Forged in Fire, Chapter 2

Hong Kong Shatterdome

Crew quarters, corridor 47B

April 27, 2025

0930

Raleigh awoke to a feeling of dread and fear. His head whipped around taking in his surroundings for a second before he became fully awake. Ok, it's not me, so… Crud. Raleigh pulled on a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, left his room, and walked across the hall to Mako's room.

Knockknockknock.

The door opened slowly from the force Raleigh's knocks, revealing Mako in the middle of another nightmare. He sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting patiently for Mako to awaken. He didn't have to wait long.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Mako sat bolt upright, her arm flashing through the motion to deploy Gipsy Danger's Chain Sword… right into the side of Raleigh's head.

"OW!"

Mako snapped out of the nightmare, reality settling back in. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Raleigh rubbed his head, grinning. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just try not to drive the Chain Sword through my head again, okay?"

Mako blushed. "Did I wake you again? I'm so sorry." She looked at the clock. She sighed. "Oh well, might as well get up. I'm not going to be able to sleep after that."

"How bad was it?"

"Bad."

"If you want to talk about it, remember that I'm always here for you."

"Thank you, Raleigh." Mako hugged him.

"So, want to change that lunch date to a late breakfast?"

"Sure. Meet you there at 1015?"

"Sounds like a plan."

-.-.-

Mess hall

1015

Mako and Raleigh arrived in the mess hall together. It was still a shock to see the place so empty. They had their choice of tables, something that took some getting used to. Still, they sat at the old Gipsy Danger table.

As they sat down, Mako paused for a moment, a confused look on her face. She reached into her pants and pulled out a piece of confetti. Her eyes bulged. Raleigh looked at it and laughed.

"Yeah, I'm still pulling bits of confetti from the clothes I wore in New York. That was one hell of a parade."

Both of them sit silent for a moment, remembering their recent trip to New York…

-.-.-

February 15, 2025

New York City

The confetti fell so thick they could barely see to the next block. The crowd was deafening. Mako and Raleigh sat on the top of a HMMWV from the PPDC, flown in to New York just for this occasion, as it rolled through Manhattan on their way to the UN.

Raleigh leaned over to yell in Mako's ear so she could hear what he was about to say. "ARE YOU GETTING CONFETTI INSIDE YOUR CLOTHES TOO?"

Mako nodded slowly, then spat out a piece of paper that had drifted into her mouth. "WHY DO THEY DO THIS, ANYWAYS?"

Raleigh smiled. "LONG TRADITION. ROMEO BLUE GOT ONE AFTER THEIR FIRST KILL. WHEN WORLD WAR TWO ENDED, THE RETURNING SOLDIERS AND SAILORS WERE GREETED WITH THESE. WE SAVED THE WORLD, SO WE GET THE BIGGEST ONE EVER."

Mako rolled her eyes at the American logic, but went along with it. When Herc told us we were going to New York, I didn't expect THIS! But he is the Marshall, so we have to do this.

-.-.-

Both Mako and Raleigh looked at each other as they returned to the present.

"Were you…?"

"New York?"

"Yeah."

Mako got up and walked to the garbage can, seemingly intent on throwing away the little scrap of paper. But when she got to the point of throwing it away, she hesitated. Why can't I bring myself to throw away this little tiny piece of paper? Instead, she stuck it into her pocket and returned to the table. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Besides, there's still probably one or two more lurking in my laundry…

-.-.-

15 minutes later

Gipsy Danger repair bay

As Mako started the furnace, Raleigh looked around the impromptu sworsmithing shop Mako had set up. There were several different hammers, a wedge-like tool that reminded Raleigh of the wedge used to split logs, an anvil, and a large trough of water. Scattered around were several pieces of scrap steel, including one that seemed oddly familiar…

Mako saw him staring at the piece of metal. "Yes, that's a piece of hull plate from Coyote Tango. It's low in carbon, so it's perfect for forming the heart of the blade."

Raleigh looked at her, curious. "I always thought that katanas were made from a single piece of steel. They're made from more than one?"

"Correct. A simple katana, like the one we're working on, has a harder steel on the outside, and a heart of softer, more flexible steel. This allows it to be remarkably strong."

"Huh. Sounds like the Marshall. Armored, hardened outside, softer inside."

Mako paused for a moment, thinking. He's right. I never thought about it that way before. "I guess you're right."

"So, the steel we worked on last night… where'd it come from?"

"Herc gave me a scrap piece of Striker Eureka."

Raleigh nodded. "So the sword will be made from the two Jaegers that he rode in. I like it."

A sad smile crossed Mako's face. "Yes. I thought it would be fitting." She looked at the furnace, saw it was ready, then stuck the steel bar from earlier into the furnace.

Behind a tool chest, Raleigh spied a little bit of red. "What the…" Getting down low, he found out what it was: a Dixie cup. He pulled it out its hiding spot, chuckling. "Mako, look what I found!"

Mako turned around, saw Raleigh holding the cup, and burst into a fit of giggles. "That was one crazy party, wasn't it?"

"Man, my head hurts from just THINKING about that hangover…"

-.-.-

Hong Kong Shatterdome

LOCCENT

January 13, 2025

0100

The party had been raging for hours, and showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The sound of fireworks filling the skies over Hong Kong managed to leak through from time to time. The main floor of the Shatterdome was a sea of people celebrating the success of Operation Pitfall. The LOCCENT, however, was much more somber. Raleigh turned away from the window overlooking the main floor, and walked back towards the senior staff. Newt was passed out in a rolling chair, a Dixie cup of schnapps not far from his left hand. Hermann was singing some German song, terribly off-key, and wandering out the door into the hall beyond. Tendo was on the phone with his wife Angela and his year-old son, cup of coffee in hand. Mako and Herc were both drowning their sorrows, Mako with her fourth beer and Herc with what appeared to be a bottle of rotgut vodka from the crew of Cherno Alpha. Man, Pentecost wasn't kidding. Those guys CAN get anything.

Tendo hung up the call, put the coffee cup down, and grabbed a bottle of beer from the nearby cooler. He walked to the window overlooking the floor of the Shatterdome, took a pull from his beer, and stared into space. "Raleigh, what do you think we do next?"

Raleigh walked over next to Tendo and took a sip of his beer before responding. "The usual media circus at first. I mean, how often do two people save the world? The media's gonna be all over me and Mako."

Herc sauntered over as only a thoroughly drunk Australian could. "Yep. You're going to be in high demand for media appearances for the next few MONTHS, or until something else comes along. After that? Who knows? We nearly bankrupted several major economic powers fighting this war, there's the bloody Wall that now needs to be dealt with, and the Church of the Breach is going to be PISSED. I wouldn't be surprised if they started a holy war against us for what we did today."

Raleigh paused for a moment. "You really think they'd try to kill us?"

Tendo sighed. "Who knows, man? No one has any experience in this." He looked down at the floor. "Makes me miss Pentecost a lot now. He'd know what to do."

Herc chuckled. "Starting with busting some heads over the mess downstairs."

The three of them laughed, then went back to sit with Mako.

Raleigh held up his beer. "To Stacker Pentecost."

Herc and Tendo echoed Raleigh. "To Stacker Pentecost."

Mako paused for a moment, then replied, "To sensei."

Clink.

-.-.-

Raleigh shook his head to clear the memories away. He crushed the cup and threw it at a nearby trashcan. It bounced off the rim and into the can. Three from downtown, he thought.

Mako was watching the steel intently, so Raleigh headed over to join her. As soon as he arrived, she handed him the hammer and pulled the steel from the furnace. "Ready?" Raleigh nodded. Mako set the steel on the anvil, then looked at Raleigh. "Just like last time. Focus on stretching the bar out."

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.