[SC ONLY] Kaija Rift II, Electric Boogaloo. [IC]

[Valyrien]

There was no time to fire for the Jaeger when the Kaija broke the surface in full charge at Sfvartgaarde, the crew only just managing to ward of it's great maw with the flamer acting as a rein. The flamer's metal was slowly bending under the strength of it's jaws, the motors and joints of the Jaeger protesting, but Sfvartgaarde did manage to halt the charging Kaija. "Get up undermánsken!" The distorted video feed of Wolfvenstahl encouraged the Bellerophon, more out of dread to be fighting two Kaija alone than concern. Out of the corners of their eyes, they saw in horror as the Iryllian machine was turned into scrap metal, assuming the worst. The butt of the flamer smashed into what probably was Knighthead's cheek, allowing the flamer to be shoved lenght wise into the mouth instead and lit up like the throat of a dragon with the reversed firebreath. A sharp *crack* when the outer chassie of the flamer gave away to the Kaija and a synchronized "Fuc-" from the two Valari as the canister erupted in spectacular fashion, inflicting horrible damage to both opponents.

---

The flames burned brightly and on a wide enough area to be seen from the mainland, the screens in the control room allowing for a front row view of the burning hellscape, most of the onlookers struck silent by the chain of events. "We've got vitals!" A Valarisk technician shouted, breaking the hold on the stunned crowd.

"The cockpit is taking in water, you have no time for delay or error!" Control informed the search and rescue team just as the heli took off.

---

The search lights danced over the rippling surface and illuminated the fuel leaving from the black shape beneath the waves. The rescue divers pushed aside their fears and literally took the plunge. No Knighthead, both to their discomfort and relief, having hoped for a corpse. The Sfvartgaarde looked like the wreck of a battleship as it made it's way slowly through the water, having drifted beyond from under the sea of flaming napalm. It was almost like the emergency hatch had been wielded shut.

"Targets are in custody!" The heli ascending till a group in harnesses were fished out of the sea, the Jaeger pilots hanging limp. "They're alive, but growing weaker! Prepare a trauma team, make sure they have a blowtorch!" One of the divers informed the pilot, having spent some time struggling to remove the frozen suits.

"This is rescue team to Control, Valari have been recovered, returning to base. They are in bad condition, please advise." There was another heli in the distance, most likely still searching for the Bellerophon.

[Asgareth]

Petra was only beginning to drift off, when she heard the siren. Her sister lay fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the noise.
“Get up! We gotta go! Now!”
Ryla stirred. “Wha? What?”
“Get dressed! Get to Potelia! We got a job.”

The girls rushed into their suits, before sprinting to Potelia’s hanger. On the hanger, they were confronted by the Asgarthian Chief Engineer for both Potelia and Macerina, Adam Yinsina.
“Girls, hurry up! They really need your help out there!”
“What’s happened?” Petra asked Adam.
“Not now. Get to Potelia!”

The girls raced into their harnesses, and could hear Adam’s voice
“Neural link activating… Online!”
“Petra, you don’t think the Iryllians and Valarisk were too badly beaten do you?” Ryla asked.
Petra did not acknowledge the question, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand.
“Potelia deploying” Adam stated over the interface,
Petra smiled to herself, as she and Ryla began moving their legs in sync. As the jaeger moved slowly into the sea she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.

As the jaeger moved out further into the ocean, Petra couldn’t help but realise the search efforts down below. Whilst she was unaware of the full extent of the destruction, she began to fear the worst.

---

Rander had been woken yet again by the sirens. Yulni spoke immediately, once she realised he was awake.
“I wouldn’t bother dear. The Farians and Olwarnan sisters are going out.”
Rander grunted to himself. “What’s the point in sending them out? They’re only going to get themselves killed! Mediocre pilots complete mediocre missions. And why the hell are they calling out four Jaegers anyway? What’s going on out there?”
“I don’t know dear, but you’d best get some sleep.” Yulni responded.
Rander did not listen to his wife’s advice. He got up, and walked through the chaotic base to the control room, to see what was happening.

Upon arriving, a sudden realisation dawned on him. And for once, he was speechless.

[Enfaru]

The oceans had whipped up, the clouds darkened further threatening to roll into a full blown storm, the napalm fires raged in patches still yet to be broken up by the wake of the Kaija. The wreckage of the Bellerophon scattered, drifting while what remained of its body began to sink. Clear of the monster ships moved in, first the Valyrien, priority given to rescue their pilots should they still be alive followed the Iryllians looking to salvage whatever they could and the Farians rendering assistance. Mechanical machinery, cranes, sensors, grapples and magnets began to whir into activity. Shouting could be heard over the loud din of the engines and the crashing of the waves, nothing coherent. Light signals flittered between the rain.

They still hadn't found the bodies yet.

---

Back at the Lion Dome, the Farian technicians were working double time recording the gauges and sending in additional commands to the Jaeger to keep it operating never mind cool.

"Ma'am, we're operating at 68% thermal capacity. The pod is holding at 30%". The cloaked figure stood behind the technicians surrounded by the array of monitors and videos. Noises could be heard from the Asgareth berth and chaos from the Valyrien bay, they weren't getting off lightly by the sounds of things. The one who had potentially lost the most however stood in the main control room. The Admiral, their prized Bellerophon had been rendered asunder, their pilots destroyed. A gentle shake of the hood and the soft voice muttered under its raspy breath, "Mortal men, doomed to die."

"We have a situation it looks like one of the Kaija are going down."

"Knighthead" The voice from under the hood spoke sharply.

"Confirmed, Knighthead is going down."

For the Farian team that changed things, the strategy that they had planned would have to be advanced to its next stage early. Thankfully they'd have additional room to manoeuvre, orders were given. If the Kaija crossed the minimum safety threshold, they were to deplete their ammo into the beast. They'd have to reload with something more useful when they came back in, but for now what they had should suffice. What mattered then was how the Potelia acted.

[Iryllia]

The Helicopters were around the two wrecks within short order, the boats began to arrive shortly thereafter, their delays brought on by the avoidance of the still at large Kaija making their way towards the dome. A dozen different spotlights swam over the broken waves as Valarisk ships and helicopters extracted the unfortunate crew from the waves. An Iryllian Destroyer, the Rozovaya Ravnina, stood vigilant over the proceedings. The bigger salvage boats wouldn't be available until the following morning, even so Iryllian diver crews in special lead-lined suits made quick excursions towards the wreck of the Bellerophon throughout the night in an effort to stop the leakage of radioactive coolant into the water. Later reports showed that wreckage of the Bellerophon drifted up to twenty miles away from the main sight of the wreck.

One such helicopter, Romeo 2-3, was bringing back the recovered black box of the Bellerophon about fifteen minutes after the first search and rescue teams arrived at the scene. Normally salvage crews would of had to cut into the main body of an Iryllian Mk. I to recover such an item, but the wreck being as it was it was almost laughably easy to extract the thing. The Heli was on it's way back, crews in the back still scrubbing the thing with decontaminates. It's search light swung over the ocean on the way back to the dome, following a trail of Kaija blood and oil, the odd bit of burning something in the water. The searchlight picked up something in the water ahead, and as the machine flew over and began to circle the Pilot called into the domes control. "This is Romeo two three, We've got a carcass of a Kaija belly up four miles from Faustock. Heavy burns, got a lot of blood leaking into the water."
"Copy that Romeo two three, mark the location with a transponder and we'll get too it later."

---

With the confirmation of Knightheads death, from the wounds inflicted upon it from the destruction of the Sfvartgaarde, the Shi'fei Taouk and Potelia would only have to face one Kaija in Faustock bay.

Dice Rolls & Results:

Base Roll:
Shi'fei Taouk and Potelia base roll: 10 (+6 Jaeger modifieers, +2 Cohesion)

Kaija Modifier:
Code Name Razor: -4 (Rending Claws, negates armour bonus.)

Outcome:
Jaegers Shi'fei Taouk and Potelia: 14
Light damage to both Jaegers, Kaija Razor destroyed.

[Asgareth]

"Alright girls, sounds like the Shi'fei is more than ready." Adam stated. "Now listen, from what our end can tell Knighthead is down. Focus your attack on Razor. Without any range weapons, we are a sitting duck, unlesss Shi'fei draws big boy's attention. When that happens, use a crossblade formation to slit him right open from behind. One last thing, just make sure old knighty stays dead."

Ryla laughed. “Don't sweat it Adam. By the time we are done, the sea will be drowned in Kaiju blood.”
“Yeah, but only if we can successfully work with those Farians.” Petra responded. “ Shi'fei Taouk, you with us? Look, we reckon there’s only one left. The Valarisk must have dealt significant damage to Knighthead. So that's the good news. Bad news, how do you feel about being bait? Fire a load at Razor, and grab his attention. We’ll sneak round and stab it in the back. All being well, we can get a few good hits in, before he can reciprocate.”

Petra and Ryla cautiously scanned the ocean, as the Shi’fei Taouk began to fire at Razor. The Potelia used this distraction to move forward, as quickly as the old mark I would allow them.

As they came closer, the girls raised their opposite arms, causing the blades to cross in the middle. They broke their defensive formation, and Ryla raised her left arm, bringing it forward to slice the Kaiju across the back. A significant wound was enough to draw its attention, to which Petra responded with a right arm slice. With the kaiju's attention now fixed on the Poteia, a fierce melee battle erupted.

"Ryla, double swipe. Now!" Petra stated, as they both raised their arms, before slicing the Kaiju across both sides.
"Engage defensive left lock. Petra, swipe up!" Ryla stated.
The jaeger used its left arm to create a barrier, whilst its right arm continued the attack.

Soon enough, the Farians had engaged the Kaiju,, and swiftly responded by slicing off an arm off the kaiju. The Kaiju, suffering from such intense wounds would finally succumb, with one final strike across its body.

“Hold it girls! Yesssssssssss!” Confirmed! Razor is dead!” Adam exclaimed. “Great job girls. Now get back to the dome.”

The girls smiled across at each other. “Well done Shi’fei. See you back at the base.”

With that, the girls slowly manoeuvred Potelia around, and began the slow walk back to the dome. Upon arrival, they were met with exuberant cheers, from the Asgarthian hanger. But still, there remained a sadness within the base.

[Enfaru]

The salvo went off without a hitch, the recoil under control just enough to keep up with the Kaija as it made its rapid advance through the waves after Shi'Fei Taouk made its first shot. All shots hit, not necessarily where they wanted them to, but it had been much better than they'd performed in the practice sessions. The entire crew including those back at the dome watched the monitors as the Potelia made rapid strides forwards to engage the beast directly. Neither Gun nor Stera were able to speak individually, their voices were in unison as they gave out various commands working together as they switched from range, throwing the rifle towards the Farian ships in the distance, to melee grasping the twin Naginata. This was one thing that the pair had in common and it certainly made for a striking appearance. With all attention focused right now on speed and moving forwards, there was no regard right now to keeping the temperature under control as the first warning bell sounded. No one paid any attention.

The Potelia had switched from twin blades to sword and shield style in a matter of moments that impressed the Farians, the Shi'Fei Taouk was incapable of such a manoeuvre as it darted forwards to come around from the back. The tail lashed out but Shi'Fei Taouk had other ideas bringing its Naginata to bear, severing the arm of the beast cleanly just as it was about to make another attack. The other Naginata stabbed through the nearest leg or at least what seemed to be a leg forcing the beast to drop what remained of its guard. Wasting no time the Potelia almost rendered it asunder and it dropped lifeless into the ocean. Celebrating their victory the Potelia almost immediately started to return home, unfortunately for the Shi'Fei Taouk, things were not to be so simple.

Sirens blared through the Lion Dome berth, warning lights were now everywhere in the Shi'Fei Taouk and steam was wantonly pouring from it as it tried in vein to keep itself from shutting down. Emergency protocols were put into place, chaos amongst the technicians and then the Shi'Fei's lights went off, all movement ceased and it fell forwards lifeless into the ocean next to the Kaija that they had just helped to defeat.

Back at the berth, the cloaked figure gave the order, "Retrieve the Shi'Fei Taouk and have it made ready for another engagement as soon as possible."

They'd managed to come out of this relatively unscathed, sure a few scratches and dents but nothing like the Bellerophon and the crew had survived too. For their first Kaija engagement, the Farians had done surprisingly well. Now they just had to keep this up with some luck on their side and maybe they could seal the rift once and for all.

[Opplandia]

Inside the cockpit-capsule of Deis Irae

"Reactor Output at operational levels; internal cooling-system online and stable"...."Locomotove system operational. Sensor-dome powering up, reaching full Operation-mode within 45 seconds." The opplandian Pilots went through their pre-launch procedures as they were listening-in on the data-link transmissions coming from the deployed Jaegers, noticing that things werent going as planned initially. Their warmachine had not been authorized by high command so it wasnt long before the rapidly increaseing power in their Jaegers systems was noticed, and sure as hell would the videoscreen showing feeds from the Command-center come online showing a rather pissed Military. "Gentlemen" he spat the word out like it was poisonous "Deis Irae has not been authorized for a start today, but we have readouts which say that it´s systems are being brought online. Now, would you kindly explain your actions, before I have you two court-martialed?

Sven Brodén, the informal head of the opplndian Pilots faced the hollering man certain that his own military Background would enable him to handle the situation. "You are correct Sir, we have not been called to action. However, it cannot be denied that things out there arent going as planned, setting the Operation at danger. As you may be aware, our Jaeger is essentially a massive fire-support platform, designed to pommel enemies with massed weaponsfire. Therefore, we have decided to power up for the case that we might be called upon, so we wouldnt waste any time." He paused for a moment as the man on the other end fixated him with his gaze. "As You definitley know, Sir, in military operations it is always wise to have an emergency plan for the case that things go south; we are offering ourselfs as such a plan. We leave it up to You and your superiors to make use of it, or have us court-martialed." With that he fell silent, waiting for a reply.

[Myraxia]

The Myraxian contingent, pilots included, had watched the battle telemetry feeling somewhere between distinctly smug and somewhat concerned. That an Iryllian Jaeger, and a distinguished one at that, had gone down so easily? A clear demonstration of the inferiority of both Iryllian engineering and piloting skill. That two Jaegers had gone down, one of them Valari? This registered more as a cause for concern. However, the facility command had seen fit not to order them to sortie. The general opinion around the Myraxian staff was that this was a clear indicator of Iryllian racism, and remarked to each other about they weren't surprised at all.

A few cheers went round the Myraxian bunk area (and associated corner of the bar) at the news that the Valari pilots had been recovered, along with some definite jeering at the news of the Iryllian crew's absence. With one exception.

---

"With... respect, Admiral, and I mean that in the broadest sense of the word because we both know my IQ is higher than yours, even you and your excuse for a science team must admit that there was something off about this encounter. Two Kaija, yes, but that's not even the biggest concern we face right now, no sir, that biggest concern is that a Kaija that weighs in at a mere category 2 was capable of so completely destroying one of your nations proudest Jaeger. I suppose that if necessary I can look into the likelihood of further double events occurring but I must, MUST, be granted exclusive access to the Razor carcass. I suppose your team can have Knighthead, I don't need that one. "

Eventually the Myraxian scientist, one Pytr Kanoi, paused for breath. The Iryllian Admiral in front of him just stood there impassively.

[Valyrien]

The news of the pilots survival caused cheering all the way from the Valarisk Jaeger bay to the bar, short lived but enough to lift the mood to a more neutral atmosphere. The deeply critical and unimpressed expression of a new arrival didn't share the enthusiasm.

---

An industrial blowtorch didn't look right in the hands of a physician, the doctor in question looking more like a soldier in his white military styled coat, but lacking the same insignias most of the Valarisk personal wore, not to mention the dull grey colours. "You. Bring my luggage." The voice calm, but loud enough to be heard over the screeching wheels of the reinforced stretcher. One of the chief physicians annoyed, but obediant grabbed the man's leather case and rushed after the stretchers and medical crowd.

The blue flames licking the metal as the blowtorch scorched the back of the helmet and the release mechanism, melting the ice enough for them force it open with a crowbar and reveal the face of Rowen. The tools were passed over to the other team caring for Ana, who in turn repeated the same crude procedure.

"Shit", "Fuck" and "Helvete" were a few of the words mumbled by the trauma team as they saw the streams of blood running from their noses, the crimson more vibrant against the blue lips and already pale Valari skin now like bleached parchment. The Valari physician pulled on a pair of thin medical gloves provided by one of his countrymen and opened both of Rowen's eyelids with his thumb and middle finger, shining a flashlight with the other, reveal the whites of her eyes replaced with red from the burst blood vessels.

---

A thick stack of papers was casually flung onto the Admiral's desk by the attractive Senior-Commissar within the same hour of Ana and Rowen's less than graceful return to the Shatterdome, carrying the Valarisk Sun and marked with important looking sigils and titles. Written in large red characters "Demand for Inquiry of Admiral von Garenhoff" decorating the front page. Once having delivered the papers, the Commissar left like he had entered, without a word.

"Admiral..." The worn voice of the newly arrived physician mused as he entered the room, cleaning off the blood from his patients on a towel, the Iryllian responding with a mere twitch of the mustache. Turning to acknowledge the Myraxian he continued "Dr...?" and titled his head looking for a nametag, but continued forward to the desk and plucked up two clipboards with name, picture and general details about the two Kaija. "Knighthead and... Razor? Always liked the edgy names you foreigners assign these beasts."

[Iryllia]

"Okay, okay okay okay." An Iryllian scientist, emerging from... Somewhere. Interjected into the pestering of the admiral. "First off." He began pointing an accusatory finger at the Myraxian scientist. "No." Now turning to the Valari, finger in tow, "And no, to whatever you said I didn't listen." he turned back to the Myraxian, finger still pointing dreadfully. "Also again, no, and fuck off with the exclusive rights. That's an Iryllian Jaeger that thing fucked up so we're entitled to know why. Second. I think the double event is a far, far. Far! Bigger problem! Wasn't it your calculations that stated with the steadily increasing rates and sizes with the Kaija coming through the rift, we wouldn't see a double event for another year at the very least? So fuck right off with that hoarding bullshit. Clearly we need to look into the reason why neither the Bellerophon nor the Sfvartgaarde didn't pick up on the fact it was two until it was too late. Clearly there was something wrong with the Bellerophons system's requiring a reboot shortly before combat. We cannot rule out the possibility of sabotage." He glared angrily to underline his statement. "If you'd ever actually reviewed the combat footage of any Jaeger, Kaija, encounter you would know why you always Engage Kaija with at least a two to one advantage in numbers. And if you knew a damn thing you'd understand that size as a mere metric doesn't equate to combat prowess. Obviously you'd know the incident when an Iryllian Mk. II solo'd a Category Four two years ago off the Myraxian coast after the Myraxian Jaeger got pulped." He stood, finger outstretched and breathing heavily for a few seconds, composing himself. "If you'd like to fuck off and go explain why we have a double event now I'd be more than happy to accommodate your action, leave the fucking dissection up to the biological staff you cretin."
The Admiral, observing all this, simply watched on, his moustache twitching.

---

With the loss of the Bellerophon, and too a lesser extent the Sfvartgaarde, Iryllian command at Lion dome were faced with a staff problems. All other Iryllian Mk. III's were deployed elsewhere and the first Mk. IV retrofits wouldn't be available for another month at the very least. With the advent of the first double event this sent ripples of concern throughout the Iryllian admiralty and further into the high reaches of the Pan-Atlas Defence Corps. With this potential, either more Jeagers needed to be built and quicker, or another solution had to be found. In the meantime, more funding began flooding into the research and development departments of each dome to find a solution to this current problem, while the Iryllian Admiralty drafted up a new, emergency crash-build program of Jaegers to be completed by the years end.

---

Sergeant Major Ralenhorst stomped his way over to the commotion by the head of the Dies Irae. HE angrily flipped the kill switch for the berthed Jaegers systems and the whole bay fell into twilight, the wine of the power winding down through the area was heard across the base. He grabbed an important looking technition by the lapels and leaned in close to his face, walrus moustache almost touching the terrified tech's face. "Get those pilots out of that machine now." He waited, all seven feet of him waited ever so patiently, tapping his foot as he did. Emergency hazard lights had come on and were bathing the area in flashing yellow light. He waited, until he was presented with what he wanted.
"Gentlemen." He paused for a second. "As I am sure you know. That this is an Iryllian facility. Do you know what that means?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It means you fucking take orders from the Admiral for when and where to launch. You do not put this entire facilities staff at risk by performing you own maverick launch. You will obey the commands given in this facility and in the absence of such you will wait." He paused again, not waiting for any kind of interjection. "I understand it one of my subordinates threatened you with court-marshal. He was right to do so. And I'm going to let you in on a little secret, they give us a manual on what to do in a court-marshal case. They tell us to shoot the sorry fuck and move on. No exceptions." He turned away and began to march away before turning back. "The Dies Irae is grounded until further notice, you will not power up this Jaeger unless you receive specific instructions to do so." And with this, he actually left, muttering to himself as he did so, "Fucking foreigners."

---

GM Notes:

Please do keep an eye on Kill Counts for your Jaegers, every two Kills you earn a +1 Crew XP bonus, Sfvartgaarde, Shi'fei and POtelia all add +1 Kill to their tallies.

[Asgareth]

Chief Engineer Adam couldn’t help but smile as the Iryllian admiral lambasted the Myraxians and Valyriens. His deputy, Warlia Pernai, was suffering even worse. She was bright red, and had to stifle a laugh. Adam glared at her, before grabbing her by the arm and yanking her out.
“Stop it!” Adam stated, smiling down at her.
“Oh come off it! You enjoyed it too! The Iryllians and Myraxians at each others throats. Just like the good old days.”
“Yes, and if we aren’t careful, those good old days may come and bite us, in the middle of a Kaija invasion.” Adam responded. “Besides, we should be celebrating. The world should know that it was the Potelia, the Asgarthians that saved them.”
“And the Farians.” Warlia smirked
“Oh yes… the Farians. Yes, well. I fancy a beer. Fancy tagging along?”
“It’s the middle of the night!” Warlia responded
“And I’m still sober!” Adam stated, as he marched off to the bar.

---

Adam was not the only Asgarthian who fancied a tipple. Ryla desperately wanted yet another drink, and Petra, despite her tiredness, did not fancy being alone.
Ryla had three empty shot glasses by her, whilst Petra appeared to be drinking cider, a surprise, given her reluctance to drink.
Ryla motioned for another shot, no five. She smirked up at her twin.
“We sure kicked some butt back there didn’t we?”
Petra stifled a yawn before responding “Yeah. Razor was a toughie.”
Her face suddenly turned solemn, before she spoke next. “Shame about those Iryllians. I kinda liked them.”
Ryla nodded, before looking at her sister. “They died defending the world. The world will remember them. You heard the Valarisk lost their Jaeger too?”
“Yeah. Apparently the crew survived, so that’s something.”

Adam finally arrived at the bar, and after ordering an ale, sat with the girls.
“Good bloody job!” He stated incredously. “You really showed the Iryllians what experienced pilots can do. None of their mediocre stock.”
“Oh come off it Adam! They just lost their crew, Show a little… compassion” Petra stated.
“You hardly drink, you are compassionate, and you don’t like war. Are you sure you’re even Asgarthian?”
“Well, if I’m not, she isn’t either” Petra motioned to her sister. “So how’d Rander take the news that he wasn’t needed?”
Adam huffed. “You know what he is like. Egotistical, patriotic, overconfident.”
“Yeah, we know the type” Ryla joked.

Eventually, the girls retired for the night, leaving Adam alone to his thoughts.

---

Rander, meanwhile, was not impressed. Having brewed for over an hour, he decided to confront the admiral directly. Storming out of his and Yulni’s quarters, he eventually arrived in the control room.
“Oi! You there! Yeah, you Mr. So Important! What you doing sending those chickens to war? Only I am capable of beating those Kaija! You didn’t send me because you’re scared that when I am finished destroying the Kaija, I’m going to destroy you! Well guess what? I am!”
Thankfully, Rander was cut off by Warlia, before the situation escalated further.
“I am so sorry sir. I believe Mr. Alsornva is under the influence of alcohol. Rest assured, the team shall deal with his actions.”

[Enfaru]

Conspicuously absent from the official de-briefing sessions that the Admiral seemed to be conducting the Farians were hard at work flushing the salt water from the Shi'Fei Taouk and exchanging its batteries for fresh ones should there be a sudden call for them. It was notable that the entire Jaeger had been powered down in its entirety, merging back into the mass of pipes and tubing that almost seemed to form a cocoon around it. To the side, the pod had finally been extract and occupants of that, Stera and Gun also removed. Unfortunately, they were hardly in a fit state to do much of anything right then. They barely spoke and were almost incapable of self movement now that they had lost the Shi'Fei Taouk for the moment.

A pair of physicians were overseeing them, prodding them and sometimes piercing them deeply with needles from time to time, other times they drew samples and conducted cognitive tests but mostly they were just waiting for the brain scans to normalize. The cloaked figure approached yet said nothing much at all, instead the physicians volunteered what they had, "They'll be back to normal in a few hours, we were aware of this issue in the simulations. I wouldn't advise this being repeated in succession though..." she pointed to a chart, "the numbers are all over the place and the brain will have increasing difficulty returning to normal." The figure said nothing as Gun lifted his head briefly, a vacant stare in his eyes before his head rolled back. She walked away.

The Farians kept themselves busy, working together, some of the technicians were getting friendly with the other staff, but generally staying away from the old Bellerophon bay. There seemed to be a tension in the air now that the Bellerophon had been wiped out. They, the Farians counted themselves lucky that they had survived and from time to time offered their assistance where the Iryllians could use it, after all, much of what the Farians were doing was merely calculation and preparation.

[Iryllia]

Friedrich had stayed up ever since the first alarm had gone off. He'd urged his wife to go back to sleep as they weren't needed. Their quarters was one large room, an alcove in which two beds placed one above the other lay. The bottom occupied by Anastaysia, the top nominally occupied by Friedrich but he found himself not sleeping much these days. He'd described it to the surgeon-general as a feeling of "loss" or rather, "missing something he felt was there but wasn't". The response was somewhat unsure, the man had equated it to phantom limb syndrome, but rather than any actual loss of limb it was the brain struggling to cope with the disconnect between Jaeger and human. He'd said that his mind was becoming acclimatised to being in a Jaeger, and as such with no connection his mind was searching for something that wasn't there, resulting in the discomfort. He'd admitted that the psychology of piloting giant robots with your mind wasn't very well understood currently and there wasn't much he could do for him. Sleeping pills were out of the question in case of an emergency scramble so as such he was rather stuck.

The room also featured a few wall lockers, an en-suite bathroom facility though calling it that was rather generous. It was effectively a closet with a toilet and a shower tucked away inside. A metal desk with a computer linked into the bases system lay on top, as well as a few errant pieces of paperwork. Other than this, the room was rather bare, very little existed in the way of personalisation apart from a framed photo of the pairs home deep in rural Casella. He watched, a live feed form one of the Helicopters, as the Bellerophon and the Sfvartgaarde reached their target zone, the Kaija bursting their way out of the ocean, tearing through the Bellerophon like it was so much wet paper, the Sfvartgaarde struggling with it's own before the feed cut out in a giant orange fireball.

The alarms began to swing again calling up the next two to the chopping block. Friedrich sat back bewildered, he understood that the Bellerophon was going on borrowed time. The only Mk. I left in the service and she was definitely showing her age. The pilots were very experienced however that could only take one so far. Yet to see her go out so ignobly like this filled him with sorrow. Everyone knew the two siblings, an almost larger than life personality and an air of unkillableness had emerged after they'd taken down a category three solo after the Covenantian Jaeger they'd dropped with had succumbed to damage. They were celebrities, rock stars almost. A symbol that even with the worst available, Iryllia could still fight on even ground and win. With this the illusion came crashing down. Anastaysia, awoken by the renewal of the alarm, sleepily draped herself over her husband who was reclined in the chair. "What's happening now?" Her question punctuated with a yawn.
Friedrich rubbed her arm affectionately, watching as the monitor switched the a view of the shatterdome, the Asgareth Jaeger "Potelia" emerging from the huge bay doors. "The Bell and the Valari Jaeger went down."
"What?" Ana took a couple of seconds to process the new information. "You mean?"
He nodded. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Are they alright?" She asked.
"I don't know, but it didn't look good."

---

The mechanics and technitions of the Bellerophon similar watched on from the Jaegers bay, several large screens in rather dubious mountings. The tension in the bay was palpable as many sat stock still, silence reigned as much as it could in this place. Some chatted amongst themselves, pointless small talk to cover frayed ends and nerves. With no audio of link into the communications the silence continued. The Bellerophons chief engineer, a man by the name of Werrel, was running around like a man possessed. In constant communication with Gus up in the command room they were bothd esperatly trying to find the fault in the Bellerophons sensor system from their end. As much as they'd been able to determine nothing on their end was damaged or otherwise faulty. A restart was the last thing they wanted to do when the Bell was minutes away from contact and they didn't know exactly where the damn thing was.

Gus made the call to restart the systems. Werrel, ever paranoid, began to gather up the various documents and reports from the pre-launch testing, all the way up to a month prior detailing the status of the Bellerophons systems and maintenance. He took aside several of his senior tech's from their rapture of the screen. He told them to write up personal accounts of the Bellerophons working systems before the launch to cover their collective asses in case something went wrong. The men and women had nodded, partly indulging their chiefs paranoia and partly indulging the niggling doubt they all had in the back of their minds. "What if this was her last drop?"

Shouts of alarm turned to cries of despair as the feed cut. Werrel was shouting down his microphone at Gus to confirm life-signs. He shut his eyes and drew his hand over his mouth when the confirmation came through. No life signs. The crew had gone down with their ship. He didn't need the headset anymore, he tossed it onto his workbench atop a mound of paper. Making his way to the main work space. He kicked a box over onto its side and stood atop it, head partially blocking the static filled viewscreen as the alarms continued to blare once more. The colossal noise of the launch of the two Jaegers did nothing to drown out the chief engineers sombre voice. "The Bellerophon has been destroyed." he put it bluntly, not knowing how else to pitch to his crew. "The reactor was breached, rapidly lost pressure and the lead began to seize the reactor. Shortly thereafter the crew compartment was compromised. Alec Solensenko and Katyana Solensenko are confirmed to have been killed in combat." He sat down on the box to run a hand through his hair as the last dregs of hope drained from the faces of those in front of him.

---

With the Shi'Fei Taouk and the Potelia successfully re-berthed after the operation the base began to set about the process of cleaning up.

The Rozovaya Ravnina watched over the waters where the Bellerophon and the Sfvartgaarde had fallen. The Valarisk had worked quickly, helicopters picking up the stranded crew and rushing them back to base. Iryllian crews, after their initial success of retrieving the Bellerophon's black box had spent the next several hours working to prevent further leaks of radioactive material from the destroyed Jaegers wrecked reactor. They could think about extracting what was left of the crew after the wreck had been raised from the sea bed. Already an order had been placed for lead-lined coffins.

It wasn't until morning did the Iryllian Salvage Vessel Wrecker Hall arrive. Another two days passed before the wreck was raised and towed to shore. Divers were finding pieces of the Jaeger scattered all over the seabed for miles around, marking down the places for eventual recovery. The largest intact piece was a chunk of the breastplate, intact with the Iryllian Rose and kill markings. The carcass was hauled to the bone yard in southern Iryllia. The crew extracted and placed to rest after a sermon in Lion dome. It was a closed casket funeral.

---

A week has passed since the attack.The Admiral stood before the Pan-Atlas Defence Corps board of nations. To deliver the incident report and answer questions based on said report.
He stood, back turned to the door of his office, the recent assault of what seemed like the entire facility staff fresh in his mind. He faced down ambassadors of the various respective nations, in his hands he held a sheaf of papers from which he began to read. "At Eleven Forty Three Hours, Seventh month, twelfth day of the Ninth year, A Large Kaija contact was detected coming out of the breach. Dilation at the mouth was forty six point two meters in diameter. Estimated size and weight class put the single detected contact as a Category Four, designated as: Pirithous. At Eleven Fifty Two Hours the Alarm was sounded in Lion Dome as the contact was confirmed to be heading towards our sector, right towards this facility in fact. Jeagers Bellerophon and Sfvartgaarde were scrambled to meet the threat as per standard operating procedure which I need not remind you on. At Zero-zero oh two hours Both Jeagers were launched into Faustock bay with instructions to meet the Kaija at the Six Mile line. A line outside the facility designated as the outer defencing ring in which our machines can operate without being fully submerged. Both reached the target zone at oh-one fifteen hours.

Both Bellerophon and Bellerophon control were reporting inconsistencies and interference in the sensor arrays, as such we could not pinpoint the location of the Kaija before it was within contact range of the two Jeagers. At oh-one seventeen hours the Bellerophon began a reboot and purge cycle of her sensor systems. These came back on line at oh-one nineteen hours. At oh-one twenty hours the sensor contact was reestablished. The contact had since divulged into two Category Two contacts, one heading right towards each Jaeger. We can only hazard a guess at how the Kaija fooled our sensor systems. Our best estimate is that they swam clung together to fool the systems into thinking it was one large contact. The dilation of the breach was also large and consistent, in line with that of larger Kaija. This is the first double-event we have experienced, over a year ahead of the estimates of my science team. See the attached research report for further details." He coughed to clear his throat, and continued with his report.

"Physical contact was made at oh-one twenty-one hours. When the first cat two named Razor, engaged the Bellerophon. Initial autopsy reports on the carcass show an abnormality not yet encountered in the Kaija species, Large oversized claws, while not uncommon, laced with a non-naturally occurring tungsten steel alloy. This combined with the beasts strength allowed it to tear through the Bellerophons armour, breaching the reactor which siftly began to flood with sea water, the loss of pressure causing the lead coolant to leak out and begin to solidify, further damaging other systems. The Pilots compartment was then breached, and the last transmission from the Bellerophon was received at oh-one twenty two hours. The Sfvartgaarde confirmed contact with a second thirty seconds before the destruction of the Bellerophon. Contact ceased at oh-one twenty four hours. Later observations reveal that the Kaija, called Knighthead, breached the containment on the Valarisk Jaegers flame device, causing a catastrophic explosion severally wounding the Kaija and destroying in the Sfvartgaarde. The Kaija Knighthead was confirmed dead at oh-one forty three hours. At oh-one thirty hours, an emergency alert was placed out for the immediate deployment of the Jeagers Potelia and Shi'fei Taouk.

Both Jeagers were launched by oh-one forty hours. Reaching the miracle mile defence line by oh-two hundred hours. The Kaija contact, rapidly closing, was engaged at oh-two ten hours. The Shi'fei Taouk engaged the Kaija at skirmish range, then both the Potelia and Shi'fei engaged at close quarters, and destroyed the Kaija. The Kaija's corpses were recovered within twenty four hours of their deaths. The Valarisk Crew survived the encounter. The Bellerophon was lost with all hands. Salvage operations are in their final stages as we speak, the Bellerophon's wreck has been moved to the bone-yard and the Valarisk Jaeger at the behest of the government has been moved back to Valyrien." He stopped, the last paper shuffling behind the first. He looked on at the expectant looks of the council members.

"Is that it?" Asked the Covenantian representative. The admiral simply nodded.
"And the inquiry?" Asked the Valari representative. "It's our Jaeger crew you almost got killed out there. We demand re-compensation for the damages done to our systems."
The Admiral once again nodded. "I understand your... Concern. However there are no grounds for investigation. As with the reports there, and with the attached research notes and the Bellerophons chief engineers notes. It paints a clear picture. And, as we've already established in many inquires in other facilities not only this one has determined the facilities controller to be rather removed from the combat scenario. The extent of my job here is personnel management. I tell people where to go, they're the ones who know what to do. To fault for failure to perform in combat is not up to the theater commander, his job is to make sure they have the adequate tools for the job. If they cannot use them the responsibility falls on them. And in a multi-national organisation such as this, things often get lost in translation. If you'd refer to the chief engineers notes you'll see the concern of sabotage of the Bellerophons systems. There are many talented individuals in this facility and with the advance nature of the machines we operate. You get all manner of things in here. System coders, doctors in artificial intelligence. People who can build a computer system from scrap and give it sentience. This, along with the unusual nature of the Kaija incident, one that the top scientists from all nations present here represent couldn't predict. My point being. If there were to be an inquiry. It would require it to be facility wide. Which may reveal something some of you don't want to know." He stopped, continuing his impassive stare.
"Very well admiral. That will be all." The Iryllian representative closed the brief with the barest hint of a nod. The view screens blinked off one by one. Leaving the Admiral alone in his office.

---

As the week drew to the close, at the entrench of the facility something new appeared. A concrete plinth, in which the damaged breastplate of the Bellerophon had been embedded. The small copper placard beneath read "To fallen heroes."

An order went out to the science division to compile a full report on the potential for future double events, why this one occurred and the potential origins of the Kaija and why they seem to be adapting to our combat tactics. To the engineering teams a full systems sweep would be required for any-nonstandard machinery or programs. The controllers were required to go through a full diagnostic on all Jaegers system and keep written logs confirming correct function and lastly, a ban of pilots drinking while on duty, which was always.

[Enfaru]

TIME:
LOCALE:

A Week or so Later; Early Morning
Outer Harbour Quay

---

The morning mist sprayed along the harbour key, the ocean a dark and faded blue, grey against the grey skies, with the suns barely managing to peek through the thinned layers of clouds. There was a cold wind that whipped through the air and as the waves crashed against the harbour walls of the Lion Shatterdome it was hard not to feel entirely alone and isolated at the mercy of the oceans. In the distance ships patrolled looking for any sign of a new emergency of Kaija, the Iryllians had just about finished fishing out the remnants of the Bellerophon and Deep Sea vehicles were being deployed to find anything else that could be used as evidence. Behind was the back drop of the massive industrial military complexes of the Iryllian homeland, smoke, steam and the ever thunderous beat of production. The Iryllians were a formidable force on their own, her people surviving under harsh military rule and likewise that made them equally tough in return a far cry from the Enfaru that Stera knew as she stood for a moment gazing to the horizon on the wide platform that protected her from the oceans around her.

Then she began, stepping to the left and she began to sink into her daily exercise routine. Most of the Faræ as they called themselves but most outsiders called them Farians, were peaceful folk, a surprising trait given the centuries of war that was their history. Out of their history and through time and practice they created culture, a desire for learning, faith, health and out of that born from the flames of war the Urlsang Myu'taai, otherwise known simply as The Dance of a Thousand Sylph, a form of movement and exercise applicable to self defence but in contrast to the brutal Dragons Hand sect. The form was slow, graceful, relaxing but above all, a little piece of home that she could take with her wherever she wished. As she raised her leg slowly and high into the air, it was clear why her uniform was designed the way it was, unparalleled movement while allowing her to be centred. She sank into the next form and continued dancing as with invisible partners, careful to keep her balance. This went on for some time, before she completed her routine and then she was aware.

"It's been a while since I've seen that." Ma Tsi Gun spoke up, both hands in his pockets, his jumpsuit up for a change because even for him, out here was cold. Stera looked over her shoulder and nodded, he didn't press on why she was doing what she was doing instead he stepped forwards to look out to the ocean, "There's talk that they're expecting another attack soon."

"They have no idea do they?" Stera wondered aloud. Gun shook his head a deep sigh, but he didn't expect them to know just yet. Things had to develop at their own pace, flowing from will to will, "So what's the current projection?"

"A Cat 2, single this time, but you know what the projections can be like this early."

Stera looked at him, she'd read the reports from the earlier engagement, the readings they had back then were comparatively chaotic, the Iryllians and especially the Valyriens had completely reinvented how they processed such information nowadays and they were always looking for new things to improve their models. Maybe it would be a Category 2 this time, but given how the last one had turned into a double event she didn't want to hedge her bets at the moment. Turning her back on the horizon Stera began to head back, Gun followed a few moments after.

[Asgareth]

There was a foul mood in the Asgarthian camp. Along will all other pilots, Rander, Yulni, Petra and Ryla were prohibited from drinking. Whilst this did not matter too much to Petra or Yulni, Rander, and particularly Ryla were furious. Ryla had naturally smuggled alcohol into the base upon her arrival, but had extinguished her supply within three days.

The situation was just as bad, if not worse over at control.. Their commanding officer, General Tirai O’Larni, had decided to ban all Asgarthians in the Lion Dome from drinking, in a show of comradeship with the pilots. Of course, this didn’t matter to the general, who was happily drinking away in Asgareth. Instead, it had fallen to Adam to share the bad news, causing a great deal of resentment.

Whilst each department continued to do the necessary work, there were increased tensions. Workers were disgruntled, and the atmosphere was toxic.In fact, the past two days had been so bad, that Adam had begun to beg the admiral to allow pilots to drink. So far, he had had no luck.

[Enfaru]

The Faræ didn't really drink like the Asgarthian people, their culture was one of contemplation, that's not to say they didn't know how to have fun but they couldn't quite figure out why the Asgarthians were having such a tough time with a temporary prohibition order. Something this after all was something that came second nature to the Faræ. Stera was the first to observe the foul mood, Asgarthians were were up unseasonably early, including those that would otherwise still be passed out under a table let alone going back to bed. The tension hung thick in the slightly bitter, oil flavoured air. They needed something to take their minds off the lack of alcohol but there wasn't really anything on offer, well... not yet at least.

As one of the Asgarthians walked past the two of them, Gun made a comment, "Buncha self absorbed alcoholics, that's what they are. They have this condition y'know," He glanced side ways to Stera while looking down on the Asgarthians, "Alcoholic constipation, couldn't pass a pub if they wanted to."

Stera rolled her eyes as she noted that he'd spoken the last line loud enough to be heard by the majority of the surrounding Asgarthians. Honestly, she wasn't in the mood for teasing this early in the morning and could care less about Gun's penchant to get involved in others situations no matter how troublesome they might seem. While they walked and chatted, Gun made sure to toss the occasional slur or dig at the lack of alcohol every time as Asgarthian came any where near close, particularly so as they came up behind Rander and Ryla although whether Gun knew it was them or not was a question for higher powers. Maybe he thought he was being funny, Stera couldn't quite tell, sometimes he wasn't always the easiest person to understand.

[Asgareth]

The atmosphere in the Asgarthian camp, already tense as a result of the alcohol ban, continued to be amplified due to the actions of the Farias. Some Asgarthians gritted their teeth, and put up with the constant teasing. Others, however, began to plot revenge. Some suggested beating up Farian command, whilst others suggested egging Shi'Fei Taouk.

The teasing, and torment continued throughout the day, until finally, Ryla snapped back at Gun. “Come on then, say it again. I dare you! What’s that? Silence? I thought so! Coward!” she yelled.

“Oi! Fary! Over here!” one of the engineers yelled. “You think we’re a bunch of alcoholics do ya? Guess what kid? You’re right! And guess what? If I hear you badmouthing us again, Imma kill you, sober or not.”

Another engineer yelled out “At least when we drink, we don’t fall over after a sip!”

Meanwhile, Rander and a few other engineers had snuck into the Farian hanger, and had begun to throw egg and paint at the Shi’Fei.

“You know, I always thought the Shi’Fei would look better covered in foam.” he stated, motioning to a nearby fire extinguisher.

Rander laughed, before picking it up. He pulled the pin, and sprayed the foam, at the Jaeger. After emptying the extinguisher, he chucked it on the ground. Turning to the mob, he stated “Who wants to start a fire?”

[Enfaru]

Gun watched, he simply watched the action unfold, honestly it hadn't gone the way he had anticipated, it had gone much much better. Still once they were busy spraying Shi'Fei Taouk from head to to toe he decided to make another remark, "Bet that made you feel real proud right? Bet your wife wished you could do that if you know what I mean...shame that you're often too drunk to do anything about it." He spoke loudly having found himself a seat on a stack of crates. Beer crates no less that he knew full well that the Asgarthians couldn't consume yet. He was even more amused though when they started talking about arson after dousing pretty much anything they could find in industrial strength fire repellent.

He was even happy to cast a wink over the Asgarthian who was taunting them about the Faræ penchant for teetotalism, "S'all right mate, just means we fight better, we play harder and most of all..." his voice drew to a whisper, "We win."

By this time Stera had made her exit, staying in a dome full of riled up Asgarthian's was okay, but when you were taunting them it was best to be in a more advantageous situation. She had an idea of course what the shorter of the pair was thinking but she was the one who was going to be clearing up the mess later no doubt. In the mean time, she had to distract the higher ups and she just the idea of how to do that as she slid a small device into a port near the nearest Iryllian computer terminal. The thing about Iryllian's was that they had superb military and raw power to back it up but a trick she had learnt from her colleagues back home was that everyone was vulnerable somewhere and most Iryllian tech was considerably more dated than the Farae, so it was nothing but to upload a short video clip in the form of a harmless virus of the Iryllian Commander in Chief making out with a high ranking Valyrien, fake or not it was sure to distract them for a morning.

Now all she had to do was make sure things didn't get too out of hand.

[Asgareth]

Infuriated by the Gun’s words, Rander grabbed the extinguisher, and raced towards the Farian.
“You insult my wife do you! You insult me? My country?”
He swung the extinguisher wildly at Gun, missing him my inches. In doing so, Rander lost his balance and fell over.

Before Gun could so much as respond, two of the engineers charged forward, with one of them throwing a punch, whilst the other kicked out at Gun.

Meanwhile, Yulni had begun to become suspicious at her husband's absence. After ensuring he hadn’t snuck into the bar, she checked in at Asgarthian control. The place was almost deserted, with just a few engineers, including Adam.

“You haven’t seen my husband by any chance have you Adam? And why is it so empty around here?” Yulni asked.
“Rander? Nah. Haven’t seen him at all. Most of the crew are missing. Probably striking until we get alcohol.”

At that moment, one of the few engineers still working, began laughing. Pointing to his screen, he spoke. “Adam, you gotta take a look at this.”

Peering around, Adam and Yulni watched as an Iryllian commander began kissing a Valarisk officer.
“Valarisk and Iryllian lovers. Never thought I’d see the day.” Adam stated. “Hold on. I gotta go get my phone!” he stated gleefully.

[Enfaru]

Gun wasn't as useless as he was short, though the way he kept his grin plastered to his face might have otherwise been considered admirable as the fire extinguished sailed past his nose, Gun gave the man a gentle tap on his shoulder knowing full well he hadn't insulted the man's wife, he had morals dammit. The punch Gun blocked deftly, the kick less so as he was sent sprawling over the cases and off the other side. Grabbing hold of the edge of the crates to pull himself back up he flashed another grin.

"So it's not just your machine work that sucks then?" A tap of his foot and he launched himself over the crates and towards the two engineers a fist in the air and a grin slapped over his face like a child who had been given far too much candy for breakfast.

Stera had returned to watch noting that other dome workers were beginning to take notice. Some had looked to her to sort things out but Stera was content to watch, if Gun wanted to start a one man fight against the entire Asgarthian complement then who was she to interfere. No in truth, she was much more interested in watching, there was little much else to do after all...well, aside from getting well and truly trumped in the local bar.

[Valyrien]

It was a distasteful display of the subhuman barbarism to make two people's intimate moments public, was the opinion of the lesser racist Valari... It was disgusting and shameful to see a high-ranking officer engaging with an undermánniska shared publicly was the opinion of the more racist Valari, none amongst the two sides even questioning if it was authentic.

"You better watch yourself.." The sour and grim words directed at Adam, his comments having been overheard by one of the nearby technicians. A glass with a splash of whiskey left inside shattered on the hard floor after getting knocked over when the Valari equipped himself with a large wrench. He was soon joined by other visibly agitated Valari, their bloodshot eyes a sign of the days of missed sleep most of them suffered from trying to come down from the drug-induced high, there had been no time for neither rest or sleep after all when there was work to be done saving the pilots and then saving everything they could of the Jaeger, which finally had to be prepared for transport home to the motherland.

The Valari were on edge, the loss of Sfvartgaarde being blamed on faulty Iryllian commanders for not discovering the Kaija tactics and the notion of imposing bans of any kind on Valari made it even worse. The video and any less than tasteful response in their opinion gave them a cause to start the fight they were itching for... The Valari Commissars not making their usual patrols and instead hold up going through reports and documents left them without voices of reason.

---

The phycians were tight-lipped when it came to the current state of the pilots, this after strict orders from the Senior-Commissar. The information that Anasthasja was still in a coma and Rowen spending the days clutching her hand, catatonic from the stress of being near death and Ana unintentionally sharing all the near death moments she had experienced in the past proved too much.

The Valarisk leadership was quiet. The refusal of an inqury was seen as a slap in the face and an very serious debate was now taking place, the discussion finding it's roots in casual disgruntled conversation and complaints from minor officials and other Jaeger pilots. The talks had slowly begun to intensify, as did the suggestions concerning what to do about Sfvartgaarde till someone floated the notion of withdrawing from the Jaeger project entirely, since the Kaija wasn't a Valarisk concern after all.

[Enfaru]

TIME:
LOCALE:

Three days earlier
Main Dome; Shi’fei Taouk Berth

---

The memory and experiences of their first encounter with a Kaija were fresh in their minds, so to were the slaughter of the Iryllians and Valyrien Jaeger, there was a distinct sense of karmic retribution in air as they with the Asgarthians had taken down the last remaining Kaija but that didn’t last long. The briefings had begun in earnest, both Gun and Stera had been roped into the debriefing sessions and they were not short.

They spent hours in front of monitors, watching and critiquing their own performances, critiques that would be analysed and reported upon. These were turned into lectures not just for Gun and Stera to listen to and learn from by engineers, scientists and whatever other resources they could muster, but also for the engineers, the commanders and the technicians. Every bit of data that they had recorded was gone over in minute detail, from the slightest spike in oil pressure to the placement of a foot, to the ratio of synchronicity something that they had only just come round from the effects of. That meant of course, that they had to listen to a number of lecturers by medical professionals and of course counselling sessions to begin to compartmentalize the different feelings and emotions they had experienced.

When Stera had finally finished her seminar in how to better respond with melee mechanisms in a short range encounter, she made a quick exit out of the main complex into the service corridors just to get away from the noise, the lights and the information. She felt like she hadn’t slept for a week and while she kept herself upright, her eyes forwards, there was no way she could hide the visible effects of fatigue outside of her control, her slightly slurred words, the dark circles around her eyes and the slightly gaunt complexion. Tying her hair back and applying a small amount of make up was as much as she could do to hide that, but she still felt it and she needed to get away from everything, into the fresh air.
It wasn’t long before Stera found herself in the middle of the night sky, on the exposed outer harbour quay, fast becoming one of her favourite places. She made her way slowly along the massive concrete wall, watching the waves as they surged violently against it. The exposed nature here made her feel alone as if there was nothing to protect her, nothing to rely on, nothing that she would have to answer to and most of even against the light drizzle, she knew that this was a much calmer place to be right now.

What she didn’t expect was that she wasn’t to be alone, in the distance, sitting under the harbour light as it circled around above his head shining into the night was Ma Tsi Gun with his back to her. She let out a sigh of relief although wondered how he could sit out here with his usual short sleeved top. Stera, tempted to crack a smile instead seated herself beside him and leaned her head against the light, looking up, the drizzle coating her face in a fine mist. Sure, the wind was blowing, the waves were crashing, it was wet, it was cold and yet, she didn’t mind it, in fact she welcomed it.

“Looks like we need more counselling,” A wry smile on his lips as the light briefly illuminated his face. Stera kept her expression as emotionless as always but her head tilted as she seemed to relax slightly.

“Don’t even joke about that. If I hear another, ‘How do you feel’ I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“Yes but tell me how you really feel,” He mocked a counsellor as they had gone through his version of events for the seventeenth time. That’s when he walked out and found himself doing exactly what Stera was going to do a little while after. Gun pulled a flask from his hip, opened the cap, took a sip before passing it to Stera.

Stera took the flask and sniffed, an eyebrow rose, she took a sip herself and passed it back, “Since when did you start drinking Tal’beth?”

Of course he wasn’t prepared to answer that and they both knew the answer anyway, it was a question she hadn’t meant to ask. A uncomfortable silence covered them both for a moment.

After a few moments she decided to ask what was on her mind, “Do you think any of the other pilots feel the same way as us?” A long glance back to the dome as the night guard patrolled the outer perimeter, their torches flickering in the night, barely visible from this distance, the occasional flash of red from the navigation lights. Gun shook his head, but then he wasn’t sure what he felt either there was something weird going on and he couldn’t put his finger on it. It started off inanely enough back in the first training simulations, a sense of euphoria, like putting armour with secure straps as if they were in the safest place in the world, then came the noise. There was always a lot of interference in the signals between their brains and the machine and this noise was incredible, they both felt it and they both let themselves get swept into it, that was the process after all, working with the noise not against the noise. That would have been great if that’s all it was… but from time to time there’d be this silence when something didn’t equalize just quite right but would still work or wouldn’t work even when it should have. The engineers called it gremlins in the system but it was like the silence that happened would speak to them.

The pair of them had discussed it with each other as the Silence in the Noise and they barely admitted to feeling its presence to each other let alone to anyone else, the Counsellors wouldn’t understand, they hadn’t been inside they didn’t know what it felt like to suddenly have everything fall away replaced by a clarity reveal the depths of reality, it was terrified the both of them. How could they reveal it to the counsellors without being taken off the project for fear they had both become too synchronized?

“If they do, they’re not showing it.” Came his only response.

In her heart Stera knew that they were unlikely to ever be able to tell anyone else about what they experienced, how it made them feel and how they behaved in the field because of it.

Without warning a torch light shone in their faces, a pair of Iryllian guards behind it, “Come on you two, back inside, what are you even doing this far out anyway?”

[Opplandia]

As the days passed by the opplandians got more and more situated in their home away from home, slowly getting used to the customs around these parts. After the earlier incedent the systems of dies Irae had been brought back to stand-by, the technicians having worked tirelessly to replace energy nodes and other things that had been burnt-out by the forced-shut down. With time passing the people from Opplandia managed to get more and more in touch with their newfound allies; some of the foreign people being easier to approach than others.

While Ibram Youssef was at the Bar playing darts with a mixed group of technicians, Sven Brodèn had taken to wandering about once more, making it his habit to spend much of his free-time with the gunners and other personnel of the artillery Emplacements that were scattered around Lion Dome. In fact, he had gotten so accustomed to the miles-long winding tunnels and chambers that connected the Shatter Dome with it´s defensive lines, he didnt even need help by any of his gunner friends anymore.

---

Later that night the opplandians were sitting together in the reception room of their dormitory, telling stories and singing ages-old songs as they celebrated the Foundation Day of the Opplandian Armed Forces; reveling in the tales about days long past whilst Hearing about the noble and deeds and brave fights of opplandian Heroes. All in all it was a very relaxed atmosphere in the relatively large room; Brodèn´s powerful bass-voice predominantly echoing throughout the room whenever he fell-in on singing one of their songs.

[Iryllia]

As you'd find anywhere in Iryllia, security was high. Depending on who you asked it was either for the foreign crews protection or to protect the Iryllian instillation from potential spies or sabotage or whatever.The guards remained distinct from normal Iryllian forces by wearing grey, that was pretty much all the difference. A few shades darker than the grey of the facility but still wearing the same coveralls, same insignia, same bulky chest rigs and face covering helmets. They were the unreliable eyes and ears of the basses security chief, a rather fat and balding man who was the epitome of "Couldn't give a shit."

Two such guards stood on one of the many balconies, or observation platforms, gantry's. Whatever you want to call it they stood on it. They did as the normally would do. They watched, chatted shit and generally found interesting ways to do fuck all. Today however their task was made much more easier in light of the entertainment unfolding in front of them. "Who the hell eggs a Jaeger? What are they? Twelve?" The one of the left, Clarence, asked his partner, Robby. "Well that's the Asgari crews isn't it?"
"Yeah, who else would it be?"
"I dunno. But uh... Say. Should we do something about this?"
"I dunno, you gotten a pay rise recently?"
"Nope." They both shrugged at this, watching the show unfold below. "Oh, yeah." Realisation flashed on Robby's face. "You see that video? Of the Admiral making out with that Valari chick?"
"Hell yeah I did,lucky guy huh?"
"Yup."

---

The Asgari's self ban on all staff drinking was causing a lot of problems. After a brief and impersonal statement denouncing the scandalous video of the Admiral and Valari official as a well crafted fake made to defame the Iryllian leadership in the facility. A few halfhearted fingers were pointed and ultimately things didn't come to much. The doom clock ticked over into its second week and as ever, nothing continued to happen. The Admiral had personally assured the Asgari leadership inside the facility that all orders, even from their own government, had to be processed through the PADC and thus the Admiral himself before they became binding. The ban on Pilots drinking still stood but the crews could drink as much as they wanted too within reason. Obviously.

And so things continued as they always seemed too. Rumours flew, people were grumpy, even more people were drunk. News had it that an Illustrious Mk. IV crew were coming in to replace the Bellerophon but details were so far sketchy. The Salvage operation on the Bellerophon had been completed and as part of the opening ceremony of the monument made out of the wreckage outside the entrance, the Valarisk delegation was presented with a wreath of Iryllian Roses in thanks for their sterling effort to Iryllia's defence. The words were hollow and the gift token. A palpable air of tension had wedged its way in between the Iryllian staff of the facility and everyone else. More so than usual at least.

Additionally, in the intervening period, the beginnings of a refit and maintenance cycle was beginning on the bases systems. The processor nexus deep inside the facility was expanded upon and upgraded. Sesor systems updated and fitted with the latest in developments. More workmen than usual were seen around the place and the amount of cables laying around seeming doubled.

It was of course at this point when the alarm sounded.
"Attention. Category Four, designation: Zircon. Two hours to contact in Faustock Bay. Jaegers Noyen-Rak and Macerina report to the six mile line immediately."

[Enfaru]

Cleaning the egg off the Shi'Fei Taouk took much longer than anticipated mostly because it had fried on instead of just being a sticky goopy mess. If one wanted to take down a Jaeger, it seemed a few eggs would be a good way to bring it down. They spent hours scrubbing with wire brushes, Gun was up there on twelve hour rotation, disciplined for his unhelpful behaviour. Still with all the antics going on things did lighten up, after all when you had the threat of Kaiju making its way towards you, you had to do something to keep the spirits up. Most of the Farians were now working on devising new strategies on the data that they had learned, running the pilots through drills and experimenting with less draining measures to enter the Drift.

One of the more inventive measures to reduce one of the largest problems facing the Shi'Fei Taouk was an analogue re-work of some of the movement systems, instead of relying on brute force electrical energy, they anticipated some less efficient endothermic chemical reactions to try and assist. The simulations were promising, the initial experiments were proving strangely explosive but allegedly the technicians were making progress...even if they did go to bed each night soaked through and stinking to high heaven like a pig farm left to rot for a few months.

When the alarm sounded the Faræ were nowhere near ready. The category four announcement raised a few eyebrows but the information they had gathered was that this was actually just a single event and not a surprise double event again. At which point the Farians split into a four crew rotation, allowing a team to focus on analysing while another team would work on Jaeger maintenance. It seemed effective especially as when the alarm was announced they quickly shifted to analytical mode. Their own data collection units went up leaving on a skeleton crew working double time to get the Shi'Fei Taouk in solid working order.

All the while, Stera was probing for information on the Valyrien's stance on the Kaija threat and the Iryllian plans to replace the Bellerophon. Unfortunately, the were proving surprisingly good at keeping secrets...well...mostly.