Disclaimer; I OWN NOTHING... Except my really messed up plot and shit!
Chapter 1 – Introductions
Director Fury waited by the open hangar door for their new arrivals. Raleigh Becket, Mako Mori and two others were flying straight from Hong Kong to the base on Fiesta Island Park in San Diego County. Well, it wasn't exactly a base. The term 'underground city' springs to mind. The park was bought up by SHIELD and they made it Project JOKE's HQ. It was only open to those cleared for knowledge of the project and they rarely seen daylight. Most of the agents and scientists working there were working with the Jaeger tech or reinforcing the exterior of their homes. There were many bases like it along the West coast, another precaution. SHIELD had been building public shelters under cities for ten years now.
Since the picking up of specific readings at the original portal site, they'd been packing these cities with massive amounts of supplies for every scenario. Back-up generators were loaded and set-up. Hospital wings were fully stocked. The whole nine yards!
It was nearing five in the morning and the sound of a plane drew the eye upwards. The peri-jet was the fastest in the fleet of SHIELD's aircraft, able to carry only two passengers, aside the pilot and co-pilot. It was able to do a circuit of the world in less than twelve hours, smaller than the jump jet and easily manoeuvrable. The jet landed and was flagged into it place amongst an array of aircraft. The pilot powered down and the co-pilot opened the door on the side and stepped down carrying her luggage with a warm, mischievous smile for the Director. She was followed by the strangers, called here for purposes unknown to them.
"How was the flight? Please, tell me you didn't run into any trouble. Knowing you two, I'll have to make a personal apology to whoever you've nearly killed!" Fury was secretly fond of the woman standing beside him, but he didn't dare tell her that. He'd never live it down.
"Mom'll be out in a minute, she's grabbing her bags. She sent me out here because she thinks I'm gonna steal the plane. I'm not a pilot, I'm a co-pilot! Anyways, how's my favourite pirate? Hey, that rhymed!" The young Asian woman stated, smirking up at him. "Did you get into any trouble while we were away?" Raleigh and Mako dropped their rucksacks and were just watching the interaction, confused and amused. The guy was scary to look at, tall, broad, and African-American with a black patch over his left eye. Unknown to them as of yet, the dark trench coat and body armour were an everyday occurrence. There were too many people willing to do anything to take him out, and not in a friendly way.
"Skye, what have I told you about winding up the Director?" Skye rolled her eyes and stared at her mother. "Director Fury, sir." Agent Melinda May nodded to the man, "Mr. Raleigh Becket and Miss Mako Mori as requested."
"I can see that! Move, get started on training. Everyone knows that if you don't, you're both crabbit* and annoying until you do." Both agents took that as a very obvious dismissal and made their way to the elevator that'd take them to be geared up. Nick turned to his visitors' expectant looks, "Welcome to Project JOKE. I suspect you haven't heard a damn thing about it considering we don't usually bring in outsiders." Both pilots shook their heads, "And I suspect you haven't heard of SHIELD?" Raleigh shook his head again, but Mako nodded. "Explain."
"Marshal Stacker Pentecost of the PPDC raised me after my family was killed by the Kaiju, Onibaba. He spoke of your organization in private, telling me that if we failed to close the Breach, we had to contact you, that you'd know what to do," Mako glared at the floor. Raleigh wrapped an arm around her shoulder, whispering into her ear. She finally looked up and Fury gave an apologetic smile.
"Why are we here, Mr. Fury?" Raleigh didn't particularly like the fact that he'd been taken somewhere and had no knowledge of why, again! He had a bad feeling about this, and the secrecy of this man made that feeling worse.
"It's Director Fury. I am the head of this organization and overseeing Project JOKE. The portal you closed is showing signs of opening up again, bigger than before. We've had experience with alien life and we have the tech to bring them down once and for all! We have pilots for six and a half of our eight Jaegers, we need one more pairing." He stared them down, "If you're not up to it, tell me now and we'll send you back to Hong Kong. Otherwise, follow me and I'll show you your new suit." Raleigh and Mako stared at the back of the retreating Director, looked at each other, hauled up their backpacks and nodded. Jogging to catch up, Raleigh decided that now was as good a time as any and grabbed Fury's elbow to turn him. It was a bad idea on his part, he ended up stomach to floor with his arm being pushed up his back, "Rule number one, don't touch me." Fury practically growled at him and let him up. The younger man obviously didn't learn the first time round with Pentecost.
Pushing off the floor, rubbing his shoulder, Raleigh spoke up, "Director, how is that even possible? We nuked them!" They stepped into the lift and waited as Fury placed the ring finger tip of his right hand on a small screen, had his left eye scanned and finally put in a password.
When the lift started its descent, Fury started talking, "Are you stupid or something? Non-humans have been trying to take over Earth for millennia. They come back time and time again until they are defeated or they get what they want. You heard about the Battle of New York, right? Well, the idiot that tried to take over then has been defeated another three times. The last time, his brother finally had to take him down." The lift stopped and they stepped out onto a platform.
Both Raleigh and Mako shimmied up to the railing, leaned forward and looked down. It was roughly a two hundred and fifty foot drop, straight down. Turning their attention ahead of them, they were looking at the chest of...
"That's Black Hawk. She's a fine piece of machinery. Don't fuck with her pilots! Black Widow and Hawkeye would take you out, no questions asked." The Jaeger was three hundred feet tall, all black with a large red hawk, wings spread in the centre of her chest. She was as sleek and slim and as human as a robot could look. Most of the Jaegers were powered by massive arc reactors; it seemed the most logical way of powering the beasts. Stark wasn't too happy about being asked to build them to begin with. He'd ranted for a good hour about his tech ending up in the wrong hands again. Once the situation had been explained, he'd been eager to get started. He oversaw the production of SHIELD's first and hopefully last Jaeger unit. Having him work with Bruce, Leo, Jemma, Newt, Hermann and a small army of other SHIELD engineers and scientists made for some beyond-genius grade tech.
Just as they were turning to head back into the elevator, the unmistakable vibrations of an active Jaeger could be felt. "You've already met her pilots," the Jaeger in question was taller than the Black Hawk by at least a hundred feet. "That's The Cavalry!" If their mouths had opened any wider, their jaws would have unhinged. The massive robot stalked past, heading towards the training room. Yes, Jaegers have a training room. It helps the pilots get used to the neural link, Drift and equipment. The visor, upper arms and breastplates were sky blue. The rest of her was black.
"You mean, the women that flew us here?" Fury barked a laugh, nodded and continued to the lift as they watched the Jaeger veer to the left and disappear. When the doors opened, Mako and Raleigh rushed in, "That's not even funny! Our Jaegers were never that tall. We'd need more than two pilots to drive that thing."
Fury turned to another four occupants and nodded at each in turn, "Phil, Jemma, Steve and James...Meet our latest recruits!" He looked up, "That means you two too! You all know their names from the incident that happened three years ago."
Jemma stepped forward, smiling with her hand outstretched, "Hi, I'm Jemma Coulson, resident bio-specialist." She shook both their hands and waved a hand in Phil's direction, "and this is my father, Phil, leader of the project when the Director has to be elsewhere." At that, he stepped up and bowed to Mako. Phil then stood to his full height, clapped Raleigh on the back and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you both. I suspect you'll be piloting alongside us? Your victory three years ago is legendary." Steve and James introduced themselves just before Clint dropped from the hatch on the top of the lift, followed closely by Natasha.
"Legendary? You're the legends! I was fourteen when the aliens invaded New York. You're Avengers. Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America and the Winter Soldier. I'm guessing Hulk and Iron Man are around here somewhere, too?" To say Raleigh was gob smacked would be an understatement. Mako stood back and took everything in quietly.
"All in due time, Mr. Becket. We have much to discuss and you have a machine to name!"
Finally getting to the lowest floor in the base, all nine people stepped out of the elevator and into a very busy work place. Jemma stepped forward to the two waiting men, hugging them both. The men all clapped them on the back, except Fury, and Natasha nodded. The newcomers were feeling a tad overwhelmed as people were bustling about. One thing stopped them from doing anything rash. They felt at home. Home was where the Jaegers were. Home was where they were needed, wanted and accepted. Home was there, in that very huge room, in that underground base, with all these people.
The smallest spoke up first, "Director Fury, sir? We've had another attempted hack. They're trying to get into the Jaeger files and having a pretty pathetic go at the Jaegers themselves. Now, I know the Jaegers are programmed to respond to specific DNA, brain waves and the particular neural link between their pilots, but this is ridiculous. The attacks are coming more often than not and I'm not sure I can pull off Skye-high encryption levels." He walked beside the older man, staring down at a tablet, "That's the fourth time they've almost gotten through to Tripp's station and the systems haven't been updated since the May's went on that undercover op. Three months, sir! Stark's good but he's not that good. If they get through to either Tendo or Tripp's computers and anyone's in a Jaeger, there's a good chance that it'll cripple the neural link between the pilots and send them down the RABIT-hole, into a vegetative state for the rest of their lives." He looked up at his superior, expecting some form of carefully worded abuse hurled at him. Instead, he got a small and rare smile, "If I know Skye, she's encrypted that thing and created a worm hole, pulling the hacker in, feeding them false information and shutting down their systems or bombarding them with cat videos. So yes, Agent Ward, I'll have Stark and Skye on it as soon as Skye's done with Tai Chi."
The group came to a stop in front of the third Jaeger. "This," Steve pointed at the machine, "is the Winter Captain! She's not as tall, strong and agile as The Cavalry -she's specifically designed for category four and up- nor is she as manoeuvrable as Black Hawk. She's nowhere near as sneaky as the Hydra Dwarf or as tactical as the Zombie Mammoth. However, she's one half of the brute force, shared by Pacific Danger, and she's a beauty." The Jaeger in question was the same height as Black Hawk. With the exception of a fully black body, the only other colours on her were silver, blue and white. Her left arm was entirely silver with a circle of blue and a centralized white star on the shoulder. Another of the same symbol sat atop a black backdrop on her chest.
As they continued further into the base, they came to the training room. The room was around eight hundred feet tall; roughly double the height of the tallest robot the veteran pilots had ever seen, and maybe a thousand feet long and wide. To see a manmade machine being as quiet, elegant and delicate as The Cavalry was during a Tai Chi session with her pilots was astonishing. Never in their lives had they seen such craftsmanship perform in the most relaxed way. Well, as relaxed as a robot could seem. The active pilots were ignoring them, both thinking of nothing but breathing, moving in perfect synchronization. When the routine came to an end, the spectators that'd gathered watched as she put the palms of her hands together, as if in prayer and bowed forward. So human, Raleigh and Mako thought at the same time. Then she surprised them. She crouched, her thrusters booted up and she jumped. The thrusters on her back released as she tucked her knees up into her chest, tumbled through the air and landed creating a very small earthquake. Her right leg was out to the side, left leg supporting her, right hand flat against the floor, left arm up and slightly behind with a clenched fist.
"That's impossible! No machine should be able to do that. There's something not quite right about those two. I mean, the neural load would have a devastating effect on any normal human being. It'd demolish us if we stepped into it." Raleigh prattled on and on about the Drift and the neural link and the load and all the other crap Fury had to listen to when dealing with his own employees. He didn't need Mr. Becket doing the exact same thing, so he shook his head and attempted to move on.
"S'about time you two got 'ere!" Everything, everyone stopped what they were doing and held their breath. That voice! That unmistakable, annoying and downright relieving voice! Mako and Raleigh whipped their heads around so fast, they almost stumbled. There, standing in front of them, a man they thought long dead, long gone, none other than Chuck Hansen with that stupid, infuriatingly cocky grin. And before anyone could say or do anything, Chuck was sprawled on his back clutching his jaw and Mako, Mako, was cradling her hand. The expression of sheer unadulterated rage that she wore was in no way like her at all. But, three-ish years! Three-ish years of thinking he was dead. Three-ish years of survivors' guilt. Three-ish years of grief and mourning. All those heroes, pilots, family, lost and that bastard had the cheek to stand there as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, Popeye! Get your touring party out of the way or you're gonna be people-pancakes. Do I even have to tell you how disgusting they'd taste?" Skye's voice came through the overhead speakers. "I told you, Chuckles! You should have waited until Herc was done with diagnostics." The laughter was evident, she could barely contain it.
Raleigh extended a hand to pull Chuck up. Just as he got his balance, both Raleigh and Mako pulled him into a bone crushing embrace. Stunned at first, it took him a few seconds to relax, accept and return it. As one of the four only remaining pilots alive, he understood the significance and he was, genuinely, glad to have them back. When they released each other, all three had tears threatening to spill over and all three were too stubborn to let that happen.
Grant stepped up beside Raleigh as they moved out of the way for the Jaeger, "There's something you need to understand...You didn't think there were aliens out there, the Chitauri and Kaiju happened. You didn't think you'd survive the war, you did. You thought Chuck was dead, he's not. When you work for SHIELD, anything is possible! As for the May's, all you need to know right now, is that their individual brain capacities are larger than the average human, making them the best for the job and drift compatible. I'm sure Skye will tell you pretty much everything."
Hydra Dwarf stood around two hundred and fifty feet. She was bulky and didn't look all too threatening. The Ward brothers shouted as the new duo reached out a hand towards her, "Don't!" When their hands had been snatched back, they turned their quizzical expressions on the men. "She has a level two force field of pure energy running over her surface. I've been running diagnostics for the last week trying to find any weaknesses and room for improvement. The Director wouldn't let me upgrade it to level five when indoors. Now, it might be one tiny touch, but boom! Body parts and blood everywhere. Level five? If you get within thirty feet of her, she'll incinerate you." He used hand gestures to emphasize his point. Grant just shook his head and smiled at his younger brothers' tone and faced the newcomers. "Leo's always been a bit on the dramatic side of things. He's passionate about his work, he's an engineering genius. He's been testing out some theories, on what? Well, I don't know exactly. However, he's been working on a way of frying the Kaiju before we actually have to fight. They won't be expecting it and I doubt they'll pass stage one anyways."
The vets stared at the group around them incredulously until Cap mentioned breakfast. When they got to the mess hall, it was packed. The largest table was the only one that wasn't occupied. Leo left to get Bruce, Tony, Newt and Hermann while everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing until the group had gotten their food and taken their seats. Applause erupted for Mako and Raleigh who kept eating, oblivious.
"Who are the newbies, Nicky?" The duo looked up into the face of none other than Tony Stark. "How many times do I have to tell you? We don't need any more pilots. Hulk, I mean Bruce and me, we'll do fine!"
"Stark. Sit down, shut up and eat!" The rest of the group sent warning glares in his direction. Bruce took up the seat between Tony and Raleigh, offering apologies for Tony's behaviour before digging into his food. Tony turned on them again, "We took the specs and images of Gipsy Danger and built her based on them. Leo and I upgraded her weapons and thrusters. You'll still have to be airlifted into the field but she'll hold up better than the original. We'll get into specifics once you meet her." There, in his eyes, child-like excitement was shining through.
Skye took a seat in front of Mako, "Aw Tony. Don't talk tech and specs until I'm here. Which reminds me," she pulled a laptop seemingly from nowhere, "Leo, do you know where the hack is coming from? I'll shut them down and upgrade the systems in a couple of minutes but if we have a location, I can get Intel first." When he shook his head, she sighed. "Tony, any info on this hack?" She ran a hand through her hair and let out a long, slow breath when he shook his head too. "Fine!" She rounded on Fury, "Never leave two men to do a woman's job. I'm telling you, Ragetti! If you're gonna insist on putting those two together for my expertise, you're gonna get nowhere." Chuck sat down next to her when she began typing. He looked pointedly at Mako, "She tried!" His voice was flat, sad as he turned to look at Skye, "She really tried to make him leave the Conn-Pod but he refused. They could have helped him and he still refused. 'Get him outta here! Herc will kill me, again, if he doesn't survive.' I nearly killed her when she wouldn't let me go! I was supposed to die in that Jaeger, it was supposed to be me." The duo just stared at his ashen face. This was not the Chuck Hansen that they knew. This was not the way they'd imagined him if they'd known he'd survived. The moment was gone when Skye let out a triumphant shout, grabbed Chuck and kissed him, fast and hard. When they finally managed to pry themselves apart, Skye continued typing as she peered over the screen of the laptop. Seeing that everyone was staring at her, food forgotten, she told them, "I'm downloading everything they have onto a space drive and adding encryption that'll cripple them for years! Remember that Trojan we used to take Cybertek down? Well, I'm planting that now. Anything they do, every keystroke, every webpage, everything will be recorded and sent to the space drive." She turned her attention back to the screen. No-one said a thing about her actions towards the younger Hansen, and that prick proudly wore the biggest shit-eating grin they'd ever seen. He looked happy, genuinely happy.
"Everyone finished?" Bruce looked for confirmation from each individual, landing on Raleigh and Mako last, "I think it's time we introduce you to Zombie Mammoth and Pacific Danger, and finally get a name for the last Jaeger." When they'd finished putting their dirty dishes away and gathering their gear, Skye had finally finished up, letting her laptop run the programmes necessary. They made their way through the exit and continued their trek towards Zombie Mammoth's hangar.
She stood at two hundred and fifty feet and she was wide. Not what one would call overweight but her name said it all. Like the others, she was black all over and it looked like she had hair, everywhere! When this had been pointed out, people laughed, "Yeah, it looks like hair but that's a defence mechanism. She basically turns into a porcupine. A couple thousand extremely sharp swords are hidden here and there so if a Kaiju grabs her, they'll let go quick. Let's move on. After the introductions, I'm sure someone will show you to your accommodation. Shared quarters I presume?" Continuing on, the group came to a stop as Herc joined them, giving a quick stiff nod to old friends. Raleigh and Mako looked skyward to the towering tech that was Pacific Danger. She stood at three hundred and fifteen feet and she looked like Striker Eureka. The memories of that day threatened to surge forward for all four pilots, barely being beaten back into the depths of their consciousnesses. "We couldn't name her Striker Eureka," Herc explained. "She was one of a kind. To us anyway. But we couldn't let that day go at the time, hence the name. The war in the Pacific and Gipsy Danger, her last stand. Pacific Danger, a tribute."
The group marched on to the last hanger. Everyone else stopped short, giving the pilots' some greatly appreciated space. As they let their heads fall back looking up at the beast, all they could do was stare in awe. They weren't kidding when they said they'd used Gipsy Dangers specs. It was like looking at the original, with the exception of her breastplate. The people around them were drowned out as the memories of her final day on the bottom of the ocean forced their way to the surface.
When they came around again, they looked at each other and faced the others, "Gipsy Striker!"
A/N; So, this chapter and the prologue took me forever to perfect, to my standards at least.
We've seen 7 of our 8 Jaegers. The Cavalry, Black Hawk, Winter Captain, Hydra Dwarf, Zombie Mammoth, Pacific Danger and Gipsy Striker. I will get into specs and stuff once explanations are outta the way and we meet our 8th Jaeger. Thoughts so far? Follow, don't follow. Review, don't review. On the off chance that you do review, all reviews are welcome. but if you are downright insulting, the review will be deleted. This idea has been running around in my head for weeks and it's still driving me insane. Chapter 2 is well under way and I will post it just as soon as I deem it perfect.
For those who don't know, crabbit means exceptionally grumpy and snappy.