Ritsuko looked straight ahead, trying not to look up at those who were going to be passing judgment on her for her actions. The head of the tribunal cleared his throat, "Ritsuko Akagi, you have chosen to plead guilty for the attempted murder of Gendo Ikari." There was a meaningful pause, and Ritsuko realized that they expected her to say something. "Yes, sir," the blonde haired woman answered him simply. She really didn't think there was much else left for her to say. Several men and women on the five person board clearly expected her to say more, however. They looked down at her with expressions ranging from a bit of awe at her guts to complete and utter disbelief. The head of the tribunal pushed his glasses up on his face uncomfortably before bending to carefully review his notes. "Normally," the older man said reluctantly, "you would expect to face a punishment of life imprisonment for this charge, and in a way you will." Ritsuko looked a bit more attentive upon hearing that, sensing that something unexpected might just be in the offing. 'Maybe there's some new, creative execution they want to test on me?' she thought to herself whimsically. He took his glasses off, and it was obvious he didn't much like what he was going to have to say, "Ritsuko Akagi, you are remanded to the custody of the new commander of Nerv, to be held there under that individual's supervision as an intellectual asset." 'What the.." Ritsuko thought as she was quickly hustled out of the court room. Not long after she found herself waiting out by the front of the building with an military police officer, her hands cuffed behind her back. The jeep barreled around the corner, nearly clipping the terrified officer and skided to a stop. Misato Kisaragi waved cheerfully, "Sorry to keep you waiting." "Misato," Ritsuko blinked. "Hey," the dark haired woman looked at the officer over her sunglasses, "what's she doing in cuffs? Get them off her." "Yes, ma'am," the officer saluted before quickly uncuffing Ritsuko. "I'll take it from here," Misato gave the man an airy wave. She looked over at Ritsuko and simply said, "Get in." A few minutes later the battered jeep was burning rubber across the blacktop, exactly where Ritsuko didn't know. She looked over at Misato and asked tentatively, "Are you taking me to see the new commander of Nerv?" "You're looking at her," Misato grinned. "What?" Ritsuko blurted out in surprise. "I didn't want the job," Misato smiled at her wryly, "but the United Nations wanted to clear out everyone who was even remotely involved with Gendo's dirty dealings." "Which doesn't leave much of the higher ups," Ritsuko admitted. She looked over at Misato's collar, "You're still a major?" "For now," Misato shrugged. Metalic towers soon rose in the distance, battle scarred but still mostly intact. "Welcome to Tokyo-3, the temporary headquarters for Nerv," she shrugged. Misato got out first, wincing slightly as she moved a bit too quickly. 'She was shot, too,' Ritsuko remembered. "You all right?" she asked. "I'll live," Misato shrugged, leading her into one of the buildings. They entered an elevator, rose up a few levels, then walked down a hallway until they reached an unmarked office. "My humble abode," Misato shrugged as she waved Ritsuko in ahead of her. Suprisingly, along with the typical big desk and a few uncomfortable chairs, Ritsuko saw that there was a couch along one wall. Misato on one end of the couch and Ritsuko sat on the other, sighing in relief as she finally relaxed a bit. "What's been going on?" Ritsuko asked. "I've heard the most outlandish things, even being in the hospital and stockade," she added. "I'm still figuring things out myself," Misato sighed. "Do you remember the Sailor Senshi?" she asked her. Ritsuko blinked, then her eyes widened. "Yes," she murmured softly. "But not until I mentioned them, right?" Misato smiled wryly. Ritsuko nodded, her eyes wide. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and it was clear that she was remembering other things, as well. "How is this possible?" she murmured. "Adam," Misato said, refering to the alien being that had been Gendo Ikari's captive, "at least, that's the best guess anyone has." Ritsuko sat up to look at Misato to see if she was joking. She wasn't. "But why would he?" she started to say. "The First Impact, the rising seas, the destruction of Tokyo," Misato said, "all illusions or misdirections by Adam. Or his taking credit for a natural event, like the seas rising due to global warming. All starting, roughly, after Gendo and his boys captured him." Ritsuko nodded thoughtfully, "Adam wanted to convince Gendo that holding him was a bad idea, so the disasters." "But Gendo didn't buy it," Misato sighed, "or he just didn't care. So Adam called his... sons? Brothers? Family, anyway, to try to bust him out." "And it selectively messed with our memories so that we wouldn't go looking for the Senshi," Ritsuko muttered, "and maybe stumble onto the fact that Tokyo wasn't destroyed." She frowned, "But why didn't anyone in Tokyo try to help?" "More illusion," Misato answered, "to them, life was continuing on normally. They never knew anything was going on." Ritsuko nodded, laying back and closing her eyes. "I'm going to need some time," she admitted quietly, "to take this all in." Misato surprised her by saying, "Good," and then she smiled slightly, "because we have a few other problems to deal with, too." Ritsuko opened one eye to look at Misato, "What problems?" "Well, for one thing NERV, which is basically the two of us, a few other officers plus what's left of the old support teams, has been asked to prepare plans to protect the Earth in case of another alien attach," Misato said softly, dryly adding that, "They've just assumed that we will be making up the first line of defense." "And the other thing?" Ritsuko asked faintly. "Do you remember how Gendo rammed through the resolution founding NERV in the United Nations?" Misato asked her. Ritsuko nodded, so Misato continued, "It seems that he provided the basic tech for creating EVAs in exchange for the votes he needed. So now we have several unauthorized EVAs running around." Ritsuko swore softly. "My thoughts exactly," Misato nodded. Ritsuko sat forward, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes tiredly. "So what assets do we have to work with?" she asked. "EVA 01 is still missing in action and EVA 00 and 02 are under repair right now, though you're help on that would be greatly appreciated," Misato smiled wryly. "I take it things are a bit disorganized?" Ritsuko asked. "Oh, yeah," Misato nodded. "Asuka is recovering in hospital, though it's starting to look like she may loose the function in her one eye." "I thought it was healing nicely?" Ritsuko frowned. "It should have," Misato sighed before adding, "The doctors think it's in part due to the feedback from her EVA being dismembered." Ritsuko winced. "What about Shinji?" she asked. "He's in a coma," Misato said softly, her eyes flickering with a bit of guilt, "Whatever he experienced in the end was too much for him to handle, at least that's what the psychiatrists seem to think. There's nothing physically wrong with him, he just won't wake up." "So we're down to one pilot," Ritsuko frowned. "Not exactly," Misato said. Ritsuko looked up at her curiously and she said, "We were searching a series of unused storage rooms and found a Rei Ayanami."
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