Notes from GobHobblin: I think qwertyui has posted an excellent idea…a very good one, in fact…(scribbles in idea folder). I may have to give that a shot someday!

As for the nutters in the north, GhostWriter73 (that'd be a great band name…), this is generally where a lot of the 'off' people have been drawn. Those who are solitary to the point of misanthropic, those who are unable to patch things together…the perfect kind of recruits for the Teacher. I'd say only a small core of his 'army' really want to go back to the Black Moon (not that they even know what that is, but they are 'believers'...they have faith in what the Teacher says). These are the ones who form his personal guard, his officers, or the ones going to the south to do nasty things. The rest are either too scared to say no when 'recruited,' too happy to be part of something organized and big, or like Tea-Leaves…they just want to break things and get away with it. I thought a lot about Chechnyan and Serb militias, or African warlord armies, when patching together the Teacher's group. Really any country that's collapsed into chaos…a lot of those armies collect together simply because someone is in charge, and they're getting a meal out of it. The crazy tends to follow, however…

If there was thing Rei had found she had a talent for, a true talent, it was in being unseen when she wished. She had made it into the camp too late to find Asuka, but she had made it, and no one was the wiser for it. It was strange, she thought; these people seemed to show such competency in all other matters of fighting, but they had deplorable security in some of the oddest places. It had to be arrogance, Rei decided. The arrogance that they were the most dangerous things in this part of the country.

Unfortunately, they were right. There had to be over a hundred or so people here, scattered through the ruins. They were digging in, setting up ambush points and booby traps. This was more than an encampment, it was a forward deployment area. She had the feeling that this area would become more crowded soon, swarming with men and women intent on bringing death and ruin to the south.

Again, she wished Asuka had thought of another plan. She probably hadn't considered Rei would try and infiltrate the camp on her own, but then again, she hadn't considered getting caught, either. It was odd to Rei, the way Asuka had been acting. She seemed had seemed hyper-competent and adaptable, but then that seemed to have left. She had made foolish decisions, and even Rei knew that. She didn't know what had happened. Was it because she was there? Had she somehow affected Asuka's ability to be objective? She didn't know. All she knew was that there was only one way to go, and that was north. Whether Asuka wanted it or not, Rei was coming.

But how? She had been sitting by the vehicle pool for what seemed like hours now, and none of them had moved. One of them had to be leaving soon, but which one? And more importantly, how to get on? She didn't plan on surrendering herself; somebody had to fix this mess. She sighed, shaking her head and nestling down. She had found a spot in the midst of a stack of crates, and had nested there, hoping against hope that something would present itself. She heard voices, and perked up, peeking. She saw two men, one large, scarred, and fat, gesturing to the vehicles.

"This one goes north," the scarred man said, pointing to one of the trucks. It was much more massive than the others, and it's flatbed was a series of tarps lashed one over the other like a quilt. It looked like a good place to hide, Rei thought.

"Guards for it?" another asked.

"Why? Who's gonna rob from us out here? Besides, if they manage to steal it, what are they gonna do with it? We already have twenty-three, and the equipment to work the damned things. They want a multi-ton paperweight? Good for them." The scarred man spit on the ground. "I don't care who drives it, just so long as they actually know how to handle a rig this big. Figure it out, Sozu."

"Right," the skinny man said, and they walked away. To the north…that was it. And it had to be going the same way that Asuka had. If it was big and important, it would go to the same place, right? It was the best thing Rei had to go on, and she carefully looked out from behind the boxes. First, left, then right…then she scurried across the space between the crates and the trucks. Slipping from truck to truck, she made her way to the massive rig, and pushed herself up and under the tarp. It was dark underneath, and a strange scent of dust and steel assaulted her. There was something very large being transported on the truck, orange in color and barrel shaped. It was massive, whatever it was…

Rei stifled a gasp, recognizing it from some long-ago memory. She was lying next to an ICBM, one tipped with an N2 warhead. She could see the serial number now, recognizing it from her days as a Pilot. All the Pilots knew about them…had to use them, sometimes.

We already have twenty-three…

Sweet mercy, they had twenty-three N2 warheads. Twenty-four, counting this one now. She heard the truck's cabin doors opening and closing outside, heard the engine roar to life. The flatbed beneath her shuddered and bucked, and she knew they were on their way. She didn't know what lay in the north, and looking at this cargo, she was afraid of what she would find.

Misato stepped out of the helicopter, Kurozawa at her elbow and in the midst of other troops. She was in full battle-rattle, her hair in a bun underneath the back lip of her Kevlar helmet. She crouched under the down-wash of the rotor blades, scooting forward until free of it. She straightened as the other soldiers hurried off to find their respective assignments. Misato kept walking straight forward, her own objective in sight. In front of her stood one of the newest militia brigadier generals for the Restored Government, a small, doll-like woman with a big, mean mother of a First Sergeant. It looked like the perfect command team to Misato.

"Gen. Tatsumoto, I presume?" Misato asked, saluting as she walked up. The smaller woman returned the salute.

"Col. Katsuragi. I hear you're to be one of my government observers?" There was a slight challenge in the statement.

"I hope it doesn't cause too much of an intrusion," Misato said, trying to gauge the woman's tone. This could either be a good working relationship or a bad one. "Allow me to introduce my staff, Lt. Kurozawa." The man made a face, but only for a moment, and bowed to the General. The woman's mouth quirked at the quip: it was not uncommon for Colonels to have groups of soldiers following them. Misato had no command, just a rank, and only one soldier underneath her, to whom she had applied the grand title of her complete and total staff. Misato caught the momentary smile, and that was a good sign to her.

"Welcome, Lieutenant. I hope your ready to get some dirt under your boots," she said.

"Yes, ma'am. We've been ready since the first blast." Tatsumoto nodded; she had heard about the accident, the first cache discovered some time ago. The first people of the Restored Government to lose their lives to the Teacher.

"Good. And you, Colonel?"

"Glad to have a superior that wants to do something, frankly," she said, and Tastumoto's eyes widened. What Misato had said was grossly insubordinate, not to Tatsumoto but to the general command structure. It was flattering at the same time, but that was hardly the point. Tatsumoto turned her gaze to Kurozawa, who had found something interesting off to the right to focus on. She turned back to Misato, who met her with firm eyes. She had said it, she meant it, she would stand by it. Tatsumoto tried to size that up, and then nodded.

"Could you remove your hardcover, Colonel?" she asked.

Confused, Misato popped the seal and removed the helmet. Tatsumoto nodded, and then smiled. "I see what's behind that attitude, now. I thought your name was familiar, but it's the hair I always remembered - no other shade quite like it. You were with NERV, right?"

Misato's face was blank, but Kurozawa glanced at her in surprise. He hadn't known that, and as an aide, he was supposed to know more about his CO than strangers did. It was the principle of the matter, and what was more, it made for a good aide. He could prepare his CO for anything that might come her way by that kind of knowledge.

"Yes, I was. I was the Chief of Operations and Security with them, ma'am," Misato said woodenly. She was hoping to avoid this, but the fact that she had died killing SDF troops would probably turn up at some point.

"Some of your friends came through here," Tatsumoto said happily. "A woman with red hair and a girl with blue."

Misato's eyes widened. "Asuka and Rei? They were here? When?"

"A month or so ago," Tatsumoto said, "Around the time we made contact. They suggested we do so in the first place."

"Where are they now?" Misato demanded, suddenly towering over the general. One hand made as if to grab her arm, and the First Sergeant had his hand on his pistol. Tatsumoto's own hand went up, stopping his motion. She recognized the look on Misato's face.

Longing and fear. Her hand continued the motion, reached out, and comfortingly gripped Misato's raised arm. "They left. They were pushing north to try and find another friend."

"Shinji," Misato said, her arm relaxing. Her eyes went distant for a moment, then returned. She looked at her hand, and realized how threatening her gesture had been. A good way to start off a new relationship…

Tatsumoto smiled, and gently pulled at Misato's arm. "Let's get off the landing field, Colonel. I think you and I have a lot you want to talk about..."

Notes from GobHobblin: Not a long chapter, but something to tide you over. Happy Holidays, FanFic Friends!