NOVEMBER 21, 2015
6:23 PM
TOKYO-III
JAPAN STRATEGIC SELF DEFENCE FORCES SPACE CENTER
"Unit-01 this is Tokyo-III, do you read?"
"There's been no signal for over 2 hours. Will Shinji be okay?"
"Miss Misato, you've said that multiple times."
"I know, Ayanami. It's just… how's Asuka?"
"She's not taking it well. I believe she is still mad at the fact Ground Control failed to open a circuit in time. She is also sad that Ikari may be gone."
"Weird, she's not like this usually. Normally she'd just watch this happen with no prior thought."
"I agree, Pilot Soryu has been acting strange lately." Misato let out a large sigh.
"Where are you, Shinji?"
2 MINUTES UNTIL START
CHAPTER 2: INCIDENT OF A HIGHER DOMAIN
NOVEMBER 21, 2015
8:41 PM
IN ORBIT OF THE MOON
SHINJI IKARI
The Solo Pilot had been floating precariously above the moon for over three hours. A fuel tank explosion had ripped him away from his craft, which was now around 100 metres away from him. He had been catatonic for that entire period, mainly from the shock of the explosion.
"Water… Need… water…"
Shinji tried to "swim" towards Unit-01, to no avail. Guess cartoons really were unrealistic, or maybe he wasn't trying hard enough.
"I should… probably contact them…" He then opened a comms channel to Tokyo-III from his helmet. At the same time, Ground Control was attempting to contact Unit-01, which, of course, had no pilot in it.
"Picking up a garbled signal near the Sea of Tranquility. Can't make it out but it definitely sounds like a person."
"Sea of Tranquility? Must be a Cosmonaut, maybe."
"We are certain Unit-01's orbit passes over the Sea of Tranquility, ma'am."
"What the hell.. Try to decrypt that signal!"
"It's coming through right now, ma'am." The signal was incredibly garbled, but it was there. Misato could make out the familiar voice just barely.
"Is that…"
"Ikari?"
"...kyo-III… T..kyo-III! This is Unit-01! Shinji Ikari!" A tidal wave of relief washed over the entirety of Ground Control. Misato was the most relieved.
"Rei! Get Asuka, now!"
"Roger that, Captain." Rei Ayanami sprinted down the hall to the room where Asuka was sulking in. Turns out it was Ritsuko Akagi's empty office.
"Pilot Soryu."
"What is it, First Child?"
"Ikari has been found." Asuka stared at Rei.
"Come again?"
"Pilot Ikari has been found. He is over the Sea of Tranquility." Asuka could not believe it. Shinji was… okay?
"WHAAAAT!? You have got to be fooling me! Show me, right now!"
"Sure. Follow me, make it quick."
"Alrighty then, Wondergirl." Sure enough, Shinji Ikari was communicating with Ground Control. A visual feed had been established using a camera blown away from Unit-01.
"S-SHINJI!?" Asuka raced over to the radio panel so she could talk to him.
"SHINJI! YOU'RE OKAY?"
"Yeah, but I'm in a bit of a situation right now." He then pointed the camera to Unit-01, which was floating with its guts strewn about.
"Good thing I found this camera!"
"Oh, Shinji! You have no IDEA how happy I am right now. I was worried SICK!"
"Yeah, I was too shocked to respond to you earlier, sorry." Asuka began to cry tears of joy, and she was both happy and pissed at the fact Shinji was okay.
"You IDIOT! Next time, you better respond!"
"Hah! Don't worry, there probably won't be a next time."
"H-Huh? What does that mean?"
"I.. don't know if I'll make it back."
"W-What.. kind of idiotspeak is that? O-Of course y-you'll make it back! You're S-Shinji after all.."
"I mean.. I'm cold, thirsty, and I don't think this spacesuit alone will support me long enough."
"I.. I.." Asuka pulled away, and she ran back to Ritsuko's office in tears. Misato took command of the radio.
"Shinji, we'll try and send a rescue mission to you. Is there any way you can get back to Unit-01? Any way at all?"
"I left my jet-pack in Unit-01, and Unit-01 is about 100 metres away. I can't exactly swim to it in space."
"Hmmmm, try finding pieces of debris to spring off of, maybe?"
"I'll try it." Shinji found a flat piece of metal, and he pushed off of it with his legs. It definitely felt like it made a difference.
"I think it'll work! It feels like I moved a bit."
"Great! Now keep doing it until you reach Unit-01."
"Affirmative, this should be easy enough." Misato was relieved the pilot was still alive, but, for how long?
"Maya, how long until a TLI can be opened again? We'll send Ayanami."
"According to the position of the Moon, not for another 2 days."
"2 days is better than 4. Begin preparations for a rescue mission. We cannot let the Third Child die up there. Besides, the Russians and Americans would be on our asses almost instantly."
"Roger that, Captain."
"How long do you think Ikari will survive?"
"A human can live without water for around a week, but it'd be a painful week. Food isn't an issue, since a human can live without food for about 3 weeks. Of course, this will all be true if he doesn't get back to Unit-01 successfully."
"Ikari's gonna have a hard time…"
"Yeah, but as long as he lives. Speaking of, where is Rei?"
"Right here, Captain."
"Oh, so you must've heard?"
"Yes. I will go on a rescue mission to retrieve Ikari, correct?"
"Yep. Correct."
"I see. I will begin preparing."
"Affirmative."
NOVEMBER 22, 2015
10:19 AM
IN ORBIT OF THE MOON
UNIT-01
Shinji had made it back to Unit-01, using the pushing-off-of-debris method. He had enough food and water for around a day and a half. To prevent another incident, he put on his EVA jetpack, and attempted to restore ship systems. He managed to get the radio working, before noticing the fuel gauges.
"Why did this even explode? What did I do wrong? I'm sure Asuka knows. I hope she's okay."
Asuka had been sulking in Ritsuko's office ever since she last talked to Shinji. Luckily for her, Ritsuko was elsewhere most of the time, so she had her sulk space to herself.
"Shinji… Shinji… Ikari…" Her pouting was interrupted by the door opening, and in the doorway stood Rei Ayanami.
"What… Do you WANT, WONDERGIRL?"
"I have been assigned to a rescue mission. I was asking you if you would like to join me."
"You WHAT? Who for?"
"Do you really not know? Pilot Ikari."
"I.. I don't know. I don't know if I could handle seeing him… like this."
"I understand. Make your decision within the next 6 hours. I will be waiting."
Ayanami left the room. Asuka sat there, pondering whether or not she would go. For the past 5 days, she was in the same plugsuit, having watched over Shinji during the Moon encounter, watching Shinji orbit the Moon, listen to Shinji almost die, and watch Shinji survive an explosion.
"Shinji… Shinji…"
Asuka had made her decision.
3 HOURS LATER
GROUND CONTROL
"Alright, Rei, Asuka. You two will be in Unit-02 for this mission, as it is more capable of a rescue mission."
"Ha! I win again, wondergirl!"
"Oh yeah, no tearing each other's heads off. Especially you, Asuka."
"Whaaat? I was just teasing! Besides, I'm only doing this for Shinji."
"Yep. That is literally the goal of this mission."
"I assume Pilot Soryu will control the Unit?"
"Yeah, she knows her way around Unit-02. Rei, you will be the engineer for this mission."
"Affirmative, captain."
"So, when do we launch?"
"30 minutes. I'd advise getting to the rocket."
"Alright! Come on, wondergirl!" Asuka ran off to the launchpad, with Rei in pursuit. Misato smiled, hoping that they would stick together, for Shinji at least. Ground Control prepared the launch of Unit-02, and Rei and Asuka made it to the rocket in time. They both began preparing the Unit for a rescue operation.
"Rei Ayanami to Ground Control, Unit-02 configured for Rescue Mission."
"Roger, Unit-02 configured for the Rescue Mission. Launch proceedings will occur in 3 minutes."
"Affirmative. Pilot Soryu, are you configured?"
"Yeah, yeah! I always am! Asuka Soryu to Ground Control I am ready and configured to save the boy!"
"Ground Control to Asuka, that's a copy."
"Peeerfect! Now we wait, I suppose."
"Pilot Soryu, may I ask something?"
"What is it, Wondergirl?"
"What is with you lately? You seem to be worried about Shinji a lot more recently."
"Well duh! He's stranded in space."
"I am speaking about before he launched. You seemed rather worried about him." Asuka then remembered her interaction with Misato, and immediately became flustered.
"T-That was nothing! Just.. hormones!"
"Pilot Soryu, I sincerely doubt it was hormonal. I would have experienced the same thing, I assume."
"Grrrr… Alright! Fine! I am worried SICK about him! I can't get him off of my mind at all!"
"How long have you been bottling that up for?"
"Ever since that stupid solo mission even began. I wanted them to abort it so I could assist him. This would have NEVER happened if I got my way…"
"Soryu, it is not your fault. No one would have foreseen this happening."
Asuka let out a heavy sigh. "I guess you're right. Anyways, get ready. We'll probably be launching soon"
"Affirmative."
"You know, I have been calling you wondergirl for long enough. I should probably call you Ayanami from now on."
"If you wish, Soryu."
NOVEMBER 22, 2015
4:33 PM
IN ORBIT OF THE MOON
UNIT-01
Shinji let out a large sigh. He knew the rescue mission was on its way, but he couldn't bear to think how long it'd take. At least he had food and water in storage.
"I am so tired. At least this stupid rocket won't explode anymore. Why did the fuel tank even explode, anyway? It never happened before with my Unit, so why now?"
"Talking to myself, again…" He decided to try and contact Ground Control.
"Unit-01 to Ground Control, come in."
"This is Ground Control, what is it Unit-01?"
"What's the status of the rescue mission?"
"Unit-02 is in orbit, TLI has been performed."
"Good, I don't want to wait too long up here."
"Unit-02 is expected to arrive in about a day. Sit tight, Shinji."
"Affirmative, Ground Control." He cut communication.
"A day? I guess it's better than two… At least my capsule still has enough power, otherwise I'd probably be dead by now. I wonder how Asuka and Ayanami are doing.."
UNIT-02, 6 HOURS LATER
"So we get to Shinji in a day, right?"
"Yes. The TLI has been optimised for a quick encounter, but we'll need a lot more fuel to slow down."
"Easy! This thing can slow down faster than Unit-01 can!"
"By how much?"
"I dunno, twice as fast I think."
"Do we have enough fuel though?"
"Yeah, about 75% left total."
"That should be optimal."
"Great! It is so nice having you as an engineer for once, Ayanami."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome!"
The two sat there, waiting until they had reached the Moon. For once, they didn't disagree and tear each other's heads off, much to Misato's satisfaction. Asuka was anxious, compared to Ayanami's "I don't really care" attitude. Eventually, Asuka had an idea.
"I wonder if we're able to contact Unit-01."
"It is certainly possible, try it." Asuka held down the radio button and attempted to radio Unit-01.
"Unit-01, come in! This is Unit-02."
"Unit-01, reporting."
"Oh, I didn't think that'd work. Anyways uhhh… We're about 4 hours away from you, so hang tight, Shinji."
"Yeah, I've been doing that for the past 2 days." Shinji chuckled, slightly.
"I cannot WAIT to see you, you have no idea how worried I am about you!"
"Yeah, same here. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again."
"Fair enough."
"See you later, Asuka."
"Bye, Shinji." Asuka cut communication, while Shinji sat there waiting, yet again.
"At least they're only 4 hours away… I don't know how long I can keep this up."
NOVEMBER 23, 2015
10:20 PM
IN ORBIT OF THE MOON
UNIT-02
"Unit-02 to Ground Control, we are passing over the Sea of Tranquility now, there is a small amount of debris around here."
"The explosion most likely happened near Mare Vaporum. Shinji's last contact after the explosion was over Mare Tranquilitatis, so he is probably not far from us."
"Geez, you are such a nerd Ayanami. Just say Sea of Tranquility! Easy!"
"My preference is the latin names for the Lunar Seas."
"That's what I said! You're a nerd!"
"What exactly is wrong with that?"
"I dunno, it just makes you sound stupid sometimes."
"Do you prefer me not saying it?"
"Well, I can't exactly say yes."
"I see. Then I will keep saying it."
"Hmph!"
"I see Unit-01. Dead Ahead."
"Alrright! Now we're getting into it!"
"I recommend throttle at 25%"
"Whatever you say, Ayanami. Throttle to 25%." Shinji had spotted the incoming striking-red painted vessel. He got ready to transfer to Unit-02. He took his collected experiments, and everything else he needed.
"Closing in on Unit-01. Slow down a bit."
"Roger! Pointing retrograde!" Eventually, Unit-02 came to a stop right next to Unit-01. Asuka and Rei went out to retrieve Shinji, who was luckily waiting for them. Asuka could not believe her eyes when she saw him.
"SHINJI!"
"Asuka?"
"Oh my GOD! Are you alright, Shinji? AYANAMI! GET OVER HERE!"
"Yeah, just a bit tired."
"A BIT!? You look like you haven't slept in months!"
"It sure does feel like months. Anyways, I am really glad you got here in time. Food stocks ran out. And I don't know how much longer I could've waited before going insane. Oh, hey Ayanami."
"Hello, Ikari."
"We better get you out of here. Before we do though…" Asuka reached out to Shinji and encapsulated him in a tight embrace. Shinji returned it.
"I am so cold.."
"Least I'm here to warm you up!"
"Yeah, thanks for that. Even if it's a bit awkward."
"Pilot Soryu, I would advise we- Oh, you two are having a moment. I'll be in Unit-02." Asuka gave Rei a thumbs up, and Rei returned to Unit-02.
"I promise I will never let you go on your own again, Shinji."
"Yeah, I think that's a good thing. I still don't know what I did to make the tank explode."
"I'll tell you when we get back. Speaking of, we better go." Asuka let go of Shinji and went back to Unit-02. Shinji followed.
"Unit-02 to Ground Control, we have the goods!" Ground Control broke into cheers and clapping. Misato was the most rowdy.
"Excellent! We'll see you when you get back."
"Roger. Shinji, you got the experiments, right?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Okay, give them to Ayanami, she can examine them." Shinji passed the collected data to Rei, which she began to examine.
"Hm, one of these experiments seems to have been caught in the middle of that tank explosion."
"Yeah, I did complete one right before I got sucked out."
"This could be a good way to figure out what happened. Unless Asuka knows."
"Speaking of, how the hell are we gonna get Unit-01 back to Earth?"
"I'm sure NERV will figure out a way."
"Alright you two, we better get back home. Shinji. I don't want you risking death again so you don't need to do anything. Unless you want to help Ayanami, then go ahead."
"Hang on a minute, where did this "Ayanami" come from? Don't you usually call her "Wondergirl" or something?"
"It's a secret! Anyways, throttle to 100."
"Alright, whatever you say. At least... I'm coming... home..." Shinji fell asleep. A mission.. success?
A/N: Decided to make this oneshot a not-oneshot. Reviews are appreciated!
-nbcman67