I know there are a lot of OC's being introduced this chapter. I've never liked stories with big groups of OC's but considering the end of the movie, there really aren't many option. Mako and Raleigh can't keep saving the world on their own and will continue to be the focal points of this story.
I also know I made several mistakes regarding the planned weapons systems for Green Beast versus what was actually used in battle. I've had a difficult few days and my editing skills went to hell so I made a few continuity errors. I've cleaned up my story notes and organized better so it shouldn't happen again. Basically just pretend Green Beast won because of how awesome Mako and Raleigh are. That's all that matters and the exact weapons used are inconsequential at the moment.
And for all those reviewers who were amazed at my updating skills, you jinxed it! I've gotten some bad medical news which is keeping me very busy so I have much less time for writing and editing. You can expect sparser updating in the future unfortunately.
Anyway, thank you to all my reviewers, readers, and those who have favorite the story! That's what is keeping me motivated at the moment and every little bit helps!
…..
It was three weeks since the Kaiju attacked Panama City and Green Beast's kill count was at four. The Kaiju near Seoul that had been dubbed Baltob, a Cat 2, and two Cat 1s. Mako and Raleigh existed in what felt like a perpetual state of exhaustion. No Jaeger team had ever tried to cover the entire Pan Pacific region since the first year of the war. The strain of constant movement between battles as well as the combat itself was showing on the pair and their Jaeger. They spent more time on C-17s and in the conn-pod travelling all over the region than in the Shatterdome while the support teams were struggling to complete all repairs before the next attack.
It was made worse by the loss of workers who had begun to construct Gipsy Danger. Herc had called it a Catch 22. Lose workers on Green Beast but gain a second Jaeger sooner or keep workers on Green Beast but wait for Gipsy longer. Neither option was perfect but they were as close to balanced as could be.
The overall mood wasn't helped by the fact that the Rangers weren't dealing with a case of simple exhaustion that could be cured by sleep. The mental strain of regular drifts was as hard on the Rangers as the physical damages. Every time they came out of the Drift, it took longer to separate themselves and insomnia was now a problem for both.
The pair wandered separately during the nights they couldn't sleep, needing time alone to isolate themselves, collecting their thoughts and separating them from the others. Mako spent most of her time in the upper reaches of the bays; she had known the secluded sections since her childhood and was at home there, out of the way of the night crews who knew she was there but left her alone as a sign of respect.
Raleigh had begun wandering the secluded halls of the private corridors and research sections of the dome. They were the quietest and had the least personal memories attached to them. Nothing stopped his thoughts from drifting there.
They weren't the only haunted people wandering the Shatterdome at late hours. Newton showed up in random places at random times as he tried to find new solutions or new details in old information. Herc had banned him from drifting with the Kaiju brain segment after the bunker fiasco. Sleep seemed inconsequential to the eccentric scientist though his appearance grew more disheveled with each passing day without answers.
The Marshall was also often seen pacing the halls with Max. The mismatched pair's reason for wandering obvious to any resident of the dome and they were left in quiet privacy unless there was an emergency.
Nikki and Tendo both seemed to use the Jaeger repairs as their outlet, working at all hours, day or night. Tendo seemed capable of falling asleep on the equipment in mission control in a heartbeat.
It was a strange balance for the dome, one that the crews seemed to find confusing but it helped everything stay sane and was therefore acceptable.
This night however, the halls were missing most of their ghosts. The two Rangers were in the gym, sparring slowly. They were meeting with Hansen in the morning to go over the potential teams for the new Jaegers now that Tendo had plenty of simulator details to compare. Mako and Raleigh were using the empty dojo and their sparring to reflect on their own Drift connection and how the trainees compared.
Raleigh had almost snapped earlier that afternoon when they had failed to find a potential pair for the fifth Jaeger from the collective trainees. Mako had calmed him almost immediately by reminding him that on paper, they would not have appeared as a good pair and that they could still find a good solution.
"We need to find a way to help them develop a connection outside the drift." Raleigh kept his voice low in the empty dojo. "The pairs are drift compatible but it's outside the conn-pod that worries me."
"I believe our best option will be making them live together. It's one of the oldest tactics."
Raleigh thought back to his days in the bunk below Yancy. It would be the simplest solution. "Agreed. Though why were we not ever put together?" Although they had rooms right across from each other, Raleigh had never thought about how unique their sleeping situation was.
"Sensei." Mako told him with a slight grin as she slowed her attack. "He didn't like the idea." Her smile faded. "Then everything happened and we were travelling so much for the victory tour and now…"
"We don't need it. We actually need time apart." Mako nodded in agreement to Raleigh's words.
The older Jaeger pilot hesitated before voicing his silent fear. "What if we fuck this up and get them all killed?" The idea had been building since Herc first handed him the folder with the pilot bios in it.
"Then they die." Mako's reply was brutal but it was what she knew her co-pilot needed to hear and it was the truth. "They know the risks and they are here because they believe in what we do for whatever reason. We will prepare to the best of our abilities but what they do once they are in a Jaeger is their responsibility. We will watch their backs in every battle but we are all mortal and this is war. Some will die."
Mako rolled under a particularly violent attack when Raleigh's staff swung towards her head. She didn't take it personally; she knew he was venting his frustration. Though that knowledge didn't stop her from jabbing at his solar plexus with the butt of her staff in return and impacting when he failed to block successfully.
Raleigh's breath went out in a whoosh.
"I will make sure the arrangements for the new quarters are arranged tomorrow morning." Mako told him as he straightened.
"Thanks." Raleigh loved how his partner was so capable and that he could rely on her for every area where he was weaker, including management.
The pair separated after another few minutes of slow, silent sparring. "I'm going to sleep." Mako told her co-pilot quietly.
Raleigh nodded and took her staff for her; sending her off with a sarcastic salute and genuine "good luck"
The lone Ranger turned instead to one of the weight benches, too much pent up frustrated energy to consider seeking his own bed. Raleigh couldn't help but think that someone else's bed would be a better solution but didn't have any options and simply continued to work out.
…..
Raleigh was exhausted the next morning as he followed Mako to the meeting, coffee in one hand and tablet in the other. Tendo and Herc were waiting for the pilots, projector already up and cycling through the bios of the potentials.
A rift had opened at four in the morning, setting of the Kaiju alarm and sending pilots and crews scrabbling for Green Beast. When nothing came through after an hour, the Rangers had been dismissed.
"You look like shit." Tendo told Raleigh as the co-pilots sat.
"So do you." Raleigh replied with a half hearted attempt at a glare. The LOCCENT officer was missing his usual tie and his hair was only in a half hearted attempt at being coiffed. Dark circles rested under his eyes.
"We all look awful. Can we continue so I can try to sleep for a few more hours before the next rift opens?" Mako's temper flared, showing her own exhaustion.
The two men redirected their attention to the files as Herc let out a single short laugh before focusing on the task at hand. "Which Jaeger do you propose for the twins?" The Marshall started the conversation and waited for the pilots and tech to give him the details.
"381, it's got the best overall stats after Gipsy and their fighting style takes equal parts speed and strength. They'll be able to grow into the Jaeger and modify their tactics to the machine as they progress." Raleigh explained quickly.
"Plus its next off the line after Gipsy Danger." Tendo added.
Raleigh nodded. "They would have been good in 445 or 381 but Mako and I think they have better future potential in the second."
"Then 381 is off the table for other teams. Moving on to potential pairs…" The Marshall looked expectantly at the trio before him.
"Luke Beryl and Petro Berenko." Mako had regained to her calm demeanor as she pulled up the two bios on the pair Raleigh thought would be most successful. The two were both big men with matching, good natured personalities despite coming from very different backgrounds. The first was a Texan who was born and raised on oil fields while the second was a Ukrainian who travelled throughout Europe doing odd jobs before ending up in Hong Kong. Petro had originally worked on Cherno Alpha's support crew but had decided to try for a Jaeger when Marshall Hansen called for recruits. The only issue in their pairing was the Ukrainian's heavily accented and stilted English which would be solved when the pair Drifted.
"Similar test scores and strong personality matches." Tendo added his approval of the pair with a nod. They were the best match based on simulations
Herc Hansen read through both bios quickly, considering the pair. "Which Jaeger would you put them in?"
"397. They're both brute force fighters." Raleigh told the Marshall. He thought the pair would be perfect for the massive Jaeger.
"Good choices. Next?" Herc kept the meeting going, as if actually attempting to gain time off before the next disaster.
"Ariel Garza and Finn Kingsley." Mako supplied the names.
"Both fluid fighters. Ariel was born on the Baja Peninsula, Finn's family immigrated to the United States from South Africa just before the first Kaiju attack." The Marshall read aloud from the bios as he considered the information. "Which Jaeger?"
Raleigh scanned his notes on the pair. "402. They're both fast. Finn was a college track star; he would have had Olympic potential in the pre-Kaiju world. We're planning to start them on blade work and Aikido."
Herc nodded. "Sounds good. Last pair?"
Mako and Raleigh glanced at each other before Raleigh spoke "Alice Flint and Arlington."
Herc looked up at the pair of Rangers with a questioning look. "A historian and a former Marine?"
Mako nodded. "They have very compatible scores despite the differences. Similar pairings have worked well in the past." She had pushed Raleigh to agree to the pair. He had eventually given in but the differences still seemed insurmountable to him. Their original backgrounds too different to be overcome. He was putting his faith in Mako's knowledge for this potential pair.
"We don't have a better third pair?" Hansen was as reserved on the pair as Raleigh.
"No one else has better than 55% matches in the sims. Best option unless we wait for the next class of recruits." Choi supplied reluctantly.
Herc sighed and the circles under his eyes seemed to stand out more. "Put them in the sim for 445. Well hold off on it until we know how well the other pairs are Drifting together. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky again. We can't afford to stretch you two out further and try to add new recruits on top of the Jaeger pairs. Focus on them for now and we'll figure out something if it goes to hell."
The Marshall turned his attention to Choi. "What's the word on Gipsy Danger?"
"She's coming along slower than we had hoped. The factories are getting pieces and equipment out as fast as possible but with the resource shortages; they're not in any kind of order. Plus there's a bug running around the bays so some of the crew members are sick." The technician didn't seem optimistic.
"Is Angel's hand an issue?" Raleigh jerked at Herc's words. He wasn't sure what her explanation for the injury had been, Mako noticed his reaction but the two men didn't.
Tendo shrugged. "Slightly but she's delegating better than she used to and getting around it."
Herc narrowed his eyes. "Have you gotten an explanation on what happened?"
"She claimed it got hit when she was updating the paneling on Green Beast's side. Broke one bone in her ring finger and cracked another in her middle finger."
"Angel showed up with a broken hand a few days ago. We've been trying to get details since then. She's been rather vague and we're worried it had something to do with another sabotage attempt she's keeping from us since she knows we're already stretched thin." Hansen explained to the Rangers.
Raleigh wasn't sure what to do. Nikki would have had a good reason to lie but he also knew it was stupid to keep anything from the Marshall. Mako gave him a reprieve when she said she would ask Mia for details and Herc agreed to drop the issue for the time.
The Marshall ended the meeting with ordering the two Jaeger pilots to inform the trainees of the decisions and begin giving the pairs training assignments.
The Rangers spent all of lunch debating how to tell the trainees their partners and potential jaegers. After little progress they settled for being straightforward. There was no real way to cushion the importance and danger of the role the men and women were about to take on.
The pair walked into the dojo a little late for the usual training practice. All the trainees were waiting in various clusters.
Raleigh faced the group and his face was enough to silence the murmurs. "Decisions have been made." Murmurs broke out; the group knew what that meant. "Twins, Garza, Flint, Arlington, Beryl, Kingsley, Belenko. Stay. Everyone else is dismissed. Thank you for your assistance in the program. You will be notified when the next round occurs if you wish to try again."
Her partner was blunter than Mako had intended but it did the job. After a moment of communal hesitation, the unmatched trainees filtered out after a few minutes of congratulations and grumbling to the remaining eight.
"Congratulations." Mako took over the meeting when Raleigh seemed disinclined to continue. "You are the next Jaeger pilots." It was difficult to hold the attention of the eight. They were all surveying each other, trying to figure out who they were matched with. Except the twins; they had simply settled for fist bumping before moving to the back of the group.
Mako gave up keeping to her planned speech after a moment of nervous shuffling. The trainees wouldn't pay attention to anything till they knew who they were working with. "Xander and Mia you're obviously together." The twins' smiles widened but they didn't move.
"Beryl and Belenko." The two men grinned at each other and moved to stand next to each other. Petro Belenko was calm while Luke Beryl bounced on his feet.
"Garza and Kingsley." The pair high fived. They had become friends during training and were glad to be matched together.
"Arlington and Flint." The final two glanced at each other but stayed separate. They would need the most time adjusting.
"We will be beginning pair training and assigning Jaegers tomorrow. You will be living with each other beginning tonight. Techs will assign you rooms. You will soon have your co-pilot in your head. Do not wait till then to get to know each other. Talking is the most useful thing for you now. If Raleigh and I are unavailable tomorrow due to an attack, meet here at ten and spar with your co-pilots."
The pairs left slowly, some with excitement others with hesitation though the twins hung back. Mako seemed to immediately know why.
"You are both staying in your regular room tonight. I will be talking to Angel later and you'll be moving to pilot barracks tomorrow."
Xander nodded once before an excited Mia dragged him from the dojo with and excited "Thanks!" thrown at Mako.
….
Mako and Raleigh watched the new teams spar. They each needed to find a fighting style that worked well for both as a combination of their individual skills and the extra abilities gained with their combined natures. Gipsy Danger's street fighting style was an amalgamation of Mako's discipline and knowledge of multiple traditional fighting styles and Raleigh's improvisational ability in combat and the brute strength and determination he brought to each combat.
The twins were easy, they had grown up with fight training and their combined style of close quarters combat was closest to Krav Maga.
Mako had designed the program for Luke Beryl and Petro Belenko using an improved version of the Greco/Roman wrestling style used by Cherno Alpha and adding in elements of the Pankration martial art.
Ariel Garza and Finn Kingsley were more difficult to find a style for. Neither Mako or Raleigh specialized in their area of intense speed and double handed combat. Having video conferenced with several specialists, the two Rangers had decided on a combination of Eskrima weapons training and Aikido martial arts. They were currently finding a second option if the pairing disliked either style or struggled.
Rather than trying to change Arlington's already impressive combat training, Mako and Raleigh agreed that having him teach Alice Flint the aspects of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program that he had grown up learning. They hoped it would help strengthen the pair's bond and give them a basis to add other combat styles onto in the future.
After four hours of supervising the sparring pairs, Raleigh could say that he was much more optimistic of the new pilots and their skills. The Jaeger Corps' future was uncertain to say the least, but he no longer thought the entire weight of its survival rested on his and Mako's shoulders.
Mako came up alongside her partner and they silently watched the eight future pilots end their practices and split up to go to their respective locker rooms. The pairings were still fluctuating in strength but the group as a whole was strong.
"I have a meeting with Tendo to review some recent rift data if you want to join us?" Raleigh glanced over at his co-pilot. He had been considering going for a run on the outer decks and another meeting sounded torturous.
"I've been promised pizza if I meet him in mission control."
Raleigh immediately reconsidered his run idea. "Real pizza? Not dining hall cardboard?"
Mako's lips twitched at his question. "Pepperoni. He's bribed a tech runner to bring it in from the city."
Raleigh decided he could suddenly survive another meeting.
…..
The Rangers entered mission ops to the strange sight of Tendo half hidden under the main control panel, only his legs visible, with Nikki sitting on top cross-legged handing him pieces of circuitry board while trying to eat pizza at the same time with her broken and splinted hand.
Raleigh blinked once before following Mako to the two open boxes sitting on a nearby desk. These days, with food rationing and living in the Shatterdome, pizza was not only hard to find, but cost an arm and a leg.
Nikki swallowed. "Mori and Becket are here."
"What?" Tendo slid out from under the computer system. "Oh. You're early Mako. And you brought Becket. You do know he's going to steal all the pizza don't you?"
….
Bolded generic statement still wants reviews!
