Misato leaned back in her seat, her gaze passing from one side of the bridge to the other as she felt boredom starting to set in. Three days had passed since Asuka, Shinji and Rei had managed to fend off the latest attack on the colony, and all she and her crew had been able to do since was stay in orbit. Sit and wait, whilst they waited for the next attack.
Those were her orders now, do nothing until an Angel appeared in the system, and then lead as best she could from the bridge of her ship. There was to be no deviation from those orders. Every day was dedicated to scanning with long range sensors and waiting, day after day after day. The USS Tokyo, one of the most advanced ships in all of Starfleet, was stuck in orbit of a colony of less than a hundred people.
The importance of the role wasn’t lost on her. She knew why she was here and what was at stake if one of those attackers managed to break through, but she felt so stifled by it. This wasn’t why she had signed up to Starfleet, this wasn’t why any of her crew had signed up. If they had then they’d have asked to be posted on a Starbase or colony elsewhere.
It didn’t help that there were still so many unknowns regarding the situation. All Misato had was the same information Ritsuko had given her upon her arrival, and she had been through it so many times, trying to find something new and helpful but nothing came. All she had was the same questions about the true nature of these attacks, about NERV, Starfleets involvement, the Evangelions and her father.
The worst thing was it didn’t seem like any answers were coming any time soon.
“Weren’t we supposed to be explorers?” Ibuki suddenly remarked under her breath to Misato. A moment highlighting just how frustrating this situation had become, if Ibuki, who was normally quite by the book and strait-laced was making jokes, it was clear that things had gotten bad.
Misato chuckled, “That was the idea!”
“Seems like a waste of the ship.” Ibuki replied, “The crew are starting to get restless as well. We need to do something.”
Misato nodded, “I agree, we could always rustle up some adventures in the holodeck.”
“Not a bad idea, get a rotation in there, keep them sharp and prepared.” Maya agreed, “I’ll look at scheduling something in.”
“Just avoid the Borg and Sherlock Holmes.” Misato joked, “But it’s not like we’re going anywhere anytime soon.”
“How long do you think we’re going to be kept here?” Maya asked, “Starfleet can’t seriously mean to keep a ship like this here in orbit indefinitely!”
“All I’ve been told is that we’re here for as long as they need us to be here. Whether that’s tied to how many attacks we have to fend off, or until Starfleet sends someone else, I don’t know; but our orders, such as they are, are clear. We sit and we wait.”
The bridge went quiet again as Misato resumed her routine of sitting and waiting for time to pass until she could do off duty. Around her the bridge staff worked, various beeps from consoles could be heard as the status of the ship was checked and scans were performed.
Misato glanced at the small monitor next to her to see some of the information coming through, it was fascinating, a Jem’Hadar ship was conducting a training exercise several light years away and two type two comets made their way through a nearby system.
The silence was suddenly broken by the young officer at comms, “Captain, I’m getting something on long range sensors, looks like a ship with a Starfleet signature!”
“Starfleet?” Misato leaned forward, “No one has informed us of anything ships heading our way, any idea who it is?”
“Initial scans aren’t showing much... strange, it’s coming through as classified.” The officer reported back, “No wait, I’m getting something now. Not much, registry is NCC 190797, USS Covenant. A Genesis class starship?”
For a reason she couldn’t quite figure out, Misato started to feel slightly uneasy at the ensigns' words. A moment ago, she’d have welcomed another Starfleet vessel in the area, but one that shows up unannounced with a class and name she didn’t recognize had thrown her off. She turned to Ibuki, who also was looking quite concerned, “What are you thinking?”
“After the sudden appearance of the nuQanjaj last week, I shouldn’t be too surprised, but I’d have thought Starfleet would have given us some notice if a ship was on its way to us.”
Misato nodded her head, “Agreed, Ensign, open hailing frequencies, let’s let them know we’ve picked them up and see who they are.”
The comm officer tapped at their console, “Hailing frequencies are open captain.”
“USS Covenant, this is Captain Misato Katsuragi of the USS Tokyo! It’s good to see a friendly face all this way out. Is there anything we can assist you with?”
Misato waited with some anticipation for a reply, after nearly half a minute the ensign spoke up again, “Incoming signal, they’re responding.”
“Put them on screen.” Misato ordered as she stood up and straightened her uniform.
She waited for a moment for whoever was captaining the vessel to appear, and when they did that uneasiness she felt before, was amplified. The man on the screen was one she recognized, and the sight of him caused her stomach to tighten. She had never met him, but she had read about him and seen images of him. He was older than in the images and articles but there was no mistaking who he was.
‘Admiral Lorenz Keel...’
This was the very same man that had been featured in the information Ritsuko had sent her upon the Tokyo’s arrival. The same admiral who had ordered the cover up of the GEHIRN incident. The same man who had known her father and coldly written off his death as a necessary sacrifice.
Misato had wondered what had happened to Keel and what his aims were. She knew he was still in service as an Admiral but anything else about him was hard to obtain without drawing suspicion.
She felt sick as she waited for him to speak but tried to keep herself neutral. She felt cursed with the knowledge of who the man is and what he had done. No one else on this bridge knew this man and what he had done. She knew she couldn’t let any discomfort show but as she waited, that sense of unease and dread only grew.
“Captain Katsuragi! Thank you for the warm welcome and our apologies for turning up unannounced like this. As I’m sure you will appreciate, the confidential nature of what is happening in this system means we had to be careful in regard to our arrival.” His delivery was smooth, politician like and made Misato’s skin crawl, “I’m Admiral Lorenz Keel, currently in charge of the USS Covenant. We’re here to provide much need supplies and reinforcements for the colony. The Angels seem to have stepped up their attacks recently, so we thought it prudent to lend some additional assistance.”
Misato could only nod her head, “I’m sure it’ll be much appreciated Admiral. Will you be requiring anything from the Tokyo during your stay?”
“I have some business on the surface, but it would be a good idea if you could lend us your Ten Forward for the evening. It would be a good opportunity for our crews to meet and also to meet yourself and the pilots.” He answered, “Aside from that, you are to carry on as normal, we don’t intend to overstay our welcome here.”
“I’ll see to it that it’s arrange Admiral.” Misato answered, “We look forward to your arrival, Katsuragi out.”
888
“Lieutenant Ikari! It has been quite some time since we’ve had the opportunity to speak in person like this. I trust all is well.”
Gendo did not make any moves to greet the man, instead remaining static behind his desk, “It is as I have been reporting, we have been able to halt the Angels each time they attack but any efforts to break down their technology has so far proven fruitless.”
“Yes, I have been keeping up with the reports. It seems that despite my reservations about your choice of pilots, they have been quite capable so far.” Keel nodded, “Of course I would have preferred to be present for the first demonstration of the Evangelion class, but as you are likely aware, my Starfleet responsibilities have not allowed me as much freedom as I’d have liked. You have my thanks for handling things for capably Lieutenant.”
Gendo smirked, “I haven’t been Lieutenant for a long time Keel, not that it was ever a role I was suited for.”
“No, that is correct, we always had great things in mind for you.” Keel smiled as he took the seat opposite Gendo’s desk, “I know you aren’t exactly one for conversation, so I’ll keep this brief, you are probably wondering why we’ve decided to come now, so far ahead of schedule.”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
“The net is beginning to tighten around us Ikari, there are some in Starfleet who are starting to probe and prod at the things we’ve done. They’ve started to see that things don’t quite add up.” Keel explained, “It was bound to happen at some point, but I thought we might have had a little bit more time.”
“How much do they know?”
“Between Starfleet Intelligence, Section 31 and god knows who else is digging in, we can’t be sure.” Keel answered, “They know that we falsified the records surrounding Gehirn, that it wasn’t the Borg that stripped the colony. I suspect they also know some information about Adam, and what it was too.”
“Do they know about NERV or the Ancestrals?”
“Some know a little bit more about NERV than I’d like, but they still think you’re here to protect us. As far as the Ancestrals go, more than likely not, as ancient races go, their historians and researchers are more interested in Iconian’s than anyone else. Still, they are digging and there is a risk.” Keel explained, “So, I’ve decided we can’t wait any long. We’ve proven we can fend off the Angels ships, we have parted the seas, the path to Eden is clear, all we must do now is walk it.”
“Our path may be clear, but we still lack the means to access and are still unclear on the destination.” Gendo answered, “We still need more time.”
Keel leaned forward, “Correction, we did lack the means to access it, but we have not been idle whilst you carried out your work here Ikari. We have the solution, the fourth pilot.”
Gendo raised a curious eyebrow, “Fourth?”
“Kaworu Nagisa, the fourth pilot.” Keel sat back again, “He’s currently aboard the Covenant, aware of and accepting of his destiny. He will serve as the key that delivers us into the new era.”
Gendo paused, contemplating just what he wanted to say next. Keels’ little revelation about the identity of a fourth pilot had come as quite a surprise. Gendo had already lined up a potential fourth but had not been made aware of a fourth Evangelion being close to complete, nor that Keel had sourced his own pilot.
That was not what concerned him though. What concerned him was the idea of this new pilot being the ‘key’ to unlock the garden.
“I see.” Gendo nodded, adjusting his glasses, “And you are certain he is capable of granting us access.”
“Quite so.” Keel confirmed, “Ryoji has been working on the location. Thanks to him we were able to make a little discovery, it turns out Naoko had a second child.”
“A second child?” Gendo questioned, pretending his knew nothing of Kyo Akagi.
“She kept it quite well hidden, for good reason of course, you know how our society looks down on Augments.” Keel started explaining, “It seems he was the result of one of her experiments, a clone combining her DNA with that of an Ancestral. If Starfleet had found out what she had done, she’d be facing the mother of all court martials, a moot point considering how things ended for her.”
Gendo nodded, “A tragic event.”
“Yes, we never really knew why she took her own life, perhaps it was linked to the child. Guilt or some such thing. It doesn’t matter, the child exists, and he had proven quite beneficial to our cause.”
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“How so?”
“The knowledge of the Ancestral’s flows through him. When they send their Angels, he feels it, he sees it and that means... we’ve found it Ikari. The child has given us what we needed, we’re on the cusp now, Eden awaits us.”
888
It was one thing for Misato to see Keel on a viewscreen, some lightyears away but to see him now, standing around and talking with others, smiling so casually as if he was just a regular man, made her feel even sicker than before. She was doing everything she could to pretend things were normal, to smile and be the professional captain she was supposed to be, but it was proving very difficult.
Standing close to her was Ritsuko, the woman who had cursed her with the knowledge of just who Keel was and what he had been responsible for. She was thankful to Ritsuko for providing that knowledge but right now it was proving a source of immense frustration. Even more so that she couldn’t reach out to the woman for any sort of affection or comfort.
Stood near to them were the three pilots. Shinji and Asuka had swapped to a Starfleet dress uniform, Shinji surprising Misato with just how handsome he looked in the thing, although she couldn’t help but laugh at how out of place her looked. Asuka on the other hand looked uncomfortable with the whole thing, constantly pulling at the collar of the uniform and adjusting the top part of it.
Rei was wearing the same sort of uniform that Gendo wore down at NERV. They didn’t seem to have their own dress uniform, Misato supposed there weren’t too many formal functions down on NERV, nor did she suppose Gendo and Fuyutsuki were people who cared much about ceremony.
Stood near to the pilots was Commander Ibuki. Misato couldn’t help but feel bad that Ibuki was blissfully unaware of just who Keel was and what he had done but it was something Misato couldn’t tell them, not just yet. Misato had considered confiding in Ibuki, keeping a secret like this from her first officer definitely wasn’t a good idea, but for now, it had to be done.
Misato turned to Ritsuko, keeping her voice low, “Did you know he was coming?”
Ritsuko frowned, shaking her head, “No, I found out no longer after you did. Fuyutsuki informed me, and he didn’t seem very happy about it.”
Misato took another look around the room. The ceremony they had put on was a fairly typical and smallish affair, just to welcome the Admiral to the ship and allow him to interact with the crew should he desire it. In truth, Misato had wanted to keep him far away from the ship and its crew but to do so would only arouse suspicion.
Keel had travelled lightly to the Tokyo, bringing with him a mixture of security staff that were posted around the room, alongside the Tokyo’s security and two other men. The first of which was quite a striking young man, seemingly around the same age as the pilots. He was tall, slender and had a pale white skin. His hair was an untidy, with various grey tones throughout it and his eyes a piercing bright red.
Next to him was another man, around Misato’s age and one who Misato recognized at once. She turned to Ritsuko, and asked, with some disdain in her voice, “What the hell is he doing here?”
“Oh, so you’ve finally seen him, have you?” Ritsuko smirked.
This seemed to draw the attention of Ibuki who turned around, “I’m sorry, but who is that?”
“Ryoji Kaji.” Ritsuko answered with a chuckle, “Back at the academy, your captain and he had quite a-”
“That’s quite enough of that Doctor!” Misato cut her off sternly, “My private life isn’t really of any concern to the crew.”
“But I thought you two had-”
“Enough...” Misato pleaded.
“Oh, we did! They had their thing in the first year, but we were second third and most of the fourth year.”
“Akagi!” Misato cut her off again, her cheeks burning red, “My first officer does not need to know about my love life or mistakes I made in my first year!”
Ritsuko chuckled as she sipped from her wine glass, “As for what he’s doing here... last I heard he was working for Starfleet Intelligence in some capacity. So, your guess is as good as mine.”
“I see.” Misato frowned as she looked towards Kaji once again. He was something she had not expected to see ever again, not since they had all graduated from the academy. She wasn’t overly surprised that he’d end up in a place like Starfleet Intelligence. Kaji had a quick mouth and a quick mind, he was always informed on what everyone was doing and what was happening.
He wasn’t a bad person, but they just weren’t compatible. Kaji had obsessions and demons that he wanted to pursue and Misato... well she knew in a way she did as well. In the end their breakup was amicable. Kaji realizing he wasn’t the type who wanted a relationship and Misato had met Ritsuko at that point and was starting to wonder things about her.
“Looks like they’re heading over here.” Ibuki informed them as the three of them started to cross the floor towards them.
Misato set her glass down as the Admiral approached, feeling a heavy sense of dread as he reached out his hand and smiled at her, “Captain Katsuragi! I must thank you and your crew for the warm welcome! It has been a long and arduous journey. The Dominion were quite keen to stop us every few light years. It’s nice to reconnect with some friendly Starfleet faces.”
“Likewise, Admiral!” Misato lied, “It’s been quite some time for our crew as well. Do you know how long you’ll be here for?”
“Oh, we won’t be around for too long, maybe another day or so. We don’t want to overstay our welcome. We’ll deliver our supplies to NERV and then get back on our way.” Keel nodded, “Speaking of NERV, it is a shame that Ikari and Fuyutsuki could not join us. Were they not invited?”
Ritsuko stepped forward, “They were invited but they declined stating they had other business to attend to. Both pilot Ayanami and I were sent in their place as representatives of NERV.”
“A shame!” Keel shook his head, “Yet not surprising, I’ve known Ikari for a long time you see. He’s always been very driven, hardworking but not the most social of creatures. Being here might have done him some good!”
“How long have you known him?” Misato asked, not wanting to miss an opportunity to learn more.
“Oh, it must be about twenty years or so now!” Keel answered, “He was a science officer posted aboard a station I was in charge of at the time. Keen mind, brilliant actually but as I said, rubbish with people. I remember it being quite a shock when we learned he was getting married!”
Misato listened keenly and noticed that the conversation seemed to have attracted the attention of the pilots. Each of them had turned slightly, attempting to be discreet but failing miserably. Under normal circumstances she might have reprimanded them for eavesdropping, but these weren’t normal circumstances.
“Of course, the two of them were perfectly suited for one another. Gendo was a completely different person around Yui and she was so happy around him.” Keel continued, “You know, he even took her name when they got married. He was never keen on the association with his family, Rokubungi, it’s not my story to tell of course.”
“I see, I had no idea.” Misato nodded finding this little bit of information quite interesting if only for the idea of who Gendo might have been before his wife's death, “With all due respect, he hasn’t been the most approachable of people since we arrived here.”
“Well, he can be quite difficult, he doesn’t trust easily you see and I think he likely sees your presence as being an impediment to the work he is doing.” Keel explained, “Of course that’s nonsense and I’m sure he’ll come around as he realizes how good and important what you are doing is. Take it from me though, he is a great man, I would trust him with my life.”
It was at that moment Shinji turned around fully and looked like he was about to walk towards them, but a quick and stern glance from Misato towards the other pilots and Asuka quickly grabbing his arm stopped him. The last thing Misato needed at this moment was one of her crew butting in like this, even if she did understand the reasons why.
“Well, he’s certainly proved himself quite interesting so far.” Misato answered as she watched Asuka pull Shinji out of the room, Rei following behind them.
“That’s one way of thinking of him.” Keel chuckled, “Speaking of great men... Katsuragi... you’re Akira’s daughter, aren’t you?”
Misato did her best to not react outwardly or flinch at hearing Keels question. She wasn’t sure what this was, a test from Keel to see what she did or didn’t know? Him playing ignorant to try to get a reaction? Keel knew full well that she was Akira’s daughter, her name was in those reports.
“I am.” She confirmed not wanting to say too much. Her feelings towards her dad were complicated, even more so since she had learned more about the circumstances of his death.
“He was another great man; you have my deepest sympathies for his loss. It was something we all felt.” Keel remarked, “Still, I think he’d be very proud to see what his daughter has become. One of the youngest captains in the fleet with a very bright future ahead of her.”
888
Shinji’s wrist was starting to hurt as Asuka dragged him further down the corridor and away from the party. Following a few steps behind them was Rei, who had also left the room alongside them.
“Asuka! What are you doing?” He called out.
“Stopping you from doing something stupid!” Asuka finally let go of him as they came to a stop a couple of corridors away from the Ten Forward, “I saw what you were about to do, interrupt the captain and admiral!”
“He mentioned my father, I just wanted to-”
“Yeah yeah! I know all that.” Asuka sighed, “But you can’t just barge your way into conversations between an admiral and the captain like that to ask about your asshole of a father.”
Shinji was on the cusp of asking why but stopped himself. He didn’t need Asuka to explain to him why he shouldn’t be interrupting two senior officers like that, as much as he wanted to know more about his father, it probably wasn’t the way to go about it.
“Yeah… you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.” Asuka smirked, “Now just keep in mind I won’t be there every time you want to act like a Targ going after it’s prey! So, reel it in a bit, you’re supposed to be an officer now, aren’t you?”
“Well… not yet, I haven’t said.”
“Not the point.”
“It would have been inadvisable to approach Admiral Keel.” Rei suddenly spoke up, much to their surprise, “Sub Commander Fuyutsuki warned me about being here tonight and to avoid the admiral where possible.”
“Really?” Shinji asked.
“It would seem the fondness he has for your father is not shared by him or Fuyutsuki for some reason.” Rei answered, “
“Strange.” Asuka shrugged, “Well not our business. Let’s just get ourselves back in there, enjoy some crappy synethol and be done with it! Come on Rei.”
Asuka gave Rei no opportunity to reply before turning around and making a beeline back to Ten Forward with Rei following a few steps behind. Shinji was getting ready to follow when he became aware of another person nearby. He turned around to see, standing across from him was the other man from Keels entourage.
“Good evening, Shinji Ikari, I am glad to finally make your acquaintance. I have wanted to meet you for so very long.”
“O-Oh… Hi?” Shinji replied, finding himself somewhat taken aback by the man’s words. Whoever this, he cut a very striking figure. His eyes were piercing, and locked straight onto Shinji. He stood out amongst everyone else Shinji had seen aboard the Tokyo.
“I am Kaworu Nagisa, I’m a pilot much like yourself.” Kaworu introduced himself, “I have heard much about you Shinji, it has been our destiny to meet for quite some time, although it saddens me to know it will only be a fleeting visit, I would very much like to get to know you more before I have to leave.”
“H-Hey…” Shinji wasn’t quite sure what to say. In a way Kaworu reminded him of Rei, only lacking the Borg technology that helped Rei standout even more. His way of speaking was very different though, Kaworu did not seem detached like Rei was, but his speech was still not what Shinji would call normal.
There was also a strange familiarity to the man, something in the back of Shinji’s mind telling him that he knew this man somehow but that didn’t seem possible. Shinji would definitely remember meeting someone like Kaworu.
“It’s good to meet you too. So… you’re a pilot too?”
“I am.” Kaworu smiled, “I too have been blessed with that gift. Unfortunately, it has been deemed necessarily that our paths divert for the moment. Still, fate will see us reunite again in time.”
“Um…” Shinji nodded, “How long are you here for?”
“The admiral wishes for us to leave within the day.” Kaworu answered, “Shall we return to the party now Shinji, I’m sure your fellow pilots are missing you?”
888
“You are late Ryoji.” Gendo’s voice echoed through the darkened room. Kaji entered the room, looking out the window he could see the dark forms of the three Evangelion class ships. He smirked as he swung a small necklace around his finger.
“My apologies Commander, it wasn’t exactly easy to sneak away from Keels little welcoming party.” Kaji answered, “Even more so to make sure I could get down here without being seen.”
“Do you have it?”
“Of course.”
In one swift motion Kaji threw the item towards Gendo who snatched it out of the air and examined it. It was a small necklace, but the pendant was no typical jewelry, instead it was a small see through box. Inside was what appeared to be a preserved fossil of some sort, with the lower half being encased around a computer chip.
“Nebuchadnezzars key, the true way to unlock the door to Eden.”
“Delivered in one piece, just as promised.” Kaji folded his arms and leaned against the wall, “Not easy to get hold of, that things gone through many hands and Keel had his own people looking for it too.”
“Does he know you have it?”
“I doubt it. My Starfleet Intelligence clearance allows me to move in ways that even Keel can’t track.” Kaji answered, “Besides that thing has been around the quadrants, Orion’s, Ferenghi, Breen and even a rogue Soong Android had laid claim to this thing.”
“Do you think any of them knew what it was?”
Kaji chuckled, “Doubtful, they knew it was ancient but that was all the value they saw in it. Still, wasn’t easy getting hold of it.”
“You’ll be well compensated for your trouble. Fuyutsuki’s has shifted a considerable amount of latinum to your account.”
“You know that’s not why I did this Ikari.”
“Of course not.” Gendo smirked, “The rest of your payment is also being dealt with, do with it as you wish.”
“Oh, I intend to.”
“There was one more thing I wanted to know though. Keel came to visit me earlier.” Gendo started, “He knows about Naoko’s child, claims he was able to get the location of the garden. Was this your doing?”
“Of course.”
“We had an agreement.” Gendo frowned unable to hide some degree of anger, “Naoko’s child was off limits.”
“Naoko’s child was an unfortunate bit of business. I need to gain his trust or I wouldn’t be allowed certain permissions aboard the Covenant.” Kaji explained, “Don’t worry, the kids safe.”
“What does he know?”
“What he needed to know; the child was the result of an experiment Naoko put together in secret. That she hid the kid away before her death with Dr Makinami and the kid was supposed to find the location of the garden.” He answered, “Fortunately I was able to prepare Makinami for Keels arrival, and thanks to a certain Klingon friend of mine I was able to get them to safety in time.”
“Keel said that he had extracted the location.”
“He believes he has.” Kaji shrugged, “The key wasn’t the only thing I’ve been working on these last few months. Black markets are great places to see the latest advances in holographic technology. It’s amazing what the Romulans had came up with before their empire collapsed.”
“Resourceful as ever.” Gendo was impressed, “And the fourth pilot? Can he access the garden?”
“That one I don’t know, the pilot is a mystery even to me. Kaworu Nagisa, twenty-three years old, but his history is a complete blank. No records showing where he grew up, his education, or how Keel found him. It’s almost as if he didn’t exist before Keel brought him onto the Covenant.”
“Could be that he didn’t.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Kaji chuckled, “Keel plans to leave tomorrow and leave for the garden. It’s a month’s journey, but he’ll probably realize he was tricked before then. What are your plans, Ikari?”
“Simple.” Gendo smirked, “We locate it ourselves and put our own plan into motion.”