NERV

Ritsuko glanced down at the monitor with a sigh. As expected, everything was fine, everything was optimal and uniform, just as things always were when it came to dealing with Rei. There were no anomalies, and the recovery process was just as scheduled, not before and not after.

It was good, Ritsuko didn’t want there to be any anomalies because she wanted the best for Rei. She wanted Rei to be healthy and most of all, happy but she was frustrated. Sure, the LCL chamber and Borg regeneration tech present in the room did the job of helping Rei heal, but the sickbay aboard the USS Tokyo could have done that too!

In addition, aboard the Tokyo, Rei would have gotten what Ritsuko felt she needed more of, actual human interaction.

She sipped from her coffee, the black liquid was starting to grow cold, much like the room itself. Ritsuko tapped the communicator on the desk, “Regeneration cycle is complete Rei, we’re all done here.”

“Thank you doctor.” Came Rei’s monotone reply.

Ritsuko leaned back in her seat as she waited for Rei to come back into the main room and let out another sigh, she felt absolutely rotten, and it was for a variety of reasons.

She had been, and still was, avoiding Misato. Her guilt for all the lies and subterfuge she had been doing since Misato had arrived getting to her, even more so now that she had decided to jump right back into a relationship with the Tokyo’s captain.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t have what she felt were good reasons, but ever since that encounter with Q the other day, Ritsuko was wondering if those reasons were good enough. Wondering if it might be worth letting Misato in on everything and saying to hell with the consequences. Taking that, as Q called it, leap of faith.

‘It’s easy for a god to say things like that, especially gods without little brothers being held hostage.’

Kyo.

Ritsuko had been shocked when she learned about Kyo, the little brother her mother had had in secret whilst a part of NERV. She had never even met him, but she had been told about him and she knew the special interest others had in him.

Kyo was in danger and supposedly being kept safe and hidden away thanks to Gendo and Fuyutsuki’s efforts. It was their way of keeping Ritsuko on a tight leash, if she dared to go against them, the location of Kyo would be revealed and bad things would happen.

Ritsuko wasn’t entirely sure just what was special about Kyo and why people were after him, but she had seen enough of her mother’s research notes to know the boy was special. He had been experimented on, poked and prodded with tech found when researching the Angels. It was ethically wrong and absurd; it flew in the face of Federation bans on genetic enhancement, but Ritsuko supposed her mother didn’t care about such things.

There had been the temptation to tell Misato, but Ritsuko knew exactly what would happen if she did.

‘She’d drop everything and go and find him. She’d put him, me, her in danger just to help me. She wouldn’t stop under she found him and made me happy. God, I love that woman.’

She shook her head. She’d never be able to forgive herself if she put Misato in danger like that. It hurt to know that any decision she made seemed to be the wrong one.

There was also the subject of Rei. Another reason to feel rotten.

Upon her arrival at NERV, Ritsuko had been placed in charge of managing Rei’s health. Ritsuko had taken it upon herself to try to push Rei forward, recognizing that the former Borg was a person, not just a tool and she deserved to be able to explore that side of herself.

Gendo did not share that desire, preferring to keep Rei isolated and limiting her interactions with others. This extended to her medical treatments which were almost always done in isolation.

It had been explained to Ritsuko that the reason for this was to protect Rei from others who might not be too kind towards the ex-Borg, Ritsuko thought it was bullshit, the only way to challenge people’s prejudice was to give them a reason to see how ridiculous that prejudice is but Rei wasn’t being given the chance to prove anyone wrong.

All the people saw was the Commanders favourite getting preferential treatment. All they saw was a former Borg drone walking around, making no effort to interact with the lower denizens, putting themselves above others. All Rei got was filthy looks and sarcastic remarks.

Rei finally stepped into the room, wearing her NERV uniform once again and her expression as unreadable as always.

“Are you feeling okay Rei?”

“I seem to be in optimum health again, thank you doctor.” Rei replied.

Ritsuko gave a nod, “Good to hear, have you got any plans for the rest of the day?”

“I have been told to return to my quarters until it is time to have dinner with the commander.”

“I see.” Ritsuko frowned, “And… is that what you want to do?”

“That is what I have been asked to do, what I want is not relevant.”

Ritsuko shook her head, “Humour me, if you weren’t going to return to your quarters, what would you like to do instead?”

“I… do not know.”

“Well, what do you like to do?”

Rei tilted her head, a rather cat-like motion Ritsuko mused, to think about her answer. It took a few moments, but Rei finally replied, “I think I would like to be outside.”

“Well, that’s something.” Ritsuko nodded, “What about being with other people?”

“I have not given that much thought.”

“I have yourself and the commander. Is that not ‘other people’?”

“True, but… I was thinking about people beyond myself and the commander. People your own age, people who aren’t from this colony who have different experiences to you.”

Rei did not answer, so Ritsuko continued, “Look Rei, I was asked to look after your health and for me that means not just your physical but also your mental health. I want to help you beyond just sticking you in a chamber to heal your wounds. I want to help you develop your human side.”

“My human side…”

Ritsuko nodded, “I know we’ve had conversations like this before Rei. I’ve asked you to listen to music, check out novels and holodeck programs but we’ve always fallen short of one of the key things I think you need, interaction with other people.”

“The commander has always recommended against it.”

“I know, and I understand why. He cares for you and doesn’t want you to get hurt, and I don’t either.” Ritsuko replied, “I’m aware there are people who look at you and…”

“Hate me?”

“I wasn’t going to put it so strongly.” Ritsuko couldn’t help but pick up on the hint of sadness in Rei’s answer, “But yes, they might perceive you incorrectly but… the Tokyo has a whole crew there who don’t know you. People fresh out of the academy who are around your age, and maybe don’t harbor the same prejudice. It might be a good opportunity for you.”

“Would doing such a thing be of benefit to my ability to carry out the commanders’ orders?”

“It would be of benefit to you. We don’t just exist to follow orders Rei.”

“I am not sure Commander Ikari would approve of such distractions.”

“It’s not about distractions, it’s about growth. Forging friendships and relationships can help us grow and be better people, it can make us happy.”

“Like your friendship with Captain Katsuragi makes you happy?”

Ritsuko was a little bit taken aback but smiled, “Yes, much like my friendship with Misato makes me happy.”

“I see.” Rei tilted her head again to think about it, “I am afraid I would not know where to start with such a thing.”

“Well, the obvious place would probably be talking to your fellow pilots.” Ritsuko answered, “Speak to Shinji or Asuka. After all, you’re going to be working with them a lot more closely going forward.”

“Pilot Ikari… The commanders son…” Rei spoke, “I… do not feel he likes me. He asked me about his father and seemed to get mad at my answer.”

Ritsuko raised a curious eyebrow, “What was it you said to him?”

“I told him that he did not understand the work his father did and that it was his father who saved me.”

“Well, I can understand why that might have upset Shinji.” Ritsuko started to explain, “Shinji and his father don’t really have the best relationship.”

“He said that his father abandoned him.” Rei answered, “This does not correlate with the Commander Ikari that I know.”

“Well, unfortunately it is true.” Ritsuko answered truthfully, “He left him on Earth at a time when Shinji needed him most. Shinji had a good family raising him but it’s still going to leave a mark. Shinji wants and deserves answers, he wants to know why he was left behind.”

“I did not believe him.” Rei glanced downwards.

“The commander had made you aware of Shinji in the past, right?”

“Yes, he told me shortly after I was brought to NERV that he had a son living on Earth. That he was being kept safe and that I would get to meet him one day.”

“The commander left out a few convenient details, huh?” Ritsuko shook her head, “Well, you weren’t to know, and I can understand why you look up to him. He saved you, brought you here and gave you a home and a purpose.”

“Yes.”

“I know you feel loyal to him, but he doesn’t own you. You’re your own person, and that starts by forging friendships and relationships. For what it’s worth, I think you should speak to Shinji again, find out who he is, you never know, you might be able to do something for him and the commander.”

“I am afraid I would now know what to do.”

“Welcome to being every sentient being in the galaxy.” Ritsuko smiled, “You’ll figure it out Rei, but don’t give up with it. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it.”

Holodeck 2

Asuka held the bat’leth firmly in her hands and surveyed the scene around her. The cave reeked of combat. There were scorch marks burnt into the walls, left behind by phaser fire from the pirates that called this place their hideout. There were severed limbs and green bloodstains across the floor, made by the creatures that inhabited the caves.

All the pirates had been defeated, the ones that weren’t dead had fled. It was all over, and Asuka stood victorious.

“Computer, end program.” Asuka commanded the computer. She was out of breath, sweating profusely but she felt good. Not just good, but better than she had in weeks.

These last few weeks had been incredibly testing. When she had come aboard the Tokyo, there had been a lot of optimism and confidence. She had graduated from the academy with high grades, in some cases the best in her class. Her piloting skills in particular had been exemplary with many touting her for a famous career as a helmsman.

Whilst Asuka was certainly interested in showcasing her skills in such an area, she didn’t want to just stop at helm. Asuka wanted to be a captain at some point. She wanted to reach the same level as the greats, the Archers, the Kirks and Picard's of the world. She wanted to have a legacy.

The USS Tokyo had seemed like the perfect place to start that journey. It was a special vessel, an upgrade on the famous Galaxy class. Asuka herself was one of the first picks made by Captain Katsuragi, so that only bolstered her optimism. Not only that, but Captain Katsuragi had picked her to train Shinji.

It seemed like an easy gig, after all she knew just how good she was, so she’d whip him into shape in no time. She’d take the plaudits for it and be on her way to Lieutenant.

Only, it hadn’t been quite that easy. Shinji hadn’t been easy to ‘whip into shape’, and it wasn’t exactly his fault. Asuka knew that it wasn’t a problem with him, it was all on her and her methods.

This has been dent number one in her confidence.

Dent number two had come a couple of weeks after starting to train him. It was the incident on the holodeck when some unknown saboteur ruined their training exercise in front of the captain. Not only by rigging up a situation to hurt Shinji, but also by exposing her biggest fear and making her look weak in front of Shinji and the captain.

‘I was powerless... useless... Never again.’

The third dent had come when she had been fooled by Q into taking the captains yacht and going down to that godforsaken planet. With this one she knew it wasn’t necessarily her fault but that was cold comfort to her. All she kept on telling herself was that she should have done better throughout the entire thing. She should have slowed down and listened.

The words of her father, her remaining family and their friends came back to haunt her. All along they had told her she’d never make anything of herself. That she was selfish and weak. They told her she was a coward for what happened to her mum.

‘They all doubted me... I nearly proved them all right too. I didn’t listen to Shinji... I didn’t give him a chance. I froze up and I nearly broke down! I can’t let them be right!’

The fourth moment had come whilst they were on the planet. It was the nightmare, she wasn’t exactly a stranger to nightmares, but normally no one was around to see her experience the aftermath of them. It was why she never shared a bunk or quarters with anyone, but of course, of all people Shinji would be the first to see it. Shinji would of course be the first to see the mark slip and learn that she was just as scared as any other person.

‘He saw it and heart it all... I can’t let that happen again.’

Finally, she had let the mask slip in front of her own captain, the one person, aside from Shinji, that she absolutely did not want to have that happen in front of. She had almost cried and broken down in front of the woman, not only that but she had admitted to all the mistakes she made. Asuka was surprised that Katsuragi hadn’t sent her back to Earth there and then, but instead Katsuragi had been sympathetic and told her to use all of that to be better.

It was something Asuka was absolutely determined to do.

‘I won’t let that happen again. I’m going to be better.’

Her path to that started with the Evangelion class ship, waiting for her back down at NERV. Asuka was going to be its brand new pilot and she was going to show exactly who she was and what she was capable of. Every doubter she had was going to be proven wrong. Everyone who said she wasn’t capable and mocked her was going to be proven wrong.

Not only that but she was determined to help Shinji and Rei, to push them and herself so the three of them would be better. She was part of something special now, the captains words had lit a fire under her. Normally she’d ignore or dismiss people like that, but something about Katsuragi was different, she was just like Asuka, a survivor.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

‘Ensign Soryu, report to transporter room 3 please. You are needed at NERV.’

Asuka took a deep breath before tapping her combadge, this was the moment she had been waiting for.

“Soryu here, I’m on my way.”

NERV

Shinji wasn’t sure that he’d ever get used to wearing these plugsuits whenever had had to pilot or do one of these sync tests. They were skintight and uncomfortable, a far cry from the Starfleet uniforms or casual clothing he was used to wearing. He stepped out of the men’s locker room, just in time to see Rei approaching.

He felt a little bit awkward, not just because of the skintight plugsuit, but because he remembers how they had parted last time they spoke. It wasn’t on the best terms. Rei had seemed angry with him, and not long after that she had gotten seriously hurt. Naturally Shinji had blamed himself for her being hurt, but felt guilty that if the worst had happened, he’d had made her angry.

“Ayanami!” He gave an awkward nod towards her, “Are you okay now? I heard you got hurt...”

“I am fine now.” Rei answered, “Doctor Akagi has seen to it that my injuries are now healed, I should be back to full efficiency.”

Shinji couldn’t suppress his frown, it was strange to hear someone describe themselves in terms of efficiency, but he supposed Rei wasn’t exactly a normal person.

“Um... Rei, maybe now isn’t the best time...” He trailed off, wondering if he should really go through with this. Now genuinely didn’t feel like the best time, they were due to undergo a sync test and here he was, stood in a skintight outfit feeling exposed and awkward.

Unfortunately, he had already started to speak, and his brain wasn’t going to stop him, “I think I... well when I saw you last time, I wanted to apologize for upsetting you. I don’t really know much about you and my father, and I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

Rei tilted her head, “Do you care about your father?”

“Of course I do!” Shinji answered, “I just find it hard to think that he might care about me. He left me behind when I was a kid. I barely heard from him growing up and I’m angry at him!”

“Your father saved my life.” Rei’s expression did not change but Shinji could hear a little pang of sadness in the woman’s voice, “He gave me a chance to live when others, including those here right now, would prefer I had no chance.”

“Others would... prefer you didn’t?”

“Because of what I was, I was Borg.”

“Oh... Of course!” Shinji shook his head, “But that’s not fair! You couldn’t control being a Borg, and it’s not like you’re a drone anymore! You’ve changed!”

“Your father has told me a similar thing.” Rei answered.

“He did?”

“Yes.” Rei nodded, “Not long after I was liberated from the Collective, there was an incident with a technician. They threw green paint over me and claimed I was a murderer. It was... upsetting.”

“That’s horrible!” Shinji felt himself getting angry, “How could someone do something like that?”

“Your father was displeased with him. It is the only time I have seen him as, what you would call... angry.” Rei added, “He broke the technicians jaw.”

It was Shinji’s turn to tilt his head, “No way? He actually did that?”

Rei nodded, “He is like me... he is not always good at expressing things. Dr Akagi has referred to him as cold several times. People think I am the same, but I am just not sure of what I should say or do in situations. I am not human, nor am I Borg. I exist in between.”

“It sounds difficult.” Shinji shook his head, “Well Rei I... I don’t think you’re like that, and I don’t hate you for what you are. If anything, I’d like to be your friend.”

“My friend?” Rei nodded, “I think... I would like that. Dr Akagi has said it would be good for me to have friends.”

“It can be nice.” Shinji smiled, “And look I... I’m sorry about what happened to you during that fight... I should have been there.”

Rei looked at him blankly, “I do not understand.”

“I just... well you had to fight that thing alone. I should have been there to help you.”

“But you were unable to do so because of the being known as Q.” Rei replied, “He made it impossible, so there is no need to apologize.”

“I guess... I just... feel bad about it.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s an idiot, that’s why!”

The two of them turned towards the source of the new voice and saw Asuka had entered the waiting area, clutching a bright red object under her arm and grinning.

“Shinji, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, why don’t you run along and make yourself useful. Like go and see if they’re ready for us, and if not get us some snacks for afterwards!”

“Us?”

“Yes, us!” Asuka confirmed, “Oh, of course! You haven’t been told yet, have you? You are looking at the pilot of the brand new Evangelion class ship! From today onwards, I will be going into battle alongside the two of you in my very own ship. So naturally, I expect the very best from the two of you, and I will of course be at my best.”

“You’re a pilot now?”

“Yes!” She nodded, “Now if you’d please make yourself scarce, I need to speak to Ayanami about something!”

“Oh, but I can wa- “

Asuka turned to Shinji and locked eyes onto him, “Important stuff.”

Shinji got the hint, “I… okay!”

Shinji quickly removed himself from the room leaving both Asuka and Rei alone. Asuka took a moment to ready herself, not exactly relishing the next few moments. Apologizing was never easy; it was a matter of pride. To apologize would be to admit she did something wrong, which she did, but she hated to admit it.

It was also because it was Rei. She was trying to push it aside, but Rei represented a lot of what Asuka hated and feared. Deep down Asuka knew it didn’t matter. Rei was ultimately a person, just as she was. She wasn’t Borg anymore and yet the sight of those implants made Asuka feel queasy.

“Ayanami, me and you got off on the wrong foot.” Asuka started to speak, “I think we should have a fresh start, especially if we’re going to be piloting together. It’d be best if there were no bad feelings.”

The words were out, and they sounded odd coming from Asuka’s lips. Not least of all because she had rehearsed it so many times, she was sick of thinking about them. Yet, she did mean it, she knew it was the path to better things.

Rei looked back at her blankly, or perhaps with a look of suspicion. Asuka wouldn’t have blamed here, she had hardly endeared herself to the woman on their first meeting.

“A fresh start?”

“Yeah, you know… as friends!”

Rei felt something strange on hearing those words, just as she had done when Shinji had asked to be friends too. They elicited a little feeling inside her stomach not a bad one, but a warm sensation.

For Asuka, the words felt weird. She had never really initiated friendship with anyone willingly. People had always come to her and she had always pushed them away. Aside from Hikari, who was stubborn enough to not leave Asuka’s side and managed to be the one person Asuka could call a friend.

“I… I think I would like that.” Rei answered softly.

“Well, there you go, the three of us as friends!” Asuka grinned.

“You and Ikari…” Rei started to speak, “You are not like others I have encountered.”

“In what way?”

“You do not seem to fear me or hate me for what I am.” Rei replied, “No one here has offered friendship.”

“Because you’re former Borg?” Asuka felt herself frown.

Rei nodded.

“Yeah, well people need to get over it.” Asuka continued, not quite believing it was her of all people who was saying this. Yet, it wasn’t because of what Rei was, it was because of the reaction. Asuka knew how it felt to be in that position, to be judged for something beyond her control.

“It’s not like you’re a Borg anymore! You can’t assimilate people or anything like that.”

“Actually, my assimilation tubules are still in operation. If required I could create an assimilation like effect on an individual.”

Asuka shuddered, “Probably best to keep that to yourself going forward. Look I just mean… you’re not one of them anymore, are you? So, if people can’t accept that, then they’re idiots.”

“I see.”

Misato's Quarters

“Enter!” Misato ordered, rubbing her temples and feeling ever so slightly annoyed that someone was interrupting her during her few hours of downtime.

‘A captain is never off duty.’

She sighed, musing on the advice passed down to her from her previous captain. It was one of the more inconvenient truths of being a starship captain. Normally she’d have time for her crew, but today she just wanted to have a bit of time to relax.

Much to her surprise though, it was not one of her crew that stepped into her quarters but Ritsuko instead. It had been a few days since she had seen Ritsuko properly, in fact the last time she had seen her was when she had learned about Asuka being selected to pilot one the newest Evangelion.

She didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed at the sight of her lover. They were supposed to be rekindling their romance, but it was hard to have such a thing when one of them is actively avoiding the other.

Misato folded her arms deciding she was more annoyed than happy, “Let me guess, Commander Ikari wants something? Well tell him to shove it.”

“I’m not here because of Commander Ikari.” Ritsuko sighed as the door closed behind her, “I’m here to see you, and because I owe you an apology. Several apologies to be exact.”

“Go on...”

“I’m sorry for vanishing suddenly when the nuQanjaj arrived. I’m sorry for not telling you that Asuka was going to be selected as a pilot and I’m sorry for demanding Rei be released from your sickbay. It was all...”

“Commander Ikari’s fault?” Misato frowned, “Forget it. I’m mad about it all but I’m madder that you have been silent for the last few days! You could have at least been in touch to say... anything!”

“I couldn’t!” Ritsuko answered, “There has been... I don’t know, but something has triggered the commander recently. He’s tightened security around me and they’re monitoring more outgoing communications. I can’t even risk our secret channel, it’s almost as if something has spooked him.”

“Do you think it might be related to Q?” Misato asked, “Or even the mystery saboteur?”

“Maybe.” Ritsuko shrugged, “He’s had me purely on getting Rei back on her feet the last few days. I’ve had to have an escort assigned to me at all times when wandering the facility.”

“That doesn’t sound normal Rits.”

“I know.” Ritsuko shook her head, “I know him and Fuyutsuki suspect us of rekindling our relationship. It might be an attempt to stop it or make sure I stay focused on what he wants, but it seems strange.”

“I’ll keep an eye on things up here, see if maybe we can figure it out.” Misato gave a nod, “What about Rei, you mentioned she’s back on her feet.”

Ritsuko smirked, “Yeah, as healthy as ever. Gendo probably won’t be happy with me though.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Gendo likes to keep Rei on a tight leash. He may have liberated her from the Borg, but it seems like he’d prefer to keep her where she is.” Ritsuko shook her head, “I however don’t share that wish. She’s human now, she should experience human things. I’ve been trying to... encourage her.”

“Oh?” Misato unfolded her arms, “Is this for her or a way to get at him?”

“A little bit of column A and column B.” Ritsuko laughed, “I care about her. I’ve seen what others are like around her and she deserves to be treated better. I don’t know if Ikari keeps her like she is for her protection or because he’s an asshole, but she deserves better. She wasn’t liberated from a prison just to go into another one.”

“So, what did you do?”

“Encouraged her to make friends, said there is an entire crew of people her age here, including her fellow pilots.” Ritsuko shrugged, “Whether she’ll do it, I don’t know but I wanted to plant the seed.”

“Won’t he be mad if she suddenly... I dunno... gets a boyfriend or girlfriend here?”

“Probably.” Ritsuko answered, “And I’ll probably get the blame, but for all the things I’ve done wrong, I want to make sure I do at least one thing right. Besides, if she has better relationships with people, it’ll make her a better pilot and we need those pilots to be as good as they can be.”

“True.” Misato gave a nod, “So if you have to have escorts everywhere, how did you manage to get up here?”

“Made up a reason that I had to speak to Ikari and Soryu about a few things related to their sync test. It's not entirely untrue. I do need to speak to Soryu about a few things including booking her in for an activation of the ship and first run. Of course, that’ll take about ten minute, but they don’t need to do that.”

“So how long do you have?”

“About three hours.”

“More than long enough.” Misato moved forward quickly, in that brief moment any anger she had towards Ritsuko fading away. The two women embraced, with Misato’s hands quickly finding themselves all over Ritsuko’s body, grasping and squeezing at her backside, her thighs and sliding up her back.

Their entire world melted away as they stood, locked in a passionate kiss. Their hands enjoying every single curve of one another's bodies. Little moans escaped their lips as their hands and fingers fluttered over more sensitive parts of their bodies. Misato subtly started to move the two of them back towards the wall, pinning her lover up against it.

She broke the kiss, looking deeply into Ritsuko’s eyes, “I missed you Rits.”

“I miss you too Misa-”

Ritsuko was cut off by the sound of the rooms intercom going off, “Bridge to Captain Katsuragi.”

“Fuck.” Misato cursed.

“Well, I was hoping for it...” Ritsuko said with an air of disappointment, “You’d better answer it.”

Misato cursed again and moved to her desk, tapping the combadge that lay there, “Captain Katsuragi here! What is it?”

Ibuki’s voice came through, “Captain, your presence is required on the bridge immediately. We have several Angel vessels inbound.”

“Fuck.” Misato cursed again and looked towards Ritsuko.

Ritsuko nodded, “Fuck.”

Bridge

"Aoba, bring us to red alert and get those vessels on screen. Show me what we’re dealing with here.” Misato had barely stepped off of the turbolift before dishing out orders.

“Aye captain.” The siren indicating red alert status sounded and the bridge lights dimmed as the viewscreen shown the vessels, “Seeing two of the Sachiel Class ships we’ve encountered before, and a third, as yet unknown vessel.”

Misato moved around to her seat, sitting down and studying the imposing forms of the ships sent by the Angels. Just as Aoba had said, there were the two familiar Sachiel class ships, one either side of a more imposing larger craft.

This one was sleeker and more rounded in its design. The front of it reminded her of some aquatic creature from Earths past. The entire thing was dark grey, with green-accents. The ship itself could maybe be broke down into three distinct areas, the first third seemed almost dagger like in appearance, with a curved structure going from the top to the bottom of it.

At the bottom of the dagger like shape it extruded into a more rounded hull. Multiple curved structures adorned the top of it, with spiked points from the top of it. The final third was a long tail, it looks fragile, made up of the same grey bone-like fragments that adorned the other Angels.

“They’re creative, if nothing else.” Misato muttered, “Three Angels, three pilots...”

“Asuka hasn’t had her activation test yet.” Ritsuko was quick to remind her.

“Neither had Shinji when he got stuck in there.” Misato frowned, “Would it be a problem if we just did it ad-hoc?”

“I’d rather not have the first time she activates be for a battle but... I don’t really have any choice, do I?” Ritsuko shook her head, “I’ll get the technicians to prepare all three ships for launch.”

“See to it Rits, I’ll send them down there. Even if she can’t pilot as effectively as the others, having three in play gives us more of a chance.” Misato tapped her combadge, “Ensign Soryu, Crewman Ikari, report to transporter room 2. You’re required down at NERV, multiple Angels have entered the system.”

Evangelion 02

Asuka’s heart was racing as she leaned back in her seat and waited for the LCL to wash over her. The liquid in this chamber being a lot more pungent and foul smelling than in the test-chamber she had been in only a day before. It's blood-like smell infiltrating her nostrils as the level rose and her stomach churned.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as it washed over her, before settling into slow and steady breaths. It was a technique that Shinji, of all people, had told her. Not that she had asked him for advice, but she was grateful for it all the same.

She really didn’t want to mess this up. She knew there would be a lot of eyes on her. The captain, everyone on board the USS Tokyo and everyone at NERV too. She could not mess this up, she had to prove that she was capable.

Asuka had been spending quite a bit of time since she had learned she’d be a pilot studying the previous combat engagements to try and gain an understanding of what’d be needed. The main thing she had learned was the technique of A.T. Field manipulation. Both the Evangelion class vessels and the Angels utilized a special shielding type known as the A.T. Field.

These fields resonated at different frequencies and using a combination of manipulating her ships field and the weaponary on board, she could use that to negate an Angels A.T. Field. From there, it was a matter of finding and destroying the core of the ship.

So, the objective was simple. Manipulate her A.T. Field, use the phasers to burn through the enemies A.T. Field, expose the core and destroy it. For the two Sachiel class ships, this seemed simple enough. Their core was pre-exposed and easy to attack.

It was the other one that concerned Asuka. No visible core meant they’d have to spend a bit more time wearing it down. She had seen how much of a punch the Angels ships could pack, so time was of the essence. Now, if Asuka was a betting woman, and she had been known to engage in the odd game of Dabo from time to time, she’d place it solidly in the middle of the main hull, surrounded by the incredibly thick outer armour.

What that meant was, this wasn’t going to be easy.

“Ensign Soryu, this is Dr Akagi, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, are we ready to start yet?”

“Almost there.” Akagi answered, “Chamber is full, we are connecting you to the ships systems now. You might experience some discomfort, that is normal. Just try to remain relaxed and keep your mind clear. Remember, this isn’t a normal starship, you’re controlling this one directly, so the freer your mind, the better the control you have over it.”

“Yeah, yeah! I know all this!” Asuka replied, “Come on, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Very well, I’m connecting you now. Activation process is starting.”

For a little moment there was nothing but silence and then suddenly the room faded to black before cycling through an array of different colours. Asuka leaned back, trying to keep her mind free and empty as she had been told to. A moment later, the cycling stopped with the room turning a deep dark blood red before changing again with the walls becoming grey and machine like, little hisses of green smoke filtering in.

Asuka said and did nothing, the fear rose up in her, but she kept on steadying her breathing. Shinji had told her this process was strange, and she knew this would just be a part of it. She started to feel a slight prickling sensation in her head, like hundreds of tiny little needles stabbing at the edges of her mind. Her stomach churned again, as the sense that something was wrong began to rise.

The room stayed in its current form, the heat intensifying in the room. She glanced down at her read-out.

‘39.1 Celsius...’

She gritted her teeth as the sensation intensified. She leaned forward trying to not cry out in pain. In the distance she could hear a voice echoing, low and distorted. No, it wasn’t a voice, it was several, made up to sound like one.

“Let... Us... In...”

The pain kept going and she winced as she kept her head bowed. She wanted it to stop, it was all starting to get to be too much.

“Let... Us... In...”

“Nnnnngh...” Asuka kept on trying to fight the pain, “Gnnngh!”

“Let... Us... In...”

The voices were getting louder and more intense, booming all around her. She closed her eyes trying to fight them off.

‘No... It’s not real... they’re not real! They’re not here! It’s this ship, they... Shinji warned me. Shinji told me it messes with you.’

“Let... Us... In...”

‘NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t! I won’t fail! I Can’t Fail! I won’t let them down! I won’t let myself down!’

She fought back in her mind as the intensity of the voices increased until finally, all of them seemed to converge into one singular final voice, that of a womans.

“Let me in.”

On hearing that voice all the pain and fear was suddenly gone, only a comforting sense of warmth as Asuka opened her eyes and looked up.

“Asuka...”

At the sound of her name being called, the chamber changed one more time. The dark and imposing view was replaced by a sunny open sky, around her was a beautiful field of sunflowers. It was warm, but comfortable, a gentle breeze blew around her bringing a serenity she had never felt before.

The scene dissolved one more time and she was back in the pilots chamber, only this time she could see the entire hanger. She smirked and sat back in her seat, an excited energy ran through her.

“Ensign Soryu to the USS Tokyo and Dr Akagi... I have control. I’m ready.”