Forged in Fire, Chapter 43: Progress
PPI R&D workshop
Sacramento, CA
August 11, 2025
0907 PDT
"Okay, Steph. Ready to try the suit again?" Mako looked at the former Ranger. "Or are you going to just keep using the wheelchair today?"
Stephanie growled as she swiped the battery pack off the workbench and clipped it into the spinal pickup of the MAX suit. "That last bit was overboard, Mako."
Mako shrugged and rolled Stephanie over to the treadmill that Vanessa had brought in. "Perhaps."
Vanessa walked in from across the street, a cup of tea in one hand and a tablet in the other. "Ready to try to walk today, Ms. Lanphier? I talked with Dr. Lightcap, and she is confident we've got it right this time. She said she made a simple error late at night trying to get it ready for you last time, and that's why there was that lag in the response."
Steph scowled at Mako, then grabbed hold of the rails of the treadmill. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with. I've got stuff to do this morning."
Vanessa waved the tablet at Mako in a shooing gesture. "Go on, Ms. Mori. Raleigh needs you across the street for something, by the way."
"Thank you, Vanessa." Mako nodded at the engineer, then turned to face Steph. "Hey... We'll get it right, I promise. It may take a few more times is all."
"Real encouraging, Mako."
Vanessa set down her tea and scowled at Mako. "Go."
Mako sighed and walked out the smaller side door. I wonder what Raleigh needs me for... Everything on his side is going smoothly for once.
-.-.-
0913
Raleigh poked his head into the break room to find Mako finishing making herself some tea. "Hey."
Mako walked over to Raleigh. "Vanessa said you wanted me for something?"
"Yeah... We're getting some more employees again."
"So soon after Emily and Vanessa?"
"Yeah, but they're in a different field."
"David and Jaz aren't wasting any time, are they."
"Nope."
"So, what field are we getting into this time?"
Raleigh leaned against the doorframe. "Aviation, apparently. A former USAF pilot who was part of the K-Day response is coming onboard as an aeronautical engineer. What for, I have no idea. You might get more out of her than I did..."
"She's here? Now?"
"Talking with Herc." Raleigh tilted his head in the direction of the offices. "Want me to see if she's done?"
"No. I'm sure I'll meet up with her later."
Both Rangers looked towards the front door of the office as the bell jangled briefly, then at each other. "More visitors?"
Mako poked her head out into the hall. "Huh. Blue suit zoomie."
Raleigh leaned out behind Mako. "Wow. Jaz really wants to get the new branch up and running... two light colonels in a day?"
Mako looked over her right shoulder. That's not the one who was in earlier?"
"No. New one." Raleigh shrugged. "Guess you missed her today."
Mako raised an eyebrow at Raleigh. "Well, if she's going to be working in PPI, I'm sure she'll come in and say hello eventually." She shrugged and headed to her office. "Besides, I've got work to do... that Conn Pod won't design itself."
Raleigh hung in the doorway for a moment, then walked back into the break room. He saw Mako's forgotten tea, still steaming on the table. Grabbing it with a sigh, Raleigh walked into Mako's office, ducking around a holographic element floating near the doorway. "You forgot this."
"Just... set it on the desk?"
"Sure... but it's getting cold."
"Mmmhmm." Mako grabbed a stylus from a mug on her desk and began adjusting a duct on the inside of the Conn Pod hull.
Raleigh smiled as he watched Mako working. I love it when she gets so focused on her work like that... she just tunes out the outside world and becomes the project.
-.-.-
0945
Stephanie leaned on the handrails of the treadmill and slapped the OFF button. "Vanessa..."
"Yes?"
"Whatever you're trying to do... it's not working. That last set of steps I tried to do was worse than last week."
"Sorry. It's just... Frustrating. I mean, everything should work out, but there's something that keeps throwing it all off!"
Caitlin walked in and handed Stephanie a water bottle. "Then call it quits for now and let's go over the data. Emily, come on over and join the powwow."
The young mechanic and machinist hopped off the stool near the CNC lathe and jogged over to the group. "Whassup?"
Caitlin "grabbed" the holographic schematic of the MAX suit and dragged it to a tablet, then walked over to the huddle of engineers. "Steph, what would you say is the biggest issue with the suit right now?"
The former Ranger took a drink from the water bottle before responding. "It feels like there's still a small amount of lag in the system. I tell my leg to move, and there's just enough of a hesitation that it throws me off. Kinda like when you try to talk over the phone, but you can hear your voice coming back from the other end. There's just enough of a delay that it scrambles your train of thought and you just go 'Uhhhhhh...'"
Caitlin nodded. "So, there's a delay in the movement, or in the feedback signal?"
"I don't know. It just feels... off. I can't explain it."
Vanessa frowned and looked at the schematics. "Well, I think that we need to get another data point for this if we want to track down this flaw. Two or three more would be better, but even a single new opinion would be better than nothing."
Caitlin pulled her right pant leg up to reveal her prosthetic leg. "You've got one."
Vanessa frowned. "That's not quite the same."
"No, but it's close enough. It runs on much the same software." Stephanie began to unstrap the exoskeleton . "You guys want to start troubleshooting some more? I've got some stuff to do this morning."
Caitlin nodded and began to open up the hologram model of the MAX suit. "I thought we'd optimized all the hardware already. Do we have too much inductance somewhere? That'd cause the lag..."
Vanessa frowned as she joined Caitlin at the schematics. "It's not a hardware issue. We've got that totally dialed in now. So, it's a processing issue." She shot a glance at Caitlin. "Which is your area of expertise."
Caitlin grimaced. "Might want to take another look at that, then. Or, get a fresh set of eyes..." She scratched her head for a moment, then turned to Vanessa. "Say, didn't Hermann do some coding work on the Mark I's?"
Vanessa smiled. "Yes he did. Want me to take a copy of the code home?"
"If you would be so kind."
Emily leaned in and grabbed the processor unit. "What if we switched to a silver alloy for the conductors on the circuit boards? That'd reduce the resistance, and a little lag."
Caitlin shook her head. "Not enough to account for the delay Steph's talking about. It's, what, tenth of a second?"
Stephanie tossed the suit onto the work bench. "'Bout that. Maybe a little less. Enough to be a serious problem."
A new voice came from the entryway. "Sounds like there's too much of a processing loop."
Caitlin turned around in surprise. "Miri? What are you doing here?"
"They wanted to pick my brain on some stuff. Mostly about who would be a good choice for commanding the rotary-wing branch."
Stephanie frowned. "You look familiar."
Miri smiled. "Shave about twelve years off and replace the silver eagles with railroad tracks."
Emily gaped. "You're Miriam Ramierez. You were one of the EVAC pilots on K-Day!"
Miriam bowed theatrically. "At your service."
Caitling laughed and waved her old friend over. "Let me guess. They wanted you for that commander slot?"
"Oh, no. Of course not." Miriam laughed. She gestured to the holodisplay. "Exoskeleton of some sort, right?"
Stephanie held up the hardware version. "Yes. This one's to get me walking again."
The helicopter pilot walked over to the display and looked the design over. "Looks sweet. If you made a full-body one, the DoD would be knocking on your door non-stop."
Vanessa frowned. "We're not ready for that yet. Besides, there's certainly a market for civilian use ones, like with Steph. Imagine how much of an improvement in quality of life this would be for a parapalegic."
"If we can get the damn thing to work right. Right now, though, it's a piece of crap." Stephanie began rolling her way towards the door. "Call me when you get the glitch sorted. I've got stuff to do."
Vanessa sighed and dragged the code over to a tablet. "I'll get Herman on Skype and see what we can find. I probably missed a semicolon somewhere, and he'll spot it." She took the tablet and walked out of the converted hangar after Stephanie.
Emily stared at Miriam for a little longer, then headed back over to the lathe she'd been working on earlier. "Cait, if you need me, I'll probably be cussing at the coolant pump on this thing."
Caitlin shut down the display and pulled a chair over. "So, they wanted your advice for the new StrikeHawk unit leader?"
"Yeah. I was surprised they didn't give me the pitch." Miriam smiled. "After all, flying a Pave Hawk near a Kaiju is old hat to me."
Caitlin laughed. "You're too much of a practical, get-your-hands-dirty leader for that kind of a posting." She picked up her water bottle and took a drink.
"Then why'd they ask me to be the Marshall for the San Francisco Shatterdome?"
Caitlin spat water across a nearby computer, then began coughing. "A Marshall? You?"
Miriam handed Caitlin a shop rag. "About my reaction, too."
"They must be desperate." Caitlin took the offered rag and began to clean off the computer. "Either that, or the new members of the Working Group want people who can actually lead."
"Well, that certainly explains why Herc is getting a promotion." Miriam settled onto a stool. "They want him to be in charge of all the Rangers."
"Well, that's actually a good choice. He's the most senior active Ranger we have."
"What about you?"
Caitlin pulled her right pant leg up to reveal her prosthetic leg. "They'll never let me strap into a Jaeger again."
"Hey, if anyone could find a way around that little issue, it'd be you."
"True... but Sergio won't be there for it." Caitlin tossed the rag into the "DIRTY" bin nearby. "He's got less than a month left."
"The docs have said that before, Cait. He's bounced back, what, four? Five times?"
"Yeah, but this one's the worst case yet. And he's done fighting. He won't say it, but I know he's given up."
"Why do you say that?" Miriam set a hand on Caitlin's shoulder. "Cait."
"He's being very open about his mortality lately. Lots of cracks about it. You know how he gets when he's made up his mind on something that makes him uneasy."
Miriam frowned. "Yes, I do. Sounds like him after K-Day. We'd all seen what Trespasser did, and he wasn't shy about voicing his concern about how high the cost would be if we had to fight another one." She looked out the open doors onto the flight line beyond. "It was scary how right he was."
"But we're still here." Caitlin shrugged. "How long that stays the case depends on how the next two years go."
"So I've heard. And since I'm probably going to wind up commanding a few Jaegers, mind helping a friend get up to speed on what I'm going to be dealing with?"
"One condition. Talk to Sergio, please. As a friend and former squadron mate."
"Deal. Where's he at?"
Caitlin made a mournful face. "Mather, at the VA hospital. Talking about end of life stuff."
"Then what good is me talking to him going to do? He's already doing that, it's a little late for me to change his mind."
"I'm not asking you to change his mind, Miri. Just... I dunno. Talk to him."
"'Kay." Miriam nodded and pulled Caitlin into a hug. "Just hang in there, alright? And you've got my number if you ever need a friend to talk to."
Caitlin nodded. "Yeah."
"Now, tell me... How was that little Mexican joint in Philly?"
-.-.-
1207
Raleigh walked into the office with his arms full of bagged lunches. "LUNCH IS HERE!"
Miranda popped up beside Raleigh and snagged a bag. "Thanks."
Herc appeared in his doorway. "Thanks, Raleigh."
"No prob." He walked into the break room and set the rest of the bags down on the main table, then snagged his and Mako's. "Yo, Mako! Food!"
There was no response.
Raleigh sighed and walked into Mako's office to find her utterly fixated on her computer screen. "Hey, lunch is here."
"Mmhhhmm."
Raleigh set a bag down and pulled out the hamburger within, then waved it under Mako's nose.
Mako reared back in surprise. "Oh, you... That's not fair." She snagged the burger and glared at Raleigh. "You got Habit."
Raleigh grinned and headed out of her office. "The usual?"
"Sure." She returned her attention to the computer. 1210 already? Wow, I really got wrapped up in my work. "Hey, Raleigh?"
Raleigh returned with a glass of lemonade. "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"No problem." He sat down and pulled out his own burger. "So, how goes the Conn Pod?"
"I'm running a stress analysis right now. After Otachi, I want the pressure hulls to be much tougher." Her gaze grew distant for a moment. "If we'd known about that earlier..."
"Hey." Raleigh leaned forward. "Don't blame yourself. You weren't the engineer who designed Typhoon's Conn Pod."
Mako nodded and returned to her burger.
"So, want to talk to Munchkin about swapping rooms tonight?"
Mako shrugged. "Sure."
"Hey... What's wrong?"
Mako sighed and set her burger down. "I'm... I can't describe it well." She looked at Raleigh. "I guess I'm feeling a little down after yesterday."
Raleigh rolled his chair over to Mako and pulled her into a hug. "That's why we're doing this... So that we don't get another K-Day."
Mako leaned into Raleigh and nodded. "I know... but there are days when I wonder if it'll be enough."
The computer chimed, and Raleigh let Mako go. "Survey says?"
Mako pulled up the results on the display. Several areas were highlighted in red. "Kuso. Again?" She rubbed her temples and growled. "Every. Single. Time. It's always something else that fails. What am I missing?"
Raleigh pulled Mako away from the computer. "Easy. Don't keep obsessing over it."
"But it's going to get people killed!" Mako's eyes narrowed in anger. "Raleigh, I have to get this right-"
Raleigh put a finger on Mako's lips. "Stop. We've got how many other engineers available to work on this?"
Mako rolled her eyes.
"You know we've got someone with high compression experience, too. You've just been hesitant to ask her because she's not an actual engineer by training."
"I'm not, either, Raleigh."
"So, go drag Emily in here. Maybe she'll see something you've overlooked."
Mako's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Fine. I just don't know what I could have overlooked..."
Raleigh shrugged. "I don't know, either. Now, a steel reinforced concrete structure, I could probably eyeball and give a yea/nay on, but this?" He waved at the model on the screen. "Way above my level."
Mako glared at the screen before returning to her hamburger. "I guess a second set of eyes couldn't hurt."
-.-.-
1237
Emily poked her head into Mako's office. "You wanted to see me?"
"Come here and take a look at this real quick." Mako pulled the Conn Pod design up on the holo display.
"What am I looking for?" Emily skillfully grabbed the pressure hull and spun it around. "Wait... Why are the walls so thin? And look at all these creases and welds." She looked at Mako. "Sorry to be blunt, but it's no wonder Crimson Typhoon bought it. These hulls aren't rated for extreme pressures. Hell, it's a miracle you survived Pitfall."
"So, any suggestions?"
"Yeah..." Emily "crushed" the model and tossed it into the holographic garbage can alongside the desk, eliciting a yelp of dismay from Mako. "Start over from the beginning. What's the strongest cross section in engineering?"
Mako's eyes narrowed. "A circle, of course. Why?"
Emily smiled and generated a ball in the display, then removed about half the inside diameter of it. "Boom. There's your basic pressure hull design. Anything else?"
Mako stared at the sphere for a moment before groaning. "I am such an idiot."
"Oh, and use titanium for it. No massive viewports, either."
"What?"
"Yeah. Isn't that what killed the Kaidanovskies? Breached front viewport?"
Mako nodded slowly, thinking over the changes she would now need to make to the Jaeger. "And escape pods?"
"How many times were they used successfully?"
Mako frowned. "Twice. Raleigh and myself."
"Out of how many losses?" Emily quirked an eyebrow. "Look, you can make the whole Pod an escape capsule."
"But with that much titanium, it'll never be buoyant enough to float."
"True. So, you add some applique layers which add buoyancy." Emily paused, then headed out of the office. "Be right back, gotta get something."
Mako eased into her chair and rubbed her eyes. This is going to set us back weeks, if not months... and the time it'll take to cast the hull will be much greater than if we were to use composites.
"Okay, got it." Emily tossed a magazine onto Mako's desk. "Glass minispheres embedded in a graphite epoxy matrix. Tough under pressure, chemical resistant, and buoyant enough to float an Abrams tank."
Mako eyed the cross sectioned material. "That... makes a lot of sense. So, what, we add bolt points for the applique panels and strap them on?"
"Sounds reasonable. Makes it easy to replace battle damaged segments, right?" Emily pulled a chair over and sat down. "So, now for the details. How big of an interior do we need..."
-.-.-
Mako, Raleigh, and Miranda's apartment
1806
Raleigh and Mako came through the door of the apartment with bags of groceries. "Munchkin, we're back!"
The Australian appeared from the hallway to the bedrooms. "So, what'd you get?"
Raleigh grabbed a package of cookies and handed them to Miranda. "These are for you..."
Miranda's eyes widened in shock. "Tim Tams? Where did you find these?"
Mako smiled. "There's a British food store along Watt Avenue near the office. We stopped in to see if they had anything from Australia..."
Raleigh picked up where Mako trailed off. "Turns out, they'd just gotten a shipment in today."
Miranda gleefully tore open the package and pulled out a cookie. "Ohhhh, you guys are awesome. I haven't had a Tim Tam in years."
Mako leaned over and eyed the package. "I've never had one before. Can I..."
Miranda hissed playfully and clutched the package close. "Mine."
Raleigh laughed and handed Mako a box of Pocky. "You've got your own, Mako."
"Spoilsport."
Raleigh just smiled and set his bag down on the counter. "So, what's the dinner plan for tonight?"
Mako watched as Miranda practically inhaled the first Tim Tam. "Well, Miranda seems to be intent on having her package of cookies for dinner..."
"OI!"
"... But I was thinking of doing fajitas."
Raleigh nodded and began to put the groceries into the fridge. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Not at the moment, no." Mako snagged a bell pepper from the bag of groceries and set it aside. "Leave the onion?"
"Got it."
-.-.-
Raleigh sat down on the couch with a groan. "Oooh, that was a long day."
Mako flopped onto the couch next to Raleigh, then lay in his lap. "You had a long day?"
"Yeah. You wanna trade tomorrow? I've got seven different potential instructors to call."
Mako shook her head. "No thank you. I'd much prefer to continue with the Conn Pod redesign."
Miranda opened the cupboard and retrieved her Tim Tams. "You guys are redesigning the Conn Pod?"
Mako sighed. "I overlooked some basic engineering principles when redesigning. Makes me wonder what else I've missed."
Raleigh rubbed Mako's shoulder. "Hey. Relax. You'll get it sorted out."
"I'm with Raleigh. You'll get it done, Mako." Miranda settled into a chair with a groan. "Ooof. Word of advice for you two... Twins suck."
Mako laughed. "Duly noted."
Raleigh nodded. "On the subject of the twins... Mako and I wanted to offer you the master bedroom."
"Really? I though you could use the space."
Mako shook her head. "No. It's too much space, to be honest. We don't need much room, and you're going to need quite a bit for the twins when they arrive, right?"
"I suppose so..."
Raleigh shrugged. "Besides, your room is about the same size as the rooms in Ranger Country. We're used to it."
"You sure you want to give up the extra space?"
Mako and Raleigh responded in unison. "Yes."
"Okay... so, when do you want to switch?"
"This weekend?" Raleigh shrugged. "We're pretty flexible about it."
"Alright. Saturday it is." Miranda gleefully dug into the package of cookies. "Mmmm... Thank you again for these."
"You're welcome." Mako smiled, then laughed as Sadie came into the room. "Hey, Sadie."
The grey cat came over to Mako and promptly hopped into Mako's lap, where she settled down and started to purr.
Miranda glared over her cookies at her cat. "Traitor."
-.-.-
Author's note:
Aaand we're back! Didn't expect to be gone for a year, but that's life. I've finally gotten settled in after a major move to the Seattle-Tacoma region, so I'm hoping to pick up the writing again. Thanks for the patience and understanding, everyone.
