----------

Misato returned to the living room to find the new arrivals seated
together on the second couch and prodding Shinji into a description of
his last mission.

Asuka's eyebrow twitched, a warning sign if Misato had ever seen
one. "Eh, not bad," she allowed.

"But you could've done better," Han supplied the unspoken part of
Asuka's comment.

Asuka shrugged. "Sure. Look at the next time Ayanami went out.
That tin can shouldn't have been able to touch a well-handled Eva, but
look what happened."

Shinji looked mutinous at that remark. "I don't see how you could
have, in an Eva you'd never piloted before, with half its weapons
offline," he replied quietly.

"I'd start by not standing still in front of God and radar inside
my enemy's effective range!"

"She didn't have much choice," Nami broke in. "We tried it
afterwards in a sim, and neither of us could hit the joint reliably on
the move."