Title: Reality
Author: ENSIGN
Chapter 01 – Agateophobia
Summary: Ikari Shinji grew up very much differently than Gendo expected. How would the Commander of NERV handle a trained killer with sociopath tendencies? Militaristic, plus tons of monologs on Shinji's slightly disturbed mind as he contemplates reality.
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Disclaimer: I really wished I owned Evangelion, however, I don't, so I take the next best choice and write this.
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Kyoto – Sawada Industries – Rooftop
Hi, how are you feeling today?
Come to think of it, I don't really care what you think.
Actually it doesn't even matter what you're thinking in that thing you call a brain.
Why?
For all that's nice and dandy you could just not exist.
So, how do I know that this is real? For all reasons and purposes, I could be hallucinating. I could be currently strapped down in a mental institution being sedated by drugs. I could even be dead and currently be in heaven. Everything could just be a figment of an imagination conjured up by my mind in an attempt to escape reality.
So, this brings us down to the final question. Two questions actually. How do I know this is real? The mind is a powerful thing. It is able to make visions and dreams so real that the boundary between reality and fiction ceases to exist.
What about pain you ask?
What about it?
Someone once told me that you couldn't feel pain in a dream and all it took was a simple pinch to uncover the truth of the matter.
Wanna know something?
That person was an idiot.
Dreams can be painful.
Even heard of phantom pain? I thought not, unless you're one of those sad people studying the science of sleep and neurological behavioral patterns.
Pain is nothing but a neurological signal interpreted by the brain from sensory nodes found on our skin surfaces. Hence phantom pain is indeed very real. Ever had a toothache in a dream? You wake up and find out it is indeed really a dream. However, your gums feel like shit. They feel like they have been set on fire.
So, how do I know everything around me exists? That, my friend, is the ultimate question, and no the answer is not forty two despite what some of you out there may think.
Actually on that note, how do I know that I myself exist? The answer is pretty simple. However the former had caused me many sleepless nights pondering.
I think.
Actually, I think, therefore I am.
A famous quote made by a famous man. Don't ask me who, apparently he wasn't famous enough to warrant my recognition. No, I am not being arrogant. The man just wasn't famous enough, that's all.
Funny, how achievements and actions are easier to commit to memory than a person's name.
But I am getting off topic, I still haven't answered the first question. How do I know you are real? How do I know you exist?
How do I know that you aren't a random person created by my mind as it undergoes REM sleep? Such a simple answer, and it took me so long to realize.
Stand up.
Well? Are you standing? No? I guess you're just sitting there thinking this is fucking funny don't you?
What do I see? I see a person sitting in front of a computer screen wasting away a considerable portion of their life. So how do I know that you do indeed exist?
You aren't standing are you. It was a statement not a question.
By the way if you are going to stand, forget it. I know you're real now.
A dream is but a world created by your mind. Hence, with creation comes control. If you were a figment of my creation, my dream, your actions should be mine to command. However you aren't standing. You're still staring at the screen of yours, probably listening to music. Therefore you exist.
Still, that doesn't mean that I'm not dreaming. I just confirmed that you do indeed exist. The world and the others in it might not be real.
So the ability to manipulate ones surrounding to an illogical point of control proves an item, person or situation false and unreal. That is the answer.
Therefore, congratulations. Congratulations to you, the person sitting in front of that idiot box, reading away. You do exist. You have just joined the ranks of many others that exist. This is not a dream and you are indeed real.
My name is Ikari Shinji. Actually my current name is Sakamoto Hayate, Chief Technical Officer for Sawada Industries. What I do is no secret to any of the staff here at Sawada. My job is to inspect and maintain a small group of technicians ensuring the ventilating and circuitry of this building stays working.
So why might you be asking that I am currently on the roof of said building, lying propped up against the corner, staring through the lens of a telescope?
Actually it's not a telescope. You could call it one. I don't mind. Most of the others do anyway. What do I call it?
It's a Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 telescopic scope with an illuminated reticule insert. It is of course not illuminated. I am not an idiot wishing to fry one's retinas by subjecting them to high levels of light intensity.
However the reason I am currently looking at you through my Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 telescopic scopes with an illuminated reticule insert is because my little toy is attached to my other little toy.
Attached to the Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 telescopic scope with an illuminated reticule insert is the M40A3. Weighing at 7.5kg and measuring 1.125m is it most obviously a firearm. A sniper rifle actually.
But what makes this sniper rifle special? It is special because it is mine, not yours, but mine. The fact that I have the targeting reticule position directly at the back of your head makes it all the more special.
So why does a mere Technical Officer have a sniper rifle with an effective kill range of 1500m? For your information, not that it matters, you're currently 200m from me with a low wind speed of 2 knots.
Well, that brings me to my other job actually. I work for the JSSDF, best known as the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces. Well I did, up till I got my transfer papers from the UNDF or United Nations Defense Forces.
If you think you know the UN, forget it. After the global catastrophe best known as Third Impact the United Nations changed their Peace Keeping Policies. Now Peace Keeping involves the use of preemptive tactical strikes in order to maintain peace among warring nations.
Warring nations led by megalomaniac warlord trying to assert their dominance on other neighboring nations through the age old tactic of shoot them to death.
Basically we choose the more compliant nation and nuke the other into submission. So much more different form the peace keeping suppression tactics used before the turn of the century.
So, you may be now wondering how a mere sixteen year old managed to end up in the employ of the United Nations Claymore Division.
Well let me tell you the story of my life.
It all began at the age of four.
The year was 2004, the year my mother disappeared during an ill fated experiment in the GEHIRN Hakone 2nd Underground Laboratory. She was presumed dead, despite the fact that her body was never found. From the heavily censored reports that I have managed to get my hands on, it was hypothesized that due to the unknown nature of the experiment involving a bio-synthesized life form referred to as an Evangelion, all matter that composed her body was destroyed.
It was at this point that my father, Ikari Gendou's personality took a complete 180 degree turn.
We all take the death of a loved one differently. As such my father dealt with my mother's passing by immersing himself in his work. As such everything else, hobby or pleasure was considered a distraction. This of course resulted in me being excluded from the equation that was his life.
As such, guardianship of me was transferred to Mikagami Hiroshi, an acquaintance of my father and friend of my mother.
Do I blame my father for abandoning me? Frankly? No, I do not.
Why should I?
Despite being an ass about it, he could have done a whole lot worse, abandonment being just a moderate thing. At least he had put me in the care of someone else, rather than have me continue living with him neglected and unloved.
I am not saying that I was unloved or neglected in the Mikagami household. Actually, the truth was that while the Mikagami's indeed showered me with affection and care I was still coping with the loss of my mother, Ikari Yui,
I was what many, macho men would love to taunt as a momma's boy. Ikari Yui, my mother was my world. What did you expect, I was four.
As such despite the care shown to me by the Mikagami's as they had no children of their own, I too dealt with my mother's passing in my own way.
Books.
Books gave me a place to escape to. A fantasy, a reality conjured up by my mind, a reality created to escape another reality.
As such I immersed myself in stories of all kinds. The written words, allowed me to indulge myself in new and wonderful worlds away from my troubles.
One thing led to another, fantasy led to science fiction. Science fiction led to reality novels. Reality novels became books of study. Very soon all were replaced by hard cover text books.
Being in the care of a secondary school teacher, I was never short of reading material. When the books in the house ran out I moved to the school, very soon I had become a permanent sight in the local university's library.
As such I hardly paid attention to the world around me. All that mattered was the acquisition of more reading material. Material that paved the way for me to escape and deny the reality that was my life.
This didn't mean I allowed my physical health to suffer. I ate my greens, drank my milk and did my morning jog. The last thing I wanted to be was your typical library fuckmook, coke bottle glasses and all.
Now, when I said I read everything I meant everything. Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Physiology, Anatomy, Astrology, Archeology and the bloody list goes on. Reading was a drug, my ticket to deny reality.
Of course all things come to an end. It is nature's way. Why? It is but another question left to philosophers. Maybe I should spend a few more sleepless nights pondering on it. However, I am getting side tracked.
My pursuit of knowledge of course did not go unnoticed. How many eight year olds do you know that can finish a year eleven mathematics paper within the allocated time frame?
None? One? Two?
Want to know my answer?
As many as you bloody like.
Any eight year old snot nosed brat can finish a year eleven mathematics paper.
Scoring a perfect grade.
Not many.
I was one of those 'Not Many'.
As such special attention was paid in regards to my education. I, however, was not completely aware of such happenings. Blame my constant mental wanderings and escapes from reality on that. I never knew what the level was for a child my age, all I did was answer the questions to the best of my ability.
Thus I hardly noticed the changes of my surroundings. New faces were ignored, new classrooms were disregarded and new schools were unwarranted to my attention. All that mattered were my books.
Of course, like I said, all things must come to an end. Indeed it did, reality finally caught up to me. However it wasn't one as I had thought it would be. Fate it would seem had decided to play a prank with reality.
After escaping to a multitude of dream words created by my fancy, reality itself decided to plunge me into one of its own creation.
As it was, my intellectual capabilities had caught the attention of a particular group of people. The Government, hearing of my problem analysis skills as well as my other academic talents decided to give me their own test.
This of course was all taking place as I spent my time mind wandering. Hence I simply picked up the examination sheet and answered as I did so often. I had later learned that what I had accomplished was astounding. Not only had I accidentally solved an analytical problem that had taken numerous brilliant minds months to crack, I did so within the span of seven hours. That time frame also included the other questions I had to solve.
Data analysis was of course not the only type of question fielded in the test. Mechanical knowledge, logic puzzles, understanding of science, and lastly military tactical planning was included. That last particular topic landed me where I am today.
Seeing as how I was only at the young age of twelve, military recruitment was unable to employ me due to my status as a minor, not to mention it was completely unethical. This led to the meeting that ended most of my escapades into the realm of fantasy and dreams.
Yamamoto Kenji.
That simple name demanded respect. Whether it be from members of the JSSDF, the New United Soviet Union, the United States of America or the soldiers from the countries that made up the UN Forces, Yamamoto Kenji was a man held in high respect, not just for his brilliant tactical mind or daring feats of bravery in the many skirmishes he participated in, the man's personality was best described as 'The Iron Fist In The Velvet Glove'.
While running a command without much strictness the man still manage to maintain a certain amount of formality while still getting the job done.
Of course I didn't know all this when I met the man. To me he was just another person with ruffled dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Of course I took into note the five shining silver stars arranged in a pentagon that adorned the strip of cloth on his shoulder. The man was a general as indicated by the stars. The uniform I recognized in relation to the JSSDF, however the division was lost on me until I realized what type of rank he held.
General Of The Army.
It was a special honorary rank given to only those of great military standing, the power to override a direct order from the President himself. As such I decided to pay full attention to the meeting.
In a nut shell he offered me a job.
I was to become a Tactical Officer in the JSSDF Ground Forces with the initial rank of First Lieutenant.
My status as a minor would be revoked by simple emancipation and my employment a training and consultant role. Something that was extremely easy to obtain seeing as how my mother was deceased and my father had abandoned me. The Mikagami's were supportive, saying that the choice was mine and mine alone. With consent from my guardian I was barely aware that I was one moment completing my third university degree and the next in boot camp.
As such I found myself in a world out of one of my fantasies. Would you consider a twelve year old Captain and Tactical Officer a reality? No, I didn't think so. Finally my escapes from reality lessened, why escape to a fantasy world when you're already in one.
Some might think a twelve year old who escapes to fantasy worlds unfit to lead a company of men. My Psychological Evaluation Officer certainly had his doubts. They were completely unfounded and my psychological problem with reality remained a secret. Psychologists are easy to fool once you know what they are looking for.
Dumb psychoanalysis bastards. The surer one is of their skills the easier it is to screw them over.
As such I spent four years running drills, planning tactics, commanding mock raids and skirmishes. Nothing much else happened, I continued my pursuit of knowledge and did my duties as someone living out a fantasy would.
Soon I reached the age that made me a legal adult in the eyes of the law. Sixteen, at least that was what the new universal age of consent was after more than two thirds of the world population decided to up and kick the bucket.
Some say killing is never easy. Some say the first kill is the hardest. I say I didn't care. I made my first kill on my first real skirmish. My team and I were sent in to diffuse a hostage situation that involved a group of terrorists. Seeing as it was my first real mission I was assigned the post of Sub-Commander. This placed the Commander and me in the safety of the sniper's nest.
The sniper being new, failed to take the shot, before he could object, I had relieved him of his Heckler and Koch PSG1, took aim and fired. It was as I had done so many times before in my mind. The splatter of red and white matter covered the walls almost instantly as the victim slowly collapsed to the floor.
I was given a psychological after that. Every soldier making their first kill had one. I again easily faked my way out. I told the doctor what he needed to hear.
In four months time I received a request for transfer to a new troubleshooting division being created by the UN.
Funny, how it required us to have not much trouble shooting someone.
Claymore.
The best of the best.
They needed a Tactical Officer slash jack of all trades. I was much recommended.
I accepted and now here I am starring through my Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 telescopic scope with an illuminated reticule insert at you reading something off that computer monitor of yours.
Stand up.
I once again try for old time's sake.
Still sitting. Lazy.
Should you actually stand up the 7.62x51mm shell would pass through the space where your head used to occupy and shatter that coffee mug on the desk.
Of course, you would then think yourself lucky that my bullet had missed you just because you decided to stand up. This is of course after you actually realize that the shattering of your precious 'Bestest Dad' mug was due to a small bit of depleted uranium flying at supersonic speeds.
Usually by that time I would have adjusted my aim and sent a second piece of super heated uranium into your skull.
And what if I missed again?
Oh pray tell. What are the chances?
You really want to know?
Should I somehow miss a second time, you would probably duck and cover behind the nearest piece of furniture, in this case your desk.
Funny, how civilians choose the worst things to hide behind.
Desk, wood. Bullet, depleted uranium armor piercing explosive mercury tipped round. Desk, useless.
So, to stand or not to stand, that is my question to you. Not that it really matters. Should you stand at my command you would be a figment of my imagination. Seeing as we have already confirmed earlier that you do indeed exist, you standing now would be a total coincidence and would probably at most buy you a couple more seconds of life.
So are you going to stand?
It is your decision after all, since you do indeed exist.
I pull the rifle's bolt back, a single two inch cartridge slides into place.
I admire the shiny glint of light the copper casing cast as the round slides into the breach.
Will you stand?
That's what I like about those that exist. Unpredictability.
What you cannot control you don't know. Both a pro and a con.
Predictability is good but soon becomes boring. Unpredictability messes up your plans but provides entertainment and a certain amount of challenge.
You still haven't stood up yet.
Seeing as how you exist and aren't a creation of my mind, you wouldn't have heard a single thing I had just been reciting mentally. Thus this is the difference between a character that exists and one that doesn't.
Too bad really, I would love to have told you my story.
I pull the trigger slightly to the first stage and hold my breath.
The crosshair is centered nicely upon the base of your skull. A shot at that angle and power would result in a good ole decapitation.
Excellent way of ensuring a sure kill.
Stand.
What are you waiting for?
My finger moves the rest of the way and I feel the firing pin power forwards.
The rifle jerks.
The butt slams into my shoulder.
The impact is lessened by the sniper's brace I wear.
A small ring of compressed air is seen erupting from the flash suppressor as the bullet breaks the sound barrier on exit.
The deafening crack of supersonic flight assaults my ears milliseconds later.
The semiautomatic mechanism utilizes the recoil to force back the firing pin. A fresh round is slammed into the breach as the empty smoking casing is ejected.
For a moment I lift my eye from the Schmidt and Bender 3-12x50 telescopic scope with an illuminated reticule insert. I marvel at the beauty of refracted light as it scatters upon hitting the spinning casing.
I don't bother checking the result of the shot. The target was near enough that I could see with the naked eye.
Standing up I retrieve an AM-M14 Incendiary Grenade from within my tool box.
I release my rifle, allowing it to hang freely by the firing stand.
This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. This rifle is special for only I shall use it. I mentally recite.
I pull the pin and release the spoon.
Casually tossing the red cylindrical object by the weapon I proceed to leave the roof.
A hiss sounds and I know the white phosphorus had been discharged. The rifle would be now nothing more than a molten lump of iron.
No one shall use my rifle as it is mine. Should someone take my rifle, that person must die.
"This is reality, this is not a dream and I must now leave. This is reality, this is not a dream and I must now leave." I mummer. I walk down a flight of stairs and enter the elevator.
"So will you stand?" I ask.
The man who gets on stares at me in confusion, but I pay him no mind. He simply disappears as I will him to.
Both men one real, one imaginary, both do not exist, at least not anymore.
XXXXX
Location Unknown – SEELE Virtual Conference Room
"Ikari." The giant monolith designated as SEELE 01 Addressed the seated man.
To his credit, Ikari Gendou was not at all intimidated. The Supreme Commander and Brigadier General of NERV simply plastered a neutral look on his face as he remain seated behind his desk surrounded by the towering monoliths.
"You shall present to us a verbal report on the current progress of Project Evangelion." The German accented voice of SEELE 02 commanded.
"Repairs have been made to the prototype Unit 00 and it is now out of cryogenic storage and battle ready."
"And what of its pilot, the First Child?"
"Fully recovered and ready for duty."
"As it is stated in the scrolls of the Dead Sea, with the new life of the second child made of Adam's flesh would the descent of the Angels begin." SEELE 03 addressed a new topic.
"As such Evangelion 01 was completed over a year ago and the third has already descended." SEELE 05 added.
"However due to your incompetence in securing the Third Child the third born of Lillith has had a year to evolve."
Gendou made to answer but was interrupted.
"No matter, we have secured the Third Child and as the scrolls have foretold the third Angel shall be defeated."
"But at what cost?" SEELE 07's deep voice questioned.
"Cost is of no matter. With the arrival of the Third Child to the location of which the second child born of Adam's flesh resides shall the Third Angel attempt to be reunited with the father." SEELE 01 also known as Chairman Keel countered.
"You believe Lilith's close resemblance to Adam's would fool the Angels."
"Yes, but not for long, the Angels will soon tell the difference between that of the first and second." Gendou answered. "As foretold, the Angels will increase in strengths and intelligence."
"Measures will be taken to transport Adam to Tokyo 3." Keel announced. "Ikari, you shall be assigned with the task of defeating the messengers, but don't forget our main objective."
"You speak of the Human Instrumentality Project." Gendou intoned emotionlessly, his gloved hands positioned before the lower half of his face.
"Correct, the project must succeed no matter the cost."
"However without the defeat of the messengers our goals can not be met."
"We shall therefore concentrate on the defeat of the third and those that come after it at the present time. Unit 02 while complete is still undergoing maintenance checks after its last activation, test and upgrade sequence. It shall be transferred from NERV's second branch Germany to Tokyo 3 as soon as possible. However the Human Instrumentality Project known as Project Ascension shall still remains one of your tasks and as such we expect results from the Dummy Plug system as soon as possible." Keel compromised.
"I understand." The Commander of NERV replied again in the same monotonous voice.
"Then this meeting is over." Chairman Keel announced.
One by one the monoliths began to vanish till one was left.
Gendou raised his eye to take in the last remaining monolith of SEELE 01.
"The Third Child shall be transferred to your command. Further instructions and details will be forwarded." The man instructed before vanishing.
Beneath his white gloves, Gendou's lips curled into a grin. "It's begins." He muttered.
XXXXX
Location Unknown – Claymore Division Secret Headquarters
Has reality merged with fantasy or is everything still here a figment of my imagination.
I still ask myself that question after all these years. The things that I have done and the sights that I have seen are something that no other sixteen year old should experience.
Death, assignations and war, these are just some of the expectations of those assigned to the Claymore Division of the United Nations Army.
Noticed how I left out the 'Peace' part.
Despite being a division of the UN, the Claymores do not answer to the Council Of Nations. Actually we don't even exist according to them. We are the group of men and women that somehow make all their troubles go away.
So who do we answer to?
Who else but the shadow behind the throne, the master pulling the puppet's strings.
What other organization has more power than the United Nations? What other organization that has gone to such lengths to remain unknown that the entire underworld knows about them?
Ironic isn't it?
They tried so hard to remain hidden, bribes, threats, assassinations and intimidation, all for naught. Try too hard to stay hidden and you only bring attention to yourself.
This of course doesn't mean the general public is aware. Censorship and information control has its uses and benefits.
No.
Only the well informed ears of snitches, powerful society elites and criminal bosses are aware of their existence.
The first, because it is their job to know things, the second because they are involved in the disappearance of things, and lastly the third, the one who make the things disappear, or used to before our division was formed.
What's the organization's name?
Surely you too have figured it out by now.
SEELE.
A collective group made up of nine extremely powerful and influential men, politically powerful of course. The idea of any of them being a combatant brings a smile of humor to my otherwise stoic face.
It was also rumored that each of the nine men hailed from the nine most powerful countries.
However SEELE is not my concern at the moment. My upcoming meeting with my Commanding Officer is.
This point snaps me out of my musing. I am currently at our main base of operations. Don't ask me where it is or I'll have to kill you. Should you be a figment of my ever delusional mind, you should already know.
"Aquadome Seventeen, South China Sea."
Ah, so you do know. That makes you a hallucination conjured up by my mind, a puppet for me to command or destroy.
As it stands, you entertain me. Despite you being unreal, you provide a source for my rants and inner thoughts.
A loud ping indicates I have reached the desired altitude. The low rumbling of the elevator doors open, the yellow LED display indicating 'Level 3A'.
Despite our militaristic nature, superstition still holds true in the construction of the aquadome.
I wave my hand and you disappear back to whence you came from. Can't have anyone questioning my sanity due to unseen distractions now can I?
I step over the threshold of the elevator, the ground beneath me switching from the grey metal floor to the polish gleaming surface of marbled tiling.
There is only one way to describe the administration level of the seventeenth aquadome, 'sterile'.
Being an undeclared, unconfirmed, subdivision of SEELE, funding has never been a question in our department. Claymore Division's armed operatives were equipped with the best current technologies, this also includes supplies to ensure an effective and efficient work place environment.
Frankly the place looked more science facility than it did military. To me however, it did not matter. I am not one to put much faith into how flashy something looks. Efficiency is what really matters in the long run.
Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If you choose to pick a good looking weapon over one that gets the job done, then so be it. There are those that say that psychology affects a person's mood. Soldiers in battlefield conditions have been proven to fight better and harder when given less nutritional warm cooked food as compared to the highly nutritional bland tasting field rations and nutritional supplements.
However psychology is just that, psychology. What the mind believes the body will feel. Hence, just convince yourself the crap you eat tastes wonderful and it shall be, somewhat.
I focus my attention on one of the officers that approach me in the corridor.
James Morrison.
I mentally run the name across my mental list of important names. Not one that I know. My eyes shift upwards to the colored badge above his polished name tag.
Two bars, well occupied with various colors of black, blue, red and yellow. The young man has had his share of combat experience. Then again he needed them to be here in the first place.
Moving right my eyes scan the strip of cloth adorning his shoulder. A single silver bar greeted me, a First Lieutenant, one of the new junior officers.
The man halts, moves to the side, snaps to attention and salutes.
Unlike some superiors, I pause to acknowledge him with a proper salute unlike the casual one some others use.
I can see he's surprised. His eyes widened slightly. Giving him a slight nod I move on.
A certain degree of familiarity goes a long way in this occupation. Troops tend to follow a Commander who respects them, than one who simply gives orders.
It never hurts to be nice. After all the ass you kick today may become the ass you kiss tomorrow.
That and smiling is so much easier then frowning. Weird one could argue that flipping the bird would be lot easier than smiling.
Passing a few more personnel, mostly Warrant Officers who mostly managed the paperwork around here, I reached my destination.
Kensington, Howard (Major General)
The polished silver showed me that I had indeed found the right place.
I raised my hand and gave two distinct knocks.
"Enter." A voice calls out clearly from within.
I enter as ordered, move to stand before the man seated behind the desk and snap to attention before saluting.
The Two Star General didn't bother with the usual protocol, instead choosing to remain seated.
"At ease."
Relaxing slightly I move my hands to my side.
"You can sit you know, Captain." He pointed his pen at the visitor's chair.
"Thank you, Sir." dragging the chair slightly into position I lean back into the soft padding. "You requested my presence, Sir?"
"Yes I did indeed. Having just gone through your report on your latest assignment, I believed you did an outstanding job."
"Thank you Sir."
"Yes, you also stated that you encountered no complications." He said browsing through the report in question.
"No complications, Sir." I said thinking back to what I may have written that could have warranted such an inquisition.
"I was not referring to any physical problems Shinji." The man said looking at me directly for the first since I entered.
He was rewarded with my raised eyebrow. It was not often my first name was used when being addressed by a superior officer. Even the damned Drill Sergeant back in boot camp referred to me as either Ikari, worm, maggot, lady or his personal favorite, pussy boy.
"Sir?" I say in askance.
"How old are you Captain?"
"Seventeen this year Sir." I could have made it exact but didn't really bother.
The man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not gonna contest your qualifications for this job as you have already proven yourself an irreplaceable member of our division, but I sometimes do wonder what the brass were thinking when they assigned a sixteen year old to a division of the army that specialize in missions that always involves someone getting killed."
"I'm not sure I follow Sir."
"You most certainly do." He countered. "I've seen your file son and you're more than qualified for just about whatever profession there is out there and one of those is psychology."
"You have read every single one of my psychological reports Sir. I do not believe that there were complications regarding my mental health." I plastered a blank look on my face.
"What do you think about killing, Shinji? Truthfully." He added as I opened my mouth.
I pause for a moment showing that I was thinking about rephrasing my answer. A trick that made one think I was going to actually answer truthfully. Out of respect I decided to give the man a somewhat truthful one.
"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it Sir. While it isn't easy it is required and I do not enjoy such a thing Sir. However it is my choice to remain in this line of profession and as such shall continue with what is expected of me in this line of work." I say in one breath.
The man sighed again. "I have been trying to shield one so young from the horrors of this job by giving you missions that did not require you to become personally involved or up close and personal when the elimination was carried out but it seems that the higher up have their own agenda."
I had of course noticed such a thing. All my missions had a pattern to them. While most of the operatives had missions where they got up close and personal with their targets, mine were always accomplished either at night or through the sights of a sniper's scope. Never have I had an infiltration mission where I had to befriend the victim so as to make him lower his guard.
"I was hoping to convince you to retire from such a profession before informing you of your new assignment but seeing as how you are set in your beliefs I have not much of a choice. Here's your new assignment, whether you chose to accept it or not." He withdrew a folder from within his drawer and threw it before me.
"Shouldn't it be, 'should I choose to accept it'?" I quarried.
"No Captain, you heard right the first time." The general reaffirmed.
I stared at the yellow manila folder with the bright red stamp of 'Classified' printed on it.
The very folder that would throw my life another curve ball.
"You're being reassigned to NERV Captain Ikari. You will be promoted to the rank of Major and be under their command as stated in the transfer contract. Other details are in the folder. I wouldn't be able to censor your missions anymore Ikari so I wish you the best of luck."
"Requesting permission to state my opinion?"
The man look surprised for a moment, he must have been expecting such a request earlier on and had given up expecting one at all.
"Proceed."
"While the censorship was appreciated Sir, it was never necessary. I however thank you for the thought." I stood up and gave him a bow which he returned.
"Dismissed Major Ikari." He saluted and I followed.
I turned and left the office. It would a while before I saw the General again.
XXXXX
Tokyo 3 – Tokyo 3 International Airport
You know all those rumors that they have about airline food being a total piece of inedible crap? Well guess what? They were right. Then again you can't really blame the airline companies. They spice up their dishes as much as possible. It's just that high altitudes just fucks up your taste buds.
Economy Class seating.
You'd think a multibillion dollar secret organization would be a bit more generous when it came to the treatment of its employees, but no, 'it's an intercity flight', they say. 'No need for a First Class ticket', they say.
Cheap bastards, they could have at least booked me under Business Class. It is after all what I am on assignment for, business.
Escorts, bah…
I was a military person and thus didn't warrant any. Of course I would have declined if they did offer. It was the principal of the matter.
Cheap bastards couldn't pay up a decent flight ticket. Don't think I didn't see that fucking private NERV jet on the tarmac.
At least NERV was kind enough to provide me a pick up. Having never been to the newly constructed Tokyo 3 before, I would probably have gotten lost in no time at all.
Why am I here?
As you would probably have garnered with that thing in your head called a brain. I quite clearly stated that I was and still am on assignment. While not one for lengthy drawn out assignments that involved stalking a target, or undercover missions, this particular one had me intrigued. That and I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter either.
The General was quite insistent about me being the one that was to be assigned. Apparently the higher ups had specifically requested that I was to be the one that was chosen and under no circumstances was I to decline. Such an order actually makes me actually consider the amount of free will that we humans are allowed to have.
Now I'm not saying free will is non existent. Everyone is entitled to free will and free thought. I'm a firm believer of such a philosophy. However I am also an avid supporter of the theory that people who are too loud and outspoken tend to mysteriously disappear.
And in my honest opinion I rather prefer that my shoes be made out of leather and not concrete. Breathing is indeed an act that will most certainly enjoy doing for a long time yet.
Now I am not saying the government has anything to do about it. After all the records clearly deny that the government was involved in such despicable acts. I am however saying that clerks and interns are sometimes completely useless and tend to misplace certain important documents detailing certain unethical issues.
Now, enough about my wonderful ideals on how the government or some top secret organization is controlling our lives in the shadows. That was minute ago news, the important thing is why am I currently in Tokyo 3.
It seems that due to certain requirements being met I had been chosen and recruited by a certain military organization called NERV. NERV was created as a research branch of the UN. Claymore Division is and despite the political denials, also part of the UN. As such my being recruited by them was rather quick and simple.
A few transfer papers filled out and processed before my consent, not that it was needed and presto I was now working under a new employer.
Of course this particular arrangement was not permanent, the General, crafty man he was manage to slip in a small particular loophole. While I was indeed being employed by NERV, my superiors in the Claymore Division were still my primary employer.
Not that I'm complaining. Getting two pay checks is rather appreciated.
Not to give them too much credit, but the lawyers that NERV employed had probably noticed that particular loophole. Why they did nothing about it? I don't really care. SEELE probably didn't see much point in making a big fuss out of the whole thing, after all why care about two organizations you controlled fighting over who owned what?
That and they probably had too much money to burn. Cheap bastards still couldn't pay for a decent air ticket.
You can tell I hold grudges rather well.
Now back to my story.
I looked around the terminal that I had just exited. The airport itself like many of the structures and buildings in the city were fairly new. Newly painted steel girders artistically shaped and positioned formed the support for the glass dome that made up the main section of the airport.
Of course creating an airport building that was eighty percent glass would sound completely stupid. Despite the many aviation advances society has made since the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight, airplanes were still very loud things. As such slow moving, intense sound waves and glass were not really good friends. Did I mention that Japan was quite famous for its constant occurring earthquakes?
Of course the Japanese being Japanese would try to prove everyone wrong and construct the damn thing anyway. I had of course read about the construction of the Tokyo 3 airport. It was one of the greatest challenges in modern construction history. Somehow the building's designer had shaped the dome in such a way that the sound waves would completely be dispersed when it hit any part of the glass covered structure. The building being earthquake proof was simply enough. If it is one thing the Japanese people are good at, it is the designing of earthquake proof structures, that and taking everything they do to the extreme.
Ever heard about the Kansai International Airport in Osaka? Of course you have. That too was one of the greatest achievements in construction history. Osaka needed a new airport and seeing how land was not the greatest thing available in pre-impact Japan, the government decided to build the thing where there was the most space, the sea.
Now I've read the reports, moving a mountain to create an artificial island was no easy task and it took them from 1987 to 1994 to finish the damn thing. Not surprisingly the damn thing was made out of glass. It survived the Kobe earthquake of 1994 and the typhoon of 1998. Too bad the designers never did anticipate the sudden severe rising of the oceanic levels or that 300 foot tsunami that came with Second Impact.
I'm a firm believer of Murphy's Laws, what can go wrong, will go wrong in the most spectacular way possible and at the worst possible time to go wrong. As such, building a glass dome for an airport and hoping for it not to collapse is just being stupid. Some might call me a pessimist, I disagree. I'm simply a realist.
Anyhow, I proved my point, the Japanese are, and probably always will be obsessive nuts that do things to the extreme, I should know, I too am one.
The only thing that would define any Japanese more so than an obsessive nut would be a perverted obsessive nut. While we may deny being perverts, how many cultures do you know, parade giant wooden dildos down the street as part of their fertility festival? That and did I mention the used panty vending machines?
However back to the topic at hand, I continue to stare at the dome of the airport. I snort in disgust. Fortress city my arse, despite its title, Tokyo 3 was just an over developed, technological city. I had seen the city as the plane passed over, and while it did have many strategic points and features it was mostly designed to be pleasing to the eye. Honestly, a glass airport? A simple howitzer shell from World War Two could probably level the place.
The city itself wouldn't stand up to an assault by a well organized force. I mean retractable buildings, honestly, air assaults hit faster than they can descend. What were the idiots who designed this city smoking? And what were they trying to defend against? Godzilla?
Sort of reminds me of the phrase, 'people in glass houses should beware rocks'. While the phrase itself may not apply in this particular sense I believe you get my point.
Anyhow despite the stupidity of such a structure I did have to admire the sheer mathematical and structural design of such a large structure being held up by simple steel and glass without any support pillars. The weight had to be evenly and correctly distributed or the whole thing might have failed. For a moment I was tempted to see what would happen should one of the main girders holding the thing up go loose and fall?
I was of course interrupted by someone calling my name.
"Major Ikari?" A male's voice caught my attention.
Snapping reluctantly out of my musings I shift my eyes from the roof of the airport to the two men approaching me. Dressed smartly in black business suits with white shirts and black ties, the two had the typical G-man look down pat. I of course immediately noticed the slight bulge under their armpits. The taller one had his one the left and the other the right.
Left handed. I committed the small piece of information to my mind, making note that should I be required to disarm him and use his gun that the mechanisms would all be reversed.
"That depends on who's asking." I blandly reply committing both men's faces to memory.
"This is Agent Nawaki and I'm Agent Sawatori. We're both with Section 2 Security of NERV. We shall escort you to NERV headquarters." The taller one replies while the shorter one just stands silently.
I raise one of my eyebrows. For a military organization, I was pretty surprised that they actually hired bodyguards. Either that or they were pretty lax in the amount of discipline.
How'd I know?
Seeing as I am dress fully in formal military regalia and them addressing me by rank, the customary salute was not present.
"I was not expecting such an escort from NERV." Cheap bastards, apparently a rank of Major warrants a pick up and Economy Class ticket. I inspected both their security badges attached to their suits without breaking eye contact with the tall one.
"We were ordered to pick you up and escort you to NERV headquarters by our superiors." The shorter one replied.
"You were not who I expected when I was told to expect a pick up." I said calmly.
"And you were not what we expected." The tall one, Agent Sawatori replied with slight humor in his voice. "We were expecting someone slightly taller."
He did not just call me short.
"I am at a height befitting my age, Agent Sawatori. However seeing as I was given a photo of my NERV escort and you two are not that person, you understand if I decline such an invitation." I pulled out the photo that I had received.
The man accepted the photo and stared at it in slight shock.
Internally I smirked. The man obviously was acquainted with the woman, and judging by his reaction to the picture, probably didn't know her that well.
"Captain Katsuragi has been delayed and as such we were sent in her steed."
"Really?" I say disbelievingly as I accepted the returned photo. Glancing at it briefly I wondered what kind of a woman, especially a Captain would send a picture of herself dress in a tight black leather biker's suit with the front unzipped showing off the black bikini underneath. The arrow draw pointing at her ample cleavage and the words 'How's the view' didn't help matters either. "No." I stated.
"Pardon?"
"I was informed that Captain Katsuragi was to be my escort to NERV headquarters and seeing as you don't have purple dyed hair and aren't likely to grow breast anytime soon, I would have to politely decline your invitation."
"I insist." The man made to place his hand on my shoulders.
The idiot was obviously underestimating me.
Fortunately for him, before he could make contact, we were interrupted by the roaring of several loud aircraft. Deafening as it may be, we were at an airport and it wasn't out of place to hear the excessive sounds of aircraft.
However the main point was that Tokyo 3 International Airport was a civilian only airport and as such did not house any military aircraft. Being exposed to quite a number of military vehicles I immediately picked out the sound as that belonging to the high powered, high performance engines of fighter crafts.
I was immediately proven right as several of them flew by overhead. I narrowed my eyes. Despite being an airport, such flybys in commercial areas were rare and never at such low altitudes. Focusing at the nearest of them I identified it as an A149 Banshee, one of the latest military Gunships in the UN's arsenal.
Despite the interruption the agent still made to place his hand on my shoulder.
Big mistake.
I easily grabbed a hold of his wrist and tugged. The move pulled him off balanced and I followed through with an elbow blow to his face.
Effectively removing him from combat I turned to his partner.
"Shit." The man made for his gun.
As expected, he was left handed and my leg snapped out. I made contact. His kneecap cracked bending his joint in an unnatural way. The man howled in pain but somehow remained upright, weird.
Moving forward, my right hand pressed on his left forearm preventing the drawing of the weapon and followed through with an opened palm strike into his face.
I felt the breaking of the man's nose beneath my palm but decided to play it safe, a further elbow to the temple took him out.
The man collapsed to the ground, a ragged doll. I stared at the two disabled men in annoyance. Whether they were NERV agents or people impersonating them it didn't matter, they weren't who I was expecting and as such should have known that I wouldn't take too kindly to them.
I sighed.
My little display of violence would probably have attracted airport security and as such would no doubt involve an irritating amount of red tape to cut through.
Fate, it would seem decided to grace me at the moment, as everyone's attention was captured by the loud alarm klaxons that were going off. For a moment I was actually impressed that my little stunt warranted an airport wide alarm notification.
This line of thought was proven false when a female voice sounded over the loud speaker informing everyone that a state of emergency was now present and as such we should evacuate to the nearest emergency shelter which was that in the airport itself.
Surprisingly, despite what you always see in the movies, the people did not completely freak out and stamped out of the building or to the shelters. Instead they actually did the opposite and moved in an orderly fashion towards the shelter. Weird, I shrugged, must be a Japanese thing.
I raised my eyebrow as for some reason no one seemed to notice that there were two unconscious men at my feet.
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth I moved as fast as I could inconspicuously away from the two. Blending into the crowd I contemplated the thought of whether I should join the public and head for the shelter. I had of course decided to forgo frisking the two men for their firearms and other things that may be important as it wasn't too wise to stick around them in public.
Deciding that I had a place to be and was on a deadline to arrive I decided to forgo the shelter and made to exit the airport. NERV was the organization that I was to be working for and seeing as they were the nearest thing to a military force, they would be the best place for me to be and to garner any information regarding the current state of emergency.
Meeting very little resistance, whether due to the staff being too busy ushering civilians or the military uniform I was wearing, I made it out of the front doors unopposed.
Imagine my surprise when the moment I step out I was greeted by the sound of tires squealing upon the tarmac. Turning towards the sound I was met with the remarkable sight of a blue Renault drifting round the corner and skillfully maneuvering itself under high speeds into the allocated spot for departure pickups.
Incidentally that spot happened to be right where I was standing.
Seeing as the driver was a professional I decided to stand my ground unless the car didn't stop in time. Showing my amazement at the amount of control I gave three slow claps of applause to the driver who had begun to wind down the window.
"What are you waiting for? Get in." A person with purple hair wearing black tinted sunglasses called out in urgency.
Purple dyed hair, check.
Features despite sunglasses, check.
"Greetings, Captain Karsuragi." I stated with a slight smile on my face, waiting for her reaction.
"Ikari Shinji?" She asked. I nodded slightly to indicate a positive reply. "Get in." She ordered.
Shrugging, I pulled open the passenger side door and threw both my suitcase and briefcase into the back seat. Jumping in, the car took off before I could reach for the seat belt. Slamming back into the seat of the car I wondered for a brief moment what would have happened should I have left my leg hanging out when the door had shut due to the car's forwards acceleration?
I ignored most of my surroundings as the Captain pulled onto the main road, most of my attention focused on the loud telltale sounds of high explosives being detonated in the distance. Before I could ask the status of the current situation my attention was garnered by the sight of the domed shaped airport.
I chuckled in amusement as two halves of a metal shield was being raised to envelop the glass structure. The sight reminded me slightly of a Venus fly trap enclosing on an unfortunate insect. I smiled. Maybe the thing was defendable after all.
This was soon put to the test as I spied a plume of smoke descending rapidly towards the dome. It was most probably one of the Gunships that had flown by earlier. Impacting onto the metallic shielding the aircraft burst into flames and over the sound of the explosion I could easily pick up the slight echo of glass shattering.
I snorted fixing my eye on the lone parachute falling towards a nearby field, glass house indeed.
XXXXX
Tokyo 3 – NERV Headquarters – Command Deck
"The target is still advancing." Gendou recognized the voice of the female bridge bunny as he sat behind his desk, his hands in their customary position.
Listening to the rants and orders from the various Generals of the UN and the JSSDF he mentally rolled his eyes at the futility of using military grade weapons against an enemy equipped with an AT field.
Still he had to give them a slight amount of credit. They were delaying the Angel by providing it with sufficient target practice. Other than that he was simply annoyed that the military saw fit to waste millions of dollars in taxpayer's money when he could have put the weapons to better use instead of simply bombarding the Angel with it.
However he would let them have their fun. They would be unable to defeat the Angel and he would clean up their mess.
Behind his gloved hands the Supreme Commander of NERV smiled.
"Soon Yui, very soon." He muttered.
XXXXX
Tokyo 3 – Highway
As the woman I now knew as Captain Katsuragi drove, that is if one could call the vicious lane swapping madness driving, I took in the view of the landscape. Now no longer obstructed by the buildings I was finally able to get a better view of my surroundings.
I was of course contemplating the age old stereotype regarding women drivers. This was of course put to rest. The Captain wasn't a bad driver per say, heck she was pretty impressive, what with all the skillfully pulled off drifts around corners, barely missing parked cars and looking like she was still on an errand to buy a carton of milk.
No, it was not her driving I was contemplating, it was her complete disregard of road rules and safety. Then again this was both an emergency situation and anyone stupid enough to be on the roads at a time like this was either not where they were supposed to be or mentally retarded.
Now while I am contemplating life, shit and the universe not many things would catch my undivided attention. This however did.
A small blue haired girl stood in the middle of the road as the Renault barreled down on her.
Vanish. She remained.
For a moment I nearly shouted out, as Misato despite being an excellent object dodger, decided to play Grand Theft Auto. What no idea what GTA is?
Shit dude get a life. Flying pedestrian equals ten points.
Despite confirmation that she wasn't a figment of imagination, the car passed right through her. Weird, I didn't know ghosts existed. I just might be insane.
The second thing that instantly caught my attention was the giant black shaped humanoid figure in the distance firing off what looked like bolts of lasers at the A149s that were swarming it like bees.
Kind of hard to miss, seeing as the thing was doing a fairly good impression of Godzilla on a bad day.
What the?
For a moment I was not sure if I was once again seeing things that weren't suppose to be there.
Vanish. I mentally commanded. The figure remained.
Vanish. I forced harder. It still remained.
The situation I can best describe this was 'fucked up'. Logic they say is what keeps a person sane. What happens if something illogical becomes reality? Philosophers have always pondered such a question, I however didn't care.
A giant humanoid monster?
Since when did reality become fantasy I ask you? Where was Godzilla and who's his little friend?
Figuring that spacing out now would not be the best of things I decided to focus on the current situation. "Just what the hell is that?" I asked as politely as I could, given the current situation.
"That." The woman that I now identified as Captain Katsuragi replied somewhat distracted as she shot down the highway beyond illegal speeds. "Is an Angel."
I stared at the woman. I would really love to see what gets classified as a Demon in her books.
I never did get her full name as the report stated that I was to be provided an escort to NERV Headquarters and a picture of said escort. Due to her unprofessional style and bad handwriting I could only make out her appearance, message of paying attention to her cleavage and that she was apparently my escort. Her name was messily scrawled and I could only figure her initials as 'K' and 'M'.
I turn my attention to the driver. She was clothed in a brown dress, the only thing resembling a uniform being the red jacket with a small logo of a leaf and the words 'NERV' on the shoulder. "The A149s are not very effective against that 'Angel' are they? They are however providing it with a good source of target practice."
"Huh?" The Captain turned her attention to look at me. For a moment I wondered if it was safe for one to turn her attention off the road at such high speeds but decided that it must have been a normal thing for her. "You know what they are from here? That's some good eyesight."
"I saw them earlier as they flew overhead on route to the target." I supplied.
It seemed she hadn't noticed my current attire until recently, judging by the lifting of one of her eyebrows. "What's with the get up kid, interested in the military much?"
"You could say that." Did this woman even read my files? My first impression of her was not looking too good. I mentally added 'irresponsible' to the growing list I had categorized under 'Katsuragi M'. "I am somewhat of a military fanatic."
For a moment she seemed lost in thought before she broached another question. "Do you have your acceptance letter?"
Not bothering to answer I reached behind to the back seat and retrieved my briefcase. Opening up on my lap I withdrew the single paged document and held it out for her.
I glanced at the picture of myself dressed in a black suit staring back emotionlessly.
Practicing what everyone would consider unsafe driving, Misato removed both hands from the wheel to retrieve my document with one hand and a binder with the other.
Still leaving the car to its own devices she focused her attention completely on the document in hand. She hummed slightly before sticking the acceptance letter into a side pocket of the binder and passing the whole thing to me.
NERV
The large bland red letters followed by.
Personal Handbook
In black told me what I now had in my hands.
Forgoing the contents of the book as I already received and carried one in my briefcase. I wondered again for the hundred time why NERV a military research division would require my help as a Tactical Operations Director.
The only reason I could think up was advice on how the craft I was to test pilot could be use and made more effective from a military tactical standpoint.
Then again the presence of a Godzilla wannabe kind of explained the need of a Military Tactical Officer.
"You seem to be taking this rather well." She commented seeing as how I was paying the handbook hardly any attention.
"The giant monster part or the driving instructor's nightmare part?" I decided to humor the woman.
"The Angel part."
"I have been exposed to enough Godzilla prancing through Tokyo movies. Why should one stomping through Tokyo 3 be any different?"
"Unlike movies, this happens to be real."
"Reality is relative. It is based on definitions made by the society as a whole. Aliens for all you know may be a reality, however, society dictates they are simply a part of science fiction."
"Wha?" She sounded confused.
'Unable to process complex thoughts' I added the extra bit to her ever growing folder.
Seeing as how she was neither paying attention to both the road and the battle development in the distance I decided to enlighten her.
I had of course paid ample attention to the battle taking place. It wasn't everyday a 300 foot monster decided to go for a stroll. I raised my eyebrow in contemplation as I noticed a few slight details.
The aircraft were luring the giant out of the city. Check.
The distinctive roar of a high yield cruise missile's rocket turbine engine. Check.
Aircraft retreating like they were scared shitless. Check.
Giant killer rampaging monster that seems impervious to standard military grade weaponry. Check.
"You realize the fact that those VTOLs are retreating may indicate the deployment of an N2 non radioactive thermonuclear device." I gestured to the retreating Gunships in the distance. Not that I was worried, judging by the distance and the car itself providing shelter, we were out of its effective kill radius. Any more powerful and they would of course take out a part of the city itself, that was of course a big no no.
Captain Katsuragi was of course not as well informed as I was and decided stomping on the brakes and shoving my face between her legs was a good idea.
Not that I didn't mind the gesture mind you, but she could have at least warned me. I had nearly drawn my dagger in response to her reaching towards me.
Moments later I was proven right as a load roar was heard and a powerful shockwave battered the car's exterior. Luckily we were directly facing away from the blast and weren't turned over.
Moments later the pressure keeping me down lessened and I was able to lift my head. Ironically the airbags chose this very moment to engage smacking me right in the face and knocking my head back into the headrest.
I heard a slight giggle and turned towards the sniggering woman who was finding the situation humorous at my expense. That was until her own airbag engaged and knocked her back.
Payback's a bitch.
Reaching into my jacket I drew the dagger and slashed both the airbags deflating them faster than they would without assistance.
Regaining her composure she looked at me and then at the blade I held. "Where'd you get the knife, kid?"
"Military nut remember." I stated before sheathing it in a holster strapped to my left forearm.
"Right…" She trailed off unsurely as she stomped on the accelerator and we once again shot off towards our destination.
Now seeing as I already had enough surprises for the day, the sight of the Geo Front I had read about in the handbook was a welcomed anticipation. I hardly noticed our approached to the pyramidal structure of NERV Headquarters as I debated the benefits of an underground city. The presence of air strikes would be greatly reduced I decided, however in the event of a drawn out siege, the enemy could simply flood us out provided they managed to obtain enough water to fill the entire cavern the Geo Front was made out of.
Seeing as the topography of the surrounding landscape had a few rivers passing by, it wouldn't be too much trouble to simply divert one of them and flood it out.
"… in years." I was again distracted by the Captain's voice. It would seem she was attempting to make some small talk, but I had failed to catch the beginning.
"I beg your pardon Madam Karsuragi."
Internally I smirked at the slight choke she gave at being address as so.
"Misato."
"Friendly aren't you." I commented at the use of her first name. "In that case in light of the current informal situation I believe you may refer to me as Shinji."
She looked at my deadpanned expression for a while not really knowing if what I said had been a joke. Good, 'always keep them guessing' was one of my philosophies.
"Well then Shinji, I hear you haven't seen your father in a while. Know what he does?" She repeated her question.
"Ikari Gendou, Supreme Commander of NERV, a military research branch of the United Nations. The research conducted is unknown except that its purpose is supposedly for the benefit of mankind. As to what you have heard, I haven't seen the man since I was four." Misato as I now knew her first name seemed slightly taken aback at the way I phrased my answer.
"You know, you aren't as cute as what I'd expected." She teased at my formal tone.
"You know, you aren't matured as I'd expect someone of your rank and profile." I countered.
I saw the smirk on her face and was preparing for some sort of retaliation in the form of non harmful pain. As somewhat expected she reached over and begun to mess up my nicely spiked up hair.
I of course showed my irritation in the form of a throaty growl. Apparently it was what she was looking for as the smirk turned into a smile.
"Feeling better now?"
Despite my hair being worse off I did indeed feel somewhat better, weird.
Once again we were interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Seeing as the ring tone was not that of my own I deduced it was Misato's.
"Hello? Oh, hey, hon. No, I wasn't that close to the blast. Just a little, the car's worse than I am. I'm fine! Yeah, he's fine too. Don't worry about it. His safety is my primary concern. We'll be right there soon. Yeah, caught the express train. Right, see you soon sweetie." She said as she hung up the phone.
The conversation had me puzzled. If this was the way the chain of command worked around here, we were seriously screwed. Then again she might have been speaking to a significant other and as such was allowed an amount of leeway.
Looking at her left ring finger, I spied the absence of a wedding band. Then again many women in the modern age decided to forgo the band of commitment. I suppose it's their way of denial and that they were still young and carefree.
"I suppose that was your boyfriend calling?" I referred to her phone conversation.
"Why? Jealous?" She smiled naughtily.
"No. Just curious, besides you're probably twice my age." I smirked right back.
She frowned. "And I thought most boys your age would love to be involved to an older more experienced woman. Besides that was my girlfriend."
"Funny, I never took you as a lesbian." I said with a raised eyebrow. Lesbian, huh? That would probably explain the lack of a wedding band. Despite 2nd impact and a extra couple more decades of modern thinking, marriages of the same sex were still widely frowned upon and thus illegal in most countries. That and homosexuals were counter productive to population expansion.
Misato choked before glaring at me. "You have a lot to learn about women, Shinji. Women refer to their friends as girlfriends and we are a lot more intimate with them than a guy is with theirs."
Intimate? I pondered. Maybe she was a closet lesbian. "So who was it then?"
"Someone who's been looking forwards to meeting you."
Meeting me? That was a pretty long list and most of the individuals in it hostile and unfriendly. It tends to be that way when one goes off the grid and works as a professional 'meatbag' disposer.
"Definitely not my father then." I nodded in thought. "Most likely a woman judging from your previous theory."
"Oh!" she exclaimed in a teasing voice. "Anxious to meet another woman Shin-kun?" She teased.
"Not particularly." With that I leaned back into the seat and closed my eyes showing that the conversation was at an end. Most new people I meet I would never see again, whether they were Black Opts members or by a bullet through their skulls.
Minutes later we had gotten off the train, briefcase in hand and suitcase rolling behind me, we were attempting to navigate the massive corridors of NERV.
Noticed how I said 'attempting'.
Misato's little list was not as little anymore as I had added, 'Clueless' and 'No sense of direction' to it as well.
The moving walkway brought us to yet another armored door which automatically slid open, blasting us with a gust of wind.
The Captain's hand instinctively moved to hold down her skirt. "That's why I hate wearing skirts around here." She groaned as she continued to peruse the map she saw currently trying to figure out.
I decided to add 'Shoddy map reading skills' as well to the list.
I sighed in irritation. "Give me that, you're lost as this is probably the third time I have seen that same sign.
She giggled lightly making my left eye twitched slightly. "Don't worry that's what these walkways are for."
I for one did not have the time to waste and I needed information of the current situation.
I snatched the piece of paper out of her hand and move around her and began walking down the moving pathway.
Ironically after two minutes I had found the main elevator. Before I could push the button to call for one, the door opened to reveal a blonde woman in a lab coat wearing a cross expression.
Seeing as how I haven't irritated anyone as of late except maybe the two NERV agents currently lying in the airport, I assumed the expression was meant for the good Captain.
Getting a better look at the woman, she was about Misato's height and age, with shorter blonde hair and a small mole under one of her blue eyes. Like Misato, she was an attractive woman, though it was accomplished in a different way.
According to the name tag attached to her lab coat she was a Dr. Akagi Ritsuko. I instantly recognized the name as belonging to the world famous leading researcher in Biophysics. I was however not expecting one so young to come attached to the name.
She had on dark stockings, a black leather miniskirt and a tight blue zip up top with a ring attached. The ring itself was large enough to scream 'Pull me' to my subconscious. Deciding not to act on my impulses, less I experience some sort of physical pain, I moved aside as she stepped past me and got right in Misato's face.
She easily pushed back a surprised and sheepish looking Misato, who stammered. "Uh, hi, um, Ritsuko."
Judging by the fact that she seemed like a friend to Misato, a woman and a person in a high position, I assumed it was she that Misato was speaking to earlier.
"Why are you wasting my time, Captain Katsuragi?" The new arrival inquired coolly. "Do you realize we're short on both time and man power?"
"Sorry." Misato replied again sheepishly. "I got lost again and Shinji-kun here showed me the way."
Ritsuko turned and regarded me dispassionately. "You're the Commander's son?"
"Yes." Misato placed a hand on my shoulder and once again I resisted drawing my dagger. "According to the Marduk Report, he's the Third Child."
"Yes all well and fascinating, however if you would please step into the elevator, my finger is starting get tired." My eye twitched towards my hand currently pressing on the door open button.
As we left the elevator and moved up another ridiculously long escalator, I paid most of my attention to the surroundings that I did their joint conversation. It was incomprehensible anyway, something about the test unit failing again and some type of synchronization with an absurdly small success rate.
A small part of the conversation however did catch my attention.
"So I hear the New Tactical Officer is arriving today." Misato broached the topic.
Dr. Akagi gave the woman a puzzled stare for a moment before smiling, she tossed me a wink. I decided to humor the woman to see how this was going to play out.
"Yes, quite a dashing fellow."
"Really? I hear he's young." Misato stated. "Doesn't sound very experienced at all. Probably got the rank riding the tail coats of his father."
Ritsuko choked slightly and tossed me a look.
I ignored the comment. "Some might say Captain Katsuragi that you got your rank sleeping with your superiors." Call it 'pettiness' or 'vindictiveness', I simply call it 'retaliatory satisfaction'.
Misato gave me a dangerous look. "What did you say?"
"Nothing definite, but you might want to meet and study the person before making assumptions on them." I advised.
"I'll take that to mind Shin-kun." She smiled before once again ruffling my hair.
Scowling in response I turned my attention back to the surroundings again. Seeing nothing much new and interesting my mind started to drift.
In retrospect it was probably not such a good idea as I noticed something was odd when that last door closed behind me and all the lights went off.
I tripped and bumped into one of the woman, not sure which but it was probably the highest point of my day considering so far.
The overhead lights snapped on and momentarily blinded me. I closed my eyes and opened them slowly, allowing them to get use to the brightness faster.
I found myself on a catwalk across a large, vault ceilinged metal room, not unlike the service gantry of one of the submarine pens back in the aquadome. The resemblance was further imitated by the fact it was filled up to the catwalk level in a pinkish liquid. High on the wall near the ceiling was a small row of windows. I took me a moment but I quickly realized that the thing protruding from the water's surface was indeed not the coning tower of a submarine but in fact a giant head.
It was purple, a color that I found most irritating, with a large horn sticking out of its head. The thing was heavily armored and had two slit like eyes focused directly at me.
"So a giant robot huh?" Reality was starting to look like it had taken a vacation and left its sister Fantasy in charge. "That's what my father been working on? Wasn't in the manual." Obviously. I mentally added.
"This is the artificial life form known as Evangelion Unit 01." The Doctor started to explain. "Built here in secret it is mankind's last hope against the Angels." I had to hand it to the woman, she was dramatic. "Further statistical information will be present in a manual."
"I believe this is not the first time we have met." I said staring into the eyes of the giant, my mind recalling the event that started everything.
"That is correct." A cold booming voice echoed over the speakers.
I turned my eyes up to see the grim visage of the Commander and Father, Gendou Ikari staring from the observation deck.
"Commander Brigadier General Ikari." I snapped to attention and gave him a salute.
Following tradition he returned the salute. "Major Ikari, I trust your flight here was satisfying."
"Yes it was, Sir."
"Huh? Wha?" Misato was mouthing in confusion. "You're the new Tactical Operations Director?"
"Surprised?" I say with a slight smirk on my face.
"We're moving out!" The Commander shouted his orders
"What's going on?" Misato asked.
"The Angel is advancing towards Tokyo 3. The N2 Mine had little effect on it as it is mobile once again." A different voice said over the intercom.
"We have to mobilize." Ritsuko said.
"Unit 00?" Misato asked. "What of Unit 01?"
"What do you think?" Ritsuko said nodding towards me.
"You're going to use Unit 01." She gasped.
I rolled my eyes at the drama.
"That's right."
"He can't pilot!" She protested.
"There's no one else."
"What about Rei? She can pilot Unit 01."
"That's impossible. Rei has been proven time and time again unfit for synchronization with EVA01."
"But you can't! He doesn't know the systems, he just got here! You can't make him do it!"
"I concur." Everyone turned their attention to me. "You'll just have to do with the current unit and pilot at your disposal. I am currently untrained and unfamiliar with the specs and operating system of this unit." I jerk a thumb at the purple construct. "As such I believe my presence in the Command Deck would be of much more use.
Everyone's attention was now focused on the Commander as he seemed to think the suggestion over. Finally after a slight pause he answered. "Proceed."
"Come Captain Katsuragi." I gestured for her to lead the way.
Misato gave me a look of confusion before snapping to attention and saluting. "Pardon my previous behavior Major Ikari, I was unaware."
I smirked as I returned the formality, she can be trained after all.
Author's Note:
There my first Evangelion Fanfiction, I hope it isn't as bad so please read and review what you think.
As for the first person perspective, there will be some parts that will not be in FPS but it will be clearly distinguished.
Had this story on the shelf for a while now was just wondering what I was going to do with it. At first it simply started out as a one shot, but after much consideration I decided I just might be able to serialize it.
As for my other story "The Innocence Of Guilt" I have updated the latest chapter. "Harry Potter And The Walkers" being my first fanfiction was crap in my opinion now that I went back and read it. I might do a rewrite of it after finishing "Innocence Of Guilt".
As for the extremely long period of hiatus, I apologize. It was a combination of writers block, procrastination, a case of CBF and I really was busy as Fuck. Still am, but I finally finished my PhD. Muah hahaha. Gonna milk my titles for all its worth now. Basically eight years of university and ton of my father's money = MBBS surgery title, Bachelor Of Biomedical Science Degree, Bachelor Of Medical Engineering, Honors In Medical Anatomy, PhD In Medical Physiology.
My latest course undertaking is Masters In Business Administration. Why a course so out of the Medical field? My dad's idea. His reasoning, he allowed my to study my chosen course till I finished it completely, which I did. Now he wants me to help run the company. Thus Business knowledge required.
Shit, believe me when I say switching from a scientific POV to a business POV is freaking hard. I have no idea what the lecturers are going on about. At least I have plenty of study time. I mean WTF 12 contact hours a week? Shit son, you Business students have the lightest contact hours ever. Science freaks require a minimum of 26-28 contact hours a week. Then again, I pity the Engineering students, they get 32-34 hours a week.
ENSIGN
Nunquam Lamiae Morde "Me Ictus"