Forged in Fire, Chapter 11
Hong Kong Shatterdome
LOCCENT
May 12, 2025
1200
"You wanted to see us, sir?"
Herc turned around in his swivel chair to see Mako and Raleigh standing in the LOCCENT doorway. "Yeah, come in and take a seat. I'm waiting for Tendo to get here as well."
Mako and Raleigh settled into some chairs and waited. Mako leaned over to Raleigh. "Subete no aidea koreha ni tsuite wa nanidesu ka?" Any idea what this is about?
"Anata no suisoku wa watashi to onaji kurai yoidesu." Your guess is as good as mine.
Tendo rushed in, papers in hand. "Sorry about the delay. Here's everyone's packets."
Raleigh took the offered papers. "Packets for what?"
Herc leaned forward. I'm sure glad my collarbone is mostly healed. The next few weeks are going to have a lot of travel. "Travel papers, plans, agendas for meetings, hotel reservations." He looked at the three senior staffers present. "The four of us are going to be doing a lot of travel over the next two months. Raleigh already knows about the plans for Alaska. Tendo, you'll be going with him. Mako and I are headed to the PPDC Cemetery in Hawaii to help break ground on the Memorial. After that, we'll meet up back here, then head for Sacramento."
Raleigh and Mako both looked at each other, then at Herc. Raleigh spoke for the two of them. "Sir, what's in Sacramento?"
Herc smiled. He knew that Jazmine Beckett lived there, but that wasn't the point of going there. It was just a happy coincidence. "That's the area we'll be staging from while we begin to choose artifacts for the museum. It's also the headquarters for the United States Coast Guard's Bay Area Ecological Monitoring unit. They're responsible for decontaminating the area and keeping folks out of the Exclusion Zones. We'll be in Sacramento for about three to four weeks total." He made a point of looking at Mako and Raleigh. "We'll have the weekends off, so you two can go have fun. I understand Raleigh's sister is a resident of the area. Perhaps she can point us in the direction of some good restaurants." Herc then looked at the Tendo. "You can bring your family with you to Sacramento, if you want."
"Thank you, sir, but they're still getting settled in here."
Herc nodded. "No problem, Tendo. Alright, the Alaska operation begins in two weeks. You're scheduled to leave on the 17th."
"Got it, sir."
"Anything else?"
The staff were quiet.
"Okay, people. We're done for now."
Raleigh and Tendo left, headed to the mess hall. Mako, however, stayed.
"Sir… Requesting permission to go to Tokyo from the 14th through the 16th."
Herc paused for a moment. Ah, yes. Onibaba's attack was on the 15th. "Permission granted, Miss Mori. I'll arrange for two tickets, round trip."
"Sir… two?"
"Just make sure Raleigh is back here at the Shatterdome before 2200 on the 16th."
"Thank you, sir."
Mako walked out of the room. I appreciate the gesture by Herc, but I was going to ask Raleigh if he wanted to go first. Herc seems to expect that we're going to be inseparable. She walked into the mess hall.
"Mako, I already got you some lunch."
"Thanks, Raleigh." She sat down, still thinking about her upcoming trip.
"You okay? You're awfully quiet."
"I've got a lot on my mind right now."
"Want to talk about it?"
"…Sure."
"If you don't want to…"
"No, you're not forcing me. It's better to talk about it."
"Okay, I'm all ears."
Where to start? "You saw how I met sensei."
"Yeah. Kinda hard to forget that."
"Do you know what day it was?"
"No."
"May 15th."
"Okay…"
Mako paused for a moment before continuing. "I… requested some leave time to go to Tokyo… and I was wondering if you'd like to join me."
"Mako, I would love to. When do we leave?"
"Wednesday."
"Sounds like a plan."
The two Rangers sat quietly as they ate their lunches, just enjoying each other's company.
-.-.-
Hong Kong Shatterdome
J-tech machine shop, electrical department
1400
Newt waited nervously as the machine worked. I hate waiting.
"Newton, what are you doing down here?"
"Waiting for the printer to finish the new Drift headset I've been working on, Hermann. Why?"
"You're supposed to be meeting with Marshall Hansen in 15 minutes."
"Oops, forgot about that. Can you make sure that these get done without any issues? They're important."
Hermann grumbled. He'd been planning on calling his wife, Vanessa, but that could wait if Newton hurried. "Yes, I'll keep an eye on them. Go, or else you'll be late."
"Thanks, dude. I owe you one… again."
-.-.-
LOCCENT
1415
"Dr. Geizler, you're almost late."
"Sorry, sir. I was wrapped up in a project."
Herc smiled. Newt did tend to get buried in his work. "No worries. I'd have called you if you hadn't shown up within 10 minutes. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Newt sat down and started wringing his hands. "You're familiar with the… arrangement… between Pentecost and Hannibal Chau, right?"
"I am. Interesting piece of work, isn't he?"
"Yeah. He cut his way out of a Kaiju with a butterfly knife."
"Makes me want to call the Australian Embassy and offer him an honorary Australian citizenship."
"They have those?"
"No. I was joking. Back on point. What about the deal?"
Newt paused. How do I explain this? "Last Wednesday, I went wandering through Kowloon and found myself at his shop…"
"Go on."
"I… wound up talking with him about where he wanted to go with his business now that the Breach was closed and there were no more Kaiju to harvest from."
"Spit it out, mate."
"I… kinda agreed to come on board as Chief Technology Officer of his new company. It's all above board, I promise."
Herc turned to look out over the Shatterdome. Well, this is a sticky situation. "What's the catch?"
"He wants the Pons and the Drift technologies."
Herc rounded on Newt. Newt cowered, afraid of what would come next.
"What? He thinks that they're just free to be given away?"
"Or maybe I was supposed to steal it if you said no. I… Kinda freaked out and said I'd find a way to get them. You'd do that if someone had stuck a butterfly knife up your nose… wouldn't you?"
Herc backed off. "Lucky for you, I'm not going to kick your ass." He returned to the windows. "Tell him I want to talk. Someplace private. Soon, as I'm leaving next Tuesday."
Newt blinked. "I'm not sure that he'll take kindly to me going back empty handed…"
Herc turned to face Newt, a sly grin on his face. "And you won't have to. I'll have Tendo print off some of the specs for the Pons. Not all of them. Just enough to know that it's legit."
Newt relaxed. This is going to be interesting. Herc is just as clever and sly as Pentecost, but with it wrapped in a gruff Australian exterior. Chau's going to be in for a surprise… "Thank you, sir." Newt got up and turned to leave.
"Oh, Newt, one last thing…"
Newt stopped and faced Herc.
"Don't go into the Boneslums again without telling me. You're too valuable to wind up dead from being stabbed or shot."
Newt paled. "Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll have Tendo come by the labs with the packet once it's ready."
"Thanks." Newt left LOCCENT and ran back to the J-tech areas.
-.-.-
Kaiju Sciences labs
1430
Newt came into the lab to find the two headsets he'd been working on waiting on his side of the lab. Hermann was nowhere to be found. Newt walked over to inspect the new headsets. They look good. Now, combine that with the new computer system… Newt picked up a small box and pulled out a pair of connecting cables, which he plugged into the headsets. He then plugged a power cord into the box and the wall, then pushed the power button. A single yellow light came on, indicating it was booting up. Good so far. Now it's time for the test.
Newt picked up his phone and dialed Raleigh. "Hey, Raleigh, you busy right now? I've got another Drift test I need you guys to run. It's nothing complicated, just checking some new hardware. You'll do it? Great, can you pass the message along to Mako for me, please? Thanks."
He hung up, and checked the box again. A single green button had popped up, faintly pulsing with light. Good to go. Newt sat down and waited for the Rangers to arrive.
-.-.-
Gipsy Danger repair bay
1435
Ting.
Ting.
Ting.
Ting.
Mako was glad to have a little time to herself. Time to focus on the memories, both happy and sad. Time to work on the katana without interruptions.
"'Cause I'm a cowboy… On a steel horse I ride!"
Mako's heart jumped a little. Raleigh. She picked up the phone. "Hello, Raleigh."
"I have to ask, what's my ringtone?"
Mako smiled. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"You're no fun."
"I can be lots of fun. You just have to catch me in the right mood."
"Funny. Anyways, Newt has some new Drift hardware he wants us to try out right away."
Mako put the hammer away and shut off the furnace. "Okay, I'll be there shortly."
"Cool. Meet you there."
Mako hung up and looked at the two pieces of steel she had spent the last few weeks working on. Almost ready to bring them together… but that will have to wait. Let's go see what Newt has in store for us today.
-.-.-
Kaiju Sciences labs
1445
Mako and Raleigh settled into their chairs as Newt walked over with a duffle bag.
"Okay, guys. I've made some changes to the standard squid cap to make it more low-profile… and I've made a much more compact Drift computer." Newt looked excited. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Mako and Raleigh just looked at him.
"Right, let's just get the test under way. Mako, here's yours. Raleigh, for you." He handed them their respective headsets. Each was little more than a few plastic coated wires with a small plug at the base of the skull. Mako put hers on and fiddled with her hair for a few seconds, and the black plastic seemed to disappear.
Raleigh wasn't so lucky. Even though the wires were nearly the same color as his hair, they were easily visible. He sighed. "I guess that's a downside to shorter hair."
Newt then pulled the computer from the duffle bag. It was the size of a tissue box. "This is the new computer. Totally self-contained power supply, like a laptop. The battery should last a few hours of Drifting, or a few days on standby." He then set it on a small table between the Rangers and popped open a door on the top, revealing the connection wires. "Here, take these cords." He handed them the wires. "Plug them into that node at the base of your skull. When you're ready, hit the green button on the top of the box. That will initiate the Drift. To shut down the Drift, simply hit the button again." Newt stood back. "Whenever you're ready."
Mako took Raleigh's hand in hers and looked at him. He nodded, then laid his head back and closed his eyes. Mako put their hands on the button, laid her head back, and closed her eyes. Then, she pressed the button, and the universe imploded.
-.-.-
Driftspace
Mako ran through the snowball hit Raleigh in the head not fair Jazmine you know we're not supposed to be a happy day her parents had taken from me Raleigh listen to me you need aaaaaaaaaahhhh it's a monster it can't be real it can't be papa said don't chase the rabbit you'll wind up in wonderful day outside sensei can I go play no Mako it's too danger looks beautiful after all this time to become a Ranger…
-.-.-
The Rangers snapped back to reality. It works.
Newt looked at them, waiting.
Mako looked at Newt and gave a warm smile. "It works."
"YES!"
Raleigh hit the button, and the handshake broke off. "Anything else, Newt?"
"Oh, yeah… the charger. Where's I stick it? Ah, here it is!" Newt put it into the duffle. "This is for you guys to keep. Consider it a gift."
Mako turned to Raleigh. "Your room or mine?"
Raleigh shrugged, and put his headset aside. "Either works."
"Okay, I'll take it for now." Mako pulled off the headset and began to help Newt pack up the components. "Is this one of your designs?"
Newt looked offended. "Duh." He zipped the duffle bag and handed it to Mako with a little more force than needed. "Why would I use anyone else's design?"
Mako rolled her eyes. He can be so stuck up sometimes.
Raleigh turned to face Newt. "Thank you. This means a lot."
"No problem."
Mako walked over to Raleigh. "So, want to do some more work on the sword? It's almost ready to be welded together."
Raleigh walked out the door with Mako. "Actually, I was wondering if I could use it for a bit. I have a project in mind that I would like to do a little practice for."
"What kind of project?"
"A surprise."
Mako walked around in front of Raleigh, forcing him to stop. "You know my birthday was a few weeks ago. You helped plan that surprise party."
"And if I tell you anything, it'll ruin the surprise." Raleigh gave Mako a sly grin. "And I know it's going to drive you crazy, which is half the fun of a surprise."
Mako thought about it for a moment. If I let him, maybe I can figure out what he's working on from whatever he leaves behind. "Okay."
"Thank you, Mako." He turned and started to walk to the hangar. "Oh, do you have any stainless steel wire in your supplies?"
Stainless steel wire? "Yeah, blue toolbox, second drawer down."
"Thanks. See you for dinner?"
"Sure!"
Raleigh disappeared around the corner.
Mako turned towards her quarters. Raleigh Beckett, what are you working on? He's right, this is going to drive me crazy.