It was a horrible sight for anyone who worked closely with the Jaegers – crews, technicians, officers, and especially the Rangers themselves. Seeing the destruction wrecked by a Kaiju was never a pleasant sight, and said damage only looked nastier up close. It wasn't just the ugliness of torn metal and savaged internal components that shook those who saw it, though; it was seeing one of humanity's protectors brought low, realizing that their metallic guardians weren't invincible. One didn't think of their heroes as being able to bleed, after all.
If it was terrible for the humans, however, it was doubly horrifying for the Jaegers themselves.
A high keening rose from Cherno's engines as the chassis of the newcomer was lowered into place, still dripping with rainwater. He didn't recognize the new one right away, but that didn't keep him from feeling a surge of horror – and pity – as he saw her damages through his Rangers' eyes. One arm was gone, doubtless ripped away by a titanic set of jaws, and a ragged hole gaped open in her chest. Her Conn Pod, too, lay open, its interior exposed and its viewscreen shattered. Ugly scratches and dents marred her steel-blue armor, like badly-healed battle scars.
The obvious battle damages were bad enough… but Cherno's internals churned at the sight of rust setting in along the edges of her wounds, and traces of dirt still embedded in her seams and joints. This wasn't a freshly-damaged Jaeger – this was a Jaeger who had lain in Oblivion Bay, abandoned and left to rot for the crime of having outlived her usefulness.
A shudder went through his chassis. He had never seen Oblivion Bay for himself, but he'd heard the stories – his Rangers had spoken of it in disdainful tones, and Eden had occasionally teased and tormented him with tales about it at night. It was a place of nightmares, strewn with the corpses of Jaegers who had been ravaged beyond repair by their Kaiju foes, or who had been written off as outdated by the PPDC. Eden had spoken of it as being haunted by the ghosts of their kin, screaming for vengeance or crying out for their Rangers. Even his Rangers had heard the stories of it being haunted, though they had written them off as urban legends.
Cherno, for his part, had always been terrified by any mention of Oblivion Bay. For he knew he was an old model, running well past his intended functioning time, and he feared that someday he would be considered outdated and irrelevant… and cast off as useless. Just like so many other Jaegers… just like this one.
Crimson's presence pressed against his in a comforting "lean," trying to soothe him. He was still functioning perfectly, Crimson argued, and only a fool would think he was useless and irrelevant. Besides, if this newcomer – Gipsy Danger, Crimson supplied – had come from Oblivion Bay, then it meant that being sent there wasn't necessarily a death sentence.
Cherno ignored that last part and focused on the newcomer. Gipsy Danger… that name was familiar. A Mark III, assigned to the Anchorage Shatterdome, piloted by a set of brothers. Beyond that, he knew little about her… save that she had been savaged by the Kaiju Knifehead, killing one of her pilots and disgracing the other.
Perhaps that was why she had been relegated to Oblivion Bay, he thought with another shudder. Not because she was outdated or beyond repair, but because saving Anchorage from Knifehead had come at the cost of her own reputation. It was bad enough to lose an entire Jaeger team, but somehow the shame of surviving the death of your Jaeger or Rangers was even worse.
Another "nudge" from Crimson shook him out of his dark thoughts. The red Jaeger was curious – he wanted to know more about this newcomer, and find out how she would fit in, if at all. Cherno hesitated. Whatever Gipsy's story was, it had to be core-breaking and tragic. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.
Crimson nudged harder, exasperated. Even if her history was depressing, she deserved to share it. Cherno couldn't avoid talking to her just because he didn't want to hear about something upsetting. Gipsy was obviously hurting – not just from her damages, but from her loss and isolation. She deserved to tell her story, and to gain some comfort from talking to her fellows.
Reluctantly, Cherno agreed. He gave a soft, welcoming thrum of his engines, reaching out to the broken Mark III. She was welcome here, he let her know. It was lonely, just the two of them, and they would enjoy her company.
Gipsy was silent. Cherno's thrum cut off with a puzzled whine. Usually whenever he met a new Jaeger, they were eager to talk. Why was she so quiet?
Crimson picked up where Cherno left off, giving a hum of his own. They couldn't begin to know how it felt to lose a Ranger, but they offered condolences for her loss. They knew she was hurting, and they were sympathetic.
A low whine echoed from Gipsy's engines, a whine that rose in pitch to a horrific screech. Crews scattered in terror, clamping their hands over their ears, and technicians rushed to shut her engines down, certain that it was an internal malfunction causing the noise. Cherno and Crimson wanted to recoil at the eerie, piercing cry, but neither could move. They could only stand and listen as Gipsy continued her grieving howl.
A blast of emotion lashed out at them, and a pair of names blazed through her thoughts – Yancy, Raleigh.
Then Gipsy went abruptly silent. Her engines died down to a ragged idle, and slowly the techs and crews returned to their work stations, wondering what in hell had just happened. But the ache of her grief remained, hanging in the air like the bitter stench of Kaiju Blue.
Not for the first time, Cherno wished he could move on his own. He wanted to go to Gipsy and hug her as he'd often seen his Rangers embrace each other, comfort her and let her know she wasn't alone. He settled for a slight "lean," keening softly with worry. He was sorry about her Ranger… he couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Sasha and Aleksis. And he couldn't bring Yancy back from the dead or summon Raleigh for her. But he was here for her.
Crimson added his own comforting hum, reassuring Gipsy that what had happened in Anchorage wasn't her fault. It was a horrible accident, nothing more. And wherever Raleigh was, he was certain he hadn't forgotten her. How could a Ranger forget their Jaeger, after all, when they had spent so much time in the drift together?
Gipsy keened again, the sound still high and eerie with sorrow. But she didn't scream this time, despite the tremor that passed through her chassis at the memory of her Rangers. Her soft keening rose and fell in pitch, until it found harmony with Cherno and Crimson's humming, finally accepting their welcome.
It wasn't the end of Gipsy's grieving or pain. But it was a start to her healing, and she was no longer alone in her suffering.
And here I thought Operation Pitfall would be the end of our problems, Tendo thought with a sigh. We all should have known it wouldn't be that simple.
Five people were gathered in the Shatterdome's small conference room, a dim and low-ceilinged room that stank of rust and rancid seawater. Newt and Hermann had just finished describing what they had seen in their drift-induced nightmares, and both scientists waited in uncomfortable silence as the others processed their words. The only sounds were the gurgle of water passing through the pipes that snaked over their heads and the faint hum of the fluorescent lights.
Finally Herc brought a fist down on the table. "Shit. It never ends, does it?"
"At least we're far more prepared for this attack than the last," Tendo assured him. "We know how to fight the Kaiju now, and we have at least one Jaeger fully operational and ready to fight. We don't precisely have the capacity to create more at this time, but with the Kaiju War re-igniting, I don't see why the PPDC wouldn't extend our funding."
"Or they'll just redouble their efforts to build their bleedin' wall," Herc huffed.
"Bailey, status report," Tendo requested, ignoring Herc. "How's the media taking this?"
"They're all over it," she replied with a wince. "Like sharks at the smell of blood, I guess. Footage of Otachi 2.0 is on every major news network by now. Though on the bright side, so's footage of the Mark VI. This may be bad news for the war… but its wonderful publicity for the Jaeger program."
Tendo nodded. One bright spot to this whole mess, at least. And proof to the PPDC that keeping the Jaeger program going had not been in vain. "Status report on Mustang Omega?"
"Mustang's first battle went off with only one hiccup," she replied, looking down at the tablet in her hands. "Some sort of radio interference prevented RC signals from reaching the Jaeger. Once we identified the source and shut it down, it worked perfectly."
"And what was that source?"
Here Bailey looked apprehensive. "The police say it was Kaiju cultists. They were using a jury-rigged signal jammer to sabotage the RC signal."
Newt scowled. "Geez, don't those guys ever give up?"
Tendo pressed his fingertips to his temples, as if that could stop the headache he felt brewing in his skull. Before now the Kaiju cult had always been little more than an annoyance, their interference with the Jaeger program limited to picketing outside the Shatterdome and the occasional attempt to leak something scandalous to the press. Pentecost had known they had spies within the Shatterdome and had done his best to weed them out, but said plants had never attempted to cause direct harm to the Rangers or Jaegers.
What had changed to lead the Kaiju cult to escalate their attacks on the Jaeger program? And more importantly, could they stop a repeat occurrence? The cultists knew Mustang's primary weakness now, and he had a sick feeling that this wouldn't be their first attempt to exploit it.
"The police catch the blighters responsible?" demanded Herc.
"Most of them – a few got away."
"Where there's one, there are bound to be more," Hermann noted fatalistically. "We have to take a more proactive stance against them – not only are they fanatics on a level that would put even Dr. Geizler to shame-"
"Hey!" Newt yelped.
"-but they have just proven themselves to be highly dangerous! What if we hadn't stopped them before Otachi II reached the city? Cherno couldn't or wouldn't stop her, and everything we've worked so hard to protect would have been for nothing!"
"It's a valid concern," Tendo agreed. "But at the moment the Kaiju cult is the lesser of two evils. At the moment our biggest priority is twofold – find the new Breach, and find this underwater base. The sensory network around the original Breach was destroyed during Operation Pitfall, but the rest of the network is still intact, so hopefully we can pinpoint locations before the next event."
"And what about Mustang?" asked Bailey. "Yes, it works, but one Jaeger against a whole new Breach is pretty hopeless odds."
"We have three Jaegers, not just one," Tendo pointed out.
"Crimson won't function without pilots," Herc countered, "an' Cherno panicked at the sight of a Kaiju! We can't count on 'em!"
"Have a little faith, Hansen," Tendo replied. "Cherno Alpha may be the oldest Jaeger, but he's still a sentient – and emotional – being. We should have expected there to be difficulties in pitting him against a Kaiju so soon after coming to life, especially a replica of the one that nearly destroyed him in the past. As for Crimson… the Weis should be arriving any moment now, and once the medics have cleared them we'll attempt a drift."
"And that is supposed to accomplish what exactly?" asked Hermann skeptically. "Bringing Crimson to life and leaving us with two uncontrollable Jaegers?"
"Enough," Tendo said firmly. "Cherno is not uncontrollable, nor is he useless. I have complete faith that today's battle was a fluke, and that the next time he goes out against a Kaiju he will be more effective. We have to give him another chance…"
A thunderous BOOM cut off the rest of his sentence, and he could feel the vibrations of something heavy striking the ground through his chair. Every pair of eyes jerked in the direction of the Jaeger bay in response.
"Goddammit, Cherno, what did you do now?" Herc grumbled.
Before Tendo could say anything, his radio went off. He quickly touched his earpiece. "What-"
"Crimson Typhoon is awake!" Mako shouted, sounding urgent but not panicked… yet. "He has his melee weapons activated and is trying to get out!"
It felt as if the bottom had dropped out of Tendo's stomach. Crimson awake? He hadn't even had a drift with his Rangers yet! What could possibly have happened to cause him to suddenly cross the line to full-on sentience? And with his weapons activated… what kind of damage was he going to do before they could stop him?
The conference room shook again, and he decided those questions would have to wait. First priority was getting Crimson calmed down before he wrecked the Shatterdome.
"Jesus!" Newt shouted, gripping the arms of his chair. "What, is Cherno having a tantrum?"
"It's Crimson," Tendo replied shortly. "He's awake."
"That's impossible!" Herc snapped. "The Weis just hardly got here! We ain't even done a handshake yet!"
"Apparently it's possible," Tendo retorted. "Geizler, Gottfried, you're dismissed. Hansen, Rossi, to the LOCCENT now!"
Aleksis tugged Sasha toward Gipsy's empty hangar, and they huddled there, watching the red Jaeger stumble awkwardly across the bay. His legs throbbed in agony, but he ignored them for now. Crimson held his entire attention – indeed, he could do little but watch in horror as the Mark IV plowed through cranes and machinery, slashing his arms to cut through the catwalks and crane booms that blocked his path. A horrible howling roar filled the bay, a thunder of engines that somehow managed to sound angry… and frightened.
Someone else stumbled into the hangar, and Aleksis turned to see Raleigh trying to pull Mako inside to safety.
"We have to help him!" Mako insisted, glaring at her fellow Ranger.
"You're no help to anyone if you're roadkill!" Raleigh pointed out. "We can't do anything until they shut down his power supply!"
"That will kill him!" Mako insisted.
"We don't know that!" Raleigh retorted. "And this is different than with Cherno – Cherno wasn't trying to tear the Shatterdome apart! Crimson's gonna kill someone if this keeps up!"
Aleksis hugged Sasha close to his chest as Crimson lurched closer to their hangar, flattening a transport on the way. His saws buzzed wickedly, and his Conn Pod swiveled back and forth on its "neck" joint frantically. Crimson was as blind as Cherno had been on the day of his full sentience, making him all the more dangerous.
He couldn't suppress a shudder. Somehow seeing a Jaeger on the rampage was worse than watching a Kaiju wreak havoc. For Jaegers were supposed to be protectors, not destroyers, and to see one so wantonly crush and destroy like this make his gut roil.
The LOCCENT was blazing with activity, techs struggling to get Crimson shut down or to establish some kind of communication with him. As if their efforts were drawing him like a moth to a flame, he turned in the LOCCENT's direction. He took a step toward it, saw raised, an angry growl rumbling in his chest.
"God, no," Raleigh whispered. "We have to stop him!"
"His Rangers aren't here," Sasha pointed out, her voice calm despite the fact that her nails were digging into Aleksis' arm. "We have no way to communicate with him."
"There's got to be something we can do!"
Crimson slashed once, his saw missing the LOCCENT by a handspan. He raised his arm to try again… and staggered to the side as a massive form slammed into him.
"Cherno!" Aleksis called out in mingled relief and terror.
Crimson shook his Conn Pod, then gave another roar and slashed in a wide arc that missed Cherno by a good distance. The Mark I backed up a step, bracing his legs, and slammed his fists together in his signature taunt. Then he raised one foot and stomped, making the entire bay shake as if struck by an earthquake.
In response to the taunt Crimson growled again, and his saw-blades retracted. He flexed all three fists and leaped forward, clipping Cherno's shoulder before he could get out of the way. Cherno continued to back up, stomping with every step, occasionally crouching down to strike the floor with a fist – a mere tap compared to his usual strength but still enough to rattle their bones.
"What's he doing?" Raleigh demanded.
"Drawing Crimson's attention," Mako replied. "Crimson cannot see or hear, but he can feel vibration. He's luring him away from the LOCCENT, away from where he can do harm."
Aleksis forced himself to breathe even as he watched. Good Cherno… clever Cherno… he had seen right away what needed done and how best to do it. He only hoped it wouldn't get their Jaeger killed, so soon after he had finally gained true sentience.
Crimson's foot caught on a toppled crane, and he staggered. Cherno saw his opening and charged, and the impact of the two titans colliding rang through the air like a metallic explosion. They grappled together, Crimson flailing wildly and trying to push Cherno away, Cherno struggling to get the Mark IV in some kind of restraining hold. All the while Crimson continued to snarl, while Cherno emitted a soft hum as if trying to soothe the other Jaeger.
Crimson, stop! His voice rang in Aleksis' mind, despite being directed at the other Jaeger. Crimson, you're hurting people! Hold still!
The red Jaeger bellowed, cuffing Cherno over his reactor tower. Cherno reeled but didn't let go.
I don't know where they are… but please, you have to stop this! You're destroying our home! If you keep this up, they'll shut you down! Please, stop fighting!
Crimson gave another bellow as Cherno finally pinned his arms to his sides, squeezing him tightly in a bear hug. He writhed, his howl rising in pitch until it became a horrible scream that stabbed into Aleksis' ears like knives.
He wants his Rangers, Cherno told Aleksis, sounding helpless. He knows he felt them close by… he wants them to be right here with him. He won't give up until he's by their side.
Aleksis nodded. He understood all too well – the separation from one's drift partner, be they human or Jaeger, was all too painful. Crimson was in agony, angry and terrified that he could feel his Rangers so close but still so far away. And he would get to their sides at all costs, even if it meant ripping the Shatterdome apart on the way.
Crimson bucked and thrashed in an effort to break Cherno's grip, but Cherno held on tightly. The red Jaeger arched his back, giving one final scream, before going limp, keening mournfully. Cherno tilted his reactor tower forward until it touched Crimson's Conn Pod, his own keen joining Crimson's in a melancholy harmony.
"It's like whalesong," Raleigh murmured. "All that time we just thought it was their systems acting up, and they were just inventing their own language."
"They speak through the drift," Sasha replied, relaxing her grip on Aleksis. "But they make sounds of welcome, and of comfort."
"Is Crimson all right?" Mako asked.
Sasha shook her head. "He is calm, but far from all right. He is blind... and scared. Much as Cherno first was."
Cherno eased Crimson back into his hangar, though he never let go of the red Jaeger. Crimson remained slumped against him, still keening, tremors wracking his chassis. Cherno answered with his own reassuring purr, shifting to nudge his Conn Pod against Crimson's.
It's safe, he said at last. It's safe to come out. He won't hurt anyone. A moment of hesitation. Mama, Papa… I had to promise him he could see his Rangers again very soon to get him to calm down. I'm sorry… it was the only way.
Hush, little one, Aleksis assured him. You did just fine. We will do everything we can to fulfill your promise. Just stay with him, all right?
Okay. He loosened his grip on Crimson, though he remained ready in case the other Jaeger began to panic again.
"He sure calmed down in a hurry," Raleigh noted.
"Cherno says he made him a promise," Sasha explained. "He will stop fighting if he can be beside his Rangers."
"His Rangers?" Raleigh repeated. "They're in comas, though!"
"Cherno says Crimson can feel them close," she replied. "It is why he's hysterical. He wants to be with them, at their sides."
Mako nodded slowly and pushed herself to her feet. "I will talk to Tendo. If that is what is needed to keep him calm…"
"Mako, I know you mean well," Raleigh pointed out, "but there's no way Crimson is going to fit in the medical center."
"Then we take the Weis to Crimson, and not the other way around."
Raleigh blinked. "Right. I should have thought of that. Though will the doctors okay that?"
She set her jaw in that expression Aleksis knew so well – the expression that said she was going to get her way and no one could say otherwise. "They will approve it. It is for everyone's good."
Aleksis couldn't hold back a smile. Mako had inherited her foster father's stubborn determination, and had truly come into her own over these past months. She would make a fine Ranger.
The Shatterdome crews were understandably irate that Crimson Typhoon's tantrum had destroyed so much equipment, and grumbles of discontent filled the bay as they worked to clean up the Jaeger's mess. Tendo couldn't exactly blame them. As exciting as it was to have another sentient Jaeger, he only wished it could have come without so high a cost. Cranes and other heavy machinery were expensive to replace, and finances were already strapped extremely tight. Even now he was calculating how much it would cost to replace everything Crimson had wrecked… and trying to determine how much of it they could live without.
Crimson's hangar was rather crowded at the moment – Cherno refused to leave the red Jaeger's side until his sight was restored, and the two metallic giants sat together, Crimson shaking and keening, Cherno crooning softly to comfort him as best he could. Despite his anxiety over the state of the Shatterdome, Tendo couldn't help but smile a little. For being a machine and one of the most infamous fighters in the Jaeger program, Cherno had a heart the size of his home country.
Close by the two Jaegers, a white tent unfolded and slowly took shape – a temporary medical center to house the Weis for the near future. The medics were surprisingly supportive of the decision to move the triplets closer to their Jaeger, and were taking every possible precaution to keep them stable during the move. The head surgeon had theorized that perhaps proximity to Crimson would help their conditions improve, and might even be the catalyst to them regaining consciousness. It was a long shot, but then, miracles could happen.
"This just keeps gettin' crazier," Herc muttered.
Tendo nodded, not taking his eyes off the scene before them. "And here we thought things would calm down after Operation Pitfall."
Herc snorted. "No one ever said this job would be boring." He went serious again. "The Kaiju War Museum in Sydney called. They want to know what's the holdup with gettin' Cherno down there."
"Tell them something has come up and we are unable to give them what we agreed to. We will refund their money."
"With what? Kaiju bits? We're flat broke, Tendo!"
"We'll think of something." He sighed deeply. "I don't regret letting Cherno Alpha live… even if it makes things difficult for the Jaeger program. I just hope all this works out for the better."
Mako approached Cherno at that moment, followed closely by the Kaidonovskys. There was an exchange of conversation too far away for him to hear, then Cherno lowered a hand to the ground. Mako and several technicians climbed into his palm, and he slowly raised them toward Crimson's Conn Pod. The red Jaeger hesitated, then opened his Conn Pod, allowing Mako and her team inside.
"Looks like we can cross 'purchase new cranes' off the list for now," Tendo noted wryly. "The Jaegers have that need filled."
Herc rolled his eyes. "What now, Tendo? We ain't gonna have a lot of time for science experiments. Not with the war back on. Another Breach, a Precursor base in our oceans…"
"We continue to monitor all coastlines and stay on the alert for Kaiju activity," Tendo replied. "We have our entire anti-Kaiju network on the lookout for the second Breach and the base. Once we've pinned down their locations, we'll form a plan. In the meantime, we have three operational Jaegers now. Those will have to do in the event of another attack."
Herc frowned. "Don't like those odds."
"We're no strangers to impossible odds," Tendo pointed out.
A transport droned by at that moment, beeping loudly to warn crews out of its way. It came to a stop before the medical tent, and medics began carefully unloading their cargo – three gurneys, each bearing a young man wrapped in a white sheet. It was a slow, delicate process, the medics working slowly to not jostle their patients or tangle their IV or monitor lines, but eventually the triplets were inside and being settled.
A shudder passed through Crimson's chassis, then he relaxed, his keening softening to a hum of relief. Tendo, too, felt the tension run out of his body. One more crisis averted.
"Think a final drift with their Jaeger'll be enough to wake 'em?" asked Herc.
"I don't know," Tendo replied. "But at this point, I think we're willing to try anything. If it means keeping Crimson sane… then so be it."
Herc nodded. "Orders?"
"Tell the technicians that once they're finished with Crimson's optical sensors, we're going to prepare for another drift." He checked his tablet, wincing a bit at how long his to-do list had gotten in the past few days. "Unfortunately, I'm not going to be here for it. There's something I need to do."
"Where are you runnin' off to?" demanded Herc.
"Recent circumstances have forced me to arrange a visit with an old friend."
"Oh, bloody hell… you can't be serious, Tendo! That man's a shark – he smells blood, he'll have you ripped apart in a second!"
"Pentecost had him well in hand."
"No offense, Tendo… but you ain't no Pentecost. At least let me come with you."
Tendo shook his head. "If I don't go alone, he'll suspect something. And I'm not going to risk any other Shatterdome personnel on this. Don't worry, I'll be fine." He smirked a little. "I wasn't always the upstanding citizen I am today, you know. I've had experience with his kind."
Herc gave a groaning sigh but relented. "Fine. But if I hear anythin's happened to you I'm comin' down to Hannibal Chau's lair myself to drag you out. An' I don't care who's in my way."
"Thanks for the warning." He took one last look at Crimson, decided the situation was under control for the moment, and walked out. There was still so much to do, and unfortunately he was going to have to leave Crimson and Cherno in Mako's hands. Though to be honest, he would rather have her in charge of this project than anyone else at the moment.