It was raining outside, the pounding sheets of water instantly soaking anything or anyone foolish enough to venture outside. Thus, there was a larger than normal amount of students who elected to take their lunch in the classroom, either unwilling or to lazy to go to the cafeteria downstairs.
Shinji yawned, looking around the class. He had been up later than normal last night, cleaning up the horrific mess that Miss Misato had generated. He wasn't entirely sure what had brought it on, for he had not seen it anywhere near as bad as it was when he got home yesterday from NERV since he had first moved in. Empty beer cans littered the place, as well as delivery food boxes. Thankfully she had kept her clothing on. That was something, at least.
He stared at the lunch he had brought for himself. It had been a hurried affair, being in actuality some leftovers from her delivery food that he had scraped into his box. Still as edible and palatable as it had been last night. He just didn't feel like eating right now.
He stood, dropping his box on Toji's desk and headed for the classroom door. Toji, already eating, not even seconds after the bell had rung, swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and called after him. "Hey, Shin-man, where ya headed? You ain't hungry?"
"No, I'm not. I need to check something in the library. I'll be right back." He closed the door after him, moving down the hall in the sea of students.
Toji looked at Hikari, who was eating with them today. "What's he gonna do in the library?"
The pigtailed girl shook her head. "I don't know." She paused, looking thoughtful. "We don't have any research projects right now. Maybe he wants to check out a book for pleasure reading?"
Toji shrugged. "I dunno, I don't think I've ever really seen him read a book for fun."
"Well, it could be for later, you know, at home."
"I don't think I've ever heard him mention that he likes to read either."
Growing exasperated, she pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You don't know all that much about him anyways. What are his hobbies? Tell me one."
"I don't think that he has any. I mean, yeah he hangs out sometimes with us at the arcade, but other than that, I don't know what he does. Besides work, you know."
"That can't possibly take up all of his time. He has to do something to unwind."
Toji grinned. "Yeah? So what do you do?"
She turned red. "That's none of your business! What I do in my spare time is my business!"
"And so what he does isn't? But I still don't see him as the book reading type."
Kensuke finished chugging one of the energy drinks that made up his normal lunch. "He said he was going to check something, not check something out. He's just looking for information."
She turned to give him a frank stare. "OK, then, Mr Semantics, what's he going to check? What information is in the library that's not available on the school network?" She took a small bite of her own lunch, which she had made last night.
None of the trio noticed Rei walking up to them. She had, of course, noted Shinji's departure. His comment had also not gone unnoticed, but she was also at a loss as to what information he sought, even if she did agree with Student Aida as to the meaning of his statement. However, Ikari was not the subject she was interested in at the moment. At least, not directly. She stood behind Toji, holding one arm with the other, suddenly uncertain as to the best way to phrase her request. Kensuke froze with his second drink halfway to his mouth, and Hikari stopped in mid-chew, both staring at the suddenly self-conscious girl.
"Class Representative Hokari, I... I would like to engage in..." Rei searched for the best way to say it, not entirely sure that using the term 'gossip session' was best. She had, in the past, observed a social stigma attached to those who stated things bluntly, even if it was the most direct method of exchanging ideas and information. Finally selecting something she felt was suitable, she continued. "I wish to engage you in conversation on the various merits and demerits of Student Ikari as opposed to other males in our age group." Seeing that no response was forthcoming from the stunned girl, she added "I am able to provide refreshments, if this is an issue. I have brought a selection of canned beverages and muffins."
If a pin were to drop in the classroom, the sound would have seemed ear-splittingly loud. Everyone who remained in the classroom sat in hushed anticipation, watching and waiting for their Class Rep's response.
In a sudden burst of movement, Hikari stood, scooping her food up in one hand and grabbed one of Rei's wrists with the other and fled the room, the eminently confused blue haired girl in tow.
Toji swallowed his mouthful of food, and looked at his friend. "Ken, did Ayanami just say what I thought she just said?"
"Yes, Toji, I do believe that she did say what you think she just said. Did she really just ask Hikari for her opinion on the Shin-man?"
"Good. For a minute there I thought I was going insane." He resumed his meal, shoveling the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, and opened up the box Shinji had given him.
Kensuke looked at his friend. "So what are we going to tell him?"
"Tell who what?" Toji asked around a mouthful of food.
Kensuke rolled his eyes. "Ikari. What are we going to tell 'Student Ikari'? He made quotation marks with his fingers in the air.
"We're not saying a damn thing about it. I don't want any of that crazy on me. "
"And what was all that about 'refreshments'?" He again made quotation marks in the air.
"Ken, what did I just say about not wanting any crazy on me?
"C'mon, man, this is a earth-shattering event here. You mean that we're just going to let it pass on by? You're not even interested in finding out what she thinks about him? I mean, this is the first time she's shown an interest in anything. Normally she just stares out the window."
"She always stares out the window. She's weird."
"It's Ayanami. If you looked in a dictionary for the definition of the word weird you'd find her picture. But that's the point. If she's suddenly interested in him, after all this time, what does that mean?"
"Thaaat..." Toji shook his head again. "No, I'm not even going to talk about this. Every time you rope me into something, it goes south for me. I'm just going to sit here, and eat" he shoveled cold noodles into his mouth to punctuate his point, "and forget that anything ever happened.. If you're so interested, go find them and listen in."
"Nah, I didn't bring any eavesdropping gear with me today." He took a swig from his drink, and then rolled his eyes at his friend's incredulous stare. "What, I'm not allowed to have spy devices now?"
"When did you get spy stuff?"
"Oh, I'm making them. It's actually pretty easy when you get down to it."
"You want to be James Bond now? What happened to bugging Shinji for a recommendation to be a pilot?"
"Well, I was looking at the stuff I got on the things, and I was thinking about that one day. Some things just don't add up. A normal cockpit does not look like a featureless gray tube one minute, and then look like what it should the next. That means that they are using some sort of brain interface. Those things we saw on his head probably help with it." He tapped his own head in the approximate areas the A10 connectors went before continuing on. "Do you remember the control yoke system they had in there? I don't think that he actually uses it for anything. If I'm right, the only reason that it's there is because part of his brain expects that there is a hardware control setup. If he's getting all the audio and video feeds piped into his brain, that means they have some sort of input/output connection. They input sensory data, and he sends output to the machine itself." He paused to drink from his sugary drink, still building steam in his detailed explanation. "Now, I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that messing around with your brain isn't that good of an idea. There might be reasons why those two are so withdrawn. If it wasn't for the spectacular way in which we met him, I don't think that he would have any friends at all. There's just something... off about them. They're shut in on themselves. I mean, we still have to kinda twist Ikari's arm to get him to the arcade."
Finishing off that can, he popped the tab on his third. "The next item is even worse than hooking things up into your brain. He felt it. He felt what happened to the thing. It got stabbed, and he feels it in his gut. You know it, and I know it. I felt like I got kicked in the stomach." He lowered his voice, and drew in close to Toji. "I didn't say anything to anyone else, but after they let us go, when I got home, I had two small red marks, like burns, on my stomach. I'm willing to bet that if you had looked at Ikari, he'd have the same. And I bet that if you had looked at the Eva right after the fight, if you matched up the spots, it would be right where it got stabbed." He pulled back now, his point made. "If you're driving a car, and you hit another car, you might bounce around a little, and get hurt that way. But you don't break your nose because someone smashes your fender in. You don't break an arm or a leg because a tire goes flat. You don't get cut when someone keys your car."
Toji silently nodded, food forgotten. He's right. He's completely right. That makes absolutely no sense at all. He felt a sudden stab of guilt for simply putting it all out of his mind, for dismissing the innate wrongness of how it all had been. He had just wanted to put it all behind him and get on with his life, and that was fine. What wasn't fine was that he had promised himself that he would make up for his previous idiocy by befriending the pilot, who had seemed so fragile in those few minutes they had shared in the dark cockpit of the robot after the fight. He had needed a friend, and he would be one. But he had been ignoring some vital facts about what his friend did, and what it might mean to him. Unfortunately, there was nothing that he was able to do about any of it. Except try even harder to be a good friend.
Kensuke continued on with his spiel. "So, while I'm still interested in the whole thing, it's more out of curiosity than an actual desire to pilot one of those things."
The boy's conversation was interrupted by another classmate walking up to them. It was Arata, another boy who had been on the school's track team while it had existed. He however, did not share Toji's proclivity towards wearing the tracksuit in lieu of the regular uniform.
"Hey Toji. So, did Ayanami actually ask the Class Rep about the Ikari kid's 'merits & demerits?"
"Looks like it, Arata."
Arata smiled, and stretched his arms, as if getting limber and loosened up before a track meet. "I guess that I'm going to have to discuss my merits and demerits with her, then."
Still eating, Toji shook his head. "Wouldn't do that if I were you. My boy's a pilot of that robot, remember?"
Confused, Arata pulled out a chair and sat down. "Yeah, so?"
"Mean's that he's got a lot more going for him than you." Toji shrugged. "Besides, it's raining out."
Now extremely confused, Arata's tone showed his irritation. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"It means that I'd hate to have to throw you out the window. Getting rained on, on top of a broken ankle or leg? Insult to injury." Toji swallowed his food. "It's be nicer than what Ikari would do to ya. He's sweet on Ayanami."
"I think that I can take care of myself Toji. He's a bit of a runt."
"A runt that drives a monster killing robot. I'm pretty sure they give him fighting classes outside the robot. Right Ken?"
Kensuke nodded. "It's a pretty standard thing for military personnel. Especially pilots."
"But let's say that he doesn't stomp you into the dirt. I'm pretty sure that someone as important has him would have some sort of security detail following him around."
Kensuke crushed a can between his hands for emphasis. "Tasers, pepper spray, armor penetrating bullets, knives... I'm sure they are pretty bored and are just waiting for an excuse to unload on someone. He can't be all that exciting of a person to guard."
Arata, looking slightly green, swallowed. "You know, forget I ever said anything. Really. Don't mention it." He moved back towards his seat, but then looked out the window into the driving rain, as if to see if there were blood thirsty bodyguards prowling around.
The thing of it was that there were trench-coated men, still wearing sunglasses, assembled down in the courtyard, as if the mere mention of them had caused them to appear. One of them pointed towards the window of the classroom. Four heads turned and looked up as one.
Arata nearly shit his pants.
Down in the courtyard four men laughed so hard that tears formed, but all evidence of them was lost in the rain. One man frowned, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. "Can we get out of the rain now that we're done being scary secret agents? It's not even like we're the plainclothes guys in 6 Group."
The leader, the one who had pointed up at the window, grinned. "Alright, let's get out of the rain for Wet McSadpants here."
Wet McSadpants rolled his eyes. "Hahaha, very funny."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Ritsuko poked her head into Misato's office. "Misato? Are you in here?" The blond doctor heard a muffled groan coming from underneath the paper-strewn desk. Walking around desk, she saw the purple haired captain curled up in a ball. "What on earth are you doing?"
The only part of Misato's garbled response that Ritsuko was even partially certain of was 'resting'.
Sighing, the doctor sat down in Misato's chair, rolling back up against the wall and leaned down to look at her friend. "You really need to cut back on your drinking if it's affecting your job. It wasn't a problem before, but if you come in like this again I'm going to have to do something about it." She poked the cringing woman's shoulder, who burped. Ritsuko drew back her nose crinkling in disgust. "God, you reek of booze. How much did you have last night?"
Misato whispered through clenched teeth. "All of it."
"All of it? What do you mean all of it?"
"There wasn't any left in the apartment when I looked for breakfast. I must have had it all."
Ritsuko, well aware of Misato's choice of breakfast materials, and similarly aware of the amounts of beer she kept in her home, was aghast. "Why? What possessed you to even do that?" She swallowed hard. "We need to get you down to my lab. I wanna check you out. Even with your system, that should be more than enough to kill you." She grabbed Misato by the arm and half drug, half supported her on the way down to her lab and primary office, deeper in the NERV Pyramid.
"Oof. So, why did you try to drink yourself into a coma? I wouldn't think that Shinji would be that bad of a roomie."
Misato yawned and shook her head, and then whimpered as that set the world to spinning. "S'not him. S'least, I don't think so. Can't remember..." She yawned again, and then giggled, and then groaned. "You know Rei's... Rei's..." She burped, and grimaced at the taste. "Rei's sweet on him. We chatted about him yest.. yesterday. Sweet girl." She giggled again. "He's sweet on her toooo..."
"Yes, yes, the two pilots are all making eyes at each other. That's not important right now." At least he'll be happy to know that this little disaster is well on it's way to happening. God, Misato, you weigh a ton. "What's important is that you stop drinking so much. This can't be good."
They eventually made it into her lab. Misato collapsed on the examination table, pressing her head to to cool metal. Turning her head sideways to watch the doctor as she hurried about grabbing things, she sighed.
"We'll have to give them the talk you know." She giggled again. "I get to do Shinji."
Ritsuko, only half listening to the semi drunken ramblings, continued on with her preparations for a minute before the words registered in her brain. "Wait, what?"
"The talk. You know, about the birds and the weasels. I get to tell Shinji." She frowned. "I should have talked to him already. When they went on their date I gave him a box of condoms."
Ritsuko dropped the test tube she was holding in horror, ignoring it as it hit the ground. "They went on a date? When the hell was this?" She blinked. "Condoms? What the fuck?"
Misato started to cry, and tried to sit up. "Am I a bad person Rits? I mean, I'm trying to be there for him, but he never says anything. He doesn't even respond when I tease him. Maybe it's best that I can't have kids. I'd be a bad mom..." She trailed off in sobs.
Ritsuko sighed, and hugged the shuddering woman. "Don't say that. He's just... like his dad. They're very introverted. They're closed in. Besides, you're too young to be his mom. You're more like an older sister." She paused, trying to think. "Besides, what about Pen-Pen? You've done all right by him."
"He's a penguin... he don't count..."
"Well, it's good that you took him in. Otherwise, we'd not even know that the two might even be going at it. Plus, I think it's actually helped him, being there. He's shown a steadier improvement rate than Rei after all."
"Really?"
"Yes." Ritsuko released her hold on Misato to rummage around in a cabinet. She pulled a few bottles out and dumped a few measures of their contents into a short beaker. She mixed the concoction with her pen before handing it to Misato. "Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better."
Misato took the drink without comment, sniffling a little, and downed it in one go. She grimaced. "What was that? It tasted horrible."
"Just something to help purge your system." Ritsuko handed her trash bin out to Misato, who looked confused for a moment. She then gagged, her eyes going wide, and then snatched it from her, promptly vomiting into it.
"You'll thank me later. Listen, I really mean it about you cutting back, I can't keep you from drinking unless I go to some extremes I'd rather not go to, but I want you to slow it down. We need the Operations Director." She filled a new beaker with water and sat it next to the vomiting woman.
Sitting down in her chair, she called up her calendar of tests and experiments. "I think the best thing is for us to talk to the two together. Make sure that they know that however they feel, their duties to NERV and the rest of the world come first. Condoms or not, "she remarked with a roll of her eyes, "I don't want them having intercourse. We need to have them stable for the highest synch ratios. If they get all heartbroken like regular teens do over the dumbest things, we don't know what it will mean when it counts."
If Misato had been physically capable of nodding at that point, she would have done so. Ritsuko's argument made sense. She certainly could recall as a young adult, years older than the two, doing stupid shit over infatuation and perceived love. She had seen it on the battlefield too, even older still.
"Of course, we should keep this quite. I don't know how the Commander will react, and I don't really want to know." He'd probably dance a jig. But if I can keep them apart long enough, he might decide to give up on the whole idea.
Misato did nod now, spitting to clear out her mouth. She downed the entire beaker of water. "Ugh... Yeah, I don't really think I'd want to be the one to tell him. So when do we talk to them?"
"Depends." Ritsuko jammed a needle into Misato's arm, and drew a measure of blood into a new test tube. "How close do you think they are to actually hooking up?"
"Oh, I don't think we're in any danger right now. I don't think neither of them has the faintest idea of how to go about becoming friends, let alone bumping uglies."
"Then we'll talk to them after their next harmonics test in two days. The Commander is scheduled to be in a meeting with the Committee during the test, so we'll be free of him. When I brief him on the test later, I just won't mention our little pep talk with the pilots." Ritsuko smiled, pleased with her cleverness. Everything would fall into place, and she could sleep easier knowing that the pilots were not engaging in potentially crippling extracurricular fun."
Misato leaned back, resting on her elbows. "They'll need to do something as a release of pent up energy and frustration though."
"Shinji's still going to the range, right? He can keep doing that."
"What about Rei?"
"When have you ever seen her with an over abundance of energy?"
"That's not fair. She kinda reminds me of myself. Back then, I mean. Before collage."
"Back...? Oh, I see." Dropping the test tube into a complicated looking machine, she shrugged. "She's completely dedicated to the project, and other than the book club at the school, I don't think that she does anything."
"Book club?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
It had still been raining when Rei had left school for her home, but had stopped once she was almost home. She had walked the entire way, not bothering her escorts for a ride. She only did that when she had to carry items from one place to another. A little rain was of no consequence to her.
Stepping into her dingy apartment, she hung her raincoat up to dry, but dumped her damp socks and skirt on top of the rest of her dirty laundry in one corner of the room. Still only partially dressed, she started boiling some water for tea.
Leaning up against the wall and engaging in the 8764521st iteration of her experiment of whether or not a pot that is observed boils (She had long ago decided that the evidence firmly supported that bringing water to boil was not affected by outside observation, but she retained some amusement in ensuring that her previous test results were still reproducible), her thoughts soon turned back to the advice and admonitions that Hikari had given her, most about openly stating such things in public.
While she was unable to give her much information on the boy, Rei had discovered that while he had been the subject of much discussion, there was no serious threat of anyone trying to 'snap him up' as Hikari put it. While it was undeniable that he was the pilot of the giant robot, the general consensus was that he wasn't that impressive to look at. It was true, he seemed to fade into the background a lot, but Rei chalked the obviously incorrect perception that he was not much to look at up to no one outside of NERV having seen him in the plugsuit, (apart from two presumably heterosexual males) and they had not seen him in action (again, apart from those two).
It is gratifying to know that I may proceed, for now at least, at my own pace without fear of extra variables interfering with the experiments. I do wonder, however, why the Class Representative gave me that strange look when discussing his status as a NERV pilot. Does she think that this is the only reason I am interested in him? Does she think that I aim to acquire him as a sort of trophy, with which to artificially inflate my potential social standing inside the school's hierarchy? A previously unforeseen aftereffect. Interesting. What other social aftereffects would a 'relationship' with Ikari provide a female student?
Her thoughts interrupted by the successful boiling of water in an observed vessel, she poured water into her mug, a heavy duty piece of plain black ceramic. It had not been washed for over a year, as Rei did not see the need to clean the mug as the only thing that went into it was boiling water and various teas. The spoon that was dedicated to stirring the tea likewise had not been washed, and the change in color from a silver to tea stained metal was abrupt.
Moving into her lab, she sat down on a stool and pulled out one of her bacteria and LCL farms. She had added a stronger version of penicillin to the staph farm, and while it seemed to be handling the improved staph culture well, she found that she could not gather enough interest come up with the next course of action for the sample. Her thoughts kept running to Ikari.
She frowned.
Perhaps I have been focusing too much on the social experiments. There is a wealth of other hypotheses that could be tested out without interfering with the current experiment. Perhaps I could follow up on the suspected external synchronization, or attempt to duplicate an infinite synchronization score.
His score, while slightly higher than mine, has come nowhere near approaching an infinite level again during harmonics tests. I will need to obtain the battle logs for the last two fights. That will be easy enough. Perhaps it is the stress and danger of an actual battle that prompts him to fully synchronize with the Evangelion. It could be an unconscious reaction. Other variables could be at work here, as well. For instance, the majority of the harmonics tests occur with the test bodies and not the Evangelions. What else could be different?
She sipped her tea, looking around the messy and cluttered laboratory, her eyes coming to a rest on the two labcoats hanging on pegs on the wall. She smiled momentarily before shaking her head.
Obviously, something more than the normal harmonics test would be required if I am to test this. I will also need to either construct my own test plug or obtain access to one in the Prinbow Box. That will be an issue. If I make one, I will need to get him to get inside of it. That, while not outside the realm of probability, would certainly ruin other potential experiments. How then, could access to the Prinbow Box be attained? I obviously would not be able to run the test. I would have to make the test seem like it come down from my nemesis. The personnel working under her would undoubtably run through the test for me if it seemed that the order came from her. How then do I do this?
Still drinking her tea, she moved back over to her apartment, done for now in the lab, as she was engrossed in the planning stages of her next experiment.
Tests are issued, scheduled and logged electronically. Thus, I need access to her computer terminal. The logstamp will provide enough authority for the test to be carried out.
Access can be gained two ways; physical and electronic.
Physical access would be require being able to obtain entry into her lab unnoticed and unobserved by the MAGI security systems. While the individual offices on that level are not monitored, due to the need for secrecy, the hallways are. Therefore, I am presented with two options; circumvent the security system, or obtain access without use of the hallways.
An interesting question on it's own, that. How would one gain access to a room with only one entrance, without using the door?
She leaned against a wall, scratching a itch, a phantom remnant of old stitches long removed, through the fabric of her shirt when the heater came on, blowing warm air on her and sending ripples across the top of her tea. She watched the movement of the liquid for a moment, before snapping her head up to stare at the air vent.
If the air vents inside of NERV are large enough, access could be obtained through them! One could go anywhere unobserved inside of NERV, if one used the air vents!
So, physical access is available. What of electronic access? Remote electronic access to the computer terminal would require convincing the MAGI to let me into the network, and then to her computer terminal. The MAGI have allowed me remote access to the network in the past, and have assisted in previous experiments. Perhaps I could enlist their help in this one? Having direct access to the gathered data would be a boon.
Despite the attraction of exploring how far into NERV she could get via the air ducts, her desire for direct access to the test data won the fight. Plugging her cell phone into her laptop, she dialed the number for MAGI access. She called up a custom built chat client that allowed her to interact with the three distinct computer personalities that made up the MAGI triumvirate.
... Greetings, Ayanami, R. It has been 112 Days since your last remote access to this system.
Greetings, MAGI. Request Remote Access to MAGI and LogStamp for Subject:Akagi, R.
...For what purpose?
Purpose is to have Tech Division personnel run an adjusted harmonics test on Subject:Ikari, S. Test Purpose is to determine if Subject:Ikari, S can unconsciously obtain higher synchronization with test system. Data will be used to extrapolate if Subject:Ikari, S can unconsciously obtain higher synchronization with Evangelion Unit-01.
...Please wait.
...
...
...
...Remote Access and LogStamp granted. Please upload file with test parameters. Will there be anything else?
Download file of NERV Central Ventilation System Schematics.
...Internal Blueprints are considered Classified. Reason?
Rei stared at the computer screen. It made sense that the blueprints would be classified, and thus the MAGI would be loathe to hand them out, even if they decided to help her in getting her test done. Telling them that she planned to try to evade the security system using the ducts would only have them flag the ducts as a potential security concern, and thus ruin them for future use. So, what could she tell them that would not cause them to decide to not help her with both her experiment and the air ducts? The MAGI had moods, not unlike the person off whom their composite personalities were based. There was no telling what they might do if she failed to appease them.
...Reason?
They are getting impatient. I need to think of something. A small smile spread across her face. Of course! It's perfect!
Emergency access to Evangelion Cages in the event of hostile takeover of NERV, or if other routes to cages are blocked.
...Please wait.
...
...
...Granted. File being sent to you now. Ensure that this file is kept secure. Classified materials must be protected at all costs.
Understood. I will upload test parameters once I have them outlined.
...Understood. Will there be anything else?
Rei frowned at the screen. It wasn't often that the MAGI deigned to help her, and if they were offering more assistance, then it would be a waste of resources to not use them.
Can you determine if an Impact Event, Human Initiated and Controlled or otherwise, could result in one or more persons being sent either backwards or forwards in time, or across dimensions, given an infinite parallel worlds scenario?
...Interesting concept. We will devote some cycles to it. Good night, Ayanami, R
The chat client went dark, no evidence of the previous conversation. There was, however, a new folder on her desktop marked as 'Ventilation'.
She gulped down the last of her tea, and went to make more, foregoing another attempt to reproduce the previous results and instead returned to her laptop on her bed. She yawned suddenly, but got down to deciding just how she would begin testing Ikari's ability to initiate and maintain an infinite synchronization score.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Gendo frowned at his computer terminal suddenly, scrolling back up several pages to re-read a passage in his agent's report. Opening up a new window, he pulled up the Evangelion Equipment Types schematics, and paged through it to the B-Type entry. As he continued reading, his frown deepened until he was actively glaring at his monitor.
So, SEELE was rattling the saber, it seemed. A foolish move, to tip their hand like this. He could not see what they could hope to gain by shipping Unit-02 with equipment not capable of under water operations. If the convoy fleet was attacked, by Angelic or terrestrial forces, the Evangelion would be extremely vulnerable. This move of theirs was foolhardy. They knew, as he did, that they needed to be able to repulse all the Angels while the stage was being set for Instrumentality. The loss of a combat ready Evangelion and Child would be catastrophic.
Although his agent did not come out and say as much, he was also perplexed by this move. It was a long trip from the North Sea to Japan, as the convoy would have to travel around Africa instead of taking the shortcut through Suez Canal, as that entire area was currently embroiled in open conflict. It had been deemed to much of a risk to send the ships through there.
His computer beeped at him, as the MAGI passed a test request along to him for final approval. It seemed that Dr. Akagi was working late again, which was of little surprise to him. He opened it up, scanning through it. He paused, impressed, if a bit underwhelmed. This was an interesting idea, these new tests of the synchronization link between the pilots and the Evangelions in different stages of consciousness. It had been demonstrated that a very weak synchronization could be attained and maintained with an unconscious pilot, but the score was so low that it did not allow for actual movement or utilization of the Evangelions. There were several new tests detailed out to be tested, on top of the tests that had been previously with Rei. While he couldn't see what she hoped to discover, it was an interesting notion, and he saw no reason to deny this test. He typed in his signature block on the paper, logging it with his logstamp. Turning his attention back to the report from Berlin, he was again interrupted as the MAGI delivered a records request from Rei.
Opening up the request form he read through it more carefully than the test request. Rei wanted access to the recordings from the last two Angel battles, again stating a desire to study and determine the best possible way to defeat them.
She also wanted permanent use of one of the conference rooms near the locker-rooms for use as a pilot waiting area/ready room in the event that not all pilots were being sortied.
It was, he reasoned, not an unreasonable request, doubly so, as it came from Rei, who never asked for anything.
He approved both requests, and returned to the task of undermining SEELE.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Shinji stared at Lt. Ibuki's face over the video link. "You want to do what?"
Maya sighed. I don't know why sempai would shedding this test for a day that's she's up working on the remains of the last Angel. "We are going to be testing your synchronization with the test body while you are at various stages of consciousness. Today, we'll be taking a baseline reading under normal conditions, and then we will proceed from there. There are three major levels that we will be taking readings from, and as we get to them, I'll let you know, OK?"
Shinji sounded doubtful to the techs manning the Prinbow Box, but he agreed nonetheless.
It's not like I've got much of a choice in this anyways. At least it got me out of class. I wonder what was up with everyone?
Upon his return to the classroom from the school library, he had been greeted by odd looks by everyone in the class. Hikari had been missing from where they had pushed their desks together for lunch, and he noticed that Rei was also gone. Toji said that Hikari had gone to the bathroom. Neither boy said anything about Rei.
The odd looks continued throughout the rest of the day, causing him to try to sink down into his seat. Once school was over, he managed to flee to the safety of his room and SDAT. This morning, before his phone beeped at him to tell him to report to NERV, he had been met by the same odd looks and in his growing paranoia, he was sure that there were hushed whispers going on behind his back. So while a battery of harmonics tests and being stuck in the test plug all day wasn't his idea of a good time, at least he didn't have to worry about whatever was going on in class.
He settled down, leaning back against the seat, taking deep lungfuls of LCL and trying to clear his mind. As always, the test plug felt... different from when they did tests with Unit-01. There wasn't any way that he knew how to describe the sensation to the techs, had they even thought to ask. He had never mentioned it before, simply because he thought that the difference was normal.
There was a difference in the harmonics tests they preformed with the test bodies and the regular activation and synchronization tests done with the actual Evangelion Units, but the difference was not in how it act of synchronization felt. It was in that it was easier to synchronize with the test bodies than the actual Units. Thus, the test bodies were used specifically for testing out new equipment, from new plugs, plugsuits, or when doing tests or taking readings on the pilots during synchronization itself. If it worked there, they could then move on to testing the gear or procedures on the Evangelions. Above all, they wanted to avoid having a repeat of Rei's failed activation test, where the prototype had gone wild.
Maya sighed again as she watched the monitors that were providing information on Shinji's brainwaves. Everything looks normal enough. She looked down at the test procedure in her hands, and then turned to Makato.
"Alright, we'll stick like this for another two hours, and then we'll induce unconscious. We'll pipe a mild sedative into the LCL mixture and let him drift off to sleep. This test is calling for a more in-depth battery of tests on an unconscious pilot than previous tests, so we'll have him napping for a bit while they run."
He nodded, having read through the outline already. "I wonder what prompted this set of tests. I thought that we were done with the sleep tests."
"Maybe the higher ups want confirmation on the data we gathered from Rei? I know they did the same tests with the pilot of Unit-02 in Germany."
"But what about the new tests? If they are just looking for confirmation, why add more on top of it? If they are adding new tests, shouldn't we have Ayanami down here as well?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Kensuke idly watched Rei as the blue haired girl stared at the clock on the wall above the teacher's desk. She had been staring at it for the past three hours, ever since Shinji's phone had beeped at him and he had left before class had even begun for the day. He has looked at it, and then spoke shortly to Ayanami, and then left in a hurry, not even stopping to say goodbye on his way out. It obviously wasn't an Angel attack, as the alarms had yet to sound, and Ayanami hadn't left wither. All she had done was tell Hikari that Shinji had been called to NERV and would not be present today.
When Hikari had informed the teacher of the matter when he called role that morning, the room had erupted in a buzz of whispers until Hikari restored order.
And now Rei was staring at the clock instead of out the window that she sat next to. It was all very odd to the bespectacled teen. Was she expecting something to happen, or was she just waiting for time to pass so that she could go to NERV?
Author's Notes:
It's interesting to me how this fic has rapidly become rather Rei centric, with splashes of Gendo as opposed to being Gendo centric, which was my original intent. I think it's because he unfortunately doesn't actually do all that much, apart from making sure that things proceed according to his plans. Most of his day revolves around reading paperwork and telling his spies what to do and who to follow, etc. His only diversions from the monotony of that are spreading rumors about himself, and pulling the puppet strings on everyone around him, getting them to dance to his tune, even if he's not playing it. He's an indirect action guy. He practically lives in his office, for crying out loud. So I still have to write about other people in order to show the whys and hows of his master plan (Which will become clear before the end, including the part about Yui's core) , and then telling you that he watched it on the video screen, cackling madly and wringing his hands menacingly, well, that gets old after the second time you see it.
You now have a mental image of Gendo dressed like a silent movies era villain (cape, top hat, and complete with long twirled mustache with his beard), with a helpless Rei (in a slinky blue dress with ruffles on the front) tied to the train tracks as Shinji (as a U.S. Cavalryman) tries to rescue her.
You're welcome :)
To Iraesmarter: Misato calls Shinji doomed because Rei wants to do Science to him, and conduct Empirical Research on him. Rei also used those terms during their little 'gossip session'. Right now, Misato is the only person who has an inkling that Rei's completely bonkers, which is what caused her to want to drink all that knowledge away, because it was just... wrong.
Fortunatly, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, she succeded in burying the memories in an alcohol induced haze.
Rei is getting better at talking to people, as evidenced with her conversation with Hikari concerning Shinji's various merits and demerits.