Chapter 2: Operation Pitfall
"You know Mako, all those years I spent living in the past, I never really thought about the future." Raleigh commented as he and Mako tapped a few buttons on the dashboard in front of them. His co-pilot's facial expression was one of understanding as they shared a glance. "Til now. I never did have really good timing." He finished as Gipsy's head plummeted down the railing towards the Jaeger's body.
Over the Pacific Ocean, four squadrons of helicopters, carrying Gipsy, Cherno, Crimson, and Striker, flew towards the area of water right above the Breach. There was a massive nuclear bomb, wrapped in casing simliar to a backpack, strapped to Striker's back for the mission. Obtained with courtsies of the Russians. Within a couple of minutes, they reached the area.
"Disengaging transport!" The lead Jumphawk pilot shouted as the pulleys detached, releasing all four of the Jaegers. With colossal splashes, each of the four massive mechs landed into the water, slowly sinking as their massive weight dragged them under. The Jaegers then began walking, wading deeper into the depths of the ocean.
"LOCCENT, all ports sealed. Ready to submerge." The rough voice of Herc echoed in the comms link between the four Jaegers.
"All ports sealed. Ready to submerge." Raleigh reported from Gipsy's Conn-Pod.
"All ports sealed. Ready to submerge." Sasha reported briskly from Cherno.
"All ports sealed. Ready to submerge." Cheung finished from Crimson.
As the Jaegers' heads disappeared underneath the water, the LOCCENT was abuzz with activity. "All four neural handshakes at a hundred percent." One of the techs reported as Marshal Stacker Pentecost entered the room. He walked straight to the massive dashboard in the front where Tendo was working, and spoke into the mike. "We've got two bogies. Both Category Four. Codenames, Raiju and Scunner." He reported.
"Roger that. Come on up to the ocean cliff! We jump! Its three thousand metres to the Breach." Herc growled as he and Chuck continued marching forward, Striker following their movements. "Half a mile? I can't even see a damn inch in front of us!" Chuck responded as he reached up and pressed a button on the board above them. Outside, the Jaeger's searchlights switched on, along with the other three Jaegers.
"How are we supposed to reach the mark?" Chuck questioned again. "Visibility zero. Switching instruments now." Raleigh said over the comms as he pressed another button on the board. The stomps of the Jaegers' footsteps echoed through the water as they continued their march towards the Breach.
"Keep a eye out! Those monsters could be lurking anywhere!" Sasha growled as she continued marching against the strong water pressure. "Be ready to engage at any moment. We cannot afford to lose any of you at this stage so be cautious!" Hu warned as he and his brothers pushed all of their strength into walking.
Suddenly besides them, a massive, reptilan shape zoomed past. In the LOCCENT, alarms blared on the screen as a red circle, indicating a Kaiju, whipped past the right of the four green circles, indicating the Jaegers. "Crimson! You have movement on your right 3'0 clock!" Pentecost warned. Hu instantly turned his head to the right, his brothers and Crimson following. He didn't see anything in the murky darkness of the water, and so activated the sensors.
"100 feet radius: clear." The Jaeger A.I droned as Hu spoke. "Right flank's clear, I got nothing!" He reported. "Left now! And moving fast! Fastest Kaiju on record!" Tendo shouted. Suddenly there was a blur of movement besides the Mark IV, and the Jaeger quickly looked beside it, but found nothing.
"I can't see anything! It's moving too fast!" Hu reported. "Eyes on the prize Crimson! 600 metres from the drop." Chuck shouted over the comms as the four Jaegers neared the Breach. Back at the LOCCENT, a helicopter touched down outside the Shatterdome, and Newt and Hermann hurried out, sprinting towards the Shatterdome entrance.
As they reached one of the smaller outer cliffs, Striker tenses its legs before jumping, landing on the ground below the cliff with a audible boom, before Crimson landed as well. As the two digital Jaegers walked forward to put a little distance between them and the other two, Gipsy and Cherno slammed into the ground as well. The quartet of Jaegers then thundered towards the edge of the Breach.
In front of them, a thundering growl could be heard as the two Kaiju guarding the Breach started to advance. "Bogies are stopping!" Tendo shouted as he brought up the four green dots and the two red dots. "Bogies are stopping, 1'0 clock." Herc said as he stopped. Striker halted just in front of the Breach, before bringing its arms back. "Old man, what are you doing?!" Chuck shouted to his father in shock as he was dragged to a halt as well. "They're stopping! Why the hell were they stopping?!" Herc snapped back. "I don't give a damn sir! We're 300 metres from the jump!" Chuck yelled.
"Something's not right! If we're looking for a death wish we'd jump!" Herc growled. "Striker why did you stop?" Aleksis questioned. The other three Jaegers were standing slightly behind Striker, their searchlights sweeping across the area as they searched it. "Striker, the bogies are now forward! Take the leap now!" Pentecost shouted impatiently, before the doors flew open and the two scientists rushed in. "Don't do it! Don't do it! It's not going to work!" Newt shouted as he and Hermann reached the desk.
"Move aside!" Newt said as he pushed the Marshal aside before grabbing the mike. "Blowing up the Breach-its not gonna work!" Herc shared a confused glance with his son before speaking back into the comms. "What do ya mean it's not gonna work?" He questioned. "The Breach reads the Kaiju like a barcode at the supermarket and then lets them past." Hermann pitched in. "So your going to have to fool the Breach into thinking you have the same code!" Newt finished.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Raleigh questioned. "By making it think you are a Kaiju! You have to lock onto the Kaiju and ride it into the Breach. The Breach will then read the Kaiju's genetic code and then let you pass!" Hermann said. "If you don't do it then the bomb will deflect off the Breach like it always have and the mission will fail!" Newt finished.
"Alright now that you've heard all that Striker take the leap!" Pentecost shouted into the mike. "Sir! I have a third signature emerging from the Breach." Tendo reported. "Third signature emerging from the Breach!" Pentecost yelled. As Tendo expanded the throat of the virtual Breach, Hermann and Newt looked on with pure shock and horror. "It's a triple event..." Newt whispered in shock. "God... I was right..." Hermann whispered as well.
"How big is it? What category?" Herc demanded. Tendo shared a quick glance with the Marshal, before turning back to the screen. "Category V..." He whispered. Pentecost's eyes widened before he grabbed the mike. "Striker! Its a Category V! First ever." As Herc and Chuck shared a shocked glance, the Breach's entrance crackled with electricity. As Striker braced itself for fighting, a massive shape rose from the Breach like a monstrous reaper... the Category V.
Slattern.
The beast was massive, far more huge then any Kaiju they had ever encountered before. It had a massive, mountainous body, huge clawed limbs, a large blue spike protruding from its back, and a enormous, hammerhead shark shaped head, with two sets of eyes at either end. It had three, massive long tails, each whipping and snapping the water behind it. The monster slowly leaned its head forward and glared at Striker, before letting out a earsplitting roar.
Herc and Chuck shouted as they whipped their arms out, releasing the Jaeger's Sting Blades. The massive swords gleamed as the water around the blades started boiling, the carbon nanotubes built within heating the blades to over 400 degree farinheit. As Striker entered a fighting stance, the other three Jaegers quickly started marching forward to help their ally.
"Striker, we see you. About a hundred metres. We're coming around you 3'0 clock, try to flank him. Standard two team form-" Suddenly a massive shadow whipped from the right of Gipsy, but the Mark III reacted quickly, grabbing Scunner by its horns and forcing it back. Raleigh and Mako then whipped their heads forward, causing Gipsy to headbutt the Kaiju, once, twice. Taking advantage of the dazed Kaiju, Gipsy locked one arm around its shoulders and grabbed the bridge of the Kaiju's skull with the other before grappling the Kaiju into the ground.
"Kaiju signature coming! 50 metres away!" Tendo warned as Cherno thundered towards Scunner and Gipsy while Crimson quickly twisted round. Suddenly Raiju appeared in front of Crimson, before the Category IV slammed into the Mark IV. Jaeger and Kaiju rolled through the ocean floor before Crimson fired its jets, boosting itself on top of the Kaiju. Activating the Twin Fist Saws in their two left hands, the Wei Triplets swung, but the Kaiju quickly ducked underneath the whirring saw blades before lunging forward, its 'head' splitting into four pieces, revealing its real head underneath! The brothers shouted in agony as it buried its fangs into Crimson's left bottom arm, crunching deeply into the steel.
They slammed the fist of Crimson's larger, right arm onto Raiju's head, over and over again, until it growled in pain and released the arm. Hu then slammed a button the right dashboard, before the right arm's hand groaned and rattled as it split apart to reveal a vast, tesla coil like weapon. "IB22 Plasmacaster engaged. Charging period beginning T-minus one second." The Jaeger A.I blared as from multiple charging points the plasmacaster started gathering energy. Crimson then slashed furiously at Raiju with its two left arms, keeping the Kaiju on its toes.
Suddenly Slattern began furiously whirling its three tails like a propeller, the water swirling around it. "Brace for impact!" Herc shouted before the tails whipped forward like a bullwhip, slamming into Striker and knocking the Mark V flying. Striker flew backwards before slamming into a towering hypothermal vent then crumpling to the ground.
Gipsy then saw Striker having trouble with Slattern, so Raleigh and Mako pushed all of their strength into Gipsy's arms before the Mark III tossed Scunner over to Cherno, who grabbed the Category IV in a headlock. Gipsy then strided over to help Striker against Slattern. Cherno then swung its massive fist, aiming for Scunner's head, but the Kaiju jerked out of the Mark I's hold, before avoiding the fist, causing the Russian Jaeger to lose its balance.
"Argh!" Sasha cried as she and Aleksis staggered backwards, Cherno nearly losing its balance. Before they could react, Scunner had rammed straight into them, forcing them backwards. "Oh no you don't!" Aleksis shouted as he slammed a button on the dashboard. Instantly from within Cherno's feet steel spikes deployed explosively, anchoring Cherno to the seabed. Now being unable to knock its target over, Scunner was visibly panicking.
"Now for some real fun!" Sasha shouted as she smashed another button. Instantly a steel cylinder slotted out of Cherno's right hand, before the Russian Jaeger gripped it, transforming its fist into a solid hunk of metal. "Sluggernaut deployed." The Jaeger A.I droned. Cherno then grabbed hold of the Kaiju by a horn, before slamming the sluggernaut into its face, over and over again. Each blow was like a impacting train to the Kaiju's face.
Scunner, howling in pain, managed to duck underneath the fourth blow, before grabbing hold of Cherno's left arm and burying its fangs into the metal. Sasha and Aleksis shouted in pain as the fangs dug into their left arm. They smashed the sluggernaut onto the top of Scunner's head, but the Category IV didn't even notice the hit. It kept on crunching furiously, roaring in rage the whole time.
"The Incinerator Turbines won't work at this deep underwater... So Tesla Fists it is!" Sasha shouted as she slammed a button on the dashboard. Instantly the Jaeger's fists started crackling with electricity, filling the water around the Jaeger and Kaiju with intense voltage. Scunner bellowed in agony as the electricity fried its armor. It released Cherno's arm and turned to retreat but the Russian Jaeger wasn't going to let it go just yet.
Grabbing hold of the Kaiju's horn again, Cherno slammed its electrified fist over and over again into Scunner's face, causing the Kaiju to howl in pain. Cherno then released the Kaiju's horn before grabbing it by the neck. The Russian Jaeger then drew back its fist, and instantly a rocket booster on the end ignited. A elbow rocket. The punch drove forward, drilling into Scunner's chest.
Sasha and Aleksis shouted as they poured all their rage and bloodlust into that one move. With a sickening crunch, the fist punched through Scunner's chest, emerging through the other side. The Kaiju let out a sickly death rattle, before its head collapsed onto the arm that had impaled it. Cherno then drew back its arm and kicked the dead Category IV to the ground.
Cherno then twisted round to see Crimson still furiously grappling with Raiju, sparks crackling out of the bite wound on the Chinese Jaeger's left bottom arm. Crimson quickly spun, slashing the Category IV across the neck and torso with the whirring sawblades. Raiju screeched in pain, glowing blue blood spraying from the cuts. Crimson then aimed two more slashes, but Raiju caught both blades in its claws. The Kaiju roared and attempted to crunch Crimson's Conn-Pod, but the Chinese Jaeger's waist suddenly twisted as Hu spun as well, and the Jaeger's left leg collided with Raiju's side as the rear jets fired, increasing the kick's power.
Raiju roared as the kick sent it spiraling away, the Category IV slamming into the muddy ground before it scrambled back up. However the Plasmacaster had just finished charging... Grabbing Raiju by the neck, Cheung and Jin put all their strength into keeping the Kaiju restrained as Hu jammed the Plasmacaster into the beast's chest. "Plasmacaster firing." The Plasmacaster glowed bright blue before a massive beam of plasma energy shot out, ripping through the Kaiju's neck and cleanly decapitating it.
Raiju's headless body lurched once before collapsing to the seabed, toxic Kaiju Blue leaking from the stump where its head was once connected with its neck. Crimson then collapsed to its knees into the seabed, as the triplets struggled to breathe from the effort required for the killing blow. The triplets slowly steadied their breathing before cautiously rising back up again, Crimson following their movements. The Mark IV's left lower arm had been seriously damaged from Raiju's bite, and was still bleeding oil and sparks.
"Crimson... you alright?" Sasha questioned over the comms link. Only the sound of heavy breathing came from the other end before Cheung's exhausted voice answered. "Yes... Cherno we are... alright..." Sasha and Aleksis were still concerned, but decided not to puruse the matter further. The two Jaeger teams then turned around to see Gipsy and Striker grappling with Slattern.
Striker had slowly risen, Herc and Chuck with pounding headaches, before the Australian Jaeger steadied itself. "The release is jammed! We can't deliver the payload sir! We're functional though! Barely!" "Chuck reported. "We need to override the..." Herc stopped as he saw Cherno had engaged Scunner while Crimson was grappling with Raiju a couple hundred feet away from them. Gipsy was thundering towards the Mark V Jaeger to help when suddenly there was a loud roar. Striker whirled around to see the massive Slattern charging right at them. "Brace for impact!" Herc shouted before the massive Kaiju slammed into them, Kaiju and Jaeger both rolling head over heels, fighting furiously the whole while.
Chuck and Herc grunted in pain as Striker was slammed through a stone outcropping, before both pilots whipped their arms to the sides. Instantly Striker followed, and brought its left arm whirling around. The Sting Blade slashed a sizable gash across Slattern's throat as the Kaiju brought its own arm whirling around, smashing into Striker and knocking it off balance. The Mark V quickly recovered and Herc and Chuck shouted as they brought both their arms hurtling forwards.
The Sting Blades stabbed into Slattern's shoulders, opening vicious gashes and causing the Kaiju to bellow in agony. Striker pushed the blades deeper into Slattern's shoulders, before pulling them back out again. The beast's colossal body then thudded to the ground as the Category V grunted with pain at the injuries it had sustained. It then twisted its head around, seeing both of its allies dead and the other three Jaegers had arrived to back Striker up.
Striker, Crimson, Cherno, and Gipsy advanced on Slattern, preparing to finish the Category V for good. Suddenly there was a loud churning as the Breach's folds opened once more, and the entire area shook as if Zeus had thrown a lighting bolt. Electricity crackled around the entrance as another monstrous roar echoed through the area.
"New Kaiju signature! Category V as well!" Tendo shouted. Pentecost quickly looked beside him at the dashboard, and was shocked to see a monstrous shadow lurching out of the virtual Breach like a monstrous dragon. "... Jaegers! Prepare to fight! There's another Category V coming through the Breach! It's even bigger then Slattern!" Pentecost shouted into his mike.
The Jaeger teams quickly exchanged shocked chatter through the comms link, before all four Jaegers took fighting stances. Slattern growled at them before it turned back to join with its new brethren. The Breach opened as a colossal shape lunged forth from within it. Before the stunned Jaegers' eyes, the monster lowered its head and roared at them.
"Codename... Obliterator..." Pentecost whispered.