Disclaimer: see part 1
Chain of Command
Part 9
Release
By Random1377
"All posts report normal, Commander… nothing's going on but the rent…"
Asuka nodded absently, "Thank you, Mister Hyouga," she replied, "carry on."
The technician nodded and tuned back to his desk. This had become a regular routine over the past three days. Nothing too much had happened, and as far as Makoto was concerned, that was just fine.
As for the newly appointed Acting Commander, she was seething.
"Female has been identified as Hikari Horaki…"
"How long was she in there?"
"No more than five minutes, ma'am."
-Feeding Klashnikov's dog…- she thought bitterly, -he doesn't even have a dog anymore, he gave it away after the first attack!-
She had been in a state of duality ever since receiving that phone call from the Section Two agent she had assigned to watch Shinji (he was irreplaceable, after all), going from fiery rage to icy fear almost from moment to moment.
Moment to moment… when her mind wasn't occupied with her myriad other duties, of course.
-I can't believe she would do this to me,- Asuka thought, frowning, -she's my best friend!!- Her frown changed to a look of concern, -What if he leaves me for her? Then what? I'll be alone… all alone…-
"Something wrong, Commander?" Hines inquired as the young redhead uttered a frustrated growl.
"No," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm, "just wondering how much longer I have to sit here."
"Well, I have your schedule…" the man offered.
"I know it, but thanks," she replied, rubbing her temples.
How could she not know it? She'd studied it, looking for any time she might have more than five minutes to 'talk' to her boyfriend (of course… her idea of talking sometimes corresponded to other's idea of screaming).
Needless to say, she had not found it yet.
When she had gotten home the first night, she had been too angry and confused to broach the subject with him. Not that he had been awake anyway. She had returned to the apartment to find him asleep, sitting at the kitchen table… surrounded by the dinner he had cooked her.
She had woken him… and led him to the bedroom, where they had made love for the second time that day.
Only those close to her would understand this seemingly odd behavior. Only the people she trusted could comprehend that sex was (to Asuka, anyway) the truest form of control. It kept him close to her… and in spite of what he had done, it was the only way she could think to bind him.
Not that she wouldn't have slept with him a great deal had things been normal… she was human, after all – and very passionate about her lover.
But she might not have gone to such great lengths to make sure he was always with her.
-Tonight,- she thought, trying to push the subject from her mind, -I'll talk to him about it tonight…-
The second day of her command had been so packed with learning the ins and outs of the position that she hadn't even had time for more than a goodbye kiss in the morning. And she had been so tired that night that she hadn't been able to do more than slip into bed beside him, wrap her arms around him, and pass out.
The third day, though…
"Pilot Ikari is still off duty tonight, correct?" Asuka asked, "No sync-tests, no guard duty – no anything, right?"
Hines blinked. "Not since last time you asked," he said, smiling slightly, "and any tests or changes in duty would have to be authorized by you, so…"
She nodded grimly to herself. –I said I won't let you go,- she thought, -but I deserve to know what's going on… you owe me that much.-
Asuka sighed and closed her eyes as the seemingly endless morning stretched on towards afternoon.
**
Kensuke sat watching over the sleeping girl.
-So beautiful,- he thought, admiring her in the soft, early-evening light.
After Maya's subtle push, he had overcome his fear that someone would consider it improper, and now spent his days at her bedside. Talking to her, listening to the ever-improving reports on her condition… and occasionally holding her hand.
He had not gathered the courage to kiss her again after the one brief (though intense) kiss they had shared the first time he had visited her, and she seemed as shy as he was on the subject – if not more so.
Kensuke Aida had changed considerably in the six years he had known the blue-haired girl. He had grown taller, now standing five feet eight inches. He had built himself up with a strict routine of diet and exercise, fueled by the determination to lose the 'smallfry' nickname.
His voice had lost its childish waver, smoothing out into a rich, deep timbre. And he had even changed his glasses from the owlish round frames to smaller, more discreet ones… though he still refused to wear contacts – reasoning that his glasses were a part of what made him him, and he no longer wanted to deny who he was.
"You've changed too," he whispered softly, laying his hand over hers, "now you smile…"
She had changed other ways, as well… but these were minor details as far as he was concerned. It was her, soft, fragile smile that had drawn him to her in the first place, and as his infatuation with her had grown into something deeper, he became determined to be the one to make that smile appear. -Now if I could just work up the nerve… then I could ask you to--
"Nnnn…" the blue-haired girl moaned suddenly, breaking him from his thoughts, "coming… they're coming…"
"What?" Kensuke asked, leaning closer to her.
She shook her head, still sleeping… though no longer soundly. "They're… coming…" she whispered again, her breath suddenly coming in short, ragged pants.
Abruptly she sat up in bed, her eyes springing open as she struggled to catch her breath.
At the exact same moment… the angel alarm began to sound.
**
"What do you mean, there's nothing there?" Asuka demanded, her voice irritated.
"Just what I said," Maya replied over the tac-net, "there's definitely a blue pattern in the area… but we have no visual data…"
"Show me," the redhead answered. –Heaven forbid I should get any time with Shinji…- she thought, angrily, -if it isn't my duty, it's his… if it isn't his… it's a fucking angel…-
"I don't see anything, Commander," Shinji's voice came back to her as the visual of the target area came up on her screen, "your orders?"
-Tell me why you slept with my best friend,- she thought absently, -that's your order.- Out loud, she replied, "You, Klashnikov, LeBeau, Yamato, and me will advance… all remaining mass-produced Units circle the area… Suzuhara, you're on base-defense. Everyone clear?"
-At least it's not too close to home this time,- she thought, -wonder why it activated its field so far away?-
The thought made her uneasy. It felt too much like a trap.
As they neared the area that the Magi insisted contained an angel, Asuka tried to push the nagging thoughts of Shinji and Hikari out of her mind. –He said it would never happen again…- she reminded herself, -should I trust him? I have to trust him… I love him, but he has to be honest with me, too, I mean--
Her thought broke off as Veronique's voice reached her, "I'm having some trouble with my left arm," she said, "it's… I dunno, sluggish."
"Can you still function?" Asuka asked, "I need you here."
"Yes Ma'am," the French woman replied, "it's just kinda weird is all…"
"I'll have it inspected when you return," Maya interjected, "I noticed some minor irregularities after the last maintenance check, but I didn't have time to inspect it. Shouldn't be a problem, but I'll-"
"Hold on…" Asuka said, "thought I saw something…"
"Where?" David asked, "I don't see anything…"
"Everyone stop moving," Asuka said cautiously, "something's not right…"
"I think you're losing it, Commander," Mira said, touching Unit 13 down in the middle of the target area, "see? There's nothing-"
"Watch out!!" Shinji's cry came a moment too late as something flashed out and caught Unit 13 in the upper arm… sending the white mecha's weapon, and a good portion of its arm, crashing to the ground.
Mira screamed in pain as her machine reported the loss of the limb directly to her mind, and she launched the mecha back into the air, flapping its broad wings desperately… and barely avoiding a second attack.
"What the fuck?" David cried, "There's nothing there!!"
"Tell me something, Maya!!" Asuka said, scanning the empty field.
"I… I don't know," Maya replied, "it seems to-"
"Commander!!" Veronique cut in, "I can't move!"
Asuka turned… and her eyes widened.
Unit 10 was covered by a mass of glowing lines, almost like circuits… and it was twitching as if it had its finger caught in an electrical outlet.
"Pattern blue!" Makoto announced, "There's another angel, and it's… good God, its IN Unit 10!"
Before Asuka could decide what to do, a movement caught her eye. She dropped Unit 02 to its knees as a long, scythe-like arm shot out at her.
"Permission to fire!" David called out, "Commander! Give me the order!"
"What?" Asuka asked, backing Unit 02 up, "What are you talking about?"
"You…don't know??" he replied, sounding horrified, "The gun! The new gun!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Asuka shouted, "But if you have something, use it! Don't sit around and ask me for permission!"
"Roger!" David called.
Asuka dropped to the side as the scythe appeared again, whickering through the airspace she had just vacated.
"Firing… now!" David cried.
From the corner of her eye, Asuka saw Unit 11 bring its right arm to bear… and suddenly a bolt of green fire arced from its forearm as the Handheld Positron Pistol, Mark I, received its first combat firing.
The bolt splashed against the angel's AT field, but Asuka noticed that the field seemed to waver.
"Fire again!" she ordered, "Now!"
David protested, "But it needs time to coo-"
"NOW!" Asuka screamed.
Another bolt of energy shot from the white mecha, this time punching through the AT field and stopping seemingly in mid-air.
A high-pitched keening sound came from the area, and Asuka thought she could see the slouching outline of a huge creature in the green afterglow of the weapon's discharge.
"The AT field is gone," Maya announced, "but there's no explosion…"
Before Asuka could consider this, David's voice reached her.
"I've got feedback in the weapon," he said tensely, "shutting down to avoid detonation…"
"It did it's job," Asuka said grimly, "Veronique, what is your situation?"
The French woman's voice sounded stressed, "I can't get my Unit to move… I think the angel's trying to take it over…"
"I think so too," Maya cut in, "the Magi calculate seventy-eight percent chance that it will succeed within four minutes…" she paused, then added hesitantly, "it is my opinion that Unit 10 is a loss…"
"Activate the self-destruct," Asuka said flatly, "set it for three minutes, then eject."
"Yes Ma'am," Veronique said, her voice shaking.
"Unit 10 is gonna blow," Asuka announced, "everyone pull back."
As the rest of the Children moved away from the infested EVA, Veronique's voice burst out, "I can't eject!! I can't GET OUT!!!"
"WHAT?" Asuka shouted, "Try it again! Keep pulling the lever!"
"Unit 10 has something on its back," Mira's voice came back to her, "some kind of webbing… it's covering the entry plug completely."
"Damnit!" Asuka screamed, thinking fast, "Shinji, get Veronique out of there – tear the plug out!"
"On it," Shinji replied, his voice grim.
"Hurry," Asuka urged, "she's only got two minutes and five seconds left…"
The purple mecha raced towards the writhing white one, its pilot's hands wrapped tightly around the control yokes.
Before it could reach the stricken Unit's side, however…
"Pattern blue!" Maya cried out, "The other angel's not dead!"
Asuka watched in horror as Unit 01 rebounded off of something unseen, careening to the ground.
"Shinji!!" she cried. As she willed Unit 02 to stop and turn, Unit 09 dropped out of the sky, tackling the red machine and hurling it to the ground. "Get off me!!" the redhead screamed, the last thoughts of infidelity blasted from her mind in light of the danger of losing him in a much more tangible way, "Shinji! SHINJI!!"
"Get a hold of yourself!" Angelica shouted, spreading Unit 09's wings over both of their machines, "You'll get yourself killed!!!"
"Sixty seconds," Maya announced, wondering how the time had gone by so fast.
"I don't care!!" Asuka screamed, "Get off me! SHINJI!!!!"
"God, help me!" Veronique screamed, "Get me out! Somebody HELP ME!!"
Shinji brought Unit 01 to its feet, looking around wildly for the invisible angel.
"Forty seconds," Maya said, her voice tense, "God… we can't stop the destruct sequence!"
Shinji made his move, pushing forward on the yokes and hoping that the angel would be more interested in sneaking up from behind than stopping him from reaching the downed EVA.
He was to be disappointed.
Asuka watched in horror as the angel's scythe-like arm appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Unit 01's shoulder and hurling it back to the ground.
Everything seemed to slow down.
Unit 01 grabbed the scythe and tried to free itself… Unit 02 struggled to get out from under Unit 09 and help its pilot's lover… Unit 10 curled in on itself like a child with a stomachache… and all the while, Maya continued the inexorable countdown.
"Gotcha!" Shinji cried, bringing Unit 01's fist down on the angel's arm and breaking it off.
For Asuka, the next ten seconds would be forever etched into her memory.
Unit 01… rising to its feet and seeming to grab thin-air as the angel's blood marked its location.
Unit 10's chest plate splitting open to reveal its core… which was glowing a bright, angry red.
Maya's voice coming over the tac-net… sounding incredibly hollow, "Her core's collapsing… it's past critical…"
Veronique's voice… hysterically sobbing one word, "TOMMY!!!"
Her own voice… screaming another.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
And the deafening explosion that marked the death of Unit 10…
Continued…
Author's notes: ummm… I can't think of any. Writing that ending took too much out of me.
Thanks again to Ryoma for pre-reading. I don't owe you one… I owe you ((counts on fingers)) a lot. ^_^
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com