Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Evangelion meets Robotech ❯ Chapter 7

Neon Genesis Evangelion meets Robotech: Seven

Asuka looked out of the window of her hospital room at the artificial sky, feeling her whole body aching. She didn't particularly like being shot, not in any way, shape or form. There was a soft sound of tapping coming from over by the door, and Asuka looked over to see her two wingmen standing there in the doorway. Rei looked oddly worried, compared to her normal cool manner, while Shinji seemed more nervous.

"Come to see the baka who got shot down by our own weapons?" Asuka asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"You're no idiot," Rei said softly but intensely as she swiftly moved over to help her up, "you should know that by now."

"She's right," Shinji agreed, taking a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and then putting them into a nearby vase. He flushed slightly at Asuka's curious gaze, "The flowers are from Minmei and the staff of the Little White Dragon."

"Ah," Asuka nodded slightly. "The docs say I'll only be in here a few more days, thankfully," she said, shifting to make her injured shoulder a bit more comfortable. She fixed them with a look, "You two keeping out of trouble?"

"Of course," Rei said mildly.

"Sure," Shinji agreed innocently.

Asuka looked at the two of them warily, then she sighed to herself softy.

Rei opened up the curtains a bit more to let in the artificial sunlight, then she looked over at Asuka. Curiously she asked about a bit of gossip she heard, "Did one of the bridge crew really come down here to apologize?"

"Maya, yeah," Asuka made a face.

The dark haired young woman had been very nearly been in tears when Maya had come inside the room. The bridge officer had quietly explained to Asuka how the weapons systems under her command had been the ones responsible for Asuka's plane being shot, and how very sorry Maya was about it happening...

"It took me nearly ten minutes to convince her it wasn't her fault just to get her the hell out of my room so I could get some sleep," Asuka complained.

Shinji hid a slight smile. He had seen the gentle smile on Maya's face later on that day, and after striking up a conversation the young lady had spoken to him admirably about Asuka, how she had comforted her and made her understand that it hadn't been anyone's fault. 'The boss ain't quite as nasty as she would want people to think,' he mused.

"And what are you smiling at?" Asuka asked him with a scowl.

"Nothing, nothing," Shinji shrugged.

"Huh," Asuka gave him a suspicious look, then looked away. "Has there been any more angel appearances?" she finally asked.

"Nothing," Rei shook her head firmly, "there's been a few skirmishes with battlepods, but the Angel suits have been conspicuously absent."

"I don't like it," Shinji admitted, "I think that they're up to something."

"Wouldn't be that surprised," Asuka calmly noted. She fixed her two wingmen with a fierce look, "If you two end up having to go out there, be careful. I know the kind of trouble that you two can get into on your own."

"We'll be careful," Rei agreed with a impish smile.

Shinji checked the flowers one more time then walked to the door, "I gotta go, boss." He smiled wryly, "I have a date with Minmei."

"Good luck," Asuka gave him a grin, "you're gonna need it." Shinji chuckled as he headed out, but she noticed that Rei was lingering.

The blue haired young woman looked oddly uncomfortable standing by her bedside. Rei took a deep breath, "Asuka, I..."

Up on the bridge there was an odd sound in the background, a low buzzing noise. Slumped down in the command chair Misato snored softly, her black captain's hat pulled down over her eyes, her uniform badly rumpled by the posture.

Makoto watched her a few moments, his brown hair falling into his eyes. "Should we try to wake her up?" he finally asked the others.

"I wouldn't be too worried about it," Ritsuko said calmly, "she's always awake when we need her." Dropping her voice she looked over at Maya to ask, "Are you feeling any better now that you've gone to see Asuka?"

"Yes, sempai," Maya blushed sweetly. She pushed her messy hair up out of her eyes, "She was very nice, actually."

"She had better be," Ritsuko muttered under her breath. The blonde puffed out a soft breath, "But I was pleasantly surprised to see how she works with her wingmen."

"How so?" Makoto asked curiously from his position.

"We all know how odd Rei has been, since her accidental exposure to raw robo-technology in Gendo's lab," Ritsuko said to them quietly, "but she almost seemed human again, the way she fussed over Asuka when she was first hurt."

"I noticed Shinji's been a bit more.. normal, too," Maya nodded thoughtfully. Shinji had been raised by distant relatives when his mother died, only being reunited with his father by his being in Macross city when the spacefold happened.

"Gee, I wonder if Asuka could help change Gendo, too," Makoto said thoughtfully.

Ritsuko and Maya exchanged a long look. "Well, she's not a miracle worker," Ritsuko chuckled to herself softly, looking away with a blush.

"She's not all that bad, though," Misato surprised them all by speaking up. She didn't change her posture at all from where she slouched in the captain's chair, "Tactical report?"

"Enemy ships are still pacing us, maintaining standard distance. No battlepod squadrons breaking off, no cruiser movements," Maya reported.

"Just like the last few days," Ritsuko noted.

"Yeah," Misato agreed, one dark eye shining as she looked out the window at blue sky. Softly she whispered, "What the hell are they up to?"

Out beyond the reach of the SDF-1's weapons the enemy fleet trailed behind them, maintaining quiet order. Within the massive lead ship their was an odd feeling of mustiness, of disrepair. Everything ran, but only just barely.

"Commander," Mirya stood there at attention, the green haired woman almost rigid, "I request permission to attack!"

The shadowy figure looked out at the vessel, "Your plan?"

"A tactical squad will attack the outside of the ship," Mirya explained crisply, "while I and one other will attempt to break through their defenses. We will explore the interior, and try to discover the location of the Protoculture."

"Zor's great work," the commander looked out at the great ship they followed. He frowned, "I still do not understand why they have not used it's full power against us."

"I don't know," Mirya admitted. She looked thoughtful, "It could be that they do not fully understand the power sealed away within it."

"Or it could be that their technicians are idiots," the shadowy figure mused.

On board the SDF-1 Gendo Ikari sneezed suddenly.

To be continued...