[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter

[Daniel Gibson]

52 - Filthy Gaijin Part 1 of 3
X-Original-Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:13:23 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime.fandom

Chapter 52 - Filthy Gaijin
[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 52 -
Filthy Gaijin

[Note to Moderator this is Part 1 of a 3 part posting, please combine it
with Part 2 and 3 for archiving]

The character Janice Berkley was created by Rory McLean, and is used with
his full permission.

Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1 / 2, Neon Genesis
Evangelion, Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these stories.

C&C, MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
Stories are available in Rich Text Format and HTML at:
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(these are the most updated versions)

Stories are available in Plain ASCII at:
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ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/ftp/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/type/Sic-Semper-Morituri
(these are the original versions)

What has gone before:
About Book 11 of the Tankoubon Manga, Akane and Soun Tendo throw Ranma
out of the house. Nabiki, in the guise of a wish, follows him. They meet
EVA pilots Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu Langley and Jeffrey Davis.
Shinji destroys the Mi-Go's moonbase, but cannot see them and isn't
affected by their counterattacks. He releases many of the minds in their
containers. On Yuggoth, he meets with Jeff and Sharon, getting some
insights into the real nature of the pilots.
The troops of the Bennington, who will accompany NERV forces to U.S.S.
Boxer, give `Brown Bess` a flint to put between her teeth.
Ranma begins developing individual arts for each pilot to incorporate
their natural inclinations, strengths and weaknesses.
The Scholarly Dragon and Jeff are thrown out of the Council of
Dragonmages for their plans to teach Nabiki.
Toji has a nightmare just before the school day begins. Rei
investigates the school, diagrams the security aspects. Misato is pardoned,
ending the Senator's inquiry.
Nabiki infiltrates Jeff's dreams, first she is defeated by the Urchin
and the Monolith, then she sees Jeff becoming a Master mage, she goes deeper
into his past to learn the breakthrough that enabled him to achieve Master.
Lastly Nabiki and Ritsuko relive and are traumatized by the murder of
Ritsuko-Nabiki and Jeff's massacre of the Phoenixi.
Several of the students are revealed. The initial meeting between the
pilots and Usagi's group does not go as Usagi planned. Rei is also shocked
that some students insist she is the pilots' leader, her shock deepens as
Asuka facilitates the error. Rei then confronts and defeats Tomoe using
Ranma's tactics and training.
Ranma tells Asuka that he's sensed something new, something he doesn't
understand, he also admits he can't live up to people's expectations.

Jeff awakens from his stupor on the train, he and Nabiki tease each
other. Nabiki is feeling extremely homesick. She is also extremely
uncomfortable with the insights she's gotten into her fellow pilot.
Jeff begins developing two new weapons to use against the Mythos
enemies when the train is attacked by the Brothers of Chaugnar Faugn, lesser
versions of the Great Old One.
Ritsuko and Maya race back from an aborted meeting with Jeff's parents
to organize the resistance, the search for the pilots, and the repair of the
EVAs for later use.
The tensions between the pilots in Tokyo and the cultists begin
ratcheting up. The cultists haze the pilots and their allies, and pilots
plan to strike back, including Asuka going head-to-head with Usagi, the
cultist leader.
Ritsuko leads a rescue force, recovering Nabiki and searching for Jeff.
Nabiki has been severely wounded, but desperately wants back in the fight.
Nabiki unease about how she is perceived versus the reality begins to grow
Rei detects that another force is intervening in the ongoing conflicts.
Later Ranma detects the same enemy and helps Sammi engage it.
Sammi realizes that situation is more complicated, the enemy is more
sophisticated and there are possible allies she hadn't considered.
Admiral Simson begins taking a more personal interest in the pilots and
their development.
Toji and Shinji repulse an attack on Ranma's dreamscape, both show
unexpected aptitude.
Sarah, in England, learns that the situation in the Severn Valley has
deteriorated beyond what she had known, she offers her services to bring the
pilots to aid operations, her offer is accepted.



Undertaker - They say he isn't fit to be buried there.
Salesman - What? In Boot Hill?!
Henry - There's nothing up there but murders, cutthroats and derelict old
barflies, and if they ever felt exclusive, brother they're past it now.
Undertaker - They happen to be white, friend. And old Sam . . . old Sam was
an Indian.
Henry - Well I'll be damned. I never knew you had to be anything but a
corpse to get into Boot Hill. How long's this been going on?
Undertaker - Since the town got `civilized`. Oh it's not my doing, boys, I
don't like it, no sir. I've always treated every man the same, just as
another future customer.
The Magnificent Seven - William Roberts

Mislike Me Not For My Complexion
August 6, 1947
"The key to using magic is the application of power," Jeff told
Ritsuko, Nabiki and Maya as the four of them sat within the protective
circle, "The Great Old Ones used a series of mental disciplines and
attitudes to generate certain effects. The spoken words of most spells are
mnemonics to create these mental attitudes automatically. The problem is
that humans aren't Great Old Ones, and neither are dragons, that's one
reason that magic isn't the great, grand showy thing you read about in
novels."
"They aren't compatible," Nabiki said, "But you touched the source of
all magic."
"So did you," Ritsuko said angrily, "That's why you nearly _died_!_
Both of you!"
"That means you two both received close encounters second-hand, so you
have no excuse not to master the entire process," Jeff replied.
Ritsuko squirmed and stared daggers at Maya's swiftly hidden giggle.
"That explains why _I'm_ here," Ritsuko asked, "Why is _Analyst_ Ibuki?"
"He wants to see if the lessons give Maya a chance to learn," Nabiki
said.
"No, we need someone who isn't experimenting, to keep an eye on us
all," Jeff said, "For reasons which should be obvious."
"I won't let anything happen to you, Sempai," Maya said, taking
Ritsuko's hand, causing the scientist to blush furiously.
"And don't give us any of this 'I can't learn' business, just because
shoggoths aren't typically spell casters," Jeff said, "Universit' Ren'
Descartes issued a diploma to _Ricardo_ Akagi, so while Misato and Kaji were
in Germany, you were in France getting your doctorate, disguised as a man."
"Very well," Ritsuko said, "How _did_ you find out?"
"Spirits, deals," Jeff said, "SEELE has left a path of dead bodies as
they manipulated things, many of those killed were left with business
undone."
"So you did their business, so you can give SEELE the business,"
Ritsuko said, "So how do you avoid that?"
"Don't leave people willing to do you some last injury when they die,"
Jeff said with a shrug.
"Why is everybody looking at me?!" Nabiki shouted at the others as they
stared at her. She frowned at all of them in turn.
"I invoke the protection of the 5th Amendment," Jeff said, Ritsuko and
Maya nodded.
"Are you _sure_ the Constitution isn't a suicide pact?" Nabiki asked
sweetly as she cracked her knuckles.
"Do you know how to cause your teeth to spontaneously detonate?" Jeff
asked, just as sweetly.
"No."
"I - do."
Nabiki gave them a tightlipped smile. "Okay, I won't kill you," she
said, "Until we're back in International waters. Isn't that generous of
me?"
"The lesson here is a simple scrying spell," Jeff said, "Being able to
view things and people at a great distance. Or hear, or smell, or even
taste, but that's going beyond the limits I want to deal with this time."
"That would be one way to see if a restaurant really lives up to its
reputation," Maya smiled and suggested.
"The reason I called you all here at 22:30, is that I had one thing I
think all of us would like to look in on," Jeff said.
"Ranma and the others," Nabiki said eagerly.
"Exactly," Jeff said and nodded.
"They are going to a new school," Ritsuko said, "Can the spell
compensate for the distance?"
"The spell will home in on people we know, rather than a set location,"
Jeff explained, "So we don't have to know their coordinates."
"Let's try it," Nabiki said, "How do I cast it?" She rubbed her hands
together eagerly.
"You don't, I do," Jeff said sternly, ignored Nabiki sticking her
tongue out at him. He began making passes and speaking words none of the
others recognized.
Maya covered her ears and hunched her shoulders.
"You okay?" Nabiki asked quietly, leaning towards Maya.
"Something about those words is just . . . wrong," the woman admitted
in frightened tones, she lowered her hands, but still looked uncomfortable.
"Okay, school's coming up. It's raining." Between them a large sphere
formed, hazily showing the sights of an afternoon in faraway Tokyo. "It
will take a moment to clear up, then . . . "
----------------------------------------
Ranma hit them first, eight men clustered around Asuka. Sammi and
Tomiyo hit them right behind him. Mirei and Hikari held back at the edges
of the fray, with Rei ready to move where she was needed. Erin lay on the
pavement, her hair stained red, the red patch beneath her spreading in the
rain water.
"What's happening?" Maya asked, looking from face to grim face around
her, faces both here and in Tokyo.
With the guards' arrival and victory, the crowd that had gathered,
turned their attention elsewhere. Ranma had finished three opponents by the
time Sammi had finished two, Tomiyo a sixth. While one of the more foolish
had seen the three girls hanging back, and decided he needed a hostage. Rei
had taken exception to this. Even through the sphere, his screams indicated
he'd more than learned his lesson. The last of the eight men still held
Asuka off the ground by the throat.
"Where are the guards?" Ritsuko growled, seemingly ready to leap
through the sphere and into the fray.
"Back off or she suffers!" the man bellowed. Asuka's blackened eyes,
torn school uniform, and bruises told them all that she'd already suffered.
Ranma growled, Rei advanced, drew her pistol and calmly pulled the trigger.
The few stragglers of the crowd scattered.
"Where the Hell are the minders?" Ranma shouted as he lifted Asuka, who
was trying her best not to cry or react.
"They were . . . they said . . . " Asuka shook her head, covered her
face.
Maya saw the fury on Jeff's face, his hands clenching and unclenching,
his ferocity was mirrored on Nabiki and Sempai. Thousands of miles
separating them from any ability to affect the events.
A jeep drove onto the scene. "NERV SAR, Janice Berkley," the woman
said and held up her ID, before she climbed from the jeep. She looked as
terrified by the expressions of the guards and pilots as Maya was.
"Let's get back to NERV," Janice told them as she pulled a wirebasket
stretcher from the jeep. She gestured for Hikari and Rei to follow her to
Erin.
Asuka had burrowed into Ranma's shoulder while he looked around for
something, anything, that might be a threat. Sammi and Tomiyo also scanned
the area with their eyes and their weapons.
"Get her into the jeep," Janice ordered as she positioned Mirei and Rei
around Erin, "_ON_ three, lift. One, two, three." They placed Erin in the
stretcher. Hikari looked on the verge of hysterics. She kept looking at
the blood she was standing in, even as the pouring rain washed it away.
"NERV Headquarters," Sammi ordered, while the other pilots and guards
piled into the jeep. Rei moved to stay, once she had set the stretcher in
its mounting points. Mirei gently pushed her back into the jeep. She
pulled her hand back as Rei stared sharply at her. Mirei glanced at her own
guard, who had stayed out of NERV business.
"We'll do that later," Mirei promised. She looked frightened by the
mood of the NERV people.
Maya looked desperately at the stricken faces around her. I'm as
scared as the girl, she thought, Look at them. What can any of us do?
"Shinji wouldn't do anything, Ranma will just beat them up," Nabiki
said as she icily analyzed the unfolding events, "But Rei, Jeff and I - we
play by an entirely different set of rules."
The girl's tone terrified Maya even more. The four of them silently
watched the pilots and guards ride in equal silence. Only Asuka's
occasional whimpers broke the quiet in both places.
I don't know why she doesn't cry. I would be sobbing by now, Maya
thought, she looked around again, and found no emotion, except anger. She
tried to shy away from all three of them, It's confounding. I guess they
remain silent for their own reasons. Rei is Rei, Sempai and I don't know
what to say. Jeff and Ranma seem to be caught between fury, and tenderness
to Asuka. Ranma made the girl comfortable, Jeff longs to, but both are
simply smoldering, Maya thought, I too wish I could do something, both for
them and us here.
No people awaited the group at the public entrances to the NERV med
center. Maya watched Asuka insist she could walk. But she didn't divest
herself of Ranma's arm, Maya noted silently, She's still leaning on it while
they walk, and poor Ranma doesn't know what to do, except what she's doing.
"That's it I won't watch anymore." Jeff broke the spell and charged
from the room.
"Jeff, Jeffrey!" Sempai leapt to her feet and raced after him.
Maya glanced at Nabiki, who stared hatefully at where the images had
been. Maya decided not to say _anything_. What are you thinking? Maya
wanted to ask, but held her tongue.
----------------------------------------
The arrival at the medical bay caused a controlled madness. Ranma
objected to being separated from Asuka. He and Rei were quickly
interrogated about what had happened. As soon as they were released, Rei
ran off at her best speed, before Ranma could escape, he was caught again.
Misato was furious that the girl had left.
"What did you think you were doing? You are supposed to remain here!"
Misato reminded him.
"Why?!" Ranma shot back, "Your Security really helped us today." I
don't care what she says or does, Ranma fumed as he marched away, I want . .
... I want to charge out of here, hunt down those bastards and drag them back
here for Stoneface to work them over. He stopped walking and glanced
around. But even here, I can't trust Asuka will be safe, he thought in
frustration. He looked around, tossing his mane of red hair, he took a long
deep breath to calm down, Since I'm stuck as a girl, I can stick close to
Asuka, and hope whatever Rei is doing works. I wish Nab-chan, Rit-chan and
Raccoon knew about this, they'd know what to do, this is their kind of
fight, not mine. Ranma stormed through the halls, circling where Asuka was
being treated. On one pass, he spotted Rei's pistol and her NERV I.D. card.
She left them behind, he realized. The .45's cylinder was empty, and the
pistol's action was open neatly, almost aesthetically place alongside her
I.D.. What are you doing? he angrily demanded of the missing pilot, Such a
simple, quiet day. Bored in school, again. Ranma remembered that the only
harassment had been classroom cleanup duty for the pilots all together.
Except Asuka traded a day with Hikari, so she left early, he thought
morosely, I thought she was going to go watch Rei get into the orchestra.
Something about Asuka not being with us bothered me, but I thought the
guards would be ample protection. They always said I'm stupid,
proof-positive today. Can't trust them, can't trust _any_ of them! He
looked at the new divots in the concrete walls, then down at his dusty
knuckles which fit perfectly in the dents.
Then I heard the scream, Ranma remembered as he resumed circling,
looking for any threat, anything that would hurt Asuka anymore, something to
vent his frustration on. I almost wish something _would_ show up. But on
the off-chance I _couldn't_ stop it, better nothing happens.
I wouldn't bet I heard Asuka's scream with my ears, but I heard it
clear enough. We dropped what we were doing and ran out, the cleanup job
half done. Rei plotted the course, speeding ahead of the rest of us. I
thought they hated each other, but the way Rei was moving - there was
nothing going to stop her. We ran to the rescue. Asuka and the Meliorist's
lessons, us attacking with perfect coordination, without any signal as soon
as we came in sight. We did it perfectly, she might have been proud.
Didn't do her much good though.
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko's search found Jeff sitting next to Unit 04. She wondered,
When did those macabre monstrosities become a source of comfort for the
pilots? He simply stared out into the darkness, not watching the terrain
race by. Most others would have missed him in the darkness, Ritsuko
thought, But not me.
She approached carefully, looking for some signal that she was welcome
or unwelcome. I've got a plan to deal with either reaction, she thought as
she closed in step by step. She sat next to him, he didn't react to her
presence. Might as well be a statue, she thought. She raised a hand to
touch him, then dropped it back to her side.
Instead, "There's nothing we can do, until we're back in Tokyo," she
said flatly.
"Of that, I am aware," he replied without emotion.
"Other than the bruises, and the bad hair cut, I doubt she was
seriously hurt," Ritsuko said. You've got plans, just not one that would
work without too high a cost, she realized.
"Erin will be dead within the week," he replied quietly, "And Asuka
will blame herself for that. There remains nothing I can do about that
either. I certainly can't change the hearts and minds of those who merely
stood by and did nothing. I must say, it does graphically explain how the
militarists took control."
"I don't think that they did anything wrong," Ritsuko said. What I'd
like to know is where was NERV security? Under no circumstances should they
have allowed the pilots to walk into that ambush, and the pilots and their
personal guards shouldn't have been the only available rescue force.
"They did nothing, except enjoy the show," he coldly replied, "While
all I _could_ do was watch. Somehow it doesn't balance." He dipped his
head to his knees.
"It isn't your job to protect her from everything." She put a hand on
his shoulder, wishing she could draw out the emotional poison in him
"Ha!" he said mirthlessly as he looked at her, "You should know
different." He extended his hand. "As I sat in a hospital bed in Wyoming,
I stretched forth my hand and plucked her and Anna out of Communist-held
Germany." He closed his fist on the empty air. His smile became a frown as
he stared at her in the darkness.
I know he did this, from my memories, Ritsuko thought, And I know how
he longs to do it again. But he can't, and there's nothing I can say to
make it better. Even if we were _there_, there's nothing we could do,
except what appeared to be going on.
"This time I can't fix it. No spell, or stolen memory, or ancient
power, or ally can undo what was done. So the idea these powers are for
anything other than fighting and killing . . . just another stupid idea I
had." He stood up suddenly. "I don't feel like talking, I want to be left
alone."
She reached out, but he easily evaded her grip and headed back
`inside`. She glanced at the EVA. "You certainly were a help," she
complained as she stood. And being alone is a _terrible_ idea, she thought
as she stood to pursue him.
----------------------------------------
Maya walked behind Nabiki as she rolled. It's so strange, I know it
happened thousands of miles away, but because I _watched_ it, I've got this
irrational desire to call out security, she thought as the girl in the
wheelchair sat unmoving outside her cabin, Is she afraid to go in? Or does
she want to do something? As I do.
Why can't I just _say_ something, anything? she thought to herself, Say
something! "I don't understand why Asuka was attacked." She nearly slapped
her own face. That was stupid, she thought.
"They did nothing," Nabiki said coldly, as if discussing a newspaper
article, "I suppose because she is different."
"You mean, the guards . . . or the crowd?" Maya asked carefully. I've
got lots of experience `being different`, Maya thought, I got 'the tallest
nail is hammered down' speech I don't know how many times. Until I started
to believe it. Then I met Sempai, the Commander . . . and you pilots . . .
you all would break the hammer, then beat up the wielder. Maybe it isn't
the best way, but it's a different way.
"The crowd . . . our countrymen," Nabiki said, "When they needed her .
... . when they didn't . . . "
"You're taking this to heart, I don't think you should. We don't know
all of what transpired," Maya said. That sounds foolish even to me, she
thought, What could Asuka have possibly done to face off against eight,
large men? Why _her_ and not someone else?
"You're right, we follow orders," Nabiki said, "That reminds me, I need
to be at the Teikoku Bank in Shiinamachi at 15:00 on January 26, 1948."
"What's going to happen?" Maya asked in shock.
"A bank robber is going to walk in, identify himself as a public
official, fill the staff's teacups with cyanide, and the employees of the
bank will drink it, as ordered, and die."
Unfortunately, I can see too many people I know who would go along with
that, Maya considered as she pushed Nabiki along, Most of my family would.
Maybe that's why Major Katsuragi has such trouble with the pilots. Only Rei
might go along with such an order, if the Commander gave it, even Shinji
would resist automatically. "How do you know about this?" Maya asked as the
initial shock wore off.
"I'm one of the Children," Nabiki told her, waving her hands
theatrically.
----------------------------------------
Rei knelt in the alley where they had fought. It was still raining,
harder now. None of that affects the tracks I am seeking, she thought as
she opened herself to the world unseen. She noted that Mirei and several
`gorillas` as the others called them, waited. As soon as Rei had arrived,
one walked over and unfolded a large umbrella to keep the rain off Rei. Rei
had thanked him and gotten on with her work.
I write my findings in my notebook, she thought as the paths left
behind led her to the answers, My powers have revealed to me the names of
the attackers, and linkages to the people attacked. She glanced at the
guard. "What has occurred is Secret."
"I only stood in the rain, seeing nothing," the man answered nervously.
I know he will not reveal what he saw and heard, Rei thought as she
stood, No one would believe him, and the Commander's reputation for
'plugging leaks with lead' is not unfounded. "I will require a telephone
directory," she said to him, "To complete my investigation." And to have
targets, she kept to herself, They will be destroyed. They have impaired
the Commander's plan, they have damaged the Second Children, they _will_ be
destroyed! She stood in the rain, shaking with rage, unable to react to
anything, even Mirei leading her under an overhang out of the downpour, did
not penetrate the maelstrom that consumed her entire being.
When she came back to herself, she was aware of a blanket draped over
her shoulders. An old threadbare, itchy thing, she considered, But warm.
She focused on Mirei holding her hands. "My thanks, you took an unnecessary
risk," she told the girl.
"I think it was necessary," Mirei told her, "I had to do something . .
... after I couldn't help Langley-san."
"That is not your job," Rei explained to her, glanced at the huge and
very frightened man with a telephone directory. He is much larger than I,
he is armed, she considered, Yet he is as full of fear as I was of rage. I
must control myself, or I will be of no use. To the Commander, or anyone.
Why am _I_ doing this? Why am I not assisting Security, or Nabiki-kun, or
Roku-kun? All I can do is observe. I cannot collate, I cannot analyze . .
... I cannot trust those who should.
She glanced around, at Mirei in front of her, at the girl's guards
standing scattered around, a dozen meters away, all watching her. "I have
recovered, enough to continue. Why did they take her hair? The hair shorn
from her head?"
"Souvenirs?" Mirei offered quietly, "It was all gone by the time I got
more men here. I'm sorry."
"That will not help," she told Mirei, "But you have done what you
could." I have too little skill at reassurance, and I will soon need all I
have, Rei thought, nearly losing herself to a vortex of anger and
uncertainty. She took a moment to focus on what she knew, rather than on
what she felt. I have resources, my memories, the actions and words of
others, she reminded herself, That will have to be enough. But I am
frightened, and alone. Who and what I have depended on, has been chipped
away, now I am alone.
"Do you know for certain what they were doing?" she asked coldly,
loudly enough for the men to hear, as she stepped out into the rain. The
rain seemed not to touch her, as if it feared her anger.
"Vengeance," one man told her, he tried to disappear as Rei looked at
him.
Then that is my guide, not vengeance, but justice, Rei told herself.
"I require answers. This was not supposed to happen, it should not have
happened," she told the men, the wind and the rain, "I need to know why that
which failed, did so, to prevent it from happening again."
"Is that why you killed him?" Mirei asked warily, leading Rei back
under the overhang.
"Perhaps," Rei said grimly as she stood and gathered her wits and
control. Mirei nodded.
----------------------------------------
Misato looked at Ranma, and the guards who were waiting with varying
degrees of impatience in the briefing room. Dammit Rei! Where did you run
off to? Only the promise of news got Ranma to sit still in here, she
thought, He . . . she's ready to go charging off, but to where? Where Rei
is? Somewhere else? "She doesn't have any broken bones, and all they did
was bruise her. She has been asking to see you, Ranma." Ranma stood
silently, her pretty face a mask of rage. She headed to Asuka's room with
Tomiyo in tow, with an expression that said she'd go _through_ any obstacle:
wall or human.
"She wasn't raped, was she?" Sammi asked pointedly, once Ranma was
gone, "They were threatening that, when we intervened."
Misato scowled, then squirmed under the larger woman's intent gaze.
Ritsuko should be doing this, Misato thought sourly, Not me. Just thinking
about it makes me want a bath. "There was no evidence of that. They
apparently wanted to inflict fear, not damage."
Sammi and Juri nodded, then glanced at each other, cutting Misato out
of their silent conversation.
No questions about their colleague, Misato noted, Do they already think
she's dead? Or are they fixed on something else? Kaji wouldn't even answer
the phone, this place should be swarming with Security, instead we have
Army, Marine and even Navy troops at practically every intersection, Misato
thought, None of them are talking, and I want some answers. "Why would they
do something like that?" Misato demanded.
"She's a filthy gaijin, that's what they said, and the locals seemed to
agree," Sammi said flatly, "And the FUBENS did nothing. I'd like to know
about that. If it takes thumbscrews and hot irons, so be it."
Now Misato shifted uneasily at the larger woman's fury. "Ah, where's
Rei?"
"Doing Security's job, I'd bet," Juri murmured, staring at Misato.
Doing your ex-lover's job, Misato interpreted from the stare. He's not
mine, and I never could control him, Misato thought in her defense, And it's
not my job to look after him.
----------------------------------------
The car pulled up near them as Rei made notes from the phone book.
Mirei's guards tensed instantly, several taking defensive positions. Rei
ignored it, finishing her work.
A man climbed from the car. "NERV Security, please come with us." The
man held up a proper I.D.
"If what you found is true," Mirei bent close to Rei and whispered
urgently, "Don't trust them."
Rei was again lost. If this is the truth, she thought urgently, Then
who _can_ be trusted? My connection to Mirei is through the Fourth, tenuous
at best. The Commander is not here . . . there is another source I can
trust.
"Or what?" Rei asked, looking at the men, she freed the anger that had
so frightened Mirei's guards. She let them see it, took a step towards
them, and the men of Security retreated a step. "You did such a good job
this afternoon," she intoned flatly, her gaze on them, ignoring the rain and
the others.
The Security men gave ground and stared at each other in utter
bewilderment.
"Don't make us force you," the first man said desperately and reached
into his coat. He froze as a dozen weapons were suddenly leveled at him by
the `gorillas`.
Rei wanted to scream, You can no longer hold us by respect, or by
reason. So, you think you need a gun to arrest me. Betrayers! The thought
enraged Rei more than she believed possible, I serve the Commander's
purpose, not the whims of those who have failed it, she wanted to shout.
This was not the random battering that drove thought from her mind. She had
the clarity she always strove for, and so rarely achieved. I know what I
must do now. For that, I thank you, and gift you with your lives. She
turned to Mirei, handing the girl her notebook. "The names of all the
attackers. All of them have a brother, cousin, or father in NERV Security."
She could see she was frightening the girl with her rage. "That is not a
coincidence, that is a conspiracy. I choose not to participate. The
Commander must know," she paused, considered, then added, "I trust you with
delivering this - to - the - Commander."
"Yes." Mirei nodded as she shielded the book from the rain with her
body.
Rei left, walking in the most direct route towards her next
destination. A Security man grabbed for her, his hand closing on air. The
man stared in amazement. 'I would have sworn I grabbed her shoulder' is
practically written on his face, Rei thought. He moved to pursue.
----------------------------------------
Mirei watched Rei depart, as Mirei stepped into the waiting car,
"Contact Major Katsuragi. Nobody is going to reason with or capture
Ayanami-san, except the Commander or Ranma-san."
A Security man pursuing Rei into an alley, came sailing out at
shoulder-level, he descended and rolled into a stop in the middle of the
street, he got up very slowly and painfully.
"Nobody at all I think," Mirei said as she glanced at the book.
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko was not happy about this. Security will have no answer why
they had failed to protect Asuka, or to maintain surveillance on the
Children, she fumed at the excuses they would offer, And for some reason
Gendo will protect them yet again, why I wonder? she thought as she moved
through the train, Jeff didn't go to his cabin, and I have a guess of what
he _could_ do if he decided to. The question is: will he?
"What am I doing?" she asked herself, "I don't even know what I'm going
to do when I find him." She'd turned out the Marines to locate him, and
assigned Maya to stay with Nabiki in the girl's cabin. Because I didn't
know what _else_ to do, she thought in frustration. Through the window in
the door of the barracks car, she spotted a Marine outside the armory car.
The man saw her and waved her forward, but put his finger to his lips. She
nodded, as he opened the door, the man pointed to a corner blocked by
several of the sonic glaives. Ritsuko nodded and stepped inside, closing
the door behind her. Once she was alone, she walked the distance, stopping
a short distance away from the figure huddled in the darkness.
"If you want to sleep in here," Ritsuko said in a flat tone, "I can
have a cot set up." She looked around, with practiced nonchalance.
"Thank you, Doctor, I don't think that will be necessary," he replied
in English.
"Do you want to talk about it? _I_ want to talk about it. Talking
about it is the only thing we can do . . . unless you want to send Asuka a
telegram," Ritsuko offered.
"I can't fix this with words. And what actions can I take?" he asked
without emotion.
"You could tell me what is really bothering you," Ritsuko suggested as
she sat down.
"About what? Should I apologize for polluting your sacred soil?"
Ritsuko went pallid at Jeff's tone and gaze.
"Even burakumin are above gaijin, aren't they, Doctor, and only Koreans
and Chinese are below Americans, right? Although we have the same stupid
kind of thing here, do you realize the word `quadroon` refers to someone who
is one-quarter Negro, there are even words down to one-sixty-fourth, you
have to be pretty psychotic to insist on separating people by that fine a
gradation. I was actually disappointed in Boston when I found out the water
fountains marked 'Colored' dispensed the same water as the ones marked
'White'. Only the recipients were different, supposedly," he said without
emotion, "That's why they beat her up, just a loudmouthed gaijin, put the
uppity, fool-foreigner girl in her place. Doesn't matter who or what she
is, all comes down to what they assume she is."
Nobody cares about that, she wanted to tell him, but with the total
failure of NERV Security, it died before she could say it, Neither of us
know what happened, neither of us can fix it, and I will need to check on
the events that occurred. But that isn't my primary concern.
"Thirty-five people, civilians, stood around and did nothing. The
eight were conspirators, the 35 were merely coincidence, random bystanders,
ordinary citizens. She's a good friend, sometimes I don't like Langley's
mouth either. However, _nobody_ deserves what happened to her, Doctor.
Thirty-five civilians, you'd think somebody would have called the police,
you'd think the Security troops would have been there or called for
reinforcements, if Search and Rescue hadn't had a worker stationed, there
would have been no ambulance either. It didn't happen. As it was promised,
contracted if you will. If some batch of yahoos can simply take out a
pilot, why continue the illusion of a normal life? Why bother trusting any
of our `protectors`?"
"They have to be looking into it," Ritsuko replied, it sounded weak,
even to her.
Jeff continued to stare at her, he wore a faint frown. "Oh yes, that
makes me feel _so_ much better. What are _you_ really concerned with? That
I'll do something stupid, like going after your countrymen? That a stupid
gaijin cowboy will carry out a little Wild West justice?" He stood and
walked away from her, "These aren't the Phoenixi, I'm not going to let it
loose, and let it nuke Tokyo, if that's all you're worried about."
That's not fair, and you know it, she thought. "It's not like that,"
Ritsuko replied. Although that one reason I'm is why I'm here, she thought,
But I do know you'd be more selective.
"Yeah." Jeff turned away and covered his head, "Just leave me alone, or
hit me over the head and take me back. It's not like I could fight you
effectively."
Ritsuko felt a flash of cold, then anger at the unspoken implication.
She was torn. I should drag you back to your berth, or leave you where you
are! No, my job is to protect the pilots, she thought as she stepped away
to give both of them some emotional distance, Relax, I can outwait him.
Normally he's more patient, but if he's acting like this, I might be able to
wear him down with time. He's just striking out, as I want to. I keep
forgetting they are all kids, incredibly mature _most_ of the time, but
occasionally they will act their age. After the stresses of the past weeks,
they're both at the end of their rope. She waited and wondered.
------------------------------------------
Misato was out in the rain, in her car. She worried that the world had
come off its axis. I don't believe what the Commander told me: Rei
discovered that the attackers were all relatives of NERV Security; that she
clobbered several of the agents who tried to take her in. That had to
mystify those agents, it certainly mystifies _me_. What's gotten into her?
She never used to act like this, she thought as she searched the road she'd
guessed Rei was headed down, Now it's my job to find her and return her to
NERV. Maybe sounding an alert? Rei would come running, and when she found
out it was a fake, then what? The white blouse of Rei's school uniform
practically glowed in the headlights, the rain had soaked Rei to the skin.
Misato pulled up alongside her, "Hey, little girl! Want a lift?" she
called in a jaunty tone. From Rei's expression, Misato immediately realized
it was the wrong action to take.
"Thank you, Major, but no thank you," Rei replied quietly as she
walked.
"Aren't you worried about walking in the rain?" Misato asked, tried to
remember something that might sway her, "If you get sick, you won't be able
to pilot."
"The weather is warm, so I will not catch cold," Rei replied evenly.
"Security failed to protect Mein Grossfeldmarschall, so I am in no greater
danger out here alone. I have yet to hear an alert, have I forgotten
anything?"
"Maybe you want to talk?" Misato asked brightly.
"No," Rei replied with some vehemence.
"We're looking into the failings with Security," Misato told her as she
drove alongside Rei as she walked.
Rei stopped so abruptly, Misato had to stop and back up, "That is not
sufficient."
"It's all we can do," Misato replied.
"Yes," Rei said and turned away and began walking again, "It is all you
can do. I am not so limited."
Misato was flabbergasted by Rei's casual dismissal not only of Misato's
orders, but of Misato herself. "Then maybe you'd like to tell me what to
do," she said as she started pacing Rei again.
"Tradition requires a meaningful apology."
Misato felt incredibly queasy at Rei's behavior and her suggestion.
She can't mean seppuku! Misato thought, But . . . maybe she does.
--------------------------------------
The Hate of Those Ye Guard
"You took action without my approval!" Usagi insisted as she confronted
Yuki in front of all the girls of the 'innermost' circle as they met at
Usagi's house.
"I released SEELE operatives, a sleeper cell they had planted that
could have been used against us, once we took control," Yuki replied calmly,
disdainfully, "There is no connection to us."
"Are you certain?" Tomoe shouted, "If we were dealing with humans, I'd
agree, if we hadn't just riled up a hornet's nest. For weeks they'll
suspect us no matter what we did. But I have the bruises to prove we
_aren't_ dealing with mere humans!"
"We will not be implicated," Yuki insisted far too calmly, "They will
concentrate their efforts on SEELE, not us. We all know that SEELE has
other sleeper agents, that will be the focus of their search. We have no
reason to be concerned. They will be so busy searching out further moles,
that if we offer sympathies and apologies," she said mockingly, "We will
vanish from their radar so quickly . . . they won't be seeing _anything_ of
us. You wanted to bring them in," Yuki told Usagi condescendingly, "Now is
the perfect time to do it. Even if they suspect anything, if we put even a
hundredth of our powers and connections at their disposal, we win. Our
pranks, while hurtful, are trivial compared to this attack. This is far
beyond anything they would consider we would do." Yuki smiled to the other
girls, swaying them to her side.
"Because it _is_!_" Usagi insisted as she struggled to keep her temper.
You've overstepped your bounds this time, she thought, This wasn't a
misinterpretation, this was and is a mutiny. There will be a reckoning at a
time of my choosing. If you cannot serve as a worshiper, there are other
ways. "This action will make them clamp down on all _possible_ threats.
The plan was to strike once, then play good, little girls and lull them into
a careless state. Then and only then, strike with full force before Tendo
arrives. With this, they may even expedite her return. Your action has
cost us options and it has cost us time! Even the Goddess cannot grant us
more time," Usagi didn't shriek, however much she wanted to.
"You haven't borne the brunt of her insults," Yuki raged, then mastered
herself, "Besides, she wasn't seriously hurt. Her only serious injury was
to her hair. That's hardly enough to launch a vendetta."
Usagi noted many of the other girls touching or stroking their own
hair, proving Yuki's assertion was a lie. "_You_ launched one due to _your_
pride," Usagi bit off each word, "You think they will not react the same?"
"Aren't _you_ the one always telling us they are gods and goddesses?"
Yuki asked innocently.
I should just kill you, and leave your broken corpse on NERV's
doorstep! Usagi thought as her fists clenched and unclenched on empty air,
instead of around Yuki's throat.
Yuki turned to the others. "I say now is the time to move against
them!" Yuki insisted.
"_WHAT_!_" Usagi shrieked as she took a step towards Yuki, intent on
murder.
"We can break their pride now," Yuki announced, directing her comments
to the others, ignoring Usagi and the threat she posed, "We can bring them
to heel. Force them to be _OUR_ servants, not us there's!" The others
nodded sagely.
"They are to be an offering to the Goddess!" Usagi insisted, "We aren't
strong enough - "
"We are _right_now_!_" Yuki countered smoothly, "They are weak and
confused. If we attack their weakest member, the whole rotten mess will
come down! Ranko managed - "
"Ranko managed to repulse our attack!" Usagi shouted.
"Those simulacra drove us off, but Ranko never dared come out. Ran_ma_
should be our target. One of his women was hurt, he will be blaming himself
and unable to counter a decisive attack," Yuki continued as if Usagi hadn't
interrupted, "We can take him down, then Ranko, then we finish Miss Langley,
then Ayanami, and we'll be ready for Miss Tendo and `Raccoon`. When we hand
them over to the Goddess, they will be amenable to control."
Usagi hung her head when she saw the others nod among themselves. They
would be a greater gift to the Goddess if they came to her willingly, not
dragged to her on a leash, Usagi silently lamented. She raised her head,
her expression fixed and defiant. "What say you all?" Usagi asked, making
it seem she was still in control.
"All for my plan?" Yuki insisted. There was near universal
acclimation. Usagi noted that Tomoe wanted nothing to do with it. "Very
well. Yuki, you will lead them into battle. Neither I nor Tomoe will
interfere, you clearly are beyond any argument against you."
"That's right, I will not be swayed," Yuki told Usagi confidently.
"Then go with the Goddess's blessing," Usagi intoned and watched her
once-loyal followers, her one-time friends troop out.
"Are you out of your mind?" Tomoe asked, once the others were gone,
"This is nothing more than an attempt to seize control, and you know it."
"Yes," Usagi said tiredly, "Perhaps Yuki's plan is blessed by the
Goddess and I have been too cautious."
"Or her ego and cunt are getting the better of her!" Tomoe insisted
while pacing furiously.
"Yes, perhaps, but I will let the Goddess make that determination,"
Usagi said passively, wrung out by the battle and her failure, and the
abandonment.
"You know something," Tomoe probed, "What?"
"Those were no simulacra," Usagi told her.
Tomoe's mouth dropped open. "You set them up!" Tomoe realized.
"Perhaps not," Usagi replied smoothly, sighed and hung her head,
"Perhaps the Goddess will smile on their foolishness."
"I somehow doubt it," Tomoe said as she paced and frowned. "What
happens when none of them come back?" Tomoe asked.
"We will elevate some of the other girls. I will console Miss Langley
and you will make peace with Ranko."
"Like Hell I will!" Tomoe confronted her sister.
"You _will_, you will ask her to help you deal with your anger. Her
ego will not allow her to refuse. Once we have Ranko and Miss Langley, we
will have the others. Patience. It is the lesson you've never understood."
"Patience Hell. I'd rather go hit something."
----------------------------------------
While she waited for the Marine guards just outside Asuka's room to
check her I.D, Janice gingerly assayed both Asuka's surface thoughts and
deep emotional aura, while she apparently paused in thought. Then she
waited for the Marine guards to verify with her boss that she was
authorized.
Asuka stood by and watched out the window, watching the rain come down
and the world go by. Janice probed beneath the seemingly placid surface.
'I'm not vain,' Asuka thought, 'But I hate looking like this. I hate
not being as `pretty` as I was. I hated being leered at, but I don't want
to be stared at as a freak. I _am_ a freak, to these people, that's why
they attacked me. Can I kill them? Would they have raped me if they'd had
more time? If Horseface and the others hadn't intervened? Has Erin died?
Has Erin died because of me? What can I do? Stay here and hide? Ask to go
home? Give up being a pilot? I couldn't live if I wasn't a pilot, but do I
want to live any longer? Who can I trust? Did they come charging in to
rescue me, or because an enemy was before them?'
Janice broke contact with the stream of consciousness and quailed as
the magnitude of the task that faced her: the warring emotions within Asuka,
all the dangers it involved. As it all became clear to her, her gestalt
shattered.
----------------------------------------
'She will require this,' Face explained to the others.
'You just want to meet her again,' Ear complained, 'We should wait.'
'We _should_ be going after the ones who did this,' Main `shouted` at
the others, 'You stopped me from attacking them, I could have slain them
all.'
'We would have been discovered,' Ear replied, 'An AT field powerful
enough to have done any good would have been detected.'
'You just couldn't decide on how to do what was necessary!' Main told
them.
'We shouldn't ignore how this affects the others?' Face asked them
quietly.
The mental silence descended as they all `looked` to Poll, who was the
final arbiter, and the only one the other three all respected.
----------------------------------------
'We will go ahead with Face's plan, but we won't ask Asuka to have ice
cream,' Poll told them, 'We can also find out a little about the people who
attacked her. But our most important mission is to restore Asuka to the
best of our ability. We'll need her, so will the plan. Face be charming,
but don't be _too_ charming. Main, if anything comes at us, no holds are
barred. It could be blamed on a subconscious manifestation of Asuka's
powers. Ear, listen, analyze. I agree with Main, we need a target, to
attack or to defend against. Agreed?'
----------------------------------------
Janice opened her eyes as the gestalt reasserted itself. She nodded to
the Marine outside the door as he finished checking her I.D., and her
purpose, while another checked through what she carried.
Chasing out `Horseface` wasn't the smartest thing. Especially after
you asked for him, Janice thought, But you want to be alone, but you need
someone around. And Horseface gave in to your demands, even if you didn't
really mean them.
"Yeah, it is my fault," she heard Asuka say as the girl pulled a short
length of her hair and stared at it. "Stupid thing to be worried about,"
she said, she shuddered as soon as she said it.
Janice looked through the opening door. "Miss Langley?" she asked as
the Marine held the door for her and the kit she carried.
Asuka turned, back in `character`, her anger and fear invisible, for
someone she didn't know. "You were the woman on the jeep," Asuka said as
she stared, "Search and Rescue."
"Yes," Janice said, nodded, "I saw your hair -" She froze as Asuka
did. "I thought you might want someone to even it out. That's all I'm
suggesting." Please accept, she thought desperately, while hiding her own
nervousness.
"oh," Asuka said in a small voice. She sat in a chair, her lip
trembling, before she mastered herself.
I know you're hiding, Janice thought as she unpacked the clippers,
scissors and combs, laying them out on a table, Maybe I should have
suggested to Rei that _she_ do this, but I think she's got her own ideas.
"Now Milady Langley," she said in German, "How about a perm? She would be
so adorable in curls - "
Asuka turned and _stared_ at her. Even Main quailed at that gaze.
"That explains where they got the idea for the Schwerer Gustav,
couldn't they have just let you stare at the Maginot Line?" Janice asked,
chuckling anxiously.
"I wasn't born yet," Asuka replied as another Search and Rescue member
brought in a basin on a stand and a reclining chair. "I take it you had
this planned," Asuka accused and got out of her chair.
"In Search and Rescue, we have to be ready for anything," Janice told
her as Asuka sat in the reclining chair, "Thank you."
Asuka didn't reply as Janice began wetting her hair to begin shampooing
it.
Janice felt the slight fading of the gestalt as Asuka relaxed under her
fingers.
'This is not normal,' Face commented.
'This is not correct,' Main replied worriedly, 'She should not have
acquiesced so swiftly.'
'She desires the safety, and the contact,' Face countered smoothly,
'She merely required an `excuse`.'
As Janice returned from the brief discussion, she noted the subtle
movements Asuka made. She keeps glancing at the Marine to make sure I don't
do anything untoward, Janice thought, I doubt she'd trust the FUBENS like
that. I still wish I knew what they were doing instead of what they were
_supposed_ to be doing. "At the daily SAR briefing, I received a report on
the Azores Mission," she said, "It seems that a group called the Brothers of
Chaugnar Faugn attacked them and were destroyed. While pilots Davis and
Tendo were injured, they finished off the last ones together." She watched
Asuka's reaction carefully, examining and analyzing every aspect and nuance,
to guide her next action or word.
"How badly hurt?" Asuka asked fearfully, looking at Janice.
"You might be able to sign Miss Tendo's cast, but a broken leg couldn't
keep her out of the fight. Mister Davis has some scrapes and burns, but Dr.
Akagi and the doctors with Search and Rescue expect a full recovery before
they make it back, for both of them."
"At least that's some good news," Asuka replied quietly, again sitting
back in the chair, "We could use the help."
Janice finished rinsing Asuka's hair and set the chair back upright.
"This is going to get me stared at again," Janice said, "But I could style
it with a braid like Ranko's." She paused as Asuka twisted and glared at
her. "I'll take that as a 'no'. I'll also assume a pageboy like Miss
Tendo's is not an options."
"I'd rather have it cut like Raccoon's," Asuka murmured as she turned
back.
"I can bob it, with a bit of feathering," Janice offered.
"Sounds okay," Asuka replied listlessly.
Janice worried about the normally fiery pilot as she carefully cut and
styled the girl's hair.
----------------------------------------
"What happened?" Commander Ikari had personally interviewed Pilot
Saotome, the only pilot available. And got a good and surprisingly
descriptive idea what had happened. Despite the fact it was more gestures
and impersonations than explanations, Gendo thought, And _none_ of it was
usable in any court of law. Now he and Commander Fuyutsuki were looking at
the security guards, who were supposed have been performing overwatch for
the Children and their close-in guards at the time in question. Rei has
never lied to me, Gendo thought, hiding his thoughts even from Fuyutsuki, If
what she discovered is even _partially_ true, this is a disaster beyond
imagining. How thoroughly _are_ we infiltrated/compromised?
He listened to their explanations, shades of half-truths and
face-saving evasions. The guards have no explanation for Asuka Langley
getting away from them, he thought angrily, The others simply had not
expected the Children to bolt, and they'd lost them. And they have no
explanation for the guards posted in that area simply being 'gone.'
"Then why, once you'd reacquired them, didn't you call for
transportation?" You didn't reacquire them until after the Children arrived
back at NERV HQ, he thought, Without NERV SAR, they would have had to have
walked back, or Saotome would have run carrying Langley with Rei as close
support. "You will be interrogated under truth serum. Your final
dispositions have yet to be determined." The guards left, escorted by
Marines.
"Without Pilot Saotome's combat skills and the training he has given
the others, we could have had a disaster," Commander Fuyutsuki said as he
shuffled the reports, trying to force sense out of the insanity.
Ikari agreed, "If the Children trust and need NERV for nothing, we lose
the vestiges of control we currently have." Ikari turned to face his old
friend, "We _must_ have answers and we must neutralize this threat in a way
that sends an unequivocal message to the Pilots and everyone else." He
stared at the Sephiroth incised in the floor, it seemed to be mocking him.
Fuyutsuki spoke, "Commander, you are worried that Rei might be the next
logical target, and that she shot one of the attackers. There is no report
of a body, or that she shot any except the one. Although she did resist
Security's attempt to return her to here."
I can only hope she's still loyal to me and the plan. Her loyalty to
NERV may have been damaged, he thought carefully, It seems that the
Admiral's suggestion is also a warning. How do I deal with the possibility
that Rei will act in what she believes is in my best interests, without
orders? What do I do if she acts in my interest, in opposition to someone's
orders, including my own? "I am also concerned what we will tell our
`masters`," Ikari joked.
Fuyutsuki nodded grimly.
----------------------------------------
Misato stared at the white shirt in the rain. Bored, bored, Bored,
BORED, _BORED_, she thought, Following Rei for nearly half-an-hour and she's
been walking steadily in the rain. For what? The headlights illuminated
the spotless white shirt some 75 meters ahead of her. She's probably
expecting me to run her down, Misato thought angrily, And after what
happened to Security, I'm not getting into a wrestling match with her.
Suddenly Rei darted off the road and into the woods. Misato slammed on the
brakes and shut off the car. She looked into the dark woods. Staring at
that white shirt killed my night vision, Misato thought angrily, She could
be 20 meters away and I'd never see her. She knew it, she _planned_ it!
Outsmarted, by Rei, I hate being outsmarted. "I should have dragged you
back to the base and to Hell with the repercussions," she growled quietly.
"Rei! Get back here," belatedly she added, "That's an order!" As if
that would do any good, she thought. She got back in her car and drove back
to NERV headquarters, there she found Ranma waiting for her.
"Well?" Ranma asked.
"She ran away," Misato told him as she marched into NERV.
" 'She ran away'," Ranma repeated, "I think we've got a problem." She
turned on her heel, leaving her red pigtail lashing like an angry cat's tail
as she marched away.
I should point that out, Misato thought, Just to spread the misery.
----------------------------------------
Ranma caught up with Sammi as quickly as he could. "Let's go to Rei's
place, we can pick up a spare set of clothes for her and her school books."
Sammi stared at him.
Ranma shook his head. "Look, I don't know where she is, but I know
where she's gonna end up," he paused. It's obvious, but . . . how do I put
it in words? "When someone gets attacked, they retreat to somewhere they
feel secure. Asuka can't retreat to Germany. But Rei can make _here_ seem
secure again. I don't know how, but I know she'll do something." He looked
at Sammi. "What are you grinnin' about?" he asked in anger and confusion.
"Your analysis, and faith in your fellow pilots," Sammi said, still
smiling, "Imagine Ranma the loner, actually being the team player. And
being subordinate to Rei of all people."
Ranma frowned as he considered that. I _don't_ have a crush on her,
Ranma wanted to shout, But I _know_ she's got a plan, all I have to figure
out is how to help her along the edges.
"The Naval Base!" Sammi realized, "Rei probably made her break close to
the base entrance. I bet Misato hasn't even considered that." Sammi's
triumph was short-lived. "What would she need on the Naval Base? Captain
Ramsey and the Admiral are here."
Ranma shrugged. "Who knows? She's got cars and trucks, if an alert
sounds. Clever really." Ranma smiled evilly. "Wonder why Misa-chan didn't
order her into her car and drive back here?"
Sammi grimaced. Ranma smiled in reply. Sammi explained, "I think I
know that, let's go." They got to Sammi's jeep and raced back out of the
headquarters.
"So what do we do after we get the stuff from Rei's place?" Sammi
asked. She glanced back, so did Ranma. A small truck with a pedestal
mounted .50 and a small tank fell in behind them. When Ranma looked
forward, another small tank was leading the way. "I can make plans too,"
Sammi told him.
"We set up a hospital room for Rei, near Asuka's," Ranma said, he saw
Sammi's confused look, "Rei has always tried to - I don't know - look after
Asuka."
"Rei seems the one who needs looking after," Sammi replied.
"I know, just because you need something yourself, that doesn't mean
you don't want to do it for someone else . . . if that makes any sense."
"Perfect sense," Sammi said as she drove.
Ranma couldn't understand Sammi's continuing grin, for a moment. "You
just can't figure out how _I_ figured it out," Ranma said angrily, "I'm not
stupid."
"Right on both counts, I hope _you_ understand your methodology, so you
can replicate your success."
"Can you repeat that in Japanese? I don't speak `Asuka` so good."
"Can you do it again, on purpose?"
That is the question, Ranma considered, It just came to me, seeing
patterns of behaviors, like a kata, and applying them to something else.
I'm not sure I could do it again, I think I can.
"Look," Ranma began, "All the pilots - " Except me, he silently added.
" - are important to Rei. She'll defend any pilot with her life, they're
more important to her than she is. So wherever she's gone, it's to get the
means to defend Asuka, and maybe the rest of us."
Sammi nodded as she drove.
----------------------------------------
"_Two_ clubs," Mrs. Simson told her friends, and hoped her partner
understood.
"Three Diamonds," Mrs. Samuels, another bridge-fiend, bid, "Does anyone
know what's going on? Gerald and I were supposed to be going out tonight.
Suddenly there's an alert and poof, and he's gone to the office."
"_Four_ clubs," Mrs. Martin replied, eliciting a faint mou from Mrs.
Simson, "Something involving NERV. You must know, it is your husband's
command."
"Five Hearts," Mrs. Witter said, "The entire base and base housing is
under heavy guard, would an Angel attack cause that? I haven't seen one
yet."
"Believe me," Mrs. Simson said, "You'll know an Angel attack when you
hear one. Pass." There was a knocking at the door before Mrs. Samuels
could bid. "I'll get it."
She walked through the house to the Marine who'd let the girl in. Rei
Ayanami, soaked to the skin and looking positively furious, stared at her.
"I am here to discuss being raped," she told Mrs. Simson, "Something I have
no experience in."
"I should hope not," Mrs. Simson said, "Please come in, we'll get you
some dry clothes and something hot to drink."
"I require the information," Rei told her, not moving, but shaking,
almost imperceptibly.
Not with cold, poor thing, she thought, But with rage. I've heard this
girl is hard to `read`. But it's not _too_ difficult, compared to any other
teenage-girl, you have to pay attention. She glanced at the girl staring
strangely at her. She's used to orders and logic, she thought, According to
my husband. "You will do it my way, it will enhance the information
transfer and ensure you are healthy enough to utilize, not just use, the
data received," she told Rei imperiously, "Now, why do you require the
information?" Mrs. Simson led her to the bridge party, who had overheard
enough that they were all pasty-faced at the possibilities.
"It is a simile to the attack on Pilot Langley," Rei said flatly,
"Lacking an effective counter, I came here to learn one."
"Well, Darlene," Mrs. Simson addressed Mrs. Samuels, "Since you're the
psychiatrist's wife, I'll let you start, while I get the tea."
"Thank you, I could use some," Mrs. Samuels turned to face Rei, she
smiled, when Rei's intense, nearly-blank stare continued, she dropped it,
"Tell me _exactly_ what happened, don't leave out any detail that might be
significant."
That was a mistake, Mrs. Simson thought as she listened to Rei relating
the tale.
----------------------------------------
Maya followed Nabiki out onto the railcar, where the EVA was stowed.
Even though it's double-wide, she thought as she looked over the car, and
the desert racing past in the darkness, I'm still afraid of falling off, or
her rolling off the edge.
They stopped beside the EVA. Nabiki wedging her chair within the arm
of the huge war-machine, relaxed Maya's worries somewhat. "How did you
know?" Maya asked.
"I followed him on one of his late night walks. There's a tavern that
has a piano," Nabiki explained as she sat, running a hand over the armor of
the EVA and staring at it, like petting a large animal, "He played there for
almost an hour. He had dozens of rough, tough soldiers and sailors crying
in their beer from the skilled playing and the songs he chose. Real
sorcery. Ha ha. 'Have I ever heard him play the piano?' If I only knew."
Nabiki chuckled, then added wistfully, "Tam's Tavern, the sounds of a piano
dominated all the other sounds. The strains of American, British,
Australian and Canadian patriotic songs rang forth, impassioned piano. For
a little over an hour the piano played, the voices sang. The final tune was
a cacophony, the same piano but the voices disagreed on the words,
alternating between 'God Save the King' and 'My Country Tis of Thee'."
Nabiki laughed mirthlessly, " 'Langley' got beat up, so he ran back to
the 'States and found out the same could happen here." Nabiki turned to
face Maya. "Tell me, if it was your family, what would you want to do?"
Maya nodded, "I thought so. So we keep an eye on him?" She looked at
the darkness around them. "We'll send him to `school` with you in the
morning?" she asked, "The lessons will divert him. More important, do you
want to talk?"
"About what?" Nabiki asked.
"You know. We aren't in the friendliest territory. What happened in
Boston - to you - with that crowd. And we are both 'Japs'."
"I think we're both combat soldiers," Nabiki said calmly, hiding all
she felt, "Somehow, that makes us part of the soldiers' fraternity. We may
look funny, but we're part of the prevalent `us`, `them` are people like
Gendo and Misato, REMFs, civilians. No, what worries me is the same thing
that worries him: who is there to help? If I was there, would - could I
have made a difference? It isn't worry, it's guilt. I can't imagine anyone
actually doing that here, trying to hurt either of us, any of us, without a
dozen Marines tearing the attackers apart. At home, the same _should_ be
true, it _shouldn't_ have happened, but who should have stopped it and who
failed to stop it? How do you think the troops around us are going to
react? They are going to wrap us all in cotton batting and anything short
of a Great Old One or an EVA trying to get at us will be shot, chopped to
bits and stomped on."
"Then they'll get nasty," Maya added.
Nabiki nodded. "We have to let him be. He's safe, more important, he
feels safe. It's the guilt that we have to deal with."
Maya glanced at Nabiki. She could barely see her expression in the
faint starlight/moonlight. But I know what it looks like, she thought, It
isn't just _him_ who is feeling guilty, it's you too.
"Perhaps we could arrange for a German Beer Hall for one night," Maya
suggested, "To let Asuka feel at home, when we get home?"
Nabiki smiled for a moment, teeth flashing in the darkness, but it was
quickly gone.
"You're convinced he's safe, at least for one night?" Maya asked,
"Sorry, early morning."
"Not really," Nabiki said and started rolling across the flatcar
towards the door to the barracks, "But I don't think I want to challenge
both you and Ritsuko. Or you'll sedate me, until we arrive in Tokyo."
"Wise," Maya said stepping behind Nabiki's wheelchair, in case she was
needed.