VII.

Going into the night, The fifth Angel's drill continued penetrating deeper into the geofront armor. They had time at least, as the Angel was trying different drill compositions at random in its effort to penetrate the geofront.

Misato's energy drink landed on the meeting table as this information was being displayed on the main screen. This room was being used now for the first of many high level strategy briefings. As the highest ranked officer in Gendo and Fuyutuski's absence, Yui was leading the briefing. The tactical commander waited her turn.

Yui made the opening. "Are there any concerns or questions at this point?" Yui asked.

"Yes." Misato said and stood, beating out Kyoko on the rise to comment. "Doctor, before we continue planning the particulars of this operation, I want tactical authority to be very clear. If I'm to have my orders countermanded by our scientific departments, I need to understand those latitudes now so I can plan effectively. Do I have final say in tactical authority, or not?"

Kyoko was already seething across the table and no doubt would have challenged Misato's decision regarding the use of Eva 02. Already sparring through intermediaries and officers had occurred. The dimensions of the disagreement spanned between whether Asuka needed to tough it out and engage, or whether the retreat was justified.

Yui sighed. "This should already be obvious, Captain. You have tactical authority, unless it is superseded by the needs of either the technical or medical departments."

"I want that quantified," Misato said, "or else I'll be forced-"

Ritsuko interrupted, "Captain, if I may, time is of the essence. We can argue about the details of command later. Right now we need a general strategy to approach defeating this novel Angel."

Yui picked that up. "Quite right, doctor. We need to discuss our strategic options, and fortunately I've found a promising solution…"

Misato would have normally been impressed with the rather Big Gun that Yui had found, but instead she was mired in her fury over this slight going unpunished. Kyoko seemed satisfied as she focused on the presentation. Misato's eyes flicked to her friend, and the blond looked back at her and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

Misato grunted and tried focusing on the briefing.


The humm of the fluorescent lights was like a constant droning of angry hornets. One of them flickered too, peripherally agitating Misato.

Nobody came down here to this break room though, that's what made it a good place for private meetings. Even if it did mean stale crackers and flat drinks.

Ritsuko was speaking. "Resigning wouldn't have done any good, because Yui has no patience for performative posturing. That's how she would have taken your upset. She would have accepted your resignation to efficiently clear the way, then take tactical command personally. At that point you would be out of a job and nobody would have the authority to help Asuka."

"That's what I don't understand!" Misato blurted, "If Asuka dies, Unit 02 is useless!"

"There's Rei." Ritsuko countered, staring level at Misato. When the Captain grunted with doubt, Ritsuko went on, "Rei is someone far more compliant and someone with far fewer sympathies from the rest of the base. Nobody knows anything about her, and she hardly talks about herself. It would be simple… beneficial in fact, for the Ikaris. Then unit 00 becomes spare parts."

Misato winced, "I thought you said something about Eva cores being very particular with what they'll accept as pilots?"

"This is true," Ritsuko said, "We know that about them. But with Yui as the architect of Project E and Kyoko the designer behind the pilot interface, it wouldn't be a problem for them to install Rei in unit 02. Though I don't think they would have the time to do such a thing, this is always a plan for the future in the event Asuka… malfunctions."

Misato glared as Ritsuko sipped her coffee. Then the doctor added, "One of the reasons they aren't doing that is because I've sold Yui on the idea that we can make unit 00 combat operational. The other is that as long as Asuka lives, she's Kyoko's personal project, for better or worse."

Misato winced. "With all that investiture you think she would be more concerned about her daughter's health."

"The way I see it, Kyoko views her daughter as, ironically, a component. She's maximizing efficiency through training and schooling… but it's a very mechanical way of thinking."

Misato, on an impulse, blurted, "is Kyoko a robot?"

"My department has theories." Ritsuko responded.

Misato bumped her forehead on the table. Raising it, Misato slid her arms under her head and muttered, "Since Yui found the positron weapon, I'm not sure if I'm really a useful part of this operation after all. We fire the gun out of the angel's range. Easy. How can that help her?"

"Someone has to pull the trigger." Ritsuko says, "and that's where you come in. You need to make that choice between the pilots. You also need to decide if the gunner is alone, or if we're using our other Eva for something else."

Misato smiled at her friend. "I guess locking horns with Kyoko made me overlook the obvious. Thanks."

Ritsuko waved it off. "This whole situation is upsetting, and not natural. Kyoko Zeppelin may have been a brilliant systems engineer in the past, but something happened to her."

Misato's eyes snapped to her friend and she raised her head. "You know something?"

"It's not much, but she crossed paths with my mother a few times, mostly in interactions over comparability between the MAGI and Eva control systems. My mother said she liked her, and said she was one of the more pleasant reasons to call Germany."

Misato smirked. "I thought you said your mother was terrible, too."

Ritsuko stared at her coffee cup. "My mom had many problems but she wasn't… evil…" she finished her coffee and set the cup down. "Upon reflection I realized my mom didn't have a proper sense of proportion. But this is besides the point, which was that Kyoko wasn't always this way."

"Well… what can we do with this information? It's not like we can cure her of whatever's making her crazy."

"I try not to rule out solutions for many problems, even strange ones. It might be worth looking into her history to see if there's something we can use to deal with her."

"Ok. So we have some snooping to do."

"Just one thing." Ritsuko said, stopping Misato from rising. "Yui Ikari is a formidable woman of great intelligence who values efficiency and expediency. She is also neither blind nor deaf to Kyoko's temper tantrums."

Misato's eyes widened. "So why is she putting up with it?"

Ritsuko, level, said, "That answer, I think, may be more interesting to learn than what happened to Kyoko. That is," she winced, "Assuming they aren't connected."


Asuka was awake and conscious. She was responding to stimuli, suffered no long-term physical injuries, and was recovering well. Her only reported symptom was loss of sensation and feeling down her left arm, but it was slowly recovering.

So on bed rest, Asuka had a laptop open and homework arrayed around her to make the best use of her time. When Misato found her, she saw Asuka's eyes full of defeat. She looked up at Misato's entry to her recovery room.

"Captain." The girl said, her greeting exclamation coming out tired, "What can I do for you?"

Misato stared at the girl as she came up to Asuka's bedside. "Just relax for starters. How are you feeling?"

Asuka raised her left hand and closed the fist. "My left arm is still nothing but tingling. I should be ready for action in a few hours."

"Well see about that. Your Eva is in worse shape than you are."

Asuka, staring into space, said, "it's not like that's going to matter."

Misato looked around where she stood and pulled a nearby chair closer to sit in. "Your mother doesn't make the tactical decisions here, I do. At least, that's what NERV pays me to do."

Asuka only sighed, and Misato turned her head. Both of them knew that Kyoko's forcefulness was formidable.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Misato said to her, "I didn't make the time to see how you were doing before now. If I'm your commander, I'm doing a piss poor job at checking in on the well-being of the people I lead."

Asuka blinked slowly, then said, "My mother is a good enough reason for someone to stay away. I'm dangerous to get close to."

Misato reeled a little bit, angered at where life had put Asuka, and the woman who was responsible for it. Misato leaned forward. "That shouldn't matter. You are just as much my responsibility as you are to your mother. Besides that, I see what she does to you. I'm going to do what I can to help."

"...i'm not worth it." Asuka said, "do you know what happened to the deck crew that restrained my mother, after that first battle? I don't want you to be hurt for my sake."

Misato smirked, "You've already decided you're a lost cause, huh? Unfortunate for you, I'm a self-styled champion of the underdog."

Asuka blinked. "But what if I don't want you to?"

Misato blinked and stared. Then, "You're not saying you enjoy this, do you?"

Asuka paused. Then, "I have no choice. You don't have the authority. You don't have the means. If you try to help me, my mother will destroy you. Just like everyone else I've tried to get close to."

Misato sighed as she stood. She took a step away to go before turning back to the girl. "Nothing is going to change, Asuka unless you want it to. I know there's a fighter in you- I saw it in your first battle. You're not alone in this, im-"

"Thank you captain." Asuka said sadly, "but I think I want to be alone now."

Misato shifted to say more to Asuka, but then, decided to abide by her wish. The Captain turned away with water welling in her eyes as she left the room.

The door creamed and clicked shut. Asuka Soryu Langley, second child, chosen… silently slid her eyes back down to her schoolwork and tried to reconnect with it.

Her own tears had long since dried up.


Misato's office was across the hall from Ritsuko's. Misato had requested to take it upon her arrival to NERV, since Ritsuko was her only acquaintance on base and this office had been vacant. They were professional offices, nice for the two glass walls that faced one another, allowing them to look into each other if the blinds were raised.

Misato found herself there as the night was settling in, standing by the open door of her office and staring into Ritsuko's darkened space.

Shinji was asleep in a chair. He was still in his plugsuit, facing away from the corridor, and the big chair was reclined. Misato wondered why he was there. Then she remembered; there was a quarantine order topside forbade anyone from returning home as long as the Angel was active in the city.

This meant the civilians would be trapped there for four hours now. And there was no sign of when it would be all clear. It meant Shinji couldn't go home.

Misato stared silently at the boy who was just as much her responsibility as Asuka was. Misato had blown him off, too. It was Ritsuko who welcomed the boy to Tokyo-3, something she should have done instead of jetting off on a vacation and neglecting her responsibilities.

She wished for a moment Shinji could rouse so she could introduce herself better and talk to him, but decided it would be better if he got sleep. He would need to be well rested for his part in whatever plan she came up with. She missed her chance.

On the other hand…

She looked into her office. Coffee Cups in various points of being filled littered the place. Reports, consulted and abandoned, were perched on almost every surface. It looked like her apartment, and all of this was just from the past few days.

She was running herself ragged. Maybe she could greet Shinji after a rest herself. She was on the phone a moment later.

"I'm sorry this is last minute." She said into it.

Hyuga replied, "No problem Captain, this is what I'm paid to do. Any special instructions?"

For some reason Misato considered his question tactically. "Pretend you're my yessman. Point out important questions but do not tangle with Kyoko or doctor Ikari if they become belligerent. Just get the info, say I'm unavailable."

"Understood. Is there any time you would like me to wake you, Captain?"

Misato smirked. She hadn't told Hyuga she was napping. "Unless you need a tactical decision, I'll be out for two hours."

"Understood. Sleep well." Hyuga hung up.

Misato turned out the lights, locked the door, and wheeled the chair into position. She set an alarm off her watch, then used her jacket as a blanket over her shoulders. She stared through the glass at Shinji, though her thoughts were on Asuka. Misato hoped the girl was getting some rest.

Probably not, Misato figured as she drifted off to sleep. I should have ordered it…


A loud clash snapped Asuka awake. As she tried to figure out what it was that fell off the bed, the slip and slide of cascading papers followed upon the floor.

She blinked, tired, but confused. She had been just staring at her laptop, trying to come back to a problem that confused her for a fresh perspective. And now suddenly her… her laptop was…

She couldn't see much beyond the side of the bed… but what she did see wasn't good. Papers scattered about, disorganized beyond hope, and her laptop likely broken from the fall on the tile floor.

The familiar, sickly sting of terror clenched her innards as she considered what her mother would see. She had dozed off. She was careless with her classwork and equipment. Was she like this in her apartment? She should move back to be with her mother… for supervision.

The door handle clicked as it turned. Her mother was assuredly behind it. "No…" Asuka uttered, desperate and small.

Unexpectedly, a nervous boy's voice asked, "A-Asuka?"

Her veins froze. She looked up.

Shinji entered. He was still wearing his plugsuit and A10 connectors. In his hands was a clear plastic container holding a pair of really large muffins. His smiling face was like the sun, emerging from the clouds. "Y-you're awake!"

He stepped closer to the bed and saw the piles of papers and the downed laptop. He looked from them to her. "U-um you need help getting all of this?"

She simply nodded. After a few minutes the laptop was put away, the papers stacked, and Shinji was splitting one of the muffins with her. Finally after swallowing a mouthful she asked weakly, "What are you doing here?"

Shinji smiled a little. "I-i was worried about you and I wasn't sure you had eaten. W-when Misato took me to breakfast, I got this for you from the base cafeteria."

Asuka wasn't sure when she had eaten last. The muffin wasn't anything spectacular, but right now, the moist cake was perfect.

Of course, she knew her mother would disapprove. She only needed to summon hospital food for sustenance. It was more efficient. Never mind that the crusty bread used for their sandwiches made Asuka want to puke.

Asuka asked after a few bites, "You just walked in?"

"Well, yeah." Shinji replied. Doing a double take he asked, "Was I not supposed to?"

Asuka stared for a moment into space to think about it. "I'm just surprised my mom didn't impose a no visitor policy. So I could study."

"O-oh! I'm sorry should I-"

"I didn't mean you should leave. Sit down." Asuka replied. As Shinji settled in the chair she said, "at least finish your muffin, geeze."

Shinji settled back into his seat. The two finished eating their halves of the muffin before Shinji spoke again. "Do you want the other one?"

"No… not now." Asuka said. She turned to Shinji, offered him a smile and said, "thank you, Shinji."

His smile was like a vision of innocence. "Y-you're welcome!" Shinji shifted in his seat, then said, "t-theres another reason I came to see you. Captain… err, Misato wanted me to share the plan with you on how were going to beat the Angel."


A/N: The Red Queen has been cold for a little while now as burnout finally caught up with me. This is a problem I tend to have with longer fics. I can see about getting the red queen back on rotation but I have other drafts that are more active as of this posting. This was all written a little while ago, just waiting for an editing pass in order to get it posted.