A/N:Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV Anime and Manga), End of Evangelion, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, and the Evangelion Rebuild series are owned by Hideki Anno and written by Yoshikuki Sadamoto. I own no characters, locations nor elements or songs from the original Manga, Anime, or Rebuild/EoE movies. I own only OC Shiro Ikari. Please support future Evangelion Rebuild releases.
That Said, Please Enjoy The Show!
Chapter 14: Plan Of Attack
Osaka outskirts, Old Japan
Red. A permanent reminder of humanity's past mistakes.
Red. A memory that flowed through the land and seas of Old Japan.
Red. The vivid color of her hair, as always described by Shinji.
Red. The color of Death.
Of Anger.
Of Agony.
Of Sorrow.
Of Regret.
In the weeks she'd been here, Asuka had traveled from her Entry Plug in Tokyo-03 to the fallen, desolated Astronomical Observatory in Old Mitaka (Old Tokyo-01) to Old Yokohama. And in that time, Asuka hadn't gotten a lick of sleep. She couldn't-no, she refused to. With what had happened in the passing weeks, she couldn't find it in her to sleep. She couldn't even lie to herself about it being Unit-02D's destruction.
No-Tt was her stubbornness, her burning compassion to live on and fight another day. And yet…
It wasn't even that. It wasn't her compassion to live.
It wasn't her strength to move forward, it wasn't her fighting spirit. No. It was all apathy now; her drive to live and fight was finally starting to dry out. And to think after everything she'd gone through, Asuka Shikinami wouldn't die to the end of a barrel, or even in Evangelion. She'd die here- stuck in some Godforsaken wasteland.
And honestly? She didn't even care for it. The great Asuka Langley Shikinami ready to die a forgotten memory with the rest of Old Japan, all because of one belief:
She deserved it.
She deserved to starve out here. She deserved to gasp as the poisonous air of her former home. She deserved to feel tired, to feel hopeless, to feel defeated, humiliated, weak, broken.
Because he felt like that once.
He felt like dying too.
She left the one man who understood her and let him fall into despair.
Thought even as she believed she deserved a coward's death, Asuka did ponder what happened in Central Dogma. In that single damning moment, where she could have changed everything. She couldn't help it, her brain wrack more and more with possibilities of what could have happened.
What she could have done? What could she have said to him, to stop him from using that damn EVA?
Would he have listened? Would he have even cared?
Don't listen to Kaworu, it's a trap!
No….
Stop, Shinji! It's not what you think!
Not even that….
Don't to it! Please!
She didn't even have the will to beg him at the moment, to ask if he realized what would happen.
In the end, she asked for him to die.
In the end, she screamed for him to die.
In the end, she wanted him to die.
It was that rage which, sadly, kept her sane her after all these years.
After Third Impact stole their lives.
After SEELE was revealed to be behind it all.
After Gendo had revealed Armaros, the most powerful EVA on Earth.
After Akabe, that coward who craved vengeance turned himself into a mirror model of Shinji, tortured her… touched her….. Tired to take he-
No! Stop it! Asuka snapped, coming to a halt now. That's all in the past, over and done with! I'm over that shit! I forced myself to be after Shiro left. I-I… I need to be over it…. I need to press on, I have to-
A loud rustling noise caught Asuka's attention, and the ground shook at her feet. It stopped, but she had a feeling about what it was. In an instant, Asuka ran forward into close debris, running in and out of the fallen building.
She jumped over whatever was in her way, feeling the small tremors grow stronger. She stumbled as the flooring caved in, catching herself in the nick of time before falling in. The redhead grunted when she dropped into the new room, colored by distant light as she held back a gasp.
In the room sat soldiers, men and women alike. All of them tossed around or just layed on the floor, cuts, and bullets across their frames. She held back her shock, mortified somewhat to see these people dead. But that wasn't what made her worry.
These uniforms weren't dried up at all, nor were the bloodstains of the wounds. They were fresh, and this group was more than likely not here beforehand. But what could have killed them?
It couldn't have been the cave-in, there was no concrete or stone touching them. So what was it? Mercenaries? Ayanami Clones, if there were more? Animals? What was it?
The building shook, and as it did a static noise caught her ear. "Where is…?" She looked over the corpses of her comrades (or enemies), spotting a radio on the arm of one. "Aha!" She quickly yanked it off, fumbling with the frequency till she could make out a voice. "Hello? Is anyone there, over?"
"...epeat! Zulu Squad this is Echo-418, requesting coordinates for immediate extraction, over," it ordered. Asuka's heart lit up with joy for the time. Finally, rescue at last!
"This is Captain Shikinami of the AAA Wunder, identify yourself!" She barked.
"Say again? Did you say Captain Shikinami, Over?"
"You got wax in your ears. Yes, it's fucking me!" She snapped. "I'm in a collapsed building hiding out."
"Captain, thank God you made it." 418 remarked with relief. "We've been sweeping the area for you for a while. Locking onto your frequency. Is Zulu Squad with you, over?"
"Negative, their right here but… they didn't make it."
"Damn." the responder sighed. "Alright, sit tight Captain. I've got your frequency, and on my way!"
"Just get here as soon as you can." More rumbling grew, and quickly Asuka flew through the crumbling room through a close opening. She climbed up a revealed flight of stairs, finding herself in an old observation station, filled with broken glass and old, rusted communications machinery standing by.
Another tremor came and went, and now Asuka could see where it originated from. She growled in frustration, watching the dull grey and black colored humanoids toss and storm on debris across in the open area. Their armor made it clear what they were and worked for; 2 NERV Mass-Production Models, Mark.06 Frames to be precise. What were they looking for?
Another MP EVA tossed up a wrecked destroyer, kicking off the engine half with a low gurgling tone. The other gave a chirr of acknowledgment, raising its arm as it for help. In response, 2 familiar EVAs that came from behind her field of vision appeared, both making her freeze.
Towart-01 and Towart-02 were given space, pulling into the ground and tossing all sorts of rubble away to nab their prize. After a few minutes or so, the Towart-01 grabbed... something and tugged it out of the rubble. Asuka felt the ground shake stronger than before, and in turn, she felt her heart jump to her throat. It was an arm- a familiar black-coated arm, which hung loosely in Toward-01's hand.
Slowly and, close to easily even the MP-EVAs and Towart-02 worked to pull out a large robotic frame. The air became very, very cold in the slip second, a feeling which practically could have drowned the redhead. "Oh, that's not good…." She whimpered, watching as the EVA Twins looked over the frame. "That's not good at all."
Suddenly another shaking began, this once stronger than the others, and louder. It came as a loud humming noise, which was quickly subdued by the sound of loud thunder. "What the hell?!" She cried out, feeling the building start to shake at the tremor. She couldn't stay here anymore, it was collapsing! So she did the only thing Asuka could in a situation- she gunned it towards the glass, breaking through it and just barely catching onto the closet building.
The WILLE captain grunted as he pulled herself into the building complex, able to see the Towart Twins pulling a large body out of the rubble from across the room. She sprinted forward, seeing them carry it forward like a wounded soldier, towards... "What in the…?!" Asuka blinked, realizing that she was staring at a large platform that connected to… The sky?
It was, and she didn't even realize it the thundering clouds till now. She could hear the thundering noise, and felt her body shake when she saw the lighting above flash to reveal what was above her; the skeleton of what was above her.
Slowly the Towart Twins and MP Eva's marched onto the metal platform, wires dangled on the corners as they stopped. And with loud churning groan, the elevator began to rise up. It rose and rose until it was high enough to fade into the clouds and out of sith. Asuka felt tension all across her body when she heard a disturbing, and frighteningly familiar groan of the airship she called home.
And yet it wasn't. This thing above her, it was NOT her home.
Her attention, however, was taken away by the sound of engines coming towards her. She jumped into the darker corners, praying it wasn't something of NERV control or worse. But to her luck, it wasn't dead at the door. It was a stealth VTOL, fast in speed roared through the cloud and towards her.
"Hey! HEY!" She screamed out, rushing out the room into the open with waving arms. The VTOL hover before, the back door sliding open to reveal a person in piloting gear.
"Captain Shikinami?!" He yelled. "Welcome back to the land of the living!"
"Won't be for long, with that thing in the air!" She called, gesturing to the thunderous clouds before running into the VTOL. "Get me to the Wunder as fast as you can!"
"Aye aye, ma'am!" The pilot replied, rushing back to the cockpit. The VTOL gunship spun around, roaring into the opposite direction as the thunder above triumphantly roared. Asuka felt her heart clench; the "thunder" sounded all too familiar. She only prayed it wasn't what the thought it to be.
NEVEC Headquarters, 2 days later
BANG!
Another EVA model fell, the bloodied mess falling in a puddle of blood as another model more bulkier with a large cleaver-type blade, took its place. "The last one," He breathed, pulling the controls back. The machine whirled in response, raising the modified Pallet Rifle to fire at the model rushed forward. He tsked, dodging to the side instead while the opposer swung and revealed its weakness. "A vent system on the back? And exposed, no less? This is either my luckiest day, or people just don't build EVA's the same."
He flipped the Rifle's Baretta blade out before he was forced to duck again, settling instead with the head of the EVA. It whined at the facial injury, trying to grasp as his EVA forced the taller model to its knee. He didn't even wait, he pulled out the rifle and started grasping and pulling whatever wires and pieces he thought were important, and pulled them out.
The smoke eventually poured out the EVA's head as it gave a final cry, falling to its knees and collapsing in a puddle of dead robot. "Well, that was fun." He said. "Should we continue?"
"If you want to, I can raise the difficulty!" his operator remarked cheerfully. "Who knows? I'd love to see what you can do on European Extreme Mode.
"I'd rather keep my head cool for now. Don't need another "I'm going to wreck HQ" all over again." he joked, turning the EVA towards the close walling. The room lit up, revealing it to be a large chamber with glass walls and a single large door beside him. His EVA turned, walking to the opening and out onto the deck.
"Well, who knows? Maybe one day, you'll have to fight to that degree." the operator said, before going silent for a moment. "Seriously? Shit… Alright, come on out! Musashi's asking for us to head upstairs."
"On my way." He replied, letting the screens shut down in the Entry Plug. Once it was solid black, a single text line read "SIMULATION-012 ENDED, SYNCHRONIZATION RATE: 71%" and the hatch opened. He pulled himself out, swimming into more orange liquid.
The chamber itself wasn't much-It was a bit similar to NERV's EVA Synch Test area, though wider with Entry Plugs lining the walls, and an observation platform built above the area. He exhaled LCL as he came up, shivering somewhat as his friend helped him. "So how'd I do?" he asked.
"20 minutes, 12 seconds and 5 EVA's more than the last. I think your setting some records here," Kensuke said, impressed as he looked over the scoring. "But then again you've been in a comatose for 15 years, so that's so surprise."
"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," Shinji said, fixing his collar. "Gotta say, I'm liking this Plugsuit model a bit more than the other one."
"I agree." Kensuke nodded. "It looks better than your edgy, black emo cosplay suit."
Shinji's new Plugsuit was a complete stretch from the original models; more or less a fusion of Unit-13's Plugsuit and NEVEC's prototype stealth armor. The Plugsuit was solid black with blue armor panels on the left forearm, shoulders, and knuckles. His opposite arm, however, was exposed to reveal his long sleeve undershirt and the black glove WILLE put on him, covered by the sleeve to hide the previous tears.
The high collar was the same, blending into the now flattened chest piece that displayed the NEVEC logo. Finally, around his torso was a ribcage-like design, white to match the fading leg armor and metal boots. "Though I have to admit, at least Unit-13 looked like something for EVA and not a video game." Kensuke snickered.
"Oh cry me a river, I'll live," Shinji remarked, fixing a small case onto his side and running a hand through his now cut hair. He'd finally decided to cut it back to its original short length, more or less to further himself after what transpired at Neo-NERV. The scientist rolled his eyes and the two left the chamber into an elevator. It rocketed upwards, out the lower levels of NEVEC toward the pyramid top. "Glad to see we're making progress on EVA training."
"No kidding man, you've clearly still got it. Though I wonder if it has to do with you piloting Unit-13 during… you know.." Shinji nodded softly.
"Yeah I know, but I think it was more the EVA itself than me. I don't know, it's like it had a mind of its own. Like it was protecting me…"
"Like it was Shiro piloting with you." Kensuke pondered. He went quiet in thought before asking, "You don't think there's a connection do you?"
"Honestly? It more than likely is- Shiro was the only other person in Unit-13's Entry Plug save for me and Nagisa before he…" Shinji looked away a bit, shaking it off before continuing. "It only makes sense that he would have been inside Unit-13's core, using the EVA itself to try and protect me."
"And he did. To think he could turn Fourth Impact on its head and end it at the peak of uncertainty." Kensuke said, walking forward as the elevator finally opened to the observation deck. "Guess proving the impossible runs in your family huh?"
"Either that, or we've been really fucking lucky…"
Observation Deck, NEVEC Headquarters
The observation deck sat at the top of NEVEC Headquarters, the only place where one could overlook all of Nevada and the distant coastline thanks to the high-powered telescope systems. It was entirely made of glass, reinforced along the sides by steel bars. In the center of the deck sat a large holographic table connected to large consoles and chairs around.
At the console stood Shiro beside Musashi, who sat at one console gesturing to the recent news. "There's no doubt about it; NERV's made a new move."
"Yeah, and by the looks of it the UN isn't having any of it." Shiro mused with a distant look before the sound of footsteps caused his attention. He smiled though when he turned to see Shinji and Kensuke enter. "Shinji! Glad to see you and Ken are here."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. What's going on?" Shinji asked.
"Well after a lot of talk with the guys upstairs, the government has decided it's time we get back fully into the fight. And now with you and Shiro alongside us, we've got a greater chance." Kaji's voice caught his attention, the man away from the window back to the center. "We've been in wait for too long, and Misato's done some pretty shady stuff since."
There have been small snippets of worry and confusion within Interpol and official UN channels, questioning WILLE's leadership. Ever since Shiro left with us to form NEVEC, and the recent events regarding Fourth Impact, the majority of the UN is in question about how stable Misato is."
"Yep. Then again, anyone who leaves their friends to die is typically questioned about their mental stability," Shiro bemused sarcastically, getting a frown from Kaji. "OK, fine! I was out of line on that one, but it's the truth. Misato shouldn't be in charge, but here we are in 2030 and she's still in charge!"
"Either way, we need to make a move and right now seems like the best chance we've got. We've received some new information from our operatives in Europe." Musashi echoed, gesturing to the console screens. On them displayed all sorts of news and information in regards to WILLE's Wunder.
"Operatives?"
"Small stealth groups working in Europe, mostly scouting parties that report to us if anything big happens. And right now the only thing happening in the world, aside from the returning Szechuan Sauce at McDonald's, is that Wunder had changed course to Old France."
"Well aside from Szechuan Sauce returning, which I will have to try sooner or later…" Shinji mumbled, walking up to them. "What's wrong with Wunder heading to France?"
"Well aside from the fact France was abandoned 10 years ago during the Battle of Tours in Touraine, Paris used to serve as a NERV outpost. It was run by NERV Germany, and used as a storage facility for EVA parts and weapons." Kensuke replied. "It was at the battle that NERV revealed Section 31, a militia of mercenaries, killers, thieves- a lot of bad people. Each one geared to protecting NERV and decimating WILLE."
"A bunch of sadists, those fuckers. And to think they would've fallen apart by now..." Shiro snarled, shaking his head. "Well, to explain our curiosity; our stealth operative has reason to believe NERV's concocted some sort of newfound weapon."
"A new weapon? Wait, Gendo's alive?" Shinji gasped. "But… how?"
"We've don't know, we can't even confirm if he and Fuytsuki are dead thanks to the Black Moon rising. But it's either him or an automated system working: either way its trouble for everyone."
"Well, what this supposed weapon?"
"We're not entirely sure, its presumed an aircraft of sorts, but Wunder is keeping silent in regards to it. But whatever it is has Katsuragi running, and if she's willing to risk losing Wunder to Section-31, then we need to be worried too."
"Yes, the whole point of Section-31 was to create a militia to not only stall for Armaros' construct but to command Wunder if it was recaptured by NERV," Kaji said. "If they get their hands on it, then we'll be in REALLY deep shit."
"So what's the plan?" Shinji asked.
"Well, according to our scouts Wunder was supposed to be en route for a refueling run at Neo-London in the UN. But since they shifted course to France, they'll have to work bingo fuel, they'll be running frantically to get what they want, keep the ship defended, then get out of dodge. Which could give us the perfect chance to disable the ship, gather whatever intel we can, and establish a link with Unit-01."
"Unit-01?" Now that caught Shinji's attention and confusion. "But I thought Unit-01 was connected to the main reactor, it's what keeps the ship powered?"
"It is, but if we can establish a link to Unit-01 and back to NEVEC, we'll have a full back door opening to WILLE and the UN. Projects, military posts, battle plans, all of it! We just need to link with Unit-01." Musashi explained, typing away at the screen. "We've been trying to run through the old NERV data network to establish a link, using all sorts of back doors and system commands but we haven't gotten much except," He then flipped a switch on the side. "For this sound."
When it played, Shinji narrowed his eyes. The sound was submerged, but he could distinctly make out the sound of screaming, growling, and… something else. The sound of bubbling overlapped the last part but it sounded familiar to him. "What is that?" Shinji asked. "You say it's coming from Unit-01, right?"
"Yes. We assumed at first this was the reactor itself, but if you play that same audio through several filters you can hear what sounds like a woman's voice." Musashi clicked a few more buttons, replaying the noise. It was smoother to hear, and as the end came Shinji could definitely hear it now.
Whoever it is, they sound like their in complete agony, He thought silently. And indeed it did; the audio gave a chilling screaming noise as it played, which on its own brought back painful memories of his encounter with Ramiel, the 6th Angel. But the question is who? Who in their right mind would be inside the reactor, in Unit-01 no less? Is it a repairman? A worker, a technician-hell, could it even be Akagi, trying to work her way through EVA's system? Anything is possible….
"Either way, the point still stands. Unit-01 is aboard Wunder, and when they get to Old France they'll have to defend it with all their lives," Shiro pointed out. "We could have a chance at swiping their data in the fighting, as long as no one sees us."
Musashi gave him a skeptical look "None of us know the layout of Wunder, and even if we did we don't know how to get Unit-01 out the reactor," he stated.
"Well, not all of us…." Shinji mumbled, biting his lip when he felt everyone's gaze fall onto him. He looked back at them. "I.. I may not know a lot about the ship's interior, but I know where the reactor is being stored: in the ribcage of the ship. I could help guide you in."
"Are you sure about this, Shinji?" Shiro asked worryingly. "You do realize what this means, going back there. There's no doubt we'd have a run-in with someone we know, even…"
"Yeah, I know…" Shinji nodded unhappily. "It could mean we run into her. But…. I have to do this, Shiro. Sooner or later, I have to face Katsuragi, in battle or to heart. And not just her… But Asuka, and Mari, and everyone else whose lives became miserable after Third Impact."
"Shinji…."
"I have to go. It's my duty to back, to try and at least start to fix all the wrongs I did. I wasn't there for you when I had to be…. I wasn't there Misato when she fell apart, nor Asuka when she lost everything…. Hell, I wasn't even there for Dad when he lost Mom…"
"Please, bro… I need to do this. I'd got nothing to lose anymore… I watched the closest things I had to an idol and a lover both die beside me… I can't lose this chance."
Shiro fell silent, in shock, bewilderment, and fear. He always assumed that it was Shinji who was the greatest victim of them all-hell, he still was. But he never questioned if Shinji held any sort of regret about what happened to him, or even Gendo for that matter. You carried that pain all this time, all that misery and suffering, and you never told me… He thought, saddened and somewhat proud of his younger brother. Oh, Shinji… You really are stronger thank you think…
Finally, and reluctantly, he gave out a sigh. "Promise me then." He said sternly, gaining his brother's worry. "If you do have to confront Misato… If you really are sure about going through with this ... Then promise me we'll do it together."
Shinji chuckled in response. "Always."
"We could get captured."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"We could die," Shio added with a smirk.
"Then we'll do that together too." Shinji finished with his own smile.
Shiro gave an unsurprised look. "Is it wrong I had a feeling you'd say that?" He shrugged, which more than enough to answer. Shiro turned towards Musashi with a nod. "Well, there you have it. Get Mana, and Suzhuhara and then find us some goddamn pilots to fly with, Sub-Commander."
"Yessir!" Musashi nodded.
"In the meantime, you come with me Shinji. If we're going into Wunder, your gonna need a weapon or at least something to protect yourself with." He said, gesturing to the elevator. "Let's move!"
"You got it, man..."
Conference Room 000, WILLE AAA Wunder
Wunder was silent as flew across the UN land, the desolate and forgotten areas leaving a sense of dread for the crew. As if they weren't on edge as it with this weapon… this airship NERV now had. There was at first a lot of speculation in regards to this as Asuka had been dehydrated, exhausted, and on the verge of unconsciousness when she arrived.
But after a while, and a check of the flight box recording, it was clear the woman's hysteria was true to heart- NERV had a new weapon, and now it had Armaros as if it wasn't hard enough now.
"...you do realize what this will mean if word gets out, Katsuragi?" The man asked, to which the Captain did not reply. "Katsuragi!"
She blinked, snapped out of thought at the Chairman's voice. "Yes, sir?"
"Good to see your still there." He joked sarcastically. "I feared we lost you to boredom."
"I assure you, sir, I am listening."
He nodded. "Good. As we were saying, the UN is unquestionably troubled by this news."
"I don't see why you should be, Chairman," Katsuragi stated. "This should be no surprise that NERV has another weapon aside from Armaros and the lost Unit-13."
"You know exactly why, Captain." The Neo-Spain Councilman spoke up, with a firm and clearly pissed note. "We've had speculation in regards to NERV's arsenal since Fourth Impact revealed their Evangelion units, but another airship? Is an airship as powerful as Wunder, mind you? I find it hard to believe."
"With all due respect, sir, I have guaranteed this is true. We have two eyewitnesses to further prove this, not to mention the flight box ox VTOL-418." She explained. "What more proof do we-?"
"The report hear says Captain Shikinami saw "a platform rise into a hurricane of thunder and lightning." That isn't exactly what we expect to hear from a highly respected military operative, Captain." The Neo-German Councilman stated, rereading the report on his desk. "Frankly, we could call you out on a lie if it wasn't for the fact your flight box confirmed several signs of A.T Field energy."
"And since NEVEC hasn't made any action to reveal itself, it only makes sense that this would be NERV's doing. But what I think we should be worried about is just what they found," Neo-Italy's Councilman started. "If NERV had uncovered something that could turn this war to their favor, then it could lead to disastrous consequences on our end."
"Well, most of us…" The silent tone of France caught everyone's notice. It was honestly a surprise to Katsuragi to see the French Councilman still here, considering he no longer had a country to speak for. But then again, the reason he didn't have one fell to her, as did most of the problems that happened in the UN did.
At least the ones involving NERV did, the other problems were sorted and dealt with by the UN Council. "We can all agree that WILLE has had some ... questionable actions in regard to handling NERV and SEELE. But when it comes to firepower, Wunder has been a symbol of the UN's unrelenting strength." The Chairman stated, fixing his arms across his desk. "If we were to lose that symbol, the public would lose its faith in us and our military, something we cannot allow the US to hold over us in this dark time. That said, it only seems natural that if we are to confront this new weapon that we'll need more than Wunder and one Evangelion."
"I vote for an attack on Old France, the Wunder will invade and retake the NERV outpost there, and establish a beachhead for our forces against Section-31." The Chairman declared. "All in favor, speak now."
One by one the speaker of the UN countries spoke-Germany, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Greece, Indonesia, New Zealand, Portugal, Philippines, North and South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, even Old France.
Those who didn't speak weren't on the UN Council: Russia, China, India, Japan (for obvious reasons), and the United States.
"18 out of 21, the vote is passed then. Katsuragi," The Captain looked towards the Chairman. "Your new orders are as follows: Get to Old France immediately, desolate the enemy forces, and take whatever parts you need to repair Unit-02 Dash. We offer you the Paris Assault Fleet, do what you must."
"I will do as I have, Chairman." She bowed, letting the room fade from a dark chamber to a green room once more. She turned to leave, looking to see Dr. Akagi walking towards her. "Dr. Akagi."
"You didn't tell then," Akagi noted. "About Armaros."
"The UN has enough trouble in regards to us, we don't need to add to their hysteria as is."
"And so you think keeping Armaros' survival under wraps is the best bet?" She inquired.
"It's the only choice we've got right now," Katsruagi stated. "Anyways, tell me you have something new, Doctor."
"You can say that," She replied, handing a report panel. "This apparent thunder is an artificial storm surrounding NERV's new weapon. We estimate its current course it into the Atlantic, but we don't have any solid leads on it currently."
"No solid leads? It's an airship, not a submarine." She groaned.
"We don't know that. With every new toy NERV brings to the table, it seems like anything is possible at this point." Ritsuko explained.
"And NEVEC? Are they pulling anything yet?"
"Aside from leaving NEOS in low orbit to run autonomously, nothing yet. We've had no reports of the Black Narwhal in waters, so hopefully, they'll stay out of our hair for now." Hopefully, Katsuragi thought to herself. Hope's one of the few things we need now. Without it, we'd be dead in the water… Well, it's mostly due to hope. And it's all thanks to h- "Captain? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Katsuragi stated, leaving the area. "Inform me when we're near Paris, I'll be in my quarters till then."
"Yes, Ma'am."