2017, October 19 – 02:35 – The Ice Box, Anchorage, Alaska, United States
"I've never felt so alive, man!" Yancy Becket strutted by, clad still in his DriveSuit after coming back from their first ever deployment.
Raleigh beamed, the happiest Greyson had seen him in a long time. "What time is it? Feel like I can run a marathon!"
"When you get a chance to fight Godzilla toe-to-toe and not get killed, Mr. Choi," Yancy said, "make sure to call us."
"For what it's worth," Tendo Choi started, "you're giving the engineers a run for their money." The chief officer snickered a bit, giving the person behind him a badly executed high five.
The elder Becket punched their friend on the shoulder, telling him and Greyson Darcy a quick goodbye before he and his brother started toward the mess hall.
She curtained her hair in front of her face when Yancy passed, noting the brief hand on her arm and the chaste kiss he left on her cheek. Greyson shook her head in amusement, picking through some files that were imported to her holoscreen.
After a few moments, Tendo walked to the woman's side. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, raising her head. "Can I help you with something?" Greyson inquired. "Was there something wrong with Gipsy's—"
"So. You and Yancy, huh?" he muttered, amused. His eye brows went up and down mockingly. "Have you done the horizontal tango? I hear it strengthens the bond."
"You are a child." Greyson smacked him with a stack of papers.
Tendo left the LOCCENT, cackling to himself.
2018, March 10 – 07:30 – The Ice Box, Anchorage, Alaska, United States
"Scenario concluded. Calculating score…" The Jaeger AI quietly ran over the Drift Simulation. The suit was hot; they were sweating from the exertion and it was becoming more and more humid. Heavy breaths, sore muscles – I have to pee.
Greyson Darcy shook her head, rolling her eyes. She wasn't sure which of the boys had thought it, but it was out there now.
We did it I think it went well. That other thought flitted by so quickly she didn't have a chance to figure out who conjured it either — was it her? She was tired, but her blood was pumping through her heart, and she heard it in her ears.
The Conn-Pod echoed with the voice of the Jaeger AI after another moment. "Engagement time: twenty-four minutes and twenty-three seconds. Collateral damage within expected parameters. Kaiju Blue threshold maintained. Total score: 92.7 percent."
Two weights shifted on her; minds continually melding with hers. Raleigh Becket crowed, unhitching himself from the rig assembly. And then it was gone.
"That's a personal best!" He threw his arms up, stepping off the platform.
"Hell yes it is!" Yancy cheered back, beaming. He shot finger-guns in spite of himself.
Greyson merely chuckled at their excitement, taking her helmet off. "I say, impressive for 12 drops and 9 kills, boys. We should probably work more on that last formation. If—"
"C'mon, Sonny," the oldest Becket loudly said, too stepping down from the platform in the Simulation Room. "We did good. Let's go out to the bar tonight. Drinks on me."
Her whole face lit up, and she hurriedly detached from the new panel rig's gunner controls. "Shots?"
"Shots."
Raleigh whooped and started singing under his breath as they made their way to the DriveSuit Room.
2018, March 23 – 23:06 – Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Some of the 'Dome crew had gone into town for a break that Friday, all but filling out the usual haunt. It was a few minutes past eleven when Greyson received a message from the J-Tech crew, requesting her back to the Shatterdome for an overnight observation with new tech.
Yancy offered to drive the Jeep back with her, whereas Raleigh wanted to stay with some of the other officers. As the duo left, they were sent off with wolf whistles, followed by complaints that they were lightweights.
They were more than halfway to the Shatterdome when another message came, saying the team would take turns watching changes in the interface. She wasn't needed until the third shift.
Greyson sighed, staring at the dark road ahead. "What the hell am I gonna do for four hours?"
The elder Becket slipped his hand under hers, linking their fingers, and then pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "Would it be a bad time to let you know I've got a Kama Sutra list?"
2018, May 15 – 21:40 – The Ice Box, Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Greyson was outside the Marshal's office, trying not to listen in on his angry rant towards the Becket boys. There was an argument after their last Simulation run; they'd wanted to try out a new move when Yancy chased the RABIT, and it caught Raleigh by surprise.
The two of them had gotten into an all-out, bare-knuckles brawl in the town bar – broke a table, she heard – and Marshal Pentecost dragged their asses back to the 'Dome before they could say anything.
If she knew Yancy at all, she knew exactly what he'd been chasing. Greyson could tell they were talking about her.
Pentecost's voice was audible through his closed door. "You arses don't know how lucky you are. You are Rangers. Not everyone has the chance to matter. Not everyone has someone to watch their back." The Marshal had scoffed. "You would just throw all that away for — what? A girl? Tell me, are you men, or are you boys? Because I know which one should be standing in front of me."
Continuing his tirade, Stacker let out, "The Jaeger isn't what makes you feel three hundred feet tall. It's the bond. You turn away from it and I promise you the world will be a darker place. And you'll always wonder if together you could've made the difference."
There was a long pause. No one spoke until Yancy did. "Sorry, sir."
Raleigh added, "Won't happen again, sir."
"I expect not. Get out of here."
Greyson straightened up when the door opened. Both boys were worse for wear, with swollen cheeks and bruised lips. "Oh, God… What the hell possessed you two to almost kill each other out there?"
"You chose him," Raleigh answered, avoiding eye contact with both of them. "I'll just have to live with it, if we're going to make this shit work."
"Don't you dare play the victim here, asshole. How the hell was I—?"
Stacker Pentecost stood in the doorframe. His presence alone stopped the three dead cold. "You two are dismissed. Miss Darcy, a word?"
2018, August 22 – 14:34 – The Ice Box, Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
Crimson Typhoon was launching in a few hours. The channels were buzzing with the news – CHINA TO LAUNCH FIRST PILOT TRIO. The Wei Tang brothers were probably reveling in all the attention. Greyson was definitely irritable. When she had found out that she and the Beckets were not offered to pilot the first triple Conn-Pod in the new Mark IV, she was more than disappointed.
Should the girl be grateful to have worked with the renowned Dr. Caitlin Lightcap on a ground-breaking project? Hell yeah, no doubt about it. Being able to pilot their finished product would've been the icing on the cake.
2019, December 21 – 01:09 – The Ice Box, Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States
"Are the Kaiju Harvesters working for Chau?"
"Probably. I heard he and the Marshal had a deal under the table."
Greyson tried to ignore the gossip that was always going around the Shatterdome. Someone would hear stories and rumors, and it would all blow out from there. First, it was about Stacker Pentecost supposedly replacing his son Jake with that girl Mako. Then, it was about the Australian Ranger Scott Hansen being reprimanded because of some disorderly conduct.
The newly appointed Lieutenant Darcy was up on the gantry, watching over Scramble Alley. They were bringing Gipsy Danger in from the snow. The Beckets had just gotten back from their last deployment in Manila. They had assisted Horizon Brave and Lucky Seven; it was one of few team drops in Jaeger history.
"Working hard or hardly working, lieutenant?" a voice called to her. Greyson heard Yancy before she saw him. She leaned into his touch when he threw an arm over her shoulders, planting a kiss to her temple.
"What are you doing down here, Ranger?" Greyson looked behind Yancy, surprised to find him alone. "Wait, where's Rals?"
Yancy scratched the back of his neck. "Probably asleep. K-Sci was wanting me down for some new project, anyway."
"And this would be…?"
"Oh, nothing. I just volunteered to Drift with a kaiju brain, that's all," Yancy deadpanned. When Greyson blinked up at him, not amused, he broke out into a smile. "C'mon, I'm kidding."
Greyson pursed her lips. "Yeah, whatever. Don't hurt yourself. You know you're fragile—" Yancy cut her off with a kiss to the lips, the kind that takes your breath away and makes the butterflies in your stomach go into a frenzy.
He pulled away, starry eyed and grinning like a madman. "I promise to be on my best behavior, lieutenant." Yancy started for the stairs, but not before saluting Greyson in jest. He turned around, calling back to her. "Hey! I love you!"
Heat rushed to Greyson's cheeks. She tried to suppress the broad smile that spread across her face. The lieutenant turned to the railing, listening to Yancy's retreating steps. Her fingers felt at her lips, slightly swollen from the kiss.
One thought raced through her head: He loves me.
2020, February 29 – 01:37 – The Ice Box, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep, beep bee—
Without looking, Greyson turned off the video comm alarm just by touch. She sluggishly rolled toward the wall beside her bed and opened the feed, blinking at the face of Chief Tech Officer Tendo Choi. Yawning, she asked, "What is it, Ten?"
"Category 3 has been spotted heading our way from the Breach. From its speed, ETA five hours." Tendo disappeared from the periphery of the screen before turning back to the system, frowning. "Correction: ETA three hours from sector seven."
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, sitting up and patting down her hair. "Who got deployed?" Greyson hopped off her bed and shoved her boots onto her feet, shuffling to the closet and shrugging on one of her uniform jackets.
"The Beckets have been alerted and are heading on deck as we speak," answered Tendo, his fingers clicking on the keyboard and toggling switches on the console.
Greyson pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. "Tell the techs in DSR to double-time it. Clear Scramble Alley. Have staff set Gipsy Danger in Bay 1, it's closer." As she searched for her belongings, she stopped, confused. "What happened to the Gage twins?"
"California deployed them earlier, but the bogey didn't pass the ten-mile line."
"Odd." Greyson threw her ID lanyard around her neck before saying, "Heading to the LOCCENT; give me five."
2020, February 29 – 03:23 – The Ice Box, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Greyson sat beside Tendo in the LOCCENT, watching over the sensors as the other officer monitored their stats. Marshal Pentecost stood behind them, still steaming after the Gipsy Danger crew had saved a small boat and disobeyed a direct order.
Things had not been looking good.
"Yancy, you're drifting," she warned, confused at the readings. The holograms glitched, and Greyson just about had a heart attack. "What the hell…"
Warning sirens. Something was wrong. She heard Raleigh scream, and then Yancy said through gritted teeth: "LOCCENT, we're hit!" The digital model of Gipsy indicated the loss of limb.
Tendo scanned the readings, updating Pentecost on Gipsy's mass damage. "Left arm's gone cold, sir."
Within heartbeats, there was Conn-Pod breach, an overload that surged through her frame. The right hemisphere of Gipsy Danger shorted. Raleigh's brain interface glitched in response. Their heads-up displays blacked out on the LOCCENT screens. "The hull! It went through the hull!"
"Right hemisphere: critical," the Jaeger AI informed them.
Through the speakers, they heard Yancy's plea. "Raleigh, listen to me, you need to—"
It took Greyson a few, long seconds for the advancement to seep in. Yancy's side of the Jaeger circuits had gone dark. Yancy's life support was glowing red. She heard Raleigh's anguished cries for his brother. Lights went off, manual switches activated.
"Crisis Command Matrix: engaged."
The green turned red. Pentecost looked at the alerts on the screens, brows furrowed. "What's happening?" he asked.
"He'd been pulled out of the Conn-Pod, sir." Greyson sat dumbfounded as she continued: "It knew they were in there. When did they figure that out?!"
"They're getting smarter," Pentecost said under his breath. His eyes narrowed.
Greyson turned to the Marshal, heart beating a thousand miles an hour. "Sir, the matrix was loaded. Do you want me to connect the Pons?" She hoped his answer was 'yes'; after all, he was the only other Ranger to have piloted a Jaeger alone. He knew the strain it would put on Raleigh.
Pentecost looked at her, and then at the screens. Raleigh had fully taken over Gipsy Danger. "No," was the answer she received.
"But sir! I'm the only one—"
"One direct order has already been disobeyed, lieutenant. Don't make it two." The Marshal was firm with his answer, and Greyson only huffed, nodding stiffly.
Then Tendo said something that caught even Greyson completely off guard. "Plasma cannons are overloading—"
Static. GIPSY DANGER – STATUS: INACTIVE. Then, it disappeared in the exact moment as Knifehead's signature. Greyson's heart dropped.
"The second discharge fried all the comms, sir, I'm not getting any signals," Tendo reported, trying to toggle with the switches. "No signatures, sir!"
Greyson sat frozen in her seat, staring at the back of their Marshal. He walked away from the station, silent. She realized that she had stopped breathing.
"What do we do now, sir?" Tendo's voice was steady, but Greyson knew he was as shocked as anybody.
"Send out the Jumphawks to their last coordinates." Stacker pivoted on his heel, and abruptly stopped. "Darcy, find out what the hell happened."
Greyson sighed, dejected. The shock had yet to set in. "Yes, sir."