Chapter 1: Another Unfamiliar Ceiling
Shinji Ikari slowly blinked open his eyes to see the sterile ceiling. It was so much like the NERV hospital room that he had come to become familiar with, but this one was different, unfamiliar. Circular lights instead of rectangular.
"Welcome back, sleeping beauty," Shinji blinked more rapidly before turning his head to see a young man a few years older than him standing in the doorway. "We haven't formally met, just gave you a little wave a couple days ago," the brown-haired young man replied. "My name is Lt. Commander Rick Hunter. And you're Shinji Ikari? I'm the pilot that found you and your girlfriend."
"yeah that's me… Huh? Oh… Asuka isn't my girlfriend…" Shinji flushed slightly, remembering what happened before the end, and what he did in…whatever was instrumentality. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve anyone.
"Ah, well, Asuka says the same thing, but she keeps asking about you, when she's awake anyway. So, wasn't sure if it was just denial or something," Rick shrugged.
"Do you feel up to speaking with my Captain?" Rick asked after a moment. "He has questions on how Earth became like … it has…"
"Oh…" Shinji's heart dropped, "I… I guess so…"
"Would you like to meet him and Lis… His second in command here, or in his ready room? The doctor said you should be rehydrated enough to leave if you like?" Rick asked.
"I guess we could do it where he'd like… I'm… I'm not a fan of hospital rooms…" Shinji said looking at the spartan room.
"We have that in common, Shinji." Rick smiled, "I'll tell Captain Gloval, and I'll come back and get you when you're ready. I brought you some clothes from Macross City, too."
Thank you…" Shinji nodded.
Rick then noticed his SDAT player, and the familiar tape. "Is that Lynn Minmay?"
"Yeah… I … I really like her music," Shinji nodded, curiously.
"Interesting," Rick smiled oddly, "We'll I gotta stop one more place before I report to the Cap. See you in a little bit, Shinji."
Shinji watched him leave before looking back at the ship. "Macross City? Captain? Where am I? Where's Asuka?"
-SDF-1-
Shinji stared at the sky, or the massive mechanical ceiling above the city buildings. He was so confused, even more so by the fact that no one seemed to notice or be bothered by the fact it was there. "This way, here's my car." Rick said, pointing to a beaten up older red car. "Since we've been traveling we haven't had much ability to fic up or get newer ride," he said, as he opened the passenger side door for Shinji. He got in the driver's seat, and pressed a button, "Lt. Commander Hunter to Command."
"Commander Hayes here," a pretty brunette appeared on screen.
"Oh hey, Lisa," Rick smiled, "Just wanted to pass it along to the Captain, I'm driving Shinji to the ready room."
"Oh, good he's awake, I'll let… you're what?" Lisa paused as she comprehended his words.
"I'm driving him to command," Rick said, a hint of defiance raising in his voice as he tried not to look insulted.
"It's no problem, Lt. Commander," Lisa, looked away, likely to another screen, "I can send a driver to be there shortly."
"I've got this, Commander," Rick replied, narrowing his slightly.
"Do you at least have a work vehicle?" Lisa sighed.
"I'm in my car." Rick frowned.
"Oh…" Lisa bit her lip awkwardly, "Do try to make it here on time… and alive. Command out."
"Crazy old woman…" Rick muttered to himself, before trying to start the car, which audibly fought against the action.
"Girlfriend?" Shinji asked.
"Lisa Hayes?" Rick blinked, before laughing, "Commanding Officer and pain in my ass…" he shook his head as the car finally started, "we'd kill each other."
"Hmn," Shinji shrugged, and looked out the window as they started out of the parking lot.
"Asuka," Shinji sighed, "She called me disgusting."
"Tame compared to what Lisa has called me, Lynn is a little more Disney even when she's mad though," Rick shrugged.
"Lynn? Who's that?" Shinji glanced.
"Oh, that's my…" Rick blinked, as he stared forward. "My something. We're something."
"Well… that's something, I guess…" Shinji tilted his head.
"Anyway," Shinji coughed, looking up at the metal ceiling where the sky should be, "Where are we?"
"We're inside the Macross, Shinji" Rick smiled, waving at someone he knew as they drove, "Welcome to Macross City, we built it to help normalize the lives of the people we rescued after our space fold accident."
"What?" Shinji blinked.
-SDF1-
Shinji timidly followed Rick into the command tower of what the pilot had described as the first and only Super Dimensional Fortress. "This way," Rick said as they exited an elevator and made their way to a large room with a large central table and multiple monitors around the walls and above the table. "Captain," Rick saluted as an older man in a crisp military uniform stood, and return. "I present Shinji Ikari."
"H-Hello…" Shinji almost squeaked.
"Ikari…" the man narrowed his eyes slightly as he rubbed his chin, "Tell me, young man, what are the names of your parents?"
"Gendo and Yui Ikari, sir," Shinji replied.
"I see, oh pardon my rudeness," he said, "I'm Captain Henry Gloval, commanding officer of the Macross, this is my first officer, Commander Lisa Hayes, You've met Lt. Commander Rick Hunter, this is Commander Roy Fokker, commander of the Skull Squadron, Lt. Max Stirling, Claudia Grant, the Macross' chief coms officer, and Dr. Emil Lang our Robotech expert." Capt. Gloval introduced the table, "Pleasure to meet you, Shinji. Your mother was a good woman."
"Yeah… my father … not so much," Shinji sighed.
"To change the subject, can you give us any information on what caused the Earth to end up in this shape?" Gloval asked.
"Then we're not changing the subject…" Shinji said as he sat down, "it was all my father… he and mom discovered something called instrumentality. When mom died, he became focused on using it to reunite with her. Things… went wrong."
"Other… alien beings, Father called them Angels, were after something in the center of his fortress. Asuka, Rei and I were recruited to pilot Evangelions to fight them," Shinji clinched his fists, "Another… Angel was housed inside the base, it's how Father created the EVA Units. It was all a plot so he could destroy the Angels then make his own Instrumentality."
He avoided eye contact when he finished, "It all ended… somehow Asuka and I were the only survivors… Maybe because of our connection to EVA…"
"The red ocean?" Dr Lang ask.
"I don't know how else to explain it," Shinji shrugged, "That's all that's left of the human race."
Captain Gloval looked to a static filled monitor, "Could these Angels be from the Zentraedi?"
"Don't think so, sir," the encoded but still obviously feminine voice responded, Shinji noted Max perked up. "Can't rule out the Masters though."
"Who's that?" Shinji asked. "and Zen what?"
"The Zentraedi are the enemy that attacked us on Earth and chased us to Pluto and back again… as for her… We have a spy in the Zentraedi," Rick replied, "she came over to the ship in an assassination attempt not long ago. She was… converted to our cause." He said, glancing to Max who had a proud smirk on his face.
"Think you can find out if there is any information, my dear?" Gloval asked.
"I'll do what I can." She replied.
"Just don't blow your cover and get yourself in trouble," Max piped in.
"Stop. Worrying." The voice replied with irritation, "I'm good, Max. now shut up."
"Is there anything else you have to share about this, Mr. Ikari?" Gloval asked.
He bit his lip and avoided his eyes, "No sir, that's about it."
"I see…" Gloval nodded, "Then I'm sure you'd like to see your friend. Lt. Commander Hunter, please escort him to her."
"Of course sir," Rick saluted, and the two got up and left the room.
"Something the matter, Captain?" Lisa asked, noticing how intensely Gloval was staring at the boy leaving.
"He has his father's tells," Gloval said, putting his pipe in his mouth, "He knows more than he's telling."
-SDF1-
Shinji timidly opened the door to the hospital room, "Asuka, how are you…" He was cut off by a bedpan to the face.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, IDIOT?" Asuka Langley Sohryu screamed from the hospital bed, pointing at him with her good arm.
"I hope that wasn't used…" Shinji rubbed his face, looking at the bedpan on the floor.
"And if it was?" Asuka crossed her arms and glared with her uncovered eye. "Answer the question."
"Huh?" Shinji blinked.
"Mein Gott, try to keep up! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She snapped, "I didn't hit you THAT hard…" She said, before unconsciously pulling her gown tighter closed around her.
"He was recovering, too," Rick smiled in amusement as he walked in.
"Recovering," She snorted, "Invincible Shinji doesn't need that. He's being lazy and looking for attention!"
Before Shinji could retort, someone else entered the room.
"Rick, is this where you told me… Oh!" Shinji's wide eyes traveled from the floor up. Ruby high heels led to long, not too thin legs to an almost too short skirt and matching top that showed the young woman's near perfect hour glass figure, and long blue hair that flowed over her shoulders, her cute face revealed her Chinese nationality but Shinji was having a hard time escaping her big blue eyes and warm smile. It only took him a few moments for his mind to recognize the voice as the one he's listened to on his SDAT, and the face that was on the long-lost covers of his tapes.
"Minmay…" Shinji gasped.
"You must be Shinji!" she squeaked, quickly rushing him with her arms threw open wide.
"Wha?" Asuka yelped as Lynn Minmay embraced Shinji and forced his face into her chest.
"Oh, I heard so much about you!" Minmay said, hugging Shinji tightly to her, "You've been through so much! You poor thing! What can I do for you? Name it, I'll make it happen! Anything at all!"
"Can't… breathe…" Shinji gasped from her bosom.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Minmay giggled letting him go. "Oh, Rick, you didn't tell me he was handsome." No one giving the seething Asuka any attention.
"And you are?" Asuka snapped.
"I can't believe you're here…" Shinji gapped at the pop singer, "I listen to your music all the time!"
"Music?" Asuka asked, turning her glare to Shinji.
"You like my music?!" Minmay beamed.
"Shinji?" Asuka's glare bounced back and forth between the two.
"My Beautiful Place is one of my favorites," Shinji smiled, "And I listen to Do You Remember Love every day!"
"Oh, I am so honored!" Minmay smiled brightly.
"I can play the Violin!" Asuka shouted, finally getting their attention.
"That's cool…" Minmay said awkwardly. "Are you Shinji-kun's girlfriend."
"OF COURSE NOT!" Asuka smirked, sitting back with a toying smirk toward Shinji, "Not in a million years!"
"Good." Minmay said simply, and Asuka's glare turned back toward her.
Minmay turned her attention back to the awestruck Shinji and walked up to him. "Here, this is my number." She said, placing a piece of paper in Shinji's hand and moving in to kiss his cheek, then whispered in his ear. "Call me any time. For anything. Ok?"
"Ok," Shinji's voice cracked.
Minmay smiled at him, then moved to leave, stopping a moment by Rick. "Bye, Rick, talk to you later."
Rick nodded awkwardly, before glancing around the room as she left. "What just happened?" Rick and Shinji asked at the same time.
"bunch of Kuhscheiße," Asuka snapped, rolling over in bed to put her back to Shinji, "Go away. I need to sleep."
"You should be released in a day or two, Asuka," Rick said, "Shinji, the captain has a two-bedroom apartment set up for you both, but if you'd rather have places of your own. It's up to you two."
Before Shinji could answer, Asuka piped in without turning toward him, "We'll share the place," she said, "someone has to keep Invincible Shinji in line."
"ok… I guess." Rick said awkwardly, "I'll take you by and you can start getting things sit up, Shinji."
"Uh … sounds good," Shinji smiled and nodded, "I'll talk to you later, Asuka."
"Whatever…" She mumbled as Rick and Shinji left.
-SDF1-
"Welcome home, Shinji," Shinji blinked when he heard Misato's voice as he entered the apartment.
"What?" He turned quickly.
"I said, welcome home, Shinji," Rick said, not noticing his new friend's expression. "Two bedrooms upstairs, joint bathroom and shower, half bath downstairs with living area and kitchen. Not the biggest but I think it'll be homey for you two."
"I like it, thank you…" Shinji said softly.
"Something wrong?" Rick asked.
"Are you all going to make us fight…" Shinji asked, "Are you going to make me fight?"
"Shinji," Rick said, with a soft smile, "Anyone is welcome to join the military. With your and Asuka's history, from what you and she has said, would be a welcome addition. But you're not going to be forced to do anything." Rick moved to the fridge and pulled out two canned drinks.
"And from what I've gathered, you've had enough battles to last a lifetime." He said, handing Shinji one, "Take time, heal. Then decide what you WANT to do. We got enough people fighting, Shinji. You can rest if you want to."
Rick took a swig of the soda, "Shinji Ikari, your war is over. Do whatever you want to do. Join the military and take up another battle or don't. Date a popstar, date an angry redhead, or do like Roy would say and date them both. But that might be more dangerous than the military…"
That got a laugh from Shinji. "Ha, he can laugh!" Rick smiled.
"I haven't in a while," Shinji smiled, taking a sip of soda, "It… felt good."
The two sat and drank sodas and talked for hours. Talked about everything from the military, to Evas, to flying, to Asuka, Lisa, Minmay, friends who were gone. And through it all. Shinji felt something as unfamiliar as the ceilings.
Peace.
If only it would have lasted…
To Be Continued…