"I'm impressed," Asuka said as she circled around the lab.
The Evangelion that she was looking at was a sleek black shape
resting in it's testing cradle. The wings were swept back a bit more
than standard, the entire form slimmer than the fighters Asuka was used
to. Some weapons power had to be sacrificed for the upgrades in speed
and maneuverability, but it was still a deadly little craft.
"The Stealth Evangelion," Gendo's eyes shone with his excitement
as he loudly declared, "it's my greatest creation!" He waved his arms
wildly as he explained, "It's completely invisible to all known forms of
scanner!"
"Not bad at all," Asuka mused, then she froze suddenly.
"What?" Gendo asked worriedly, knowing that she had spotted a
problem. 'just like with my Armored Evangelion,' he thought glumly.
"It's invisible to our sensors, too?" Asuka asked him. As soon
as she saw his nod she groaned, "That means the SDF-1's weapons systems
won't be able to tell if it's a friend or foe." At his blank look she
continued, "We could be shot down by our own guns."
Gendo blinked at her a moment, digesting that piece of news.
"Back to the drawing board," he finally sighed, pushing his glasses up
tiredly. He looked around his lad, white coat swirling around him. His
voice was quiet as he asked, "How's Shinji doing?"
"Good," Asuka answered. She looked up at the older man in
surprise and asked, "Haven't you seen him lately?"
"We've never been terribly comfortable around each other," Gendo
finally admitted. "I'm glad he has you and Ayanami as friends," he said
softly.
Asuka wasn't quite sure if she should say this, but..., "It's
not just us. Shinji's even got a girlfriend, now."
"What?!" Gendo ran over and grabbed her by the shoulders,
grinning down at her happily, "Thank god! I know my dear, departed wife
Yui will be glad to know that Shinji's developing into a healthy, normal
boy!"
"If you don't let me go I'm going to have to hurt you," Asuka
warned him.
"Right," Gendo was instantly back to being the cool looking
scientist. "Thank you for the information," he waved as he moved off to
go back to work.
'You know, I think he's actually getting crazier,' Asuka shook
her head as she slipped out of the Evangelion development lab and headed
down the hall.
"Asuka," a unfamiliar female voice called out. Asuka turned to
see a dark haired young woman jogging up the hall towards her,
recognizing her after a moment as Maya. "Sorry," Maya puffed, "thanks
for waiting."
"That's all right," Asuka replied. "What can I do for you?" she
asked. Maya blushed cutely, and Asuka had an odd mental flash of Rei
blushing that way.
"I wanted to thank you once again for forgiving me so easily
when I shot you down," Maya said softly, the two walking towards the
elevator.
"Nothing to forgive," Asuka said to her firmly, "I know it
wasn't your fault."
"So how are you settling back into being on duty?" Maya asked
curiously.
"Things have been pretty quiet," Asuka noted. "We haven't seen
an Angel for more than a week," she said with a soft sigh.
"You're worried?" Maya blinked.
"I don't trust the enemy to continue to just quietly follow us,"
Asuka said with a shrug, "they're up to something, I'm sure of it."
They stepped into the lift and Maya looked at Asuka, "What level
do you want?" She entered the code for her then put the one for the
bridge in. "Asuka," she asked hesitantly, "have you ever been in love
before?"
Asuka was struck with the crystal clear image of those almost
red eyes looking out at her caringly from Rei Ayanami's face. "No, I
haven't," she answered Maya, wondering why it almost felt like a lie
saying that.
Maya nodded slightly. "There's someone I care for," she said,
"whom I love, and we're planing to do something to symbolize it."
"Lucky man," Asuka said, wondering why Maya was telling her
this. Except for a few meetings before she was shot they barely knew
each other.
"It's a woman, actually," Maya flashed a smile. She tilted her
head to look up at the ceiling, "But the closer we get, the more nervous
I become...."
"And she's probably feeling the exact same thing," Asuka said
thoughtfully, "the girl you love, I mean. If I was getting... married,
or something like that, I'd be scared out of my wits. It's only natural,
I suppose."
"Really?" Maya looked at her in surprise.
"It's a big step you're taking," Asuka shrugged. They reached
her level and stepped out into the hallway, "Talk to her about it,
you'll both feel better."
Maya nodded. "Thank you," she called out as the elevator doors
closed.
"Asuka Langley, marriage councilor," she muttered to herself,
shaking her head. Asuka strode down the hall towards the ready room,
moving through the press of pilots until she reached where her wingmates
were waiting.
"Hey boss," Shinji gave her a grin. The brown haired young man
held his flight helmet in his hands, the casual manner hiding a
dangerous pilot.
"Asuka," Rei flashed one of her gentle smiles, the sort that she
seemed to reserve for Asuka herself. She tilted her head to the side and
asked, "So how was your visit with our good Doctor Ikari?"
"Not very helpful," Asuka said dryly. "I like his idea for a
Stealth Evangelion," she admitted as she sat down beside the other two,
"but not if it gets me shot down by our own guns." She paused for effect
before adding, "Again."
"That's my dad," Shinji shook his head with a sigh. He sat back
and said, "I've never been sure if his exposure to robotechnology did
that, or if he was odd to begin with." He looked over at Rei, "No
offense meant."
"None taken," Rei reassured him. She looked over at Asuka and
asked, "Do you think the enemy will attack soon?"
Asuka opened her mouth to answer when... a warning alarm cut
across the room. "Pilots to your aircraft," Ritsuko's clear voice
ordered, "enemy forces are on the move."
"Let's go," Asuka jumped to her feet, leading the charge into
the hanger. The three rushed to board their planes, Asuka patching
herself into the bridge. "Any Angel sightings?" Asuka asked as she
strapped herself into her seat.
"No Angels sighted yet," Ritsuko said crisply, "but I'll pass on
any sightings to your wing soonest. For now move to support any sectors
under heavy attack."
"There's No Angels at all?" Shinji echoed the information,
sounding oddly disappointed about it, somehow.
"Hoping to run into your friend Miriya again?" Rei suggested
archly.
"No I was not," Shinji shot back.
"Less chatter," Asuka said, trying to sound stern despite her
slight smile, "more action, please. Let's get into the air before
something else happens."
"Right," Shinji nodded sheepishly.
"Hai," Rei agreed.
A few moments later Asuka's red trimmed Evangelion fighter
rocketed out of the launch bay into the blue sky. On one side of her
Shinji's blue trimmed Evangelion soared smoothly, on the other Rei in
her infamous Skull One.
"Let's go kick some," Asuka commanded as they dove towards the
first flight of battlepods. Still, in the back of her mind she wondered,
'Where are the Angels?'
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