Chapter 5:
Super Eva Lifts Off

 

HOLDING AN ENTRY PLUG in his Eva’s hand brought back bad memories for Shinji. Maya and her engineers had told him they could fix the plug to an exterior rail on his elbow, but what if he knocked into something along the way? While the entry plug could probably withstand the damage, the same couldn’t be said for its contents. Besides, valuables should always be part of one’s carry-on.

“I won’t crush you, Trois. I promise.”

<<I know you won’t.>>

An image of Trois popped up in a small window of his sub-display. She looked calm enough. This was the third time they’d had this conversation, after all.

With a container full of supplies attached to his exterior rail, Super Eva flew slowly until he reached the point where the atmosphere was thinner. He activated his Vertex wings’ field deflector and kicked off. He accelerated horizontally through the sky, making the first pass of a long and circular flight path.

“I just think you should’ve been inside Super Eva.”

<<We can’t have that,>> Trois said, sounding a lot like Misato. <<You’ve never been to outer space, have you? You have to treat this as a learning experience.>>

“Sure, but this is one hell of a curve…”

<<Why? There are no enemies around.>>

The Earth was now as small as it was battered. A mantle of gray sulfurous gases covered the planet, making it no longer resemble a sapphire.

<<What I mean to say is, look at our planet. Everyone says it’s beautiful, but I’ve never understood why.>>

“Oh, hmm…” Shinji said.

<<Ikari-kun?>>

“Over there. That’s the most beautiful sight so far…” Shinji said dreamily.

On her sub-display, Trois saw that Shinji was looking slightly up, instead of directly at her.

“Where?”

<<The borderline.>>

Trois’ plug had been outfitted specifically for space operations, and its sensors were currently synced up with Super Eva’s virtual display so she could better cover Shinji. They were looking at the same image.

“The borderline?” Trois looked up, too.

<<It’s that spot where the horizon meets outer space. The spot where the bright blue Earth transitions into deep blue…and the pitch black right outside it.>>

The sight had gained a special significance for Trois when she’d seen it through the eyes of Quatre, Cinq, and Six, day in and day out. In those days, she would scan the horizon for enemies and potential escape routes.

<<That shade of blue…is just like your hair.>>

“…” Trois didn’t understand. But she felt like a sudden change had taken place inside her. This place was going to take on a new significance, though she didn’t know why yet.

Her telescope finally picked up the long-abandoned Eva-0.0 over the ultramarine ridgeline. They would arrive at their destination with a few more circular passes.

From today forth, Eva-0.0 would be Rei Trois’ unit.