Infinite Strike
Chapter I G.U.N.D.A.M.
Full Summary: Shinji Ikari is pulled into a war between NERV and SEELE. He, the imperfect Coordinator, is called upon to pilot his mother's engine of destruction, Freedom Gundam. Rei Ayanami, she too is pulled into the war, of her own freewill. She, a Coordinator, pilots Yui Ikari's second engine of destruction, Justice Gundam. Asuka Soryu, Toji Suzuhara, and Kaoru Nagisa, all three are children of soldiers within NERV. When all five meet, they create a program that would end the war. Will their program save NERV, or will it be their doom?
To those reading this, I will be using a lot of terminology from G SEED; I will not be explaining them in great detail. So KNOW YOUR STUFF! Short of that go to mahq(.)net to find out more in terms of what the suits look like.
"She's late," a boy muttered checking his watch. Shinji Ikari, a fourteen year old, brown haired blue eyed, Coordinator stood on a sidewalk waiting for someone to pick him up. Although he was a Coordinator he was considered imperfect, lacking their enhanced strength and some abilities. However he was created to be a strong willed and one of conviction. Yet he was an outcast. He feared forming emotional bonds between himself and others. He had no respect for himself, and was prone to depression. He was always considered the weakling, and even the weakest link in every team, group and such throughout his life. Now, today, on June 6th, Cosmic Era (C.E.) 79, on his bloody birthday, he stood on a sidewalk waiting for his ride.
"I wonder what this Misato is like," he wondered aloud, readjusting his backpack. Pulling a picture from his front pocket, it showed a purple haired, woman with her hair halfway down her back.
"She looks pretty enough. Now it's just her attitude and personality that I need-WHAT THE HELL!" he screamed he felt the ground quake. Turning around he saw a squadron of 5 Ginns land, two of them sporting Barrus Heavy Ion Cannons.
The mechas were all painted white, their massive head crests painted red with a strip of black. One however had a pure black crest on its head, indicating it was the lead unit. The lead unit quickly mounted its assault machine gun on its rear skirt plate then drew its sword pointing it in a certain direction. Moments later, the two units carrying the canons stepped up as they stared to fire into the colony.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE MOBILE SUITS DOING HERE? I THOUGHT THIS WAS A NEUTRAL COLONEY!" However his train of yelling cut off as blue sports car screech to a stop, passenger door opening up revealing a purple haired woman in the driver seat.
"Hey there," she calls out, "I'm Misato Katsuragi. No time to explain, hop in. We need to get the hell outta here now!"
"Yes ma'am," he replies as he clamoured in throwing his bags into the back.
"HOLD ON TIGHT," she yelled, shifting gears and slamming on the pedal as the engine roared. The car dashed down the road she had just come from as Shinji who had only put on his seatbelt gripped the seat for dear life as she continued to streak down the open roads.
As they drove, Shinji chanced a look at her. She was wearing a black sleeveless, high collared dress with white trimmings, and a red jacket. She also had a necklace around her neck of a white cross. She had her hair tied back, and wore a pair of sunglasses. Shinji opened his mouth to speak when an explosion drawing his attention to the passenger rear-view mirror, to see the space port he had just left exploded.
"Oh good lord!" he exclaimed, realising how lucky he was.
She chanced a look at her rear view mirror, "Oh thank god," she breathed out as she continued driving. "They didn't follow us." As she began to slow down, Shinji breathed in relief. Her driving had left him a bit winded, but he slowly began to regain his breath.
"Who are they?" he worriedly asked, clutching his beating chest. "And why are those mobile suits doing here? I thought SEELE soldiers weren't allowed access in these parts."
"Uh…well the thing is Shinji…that was a cover up," she nervously replied.
"What?" now confused.
"These 5 space stations are actually NERV property. As of two weeks ago, we took control, and moved all civilians out, to a different set of stations. SEELE somehow got word, and have just started attacking. Luckily you showed up so it makes things less complicated," she paused pursing her lips. "At least I hope so."
"What's that suppose to mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't worry; you'll understand when we arrive."
"Wait…if these belong to NERV," his eyes widened upon realization. "Doesn't that mean that my father is a member of NERV?"
Misato smirked as made a left then a right turn, "You got it. He's actually head of the group."
"That bastard is head of the rebels?" Shinji growled out.
"And what's that suppose to mean?" Misato asked, her eyes narrowing, but remained fixed upon the road before her.
"As an ORB citizen, we do not appreciate your group waltzing in, and getting civilians hurt, regardless of what side or group they belong to," Shinji spat out.
"Hey, it's not our fault that people get themselves killed," Misato angrily retorted. "It's not like we can let the people know."
"You can at least limit your targets to military casualties!" he yelled back. "I already lost some friends thanks to you guys!"
"Well you can blame SEELE for having their troops EVERYWHERE!" she angrily shots back.
"This is going no where," Shinji muttered rubbing his temples. "Where are we going anyways?"
"NERV Headquarters," Misato calmly replies.
"Why there?"
"Apparently, your services are required. That's all I know."
"Great. That bastard dumps me in ORB for 10 years, and then recalls me to do him a favour." Misato glanced at his face. She noticed he seemed rather glum but orders were orders. She had to follow them. Besides what NERV was fighting for was worth the risk. She just prayed that whatever the boy was needed for, it was away from the danger.
After about 15 minutes of driving, Misato took them into a tunnel, leading them to an underground complex. Exiting the tunnel, Shinji gasped in amazement. The road was flanked by a beautiful forest on the left, while the other a large lake. Ahead, he could see mobile suit catapults, from a building, leading up to the surface above. Next to what he assumes to be the hanger was a massive pyramid building, emblazoned on all four sides, the word NERV is written in red, with half a leaf just behind. As they drove as far as the eye could see he could see nature, all about in its glory. Birds freely flew in the artificial gravity; flowers blossomed, and gently swayed in the wind. Even the artificial sun felt real as the light gently reflected off the waters.
"Like what you see? Despite you consider us a terrorist group?" Misato asked, as she drove along. Shinji only nodded as he watched the pyramid grow as they approach. Pretty soon Misato turned left and parked in front of what Shinji assumed to be the hangar hangar.
"C'mon Shinji, let's go in. We'll drop your stuff off later," said Misato as she got out of her car. Shinji shook his head clear quickly getting out as he followed his chauffer. They stopped at a door that read:
G.U.N.D.A.M. MOBILE SUIT HANGER
AUTHORIZED PERSONAL, AND PILOTS ONLY
"So it is a hanger," he says quietly.
"Yup," sliding her ID card through a reader as she responds, "However it's not just any hangar. This hangar is made to house our General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Automatic Manoeuvre mobile suits," her voice perkier than before. "Or GUNDAM for short."
"Gundam," Shinji whispered as he followed in.
"Wow. So these are the Gundams…" his voice trailing off as he is mystified by the massive, up to 20 feet tall mobile suits. All of them various shades of grey save for some components such as their shields and eyes. He could tell that there was every weapon imaginable. Assault rifles, missile launchers, beam cannons, beam rifles, sabres, and the like where present. He continued to stare in awe as he watched technicians run about, taking equipment from place to place, loading weapons, charging weapons and other duties.
"Hey Shinji, over here," Misato called out, drawing Shinji out of his trance as he saw Misato across the hanger next to a blond woman, and a brown curly haired boy, both of them wearing lab coats.
"Coming," he called out, running up to the trio ahead.
"Shinji, this here is Ritsuko Akagi, our foremost expert in the GUNDAM units," directing her hand towards the blond, then to the boy, "And this is Kensuke Aida. He's our foremost expert in one of the units here."
"Hi there," he meekly replied, nodding his head.
"Same here," Kensuke happily replied "Follow me, and I'll show you to reason why you are here." As they followed Kensuke, Shinji looked to his right to see a shelf like set up, carrying a series of torso's and legs, all in a curled up position.
"What mobile suit is that?" he asked, pointing towards the wall.
"That would be the NERV-DET-X56S, Impulse," she responded in a matter-of-factly tone, "Our first Nuclear Deuterium powered mobile suit, and utilizes our experimental Flyer Combination System. Don't ask about it, it would take too long to explain." Accepting her response, Shinji continued to look around, taking in the sights of the mobile suits. He knew Orb had a military, but was unsure if it had any mobile suits of its own.
"Here we go," Kensuke's voice suddenly cried out, drawing Shinji's attention. Kensuke stood in front of them, with his arms crossed, looking upwards.
"This is the YUI-NUC-X10A, Freedom." Looking up at the mobile suit words left him as he gazed upon the machine. The mobile suits chassis was light grey save for its wings which were of a dark grey. He could barely see the eyes, making out the yellow eyes. On its hips, he could see a set of what appeared to be some sorts of cannon, which was currently folded, with two tubular like objects mounted on the same weapons mount. He took a look at its shield, which was white around the edge, black, with a red strip running down the middle, the end of it was made into a prong like setup. In it's other hand, was a grey beam rifle, with a white casing on the upper half. Shinji stared in awe for a few moments longer before turning his attention towards Kensuke.
"You like what you see?" Shinji could only nod still amazed by what he saw. "Well anyways, you already know that most of our mobile suits are General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Automatic Manoeuvre units; however this is a Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module, meaning that this unit is powered by a nuclear reactor."
"What? Nuclear reactor?! I thought all nuclear weapons were useless!" Shinji cried out in surprise.
"Yes," Kensuke nonchalantly replies, "But this has a Neutron Jammer Canceller which negates the power of the N-Jammer. However WE are the only ones with this tech."
"But what does this suit have to do with me?"
"You will pilot it," a voice responded from above. Looking up at the catwalk above the Freedom, a bearded brown haired man in his fifties, wearing tinted glasses loomed over them. His had a dark expression, accentuated by his clothes. He wore a red turtleneck shirt, and a dark tunic and pants. His appearance exuded a dark aura, seemingly dropping the temperate of those near him.
"Father?" he gasped in surprise.
"It's been a while," he commented. Shinji meekly looked away, finding sudden interest in the ground.
"Prepare to sortie."
"Prepare to sortie?" Misato repeated in surprise. "But none of our suits are ready yet! And Rei can't pilot the Justice unless…" Realization dawned upon her as she looked to the mobile suit she stood before. "You don't mean to launch the Freedom?!"
"We don't have a choice," Ritsuko answered.
"But Rei can't even pilot it. It rejected her remember?!"
"That's where Shinji-kun comes in. It's already been determined he's the registered pilot."
"But that's insane! It took Rei seven months to fully master that suit! You can't expect him to pilot it! Let alone a combat an Assault Module! At least send him in a G-Machine, not a GN-Machine."
"We have no choice, and as you said, none of our other suits are ready for combat." Misato could only look down at Shinji worriedly, fearing his reaction. Shinji growled, clenching his fist.
"This is all you wanted me for, to pilot that damn thing?" he yelled out frustration and rage of the last 10 years surfacing.
"That is correct," his father coolly replied.
"Why? Isn't there someone else to do it?!"
"Your mother designed it to respond to your DNA only."
"What? Mom built that thing?" feeling tears well up in his eyes, remembering how he witnessed his mother's death.
"Correct. You will enter the unit, and you will pilot it."
"WHAT?" he bellowed, tears streaming down his eyes. "YOU KNOW THAT I BELIEVE in ORBS IDEALS. CONSIDERING THAT IT WAS YOU WHO ABANDONED ME THERE!"
"Pilot the mobile suit now, or I will have you do it by force," he coldly stated.
"NO, I REFUSE TO PILOT IT! EVEN IF IT'S MOM'S CREATION I WILL NOT DO IT!" The two glared at one another for some time, forcing their position upon one another. Shinji knew he could do nothing, but tried anyways, in hopes of finding a way out of the situation.
"Very well," he stated, pressing a button on the catwalk. "Bring in Rei. Prepare the Justice for battle!"
"Hai," Ritsuko quickly replies, running off to grab a few technicians.
"Justice?" Shinji asked, turning to Kensuke again.
"The YUI-NUC-X09A Justice Gundam," he replied calmly. "Your mother's second unit, built at the same time as the Freedom. Freedom's close range combat twin, designated to Pilot Rei Ayanami. And there she is." Turning around Shinji looked to who Kensuke was pointing at.
Shinji gasped, as he saw a blue haired girl, about an inch shorter than him, wearing a white flight suit come in. Her left eye was bandaged, so was her forehead, bulges on her legs indicated there were casts, and even her right arm was wrapped up in a bandage. She was panted hard as she made her way towards him with the assistance of a technician. As she walked past him, they made momentary eye contact.
In that moment Shinji saw the most beautiful shade of ruby in her eyes. In that instant he saw what he could only describe as a jewel in the eyes in the most beautiful girl he saw. He felt his breath catch in his throat. Before him he saw perfection. Unblemished alabaster skin, shapely nose, small delicate lips, soft luscious hair, Shinji felt he had gazed upon the fact of an angel; the face of perfection. But just as quick it disappeared. Turning around ready to call out to her when he saw a mobile suit carried onto a set of tracks.
Shinji for a moment thought that he saw the Freedom, but noticed that it was completely different. Its head had a major horn like object at the very top; its mouth guard was solid, unlike the Freedom's, which had two slits. It also had a huge jetfighter-like object mounted on its back, and the hip guards only had the similar cylindrical object mounted. The rifle and shield were exactly the same like the Freedom's except that the shield was maroon instead of black, and yellow instead of red. Also, its shoulders seemed to be built differently, as they had extra add-ons while the Freedom was a solid piece.
Shinji watched the two when suddenly the something impacted the area, causing a minor quake throughout the hangar. The girl suddenly lost her balance, but the technician quickly steadied her. They quickly made their way towards the mobile suit now set up on the tracks, and brought her up to a tether. After speaking with her for a moment, she placed her foot onto a triangular shaped piece hanging at the end and held on as the tether began to rise. As she rose, the building shook violently again. She tried to hang on but she was in a considerable amount of pain, and as she could only hold on with her left hand, lost her grip as she fell nearly 10 feet.
Shinji gasped in shock as he sprinted towards the fallen pilot. Quickly kneeling down he picked her up from her contorted position, and supporting her neck and shoulder with his forearm. He could see that she was in a lot of pain, with her breathing was laboured, and consistently gasping as her face contorted in extreme pain.
"It's ok, it's okay, you're going to be alright," he quietly spoke, trying to comfort the girl in his arms, gently rocking her. She weakly opened her right eye, looking at the face of her saviour.
"Who are you?" she asked her voice hoarse of lack of water.
"I'm Shinji, Shinji Ikari." Feeling something wet on his right hand, he brought it up see it covered in blood.
"Oh my god…" he gasped looking to the girl. "You can't fight like this! Why are you even up?"
"Because," pausing as she tried to breath, "I am the only one…cap…able of…piloting it." She suddenly started coughing, hacking up blood. Shinji helplessly watch as blood stained her white flight suit. How such beauty became a pilot he didn't know, but watching such beauty suffer, he felt something within him. Tightening his bloodied hand, he made a decision.
"I don't know what your name is," speaking in a low voice, "but you can't fight. I'll pilot in your place."
"I am Rei Ayanami, and…thank you, Ikari-san," she breathed out before overtaken by another fit of coughs.
Turning to Kensuke, "What are you just standing there for? Get some help!"
"Uh right away," he stammered running off to find some help. Shinji looked up to see his father, standing there, a neutral expression. How he could stand there when one of his pilots was injured appalled him. He probably had no feelings for her, only wanting her to pilot for him. It was inhumane, and it was wrong. Swallowing his pride, he did what he felt was right.
"I'LL DO IT!" he angrily yelled. "I'LL PILOT THAT DAMN MACHINE!" Looking down at Rei, who had fallen asleep in his arms, he quietly muttered "I'll do it for you, Ayanami."
"Dr. Akagi, scramble the Freedom for battle," the Commander ordered. "Use the secondary catapult, and get Justice off the main catapult."
"Yes sir," Ritsuko called out, and begins to issue orders. Misato during this whole time had remained silent. She slowly approached Shinji, kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt him momentarily tense under her touch before relaxing. She saw the kindness within him, and knew that the battlefield was not a place for him. But she knew she had no say in the matter. All she could do now was hopefully make his stay as comfortable as possible.
"Hey, you ok?" she kindly asked.
He looked to her and nodded, "I'll be fine. I just can't believe he would put her in such danger."
"I can't believe it myself," now looking at Rei. "She would've died the moment she started fighting." Noticed that medical officers were approaching with a gurney, she rose waving the medical officers.
"C'mon Shinji, we better let the medics do their thing," said Misato, giving Shinji an assuring squeeze. He nodded and pushed a few stray strands of hair from Rei's face.
"Please be ok," he quietly whispered before gently lifting her up and lay her down on the gurney.
Turning Kensuke, "How to I get up there?" his voice filled with determination.
"You see that cable there by its left foot?" pointing toward a cable with a triangle hanging at the end on the left side. "Just grab on, and when you're ready, put your foot into that triangle and it will pull you up. You will see a panel there, just place your hand on it, and it should open, if your DNA is the correct match." Shinji nodded and made his way to the Freedom. Seeing the cable Kensuke spoke of, he quickly approached it, and placed his foot in. He soon began ascending, noting how the hangar itself wasn't that large appearing so only because it contained a few mobile suits.
He suddenly feels a jolt, as he notices that he was now just hovering above its chest. Quickly jumping onto the chest he sees a square panel at the base of its neck. Remembering what Kensuke told him, he placed his clean hand on it and waited. Moments later a female voice began speaking.
"Initiating print scan…Initiating DNA scan…Confirmed, Designated Pilot Ikari Shinji confirmed…Disengaging security locks…Engaging control systems…Please step back, cockpit seat rising." Standing up and stepping back as instructed, he nearly fell off as the entire top section he stood on slid forward. He then realized that he was standing on the cockpit hatch. In his fright and desire to regain balanced, he didn't realize a chair had risen until he fell right into it. Getting up, he settled himself in, and waited. He felt comfortable and relaxed, only to suddenly tense up again as the chair started to descend into the bosom of the machine.
He closed his eyes fearing the inside might be something hideous, or some sort of painful form of a cockpit. He felt the chair come to a stop. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes to the sight around him. He was surprised that it was nothing like the cockpit he was expecting. In front of him was a dashboard with a circular screen in the middle, which he figured to be a radar screen, and a series of buttons and switches that he couldn't even under. On either sides of the arm rests were vertically oriented control yolks with triggers for each finger. On the left, next to the control yolk, just underneath it near his leg, was a black, rectangular object, with white switch like ends on it, mounted on a curved panel, which curved downwards. He figured that it was some sort of thrusters system, but left it alone for the time being.
(A/N: I do not know how to actually start up mobile suits, so therefore I'm going to make this up)
"Uh okay, I'm in, how the hell, am I going to start this thing up…" he muttered to himself. He examined the control panel in front of him in hopes to start the mobile suit up. He looks down to see a series of buttons, between his legs, with a booklet in a pouch on the side. He pulled it out, opening the first page, and read discovering it was a set of instructions. Following the instructions he began to press the buttons on the panel between his legs, in the order indicating. Pressing the last button, a screen activated in front of him.
It first displayed the NERV symbol for a moment before, "MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM" scrolled around in white letters. Moments later, it displayed:
G eneration
U nsubdued
N uclear
D rive
A ssault
M odule
The acronym was momentarily red while the rest of the words were in lower-cased black letters, before every word became upper-cased letters, then the words; G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex appeared above the acronym. Seconds later, the screen disappeared, as a whirring could be heard throughout the entire mobile suit as it began to come to life for the first time in years. Shinji stared at the console started up, and screens in front of him and beside him lit up, displaying the hangar.
"Wow…" he breathed out.
Suddenly a voice spoke, "Activation confirmed…Systems all green…DNA check confirmed…Designated Pilot, Ikari Shinji present within control systems…engaging tutorial program."
Suddenly a face appears on the front screen which caused Shinji to gasp as he breathed out the word, "Mother?"
So how was it? You like it? Do you guys have questions, or queries? If so, please ask in your review, along with your comments. Flames will most likely be disregarded, unless however I find them to be somehow useful. Well anyways, that's all from me
Cheers Ja ne