Author's Notes: My dear readers, my deepest apologies for yet another long dry spell. This past year really has been brutal in Real Life, but at long, long, LONG last, this five-year series is coming to an end. Here follows the last full chapter, with only the epilogue remaining. I'm leaving on a much-needed vacation in 10 days, and so in gratitude to all of you who've stuck with this series for so very long, the epilogue will be up this weekend.
Chapter Twenty: When I See You Again
PPDC Assembly Building, Kodiak Island, Alaska...
December 21, 2025…
The next marathon began at Kodiak. Herc and Chuck had arrived just before Mako and Raleigh, and only smirked a little as Priya Katwal collapsed on Raleigh and cried like a baby. Raleigh did smirk when Priya tackle-hugged Mako next and babbled, "I knew you could do it, I knew!"
Waiting a few paces away was a tiny woman Raleigh's age, whose face was vivid in Raleigh's memories and Mako's: Dr. Lea Franklin, second in command of J-Tech after Jasper Schoenfeld had left the Jaeger Program. She'd attended the Jaeger Academy with Raleigh and Yancy in Class 2016-B at age seventeen, actually a few months younger than Raleigh.
She'd had a crush on Yancy for a while, until Yancy awkwardly gave her the "I'm just not that into you" talk after they all graduated. Raleigh sometimes wondered if she'd been outright in love with him.
Mako had been surprised to see in Raleigh's memories how agonizingly shy Lea Franklin had been all those years ago. Mako had only known her as an adult – quiet and introverted, not unlike Mako herself, but Mako had been nowhere near as timid as Lea had apparently once been. Mako hadn't known until Raleigh and Yancy's memories told her that Lea too had lost her family to a kaiju. Trespasser had taken not only Lea's parents and siblings, but also her entire community in San Jose.
She had a smile for Mako and the Hansens, but it was Raleigh she'd clearly been waiting for, and she embraced him without hesitating. Raleigh choked out an apology, but Lea whispered, "Don't be stupid. You've got nothing to be sorry for. Everyone understood."
By nightfall, nearly every PPDC officer and staffer at Kodiak had made their way to the Assembly Building to reunite with Raleigh and Mako. Raleigh and Chuck told them all about Sensei, backed up by Tendo. A lot of the stunned crew murmured apologies to Mako, for all the ill will they'd borne Sensei for so many years.
"We won't forget him," Priya said. "Even when we thought he had…made the wrong call with Raleigh, we knew he was someone who cared about the Program. We'll make sure everyone else knows what he did, and what he took on himself."
"Thank you," Mako whispered around a tight throat.
At one point, Lea asked Raleigh, "I don't know if…did you know Ranger Hansen was there…after?"
"Herc," said Herc. "It's Herc, Lea." She smiled again.
Raleigh was looking at his knees. Mako slipped past the others to put an arm around him. "I don't…Tendo told me, but I don't…remember." He closed his eyes and leaned against Mako for several moments. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Herc. "I'm still really grateful."
On their way to Seattle, the group decided to stop in Sitka. The Wall of Life that had been rising when Sensei had found Raleigh was now being pulled down, by the same men who'd been building it.
Mako found herself wishing Jake had come with them after all. "You think he knew Paul?" asked Chuck.
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But it's possible. If we find him, we should ask."
She knew Raleigh was afraid Paul wouldn't be in Sitka. If he wasn't, it meant he could be anywhere. Mako held out hope that this man who'd known Sensei as a boy would stay where he was, in the hope of reuniting with the former Ranger he'd protected and the other Ranger who now carried Sensei's memories.
All chance of making a discreet entrance was shot to hell before they were even at the gate. The first scuffy workman to spot them completely lost his mind and started yelling and pointing; all hell promptly broke loose. Mako lost her breath at a stab of near-terror from Raleigh in the ghost drift, and he flinched back hard, practically hiding behind Herc.
At least Chuck wouldn't taunt Raleigh for it, because Chuck was doing the same. "You two all right?" Herc asked them.
"Shit…shit…" Chuck muttered, turning his face away as workers aimed their phones.
"You want…I dunno, I could go up and try to find him," Tendo offered, ever protective of his pilots.
Breathing hard, Raleigh croaked, "No, no, it's okay. Just…sorry, I wasn't prepared for that."
Some men started shouting, "Hey, Miles, come check who's payin' a visit?" Others began roaring with laughter, and not at the visitors.
At last, Raleigh's pride flared back to life with no small amount of smugness. "Then again, I wonder if I'm about to be arrested."
A rather smarmy-looking character peered through the crowd, took one look at Raleigh, and promptly bolted, to more laughter from his peers.
Raleigh grinned. Chuck eyed him, and Mako couldn't hold back a snicker. "What's this?" Herc demanded, but he was grinning, all too glad to get the younger men out of their panic.
Mako leaned toward the others. "I'll let one of those gentlemen tell you the story. I'm sure you'll approve."
That got them all calmed down, and they resumed walking toward the gate. The crowd of construction workers began cheering and shouting, clapping and pumping their fists. "BECKET! BECKET! BECKET!"
Several men spotted Mako and joined it with, "MORI! MORI! MORI!"
"HANSEN! HANSEN! HANSEN!"
Well, a few wolf-whistled and catcalled at Mako, but others roared them down before Raleigh even collected his thoughts to snap at them.
Then both Raleigh and Chuck faltered as the gates opened, and Mako finally set her own eyes on Paul Terrence. He didn't look much like Sensei, apart from his race. He was much older and clearly no blood relative…but there was something in his bearing and expression – pleased to see them but reserved, betraying little. It reminded her painfully of Sensei.
"Rangers." He smiled. "This is a surprise, but a welcome one."
Mako's heart lurched in unison with Raleigh's in the ghost drift. Paul Terrence might not look much like Sensei, but his accent was exactly the same as Sensei's. Through the ghost drift, she knew Raleigh had only known this man to speak with an American accent. He'd dropped that now.
But her lover rallied himself and approached Paul warmly. "I doubt you're that surprised." The two men met in the middle with a strong handshake. "Thank you, Paul, for everything you did."
"You're very welcome, Ranger. Hell, we're the ones who should be thanking you."
"Amen to that," said someone. "I've never been so happy to rip my own project down!" Many of the workers laughed and voiced their agreement.
Paul's eyes fell on Mako, and she swallowed hard. He doesn't look anything like Sensei. Why does it feel like this? But she stepped forward and bowed to him. After a moment's hesitation, he returned it. "I'm sorry I never had the chance to meet you properly before."
Why did it hurt so much, so suddenly? Sensei had been gone almost six months. Raleigh's hand brushed hers, and she forced herself to answer, "So am I. But I'm very grateful to you for all you did for him." She wanted to ask him about Sensei's youth, about Aunt Luna and Tamsin and Jake's mother. But it all stuck in her throat. "Did you know Jake?"
"Only when he was a toddler, while his mum was still alive. After K-Day, I went into the wind." He dropped his eyes, making Mako suddenly think this might be as hard for him as it was for her. "My boy, Damon…he flew with Luna and Tamsin's squadron."
Paul didn't say what had happened to his son. He didn't have to. A murmur went through the watchers as tears stung Mako's eyes. She saw Herc tremble, looking not at Paul, but at Chuck. I wonder how old Paul's son was. Aunt Luna and Tamsin were twenty-five. Sensei was twenty-eight. She didn't have to wonder what was on Herc's mind to make him suddenly go pale and shift like he wanted to touch his own son.
Paul abruptly returned to the subject of Jake. "I'm not sure your little brother'd remember me. How is he?"
"Very well," Mako said, relieved to return to a less-emotional subject. "He's preparing to take the screening tests for China's new Jaeger Academy."
Paul smiled sadly. "He'll make it on the first try, of course."
"That's his goal," said Mako.
Raleigh asked, "What'll you do now?"
Paul looked to one side at a group of men who were at a remove from the eager onlookers. There was definitely something about them – they were all younger than most of the other workers. Then Raleigh followed Paul's gaze and a surge of emotion in the ghost drift nearly made Mako gasp. Raleigh went to them without hesitating, and Paul followed.
Mako trailed after them but stayed a few paces back with Herc, Chuck, and Tendo. Raleigh definitely knew these men. Only one embraced him, but all seemed glad to see him and murmured greetings and gratitude. Paul looked at her. "Your Raleigh may have been the only Ranger, but he wasn't the only soldier here. They looked after each other; I looked after them."
"Thank you," said Herc.
"I wish I could've saved more of them."
"Saved?" asked Chuck.
Paul sighed. "These projects are bloody dangerous, worse during the last year of the war. We'd no oversight, almost no safety equipment, starving and exhausted men, never mind the burdens on soldiers' minds. I tried to keep them safe, but…we lost so many."
Chuck lowered his eyes. But he spoke with such confidence that Mako could easily hear Sensei behind his voice. "You did everything you could. Be sure of that."
"Thank you, son." The warmth in Paul's eyes said he wasn't only talking to young Chuck Hansen. "Thank you."
The triplets arrived to meet the others in Seattle, along with Sasha and Aleksis as well as all of the Hong Kong crew from the former Team Gipsy. "Who the hell's minding the Dome?" Herc demanded, though he was mostly joking.
"All the engineers," said Jin. "The government thinks we're preparing for a major testing run. Pang So-Yi and An Yuna are on their way with Team Echo Saber and Hedy from Eden Assassin."
"Any word on Team Diablo Intercept or Puma Real?" asked Herc. Those teams wouldn't want to miss Seattle. They'd both run with Hydra multiple times and shared a Shatterdome.
"They'll be here tomorrow," Cheung confirmed.
So just over a day later, a small army of former and current Rangers as well as surviving crew gathered at a private park in Ravensdale to the southeast of Seattle where many evacuees had moved. A large number of crew from Team Hydra Corinthian had settled there, to be near their Rangers.
Nova Hyperion's girls were especially emotional to reunite with Kennedy and Stephanie, and Kennedy and Stephanie's family was equally emotional meeting So-Yi and Yuna. If Nova hadn't managed to skewer Shelim through the head (twice), there probably would have been no saving Kennedy and Stephanie.
But the girls were elated to see Raleigh again, and cried helplessly as they hugged him. Raleigh was quieter, but Herc could see the way he was shaking. Chuck also held back, until Kennedy looked up. "Oi, get your Aussie ass over here!"
Raleigh grinned weakly over his shoulder as Chuck obeyed. The girls – well, hardly girls anymore, they were both nearly thirty! – reacted to Chuck's whispered apology for his behavior in Sydney and before much in the way Herc expected. "Don't worry about it. We knew you didn't mean it. Everyone was coming unglued."
Herc and Chuck stepped away so Team Gipsy, Team Hydra, and the rest of Class 2016-B could reunite. One of the crew who'd left the PPDC after Raleigh's discharge had settled in Seattle: Cady Spencer. The guy was closer to Tendo's age, but he threw his arms around Raleigh and sobbed, deep and hard. There was a guy with Cady who Herc didn't recognize, who sheepishly extended a hand to Tendo. "Hey, I'm Sean – Cady's husband."
"No kidding!" Tendo exclaimed. "Good to meet you, man! When did that happen?"
"July, right before the last Jaegers went to Hong Kong." Sean shrugged. "We figured if the world was gonna end, we better put a ring on it now or forever hold our peace."
Raleigh turned delighted (if wet) eyes and released Cady with one arm to shake Sean's hand. "That's fantastic. Congratulations."
"We were their groomsmaids of honor," said Kennedy proudly. She caught the way Raleigh was looking at her wheelchair and beckoned him to sit next to her. He sat on the ground so she could ruffle his hair. Herc had no doubt she'd done that before. "Don't get depressed about it, Baby Becket. I can still swim."
"Yeah?" Raleigh brightened.
Eventually, Team Gipsy, Team Hydra, and many of their crew and friends formed a huddle around Mako, Raleigh, and Chuck. Herc kept himself at a slight remove, but didn't want to get too far from his son. Chuck's emotions were surging in the ghost drift as he and Raleigh told their friends the truth of Raleigh's departure and what Pentecost had done to protect him.
Kennedy and Stephanie, along with many of the former Team Gipsy, broke down in tears again. "Dammit!" Cady hissed, trying and failing to stop crying. "Why the fuck did he have to keep everything such a secret?!"
Herc winced, stealing a glance at Mako, but to his relief, she was calm. Chuck was the one who answered. "He was trying to protect Raleigh and, well…" He shot Raleigh an awkward look, so Raleigh finished.
"He was trying to protect me and give me at least something I wanted. Guys, if you're gonna blame someone, blame me." The hisses of denial said none of Raleigh's friends were prepared to do that. "I was so fucked in the head, I couldn't…so close to the edge. I threatened him, if he didn't let me out, I'd…you know." He was seated on the ground between Cady Spencer and Kennedy LaRue, holding her hand while draping an arm around Cady, who was losing it all over again.
Hell, the sight was killing Herc all over again, remembering Cady's grief after Knifehead, even before Raleigh had fled.
"Were you…okay? Out there?" asked Steffie.
Raleigh nodded. "There was a project supervisor. Paul. A lot of us just…went from project to project. He did too; I never noticed. It wasn't until Chuck told me after Pitfall…Marshal Pentecost had sent him, to keep an eye on me. I got sick sometimes; someone always gave me medicine even though I never bought it. Once I had pneumonia and…and…Bruce and Trevin showed up, took me to the hospital. I was too out of it to ask how they knew where to find me."
"Was he the man who gave ou his trailer, when Devi and Suze came to see you?" asked Indra Hassan.
Raleigh shuddered and nodded, no longer looking at anyone. Mako settled on the ground behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. Kennedy and Stephanie looked at each other. "They found you?"
"Yeah," said Indra. "We hired an investigator after Vic and Gunnar were killed. They were desperate to see you, just once to know you were okay."
"'m sorry."
"Aw, Rals," Indra knelt in front of him and pulled the younger man into his arms. "It wasn't a criticism!"
"I should've - "
"Hey, no." Chuck broke in, to Herc's surprised pleasure. "If we all start on shoulda, coulda, woulda, we'll all be doing just what the brass and the vultures want. Not to mention hating ourselves for the rest of our lives." He shot both Indra and Raleigh a weary, wry smile. "Devi and Susanti would smack us on the heads for that."
Raleigh burst out laughing, if tearfully, quickly joined by the others. Herc smiled to himself as the kids – well, ranging in age from twenty-six to almost Herc's age – pulled into an even-tighter group around their Rangers, starting to share stories of the Academy and the early years, laughing and crying.
Stacker, I really hope you can see this. You did it. We did it. Not everyone made it, but the ones who did, they'll be okay.
Chuck looked over his shoulder, eyes red and wet and so much like the last moments before Pitfall – Herc took an impulsive step closer and touched his son's head. A casual ruffle of the hair was all it would seem to the onlookers – he hoped – but the ghost drift surged with the awareness that it was so much more. My son. My son.
We'll all be okay.
December 24, 2025…
Shady Point, Oklahoma…
A few pilots couldn't make the reunion in Seattle or Canada. Tanisha Davis was nearly bedridden and forbidden from traveling. So Raleigh and Mako went to Oklahoma with a few other veterans to reunite with her.
Neither Raleigh nor Mako were quite sure why they were surprised to be so emotional at the sight of Tanisha and Matthew on the front porch of a small house. Every single reunion with their fellow pilots and friends had been both wonderful and desperately painful. Raleigh had cried more in the past week than he had in the past five and a half years.
What does that say about me?
"Don't do that," Mako scolded him, squeezing his hand as they walked up to the house.
Raleigh managed to at least not collapse from the sight of how thin and frail Tanisha Davis had become. But sitting in a rocking chair with Matthew at her side and her former crew as well as some red-headed, freckled strangers who were undoubtedly relatives of Caleb, she still had that some indomitable expression. Raleigh and Mako were both shaking through the introductions to Caleb's parents, brother, and several nieces and nephews.
But Mako broke first. "Hello, Matty, I - " It shocked even Mako when her breath seized.
Matthew Davis, who Raleigh remembered only vaguely as a picture of a little boy in Tanisha's quarters, broke away from his mother and threw his arms around Mako. His voice was rough as he chanted at her, "You did it! You did it!"
Penny Jefferson, Yankee Star's old Support Chief, bodily pulled Raleigh to Tanisha's side, but he could barely talk. "Do I look that bad, kid?" Tani asked. Raleigh couldn't answer, just shook his head. "Bullshit, we both know I've got one foot in the grave. Take it easy. It ain't your fault. It's nobody's fault."
Typical Tanisha, straight and blunt to the point. Raleigh got himself under control and said roughly, "I'm sorry anyway."
"Don't be," she said. "This ain't the way I would've picked to go down, but there's nothing anyone can do about it. You know Caleb..." Now she had to pause. "...the day after we got the news the Breach was closed. I swear, he was just holding out to know."
I should've come so much sooner. I could've gone to his funeral.
Before even Mako could argue in the ghost drift, Brady Harris, Yankee's old public relations rep, spoke up. "You never would've been cleared for the funeral, we know that. Less than forty-eight hours after Pitfall? I dunno exactly what kind of condition you were in, but I bet it wasn't pretty."
Well, yeah, radiation poisoning, oxygen deprivation, decompression sickness, and a smattering of internal injuries and massive bruising, but... "Should've called," Raleigh muttered.
Tanisha put a hand on his head. "Quit it, kid. You saved the fucking world. Before that...Caleb's been gone six months, and..."
Now she couldn't finish. Raleigh met her eyes, and they both knew she didn't have to. Raleigh Becket knew. He knew all too well. Is it any different if you weren't in combat and saw him die of cancer by your side? I doubt it. I doubt it a lot.
Sunlight glinted off the ring on her left hand - wait, what?! Raleigh blinked, and Tanisha laughed. He managed not to wince at how fast she got winded doing it. "I wondered if you'd notice." She actually took pity on him rather than let him sputter. "Caleb." Then the whole crew laughed at Raleigh's complete confusion. "Nuh, he wasn't bisexual. Turns out sexual orientation'll make an exception for a drift partner. We tied the knot after the diagnosis, after he and his family reconciled."
"Where's..." Raleigh had to swallow another lump in his throat. "Is he buried...nearby?"
Brady was the one who answered. "No, he's buried in L.A."
Raleigh blinked again, and Tanisha explained, "That's how we worked it out. My old neighborhood's not really livable and not gonna be for awhile. But LA was our home for a decade, mine all my life. So we spend the end of our lives here with his family and mine, but we spend eternity there."
"We promised," said Caleb's father. "Tanisha's family and their crew all got a share of our land. And we'll bury them together in Los Angeles." He smiled sadly. "Least we could do. If any of y'all want to move inland, you call us. Land's yours."
Raleigh was too dazed to answer, so Mako murmured, "Thank you." She still had a hand on Matthew's shoulder.
Tanisha looked from Mako to Raleigh and grinned. "Matty always said it'd work out, but I wasn't really expecting this. I'm happy for you, kids. Listen." She leaned forward. "You know...Stacker Pentecost always had reasons for what he did, even if they didn't make sense to you...in 2020."
It hit Raleigh in the guts all over again when he'd just started feeling in control of himself. The rest of Team Yankee murmured agreement as he leaned dropped his head, but Mako came back to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We know. Raleigh and Chuck Hansen are setting the record straight with everyone in the Corps they can. Raleigh's...dismissal from the Corps wasn't Marshal Pentecost's wish."
Raleigh straightened himself up and met Tanisha's eyes. "It was mine. I demanded - I threatened to kill myself if he didn't fire me."
It was so damn hard, seeing the shock and grief in their eyes...even worse was the understanding in Tanisha Davis's. "Aw, kiddo," she murmured. "You were in a bad way, weren't you?" He could only nod.
Brady said quietly, "Nobody blamed you, Rals. We still don't. Remember, by then we'd lost Kaori Jessop and Jiro Shindo, with Duc and Hayase left behind. They'd trained us; we saw what it did to them."
Penny Jefferson nodded. "Some of us were amazed you survived at all." Some of the civilians looked appalled, but Raleigh smiled gratefully. He got it. Rangers and crews could talk about things like this without batting an eye - well, if not without shedding a few thousand tears.
"There's more," Raleigh said, taking a shaky breath. "He did what I asked, but only to a point. I might not've survived if he'd...I ran, I didn't want - dammit..." Why the hell was it still so hard to say out loud even after he'd said it a few dozen times?!
Mako stroked his hair and took over. "Any contact with the Corps was a reminder. But Marshal Pentecost had a friend who worked in the construction projects. He asked him to look after Raleigh, and he did. Raleigh became very ill once. Marshal Pentecost sent the Gages to help."
There were a lot of sniffles audible among Team Yankee's crew. Even Tanisha could only whisper now. "Your Sensei was one hell of a man, Mako Mori. You know that, right?" Mako nodded, wiping her eyes. "How's his boy, Jake? I saw in the news he went to Hong Kong."
Everybody was relieved to shift the topic. "He's still there," Mako said proudly. "He's preparing to begin the Chinese Academy screening tests. We've no doubt he'll pass, but he's taking it very seriously."
"Sounds like Pentecost's kid. Biological or adopted," chuckled Brady. "What a legacy."
"Amen to that," said Tanisha. She regarded Mako. "You know he went down the way he wanted, right?" Mako sat down on the steps next to Raleigh so he could put an arm around her, but she nodded again. "He deserved that. Hell, I - well."
"What? Please, go on," said Mako, though she was having trouble wiping her eyes fast enough.
Tanisha sighed and dropped Mako and Raleigh's gazes. "I envy him," she admitted. Raleigh supposed neither he nor Mako could really argue with that. Tanisha went on, "The doctors won't clear me to travel, and these guys talked me out of trying. It probably wouldn't do Caitlin no good to see me like this. But if she's up for it, you call. I wanna tell her myself she's the reason we're not all living in bunkers preparing for the end of times. Caleb wrote her a letter before he died. Nobody got to talk to Bruce and Trevin at the end, but remember, we and them were real close. We used to talk about hypotheticals. She did the right thing for all of us, especially Bruce and Trev."
"Amen," murmured Penny. Several of Caleb's relatives crossed themselves.
Brady handed the sealed envelope to Raleigh. "She'll get it," Raleigh promised. "If she's...I'll give it to Sergio, if he needs to find the right time. But we'll make sure she gets it."
"You going straight there from here?" Tanisha asked.
Mako answered, "No. We're making one more stop."
December 25, 2025…
Boulder, Colorado...
Tendo and every living former Team Gipsy officer rendezvoused with their Rangers at the hotel. "Carolina knows we're coming, right?" asked Hien.
"Yeah, I had her oldest daughter tell her first before I even got on the call," Tendo said. "Didn't want her to have a heart attack."
"How's she been?" Raleigh murmured.
"Okay...only okay," Tendo admitted. "She loved Bruce and Trevin, that hit her hard, but she loved you and Yance like her own kids. Losing him..." He sighed. Yeah. I wonder if anyone other than Raleigh felt it as deeply as Carolina did. And that's really fucking saying something.
Carolina Olivares had looked far too young to have granddaughters entering their teens back in the days of the original Team Gipsy. Only after Yancy died had she started to look her age. Now she looked even older.
Raleigh had broken down in tears a lot during reunions with the old gang (not that Tendo minded - let alone that Tendo could complain, having cried buckets himself in the last couple of weeks). But when they saw Carolina hurrying out of her house to meet them, Raleigh was calm.
Carolina started to sob the minute she saw Rals, but she ran to meet him, and Raleigh caught her and held her, kneeling to let her bury her face in his neck and cling to him with all her might. Tendo felt his own breath going uneven and heard Mako's as well.
The rest of Team Gipsy as well as others from Class 2016-B gathered in a tight knot around Rals and Carolina, first patting shoulders and heads...eventually, they all gave up and were just a massive, tearful group embrace. Tendo heard Mako and Carolina's adult children laughing weakly as they introduced themselves.
"We can't bring Yance or any of the others back," Tendo murmured. "But it's over, guys. We won. The whole world won because of them."
Now Raleigh, surprisingly, was the only one in the whole damn crowd not crying. He just held Carolina, rocking her the way she'd once done in those miserable days after Yancy died. Tendo's Spanish wasn't great, so he could only pick up bits of what Raleigh was murmuring to her. He was here, he was sorry, he loved her. Yancy loved her.
Tendo hastily wiped his eyes and put a hand on Rals' shoulder.
"Uh...'scuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt..." Tendo looked over his shoulder and jumped: they had attracted an audience.
Crap. At his elbow was none other than Naomi Sokolov, the reporter who'd written so honestly about the Jaeger Program and Rangers time and time again, even advocating for them in her opinion pieces. "Hey, uh..." he began, trying to pull his scattered thoughts together to ask for privacy.
Naomi wasn't looking for an interview; she made a small jerk of her head towards the passers-by now aiming phones and cameras. "Just wanted to let you know."
One of Carolina's daughters said, "Let's take this inside."
"Can we all fit?" asked Christian Warner with a weak laugh.
"We'll manage."
"Thanks," Tendo said to Naomi.
She smiled, but cast an intense look at Raleigh. It didn't seem to be a reporter's avidity at a big scoop.
As young and dumb as she was, she did know them when they were our babies. I wonder if she wrote anything after Knifehead.
As he was getting to his feet, Raleigh glanced up and saw Naomi. He stiffened, and she shot him a nervous nod and walked away. Mako murmured a reassurance in Japanese, and Raleigh and Cady led Carolina into the house.
There was hardly any walking space in the living and dining room with so many PPDC personnel on the floor around the Christmas tree. Somehow, though, it seemed appropriate.. They reserved the couch for Raleigh, Carolina, and one of Carolina's granddaughters. Shit, last time I saw those kids, they were skinny little preteens. Now they could be Academy cadets!
Having calmed down from the initial blast of emotions, Carolina was back in Team Mom mode like the last almost-six years hadn't happened. "I'm glad you're going to visit Caitlin and Sergio. She shouldn't be another casualty of the war. It won't cure her." She squeezed Raleigh's hand. "No more than any grief can be cured."
Everyone nodded, knowing all too well what she meant. "They say it was...after Seattle."
"Yes. Bruce and Trevin..." Carolina trailed off and shut her eyes. Tendo belatedly recalled Carolina had been PR liaison for Team Romeo before Team Gipsy. "That was when...from January through July, I went to confession many times for the sin of despair."
Raleigh didn't approach the subject of vindicating Marshal Pentecost as directly with Carolina as he'd done with the others. Tendo wondered if he was more ashamed. Rals had had to shout at Carolina to get her to let him go.
"After I...left...Marshal Pentecost had someone following me. I didn't know until Chuck Hansen told me. His name's Paul. He was keeping an eye on me the whole time." Raleigh looked at some spot on the floor. "Pentecost's parents died when he was a kid, and...Paul Terrence raised him."
Carolina stared. She couldn't seem to find the words, but one of her daughters said hesitantly, "Sure he could have...found a place for you."
Seeing the rest of the crew cringe, Carolina rallied herself. "Yes, there were many places you could have gone and been safer than on those work crews. I was always afraid that's where you would wind up." She caught Raleigh's chin with gentle fingers and raised it to make him look at her. "What don't I know, my love?"
Raleigh couldn't hold her gaze and ducked away, trembling. She didn't force the issue, just petted his hair as Mako leaned against his knees on the floor. "He...he tried...so many different things - he tried to convince me - I wouldn't. I couldn't - I just wanted out. And I wanted - wanted...shit..." He sobbed quietly into his hand.
Mako rose, and Carolina's granddaughter made way for her, switching to Carolina's other side as Raleigh's grief brought Carolina to tears too. But where Mako might have taken over the story, Raleigh tugged on her hand and shook his head. Finally, he whispered, "I thought it was my fault. I wanted him to fire me." Carolina sobbed, but Raleigh managed to look at her. "I threatened to kill myself. He gave me what I wanted - to stop me. So I'd promise - he promised to let me get away. I didn't realize - he set it up so everyone would blame him, so nobody'd blame me."
Carolina shut her eyes and pulled Raleigh against her, but she reached past him toward Mako. "God forgive me for my judgment of him."
Mako took her hand. "There's nothing to forgive. You and everyone else believed what he wanted you to believe, to keep the pressure of Raleigh at...his most vulnerable. It..." she shot Raleigh an apologetic look, but he smiled at her. "It may have saved his life."
Carolina sighed and opened her eyes, stroking Raleigh's cheeks. She never had a son, only a son-in-law, Tendo recalled. Raleigh thought it was only Yancy she loved. He was so wrong.
"Then I owe your Sensei for more than the world."
After, Tendo and some of the crew wandered out of the house to give Rals and Carolina some space. Before long, he spotted Naomi Sokolov again in a park with a dog. "Waiting for us?"
"No," she said.
"Then what are you doing here?" asked Cady suspiciously.
"I live here!"
"...oh. Sorry."
They all had to smirk. "Almost ten years, and we're still protecting our pilots," Tendo admitted.
"I'm glad," said Naomi. "They were way too unprotected for a long time. Don't worry, I'm not recording you. I'm just glad you're all together again, or at least the ones..." She looked down.
At least the ones who're still alive, Tendo mentally finished it.
"I've been really grateful, you know, for the things you've been writing. Especially before Operation Pitfall. We didn't have many advocates."
She looked only a little smug. "My editor thought I was nuts, but I had enough cred by then to convince him to let me run with it. I wish the responses had been a little better, but at least it got attention."
"It meant something to us," Tendo told her. She smiled. "And God knows, we needed to know some people got it, leading up to Pitfall."
Some of the crew murmured nervously, and Tendo looked over his shoulder to see Mako and Raleigh exiting the house. Carolina wasn't with them. Tendo broke away from Naomi to meet them. "What's going on?"
Raleigh said, "Carolina's thinking about going back to Hong Kong with us. I'm...not sure if she should. Team Gipsy doesn't really exist anymore; Mako and I'll be trainers and administrators. I just...it was already so hard on her, and her kids and grandkids don't want her to leave again."
"She talking to them now?" guessed Cady. Raleigh nodded. "Okay. It is her decision, guys, when all's said and done."
"Yeah, I know." Raleigh looked past Tendo and Cady at Naomi.
"You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to," said Cady.
Raleigh looked thoughtful. "I think I kind of do, though."
They both looked a little shy when they shook hands and Raleigh introduced Naomi to Mako. But then they all laughed sheepishly. Yeah, the shit we got up to when we were kids. Why should our Rangers be any different? Why should any kids be any different? Naomi Sokolov couldn't have been much older than Raleigh; Tendo vaguely remembered she'd turned eighteen just a few months before Rals did (at least preventing Yance from facing the further complication of having slept with an underage girl! Thank God Yance had been scrupulous on that front if no other!)
Oh, Yance. If you could see them both now.
Awkwardness had given way to a more earnest conversation, and the reporter and Rangers were soon sitting at a picnic table as Raleigh and Mako scratched Naomi's dog. "Are they seriously giving an interview?" Christian Warner muttered.
"Dunno. I doubt it, not without her having a notebook or dictaphone handy..." Tendo mused, but the group soon had their phones out. "Maybe they're thinking about one, though. The public's being bitchy because Rals and Mako are the only team who haven't given one. They could do a lot worse than her."
"True."
A few minutes later, the group said an easy farewell, and Rals and Mako rejoined the crew while Naomi left with her pooch, who looked like he wanted to stay with the Rangers for more scritchies. "After Whistler," Raleigh said carefully. "We're coming back. People want to hear from us, and...I don't really blame 'em. At least she's honest."
Tendo and the others all put hands on the pilots' shoulders. "You know we'll support you, whatever you decide."
To Be Continued...
Coming Soon: The surviving Rangers travel to Whistler to reunite with the pair who started it all - Caitlin Lightcap and Sergio D'onofrio, to try to put Caitlin on the same road to recovery, and Raleigh, Mako, and Jazmine decide it's time to break their silence and tell the story of Generation K in the Epilogue: War and Remembrance!
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Original Character Guide
Dr. Priya Katwal - Senior Engineer of the Jaeger Program, early 60s, Indian ancestry. Once designed space station living quarters for NASA, moved on to conn-pod life support systems. She moved up to the head of J-Tech after Jasper Schoenfeld admitted defeat in the final months of the war.
Dr. Lea Franklin - Second in command of J-Tech, six months younger than Raleigh, once the youngest cadet in Class 2016-B. She was traveling abroad with a school group at age 13 when Trespasser struck San Jose and wiped out her entire family and community, leaving her with PTSD and intense social anxiety for years. She was also the unwitting trigger for Herc's discovery of Scott's crimes - Scott had slimed her just before Lucky Seven launched against Meathead in Manila, and Herc traveled from that memory to the horrific discovery that Scott had raped and murdered two young girls.
Paul Terrence: A neighbor of Stacker's parents who took Stacker and his sister Luna in after their parents' deaths. Black, British, late 50s at the time of the movie, he drifted after his son Damon was killed by Trespasser along with Luna. At Stacker's request, he secretly kept watch over Raleigh throughout his time in construction after Yancy's death. Raleigh only learned of his relationship with Stacker from Chuck Hansen's drift memories.
Cady Spencer: former Gipsy Danger LOCCENT Technician, Filipino-American, age 35 from Portland, Oregon. Devastated by Yancy's death, he resigned from the PPDC in despair after Raleigh was "fired", moved to his hometown of Seattle and eventually married a man named Sean.
Devi and Susanti Hassan: late Rangers of Vulcan Specter, Australia's Mark-3, first generation daughters of Indonesian Muslim immigrants, they were not who Marshal Ketteridge had in mind, and he never got past his sexism or bigotry. Graduated Jaeger Academy Class 2016-B along with the Beckets, they were very close until Yancy's death, but also very close to Chuck and Herc during his childhood and after he became a pilot. Killed in action in September 2024 with a record unmatched until Striker destroyed Mutavore.
Indra Hassan: Devi and Susanti's elder cousin, Vulcan Specter's LOCCENT chief until their deaths in 2024, when he switched to being Striker Eureka's. Very close to Chuck and Herc throughout their career. Moved to inland Australia with his and his cousins' family before Operation Pitfall when Sydney Shatterdome closed.
Tanisha Davis/Caleb Mitchell: Rangers of Yankee Star, America's Mark-2 Jaeger. Former US Marines in their 30s. Tanisha is African-American from Los Angeles, Caleb is from rural Oklahoma. He was estranged from his family for years due to his homosexuality, but he still married Tanisha, consumed by their drift bond. Caleb developed cancer in 2024 and died the day after victory was declared from Operation Pitfall, but not before reconciling with his family who welcomed Tanisha, her family, and Yankee Star's former crew to own portions of their land. Tanisha is also suffering from cancer and in hospice care.
Matthew Davis: son of Ranger Tanisha Davis. Mako's age, he lived with Tanisha's mother in Los Angeles until she reluctantly relocated him to the higher-security Nittany Valley Prep to protect him from media harassment, where he met (and dated) Mako. The two went on different paths after high school, but remained close friends.
Penelope (Penny) Jefferson: Yankee Star's former support chief, African-American from Los Angeles, formerly Tanisha and Caleb's superior officer, 40s. Moved to Oklahoma with her pilots at the invitation of Caleb's parents.
Brady Harris: Former Public Relations Representative for Yankee Star, America's Mark-2 Jaeger. African-American, early 40s, he lost his cousin's daughter, Nicola Harris, when Gipsy Danger's chopper Whiskey Gamma was destroyed. Nicola Harris and Raleigh Becket had been in a casual relationship at the time, leaving Raleigh and Brady with an enduring friendship.
Carolina Olivares: Gipsy Danger's former Public Relations Representative who resigned in protest after Stacker Pentecost "fired" Raleigh in the aftermath of Knifehead. 70s, Mexican-American from San Francisco, widow who came out of retirement to join PPDC after K-Day. Initially working with Romeo Blue, she was reassigned to Gipsy Danger at Stacker Pentecost's request due to his belief that the Beckets needed a firm hand.