had spoken. The undercurrent of disapproval made
her think it was Rei, but, looking between the two heads of blue hair, Asuka
could not be sure. "It sounded... all the same."
"We're an experimental
combat unit. We might just have to eject in an unfriendly area. But don't worry
our Naval Infantry really know how to run an SERE module!" Shinju brightly said before they passed through
a set of armored doors that sealed off the Evangelion cages.
Asuka frowned. This time she
could tell who was speaking, but... "SERE?"
"Survival, Evasion,
Resistance, and Escape." Rei clarified, with a trace of disappointment.
"Oh." Asuka followed
the sisters into the locker room. "So survival stuff if we get stuck in...
hostile territory."
Stripping off her sidearm, Rei
went to her locker. "Yes," she stated as she opened the case,
discharged the magazine, ejected the chambered round, caught it, and worked the
action. After inspecting the weapon, she then loaded the magazine, racked the
slide, ejected the magazine, topped it off using the spare bullet, reinserted
the magazine, and then set the safety.
Blinking Asuka turned to see
Shinju mirroring her sister's actions. "So... I heard they're going to
have the trials tomorrow. What do you think will happen?"
"They'll all be
killed," Shinju absently shrugged before stripping out of her plug suit. Her
dripping hair hung around her like a cloak.
Asuka glared at the naked
pre-teen. "What?"
"Treason," the girl
innocently said as she walked to the shower stalls, shadowed by an equally nude
Rei.
"It's not that
simple!" Asuka cried out, but the two sisters seemed to ignore her as they
briskly and efficiently scrubbed the LCL off their bodies. The synchronization
broke and Asuka laughed. Unlike "Oneechan" Nerv's pretty princess
spent time on her tresses. By the time Rei had left the shower stall, dried
herself, and was getting dressed, Shinju had only started putting in the
conditioner.
The redhead watched as Shinju
finished washing her hair and returned to her locker and put on a set of
underwear edged in little bows and slipped into a confection of ruffles and
bows that appeared to have started life as a romper. "You should clean
yourself too," Shinju stated, not pausing as she used her silver
hairbrush.
Asuka's eyes darted between
the long steady strokes of Shinju's arm, and Rei's... idle expression.
"Err- Right." Peeling out of her plug suit Asuka backed to the
shower. She could understand Rei's impassive stare, but what kind of girl let
someone else watch them shower?
Finishing her brushing, Shinju
gave a tiny smile at her reflection, slipped on her headband and straightened
out the vast array of bows that adorned her body. Slipping on a pair of shiny
lavender Mary Jane heels and her sidearm, Shinju skipped over to her sister.
"Ready Oneechan!"
Looking the clone over, Rei
nodded and took her hand and lead her out the locker room. They had an
appointment with Dr. Akagi and time-permitting a meeting with the Commander.
Wrapping a towel around
herself, Asuka walked out of the shower stalls and sighed. At least being alone
she did not have to worry about crazy sisters.
***************
On the screen nearly a dozen
figures stooped, most had a mix of shock and slumped grief, while two roiled
with ill-contained anger. "The verdict is guilty!" a deep contralto
voice cried. "The charge is treason. Not just against Nerv, but against
all of humanity," her voice growing more sharp, the scene shifted to
showing the badly mangled and now disbanded UN Pacific fleet. "In their
quest for power, these petty insects betrayed their sacred oaths and this is
the cost of their... decadence," the announcer savored the last word
drawing it out.
"The nuclear fires, the
hundreds of dead sailors, the near loss of an Evangelion all laid at their
feet." The display now showed a court room. Starkly lit, its deep wood
paneling and almost cramped quarters gave a claustrophobic sense. At the
defense table, short-haired blond man with a Nerv commander rank glared at an
ill-shaven man leaning in the witness box.
"The orders were clear, the
needs of our soldiers, our sons, our daughters would become secondary to...
political maneuvering," the announcer spat the last words. "Some
denied critical reforms, some cut vital equipment in order to deepen their own
pockets. Their crimes are unforgivable! Weapons of global import were
sabotaged. Yes, look at these men!"
The scene cut back to the
Third Branch official. Their stoops had reduced, due to their hands being bound
behind their backs. "These are the faces of traitors, of wreckers, of
saboteurs! They thought they were enriching themselves, they thought they were
increasing their own power."
The announcer gave a thick
chuckle. "In reality they were helping the Angels. These quislings are no
better than spies. Because of them humanity was weakened! Because of them
critical material, critical manpower, critical men were spent."
"The battle was won, but
it was in spite of these seditious insects. Having betrayed the most important
of trusts they cannot be trusted with anything. Punishment must be taken; their
victims must be compensated; the world must see our resolve." Once again
the scene shifted, it now featured a trio of the stooped men. Behind them lay a
wall of freshly-hewn logs.
The voice-offer stopped and in
the sudden silence a pair of men in tan Nerv tactical uniforms offered
cigarettes and hoods to the figures. Two accepted the latter while eschewing
the former. The former commander took the reverse. Taking a few drags he
straightened himself and squared his shoulders.
After the two Nerv officers
finished their work, the camera pulled back revealing nine riflemen, their
weapons already rising. "Let every Nation, every human, every Angel know,
that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe," -as she spoke her voice rose in a triumphant
crescendo, "-in order to assure
the survival of the human race." Her statement was punctuated by a volley
from the rifles.
Wearing a the black long skirt
and matching red-trimmed jacket of a Nerv tactical dress uniform, a
crimson-eyed officer strode towards the bleeding, prone figures. Coldly,
precisely she drew her sidearm and placed a single shot, unnecessarily in two
cases, into each forehead.
The Nerv officer froze in
mid-stride, video paused.
"And this is playing
before movies and in news reports?" Beria chuckled and took a sip of his
tea. "Nothing like the deaths of billions and a existential crisis to
force the west to abandon their decadent mewling and show some backbone."
Igor leaned back, his chair
worryingly creaking. "I am amused at her courtesy," he smoothly said
in cultured Russian.
"Oh?" Admiral Sudoplatov
looked across the plain metal table.
"She shot the commander
first, Sir."
Captain Sakharov laughed.
"So, she is a courteous one."
"Yes, Commander Bothe
knew how to die." Pyotr shook his head. "Shame so few Germans seem to
remember that."
"Oh?" Katrina's face
broke into a broad smile. "Perhaps, that's because we kept killing those
that knew how to die."
Sudoplatov gave a cold smile. "It
would seem that Nerv has found their stride."
Beria refilled his cup.
"No one ever underestimated Ikari's ruthlessness," the engineer said
as he put a touch of sugar in his tea. "What he has now is the capital to
pursue his agenda."
"Much like the
"Reform is such a
convenient cover for consolidation," Katrina laughed.
"Still, Third Branch's
incompetence is real. Even Ikari would not fake that debacle. However, he is
taking advantage of the situation." Sudoplatov nodded.
"It is not surprising
that Third Branch would be such a mess. Nerv's greatest failing is their
inability to bridge the gap between proof-of-concept-prototype and something a
soldier can use." Beria leaned back. "One must remember that Director
Akagi is the best that Nerv has. Therefore every other scientist they have is
worse."
"Such is the problem when
a research organization takes on the airs of a combat unit." Sudoplatov
chuckled.
"Indeed. It is no
coincidence that the Reorganization merely augmented Nerv's tactical,
strategic, and procurement branches. The core science, such as it is, remains
proprietary." Beria looked up at the ceiling. "Even this airbase and
our forces serve to strengthen the defense and the position of Nerv."
"Yes, our very own
Captain Zel'dovich, is protecting
"Which is good.
"Unless the Americans get
there first," Sakharov nettled.
"It was their fleet, let
them save Nerv. Besides, they needed four bombs."
"However, the arrangement
is not without its own risks for Nerv." Sudoplatov looked at the Naval
Infantry.
Katrina cleared her throat.
"Yes, the second child clearly is the weak link. She is an outsider with
an attachment to Third Branch. Then add
in all the retraining required to get her to current New Nerv standards."
"How has she taken the
executions?"
"Distantly. Conveniently,
intentionally I'm sure, she had no personal relationship with any of the
traitors, and she has started to blame them for what happened to her Eva."
"It was their
fault," Igor stated.
"While not necessary it
is... cleaner to execute actual traitors when the need arises." Beria
sardonically said.
"Yes, she's uncomfortable
with them needing to die, but it should be a good learning experience. The
Ayanamis have a much better handle on death than she does."
This time Admiral Sudoplatov's
smile reached his eyes and grew wistful. "They do have greater personal experience."
***************
Adjacent to the lobby with its
sandbag and machine gun accents was a lounge area. Off to one side was a bar and
one set of doors lead to a smallish exercise room. Frowning at the room full of
laughing, sweaty Russians, Asuka stopped. Many of the men turned and several
gave waves and quick salutes.
The redhead sighed and turned
away, re-crossing the lounge she caught a flash of crimson. She walked up and
saw Rei book in hand, staring directly at her.
"Uh... you... wanted me?"
Asuka hesitantly asked as her arm slid around to her back. Her eyes darted to
the figure on Rei's side.
For a few silent seconds, Rei
tracked the other Pilot's motion. "No," she eventually replied looking
down at the cover of her Mark 9 Iowa-system technical manual.
Asuka clenched her fist.
"Then don't stare at me!"
Blinking her eyes open, Shinju
lifted her head off of Rei's side. "Oneechan?" she asked in a bare
whisper.
Staring at the girl, Asuka
noted her dress. Unlike herself and the First Child, the Fourth Child had a
lacy and ruffled version of her white and blue physical-training clothes, complete
with an almost nauseatingly effeminate jumper.
"I'm sorry did I wake
Nerv's precious Princess?"
Brushing some of her bangs out
of her face, Shinju looked up at Asuka. "Yes."
"Great, now you're being
sarcastic."
After straightening her torso
and legs, Shinju pouted. "No."
With deliberate slowness, Rei
picked up her book and resumed reading.
"We're supposed to be a
team!"
"We are," Rei
replied.
"Ordering us to be a team
doesn't count," Asuka snapped, ignoring Rei's flash of irritation.
"We have to act like a team."
"There was the Eva-Sim,"
Shinju stated as she nestled back down, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"That's not enough,
there's more to being a team than training together."
"Combat?" Shinju
asked.
"She does lack that
experience," Rei said with a hint of levity.
"Just wait until the next
Angel." Asuka took a couple steps to the side, she wanted to take a seat, but
she also wanted to leave to forget about the creepy sisters.
"Yes, Unit 02 will be
properly equipped, this time," Rei noted.
Asuka's eyes narrowed.
"Yes... good thing it's nearly fully repaired."
"The Unit will be combat
ready," Rei noted, flipping to a new page.
"Oh, what's that supposed
to mean?"
"You don't think Nerv
will just dump someone into a plug and send them into battle?" Shinju's
deadpan immediately brightened after her question. "So it's vital that you
do your best and be the best! I'm sure you can do it."
Muttering under her breath
about sarcastic brats, Asuka simply stared at the ruffled little girl. "Anyway
I passed those," Asuka smirked.
"No. Today was merely to
see how much damage Third Branch did to you. All today proved was that you could
synchronize, take orders, and shoot. " Shinju shifted so she was curled
into more of a curled position. "It's a good thing you cleared them, now the
Generals can add you to the real combat training."
"In the simulator, they
had me dropped from a plane."
"A real war-game would
have had you drop into battle, not a gunnery range, and a simulator drop is
very different from the real thing."
"This isn't at all like
what Third Branch did." Asuka looked at the pale sisters and winced.
"I didn't mean it that way..."
"Good." Rei did not
look up from her book.
"I don't.... Did they
have to be executed? I mean the Captain..."
"They're the reason so
many people died. They're why your Evangelion could not fight." Shinju
wrapped her arms around Rei. "Why are you defending them?"
"Fine, they screwed up. Big
time. Does that mean they should die?
"Yes." Rei and
Shinju echoed.
***************
Fretfully, looking at her
apartment door, Asuka paced. "How long does it take to use an
elevator?" Chewing her lip she glanced at her bedroom. She'd already
straightened her hair and face but was worried... "The second I start to
change he'll knock on the door," she muttered. "It had been one of
those weeks." The simulator
exercises had gotten progressively more complicated and the actual training
deployments were only slightly less involved.
After a few indecisive seconds
she started walking towards her bedroom. There was a knock. A vicious,
victorious smile crossed her face as she spun around and ran to the door.
"Ah hah!" she cried
throwing the door open.
"Gah?" Kaji blinked
and stumbled back, almost hitting one of the chuckling Russian guards.
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "What
took you?"
"The trials only ended
two days ago. They only just let me out of... protective custody this morning,"
Kaji's voice was dry.
"Not that. The Russians
said you had gotten in over ten minutes ago."
"Ah." Rubbing his
cheek, Kaji awkwardly laughed. "The Captain intercepted me."
"Oh? Did you hit on
her?"
Noting the sidearm on Asuka's
hip, Kaji coughed. "Of course not. She's not my type."
"I don't think that
Ice-Queen's anyone's type," Asuka grumbled, stepping back. She glanced at
the Azazel sergeant. "Thanks Vasiliy, I can handle this here,"
Kaji watched the Naval
Infantry salute and saunter off. "You can order them around?" he
asked, stepping into her apartment.
Asuka shrugged. "They
work for Katrina; Katrina works for me."
"Don't let the power get
to your head." Kaji's chuckle died when saw the redhead's cross
expression.
"I don't want it. I don't
want them." Asuka stomped into the living room. "We wouldn't be in
this mess if Nerv could do its job! The only reason the Russians are even here
is because Ikari didn't kill the first angel."
"It's not that
simple," Kaji noted. "After the N2 went off, JSSDF decided to try a
bigger bomb. Nerv never got the chance."
"And if we did?" Asuka
slumped on a cream-colored leather couch. "What then? I was in
Kaji sighed and sat down
across from her.
Asuka frowned and shifted her
seat so her gun was pointed away from him.
"Rei would have been put
in Unit 01, I guess." Kaji coughed. "Only Pilot. Only Eva."
"Right. It's still a mess.
How come when Nerv HQ screws up a battle they get a slap on the wrist, but we
get people lined up and shot?"
"You heard about the
second battle?"
Asuka raised an eyebrow.
"It's not exactly a secret that Captain Ayanami froze-up and one of the
Generals had to relieve her, but things are going great for her," the
redhead spat.
"So you saw the
video."
"Of course. It's all in
the news. Stirring music of Nerv cleaning up its act and traitors being
punished."
"Well... I was there too.
Third Branch really was a mess."
"And why didn't you do
anything?"
Kaji's bitter laughter lasted
for the better part of a minute. "Oh my... what do you think happened? The
show trials, the executions, that was all because
I did something! I was the one that testified against them. I showed the court
where the evidence was."
Asuka narrowed her eyes and
finished reassembling her gun.
"I'm a Nerv Inspector, uncovering
these things is my job."
Hitting her handgun's release,
the slide shot forward. "So you're a spy?"
Kaji coughed. "No, no...
nothing like that. I mean it's not like I kept my job hidden."
"So Third Branch wasn't
just treasonous, they were incompetent too?"
Kaji blinked. Did she have to
ask?
"They knew you were a
Nerv Inspector. They had to know you were reporting on them."
"They sent an Evangelion
without aquatic gear across two oceans," Kaji dryly reminded.
"There's a reason people joke about Nerv's corruption."
"And now you're fixing
it?" Asuka holstered her gun.
"Their screw-up almost
got you killed. You're only alive because of the Captain's paranoia. I couldn't
let them get away with that." Kaji assured, almost convincing himself.
"Awwww? Really?"
Asuka grinned. "I knew you cared for me!"
"Well... as a
Pilot."
Asuka crossed her arms over
her chest.
"What?"
"You're thinking about
the Captain aren't you?
Kaji sighed. "I told you,
she's not my type."
"You just like the
challenge then."
"You're not my type
either."
The redhead narrowed her eyes
and put her hands on her hips, coincidentally near her holster.
"So, how do you like your
training?"
"You're changing the
subject." Asuka frowned.
"I'm just curious. That
Katrina woman's quite-"
"You're hitting on her
too? She's built like a stove!" Asuka smirked. "Besides, why go for
an old East German clunker when you can have this year's model." She
purred, slinking over to Kaji's seat.
The Inspector's eyes darted
from her chest to her hips to her eyes, before he final leapt to his feet.
"I've really got to go."
Asuka's expression melted into
a pout. "You never have time for me."
"And you don't have time
either." Kaji backed up to the kitchen. " This war's going to keep us
both very busy."
"Better to enjoy
ourselves while we have the time?" she asked following him.
"Yeah..." Kaji
stretched out the word; he was nearly at the front hallway.. "You're a
great kid but..."
Asuka stopped. "Oh? Still
going after the Ice-Queen?"
"No! It's not like
that."
"You're not going
Wondergirl are you?"
Kaji ran a palm over his face.
"Rei's older than you!"
"What? The Princess? What
are you some kind of lolicon perv? You did say that juvenile cute look suited
her."
"But I'm not! You're the
one..." Kaji gave an inarticulate scream.
The door opened and a pair of
Azazel Naval Infantry entered. "Is there a problem, Warrant Officer?"
"No, Vasiliy." Asuka
sighed. "The Inspector was just leaving."
Sergeant Vasiliy Eudoxia lowered
his voice and asked with mock gravity. "Permanently?"
Asuka laughed. "No I
think we can let him off... this time." She warmly smiled at Kaji who had
backed up to the threshold. "Now you be a good little Inspector; you don't
want me angry do you?"
Kaji looked between the
Russians and the Pilot and for a brief moment he missed the dissecting stare of
Captain Ayanami. At least that woman kept her hormones in check.
Giggling, Asuka closed the
door, but not before blowing Kaji a kiss. Shaking his head, Kaji turned to the
Russian guards. "Do you think that's an appropriate joke to tell a young
girl?"
"What joke?" Vasiliy
blinked.
"Really, you would kill
me based on the word of a little girl?"
Vasiliy's companion shrugged.
"We're training her how fight like soldier, why not how laugh like
one?"
"Dragging people off and
killing them isn't funny."
"Depends, how you looking
at it." Vasiliy said as they walked back towards the elevator.
Kaji sighed. "In front or
behind the barrel?"
Vasiliy slapped Kaji on the
back. "See! Good joke!"
***************
Going down to a kneeling
position, Asuka winced and caught her rifle and locked it back into place across
Unit 02's chest. Going prone she slowly maneuvered her Evangelion forward,
aiming for the twin support booms half extended out of her YC59.
"You're doing okay,"
Misako's transmission assured. "Just follow the heads up display and
you'll line up."
"Right, no
pressure," Asuka grimaced as she slid forward. The immense flying-wing
dominated her vision, running the full width of her view. Compared to the
plane's titanic wingspan, the Eva-length metal prongs seemed almost an
afterthought.
Once the prongs had straddled
Unit 02's head Asuka paused. "Why can't we just use the automated
attachment?" she asked eying her displays. The prongs were unlocked, ready
for pylon insertion.
"What if you need to be
flown out of a forward airbase?" Misako chuckled. "Only core Nerv
bases have the cages and lifts that can do automatic attachment. YC59-C is
green for attachment. Final extension. Proceed when ready Pilot."
The redhead looked up and
watched as the booms extended until they lined up with her shoulder pylons.
"Alignment good," Asuka stated and carefully raised her shoulders.
There was a thud and her left side shuddered. "Port pylon contact,"
Asuka announced and twisted slightly, causing a similar thud. "Starboard
contact."
"Just like the
simulator." Misako nodded. "Locking shoulder pylons."
Yeah just like the simulator, save for the time I jerked my shoulder up
and broke a boom in half. Asuka thought to herself. Crazy Ice Queen.
The clamps at the end of the
booms clamped down and locks swiveled into place, fixing the Evangelion to the
airframe. "Returning to rest state," Asuka announced as she lifted
Unit 02's legs. For a brief moment the entire assemblage, Unit, booms, and
airframe groaned and the transport shifted as its landing gears took the
additional weight. Holding her lip, Asuka pushed down her instincts and pulled
Unit 02's arms off the ground and put them at her side.
Biting back vertigo she looked
down and saw herself hanging above the reinforced tarmac. "Fixing body, powering
down." Stiffly held out. Unit 02 hung from the ends of the booms like an
acrobat.
"Good connection. Reel in
the booms," Misako ordered. "Nice work Pilot."
Asuka sighed and let herself
lean forward and down. Double checking, she made sure things would fit within
the transport's bay, the Unit's legs were straight back and that her weapons
and batteries were properly stowed. Looking up, she saw the center bulk of the
aircraft close in and eclipse the sun. The booms finished retracting and with a
series of mechanical thumps locked into place.
Asuka then retracted the plug
armor and let the transport's extend a power and control umbilical. The bridge
also allowed for the plug to be inserted in midair. However that was not an
option with manual loading. The last indicators finally turned green. The
redhead's relief was interrupted by a small heads up display. The redhead
narrowed her eyes at the purple-plug-suited princess.
"Hi! You did good. Didn't
even damage the booms!" Shinju saccharinely said.
Asuka glared. "Oh like
you're such an expert."
Rei's HUD appeared. "The
Fourth Child possesses a shoulder patch which states that she is. Do you have
any questions on today's mission?"
"Yeah, you've got the
same patch too," Asuka grumbled.
"Yes, I am jump-certified,
too." Rei blinked. "So you do not have questions? Are you clear on
your tasks?"
Asuka exhaled frowning
slightly at the LCL taste. "Yes, yes, we drop over
Rei nodded.
The background whine of the
four immense turbo-fans rose as they powered up to max thrust. The noise
stabbed through Asuka's ears, before being flittered down by her Eva's audio
pickups. As the two sister transports revved their engines, Asuka wondered how
the ground crew could handle the volume. She closed her eyes and felt the plane
shudder as it lurched forward before it began the laborious turning motions
that passed for taxiing. Asuka glanced at her map overlay. Her transport
lumbered onto the runway and began to turn; then the singing started.
"He was just a rookie
trooper and he surely shook with fright. He checked off his equipment and made
sure his pack was tight; He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar, You
ain't gonna jump no more!"
The redhead had a brief second
to boggle at the sisters' outburst, then the YC-59's RATO system kicked in and
Asuka became intimately familiar with the limitations of Eva-Sim.
A simulation tied into an
immobile Evangelion was very good at providing realistic controls and displays;
however it could not simulate accelerations, especially ones caused by a Rocket
Assisted Take-Off system that used eight solid rockets that combined to quadruple
the transport's already beefy thrust.
The airframe torquing loads
rammed the craft down the runway and, rocket motors still burning, wrenched its
nose up leaving the ground, and Asuka's stomach behind.
Pressed against her seat, the
redhead heard more English lyrics. "Glory, glory, what a helluva way to
die. Glory, glory, what a helluva way to die. Glory, glory, what a helluva way
to die. He ain't gonna jump no more!"
The rockets cut out and the
transport assumed a more... leisurely climb rate. Asuka took the time too look
around her and regretted it. High fidelity panoramic displays in her plug were
giving an excellent view of the rapidly receding airbase. It's okay, its just a display, I'm not going to fall. Not unless the
booms fail, wait... I am gonna fall... scheisse... that's the whole point.
Asuka flipped off the displays. It would be a
while before the other transports took off and they sortied to the drop zone
anyway.
Meanwhile Rei and Shinju
continued their duet. " 'Is everybody happy?' cried the Sergeant looking
up, Our Hero feebly answered 'Yes,' and then they stood him up; He jumped into
the icy blast, his static line unhooked, And he ain't gonna jump no more.
"Glory, glory, what a
helluva way to die. Glory, glory, what a helluva way to die. Glory, glory, what
a helluva way to die. He ain't gonna jump no more!"
Absent of visual cues Asuka
studied the song. They were clearly mangling the refrain, making it sound
almost like "Gory, Gory." Asuka knew the Japanese did have problems
with the English "L".
"He counted long, he
counted loud, he waited for the shock. He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he
felt the awful drop. The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around
his legs. And he ain't gonna jump no more."
Shinju's feed shuddered for a
moment as her plane's RATO's ignited. Smirking, Asuka noted the young girl grit
her teeth before repeating the refrain.
So that's your game. You sing to keep your mind of being shot into the
air on a bunch of rockets only to have to jump back to the ground, Asuka
thought triumphantly.
"The risers swung around
his neck, connectors cracked his dome. Suspension lines were tied in knots
around his skinny bones. The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the
ground. And he ain't gonna jump no more."
Asuka's eyes widened.
"Oh-kay.... that's a bit dark," she muttered as the sisters once
again sang the refrain.
"The days he'd lived and
loved and laughed kept running through his mind. He thought about the girl back
home, the one he'd left behind. He thought about the medics and wondered what
they'd find, And he ain't gonna jump no more."
By now Shinju's transport
YC-59B had gained enough altitude for Rei's plane to take to the air. Mutely,
Asuka watched as Rei had even less reaction towards the takeoff. The rockets
ignited in mid-chorus and Rei did not miss a beat.
And the grim song continued.
"The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild. The medics
jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled. For it had
been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed. And he ain't gonna jump no
more."
Once again Asuka listened to
the refrain and still could not tell if they were signing "gory" or
"glory"
"He hit the ground, the
sound was "Splat," his blood went spurting high. His comrades then
were heard to say: 'A helluva way to die!' He lay there rolling round in the
welter of his gore. And he ain't gonna jump no more."
Despite herself, Asuka
snickered. Jumping out of an airplane with the goal of getting surrounded by
the enemy just warranted dark humor. Rather like using barely-teenage girls to
pilot giant robots against nigh-invincible aliens while nuclear bombs exploded
overhead.
And then you combine them... Asuka thought, before her mouth
opened. "Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die. Gory, gory, what a helluva
way to die." By the second repetition she had caught herself but went with
it. "Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die. He ain't gonna jump no
more!" Grinning, Asuka finally understood.
The point of the chorus was the bending of gory and glory.
Shinju smirked slightly, and
then slowly, solemnly she and Rei finished the song. "There was blood upon
the risers, there were brains upon the chute. Intestines were a'dangling from
his Paratrooper suit. He was a mess; they picked him up, and poured him from
his boots. And he ain't gonna jump no more." The young clone looked at
Asuka's almost eager... expression, and nodded slightly, and the trio gave the
chorus with its customary gusto.
"Yay! I knew you'd join
in," Shinju gushed.
Asuka raised an eyebrow at the
eager girl. "Not bad," she eventually allowed. "So... are you
going to sing it again?"
Rei glanced down at the timer.
"There's time before the drop."
End Chapter 4
Writer's Notes:
I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, Wray, Ikarus, Trimatter, and Acey. And special thanks to James Axelrad for giving me an accurate layout of the features on a Nimitz ship.
The first song is Alexander Buinov's contemporary song VDV (Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska, Air-landing Forces). Special thanks to Cheb and Kilich for translating the lyrics. The second songs is Blood Upon the Risers, an American WW2 paratrooper song. Youtube has renditions of both songs and both are worth a listen. special thanks to James Axelrad for giving me an accurate layout of the features on a Nimitz ship.