I have only been fortunate enough to meet Stacker Pentecost once but even in that one chance meeting one could tell that this was a man destined for greatness. His face revealed no emotions, but his eyes were that of a determined man. He carried himself with much poise and swagger. This was not someone who joked around much. I have never seen such presence in my life. To walk into a room and completely own it without saying a word is pretty impressive in my books.
I and my fellow press associates had been invited to take a tour of a Jaeger production facility. We had been ushered into a make shift conference room to speak with a PPDC officer. Unfortunately the current Marshall on base had to attend to an emergency, the only other person with some sort of authority that could meet with us was Stacker.
He walked in briskly and headed straight for the podium in the front of the room. Every single head turned to face him; it was as if he had his own gravitational pull sucking us along as he went by.
"Good morning ladies and gentleman…My name is Stacker Pentecost and I will be giving you updates on the Jaeger program whilst answering whatever questions you might have."
Flashes went off quickly as every photographer took pictures of the dark skinned male in the room. He patiently waited for the shutters to go back to their default position, though I sensed he'd rather be anywhere but here at the moment.
"In a matter of weeks we will commission our very first Jaeger. This should be followed not long afterwards by the second. As you all know these machines take a lot of manpower and resources to create, before the end of the day, you will be given a chance to see both on the assembly line. Keep in mind, outside of this base; you are pretty much the only ones from the outside world to get this close to a Jaeger."
Every recording device was directed solely at Staker. I sat in the back paying attention, watching this man handle the press crew like a pro, excited beyond belief to finally get a chance to see the machines that were supposed to save us all.
"We are proud of what we have been able to achieve but also want to ramp down our expectations. The drift is still an imperfect science and it seems for pilots to maneuver the Jaegers successfully, a strong emotional bond is required."
He paused; looking around the room to make sure everyone understood what was at stake.
"We have also improved our Kaiju detection technology, working with some of the world 's greatest minds to make sure we are prepared whenever these creatures pop up. They won't be catching us unawares that's for sure…With that said I can answer a few questions before you are taking to the production floor. Fire away!"
A bevy of hands shot up immediately, a brown haired male wearing a tweed coat in the middle of the room was the first to get his question asked.
"Thanks Stacker…I was wondering, since you obviously have taken part in the drift, do you mind explaining it to us if you can?"
Stacker didn't even think twice about it, launching into his answer immediately.
"It's one of the most unique things I have experienced, I am not sure words can do it justice. You are not only mind melding with the machine but also your partner. For a brief amount of time you get a peek into their memories and then you take control of this amazingly powerful machine. I wish I could say more but that's about it."
Tweed coat nodded, as other hands shot up again. The next to get their question answered was an older lady in glasses sitting directly in front of Staker.
"Staker, will you be manning any of the Jaegers. We all know you were the first to test out the drift. Can we assume you will be in one of those cockpits?"
"Yes I will."
The abruptness of the answer caught some of us in the room off guard but it was clear the man did not want to delve further into the issue and truth be told I was getting anxious, hoping I'd finally get a chance to see the Jaegers up close.
"One more question," Staker barked.
He looked around the room and picked a wiry man in an oversized blazer sitting next to the exit. He got up nervously, coughed and stared intently at the PPDC frontman and spoke up in a voice that wasn't befitting of its owner. "Mr. Pentecost thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to host us. I'll get right to it; do you believe we have a chance with the Jaegers? Is victory guaranteed or are we just delaying the inevitable?"