April 23, 2015. PPDC proving grounds.
"Caitlin! You can't do this! Brawler Yukon is just a prototype! It wasn't built for this!"
Jasper Schoenfeld pleaded desperately with his former lover, Caitlin Lightcap, the creator of the Pons system and the first ever successful Drift compatible pilot of the world's first functional Jaeger, Brawler Yukon.
Caitlin smirked at her old lover, hiding her inner anxiety and anticipation with her newly regained confidence after she got involved with Sergio D'Onofrio, her Drift-compatible pilot.
"This is the only thing it was built for. Jasper"
Her smirk softened a bit.
"Don't worry me. This is everything we've been working for. Its time we showed the world what we've got."
Then, she grimaced.
"Besides, we don't really have a choice, do we? The other rangers are mere recruits and haven't even gone through their drift compatibility tests yet. And the other Jaegers are not even finished. Brawler Yukon is the only functional machine we have at the moment, and we are the only pair of pilots we have."
"And this time, we can't depend on the Titans for help either. Putting aside all the political hell and hysteria surrounding the native titans at the moment, most of them are dealing with other rifts that are continuously opening up across the world, with only a few months between them. Not to mention how all of these rifts are opening up at the exact same moment, making sure to split up the titans in different directions on purpose."
"This means that none of the titans can reach the Kaiju heading for Canada."
"As for the only two that can reach it in time, Monarch has spotted the emerald serpent in the Arctic Circle, handling another Breach where three Category 3 Kaijus arrived from, while the moth is handling another Category 3 down south."
The two finally arrived at the entrance to the Jaegers' launch bay.
"This is the only option we have, Jasper. Besides, is this not the very reason you proposed the Jaeger program in the first place?"
"....Yes. But still-"
"Jasper. Trust us. Trust me. We will handle it."
"It is time that we give our people hope. Hope that we can do this on our own, without having to depend on the Titans all the time."
Jasper could say nothing as his heart bled at the familiar, confident look on Caitlin's face. The same fire that once drew him in. The same fire that she only regained after she first initiated a mind-meld with Sergio and soon after, broke up with him.
With nothing to say, he watched silently as Caitlin and Sergio climbed into the first-ever functional Jaeger that humanity ever built.
He rushed back to the control room and glared at the holographic display that showed all the data from the machine, making sure nothing would go wrong in this first-ever live deployment of the machine.
"I want a sit rep and diagnostics across the board. I will not tolerate any deviation from the optimal standard. Am I clear?"
""""Yes, Sir!!""""
"Good. Conn-Pod status?"
"Green across the board."
"Reactor status?"
"Holding at a solid 70% output. All parameters are in the optimal range!"
"Shielding?"
"Intact. No breaches detected."
"Neural Link status?"
"Optimal."
"Anti-Gravity weight mitigation systems?"
"Go."
"Inertial Dampening Systems?"
"Within optimal parameters."
Jasper took a deep breath and spoke out seriously.
"Initiate neural handshake."
"Initiating. Ranger Sergio, Ranger Caitlin, you are go for neural handshake."
"Copy that! Initiating handshake. Left hemisphere, calibrating."
"Right hemisphere, calibrating."
"Calibration complete! Neural handshake holding at 100%."
Jasper took a deep breath and spoke out as the approval for deployment came through from Stacker Pentecost who was watching this event from his own, seperate control room, where he was being accompanied remotely by the world leaders who helped create the PPDC in the first place.
"....Brawler Yukon, you are authorized to deploy. Give 'em hell."
"Copy that! Deploying."
As one, the two pilots moved. Their every physical action mimicked by the machine.
The colossal machine moved out of the Proving Grounds and held its position, ready for pickup.
Within the control room, the people cheered at the first signs of success as the machine moved. Yet, Jasper held a frown and continued watching for any anomalies in the code, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
"Brawler Yukon. Ready for pickup."
"Copy. Carriers inbound."
Dozens of specially designed choppers, the V-50 Jumphawks, designed based on the popular Chinook platform, arrived in the airspace above the Jaeger. Their hooks combined together in a way that would allow them to attach the machine and transport it to the maximum range possible for the chopper.
A feat that was only possible thanks to the anti-gravity technology gifted to the PPDC by Hoenn.
"Tethers attached. We are ready for liftoff."
"Copy that. Good luck."
With that, the choppers took off, taking the Jaeger to the target.
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The Kaiju with grey and leathery skin marred with brown and red marks roared in victory as it finally made landfall in Vancouver. It's every move shaking the ground beneath it.
Despite its lower mass and density, it was still a behemoth standing tall over anything humanity had built so far.
It's two sets of double eyes socketed in its large and vertically long head swiveled around, searching for the most populated areas that it could find so that it could begin its mission of extermination.
Before the Kaiju that would one day come to be known as Karloff could do anything, it heard the noise of human aircraft arrive. Its memories shared across the Hive Mind, allowing it to identify and react accordingly with what the natives of this planet are capable of.
However, what it saw next made it pause as the Hive Mind had no answer to the beast of steel and circuitry.
Brawler Yukon's transport choppers disengaged their tethers, dropping the colossal mech on top of the Kajiu.
Before the beast could react, Humanity's answer to the invaders moved.
Within the Conn-Pod, Caitlin and Sergio moved as one as the Jaeger's right arm pulled back. It's powerful, hydraulic, articulation providing so much force that the very frame of the machine twisted a bit under the strain. It's C-Titanium twisting and stretching to its limit to contain the sheer power of the mech.
Then, they let loose a right hook straight to the Kaiju's face.
The invader, who had no combat experience against this kind of weapon, had no defence prepared for this.
Across the night sky of Vancouver, a thunderous noise similar to an explosion rang out, followed by the pained roars of the Kaiju as the mechanical fist met the face of the Kaiju, and promptly shattered its jaw clean off its face.
The moment the Kaiju started to bleed, micro lasers in the five hundred mega-watt range flared to life from the shoulders of the Jaeger, cauterizing the wound on the Kaiju's face with pinpoint accuracy, preventing the toxic Kaiju Blue phenomenon.
The pain that the Kaiju felt was transmitted back to the Hive Mind, along with the data on the combat it was going through, ensuring that its creators would be able to develop countermeasures for the future.
But for now? The Kaiju knew it had no chance against the metallic beast of humanity.
So, it did exactly what its instincts demanded and fled into the city, hoping to do as much damage as possible before it inevitably met its end.
Unfortunately, the Jaeger would not allow that.
Brawler Yukon's left arm stretched out and latched onto the skinny Kaiju's back, digging into its spine with relative ease and earning another pained squeal from the invader, before pulling it back and delivering another precise strike straight through where the PPDC knew the heart of these creatures to be, while the lasers once again flared and once again sealed off the wound.
With just a few blows, the Kaiju went down.
At this very moment, humanity across the world relished the first-ever victory of its kind over the invaders without the need for the Titans to get involved.
With this, Humanity was now sure.
They can fight the invaders. They can fight this calamity, this apocalypse, at their door.
They can win.
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Brawler Yukon: (Click here for image)
Kaiju Karloff: (Click here for image)
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