Chapter 50

Misato glared at the video feed with detached interest. The UN Army tanks and anti-aircraft batteries, along with a wide range of surface-to-air missile positions and artillery emplacements made neat lines sprawled across the west and northwest of the Japanese mainland.

The general alarm had sounded for the Hakone-Nagano area, but not for the entire nation as Misato had expected. While the UN units manned the forward positions, the JSSDF was still trying to have the critical area around Tokyo-3's fortress perimeter evacuated. Misato doubted it could be done in such little time, though she had to give credit to the civilian authorities for preventing a panic flight and imposing order. The shelters were filling up, as expected. The roads were mostly empty, and Unit-00 was ready.

The Angel had reduced its speed into what could be called a glide slope, its broad wings no longer flapping as it slowly descended.

Misato stood at the center of the command bridge, as she always did during these situations, with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her fingers impatiently. The tension was rising in the room—she could clearly sense it, and so could everyone else. Commander Ikari and Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki sat on the observation deck, looking down on the bridge from their perch high above the proceedings.

"The Angel has entered the range of the SAM batteries along the Nizeka-Gousa defensive line," Hyuga announced as he turned slightly on his chair to face his superior officer. "They are going to engage."

Misato nodded.

"You really should call off this intervention," Ritsuko Akagi, who was now standing next to Misato, said. "They are only going to be wasting shells, missiles and money."

"Better their money than ours," Misato replied.

"It all comes from the same place," Ritsuko said smartly. "You know they'll just hand the bill over to us."

The first units to engage the target were the longer-range SAM launchers, followed by a barrage of MRLS fire. The visual image faded and blurred every time one of the missiles took off from its static platform. After a few seconds the first reports began to filter in through NERV's communication channels.

"Ground forces report direct hits on the AT Field but no damage," Haruna said.

"The Air Force is engaging," Aoba reported. "We have an airborne visual."

"Put it on the main screen," Misato ordered.

Aoba hit a button on his console and the gigantic screen on the front of the multi-tiered bridge flickered and changed into an image of the Angel from one of the airborne gun ships. And even though dozens of missiles smashed into and exploded against the AT Field, the Angel continued with its steady flight path.

"The Angel has come within artillery range," Hyuga reported, just as the tanks, mostly Type 90s, opened fire along with the artillery pieces.

The sky became littered with black airbursts of flak from the combined assault of both air and ground forces arrayed against it, but the Angel simply ignored the chaos that went on around it, as if the whole situation had nothing to do with it. It flew unbothered through the black clouds of smoke, gliding like a giant seagull covered in glinting white armor.

"Looks like they are serious, don't you think, Ritsuko?" Misato remarked, tilting her head towards the doctor.

"A pointless exercise." Ritsuko seemed annoyed at the question, but her expression betrayed a slight hint of amusement.

"Which kinda makes you wonder why they are doing it," Misato said.

"Militaries are led by bureaucrats," Ritsuko said. "And bureaucrats don't like to be pushed aside. It makes them seem irrelevant, and being irrelevant costs them votes. Even doing something that is ineffective is better than doing nothing. However, you shouldn't take advantage of that fact. We're all on the same side."

The image from the gunship changed as the camera rotated, the picture now trailing a pair of bombers in the distance. Only a few seconds later the camera placed the bombers in focus as the lens was adjusted. The incoming pair fired their huge payload of six N2 equipped missiles. Each and every one of the missiles smashed into the Angel's AT Field and engulfed a whole chunk of the sky in flames.

"Any damage?" Misato enquired.

"Not that we can tell," Haruna answered.

The camera rotated back to the Angel's image as it flew across the fiery sky, still undaunted by the air assaults. Then the Angel did something Misato didn't expect, or even think possible for an object of such mass: it rolled over and began to fly inverted.

Misato narrowed her eyes as another barrage of fire from the UN engulfed the sky. The Angel remained unhurt. Just as a third wave of fire closed in on it, the Angel put itself into a steep dive. It wasn't just flying around randomly trying to escape: it was planning ahead. A fighter pilot could not have done better.

"Altitude is dropping fast," Aoba reported. "It appears that it has decided to land."

"Looks like it's angry," Ritsuko said, sarcastically.

"Wouldn't you be, Ritsuko?" Misato said, shaking her head. "Those missiles will ruin anyone's day."

The Angel landed on its feet, exactly like a giant bird would. The earth cracked and trembled under the impact. As soon as it touched down, a rain of fire, shells, missiles and bombs came crashing down on it, followed soon by N2 bombs. The horizon exploded into a huge dome of light.

Once the dust settled from the multitude of explosions, the Angel stood, with its head bowed and wings spread wide apart, in the middle of a huge crater. Its AT Field created octagons of reddish light around it, somewhat like huge transparent shields held aloft in mid air. Around its sleek and armored frame, like a swarm of angry bugs, the UN gun ships and other aircraft prepared for another assault.

"Call them off, Major Katsuragi," Ritsuko said. "This is such a waste."

"What makes you think they'd pay attention to me at this point?"

The image zoomed in on the Angel as it raised its head. The dark eyes appeared to stare directly at the camera. There was a collective gasp from the people in the control room.

"I have a very high density energy concentration within the target!" Hyuga informed.

The bright flash of light caught everybody by surprise as it burst out of nothingness and expanded until everything within the Angel's proximity was incinerated.

"EMP wave!" Hyuga yelled from his console.

"We lost the feed from the Air Force," Aoba said.

"It destroyed them!" Haruna screamed, rising from her chair. "It destroyed them all!"

Misato shook her head, not too surprised at the girl's sudden reaction. Haruna was among the few on the bridge who had never actually been in combat before. "Calm down. The ground forces will be fine once the EMP clears out. Most of the aircraft are hardened as well. We should only expect casualties from within the blast radius."

Haruna looked at her with clear fright in her eyes for a moment then dropped back in her station. "Sorry, ma'am."

"No problem," Misato wasn't about to chastise her for being scared. Everyone got scared some time. "Hyuga?"

"The Angel is moving again," Hyuga reported. "It's resuming its course."

"All right…" Misato began, and as she did she looked up to the observation deck high on the huge cavern that was the bridge, from which the Commander and Sub-Commander had been watching the events unfolding below them. "Upgrade condition to red alert and make the final preparations. Unit-00 will engage the target as planned."