Pacific Rim: King of the Monsters

Chapter 31.

The chopper left the helipad, flying off and taking the heavy winds with it.

An attendant helped the new pilots and their bags to the stairs. Seven new recruits lined up behind one another, taking in the view of the Hong Kong and the Shatter-Dome, awestruck by the immense size of the base doors and the city off in the distance.

Wataru, Teruo, and Shobi looked over the new recruits, seeing they were around the same age as themselves. The oldest looked like he was 25, and the youngest was around 20.

Wataru was a little satisfied with their age, afraid he would have to act like a soldier in front of the new guys.

Teruo on the hand elbowed his copilot, "Yo, stand up straight. You are slouching."

Shobi giggled at the two, "You guys have killed Kaiju. I'm sure you don't have to worry about gaining their respect."

"You three should still represent what it means to be a pilot." Pentecost said as he stood beside them. "Also, I don't want distrust between all of us, but don't speak about Adaine not being one of us." He looked to the outcast, "Can you keep quiet?"

"Am I free to walk around?" Adaine crossed her arms.

"You've been walking around for a month-" Pentecost cleared his throat quickly, seeing the new pilots lining up.

The first to make it down were two brothers which was obvious by the way they dressed, both wearing jackets similar in design but differed in color, one red and the other black. The one in red was the first to be greeted by Pentecost, nodding to the pilots as he waited for the rest to step off the stairs.

The only one to approach the group without a greeting was Emi, a little to excited to hide her happiness from everyone, seeing her sister again.

The twins hugged, confusing the new recruits while Wataru and Teruo were already trying to find a difference between the two beside their clothing.

Pentecost let the twins talk before turning his attention to the recruits, "Hello, I'm the director of this base, Stacker Pentecost. You will address me as Pentecost or sir and obey my orders. Before you are escorted to your rooms, all of you will give me your name and designation, is that understood?"

The recruits responded differently, some nodding, and the others confirming verbally.

The first to speak up was the one wearing the red jacket with his sleeves torn off, showing off his muscles and a dagger tattoo on his left arm. His jacket matched his hair, both messy and unattended. He pulled the toothpick from his mouth, "Sir, I'm Mack Sullivan, piloting Grim Butcher."

The pilot in black dropped his bag to his feet. He flipped up his shades, trying not to smile, "And I'm his copilot, Gage Murdock. Pleasure to be here sir."

Pentecost nodded to the two, stepping up to the next two pilots. The one on the right seemed to wait for his copilot to say something, but Pentecost was staring at him. The pilot clenched his fist, "I'm Kujo Tanaka, piloting Red Brawler." The pilot said quickly like he was being judged.

Pentecost patted him on the shoulder, "Relax son. No need to be so tense."

The pilot agreed, trying to loosen up, looking to his copilot who merely held his hand out to Pentecost, "How have you been sir?"

Pentecost shook his hand without hesitation, "Mr.Arima, I see you came back."

The pilot shrugged, "I didn't want to leave the first time, remember? Jo just didn't have the stomach for this job. Luckily Kujo here has a fire in him." The pilot nudged his friend who was a little confused on the matter, having no idea Arima had been on this base before.