I own nothing. This story is set in an alternate universe. There will be OOC. You have been warned.
While You Were Sleeping
Chapter Four: First Mission
"Well you did it." Asuka turned and saw Shinji standing a few feet behind her holding his combination cap.
"I told you I would," Asuka said triumphantly as she touched the small pin on her lapel of her dress uniform that signified her as a Genesis.
"That you did," Shinji said.
"Did you want to see us Captain Nagisa?" Asuka turned and saw a pair of fellow graduates. They were non-commission officers like most enlisted Genesis.
"Are you Sergeants Johnson and Kitsuragi?" Shinji asked.
"Yes sir," the two men answered in perfect unison.
"Alright then," Shinji said. "We have a mission that requires our immediate attention."
"Already sir?" Johnson asked.
"Yes already," Shinji said simply. "Sorry to cut your celebration short." Asuka snickered at that and Shinji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sorry sir," she said quickly.
"That's alright Lieutenant," Shinji said. "Try to refrain from laughing at me until I am not present."
"Yes sir," Asuka said. She felt bad and it amazed her. Shinji didn't even need to raise his voice like the drill instructors to make you feel only a few centimeters tall. He could do it without even changing his tone.
"You have fifteen minutes to get dressed and report for personal inspection," Shinji said. "Get moving!"
"Yes sir!" Asuka shouted automatically with the two non-coms.
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"So what's the mission sir?" Asuka finished strapping herself into one of the H-Jet's seats and glanced at the man who had spoken. He was one of the two new Sergeants.
"We're going to pick up a field reconnaissance expert," Shinji answered. "I'm sorry that this came up on the fly, but its top secret and I figured you greeners would want to come along. This is how you'll find out about must of your missions. Understand?"
"Yes sir," the Sergeant said with a nod. Shinji stood up and moved to the back of the VTOL.
"We're ready to go Captain!" the copilot called back. The crew chief slammed the port side door shut and secured it.
"All locked up!" he yelled to the pilot over the H-Jet's whining tilt-jet engines. Shinji sat down in his seat and strapped himself in.
"Taking off," the pilot's calm, bored voice said over the radio. The H-Jet ascending wildly and Asuka's felt like she had left her stomach behind. The VTOL slowed down after a while and began to move laterally. "You all right back there jarheads?"
"One hundred percent," Shinji said. He stood up and pulled off his combat helmet, but left his ear jack on incase the pilot said anything over the radio. "You haven't even been introduced yet, right?" he called over the craft's engines.
"No sir," both Sergeants answered. Asuka didn't say anything. She already knew the people of Genesis Squad One.
"Alright," Shinji said, scratching his chin. "Fieldy is our radioman and main grenadier, Gordy and Richey are our heavy weapons specialists, Pierce is our designated marksman and sniper, and everyone else is a rifle man." He quickly rattled off the other members of the squad.
"What's the OPLAN Captain?" Pierce asked. He was an older man. Asuka had never really made any effort to know him any better then that. He seemed to prefer to be by himself and his attitude only encouraged the rest of the squad to respect that.
"This is a covert action," Shinji explained. "We'll be in and out before the Crusaders know we're there. We'll be setting down outside of the forest surrounding Tokyo-2 and we'll proceed through said forest to a designated location on the outskirts of the city. Alright Pierce?"
"Yes sir," the older man said.
"Well people," Shinji said. "We have a long trip ahead of us, so find something to do." He sat back in his seat and leaned back against the bulkhead. To Asuka's astonishment his breathing leveled out and he fell asleep.
"Incredible."
"Isn't it?" Maria asked. "I never figured out how he does it."
"Wish I could do that," Asuka said.
"Just remember one thing," Maria said. "Nothing is ever routine. When you begin to think that things are routine. . ."
"Someone will come up a put a bullet in your ass," Richey interrupted with a grin as he began to check his SAW. "Ma'am," he added as an afterthought.
"He may be an asshole," Doc said. "But he is right."
"Thank you Doc," Richey said happily. "Here that Gordy?"
"Yeah," the second SAW-men said. "He called you an asshole."
"I'd have to agree," Fieldy said. Richey's grin fell away and he gave them all a sour look. 'They're just joking around,' Asuka thought in awe. 'They may all be dead in an hour and they're joking around.'
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"Damn it." Asuka turned and watched in amusement as Richey stumbled over a tree root. She was fairly impressed that he managed to maintain any balance while carrying the five and three quarter kilogram SAW.
"Shit." While she wasn't paying attention she stumbled over a tree root herself and almost dropped her Type 36 assault rifle. One of the soldiers grabbed her vest and steadied her. Asuka glanced at her savior's face, but most of it was covered by his NVGs.
"Thanks."
"Not a problem." Much to her surprise it was Pierce's voice that man answered in. Asuka watched as he continued on ahead and noticed the Type 90 suppressed semi-automatic designated marksman rifle in his hands. 'Well that's a surprise.' She glanced at the squad's point man. He kneeled suddenly and raised one hand. Asuka kneeled as well and brought her rifle up. She turned slightly and saw that Pierce and Shinji were communicating in rapid sign language. From what she could understand there were three soldiers up ahead. It was the Tokyo-2 Defense Perimeter. The Crusaders' had set up a ring of observation posts around the city. There was only ten meters in between each one, but the thick foliage of the forest made it difficult to see from one to another. Asuka watched as Shinji un-slung his large, suppressed assault rifle and handed it to the medic. He reached down and drew his pistol from his hip. Asuka glanced at Pierce. He had handed his DMR over and had un-slung the massive bolt-action sniper rifle from his back. He too drew his pistol and began to screw a suppressor onto the threads at the end of the weapon's barrel.
"What are they doing?" Asuka whispered.
"What they do best," Maria whispered. Asuka followed the two soldiers through her NVGs. The OPs were rather nasty things. They were simple earthen bunkers with .50-caliber machineguns and numerous night vision devices. Asuka peered ahead of the two soldiers and spotted the OP.
"We should just hit it with a fucking AT-1," Asuka said.
"Well that would work," Maria whispered. "But then the other OPs would swing those big Ma Deuces around and killed us all in the crossfire."
"I know," Asuka whispered. Shinji and Pierce dropped the ground and began crawling slowly towards the OP. When they were close enough Shinji raised his pistol and fired. Asuka couldn't hear the weapon pop, but she did see it kick and the man behind the machinegun slumped. With nothing to stop them Shinji and Pierce ran forward and killed the other two soldiers manning the OP before they even knew that their friend was dead. "Wow."
"You should see them working together as snipers," Maria whispered.
"Shinji's a sniper?" Asuka asked in surprise. It seemed that she learned something new about her former roommate every day.
"He's the best."
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"There it is." Asuka raised her binoculars to her eyes and stared at the plain two-story building. It was perched about twenty meters from the edge of the forest.
"Nice place," someone whispered. "I'll have to check the price once all this shit is over."
"Here's the plan," Shinji said, ignoring the soldier who had spoken. "Gordy and Pierce will stay here and provide cover fire." On Asuka's left Gordy kneeled and flipped down the bi-pod on his SAW. He carried a larger and more powerful light machinegun then Richey. Pierce set down his DMR and un-slung his sniper rifle. "Let's go." Shinji said as he brought up his large assault rifle. "Column formation." He started to trot across the open space between the house and the forest. The rest of the squad formed up behind him in two lines of four and three. They reached the house in a perfect formation and moved to stand against the side of the building.
"All right," Shinji hissed. "Richey stays outside and the breacher will be right behind me." One of the new Sergeants moved quickly to the front of the line. He slung his assault rifle over his shoulder and unclipped the large Type 8 tactical shotgun from his belt while he moved. Shinji raised his hand and brought it down at almost the same time as he began to move. The whole squad went around the corner of the house smoothly and reached the front door. Shinji tried the door and stepped aside. The Sergeant moved up quickly bearing his Type 8. The muzzle almost touched the door's lock and he fired. He slammed his heel into the door and pivoted away as Shinji moved into the house with the rest of the line hot on his heels. "Divide by fire teams and search the house," Shinji hissed. The remaining six soldiers quickly divided. Asuka found herself paired with Shinji seeing as how their fire team partners were back in the forest.
"I'll check in here." Asuka said as she pushed one of the doors open.
"Keep your barrel up," Shinji said absently as he moved towards another door.
"You too." Asuka stepped into the room and found herself in the home's kitchen. "Pretty nice for an abandoned place," she whispered to herself. There was a flash of movement and Asuka's Type 36 was knocked from her grip. She turned sharply, one hand on the grip of her pistol, and found herself staring down the muzzle of an old M16-stype assault rifle.
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"Do not move," Asuka's assailant hissed.
"You alright in there?" Shinji asked. Asuka's eyes widened as she turned to watch as the door began to open. She made her move while her assailant was off guard. She clenched both hands and slammed them into the assault rifle. Her assailant turned sharply and slammed the butt of the weapon into Asuka's head. If she hadn't been wearing a helmet then she could have been out cold. Suddenly the soldier's rifle was knocked out of his hands and he himself was lifted by his throat and slammed into a wall.
"Shinji?" Asuka choked in amazement. She hadn't even seen him enter the room.
"Are you okay Asuka?" Shinji asked.
"I'm fine," Asuka said. Shinji grabbed the night vision goggles on the soldier and pulled them off, knocking his hat off too. Asuka watched in surprise as the soldier's hair fell across his shoulders and almost down to the middle of his back. His exposed face showed that he was, in fact, a woman.
"Oh shit," Shinji murmured. He quickly lowered the woman to the ground and let go of her.
"What are you doing?" Asuka demanded. The woman doubled over and began coughing.
"This is our contact," Shinji said. "Sorry."
"It's alright," the woman gasped. Shinji tugged a small lamp from his belt and ignited it. Asuka pulled off her goggles and watched as the woman straightened up. She was about Shinji's age. The red light from the lamp made her blue hair look lavender. The woman noticed Asuka's shock. "Hello Pilot Sohryu."
"Ayanami?" Asuka asked, still in shock from seeing her fellow pilot.
"What's with the CAR-15?" Shinji asked.
"You are late," Rei said. "I was preparing to attempt to get through the perimeter."
"We're five minutes late," Shinji said just as calmly.
"That is highly unusual for you," Rei said, her voice still a monotone.
"We had a little problem," Shinji said, his lips finally tweaking upwards slightly. Rei smiled back and wrapped her arms around Shinji.
"It is good to see you Shinji."
"Same here," Shinji said as he hugged her back. He stepped back and squeezed the cylinder on his throat. "This is Nagisa. We found our contact. Everyone come to the kitchen. We're going to get ready to move out."
"You may want to belay that order Captain," Pierce's calm voice rasped out. "There's a large truck heading your way. It was approaching from the front, so we were unable to see it." Shinji cursed and squeezed the cylinder on his throat again.
"You hear that Richey?"
"Yes sir," Richey said. "I'm not exactly equipped to handle vehicles."
"I understand that," Shinji said. "Pierce? Can you get a bead on the driver?"
"Roger that sir," Pierce said. "But there's a squad in the back of the vehicle. I count twelve men armed with M2K assault rifles."
"Saviors," Shinji growled. It was interesting how he made the word sound like a curse. "How close are they?"
"About forty meters," Pierce said.
"Hold this," Shinji said as he thrust his massive Type 3 assault rifle into her grip. She nearly dropped it when he let go. The thing was heavy. Shinji pulled a pair of binoculars from his vest peered through the window. He tucked the binoculars into his vest and took his rifle back.
"Get your goggles on." Asuka pulled them on and Shinji turned the lantern off. Shinji pushed his way out of the kitchen and to the front door. Asuka followed after him. Both Richey and the Sergeant were outside. The truck was approaching from the opposite side.
"Do you think that they're really Saviors?" Richey asked.
"You know it," Shinji said. Asuka shuddered. Saviors were the best in the world. "We'll have to take them by surprise."
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"You want the driver dead yet?" Pierce asked calmly. Asuka saw Shinji glanced back behind him at the soldiers and switched his Type 3 to his left hand.
"Do it." Asuka heard the sound of glass breaking and a yell of surprise. Shinji and Richey both went around the corner firing. Asuka heard the under-barrel 40mm grenade launcher on Shinji's Type 3 bark loudly as Maria went around the corner. Asuka went around the corner in time to see the 40mm grenade explode directly through the vehicle's grill. In a matter of minutes the soldiers were unable to fight.
"Cover him!" Richey reported. Shinji sprinted forward under the rest of the squad's cover. He tossed a concussion grenade into the back of the vehicle and scrambled backwards as it exploded. Asuka quickly moved to Shinji as he climbed into the back. Her heart was still racing. Shinji moved quickly from one body to the next.
"They're all dead."
"Live one here sir." Asuka turned to see Maria. The passenger side door was open.
"How's he look Doc?" Shinji asked as he glanced at the man. Asuka looked too.
"There's big piece of metal in his chest," Doc said. "I give him an hour."
"No good for questioning," Shinji said. "Put him out of his misery." Asuka watched in shock as the doctor nodded and tugged a combat knife from his vest. The injured man tried to speak, but all he could do was gurgle. Doc raised his knife and slipped it into the man's heart. His aim was dead on and the man expired on the spot. The doctor pulled his knife free and rubbed it on the leg of his pants.
"I'm never going to ask any of you greeners to do that," Shinji said, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "Everything set?"
"The information I gathered is back in the house," Rei said.
"Alright," Shinji said. "Everyone else fall back to Gordy and Pierce's position.
"You mind if I come with you?" Asuka asked.
"Go right ahead," Shinji said with a shrug. Asuka followed her two fellow Eva pilots back into the house.
"So what's with your hair?" she asked.
"My hair?" Rei asked. She brushed it slightly and frowned in distaste. "I have not gotten to cut it in a while." Her blue locks fell all the way to her waist. "May I see your knife?" Shinji tugged out one of the combat knifes he carried and handed it to her. Asuka watched in annoyance as Rei gathered her hair in one hand and cut it so that the ends fell around her shoulders.
"I should have expected that," Asuka said. "Are you going to at least have the barber back the Company do anything with it?"
"I was not planning on it," Rei said.
"You know," Shinji began. "She is your superior. . .and mine."
"You're Shinji's superior?" Asuka asked. She had surprised herself as well. Rei seemed so different from how she had been. It was like talking to a normal person.
"Affirmative," Shinji answered. "Why is that so interesting to you?"
"No reason," Asuka said.
"It does have its advantages," Rei said with a small smile. Asuka had to laugh. Shinji just looked annoyed.
"Let's just get going," he growled as he took his knife back from Rei. "I think I liked it better when you were at each other's throats, or at least you were," he said, looking pointedly as Asuka.
End
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