Deep Beneath the Pacific (Pacific Rim)

Chapter Six: It was all Coming Back

February 29th, 2020 - Thursday - 8:41 AM.



The Marshall began to show me around, starting in the room where we first met - the Jaeger bay. I tried to focus on what he was saying to me, but I kept zoning him out as I stared up at the giant robots. He only caught me once. The other times I managed to pretend that I was listening.

The Marshall was walking ahead, talking about something to do with "losing Jaegers", "people work hard", "needing new weapons", and "rainbow unicorns" - okay, maybe not the last part. But you catch my drift (HAH, JOKE) - my surroundings were much more interesting than whatever he was babbling about. I mean no disrespect. Really. It's just that... It's been a long, long time since I've been this close to Jaegers. Too long.

I was starting to trail behind him, craning my head up at the familiar Glacier Hijack - she was the main Jaeger out of the rest that really stood out to me. Maybe because I worked on her personally...

I began making some calculations in my head. Judging by the minimal dents in the all too familiar old armor, the Glacier has held up pretty well since the last time I saw her. It appeared that the armor hasn't changed much, if not at all, since Dr. Schoenfeld and I worked on her together. She had hardly any scratches or dents in her armor... minus a few places. I was proud to see that our design was holding up well. I wasn't surprised either; Dr. Schoenfeld and I had worked on her relentlessly. She was obviously one of the toughest around.

But now as I tilted my head and squinted my eyes, I could definitely see some places where I would make some modifications. I mean, I could tell right away that a Kaiju must have bitten or clawed off a chuck of metal off her shoulder armor. It probably didn't effect her mobility, but it certainly was making my hands itch to repair it as well as improve it.

"Miss Whitehorse?"

I jumped, startled. I stiffened my back as I embarrassedly looked back at the Marshall, my face warming. "S-sorry, sir! I-I was just... The Glacier-" I stopped myself and looked down at my combat boots. Geez. Had to mess it all up. Good job. I mentally slapped myself across the face.

Surprisingly, the Marshall remained calm. It was obvious that he had been annoyed beforehand, but now he gave me a small smile. "Admiring an old friend?"

I met his eyes to see if he was being sarcastic or something. But all I saw was understanding eyes. I nodded, hesitantly. "Yes, sir. I worked on her armor design with Dr. Schoenfeld a while back... Seems like she's been holding up okay..."

Marshall Sokolov looked up at the Glacier Hijack, an unreadable expression on his face. It was getting really frustrating for me - I just couldn't read this guy! "Indeed. She's got the best armor out of all of them, in my opinion. Glacier can take some hits - I've seen it." He looked back at me. But this time, instead of an unreadable expression, I saw a dark shroud covering his face. Before I had time to react or think about it, he spoke up again. "Now, shall we continue? I'm sure that you'll have plenty of time to make any adjustments later on."

Then my eyes lit up, all suspicions suddenly gone. That's right! I'm a J-Tech here now! Excitement began to bubble up inside of me, now completely starting to cover up any fear or pain that I was holding on to. "Lead the way, sir." I was probably smiling like a fool now. But I didn't care. Jaegers. I was going to work on Jaegers.

Next, the Marshall showed me the cafeteria, in which I was completely blown away by. I had never seen so much food in my life in such a long time. It was a good variety too - I mean, mashed potatoes, even some bread, and more! It... it seemed like a crime to be eating so well ("well" as in full three meals a day!) here at the Shatterdome when I knew people in the city who were just barely eating a full meal a day.

I was walking past the refreshment fridges when I saw a drink I recognized immediately through the glass: chocolate milk. It was my favorite drink - it helped me calm down, it helped me focus, it made me smile, and most of all, it reminded me of good memories... Jason and I used to drink chocolate milk all the time when we were younger. Before Trespasser emerged, we'd sip chocolate milk on the back porch of our house and watch the clouds, trying to find pictures in them. We'd giggle for hours at what we'd come up with. Then when we were living at the Shatterdome with Dad, we'd still get chocolate milk. And now... I wanted to have some chocolate milk. I began to wonder if Jason still drank it, if he chose it when he goes to the cafeteria at the Anchorage Shatterdome...

I had to hurry to catch up with Marshall Sokolov. Luckily, he hasn't noticed that I had paused to stare at the refreshments. I promised myself that I'd get some later when it was time to eat. Most likely for breakfast tomorrow morning though.

The Marshall was being very specific with the tour, seeming to point out every nook and cranny that I hadn't noticed beforehand. I think he took pride in his Shatterdome, like any good Marshall should.