The gray-white UN Heavy Fighter took off from the harbor district. This devastating weapon of human warfare was practically becoming certain people's private jet.
The fighter skimmed over the sea, followed by a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor carrying a rectangular shipping container.
Before long, they spotted the United Nations escort fleet in the distance.
Built around American-made Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the fleet boasted an imposing lineup of five carriers, four battleships, and numerous Aegis warships.
"These old relics sure have lasted," Misato Katsuragi said, looking out the window as the plane slowly descended toward the carrier's deck.
"Isn't that a little harsh? Whatever you say, this is a proper carrier group the United Nations takes pride in," Shinji Ikari said. He was wearing his lieutenant colonel's uniform again.
After all, this was an important meeting with foreign personnel. His current role was that of a NERV lieutenant colonel, not a middle school student coasting through school.
"They were all built before Second Impact," Misato Katsuragi said with a smile.
As a fellow lieutenant colonel, she was unlike Shinji Ikari, an amateur who had rocketed through the ranks in mere months. She knew this carrier group's combat capabilities very well.
But her recent battles against the Angels had made her fully aware of how powerless conventional weapons were.
After all, even N2 Bombs, which rivaled nuclear weapons, had failed to destroy an Angel. Impressive as this carrier group looked, Misato Katsuragi saw absolutely no chance of it defeating one.
That was why a transport aircraft followed them, carrying equipment meant to guard against any unexpected trouble.
A similar attitude, however, had also taken root among the United Nations fleet's admirals and field officers.
They knew what they were transporting: nothing more than one big thing and one little kid. That left those who had once been humanity's mainstay feeling disgruntled.
"They certainly have it easy. They even brought a power socket for their toy."
The carrier group's commander was an aging rear admiral. Through his binoculars, he watched the helicopter carrying the large rectangular container land on the deck.
"Nothing but children's toys."
Although the generals of the United Nations' army and air force had already accepted their lot, the navy could not afford to lose face. How could they lose their fighting spirit when they had not even seen the enemy?
The UN fighter and transport aircraft came to a stop on the carrier.
A girl in a gray jacket stood on the deck beside the fighter, her hands in her pockets. Her stance exuded a striking confidence, and her sharp gaze fixed on the aircraft's open hatch.
"Let me introduce Captain Asuka Langley Shikinami, the European Air Force's ace pilot, the Second Eligible, and the pilot of EVA Unit-02," Misato Katsuragi said when she saw the girl through the window.
"Do you know each other well?" Shinji Ikari asked.
"Are you jealous?" Misato Katsuragi winked playfully at him. "You could say we go way back."
"Why would I be jealous of a girl?" Shinji Ikari said. "I was just wondering. That explains why you mentioned her before, though only a few times. I didn't realize you actually knew each other."
"Well, as you've noticed, she's a pretty girl. Even a big sister like me can feel threatened, you know," Misato Katsuragi said.
"I can't see any sign of you feeling threatened." Shinji Ikari shrugged.
The weather was clear, and sunlight glittered across the sea. Even the air above the deck seemed to warp in the heat, with only the sea breeze offering a little relief.
Misato Katsuragi led a boy and a girl off the plane, immediately drawing a crowd of soldiers. They were very curious about NERV and the Eligible they had heard so much about.
A few scrutinizing gazes also came from the highest point of the island superstructure. It offered an expansive view, and a group of people was presumably watching them from up there.
"Long time no see, Misato." The girl with golden-brown twin tails walked toward the aircraft's door, greeting her warmly.
Asuka
"Asuka, it's been ages!" Misato Katsuragi waved and returned her greeting just as warmly, beaming.
Then Asuka noticed Rei Ayanami coming down behind Misato Katsuragi.
Rei Ayanami was no longer wearing her blue-and-white school uniform, but a women's NERV uniform similar to Misato's. A red beret held down her short, wind-tossed hair.
It was hard to believe she had only received her uniform yesterday. At last, she had something to wear besides her school uniform and plugsuit. Shinji Ikari felt that Gendo Ikari did not treat her as a person at all.
"She's the Unit-00 pilot who only got picked because she's the favorite?"
For some reason, Asuka took an immediate dislike to Rei Ayanami.
She sensed something deeply unpleasant about Rei Ayanami, as though she were facing a doll whose cold obedience went right down to its core.
Yet this doll was also strange, even frightening, because she had human qualities that made her seem both inhuman and human at once, such as the way her gaze kept drifting toward the boy walking at the back.
It was a little like the uncanny valley effect.
Only then did Asuka turn her attention to the boy following behind the others. His long-skirted white lieutenant colonel's uniform gave him a strikingly upright bearing.
The boy adjusted the brim of his cap. The sea breeze gently stirred the ends of his short, slicked-back black hair, lending him a slightly bold air, yet the smile on his lips was as gentle as water.
He actually looked quite approachable, but she sensed loneliness and arrogance in him, even a remoteness that warned everything to stay away.
"Then you're the Third, the one chosen to pilot Unit-01 because of your daddy!?" Asuka was full of confusion and curiosity, but she still called out the line she had prepared beforehand.
She had rehearsed both her assessment of Rei Ayanami and her aggressive attitude toward Shinji Ikari countless times in her head, all so she would not lose the upper hand when facing these headquarters pilots.
She could not lose. Her only worth lay in being an EVA pilot. If she fell behind others even in that ability, she would surely be erased, just like the other companions who looked like her.
"More or less. But don't worry. God would never walk with the devil," Shinji Ikari said, his tone as solemn as someone warning the faithful against demonic temptation.
It was indeed Gendo Ikari who had summoned him to NERV, bringing about his fateful encounter with Unit-01.
But the girl made it sound as though he and Gendo Ikari were a loving father and devoted son, united in purpose and supporting each other. If word got around, people could easily get the wrong idea.
His unexpected response left all the retorts Asuka had prepared stuck in her throat. For a moment, her mind went completely blank, and she had no idea how to answer.
"You don't understand? I thought you spoke Japanese well. I don't know German," Shinji Ikari said, considering whether he should speak to this foreign girl in English instead.
"Of course that's not it. I understand Japanese." Asuka flushed red like a cat with its fur bristling. "I just... didn't understand what that sentence meant."
"By God, he means himself. By the devil, he means the commander-in-chief," Misato Katsuragi explained.
Asuka froze, then blinked. Now she understood. Apparently, this father and son were not on as good terms as she had imagined.
"Don't mind him. He's always like this. Keep your distance from him from now on, or he'll be a bad influence on you too." Misato Katsuragi waved a hand at her.
The seventh Angel in the Rebuild films was too underwhelming. It went down quickly, and its role wasn't important, so I won't write about it. Asuka is still the Rebuild version of Asuka, though.
Before you continue