Author's note: I do not own Evangelion, Alien, or related trademarks.
Language warning:
"You know, he never DID say why I have to be here," complained Asuka as they ate. She had been mostly shoving the food around and not actually eating as her mind was on the snub.
"Weren't you the youngest person to ever graduate into the German air force?" asked Hartnell Walker, his voice sounding very much like an overly deep robot. He wasn't eating anything at all.
"Well, yes, but-"
"Maybe Commander Ikari thinks you would compliment Major Katsuragi through your contrasts," offered Kaworu in his soft, almost effeminate voice. "You tend to be considerably more rash in your words and actions compared to her."
"Well, at least I'M normal and not some freak like you and Wondergirl!" she snapped, indicating Rei Ayanami, who was quietly eating steamed vegetables next to Shinji. The blue-haired girl blinked but said nothing, which did not help Asuka's mood. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"
"What is there for me to say?" Rei quietly replied.
The redhead became even more flustered as she turned to Kaji, but he just shrugged. Misato tried to suppress a smirk as she ate, but Ritsuko did not have that self-control.
"Fine! If that's how YOU'RE going to act!" Asuka finally snapped as she stormed off.
Shinji looked at Kaworu. "Couldn't you have maybe handled that a bit better?"
Kaworu only smiled.
"Seriously, a little tact would have been nice," the boy insisted.
"She probably deserved it," Ristuko commented lightly.
"Perhaps Ikari is right," Rei countered. "As difficult as Soryu is at times, we could treat her with a bit more patience than we normally do."
"That's the most I've EVER heard you say in one breath, Rei," Kaji noted.
"Does anyone else feel that the Commander was being a little too vague about the nature of the xenomorphs?" Walker asked, feeling that the subject desperately needed changing.
"Well, wouldn't you know something?" Misato asked back. "I mean, with you being part xenomorph and all yourself."
"I'm afraid that I do not know as much about my ancestry as I would like. All I know is I must look terrifying to the rest of you."
"Actually, Pen-Pen seems to be the only one who has ever really had a problem."
"Poor thing."
"I wonder what changed in the experimentation process that caused Ayanami and I to be more human-like than you, though?" Kaworu mused.
"I still have no idea," was all Walker could say.
Shinji stood up. "I-I'm done," he stammered. "Excuse me."
He hastily exited, causing Ritsuko to raise an eyebrow on instinct. "What's HIS problem?"
Asuka lay in her bunk, frustrated. She did not need the commentary from that freaky albino Kaworu, and Wondergirl was not helping matters any. Those two always got on her nerves-
She heard a knock. "Asuka, it's me. Do you think we could talk?"
She rolled over. "Fuck off, baka-Shinji."
"Well, OK, then, but I thought maybe you should know that I thought that wasn't right, what happened out there."
"I SAID FUCK OFF ALREADY, OK?! JUST GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"
There was silence.
After they were done eating, Rei, Kaworu, and Walker decided to take a walk around the spacecraft.
"It astounds me," the taller hybrid mused, "that while we are being asked to hunt the very creatures that comprise part of our own existence, we know very little about them."
"Or else little has been told us," the white-haired albino countered. "I wish that Commander Ikari wasn't so vague."
"The commander is Shinji's father, I assume?"
"Yes, but sadly they are rather distant from each other emotionally. I wish I knew why."
"What about you, Rei?"
"I am afraid that I also pay little attention to their relationship," she spoke quietly.
Walker was about to speak again when he failed to pay attention to where he was going and went face-first into the wall.
"That hurt," he deadpanned as he backed up and sat down.
Then a droplet of blood fell from his nose.
Rei and Kaworu noticed right away that there were two things notable about the blood: One, it was a more yellowish color than normal blood, and two, where the blood had landed, there was a hissing sound, then a small hole in the metal floor.
"Quick, somebody give me something to clamp my nose so the bleeding stops!" Walker yelled. "It's acid!"
"I'll make sure it didn't burn a hole through anything else," Kaworu quickly added as he and Rei went in separate directions.
"If you see the Major or any of the others, you may want to have them see this!"
Alone, he let his mind soak in what had just transpired. If that's what MY blood does when it touches something, what will the xenomorphs be like if and when we try to kill them?
"It thankfully did not hit any critical components, but it's still a little bit unsettling to see how quickly it ate through the titanium," Kaworu informed Misato and the others as they reached Rei and Walker. The blue-haired girl was carefully holding the other hybrid's nose closed to avoid further damage to the ship. "Has it stopped yet, Hartnell?"
"I don't know," he barely got out. "I didn't check yet."
Rei released her grip and he held his hand under his face. Shinji was terrified that if any more acid blood DID come out, it would melt the hybrid's hand and go straight through the metal again. Thankfully, nothing came, not a drop.
Ristuko finally let herself exhale. "What else is Commander Ikari not telling us?!" she asked, bewildered.
"If the xenomorphs are of similar biology," Rei offered, "then I believe that using conventional weapons such as firearms could prove to be a fatal error on our part."
"So, basically, you're saying we should kill them with actual fire if we have to?" Kaji inquired, skepticism in his voice.
"That is correct."
Asuka, who had been pried, more or less, out of her bunk to join the rest of the crew, threw up her hands. "Great. Wondergirl is suggesting that we turn this spaceship into a giant inferno!"
"Do YOU have any better ideas, Asuka?" Misato shot back.
The German became flustered again and stormed off.
"She has a point, though," Kaji interjected. "I'm not sure if fire is our only available choice-"
Then the alarms went off.