The Pacific

Healing Touch

"Being in that Jaeger with Ichigo for so long. I think it's starting to affect my mentality towards her. I think I've fallen for her. A common side effect of Drifting with someone, especially for long periods, can cause people to feel differently for the partner which they drift with. At least, I've heard stories like that." You thought while writing some things down in a notebook.

"September 5th, it's almost been eight months since I lost everything. The Kaiju are still an ever-growing threat, now we're forced to fight another war against our own kind. It feels like just yesterday when I heard there were no survivors in any other continent or country... an even closer memory is the fact that we can never go back to our old way of life for the foreseeable future. But those guys, the ones who attacked us on our last mission three days ago... they gave me a flicker of hope that there may still be others alive out there who are willing to help us fight."

"Marco, how are you holding up?" Stacker asked with a pleasant smile on his face

"I'm doing just great, thanks. Though what's with the big smile all of a sudden?" You asked with caution, getting the impression that something went wrong and he's furious since you've never seen him smile that much before.

"We've completed not only the construction of our Jaeger manufacturing plant in Miami, but also custom Jaegers for your teammates." He replied with enthusiasm.

"That's great news. Now we can finally have more people out in the field." You said with confidence.

"That's correct, we just might be able to turn the tide in this war after all. I also have word from the doctor based on how fast you're healing, he said you should be able to walk around again from this afternoon if you're up to the task." He said, patting you on the shoulder before walking away.

"Stacker, sir! May I make a request?" You asked with a stricter tone.

"It depends, what do you need?" He asked curiously.

"I'd like to request that all Jaeger pilots learn how to handle a firearm, and keep at least two firearms per Jaeger crew member." You said seriously.

"As matter of fact, I've already requested that, given you and the others barely made it out of the previous one. Speaking of which, your call to request firearms was spot on, almost too good to be true. What possessed you to ask that in the first place?" He replied, partially because he is really interested in that now, and partially because he wants to prove Goro wrong about you being a teamkiller.

"It was rational thinking. If we're going up against other humans, then we should have the means to defend ourselves should our equipment and Jaegers themselves go down on that side. That's probably why the initial pilots never survived." You said with pride in your decision.

"You should be proud. I'll admit, your request at first was a bold one since the thought never even crossed my mind and I thought it was a bit strange of you to ask." He replied before dismissing himself and leaving the room.

After a few minutes of sitting alone in your room, Ichigo entered, looking at you with excitement.

"Our team officially has their custom Jaegers!" She said excitedly.

"I've heard so. Just out of curiosity, what are your teammates going to name theirs?" You asked curiously.

"I don't know yet, though Zero-Two and Hiro decided to go with Strelitzia Mark." She replied with a smile.

"That's a cool name, where'd she get the inspiration for that?" You asked curiously.

"It was the name of her Franxx, back in 'other' Earth." She said nonchalantly.