Shinji rubbed his eyes. Like usual, he had ended up in a hospital room, with the blinding fluorescent light shining down on him. For once, he wasn't alone.

"Hey, you! You're finally awake! You've been out cold for ages!"

"Oh, hey, Asuka. I thought I was fine in Unit-02."

"Yeah, until I realised you weren't gonna wake up. I guess being in space for nearly a week does that to you."

"Geez, what day is it?"

"It's about a couple days after we landed back on Earth."

"Wait, I was comatose!?"

"Medically-induced. Something about protection of organs or some medical mcguffin I don't know about."

"Sounds about right. Good to see you anyways."

"Yeah! You better be glad to see me!"

"You did save my life, I should probably return the favour eventually."

"Only way you can return the favour is by not dying."

"I guess."

"Good! Now follow it!"

"Yes ma'am."

"I swear if you call me that I will pulverize that face of yours!"

"Yeesh, alright! I was just joking!"

"Hehe, I know!"

Shinji sat up in his bed and he immediately felt dizzy. He lay back down.

"Jeez, I think being in space for too long messed me up."

"Probably, and the fact you were in that space suit for ages."

"Yeah. When is our next deployment?"

"Around 3 days. Should be enough time for the government to investigate your little mishap."

"Figures. They always rush stuff anyways."

"Mhm! Misato has been meaning to see you as well."

"Uh oh. I think I hear her." The echoes of the 29-year-old's rapid stampede caught Shinji off-guard, as he had not mentally prepared for the torment that was about to happen. Asuka moved to shield both herself and Shinji.

"SHINJI!"

"Oh no…"

2 MINUTES UNTIL START

CHAPTER 3: RECOVERY AND REPARATIONS

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

2:37 PM

SOMEWHERE UNDER THE OCEAN

GENDO IKARI

"Damn it, Ikari! First Unit-03, and now Unit-01? How the hell could you let this happen?" The thundery voice of Seele 02 rang across the room, Gendo Ikari sat stoically in front of the weird monoliths.

"I had no involvement in this."

"I sincerely doubt that you had no involvement. Missions need approval from the tippy-top brass, do they not?"

"Fuyutsuki mainly handles that. I was on a business trip to America."

"And do you NOT have a means of communicating to NERV Japan?"

"I do not. Even if I did, Fuyutsuki would still handle it."

"Ikari, you must ensure Unit-01 is recovered. Or else it won't be the only thing stuck in orbit of the moon."

"Understood." The stern voice of Keel Lorenz always made Gendo reconsider. Truth is, he did need Keel for his plan. Him as an ally would be useful in his quest for salvation.

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

7:28 PM

WARD 27

SHINJI IKARI

"Another ceiling that I am getting used to, unfortunately." He had completely forgotten Asuka was right next to him, and was caught off guard when he looked just a few centimetres to the right.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. You did great for your first solo mission."

"I mean, yeah sure. Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?"

"I already told you! I was worried sick about you! And I do NOT want you dying on me, before we make a big discovery anyway."

"Fair point. I'm just glad you're here anyway. Not many people would do that for me."

"You better be glad! Or I'll tear your lips off!"

"Ah, you're still the usual Asuka even under this "caring" face mask."

"Hah! Damn right I am!"

"Do… you know why the fuel tank exploded? I remember you mentioning that you knew." Asuka let out a deep sigh. She couldn't help but feel as if she endangered Shinji.

"Look, I knew about this before NERV even assigned you this mission. I really should've told you before the mission even began. I'm sorry, Shinji. I can't help but feel guilty about it." Shinji was rather surprised. Asuka had never shown her more vulnerable side to him before, and that made Shinji a tiny bit happier.

"You aren't guilty, it was probably unavoidable. I still wish to know, however."

"Alright, well…"

AUGUST 4, 2015

5:29 AM

IN ORBIT OF THE MOON

UNIT-01

"Hey, idiot! Are ya just gonna sit there and not do anything?"

"Geez, Asuka! You know I'm not good at maintenance!"

"Helping is still helping! Give me a hand!"

"Alright, alright!"

"You know how much of a rustbucket this thing is? My Unit-02 is years ahead of your silly Unit-01."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Don't need to rub it in my face, Asuka."

"I mean, if I do rub it in, you'll understand faster! Hey, wait a minute…" Asuka had noticed some extremely degraded cables while performing maintenance work on one of the fuel lines. She knew it was a bad sign, but chose not to do anything about it. She had completely forgotten that the Apollo 13 mission had the same problem.

"Hm? What is it, Asuka?"

"Oh, it's uh… nothing. Go get the left side, will you?"

"Whatever you say, Big Boss."

"Do NOT call me Big Boss!"

"Fine, fine."

BACK TO PRESENT

"If only I did something, maybe you wouldn't have been in this mess."

"Honest mistake, Asuka. Besides, I guess this whole ordeal did bring us closer together." Shinji noticed Asuka blushing rather intensely after he made this statement. Even if she tried to deny it, he and she both knew that it was true.

"Hah! You're blushing!"

"N-No I am NOT! It's just.. Really hot in here.. That's all.."

"Eh, isn't it room temperature?"

"Nope! It is extremely hot in here! I stand by my statement!"

"Whatever, blusher."

"Why you… IDIOT!"

SAME DAY, 11:23 PM

NERV HEADQUARTERS

GENDO IKARI

"It seems that the Committee has launched an investigation into the Unit-01 incident. How long until we are found out?"

"I do not have a clue, Ikari. Though, how on earth are we gonna recover Unit-01?"

"Does the United States still have their Space Shuttles?"

"I'd assume so. Why?" Fuyutsuki realised rather quickly what Gendo Ikari was planning.

"You don't mean, using them to retrieve Unit-01, do you?" On the Commander's face, appeared a devilish grin. Fuyutsuki had read his mind.

"I do intend to use them. However, we may need a few… modifications… to be done to them."

"I have an idea, does the Buran Orbiter still exist?"

"I like the sound of that, Fuyutsuki."

"I knew you would. I should probably… make a few calls."

"Yes, use the budget that the Committee gave us years ago. That should rub more salt in the wound."

"Oh, Ikari, how you read my mind so well is a mystery I will never comprehend."

"That's the point. Now, let's get this show on the road!"

Over the course of 2 days, NERV obtained the blueprints for both the Buran Orbiter and the Space Shuttle, and the Technological Department began drawing up designs for an unholy mishmash of the two. Eventually, Ritsuko Akagi (after multiple cups of coffee) came up with a design.

"This is the best you could come up with?"

"Yes, sir. I combined the Buran Orbiter's more sophisticated technology with the reusability of the Space Shuttle. It even has a cool robot arm now. I cannot believe I just said that."

"Well, I guess Energia is a better Launch System. Though we need to save money. Get to work on making Energia more reusable."

"Yes, sir.."

6 HOURS LATER

"This is about.. The 6th… revision… I added remote control capabilities and made the engines better.."

"Perfect! This will benefit our new Space Plane exponentially. Speaking of, what should we call it?"

"I say we call it something very professional and not stupid."

"I say we call it something very stupid and not professional." Ritsuko was annoyed at Fuyutsuki for suggesting something even along the lines of what he said.

"So, Commander, who has your vote?"

"Well, I suppose something professional would be better, but I really want a stupid name."

"Commander, I propose something professional for the official name, but something stupid for the code name."

"Excellent idea Fuyutsuki. The code name will be…"

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

6:37 AM

WARD 27

SHINJI IKARI

"You serious? NERV really called the Unit-01 retrieval ship the "Reagan-Gorbachev"?"

"Whaaat? It's representative of the unholy mishmash that it is!"

"Misato, who even approved that?"

"Your father did."

"Oh." He heard running down the hallway, and immediately knew it was Asuka.

"SHINJI! IDIOT! THIRDY THIRD!"

"Well, I better leave you two to it!"

"Wait, Misato!"

"Too late! Bye bye!" Misato had only just left the room before Asuka barged in.

"Aha! I have arrived!"

"Morning, Asuka."

"Jeez, you should be happier that your saviour is here!"

"Back to your usual self? That's good."

"Mhm! Did you hear about the new rocket they're making? The "Reagan-Gorbachev" as they call it. Sounds pretty stupid honestly."

"Yeah, Misato said something about it being a mix of the Buran and the Space Shuttle, so the name checks out. Sure hope a Challenger scenario doesn't happen, or I will be mad. Before I die, anyway."

"Relax! I am fully confident in NERV's ability to properly test their rockets. What's the worst that can happen?" Shinji gave Asuka a rather blank stare. She instantly got the message.

"Sorry, I'm just… you know…"

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing! Just wanted to check in!"

"If you say so, I'm doing alright."

"Well that's good! Pretty sure you get discharged in a few hours anyway."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Ritsuko told me."

"Hm, didn't know she knew when people got discharged."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. Anyways, I better get going. Something about a deep space resilience test or whatever."

"Okay, see you later, Asuka."

"Bye, idiot."

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

2:27 PM

TOKYO-III

JAPANESE STRATEGIC SELF DEFENCE FORCES SPACE CENTER

"Are we ready for the first test of this new Energia launch system thing?"

"We indeed are. Is it connected to Remote Control?"

"It is sir, got a good signal."

"Great. Begin ignition testing."

"Roger, beginning the ignition test."

"Engines 1, 2, 3, 4 and the Core Stage Engines are firing. Throttle at 15."

"Are the clamps stable?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Increase throttle."

"Throttle to 40."

"Clamps are still stable, no instabilities on the Core Stage or the Liquid Boosters."

"Thrust is about 3000 kilo newtons in total. Still holding steady."

"Affirmative, Throttle to… 80%."

"Throttle to 80."

"Clamps are exerting stress, don't know how long they can last for."

"Doesn't matter, how is the Core Stage?"

"Tiny bit of stress, Remote Control signal still clear. Thrust is now at about 5000 kilo newtons."

"And the boosters?"

"One of the boosters is more stressed than the others, other than that the structure is still holding firm."

"It'll do. Throttle to max."

"Wait, sir! We can't do that! What if the clamps break?"

"Just do it!" Fuyutsuki stared at Gendo Ikari in disbelief that it would actually work, but decided not to protest.

"O-Okay. Throttle to 100."

"Clamps are becoming unstable! Boosters 1 and 3 are beginning to shudder! The Core Stage is becoming more unstable!"

"Sir! We can't keep this up! Any longer at max throttle and the launchpad will be toasted!"

"Alright, alright! End the test!"

"Cut the throttle! Shut down the engines!"

"I… can't! It's too… unstable!"

"At least throttle it down!"

"Alright uh… Throttle to… 40!"

"Thrust is dropping, clamps are almost gone entirely. Hurry it up with that throttling!"

"Jeez! I'm working on it! It's 25 right now!"

"How's the thrust?"

"Still above 1000 kilo newtons, dropping steadily."

"Good. Now keep trying to shut it down!"

"You don't think I'm trying? Throttle is at 5% right now!"

"Alright, now cut it entirely and shut down the engines!"

"Roger, shutting down engines." The engines on the rocket successfully powered down. For once, a prototype this large didn't explode on the launchpad. Ground Control sighed in relief, while Gendo Ikari sat there staring at the rocket.

"Ikari, don't you think that was a tiny bit reckless?"

"For a prototype produced in under a week, it performed exceptionally well."

"Yeah, I guess we can't keep SEELE waiting."

"Not when the old man is wanting it done as soon as possible."

"Agreed."

The towering shadow of the prototype rocket loomed over the entirety of the JSSDF Space Center for the rest of the day. The Technological Department began work on a second prototype, while Ritsuko collapsed in her office from exhaustion.

"I do not get paid enough for this."

5:43PM

APARTMENT BLOCK 2

MISATO KATSURAGI'S APARTMENT

SHINJI IKARI

Due to his innate sense of being able to cook, and his other roommates' lack of knowledge on how to cook, Shinji once again had to make dinner even after being in the hospital. Shinji didn't mind, however. As long as someone liked it he was happy. Least it wasn't Misato's cooking.

"YO! DINNER'S READY!"

"Oh finally! Been waiting all week for your cooking. You have no idea how hard it's been with Misato's food…" Asuka chuckled, before realising Misato most definitely heard her say that.

"I HEARD THAT!"

"YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, MISATO! DON'T TRY TO DENY IT!"

"Geez, calm down you two, it's just ham!"

"Ooh, I knew I could smell pork!"

"Misato, you coming?"

"YEAH! JUST A SECOND!"

"I swear, that old lady is always so sluggish! I do not want to be 29."

"Well, it's unavoidable, she does drink a lot."

"Yeah, you have a point."

"I'm here! Oooooh… food looks delicious!"

"Yeah. I cooked it."

"You certainly did! Time to dig in!"

30 MINUTES LATER

"Oh man! That was good."

"Yeah, for the first time this week I didn't feel sick after eating dinner. How can you even eat that biohazard stuff you cook anyway, Misato?"

"Guess I just have an iron gut!"

"Sounds about right. Oh! Shinji, you need help with the dishes?"

"Hm? Oh, nah."

"Alright then.. Misato, when on earth are you gonna stop drinking? This is like the 8th beer you've drunk!"

"Huh, what a waste, I still feel sober. Oh Shinji! Mind getting me another beer please?"

"Sure, Misato." Shinji grabbed what felt like the hundredth beer from the fridge, and gave it to Misato. She instantly cracked it open and gulped about a quarter of it down. Asuka let out a large sigh watching Misato do that.

"Whew! Always hits the spot!"

"Yeah, I bet…"

"Aw cmon, Asuka! Don't knock it til ya try it!"

"No thanks, I'd rather live past 30."

"Alrighty then!" Misato proceeded to drink another quarter, and another, and another.

"Well, I better head to work, they're testing that rocket again tonight."

"Uhhh, under the influence?"

"Of course! I've driven to work after 9 beers twice already!"

"If you say so. Don't come crawling back to me when you crash."

"Oh, I won't! Anyways, I better get dressed."

"Alright…" Asuka waited until Misato was gone, and immediately rushed to the TV.

"Man, Misato never lets me watch TV nowadays. Good thing she's oblivious to the fact I can just do it when I'm not here! Care to join, Shinji?"

"Not yet, still doing the dishes."

"Aw man! Hurry it up, will you?"

"I'm almost done!"

2 MINUTES LATER

"Alright, I'm done. Coming right now!"

"Good! Because there's something awesome on TV right now."

"What is it?"

"Another rocket launch."

"Oh. Boring."

"Nah nah, the best part about it is that it's Russia doing the work for once."

"Really? Where are they going?"

"To the moon apparently, I dunno. Don't speak Russian." Shinji immediately felt his stomach drop. What if they discovered Unit-01?

"Wait, where on the moon are they going to?"

"Sea of Tranquility I think?"

"Oh no."

"What?"

"Unit-01 is still there."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"What if they discover it? NERV will get hammered by investigations, we won't hear the end of it!"

"Huh, I forgot about that being possible. Anyways, I think it's about to launch." The thunderous roar of the Russian Rocket took up the entire 2 metres of space near Shinji and Asuka. Something about Russian Rockets made them just that tiny bit more charming.

"It's something. Wonder if it'll even get to orbit?"

"I'm sure it will!"

"If you say so."

JAPANESE STRATEGIC SELF DEFENCE FORCES SPACE CENTER

GROUND CONTROL

"Sir! We've just got news Russia is sending a spacecraft straight for the Moon!"

"Do you know where it is going?"

"Estimates point to the Sea of Tranquility sir, around the same area where Unit-01 is stranded."

"Shit. We better get this rocket certified before the Russians find Unit-01."

"The first prototype has been repaired and refueled. The second one is still in the oven, however. Permission to begin testing, sir?"

"Granted. Start the engines, throttle to 100."

"Roger. Throttle to 100."

MISATO KATSURAGI'S APARTMENT

"Hey, Asuka! That prototype is launching from the Space Center!"

"Is it? Let me see!" Both of the children ran out onto the balcony to watch the gigantic rocket take off. Surprisingly, it took off from the launchpad flawlessly.

"They really did it."

"Yeah, they sure did."

GROUND CONTROL

"Launch is confirmed, altitude is at 1200."

"Good. Monitor it for any malfunctions. How much thrust is it giving?"

"About 9000 kilo newtons, sir."

"Thrust has exceeded expectations. Good work, Ritsuko."

"Yeah, thanks sir. I'm gonna go get more coffee."

"Ikari, are you sure this will work?"

"Fuyutsuki, I have the utmost confidence in this project working out. A new Space Race has begun."

MISATO KATSURAGI'S APARTMENT

"So, what does this mean?"

"A new era for space travel, I'd assume. Depending on whether or not we get to the Moon before the Russians do."

"I guess so, Asuka. The Second Space Race is upon us."

A/N: Mostly a dialogue oriented chapter, still a chapter nonetheless lol. Anyways, review or whatever and have a nice day

-nbcman67