Soon, Natsuki and Marshal Stacker reached the backup Jaeger maintenance warehouse behind the main hangar.
This warehouse was much smaller—capacity for two Jaegers max, with a far more utilitarian structure. Among the steel materials and equipment, a silver-white, heavily built Jaeger stood along one side.
*Shaolin Rogue*
No regular maintenance crew here—just a handful of engineers near the conn-pod studying improvements.
"Shaolin Rogue. Used to guard China's coastline alongside Crimson Typhoon. Specialized in underwater close combat. Destroyed during a 2024 mission. After Dr. Albert arrived, he began restoration work. But for some reason, the neural connection system keeps malfunctioning. It can't participate in upcoming operations."
Marshal Stacker gazed at the monk-like giant machine.
"Looks good." Natsuki also looked up, nodding with satisfaction.
The Land of Light had mechanical constructs from other civilizations too, though most were in the Space Science Bureau. Those things were fascinating—unfortunately, after he broke a few, Hikari banned him from the lab. After that, he had to sneak in. Really undignified.
Not like here. He wanted to pilot a Jaeger, and they just arranged it. This kind of cooperation made it hard not to feel warmly toward Earth.
"When can I get in?" Natsuki asked with anticipation.
"It's 7:20 AM now. We should have the single-pilot neural system installed by this afternoon." Marshal Stacker thought briefly. "In the meantime, you can familiarize yourself with Jaeger piloting procedures. Operating a Jaeger is extremely complex. Our pilots usually train for years at the Academy."
No exaggeration there. Piloting Jaegers was deadly serious. Before the UN pulled funding, pilot academies were even more competitive than top universities.
Piloting well wasn't just about throwing punches in the conn-pod. Pilots needed understanding of all onboard systems and the ability to deploy every function under any circumstances.
"Fine. Got a manual or something? I'll read it later." Natsuki frowned at the mention of studying, but considering he'd need it to master the machine, he accepted.
"Yes, I'll have someone bring it to you shortly." Marshal Stacker nodded. "Once you've got the basics down, you can join the activation test this afternoon—right alongside Gipsy Danger's test."
Gipsy Danger's pilot selection was this morning, activation test that same afternoon.
Speaking of which, Natsuki remembered. "By the way, Raleigh's copilot's already set, right? That girl?"
From his observations, Raleigh and Mako becoming partners was basically done.
Marshal Stacker nodded silently. But his expression still held conflict.
"What's to be conflicted about? Raleigh's a veteran. Even if the girl's never piloted before, he can carry her."
Natsuki could see Raleigh's warrior instincts hadn't dulled—if anything, they'd stayed sharp.
"It's not that simple." Marshal Stacker frowned, looking toward the massive machine. "She still carries intense hatred. That affects her emotions. When two pilots drift, every emotion gets amplified. If she gets lost in painful memories, the other pilot gets trapped there too. That's why I'm worried...she's not ready yet."
His concern for Mako wasn't just because she was his daughter. Whether as father or marshal, he believed piloting was premature for Mako Mori. She hadn't fully let go of the past.
"Explain." Natsuki looked at him. "And while you're at it, explain your physical condition too."
At that moment, crimson blood trickled from Marshal Stacker's nose again. He belatedly touched his nose, then smoothly pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, wiped away the blood, and swallowed a capsule.
After looking at Natsuki for several seconds, following brief hesitation, he slowly began: "That was nine years ago. Back then, I wasn't a marshal. Just a pilot."
He opened up about his worries.
"A kaiju codenamed Onibaba made landfall in Tokyo. Took countless lives. Including Mako's parents..."
He explained how in 2016, he and his copilot deployed in the Mark-1 Jaeger Coyote Tango. Performance had many shortcomings. They couldn't stop the kaiju immediately. His copilot was killed. The kaiju rampaged through the city and targeted young Mako herself.
In the end, Stacker—under immense strain—solo-piloted the Jaeger, killed the kaiju, and saved Mako. He adopted the poor girl as his daughter.
"Her parents' deaths...and the despair of facing a kaiju as a child—she turned those emotions into motivation. She thinks she's moved on. But I've seen her eyes. I know she hasn't. She still needs to grow."
After discussing Mako, he turned to himself. "As for me...not much to say. Mark-1 Jaegers all ran on nuclear power. In the emergency back then, we hadn't designed radiation shielding for pilots. After solo-piloting against that kaiju, my body was already doomed."
The Jaeger's radiation gave Marshal Stacker incurable cancer. His life had entered countdown mode.
After sharing all this, he suddenly felt lighter. As the base's anchor, he had to project strength constantly. Now, facing a being whose existence far transcended his own, he could drop the mask temporarily.
For him, this was relief.
"What worries me now is whether something will go wrong during the activation test. Both Mako and Raleigh carry pasts too painful to revisit." Worry creased his brow.
Making these two pilots was desperation. He was out of time. Humanity was out of time. He had to choose.
"It won't happen."
After he finished, Natsuki looked at him and spoke.
"Nothing will go wrong. Because I'm here."
A slight smile played at Natsuki's lips.
Simple words. But they carried a thousand tons of reassurance.
Marshal Stacker looked at him. For a moment, he seemed to see that smiling giant again—the one whose mere appearance filled hearts with hope.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (40+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!