Chapter 21:
Beyond the Reticule
NINETY THOUSAND KILOMETERS AWAY from low orbit, Trois’ Eva-0.0 aimed down the sights of her arm-mounted gamma-ray laser. She watched as particles from Yomotsu Hirasaka broke off and formed a dust cloud. The moon slab was approaching her, but the distance between them was so vast that it looked stationary. Faint sparks appeared and dispersed—probably a product of the thing’s rotation.
<<Seventh shot fired from main cannon. Two thirds of the target’s mass successfully vaporized. 158,921 fragments remaining (excluding miniscule particles). Half of landmass remaining. Continue tracking?>> Trois’ A.I. asked.
“No,” she whispered to the display. She turned her attention to the eighth slab fragment. “Focus on the next target.” She continued her work in silence.
The original Lance of Longinus was passing through space right before her eyes. The artifact had elongated to 114,000 kilometers and shone like a spider’s thread. It flew at an altitude of 20,000 kilometers, with an orbital circumference of 157,000 kilometers. That was two-thirds of the Earth’s orbit. Another third, and it would form a perfect ring.
In the not-so-distant future…
Her A.I. proceeded to select her next target, but the system list was filled up. Alarms went off as the words TARGET OVERLOAD appeared on her display.
It summed up her feelings perfectly. There were too many problems on her mind—the shrinking Earth, the expanding moon, the Longinus Ring. Even if they managed to eliminate the antagonistic giants, she wasn’t certain that these problems would immediately go away.
How long would it last? How long would she last?
<<Change in target management. New point spotted on Yomotsu Hirasaka. Size: AA class. Estimated trajectory—>>
An AA class would be over two kilometers in diameter. Is the lunar landmass fragmenting again? Another target… Still far…
Trois’ A.I. couldn’t finish its calculations. She looked quizzically at it.
<<Unable to calculate trajectory. Moving body detected. Propulsion systems detec—>>
“Enhance image!”
With the sound of a hydraulic exhaust, Eva-0.0 drew its head close to the laser cannon and looked through its biggest lens. Yomotsu Hirasaka was lit up by the sun from where Trois was standing, and she needed a filter to make the image visible.
There are no humanmade objects that size on the moon.
She didn’t have to zoom in much to make out the shape. The shadow belonged to a strange cell-like creature whose hands seemed to be opening up.
Trois recognized it. Sahaquiel!
“Flashing to Nerv Japan/Hakone command.”
She sent her transmission under the title “Extraordinary Emergency.”
“Silhouette of the former tenth Angel has been spotted on Yomotsu Hirasaka.”
The message was sent with a cheerful chime. Then, the window for the Evangelion mutual data link popped up on her display.
“Huh?”
The transmission caught Trois by surprise. She was even more surprised when the 3D map slowly became more elaborate. The screen had initially displayed wireframes, but they were soon filled with a more fleshed-out rendition of the space around her. An icon flashed on the surface of the gigantic mass now known as Yomotsu Hirasaka. Trois gasped.
<<Subject identified as Unit Zero Type-F Allegorica.>>
“Six?!”
The first message she received from the Eva was Six’s panicked cries as the Sahaquiel Carrier chased after her. The small Ayanami was holding on for dear life, squeezing the transmission button in the process.