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Four years after The Breach was sealed, two letters are left on Kodiak Island, one addressed to "Ranger Mako Mori", the other to "Ranger Raleigh Becket". The old Jaeger Academy had become a retirement home of sorts for them, and anyone else who has had trouble going back to civilian life. Everyone there enjoys the isolation from the population, and the company of others who had shared or similar experience. Others from different parts of the program return to reconnect with their peers, to have someone to talk to, or to just reminisce. A portion of the facility became K-Science labs, where old officers and new scientists preform ongoing research into the environmental effects of the kaiju. There's acknowledgment from the UN that maintaining Jaeger facilities and equipment (much of it pulled from Oblivion Bay) is of benefit in the event that the kaiju attack again, or the Earth is attacked by other forces. The restoration of the old mechs and the design of new ones is taken at a moderate pace, in part because there is no pressure and in part because the Jaeger Program budget is a fraction of its former size.
Mako drops the envelope onto Raleigh's bunk. "You've got mail, Mr. Becket," she sings.
"Fanmail?" he asks and she shakes her head. She knows better than to give him those letters.
"'Dear Miss Mori,'" Mako starts reading from hers, "'I am an independent filmmaker interested in creating a documentary about the Jaeger program, from its early days to the end. As you are one of the few remaining Jaeger pilots and were instrumental in much of the program, I would like to ask for both your permission and for the opportunity to interview you.' Then there's information about his plans for the film and how to contact him. 'Arigatō, Travis B. Hammel, filmmaker'. What does yours say?"
"Same thing, but it doesn't say 'arigatō'," he chuckles. "There's a note at the bottom, 'CC: Ranger Mako Mori, Marshal Hercules Hansen, Dr. Newton Geiszler, Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Tendo Choi.' Think he sent this to all of them?"
Mako nods and strides out of the room towards the office where the mail is delivered and kept. Raleigh follows her out and walks beside her.
They sit on the floor and search through the pile of mail that rests on the floor waiting for the day when Herc will finally feel like going through it. In the months immediately after the Final Assault, none of them had looked at their mail. Raleigh had ignored his, and when he finally did get around to looking at the stack, he had destroyed letters by the handful without even opening them. Mako had taken her time getting around to it, but had patiently sorted the pile, opening all the envelopes and saving a few of her favorite messages from little kids. There was a drawing by a Michael M, five years old, of himself next to Gipsy with the words "Thank You!" that she had saved. Moh Su-Bahn, a girl of three, sent her a drawing of a butterfly and flowers, and Jesús S, who had been eleven, had drawn a picture of Stacker, Chuck, the Wei Triplets and the Kaidanovskys as spirits with angel wings watching over her. He had even carefully written a short prayer in Japanese, which his sister had helped him find and translate (he had said so in his letter).
Mako, with her sharp eyes, is the one who finds the envelope they are seeking. As they leave, they see a stack of three letters on the desk, conspicuously out of place.
"Dr. Newton Geiszler, Care of Jaeger Academy. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Care of Jaeger Academy. Mr. Tendo Choi, Care of Jaeger Academy," reads Raleigh. "I guess they've managed to disappear. Well, Newt's still around here sometimes, so his address is fair enough." (He's often in the K-Science labs overseeing the research.)
Mako shakes her head. "No. Drs. Gottlieb and Gieszler have teaching positions and could be easily looked up and located by searching the internet. Mr. Choi returned to his wife. He may be unlisted, but Alison is not. I think Mr. Hammel sent these here for a reason."
"Reason being?"
The look she directs at him screams "please tell me you aren't that dense".
"You're thinking that he's asking our permission, and Herc's, first."
"If he makes a film, the memories it would most tear into and affect would be ours. Sensei, Chuck, Yancy, they'll all be there. He's trying to be courteous."
Mako returns to their room, holding all four unopened envelopes. Raleigh excuses himself to the gym. She knows he does that to clear his mind and to think, especially to think without any stray bits of her mind floating in.
Later that day, they meet up in the mess. One of Cherno Alpha's techs, Natasha Golovanova, had teamed with Ahn Sungjim, a LOCCENT officer, and made a dinner that neither Mako nor Raleigh recognizes under a specific name. It tastes good enough, but the vegetables are a little overcooked. Jaime Martinez makes his opinion on the lack of spice clear when he shouts something as he dumps red pepper flakes all over his plate.
Mako and Raleigh eat across from each other at a table, and he sneaks scraps to Max, who sits at his feet. "So, what do you think?" he asks her at last.
"About the film?"
"About the film," he agrees.
"We should ask Herc first. He is still Marshal."
Raleigh nods and feeds Max another scrap of beef.
When they leave the hall, they head by unspoken accord to Herc's room. Herc is always tired, frustrated and edgy these days, still lost in his own mind. He has to deal with being the Marshal, and the main contact for the UN, and being in charge of the Academy and (technically) the Hong Kong 'dome, even though the de facto head of operations there is a woman by the name of Teresa. He's healing so painfully slowly, an opinion held by many people including, perhaps, himself. Raleigh and Mako, they had each other to help them through their grief, even though Raleigh's was so much older and weightier and settled into his psyche. Herc had—and still has—no one, just the emptiness of where his son used to be in his head and his heart and his soul. He is so proud of Chuck and his sacrifice and what they all did, but he struggles to forgive himself for not being in Striker.
Mako knocks first. "Mr. Hansen?" she calls, careful not to call him Marshal or to call him Herc right away.
He opens the door and sees the two of them standing there. "What is it, kids?" he asks. (Mako and Raleigh are his kids to him. They don't need adoption, but he's adopted them anyway. In its own little way, it helps.)
Mako asks if they can come in. Raleigh lets her do all the talking, since she's read the letter multiple times over and is simply better at talking, even if she's not speaking her native language.
Herc sits back in his chair, and takes a deep breath. "Let's do it," he says to the surprise of the other two. "Hell, he can interview me and put me in front of a camera. Maybe, if I do this, I can finish
what—what I've never really begun."
Mako and Raleigh talk to each other late into the night, wondering aloud how this might affect them.
The next day, Mako puts the other three letters into new envelopes, adds a note about how Herc has agreed to let it happen, and writes in her careful handwriting their personal addresses. A few days later, all six have video conference call, wherein they discuss if any topics are off limits and decide that the Drs. Enriquez should be included, provided they both agree and can be pulled away from whatever hospital they're now at.
Mako calls Mr. Hammel, and lets him know that he's cleared to start production. He is overjoyed and repeatedly thanks her.
Herc sends out a general email to anyone still associated with PPDC, letting them know what has been proposed and approved and will be happening, and asks that anyone who doesn't want to be part of it let him know. He signs it "Marshal Hansen, Pan Pacific Defense Corps, Jaeger Academy". The significance is not lost on anyone.
Mr. Hammel shows up with a crew a few weeks later. It's very minimal in size, just himself and about three or four others. When they get off the helicopter with their gear (which is not as minimal as the crew), Herc walks over to say hello.
"Mr. Hammel, I'm Marshal Hercules Hansen. Welcome to Kodiak Island and the Jaeger Academy. Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket are inside, and the rest will join us at the Shatterdome."
The filmmaker extends his hand and shakes Herc's warmly. "Pleasure, Marshal Hansen. And please call me Travis." He is a man of average height and build, with a rounder than oval, but not round, face. His hair is dark and styled to stand up slightly.
He introduces the rest of his crew over dinner, and the next day, Travis is filming the Academy, trying to get all the footage of the grounds he thinks he needs. Either Mako or Raleigh goes with them, since the PPDC can't afford to have him poking his nose somewhere classified by accident.
On the second day after his arrival, Travis asks if he can begin doing interviews, starting with Herc. "No pressure," he adds. "I might record you, but it's more so that I can have the information there, and perhaps have someone narrate it, than to put your footage anywhere in the film. Unless you want it to be there."
The film crew sets up an empty room with a boom mic and reflectors and lights and their three cameras. Herc and Travis sit in chairs across from each other, while Mako and Raleigh watch. Travis starts by asking simple questions, trying to get Herc to relax and open up.
"How did it feel when your son came here?" he queries after many questions and more minutes.
Herc's jaw visibly tenses and his throat starts working. "I...he...we..." He suddenly stands up and walks out of the room, just a little too fast.
Raleigh turns to catch him. "Don't bother," says Travis. "I told him before I got here that we'd take his interview at whatever pace he wanted, do it in whatever blocks he wanted, and that he could stop me at any time. He doesn't have to do anything for me. So let him be, okay, Raleigh?" He stretches in his chair. "How about you, Miss Mori? Would you like to go next?"
"If you want me to," she replies.
"This is not some television spot or UN hearing. We're only doing things if you want to."
She looks at Raleigh, who shrugs. It's up to you, she reads from his expression and from the little bits of connection they still have. She nods and sits down in the chair.
Travis asks questions about her days at the Academy and Mako answers. Raleigh listens and watches. He knows her stories, from her early childhood to Onibaba's attack (he knows that a bit too well, maybe), to Stacker and Tasmin to Jaeger Academy to the day they met. But it's different to hear her say the words and weave the story, as opposed to living her memories. Sometimes, when Travis is wanting to hear more of a story, and he leaves the list of questions on his tablet behind and lets her guide the flow.
One thing is clear, though, he has nothing but respect for his subjects. When Mako shakes her head, he simply jumps to another question. He tries to ask things in chronological order, but will ask for information from an earlier year for clarification or if he had skipped a long period of time as a result of avoiding uncomfortable questions.
The crew wraps filming for the day, and heads to the visitors' quarters to look at the film. Travis walks away speaking animatedly to one of the crew, a twenty-something young woman with red streaks in her black hair. She listens and nods and sometimes says something back. It's hard to get a word in edgewise when he's being enthusiastic.
Travis spends eleven days on Kodiak Island, filming the empty rooms of the building, getting shots of the labs. He even manages to get a couple of residents to dress in old cadet uniforms, and he films them sparring, as if they were in training years and years ago. He interviews Raleigh, who isn't inclined to talk on film, so Travis turns off the cameras and pulls out an audio recorder.
A subtle tension has been building around and between both Mako and Raleigh. They've been in each other's heads, but they're laying themselves bare to each other, something they haven't done in years, and a total stranger, something they've never done. Sometimes, during interviews, they hesitate while they try to completely separate the memories.
"That was my story," Raleigh hisses one evening after she mentioned something about bars and meaningless nights. "You had no right to mention that, even in passing."
"Your memories are in my head, remember? Sometimes, one thing triggers another. You've done it too. Herc's probably added Scott's and Chuck's memories in there by accident." Herc's been alternating between taught as strung bow and relaxed as gentle snowfall in mountain heights, but it's the best he's been in a long time. "Try to not blow this out of proportion," Mako continues.
Raleigh grunts and turns out of their shared bathroom.
When they leave for the Shatterdome, all three are visibly out of it: tense and scared and unsure. Travis starts talking to his crew again, but none of the PPDC so much as move.
Teresa, her graying brown hair an aurora around her head, greets them on the landing pad. "Hey, Herc," she says, "nice to see you." She gives him a quick hug, and he returns it. "You're looking good." He smiles. She whispers something that no one can hear, and he actually chuckles.
"Anata wa mada korera no orokamono de burasagatte iru(1)?"she calls to Mako.
"Hai," replies Mako. "Anata no nihonjin wa sugurete iru.(2)"
Teresa smiles. "Sore wa yoi kamote ita! Ima renshū ni ōku no jikan ga arimasu(3). Well, come on everyone!" She pivots on her heel and gestures with her right hand.
She leads them straight to the corridor where they'll all be staying. Mako reaches for Raleigh's hand and gives a quick squeeze. It's the hallway where their story starts, where they became a unit instead of two individuals. It's still the same industrial gray, and the welds show in the metal. There are new spots of rust, but otherwise the hallway is a timecapsule.
Tendo and Newt are already there, and meet their old friends with laughter and embraces. Newt is the most animated, easily moving between all of them with enthusiasm. Tendo is more reserved, but as soon as Mako makes a mention of his son, he pulls out his phone and shows everyone pictures of the little guy. The Drs. Enriquez are already full of questions for Raleigh about his arm and his scars and how they've healed or not healed, as if they weren't the ones to personally oversee his recuperation after Operation Pitfall. Hermann arrives while the rest are at dinner, and Travis gets low-quality, camera-phone footage of their interaction, an image of a world that is now gone. He plans to cut it into still frames and use them as photos in the film.
The next morning, Travis starts a rough approximation of the last days of the Jaeger program. They start in the bay, where he asks Tendo and Mako to talk about restoring Gipsy Danger.
"I'd known Gipsy since she was new," Tendo reminisces. "I was there when she was first launched and when she went down. But she never was to me what she was to Mako."
Mako smiles. "Gipsy was just another Jaeger until she came in here in all her pieces. The more I worked to restore her, the more she became my Gipsy. I felt like I couldn't trust her with anyone, that they'd somehow disrespect her."
On the other side of the camera, Raleigh smiles as he listens to her talk about the process of falling in love with Gipsy, how she came to think of Gipsy as so much more than a mech, but a living personality. The girl with the red-streaked hair catches his eye.
"You're cute," she says suddenly. "Especially when you smile."
He's taken aback for a moment. "It took a while to re-learn the motion."
"But you did it. And the world is a better place for it. That smile probably launched a lot of teenage crushes back in the day."
"It launched a lot more than that, too."
She laughs and touches his shoulder. "I'd be surprised if it hadn't, Raleigh. Pilot or not, you're quite the looker."
He smiles back. "Am I?"
In front of the camera, Mako watches their interaction and tenses. Something coils inside her. That girl isn't just talking with Raleigh, and she doesn't like it. Raleigh isn't hers, but he's her copilot. The idea of someone being in the middle of that irks her somehow. But any attraction I had to him is long over, she tells herself. She wants to think that she laid those feelings to rest, but deep down, she knows it's a lie.
After what seems like an eternity to Mako, they break for lunch. Raleigh sits across from her on a metal bench that he's pretty sure bears the mark of a drunken fight that someone had long ago. But it's the same metal bench in the same big room that it was when he first arrived. Nowhere in the Shatterdome seems to have really changed.
"So..." she starts, "who's that girl?"
"Molly?" Raleigh responds. "You know her, she's on Travis' crew." He takes a moment to study her expression. "Wait, are you jealous?"
"No," retorts Mako. "Why would I be jealous?"
"She's a total outsider, and she thinks my smile's cute. You're jealous." He smirks.
"I am not." Her voice is just above a normal volume.
"Yes, you are," he teases, trying to get a rise out of her. "And you think she's making a move on me."
"Why should I care if someone is trying to flirt with you? You're just Raleigh, so I congratulate you on getting anyone to look at you at all." She knows she's hitting below the belt, but she's mad at him for Molly and for knowing she's jealous and she's mad at herself for even feeling jealous.
"Thanks for your vote of confidence," he throws back at her before he snatches his tray and leaves the table.
Mako watches him leave, mentally berating herself for what she just said. Stupid, stupid. She's furious with herself now. She had buried the aftershocks alive, she's always known that even though she denied it, and she can feel them clawing their way to the surface to take their revenge.
Raleigh heads straight to the training rooms, and wraps his hands to give them what little protection the fabric can. He punches the bag, again and again and again.
Mako doesn't snap like that, he thinks. Punch. Punch. And again, She's always in control of her emotions. Punch. Punch. Kick.
Kick. Punch. Punch. What the hell could have gotten this reaction out of her?
That night, he closes the door and locks it. He's just too upset by her actions, his thoughts on what triggered her reaction too jumbled to let her near. When she comes to apologize, the door knob won't turn, and she knows exactly why he locked the door.
In the darkness of her own room, she sobs herself into a tumultuous sleep. It's the first time in over two years she has slept alone, and the first time she has ever felt this alone, so far from his reach.
(1) "You're still hanging out with these fools?"
(2) "Hai" is a Japanese affirmative. The rest translates as "Your Japanese has gotten better."
(3) "It better have! There's plenty of opportunity for practice now."
Translations by Google Translate, except for "hai" which I have learned from watching a lot of anime.