A/N: I've wanted to update for several weeks, but school got in the way. I posted the next two chapters, so enjoy and remember to review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or Scrapped Princess. Those shows are owned by Gainax and BONES respectively. I do not profit from writing this story.
"Well, Colonel? Are you going to say something or are you simply going to leave me here?" Ikari asked with a hint of annoyance.
Misato could barely contain her anxiety when she replied, "Ah yes, sir. I mean no, sir. It's a pleasant surprise. I thought you were still in the Vega system."
"That situation is being taken care of. We are here for a different purpose."
Makoto squinted at his console. "Ma'am, I think the Concordia is sending us some orders."
"Your communications officer is correct. I suggest you read through them before we continue our conversation."
Misato walked over to Makoto's console and read through the order.
From: Supreme Commander, Terran Defense Forces
To: Commander, 15th Terran Fleet
CC: Commander, 334th Independent Combat Group
Admiral Ikari,
You are ordered to proceed to the Procyon System, take command of the 334th Independent Combat Group stationed there and use these additional forces to commence Operation Hope. Good luck
Signed,
Marshal Keel Lorenz
Supreme Commander
Terran Defense Forces
Misato stared at the image of Ikari incredulously. "Sir, I never received a copy of this order."
"You did now. From this day and until the completion of our operation, you will be attached to my fleet."
"Sir, my orders must come directly from Headquarters. I must pro-…"
Ikari cut Misato off, "If you have a complaint, I suggest you file it after we have completed this operation."
Misato hung her head in defeat, "Very well, what do you want me to do?"
"I knew you would see it my way, Colonel. I am coming aboard at 1400 hours to discuss the details of this operation with you. Will this be satisfactory?"
Misato nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand."
Misato and her honor detail stood before the admiral's shuttle. Her duty uniform and flight jacket were replaced by a black dress uniform. As Ikari emerged from the shuttle, she could barely contain her shock when she saw the people accompanying him. She regained control of her senses in time to bring the honor guard to attention. When Ikari approached, Misato stepped forward and saluted him.
"Sir, welcome to the Vanguard."
Ikari returned the salute and said, "At ease, Colonel. I have brought along two individuals you may know. This is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, an expert in bio-cybernetics." Ikari gestured to a blonde-haired woman standing off to his right. Ritsuko nodded in recognition. "And, this is my intelligence officer, Colonel Ryouji Kaji." The unshaven Kaji grinned foolishly.
'Damn', Misato thought. 'If having a loose cannon of an admiral show up wasn't enough, then having my best friend and that bastard Kaji show up is enough get me grounded.'
Misato stood at ease and said, "Sir, I have prepared one of our conference rooms for our… consultation."
"Excellent, Colonel. You are everything Headquarters said you were."
Misato wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or an insult.
Ikari sat at the conference table with Kaji standing behind him. Misato sat off to Ikari's right with Ritsuko sitting directly in front of her.
Ikari began the meeting, "I am sure that this situation seems quite unusual, but Colonel Kaji can explain the details. Colonel?"
The room darkened as Kaji began his presentation. On the conference room's view screen, a star map appeared with human territory shown in green and known HI held territory denoted by red.
"As you know, the HI first appeared out of unexplored space sixteen years ago. At that time we knew very little about them other than their home world lay beyond our borders. We don't know why they struck, but since 2300 humanity has been forced to yield more than seventy light-years worth of territory. That all changed about a five years ago with Project NERV headed by Dr. Akagi. She used the work of Dr. Uri Keller…"
"Keller?" Misato asked. "Isn't that the nutty biologist who was convinced that he could bring out natural telepathic ability in people?"
Ritsuko answered, "That's correct. Specifically, Keller believed that the human mind was capable of communication over vast distances. However, Project NERV focused on developing talent for remote viewing rather than telepathy…"
"Remote viewing?" Misato wondered out loud.
"Remote viewing is the ability of the human mind to see distant events as they occur in real time and space. Unlike telepathy, there is no direct mental communication. Project NERV, or Natural Enhancement of Remote Viewing seeks to develop the latent skills of individual remote viewers."
"So, this 'Seer' I've been hearing so much about lately is a product of this project of yours?"
"The Seer Sylvia Mauser is the ultimate product of years of training and testing. She was the only one to develop her skills to the degree necessary to predict the HI's movements. I merely used Keller's work to locate people who probably had the highest degree of latent talent."
Kaji interjected, "The Seer's ability to view enemy movements accurately is unparalleled. However, while she can see the enemy's movements, it is still up to the fleets and their pilots to fight the enemy. And, this outcome cannot be predicted by remote viewing. That is where the Admiral comes in. His 15th Fleet spent the past year training with a new weapon. One that can replace the ailing Dragon and ineffective Gigas mechas."
Kaji touched a button and the screen was filled with a menacing red machine easily a hundred feet tall. "I present to you the product of three years of AI research and development, the Valkyrie."
"Wow, did you build those Ritsuko?" Misato asked.
Ritsuko shook her head. "No, I didn't. One of my students did. She took the basic Dragon design and rebuilt it from the ground up. She used a new type of AI system to replace the faulty Dragon AI. It is an utterly loyal machine and is already being mass produced."
Misato stared at the picture in awe. "Ma- Mass produced! When will we get them?"
Ikari leaned forward, "Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time in which to test these devices, so the 15th Fleet has been field testing them."
Kaji nodded, "Yes, the recent operation to retake Vega was almost completely successful."
Misato's eyes dimmed slightly when she heard this. "What do you mean?"
Kaji opened his mouth to say something when Ikari cut him off, "That's all right, Kaji. I'll tell her. Understand Colonel, what I'm about to tell you is top secret. Mauser has assisted us in keeping the enemy at bay for now. However, projections indicate that without a significant breakthrough, humanity will lose the war sometime in the next decade unless something is done to halt the advance. That number reduces significantly if the HI maintain their strangle hold on the Vega system."
Ikari reached over and pushed a button and an animation began playing out. It showed human territory surround the Vega system shrinking until the front reached Earth. "You see, Vega is a kind of crossroads which can be used to strike almost any planet within our remaining territory except for Earth. This is why 15th Fleet struck the HI in full force using the new Valkyries. We managed to mop up some of their forces, but they're dug in around the principal jump gate. They have excellent defenses. We tried to break them, but it was nearly impossible even with the Valkyries because they're always bringing in reinforcements."
Ritsuko reached into her pocket, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Smoke came out of her mouth as she spoke, "Command banged heads around until someone realized that the solution to the Vega problem can be found in the history books."
"History? I think you lost me, Ritsuko."
Kaji coughed before answering, "Well, during World War II, American paratroopers needed to capture an important bridge, but were initially unsuccessful. With Allied reinforcements on the way the Germans threatened to blow up the bridge to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Then, the American commander realized that the best way to take the bridge was to attack it from both sides."
Misato nodded when she realized what Kaji was getting at. "I see! So, you want to attack enemy forces holding the Vega jump gate and the reinforcements on the other side of the gate simultaneously."
Ikari smiled as he heard this, "Yes, Colonel. I can see you're not just another pretty face…" Misato felt insulted, but restrained herself. "Kaji?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Show Colonel Katsuragi the plan."
Kaji tapped something on the console in front of him before the image changed. It was a map of the Vega system. A female voice began narrating the animation, "Operation Hope. Conceived by Admiral Gendo Ikari and approved by Secretary General George Browning, this plan aims to retake the Vega system and prevent a complete collapse of human resistance."
The map of the Vega system changed to a star map. Vega was prominently labeled on the map along with another system: the Arius Eridani system. "Recent intelligence indicates that the principle Vega jump gate has been connected to the Arius Eridani system. This system is thought to figure prominently into the HI command and control structure for the Vega sector."
Screen zoomed in to show the Arius Eridani system. "Operation Hope is broken down into four phases. Phase one requires a blocking force to jump in-system and attack the facilities surrounding the Arius Eridani jump gate while preventing reinforcements from reaching the jump gate. Valkyrie, Dragon and Gigas mechas will provide close support."
The map changed to the Vega system. "With the blocking force in place, phase two will commence. Phase two consists of a large attack force which will dislodge the HI from the Vega jump gate."
A picture of a large, black diamond shape object appeared. "While phase two is underway, phase three will begin. Ships in the blocking force will begin dropping sensor-shielded mines in order to prevent free navigation into the jump gate. With phase three complete, the blocking force will extricate themselves from Arius Eridani and jump back into human space."
As the screen blanked out Misato spoke up, "Sir, which force will we be participating with?"
Gendo smiled coldly. "You will join the bulk of the 15th Fleet in the assault on Arius Eridani. My current second in command, Commodore Fuyutsuki, is planning the assault on the HI holding the Vega jump gate so you will take his place as my second."
"If you don't mind my asking, why us?"
"I can answer that, Colonel," Ritsuko replied, "The mass production Valkyrie is still in the development phase. Our Vega campaign has shown that there is a slight glitch in their neural processors. We haven't isolated this glitch yet, so we still require the support of the Gigas and the Dragons. Those vehicles are combat proven."
Ritsuko stopped talking as Kaji spoke, "Your combat group has experience in operating around jump gates against the enemy, you are currently posted in a sector not vital for defense and you have the support of three Dragons…"
"Two Dragons." Misato corrected Kaji flatly.
Kaji stopped for a moment and stared at Misato. "What?"
"Two Dragons. I lost one to a raider while on patrol last week."
"Regardless, Colonel," Ikari clasped his hands in front of his face, "We have gathered the largest number of Dragons of any combat unit of the TDF. There are three Dragon on the Concordia. We'll be handing them off to the Vanguard tomorrow. That will give you operational control of five Dragons while the Valkyries operate from the Concordia under my command. Colonel Kaji?"
"Sir?"
"Has intelligence inquired as to the disposition and status of defenses around the Arius Eridani jump gate?"
"No, sir. I'll ask intelligence for a Mauser reading when we return to the Concordia."
Admiral Ikari placed his hands on the table and stood up, "I believe that is all for today. Colonel Katsuragi, I will be sending over three Dragon Knights along with Colonel Kaji. He will act as a liaison between your group and my fleet." With that, the Admiral left quietly accompanied by Ritsuko. Kaji remained behind to clear up his files.
Misato watched him warily as he straightened up. "Looks like we're together again, Katsuragi." Kaji grinned as he sorted the papers.
"Kaji," Misato called. She bit her lip as she waited for him to respond.
"Yes?"
"What really happened at Vega?"
Kaji looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I saw the sensor data. Not all of your escorts are with you and some of your accompanying escorts are trashed. The Admiral isn't being frank with me."
Kaji gave her a grim look, "Misato, I can't give you that information."
Misato gave Kaji a disparaging look. "Kaji, that man just up and usurps my ship like it's nothing and expects me to go into the lion's den without hesitation. I love my ship and my men. I would do anything for them. Tell me Kaji, what happened? What is this glitch that Ritsuko is talking about?"
Kaji sighed in defeat. "We got the drop on the HI like the Admiral said and we had them on the run. We could have driven them back across the jump gate, but the Valkyries suddenly froze. For five seconds they refused to take any commands from us. Ritsuko claims that the neural processors still need work…"
"You think there's something else going on, don't you?"
Kaji nodded slowly. "Yes, I think the HI had something to do with it. We detected a spike in HI communication when the Valkyries froze. It's possible that their communication system is interfering with ours, but that Ritsuko is too proud to admit it."
"What happened after the Valkyries froze?"
"The Admiral launched the Gigas and Dragons, but it was no use. Reinforcements had already arrived and they threatened to drive our forces back, but we held. The politicians on Earth are calling it a resounding victory, but the truth of the matter is…"
Misato held up her hand and shook her head. "No more. Thanks, Kaji."
A small smile appeared on Kaji face. And, for the first time in years, Misato felt as though she wanted to kiss the unshaven man.
