NERV was abuzz with activity when we pulled up. The underground garage was packed with unfamiliar vehicles, and the halls were no longer barren, unfamiliar faces wandering (or guided) through them on their way from one location to the next.
When Rei gasped in pain as someone jostled her while shouldering his way through the crowd, I scowled, and waved over a nearby Section Two agent, blinking in surprise as I recognized him.
"Agent Tawara? Help me keep Rei safe in here... who the hell are these people?"
Taking a moment to call for a replacement, he fell in step ahead of us, talking over his shoulder loudly enough to be heard over the other conversations in the hall.
"Media and Government representatives, mostly. As a public agency, NERV has to open its doors sometimes, and after the previous sortie, everyone seems to want to know what happens here, Sir." Pausing to roughly shoulder his way through a group of people speaking German, he continued. "Today is the first of a five-day 'open house,' to let various government agencies and media outlets see what it is that goes on here... This way."
Turning towards an unassuming door marked Exit, Tawara swiped his badge in the card reader beside the door, and pushed it open to reveal a poorly-lit hallway running parallel to the one we were in.
"What's this?" I asked, not recalling anything like it on the map.
"Security Hallway. Most major corridors have them, but it's reserved for command-staff and Section Two," he explained, as we walked. Here and there, a section of the wall had a large flat panel display of the hallway on the other side, and in the center of the corridor we passed two Section Two agents watching a real-time X-ray of the people outside passing through a hidden scanner.
"Am I allowed to use it?" I asked, thinking about the crowds likely to be in the halls this week.
"..." Tawara paused, his steady stride slowing for a moment as he considered the question. "I don't know, sir. Your position during combat operations doesn't allow it, but your position as Pilot Ayanami's guardian does."
Nodding at that, I nodded in greeting to a blank faced Section Two agent passing us, before compromising. "I'll probably never need it after, but could I at least make use of it this week? I can handle the crowds, but in her condition, I'd prefer not risking Rei's safety."
"I am already authorized to access these corridors. As long as you are with me, your position as guardian overrides the security rules concerning Security corridor usage." Rei offered.
"She's right," Tawara replied, nodding. "I'll make a note of it and post it in the break room so you aren't hassled, sir."
"Thanks, Tawara," I offered, smiling.
After being led down a flight of stairs and into a small service elevator that would drop us off near the command deck, the Section Two Agent left us to return to his assigned post, and Rei turned towards a bank of Elevators that led to the entrance of Terminal Dogma.
"Is your appointment down there?" I asked, surprise evident in my voice.
"Yes."
"Ah. Well, I don't think I'm allowed down there-" I started to say, before someone cut me off.
"You aren't, but I am." Turning around, I spotted Dr. Akagi in a pair of white slacks and a blue sleeveless dress shirt. Her lab coat was nowhere to be found. "I'll take Rei to her appointment. You're needed on the bridge."
"I understand," I replied, still somewhat surprised be her lack of a lab coat. Turning away, I headed for the lift to the bridge.
Once there, I sighed in relief. Unlike the more crowded halls in the upper halls of headquarters, beyond a certain point, very few people with press tags or national badges were visible. Apparently NERV had successfully argued to keep some secrets.
"Oh, Kerrigan, you made it," Captain Katsuragi said as the lift slid to a halt.
"Yes, ma'am." I said, looking over at the dominant screen on the back wall. The holographic display between the bridge and the far wall wasn't on, and the looming NERV logo that had replaced the telemetry and tracking display told me that unexpected guests could still turn up here.
"After going over the data from our last sortie, and certain... executive actions were taken, we've found a position for you during combat operations."
"Oh?" I asked, somewhat curious what she meant by 'executive actions.'
"Yes," she replied, nodding and smiling a little. "It should be closer to what you're used to, and it allows for your presence in most of the areas in NERV you need to go."
"What is it?"
"Combat Team Coordinator." She answered with a smile. At my blank look, her smile died a little. "You know... the..." She trailed off, apparently unsure how to explain. Finally she just sighed. "Remember that man who was screaming and panicking below us during the combat operation against the third angel?"
"I... yes." Actually, I had thought it was a woman.
"Well, he's been fired. One of his jobs was to oversee Eva prep in the bay, which you took over for Lieutenant Ibuki after she replace the security guard he'd delegated the task to." She paused, before frowning. "Also, for most of the battle, he was either screaming in frustration due to not understanding the MAGI system, or giving conflicting orders to the wrong teams." Misato shrugged and pointed to a second lift, near the one that I had just stepped off of. "Anyway, there's your ride down to your new station. Orient yourself with the layout, and the MAGI have a basic training system set up to walk you through your new command."
I blinked at that, before nodding and heading to the lift. Leaning on the low railing, I stared down at the lower tier of the bridge, and was somewhat surprised by the number of monitors displaying various locations around NERV.
By the end of the afternoon, I was both elated at my success at understanding the system, and ready to tear my hair out at the numerous errors I'd found in the procedures documents the previous team commander had created. Especially after a quick query had the MAGI system go over each and auto-correct them.
Sitting there and going over the revised schedule for the weapons delivery crews, I suddenly got the feeling I wasn't alone. Turning around, I found Rei standing there, apparently waiting for me.
"Rei! Why didn't you say something?" I asked, feeling lousy. Knowing her, she'd probably been waiting silently for a while. Turning back towards the screen, I quickly locked the terminal down, before standing up. "I take it you're done?"
When she nodded, I turned to look out over the chamber once more, before heading towards the lift.
"Everything go okay?" I asked, as we made our way through the security tunnels towards the exit.
"My healing is progressing as expected."
"Well, that's good. I'm sure you're looking forward to getting that cast off."
"I... Yes."
Something about her hesitation there made me smile. "Well, my day went well enough, too. You want to swing through someplace to eat on the way home?"
"This is the second time you've asked if I wanted to eat out," Rei pointed out.
"Yeah..." I replied, pushing open a heavy door for her.
"Are you afraid of your own cooking?"
Taking a moment to think it over, I shrugged. "Not particularly. I just like to do something a little different every once in a while."
"Having me live with you doesn't count?" She asked, as we made our way through the crowds in the parking garage towards my car.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "It definitely is, but it's something I've had time to prepare for. Eating out is more... spontaneous."
Apparently satisfied with that answer, Rei remained silent for the rest of the ride, finally speaking up when I turned down a side road. "This is not the way to your apartment."
"Nope."
"Somewhere to get food, then?"
"Got it in one," I replied cheerily, as I pulled up to a little out-of-the-way restaurant that I had found in the phone directory. Pulling into one of the parking spots, I motioned for Rei to roll her window down so she could place her order after browsing the menu, and I did the same.
"We don't go in to eat?" She asked, after voicing her selection.
"This place is too small, though there are those picnic tables, if you want to get out and stretch your legs. But most people, I imagine, come here and eat in their cars, like this. See? Here come our drinks now." And indeed, out skated a young woman in a miniskirt with a pair of drinks on a tray. After expertly sliding to a stop outside my window, she handed me the drinks, identifying each as she said so, before complimenting our food choices and zipping back inside.
"Why does she use those?" Rei asked, after nearly a minute of silence.
"The roller skates? I think they're part of the job. It gives this place a uniqueness all its own." I answered, looking over at the door the waitress had disappeared into.
"Is it entertaining?"
I blinked, turning to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Roller Skates. They look unstable. Does the company offer the uniqueness for the entertainment of the customers, or do the waitresses do it for entertainment and the company has no policy concerning it?" She elaborated.
"I'd imagine it started with the latter, until the former was adopted to maintain something the customers had come to expect." I finally replied.
Rei remained silent after that until the food was delivered. Between bites, however, I tried to continue the conversation. "Would you like to try?"
Looking out her window at the waitress helping the car a few spots away, she watched the waitress spin away with a smile, before turning back to me. "I'm currently in no condition to do that."
I chuckled. "I would definitely suggest waiting for you to heal first, but if you're interested, it might be a fun way for you to pass the time."
"I..." she trailed off in thought, and I waited patiently as she apparently contemplated her response. Finally, she turned back to the window. "I will consider it."
Nodding, I turned back to my meal, quickly finishing it off. After taking care of the garbage we drove home, where Rei quickly disappeared into her room.
Pulling out the little bit of paperwork I'd manage to grab from my new workplace, I took to studying the map of Tokyo-3, and the support systems built into many of the buildings around town.
I was pulled out of my studies as Rei sat down across from me, watching me silently. Not wanting to ignore her, I set the latest sheet of locations aside, and met her gaze. "Evening," I finally said.
"I've finished my studies, and was... curious." She replied.
"Oh?"
Nodding, she leaned forward to point at a point on the map, which I had just marked as one of the locations for an Eva power cable. "The power coupling in this building is not rated for the throughput needed by an Evangelion in combat."
I stared. "You... know this map?"
Rei merely nodded, and I couldn't help but smile slightly as I handed her the list of Eva weapon caches located throughout the city. "You know all that?"
"Yes." She hadn't even bothered reading the list, just skimmed it.
"Well then..." I trailed off, frowning in thought before asking, "What were you studying?"
"I begin school again in two days. I must keep up my understanding of the schoolwork if I am to maintain an acceptable grade."
"... What's an acceptable grade?" I asked, frowning at the word choice.
"As long as I pass, it is acceptable."
I snorted. "No, not really. Go get your books, Rei. I can study this stuff any time, but schoolwork... well, lets see where you stand, and go from there."
"..." She sat there watching me.
"Something wrong?"
"Your grades indicate that you yourself strove, at best, for mediocrity during the majority of your schooling," she stated calmly.
I wish I had tried that one on my parents when they had gotten on my case about doing schoolwork. But then, I'd never known how they did in school. Actually; "how do you know how well I did in school?"
"It's in your second personnel record."
"Oh." I actually lapsed back to English as I thought about that. Rei had seen my Personnel record? My second record? What the hell was a second record? Aside from extremely detailed, apparently.
Even more unnerving: how far back did they go? Second Impact had happened my sixth year of grade school, and my first four years had been in a coastal city. Those records, at least, should be under a few dozen feet of ocean. Or had NERV hunted them down, somehow? Surely there'd be some electronic records that survived, transcripts notwithstanding, but if there was enough information to imply from the data that I had worked to maintain a decidedly average grade throughout high school and college...
"That's only slightly horrifying..." I muttered. At her confused look, I smiled, though it was a little shaky. "The fact that I have a file detailed enough to let you come to that conclusion," I elaborated.
"Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki made the conclusion after interviewing what teachers of yours he could contact." Rei stated.
Letting out a sigh, I nodded. "That would make sense. More so than what paranoid conclusions I had jumped to, in any case." Shaking my head to clear it of my sudden bout of paranoia, I met Rei's gaze. "Tell you what, I'll help you with your school work for an hour each night, and in a week, we'll see if we don't have your grades up a bit."
"And if I... refuse?" She asked quietly.
I frowned at her, but it dissolved into curiosity as I noticed the intensity in her gaze. That hadn't been a challenge, it had been an honest inquiry. Was she expecting punishment? I knew she followed orders, but I hadn't phrased it as one, had I?
I decided to parry her question. "What could I offer you to make you accept?"
"Let me help you." She replied instantly.
"... with?" I asked, surprised at her sudden change in attitude.
Leaning forward, she pointed at the map on the table. "The Ammunition feed system for the pallet rifle in section 141-A2 freezes up and maintenance doesn't know why." She moved her finger to another section, "The Eva-lift in C-3 is blocked by a weight-bearing strut system and the entire section is being reworked, blocking access and egress during combat as well as making all powered systems in the area unreliable."
I blinked. None of that was in my paperwork. "You... really enjoy this, don't you?" I asked, finally.
She turned to look at me again, and her only exposed eye shone with determination. "I pilot Evangelion. In battle, these systems offer the support I must rely on to complete my task. It would be criminally negligent of me to not know them intricately."
Spoken with such conviction! I nodded. "As Combat Team Coordinator, it makes sense to keep you apprised of any situations anyway. How would you help me?"
"Evangelions are humanoid in design, piloted by us through a mental command and control system. This is to allow instinct and training to overcome the intricacies of piloting a multi-ton weapon system during combat. Tokyo-3 is designed as a fortress to supplement and house multiple Evangelion Units which can be dispatched to deal with Angelic incursions."
Nothing I didn't already know, though she was talking more than I'd ever heard her talk before, so I merely nodded hoping she'd continue. She didn't disappoint.
"Several systems designed to deliver weapons to Eva are currently backwards, delivering a rifle to the right hand of an Eva facing inwards. As all three current pilots are right-handed, this is a design and placement oversight that nobody has yet noticed."
I realized what she meant. The Third Angel had moved into the city from the ocean, and once engaged by Unit-01, it had been far faster than anything that large had any right to move. Of course, Unit-01 had also been fast, but having seen an Eva in combat, I knew that the trouble of rotating and pulling an Eva-sized weapon across its body would take seconds, and with Angels, every second counted.
"I see... so you want me to help make modifications to the city to improve your ability to pilot, is that it?" Not that I had that power. I could probably suggest, but I didn't have the power to force the issue.
"No." She shook her head. "My job is to pilot Evangelion. I will work with whatever systems are available. How well each Evangelion performs, however, is dependent, in part, by the systems upon which it relies. As it is your job during combat to oversee those support system's maintenance, the performance of the Eva reflects upon your preparedness."
I frowned. "Unit-00 is still undergoing repairs though... for the time being, Shin..." I trailed off in realization.
Rei might be prepared to handle any eccentricity in the city's layout, but only because she knew them all, and therefore, what to expect. Shinji, on the other hand, was utterly new to the city's many systems. If an Angel were to attack while he was the only pilot on call, his fumbling with a faulty delivery system at a bad moment could doom the human race. Rei wanted to help me, but in so doing, she was also ensuring her own continued existence.
Not exactly the best position to bargain from; at least not when the other person could see that, but at the same time, Rei was definitely showing some hidden depths. It's not like my offer to help her in school wasn't somewhat transparent, itself. Her doing better in school would definitely look good for me, after all.
"That sounds fair," I replied, finally. Re nodded and turned towards her room to get her books.
As she walked away, my phone rang. Answering it, I was surprised to hear a rather exhausted-sounding Misato on the other end.
"Kerrigan, we need you to come in tomorrow," she said, after identifying herself.
"Ahh... should I bring Rei?" I asked, confused.
"No. Rits- Dr. Akagi says Rei's self-sufficient enough to handle herself during the afternoon." There was another voice on the other end, Dr. Akagi, I assumed, before Misato continued, "Yeah... basically, you're allowed some time away, and will be expected in during work weeks once Rei begins her schooling."
"Well... Rei is scheduled to start school the day after tomorrow. Should I come in tomorrow, or wait until then?"
There was a moment of conversation on the other end, before Misato responded. "That'll work. Come to my office and we'll get started."
"Get started with what?" I asked, confused.
"Combat Sims. Shinji is already scheduled to start them in a few days, until then, we need to get the support staff up to par. That means you need to be here monitoring your teams, who will be performing drills around Tokyo-3."
"I see. If you planned all that for tomorrow, then I'll come in. No need to change everyone's schedule for me." I said, feeling somewhat surprised at how generous she was being in the rescheduling.
Then she laughed. "Oh, it's nothing like that. You're the team coordinator. Who do you think is supposed to call everyone and tell them you changed the day for the combat drills?"
I winced. That... made a bit more sense. "Then... I'll come in tomorrow, and oversee the combat drills."
I could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks for understanding. See you tomorrow at nine!"
Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I turned around to see Rei seated at the table with a book out and open.
"I guess we should begin?" I asked rhetorically as I sat back down.
The next day, I arrived at NERV around eight-thirty, hoping to at least look over the day's plans before we got started. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten the crowd, and only barely made it to my station on the bridge by nine. The packed elevators crowded hallways, and occasional jerk who tried to slip into locked doorways with me had eaten up what little time I had, and I felt quite a few pairs of eyes on me as the lift deposited me on the lower tier on which I would work during an actual angel attack.
"Impressive timing," Dr. Akagi said, looking at her watch before nodding to herself. "Since Captain Katsuragi isn't here yet, I'm going to be guiding you through the basics."
"Understood," I replied, nodding.
"Good. During daily operations, someone with lower clearance will be overseeing upkeep and basic preparedness for all Eva-based systems throughout Tokyo-3." Ritsuko started, jumping straight in. I glanced down at the terminal I was supposed to work at, and frowned. Before I could ask anything, however, she continued; "while they have lower clearance, a majority of the maintenance is simple scheduling, which the MAGI can and will be doing. During a combat situation, however, all nonessential processes are halted and the full power of the MAGI is devoted to analyzing the situation as it evolves. This is where you come in." She turned to look at me, and after a moment, I realized she was awaiting a response.
"Bring Ayanami to NERV as soon as we receive notice of an impending Angel attack, get here as fast as possible, and take over from the MAGI."
"Correct. Launch crews like the one you oversaw during the last battle are well-trained and thanks to your assistance, prepared for the next battle. Only in the even of an unexpected change will you be required to personally oversee things there, either from here, or making your way there, if your presence is needed."
As she continued, I learned that the bridge crew above, Hyuuga, Ibuki, and Aoba, would be overseeing overall Eva and Tokyo-3 operations. Captain Katsuragi would be directing under the watch of the two commanders, while Dr. Akagi stood by to monitor the Evangelions themselves, as well as the pilots within. The tier I was on would carry out 'autonomous' functions, weapon emplacement reloads, shifting Eva ordinance around so that it can be supplied immediately, and dispatching repair teams in the event that damages received during battle destroy or interrupt something critical to mission success.
Before we could actually begin, Captain Katsuragi, arrived. "Sorry I'm late; those crowds are hell on timing!"
"Oddly enough, even with the crowds, Kerrigan here managed to arrive exactly at nine," Ritsuko muttered.
"Well I'm glad someone did. So where are the crews?" Misato asked.
"Since you weren't here, and Kerrigan can hardly be expected to know everything about a job he has had no real training for, I took the liberty of having the MAGI notify them. While we wait for everyone to arrive and get into position, I was giving the Lieutenant here a brief explanation of his job... something I seem to recall asking you to do."
Misato merely chuckled Nervously.
"Never mind. I'm heading back to the Pribnow Box. You need to show him the basic dispatching and monitoring interfaces, the communications system, and if you have time, the xenobiological recovery systems," Dr. Akagi said, stepping onto the lift and beginning her ascent.
"Will do," Misato mumbled, looking down at the terminal with a frown. "Guess we should get started. She told you what you'll be doing, now I have to show you how to do it. Or start..."
With Katsuragi and the MAGI's assistance, I began learning how to do my job from the terminal. With its voice recognition system, I even got a little practice giving and receiving audio reports similar to those I would be expected to deal with in combat.
Before we could start learning about the XRS, as the Captain referred to it, her phone rang.
"Captain Katsuragi speaking."
"Ah! About time."
"No, but your new boss might.."
"I doubt it. Give us a second, and we'll get a teleconference started."
Misato shut her phone off and flashed me a grin. "That was your subordinate, Ensign Sato. Why don't you call him up on the system with the video interface."
Blinking, I turned back to the terminal and brought up the communications system, stumbling for a moment before spotting a video-conferencing option I know for a fact the Captain had NOT shown me earlier.
"Ahh, Lieutenant Kerrigan? I'm Ensign Sato, your Executive in this little branch of NERV's extensive command tree," A chipper-looking young man said.
"I didn't realize this was a command position," was my first reply.
Sato's gaze shifted to Captain Katsuragi's. He didn't say anything, just gave her a familiar look of weary incredulity.
"I'm sorry, that was dumb of me. It's obviously a command position. I just didn't realize it entailed an executive officer. I'm pleased to meet you, Ensign. Forgive my rudeness, it's a pleasure to meet you." I quickly replied, feeling my face heat up. A rather horrible first impression.
"Not to worry, sir. I was just calling to inform you that all crews have arrived and are in position. I'll be standing by for your orders. Sato out."
With that the image winked out of existence, though in that last instant, I could swear he shot Misato another look.
"Don't worry about him, he's a great guy. I think he's just worried about you." She offered.
"Worried about me? Not for me?" I asked, frowning.
Misato grimaced, before nodding. "Remember, the last guy here was.. not that great. He's probably worried you'll end up like him."
I blinked. "Fired?"
Misato shook her head, smiling. "No. Yelling at him to do something while an Angel tears into the Geofront."
"Oh," I replied, unsure how to take that. At least I knew what not to do. "So... they're standing by... for the combat drills, I assume. What will I be doing?"
Suddenly, the oversized screen on the wall above me flashed red, little hexagons with the word "emergency" covering the wall as sirens began wailing everywhere. When I turned to look at Misato, eyes-wide, she was already riding the lift back up to the main bridge. "NOW WE DRILL FOR COMBAT!" She yelled at me over the myriad alert noises.
Needless to say, it was with great pleasure that I drove home that evening, knowing I had the next day off. While I hadn't wowed anyone with my initial performance, after a couple frantic hours, I started to understand what was expected of me, and composed myself fairly well. At least, that's what Sato and Katsuragi said as we were going over the day's progress.
Sato proved to be my anti-go-to-guy; instead of going to him with problems, he would go to them. I was practically confined to the bridge during an emergency, so Sato, who had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of every system involved, would take whatever transportation was available to any spot I dispatched him to when a team ran into an unexpected problem.
Of course, Thursday's xenobiological recovery systems overview promised to be just as interesting. At least there wouldn't be as many alarms, I hoped.
Arriving home, I wanted to collapse onto my bed, but Rei seemed to have been waiting for me, sitting there at the table expectantly, with a map of Tokyo-3 spread out, and her school books in the chair beside her.
After a quick shower, we settled into looking Tokyo-3 over with an eye for shortcuts, design inconsistencies, and points of entry/egress.
Rei's knowledge of the city's layout was as complex as Sato's understanding of the weapon systems spread throughout the city, and I shuddered to think of the two of them getting together to discuss Tokyo-3, even as I began to put the information both of them had spent the day filling my head with to use.
When I finally called a halt to my homework, it was 9 P.M. Rei silently rolled the map up, and I couldn't help but start. Her arm was still slung, but the plaster cast had apparently been replaced during the day with something far less encumbering. When had that happened?
"Did you see a Doctor Akagi today?" I asked as she got out her school books.
"Yes."
"Oh. I guess that's one of the things she had to do today... I'm glad you're healing. If I had known you were coming in, I'd have offered you a ride." I said, looking over our notes for her math from last night.
"It isn't a long walk." She replied, before jumping right in and asking me about an algebra formula I hadn't used since college.
A/N: Alright, false-start on that upload, forgot the Author's notes. Sorry it took so long, there's more where this came from (in my head!) and all that. I have one day left to write in the fic before Rei begins school, and I can start really jumping ahead. Sorry if I didn't detail every little step Kerrigan took, but I didn't want to get overly tedious. This is a fic about Rei primarily, and I don't think it makes too much sense detailing the minutiae of Kerrigan's day, except to maybe let the reader know what color socks he prefers to wear or something to that effect. Not pertinent... Not yet anyway.