SOCIALLY IN ERROR

Mari breathed in feeling the pain as the simulated angels arms hit her in three places causing the Beta unit to slow as she tried to get out of the way of the shots only for it to creak as the beeper went off as she went out of sync causing it to judder violently.

She kicked the inside of the entry plug hard with her foot. "Why do you fucking suck!?" She looked up as Kaji's face shot up on her holographic screen, the older man eased up a finger shaking it. "Now, now be nice to Nerv technology Mari it's still expensive." Mari felt a sneer form. "Expensive more like stone age junk." Kaji breathed in deeply. "You know both Rei, Shinji and Asuka all trained in these things in fact once up on a time the Evangelion you're sitting in was once combat ready and even saw battle though not against angels but then this and the other ones were both base prototypes, Rei's and Shinji's, were the first real deals with those S² Engines which mean that you don't need cables."

Mari eased herself back in the seat taking hold of the controls. "Then why doesn't it work anymore, why does it go out of sync and shut down?" Kaji leaned back in his chair. "Asuka broke it." Mari rolled her eyes she was tired and that was the last thing she needed to hear she spoke not caring that her voice was thick with sarcasm. "What a surprise…princess broke it, I should have guessed."

Kaji leaned forward. "You know she might beat you up when she gets out of the hospital right?" Mari felt a wide smile form on her lips. "I'm personally looking forward to it, I've heard back when she wasn't a pathetic loner her beatings used to be legendary along with her sex life." Kaji looked up watching as the huge Beta unit started to move again from his position in the control station this station wasn't like the main one in central dogma it was outside off Nerv in a special building which could lower itself in to the ground along with the media and visitor centre.

The two huge training fields took up a massive amount of space both the training units and the advanced units could test there skills here and keep them sharp or try out new weapons and it was much better than older simulated training inside a four walled room. "You know very few people, unless they are a complete idiots want a beating from Asuka, it's not a pleasant experience, ask Shinji he'll tell you all about it as they both have history."

He looked down at his holographic panel retyping watching as the huge hologram which was mimicking one of the angels vanished as he reset the training field. "Plus you almost sound Jealous." Mari's face appeared on the screen opposite him up till now she'd only been voice. "Please don't insult my intelligence she's a grease monkey loner who lives out on farm land she has nothing I envy or desire." Kaji shook his head. "It's such a shame you weren't here in the beginning." Mari leaned forward in entry plug chair narrowing her gaze. "Why do you say that?”

Kaji sat up in his chair. "Because the Asuka we all know today is so far removed from the egotistic hot head we used to know. She's calmer and slightly more focused and just takes your constant insults yes she gets angry and tells you to shut up but that's it, the old Asuka had violent misdirected anger which included, hitting, threats and open insults and she would not have put up with you for a second." He raised an eyebrow. "May be you shouldn't wish for the old Asuka back the result for you might make your life very miserable." He typed watching as the hologram came up again. "The field has been reset." He leaned closer to the screen giving her a coy smile. "Oh and by the way your last score was sixty percent you're going to have to do way better."

He watched as she rolled her eyes as her image disappearing from his holographic screen he looked up watching on bigger screen as her Evangelion started moving trying to avoid the attacks from the simulated angel. "Such deluded arrogance."

He looked up as Misato came in he gave his best smile. "Why hello." Misato gave him a sad smile. "Hello Kaji." Kaji raised an eyebrow. "I assume by the look on your face that today has not been a good day." Misato breathed in sadly. "I just had to tell a twenty three year old woman that she may never see again in her left eye and could possibly loose it." She looked up just in time to watch as Mari's Beta unit was literally thrown across the floor of the training ground. "The worst part is that she took it so well, I expected her to cry, scream get angry but nothing." She pulled up a chair sitting in front of it so her arms were leaning against the seat rest. "She didn't even blame me for the accident and I'm the one who put her up to this."

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I mean she didn't even want to pilot the UN Alpha test unit, I nudged her into it I didn't even have to stroke her ego like I used to, I just brought her German coffee, even Rei and Shinji said it would be good for her." She looked down at the flashing hologram panels half ignoring Mari's dull grey Beta unit as it was thrown in to the training grounds separating wall only to hit the floor hard on its three eyed yellow face which was followed by her cursing in English which she couldn't make sense off. "Gendo's first choice was going to be Toji but I said Asuka would be better."

Kaji put a hand on his beard. "Toji would not have survived it and he's just not ready." He eased up his finger pointing at another dull yellow Evangelion with three orange eyes was running around on the opposite field to Mari trying to avoid holographic planes and tanks which were hitting it and since this was a simulation the bullets still hurt, even though in the real world they couldn't penetrate the armour but it was training for any situation and everyone knew Evangelion's could get their plating ripped off by angels he leaned over pressing the com on his panel. "Pay more attention to your right side Toji."

He watched as the Evangelion lifted his leg trending on a tank causing to blow up and vanish. "That's it." He watched as Toji's face came up on the holographic screen he smirking as he spokes "Thanks there like rats." He turned as Mari was thrown yet again only for her Evangelion to rumble and cut out he leaned over turning of the simulation. "Again Mari, get that heap of stone age junk as you called it to its feet." He eyed the scored panel. "Seventy five better but not good enough you need to push at least eighty."

Misato leaned over pressing a few buttons on his holographic panel to increase the difficulty of Mari's simulation. Kaji eyed her. "Isn't that a little mean?" Misato shrugged. "I don't care it makes me feel better." She leaned over pressing the speaker so Mari could hear her. "The British Nerv delegate just landed Mari, they want to speak to you I want you to run this simulation three more times and then you can see them, you know the room." Toji's image came up again as the big butch young man gave her a smile. "Hello Misato."

Misato gave him a wave he might be a strapping young man but he was polite and very well mannered. "Hello Toji." Mari's image suddenly popped up again. "Who is coming to see me?" she felt a sneer form on her lips. "Is it a man or a woman?" Misato stood up. "I don't know I didn't care to check." That was a lie it was a woman she watched as the grey Beta unit got to its feet. "Just be there Mari and when you're done you're to get back here and on this platform, your long hours are not done."

Kaji breathed in pressing buttons to turn it to silent so neither of the pilots could hear them talking. "It's like having Asuka all over again." Misato put her hands in her red jackets pockets. "No its not, at least we always knew where we stood with Asuka even when she was being an egotistical jackass, Mari's all smoke and mirrors I really hate it." She was about to say more only to stop as her phone went off she eased it up eyeing the message. "Asuka's grandmother's plane has just landed you'll have to excuse me." She took in a deep breath readying herself she was not looking forward to this one bit.

Asuka's grandmother was no nonsense person who didn't care for excuses and she could be very hard to deal with but she was going to be in a hell of a mood today and she was utterly dreading the meeting with her and the British delegate Alexandra because they didn't get on at all. She did however get on with general Marcus who was a really beaten up old war dog but he wasn't here today and she knew why it was because he just didn't want to face her wraith over what had happened with Asuka.

8

Misato walked up to the landing bay where the German war plane had landed the sliding door opened as a woman in her mid fifties got out. She had white plated long hair and a black army gear with black army boots because she clearly couldn't stand heels or skirts she wasn't very tall ether not that, that mattered much since what she lacked in height she made up with her temper which Asuka had very clearly inherited.

Word had she had in her youth been special forces and had seen a lot of ground combat before being snatched up by the Nerv branch she took a deep breath before walking towards her. "Geraldina Zeppelin we are so glad that your here." Geraldina gave her a cold look as she spoke evenly. "Please drop the formalities I'm not interested in them, where is my granddaughter?" Misato took in a deep breath meeting her eyes which were the same colour as Asuka's if anything they were proof of Asuka's heritage as she had seen images of her mother and Asuka looked nothing like her as she had, had blonde hair and green eyes. "Your granddaughter is in the hospital, we are putting all off our efforts into getting her well, she'll have the best health care money can buy."

Geraldina sneered not bothering to hide her disgust. "Maybe that help would have been better if you had not talked her in to testing the UN Alpha test unit in the first place, then I wouldn't be standing here right now having to talk with you and worried that my only granddaughter might not ever walk again and might have lost sight in her left eye permanently!" Misato eased up her hands. "It was my call and it was a bad call but believe me I did not talk her in to it the way you think I did and she wasn't Gendo's first choice, Toji was but Asuka was put forward because she could handle it better if anything went wrong because of her experience she's made of far stronger stuff than Toji he wouldn't have survived this." Geraldina breathed in painfully. "Yet you could have tested it with Rei or Shinji but you didn't."

Misato narrowed her gaze. "We both know why that happened I don't make the rules Gendo and Ritsuko do and they both wouldn't allow that option." Geraldina carried on walking watching as the other woman followed her. "Favouritism of the worst kind…my granddaughter is not expendable or throw away it's time they both realized that. My family has suffered greatly due to the Evangelion program so you people can reap the rewards and if Asuka's grandfather my late husband were still alive he would want her off this program." She took in a painful breath. "I on the other hand realize what it is to sacrifice for my country and I know that if I pulled her off this program she would hate me forever because this is where her heart is and I will never take that away from her as long as she lives." She met the taller Japanese woman's gaze. "The last time we stood here I didn't mind so much because Asuka was injured during battle and fighting to save this world, its one thing to die in the glory of the battle but its quite another to be injured because of another stupid pilot who seems to have issues."

She felt her whole body tense. "Don't think I have not seen the image of that pilot cracking my granddaughter's entry plug that web feed has haunted my every waking moment since I woke up to this mess and I know a purposely placed kill shot when I see one." She looked at her hand which was missing the third finger as it had been blown off long ago in battle. "I've killed enough of my enemies to know what it is to be the one firing that gun but I believe you should fire on the enemy not your own side and I will have retribution for this action believe me when I say the British division of Nerv has a lot of explaining to do and when I'm done with them I'll see my granddaughter." Misato breathed in deeply normally with delegates it was all just hot air but she knew better Geraldina meant every damn word she never ever bluffed.

8

Mari sat in the small office she really hated this room it was so confided and it reminded her off some school yard teacher's room but she had no choice being here and she was feeling so tired right now. She heard the door click behind her she turned only for her smile to fade in an instant as a blonde haired woman in her forties walked in dressed in a brown suite with a short skirt and high heels walked in with a truly pissed off expression on her face. Mari folded her farms great it wasn't Marcus the head director of the British Nerv but his second in command Alexandra and they had never gotten on. "No Marcus?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Alexandra moved slamming her suite case down hard in front of the table as she sat down looking Mari dead in the face as she put her hands together. "You know what really pisses me off Mari?" Mari adjusted her glasses. "Wearing that skirt and high heels?"

Alexandra opened her suite case pulling a bunch of news paper throwing them in front of her violently. "No being woken up at two of clock in the morning with the prime minister breathing down my neck because you fucked up big time and it's splashed over every newspaper along with every news feed on the world wide web and very news station imaginable! The worst part is you could have been today's hero rather than its villain if that UN Alpha test unit had been unpiloted." She looked up slightly. "It wasn't though was it? You nearly killed the German division's pilot!"

She stood up. "What in your right mind compelled you to stick her entry plug in your Evangelion's mouth and crack it?" She eased up hand. "Because you know that's the image the media is running with right now, do you have any idea how much shit I'm going to have clean up today because of your little conflict of interest?" She felt a cold sneer form. "I'm going to have to apologise to Gendo himself and pray he doesn't punish us for this, then I have to speak to the German divisions leader who by the way is Asuka's grandmother and hope that she forgives for us for mangling her granddaughter!"

She folded her arms. "I get it problem child it's all one big joke to you, its all fun and games because you get to play hero in your pink monster but for us it's yards of paper work, for us its trillions of pounds per day outfitting your machine and paying for your bullets. It cost us so much money to have that thing built and specially made for you and British tax payers are still paying for your joy ride every day, Marcus is very soft with you he's an old war dog and he lets you get away with a lot because he loves that you're crazy."

She breathed in deeply. "I personally don't like you but out of all the three pilots tested you were the best but those other pilots are still gagging at the bit to get on the Evangelion program as they are our reserves." Mari tensed meeting her cold gaze. "You won't swap me out for them." Alexandra shook her head. "Sadly no we can't, because if we did that we'd have wasted so much money on building your toy and maintaining it that we can't afford to ask the government for another hand out because of what yours cost us and if the division is shut down we only get you back not your toy."

"That will stay here in Japan and be dismantled because its expensive insides which we paid for can be used to rebuild other units and we don't get what Nerv promised which is the first small power core sized S² Engine prototypes because both us Germany, Ukraine and China had joint construction in the creation of the large version which powers your toy and the other pilots and I can't tell you how much other countries want this technology and not just for weapons this will make power core technology obsolete, no more recharging cores in your garage over night, this will bring about the founding of clean safe energy. This is a big deal for us and all countries involved in Nerv will be first to get this and the whole world will be begging for it its going to make the countries involved very rich and there will be a lot of commerce and trade." She looked up slightly. "We might actually pay off the dept for your toy and have an easier time making house sized bullets for your guns." She sat down seeing that Mari had gone very quite. "Our cover story is that your unit had a fault and that bullshit is only just riding public wise."

She eyed her for a long moment. "Which brings me to our other issue, did you hack the unit? Because I've been told by Misato that it's a very real possibility and from what I'm told tampering units from the inside is very serious they have outside control for a reason."

Mari folded her arms leaning over the table. "No." Alexandria leaned closer to her. "Don't lie to me one off the things that got you noticed was your hacking and coding skills which if we both remember right you were using to hack the secret service from some ones basement they had you arrested and you would have served jail time." She breathed in deeply. "But then Marcus had this idea that you might do well in an Evangelion sync test and what do you know he was right and you got off totally free of your crimes which would have gotten you locked up for a very long time."

She raised her hand. "You're lucky that you're sitting across from me now and not sitting in a cold jail cell serving time. So you'll tell me right now if you hacked the unit because if you did I can at least explain to Gendo about your colourful little hacker back history and he might be less annoyed."

Mari looked down at the table. "Okay I hacked it." Alexandra looked down sadly. "I'm so disappointed in you right now Mari, I thought you were over this childish joy ride where every damn computer system is a challenge for your ego." Mari looked down feeling the pain rip at her chest she hated being called a child.

Alexandra put her hand on the desk. "How did you hack it the details are very important here." Mari tensed sharply. "I hacked the coding internally I over rode the safety parameters it meant that they couldn't shut me down because I deleted the code at my end." Alexandra pulled out a small tablet from her suitcase handing it to her. "I thought as much, now write down the code you used on this device because then the scientist's and specialists here will ensure that you don't do it ever again." Mari breathed in sadly as she turned on the tablet slowly writing down the code.

Alexandra eyed her. "The only good that's going to come out of this Mari is now we'll be able to muscle in on the UN over their unit's failure and they might just give us what we want for once." Mari looked up hating her smirk, this was why she hated politics and politicians no matter what country they came from they from it was just about one person jutting for position and power and they didn't care about anyone but themselves.

She preferred military commander's like Marcus they weren't about all this bullshit and she always knew where she stood. "I don't really care for politics Alexandra, we both know that." Alexandra turned to her. "Maybe you should start because when this war with the angels is finally over, there could be a very cozy seat for you beside the prime minister concerning weapons division or if that doesn't interest you, you could head up the secret service division in one of the best branches in British intelligence then you can spend the rest of your miserable life hacking in to every ones secrets and pulling stunts like this, the difference is no one will care because you'll be doing it for your country."

Mari raised the tablet. "I've finished." Alexandra snatched it from her hand. "This better all be here Mari because I swear if you've left one snippet of code out any punishment Nerv is giving you right now I'll make it ten times worse, because I will not be fucked over again by you problem child." Mari folded her arms. "Still sore about that other time, what can I say it was a judgment error." Alexandria leaned forward. "I don't see shutting down an ancient nuclear reactor as a judgment error on your part more a like a total fuck up, you almost caused a melt down because of your so called missing line of code." Mari moved her chair back. "As fun as this has been can I leave now?" Alexandra narrowed her gaze. "No you can't, you're going up to the main office with me there you can explain all of what you've told me to Gendo, Ritsuko and Asuka's grandmother!"

8

"I'm not interested in your pitiful excuses or your formal apologies this pilot here tried to kill my granddaughter!"

Misato stood in the centre of the room feeling truly deflated she could see Gendo and Ritsuko sitting at the joint desk showing very little emotion on one side she had Alexandra while on the other side was Geraldina. Mari was squarely in the middle and if anything she looked completely out of her depth but then this was her first time up here and she knew how scary this place was for the pilots because when they were brought up here it meant they were really in trouble and it could mean your termination from the program.

Alexandria eyed the German woman who was clearly not in the mood for anyone today. "Please I can explain everything." Geraldina folded her arms she hated politicians and it was clear as day to her that Marcus had sent his second rather than himself because he wanted to avoid her for whatever reason. "Yes please explain it to me Alexandra, explain to me how my only granddaughter's entry plug was in your pink monstrosities mouth being crushed like a tin can while she was screaming in agony inside." Alexandra pulled up her tablet. "Mari hacked the Evangelion she over rode the safety protocols and deleted the code at her end the problem child made it so you couldn't shut her down from the outside."

She passed the tablet to Misato. "All of her code is in here I made sure she left nothing out, I'm sure your technicians can put in a protocol to stop hacks like this in future. Believe me this is not my first horse race with this young woman, she's had issues like this for a long time though you may not be aware of them."

Misato moved handing the tablet to Ritsuko who looked it over ignoring Mari's cold gaze. "Oh really do tell me about that because I didn't know, our records only show that the secret service had her tested for the Evangelion program."

Alexandra breathed in deeply. "Yes and that is accurate what your records sadly fail to show is her rather problematic history before that, we kept it a secret because we thought she might be rejected from the program though we thought she would be much smarter and not behave this way." She looked down at floor. "Mari was a hacker and a very good one what got her caught was when she the hacked secret services branches and they really didn't take well to it." She turned to Mari who looked really uncomfortable now. "She was hacking in trying to obtain government secrets to sell to the dark side of the web." She folded her arms. "After her father left and her mother became a raging alcoholic who was later murdered Mari was left stranded in the worst part of a London district which meant that she needed cash because she couldn't stand living like that." She put her hands behind her back. "She would have served a massive prison sentence if Marcus had not tested her on the Evangelion program, even though I personally believed that she was the wrong choice and it should have been one of Marcus's two teenage military candidates who are both disciplined and don't have these kinds of childish emotional issues." She took in a deep breath meeting Mari's cold gaze. "But Marcus insisted that she was better than the both of them and that her hacking back ground made her the better candidate, though again I disagree."

She stepped forward. "Mari's hacking antics have always caused issues, some of us over in Britain didn't take to kindly to her tampering with an old nuclear reactor and almost causing a melt down which though she stopped last moment she still saw the whole thing as a game not that innocent people might die." She straightened her suite. "Ether way we thought this behaviour of hers would end once she got on the Evangelion program and we thought it had but we were seriously mistaken."

Geraldina felt a cold sneer form on her lips. "Well thanks to your little verficktes oversight my granddaughter is now lying in the hospital wing." Ritsuko lowered the tablet. "Impressive Mari I had an assistant once and she couldn't pull off a hack like this." She looked up. "The question is have you ever hacked in to the Magi system here at all? You should think very carefully about your answer." Mari tensed. "No I've never hacked the Magi system, why would I care about the Magi system? I only hacked the Evangelion because I wanted to know how it ran and what all the codes were." Ritsuko took in a deep breath. "Hacking Evangelion's is one thing but it ever find you tampering with the Magi system you won't remain on this program at all, I will have you packing your bags and shipped back to Britain."

Geraldina stepped forward eyeing Gendo. "My family has sacrificed for your program first me then my daughter and now my granddaughter, you owe me and my division and you know what I want Gendo we talked about this from the start its time you paid up because I'm so tired of waiting on your promises when I know you have the money."

Gendo breathed in deeply. "Very well you get more money for your division so you have an easier time building 02's weapons which should silence any issues in your country but like the other counties you wont get the S² Engine prototype right now and it will be another six months before you do." He turned slowly to Alexandra. "Your pilot will remain here she currently being punished for her digressions but you will never ever keep back ground information like this on pilots from us again if you do I will make your division suffer for it." Alexandra raised her hand. "But like I said Mari would have never made the program." Gendo pushed up his glasses. "No she would have, because many of our pilot's pasts are less than savoury and we pick them for their syncing that is all we care about here."

Geraldina turned eyeing Alexandra. "Maybe its time you taught this young woman here that being a great warrior means you don't cock your leg up and piss all over others." She turned eyeing Gendo coldly. "As for me since I'm done with the lot of you, I'm going to visit my granddaughter and I swear if this happens again I will see blood spill." Misato watched as she left slamming the door behind her.

Gendo stood up calmly. "You all have your answers now go." He eyed Mari. "That includes you and I better not see you up here again any time soon."

End of part 4

Silvermoonlight