Apotheosis Echo: Re(verb - it)erations

by StriderInCosmos

The end has passed, and a storm looms over a broken world. At its edge, a Captain who cannot fully chart her course plunges in regardless. Within the lightning, a Priest sees his gods, and hopes to draw them to the dying Earth he wishes to gift to them. Against the rain, a Soldier and his family seek to dispel the tempest. The storm looms, and the End is nigh. But what End?

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Stratagems of Choice

I wish that there was a book that just made the world make sense.

I've been wishing that for the last several years, but it feels like forever. All my life, disappearing into one book or another. It's been… enlightening, to some degree.

But… I don't know how much longer I can keep running into worlds of fantasy and heroics and pure good and evil. How long I can run from the real world. From everyone else. From myself.

The world's always scared me. So I tried not to look at it. But when Mr. Theisman spoke up on the bridge after we lifted off… It made it so much easier to blame myself. They never would have wanted that. But even still…

- From the personal journal of Hideki Tama

AAA Wunder, Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, February 4th, 2028

Daniel allowed himself to sleep tonight. He allowed himself to be open to his dreams. His memories.

He looked around, finding himself in an utterly empty white void once again. He looked down at his arms, finding luminous golden light tracing over them like strings, each one precisely aligned with veins, bones, and muscles.

He lost himself in that view for a time. Then, he felt someone, two someones, come to a stop beside him.

He looked up and to his right, seeing Eleanor as she took in the sight of his bindings, bindings he knew wrapped across the whole of his body, his soul.

He looked to his left and saw Nynrya, her robes a deep blue now, and a simple loop of silver around her right ear.

"What does the loop symbolize?" Daniel asked, trying to take his mind off of whatever he might see.

Nynrya reached up for a moment, feeling the loop. "It's a commendation," Nynrya replied. "The first one a Cradle Keeper would receive."

She looked down at herself. "This clothing… it must have been when I was on underwatch duty."

"Underwatch?" Eleanor asked. "Sounds like you had a pretty busy world to protect."

Nynrya smiled slightly. "You have no idea."

Then, any levity the trio might have felt dimmed along with the space around them. Whatever it was, it was starting now. And Daniel couldn't stop it.

The world went black. Then, a shifting, prismatic vista came into view, several of what Daniel and Eleanor recognized as World Engines flashing into existence around them.

And on the infinite ocean that was the Worldsea, the trio found themselves looking at a single blade-like vessel, tapered at the front and broadening as it went along, two cutouts in the middle thinning the width of the vessel before it flared out again at the back.

The back end of the vessel was an utterly enrapturing sight, 8 massive translucent sails that rippled with light, 3 on top, 3 on the bottom, and one to each side, stretching out into the open space, seemingly catching an invisible wind that propelled it along without a sound.

On the side that faced them, in bold letters, was what was, apparently, the name of the ship:

TSNV Adama
BFC-016
'So Say We All'

"What…" Nynrya asked, her mouth open slightly in amazement. "What is that?"

"The Battlefleet Carrier Adama," Daniel replied. "Simulation… well, 'simulation' number… 74,345, I believe."

"What's a Battlefleet Carrier?" Nynrya asked.

"Battlefleet Carriers are the biggest military vessels that the Tellan Seabreaker Corps fields," Eleanor replied. "Entire fleets carried in a single vessel, armed and armored with the best weaponry. Only 20 of them have ever been made, each uniquely constructed, along with their attendant fleets, for a specialized purpose. None of them fall under 10 kilometers long. The biggest of them, the Cao Cao, tops out at just a shade over 15."

Nynrya's eyes widened as she took in the understanding behind the numbers. "That's… big…"

Daniel nodded. "It is. The Val's only about a kilometer and a half long. The Wunder's habitable area is only a kilometer."

"Such a vessel, such vessels, would have to house… millions to function," Nynrya said as she shook her head slowly.

"They only need tens of thousands," Daniel said. "With automation and Spirits being what they are, to say nothing of Interfacing applied even in the simplest of ways, there are ways to make it work that don't require a crew the size of a small nation."

"So…" Eleanor said, the tone of her voice slipping into unease. "What is this 'simulation' about, then?"

"How to kill a fleet killer," Daniel whispered, his eyes drawn to a flash of light that signaled the arrival of the Wings of Rapture, tiny against the colossus it floated before. His ship. And if he focused hard enough, he could see an utterly tiny person striding across the top of its chisel-like forward hull, away from the ovoid saucer of the rear hull that was connected at the narrow edge, before coming to a stop.

"It started with finding and hiding from the vessel itself." he began as they watched nets of connected stars flare to life across the underside and sides of the ship, glowing with a deep golden light. "It's easy enough to detect a group of ship crews that large by the thought-weight of their crew members in Mentality. Most vessels of that size don't bother to go to the lengths needed to hide that. After finding it, it's a matter of hiding deep enough, somewhere close to Pneumaity, and getting the drop on them by making sure they couldn't deploy their fleet or any of their Aegis Drones."

True to Daniel's word, as the sails of the Adama began to fold and shrink away, a fleet of ships appeared, sliding out of tears in space that were diagonal to the directions they were pointed. All surrounding the ship. Lances of energized Metos, missiles, and fighter craft burst from the fleet, raking the ship from every side.

"After that, it's keeping the ship from releasing its fleet while disabling its weapons, propulsion, and defenses. Which, for a Battlefleet Carrier, is still a tall order." Daniel continued, more than a few of the attacking ships cooking off from the massive weight of fire thrown against them proving his point.

Even still, the dozens of ships, many of them far larger than the Wings of Rapture, proved too much for the Adama to bear, the superstructure cracking in half as the rear of the ship erupted in a brilliant burst of light that collapsed back into itself, the aft section seemingly gone from existence as the nets of stars faded away.

Daniel sighed. "Managing what you just saw is a long shot with slim chances of success, however," he said quietly. "And… frankly, that's one of the ones that Hamar'ramah didn't reveal to me whether it was real or not."

He looked over at Eleanor, a desperate look entering his eyes. "Did… did this happen? Did I kill…"

Eleanor shook her head. "No. An attack like this wasn't carried out on the Adama."

She paused for a moment, Daniel's sigh of relief catching in his throat. "Something like this did happen to the Scipio, though. The Adama went down in a stand-up fight 2 years later."

Daniel closed his eyes and sighed quietly, the rest of the simulation playing out heedless of his sorrow. "Thank you. For being here."

Daniel opened his eyes from the dream, wet with tears as he turned over in his bunk and quietly mourned the loss of a dear friend.

. . .

The Brig, Later That Day

Daniel stepped across the threshold into the brig and noted who was on guard duty, at least for this rotation. 'I hope brig duty isn't a heavily chased after posting.'

He made his way to the security desk and found Mako sitting behind it, looking up at him as he approached. "Mr. Theisman," he said as Daniel came to a stop in front of him.

"Captain Yama," Daniel replied with the last name Mako had taken, smiling slightly as he watched the man punch him into the system.

"Reason for visiting?" he asked, the tone of his voice betraying his foreknowledge.

"I'm here to inform Shinji Ikari that I've become his guardian," Daniel said, watching Mako nod as he typed on his console. "I plan to be visiting for a few minutes, but it may stretch on for a little while."

Mako nodded, well aware of how verbose Daniel could be from experience. "Got it. Lieutenant Yama will escort you to his cell," he said as he nodded over to Bolin sitting next to him.

Bolin stood, a smile on his face as he stepped out from behind the desk. "If you'll follow me, please."

Daniel nodded as they began to walk together through the remarkably large brig, stacked deep into the ship. "How's Shinji doing?" Daniel asked quietly as they walked.

Bolin shrugged. "I mean, he's been eating what we give him, which is a lot better than the slop he might have been getting. And we've been able to snag a few things for him. But other than that… he just lies down and faces the wall most of the time. It's… well, it's a little worrying, I'm not going to lie."

Daniel nodded. It was a familiar situation to him, all too brief memories of his first time on an Echo of this World Engine bubbling to the surface unprompted. "He's an awfully closed-off kid when he wants to be," Daniel admitted. "That he managed to open up to me so much before now is something I count as somewhat of a miracle."

As they drew near Shinji's cell, Daniel paused. "Let me in when we get there. I don't want to talk to him through the bars," he said quietly.

Bolin nodded. "Got it, boss."

Daniel snorted softly before he continued alone for the moment, gathering his thoughts and finalizing his plan of attack, as it were, before coming to a stop in front of a cell and turning to face Shinji.

As expected, Shinji was turned away from the opening, laying on the ledge. There were differences from before if nothing else. There was a pillow under his head now, and a tablet sat on the floor leaning against the wall. Even still, it was a terrible place to simply sit and… exist in.

Daniel looked back over at Bolin, nodding silently at the bars. After a moment, Bolin's eyes widened, a silent 'oh' being followed by an apologetic look as he swiped his keycard, the bars retracting into the floor and ceiling.

This finally seemed to get Shinji's attention, as he sat up and looked over, his eyes widening. "Oh. Mr., uh… Daniel." he said.

"Afternoon, Shinji," Daniel said, smiling slightly as he stepped into the cell, Shinji shifting to sit up fully and look at him.

Before he could continue, the bars slid back into place, securing themselves with a click. Daniel sighed as he looked up, closing his eyes for a moment before he looked out of the cell with an expression of longsuffering.

Bolin shrugged, again apologetic. "Sorry. Must be automatic," he said rather sheepishly.

Daniel sighed quietly and shrugged. "I'll let you know when I want out," he said patiently before he sat down on the floor, his left leg flat against the floor as he rested an arm on his right knee and looked up at Shinji.

"So…" Shinji began slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Shinji," Daniel said, "I'm going to be looking after you and the other pilots, now."

. . .

Shinji's eyes went wide in utter shock. "Y-you… how?" he said.

Mr. Theisman's smile grew slightly. "I went and asked the Captain. Frankly, knowing your history with her to a certain extent, I'm surprised she agreed so easily."

Shinji looked down and to the side. 'Misato…'

He'd suspected the years had something to do with making her as cold as she seemed, but… 'I was waiting for you, Misato.' he thought, the idea seeming to weigh on his soul like a thunderhead blackening the world.

"Shinji… I'm sorry, actually."

Shinji blinked, looking back up at Mr. Theisman, who had a sad look in his eyes. "I don't want to come off as another Ms. Katsuragi. Old guardians, especially when you become close to them… it's hard to shake off the times you've had with them. The expectations, the hopes, the fears that could be put on other people…"

Shinji simply nodded, remembering the times before… then. When everything had gone insane. "So… what do you want to be, then?"

"A friend is what I'm mainly hoping to be, at least to start." Mr. Theisman shrugged. "Maybe… the first friend you have here."

"I don't think I'll have any more beyond you," Shinji said quietly, looking down again.

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. After all, there are my friends here as well. I've been sticking up for you in front of them. And after over a century of living, meeting people everywhere of every kind…"

Shinji looked back up at Mr. Theisman as he trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "You don't… look that old."

Mr. Theisman paused, then chuckled softly. "I suppose I should break the news to you, then. I was born in 1914. After I came into contact with LCL, I… stopped aging. So… I kind of get a part of what you kids are going through, I think."

Shinji looked at him silently as he took in just how old this man said he was. He was tempted to not believe him. It was the easy thing to do. 'Then again, with Asuka…'

"Okay." Shinji finally said. "I guess there isn't much I can do about being with you then."

"Actually, if you don't want me to visit too often, you can say so."

Shinji's eyes widened at Mr. Theisman's apparently utterly serious request as the man stood. "I know what it's like to be pulled around and not given any say in anything. I spent most of my life as a soldier, following orders. So…"

He took a step across the already small distance that separated them and put a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "I want to give you a choice. However small it might be compared to everything, I want the time we spend together to be because you want to be there."

Mr. Theisman paused for a moment, the hand remaining on his shoulder. "So, should I expect to see you… tomorrow?"

Shinji's mouth opened, then closed, his mind a jumble as he tried to piece something together from the aftermath of the bombshell that had scattered his train of thought.

"I think… yes." Shinji finally said.

Mr. Theisman squeezed his shoulder for a moment, then released him as he stepped back. "I'll be happy to be here. I'll get you walking around outside of this cage tomorrow if nothing else. Is there something you want to do?"

Shinji was silent as he considered for a moment. As he thought, his mind kept coming back to the question that Sakura had asked him. 'Can you do that?'

"When Asuka talked to me, she punched the glass in the examination room. She… cracked it," he said quietly.

Mr. Theisman tilted his head slightly. "That glass is thick, too. I wouldn't be surprised if it was bulletproof."

"Do you think I can do that?"

Mr. Theisman regarded him for a moment. "As someone who gained that sort of strength right after my little brush with LCL-treated mutagens…"

Mr. Theisman nodded. "You've probably got a lot of strength with very little control over it at the moment. What do you say to some training?"

Shinji pondered on it for a moment, then nodded.

Mr. Theisman smiled. "Okay, then. My shift tomorrow is in the afternoon, so… how about in the morning?"

"I guess that works."

"Good."

Mr. Theisman looked down at the tablet on the floor. "Been catching up?"

Shinji nodded. "As much as I can. There's… a lot that happens in 14 years."

"I know that feeling." Mr. Theisman nodded. "Hold on…"

He reached for the tablet, picking it up and accessing it. After a few moments, he handed the tablet to Shinji, and the boy took it and saw that a chatroom had appeared on the screen. "Now, you can chat with me anytime you want, about anything you want."

Shinji looked back up at the man, his brows slightly raised. "Anything?" he asked.

Mr. Theisman smiled. "Like I said, over a century's worth of living…" he shrugged. "Gives you a lot to be able to talk about."

Then, Mr. Theisman sighed. "Well, I have to get going now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Shinji nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to make your stay here more bearable. I can guess the guards have been helping some?"

Shinji nodded. "Kind of. It depends on the guards, I guess."

"Good to know." Mr. Theisman smiled slightly. "Some of those guards are friends of mine. I'll even let you in on a little secret."

He leaned forward, glancing around him as his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "One of my friends is the Chief of Security."

He leaned back out with a smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if you got out of this place in the near future if I were you."

Shinji looked up at him as he waved outside of the bars, the bars sliding out of sight. As Mr. Theisman stepped across, a thought suddenly came to mind as the bars slid shut. "Mr. Theisman!" he reached out a hand.

Mr. Theisman paused, turning back to him as he leaned on the bars. "Yes, Shinji?"

"What about Ayanami? I haven't seen her anywhere."

Mr. Theisman shook his head slightly as he sighed quietly. "Ayanami is currently in Doctor Akagi's care. Without knowing how big of a part she played in Near-Third Impact, or how much of the 10th Angel might have rubbed off on her, the good doctor wants to be sure something won't happen before she lets her out."

Shinji lowered his arm, nodding slowly after a moment. "Okay then," he said, quiet in his resignation.

Mr. Theisman stood silently for a moment. "I'll try and get a video call set up for you, if not an actual visit. How about that?"

Shinji finally smiled slightly. "I think… I would appreciate that."

"Good." Daniel stood up from the bars. "You've got a good smile, kid. I hope to see more of it."

With that, Daniel walked off, and Shinji reached up and lightly touched the shoulder he'd put his hand on. Was it still… warm?

. . .

Daniel walked away with Bolin, leaving the brig behind in contemplative silence as he made his way to his duty station for the day, thoughts swirling through his mind.

'Not much better than the first time. Worse in some ways. But, as long as I have the time…'

He didn't know how much time he had. All he knew had come from a place where Commander Ikari had immediately snatched the boy away from WILLE. Now… everything was in a strange limbo. His strategy had to change with the times he found himself in.

'What is your game, Commander Ikari?'

. . .

Midori Kitakami was a woman on a mission today, as she stepped off of the sensor platform and the second duty shift worker relieved her of duty.

As she exited the bridge, she found herself next to one Sumire Nagara, just as planned. The woman barely even glanced at her as they continued to walk.

"So," Midori began, "grabbing something to eat?"

Sumire nodded silently.

"Got a favorite pack, at least from the ones that are still packed? I know everyone does."

"Why do you care?" Sumire finally said.

"Well, it's interesting to know, for one. Says a little about ourselves." Midori shrugged. "That, and I like meeting new people. Haven't really met you before."

Sumire nodded as she glanced over at her. "Alright. I'm Sumire Nagara."

Midori smiled. "And I'm Midori Kitakami. Nice to finally properly meet you. Now, there's something I'd like to do so we can remember each other."

She pulled out an old friend, a pad of bright yellow sticky notes, a pen coming along with it. "I like to give people a little reminder of me," she said as she wrote her customary message. "But it comes with a catch."

Sumire looked over at her, an arched eyebrow the only change on her level face. "And what's that?"

"Well," Midori said with a slight smile, "I like to ask people to write something short but meaningful, along with their names, on one of the notes. I find it helps me remember people that I meet more easily."

Sumire blinked, her other brow joining its sister. "I mean… sure."

Midori's smile grew as she wrote her name, and the message 'Nice to meet you!' on one note, lifted it off and handed the rest of the pad and the pen following to her. "Alright. Ready whenever you are."

Sumire looked up and down the hallway they were in, finding that the both of them were now alone. She looked back at Midori, silent for a moment, then down at the pad before slowly reaching out and taking the pen and pad.

"Can I… keep these while I think of something?" Sumire's question was accompanied by a change in her expression, her normal stoicism now… contemplative.

Midori blinked. "Well, sure, I guess. I've got plenty, so don't feel too bad. I'll check in in a little while to see what you've got."

"Got it."

Sumire turned and began to walk away, leaving Midori to watch on before she looked down at the sticky note she had written. It seemed… smaller than it usually did.

She wasn't hungry, so she went back to her cabin, opening the door to the sight of a shelf of origami, most made from her sticky notes, a few larger ones created from whatever scraps she could find either on the ship or from when they went on shore leave.

She walked over to her bed, sat down on it, and set the note next to her, picking up the tablet she left in her room as she set about distracting herself for however long it would take for Sumire to get the note back to her.

She looked up at the wall opposite of her, and saw the circle of notes taped up on it, a rainbow of colors reminding her of a raised AT Field marred only by the names and notes of those that she had brushed past. Most she only remembered now as she looked at, a few she knew somewhat without having to think for too long.

And in the center of the wall, laminated, was the sticky note that had started the wall, as it had been on every wall before. The one that had come to be nearly 15 years ago, that read 'Work hard, and make friends. We love you!'.

'I'm still doing that, mom. Dad.' she thought, a familiar needle of sadness pricking her heart yet again.

Soon, Sumire's message, whatever it may be, would join the wall, Midori making room so it would be next to the rest of the bridge crew.

A part of her was content to leave it at that: another simple victory, another acquaintance gained. Another way she, and they, would be remembered when they were gone. After all, who knew what could happen these days? Who knew who could disappear in a moment?

But a greater part of her wanted something more. Something beyond a name and a few words, a sight that had started to remind her of a tombstone in a graveyard of colored paper. Perhaps… she could go further. Just here, at least. Just this once.

The problem was, well… she had no idea where Sumire might have gone. It was only a ship, so she couldn't have gone too far.

'Even still,' she mused, 'this is a big ship.'

. . .

Who would know? She'd simply have to try and find out.

Daniel, now free of his duties for the day, stepped into the cavernous room that held the other pilots that would be in his care. He'd make his last stop after this. But this… this would be the challenge. He'd have to change tack, as it were, approaching this.

He walked across the catwalk towards the bright, lonely box that held who were now his charges, coming to a stop as he saw Asuka and Mari behind what was likely bulletproof glass between a spare bunk bed in the center of the room, one simply staring out at him, her brow quirking as she noted his approach, the other reading one of what looked to be several dozen books.

Asuka nodded. "Mr. … Theisman, right?" she said coolly.

Daniel nodded. "I'm glad to be remembered, Ms. Shikinami."

Mari looked up from her book, her eyes glittering with wonder as she put a bookmark in her place and leaned forward. "Oooh. We don't get many visitors down here in the depths. I don't think I've made your acquaintance."

Daniel smiled slightly. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Makinami. I'm Vice-Chief Daniel Theisman of Evangelion maintenance. And, as of yesterday, I am the guardian of the pilots, both active and inactive."

Mari tilted her head slightly as Asuka rolled her eye. "I didn't think that Colonel Katsuragi was feeling nostalgic," she said. "So, did she dump this on you, or did you get a say in this?"

"Neither, actually," Daniel replied. "I requested the position."

Asuka blinked, then scoffed. "Oh, come on. We're not toddlers. We don't need a babysitter. Besides, we're probably as old as you are."

Daniel chuckled. "Kid, I may not look like it, but I'm pushing 120. Compared to me, everyone on this vessel is a kid. Even the Captain herself."

Asuka's eye widened as Mari gasped. "Wow… you're almost as old as m-" Mari began.

She caught herself for the briefest of instances, and Daniel and Asuka's gazes turned to her. "Margaret Mitchell. Wrote Gone with the Wind. Interesting read."

Daniel's brow quirked up slightly. 'Interesting, indeed.'

"Can't say that I ever read it, sadly." Daniel shrugged. "Made a decent movie, anyways."

But, he looked back at Asuka. "As to why I decided to ask the Captain to take you all under my wing, well… I know what it's like to be a unique kind of soldier, with no one to turn to for experience or guidance. No one who knows what it's like to live like this for this long. No one who knows what it's like to have the power to end the world at nearly a moment's notice."

"And how exactly could one super-senior end the world like we could?" Asuka asked archly.

"My codes are likely very out of date by now, but there was a time during the Cold War where I essentially had the entire US nuclear arsenal in my back pocket."

Daniel's face fell somewhat, a distant look in his eyes as he looked down at the floor. "Holding on to that sort of power… it weighs on you. You walk a tightrope, having to make sure you're not one bad day away from turning the world to nuclear ash."

He looked back up at Asuka, seeing an odd look in her eye that he couldn't quite read. "I imagine that's the sort of weight you pilots bear every time you get into the Entry Plug." his voice was soft, and yet it still echoed through the vast empty space.

It was silent for a few moments, then Daniel continued. "So, I'm not going to treat either of you as children. But I am going to treat you all as adults."

"Do we get any say in the matter?" Asuka said.

"Actually, yes. I want that to be a defining part of our time together. I want you to be able to have a choice in how much time you want to spend with me. Heaven knows you don't get many of those around here."

Asuka was silent for a moment, looking down at the ground. Daniel was tempted to look in on her soul to see what she would answer, but he wanted to preserve the mystery for the time being.

"Alright, then. Answer me this." Asuka looked back up at Daniel. "Can we do stuff outside of this glass box?"

"As often as you want to. In fact, if it were up to me, I'd get you out of this… prison. But even if I'm able to get Shinji out of the brig with my connections… I don't know where the Captain's line is."

Asuka nodded slowly. "Got it," she said quietly.

"So… how about a spar tomorrow evening?"

Asuka's brow furrowed. "You mean… you want to try and match me, the woman who cracked a several inches thick pane of glass?"

Daniel smiled. "Ms. Shikinami, I spent most of my century of military service going through glass like that. You aren't going to hurt me in any way that lasts. Besides, it's been ages since I've found a new sparring partner. I love my kids like a father, but when you've trained as long as we have with each other, you get their every twitch down."

Asuka's brows rose, and Daniel recognized the gleam in her eye. "Oh, you're on." she smiled almost hungrily.

Daniel chuckled softly as he looked over at Mari. "Anything you want to do tomorrow?"

"Well…" Mari mulled the question over for a moment. "I mean, I'm sure that the lovely princess here wouldn't mind some time away from me. So, I think I'll sit this one out."

Daniel blinked, but before he could reply, Mari held out a finger. "However! There is one condition."

Asuka sighed quietly. "Oh, yeah. The book club," she muttered.

"I, dear sir," Mari continued regardless, "would like you to be the first member of the Illustrious Book Reader's Society. Asuka doesn't really like reading, I think it's the patch and all, and I've been positively dying to talk to someone about what I've read."

Daniel nodded. "I'd love to. But I'd hate to take from what looks like a rather meager collection."

Mari shrugged. "I've got the digital files of a whole lot of books on my tablet. I'm sure our lovely princess still has them on hers, too."

"Alright," Daniel said as he pulled out a phone. "I'll try and get a few others on board, too. Many voices make good discussion and all that."

He paused for a moment. "Can I actually connect to your tablets quickly? I've got something I'd like to give you two."

Asuka and Mari picked up their tablets as Daniel connected to them, sending the files to his chatroom to them. "There. Now, you can talk with me any time, about anything. And the kicker…"

Daniel looked around for a moment. "It's not connected to the ship's systems. Only I and those I give permission to can see what we say. The Captain is not among that number."

Asuka raised a brow. "That sounds almost like a recipe for sedition to me, Mr. Theisman."

"Please, just call me Daniel. I'm not here to be your commanding officer. Like I told Shinji this morning… I'm hopeful that I could perhaps be a friend, in time."

Asuka nodded slowly. "Alright then. I guess… see you tomorrow?"

Daniel nodded. "I'll see you then."

With that, Daniel began to walk away. 'You know… I think that went well.'

"Looking into your memories…" Nynrya interjected. "I can see why you would think that."

. . .

Asuka watched Daniel walking away, and wondered what was going on inside her head.

If he was what he said he was, then at least things were finally going to be interesting outside of an Evangelion around here. 'I even get some time away from Specs. I can only thank him for that.'

And yet… a part of her was on edge. The darker part of herself, most likely. But as to why… she couldn't put her finger on it.

"He's a real cutie," Mari said, Asuka sighing as she rolled her eye. "I hope you enjoy your date with him."

"Come on, Specs," Asuka replied. "I'm not into him at all. I'm not even sure how genuine he is about this whole gooey 'friend' bullshit."

"I dunno." Mari shrugged. "He seemed pretty genuine to me."

Her smile became smug, and her eyes glittered. "And hey, who knows. Maybe you'll find out you have a thing for older guys."

Asuka opened her mouth to retort, then paused as something flashed through her mind. She wasn't sure if it was a memory or a hazily remembered dream… but it had to do with Kaji.

"Oh," Mari said, a dramatic hand covering an open mouth. "Or did you already figure that out, my dear?"

"Mari?"

"Shutting up, princess."

. . .

Midori emerged from the exterior hatch of the vessel into an open sky she was somewhat surprised she could both stand and breathe normally. Likely something to do with the intricate AT Field that the vessel projected.

Looking down the way, she spotted the lone figure of Sumire Nagara, just as First Lieutenant Aoba, of all people, had told her she would find her. She sat down on the large 'head' of the Wunder, looking out at the sky and the clouds and the setting sun that was nearly the color of the ocean below them.

It seemed to her like a rather precarious place to spend much time, even if the ship had its own gravity. She advanced slowly regardless, her legs trembling slightly.

As she drew near, her boots clacking slightly on the hard metal surface, Sumire looked back at her, a mixture of surprise and annoyance on her face just noticeable enough for Midori to see. "I didn't expect you to come up here," she said pointedly.

"I didn't expect you to be up here, either." Midori retorted. "Walking on the surface of this thing feels…"

She trailed off, unsure how to describe the entirety of what she was feeling as she came to a stop by Sumire's side, looking out over the open sky and the sliver of red that was the ocean far below them.

"So, are you here to track down your sticky notes?"

Midori shook her head. "Not entirely, no. There's… something I wanted to ask you."

She took a seat and looked over at Sumire before she continued. "How long have you been at the helm of a ship? You seem to know your way around things fairly well."

Sumire blinked, looking out towards the horizon silently for a moment. "Since I was about 6," she said quietly. "My family lived near old Nagoya. Dad was a fisher before the seas totally died. But he still loved to take us sailing. He liked to put me behind the wheel of his old sailboat, talk me through how to steer the ship like his father taught him."

It was silent again for a moment as Midori looked down at Sumire's lap. There lay her pad and pen, along with what she assumed was Sumire's tablet.

"Can I get a note from my pad?" she asked.

"Oh. Sure."

The small square sheet was soon in Midori's hands, and they began to move almost on instinct, creasing and folding the paper in a familiar pattern. "What does it feel like?" she asked softly.

Sumire shook her head slightly as she pondered. "It's… like you've become something bigger than you are. With the slightest movement, you can change so much. And when you leave land behind… it may look the same, but you get this feeling like you could go anywhere. Find anything. I'd like to think that, even just the tiniest bit… it's a little like being in an Evangelion. There's such a potential, like the open sea can grant a wish to find something, or someone."

"And this ship…" she paused before continuing. "It's unlike any other ship I've ever steered. Sure, I've steered some big ships before, but this… it's massive, and it offers a feeling of freedom that's so much more than anything I could have imagined. It's like… being in a fairy tale, at the helm of a magical ship that sails through the sky."

Midori smiled slightly, looking down at the paper crane she had created for a moment. "That's nice. You should write that down somewhere."

"That's actually why I come up here," Sumire replied. "I write, too. The loneliness helps… clear my head."

"Oh. Sorry if I disturbed you, then."

"No, it's fine. I was taking a break anyway."

Sumire paused, then looked over at Midori. "What is being on sensors like for you?"

Midori rolled her eyes. "It's a handful," she admitted with a shrug. "I'm a civilian volunteer, after all, hardly trained for this specific job. I was going into a high school in Tokyo-2 geared towards tech jobs, where I could use the sticky notes that help me focus a lot more liberally than here."

"So how did the whole sticky notes as introductions thing start, then?"

"Well, my family saw that I loved making origami with it, and suggested that I give them to people to start up a conversation. The notes thing was my own spin."

"So…" Midori smiled as she presented the crane to Sumire. "Here you go."

Sumire smiled slightly as she took the crane. "You know… I think I've figured out what I could give you," she said after a moment.

She set the crane on her lap and took the pen, and wrote small, precise strokes on the pad she now held. Then, she peeled the note off, handing the note to Midori.

Midori looked down at the note, her smile widening as she read it.

'Sumire Nagara'
'Words, like magic, make me smile after so long'

Midori looked back up at Sumire. "Thank you." she nearly whispered.

Then she blinked. "Oh! Here's yours."

She pulled a sticky note out of her pocket, a little rumpled now, and handed it to Sumire.

"Thank you," Sumire said as she slipped the note into a pocket in her jacket.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, simply looking out at the sky together.

Then, Midori blinked as she looked over at Sumire. "So, what do you write about up here?"

Sumire opened, then closed her mouth. "A… few things."

"Like what?"

. . .

Daniel stepped into the reinforced examination rooms, snorting softly as he found Rei Ayanami on a gurney, surrounded by machines and behind a pane of cracked glass.

As he stepped up to the window, he saw Rei turn her head and regard him silently.

'I wonder what made you so cold back then.' he pondered silently.

"Good… evening, Ms. Ayanami," he said aloud. "My name is Mr. Daniel Theisman. I'll be your guardian once you're released from Doctor Akagi's care."

Rei remained silent, then nodded after a moment. "Very well."

They simply regarded each other for a moment before Daniel sighed quietly. "I plan to visit you as often as I can while I work with the other pilots. Would you prefer otherwise? I'd like to give you the choice of seeing me as often or as little as you want."

The barest glimmer of confusion entered Rei's expression. "Sir?"

"I'm a firm believer that you kids should have a choice in something. Right now, this is the best I can give you. Would you like to be left alone until you are released?"

It was silent again as Rei considered.

"I would find regular visits… amenable, Mr. Theisman." she finally answered.

Daniel smiled slightly. "Good. I'll see when I can visit you next. I look forward to getting to know you better."

Before he could turn away, Rei spoke again. "Shinji Ikari, and Asuka Langley… are they… okay?"

The smile disappeared as Daniel sighed quietly. "Honestly… no. A lot has happened in the last 14 years. Something Asuka knows and Shinji is finding out."

"Could I, perhaps… see them as well?"

Daniel opened his mouth slightly, then closed it silently. "I'm unsure of how Asuka would feel about such a visit as of right now. And I'm sure that Doctor Akagi would object to Shinji visiting you in person. As I said to Shinji earlier today, I would likely be able to set up a video call, with the Doctor's permission. Would that work?"

"I can agree to such terms. Though…" Rei paused. "I wish to apologize to both of them. That I was not able to have them over for dinner."

Daniel nodded. "I'll let you say that to them in person. Whether that's when you get out or when I can arrange visits… That's something that needs as little in the way as possible."

"Very well. I look forward to whenever the occasion comes."

"As do I. And, for future reference… You don't need to call me Mr. Theisman. You can just call me Daniel."

He saw a flicker of surprise in slightly widened eyes. "Very well… Daniel."

Daniel nodded. "Good evening to you, Rei. I'll see you whenever we next meet."

With that, Daniel turned and walked away, ready to go to bed. The first battle, as it were, had been won. Of course, the coming days would bring more… unique situations. But he would use the time he had, regardless. However long that might be.