"This is Ritika Singbal, coming to you live from Juhu Beach", announced the pretty reporter pushing away the wind whipped hair from her face," We have just received word that another Kaiju has risen from the breach, and is being tracked by satellite. Its current path indicates that it will reach Mumbai in a matter of hours. It is estimated to make landfall by 4:00 am tonight. Residents are advised to evacuate the city in anticipation of another nuclear strike."
"Wait" she said, touching her earpiece. Her eyes widened in disbelief. The cameraman shuddered in reaction. "This just in, the Navy has clarified that they will not be opening fire on this Kaiju from their warships." she said into the camera. "I repeat, the Navy will not be firing on the incoming Kaiju. Has the military given up? What is to become of the city and its people? We will keep you updated for as long as we can.", she said as she carefully stepped into the waiting helicopter.
"What happens now?", Rajesh the underpaid cameraman asked to the now shaking reporter as the chopper took to the air. She had no answer. All she could do now was wait.
"Pilots!", yelled Marshall Pentecost over the radio," Engage the Jaeger-Pilot sync".
A technician jacked the data spikes into their skulls. They winced a bit, but it was over in a second. He said something that might have been "Good Luck", but the pilots were not entirely sure.
Dr Weir's voice then emerged from the headset, "Engaging electro-neuro fusion in 3…"
The brothers closed their eyes.
"2…"
They gritted their teeth.
"1…"
They knew it would hurt.
"Engage."
The charge hit them like a cricket bat to the back of the skull. Followed by an electric shock. For a moment they turned limp, but as the painkillers took hold, they regained their footing. They felt a sense of power, becoming something more than human.
"Link successful."
Applause rang out across the dome. But it was only half done.
"Disengaging external power", he said as the power cables fell away from the mighty Jaeger," Activating internal reactor."
As the Plutonic furnace in the massive chest roared to life, the lights on the Jaeger turned on one by one. And what a sight they illuminated.
A steel titan, standing almost a hundred metres tall at the head. The arms and legs themselves almost put every other engineering marvel in the past century to shame. The torso was the single largest metal body to ever be cast in Titanium. The reactor within held unprecedented energy reserves. The head that sat on the vast shoulders housed some of the most advanced technologies known to man. But all attention was focused on the left shoulder. And there it stood, fifty feet tall and radiant, dwarfing the head, the railgun. Half-ton projectiles fired at seven times the speed of sound. If this didn't penetrate Kaiju hide, nothing would.
All this in an attempt to drive off the alien menace.
Humanity's intelligence and tenacity had birthed an unparalleled war-machine. As it was rolled out on gigantic flat-beds, everyone could see that we finally stood a chance.
"Ready to go?" asked Amit, looking at his still dizzy brother.
"Yeah", came the reply," Let's go fishing".
"Pilots, your orders are to intercept the Kaiju code-named 'Gekko', make sure that it does not reach the coast at all costs." The Marshall was in form today. He had gambled all he had on this live test, and today was the day of vindication. Or so he hoped.
"Sir, yes, Sir!", came the reply in unison.
Suddenly, Dr Weir's voice came over the comm. "Bad news boys, The choppers are still being retro-fitted to carry you. That might take a while."
"We don't have a bloody while you buffoon!", Pentecost roared over his mike," I need those choppers here and NOW!"
During this exchange, Ajay and Amit were very aware of the stakes and decided to take matters into their own hands. They couldn't read each other's thoughts, that technology was still decades away. The beauty of it was that they didn't have to. It was their uncanny ability to always work in sync that had got them into this program in the first place. And they were about to make it count.
"This is Whiplash One to ground crews", said Ajay," Open the doors".
With a screech and a thunder-like rumble, the gates parted to reveal the open sea and the black sky. The rain lashed the floor and the Jaeger with its full fury. Everyone stood back, knowing what was about to happen.
"Alright, we do it one-two, just like in the simulators. Got it?"
A nod was all Whiplash Two needed to see.
"ONE!"
The pilots raised their right legs and brought it down in front of them. The Jaeger mimicked their movements, its massive foot rising several stories into the air and landing with a deafening crash on the beach in front of it. The pilots could feel the sand giving way under its great weight. The tremors were felt hundreds of metres away.
"TWO!"
The other giant foot moved ahead of the first one. This time it impacted the water's surface, supressing the sound of 2500 tons of metal meeting land. The Jeager mimicked every motion of its pilots, that was the real breakthrough of Dr. Weir's research.
"ONE!"…
It was going to be a long walk…
From the news-chopper, Ritika could see the ripples in the water. It made her nervous as she inserted the earpiece. "And we're rolling", said Rajesh.
"Ritika Singbal here to give an update on the latest Kaiju incursion. The Kaiju has been confirmed to be moving toward Mumbai, and may hit in as little as three hours but the Navy still refuses to engage. However reports are emerging that the military is preparing some sort of Kaiju counter-measure. We can only hope that it is as effective as we have been led to believe. If you are still within city limits, please move to an underground shelter as soon as possible. We will keep broadcasting as long as we can. Signing off."
"Aaand, that's a wrap", commented Rajesh as the camera went off.
The Kaiju was predicted to make land at 4:00 am. The pilots got there a few minutes early. Early enough to see its approach. Helicopters, both news and military, darted about in the air above. A massive wave hit the shins of the machine as the Kaiju rose up from the depths. It was something to behold.
A long, slender body hundreds of feet long with a tail that could level buildings. Claws that would rip bridges to shreds and teeth that made short work of many of man's proudest engineering achievements. It roared its intent to the world, rattling windows and smashing windscreens. It had a massive frill that opened up when it saw the Jaeger. A scare-tactic, no doubt. A pity it didn't work.
The pilots charged forward, driving their war-machine forward. In a few seconds, the gap had been closed. Ajay pulled back his fist, his brother did the same. The gigantic right fist of the Jaeger cocked back. Then they swung. Several hundred tons of metal propelled in an arc toward the Kaiju's face. Thunder erupted as Titanium fist impacted alien jaw. The Kaiju was caught off-guard and thrown backwards into the water, the force of impact shattering several bones.
But then, the Kaiju fought back.
It leapt out of the water toward the Jaeger, its powerful jaws snapping toward it. Amit quickly raised his arm, and the Kaiju clamped its massive jaws around the metal forearm of the Jaeger, it's serrated teeth piercing the armour and threatening to snap the arm in two. Both pilots felt the pain as alarms began to screech inside the cockpit. The Kaiju began raking the chest and head of the machine with its claws, the cockpit was nearly breached by the impact.
With a scream, Ajay cocked back his other fist and swung it toward the attacking alien. The Jaeger responded by unleashing a devastating punch aimed at the Kaiju's ribcage. The impact resonated wide as Ajay felt several ribs snap. The Kaiju roared in pain and let it's death grip go. This was followed by another massive punch to the jaw which sent the Kaiju reeling back into the depths from which it came.
The Kaiju began to swim away rapidly. It had chosen flight over fight it seemed.
"You ok?", said Ajay.
"I'm alright", came the reply" Lets finish this bastard off".
With that, the brothers stamped hard into the floor of the cockpit, bending their knees slightly as they did. The Jaeger's stance shifted to a lower one, as clamps deployed from the feet entrenching it into the soft sand, and the gigantic railgun turned parallel to the ground. The ominous hum and the arcing they could see from the cockpit told the pilots that it was working. A crosshairs centred on the retreating Kaiju as the countdown began.
"3… 2… 1…"
They held their breath.
"Fire!"
A bright streak erupted from the shoulder mounted weapon, and immediately after that, they heard the Kaiju roar one last time as it was struck down into the ocean. It took a second or two for them to process what had just happened.
"Is it over?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Then they remembered the choppers buzzing around outside. News choppers.
"What now?"
"Might as well soak it up a bit…"
With that, they unplugged themselves and climbed up the ladder at the back.
The two brothers then opened the hatch on the top of the head and climbed out, only to be met by literally dozens of helicopters with their searchlights trained on them. The light almost blinded them, but as they blinked the glare away, they became aware of a sound other than the helicopter engines. Rhythmic but at the same time chaotic. A soft percussion, but a very large number of them. Applause.
As they turned around, they could see it. Hundreds of people had come out of the shelters and were at the waters edge. And they cheered. Hoots and shouts filled the air as everyone rejoiced. That's when the pilots began to wave out. They were going to be famous.
Meanwhile, back at the Shatterdome, a thin smile crossed the Marshall's lips.