August 14: Rising to the Challenge (T; Pacific Rim)
Title: Rising to the Challenge
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: twistedshorts: August 14
Crossover: Pacific Rim
Spoilers: Post-series, no comics; movie timeline
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Notes: 10th in the Slayer Jaeger sequence. I'd actually planned to pair this part with an action segment, but had a busy day, and I'm exhausted; so it's a bit short, but I think it covers all it needs to. Climactic action will occupy the next fic, and then I'll do an epiloguish "after the war" story. And then visit other fandoms awhile. :)
Summary: "Okay," Buffy said, looking around the briefing table at the other members of the Breach strike team. "It looks like the gang's all here." 900 words.
"Okay," Buffy said, looking around the briefing table at the other members of the Breach strike team. "It looks like the gang's all here."
Faith stood next to her, at the front of the room; the Marshal was seated at the head of a long table beside Chief Choi, who would be their lifeline while they were in the water. The others were spaced out around the perimeter, grouped by pilot teams. Mako and Herc Hansen were seated on Pentecost's other side, both looking more at peace than Buffy had seen them in years; Chuck Hansen was next to his father, looking older without that resentful simmer that used to come off him in waves. The Beckets had been good for him; they might bitch, but they complemented each other's rough edges rather than wearing against them, like Chuck and Herc had done. The Kaidanovskys were sharing a chair, their impressive physiques and stark blond hair a dramatic contrast to their soft body language with each other. And the Wei triplets, who piloted the only other crimson Jaeger in the service, seemed to be passing nonverbal commentary between each other the way they normally did basketballs in the Hong Kong hangar bays.
"So, it's time to level with you guys," she continued, meeting their curious and wary gazes one by one. "Most of you know Marshal Pentecost's been planning a major mission all year; most of you have probably even guessed what it is."
Nods followed all around at that statement, and commentary in at least four languages. Buffy waited a moment for it to die down, then went on. "What you didn't know is why. The answer's simple; we figured out how to open the Breach from our side."
It was easy to tell who'd known anything about it before, and who'd been surprised; gasps echoed through the room, and pilots exchanged shocked glances before raising their voices again in a jumble.
Faith held up a hand, pushing away from the wall she'd been leaning against to gesture them all down. "See, the last time the kaiju were here, they didn't just cut a swath through the fossil record. They left other evidence behind. Scratchings and shit. Drawings. Artefacts. But nobody had any clue what it really meant until Trespasser stuck its nose through the Breach and plowed through San Francisco."
"The ISWC," Sasha Kaidanovsky said, her tone clipped and a little accusing. "This is where your influence comes from; your power. We have wondered."
"To an extent," Buffy nodded to her. "We had knowledge DARPA didn't. It's one of the reasons why we funded our own Jaeger, and why Faith and I joined the Rangers: to put that knowledge to good use."
"Suddenly Dr. Geiszler makes heaps more sense," Herc Hansen commented, one corner of his mouth turned up wryly.
"Hah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?" Faith fielded that one. "But no; he's not with us. He's just a brilliant, crazy little motherfucker. A couple of his colleagues, though, in the labs and engineering teams-- how many of you have met Dr. Burkle?"
They all had; Buffy watched spines straighten as the pilots exchanged startled, then understanding glances. Illyria was definitely the type to leave an impression, and if they wanted to put her weirdnesses down to belated recognition of inside knowledge, Buffy wouldn't discourage them. "She has the closest thing we've got to a first-person account of what went down then. And she believes she knows why all our previous attempts failed. Because the Breach is set to only let their own kind through-- from either direction."
"I assume you have planned to overcome this problem?" Aleksis Kaidanovsky frowned at her.
"Yeah. We give it what it wants," Faith told him. "Like we said; they've been here before. Lived here-- and died here. We make up a payload to seal the Breach, and toss it through in a coffin full of ancient kaiju remains. It goes through; it blows; the Breach collapses, and no more kaiju. Ever."
There was more to it, of course; but they didn't need to hear about the magic factor.
"So what's the catch?" Chuck demanded, skeptically. "There has to be one, or you wouldn't need five Jaegers to deliver it."
"Indeed not, Mr. Hansen," the Marshal interrupted. "The catch is that the payload will have to sink through the passage between our world and theirs and emerge on the other side before it can detonate. Until that time, the Breach will be fully opened-- and its creators will obviously be aware that none of them opened it. Whatever guardians may be set on that side-- whether it be a lone Category One or an entire army of Category Fours lined up waiting for attack orders-- will have several minutes to reach us before the detonation. We must keep them from making it ashore, or rejecting the payload. Drastic measures may need to be taken."
Chuck swallowed, then shot a sideways glance at the Beckets. Raleigh gave him a tight nod; they didn't quite touch, but Buffy saw Herc reach over to drop a hand on his son's knee, and Mako knitted her fingers with Herc's under the table. The Weis exchanged speaking glances again, and Aleksis tightened his hands around his wife's waist.
"Well, then," Raleigh drawled, clearing his throat. "The sooner we get it done, the better. When do we drop?"
-x-
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: twistedshorts: August 14
Crossover: Pacific Rim
Spoilers: Post-series, no comics; movie timeline
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Notes: 10th in the Slayer Jaeger sequence. I'd actually planned to pair this part with an action segment, but had a busy day, and I'm exhausted; so it's a bit short, but I think it covers all it needs to. Climactic action will occupy the next fic, and then I'll do an epiloguish "after the war" story. And then visit other fandoms awhile. :)
Summary: "Okay," Buffy said, looking around the briefing table at the other members of the Breach strike team. "It looks like the gang's all here." 900 words.
"Okay," Buffy said, looking around the briefing table at the other members of the Breach strike team. "It looks like the gang's all here."
Faith stood next to her, at the front of the room; the Marshal was seated at the head of a long table beside Chief Choi, who would be their lifeline while they were in the water. The others were spaced out around the perimeter, grouped by pilot teams. Mako and Herc Hansen were seated on Pentecost's other side, both looking more at peace than Buffy had seen them in years; Chuck Hansen was next to his father, looking older without that resentful simmer that used to come off him in waves. The Beckets had been good for him; they might bitch, but they complemented each other's rough edges rather than wearing against them, like Chuck and Herc had done. The Kaidanovskys were sharing a chair, their impressive physiques and stark blond hair a dramatic contrast to their soft body language with each other. And the Wei triplets, who piloted the only other crimson Jaeger in the service, seemed to be passing nonverbal commentary between each other the way they normally did basketballs in the Hong Kong hangar bays.
"So, it's time to level with you guys," she continued, meeting their curious and wary gazes one by one. "Most of you know Marshal Pentecost's been planning a major mission all year; most of you have probably even guessed what it is."
Nods followed all around at that statement, and commentary in at least four languages. Buffy waited a moment for it to die down, then went on. "What you didn't know is why. The answer's simple; we figured out how to open the Breach from our side."
It was easy to tell who'd known anything about it before, and who'd been surprised; gasps echoed through the room, and pilots exchanged shocked glances before raising their voices again in a jumble.
Faith held up a hand, pushing away from the wall she'd been leaning against to gesture them all down. "See, the last time the kaiju were here, they didn't just cut a swath through the fossil record. They left other evidence behind. Scratchings and shit. Drawings. Artefacts. But nobody had any clue what it really meant until Trespasser stuck its nose through the Breach and plowed through San Francisco."
"The ISWC," Sasha Kaidanovsky said, her tone clipped and a little accusing. "This is where your influence comes from; your power. We have wondered."
"To an extent," Buffy nodded to her. "We had knowledge DARPA didn't. It's one of the reasons why we funded our own Jaeger, and why Faith and I joined the Rangers: to put that knowledge to good use."
"Suddenly Dr. Geiszler makes heaps more sense," Herc Hansen commented, one corner of his mouth turned up wryly.
"Hah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?" Faith fielded that one. "But no; he's not with us. He's just a brilliant, crazy little motherfucker. A couple of his colleagues, though, in the labs and engineering teams-- how many of you have met Dr. Burkle?"
They all had; Buffy watched spines straighten as the pilots exchanged startled, then understanding glances. Illyria was definitely the type to leave an impression, and if they wanted to put her weirdnesses down to belated recognition of inside knowledge, Buffy wouldn't discourage them. "She has the closest thing we've got to a first-person account of what went down then. And she believes she knows why all our previous attempts failed. Because the Breach is set to only let their own kind through-- from either direction."
"I assume you have planned to overcome this problem?" Aleksis Kaidanovsky frowned at her.
"Yeah. We give it what it wants," Faith told him. "Like we said; they've been here before. Lived here-- and died here. We make up a payload to seal the Breach, and toss it through in a coffin full of ancient kaiju remains. It goes through; it blows; the Breach collapses, and no more kaiju. Ever."
There was more to it, of course; but they didn't need to hear about the magic factor.
"So what's the catch?" Chuck demanded, skeptically. "There has to be one, or you wouldn't need five Jaegers to deliver it."
"Indeed not, Mr. Hansen," the Marshal interrupted. "The catch is that the payload will have to sink through the passage between our world and theirs and emerge on the other side before it can detonate. Until that time, the Breach will be fully opened-- and its creators will obviously be aware that none of them opened it. Whatever guardians may be set on that side-- whether it be a lone Category One or an entire army of Category Fours lined up waiting for attack orders-- will have several minutes to reach us before the detonation. We must keep them from making it ashore, or rejecting the payload. Drastic measures may need to be taken."
Chuck swallowed, then shot a sideways glance at the Beckets. Raleigh gave him a tight nod; they didn't quite touch, but Buffy saw Herc reach over to drop a hand on his son's knee, and Mako knitted her fingers with Herc's under the table. The Weis exchanged speaking glances again, and Aleksis tightened his hands around his wife's waist.
"Well, then," Raleigh drawled, clearing his throat. "The sooner we get it done, the better. When do we drop?"
-x-