Chapter 50
Wanda: "This is Wanda Cronkite at CNN. The tribunal's been deliberating for a full week. All they've asked for in the meantime were legal books and local cuisine. This must be a tough case... Oh here they come. Let's watch with our cameraman on the scene, Kawasaki Honda!"
In the courtroom...
Viktoria: "All rise."
Everyone stands at attention.
Yamamoto: "Be seated."
Everyone sits down, listening to every word.
Yamamoto: "After very careful deliberation, and consulting every relevant legal text we could find for precedent, we found that both pilots, Shinji-kun and Asuka-kun, are clearly not guilty of all charges!"
(The streamer at the bottom reads "Acquittal! The shocking verdict is in!"
Gendo, attending in handcuffs, begins gnashing his teeth.
Yamamoto: "We've found that under the war-powers act, military tribunals can also make summary judgments based on evidence presented without having to convene an entirely new trial in times of war. We are currently at war with the Angels. As such, based on the evidence at hand, we've come to the conclusion that Commander Gendo Ikari is guilty of several grievous charges.
"One. A near consistent pattern of Gross Negligence in the handling of personnel, equipment, and day to day operations. The housing facilities pilots and some personnel were forced to live in is astonishing and horrific! It took the introduction of an external agency, Lara Croft's company, to rectify the situation!
"Two. Abusing Subordinates. Notably pilots Shinji-kun, Rei-kun, and Asuka-kun. Especially during the Ireul incident.
"Three. Reckless Endangerment. By placing dangerous and completely untested equipment designed to seize control away from the pilots who are already having great difficulty controlling the Eva in the first place, and without informing or warning them in any way first!"
Tanya: "Those are the three most glaring charges. We may add more charges depending on what we discover during our investigation into NERV's operating procedures and practices. Until our investigation is complete, Gendo Ikari will be stripped of all rank and privileges in NERV, kept incarcerated with all movements, conversations, and activities strictly monitored, all his personal assets seized and carefully analyzed, and lastly, we, the tribunal, will take full control of NERV Tokyo-3 command and operations until someone competent, skilled, and trustworthy can be found to take his place..."
Gendo: "NO! YOU! IDIOTS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"
Gendo breaks his handcuffs, picks up and throws the desk behind which he's sitting at the judges.
Viktoria: (Draws rifle) "Stand down, Ikari-san. STAND DOWN NOW!"
Gendo picks up the chair he was sitting on and throws it in Viktoria's direction. Now while Gendo's a well known schemer, always looking at the long-con, he also has a long, long history of getting into bar brawls, frequently having to be bailed out by Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki. Now whether he had anger management issues, or was simply using this as a ploy to get closer to Yui, the world will never know. What is certain, is that he's quite adept at maneuvering in such a chaotic environment, which is what he's hoping to generate here.
Viktoria, having faced live combat, and Tanya's training regiment, which is worse, does not flinch from Gendo's attack, but instead takes careful aim and shoots, trying to subdue the rampaging man... to find her bullet deflected by an A-T field.
Gendo: "You petty, know it all, bureaucratic fools won't stop me! I! WILL! HAVE! MY! SCENARIO! No matter what it takes!"
Gendo graps Fuyutsuki from behind, wrapping his left arm around the professor's throat in a choke-hold, to use as a human shield, while keeping his right hand free to use Adam's A-T field to deflect any incoming fire.
Fuyutsuki: "This is the wrong approach, old friend..."
Before he can even finish talking, Fuyutsuki is taken down by a taser from Tanya's orb.
Tanya: "Let's see how my Elenium 95 orb works against A-T fields, Commander"(As she chants, her spooky blue eyes take on a radiant golden hue.) "Our Lord who art in Heaven, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, AMEN!"
Tanya fires an energy blast at Gendo, who tries to block it with Adam's A-T field. The resulting clash of metaphysical energies sends both of them flying backwards and acts like a massive flash-bang grenade to everyone else in the room. Misato, who is accustomed to dealing with flash-bang grenades, and other forms of ordinance, recovers first with Gendo a close second. She uses the opportunity to pin Gendo down, and hit him with a commandeered taser.
Brzzt! Tik, Tik, Tik, Tik!
Gendo: "AAAARRRGGGHHHH!"
Gendo glares at Misato like he's planning to kill her.
Misato: "PLEASE keep resisting, you sick son-of-a-bitch! I'd love to have an excuse to taser you to death after what you did to Rits. Oh, yes. I know about the little 'extras' you've been putting into her IV, and God knows what you did before that!"
Gendo tries to get up anyway, but before Misato can do anything, she gets tasered from behind with enough voltage to not only render her unconscious, but cause total bladder failure.
Kaji: "Sorry, lover. I'll make this up to you, later. This is all much bigger than you can imagine."
Gendo: "Thank you, Inspector. As for you, you overgrown child in a woman's body..." (Kicks Misato in the stomach) "there are things I'd love to do to teach you your place, but business before pleasure..."
Kaji: "Commander, we must go."
Gendo: "One moment, Inspector."
Gendo goes over and grabs Visha's gun, then puts it square in the center of Kaji's back.
Gendo: "This keeps you 'innocent' so you can help me later."
Gendo marches Kaji out of the courtroom at gunpoint for all the world to see, forces Kaji to open his vehicle and boards with him, along the way, Gendo not only throws Kaji out of the still moving vehicle, into traffic, but takes the wheel and goes off to parts unknown.
Fortunately, by sheer stroke of luck, Kaji survives, in the hospital, with serious head trauma after being run over by a car. Though alive, he is clearly not well, his life hangs by a thread. Misato, herself beat up after Gendo's brutal kicks to her stomach area, still comes to visit him.
Misato: "WHY?! Why would you help that bastard escape?! WHHHYYYY?!"
Tanya: "Obviously at gunpoint, Major..."
Misato: "No, before that. Somebody tasered me in the back, and Honda-san's recorded audio implies it was him."
Snake: "We'll find that out, Major, soon. Don't worry."
Misato: "Yeah, well, he'd better have a damn, DAMN good reason, otherwise, I might just have to shoot him myself."
Yamamoto: "And we'll let you, Major. As it stands, Gendo is now a full-blown traitor, and Inspector Kaji will have to answer to charges of aiding and abetting, unless the UN pulls some strings on his behalf, which is unlikely."
Misato: "So whose quarters are we going to search first, and what hole do you think that sick son-of-a-bitch is hiding in?"
Yamamoto: "We've already frozen his accounts, or tried, those damn Swiss bankers, and either seized or destroyed all his assets, save his quarters in the Geofront, which we're still searching."
Rits: "I've already gone into the Magi, disabled all his access points to NERV, as well as a rather nasty surprise he had in store for me and Maya if I didn't 'play ball,' though he can still brute-force his way in, and he knows those air-ducts almost as well as Rei did... I'm so sorry, Major. She deserved a better life... and death... than that..."
Misato: "I owe you an apology too, Rits. Maya brought me your medical chart, the analysis of the stuff that was in your IV, ovulation drugs and civet musk, and talked me through it. The latter is a powerful, yet relatively odorless and colorless aphrodisiac. In fact, civet dung is sold as (an expensive as hell) coffee substitute. There were also traces of long-term metabolized residue of the musk in your system. He's been drugging you for a long, long time."
Ritsuko: "Oh! My! GOD! Did he do that to my mother too?"
Misato: "No way to know, Rits. She's been dead and buried too long. If there's any solace I can give you, it's that you're not entirely responsible for your behavior. Your judgment was deliberately clouded without your knowledge or consent."
Ritsuko: "I'll kill him! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL KILL HIM!"
Misato: "The line starts with Shinji-kun and Asuka-kun. Their trauma is the most raw."
Ritsuko: "...If those kids have the power and the will to do it, I'm going to cheer them on!"
Misato: "That's the Rits I know and love... OUCH! I could use a dip in that LCL right now... that coward, kicking me in the gut..."
Ritsuko: "He could have done worse... He wanted to, going by that audio."
Misato: "I shudder when I hear the term 'business before pleasure' in that... Was he planning to flat-out rape me or something?!"
Ritsuko: "I no longer put any depth of depravity past that bastard."
In the former Misaki estate...
Rei is watching the news for the local weather, planning to work in the garden later, along with little Rea who is really reading the psychology book she borrowed from Dr. Crane's office, along with a dictionary to look up words she doesn't understand. Just like her mother, she loves to read any book she gets her hands on. They both stop everything they're doing when news of the trial comes on...
Wanda: "Our own brave reporter on the scene, Kawasaki Honda, and his cameraman were casualties on the chaos that ensued as the verdict was read, but the decision was unanimous." (Images of Asuka and Shinji appear on the monitor behind Wanda with the word "Acquitted" written over them) "The pilots Shinji Ikari-san and Asuka Soryu-san were found not-guilty on all charges! The trial also broke ground on new legal precedent. The evidence presented in the trial rebounded on their accuser, Gendo Ikari."
A picture of Gendo Ikari replaces the pictures of the pilots with the word "Wanted" pasted in red, bold letters across it.
"The former commander of NERV is now wanted for several grievous crimes, Gross Negligence, Abusing Subordinates, Reckless Endangerment, but the newest and most grievous comes about from his actions in the courtroom as the summary judgment was being read. TREASON against not just Japan, but all of Humanity. Gendo Ikari is considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you encounter him, do not approach. Citizens are advised to avoid him at all costs, and contact local law-enforcement through 119. I repeat, do not approach or attempt to apprehend Gendo Ikari. The former Commander is far, far more dangerous than almost anyone can understand. Law enforcement and we here at CNN will assume no liability in the case these instructions are ignored. Our prayers go out to all his victims, especially pilots Rei Ikari, Shinji Ikari, and Asuka Soryu, wishing for their quick recovery. Yes, those kids need a miracle."
At an undisclosed location, among the former Gehrin labs...
Gendo is in a holographic meeting with SEELE.
Gendo: "As you're all well aware, I am currently on the run, and in hiding, thanks in no small part to you and your patsies, so I'm going to make this brief... I QUIT! YOU CAN ALL KISS YOUR DELUSIONS OF GODHOOD GOODBYE!"
Kihl: "IKARI! REMEMBER YOUR PLACE..."
Gendo: "Mommy! The mean old man won't give me the candy I want! Get it for me!"
SEELE FRANCE: "Are you making light of all the francs we spent on this project..."
SEELE ENGLAND: "The time and equipment..."
SEELE RUSSIA: "The personnel.."
SEELE MEXICO: "The Labor..."
Gendo: "BWAH! BWAH! BWAH! BWAAAAAHHHHH! You are all just a bunch of spoiled two-year-olds stuck in grown men's bodies! SHUT UP and let the adult speak!"
All the old men of SEELE are stunned into silence by Gendo's outburst.
Gendo: "I know none of what you mentioned matters to any of you louts as your last 'peacekeeping' mission completely trashed everything and everyone you just mentioned."
SEELE US: "Now see here, Ikari. That is no way to talk to us..."
Gendo: "Oh get over yourself. You fail basic math and plate tectonics! Not only did the documents you sent my team get the dimensions of the Reno crater wrong, but you screwed up the miles to kilometers conversion! It's a 64 km radius along the surface! Fortunately, it wasn't a perfect sphere, meaning they must have somehow launched Eva-04 into the sky, or the resulting super-volcano would have killed us all, as the Earth's crust isn't 64 km deep anywhere in the continental US!... With that track record, I'm damn sure none of you even begin to understand the research you stole from NERV Tokyo-3... My scenario was your best chance of becoming the gods you clearly don't deserve to be, and you have screwed that over, irrevocably. You'll wish I simply hunted you down and killed you by the time I'm done. Good bye and good riddance."
Gendo breaks off the transmission and breaks out his disguise, the appearance of a Hawaiian tourist.
To be continued...
