The Deepening Silence

With most of the Shatterdome's personnel asleep, the corridors were silent; only the faint echoes of the War Clock could be heard. The silence was soon broken by the sound of footsteps, and the sound of a door closing.

"I still can't believe that I'd forgotten about those crazy cultists," said Raleigh, "If I hadn't known better, I would've thought that the kid who gave me the map wanted me in trouble."

"Well the next time you see him, you kick his ass," said Mako, giving Raleigh's arm a massage.

"I think I'll probably let it slide," he replied.

Mako finished massaging Raleigh's arm. "Better?" she said,

"It's never that bad in the first place," answered Raleigh, smiling, "But your offer was too good to refuse."

She laughed, and he spun around, and leaned forward; their lips met. Their kiss was tender and long, and for a moment, it seemed like time had stopped and the entire world had slowed down. Raleigh pulled away before leaning forward again. Mako pressed her index on his lips before they touch hers for a second time.

"I've got some work to finish tonight," said Mako. Raleigh could barely hide the disappointment on his face.

"Not even a little?" he asked. Mako shook her head in reply.

"Maybe some other day," said Mako, attempting to lighten up his mood, "Rain check?"

"Sure," said Raleigh, "I better leave you to your work." With that, he left the room.

-.-.-

Mako worked with the designs for the new Jaegers deep into the night; three in the morning the clock showed, yet no nearer were the designs to completion.

Giving in to the call of much-needed rest, Mako resigned to bed. Already she began to regret not spending the previous two hours with Raleigh.


The training room was hot and rather humid. Raleigh Becket's class of eight students stood in line, awaiting further instructions.

"Okay," yelled Raleigh, "Today we begin unarmed combat training."

"But before we start," he added, "Who gave me the map to the coffee shop yesterday?"

The students laughed and pointed to one man. He identified himself as Jeremy Blackmore

"Mr. Blackmore, if you have watched the news, you'd know what kind of trouble your map landed me in last night," said Raleigh, "You can atone for your sins by fetching me a cup of hot coffee from the cafeteria."
The young student wasted no time and swiftly ran to the cafeteria as ordered.

"The rest of you," said Raleigh, "Will pay full attention to what I will be teaching you."

-.-.-

For hours, Raleigh taught his students each basic move, and each technique he once had been taught in his turn, nine years ago. The sun slowly climbed higher up the sky, and peaked at noon. Raleigh dismissed his class, and they made their way out of the training room and to the cafeteria, seeking a meal. The cafeteria was filled with commotion, and not the least talked of subjects was Mako and Raleigh's mishap at the coffee shop, although few knew who the attacked PPDC personnel were.

Raleigh seated himself next to Mako. Mako looked tired and weary; evidently, she had not gotten much sleep the night before.

"I take it you haven't finished the designs," said Raleigh; the connection he shared with Mako had given him a window into her mind, where he could catch glimpses of her thought.

Mako gave no reply, but only looked at him with a tired expression—her eyes, red, circled by black rings, were strained and longed to close. They ate in silence.

Not long after they had started eating, Marshall Hansen came with a tray and seated himself opposite to the two.

"Raleigh, Miss Mori," he said, "Good afternoon."

"The training's going well, sir," said Raleigh

"I'm already aware of that," said Herc, "I've read your reports. However, that's not why I'm here. I hope you remember the interview scheduled tomorrow?"

Raleigh was perplexed, "Pardon me sir, but what interview?"

Herc paused, and looked up at Raleigh, "Didn't I tell you about it two weeks ago?"
Raleigh and Mako shook their heads slowly.

"Damn," interjected Herc, "Must have slipped my mind. I'm sorry I didn't warn you about it beforehand. The interview will be held in the command room at eleven-hundred hours."

They nodded. "How's your arm, sir?" said Raleigh,

"Quite better now," replied Herc, "But two months are not enough to mend a shattered arm."

The three continued eating, and when they had finished, continued with their daily routines.


That night Mako was fast asleep, and Raleigh was quick to follow, though they were in different rooms. Marshall Hansen, however, smoked a few rolls of cigarette before retiring to bed. The night grew old, and the Shatterdome became silent. Suddenly an alarm rang, signaling seismic activity deep beneath the Pacific where the Breach used to be.

Personnel manned their stations, Rangers flooded the LOCCENT room and pilots rushed to their jets; with no Jaegers left, air strikes with AKMs are the only viable option against the Kaiju.

Tendo Choi quickly assessed the situation, and with a sigh of relief, he announced "False alarm, everyone!"
A minor earthquake occurred near the Breach. However, no Kaiju signature, ambient radiation or any kind of invasion from the Anteverse could be found.
Some returned to their beds, others wait anxiously. An hour passed, no sign of a Kaiju could be found. Helicopters and submarines scoured the Pacific, yet found no rumor of the enemy.

Morning dawned, and the Shatterdome was as busy as an anthill. Construction workers were called in, arrangements were made and engineers were recruited.
After they had eaten breakfast, Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori dressed themselves formally for the interview. When they had entered the LOCCENT room, they found that the interviewer was none other than Naomi Sokolov.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Becket," she said. Raleigh only smiled and nodded in answer.
They seated on the chairs brought for the sole purpose of the interview.

"I'm going to start with some basic questions," she said, "When you were called back into the program, did you believe that you could achieve what you did?"

"No," answered Raleigh, "And I couldn't have done any of that if not for Mako, here."
Naomi turned her attention to the young pilot, "Is it true that you weren't initially one of the selected candidates to pilot Gipsy Danger?"

"It is correct," said Mako, "It was not until Marshall Pentecost gave his blessing that I was selected as the co-pilot."
Naomi turned her attention back to Raleigh again, "We've all heard reports about the final battle, but we know from you very little about what lies beyond the Breach. Could you enlighten us, Raleigh?"

"I was half-unconscious at the time, and had no time to get a good view," said Raleigh, "Nevertheless; I can try to describe it."
Raleigh described the Anteverse to the curious reporter as well as he could. He recounted the alien sun, the otherworldly color, the weird way gravity acted, the mouth-like door in the Breach, and the insectoid aliens with their assembly line of Kaiju; not one detail was omitted. Naomi wondered how he was able to keep his sanity intact.

"Okay then," said Naomi, no longer curious, "Uh, let's move on to some personal questions instead. Is it true that the two of you are-"

"Yes," interrupted Raleigh; he had answered that question far too often since the first few days after their assault on the Breach, and he was irked by being asked of it again, "Next question, please!"

Naomi was taken aback by Raleigh's mild hostility, and she clicked her tongue, "Mako, could you tell us the reason why you dyed your hair blue?"
"I refuse to answer that question," said Mako, coldly and immediately after being asked.
Naomi looked rather nervous, and decided to end the interview early, "One last question: any progress on the Jaeger program?"

"We've been retrofitting old Jaegers and designing new ones," answered Mako in a lighter, friendlier tone, "The construction crew and engineers we've brought in are tasked with building a new, more advanced hangar to house the Jaegers."

Naomi thanked them for their time and, along with her crew, left the Shatterdome in a helicopter. Raleigh and Mako returned to their daily lives. Raleigh wondered why Mako was reluctant and unwilling to announce the reason of dyeing her hair blue. After all, if it was still for the same reason he saw when he drifted with her months ago, it should have been something she would gladly boast about.


Chapter three! As some of you may note, my chapters are getting progressively shorter. Please forgive me for this.

Anyway, I can't add space between paragraphs anymore! If anyone knows how to fix this, I'll be deeply grateful.