Forged in Fire, Chapter 5

Hong Kong Shatterdome

Outdoor Kwoon mats

April 28, 2025

1030

Mako and Raleigh put the hanbo staffs back into the storage racks and put their boots back on. Both were grinning, and flushed from their recent workout.

Mako worked her right shoulder a little to try to drive away the phantom pain of Gipsy's lost arm. "That was mean of you to take advantage of the phantom pains."

Raleigh bowed his head, looking regretful and sheepish. "Yeah, it was. I'm sorry, but it was instinctual. I saw an opening and I took it." He stepped behind Mako and began to gently massage her shoulder. "Feeling any better?"

"Yes. Thank you." Mako began to walk back towards the entrance to the Shatterdome, then stopped and turned to face Raleigh. "I've been thinking about the question you asked me yesterday…"

"And?"

"I…" She choked up, not sure how to express the thoughts she had had not long ago while waiting for their pancakes to be finished. I want to have a family at some point. With who, though? "Never mind. Later."

Raleigh shrugged. "Okay. It's not a time-critical question. I still haven't figured out what I want to do in the future either."

Mako nodded, focused inward. Yes, I have feeling for Raleigh, and I know he has them for me. But are they love, or something else? This is so hard. Her hand drifted into her pocket, where she found the little piece of confetti still waiting. She made a decision. "You know that piece of confetti I found yesterday morning?"

Raleigh smiled. "The one you didn't throw away? What about it?"

"I want to make it a part of the sword."

"How?"

"The two halves of the steel we folded haven't been welded together yet. I'll slip it in and let it become a part of the steel. Sensei should have been a part of the parade, and this way, he can still have a memento from it."

Raleigh nodded, understanding where she was going with this. It's like the pictures were for me: A way to cope with the loss, and a way to help let go of some of the sorrow and grief. He followed Mako back towards Gipsy's repair bay. However they didn't make it all the way back before Raleigh's cell phone rang.

"I come from a land down under…"

Raleigh sighed and took the call. "Sir."

Mako stopped, giggling inwardly at Raleigh's choice of ringtone to represent Herc Hanson. I wonder what mine is. Shibuya Pop? She smiled for a moment.

Raleigh's face changed to one of surprise. "Now? Uh-huh. Hang on, I'll be there in about three minutes. Do you want Mako there too? Ok, on my way." He hung up. "Herc has a project for me to work on. You going to be okay alone for a while?"

Mako nodded, curious. "What kind of project?"

"He didn't say."

"Go, I'll be fine."

Raleigh scooped her up in a hug, then kissed her on the forehead. "Don't have too much fun without me!" He then took off jogging down the hall.

Mako stood there, rooted to the spot as surely as if Raleigh had put superglue on her boots. He kissed me. Not in the heat of the moment or as celebration. He loves me…

And I love him. It all makes sense now. That feeling I get around him, when he's there for me when I wake up in a nightmare… or when I'm watching over him like this morning… It's love.

I'm in love.

Mako practically skipped down the hallway to her workspace, head in the clouds.

-.-.-

Hong Kong Shatterdome

LOCCENT

April 28, 2025

1045

Raleigh knocked on the doorframe. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Herc looked up from the computer. "Come in, Raleigh. I know I was a little vague about the project, but it's still being pieced together." Herc pulled up a computer diagram of what appeared to be the Shatterdome, but several changes were clearly visible. "We're going to turn the Shatterdome into a museum."

Raleigh came in closer to the image. "Is that…?"

"Crimson Typhoon? Yeah. We're going to put her on display to show what a Kaiju could do to even the toughest Jaegers." Herc slewed the image around a bit. "But this is what I want your help with."

Raleigh saw the item Herc was talking about. Gipsy's left arm. "What about it, sir?"

Herc turned to Raleigh. "I'm sending you to Alaska to oversee the recovery. Once you and the arm get back, Tendo will lead a team in cleaning the arm and making it ready to display." The holographic display changed to a map of Gipsy's engagement with Knifehead. A point of light pulsed, with a label that Raleigh couldn't read from the angle he was at. "We know where the arm is. We're just waiting for a patch of decent weather to go perform the salvage."

Raleigh stopped and thought for a bit. It would be a fantastic piece to have on display. Nothing like that and Crimson Typhoon's wrecked chassis to attest to the power of a Kaiju. "What's the expected window to head out and recover the arm?"

Herc grimaced. "It's still more than a month out. We have to wait for the weather to wind down and the seas to calm. After all, the arm weighs a lot, and recovering it in the best of circumstances would be tricky. The weather out in the Gulf of Alaska right now is just too dangerous." He paused to scratch Max between the ears. "I only need you there for PR. All the actual planning and management will be handled by the salvage team. So, what do you say?"

Raleigh pondered the task. It's an easy job, and I get a chance to go back to Alaska. No brainer. "Sure."

"Outstanding. I'll make sure to give you a little more heads-up once the job gets closer."

"Anything else, sir?"

Herc stood up, and looked out over the Jaeger bays. "I'm going to be blunt about this, Raleigh. I've seen how you and Mako get along. And since Stacker isn't here anymore, I see it as my place to keep an eye on his daughter for him."

"Sir?"

"I know that you have feelings for her, and her for you."

"Yes, sir."

Herc turned around to face Raleigh. "You break her heart, and you'll have to answer to me."

Raleigh gulped. "Yes sir."

Herc grinned. "Relax. Unlike Stacker, I'm not going to kill you. Just give you a good bollocking. Now, go work on that sword. The memorial isn't going to wait."

Raleigh relaxed and exited the LOCCENT. Great. Now I've got Herc watching me and Mako as I try to sort this out. He reached the elevator, paused for a moment, and then decided to take the stairs in order to give himself more time to think.

-.-.-

Gipsy Danger Repair Bay

1055

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

Mako hammered the metal together, trapping the ashes of the parade confetti inside the block of steel. She hummed happily along to the Shibuya Pop song playing in her earbuds. I wonder what the project Raleigh will be working on is about…

"Hey."

Mako pulled out an earbud, put the hammer down, and put the steel back into the fire. Turning to Raleigh, she grinned and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "What's the project?"

Raleigh sat down on a nearby toolbox, hands in his pockets. Mako came to join him. "I'm going to Alaska for a few days sometime next month. We're fishing Gipsy's old left arm from the Gulf of Alaska and bringing it back here."

Mako cocked her head in confusion. "Why? Gipsy's gone. What use is the arm?"

Raleigh turned around and gestured at the Shatterdome. "This is all going to be turned into a museum. Some of the Jaegers are going to be pulled from Oblivion Bay and brought here for display. Crimson Typhoon is at the top of the list, since she's one of the least contaminated."

Mako looked around. There's space for a LOT of museum displays. Maybe they'll put the skeleton from Leatherback over in one of the old Jaeger bays, and used the service gantries to allow visitors to get up close… Ideas swirled in Mako's head for the museum.

Raleigh once again could feel the gears turning in Mako's mind, so he stood up, grabbed the hammer, pulled the steel from the furnace, and set to work.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

Mako snapped out of her reverie and watched Raleigh working the steel. Perhaps sensei would have approved of him under more fortunate circumstances. On a whim, she decided to ask a question that was bothering her. "Raleigh, I have to ask you something."

Raleigh kept working the steel. "Anything."

"Do you love me?"

CLANG!

Raleigh completely missed the steel block and hit the anvil instead. In his surprise, he dropped the hammer, which then fell to the floor. He paused for a moment to look at her, confusion written on his face. "What?"

Mako figured that he would be rather surprised. After all, it was an unusual question. "Do you love me?"

Raleigh put the steel back in the furnace and picked up the hammer. I did NOT see that coming. What brought that on? He looked at the face of the hammer, inspecting it for damage. "I've never put it that way to myself before. I've always considered it a very close friendship. But, yeah, I guess I do." He blushed. "Do you?"

Mako got off the toolbox and walked over to Raleigh. She looked him in the eyes, pausing for a moment. "Yes, Raleigh. I do love you."

"Okay… So now that we've both admitted that, I have to ask: What the heck brought that on?" Wait… I kissed her on the forehead before I went to see Herc. Was that it?

Mako saw the light go on in his head and grinned. "Did you figure it out?"

"Yeah… I do. I didn't even think about giving you that kiss. It just… felt right." He scooped her up into a hug. "Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"So that's the reason you've been so wound up lately. You weren't sure about… us."

Mako looked up at Raleigh and nodded. "This is new to me."

"To be honest, this is the first serious relationship I've ever been in, too."

"I know." Mako sighed. "Let's just take it one step at a time and see where it goes."

"Sounds good to me."

They held each other for a few moments more before stepping back. Raleigh then blanched as he realized something. "Oh no… Pentecost must be rolling in his grave."

Mako slugged him in the shoulder, hard. "You know he doesn't actually have a grave."

"It's a figure of speech, Mako."

"Well, I think he would have accepted it with time."

Suddenly, Mako's cell phone went off, the ring tone some sort of techno music. She sighed as she pulled it out to answer. "Hello, Newt. Yes. Yes. Slow down, I can't understand…" She sighed again. "Hang on, Raleigh and I can be in the lab in a few minutes. No, just explain it when we get there. Okay… Newton, take a breath, or else you will pass out. We're coming, I promise." She hung up.

Raleigh turned off the furnace and put the hammer back where he had grabbed it from. "Time for Newt's test?"

"Yes."

"Well, no sense in putting it off." Raleigh grabbed Mako's hand, and the two of them turned out into Scramble Alley, and walked toward the door leading back towards Kaiju Science.

-.-.-

High above, looking down from the windows of LOCCENT, Herc Hansen smiled and took a sip from his coffee. He could see the signs, even through the armored windows and from more than 150 meters away. Good for them.

Tendo walked over with a tablet of documents. "Sir…"

"One moment, Tendo."

Tendo followed Herc's gaze. "Look at that… They make a cute couple."

"Yeah." Another sip from the coffee cup. "So, what am I signing away today, Tendo?"

"Couple of older SAR helicopters. They're going to Micronesia."

Herc walked back to his improvised office with the tablet. "Good. Hate to see them go to waste." He signed the documents, handed the tablet back to Tendo, and sat back down at his computer. What I wouldn't give to be young and in love once more…

Herc took another sip of his coffee, and turned back to his work.