A/N: Ha, sorry this took so long to finish! It simply did not want to be done, but I was recently able to figure it out, so out with it!
"This is the first time we've seen this sort of tail function. We've seen whipping and balance and a rudder function for swimming, but not stabilizing like a kangaroo—this is new."
Reaching into the holographic readout above the table in front of her, the Shatterdome's head biologist activated some schematic data and it popped up, displayed for everyone else to see. The seven Jaeger pilots were there for the briefing, along with Kate and Osgood, all except Missy with a serious look on their face as they saw the readings on the kaiju from two days prior.
"Do you think more of them will come out of the Breach like that?" Kate asked.
"Possibly," she shrugged. "It might be a singular occurrence, it might not; their DNA structure is really difficult to crack."
"The only thing that Martha and I have been able to gather together is that there's a double event coming," Osgood added. "Her breakdown of the differing physical kaiju properties and my calculations both point to something on the other side of the Breach is sending these things, is actively attempting to improve them, and that before too long, there's going to be two to deal with at once."
"What's the correlation?" Basil frowned. "When I was here the first time, it wasn't believed that the kaiju were anything but utilizing a quantum anomaly—likely on accident during migratory periods—yet now you're saying it's on purpose?"
"Timing between the events hasn't been directly halved with each instance, but there is a pattern that we have been able to discern since you were last with the PPDC that would indicate artificial production in regards to Breach Events," Osgood squeaked out. She also reached over the table and accessed some files, bringing them up for Basil to see. He stepped towards the equations, puzzling over them.
"That," Martha added for the others, "and running data on how we've destroyed kaiju alongside their physical characteristics indicate a sort of trial-and-error developmental stage. Someone or something is manipulating the kaiju, both their physicality and their timing, and we need to figure out why."
"…why, as well as how to stop them," Kate said.
"Of course." Martha cleared out the latest kaiju dissection and brought up an image of the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the Breach hovering just above the lowest-most point. "While it could be pure coincidence that the Breach parked itself at one of the most difficult areas for Humankind to access, at the same time, there's evidence that it is anything but coincidence. The kaiju have been making it progressively more difficult to act against them, especially in one Jaeger. In order to fend them off, we've been able to rely on our ingenuity and quick thinking out in battle—and the numbers of the last encounter—but it won't be like that for long."
"Plus," Osgood said, going over towards the holographic trench, "the last time, we were able to send an underwater drone to observe the Breach in action. It is definitely an artificial portal and not an anomaly." She focused the diagram on the Breach and it showed more than just a slit; it was actually analogous to a tunnel, with what they knew being the end. "There is a weak spot in every machine, every mechanism, every single thing that is built—whether it is apparent from the start or only appears over time—and the Breach is no different. This bit right here where it tapers? I've calculated that if we destroy that, then we stop the kaiju from coming through ever again. One decently-sized warhead from seventy years ago and we've got ourselves a thoroughly weakened mechanism."
"If there's something on the other side of the Breach sending the kaiju, then why are they doing so?" Jenny asked. The room fell quiet, after a moment of which, Clara snapped her fingers.
"They need to breathe," she surmised. Everyone looked at her, wondering why her assessment was such. "They attack big cities, yeah? Places with air quality problems, smog events, the like, and rarely any of the smaller ones. It's probably not just a population thinning, but a biological need."
"That's ridiculous," Vastra said. She was unsure of her friend's hypothesis, mainly because she did not want it to be true. "They're animals, not plants—wouldn't they need oxygen to survive?"
"If we were talking about organisms from Earth, yes, but we have no idea how the kaiju came to being, let alone what they need to breathe…"
"She's right," Basil said, cutting Martha off. "There have been air quality events during or around most of the dates that involve kaiju attacks. Whether air pollution has made it out to the Breach or not doesn't matter, because if they swim towards these cities, even if we have cleaned up our act in the past sixty or so years, it's still much stronger than it was when they first arrived, whenever that was. They can survive under normal conditions, yes, but they thrive in the pollution."
"…what…?" Kate narrowed her eyes at Basil, making it clear she found him out of line. "How do you figure this?"
"The Breach had to be built somehow, and I highly doubt it would have been done recently, not with our current surveillance technology being able to pick up on that massive a project," he said. "They came before, but are returning now because we terraformed the place for them. This isn't random—it was planned. Something knew we would do this, and clearly took advantage of it."
Kate narrowed her eyes as she thought, then looked sternly at Basil. "You better be right about this."
"When am I not?" he fired back, throwing her a cheeky grin.
"Don't make me list the ways," Kate warned. She then glanced around the room at everyone else, seeing that her remaining pilots were in varying stages of uncertainty. "You are all dismissed for now, but do keep on your guard. Basil? Stay here with Martha, Osgood, and me. Everyone else, be ready."
"Whatever you have to say to Basil, you can say to me," Clara insisted.
"…and you're likely to know precisely what we're going to talk about during the next Event; go."
"Come on, Clara," Jenny insisted gently. "Let's go get some lunch."
"…but I…"
"Commander Stewart is not wrong here." Clara looked at Basil and he nodded—it was alright for her to go. Jenny took her wrist and began to pull her along. "Come on; I hear they were planning on some pancit today. You love pancit."
Before Clara knew it, the door was closing and she and Jenny were out in the corridor together. She glanced over at her friend and saw that it was really just the two of them, no one else even in sight.
"Where are Vastra and Strax at?"
"Off to get a sore shoulder looked over, and I don't want to know," Jenny replied. She and Clara then began to walk towards the mess hall, glad their company was enjoyable. "I hope we can get this over with soon."
"What do you mean? Lunch or the kaiju?"
"I miss London, the day-to-day, not worrying about when the next Event will be or what is waiting on the other side of the Breach, let alone the other side of the Frontier Border," Jenny sighed. "I want to go back, but I know that once we do, I don't know what I'll do with myself."
"No setting up shop here?" Clara asked. "That's what quite a few people wanted, before they got in the way of the business end of a kaiju."
"Soon as the Shatterdome is done, unless we're spending loaded-tourist-levels of money, I know that the Mainland won't want any of us here and will start coming down hard. For one, we're Western; for two… they just don't like people like me and Vastra." They entered the mess hall and got into line, only for her to smile wanly—there were their pancit noodles, ready and waiting. "I'm just homesick, I guess."
"At least you can say that what you do here is important, that it's something very few get to do, let alone are capable of doing," Clara said. The two women navigated the sea of tables until they found a quiet one along the edge of the eating area, where they could sit down and talk at a normal level. "It makes it better for me, at least."
"This is true," Jenny agreed. "Being up in a Jaeger, knowing that one day you're going to run towards a mission that you won't come back from…? It's sobering, in a way."
"Piloting a giant fighting robot is not exactly something I would have ever thought could be described as sobering."
"It's different from being part of a regular pilot team, that's for certain."
"Yeah; everything is so vivid it's unreal," Clara said. She shook her head and poked at her food. "Are there any words to describe it? I can't even imagine having Drifted for as long as you have with Vastra and Strax."
"I do have a word: terrifying," Jenny admitted. "My memories aren't programmed like most other people's, which means seeing the world through their eyes scares me every time we do it."
"…it is…?"
"Yes—even now I sometimes get lost in the Drift, follow the RABIT, so we practice all the time so I don't get caught flat-footed during a kaiju event. I don't have a mind's eye like they do, meaning everything is just dark unless we're performing a Neural Handshake."
Clara blinked at that. "Wait, you mean, when you close your eyes, there's nothing?"
"Not even if I try my hardest."
"…absolutely dark…?"
"There is still light coming through my eyelids, but otherwise… yeah. I go from nothing to everything when I meet my copilots in the Drift."
"Does it bother Vastra that your memories are that different? Strax?"
"No—either it never did or they're simply used to it." She took another bite of her noodles and shrugged. "My point is that you need to be prepared to carry one another in battle. Everyone brings something different, and because of that, you need to realize your own strengths and limitations. I can Drift with Vastra so well because we are very much in love, but I can Drift with Strax because I bring so little with me that there's nothing for him to clash with."
"Vastra and Strax…?"
"…have known one another for a very long time, is all. I used to be the medium through which they could Drift, but now I'm sure they could Drift without me."
"…as though Vastra would want to," Clara snorted. Jenny snickered at that as well—it was the three or none at this point, and she wouldn't want it any other way.
Suddenly, the alarms blared. Loud and piercing, they were accompanied by the lights all shifting to red, along with an announcement by Osgood over the speaker system.
"ACTIVITY IN THE BREACH; REPEAT, THERE IS ACTIVITY IN THE BREACH. CREWS FOR PATERNOSTER GLORY, IDRIS VORTEX, DARK WATER, REPORT TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS."
"That's not good—Dark Water isn't fully repaired, yet they're making them report," Jenny mused aloud as she rushed to clean up. She and Clara both stood and slid the remainder of their meals in the compost bin, as there was now no time to waste.
"I guess it's just the five of us when they see that the need for repairs is too great; Madam Madness won't be in the way this time," Clara noted. The two ran down to the Jaeger bays, finding the rest of their teams were already suiting up. "Don't think that you can start the fun without us!"
"That's the fighting spirit, Oswald!" Strax grinned. "Never give in and honor shall find you in battle!"
"Less talk, more suit; let's go!" Basil ordered.
"Wait… where's Chang and McMaster?" Jenny wondered. "Are they still reporting?!"
"We can't afford to wait for them!" Vastra snapped. "As long as two of us get to the Miracle Mile, that's all that counts!"
The five pilots finished suiting up and went into their respective Conn-Pods. They were all secured into place and Paternoster Glory's neural link was activated. Clara glanced over at her copilot and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Remember, Basil: everything."
"Start the Neural Handshake," he said. A tech counted down in the commlink and the familiar swooshing of his brain beginning to connect with another began. He closed his eyes and let the sensation take over, memories from them both washing over him. Studying at university, knocking back a few too many pints at said uni's local, getting the first of many military contracts, the giddy sensation of seeing Danny, the ire of being in a fight with River, the terror of looking a kaiju directly in the eye…
Suddenly, Basil could feel a lurch in his consciousness and everything around him stopped. He could see Clara next to him, but nothing more.
"Is this one of your memories, Clara?" he wondered. He took a closer look at her and realized that she was entranced, her brown eyes wide as a light pulled them both towards it.
There was only one thing that could be happening—her brain was hooked into a memory and it was dragging the both of them in.
"Clara! Don't concentrate on it! Let it pass!" He tried to pass his hand in front of her face, yet realized it did no use, as they were only interacting in the Drift. Whatever had latched onto her was holding tightly. With full access to both his brain and hers, he worried about which memory was drawing them in. He braced himself as the light grew closer and the memory's relapse was imminent.
As the Conn-Pod materialized around them, Basil knew precisely which one was sucking his copilot in. It was the very last thing he wanted her to see, mainly because it was the very last one he ever wanted to re-experience himself.
"Clara, don't watch it," he warned. "Don't make my mistakes—don't watch it. Clara, you can turn away."
Except it was too late; she was firmly into the memory and watched as Basil and a woman she'd only seen in photographs enter the Conn-Pod. They stepped into position and connected with the jaeger. Systems were online almost immediately and their neural handshake was performed, filling the Conn-Pod with even more vividness. Now it was two sets of memories, with extra details not found before: the stuffiness of the cabin, the grungy spot on the windscreen a tech missed, how tight the helmets were because they forgot to wet their hair...
"Clara, we have to go!" Basil insisted. He touched her elbow, tried to brush his consciousness against hers, and yet she didn't move. She was so thoroughly trapped that the only way out was to wait...
...and it was not going to be pretty.
Basil watched helplessly as Clara saw him and River head out into the Pacific, airlifted by helicopters over the Great Barrier Reef and dropped just outside of the corals' reach. The kaiju nearly seemed as though it was waiting for them, ready to grapple.
There was no talking while they were fighting the kaiju—it was common for the Professor and Doctor Song to not utter a word during a mission in order to keep their Handshake in alignment. The kaiju went down and the couple shared a grin.
"Another one down," River claimed. She batted her eyelashes at her husband and the current Basil's stomach dropped.
"Clara, come on," he urged. She was still stuck and there was no way to spare her.
"Huh…? What's that?" River's attention was pulled away for a split second, only for the Conn-Pod to lurch violently. The pilots in the memory both looked at one another in horror, and then, the moment Basil was dreading happened.
Before River could get out another word, her side of the Conn-Pod was ripped away in a flash of gnashing, gnawing teeth. The Basil from the memory gasped loudly as the world went grey, then a painful red, and everything turned to pitch as he blacked out.
The Handshake was completely lost and Basil and Clara fell out of alignment. Soon as he could regain control of his body again, Basil detached his feet from the mounts and went to his copilot. She was crumpled on the floor and breathing heavily.
"Doctor?! What's your status?!"
He pressed a finger to his ear just long enough to hiss out, "Go on without us, Vastra." He knelt down at Clara's side and took her helmet completely off, discarding it on the floor unceremoniously before holding her close. "Clara, come on, wake up. It was only a memory—it was only the past."
"What was that…?" she asked, shivering.
"The Drift caught you and showed you one of my strongest memories. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about; you did what I asked." She then tried to stand, though her legs were too shaky to support her weight. "What's going on?"
"Your nervous system has taken a hit," Kate explained, still patched into their commlinks. "Oswald, Smith, you are both grounded for this mission."
"…but…!"
"No buts—rest up and be ready for the next one. You'll only be a liability out there and that's the last thing any of us need. With the simplicity of the last Event's victory with three Jaegers, that should mean that Paternoster Glory and Dark Water—once they show up—can handle this on their own. Now back to the barracks, both of you."
"Yes, ma'am," they both said.
Carefully, Basil helped Clara up and they hobbled out of the Jaeger, where techs were waiting to help them out of their suits. Once back in their regular clothes, they walked together back towards the barracks, instinctively knowing that the other would scold them for not following Commander's orders if they strayed.
"Basil…?"
He looked at her and realized they were near her room, her hand stretched out for him to take. She stood there, silent, waiting for him to accept. He did, putting his hand in hers, and allowed her to gently pull him in. Shutting the door behind them, they blocked out the rest of the Shatterdome as the air crackled between them.
Now was a time for one another, not for anything or anyone else.
"The Drift was cruel to show you that," Basil stated. Clara said nothing, instead looking up at him. "I guess now you can begin to understand, begin to…"
"Shut up."
That took him by surprise. "What…?"
"Shut up, take your clothes off, and get in my bed before I shove you in it," she ordered. "Connect with me, Basil Smith, and make that Handshake worthwhile."
"Yes, boss."
Slowly, he peeled the shirt from his torso and watched her as she began to scrutinize every part of his body. After pulling off her own shirt, she put her hands on his belt and slowly began undoing it, not taking her eyes off the maze of electric burns across his upper arms and chest, fading at his forearms, stomach, and neck.
"A reminder," he explained. He said no more, as she already knew from being in his head—scars from after River was taken and the neural load nearly killed him. Everyone he talked to said he should have been dead, and likely would have been had he experienced one shred of advanced thought from the time he blacked out to when he was found washed up on a beach three days later. She traced a few with her fingers and wondered why they were only there. He answered, "It's down my back and under my hairline as well—these were the main vital contact points, so here is where they started."
"You just like to hear yourself talk," she replied.
"No I don't."
"Again: you are a liar." She made eye contact and cupped his lower bits, noting how heavy and solid they were. "…and again, at least this doesn't lie."
"It has wanted attention since you chastised my survivor's guilt," he breathed as he sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling her down onto his lap. He utilized one of her memories and grabbed both her breasts, giving them a gentle twist as he squeezed them. She let out a moan and threw her head back, exposing her neck so that he could lean in and trail his lips down her throat, slowly and with excruciating precision. He smiled and let out a low chuckle.
"Why are you so smug?"
"You've never had sex with someone who's been inside your head and knows how you want things before you give the orders." His thumbs found her nipples and began to circle them teasingly. He could feel her body tense—yes, the spots he was hitting were still working. "Sure you want to find out what that's like? It's very risky for someone who loves to be in control of things."
"I'll decide what's risky and what's not around here," she said firmly. She then pushed his shoulders down onto the bedding and rutted against him, the fact both were still in their trousers being very annoying.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
Now it was time for her belt to come undone—they were ready.
After some of the most satisfying sex either had ever experienced—followed by letting themselves idly recuperate in each other's arms—Basil and Clara decided it was probably time to check in with Kate and see what sort of mess the other Jaeger teams had gotten themselves into. It had been hours since they had retreated into her room, which meant that the Shatterdome they stepped out into was a completely different one than what they had escaped from: sirens and alerts had been replaced with quiet in some areas and frantic Cantonese in others. Paternoster Glory and Dark Water had both been deployed after all, though both came back disturbingly damaged.
Once they had grabbed a sandwich and cuppa each (as they were little use to anyone with growling stomachs and headaches), they found the briefing room containing all the other Jaeger pilots, though not in the way they'd most like: Chang was in a bed against the wall with a large cast going up his left side, while Missy sat pouting and the rest wearing varying shades of irritated… though not at the latecomers. A bunch of nods welcomed the pair clutching their paper cups full of liquid life.
"We're all fine—I don't see what the problem is," Missy grumbled, not missing a beat in the conversation already in-progress.
"The problem," Kate scowled, "is that your reckless attitude got Paternoster Glory turned into a ball of sheet metal, Dark Water nearly the same, and you didn't even stop the kaiju from making landfall! New Kowloon is half rubble! It will take weeks to dig out all of the shelters! All because you wanted to be flashy!"
"Are you certain that all the blame needs to be shouldered on me?" Missy asked. She glanced towards Basil and Clara and grinned. "I mean, at least I was there…"
"No; misalignments happen," Kate said firmly. "Don't blame Smith and Oswald for the fact you took too many risks out there!"
"Too many or not enough?"
"She wrecked another one?" Basil asked, sitting down at the table. Clara sat next to him, both of them on the end of the table with Paternoster Glory's pilots. "How many Jaegers is this now? Is it at least less than your kaiju kill count?"
"I did not wreck it," Missy glared. "It was the kaiju that attempted to take too large a bite."
"…and now this," Chang said, motioning towards his leg. He tried to adjust himself, though it was little use—he was just going to be uncomfortable for a while. "To be honest, it's better and worse than it looks. The cast going up to my waist is probably overkill, but I also broke my femur."
"Oh, shit, that's the big one, isn't it?" Clara winced.
"It is," Basil affirmed. "This leaves us down two Jaegers. Idris is it."
"With as much damage as Chang took, Dark Water would still be the easiest to patch," Kate said. "We're going to concentrate our resources mostly on that, with Paternoster Glory as a secondary, as much as I hate to say."
"I don't see you scolding the Paternosters…"
"…because the damage to theirJaeger is because of you not being there in time," Kate retorted. "Do not leave the Shatterdome, but I want you out of my sight. Now."
Missy stood and gave a sarcastic curtsey before leaving the room. She slammed the door on the way out, making everyone else in the conference room cringe.
"I guess I need to find someone Drift-compatible with McMaster out of the current class," Kate groaned, sinking into her chair.
"Dark Water has new repairs it needs as well," Chang reminded. "I didn't get like this by rolling out of bed."
"Yes, but the damage done to Dark Water is mostly cosmetic, whereas Paternoster Glory is missing a full limb," she reminded him. "McMaster needs a new copilot before either you or the Paternosters are functioning again. The techs have the Jaeger—I need to concentrate on the pilot."
"I imagine some of my classmates might be a decent fit," Clara mentioned. "Grey could be perfect."
"That's something that I need to figure out sooner rather than later," Kate agreed. She swiveled her chair slightly and looked over the atrium full of scurrying techs and laborers attempting to weld and wire together new parts ad hoc. "The next Event, I want there to be an offensive as well as a defensive—I want to catch the rift as it's opening and destroy it. All I want is what everyone else does: to beat these things."
"Easier said than done," Vastra shrugged. She looked across the table at the Doctor and Clara and frowned. "Maybe next time I should fall out of alignment too, and then I can go back to the barracks and get a good shag in with the wife."
"That is uncalled for," Clara snapped. "You don't know what we were doing."
"I don't have to; you fall out of alignment and the next time I see you both, you look more relaxed than you have in years. Don't be flippant over it."
"I am not flippant!"
"Ladies, stop," Kate ordered. "I don't care what happened—we've got to prepare for the next kaiju that finds its way into our ocean. Smith, Oswald, just leave and don't get too distracted; Osgood is predicting another event within a couple of hours."
"Yes, ma'am," they both said at once. Vastra glared at them as they stood and walked out, a chill settling over the pair. Once they were out in the corridor, they stared at once another in confusion.
"It's not like Vastra to be like that," Clara noted.
"I know," Basil agreed. He binned their empty cups and frowned. "Is it really that obvious that we… you know…?"
"Had a near-violent shag a few hours ago? Maybe."
They walked side-by-side, heading towards the balconies overlooking the Jaeger bays. Once there, they sat down, watching as the techs worked tirelessly to repair their last chances at saving humanity. Clara leaned over and rested her head on Basil's shoulder—they didn't need much—and stayed like that for what felt like hours before she cracked:
"Can I go back to Bristol with you?"
He chuckled lightly. "Only if you take me to that sinfully good Caribbean place in Haggerston your brain keeps thinking about."
"That means we also get to visit the chippy in Maryhill, I hope you realize."
"Ugh, you're going to make me sick."
Basil and Clara both looked behind them to see Missy standing there, a soured look upon her face. "The two of you flirting should be illegal."
"The only way you would enjoy flirting with someone is if it was somehow a male version of yourself," Basil scowled. Missy shrugged.
"I flirt—it's merely so few others seem to be able to keep up."
"What do you want, McMaster?" Clara asked, standing up languidly. Basil joined her, standing just behind her shoulder. "We're trying to not get riled up before the next event." Missy's grin turned cat-like, setting both the other pilots at-ease.
"Look at you," she purred, "the bossiest person per-pound in Kwai Tsing and the man who shouldn't be controlled. If you look closely, one can nearly see as they get ready to implode into one another…"
His patience snapping like a dry twig, Basil took Missy by the front of her jacket and slammed her up against the wall opposite the balcony, furious. "Don't you dare say another word! You have absolutely no right to question anyone!" Missy wasn't even fazed.
"Considering she's no longer here, I wonder what your wife would say to you shagging this ch—"
"Not another word!"
"There's the Doctor Song we all know and used to fear."
"It's Smith," he hissed. "My name is Smith."
"…and it might be close to becoming Oswald if we're not careful," Missy grinned. "I will give you that: there's no questioning with whom the power is in the relationship. You'd give her your severed manhood, still bleeding and twitching, on a silver saucer if she asked."
"I'm not surprised that you don't know what it's like."
"What what's like?"
"…to be part of a unit."
Missy glanced over Basil's shoulder at Clara, who was meeting her gaze adamantly.
"What did you say…?" She brushed off Basil and stepped forward, scrutinizing the one she now saw as her opponent.
"You've never known what it's like to be part of a unit—part of a real team—despite the fact we're literally here to save all of humanity. The only reason Chang would Drift with you is because you're so much like his auntie it's bizarre, and that's only the most recent of your string of broken copilots left in your wake."
"Basil's the only other one who's been able to stay at my speed," Missy claimed. "What do you say to that? Don't you want to upgrade to something a bit more… interesting…? You can keep fucking him on the side like a middle-aged sex doll if that's what you'd like—the memories would be simply delicious."
"You really don't get it," Clara said. "For all the cleverness you think is falling out of your arse, you can't even see what's in front of you."
"I do know what's in front of me: a grave annoyance."
Basil opened his mouth to fire back, to rip apart Missy with everything he could muster for even considering talking to Clara that way—Dark Water needing two pilots be damned, when something happened that made his stomach find his throat.
The overhead lights dimmed and came back on red.
Shit.
"ACTIVITY IN THE BREACH; REPEAT, THERE IS ACTIVITY IN THE BREACH. CREWS FOR IDRIS VORTEX AND DARK WATER, REPORT TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS."
"We'll finish this later," Basil spat. He turned on his heel and stormed off. Clara looked at him, then Missy, and then jogged over to his side.
"What was that…?" she wondered. She walked quickly in order to keep pace with her copilot, completely baffled. "I didn't realize your feud with McMaster was that strong."
"I'm surprised you didn't find it in the Drift," he grunted. He turned to explain some more when he stopped, frozen by the fact she had him by the face and was kissing him full on the mouth. In the corridor. Where people could potentially see. He didn't shy away from it, but his face flushed a deep pink as she continued the kiss, which he admittedly leaned into.
"I've been wanting to chew her out for months," she admitted as she broke the kiss. "That was honestly one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."
"Does that mean if we survive, we get to…?"
"Yes, you daft old man. We can shag like rabbits until the next Event."
"…and if we get to destroy the Breach like Kate wants?"
"Then I think we'll be allowed to go into a barrack and not emerge except for food and the latrine for an entire week."
"Sex, wuxia, and lots of sleeping?"
"You're on."
"Good thing that you know my peak," Basil shrugged. They continued down towards the bays, navigating the increasingly panicked crowd around them. "It's not like you can beat kaiju-hunting for a date."
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
As they arrived at the bays, the pair saw Missy getting ready to suit up alongside one of the other members of the final prospective Academy class. One look at him and Basil knew precisely who he was thanks to Clara's memories: it was the one called Grey… wait, it was Seb from the sparring room, the one who couldn't understand what Drifting was all about. He had been the one to throw Clara into Basil's path, which subsequently led to their probing compatibility, which led to…
…he needed to put aside his disdain for Missy and buy the man a drink.
"Remember: you need to simply hold off the kaiju while Dark Water goes towards the Breach," Kate said soon as the comms were in Basil and Clara's ears. "They've volunteered to take the warhead."
"Why?" they both asked at once.
"If she's going to destroy a five-quadrillion-pound piece of sheer scientific might, then the least McMaster can do is destroy it while dropping a nuke inside the Breach," Kate said. She waited until Basil wet his hair and they both put their helmets on. "All the two of you need to do is buy them enough time. Think you can do that?"
"Pretty sure that goes without saying," Clara quipped. She and Basil went up into the Conn-Pod and began the process of snapping their gear into place and booting up Idris.
"Hey, Clara…?" She looked at Basil and knew precisely what it was on his mind.
"You don't need to say it," she replied.
"I know, but…"
"People like us, we don't need to say anything." They could hear Dark Water's systems get initiated over the common comm channel as they stared at one another, silently.
Of course they didn't need to say anything. It was too late anyhow.
"Idris Vortex, systems are go."
They felt the tug and let themselves be overtaken by the Drift, coming out completely in sync.
This kaiju was going down.