Pacific Rim: New Lives

Preperation

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT!?" Chuck screeched a few hours after the official left.

"We would be sending the Jaegers to get an education in order to maintain their secrecy." Herc answered calmly.

"I don't want to go." Striker growled softly, absentmindedly stroking Max's head. "Can't I play... what was that word you described, Chuck? The one where I say I'm sick but I'm really not."

"Hooky, Striker."

Herc whirled around to look at Chuck.

"You told him about playing hooky?" Herc asked.

"Why not?" Chuck retorted. "I didn't know he'd be going to high school!"

Herc sighed, he should've know this would be ugly... but it was either that or have Striker being taken from him.

He knew that Striker would jump out of the helicopter, in spite of his paralyzing fear of heights, just to get back to the shatterdome and to the Hansen's.

"What are we going to do if there's a kaiju attack during school hours?" Chuck asked. "We can't just pluck him out of school every day to fight a kaiju."

"We won't have to, the official said he'll convince the UN to make some more Mark V's and finish the mark V-E's." Herc stated.

"Ah right." Chuck said.

"Besides we have no choice." Herc snapped. "Either he goes to school... or he gets dissected."

Striker flinched and hunkered down. He hated that word, it was almost as bad as flying in one of those bloody helicopters. He had no idea if they'd plunge out of the sky and send them all to a fiery death.

He started shuddering convulsively.

"See!" Chuck cried. "Now look what you did!"

He put a tanned arm around Striker's shoulder. The mark V leaned into his pilot, gold eyes frightened. Herc let out a sigh.

"I don't want to scare him. Believe me I don't." Herc said. "But I can't pretend that they won't do anything if I don't keep up my end of the bargain."

"What forced you to do this anyway?" Chuck asked.

"Striker made the mistake of saying he was sixteen and the official thought that I was abusing him."Herc stated.

"I should've told him I was older." Striker murmured as he rubbed his arm gently.

"You didn't know, we didn't really tell either you or Tacit about human policies." Herc said and Striker just sniffled silently.

"Dad?" Striker then asked looking up at Herc.

Herc's heart warmed as Striker called him that.

"Yeah?"

"I...I'm scared."

"I can't believe they're making us do this." Raleigh growled after spending hours trying to find Yancy.

"Herc didn't have a choice, Raleigh." Mako said. "So we have to go with it."

Gipsy meanwhile tapped her fingers against her knee rhythmically, it was a nervous tic she had picked up from Yancy's side of the drift. The current tune was one of Yancy's favourite songs from before he died. But Gipsy couldn't remember the name of it.

The whole school thing was frightening to her, but it also was exciting at the same time. She had gotten so many bad feelings from Raleigh and Yancy that she was dreading going. But she also got the longing that Mako wanted since the young woman had never gone to high school, instead being taught inside the shatterdome.

Crimson definitely did not want to go to school. Gipsy couldn't blame him. They were still working on how to hide his third arm.

She thought she heard somewhere that he had to wrap it around his waist and wear his hoodie all the time, which was normal for him. But also an excuse excuse for their physical education class so he wouldn't have to change out of his hoodie.

Raleigh told her that Crimson would get teased mercilessly and that she had his full support if she decked someone for hurting any of her brothers.

Mako yelled at him for that.

"Maybe Stacker and Herc could get some private tutors?" Raliegh suggested to Mak who shook her head.

"Who would come to the shatterdome just to tutor some kids?" Mako answered calmly. "More and more J-tech and Ranger families are coming in after the breach reopened, and it's getting to big for one on one classes. Plus the techs haven't told their families about the Jaegers. There would be no way to keep it under wraps..."

The realization dawned on the mark three pilot's face. 

"You've got to be kidding me!" Raleigh yelled. "The official wants us to basically tell the whole godda..."

"Ahem." Mako warned her co-pilot.

"...mn world what they are." Raleigh finished calming down a bit.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Gipsy asked. "It would mean that none of us would have to hide in here all day, I don't want to school because I want to continue to kill Kaiju... but I'm pretty sure we all want to be..."

"Be what Gips?" Raleigh asked.

"Free." She finished looking at her pilots.

"I swear she gets this from you." Raleigh murmured to Mako, who just shrugged in reply silently.

"Very funny." The mark three said, crossing her arms infront of her chest annoyance at Raleigh.

"Well we should probably get you ready for school." Raleigh said, getting up from his seat and Gipsy's golden eyes looked at him curiously to see where he was going.

Gipsy then looked at Raleigh as he threw a navy blue bomber jacket at her. 

"It used to be Yancy's, I guess it's a gift from me to you for you starting school." Raleigh said as Gipsy put it on.

"Thanks." She said in a cheerful tone of voice.