Renata and Ryoichi were suspended by repelling harnesses as they welded a plate closed on Saber’s chest. Every one of the cadets was working hard!
A small army of J-Techs and Shao techs were also suspended near them, repairing the damaged Jaeger. Renata paused to wipe sweat from her eyes and made the mistake of looking down. They were a long, long way off the ground.
Jake and Nate helped Shao techs load a hunk of salvaged machinery onto a scrambler. Jake thumped the side, giving them the signal to drive off. He nodded to Shao as she passed. She absently returned the nod, her fingers flying across a data pad.
Shao spotted Gottlieb entering from the tarmac and excitedly joined him to show him her calculations. Gottlieb scanned the data pad, his eyes brightening with the light of discovery.
Shao worked the holo display, trying to get Gottlieb’s fuel equation to balance. She failed, then tried again. It locked into place!
She threw an excited look to Gottlieb who worked at the main vid screen. He rushed over, confirming the equation at a terminal near Shao. His crazy idea was going to work! Probably. Maybe . . .
Jules updated Jake and Nate as they hustled toward Gipsy.
“Saber Athena, Guardian Bravo, and Bracer Phoenix are good to go,” she said.
“Not a lot to work with,” said Jake.
“Shao’s team kit-bashed some Fury tech into Gipsy that might help,” said Jules.
“Prep everything we’ve got for deployment,” said Nate.
“Don’t get yourself hurt, okay?” Jules said to Nate. She kissed him on the cheek.
Then she turned to Jake. “You either,” she said. She also kissed him on the cheek, and then headed off down the corridor. Jake and Nate both watched her go.
“Well that’s confusing,” said Jake.
Nate frowned in agreement. “Let’s stay on point,” he said. “We only have four Jaegers. Against two Category IVs and a fiver.”
“Better than just Gipsy,” said Jake.
“Still need pilots,” said Nate.
“We have them,” said Jake.
Nate realized whom Jake was referring to and exhaled in concern. Were the cadets ready for this?
Amara, Jinhai, Vik, Suresh, Ilya, Renata, and Ryoichi lined up in their cadet drivesuits, helmets in hand. Jake and Nate were now in their ranger drivesuits, too. Jake nodded to the nervous cadets, reassuring them and himself.
“If my dad were here, he’d probably give a big speech, make you all feel invincible,” said Jake. “But I’m not my father. I’m not . . . I’m not a hero like he was. Like Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori. But they didn’t start out that way. They started as cadets, just like you. We remember them as giants because they stood tall. Because they stood together. It doesn’t matter how many tries it took to get here. Or who your parents are. Or where you came from. Or who believed in you and who didn’t. You’re part of a family now.”
Jake glanced to Nate, remembering his own speech to the cadets in the sim room.
“This is our time. This is our chance to make a difference,” said Jake. “Mount up and let’s get it done.”
The cadets straightened with pride and determination.
Inside Bracer Phoenix, Amara, Jinhai, and Vik climbed into their drift cradles. Amara and Jinhai were up front with Vik in the back.
“Initiating neural handshake . . .” said Amara.
The three reacted as their minds opened to each other. Jinhai grinned at the readout on his display. “Neural handshake strong and steady,” he said.
“So. How’s it feel to be in a real Jaeger?” Vik asked Amara.
“Bigger’s . . . not bad,” said Amara.
Then all three of them grinned.
Inside Gipsy Avenger, Nate and Jake were in their drift cradles, finishing their predeployment check.
Nate addressed the squad over the comm. “All Jaegers, sound off, go-no-go for launch.”
“Suresh and Ilya—” said Nate.
“Guardian Bravo. Go,” they responded.
“Renata and Ryoichi—” said Nate.
“Saber Athena. Go,” they responded.
“Amara, Jinhai, and Vik,” said Nate.
“Bracer Phoenix. Let’s go already,” said Amara.
“Copy that. Command, we are go for launch,” said Jake.
Gipsy and the other three Jaegers stood on their launch pads. Gottlieb eyed them from the main holo screen, where he was overseeing the launch with his new thruster pods. Jules hustled in past war room techs that were working the support terminals, and she took a position across from Gottlieb.
“Roger, Gipsy Avenger. Ignition in ten seconds,” said Gottlieb. Then he started to count down.
“9 . . . 8 . . .”
The cadets were apprehensive but eager.
“7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . .”
Jake and Nate tensed as the countdown lowered.
“3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . ignition!”
BOOM! Kaiju-blue tinted flames erupted from the thruster pods. The Jaegers started to rise on pillars of flame and smoke. Inside, the conn-pods shook violently, like they were about to come apart. The cadets looked like they were about to puke.
Warning alarms blared. Suresh swallowed hard. “That’s not a good sound!”
Even Jake and Nate exchanged nervous glances. “Come on, girl. Hold together . . .” said Jake.
Gipsy, Bracer, Guardian, and Saber launched triumphantly into the sky!
Jules and the rest of the war room cheered. Gottlieb exhaled in relief, grinning weakly at Jules. “Knew it would work,” he said.
Raijin, Hakuja, and Shrikethorn rampaged through the megacity of Tokyo. People on the street were running to the nearest Kaiju shelters.
Raijin paused as he spied something up ahead. He roared at Hakuja and Shrikethorn. The Kaiju were communicating! These weren’t mindless beasts. They were intelligent and working together.
Mount Fuji loomed in the distance. Raijin started for it, with Hakuja and Shrikethorn following.
WHOMP! Gipsy Avenger dropped out of the sky. Her thruster pods dropped out as she landed on Raijin and threw the Kaiju into a building. She skidded to a stop and rose.
“Gipsy to Command. Targets acquired,” said Nate.
“Um. Roger that, Gipsy,” said Gottlieb.
Gottlieb worked the holo screen, scanning the city for people. The scan came up negative.
“Everyone in the city is secured in underground shelters. You’re cleared to engage.”
“Solid copy. Going hot,”
