[X] Operation Meltdown
-[X] Instructions for Rei: cockpit monitors to b&w; look and fire at the legs.
-[X] Instructions for Shinji: scope to enhanced visual mode; after JSSDF's volley, faceshot.
-[X] Instructions for Asuka: fall back, break eye contact, calm down, status report.
-[X] Instructions for the JSSDF: switch to thermals where possible; start incendiary strikes - napalm, white phosphorus, what have you. The main goal is to raise the temp around/on the Angel, the secondary is to obscure its unsightly features with the resulting vapors.
Rei accedes. She begins moving towards the Angel to ensure a more accurate shot. The Angel continues its rampage across the city, sowing as much destruction as possible in its wake. Shinji begins charging a shot and moves to a better firing position. You relay the order to the JSSDF. They balk. You want them to firebomb Tokyo-3? You stress you'd prefer they keep the destruction as limited to the Angel as possible. You advise them to switch to thermals to pinpoint the greatest source of cold air. The JSSDF reluctantly complies.
Asuka does not want to drop back. You repeat the order more forcefully. Asuka says no. She stumbles towards the Angel. You and she have an unproductive back-and-forth where you try to warn her of the incoming incendiary attack, but she seems indifferent to or unaware of the danger being in the vicinity of the strike poses.
While you and Asuka are arguing, Rei begins firing shots at the Angel's legs, causing it to stumble. It braces itself against a building, tearing off its façade. Its advance towards the stuck shelter slows as it begins limping towards Rei.
Ritsuko announces that Melchior is once again functional. Please ignore any reports that the current date is 100000000000000000000000 AD; this is an error. Psychographic readouts are back online. You quickly learn that despite a lack of obvious symptoms, all three pilots are experiencing irregular psychograph outputs; for Shinji and Rei, the outputs are manageable and comparable to outputs expected from moderately stressful activity. They are still usable. Asuka on the other hand is experiencing acute stress and should be removed from the operation as soon as possible.
Additionally, some rudimentary reports on each Evangelion's condition are coming in. Unit-00 and Unit-01 status is nominal. Unit-02 has sustained essentially the equivalent of a moderate concussion. The arm afflicted by the Angel has also begun showing signs of severe frostbite. The ice sheet on Unit-02's arm is slowly spreading. It's amazing Asuka is still conscious, frankly, but her synchronization ratio has dropped severely since the start of the engagement, shielding her from the worst of the pain.
You ask Asuka if she heard all that. Asuka doesn't care. She has to do this. She's not going to sit back and let Shinji and Rei take all the credit. She's better than them. She can't be removed from this operation. You need her. She's killed more Angels than anyone else. You sigh and do what you've been reluctant to do during this entire argument. You pull rank. You tell her that if she doesn't knock the insubordination off there will be disciplinary measures taken, which could include discharge from service. Asuka thinks you're bluffing.
Gendo takes the opportunity to speak directly to Asuka. No, Second Child. If she does not obey orders, he will personally ensure she never sits in the cockpit of Unit-02 ever again. Asuka slowly lowers her weapon. Rei says quietly that she thinks Sohryu should listen to what's being said. She's injured and is putting herself at risk for personal reasons. Sohryu once became upset with Rei for taking unnecessary risks. Rei has decided that she would similarly become upset with Sohryu.
Asuka explodes that she and Rei are not alike, and that Rei shouldn't act like she knows her—
Rei sprints past the Angel at Asuka and tackles her out of the way as an incendiary strike streaks across the black sky towards Asuka's location. The city block erupts into a pillar of fire. The Angel is a few blocks away. You swear and demand an explanation.
Turns out that thermal imaging doesn't work very well when the IR radiation is scattered by the ice crystals in the air. The poor contrast and patch of ice crystals on Unit-02's arm, which appears to be spreading, led to Unit-02 being misidentified as the target. You restrain yourself from issuing a death threat and help point them in the correct direction. Shinji follows up the attack by shooting the Angel in the head with the Positron Rifle. See? Shoot where that laser beam terminated.
A second strike connects with the Angel, which emits a piercing wail and clutches its head, dropping its severed arm to the ground as it writhes in pain. It seems it does not like heat. A haze of smoke emits from its body as the fluid leaking from its arms combusts. Counterintuitively, rather than vaporizing, the fluid merely hardens, partially encasing the Angel's arms in an icy substance. Which is evidently also quite flammable. The Angel's arms are now on fire. You can barely make out its figure, wreathed in smoke and flame. It is still en route to the stuck shelter, but its movements are jerky and hampered by its injuries. The fire spreads from the Angel to the surrounding buildings. The Angel appears to be in extreme amounts of pain, judging by its vocalizations. Ritsuko notes Rei's psychograph shows greater amounts of irregularity. Unlike with Asuka, she does not recommend Rei be removed from the operation.
Asuka groans in pain and shoves Rei off of her. She wants a piece of it. Rei stands and takes the weapon out of her hands, exchanging it for the crossbow. Rei will protect everyone. It's imperative that Sohryu take a moment to regroup before entering the fray again. She offers a hand to Asuka to help her up. Asuka doesn't take it, but she seems unable to stand up on her own. Her vitals are weak. Shinji comes over and offers a hand as well. They'll do it together.
Asuka reluctantly lets Rei and Shinji pull her up and moves behind them.
The Angel is getting very near the stuck shelter. You suspect that it's dying, but if nobody takes it down soon, it will take that shelter with it. Moreover, the fires started by the two incendiary strikes and the Angel are beginning to spread due to the wind. Tokyo-3 is built with fire-resistance in mind, but there's only so much punishment it can take.
VV0uEME%= IV
~O L#^* 7&ou pl%cke$# me @*(~
[ ] Instructions for Rei: (write-in)
[ ] Instructions for Shinji: (write-in)
[ ] Instructions for Asuka: (write-in)
[ ] Instructions for the JSSDF: (write-in)
The Positron Rifle has
3 shots remaining.
