"Target sighted!"
The Kaidonovskys moved in perfect synch, raising their arms and bracing their legs in identical wrestler's stances. In response Cherno Alpha shifted beneath, above, and all around them, his immense frame thundering and humming as he adapted his pilots' pose. Rain intermixed with snow pelted his cockpit, and had it functioned like the windshield of an ordinary automobile it would have effectively rendered both pilots blind. But where the cockpit failed, the interior readouts and sensors more than compensated, providing them with a full visual scan of the raging ocean before them… and the enormous predator emerging from the whirling storm.
"Cherno Alpha, you are to hold the miracle mile at all costs," the order came, crackling over a radio feed slightly blurred by the surrounding storm. "Category-3 Kaiju, codenamed Baba Yaga. Largest Kaiju yet."
"Good," Aleksis replied, smirking. "We've been wanting a challenge. Bannick was a pushover."
"Don't get cocky," the Shatterdome commander retorted. "Just hold the miracle mile until Eden Assassin gets there. Don't do anything foolish. Do you copy?"
"Isn't entering a Jaeger cockpit always something foolish?" Sasha quipped, but she followed that up anyway with a quick "Copy, Commander."
A deep thrum issued from Cherno's engines, and the two Rangers shared a look. The first few times their Jaeger had made unexpected noises during a battle, they had assumed he was malfunctioning somehow, even though maintenance scans hadn't shown any abnormalities. Now, though, they simply shared a smug grin.
"He's eager to go, is he?" Aleksis asked.
"You heard him," Sasha replied. "He doesn't want Eden to have all the fun." She turned to face the readouts and nodded. "Come, Cherno. Let's finish this. Eden can play cleanup if he wants."
Another thrum, and Cherno waded forward, moving to intercept Baba Yaga on its way to the coast. The mech's chassis fairly hummed around them, seeming to give off his own aura of anticipation, even excitement. He was still entirely responsive to their commands, yet they could almost feel him pulling at their control like a spirited horse straining at the reins, yearning to run even as its rider commanded it to trot.
Neither Aleksis nor Sasha could identify the moment when they had begun seeing Cherno Alpha not as a mere object, but as a member of their team. Certainly they hadn't begun their partnership that way – in the beginning Cherno had merely been their weapon, their engine of destruction that they wielded in combat. Sure, the Jaeger had its quirks, but any piece of machinery did, and both had simply assumed that said quirks could be fixed by maintenance crews or worked around by trial and error.
Somewhere along the line, though, they had come to learn otherwise. Gradually, they had come to know Cherno, his strengths and weaknesses, where his limits were and how far they could be pushed. And over time they had felt something far more than a personal connection whenever they were bound in the neural handshake – it was as if they were linked not only with each other, but with Cherno himself, a third entity in their bond. He was far more than a weapon or vehicle; he was their partner in battle, their ally and friend… and perhaps something even more…
A splitting roar made the air tremble all around the Jaeger, and both pilots drew Cherno to a halt. He stilled, every joint and cable and piston in his titanic body tensing in reaction as their foe closed in, rising from the churning waters like a demon from the depths of Hell itself. It delivered another earth-shattering roar, head flung skyward, blue light shining from its jaws. Then it lowered its head and glared hatefully at Cherno.
It was hideous even by Kaiju standards, a mishmash of jumbled animal parts pieced together by a deranged god. Double sets of tiny, piggish eyes peered from the long sideswept head of a hammerhead shark, complete with a glowing crescent-shaped mouth lined with jagged teeth. Powerful arms flexed beneath its barrel-chested torso, each ending in three-fingered hands tipped with saber-like claws. Thickly muscled digitigrade legs, like those of a dinosaur, churned the seawaters with every step, and a thick mass of seething tentacles trailed after it in lieu of a tail. Hundreds of viciously barbed spikes sprouted from its back, giving it a strange hedgehog appearance, and glowing blue lines marked its sides like cryptic runes in an alien language.
"Baba Yaga indeed," Aleksis snorted. "The witch. Fitting name."
"Shall we chase her back to her chicken-legged hut, then?" Sasha laughed.
"Chase, hell." Aleksis cracked the knuckles of his left hand. "Let's ensure she never goes back to whatever hut she calls home."
Cherno raised both fists, slamming them together in a taunting gesture. Baba Yaga bellowed her rage and charged, head lowered like a bull, the blue-tipped spikes on her back raising like the hackles of a wolf. The Kaidonovskys braced themselves, and Cherno braced with them, watching the kaiju charge, silently calculating…
At the last possible second Cherno sprang out of the way, moving with stunning grace for his size. As Baba Yaga barreled by he brought both fists down on her head with a resounding CRACK, sending her sprawling into the ocean. She shrieked in rage, thrashing to get to her feet, tentacles flailing and swatting at Cherno's legs ineffectually.
Aleksis cackled in delight. "Good lad! You got her good!"
"Don't get cocky," Sasha advised. "We don't celebrate until she's good and dead."
"Of course," Aleksis replied, but he grinned broadly all the same. "Come, Cherno, let's finish this hag!"
Cherno thrummed as if in response, and as Baba Yaga staggered to her feet, shaking her head dazedly, he raised a foot and delivered a kick to her side. The pilots could feel the impact of his steel boot against a fleshy side the size of a mountain, feel the crack of ribs snapping under the blow… and feel razor-sharp teeth clamp into Cherno's ankle as Baba Yaga retaliated, grabbing his foot and yanking hard. The Jaeger flailed as the Kaidonovskys tried to regain his balance, but he toppled anyhow, the ocean closing in over his cockpit and reactor tower.
The Rangers cried out at the shared pain in Cherno's leg and at the sudden shock of the ice-cold sea hitting sensors and wiring. Baba Yaga snarled and shook Cherno's leg like a dog, thwarting their efforts to right the Jaeger. Sudden terror coursed through the Drift, threatening to overwhelm the pilots…
"No," Aleksis snarled, and he raised his foot. Sasha mirrored the move, face contorted in a determined grimace. Together they kicked, moving in perfect synch, and in response Cherno braced the leg Baba Yaga currently gripped and thrust it forward with all his strength. The move rammed his foot further down the Kaiju's throat, and she gagged and released her grip, gurgling sickeningly, spitting out copious amounts of blue-tinged saliva and a mouthful of teeth.
"Good lad," Sasha murmured. "Come on, Cherno, get up… you can do this…"
The fear in the Drift ebbed, and with the combined efforts of the Rangers Cherno pushed himself to his feet. Warning readouts indicated his left ankle had taken considerable damage, so they shifted as much weight as possible to the right side to minimize any further damage.
"She hurt Cherno," Sasha growled. "Let's make her pay for this."
Aleksis nodded. "Shock and awe?"
"You read my mind," she replied, grinning fiercely, and she reached out to touch a control. Instantly both pilots felt their fists tingle as energy coursed through Cherno's hands.
"TESLA FISTS ACTIVATED," a computerized voice announced.
Again Cherno smashed his fists together, and this time sparks burst from his knuckles at the movement, filling the air with the stench of ozone. Baba Yaga hissed, unfazed, and arched her back, the multitude of spines flaring out and seeming to make her swell in size. She lowered her head to tuck it beneath her body, almost as if trying to roll herself into a ball…
"Oh no you don't," Aleksis snarled, realizing what the Kaiju was up to. "Sasha, Cherno, NOW!"
Before she could curl herself up fully, Cherno's fist landed on the back of her head. The Kaiju gave a shattering scream and shuddered at the blow, sparks flying as electricity jolted through her body, and she uncurled and swatted at the Jaeger in her blind agony. Her claws raked across Cherno's torso, leaving scratches in the metal but not piercing the thick armor, and the Jaeger retaliated with a right hook to Baba Yaga's throat. The scream of pain came out a sickly rasp, and she gaped her jaws open in a frantic effort to suck in air.
"Let's finish this," Aleksis growled.
Sasha nodded, and together they worked their fists, their movements in total harmony with each other. Cherno responded immediately, landing blow after electricity-laced blow on Baba Yaga, aiming for the throat and belly and any other softer bits that presented themselves. The Kaiju clawed and snapped a few times in a token effort to fight back, but soon gave up trying to take her foe down and backpedaled in an effort to get away. Her piggy eyes glowed not with rage now, but with mortal fear.
Sasha cocked her fist back one more time. "Do svidaniya, bastard."
The final blow landed in Baba Yaga's eye socket, shattering the skull and driving jagged pieces of bone into her brain. The beast thrashed wildly, bright blue ichor pouring in sheets down her neck and chest, then collapsed, her body rapidly vanishing beneath the waves. Cherno hung back, fists raised, waiting for the Kaiju to rise up and keep fighting. They had all learned the hard way that these monsters didn't always stay down when knocked down, and were notoriously difficult to kill.
"No movement detected," came the call over the radio. "Cherno Alpha, stand down. Kill confirmed." Their commander's tone carried equal parts relief and irritation. "Recalling Eden Assassin. Its pilots aren't going to be happy that we called them up for nothing."
"Let them live with a little disappointment," Sasha replied with a smirk. "Cherno's injured – bite damage to the left ankle and foot. He's going to need a lift back to the Shatterdome."
The commander sighed. "It, not he. I'll never understand why the two of you insist on calling that Jaeger by the wrong pronouns."
Aleksis just shared a knowing smile with Sasha at that. The crew of the Shatterdome would never fully understand, no matter how many times they tried to explain it. Cherno was far more than just their Jaeger, even more than their partner. He was family.
Tendo Choi waited at the entrance to the Shatterdome as the Kaidonovskys climbed out of the taxi, a helpful technician hanging close by with an umbrella to shield them from the elements. They had arrived here quicker than he'd expected, and privately he hoped the crews had gotten Cherno cleaned up enough to be presentable for them. There was nothing that could be done about the mangled cockpit and reactor tower – at least, nothing that could be done given their current budget and equipment – but at the very least they could wash off the surface gunk and make it look a little less ghastly.
Despite receiving periodic updates on their condition, Tendo couldn't help feeling a little shocked at their appearance. He winced slightly when he saw the scars tracing down Sasha's scalp and left cheek, and the almost bruise-like markings around her eyes. She walked with a limp, and her right arm still hung in a sling. But there was still a determined glint in her eyes, and she waved away the young crewman who had stepped forward to help her out of the car.
Aleksis emerged a moment later, and unlike Sasha he accepted the aid of the crewman in getting out of the vehicle. The reason for that became quickly apparent as he turned to pull a walker out of the cab, and took a few minutes to get the device set up before making his way forward. Aleksis had lost a great deal of weight, and for the first time Tendo could remember he was clean-shaven, making the bright red scars on his jaw stand out all the more. Like Sasha, though, he still wore the same expression of stern calm that he had always worn in the Shatterdome. He almost looked as if he expected to be let back into the cockpit of a Jaeger right away, injured or not.
Tendo shifted his grip on the handle of his umbrella and walked forward to intercept the pair. Best to let them know right away what kind of shape their Jaeger was in. Herc had already explained to him the bond between a Ranger and their mech, and had told him the rumors that the bond between the Kaidonovskys and Cherno Alpha had been infamously stronger than most. He wanted to prepare them for what they were about to see, so they weren't overly shocked at the Jaeger's condition.
"Welcome back, Aleksis, Sasha," he greeted.
Sasha nodded once in acknowledgement. Aleksis took a few careful steps forward before replying: "Choi. Glad to be back."
"I can't begin to tell you how relieved we were to hear you survived," Tendo went on, motioning for the two to follow him to the lift. "When Cherno Alpha went down, we all assumed the worst."
At that, Sasha smirked and finally spoke up. "We do not go down so easily."
"As you've just proven," Tendo noted with a smile as he stepped into the lift. "Before we take you to see Cherno, there're a few things you should know."
The Kaidonovskys exchanged a look, and though it was mostly inscrutable to Tendo's eyes, he swore they looked briefly unsettled at his statement. But it was gone so quickly he decided he must have imagined it. They made their way into the lift, and Tendo waved away the mechanic who tried to join them and shut the doors.
"Cherno Alpha is being flown out of the Shatterdome tomorrow evening," Tendo explained. "You'll have tonight and most of tomorrow to see it, and to… say your goodbyes." He wasn't sure if that was the proper term for a Ranger who had lost their Jaeger, but it was the best he could do. "We're also granting you permission to accompany it during the flight, if you'd like."
"Flight," repeated Aleksis, scowling. "To Oblivion Bay? The Jaeger junkyard? Cherno Alpha is not to be dismantled for scrap."
"I never said he was," Tendo replied calmly. He could have argued that technically Cherno wasn't even their property, and they had no say in what happened now that the Jaeger had officially been retired from duty, but he judged it best not to go that route. "He's going to a museum in Sydney, where he'll be honorably displayed for the public to educate them about the Kaiju War and those who fought in it."
Sasha seemed to ponder that for a moment, as if trying to decide if that was the best place for Cherno. Then she nodded. "That is… better than we had thought. At least he will be safe."
Tendo frowned at the use of "he." Was it common for Rangers to use male and female pronouns for their mechs? He knew Raleigh and Mako had often referred to Gipsy as a "she," but assumed it was mostly as a joke. For all his involvement in the Jaeger program, there were still elements of Ranger culture he had yet to learn, it seemed.
"I'll warn you now… Cherno's in bad shape. Otachi and Leatherback dealt heavy damage to it, and it's pretty ugly at the moment. And it might bring back unpleasant memories."
Aleksis snorted. "We do not care. We want to see him. Ugly or not, he is Cherno."
Tendo nodded. "Of course. I just wanted you to be prepared."
The lift ground to a halt, and the doors opened to reveal the main Jaeger bay. Usually the place was bustling with activity, techs and mechanics and maintenance crews dashing about like mad to complete a multitude of tasks. But today absolutely no work was being done, and it seemed that every soul in the Shatterdome was gathered before the lift doors, expectant looks on every face. And the moment they saw the Kaidonovskys they broke into cheers.
"What is this?" Tendo asked, stunned.
"What, we're not allowed to say 'welcome home' to a couple of our veterans?" asked Raleigh, stepping forward with a grin. "Aleksis, Sasha… I can't begin to say how great it is to see you two again! And still in one piece, even."
Aleksis smirked. "Surprised to see you in one piece, Beckett. We were shocked to hear it was you and Mako who finally sealed the Breach."
"Yeah, who'd have thought?" Raleigh laughed.
Mako stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Welcome back, Aleksis and Sasha. You were greatly missed."
"It's friggin' awesome to see you again!" Newt exclaimed. "This proves it, Russians are freakin' invincible!"
Hermann rolled his eyes. "My apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Kaidonovsky. He's gotten insufferable lately."
Sasha shook her head. "He is fine, Dr. Gottlieb. He would not be Newton if he wasn't somewhat… over the top." She extended a hand to Newt, but drew it back sharply when she realized his arms were full. "What in the…"
"Oh, this little guy?" Newt held up his newly acquired pet with a huge grin. "Just a skin mite from Otachi. They tame pretty nicely once they're off the Kaiju, it turns out. Just gotta keep 'em dosed in ammonia every so often…"
"This is NOT the time and place for it, Newton!" Hermann snapped.
Hercules stepped forward as the two scientists fell back, still bickering between themselves. His seemingly permanent scowl softened as he shared a long look with the two Rangers, a look that somehow spoke volumes between the three of them. Then he gave a sharp nod.
"Nice to see you two," he grunted.
"Likewise," Aleksis replied, nodding back. "We heard about Gipsy and Striker… and your son. And we are sorry."
Herc snorted. "Chuck went down fightin', like he always said he would. An' Striker's sacrifice wasn't for nothin'." His jaw clenched as he fought to keep his emotions contained. "Sorry about Cherno."
"Where is he?" Sasha asked. "We are here to see him."
Raleigh bit his lip nervously. "He's kinda a wreck… but he's back in his hangar. Want us to take you to him?"
"We know the way," Aleksis assured him. "But company would not be unwelcome."
The crowd parted as the Kaidonovskys made their way for Cherno's hangar, accompanied by Herc, Raleigh, and Mako. Tendo followed a few steps behind, feeling oddly superfluous in this whole affair. He was an outsider to the Ranger way of life, and he knew it… but he hoped to understand a bit more, and figured the best way to learn was by watching.
The group passed by Crimson Typhoon's hangar without pause, though Aleksis did crane his neck up to get a better look at the red Jaeger, its repairs nearly complete by this point. At Gipsy's hangar they did stop a moment, as if the spot where the Mark III had once stood was sacred and they were pilgrims paying silent homage to it. It took a quiet nudge from Sasha to get them moving again.
Cherno Alpha's hangar was situated directly between Gipsy Danger's empty hangar and Striker Eureka's former hangar, now belonging to the half-complete Mustang Omega. The massive Mark I remained slumped in the back of its bay, surrounded by puddles of water from its hasty cleanup. While the crews had managed to hose off most of the surface gunk, it was still a gut-wrenching sight. Even Tendo felt himself recoiling slightly, his stomach clenching. A wrecked Jaeger was never a pretty sight, and with its half-melted reactor tower, mangled cockpit, and severed arm, Cherno looked worse than most.
There was a soft intake of breath from Sasha, and she stepped forward, moving to rest a hand on Cherno's enormous foot. She stared up at the Jaeger for a long moment, quiet and still, an air of tension around her so thick that no one dared break the silence. Even Spike was quiet, seeming to sense that now wasn't the time to start making noise or trying to squirm free of his owner's grip.
Sasha's fist clenched, and she leaned forward to rest her forehead against Cherno's foot, tears glistening on her cheeks. Aleksis shuffled forward, leaning heavily on his walker, until he was by her side, and he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. She shook slightly at the touch, but didn't shake him off, and Aleksis drew her into his arms, letting her bury her face against his chest.
"Aleksis, if there's anything we can do…" began Tendo.
"Leave us," Aleksis replied, his voice rough and threatening to crack. "We… want to be alone with Cherno."
"Of course," Mako replied softly. "Take whatever time you need." She took Raleigh by the arm and steered him out of the hangar. Her fellow Ranger didn't resist, though he did turn to give the two of them a sympathetic look as he left.
"You guys gonna be okay?" asked Newt.
"Oh, bug off and let 'em be," Herc ordered. "Go on, shoo."
"I just asked," Newt muttered, but walked off, Hermann limping close behind.
Tendo waited until the others were gone before speaking up again. "If you two need anything, you know how to reach me. I… I don't understand fully what you're going through… but I am sorry."
Neither Ranger responded, and he took that as his cue to leave. He headed for the hangar next door, intending to check on Mustang's progress. The Mark VI was progressing nicely, and if all continued to go well they might even be done with its construction ahead of schedule. Somehow the news failed to please him as much as he thought it would.
Funny… before the Kaidonovskys had come to the Shatterdome, he had seriously considered asking them to serve as Mustang's pilots. They had been among the best Rangers in the program, and even injured they were a cut above every other candidate out there. But now he didn't dare even suggest that to them. He had a gut feeling that offering them a new Jaeger would be insulting, suggesting that Mustang could replace Cherno in their minds. And if their bond between Jaegers and pilots was indeed this strong, then he seriously doubted they would accept the offer, or even set foot inside another cockpit ever again.
He sighed and took the tablet a tech handed him, ready to go over the day's diagnostics. Even with the war over, their understanding of the monsters they had built to fight monsters had only just begun.
It had been worse than Aleksis had imagined. He had known Cherno had been badly mangled in the fight with Otachi and Leatherback – hell, he'd felt the Jaeger's pain when his arm had been brutally ripped off, and felt the fire of acid splashing across his armor, eating away at his metallic hide. But nothing, not even Tendo's warnings, could have prepared him for seeing… this.
Even as he held Sasha in his arms, trying to comfort her, he couldn't take his gaze off Cherno. Little attempt had been made to repair the Jaeger beyond sticking his cockpit back into place. Wires and cables dangled from the shoulder socket and severed arm, ends ragged and frayed, and deep punctures marked where claws and teeth had found their marks. Both the cockpit and the reactor tower looked as if someone had taken bites out of them, and what remained of them was warped and twisted by Leatherback's acidic venom. "Beyond repair" had been polite, he realized – Cherno had been half-obliterated.
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself not to weep, to be strong for Sasha as she had so often been strong for him. This wasn't right; wasn't fair. It was wrong that Cherno had survived countless Kaiju fights, only to be destroyed during what should have been a simple battle. And it wasn't fair that Crimson could have made it through the battle relatively unscathed save losing his cockpit, only for Cherno to be so mercilessly mangled.
Sasha inhaled deeply, then released him and tugged on his arm. He took the unspoken hint and let her lead him to a nearby stack of crates, sitting down with a wince. His legs ached still, unused to bearing his weight for this long, and he hated himself for that weakness. But at least his legs would heal… unlike some other wounds.
"He deserved better," Sasha murmured. "Better than this. He should have been retired with honor, not torn apart by those… beasts."
Aleksis nodded. He could have brought up that they'd had the option to retire Cherno Alpha to a museum in St. Petersburg instead of following Pentecost to the Hong Kong Shatterdome. But neither of them had even entertained that option for a moment. They were warriors, the three of them, and they had vowed to see this war to its conclusion. They hadn't expected to be taken out of commission before the war's end – or to survive the destruction of their Jaeger. But in the end, he supposed they couldn't fully regret their decision.
"You were the greatest of them all, Cherno," Aleksis said quietly, taking Sasha's hand in his. "Others might have been faster, or had more firepower… but none could match your strength."
Sasha squeezed his hand and addressed the Jaeger as well. "You fought well… you did all we commanded you to do and more. You gave your heart to every fight, and it never failed you until the very end. You were our pride and joy… our…" She shook her head, as if unable to continue
Aleksis leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Say it, Sasha. Say it aloud. There's no shame in it. Cherno was our son."
She nodded. "You were… our son. Our family."
There. It was out in the open, and there could be no denying it. Most Rangers, and almost all of the very best ones, had regarded their Jaegers as teammates and partners rather than just massive machines, but the Kaidonovskys' bond with Cherno had gone far deeper. They saw Cherno not just as a comrade, but as their family. Whenever a Kaiju went down under their Jaeger's fists, they had cheered him on like proud parents applauding a child's field goal in a soccer game. Whenever he had taken damage at the hands of an opponent, they had insisted on watching the repairs, as fretful and worried as if they were watching their child get stitches or a broken leg set. And though he had never been able to directly return their affection, they liked to think that Cherno responded to them far better than any other pilot, that he recognized them as his parents and would obey no others.
Now Cherno was as good as dead, and the loss cut them deeply. There could be no replacing him in their hearts, no more than a couple could simply replace a dead son or daughter by having another child in their place.
For a long time they simply sat together, holding one another, looking on at the remains of their beloved Cherno. Neither spoke, but somehow the silence said all that needed to be said. And despite the clamor of the work crews and machinery all around them, eventually physical and emotional exhaustion took its toll, and they drifted off to sleep in one another's arms.
"What do you think, Dr. Gottlieb?"
Hermann frowned in concentration as he squinted at the tablet Bailey showed him. "You mean to tell me we're three-quarters of the way through construction and no one's thought to check for bugs in the programming?"
Bailey Rossi, a petite twenty-ish woman with short-cropped chestnut hair and thick-rimmed glasses who served as Mustang Omega's lead programmer, winced slightly at Hermann's tone. "We've been scanning for bugs on a regular basis," she insisted. "This one's just managed to slip through the cracks every time for some reason."
"Hmph." Hermann took the tablet and scanned through the lines of the program. "And somehow everyone's just happened to miss that an entire subroutine is failing. Just who are we hiring these days?"
"Well, with the PPDC cutting our funding…" she began.
"Low funds do not excuse shoddy work," Hermann retorted, tapping at the tablet to make edits to the code. "We built the very first Jaegers from scraps, with techs working around the clock to write the programs, and they operated just fine." He handed the tablet back. "There. Give that a go."
"Thanks," she sighed. "You're a lifesaver, Dr. Gottlieb. I don't know where this project would be without your help."
He snorted lightly and turned to leave the hangar, Bailey walking alongside him. "I won't be around forever, you know. The Shatterdome has to learn to get along without me when I go back home."
"Until then, though, you're an asset to us," she insisted, slowing her pace to match his. "I mean, you programmed the very first Jaegers! And you and Dr. Geizler got information about the Breach that saved the world! You know how many of us tech-heads here look up to you? You're just as much heroes as the Rangers!"
At that he gave a little smile. "You flatter me, Rossi. And I'll have to pass that word along to Newton. Or perhaps not – he's gotten rather puffed up and full of himself lately."
"Not undeservedly," she said with a bit of a laugh. "Did he really Drift with a Kaiju? Twice?"
Hermann rolled his eyes. "Given that the first time was only with a chunk of its brain, I'm not sure it counts."
Activity in the Jaeger bay was dying down for the night, many of the mechanics and technicians returning to their quarters to sleep. A skeleton crew would stay on duty during the night to ensure no glitches or mechanical failures occurred overnight, and a few workers would continue construction of Mustang in order to ensure it was finished on schedule, but for the most part everyone was quitting for the day. Hermann and Bailey were hardly the only ones leaving for the night – a steady stream of workers was making for the exit, talking and laughing, ready to call it a day.
Bailey paused a moment to peer into Cherno Alpha's bay, eyes unexpectedly sad. "It's a shame… I always liked Cherno Alpha."
"It was an outdated model," Hermann told her, though not unkindly. "It is a shame to see it go after such a long run, but all things must come to an end sometime. And it's not as if it's being scrapped."
"That's true… still, it's sad to see it go." She took one more look before resuming her walk. "Are Rangers allowed to sleep in the hangars?"
"I don't know," Hermann confessed, "but given the circumstances I doubt anyone's going to call the Kaidonovskys out for breaking the rules."
As they passed Crimson Typhoon's bay, a grungy mechanic moved to join them, mopping his face with a rag that was just as dirty as he was. "You eggheads don't mind if I walk with ya, do ya?"
"Eggheads, honestly," Hermann huffed.
"We don't mind," Bailey replied. "So you finally got off the night crew, Janson?"
He nodded. "Thank God, too. Working nights here gives me the creeps. Don't envy whoever they called in to replace me."
Bailey frowned. "What's wrong with working the night shifts? This place isn't haunted, is it?" She laughed softly, only for the chuckle to taper off when she noted how both men were staring at her. "You don't honestly believe, Dr. Gottlieb…"
"Not haunted per se," Hermann replied. "However… are you familiar with the phenomenon known as 'Ghost-Drifting?'"
She shook her head. "Can't say that I am."
"Come spend a night in here sometime an' find out," Janson said grimly. "Unsettling, it is. Be workin' on an offline Jaeger, mindin' your own business, an' suddenly the thing starts twitching on you. Wouldn't be so bad if they were smaller, but when somethin' the size of a building starts gettin' the shivers you damn well take notice. Near lost Hideaki once when Striker twitched on him and he fell… lucky he landed on a catwalk and just broke his arm…"
"Oh wow," she breathed. "They can move on their own? Do you know what this means, Dr. Gottlieb?"
Hermann shook his head. "Don't get overexcited, Rossi," he advised. "The Jaegers are not coming to life or any such nonsense. The Ghost-Drift has a perfectly reasonable explanation."
Janson snorted in disbelief.
"Drifting is not without it's long-term consequences, as we have discovered," Hermann went on, ignoring the mechanic. "Two Rangers who have been Drifting regularly over a long period of time will often report being able to share thoughts and feelings outside of the neural handshake – a Drift hangover, they often call it. The Kaidonovskys, as you can see, shared a strong bond, and the Wei Tangs' bond was deep enough that they could often predict one another's actions. Rangers have even reported being able to feel one another's pain, or dream in tandem with one another. We haven't been able to explain why yet, but it's a recorded phenomenon all the same
"Ghost-Drifting is similar to the Drift hangover, except it exhibits in the Jaeger itself. When its Rangers are asleep, and if it's still hooked up to a power source, a Jaeger will occasionally respond to its Rangers' thoughts and emotions while they're dreaming. The problem is generally resolved by disconnecting their power until the Rangers have awakened."
Bailey frowned. "That shouldn't be possible, sir. Not unless the Rangers are still hooked to their Pons headsets while they're asleep."
"I'm confident that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this behavior," Hermann replied. "It's just a matter of finding it is all."
Janson snorted again. "Unnatural, if you ask me. Just glad I ain't gotta be around nights anymore to see it. What happens if one of 'em starts sleepwalking or somethin'? An' Crimson's been awfully twitchy ever since its pilots went into comas… only be a matter of time before someone gets killed."
"Oh, do stop with the paranoia," Hermann advised.
The mechanic, scientist, and programmer stepped into the lift, still talking amongst themselves. None of them thought to look back at Cherno Alpha's hangar before the lift doors closed. If they had, they might have noted that despite not being connected to a power source, the Mark I Jaeger was flexing the fingers of its still-intact hand just slightly…