Some of you were wondering about this, so I think I shall explain things about... things.
Scissorhands (the kaiju I mentioned that attacked Osaka before Godzilla) was a Category 3, and one of the first created to better fight Jaegers (kind of like Knifehead). It resembled a giant bipedal chameleon, and it was named after its claws, which resembled a pair of scissors more than, say, a crab's claw. Scissorhands was defeated when Echo Saber broke an oil tanker over it's back and set it on fire.
Also, I think this story needs some cover art.
Preparations
April 3rd, 2026
The Shatterdome, Headquarters of the Jaeger Program, Hong Kong
1754 hours
Raleigh looked over to Mako, who was sitting quietly looking out the window opposite of her. She had not spoken much since they had learned of the kaiju attack on Osaka, and Raleigh noticed that she was spending more and more time just staring out into space. Raleigh made a point to confront her and see what was wrong, but for now he was content with leaving her to her thoughts, only briefly making eye contact with her as they neared the Shatterdome.
The base itself had not changed much since Raleigh had seen it last. It was still the same windswept tarmac dotted with equipment and helicopters, and Raleigh could see several workers and security personnel running to and fro. There had been some repairs done to the main structures, but the base still retained it's weathered look.
"We're beginning our descent now," the pilot called from up front. "Marshal Hansen will be waiting for you on the landing pad."
"Thanks for the heads up." Raleigh looked to Mako, who nodded her acknowledgement before reaching over and grabbing her bag. She looked as if she was about to say something, but backed off and resumed looking out the window. She's probably thinking about Tokyo, Raleigh thought before retrieving his own bag. There was a pause before the helicopter bounced slightly, heralding their arrival at the Shatterdome.
Being closer to the door, Mako was the first one out of the helicopter and on the tarmac, Raleigh following close behind. The two made their way across the tarmac, carefully dodging workers and vehicles as they approached the entrance to the Shatterdome. Already Raleigh could see Hercules Hansen waiting for them, the man looking much more weary than Raleigh had anticipated.
"Becket, Mori," he said as the two neared. "Welcome back to the Shatterdome."
"Marshal," Raleigh responded with a small nod. Mako was still silent, but she gave her own nod as she fell in place next to Raleigh. "We're not too late, are we?"
"Fortunately the kaiju hasn't done anything since it leveled Osaka." Hansen turned and walked into the base, Raleigh and Mako following. "I'd send you two after it, but we all know what happens when you send Jaegers into deeper waters." Raleigh had not participated in the first few attempts to hit the Breach, but the last attack was enough to teach him that a kaiju was much more dangerous underwater than on land.
"So, we're just going to wait until the kaiju attacks another city?" Raleigh asked.
"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it." the three had entered one of the larger elevators, Hansen allowing Mako and Raleigh to enter first.
"You probably didn't get any good images of the kaiju we're facing, did you?" Hansen asked after a pause.
"There were a few, but yes, most of them were rather blurry." Mako replied.
"Looks kind of like a big dinosaur? Not a lot different from most kaiju we've faced in the past." Raleigh added.
"If it was the same as what we've faced before, why did it stop at Osaka and go back to the ocean? Why didn't it just keep going until it ran out of cities to destroy?"
"We're not scientists, Marshal; your guess is as good as ours." Hansen did not answer, for the elevator touched down and opened up to the main hangar of the Shatterdome. The entire floor was filled with activity as maintenance crews, engineers, and others went about their business, the sound of machinery filling the air. The smaller side hangars were mostly empty, crews preparing them for housing future Jaegers, but the center hangar was what caught Raleigh's attention.
Inside the hangar was a Jaeger, the robot standing tall among the other machinery. The Jaeger had been painted a dark blue, with red and white stripes highlighting the shoulders and arms. The design was reminiscent of an Old West gunslinger, save for the three huge plates that guarded the Jaeger's back and head. In the center of the Jaeger's chest was a giant turbine, deactivated for now but still prominent enough to be a defining feature. This Jaeger had received many names: the Blue Lady of the North, the Alaskan Sentry, and many more.
To Raleigh, it would always be Gipsy Danger.
"I don't believe it..." he whispered. "You rebuilt Gipsy."
"Proof of concept to show that we can still build Jaegers." Hansen explained. "Other than extra radiation shielding and improved Drifting capabilities it's not all that different from the Gipsy you two took into the Breach." Raleigh just nodded, his focus still placed upon the Jaeger. Even Mako had cheered up considerably upon seeing Gipsy, her stoicism swept away by barely contained glee. Hansen noticed this, stopping for a moment to look at the two Jaeger pilots. "Do you two need a moment?"
"Hmm?" Raleigh and Mako were pulled back to reality, both of them composing themselves and trying to avert their eyes from Gipsy Danger. "Sorry, sir. It's been awhile since we've seen a Jaeger, much less Gipsy."
"I know the feeling. You can spend as much time as you want looking at the thing once you're fully settled in." the three continued walking, exiting the hangar and walking further into the Shatterdome. "Fortunately you two are familiar with the base and our operations here, so I don't have to go too overboard with debriefing. Just make sure you are ready to go once Godzilla makes his move." Raleigh and Mako stopped walking for a moment, Raleigh raising an eyebrow.
"'Godzilla'? That's the kaiju, right?" he asked.
"Did you think I was talking about the political representatives?"
"No, it's just... 'Godzilla'."
"When you see this thing, you'll call it 'Godzilla'." With that Hansen was gone, leaving Raleigh and Mako alone. Raleigh looked to Mako, who seemed more confused than anything.
"There is something wrong with the name?" she asked.
"Well... I don't know, it just seems kind of goofy to me. I mean, 'Godzilla'; sounds like we're going to be fighting a lizard that's dressed up like the Pope."
"I don't see anything wrong with the name."
"... I'll try to explain later." Raleigh kept walking, Mako following close behind. The layout of the base had not changed much, and the two were able to find the pilots' barracks easily enough. There were fewer people down here, although Mako did say she spotted some new recruits milling around near the sparring rooms.
Still, new recruits were a far cry from the other pilots Raleigh and Mako had met and lost over the years. They might come close, but some breaches were not that easy to seal off.
Raleigh and Mako stopped by one of the large steel doors, only a few faded Russian letters to remind them of the previous occupants. The room itself was a bit more spacious than what they had near the end of the Kaiju War, and even came with a better maintained bathroom and shower, but the differences ended there; it was still a small, slightly damp steel and concrete box the two would be sharing for the foreseeable future.
"Little less drafty than I remember," Raleigh muttered as the two crossed the threshold. "Guess the Russians were on to something."
"I guess..." Mako said, setting her bag down at the foot of the bed and moving further into the room.
"Thinking about Tokyo?" Raleigh said after a pause. Mako did not answer right away, but did give a small nod.
"Every night for the last week, I've had these dreams about the attack on Tokyo. It's the same thing over and over; I'm alone, the kaiju attacks, and then nothing." Mako shivered. "I thought I'd gotten over those dreams a long time ago, but then this new kaiju showed up and everything has gotten worse." her voice caught for a moment, but she still retained her composure. "I keep thinking... what if there was some other little girl in Osaka when that... thing came and destroyed it? What if she was lost, with no one there to comfort her? And... what if there was something I could have done to make sure that did not happen?" Mako looked away, as if she was suppressing the urge to cry. Raleigh set his stuff aside and approached Mako, pulling her into a tight embrace. She was tense at first, as if her mind was rejecting the idea of being touched, but gradually she released her tension and leaned in to Raleigh's chest.
No words needed to be exchanged. They had Drifted together; they understood how the other's mind worked. They stood in silence, allowing each other's presence to calm their souls as they prepared for the fight ahead.
In the silence of the Shatterdome Barracks, they had each other.
April 3rd, 2026
Pan Pacific Research Facility, Tokyo
1832 hours
Newt finished up his current doodle just as Gottlieb finished up his current theory. It as a mass of numbers and equations that had some relevance to the kaiju egg, but Newt was not really seeing it... yet.
"So, if the information you gathered from drifting with the egg is correct," Gottlieb said, turning to face Newt. "Then we've had a kaiju sitting under our noses for thousands of years-"
"Or something like that." Newt interrupted. "Remember, the nukes."
"That might only be superficial; after all, we didn't see the kaiju mutating if we dropped a nuclear warhead on them." Gottlieb turned his attention back to the board. "Now, if your theory about the kaiju coming to Earth before is correct, then it is possible that this creature is either a remnant of that invasion or mutated due to exposure to either the Breach or a high concentration of kaiju genetic material. And-" Gottlieb turned back. "Given the amount of time that has passed between then and now, it's almost impossible for there to be just one."
"Explains the egg. Doesn't explain why we haven't seen any other kaiju before the Breach."
"Perhaps we have..." there was a long pause before Gottlieb spoke again. "Oh God, I'm turning into you."
"Hey, maybe you have the right idea." Newt stood up and moved towards the egg. "Maybe we have seen something like this before. You know, like all those stories about dragons and sea serpents."
"This is supposed to be science, not myths and legends. Now, if we do succeed in killing this kaiju, if there are more than just this one it is incredibly likely that we could see a second attack within days or weeks." Newt raised an eyebrow.
"I thought I was the one to spout crazy theories on kaiju behavior."
"As I said earlier, I might be turning into you." Gottlieb shivered and looked at the board. "If only I could get some more information..." there was another pause before Newt stood up and made his way towards the door. Gottlieb realized Newt's intentions and moved to cut him off. "No, you are not bringing that girl back into this!"
"She Drifted with the egg too. She might have seen something I didn't see."
"Or you might have just traumatized her to a point where she wouldn't have seen anything."
"Hey, she was mostly alright, and it's not like I'm asking her to Drift again; just answer a few questions about what the Drift was like."
"And what makes you think that she would be willing to speak with you on this matter?"
"I asked nicely?" Gottlieb was not impressed, so Newt continued on. "Look, I'm sorry about the Drift and all, but now she's the only other person in this base that knows something about this kaiju. If we don't go talk to her, then we'll be stuck here and the kaiju will kill us and nobody will know about this." Newt saw Gottlieb's eye twitch slightly, but the other scientist sighed instead of trying to argue his point further.
"I suppose I should come with you to make sure you don't screw up, again." Newt shrugged and the two scientists exited the room, Gottlieb stopping only to make sure the door was closed and the egg secured. Normally Newt would have called him paranoid, but Hansen's comments about not knowing who Kroeger was had both scientists on edge. The two hurried down the corridor as fast as possible, ducking and weaving around other technicians and staff while trying to look as calm as possible.
After a few overly intense minutes, the two arrived that the infirmary. The worker on duty was more than happy to show Newt and Gottlieb to Miki's room, and he seemed not to care or know about who they were or why they would come here. He did say something about not staying long, but Newt was not paying full attention and decided it was something for Gottlieb to worry about.
Miki's room was at the far end of the hall. She was curled up in the bed, her sheets shoved away as if she had struggled with them. Miki did not react when Newt and Gottlieb entered, and Newt was unsure if she was still conscious or not.
"Miss Saegusa?" Gottlieb asked. "Are you awake?"
"I don't want to be." she replied, still not moving from her position. "I haven't been able to get a decent amount of rest in two days." Newt looked to Gottlieb, who said nothing but did give Newt a disapproving look.
"Listen, Miss..." Newt began, taking a step closer. "I'm sorry about the Drift and all, but-"
"I saw things, if that's what you're wondering." she interrupted. "Not just the Drift. I saw Osaka burning... I've seen it before, when Scissorhands attacked, but this was different. I saw the jets, the ships, the tanks... I was there in the kaiju's head when it destroyed Osaka." Newt looked back to Gottlieb, the other scientist having lost his disapproving look in favor for a more concerned one.
"I also know what you're thinking," Miki continued. "And I don't think anything is really wrong with me in the ways that you would explain... not to say that gives me any pleasure." there was a long period of silence as Newt looked first to Gottlieb and back to Miki. So... either she's really fried, or she's got some kind of psychic powers... Yeah, this is bad.
"He's angry, you know?" Miki said. "The kaiju. He won't stop until his rage is tempered."
"Do you know how, Miss Saegusa?" Gottlieb asked. Miki shifted a little, but did not turn to face the two.
"Most likely your deaths... at his doing, of course." another long silence followed, with Newt looking over at Gottlieb for some kind of reaction.
"So... giant vengeance driven kaiju out to get us..." Newt said.
"Well, it's certainly an improvement over your previous kaiju encounters." Gottlieb muttered. Newt paused for a moment and then shrugged in agreement before turning his attention back to Miki.
"Well, I'm still sorry about the Drift and all. If you want-"
"I'll tell you everything... soon." Miki shifted around a little more. "Right now I would like to get some rest." Again Newt shrugged, and he and Gottlieb made their way towards the door. Once they were outside the infirmary, they started talking again.
"Okay, that was freaky."
"Freaky?" Gottlieb asked. "I think it's probably traumatization; there's no way she could have actually seen the attack from the kaiju's perspective."
"What if she did?"
"God, you sound like some conspiracy theorist from a bad documentary. I know that you have enough professionalism to not believe in psychic powers."
"We live in a world where giant alien monsters might come out of the ocean to kill us all; psychics doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary." Gottlieb shook his head in frustration and kept walking.
"Unless you can present a more logical explanation, I don't want to hear you going off about psychic powers."
"Whatever."
April 3rd, 2026
The Shatterdome, Headquarters of the Jaeger Program, Hong Kong
2051 hours
Raleigh had left about half an hour ago. He had been careful not to disturb Mako, and silently she thanked him for that. She lay there, her face buried in her pillow as cool air prickled the hairs on her back, and she would have loved to have remained there for at least another day or so.
However, her body was not as cooperative, and she found herself unable to drift off into sleep. After a few minutes of failure, Mako gave up on trying to rest. Brushing her hair out of her face, she sat up and looked around at the small compartment. She had not yet made the adjustment to military life again, and she found herself longing for the apartment back in Seattle.
It could be worse... she reminded herself, thinking back to her first night in the Shatterdome shortly after the attack on Tokyo. She sat in silence for another minute, her eyes tracing the general layout of the room as she decided upon her next course of action. Perhaps I should go and see what they have done with Gipsy... Smiling, Mako climbed out of bed and crossed to the bathroom, quickly stepping into the shower and giving a contented sigh as the water splashed over her body.
The shower helped immensely with Mako clearing out her thoughts; Marshal Pentecost had always said a clear mind would produce a better drift, with fewer random images for a pilot to latch on to and fall out of alignment. Mako was unsure if that was what caused the accident the first time she and Raleigh Drifted together, and made a mental note to ask Raleigh about it... preferably at a time where the fate of the world did not hang in the balance. She moved on from that train of thought and focused back on the shower, running her hands through her hair and smiling as she washed away almost a day's worth of grime and silt.
... I should redo my highlights sometime soon, She thought, still working to keep a clear head. I'm sure I could get that finished before anything-
"ALERT." a voice chimed through the intercom, snapping Mako out of her relaxation."CREW OF GIPSY DANGER REPORT TO DOCKING BAY IMMEDIATELY. CATEGORY 5+ KAIJU, DESIGNATION GODZILLA, EN-ROUTE TO TOKYO." Mako did not say anything, wordlessly stepping out of the shower and drying herself off as fast as possible.
My personal desires can wait. We have a kaiju to kill.
...
Raleigh had been near the main hangar when the alert went out. One sprint to the loading zone and a change into his suit later, he was busy running final diagnostics on Gipsy Danger's controls while preparing his mind for the Drift and waiting for Mako. Several technicians were still aboard, adjusting harnesses and other devices in preparation for combat.
"Beckett, can you hear me?" the voice of Hansen asked over the suit's speakers.
"Yes sir. Where's Mako?"
"Suiting up; she should be in there in a moment" Raleigh nodded before stepping up to the command platform. As he did, a harness lowered from the ceiling, another technician hurrying over to help strap Raleigh into the controls. Off to the side Raleigh heard the sound of metal boots as Mako hurried over to her position on the left half of Gipsy's cockpit.
"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." she said, stepping up to the command platform.
"You don't have to apologize, Mako." Raleigh responded. Mako nodded as she was strapped in, pulling up her Heads-Up Display once the technicians were clear.
"PILOTS LOCKED IN, ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE." Gipsy's onboard computer chimed. "PREPARE FOR JAEGER LINKUP." there was a pause as the last of the compartments were sealed before the entire cockpit seemed to drop, the harnesses and clamps being the only thing keeping Raleigh and Mako from falling over. The cockpit slowed before there was a large metallic clunk, signifying that they had connected with Gipsy's main body. As the cockpit was locked into place, the large visual display activated, giving the two pilots a view of both the hangar and the command center beyond.
"CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL. ACTIVATING NEURAL BRIDGE IN 3...2...1..."
Mako and Raleigh open their minds to the Drift. Their memories, knowledge, skills; all combine into one.
The climbing tree outside his house.
Playing in the snow near her village.
His mother's off-key singing.
Her grandfather's stories.
Anchorage.
Seeing Trespasser's head on display.
Flying into Hong Kong.
Marshal Pentecost.
Yancey.
Hong Kong.
Arriving in Seattle.
The Breach.
Tokyo.
Raleigh opened his eyes as the Neural Bridge was completed. While he could still only see through his own eyes, in his mind he experienced everything Mako was exposed to. Slowly he raised his right arm, Mako joining him in perfect synchronization. The sound of machinery hummed in their ears, and as their arms raised the support staff watched as Gipsy Danger's arm raised.
"NEURAL BRIDGE COMPLETE. ALL SYSTEMS ARE OPERATIONAL."
"Beckett, Mori," Hansen said as a map of Japan's coast appeared on the Heads-Up Display. "The kaiju is moving faster than we anticipated, so it'll reach the defensive ring before you can be deployed. The plan is to drop you in Tokyo Bay and work from there."
"That's not much of a plan." Beckett responded. "But I've dealt with worse. We'll stop the kaiju there." Hansen did not say anything, but Raleigh knew that he understood. Raleigh turned to look at Mako, who had dismissed a few scans from her Heads-Up Display. "Ready Mako?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Raleigh nodded. He knew what was going through her mind; she was slightly frightened to return to the place where her family had died, but another part of her was crying out for vengeance and a chance to overcome her past and move on.
That was the same feeling you had when we fought Leatherback in Hong Kong, wasn't it? one of Mako's thoughts drifted through Raleigh's mind. He gave a small nod at this before bringing up Gipsy Danger's left hand, curling it into a fist, and slamming it into the Jaeger's open palm.
Humanity was ready to fight back on equal terms.
Next chapter: Gipsy Danger vs. Godzilla... yeah, Tokyo's going to get trashed.
I don't own Godzilla or Pacific Rim. Reviews and favorites are appreciated, and if I screwed something up please let me know.
