Order of Command Chapter 3: Into Yawning Darkness...
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Smells good, Shinji," commented Misato.
"Thanks." After taking a glance at the clock, Shinji said, "Hope Doctor Akagi gets here soon; I don't know how much longer I can hold the ramen."
"Do you always talk like this when you cook?"
Shinji chuckled. "It's an old habit. So many people used to ask me why I did the things I did, I just got used to explaining my actions. Just call it thinking out loud and pay it no mind."
"Yeah, I guess I can understand that." The woman looked at the clock herself. "Dang, what's taking her? Rits's never late."
"Traffic maybe? Or perhaps the good doctor has a beau on the side?" The last was said with a faux-lecherous smile.
Misato returned with a mischievous smile of her own. "Someone to get her motor running, you mean?"
"Or play 'nurse' to her 'doctor?'"
"Oh-ho, kinky little boy aren't you?"
The boy smiled. "It's only kinky the first time." Misato gave a scandalized giggle.
"Keep that up little boy, and I may have to punish you."
"Now that does sound kinky." That said, Shinji returned to the ramen. "Man, and I'm hungry, too."
The buzzer sounded. Misato broke away from the enticing smells of the kitchen and went to the door. "Well well, speak of the devil. You're late, Rits."
"Traffic was terrible." Akagi heard Shinji break down laughing in the kitchen. "What's he on about?"
"Private joke," said Misato, deflecting her friend. "Let me get you something to drink."
Ritsuko had been inside her friend's apartment many times. The usual decor consisted of dirty clothes and empty containers of alcohol. Misato never cleaned; barely even knew the meaning of the word. Ritsuko was pleasantly surprised to see the place straightened up. Somewhat. There were fewer clothes on the floor now, and the cans and bottles were gone.
"Been getting you act together, Misato?" the doctor asked.
The NERV captain looked embarrassed. "Actually, Shinji's been doing most of the cleaning."
"And the laundry, and the cooking, and the shopping," the boy added. Then he placed his hand over his forehead, like a swooning woman in an old movie. "A man's work is never done."
Akagi smirked at Misato's discomfort. Giving the room another go-over, the doctor noticed something. "Is that Beethoven I hear?"
Shinji nodded. "Yeah. I found some speakers that work with my SDAT"—he said it like a word written 'essdat'—"and hooked 'em up. The 'Ode to Joy' from Beethoven's Ninth. Best piece of music ever written. Period."
"We should get you together with Aoba in communications. You'd like him." Ritsuko smiled at the boy good-naturedly.
"Already met him. The first day, remember? I've talked with him a few times, too. Cool guy."
After thinking for a minute, the doctor nodded. "Nice to see you've made some friends. I have to say I'm impressed with the progress you've made."
Shinji looked up from where he was busy serving Akagi ramen. "What do you mean?"
"When you first got here, you seemed to hate everyone. You openly insulted your own father. You barely tolerated anything. But now look at you; you're smiling and joking with people, making friends, that sort of thing."
Shinji hemmed over that. "I guess you're right," he said finally, "but don't let it out. I can't have anyone knowing I'm not a complete jerk."
Ritsuko and Misato laughed. Then the lavender-haired woman turned to her friend. "So, Rits, how've things been going down in the think-tank?"
"All right, I guess. We've been pouring over the data from Unit-00 and Unit-01." She rounded on Shinji. "And you, Pilot Kanzaki, have been making our heads spin."
"I try," preened the boy, examining his nails, despite an obvious lack of manicure.
"Trust me, we know. But your synch-ratio has been getting better each day. The Commander has even suggested having Rei undergo the same procedure as you. That is, one hour each day."
The pilot rolled his eyes. "Ikari the Ripper is free to sit Rei in the cockpit 'til three days past Doomsday and he still won't achieve the same results."
"Awfully confident, aren't we?" teased Misato.
"It's not that," said Shinji with a shake of his head. "You need to relax your mental defenses if you want to synch better with the Eva. And I don't think someone like Rei is all that good at relaxing."
The doctor grinned. "Maybe we should put Misato in an Eva."
"Lazy ain't the same as relaxed," quipped Shinji.
They both got napkins thrown at them.
"All that talk of Rei reminded me of something." Akagi rummaged around, eventually producing an ident-card from the confines of her purse. "Here, could you give this to her for me? Rei's card has been renewed and I've been meaning to give her the new one. You don't mind, do you"
"Not at all." Shinji leaned forward to take the offered card. With that in hand, he looked down at the object. Misato watched a familiar expression take over the boy's face. Ritsuko hadn't been in the car when Shinji came to Tokyo-3, and came to the wrong conclusion.
"She's cute, isn't she"
"I suppose," was the distracted answer. Then he began to absently spin the card in his hand. Misato still remembered the gesture from the first day they'd met. She watched Shinji slide the card home in his pocket, and felt a small sense of pity for Rei.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Rei Ayanami stood under the shower spray. It was… agreeable. Agreeable to allow warm water to flow down her body. Agreeable to let it cascade down her back and hips, pour down her breasts and thighs, splash against her face. Ayanami gave a small smile. She was home. Someone buzzed the door. The pale girl ignored it. She didn't wish to be birthed from this setting. It was too comfortable, too comforting. More warm water caressed her. But all things must come to an end, and Ayanami forced herself to shut off the water. A towel served to dry her hair as she exited the bath, still nude.
His presence brought her up short. Rei let the cloth fall across her breasts. Dark eyes behind dark lenses stared down at her. For a brief moment in time, Rei saw the Commander.
"Ms. Ayanami," greeted Pilot Kanzaki, "your card has been renewed." With a gesture Rei thought of as completely exaggerated, he produced a NERV ident-card from his pocket and held it out before her. After she took it, the Commander-lookalike vanished out her doorway.
Rei stared at the ident-card, before shaking her head and getting dressed. She opened her door and any similarity between father and son was dispelled from her mind. Kanzaki was leaning against the wall in a most un-Commander-like pose. Ignoring him now, she continued on. He fell into step behind her.
It was nearly a block before she asked. "Why did you wait for me?"
"I wanted to walk to school with you."
"Why?"
"A gesture of kindness."
"Were you ordered to accompany me?"
"If you are ordered to be kind, then it is not really kindness, Ayanami."
For the rest of the day, Rei watched her fellow pilot. Watched him laugh and scream. Watched him wrestle with his friends, and work hard when it came time. But no matter how hard or long she watched, those dark eyes, even when shielded from the sun by polarized lenses, never became the Commander's again
And she never knew how she felt about that.
00000000000000000000000000000000000
Rei stood motionless on the escalader that led down into the Geofront. A question struck her, and she used the opportunity to ask it.
"Kanzaki, you do not like the Commander, do you not?"
"Not terribly," drawled the boy behind her. "I can barely stand being around the man."
"Why? Why do you not trust your father?"
"The word 'father' implies that that man had some hand in my rearing. Gendo is a sperm-donor; no more, no less."
"Is that why you asked that you be referred to under a different name?"
"Partly. The rest is personal. But yes, I do detest any insinuation I am related to that man."
Rei calmly turned to face the boy. And struck him across the face. Part of her was surprised she had done something so strange as slapping the person she was talking with. Another enjoyed having defended the Commander.
The rest of the encounter Rei would never remember clearly. One moment her palm was stinging, Kanzaki's eyes boring holes into her. The very next, she was reeling from a slap of her own.
"I didn't hit you for liking Ikari, Ayanami," said Pilot Kanzaki as he slowly stalked down the steps. Just as he passed her, he said something else, "Don't you dare hit me again just for expressing my opinion."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Ritsuko was waiting to greet the First and Third Children when they finally descended from the escalator. Seeing the growing bruise on first Shinji's face, and then on Rei's, she simply couldn't believe it.
"Rei?" she fielded, "Shinji? Were you two fighting?"
Shinji gave a snort and something very close to a feral growl. "Ms. Ayanami seems to feel that she has been appointed Gendo's little Gestapo."
"Rei, what does he mean?" Ritsuko could not believe it. The world depended upon these two working together. And yet they managed to fight like children.
"Pilot Kanzaki was expressing a dislike of Commander Ikari. I do not know why I struck him."
"You can't go around hitting people just because you disagree with them. Now apologize."
"Very well," Rei turned to Shinji. "I am sorry for striking you, Pilot Kanzaki." The other pilot said nothing.
Ritsuko felt her face heat. "And you too, Shinji. Apologize to Rei."
"Why?" barked the boy. "I'm not sorry at all for expressing my thoughts on that sociopathic freak we call a boss. And I'm not sorry for hitting someone who smacked me across the face." Shinji took a deep breath. "It won't happen again, but I'm not sorry."
Shaking her head and hoping the whole thing would blow over soon, Ritsuko headed on after the retreating Eva pilot. Rei came along, bringing up the rear.
00000000000000000000000000000000000
It hovered wickedly blue in the clear sky. Upside-down buildings bounced off its bottom half. A single reverberating ping sounded as it announced itself.
Sirens began to wail across the city in response to Ramiel's announcement. But no real warning was needed. People had already begun heading toward the shelters, unconsciously following their feet.
Down in an alley, beneath the Angel, Yao whimpered. She was a three year old German shepherd, brought to the city by Okita Saninomiya. Along her back, two twisting, nasty scars sat like putrid snakes. She had earned those defending her home and Okita against a gun-wielding burglar. The hapless thief had heard her growl and gotten off a shot before she could attack. Yao had never even yelped, only going straight for the throat.
Even when the harsh antiseptic was placed on her back, even when the coarse bandages had gone on, Yao had never flinched. Now, she lay down in the street and whimpered. She slowly voided on herself.
Yao knew what no human could. The Angels were back. Truly and irrevocably back. And they were unstoppable.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Where the hell did it come from?" demanded Captain Katsuragi. "Why the hell didn't we detect it coming?"
"Unknown ma'am. It simply appeared on our radar screens a little under an hour ago," Aoba defended himself.
"Great. Lovely. Beautiful." Katsuragi took a deep calming breath. "Where's Shinji?"
"He's getting his plugsuit on. ETL is in nine minutes."
"We may not have nine minutes! Tell him to haul ass!"
"That won't be necessary," said Akagi, "he's already in the cage." Akagi brought up a display showing the Third Child running flat out for his Eva. The pilot got to the entry plug and in a practiced maneuver, jumped in feet first.
Misato nodded. "Shinji, are you ready?"
"Disengage the clamps securing me to the catapult."
Misato couldn't believe her ears. "Excuse me, what? Do you want to go shooting off into the air?"
"Just do it, Katsuragi. Trust me."
"Alright," the captain whirled on the bridge crew. "Move Unit-01 to catapult two and ready for launch. But don't secure him."
"How can you be sure the Eva will survive the landing, Captain?" Ritsuko made sure to put a slight stress on the last word.
Misato caught the jibe. "Because I trust our pilot. Evangelion Unit-01 ready? Launch!"
The familiar roar of an Eva rushing toward the surface was heard. Katsuragi tried not to think about what kind of effects not strapping down the Eva might have on the pilot. Tried not to think about Shinji being bounced around in his cockpit like a pachinko ball.
Aoba tensely watched his own consol, thoughts traveling much the same lines as Katsuragi's. Electronic readouts mapped Unit-01's progress toward the surface. As of yet the Angel showed no reaction. An alarm signaled.
"Reading high energy output from inside the Angel!"
"What?" Katsuragi watched the screen with panic in her face. Motes of light gathered around the equator of the Angel's diamond-like form. A beam of intense light lanced outward from the Angel, burning through buildings. Right toward…
Right toward where Unit-01 would have been, had its clamps been secured. As it was, Ramiel succeeded in severing the Eva's umbilical cable, but that was a concern for five minutes from now. Misato could come to only one conclusion: Shinji had known. Shinji had known the Angel would launch that attack.
Ramiel raised its positron beam, trailing just after Unit-01. Shinji somehow twisted in the air, letting the burning hot particle beam pass right by him. The armor of the Eva blistered, but Shinji refused to cry out.
Unit-01 literally hit the ground running. Shinji cut the giant machine right in front of Ramiel's position, the beam of energy following close behind. His path began to curve, spiraling tighter toward the Angel.
"Four minutes of power remaining," counted down Hyuga.
"Shinji, what the hell are you doing! Get back to the Geofront, we'll come up with another plan!" Shinji ignored Katsuragi's commands, continuing to close in on the Angel.
The beam of light from Ramiel guttered and died. Unit-01 turned on a dime, now rushing headlong toward the Angel.
"Another energy signature."
"Three minutes of power remaining."
"SHINJI!"
The purple form of the Eva slid underneath the Angel just as another particle attack lanced out overhead. Unit-01 began to rain blows down on Ramiel's defenseless underside. Amidst a cracking exoskeleton, Ramiel threw up his AT Field.
Ritsuko wanted to shoot the Angel herself. "No!"
"Dammit, he can't get through that!" Misato wanted to strike something. She settled for snarling.
"Two minutes."
Unit-01 curled in on itself. Then rocketed upwards, putting everything it had, arms, back, hips, knees, and even toes, into a single punch. The hexagonal pattern of the AT Field buckled and cracked and finally broke under the assault. The other arm of the Eva shot forward, smashing into Ramiel once again. Icy blue chips of chitin fell away.
"Shinji, get back down here! You've only got one minute."
That got through to the pilot where nothing else had. Sparing enough time for one more kick, Unit-01 dove for the nearest launch bay.
000000000000000000000000000000000
"It's frankly obvious that we need a new plan of attack." Misato watched the others nod in agreement with her. "As near as we can tell, the Angel attacks anything that comes within a certain range. Due to the power of its main attack, we don't dare get close to it. Logically, the only chance remaining open to us is to attack from outside this range.
"Thanks to Shinji, the Angel has powered down some, most likely to concentrate on healing itself. Unfortunately, the MAGI predict that the Fifth Angel will be fully operationally in four hours. I don't think I need to tell you what happens then."
She didn't. The bridge crew understood perfectly. Misato turned to the pilots. "Shinji, you said you saw something during the battle?"
The pilot stood up. "Yes, thank you. While I was engaging the Angel, I noticed a curious structure on the undermost portion. If I had to guess—and this guess is based on the mechanical nature of the Angel—then this structure is some form of drill or other such cutting tool. It is my opinion that the Angel is capable and willing to cut straight down into the Geofront."
Shigeru waved for attention. "Just out of curiosity, what do you think the Angel is trying to accomplish by drilling down into the Geofront?"
"A single drilling won't accomplish anything, but…"
"But," interrupted Misato, "by making multiple drilling sites throughout the city, the Angel is damaging the structural integrity of the Geofront. The Angel could then…"
"Could then drop the entire ceiling on all of us," finished Shinji.
"Which is why we need to take out this thing as soon as possible." Misato called up the screen behind her. "At this point, the only plan we have relies on sniping from a distance. Pilot Kanzaki in Unit-01 will take the position of sniper, with Ayanami and Unit-00 providing backup.
"It is the backup's job to protect Shinji from the positron beam of the Angel."
Ritsuko spoke up. "We were able to find something that could serve as a shield. Granted, it doesn't look like much. But it was made to stand up under the heat of re-entry. MAGI predict that it should hold up for at least seventeen seconds."
"How were we planning on stopping the beam?" Shinji asked. "Full-on block, or were we planning to angle the shield? The reason I ask is, if we angle the shield, we could scrape a few more seconds out of its lifespan."
"Good idea, Shinji," congratulated Ritsuko. "But, we still don't have a weapon strong enough to penetrate that thing's AT Field."
Misato gave her patented winning smile. "We don't. But the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force does."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Aoba stretched his arms overhead as he yawned. He'd just got off shift, coordinating the delivery of the JSSDF's particle beam rifle. Now to home, and three blessed hours worth of sleep before reporting to Mt. Futago.
Those who needed sleep rarely lasted long at NERV.
Shinji was stopped in the section 3, level 12 corridor, leaning back against the wall. Spotting Shigeru, the boy's face brightened. "Ah, Aoba, I'm glad you came by."
"Hey Shinji. What's up? Need something?"
"Well, you know how Misato is working right up until operations?" Shigeru nodded. Misato would be up all night; right up until the Angel was defeated, and maybe a little bit after. "I kinda need someplace to get some sleep, and Misato has the only key to our apartment, so…"
Shigeru let out a small chuckle. "Sure kid. You can crash at my place."
The Eva pilot smiled brightly and fell in behind the NERV technician.
"So Shinji, you ready for this?"
"Trying not to think about it actually. But when I do, my palms get all clammy for some reason."
They both laughed. Shigeru went on. "Yeah, can't say as I blame you. All the freakin' power in Japan! Man, Katsuragi sure went ambitious on us with this one, didn't she?"
"You didn't see her at the JSSDF," Shinji commented, "She heard every complaint they had, then just went and rode roughshod over everyone, smiling the whole time. I pity the poor bastard who falls in love with her."
"No kidding. Everyone on the bridge, except for the commanders, is probably a little afraid of her. With good reason. I know I wouldn't want to try anything with her."
"Put your hand where it don't belong, and she'll rip it right off, then shove it where it hurts."
"That's after breaking all your fingers," Shigeru added. They both had a good chuckle at the expense of their tactical commander. The rest of the way was simple small talk, discussing a few bands, artists, and other things of little import.
On the way to the apartment, Shigeru stopped and grabbed a chicken skewer from a vender in the subway station. He turned around to find Shinji munching happily on a senbei cake in his right hand, four others jammed between the fingers of his left.
Shigeru laughed. "Like those things, do ya?" By way of answer, the boy smiled and bobbed his head quickly.
Shinji had scarffed down all his senbei by the time they reached Shigeru's apartment. The older man opened the door and led the pilot inside. "Here it is, Shinji. My castle of solitude," he joked.
Shinji looked around. "Not bad, not bad. NERV must pay its technicians well. Or is this—," he waved at the apartment, "—part of your pay?"
"Nah, she's mine," the tech. shook his head. "NERV apartments suck, actually."
"All right then," Shinji laughed. "I'll just snag the couch then. See ya in a few hours."
"There's some spare blankets in the closet if you need."
"Naw man, it's cool." Shinji set his sunglass on the small table. Then he stripped out of his shirt and lay it across his chest like a blanket. "Sweet dreams."
Shigeru nodded and made for his own bed.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The sky was still light with the last rays of day when Shinji reported to Mt. Futago. He came already dressed in his plugsuit, an expression of ready determination on his face. Misato, however, could tell the slight quaver in his hand.
The Third Child was nervous. That thought made the captain want to run and hide. As far as she could tell, the Third Child was never nervous, always in control. Misato looked in the direction of the Fifth Angel. Ramiel's vapid glow competed with the streetlights.
"What's happening?" she whispered to herself. "What does Shinji know that we don't?"
000000000000000000000000000000
If Rei had heard Capt. Katsuragi's words then, she would have agreed. Pilot Kanzaki was on edge. His face was pale, his pupils were dilated. Rei watched Kanzaki stare outward into the forest.
"Are you well, Kanzaki?" she asked softly.
"Strange, hearing that question from you," replied Kanzaki, still observing the trees.
Rei was unsure of how to respond. "I… only wish to ensure your readiness for this mission."
Her fellow pilot smiled. "How utterly like you." His smile faded, replaced by a look of concentration. "No, I am not completely well, Ayanami."
"What is wrong?"
"I am nervous." Kanzaki paused to take in a deep breath. "I intend to put you in harm's way."
"Even if I die, I can be replaced."
A little bit of life seemed to come back to him. "Nothing can ever truly be replaced. Even if we were to clone you, that clone would not be a perfect replacement." He turned to stare intently at her. "You won't die, Rei. No one is going to die on my watch."
There was silence for a time. Then Kanzaki spoke again. "I do apologize for my actions earlier today, on the escalator. I shouldn't have let my anger do that to me. But if we want to get through this, you have to do what I say."
"Is not Captain Katsuragi in charge of this mission?"
Kanzaki laughed. "Of course Katsuragi is in charge of the strategic side. But I have an idea of how to implement her plan."
Slowly, Rei nodded.
000000000000000000000000000000000
Author's
notes: Yeesh, i was gonna make it longer, but i figured that i hadn't
updated in so long, my loyal readers deserved a break from waiting.
Yeah right, as thought i'm that good.
Anyway, i hope i brought
across Rei's personality well. She's actually one of the most
complicated characters in the anime, so it's hard to do her well. The
next chapter i'm hoping to focus more on the pilots and NERV personel
during downtime. No action, but maybe a little intregue.