Fuyutsuki stared at the monitor overlooking the vast hanger. At the far end he could see the imposing form of the Evangelion class ship. He had to admit, he felt a little bit nervous. It was one thing to talk about the ship being piloted and fighting against the Angels, but it was another to see it actually happen. Yet, the man stood by his side, Gendo Ikari, had little doubt that things would go smoothly.
“Did you actually intend to use Rei?” Fuyutsuki asked.
“If it came to that then yes.” Gendo answered coldly, “We required a pilot, but I knew Shinji would eventually agree, all he needed was some gentle persuasion.”
“Using an injured woman to guilt him into it, is that what you call ‘gentle’?”
“Considering what we stand to lose if he did not agree, yes, I would consider that gentle.” Gendo nodded.
Fuyutsuki considered his words for a moment. He knew there was a grain of truth in Gendo’s words, but it didn’t make him feel any better about the situation. He decided it would be worth changing the subject.
“What of the committee, have they been in contact? I would imagine they’re eagerly anticipating the outcome of today.”
“Not yet. I imagine it will not be long until they are, when they learn of our success, they will likely contact us then.” Gendo replied, “I believe Chairman Keel is keen to see the outcome and discuss Project Eden.”
“Project Eden?” Fuyutsuki quipped, “We’ve barely even gotten one Evangelion off the ground and they’re already trying to push on with that. I understand they are keen to get underway but…”
“We have Evangelion 00 being repaired now, and Evangelion 02 is near completion.” Gendo quickly answered, “It is likely others will be under development as part of Eden. We need not worry about that sort of thing.”
“That’s all well and good but what about pilots? We have Shinji, but will Rei really be able to handle 00 and what of 02? It will be hard to convince Katsuragi…”
“All in due time Professor.” Gendo interrupted him, “You needn’t worry, everything is going to go exactly as we planned.”
888
Shinji found himself stood in the hanger before the vast craft he had agreed to pilot. The vessel measured 180 metres in length, 132 metres wide and 43 metres in height. He couldn’t quite believe that he was supposed to pilot this thing by himself. This was a starship, they required full crews! Even the Defiant, one of the smaller ships in Starfleet required a crew of around 50, what was it they said about this? One pilot and a skeleton crew of 5? It seemed impossible.
Back in that briefing room he had been scared by the idea of piloting a starship, how could he not be? He had never done anything like that before in his life. Seeing it up close like this, just served to amplify that fear. He considered running away but then the memory of Rei returned to him.
‘I have to do this… If I don’t then… they’ll make her do it.’
He felt very uncomfortable in his pilots’ suit, referred to as a ‘plugsuit’ by Dr. Akagi. It was skintight, mostly blue with the occasional black markings up along the legs and arms. Around the chest was some white armour plating, presumably for some sort of extra protection. On one of the wrists was a button, which served one function learned only moments before, to cause the previously baggy plugsuit to fit exactly to his body.
Around the hanger were a few technicians, seemingly performing final checks on the ship. Every now and then he could see one of them shooting a glance his way. Some of them looked a little bit confused, it wasn’t hard to guess why. Shinji didn’t really look like a hero. He didn’t have the presence of a Klingon warrior, the look of a Starfleet officer or anything else, he was just Shinji.
Stood to his left was Misato. She had been mostly silent since he had agreed to pilot but had been with him as he was escorted to the locker room and then to the hanger, vowing to not leave his side until he was transported onto the ship. Shinji had to admit, there was something about Misato that he liked. It was funny, he barely knew the woman, but he felt comfortable in her presence. She seemed different to what he’d expect of a Starfleet captain, much more casual, definitely not a Jean-Luc Picard.
He cast his eye over the ship again and felt his stomach lurch. This was genuinely going to happen… this was real! No matter how much he willed it, he was not going to wake up safe and sound in his bed. Instead, he was going to be transported onto that ship, he would pilot it and fight. The words of the Klingon general echoed in his head. If he was to die, then he would die with honour.
Death… It was a real possibility.
“A… Am I going to die?” Shinji asked Misato in a hushed tone.
Misato quickly moved in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders, “You listen to me Shinji, you are not going to die! When you came aboard my ship, I told you that you were a part of my crew and no one on my crew is going to die, not today, not ever! Do you understand?”
Shinji gave a weak nod, her words working a little bit to reassure him, but he knew that they were just words. She couldn’t really make that promise.
“Akagi said I can lead the operation.” Misato explained, “I’m going to be on board that ship with you and you’re going to have three more of my officers with you. You listen to my instructions and put your faith in them, and we’ll all get through this.”
“You’re… going to be onboard? Is that allowed?” Shinji asked.
“Of course it is!” Misato smirked, “I’ll just make sure I leave it out of my log, and we’ll not tell Ibuki… right?”
Shinji nodded.
“The boy will be fine!” Boomed the voice of general G’Bakh behind them, “I have a good feeling about this battle, Kahless is with us! We fight as warriors today, unlike his petaQ of a father!”
“General G’Bakh?” Misato raised a curious eyebrow, “I thought you and Admiral Jackson were observing from the command centre.”
“Observe? Hah, I am here to report for duty.” G’Bakh laughed and Shinji quickly realized that the Klingon was no longer dressed as he was in the conference room. He was dressed for battle, emphasised by the foreboding bat’leth held in his hand.
“Duty?” Misato questioned, “You mean you’re joining us?”
“There is a battle to be had and I am not going to sit on the side lines. I would be bringing dishonour to myself and the empire if I were to do so. Your ship, it needs a crew and someone to protect the pilot in case of invasion. In which case I humbly offer my services. May we cut down our enemies together!”
All Shinji was able to do was nod meekly back at the general who let out another laugh and wandered out of the room singing what Shinji could only presume was a Klingon battle shanty. Shinji looked back to Misato who had a bemused expression on her face.
“I… think he thinks I’m someone I’m not.” Shinji muttered.
“Klingons know one thing Shinji, honour above all else. They love a good fight and the higher the stakes the higher the glory. He must be in his element. He definitely sees something in you.”
“Misato… I’ve never been in a fight before! I’ve never hit anyone or held a weapon! I don’t know how to fight. I don’t know how to pilot this thing.” Shinji spluttered, “I… I don’t have anything to offer.”
Misato let out a sigh moving to console him, “Look Shinji, I know this isn’t what you wanted. It’s probably the furthest thing from what you wanted but we’re going to get through this. As for G’Bakh, from his perspective… he sees you for what you are, a civilian called to this place by a father who abandoned you. You’re so far out of your comfort zone and yet here you are now, about to fight in the place of someone who can’t to protect others. To him, it’s not about your experience of what you’ve done before, if what you do now that matters and what you’re doing to him it… well it makes you worthy of Sto’Vo’Kor!”
“But I don’t want to go to Sto’Vo’Kor!” Shinji pleaded.
“And you won’t!” She grinned, “Don’t worry about it, you have me leading you. I’ve never lost a battle in my life, and you should have seen what I was able to do in the Kobayashi Maru. Just try not to worry, follow my lead and we’ll be back before you know it. Understood?”
Shinji nodded, “Yeah…I think so.”
“Good, now let’s actually get you on board this godforsaken thing.”
888
A few minutes later Shinji found himself being escorted into a dimly lit circular room. This was the ‘pilots chamber’ according to Dr. Akagi. He was instructed to seat himself on a strange looking cockpit-like seat in the middle of the room before she left him on his own. There had obviously been no time for a tour, the rest of the crew having been taken immediately to the ships secondary bridge.
On the journey from the ship's transporter room to here, he had noted that the ship seemed very much like a regular starship, more in keeping with a Starfleet design than the rooms and corridors of the NERV building. This room however, felt extremely different. It was several degrees colder than the rest of the ship, attached to the ceiling and the wall behind him were a number of tanks and pipes which led off elsewhere. He wondered if this was the LCL filtration he had noted on the holomap of the vessel.
‘What even is LCL?’
The cockpit he was sat in was also stranger than he expected too. He thought he would be piloting the ship on the bridge, much like he had seen Soya do on the Tokyo. Instead, this room was isolated from the rest of the ship, and was unlike anything he had seen before. Either side of him were two large handles for him for take hold of, directly in front of him was a series of screens relaying essential information on the status of the ship, and data of the surrounding area.
“Shinji, this is Doctor Akagi, are you able to hear me?” Came a voice through the console.
“Y-Yes.” He answered.
“Good. Now listen carefully, the chamber you are in is going to start filling up with a liquid very soon. Try to not panic this is a breathable liquid called LCL and the process is necessary to allow you to control the ship adequately. Try to just let it pass over you, breathe as you normally would. Understood?”
“I… I think so.” He replied.
Shinji had little time to consider her words because he started to feel the room warm up slightly, followed by a sound not dissimilar to someone turning on a tap. He looked down at his feet to see that the orange liquid from the pipes around him was starting to trickle in slowly forming a pool by his feet. Another sound followed and the speed at which the liquid filled the chamber sped up. Soon it was at his knee, then at the top of his stomach before reaching his shoulders.
As it rose, the smell of the LCL started to reach him, almost causing him to gag. This liquid, the LCL as Ritsuko had called it, had the faint smell of blood. He swallowed, fighting the urge to be sick and closed his eyes. He remembered what she told him, to let it all pass over him and breathe as he normally would. He focused all his efforts on that breathing. Slowly taking in a breath, holding it and then breathing out again. He could feel the liquid continue to rise; it was now at his chin.
His heart was now pounding rapidly in his chest, the tough bit was coming up. His first instinct was to hold his breath, his mind unable to cope with the concept of a breathable liquid. He took in one final breath and let the liquid pass over him, he kept it held and his eyes firmly shut as he imagined it continuing to fill the room. Everything in his body told him that this was wrong and that he shouldn’t be doing this.
“Confirmation that the LCL filtration process is complete, how are you feeling Shinji?”
He dared not answer, he didn’t want to open his mouth fearful that if he did, he would drown in this horrible orange liquid. He slowly opened his eyes to look around him, the room the same but with a strange orange hue. He knew he would lose the battle eventually. His chest was tightening, and his lungs were screaming at him to take a breath. Unable to hold it anymore he let out a breath, his lungs aching as he immediately took in more breaths, the smell of the liquid hitting his nose but the process not being as bad as he thought it might be. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, but it was manageable.
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“I… I feel sick.” He finally answered.
“Suck it up Shinji.” It was Misato’s voice that came through this time, “Just focus on us for now, remember we’re here to support you!”
‘Okay… I can do this. Just listen to Misato, she… she knows what to do. After this I can leave and go back home.’ Shinji thought to himself, ‘Father… why did you call me here? Was it just for this? Why couldn’t you prepare me? Why does it have to be me?’
He heard Ritsuko once again, “Evangelion 01’s systems are now being brought online. Tell me what you can see Shinji.”
As Ritsuko spoke, the walls of the room suddenly flashed brightly. There cycled through a number of colours and then, much to his astonishment he was greeted with the sight of NERVs hanger. He looked around in all directions, taking in the sight of the building.
“I… I can see the hanger!” He answered.
“Very good. We’re now commencing the next stage. Now Shinji, it’s worth noting that the Evangelion has been built to allow for landing and taking off from planets, but for sake of ease we’re doing to have it tractored into space by shuttlecraft” Ritsuko continued, “You might experience some discomfort at the start of the process, try to remain calm.”
Shinji gave a nod as the hanger doors started to open revealing the large open space outside of the colony. Just like Ritsuko said, the ship began to move and just as Ritsuko said, he felt a little wave of dizziness as it did. He slowed his breathing again, trying to calm himself as the ship continued its journey to a platform outside. Stationed above the platform were four shuttlecraft and as soon as the Evangelion came to a stop, each shuttlecraft deployed their tractor beams. Shinji felt his stomach lurch as the ship was caught in their grasp and began to rise upwards.
As it rose, all thoughts of the impending battle faded away. He couldn’t help but be in awe as the ship slowly rose upwards through the sky, passing through clouds and giving him a view of the open space below him. For the first time, he could see the colony in full. NERV was a giant pyramid-like structure. Next to it was a beautiful, crystal-clear lake, and stream shooting off of it through a lush green forest.
The ship continued to rise, the colony fading from view and all that he could see now was the green landmass that NERV was on and the surrounding oceans. Eventually he moved through the atmosphere and into the planets orbit. His mouth was open in amazement, it was all like a dream.
“Evangelion 01 is now in the planets lower orbit, bringing the remaining systems online.” He was brought back to reality by Ritsuko, “Again, let me know if there is any discomfort Shinji.”
“Okay.”
Shinji observed the room flash once again as Ritsuko continued the process. The momentary distraction brought on by the beauty of the journey quickly fades as Shinji was reminded of his reason for being in this situation. He looked at the screens in front of him, watching as they began to come to life and tell him the status of parts of the ship. This was accompanied by a strange sensation in the back of his head.
It didn’t hurt as such, but it certainly wasn’t comfortable either. The only thing he could liken it to was a hand, gently cupping the back of his head. He was about to say something to Ritsuko but before he could even open his mouth the feeling was gone. It had been replaced by another weird feeling, a warmth beginning in his chest, a familiar warmth spreading throughout his body. This was followed by the feeling of something around his body, not uncomfortable but something akin to being embraced.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he could see around the cockpit, he could have sworn there was someone or something in here with him. Yet, he wasn’t scared of whatever this entity or feeling was. If anything, it felt familiar to him, he got the sense that it wanted to protect him and embrace him, that it wanted to tell him everything would be okay.
‘Is this… the Eva?’
888
Evangelion Bridge
His sync rate is holding at thirty-two percent.” Ritsuko remarked from a console behind Misato, “Remarkable, he’s already doubled what we’ve had from Rei so far, and it’s only his first time in the ship.”
“Sync rate?” Misato looked across at her, folding her arms, “Explain?”
“An Evangelion and its pilot are bound by their sync rate.” Ritsuko started to explain, “Up until this point Rei has been our test pilot and she has only been able to achieve a rate of eighteen percent. Shinji has managed to double that.”
“Okay, so what does that mean?”
“Basically, the higher the sync rare, the more in tune the pilot is with the ship. If the sync rate is zero, they can’t control the ship, but at higher sync rates they have more control of it and its systems. Shinji’s rate is still a way off of optimum rate, but this is a remarkable start.”
“Okay, so Shinji is capable of controlling the ship right now?”
“He is, unfortunately there was side effects.” Ritsuko answered, “The higher the sync rate, the more the pilot will feel the effects of any damage or strain. We’ve determined that an optimum sync rate is between sixty to seventy percent.”
“So… when this ship suffers damage, Shinji will be hurt too?” Misato raised an eyebrow.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Goddamnit, what the hell have you people created?” Misato shook her head and looked back towards the viewscreen. None of this sat right with her at all, a ships pilot shouldn’t be suffering when the ship took damage. They should be protected by the shielding and layers of armour plating. She could certainly see the benefit to some sort of direct control system, but it shouldn’t be putting the pilot in harm’s way.
“About fifteen minutes until we make contact with the ship.” Ritsuko remarked, “We should make sure Shinji has the basics of control down. Can you hear us Shinji?”
“Y-Year… I can hear you…” Came his trembling voice.
‘Poor guy… God knows what must be going through his head right now. Our cadets would struggle with this, never mind a civilian.’ Misato took a look around the small bridge; it was certainly cramped compared to what she had grown accustomed to on the Tokyo and her previous commissions. There were six of them on board. General G’Bakh who was stood by a security station scowling. He had been mostly silent. Here three chosen officers, including a medical officer, Sakura Suzahara, and of course Ritsuko.
It was strange to see Ritsuko in this situation and be working alongside the woman. The last time Misato had seen her was at the academy and things were very different for the both of them at that time.
“Good, now before I hand you over to Katsuragi I want to explain exactly how you’ll be piloting this starship. Now whilst it is possible to control the ship via a traditional console, its full potential is only unlocked via the method you’re using, which is a neural interface that links directly to the pilot. To put it in its simplest terms, your thoughts will control the ship.”
“So… I control it with my mind?” Shinji asked.
“Exactly. Now, you’ll see that the screens in front of you provide you with basic readouts of the ship’s functionality. You can see weapons, shields, warp, impulse and so on. Try not to worry about understanding all of it right now, we’ll be monitoring it from the bridge. What you need to concern yourself with are the two handles by your side, take hold of them and you’ll notice a trigger. Squeeze those triggers and just… think about what it is you want to do.”
“O-Okay…”
“Naturally, try to keep your mind focused on the piloting of the ship as best you can but I understand that will be difficult. If you find your thoughts do stray, try to not worry too much but bring it back in line with piloting. The ship can react to extreme spikes, so whilst nothing is going to happen if you suddenly think about what you want for dinner, if you start thinking about an incident from years ago then it can have an effect.” Ritsuko continued explaining, “I’m going to pass you onto Katsuragi now, who will be leading this operation.”
Misato nodded, “Okay Shinji, you heard the good doctor. Thoughts on piloting and not on those ex-girlfriends, okay?”
“I don’t have a- “
“It was a joke Shinji.” Misato grinned, “But try to not be so forthcoming with that information, you never know how someone might make use of it in the future.”
“Misato, is this really appropriate?” Ritsuko scolded her, Misato turned to see a look from Ritsuko that was all too familiar.
‘Damn, all those years and your eyes are still the same huh?’
“Alright, alright, no joking.” Misato’s grin faded, “Let’s try something simple, I want you to move the ship forward at one quarter impulse.”
“Um… one quarter impulse… got it.” Came the answer, “Wait, how fast is one quarter impulse?”
“Around fifteen thousand kilometres per second, your display should tell you how fast you’re going but try not to worry about the numbers, it’s a standard speed on starships.” Ritsuko explained.
Misato looked at the screen keenly as she noticed the ship slowly start to creep forward. As she looked towards Ritsuko again, she couldn’t help but notice the slight prideful smile that had appeared on the blonde’s face. Misato looked back at the screen again, ready to give her next order.
“Good job Shinji, now keep us at one quarter impulse but bank us slightly to port.”
“Okay, um… which was is port?” Came the answer.
“Your left.” Misato laughed, “When we’re through this, we’re going to be giving you a crash course on terminology.”
Eyes on the viewscreen again and they all watched as the ship banked to the port side. Unfortunately, there was no further time for celebration as a bright flash of light in the distance heralded the arrival of their enemy.
“Okay Shinji, take us to red alert. Get shields and weapons online.” Misato ordered, “It’s time.”
888
NERV Sickbay
Shinji slowly opened his eyes and immediately felt a sharp pain shoot through his right arm, this was immediately followed by a similar pain shooting through his left leg. He let out a yelp as his eyes open fully, the blurriness fading, and he found himself looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Where… am I?” he slurred his words as he weakly tried to sit himself up.
His first attempt not quite going so well, and he was only met with more aches and pains as his arms gave out when trying to push himself up. Shinji then gave himself a moment, waiting for the pain to subside a little and made a second attempt. This time, he was able to shuffle himself into a sitting position and try to see where he was.
It gave off the appearance of a lonely hospital room. Ahead of him was a door and next to that was a tall planet with rainbow leaves. To the left of his bed was some basic seating and tucked in the corner was a screen that had been switched off. To his immediate right was a machine which he guessed was monitoring his vitals and emitting a very faint hum.
He let himself slump back down onto the bed and brought the back of his hand up to his forehead, “What… happened to me… how did I get here? I don’t remember anything!”
The only reply to his question was the sound of his stomach suddenly growling to let him know he was hungry. He let out a sigh and wondered if he should try to find himself some food before figuring out what had happened. His stomach growled again, almost as if it was responding to his question and he gingerly sat up once more and shifted around, letting his feet dangle over the side of the bed.
One the machine was a button labelled ‘Assistance’, he almost considered pushing it but stopped himself, not wanting to be a bother to anyone. This was clearly some sort of hospital so it shouldn’t be hard to find a café or something.
A cold shiver ran through him as he put his bare foot down against the cold tiled floor, he tried to push himself up to stand but was met with a large amount of pain. He sat back down and took a few deep breaths before making a second attempt. This time he was more careful, taking it slowly and using the bed to prop himself up. He stumbled a little as he got to his feet but eventually, he was standing.
It was much colder outside of the bed sheets, even more given his clothing, or lack thereof. All he had was a hospital gown and some very thin pyjamas to protect his modesty.
He took a few tentative steps forward, first using the bed for support and then managing to make it on his own towards the door. He pulled the door open and stepped out into a corridor. It was completely empty, and he could not even hear anything in the distance. He started to move along the corridor, using the walls to help keep him steady and trying to ignore the pain rushing through him.
Finally, Shinji found himself in a large open hallway. There was a lot more seating here and a number of tables, but this too was completely empty. Across from him were some closed shutters and along one of the walls were some vending machines.
He approached a machine and felt his stomach rumble once again. There didn’t seem to be a lot of choice in the machine, a few Earth snacks he recognized and a few other things he did not. With how hungry he was feeling now, anything would have done. Shinji might have even considered eating Gagh at this point. Still, he went for one of the safer options, looking at one of the chocolate bars he recognized.
He tapped in his selection and then very quickly realized he had a problem. This vending machine required payment and in his present state, he had absolutely nothing to make that payment with. All of his belongings were back on the Tokyo and even then, all he had was his pass card which he doubted would work here. Having never left Earth before he had never really had the need for credit chips or latinum.
Shinji stood there blankly, cursing his luck and was about to leave when he heard someone calling out behind him, “Shinji?”
Shinji turned his head at the familiar voice and saw Misato stood nearby. She looked slightly dishevelled, almost as if she hadn’t slept in over a day. He could see dark bags under her eyes, her hair was somewhat messy, and her uniform jacket was open.
“Mi… Captain?”
“I was just on my way to visit you, what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting!”
“Sorry…” he croaked out, “I… woke up and no one was there, and I was hungry… I didn’t want to bother anyone but… it turns out I can’t get anything.”
She looked confused for a moment before realizing his issue and nodding, “Oh yeah, let me get that for you. Turns out they use credit chips here for things like this. I suppose being where it is, their supplied are a bit more limited so that have to resort to these older methods.”
“Thanks…” Shinji blushed as Misato stepped forward and swiped a card in front of the machine’s scanner, releasing the chocolate bar for him. She then picked out two cans of coffee from the next machine and led him over to a seat by the window. He sat down, eating his chocolate bar quietly and looking out over the luscious green field.
“How are you feeling?” Misato asked, once he had finished the chocolate.
“I… I’m okay but… my arm and leg hurt a lot.” He answered, “Do you… know what happened to me?”
“You don’t remember?” Misato shook her head and looked out of the window, “Ritsuko said this might happen… It… we can discuss it later when we’re back on board the Tokyo. For now… just know that you won Shinji. NERV… the people here and on the Tokyo, everyone in the quadrant, hell… the galaxy, are safe.”
“R-Really? But I…. how?” Shinji muttered, slightly frustrated with himself, “All I can remember is that you asked me to turn to port and… that was it.”
Misato placed a hand on his shoulder, “Try to not worry about it too much Shinji. We can debrief you later but for now you need to rest up. Come on, I’ll take you back to your room.”
Shinji nodded; he could feel tiredness taking over his body now that he had had something to settle his grumbling stomach. He was about to rise from his seat but before he could do so he saw one of the doors in the hallway suddenly open. He froze in place on seeing the pair of his father and Rei walking through the hall.
As they passed Rei shot him a glance, she was walking slowly, bandages from earlier still present but not a trace of emotion on her face. His father was walking ahead of her, a similar cold expression on his face, he did not turn to look at Shinji.
Shinji wondered just who Rei was and how she came to be here. Did she know his father well? Had he saved her from the Borg? How had she been injured?
“Come on Shinji, let’s go.” Misato spoke.
“Okay.” He nodded as both his father and Rei exited through another set of doors. There was a tightening in his chest as they walked back towards his room. He felt no better than he did when he had awoken, if anything the sight of his father only serving to make him feel worse.