Ranger Benjamin Tallmadge bent over his papers, looking for all the world like a man concentrating on his reports. There was concentration to be sure, but it wasn't on the predictability of future attacks, or the growing number of civilians infected with Kaiju Blue… no. Ben's eyes glazed over with a far more personal matter.
What the hell was he going to tell Caleb?
"Oi, Benny boy!" The shout startled him from his revere and a moment later—speaking of the literal devil—Caleb's head popped in through the door. He was grinning ear to ear and there was a pronounced bounce to his step.
"Get your butt in gear, my friend," he said, wagging both fingers Ben's way. "Nate's got something for us. Crazy, no doubt, but it sounds promising crazy this time."
"Really?"
Ben was off, pulling his leather jacket from its chair and throwing it over his shoulder as he ran after Caleb. His drift partner was three-steps ahead, but within seconds they were side-by-side once more, strides perfectly in line and shoulders nearly brushing. The familiarity drove another stab of guilt through Ben's gut.
Made worse by Caleb's sunny whistling.
"You seem to be in a good mood today…" Ben said cautiously. Caleb turned, walking backwards with hands in his pockets.
"What? Can't a guy be pleased that the resident mad scientist had a breakthrough?"
"Don't call him that where he can hear."
"—against the evil, slimy monsters with faces like my great aunt and breath like my dog. Dead dog. Damn near two decades now. That's some pretty awful breath, mind."
"Caleb." Ben resisted the impulse to physically turn his friend back the right way around. He was going to trip at this rate.
And Ben would feel the residual pain. That was always his luck.
"I only meant—" he started.
"That I'm impressively chipper given that my uncle just died an awful, bloody death?"
Ben winced.
"Crushed beneath the fist of a renegade Jaeger? Driven by an arrogant maniac?" Caleb grinned with too much teeth. "I did my screaming and cursing and drinking, Benny Boy. I figure all that's left is to get back to myself… and disembowel Simcoe when next I see him, of course."
"Don't." Ben grabbed hold of Caleb, pulling them both to a stop. "I'm serious. If you go knifing one of the few pilots we have left…"
"It'll piss off Marshal Oyster, I know."
"It'll ruin any chance Washington has of allying with Hewlett," Ben said fiercely. "Everyone in this Shatterdome and Setauket's has a reason for gutting Simcoe—you, Anna, Abe… but Hewlett's only just becoming less of a paranoid ass. If you go assassinating one of his men, no matter who it is, that's gonna blow all our work straight outta the water."
"You can only assassinate someone of importance." Caleb stared at Ben before eventually rolling his eyes. He clapped him in the shoulder, just a little too hard. "Fine, fine. I'll do it for you."
That twisting in his gut again. Ben knew he had to tell Caleb—soon—but now was absolutely not the time. He settled for giving his friend a genuine smile paired with a sterner stare.
"Do it for humanity," he said.
"Right then. New checklist: defeat the monsters of doom; then disembowel Simcoe."
"And see Nathaniel before all else. Let's go."
Their resident genius could always be found holed up in the K-Science division. Ben thought it was probably the only upside to loosing the rest of their scientists to that damned wall: Nathaniel had all the space for books and gadgets he wanted.
And he wanted a lot.
"Nate!" Caleb called. He smacked a towering stack of books as if he expected Nathaniel to pop out of them. All he actually got for his trouble was dust. "Where you at, Nate? I've brought our favorite looker for your viewing pleasure."
"Caleb," Ben hissed.
"What? Everyone knows the whole resistance's got a crush on you. Hell, age difference aside, I do sometimes wonder about Washington…"
"Caleb!"
"Cool it, kiddo. Naaaate. C'mon, where's my favorite scientist?"
"Don't call me that!"
The shout came from beneath a table laden with four laptops and a simulator. There was a rustle, a slight bang, (a yelp), and then Nathaniel popped out on his hands and knees, looking faintly disgruntled. He glared up at Caleb, who grinned down.
"Call you which?" Caleb asked. "'Nate' or 'scientist'?"
"Both, as you know." Nathaniel growled. He nodded to Ben who helped him up, dusting his pants and hair. "No one has called me 'Nate' since I was four and I am not a scientist, I am a man of letters and words. Just because Washington has thrown me into this division by default alone doesn't mean—"
"Have you got something or not?" Ben interrupted.
Nathaniel's face went slack; serious. Wordlessly he gestured to the simulator atop the table where, Ben could now see, there was a vaguely familiar hologram floating.
"Is that…?"
"The breach." Nathaniel confirmed. "Despite this ridiculous technology you all have fostered off on me, I've managed to pair things down into something more pleasing to the eye." He gestured to the image: a green halo surrounding blue, curved lines. Almost like a…
"Throat," Nathaniel said. "For want of a better word. It's the portal that connects our world to theirs; what the Kaiju have been traveling through. Now that I've established its dimensions, along with its exact location, I believe that we can find a way to close it. A bomb perhaps. Or something else equally explosive. You Rangers enjoy blowing things up, don't you?"
"Nathaniel this—this…" Ben whacked his hands down on the table, causing the hologram to disrupt briefly. He looked back up, beaming. "This is incredible!"
"Hole in one, Nate my boy." Caleb said, slapping him on the back. Ben was still circling the image.
"My god, Nathaniel. Do you understand what this could mean? We knew the breach existed, but we never knew enough to strike back. A counter attack. A true counter attack. If we could simply eliminate the means by which they enter our world, there'd be no need to devise new ways of fighting the Kaiju themselves. Divert our remaining resources to curing the sick, rebuilding Earth—we could win!"
"Really?" Nathaniel drawled. "Astounding. I never thought of any of that."
Ben wasn't listening.
"Who else knows about this?"
"No one, besides us three fools." Caleb said. He was peering at the hologram, periodically running his fingers through it until Nathaniel slapped them away. "All that work for this little bugger…"
"I wouldn't expect you to recognize quality, Brewster."
"Hey!"
"We need to tell Marshal Washington," Ben whispered. "Right away. He needs to see—"
The Shatterdome's alarm sounded.
It wasn't the first time it had gone off and regardless of what Nathaniel may have accomplished it wouldn't be the last. Still, each time the bells ripped through the halls Ben jerked, his body remembering everything from training to the up close roar of a Kaiju, all at once. Leaning over the table he toppled headfirst into the hologram, felt the static rushing over his skin, then stumbled back into Caleb's arms. His partner had his other arm half wrapped around his head, trying to block out the clamor, while Nathaniel fell onto the nearest laptop to bring up LOCCENT's feed.
"Category Three!" He called above the whistles. Red lights flashed across his face. "Damn it! I thought Hewlett's men were devising a way to track these beasts!"
"Well obviously they're still working on it."
Caleb was already tossing off his shirt in preparation for suiting up when another figure charged through the doors.
"Marshal," Ben breathed.
Washington was, as always, a powerful figure to behold; even more-so when in a drivesuit. He only had the lower part on though, leaving his chest bare so Ben could see the crisscrossing scars of circuitry across his skin. Unlike Simcoe, Washington had once piloted his Jaeger solo, successfully.
Twenty-eight full minutes.
Most saw it as proof that if Washington hadn't lost his mind before, he sure as hell had after that neural overload. Ben saw it as proof of his endurance. His strength.
And here he still stood.
"Suit up, ranger." Washington said, speaking not to Caleb and Ben as a pair—but just to Ben. "Today we take Culpeper out for a ride." He turned on his heel and left as quickly as he'd come.
There it was then, the words Ben had waited for and dreaded in equal measure. To drift with Marshal Washington himself… but at the cost of losing Caleb. He'd waited too long and god, he hadn't wanted Caleb to learn of the change this way. Ben had just opened his mouth to apologize, to beg, to dosomething, when Caleb shouldered him aside and ran after Washington.
"Culpeper's a stupid name!" He bellowed. "Culper, Marshal—c'mon!" Caleb threw up his hands at the empty hallway.
Wait… what?
"Can you believe that?" Caleb said, turning to a gaping Ben. "How does he even come up with this stuff? I let slip that he was naming the new Jaeger Culpeper to Abe and he laughed for ten minutes straight, then said his dad and Hewlett would never ally because of that alone. Billy Lee is doing the paint job and I told him—I told him, Ben—I don't care how loyal you are to Washington, you take that extra 'p' and 'e' outta that name or so help me, I'll be heading to Hewlett's Shatterdome myself, you get me?"
"Get you? You knew?" It was all Ben could manage.
"'Course I knew, Benny Boy." Caleb tugged him, unresisting, towards the nearest deployment center. Around them the Shatterdome was springing into action, with workers and pilots alike scrambling to their bases. "What? It's a goddamn Jaeger! Can't exactly go keeping something like that a secret."
Ben spluttered, tripping over his own feet. "Well no—no, but me and… and Washington…"
"Drifting? Yeah, rumors of that spread like wildfire, as rumors do. Besides, I figured that was gonna be a thing a second after you two met. Honestly, Ben, anyone could see you're drift compatible. He's gushing about the info you pulled from Abe about Hewlett's plans, you're gushing at the fact that he's looking your way—"
"I was not!"
"Were too. He bumps you up in rank like that," Caleb snapped his fingers. "You're bringing him reports before he even asks for 'em. It's sorta sickening when you think about it. And," Caleb emphasized, stopping to take Ben's face in his hands. "You do realize you can be drift compatible with more than one person, yeah?"
"Oh of course you can," Ben whispered. "I just… we've partnered for so long. The Courier—"
"Will still be waiting for us if we need her again, delivering death and destruction to all Kaiju." Caleb grinned, slapping him on the cheeks before shoving Ben into the center. There ten assistants immediately set upon him, pulling his clothes away to replace them with his drivesuit. The white metal felt familiarly cold against his skin.
"You'll keep safe?" Ben asked. He jerked as the circuits connected to his spine.
"Me? You're the one chasing something outta Simcoe's daydreams."
"Still."
"Fifteen minutes 'till landfall!" came the shout.
Caleb rolled his eyes, but there was a definite smile hiding under his beard. "Yeah, I'm good. I'll keep old Nate company while you go save the world. Someone's gonna have to prepare a report for when Washington comes back, asking about the breach."
"You mean a report to tell him about the breach," Ben said. He accepted his helmet.
"Nope." Caleb sauntered past, brushing a hand against Ben's temple. "Washington's gonna know all about that discovery in… oh, about ten minutes. God speed, Benny Boy."
Entering a Jaeger with Marshal Washington was the most nerve-wracking experience of Ben's life.
And that was saying quite a lot.
"Ready, Ranger?" Washington asked. Ben could only give a short, curt nod. "I apologize for this rather… abrupt partnership. I had hoped to ease us into this with a few test runs, but…" Washington ground his teeth a moment. "I admit, I wasn't expecting another attack so soon."
"Should we be doing this, sir?" Ben asked even as he stepped into Culper (Yes, just one 'p' and 'e' embedded on the metal). They stood side-by-side, ready for the drift.
"You have doubts about our compatibility?"
Ben flushed red. "N-no, sir! I only meant—this Kaiju—we killed the last—I thought Hewlett—"
"Ah. If Marshal Hewlett has a problem with us taking his kill than he may take it up with me. After our people are safe."
"Right. Of course."
"Initiating neural drift in 10—9—8—"
Ben fiddled with his controls. "Sir… sir I just wanted to say…"
"Whatever you wish to express will need no words in a moment."
"… Right."
"3—2—1—drift commencing—"
Ben gasped, doubled hard, for in that moment the voice in his ear disappeared and his senses—his very being—was replaced with another's. He was one of the few to drift with more than one individual and god, it was everything and nothing like Caleb. Sights, smells, fleeting thoughts he couldn't quite decipher, an itch near his hand that wasn't his hand at all, but one older and stronger and bending towards him in a gesture of concern…
"Ranger, Ranger, pull back… find your feet…"
"Yes, sir." Ben managed to wheeze out. He felt his lips forming the words even as he knew Washington's were relaxing. That was relief there. For him.
Ben could feel everything Washington felt for him.
"Sir…" he breathed again. Ben choked slightly even as he keyed in his code, letting those at LOCCENT know he was stable and ready to deport. They took their first steps in a Jaeger together (instinct, perfectly timed) and he snuck a glance at his commander, though he certainly didn't need it to see.
"As I said, Ranger. No words needed."
Ben smiled, bright and unreserved. "Sir. Sir. Given the circumstances, I think you can call me something other than 'Ranger.'"
Before he could stop it the names flit across their bridge: Ben, Benjamin—
"Benny Boy?" Washington said, laughing incredulously at the words. Ben spluttered.
"No! Not that. Oh god, that's Caleb."
"I know."
"I know you know. Shit."
Washington was laughing full out now, his voice light and musical, a stark contrast to the crash ofCulper's feet. As he laughed, however, another name drifted across their link, this time coming from his end:
Son.
"… Oh," Ben squeaked.
"Yes." Washington murmured. "All things that cannot be said… take a deep breath. I would be pleased to call you 'Benjamin' if you would drop the 'sir.' In private, you understand."
Ben swallowed. "Yes, in private. That… that's good."
"Indeed. Perhaps we can spend a private moment together after this fight is through and you can tell me all about this marvelous discovery of Nathaniel's. It's quite prominent in your thoughts."
"… Oh yeah. Right."
"Keep breathing, Benjamin."
"Kaiju within sight. Keep to your toes, pilots."
Ben could see it now; a monstrous Kaiju decked in horns, its scales as green as the sea it had emerged from. Definitely a Category Three, but nothing he and Washington couldn't handle. Ben could feel their compatibility thrumming through them both, spreading to the very circuitry they were hooked to. He lifted Culper's fist, sighting along the fingers, and saw not just the Kaiju…but another Jaeger…
"Magistracy hailing Culper." The voice came loud and clear through their helmets. "Magistracy hailing Culper. Do you read?"
"Abe!" Ben cheered. He could feel Washington's shock.
"Ben! God it's good to hear your voice. Hey, what do you say we take this beast down together?"
"Of course! Yes! Ah… Sir?"
"Ranger Woodhull? Senior?" Washington asked.
"Right here, Marshal."
"Has Marshal Hewlett approved this partnership?"
"He'd be a damn fool not to." Richard's voice had a distinctly smug tint to it. "Let's just say he and I have had more than a few chats and if he takes issue with us seeking your company, then we'll be having a few more."
"A fine strategy." Washington sighed. "Then we would welcome your support. More than you know." Warm radiated through them both.
"Come on then, Ben. Let's kill this thing. I don't want to spend any more time in my father's mind than I have to."
"You think I wish to spend time in yours, you ungrateful child?"
"Sir?" Ben grinned, lifting Culper's fist once more. "Shall we?"
"Oh, yes. We shall indeed, Benjamin. Take aim!" Washington called across the coms, stirring Abe and Richard.
"Together, gentlemen! Today—today is a day we fight!"