Cherno Alpha: Origin
Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky are one of the most effective teams of Jaeger pilots. But they didn't start that way.
[Author's note: This story takes place in the 'Prologue' period of the Pacific Rim movie. It also connects to the fanfic series The Ballad of Eun Park.]
"Oaf!" snapped Sasha Polzin. "If you drop that CPU unit we may as well not have a Jaeger!"
The tall blond man stared at her. "Then maybe you would like to do it, xep," he snarled. "Except that you couldn't even lift it." With an effort, he pushed the unit into its compartment. The operational light, which turned green when the unit was properly connected, did not go on.
"Moron!" said Sasha.
The man took a hammer from his belt and whacked the unit. The green light came on.
"You can't do it that way!" she said.
"I just did," he said. He began to climb up the ladder that connected to another of the interior compartments of the Jaeger, leaving Sasha staring after him.
The door behind her open and the project supervisor, Sokulov, appeared. He looked at the CPU unit, the last of the twenty that made up the computer power of the Jaeger, and the glowing green light. "Ah, well done, Dr Polzin," he said.
Sasha gave a little cough. "Actually, the heavy lifting was done by ... I don't know his name. Big guy, blond. Lummox."
"Ah, that would be Aleksis Kaidonovsky. Comes from down Ukraine way, I think, they build them big there. Not the most agreeable fellow but he has a solid background in mechanical engineering. And he has a good feel for machinery. Even this over-grown tank."
"Hard to think of Cherno Alpha as a tank."
Sokulov laughed. Then his expression turned grim. "I wanted to tell you," he said, "that the Fury team, Simonov and Dragunov, went down yesterday. But they killed the Kaiju. Them and the air force, using everything they had. So the questions are: when will the next Kaiju hit us, and will Cherno Alpha be ready?"
"I can only speak for my little piece of the computing side, plus what I've heard from the other techs," said Sasha. "But it will be ready."
Sokulov nodded, and made some annotations on his laptop. With another nod, he departed.
Sasha looked around the compartment, deep inside the huge body of Cherno Alpha. Ready? she thought. It will have to be.
It was the next day, and Sasha was starting her shift. The news about the loss of the Furies had gone around; now there was a real sense of urgency in the air. The work teams had been re-organised and expanded, and, with the core computing facility in place, she had been transferred to the pilot cockpit, to work on the neural connections. It was a new field for her – but then it was a new field for everyone. She was glad that the Americans, the Chinese and the Australians were all sharing technical information.
The two pilots, Ivan Kozhedub and Mikhail Baranov, were testing the harnesses and masks that would allow them to control the Jaeger. But there was something not right with the foot controls. Sasha lifted the trapdoor and squeezed into the crawlspace, wriggling along, checking her computer screen against the connections. Eventually she found the faulty circuit, and re-set it.
It would be too hard to crawl backwards, so she went forwards, and eventually found herself in a tube-like space, one she could stand up in. But the door would open only a crack. She could see a trio of workers doing something.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Bit of help here!"
The saw her and started. Immediately, they began tearing at the door with crowbars. "No need to break anything," she said. "Er, is there?"
"That's a piston chamber you're standing in," said one of the guys. "And there will be a five-ton piston coming through on a test run in about a minute."
"I'll get up to the next level and try and stop it," shouted a voice. "Try and climb up!"
She did, using any handhold she could grasp. She could see the opening now. But she could also see the piston starting to descend.
"Move your ass!" shouted a voice from above her.
She looked up. She was not going to make it.
And then the piston slowed ... and stopped. It was still trying to come down ... but something was holding it back. Looking up, she could see that a massive steel bar had been inserted partly into its path. But ... what was on the other end of the bar?
"Move!" shouted the voice again. "I can't hold it for long!"
She scrambled towards the opening, hauling herself out, the piston just centimetres away. She pulled her foot out, just as the steel bar broke. The piston plummeted into the chamber and away.
She looked around. And then she saw who had been holding back the piston. Aleksis Kaidonovsky. Shirtless, covered in sweat. His hands were bleeding from where he had been gripping the bar that had saved her.
They stared at each other.
"Oh, it's you," he said.
"And ... you," she said. She could not help but stare at the muscles of his shoulders, still shiny with sweat.
She realised that she had torn her shirt climbing out of the chamber. She was showing a lot of flesh. Usually, she would care about that ... but not now.
Other workers were climbing into the compartment, slapping Aleksis on the back and tying improvised bandages around his hands. Then they were hustling him out, to the infirmary. As he was pushed through the door, she saw him looking back at her.
It was the following day. Even though her shift had ended and the cockpit compartment was empty Sasha was still at work, going over the readouts of the neural connectors.
Aleksis came in. "I heard," he said, "that you asked for me to be transferred to the cockpit unit," he said.
"Yes, well, I heard you have expertise in the hydraulics area. We need that ... and it's a bit more money. Apparently."
He grunted. "I don't care about the money. I just care about getting this thing up and fighting. That's what you care about too, I think, or you would not have gone into that crawlspace."
She nodded slowly. "How long have you been with the Jaeger project?" she said.
"Since the start. I did the first layer of rivets on the hands. The fists. You?"
"I helped draw up the schematics for the neural interface. Which is how I know that we have a real problem here. Look at this." She held up the laptop computer with the past day's records of the interface tests. "You see this scale? It measures pilot compatibility. Without that, Cherno Alpha is not much more than a bucket of bolts. The two pilots consistently show a level of 5.5. It has to be a minimum of 7 to operate."
"I heard they were the best we have."
"I am sure they are. But ... it's not going to be enough. Unless we can improve the hardware connectors to compensate."
Aleksis grunted again. He took off his jacket and strapped on his toolbelt. "Then let's get to it," he said. "One thing, though. You mind if I play some music? It helps me work better."
"Depends. What type of music?"
He pulled out a pocket-sized CD player and turned it on. There was a pumping, thumping drone. Ukrainian hard-house.
"Huh," said Sasha. "That is not going to work. Not for Cherno Alpha. This tank needs ... more." She took the player from him and walked over to the communications console. After a few seconds she located a suitable cord and connected the player to the Jaeger's comm system.
Loud. Powerful. The sort of throb you feel in your soul.
Aleksis put a hand on a metal strut to feel the vibration. "I think Cherno likes it," he said. Sasha nodded.
They set to work.
"6.2," said Sasha to Sokulov. "That's as much improvement as we can get on the hardware side." Aleksis was standing next to her.
Sokulov studied the readouts. "We can only hope that the pilots make it work when they need to," he said. "The good news is that otherwise the construction is pretty well completed. Even the nickels."
"Is there time to test any other pilots?" said Aleksis. "The Australians are using two sisters for Terra Australis, and the Americans have a pair of twins for Romeo Blue. Did we test anyone like that?"
"Since the military have the main responsibility for the Jaeger project, only military people were tested," said Sokulov. He sighed and passed the readouts back to them. "Do what you can," he said. He left.
Sasha sighed. She looked at her watch. Eleven in the morning. "I could use a drink," she said. Aleksis grunted in agreement.
So they went to Vladivostok Construction Base bar. It was a big place, and crowded even at this hour, but they managed to find a place at the counter. They had a couple of drinks. And then a couple more.
"The military is going to send the whole project down the hole," said Aleksis. "And then the country will be wide open. Until the Siberian Wall is finished, anyway, and that will take at least another year."
"Even then it will have to be defended," said Sasha. "And the pilots won't even be able to get Cherno started. You know, you and I could do better – "
A burly Air Force corporal next to them suddenly said: "Hey! You two! Are you insulting the people who risk their lives to keep you safe in your warm beds every night?"
"Uh, no," said Sasha. "It's just that the pilots chosen for the Jaeger aren't showing the required level – "
"If there's anything wrong it's because of you civilian contractor types," said another soldier. "If the military was running the whole thing there would be no problems. Although if you ask me your toy robot is good for nothing but scrap. Our planes and missiles can handle any threat, so long as you stay out of the way." He pushed Sasha on the shoulder for emphasis.
Aleksis put his glass down. "You want to leave?" he said to her.
"Hell no," she said.
"You can handle yourself?"
"Grew up with five brothers."
Aleksis nodded. Then he picked up the corporal and threw him across the room.
They were in the back of a jeep driven by a pair of military police, heading ... somewhere probably not good. They each had a collection of bruises and other minor injuries, either from the bar-fight or from the MPs.
"That was fun," said Sasha, wiping blood from a cut on Aleksis' cheek.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, it was. And I liked the way you – "
Suddenly, an alarm went. They both knew what it meant: Kaiju rising.
Sasha tapped the MP in the front seat. "You hear that?" she said. "It means that we have to get to the Jaeger hangar. Our job is to prep the pilots."
"No way," said the MP. "You're going straight to the brig."
Sasha and Aleksis glanced at each other. Then they each grabbed one of the MPs and hurled them out of the vehicle. Sasha climbed into the driving seat and turned towards the hangar. She put her foot down.
"Hey," said Aleksis. "Back there, before things got interesting, you started to say something. That you and I could do a better job at piloting Cherno than the military guys. Did you mean that, or was it just the booze?"
She looked at him. "What do you think?" she said.
He smiled, and leaned back in the seat.
They tore into the hangar and met Sokulov in the elevator going up to the cockpit. "How bad?" said Sasha.
"Bad," said Sokulov. "Came out of the water an hour ago, south of here. Heading towards Vladivostok. It has been designated Domovoy."
Domovoy. Goblin.
They reached the cockpit. Kozhedub and Baranov were in the harnesses. Sasha examined the interface indicators. "No good," she said. "6.1. Handshake not established."
"We're trying!" said Kozhedub. "But ... it's just not working."
Aleksis looked the officer square in the eye. "Get out," he said.
"Uh, what?" said Kozhedub.
"Get out," said Sasha. "Both of you. We will be the pilots."
"But ... how do you know you are compatible for the Drift?" said Baranov.
Sasha seized Aleksis by the shirtfront and kissed him – hard. It was a powerful, passionate kiss. After a long, long time they parted. "Compatibility established," said Sasha softly.
"Good enough for me," said Kazhedub. He and Baranov began to climb out of the harnesses.
"You sure you know how to do this?" said Sokulov, as he and the other techs helped Sasha and Aleksis into the equipment. "People have died trying to do this without training, you know."
"We built the damn thing," said Aleksis. "And ... we know what music Cherno likes."
"Music?" said Sokulov.
But then Sasha and Aleksis were putting the helmets on.
Drift.
Several seconds of silence.
Then, Aleksis: "We should get married."
Sasha: "And do some very serious fucking. Soon."
"Oh yeah."
Sokulov glanced at the tech who was at the neural interface panel. "Are they Drift-compatible?" he said. "And compatible with Cherno?"
"Sir, these gauges only go up to 10. If they went higher ... "
"Clear the cockpit," said Sasha. "Let's get this fight on the road."
The technical crew ran for the elevator and the roof of the hangar opened. The choppers came in and lifted Cherno Alpha into the air.
The voice of the military commander, General Krupin, came over the radio. "You are ordered to follow strict protocols for engagement with the creature," he said. "First, you have to – "
"Sorry, your transmission is not understood," said Sasha. "And our communications equipment is needed for something more important."
Aleksis connected his disk player to the console. On the monitor, the Kaiju came into view.
"Let's dance," said Aleksis.
PLAY.
They hit the ground a kilometre from Domovoy. The Kaiju was making its way northwards along the coast, heading towards Vladivostok and destroying everything in its path. It was a massive creature, more like a moving mountain than an animal. It had long arms, a barbed tail, and a devil-like head.
When it saw the Jaeger it came running straight for it. Cherno Alpha shifted its feet, ready to take the force of the charge. Domovoy slammed into the Jaeger, driving it back.
"It's a big fucker," said Sasha, as they both struggled against the pressure.
"Then it is fortunate we have escape pods," said Aleksis. They both laughed. They knew there were no escape pods. It was win or die.
Cherno took hold of Domovoy by its arms and swung it around, flinging it away. Sasha and Aleksis shouted with the effort.
But the Kaiju was up in a moment, and came charging again. This time, Cherno punched out, smashing a fist into the creature's face. And then another blow, crashing into the body. A crack appeared in the Kaiju's exoskeleton armour.
Domovoy fell back a few steps, and stared at the Jaeger.
Cherno smashed its fists together, creating a shower of sparks.
"Come on," said Sasha to the creature, speaking to the image on the monitor. "Let's see – "
" – what you're made of," finished Aleksis.
Cherno punched but Domovoy dodged the blow. Its tail lashed out, hitting Cherno on the arm. No effect.
"So it is faster," said Sasha.
"But we are stronger, and tougher," said Aleksis.
Domovoy, sensing its advantage, was circling Cherno now, trying to get behind. Cherno turned, aiming to keep its frontal armour towards its enemy.
"There!" shouted Aleksis.
Cherno raised one massive foot, and then brought it down – onto Domovoy's tail, pinning it to the ground.
"Should slow you down a bit," said Sasha.
Domovoy, realising the danger, punched out again and again. But Cherno took the blows on its heavy armour, and kept the Kaiju pinned.
"Now," said Sasha.
A heavy cylinder rolled into each of Cherno's fists. They were connected to the main reactor, and crackled with energy. The 'roll of nickels'.
Cherno punched into Domovoy's head, a fist on each side. It was like a clap of thunder, shaking the earth and the sky.
Sasha: "Again!"
Another clap of thunder.
Domovoy fell, going down on its knees. Immediately, Cherno grabbed its head with one hand and punched with the other. Armour broke and fell away. Blue blood began to flow.
Punching again ... and again ... and again ...
Sasha and Aleksis stepped out of the elevator in the Jaeger hangar ... and found themselves face-to-face with General Krupin. He was bright red. "If you are under the impression that your blatant disregard of orders will be ignored, you are very mistaken," he snarled. "And neither have I forgotten that you put several military personnel in hospital earlier today. It's a short trip to the cells for you!"
"Sir," said a junior officer next to Krupin, "there is only one cell available at the moment."
Krupin huffed. "Well then," he said. "Since you instigated the bar fight, Mr Kaidonovsky, the cell is for you. And since Dr Polzin is an important figure in the Jaeger program, she will get off with a warning."
"Huh," said Sasha. "I suppose that it if I did something you really couldn't ignore, you'd have to lock us both up for a while."
"In the same cell, I suppose," said Aleksis. "Since there is only one available."
"If ... necessary," said Krupin. "But I can't imagine what – "
And then Sasha punched him.
END