I sling my duffle bag over my shoulder. The cargo plane trip to the San Francisco base was long, and I didn't exactly sleep, although two others did. I suppose it wasn't their first long haul flight. Though I can't imagine ever being able to fall asleep to that racket. It was a group of fourteen Australians. We're all being shipped over to international bases as soon as we're able to contribute to the cause.

At nineteen I'm the youngest person ever to graduate as a Jaeger pilot. Lizzy graduated with me, but she's a few months older. What was that they said about pilots? The stronger the bond, the easier it is for the minds to connect, with the Jaeger and each other. I can't think of anyone I love more than Lizzy. Well, my family, but they're dead now. No prizes to guess what killed them.

It was amazing to have found each other alive again. But our joy was brief. I was swept up into the world's media for a month. So many people asked for interviews. No. No no no no no. They gave me a medal for bravery. I got young Australian of the year. Then they forgot. They picked up on me again when my family was killed by a kaiju in Hobart, but nobody asked for an interview then. Nobody cared very much about it. Just another four people dead, in an ever rising death toll. Since then the world has truly fallen to ruin.

When we land Lizzy and I stumble out of the aircraft. I run a hand through my short hair, and look at the bleak airfield that surrounds me. My legs are jelly and I have been awake for nearly forty eight hours. We're both dead on our feet. But before they let us retreat to our rooms, we have to report to the command level. God knows why that can't wait until after we've had a nap.

Lizzy's blond curls blow into my face as we trudge across the airfield and into the base. Outside it's all concrete and puddles and grey. It's pretty much the same inside. A man covered in black grease and holding a spanner in his left hand leads us up stairs, along corridors and through doors. After a while points at the first glass door I've seen in this place, and leaves, without so much as a, 'toodle loo. Command is that way. Good luck.'

I throw Lizzy a sideways glance and she pulls a very serious face. Despite our fatigue, we laugh at each other, and walk through the door.

The room is filled with old glass screens and some holograms. Sometimes I recognise a program that I saw in training, but not very often. This I not where I belong. There is so much stuff in the room and so much important looking activity. I'm lost in here. I look to Lizzy again. She doesn't have any more idea of what's going on than I do. So we stand awkwardly by the door, waiting for someone to tell us what the hell we are supposed to be doing.

Suddenly I see a familiar face in the chaos, and she sees me. Lieutenant Coleman walks over to the pair of us. Her hair has begun to grey, and her face has a few more lines in it, but her bright eyes make it seem like nothing could ever age her.

'The lieutenant is still alive.' I say disbelievingly. She laughs.

'Captain now. And here you will be expected to treat me as such.'

I straighten up. 'Apologies, Captain. '

'No worries. God, I can't believe what you've done! Youngest ever. We all knew that you'd amount to something, that day on the roof. And your score was above average I hear?'

'Ninety eight percent.' I say. Turns out I had a real knack for holding my own in a fight, along with overall strategy. Lizzy got ninety four percent; a score only dampened her backtalk to an officer. The officer was a dickhead, though. He deserved it.

'Bloody brilliant.' she says. Then she turns to Lizzy, acknowledging her for the first time. 'I'm Captain Billie Coleman. Second in command on this base to General Mathews. Sorry, I haven't seen Eloise in five years, other than the news. You are?'

'I'm Li-, I mean, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Stohl. We're partners, in case you somehow didn't guess that.' She says. Not all cadets arrive at the base with partners, but those of us who do have an advantage, and I wouldn't pilot with anybody else. I wince slightly. I know Captain Coleman won't reprimand her for it, but that answer was ever so slightly disrespectful. I'll rein her in later.

'And your score?'

'Ninety four percent, Captain. I got a reprimand from an officer. If it hadn't been for that I would have the same score as her.' She says, nodding her head at me. Captain Coleman smiles. She finds Lizzy's attitude entertaining. Lizzy smiles back, as if part of some inside joke. Well it's good to see them both making friends.

'Well, I'll take you to the general to get a quick brief and the keys to your rooms. Follow me.' She waves us after her and we follow through the dauntingly purposeful room. Soon we come to the front of the room where the general stands. He wears his coat and trousers, but his coat is unbuttoned and his hair messy. I like the look of him.

Captain Coleman introduces Lizzy and I as the youngest graduated pilots the world has ever seen. The General looks at us like I imagine he would any other new recruits. Not with the usual awe and amazement that Lizzy and I often get. It's kind of nice really.

'Impressive feat, completing the course in two years, cadets. I hope it doesn't mean you missed anything too important. I have found that scores aren't everything when you go up in a real Jaeger, against a real kaiju. Never the less, good luck to you both.
'Now, over the next week you will be training against the other cadets so we can see who would be best to pilot our class five Jaeger. Also we're looking for someone to pilot our class three with a pilot who we've already selected. There are three places available and twenty nine cadets. You will receive details of the times on the digital dairies in your rooms.'

He hands us each a key on a leather thong.

'You're next door neighbors. Now, get out of here, and for god's sake take a nap before dinner. There's a pile of maps on the table by the door. Is everything understood?'

'Yes sir.' We say in unison. He nods at us, and we are dismissed.

Lizzie has excellent map reading skills, so as far as it is to our rooms, it takes a comparably shot time to get there. Outside our rooms we jump up and down in each other's arms for a while, laughing and full of giddy, girly excitement that we're finally here. We get some weird looks from passersby, but Lizzy blows raspberries at them, to reassure them that we're high functioning young adults. Then we disappear into our rooms.

The room is small. There's a bed, some storage space. Two rusty pipes run down the wall by the bed. Sunk into the wall next to the door is a small touch screen, which is the electronic diary. I set an alarm on it to wake me before dinner, before collapsing onto the bed. I don't even think to take my heavy boots off before I'm fast asleep.