Forged in Fire, Chapter 29

Mako ad Raleigh's hotel room

June 11, 2025

0617

Mako slowly awoke to find herself wrapped in Raleigh's arms. If I were a cat, I think I'd be purring right now…

Raleigh stirred, then opened his eyes. "Mornin', Mako."

Mako turned over to face him. "Good morning, Raleigh."

"You want first crack at the shower?"

"Please."

Raleigh let go of Mako, and she headed over to the bathroom.

Mako closed the door most of the way, but didn't latch it. Raleigh didn't even notice it, and picked up his tablet to check the morning headlines…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Raleigh dropped his tablet and ran to the bathroom, not sure what to expect as he shoved the door open to reveal Mako staring at her shoulders in the mirror. "Mako! What's wrong?"

Mako saw Raleigh come in, panic evident on his face. "My shoulders are peeling!"

Raleigh leaned his head against the doorframe, sighing. "You scared me. It sounded like you'd hurt yourself badly." He looked at Mako. "It's from the sunburn."

Mako proceeded to try to pick at the skin, only to have her hands swatted away by Raleigh.

"Don't pick at it. It'll flake off all by itself."

Mako sighed. "It's going to be a long day…"

Raleigh just shook his head in dismay, then went back to his tablet as Mako got into the shower.

-.-.-

Dining area

0800

Mako watched Miranda plow through her breakfast with awe. I know she's pregnant, but that metabolism of hers is still incredible. Mako looked down at her breakfast, which consisted of some eggs, bacon, and coffee. Got to talk to Raleigh about sparring again. Can't afford to get soft!

Herc, Jaz, and Chau were in the corner, talking business over a pair of tablets and a laptop, all while eating breakfast. Looks like they're trying to find a place to set up business, based off the maps on the tablets.

Raleigh sipped his coffee, then gave it a surprised look. "Whoa… That's real coffee. Not the stuff we had in the Dome."

Miranda growled, upset by the news. "God, why do they have to get the shipment now? I swore the stuff off back in January…"

Raleigh looked at the diminutive Australian woman with whom he would soon be sharing an apartment. "So… Mako and I need to learn how to cook."

Mako froze. Raleigh, that's not true. You just need a refresher course.

Miranda nodded. "So I've heard. Other than the microwave, what do you know how to do?"

Mako hung her head in shame. "I spent my time learning how to fix and pilot Jaegers, not learning how to cook."

"And I'm not going to hold that against you. You'll have no bad habits." Miranda turned to face Raleigh. "You, however, have some experience, yes?"

"A little. Not much to practice with on the Wall…"

"Hmm… Well, that's something we'll work on."

Jazmine walked over to join them. "Herc and Hannibal will be going downtown to try and sort out some of the business aspects of the whole deal while we go to the apartments and then to Ikea."

Mako smiled and took a deep sip of her coffee before responding. "Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, Herc was messing with me when he said he didn't know what Ikea was."

Miranda laughed. "Yeah, he has a bit of a sense of humor once you get to know him better."

Raleigh shrugged and looked at the news on his tablet… then promptly spit his coffee out back into the cup at the sight of the headline. U.S. Representative to the Pan Pacific Working Group Found Dead. "Herc? Check the news."

A brief pause, then the sheer size of Herc's mastery of foul language became evident to everyone in earshot.

Mako leaned over to see the headline on Raleigh's tablet, then succinctly responded in Japanese. "Kuso." She tapped on the article to read more, and quickly read it all. Concern crossed her face as she read.

AP, New York.

Liam Taylor, US Representative to the Pan Pacific Working Group, was found dead in his office this morning by aides. Police refuse to comment on the incident, stating that the investigation had only just begun and that more information would become available as the inquiry progressed.

Taylor had been a longtime supporter of the Wall of Life program, to the detriment of the Pan Pacific Defense Corp and their Jaegers. Taylor's place on the Working Group is widely expected to be given to Senator Samuel Baxter (R, CA), a staunch supporter of the Jaegers and inveterate critic of Taylor's actions in the Group. The Senator had the following to say about his late colleague:

"He was always a hard worker, especially when it was for a cause he believed in. My thoughts and prayers are with his family in the days and weeks to come."

Jazmine whistled in surprise. "Bad timing if I ever saw it. If that had happened a year a-MMMMPH!"

Mako grinned and sat back down, wiping powdered sugar off her fingers. "Watch your tongue, Miss Becket. Else I'll find another donut to stuff into your mouth instead of your foot."

Jazmine paused, then bit through the donut like Leatherback had bit through the cargo container Mako had shoved into his mouth back in Hong Kong months before. "You win… this time." Then, she winked at Mako and headed over to the table where Herc and Hannibal waited.

Miranda looked at the exchange and shook her head, then looked at the time. "Come on, let's go get ready, Mako. You're not going to go meet the landlord looking like that…"

Mako flushed. "This is fine, Miranda."

"Cargo capris and a grease-resistant T-shirt are not okay." The Australian grabbed Mako by the wrist and dragged the still-protesting Ranger to her room for a change of attire.

Raleigh simply sat back and sipped his coffee. This is going to be interesting. Mako's got strength, speed, and reach on Miranda. But Miranda's got spirit.

Herc walked over. "Five bucks Miranda gets Mako to wear a dress."

"No way, sir. Mako doesn't have a dress. An ankle length skirt, however…"

"You're on."

-.-.-

Apartment complex

0955

Miranda looked at the apartment complex, sizing it up. Pool, laundry, small gym… Nice place. She looked at the Rangers, who were also sizing up the complex, but with different criteria.

Mako darted over to a shaded patch of lawn, an oasis of green compared to the brown of dead lawns common in Sacramento in the summer. She briefly went through a few stances, minus the hanbo, and bounced from foot to foot. She sadly looked at Raleigh and shook her head. Nope, not suitable for sparring.

"I'll go look for someplace tomorrow, Mako."

"Okay, Raleigh."

Miranda coughed to remind the Rangers that they had an appointment.

"Right. Come on, Raleigh."

The three walked into the main office and were greeted by the landlord. "Hello, and welcome to… Oh."

Miranda realized that the landlord was somewhat stunned by his prospective new tenants, and decided to defuse the situation. "Oi! Just because I'm from Oz and I'm short doesn't make me a Munchkin."

The landlord roared with laughter. "Oh, it's not that, ma'am. It's the Rangers."

Raleigh politely inclined his head. "Sorry about not warning you, sir. We've been trying to keep a low profile lately."

Mako nodded, her braided hair bobbing behind her. "We were attacked in the Shatterdome in Hong Kong before we came here. We've been trying to stay off the radar ever since."

The landlord nodded. "I understand. I'll try to do what I can to help." He turned to Miranda. "My apologies, but I don't think I ever got your name."

"Miranda Schaeffer."

"And if I may be so bold… what brings you with Ms. Mori and Mr. Becket?"

The pain of the question was evident on Miranda's face.

"I'm sorry if I pried too much…"

"No, no. I need to get used to it." She sighed. "My fiancée was in the PPDC and worked alongside Mako and Raleigh."

The landlord thought for a moment, then guessed at who she referred to. "Chuck Hansen?"

"Yes, sir."

"I am truly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

The landlord finally gestured to the door. "Now, I'm sure that you three are eager to see the apartment, correct?"

They nodded.

"Then let's get started, shall we?"

-.-.-

Mark and Monica's Pizza

Carmichael, CA (suburb of Sacramento)

1217

Jazmine walked over to meet Mako, Raleigh, and Miranda. "How'd it go?"

Mako laughed. "Miranda just gave herself a nickname at the beginning of the meet."

"Oh? Do tell."

Raleigh looked at the blushing Australian. "Munchkin."

Jazmine looked confused. "Huh?"

Mako and Raleigh roared with laughter as Miranda sighed. "The landlord, Mr. Roberts, saw Mako and Raleigh and kinda froze up. So I tried to break the ice by saying that despite the fact that I was from Oz and short, I wasn't a Munchkin."

Jazmine chuckled. "Well, that nickname is going to stick now, I'm sure. It's just such a perfect fit for you."

Miranda hung her head. "Great."

Mako elbowed the Australian as their pizza arrived. "Come on, food's here." Mako took a bite of the pepperoni pizza… and instantly broke out in sweat. "Atsui atsui atsui!" Hot hot hot!

Raleigh looked at Mako, then at the pizza, and grabbed a slice and bit into it. "Mmmm… the good 'ronis. Been a while."

Jaz nodded as she bit into her slice.

Miranda looked at the pizza like it was from Mars. "What's the big deal about pizza, anyways?"

Raleigh looked at her like she was from Mars. "It's pizza, Munchkin."

Miranda sighed and bit into her slice… and her eyes bulged in surprise. "Mmmmm…"

Mako washed her slice down and wiped her forehead. "Is it normally that spicy? That has a nasty kick to it."

Jazmine laughed. "Not normally, no. This's the good stuff, though. I haven't had any in years."

Raleigh turned to his sister. "Jaz, do you know of any good places to spar around here?"

"Actually, I do. There's one not far from here that is more about karate, but might be interested in having you two come in. There's been a lot of interest in the sparring you guys train in after that video hit YouTube and went viral."

Mako thought for a moment. "Hmm… maybe we should start teaching classes on weekends." She looked around for people watching them, but most were focused on the sports commentators on the TV. "At least until we're back on war footing."

Raleigh shrugged. "We're probably going to wind up teaching the next batch of Rangers ourselves, anyways."

Miranda perked up at that remark. "New Rangers? Can I join after, well, you know…"

Mako and Raleigh looked at each other, knowing looks on their faces. Mako turned back to the shorter woman and quoted Pentecost. "'Vengeance is like an open wound. You cannot carry that level of emotion into the Drift.'"

"That's bullshit and you know it. You took it in, and you two handled it just fine… Right?"

Raleigh's pained expression spoke volumes, none of it good for Miranda's argument.

Mako took Miranda's hands in her own. "We almost lost it on the first Drift. Not just us, but all of humanity."

"How?"

Mako sighed. "I chased the RABIT so strongly, Gipsy responded to my fear and armed my plasma cannon. We nearly took out the Shatterdome as I relived Tokyo."

Miranda's jaw fell. "I…"

Mako just braced herself and took another bite of pizza. "You know, once you get past the heat, it's actually pretty good!"

Jazmine laughed. "We'll make an American of you yet, Mako."

The four laughed, and dug into their pizza slices again.

-.-.-

Author's notes: I wanted to touch on the food shortages that Raleigh referenced in the movie as he sat down to eat with Herc, and how that would affect things most people in the U.S. take for granted. Also, Mako's sunburn coming back to haunt her was something I'd been planning for a bit.

Speaking of food, Mako's lessons in cooking are going to be a recurring source of humor, I promise.

Also on the topic of food: Yes, Mark and Monica's is a real place. It's currently rebuilding after a fire late last year, but they have the best pizza around town.

Senator Baxter is going to become a recurring character, along with his daughter, whom we've already met. Kudos to you if you can find her.

Oh, and expect some other familiar faces to start to return to the story. The big move across the Pacific is about to start. ;)

Oh, and expect things to pick up again, posting-wise. I've gotten things kinda settled right now, so I can start to put more time into writing.

Finally, shout out to AsianVegetablesLLC for pointing out that Herc would have known what an Ikea was. Good catch!