Shinji Ikari Raising Project

[Black Aeronaut]

Hey, dartz? What's your email?

[Dartz]

Catch me at dartz.eir@gmail.com for inquiries.... or in the #fenspace IRC
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[Dartz]

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Ben sucked air through his teeth. His eyes stared up at the damaged nacelle mounting on the Dragon Wagon II.

“Now I gotta ask. How in the hell did you manage to blow one of those up?”

“Mackie,” Jet offered as a one word explanation.

“Ah.” Ben just gave a suitably impressed nod. It took work to blow one of those engines up.

Jet smirked. “The sooner we get him shipped off to Nekomi the better.”

“He got in?”

“His project got him the scholarship. He’s a smart kid.”

She didn't even try and hide the vicarious pride driving thats smile.

“It runs in the family,”

“Thanks.”

Jet shifted a little awkwardly, before slipping her bare hands into her jacket pockets.

“Have you thought much about Shinji’s future?” asked Ben.

“Honestly? No." She looked away over her shoulder for a second, where the boy himself seemed to be roaring red with a blush as bright as Gina's flightsuit. "We were just looking to get through the next week.” She gave a sigh, forcing herself to look up at the ship above rather than at Ben. “But I’m beginning to think that Frigga might be too quiet for him. He’ll need more personal interaction than he’ll get out here.”

And that bothered her deeply.

“Well, there’ll always be a place on Atalante for him.” Ben offered, still wearing that coffee-fuelled grin. “Skuld knows I want to see what that kid makes of a Veritech. Not as a combat pilot, of course, unless he wants to.” Privately, it actually excited him far more than he'd be willing to admit to his mother. He knew better than to mention it outloud. “And for the next couple of months, we’ll be pretty close together, so he wouldn’t have to leave Frigga.”

“I appreciate the offer” Jet said after a few moments thought. “But I want it to be his choice, however. I’m not going to send him away.”

Ben just nodded. “So, we gonna fix it?” he gestured

“Still waiting on the shipment to arrive.” She threw him an accusatorial glance. “But I do have something else we’re working on”.

“Ben made a show of scratching at his chin with his metal hand. “My spies tell me.... SU-47 mouldine?”

He knew he was right Jet’s eyes narrowed. “Your spies wouldn’t happen to be about one-sixty, apparently aged eighteen, and sing like a canary at the offer of a decent doujin collection?”

It was no secret that someone on Frigga idolised Benjamin Rhodes and the Roughriders.

“That’s classified, for the informant’s safety,” the Roughriders Commander answered with a haughty swagger.

Jet shook her head, offering up a wan smile “I’ll fucking kill him.”

Truthfully, she was grateful for the change in subject. It was a few moments to relax and think about something else.

“Exactly.” Ben gave her a Cheshire grin, that seemed to bisect his entire face.

“Well, we’re a bit short on cash after the FDF fuckup so no spacecraft this year but..... what does an Orion cannon say to you?”

There was a spark in the puppet’s eyes.

It was mirrored by Ben. He smirked. “Bang”

The words Orion Cannon promised so much, tha reality would only ever disappoint. Still, it was something to chat about that wasn’t Shinji Ikari.

Orion Cannon is the failed prototype that eventually leads in to the Cosmo Dragoon.
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[robkelk]

By this point, Yayoi has mentioned so many oddball combinations of music that Shinji's just wondering what she's going to come up with next. Yayoi has knowledge of two decades of "new music" that he doesn't, so she hasn't repeated herself yet ...

Found another one - sort of. (Who ever heard of a group with no website or YouTube videos nowadays? Well, here's one... so we'll have to make do with a newspaper article about them instead.)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Entertainm ... story.html]Samurai String Squad - a cello quartet from Boston that plays grunge.
--
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]

Konya Wa Hurricane, arranged for Cello with Piano accompaniement?

And More Gina.

Gina could only shake her head.

“Those two are incorrigible when they get into the same room.”

Shinji alternated between staring at her opened mouth, staring at her chest and blushing, then snapping his gaze down at the steel floor under his riding boots.

“But, you’re still Asuka,”

For one brief moment, he swore she was about to kill him. She stopped dead.

“Explain.”

A hard look on her face demanded an answer. She stared him down into the ground. No doubt about it, she really was Asuka.

“Well. You’re almost exactly how I pictured Asuka as an adult.”

Her eyes widened with momentary surprise. The tension in her body seemed to drain down through her feet.

“And you’re not what I would’ve expected from Shinji Ikari.”

“Huh?”

“Well....that’s your motorcycle parked outside, isn’t it? “

She pointed right at it with her thumb over her shoulder. It sat there treasonously confirming everything she’d been telling him.

“That’s only because it’s the only way to get around here,” he grumbled at his feet.

And reminding himself that he was wearing riding boots.

“God you can be stubborn when you set your mind to it.” Gino snorted. Not being Asuka sure didn’t stop her from doing a bang-on impression. “Shinji, trust me, the world isn’t going to drop an anvil on you and take it away if you just admit you enjoy something. It’s okay to do something unexpected. Do something you like, rather than what that image of you on screen would do. ”

And then it was suddenly Asuka’s voice, speaking in a very kind and un-Asuka like manner.

“I do like it.”he admitted. The world, to his surprise, didn’t explode. “It feels like I’m free...”

“Like you’re in control?”

“It’s..... I’m focused on riding and controlling it. I don’t have to think about anything else. It’s peaceful. And exciting.”

Speed was fun. Just thinking of it sent a thrilling rush through his body.

“And that’s something I never imagined Shinji Ikari could do.” It almost sounded like high praise. “You’re already starting to grow.”

“But..... I......”

That’s where his mind stopped.

“Change is part of life. It’s part of growing up.”

Change was terrifying. “It’s hard enough getting used to just being me.”

“Well, it doesn’t have to happen overnight.” she shrugged her shoulder. “But in fourteen years time, you might even have learned to actually like yourself.”

Shinji winced, his gorge rising up his throat.

“Sorry.” said Gina, softly. Shinji stared up at her. Asuka. Genuinely apologising. “My memories stop about halfway. I only ever watched the end.”

She hadn’t meant to do it. It was a misunderstanding. It was his fault really.Suck it up, force a smile and remember what Misato told him. This was my choice, and that makes it a valid one.

He smiled up at her “It’s okay.... I’m not that person anymore.”

And prayed she didn’t see through it.

She regarded him for a few moments, cold blue eyes considering him.

“Pfft.” she blew it away, deciding to just drop the subject. “So... what’s everyone doing around here anyway? I know Ayanami’s here... and Yayoi. They’re not just sitting around playing cards, are they?”

That familiar sharp edge returned to her voice. Shinji tried his best not to look as relieved as he felt.

“Wait. You don’t hate Ayanami?”

“Why would I? I’m not Asuka. Jeesh.... what sort of processor did Jet stick in there?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. The content smile on his face betrayed his true feelings.

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[Black Aeronaut]

HAH! Perfect! At this rate, Gina's gonna pull him out of his shell in no time. But just wait until he meets Jess. Even once he's honestly adjusted to some of the more peculiar aspects of the Fen, that meeting will cause him to have a paradigm shift and a half!

[Dartz]

Meanwhile, far in the future, to show I'm still playing around with this. "Behind Blue Eyes"

The office was small and sparsly furnished, with a single flag looming opressively over its occupier, alongside the banner of the SSP. On the occupiers desk sat a simple workstation... unusual because it utilised a jealously maintained, sheaves of dataleafs, a pushbutton intercom and a single ornament of three monkeys.

One covering its eyes. One covering it's ears. One covering it's mouth. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. For the commander of the Secret State Police, it was a perpetual reminder of how precarious his position truly was.

On his desk were orders to locate, interrogate and then terminate in the most vicious manner. The purge was in full flow. Some of the regime's most ardent supporters had found themselves exiled to the surface. Army commanders, Naval admirals... all had been implicated in plots to overthrow the royal household. And all paid the penalty for their treachery.

In a way, it seemed oddly appropriate. Above all, there were orders to seak out the one they codenamed STARSCREAM.

The intercom on his desk buzzed. He answered with an irritated bark.

"What is it?"

"A woman to see you for you Commander. She gives her name as Tomizawa."

"She's expected. Check her for weapons and send her up."

"Yes Commander."

It clicked shut. He settled back into his leather chair, watching video footage of her purposeful stride... and visible irritation at being patted down. The guards were thorough beyond the call of duty. She was... in a word, stunning. The commander checked the mass readings for the elevator car. A small smile crept accross his lips for amoment, before he slammed it down with the mask his position demanded.

Fixing his AR glasses with a nudge from his finger, her settled down behind steepled hands in a pose that gave him the perfect poker face.

His door opened a moment later.

"Miss Tomizawa."

"Commander Ikari."

Her voice was like liquid silk. There was something safe and reassuring in it. He was in the presence of a friend. Someone who knew the truth.

"What have you found?"

"Names Commander. Of those who would work to undermine the regime. And evidence that proves their treachery."

A dataleaf emerged from her coat, being placed upon his desk. He gave it a cursory scan, recognising many colleagues among the list. A few commanders who'd escaped the last round. He felt himself smirk despite himself.

"The royal household thanks you for your loyalty citizen. It shall be rewarded."

"It is my pleasure to do my duty."

Shinji sighed, glancing out the window.

"I wonder, when can we expect a change in this weather."

Green eyes seemed almost sympathetic for a moment. "Soon." she assured him. "Clouds are gathering."

A genuine smile crawled across his lips.

"Thank you, Miss Tomizawa."

"Your mother would be proud to see you do your duty with such dedication."

She departed with the same purposeful elegance in her stride, the door slamming shut behind her. Commander Ikari quietly arranged the dataleaves on his desk, cross-referencing the information that'd just arrived with a list of the regime's most critical personnel. It would only serve to make the Emperor more paranoid to learn that those he thought were his closest allies were plotting against him. And the replacements, they were always far less competent... too busy showing their devotion to do any good.

But he, he was incapable of disloyalty. He had no spine. No will of his own. He was just Shinji Ikari... overwhelmed by circumstances and just following orders, doing what was expected of him.

Shinji took a few minutes to stare at Yuu's face on the monitor, asking her quietly if what he was doing was the right thing. The photograph didn't answer. It just smiled back at him with a warmth he no longer felt he deserved, dressed in a black uniform, with a pen in his hands that'd signed the Death Note for far too many.

He shut his monitor off, getting a good look at his reflection alongside the orders on the table, instructing him to deploy all possible resources to locate STARSCEAM.

Shini sighed. Found him.

It should be obvious. Shinji's working as The Mole... bringing the regime down from the inside. He's just received a list of people Future! Great Justice would like removed from the command structure, and replaced with those secretely still loyal to the old Queens, to make the eventual overthrow of the tyrant regime a far less bloody affair. And he doesn't have long to wait....
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[Black Aeronaut]

Ahhh! So this would be the Britanian Empire phase of the Silver Millennium? And I'm having trouble figuring out who STARSCREAM is supposed to be... Given that in Transformers, he was one of the best seekers among the Decepticons (cowardly as he was, you didn't get to Starscream's post if you didn't have any skills). So that would mean someone that is all but impossible to shoot down because they're simply so wily in the vacuum.

Sooo...Mayonaka? Her prior status as a Regent in the SME gives her credibility among the rank-and-file and warrant kill-on-sight orders.

[Ace Dreamer]

I'd read that to mean STARSCREAM is Shinji...

Is this another alta-verse? Doesn't look like a future for mainstream Fenspace.

A quick search didn't give me any context for this... Pointer, please?
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[M Fnord]

Is this another alta-verse? Doesn't look like a future for mainstream Fenspace.

A quick search didn't give me any context for this... Pointer, please?

Quick capsule: About a million posts ago I whipped up a list of the Venusian monarchs from 52 SA to 1900 SA (or 2009 - 3857). You can see the list http://www.fenspace.net/index.php5?titl ... Millennium]here. I didn't mean anything by it, just a quick bit of nonsense to pass a boring day, but... I guess Fun Tyrants aren't allowed to be frivolous or something, because people have latched onto it.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Dartz]

it's *somewhere* on the wiki. I can't recal where. Maybe a century into the future or something.

STARSCREAM is Shinji's codename. He's running the secret police in such a way that it's being slowly populated with individuals loyal to the old regime, or just plain incompetent while quietly feeding the resistance. So that when it's time for the hammer of Justice to drop, and the Emperor turns to whom he thinks is his most trusted, spineless Lieutenant.... Shinji will just shrug and say. "The reason we could never find Starscream, is because I am Starscream. I've been working against you from the start." And the SSP will do nothing but scratch their noses, as all the loyalists to the emperor have been quietly purged as 'plotting traitors'.

Shinji will most likely have had to break every relationship he had to pull it off, breaking his own heart in the first place.... but he's doing what he believes is right. And someone once told him that Righteousness Alone should be his King. He just hopes Yuu will forgive him for taking the path he was required to take..... and understand that there was far less bloodshed this way.

And it's born of a line in the current scene I'm working on when Gdocs behaves itself.

I just thought it was a cool interlude to muck around with. Like Shinji the Gundam Pilot.

“Honestly, from what I’ve seen, you’re underestimating the boy.”

“I think it’s a quirk.”

“Oh?”

“He never does what anyone expects.”
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[Ace Dreamer]

M Fnord said:

---

Quick capsule: About a million posts ago I whipped up a list of the
Venusian monarchs from 52 SA to 1900 SA (or 2009 - 3857). You can see
the list here.
I didn't mean anything by it, just a quick bit of nonsense to pass a
boring day, but... I guess Fun Tyrants aren't allowed to be frivolous or
something, because people have latched onto it.

Thanks for the link.

Dartz said: ...

I'd be interested to know how, in this setting, tech is so restricted that this story works...

The thing this most immediately reminds me of is Charles Stross "Glasshouse":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasshouse_%28novel%29

http://bafeepee.blog.com/...arles-stross-glasshouse/

Given the setting, might you consider putting people "on ice", in long-term suspended animation storage, ('crystalising' them) until the regime finds a use for them? Or, Shinji might be doing that instead of executions.

Just a thought...
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"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Dartz]

Honestly. I really didn't think about it. It was just a quick brainfart of an interlude based on something half remembered on the wiki. A quick itch that demanded scratching. It'll probably never even happen. Not after ***WHITENOISE***
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[Black Aeronaut]

Actually... Ben would have expected him NOT to join the Roughriders. Despite the militant nature, they're a tad on the boisterous side. How boisterous? Three words: designated brawling zones. (Yes, I am shamelessly lifting that concept from Kriss Overstreet's contributions to EPU's Undocumented Features. And I honestly think he'd be greatly amused.)

So, if his quirk is to always do what everyone least expects... it would be to join the Roughriders at some point in time, learn that it feels good to let go of pent up aggression in a good old punch-up, and probably earn his chops as a wing commander (O-5 rank, Commander, in charge of two squadrons, hence Commander Ikari - which will send a chill up his spine every time he hears it for the first few months or so).

Gina: "Wow. I really did not see that coming."

Ben: "Agreed, but going by his track record, that seems to be his thing now. He's gonna go far."

Gina: "Why?"

Ben: "He's Great Justice's Number One Unpredictable-"

Gina: "Don't you dare."

And when he goes and joins sides with the baddies... Ben's only gonna smile and shake his head. "The man's got a plan. Those damn Ikaris don't even take a dump without one."

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh, and also in regards to this...

He knew he was right Jet’s eyes narrowed. “Your spies wouldn’t happen to
be about one-sixty, apparently aged eighteen, and sing like a canary at
the offer of a decent doujin collection?”



It was no secret that someone on Frigga idolised Benjamin Rhodes and the Roughriders.

“That’s classified, for the informant’s safety,” the Roughriders Commander answered with a haughty swagger.



Jet shook her head, offering up a wan smile “I’ll fucking kill him.”

I just had this crazy notion of Mackie taking up the reigns of the Roughriders at some point in time.  Thoughts?

[Dartz]

Probably a bad idea to have someone who's idea of a female duty uniform involves TINY MINISKIRTS! and Zettai Ryouiki as your CIC.

Shinji..... his destiny lies in a Gundam cockpit. (In a training role, at least in Candle in the Dark). And everytime I hear the name Overstreet.... erm..... nevermind. Shinji would be much more quiet and reserved.... and would prefer a training posting if taking anything at all military. (Experienced Giant Robot pilot)
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[robkelk]

Probably a bad idea to have someone who's idea of a female duty uniform involves TINY MINISKIRTS! and Zettai Ryouiki as your CIC.

Oh, I don't know. It seemed to work for Divergence EVE.

Shinji..... his destiny lies in a Gundam cockpit. (In a training role, at least in Candle in the Dark). And everytime I hear the name Overstreet.... erm..... nevermind. Shinji would be much more quiet and reserved.... and would prefer a training posting if taking anything at all military. (Experienced Giant Robot pilot)

Hmmmmm... So he's going to end up as Security Chief on station Ultima, launching in the giant robot when necessary? At least he'll have someone he thinks is worth protecting there...
--
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]

I can just imagine that job interview...

"You say you have eight months experience in a high-pressure, high security environment. How did that work out?

For a 'First big life decision', choosing to apply for a transfer to Ultima, to be with Yuu, is a perfectly fair and valid one. It might even bring him home again....
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[Ace Dreamer]

I can just imagine that job interview...

"You say you have eight months experience in a high-pressure, high security environment. How did that work out?

The only answer he can give to that, is, of course "Classified".
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind

[Black Aeronaut]

Probably a bad idea to have someone who's idea of a female duty uniform involves TINY MINISKIRTS! and Zettai Ryouiki as your CIC.

Probably true.  In all honesty, if Mackie were a Roughrider his career would look like something out of Irresponsible Captain Tylor... complete with Convention higher-ups discussing amongst themselves, "I can't decide if he's an idiot or a genius."
EDIT: For some reason I got the utterly mind-destroying imagery of Shinji inspecting the ranks of a bunch of fresh-faced recruits and going on in the special way that only drill sergeants can...
"By the time I'm done with you maggots you're gonna eat Veritechs and shit Zakus!"

[Dartz]

"You know my father. You know my Mother. That is all you need to know."

While it's a humorous image, I think Security Chief at Ultima wouldn't be a bad place for him to end up. If only because he applies for the first open position on the Station that pops up to get out there with Yuu.... and gets it by being the only person who admits 'I dont know' in the interview without trying to waffle.
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[Dartz]

Work is kiking my butt.... but more

"Megazone 23 Garland Replica?" Benjamin asked him, giving an appreciative whistle. Shinji had no idea what a Megazone 23 Garland was, of course.

"It's the right colour," Gina chimed in with her own opinion, giving it a critical eye.

"It's called a Judy," Shinji said. "Turbine fusion with tanalloy battery hybrid."

That's what the first page on the manual called it. He didn't know what else it did.

"Judy?" Benjamin raised an eyebrow

"Garland?" Gina narrowed her eyes at Jet.

The puppet raised her arms in self-defence. "Hey don't call the Narn bat squad just yet, that's just a project code."

"I tell you what Shinji," continued Ben, slapping him on the back. " I've got a jetbike called the Lunatic Fringe too. It has two jet engines. Why don't we have a little bit of a race some day, hmm?"

He looked to Jet. no objection.

"Ah.... sure."

"I'll bring the Highway Star along and make it three," Jet added.

Shinji was visibly appalled. He accepted out of politeness, fully expecting his supposed guardian to intervene on his behalf while instead she'd just right on joined in.

"I'll send ya a date when I can convince Brownwyn that it's not going to get broken."

"But.... But but." His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Alright."

"Males," Gina snorted.

"Excuse me," Jet folded her arms across her chest.

"Sometimes it can be hard to tell,"

"What I want to know is, does it transform?" Ben interrupted the building

"Transform? It's a motorcycle." Shinji found it hard not to scoff at the idea. Where did he leave the instruction manual? "Does it?"

"Red button behind the molly guard," Jet told him.

Shinji pushed the red button marked 'Switch'. The hazard lights flashed on as the turbine engine whistled to life. Latches snapped as they came unlocked. He gripped the throttles hard, eyes darting around tracking the noises that circled him. Servos whined.

The top of the fairing popped open on a polished linkage, exposing the hardware underneath. Beneath him, the frame began to move, his seat shifting position. He tried to push back but it forced him upright. He yelped in shock as he felt himself slide forward. The windscreen rose up over his head, entombing him in darkness. Latches locked like gunshots around him.

His breath came quick, fast and hot as he tried to keep control. Something picked him up from beneath, and he was vaguely aware of being picked up from behind. Power thrummed up his spine as the turbines roared to full power.

He glanced around the cockpit. It was dark, illumination coming only from the gauges and viewscreen around him. The scent of engine oil and hot plastic wafted through the overhead vents. The handle bars still came easily to his hands, extending to just above his lap. His feet remained on the pedals.

He was in a cockpit, barely large enough to accept a person. Flat panel monitors showed him a view of the world outside, framed by a heads up display that reported on the conditions of the machine in green wireframe text. His gazed raced around the cockpit as it closed in tighter around him, compressing down.

A few final servos locked down with a hard thunk.

MOTOROID ALL GREN SYSTEM flashed up on the HUD - bad spelling and all - in front of him for a second, before the view settled down on something that looked like it was stolen from the late 80's. Engines were running. Flight systems were online. Hydraulics were in the green zone. Nothing was flashing red.

Benjamin Rhodes, Gina Langley and Jet had been replaced with animated version of themselves... each drawn in the anime style. Shadows were deep and black while colours were lustrous and vivid, especially on the metal of Bens arm.

It was, he thought, like watching Bubblegum Crisis from the inside. Jet looked perfectly in place. Gina's head seemed bigger than her waist. Benjamin's arm seemed to grow to match his big, white-teeth grin.

"Gina," said Ben, looking at his wife with that every present grin "I know what I want for Christmas."

"Along with the VF-19?"

"We'll sell them through Hephaestus once we've figured out how to make the batteries," Jet chimed in.

"How do I get out?" Shinji asked.

"Can't just wave them?"

Benjamin clearly didn't hear him. The machine shifted as he moved about in the seat. It didn't take much for Shinji to figure out that he was now sitting in some form of bipedal mecha. A traditional one, without the existential horror. All he had to do was worry about breaking it.

"They need some fancy elements to work right," explained Jet, sounding just a little dissapointed "It takes weeks to get enough for one bike, and that's flat out."

Where was the speaker? The Intercom. Shinji didn't dare touch anything else in case he caused it to tip over.

"Yeesh... " he winced. "So not cheap?"

Intercom? He scanned the buttons. Some had pictograms. Others were unlabelled.

"Not yet," Jet grinned at him. Gina had started to tap her foot in irritation. She really was so much like Asuka.

Radio?

"You two can talk business on the way back. Is there something for us to ride, or do we have to go pillion?"

He caught a glimpse of the wristband he was still wearing. Just thinking about it told him he was sill connected.

"How do I turn it back?"

"There're some quads and enduro bikes kicking around, Petrol powered," said Jet, outside.

The response burst into his thoughts simultaneously.

"Same button again."

Shinji frobbed it with his finger. Again, the hazards flashed. Bolts and locks popped and rattled around him before the cockpit split open, allowing the harsh light of reality to rush in, chased by a draught of that dry industrial air.

He was aware of something swinging over his head as a whine of servos pushed him backwards and down, the whole forward assemble falling away. The throttles pulled his hands forward - he didn't let go in case his arms got caught in something - before the front fairing finally locked in it's forward position.

MOTORCYCLE ALL GREEN flashed on the instrument binnacle as the turbines spooled down, leaving only an electric silence as the motorcycle idled.

Shinji exhaled a hot breath he didn't even know he'd been holding.

"How much?" Ben enquired.

Jet shrugged. "Ask Shinji, it's his."

Shinji quailed back down into his seat. Please... anything but that. Benjamin loomed with a salesman's glint in his eyes.

"There'll be plenty of time for horsetrading later," Gina interrupted the pitch before it could begin. "Can we get moving before we all get bored?"

"But of course, my Lady," Benjamin deferred with a bow.

Shinji exhaled a relieved sigh, already resolving to refuse - as politely as he could manage - any offer to sell the Judy. It was a gift. Selling it would be rude.

That red button stared at Shinji the whole way back up, begging to be pushed. Just one little touch....

He didn't even dare try it at speed.

----------

Tanalloy, being a crude reverse engineer of gate-metal. Rather than going through the years of research needed to understand it properly, they just copied it as close as they could, got it sort-of working, then locked the actually pretty small battery down in a solid armoured container and cooling system to make sure it would be safe even if it wasn't. I'm assuming it's being worked on elsewhere - those doing so just have more sense/restraint than to use alien technologies they don't fully understand yet.

(Because honestly.... I find it kind of funny. Shinji Ikari in a robot powered by reverse engineered, barely-understood alien technology. )
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[Black Aeronaut]

Oh my God, that is both awesome and hilarious. Ben, Gina, and Jet all having one of their moments, and poor Shinji is just caught in the middle... like some poor novice surfer on a 80 meter rogue wave.

My one nit... Ben wouldn't suddenly start trying to buy the Judy off of Shinji... He'd instead start begging for the plans so he can build his own. He's a big-time Do-It-Yourselfer, and Skuld knows he's got the facilities for it, if not the materials. (Tanalloy, I imagine, is kinda tough to come by even by that point.)

Although... we could say that Ben only wanted to do a close inspection of the machine so as to reverse-engineer it. That'll let us keep this without retconning and open the door for a Shinji-and-Ben one-on-one piece later.

[Dartz]

Jet would be cagey about Ben or the Squirrels figuring out exactly what they built the batteries out of. Plans-wise... Structurally, it's basically a heavily modified motoroid with no AI onboard.... and closer to the Heavy Motorslave from Bubblegum Crisis EX sourcebook than the Bahamode (Especially with the lift fans). It doesn't need specialist equipment to build/wave..... The only really oddball thing needed is the secret ingredient.... which involves making krypton hit a waved thorium target fast enough that some of it sticks.

The problem now, is making the secret ingredient in any useful amount. If the Mads turned their minds towards it, it'd be a true game-changer. As it is, they got it 'working' through cargo-cult copying.... nothing more.

The sole ongoing legacy of their effort would be the name 'Tanalloy' for all gate-metal derived power-sources.
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[Dartz]

Yet another dialogue monster. These are so damned hard.

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Shinji had to remind himself that the woman who smiled as she said hello to Rei Ayanami wasn't the Asuka he knew. She looked, walked and sounded like the Asuka he knew and longed to see again...

But Asuka Langley Sorhyu would never have greeted Rei Ayanami like a friend.

The adults did what adults usually did when they got together. They talked about things that just skirted over his head. They all knew each other in some way. The interpersonal connections that seemed to come so easy to everyone else only served to lock him out from the group.

The instruments waited onstage, unused.

"They've been friends a long time, especially Jet, Ben and Gina.... and they haven't spoken in a while. Marsden knows Ben and Yayoi, who knows Gina, while Kotono and Daryl are with us," Anika explained. "You really should go over and just talk with them."

Shinji stood there, shifting his weight between his feet, trying to swallow the sick feeling rising up his throat.

"I really don't know what to talk about."

He didn't know them. Or their world.

"What would you normally talk about?"

He gave his sister a self-deprecating smile. "I'd normally sit quietly on the outside while everyone else talked, until somebody talked to me."

She frowned gently. "You don't make friends that way."

"But otherwise I'm just intruding. They might not want me to be there."

Another justification.

She just smiled at him. "They travelled millions of miles to be here Shinji. Millions of miles. I think that answers that question."

He glanced at the group, who seemed to have each grown about a metre in height since the last time he looked.

"It'd help if I knew who they were."

"You won't find that out without introducing yourself first. Besides you know Rei, you know us... you sort of know Gina and Yayoi."

He took a deep, cooling breath before exhaling a long sigh. A shudder rose through his body.

"And they all think they know me..."

"So show them who you really are."

It sounded like an order. An order that couldn't be refused.

"Alright..." he answered, tentatively.

He didn't move. Anika stood, staring him down, waiting. Her gaze seemed to apply physical pressure. But what if.... he wondered. What if they hate me? What if I say something stupid? What if I stick my foot in my mouth because I don't know the local culture.

He didn't want a repeat of the Senshi biomod thing... definitely not.

All of this raced through his mind. He could feel the hot fear rising, slowing his mind down. The world seemed to accelerate as he stepped forward. Jet was explaining something about 250o kilowatt hoursto Ben, while Marsden listened in, commenting about a new kind of fusion. Asuka was speaking with Yayoi about music, while Rei watched on in her usual manner, content to listen. Nene had taken station beside Anika, while Ford was getting horrendously technical.

He could look for a break all day and never get a chance. He just had to step right up and say it. They towred over him, stretching right to the ceiling.

The armour in his jacket dragged him down and crushed the words in his throat.

"Hi....." he managed to say.

Every eye fell on him.

Gina grinned at him. "Oh. I was just telling everyone about how well you played the cello."

He felt himself blush hot. "It was a hobby. Nothing more."

It took him a moment to realise she was speaking about that one time, right before she kissed him and he'd been such a fool .

She scowled playfully. "You're always so modest. It's so annoying. It was about the only the thing I ever admitted you were good at."

"You and Gina should duet sometime," Ben suggested. He still hadn't stopped smiling... he was standing there practically buzzing with energy, ready to explode.

Gina glanced around, obviously taking quick stock of how many instruments. "I didn't bring anything with me...."

"Well... we didn't know about the Scarmpella so we brought along our own Stradivarius. You can borrow that."

Shinji stared open-mouthed at Marsden. How rich were these people to talk about Scarmpella's and Stradivarii? Or to willingly bring one along on such a long journey?

"That....." Jet glanced between Marsden and Yayoi, taking a moment to think. "Each one of those is worth more than we made...."

"Oh don't worry, I won't break it. "

There was an accusation hidden in her gaze. Shinji recognised it immediately. A private joke between friends.

Jet answered with a rueful smile. "I don't think I could afford to be in the same room as it."

Ford slapped her partner on the back? "Don't worry Jet. This time next year, we'll be millionaires. Then we can afford to have you break it."

"You said that last year," Jet answered back, narrowing her eyes.

"FDF was your fault," Ford reminded her. "Not mine."

"What was that you were playing beforehand Shinji? Marsden asked him.

There was something about the man ... probably unintentional ... that carried uncomfortable echoes of his father. Shinji privately chastised himself for thinking that - he seemed otherwise a decent person.

"Gregor Samsa. " Shinji said, hoping to keep things going. "I liked it."

Yayoi was clearly pleased to have a new convert to her name "I'm sure Pen-Pen has their full discography."

"Pen to the Penth!" The CI quarked.

Gina raised an eyebrow "Gregor Samsa? "

"You'll like them," Shinji assured her.
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Edit: Anti-boredom action scene. A modification of Shinji in a Gundam to be more... Gundammy. Taken from Candle in the Dark. All we're missing is gratuitous main character death
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