The Pony Express
Chapter 3: Benedict Arnold
By the Red Horseman
* * * *
"There is no such thing as justice. There is only the desire to see the pain spread around equally."
"There is no such thing as overkill."
---A Day For Damnation
* * * *
Trees shredded effortlessly under the heavy aerial bombardment as the attack choppers pumped rockets at their target. On the fringes of the devastation, armored troopers were making their way through dense jungle. A cry of victory went out over the network when one of the rockets finally struck the intruder. For the briefest of moments, the pursuing soldiers stared into the heart of a nuclear maelstrom. The echo of the nuclear self- destruct of the decoy echoed off the surrounding hills and turned communications into static.
From miles away, Shinji heard the dull thump of the detonation and stopped to lean against a nearby wooden giant. He grabbed his canteen and swore at the red light on its cap telling him decontamination wasn't yet completed. Swearing, he replaced the container on his belt and wiped at his sweaty brow before restarting his perilous trek. He knew with the destruction of his decoy that he was down to two more before he was on his own. However, there was no doubt in his mind that he would survive and that he'd collect his due when he returned.
"Damn you father," he muttered under his breath.
- - - -
The preparatory school had some weird guidelines for graduation Shinji had learned when he had finally looked over the paperwork. A cultural requirement wasn't exactly new to him, but requiring students to attend various monthly events was. Though unlike other sections where the homeroom teachers choose the event, their section had adopted the concept of allowing the students to input suggestions. The class had compromised and voted between two events after spending a week sifting through a variety of ideas. Not that he really had anything to complain about when the decision had been finalized.
A symphony performance was quite soothing and entertaining compared to other events the class had been to before. It also gave him time to think, something he had been doing a lot of in the past three months. He didn't exactly hate having to use his brain, especially at school or on a mission. What he disliked was the downtime between school, missions, or anything that normally occupied him. At those times he had found himself thinking too much about the past, his father, everyone he had met, his own actions, and a deluge of memories. And it annoyed him because he had spent so much time not thinking about that kind of stuff before his transfer.
"So this is where you disappeared to, Shinji."
The young man turned his attention from the performance to see half-a-dozen students occupying the seats around him. His hackles briefly rose at the interruption and unwanted company before he calmed himself. Though he had wanted to be by himself, he should've known that his friends would've eventually found him during one of the intermissions. He rarely found himself alone at school since befriending Touji and Hikari. It had slightly irritated him since he wondered if they were that hard up for company until he learned that they found him intriguing.
"Shouldn't you be sitting next to your girlfriend?" he whispered to Touji who had sat next to him.
The jock stiffened. "Girlfriend? What are you talking about?"
"Hikari."
"Don't know what you're talking about." Touji smiled nervously when the class representative turned in her seat.
"Forget I said anything," Shinji moaned. "My ex-girlfriend said I was dense, but I think you have me beat in that area."
It hadn't taken long for Kensuke to fill him in on everything that was happening in school from tests to relationships. The romances didn't really matter to him except to prove his hypothesis concerning Touji and Hikari. He knew that he had been thick at times with Kaname during their relationship but nothing like he had seen. There was no way someone could miss the signs that someone liked them, but he had been wrong with Touji. Of course, Hikari wasn't exactly helping her cause by being so demure in her pursuits of the man. Moreover, the response of the class enforcer showed even the direct assault wasn't going to work, and he just didn't have the patient or experience to make him see the truth.
"So when are you going to take us on a tour of your ship?"
Kensuke was as a jack of all trades with a finger in everything, especially information gathering. He had the tenaciousness of a reporter at digging up secrets, but with a healthy dose ethics. If something he dug up could injure an innocent person, he didn't release what he had found, even to his friends. However, if no one could be hurt, or trace the information specifically back to him then Kensuke put out what he had found for all to read. His serious lack of implants hampered his efforts and so his information mainly revolved school and Olympus City.
Shinji still hadn't found a reason for Touji and Kensuke's relationship after so long. One of them was interested in sports while the other enjoyed watching movies. While Touji was loud and brash, Kensuke liked to hang out in the background. Also one of them followed the rules both in school and society while the other flaunted his ability in breaking them. They did have a couple things in common but nothing to explain the relationship. Both of them were friends with Hikari, who seemed to temper their personalities at times when they were together. Also they were quite interested in the opposite sex and went out of their way to voice their opinion on women.
"If you don't keep you mouth shut, never," he told Kensuke. 'And speaking of women.'
The three teenagers who had accompanied his friends had been quietly talking amongst themselves, but had perked up at Kensuke's comment. A petite raven-haired woman glanced over her shoulder and spotted him studying them. His smile never reached his eyes when she grinned at him before turning her attention back to her friends. A pinch of the nerves caused Kensuke to yelp and glare at him, but he ignored it.
"And speaking of keeping one's mouth shut," he began. "What is it with you and spreading rumors about me?"
The man grinned. "I thought you'd appreciate it. After all, you look like you could use the company of a young woman."
"You're one to talk!" he shot back. "Just drop the attempts at matchmaking and I won't have to hurt you.
Kensuke's laugh was little jittery, but he agreed. "If you say so."
"I do."
- - - -
The concert had ended like all symphony concerts and that had been on an anticlimactic note. Most of the attendees, especially the students, had quickly dispersed when conductor had bowed at the end. He had remained in his seat, intending to be the last one out of concert hall but his friends had stayed. The girls who had been talking had brought up the idea of dinner, which he had been prepared to reject. However, the look Hikari had shot at him when he was about to voice his disagreement had silenced him. He had quietly trailed behind making polite conversation in order not to appear rude to the women. And that was how he had ended up on the roof of the establishment staring at the stars.
Dinner had gone smoothly with everyone ordering a different dish and sharing it with the others. He had ended up sitting next to Jennifer, the girl with black hair, and they had talked. From the moment he had seen her in the concert hall, throwing looks his way he had been on alert. She had been about as subtle as a wing of assault shuttles making reentry in the middle of the night. He had quietly excused himself and made his way to the outdoor dining area, which had been conveniently empty. Naturally, she had appeared behind him barely five minutes after he had left the table.
"You know your shyness is kind of cute, Shinji," she purred.
"I'm not shy, I'm just not interested," he answered brusquely.
"Why? Am I that ugly or are you..."
"Don't even think about finishing that statement." He turned to face her. "Listen closely, Jennifer. You are not ugly, but I am not interested."
"But..." Shinji closed his eyes not wanting to continue the conversation.
"Ikari."
The cool emotionless voice was like a sharp blade cutting through the tension on the rooftop. Shinji opened his eyes and turned to where the voice had come from to see Rei in the door. She was wearing a conservative suit and the same look she always wore, but he was still happy to see her. Giving Jessica a nod he walked over to where the azure-haired woman stood, stopping at the fringe of her coldness. Her crimson eyes betrayed nothing of what she was thinking about what she had either seen or heard. Shinji swallowed and reached out to gently grip her arm and turn her around so they could leave before the blonde said anything. Rei waited until they had exited the establishment before touching his fingers and getting him to release her.
"Your father wants to speak to you."
- - - -
Shinji felt his jubilation evaporating faster than a snowball on Venus. For the last hour, he had been in the antechamber of his father's office with nothing to distract him. He briefly wondered if he should've just disappeared with Jennifer and told Rei to tell his father he'd see him later. He quickly dismissed that idea since he had been speaking the truth about not being interested. Besides, he wasn't going to give his father pleasure in providing another source of leverage in his life. He turned from studying a landscape of NERV's first terraformed planet at hearing a chime behind him.
He immediately recognized the room as the one he had been held in the time his father had blackmailed him. The modifications done with the addition of a few accessories did nothing to hide that fact. And even if they had done a better job the massive black desk, the cold ebony walls, and Gendo's grim visage gave it away. Shinji matched his father's appearance as he sat in a tall well-padded chair across from the bastard. Again, neither man said a word instead content to study the other and wait for the other to make the first move.
"I guess I'll go first then," Shinji quipped though his face was serious. "What do you want this time, father?"
The older man didn't react. "I have a job for you, Shinji."
"No, fucking shit! I would've never guessed that since you would never give me the gratification of a social visit."
Shinji didn't even have the satisfaction of his harsh words getting a reaction from the scoundrel. The man before him simply reached out and touched a panel on his desk and again a screen appeared before him. Resigning himself to his current fate, he turned his attention to the screen before him and began to read. The hatred within him, which had started to cool, flared back into a full inferno at what he saw before him. The desk shook when he stood abruptly, his fists slamming into the synthetic material.
"I don't do assassinations, especially for business entities!"
Gendo let his son almost reach the doors. "You will do this."
"And how are you going to make me do this," Shinji retorted. "You have nothing with which to blackmail me this time."
"Recordings of your mother."
The four simple words sent Shinji flying toward his father, every hardwired program blazing. His outstretched arm flew toward the throat of Gendo stopping mere inches from flesh. Sweat beaded on Shinji's brow as he put all his strength into breaching the barrier before him. However, the harder he tried the more resistance his endeavor met until five minutes later he gave up. Retracting his arm, he settled for glaring at the man before spinning around and stalking toward the office's doors.
"You leave in six hours."
"Fuck you!"
- - - -
For the first time in three days, Shinji allowed himself to look out upon the world with his real eyes. Half an hour after they had jumped into hyperspace, he had disconnected himself from his body losing himself in the face. And he was paying for that detachment as his body protested every movement he forced upon it. Minutes later he was finally able to stand without being blinded or feeling intense vertigo. Leaning against the cool bulkhead, he turned his head to find out where the soft breathing he had been hearing was coming from.
He chastised himself for forgetting that for the first time he had a partner or a watcher as he had labeled her. Rei was sleeping in the opposite bunk, blissfully oblivious to his actions and pain. She actually looked like a fully human teenage girl when she slept, he thought staring down upon her. Yet he knew that was a lie and so he stopped looking before he woke her up. Finally noticing his cold feet, he pulled on some boots and exited unaware of crimson eyes studying him.
The walk to the transport's command deck was blessedly short and he soon found himself nestled in the pilot's seat. Sitting in the acceleration chair with the cushions molding themselves to his body, he worked out the kinks. He had forgotten how much abuse a body occurred simply from not moving for days while the mind was somewhere else. When the protesting pain died to a dull throb, he reached out to the console and withdrew a thin strand. Carefully inserting the tip into a socket at his temple, he once again disappeared back into the face.
A multitude of electronic voices screamed for his attention like little puppies before the main AI overrode them all. With detached interest, he inspected the maintenance displays of the transport's systems and subsystems, which were all green. A mental command cleared his vision and a couple seconds passed before he found what he needed. He rode the link to a gravitational array and blinked electronically at the scene before him.
"You do not find this disturbing, Ikari?" Rei's voice was even more eerie in the face.
"Not in the least, Rei. It's oddly soothing when you take the time to study it." Somehow, her presence didn't disturb him.
What they were talking about was the display of hyperspace that the array was feeding into their crystals. A majority of the space travelling population grew sick at seeing the churning kaleidoscope of gravity bands. It was reasonable since the bands were always in a state of flux and a ship riding a certain wave was also in motion while it followed the twisting path. And the first time he had gazed out on the maelstrom he had become violently sick, but he hadn't given up. After a year of jumping, he had slowly become acclimated to hyperspace and soon found the tempest tranquil.
He felt her electronic presence as she descended and moved to take up position on his left side. After a few minutes of silent observing, Shinji felt his attention shifting toward the girl. Rude didn't really describe his behavior toward her when they had boarded the transport at NERV. He had been an absolute frigid asshole something he had never been and knew he had been taking his anger out on her. Still he wondered if his fury and forced separation had even affected her. His attempt at speaking went nowhere when he noticed the warning light of impending jump-out in the corner of his vision.
"I'm sorry, Rei."
- - - -
The ultra-light reconnaissance drone provided a constant display of the surrounding terrain and all movement within range. Now, Shinji was nestled under camouflage netting while his body armor continually suppressed his thermal and bio-signatures studying that map. He was on the periphery of the jungle and grasslands overlooking a four-lane highway. Of course, he was fifteen kilometers away with the barrel of his rail gun projecting just beyond the edge of the netting. A red reticule appeared with alphanumerics denoting that his target had just left his business.
He hated assassinations that in his mind served no purpose, especially when it advanced one ideology over another. And that was what his father was having him do by murdering the chief executive officer of a little-known manufacturing company. For the briefest of moments, he considered aborting the mission and damn his father and the recordings of his mother. He could've left it for Rei, but she was two hundred kilometers away carrying out her own mission. Sighing, he activated his hardwiring and lost all emotions as the drugs and programming took over.
An indifferent command caused the gun's generator to spool up and begin charging its internal capacitors for the shot. He heard the almost inaudible hum of a chambering round; knowing a simple three-pronged clasp was holding it in place. Shinji knew that at his command, the round would be released and accelerated down the two meter barrel by magnets until it left the barrel at a velocity of 160 kilometers per second. Once that occurred nothing could stop the hypersonic projectile except extremely thick and dense armor, and his target wouldn't have armor. His thumb slid across the safety as the reticule cleared the hills and he gently pulled on the trigger.
His vision turned red as alarms shrieked in his head at the protests of the gun. Not even taking the time to acknowledge the displays, Shinji's hardwiring already had him in motion. Servos hummed and he flew two meters from the gun landing on his feet. The moment his boots touched firm ground, he was sprinting through the jungle dodging trees before diving into a depression. His vision blackened when the overrides for his vision kicked in and he heard the sharp crack of the gun self-destructing. Before his hearing had returned, he was putting as much distance between him and his former position.
"Damn it!"
The whistle of incoming rounds drowned his curse out before the ground shook at their detonation. Shinji didn't acknowledge their presence as another electronic scream reverberated in his skull when a surface to air missile took out his drone. He overrode his hardwiring after six kilometers slowing to a trot and finally taking stock of his situation. That he had been betrayed was a given, but his immediate survival took precedence over getting revenge on those who had sold him out.
Accessing the last overlay from his drone, he plotted the possible positioning of the artillery and their protective soldiers. Crimson circles still speckled the map even after he had removed placements in rivers and mountains. Groaning, he cleared his display keeping only those that he might have a probability of encountering. Once he had that accomplished, he called up the list of possible hideouts he had assembled days ago. All the while he was continuing to run through the jungle his senses straining to pick up any anomalies before finally altering course.
Two hours later and three patrols dodged, the roar of water filled Shinji's hearing and he finally relaxed. Moving to the edge of the cliff, he gazed at the falls before falling flat and studying the cliff face. Minutes later, he spotted the slight depression he had been looking for and got to his feet moving to a large boulder. Shrugging out of his pack, he searched through a side pocket quickly finding what he needed.
Taking a small disk with an eyelet mounted in the center he pressed it against the rock and waited for it to molecularly bond with the stone. Once done, he reached back into his pack and withdrew one hundred meters of monofilament cable. He fed it through the winch at his waist and attached it to the eyelet before throwing the coil over the cliff. Taking a deep breath, he eased himself over the edge before releasing his breath and repelling down the rock face.
- - - -
Shinji Ikari was alone for the first time since his mother's death and his abandonment. He had always had someone to talk to, whether it was a real person or simply an AI. However, as he sat huddled up in the corner of the cave he had taken refuge in he felt alone and scared. He missed Yui's conversation after a mission, or Rebecca's way of speaking that allowed him to let go of his tension. Now, he'd even accept Touji and Kensuke's useless banter about sports, school, or women. Yet he had none of that and with the rush of combat and fighting for his survival gone, he was lonely.
After he had entered the cave, he had immediately inspected his equipment with a critical eye. What he had found only reinforced what he had already known. The saboteur had ensured the destruction of the equipment he hadn't personally inspected or packed before the mission. His vandal had overlooked his fully charged pistol and carbine along with four decoys. Unfortunately, the person ensured he'd run out of food in five days and unable to communicate with anyone.
Smoothing out a hardcopy of the area, he plotted his position comparing it to his original drop zone and the spaceport. He knew that returning to his landing craft wouldn't be possible. It would've been the first place that the soldiers would've looked since his betrayer would've made sure to provide a signal to locate it. Sneaking into the spaceport would be a daunting task and just not because of security. At his best possible speed and cutting his rations in half it'd take fourteen days to reach, four days after he'd run out of food.
Closing his eyes, Shinji knew that he had no choice but to make for the spaceport and try to either sneak aboard a ship, or hijack one. He replaced the map in a hip pocket and lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. For the longest time, he tried dredging up memories when he'd been in situations like the current one, but quickly gave up. Pulling the thin thermal blanket over himself, he turned on his side using his pack as a pillow and soon fell asleep.
- - - -
Trees shredded effortlessly under the heavy aerial bombardment as the attack choppers pumped rockets at their target. On the fringes of the devastation, armored troopers were making their way through the thinning forest. A cry of victory went out over the network when one of the rockets finally impacted with the intruder. For the briefest of moments, the pursuing soldiers stared into the heart of a nuclear maelstrom. The echo of the nuclear self-destruct of the decoy echoed off the surrounding hills and turned communications into static.
From kilometers away, Shinji heard the dull thump of the detonation and stopped to lean against a nearby tree. He grabbed his canteen and swore at the red light on its cap telling him decontamination wasn't yet completed. Swearing, he replaced the container on his belt and wiped at his sweaty brow before restarting his perilous trek. He knew with the destruction of his decoy that he was down to two more before he was on his own. Still there was no doubt in his mind that he'd survive and that he'd collect his due when he returned.
"Damn you father," he muttered under his breath.
The spaceport was only three hours away at his best speed but he was tired and hungry. For the last couple of days, he had used stimulants to force himself to stay awake while ignoring his growling stomach. Not only, that but the patrols had grown thicker while his cover was thinning out into grasslands. He had wisely saved his decoys for this part of his trek and with a groan he activated the one fifteen kilometers south of his position. The last one he put on standby with orders to head for the cargo entrance of the spaceport.
Dark puffs of smoke quickly appeared over the area his decoy was entering, but the airbursts missed. From his position, he couldn't see the cautious approach of the attack helicopters, but he could hear them. He toggled a switch for the decoy activating its self-destruct when a black dot hovered in the distance. With that done, he finally eased out into the grasslands and took up a zigzagging course.
- - - -
The touch of something cold and damp placed on his forehead caused Shinji to wake from his slumber. With a lot of effort, he forced himself to open his eyes and instantly regretted it, but he didn't close them. Trying to turn his head, he quickly realized that he had been strapped into the bunk and his neck braced by his rescuers. He felt a small tube at his lips and tasted filtered, cold water when he finally took a tentative sip. His benefactor removed the straw after a couple soothing sips, and a woman's face appeared above his own. Short reddish-brown hair framed a gentle face while green eyes calmly studied him.
"Who... are you...?" Shinji croaked after a couple attempts.
"Lieutenant Christine Weber of the Colonial Marine Corps Heavy Cruiser Ramiel," she answered. "We're one hour from reaching Martian orbit."
Her statement only confused the man because the last thing he clearly remembered was sprinting across a taxiway toward an open hatch. Everything was fuzzy after the moment he had stepped inside the airlock until he blacked out. Panic rose up within Shinji when he remembered why he had blacked out and he tried sitting up. Again the medical bunk restrained him and Lieutenant Weber smiled at his efforts. Pressing a button on his bed, she sat down on a chair that rose out of the floor.
"So why were you being targeted by the Gryphons?" She noticed his discomfort and reassured him, "You're not under arrest or anything, Mister Ikari."
"I was doublecrossed."
"By whom?"
"I don't know," he told her.
Christine nodded. "That's a common occurrence in your profession."
Shinji found himself growing drowsy and wondered what else had been in the water he had drunk. However, he also found himself not wanting to talk anymore about what had happened. That his attackers had a name didn't matter since they wouldn't disclose their client's name. All he would be able do was put out his own feelers and hire a few of the best crackers in the business. He could press his father for information but that would've been a useless endeavor because the bastard would never yield. Yet, before he could drift back into sleep there was one bit of information he needed from the woman.
"How did I end up here?" he inquired.
"You ran into our shuttle with a squad of mercenaries hot on your heels," Weber began. "Normally we would've turned you over to them once verifying their claims or contract, but we were looking for you."
"What?" He tried to sit up, but for the third time, the bed held him in place.
"Marines have long memories and they're even longer when they involve famous officers," she explained. "We received a signal from one of our former officers to be on the lookout for you and to render any assistance."
He knew about whom she was talking. "Misato Katsuragi."
"That'd be Major Katsuragi and that's all you need to know!"
"But..."
She pressed a hypo against his neck. "No buts, Mister Ikari. And it's time for you to go back to sleep."
- - - -
"How are you doing?" Misato asked, stepping through the door.
"Okay considering everything that's happened," he told her.
After sleeping on the cruiser, he had woken in the sterile environment of a hospital. That surprise had been nothing compared to the shock of what had happened. He remembered taking a couple injuries, but had dismissed them thinking they were minor. But minor never resulted in amputation or replacement of body parts.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Shinji."
"It's not a big deal, Misato," he repeated holding up his right arm.
He had taken a heavy round in the arm and despite the doctors attempts they had had to amputate it above the elbow. Currently, the stump was sealed in a clear container filled with laced LCL to keep the nerve endings stimulated and the flesh nourished. A brace enclosed his knee, keeping it immobilized while his body healed from the operation. Sure this was the first time he had suffered so much on mission, but all in all, it wasn't severe.
"My replacement arm will be grown and attached in a couple days," he told her. "After that, it'll be another day of testing to make sure all the connections are working. Once that's done all they have to do is reintegrate the nerves back into my combat software." He gave her a small smile. "Like I said nothing to be worked up about."
"And what about your accusations?" she whispered. "What are you going to do about them?"
Shinji closed his eyes thinking and reopened. "I don't know what I'm going to do about the doublecross."
"You don't know, or you do know but you're not going to tell me."
"I don't know what I'm going to do," he repeated. He grabbed a glass off a small tray and drank in silence. When he was done, he looked at Misato. "So you want to tell me what happened?"
She looked at him puzzled. "Tell you what?"
"You know," he chuckled at her surprise. "What got you kicked out of the Marines?"
"What brought that up?"
"Marine cruisers aren't in the habit of helping civilians, let alone taking orders from them," he told her. "Not only that but the lieutenant mentioned something about famous officers. In addition, she emphasized your rank when I mentioned your name. So you want to tell me what happened?"
"Periapt."
The single word hit Shinji like the round that had claimed his arm and he sat there quietly. Everyone knew the planet by that name and the rebellion that had sprung up because Federation laws. It had lasted for ten years and been a brutal war where both sides had committed atrocities. Both the Federation and rebels had used chemical and nano weapons on lightly defended population centers. Six years earlier though the rebellion ended brutally with the deaths of its leaders and their subordinates. Five thousand people had died in a single massive operation with none of rebels surviving the attack. The dead included woman and children in their teens, which caused a cry of outrage in the media.
"You follow orders and successfully complete the mission given to you and you still end being screwed," she bitterly replied. "I got a promotion and a general discharge all at the same time. A pat on the back and a boot to the ass for my services."
"Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" She moved from the wall to a chair. "You weren't responsible for my actions or the Corps decision."
"I'm sorry for bringing up the past," he explained. "You probably wanted to forget it."
"I never said that, did I?" She reached and ruffled his hair. "There are things in life that you can never have control over. The best you can do is learn from them and move on. It hurt my pride when I was discharged but I realized that there was nothing I could do."
The pair fell silent each having said their piece and thinking of what each had said. Shinji quietly studied Misato's face and realized that despite her words what had happened to her still hurt. Her eyes were distant although she was staring at him, a sure sign that she was reliving a piece of her past. Yet as he reached for her hand, she gave herself a good shake and came out of her self-induced trance. Her eyes locked onto his and he could tell she had reached a decision about something.
"You know you can trust me, Shinji," she began. "Even though I work for your father doesn't mean I gave up my right to think independently. If you need help or anything I'll stand by your side."
"I know but for the moment I can't do anything until I get more information." He grinned. "When I learn more I'll inform you."
"Thanks."
- - - -
"I see."
Shinji stood up from where he had been sitting and walked toward the office doors. He could barely hear the servos of the unit strapped around his knee as he walked. What he had said to Misato in the hospital hadn't been the complete truth. Sure his arm had healed quickly and been reintegrated with his software, but his knee was another story. The joint had been completely destroyed and rebuilt resulting in a dull throb as his body adapted to the replacement parts. Yet, it wasn't the physical pain that had him leaving.
He should've known that the bastard wouldn't hold up to his end of the bargain, but he had hoped. And his hope had been crushed under reality, as his logic had proved correct. Gendo had patiently listened to his arguments without showing a hint of emotion. Silence had filled the room before the man had refused his plea for a portion of the recordings. He hadn't completed the job and therefore he wasn't entitled to any compensation, although he had been ambushed.
"Don't do anything you'll regret."
Gendo felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when his son glanced over his shoulder. He expected a look of outrage or even sadness, but he was disappointed. Shinji's face was empty of all emotions, his eyes dark blue barriers as he stared back at him. Then without saying another word, Shinji triggered the door sensor and strode out of the office.
- - - -
"This has gone on long enough?"
Misato felt her eyebrow twitch as she muttered those words while staring down at Shinji. She had let the young man alone, having known what happened both on the mission and afterward. Still she could only tolerate so much of his behavior. Five days had passed since he had retreated to his room without once exiting it. The school had called asking for details because he had been missing for a month, and all she could tell them was that he'd be back the next day. It was that promise that had forced her hand and she had walked into his bedroom to find him in the face.
Reaching down she pulled out a thin wire and carefully attached it to a socket at her temple. There transition from reality to cyberspace was immediate as the room disappeared from her vision. Nausea washed over Misato as a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes assaulted her. It took a moment for her crystal to translate the data and shift the surroundings into something less confusing. Still Misato had to study her environment before realizing what she was seeing rushing past her.
Every cybernetically enhanced person she knew personalized how he or she interpreted data. Some had created a model of an office where they could sit at a desk. Others had used nature scenes with animals representing a packet of information. A few people liked to organize the data flow into a wall that they flew over picking out what they needed. What they all had in common was a sense of order, a representation of their lives.
Shinji's personalization was a chaotic swirling mass flowing in all directions. Yet, as she floated and in a data stream Misato saw that it wasn't unorganized. A command sent her flying to a trail of information which flowed in the opposite direction of its compatriots. She screamed when something snagged her avatar and began dragging her into the center of the storm. Fighting was useless since she couldn't see captor, so she relaxed as much as possible during her involuntary journey. After what seemed several minutes, Misato smiled when she spotted three figures standing upon a disk in the distance.
"Misato," Shinji cordially greeted her when she finally stood before him. "Thank you for bringing her, Yui."
The security officer was shocked when a female materialized. "You're welcome, Shinji."
"I want you three to continue to coordinate your efforts," the bounty hunter told the people surrounding him. "I know it's rough with all the security, but its imperative that we crack that wall."
"We know what we have to do," Maya grumbled. "But you realize that we're talking about level twenty security demon patrols at the very least. We don't even know what we'll find when we break through."
Hyuga patted her shoulder. "And we do know all our lives are at stake with the doublecross."
"Sorry, it's just that this is..."
"It's all right," Yui told him before the trio started fading. "We'll be in touch."
Misato was shocked when the chaos disappeared and a facsimile of her living room appeared before her. She watched her charge walk over to the couch and collapse into it with a heavy sigh. Moving to her favorite chair, Misato sat down and waited her anger somewhat diminished. It didn't take long for Shinji to lower his gaze from staring into infinity to look at her.
"You're pissed at me," he stated with a smirk.
"A little," she answered. "You've been here for five days, and your school is wondering when you'll be returning."
"Sorry."
"That's not going to work with me, mister." She stood up and walked over to him. The young man wasn't intimidated while she towered over him. "Of course, I'm mad."
"Then how about a nice dinner?"
"Jerk! I've been worried about you!"
"Sorry."
- - - -
"So what are you going to do about your son?"
Gendo continued to stare at the ceiling ignoring Ritsuko caressing his chest. His son had been close when he had called the blonde woman a fuck toy. She was nothing like Yui in bed or work, but she did fill a hole in his life. Wincing when nails dug into his chest, he turned his eyes to woman next to him and frowned at seeing her lighting up.
"Nothing," he told her.
Ritsuko blew a column of smoke toward the ceiling. "You know it's dangerous to let him run around without control. SEELE won't tolerate any interference from him nor will you."
"It is of no consequence to me what my son does."
"You're playing both sides against one another, aren't you," the blonde didn't have to wait for an answer. "It's just like what you did with Periapt and the rebels. You're playing a dangerous game with SEELE, Gendo."
"Indeed."
* * * *
Nothing much to say here. Asuka and Kaji will finally make their appearance in the next chapter. I haven't really decided how I'm going to portray their relationship. However, I am leaning toward how Sadamoto shows it in the manga. As for her relationship with Shinji, I have a clearer idea.
C&C welcome at eva_pilot9@doramail.com
By the Red Horseman
* * * *
"There is no such thing as justice. There is only the desire to see the pain spread around equally."
"There is no such thing as overkill."
---A Day For Damnation
* * * *
Trees shredded effortlessly under the heavy aerial bombardment as the attack choppers pumped rockets at their target. On the fringes of the devastation, armored troopers were making their way through dense jungle. A cry of victory went out over the network when one of the rockets finally struck the intruder. For the briefest of moments, the pursuing soldiers stared into the heart of a nuclear maelstrom. The echo of the nuclear self- destruct of the decoy echoed off the surrounding hills and turned communications into static.
From miles away, Shinji heard the dull thump of the detonation and stopped to lean against a nearby wooden giant. He grabbed his canteen and swore at the red light on its cap telling him decontamination wasn't yet completed. Swearing, he replaced the container on his belt and wiped at his sweaty brow before restarting his perilous trek. He knew with the destruction of his decoy that he was down to two more before he was on his own. However, there was no doubt in his mind that he would survive and that he'd collect his due when he returned.
"Damn you father," he muttered under his breath.
- - - -
The preparatory school had some weird guidelines for graduation Shinji had learned when he had finally looked over the paperwork. A cultural requirement wasn't exactly new to him, but requiring students to attend various monthly events was. Though unlike other sections where the homeroom teachers choose the event, their section had adopted the concept of allowing the students to input suggestions. The class had compromised and voted between two events after spending a week sifting through a variety of ideas. Not that he really had anything to complain about when the decision had been finalized.
A symphony performance was quite soothing and entertaining compared to other events the class had been to before. It also gave him time to think, something he had been doing a lot of in the past three months. He didn't exactly hate having to use his brain, especially at school or on a mission. What he disliked was the downtime between school, missions, or anything that normally occupied him. At those times he had found himself thinking too much about the past, his father, everyone he had met, his own actions, and a deluge of memories. And it annoyed him because he had spent so much time not thinking about that kind of stuff before his transfer.
"So this is where you disappeared to, Shinji."
The young man turned his attention from the performance to see half-a-dozen students occupying the seats around him. His hackles briefly rose at the interruption and unwanted company before he calmed himself. Though he had wanted to be by himself, he should've known that his friends would've eventually found him during one of the intermissions. He rarely found himself alone at school since befriending Touji and Hikari. It had slightly irritated him since he wondered if they were that hard up for company until he learned that they found him intriguing.
"Shouldn't you be sitting next to your girlfriend?" he whispered to Touji who had sat next to him.
The jock stiffened. "Girlfriend? What are you talking about?"
"Hikari."
"Don't know what you're talking about." Touji smiled nervously when the class representative turned in her seat.
"Forget I said anything," Shinji moaned. "My ex-girlfriend said I was dense, but I think you have me beat in that area."
It hadn't taken long for Kensuke to fill him in on everything that was happening in school from tests to relationships. The romances didn't really matter to him except to prove his hypothesis concerning Touji and Hikari. He knew that he had been thick at times with Kaname during their relationship but nothing like he had seen. There was no way someone could miss the signs that someone liked them, but he had been wrong with Touji. Of course, Hikari wasn't exactly helping her cause by being so demure in her pursuits of the man. Moreover, the response of the class enforcer showed even the direct assault wasn't going to work, and he just didn't have the patient or experience to make him see the truth.
"So when are you going to take us on a tour of your ship?"
Kensuke was as a jack of all trades with a finger in everything, especially information gathering. He had the tenaciousness of a reporter at digging up secrets, but with a healthy dose ethics. If something he dug up could injure an innocent person, he didn't release what he had found, even to his friends. However, if no one could be hurt, or trace the information specifically back to him then Kensuke put out what he had found for all to read. His serious lack of implants hampered his efforts and so his information mainly revolved school and Olympus City.
Shinji still hadn't found a reason for Touji and Kensuke's relationship after so long. One of them was interested in sports while the other enjoyed watching movies. While Touji was loud and brash, Kensuke liked to hang out in the background. Also one of them followed the rules both in school and society while the other flaunted his ability in breaking them. They did have a couple things in common but nothing to explain the relationship. Both of them were friends with Hikari, who seemed to temper their personalities at times when they were together. Also they were quite interested in the opposite sex and went out of their way to voice their opinion on women.
"If you don't keep you mouth shut, never," he told Kensuke. 'And speaking of women.'
The three teenagers who had accompanied his friends had been quietly talking amongst themselves, but had perked up at Kensuke's comment. A petite raven-haired woman glanced over her shoulder and spotted him studying them. His smile never reached his eyes when she grinned at him before turning her attention back to her friends. A pinch of the nerves caused Kensuke to yelp and glare at him, but he ignored it.
"And speaking of keeping one's mouth shut," he began. "What is it with you and spreading rumors about me?"
The man grinned. "I thought you'd appreciate it. After all, you look like you could use the company of a young woman."
"You're one to talk!" he shot back. "Just drop the attempts at matchmaking and I won't have to hurt you.
Kensuke's laugh was little jittery, but he agreed. "If you say so."
"I do."
- - - -
The concert had ended like all symphony concerts and that had been on an anticlimactic note. Most of the attendees, especially the students, had quickly dispersed when conductor had bowed at the end. He had remained in his seat, intending to be the last one out of concert hall but his friends had stayed. The girls who had been talking had brought up the idea of dinner, which he had been prepared to reject. However, the look Hikari had shot at him when he was about to voice his disagreement had silenced him. He had quietly trailed behind making polite conversation in order not to appear rude to the women. And that was how he had ended up on the roof of the establishment staring at the stars.
Dinner had gone smoothly with everyone ordering a different dish and sharing it with the others. He had ended up sitting next to Jennifer, the girl with black hair, and they had talked. From the moment he had seen her in the concert hall, throwing looks his way he had been on alert. She had been about as subtle as a wing of assault shuttles making reentry in the middle of the night. He had quietly excused himself and made his way to the outdoor dining area, which had been conveniently empty. Naturally, she had appeared behind him barely five minutes after he had left the table.
"You know your shyness is kind of cute, Shinji," she purred.
"I'm not shy, I'm just not interested," he answered brusquely.
"Why? Am I that ugly or are you..."
"Don't even think about finishing that statement." He turned to face her. "Listen closely, Jennifer. You are not ugly, but I am not interested."
"But..." Shinji closed his eyes not wanting to continue the conversation.
"Ikari."
The cool emotionless voice was like a sharp blade cutting through the tension on the rooftop. Shinji opened his eyes and turned to where the voice had come from to see Rei in the door. She was wearing a conservative suit and the same look she always wore, but he was still happy to see her. Giving Jessica a nod he walked over to where the azure-haired woman stood, stopping at the fringe of her coldness. Her crimson eyes betrayed nothing of what she was thinking about what she had either seen or heard. Shinji swallowed and reached out to gently grip her arm and turn her around so they could leave before the blonde said anything. Rei waited until they had exited the establishment before touching his fingers and getting him to release her.
"Your father wants to speak to you."
- - - -
Shinji felt his jubilation evaporating faster than a snowball on Venus. For the last hour, he had been in the antechamber of his father's office with nothing to distract him. He briefly wondered if he should've just disappeared with Jennifer and told Rei to tell his father he'd see him later. He quickly dismissed that idea since he had been speaking the truth about not being interested. Besides, he wasn't going to give his father pleasure in providing another source of leverage in his life. He turned from studying a landscape of NERV's first terraformed planet at hearing a chime behind him.
He immediately recognized the room as the one he had been held in the time his father had blackmailed him. The modifications done with the addition of a few accessories did nothing to hide that fact. And even if they had done a better job the massive black desk, the cold ebony walls, and Gendo's grim visage gave it away. Shinji matched his father's appearance as he sat in a tall well-padded chair across from the bastard. Again, neither man said a word instead content to study the other and wait for the other to make the first move.
"I guess I'll go first then," Shinji quipped though his face was serious. "What do you want this time, father?"
The older man didn't react. "I have a job for you, Shinji."
"No, fucking shit! I would've never guessed that since you would never give me the gratification of a social visit."
Shinji didn't even have the satisfaction of his harsh words getting a reaction from the scoundrel. The man before him simply reached out and touched a panel on his desk and again a screen appeared before him. Resigning himself to his current fate, he turned his attention to the screen before him and began to read. The hatred within him, which had started to cool, flared back into a full inferno at what he saw before him. The desk shook when he stood abruptly, his fists slamming into the synthetic material.
"I don't do assassinations, especially for business entities!"
Gendo let his son almost reach the doors. "You will do this."
"And how are you going to make me do this," Shinji retorted. "You have nothing with which to blackmail me this time."
"Recordings of your mother."
The four simple words sent Shinji flying toward his father, every hardwired program blazing. His outstretched arm flew toward the throat of Gendo stopping mere inches from flesh. Sweat beaded on Shinji's brow as he put all his strength into breaching the barrier before him. However, the harder he tried the more resistance his endeavor met until five minutes later he gave up. Retracting his arm, he settled for glaring at the man before spinning around and stalking toward the office's doors.
"You leave in six hours."
"Fuck you!"
- - - -
For the first time in three days, Shinji allowed himself to look out upon the world with his real eyes. Half an hour after they had jumped into hyperspace, he had disconnected himself from his body losing himself in the face. And he was paying for that detachment as his body protested every movement he forced upon it. Minutes later he was finally able to stand without being blinded or feeling intense vertigo. Leaning against the cool bulkhead, he turned his head to find out where the soft breathing he had been hearing was coming from.
He chastised himself for forgetting that for the first time he had a partner or a watcher as he had labeled her. Rei was sleeping in the opposite bunk, blissfully oblivious to his actions and pain. She actually looked like a fully human teenage girl when she slept, he thought staring down upon her. Yet he knew that was a lie and so he stopped looking before he woke her up. Finally noticing his cold feet, he pulled on some boots and exited unaware of crimson eyes studying him.
The walk to the transport's command deck was blessedly short and he soon found himself nestled in the pilot's seat. Sitting in the acceleration chair with the cushions molding themselves to his body, he worked out the kinks. He had forgotten how much abuse a body occurred simply from not moving for days while the mind was somewhere else. When the protesting pain died to a dull throb, he reached out to the console and withdrew a thin strand. Carefully inserting the tip into a socket at his temple, he once again disappeared back into the face.
A multitude of electronic voices screamed for his attention like little puppies before the main AI overrode them all. With detached interest, he inspected the maintenance displays of the transport's systems and subsystems, which were all green. A mental command cleared his vision and a couple seconds passed before he found what he needed. He rode the link to a gravitational array and blinked electronically at the scene before him.
"You do not find this disturbing, Ikari?" Rei's voice was even more eerie in the face.
"Not in the least, Rei. It's oddly soothing when you take the time to study it." Somehow, her presence didn't disturb him.
What they were talking about was the display of hyperspace that the array was feeding into their crystals. A majority of the space travelling population grew sick at seeing the churning kaleidoscope of gravity bands. It was reasonable since the bands were always in a state of flux and a ship riding a certain wave was also in motion while it followed the twisting path. And the first time he had gazed out on the maelstrom he had become violently sick, but he hadn't given up. After a year of jumping, he had slowly become acclimated to hyperspace and soon found the tempest tranquil.
He felt her electronic presence as she descended and moved to take up position on his left side. After a few minutes of silent observing, Shinji felt his attention shifting toward the girl. Rude didn't really describe his behavior toward her when they had boarded the transport at NERV. He had been an absolute frigid asshole something he had never been and knew he had been taking his anger out on her. Still he wondered if his fury and forced separation had even affected her. His attempt at speaking went nowhere when he noticed the warning light of impending jump-out in the corner of his vision.
"I'm sorry, Rei."
- - - -
The ultra-light reconnaissance drone provided a constant display of the surrounding terrain and all movement within range. Now, Shinji was nestled under camouflage netting while his body armor continually suppressed his thermal and bio-signatures studying that map. He was on the periphery of the jungle and grasslands overlooking a four-lane highway. Of course, he was fifteen kilometers away with the barrel of his rail gun projecting just beyond the edge of the netting. A red reticule appeared with alphanumerics denoting that his target had just left his business.
He hated assassinations that in his mind served no purpose, especially when it advanced one ideology over another. And that was what his father was having him do by murdering the chief executive officer of a little-known manufacturing company. For the briefest of moments, he considered aborting the mission and damn his father and the recordings of his mother. He could've left it for Rei, but she was two hundred kilometers away carrying out her own mission. Sighing, he activated his hardwiring and lost all emotions as the drugs and programming took over.
An indifferent command caused the gun's generator to spool up and begin charging its internal capacitors for the shot. He heard the almost inaudible hum of a chambering round; knowing a simple three-pronged clasp was holding it in place. Shinji knew that at his command, the round would be released and accelerated down the two meter barrel by magnets until it left the barrel at a velocity of 160 kilometers per second. Once that occurred nothing could stop the hypersonic projectile except extremely thick and dense armor, and his target wouldn't have armor. His thumb slid across the safety as the reticule cleared the hills and he gently pulled on the trigger.
His vision turned red as alarms shrieked in his head at the protests of the gun. Not even taking the time to acknowledge the displays, Shinji's hardwiring already had him in motion. Servos hummed and he flew two meters from the gun landing on his feet. The moment his boots touched firm ground, he was sprinting through the jungle dodging trees before diving into a depression. His vision blackened when the overrides for his vision kicked in and he heard the sharp crack of the gun self-destructing. Before his hearing had returned, he was putting as much distance between him and his former position.
"Damn it!"
The whistle of incoming rounds drowned his curse out before the ground shook at their detonation. Shinji didn't acknowledge their presence as another electronic scream reverberated in his skull when a surface to air missile took out his drone. He overrode his hardwiring after six kilometers slowing to a trot and finally taking stock of his situation. That he had been betrayed was a given, but his immediate survival took precedence over getting revenge on those who had sold him out.
Accessing the last overlay from his drone, he plotted the possible positioning of the artillery and their protective soldiers. Crimson circles still speckled the map even after he had removed placements in rivers and mountains. Groaning, he cleared his display keeping only those that he might have a probability of encountering. Once he had that accomplished, he called up the list of possible hideouts he had assembled days ago. All the while he was continuing to run through the jungle his senses straining to pick up any anomalies before finally altering course.
Two hours later and three patrols dodged, the roar of water filled Shinji's hearing and he finally relaxed. Moving to the edge of the cliff, he gazed at the falls before falling flat and studying the cliff face. Minutes later, he spotted the slight depression he had been looking for and got to his feet moving to a large boulder. Shrugging out of his pack, he searched through a side pocket quickly finding what he needed.
Taking a small disk with an eyelet mounted in the center he pressed it against the rock and waited for it to molecularly bond with the stone. Once done, he reached back into his pack and withdrew one hundred meters of monofilament cable. He fed it through the winch at his waist and attached it to the eyelet before throwing the coil over the cliff. Taking a deep breath, he eased himself over the edge before releasing his breath and repelling down the rock face.
- - - -
Shinji Ikari was alone for the first time since his mother's death and his abandonment. He had always had someone to talk to, whether it was a real person or simply an AI. However, as he sat huddled up in the corner of the cave he had taken refuge in he felt alone and scared. He missed Yui's conversation after a mission, or Rebecca's way of speaking that allowed him to let go of his tension. Now, he'd even accept Touji and Kensuke's useless banter about sports, school, or women. Yet he had none of that and with the rush of combat and fighting for his survival gone, he was lonely.
After he had entered the cave, he had immediately inspected his equipment with a critical eye. What he had found only reinforced what he had already known. The saboteur had ensured the destruction of the equipment he hadn't personally inspected or packed before the mission. His vandal had overlooked his fully charged pistol and carbine along with four decoys. Unfortunately, the person ensured he'd run out of food in five days and unable to communicate with anyone.
Smoothing out a hardcopy of the area, he plotted his position comparing it to his original drop zone and the spaceport. He knew that returning to his landing craft wouldn't be possible. It would've been the first place that the soldiers would've looked since his betrayer would've made sure to provide a signal to locate it. Sneaking into the spaceport would be a daunting task and just not because of security. At his best possible speed and cutting his rations in half it'd take fourteen days to reach, four days after he'd run out of food.
Closing his eyes, Shinji knew that he had no choice but to make for the spaceport and try to either sneak aboard a ship, or hijack one. He replaced the map in a hip pocket and lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. For the longest time, he tried dredging up memories when he'd been in situations like the current one, but quickly gave up. Pulling the thin thermal blanket over himself, he turned on his side using his pack as a pillow and soon fell asleep.
- - - -
Trees shredded effortlessly under the heavy aerial bombardment as the attack choppers pumped rockets at their target. On the fringes of the devastation, armored troopers were making their way through the thinning forest. A cry of victory went out over the network when one of the rockets finally impacted with the intruder. For the briefest of moments, the pursuing soldiers stared into the heart of a nuclear maelstrom. The echo of the nuclear self-destruct of the decoy echoed off the surrounding hills and turned communications into static.
From kilometers away, Shinji heard the dull thump of the detonation and stopped to lean against a nearby tree. He grabbed his canteen and swore at the red light on its cap telling him decontamination wasn't yet completed. Swearing, he replaced the container on his belt and wiped at his sweaty brow before restarting his perilous trek. He knew with the destruction of his decoy that he was down to two more before he was on his own. Still there was no doubt in his mind that he'd survive and that he'd collect his due when he returned.
"Damn you father," he muttered under his breath.
The spaceport was only three hours away at his best speed but he was tired and hungry. For the last couple of days, he had used stimulants to force himself to stay awake while ignoring his growling stomach. Not only, that but the patrols had grown thicker while his cover was thinning out into grasslands. He had wisely saved his decoys for this part of his trek and with a groan he activated the one fifteen kilometers south of his position. The last one he put on standby with orders to head for the cargo entrance of the spaceport.
Dark puffs of smoke quickly appeared over the area his decoy was entering, but the airbursts missed. From his position, he couldn't see the cautious approach of the attack helicopters, but he could hear them. He toggled a switch for the decoy activating its self-destruct when a black dot hovered in the distance. With that done, he finally eased out into the grasslands and took up a zigzagging course.
- - - -
The touch of something cold and damp placed on his forehead caused Shinji to wake from his slumber. With a lot of effort, he forced himself to open his eyes and instantly regretted it, but he didn't close them. Trying to turn his head, he quickly realized that he had been strapped into the bunk and his neck braced by his rescuers. He felt a small tube at his lips and tasted filtered, cold water when he finally took a tentative sip. His benefactor removed the straw after a couple soothing sips, and a woman's face appeared above his own. Short reddish-brown hair framed a gentle face while green eyes calmly studied him.
"Who... are you...?" Shinji croaked after a couple attempts.
"Lieutenant Christine Weber of the Colonial Marine Corps Heavy Cruiser Ramiel," she answered. "We're one hour from reaching Martian orbit."
Her statement only confused the man because the last thing he clearly remembered was sprinting across a taxiway toward an open hatch. Everything was fuzzy after the moment he had stepped inside the airlock until he blacked out. Panic rose up within Shinji when he remembered why he had blacked out and he tried sitting up. Again the medical bunk restrained him and Lieutenant Weber smiled at his efforts. Pressing a button on his bed, she sat down on a chair that rose out of the floor.
"So why were you being targeted by the Gryphons?" She noticed his discomfort and reassured him, "You're not under arrest or anything, Mister Ikari."
"I was doublecrossed."
"By whom?"
"I don't know," he told her.
Christine nodded. "That's a common occurrence in your profession."
Shinji found himself growing drowsy and wondered what else had been in the water he had drunk. However, he also found himself not wanting to talk anymore about what had happened. That his attackers had a name didn't matter since they wouldn't disclose their client's name. All he would be able do was put out his own feelers and hire a few of the best crackers in the business. He could press his father for information but that would've been a useless endeavor because the bastard would never yield. Yet, before he could drift back into sleep there was one bit of information he needed from the woman.
"How did I end up here?" he inquired.
"You ran into our shuttle with a squad of mercenaries hot on your heels," Weber began. "Normally we would've turned you over to them once verifying their claims or contract, but we were looking for you."
"What?" He tried to sit up, but for the third time, the bed held him in place.
"Marines have long memories and they're even longer when they involve famous officers," she explained. "We received a signal from one of our former officers to be on the lookout for you and to render any assistance."
He knew about whom she was talking. "Misato Katsuragi."
"That'd be Major Katsuragi and that's all you need to know!"
"But..."
She pressed a hypo against his neck. "No buts, Mister Ikari. And it's time for you to go back to sleep."
- - - -
"How are you doing?" Misato asked, stepping through the door.
"Okay considering everything that's happened," he told her.
After sleeping on the cruiser, he had woken in the sterile environment of a hospital. That surprise had been nothing compared to the shock of what had happened. He remembered taking a couple injuries, but had dismissed them thinking they were minor. But minor never resulted in amputation or replacement of body parts.
"Don't give me that bullshit, Shinji."
"It's not a big deal, Misato," he repeated holding up his right arm.
He had taken a heavy round in the arm and despite the doctors attempts they had had to amputate it above the elbow. Currently, the stump was sealed in a clear container filled with laced LCL to keep the nerve endings stimulated and the flesh nourished. A brace enclosed his knee, keeping it immobilized while his body healed from the operation. Sure this was the first time he had suffered so much on mission, but all in all, it wasn't severe.
"My replacement arm will be grown and attached in a couple days," he told her. "After that, it'll be another day of testing to make sure all the connections are working. Once that's done all they have to do is reintegrate the nerves back into my combat software." He gave her a small smile. "Like I said nothing to be worked up about."
"And what about your accusations?" she whispered. "What are you going to do about them?"
Shinji closed his eyes thinking and reopened. "I don't know what I'm going to do about the doublecross."
"You don't know, or you do know but you're not going to tell me."
"I don't know what I'm going to do," he repeated. He grabbed a glass off a small tray and drank in silence. When he was done, he looked at Misato. "So you want to tell me what happened?"
She looked at him puzzled. "Tell you what?"
"You know," he chuckled at her surprise. "What got you kicked out of the Marines?"
"What brought that up?"
"Marine cruisers aren't in the habit of helping civilians, let alone taking orders from them," he told her. "Not only that but the lieutenant mentioned something about famous officers. In addition, she emphasized your rank when I mentioned your name. So you want to tell me what happened?"
"Periapt."
The single word hit Shinji like the round that had claimed his arm and he sat there quietly. Everyone knew the planet by that name and the rebellion that had sprung up because Federation laws. It had lasted for ten years and been a brutal war where both sides had committed atrocities. Both the Federation and rebels had used chemical and nano weapons on lightly defended population centers. Six years earlier though the rebellion ended brutally with the deaths of its leaders and their subordinates. Five thousand people had died in a single massive operation with none of rebels surviving the attack. The dead included woman and children in their teens, which caused a cry of outrage in the media.
"You follow orders and successfully complete the mission given to you and you still end being screwed," she bitterly replied. "I got a promotion and a general discharge all at the same time. A pat on the back and a boot to the ass for my services."
"Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" She moved from the wall to a chair. "You weren't responsible for my actions or the Corps decision."
"I'm sorry for bringing up the past," he explained. "You probably wanted to forget it."
"I never said that, did I?" She reached and ruffled his hair. "There are things in life that you can never have control over. The best you can do is learn from them and move on. It hurt my pride when I was discharged but I realized that there was nothing I could do."
The pair fell silent each having said their piece and thinking of what each had said. Shinji quietly studied Misato's face and realized that despite her words what had happened to her still hurt. Her eyes were distant although she was staring at him, a sure sign that she was reliving a piece of her past. Yet as he reached for her hand, she gave herself a good shake and came out of her self-induced trance. Her eyes locked onto his and he could tell she had reached a decision about something.
"You know you can trust me, Shinji," she began. "Even though I work for your father doesn't mean I gave up my right to think independently. If you need help or anything I'll stand by your side."
"I know but for the moment I can't do anything until I get more information." He grinned. "When I learn more I'll inform you."
"Thanks."
- - - -
"I see."
Shinji stood up from where he had been sitting and walked toward the office doors. He could barely hear the servos of the unit strapped around his knee as he walked. What he had said to Misato in the hospital hadn't been the complete truth. Sure his arm had healed quickly and been reintegrated with his software, but his knee was another story. The joint had been completely destroyed and rebuilt resulting in a dull throb as his body adapted to the replacement parts. Yet, it wasn't the physical pain that had him leaving.
He should've known that the bastard wouldn't hold up to his end of the bargain, but he had hoped. And his hope had been crushed under reality, as his logic had proved correct. Gendo had patiently listened to his arguments without showing a hint of emotion. Silence had filled the room before the man had refused his plea for a portion of the recordings. He hadn't completed the job and therefore he wasn't entitled to any compensation, although he had been ambushed.
"Don't do anything you'll regret."
Gendo felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when his son glanced over his shoulder. He expected a look of outrage or even sadness, but he was disappointed. Shinji's face was empty of all emotions, his eyes dark blue barriers as he stared back at him. Then without saying another word, Shinji triggered the door sensor and strode out of the office.
- - - -
"This has gone on long enough?"
Misato felt her eyebrow twitch as she muttered those words while staring down at Shinji. She had let the young man alone, having known what happened both on the mission and afterward. Still she could only tolerate so much of his behavior. Five days had passed since he had retreated to his room without once exiting it. The school had called asking for details because he had been missing for a month, and all she could tell them was that he'd be back the next day. It was that promise that had forced her hand and she had walked into his bedroom to find him in the face.
Reaching down she pulled out a thin wire and carefully attached it to a socket at her temple. There transition from reality to cyberspace was immediate as the room disappeared from her vision. Nausea washed over Misato as a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes assaulted her. It took a moment for her crystal to translate the data and shift the surroundings into something less confusing. Still Misato had to study her environment before realizing what she was seeing rushing past her.
Every cybernetically enhanced person she knew personalized how he or she interpreted data. Some had created a model of an office where they could sit at a desk. Others had used nature scenes with animals representing a packet of information. A few people liked to organize the data flow into a wall that they flew over picking out what they needed. What they all had in common was a sense of order, a representation of their lives.
Shinji's personalization was a chaotic swirling mass flowing in all directions. Yet, as she floated and in a data stream Misato saw that it wasn't unorganized. A command sent her flying to a trail of information which flowed in the opposite direction of its compatriots. She screamed when something snagged her avatar and began dragging her into the center of the storm. Fighting was useless since she couldn't see captor, so she relaxed as much as possible during her involuntary journey. After what seemed several minutes, Misato smiled when she spotted three figures standing upon a disk in the distance.
"Misato," Shinji cordially greeted her when she finally stood before him. "Thank you for bringing her, Yui."
The security officer was shocked when a female materialized. "You're welcome, Shinji."
"I want you three to continue to coordinate your efforts," the bounty hunter told the people surrounding him. "I know it's rough with all the security, but its imperative that we crack that wall."
"We know what we have to do," Maya grumbled. "But you realize that we're talking about level twenty security demon patrols at the very least. We don't even know what we'll find when we break through."
Hyuga patted her shoulder. "And we do know all our lives are at stake with the doublecross."
"Sorry, it's just that this is..."
"It's all right," Yui told him before the trio started fading. "We'll be in touch."
Misato was shocked when the chaos disappeared and a facsimile of her living room appeared before her. She watched her charge walk over to the couch and collapse into it with a heavy sigh. Moving to her favorite chair, Misato sat down and waited her anger somewhat diminished. It didn't take long for Shinji to lower his gaze from staring into infinity to look at her.
"You're pissed at me," he stated with a smirk.
"A little," she answered. "You've been here for five days, and your school is wondering when you'll be returning."
"Sorry."
"That's not going to work with me, mister." She stood up and walked over to him. The young man wasn't intimidated while she towered over him. "Of course, I'm mad."
"Then how about a nice dinner?"
"Jerk! I've been worried about you!"
"Sorry."
- - - -
"So what are you going to do about your son?"
Gendo continued to stare at the ceiling ignoring Ritsuko caressing his chest. His son had been close when he had called the blonde woman a fuck toy. She was nothing like Yui in bed or work, but she did fill a hole in his life. Wincing when nails dug into his chest, he turned his eyes to woman next to him and frowned at seeing her lighting up.
"Nothing," he told her.
Ritsuko blew a column of smoke toward the ceiling. "You know it's dangerous to let him run around without control. SEELE won't tolerate any interference from him nor will you."
"It is of no consequence to me what my son does."
"You're playing both sides against one another, aren't you," the blonde didn't have to wait for an answer. "It's just like what you did with Periapt and the rebels. You're playing a dangerous game with SEELE, Gendo."
"Indeed."
* * * *
Nothing much to say here. Asuka and Kaji will finally make their appearance in the next chapter. I haven't really decided how I'm going to portray their relationship. However, I am leaning toward how Sadamoto shows it in the manga. As for her relationship with Shinji, I have a clearer idea.
C&C welcome at eva_pilot9@doramail.com