The torture device known as the Kaiju Cage brings new horrors for the pair. At first, it doesn't seem too intimidating. A jaeger simulator without the drifting component really shouldn't be all too menacing. It shouldn't but it really is.
Firstly, the thing unintentionally functions like a death trap. The operating apparatuses strap to the forearms and feet and, once secured, are nearly impossible to eject without external assistance. The entire platform is hydraulic, suspended fifteen feet in the air, and has complete spherical mobility. It's called the "cage" because the machine has been so banged up that the techs have given up on trying to keep it pristine and have settled on wrapping the entire machine in chain-link fence, exposed wires and all. That, and so many teams have gotten stuck in it when the hydraulic system gives (which seems to be frighteningly often). Essentially, it is a death trap (but then again, a Jaeger is even more so and the pilots might as well get used to it now).
In front of the pilot seats, three monitors wrap around to simulate the Jaeger windshield. Between the two seats, a plethora of gauges and switches are housed in a box made of dented scrap metal. The pilots wear a helmet that also function as a headset along with the remaining jaeger armor (which, to be honest, would look more fitting on a poorly funded peewee football team).
The remaining cadets (seven teams now) are given a very brief introduction to the Kaiju Cage and promptly leave without giving the machine so much as a second glance. No matter, they will cross that bridge when they get to it.
But as luck would have it, they are not necessarily given optimum conditions to become properly accustom to the simulator. That's because after they finish their usual training regime and settle into their bunks for the night, they are jolted awake by screeching sirens and every cadet in the hall scrambles out of bed. They slow when they recognize names blaring above the siren.
Team Croft/Nishimura proceed to bay four immediately. Team Croft/Nishimura proceed training bay four immediately.
They share one panicked glance and sprint down the frigid metal hallways, frantically pulling clothes on without any regard for tact. Training bay four is clear across the hangar, and by the time they arrive, they are breathless and covered in sweat.
Given no time to catch their breath, they squeeze into their pseudo-drivesuits and hastily strap themselves into their pilot seats. There isn't even time to discuss who gets what side; Lara has already strapped her boots into the right hemisphere by the time Sam stumbles in. They don't dwell on it. They have no time. In their helmets, the proctor debriefs the pair on the scenario.
Kaiju. Category 2. Codename: Diamondback. Protect the Miracle Mile. Proceed with caution.
"How the hell do you even use this thing?! They haven't taught us anything! The farthest we got in the first eight weeks is basic EQ controls and how to land a roundhouse kick to the face for Christ's sake!" Sam shouts at the top of her lungs.
"Guess we have to improvise! Left foot first. Ready, Sam?"
"Ready when you are Croft."
"Three, two, one, left!" They feel the platform lull and dip, landing with a hard jerk. "Right!"
"Ok great, we can walk. Now what?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking, just—"
Sirens. Flashing lights. Chaos.
"Kaiju contact, eight o'clock!" Sam screams and the cage jolts into barrel roll.
"Sam! EQ gauges three through five!"
"Uh—um—right, EQ thrusters on arms activated in three-two-one!" The cage rocks forward, stabilizes, and begins falling in the opposite direction.
"Turn off the thrusters Sam!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying just—shit!" The cage lurches and they land face-first in the surf, turned perpendicular to the hanger floor.
"Use the thrusters in bursts next time!"
"Well excuse me, if you think you know what you're doing, why don't you work the goddamn switches next time!"
"Now is not the time for arguing! The kaiju! We have to—"
The cage jolts straight up and slams straight down. Again, and again, until the sirens cease and the team feels nausea burning their throats. Finally, the barrage halts, and they are hanging prone, staring straight down at the hangar floor.
"Fuck." Sam mutters when she realizes the simulation is over and—as far as she knows—so is their run in the academy.
"Fuck." Lara reiterates.
"We fucked up."
"Yeah..."
Eventually, the cage jumps and begins to set itself back up in idle position at which point the proctor's assistants begin unstrapping the two from the cockpit. As if the humiliation isn't enough, when they are released, they turn and see their entire squad standing in the control room, watching with tired, dull eyes.
"Good morning Cadet Croft, Cadet Nishimura," Staff Sergeant Williams says, his grey-bearded face pulling a wry smile, "thank you for demonstrating the Kaiju Cage for the rest of your squad members. That was, to put it simply, a complete disaster. As expected." He says and turns to face the rest of them. "From today onwards, you will train to pilot the Jaeger in the Kaiju Cage without the assistance of drifting. Bottom three teams get cut from the program. You have six weeks. Good luck, cadets."
Their first drop in the Kaiju Cage lasts forty-five seconds and ends in failure.
Their second drop lasts one minute, four seconds with similar results.
After weeks of training, their twentieth drop lasts five minutes and forty-six seconds and results in their tenth kill. Still behind four other teams with better records.
"I wonder if we could, like, just shoot the shit out of it. Like, get some dual cannons strapped on and just vaporize its ass." Lara groans.
"Sam will you please shut up, I haven't slept in over two days, I'm exhausted and all I want to do is enjoy my cup of shit tea while I read the Jaeger piloting manual for the thirtieth time."
"You're not going to learn anything you didn't get from the first twenty-nine times through." Sam says dryly, tossing back her third cup of coffee.
"You can always try."
Sam rolls her eyes. "Uh, sorry to break it to you sweetie, but this isn't something you're going to magically get good at by reading a book. I know it's shocking and all, but try and contain your astonishment."
Lara slams her book onto the metal table and she glares at Sam. The surrounding teams attempt to act oblivious to the scene but it's rather difficult when the low murmur that filled the room disappears in an instant. She notices immediately and it is the only thing that keeps her snapping at Sam. Running a hand over her face and exhaling slowly, she slides the manual around on the tabletop as a way to calm herself.
"I'm trying to come up with a game plan here and you're just coming up with b-movie bullshit." She grumbles.
Sam glares at Lara, lip twitching and eyes narrow, "First off," she says calmly, "how dare you associate me with b-movies." Lara scoffs and rolls her eyes.
"Second, I'm not giving up. I'm just so pissed off that you are paying more attention to that goddamn book then you are to actually piloting the Jaeger. Sometimes I think you forget that you have a co-pilot, like you forget I'm even there. Jesus, Lara, I feel like whenever you do anything you have this 'me against the world' mentality. You never ask for help. You think you can do this on your own but you can't, no matter how many books you read." Sam leans forward and stares intensely into her partner's eyes.
"Then what the hell are we going to do now? What is there to do that we haven't already tried?" Lara growls lowly.
"If you really want to pilot that Jaeger, I suggest you stop relying on books and manuals and start piloting the damn jaeger. And trust your co-pilot. It's really that simple, Lara." She slides her tray across the table and storms off. She gets halfway across the mess hall when the sirens sound again.
Team Croft/Nishimura proceed to training bay six immediately. Team Croft/Nishimura proceed to training bay six immediately.
Sam freezes and stands stiffly in the middle of the room. Her shoulders lurch and her head flops forward. Sighing heavily, she turns on her heel and marches back to the table, jaw taut and shoulders thrown back.
"So much for a dramatic exit."
"That's odd. You're usually really good at dramatics." She says as they begin to jog out the mess hall.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Sam grumbles under her breath, "where the hell is training bay six anyway? Are they just messing with us again?"
"If I remember correctly, bay six is on the third floor." Sam lifts a brow.
"But isn't that where they keep most of the PONS rooms?" Lara nods as they board the lift. "Don't you think that's a little suspicious? I mean, why would they be calling us up to the PONS rooms when we haven't even drifted…" the words die on Sam's tongue when realization dawns and Lara's head whips in her direction.
Their stare holds when the lift doors open and the j-techs descend upon them in a frenzy of hands and tools. The drivesuit technicians herd them into a changing room and the pair is instructed to strip down and change into their circuitry suits. They learned all about these suits during the hours of lecture they endure for the past eight weeks. If there was any question what they were doing on the third floor, it didn't seem necessary after they pull on the black body suits; the program wouldn't bother finding the right sizes for basic trainees.
When they re-enter the PONS room, the drivesuit techs go straight to work installing the stark white battle armor. Over the intercom, they hear the Staff Sergeant's debriefing but can hardly focus on it in the chaos. Helmets are put in place, spinal clamps attached, and they are herded into the cockpit with little ceremony, barely catching the Staff Sergeant's warning. Don't chase the rabbit, cadets.
Inside the cockpit, they hook themselves up. Lara does so almost instinctually; she's read the manual far too many times for anything less. Sam, on the other hand, is mumbling instructions and a fit of curses under her breath as she navigates the pilot arms with some difficulty.
She laughs nervously. "You know I told myself I would read the manual whenever we actually got to the actual drifting part." She holds this awkward half smile as she finally figures out the connectors and slips into the pilot arm with the grace of a tangled marionette. It is not until she's frantically fiddling with the buttons and gauges on the control panel that Lara notices the uncharacteristic violent shaking in her hands.
"Sam."
Neural handshake in fifteen seconds.
"I got it, I got it! Just—"she growls in frustration, "give me a second." Eventually her hands find the correct switches and the clamps snap audibly into place. She stands stiffly, twisting the pilot arm into operation.
Eight.
Seven.
"It's… a little different than the kaiju cage. A little more complicated." Sam says under her breath but they both know that'ss a lie.
"Yeah, it's a little different—the layout and—yeah." Lara hurriedly answers.
She should apologize. They both should be apologizing with the precious few seconds they have left before drifting. Going in during an argument is asking for a whole mess of trouble for obvious reasons. And it would be so easy too—to apologize—the argument is stupid anyway and acknowledging that fact would be more than sufficient. But they lapse into silence, hoping in vain that the drift won't be as mentally taxing as they've been told countless times before.
Three.
Two.
One.
Falling. They feel like they're falling. Initially, at least, because immediately after the falling sensation ceases, they are being washed away by the flood of memories that invade their thoughts. The drift does not discriminate, especially not on first drifts, so the pair sees everything. The concept seems inconceivable—to see somebody's entire life's story through memories—but in a matter of seconds, they understand everything.
It takes every bit of self-control for Lara not to lock onto anything particular. Some memories pleasantly flow by, like fun times spent together in academy, time she's spent with Roth, time Sam spent as a child running away to film midnight documentaries while her parents slept. Others snag and cut as they pass along. Loneliness from both parties. Lara's anger at her parents' selfish ways of leaving her in favor of research. Sam's frustration at her parent's apathy. Longing for companionship, for a place in the world. Then finding each other. Finding a place. Coming home.
The jolt back to the present is jarring, as if woken from a nightmare, breaths coming short and fast and sweat forms on their brow. Their breathing slows and they stare precariously at each other. Everything is the same, at least that's what it feels like it should be, but it most certainly is not, especially since they can feel each other inside their own thoughts. The experience only becomes all more disorientating when Sam hears Lara in her head. Not audibly, not exactly: instantaneous comprehension may be a more accurate description. During all of the lectures and reading material, this phenomenon is mentioned countless of times but to actually experience it is another matter completely. Hearing each other's thoughts in their minds' voice, it's like hearing a completely new language. But the strangest part is probably the content they feel in this alien experience. They are inside each other's minds but it hardly feels as terrifying as they thought it would be.
Right hemisphere calibrating. Left hemisphere calibrating.
Sam moves and sees Lara mirror her. It's eerie, and in the back of her mind Sam thinks she hears Lara telling her to stop copying her. She can't help but chuckle.
Calibration complete.
Simulation commence.
Without ceremony, they drop into a decimated metropolis complete with chaos in the streets, smoking buildings, and one huge category 3 kaiju burrowed in the heart of the disaster. They attempt to take it all in, but the platform shakes and jolts into place indicating ground contact. Immediately, the kaiju turns and releases a tremendous roar. Over the intercom, they can hear LOCCENT mission control briefing them on the situation and the Jaeger A.I. announcing protocol, but above all else, they can hear each other. Like static, it invades their conscience and becomes distractingly loud.
The kaiju—a huge beast with blue, coral-like spikes jutting out of its hunched back and a wide mouth filled with rows of crooked, sharp teeth—charges forward on all fours like a rhino. They have to think fast, but their thoughts collide like a punch to the face. Completely helpless, they face the kaiju head-on with nothing but their hands instinctively coming up to attempt to stop the charging beast.
"Lara! Foot!" Sam shouts, and the moment of clarity keeps them from bowling over from the force of the kaiju's blow. Lara brings her right foot back and plants it into the ground, effectively stopping their fall. Immediately, Lara thinks she hears Sam say she's gonna punch this motherfucker but she's not sure if it is verbally expressed or thought. At this point, everything is so disorientating that Lara instinctively goes along with it, distributing the weight on her side of the Jaeger to compensate for the left hook Sam is winding up. The kaiju growls and attempts to snap at the machine with its gapping mouth, but Sam delivers the blow as its jaws almost close around the right arm. It stumbles and crashes into a heap of rubble with all the force of its massive weight.
"Cannon!" Sam yells but Lara is already calibrating the weapon, manipulating the controls as if she has been doing this her entire life.
"Ten seconds!"
Thinking fast, and potentially rather foolishly, the pair drives the Jaeger forward attempting to pin it to the ground before it can pull itself to its feet. It's a gamble that pays off, because the kaiju, with its massive back and shoulders but small lower body cannot handle the excess weight of the Jaeger. Meanwhile, the cannon's cyan glow intensifies to blinding levels.
Lara lets off a round into the kaiju's back only to realize that the thick crust of the kaiju's back is impervious to the cannon's blast.
"Its skin is too thick to shoot through." Lara says and curses under her breath. Underfoot, the kaiju thrashes viciously and tosses the Jaeger with little difficulty and pounces, barring teeth with hot spit dripping from its mouth.
The cannon is still hot and ready to fire but any shots taken at the kaiju's crusted-over skull and head would be wasting ammunition. They somehow need to get through its tough hide—shoot through—perhaps it has a weakness—soft spot—on its belly—like other animals with thick hides—if we do shot it enough it's hide will split open—puncture—or…
"You're going to think I'm really crazy." Sam says as they brace for the kaiju's impact.
Lara's thoughts break and so does the constant static of the drift. The relief it brings is comforting. Oddly enough, turns out talking is far more convenient than mind melding.
"Crazy is fighting an alien with a robot. I am completely open to suggestions." Lara's talking so fast, her words slur together.
"The hide is obviously too—"the kaiju barrels forward and they are locked in a grapple. "tough! And he's bitey as fuck! Just shoot h—"
"The mouth!" Lara shouts. "I need you to give me some leeway! Keep him back so—"
"On it!" Sam answers and, without thinking, lets go of its crust mane and latches onto the center of its top jaw. The kaiju snaps and writhes, trying with all of its might to latch onto Sam's hand. But Lara is too fast and shoves the cannon down it's throat and fires four rounds down the throat of the beast. It trembles violently until collapsing into a steaming pile of flesh.
Just like that, the simulation ends and the drift dissolves around them. The transition is quick and painless, but excruciatingly disorientating. And just like that, their minds are their own again: private, silent, under their control.
Simulation over.
Time: 3 minutes 25 seconds
Collateral damage: minimal
Team Croft/Nishimura simulation score: 1 drop/ 1 kill
"Wait…"
"I thought we—"
"They reset the score—"
"So the whole time we were—"
"Yes cadets," Staff Sergeant Williams states over the intercom, "we reset the simulator scores. The kaiju cage was merely a training exercise and will not count towards future assessments. However, if you failed to function as a team here in the actual simulator, you would have been immediately cut from the program. Congratulations, you've made it to the next stage of the program. Ranger Croft. Ranger Nishimura. Dismissed."
The drift is easy, at least it is for them. They have shared so much of each other's lives and memories, it is near impossible not to be this well matched. They had already come to terms with each other's shortcomings and downfalls from what feels like the very beginning. Trust? Unquestionable. Confidence in each other? Infallible. The drift is easy. But coming out of the drift? Well…
"You know, I think laying this close to someone actually counts as third base." Sam whispers and Lara nudges her hard. Sam smothers her laughter in the tangle of Lara's hair but nonetheless pulls her closer. They stay like this, silent and still for what feels like an eternity, Lara's hot breath brushing along Sam's collarbone. Finally, she raises her voice. "You feeling better yet?" A brief pause and then a short shake of the head.
"A little longer." Lara whispers, taking deep breaths and trying desperately to stay in the present. Stay grounded, clutching onto what feels like the only tangible thing in the universe. Sam exhales as she begins to run her fingers through Lara's mess of hair.
"Take as long as you need, sweetie. I'm right here." The words are barely a whisper but the comfort they bring is evident when she feels Lara's breathing come slower.
"I'm not usually like this you know, I don't—I mean—the drift is rough— and I hate doing this—I mean, not that there's anything wrong when you do it—it's just—"
"Shh…" Lara is rambling between shallow breaths and Sam can feel her working herself up again.
"I just… I hate the pills."
"Me too."
"I can't stand the nausea and the dizziness I can't—"
"I know, sweetie, I know."
"I just need…" Lara stops the words in her throat and swallows them hard. She doesn't need to say it. Not anymore. It's no longer necessary.
She settles on resting her ear against Sam's chest, letting her heartbeat bring her back down to Earth.
"So," Sam begins and Lara can just feel the lens pointing in her direction, "what are your thoughts on today's test run today, Ranger Croft? Feeling confident? Sick to your stomach? Perhaps having a bit of a mid-life crisis?"
"A little of everything actually." Lara says with a small smile as she turns onto the rough, dirt road through the thick tree line. When she feels Sam inching closer with the camera, she groans. "They have no idea the hell they hath unleashed when they gave you back your camera. No. Idea."
"Well, considering we're two hours from piloting an actual jaeger and two months from being deployed, it was only a matter of time before I demanded to get it back."
"Oh?" Lara raises a brow but keeps her eyes on the road, "and what makes you think they wouldn't just ignore you?" Sam scoffs.
"Lara, sweetie, we're saving the human race from aliens. Keeping the girl piloting the jaeger happy should be a priority. Really, one girl with a camera should be the least of their worries." She says as she points the lens out the window, filming some shots of the passing landscape.
"I suppose that's true. But then again, it's a matter of security. What if footage they don't want the public to see leaks? You're going to have a huge red target painted on you."
"You worry too much, Croft. I've got it under control. If anyone wants to take my camera, they're going to have to pry it from my cold, dead, trained-to-kill hands."
Lara snorts and shakes her head, but she can see Sam wagging her brows in her peripheral vision. Seriously, Sam never changes.
When the tree line breaks, they catch their first glimpse of the Jaeger looming over the surrounding rolling hills, its fading green paint reflecting the gold of the rising sun. It's an old jaeger, a Mark II if Lara remembers correctly, and was taken out of commission when it proved to be much too small to take on the larger kaiju coming out of the breach. Aesthetically, it is one of the finest machines ever assembled by the PPDC. It lacks the bulk and excess that has become the standard for jaegers (bulk has become necessary to stop hull breeches, a problem that plagued this particular jaeger throughout its career). Delta Argo had a short career, only intercepting four kaiju but successfully completing its missions. However, on its last drop in the field it was evident Delta Argo would not last long. Strategically speaking, it proved to be more useful as a training vessel than a battle ready jaeger. So it sits here on the beaches of Kodiak Island, idly waiting for its next aspiring jaeger pilots.
"The lighting makes for a great shot, now if only I had the correct lens…" Sam carries on in the passenger seat, fiddling with the settings on her camera.
"Yeah, maybe if we could drive around to the other side so we get a nice contrast, maybe we can even get a nice shot of the academy in the background…" Lara says but her words trail when she sees Sam grinning from ear to ear. "What?"
She shakes her head, searching for the correct words but finding none, so settles on tapping her left temple with two fingers.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lara asks with raised brows. Sam shrugs.
"It means you'll find out soon enough." She says with a wink. After a moment, Lara smiles.
She supposes she will.