Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Headhunter ❯ Destination ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Headhunter

Chapter 4

Destination

A couple of moments had passed since Asuka's fainting. When she woke up she didn't know if she'd slept for an hour or more. It seemed like too little but she wasn't sure.

She watched the sky. Not many clouds drifted by the sun. Somewhere a bird was singing. If this had been somewhere else in both time and place, she could have believed she was on vacation, one of those rare ones where she actually got to be on a planet. Since, when growing up, she had spent most of her time on space stations, she had learned to love the simple things, like raindrops falling to the ground or the sun's rays warming her body.

But today wasn't one of those days. She had just dueled one of the most dangerous species in the galaxy, a giant Alien that was almost three times bigger than herself, one even most Predators thought twice before trying slay. This was also her first ever duel with a Praetorian and now she understood why most Predators preferred not to do it more than once.

Now she began slowly to drag herself up. She first felt her neck and opened her helmet. It was still sore from the creature's tail whip. Next there was her left leg. Acid drops had oxidized quickly, but before that they had burned deep into her flesh. Her leg wasn't burning like the first time but walking on it still hurt.

Her shoulders were still tender from the Praetorian's squeeze. Her back also had a nasty wound that would be infected if it weren't treated soon. Predators' healing equipment would help her but she couldn't put it on her back by herself. She needed help.

Overall, her situation was bad but the Praetorian's was worse. Slowly, the one-handed giant had sunk to the ground and was laying there, Asuka's tail spear reaching to the skies from its back. It was still colored red and dirty yellow from their blood. Asuka began to struggle to her feet, and limped to retrieve her spear. Although it was stained with yellow spots, they didn't cause any harm now because nature, or whatever had spawned this beast, had designed their blood to close wounds by changing from acid to a harmless liquid. It took about 10-20 minutes for the acid to oxidize so, from that, Asuka estimated that she had been unconsciousness for half an hour.

She pressed a button on her spear and the Praetorian's shell let out a crunch as her spear separated from it. The spear hummed and quickly shrank back to its carrying mode. Asuka shuddered as the yellow jelly dropped harmlessly to the ground. Its stinging stench seemed to be right inside her nose.

“So, who's the tough bitch now?” she asked mockingly. Although Aliens didn't have genders, only different strains, and they reproduced asexually, this was close enough to female. Asuka would have mocked it more but inside her the Predator teachings on how to deal with prey with honor had kicked in. Predators rarely taunted their prey unless they had a reason to do so. And Thaarn seemed to control his emotions well. She hadn't really seen him angry, so she couldn't know about it.

She crouched carefully and switched her wrist blades open-it was time to do her duty as a Hunter. She began to slice its neck. Carefully she grabbed its still slim jaw and lifted it. The head was heavy because of the weight of the shield. This was her first grand trophy; Aliens were hard to kill, as she had noticed. Predators had discovered that, when it came to their weapons, a combination of Predator steel and Alien blood was more effective than any human steel could be.

This was a trick Thaarn had taught her. He had known this time would come and Asuka was both afraid of it and excited about it. She had waited for the acid blood to oxidize but, now the Alien was dead, its body chemistry was changing quickly. Now instead of healing it, it was crumbling it. If she waited for some time she could cut it off without exhausting herself completely. Blade tips began to meld and a light smell floated up to her nose. She rose up and looked at her fallen adversary once more.

She couldn't believe she had done it. She had taken one step on her way to easing her troubled dreams. She was also, to her surprise, awaiting Thaarn's reaction. Or more like she felt happy because she was honoring the traditions of her clan and breaking limits that no one had ever thought possible. Next, she glanced to the outpost, which was buried inside rock.

Now it was time to do her duty as a human, to try to find any survivors. She limped her way to the door. She passed by the headless body that had suffered probably the worst fate he could have received. At least he got a quick death. She grimaced and walked to the door and, before she could do anything, it slid open.

She peeked inside. There was complete silence. Only a couple of cooling fans gave a ghostly hum. She walked through the door. She noticed now that the man who had tried to get inside didn't get the combination right after all.

The opening panel was smashed. The armored plate, which was concealing the door panels in case of a lock down, had been torn open, and the controls were smashed into tiny pieces. Several claw scratches had been left on them. Supposedly this had malfunctioned the panel and when the motion sensors had detected movement they had opened the door. The door was almost broken from the inside. It wouldn't have taken long for a Praetorian to break out anyway.

She thought on using her helmet's thermal vision mode to find any survivors, but then she remembered what happened before, and again the fear of the same kinds of people, armed, began to knock in her mind. She remembered that these places had automatic scanning systems that would pick up if there were any people left alive. Because the door panel had been smashed she should find a control panel somewhere...

The corridors weren't as complicated as she had expected. Here and there were giant fans. After a while she saw the Praetorian's first victims.

Or what was left of them.

Asuka was proud, but pride didn't stop her putting her hand to her mouth. She had seen many things when she was inside the space station for weeks, but she never had a chance to see Aliens' leftovers first hand.

Most of the bodies were eaten, first the head, then the limbs. Only the torso was left intact in many cases, sometimes not even that. She tried not to look too closely, but she couldn't close her nose. Blood was only one thing in the human body, and the stench of other body liquids was so strong that she felt them even with her mouth covered. Suddenly something under her boots crunched. She looked down but couldn't see anything and decided to go forward.

She had, without knowing, stepped on someone's lower jaw.

After more walking, the stench and sights began to be so disgusting that she gave up and grabbed her mask back on. She took a couple of hazy steps and then breathed deeply. She thanked God, or whatever Predators believed in, that they had put purifiers inside of it.

But she couldn't stop images flooding her mind. She felt a mixture of feelings inside her: fear and rage. After a while of walking and trying to find someone living she found the terminal. She went through some commands based on her memory of watching Kensuke when he had too much spare time. “Weyland-Yutani service terminal: -Status online due to emergency lockdown-.”

Over the next half hour, for the first time in many years, she wished she had followed him more carefully. She tried her best but her commands weren't accepted. After a long struggle, she hit the keyboard with her fist. “Corporation's piece of scheisse!” she cursed. “Why can't you do your....” She stopped when she noticed that something was happening.

”Command accepted. Thank you,” a woman's voice stated.

Asuka shrugged. “Danke.” It seemed that the traditional swearing and violence solution to computer malfunctions had done the trick.

“Scanning Weyland-Yutani installation for life forms. Please stand by,” the voice announced again.

`Can I do anything else?' Asuka thought as she looked at the green grids relating to scan completion. It didn't take long.

“One life form detected in the presence of this terminal. Human female, identity unknown. Age approximately 18 to 20 years.”

“I came too late...” she shook her head.

“Voice command protocol initiated. The latest technology will help you in your daily routines...”

“That's enough,” she answered at the casual face-lift speech for W&Y the computer was about to offer. “Can you tell me how many workers there were before the emergency lock down, and if this installation picked up signs of... anything unusual?”

“Redefine: `anything unusual',” the computer voice asked.

“Oh, hell...” Asuka wasn't sure what to say.

“Unknown term: `oh, hell'. Please be more accurate.”

“I don't know... unknown things...anything out of the ordinary!” she snapped, frustrated.

“At eight a.m. local time, an emergency lockdown was initiated by a higher authority. Non-human life forms were detected inside the outpost sector –CLASSIFIED-” The reply was interrupted by a male voice.

“Oh great, I've only been here for half an hour and you're already calling for aid?” she answered, knowing well that the terminal wouldn't answer. “Hey, you said inside, right?”

“Correct,” the computer answered.

“So… This non-human life form... Was it here the whole time?” she questioned.

The terminal didn't answer at first. “You--click--you do not have security authorization high enough to receive an answer.”

“I don't need your chicken shit authorization, fucking infernal machine, I can guess the rest,” she snapped. “That beast didn't break in, it was breaking out, wasn't it?! It was inside...” she pointed metal floor under her, “here.”

“CLASSIFIED,” a male voice announced.

“Oh really? Well, classify all you want. If you can, tell me, how did the emergency protocol kick in in the first place?” She was now starting to get angry.

“By off planet input,” the computer answered. “It was relayed through the latest communication equipment available to public and private use. You can pay in installments or take a private loan and...”

“What the hell?” she hissed. “The whole damn place is like a morgue, and here you are throwing these fucking commercials at me?! Where did the emergency lockdown order come from?”

“CLASSIFIED,” the male voice answered.

“Hey, you stay out of this. This is between me and her,” Asuka grunted and took a couple of steps back. Even though her back was hurt she managed to get strength in her kick. With an echoing CLANG sound the terminal screen began to flash and then it shut down.

“Contact your service provider... Contact your service provider... Contact your service provider... Tired of waiting for the new Bold & Beautiful Season 9 DVD?... Contact your service provider... It's read-yyy!.”

“Ah,” she shook her head. Then she felt her legs going weak and she grabbed the wall for support.

“Contact your service provider... Call 990-87 and order... Contact your service provider...”

“Shut the fuck up! I'm trying not to faint here!” she yelled, while trying to regain control of her legs.

As though it had understood, the terminal's panel began to throw sparks and beep furiously. After a while it stopped beeping and the light on the terminal shut down. A few sparks occasionally flew through the air. Asuka looked stunned at the terminal. “And I thought it was me who needed to adjust her computer skills... That's what I would call customer service...” She inhaled deeply a few more times and felt that she could stand on her legs again. “I'm getting out of here,” she whispered and began to walk out while taking support from the wall next to her.

She thought about everything that was inside this outpost.

How the Praetorian had gotten inside, she didn't know, but it seemed like only a few people knew about it, and the poor bastard who had gotten a chance to relay an SOS certainly wasn't aware of it. She didn't believe for a second that all the personnel were clean. Somebody had to have known, and she doubted it was one of those who had been eaten. Off planet input only gave her even more reason to believe that somebody knew, and maybe this was what that someone had waited for. “Lockdown a base with Aliens on the loose?” She shuddered remembering it again.

It was a death warrant. But who had signed it?

She, against her will, began to think of the last time, and whether the others forgot her on purpose on the space platform, or if they really did lose her there… The feeling of not being cared about was looming on her mind. “No...” she whispered. She didn't want to think about it. Maybe it would have eased her mind if she had only heard them say that they didn't want her to survive, but rolling this idea over and over inside her head was beginning to strain her mind.

Besides, it didn't have any meaning now. Now she was among creatures that did care about her. Being part of the clan was maybe the last place she expected to be, but at the same time it was the place she most felt that she belonged.

Sometimes she toyed with the idea that she would appear to those who had left her so they would see what she had become.

As she walked, or more, limped through the installation, Asuka couldn't get rid of the stalking feeling on her shoulders, as if the huge complex had more buried inside than she could possibly realize. But on the other hand, she didn't want to know.

What she really wanted now was to get out of there. Outside, it seemed that this world was a fairytale forest where cute little rabbits bounced around and frogs sang as nature's own choir.

Inside, it felt like an Aliens' den, or a tomb, perhaps. Half eaten corpses and disgusting moisture that hung in the air in the form of fog... Despite the giant cooling fans it remained and covered every step she took. She didn't know where this foggy moisture came from, but the fans didn't seem to help. Instead they seemed to be making it worse. Loud humming sounds that cut through the air and rays of light that shone between the fans' blades seemed to complete the eerie atmosphere.

Her clothing was now almost in pieces. Her black top was torn open at the four wounds that the Praetorian's claws had left on her back. The Predator net suit covering her body had too given up quite a few strings. Her trousers had melted from her right thigh and a couple of strings from there had also been cut.

She, unlike her clan brothers, used shoes. Combat boots, actually. Predators only used a kind of bandage around their feet if they felt they would need them, or else two-toed steel boots. Those bandages left their nails bare so they could use them when climbing.

She felt like the various pieces of her ensemble were arguing with each other but, as before, she let her obsession with clothing alone because it made her feel like she was a little girl again. Then again, sometimes she would like to be that way.

Finally she reached the door of the haunted complex. Much to her surprise it opened easily just by pressing the button. The flush of fresh air didn't make the fog inside go away. She took a couple of steps outside, trying not to look at the Praetorian's lunch. Where his head was, she didn't know.

She walked to the Praetorian's corpse and looked at her opponent again. She crouched over it and got a firm grip on its disc-like head. She twisted and grimaced as the ache again returned to her shoulders. She continued twisting and finally its weakened neck gave up and let out a snap.

Asuka rose up and raised her newly acquired prize to her own head's height and stared at it from behind her mask.

Suddenly its lower jaw fell open and she gasped out of surprise. She couldn't stop wondering how it still managed to retain such a strong atmosphere of death around it. She experienced a whole set of feelings when she looked at it. She wanted to crush it but she also felt proud as she looked at her trophy, the first one she had killed without help. Her lips curled into a smile behind her hunting mask.

She took the giant head, which was still moist, under her arm and walked to the black arm that was separated from its owner, cutting it from the wrist with her wrist blades. A couple more `jewels' for her necklace. She began to march to her ship.

She stepped in and put both the head and claw on a small table in the center of the ship, near the cockpit. Asuka removed her hunting mask and stroked her red hair braids with her hand. It wasn't a complete mess. Though she had some reservations about Predators' style, she had adapted it and the braids were easy to wash.

Asuka walked to the cockpit, drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes and relaxed herself before grabbing the controls. It was time to retrieve her teacher.

- - - - - - - -

Inside Solaris, the command deck was quiet. Solaris was on standby, waiting for orders. Only two people were present and both of them, Makoto Hyuga and Shigeru Aoba, were part the group of three recruited bridge controllers. The third member of the group wasn't even on the ship. Hyuga and Shigeru were both enjoying their coffee, which was, of course, their own. Weyland-Yutani didn't really bother to offer any refreshments on their flights.

“So you think something is about to happen sometime soon?” Hyuga took a little sip of his coffee.

“I'm sure,” Shigeru answered. “Major mentioned that Doctor Akagi is being transferred here. The Corporation is definitely up to something.”

“Yeah,” Hyuga shrugged. “The question is what they are doing, and where.”

“What do you mean by that?” Shigeru inquired.

“Well, word is that, instead of squashing those Bugs, we're going to be changing to a sort of holding bay for them,” Hyuga said.

“Oh and who told you that?” Shigeru asked out of curiosity.

“That Aida kid,” Hyuga started.

“Wait a minute...” Shigeru chuckled. “You got your information from Kensuke `Lucky Shot' Aida?” Kensuke had earned that nickname during his years in the Corporation's Academy. It was said he was more interested in just shooting than actually hitting anything.

“So?” Hyuga frowned.

“You really did!” Shigeru laughed out. “Why didn't you ask if Gendo Ikari uses women's clothes?”

“What's up with that?” Hyuga asked.

“Nothing at all, but Aida's career here might be short,” Shigeru answered.

“What are you talking about?” Hyuga asked.

“Well he's smuggling all kinds of things here that are illegal. The last batch was some porn.”

“Really?” Hyuga grinned.

“Really,” Shigeru nodded.

“What was the price?” Hyuga asked.

Shigeru stared at him for a moment and took a sip from his coffee cup. He held his gaze for a couple of seconds. “Lets go back to that conspiracy theory of yours,” he said quickly.

“Well, Aida... umm... acquired some data about military traffic and it seems that this group is forming its own battle group alone,” Hyuga elaborated.

“So there isn't any backup for standby?” Shigeru wondered.

“No. It seems that we either have the most potent crew in history or both the company and army really trust us.”

“Heh,” Shigeru snorted. “I really hope we get some more men.”

“No offence, but this is a bit of a bad time to come out of the closet,” Hyuga grinned.

“Hah, hah. I meant recruits. Everyone who knows how to use a gun is welcome.”

“So you're going to kick Maya out of the airlock when she arrives here?” Hyuga needled.

“I'd almost like to. Don't get me wrong, I like her and she's an excellent worker, but this is something different.”

“Something different...” Hyuga thought aloud. “I guess that's one way to describe Bugs. But she has more experience with them than us.”

“She has dissected a dead bug,” Shigeru retorted.

“A Bug is a Bug,” Hyuga answered.

“There's a hell of a lot of difference between a dead Bug and a living one. Dead ones don't bite,” Shigeru said. “At least I think they don't.”

“Well, at least she has dissected one, which is an awful lot better than never seeing a Bug at all, by the way,” Hyuga added and took another sip from his cup. “With her grand love.”

“Are you going to start again with that?” Shigeru chuckled.

“Haven't you heard how Maya talks about her?” Hyuga asked.

“How could I not hear? I've been with you since the Weyland-Yutani training started, and I have two ears, you know,” Shigeru answered, sipping his coffee for first time.

“Under that hair it's a wonder you can hear anything,” Hyuga answered, amused. “She talks like she wants to marry her.”

“So do half the academic staff but it doesn't mean they like her *that* way,” Shigeru explained. “If you're so interested in all this why don't you ask Maya about it when she gets here?”

“Are you nuts? You don't ask those kinds of things from ladies.” Hyuga thought for a second. “Well except Major, but I don't think Maya would be flattered.”

Shigeru smiled. “Well, if it helps, I can ask for you.”

Hyuga smiled forcefully back. “Thanks for the offer, but let's not.”

“I'm only trying to help.” Shigeru stretched his uniform. “At least Maya was lucky.”

“Yeah, I guess it's a pretty big thing, getting a research assistant's job alongside the most genius scientist in whole universe,” Hyuga said.

“Not only that, but she gets to wear Corporation's uniform,” Shigeru answered, stretching his uniform again.

“Is that something to be proud of?” Hyuga wondered.

“No, but this military uniform is always either too small or itching my skin,” Shigeru said, aggravated, while trying to stretch his uniform again.

“Well what can you do about it? In the army everything fits right first time, like it or not,” Hyuga shrugged.

“Says who?” Shigeru asked.

“Sammy, the superior officer,” Hyuga imitated, keeping his speech coming between his teeth. “`You can complain boy, but it ain't worth a Bug's ass. Pull yourself together maggot!'”

Shigeru snorted. “You only need an eye-patch, an unshaved chin plus a couple of hundred battle scars.” He pointed his finger to Hyuga's glasses, “And lose those, then we have a new leader and up-and-coming war hero.”

“What, aren't I believable officer material the way I am?” He stretched his arms.

“More like office material. You look like some accountant with those,” Shigeru grinned.

“Look who's talking. You'd hardly be able to see a Bug under that sea plant,” Hyuga retorted.

“At least I have hobbies I'm not shamed of showing in public,” Shigeru answered.

“I do have hobbies too,” Hyuga objected.

“Not as artistic as mine.” Shigeru threw his hair over his shoulder.

“When Bugs come to pay us a little visit are you gonna play guitar and hope that your audience drops dead? Or maybe you could sing a lullaby instead?” Hyuga asked and rubbed his ears.

“Hey, I had better shooting scores than you,” said Shigeru as he scratched his uniform for about the tenth time.

“Have you seen Snow White's uniform?” Hyuga asked and shook his head. “It's like no uniform you've ever seen before.”

“It's a one of a kind alright. It's so white that it hurts your eyes. Skin tight too...” Hyuga whistled.

“It's an experimental fiber that doesn't annoy skin. And it's almost so soft that you feel like you aren't wearing anything at all,” Shigeru dreamed.

“Yep. I heard that it even withstands impacts and has some kind of sensors built in,” Hyuga said on his turn.

“Well that uniform is way out of our pay check,” Shigeru added. “And besides I should be working for the corporation again, and I'd be happy if I didn't need to be in any dealing with them. And it's made for a woman.”

“Really?” Hyuga wondered. “So they were her natural assets... I thought they were fake. I would wear it anyway,” Hyuga said after thinking on it for a while.

Shigeru looked at his friend, a little stunned. “Makoto, it's not my thing to get involved with stuff that doesn't concern me, but now you're really worrying me. I know it may be fun to dress like woman but in times like these it may be enough reason for the brass to kick you out of the force.”

“C'mon, you just hinted yourself that you'd like to try it out too,” Hyuga retorted.

“Well...” Shigeru thought.

“Besides you were the one who advertised how soft it was,” Hyuga reminded him. “Besides it's funny when man dresses as a woman.”

“Hmm... Only when the man doesn't look like a woman,” Shigeru thought. “Well, I guess it would be fun to see it. And I've always wondered if it makes your mind more feminine,” Shigeru chuckled and smiled, putting his coffee mug on the table.

Suddenly Shigeru stiffened like a statue. He raised his hand to his forehead as a salute. “Someone has done his homework,” Hyuga said and drank his remaining coffee. Shigeru grimaced and kicked Hyuga's feet, nodding forward.

“Ow!” Hyuga cried and looked behind him. He rose at the speed of a full-grown Xenomorph, doing the same as Shigeru. “Sir... umm... Ma'am...” he tried.

Opposite the two bridge technicians was Snow White, better known as Corporation's representative Rei Ayanami. She was in her `soft' skin-tight uniform and was watching both of them with her ruby red eyes. For a moment nothing happened. Shigeru and Hyuga were wondering in panic how much of their conversation she had overheard.

“At ease,” she ordered after staring at them for a while.

Shigeru and Hyuga gasped for air. They had, without noticing it, held their breath. Rei patiently waited for them both to collect themselves before she spoke.

“Start the engines. We're leaving,” she ordered.

“Ma'am, shouldn't we inform Major first?” Hyuga asked.

“No,” Rei answered. “This ship was built using Weyland-Yutani assets and is considered to be under shared command. I will inform her myself later.”

“Roger Ma'am. We will initiate plasma reactor. Our arrival will be delayed because of a calibration problem with the power relays,” Shigeru stated.

“What coordinates, Ma'am?” Hyuga inquired.

“7-3-4. We are tracking frigate Firefly. This is an interception mission.” She paused. “It's a wartime frigate and there is a possibility that it is armed. If it tries to escape, or refuses to power down, you have permission to destroy its weapons and engines.”

“Roger,” Hyuga stated. “What are our orders once Firefly has been immobilized?”

“I will delegate the operation from then on to Major Katsuragi. She will lead the raid on the Flaming Daggers' ship Firefly. I will return here to observe. Notify me when you have the frigate in sight.” Neither Hyuga nor Shigeru could recall a situation where Rei had been so vocal.

“What about other ship encounters, Ma'am? Raiders or Predators? At least one energy signature detected matches that of a plasma reactor, and we are the only ship with the plasma technique in this sector. There is no other Costanoga Mk.2 cruiser assigned to this sector,” Shigeru asked.

Rei seemed to be on her toes when she heard word `Predator'. “I don't believe we will encounter any Predators, but if that should take place, do not engage. Stay clear of any hostile ships. Is this understood?”

“Yes Ma'am!” They both answered in unison.

Rei turned to leave and when she was at the door she stopped. “If you like, I could request one or two of my soft and tight uniforms so you can hurt each others' eyes without my assistance.” Before Shigeru or Hyuga could say anything she had vanished from the doorway.

“She was joking, right?” Hyuga asked, a little startled.

“I don't think they're paid for telling jokes,” Shigeru said feeling a bit worried.

“I just hope she doesn't spread the word,” Hyuga muttered.

- - - - - - -

Bishop and Hikari had arrived to the power relay controls. The relay itself was shielded with armor, which was almost as thick as the armor plates that covered the reactor. On the wall were cooling pipes with black and yellow warning stripes. Needless to say, the power that coursed through relay warmed things up a little.

“So this is the second most important component in the whole ship?” Hikari asked and glanced at Bishop.

“Yes. If this goes down, power to non-critical systems, such as lights, will be cut off,” Bishop answered.

“What about guns?” Hikari asked. ”I really don't want any Raider scum to sneak up and burn a hole in the hull. Corporation would hold the cost of repairs from my salary.”

“Launcher systems require power but some mass drivers can be rigged to fire manually,” Bishop said.

“Without computer targeting and with a slower rate of fire, I guess,” Hikari said.

“Yes,” Bishop nodded. “Mass drivers have their own generators for magnetic field but in order to reach maximum potential they need more power.”

“No need to worry it about then. Raiders normally have anything larger than a corvette. And if anybody tries something they'll have a nice hole for extra air conditioning. She should be completely safe from any ugly men with her best friends, mass drivers,” Hikari smiled.

“You have a way with words, Miss Horaki,” Bishop smiled.

“Didn't I tell you to call me like everyone else does?” she reminded him.

“Everyone else calls you `Miss Horaki' or `Mechanic Horaki',” Bishop said.

“Try to drop that and call me `Hikari'. That `Miss' reminds me of the days when I was a class representative, and not in a way I like,” Hikari said.

“I'll try,” Bishop answered.

Hikari nodded and looked at the control panel. “No need to open any hatches and fiddle with wires?”

“No. The malfunction is purely in the software. We'll find the right frequency and that should do it,” Bishop said.

“I almost wish we were in an ordinary Costanoga class cruiser. No plasma core and no calibrating these...” She pointed at the wall that shielded the power relay.

“Didn't you want specifically to get on board one of these new ships?” Bishop had taken his time to find out what had brought these people together.

“I said `almost'. What is better in these new ones is their better power:repair ratio,” Hikari chuckled. “Four years ago I would have laughed myself dead if somebody had said to me that I would some day be a mechanic.”

“This wasn't your number one career choice, then?” Bishop asked.

“Oh no. If I'd listed potential jobs back then, this would have been at the bottom. It's one thing that made it happen. It wasn't even technical; it was just about laziness. I just hate sloppiness.” She shook her head.

“Mostly, Corporation tries to do everything the cheapest way, not the most efficient,” Bishop answered.

“I try to avoid it.” She lowered her toolbox to the ground. “Lets get to work.”

Bishop took the familiar wire out of his pocket. This time he didn't put it in his arm but instead in his neck.

“You're doing that `Matrix' thing again?” Hikari grimaced as Bishop's plug clicked in place.

“I can get a better reading this way,” Bishop said.

Hikari began to input data on the console. “Watch out for agents.”

“Maybe a reference to `Ghost In The Shell' would be more appropriate,” Bishop commented.

“I don't recall any. They robbed that plug idea from there,” Hikari said and input more commands. “What frequency are we using now?”

Bishop thought and answered. “14 850 MHz.”

“Let's try the whole 15 grand...” she said. Suddenly she heard loud a grumble from the direction of the engine department.

Bishop and Hikari looked in that direction. “Seems like we're getting somewhere.”

“Well, let's hope they're ready for a rough ride,” Hikari said as they continued working.

- - - - - - -

Misato and Shinji were overseeing the Marines' practice shootings. To save time, they had made moveable practice lines inside the hangar. The Costanoga mark II had almost twice as much room in its hangars to facilitate more dropships.

Over the hangar were several catwalks giving an excellent overview of the area. The noise of dozens of pulse rifles firing filled the air. Mouth flames flashed bright stars as they watched them.

“They seem to score pretty well,” the purple haired Major praised.

“They should,” Shinji answered. “They're all volunteers. Can you imagine?” he asked.

“Of course: you're voluntary aren't you?” Misato asked.

“I wouldn't say that,” Shinji objected.

“If I remember correctly, it was you who, after a week in his room, marched up to me and asked, no...” she held her finger up, “begged, that I would get your sorry, worthless and so on, ass through Academy training.”

Shinji sighed. “I should have taken a different Academy and whole a different tutor...”

“Hey, what's wrong with me?” she asked teasingly.

“What isn't wrong with you?” Shinji grinned. “No, really, you're the best. But still...”

“What?” she asked.

“Look at them...” He pointed at the marines training below them. “Do you think they know what they're getting into?”

“I doubt it. There are definitely some boys and girls in there who accepted this job because of the easy money. And why not? Things are pretty calm right now,” she answered.

“They haven't even seen any Bugs. At least we know what's coming. Or we think we do.” Shinji shook his head.

“Well, let's not get too depressed. How are things with the Corporation bombshell?” Misato inquired.

“Jesus, it's just the first day and you already think we've knocked boots?” Shinji sighed.

“Well...?” Misato persisted.

“For your information, no, we didn't,” he said dryly.

“She just laughed in your face?” Misato crossed her arms and her eyes intensified the way they did every time she tried to get the truth out of someone.

“No,” he answered drowsily.

“Kicked you in the balls, then?” she tried again.

Shinji grimaced as images of the classic self defense move applied in practice flooded his mind. “No, and it's a good thing this armor is keeping me safe downstairs too,” he shuddered. “At least I hope it is.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“I only exchanged a word or two with her, and that's it,” he answered.

“You're playing the waiting game, then,” Misato said. “I don't blame you. I bet our Ice Queen doesn't like it if you appear too eager.”

“You just never give up, do you? I'm not saying that I wouldn't appreciate your `help'...” he paused, ”...but I can run my own affairs, thank you.”

“Well who would believe it? They actually managed to turn you into a man in that Academy,” she smiled. “There was a time when you agreed with almost everything I said.”

“You did a good job helping me. Actually Misato… I want to ask you something,” Shinji said.

“Shoot,” Misato nodded.

“How did you manage to get me a false identity that got through even Corporation's background checks?” he asked.

“Well that's sort of a long story, so I'll give you the shortened version. Do you know the platform named `Promised Land'?” she asked him.

“I do. It's a sort of state in space, the first and last one if Corporation can do anything about it,” Shinji shrugged.

“Yeah. I know this one crew. It's a collection of people who have been doing things for money for some time now. They're ex-soldiers with different skills. One of them has even been a Corporate soldier,” Misato said. “Another one is a spec-op guy, well, a girl actually. Ria was the name. She and, I think it was her fiancÃ©, started it apparently. The third came up later.”

“Why doesn't Corporation go after that ex-soldier? I don't think they'd be happy if he decided to tell his secrets to another corporation,” Shinji asked.

“He has managed to get everyone else to believe he's toast,” Misato answered. “But can you answer this?”

“I'll try,” Shinji encouraged.

“Why did you want a false identity in the first place?” Misato had wondered this for some time now, and when this was her chance to ask, she wasn't going to waste it.

“I didn't want the others to know who I was. They wouldn't see me as a soldier but as Ikari's son, or heir to the throne,” Shinji said, picking up a couple of names he'd been called in school. “I don't want to hear that crap. I'm not interested in resting on my past.

“Being the boss's son isn't easy. You can't run away from the past, it seems.”

“I see,” Misato said, but thought more.

“But why are you still trying to find a match for me?” he asked.

“It's my honorable duty to do so. I haven't abandoned you before and I won't now,” she announced.

“I don't recall any military appendices advising a career as a pimp, not even W&Y's. They don't like private entrepreneurs. They prefer to have a monopoly....” Shinji scratched his neck “But if you offer them a fair deal, maybe 60% to them and a 40% share for yourself, they might even minus it from your taxes.”

“That's a little too harsh. I would just say that I'm helping Amour to shoot its arrows,” she answered.

“If you're shooting would you give me a word of warning? I don't want any lovesick Bug on my tail and I doubt it will wait `til a third date,” he shrugged.

“My, my, aren't we cynical as always. Besides, that third date rule is even more ancient than this jacket of mine. I haven't used it,” Misato shook her head.

“So I've heard,” Shinji smiled weakly. “Literally.”

Misato smiled too, her voice serious. “I thought I ordered you out to so some physical exercises when I was having fun,” she said.

“Well, sometimes I managed to do my exercises faster than normal, and happened on your own workout area,” he winked.

“I didn't mean you to see,” she started.

“Well, I didn't see anything but I heard quite well. Sure, it was a shock at first but I didn't need any therapy for it,” he said, “and I don't deny that part of your instinct. Besides, your company was pretty decent.”

“Glad to hear I was some example,” she said proudly.

“I never thought you were a nun, but maybe some people did,” he chuckled.

“Come again?” she asked.

“On more than on occasion I heard an `Oh my God!' from your room.”

“And soundproofing shows its value. Damn, Ikea is even worse in space...” she shook her head, trying to figure how much her former roommate had heard.

“It's not supposed to be pounded that way,” he answered.

“Eeh... and you were okay with that?” she asked in a lowered tone. “I mean, you didn't say a thing,” she said with some hesitation.

Shinji was actually pleased that even she had some awkward things in her past. “It wasn't my thing to get involved so I let it be, although I suspect a few of them wouldn't have minded.”

“Well, if I'm such a good role model, why don't you follow my example?” she smiled teasingly.

“Well, I'm not saying she's so repulsive I'd kick her out of my cryo capsule,” he said, as the thought of the skin tight uniformed representative alone with him in the closed capsule played on his mind. He smiled weakly at the thought. “But she's from the Corporation.” He said it like it would explain everything.

“And she's hot,” Misato said. “You're taking that Corporation background too seriously.”

“Is it any wonder?” he asked coldly. In his mind he could see himself waiting in his father's lobby only for someone to tell him that Gendo couldn't see him right now, or he was in a meeting. It was hard to get any kind of reaction from his father, emotional or otherwise, so Shinji had spent most of his time in his guardian's care. Eventually he just decided not to try to meet his father anymore.

“Well... I guess it isn't.” Misato had almost forgotten his background. “But there are a few nice guys in there too.”

“Name some,” Shinji said firmly. “And if you really manage to find one Corporate guy who isn't a baby eating piece of shit, I'll give you a medal. When I have one to give you, I mean.”

Misato didn't say anything, just drummed the railing with her fingertips and set her eyes on the roof. She was going through some of her early memories from her years at the Academy and was thinking of one man with a ponytail and an unshaven face. Anger and a sudden feeling of missing him washed her brains and she finally shook her head. “Well, I think there may be at least one, and maybe they're on this ship.”

“And maybe you should fix that sense radar, it's only made about a dozen mistakes...” he stopped and understood that he had said too much.

“What was that?” she demanded, looking at him. Shinji looked like he had just bit his tongue.

“Nothing...” he tried.

“I want to hear it. You were criticizing my one trait that doesn't fail!” she snapped.

“Misato...” Shinji tried again.

“Spit it out,” she ordered.

“Okay. You have been so... active for a number of years and you still haven't found your perfect match. And I'd say there are plenty of takers for you. In your case it seems like love is eternal but its subjects change on a weekly basis.” He said it as carefully as he could; even with Asuka he hadn't used so careful an approach.

“Say, you still have that crotch armor in place?” Misato asked smiling but malice was dripping from her voice.

“Umm... yes. How come?” Shinji asked, backing away a little.

“You said yourself you didn't know how much punishment it could take. Want to test it? I'm ready,” she said, looking at him with her smile gone and stomping her right leg on the steel like a bull readying for attack.

To Shinji's misfortune his career as a matador fell short. But they both appreciated a somewhat different intermission. Out of nowhere a smoke trail flew upward past them. They both managed to notice it out of the corner of their eyes. Then came a blinding flash of light and a pressure wave knocked them down.

They both lay on the catwalk in case there would be more grenades but when they never came Shinji heard Misato cursing as she climbed up. “What the fuck was that!?!” she gasped.

Shinji too crawled to his feet and looked at the ceiling. Where the explosive had hit was a dark print, only a meter or two in diameter, and shrapnel from it lay in the area around him. He recognized the print immediately. “Somebody just shot a pulse grenade at the ceiling,” he yelled.

“How? Hikari and Bishop code-locked those pulse rifles to training mode. They're on 256-bit encryption, and I got the impression that this couldn't happen,” Misato answered.

“It couldn't happen by accident, the pump action launchers should have done the refresher course for the first day, ”Shinji said and crawled up, looking down from the catwalk. “Of course…” he said dryly.

“What?” Misato asked and walked to his side.

“Guess who shot us?” Shinji pointed his finger downward to the hall.

“Him?” Misato asked, not really surprised.

“Yup,” Shinji said casually. “I guessed something like this would happen, but on the first day?”

“You never know,” Misato added.

The shooter was Kensuke. He had somehow managed to disable the codes on his rifles. At the same time, a power surge from his bypass kit had triggered the pulse grenade launcher, firing one shot at them. They had been lucky: if it had hit the catwalk both Shinji and Misato would be in pieces.

The other marines hadn't stopped shooting. The noise in the hall was so strong that only those marines near Kensuke who had seen the pulse grenade fire off a round had stopped. And Sergeant Barnes was one of them.

“Not even a fucking day on this ship and you have already managed to spend your ammo clips twice, arrived late for two drills and caused my ulcer to erupt again! And now you two-legged dog's miscarriage have extended your fuck-up record to include attempted murder one! What the hell is your major malfunction, asshole?”

“A simple mistake in the bypass program, sir!” Kensuke shouted over the firing noise.

“Your mistake was that your parents got their brains loaded with that Terium crap one time too many and forgot to a use rubber on their Friday backseat bang! You would be a model example on a birth control poster! Lieutenant and Major could court marshal you right now! I vote for your execution and its broadcast to every goddamn Corporate prison shithole so cons can have a morale boost in their miserable lives! Then we could tear your organs away and give them to those who have a better use for them! Am I understood!?!”

“Sir, yes sir!” Kensuke shouted.

”Good! Because I'd hate to have to mess this floor that the rest of the crew have worked so hard cleaning...” Barnes grunted chewing his cigar. “...I'll ruin all our fun and let your sorry carcass live a little longer. Would you like that, soldier!?” Barnes roared.

“Sir yes sir! It would make me happier than ever, sir!”

“I thought so. Now I'll turn a blind eye to your murder attempt if you run through the whole section and deck of this ship now,” Barnes roared but then he suddenly stiffened and brought himself attention, raising his hand in a salute. “Sir! Ma'am!”

Both Shinji and Misato had come down and were spotted easily because of Misato's red jacket, which separated her brightly from the rest of them.

“What the hell just happened?” Shinji demanded.

“A pulse grenade made a hole in the ceiling,” Barnes informed him.

“I'm not blind yet. I meant, of course, how did it happen?” Shinji answered. He looked at Kensuke. “Private, do you have anything to say?” he addressed him.

“It was an accident, Shin-sir!” he corrected quickly, before Barnes had a chance to shout at him again. He never thought he would see the day when he was calling Shinji `Sir'. He more expected it to be the other way around. Shinji looked pissed, which wasn't any wonder since he'd almost died.

“An accident,” Shinji repeated cheerfully. “To my knowledge they were code-locked with...” He stopped and glanced over at Misato with a questioning look on his face.

“256,” she said interested to see how he would handle the situation.

“Thank you Ma'am,” he responded and turned back to Kensuke. “Yes, code-locked with 256-bytes. I'm no tech expert, but I know enough to know that a simple `Open Sesame' wouldn't override it. How did it happen?”

“I... Umm... S-sort of bypassed it,” Kensuke stuttered.

“Sort of?” Shinji asked mockingly. “Are you trying to say that your bypass kit sprouted legs and walked to your hand begging, `Oh please, bypass the codes on the pulse rifles, please?'”

“No, not exactly,” Kensuke said.

“I guess you did it on purpose then,” Shinji said. “How did it go off?”

“Sir, that part wasn't in my mind. The bypass kit just gave out too much energy and triggered it,” Kensuke elaborated.

“You were still planning to launch it eventually anyway. Out of curiosity, tell me what was so important that you couldn't wait for two days?” Shinji asked.

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” Kensuke asked.

“Go ahead, Private.”

Kensuke relaxed and began to explain. “These weapon training drills are just trivial stuff, nothing interesting or useful.”

“Your gun is your best friend, and the only thing that keeps the Bugs getting to know you better. I wouldn't say it's useless,” Shinji retorted.

“Nothing new though-we all had this shit in Academy. We know all about the basics, especially pulse rifles, 10mm projectiles only in the armor-piercing variant, without shells.” A couple of soldiers nearby nodded.

“So you decided to move on to heavy stuff?” Shinji asked. “A 40mm grenade launcher, for example?”

“Precisely. When there are heavy guns all around, it seems a waste to let them lie there. We will squash Bugs with heavy weapons before they get far. They will be torn to shreds, no problem,” he grinned, patting his pulse rifles.

Kensuke's arrogance was beginning to annoy Shinji a little. “Tell me, how many Bugs have you seen?”

”None,” he answered.

“So you honestly think that you're invulnerable because you can walk on two feet and carry a machine balalaika? Oh man...” Shinji shook his head.

“They're just animals,” Kensuke shrugged. “They don't know plans or techniques.”

“Maybe I'll just leave you with one of them and see how it reacts to that. I don't know what crap they fed you in the Academy but at least you seemed to enjoy it with a mug of piss. That painted piece of art over there isn't any substitute for a living Bug and if you honestly believe it is, you'll be making out with a facehugger in no time. One thing was right. Heavy weapons are mostly useless. Bugs don't give you a chance to use them. Normally pulse grenades do little more than damage the shooter, since they are centered to one point. It doesn't work with Bugs.” Shinji waited for Kensuke to ask something.

“So, what use are these are if...?” he let it hang in the air.

“When your ammo is out, you shoot at the ground and hope the blast takes the Bug with you. It's a quick death,” Shinji said grimly. Some soldiers looked at each other in disbelief. Shinji laughed. “If this were a Corporate enclave, Major here would probably court marshal me for weakening morale. But its true: Bugs don't need weapons, they are the weapon.” He turned back to Kensuke but didn't address him. “Sergeant Barnes, what disciplinary action did you apply to him?”

“I ordered the Run, Sir,” the sergeant answered.

“I'm altering the punishment,” Shinji said. “Now because we've known each other a while, I'm going to let you go.”

Kensuke sighed and was encouraged enough to smile. “Thank you sir.”

Barnes, on the other hand, grunted and looked disappointed, but not surprised, sort of like he'd expected to happen but hoped it wouldn't. Misato, too, was a little disappointed that he was giving his friend a favor. It was sending wrong signals to his team. “Don't thank me yet,” Shinji said in a serious tone. “I believe you have certain knowledge about Xenomorphs.” He paused.

“Yes sir. I was kind of researching the pattern of their spreading,” Kensuke answered, wondering why he'd been asked this.

“In other words, you know more about them than the average soldier?” Shinji asked.

“Yes sir. Their blood is acid and they can presumably survive....” he stopped when he understood what Shinji was after.

“SO...” he said louder, “You knew about the acid and what it does and you probably knew that all the heavy stuff is useless, so what you said before was a LIE.”

Kensuke didn't say anything but looked panicked.

“WASN'T IT, PRIVATE?” Shinji demanded, and the sudden change in his voice made Kensuke jump a little.

“Umm... Yes sir,” Kensuke admitted, looking embarrassed.

“And you shot that grenade just for the joy of hearing it crushing something,” Shinji stated. “I believe the part about not meaning to shoot it at the roof, but you were still intending to fire it and disobey orders. I'm now reinstating Sergeant's punishment, and it stands.”

Now it was Barnes's turn to smile, and even laugh a little. Kensuke looked like he was squirming in a web.

“I'm not finished yet. Because you lied to your superior officer, I'm adding a second lap to your punishment to ensure that you don't make a habit of altering reports to your coming CO's. And for illegal use of equipment I'm ordering you to do those laps in full gear.” The look of other marines around him was mix of amusement and sympathy to Kensuke. “Dismissed.”

Kensuke looked at his friend, if he was even his friend anymore, he wondered. He had expected a punishment but not on this scale. For the first time, looking at him, he didn't know what to say.

“You heard the man! MOVE IT!” Barnes roared him awake.

“Sir yes, sir!” he answered, still in disbelief, and began to run back to the armory to find his equipment.

Now Shinji turned to the other marines. “The same applies to all of you. We don't need any hero shit, if you want to amaze my lovely CO here...” he pointed at Misato who was smiling invitingly, ”...do what Private Aida couldn't do: shoot straight.”

“Return to your drill, ladies, and let's not make a habit of this. I don't need another ulcer,” Barnes ordered. The marines immediately returned to their training grounds. Barnes took another cigar and lit it.

“You know, Sarge, those don't help your ulcer get any better,” Misato pointed to Barnes's habit of smoking cigars.

”I know, Ma'am, but I just feel that this Lieutenant here really made my day,” he grinned and took another breath of his cigar. “These kinds of moments are rare, and I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it.”

“They take your life slowly,” Shinji noted.

“I'm not in a hurry, Sir. Do you want to try?” He nodded at the just freed pulse rifle Kensuke had left behind.

“I know that already,” Shinji said. “Does anyone know where we're going?”

“We're on a Raider chase, but how did you know? I got the message just a minute ago,” Misato asked.

“Just a guess.” Shinji had known they were en route for almost 20 minutes. He felt a small change in the air on his skin but couldn't tell why the rest of them couldn't.

“Hell, a Raider operation. Could this get any worse?” Barnes mused chewing his cigar.

- - - - - - -

Asuka was approaching the place she'd received Thaarn's signal from. She had managed to bind herself up and the bleeding had stopped for now. Suddenly she heard the computer beeping and she saw the reason on screen.

“Ugly, big tube?” She got such a bad joke so easily in her mind and decided not to say it out loud. Whatever it was it seemed to be after the same thing she was and it had a plasma core to boot. It was in front of her.

She activated her ship's weapons and diverted power to cloak. “Let's see how you ride...” she smiled, and began to find out if she could get past it.

End.