Finals week. As of me writing this now, it's next week. So if it took a
while to dish out, here's another reason. Mr. VADER, you are indeed very
perceptive, but I must ask all my readers, including you, this. How many
times have I thrown in unexpected twists? Seriously. Do all of you think
I'm going to be that predictable?
Chapter 4: Recriminations
Lights blinked on inside the cockpit of the JA-Delta. Shinji took hold of the two joysticks on his sides. The one on the right controlled the direction the Positron Cannon and missiles were aimed, while the left controlled the railgun smaller cannon in the mouth of the JA. Movement of the unit itself was controlled by how his body moved and by a simple neuro- interface. The inside of the cockpit was actually very much like a video screen. It provided the pilot of a 360 degree view of everything around him or her, thus ensuring that nothing could sneak up on the pilot if the pilot was observant. Shinji moved the walker out of the hanger and looked over the massive sea of sand.
"This is Delta-1, ready to deploy."
Mana quickly responded over the radio. "This is Delta-2, ready to deploy."
"Our radar is detecting incoming," an officer told them, "Be advised, they do not have IFF signals.
"Acknowledged," said Shinji, "What are they?"
"From the speed they're approaching, they're very likely fighters."
"They moved fast," Williams muttered, "Ikari, Kirishima, take them out."
The jets fired on the JAs and both lifted off. Shinji tracked the first jet and the image zoomed in. It looked like an old MiG fighter, which didn't surprise him. A lot of old Russian, even Soviet, equipment was available for those who had the money. His missiles locked on and Shinji let loose three. Mana targeted the wingman and fired two. The five missiles cut across the sky; two of Shinji's striking his target while the third veered off course. Mana's stayed on target even as the fighter veered away. Shinji thought he heard snippets of Arabic over the radio before the second pilot met the same fate as his comrade.
"We have incoming ground units," reported another soldier, "Approximately ten kilometers and closing."
"How did they get so close without us seeing them?" Williams demanded.
"I don't know sir, but they're here and en masse."
"Ikari, Kirishima, our units are still being deployed. Do what you can and take out as many of the enemy units as possible."
The JAs turned around and flew towards the direction of the incoming. Shinji zoomed in again to see formations of old T-80 battle tanks. They were seriously out of date considering the Russians were now fielding the T- 99 duel barrel tanks.
"Shall we?" Mana joked over the radio.
"By all means, my dear."
Bringing the railgun online, Shinji opened fire and the bullets punched right through enemy armor with no difficulty. Firing its ammunition at hypersonic speeds, armor from an out of date tank like the T-80 might as well have been made out of paper. Several of the tanks exploded but the force persisted and advanced. A few opened fire on the JAs but their shots went wild or were destroyed by the point-defense lasers.
A few seconds later a flight of Comanches, the only American force deployed, arrived.
"We'll take it from here, Deltas," the wing commander said, "Hell of you show you've put up so far."
Shinji was al too glad to leave the battlefield for now. Despite his past experiences, he was not a true soldier yet. A true soldier blinked when he pulled the trigger, but didn't let it affect him. Right now, he hadn't killed a man face to face yet. Until that happened, he would never be a true soldier.
The Comanches let loose their Hellfire missiles, each one of them finding targets and blowing through with ease. More explosions rocked the enemy tank formation and machinegun fire razed the soldiers trying to flee. One of the enemy tanks got lucky and its shot clipped the tail of a Comanche. It started going down but the pilot managed to regain some control and headed back to base. A tank commander suddenly popped up and opened fire with his machinegun but quickly ducked back down when the Comanches answered him. Five missiles struck his vehicle and blew it apart.
The JAs fell back and landed at the main camp. They remained outside as more ammo and missiles were brought out to them.
"Ikari, Kirishima, we're going to hit their base now. The two of you will break through their defenses and clear a path for our bombers. If you can, level the base yourselves."
"Sir, are we equipped with incendiary missiles?" Mana asked.
"Yes. Now get on it. I do not want the rebels to have a chance to react properly."
Engineers and maintenance crew quickly retreated as the JAs stood up again. The jets burst into action and both units took off again. They quickly moved towards their target location and went supersonic. Another feature on the JA was the supercruise ability. Originally introduced by the American F-22 Raptor, it allowed fighters to go supersonic without hitting the afterburners, thus conserving fuel. Despite the JA's odd shape, it was still capable of doing this when its legs were tucked inward and its arms retracted somewhat. This resulted in an odd looking long oval shape, but the weapons were still fully operational.
The flight took only about thirty minutes before they were in range. Both units went into full combat mode and the two scanned the area.
"I'm detecting what looks like ten Stinger sites facing us alone."
"Five each then," said Shinji, "We target them with missiles and knock them out before they see us."
"How about we hit their base at the same time with our positron cannons?"
"We'd have the warm them up first," said Shinji, "They would too easily detect that, providing they haven't detected us already."
Mana laughed. "Well, let's hope this stealth package actually works then. But we'll warm up the cannons once we take out those Stinger sites."
The two units were easily within range of their missiles and the two locked on target. Missiles streaked out from their launchers and crashed seconds later into the targets. Dirt and body parts flew as they impacted and exploded. Little mushrooms of fire erupted, further fueled by the weapons stored at the Stinger sites.
"They're down," said Mana, "Charging 15% complete."
"Looks like they didn't take too kindly with us coming in like that," Shinji noted, "I'm detecting four vehicles headed our way. They look like they're armed with anti-air missiles."
"No problem. Our PDLs will take them out."
"Don't get too confident," Shinji warned, "We still don't know what other tricks they might have."
Just as he uttered those words what looked like a lightning bolt flashed past their units.
"What the hell was that!" Mana exclaimed.
"Looked like an electrical surge," said Shinji, "Whatever it was, it played hell with my sensors. What do yours say?"
"High electrical charge, very hot, possibly plasma."
"Did they come from the towers?" Shinji asked.
Mana frowned. "Yeah, they did."
"Then let's take them out. Positron cannon is ready to fire."
Shinji pulled the trigger and he felt the JA recoil slightly as the cannon let loose. A blue beam sliced through the air before suddenly striking some kind of barrier. The beam splashed over a green energy field but nothing got past it despite the power of the positron cannon.
"What?"
Shinji was just as puzzled as his fellow pilot.
"Pull up!" Mana screamed.
Firing the positron cannon seriously drained the JA's power supply, meaning some of the systems were not available immediately after firing. Unfortunately, that meant the PDLs were offline. Shinji veered to the side and tried to dodge the missiles. Mana moved closer and stayed with him, trying to use her PDLs to intercept the enemy missiles. As she flew about, she returned fire and the railgun clobbered the two lead vehicles.
Three missiles got past Mana and wouldn't lose their lock. One struck Shinji's JA on the leg, disabling one of the maneuvering jets. Finally the PDLs came online and took care of the last two missiles. Shinji armed three of his own and fired. They quickly found their targets and took out the rest of the missile launchers.
"I have what looks like quad cannons approaching us," Mana warned.
"They won't be able to do much," said Shinji, "Activate magnetic shielding."
A red oval appeared momentarily around each JA before vanishing. A feature that was not normally used, the magnetic shield was effective at deflecting bullets and stopping missiles from impacting on the JA. It used a magnetic field to repel metals, though control of the polarity was tricky.
"Shinji, we can't use the shield forever," said Mana, "We only have it for five more minutes."
"That'll be good enough," said Shinji, "What do your scans tell you about the enemy shield?"
"It's charged," said Mana, "So if we create a field opposite their charge, we can break through."
"Theoretically," said Shinji, "Should we risk it?"
"Victory goes to the daring," Mana replied.
"And the stupid," Shinji muttered.
He made a few adjustments on the controls and saw the polarity of his shields reverse. That should do it. Mana charged in before him and Shinji stayed on her tail. She struck a barrier but it didn't slow her down at all. The JA passed right through it with Shinji behind her, also phasing through.
"We're through!" Mana exclaimed.
"We're not out of this yet," said Shinji, "Take out one of the towers. The field seems to be concentrated there."
"Alright."
Shinji circled around and started blasting away at everything. Missiles lanced out, burning everything in sight as the napalm ignited. Mana fired at the first of the towers, blowing huge chunks out of it with her explosive missiles. She kept the incendiaries in reserve to help Shinji. Several enemy units fired RPGs Tiny laser beams struck them, rendering them useless.
"Mana, how's the first tower coming?"
"With great difficulty," Mana replied.
The tower started listing with Mana firing her remaining explosives into it. One final blast toppled the thing and a blue field appeared momentarily before collapsing.
"It's down," said Mana.
"Then use the positron cannon," said Shinji, "I'll cover you."
The gun atop of Mana's JA warmed up. Shinji stayed close to her with his guns blowing up and chewing through any opposition. He avoided firing on or near what he thought was the bio-weapons lab though the napalm had done its work, burning through the large tanks and other structures within the base, not to mention its human occupants. For a few seconds during all the chaos Shinji thought about what it would be like outside the JA. True he was getting a view of everything around him, but that didn't tell the entire story. What was the burning flesh like? The incredible heat and the shrapnel being thrown up by his weapons? The bullets tearing through the vulnerable flesh?
The young man put it behind him. War was war and he had a duty to if not his country than to Mana.
Moments later Mana fired her positron cannon and swept it across the bio- weapons facility and what was left of the base. The sand actually turned to glass and much of what remained was vaporized. As the beam approached one of the towers Shinji noticed a spike in the energy.
"Mana! Don't hit the tower!"
Too late. The beam of energy barely touched the tower but that was enough. A pulse built up in the beam and backfired through the energy stream. The feedback overloaded the cannon and it exploded, taking out the back superstructure of the JA.
"Mana!"
The unit fell and crashed to the ground. Shinji went lower and circled around the fallen JA, his railgun trained and firing on anyone that tried to get close to her. He then landed himself and activated the auto-defense system. The railgun would now target anyone outside of the designated area unless they wore a special signal carrier which both pilots had. He checked his pistol and jumped out the JA. A few rebels opened fire on him but apparently they had no aim. Shinji returned fire and hit one in his face. The bullet penetrated the skin and crashed through the skull. Blood erupted and splattered all over the place. It was a surprise that there were survivors at all. The JA quickly took down the other rebels that tried to hit him.
Shinji ran up to the JA and found its cockpit. He entered the code and it opened a crack. Using every ounce of strength in him Shinji pulled the hatch open to reveal Mana lying unconscious in her seat.
"Mana, Mana, wake up!"
Shinji pulled her out and carried her back to his JA. He placed her inside his cockpit and sealed it, just in case someone with a rifle tried to snipe at him.
"This is Delta-1 to base; the enemy forces have been neutralized but I need a med-evac now."
"This is General Williams, what happened?"
"Those towers," Shinji reported. "They overloaded Mana's positron cannon. Her unit has been damaged and is now on the ground. She's unconscious right now."
"Hold on Lieutenant Ikari," said Williams. "Reinforcements are on their way. What is her condition?"
Shinji checked Mana's pulse and found that it was still strong.
"She's still alive but she has a head wound. It might be a concussion."
"Acknowledged. Reinforcements will arrive in approximately fifteen minutes. Stay there, Ikari. We're coming."
There was one thing Shinji had to do despite Mana's condition. He aimed his positron cannon and fired it on the downed unit, vaporizing it.
Somehow those fifteen minutes seemed to drag on for hours as Shinji waited. When he finally heard the sound of rotors he looked over. Blackhawks, Chinooks, and Comanches appeared over the horizon. Soldiers deployed from the Blackhawks and Shinji finally opened his cockpit. He lowered Mana down and medics strapped her down. He could do nothing but watch as they lifted her into the helicopter. If only he had paid attention to his instincts more. He had known the towers were bad news but chose to ignore it. And now Mana was hurt. Because of him.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Asuka blinked a few times as she drew away from the microscope. She was exhausted; after something like twelve hours working in the lab. Pushing herself like this wasn't good for her but it gave her an excuse to avoid all the paperwork she had to deal with being in charge of an organization like NERV. However, even a genius like her had limits and Asuka was finally admitting that to herself after the third time she thought she saw a giant amoeba crawling on the table. Asuka did a double take. There was actually something crawling around on the table, something that did look like a giant amoeba.
"Umm, whose is that?" Asuka asked the lab techs.
"Oh sorry," said Maya, "It's a beta."
"A beta of what?"
Maya smiled. "It's actually not just mine. Me and one of the other lab techs built this thing. It's designed to clean up any toxic materials or chemicals that might be leaked or such. I worked out most of the programming while she designed the rest of it."
"Very impressive," said Asuka, "And kind of cute. Can I touch it?"
"Sure."
Asuka poked it and it turned towards her, squeaking a little.
"It makes sounds?" Asuka noted.
"That's just to make it friendlier."
Asuka nodded. "This has potential. Keep working on it."
"Yes ma'am."
"On your own time," Asuka reminded her.
"Of course," said Maya.
Asuka took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She really needed some sleep. Walking out of the lab and through decon, Asuka found that she barely had enough strength to remain standing. She called one of the little taxis within NERV and was driven to her room. She was used to working overtime and as head of NERV there were quarters ready for her use when she couldn't get back home. How nice it was to finally sleep.
It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when the phone rang. Looking over, Asuka saw she had slept for eight hours. She probably would have slept longer had not the phone awakened her. Picking it up, Asuka answered reluctantly.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Soryu? There's a meeting of all Level A staff right now."
"Oh shit," Asuka cursed, "Tell them I'll be right there."
"Yes ma'am."
Asuka had slept in her lab clothes so she didn't really need to get dressed. She checked her hair and ran out. Getting a ride to the conference was no problem and Asuka got there already with her thoughts gathered. She took her seat at the head of the table and promptly began.
"Sorry about sleeping late, but let's get to work. Dr. Stark will brief all of you on the progress the final phases of construction for our labs."
Jennifer stood up and pressed a few commands on her palm pilot. Designs and images appeared above the table, all of the large tubes blinking yellow.
"These are the tubes that will be used to hold our specimens," she began. "As of now we have eight installed in the main labs. They are made of glass that has been mixed with potassium to make it harder. We will be refraining from using plastics at the moment and the glass itself is three inches thick. That should hold whatever specimens and other projects we are running."
The image zoomed out a bit and now several cables connected to the tubes appeared.
"The cables you see now are designed to fill the tube with whatever we need to maintain specimens and such," Jennifer continued. "Our greatest challenge at the moment is to work out another way to manipulate what is inside the tube though. Though these cables allow us to regulate the pressure, nutrient concentration, and temperature, we also need to be able to touch the specimens from time to time. That brings us to these instruments."
This time the view went down a little to show some instruments that seemed to be connected with the tank.
"Manipulating with anything inside the tank will be done with these instruments. However, they will have to be custom built."
Asuka shook her head. Another major headache was all the specialized equipment they would need. Even with the stuff NERV had inherited from its former German branch, it still wasn't enough.
"How long?" she asked.
"A month at least," said Charles. "I've never even heard of some of the things we'll require and it's going to take some time to track down the companies that can manufacture them in Europe."
"There is one thing we must obtain from Japan," Maya interrupted. "From what I've heard they've developed the latest in the MAGI supercomputer series. The current one we have is getting a bit dated."
Asuka frowned. "I hadn't heard about it."
"Not many people have," Maya explained. "The Japanese government made a quiet announcement, probably because they know other nations will want to buy it. However, from the impression I got from the announcement they aren't too interested in selling the new MAGI."
"Why?" asked Henderson. "Wouldn't they make a lot of money selling the MAGI?"
"I think it has something to do with actually building one," Maya answered. "The construction costs for one of them is ten billion American dollars."
Asuka let out a low whistle. Even with nearly unlimited UN funding, that was still a huge chunk of money.
"Do we absolutely need this MAGI system?" Asuka asked.
Maya nodded. "I looked over the computing power we'll need for this project. Last time it was done, it took a cluster of ten pre-MAGI supercomputers possibly a decade to calculate the sequence."
"I didn't think the Human Complementary Project was actually attainable during that time."
"They started with incomplete data," Jennifer took that one. "The scientists back then were lucky nothing really changed the data they had before, otherwise it would have been a wasted effort."
"So," Asuka began. "How long would it take with the new MAGI?"
"Three years minimum," Maya answered. "That's after we finish construction."
"And where would construction take place?" Charles asked.
Maya tapped in commands of her own and an add-on appeared.
"What you see here is the entire layout of the German NERV installation. The section highlighted in red is the proposed site for the MAGI mainframe."
"Some of it extends under our current depth," Asuka noted.
"Of course," said Maya. "The original MAGI was massive. This is no different."
"I'll take a look at its specifications and then make a decision about this," said Asuka. "But let's get back to the progress report."
"Of course. I think it should be noted that though the labs are 90% complete, without the final components installed they are useless," Jennifer continued. "But, there is one major problem. Power."
Asuka fought down the urge to sigh. "What is it?"
"We don't have the power generating capability to support all this equipment," Jennifer continued. The image zoomed out to show the surrounding area and five fusion power plants, technology that Asuka herself had helped perfect. "These fusion plants can generate power on the scale of several million kilowatts. Unfortunately, there are several issues. I hadn't even known about the MAGI system so that's going to throw off these calculations some, but only in the negative. The problem is supporting all of the new equipment we've put in. Most of the old facilities are being torn down and upgraded and that also requires power."
"How many more fusion plants will we require?" Asuka asked.
"Five more, and only if they're the new second generation reactors, and only if those produce as much power as they're supposed to."
"Just great," Asuka muttered. "The construction of the prototype is over schedule and over budget as it is."
"Perhaps we should consider selling some of the technologies," said Maya. "It could help with the construction costs."
"I'll talk with the German government," said Asuka. "No promises though. Even if they support what we're doing, it's a lot of money being sunk into this. Do the five new reactors also cover emergency power?"
"Yes," said Jennifer. "But with the MAGI, it might become six."
Asuka nodded and looked at the images spinning at the center of the table. "The UN supplied us with a starting budget of $500 billion. I'm starting to think that's only scratching the surface."
"It could easily quadruple if we want to get the construction done within the next five years," said Jennifer.
"And that's if the other technologies we need prove their worth," said Charles. "Otherwise we'd have to develop them from scratch."
"I seriously doubt the UN would be willing to spend $2 trillion just to build the place," said Henderson.
"They spent much more for Tokyo 3," Asuka noted. "But that was because of the defenses too. I think we should count it a blessing the German military has promised to build and supply the defenses."
"They must have gotten a big check for that," Maya noted dryly.
"The UN is making a serious commitment in resurrecting NERV," said Asuka. "They won't abandon the project, but they will put certain aspects on hold if costs grow out of control. Let's try to avoid that."
"Yes ma'am."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was the unknown that scared people more. And now, the unknown was Shinji Ikari's greatest enemy. He sat outside the emergency room and tried to remain still. Quite a difficult task as he knew nothing of Mana's condition. They had immediately rushed her in, taken x-rays, and put her on some painkillers. Shinji wasn't sure what they were doing to her in there but he knew they were doing their best to save her. Finally after what had seemed like an eternity the doors opened and a doctor walked out. He took off his took off his gloves and operating mask and nodded to Shinji.
"Lieutenant Ikari. I'd say your fellow pilot is very lucky and made of some tough stuff."
"Is she going to be okay?" Shinji asked. He had shot out of his seat upon seeing the doctor.
The doctor nodded. "She suffered a great deal of trauma from the crash landing and that doesn't include the radiation she was exposed to when her Unit exploded. But they're both okay."
"What?"
The doctor frowned. "You mean you don't know? Well, let me be the first to say congratulations then, Lieutenant Ikari. You're going to be a father."
The doctor patted Shinji on his shoulder as the young man simply stood there dumbly. The realization that the responsibilities of another human being would be upon him was the first thing that struck him. Then a smile appeared as the joy of becoming a father swept over him.
"We've moved her to the observation ward," said the doctor. "You can go visit her, but she will need some time to recover."
"Thanks doctor."
"My pleasure. You just take good care of both of them."
A nurse appeared and motioned for Shinji to follow her. They stopped before one of the rooms and she opened the door for him. Inside Mana was connected to a great deal of life support equipment as Shinji looked upon her. This scene was familiar to him. So many years ago Asuka had been in the same condition and he had been helpless to do anything for her. Now, things were different. Once they got back to Japan, he would set things in motion and screw the rest of the world. He only cared about Mana and their child now and nobody else mattered.
A seat was next to the bed so Shinji took the chance to rest a bit. From the last update Abdul had given him the offensive was going well and they had smashed what was left of the rebels. And this time they had also seized a sizeable amount of the rebel's cash reserves so this war might finally tone down.
"Maybe we should resign from the JA Corps," Shinji muttered to himself and Mana. "You're going to be on leave soon anyways and I'll have to start working on other projects anyways. We could live a more peaceful life."
The only answer was the constant beeping of the heart monitor as each pulse went by. Shinji looked at the monitor and listened to every pulse. It was strong and Mana would pull through. With a smile he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. He would be here when she awakened.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I hate this."
Shinji chuckled as he pushed Mana in the wheelchair. Despite her emotional swings Mana really was an independent spirit and having to rely on someone else to move around caused her great annoyance.
"Get used to it," Shinji suggested. "You're going to be in these wheels for quite some time."
Ignoring the joke Mana placed a hand over her stomach. She looked down and just stared at it.
"Something wrong?" Shinji asked.
"It's just so amazing that a living thing could be growing inside of me," she said. "I mean, a living human being that I'm responsible for. It's going to be tough."
"But I'll be there too," said Shinji. "Granted you probably will have a harder time, but I'll still be there."
"Of course you are," Mana replied. "I wouldn't forgive you if you weren't."
They emerged from the hospital and saw several British soldiers outside. All of them saluted and the couple returned it. The coalition troops had gained a great deal of respect for the JA after it had plastered basically the entire enemy base and leaving them only to come in to clean up. While not as glorious, it did save them the grief they would have encountered if they had to take on the magnetic shield.
"We're going home," Mana stated.
"That we are," said Shinji. "You sound sad."
"No, just tired."
"You can't fool me that easily. C'mon, tell me. What's wrong?"
"It's just, well, as I said before. I'm responsible for another human life now. What if I mess up? I nearly got both of us killed when my unit was damaged like that."
"But you're still alive. That's what's important."
The couple got into a jeep and they drove towards the airfield. With the destruction of a JA unit, the Japanese government was pulling out the surviving one and it was unlikely they would deploy the other two unless a way was figured out to shield the positron cannon. But right now, it would be nice to go home.
Just then the radio went off and the soldier responded. He looked over at Shinji and nodded.
"You have a call, Lieutenant Ikari."
Shinji took the headset and put it on.
"This is Lieutenant Ikari."
"Hello Ikari, this is Abdul."
"Colonel. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I'm passing on a warning to you. Some people from the UN came looking for you and when they found out you were leaving they immediately went to the airfield. They didn't look happy, by the way."
"Damn, I was hoping to avoid them. Thanks, Abdul. I hope you don't get in trouble for this."
"Don't worry about me, my friend. You've been of great help to me and it's because of you and your partner that I didn't have to send out more of my men to die. I owe you that and by God I shall pay you back. If you ever need my help again, just call me."
"Thanks my friend. Actually, I do have a request. Could you have about twenty soldiers under your command meet up with us at the airfield?"
"Of course, and God be with you."
Shinji handed the headset back and took out a data disk. Mana and the officer both looked at him curiously.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Insurance."
As they neared the airfield it was clear that the UN had sent more than just a few agents. Several soldiers also armed with the newer OICW-class assault rifles were waiting, not a good sign. Those weapons were of American design and it meant the US had some interest in this.
"What's going on?" Mana asked.
"Don't worry," Shinji assured her. "I'll take care of it. Driver, could you drop us off by those reporters?"
"You sure you want to be by them?" the driver asked. "They can be as bad as vultures sometimes."
"I'm sure."
The jeep veered a little and came to a stop. Shinji walked out but kept Mana inside as this would only take a few minutes. He quickly found the reporter that had bothered him early. Shinji handed her the disk.
"If I do not contact you two weeks from now, that will be your story. If I do and ask you to meet with me, then you'll get an exclusive interview. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course," the reporter said, stunned. "But why now?"
"I also play politics, Ms."
Shinji walked away despite all the other reporters shouting at him. The woman quickly stashed the disk and backed away, having what she came for.
"What was that all about?" Mana asked.
"As I said before, insurance," Shinji answered. "The UN is still way too powerful for my liking, and that will make them back off for a little while. At least long enough for me to make an actual statement."
When the jeep pulled up to the actual airfield Shinji was greeted by several men from the UN.
"Lieutenant Ikari, we need you to come with us."
"Under whose orders?" Shinji countered.
"The United Nations Military Command," the man replied, confidence spilling over.
"I'm afraid I don't take orders from the UN," Shinji replied. "As of six hours ago I was transferred back to the JSSDF and the UN Military has no authority over me."
All of the agents standing before them were taken aback and speechless, though their leader quickly recovered.
"I'm afraid you don't understand, Lieutenant Ikari. You will come with us. If I must, I will invoke Paragraph 2 of UN Security Resolution 3452."
"You'll need the approval of someone with the rank of Brigadier General," Shinji stated. "General Williams is transferring back to Great Britain and is only holding things down until his replacement comes, which won't be for another week and I'm leaving now."
"Lieutenant Ikari, you will come with us now," the agent ordered. Anger was creeping into his voice and his face tightened.
"You have no authority to make me," Shinji replied, still calm. "If you try, then you shall run into some very unpleasant things down the road."
"And what can you threaten us with?" the agent asked with a sneer. "Lieutenant Ikari, you are in no position to disobey a direct order from the UN."
At that moment several humvees pulled up by Shinji and the others. Arab soldiers came out, all armed and ready for a fight.
"Lieutenant Ikari, is there a problem?" the sergeant asked.
"Oh, we're just preparing to go back home but these men stopped us," Shinji said with a smile.
"I see. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave the lieutenants alone."
"And who would you be?" the agent asked.
"I am Sergeant Muhammad Kasmer and I'm under orders to see that Lieutenant Ikari gets on that plane."
"Under whose authority?"
"General Williams."
That caught Shinji by surprise. He knew Abdul held him in high respects but apparently General Williams thought highly of him as well.
"I think that settles it," said Shinji. "Oh, and I know what your bosses want. They want me to make a public statement about NERV. Well, I'll do that in about two weeks, so you won't have to go back empty-handed."
The Arabic soldiers formed a protective screen around Shinji and Mana and helped them move away from the UN agents. Shinji waved back to them as they got on the plane.
"Did you really have to antagonize them?" Mana asked.
"Well, I just never realized how much fun it could be. Sorry."
"Just don't do it too often," Mana warned.
The plane then turned and lifted off, heading back to Japan. For once, the victory truly was Shinji's. Now he just had to keep winning."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I heard Shinji managed to avoid Section 2," Maya stated.
Asuka looked up in surprise. That little piece of news wasn't exactly common knowledge.
"Reporters were there," Maya explained. "I just deduced it from what I say."
"Oh, well, he's going to make his statement, oh crap, now."
Asuka saved her work and turned on the TV in the lab. She quickly switched through the channels and found that most of the major news networks were broadcasting the statement. Shinji appeared and walked up to the podium, in his formal military dress.
"What do you think he'll say?" Maya asked.
"Who knows? But I would hope Shinji at least trusts me," Asuka replied.
With a smile Asuka looked at Shinji. He certainly had grown up since they'd left each other, though it was on good terms. The young man on the screen had a strong build, unlike the scrawny boy she saw when they first met. Now it really was a man before her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thanking for coming today," Shinji began. "I know that I should have issued this statement earlier but matters in the Middle East delayed me. However, now I am here to speak of the UN's actions, and to condemn it."
There was a gasp in the press room and in the lab. Asuka rubbed her eyes and looked at the screen again, this time seeing a man with a cold heart looking back at her. His eyes weren't a peaceful blue anymore but that of steel. What had happened?
"The first NERV resulted in the death of millions of people," Shinji went on. "I am appalled that the UN would be so careless as to bring back an organization that is guilty of committing genocide and I am also disappointed that my fellow pilot has forgotten the pain and suffering NERV inflicted. NERV is an organization founded to bring about the end of human individuality, in essence ending humanity. I see no difference between the first NERV and this one as this NERV is also heavily involved with biotechnology research among other questionable things.
"It is very possible that the goal of this NERV is to help humanity, but then the UN should have established it under a different alias. Therefore, I can only assume the name is a sign of how dangerous this organization truly is. People once placed their trust in NERV because it was their only hope and NERV betrayed them. Thus, if NERV wants to regain the trust of humanity, it should remain dead and never interfere with the affairs of humans again.
"In an attempt to gain legitimacy, NERV asked me to assume the position of second in command. I cannot in good conscious join an organization that caused the death of my sister, my surrogate father, and maimed my best friend. Thus I must ask those who currently work at NERV how they can live with themselves being in an organization that does not care for those under its care and employment. NERV should never have been resurrected. I had hoped that the destruction of the Evangelions would be the last nail in NERV's coffin but it looks like the monster is back.
"My final statement is a word of caution to the world. God has punished humanity for its vanity three times now. We shall not survive a fourth judgment."
End of Chapter 4
Okay, keep in mind I did not do any editing of this so there will be mistakes. Also, I kind of put this chapter on hold for a while before coming back to it. All other stories are on hold for the moment as I'm working on finishing up corrections for Gathering of Force. Then I might be able to dish out another chapter in a few months. I think.
Z98
Chapter 4: Recriminations
Lights blinked on inside the cockpit of the JA-Delta. Shinji took hold of the two joysticks on his sides. The one on the right controlled the direction the Positron Cannon and missiles were aimed, while the left controlled the railgun smaller cannon in the mouth of the JA. Movement of the unit itself was controlled by how his body moved and by a simple neuro- interface. The inside of the cockpit was actually very much like a video screen. It provided the pilot of a 360 degree view of everything around him or her, thus ensuring that nothing could sneak up on the pilot if the pilot was observant. Shinji moved the walker out of the hanger and looked over the massive sea of sand.
"This is Delta-1, ready to deploy."
Mana quickly responded over the radio. "This is Delta-2, ready to deploy."
"Our radar is detecting incoming," an officer told them, "Be advised, they do not have IFF signals.
"Acknowledged," said Shinji, "What are they?"
"From the speed they're approaching, they're very likely fighters."
"They moved fast," Williams muttered, "Ikari, Kirishima, take them out."
The jets fired on the JAs and both lifted off. Shinji tracked the first jet and the image zoomed in. It looked like an old MiG fighter, which didn't surprise him. A lot of old Russian, even Soviet, equipment was available for those who had the money. His missiles locked on and Shinji let loose three. Mana targeted the wingman and fired two. The five missiles cut across the sky; two of Shinji's striking his target while the third veered off course. Mana's stayed on target even as the fighter veered away. Shinji thought he heard snippets of Arabic over the radio before the second pilot met the same fate as his comrade.
"We have incoming ground units," reported another soldier, "Approximately ten kilometers and closing."
"How did they get so close without us seeing them?" Williams demanded.
"I don't know sir, but they're here and en masse."
"Ikari, Kirishima, our units are still being deployed. Do what you can and take out as many of the enemy units as possible."
The JAs turned around and flew towards the direction of the incoming. Shinji zoomed in again to see formations of old T-80 battle tanks. They were seriously out of date considering the Russians were now fielding the T- 99 duel barrel tanks.
"Shall we?" Mana joked over the radio.
"By all means, my dear."
Bringing the railgun online, Shinji opened fire and the bullets punched right through enemy armor with no difficulty. Firing its ammunition at hypersonic speeds, armor from an out of date tank like the T-80 might as well have been made out of paper. Several of the tanks exploded but the force persisted and advanced. A few opened fire on the JAs but their shots went wild or were destroyed by the point-defense lasers.
A few seconds later a flight of Comanches, the only American force deployed, arrived.
"We'll take it from here, Deltas," the wing commander said, "Hell of you show you've put up so far."
Shinji was al too glad to leave the battlefield for now. Despite his past experiences, he was not a true soldier yet. A true soldier blinked when he pulled the trigger, but didn't let it affect him. Right now, he hadn't killed a man face to face yet. Until that happened, he would never be a true soldier.
The Comanches let loose their Hellfire missiles, each one of them finding targets and blowing through with ease. More explosions rocked the enemy tank formation and machinegun fire razed the soldiers trying to flee. One of the enemy tanks got lucky and its shot clipped the tail of a Comanche. It started going down but the pilot managed to regain some control and headed back to base. A tank commander suddenly popped up and opened fire with his machinegun but quickly ducked back down when the Comanches answered him. Five missiles struck his vehicle and blew it apart.
The JAs fell back and landed at the main camp. They remained outside as more ammo and missiles were brought out to them.
"Ikari, Kirishima, we're going to hit their base now. The two of you will break through their defenses and clear a path for our bombers. If you can, level the base yourselves."
"Sir, are we equipped with incendiary missiles?" Mana asked.
"Yes. Now get on it. I do not want the rebels to have a chance to react properly."
Engineers and maintenance crew quickly retreated as the JAs stood up again. The jets burst into action and both units took off again. They quickly moved towards their target location and went supersonic. Another feature on the JA was the supercruise ability. Originally introduced by the American F-22 Raptor, it allowed fighters to go supersonic without hitting the afterburners, thus conserving fuel. Despite the JA's odd shape, it was still capable of doing this when its legs were tucked inward and its arms retracted somewhat. This resulted in an odd looking long oval shape, but the weapons were still fully operational.
The flight took only about thirty minutes before they were in range. Both units went into full combat mode and the two scanned the area.
"I'm detecting what looks like ten Stinger sites facing us alone."
"Five each then," said Shinji, "We target them with missiles and knock them out before they see us."
"How about we hit their base at the same time with our positron cannons?"
"We'd have the warm them up first," said Shinji, "They would too easily detect that, providing they haven't detected us already."
Mana laughed. "Well, let's hope this stealth package actually works then. But we'll warm up the cannons once we take out those Stinger sites."
The two units were easily within range of their missiles and the two locked on target. Missiles streaked out from their launchers and crashed seconds later into the targets. Dirt and body parts flew as they impacted and exploded. Little mushrooms of fire erupted, further fueled by the weapons stored at the Stinger sites.
"They're down," said Mana, "Charging 15% complete."
"Looks like they didn't take too kindly with us coming in like that," Shinji noted, "I'm detecting four vehicles headed our way. They look like they're armed with anti-air missiles."
"No problem. Our PDLs will take them out."
"Don't get too confident," Shinji warned, "We still don't know what other tricks they might have."
Just as he uttered those words what looked like a lightning bolt flashed past their units.
"What the hell was that!" Mana exclaimed.
"Looked like an electrical surge," said Shinji, "Whatever it was, it played hell with my sensors. What do yours say?"
"High electrical charge, very hot, possibly plasma."
"Did they come from the towers?" Shinji asked.
Mana frowned. "Yeah, they did."
"Then let's take them out. Positron cannon is ready to fire."
Shinji pulled the trigger and he felt the JA recoil slightly as the cannon let loose. A blue beam sliced through the air before suddenly striking some kind of barrier. The beam splashed over a green energy field but nothing got past it despite the power of the positron cannon.
"What?"
Shinji was just as puzzled as his fellow pilot.
"Pull up!" Mana screamed.
Firing the positron cannon seriously drained the JA's power supply, meaning some of the systems were not available immediately after firing. Unfortunately, that meant the PDLs were offline. Shinji veered to the side and tried to dodge the missiles. Mana moved closer and stayed with him, trying to use her PDLs to intercept the enemy missiles. As she flew about, she returned fire and the railgun clobbered the two lead vehicles.
Three missiles got past Mana and wouldn't lose their lock. One struck Shinji's JA on the leg, disabling one of the maneuvering jets. Finally the PDLs came online and took care of the last two missiles. Shinji armed three of his own and fired. They quickly found their targets and took out the rest of the missile launchers.
"I have what looks like quad cannons approaching us," Mana warned.
"They won't be able to do much," said Shinji, "Activate magnetic shielding."
A red oval appeared momentarily around each JA before vanishing. A feature that was not normally used, the magnetic shield was effective at deflecting bullets and stopping missiles from impacting on the JA. It used a magnetic field to repel metals, though control of the polarity was tricky.
"Shinji, we can't use the shield forever," said Mana, "We only have it for five more minutes."
"That'll be good enough," said Shinji, "What do your scans tell you about the enemy shield?"
"It's charged," said Mana, "So if we create a field opposite their charge, we can break through."
"Theoretically," said Shinji, "Should we risk it?"
"Victory goes to the daring," Mana replied.
"And the stupid," Shinji muttered.
He made a few adjustments on the controls and saw the polarity of his shields reverse. That should do it. Mana charged in before him and Shinji stayed on her tail. She struck a barrier but it didn't slow her down at all. The JA passed right through it with Shinji behind her, also phasing through.
"We're through!" Mana exclaimed.
"We're not out of this yet," said Shinji, "Take out one of the towers. The field seems to be concentrated there."
"Alright."
Shinji circled around and started blasting away at everything. Missiles lanced out, burning everything in sight as the napalm ignited. Mana fired at the first of the towers, blowing huge chunks out of it with her explosive missiles. She kept the incendiaries in reserve to help Shinji. Several enemy units fired RPGs Tiny laser beams struck them, rendering them useless.
"Mana, how's the first tower coming?"
"With great difficulty," Mana replied.
The tower started listing with Mana firing her remaining explosives into it. One final blast toppled the thing and a blue field appeared momentarily before collapsing.
"It's down," said Mana.
"Then use the positron cannon," said Shinji, "I'll cover you."
The gun atop of Mana's JA warmed up. Shinji stayed close to her with his guns blowing up and chewing through any opposition. He avoided firing on or near what he thought was the bio-weapons lab though the napalm had done its work, burning through the large tanks and other structures within the base, not to mention its human occupants. For a few seconds during all the chaos Shinji thought about what it would be like outside the JA. True he was getting a view of everything around him, but that didn't tell the entire story. What was the burning flesh like? The incredible heat and the shrapnel being thrown up by his weapons? The bullets tearing through the vulnerable flesh?
The young man put it behind him. War was war and he had a duty to if not his country than to Mana.
Moments later Mana fired her positron cannon and swept it across the bio- weapons facility and what was left of the base. The sand actually turned to glass and much of what remained was vaporized. As the beam approached one of the towers Shinji noticed a spike in the energy.
"Mana! Don't hit the tower!"
Too late. The beam of energy barely touched the tower but that was enough. A pulse built up in the beam and backfired through the energy stream. The feedback overloaded the cannon and it exploded, taking out the back superstructure of the JA.
"Mana!"
The unit fell and crashed to the ground. Shinji went lower and circled around the fallen JA, his railgun trained and firing on anyone that tried to get close to her. He then landed himself and activated the auto-defense system. The railgun would now target anyone outside of the designated area unless they wore a special signal carrier which both pilots had. He checked his pistol and jumped out the JA. A few rebels opened fire on him but apparently they had no aim. Shinji returned fire and hit one in his face. The bullet penetrated the skin and crashed through the skull. Blood erupted and splattered all over the place. It was a surprise that there were survivors at all. The JA quickly took down the other rebels that tried to hit him.
Shinji ran up to the JA and found its cockpit. He entered the code and it opened a crack. Using every ounce of strength in him Shinji pulled the hatch open to reveal Mana lying unconscious in her seat.
"Mana, Mana, wake up!"
Shinji pulled her out and carried her back to his JA. He placed her inside his cockpit and sealed it, just in case someone with a rifle tried to snipe at him.
"This is Delta-1 to base; the enemy forces have been neutralized but I need a med-evac now."
"This is General Williams, what happened?"
"Those towers," Shinji reported. "They overloaded Mana's positron cannon. Her unit has been damaged and is now on the ground. She's unconscious right now."
"Hold on Lieutenant Ikari," said Williams. "Reinforcements are on their way. What is her condition?"
Shinji checked Mana's pulse and found that it was still strong.
"She's still alive but she has a head wound. It might be a concussion."
"Acknowledged. Reinforcements will arrive in approximately fifteen minutes. Stay there, Ikari. We're coming."
There was one thing Shinji had to do despite Mana's condition. He aimed his positron cannon and fired it on the downed unit, vaporizing it.
Somehow those fifteen minutes seemed to drag on for hours as Shinji waited. When he finally heard the sound of rotors he looked over. Blackhawks, Chinooks, and Comanches appeared over the horizon. Soldiers deployed from the Blackhawks and Shinji finally opened his cockpit. He lowered Mana down and medics strapped her down. He could do nothing but watch as they lifted her into the helicopter. If only he had paid attention to his instincts more. He had known the towers were bad news but chose to ignore it. And now Mana was hurt. Because of him.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Asuka blinked a few times as she drew away from the microscope. She was exhausted; after something like twelve hours working in the lab. Pushing herself like this wasn't good for her but it gave her an excuse to avoid all the paperwork she had to deal with being in charge of an organization like NERV. However, even a genius like her had limits and Asuka was finally admitting that to herself after the third time she thought she saw a giant amoeba crawling on the table. Asuka did a double take. There was actually something crawling around on the table, something that did look like a giant amoeba.
"Umm, whose is that?" Asuka asked the lab techs.
"Oh sorry," said Maya, "It's a beta."
"A beta of what?"
Maya smiled. "It's actually not just mine. Me and one of the other lab techs built this thing. It's designed to clean up any toxic materials or chemicals that might be leaked or such. I worked out most of the programming while she designed the rest of it."
"Very impressive," said Asuka, "And kind of cute. Can I touch it?"
"Sure."
Asuka poked it and it turned towards her, squeaking a little.
"It makes sounds?" Asuka noted.
"That's just to make it friendlier."
Asuka nodded. "This has potential. Keep working on it."
"Yes ma'am."
"On your own time," Asuka reminded her.
"Of course," said Maya.
Asuka took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She really needed some sleep. Walking out of the lab and through decon, Asuka found that she barely had enough strength to remain standing. She called one of the little taxis within NERV and was driven to her room. She was used to working overtime and as head of NERV there were quarters ready for her use when she couldn't get back home. How nice it was to finally sleep.
It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when the phone rang. Looking over, Asuka saw she had slept for eight hours. She probably would have slept longer had not the phone awakened her. Picking it up, Asuka answered reluctantly.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Soryu? There's a meeting of all Level A staff right now."
"Oh shit," Asuka cursed, "Tell them I'll be right there."
"Yes ma'am."
Asuka had slept in her lab clothes so she didn't really need to get dressed. She checked her hair and ran out. Getting a ride to the conference was no problem and Asuka got there already with her thoughts gathered. She took her seat at the head of the table and promptly began.
"Sorry about sleeping late, but let's get to work. Dr. Stark will brief all of you on the progress the final phases of construction for our labs."
Jennifer stood up and pressed a few commands on her palm pilot. Designs and images appeared above the table, all of the large tubes blinking yellow.
"These are the tubes that will be used to hold our specimens," she began. "As of now we have eight installed in the main labs. They are made of glass that has been mixed with potassium to make it harder. We will be refraining from using plastics at the moment and the glass itself is three inches thick. That should hold whatever specimens and other projects we are running."
The image zoomed out a bit and now several cables connected to the tubes appeared.
"The cables you see now are designed to fill the tube with whatever we need to maintain specimens and such," Jennifer continued. "Our greatest challenge at the moment is to work out another way to manipulate what is inside the tube though. Though these cables allow us to regulate the pressure, nutrient concentration, and temperature, we also need to be able to touch the specimens from time to time. That brings us to these instruments."
This time the view went down a little to show some instruments that seemed to be connected with the tank.
"Manipulating with anything inside the tank will be done with these instruments. However, they will have to be custom built."
Asuka shook her head. Another major headache was all the specialized equipment they would need. Even with the stuff NERV had inherited from its former German branch, it still wasn't enough.
"How long?" she asked.
"A month at least," said Charles. "I've never even heard of some of the things we'll require and it's going to take some time to track down the companies that can manufacture them in Europe."
"There is one thing we must obtain from Japan," Maya interrupted. "From what I've heard they've developed the latest in the MAGI supercomputer series. The current one we have is getting a bit dated."
Asuka frowned. "I hadn't heard about it."
"Not many people have," Maya explained. "The Japanese government made a quiet announcement, probably because they know other nations will want to buy it. However, from the impression I got from the announcement they aren't too interested in selling the new MAGI."
"Why?" asked Henderson. "Wouldn't they make a lot of money selling the MAGI?"
"I think it has something to do with actually building one," Maya answered. "The construction costs for one of them is ten billion American dollars."
Asuka let out a low whistle. Even with nearly unlimited UN funding, that was still a huge chunk of money.
"Do we absolutely need this MAGI system?" Asuka asked.
Maya nodded. "I looked over the computing power we'll need for this project. Last time it was done, it took a cluster of ten pre-MAGI supercomputers possibly a decade to calculate the sequence."
"I didn't think the Human Complementary Project was actually attainable during that time."
"They started with incomplete data," Jennifer took that one. "The scientists back then were lucky nothing really changed the data they had before, otherwise it would have been a wasted effort."
"So," Asuka began. "How long would it take with the new MAGI?"
"Three years minimum," Maya answered. "That's after we finish construction."
"And where would construction take place?" Charles asked.
Maya tapped in commands of her own and an add-on appeared.
"What you see here is the entire layout of the German NERV installation. The section highlighted in red is the proposed site for the MAGI mainframe."
"Some of it extends under our current depth," Asuka noted.
"Of course," said Maya. "The original MAGI was massive. This is no different."
"I'll take a look at its specifications and then make a decision about this," said Asuka. "But let's get back to the progress report."
"Of course. I think it should be noted that though the labs are 90% complete, without the final components installed they are useless," Jennifer continued. "But, there is one major problem. Power."
Asuka fought down the urge to sigh. "What is it?"
"We don't have the power generating capability to support all this equipment," Jennifer continued. The image zoomed out to show the surrounding area and five fusion power plants, technology that Asuka herself had helped perfect. "These fusion plants can generate power on the scale of several million kilowatts. Unfortunately, there are several issues. I hadn't even known about the MAGI system so that's going to throw off these calculations some, but only in the negative. The problem is supporting all of the new equipment we've put in. Most of the old facilities are being torn down and upgraded and that also requires power."
"How many more fusion plants will we require?" Asuka asked.
"Five more, and only if they're the new second generation reactors, and only if those produce as much power as they're supposed to."
"Just great," Asuka muttered. "The construction of the prototype is over schedule and over budget as it is."
"Perhaps we should consider selling some of the technologies," said Maya. "It could help with the construction costs."
"I'll talk with the German government," said Asuka. "No promises though. Even if they support what we're doing, it's a lot of money being sunk into this. Do the five new reactors also cover emergency power?"
"Yes," said Jennifer. "But with the MAGI, it might become six."
Asuka nodded and looked at the images spinning at the center of the table. "The UN supplied us with a starting budget of $500 billion. I'm starting to think that's only scratching the surface."
"It could easily quadruple if we want to get the construction done within the next five years," said Jennifer.
"And that's if the other technologies we need prove their worth," said Charles. "Otherwise we'd have to develop them from scratch."
"I seriously doubt the UN would be willing to spend $2 trillion just to build the place," said Henderson.
"They spent much more for Tokyo 3," Asuka noted. "But that was because of the defenses too. I think we should count it a blessing the German military has promised to build and supply the defenses."
"They must have gotten a big check for that," Maya noted dryly.
"The UN is making a serious commitment in resurrecting NERV," said Asuka. "They won't abandon the project, but they will put certain aspects on hold if costs grow out of control. Let's try to avoid that."
"Yes ma'am."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was the unknown that scared people more. And now, the unknown was Shinji Ikari's greatest enemy. He sat outside the emergency room and tried to remain still. Quite a difficult task as he knew nothing of Mana's condition. They had immediately rushed her in, taken x-rays, and put her on some painkillers. Shinji wasn't sure what they were doing to her in there but he knew they were doing their best to save her. Finally after what had seemed like an eternity the doors opened and a doctor walked out. He took off his took off his gloves and operating mask and nodded to Shinji.
"Lieutenant Ikari. I'd say your fellow pilot is very lucky and made of some tough stuff."
"Is she going to be okay?" Shinji asked. He had shot out of his seat upon seeing the doctor.
The doctor nodded. "She suffered a great deal of trauma from the crash landing and that doesn't include the radiation she was exposed to when her Unit exploded. But they're both okay."
"What?"
The doctor frowned. "You mean you don't know? Well, let me be the first to say congratulations then, Lieutenant Ikari. You're going to be a father."
The doctor patted Shinji on his shoulder as the young man simply stood there dumbly. The realization that the responsibilities of another human being would be upon him was the first thing that struck him. Then a smile appeared as the joy of becoming a father swept over him.
"We've moved her to the observation ward," said the doctor. "You can go visit her, but she will need some time to recover."
"Thanks doctor."
"My pleasure. You just take good care of both of them."
A nurse appeared and motioned for Shinji to follow her. They stopped before one of the rooms and she opened the door for him. Inside Mana was connected to a great deal of life support equipment as Shinji looked upon her. This scene was familiar to him. So many years ago Asuka had been in the same condition and he had been helpless to do anything for her. Now, things were different. Once they got back to Japan, he would set things in motion and screw the rest of the world. He only cared about Mana and their child now and nobody else mattered.
A seat was next to the bed so Shinji took the chance to rest a bit. From the last update Abdul had given him the offensive was going well and they had smashed what was left of the rebels. And this time they had also seized a sizeable amount of the rebel's cash reserves so this war might finally tone down.
"Maybe we should resign from the JA Corps," Shinji muttered to himself and Mana. "You're going to be on leave soon anyways and I'll have to start working on other projects anyways. We could live a more peaceful life."
The only answer was the constant beeping of the heart monitor as each pulse went by. Shinji looked at the monitor and listened to every pulse. It was strong and Mana would pull through. With a smile he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. He would be here when she awakened.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I hate this."
Shinji chuckled as he pushed Mana in the wheelchair. Despite her emotional swings Mana really was an independent spirit and having to rely on someone else to move around caused her great annoyance.
"Get used to it," Shinji suggested. "You're going to be in these wheels for quite some time."
Ignoring the joke Mana placed a hand over her stomach. She looked down and just stared at it.
"Something wrong?" Shinji asked.
"It's just so amazing that a living thing could be growing inside of me," she said. "I mean, a living human being that I'm responsible for. It's going to be tough."
"But I'll be there too," said Shinji. "Granted you probably will have a harder time, but I'll still be there."
"Of course you are," Mana replied. "I wouldn't forgive you if you weren't."
They emerged from the hospital and saw several British soldiers outside. All of them saluted and the couple returned it. The coalition troops had gained a great deal of respect for the JA after it had plastered basically the entire enemy base and leaving them only to come in to clean up. While not as glorious, it did save them the grief they would have encountered if they had to take on the magnetic shield.
"We're going home," Mana stated.
"That we are," said Shinji. "You sound sad."
"No, just tired."
"You can't fool me that easily. C'mon, tell me. What's wrong?"
"It's just, well, as I said before. I'm responsible for another human life now. What if I mess up? I nearly got both of us killed when my unit was damaged like that."
"But you're still alive. That's what's important."
The couple got into a jeep and they drove towards the airfield. With the destruction of a JA unit, the Japanese government was pulling out the surviving one and it was unlikely they would deploy the other two unless a way was figured out to shield the positron cannon. But right now, it would be nice to go home.
Just then the radio went off and the soldier responded. He looked over at Shinji and nodded.
"You have a call, Lieutenant Ikari."
Shinji took the headset and put it on.
"This is Lieutenant Ikari."
"Hello Ikari, this is Abdul."
"Colonel. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I'm passing on a warning to you. Some people from the UN came looking for you and when they found out you were leaving they immediately went to the airfield. They didn't look happy, by the way."
"Damn, I was hoping to avoid them. Thanks, Abdul. I hope you don't get in trouble for this."
"Don't worry about me, my friend. You've been of great help to me and it's because of you and your partner that I didn't have to send out more of my men to die. I owe you that and by God I shall pay you back. If you ever need my help again, just call me."
"Thanks my friend. Actually, I do have a request. Could you have about twenty soldiers under your command meet up with us at the airfield?"
"Of course, and God be with you."
Shinji handed the headset back and took out a data disk. Mana and the officer both looked at him curiously.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Insurance."
As they neared the airfield it was clear that the UN had sent more than just a few agents. Several soldiers also armed with the newer OICW-class assault rifles were waiting, not a good sign. Those weapons were of American design and it meant the US had some interest in this.
"What's going on?" Mana asked.
"Don't worry," Shinji assured her. "I'll take care of it. Driver, could you drop us off by those reporters?"
"You sure you want to be by them?" the driver asked. "They can be as bad as vultures sometimes."
"I'm sure."
The jeep veered a little and came to a stop. Shinji walked out but kept Mana inside as this would only take a few minutes. He quickly found the reporter that had bothered him early. Shinji handed her the disk.
"If I do not contact you two weeks from now, that will be your story. If I do and ask you to meet with me, then you'll get an exclusive interview. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course," the reporter said, stunned. "But why now?"
"I also play politics, Ms."
Shinji walked away despite all the other reporters shouting at him. The woman quickly stashed the disk and backed away, having what she came for.
"What was that all about?" Mana asked.
"As I said before, insurance," Shinji answered. "The UN is still way too powerful for my liking, and that will make them back off for a little while. At least long enough for me to make an actual statement."
When the jeep pulled up to the actual airfield Shinji was greeted by several men from the UN.
"Lieutenant Ikari, we need you to come with us."
"Under whose orders?" Shinji countered.
"The United Nations Military Command," the man replied, confidence spilling over.
"I'm afraid I don't take orders from the UN," Shinji replied. "As of six hours ago I was transferred back to the JSSDF and the UN Military has no authority over me."
All of the agents standing before them were taken aback and speechless, though their leader quickly recovered.
"I'm afraid you don't understand, Lieutenant Ikari. You will come with us. If I must, I will invoke Paragraph 2 of UN Security Resolution 3452."
"You'll need the approval of someone with the rank of Brigadier General," Shinji stated. "General Williams is transferring back to Great Britain and is only holding things down until his replacement comes, which won't be for another week and I'm leaving now."
"Lieutenant Ikari, you will come with us now," the agent ordered. Anger was creeping into his voice and his face tightened.
"You have no authority to make me," Shinji replied, still calm. "If you try, then you shall run into some very unpleasant things down the road."
"And what can you threaten us with?" the agent asked with a sneer. "Lieutenant Ikari, you are in no position to disobey a direct order from the UN."
At that moment several humvees pulled up by Shinji and the others. Arab soldiers came out, all armed and ready for a fight.
"Lieutenant Ikari, is there a problem?" the sergeant asked.
"Oh, we're just preparing to go back home but these men stopped us," Shinji said with a smile.
"I see. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave the lieutenants alone."
"And who would you be?" the agent asked.
"I am Sergeant Muhammad Kasmer and I'm under orders to see that Lieutenant Ikari gets on that plane."
"Under whose authority?"
"General Williams."
That caught Shinji by surprise. He knew Abdul held him in high respects but apparently General Williams thought highly of him as well.
"I think that settles it," said Shinji. "Oh, and I know what your bosses want. They want me to make a public statement about NERV. Well, I'll do that in about two weeks, so you won't have to go back empty-handed."
The Arabic soldiers formed a protective screen around Shinji and Mana and helped them move away from the UN agents. Shinji waved back to them as they got on the plane.
"Did you really have to antagonize them?" Mana asked.
"Well, I just never realized how much fun it could be. Sorry."
"Just don't do it too often," Mana warned.
The plane then turned and lifted off, heading back to Japan. For once, the victory truly was Shinji's. Now he just had to keep winning."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I heard Shinji managed to avoid Section 2," Maya stated.
Asuka looked up in surprise. That little piece of news wasn't exactly common knowledge.
"Reporters were there," Maya explained. "I just deduced it from what I say."
"Oh, well, he's going to make his statement, oh crap, now."
Asuka saved her work and turned on the TV in the lab. She quickly switched through the channels and found that most of the major news networks were broadcasting the statement. Shinji appeared and walked up to the podium, in his formal military dress.
"What do you think he'll say?" Maya asked.
"Who knows? But I would hope Shinji at least trusts me," Asuka replied.
With a smile Asuka looked at Shinji. He certainly had grown up since they'd left each other, though it was on good terms. The young man on the screen had a strong build, unlike the scrawny boy she saw when they first met. Now it really was a man before her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thanking for coming today," Shinji began. "I know that I should have issued this statement earlier but matters in the Middle East delayed me. However, now I am here to speak of the UN's actions, and to condemn it."
There was a gasp in the press room and in the lab. Asuka rubbed her eyes and looked at the screen again, this time seeing a man with a cold heart looking back at her. His eyes weren't a peaceful blue anymore but that of steel. What had happened?
"The first NERV resulted in the death of millions of people," Shinji went on. "I am appalled that the UN would be so careless as to bring back an organization that is guilty of committing genocide and I am also disappointed that my fellow pilot has forgotten the pain and suffering NERV inflicted. NERV is an organization founded to bring about the end of human individuality, in essence ending humanity. I see no difference between the first NERV and this one as this NERV is also heavily involved with biotechnology research among other questionable things.
"It is very possible that the goal of this NERV is to help humanity, but then the UN should have established it under a different alias. Therefore, I can only assume the name is a sign of how dangerous this organization truly is. People once placed their trust in NERV because it was their only hope and NERV betrayed them. Thus, if NERV wants to regain the trust of humanity, it should remain dead and never interfere with the affairs of humans again.
"In an attempt to gain legitimacy, NERV asked me to assume the position of second in command. I cannot in good conscious join an organization that caused the death of my sister, my surrogate father, and maimed my best friend. Thus I must ask those who currently work at NERV how they can live with themselves being in an organization that does not care for those under its care and employment. NERV should never have been resurrected. I had hoped that the destruction of the Evangelions would be the last nail in NERV's coffin but it looks like the monster is back.
"My final statement is a word of caution to the world. God has punished humanity for its vanity three times now. We shall not survive a fourth judgment."
End of Chapter 4
Okay, keep in mind I did not do any editing of this so there will be mistakes. Also, I kind of put this chapter on hold for a while before coming back to it. All other stories are on hold for the moment as I'm working on finishing up corrections for Gathering of Force. Then I might be able to dish out another chapter in a few months. I think.
Z98
