[X] Talk to Rei about: The past
Rei gives you a suspicious look. What is it that you need to know, Major?
On the defensive, you see.
You say you're just curious. You've never talked about her background before, and don't know much about her life before she started living with you. That's all.
Rei considers this for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. Rei says she was adopted by the Commander when she was around four years old. Her father died in the Third World War. Her mother died of an illness shortly after she was born. She has no memory of them because this happened when she was very small. The Commander apparently knew her parents and decided to take her in despite her congenital health problems. Rei began living on her own when she was around twelve for reasons she prefers not to share with you. She's lived in a few different places before the apartment you rescued her from. There isn't much else interesting to discuss.
Uh-huh. Rei's extremely laconic summary of her origins sounds suspiciously rehearsed, but Rei is unflappable. She stares blankly at you with a vague air of "I answered your question so please stop asking about this" about her. It doesn't match up with what you know about her, anyway, not that you could tell Rei. You assume the incident she refuses to talk about was a mental health crisis of some sort. The story about her parents and her adoption is obviously bullshit, though. Assuming the documents Kaji has shown you are authentic, this girl in front of you was not born Rei Ayanami, but took the place of another girl named Rei Ayanami after the latter was murdered, for reasons neither you nor Kaji have been able to guess at. Also, since when has Gendo Ikari had friends?
You ask if Rei has or had any siblings. Perhaps that could shed some light on things. Rei takes her time to think about this simple yes-or-no question. Not suspicious at all. Rei finally says no, she doesn't. Why do you ask, Major? Just wondering, you say. Looks like you're both only children, just like Shinji and Asuka. You admit you're a little jealous that Hikari has a big sister that looks out for her. Rei says that Kodama Horaki seems like she's suffering. It does not seem that great to her.
At any rate, you let Rei know that you consider her family and she has you to look out for her. Rei says the word "family" out loud, as if it was a foreign word to her. She looks lost in thought. After too long of a lull in the conversation, Rei says thank you, Major. She is trying to look out for you too.
[X] Talk to Shinji about: The past
Shinji seems reluctant to talk about this with you, but you suspect it's more from discomfort than from actively trying to keep things from you. You ask what he was doing before coming to the Geofront. Shinji explains that he had been living with an old teacher of his for a few years. He didn't like it much; he got the sense his family was just barely tolerating him imposing on them.
His father abandoned him when he was around four, shortly after his mother passed away. There was an accident at NERV, or something. He doesn't remember that time very well. He bounced around a few relatives of his mother's before ending up at his previous residence. You're curious, so you ask what his relatives are like. Shinji says he doesn't know. They didn't talk very much.
You ask why he decided to come to Tokyo-3 in the first place. You're not sure you would have, in his position. Was it Rei's excellent letter-writing skills? Shinji makes a face. Between you and him, the real reason he decided to come back to Tokyo-3 was to tell his father that he hated him, but…he just never got around to it. There was a lot going on when he got here. You recall he arrived the day of the Third Angel's assault on Tokyo-3. After that, he became a pilot and moved in here so…it just didn't feel right to bring up.
You decide to go out on a limb and ask if he still feels that way. Whether he regrets coming here, too. Shinji says he doesn't think so. He doesn't like his father, exactly, but Shinji thinks there might be some good in him after all. For a long time, Shinji thought Gendo was just using his mother's talent and connections in the metabiology community to build NERV up, and that he didn't care about anything but his work. But since their talk at his mother's grave, Shinji understands that his father really loved his mother. He thinks he understands his father better now. And his father praises him for piloting Unit-01. His father needs him, after all. Maybe deep down, his old man cares about him.
You're not entirely sure this is healthy, but you keep quiet. Shinji's seemed calmer and more confident lately, and while he still sees piloting as somewhat of a burden, having something positive he can associate with it is a good thing. You think about one of your other pilots and how she's been faring without that. Still, something to keep an eye on. You certainly don't trust Gendo Ikari not to do something stupid.
As for whether he regrets coming here, Shinji says he doesn't think so. Sure, he doesn't like fighting Angels, and sure, living with four other roommates has its frustrations, but he's met so many people here. People he really cares about.
Like Rei? You tease. Shinji turns red. Y-yes, like Rei. And Asuka too. And…well, you.
[ ] Tell Shinji you love him
[ ] Do not
[X] Talk to Asuka about: The past
Wow, you really want to push her buttons, huh? Asuka immediately jumps on the defensive. She assumed you were going to leave that subject alone, but maybe she overestimated your intelligence. You've read her file. You know whatever there is you need to know. Which is frankly, not much, because this is frankly, none of your goddamn business. There is nothing to discuss about what happened back then. None of it matters anyway. It was a long time ago.
Asuka looks around to make sure that Rei and Shinji are not around to hear. She frowns. She doesn't want to talk about this, especially not if the Idiot and the other one are around. You're her commanding officer, so it can't be helped that some irrelevant details of her personal life are going to make their way to you, but if it's not your business, it's especially not their business. She doesn't want their pity, or judgment, or, or…she doesn't want it! She's sick of people giving her the look you're giving her right now. She doesn't want that. Certainly not from people like them.
You try to segue gracefully into suggesting that perhaps talking about it to someone might be good for her. Like how you opened up to her about your own past. You felt some relief sharing that with someone. Asuka says she doesn't need help with her past, she's got it handled. She feels fine about it and has moved on from it. Why are you so insistent on pestering her about it, huh? She doesn't need someone to throw a pity party for her and she's not so selfish as to dump her trauma on someone else to satisfy her own ego, Misato.
Okay, ouch. You explain you told her about your past because you wanted her to understand you better, and you were hoping that maybe others could understand Asuka better if she did the same? Asuka says everything you need to understand her is in her file. And right in front of you. She's not going to be defined by some incident she barely remembers from a decade ago. She's not a victim, so stop looking at her like she is one.
Everything is under control. Just let her keep piloting Unit-02 and studying for Fuyutsuki's assistant position, okay? Get off her back.
[ ] Press her further
[ ] Do not
[X] All: Physical training
It's been ages since you've had them all train together, and you think all of them might be a little rusty. Shinji doesn't need too much extra attention, and you have him continue to work on reflexes and flexibility. You throw in some exercises for him to try practicing throwing various objects accurately. You also try to give him some techniques to help calm himself down if he feels like his nerves are affecting his coordination.
For Rei, you focus on shaking off the rust from being bedridden and continue working on her stamina and ability to focus when under physical duress. Rei asks Asuka to teach her some techniques in the event she loses the ability to see in one eye or loses the use of one of her arms. You see Asuka's hackles rise, and it's abundantly clear she's not thrilled to be viewed as the person to consult about fighting disabled, but you defuse any explosive confrontations by assuring her that Rei is asking her this because she thinks Asuka has proven herself a capable fighter despite these problems. Asuka mutters something under her breath and does actually try to explain to Rei what it's like to fight while injured. You're not totally sure Rei understands everything, but you think she got something out of it.
With Asuka, it's a bit more complicated, as things tend to be with her as of late. You work with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist to give Asuka some simple exercises to slowly help her regain the use of her arm. They think it's a mental block and that Asuka needs to be eased into simple movements to help her brain remember that her arm isn't busted.
They start by explaining what a normal diagnostic result of paralysis looks like, and then explain how the imaging taken of Asuka's arm does not reflect what a paralyzed shoulder would look like under current understandings of human anatomy. Asuka has little patience for this, as she's already quite aware that her arm isn't broken or whatever, it's just not responding because…she doesn't know, maybe something got fucked up by Unit-02. When she's gently told that's not possible based on the data they have available, Asuka becomes annoyed. Why won't it work, then? Asuka gets a patient explanation of conversion disorder, which Asuka objects to. She's not crazy. It's not in her head. Her arm just won't work!
She's told that they don't think she's crazy or making it up, or that it's just in her head. It's normal for the body to react negatively to extreme stress or pain or damage to one's mental health. Having the sensation of getting dismembered inflicted on you is enough to do that. Thinking about the pain of losing an arm and worrying about the mostly healed minor feedback injuries caused by her ordeal has created a stress feedback loop in her brain to the point that the symptom has become real. Her body is confused and hasn't caught up to the fact her arm is still attached. They fully believe her when she says she can't move her arm when she wants to. The good news is that her condition isn't something more serious, is reversible, and often recovers quickly with proper treatment. Also, she's young, and younger patients tend to have better outcomes when it comes to this. Asuka still doesn't like this, but she begrudgingly goes along with this line of logic for now.
The therapists demonstrate that Asuka's muscles are working properly by a series of various maneuvers where they grab the affected arm and forcibly position it, then observe how Asuka moves in response to pressure or letting go, explaining that if the muscles were not functioning, they would behave differently. Asuka is intrigued when they raise her arm in front of her and then let it go. Rather than falling directly into Asuka's lap, it sort of slowly sinks at irregular speeds. They explain that this means that the muscles in her arm are working against gravity.
Asuka says sure, but she still can't get them to do what she wants. Her stupid arm is still broken in that way. Well, that's what they're there for.
Over the course of the week, Asuka is given extremely simple tasks involving the movement of her arm. Bearing small amounts of weight on it, resisting being pushed against, pushing back for very short periods of time, that sort of thing. They also help her move away from subconscious ways she's herself causing pain or limiting her movement. There's still work to be done, but Asuka's symptoms do improve, albeit only marginally so far. Asuka seems both encouraged that it seems to be working and also frustrated her progress is so slow. She feels stupid for having to relearn how to use her own arm properly.
[X] Rei and Shinji: Combat training
The main thing you want to focus on is getting Rei back into shape. It's been a while since her best work in battle, and she's lost an entire week of potential training due to her hospitalization, and even more due to the Dummy Plug project. You drill her as harshly as you will allow yourself to in order to whip her into shape. You practice aiming, shooting while on the move, targeting small objects, fighting up close, anything you can think of.
One thing you also practice with her is using the new weapon, the naginata. She was completely out of her depth with it the last time she tried using it. You work with her to improve her technique, though she still has work to do if she wants to use it competently, you think. You also work with Shinji to learn the weapon, though like Rei, you think there's a lot of room for improvement.
Finally, you have Ritsuko load up the Dummy Program and have them try their hand at taking down a virtual Evangelion. Shinji is incredibly uncomfortable with this exercise. Aren't all the Evas on the same side? You remind him of the incident with the Eleventh Angel. Not every Evangelion he faces will necessarily belong to NERV. You don't know how, but the Angels are learning and adapting to NERV's defenses. It wouldn't surprise you if they tried to throw another Evangelion-like entity at you. They're already using something similar to the Progressive Knife when they try to cut through Evangelion armor and have also adapted the uses of ultracold weaponry and viscous fluid traps. The fact that one of them was able to generate two Evangelion-like weapons is deeply alarming. It's important that everyone is prepared for that scenario.
Shinji is still clearly disconcerted by what you're asking him to do, but he doesn't have any counterargument for you. He mutters fine under his breath and agrees to do the exercise. Rei seems to have no issue with this exercise, which worries you a little bit.
The exercise itself is a disaster.
A color-swapped version of Unit-00 (its chest and helmet are a lighter shade of orange and it has white and gray arms and legs) appears in front of the two pilots in virtual space. And then charges at them before the pilots are ready to go. Rei freezes as it closes in on her, and it proceeds to repeatedly stab her in the arms, chest, and head. Shinji cries out in alarm and attacks the enemy unit with his own Progressive Knife, sticking the blade deep into its neck, but it responds by grabbing his wrist and literally crushing the bones of his unit's arm.
You look at Ritsuko in disbelief, who is intently staring at her laptop and typing away, with a deep frown on her face.
The rest of the fight is difficult to watch. The enemy unit manhandles Shinji, knees him in the face hard enough to crumple the virtual Unit-01's helmet, then hurls Unit-01 into the pavement face first before stamping on Unit-01's head forcefully enough for you to hear the crunch of its skull cracking. Unit-01 spasms before ceasing to respond. Blood pools under its body.
Meanwhile, Unit-00, struggling to recover from the grievous injuries the enemy unit was able to inflict on its upper body, pulls itself up, and backs away from the fight, before rushing the enemy unit down in a remarkably similar manner it had attacked Rei. She chooses to brutalize it with her bare hands, inflicting her own wounds that would surely incapacitate any manned Evangelion, but it manages to break free before grabbing Unit-00 by the face and breaking its neck. Unit-00 crumples to the ground. The enemy unit begins systematically dismembering Unit-00 with its Progressive Knife, finger by finger, before Ritsuko stops the simulation.
What. The. Fuck.
You whirl on Ritsuko and demand an explanation. That was supposed to be safe? That was supposed to be based on Rei? What the fuck was that? You can't train pilots with this. That thing wasn't even human.
Ritsuko says there are evidently still some kinks left to work out in its programming. And if you're training the pilots on Evangelion-to-Evangelion combat in the event of an Angel attack using them, you should prepare for the worst. They aren't going to go easy on your pilots, and very well could have superhuman pain tolerance. You shouldn't expect humanity from an inhuman enemy.
On the bright side, the Dummy System will be turned on the Angels, and not your pilots. You sneer. And if it goes rogue? Ritsuko says if it goes rogue there's always the killswitch. Which she has tested extensively, by the way. It works. Ritsuko boots the simulation back up.
Shinji asks in a panicked tone if they're going to have to do it again. He sounds badly shaken. Rei doesn't say anything, but moves Unit-00 in front of Unit-01. The enemy rushes at the pair of them again. Ritsuko punches in something on her computer, and the enemy unit deactivates nearly immediately, tumbling forward onto its face as it suddenly loses coordination. Both pilots watch in stunned silence.
Ritsuko says that's what will happen when the killswitch is activated. It causes complete physical severance of the Dummy System from the Evangelion, and it is a remote system completely separate from the Evangelion's onboard operating system. Multiple redundant systems are in place to prevent failure. Short of physical damage to the Dummy Plug, it will function. And if the Dummy Plug is damaged, then that will cause essentially the same result: total shutdown. It cannot function unless the Plug is intact.
You still refuse to put your pilots through that again today. Ritsuko says that your coddling of them will bite you in the ass. You need to face the reality that they may one day face an enemy that ruthless. Treating them with kid gloves means they won't be prepared. You say you're not doing it, end of discussion; it's barbaric. They're children. Ritsuko says they're also soldiers, and the only line of defense against the annihilation of the human race. You'd do well to remember that, Major.
Before leaving the room, Ritsuko also informs you that yes, this is Rei's personality data. That's what you've been living with for the past several months. Remember that.
After Ritsuko leaves, you have the pilots get out of the simulation plugs. Shinji says he's okay, just a bit shaken up. He seems to have calmed down a little, but he's shivering. Rei says she's fine. You ask if that's the truth. Rei nods her head. Her eyes keep darting towards Shinji. Hesitantly, she takes his hand in her own and squeezes it. Shinji jumps from the unexpected contact. Rei pulls her hand away and apologizes for scaring him. Shinji says he's sorry too, for some reason. Rei smiles gently.
You think they'll be alright, but you're unsure you should put them through this again.
[X] Asuka: Synchronization training
You're not looking forward to this, and Asuka isn't either. You're positive her ratio is not going to have bounced back. Asuka seems less angry than usual and more resigned. She says she knows she's going to suck. Looks like the Invincible Idiot gets to lord it over her again. God, they're probably both laughing at how pathetic her scores are behind her back. You tell her you're sure that's not true. Asuka just tries and fails to fold her arms, growling in frustration.
Asuka's score is ultimately 59.2%, a marginal improvement from her combat training last week, but nothing to write home about. You and Ritsuko mostly spend the session not making eye contact. Thankfully, Ritsuko doesn't have anything unpleasant to say to Asuka. She doesn't say anything to her the entire session.
Asuka clearly picks up on this, as afterwards she grumbles about how NERV must be ready to give up on her if she's beneath even that bitch pestering her. You tell her if they were ready to give up on her, they wouldn't even bother. Asuka supposes that's true, though she doesn't sound totally convinced. She's just tired of her Unit-02 not listening to her anymore. It's just a dumb machine, why can't she make it do what she used to be able to do? You shrug at her. You'd tell her if you knew. You encourage her to keep at it, though. You know she's trying, and you're sure she'll figure it out. Asuka wonders if maybe things will get better once she finishes fixing her stupid goddamn shitty arm.
Your meeting with Fuyutsuki is coming up. What will you discuss this time?
[ ] Write-in
