Usually after such missions, on returning to the base, the mood is either subdued or ecstatic. This time around it was different. There was a sense of purpose in the air. People moved around swiftly, speaking in quiet tones to each other, more active than I'd imagined it would be at that point in time. As our chopper touched down, we were quickly ushered indoors and into a debriefing room, something was definitely up.
One of the young engineers was setting up a com center in the front of the enclosure, apparently we were about to be addressed. I wondered who was about to talk to us and why. It didn't take long for us to find out. Stacker came on screen, though from what I could see, this was a pre-recorded message.
He looked grim as usual, commanding respect even though he was nowhere near our vicinity. I had always admired his grit, now was no different.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if this meets you, then we have been successful in making it to the next phase. I am going to keep it short, in a matter of hours; I will be authorizing one last strike…one last mission against the Kaiju. Make no mistake about it; this will most likely be our last attack against these creatures. The goal is to close the portal they use to get here, hopefully preventing them from ever coming back to Earth. I do not doubt the complexity of such undertaking but it is one that must be taken."
The screen flickered a couple of times before stabilizing; it seemed the recording had been done hastily. Stacker looked directly at us, unflinching in his gaze.
"Not only are the Kaijus getting stronger, but you might have noticed, they keep showcasing abilities that we are having a difficult time stopping. I don't believe in coincidences, neither do I believe in luck. You either come prepared or get ready for annihilation. Which is why, as soon as this conference is over. All non-PPCD personnel will be escorted to stand by choppers that will evacuate them of the base."
Whoa! I sat there stunned. Talk about a sledgehammer being dropped. I had no idea what was going on, but it seemed the rumblings we had heard of late, of a final daring attack on the breach was accurate. Now it made sense why Stacker had held Striker back. Being the fastest Jaeger out there, it was probably going to spear head whatever attack the PPCD had in mind. But now, with 2 machines lost in the Victoria Bay battle, I wondered if they would still be able to pull off the plan. I assumed they were still going to go through with it or we'd never have been played the video. Was it a wise decision to do so was anyone's guess at this point.
Stacker boomed into the camera. "Should this work, mankind as a race has undoubtedly survived an extinction level event. Should this fail…I suggest you make peace with whatever God you worship and for those who don't, well, bade farewell to your loved ones however you can. You all should spend whatever time we have bought you with your loved ones, cherish them and relish those precious few moments. Good night and God Bless!"
With that, the screen went off line.
There were very few times since I joined the press corps where a room full of journalists had been that quiet.
This was one of those instances.