NERV: Antarctica

Part Two

"Keep running!" Satsuki Aoi yelled on Monday, the blond haired woman firing her pistol over her shoulder as they pelted down the corridor ahead of a swarm of dog-like things. The lime green skinned things had already mauled security officer Wisner to death, and had overwhelmed a security checkpoint.

"I hate this job!" Mayumi wailed as she panted, the black haired woman running as fast as she could, her lab coat fluttering around her legs. With a yelp the coat tangled up her legs and she tripped, falling to the ground in a heap.

"Just think how good the pay is," Satsuki shot back as she ran between her and the attackers. The woman looked like some kind of Valkyrie as she emptied her clip into the creatures, staggering them. "Get up!" she ordered.

Mayumi staggered to her feet, pushing off from the wall as she started running again. "Thank you," she panted.

"No problem," Satsuki smiled as they ran around a corner to where Mayumi's security team had set up a defensive position to stop the critters. She and Mayumi dove behind the security barriers, scrambling around to watch what happened.

"Lock and load," Yoko ordered, the busty redhead laying a heavy rifle along the barrier and taking aim, a laser sight shining down the hallway

"That is one big rifle," Mayumi found herself noting, the relief at being moderately safe making her feel a little giddy. "Are you sure you aren't compensating for something?" she quipped teasingly as Satsuki chuckled softly.

"Oh shut up," Yoko said as the things skid around the corner. "Fire!" she ordered.

Bullets and other accelerated projectiles blasted down the hallway, shredding the demon-dogs in splashes of blue blood. The howling beasts surged forward by weight of numbers, pushing on as the security team fired madly, trying to halt the deadly advance.

With a total disregard for her own safety Satsuki was using her pistol to contribute to the weight of fire, then a similar mad impulse struck Mayumi. Drawing her own service pistol she started putting bullets into the dog things too, her lips pulled back in a snarl.

With a final gurgling sound the creatures ground to a stop within feet of the barricade, the blue blood oozing out over the floor. Yoko casually stood up, pulling a cigar from her pocket and lighting it. "I love it when a plan comes together," she grinned, clenching the cigar in her teeth.

As the mop up began the officers seemed to take Satsuki's helping them in stride, but several of the men and women were giving Mayumi thoughtful looks. One blue haired man with sunglasses grinned down at her, then clapped her on the back as he declared, "Welcome to NERV Antarctica!."

"Huh?" Mayumi blinked as several security officers echoed that, even though it had been weeks since she had arrived.

Satsuki was smiling slightly as other guards similarly greeted Mayumi or slapped her on the back. "It means they've accepted you," she told the younger woman.

"Thanks," Mayumi paused as she considered it, "I think."

"Unlike Kaede," Yoko noted with a scowl, "who screams and hides every time something goes wrong." She spat on the deck, making everyone wince a bit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

You couldn't really find a place to have a cozy dinner in NERV Antarctica. It was a big place, admittedly, but almost all of it was committed to various functions. Security had a large chunk, as did living quarters, science division, power and other departments. The closest thing to a restaurant was the cafeteria, tho admittedly the food was pretty good.

'It'd have to be, or the staff would probably riot,' Mayumi noted as she sat with her tray across from Kaede, glad the week was half-way through. She looked at the miserable young woman and gently asked, "Are you all right?"

"No," Kaede sighed, looking down at her food. She looked up at Mayumi in desperate appeal as she whispered, "How do you stand it, here? There's been three attacks on the platform already, and we've only been here a few weeks!"

"The squid thing that hit the helicopter when we arrived doesn't really count as a attack," Mayumi noted precisely, "more of an incident."

Kaede was looking at her like she was nuts. "How can you take this so calmly?" she asked.

Mayumi chewed at her food even as she tried to come up with something to say that would help the younger woman. "It's the job we signed up for," she said, shrugging. She looked at Kaede compassionately, "Have you tried getting closer to the security guys?"

"No," Kaede admitted, "they seem kind of rough."

"Some of them are," Mayumi agreed willingly, "but they can help you learn to take care of yourself, and once you do that this place will be easier to deal with."

"I hadn't thought of that," Kaede admitted reluctantly.

In working with Kaede over the past few months, Mayumi had drawn the conclusion that Kaede was the type who wanted other to take care of her. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it put her at a disadvantage out here on a base full of independent minded souls. And, honestly, it had lowered Mayumi's opinion on her too.

"Have you met Yoko's friend Simon?" Mayumi suggested, thinking of the somewhat shy security man. "He might be someone you could talk to," she nodded.

Kaede smiled, "All right, I'll try."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Later that week Satsuki gently pushed Mayumi back on her desk, kissing the scientist's neck hungrily. Mayumi moaned weakly as she was pushed backwards, her pulse racing happily. Satsuki ran a hand up her thigh and chuckled when she hit the old fashioned garters under the skirt.

"What?" Mayumi asked a bit breathlessly.

"I always liked garters and stockings on a woman," Satsuki admitted, smiling down at her. She tilted her head to the side, "Did someone tell?"

"I asked Yoko about it," Mayumi admitted a bit sheepishly. "Since you rescued me weeks ago I've been interested, but I couldn't seem to get your attention."

Satsuki chuckled softly, "Oh, I noticed all right." She looked at Mayumi fondly, "I wanted to let the hero worship fade a bit, first." She poked Mayumi gently, "Though you made it damn hard to pretend not to notice!"

Mayumi blushed as she remembered some of her more blatant attempts to get the woman's attention. "Sorry," she chuckled, then gasped as she kissed the skin exposed by her low cut blouse.

"It made for a pretty hot show," Satsuki murmured as she cupped those firm breasts in her hands. As Mayumi cooed she thumbed the hard nipples, then moved to pull the shirt off...

Ba-WOO Ga! Both women jerked apart as they heard the alarms go off, cursing softly as they looked around them wildly. "You have got to be kidding me," Mayumi growled as she swiftly straightened up her clothes.

"Damn it," Satsuki agreed, running a hand through her messy hair.

Mayumi got out her cellphone and dialled security, "Yoko, what the hell's going on?"

"Slug things climbing up over the walls up top," Yoko answered with a surprising degree of calm, "I think we've got it covered." She sounded amused as she cheerily added, "Go back to getting the boss laid."

"Yoko!" Mayumi blushed furiously.

"What, that wasn't what you were doing?" Yoko asked impishly, adding, "The boss is easier on all of us if she gets laid, too. Get to it!"

Blushing furiously Mayumi said goodbye, then relayed the information about the attack. "Yoko says they have things under control," she told Satsuki.

"Yoko knows her business," Satsuki agreed, smiling, She took the phone from Mayumi's hand and set it aside, then gently pushed the woman up against the counter. Smiling impishly she kissed Mayumi tenderly as Satsuki purred, "Let's get back to what we were doing..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You have got to be kidding me!" Kaede wailed about a week later as she tried to pick one of the attackers off, aiming up into the cool blue sky, "Flying monkeys?"

Despite Kaede's protests she lined up and shot it fairly well, sending it plummeting into the sea. Clearly her practice had paid off, Mayumi noted as she took aim and popped another one, nailing it in a burst of green blood. "They aren't really monkeys," she noted as she looked at the hunched, misshapen humanoid with wings, "but they do bear a resemblance."

With clear reluctance Kaede bagged the remains in a specimen container and tossed it aside, to be collected later. "Eww," she sighed.

Since surviving six attacks in the last three months, Mayumi had become a regular visitor to the firing range. She still wasn't a expert with a rifle, but by god she could hit what she aimed at with her hand gun. And it wasn't like there was much else to do other than working in her lab or sleeping with Satsuki...

"So," Kamina asked as the security guard helped the team picking attackers out of the sky, "have you figured out what these things are?" While dressed in the usual security gear he had his shirt open to reveal the fire tattoo across it, and he wore odd, angular sunglasses.

"Not precisely," Mayumi admitted as she fired, trying to hit a fast moving one, "but I sent Akagi a theory about why they exist."

Yoko hefted her rifle calmly and blasted another of the fliers as she asked, "Do tell."

With a tired sigh Mayumi lowered her arms, sore from firing the gun upwards for a hour. "I think they're Angel food," she answered them simply.

"Eh?" both Kaede and Yoko looked at her in surprise. They also both stopped shooting, but thankfully the attack was winding down.

"Think about it," Mayumi shrugged as she asked, "what are they going to eat? The angels certainly don't seem compatible with our biology. Therefore they need something else to eat."

"That makes a disturbing kind of sense," Kaede conceded as they shot down another one.

"So boss," Yoko asked as she casually lined up another shot, "you gonna stay on after your six month tour is up?"

"Hell no!" Kaede yelped, "Are you nuts!" She looked over at Mayumi and was surprised to just see a thoughtful look on her face.

"Aww," Simon grinned teasingly at Kaede, "I thought you were starting to fit right in."

"Heh," Mayumi shook her head, calmly shooting another flying monkey down. 'You know, maybe I will stay on,' she mused, smiling slightly.

End?

Notes: Second draft version, somewhat expanded on. Yoko, Kamina and Simon are all from Gurren Lagann, other characters are either original characters or from various Evangelion spin offs like 'Shinji Ikari Raising Project.' Gendo Ikari in this could either be from canon or Nobody Dies, depending on what you prefer. Heh! In addition to my usual scene break symbols I tried to toss in more date mentions, not sure if that worked.