by Alex Irvine
“I can help, sir—” Ilya protested.
Lambert cut him off. “Ilya, stand down. That’s an order.”
“We know how bad you want back in the fight,” Jake added. “But even a seasoned vet can’t pilot a Jaeger without help.”
As the words left his mouth, a whole new train of thought fell together in Jake’s mind. Jaegers were built for two-Ranger piloting teams because the neural load of piloting a Jaeger was too much for one brain. That knowledge locked together in his mind with a memory of Gottlieb talking about the Kaiju brain they had recovered from Obsidian Fury. Not a central brain, but a secondary organ, a cluster of nerves and synapses like you might ordinarily find at the base of a Kaiju’s spine.
Ahead of them, he saw the Mega-Kaiju heading for the base of Mount Fuji, and he had an idea. “Gipsy to Command. Do you have a tactical scan of the hostile?”
* * *
In the War Room, a technician by the name of McKinney answered his query right away. “Assessing data from their sensors.” She pulled up everything they had from various remote scans and got it together on a single screen.
Jules watched the image begin to resolve. She leaned into the comm to update Jake. “We have it, Gipsy, but it’s still compiling.”
“No time,” Jake said. “Can you locate the brains?”
Gottlieb was working the scan now, taking over from McKinney. He zoomed in on a detail of the Mega-Kaiju’s head. Multiple layers of bony spikes and crests protected its brain, all under the final outside layer of the cyborg mechs that had woven themselves into a seemingly impervious exoskeleton. “Hostile’s central brain mass is heavily armored,” Gottlieb informed them. He waited a brief moment for the associated scanning programs to bring back a result about kinetic damping values and energy ablation, other defensive variables. None of the numbers looked good. “Your weapons won’t be able to penetrate.”
Lambert was following the conversation while he kept Gipsy hot on the Mega-Kaiju’s trail. He also had the benefit of being in Jake’s mind, thanks to the Drift, so he saw where Jake was going. “What about a secondary brain? This sonofabitch have one of those?”
Still working the holo screen as it compiled data from different local and satellite sources, Gottlieb swiped away a number of layers to get to the basic anatomical breakdown of the Mega-Kaiju as they understood it. The image on the screen was astonishing. Three Kaiju, stitched together into one. The skeletal structures of all three were still visible on the screen, along with the brutal modifications made by the army of smaller robots from Shao’s factory. Under other circumstances, Gottlieb would have spent hours or days marveling at the incredible research, intuition, and manufacturing skill that went into creating something like this—but today all he wanted was to kill it.
Three areas lit up on the screen, designating three points near the Mega-Kaiju’s hindquarters, at the base of its three tails. “Hostile has three secondary brains,” he reported. “One for each component Kaiju.” Jules captured the tactical scan and swiped it over to the Shared Intel Battlefield Server, available to all Jaegers in the field.
“Sending intel.”
Jake and Lambert watched as the anatomy scan consolidated on Gipsy Avenger’s HUD. “Intel received.” They were still chasing the Mega-Kaiju, and Jake wasn’t sure they were going to get there in time. But if they did, they were going to need to put it down fast.
“Taking out the secondary brains won’t kill it,” Lambert said.
“Maybe not,” Jake agreed. “But it’ll sure as hell slow it down.” He called out to the other two Jaeger crews. “Saber Athena, Bracer Phoenix. Check your HUDs for updated target package.”
There was a brief pause as Renata and Amara accessed the new information. “Package confirmed for Saber Athena,” Renata reported. Amara echoed a few seconds later.
“Follow our lead,” Jake said. “And stay frosty.” They had no idea what might be coming next.
Lambert did have an idea about some steps they could take to be extra prepared, though. “Might be a good time to fire up some of those Obsidian Fury weapons Liwen grabbed us,” he said.
Jake grinned. “Read my mind, partner.” He didn’t know what all those systems might be yet, since, as Jules had said, crews had kit-bashed them in as they worked, but he did know about one, and he was looking forward to using it.
They were gaining on the Mega-Kaiju. As they got close enough to attack, Gipsy Avenger snapped its arms out straight and Obsidian Fury’s twin plasma chainsaws slid out of their forearm housings and locked into place. Still running, Gipsy leaped forward, kicking up off a building as Guardian Bravo had to gain enough altitude. The Jaeger soared in a high arc over the Mega-Kaiju’s tails and slashed the plasma saws across its back as it came down. The saws tore through the extra layer of plating formed by Newt’s creatures. Pieces of them cascaded down the Mega-Kaiju’s back. Gipsy Avenger landed and ducked the sweep of the Mega-Kaiju’s tails as it rounded on them to strike back.
Saber Athena, right behind Gipsy Avenger, came flying in with another aerial attack, aiming for the spot weakened by the plasma saws. The Mega-Kaiju raised a claw to smash Saber Athena down into the ground, but a volley of missiles from Bracer Phoenix distracted it. It lumbered around to face Bracer just as Amara and Jinhai threw the Morning Star Hand. Its spikes snapped out as it flew straight and true into the Mega-Kaiju’s face, rocking its head back and snapping off one of its mandible tusks.
Thinking the Mega-Kaiju was stunned, Bracer Phoenix tried to jump onto its back, where the secondary brains were housed low along its spine. But the Mega-Kaiju reacted quickly, spinning around to swat Bracer Phoenix out of the air. The Jaeger landed hard in a block of low buildings, crushing them. Saber Athena tried to dance in and open the wound on its back wider. The Mega-Kaiju anticipated this attack too, swiping a claw around as Saber Athena lunged forward, extending its sword.
The Mega-Kaiju’s claws tore through Saber Athena’s legs, ripping them off just below the hip joints. Saber Athena hit the ground and the Mega-Kaiju loomed over her, roaring in triumph. Grimacing with the agony of biofeedback, Renata and Ryoichi tried to crawl away, dragging Saber Athena along by her arms. The shriek of alarms in the Conn-Pod drowned out the Mega-Kaiju’s roars. Jake saw the creature raising its double tail over its head. He shouted a warning, but even if Renata and Ryoichi had heard it, there was no way for them to avoid Mega-Kaiju’s attack. The twin tails snapped forward and down like a scorpion’s, impaling Saber Athena and stabbing deep into the ground. The crippled Jaeger spasmed as her power core flared from the damage inflicted by the tail spikes. Renata and Ryoichi cried out, feeling their Jaeger die around them.
Jerking its tail back, the Mega-Kaiju lifted Saber Athena off the ground and flung her aside. “Renata! Ryoichi!” Lambert called. “Status!”
There was no answer. Saber Athena, legless and shattered, crashed to the ground and lay still.
Gipsy Avenger now had an opening, but at terrible cost. Jake and Lambert knew they couldn’t waste this chance. Keeping an eye on the HUD tactical scan of the secondary brains’ locations, they sprung forward onto the Mega-Kaiju’s back, driving both plasma saws deep into the plating over the base of its spine, straight into a secondary brain. The Mega-Kaiju screeched in agony, and one of its legs went limp. The dead weight put incredible strain on the network of stitching that held the parts of the Mega-Kaiju together. They began to split apart, tearing themselves to pieces.
On the HUD, one of the three secondary brains winked out. “One down, two to go,” Jake said. He and Lambert dragged one of the plasma saws free in a fountain of mech parts and Kaiju blood. The Mega-Kaiju thrashed, snapping off the other saw and launching Gipsy Avenger away. Jake and Lambert tried to brace themselves as they smashed through an elevated train track, scattering the stopped cars, and landed hard in an open space beyond the track.
With the Mega-Kaiju facing back toward Gipsy Avenger, Bracer Phoenix had a clear shot at the gaping wound in its b
ack. Vik dropped into the railgun turret again and unleashed a furious barrage. Railgun shells chewed apart the plating around the wound, but she couldn’t keep the gun on so small a target while the Mega-Kaiju was still moving. Bracer tried to circle for a better angle, but the Mega-Kaiju turned to keep its back out of the field of fire. “I can’t punch through!” she shouted.
Jinhai looked around for some way to keep the Mega-Kaiju still. On top of a nearby building, he spotted a tall steel spire. “Target that spire! I’m gonna try something!”
Vik didn’t ask any questions. She swung the turret around and opened fire. The first burst of shells tore the top off the building and sheared the spire loose. Bracer Phoenix ran to catch it, leaping high into the air. Amara watched the spire start to spin. They had to time this perfectly. She reached out and caught it, pivoting in her Drift cradle as she did, feeling Jinhai in perfect synchronicity with her move.
Bracer Phoenix spun in midair, turning the spire over and gripping it with both hands. The Mega-Kaiju dragged itself forward, one leg still dead.
As Bracer Phoenix fell through the arc of her jump, Amara drove both hands down, watching the holographic spire in her hands punch deep into the Mega-Kaiju’s back toward the two remaining secondary brains. The tip of the spire stabbed straight through one. It darkened and winked out. The Mega-Kaiju bellowed again, and more of its body sagged. Amara heard cheering over the comm, from back in the War Room, and she realized she was cheering too.
A moment later, Bracer Phoenix was rocked as the Mega-Kaiju lashed around and seized the Jaeger in its monstrous jaws. It shook the Jaeger like a dog killing a rat. Inside the Conn-Pod, the Mega-Kaiju’s fangs punched in close to the three cadets. The Conn-Pod began to crumple. “All pilots, eject! Eject!” Jinhai hit the ejection button and his Drift cradle slammed up into his ejection pod. Right behind him came Amara. Vik was the last to reach her pod, rocketing back up on the maglev track from the railgun turret down in Bracer Phoenix’s waist.
The three pods blasted free of Bracer Phoenix’s head just as the Mega-Kaiju bit down and crushed the Jaeger’s upper half. They crashed down in the wreckage and rubble near where Saber Athena had fallen. The Mega-Kaiju chewed on the wreckage of Bracer Phoenix and then tossed it away.
Now Gipsy Avenger was the only Jaeger left, and the Mega-Kaiju was still alive. But as Jake and Lambert circled it, looking for a way to get at that third brain, they saw the scale of the damage they’d already done. The Mega-Kaiju was bleeding from a hundred wounds, and huge gouges showed in its outer armor of Newt-monsters. It dragged one leg but still kept going, doggedly heading for Mount Fuji. Some of the smaller creatures lost their grip and fell off, dying as they hit the ground or were crushed under the Mega-Kaiju’s immense claws.
Now it’s one on one, Jake thought. Gipsy Avenger and the biggest Kaiju the world has ever seen. Fate of the world at stake.
Gipsy Avenger dug herself out of the rubble on the other side of the destroyed elevated train track. On the HUD, they got another look at the Mega-Kaiju’s wounds, hoping to find an exploitable weak spot. But Gipsy Avenger had taken some damage, too. Losing the plasma saw had damaged that arm, and the general pounding had generated a long list of damage alerts. Their weapons systems were rebooting and parts of their sensor package were damaged.
But they were still alive, and Jake knew they could finish the Mega-Kaiju off even if they had to do it with just Gipsy Avenger’s fists.
“Jake…” Lambert worked the holo screens, furiously trying to get Gipsy’s weapons back online.
“Yeah, I know,” Jake said through gritted teeth. They couldn’t let the Mega-Kaiju get much more of a head start, or they would never catch it. They leaned forward and Gipsy Avenger leaped from the far side of the tracks, landing on the Mega-Kaiju’s back again. It overbalanced and tumbled to the ground. Gipsy blasted away at it with her plasma cannon as Lambert got it working again, but the Mega-Kaiju kept going, dragging Gipsy Avenger across the ground. A blast from the plasma cannon struck one of the wounds in the Mega-Kaiju’s back and it arched in agonized fury, lashing out with its tail. The tail gouged a hole in the back wall of Gipsy Avenger’s Conn-Pod and tore into Nate’s Drift cradle. Nate grunted in pain as it shredded one side of his drivesuit and cracked his helmet. Then it was gone. In the Drift Jake could feel Nate’s shock and agony from the deep wound in his side.
“Nate! C’mon, stay with me, brother—” He could see Lambert struggling, and feel it in the Drift. Nate’s eyes fluttered closed and Jake felt his presence disappear from the Drift.
“Warning,” an AI voice said. “Neural handshake lost.”
Jake suddenly felt the whole neural load of piloting Gipsy Avenger. He staggered, and the Jaeger did, too. The Mega-Kaiju dug its claws into Gipsy’s armor. Jake tried to fight back, but he couldn’t break the Mega-Kaiju’s grip. He heard blood roaring in his ears and his mind started to fragment. Old memories that he had shared in the Drift came back, superimposing themselves on the present moment. He heard his father’s voice, the click of Sonny’s gun; when he looked out through Gipsy Avenger’s shattered face shield he saw Mako, over and over, slipping away on the other side of a window, just beyond his grasp. When she fell away he saw her younger, grinning, her face beaded with sweat and her hands wrapped around the staff she’d just used to flip Jake onto his back. He felt Gipsy Avenger moving around him. The maglev field flickered and caught him again. He blinked, trying to remember where he ended and Gipsy Avenger began. You’ll never be a pilot, his father said. Rage flooded through him, snapping him back into focus. Through the cognitive haze of trying to handle Gipsy Avenger on his own, he saw the world tip sideways as the Mega-Kaiju threw Gipsy out of its way. Gipsy Avenger hit the ground hard enough that Jake blacked out for a moment. The next thing he saw was the Mega-Kaiju loping away through the outer reaches of Tokyo, heading for Mount Fuji and the end of the world.
34
JaegerWatch:
DID YOU SEE THAT!?!?!!?!?!?
If you do not have the drone feed that I have, bro and sis and cuz, I pity you, because the things I am seeing from Tokyo defy the imagination. I am seeing four Jaegers take on three Kaiju… then the three Kaiju get run over by an insane horde of tiny little robot monster things that, what, like chew them all up and turn them all into one giant MEGA-KAIJU and it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.
I have to remind myself people are dead, and I’m posting this online from a safe place like a thousand miles from the nearest place where a Kaiju ever appeared.
But that giant Kaiju was something. Is it still there? The drone feed from Tokyo cut out and I haven’t been able to find another one. Most of the city’s evacuated, and whoever that brave soul was who stuck around long enough to fly a drone out into the middle of a fight between Jaegers and Kaiju, I salute you.
Give me more.
But don’t forget that these are real people out there. I try not to forget that. It’s easy when you only see them on a screen, but they’re real. You only ever think of them because they’re inside giant machines, but they’re real.
And they save the world for us. I’m going to try to remember that more. You too, okay?
“Yes!” Newt cheered. “Get up from that, you pile of junk!”
All of the Jaegers were down. The Ripper experiment had paid off perfectly, forcing the Jaegers into close combat where they were vulnerable to the Mega-Kaiju’s superior physical force. Now the Mega-Kaiju was passing close by the rooftop where Newt had watched the whole battle unfold. He fell silent as the looming bulk of the Kaiju drew close. The rooftop was about level with its head. The Mega-Kaiju looked over toward him, a deep rumble coming from its throat. Newt watched it observing him, and he had the fleeting thought that it would be one world-class irony if it killed him on its way to end the human race.
The Kaiju’s head swung closer, and it paused on its way. It was close enough that Newt could see the damage inflicted by the Jaegers: burns, open slashes through its limbs
, layers of its dermal armor sheared away. Blood ran down its flanks and dripped from its tail, leaving a trail of sizzling spots on the street. The monstrous muzzle was close enough to touch, its twenty-foot teeth towering over Newt as it inhaled his scent. It lingered for another moment, then turned away and resumed its steady progress toward Mount Fuji.
Newt blew out a long sigh. Then he chuckled. There had never been anything to worry about. And he hadn’t really been worried after all. “Bye!” he called after it.
* * *
In the Moyulan War Room, Gottlieb thought furiously. If their last Jaeger was out of commission, their only possible option was Shao Liwen’s little basement project. “Liwen!” he called into the comm. “Is there anything you can do to help?”
“I need more time!” she snapped.
“We don’t have any.” The Mega-Kaiju was picking up speed as it skirted the foothills around Mount Tanzawa and emerged into the wide plain surrounding Mount Fuji. “If hostile reaches Mount Fuji—”
Jake Pentecost’s voice crackled over the comm. “Gipsy to Command! Lambert’s down.”
Gottlieb eyeballed calculations he’d been running since the three Kaiju appeared and he was able to get good data on them. The results were not good. He told Pentecost even though there wasn’t anything Pentecost could do about it. “Command to Gipsy. If my calculations are right, the amount of blood in that Cat-Five is just enough to ignite the Ring of Fire.”
* * *
Jake registered this. Lambert was out, and Gipsy Avenger was the only Jaeger left even able to stand. “Understood,” he said. “Not gonna let that happen.”
He was going to stop the Mega-Kaiju. Or die trying. Better to go out via a stroke than sit there watching as the Mega-Kaiju climbed Fuji-san and ended the world.
“Jake, you can’t operate Gipsy without a copilot—” Gottlieb insisted.
