Disclaimer: see part 1

Chain of Command

Part 6

Regroup

By Random1377

"So you're saying… we should expect them every week?"

Rei stood in front of the assembled EVA pilots, dressed in her full Commander's uniform. "I am not saying that, Pilot Klashnikov," she replied coolly, "though it might be that way. What I am saying is our research indicates that the angels have ended their period of dormancy, and they will resume their assault… we must be prepared."

"Twenty-four hour alert seems excessive," the Russian pointed out, "I mean… we all know why we're here, but making all of us stay that close? Isn't that overkill?"

"Perhaps," Rei admitted, "but I would rather be prepared for any eventuality. Wouldn't you?"

"What about our families?" Veronique Yamato inquired, "Should we be preparing them to move?"

"That will not be necessary," the blue-haired girl replied, meeting the Tenth Child's eyes levelly, "I am not saying that there is no cause for concern… but if all of you perform to the best of your abilities, everyone should be just fine." She smiled gently, "Including your husband."

The French pilot did not seem entirely convinced, but she nodded reluctantly.

"I apologize," Rei said quietly, "but we must be on guard. The angels are growing more powerful and more intelligent…" she scanned the gathered pilots, making sure she had their attention, "I do not want to see any more of you harmed."

"When is Xiang going to be released?" Melissa Aims asked, "Her brother keeps calling me, I can't make up stories forever."

The First sighed as she studied the Twelfth Child's features. "I do not know," she said finally, "but I understand she is in good condition."

-This is not going well,- she thought as the American girl pondered this, -they are scared… confused. I need them to be alert and prepared.-

"I dropped in on Xiang," Shinji said from the back row, "she said to tell everyone not to worry about her because she's getting better treatment than any of us."

Rei allowed herself a mental sigh as the others relaxed, and sought out Guteriez, thinking, -He is the only one that has seen her… how will he react to Shinji's ploy?-

The Hispanic man looked at Shinji with an odd expression for a moment, until the Third met his gaze and shook his head minutely. Finally, the Sixth nodded almost imperceptibly and looked away.

"You guys are the biggest bunch of pansies I've ever seen," Asuka said from Shinji's side, "I mean really… why you would want to be that far from the action is beyond me." She shook her head, "All I know is that when the next angel gets here, my Unit 02 is going to be the one to take it out."

"That old thing?" Mira LeBeau piped up, "What do you think you're gonna do?" she snorted, "Scream it to death? Unit 02 doesn't even have wings!"

Asuka glared at the Thirteenth. "My Unit was the basis for all of you rookie's hunks of crap, I don't need wings to kick an angel's ass…" she broke into a wicked grin, "and didn't I hear you crying over the tac-net when the angel attacked, Last Child?"

"You shut up!" Mira snapped, "I wasn't crying!"

"Souryu," Rei interjected smoothly, "I would like to have you on first watch tonight, then Shinji, then myself. That way, an experienced pilot will be on at all times."

"Makes sense," Asuka said with a shrug, "but what about David and Angelica? Couldn't they do it just as easily?"

"That is my order, Souryu," Rei replied levelly, "but to answer your question, they will be first and second watch tomorrow, with LeBeau on third."

Asuka sighed, "Whatever Wonder-" she cut herself off as Rei's mouth compressed into a thin line, "Yes, Commander…" she corrected herself, offering a mock bow, "you're the boss."

"Thank you all for your time," Rei said, bowing formally, "you are dismissed."

As the pilots headed for the door, talking in small clusters, Shinji approached her. "Can't I do second watch tomorrow?" he asked, his tone pleading, "I was gonna go out with Wu Lin and David tonight."

-I know,- the blue-haired girl thought, -that is why you are on.- To Shinji she said, "I am sorry, but the schedule is based on combat experience and time logged… I need you tonight, Shinji. I am sorry…"

"Besides which," Asuka said, coming up behind the Third Child and putting her arms around his chest, "I was going to ask you to cancel that anyway… I wanna make up for those six months we lost."

Shinji sighed as she kissed his neck. "Ok, I'll ask them if they can do it Sunday then…" he said, turning to kiss Asuka briefly before heading off to catch the other Children.

"Do not worry," Rei said quietly as Asuka frowned, "they will be on duty that night…"

"They will?" Asuka blinked, "I thought David was on tomorrow?"

"Schedules change," the blue-haired girl replied coolly, stepping past the Second and heading for the door.

The redhead watched her leave with a mixture of gratitude and anger on her face. "Don't know why she has to butt in…" she mumbled as she started for the door, "I could have found a way to stop him from going out…"

But secretly, she was glad for the help.

-One way or the other, honey,- she thought grimly, her hand clenching into a fist at her side, -one way or the other…-

**

Reiko Kaji stood pondering the situation at hand. Namely: it was near bedtime, Daddy had gotten home from work but was now out running some errands, and Mommy was talking on the phone.

Last night had been fun. She had gotten to go to Nozomi's house and Yurika's house. And to top it all off, Mommy and Daddy had come to pick her up – together! AND they were smiling.

If asked just then, Reiko would tell you that the day prior had been one of the best she had ever had. It wasn't often that she got to spend the whole day with two friends… and it was even less often that she got to see Mommy and Daddy as close as they had been – usually one or the other was working.

When she stopped to think about it, she realized it was only one day out of five or six that they were all together.

"Mommy…" she said, conveniently forgetting the standing rule not to bother grownups on the phone, "I'm bored…"

"Just a minute, honey," Misato said absently, "go play in your room for a minute, k?"

"I did already," Reiko said, pulling on her mother's sleeve, "I already played in my room, Mommy.

The thought process of a four-year-old is interestingly finite. Once something is done… it's done – there is no going back and doing more (unless, of course, it's something their parents don't want them doing).

"I'll be off in a sec," the purple-haired woman said, exasperated, "stop pestering."

"I'm not pestering," the little girl replied, clenching her eyes closed and screwing up her face, "I'm booooooorrred!"

"Hang on a sec," Misato muttered into the mouthpiece, "honey, Mommy's on an important call… go… pick out a movie to watch or something. It's almost bedtime anyway."

"I don't wanna watch a movie," Reiko pouted, "I wanna make brownies."

The thought process of the parent of a four-year-old is also rather finite. Or rather, the patience-level of an already irritated parent is finite – especially when listening to the sound of their whining offspring.

"GO PLAY!!!" the Operations Director hollered.

The young girl's eyes widened, and her bottom lip began to tremble.

"Shit," Misato whispered, "I have to go… Reiko's having a meltdown… yeah, I'll talk to you about it later… sorry…"

She hung up just as her daughter exploded into tears.

"Shhh…" the older woman said soothingly, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell…"

As was usual, the little girl was not so easily calmed. She clung to her mother and wept as if she had just been told that there was no Santa Claus and Christmas was the next day.

Misato sighed, stroking the girl's purple locks. "You know what I think?" she asked gently, "I think you're so tired you can't even stay calm. Let's get some 'jamas on you and I'll read you a story."

The little girl pulled away, rubbing her eyes and stammering, "D-Daddy s-said I could s-stay up until h-he got h-hoooooooooooome!!"

Misato flinched as her daughter's sentence ended in a high-pitched wail. "Daddy's going to be late," she said quietly, "now come on and get your 'jamas on before-"

She was interrupted as the angel alarm began to sound.

Reiko's tears were forgotten as her mother leapt to her feet, grabbing her jacket and keys.

Misato headed for the door, muttering under her breath, "I can be there in ten minutes if I-"

"Mommy?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. Turning slowly, she found her daughter standing where she'd left her in the middle of the room, her eyes wide and confused.

-I'm the worst mother ever!- Misato thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. –God… she looks so small…- "Come on, honey…" she said, kneeling and holding her arms out.

"Where are we going?" Reiko asked, wiping her running nose absently as she went to her mother's arms.

"Somewhere safe," Misato whispered, pausing a minute to kiss her girl's cheek before standing.

Reiko nodded as they went out the door, "Love you Mommy," she said, sensing her mother's agitation, "I'm sorry I was crying…"

"It's ok, honey…" Misato replied, smiling as she wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand, "I love you too…"

As they drove to the nearest shelter, Misato kept looking in the rearview mirror… wondering if she would ever be able to leave her little angel alone again.

**

The girl's locker room was in turmoil as the pilots struggled to get their plugsuits on.

"I was having the best dream," Mira sighed, pulling her arm out of her suit and turning it over so it faced the right way, "I was with this really cute guy… and things were just getting good…"

"Dreams?" Veronique snorted, unbuttoning her shirt, "I was with my husband… keep your dreams, I'll take the real thing any day…"

Melissa flushed, "You guys are awful," she whispered.

"Nothing wrong with getting it on," Angelica said, smirking as the other American turned a deeper shade of crimson, "it's only natural." Her eyes widened in surprise as Asuka ran through the door.

"Hey Souryu," Mira said, smiling as the redhead pushed past her, "weren't you and Ikari off, like, an hour ago? How did you get here so fa-"

"Mind your own fucking business, LeBeau," Asuka snapped as she opened her locker.

"Easy, tiger," Angelica said, lowering her voice as she noted that the Second Child didn't need to un-tuck her shirt, "hey… how much do you guys do it, anyway?"

"As much as possible," Asuka mumbled, stripping out of her clothes and grabbing a plugsuit.

"I know you just got back," the Ninth said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was listening, "but Asuka, geez… if you do it all now, then-"

"This isn't the time!" Asuka hissed, "It's… it's complicated, Angie…"

Angelica blinked at the desperation in her friend's voice. "Tell me sometime, k?" she asked, squeezing Asuka's shoulder gently, "I'll always listen."

"Yeah… sure…" the redhead replied, pulling the top of her suit up. –Sure…- she thought bitterly, -I can explain to you the intricacies of a six-year, up and down relationship… and while I'm at it, I'll spell out all of my fears, insecurities, and abandonment issues – that sound like a fun conversation?-

Angelica watched in silence as her friend yanked her suit the rest of the way on and pressurized it.

"Come on, you losers," Asuka said, heading for the EVA cages, "you were here when I got here and you're still not ready… fucking rookies."

The other girls (especially Mira) hurried to finish getting ready as the Second Child disappeared through the door leading to the cages.

Angelica considered the door as it swung shut, then sighed and finished getting her suit on.

**

"Target acquired," Rei said softly, "please confirm status…"

"No AT field detected yet," Maya's voice came back to her, "proceed at your own discretion, Commander."

"Guteriez, approach from the right…" the blue-haired girl said after a moment's thought, "Nagisa, take the right… I will approach directly."

"The other pilots are preparing for launch," Maya said, "you should have backup in under three minutes."

"Understood," Rei replied, "since Major Kaji has not reported in yet, I will coordinate the attack myself. We will ascertain the target's capabilities and pull back should it prove too resilient."

As the two white EVAs began to circle around the slowly advancing creature, she gripped her controls tighter. –'They are coming…'- she thought, remembering Sandelphon's words, -'they are coming, Mother… to complete the trials and ascend. They are beyond what you have faced before… and though you are the Mother, they will not show you mercy…'-

"Unit 02 standing by," Asuka's voice came to her, followed a moment later by Shinji's, indicating his readiness, "awaiting launch instructions, Commander."

Rei checked the distance between her and the angel. "Unit 01, launch and stand ready for base defense…" she said, studying the creature for signs of a core, "Unit 02, launch and stand ready on the long-range positron rifle." She nodded to herself as she gave the Second and Third their assignments, knowing that they should have been reversed, since Shinji's aim was better and Asuka was a better fighter up close… but that they would be happier this way.

-Shinji longs to protect,- she thought, tensing slightly as the angel stopped its advance, seeming to regard the three approaching EVAs, -Asuka longs to attack. And ultimately, the differences are not so much that they would endanger the others…-

"Misses Ibuki," she said, opening Unit 00's shoulder holster and drawing its progressive knife, "as the other Units are prepared, launch them as you see fit. We are commencing our attack."

As the brown-haired head of the E-division acknowledged, Rei willed the blue mecha forward. "05, 06… engage!"

The two white EVAs dropped from the sky in perfect unison, aiming for the sides of the large, slug-shaped creature.

"Pattern blue!!" Maya called out as they neared it, "AT field detected!"

Rei's mouth turned down as the two mass-production EVAs were unable to pull back… and slammed headlong into the angel's AT field, rebounding and careening away.

The angel reared back, revealing a rather sizable mouth lined with sharp-looking teeth.

"Unit 02," she called, "open fire."

A bolt of dazzling green energy streaked over her head, but dissipated as it encountered the angel's AT field.

As the redhead loosed a string of German curses, Rei narrowed her eyes. "I need to get closer…" she said thoughtfully, "I have found its core. Units 05 and 06, regroup and approach the angel from the front. Spread your AT fields as you get within one-hundred meters."

Pushing the control yokes forward, she nodded approvingly as the two white EVAs swooped in over her, hugging the ground to avoid any unexpected attacks from the large beast they were rushing.

"AT field is still holding," Maya announced.

"With two of ours countering it?" Rei asked wonderingly, –How can it be so strong?- She shook her head, "05, 06… bring your lances to bear."

The Lance of Longinus was the most powerful weapon NERV had in its possession… and the duplicate lances that the mass-production EVAs carried were almost as powerful – but they were not perfect. The copying process had only been sixty-percent complete when NERV had seized the white units, and the secret of the process was lost when SEELE member eleven (a brilliant bio-geneticist) was killed.

Therefore… they had some quirks.

"My lance isn't holding its form!" Alejandro cried out as his Unit pulled out of its dive.

"Energy reading detected inside target," Maya announced, "it's about to shoot something…"

Rei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Unit 00, engaging," she said smoothly, "05… 06… maintain your fields, 02, fire on my mark."

"Rei!" Shinji yelled, "Wait for us. It doesn't stand a chance against all the units – nothing could!"

"It must be defeated," the blue-haired girl replied, "we cannot take the risk of its attack penetrating headquarters."

Unit 00 hefted the knife in its hand and charged the angel.

"Asuka… now!"

As the blue mecha neared the creature, its AT field began to react with the angel's. At the same time, the positron rifle in Unit 02's grip fired again, the bolt of energy meeting… and smashing through the angel's field.

"AT field is down!" Maya cried out, "Energy reading still gaining… Commander, whatever you're going to do – do it!"

As she neared the angel, Rei's eyes widened. "Its mouth," she whispered.

The angel's mouth was glowing a brilliant white… Rei knew she didn't have much time left. –I can't get there fast enough,- she thought, pushing Unit 00 to move faster, -only one chance…-

"Commander!!" Maya's voice sounded panicked, "Get out of there!"

Rei willed her machine to pull it's arm back, letting out a soft cry as she whipped it forward again, releasing the progressive knife as the hand came in line with the angel's core.

She watched it leave Unit 00's hand just as the light in the angel's mouth flared even brighter… and searing pain washed over her body.

Voices reached her in a confused rush.

"Energy release is over-"

"00's been hit!"

"Commander! Comman-"

"Rei!!!!"

All of the voices abruptly went silent… as cool, soothing darkness enfolded her…

Continued…

Author's notes: what? You think I wouldn't kill Rei off? Huh?? HUH??? Just ask her – she can be replaced! :P

Ryoma is my pre-reader, I met him first online. Making limericks isn't easy, I rarely find the time. Thanks man. ^_^

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com