Furry Pigeon Productions presents:
But Loyal To Their Own: An Evangelion Elseworlds
By Andrew Lewis
Neon Genesis Evangelion characters copyright Gainax
Full Metal Panic! characters copyright Shouji Gatou
Han Fei, Samuel Roberts and all other characters copyright the
author
All characters still used without permission
Chapter 2- ...but war is interested in you.
You fight like you train.
-U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School, TOPGUN.
Success flourishes only in perseverance - ceaseless, restless
perseverance.
- Baron Manfred von Richthofen
NERV-4
Karamay
July 25, 2015
6:00AM Local Time
"Well, I hope the both of you enjoyed your weekends," Tzu greeted
Han
and Nami as they stood in the barely post-dawn light, "but now it's time
to go
back to work. Your sync scores are improving on schedule, and you aren't
quite so embarrassing out on the obstacle course. Well done." He
adjusted
his sunglasses against the glare outside, and frowned. "However," He
swept
them with a hard stare. "there is room for improvement. We'll start with
endurance. Begin."
"I don't remember a weekend..." Nami whispered to Han when Tzu's
back
was turned.
"I think he's counting letting us off us off an hour early
yesterday."
Han replied disgustedly as he stoically moved onto the trail.
----------
Fifteen minutes and a bit over two kilometers later, Nami and Han
shambled along together, Han shortening his longer stride to keep pace,
while
Tzu rode his moped ahead of them.
"So, where did you learn English?" Nami asked, hoping to break the
monotony for a while.
"My Father worked in the foreign relations office in Sydney, and
Mother and I were stationed in Sydney with him, so it came naturally. I
read it a much better than I speak it though." Han shrugged. "What about
you?
I'd think as many places as you've been you'd practically be a linguist."
Nami snorted. "Oh, yeah, -every- forsaken backwater in the country
and a few that aren't. Hong Kong was the first nice posting we'd had
since I
was eight. Too bad we were only there a year." She sighed. "But Siberia
was
neat, when it wasn't winter, and I did pick up a little Russian out
there."
Han raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I never heard we had a garrison
there."
Nami smirked back. "We don't. We were 'military advisors to the
Sovereign Nation of Greater Siberia's armed forces.'" Nami replied with a
pompous flourish. "Never mind that our division strung out along the
Russian
border had the only tanks and helicopters west of Vladivostok that weren't
museum relics."
Han's reply was cut off by Tzu's acerbic "If you have breath to
chatter
you have breath to speed up." as he accelerated.
----------
Over lunch, Han told his own tale a trip to Tokyo 2 for talks with
his
father's opposite numbers there.
"You wouldn't believe some of those people." Han shook his head,
deep
in recollection of an 'intimate gathering' of about two hundred last
spring.
"One of the daughters of some company VP or other had been giving me these
strange looks all night, and finally I'd had enough." Nami scooped
another
mouthful of rice on her chopsticks and nodded avidly to continue. "So I
walk
over and, as politely as I can, introduce myself. She did too, and gives
my
hair this funny look before asking if I dye it!"
Nami frowned. "That is weird."
"No kidding." Han touched a strand of his light brown hair.
"Granted,
it's lighter than average, but still."
"Yeah, I'd noticed that too, but I figured that since Shanghai's
been a
****t city practically forever..."
"Likely a foreigner back there somewhere." Han agreed. "My
parents
have never said either way, but it stands to reason. Anyway, so I answer
'no.'" Han scooped a mouthful of his own, and paused as he dealt with it.
"So
then, and I swear she looked completely serious, she said 'Prove it.'"
Nami stared a moment as the pieces connected, and then broke down
in
giggles at the expression her normally annoyingly self-possessed partner
must
have worn. She recovered enough to squeeze out "I can just see your face
too!" She finally brought herself back under control and asked straight
faced
"So, did you?"
"No!" Han snapped, as Nami dissolved into giggling again. "I got
while the gettin' was good, as the Yankees say."
"Different world, I guess." Nami chuckled.
Han smiled. "No kidding."
NERV HQ
Tokyo-3
Japan
July 26, 2015
5:00PM Local Time
"So, you have the access routes, power and weapons blocks, and
defense
grid locations memorized?" Misato queried from the windowed control booth
in
the test cage.
"Yes." ****nji answered lethargically.
"Good." Misato chirped. "Then we'll begin." She muted the mike
clipped to her ear.
"Begin sync, set for induction mode."
"Yes, ma'am." Maya Ibuki responded, trim and professional at her
control board as always.
As Unit 01 began its first simulated shooting gallery exercise,
Misato
stepped back to her usual position near Ritsuko. She shook her head. "I
still
can't believe he agreed to this."
"Who, ****nji?" the blonde replied distractedly, while keeping a
practiced
brown eye on the status board.
"Yes, ****nji." Misato snapped, tucking a long strand of dark hair
behind an ear. "I mean sure he's shy, but he's been here over two weeks
and
never a call or letter from his old guardians, or friends from home, or
anything." She shook her head. "It doesn't make sense; surely he has
someone
back home who cares about him."
Ritsuko shrugged, ****fting the ever present lab coat draped over
her
zippered blue top and black skirt slightly in the process. "Then maybe
there's your answer. He has nowhere else to go." 'Gods know he's not
alone
in -that-.' She continued silently.
"Mm." Misato pursed her lips in thought, oblivious, and then keyed
the
mike. "Calm down, ****nji. Remember, just center the target and squeeze
the
trigger, the computer will do the rest."
"Ok."
The next burst passed cleanly through the angel, and the sim
continued.
Misato resumed her position beside Ritsuko, and pursed her lips
briefly
after a glance to check if Maya was in listening range. "Remind me who's
bright idea it was to send the pilots to school, -and- re****t for
training,
again?" she murmured.
Ritsuko frowned. "He's fourteen. Fourteen year olds go to school.
QED."
"Ok, fine." Misato conceded. "But we could pull him out a until
the
end of the year, let him get his feet under him, -then- see about school.
If
he doesn't have the skills to pilot effectively then what's the point?"
"The point is that mental stability is vital to..." Ritsuko began
to
counter in the voice of someone who's had this argument far, far too many
times.
Misato cut her friend off. "As vital as giving him the skills to
stay
alive?!" She hissed back. She continued more calmly. "Look, I agree that
he
needs somewhere to decompress, and a chance to be a normal junior high
student
is as good an op****tunity as any. But I still say that, at least in the
short
term, we should be worrying about giving him a chance to survive his next
battle before we worry about his mental state afterwards."
Ritsuko played her trump card, glad to finally have the option.
"The
decision's made, Misato. Take it up with the Director."
Misato grudgingly conceded defeat. "Alright. Then give me some
-good-
news. Like that the production model powerplants are finally ready."
Ritsuko looked away from the status board momentarily, but it was
enough for her long time roommate.
"Oh gods don't tell me." Misato groaned softly.
"Three months." Ritsuko confirmed.
"That's what they said this time -last- month when I got here."
"No helping it." Ritsuko grimaced.
"What in the world is the hold up?" Misato complained. "There've
been
plenty of test models built, hell one of them's powering this city."
"True." Ritsuko agreed. "The short version is we can build a
palladium reactor that can fit in an Eva, and we can build one that can
power
an Eva, but not one that does both. Yet." she added after a moment.
"For
the time being, the recommendation is to fit them with the Test type
batteries."
Misato groaned aloud this time, causing Maya to glance over her
shoulder in curiosity before Ritsuko's glare chased her back to her work.
"Wonderful. There goes our mobility." Misato said wretchedly.
"Guderian and Patton are probably shedding tracks in their graves."
Ritsuko couldn't help needling her friend a little more. Fair was
fair, after all. "Well, you could always pack a few extra extension cords
if
you leave town." She said helpfully, a tiny grin playing at her lips.
"Don't even joke like that."
----------
Misato drove with her customary skill through the streets of Tokyo
3,
both occupants of her 'little blue comet' lost in thought. Misato finally
broke the silence halfway through.
"****nji, what were your aunt and uncle like?"
"Ok, I guess." he replied, slumped after a long day.
"Just 'ok'?" she prodded.
"They were just kind of there." He shrugged. "I didn't see them
much;
I had my own room out back."
Misato read between the lines, and sighed. 'And so all is
explained.'
"Well, I hope I've managed to be more than just 'there' for you these past
couple weeks."
"You're pretty hard to miss." ****nji replied neutrally.
Misato glowered. "Was that a joke, Pilot Ikari?" The harshness of
the
delivery was spoiled by the smile playing around the corners of her mouth.
"Oh no, Captain Katsuragi. I'd never." ****nji replied, wide eyed
with
unconvincing sincerity.
Misato nodded sharply. "See that you don't."
The apartment block parking pass dinged as it granted access to the
lot
next door to the complex. Misato retrieved her red uniform jacket from the
back seat while ****nji gathered up his share of the evening's purchases
and
followed her to the elevator.
----------
The smells of cooking fish filled the apartment soon enough as
****nji
took his turn at making dinner, while Misato assisted by staying well out
of
the way. The TV played an old game show for background noise as she typed
intermittently at her laptop. Finally, the doorbell buzzed at precisely
7:45.
'Right on time.' Misato firmly approved of punctuality, at least
in
others. "I'll get it, ****nji."
"Ok, I'm almost done." he called back.
A teenaged boy with grey eyes and shaggily cut black hair,
accompanied
by a girl who's short hair couldn't possibly be its currently raspberry
color
naturally greeted Misato as she slid the door open.
"Good evening, Captain." the girl bowed, still in her school
uniform.
"Thank you for your invitation." The boy supplied, ramrod straight
in
his and fighting the urge to salute.
"Mana, Sousuke." Misato replied brightly. "Come in, come in. And
relax, Sagara. No rank in the mess, remember?"
"Ma'am." he nodded, slightly untensing as he left his shoes in the
foyer and entered.
"I'll give ****nji a hand." Mana called over her shoulder.
"No need, he's almost..." Misato answered, but she was already out
of
sight. "Damn. That girl can -move- when she's motivated." She commented
wryly.
"She's certainly zealous about her assignment." Sousuke agreed.
With
a polite nod to Misato, he followed Mana into the apartment's common room
and
helped clear Misato's 'homework' off the table. Soon after, ****nji and
Mana
re****ted readiness from the kitchen, and dinner was served.
----------
"So how'd school go today?" Misato asked the group, munching on a
potsticker.
"Ok, it was school." ****nji shrugged noncommittally.
"No torrid romances with the great hero?" Misato needled. "How
disappointing."
"Not for lack of effort on the ladies' part." Mana added in
frustration. "I swear ****nji, if you were any more clueless..."
Sousuke came to the rescue, sort of. "Ignoring their advances is a
wise decision on ****nji's part. I can think of several operations that
were
betrayed when one or more of the local women turned out to be in the
employ of
the enemy."
Mana stared in rank disbelief. "I could see threats from outside
forces -maybe-, but you honestly think that there are agents of some
'enemy'
in ****nji's class?"
"We are." Sousuke pointed out. "It's reasonable that others could
have plants of their own."
Mana shook her head in amazement. "I guess it's true, its not
paranoia
if they are out to get you?" She replied archly.
"Anyway," Misato broke in. "Just be careful. We did vet
everyone's
background, but if we were sure no one slipped through the cracks, these
two
would still be doing honest work. 'kay?"
****nji nodded.
"Good. That said, there's nothing wrong with having friends, or
even a
friend who happens to be a girl. Not everyone is out to get you."
"Well, I might." Mana batted her baby blues in ****nji's direction.
"Kiri****ma, behave." Misato scolded over ****nji's blu****ng
stammer.
"Spoils****t." Mana grinned.
----------
That night, ****nji contemplated his room's ceiling, long after
Sousuke
and Mana had returned to their apartment two doors down. Misato's snoring
carried softly in the background of the darkened room while he played
another
of his many tapes. The track changed from Barbers' 'Adagio for Strings'
to a
bouncy j-pop piece, somewhat tinny in the tiny earbuds.
****nji quirked a tiny smile. 'Reminds me of Mana.' Frowning a
little,
he added 'Annoying parts and all. Her VTOL probably didn't need fuel;
they just plugged -her- into the drivetrain. Not so bad in small doses
though.' he allowed. 'but I'm glad that she's just teasing. Somehow I
can't
see Misato being happy about me getting involved with someone almost three
years older.' He sighed. 'I just wish I knew -either- of them was
talking
about with all those 'advances.' All I've ever seen is 'retreats' every
time
I look someone's way.' he complained, remembering the sudden looks away
and
whispering he'd been getting since he arrived. 'She was just trying to
make
me feel better.' he thought with well worn bitterness.
The track changed again, and ****nji returned to his listening.
NERV-3
Boston
July 27, 2015
9:00 AM Local Time
"Testarossa, I swear to God!" Melissa exclaimed in frustration.
"For
Christ's sake, keep still when you shoot!"
"I'm sorry!" Tessa wailed. "I'm trying!"
"I don't want you to try, I want you to succeed!" Melissa snapped.
She controlled her breathing and took a firm hold on her temper before
continuing more calmly. "Try it again. Breathe deeply and slowly. Get
the
rifle snugged in against your shoulder. When you have the sight picture,
hold
your breath and -gently- squeeze the trigger. Its not going to bite you."
Tessa complied, and after a few moments the crack of the rifle came
as
a surprise to her, as it should.
"Better." Melissa allowed grudgingly after a glance at the
silhouette
target fifty meters away. "Finish off the magazine just like that."
"Yes, ma'am." Tessa replied, her face a picture of grim
concentration
while she settled her ear protectors
Melissa moved over fifteen feet to watch Sam at work. He continued
firing once a second with the regularity of a metronome, apparently
unaware
she was behind him. She raised an eyebrow fractionally after checking his
target, and waited the few seconds needed for him to empty his magazine
and
remove his ear protection before commenting dryly, "Pretty good for
someone
who's never handled a weapon before."
Sam blinked in confusion. <"When Roberts did that say, ma'am?"> He
replied in halting Japanese.
"Less than an hour ago. Your memory can't possibly be that bad."
Watching the struggle on his face as he tried to format his reply, she
added
"Go ahead and answer in English for this, Roberts."
"But...Oh!" Sam's expression brightened from blank confusion to
understanding. "I apologize, ma'am." he continued in a chagrined tone.
"I
assumed you meant 'Have you ever handled an M-16' when you said 'have
either
of you handled one of these before?'"
She nodded, her suspicions confirmed. "There's a little expression
about assumptions like that." Melissa noted neutrally.
"If you break apart the word 'assume'..." Sam recited.
"Exactly." Melissa agreed. "This is what I meant when I said that
asking for clarification of an order is fine, even questioning one is ok,
its
flat refusal that will net you -much- worse than a sore back in the real
world. Understood?"
Sam nodded.
"Good. This actually solves a little problem. Miss Testarossa has
been tutoring you in language, but you haven't been able to return the
favor.
I'll expect you to change that state of affairs."
<Yes, ma'am> Sam agreed, this phase smooth from long practice.
"Carry on, then."
Tokyo-3
July 29, 2015
7:50AM Local Time
The sky was blue, the clouds were white and fluffy, and the air
still
pleasantly cool. ****nji Ikari cared not. Right now, he wanted nothing
more
than to just make one of those smart about faces Sousuke was fond of and
leave
his minders behind. If Mana didn't get out here with he and Sousuke in
ten
seconds he was going to do it. Really.
Nine point five seconds later, Mana darted through the door,
followed
more sedately by her and Sousuke's 'guardian': a large South Korean man
who
officially worked as a radar tech at Futagama named Yan.
"I'll catch you this evening, lady and gents." Yan spoke to Mana
and
Sousuke. "Don't do anything I wouldn't." This to ****nji. With that, he
turned and strode for the elevator.
****nji, by now used to this exchange, instead of responding turned
to
Mana. "So what was it -today-?" He asked.
"Girl problems." Mana replied brightly.
"Right." ****nji knew a losing fight when he saw one.
----------
Sousuke led the trio through the school gates, just in time for the
warning bell to chime. Joining the stream of students filing into the
school
from the schoolyard, they arrived in class 2-A and took their seats. The
class rep, Hikari Horaki, made her rise, bow, sit speech, and the day
began.
Silently observing from several seats over, Kaname Chidori just
could
not figure the situation out. She knew ****nji was the pilot of that giant
robot, the whole school knew that by now. But the other two who seemed to
always be nearby just didn't add up. Aida swore up and down the two were
bodyguards of some kind, but that was even more nuts than usual for him.
'Though granted, if you squinted a little Sagara could be a member
of
the military' she thought
The scar on his jaw and some of his mannerisms argued in favor of
it,
and he was certainly weird even by this school's standards. But Kiri****ma?
Forget it! The girl was as much a trained killer I'm the soul of
discretion.'
An unpleasant thought halted her considerations. When presented
with
this same piece of data, Aida had also mentioned that the Russians
sometimes
assigned im****tant persons 'girlfriends...'
She ****vered. 'No, that's got to be wish fulfillment on that
perv's
part.' she thought. 'Dear gods I hope so.' Her gaze turned to Sagara
again.
'Well, when all else fails...'
----------
Getting him alone during lunch had been easier than Kaname
expected,
running off Aida and Suzahara from the roof tem****arily was almost as
simple,
though she was going to have to do something about that jock's mouth
later.
Simple also described Sagara's answer.
"Are you trying to be cute? What do you mean, 'that's
classified?!'"
"I'd think that would be obvious, Chidori." He replied curtly.
Kaname took firm hold of her temper before replying "I know what
you
meant, what I'd like to know is why."
"Because, if for the sake of argument I was anything beyond what I
say
I am, you would have no need to know. You are not a pilot, nor NERV
staff.
What possible reason is...would there be for me to tell -you- anything?"
He
finished in the same cool, professional voice he'd begun the conversation
in,
his demeanor shouting louder than words ever could 'You're wasting my
time.'
For once, Kaname was at a loss for words. Before she could frame a
suitable reply, Sousuke excused himself, made a sharp about-face, and
strode
away down the stairwell.
'The nerve of the girl.' Sousuke thought, irritated at both her and
himself for not simply saying 'no' and having done with it the minute it
became obvious what she was asking. 'Nothing but just another junior high
student, demanding to know such im****tant things.' He banished the image
of
her stern brown eyes and shoulder length black hair blowing in the breeze
from
his mind, and continued with his day.
----------
For her part, Kaname was on a slow boil for the rest of the
afternoon.
Her classmates, by now long familiar with her moods, were more than happy
to
let her lie. Intellectually, she even agreed with them. Since she had
transferred in from New York last year, she'd proven to have absolutely
none
of the tact and subtlety and, as she thought of it, submissiveness to fit
in
successfully in a Japanese school. The fact that she was also, in her
humble
opinion, one of the prettier girls in her grade only made it worse by
throwing
jealousy onto the pile. Anyone could've predicted the likely results from
there, and sure enough, over a year later she was still practically
friendless. Sousuke, apparently alerted by some means to her gaze, looked
up
and returned a stony expression before apparently dismissing her as the
teacher finished writing an equation on the board and spoke again.
"Not im****tant, huh?" Kaname muttered. "We'll see about that."
----------
In the way such things had, there were only fifteen minutes between
the
class and blessed freedom, when the mesmerizing drone of the last teacher
of
the day's lecture was interrupted by the trilling of a mobile phone.
****nji,
just as dazed as the rest of the class, took several seconds to identify
the
sound, just as the long dreaded alert sirens began to wail.
Hikari was up and snapping orders before the first echo died. "All
right, you know the drill! Line up and follow 1-2 to the shelters! This
is
for real, let's do it right." The twin ponytailed brunette paused in
chivvying
her charges into line and out the front door to spare a glance for ****nji,
one
of many he was receiving with ill concealed unease as he hurriedly packed
his
bag. Two in particular caught his attention: a level, meaning laden look
from
Toji Suzahara on his way out the door, and the simpler 'good luck'
Mana mouthed on her own way out seconds later.
He sighed dejectedly. 'That I think I'm gonna need.'
Now alone in the suddenly silent classroom, he made his own way
out.
-----------
****nji listened with only half an ear to the checklist items called
out
by the bridge crew. Instead, his attention was focused far inward, as
memories of his last battle once again played across his mental view. The
stark terror as his Eva crashed to a stop at the end of its track, facing
his
opponent two hundred meters down the street like something out of a
Tokugawa
period drama. Confusion and pain soon followed by a calming warmth that
he
still couldn't understand, but knew that he should... Misato's voice
penetrated his introspection.
"****nji?" A pause "****nji!"
He blinked as he returned to himself. "Yes?"
"Focus, ****nji." Misato snapped. A dot appeared on his map
display.
"We're inserting you here." A solid line twisted through the mountains
on
the city outskirts before going dotted just past the first defense line.
"The
Angel is here, and making more or less a straight line course for the city
center and Geofront. ETA is five minutes." The platform the Eva stood on
jerked into motion as it followed the path to the catapults. "Once you
arrive
at the surface, the Angel will be at your seven o'clock. Move around the
launch gantry, and engage just like the sims. Understood?"
"Yes." ****nji replied.
"Good." Misato cut the link.
****nji slumped slightly. 'Oh.' he sighed 'I should've known.'
//The Rasmus "Still Standing" _Dead Letters_//
The surge of the catapult pressing him down in his seat brought
****nji
back to reality. This was not an improvement. The uncertainty and
outright
fear he'd been intermittently feeling ever since Misato told him the next
angel had been detected by the DEW arrays two days ago came cra****ng back
with
the acceleration. He knew full well he was infinitely better prepared
this
time, hours of simulator time had seen to that, but this time he was even
more
frightened than before.
This time he knew exactly what he was getting into.
The catapult sled crashed to a stop inside an armored building, the
armament building was highlighted on the plug's wraparound display in
red, a tag re****ting it held the rifle he was to use. The instant the
segmented door rattled clear, he darted from the platform and snatched the
Steyr AUG styled 105mm rifle from its cradle. Blood thundering in his
ears
loud enough to drown out the voices in his helmet earphones, he rounded
the
corner of the building and caught a glimpse of glowing tentacles sprouting
from a long, eel like body before ma****ng the trigger. Misato's voice was
a
tinny noise in the back of his mind as the rifle kicked like a live thing
in
his hands, the four inch wide projectiles leaving the barrel five times
per
second at over twice the speed of sound. The first few hits staggered the
Angel, before a cloud of smoke and debris from wild shots obscured the
view.
Only when the weapon ceased fire did ****nji take his eyes from the
external
view, still panting, he swallowed past a throat that seemed bone dry in
spite
of being immersed in LCL and noticed the rifle blinking red on the stores
screen, indicating a catastrophic mechanical fault.
'Oh. Hell.' ****nji mumbled, before glowing tentacles carved through
the
impromptu smokescreen barely missing his machine as he threw himself aside
behind a convenient building.
Misato's voice cut through the panicked fog he found himself in as
the
angel lined up another strike with terrifying speed. "****nji! Short,
controlled, bursts! There's another rifle to your right, try it again and
for
God's sake do it right!" A building's facade accordianed open two hundred
meters to his right as promised, revealing a duplicate assault rifle to
the
one he still clutched. The tentacles whipped forward once again, neatly
sectioning his cover, and ****nji sprinted to place another between him and
his
adversary before dropping his now useless rifle and da****ng for the
weapons
block.
So close, and yet so far. A mere fraction of a second from
reaching
his goal, ****nji felt a sickening lurch, followed by the queasy sensation
of
freefall.
----------
"I need status on Eva 01 and I need it yesterday." Misato prompted
in
the over controlled tone of a woman whose plan has gone completely to
Hell.
Maya's brown eyes darted frantically over her console as she
scanned
the telemetry for abnormalities, before responding negatively.
"Right then, ****nji you should be OK, so...Oh you've got to be
kidding
me."
----------
As Toji Suzahara clambered awkwardly up the handholds built into
the
armor of the Eva faster than he would've believed possible if he were
still
tracking one hundred percent. Unfortunately, shock from nearly becoming a
greasy smear on the landscape has a way of degrading mental acuity. That
said, he wasn't so far gone that when the voice over the loudspeakers said
approximately "Get in!" that he needed to be told twice. Pausing only to
check his friend Kensuke was right behind, Toji vaulted into the hatch
standing open before him.
He was greeted by a splash and instant immersion in a fluid that
seemed
too light to be water. Ignoring Kensuke's anguished cries about his
camera,
he looked up at the hatch several feet above his head, and then to the
small
platform he'd apparently sank to immediately, before his eyes came to rest
on
his immediate surroundings. The soft glow of the console displays in
front of
the new kid, Ikari, threw his expressionless face into stark relief, as he
mechanically acknowledged a voice that Toji could catch snippets of.
----------
"...and pull back to Gate 37. We'll reattach a power cable and
rearm
you there. Understood?" Misato's voice finished.
****nji knew, somewhere, that her orders were not only a good idea,
but
that he had a duty to follow them. But right now, he Just. Didn't.
Care.
And so, as he yanked his foe in close before planting an armor shod foot
where
it could do some good, he made up his mind. Ignoring the babbling of the
two
behind him, ignoring the sterner commands coming through his earphones,
his
thumb roamed over the myriad buttons studding his left side joystick,
selected
one, and gave it a push.
----------
"Captain Katsuragi!" An imperious voice barked from behind Misato.
'Dammit, not now!' She snarled to herself before turning a pleasant face
to
her interrogator.
"Commander Mardukas, what can I do for you?"
The tall, spare man who confronted her was dressed in a similar
uniform
to the deputy director's, though in navy blue rather than tan, with the
addition of a baseball cap embroidered with the name and hull number of
the
Royal Navy submarine Turbulent. He himself was in his late forties,
though he
looked older due to the deep crow's feet around his eyes and unfa****onable
glasses he wore.
"Several things, Captain. You can start by telling your pilot that
if
he burns another barrel out of one of my assault rifles, I'm taking the
repair
cost out of his hide." He replied harshly, his British accent pronounced
in
his otherwise excellent Japanese. "That said," he took a breath, "you
were absolutely right."
"About?" Misato replied quizzically.
"The new ammunition." He bit out. "Improved penetration against
organic targets than standard issue." Mardukas quoted with an icy sneer.
"Ikari could have been throwing rocks for all the good it did against that
monster."
Misato nodded without a trace of triumph in her expression. "At
least
now we know for sure. I assume rearmament is underway?"
"Yes, we're reloading the tungsten penetrators now."
"And the burst limiter?" Misato asked innocently.
"Done." Mardukas grated.
"Glad to hear it. As it happens, I was just on my way to roast 'my
pilot's' hindquarters about this evening. I'll be sure to add your
complaint
to the list."
"Then I won't keep you." He touched the brim of his hat in a
quasi-
salute, before moving past her on business of his own.
Misato waited until he was safely around the corner before leaning
against the wall and closing her eyes for a moment's peace.
'Yours along with about half a dozen others. Gods above but ****nji
put
his foot in it today.' She groaned to herself. She didn't like to think
how
this, added to ****nji's evident run in with a classmate earlier, would
look
on her resume. It was bad enough he'd managed to nearly lose the fight in
the first ten seconds, but that stunt with his classmates, combined with
his
refusal of her orders was just adding insult to injury.
She just wished she could be surprised by all this. He obviously
didn't
want to be here, and even though ****nji was showing a surprising, in fact
near
miraculous, talent for piloting; it was all worthless if he didn't have
both
the willingness to follow orders and some sort of attachment to his job
beyond
'They're making me do it.'
She levered herself off the wall and squared herself. "No sense
putting it off." She told the corridor, and made for the pilot's locker
room.
----------
NERV-4
Karamay
9:30PM Local Time
The projector glowed on the table, projecting Eva-01's brief clash
with
the Fourth Angel on the display screen fixed to the front wall. As the
video
froze on the final frame, the angel's core transfixed on Eva-01's
progressive
knife, the glowing tentacles giving a fitful glow before dying out for
good,
the lights rose back to normal level and Mr. Tzu returned to the lectern.
"And there you have it. We'll discuss this in more depth tomorrow
morning, but I imagined you'd both like to see it fresh. Comments?"
"At least we know the prog knives work?" Nami ventured
Tzu smirked. "Indeed. It's all but certain measures will be taken
in
the next few days to remedy the Type 14 rifle's deficiencies, but in the
mean
time melee weapons are going to be the order of the day. What else?"
"Standing still out in the open is asking for trouble." Han added.
"Ikari should have kept moving the instant he left the catapult."
"Very good. It's called 'shoot and scoot,' and you'll be
practicing it
in the simulators tomorrow also. One last thing, it should now be obvious
why
short bursts are preferred. I understand that Ikari managed to ruin his
weapon with that volley, not to mention handing his opponent a ready-made
smokescreen. That will be all." Tzu killed the projector and front
lights
and bid them goodnight.
Nami meditated on the film as she and Han walked to the bus stop.
Tianhao had warned her about indulging her overactive curiosity, but this
time
she just couldn't help it. The videos proved that ****nji had both talent
and
training, judging from this battle and his previous one, but some of the
mistakes were ones she and Han might have made. An experienced pilot on
Soryu-Langley or Ayanami's level should've avoided them effortlessly. Yet
he'd been presented to them as Ayanami's backup on Eva-01, which would
imply
he'd been training as long as her. Something wasn't adding up, and from
what
she'd heard about the elder Ikari she doubted nepotism or incompetence was
the
answer.
She caught a piece of her lower lip between her teeth and came to a
decision. 'I think it's time for a little research.'
NERV-2
Stuttgart
July 31, 2015
8:00AM Local Time
Asuka Soryu-Langley was about to have fun. This was the message
her
subconscious was sending her this fine morning, and she had no reason to
doubt
it was the truth. After all, the brass had finally gotten their heads out
of
their collective asses and realized that cooperative training was a good
idea,
especially with Miss Perfect on the verge of returning to duty. And since
her
own humble self was at loose ends there was one ready-made instructor
available.
"Well, one and a half." Asuka reminded herself quietly, in the
interest
of fairness. "Ayanami might contribute -something-."
"All set, Asuka?" Steuben's voice broke into her monologue.
"I was born ready."
The familiar vertigo of a successful sync washed over her briefly,
and
as quickly controlled. Asuka surveyed her new surroundings. A battered,
rubble strewn city presented itself to her gaze, and as expected her map
display confirmed the city made up the entirety of the practice area.
Hefting
her pickaxe in her left hand and drawing one of her two 120mm pistols from
her
right shoulder housing, she scanned her immediate environment again before
she made another quick study of the map.
'Ok, the opponent on this run is one of the Chinese pilots, and
their
units are optimized for short to mid range direct fire. This
means...there.'
Asuka spotted a broad avenue leading to a sort of park area surrounded by
low
one to two story buildings. 'That's where they'd be at best advantage. So
we'll give them some credit for brains and assume they'll be heading
there,
which means I need to be there first.'
Her course decided, Asuka moved out. During the early stages of
the
project, there was a joke going around that the Angels wouldn't need eyes
to track an Eva, just a seismograph. Asuka had laughed at the joke like
most,
but she'd also taken it to heart. It wasn't possible to totally mask an
Eva's
seismic or audio signatures, but it -was- possible to reduce them.
Granted,
this was equivalent to going from 'artillery barrage' to 'heavy metal
band'
but a girl takes what she can get in this world. In this way, and by
holding
her AT field closed and a cluster of buildings or other obstructions
between
her and her guesstimate of her opponent's position, she was confident she
could close the distance in relative safety.
----------
//Joe Satriani "Ceremony" _Live in San Francisco_//
The dull shocks felt through the soles of her Eva's feet told Asuka
her
prey approached, acting at a visceral level that her sensors tracking
Eva-06's
fire control radar and sonar for the past minute hadn't. Heart racing,
she
forced herself to remain still, backed up against what was probably once
an
apartment block, feeling the footfalls grow stronger with each stride.
Her
patience in patrolling the area around the park was about to pay off, it
wouldn't do to spook the game now.
Finally, Asuka's instincts told her the time was right. Her lips
curled back from her teeth, she leapt from her hiding place at her target
from
behind with a wordless cry, pistol swinging into line as she unfolded her
AT field. Eva-06 frantically spun to bring its rifle to bear and began
backing up, a line of dusty explosions in the concrete of the street and
buildings marked the path of his rounds as they sought his opponent.
Asuka seemed to dance around the supersonic projectiles, never
remaining still long enough to be targeted effectively. All the while,
her
pistol blazed two shot volleys, systematically disabling first Han's
rifle,
then the sensors that aimed it.
Stunned by the speed and violence of its attacker, Eva-06 never had
a
chance of stopping the axe in Eva-02's other hand. Ruin flopped at her
feet.
Asuka smiled grimly at her fallen foe. "First blood."
NERV-3
Boston
August 2, 2015
9:20 Local Time
//Motley Crue "Kickstart my Heart" _Dr. Feelgood_//
Eva-03 sprinted through a small suburban neighborhood, white and
navy
blue paint job completely ineffective at camouflaging it against the high
rise
towers of downtown visible on the horizon. The wedge shaped half height
shoulder pylons mounting its Aegis radar arrays announced its identity,
and those selfsame currently transmitting radars its location, to all and
sundry. Clutched in its hands was an 'improved' Type 14 assault rifle,
part
of the purpose of this sim being to test out proposed changes to the real
thing. This morning, it was so far, so good.
A three round burst crackled downrange trailing faint glowing lines
in
the sunlight, even at this intermediate range the new ammunition was
obviously
moving on a much flatter trajectory and higher velocity than the previous
type. Eva 02 darted aside fluidly as it allowed the rounds to demolish an
elementary school further on, and smoothly turned the motion into a sprint
to
its next bit of cover, a blocky looking warehouse, before returning fire.
For its part, Eva-03 was also on the move, though not making as
much
effort to take cover given its longer effective range. He had pulled back
a
block to the southeast and gone to ground near a small apartment complex
in an
attempt to work around onto Eva-02's flank, meanwhile keeping up a
harassing
fire in the hope of keeping Eva-02 pinned down.
Good plan, but not Asuka's plan.
The explosion of the gas station barely fifty yards to Sam's left
was
all the distraction she needed, as he instinctively ducked away from the
blast. Eva-02 re-holstered its pistol and popped out of cover like a
shot,
covering half the 700 meters separating her from her target as a bright
red
blur before the hapless newbie could switch sensor modes and try to
reacquire
through the smoke and flame.
Another fifty was lost while Sam brought the rifle back around to
do
something about it.
Another hundred while he waited for the computer to lock on and
grant
permission to fire.
Mere instants before a squeeze of the trigger could send the
forearm
long tungsten darts on their way, Eva-02 vaulted a college dorm before
using
it as a springboard for a tremendous leap, she seemed to hang in the air
for
the briefest instant before beginning the terminal part of the arc.
----------
Melissa Mao grimaced at the display, currently showing a replay of
the
demise of Eva-03 in graphic detail. Personally, she was impressed Roberts
had
lasted as long as he had, given the massive disparity in experience and
skill
between him and his opponent. Not that he was looking at it that way, she
saw, reading his frustrated expression as he exited the simulator plug.
'Neither is Testarossa, for that matter. I can't tell if
Soryu-Langley
is being that obnoxious from some attempt to toughen them or if it's just
natural talent, but she has those two ready to spit nails.'
----------
"And who's our next contestant?" Asuka chirped as Tessa buckled the
restraints. She reminded herself once again that it was impolitic to give
her
training 'officer' both barrels, even if she deserved it. Especially if
she
deserved it.
<"Trainee Testarossa."> she replied pleasantly in Japanese.
<"Oh -good-, Miss Fortune herself."> Asuka snerked. <"Well, if
you
can manage not to trip over your own feet for a few moments, I'll bring up
your assignment.">
Tessa ground her teeth and privately thanked whichever programmer
who
set up the NERV network for deciding not to waste bandwidth on plug to
plug
video feeds. The gloating sneer that -had- to go along with that line
would've driven her over the edge for sure.
<"Fine."> Tessa grated.
<I'm -so- glad you approve.>
----------
'Though I admit Ayanami's 'explanations' aren't a huge
improvement.'
Mao admitted.
----------
<"That is incorrect."> The voice over the radio coolly announced.
<"Ok, how so?"> Sam queried.
After a pause, the voice returned. <"You are not performing the
maneuver as described.">
"I'm aware of that, Ayanami." Sam switched to English, hoping it
was just a translation gaffe causing the problem. "The correct maneuver
involves me falling on my butt much less often."
She answered in the same language. "Then there is no
miscommunication."
Sam took a deep breath of the LCL and slowly exhaled. This was not
the
first time he'd done this dance, nor the second. Nor fourth. "No...I
still
don't know what exactly I'm doing wrong."
"Your execution was incorrect."
Sam bit down on a scream.
----------
She watched Sam and Tessa confer a moment next to the plug, Sam
smiling
briefly before decompressing his green and white plugsuit and continuing
on to
the showers. She nodded at the tech's questioning look, and returned most
of her attention to the main screen as the sim parameters reset.
----------
Sam strutted down through the door to his quarters with a bounce in
his
step and a song in his heart that night.
"Hey Tessa, you home?" he called through the closed door on her
side of
the bathroom.
"No."
"Uh huh. Well, we missed ya at dinner, but you're in luck.
Through
skill and cunning I was able to get the cafeteria ladies to understand
'doggie
bag' in Japanese." He said proudly, rattling the bag enticingly. "So come
on
out, hey?"
"...Fine."
Early on in their time at NERV-3, Melissa had explained that due to
a
housing shortage from additional personnel they were being roomed,
effectively, together. In true Melissa fa****on, she had made clear this
was
not to be regarded as an Op****tunity by either side, and that either's
presence in the other's quarters would be Frowned Upon. Therefore, in
true
teenage fa****on, they'd obeyed the letter of her instructions perfectly.
Sam leaned against the open doorjamb, while Tessa spread out her
meal
on the small desk near it and took a seat.
"You really didn't have to..." she began, before being belied by a
low
gurgling rumble.
"'course not." Sam replied dryly. "And before you ask, yes, I
passed."
"That's great!" Tessa exclaimed after hurriedly swallowing a
mouthful
of chicken tender.
"Yes indeed." Sam preened. "I'm o-fficially rated Expert on the
M-16 rifle. About time for seven years of weekends at the range to amount
to
somethin'. I might even have a chance at Expert on the M-40 and AUG
before we
leave." He stalled on whatever he would've said next, as just what
leaving
would mean washed over his thoughts once again.
"And tens of thousands of trigger pulls, I'd imagine." Tessa noted
absently, thinking much the same.
Sam snorted ruefully.
Only the sounds of Tessa's plastic knife on the cardboard plate
broke
the silence of two lost in their own thoughts for a while, before she
spoke
again. "Does it bother you too? Leaving I mean."
Sam frowned thoughtfully at the industrial brown carpet. "Yeah.
Yeah,
it does." He sighed. "I know we're barely a third of the way through,
and
I -think- I'm a lot better prepared now than at the start, but it just
seems
like as far as we might've come, we have a whole lot farther t' go." He
grimaced. "Least there's still time, though."
"Mm." Tessa nodded, his thoughts echoing some of her own. "But I
wouldn't be so sure of having all of that time. If Ikari gets put out of
commission, guess who's next in line."
Sam glanced up. "I hadn't given it much thought, but I'd have bet
Soryu, or if they were really desperate, they could put Ayanami back in.
Its
not like us or our Chinese buddies are even close to either of 'em's level
yet."
"You'd think, but then Soryu claimed once she'd never pilot a 'test
model toy' so..."
"She probably can't do it." Sam finished grimly. "Point taken.
Man,
you're just full of sweetness and light today."
Tessa gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry."
"Eh, better to know now than get it sprung on me." Sam eased back
to standing unaided and smiled at the completely clean plate. "Well, that
was
my good deed for the day. I need to hit the books a little more before
bed,
so I'll catch ya later."
"Fair enough, yell if you need help." She wadded up the bag and
paper
plates and stuffed them into the small trash can by the desk. "And
thanks."
Sam waggled his eyebrows at her as he turned back to his room.
"Hey,
someone's got to keep an eye on you."
Tessa rolled her eyes and tossed an ice cube at him. "Keep them
elsewhere."
"Fine, fine. -Crush- a guy's dreams why don't ya." Sam replied in
a
put upon voice as he ambled off. "'night, Tessa."
"Goodnight." she said with a chuckle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes
And that just about does it for the character intros. I promise,
really.
And, of course, the soundtrack.
574-The Rasmus "Still Standing" _Dead Letters_
822-Joe Satriani "Ceremony" _Live in San Francisco_
855-Motley Crue "Kickstart my Heart" _Dr. Feelgood_
|
