Forged in Fire, Chapter 41: Thinking About The Future
Sacramento International Airport
Terminal B, pickup area
August 3, 2025
1037
Mako and Raleigh waited patiently as the people mover brought another load of passengers from the concourse to the main terminal, looking for three particular people. Mako, despite her lower vantage point, spotted them first. "TENDO! ALISON!"
Tendo looked over to see Raleigh and Mako waving at him and his wife. "Hey, fancy meeting you here!" He smiled and walked over to the Rangers, carry-on bags in hand. "Sorry we're a little late. That little puddle jumper had some issues getting started." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the Alaska Airlines turboprop airliner parked at one of the gates. "I've seen mopeds in the Boneslums more reliable than that."
Mako winced. "That bad?"
"Took 'em four tries to get the number 2 engine to start up."
Raleigh took the bags from Tendo. "Man, that is bad." He nodded to Alison and young Yeye, who was fast asleep on his mom's shoulder. "Ma'am."
"Good to see you again, Raleigh."
Mako gestured to the escalators. "Baggage claim's this way."
Tendo and Raleigh took the lead. "So, how are things going here?"
Raleigh shrugged. "Okay. We're almost out of busy work, but more just keeps popping up."
Tendo chuckled. "Not work, Becket boy, the culture. A lot of Bay Area folks moved here after K-Day."
"Ahhh. Well, what area were you most fond of?"
"Kicked around in Chinatown a lot, obviously. The Embarcadero, too."
"Well, Chinatown's moved to South Sacramento for the time being, but I don't think they'll leave entirely. Mako and I were planning on going down there soon to check it out. They've apparently done a really nice job redecorating a few of the strip malls to look more like the old storefronts. And the Embarcadero… Well, it kinda fragmented all over the Central Valley. Pier 39 has kinda taken up residence across the river from Downtown, and Ripley's moved in on K Street, but the Exploratorium went to Davis, and Ghiradelli's moved to their plant down past Stockton."
"So I'd heard. What about, say, Oakland? Where'd they gravitate towards?"
"Oakland moved to Stockton. Much of what little shipping remained after the Kaiju attacks picked up that didn't go to Long Beach went there, so a lot of the dock workers followed. And the Raiders are camped out there for now. Berkley went to Davis. Two UCs, one campus, and hippies everywhere."
Tendo laughed. "Yeah, Berkley was a trippy place. I'd head the same about Davis, though, so that's a good match." They got off the escalator and walked over to the baggage carousels. "So, where did San Francisco proper wind up?"
"Sacramento. It's reportedly really invigorated the city." Raleigh shrugged. "Mako and I haven't done much exploration of the city, though. We're neck-deep in planning a half dozen projects."
Tendo spotted their baggage. "There, the blue ones."
Raleigh spotted them right away, as they were the old Gipsy crew luggage that had been given to the techs after Los Angeles. He laughed. "You've still got those?"
"Turbines still light up and spin, bro. They're a classic."
"Yeah, I guess so." Raleigh smiled sadly. "I sold mine back in Nome to help make ends meet one month."
"Bummer, man." Tendo went to set down the carry-on bags so he could grab the luggage, but Mako grabbed them before he could complete the move.
"Don't worry, Tendo. Raleigh and I have it under control. We already have a hotel room and rental car for you, too."
Alison smiled tiredly. "Thank you, guys. I'm not sure what we'd have done without you."
Mako smiled. "It's the least we could do." She tilted her head towards the door. "Ready to go?"
Tendo yawned. "Please. Any good coffee shops along the way?"
Raleigh grinned. "Lots. We passed one upstairs, actually."
The LOCCENT chief stopped in his tracks. "Traitor."
Alison rolled her eyes. "Come on, we'll find something else a little closer to the hotel."
-.-.-
PPI R&D hangar
August 4, 2025
1214
Mako had finally been given the go ahead to spool up a test part on the new 3D printer, and she ate her lunch as she watched it work. Sparks flew as a high-powered laser melted powdered metal into a continuous weld, gradually building up the part. She bit into the cookie she had packed into her lunch… and winced as one of her back teeth flashed in pain. What the… That's new. Good thing I was already going to the dentist Wednesday!
Raleigh came over, worry clouding his face. "You okay?"
"You felt that?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry." Mako took Raleigh's hand. "Didn't mean to bother you like that."
"Nah, needed an excuse to get out of the office for a bit." He pointed at the printer. "Whatcha making?"
Mako grinned. "Laugh all you want, but… It's a coffee mug for Tendo."
Raleigh peered through the tinted armor glass at the work platform. "Okay, I see it now. Looks good!"
Mako grinned sheepishly. "It's not really my design. I slightly modified it to incorporate a little personal touch, but…" She shrugged.
"I think he'll appreciate it."
Mako smiled as Raleigh sat down next to her, and they watched the laser work across the surface of the coffee cup for a few minutes. Finally Mako took a deep breath and turned to Raleigh.
"Raleigh… I've been thinking."
"You do that a lot."
Mako punched Raleigh in the shoulder. "True."
"So, you were thinking?"
"Do we really need the larger bedroom? I find it a little big for my tastes."
Raleigh's gaze grew distant as he visualized their room. "Yeah… I see what you mean. Why, you want to switch with Miranda?"
"If she's up for it, yes. She could certainly use the space in a few months."
"That's true." Raleigh's gaze returned to Mako. "Moving day next weekend?"
"If she's up for it… sure."
Raleigh grinned. "Okay, then. The 16th it is."
"You sound like you're certain she'll go for it."
"I'm pretty sure she will. Hell, I'm half tempted to go find us a house or something and let her have the whole apartment."
"We don't need a house, Raleigh!" Mako shook her head. "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"
"No. The market's good for home buying right now. Herc's closing on a house soon, you know."
"He is?"
"Yep. Up by the hospital, actually."
Mako blinked. Hmm… Raleigh does have a good point. It'd be an investment, if nothing else. "I'll think about it."
"Really?"
"Even if we don't use it during the next war, it'd be an investment. A source of income separate from our stipends and the PPDC."
Raleigh grinned. "So, not getting ahead of ourselves?"
Mako smiled back. "More of a case of 'thinking about the future.'"
Raleigh kissed Mako on the forehead. "See, you've always been the better of the two of us at that."
"Really? Because I never thought past the end of the war, either. This is a learning experience for both of us. Our first real taste of true adulthood."
"That's…" Raleigh stopped. She's right. Most of my time after Anchorage was spent running away from my past. I never really tackled things in a mature, level-headed manner. "Damn." He hung his head. "That is really true."
Mako wrapped an arm around her copilot's shoulders. "Hey. It's not an attack. I didn't mean to…"
Raleigh took Mako's right hand in his own. "I didn't take it as one. It's not an attack, it's a reflection of reality." He looked to Mako, smiling gently. "A truth I hadn't realized. Thank you, Mako."
"You're welcome, Raleigh." Mako leaned against Raleigh's left shoulder and watched the printer continue to work on Tendo's coffee cup.
-.-.-
Mako and Raleigh's bedroom
August 5, 2025
0240
Mako had learned long ago that she would wake up in the middle of the night with either a solution to a problem or a crazy idea in her head. As a result, she kept a pad of paper and a pencil on her nightstand at all times. Just in case…
"STARBURST GEMINI!"
Raleigh snapped awake and instantly began to scramble for something to defend himself… only to fall out of bed with a THUD. He poked his head above the edge of the bed to see that Mako was hurriedly jotting down some notes on the pad of paper. "Jesus, Mako. Scared me half to death!"
Mako was utterly focused on whatever she was writing, so Raleigh peeked over her shoulder. Starburst Gemini. Brawler/Scout Hybrid. MUST BE TWINS (Ident.) Plasma, TPackII, Maxed drivers. Chain, Sting, ? Sensors lite, maybe small launcher? Shin guards. Elbow Rockets: Y/N?
Raleigh groaned and got back under the sheets. Another Jaeger. I'll ask her about it tomorrow at dinner.
Mako put the pad back down and laid down again, instantly asleep as her head touched the pillow.
Raleigh stayed awake a few minutes longer before also falling asleep, with one final thought: If that's a Jaeger name, it's pretty cool.
-.-.-
PPI R&D Offices
0830
"Mr. Hansen?"
Herc looked up from his computer to see Jazmine standing in the doorway. "What's up?"
Jazmine closed the door and sat down at the desk. "I… need some advice."
"About?"
Jazmine squirmed, clearly uncomfortable with something. "I… I'm torn. Part of me wants to sign up to be a Ranger, but another part of me knows that I'm better suited to help from behind the scenes. I'm not a fighter, not by any stretch of the imagination. My battleground is in the office, trying to outbid a competitor. But I still can't shake the feeling that I might be looking the wrong way. Maybe I am supposed to follow my brothers and defend humanity in combat."
Herc leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Jazmine, I'll be honest. Being a Ranger is dirty, nasty, dangerous work. Yeah, you're a rock star, but that also means you're put on a pedestal for all to see and idolize. All your redeeming qualities are held up as "the best of humanity." But your flaws, your dark marks, those are also brought into the light. And they're not always the kinds of things that go away." He rubbed his face. "My brother Scott was an example of that. He was really good at hiding a lot of things, not only from the media, but also from me. Even in the Drift. Things that ended his career, and almost ended mine if it hadn't been for the five kills I'd already scored and the fact that I was needed to pilot Striker Eureka." He rocked the chair back forwards and looked Jazmine in the eyes. "I don't know what darkness may lie in your past. I really don't care, either. What matters is, you are an even rarer find than a Ranger: A brilliant young woman who is able to take the reigns of a major company, one that has the technology, know-how, and resources to literally save the human race, and you have everyone's support." Herc smiled gently. "I'm not a business man at all, but my wife, Angela? She had some serious chops for business. You remind me a lot of her. You'll do better in the boardroom than you would in a Conn Pod. Just like Mako's a terror to the Kaiju, you'll strike fear into the hearts of the old guard in business."
Jazmine shyly smiled. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Herc."
"You're most welcome, Jazmine."
Jazmine got up and started to leave the office. "I have one other thing to ask, though."
Herc paused, partway through opening his email inbox. "Shoot."
"Do you think you'll jockey again?"
There was a long pause as Herc mulled the question over in his head. "No. I think I've had my fill. Lost two copilots and two Jaegers." He frowned. "Don't want to add a third to the list. Besides, I'm getting on in years. Being a Ranger's a young person's game."
Jazmine nodded slowly as she opened the door. "Thank you for the honesty. And the advice." She slipped out the door and down the hall to her office.
Herc stared out the door at the wall across the hall for a few moments, lost in thought, before returning to his inbox. Great. More paperwork from Hong Kong.
-.-.-
Author's Notes: Phew! Back at it. Between work and school things have been rather busy as of late. The fact that one of my friends introduced me to Mindcrack (my joking name for Minecraft) hasn't helped much either. That said, I am still plugging away at these stories, so please, do stick around!
In other news, I am now co-posting Forged in Fire over at Archive of Our Own! I'm playing catch-up over there right now, but once I get to that point, expect the story to be posted at the same time at both sites.
