Chapter 1
*********
"This looks good. If we keep this up, the estimated
project timeline should be...next five to four years, I'd say.
Give or take a few months."
She agrees, taking a step back to fully admire the giant.
It never stops amazing her---what they're striving to
accomplish here. God? Replicated on Earth? Even if He
is just a bare exoskeleton--white and gleaming in this
underground cavern, devoid of life for the moment---the
enviable scale of Him in repose, hanging from steel wires,
stirs something inside her. Was it fear? Most likely...
Just as likely as awe.
"We have to be ready by then," she thinks, "We don't
have a choice."
"I'll be running over Balthazar's uplinks tonight. There
are a few hypothetical I want to make sure are tightened
before my mother returns," she said, turning and walking
now to the end of the walkway.
And the man next to her holding the clipboard, a fellow
technician, looks at her, his face suddenly distraught.
"Tonight, Doctor?"
"Yes. Why? Are you unavailable?"
"Actually..." He stops, realizing that she's staring at him.
She's not a mean person; quite the opposite--very
amicable. But there's something about her that radiates a
quiet intensity coupled with a disturbing amount of
intelligence; and he wonders if she'd understand
something so trivial. Those cool green eyes stare back at
him from behind rimless spectacles, even as her face
remains friendly. Patient.
She intimidates him without trying.
"It's my wife," he confesses, sheepish. "Our anniversary
is in a few days and I was planning on picking up a gift
for her later on..."
He trails off, losing courage when he sees her looking at
him strangely.
"Wife?" She repeated, musing over the term, "Hmm...you
know...being here for so long I forget that people have
lives outside their work."
And he lets out a sigh of relief he didn't realize he was
holding in. "So," he figures, "it's not me..."
Come to think of it...
Curiosity churns over, and he wonders the opposite of her:
does she have a life outside her work? No. It doesn't seem
so. That's a bit of an enigma, really. And he's never
considered it until now, having taken her constant
presence in these underground facilities for granted. He's
grateful, for her, sure. They all were. Without her, they
wouldn't even be able to make half the progress so far. Still...
There was no regards where her personal wellbeing was
concerned.
She smiles at him. "That's ok," she says, reassuring.
"Technically the schedule for tonight is overtime."
"Are you sure? I can always..."
"No. Go home," she insists, "Get some rest. You deserve
it."
His shoulders slump in relief. There was time yet to get
presents.
"Doctor Akagi?" They both to where her name is called.
"Phone for you. From the Germany branch."
Germany? Her expression changes--he sees it, but doesn't
ask.
"I'll take it in my office."
***
"Ritsuko Akagi speaking."
"Ritsuko, why so formal?" Her voice filters through the
coarse mechanics of the phone, still managing to retain its
playfulness.
And Ritsuko can't help but smile. "Misato, I knew it was
you."
"Who else?"
And she is surprised. Misato usually calls in the evenings
when she knows the other woman is more available.
Almost half a year to the date since they began
conversing in this way; half a year since Misato had taken
up assignment in GEHIRN, Germany.
"So what is it?" Ritsuko prompts, "You're not calling
early just to say 'hi,' are you?"
And Misato's standing outside the cafeteria building,
payphone to her ear as she relates over the noise of
people congregating near her---these were basically the
school-grounds for GEHIRN trainees. "I just found out
and I couldn't wait to tell you. They're letting our section
go on leave for two weeks."
Ritsuko's eyes open wide as she notes the excitement in
Misato's voice.
"I'm heading back to Japan next Saturday."
"Next Saturday?"
"Yeah." On the other end of the phone, Misato holds the
phone closer, inclining into the booth--wanting for more
privacy. Her fingers curls around the phone cord. "Do
you know of anywhere I could stay?"
It's not very subtle, but Misato doesn't have to be, and
Ritsuko picks it up right away; returning it, just as
playfully, "Hmm...I can probably think of a few places to
put you up in."
"Great..."
Misato takes a moment to simply revels in knowing that
she'll be seeing her again soon; and it couldn't be soon
enough. Behind her, a group of German men--other
GEHIRN trainees--spot her, nudged each other excitedly
before calling over, "Misato!"
And their voices knock her out of her reverie. She turns,
smiles and answers back, "Hey, alles kla?"
Ritsuko hears it--the conversation in the background, and
she's impressed. Misato's German is heavily accented and
she certainly wasn't fluent...hesitating here and there with
an occasional "e-to...nani ka," but she is conversational;
loquacious even when hindered by issues of language
shortcomings, and that was impressive.
"What was that?" Ritsuko asks, when she hears Misato
back on the phone.
"Nothing," she answers, and Ritsuko can't help thinking
that she sounds flustered somehow. "Just a couple friends
asking me to go to mess with them. Anyways, I'll talk to
you later, okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
She hears the 'click' and prolong tone on the other line
that indicates the call is over before hanging up. And she
pauses for a second, fingers of one hand tapping on her
chin, thoughtful. Misato will be back in a few days...that
changes things.
She flicks on her computer accessing her agenda and
peruses through the lists and dates there. All things taken
into consideration, there was a definite want for
flexibility.
To be continued...
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Notes:
I'm trying to be a lot more organized in my writing. The
key is excising. Anyways, most of my stuff so far is
written in past tense and I'm experimenting with present
tense here.
Would you believe me if I told you this story was
inspired by a scene in the opening of the film Watchmen?
Where Silhouette plants a Sapphic kiss on her lover on
Vday? Good stuff. So I figured there was some parallel
here, with Misato being what is essentially a military unit
of GEHIRN. I thought it would be fun--the homecoming.
As for Misato knowing some German, she stayed there
for quite a while so it's only logical that she'd pick some
up. It would've been fun if they'd showed that more in the
series.
BTW, when Ritsuko speaks science stuff...I have no idea
what she's talking about.
Thank you to Major Mike Powell for reading over the
draft. I still have no idea 'hypothetical' what.
Anyways, short, simple and sweet setup in chapter 1.
Feedback is always welcome.