Testing was unsuccessful.
I followed orders, but Shinji and I were unable to synchronize with unit 13.
Dr. Agaki again reprimanded me, saying that it was all my fault. I asked for clarification but received none.
I do not like being hit by Dr. Akagi.
By noon they were in the red and by dusk their EONs were running on essential systems only. There was no discussion or debate, Asuka simply relayed the command from her unit's central processor to the others.
They could all feel the energy radiating from ground zero now. A slight electric tingling just below their skin. Misato was right. Someone, or something, was trying to generate an AT field.
All that stood between them and the outskirts of Tokyo-3 was the skeletal remains of a forest. But even with no leaves or branches the densely packed tree trunks, charred and ghostly white, would make maneuvering in the EONs almost impossible.
Trailing behind the others, Hikari watched as Asuka and Mari motioned to each other. She felt her stomach drop. This was it. They were going to leave her behind.
"Set up camp. No fire. We're gonna go look for a way through."
Exhausted and starving, Hikari did as Asuka told her. By nightfall they hadn't returned. She wondered if there was any reason to wake up.
"Come on, beautiful. Let's get outta here."
He had come to her in the night under the pale light of the stars. She could see the stubble growing on his cheeks, smell the stale cigarette smoke on his clothes.
"You think I haven't noticed all you've done for the cause?"
He leaned in and wrapped an arm around Asuka's slender waist, pulling her closer. Chin resting on her shoulder, lips inches from her ear. His warm breath against her skin. She quivered, her body overflowing with years of pent-up emotions.
"You think I'd rather be with some bookworm scientist?"
"Kaji...I…"
"Me and you? We've been through it. Seen what's really out there. That's who I want."
His fingers traced the lines of her body, stopping to tease the zipper at the base of her neck. Only a thin layer of Kevlar separating them.
"You've got the access codes to all three EONs, right? My jumpship is just south of here and you know Hikari still has a charge. What's she even done to exert her unit?"
"Cap...Asuka?"
Hikari sat up, trying to make sense of what she saw.
"Go back to sleep."
"But...what's Kaji…"
"She's just jealous."
The words swam through her mind. His hand slipped lower.
"But...that can't be—"
Lower.
"I said go back to sleep."
Lower.
"She just wants another broken heart to keep her company. Let's go."
As if pulled by some invisible string, Asuka rose to her feet.
"Asuka, please…"
"Shove it, Hikari. You're nothing but a burden. Always have been, always will be. And I don't need that weight around my neck anymore. So you're gonna sit there and watch as I take your EON and you're not gonna do anything about it."
And she was right. Asuka slipped into the night, taking with her any self-worth that Hikari had managed to regain since Toji's death.
A canteen of water, three MRE tins, and her rucksack. This is all that greeted her the next morning.
The deepness of Mari's sleep could not be understated. In most situations it was an asset, even on missions like this. Once asleep she could ignore the cold, the heat, hunger, thirst. It all disappeared. But sitting there by herself, on the edge of a forest neither she nor Asuka could find passage for their units into, Mari wished she had slept just a bit lighter.
Hikari's unit was gone. She had likely left sometime during her watch, ashamed of what had happened. But Asuka's EON was still parked next to her own. Both kneeling, as if in prayer. She attempted to boot her unit up. Nothing. What little charge there was must have seeped out overnight.
With no map and the signal from ground zero overpowering her comm link, options were slim. Backtrack and hope that WILLE sends a scout ship, or push forward and try to navigate the gnarled barrens before her.
Mari stepped into the forest.