[X] Operation Frozen Valley
-[X] Instructions for Rei: Take a firing position with good cover to the west of the Angel, charge and take a probing shot
-[X] Instructions for Shinji: Assist/accompany Asuka on her approach to the Angel (be on the lookout for any anomalies/variables) until the midway point or the temperature increase forces him to break off, after finding a firing position with good cover, and begin charging a shot.
-[X] Instructions for Asuka: Begin approach to the Angel, be on the lookout for any anomalies/variables, on approach extend AT-field and make ready to cut through the Angel's AT-field.
The pilots take up positions near the intersection of Prefectural Route 337 and the Ashinoko Sky Line, as Asuka's movement range is constrained by the D-Type Equipment. Rei takes up position on a hill, while Shinji waits a distance back from Asuka. The Angel is currently somewhere near the southern reach of Lake Ashi, nine kilometers to the south, with Mount Mikuni between them and it, so from the current location, the pilots do not have a visual. This will change shortly, as the Angel is showing signs of activity.
Aoba says the Angel is once again on the move. Slowly at first, but its speed rapidly increases, and soon it is hurtling along the Ashinoko Sky Line, burning through the heavily wooded area at an incredible speed. You tell Shinji to move back a little further (he is much too close) and Asuka to proceed along the road to meet it head-on. Asuka tells you that if this stupid equipment doesn't work she's going to haunt you.
Rei says she's got a visual on the Angel as it emerges from behind the mountain, moving along the winding road. Sohryu should prepare for contact. Asuka says yeah, yeah, got it. Don't order her around. As the Angel approaches, Asuka breaks into a sprint (or, rather, the closest thing the D-Type equipment can approximate to a sprint) towards the Angel, Shinji following behind. It's not long before the area is engulfed in flames, and Shinji is forced to retreat, the heat being too much for Unit-01 to handle. You hear Shinji groan with effort as he hastily retreats from the rapid advance of the waves of heat. Ibuki reports light damage to the exterior armor of Unit-01.
Moments before Asuka is within effective range, Rei fires a charged shot from her weapon at the Angel's center. You hear her grunt in pain. Despite her efforts to restrict the use of her bad arm largely to keeping the weapon steady, the recoil of the gun causes her to nearly lose her grip on it. The beam barely misses hitting Asuka instead. Asuka screams at Rei, calling her a
Vollidiotin for her trouble and threatening to break her other arm. For all this, the shot pierces the Angel's AT-Field…and passes through to the other side, exploding against a burning nearby hill with great force.
You swear. Ritsuko asks what you expected to happen; it's a zero-dimensional point. She blows out a puff of smoke and begins quietly talking to Ibuki about some of the data coming through. This is bullshit! You slam your fist down on the console as Asuka's AT-Field smashes into the Angel's, throwing both Asuka and the Angel in opposite directions and leaving a sizeable crater in the ground. Asuka manages to land on her feet. The Angel flies backwards into what was once a forested ridge before moving back into the road. It ceases its advance and hovers still above the now-soft and molten surface of the road, almost like it's considering its options.
Shinji, meanwhile, has taken up a more distant position and is preparing to fire another charged shot.
After a brief discussion with Ritsuko, Ibuki warns you that the MAGI have detected Angel's structure is changing, possibly decaying from the reaction that will kill all of you if this Angel isn't defeated. You hope this means the Angel will soon change shape or form. Preferably to one more vulnerable to attack.
Oh, also, the explosive reaction in the Angel? The MAGI have concluded that the N
2 mine accelerated its progress, and were it not for the bombing, would likely occur some time this evening instead of within the next 16 minutes. Probability of detonation is now 99.9999999998%. You bitterly thank Ibuki for that uplifting bit of data. Hyuga says it's a moot point anyway; if the mine wasn't dropped it'd already be in Tokyo-3, which would still be in the process of evacuation.
You run your hands through your hair and consider what to do next.
MOVEMENT II
~Andante~
What now?
[ ] Instructions for Rei
[ ] Instructions for Shinji
[ ] Instructions for Asuka
Rei has
5 shots remaining. Shinji has
6 shots remaining.
