A Janok Production;
 
General disclaimer;
The usual... Some characters and original storyline copyright Gainax
and affiliated companies.
 
WARNING
This is a Post-Episode 26 story, if you haven't seen up to Episode 26
of NGE I advise you not to read this story. You have been warned, so
no complaints.
 
**********
 
NEON GENESIS CHAPTER 2
A Fall From Grace: Out of Eden
 
VERSE 6
 
"... For you are to be dressed for travel,
with your sandals on your feet and your
stick in your hand."
Exodus 12:11
 
 
"Lets go out to celebrate!" declared an excited Shiro.
 
Michael looked up from his book, "Why?"
 
Shiro gave an exasperated sigh, "Because we are about to finish our
training, why else? Lets go to that bar I told you about."
 
Michael looked back down at his book, "Why would anyone want to become
drunk? All that happens is you drink a drink for a while then lose
control of your bodily functions, very entertaining I must say.
Besides, we're underage, and even if we weren't, they wouldn't let us
out of the compound."
 
Shiro gave another sigh, "Getting drunk is only a small part of it,
the main purpose of going to a bar is to hang out with your friends,
and if you're just worried about getting caught, don't be. I've found
a secure way out." He glanced over at Michael and seeing that he had
got no reaction he asked, "Would you be interested if I convinced your
girlfriend to go?"
 
That got a reaction.
 
Michael slammed a fist on the chair's arm. "She is not my girlfriend,"
he growled.
 
Shiro grinned and lifted his hands in mock surrender, "Sure, sure, my
mistake. She is just a friend."
His face took on a serious cast, "That's one thing I can't understand
about you Michael. One minute you're as emotionless as a cold fish,
and the next you are literally seething with emotion. It just isn't
natural."
 
Michael leaned back in his chair, "Most emotions are irrelevant, they
serve no purpose and therefore I do not need them," he said in a
clinically detached voice.
 
Shiro shook his head, "Like I said, a cold fish."
 
**********
 
"All of them sir?" Major Veitch asked in a shocked voice.
 
Commander Fuji leaned back in his chair, "All of those on the list,
yes. I would point out, however, that this isn't all of the
candidates, only those who failed to be selected."
 
Major Veitch appeared to be feeling very uncomfortable as he stood
before the Commander's desk "It's still a large number sir; 82 from
the command staff candidates, 53 technical staff candidates, and 112
Pilot recruits."
 
Commander Fuji sighed, "I wish we could handle it another way, but we
don't have the time. We can't evacuate them all, and we can't afford
to let them fall into enemy hands either. This is the only way."
He locked eyes with Major Veitch, "You have your orders Major, carry
them out."
 
"Yes Sir!" Major Veitch saluted smartly, and marched from the room.
 
That's what Fuji liked about the military, people might not like an
order but they would always carry it out.
 
**********
 
12 hours later
 
"First of all I wish to offer my congratulations to you all for
successfully completing your NERV training. From this time forward you
are now NERV personnel, and as such I will now give you your first
orders," said the Major standing on the platform at the front of the
large lecture hall.
 
NERV officers handed out the documents to the candidates in the hall.
 
"These are your re-assignment papers," said the Major, "You will
report to your assigned staging areas by no later than 14 hundred
hours today. From there you will be transferred to whichever NERV
branch you will be serving. If an emergency is declared before that
time do not report to your shelters, but immediately go to your
staging areas."
 
He looked out at the six hundred new NERV personnel. They were of
every creed and colour, the best and the brightest selected from all
over the world. The hope for the future of mankind. It was unfortunate
that so many...
 
"You will be informed of your destination either on route or as you
arrive, depending on the security level of your new post. You will
also receive further instructions at that same time."
 
He looked over the group one more time, "You have your orders, good
luck to you."
 
**********
 
Michael stared out of the south facing window in his room.
 
"So? Where do you have to report to?" asked an excited Shiro.
 
He looked up at his friend, "I have to go to NERV HQ," he looked back
to the forest on the horizon of the geofront.
 
Shiro looked at him, a puzzled expression on his face, "Are you okay
Michael? You've been staring out that window a lot recently."
 
Michael didn't respond.
 
"Michael, is something wrong?"
 
Still no response, Shiro was getting very annoyed by now.
 
"Michael, what are you doing? MICHAEL!"
 
Michael looked round, "What? Why are you shouting at me?"
 
Shiro shook his head in wonderment, "You freak me out when you phase
out like that, its like you've got your own little world," he cleared
his throat, "What I was asking was 'What are you doing?'"
 
Michael turned back to the window, "I'm just looking out the window."
 
Shiro let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, but WHY?"
 
Michael looked back to Shiro, "I'm not sure... I feel..." his voice
trailed off.
 
He looked out the window again, "I feel that something is out there,
that it is... calling to me."
 
Shiro looked at his friend, "Michael, you have a weird imagination."
 
**********
 
Fuji looked out across the geofront from his window in the large
office at NERV HQ. It had been five days since he had given the
evacuation order, and six days since the last angel attack. The
respite wouldn't last much longer.
 
"They will make their move soon," he said.
 
"You mean because of the candidates sir?" asked Major Veitch who stood
by the large desk.
 
"Yes," he watched the steady stream of vehicles heading for the
various airstrips still available for use by the geofront, "For
security reasons we have to keep the candidates together during the
transfer, however, that means that they will make a very tempting
target. If they capture or kill the candidates then we will have lost
everything," he glanced over his shoulder at the Major, "I would like
your analysis of the situation."
 
The Major held up three fingers, "If I wanted to eliminate the
candidates I would try to attack them when they are the most
vulnerable; that would be the time when they are being transferred to
the new location. However, if I attack on route I may miss them or
they may escape as they are a moving target," he lowered one of his
fingers, "I could choose to attack them at their destination, but I
would have to assume that they are being moved to an even more secure
position than they are in now," he lowered his second finger, "That
leaves only one option, to attack before they leave the geofront. That
means today."
 
The Commander nodded his approval, "Agreed, place the facility on
condition yellow, and keep the candidates under a tight watch," he
looked back to the convoy passing below, "We must be able to move at
a moments notice."
 
**********
 
Michael watched as his friend boarded the coach that would take him to
his assembly point.
 
What Michael found strange was that he did not feel any kind of
emotion about his friend leaving. All he felt was a cold indifference,
and now that he came to think about it, he had never really felt
anything else for his friend Shiro. Even the term friend was one that
Shiro had given him, he did not remember ever having a friend before,
and had assumed that the way he had been feeling about his "friend"
was the way all people felt about their friends.
From talking to others about friendship, however, he learned that
Shiro was nothing more than an associate, an amusing associate yes,
but in no way a friend.
 
He heard a sound to his left and as he turned to look he saw the
German candidate watching the coach moving out of the compound.
"Well I'm glad they're being stationed elsewhere," the blonde boy
said, "I would hate to serve with such dead weight."
 
Michael looked over at the boy, George, "Dead weight? What do you
mean?"
 
George turned his gaze on Michael, "Didn't you know? All of the people
leaving on that coach were the candidates with the worst grades and
the worst... (how do you say it?)... harmony."
 
Michael looked confused, "Harmony? How could they have the worst
harmony? We never had any tests on musical ability."
 
George burst out laughing, "Oh... that was... hilarious," he said
between chuckles, "I did not mean music, as you will learn soon enough
Michael Kysler."
George then turned, still chuckling, and began walking towards another
coach, which would soon be leaving for NERV HQ.
 
Michael followed him at a distance still trying to puzzle over that
last conversation. Try as he might, however, he could wring no more
meaning out of the words of George Lorenz.
 
**********
 
Shiro followed the others down into the NERV bunker situated in the
northern district of the geofront. The NERV officer had said they
would be waiting here until the transport plane was ready for them
to embark.
 
It certainly is a cosy little place to wait in, he thought as he
walked along the corridor, the decor is simply superb.
 
He glanced at the concrete walls decorated with green, blue and red
pipes, which were lit only by the two rows of evenly spaced, small
lights on the ceiling.
 
He shook his head and followed the others through the large green
doors that had appeared at the end of the corridor.
 
**********
 
Michael stared out of the coach window to the south, whatever was out
there seemed to be calling him with an increasingly more insistent
tone, as if something important was soon to occur. He stared out,
entranced.
 
"What are you staring at idiot?" he turned instinctively upon hearing
that voice, it would bring more trouble than it was worth to ignore
it.
 
As he turned he came face to face with the raven haired Megan who was
leaning over from the seat behind, "Pardon?" he asked, even though he
knew exactly what she had just said.
 
Her eyes twitched dangerously at being forced to repeat herself, "I
asked; What are you looking at idiot?"
 
His mind immediately thought of the perfect reply, "Oh, nothing you'd
understand."
 
Her eyes turned as hard as agates and her mouth turned down in a
scowl. She sat back in her seat without saying a word, but Michael
could just make out a faint "idiot" emanating from behind him.
 
He smiled, that was amusing, he thought.
 
His smile faded as he looked back out of the window.
 
**********
 
Why were they taking so long? He wondered as he sat in the grey room
with the other 250 candidates.
 
He yawned.
 
The NERV officials had brought them here nearly twenty
minutes ago, told them to wait and then had left, closing the large
airtight doors behind them. Shiro wasn't worried about
suffocating in the large room, as there were a great many ventilation
ducts to bring in clean air.
 
He stretched his muscles.
 
Now that he came to think about it there were many more times the
number of air vents in this room than in any of the others he had
been in.
 
He rubbed his fingers over his eyes.
 
Maybe it was just because this room was designed to hold large numbers
of people, he thought.
 
He yawned again, the air seemed very thick.
 
It didn't really matter, and he was feeling too drowsy to think
anyway.
Was it his imagination or did the light have a cloudier look
to it than when he came in?
 
His eyes felt heavy.
 
He looked at the other candidates, most of them were either asleep or
beginning to doze off.
 
His eyelids began to droop.
 
It wouldn't hurt if he had a quick doze too would it? The NERV
officers could always wake him up if he was still asleep when they
were meant to leave.
 
His eyes closed.
 
He would only sleep for a little while, he thought as he descended
into darkness.
 
**********
 
To be continued...
 
"Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes,
which grew up and choked the plants,
and they didn't produce any corn."
Mark 4:7
 
---------------------------------------------------------------
 
Author's Note:
 
If you have any comments about this fanfic then gladly send them to
me.
 
Janok_Re <jreproduct@hotmail.com>

 

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