Chapter 39: Chapter 39: To Fight the Hurricane
'When the Titans first made themselves known, we thought we'd seen the worst of it.'
'We were wrong.'
'Whenever I'd feel small or lonely as a child… I'd look up at the stars. Wondered if there was life up there. If they too had to worry about titans.'
'Turns out I was looking in the wrong direction. When alien life entered our world it was from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. A fissure between two tectonic plates.'
'A portal between dimensions; The Breach.'
'I was 17 when the first Kaiju made land in San Francisco. By the time tanks, jets and missiles took it down… six days and 35 miles later… three cities were destroyed. Tens of thousands of lives were lost.'
'We mourned our dead memorialized the attack and moved on.'
'And then, only six months later the second attack hit Manila. And then the third one hit Cabo. And then the fourth. And then we learned this was not gonna stop. This was just the beginning.'
'We needed a new weapon. Thankfully, they were already in production, and I was already training for it. To fight monsters we created monsters of our own. The Jaeger program was born. There were setbacks at first. The neural load to interface with a Jaeger proved too much for a single pilot.'
'A two-pilot system was implemented. Left-hemisphere, right-hemisphere pilot control.'
'We started winning. Jaegers stopping Kaijus everywhere. But the Jaegers were only as good as their pilots. So Jaeger pilots turned into rock stars. Danger turned into propaganda. Kaijus into toys. And the titans of old… forgotten.'
'We got really good at it… winning.'
'Then... Then it all changed.'
"Gipsy Danger report to Bay 08, level A-42. Kaiju. Code name: Knifehead. Category 3. 8700 metric tons."
"Dad! Dad! Wake up! We got movement in the breach!" Sam pulled the blanket of his father while slapping him energetically on his face to wake him up, "Wake up Dad! We're being deployed!"
"…Great…" Ford grumbled as he pulled himself out of bed and climbed to the floor from the top bunk-bed.
"Kaiju's a Category 3, biggest one yet. Code name: Knifehead," Sam was visibly vibrating in excitement at another deployment.
"What time is it?" Ford blinked his eyes to awaken himself.
"Two."
"A.M.?"
"Yep."
"What do you say old man? Fifth notch on the belt?" Sam made a fist and mock-punched Ford's shoulder.
"Hmm…" Ford stretched and washed his face with water before putting on his battle-suit and leaving along with Sam.
'I was never top of the class. Never the strongest nor the fastest. But it turned out, my dad and I, we had a unique skill. We were Drift compatible.'
"Data on helmet. Data relay gel dispersing in circuitry suit." An AI voice echoed in the chamber as the combat suit was screwed onto the spandex the two pilots were wearing.
"Good morning, Becket boys!"
"Tendo!! what's happening, my man?" Ford exclaimed.
"How'd that date with Alison... go last night, Mr. Choi?" Sam asked in interest.
"Oh, she loved me. Her boyfriend? Not so much."
"You're gonna get your ass kicked," Ford chuckled.
"Ha, ha~ A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, brother," Tendo rebutted.
"Engage drop, Mr. Choi," The stern voice of Marshal Pentecost shocked the laughter out of Tendo Choi as he saluted to the man.
"Engaging drop, sir! Marshal Pentecost on deck. Securing the Conn Pod. Getting ready to drop."
"Conn Pod door lock secure. Release for drop."
"Gipsy Danger ready for the big drop," Sam did the last-minute checks while reporting in.
"Here we go…" Ford finally got bac his rhythm after being awaken in the middle of the night.
"Coupling confirmed, sir," Tendo turned to the Marshal.
"Engage pilot-to-pilot protocol," the man nodded in approval.
"Engaging Drift."
"Pilot-to-pilot connection, protocol sequence. Neural handshake initiated," An AI noted.
'The Drift. Jaeger tech. Based on neural-systems from the USA's DARPA, Russia's ARF, China's SRSC, and Germany's SPRIND. Two pilots, mind-melding through memories with the body of a giant machine. The deeper the bond the better you fight."
"Neural handshake strong and holding," Tendo confirmed
"Right hemisphere is calibrating."
"Left hemisphere calibrating."
Both pilot's confirmed their Drift completion.
"Gentlemen, your orders are to hold the miracle mile off Anchorage. Copy?" Pentecost huffed the order.
"Copy that, sir," Ford nodded.
"Sir, there's still a civilian vessel in the Gulf?" Sam asked for confirmation of the reeding the Gypsy Danger; their Jaeger, was getting.
A vein bulged from the man's forehead as he replied in a cold voice, "You're protecting a city of two million people. You will not risk those lives for a boat that holds ten… Am I clear?"
Ford nodded while replying, "Yes sir!"
"Man, that's cold… You know what I'm thinking," Sam turned to his father.
"I'm in your brain…" Ford chuckled.
"I know~" Sam whistled as though trying to act innocent, before grinning, "Then let's go fishing."
"Here we go!" Ford nodded and followed the same actions.
'There are things you can't fight… Acts of God. You see a hurricane coming... you have to get out of the way.'
'But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly... you can fight the hurricane.'
'You can win~'
{Literal chills every time I remember this line. I love Pacific Rim in case anyone did not know yet. Shame they never made a sequel. Could have been a hit… Such a shame…}
{Truly a shame…}