Development of Antimatter weaponry has seen limited success since the days of second impact. While production and containment of Antimatter continues to be a significant challenge, a process called Antimatter catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion – originally conceived as a means of triggering fission in subcritical spacecraft fuel – has successfully been converted to power miniscule-sized atomic explosions. Though the technology is in its infancy, its potential as a compact, extremely energy dense material has spurred research in both civil and military fields alike. We propose the use of captured positrons as a seed, allowing on-site production of anti-proton for the catalyzed nuclear fission process. Possible application of the technique includes an autonomous artillery platform capable of launching projectiles at up to 1 Terra-Joules muzzle energy with no external intervention…
- Classified Information File#0000020-B, item 60. "Abstract from 'Automated Positron Rifle: a proof of concept'"; Security clearance level 2: Internally Disclosed Information
Asuka sat patiently in her entry plug; the scent of LCL filling her lungs. She had expected the discovery that LCL was, in fact, alien blood – and that she was submerged in the thing – to have a more profound impact on her psyche. It's surprising how much the human brain can wave aside as normal, especially if nothing is observationally different. Sure, the idea of swimming in a mysterious fluid of extraterrestrial origin was strange and upsetting and probably very dangerous if Asuka thought about it seriously. But she had been doing it for months by now, and even though her brain fully comprehended the idea, it wasn't triggering any alarm on an instinctual level. On the contrary, she had always felt oddly secure and restful in Unit-02's cockpit.
A bubble escaped upwards as Asuka exhaled a deep breath – not that it was necessary in her present condition. LCL was extremely permeable to both Oxygen and Carbon dioxide, so much so that any concentration gradient equalizes nigh-instantaneously, like heat differences in a superfluid. Consequently a pilot could 'hold their breath' forever if they wanted to. As long as the life-support system was functional, the LCL will equalize through the nose so blood CO2 concentration never gets high enough to trigger breathing urges.
Despite that, Asuka never did understood how she could vocalize while submerged. It shouldn't be possible to speak with her vocal cords inundated in a fluid. But she was controlling the Eva by direct neural interface anyways. Surely the same computer was detecting her intentions to speak and articulating for her?
"Commencing initialization sequence," Asuka spoke into the comm system. "Are we going to make it in time?"
"The Angel is expected to make landfall in Tokyo-3 in 22 minutes," Misato's voice answered. "We have the UN's pacific fleet to thank for the early warning."
Asuka closed her eyes. The scramble order came in about an hour after Kaji dropped her off at school. The illusive man claimed he had some appointment up in Tokyo-2, and wanted to send off his protégé properly before leaving town for a few days.
A downright shame he's not here to watch, the second children thought, I would've given him a show worth remembering.
"How's wonder girl and idiot-Shinji doing?" Asuka asked, "They won't be getting in my way, right?"
"You have the highest sync ratio right now," Misato replied, "so you'll be taking point while Rei provides primary support. As for Shinji, Unit-01 hasn't completed repairs yet."
"Still useless then," the pilot chuckled. "Oh well, guess it's up to me again. Why do we even keep that stupid idiot around anyways? He's riding on my coat-tail and it's pulling me down."
"Just focus on your job, Asuka. We'll launch as soon as Ritsuko gets here."
Maya Ibuki rounded a corner as she approached the senior scientist's office. It was highly unusual for her mentor to be late; she's usually the image of timeliness. Whatever it was Ritsuko was up to last night must've been exceptionally draining…
"Dr. Akagi!" the operator finally arrived at the office door and began knocking. "Dr. Akagi, the new Angel is expected to make landfall in 20 minutes. Please come to the command center immediately!"
Silence.
"Are you there, Dr. Akagi?"
No response from behind the door.
"Dr. Akagi, please answer me!" Maya shouted. "It's an emergency! Please!"
Nothing.
"Dr. Akagi, are you ok?" the operator was beginning to get anxious. "I'm coming in. Please excuse me!"
Maya grabbed her ID card from her pocket. She was about to slide it through the card reader when suddenly-
"Wait!" a voice shouted from behind the door.
Maya took a step back. A few seconds later, the office door slid open and out came Ritsuko Akagi; looking pale and puffy around the eyes. The chief scientist crossed the threshold and immediately locked her room behind her.
"Sorry about that," Ritsuko said as she adjusted her coat. "I seem to have completely lost track of time. A new Angel, you said? Let's go see how bad it looks."
As Shinji stepped onto the command deck, he quickly took note of the octahedral Angel on the screen. The chief of operations was shouting commands from behind the main operators, while the senior commander sat smugly in his box. "Where's Ritsuko?" the boy inquired as he approached Misato, "and what the hell is going on here?"
"Ritsuko's running late," Misato answered. "Maya's already gone to get her. As for those three? Well, I've been wondering about that myself. They claim they're with you. Care to explain?"
Behind the three main operators, just in front of the tall metallic bulwark, a collapsible table with 3 laptop computers had been set up. Behind the makeshift workstation, adjusting their chairs and doing cable management, 3 female NERV technicians wearing animal-ear hairbands busied around with their gadgets.
Aoi Mogami was the first to notice Shinji's arrival. After a quick nudge at her two friends, Shinji's personal bunny brigade stood at attention before the boy.
"Good morning, sir!" the three bridge bunnies saluted. "We should be ready to go any moment, now."
"Errm…Ok." Shinji eyed the girls suspiciously. "Very good. You're performing your job splendidly. Now, if you don't mind me asking, care to explain what exactly it is that you're doing again?"
"Yes sir," Satsuki Ooi replied, chuckling at her friends. "Per instructions of the senior commander, we are to provide direct operational support for the third children, Master Shinji Ikari. We were told to set up somewhere you could talk to us directly. We hope our presence is not too great an inconvenience."
"Yes, you are." Misato interjected. The chief of operation gestured around the command deck, indicating that space had become a much more precious commodity now that 3 additional operators were set up. "Do you girls really have to be up here? Don't you have your usual workstation?"
"Our apologies, ma'am," Kaede answered. "We're usually on the Magi level, but since Master Shinji would actually be in everybody else's way if he hovered around us down there, we decided to set up here instead."
"Our computers are connected to the Magi anyways," Aoi chimed in as she pointed at the three laptops. "So in essence there's no difference for us whether we're up here or down there. Further, by setting up here we can collaborate with the main operators directly as well. Again, we ask that you pardon our intrusion."
What the hell? Shinji took a step back as he pondered the latest situation.
I thought father was fooling around last night, but now he's just being downright idiotic. Why would Gendo legitimatize my authority when it comes to Eva operations? Commanding 3 experts on Eva, Magi and internal logistics pretty much puts me in the best starting position I could possibly be in for our game. I should be screaming with delight at the amount of damage I can wreak right now.
Shinji stole a quick glance at Gendo. Or perhaps I'm playing right into the palm of his hands? Are these girls really all they claim to be?
The sound of approaching footsteps, snapping Shinji out of his reverie, heralded the arrival of Ritsuko and Maya. Spotting the new operators, Ritsuko sighed. "You three… I don't even want to know."
"You know them?" Misato asked.
"Yes. They were working for me until 2-days ago. Should've known I hadn't seen the last of them."
"Chief Ritsuko," Satsuki started, "it's good to see you again, ma'am. We're just-"
"I don't want to know," Ritsuko cut her off. "Gendo's orders. Got it."
Misato smiled as she watched her colleague. "I understand this is another one of Gendo's whimsy, so I don't mind as long as you girls behave. However, keep in mind that Makoto, Shigeru and Maya are the primary operators for all Eva and NERV operation. Neither you nor Shinji have any authority here – I don't want you calling an N2 at the first sign of trouble. Is that clear?"
Wait, Shinji did a double take, the cosplay brigade knows how to call a what?!
"Understood, ma'am" the three girls saluted.
"Now then, someone care to give me a sitrep?" Ritsuko turned to face the main screen. "That's really our latest Angel, right?"
"Blood pattern: Blue," Makoto answered. "It's definitely an Angel."
"We know nothing about its attack or defense, but it seems to be slower than the previous one," Kaede grinned. "It's also blue with eight shiny faces, and probably sings contralto."
"What makes you say that?" Satsuki snapped at her colleague, "Sounds like a baseless assumption to me."
"Give it a rest, you girls," Shigeru sniggered. "Major Katsuragi, how are we engaging the Angel?"
"Hmm," Misato pondered, "We should play it safe for now. Since we don't know the enemy's capability, we should leverage the two Evas we have and overwhelm them through pure logistics. Deploy them carefully; there's no need to take unnecessary risks while we're ahead."
"Do we have any artillery support this time?" Shinji asked.
"The JSSDF are still recovering from their rout last week," Shigeru responded. "We can call in airstrikes from Atsugi base, but that's all they're willing to commit."
"Guess we're on our own then," Misato said. "Oh well. The Evas are meant to be a standalone weapons platform after all. Now that we're all here, let's begin interception sequence. Asuka, Rei, are you ready?"
The big screen cuts to an image of the Eva cage. The two pilots respond affirmatively.
"Releasing primary locks," Makoto announced. "Secondary restrains lifted. Unit-00 and 02 are ready to sortie."
Misato looked at the two pilots before glancing back at the Angel. "Launch!"
The extra G-Force slammed Asuka into the back of her seat. The tunnels and floors flew by as Eva-02 shot up the deployment elevator. As much bravado as she was showing off earlier, Asuka was anxious to have her first real fight against an Angel. The last one didn't count, the girl mused, they'd beaten it within an inch of its life already. All I had to do was deliver the coup de grâce. This time, though, this time I have to be ready. Best be prepare for anything.
Asuka projected a small defensive A.T. field around her, just in case the enemy decides to strike first. Looking aside, the second children noticed Unit-00 flying up a shaft parallel to her as well. "Don't get in my way, wonder girl!" Asuka said to her colleage. Rei, ever the cool emotionless girl, naturally did not reply.
"Major, a massive flux of energy has been detected in the Angel!" Makoto's voice buzzed over the telecom.
"Asuka, the Angel seems to be preparing for an attack." Misato yelled. "Brace yourself!"
The girl didn't need to be told twice. "A.T. Field, max power!"
Unit-02 cleared ground level and deployed directly in front of the Angel.
Immediately, a blast of incredible energy shattered Asuka's defense. The front plates of Unit-02 began to boil, and the feedback response started cooking the pilot in her entry plug.
The scream of a teenage girl blotted out every radio channel. The main command screen was blinded in a burst of light.
"Rei!" a sudden urgent tone echoed through Misato's voice, "Stop that attack, now! Save her!"
Unit-00 broke out into a sprint and, stopping a few paces behind Unit-02, deployed its A.T. field at full capacity. The energy beam wavered for a brief moment before dissipating.
"New burst of flux from within the Angel," Makoto relayed. "It's gearing up for round two!"
"Your defenses!" Misato shouted. "The Angel isn't done yet!"
The octahedral Angel shifted and danced, morphing from one geometrical shape to another. Finally, taking the form of a pylon, it fired off another ray of energy. Rei's A.T. field evaporated like smoke, and the two Evas plunged into the wave of destruction.
"Retreat," Ritsuko yelled. "Get them out of there now!"
"No response from the launch pad," panic dripped from Maya's voice, "our electronics are fried. The deployment lift has welded shut!"
"Blow them open then!" Shinji roared, "Bring down the whole block if you have to. Just get them out of there!"
The boy turned around to his operators. "What are you waiting for? Do it now!"
"Yes sir," the three girls said. A flutter of key presses, and a series of explosion rang out as the structural support for Tokyo-3 section theta detonated. With no further integrity backup, the entire block began sliding downward into a subterranean level, leaving a massive rectangular hole in the face of the city.
"Get the Evas back in the cage," Misato said, "and get the pilots to ER immediately. Makoto, I'm going to check on our pilots."
"And I'm going to go check on repairs," Ritsuko echoed her. "Evacuate the civilians, and see to our defenses. As of this moment, we're under siege."
As the two chiefs ran off to their respective destination, Shinji walked up to the three main operator. "Organize a scouting party," the boy said, "and tell them to figure out what kind of capacity our new enemy has. It looks like the damn alien has finally upped the ante."
In a dimly lit meeting room, the commanding officers of NERV gathered round to discuss their latest situation.
"How are the Evas looking?" Misato started. "Is Rei and Asuka doing alright?"
"The second children just stabilized about an hour ago," Maya replied. "She's out of the ER, and we expect her to regain consciousness by tonight. Rei is in good conditions. No major injury to body or psyche."
"We're lucky with Unit-02," Kaede chimed in. "The frontal plate armor has completely melted, but the central control unit is intact. Three more seconds and it would've punctured a hole straight through the Eva. Unit-00 is in good condition, in comparison. Repairs are speeding along on both; we estimate that restoration to functional level will be achieved in 3-hours or so."
"Just functional?" Shinji asked. "So Unit-02 won't be able to reengage in melee combat, right?
"Yes sir."
"My word," Misato groaned. "So what's the status of the Angel now?"
"Our scouts report that the enemy has taken up position directly above the Geofront's zenith," Shigeru answered. "It seems to have deployed a drill like appendage, and has begun burrowing down towards us. We expect it to penetrate all 22 layers of the Geofront's plate armor by 24:00 hours tonight."
"What about its arsenal," Ritsuko asked. "Any insight into its defense and weaponry?"
"The enemy uses its A.T. field to contain a fusion reaction," Maya responded. "The energy is used to power a directed energy beam attack – a wave-motion cannon capable of punching through battleship armor in 5.5 seconds. The enemy immediately detects any threat within a 1,000 meter radius; even those burrowing up towards it from underground. Upon obtaining line of sight, the Angel responds with devastating firepower. It also counterattacks against any threat beyond its detection range so, as of right now, we don't know if the wave-motion cannon has a maximal effective range."
"The A.T. field itself is also incredible," Aoi continued. "The Angel maintains the strongest field we've ever seen, capable of neutralizing those of our Evangelion while maintaining its own. I'm afraid the enemy's output is several times above our maximal power supply."
"No need to take unnecessary risk while it's ahead, eh?" Shinji quipped. "I guess the Angel took the maxim to heart. Slowly crush us with overwhelming power and defense. A meticulous fortress of doom."
"We're not completely doomed yet," Misato finally spoke. "The Angel doesn't auto-attack beyond 1 kilometer unless it's fired upon, right? That means we just have to kill it from beyond that range in 1 shot."
"That's crazy!" Ritsuko gasped. "What about the A.T. field? The angel managed to overwhelm both Unit-00 and 02 at the same time!"
"Overwhelm, you said?" Misato smiled. "We just have to overwhelm it. There's no reason we can't crank our output sky high if we had enough power, right?"
"Insanity, Misato," Ritsuko sighed. "Our A.T. field has an extremely limited range – certainly less than a kilometer. And where in Japan are you going to get that much power?"
"Why, all of it, of course. And I also know exactly how we're going to attack the damn Angel."
With that, Misato pulled out a stack of photocopies from her bag. The abstract was quickly passed around, and each members present gave it a once over.
"This is…" Ritsuko finally said, "It's really risky, Misato. Are you sure this is going to work? What does the Magi say about the success rate?"
"8%," The chief of operations grinned, " and of course I'm not sure. But when you're behind, you've gotta take some chances to win. They say go big or go home! There's no way we can lose any harder than we already are, right?"
The staffs of the JSSDF special R&D department stared at the woman before them with puzzlement.
"The automated positron rifle?" The head researcher asked. "Surely, you can't be serious?!"
"I'm not Sirius," Misato answered. "I'm Major Katsuragi of NERV special operations division. By the authority of the United Nations, we hereby requisition the positron cannon as of 15:00 hours today."
"Ridiculous!" the researcher continued. "Why would you ever want the damn thing? It's completely useless!"
"Huh?" a twitch of doubt flashed across the Major's face. "What do you mean it's useless?"
"The positron cannon is just a showpiece so we can get funding for our Antimatter catalyst research. We needed something weapon-like to compete against the robotics department for the JSSDF grant; but the weapon itself is flawed from conception. There's no way we can contain a nuclear explosion inside a gun barrel."
The NERV commander froze for a second, then smiled. "You do have a functional unit, right? You must've shown the auditors something when they came round to check."
"Yes, but-"
"Good!" Misato pressed a button on her headset radio. "Rei, take it away. Try not to damage anything in the process."
Suddenly, a humongous robot tore off the roof of the lab warehouse – like a child prying open a candy jar.
"Oops, sorry about that." The Major grinned mischievously.
"You're crazy!" The researcher shouted. "Even if the explosion doesn't kill you, firing a 1 ton projectile with that kind of energy will generate enough recoil to slam a 400 ton turret backwards at 325 kilometers an hour! I don't care how tough your robot is – it's going to get its head torn off. Surely, you know about momentum conservation!"
"I do," Misato turned to leave. "It's just that, around where I work, physics is less of a law and more of a guideline. Rei, let's get out of here!"
The researchers watched helplessly as the orange Cyclops grabbed their precious equipment while the NERV commander started for the door. Just before she left, however, the woman turned around and smiled.
"Oh, and one last thing," Misato winked. "Don't call me Shirley."
A little girl ran through the corridors of her house. The bright sun shines endlessly through the innumerable windows. A joyous laughter echoes through the hall as a vivid voice cried out.
"Mother! Mother! I did it! I'm in!"
Doors swing open before the unstoppable girl. Nothing can hold her back, now. The hard part is over – all that's left is to follow through the motion
"Mother! Listen! I've done it! All that hard work paid off! Finally, mother, finally our hard work pays off!"
The final door opens and the girl dashed up to her mother's side. At last! At long last! After all this time, she can finally be-
Asuka Langley Soryu awoke with a start. She seems to be in a gently lit hospital room, snuggly tucked in between sterile white sheets. The orange tinged sunlight marked the hour as late afternoon or early evening. No major pain, injury or discomfort.
The second children stared at the ceiling for a moment, then gently closed her eyes. There was much to think about.
What happened? The girl wondered. I was in Unit-02. We deployed to fight the Angel. I prepared my defenses, and then… and then…
A bead of tear ran down her face.
And then I lost.
Asuka noticed her breathing getting erratic. She noticed the constriction of her lungs. She noticed a stream of moisture flowing down her face.
I lost. I was up against my first real enemy, and I lost. I tried my best. I prepped my defenses. I did everything I could. And I still lost. I lost so badly it wasn't even a fight. After all this time training, practicing, preparing…
Asuka heard the sound of a door sliding open. A trolley clicked gently as it rolled up to her bedside. With a quick swipe across her eyes, the second children lifted her head and watched as Shinji Ikari pulled up a stool next to her.
"Your dinner," said the boy. "Better eat up, or you're gonna black out before the end of the night."
"What happened?" Asuka asked. "Did we defeat the Angel? What are you doing here?"
"You were caught in the Angel's attack," Shinji answered. "You've been passed out for the past 6 hours. The Angel is still alive, and has burrowed down passed 11 of the 22 armor layers defending the Geofront. I'm afraid it got us good."
The boy sat down on the rickety seat.
"As for me, I guess I'm just a useless messenger. Unit-01 is still out. Repair efforts are focused on Unit-02 and 00 for now but, if I had it my way, Unit-01 should be done some time early tomorrow as well. If I really had it my way, though, Unit-01 shouldn't matter at all. I'm here to tell you about the schedule for Operation Yashima, as well as your role in the mission. Oh, Operation Yashima is a new strategy to finish off the Angel, by the way."
Asuka gazed from the boy to the unfamiliar white ceiling, before flopping back down in bed again.
"So it's not over yet, huh?"
Shinji smiled. For a moment, the room was basked in silence.
Heh heh.
The boy glanced down to look at Asuka. A nefarious grin had crept across her face.
"Hehe," the girl chuckled. "Hehehe. Heheha. Hehaha. Hehahahahaha!"
Immediately she bolted up in her bed.
"So I guess the fight isn't over just yet," Asuka was smiling like a mad man. "I guess the Angel was too stupid to finish me off in its first blow. I guess it's time for round two after all!"
The girl grabbed the tray of food from Shinji, and began chowing down at break neck speed. "Tell me about this Operation Yashima. I need to know how my payback is going to play out."
Shinji smiled as he pulled out a notepad from his pocket. "Let's see," the boy started, "Operation Yashima… Long range surgical strike… ah, here we go."
"The operation essentially involves a high powered attack against the Angel from extreme range. We're using the JSSDF's prototype positron rifle to take out the Angel in one hit. The main idea is to destroy the enemy before it can retaliate."
"Ok," Asuka said between her munches. "What about the A.T. Field? We got a plan for that?"
"Yes, we do," Shinji continued. "Just before firing, Unit-00 is going to launch right under the Angel, fueled by the entire power grid of Japan. Rei should have enough power to knock out the Angel's defense for several second, more than enough for you to get a clean shot."
"Hmm. I imagine you're going to tell me how Rei intends to survive her encounter now?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. Engineering has managed to craft a thermal shield out of a space shuttle's reentry layer. Guaranteed to survive the wave-motion cannon for 17 seconds or your money back."
Asuka chuckled. "Alright. Gotcha. So I just have to kill the octahedron before it fries wonder girl, right? Sounds simple enough."
Shinji stood up and tore off a page from his notepad. "Realistically, between the shield and the A.T. field burst, you probably have a little less than 30 seconds of Rei time. This should be enough for you to get a second shot off if you miss the first one."
The boy handed the page of paper to Asuka. "But we won't need a second shot, right?"
"Who the hell do you think I am?" Asuka grabbed the note page and smiled.
"Good! Your schedule is on that note – as long as you get to the cage by 19:30, you should be on time. Here, take this as well."
A red vacuum-sealed plugsuit landed on Asuka's lap.
"Huh?"
Shinji began to wheel the food trolley towards the door. "Your new plugsuit. I figured you'd want one for the operation tonight. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind if you turned up as you are but, well…"
It was at that moment that Asuka's brain finally decided to take inventory of her cloths. The girl suddenly felt very warm around her cheeks, and very cool everywhere else.
"By the way," Shinji turned around as the automatic door began to slide shut. "B-cup?"
The door closed, leaving Asuka alone in her hospital room. For a brief moment, a drifting cloud blotted out the evening sunlight.
"Idiot Shinji! Get back here right now! Ooh, you've got some nerves alright! How dare you insinuate about my figure! Get back here you stupid idiot! Stupid Shinji!"
The moon sparkled gently across the surface of Lake Ashino. On a distant hill, atop a hastily assembled scaffolding tower, a fiery red-headed girl in a crimson plugsuit slowly surveyed the scenery. Asuka's gazed drifted across the tranquil lake. Beyond, off by the horizon, she could make out the twinkling lights Tokyo-3. In the middle of the scene, juxtaposing against the comfort and familiarity of the city, an alien octahedron hung stationary amidst the streets and skyscrapers. Slowly, the streetlights began blinking out one by one; the high-rise following one after another. The house lights are down; the overture should be starting soon.
Beside her stood Aoi Mogami, her bunny ears bobbing gently in the breeze. Shinji had asked one of his operators to oversee the operation on Mt. Futago "to provide technical assistance and record any operational proceedings," Aoi had claimed. In reality, there was little that the bunny-eared operators could do, so she had been spending most of her time providing Asuka with moral support.
"Stupid Shinji, snuggling in safe and sound in Geofront while I'm out here doing the heavy lifting." Asuka griped for the umpteenth time. "Freeloading off the other pilots, and he has the nerve to get cocky around me. What's he doing right now anyways? Running to his mommy with his tails between his legs?"
"Before I left, the third children was spending time down in the cage," Aoi answered. "Since Unit-00 and 02 is prepped and ready, I imagine he's checking the state of Unit-01's reparation?"
"Talk about overstepping his authority," Asuka chuckled. "Isn't that Ritsuko's job? That coward is a disgrace to the rest of us. If he has so much free time on his hand, he should be training or working on his sync-ratio instead. You know, actually doing his own designated job. What a spineless idiot."
Aoi chuckled, before turning to look at the second children. "The young master makes no secret of his reluctance to pilot Eva, but I don't think it's for lack of courage. You know, the other operators and I were there when we seriously pondered the possibly of N2-ing Tokyo-3 against the last Angel?"
"Really? What does this have to do with Shinji?"
"You know that Shinji was the first one who gave the order, right? Even before Dr. Akagi did. I think making that kind of decision under that kind of pressure shows a lot of courage."
Asuka sighed. "It shows a lot of idiocy, if nothing else. He could've planned better, or prepared more extensively. 'There's no time' makes a poor excuse when a hundred thousand lives are on the line."
Asuka stood up and stretched. Her eyes, however, remained locked on the distant Angel. "A hundred thousand lives, just like right now. Unlike last time, though, we won't be putting them behind the rest of humanity. I intend to finish it right here, right now, and with minimal collateral damage."
That way, the girl thought, a nostalgic memory suddenly flashing through her mind. That way I'll show 'em that trying your hardest pays off.
A clanking sound turned Asuka's head just in time to see Misato scaling up the scaffold. Gathering herself after the climb, the chief of operations slowly approached the crimson girl.
"It's time," Misato spoke. "Unit-02 has arrived and the Positron rifle is almost complete. Ritsuko just confirmed the status of Unit-00 and the first children. Asuka, are you ready?"
"Yes, ma'am."
As Aoi and Misato descend back down the scaffold, Asuka took once last glance over the preparation site of Operation Yashima. As far as the eye can see, an endless chain of capacitors snaked down the mountain's winding road. A monstrously thick cable is burrowed underground towards the Geofront; where a smaller local fuel cell will channel the full brunt of Japan's power-grid into Unit-01. All about, cranes and forklifts assemble the massive Positron rifle, a gargantuan weapon powered by the strong force of the atom itself. A train of activity bustle about, as technicians ensure the barrel is aligned and the recoil dampening mechanisms in place.
The second children's gaze drifted inevitably pass the gun, across the lake and onto the distant floating octahedron. Asuka held up her arm, blotting out the Angel for an instant, before clenching it into the international hand gesture of a gun. Bang, the girl mouthed.
And with that, she began to descend down the scaffold. Down towards her Eva, her rifle, and her vindication.
"Electrical charge at 91%! "
"Local fuel cells fully charged! Dissipative loss within acceptable parameters!"
"Anti-proton count will reach critical mass in 5 minutes!"
"Pilot's neural interface are green!"
Shinji leaned back against the collapsible table as, all around him, the command center of NERV bustled amidst the commencement of Operation Yashima.
"Armor penetration through level 21!"
"Unit-00 primary locks release! Secondary restrain lifted!"
"Pilot Ayanami is prepped and ready! Awaiting your orders, commander!"
Shinji Ikari straightened up, and slowly approached Ritsuko Akagi, chief science officer and director of IPEA. The head scientist had been coordinating with Mt. Futago through Maya, her designated liason in the field. Right now, above them on main display, an image of the Angel, Unit-02, Unit-00 and NERV's field command truck splits the 4 corners of the screen.
"I just heard from Aoi about Asuka," Shinji said to Ritsuko. "She looked upset back in the medical ward, but it seems like she's ready for action now. I was right to keep Aoi on her. That girl's got a huge chip on her shoulder!"
Ritsuko spared the boy a smile, before turning back to her duty. "Prepare diversionary fire! I want every stationary turret under our command wired to attack as soon as the Positron rifle is ready. Satsuki, patch me through to Asuka."
"Yes ma'am!"
The cat-eared operator punched away at the keyboard. Since Makoto and Maya were assisting Misato on site, the main operator terminal had two seat vacant – a fact that Kaede and Satsuki wasted no time to correct.
"Asuka, how are you feeling?" Ritsuko inquired as soon as Asuka's image showed up on screen.
"Ready and waiting," Asuka grinned. "Did you turn off the heat? I'm getting chills up and down my spine."
"It's all in your head, dear," Ritsuko chuckled, "so don't let it get to you. When the time comes, just center on the target and pull the trigger, ok? The internal computer will account for both the earth's magnetic field and thermal image distortion. Don't worry about bullet-drop, the wind-speed or the Coriolis Effect; your tungsten round will be fast enough that their perturbation is negligible."
"Center on the target, pull the trigger." Asuka's countenance tighten in focus. "Got it. Center on the target, pull the trigger. Center on the target, pull the trigger. Center on the target, pull the trigger…"
"Ritsuko, the capacitors are maxed out and the Positron rifle should be ready in 15 seconds." Misato's image switch up onto the screen. "Unit-02 is ready to reinforce the fission chamber with its A.T. Field. Everything is set on our end."
"Good," the chief of science acknowledge. "As of this instant, the overture for Operation: Yashima is over! We will now commence attack on the Angel. Shigeru, please start us off."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The lone male operator pressed a button, and a light show broke out on the main floating topology map. Dozens upon dozens of marker lit up, indicating that the stationary turrets, artillery and missile pods have begun their diversionary attack on the Angel.
On screen, the octahedral enemy brushed off each blow like a warm breeze; its A.T. field shimmered brilliantly as a hundred million yen's worth of weaponry vanish into smoke.
"Energy flux detected," Kaede shouted, "the Angel is retaliating!"
In the blink of an eye, half the flashing dots on the floating map fade to black.
"Launch Rei as soon as the salvos have ended and the Angel begins recouping from its attack." Ritsuko commanded. "Asuka, the positron rifle?"
"98…99%!" Asuka responded. "Commencing A.T. field reinforcement! I'll fire as soon as-"
"Chief Akagi!" Satsuki's voice cut her off. "The Angel has changed its trajectory! New ballistic path is aimed directly at Unit-02 on Mt. Futago!"
"What?" Ritsuko snapped around in shock. "Impossible! Deploy Unit-00. Deploy Rei now! Asuka, fire!"
"Schiße!" the crimson girl swore, and pulled the trigger.
Within the firing chamber, a jet of Anti-Proton slammed into a small, subcritical mass of Uranium. The impact released a burst of neutron, which sparked a chain of fission reaction. The resulting nuclear explosion, slamming outwards from the epicenter, collide into a surrounding A.T. field matrix. 1-TerraJoules of energy, thus diverted, crashed into a 1-ton block of tungsten, accelerating it to 130,000 km/h nigh-instantaneously. As the projectile flashed down the barrel, the Positron gun shot backwards in recoil – halted in its path before Unit-02's upper shoulder by a set of orange concentric rings. The tungsten shell flew across the face of Lake Ashino at approximately 100 times the local speed of sound. It will travel the 5 kilometers distance from Mt. Futago to downtown Tokyo-3 in 0.14 seconds.
Midway through its flight, the shell collided with the brilliant beam of energy streaming from the morphing Angel. A thunderous sound, like a space shuttle launching, bellowed through the caldera. Even as the Tungsten block split apart, the fragments continue on their path; propelled by the massive amount of energy. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the energy blast gave way and the fragment cloud, now slowed to a crawl, collided harmlessly against the Angel's A.T. Field.
"Dammit! We can't overpower that wave-motion cannon." Ritsuko muttered. "Where's Rei?! How long until the next shot is ready?!"
"Rei has just reached the surface of Tokyo-3," the three operators began reporting. "The thermal shield is deployed, and Unit-00 is maintaining its maximum A.T. Field. She's moving to block the Angel's line of sight right now!"
"30-seconds until the next Positron rifle shot! They're reloading the projectile and replenishing the Anti-Proton source as quickly as possible!"
"Massive flux of energy inside the Angel again! Trajectory aimed at Unit-00!"
"Rei, defend yourself!" Ritsuko shouted.
On screen, a blast of incandescent erupted from the floating menace again; crashing into Unit-00's defending shield.
"Unit-00's A.T. Field is completely eroded!" Satsuki shouted. "Thermal shield integrity life: 17-seconds remaining!"
"How's the positron rifle?"
"Projectile reloaded!" Shigeru yelled, "Anti-proton count 70%... 71%...!"
"Shield integrity: 11-seconds… 10-seconds…"
"The A.T. Field burst!" Ritsuko blared. "How long can we maintain it?"
"Our capacitor bank has enough energy for 13-seconds of sustained burst. Should we use it, Dr. Akagi?"
"Do it! Do it now!"
Immediately Unit-00's umbilical cable crackle with power. An orange shell of energy manifest around the Eva, expanding and pushing back the Wave-motion blast.
"Conserve it, Rei!" Shinji shouted. "Use just enough to defend yourself! Save the rest for Asuka!"
Slowly, the orange shell retracted - stopping a few meters before the molten, dripping remains of what used to be a reentry shield. Miraculously, the energy ray wavered, and sputtered out.
"The Angel is recharging!" Kaede spoke. "Critical energy in 10-seconds…9…"
"Anti-proton count 98%...99%...100!"
"Asuka!" Shinji shouted.
"Rei!" Ritsuko screamed.
"Fire/Burst now!"
A sphere of brilliant chromatic energy erupted forth from Unit-00. Immediately, the brilliant sheen on the Angel's octahedral surface vanished, leaving a matte tone on the ever morphing alien. The Angel, perhaps realizing that its unbreakable protection was gone, quickly shifted into a shield-like form.
Not quickly enough. 1-ton of high-speed Tungsten smashed into the Angel at 36,000 meters per second. Asuka's aim was true, and the shell punch through the shimmering blue Angel towards its core.
Immediately a shrill scream-like noise reverberated through the valley. The Angel twisted and morphed, like scattered coral caught in the undertow, before stopping in its throes. Through the punctured hole, a torrent of crimson, blood-like fluid gushed out.
The Angel was still.
"I did it…" Asuka muttered. "I won… We did it! The Angel is defeated! We won!"
A torrent of cheers could be heard coming through her radio. Around her, the engineers of Operation Yashima proceeded with the Positron rifle reload. Celebrating as they go, the technicians were only following through the motion as a matter of formality.
"Reloading routine commenced! Rifle rearmed in 35 seconds!"
"Capacitor array recharging! Local cell at 2% power!"
"Great job Asuka, Rei," Misato's voice sounded. "Confirm destruction of the Angel! Monitor it across every channel. We don't need any surprises."
"Rei, begin extraction procedure. Use elevator 2-F." This was Ritsuko.
"Put a close-up of the Angel's corpse on screen," a young male voice crackled through the channels. "I want every type of sensors we have on its core. Make absolutely sure that the Angel has been critically wounded-"
"What's the matter, Shinji?" Asuka couldn't resist. "Can't believe how thorough I am with my job? Tell you what. I'll put another bullet into the damn thing if you like. Always double-tap, eh? This one's with my compliments."
"Reload the Positron Rifle," Shinji's voice responded. "Reload it now."
"Jeez, Shinji, relax. The shot should be ready in 20 seconds. I know you want your fireworks, but hold your horses, alright?"
"Now, dammit!" Shinji's voice continued. "Get in position, Rei, and somebody please tell me we have more than 10% in our capacitor."
"Shinji? What's wrong? The Angel's dead. The A.T. field is gone. We don't need another burst to blow-up its corpse to kingdom come."
It was in that moment that Asuka caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. That's odd. The only thing in her line-of-sight was the rifle scope and the aiming assistance screen, still pointed at the corpse of their vanquished Angel.
Scheiße.
Asuka quickly re-aimed down her scope; the aiming assistant zoomed her field of view onto the distant enemy. There, around a mass of morphing blue, was a small bullet-hole where her shot had struck the target.
And in that hole, Asuka saw a dark metallic block – stopped mere meters before a round, deep crimson core.
Shinji watched as the command center around him degenerated into chaos. How did this happen? They were so close! Did Rei lose too much power defending? Was the burst insufficient in puncturing the final layer of defense? Did the Angel deploy a counter-attack at the last second, negating some energy and softening the blow?
There was no way to know. After the Angel resurrected, it immediately blasted Rei with another attack. Unit-00 was completely scorched, and they had to blow another block of Tokyo-03 to evacuate Rei. Afterwards, the Angel resumed its assault on Asuka and Unit-02. Although the Positron rifle counteracted the first energy blast, the Angel could recharge faster and thus leveled Mt. Futago in its second attack. They've had no communication from Misato, Asuka or anybody else on the firing base since; either their radio was fried, the Angel was now jamming transmissions, or everyone was dead.
Before him, Ritsuko was busy seeing to the recovery of Rei and Unit-00. Shinji spared a glance towards his father who, after a brief conversation with Fuyutsuki, left the bridge with the second commander in charge.
A roaring sound thundered through the command center. On screen, the sensors show that the 22nd plate of armor has finally succumbed. The last barrier above the Geofront was defeated at last.
The author found it vexing that canon!Positron Rifle was more of a rail gun than a Positron gun. The rifle as depicted in this chapter is very much faux-science voodoo; this is generally the case with anything involving A.T. Fields. An Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion system, however, is a real concept. Look it up.