Out of all the chapters so far, I think this one is a personal favorite. Just saying.
Anyway, thank you to all my new readers, everyone following the story, and my reviewers. Every little bit motivates me more.
And here we go…..
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Raleigh was woken mercilessly from his sleep. Someone was shrieking. No. Raleigh sat up slowly and walked out into the hallway without bothering to get a shirt or shoes. It was too steady a sound to be human. Mako emerged from her room, yoga pants and a tanktop covered her shaking form.
They joined the tide of lost people drifting almost silently through the halls; many had gone to their original positions when the shrieking started then realized the futility. Mission control seemed to be the only place for answers.
"What do we do?" Raleigh fought for his voice as they reached the mission control room.
"I…" Mako couldn't form an answer as they fought their way to the front of the crowd.
Lights flashed all around and the shrieking continued as Raleigh stood next to Marshall Hansen. Tendo's hands hovered above the main control panel; frozen, knowing he should be doing something but was unable. Nikki stood between the twins, a hand on each as if keeping them in place.
"Turn it off." Herc's voice was blank as he issued the command. "It isn't doing any good."
The shrieking stopped. The alarm was useless and so were they. The Kaiju were back and they couldn't do a damn thing to stop them.
…...
Panama City was gone.
The death toll was hovering just below six thousand confirmed. The estimates for the missing were above twelve thousand.
The Category two Kaiju had emerged from a rift just off the coast and destroyed the former Shatterdome on the edge of the city before heading straight into the civilian population. It had taken three nukes to stop the creature. The Panamanian government had been one to ignore Marshall Hansen's suggestion to keep nuclear weapons on hand. It had taken almost two hours for them to reach the city. They might never know the impact that decision had on the citizen of Panama.
Raleigh and Mako sat on the steps just beyond the sparring mat where they had first been paired. They and almost every individual in the dome had stood in that control room for over three hours, watching as the Kaiju killed innocents, unable to do anything but continue watching.
"Why are we doing this Mako?" The words were out before Raleigh even realized he was speaking. "What hope do we have winning? We throw everything we have at them. We sacrifice ourselves and the people we love and it doesn't make a damn bit of different. We can't stop them so why are we still fighting?" Raleigh's voice almost broke at the end. Exhaustion and fear overwhelming him.
"We are doing this because there is no one else Raleigh. Hope is a foolish, weak dream but without it, humanity is nothing. We are fighting because we are strong enough to take the pain no matter our flaws which makes us able to protect the rest of the world.. All of us left standing are the ones broken beyond repair. I should have never been a Jaeger pilot. You should never have been brought back in. Nikki should never have been put in charge of the bays. Tendo should never have been LOCCENT Chief. Hansen should never have been made Marshall. But we are. We can't go back. Our broken lives are what hold others together." Mako spoke with an iron clad conviction that strengthened her co-pilot's determination.
They sat there, heads resting against each other for so long the sensor lights shut down, sending the gym into streaks of gray and black shadows. "We're allowed to be scared Raleigh. We would be fools if we weren't. It's what we do with that fear that makes us Rangers." She reminded him softly.
…...
The tension that had haunted the Shatterdome was gone, replaced by a furious energy. Before, they had worked on an assumption. They now worked on a conviction. The Kaiju were back and it was their duty to stop them.
Mako and Raleigh worked five hours a day with the future pilots and five hours a day in the Green Beast simulator. Every day was worse, waiting for a second attack. Three days after the destruction of Panama City, a category three Kaiju came through a rift near the Kamchatka Peninsula, far from any kind civilian population. The Russian military was ready despite the remote location and the creature had been killed within an hour. Four nukes provided the world with the absolute certainty that it was dead.
There had been mass rioting in most of the Pan Pacific countries, though Panama was the worst. What was left of the government had been hunted down in the street and killed as frightened civilians reacted to the chaos in the world. They blamed the officials for the time it took to get sufficient weapons, believing that more could have been saved if the Kaiju had been stopped before it made it farter in land.
A day after Kamchatka, a category one Kaiju came out of the ocean off the coast of Taiwan and destroyed a fishing village at the cost of several hundred lives. F-35's had been scrambled from a nearby American military base and had attempted to use Sidewinder and HARM missiles to kill the creature rather than resorting to a third nuclear strike in less than a week. Three of the fighters were destroyed in the attempt before the creature was killed, fifteen miles inland.
Military programs around the world began emergency meetings at the news, and defensive weapon development conferences convened within days. Every country wanted its own Jaeger but with the shortage of pilots and crews. Many countries were considering returning to the era of bunker lined beaches and surface to air missile batteries along every coast; their goal to be slowing the creatures until a Jaeger could be deployed.
Raleigh meanwhile, was stuck in his own conference as U.N. officials requested classified information on the Jaeger Corps and Kaiju movements.
"They're taunting us!" Newton was literally vibrating as he paced the council room. He had been brought in to the dome for this meeting. He had successfully drifted with a Kaiju brain segment a few hours ago with Hermann's help and hadn't sat still since coming out of it. "They know we have nothing! When we didn't stop them in Panama City we confirmed that we have nothing! They're just playing with their food now. They want us panicked and desperate and…" He went immediately to a computer screen and began typing into it, leaving the Corps officials in the room and the United Nations bureaucrats on the wall of screens, confused.
Mako stepped forward to address the screens after a moment of silence. "What means to say is that the Predecessors knowingly sent very strong Kaiju to an unpopulated region: Kamchatka. They followed that attack with the assault on Taiwan despite far more densely populated areas being very close. Following the destruction of the original rift and due to the early drifts with Dr. Geiszler they are aware of our weaknesses and where our few strengths remain. They willingly ignored another brutal attack in favor of Kamcatka Peninsula and Taiwan for some specific reason."
"It's a message!" Newt was back in the middle of the room pacing. "They're showing us the extent of their abilities to move the rifts and that we can't stop them without damaging our own world! They want us setting off nukes!"
"Are we sure that is what this means?" The Mexican delegate spoke up, doubt coloring his words. "You have drifted with them Dr. Geiszler?"
"Yes! Well, no. Kinda." The stream of words flew from the jittery man. "Yes, I've drifted with them but I didn't technically get that message. What I do know is that they know that we know that they know."
Silence followed. "Would you repeat that?" The American delegate asked evenly, voicing the question of everyone in the room.
Hermann sighed and stood, leaning heavily on his cane, speaking before Newton could confuse the suits even more. "What my esteemed colleague means to say is that the Predecessor creatures are aware the we understand the two way nature of the Drift now and that we may be purposely keeping information from the individuals who Drift with the Kaiju in order to stop the loss of tactics. They may be doing the same, considering we have gained no concrete information for the drift attempt."
"They want our attention!" Newt shouted, drawing all eyes back to him.
"Meaning…." It was apparent that Marshall Hansen was losing his patience with the scientist.
"I don't know. But I will." Newton sounded absolutely sure.
The Marshall sighed. "Newton, you're going back into isolation. We still can't have you in the dome. Work on intel and reverse engineering the rift. Hermann go with him….try to keep him on task?" Herc sounded less that sure about how successful Hermann would be. The pair left after gathering their things, Hermann sedately, Newton with more energy that could be put into the simple act of walking.
Several minutes were filled with paper shuffling and side discussions as the officials rearranged themselves and the people actually in the room rearranged themselves.
Raleigh slid into the now vacant seat next to Mako, tapping on the tabletop for a few seconds as she finished scratching down a note. "You doing okay?"
She glanced at him and nodded. "Always."
Her co-pilot let out a short, grim laugh. "Never anything less." Somewhere in the chaos of the last few days, they'd come to an understanding. They could be weak and damaged together, but in public, they were never anything less than resilient. After the rift closure they had been the heroes in the Jaeger, now with the threat returning they were symbols and had no choice but to live up to the ideal image of the PPDC.
Something impacted Raleigh's shin under the table, turning in his seat, he glared at Tendo who had just kicked him. The LOCCENT officer jerked his head towards Herc silently.
Raleigh and Mako faced the front of the room and realized they had missed the meeting restarting.
"In the last week, in addition to Panama, Kamchatka, and Taiwan; two rifts opened in the Atlantic. We are keeping that situation under surveillance but since the Kaiju are staying in the Pacific region, that is where the Jaeger Corps with be focusing for the time being. We have had crews working on the Jaeger helicopters and with your generous financial support, we have been able to upgrade the engines. We believe that once Green Beast is complete, we can have her deployed and in the air for combat in less than half an hour and on the assault ground anywhere in the Pacific region in less than six. Considering Panama was the only attack on the Eastern Pacific region, Green Beast will continue being deployed from Hong Kong." Herc outlined the PPDC plans for the officials quickly, leaving nothing up to debate.
"So we still have no validated information on their tactics or intentions Marshall Hansen?" The Hong Kong representative asked slowly.
Raleigh almost laughed at Herc's long suffering sigh. "No sir but I do believe we can be safe in the assumption that their intentions are to kill us all."
The Russian official let out a deep laugh, startling the room and several of the other delegates as the Hong Kong official fumbled for a reply.
"Marshall, the intelligence you passed on to us regarding the rifts opening outside of the Pacific, what do you propose to do about that?"
"For now? Jaegers. It's the only solution unless we want to be setting off nukes every week. They are historically the most successful defense and once we have a force rebuild, I believe we can easily reestablish the Miracle Mile and stop the attacks on civilian populations. We'll need more Jaegers beyond the projected five if it because a global threat but for the moment, we're focused on trying to contain the war in this region. That information was passed on as cautionary. The rifts outside of the Pan Pacific region have been significantly weaker now that we have the information to compare them to but they could become a threat in the future."
The meeting ended almost two hours later, without any solid decisions being made. The bureaucrats pushed for immediate deployment of Green Beast despite knowing it wasn't ready and that it couldn't cover the entire Pacific Region on its own but they had also provided more funding and resources to push the factory production faster.
…...
Two days later with no further attacks but with three empty rifts, Raleigh leaned against a wall, watching two Ranger candidates go for points on the sparring mat. Mako had left a moment ago; Newton had hailed mission control asking for her specifically.
The first pair finished with a clear victor, nullifying the matching attempt and the twins took the mat.
They didn't need the sparring like the other potentials, but their interactions showed the other trainees what to look for in their own co-pilots. The twins were spectacular, having been trained by the best for years. Each time they took the mat it was a different battle with equal grace in defense and brutality in attacks. Despite the size differences that gave Xander the strength advantage and Mia the speed advantage, they were so evenly matched that almost every session ended without a clear victor. The few that didn't were a reminder that the pair were still young and had let their inexperience guide them.
"Time." Raleigh had simply started ending each spar at ten minutes to stop them from exhausting each other. The pair broke apart easily at the sound of his voice despite having been in mid attack. Mia split to get water and Xander stepped off the mat after immediately taking his sister's staff for her. Watching them, Raleigh knew they were next in line for a Jaeger. If all went according to plan then they would be in Green Beast once Gipsy 2.0 was done. He had confidence in his persuasion techniques when it came to Nikki's concerns.
Speaking of which… the mechanic stepped into the room just as he thought of her. She scanned the room, stopping when she saw him. A grin split her face as she walked over to him, startling him. This was the first time he had seen her outside the construction bay since the Panama City attack.
"You're not good at answering your phone." Nikki told him, grin still in place.
Raleigh glanced at the bag where he had left it. "Sorry, forgot. What's up?"
"I've got someone you need to meet." Raleigh was confused for a moment until he realized why she looked like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"Beast?"
"We finished installing the conn-pod an hour ago. We need a live test before the next attack. Green Beast isn't pretty but she's combat ready and waiting on you. Mako's getting into her drivesuit now. You're not going to keep a lady waiting are you?"
Raleigh barely remembered the walk to the drivesuit room and the time it took to get suited up. Mako waited for him there, grinning the entire time. She was just as ready to get back in a real Jaeger as he was.
The steps to the conn-pod seemed to take a lifetime. The pair walked so close, their arms brushed with each movement. As the conn-pod stirred to life for the first time, Raleigh could see the crowd assembling on the catwalks around the Jaeger. Bolts fell into place and claws clamped down on their drive suits as static crackled through the small room followed by the words they had been waiting for. "Rangers, this is Marshall Hercules Hansen. Prepare for Neural Handshake."
Initiating Neural Handshake in fifteen seconds.
The last claws closed around their feet.
Fourteen…
Bolts fell into place along their spines.
Thirteen…
Silence echoed in the conn-pod.
Twelve….
Mako glanced over at her partner.
Eleven…
Lights flashed around them.
Ten…
The Display lit up.
Nine….
The Reactor whirred to life.
Eight…
Raleigh's hand clenched into a fist.
Seven…
Mako felt the Drift connection rise up within her.
Six…
The Jaeger shuddered.
Five…
"Calibrating"
Four…
Heartbeats sped up.
Three…
Each breath was in synch.
Two….
One…
"Neural Handshake Initiated."
…...
…..
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Pushy bold sentence has been replaced by it's cousin italics who had a lot of fun this chapter and really wants you to review!
