Hermann sat at his desk eyeing the calculations he had written on the chalkboard. By his records, the plan to open a portal and to keep it open for the entirety of the campaign against the Precursors should work. What he wasn't sure of was if the Precursors also had the technology and ability to close the bridge.
With his thumb and forefinger he massaged his eyelids. Still the nightmares came and they were of no help to answering this question. If anything, the nightmares had intensified since Newton's imprisonment. Last night the dream was particularly dreadful, but only because it involved Newton.
"Bloody imbecile," Hermann hissed to the empty room. He should have seen it coming. Perhaps they weren't the closest they had been after Newton started to work in the private sector. In the beginning the two would exchange emails just as they had before they met, call every so often. Newton even sent him a present for his birthday, some old abacus he had brought back from a business venture in China. Useless in all honesty, but a warm gesture. But after that things came to a sudden halt.
Missed phone calls, messages that went unanswered. Hermann took it to be just a busier work schedule and the in due time he would come back. But months past, then years- and before he knew it Shao Industries was looking to make the PPDC obsolete. He assumed that was the reasoning for the end of their friendship, but he assumed wrong.
He knew that if the roles were switched, even though they never would be, but if they had been, Newton would have been relentless maintaining contact. While Hermann would admit that the scientist was erratic and irresponsible, Newton had a good heart. Better than most. And those bloody creatures had to taint him.
It had been six months since the Mega Kaiju event, and Newton was still on lockdown. And Hermann had only seen him once.
Trailing right behind Ranger Jake Pentecost as he told Newton and the Precursors their intentions of visiting them for a change, Hermann hoped that the defeat would have released Newton.
All Newton could do was laugh. Clearly the Hivemind thought it a joke. He felt the chill running down his spine now as he recalled their voice from his friends mouth.
"What a pathetic species you are! Believing that you can compete with us, it is truly pathetic."
Pentecost wasted no time to respond.
"We beat you lot twice now, we'll beat you again, and for good next time." The young man was bold, and while he seemed to place distance between him and his father, Hermann saw the very same determination from the both of them.
Hermann tried to reason with Newton. To assist, to fight back, but those bloody puppet masters repeated the same thing.
"He's too weak to resist us, Hermann. He stopped fighting us so long ago. Such an obedient pawn-"
Hermann decided to change the conversation to Newt's captors then.
"I demand that you release Newton this instance! He'll be of no service to you in this prison."
Laughter came again from the other worldly voice.
"Ahh.. But isn't he still serving us now in some way? Your species is so susceptible to your emotions to the point that they seem to dictate your lives." Newton's eyes were locked on Hermann. "You haven't forgotten that we saw you two 'drift' together-"
"What are you getting at?" asked Ranger Pentecost who was losing his patience for the conversation that seemed to be going nowhere.
"Oh- it isn't obvious?" the voice directed at the young Ranger. "Newton holds an attraction to Dr. Herman Gottlieb. What you might refer as love."
Hermann opened his mouth to call the bluff but Newt's voice returned.
"Hey Herms, remember when we were working together in the K Science Division and I would leave my notes on your side of the room, or how about all the times I'd play my awesome music too loud. You never would have noticed me otherwise." Newt whispered. "You and all your numbers with your freaking chalkboards… Man, I did just about anything to get your attention, but breaking your rules. That's what got me the most time with you… Sorry I only have the guts to tell you now, but I was totally in love with you man."
Coming back from his thoughts Hermann slammed his open palm against the desk. He had been forbidden to see Newton since then and he had no clue what conditions Newton was under. No one dared to talk about it openly when he was nearby, but he heard whispers. Rumors of interrogation methods, torture tactics. Newton was no longer treated as one of the key figures that thwarted the end of the world. Nor as a martyr or victim of his own stupidity.
Newton was the enemy.
Hermann sighed heavily as he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a silver recording device. Hitting play he listened to the voice of his dear friend, before he had plunged into the abyss.
"Kaiju Drift Experiment, take one- The brain segment is of the frontal lobe, um," came the cocky younger Newton, but even with the background noise Hermann could still hear the tension of fear. "Chances are, the segment is far too damaged to drift with."
Herman clasped his hands together as his elbows rested upon the desk. This was not the first time her had listened to the recording, and he was well aware that in the decade that past, the recording did not age well.
"Unscientific aside- Hermann, if you're listening to this, well, I'm either alive and I've proven what I just done works. In which case, haha I won." Hermann once scoffed at the superiority of his former colleagues voice, but now he only felt guilt dragging him down. "Or I'm dead. And I'd like you to know its all your fault, it really is. You drove me to this. In which case, ha, I also won... sort of."
Newman tensed as the countdown to enter the Drift began- one could hear the moment Newman succeeded, if one could call the descent into enslavement a success, because he let out a strangled scream, one which no one would hear until the recording. By the audio recording, Newton had been locked in the drift for a total of 58 minutes.
In the Jaeger program, the average unsuccessful neural handshake lasts for approximately seven minutes. Even in the training environment, PTSD can be caused to the linked couple. But to take on the the ride alone clearly cost Newton dearly, an outcome the genius never predicted.
Hermann reached for his cane and rose to his feet. He would not tolerate the unknown condition of Newton any longer. Leaving the K Science Division office, Hermann made way for the holding block. If fortune indeed favored the bold, than by jove he was going to be bold!
Watched Pacific Rim Uprising last week and while I wasn't too crazy about the film I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Charlie Day ships the Science guys and I fell in love with the ship. I hope to keep this short and sweet (but not too sweet) and just explore the relationship between Newt and Hermann in this rough patch.
Next chapter is going to be rather dark I think. So stay tuned, or not!