Shinji Ikari Raising Project

[robkelk]

*nods*
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

“She’s here?”

Anika gave him a simple nod. A thousand millipedes crawled across his skin all at once. He could feel himself start to warm up inside.

He looked at the door, shifting his weight on the couch. He edged forward.

“You want to go to her.”

It was more of a statement than a question. Shinji could only nod wordlessly, his mouth locking up. He tried to read the look in Anika’s eyes. She was almost staring at him, waiting for him to answer

His mind raced through possibilities. “I know she’s not my Rei. But.....”

Shinji saw the change. A little flinch as she braced for an answer she knew she wasn’t going to like.

“You don’t want me to go.” he concluded, flatly.

“Well.......” She fidgeted in discomfort, unable to look right at him “No. We were having so much fun, I hoped you could stay here for a little longer.”.

Her eyes were almost pleading. Big glistening, golden puppydog eyes.

“You should make your own choices, Shinji,” Nené gently advised.

He closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to something Misato had told him, right before she..... Shinji shot that thought down before it overwhelmed him with a wave of sorrow.

Deep down you know you suffer when you cause others pain, than if you just let yourself get hurt. And Anika was so cheerful around him, so full of electric happiness. She’d delighted in announcing him to Nené as her brother.

He ached to run to Rei, wherever she was staying. Every fibre of his body demanded it.

It was his decision and that makes it a valid choice.

“I’ll stay,” he said in a small voice, lowering his shoulders.

He couldn’t disappoint that face. Rei could wait a few hours. He could wait a few hours. It would give Rei a chance to rest after a long journey.

And, he really was enjoying himself.

“Thanks Shinji!” she beamed at him, dragging him into a warm smothering hug. His arms locked rigid to his side. Nené was giggling mischievously into her own hand while he prayed for release from the crushing embrace.

She pushed back off him suddenly, a playful scowl on her face

e“Y’know when someone hugs you, you’re supposed to hug them back, right?”

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“Y’know, you two would make a cute couple,” Nené remarked between giggles.

Shinji gaped at her, horrified. “But....” he glanced at Anika. Anika’s cheeks were slowly turning pink. “I was told she was my Sister.”

“Nené!” Anika shrieked. Shinji winced, covering his ears instinctively. “You know he’s still just a teenager,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

Shinji tried to swallow his shame, edging back on the couch away from his ‘sister’.

He was already beginning to regret staying

“Can we at least change what we’re watching?” he changed the subject.

-------

Had an odd idea for Frigga's Exercise OpFor. Rather than hiring people who might not want to move all the way out there, or might have to be paid a lot to keep quiet about the Knight Sabers. Some form of android platoon, basic puppets controlled either by a videogame AI system under TITANIC's command, acting like Bots in online multiplayer games or the like. Each squad requires a PC and a copy of a game (STALKER, CoD or the like with the AI quality depending on the game used to drive the squad). Specifically designed not be incapable of firing live ammunition.

Since it's a complex project (Maybe Anika/Mackie/Jet/Ford could do it given enough time and research if nobody wants to do it) Who builds it? Or parts of it.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Dartz]

And more.... including a modification of the Yayoi scene. It was originally something for Jet to say, but it works better here.

Shinji awakens January 19th, 2023. When Frigga is about as far as it's possible to get from Mars and Earth. (And about as close as possible for Frigga to get to Atalante, if I read it right) Jet started work on him early in December. It took around 5 weeks to build him.... and another few days for him to properly take his shape and awaken.

And the Duplex Drive Battroid Anika stole had to go somewhere. It's mostly useless at this stage, only good as a diagnostic platform. Jet and Ford are much more settled with more free time, that actually allows them to pursue projects like Shinji. Or transforming motorcycles. Or helicopters. It probably doesn't bring that much, but it helps fill in the gaps in the off-seasons when Frigga is far from the core of Fenspace and runs short of money.

And the FDF was a bad idea, sunk by the trouble and cost of finding people to fly the spacecraft who could be trusted with the Saber's secret.... They're for sale again if anyone's interested. Functional. Barely used.

-------

Shinji’d lost count of the amount of times the sun had risen. Most of the snacks had long disappeared, followed by two Pizza’s and litres of soft drinks. Shinji then found that there were a few imperatives shared between androids and humans.

“You won’t get fat, at least,” Nené assured him.

I didn’t stop him from feeling sick to his stomach. He quietly marvelled at how awake he felt, despite having been awake for nearly the full 24 hours. A network time signal through the wristband confirmed that.

Still, he found himself astonished at how.... good …. he felt, despite hating half of what he watched. He still cheered on Hoichi as he royally screwed over his mad-scientist father’s plans for world domination.

There was, he quietly admitted to himself, a certain amount of wish-fulfillment in those few moments. But, he was still glad when it was finally over. It was followed by a more eclectic mix of things he hadn’t heard of, and very few that he actually liked.

It didn’t matter really. The fun part was spending it with people who genuinely wanted to be with him.

He made a quick run back up to the Control Room, startled Daryl who had the night watch up there, fetched something called Calla-chin Coffee for her by way of an apology from down in the store-room then finally picked up the Pen to the Penth hologram he’d originally gone for, stashed it in the pannier of his motorcycle and raced back to the apartment, propelled by frustration to a speed he didn’t dare admit doing to anyone.

It was liberating to roar around. Just twist the throttle and explode through a tunnel at three-figure speeds. Nothing at all was expected of him except to exist.

He was mind still swirled around some of the things he’d been shown how to do while he sat there trying to assimilate the alien information flowing through his thoughts, coming from the wristband.

He still couldn’t get his head around the fact that the flame-haired girl sitting beside him was, for all intents and purposes, his sister. She certainly seemed to be in love with the concept herself and if he was honest with himself, there was something exciting about the idea.

“Good Morning Shinji. We’re waiting for you in the auditorium. Rei is with us along with a surprise if you’d like to come down.”

Jet’s gruff voice cut into his thoughts like a knife, despite the synthesised edge to it. It wasn’t a choice, no matter how she phrased it. It was no more a choice than his father ever gave him.

For a moment, he genuinely considered pulling a Hoichi, just to show her that he could say no.

“You should go, Shinji. Rei travelled for days to get here.”

Anika’s soft voice changed his mind immediately. Misato’d said, don’t let others suffer for your personal hatreds. Don’t make Rei pay the price, after travelling so far.

"Thank you, Jet. I'll be there shortly."

He deliberately didn’t bother using any honorifics after her name. His moment of triumph soured when he realised nobody who spoke English would actually care about honorifics.

“OK. Someone’s on their way down to show you the way.”

Shinji wore an expression like he’d just bit straight into a lemon. A frustrated groan rose out of his throat. He rubbed at his eyes for a few seconds, trying to clear an imaginary headache.

The knock came just a few seconds later. He glanced at the door and swallowed.

“See you later, Shinji.” Nené promised.

-----

It loomed out the darkness, a malevolant armoured quadruped coated in a thick layer of dust covering vivid red paint. It was vaguely reminiscent of a big cat. Crouched down at rest its shoulders were still taller than a human.

The scarring from it’s one and only outing was still evident as dirty corroded slashing on it’s structure and black carbon scoring splashed across the armour. It’s weapons had been removed for safety reasons, but the chassis was still mostly intact. Technically it belonged to Anika.

It hadn’t been sold because it couldn’t be replaced. On one shoulder, encircling a proudly displayed Sparking-F Logo:

Flint Firepower Technologies. Duplex Drive.

“It was Anika’s idea. And I know he’s compatible.”

Rather than build all new diagnostic tools, she’d just used the ones Flint had built into the Battroid to check Shinji’s functionality. It was, basically, now an oversized fault code reader with a mean looking face.

“I don’t know,” said Ford, folding her arms across her chest. “But somehow I think putting a kid who pilots a robot known for going insanely out of control, in a robot named after another one known for going insanely out of control and requiring the death of its pilot to stop it might be a bad idea.”

Jet snorted “That’s what I told her. But it’s failsafe. And we can wait until we have the hardware back in case that fails and we have to stop it the same way.”

Ford kicked it in the shin. It gave a hollow thunk. “It’s a heap of junk anyway.”

“Well, since there’s no other diagnostic gear for them both now, we need to keep it.”

Or I’ll have to spend another few months figuring out how to replicate all the tools and rebuild them..... or pay money to have someone else familiar with Anika do it, she decided not to say.

Both of them circled the battroid, checking for any fluid leaks or signs that Mackie had been tampering with it for his own ends. All seemed well. A quick check of its onboard self-diagnostics showed nothing but the expected malfunctions.

“Looks fine,” Ford concluded. “For a definition of the word fine.” She slammed an access panel shut with a clatter that filled the room.

“I’ll wrap the feeds from the power cells in det-cord. If it goes wrong, just blow the cord, cut the cables and it’ll die right there.”

Ford gave her a dubious look. Harsh fluorescent lights above cast deep black shadows across its angular surfaces. It loomed over her, threatening to keep running once started, in spite of everything done to make sure it’d stop.

“Well, forgive me for expecting the rules of drama to take control of our lives again,” she said, dryly.

Jet shrugged. “Since when have I ever played by the rules?” She stepped over to windows which overlooked the main landing bay and the vehicles parked below. Most of them had sat idle since the planned FDF had fallen through at the last minute. She exhaled a long sigh.

“Ford,” she began.

“Yeah?”

“Our life has changed so much in the last few years, hasn’t it?”

Ford looked at the floor for a moment, then at the reflection of Jet’s expression in the window.

“Not for the worse,” said Ford.

“I know......” she paused. “You know. It’s so quiet and settled these days. Especially since we’re so far out in opposition for the next few months.”

“I do,” Ford nodded. “I miss the energy too. There was always something going on at Sara or Atalante, but here.....” she trailed off into her own thoughts for a moment, her hazel eyes looking out over the landing bay.

“Even with the Sabers work,” added Jet. Her shoulders dropped slightly. She looked down at Ford, wearing a thin smile. “As troublesome as Shinji’s been, I’m glad we did it. He’s brought a lttile more life to this place.”

Ford loomed up beside her, throwing her arms over cool ceramic shoulders “Oh I see.... someone’s feeling maternal,” she teased with an impish grin.

“No!” Jet stepped back out of her arms. A pink blush heated her cheeks for a second. “It’s not that!”

“Really?” Ford pushed. She stood there with her natural arm on hip, wearing a brilliant wide grin with a spark in her eyes

Jet couldn’t help but smile in return. “I don’t want to go through this again. But it’d be nice to have someone other than us out here on the quiet days.”

Both of them just looked at each other for a few warming moments, Jet’s body draining of all it’s usual stiffness.

“Let’s worry about Shinji before we worry about that.” Ford said, softly.

------

There was an old bench outside the apartments, where there’d once been a public meeting area. Overhead, a glass dome would’ve allowed a view of the stars beyond if they hadn’t been washed out by the overhead ‘streetlights’.

"Hello, Ikari-san," the newcomer - a very attractive young woman - said in Japanese. "My name is Fujisawa Yayoi. I've heard quite a bit about you."

Her eyes were hidden behind the reflection of the overhead lights in her glasses for a moment. It passed to reveal compassionate green eyes.

"Hello, Fujisawa-san." Shinji sighed, privately amazed at someone else who could speak Japanese properly.

"What's wrong?"

"You've heard about me. Everybody's heard about me. You all already know who I am, and what I am. But I don't know anything about any of you beyond what I've seen here in Frigga."

Yayoi smiled - a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I've heard quite a bit about you from the mailing list. I know almost nothing about the television show that everyone else here has seen - “ She gave a slightly embarrassed smile. “ It was a little before my time."

"Before your time? This is your time, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. My time is the year 2167; this is only 2023." She sat down across from him. "I'm a lot like you, Ikari-san. We're both constructed people with memories from other universes. Would you like to learn about me by watching the show that I'm in?"

She was like Nené, like him? How many others like him were there?

She must have seen the question on his face. "There are hundreds of us scattered throughout the Solar System. There are even some duplicate characters from the more popular works of fiction; I personally know two people based on Readman Yomiko-san."

Shinji cringed nervously. "That must be awkward for them, whoever they are."

"Not really; they treat each other as sisters and lend each other books all the time."

Shinji hesitated. Should he ask? Maybe it would be better to work up to the question he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "Fujisawa-san, how popular is the story that you came from?"

Yayoi didn't say anything for a moment. When she did answer, her voice was strained. "The only reason most people have heard of it nowadays is because Noah Scott named his space station after the one in the show, and built me. I've never heard of anyone else from Uchuu no Stellvia being Awakened."

He could hear the capital letter; but didn't comment. It wasn't the right time.

“You miss them?” he said. His voice barely slipped out of his mouth before he immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

She shook her head. "No, it's all right. I've had a decade to get used to the idea that I'm never going to see Ayaka or Shima-san or Akira-san or Kent-san or the others ever again.”

“But,” He looked at her for a moment, then at his own shadow on the floor. “Isn’t that dangerous? If they never really existed, then that’s the same as a fantasy, isn’t it? I was....”

He stopped dead, noticing her expression

“Go on,” she said, gently.

“Third Impact gave me a perfect world, with a family and with the people I knew as my friends. But it was hollow, and it fell apart when I realised they were little more than caricatures of who they really are. It was nothing more than a self-destructive fantasy that made reality too painful to bear.”

Yayoi thought about it for a few moments. She clasped her hands together on her lap, a small smile spreading across her lips.

“Too much fantasy can be dangerous I agree, but just enough can put a man on the moon.”

Shinji blinked for a moment.

“It’s those fantasies that inspire and fire us to move out beyond the boundaries of the mundane. push the threshold of existence and boldly go forward. The desire to live and reach our dreams is the spur to make the impossible possible.” There was an energy and a zeal behind her eyes, an energy that demanded to be out looking forward at the stars, rather than looking up at them from the ground. “Living in reality doesn’t mean you can’t keep your hopes and dreams, even if they aren’t possible right now.”

But then, where is reality? The answer came to his mind, a recollection of Rei’s soft voice reassuring him.

“My reality is at the end of my dreams. And my dreams are the beginning of my reality.”

“What’s that?” Yayoi asked him.

“Just something I remembered,” he muttered shyly to his feet.

“Though,” she started tentatively. “I think I know why you asked. Ikari-san. Your story - Noah tells me it's not just the story you're from, it's your story - it's very well-known in this reality. I don't know of any one else sharing your name and memories, but as I said, your story was before my time."

My story? He pondered on the meaning of that for a moment.

"It isn't my place to answer that question for you. But it will be answered, soon. Maybe even today, but definitely before I go back home."

He was getting tired of secrets. "And if nobody else answers my question?" The note of frustration in his voice was obvious.

"Then I don't leave. I had a piano delivered here before I came; maybe I'll get a chance to play it while I'm waiting for you to get your answer."

Shinji gave her a surprised look "You play?"

Yayoi smiled - a genuine, happy smile. "I play whenever I have the chance, which hasn't been very often lately. And remember when I'm from, Ikari-san - to me, 'classical' includes The Beatles, Two-Mix, and Gregor Samsa."

"I've never heard of Gregor Samsa."

He smiled broadened. "Oh, you're lucky then - you still get to look forward to hearing them for the first time!"

"They're that good?"

"They're that different. And I think they're good. I'm told you play the cello. Did you want to try a duet? Even if we don't know any songs in common, I can read the sheet music to what you do know."

Shinji hesitated. "I don't know if I'm as good a musician as you."

"Considering how out-of-practice I am, you're probably better than me. By now, the others should be waiting in the auditorium where they set up my piano. Do you want to go see them, or stay here and talk for a while?"

“I think”... he looked up at her again, then back down at the floor, then at his motorcycle parked across the passageway.

Yayoi was a nice, easy person to talk to. There was something about her that just drew words out of his mouth.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go.”

"Of course, Ikari-san,"

"Ikari-san is my father," he smiled at her. "Just Shinji, please."

"Of course, Shinji."

-----------

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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Dartz]

Quick plot patch.... why they haven't departed/arrived yet when they're so close to Frigga. Unless BA has a better suggestion.

Gina seethed. Ice-eyes stared as the final panels covering the Veritech’s engine were bolted down.

“Once we’re flying it’ll take less than an hour to get there,” Benjamin soothed. “We’re less than an AU apart right now.”

“I could’ve walked there by now! Instead of waiting for these gods-damned technicians to fix a gods-damned engine that picked the worst gods-damned moment to break.” She trailed off cursing darkly through her teeth.

Her hair itself seemed to burn with frustration.

“Skuld knows,” said Ben, as if that explained everything.

It probably did. It was probably fortunate in a way. Some cooldown time would be good for her. He had the common sense not to say that out loud.

He studied her face, her eyes fixed into a solid stare.

He knew better than to ask her if she was worried. He knew the answer well enough anyway.

-------------

Shinji gaped at Ami hovering in front of him, her feet about thirty centimetres off the ground. She drifted in the air, making no sound as she turned to face him.

“Combat cyborg,” She grinned, dropping to the floor.

Tony rolled her eyes “Just because you’ve had your first lesson with your drive....”

“I saved for seven years to get this done right, I think I’m entitled to show it off!”

“....don’t embarrass us in front of Sailor Stellvia,” Amara hissed through her teeth into Ami's ear.

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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Hmmm.... I like the idea. Let me flesh it out a bit here. Make it something a little more worthy...
UPDATE: As promised...
Also, if the one little phrase of German I used is mangled, then please forgive me.  I'm using Google Translate in hopes that it wouldn't terribly mangle one simple phrase.

With the keening squeal of a pneumatic motor punctuated with the staccato of the impact wrench, Ben worked feverishly at the engine mounts.  He had been handy with a wrench before he got his biomod.  Afterwards it was like as if he had been born with a wrench in his hands.
Benjamin was working on a very special piece of machinery... or at least he considered it to be very special.
The VF-4 Lightning Prototype, personal veritech of his beloved wife, R. Regina Langley.
It was a horrendously complex machine, even by the standards of the VF-1S Valkyrie, or even the highly coveted VR-101P Shadow Dancer Cyclone.  The complexity mostly lay in the transformation.  There were so many moving components that made it possible for the Lightning to transform that some were worried that it would affect the structural integrity of the veritech.
Benjamin not only proved them wrong, but also demonstrated just how superior the Lightning was to just about anything out there with a face-off between Mayonaka in the Magnificent Midnight and Gina in the Prototype.  With that demonstration, BAT was backordered on Lightnings for the foreseeable future.  They were still filling out the ranks of the Roughriders, and not one order would be filled until then.
Mayonaka, who had recently fledged, flitted between the turbine-leg assembly of the VF-4 Lightning Prototype and a very large work bench, setting out parts to be inspected, cleaned, and prepared as well as retrieving tools and getting them back to her father just as at the exact moment he needed them.  To the uninitiated, they would think that the father-daughter team was sharing some sort of telepathic link.  However, those in the know understood that Mayonaka had played a pivotal role in the VF-4's development.  She knew this veritech just as well as her father did.
The two already had the port-side nacelle separated from the rest of the machine, and, in turn, separated the nacelle into its component assemblies.  Fusion torch assembly, arm-and-autocanon assembly, foot-nozzle assembly, power plant assembly, and now the ion turbine engine with its quad-helix focusing array.
That was the problem.  Ben had heard the dissonance, however subtle it had been, when Gina started the engine and immediately called for her to shut it down.  Only he knew exactly what to listen for, being the only person that knew intimately how these arrays work.  (Noah came close since he had the original idea, but Ben had refined it to such a point where if he was being dishonest he could easily get away without paying royalties.)  This was a problem for some of these engines.  Wear and tear in the intricate fractile crystal assembelies inside the focus array sometimes causes a microfacture to develop.  Undectable, save for a very subtle dissonance, it would lead to a catastrophic failure in the focus array, leaving a valuable BAT customer or even a Roughrider down an engine.
Ben was still trying to work out the programming to detect the dissonance.  Once he had it, it would be part of the next group of firmware upgrades.  For now, though, careful bi-annual inspections had to suffice.
One more bolt, and the engine assembly was free.  Mayonaka had already rolled the specially kitted dolly into place and was securing it to the dismount railing.  Ben connected the winch and the air supply.  With an outraged scream of defiance, the winch came to life and began to extract the engine assembly, the tone of the pneumatic motor shifting as it came under load.
Despite being absorbed in his work, Benjamin was keenly aware of the presence watching over him like a hawk.
Gina seethed, her unbound hair and glowing alabaster skin giving the impression of a blast furnace.  Contrasting this was her blue eyes, which were like chips of the purest ice crystals set into her narrowed, baleful gaze.  What made it worse was that she had, in recent years, upgraded to a more mature looking form... one that hearkened unto the great actress, Sophia Loren - a woman that Gina had confessed to admiring with utter unrepentance.
It wasn't that big of a leap.  Had Gina been human, her Eurasian heritage would have given her a close enough skeletal structure to pass for a decendant of the actress.  And that's saying nothing about her eyes hair.
“Ich konnte es inzwischen gelaufen bin!" she muttered darkly once the pneumatic motor was shut off.  "”
This was bad.  Even though Benjamin knew that she was really cheesed off, nothing brought it home better than when she lost all ability to speak anything but German.
"We're only an hour away once we're wheels-up, beloved," Ben said, trying to soothe his wife.
"" Gina bit off angrily.  "

[Dartz]

That works fine, thanks!.

Part of me wants to see a VF-4 go head to head with one of Frigga's choppers..... because that'd be a damn cool display of pyrotechnics and hyper maneuverability. But that's for another story. Or Convention. Even if the more natural opponent would be a Tie-fighter.

I've got most of their meeting worked out. Yes. This will go exactly as planned. Add in Shinji's motorcycle and a call-back to a well known scene in Episode 15. And Gina has a different viewpoint on things which helps Shinji along the way..... and leads into something I want to give to Jet, recalling something Mackie said. A scene with Gina, Rei and Shinji in a lift.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Even better, we can show Ben, still jittery as all hell from that does of espresso, working on what seems like every single in Frigga's inventory, and talking like Dr. Morden on methamphetamine.
Oh yeah, in real life, me on a caffeine rush is kinda scary - it counteracts my ADD and I get hyper-focused in addition to the jitters.  If my caffeine rush is severe enough I can actually multi-task.  So just imagine what Ben is like on the espresso-strain.  Hello Mr. Blue Hair! 

[Warringer]

@BA: What exactly did you want to say with that 'German' sentence?

We have at least two native Germans in this forum. Me and HRogge. We may provide a correct translation.

[Dartz]

Even better, we can show Ben, still jittery as all hell from that does of espresso, working on what seems like every single in Frigga's inventory, and talking like Dr. Morden on methamphetamine.
Oh yeah, in real life, me on a caffeine rush is kinda scary - it counteracts my ADD and I get hyper-focused in addition to the jitters.  If my caffeine rush is severe enough I can actually multi-task.  So just imagine what Ben is like on the espresso-strain.  Hello Mr. Blue Hair! 

Whicj may be how Shinji's 'Judy' gains it's intermediate 'cruise' mode. While Shinji's speaking with Gina, Ben needs something to occupy his blue-haired mind, and the scarlet red Judy is parked outside.

It transforms by splitting the front wheels, and using a momentary thrust from the hub-mounted drives to lift the front before everything arranges itself into Motorslave format. Ben changes the programming so it sticks halfway between both modes, giving Shinji a choice between normal motorbike for land-work, Motorslave for short distances or heavy lifting, and Jetbike if he needs to travel further/faster and doesn't mind bringing a spacesuit along.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Dartz]

A little bit rushed out the door. But, well.... it's going to get tougher to update. I start an internship tomorrow

-------------

Shinji gaped at Ami hovering in front of him, her feet about thirty centimetres off the ground. She drifted in the air, making no sound as she turned to face him.

“Combat cyborg,” She grinned, dropping to the floor.

Tony rolled her eyes “Just because you’ve had your first lesson with your drive....”

“I saved for seven years to get this done right, I think I’m entitled to show it off!”

“....don’t embarrass us in front of Sailor Stellvia,” Amara hissed through her teeth into Ami's ear.

“It’s alright, really.” Yayoi tried to just wave it off.

Shinji looked up at Yayoi. Didn’t she say her show wasn’t that well known?

“Oh.... well it’s really nice to meet you,” Ami grabbed at the back of her own head with one arm, giggling nervously. “I mean, we didn’t expect to meet a named Sailor out here. Heh... Heh.”

“Slick,” Tony murmured. “Real slick.”

Yayoi politely excused herself, Shinji tagging wordlessly along behind her, wondering if he should actually sate his curiosity, or just be polite and keep his mouth shut. It nagged at the back of his mind, eating away at his own inhibitions before he finally just gave in.

“I thought,” he began, “that your.... um.... show wasn’t that well known?”

She gave him a knowing smile. “But, I never said that I wasn’t in my own right.”

He was led to a room which appeared from the outside to be some form of auditorium. There were doors at either end, light spilling out through frosted windows set into the doors themselves.

His skin started to prickle in anticipation, an electric current running through his body. He froze solid in front of the door, unable to move.

What if she wasn’t what he expected? Shinji doubted he’d be what she’d expect. The thought occurred to him that it’d be better to never know what she thought. It was easier to believe that maybe she might’ve been what he expected, than confirm that she wasn’t.

Yayoi was standing behind him, patiently waiting for him to take the step forward and make the decision himself. It was an illusion of choice. He couldn’t turn back.... she was behind him, gently blocking the way.

There was no way to go but forward. He closed his eyes and pushed the door open. It squawked on an oil-starved hinge. Warm, air rushed out from inside, embracing him in the smell of warm oiled wood and vinyl.

Sunlight made him blink for a moment.

He saw his father first. A paralysing bolt thrilled through his body as his vision sharped. The suited-man came into focus. He stopped in the doorway, studying him intently, confirming over and over again that it really was just a coincidental resemblance.

For one thing, this man was clearly western, and seemed to be deliberately trying not stare down at him with barely concealed contempt.

Beside him, stood Rei.

He opened his mouth to speak and it all just died in his mouth. Her hair was the same sky blue ke remembered. Her blood red eyes still pierced straight through his soul. Her skin was the same pale plaster tone.

“Is it you. Is it really you?”

He actually dared to hope.

“I am Rei Ayanami,” she answered in her usual, measured soft tone.

“You’re, like me?” he ventured, stepping towards her.

“I am Rei Ayanami,” she repeated, still looking right at him. “And that is all that I am.”

“But...” Shinji began, before he realised

“And you are Shinji Ikari?”

He answered with a wordless nod. That was typical of her. She said exactly what she meant, and never anything more.

They both waited, Rei never once breaking her gaze. She studied him, almost unblinking. He glanced down at the floor - polished hardwood carefully maintained - then at the main standing beside her, then glancing behind himself at Yayaoi, still cautiously smiling back at him as if to reassure him that it was okay.

He wanted desperately just to run forward and grab her into the deepest, warmest bearhug he could imagine.

“I’m glad you’re here, Rei,”

He meant every single word. She shared her Mona-Lisa smile in return, lighting her her face up for a few electrifying heartbeats. For a moment, his mind flashed right back to a smouldering moutainside when he’d first suggested she try smiling. Tears began to well up once more.

The man offered him a handshake, snapping him out of it. “Christopher Marsden. I’m Rei’s.... guardian.”

Still taken aback by a still-unfamiliar gesture, it took Shinji a few moments to accept. Marsden’s grip seemed to crush down on his wrist. He swallowed a little, blinking to clear his eyes.

“I thought,” Yayoi gently interrupted. “We might play a while together.”

Waiting on the stage was a brilliantly polished Steinway Piano, flanked by a pair of cellos, with a violin accompanying on a stand beside. A podium had been set aside for a conductor. Hot lights from above spotlighted the stage. The room itself had clearly been originally laid out as an auditorium, focusing on the stage with a glass ceiling above turned jet black.

He could see his own reflection looking back down at himself.

And Rei Ayanami standing right there beside him, patiently waiting.

-----

Pen to the Penth projected the ‘sheet’ music as a holowindow in front of each of them. The penguin dressed himself up, taking the conductors position while Shinji tuned a cello that, if he was honest with himself, seemed to be worth far more than he was.

It weighed far more than his old one, making a much deeper, more rounded sound.

Marsden formed the audience initially, joined for a few minutes by the three trainees, then a couple of the catgirls and their bots, before Nené, Anika and Kotono appeared. By the time it was Rei’s turn to choose the piece, even Ford had rumbled up in that massive Warthog.

He’d never played for an audience before.

“Jay Chattaway. The Inner Light. Re-arranged for Strings and Piano.”

Yayoi clearly recognised it immediately as Pen to the Penth busied himself searching and arranging automatically for the available instruments. Holographic sheet music appeared moments later.

Despite having never seen the piece before in his life, Shinji found he had little, if any trouble playing it straight off the sheet. It took concentration, but at the same time, it was far easier than it should have been.

He was consciously following along, hitting note after note. It wasn’t perfect.... by far it wasn’t, but he’d never been able to play like that before.... it normally required hours of practice to get close to being able to play straight through without interruption.

Shinji began to wonder while playing if it was some android special ability, some sort of computer control. He was consciously musing on this, while at the same time consciously following along.

And it was an exceptionally beautiful piece. Uplifting, but oddly melancholy with Rei taking the lead with a mourning violin.

------

Jet-Jaguar watched alone from the control room, via an exocomp’s video feed, quietly regretting that she hadn’t gone down in person.

Someone had to keep an eye on the rock, Daryl was sleeping, and she herself only bothered him anyway. Butting into his life would breed resentment. Being too far out of his life would make him feel unwanted.

It was a fine balancing act. She finished her broadleaf tea, letting it absorb the last few sparks of adrenaline from the morning’s training. Jet yawned deeply, stretching back onto the chair with her feet up on the console.

Maybe she’d be able to get some sleep later that night. She’d passed the time sending an update out to Shinji’s list, before making arrangements with A.C. to handle her own maintenance, and Shinji’s modifications. An extra pair of eyes was worth the money.

An alarm chirruped on the panel beside her. A flight plan notification had been filed.

Red Rider Flight. Estimated Arrival 15:37

Gina Langley Rhodes would be arriving within the hour. Jet sighed. Things didn’t go smooth, did they?

-----

There is a solution to Frigga's loneliness/low population issues in there somewhere.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Dartz]

And one more. Trying a little bit of chracter development between the two And getting a Silver-haired moment from Jet. Hopefully it doesn't come across as silly.

What had started as a private concert, quickly grew into something far more energetic. Especially when someone figured out how to make Pen to the Penth work as a karaoke machine. Shinji thought he heard Yayoi mutter something dark about ‘Lebia naming things’ when it corrected her.

It was noisy, it was energetic. It was just a little bit silly. Half of the songs Shinji didn’t even recognise. Some of them happened to be in Japanese.... but nobody spoke it properly. They just sang phonetically along with the words onscreen.

He was actually laughing at Daryl and Kotono arguing about what to sing for their little duet, with Rei seated on the bench beside him wearing a content expression. She wasn’t smiling, in a way, it was more than that.

And it was only by knowing her that he could see it in her face.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Even if we are... different. I’m still glad you’re here,”

Rei didn’t visibly react. She didn’t need to. Rei was right. Whatever else she was didn’t matter, she was Rei Ayanami.

Marsden and Ford were arguing over something. The Catgirls and their hoverbots seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. Anika was laughing with Nené at some private joke. Yayoi was being embarrassed by the cyborg and her friends. God was in his heaven and, for a few minutes at least, all felt right with the world.

He first inkling that something was wrong was when Anika stopped laughing. She just stop dead, her expression going cold. She glanced right at him, sending a chill of unease through his body. Nené seemed to ask for an explanation. What Anika told her caused the cheer to drain from her face. She stole a glance at him, confirming his suspicion.

He watched as Anika informed Yayoi, discussing it amongst themselves.

He groaned. “They’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“Doing things behind my back. They’re trying to manipulate me.”

He bit back on the anger rising up inside of him. A small part of him demanded that he stand up, stomp over there and demand to be told. It fizzed through his body. The mental image made him smile wolfishly.

“They’re concerned. They’re trying to figure out how to explain things to you.”

“They’re trying to protect me from the truth,” he said, sullenly gazing at the floor. In a way, it meant they cared.

“The truth is complex and confusing. They don’t want you to be hurt by a misunderstanding.”

Shinji looked at her for a moment, then over at the conversation that was deciding his fate. Beyond the doors, he heard an engine rasp to a halt outside the doors. They opened a few seconds later, a woman in motorcycle leathers stepping inside.

Shinji thought it was Jet’s sister at first. She had the exact same face, though with longer hair. But the body... there was no way her body would fit inside that armour. It was struggling to fit into her leathers.

The top zip of the jacket had already opened itself giving a view of her cleavage. And just why did she wear high-heeled motorcycle boots? Shinji watched her speak with Yayoi and Anika, taking a few moments to come to an agreement.

Shinji felt a lump congeal in his throat. Yayoi and the newcomer started to stride towards him

“It’s me, Jet,” said the newcomer with a cheery smile. Shinji glanced at Rei, then at Yayoi who gave a confirming nod. “There’s someone here to meet you in the landing bay. They just got in”

The voice was certainly match, but Shinji didn’t think those.... things would fit inside Jet’s armour. He thought Jet’d told him that the armour didn’t come off. Was that another lie. She placed a hand one his shoulder and he swore for a second she was testing the material for feel.

“Do you want to come with me and meet them?”

It was Jet. Another order phrased like a request. That gruff voice still seemed to bully him along. His hand clenched tight into a fist.

“You can stay here if you’d like, and Jet will show them the way up,” Yayoi said. “But we thought you would prefer somewhere a little more private.”

The expectation was clear. He could stay, but they expected him to go. Yayoi thought it was for the best too.

Rei was sitting there beside him, patiently waiting with her hands on her lap, sinking down into her skirt. He glanced at her, not really wanting to leave her behind, but at the same time faintly curious about who’d want to meet him.

And Yayoi with her kind eyes seemed to think it was for the best.

“No,” he said to his feet “I’ll go.”

“We’ll be waiting for you here when you’re finished,” Yayoi reassured him

“I’ll be here when you get back,” Rei promised.

He followed Jet across the floor, feeling more like a prisoner being led to his own execution. Outside, she’d parked up that Stingray he’d seen down in the workshop beside his own machine.

Which he hadn’t ridden down there.

He looked up at the woman beside him for an explanation.

“Autopilot,” she answered. “Didn’t you read the manual?”

“Not yet,” he muttured, already longing to just go back inside.

He watched her mount her machine, trying not to pay attention to how tightly her leathers hugged her body. He placed his helmet on his head and fired up his machine.

“True Power of LINUX!” appeared onscreen, before settling on the now familiar interface.

Jet’s bike rasped to life beside him. It crunched into gear and took off with a bark from it’s exhausts. Shinji tweaked the throttle trigger and followed behind, riding through the smell of the Stingray’s exhaust.

One thing started to bother him as he watched the rider ahead. Shinji remembered the wristband communicater, still interfaced with his mind.

“I thought your armour didn’t come off?” he broadcast at her.

“I’m really up in the control room,” her voice burst through his thoughts “This is just a remote control puppet body, for when I need a pair of nimble hands.” Jet made a show of showing just how nimble and flexible the fingers were, taking one hand of the throttle to wave at him.

“You can do that?”

A quick check on Jet’s status confirmed it. She was both right in front of him, and up in the control room.

“Yup,” she answered, sounding entirely too pleased with herself. Though It takes a lot of concentration and practice. You should be able to do it aswell. You’re capable of hardware multi-tasking.”

He thought for a second.

“Like. I was playing along with them, while reading the sheet music. I was able to concentrate on reading the music I’d never seen before. I was playing off the sheet while watching Pen to the Penth conduct. And I was thinking about how easy it was to do it.”

A shiver of unease rose through him once more. Or how he was easily riding a motorcycle, while maintaining a full-blown conversation through his hardware.

“It should be easy, especially once you become conscious of it. I’ve arranged for you to meet a friend of mine, who should be able to tell you exactly what you’re capable of, after repairing the overheating glitch”

“Who?”

“A.C Peters. She built this body for me.” The rider ahead pointed at herself. “She also handles my maintenance. It’s probably best if you think of it as a doctor’s check up.”

Shinji surpressed his memories of Ritsuko and her cold rubber gloves.

“If you built me, why can’t you do it?”

He didn’t bother trying to hid the scorn in his tone.

“You’re my first,” she defended, not quite snapping his head off, but still clearly annoyed. It brought a smile to his face. “I’d like to get an extra pair of eyes to look you over and make sure I didn’t make a mistake.”

“So that’s where we’re going now?”

“No.” There was a pause. “We’re going to meet someone called Gina Langley, though you wouldn’t know her by that name.”

Langley. It didn’t take a genius to figure out exactly who she was talking about.

“Asuka...” he breathed.

Shinji gunned the throttle, hard. The turbine roared to life, inhaling great gulps of air. Electric motors punched the machine forward, the seat-back driving him forward. His hands closed tight around the handlebars. He clung on, watching the tunnel lights blur together. Turbine and motor howled as they were pushed harder than they’d ever been. All performance indicators flickered at 100 percent.

It was giving him everything.

The Stingray fell behind until it’s headlight became a spark flickering in the mirrors. A hoverbot flashed by. Followed by another. Shinji had no trouble dodging them at speed.

“Shinji. Slow down!” Jet’s voice yelled through his thoughts.

He glanced down. The speedometer was reading above three hundred kph and climbing at a rate that’d make a rocket nervous. He grit his teeth and held on.

“You lied to me. You told me you didn’t know where she was.”

“It’s complicated. You wouldn’t have understood.”

“You didn’t even try...”

“I don’t need to try a shit sandwich to know it tastes bad.”

“You’re just like my father...”

“I did what I thought was right for you.”

“But you don’t know me. How can you know what’s right?”

“Because I want you to understand the world. I wanted you to know what you are and I want you to be happy. And I wanted to do it in the way I thought would be easiest for you.”

“So you pushed me around like all the others.”

“We tried to lead you to the right conclusions.”

“Why? Why couldn’t you just leave me alone then? Why would you care if you didn’t even want me in the first place.”

He didn’t even remember Anika saying that, until after he’d repeated it.

“Because you’re a living being that I created, and I have to take responsibility for that. Because you’re alive, and it’s my duty to make bloody well sure you’re capable of living a long and happy life. And we had no idea how to do that, so we had to grope in the dark and try something, because leaving you to fall apart on your own wasn’t an option!”

Shinji swore her voice echoed in his mind. He knew he’d touched a nerve, tapping into a deep well of frustration. He knew he’d gone way too far.

“So yeah, I fucked up. And I’m sorry I made the wrong call and didn’t tell you outright. But at least I fucking tried.”

Shinji didn’t respond. He took a long deep breath, allowing the heat that’d built up in His hand released the throttle, the bike coasting down to a saner speed. The headlight behind gained ground, eventually pulling level beside him.

Through the visor, he could see the puppet body’s eyes gazing hard ahead. He quickly forced himself to look elsewhere.

“You’re right,” she said, softly. “ I didn’t want to wake up your body. But I was wrong about that too. Creating a life just seemed like too awesome a responsibility.” He glanced at her again, but she was still staring straight ahead. “But I don’t regret it. And I’m glad you exist.”

Shinji didn’t even look at her. He bit his lip and tried not to be sick with shame. His anger seemed to ground itself out, the charge in his body slowly neutralising.

What was it Mackie had said? They wanted the best for him, even if they didn’t know what that was.

Shinji really didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about it, but somewhere deep inside him, he was certain it really was his fault that things had blown up. Another voice insisted that he was right to be angry with Jet and everyone for manipulating him so much, while the rational part of his mind tried to sooth with a reminder that they only did it because they did care about him.

It was done. It was done with the best of intentions. Even Jet wasn’t trying to be a bully.... she was just.... Shinji struggled to find the right word exactly.

She wasn’t a bully, she was just unsubtle about it. It fit far more than the alternate explanation. Never confuse malice with a well-meant mistake, Misato had once advised him. She’d been talking about his father at the time, but it still fit.

It was probably too late now anyway.

Asuka was waiting. And the silence wasn't too bad.

-----

Well... considering what the body was originally bought for.... Long story, only half finished on GDocs atm. And more evolved than it was when writing Saber Chase. It's involves the line: "they aren't perverts. They're richer than us, that makes them eccentric"
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

“You can stay here if you’d like, and Jet will show them up,” Yayoi said.

In many parts of North America, “show them up” is an idiom for “humiliate them in public”. (And “send them up” is idiom for “make fun of them”.)

Yayoi would say “send them over” instead.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

Yes, but both have their meanings defined by context. Neither idiomatic meaning would make sense here, so the usage is perfectly fine.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

Probably best to clarify it a little anyway if it's giving someone pause for thought. Jet will now 'show them the way up.'

And Shinji get's to meet a mature and far more adult 'Asuka' who is mentally approaching her 30's. And I'm going to have some fun callbacks.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Cobalt Greywalker]

And now, the truth of the origin of the drone's name...

---

The drone paused as it heard others talking about it.

“…it clearly states Pen Squared, not Pen-Pen!” One Tachikoma said in an annoyed tone of voice.

“Isn’t it supposed to be some sort of short hand?” Another Tachikoma (this one with a lower pitched voice) replied.

“How can it be short hand? It makes no sense!” The first one demanded.

“Do people actually make sense?” The second Tachikoma asked.

“And anyway,” The first Tachikoma ignored the question, “shouldn’t the drone have a better name? It can do so much more than a penguin, it should have a better name. Something greater!”

“Pen Cubed?” The second Tachikoma was obviously (at least, it would have been obvious to anyone else) humouring the first, and trying out the concept known as ‘Sarcasm’. It found it liked it.

“No, silly Tachikoma!” The first completely missed the humouring and sarcasm. “Much greater than that! Like…like…Pen to the Penth!” The first Tachikoma posed in triumph.

The second Tachikoma slumped with a groan-like series of blips.

The drone considered the first Tachikoma’s logic, then updated its designation.

[Black Aeronaut]

Took me a while to figure out what Gina would look like in her upgraded circa-2020's body... But I finally figured it out, one day when my grandmother was visiting and we were watching the Turner Classic Movies channel. They were doing one of their tributes (when are they not!?) and I was introduced to Sophia Loren.

Here's a picture of her if you don't know who I'm talking about.


The woman was a knock-out.  Fiery-red hair, blue* cat-like eyes, and a body that just won't quit.  And probably an idealized example of what Asuka would look like, "all grown up" as it were.
Supplying this as a reference for you, Dartz, since we all know she's not gonna look exactly the same... although those A10 clips will still be there, but for different reasons. 
*The blue part is debatable.  I've seen a lot of pictures of her with hazel eyes, but there are a few of her with unmistakably blue eyes.

[Dartz]

There is nothing that cannot be improved by the addition of Tachikoma.

Actually.... that gives me an idea.

Sophie Lauren works..... though I was expecting her to be at least immediately recogniseable to Shinji. Both of them would recognise each other... stare for a for a long moment of animation saving. And then Gina does something you wouldn't expect Asuka to do.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Star Ranger4]

The second Tachikoma slumped with a groan-like series of blips.

You know Cobalt, suddenly I hear the sound effect from city of heroes that plays whenever you defeat a 'robot' enemy. 
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Black Aeronaut]

Sophie Lauren works..... though I was expecting her to be at least immediately recogniseable to Shinji. Both of them would recognise each other... stare for a for a long moment of animation saving. And then Gina does something you wouldn't expect Asuka to do.

Nah, the red hair, blue eyes, and A10 clips should be all he needs to make the connection.  Oh, and attitude.  Not anywhere nearly as bad as she was before, but still carries that air of confidence (though in this case it was earned).

[Rakhasa]

The woman was a knock-out.  Fiery-red hair, blue* cat-like eyes, and a body that just won't quit.  And probably an idealized example of what Asuka would look like, "all grown up" as it were.
Supplying this as a reference for you, Dartz, since we all know she's not gonna look exactly the same... although those A10 clips will still be there, but for different reasons. 
*The blue part is debatable.  I've seen a lot of pictures of her with hazel eyes, but there are a few of her with unmistakably blue eyes.

  I have never seen her with blue eyes, so I would blame contact lens for it:

She clearly has hazel eyes.

Also, "was" a knockout? Here she is, at 75 years old.

Ok, so she probaly has enough make-up to cover an entire third world country, but many women 30 years younger would kill for her figure...

[Dartz]

I assume she has killed. Multiple times. Because holy crap.

Anyway. This just gives me an excuse to make things work. The image of a bunch of Tachikoma circling Shinji explaining that as an AI he's no longer has to retain a human form, and that he really could be anything he wants..... it has potential enough that I really want to shoehorn it in. It let's me spread the load a bit anyway.

It requires changing up the end a little bit. But not by much. It just means that, instead of forcing Shinji to make a decision on the spot, he has a few weeks to consider it. And I can chuck in a parallel of the original-series graveyard scene, only this time on Memoria.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Took me a while to figure out what Gina would look like in her upgraded circa-2020's body... But I finally figured it out, one day when my grandmother was visiting and we were watching the Turner Classic Movies channel. They were doing one of their tributes (when are they not!?) and I was introduced to Sophia Loren.

Here's a picture of her if you don't know who I'm talking about.


The woman was a knock-out.  Fiery-red hair, blue* cat-like eyes, and a body that just won't quit.  And probably an idealized example of what Asuka would look like, "all grown up" as it were.
Supplying this as a reference for you, Dartz, since we all know she's not gonna look exactly the same... although those A10 clips will still be there, but for different reasons. 
*The blue part is debatable.  I've seen a lot of pictures of her with hazel eyes, but there are a few of her with unmistakably blue eyes.

BA, is this face close enough? (Just the face, not the body or hairdo.)
http://shop.aprilsvanity.com/-free-item ... d_114.html
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

That should work.

[Dartz]

Found this on another website How close is it?

Of course, Shinji's first thought is, where are the normal people?

Also. Who'dve thought finding work would kill my ability to write?
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Of course, Shinji's first thought is, where are the normal people?

Transcript of a telephone call:

"Noah?"

"Yayoi, is something wrong?"

"Not with me. It's Shinji - he's been introduced to quite a few people in the last few days, and he's starting to wonder where all the normal people are."

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing. Did you tell him they're still on Earth?"

"He isn't ready to visit Earth yet. I was hoping maybe you could come and meet him."

"Yayoi, I can't get away right now. Besides, if Shinji thinks Chris Marsden isn't normal, he isn't going to think I'm normal either."

"Oh, right."

"I just had a thought. If he wants to meet a normal person, maybe he should meet http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?title=Winry_Rockbell]Winry. I wonder what she's doing nowadays?"

Also. Who'dve thought finding work would kill my ability to write?

It gets worse whenever you get more responsibilities at work... (Or, at least, it gets worse whenever I get more responsibilities at work.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012