Chapter 3
"I am pleased to hear this. With the Fourth Child finally able to synchronize with Unit 05, you no longer have need of the Provisional Unit." Gendo said, leaning back in his chair, directing a level gaze at both Doctor Makinami and Commander Ulyanov.
"No, we really no longer need it." Dr. Makinami said, "Do you want me to have it shipped to Tokyo-3?"
"Yes. We will use it for testing the Dummy System. I will arrange private transport if you can get it to Vladivostok. In sections or intact, it matters little. It will need to be refitted for testing once it arrives anyway."
"Very well. What do you want recorded as it's fate?" Commander Ulyanov asked.
"The truth, nothing more, nothing less. It was sent to Branch One for dummy plug testing as our facilities are more complete."
"Very well, Supreme Commander," Ulyanov replied.
"How goes the Core removal from the Third Angel?"
"Poorly. We've stripped it to the bone, and have it restrained, suppressed it's abilities with a modified dummy plug, but we have not made any progress on full core removal," Doctor Makinami said.
"The Committee wants that Core removed intact, for analysis. The whole S2 organ Program could well hinge on it."
"We will redouble our efforts," Doctor Makinami said, nodding.
"Very well. Keep me apprised. I answer to The Committee and they do not easily tolerate failure."
The holographic system shut off and Fuyutsuki asked, "Are we really going to use it for dummy testing?"
"No. We will be refitting it, but for live pilot use. The dummy system is the design of the Old Men, and while remaining seemingly loyal, we will be subverting it slowly."
"I see."
"I do not trust Doctor Makinami. Nor do I entirely trust either Sohryu."
"You don't trust anyone."
"I trust you. I trust Shinji and Rei..."
"That's a really short list."
"I don't trust Second and Fourth Children either. However, they may earn my trust if they prove loyal to Shinji and Rei."
"What if that is another gambit by Seele?"
"I already have plans in place to deal with it if it is an issue. "
##
A week later,
In the middle of the night, a massive barge arrived in the Tokyo-3 Harbor, what used to be Lake Ashinoko. The area was rapidly cordoned off by NERV Security. The Evangelion was lifted off of the barge by a massive pair of cranes, and gently set on an Evangelion catapult, where it was quickly retrieved.
At the same time, near Hawaii, the UN Naval Destroyer Reginald Barclay saw a huge octahedron slowly moving north-northwest. They tracked it at a distance, matching it's speed and course for a while, reporting it, and were then contacted by NERV, who requested a MAGI systems link to their sensors.
After analysis, the answer came back. Pattern Blue—Angel. The UN then diverted all nearby ships to the location to begin an assault at sea.
##
It was early morning when the Special Alert went live, and both Shinji and Rei bolted out of their bedrooms and into the hallway, nearly running into each other. Dressed only in their pajamas they looked at each other, then wordlessly went back into their rooms to get clothes on.
Misato also received the alert and got up, dressing as fast as she could, despite being hungover. She had to get to Headquarters, as did the children.
Fifteen minutes later, the three of them tromped into the command center and made a beeline for the coffee machine. However they paused as they saw what was on the main view-screen. A dozen ships were burning and sinking while others performed evasive maneuvers to try to get away from the Angel.
The huge Octahedron shifted into an array of complex, interlocked geometric shapes and a beam the same color as the body lanced out from around the red Core in the center, smashing a destroyer, splitting it into two pieces. Then a second ship went down, then a third.
Fuyutsuki and Gendo both appeared on the topmost level of the command Center, silently settling into their usual positions while the early morning Command crew were busy giving battle reports. Gendo put a coffee pot from the lounge down on his desk, then pulled out two coasters and cups from a deep drawer before pouring a mug for both him and Fuyutsuki.
"UN Authorization had been given for a massed N2 ICBM MIRV attack launched from the Ohio Class Submarine Maryland, approximately six-hundred Nautical Miles away from the target."
"Given how well N2 weapons have performed against Angels so far, I doubt it will have any effect," Gendo muttered as he turned on the heating pad on his desk and sipped the bitter coffee. He looked at it, then pulled out a container that held sugar packets and artificial creamer.
Fuystsuki looked at Gendo adding sugar and cream to the coffee, and deciding that if it was that bad, maybe he should spike it. "Single malt?" he asked softly as he produced a flask.
"Only if it's Yamazaki." Gendo replied just as quietly.
"Analysis complete. The Beam itself is not an AT field generated one like the last two Angels. The Angel's 'body' is a suspended high temperature plasma. Readings indicate the Angel is projecting an AT field that is keeping the plasma contained and at a temperature of nearly two million degrees Kelvin. What it is doing is manipulating the plasma into a particle beam!" the Technician in Lt. Aoba's position said in amazement, "This defies several laws of Physics."
"Even if they hit, the N2 attack would only make it stronger," the tech in Lt. Hyuga's spot said, "From what we know, the Angels themselves defy the laws of physics."
As if detecting the ICBMs high above, Ramiel shifted it's shape again, then fired a massive volley of bolts upward, followed by a second and a third.
Satellite footage showed the MIRV warheads being vaporized as the MAGI calculated that the Angel had lost two percent of it's body mass in the last attack.
"Given the nature of the Angel's body, hand to hand would not work. The EVAs would be destroyed trying to get near it." Fuytsuki said, taking a sip of the whiskey-spiked coffee.
"None of our weapons would work, except possibly the positron rifle," Misato pitched in. She gulped down half the cup, before realizing how bad the coffee was, and just barely managed to choke it down. She filled the rest of her coffee cup with cream and sugar.
"If the AT field is strong enough to contain high temperature plasma, then our positron rifle wouldn't so much as scratch it," Doctor Ritsuko Akagi said as she walked onto the command deck.
She retrieved a cup of coffee, sipped it, grimaced, added some cream, then walked to her position behind the primary bridge crew. She sipped it again, grimaced again, then walked back and added sugar.
"What about a sniper attack? From a position before it hits landfall?" Shinji suggested as he nursed the bitter coffee. He went back to the machine and added even more sugar to take the edge off of it. Unseen by him, his father was doing the exact same thing.
Fuyutsuki glanced at Gendo again, who merely offered some sugar packets to the older man as he looked up over his sunglasses.
"That may work, but we'd need time to build a rifle powerful enough, not to mention we'd need a lot of power to do so. The Angel will be making landfall in ten hours, and will be to Tokyo-3 in twelve."
"Not a lot of time," Misato mused, "The other Angels moved fast compared to this one. Why is it moving so slowly?"
"My guess it is could move faster if it shed it's plasma 'body'. As long as it keeps that plasma buffer around it, it needs to move slowly to prevent too much plasma leakage." Ritsuko said. She took another sip, and said, "Whoever brewed this batch of coffee is so fired."
"So, the bigger it is the slower it moves?"
"Yes. We've seen that it sheds mass to attack, but it's slowly getting larger again."
"Okay, people, let's get to planning." Misato said.
##
Misato settled back in a chair around the holographic map table.
"Based on data we received from the Naval battle the Angel has this range," Hyuga said, "Overlayed on the Tokyo-3 City Center, it will engage targets within this range actively, and defend itself out to this range."
The holographic table showed the engagement circles which covered the entire valley.
"So we're stuck in how to engage it."
"What do we know about it?"
"It's surrounded it's core with plasma it seems to generate from the air itself. It then focuses the plasma into bolts or beams which it guides with it's AT field."
"So, hand to hand is completely out."
"Not really," Shinji said.
Everyone looked at him strangely.
Shinji shrugged and laid out his plan, "Snipe it just as it enters the harbor. The plasma would evaporate water, and the steam would in turn disrupt some of the Angel's ability to generate plasma. Several successive shots with a weapon that can penetrate it's AT field would reduce the plasma to near zero, and if we don't land a hit on the core, but can keep it from regenerating the plasma, hand to hand becomes a viable option. Right? Then Rei can run in and knife the Core into pieces."
"That's so... Simple." Misato gasped in realization.
"Insane and stupid," Ritsuko countered. Shinji shrugged again. He was still just a kid, and not a tactical expert by any stretch of the imagination. It didn't stop him from trying.
"But simple! God, that should work!"
"Misato, what exactly are we going to snipe it with?"
"The JSSDF's prototype positron cannon. It's the only thing I can think of that has a chance to punch through the AT field. And positrons don't play well with electron-rich plasma. Even if it doesn't disrupt the AT field, the annihilation should screw up the containment something fierce, forcing the Angel to just dump plasma!"
"Okay, then what about the plasma? If it manages to get a shot off at Rei and vaporizes her what then?"
"What about a shield? Maybe something that's got the same ceramic tiles as the old US Space shuttle?"
"Okay, assuming we could get a re-entry tiled shield to deflect the plasma blasts, what about the AT field?"
"What about it? If We can put Unit-00 in the E-Type Resonance Armor, it'll boost her AT field immensely, helping disrupt the Angels' AT field. If it can't stabilize it's AT field, it can't generate much less contain plasma."
"The E-Type is too fragile. One solid tap and it will shatter like glass! Why not the F-type?"
"The F-type has too heavy a power draw and heats up too fast, and would slow the EVA down too much. She'll need to be mobile once the shield's discarded."
"Misato, there has to be another way."
"Maybe. Just run the simulations, while we try to make alternate plans."
##
"But, this is so... ridiculous."
"General, I understand your apprehension. But I have a Angel on approach to Tokyo-3 to kill, and if you check reports, it just wiped out most of the UN Pacific Fleet. Our positron cannon is nowhere near completion, nor would it be anywhere near the power we need."
"If it destroyed the Pacific Fleet, then what can stand against it?"
"The Evangelions can defeat it, but they need your cannon, General. Any technicians or specialists you can spare to work alongside ours would also be appreciated."
"So, this is rather a joint operation?"
"We appreciate your cooperation. We will try to return your cannon in as close to it's original condition as we can, given that it will be seeing use as a sniper platform. Have any personnel you can spare sent to Gotenba to meet with our technicians. They'll be merging your cannon with our power flow and targeting systems."
"Very well, Major."
"All right, kids, Take it away!" Misato called.
General Miyamoto saw two robots gently pry up the warehouse roof, and the purple one held it up as the yellow one very carefully picked up the cannon pieces. He was astounded by the scale of the Evangelions, then watched as the pieces of his positron cannon were placed on flatbed trailers for transit.
He knew if he ever saw it again, he would be lucky. He also knew that NERV would have duplicated it for use with their Evangelions.
##
"How many favors did you have to pull in to pull this off?"
"All of them and a few besides," Misato replied, "But they gave us the positron cannon."
"A twelve percent chance. Conditional at that."
"It's doable. And it's the best chance of success of all plans we came up with. Looks like Shinji scores one for the planning department."
"It's still insane. And stupid."
"Don't worry. With Unit 00 being fitted into the E-Type armor and carrying that shield, she should be okay. The armor does help resonate her AT field, which should disrupt the Angel's and cause the plasma beam to lose coherency and 'bloom'."
"I didn't know you had knowledge of particle physics. And besides, the G-type equipment has no such protections."
"Particle physics is easy, Rits. It's that evolutionary biology stuff that's hard," Misato replied with a smile, sticking her tongue out momentarily. She continued, "Shinji will have Rei between him and the Angel, not to mention a mountain. Even if the positron beam doesn't hit the Angel's core, it would destabilize the plasma and the Angel would have to dump a lot of it as it's AT field would be compromised."
"But that leaves several questions," Ritsuko asked, and before she could continue, Misato rattled off a series of questions.
"What will the angel do? How fast will it move with no plasma to shield it? How much damage will that much plasma do to the area around the Angel, what kind of magnetic field distortion will be present, can the MAGI calculate those distortions that so Shinji can hit the Core?" Misato paused, continuing to smile, "Shall I continue?"
Ritsuko quirked an eyebrow and then smiled herself, "Seems like you're also asking those questions. But if you have that kind of confidence in the children, then I suppose I could also have some faith."
"I'm staking the lives of everyone on the skills of two children who want to live and see tomorrow. They'll fight all the harder the more they're at a disadvantage. You've already seen this."
"So what are the pilots doing?"
"Shinji's on the live fire range in the Geofront, practicing with an actual sniper rifle, or four, it looks like, under guidance from one of our Section Two snipers. Rei's practicing blocking with a shield while wearing armor. The man who's working with her is an martial arts expert in four different arts, and in half a dozen weapon styles."
"Not hedging your bets on the children's training?"
"Well, they're been trained for years in various things. Shinji's always had the aptitude for firearms. Rei's got the best AT Field control and is very good in hand to hand. They're naturals in the roles their EVAs will perform."
##
"All right, Mr. Ikari, while you are firearms proficient, and have a good amount of training, more than some Militaries give their soldiers I might add, you don't have the specialized training that I and quite a few other do."
"I understand, Mister?"
"My name's not important."
"On the contrary. I'd like to be able to thank you by name when this is over."
"Definitely a trait your mom had. Liked knowing people's names. Both so she could thank or chew them out. You win. Hideki Tanigawa."
"Thank you, Tanigawa-sensei."
"I'm going to skip over a lot of what I learned. Instead you're going to learn only three things. Catching the brass as you eject casings while having a target still sighted, sights adjustment, and the actual art of making the shot. First, casings. A real sniper, especially one behind enemy lines, never leaves evidence. So, we catch our shell casings."
"Yes, Sensei."
"Now, all NERV Section two sniper rifles are common only in the ammunition we're issued. Otherwise, we're free to make our choice on our preferred type. What you're handling today is my favorite, a Sig-Sauer SSG 3000. I also have an American-made Desert Tactical Arms Stealth Recon Scout, and one of the other guys in the group has loaned his Brügger & Thomet APR, and also, there's an old M-24 that I pulled out of the weapons lockers. I will be training you on all four."
"O...kay?" Shinji replied, confused as he had no clue what the names that were rattled off were.
"First, ammunition. All NERV Section Two rifles use the same 7.62x51mm NATO round as a base. Manufactured in-house, combining the best technologies to ensure accuracy and stopping power, they are a Match Grade, 185 grain, Open-Air tip, rebated boat-tail bullet that has less than minute of angle variation in accuracy. This means that there is less than an inch of variance between all bullets fired from the same rifle under no-wind conditions at one-hundred yards distance. Muzzle velocity on my Sig is nearly 2900 feet per second. In two seconds, it will have traveled over a mile."
"That's pretty accurate, isn't it?" Shinji asked, still confused as to what any of that meant.
"Very. For a sniper, accuracy is all. One inaccurate shot, you're as good as dead."
"I can understand that."
"Now, for practice. I have several clips loaded with dummy cartridges for this part. This is why you wear a partial glove on your right hand. Without moving anything else, release the trigger, bring up your hand, pull the bolt back, catch the shell, slide the bolt back forward, chambering the next round, then place your hand back on the rest, finger on the trigger. Then take the next shot and repeat."
"Okay."
"The reason is you never leave evidence. That means no shell casings. You have five rounds in that rifle. And five targets. Do you want me to show you?"
"Yes."
The man handed him a stopwatch, loaded the rifle with a live magazine, then lay down, and after a few seconds, said, "Go."
Shinji started the stopwatch, and the sniper shot, chambered the next, catching the casing, and repeated this four more times. Shinji stopped the stopwatch as the man stood. "Well?"
"Eleven point four-five seconds."
"Sounds about right. You saw how I did that, right? The movements of my hand as I fired, then drew the bolt, caught the casing, chambered the next, and then placed my finger on the trigger and fired again, only moving to switch targets."
"Yes I did."
"Good. Again, I know you've not had the specialized training I've had, and you'll be slower and less efficient, but its forgivable in that I doubt you'll ever have need to fire such a weapon, and that this training may help you tonight in killing that Angel that's coming here."
"Yes, Sensei."
The man smiled slightly, loaded the dummy magazine, then gave the rifle to Shinji, who then lay down.
"Now, practice the motions. Sight the target, keeping your cheek against the rifle, the scope away from your eye so you don't give yourself a black eye from the recoil, fire, chamber the next round, catching the blank as you sight the next, fire, and repeat until you've fired all five blanks. I'll stopwatch you. Don't worry, I won't berate you for taking your time, especially since the motions will be unfamiliar for you."
Shinji began and it took nearly a minute to 'fire' all five blanks.
"That's about right for the first time. Keep practicing. Once you can get it down between twenty and thirty seconds for a magazine of five, we'll move on to live fire, and I'll teach you some about the control you need to actually hit your target."
"Thank you Sensei." Shinji said as he loaded another magazine, and another Section Two sniper walked up, his favored rifle slung behind him. "Hey, impressive lineup, Tanigawa. Think he would want to try my Howa?"
"Maybe." Tanigawa said as he reloaded the first dummy magazine with blanks. "Depends on him."
Shinji sighted and Tanigawa tapped the start on the stopwatch, and they both watched as Shinji struggled through the motions again.
"You're too tense, Pilot Ikari," the new sniper said, "Breathe out, relax. This is like trying to get a lover out of her clothes. If you're tense, it takes longer."
Shinji blushed.
"Well, that's a bad analogy, Hirasawa. It's more like trying a martial art you've never tried before. Just keep your muscles relaxed and flow with the movements while focusing on them."
"Yes, Sensei," Shinji said, still blushing at the other sniper's remark.
He continued to reload the magazines Shinji emptied with the blanks while he practiced the motions of catching the brass and firing at targets.
##
Shinji had gotten down to thirty seconds for the process, and the now small assemblage of snipers nodded and softly chatted amongst themselves. With time, the kid would be as good as any of them. After then, they taught him to adjust the sights to compensate for drop and wind, and then finally, after a short break for a snack, it came to the actual live-fire exercise.
Shinji snapped his attention to the target, adjusting his sights as Hirasawa, acting as a spotter, relayed wind and range. Tanigawa was saying, "Now, not that you need it in the Evangelion, but for a shot of this precision with just your body, I have to teach you this, or you will miss. A sniper that misses their shot is a dead sniper."
"I understand."
"You know breathing control, finding your center. Do it now. Be acutely aware of your breathing and heartbeat. Tell me when you're ready and aware."
It took a few moments, and the man waited as the whole team went silent. Years as a sniper and a spotter had given all of them long patience.
"Ready," Shinji said softly.
"Now, sight the target. You want to put the bullet into the target's head, but at this range the slightest deviation could make it a miss. So, when you're about to fire, hold your breath, and when your heart is at rest between beats, is when you fire. You're not leaving anything to chance."
After a few seconds, Shinji took the shot, and it missed. He could swear he saw the bullet and shockwave from it as it missed the cardboard target's head by centimeters.
"Congratulations, you're a dead sniper. Don't worry. Very few people hit their first time at this range. Try again."
##
"Good job, First Child. Do you feel ready to practice what you've learned in a less controlled environment?"
"Less controlled how?"
"You will be facing half a dozen men equipped with padded armor like yours, and armed with various practice weaponry. You will have a baton and will have to tag them out while deflecting or dodging blows."
"That is acceptable."
"Very well," the instructor said as several Section Two bodyguards came in and bowed.
"Begin."
Rei deflected a thrown javelin with the shield and ducked under another of her bodyguards thrust with a spear. She flowed, around, into and out of attacks, tagging the Section Two agents gently with a baton to 'kill' them and take them out of the fight as she engaged successive waves of them equipped with practice versions of weapons.
Her strength, speed, skill and grace astounded most of them despite her wearing the bulky, weighted, padded armor.
After a while, and the instructor had determined she had adequately grasped the concept, and congratulated her.
##
A floating holographic tag appeared above Gendo's desk, and he touched it, activating the room-wide projectors, and coming face to face with NERV Bethany's Commander and Doctor Makinami.
"What may I do for you?" he asked.
"We understand the Sixth Angel is on it's way. SEELE has approved the transfer of Unit Five to Tokyo-3 for combat duty. The Fourth Child should be arriving tonight around midnight your time."
Another tag appeared, and Gendo tapped it, seeing NERV-2's Commander and his wife, Doctor Sohryu. "Well, seems this meeting is already underway," Commander Sohryu said.
"Please, continue," Gendo said nodding at Commander Ulyanov.
"The Third Angel has been neutralized. It's core has been removed, and it is in stasis. The body has been destroyed. We will be sending the core to Branch 3 for testing."
"Very well. Commander Sohryu?"
"Unit Two and the Second Child have been released and are being sent to Tokyo-3 for Combat duty. She will be shipped by railway to Vladivostok, then carried by barge to Japan."
"With the destruction of most of the UN Pacific Fleet, there will be very few ships to guard her. Fit Unit-02 with the C-type equipment and the A-type extended Power Cells."
"Very well, Commander."
"Do the Doctors wish to go with their daughters?"
"I still have some research to perform here in Berlin. Asuka is a strong girl, and it will be good for her to learn to live on her own and have others her age to interact with. I do intend to follow after I wrap up a few things."
"Without the Third Angel here, I would wish to go with her and assist in work with the other Evangelions directly. However, I do concur with Doctor Sohryu. She needs to be around other people, not just her mother and NERV personnel."
"Very well, Doctor Makinami. If The Committee or SEELE approves the transfer you will be welcome here."
"Why, thank you Commander. I look forward to seeing you again." Makinami purred demurely.
Doctor Sohryu didn't bother to mask her disgust at the expression on Doctor Makinami's face. The Bethany duo went off the communication line, and both Sohryus sighed.
"Why, Ikari?" the Commander asked.
"Why not? Like the last time she was here, she is going to focus on her time on trying to seduce me. I will, however, arrange for distractions to keep her attention from me, from her daughter and the other pilots. Keeping her off balance will help keep SEELE off balance."
"Good. I don't want that bitch near my Asuka. It's a good thing her daughter's nothing like her."
"Oh, Ikari, I'm sending your friend back to you. Nominally as her bodyguard, being he's Section Two."
"Understood."
"Keep me apprised on Doctor Makinami. I can always engineer something to happen here that will require her 'expertise'."
"You are a devious woman, Doctor. It is no wonder Yui liked and respected you, even if she also hated you."
"She wasn't half as devious as her husband, but she and I value marital loyalty." She dropped a hand on her husband's shoulder, and he reached up and patted it.
"We'll see you with our regular reports next week, Commander."
"Very well."
##
That Midnight,
"...Districts one through eight-oh-three... primary power systems ready..."
"Initiate fourth stage connections," Misato said.
"...Voltage conversion nominal... secondary cooling systems at full capacity..."
Shinji was attempting to drown out the background chatter and focus on the horizon where the target was clearly visible, but out of his range. It was a waiting game, much as Tanigawa had said.
"...cannon voltage at point-three of critical. Point-two... Discharge systems nominal, capacitance at two-million Farads... Input Voltage stable... Positron prefire chamber at capacity..."
"Target is entering Ashinoko harbor," Shinji said calmly as the ranging indicators lit up with target lock, "I'm ready here, and the MAGI is trying to give me a firing solution."
"...reading a fluctuation from transformer eight-oh-six...
"You won't hit the core from that range." Doctor Akagi said.
"...Shut down the circuits! ...Voltage drop within acceptable limits..."
Shinji concentrated, lining the barrel up with the center, waiting for the lock-on sound.
"...Positron containment stable..."
"No, but we've already established that I need to disrupt it's body first. As long as I hit the Angel, whether I get the Core or not, it'll be forced to react," he called back.
The computer presented it's firing solution and the lock-on sounded.
Misato took a breath and said, "Very well. Engage at your discretion."
"New signal detected. It's Unit-05. She's requesting link-in to the Comm-Con battle network."
"Grant it," Misato said.
"Mari here. Am I missing the fun?"
"What is your ETA to the combat zone?" Misato asked.
"I've already initiated Synchrostart and am only awaiting your drop order. I will be in free-fall for two minutes. Unit-05 is in the S-type equipment."
"Deploy, but be warned, the battle may be over by the time you land." Gendo said, "The First and Third currently have things well in hand. Still, aerial backup may prove useful."
Shinji's eyebrow quirked, then he asked, "Are you ready Rei?"
"Yes, I am ready Shinji."
"Deploy your AT field. Once it starts to react I'll fire and disrupt it."
Shimmering lines of force appeared around her position by the harbor as she pushed her AT field out to it's maximum in a curved barrier between her and the Angel.
Ramiel shifted, a glow surrounding the Core as it charged it's attack. Just then, Shinji fired. The cannon's laser ionized the air into a plasma, electrodes discharged two-hundred thousand Megawatts of electricity into it, and the positron packet, within magnetic containment of it's own, was launched and rode the stream of electrified plasma to it's target. It crossed the distance in under a second, slamming into Ramiel, punching through the Angel's AT field and striking the body.
A new sun appeared a few thousand feet above the harbor as the sky lit up from the matter-antimatter annihilation. The Angel's sheath lost most of it's coherence and it vented plasma in all directions.
"Magnetic flux unstable. Compensation currently impossible," Ibuki called as Hyuga relayed, "Barrel cooling in progress, pilot is exchanging canisters. Cannon charge at eight percent and rising!"
Shinji pulled back on the bolt, ejecting the canister, and caught it, setting it to the side as he reached for the next and placed it into the cannon. He closed the chamber, making contact, and magnetic irises opened, allowing the positrons to flow out of containment in the canister to the prefire chamber of the cannon.
"Angel is reacting, pulling plasma back into itself," Aoba said.
"Angel is attacking Unit Zero!" Ibuki cried in panic. Outside, Ramiel launched a massive Plasma bolt at Rei, and she raised her shield as her AT Field flared.
##
"I..."
She deflected the bolt with the shield, angling it as she extended her AT field to assist. The bolt bounced off the shield and burst through a building, vaporizing it.
"Rei, are you okay?" She heard someone calling. She identified it. Shinji. He whom she called Brother. But was he? Who was she?
"I... am..."resonated in her head as she called out, "I am fine, Shinji." Who was this other within her?
Ramiel reshaped itself, then just before it could expend it's massed plasma body at her, another shot lanced out from the far mountain, penetrating Ramiel's AT field again, igniting the plasma, leaving the Core mostly exposed as the sky lit up for the second time that night. Then they all saw it. With no plasma sheathing the Angel, they saw it's body. Much smaller, but still octahedral in shape, and no larger than an Evangelion.
Ramiel drew back, gathered what little of it's plasma sheath it still could, then expended all of it's mass in a single concentrated beam directly at her. She could not deflect that, and brought the shield to simply block and absorb it.
"I Am..."
The duality of her nature struck her, and she reacted, mostly on instinct as the Other within called out again, "I Am..."
Just before the beam struck, she unfolded her AT field in a barrier before the shield. Despite it, most of the shield melted away, and as the attack stopped, she dropped the ruined shield and ran toward an armory building, her mind intent, he body focused, and her synchronization skyrocketing.
Through the heat surrounding her, the distortions of light as she dashed, her AT field extended as a full barrier around her, she glimpsed Ramiel and it's core, as it slowly drew in atmosphere and re-ignited it's body.
She deployed her AT field at full, eroding the Angel's completely, causing it to lose plasma containment again as she pulled a pallet rifle out.
She felt the plug ratchet backwards three clicks, which stabilized her synchronization. She felt annoyed, but it was of no concern. The Angel would fall before her. She shook her head to clear it again. She had to push against the Other, even as the Other tried to take control.
"I Am..." she said as she intertwined her own AT field with the EVA's, and began to place it around Ramiel, herding it back toward the harbor.
The Angel of Thunder reacted by lancing out with an AT field blast. It was simply absorbed by the combined AT field of Rei and Unit-00, and she raised her rifle, switching it to semi-automatic, and fired.
##
"Body confirmed on the Angel! The plasma is an outer sheath and barrier!"
"Doctor Akagi, I'm reading a feedback in Unit Zero. Rei's Synchronization score is starting to rise!"
"What?"
"It's at eighty percent and rising! Her Ego Border is intact, but it's creeping downward!"
"Force fix the plug depth at point six. That should stop her from going any deeper and risking mental trauma," Doctor Akagi called.
"The Angel expended most of it's plasma body in that last attack, but it's recharging!"
"Interesting. It seems the E-Type equipment has an unintended side-effect. Her Lilithian heritage is coming out and she is attempting to directly interface with the Evangelion." Gendo said softly to Fuyutsuki.
The old man nodded, "We'll have to run tests then."
"Unit Zero's AT field strength has doubled, no, tripled!" Ibuki shouted as Rei withdrew a pallet rifle from a building.
"No, she's reinforcing the Evangelion's AT field with her own. It's causing a resonance that is increasing it's strength dramatically," Akagi said, then looked up at Gendo, who merely grinned. Her look said it all.
You knew this would happen, she thought as she looked back at the screens and adjusted the MAGI's compensation program again for Shinji's cannon.
Ramiel fired a combination AT field blast and plasma bolt at Unit-00, who simply shrugged it off.
##
"The time between shots is too long," Shinji called out on the comm-link, "Can you cut the power levels of the rifle to ten percent? If I can fire every five seconds instead of every thirty..."
"How many Positron fuses do you have left?"
"Three!"
"At ten percent, it won't matter. The canisters could handle four or five shots at only ten percent. And if Rei can keep the Angel's AT field disrupted, then all Shinji needs to do is hit the Core. He'd only need one percent if that's the case."
"I will neutralize it's AT field," Rei called, her voice strangely distant, "I Am..." her voice resonated for an instant with an ancient power, "...placing my AT field in barrier sections to corral it while I direct it's path with fire from my pallet rifle. Hurry."
Several shots rained from above, and several meter long tungsten tipped depleted uranium spikes embedded themselves in nearby buildings and the asphalt as Ramiel managed to dodge them. Rei glanced up to see Unit-05 holding the prototype Rail Crossbow, taking aim again as the S-type equipment stabilized her flight.
"How many shots could he take at three percent?" Misato
"Probably eight per." Hyuga called. "Don't quote me though."
"Do it." Misato ordered, and everyone raced to comply.
Mari touched down, then jumped again, her jets modulating and making her hover a few hundred feet above the ground.
"They really need to fix the heat issue with the jets." Mari said, "I can't maintain more than ten seconds of flight at a time."
"Dropping power output to three percent." Hyuga said, his hands racing across his console.
"Cannon charged, Safety Interlocks will disengage in ten seconds, after barrel cooling is completed." Aoba called out.
"Firing!" Shinji called.
The beam lanced out and barely missed Ramiel as it began to evade his shots, Mari's crossbow spikes, and the 105mm HEAT rounds from Rei's rifle. Shinji checked the status, and fired again as the indicator read he was able to. He held his breath before every shot, measured his heartbeat, despite not needing to in the Evangelion, and watched the target, despite not hitting it with his next few shots.
Shinji saw the positron gauge at empty, ejected the canister, and put the next in, all by 'feel' as he was focused on his target. Then he saw how it was evading, and mentally calculated the Angel's next move.
"Mari, Rei, link your firing systems and try to synchronize your shots at it."
"Good plan, Shinji, Misato called, "Make it move where you want."
He fired, and the Angel dodged his beam at the last second, only to be struck by Rei's attack. He could almost feel the rage flowing from the Angel as the slug penetrated the Angel's body and the Core cracked. The Angel had shifted shapes to a seven pointed star and was only firing back blasts using it's AT field at her, and ignoring him, due to the distance. He fired again, and then a third time, watching how it evaded their combined fire with apparent ease, but building the knowledge so he could take the shot.
He glanced over at the indicator. One shot left on this canister. The indicator lit up, and he waited. Just as Rei fired volley, and Mari let off a Barrage he fired, right at the only place it could move to evade both other shots.
Ramiel dodged Rei's and Mari's attacks, only to run smack into Shinji's shot. It exploded, lighting up the sky for a third time. As the core vaporized and it sent off a cross-shaped explosion, Mari cut the jets and dropped from the sky.
"Good to see you, Mari," Rei replied, her voice oddly resonating. "If you don't mind, I need to leave my Evangelion. I am feeling... unwell."
She dropped her EVA to a kneel and powered down, ejecting the plug.
Up on Mount Futabo, Shinji took off the targeting helmet and exhaled the breath he had been holding.
"Thanks for the assist, Mari. Good job neutralizing it's AT field, Rei."
"Asuka's gonna be mad she missed this party. It was fun." Mari replied. "So, where's the nearest Lift? I need to help get Unit Zero locked on for retrieval, and get my Unit Five down to his new home too."
##
Dr. Akagi found the Commander alone in his office, his pen scratching kanji across some paperwork.
"Well, Doctor Akagi?" Gendo asked as she walked up to his desk.
"I think we found the problem with the E-type equipment. It channels the AT field very well, but since it's compositionally similar to an Eva's Core, it feeds back into the Core and the Pilot. Rei didn't suffer any mental contamination that we could find."
"What of the Third and Fourth?"
"Shinji is on his way back with Unit One, and the Fourth is with Rei, showering off the LCL."
"We will need to separate the pilots by gender soon. The Fifth and Sixth have been chosen."
She took the folder from his desk, and glanced at him after she reviewed it, "I see. Who is going to recruit them?"
"Who else? Fuyutsuki will be talking with the parents in the morning."
Does this have anything to do with what happened with the Fifth Angel?" she hazarded. He pushed the paper off to the side and grabbed another, and started reading it.
"Not exactly," he replied after a moment, "I'd made the decision during the Fourth Angel's attack. I just decided to push up the schedule by a few months."
"That's a load of bullshit."
"How well you know me, my dear Doctor Akagi," he said as he put the pen down and steepled his hands.
"Actually that's the thing. You don't let anyone know you. Except maybe Fuyutsuki," she retorted as she walked off.
Gendo grinned. At least the younger Akagi had learned what her mother hadn't. For that, he respected her, and trusted her. To an extent. He couldn't let her know everything.
"You know me better than you think, Doctor," he said softly.
##
So, we're getting into some equipment types for the EVAs. I'm listing something I have in my master reference and plotting document:
Equipment types: * by canon
*A-Type Battery Pack(unnamed as such but shown in the Anime)
*B-type Standard armor(Anime/Manga/Rebuild/Games)
C-type Underwater
*D-type Extreme environments(Anime)
E-type AT Field Resonance Armor
*F-type melee combat armor(PS2 Game)
*G-type Sniper(Rebuild)
*S-type Aerial(Rebuild)
It only makes sense that the battery packs would be some of the first things developed. Thus I've given it the A-type designation. In a related note, most documentation on Unit-02's Aerial equipment when it shows up in Rebuild, half of it says A-type, half says S-type. So, I'm going with S-type so the battery packs can be A-type.
C-type is the designation I'm giving the underwater kit.
The Resonance Armor is something of my own twisted mind. The armor itself is mostly crystalline, but resonates with a deployed AT field, boosting it's strength massively. However, there exists a small feedback flaw in which the AT field will affect a pilot's Ego border and synch rate, slowly eroding the former by boosting the latter. This is what awakens Rei's Lilithian side, and she deploys her own AT field in conjunction with Unit-00s, and further boosted by the Resonance Armor, intertwines them into an AT field of a strength never before seen.
I will probably never use the Resonance Armor again as they found the feedback error, and they'll deem it to dangerous to use. Especially on Unit-00 and Rei.
The F-type armor is part of a game, and several figurines are sold with the F-type armor kit, so in my opinion, it's as canon as the rest of the named equipment. I may end up having Unit-02 semi-permanently kitted in F-type once they eliminate the power drain issues in a later chapter.
On to Ramiel. God, what was Gainax/Anno thinking? The Angel of Thunder should be a total bad-ass and instead we have:
It Fires it's Lazor at Shinji, nearly killing him, then sits there and goes "IMMA FIRIN' MAH slow drill..." For twelve hours.
Yeah. For that whole plot point, lets all raise our collective hands and apply foreheads very vigorously.
Technically, with a body made of plasma, my version of Ramiel as it fires, would be using it's body to drill, but the effect would be more like what Zeruel does in TOS or in Rebuild
One shot to the Geofront. Regenerate plasma as it passes into the Geofront, and then kills the pyramid and blasts a hole halfway to Lilith. It heads on down, burning into the main shaft and descending to Dogma, and uniting with Lilith. Queue Third Impact and the end of this story.
So, they wouldn't have time unless I put some restraints on the Angel. First, they detected other Angels out at sea. Why not Ramiel? Second, I needed to slaughter most of the Pacific Fleet to force Unit-02 into the C-type for her trip. That way Gaghiel's defeat would also be much less contrived.
Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?
Cause and effect. I try hard to make sure that cause and effect line up, and that the characters dance to my Scenario. However, Gendo being who he is, may have a few surprises for me yet, despite my plans.