I do not own the rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion, or any of the characters, equipment, or locations written in this fanfiction. The purpose of this fanfiction is merely for the non-profit enjoyment of other readers. If requested by Gainax, Hideki Anno, or other parties which represent aforementioned objects in this story, I will remove it promptly.

Chapter IX:

Asuka Langely Soryu, body soaked from head to toe in sea water, was helped to the deck of the converted oil tanker by two Navy SEALs. Cobarde, to her disdain, was already sprinting towards her Unit-02. "If he so much as touches my Eva, by God I'm going to-"

"To what?" the chief of the patrol boat grumbled. "As far as I can see, he's wasted your ass at every turn. So quit whining, and get yourself squared away. We have to sortie you two in less than three minutes!" The redhead just hissed, her dress starting to weigh her down, the straps slipping off her shoulders. If she wasn't careful, she would yet again embarrass herself in front of these men, all of which were single and deprived of anything that looked like a woman in two years on the ship. "Get moving!"

"And next time," the second in command sighed, "rethink your attire." Soryu blushed. "This is a carrier group, not an ice cream social." The scraping, gnashing sound of Asuka's teeth blocked out the shouts and gunfire echoing off the steel deck of the ship. "My own daughter would have more sense..."

"I am not your daughter, so don't you DARE lecture me!" the Child snapped.

•••••••••••••

The captain sighed, rubbing his forehead with the front of his cap, tugging on the brim with his dominant hand. It was wise, he thought, to transfer the Eva to the tanker. At least that ship was used to hauling such a heavy load for extended distances. This also gave him the advantage to launch air support, if interceptors were even useful against this new enemy. Still, he considered, he would need the deck clear for rescue choppers, maybe an Orion or two to keep an active patrol if the enemy changed course.

But no, he realized this geometric jewel which hovered just above the Tokyo-2 seaport was not going to leave them be. It would hold position, and wait to strike when the opportunity presented itself. He reached down to the binoculars draped about his neck, peering through the lenses towards the tanker. "It's taking far too long," he grumbled. Then he noticed them, the two tiny dots clinging to the rope ladder dangling off the side of the ship. "Ready the Sixty-First squadron," he shouted over the noise of the C.I.C. "Arm them with cluster bombs and Mavericks."

He peered through the binoculars again when the Sergeant Major, escorting Captain Katsuragi, made their way to the deck. "Captain," Misato wheezed, holding up a green folder. "These are the requisition orders giving me permission to deploy the Unit, in accordance with NERV's overriding authority in an attack of this nature." The Sergeant Major shook his head, receiving a scowl from his companion. "You disapprove?"

"Mr. Kaji Ryouji has informed me of the first engagement in our nightly dinner discussions," the Marine snarled. "You had reasonable control over the men under your command, but not over him!" The graying man turned to the captain. "Request permission to coordinate the strike, Sir."

The captain frowned, watching Misato try to reach out and strangle the old man. There was a moment's hesitation, before he considered the character of the Marine under his command. "Agreed," the captain declared, nodding towards the comm station. "Give them whatever they need, but I will not have NERV assume authority over my carrier group!"

The Sergeant Major grinned. "Yes, Sir!" he boasted loudly, giving a salute. In an instant, the aged soldier was at the C.I.C., dictating commands to the tanker. "Get her upwind of the enemy," he barked. "The gusts here are closing in on ten knots. It may help slow the target down, and give her better speed to the target."

"Don't you want to stalk the target from downwind?" Katsuragi argued, fuming. She was sick, her absolute authority being sacrificed. NERV would have something to say about that. Of all of the U.N.'s combined forces salvaged from the remaining militaries of the world, Misato represented the top of the food chain. She was the Alpha female here, not this aged, raggedy dog.

"That would be true in normal conditions," the Sergeant Major answered, his wrinkled, worn face tightening as he squinted through a pair of binoculars. "But this isn't sniping. This will be a cavalry charge."

The captian shook her head. "He won't like that."

"The pilot?" The carrier's captain squawked. "Why? He's just pointing and shooting either way."

The Marine looked the woman in the eye, who slowly turned to glance at her feet. Then he noticed her arm, and the visible trembling. "He... he doesn't work like that," she whispered almost to herself. "Not... not that way."

The Sergeant Major rubbed his right temple, that particular portion of his skull slightly depressed from a former fracture. In times like this, that particular patch of scalp would itch. The sailors and their officers came to understand that was the true indication he was thinking. As he scratched the itchy skin, the executive officer groaned. His crew knew the Marine had an idea they would not likely approve of.

•••••••••••••

Soryu fumed, seeing the boy in his plugsuit, sitting in the entry plug. He was in her seat, leaving no room for her to pilot her Eva. "What are you doing?" she screamed. "We don't have time for this! Get out of the cockpit!"

"If you are going to pilot, you will do so in my lap," he answered simply. This resulted in a slap, and a disgusted stare. Cobarde, however, did not understand why the meaning was lost. He remembered something about the officers from the American military who ran the camp. They were idealists, none of them understanding why the children in Dili did what they did for General, or for themselves. He would have to explain to the capitalist sympathizer. "You are lighter, and you know your machine."

Asuka glared, her face bright red. It was not lost on her the form-fitting nature of their plugsuits, and the disturbing nature of boys. One of the SEALs yelled from below, waking her from the deadlock. If this is what it took, she considered. It would not be the best debut battle, but it would show her skill.

"We will move to the carrier," Cobarde said, Soryu now powering up the interface. "We need the weapon."

Soryu rolled her eyes. "You need a gun, because you're a weak boy that needs to compensate for something," the redhead snapped with glee. "I, on the other hand, need nothing! I have more than enough unarmed training to take this thing down with one hand tied behind my back."

"Take the rifle," Shinji said once again.

"No!" Asuka huffed.

"I said," Ikari started to growl. Asuka closed her eyes, concentrating on the synchronization process, when she felt a sharpened piece of composite against her throat. Where, she thought, could a boy in a skin-tight plugsuit possibly hide a full-sized tactical knife? "Take the rifle!"

The redhead inhaled sharply, trying her best to keep her body from shifting any nearer the carbon steel implement. The synchronization attempt failed, sounding a dissatisfied buzzer. "I can't synch like this!" she wheezed, again keeping as much distance between the blade and her flesh as possible. "I need to concentrate! Do you understand?"

"The knife goes away when you take the rifle."

"I concur," a ragged voice chirped over the default tac-net frequency. "Pilot Soryu, this is Sergeant Major Harrison of the United States Marine Corps. I am ordering you two to deploy to the carrier with the prototype rifle ASAP." The visual link was established seconds later, revealing the graying man Asuka learned to detest at the prior night's dinner. "PIlot Ikari..."

"Cobarde," the man answered. "Understand, Capitalist... my name is Cobarde." The old man snarled, as did Cobarde, while the two studied each other carefully. The Marine respected what this boy was capable of, but could not respect a radical communist guerrilla, particularly one with a weapon at his comrade's throat. On the other hand, Cobarde could neither respect a member of the capitalist elite ordering him, nor one who was unproven to him in the battlefield. Without moving his knife from Soryu's throat, Shinji reached forward to deactivate the communication link.

That was when the former sniper returned to his tried and true negotiation techniques.

"Soldier!" Harrison barked. "If you do not remove the weapon from your comrade's throat, I will personally kill you from here!"

"Your type is all the same," Cobarde snapped. "Nothing but talk." Harrison glared at the picture on the communications display, as if his concentration alone would sear through the plastic. "This pilot will not retrieve the rifle, and I will not fight without a weapon."

"The knife goes away first!" Harrison shouted. "Once that happens, deploy to 'Over the Rainbow' for immediate weapons prep and targeting." After seconds of no response, the Sergeant Major snapped his fingers, his accompanying Lance Corporal immediately surrendering his scoped M4 carbine. "This is not an ideal shot," Harrison groaned, raising the weapon to his shoulder.

"What?" Misato yelped. "You... you're actually going to shoot him?"

"If he doesn't take my words seriously, he will not obey." The Marine then looked around at the captain and his executive officer. Somehow, the stench of cordite and hot brass would not be appealing to them in their bridge. "Corporal," Harrison barked. "Bring me a portable comm pack. Meet me on the bow!"

"Sir!" the Lance Corporal saluted, retreating to find the equipment.

•••••••••••••

Asuka squirmed, the wait of over a half an hour with the itchy blade against her skin tearing at her nerves. Shinji, on the other hand, remained frozen, the reflection of his face on the forward display emotionless. In most circumstances, she would have blown all her steam dealing with such a person, and not had to suffer the consequences later on. This time, however, she was forced to endure this situation for far too long. She found her hatred beginning to slip away, burning out under duress. "Can... can I ask something?"

"Will you retrieve the rifle?" Shinji demanded immediately.

Apparently he was not going to budge, causing Asuka to groan. She would have defied his words instantly, but again, her anger was dissipating at an alarming rate. Why was she having such a hard time staying angry? With someone like this, it should have been easy. But she knew the answer.

She was scared.

"Why... why did you kill all those people?"

It took a few minutes for Cobarde to respond. He could not decide if it was wise to speak with the enemy. This was most likely a trick. She was trying to confuse him, make him "understand" her corrupted ways. "What people?" he asked cautiously.

"All those people in the Philippines," Asuka answered. "You killed them... gunned them down like some macho baka. What was all of that for?"

"Orders," Shinji explained. "A soldier must kill. It is his duty to follow orders, and survive, all to kill."

"You think that's all you're meant to do? You're just supposed to kill?"

"Soldiers are meant to kill," he repeated like a robot, as if the statement were burned into his memory. At that moment, Soryu remembered their proximity, her back leaning into his chest. It was this close proximity that allowed her to feel him cringe as he declared his statement. Then she felt the knife move just a hair further from her throat.

"If you're supposed to follow orders," Asuka spoke softly, "then why are you disobeying them now?"

"These orders conflict," Ikari stated, again in his automaton voice. The knife pulled closer, the Second Child feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The short release of tension was gone now, just as her throat would be if she didn't proceed cautiously. "I am ordered to kill, and denied the tools to do so. There is only one answer."

"What answer?"

Shinji clenched his teeth. "The superiors are the enemy," he breathed. "They are trying to send me to my death. General would not do that..."

"General?" the girl asked. But her time for questions was over. The composite blade was pressed firmly against her skin, eliciting a thin bead of red. Asuka rocked back into the man's chest, her eyes wide, mouth producing a whimper. The general, whoever it was, was quite the sensitive subject.

Suddenly, a jarring impact echoed through Shinji's arm, the force both knocking the knife out of his hand, and pushing Soryu aside, following the dropping limb. That was when the shot rang out, the high velocity round reporting after the blow. As the tac-net crackled back to life, Asuka shifted in the boy's lap, hearing a child-like whimper. Red stains traced over the right side of the entry plug.

"Soldier, this is Sergeant Major Harrison," the Marine snapped. "I told you I'd shoot. Now do you believe me, you commie bastard?" Quickly, Asuka brought up the external surveillance package on the forward display. There the old man was, all right, lying prone on the pitching bow of the carrier deck, rifle in hand. "You will allow Pilot Soryu to operate the Eva, and engage the target."

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped short as Ikari pushed her away. Gripping his right shoulder with his left hand, he twitched and rustled savagely in the seat, trying to reduce the pain scorching his body. He could feel the remnants of the bullet lodged now in his abdomen, several bones and internal wounds signaling the projectile's route. He never did like the .223 Remington, or it's NATO designation, the 5.56 millimeter. The Kalishnikov was far more forgiving, punching straight through the body rather than carving the victim up like a fish from the inside out.

Somehow, the girl felt... different about him now. There was pity, not hate, invading her mind. "Sir," Asuka began. "What about Co- I mean... Ikari?"

"Bandage him up, and get the hell over here! You'll need him to instruct you on his pet project."

"But Sir!"

"No buts, Girl!" he shrieked over the radio. "You're using the rifle, and that's that! I'm not losing you kids because you want to play sword fight with bug-eyed monsters." Harrison took a deep breath. "We've got reports of another target bearing south-south-west on our position from the sea. It looks like these two are trying to flank us, and force us into the bay. I need the both of you to follow my orders if you hope to survive. Do you both understand me?"

As Cobarde further struggled against the pain, writhing in his seat, he nodded in approval. It was shocking to the girl, but Shinji actually seemed to be smiling. Was it a delirium brought about by pain? No, she realized. Thinking back on what he said to her, she understood. "Yes... Sir," Asuka answered, her skin going pale.

Ikari trusted his attacker.

•••••••••••••

Gendo Ikari studied the salvaged information carefully on his office terminal, occasionally glancing back to the speakerphone on his desk. "This is not following our scenario at all," he grumbled. The information he was particularly interested in concerned several reports of "Cobarde" sightings in Timor. The most disturbing report involved a raid on a U.N. relief caravan of armored vehicles moving through the main thoroughfares of Dili. His son, the Third Child, was not simply an assasin, but a genius at guerrilla tactics and logistics.

This thought both consoled and frightened the man.

After all, being in the right place at the right time, the commander realized, anyone could steal an Evangelion. It was just a matter of planning. He needed a fool that could not grasp the fact that successful sabotage, theft, or defection was possible. The pilots to date had not proven a problem in that regard. They neither had the desire to leave, nor understood life beyond piloting. But the Third was different. The Third, while a socialist by nature, fully grasped his capacity as both tool and user.

One with the capacity to fight and the desire to determine their own existence was not in the prerequisites of a Marduke qualifier.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Kaji Ryouji asked.

"We must unfortunately bait him to stay," Ikari answered. "Find out what he wants, and we'll use that as a temporary lure. That will give us time to devise a permanent solution." The commander paused, closing the file with a single, blurred surveillance photo of the suspect's face hidden under a black poncho. "What is the status of Unit-02?"

"It has effectively touched down on the lead carrier, and preparing the new package." Ryouji's uncomfortable pause caught the commander's attention. "However, there are unforeseen complications."

"Complications?"

"We're two for two," Kaji explained.

Ikari frowned, and glanced at the clock display of his computer terminal. There was just barely enough time, he thought, if they left immediately. "If we repair en-route, it may just be possible," he muttered to himself. "We need the First Child prepped for immediate deployment. Let Katsuragi know we're sending reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?"

"Just get Rei ready," Gendo stressed. "I will take care of the rest."

End of Chapter IX

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