The Pony Express
Chapter 1: Injustice for All
Red Horseman
* * * *
Evil is relative, Annalist. You can't hang a sign on it.
You can't touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword.
Evil depends on where you are standing, pointing your
indicting finger.
---The Black Company, First Novel
* * * *
Mikhail Webster was everything most people strived to be in their life. He
was rich, powerful, handsome, and demanded by others. But his meteoric rise in
the business world had been achieved by questionable means. Board members of his
own company and those of his rivals that he was taking over mysteriously
disappeared, or suddenly reversed their opposition. And like all people who got
away with crimes, he became more daring and arrogant in what he did while
sinking further. So he didn't even worry about repercussions concerning his
activities, or hobbies as he landed his personal shuttle next to a small air-car
in a remote desert of Zenor.
"You're late," the procurement specialist flatly told him.
Webster shrugged. "Who cares?"
"I do! The cargo you requested is hot stuff and the authorities desperately
want it back." While he was talking, the specialist reached in his vehicle and
pulled out the first package before grabbing the other. "Prime condition as
always, sir."
"I'll be the judge of that."
With that Mikhail touched a camouflaged stud on one of the packages and
another on its companion. The material shifted and flowed to the ground
revealing the true merchandise he had ordered. Another touch released the
restraints and a sigh came from the subjects, as they were finally able to
stretch. Careful planning and misdirection ensured his wife and children remained
ignorant of his hobby. His pulse quickened and he felt his body reacting in the
usual way as he studied what was his.
The pre-pubescent twin blonde girls were what everyone in the entertainment
industry wanted to cash in on. A hysterical giggle erupted from the man at the
coup he had pulled off while he caressed their flesh. It had been decades since
he had stumbled upon the illicit trade before quickly becoming the largest buyer.
His earlier requests had been small, a girl of such and such age at a certain
place, before becoming more daring. He grinned insanely at what had caused his
hobby to accelerate as he forced knees apart.
Genetic engineering and research had made a dramatic breakthrough where aging
and the physical changes associated with it could be accelerated, reversed, or
even halted. Laws based on age were rendered obsolete in an instant and society
was torn asunder by that discovery, as anyone with enough money could be any age.
What was worse was that people with money could age a minor to legal stature and
evade the strongest penalties. It had taken another decade before research,
understanding, and technology had progressed enough where laws could be passed
and effectively enforced.
Now no one under the age of fourteen could be age accelerated and receive all
that was associated with it. Implants ensured the innocent of youth, but like
everything in life the equipment wasn't infallible. The black marketers had
learned that if their trade from older gentlemen and ladies for teens was to
continue they had to provide another source, and adapted. It wasn't just the
flesh people wanted but also the innocence involved with someone immature. And
that was where the desert meeting came into the scheme of things for both buyer
and seller.
"Perfect," purred Webster and walked to his shuttle.
If he had spent his years and money in perfecting his personal defenses,
Mikhail Webster might've survived long enough to wonder what had gone wrong.
Instead he barely had enough time to register the sound of metal impacting metal
before his world disappeared in a fireball. The shuttle disintegrated, the
hypersonic round puncturing its primary fuel tank, and sent shrapnel and flames
in all directions. It was only the intervening bulk of the land vehicle that
allowed the twins to survive the devastation. Unfortunately, the sight of their
captor shredded combined with their kidnapping proved too much for the girls
causing them to faint.
- - - -
"You going to wake up."
The quiet calm voice somehow penetrated the foggy depths of Renee Sakyo's
mind and she forced her eyes to open. She flinched and tried to back away as she
saw a man squatting in front of her and her sister. A whimper escaped her lips
and she pushed away the outstretched hand, remembering the last person to touch
her. The girl heard a sigh from the man and he reached to the clasps on his
helmet and undid the last catches before placing it on the ground. Renee had to
revise the picture in her mind as a young man, not a lecherous old male, stared
at her with sad eyes. Tears started trickling from her eyes and her bottom lip
trembled as she realized she had been covered and her sister too.
"Did mom send you?" she whispered.
"Yes, your mom and dad sent me," the teenager told her and was surprised as
she lunged at him. He stroked her silky hair while she embraced him and
cried. "It's all right, you don't have to cry. No one will hurt you."
His voice held a confidence that reassured her that he was speaking the truth
and not something to calm her. She had heard it from her father many times and
he had never failed to follow through for Angela or her. Releasing her hold, she
weakly wiped at her tears before trying to stand, but a hand on her shoulder
stopped the girl.
"I need to go dock."
Renee knew her father would be disappointed that she hadn't noticed where she
was until told. He had spent millions on their education in preparing them for
the harsh reality of the real world. Their teachers had been varied ranging from
former military personnel to research scientists. With an unwavering
determination she had rarely felt before in her life she made up her mind to
follow her rescuer. Her face reddened when she threw off her blanket but her
nudity didn't stop her as she wrapped the material around her slender frame. The
armored door hissed open at her approach and she stood there in shock at the
sight before her.
She had been in space many times, but it had always been in a cabin with no
windows, or sensor projectors. So the spinning kaleidoscope from the armored
viewport of cabin was almost too much for her and she found herself staggering.
A hand gently gripped her shoulder and steered her to the co-pilot's seat where
she was automatically strapped in. To keep from throwing up, she concentrated on
a display of the reactor and was amazed at the power it was generating until she
noticed another screen.
"Is Angela okay?" she asked weakly.
The man smiled. "She's fine. It's just that she caught a piece of shrapnel in
her back. To be on the safe side the medical computer is keeping her sedated for
the time being." He turned from the view to glance at her. "I can override it if
you want to talk to her."
"No. Let her sleep." She risked a view and was surprised at the fast approach
of a ship. "Watch out!"
The bounty hunter laughed for the first time in weeks as the girl turned red
when she realized her mistake. He was impressed that for someone so young she
was maturely handling her kidnapping and rescue, though he knew her calmness
would evaporate when she saw her parents. He sighed wondering if he had made a
mistake by not keeping her sedated with her sister, but he'd wanted the company.
"You're going to have to stay with your sister for the rest of the trip."
"But..."
"No, my ship isn't a place where you can go exploring without risk." He
started the shut down procedures when he felt the solid thump of landing. "The
cabin has everything you need for the journey."
"Okay."
He noticed her chewing her lip again. "What now?"
"I'm sorry for being so rude. I never thanked you for rescuing us and I never
asked you-" She smiled brightly. "-your name."
"Shinji Ikari."
- - - -
"Is something troubling you, Shinji?"
"Nothing, Yui."
The young man lay submerged in a tank of LCL in the small armored command
center in the middle of his ship. A half dozen high-capacity leads connected to
his skull sockets feeding data directly into his brain and crystal. While the
connections allowed instantaneous communication with the ship and its AI it also
allowed reverse connectivity. It literally allowed Yui into his head, and she
had found the hobby of analyzing him when she wasn't carrying out his commands
or keeping the ship running. And Shinji knew that she wasn't about to accept his
explanation when she could analyze his body chemistry in a nanosecond. A mental
command turned everything except sensors over to his crystal so he could
concentrate.
"I was just wondering if I was ever like those girls?"
"Not likely." The AI chuckled. "You're a male and they are females. I hope
you'd be old enough to know the differences."
"Funny. Remind me to wipe your personality programming when we get
back." Shinji frowned. "Seriously, I was just trying to remember a time I
was..."
"Young?"
"Innocent," he finished ignoring her answer.
Whatever comeback the AI was going to fire back died an electronic death as
Shinji's virtual mind turned red. In an instant, the command center disappeared
from his vision replaced with a variety of displays informing him of the alert.
A mental hand arranged the displays and enlarged the sole screen containing
crucial data. He had been wondering how long it would take the other bounty
hunters to find out who had gotten to the twins first and follow. They had been
cruising in the Epsilon-band of hyperspace for six hours out of a twenty-four
hour transit, which wasn't a big enough lead as ships surrounded them.
"Warm up hyper-generators three and four. Ignite engines five and six in
one-hundred twenty seconds."
"Receiving transmission to drop out of hyperspace and surrender the
twins," Yui reported. "Ignoring request and commencing jamming.
Shinji grunted, not surprised. "Prepare drone for gate control. Tell them
we're amending our flight plan and request clearance to the Eta-band."
On his screens, a green Vee arrowed away from his ship and disappeared a
second later as it climbed to the Lambda-band. An instant after that his ship
was rocked by raking shot from one of the pursuing ships, which was soon
followed by a salvo of missiles. Shinji narrowed his eyes not liking what he saw
and how fast the situation was going out of control. But he made up his mind that
if they wanted a fight he'd give it to them without any mercy.
Defense fields flared and coalesced to intercept the missiles while along the
flanks of the bulk freighter ports flew open to reveal point defenses and
secondary weapons. At the aft of the ship, bulkheads turned to plasma when the
final and largest engines ignited adding their thrust to the other four. And the
ship continued transforming as sections on all quarters split off from the main
structure on pylons. By the time the other hunter ships recognized what was
happening their prey had swung about, reversing course in the blink of an eye.
And then all hell broke lose as every ship attacked, but the advantage lay
with Shinji. He knew they couldn't afford to destroy his ship no matter because
they needed twins. His attack pattern reflected that knowledge as he used his
rail guns to disable long range targets before closing and destroying them with
lasers. All the while fireballs detonated around his cruiser as missiles were
either intercepted or impacted with explosive fury. With each successful enemy
hit on his ship, the battle shifted minutely but swung back to a victory on his
part with each destroyed attacker. Yet Shinji's blood turned to ice as a
behemoth dropped on top of him and unleashed a massive barrage.
"Shit."
- - - -
The rain was welcome to the solitary figure walking down the streets but a
nuisance to everyone else. Shinji Ikari wasn't exactly in a foul mood but he
wasn't going to win any awards for being jolly. The cost of repairs to his
cruiser and ordnance replacement had caused the accounting office and repair
yard foreman to chew him out. It didn't matter that he had been outnumbered
fifteen to one before the other cruiser had intercepted him, and causing the
most damage. And never mind that the bounty on the Sakyo twins would cover
everything and then some for the next couple months. So it had been with
contentment that he had departed the shipyard and returned to the Earth's
surface with its rain.
He absently kicked a can lying in front of him and studied the neighborhood
around him with a detached eye. It had been two months since he had departed on
the mission to retrieve the twins and things had degenerated. Not that anyone in
the government was going to do anything since they had more important things to
take care; i.e. their rich contributors. He did what he could whenever he had
money leftover from his jobs, but it was never enough. Yet despite the conditions
he chose to live in it was the only place he could really call home.
"You want some nice company tonight?"
Shinji slowly exhaled and turned to spy a couple girls standing under the
protection of a leafy tree. His implant, the best on any market, chirped in his
ear and projected the information on his retinas about what it had gathered, and
he sighed again. The companies responsible for the age cure hadn't stopped
research with that one controversial genetic discovery. Cloning had been
perfected long ago and the process of transferring one's mind into a new body
had soon followed. Which that meant anyone could be any age or gender as long as
they reported it to the government.
So it was with a hint of disgust that he shook his head at the girls and
walked across the street to his apartment when the light changed. And overrode
his hardwired defenses just in time to have his breath knocked out of him by a
blur topped with brown. As he took deep breaths he became aware of the blur
embracing him tightly while crying and mumbling. When he finally regained
control, he looked down at the person who just reached his shoulders and saw
bright brown eyes studying him. Giving the girl a smile, he wrapped an arm
around her shoulders and led her to his occupancy.
- - - -
Shinji slowly stirred the tea on the counter, his eyes distant, as he forced
himself to adapt to the new situation. He knew he should've been prepared for a
visit from Kaname, but he'd been hoping for day or two to recover from
everything. Of course, the two duffel bags she had brought in before hitting the
shower hinted at something bigger for the pair. Not wanting to deal with it, he
had allowed her to head for the shower while he went to the kitchen. Except for
his constant stirring his tea had been forgotten, unable to provide a large
enough distraction. The sound of the bathroom opening followed by the sound of
her feet heading toward him caused him to look up when she appeared in the
doorway.
She was nude as usual the remnants of the shower glistening on her skin and
hair like miniature diamonds. While she wouldn't be drop-dead gorgeous, her
upbringing had seen to that, Kananme was still cute. And in the midst of
changing from child to adult, something she took great pains in reminding him
about. Not that he needed the reminders anymore as he slowly let his eyes trace
over her body. At first, he had been shocked at her behavior when they were
alone in his apartment, which was ironic considering the places he'd been. But
she had become a nice constant in his life, someone who'd be there for him and
wouldn't judge until hearing everything that he said.
"I've missed you," she whispered, her small bare breasts pressed against his
chest.
He hugged her tightly, finally relaxing. "I missed you too."
"Where were you, Shinji?" Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"My job."
"Bullshit. A job doesn't take over two months to complete." She tried frowning
but it came out as a pout. "And what kind of job has a student missing so much
class?"
"Mine does." He stroked her back feeling her tremble. "What happened?"
"Papa's been unemployed for over a month."
That statement was all the explanation Shinji needed and it made him sick to
his stomach. It didn't surprise him that her father had been fired, after all
people were hired or laid off daily and sometimes hourly. What did shock him was
that the man hadn't found a job in so long and the repercussions it would have
on his family, especially Kaname. Unemployment compensation was nonexistent in
the world as someone was always hiring, or that was the view the central
government told everyone. With that lack of governmental oversight people had
turned to an ancient tradition to pay debts.
With her age, build, and looks Kaname would've fetched a good price from a
decent brothel and its clients. The business would've given an advance along
with a quarterly percentage of her earnings until she turned twenty-five, her
majority. Her family, especially her mother, would fret over whether such an
indenture was necessary but it would only last until the first creditor came
knocking. And Shinji was the only place she would've been able to find refuge
with and he had been gone at her time of need.
"Have you eaten anything lately?" He asked as he left the kitchen for his
living room/office.
She followed on his heels and sat in an unoccupied chair. "I used the last of
my cash yesterday."
"What about school?" He waited for his computer to boot and connect to the
network.
"They were the first ones calling for their money." The brunette grabbed the
remote and started channel surfing. "Papa said he'd make it up to me later,
but..." She flipped the remote off and walked to where Shinji sat, wrapping her
arms around him. "So can I stay?"
"Of course."
Kaname started crying again. "Thank you, thank you so much. I'll never forget
this."
- - - -
In a society where bodies could be swapped schools were the only public place
where everyone was who they said they were and the proper age. The education
institutions were allowed to try a variety of styles in teaching as long as they
turned out well-educated citizens. On one extreme, some administrators followed
a strict regime with rules, uniforms and standardized tests. The other side of
the coin was more relaxed in their methods and allowed their students more
freedom inside and outside class to experiment. Of course, there were some
schools that tried to follow the middle path of some rules coupled with academic
freedom, but they ultimately failed and changed to one of the other models.
The school Shinji attended and the one he had enrolled Kaname in was one
based on freedom for the students. He had found it ideally suited for his job
and its demands, as it didn't ask any annoying questions like his past one. Of
course, there were times that its laid back attitude toughened and demanded that
classes couldn't progress until all had attended specific courses. His frequent
absences hadn't endeared him to some of the students, but after the first
confrontation he was left alone. Though he was popular among others who liked
spending more time getting their hands dirty instead of sitting in a class, like
the girl before him.
Rebecca was the class representative and totally reflected the nature of his
school while being an enigma to him. Her punked out look was a total contrast to
someone who was a nerd when anything involved molecular engineering. The first
time he had met her he had been surprised with the intricacy of her sub-dermal
implants that she had made at home. A beautiful design of subtle color shifting
and flow with faint light traces had been purposely done to draw his attention
to her womanly assets. Her choice of revealing attire had also been used to
compliment her implants to maximum effect. He didn't even remember the events
that lead up to them ending up in bed and exchanging secrets besides other
things.
But at the immediate time, the memory of his first sexual encounter was the
last thing he needed. Her newly redesigned implants were flashing red and
flowing from her torso to her extremities. She was pissed, or was rapidly
approaching that critical point with him while they conversed during lunch. Yet
suddenly the display disappeared replaced with a sigh and shake of the head from
the slender girl with emerald hair and eyes. Shinji felt uncomfortable as she
studied him with pity usually shown to a mental case. He didn't even react when
she flicked his forehead with a manicured finger since she did it so quickly.
"Yep," she said in her best scientist voice. "You're as dense as lead, or
maybe a pulsar would be closer."
"What the hell are you talking about!" He lowered his voice as a couple
students turned toward them. "Rebecca you're not making any sense."
"You can't be that naive, can you?" Her sub-dermals flashed on again arrowing
toward her breasts. "I was more subtle than that little girl in taking months to
spin my web around you, but we both want the same thing." She grabbed his collar
pulling him closer so she could whisper in his ear. "To fuck you and be fucked
in return."
"Oh."
"You're cute when you blush like that. Don't tell me..."
Shinji shook his head. "No, I knew that was what she wanted the first time she
spent the night."
"So." She arched an eyebrow. "Why haven't you? You weren't exactly shy after
the first couple times."
"I loved you, and I still do." It was the girl's turn to blush at the comment.
"Love died out centuries ago, Shinji. Why do you think all marriages end when
children reach their majority? It's because they're done passing on their genes
as abiding adults should and its time to get a new body and partner. You couldn't
have..." She trailed off when he gripped her hand gently.
"I loved you." He repeated staring into her eyes. "And I love Kaname."
Silence stretched awkwardly before the class representative laughed and wiped
at her eyes. Both knew that what she had said was true, but she also knew Shinji
meant what he had said. She had had many lovers of both sexes but few had ever
said those words to her. It warmed her heart to hear those words spoken
truthfully and outside a bedroom.
"That's good. I was beginning to worry if you just had a Lolita complex for
her." Rebecca wouldn't meet his eyes still mulling over his admission. "But that
still doesn't…"
Shinji smiled sadly. "I love her, but like a sister."
"She isn't and if what you told me of her she's nearing the edge. Show her
all your love and take her without remorse. Maybe she'll wake up from her dream
and see everything clearly instead of in a cloud." The bell rang signaling the
end of their break and they both stood. She didn't release his hand as they stood
but finally had to let go as their classes were in different room. Before he got
too far she pulled him into a tender kiss that got catcalls from the spectators.
"Good luck"
- - - -
Fate, like some many times in life, had decided to take a cruel unwanted
interest in the young couple that night. Everything had progressed with little
awkwardness as Kaname had immediately deciphered his stumbling speech through
dinner. It had all gone straight to hell once they had moved to the next stage
and was still spiraling downward. Kaname had surely been pulled into reality when
he had taken her maidenhood and had been in pain throughout the experience,
though she wouldn't let him stop. He had left the small brunette taking a hot
bath while he stepped outside to call Rebecca for advice. The last thing he
remembered as he dialed was the cool press of metal against his neck and hearing
this hiss of an injector before everything went black.
And as he sat in an uncomfortable chair with his limbs manacled behind his
back all he could hope was that Kaname was safe. He knew he had made a great deal
of enemies over the last six years in the Hunter's Guild, amongst the independent
contractors, and from corporations involved in illegal trade. Of course, most the
people after him were relatives of those he had carried a contract out on, or
hunters who tried to jump him. Because of his age and inexperience at the
beginning he had chosen to do things at long range or cybernetically, further
dishonoring himself in the eyes of clans. But he didn't care about that or what
could happen to himself at the hands of his captors as long as Kaname, Rebecca,
and his co-workers were safe.
He looked up with clear eyes, having spent the time spotting the defenses of
the room, and looked at the opening door. His blood ran cold before turning
molten at the man and his companions who entered the room and sat at the
conference table. The last person he had ever wanted to see again in his life sat
within reach of his hands and he couldn't do anything. He strained against his
restraints hoping to somehow break free, and received a shock when he reached a
certain pressure. All this caused his sworn enemy to smirk at the futile efforts
of his captive, and quiet cough to emanate from the others.
Shinji swore and then did the last thing any of the people expected of him; he
smiled. Ten years ago, his father had abandoned him and he had promised that he
would never seek him out or make contact. That the cold-hearted, bearded bastard
had kidnapped him right outside his apartment was the last thing he had expected.
But it shouldn't have really surprised him since it fit with how Gendo ran NERV
and its subsidiaries. Yet at the same time he was smiling and remembering his
father, he put all his senses on alert for any other surprises.
"What did you do with Kaname?"
"Your fuck toy is fine," answered a blonde woman with a smirk.
Shinji eyes narrowed, having seen her kind before. "You'd know everything
about being a fuck toy, wouldn't you." He smiled when she flinched at his
words. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch a nerve?"
"Ritsuko! Shinji! Behave and keep your comments to yourselves!" barked the
eldest gentleman in the room. "This isn't a bar, or even a schoolyard to throw
taunts at one other."
"Fuyutsuki, that isn't..."
"Doctor Akagi, please control your emotions and be quiet," Gendo said. He
simply stared when she opened her mouth to speak before shutting it with a
snap. "Your friend is safe in your apartment and is ignorant of these
proceedings. And your profession." He took off his glasses and briefly polished
them. "How long her ignorance remains is dependent on you."
"Using her to get at me is unprofessional!" snapped Shinji.
"You wouldn't listen if I threatened you," answered his father. A display
opened in front of the man and slowly scrolled through several forms. "You are
an independent contractor, quite a successful one for someone only twenty years
old and having morals. I have a job for you and am willing to compensate in an
appropriate manner."
The compensation package that was scrolling before Shinji was one he wasn't
expecting from his father and it hinted at the difficulty of the job. Basically,
Gendo was offering Kaname's father an actual contract for five years of
employment with an option for a three extension. Not only that he'd receive full
benefits for him and his family without having a probation period in NERV's
employ. Kaname and her sibling's primary education would be fully paid for in
full at an accomplished school. The only requirements for her father was that he
had to keep a clean work and public record, and that he couldn't disclose the
details of the contract to anyone. Shinji looked up when the information started
looping again and studied his father's face and those around him looking for any
duplicity but found none.
"Just this one job?"
"For the moment." His father smirked. "Others may come up where I require your
services. Consider yourself a black employee of NERV from this day forward."
The teen groaned. "You knew I was going to accept."
"Your friends are your weakness."
- - - -
"You don't like your father?"
The introduction of speech into the armored air-car, which had been eerily
silent after he had met his handler, grated on Shinji's taunt nerves. He felt an
itch in his skull and suppressed it before his crystal could switch to low-light
amplification. The need to see the woman sitting beside him was unnecessary
because he had committed everything to memory, both biological and virtual. Her
file had been quite extensive while conspicuously hiding important details that
he might need.
Misato Katsuragi a woman in her mid-forties, with the body of a
twenty-something, was a captain in his father's security forces. She had served
fifteen years with the Colonial Marine Corps suppressing revolutions on planets
chafing under Federation laws. But five years ago the Corps had terminated her
contract along with her whole unit, giving all of them general discharges in the
process. The various news organizations had tried unsuccessfully to investigate
why a whole company of special operations soldiers would be retired. But none of
that really mattered to him, as he was more interested in what she had been doing
for his father since her hiring by NERV.
"What gave you that idea?"
She chuckled. "Everything since I laid eyes on you. Don't worry you're among
company in that department. I absolutely hated my father for so long after he
left my mother."
"That's not the same thing," he growled. "You at least had your mother to fall
back on while I had no one there when my father abandoned. Three years of living
on my own with just the money my mother had left for me before becoming what I
am."
"You had her business division to support you."
His laugh was bitter and Misato knew her own files on the young man were
wrong, or at least portions of them. Yui Ikari had left her son the division of
NERV that she had built up over three decades before her accident. That he would
never receive the profits off its business transactions troubled her, though it
constantly happened in life. But she was also astute enough to know that seeing
his father wasn't what was truly troubling the young man, and she sympathized
with him. She remembered being his age once and everything that she had done
during that time, things her mom had never learned about.
"If you're so worried why don't you call her." She grinned when he
stiffened. "I was your age once and had a significant other, so don't bother
asking how I knew."
"And what am I supposed to tell Kaname?"
"How about the truth?"
Shinji clenched his jaw to keep his sarcastic comment from leaving the tip of
his tongue. He briefly wondered what made people momentarily lose their common
sense and spout out nonsense at crucial times. For two years he had spun an
elaborate web of lies and half-truths around Kaname concerning what he did for a
job. Any wounds he had received were treated before Kaname saw him again, even
if it had delayed him. The clothes he had in his apartment never left Earth's
atmosphere so they would never pick up any exotic scents from offworld. He had
purposely kept his job and what he did for it vague, or never replied to her
inquiries. And now this woman he had just met was telling him to destroy all of
that and everything else without knowing the girl she was talking about. So as
he picked up the carphone he was already forming his conversation around what
Kaname would want to know.
"Where are you!" she cried when she answered.
"I didn't mean to abruptly leave you," he reassured her. "My father wanted to
see me and he kidnapped me." Shinji wanted to smile at Misato's reaction but
couldn't. "He was quite adamant about seeing me immediately and he doesn't take
'no' for an answer."
"What! I'll call the police."
"Don't bother. Listen carefully, Kaname." He reached out and touched the
screen. "I have to leave again, and I feel like asshole for that. But my father
has something for me to do and I had no choice in accepting it."
She followed his action on her screen. "How long will you be gone?"
"I truly don't know," he answered quietly. "Anyway, you can continue staying
at my apartment. The rent's been prepaid for the next year and there is a weekly
grocery delivery for the same time. I also want you to keep going to school
since tuition has been covered for two years, and tell Rebecca why I'm not
there." He glanced at Misato who barely shook her head. "I've got to let you go
now.
"I'll wait for you!" Tears were streaming down her young face. "I love you!"
"You didn't tell her that you loved her," Misato commented when the screen
went dead.
"Shut up."
- - - -
The guard's head snapped to the side, a dart's fin protruding just below the
rim of his helmet, before he slid down the wall. His compatriot quickly joined
him and a shadow dropped into the dimly corridor from a ceiling maintenance
hatch. On silent feet it sprinted to their positions and easily pulled them into
a storage unit, its door sliding open at his approach. Dropping the guards in
the farthest corner, the man rifled their pockets and snagged extra magazines
for his own rifle. Once done with its task the figure attached two projector
units to the corpses and activated them.
Shinji poked his head back into the corridor and scanned the passageways for
any roving patrols and double-checked that the hatch he had closed. Once he
assured himself that no one had seen his entrance, he stepped into the hall
throwing one last glance at the guards that now looked like spare parts bins. As
the door hissed behind him, his own clothing shimmered becoming an exact
duplicate of the infiltrated company's guards. Fastening a helmet to his head, he
pulled down the clear protective visor and activated the map uploaded into his
crystal.
He had done a few infiltration operations over the years and had never last
his hate of them. Despite all the technology he carried during such missions too
many things could go awry. They had required him to actually come with reach of
an enemies personnel and whatever weaponry they carried while constraining his
freedom of movement. It had felt like that he had aged five years each time he
finished such an operation and it was because of all the danger and stress that
his fee tripled. And as he trotted down the metal corridor he knew his father
must have somehow learned that fact of his son.
It was the only explanation for the massive compensation package offered for
his services, and if he had known what he was getting into he'd have rejected it.
Of course, he should've had an inkling of what his father was going to ask of him
and had no one else to blame. Operation Sachiel, he'd kill whoever had come with
that name, was a massive undertaking on NERV's part as well as his own. That
didn't mean he had any back up or that there were other operatives acting in
concert with him. No, he was to infiltrate a company that had beat NERV in
bidding for a military contract and steal their plans and prototype fighter. Not
only that but he had to rescue the first operative sent in and been caught by the
security forces.
Punching an armored fist through the emergency panel, he grabbed the release
lever and yanked on it. The computer-room's blastdoors hissed and cracked inches
apart before stopping. Cursing, he pulled out two miniature actuators and placed
them at the top and bottom of the doors and activated them. Grunting he lent his
strength to the rods and finally pried the doors open far enough to squeeze
through. Grabbing his machines, he placed them on the armored panels and reversed
their direction, watching as the doors sealed themselves. Turning, he was
reaching into his rucksack for the computer only to whip up his rifle.
"Who the hell are..." His words died when the figure at the mainframe's
control panel turned around.
Rei Ayanami, even in a society of biosculpting and gene manipulating, would
stand out in a crowd with her crimson eyes and cobalt hair. Not only that but all
her proportions and curves were too perfect to be natural in his mind. Her
emotionless gaze gave him a feeling that he hadn't felt since he'd met his first
contractor, deciding whether he was worth her time. But that feeling passed as
she silently turned back to her duties in cracking the mainframe security.
Shrugging his shoulders, he walked up to her and sat in the chair adjoining her
own, and shivered.
It felt and smelt like he had just walked into a freezer stocked with medical
supplies with malfunctioning seals. Suppressing the urge to put some distance
between Rei and himself, he attached his computer to the port and turned to her.
His eyes widened when he noticed her flesh subtly pulsing and he found that he
could clearly see every vein through her skin. His own flesh crawled when she
again studied him with eyes that were too emotionless.
"I was an experiment," she preempted him.
"By my father?" He prayed that wasn't true, not wanting to believe his father
would sink that low.
Rei shook her head. "Naoko Akagi, Doctor Akagi's mother."
"Oh." Silence reined, but then Shinji soon spoke. "I'm sorry." He was
surprised when he saw the first signs of emotion in her eyes, even if it was
puzzlement. "For staring at you earlier."
"It was understandable. Most people find my presence disturbing." She frowned.
"But I should be the one apologizing and not you, Ikari. It was my remotes that
caused the blackout and general alarm when they sensed your approach."
"But I thought..."
He barely had time to notice the girl tilting her head to one side before she
grabbed his wrist in an iron hold and pulled. As the pair flew from their seats,
Shinji had enough wits to grab the mini-computer that was flashing its job was
complete. The blastdoors blew apart in a fury of smoke and flame just as they
impacted with the floor and rolled to their knees. Shinji's hardwired reflexes
had his rifle up to his shoulder in a blink of an eye and firing short bursts
just as the first soldiers rushed in. Combatants dropped yet more rushed to fill
in the space left by their fallen comrades but Shinji never stopped. As he
ejected his third magazine and inserted his fourth a blur shot from his side
when Rei switched weapons. The concussion was deafening but the young man
quickly got to his feet pulling Rei to her own and charging through the confused
mess.
The breaching charge had detonated waist high its plasma jet cutting through
armored and unarmored troopers with easy. Screams came from those caught at the
edge of the super-heated stream, their armor melted around them. But Shinji
didn't hear a thing except for the blood pulsing in his ears as he dragged Rei
at breakneck speed toward the hangars. All the while he cursed himself, his
father, Misato, and even the young woman at his side for what was happening.
He skidded to a stop two levels from the hangar and slid the card provided to
him through a reader and punched in some numbers before pulling a lever.
Immediately red warning lights flashed along the length of the passageway and a
siren sounded, but Shinji was already racing away. His ears told him what was
happening behind him and he smiled cruelly as blastdoors snapped at his heels
sealing off that section. He knew that the few lines of code he had added to a
security protocol during his ingress would be would be copying his recent action.
Whole sections of the station would be exposed to vacuum and sealed off allowing
him to gain unopposed access to his target.
- - - -
"You said that you were an experiment."
It had been over a day since they had stolen the fighter and escaped his
father's competitor's complex. He had boosted at full speed in the opposite
direction of the hyperspace gate that serviced the binary system. For four
hours, he had slowly reduced his thrust thus effecting the ion trail the craft
left until finally shutting the propulsion system down. Without the main engines,
he had used the craft's attitude thrusters to put them on a ballistic course
perpendicular to the ecliptic, and fallen asleep. Now after having rested for ten
hours and with the fighter six light-hours from the primary he found himself
wanting someone to talk to.
"Correct," Rei answered.
Shinji wasn't even sure if she had slept but she didn't sound tired. "To be
the perfect human, or something like that?"
"I am not completely human. And yes I was created to be a perfect being." She
paused and when she spoke next he heard a slight waver in her voice. "The science
was imperfect and I turned out...flawed."
With all the technology available anyone or anything that could gather the
necessary funding and materials could play God. As usual the military had been
the first group to try and create the perfect soldier, but they had abandoned
their experiments. Mass produced soldiers with exceptional physical attributes
had been a nice benefit for the generals except for one fault. Having the ability
to fight continuously for hours or days without rest was worthless if they
couldn't adapt to the ever-changing battlefields. Basically the soldiers had
turned out to be drones only able to fight with limited basic orders while
anything complex confused them. So the military had abandoned their attempts
while private businesses continued to work out the flaws of the military model.
"So what went wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He
blurted out the last part, not sure if she'd take it the wrong way.
"I do not mind." He could hear Rei shifting around behind him. "I was to be
an ultimate spy able to walk past sensors with immunity. Also I was to be able
to interface with a large library of technology with a touch of my finger. My
skills base would take a normal person two hundred years to learn and master."
Again he heard her moving around in the copilot's station. "But things did not
go as planned."
"So what went wrong?"
"The nano-machines necessary to suppress my bio-signatures suffered a
catastrophic programming failure. As you have found out my body is colder than a
normal human being's. Also the ability to bend light and blend in with my
surroundings caused my flesh to become almost translucent." This time he heard a
hitch in her voice and wondered how much telling him was hurting her. "The
liquid crystal necessary to carry out my duties was experimental, and they had
to reroute certain areas of my brain."
He felt like shit for asking. "I'm sorry."
"You had no involvement with my creation or any the scientific failures
imposed on me so there is no need for you to apologize."
Shinji closed his eyes and wished that Yui or even Rebecca were here to
explain to Rei why he was sorry. It wasn't because he felt responsible for the
actions of Naoko Akagi, or even his father in keeping the blue-haired girl in
his employ. He was sorry that she had been unable to be a normal person with a
semi-reasonable upbringing instead of being an experiment. He had meant for his
apology to convey his regret into prying into her private life without having an
inkling of the pain he had caused. But he wondered what had been rerouted or
even deleted in her mind at her inability to recognize those parts of his
apology.
"It's just that..."
What he was going to try and explain died when a pseudo-motion directly in
front of the fighter diverted his attention. He grinned when the detection
systems gave the electronic equivalent of a human scream as a communication
laser painted them. With a mental command, he silenced the warning sub-systems
and fired up the communications, dialing in the proper frequency and scramble
codes. The tension he had been unaware of carrying for the duration of the
mission flowed out him and he sank into his seat. His hand shook and he finally
switched everything over to his own crystal and let his body go through all the
motions.
"That is our transport."
"Yeah."
'Is everything okay, Shinji?'
'Everything's fine.' In the back of his mind he really wondered if things
were as good as he thought.
'Everything is fine, Yui.'
- - - -
The ease with how he had escaped with the fighter, its plans, and rescued Rei
should've been enough warning to Shinji. He knew he should've known that things
rarely went the way they did when it involved unknown factors. There had been no
clues that his life was anything but what it had been when he had left on the
mission. That illusion had lasted through reentry, customs, the ten-minute
high-speed trip to land, and his car ride to his apartment. It had finally
evaporated when he had walked through his door to be confronted with a dark cold
apartment and no Kaname to be found. He should've realized that his father
would've found a way to twist the knife in his back planted there years ago.
Smoke jetted from his mouth only to be sucked up by the air scrubbers while he
absently lifted the cigarette dangling from his fingers. He had access to a
hundred drugs, electronic entertainment, and a variety of other sources to forget
the pain but none appealed to him. Over the years, he had started and stopped
smoking depending on his emotional state at the time and found it suited him
perfectly. And he had gone through two packs since resigning himself to the fact
that Kaname was gone and his father was behind her disappearance. He wearily
lifted his head when his front door hissed open and didn't have the strength to
be surprised anymore.
Even with the lack of flashy sub-dermals and blonde hair, he knew it was her
real color, Rebecca would've been known to him in an instant. She had a way about
her that announced her presence to him, and besides she was the only one he'd
given access codes to. Her emerald eyes were sad like the time she had told him
she was ending their relationship. The silk evening dress, something he had never
seen her in, shimmered when she walked over to him. She reached down and plucked
the cigarette from his lips, crushing it before reaching for his remaining stash.
Once she was done with that, she yanked him from the couch and pushed him to the
bathroom.
"What are you doing?" He asked as she quickly and efficiently stripped him.
Her small nose wrinkled. "God, do you know how much you stink when you smoke.
I don't understand why since smoking lost it's coolness centuries ago."
Her garments quickly joined his on the floor and the couple was soon embraced
by warm water. Shinji stood there mutely letting the liquid flow over his flesh
before relaxing under Rebecca's gentle touch. He had always been amazed at how
expertly she knew where and how much pressure to apply to turn him into putty.
Not that was the only weapon in her arsenal that she was using on him at the
moment. The way his body was reacting to her own body, he knew she must have
been pumping out pheromones like crazy. He gently gripped her wrist when she
went south on his body, reaching for his hardness.
"I don't need a mercy fuck," he protested weakly.
Rebecca slowly slid around until she stood in front of Shinji studying his
face. Three years of being lovers with him had given her an insight into how the
man functioned, and not only in bed. He had had an air of forlornness about him
that had drawn her, and she admitted she had felt sorry for him. But she had
found a more complex person underneath all the pain and defenses. And despite
his words, she knew the last thing she could do would to leave him alone to
wallow in misery. What people needed in times of pain wasn't to be left alone
but other people who cared about them. It was with that thought that she brought
his hand up to her left breast and grinned at his response.
"Mercy wasn't what I had in mind."
- - - -
Her words had been very prophetic Shinji mused as he rested in his bed with
the sun creeping toward his face. Their lovemaking had been the roughest,
kinkiest sex they had ever participated in and had lasted the entire night and
into the early morning. Still joined together, neither didn't intend to separate
nor leave the warm comfort of the other's flesh. He reached up and stroked her
golden silky hair getting the pretty young woman to smile, and shift on top of
him.
"I can't remember why I let you get away," she purred feeling him reawakening
inside her.
"Because you didn't want to wake up one day and find out that I was dead," her
told her. It was like a bucket of cold water thrown on the couple.
"Now I remember." She rested her head on his chest and listened to his
heartbeat. "It was the first time I had ever felt like that and it scared me.
You were my longest lover back then despite all my one-night stands and I didn't
want to lose you." Tears dripped onto his flesh. "I guess I really do love you,
Shinji."
"And I love you." He gently coaxed her head up. "Did Kaname send you?"
That thought had been stuck in his head since the blonde had walked into his
apartment the night before. He had briefly wondered how she had shown up at the
exact time when he had needed someone there for him. Shinji wasn't ungrateful
for the sex since it had allowed him to forget his pain and concentrate on
loving another person. But it saddened him that he had turned toward Rebecca yet
he had known things were over between Kaname and him. With their carnal appetites
sated and all the pain smothered with Rebecca's love he could focus on that
thought.
"Yes."
"I see." Shinji's eyes went distant. "Did she say anything?"
Rebecca rolled off of him, propping herself up on an elbow. "Just that she was
sorry she was leaving. Her father got hired by NERV and they had to move."
"The bastard won again. He found another dagger to plunge into my back," he
muttered.
"What are you talking about?"
"My father is responsible for Kaname's moving. And so am I."
Before she could ask, he told her about his kidnapping by his father's
security forces the week before. He explained how his father had used his
relationship with Kaname to force his hand. Shinji spoke of the contract offered
to Kaname's father upon his completion of the mission. And all the while he was
explaining his voice was flat sounding almost mechanical in his explanation of
events. The only time it changed was when Rebecca kissed him deeply and that was
only at the end.
"Somehow she learned of what I did."
Rebecca stood and stretched, letting the sun play over her nude body. "Why do
you think that?"
"Because she didn't leave a message."
"I was her message," replied the blonde.
"That's not..."
She planted her fists in the mattress and leaned over. "Listen Shinji. Did it
ever occur to you that the reason she didn't leave a message was because she was
hurting? That leaving and not being able to say good-bye face to face was too
much for her."
"I didn't..."
"No, you didn't think!" This time she sat down next to him. "Don't go around
blaming your father, or even yourself for what happened. Instead remember the
times you had with Kaname and don't forget them." Tears were streaming down her
delicate face. "Just like I'll never forget our time together."
"What are you talking about!" He reached out to her and was rebuffed.
"Why didn't you tell me you were transferring to Mars?"
- - - -
Misato Katsuragi none too happily cruised the Isidis Planita spaceport's
concourse looking for Shinji Ikari, who was to become her charge. Just as she was
about to give up and page him, she turned a corner and found him perched atop a
bench looking in her direction. Her smile turned into a frown as she approached
his position. She had found his disposition to be chilly when she had first met
him, but she had placed that at his father's feet. Yet what she saw signaled a
change from cool to absolute frigid something she had hoped to avoid.
His black suit had been exquisitely tailored and armored, only a trained eye
could spot the extra sharp creases and metallic sheen to the cloth. The mirrored
shades he was wearing reflected her image and gave her no insight into what he
was thinking. Black and gold ribbons had been interwoven into his carefully
braided ponytail. The flesh-toned sockets he had worn before were replaced with
polished titanium, and was getting stares from of the passerbys. Everything
about him was to show her his displeasure at being ordered about by people he
had never cared about.
"I had nothing to do with this so drop the attitude," she ordered.
"I think I have a right to be pissed," he countered taking off his
glasses. "Twelve hours ago, I was in the arms of a woman who loved me learning
that I was transferring to Mars. A transfer I never knew about or was even
informed about, though I was at NERV headquarters for five hours." He took a step
forward invading her personal space. "On top of that, the girl I was dating left
without a word because of the contract my father amended."
"I'm sorry," she told him. "But I didn't know anything about that. In fact, I
was only told my orders a day ago so I'm just as unprepared as you." She poked
him in the chest. "We're going to be living together and I'd rather it be
pleasant instead of a battlefield. Can you manage to be civilized?"
Shinji sighed, it was all too much for him and he didn't have the energy
anymore. So he held out a hand. "Shinji Ikari, nice to meet you."
"Captain Misato Katsuragi, pleased to meet you." She shook his hand and
smiled.
"Welcome to Mars, Shinji Ikari."
* * * *
Hopefully, everyone knows what the Pony Express was. This story has nothing to
do with the American West. The title and story come from HardWired by Walter Jon
Williams. In that story, a character by the name of Cowboy is a smuggler on a
ruined Earth. He believes that he is doing a noble thing, outsmarting the
authorities both on Earth and in orbit. That is up until he learns that he is
only a tool being used by the authorities. He rebels and wins at great cost. The
Pony Express is his delta and an ideal that he sticks to throughout the story.
What does this have to do with my story? Don't know yet.
Anyway, C&C is welcome at [email protected]
Chapter 1: Injustice for All
Red Horseman
* * * *
Evil is relative, Annalist. You can't hang a sign on it.
You can't touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword.
Evil depends on where you are standing, pointing your
indicting finger.
---The Black Company, First Novel
* * * *
Mikhail Webster was everything most people strived to be in their life. He
was rich, powerful, handsome, and demanded by others. But his meteoric rise in
the business world had been achieved by questionable means. Board members of his
own company and those of his rivals that he was taking over mysteriously
disappeared, or suddenly reversed their opposition. And like all people who got
away with crimes, he became more daring and arrogant in what he did while
sinking further. So he didn't even worry about repercussions concerning his
activities, or hobbies as he landed his personal shuttle next to a small air-car
in a remote desert of Zenor.
"You're late," the procurement specialist flatly told him.
Webster shrugged. "Who cares?"
"I do! The cargo you requested is hot stuff and the authorities desperately
want it back." While he was talking, the specialist reached in his vehicle and
pulled out the first package before grabbing the other. "Prime condition as
always, sir."
"I'll be the judge of that."
With that Mikhail touched a camouflaged stud on one of the packages and
another on its companion. The material shifted and flowed to the ground
revealing the true merchandise he had ordered. Another touch released the
restraints and a sigh came from the subjects, as they were finally able to
stretch. Careful planning and misdirection ensured his wife and children remained
ignorant of his hobby. His pulse quickened and he felt his body reacting in the
usual way as he studied what was his.
The pre-pubescent twin blonde girls were what everyone in the entertainment
industry wanted to cash in on. A hysterical giggle erupted from the man at the
coup he had pulled off while he caressed their flesh. It had been decades since
he had stumbled upon the illicit trade before quickly becoming the largest buyer.
His earlier requests had been small, a girl of such and such age at a certain
place, before becoming more daring. He grinned insanely at what had caused his
hobby to accelerate as he forced knees apart.
Genetic engineering and research had made a dramatic breakthrough where aging
and the physical changes associated with it could be accelerated, reversed, or
even halted. Laws based on age were rendered obsolete in an instant and society
was torn asunder by that discovery, as anyone with enough money could be any age.
What was worse was that people with money could age a minor to legal stature and
evade the strongest penalties. It had taken another decade before research,
understanding, and technology had progressed enough where laws could be passed
and effectively enforced.
Now no one under the age of fourteen could be age accelerated and receive all
that was associated with it. Implants ensured the innocent of youth, but like
everything in life the equipment wasn't infallible. The black marketers had
learned that if their trade from older gentlemen and ladies for teens was to
continue they had to provide another source, and adapted. It wasn't just the
flesh people wanted but also the innocence involved with someone immature. And
that was where the desert meeting came into the scheme of things for both buyer
and seller.
"Perfect," purred Webster and walked to his shuttle.
If he had spent his years and money in perfecting his personal defenses,
Mikhail Webster might've survived long enough to wonder what had gone wrong.
Instead he barely had enough time to register the sound of metal impacting metal
before his world disappeared in a fireball. The shuttle disintegrated, the
hypersonic round puncturing its primary fuel tank, and sent shrapnel and flames
in all directions. It was only the intervening bulk of the land vehicle that
allowed the twins to survive the devastation. Unfortunately, the sight of their
captor shredded combined with their kidnapping proved too much for the girls
causing them to faint.
- - - -
"You going to wake up."
The quiet calm voice somehow penetrated the foggy depths of Renee Sakyo's
mind and she forced her eyes to open. She flinched and tried to back away as she
saw a man squatting in front of her and her sister. A whimper escaped her lips
and she pushed away the outstretched hand, remembering the last person to touch
her. The girl heard a sigh from the man and he reached to the clasps on his
helmet and undid the last catches before placing it on the ground. Renee had to
revise the picture in her mind as a young man, not a lecherous old male, stared
at her with sad eyes. Tears started trickling from her eyes and her bottom lip
trembled as she realized she had been covered and her sister too.
"Did mom send you?" she whispered.
"Yes, your mom and dad sent me," the teenager told her and was surprised as
she lunged at him. He stroked her silky hair while she embraced him and
cried. "It's all right, you don't have to cry. No one will hurt you."
His voice held a confidence that reassured her that he was speaking the truth
and not something to calm her. She had heard it from her father many times and
he had never failed to follow through for Angela or her. Releasing her hold, she
weakly wiped at her tears before trying to stand, but a hand on her shoulder
stopped the girl.
"I need to go dock."
Renee knew her father would be disappointed that she hadn't noticed where she
was until told. He had spent millions on their education in preparing them for
the harsh reality of the real world. Their teachers had been varied ranging from
former military personnel to research scientists. With an unwavering
determination she had rarely felt before in her life she made up her mind to
follow her rescuer. Her face reddened when she threw off her blanket but her
nudity didn't stop her as she wrapped the material around her slender frame. The
armored door hissed open at her approach and she stood there in shock at the
sight before her.
She had been in space many times, but it had always been in a cabin with no
windows, or sensor projectors. So the spinning kaleidoscope from the armored
viewport of cabin was almost too much for her and she found herself staggering.
A hand gently gripped her shoulder and steered her to the co-pilot's seat where
she was automatically strapped in. To keep from throwing up, she concentrated on
a display of the reactor and was amazed at the power it was generating until she
noticed another screen.
"Is Angela okay?" she asked weakly.
The man smiled. "She's fine. It's just that she caught a piece of shrapnel in
her back. To be on the safe side the medical computer is keeping her sedated for
the time being." He turned from the view to glance at her. "I can override it if
you want to talk to her."
"No. Let her sleep." She risked a view and was surprised at the fast approach
of a ship. "Watch out!"
The bounty hunter laughed for the first time in weeks as the girl turned red
when she realized her mistake. He was impressed that for someone so young she
was maturely handling her kidnapping and rescue, though he knew her calmness
would evaporate when she saw her parents. He sighed wondering if he had made a
mistake by not keeping her sedated with her sister, but he'd wanted the company.
"You're going to have to stay with your sister for the rest of the trip."
"But..."
"No, my ship isn't a place where you can go exploring without risk." He
started the shut down procedures when he felt the solid thump of landing. "The
cabin has everything you need for the journey."
"Okay."
He noticed her chewing her lip again. "What now?"
"I'm sorry for being so rude. I never thanked you for rescuing us and I never
asked you-" She smiled brightly. "-your name."
"Shinji Ikari."
- - - -
"Is something troubling you, Shinji?"
"Nothing, Yui."
The young man lay submerged in a tank of LCL in the small armored command
center in the middle of his ship. A half dozen high-capacity leads connected to
his skull sockets feeding data directly into his brain and crystal. While the
connections allowed instantaneous communication with the ship and its AI it also
allowed reverse connectivity. It literally allowed Yui into his head, and she
had found the hobby of analyzing him when she wasn't carrying out his commands
or keeping the ship running. And Shinji knew that she wasn't about to accept his
explanation when she could analyze his body chemistry in a nanosecond. A mental
command turned everything except sensors over to his crystal so he could
concentrate.
"I was just wondering if I was ever like those girls?"
"Not likely." The AI chuckled. "You're a male and they are females. I hope
you'd be old enough to know the differences."
"Funny. Remind me to wipe your personality programming when we get
back." Shinji frowned. "Seriously, I was just trying to remember a time I
was..."
"Young?"
"Innocent," he finished ignoring her answer.
Whatever comeback the AI was going to fire back died an electronic death as
Shinji's virtual mind turned red. In an instant, the command center disappeared
from his vision replaced with a variety of displays informing him of the alert.
A mental hand arranged the displays and enlarged the sole screen containing
crucial data. He had been wondering how long it would take the other bounty
hunters to find out who had gotten to the twins first and follow. They had been
cruising in the Epsilon-band of hyperspace for six hours out of a twenty-four
hour transit, which wasn't a big enough lead as ships surrounded them.
"Warm up hyper-generators three and four. Ignite engines five and six in
one-hundred twenty seconds."
"Receiving transmission to drop out of hyperspace and surrender the
twins," Yui reported. "Ignoring request and commencing jamming.
Shinji grunted, not surprised. "Prepare drone for gate control. Tell them
we're amending our flight plan and request clearance to the Eta-band."
On his screens, a green Vee arrowed away from his ship and disappeared a
second later as it climbed to the Lambda-band. An instant after that his ship
was rocked by raking shot from one of the pursuing ships, which was soon
followed by a salvo of missiles. Shinji narrowed his eyes not liking what he saw
and how fast the situation was going out of control. But he made up his mind that
if they wanted a fight he'd give it to them without any mercy.
Defense fields flared and coalesced to intercept the missiles while along the
flanks of the bulk freighter ports flew open to reveal point defenses and
secondary weapons. At the aft of the ship, bulkheads turned to plasma when the
final and largest engines ignited adding their thrust to the other four. And the
ship continued transforming as sections on all quarters split off from the main
structure on pylons. By the time the other hunter ships recognized what was
happening their prey had swung about, reversing course in the blink of an eye.
And then all hell broke lose as every ship attacked, but the advantage lay
with Shinji. He knew they couldn't afford to destroy his ship no matter because
they needed twins. His attack pattern reflected that knowledge as he used his
rail guns to disable long range targets before closing and destroying them with
lasers. All the while fireballs detonated around his cruiser as missiles were
either intercepted or impacted with explosive fury. With each successful enemy
hit on his ship, the battle shifted minutely but swung back to a victory on his
part with each destroyed attacker. Yet Shinji's blood turned to ice as a
behemoth dropped on top of him and unleashed a massive barrage.
"Shit."
- - - -
The rain was welcome to the solitary figure walking down the streets but a
nuisance to everyone else. Shinji Ikari wasn't exactly in a foul mood but he
wasn't going to win any awards for being jolly. The cost of repairs to his
cruiser and ordnance replacement had caused the accounting office and repair
yard foreman to chew him out. It didn't matter that he had been outnumbered
fifteen to one before the other cruiser had intercepted him, and causing the
most damage. And never mind that the bounty on the Sakyo twins would cover
everything and then some for the next couple months. So it had been with
contentment that he had departed the shipyard and returned to the Earth's
surface with its rain.
He absently kicked a can lying in front of him and studied the neighborhood
around him with a detached eye. It had been two months since he had departed on
the mission to retrieve the twins and things had degenerated. Not that anyone in
the government was going to do anything since they had more important things to
take care; i.e. their rich contributors. He did what he could whenever he had
money leftover from his jobs, but it was never enough. Yet despite the conditions
he chose to live in it was the only place he could really call home.
"You want some nice company tonight?"
Shinji slowly exhaled and turned to spy a couple girls standing under the
protection of a leafy tree. His implant, the best on any market, chirped in his
ear and projected the information on his retinas about what it had gathered, and
he sighed again. The companies responsible for the age cure hadn't stopped
research with that one controversial genetic discovery. Cloning had been
perfected long ago and the process of transferring one's mind into a new body
had soon followed. Which that meant anyone could be any age or gender as long as
they reported it to the government.
So it was with a hint of disgust that he shook his head at the girls and
walked across the street to his apartment when the light changed. And overrode
his hardwired defenses just in time to have his breath knocked out of him by a
blur topped with brown. As he took deep breaths he became aware of the blur
embracing him tightly while crying and mumbling. When he finally regained
control, he looked down at the person who just reached his shoulders and saw
bright brown eyes studying him. Giving the girl a smile, he wrapped an arm
around her shoulders and led her to his occupancy.
- - - -
Shinji slowly stirred the tea on the counter, his eyes distant, as he forced
himself to adapt to the new situation. He knew he should've been prepared for a
visit from Kaname, but he'd been hoping for day or two to recover from
everything. Of course, the two duffel bags she had brought in before hitting the
shower hinted at something bigger for the pair. Not wanting to deal with it, he
had allowed her to head for the shower while he went to the kitchen. Except for
his constant stirring his tea had been forgotten, unable to provide a large
enough distraction. The sound of the bathroom opening followed by the sound of
her feet heading toward him caused him to look up when she appeared in the
doorway.
She was nude as usual the remnants of the shower glistening on her skin and
hair like miniature diamonds. While she wouldn't be drop-dead gorgeous, her
upbringing had seen to that, Kananme was still cute. And in the midst of
changing from child to adult, something she took great pains in reminding him
about. Not that he needed the reminders anymore as he slowly let his eyes trace
over her body. At first, he had been shocked at her behavior when they were
alone in his apartment, which was ironic considering the places he'd been. But
she had become a nice constant in his life, someone who'd be there for him and
wouldn't judge until hearing everything that he said.
"I've missed you," she whispered, her small bare breasts pressed against his
chest.
He hugged her tightly, finally relaxing. "I missed you too."
"Where were you, Shinji?" Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"My job."
"Bullshit. A job doesn't take over two months to complete." She tried frowning
but it came out as a pout. "And what kind of job has a student missing so much
class?"
"Mine does." He stroked her back feeling her tremble. "What happened?"
"Papa's been unemployed for over a month."
That statement was all the explanation Shinji needed and it made him sick to
his stomach. It didn't surprise him that her father had been fired, after all
people were hired or laid off daily and sometimes hourly. What did shock him was
that the man hadn't found a job in so long and the repercussions it would have
on his family, especially Kaname. Unemployment compensation was nonexistent in
the world as someone was always hiring, or that was the view the central
government told everyone. With that lack of governmental oversight people had
turned to an ancient tradition to pay debts.
With her age, build, and looks Kaname would've fetched a good price from a
decent brothel and its clients. The business would've given an advance along
with a quarterly percentage of her earnings until she turned twenty-five, her
majority. Her family, especially her mother, would fret over whether such an
indenture was necessary but it would only last until the first creditor came
knocking. And Shinji was the only place she would've been able to find refuge
with and he had been gone at her time of need.
"Have you eaten anything lately?" He asked as he left the kitchen for his
living room/office.
She followed on his heels and sat in an unoccupied chair. "I used the last of
my cash yesterday."
"What about school?" He waited for his computer to boot and connect to the
network.
"They were the first ones calling for their money." The brunette grabbed the
remote and started channel surfing. "Papa said he'd make it up to me later,
but..." She flipped the remote off and walked to where Shinji sat, wrapping her
arms around him. "So can I stay?"
"Of course."
Kaname started crying again. "Thank you, thank you so much. I'll never forget
this."
- - - -
In a society where bodies could be swapped schools were the only public place
where everyone was who they said they were and the proper age. The education
institutions were allowed to try a variety of styles in teaching as long as they
turned out well-educated citizens. On one extreme, some administrators followed
a strict regime with rules, uniforms and standardized tests. The other side of
the coin was more relaxed in their methods and allowed their students more
freedom inside and outside class to experiment. Of course, there were some
schools that tried to follow the middle path of some rules coupled with academic
freedom, but they ultimately failed and changed to one of the other models.
The school Shinji attended and the one he had enrolled Kaname in was one
based on freedom for the students. He had found it ideally suited for his job
and its demands, as it didn't ask any annoying questions like his past one. Of
course, there were times that its laid back attitude toughened and demanded that
classes couldn't progress until all had attended specific courses. His frequent
absences hadn't endeared him to some of the students, but after the first
confrontation he was left alone. Though he was popular among others who liked
spending more time getting their hands dirty instead of sitting in a class, like
the girl before him.
Rebecca was the class representative and totally reflected the nature of his
school while being an enigma to him. Her punked out look was a total contrast to
someone who was a nerd when anything involved molecular engineering. The first
time he had met her he had been surprised with the intricacy of her sub-dermal
implants that she had made at home. A beautiful design of subtle color shifting
and flow with faint light traces had been purposely done to draw his attention
to her womanly assets. Her choice of revealing attire had also been used to
compliment her implants to maximum effect. He didn't even remember the events
that lead up to them ending up in bed and exchanging secrets besides other
things.
But at the immediate time, the memory of his first sexual encounter was the
last thing he needed. Her newly redesigned implants were flashing red and
flowing from her torso to her extremities. She was pissed, or was rapidly
approaching that critical point with him while they conversed during lunch. Yet
suddenly the display disappeared replaced with a sigh and shake of the head from
the slender girl with emerald hair and eyes. Shinji felt uncomfortable as she
studied him with pity usually shown to a mental case. He didn't even react when
she flicked his forehead with a manicured finger since she did it so quickly.
"Yep," she said in her best scientist voice. "You're as dense as lead, or
maybe a pulsar would be closer."
"What the hell are you talking about!" He lowered his voice as a couple
students turned toward them. "Rebecca you're not making any sense."
"You can't be that naive, can you?" Her sub-dermals flashed on again arrowing
toward her breasts. "I was more subtle than that little girl in taking months to
spin my web around you, but we both want the same thing." She grabbed his collar
pulling him closer so she could whisper in his ear. "To fuck you and be fucked
in return."
"Oh."
"You're cute when you blush like that. Don't tell me..."
Shinji shook his head. "No, I knew that was what she wanted the first time she
spent the night."
"So." She arched an eyebrow. "Why haven't you? You weren't exactly shy after
the first couple times."
"I loved you, and I still do." It was the girl's turn to blush at the comment.
"Love died out centuries ago, Shinji. Why do you think all marriages end when
children reach their majority? It's because they're done passing on their genes
as abiding adults should and its time to get a new body and partner. You couldn't
have..." She trailed off when he gripped her hand gently.
"I loved you." He repeated staring into her eyes. "And I love Kaname."
Silence stretched awkwardly before the class representative laughed and wiped
at her eyes. Both knew that what she had said was true, but she also knew Shinji
meant what he had said. She had had many lovers of both sexes but few had ever
said those words to her. It warmed her heart to hear those words spoken
truthfully and outside a bedroom.
"That's good. I was beginning to worry if you just had a Lolita complex for
her." Rebecca wouldn't meet his eyes still mulling over his admission. "But that
still doesn't…"
Shinji smiled sadly. "I love her, but like a sister."
"She isn't and if what you told me of her she's nearing the edge. Show her
all your love and take her without remorse. Maybe she'll wake up from her dream
and see everything clearly instead of in a cloud." The bell rang signaling the
end of their break and they both stood. She didn't release his hand as they stood
but finally had to let go as their classes were in different room. Before he got
too far she pulled him into a tender kiss that got catcalls from the spectators.
"Good luck"
- - - -
Fate, like some many times in life, had decided to take a cruel unwanted
interest in the young couple that night. Everything had progressed with little
awkwardness as Kaname had immediately deciphered his stumbling speech through
dinner. It had all gone straight to hell once they had moved to the next stage
and was still spiraling downward. Kaname had surely been pulled into reality when
he had taken her maidenhood and had been in pain throughout the experience,
though she wouldn't let him stop. He had left the small brunette taking a hot
bath while he stepped outside to call Rebecca for advice. The last thing he
remembered as he dialed was the cool press of metal against his neck and hearing
this hiss of an injector before everything went black.
And as he sat in an uncomfortable chair with his limbs manacled behind his
back all he could hope was that Kaname was safe. He knew he had made a great deal
of enemies over the last six years in the Hunter's Guild, amongst the independent
contractors, and from corporations involved in illegal trade. Of course, most the
people after him were relatives of those he had carried a contract out on, or
hunters who tried to jump him. Because of his age and inexperience at the
beginning he had chosen to do things at long range or cybernetically, further
dishonoring himself in the eyes of clans. But he didn't care about that or what
could happen to himself at the hands of his captors as long as Kaname, Rebecca,
and his co-workers were safe.
He looked up with clear eyes, having spent the time spotting the defenses of
the room, and looked at the opening door. His blood ran cold before turning
molten at the man and his companions who entered the room and sat at the
conference table. The last person he had ever wanted to see again in his life sat
within reach of his hands and he couldn't do anything. He strained against his
restraints hoping to somehow break free, and received a shock when he reached a
certain pressure. All this caused his sworn enemy to smirk at the futile efforts
of his captive, and quiet cough to emanate from the others.
Shinji swore and then did the last thing any of the people expected of him; he
smiled. Ten years ago, his father had abandoned him and he had promised that he
would never seek him out or make contact. That the cold-hearted, bearded bastard
had kidnapped him right outside his apartment was the last thing he had expected.
But it shouldn't have really surprised him since it fit with how Gendo ran NERV
and its subsidiaries. Yet at the same time he was smiling and remembering his
father, he put all his senses on alert for any other surprises.
"What did you do with Kaname?"
"Your fuck toy is fine," answered a blonde woman with a smirk.
Shinji eyes narrowed, having seen her kind before. "You'd know everything
about being a fuck toy, wouldn't you." He smiled when she flinched at his
words. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch a nerve?"
"Ritsuko! Shinji! Behave and keep your comments to yourselves!" barked the
eldest gentleman in the room. "This isn't a bar, or even a schoolyard to throw
taunts at one other."
"Fuyutsuki, that isn't..."
"Doctor Akagi, please control your emotions and be quiet," Gendo said. He
simply stared when she opened her mouth to speak before shutting it with a
snap. "Your friend is safe in your apartment and is ignorant of these
proceedings. And your profession." He took off his glasses and briefly polished
them. "How long her ignorance remains is dependent on you."
"Using her to get at me is unprofessional!" snapped Shinji.
"You wouldn't listen if I threatened you," answered his father. A display
opened in front of the man and slowly scrolled through several forms. "You are
an independent contractor, quite a successful one for someone only twenty years
old and having morals. I have a job for you and am willing to compensate in an
appropriate manner."
The compensation package that was scrolling before Shinji was one he wasn't
expecting from his father and it hinted at the difficulty of the job. Basically,
Gendo was offering Kaname's father an actual contract for five years of
employment with an option for a three extension. Not only that he'd receive full
benefits for him and his family without having a probation period in NERV's
employ. Kaname and her sibling's primary education would be fully paid for in
full at an accomplished school. The only requirements for her father was that he
had to keep a clean work and public record, and that he couldn't disclose the
details of the contract to anyone. Shinji looked up when the information started
looping again and studied his father's face and those around him looking for any
duplicity but found none.
"Just this one job?"
"For the moment." His father smirked. "Others may come up where I require your
services. Consider yourself a black employee of NERV from this day forward."
The teen groaned. "You knew I was going to accept."
"Your friends are your weakness."
- - - -
"You don't like your father?"
The introduction of speech into the armored air-car, which had been eerily
silent after he had met his handler, grated on Shinji's taunt nerves. He felt an
itch in his skull and suppressed it before his crystal could switch to low-light
amplification. The need to see the woman sitting beside him was unnecessary
because he had committed everything to memory, both biological and virtual. Her
file had been quite extensive while conspicuously hiding important details that
he might need.
Misato Katsuragi a woman in her mid-forties, with the body of a
twenty-something, was a captain in his father's security forces. She had served
fifteen years with the Colonial Marine Corps suppressing revolutions on planets
chafing under Federation laws. But five years ago the Corps had terminated her
contract along with her whole unit, giving all of them general discharges in the
process. The various news organizations had tried unsuccessfully to investigate
why a whole company of special operations soldiers would be retired. But none of
that really mattered to him, as he was more interested in what she had been doing
for his father since her hiring by NERV.
"What gave you that idea?"
She chuckled. "Everything since I laid eyes on you. Don't worry you're among
company in that department. I absolutely hated my father for so long after he
left my mother."
"That's not the same thing," he growled. "You at least had your mother to fall
back on while I had no one there when my father abandoned. Three years of living
on my own with just the money my mother had left for me before becoming what I
am."
"You had her business division to support you."
His laugh was bitter and Misato knew her own files on the young man were
wrong, or at least portions of them. Yui Ikari had left her son the division of
NERV that she had built up over three decades before her accident. That he would
never receive the profits off its business transactions troubled her, though it
constantly happened in life. But she was also astute enough to know that seeing
his father wasn't what was truly troubling the young man, and she sympathized
with him. She remembered being his age once and everything that she had done
during that time, things her mom had never learned about.
"If you're so worried why don't you call her." She grinned when he
stiffened. "I was your age once and had a significant other, so don't bother
asking how I knew."
"And what am I supposed to tell Kaname?"
"How about the truth?"
Shinji clenched his jaw to keep his sarcastic comment from leaving the tip of
his tongue. He briefly wondered what made people momentarily lose their common
sense and spout out nonsense at crucial times. For two years he had spun an
elaborate web of lies and half-truths around Kaname concerning what he did for a
job. Any wounds he had received were treated before Kaname saw him again, even
if it had delayed him. The clothes he had in his apartment never left Earth's
atmosphere so they would never pick up any exotic scents from offworld. He had
purposely kept his job and what he did for it vague, or never replied to her
inquiries. And now this woman he had just met was telling him to destroy all of
that and everything else without knowing the girl she was talking about. So as
he picked up the carphone he was already forming his conversation around what
Kaname would want to know.
"Where are you!" she cried when she answered.
"I didn't mean to abruptly leave you," he reassured her. "My father wanted to
see me and he kidnapped me." Shinji wanted to smile at Misato's reaction but
couldn't. "He was quite adamant about seeing me immediately and he doesn't take
'no' for an answer."
"What! I'll call the police."
"Don't bother. Listen carefully, Kaname." He reached out and touched the
screen. "I have to leave again, and I feel like asshole for that. But my father
has something for me to do and I had no choice in accepting it."
She followed his action on her screen. "How long will you be gone?"
"I truly don't know," he answered quietly. "Anyway, you can continue staying
at my apartment. The rent's been prepaid for the next year and there is a weekly
grocery delivery for the same time. I also want you to keep going to school
since tuition has been covered for two years, and tell Rebecca why I'm not
there." He glanced at Misato who barely shook her head. "I've got to let you go
now.
"I'll wait for you!" Tears were streaming down her young face. "I love you!"
"You didn't tell her that you loved her," Misato commented when the screen
went dead.
"Shut up."
- - - -
The guard's head snapped to the side, a dart's fin protruding just below the
rim of his helmet, before he slid down the wall. His compatriot quickly joined
him and a shadow dropped into the dimly corridor from a ceiling maintenance
hatch. On silent feet it sprinted to their positions and easily pulled them into
a storage unit, its door sliding open at his approach. Dropping the guards in
the farthest corner, the man rifled their pockets and snagged extra magazines
for his own rifle. Once done with its task the figure attached two projector
units to the corpses and activated them.
Shinji poked his head back into the corridor and scanned the passageways for
any roving patrols and double-checked that the hatch he had closed. Once he
assured himself that no one had seen his entrance, he stepped into the hall
throwing one last glance at the guards that now looked like spare parts bins. As
the door hissed behind him, his own clothing shimmered becoming an exact
duplicate of the infiltrated company's guards. Fastening a helmet to his head, he
pulled down the clear protective visor and activated the map uploaded into his
crystal.
He had done a few infiltration operations over the years and had never last
his hate of them. Despite all the technology he carried during such missions too
many things could go awry. They had required him to actually come with reach of
an enemies personnel and whatever weaponry they carried while constraining his
freedom of movement. It had felt like that he had aged five years each time he
finished such an operation and it was because of all the danger and stress that
his fee tripled. And as he trotted down the metal corridor he knew his father
must have somehow learned that fact of his son.
It was the only explanation for the massive compensation package offered for
his services, and if he had known what he was getting into he'd have rejected it.
Of course, he should've had an inkling of what his father was going to ask of him
and had no one else to blame. Operation Sachiel, he'd kill whoever had come with
that name, was a massive undertaking on NERV's part as well as his own. That
didn't mean he had any back up or that there were other operatives acting in
concert with him. No, he was to infiltrate a company that had beat NERV in
bidding for a military contract and steal their plans and prototype fighter. Not
only that but he had to rescue the first operative sent in and been caught by the
security forces.
Punching an armored fist through the emergency panel, he grabbed the release
lever and yanked on it. The computer-room's blastdoors hissed and cracked inches
apart before stopping. Cursing, he pulled out two miniature actuators and placed
them at the top and bottom of the doors and activated them. Grunting he lent his
strength to the rods and finally pried the doors open far enough to squeeze
through. Grabbing his machines, he placed them on the armored panels and reversed
their direction, watching as the doors sealed themselves. Turning, he was
reaching into his rucksack for the computer only to whip up his rifle.
"Who the hell are..." His words died when the figure at the mainframe's
control panel turned around.
Rei Ayanami, even in a society of biosculpting and gene manipulating, would
stand out in a crowd with her crimson eyes and cobalt hair. Not only that but all
her proportions and curves were too perfect to be natural in his mind. Her
emotionless gaze gave him a feeling that he hadn't felt since he'd met his first
contractor, deciding whether he was worth her time. But that feeling passed as
she silently turned back to her duties in cracking the mainframe security.
Shrugging his shoulders, he walked up to her and sat in the chair adjoining her
own, and shivered.
It felt and smelt like he had just walked into a freezer stocked with medical
supplies with malfunctioning seals. Suppressing the urge to put some distance
between Rei and himself, he attached his computer to the port and turned to her.
His eyes widened when he noticed her flesh subtly pulsing and he found that he
could clearly see every vein through her skin. His own flesh crawled when she
again studied him with eyes that were too emotionless.
"I was an experiment," she preempted him.
"By my father?" He prayed that wasn't true, not wanting to believe his father
would sink that low.
Rei shook her head. "Naoko Akagi, Doctor Akagi's mother."
"Oh." Silence reined, but then Shinji soon spoke. "I'm sorry." He was
surprised when he saw the first signs of emotion in her eyes, even if it was
puzzlement. "For staring at you earlier."
"It was understandable. Most people find my presence disturbing." She frowned.
"But I should be the one apologizing and not you, Ikari. It was my remotes that
caused the blackout and general alarm when they sensed your approach."
"But I thought..."
He barely had time to notice the girl tilting her head to one side before she
grabbed his wrist in an iron hold and pulled. As the pair flew from their seats,
Shinji had enough wits to grab the mini-computer that was flashing its job was
complete. The blastdoors blew apart in a fury of smoke and flame just as they
impacted with the floor and rolled to their knees. Shinji's hardwired reflexes
had his rifle up to his shoulder in a blink of an eye and firing short bursts
just as the first soldiers rushed in. Combatants dropped yet more rushed to fill
in the space left by their fallen comrades but Shinji never stopped. As he
ejected his third magazine and inserted his fourth a blur shot from his side
when Rei switched weapons. The concussion was deafening but the young man
quickly got to his feet pulling Rei to her own and charging through the confused
mess.
The breaching charge had detonated waist high its plasma jet cutting through
armored and unarmored troopers with easy. Screams came from those caught at the
edge of the super-heated stream, their armor melted around them. But Shinji
didn't hear a thing except for the blood pulsing in his ears as he dragged Rei
at breakneck speed toward the hangars. All the while he cursed himself, his
father, Misato, and even the young woman at his side for what was happening.
He skidded to a stop two levels from the hangar and slid the card provided to
him through a reader and punched in some numbers before pulling a lever.
Immediately red warning lights flashed along the length of the passageway and a
siren sounded, but Shinji was already racing away. His ears told him what was
happening behind him and he smiled cruelly as blastdoors snapped at his heels
sealing off that section. He knew that the few lines of code he had added to a
security protocol during his ingress would be would be copying his recent action.
Whole sections of the station would be exposed to vacuum and sealed off allowing
him to gain unopposed access to his target.
- - - -
"You said that you were an experiment."
It had been over a day since they had stolen the fighter and escaped his
father's competitor's complex. He had boosted at full speed in the opposite
direction of the hyperspace gate that serviced the binary system. For four
hours, he had slowly reduced his thrust thus effecting the ion trail the craft
left until finally shutting the propulsion system down. Without the main engines,
he had used the craft's attitude thrusters to put them on a ballistic course
perpendicular to the ecliptic, and fallen asleep. Now after having rested for ten
hours and with the fighter six light-hours from the primary he found himself
wanting someone to talk to.
"Correct," Rei answered.
Shinji wasn't even sure if she had slept but she didn't sound tired. "To be
the perfect human, or something like that?"
"I am not completely human. And yes I was created to be a perfect being." She
paused and when she spoke next he heard a slight waver in her voice. "The science
was imperfect and I turned out...flawed."
With all the technology available anyone or anything that could gather the
necessary funding and materials could play God. As usual the military had been
the first group to try and create the perfect soldier, but they had abandoned
their experiments. Mass produced soldiers with exceptional physical attributes
had been a nice benefit for the generals except for one fault. Having the ability
to fight continuously for hours or days without rest was worthless if they
couldn't adapt to the ever-changing battlefields. Basically the soldiers had
turned out to be drones only able to fight with limited basic orders while
anything complex confused them. So the military had abandoned their attempts
while private businesses continued to work out the flaws of the military model.
"So what went wrong? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He
blurted out the last part, not sure if she'd take it the wrong way.
"I do not mind." He could hear Rei shifting around behind him. "I was to be
an ultimate spy able to walk past sensors with immunity. Also I was to be able
to interface with a large library of technology with a touch of my finger. My
skills base would take a normal person two hundred years to learn and master."
Again he heard her moving around in the copilot's station. "But things did not
go as planned."
"So what went wrong?"
"The nano-machines necessary to suppress my bio-signatures suffered a
catastrophic programming failure. As you have found out my body is colder than a
normal human being's. Also the ability to bend light and blend in with my
surroundings caused my flesh to become almost translucent." This time he heard a
hitch in her voice and wondered how much telling him was hurting her. "The
liquid crystal necessary to carry out my duties was experimental, and they had
to reroute certain areas of my brain."
He felt like shit for asking. "I'm sorry."
"You had no involvement with my creation or any the scientific failures
imposed on me so there is no need for you to apologize."
Shinji closed his eyes and wished that Yui or even Rebecca were here to
explain to Rei why he was sorry. It wasn't because he felt responsible for the
actions of Naoko Akagi, or even his father in keeping the blue-haired girl in
his employ. He was sorry that she had been unable to be a normal person with a
semi-reasonable upbringing instead of being an experiment. He had meant for his
apology to convey his regret into prying into her private life without having an
inkling of the pain he had caused. But he wondered what had been rerouted or
even deleted in her mind at her inability to recognize those parts of his
apology.
"It's just that..."
What he was going to try and explain died when a pseudo-motion directly in
front of the fighter diverted his attention. He grinned when the detection
systems gave the electronic equivalent of a human scream as a communication
laser painted them. With a mental command, he silenced the warning sub-systems
and fired up the communications, dialing in the proper frequency and scramble
codes. The tension he had been unaware of carrying for the duration of the
mission flowed out him and he sank into his seat. His hand shook and he finally
switched everything over to his own crystal and let his body go through all the
motions.
"That is our transport."
"Yeah."
'Is everything okay, Shinji?'
'Everything's fine.' In the back of his mind he really wondered if things
were as good as he thought.
'Everything is fine, Yui.'
- - - -
The ease with how he had escaped with the fighter, its plans, and rescued Rei
should've been enough warning to Shinji. He knew he should've known that things
rarely went the way they did when it involved unknown factors. There had been no
clues that his life was anything but what it had been when he had left on the
mission. That illusion had lasted through reentry, customs, the ten-minute
high-speed trip to land, and his car ride to his apartment. It had finally
evaporated when he had walked through his door to be confronted with a dark cold
apartment and no Kaname to be found. He should've realized that his father
would've found a way to twist the knife in his back planted there years ago.
Smoke jetted from his mouth only to be sucked up by the air scrubbers while he
absently lifted the cigarette dangling from his fingers. He had access to a
hundred drugs, electronic entertainment, and a variety of other sources to forget
the pain but none appealed to him. Over the years, he had started and stopped
smoking depending on his emotional state at the time and found it suited him
perfectly. And he had gone through two packs since resigning himself to the fact
that Kaname was gone and his father was behind her disappearance. He wearily
lifted his head when his front door hissed open and didn't have the strength to
be surprised anymore.
Even with the lack of flashy sub-dermals and blonde hair, he knew it was her
real color, Rebecca would've been known to him in an instant. She had a way about
her that announced her presence to him, and besides she was the only one he'd
given access codes to. Her emerald eyes were sad like the time she had told him
she was ending their relationship. The silk evening dress, something he had never
seen her in, shimmered when she walked over to him. She reached down and plucked
the cigarette from his lips, crushing it before reaching for his remaining stash.
Once she was done with that, she yanked him from the couch and pushed him to the
bathroom.
"What are you doing?" He asked as she quickly and efficiently stripped him.
Her small nose wrinkled. "God, do you know how much you stink when you smoke.
I don't understand why since smoking lost it's coolness centuries ago."
Her garments quickly joined his on the floor and the couple was soon embraced
by warm water. Shinji stood there mutely letting the liquid flow over his flesh
before relaxing under Rebecca's gentle touch. He had always been amazed at how
expertly she knew where and how much pressure to apply to turn him into putty.
Not that was the only weapon in her arsenal that she was using on him at the
moment. The way his body was reacting to her own body, he knew she must have
been pumping out pheromones like crazy. He gently gripped her wrist when she
went south on his body, reaching for his hardness.
"I don't need a mercy fuck," he protested weakly.
Rebecca slowly slid around until she stood in front of Shinji studying his
face. Three years of being lovers with him had given her an insight into how the
man functioned, and not only in bed. He had had an air of forlornness about him
that had drawn her, and she admitted she had felt sorry for him. But she had
found a more complex person underneath all the pain and defenses. And despite
his words, she knew the last thing she could do would to leave him alone to
wallow in misery. What people needed in times of pain wasn't to be left alone
but other people who cared about them. It was with that thought that she brought
his hand up to her left breast and grinned at his response.
"Mercy wasn't what I had in mind."
- - - -
Her words had been very prophetic Shinji mused as he rested in his bed with
the sun creeping toward his face. Their lovemaking had been the roughest,
kinkiest sex they had ever participated in and had lasted the entire night and
into the early morning. Still joined together, neither didn't intend to separate
nor leave the warm comfort of the other's flesh. He reached up and stroked her
golden silky hair getting the pretty young woman to smile, and shift on top of
him.
"I can't remember why I let you get away," she purred feeling him reawakening
inside her.
"Because you didn't want to wake up one day and find out that I was dead," her
told her. It was like a bucket of cold water thrown on the couple.
"Now I remember." She rested her head on his chest and listened to his
heartbeat. "It was the first time I had ever felt like that and it scared me.
You were my longest lover back then despite all my one-night stands and I didn't
want to lose you." Tears dripped onto his flesh. "I guess I really do love you,
Shinji."
"And I love you." He gently coaxed her head up. "Did Kaname send you?"
That thought had been stuck in his head since the blonde had walked into his
apartment the night before. He had briefly wondered how she had shown up at the
exact time when he had needed someone there for him. Shinji wasn't ungrateful
for the sex since it had allowed him to forget his pain and concentrate on
loving another person. But it saddened him that he had turned toward Rebecca yet
he had known things were over between Kaname and him. With their carnal appetites
sated and all the pain smothered with Rebecca's love he could focus on that
thought.
"Yes."
"I see." Shinji's eyes went distant. "Did she say anything?"
Rebecca rolled off of him, propping herself up on an elbow. "Just that she was
sorry she was leaving. Her father got hired by NERV and they had to move."
"The bastard won again. He found another dagger to plunge into my back," he
muttered.
"What are you talking about?"
"My father is responsible for Kaname's moving. And so am I."
Before she could ask, he told her about his kidnapping by his father's
security forces the week before. He explained how his father had used his
relationship with Kaname to force his hand. Shinji spoke of the contract offered
to Kaname's father upon his completion of the mission. And all the while he was
explaining his voice was flat sounding almost mechanical in his explanation of
events. The only time it changed was when Rebecca kissed him deeply and that was
only at the end.
"Somehow she learned of what I did."
Rebecca stood and stretched, letting the sun play over her nude body. "Why do
you think that?"
"Because she didn't leave a message."
"I was her message," replied the blonde.
"That's not..."
She planted her fists in the mattress and leaned over. "Listen Shinji. Did it
ever occur to you that the reason she didn't leave a message was because she was
hurting? That leaving and not being able to say good-bye face to face was too
much for her."
"I didn't..."
"No, you didn't think!" This time she sat down next to him. "Don't go around
blaming your father, or even yourself for what happened. Instead remember the
times you had with Kaname and don't forget them." Tears were streaming down her
delicate face. "Just like I'll never forget our time together."
"What are you talking about!" He reached out to her and was rebuffed.
"Why didn't you tell me you were transferring to Mars?"
- - - -
Misato Katsuragi none too happily cruised the Isidis Planita spaceport's
concourse looking for Shinji Ikari, who was to become her charge. Just as she was
about to give up and page him, she turned a corner and found him perched atop a
bench looking in her direction. Her smile turned into a frown as she approached
his position. She had found his disposition to be chilly when she had first met
him, but she had placed that at his father's feet. Yet what she saw signaled a
change from cool to absolute frigid something she had hoped to avoid.
His black suit had been exquisitely tailored and armored, only a trained eye
could spot the extra sharp creases and metallic sheen to the cloth. The mirrored
shades he was wearing reflected her image and gave her no insight into what he
was thinking. Black and gold ribbons had been interwoven into his carefully
braided ponytail. The flesh-toned sockets he had worn before were replaced with
polished titanium, and was getting stares from of the passerbys. Everything
about him was to show her his displeasure at being ordered about by people he
had never cared about.
"I had nothing to do with this so drop the attitude," she ordered.
"I think I have a right to be pissed," he countered taking off his
glasses. "Twelve hours ago, I was in the arms of a woman who loved me learning
that I was transferring to Mars. A transfer I never knew about or was even
informed about, though I was at NERV headquarters for five hours." He took a step
forward invading her personal space. "On top of that, the girl I was dating left
without a word because of the contract my father amended."
"I'm sorry," she told him. "But I didn't know anything about that. In fact, I
was only told my orders a day ago so I'm just as unprepared as you." She poked
him in the chest. "We're going to be living together and I'd rather it be
pleasant instead of a battlefield. Can you manage to be civilized?"
Shinji sighed, it was all too much for him and he didn't have the energy
anymore. So he held out a hand. "Shinji Ikari, nice to meet you."
"Captain Misato Katsuragi, pleased to meet you." She shook his hand and
smiled.
"Welcome to Mars, Shinji Ikari."
* * * *
Hopefully, everyone knows what the Pony Express was. This story has nothing to
do with the American West. The title and story come from HardWired by Walter Jon
Williams. In that story, a character by the name of Cowboy is a smuggler on a
ruined Earth. He believes that he is doing a noble thing, outsmarting the
authorities both on Earth and in orbit. That is up until he learns that he is
only a tool being used by the authorities. He rebels and wins at great cost. The
Pony Express is his delta and an ideal that he sticks to throughout the story.
What does this have to do with my story? Don't know yet.
Anyway, C&C is welcome at [email protected]