Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Second Coming ❯ Introductions, Part 2 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five: Introductions, Part 2

 

There's not much I can say about the majority of the trip. It was long and boring, for the most part. I found lots of things to take pictures of, and had an impressive collection of photos on my computer's hard disk after a few weeks - both scenery and static displays from onboard the ships as well.

A lot of the crew were friendly and accommodating, though I don't know how much of that was because that was their nature, or that I was a 14 year old girl in an environment that was still, even in this new world, well over 90% male. I hate to say that I had to deflect a number of, shall we say, inappropriate advances. Still, as I said, most of the crews welcomed me and showed me around, let me sit in the fighter jets, etc.

My Eva got visited more than once. I sat there watching it, as it sat completely idle and immobile, of course. Once or twice I murmured some words towards it, though I stopped abruptly when I realized someone might stop in and see me talking to what they thought was a giant mecha.

I spent a lot of time studying, too, day and night, throughout the weeks-long journey. I only worked on my German enough to be able to use it to impress Asuka; if I played my cards right, she would teach me a lot more after we met. I focused on my Japanese and the one or two subjects I hadn't already aced while in Nevada.

One of the highlights was a general quarters alarm in the middle of the afternoon one day on the mid-central Atlantic. A cat officer I'd befriended stopped by on his way to the deck and suggested I join him.

"I'm supposed to stay here during GQ," I told him. "But thanks anyway."

"Ah, don't sweat it, c'mon with me. I promise everything'll be okay."

I mulled it over: If the LSO was willing to go up against the captain for the sake of me tagging along, whatever was happening was probably worth it. I shrugged and followed him.

Up on the deck, instead of going to general quarters, men were assembling on the deck in ranks. I followed the landing signal officer to his station, with everyone facing to portside. "See there?" he pointed.

I followed his gesture to see a number of ships passing our ranks going the opposite direction. Their crews were also assembling on deck.

"Who is it?" I asked, and was given a set of binoculars in response - large, high-power ones the LSO normally used to watch planes coming in. Directing them towards the ships coming past, I found the flag of China flying, and a number of people looking back in a similar fashion.

"Can I wave?" I asked.

"If you think they can see you," the LSO said with a smirk. So I thrust my pint-sized arm to the sky and wagged it back and forth with all my might. On the deck of the Chinese carrier, their equivalent of the LSO watched, pointed, and then waved back.

"Cool," I enthused, handing the binoculars back. "That was great!" Then, finally, logic hit me. "But where are they going?"

"Area exchange," the LSO explained. "Flexible deployment, of sorts. Because we're steaming all the way across the globe, they're moving west to cover our normal area of concern."

"Chinese naval forces covering American waters?" I said in disbelief.

"It's a new world, since the meteorite impact," the LSO said proudly. "It's a great time to be alive."

 

That's what I was thinking one day a week or three later, when I was standing up on a railing overlooking the deck and the sea off to starboard. I could almost see the curvature of the Earth, and it was a profound sight to behold. There wasn't a stitch of land to be seen, which is why I was surprised by what happened next.

"You must be the Fourth," a voice called out behind and below me. I whipped around and looked down on a flame-red-haired girl in a green dress and vest.

 

I blinked and started hopping down, from place to place, dismounting the superstructure I was on. Of course, my intended Germanic greetings were forgotten in the heat of the moment. "Hello!" I told the girl. "Yes, I am. I'm Jill Thomson."

"Asuka," she said, hands on hips as she watched me descend. "Asuka Langley Sohryu." As I reached the ground, she regarded my previous perch, and my clothes (well-worn pair of jeans and a T-shirt), and commented, "Bit of a tomboy, are we?"

"What?" I asked. "No.." Well, probably yes, but it's irrelevant. "..I just get bored of pacing around. I wanted to get a photo from a different vantage point." I waved my camera as if to explain. "Sorry, I was looking forward to greeting you. I didn't realize we were close to Germany already."

"We're not," she said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "We're currently rounding the Ivory Coast. It's much more efficient than expecting you to come all the way north just for both of us to make the same trip in reverse."

"I figured that," I smiled back. "I just couldn't get anyone else to agree with me."

"Don't mind the military fools," she said dismissively. "They're know-it-alls who're more interested in their own presence than anything else."

"I got that too," I said with a smile. "By the way, your English is impeccable."

"Well, of course!" she scoffed. "I have already graduated college, you know."

"Congratulations," I said with genuine warmth. "What I meant to say was, I had intended to greet you in German. I have been studying."

"Oh! What a kind gesture," she said with a curiously saccharine tone. "It's a shame you didn't get the chance."

"Ich könnte beginnen weider," I offered with an apologetic shrug. I could start over..

"Aah!" she said happily. "Asuka Langley Sohryu, das Zweite Kind." The Second Child.

"Jillian Thomson," I reiterated, holding out my right hand. "Das Viertes Kind. Ich hoffe daß wir freunde sein können." The Fourth Child. I hope we can be friends.

Asuka hmm'ed and pondered for a moment, then took my hand and shook it once briskly. "We'll see, Fourth. We'll see."

 

Several days later, Asuka again came up on me unannounced.

"Oh, Fourth," she said sadly. "Is that all you wear?"

I yelped in surprise and jumped; turning around, there she was, standing there in the famous yellow sundress and red shoes.

I looked down at my jeans, blue and white cross-trainers, white T-shirt, and baseball jersey (Blue Jays, of course) over top of it, unbuttoned. "Uh.. whassamatter?" I asked.

Asuka sighed and folded her arms before her. "Don't you have any skirts or dresses?"

"Not for wearing on a ship at sea with all the wind and the breeziness," I countered.

"Suit yourself, if you don't think you can show off your legs."

"It's not the legs I'm worried about showing off, Asuka," I shot back. "It's showing off everything else that's the concern."

Asuka tch'ed and shook her head. "You need to learn how to tease."

Tease? I said to myself. Jesus Christ, Asuka, we're 14! "Um.. whatever."

"Anyway, come with me."

"What?" I asked. "Where?"

"To see my Eva 02, of course," Asuka grinned.

 

It was as I expected: On another ship in the fleet (reached by means of a helicopter that was available for our specific use, in case you're wondering), under the same kind of tarpaulins and cover as my own Eva, Nigouki lay face-down and dormant.

"Isn't it magnificent?" Asuka asked proudly, standing beside me regarding it.

"Indeed," I responded. "She certainly is. You can see the uniqueness of the design.." I trailed off as Asuka was staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"Are you one of those type who has to personify everything?" she asked. "You called it a 'she'."

I flinched. "Sorry," I said with an apologetic shrug. "Force of habit. I guess maybe I am."

"This is no fluffy teddy bear," she smirked. "It's a powerful tool with which I'm going to defeat all the Angels."

I tried not to think of how her declaration was drawing parallels to events I recalled from later episodes. "So you heard about them too, huh?" I said, trying to change the subject a little, cautioning myself to take care with my comments. "Last thing I heard, one Angel had shown up, and the pilot of Eva 01 took care of it."

"There's been another since," Asuka confirmed. "Again, 01 did the job. Supposedly the Third Child is some kind of natural."

She didn't say it with the sarcasm or venom I'd expected. "You think so, huh?" I asked innocently.

"Well, his sync ratio was supposedly over 45 percent on his very first try," Asuka said, while busying herself inspecting her Eva, as if she might find evidence someone had been there, getting their greasy fingerprints on Nigouki.

"Ohh," I said. "That's pretty high." I remembered it as 40.3 myself, if I recalled the episode correctly - but not having seen the series for months, and living it for real, my memory of how the anime transpired was failing somewhat.

"High??" Asuka blinked in disbelief. "What's your ratio?"

"Uh.." I blushed, realizing that description might have been a mistake. "Thirty-two eight," I admitted.

Asuka scoffed. "Pfft! Get back to me when you at least double that. Then we'll be in the same class."

"You're in the 60s??" I said, with some genuine surprise.

"63.9," Asuka beamed. "I'm certain to break 65 percent on my next activation."

"Good for you," I said, with a barely-forced smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely innocently.

Asuka had her hands on her hips, glaring down at me from atop the right shoulder pylon. "'Good for you'," she mocked me. "Are you jealous?"

Aha, now there's the Asuka I was expecting. "What? No! I mean, good for you! As in, when you break 65, I will be there to applaud."

She stared down at me for the longest time. "You mean that?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, Asuka," I nodded, staring right back. "I do."

She shook her head and smiled faintly. "You're a weird one, Fourth."

 

That evening, we ate together in my berth - at my request, kind of a late welcoming for the Second.

"Didn't bring much with you," Asuka observed, looking around the sparsely-filled room.

"Don't have much," I shrugged. I waded waist-deep into Jill's background. "I just lost my parents just before I was selected. So I was kind of plucked out of thin air into the Eva program." Hey, a little mangled truth is kind of amusing to slip in there sometimes.

"Scheiße," Asuka whispered. "I'm sorry to hear it, Jillian."

"It's all right," I shrugged, trying to look somewhat morose. "I'm mostly dealing. It'll take time, I think."

"Yes," Asuka nodded distantly. "It will."

I looked at her, unsure of how to breach the subject. Theoretically, I shouldn't know about Kyoko. I didn't know if I could legitimately pass it off as having read Asuka's file before leaving Nevada.

Finally, she made the decision for me, noticing my long stare. "What?" she asked.

"O-oh," I stammered. "It's just that you seemed like you know where I'm coming from."

She clammed up and looked away. "Yeah," she said softly. "I do."

That was the end of that; nothing more was said. I figured it was best to leave things be for the time being. "Sorry," I murmured.

"It's okay," she said, trying hard to pick up her spirits again. "Like you said, it takes time to deal."

I nodded and smiled. "Hey. Can I take a picture after supper? Would you mind?"

"A picture?"

"The two of us," I said. "My first colleague, fellow pilot.." I took a logical leap in saying the next bit. "And friend."

She smiled after a moment. "Ja, I guess," she nodded. "You're some kind of photo otaku, aren't you?"

"I like photography," I admitted with a shrug. "Especially now in the age of digital cameras. You can snap a hundred photos and keep only four if you want, and there's no wasted film."

"Right," she nodded in agreement. "Efficiency at its peak."

"I guess so," I smiled. My mind wandered for a moment, and got on a different set of tracks. "Speaking of efficiency, why do you suppose they put us together on two fleets the way they did? It would've been so much easier for me to go straight from California to Japan, and not come all the way around the Americas to hook up with you. No offense."

"None taken," she smirked. "I don't know, but I know somebody who might be able to answer that."

"Oh?" I asked. "Who's that?"

"His name is Kaji. He's along for the ride with me. I'll try to introduce you tomorrow."

Damn, I almost forgot he was here. Idiot, of course he is - that's what Gaghiel is coming after - not Eva 02. "Is he a pilot too?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Oh, Gott, no!" she laughed. "He's an older man. A man of mystery and drama! He comes and goes as he pleases, but he's so handsome and casual and everything!" She looked up and jabbed her fork towards me jokingly, with a grin on her face. "And mine!"

"You've got nothing to worry about," I reassured her. Good Lord, am I going to get that way about somebody eventually? I wondered, before I realized how ridiculous that question was.

"Oh? Are you.. taken? Reserved?" she asked, fishing for the right word, a sly smile on her face.

"Not really looking," I shrugged, telling the truth. Even if some time in the next year I found time to be interested in anyone, I still had to determine who that 'anyone' would be before I went down that particular road.

"Ohhh," Asuka said, with a tone as if she knew what I was on about. Likely she thought I was still too worked up over my parents to be dealing with any romantic interests. "I getcha now, Fourth."

"Thanks," I said, content to let it lay as it had fallen. I scooped up the last of the food on the sectioned plate/tray, and after taking it in, said, "Thanks for coming over, by the way."

"No problem," she said, finishing off her own meal. "It's good for us to stick together. Besides, it's not like there was anything else to do."

It was my turn to laugh a little. "At least I didn't bore you, I guess," I said sarcastically.

"What? No! I didn't mean it like that," she shot back.

"I know," I smirked. "But you have to admit, you walked into it."

"I admit nothing!" she snapped, still playing along. We both dissolved into fits of laughter for a few moments, and in the back of my mind, I felt a little uneasy, like the feeling you get when you know something isn't right. This didn't fit how I thought Asuka was going to be.

"C'mere, Fourth," Asuka said, standing up and gesturing to me. "Let's get this photo out of the way before we forget."

I brought myself back to reality and fetched my camera. "Say, what'll it take to get you to call me by my given name?" I asked.

Asuka busied herself moving two of the chairs side-by-side on one end of the table. "You'll learn quickly with me that I use nicknames a lot," she explained. "I know you're Jillian. If I was introducing you to someone, that's what I'd call you. But in my head, you're the Fourth. Take it as it's meant, as a term of endearment."

"I gather that's your final answer?" I hazarded, smiling slightly. At least I was worthy of her friendship, I figured.

"Just be happy I don't call you Yankee," she quipped.

I fashioned a poor man's tripod out of some books and boxes piled on the table, setting the camera on it. "Wouldn't fit, anyway. I'm Canadian."

"Whatever!" she sighed in mock exasperation. "Do you want me on the right or left?"

"It doesn't matter," I said. "I had you on the left in my mind's eye, but I don't care one way or the other."

Asuka took the chair on the left and sat down, fidgeting about and settling into position. "Is that in frame?"

"Good enough," I said. "Let me set the timer, and.." I tapped the button on the camera, then hurried to the other chair, sitting down and putting on a bright smile.

The girl beside me did the same, and said, "Käse!"

 

CLICK!

 

"So, let me see it!" Asuka said as I picked up the camera, looking at the preview on the LCD.

"Hang on," I protested, pulling the camera out of her reach. "I'll put it on the computer so you can see it properly."

I sat down at the notebook computer and fished out the USB cable. While I was waiting for the camera to connect, Asuka stared at my desktop's wallpaper. "Is that 03?"

"Yup," I said proudly. I'd taken it with a disposable at the Nevada base - actually, Mr. Quinn had consented to helping me do the possibly illegal act of using flash photography inside the Cage, snapping my picture while I, in plugsuit, stood beside the head of Sangouki, immersed to her neck in the cooling solution. The picture had turned out better than I thought, the design of the Evangelion coming out in nice focus, despite my being in front and slightly off to the side, smiling and flashing a V-symbol to the camera.

"I didn't know it was black," Asuka said.

"It's not; it's very dark blue," I replied. "The cheap camera I was using doesn't do it justice. Maybe we'll go and check it out tomorrow or sometime."

"Sure," Asuka said, examining the photo quietly some more.

I transferred the picture off the digital camera, and brought it up for her to see. "How's that?"

"I guess it'll do," she said critically after a long moment. "Neither of us are made up, though, and your shirt is wrinkled."

I tch'ed. It was the same as whenever I tried to take photos of my female friends back in Jack's life. "It's a picture," I argued. "It's meant to capture the moment, warts and all."

"I know," Asuka smiled. "I'm just giving you a hard time."

I smiled back to her, though I got the feeling she was at least a little serious about the whole thing. As I said, my past experiences in the same type of situation made me think I was right.

"I should get back to the Over the Rainbow," Asuka sighed. "The captain there has a bird if I'm using up his precious helicopter's fuel after dark."

"It's okay," I said. "We had a pretty productive day. I'm glad we got together."

"It's all good," Asuka nodded. "Send me a copy of that photo, okay?"

"I'll email it before I go to bed," I promised.

Asuka went to the door and rested her hand on the latch, before turning and saying to me, "See you around.. Jill."

I blinked.

"That's your one freebie, Fourth!" she laughed, pulling the handle and stepping out.

 

The next day, as discussed, Asuka came to view Sangouki. Of course, she compared 03 to her own Production Type, not being one to back down or admit anything was better than her or her equipment.

"I'm still pretty new to the whole thing," I admitted. "I'm sure you've had much more practice than I; I barely got a chance to do activation tests and walk around some before they shipped me off."

"Oh? You're right, then," Asuka said, studying the lines of San's helmet, running her hand over the ridges. "I was beyond that stage a long time ago."

"I'll try not to hold you back," I quipped. A thought entered my head, and I seized it while it was fresh and acted upon it. "Say.. if by some random stroke of luck, we happen to encounter an Angel out here on the sea.. you'll have my back.. right?"

She looked like she was going to retort with something, but grew just as serious as I and nodded. "Don't sweat it, Jill. First of all, you need to have more confidence in your abilities. Second, not to brag or anything, but if you're in the thirties, the odds are I'll have the Angel sliced and diced by the time you get your Eva stood up and pointed in the right direction."

"Hey," I protested with a frown.

"C'mon," she said. "You know I'm teasing." She looked over at me and smiled.

I smiled feebly, not sure if that was the truth or not. I couldn't let the issue drop, though. "In any case, if it comes to it, we're both looking out for the other, right?"

"Right," she nodded. "Trust me, though. One Eva is virtually unbeatable on its own. Two is going to be guaranteed overkill."

"It's good that you have such a positive attitude," I commented.

"It shines in rare moments," a male voice said from the 'tent flap' we'd made in the tarpaulin. I turned to see a tall Japanese man in a blue shirt and red tie saunter in, hands in his pockets.

"Kaji!" Asuka gushed, hopping down from San's head to the platform, then hurrying around to the other side. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't mean to make you jealous, little lady," Kaji said to Asuka, nodding towards me. "But I'm actually here to introduce myself to your friend."

"Oh? Oh!" Asuka said, coming back over to grab my hand and drag me towards Kaji. "Ryoji Kaji, this is the Fourth Child, Jillian Thomson. She's Canadian."

"I.. er.. ohayo.. gozaimasu?" I said with a nervous smile and a little bow. Hello there.

Kaji smiled and dipped his head. "Ohayo," he replied, "Nihongo jozu desu ne." You speak Japanese well.

Asuka laughed. I blushed and said, "I don't feel that way."

"I am sure you will feel more comfortable with practice, Miss Thomson," he said in English. He glanced towards the Evangelion. "So, this is Unit 03, hmm?"

"Yes," I answered, trying not to come up with some super-spy reason for him to want to talk to me. Maybe he was just saying hi.

"They're magnificent, aren't they?" he asked. "The two of you should be very proud to be allowed the opportunity to do this."

"We are!" Asuka said enthusiastically. "I don't know about the Fourth, but I know I'm fulfilling my destiny."

I coughed a little, feeling slightly put on the spot. "I.. feel very honored to be trusted with such a serious responsibility."

"Good answer," Kaji smiled.

"What are you doing for lunch, Kaji?" Asuka said, all but fawning over the man. "We're going to the mess in--"

"Sorry, Asuka," Kaji told her, while shaking my hand. "I have a little side-trip to take today. Some of us have to work every now and then. I will take a rain check, though!"

"All right," she said dejectedly.

"Thank you for stopping by, sir," I said.

"Not a problem, Pilot," he said with a smile. "Ganbatte, Jillian!"

Asuka virtually swooned as he left the Eva-tent. "He's something!" she said.

"If you say so," I commented dryly. Luckily, Asuka didn't give me a hard time about that.

 

A week or so passed, and as with the start of the trip, not much transpired. I did my studies, Asuka hung out with me a bunch, and we saw a lot of sea and the occasional island or distant shoreline. There's not much more I can say.

That was until the speaker in the overhead crackled to life one morning. "Pilot Thomson to the flight deck. Pilot Thomson, report to the flight deck."

I headed out and up the ladder to the carrier deck, where I saw a helicopter with the blades turning. The ship's captain was standing by the ladder, facing the bird; my presence was pointed out to him, at which point he turned to face me.

Looking me (and my T-shirt, shorts, and cross-trainers) over, he frowned. "You're not in uniform," he observed.

"I'm not in the practice of lounging around in it all day every day," I shot back.

"Too late now," he grumbled. "Get on the helo. You're going over to the Over The Rainbow."

"What for?" I asked.

"To meet your new boss," he grinned, apparently savoring the moment, thinking I'd be uneasy or nervous or something.

"Oh? Cool!" I said energetically. Truth be told, I indeed was nervous - a little - but I wasn't going to give this man the benefit of seeing me squirm. "Let's go! I'm ready."

 

The helicopter went over to the Over The Rainbow at a swift clip. I watched the fleet flash beneath us, intrigued as always by the myriad of ships' designs and technology therein. Once the OTR came into view, I looked about, but couldn't see the green UN cargo helicopter I remembered from the TV series. I clicked the mike button on the headset intercom. "Has the NERV helo come in yet?" I asked.

"No, ma'am," came the co-pilot's answer. "That's why we're making double-time. We need to get in and out of there before they're ready to land. Sorry, but it's going to be a quick drop-off."

"That's fine," I replied. "In case I forgot to say it before, thanks for being my taxi all the time."

All three crewmembers chuckled over the 'com. "You've said that," the co-pilot told me. "But you're welcome, just the same."

It didn't take much time to get to the OTR's deck after that. I have to admit, I felt relief that I would at least have a few minutes to psyche myself up to meet Misato and the others. My initial intent was to go seek out Asuka, so that we'd at least all meet in one spot at the same time. While I hurried across the deck looking for her, my mind went back to how that meeting was probably going to go. Hopefully Asuka had been swayed by my choice of attire throughout the few weeks we'd been together. Maybe I wanted her to not be embarrassed.. then again, as I envisioned the whole thing taking place in my mind's eye, maybe I was looking forward to what I originally thought was a hilarious event.

By the time I found Asuka, the UN helicopter was on final for the carrier. She was on a platform near the bridge, standing at the rail, watching the machine make its way in for a landing. As I had expected, yet hoped against, Asuka was in her trademark yellow dress, which was flapping in the wind like the flags on the ship's mast.

"Wind kinda picked up closer to shore, huh?" I asked as I approached her.

"You only get a first chance to make a good impression, Fourth," Asuka told me. "I don't want them to think I'm a tomboy or something."

"Yeah. That's my job, right?" I deadpanned.

Asuka just laughed and turned away from the rail. "You're okay, Fourth. I'm just messin' with you."

"You gonna do the same to the Third?" I called after her departing form.

Again, the Second Child gave a cackle as she departed down the ladder.

 

I lagged behind Asuka a minute or two; I was getting more and more butterflies in my stomach the closer the meeting with the Captain got. I didn't know why - it was no different than anyone else I'd met, and already I'd been proven wrong once with my preconceived notions of how Asuka was going to be.

As I started down the ladder, I heard a shriek and a slap. That'd be Toji getting his just desserts, I surmised. At that point, I wasn't sure what to do. I think, looking back on it now, my mind was torn between the reality I'd been living and the story that "had taken place" (as I recalled it). I was afraid of disrupting the timeline as I knew it to have transpired.

You've already done so, kiddo, I tried to reason with myself. Don't forget that Eva 03 isn't supposed to have ever activated properly. Nor was it supposed to come to Japan at the same time as Asuka. Go on, get some backbone and go down there and introduce yourself!

"Ah! There she is," came a voice, and I realized my decision had been made for me. Asuka waved frantically at me. "Fourth! Come down here and meet everyone!"

I smiled nervously and descended the rest of the ladder. "Uhm.. hello," I said. Three Japanese boys and an adult Japanese woman were standing there, exactly as I expected them to appear, other than the difference between animation and real life.

"I thought you'd been practicing," Asuka hissed at me as the other foursome turned to face me.

"Oh," I said, blushing, and switched to Japanese. I stammered out a polite hello, then bowed.

"Good day," Captain Misato Katsuragi responded in her native tongue, introducing herself and the others in turn.

"Hello," I reiterated, greeting each of them as they were identified. When she got to Shinji, I stuck out my hand and said (or at least did my best to), "It's a pleasure to meet another fellow pilot. I've heard many good things about you."

"Y-you have?" he stuttered in reply.

"Yes," I nodded, gesturing towards Asuka. "From our colleague."

"Sssh!" she urged me with a withering look.

Shinji turned to face her, a confused expression on his face. She looked upset, and I feared I'd crossed a line somehow. I don't get it, I said to myself. I thought she wasn't so uptight about him.

Misato declared we were all going to the bridge to meet with the captain, and I waited for Asuka to come past me before I joined the group. "Asuka," I said quietly. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it, Fourth," she said in a short, clipped tone.

"I'm sorry--"

"Jill. Drop it."

I would quickly learn that Asuka was much like me in some regards. She was all fun and games when it was called for, but when things got serious, she'd let you know. And calling me by my real, given name was her way of telling me that this was one of those times.

It was only after I fell into step behind her that I noticed her glaring look was directed not at Shinji's back, but Misato's.

 

The scene on the bridge played out about as well as I expected it to. Shinji and Toji hovered by Misato's side while she, if you will excuse the vulgar analogy, compared 'attachments' with the fleet captain, in other words, testing how far each could push the other. Asuka stood there with hands clasped behind her back, trying to look cute and presentable, and I just stood by her, trying to be as invisible as possible.

You may notice I omitted one participant. Kensuke Aida was just as much of an otaku as the anime's storyline implied. He was racing around, bouncing off the walls as if he had a hopeless case of ADHD; filming everything and everyone in sight, and generally ignoring the rest of the goings-on. I sort of envied him at that moment; rather than stand there and be all but insulted by the fleet captain, I'd've loved to have been given virtual free rein of the bridge, snapping off photos left and right.

That thought led my brain to another idea: I should show Aida all the pictures I'd taken over the past few weeks. He'd probably wet himself at the sight of the Chinese carrier passing by so closely. Just as I was thinking this, I heard a voice from behind and to my left. I won't try to mimic the way it sounded, but it was a native Japanese speaker trying to whisper "Hey! Fourth Child!" hoarsely.

I looked over my shoulder to see the boy of my current line of thinking holding up his video camera at me, the lenses whirring and turning as if he was zooming in. Just for the hell of it, I gave a slight smile and wave, or at least tried to, before I got an elbow in the right side of my rib cage.

"Gurk," I managed to keep under my breath as Asuka lowered her arm, casting a sidelong glance at me.

The captain was, at that point, trying to flex his muscle by telling Misato that, NERV's authority notwithstanding, he had no intentions of activating Nigouki while at sea. I was torn; what I knew was that Gaghiel would be attacking shortly - possibly within the hour. But did I really know that? Could I count on my 'memories' to prove true? And more importantly, would Asuka and/or Shinji be able to launch, or would I have to get involved too? Or both?

I smiled brightly at the captain and his second in command, which was apparently why Asuka had elbowed me; the second had been glaring over at me with disapproval as I'd mugged for Kensuke's camera. Misato did something particularly brave that caused Toji to fawn over her, and I was in the process of leaning towards Asuka to whisper a comment on the bruise that was developing under my ribcage, when a familiar voice called out from the aft hatchway to our left.

"Kaji!" Asuka gushed, turning and all but bowling me over as she greeted 'her man' enthusiastically. As I stumbled backwards, I felt someone catch me, and turned to find Kensuke there. Smiling nervously, I thanked him and stood up, dusting myself off.

Misato clearly didn't appreciate Kaji's presence, and herded us all hastily off the bridge. I followed the boys down the ladder, while Misato dropped off a few parting words at the hatchway.

So far, everything is going according to what I recall, I thought to myself. That means we're likely heading for the mess, where Kaji will ambush us again, Asuka will get pissed about Kaji's glowing words of praise for Shinji, and she'll take him away to see Nigouki.. and then the fun begins.

I was aware of a presence beside me, and discovered Misato had fallen into step with me. For some reason, I felt compelled to say something - anything - to her. I stumbled through the Japanese for, "Um.. Captain Katsuragi.. I.. ask you.. question?"

She smiled and looked over to me, and said quite plainly, though accented, "I do speak English, you know."

I would have face-faulted if this had been an anime. "Ggkk.. well, that makes things easier I guess, until my skills improve.."

"You do fine for someone who's been learning the language for so short a time, Jillian," she smiled. "What's your question?"

"Umm. Right." I figured the best thing to ask is what was on my mind at the time. "If something happens out here, am I going to be expected to get involved? I notice you only mentioned one power socket to the captain."

"It's true we only brought the one connector," she nodded. "But whichever one of you were to get to the umbilical first, the other would still have five minutes of reserve left, right?"

"True," I admitted. "Still.. five minutes seems awfully short for someone as unskilled as me. Plus, doing battle on the high seas? I assume it's pretty deep here. It'd be like fighting on rocks in a stream, but the fall would be a real bitch."

She laughed a little and patted my shoulder. "Don't find so many things to worry about," she said. "Think reactively, not proactively. Deal with things as they happen."

"Burn that bridge as I get to it?" I half-quipped.

She smirked and nodded. "Something like that." She looked at me for a moment, and then said, "You seem nervous. Is it because of our meeting?"

She'd gestured to herself and the boys at that point, and I seized the opportunity, feigning a shrug and a nod. "I guess," I lied. "I didn't know what to expect, or if I'd measure up."

Misato smiled once again and squeezed my shoulder. "You're fine, Pilot. Come on, I'll take you down to the mess and buy you something to drink. Sounds like you need to relax."

 

I sat at the end of the table - the 'far' end is how it described itself in my mind, because the viewing angle in the anime had been from the opposite end. I was in between Shinji and Kensuke, with Asuka and Kaji on my right, past Shinji, and Toji and Misato on my left, as I'd 'remembered' the seating arrangements.

With a can of Coke before me, I listened to the banter between the lot of them, noticing it wasn't exactly word-for-word as I had expected it to be. At one point, I tried to tell myself to put the stupid television show out of my mind and concentrate on living in reality - which was an amusing thing to be thinking, after all I'd been through so far.

At one point, everyone reacted outrageously to something Kaji said - as expected, of course - and I was distracted from my inner thoughts, looking up and blushing. I felt like it was one of those moments when you realize you're singing along at the top of your lungs to music in your earphones, and then realize after the fact that you're in a library full of studious people. Except my case was the inverse - I had remained silent and stoic despite the reaction everyone else had to Kaji's comment.

"See what you're getting yourself into, Miss Thomson?" Kaji quipped, gesturing to Misato's furious glare. "This is quite the troupe to associate with."

"Oh, no," I laughed nervously. "I don't think I could move in with them. Not enough room, for starters."

Everyone kind of stared at me for a moment, and I realized I'd blundered into yet another faux pas.

"I meant your fearless leader's temper," Kaji said, cracking a smile. I seriously thought steam was going to whistle out of Misato's ears any moment. "I'm sure NERV has an apartment lined up for you when you arrive."

"Eheh, right," I said embarrassedly. "Of course. I didn't mean live together, I, um, ..yeah."

Toji said something quickly and under his breath, and both Kensuke and Misato laughed. I blinked and said, "Uh, should I be glad I didn't catch that?"

Asuka snickered too. "He said he wonders if you're looking for someone to rub noses with, Fourth."

I paused for a moment before I finally made the connection. "That's Eskimos, not Canadians," I shot back in English.

"Being that Canada has most of the landmass in the Arctic, wouldn't most Eskimos be Canadians by default?" Kaji said with a smile.

I stammered and stumbled over a reply, blushing and looking down at my drink. Stop talking about me! Start fawning over Shinji and make Asuka jealous!

"Are we going to get to see the Evas?" Kensuke asked Misato in Japanese.

"I'm sure we can arrange it," Misato said with a smile. I thought Kensuke was going to have a stroke.

"It'd be interesting to see if Shinji could sync up with either 03 or 02," I said, eliciting a glare from Asuka. Forgive me, I left unsaid.

"It's unwise to try out here," Misato shook her head. "The programs are written with you two in mind." She indicated me and Asuka. "I don't profess to understand the whole bio-sync thing - that's Ritsuko's department - but I get the impression that his harmonics would be completely different than yours."

"You never know," Kaji said, heading down the path that I'd tried to steer the conversation; taking the bait, so to speak. "Shinji's success on his first sortie is pretty legendary throughout NERV. Syncing at over 40 percent on his first run, with no training or preparation.. there's no telling what he's capable of."

Shinji tried to deflect and downplay the praise, too occupied with that action to notice Asuka's death glare aimed right at him. I frowned, mostly at myself, wanting to crawl in a hole and die for doing what I did. I don't think I'd feel more upset at myself if I'd reared back and punched her right in the gut.

Misato broke the ice that had befallen the table by standing up. "All right. I'm going to go talk to the captain about getting over to the other ships where the Evas are being stored." She looked to Kaji and deadpanned, "You don't need to join us."

"I'm going with Kaji," Asuka said coldly, looking away from Shinji.

 

"What's troubling you?" Misato asked me some minutes later, ascending a ladder.

"I feel like I instigated that," I confessed to her, gesturing behind us.

Misato smiled and took a moment to formulate her answer. "There's something you need to keep in mind about Asuka before you start blaming yourself for every little thing. She's very competitive. That would've happened if you'd said anything or not."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Definitely. I have to be honest, I was kind of waiting for something to happen." After a moment, she said, "It seems like you've built up a friendship with the Second Child, hmm?"

"I guess," I nodded. "I hope so."

"Don't worry about what just happened. It'll blow over soon enough."

"Okay," I said, and smiled faintly. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

"No problem," she responded with a smile of her own.

"Ano.. Thomson-san?" Shinji called up from behind me.

"Hai?" I said, turning halfway around to look at him as we walked along.

"Why did you suggest that I try syncing up with Unit 03?"

Doh, I winced internally. "I didn't mean anything by it," I said. "I just wondered if our sync ratios are tied somehow to which Eva we use. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose," he said. Nothing more was contributed; Shinji was evidently normally of few words.

"I hope I didn't offend you," I said. "I just want to be part of the team. Maybe I should keep quiet.."

"N-no, no, it was fine," he replied. "It will be interesting once we all get back to Japan."

"Yes, there will be four of us now, I hear," I smiled. "That should result in quite a formidable force."

"Hey! Third Child!"

I flinched as I heard Asuka bark out from the top of the escalator. I turned, as did Shinji, and the others.

As Shinji and Asuka's eyes met, she declared firmly, "You're coming with me."

Shinji blinked and stammered a couple of syllables in response. Misato laughed and said, "Oh, this sounds serious, Shinji-kun. Better do as she says."

"Good luck, Ikari," I said. He didn't acknowledge my comment, but headed off up the escalator and followed the Second off to the left. The rest of us turned right at the landing.

"Here we are," Misato announced as we reached the bridge hatch. "Mr. Aida, please stay with us this time."

"Yes ma'am!" he responded swiftly.

We stepped out onto the bridge as Misato announced our arrival. The whole situation was pecking at the back of my mind, again for its incongruity with what I 'remembered', but I told my thoughts to shut up and leave me alone, and tried to play the part I was cast into.

"You again," the fleet captain grumbled. "What's the matter now?"

"We're requesting transport to the Tanager to view Unit 03," Misato said plainly.

"The helicopter's already in use by your other charge," the captain pointed out.

"Which is why I'm requesting another," Misato smiled.

"Are you trying to push my buttons?" the man thundered. "I don't have time for this nonsense--"

"Do you have time to explain to your superiors why you refused to co-operate with a reasonable request, and risked the safety of the fleet to justify your dislike for us?"

I seriously thought Toji was going to faint out of admiration for Captain Katsuragi. Kensuke smirked, and I couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Sparks!" the captain called out curtly.

"Sir," the radio tech responded from across the bridge.

"Line up one of the SAR helos to take this sorry bunch out of my hair before I go completely mad!"

"Yes, sir!" came the response.

 

"Captain," I said once we were in the air, five minutes later, "Should we maybe go to the Kestrel first?"

"What for?" Misato said.

"My plugsuit is over there in my berth, and--"

"Pfah," Misato said with a dismissive wave. "You won't need it. The likelihood of getting attacked out here is minimal at best."

Tell Gaghiel that, I didn't add. Despite the fact that things had clearly unfolded differently now that I was in the mix, I was still convinced that the Angel of Fish would come knocking any second.

I heard Kensuke and Toji whispering about plugsuits in the seat behind me, and turned around to stare at them. Kensuke tried to silence Toji, who blushed and turned to stare out the window intently at whatever he could see.

"Mr. Aida," I said to the one person who was still even remotely looking my way, "You two wouldn't be talking about me, now, would you?"

"N-no," he shook his head vigorously.

"I hope not," I said with a smile. "Because I could tell you how the suits take time to conform to a given body type. They tend to have a 'memory' for their last shape in 'shrink' mode. If I know my friend Asuka as well as I think I do, your friend Shinji is learning that with Asuka's spare suit right about now. If neither of you want to experience it with my spare suit, I suggest you purge and cleanse your mind of any impure thoughts right this moment."

"H-hai!" he said with a nod. Toji remained staring furiously out the window, blushing even deeper now.

Misato laughed and nudged me jokingly as I turned around, myself reddening all the way to my ears.

 

"Say hello to Sangouki," I said, feeling more like a host(ess) than a pilot. "Excuse her for not being in a more dignified position right now."

"'Her'?" Kensuke said from behind the lens of his video camera.

I smiled a little. "Asuka says I personify things a little much," I explained. "But to me, it feels like 03 is a woman."

"Typical," Toji muttered. I sighed and rolled my eyes in response.

"It's a fine specimen," Misato said. "Why don't you show them around the various parts?"

Shrewd, I realized. She wants to see how much I remember from my training. "Of course, Captain. Suzuhara-san, Aida-san, please follow me.."

As I walked around and showed the various bits of San off, including the battery pack, prog knife holster, head (well, helmet, but I had to keep the charade up, of course), etc., I couldn't help but yet again think of how Gaghiel was probably bearing down on the fleet as I spoke. I had no plugsuit, no neuroclips, and no main power source. I hoped Shinji and Asuka were ready, willing, and able.

"..and even the bottoms of the feet are coated with special rubber soles, like trainers," I said, finishing my head-to-toe tour. "Supposedly this helps gain traction on most surfaces."

"Awesome!" Kensuke exulted. "Thanks for showing us, Thomson-san!"

"Please," I said with a smile. "Call me Jill. I don't mind."

Kensuke got a strange look in his eye. "All right, Jill!" he said with a grin.

Oh boy.. I hope I didn't just go down a road I didn't want to, I thought. Turning around, I found Misato had followed us, listening intently.

"Do I pass, Captain?" I said, smiling brightly.

"Well done, Pilot," she answered. "You certainly know your stuff."

"I don't know about my 'stuff'," I quipped, "but when it comes to my Eva, I've had lots of time to practice and study."

"Can you stand it up?" Kensuke asked. He was certainly the more talkative of the duo; Toji was somewhat interested, but had been keeping quiet for the most part.

Before I had a chance to answer, Misato spoke up. "Not right now," she told them. "For one thing, Jill left her suit back on the ship where she's been staying, and it wouldn't do to have her mess up her regular clothes. Secondly, imagine how it would upset the ship's stability if she were to try to move the Eva around now."

"Right," I chimed in. "Imagine standing up in a rowboat suddenly. And remember, I'm still not perfectly comfortable with the Eva yet." I glanced at Misato. "Maybe when we get to New Yokosuka, I'll be allowed to move her off the boat under her own power."

"Mm-hmm," Misato nodded. "I imagine that could be arranged."

"Great!" Kensuke agreed.

For a moment, the four of us stood there looking at one another, with nothing more to comment or contribute.

Where's a good Angel attack when you need one? I wondered.

"All right, then," Misato finally said. "Shall we go back?"

"Okay," I agreed.

"Maybe over to see Unit 02?" Kensuke asked.

"We'll see," Misato said, leading us toward the 'tent flap'. "It depends on Asuka at this point."

 

And so, ultimately, we did head over to the ship where Nigouki was housed. Asuka and Shinji were still there, with the former describing to the latter how her Eva was better than anything he'd seen and how she was ready for anything the Angels might throw at us.

They're late with the first pitch, I said to myself, having scanned the sea from horizon to horizon all the way over on the helicopter. I felt uneasy, being upset that a 'bad' thing had yet to pass. It was like I had prior knowledge that a car crash was going to happen, and I was disappointed when it didn't occur.

"Of course! The Fourth would agree with me. Right, Fourth?" Asuka said at one point, in response to something Shinji said.

I blinked and looked up to them, coming back to reality. "Oh? Sorry, I was distracted."

Asuka sighed heavily. "I said, you'd agree with me, right? That the Production models are far superior and advanced in comparison to the Prototype and Test Type."

"I haven't seen the Prototype and Test Type in action yet," I said. "So I'd have to reserve judgment."

Again Asuka made an annoyed sound. "Way to back me up, Fourth!" she snapped.

"Asuka," I said plaintively, trying to beg forgiveness, of sorts.

"Need I remind you that you all should be operating as a team?" Misato contributed at that point. "There's no need to compete with one another."

"If you really meant that, you wouldn't publish our test scores," Asuka shot back. I feared it was going to dissolve into a full-on argument, but we were saved by the intercom.

"All hands prepare for arrival in New Yokosuka Harbor," came the order. "One hour to docking."

"About time!" Asuka said. "It'll be nice to have my feet back on solid ground."

"Let's get back to the Over The Rainbow," Misato suggested. "We can watch the arrival from there."

 

I managed to get aboard the same helicopter as Shinji and Asuka on the way back to the OTR. I really felt bad about the events of the afternoon, and wanted to talk to the German girl about it.

"Asuka," I said to her when I built up the courage. "I want to apologize for today."

"For what?" she asked, still with an annoyed look on her face.

"For lots of things," I said. "Not backing you up about the Production models, making you feel like you had to prove something.."

"I don't need to prove anything," she sniffed. "My skill will show through soon enough."

"I know," I said. "I just feel bad about things I said and did, and I--"

"There's nothing to apologize for," Asuka said.

"You sure?"

"Don't worry about it, Fourth," she said, looking over at me and smiling. Whether it was forced or not, I couldn't tell, but it seemed genuine.

"Okay," I said, returning the smile. Looking across her at Shinji, I added in Japanese, "Sorry for airing our dirty laundry in front of you."

"It's okay," he responded politely.

"Ikari doesn't mind," Asuka said, evidently jumping at the chance to change the subject. "I'm sure he's all flustered about the concept of two girls talking about him."

"Wh-what?" Shinji stammered. I, too, had to wonder how Asuka made that leap of logic, but in time, I would learn that Asuka saw patterns and paths where others saw only freshly fallen snow.

Still, I decided it was time I exercised my newly-delivered right as a girl to make a boy squirm. "I think you're right," I said to Asuka, eyeing Shinji. "Look at him blush."

"I-I am not," he said, looking away.

Asuka was about to say something more when the helicopter touched down on the carrier. Deckhands were at the doors in a flash and hustling Shinji and I off the machine.

"What's the matter??" I asked.

"Over to the other bird!" the man who'd been stationed at my door shouted over the rotor noise. "We've got to get you to your Eva!"

Apparently Asuka was being told the same thing - as I whipped around to look at her, she was reacting much the same way to something another deckhand was saying to her. A split second later, something towards shore caught our attention.

I turned that way and saw a geyser of water and foam shoot skyward, followed closely by smoke, as one of the lead destroyers was, well, destroyed. A tremendous wake made the two remaining pieces of the ship part and bob away from one another, as the unseen attacker bore down on another picket ship.

The helicopter I'd been on a moment previous lifted off with Asuka and the pilots aboard, and the other one was landing on the other pad, with Misato and the two boys hastily being escorted out and onto the deck.

I ran towards the machine, and as Misato passed me, holding her hair down with one hand, she slapped me on the back and said in English, "Do your best!"

I was all but thrown inside the Black Hawk's passenger compartment, and was definitely not fully seated and belted in before the machine was airborne and racing towards the Tanager. Once in the air, I saw a machine taking off from the Kestrel and heading towards my Eva's storage space as well - likely carrying my green duffel bag with the required plugsuit and neuroclips.

"Here we go," I muttered to myself, trying to keep my heart from jumping right out of my throat.