Bruised egos hurt the worst.

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

After a series of vicious ego-bruising arguments, Asuka had slipped away from the observation deck to go sulk. Well, she wouldn't call it sulking, but really, that's what it was. She already hated this place and, by extension, most of the people on board. No one cared about what she'd managed to accomplish. No one cared that she was a prodigy, that she was intelligent, that she was the best Eva pilot in the world. They just wanted her to be quiet. The fact that this was partly (if not mostly) her own fault seemed to not register to her (or if it did, she was ignoring it very effectively).

She found herself just... wandering. She didn't know this place and she hated it, anyway. She didn't have anywhere to go - all she knew was that she wasn't going back so she could just be humiliated again. She found a quiet corner, away from everyone (she hoped) and buried her head in her arms. She wasn't crying - she was never going to cry again - she was just thinking, away from everyone. That was all.

Comments

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

It was like playing to a younger version of herself. Lafiel was intensely embarrassed that she'd once sounded this way. Having a ship shot out from under you tends to humble one though.

"Forgive us for bothering you. I'm DecaCommander Abriel Lafiel of the Abh Star Forces and this is Lieutenant Meluly of N.E.G. Special Operations. We're helping to catalog the new arrivals. We're especially looking for people with special talents. Mr. Wednesday is nominally in charge of this effort but he's an old man and often misplaces records. It often falls to volunteers like us to sift through the new arrivals again, and find the special ones." Spending a little time as an ambassador had taught her some facility with...well, diplomacy was one term. 'Convincing bullshit' was another.

1/2

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

"Right," Meluly says with a nod and a bright, empty smile. "It's nice to meet you?" she adds, her tone a little questioning. For someone who can dump right over into depression at the right stimulus, she can be surprisingly cheery.

2/2

[anoldtrickster.livejournal.com]

Somewhere on the ship, an old man sneezes.

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

Asuka glances between the two suspiciously, folding her arms over her chest with a glare. Reluctantly, she nods, "...I'm Asuka Langely Soryu, Second Child and pilot of Eva Unit Zero-Two."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

This is going to be difficult.

"Eva Unit? Please, explain it to us."

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

Asuka sighs and rolls her eyes, "I'm getting tired of having to explain this to all of you! The Eva unit is a humanoid, bipedal combat unit, designed to fight Angels which, by the way, are strange creatures that have been attacking planet Earth. My Eva is forty meters tall and is impervious to anything short of an extreme nuclear blast. Anything else?"

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

"Oh... huh." Luly's face passes through comprehension, confusion, and then something like comprehension again.

"...like an Engel," she murmurs to Lafiel, and then speaks up a louder— "Have you ever encountered a species called the Migou?"

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

"That sounds very useful. I'll be sure to report...it to..." Lafiel trails off as she looks between Luly and Asuka. Something seems to be happening here. She'd dismissed 'Eva' as nothing more than another powered walker type but for its amusing resemblance to the Baronh word for 'to smile'but now she wasn't so sure...

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

Asuka snorts, "Never heard of them. We don't even know what the Angels call themselves, if they call themselves anything. Whatever they are, my Eva could probably take them anyway!"

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

"I pilot a Malach-class Engel unit—" (Luly's very careful to put stress on the E to differentiate it from an A) "—a twelve-point-two-meter heavy weapons mech that theoretically might be able to survive an orbital strike." Her eyebrows furrow a little. "Since I've gone into active duty, I've spent most of my time fighting the Migou—aliens—on the front line of my Earth's war with them."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel simply stands back and watches, ready to jump in if egos start to flare. Well, more than they already have.

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

Asuka scoffs, waving a hand, "That doesn't have anything to do with me. Sounds similar to my situation - except, you know, you don't have proper Eva units. In fact, it's really not that similar, aside from the whole fighting aliens thing."

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

Luly is still curious, though.

"How much of a—connection—do you have with your 'Eva' when you're piloting it?" she offers as one last question.

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'm really not allowed to say too much, because this is all classified, but pretty close. I'm one of the few people who can actually sync with one, let alone pilot it."

[not-prncss-tldr.livejournal.com]

Lafiel is leaning back against the wall now. She unconsciously flexes her right hand. Her 'connection' doesn't come at the price Luly's does and she wonders if the same is true for this girl...

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

Luly bites her lip, balancing things in her head. She doesn't want to say too much, but the similarities so far...

"It ever feel like you're getting into its head?"

[redheadcarrier.livejournal.com]

Asuka makes a "pfft" sound and shrugs, "Sometimes, I guess. It's pretty much some sort of mental synchronization. I mean, it doesn't really have a mind to get into! But apparently if the unit suffers traumatic damage while the pilot is synced up to it, the pilot will suffer similar injuries. Or at least feel them."

[aworldnevermade.livejournal.com]

"That sounds awfully familiar," the dark-skinned woman says, her mouth edging into a smile. "Engel models work the same kind of way."

She has her suspicions. Suspicions, suspicions...