Herc's Holiday, Chapter 3

Hong Kong Shatterdome

Striker Eureka repair bay

The morning after Battle of Hong Kong

Chuck watched the technicians swarm all over Striker Eureka as they raced to replace burnt out circuits and overloaded relays. He saw the occasional flash of red as some of Crimson Typhoon's techs helped out, now that they had no Jaeger to repair.

Now that Cherno and Crimson are gone, how are we going to attack the breach? He turned around to see Gipsy Danger being worked on by both her techs and those of Cherno Alpha. Gotta admit it, though… For an old Mark III, Gipsy's not bad. Those Chain Swords are pretty cool. I'll have to see if Mako can get some for Striker if we make it back.

Beedlebeedle.

Chuck looked at the caller ID. Miranda. He accepted the call. "Hey you."

"Chuck, I watched the battle. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Couple of minor burns from the overloads, but nothing major. Dad, however, broke his collarbone."

"Oh, no… Can someone else pilot Striker?"

Chuck looked at the ground far below. "Not that I'm aware of. And I can't go it alone."

"So… how are you going to close the Breach?"

"No one knows. Gipsy's almost ready to go, Striker's being repaired… but I don't have a copilot right now."

"So, what now?"

"I want you to be ready to leave Australia on a moment's notice. If we can't close the Breach, or if we try and fail, head to America. They'll probably be one of the last nations standing."

"Don't talk like that, Chuck. You're scaring me."

"Miranda… There may not be a happy ending here for anyone."

"Chuck, please… Promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll find some way to close the Breach, then come back to me."

"I can't do that. I'm not even sure we'll be able to get to the Breach. I know I can't."

"Please, Chuck. Find someone. I'm sure there's someone who can Drift with you."

"I don't know. I've only ever Drifted with my dad. I don't know who else I trust that much other than you."

"Then get me up there and see if we're compatible."

"We don't have that much time. As soon as the Jaegers are ready to go, Pitfall is a 'go'."

Miranda never got to respond, as the Breach alarm went off. Chuck swore. "Look, I have to go. There's another Kaiju, maybe two."

"Be safe. I want you to come back."

"Miranda… It was going to be dicey with four Jaegers. With two? I doubt that we'll be coming back."

"No. You are coming back, Chuck. Put that through your thick skull. YOU. WILL. COME. HOME. FROM. THIS."

"I'll do my best, but I can't promise. Just remember this: If I don't make it… my last thoughts will be of you and me, and all those things we didn't have an opportunity to enjoy together."

"Chuck… Good luck out there."

"Thanks." He hung up and raced down the stairs, headed to the main floor of Scramble Alley.

-.-.-

Marshall's office

"Stacker, you'll kill yourself."

"Herc, if I don't do this, I've killed the world. We need a second pilot for Striker. Chuck and I are compatible, and you know it." Pentecost signed some last papers, then turned to face his closest friend. "Look, I know it hurts to let Chuck go. Honestly, it should be you and me in Striker. The old guard, making the last stand."

"Damn straight it should be us. But with my busted collarbone…"

"I want you to run LOCCENT with Tendo for Pitfall. If I don't make it back…" Pentecost paused, fighting back tears. "If I don't make it back, but Mako does… look after her for me."

"I will."

"Thank you."

-.-.-

Striker's Conn Pod

2 minutes to Drop

"Sir… Before we Drift…"

"I saw your will, Mr. Hansen. I know what you're thinking of right now. Who you're thinking about."

"Is there any chance we'll make it back?"

Pentecost looked at the younger Ranger. "I don't know. I know I won't be. This mission will be the death of me, either from the loads required to drive Striker or being killed by a Kaiju."

"And you're fine with that?"

"If my death leads to the salvation of six billion people, then it was worth it."

Chuck looked out the visor of the Conn Pod, clearly lost in thought. "Then let's get this over with, shall we?"

He toggled the coms. "Striker Eureka, cleared to Drop."

To Chuck's right, Pentecost toggled his coms, as well. "Engage Drop, Mr. Choi."

"Engaging Drop, Striker."

The clamps holding the Conn Pod at the top of the rails released, and the Conn Pod dropped towards the waiting Jaeger body below.

-.-.-

Sydney

Miranda's apartment

10 minutes to transport disengagement

Miranda watched the new reports coming from Hong Kong, showing both Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka being airlifted over the horizon towards the Breach.

"We're now being informed that the two remaining Jaegers, Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka, are being dispatched to Challenger Deep in order to close the Breach and end the Kaiju War once and for all. Reports about the speed of their Jumphawk airlifters and previous attacks on the Breach put them less than ten minutes from being dropped into the ocean to begin their attack."

"Good luck, Chuck. Hope you and your copilot can make this work." She looked down at the small device in her hands and smiled sadly. "We'll be waiting for you."

-.-.-

20 minutes after Raleigh's pod surfaces

Miranda turned on the TV again, figuring that the mission should have been completed by now…

She immediately wished she hadn't.

On the screen, a public relations officer from the PPDC was giving a brief press conference. "It is my pleasure to report that all readings from Challenger Deep indicate that the Breach has, in fact, been sealed."

The reporters cheered briefly, before the officer held up his hand for quiet.

"However, it is also my sad duty to report that both Jaegers were destroyed in the course of the mission, and we have only located two escape pods.

"Both of them were from Gipsy Danger."

Miranda felt like her heart had been crushed by a Kaiju. No… There has to be some mistake. Chuck had to have made it out. He promised me…

Her cell phone rang. She picked it up without looking away from the TV. "Hello?"

A male voice came from the speaker. "Miranda Schaeffer?"

"That's me."

"Miranda, I'm with the Pan Pacific Defense Corps…"

"Did Chuck make it?"

"I'm so sorry, ma'am…"

Miranda dropped the phone, curled into a ball, and began to cry. No! Not fair! He promised me he'd come back… Why him?

The man on the other end waited until Miranda picked up the phone again. "Ma'am, I was calling to inform you that Chuck left you all of his back pay and savings. It's about $250,000 U.S. I know it's not enough to compensate for your loss…"

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S NOT!"

To his credit, the PPDC staffer wasn't fazed. "Ma'am, I am truly sorry. He was a good man, and his death was not in vain…"

"I won't hear it from you. I won't. I want to speak to Marshall Pentecost."

He paused. "That's… going to be a problem."

"Why?"

"Marshall Pentecost was Chuck's copilot. He died with Chuck."

"Then who's in charge?"

"Marshall Hercules Hansen, ma'am."

Miranda didn't think her heart could be crushed any more, but apparently it could. "I… I didn't know. I… I'll call later to talk with him. Is that okay?"

"Ma'am, I've dealt with similar situations before. It's best if you do it now… For both of you."

"Then can I speak with Herc, please?"

"One moment."

-.-.-

LOCCENT

The staffer found Herc petting Max in Pentecost's office. "Sir… there's a phone call I need you to be a part of…"

"If it's the U.N., tell 'em to call back tomorrow. I'm busy."

The staffer paused, trying to figure out how to explain this. "Sir… it's about Chuck."

Herc hung his head. Miranda. Herc looked at the staffer. "Send it to this phone. And close the door on your way out."

The staffer nodded and left Herc alone.

The phone rang, and Herc picked it up. "Hello, Miranda…"

-.-.-

Sydney

"Marshall…"

"Please. You're family now. Call me Herc."

"Herc, then. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"No, I'm sorry for yours. I just wish I'd believed him when he said he was trying to change."

Miranda bit her lip, nervous. "Herc, I have to ask… what happened? I thought Striker was tougher than Gipsy?"

Herc sighed. "That she was. But when you're fighting a Cat IV and a Cat V Kaiju at the same time… No Jaeger is tough enough for that." He paused. "They were badly damaged. They couldn't deploy the nuke, and were going to be destroyed anyways. So, they decided to make a sacrifice play for Gipsy. Gipsy self-destructed to close the Breach."

Miranda began to cry again.

"Chuck and Stacker both had to agree to it to detonate."

"Did he say anything at the end?"

Herc played back the audio from Striker, Gipsy, and LOCCENT after Slattern had taken Striker for a tumble.

The despair in Chuck's voice brought tears to Miranda's eyes. "What can we do, sir?"

Another voice, clearly Pentecost, replied. "We can clear a path. For the Lady."

"Well, my father always said, he said, 'If you have the shot, you take it.' So let's do this." A pause. "It was a pleasure, sir."

The sounds of the bomb arming echoed through the connection, then there was static.

Herc wiped a tear away. "I saw his love for you through the Drift. I'm sure he wouldn't have detonated the bomb if there had been any other way. He wanted to have a normal life after the war. I just wish he'd had a chance to do that. To have a family of his own."

Miranda froze, unsure of what to do for a moment. Then, she decided she had to share the news with someone. "Herc… About that…"

-.-.-

Author's note: Okay, now that you've read the chapter… Go back and watch Herc and Chuck's last goodbye. You'll see it in a whole new light, I promise.

Author's note 2: Went back and altered some text, since I found some inconsistencies between this story and Forged in Fire.