Chapter 4
Raven snapped back her welding mask as she clicked off the torch, dropping back onto her butt to admire her own handy work. The mechanic grinned as she eyed the last bit of welding she'd performed, her masterpiece was coming together quite nicely. Drawing the back of her hand across her forehead, Raven didn't care for even a second as grease, oil and sweat merged together on her skin.
“Looks good, a little uneven, but good,” came the light voice of Raven's superior, Anya, the chief Mechanic. The young brunette whipped her head around to meet Anya's steel grey eyes and easy grin,
“It's fucking perfect and you know it,” Raven quipped back, grinning wide. Anya smirked and shrugged, advancing on the foot of the Jaeger that Raven sat before. Her worn, calloused hands ran across the freshly welded sheet of armoured steel, feeling the residual heat, the heartbeat of the machine. Anya grinned wider, laughing internally at her own personal idea of the Jaegers.
The chief Mechanic always believed, deep down, that the hulking great machines had souls, personality beneath their armoured layers. That their running cores, be it nuclear or electrical where more than just a power source. It was life,no matter which way you looked at it. Anya knew every Jaeger had a personality, even if they didn't outwardly speak.
Natblinda was playful and young, much like his pilots. The Jaeger was swift and eager to impress his peers in every aspect. Whereas Pauna was old, grumpy, battle worn and experienced, like every war veteran Anya had ever met. But she was a hulking steady force, constant and unbeatable. Trikru was almost as eager as Natblinda, the young adult of the group of Jaegers, she had proven her battle worth and was ready to keep going and going. But Anya's favourite, by far, was the Jaeger she'd worked on since the beginning.
Heda.
The old, battered and almost half destroyed hunter was by far the closest thing to family that the the floor chief had. Not that the Marshall wasn't a good family member, bur since Floukru Lexa had been cold and distant.Heda had always been there for Anya through all the tough days, right from the beginning when she was just a baby mechanic working her way up from the bottom. Heda was Anya's masterpiece and now, as she instructed Raven Reyes on how they were going to make the beauty even better, Anya couldn't help but feel her chest swell with pride. Especially when only she and her cousin, the Marshall, we're fully aware of the backup plan.
“So what do you recon?” the brunettes soft voice cut through Anya's thoughts, drawing her eyes back to Raven's form on the floor. Anya couldn't stop her eyes wandering over the younger mechanic, in her oil and grease stained overalls and white vest, her tanned muscled arms smeared with engine oil and black dots up and down her arms were the welded steel had jumped up and against her skin. And the way her hazel hair was tugged into a messy bun at the top of her head, hidden only slightly by the welding mask. Anya was a sucker for girls covered in hard work and engine oil.
“I recon you need work on your welding skills,” the blonde teased, cocking an eyebrow at Raven. Reyes scoffed and rolled her dark eyes, pushing up to her feet awkwardly. Anya let herself eye the mechanics left leg for a moment, her ears picking up the sounds of metal grinding against metal. It was no secret that Raven Reyes had a bum leg, but it wasn't common knowledge that said bum leg was infact mechanical. Anya only knew that Raven was partially cyborg because she'd read the fresh out of the Academy mechanics file.
“You know it's the best damn work you've seen in this pit,” Reyes muttered confidently, running a single finger against a welding line as she came closer to Anya's, her leg stiff. Raven refused to let the disability harbour her work, or even admit that she had a disability. Raven was always told she'd never walk again, after she lost her limb, but after a lot of hard work and experimental Jaeger Tech shrunk down to human size, she'd had two kegs once more. Raven even swore she couldn't tell the difference between flesh and blood to the cyborg addition to her body.
“Sounds like you need some tuning up,” Anya muttered, her eyes flicking back to Raven's leg,
“Probably, but anyway, why so much work here? Heda's been decommissioned, I thought she was only here to like, inspire the other Jaegers,” Raven shrugged, brushing over Anya's concern. The chief Mechanic sighed and removed her hand From the Jaegers foot, leaning her back against it as she folded her arms,
“Maybe, maybe not. Marshall recons there's a storm coming and we need all our soldiers ready to rock ‘n roll,”
“And this beauty would lead the offence right?” Raven laughed, slapping her hand flat against the Jaegers leg,
“Over the others? Obviously. I'd put all my money on Heda being our saviour anyway,”
“But, you know, Jaegers tend to need Rangers to work,” Raven muttered as she shrugged, moving her body to mirror the elder woman's. Anya made a small noise, one that could have been nonchalant if Raven hadn't picked up some of the other woman mannerisms and quirks over the last few weeks, “You know more then your telling,”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Anya shrugged, her face still alight with the easy grin. It made Raven frown hard as she tried to work out what was going on in her fellow mechanics head. Anya was an enigma, to Raven at least, all she knew about her chief was what she had learnt through rumours. Which was mostly that Anya built Heda from scratch, had oil for blood, the Marshall was her cousin, always managed to get special treatment in the food court. Usual bulletin in Raven's opinion. Anya was just like the rest of them, she'd lost someone, Raven could see it in the way the woman shrugged or smiled, the way she used the gestures as armour. But knowing these things wasn't going get what Raven wanted out of Anya.
“Come on! There's gotta be a bigger reason that just nostalgia to why you've got me fitting this bad girl with new tech!” Raven scoffed, slapping her hand heavily against the Jaegers foot. Anya watched with narrowed eyes, his hands barely twitching as Raven slapped the freshly welded armour, “Come on, just a titbit, the tiniest clue of what's actually going on. Heda decommissioned, what's the point in fixing in a new reactor?”
“The Marshall never decommissioned Heda. She's still fully functional and ready for battle.”
“The Marshall is old school, original Jaeger training. You've gotta watch her down swing and jabs,” Octavia Blake whispered quietly to Clarke as she held up a padded chest protector. Clarke shook her head, glancing over the female Rangers shoulder to eye the Marshall. Lexa still stood in the middle of the Dojo mat, swishing her damn sabre from side to side. Like an old school musketeer or something.
“I don't want it. She's not wearing armour, I won't,” Clarke grunted, his fingers flexing around the hilt of her own matching sabre. She'd had a brief training model with the fencing style of Kwoon simulations, but it had been expensive. Clarke had mostly stuck to the Bo staff and hand to hand combat. But of course, the one person to challenge her within the Kwoon would be a sucker for old school fighting techniques. Clarke took in a breath, forcing her mind into focus. Her cerulean eyes fixed onto Marshall Woods and her confident manner of swishing about the sabre,
“She won't be fooled into think cockiness is confidence Griffin,” Octavia muttered softly, clasping a hand firmly on Clark's shoulder. The blonde nodded shortly before pushing forward, her palms sweaty against the sabre hilt.
“You understand the rules Cadet?” Marshall Woods spoke strong and clear, moving her stance to stand before Clarke as she entered the Dojo matt. Her toes flexed against the surface, her fingers gripped her weapon, yet Lexa's eyes remained steady. Clarke tried to steel herself that way, to keep her eyes on the prize, but she couldn't help but eye the scars that littered the Marshalls right arm, or the way the vest clung to her clearly defined stomach. Clarke took a shuddering breath before she spoke,
“5 point system, the first with the most points out of the five wins,” Clarke replied, stiffly. The Marshall nodded, a quick smirk flashing towards the Cadet,
“I've read your file, a lot of Maui Thai and kickboxing, not a lot of weaponry combat. Almost disappointing,” the Marshall mused, flipping her sabre up to her face, Clarke mirrored her motion. The Dojo fell silent around them,
“Not all Jaegers fight with weaponry,” Clarke shot back as their swords fell to their sides. One of them would have to lunge first, one of them had to take the offensive. Clarke felt the lump start to form.in her throat as Lexa's body twitched, the blondes skin tingled as her instincts took over. The Marshalls fencing sabre came forward, a quick lunge towards Clarke's chest.
The blonde didn't move fast enough, the blunted ball end of the sword poked her chest quickly, before withdrawing back to the Marshal's aide,
“one point,” Lexa stated, her feet moving quickly as she side stepped the flunge Clarke gave, the blonde hit the mat on her knees, feinting to the left as Lexa's blade slides through the air. Clarke moved quickly, parrying against the Marshalls quick attacks, the only noise in the Kwoon coming from their breathless grunts and clang of metal.
For a while this happened, metal clashing against metal, blades sliding down one another till Lexa got her second shot in. A quick underway to Clarke's stomach, just hard enough that the blonde knew she'd have a perfectly circular blade.
“Stop hesitating. Feel it, flow with it, don't think, just feel,” the Marshall commented as she bounced back to her starting position once more. Clarke let out a low grunt of frustration before following suit. The Marshall waited, patiently. Watching with keen eyes as the Cadet took in a deep breath, silencing the internal crash of anger. Lexa didn't even seen her move, but she was sure she felt it. Like a flurry of a whirlwind, Clarke twirled, stepped and lunged just as fast as Lexa was, the blunt end of the sabre sliding through the bottom of Lexa's vest. The crowd gasped as one, a collective sound that bounced off every wall till the two fighters blinked again.
“2 to 1,” Clarke muttered, her sky blues locked onto Lexa's emerald green. The Marshall straightened herself, her face set as they began to parry. A series of ducking, dodging and weaving followed, each woman's sabre just missing their target every time. Clarke cursed herself every time Lexa blocked a lunge or stab, just as Lexa growled low each time Clarke brushed past her. Soon it became a dance, their body actually moving as one as the moves became familiar and barely thought about.
Clarke's sabre poked against Lexa's left shoulder once, bringing their score to a draw. By now they were panting and sweating, their clothing stuck to their bodies like a second skin. Clarke was too distracted by knowing what Lexa's next move was going to be to even notice how the Marshalls white vest was practically sculpted to her abs.
Something in the blonde cadets brain had clicked during the dance. Something unnatural that Clarke had only read about before. They were drifting, well a close to drifting as they could outside the Conn-pod of a Jaeger. Even now, as they continued to move on the matt, their body’s barely brushing by one another, they weren’t even going for the winning hit, just matching one another's steps, bocking strikes, moving gracefully. Clarke had never felt so at ease in a long time. Their breathing fell onto sync, everything else was zoned out, it was just her and the Marshall. Just her and Lexa.
The blaring siren of the Kaiju emergency alert system rang out through the Kwoon dojo, stopping the two fighters. Lexa was the first to drop her sabre, striding past Clarke with her face set in determination,
“Rangers to the Drive Room, Titus with me to the LOCCET. Doctor Griffin, a word?” the Marshall changed right before Clarke’s eyes as she turned and watched the strong, scarred woman across the room. She was mopping up her face with a tel that the bald man held out as Clarke’s mother spoke to her in hushed words. For a moment, Clarke’s mother’s eyes found her daughter, under a deep frown. As the room began to empty put around Clarke, the crowds parting and following the Rangers as they headed towards the Drive rooms to get suited for battle. Clarke knew most of the staff around her would head to the food court or the main 'dome floor to each the enviable battle between Jaeger and kaiju on the big screens. But Clarke hesitated, watching as Marshall Woods gave her one last glance before exiting the Kwoon.
“Talk to me Mr Green, I want categories, stats and locations,” Lexa strode into the LOCCET, Titus at her heels as the young Asian who been with Cadet Griffin dusing the table dancing incident began to tap furiously at his Holo-screen. The images that were suddenly produced, big and detail were exactly what Lexa had asked for.
“Double event, two category four. They breaches ten minutes ago. All three Jaegers are being carried to the miracle mile now Sir, M'am….Marshall,” Monty Green stammered as Lexa loomed at his shoulder. She scanned the screens quickly, eyeing the details before her,
“Patch me through to the Rangers,” the young LMC worked quickly, the screen before them splitting in half to now show bother Kaiju and Jaeger stats. Lexa pushed up to stand tall as she grabbed the comm-link from Monty's desk,
“Rangers, this is your Marshall. You're facing a double event, two category four’s. Natblinda I want you to hold the mile, be the last man standing if need be. Pauna and Trikru, take those bustard down before they reach any civilized land,” the comm-link crackled with static before a voice came through, echoing around the LOCCET.
“Copy that Marshall,” Aden from Natblinda replied first, followed quickly by the voices of Octavia and then Indra, all confirming their orders. Lexa nodded to herself, confident that her Rangers would defeat the threat and defend the civilians once more. And maybe, just maybe, sway the council to her way of thinking.
“A double event huh? That’s a pretty big thing, I guess the whole world will be watching our Rangers today?” Bellamy Blake's smug voice came into the LOCCET then, making Lexa cringe before she turned to face him,
“A civilian approved KEAS will currently be being broadcast, informing the citizens behind the wall to find their nearest Kaiju bunker,” Lexa replied, her tone short and clipped as the suited man store towards her. His dark eyes scanned Monty’s work station, taking in all the information before them, before his eyes found Lexa again,
“But why Marshall? Why would they need to find a kaiju bunker if your Jaegers are going to defeat them in the field?”
“Come with me,” Abby Griffin snapped, she had an almost angry tone as she grabbed her daughters elbow, steering her away from the crowds spilling out of the Shatterdome floor,
“Mom! I want to see the footage!” Clarke grumbled, feeling horribly like a teenager once more as her mother dragged her away from everyone else. Abby frog marched her daughter for what seemed like an eternity of winding corridors till they reached the infirmary. Abby’s station and home,
“I don’t agree with this, not one bit. This is ridiculous, out of line!” Abby Griffin grumbled to herself as she pushed into the medical bay, the fluorescent lights flickering on in her wake. Clarke followed in silence, still confused to why she had been dragged away from seeing the battle unfold.
All three Jaegers had been deployed to face the foe. All three battle hardened and ready metal soldiers, brimming to burst with weapons Clarke had only read about. She'd seen plenty of old footage of Jaegers in battles, locked against a kaiju twice it’s size, but to see a live show of monster against machine would have been a pinnacle point for the Cadet. Instead her mother was directing her to an examining table while she pulled out screens and electrode patches from drawers,
“Mom, what’s going on?” Clarke quizzed as she stopped next to the pale blue, probably freezing cold, table. Abby’s shoulders sagged as the older Griffin woman sighed, turning slowly to face her daughter,
“Marshall Woods has requested that you undergo a Psych Analysis. She wants your stats, your files and your compatibility all recorded and checked. She wants your Ranger ready within a matter of days Clarke.”