Forged in Fire, Chapter 23

Sacramento, CA, USA

May 31, 2025

1400

Mako woke with a start as the flaps extended on the Southwest Airlines 737-800. She looked out the window at her new hometown. From what she had read, Sacramento had changed a lot since K-Day. When the San Francisco Bay area had been devastated, many of the survivors had moved the 100 miles inland to Sacramento. As a result, there had been a boom in construction during the first few years, and apartment complexes had replaced master planned communities as the primary form of housing in the region. All around the city, however, farms had risen up in areas once doomed to being turned into more suburban sprawl. As the plane descended towards the airport, Mako's superb eyesight could pick out numerous gardens in backyards. Once Raleigh and I get settled, I think I'll try my hand at a garden.

The captain came on the overhead PA system. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're about five minutes from landing. The temperature is a warm 102* Fahrenheit today, and the air quality is fairly good for this time of year. Winds are out of the north at 5 miles an hour."

Mako felt Raleigh stir from his nap. Hey, just in time. We're about to land.

Like what you see out the window?

It's not bad. I'm going to need some time to adjust, though.

Raleigh smiled. Me too. Seven years of having my housing being provided for me… It'll feel good to have someplace to call… well, it's ours, isn't it?

Mako froze. I guess so. That is going to take some getting used to…

The gear deployed, and Mako watched the farmland rush under the plane as they approached the airport. Mako couldn't tell what it was, but it was apparently growing well.

Raleigh looked across the aisle at Hannibal Chau, who was apparently sleeping… until the tires chirped on the runway as the plane smoothly settled back to earth. At that point, Hannibal sat up straight in his seat, tugged at his collar, and folded his hands in his lap.

Raleigh and Mako laced their fingers together as the plane taxied to the gate. Time to go meet Jazmine.

-.-.-

Terminal B arrival area

Ten minutes later

Jazmine waited for Mako, Raleigh, and Hannibal at the base of the escalator, not far from the infamous red rabbit sculpture Mako had read about. Raleigh let go of Mako and scooped Jaz up in a hug as Hannibal looked around for the proper baggage claim. "Hey, little sis. How are you?"

"Doing well. You?"

Mako smiled. "A little overwhelmed. It's been a while since I called a place other than a PPDC facility home."

"Who's the character that came with you?"

Raleigh grinned. "That is Hannibal Chau."

"THE Hannibal Chau? Of the Asian Kaiju black market fame?"

Raleigh, to his credit, didn't let the panic he felt reach his face. "Yeah. Why?"

"I read all about him in my MBA course last semester."

Raleigh relaxed. "Ah. Yeah, he's the one who's been really funding the PPDC for almost nine months now."

"Did he really cut his way out of a baby Kaiju?"

Raleigh smiled and crossed his arms, gaze fixed over Jazmine's left shoulder. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Jazmine blushed and slowly turned around. Hannibal Chau was standing there, watching her with a smug look of approval. "Oh. Sorry."

Chau smiled sweetly. "Looks like Carousel 1 has our bags."

Mako and Raleigh both darted over to grab their stuff, leaving Jazmine and Chau together for a moment.

"Yes, I did. Not my favorite thing I've ever done."

"How did you survive? I thought Kaiju blood was toxic?"

"Apparently, not when they're young. I got lucky."

Raleigh and Mako returned with the baggage. "Alright, Jaz, where'd you park?"

Jazmine led the way out the door towards the parking lot. "Pretty close. Borrowed a friend's SUV. Ah, there it is. Come on, let's get going."

-.-.-

Mako pulled out her tablet and began to sketch something on it. Raleigh looked at Jazmine and Hannibal already talking business in the front seat and opted to use the Ghost Drift to talk with Mako. What are you working on?

You have your secret project, and I have mine.

Fair enough. Raleigh looked out the window as they drove along a freeway, headed east. "Jaz, where are we going? I thought that you were taking us to the hotel. All I'm seeing is a bunch of housing and businesses…"

"Relax, Raleigh. Herc asked me to pick one close to where you'll be working." She pointed out the window at something. "See?"

Raleigh and Mako both followed her cue and looked out the window just in time to see a United States Coast Guard HC-130H growl into the air, headed out for a mission. Raleigh smiled. He'd always had the utmost respect for the Coast Guard after their search for Raleigh five years earlier.

Mako instinctively laced her fingers through Raleigh's, dragging him back to the present. "Is the weather normally this hot?"

Jazmine laughed. "Yeah, it's going to be like this for most of the summer. Those who can afford to get out of town often do so and head to the mountains in the summer for weekend getaways. If you can't, there's two swim parks, the lakes, the rivers, and a number of community pools to escape the heat in."

Mako squirmed at the mention of the public swimming.

Raleigh noticed her discomfort. It's okay, Mako. We don't have to do those yet. Besides, we can go find a backwoods spot to beat the heat.

No, I need to get out and face my fears head on. The mall, though, is more of an outlook on life. She smiled.

Jazmine looked at Mako in the mirror. "You know, I've seen the videos of you two sparring. Do you think you could teach me to do that?"

The two Rangers looked as if Jazmine had just grown a second head.

Raleigh's face darkened. "What video?"

"You haven't seen it? I think it was Herc Hansen who filmed it. You guys were outside, there was crowd, and you were sparring for six, seven minutes. It was awesome! There's a huge debate going on about whether you two rehearsed that, or if it was all instinctive."

Mako blushed as she recalled how the sparring match had ended. "I didn't know that Herc had recorded it. I wonder how many others he's filmed."

"So, could you teach me how you do it?"

Hannibal decided to step in. "Miss Becket, it's not as simple as you think. The Ghost Drift is critical in allowing the Rangers to deliver that performance. If you were to move with such speed and power, you might wind up seriously injuring or killing your partner when you slip up. When, not if."

Mako nodded. "Plus, Raleigh and I have found that our Ghost Drift gets stronger when the adrenaline kicks in, which enables us to fight at that level without ever landing a hit on the other."

Raleigh smiled. "That said… I'd be happy to teach you the moves at a much slower speed. With time, practice, and a strong Drift partner, perhaps you could fight at that level."

Jazmine nodded in understanding as she pulled off the freeway at their exit. "Ah, there it is. The local La Quinta Inns and Suites. There's basic cable and satellite available, and there's a pool in the courtyard."

Raleigh looked at the fast food joint next door to their hotel. "In'N'Out? Never heard of them."

"It's a SoCal-based company…"

"Whoa, Jaz, hang on. SoCal? You've gone native, sis."

Jazmine sighed. "Yeah, I guess I have. SoCal is short for Southern California."

"Ah. Anyways, SoCal based?"

"Right, they're a fast-food chain that has a HUGE following. I don't see the point. Yeah, their fries are better than say, McDonalds, but I just don't see the attraction. I prefer SmashBurger myself."

"Jaz, remember that Mako and I have been kinda… disconnected from the civilian world for a number of years now."

Chau seemed to be lost in thought. "I've been to one… It was a lifetime ago, though. Before the War."

Jazmine looked at him as they pulled into a parking space. "What did you do before the War? Before you became… well, you?"

"I don't talk about it. I like having that air of mystery about me."

"Works for me."

They piled out of the SUV, and Mako and Hannibal went to the reception to retrieve their respective room keys. Jazmine and Raleigh grabbed the luggage.

Jazmine looked at Mako and Raleigh's combined luggage. "That's all you guys own?"

"Yeah. Mine fits into one bag, Mako's into two. Rangers always tended to live light."

Jazmine looked at Mako's bags. "Do you know if she has any swimsuits?"

"I know she doesn't. She's got some body modesty issues she's trying to work out. It's a side effect of going through her teenage years in the PPDC."

Jazmine's face lit up with a light Raleigh remembered from childhood, one that only appeared when she set herself on a difficult task and expected to succeed. "Well, I know what Mako and I are doing soon. She is going to be getting some swimsuits, even if I have to drag her by the ear into the stores."

Raleigh laughed. "Good luck with that. Mako's very much a tomboy."

"Are you sure that's all that's behind it?"

Raleigh's laughs stopped cold, and he stared at Jazmine. "You have no right to pry for information through me. If you want to find out, talk to her yourself."

"Just tell me this, Raleigh. Would the events of Onibaba's attack have an effect on her response to malls?"

"I know the answer already, Jazmine. It was part of our first Drift."

"I know you had a rough one, compared with the first Drift with Yancy…"

"Jaz… the real first Drift was done in private, in the J-Tech labs with a lab-grade Pons, not in a Jaeger. The one you and Mom watched was actually the second Drift. First Drifts are always rough, no matter how compatible you are. That's why they're usually private: so much can go wrong."

"And what went wrong with you and Mako?"

Raleigh looked back over Jazmine's shoulder. "Ask Mako."

"Ask me what?"

Jaz shoved Raleigh's bag at him. "Nothing."

"I know it's not nothing, Jazmine. Remember, I'm connected to Raleigh through the Ghost Drift."

Jazmine ground her teeth as she walked back to grab one of Hannibal's bags.
Mr. Chau, would you like a hand with your luggage?"

Hannibal smiled. "If you would like to, then yes."

"Lead the way, then."

Chau swept his hand towards a stairway. "This way, Miss Becket."

"Please, call me Jazmine."

"Jazmine it is."

The two disappeared up the stairs, and Raleigh and Mako walked to their room, carrying all their luggage with ease.

Mako looked at the pool in the courtyard, then at Raleigh. "I wish I had a swimsuit, just to get out of the heat."

"Well, if you wore a dark shirt and that pair of blue gym shorts, I think you'd be fine. It'd also hide most of the scars."

"It's not the scars alone, Raleigh."

"I know, Mako. I know what the problem is." Raleigh sighed as he slid the keycard into the reader, and their door unlocked. "It's something that's up to you to fix. Just remember that I'm always here for you."

Mako opened the door and stepped into the much cooler room. "Oh, that feels good."

Raleigh smiled. "So would the pool. Or going to get some ice cream."

"We'd need a car first."

"True." He grabbed Mako's tablet and pulled up Craigslist. "If we're staying here in Sacramento with PPI, we're going to need a lot of stuff. Like a place to stay other than a hotel."

Mako looked at what Raleigh was doing. "Craigslist? What's that?"

Raleigh grinned. "The internet version of the classified ads in the newspaper."

Mako looked skeptical. "If was classified, then why was it in the newspaper?"

Raleigh howled in laughter.

"What? What did I say?"

"Oh, Mako… Sometimes you surprise me in the strangest ways." He wiped away a tear. "Classified ads aren't called that because they're secrets. I honestly don't know why they're called that. But it's something that physical newspapers used to run, where you could post job openings, cars for sale, that sort of stuff." He handed her the tablet. "Craigslist is the Internet version of that."

Mako went to the Apartments section, and her eyebrows shot up. "Whoa… There's a lot to choose from!" She showed Raleigh.

"Yeah, but since we don't have any idea where PPI will set up shop, and we don't have wheels…"

"Wait… I just remembered something, Raleigh."

"What's that?"

"You said 'we' when you were talking about finding a place to live."

Raleigh thought for a second. "You're right. It just slipped out that way…"

Mako looked at him. "Did you mean it? Us, together?"

"I guess so. If it's okay with you, anyways."

"Raleigh, I would love nothing more. After all, we've been sharing a bed for a while now."

They smiled at the thought. Mako rolled over and moved to kiss Raleigh.

Knock knock knock.

Mako rolled her eyes as she got off the bed and went to the door. Jazmine was waiting with an excited grin on her face. Mako opened the door. "What's up, Jazmine?"

Jazmine grabbed Mako by the wrist. "Come on, Mako. We're going shopping."

Mako tried to dig in her heels and fight back, but the bullheaded determination that Raleigh had when he set his mind on something was apparently a family thing, and since Jazmine was stronger than Mako, she simply dragged the Ranger along like a child pulling a balloon. Raleigh, help me! Jazmine's taking me shopping!

Sorry, but I'm not going to get in the path of Jazmine once she's gotten her mind set on something. I'd rather face down Knifehead again.

Mako scowled. Surely you're exaggerating.

Mako, just go along with it, and maybe she won't bother you about it again. But the more you struggle, the more of a challenge it becomes for her, and she loves nothing more than a challenge.

"Come on, Mako. It'll be fun!"

"Fun like Kaiju Blue is fun."

"Oh, come on, Mako. It's not that bad. You'll see!"

Mako could hear Raleigh's howls of laughter from the parking lot. Raleigh Becket, you are so dead…

-.-.-

Author's note: The La Quinta that Mako, Raleigh, and Hannibal are staying at is real, as is the nearby In'N'Out. And yes, SmashBurger is better. SqueezeInn is even better, if the stories are to be believed, but I'm not driving 20 miles each way just to find out.

As for the red rabbit sculpture, yes, it's also real. It remains a source of much debate in the community.

And why is Mako so scared of malls? My headcanon is that the Mori family was at the mall when Onibaba began its attack. Let's just say that Mako's going to be in for a rough time, no matter what happens. Jazmine's personality is based off of my sisters, condensed into a single spirited and highly independent woman who won't take "no" for an answer unless it's for a very good reason. Mako won't know what hit her. :P