Evangelion
Gemini Rising
By Rollinaround
Episode 5
The Trial
The Tower of Babel was a beautiful place to be sure, especially in this age. The floors were made of polished marble, an excess, even before Third Impact. The walls were made from stainless steel, the gleamed in the morning sun, and making the building feel pure, and clean. The tower stretch high above the centre of Babylon, seeming to piece the heavens as it rose into the sky. In times long past, the new tower would have beem gorgeous, but in this era, it was a wonder.
The Tower of Babel was the seat of Government in the Post Impact world. At the very top lay the House of Councillors, below it, the House of Representatives. At the bottom lay the Babylon Council, which dealt with local matters, and the concerns of their citizens. And right in the middle, sat the Halls of Justice, where Shinji Ikari waited for the world government to decide his fate.
The courtroom, like the rest of the building, was beautifully made. The floor beared the image of a four pointed star, with wavy lines stretching out diagonally: the symbol of Shamash, God of justice, and the sun. The room was shaped like a giant ring, with the jury staring down at him from all sides, and the judges bench right at the back. The design made Shinji extremely uncomfortable. It felt as if the city was judging him; accusing him from every direction.
The other Children waited outside. Misato was elsewhere, preparing their appeal in the event of a guilty verdict. As friends of the defendant, Asuka and Mari were forbidden to sit on the jury, but they at least helped him prepare. "Tell them anything you can to soften the sentence." Asuka had told him. She made it sound like a guilty verdict was inevitable. But to be fair, it probably was. He was on trial for causing Third and Fourth Impact which, for all intents and purposes, he had.
"Just do what you can to make yourself sound better, and make NERV sound worse." Mari added, "But don't lie. Being honest'll get you a long way in this case."
"Thank you both." Shinji told them. He did his best to look brave, but he couldn't stop his hands from shaking.
Asuka took the boys hands in her own. "Don't be scared." she said, firmly.
"I'm sorry." he replied, shuddering in fear, "I can't help it. I don't want to be taken away from my friends, and locked away for the rest of my life. But I... I feel like I deserve it."
Asuka tightened her grip on him. "It's alright." she said, "You'll get through this. Even if the worst happens, we'll come and visit you whenever we're in town."
"Promise?" Shinji asked, cursing himself for such a childish response.
"Promise."
"Thank you." Shinji said, fabricating a smile. "You're a good friend, Asuka."
"Yeah." she replied, cautiously, "You too."
"All rise!" the Bailiff's voice echoed through the halls, snapping Shinji back to reality. A dignified, middle-aged woman approached the bench, clad in a red blazer and skirt, with her hair tied up in a neat bun. She sat down, watching carefully as a long line of representatives took their seats in front of her. Shinji was to stand trial before the leader of the United Nations herself, with her fellow representatives acting as witnesses. Of course, the title of representative beared little meaning nowadays. Many of the countries they represented were no longer in existence. It was more of a world government than a coalition of nations.
The acting judge cleared her throat. "Court is now in session for the trial of Shinji Ikari; Representative Diu Huan presiding." She began to rattle off the names of the representatives. Each of them were free to question him, and the witnesses, but Representative Han alone would pass judgement. "Representing Belgium, Monsieur Jean Portier. Representing Germany, Herr Gustav Falkenrath. Representing the Philippines..." Shinji tuned the rest out. What did it matter to him. He didn't know any of these people.
"Mr Ikari," Ms Diu began, "You stand accused of manslaughter on a grand scale. The first case being the triggering of Third Impact on January 1st 2016, the second being the triggering of Fourth Impact on March 18th 2030. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty." Shinji replied, "On both counts."
"Now hearing the opening statement from the Prosecution."
The trial went on for a good three days. The defense's main argument was that the defendant had no way of predicting the consequences of an awakening. The prosecution, however, argued that ignorance of consequence did not exonerate Shinji for his role in Third Impact, as he had, for all intents and purposes, retired from piloting at the time, and had been expressly forbidden from doing so by the Organisation of WILLE.
"The defendant relinquished his right to pilot in 2015, and was legally banned from doing so in 2030. He had no business piloting at the time of the incident, and the entire human race suffered as a result."
"My client was coerced into working with NERV." Shinji's lawyer countered, "Gendo Ikari pressured him to pilot Unit-01 fifteen years ago, and was kidnapped by the enemy, for the purpose of causing another Impact. The blame lies at NERV's feet. My client is an innocent patsy, a pawn in the game of the real culprit."
"Regardless of whether or not the defendant was manipulated, he still maintained some form of autonomy." The prosecution replied. "Unless he was incapable of refusing to pilot, we must accept that he is at least partially liable for the awakening of Units 01 and 13."
Each side called their witnesses, mostly former workers at NERV, the crew of the AAA Wunder, and survivors who had known Shinji before Third Impact. The defense called witnesses like Makoto Hyuga, Kensuke, and a few of Shinji's coworkers from RD. The prosecution, on the other hand, called people like Midori Kitakami, and a number of former Tokyo 3 residents, traumatised by the Third Impact. The defenses aim was to put the blame on NERV for forcing him to pilot the Eva, and paint Shinji as a noble, decent human with nothing but good intentions. The prosecution had the opposite goal: to prove that Shinji made a choice to pilot at the time of Third Impact, and to portray him as a reckless individual who could believably pilot Eva-13 of his own free will.
"I have one final question before the court convenes to decide the verdict." the Representative for Egypt declared, "Mr Ikari, were you made aware of your role in Third Impact, before you piloted Unit-13?"
"Yes sir." Shinji admitted. "I was told that if I piloted Eva-13, I could turn the world back to the way it was before."
"You never considered that you might have been manipulated?"
Shinji felt his heart pounding. He had a terrible foreboding, but he had to tell the truth. "No sir."
In the end, the Jury determined that Shinji did not have the prior knowledge to be convicted for his actions at the time of Third Impact. Unfortunately, they unanimously decided that, despite all other factors, Shinji had sufficient knowledge and autonomy to be held at least partially responsible for the events of Fourth Impact. Everyone seemed to agree that he should have known better.
"Shinji Ikari." Miss Huan announced, "You have been found guilty of manslaughter. Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence?"
Shinji took a deep breath, trying his best to look brave. He knew going in that he would be found guilty, but it didn't make it any easier.
"I know I've done wrong." he said, shuddering as he spoke, "But I never meant to hurt anyone. I was only trying to help. I know what I did was stupid, but I was desperate, and frightened. I didn't know what my father was doing, or who to trust. I understand, I need to be punished. I just want you to know why I did what I did."
There was a long pause before his sentence was passed. "Given the circumstances, and the nature of your actions, I sentence you to imprisonment aboard the AAA Wunder, until such a time that you are no longer considered a danger to the world at large. You are forbidden from leaving the ship for any reason, without a military escort and the express written consent of Colonel Katsuragi." She banged her gavel.
Shinji felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn't believe his luck. He was pretty much WILLE's prisoner already, so nothing of importance would change. The only thing that worried him was the indefinite length of his sentence. Until he was no longer a threat to the world. Who knew when that would be, or even if it was possible. He thought back to the Hamasakis; the family he'd made in Elysium. Would he ever see them again?
"That's not seriously it?" Falkenrath protested. "This boy is responsible for the death of millions. Compared to that, this is a slap on the wrist!"
"And what would you have me do Gustav?" Huan asked, "Execute a child?" The German sputtered for a moment, before returning to his chair. "You may go, Shinji."
The boy was greeted by his friends, outside the courtroom. Mari was ecstatic, practically pouncing on the boy. The others were, thankfully, more reserved but still happy to see him.
Suzu's trial was held the same day, and was even more complicated. The main argument revolved around whether or not she had independence at the time, if she had any concept of disobeying orders, or could even be considered human, and subject to the same legal rights. At the end of the day, the court agreed that she had just enough of a personality to be considered human, but could not be held responsible. Before Fourth Impact, she simply couldn't imagine a life without following orders. However, the girl was too useful, and far too dangerous to be set free. So it was decided that she would be kept a prisoner of war, until further notice.
They met her outside, just like Shinji, but Suzu got a much more awkward reception.
She noticed the boy almost immediately, going over to him and bowing politely. "Hello again, Shinji."
"Um, hello..." he replied. "How- how are you?" He was a little less angry at her, but she still made him uncomfortable at best.
"We'd better go." Ritsuko said, "They're about to close for the day."
They left the tower, with Suzu taking up the rear.
"Do yourself a favor." Asuka whispered, staring deep into the girl's red eyes. "Stay away from Shinji."
"I have no intention of harming him." Suzu insisted, "You do not trust me?"
"No," Asuka replied, bluntly, "I don't think you're here by chance. I think you're here for a reason, even if you don't know it yet. Way I see it, Gendo's still using yiu to get to us, to get to Shinji." The others stepped out into the moonlight, but Asuka blocked Suzu's path.
"So, if you don't wanna hurt him, back off, because all you can do is hurt him."
In times of war, the lives of the populace are often left forever altered, and this was no exception. In the space of just a few hours, the earth had been thrown into chaos. Not only were countless lives brought to a screeching halt, governments collapsed, whole civilisations disappeared in an instant, and the planet's environment was turned on it's head. It was far easier to count those who didn't have their lives thrown into disarray. That said, Rick Morgan could very well be among those lucky few. Before Third Impact, Rick had been a simple taxi driver, from a very small family, and fourteen years on, none of that really changed. His kin were all lucky enough to survive the disaster, and even in such a barren world, people still needed transportation. Now, Rick lived as a shuttle pilot, moving people from settlement to settlement. It wasn't a great job, but it kept his family well fed, and it was nice to shoot the shit with his passengers every now and then.
Unfortunately, the shuttle was empty on this trip, save for a lone teenager. The kid had been picked up in Outpost 7, and remained dead quiet for most of the journey, keeping his head low. For the longest time, Rick thought the boy had fallen asleep. With noone to talk to, he turned on the radio, tuning it to the world's most popular station: Babylon FM. BFM was a goverment station, based in the world capital and it broadcasted across the planet. They boasted an absolute smorgasbord of entertainment, from music, to radio plays, to call-in shows and, of course, the news. There was a brief moment of static before the voice of presenter Michael Simmons emitted from the radio "You're listening to the Nine O'Clock News on Babylon FM. Our first story this morning: the trial of Shinji Ikari is schedule to commence this afternoon. The former Third Child was recovered a few days ago, following an incident in the city of Elysium."
They played back a recording of Shinji's story. It was heavily edited to protect sensitive information, but the heart of it remained intact. "I am so, so sorry for the people I've hurt." the boy's voice echoed through the air bus, "But I'm not a monster! And I shouldn't be scapegoated for something I never even wanted." Rick's passenger looked up, blonde locks showing from beneath his hood. "I want to make things right, I want to help in any way I can. Please, let me help."
The driver shook his head as the broadcast switched back to Mr Simmons. "The ex-Pilot was placed under arrest last week, after an intense battle with NERV's latest weapon, a Mass Produced Evangelion. Babylon's top scientists have examined the remains, but were unsuccessful in uncovering new information. Meanwhile, affected districts are struggling to recover. The Industrial District has reported production down by a staggering 38%, and the Residential areas-"
Rick turned the thing off. He was in no mood for bad news today. "Damn..."he said, imagining the carnage the people must have lived through. "You sure you wanna go to Babylon, kid?"
"Yes" the young man said, without a hint of emotion.
Rick stared at the boy, studying him, trying to piece together what he was thinking behind those thin, brown eyes. The kid was a mystery. "Well, you're the boss." Rick conceded, "Not sure why you'd wanna live there, sounds like it's turning into a warzone.
"There's someone I have to meet." he said, "Someone very important to me. Someone, I have to protect."
"Looks like you found me in the nick of time." Rick mused, "Don't know how much longer Babylon's gonna stand after that mess." he took out a cigarette, igniting it with a Star Spangled lighter. "You gonna need me to get out of there?"
"No." the kid said, firmly, "When I get into town, I'm going to board the Wunder."
"Oh yeah," Rick said, "They'll still be in town won't they? Took a hell of a beating in that little standoff, didn't they?" He looked the kid over. He couldn't have been older than 16, but WILLE was known to recruit teenagers in the past. "Guess it makes sense though. With Babylon under attack, the Wunder may be the safest place on Earth." It was a testament to the state of things that such a place could be considered safe. "So this person you're 'sposed to meet, who're they?" The passenger remained quiet. "Ah well, not my business I guess."
"They're someone very special to me." came the reply, "That's all that matters."
"You know where to find him?"
"I know exactly where he is." the boy said, looking up and revealing his slender face and thin, slanted eyes, "I'm going to find him, and bring him home, no matter what it takes." There was fire in his eyes, that spoke to a deep well of resolve.
"Well, good luck to you kid." said the pilot, exhaling tobacco smoke. "What did you say you're name was?" The was a long, uncomfortably pause as the boy stared at his driver, as if studying some new, alien lifeform.
"Akio..." he said at last.
"Well, I hope you find this 'special person', Akio." Rick said as the shuttle came in to land, "And you two look after each other, ya hear? That's all anyone can do, in a world as screwed up as this."
Akio stepped out of the air bus without another word, breathing in the fresh air as he looked gazed upon the beautiful city: a bustling metropolis, home to thousands.
Each and every one of them, his enemy.
