Chapter Text
9 January 2025
2100 hours
Herc walked up the last few steps to the platform Phryne was working on and called out to her. He’d radioed up to let her know he was coming, to avoid startling her, but she was so focused she jumped anyway.
“Hey, Uncle Herc. You really should be resting, sleep will help your arm heal faster.” The young woman gave him a concerned glare before turning back to Striker’s left arm. She was kneeling on a mat, parts spread out all around her, and elbow deep in the wrist jointure. Herc sat down near her, leaning back against the railing, and carefully avoiding knocking into any of her equipment.
“What are you working on there, Little Phryne?”
“One of the heating elements for the knuckle-dusters,” she grunted as she tugged on something. “The third knuckle didn’t reach anywhere near the target temp, and the fourth didn’t heat up at all when I tested them. Hah!” Phryne cried triumphantly as she pulled out the faulty mechanism, a kinked pipe with a damaged heating coil wrapped around. “There you are, you little troublemaker.” She tossed it onto a growing pile of broken equipment before diving back, shoving her head in as well. “Let’s see if you made anyone else upset in there.”
“Ya know, most of the time you remind me of your mother. But whenever I watch you work, I can see your father in you.” Phryne pulled her head out so fast her headlamp dropped into the open hatch.
“You’ve never told me that before.” She looked at him with eyes full of hope and curiosity.
“It never hit me so hard as it did just now. Your dad used to say the exact same thing whenever he worked on my plane.” Herc smiled fondly at the memory of Ryan Collins talking to the machinery as if it would answer him back.
“Tell me more?” Little Phryne was suddenly in his face, the hopeful and curious gleam in her eyes shining even brighter. “Mum would never talk about him. All I know is that he worked for the RAAF as an engineer and what he looks like from pictures.”
“Alright, alright. As long as you get your work done.” He gave her his best fatherly look he could muster, and she beamed, nodding and pulling her headlamp out of the machinery.
“Yes sir, Lieutenant, sir.” Herc waited till she got settled, thinking of where to start.
“He was always so calm, but you could see this vein pop in his forehead when he was frustrated by something. And he was a complete neat freak, but not obnoxiously, just quietly rearranging everything behind Laura whenever she was cleaning.” Phryne chuckled at that.
“I did the same thing, she never put anything back where it was supposed to go. ‘Head up in the clouds’ she used to say.”
“He loved that about her, how she was always dreaming up something better for the three of you. She and Angela made up stories when they were kids. He asked Angela about it and he wrote them down for her to read to you in utero. Of course, he also read some engineering manuals to you when he wanted Laura to sleep as well.” Herc and Phryne chuckled again, but hers sounded a little wet and strained. Her face was buried in Striker, so he could not see if she actually was crying.
“What about you and him?”
“He tried to teach me how to fish a few times. We would drive down to the Royal National Park, to this one lagoon — I can’t remember the name of it now. He was a deft hand at it, loved the calm and quiet, had the patience to wait the fish out.” He trailed off.
“And you, Uncle Herc?” Phryne seemingly sensed why he had paused.
“I was rubbish at it, I never caught anything larger than a smelt, except for this one starfish. Oh, how he laughed at me for that.” Herc rubbed his face with his good hand. “But I was better on the barby. Whenever he cooked, it always ended up burnt to a crisp— don’t know how, with a mind like his.”
“I’m a bit rubbish in the kitchen, myself.” Phryne added as she pulled out the last piece of slightly charred wiring, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm. “I always panic, and Mum had to grab the fire extinguisher a couple times.”
“I never saw your father panic above twice in my life.”
“When?” Phryne asked, looking over at him, a slight wariness in her expression.
Herc took a deep breath. “When your mother refused to go to hospital right before you were born. She’d fainted the week before, but it was only for a moment and she didn’t want to worry anyone. He called me and Angela to try and convince her. Sweet-Pea, I thought your father was going to have a heart attack, your mother was so stubborn.”
“She hated being fussed over, more than anything. I remember when she had a cold, Mum wouldn’t let me do anything for her. I practically had to drug her with cold medicine, so she wouldn’t try to make me dinner and cough all over it.” Phryne chuckled as she finished bundling a new set of cables. There was a comfortable silence between them for a few minutes as the engineer installed the new wiring in Striker’s wrist. She pulled back out with a puzzled look on her face.
“And the other time?”
“Your father came to me a couple months after they first met and asked me how to ask a girl out. Ryan was white as a sheet as he told me that he’d tried to talk to her three times and never managed to actually ask her out.”
Herc spent the next hour just sitting with Phryne, sometimes chatting about her parents, other times just sitting in a comfortable silence as he proudly watched the girl he considered his daughter work on his Jaeger.
- - - -
10 January 2025
0800 hours
“Argh, damn it!” Chuck pulled out of the machinery, rubbing at his arm. “My arm’s been doing something weird, I can’t get a grip on the tools.” He sat down and pointed to his right forearm, his right-hand fingers spasming slightly. She noted that it was the exact spot that his father’s arm had broken, and tucked that bit of knowledge away for later.
“Here let me see that,” Addie pulled his hand into her lap and applied pressure to the cramping muscle.
“Gah! That hurts! What are you doing?” He tried to pull his arm away, but Addie held on tightly, telling him to wait. She slowly released the pressure and Chuck was amazed when the cramp left with it. She started rubbing slow circles up and down his forearm.
“I took a kinesiology course on my leave last year.” She talked almost absently as she worked. “I thought if I understood how our muscles and bones moved and worked together, I could make better repairs and additions to Striker. One of my classmates was a massage therapist. Or going to be... Anyway, she taught me a few things when we both had some free time.”
She looked up at his face and was surprised at the tender expression there. Her hands slowly came to a stop, just holding his hand.
They hadn’t kissed since the flight deck, something always seemed to interrupt them just at the wrong moment. Addie would have double-checked her surroundings for likely disturbances, if she hadn’t been so distracted by Chuck. The feel of his hand, and the way his thumb had started trailing back and forth on hers. It gave her goosebumps.
Her gaze kept flitting between his eyes and his mouth, and she reflexively licked her lips. She watched Chuck’s pupils dilate, and he tightened his hold on her hand. They both started to lean in, Addie moved her free hand up to rest on his collarbone. She could hear her heart thudding in her ears as they pulled closer together.
Chuck hesitated, his free hand hovering over her neck, as if he was about to pull her in. Addie was both endeared and frustrated by this timidity in the usually brash man. That she could make him nervous and flustered was a new experience for her. To be further explored at a later time. Right now, she wanted him to kiss her again.
----
Chuck had never hesitated in his life, but with Addie, he had to be careful. He had been an ass to her for most of their lives, and with this change in their relationship, he was lost at sea. He had never really wanted to be nice to anyone before, he didn’t know how to go about it.
I cannot screw thi-
Addie pulled him forward and he made a sound he was not proud of, but only for the briefest moment. She was kissing him again. Every other thought left his head. His shoulders dropped all the tension they were holding and he leaned further into her. His hand finally contacted her neck and slid back into her hair, resting his thumb under her ear, rubbing in a small circle.
She shuddered and gasped into the kiss. Chuck decided to follow the habit of a lifetime and took the leap. He licked at her lower lip, making her gasp again, and took the opening to explore more. The sound Addie made lit a fire in him, especially when he felt her tongue lightly brush against his own. The angle they were at was starting to feel awkward.
Sliding down from her neck, his left arm circled her waist and pulled her across his lap without breaking the kiss. Addie squeaked at the sudden shift, but didn’t make any indication that she was against the change in position, far from it. She pressed forward with more confidence, her free hand finally traveling away from his shirt and up to the nape of his neck. Her short nails scratched lightly at his scalp, and Chuck groaned, squeezing at her waist in response.
There was a clattering down below them, which pulled them back from the tide they were slipping under and they separated with a start. Both their chests were heaving, their still linked hands held between them. Chuck pulled back just enough to get a look at her face. Flushed cheeks, kiss bruised lips, and something in her eye that he couldn’t identify.
She was beautiful. He wanted to be able to see her like this for the rest of their lives. He hoped he would have that chance.
“Phryne, I-” he paused, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say next, but knowing he had to say something, anything to get across what he was feeling.
“I know, Chuck. Me too.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek, stroking the back of his head. He closed his eyes and leant his forehead on hers, breathing a sigh of relief.
But as much as it felt like the Drift when he was with her, he would have to say it--out loud--before he left on Operation Pitfall. He absolutely could not leave her wondering and unsure for the rest of her life if the worst should happen.
- - - -
10 January 2025
1500 hours
Raleigh found that he was actually enjoying sparring with Chuck.
It was very different from the fight outside the Marshal's office. For one, it wasn’t a hallway brawl, and—when he wasn’t a pile of enraged, ginger muscle—Chuck was an amazing fighter. What he lacked in finesse, he made up for with raw power. Even when Raleigh blocked his strikes, he knew bruises were already forming.
He stepped to the left and leaned back as Chuck’s fist shot past his face. The ginger spun, trying a backhand swing, which Raleigh had to block rather than dodge. The blonde attempted the same move that had pulled Chuck off balance in their previous fight, grabbing his arm from the block. He twisted and kicked his leg up over their arms, but Chuck had learned from his mistake.
He countered by grabbing Raleigh’s leg and utilized the momentum to flip them both on the ground. Raleigh ended up face down with his leg in a hold, and Chuck’s knee in his back.
Chuck held it for a moment and then pulled back. He put a hand out to help him up, surprising Raleigh, but he took it and stood.
“I should have known better than to use that move again, you practically led me into it.”
“Had to get you back for you breaking my nose, thought it was fitting.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” They both stood there, catching their breath. “Wanna go again?”
“Absolutely, you’re the best challenge I’ve had in a while.” Chuck said over his shoulder as he moved back to his corner of the mat.
They faced off against each other. Circling counter-clockwise, slowly encroaching forward, and matched step for step. Chuck got impatient and lunged forward in a strike. They followed the same patterns as the previous bout, Chuck on the offensive and Raleigh deflecting and evading and making the occasional counter.
The younger man let loose a vicious combo of punches, one grazing Raleigh’s cheek as he barely managed to dodge it. Chuck pressed his advantage and tried for a kick to the ribs. Raleigh took the blow, but trapped Chuck’s leg there, putting him off balance. He kicked his own leg out in a sweep, knocking Chuck’s remaining leg out from under him and sending him to the floor. Raleigh, still holding his leg, came down on a knee and held a fist at Chuck’s throat. Match point.
“Best three outta five?” The ginger asked as Raleigh let go and helped him up from his back.
“What are the stakes?” It came out automatically, even after all these years. Yancy had always asked for a rematch after he lost. Chuck was silent, a thoughtful expression on his face, and Raleigh almost took it back.
“I dunno. What do you think?” He nodded his head at the blonde.
Raleigh guessed that for Chuck, it was more about being the winner, about proving himself, not getting anything out of it. He thought for a moment, remembering when he used to compete with Yancy. Over stupid stuff, like doing chores when they were kids or pranks as Rangers. Or who would get to take out that girl, Naomi Sokolov. That had been a serious fight. They had almost lost the Drift.
“If I win,” he paused, “I want you to apologize to Mako, and mean it.” Chuck shook his head, and Raleigh was about to get very pissed off.
“Addie already asked me to.” Raleigh’s hackles settled down. “She and Miss Mori are friends, she chewed me out about it right before the Double Event. It would be like cheating to accept that stake.”
“Alright then.” He thought for a moment and settled on something simpler. “How about this—loser has to run laps around the Shatterdome. Deal?”
“Deal.” And they both settled into a fighting stance.
- - - -
11 January 2025
0630 hours
Mako and Addie had been able to start a little later, knowing no one else would be using the Kwoon. They began with a quarter hour of guided meditation for Addie. Moving seamlessly into Tai Chi sun form, which was just as beneficial for Mako. The slow, deliberate movement and honoring of the dawn felt very grounding.
Despite having been up late working on Striker Eureka, Mako thought Addie was doing really well that morning.
Unlike herself.
She needed help focusing her mind and not lingering on how intense Drifting with Raleigh had been. Not to mention the aftermath. She could practically still feel the tingling, a shudder ran through her.
Mako had never Drifted with anyone before—the Marshal had not allowed it—she didn’t have any prior experience to compare with. She had to wonder if it was always like this, or if her connection to Raleigh was different, stronger than normal. Was she the only one freaking out about it?
“ Mako-chan, are you okay? ” Her native language pulled her from her thoughts. “You have such a look on your face; I half expect to see spirals in your eyes, or something.” Addie tried to make light of it by laughing and she appreciated it.
“I was just lost in thought. I apologize, Addie.” Mako shook her head. “Are you ready to start through the kata? Do you want to try without the blindfold today?”
“Is it okay if I close my eyes, still?”
“If you feel you need to, try to keep them open. This should be becoming muscle memory and you shouldn’t need to rely on your eyes at all for coordination.”
“Hai, Mako-sensei.” Addie replied with a sigh of resignation as she walked to the other edge of the mat.
Mako watched as she stood still and took a breath, readying herself. Addie opened her eyes and stepped forward in the first block-punch. She moved slowly and deliberately through the turns, seeming very aware of her foot placement. Mako did see her close her eyes at those points, but she knew that was so Addie didn’t try to look at her feet.
During their first session, Addie had tripped over her own feet every time she attempted the turn. It’s why Mako had started using meditation and Tai Chi, to increase her awareness.
“Good work. You can make it through the whole kata without stumbling.” Addie beamed at her, and it was like watching the sun come up. Her self-confidence had increased immensely over the last two days. Mako was pretty sure the new dynamic with Chuck was at least partially responsible.
“Does that mean I can learn a new one?”
“No, it means you have to start doing this one faster.” Addie groaned, but got back into the starting position.
As Addie was going through her third set, Mako felt a presence behind her. She knew it was Raleigh before she turned her head.
“So this is where you’ve been going in the mornings.” He said it quietly, so as not to disturb her friend. Raleigh stood behind and to her left, just a step away from the mat. There was a tingling all down her side.
“I’ve been helping Addie get back into some physical training, for discipline and coordination. She’s already strong enough, with all the heavy equipment she works with.”
“I can imagine.” They both watched as Addie executed the last strike and came to her end position, eyes closed. As she stood from the bow, her eyes opened and she jumped in surprise at seeing the other Ranger in the room.
“Well done, Addie. We can end here today, if you would like.” The Aussie looked between the two of them and seemed to come to some conclusion.
“Yeah, you know I am starving all of a sudden. And the Hansens will be in the mess by now. I think I’ll uh- I’ll just go grab some breakfast with them before I get started on Striker. Bye guys!” She grabbed her boots and jacket, but didn’t even bother putting them on. She just ran right out of the room, slipping as she went. There was a clattering not five seconds later as she no doubt tripped and dropped all of her things.
“I can see why she needs the help with her coordination,” Raleigh chuckled.
“She didn’t put her glasses back on.” Mako sighed. “She has a problem with her left eye, she has next to no depth perception, the glasses help.” She shrugged, also chuckling at her friend’s antics.
A silence settled over the two of them, not awkward, nor overly charged. It was comfortable in a way Mako had never really experienced before.
“I assume you came here to train and not just to find me. Do you want to fight a round?” Mako asked after a few moments had passed.
“Absolutely,” he replied, pulling off his sweater and toeing off his boots already. A grin firmly in place on both their faces.
“Staff or bare-hand?” She asked, walking up onto the mat.
“Dealer’s choice.”
“Bare-hand it is.” They squared off against each other, and in a simultaneous movement, they both leapt forward.
----
Chuck stood at ease in one of the doorways to the Kwoon, admiring how well Raleigh and Mako moved together. Their moves looked choreographed, fists always just a half-inch shy of full body contact.
Addie had said they would probably still be here when Chuck had seen her at breakfast. She had said it very pointedly, and he had nodded at her. God, but he was whipped. And it had only taken three days to get there.
It was hard enough to apologize to Addie, and she was, well she was… She was Phryne. He barely knew how to be nice to her , let alone other people. But he had promised her he would apologize to Mako. And he had told Raleigh he would as well, curse him. No getting around it now.
He waited until his interruption would not get one of them a broken nose, and then he cleared his throat and spoke.
“Miss Mori, may I speak to you for a moment?” He tried to be as polite as he could be, thinking back to the etiquette that came with learning formal-style Japanese.
Both Gipsy’s Pilots looked startled, but then Raleigh’s expression cleared. He stepped out of his fighting stance and nodded at Mako. She looked like a prey animal that scented a predator, in that moment of stillness before they fled. She stared at Raleigh, but he nodded again, smiling encouragingly.
“Of course, Mr. Hansen.” She gave Raleigh a slight bow to officially finish their spar and walked to where her shoes were set next to the mat. Chuck waited, hands in a white-knuckle grip behind his back so he would not look nervous. Raleigh did not even pretend to give them privacy, he kept a hawk-like eye on both of them.
“How can I help you?” She asked after a few seconds of Chuck just standing there, not saying anything.
“By uh- B-By accepting,” he looked down and took a deep breath. “By accepting my apology for how I treated you and what I said the other day.” Chuck looked back at her face, meeting her gaze right in the eye. Mako appeared shocked and just stood, blinking. “Of course, you don’t have to forgive me. I probably don’t deserve it, anyway. But I was asked to apologize by two very determined people, and I realized they were right. So, I am sorry, Miss Mori, for how I acted towards you.” He gave her a small bow, and stayed there.
“Your apology is accepted, Mr. Hansen.” Chuck whipped his head up to look at her face. “And thank you for finally helping my friend to smile.” Mako smiled at him, and Chuck felt his ears start to burn. “But if you ever hurt her, I will--”
“It won’t happen.” Chuck surprised himself with the strength—and speed—of his own conviction. But he had made a promise to himself when he had first kissed her. He would not allow anything to happen to Addie.
She gave him an appraising look. “Well then, Mr. Hansen, it seems we can agree on at least one thing.” He cocked his head, curious. “That Phryne Addisyn Fisher deserves more than the world has given her.” She held out her hand to shake. Chuck took it, smiling a little sadly.
“That she does, Miss Mori. She does.”
“I guess I’m gonna have to sit down and talk with this girl.” Raleigh interrupted, a wry grin on his face, both of them turned to look at him in question. “I gotta find out how she wrapped more than half the Rangers in the PPDC around her finger.”
----
11 January 2025
1200 hours
Raleigh walked around Striker Eureka’s hangar bay, looking for Addie Fisher. What had started as a joke that morning had ended up nagging at him. Ultimately leading him here. Someone pointed him up to the mid-tier rigs, where the Jaeger’s left arm was resting on a platform, palm up. When he made his way up, he got a better look at what was going on.
Addie was lying on her stomach, her whole right arm, up to the shoulder, was inside Striker’s palm. She seemed to be struggling, so he jogged up a little faster.
“Need a hand?” The pun was too easy, given where she was. She turned her head in surprise, but stayed where she was.
“Crikey, Mr. Becket! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people working on powerful machinery? One wrong twitch from me, and you would be out an arm, courtesy of Striker’s thumb.” She grunted a little as she squirmed onto her side, getting a different angle for her arm.
“Once or twice. Seriously though, can I help?” As he finished the question he heard a sound from the Jaeger’s palm, like something clicking into place. She sighed in relief and carefully extracted her arm. As she sat up, she rolled her shoulder and winced.
“Yes, you can give me a hand down from here.” She walked to the edge and Raleigh put his arm up like a railing as she sat and slid down. She asked him to stand back as she grabbed her tablet and typed in a series of commands.
“Woah!” Raleigh took several more steps back as Striker’s hand opened and closed, fingers moving one at a time in a sequence.
“Thank goodness, no more sticky fingers.” She looked back at Raleigh with a smirk. “Now, Mr. Becket, what can I do for you?”
“I was just hoping to talk to you, and please, call me Raleigh.”
“Uh, sure, Raleigh, as long as you don’t mind that I keep working while we talk? There is so much more I have to fit in before the Chief, the other Senior Engineers, and I have to meet with the Marshal.”
“Not a problem,” he replied, and gestured with his arms for her to lead the way. She took him up to a control module, but before even touching it, pulled out her radio.
“This is Senior Engineer Fisher. I am going to shift Striker’s left arm position and test the sting blades, any conflicts? Over.” All the replies she received gave her the OK. Raleigh watched as she typed commands in, and pulled switches. The Jaeger in front of him slowly lifted its arm and rotated, palm inward, bent at the elbow, Striker’s hand making a fist.
“ Engineer Fisher, come in. Over. ” Addie responded to the crackling radio. “ Area is all clear for the sting blade test. You have the OK. ”
“Roger, Chief. Sting blade deployment in: three, two, one.” The elbow cocked further back as blades snapped out from folded positions in the forearm and clanked into place. They extended well past the hand.
Gipsy’s chain sword was longer, Raleigh thought smugly.
“Argh, dammit.” Addie held her forehead as she squinted at her tablet readout. “They’re still not locking in place right! And they’re not even charging!” She started furiously tapping at her tablet screen, muttering quiet curses.
“Is it the mechanism not working, or that it might endanger the Pilots that’s got you so worked up about it?”
“Both.” She responded immediately, not even looking up from the screen. “It’s my job to make sure this Jaeger runs as smoothly as possible. But my job is only important because the better I do it, the safer they will be.” Raleigh nodded, accepting her answer. He was starting to get a full picture of this woman.
“We’ll have to go back down.” She sighed, and turned back the way they had come. “I need to dig around in the forearm. Again.” She muttered something under her breath along the lines of ‘ two bloody weeks to get them working ,’ and ‘ bloody EMP Kaiju. ’
“Fine by me, as long as you don’t mind if I ask you another question?” He said, following her down the stairs.
“Fire away, Raleigh.”
“I know that you went to the academy, you were there the same time as Mako, but how long were you there?” Addie froze mid-step, and Raleigh started to apologize, but she waved him off and started walking again. When they reached the Jaeger’s arm, she immediately set to opening a hatch. It was a little while before she answered his question.
“I was only there for one trimester. All the written courses, which I did well in, and the basic physical training that they use to weed out people like me.” She paused in her work. “People who are better suited to working on Jaegers, rather than fighting in them.”
They were quiet again as Addie grabbed a socket wrench and leaned into the machinery.
“So you never got a chance to even try what it was like to Drift with someone?” Raleigh asked, after debating whether or not to continue this line of questioning.
“No,” she paused again, but this felt a little different. “Chu- Neither of the Hansens has ever tried to actually explain it. Mako did, but I have a feeling the Drift between you two isn’t normal.” She seemed to realize what she said, and turned around in a panic. “Not in a bad way, I just mean, you two- Well, you two…” He took pity on her.
“I know what you mean. It is different, with Mako. I can’t really explain why… It just feels-”
“More?”
“Yeah.” Raleigh really looked at her. There was an understanding in her eyes, like she knew the same feeling. Raleigh settled on the edge of the platform, feet dangling, while Addie worked.
“If you had the opportunity, would you like to experience the Drift?” Addie was chest deep in the blade release mechanism, and had to pull herself out to look at him incredulously. “Not with me, obviously. Just, as a hypothetical, would you?”
“In a heartbeat.” She said with tears in her eyes.
----
11 January 2025
1730 hours
Addie was combing through what was left of the parts-list that had been salvaged from the two Jaeger wrecks. Determining which parts, if any, could be used as replacements in Striker Eureka.
“Little Phryne! Ah, there you are, Sweet-Pea.” Addie raised her head from her tablet and waved at Herc, trying to hide a yawn.
“Uncle Herc, how’s your arm?”
“It’s as good a broken arm can be.” He waved his left in a dismissive gesture. “Remember when you said we should all spend more time together and talk?” She nodded, puzzled but hopeful. “Well, I thought, why not try to have a Hansen family dinner tonight?
“That sounds like a really nice idea, Uncle Herc!” That was exactly what she had been wanting for them.
“Excellent, when are you off-duty?” Her shoulders sagged at the question.
“My shift technically doesn’t have an end-time.” Addie scrubbed a hand over her face. “I can’t leave till the Chief says I can, or one of the other Senior Engineers shows up. One of us has to be here at all times, because of that blasted bomb.” She pointed over her shoulder and the gigantic container with radiation warning labels all over it. “It’s being prepped for attachment either later tonight, or tomorrow morning.”
Herc furrowed his brow. “Where are the other Senior Engineers? Why are you the only one here now?”
“They’re all working on Striker’s repairs, that EMP really gummed up all the works. But there needs to be someone with authority, and high enough clearance to be in charge of the bomb at all times. Chain of custody, and all that. We’re taking it in shifts, and I pulled the short straw for the first watch.”
“And how long until you are supposed to be relieved?” Addie checked her tablet, and sighed.
“An hour ago. But it wouldn’t matter, I would just go back to working on Striker, Uncle Herc. None of us has had a real break since the Double Event.” Herc silenced her with a wave of a hand, and grabbed the radio off the stack of equipment next to her.
“Chief Anderson, this is Lieutenant Hansen, come in, over.” There was a crackle and an indistinct reply before a high-pitched squawk made Herc pull the radio from his face.
“ Sorry Lieutenant, what can I do for you? Over .” Came the much more clear reply.
“You can bring one of the other Senior Engineers to come relieve Miss Fisher. She tells me someone was supposed to relieve her over an hour ago and I require her presence for important PPDC business. Over.” Herc gave her a wink as he said that.
“ Martins never came down off the rig? Hang on just a tic. Over. ” Addie took the radio from Herc and switched it over to a different channel. Sure enough, she could hear the Chief laying into Martins. Even Herc raised his eyebrows.
“You see why I never argue with my boss?”
“I never knew the man to have such a temper.” They both chuckled as they waited for Martins to show up.
- - - -
A nice family dinner. At least, as close to one as Herc could get. He wanted to have one night of normalcy, even if it was just a pretense. He had brow-beaten and intimidated the mess hall staff into letting him take a large enough portion of what was to be served at dinner to his quarters—and for one of them to take it there for him.
Chuck and Phryne sat at the table, Max had a bowl next to Chuck’s feet and Herc felt emotion swelling in his chest. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
“Now this was not easy, but I managed to smuggle a bottle of wine for the three of us to have.” Phryne clapped her hands in delight as Herc pulled out the wine and corkscrew from behind his back. His son merely shrugged, being more a fan of a good beer. “Chuck, would you do us a favor and open it?”
“Yeah, alright.”
After pouring some for everyone—including a splash into Max’s bowl that Phryne protested—they all settled in to eat. After a few minutes, Phryne popped her head up.
“Uncle Herc, you said the other night you might still have some pictures of my dad floating around. I was wondering if I could see them?”
“Yeah, of course, Sweet-Pea.” He got up, walking over to his bed to grab the tin that had followed him around the world since his days in the RAAF. He came back and sat down with it, sifting through the memories.
“Ah, here we are, Ryan Collins.” He said as he handed over a picture of Ryan and himself in front of his fighter jet. “This was when I made Squadron Leader. I wanted my friend to stand with me. It was just as much thanks to his efforts as my own that I made rank.” He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. “I believe this was the week I first introduced him to Laura, too. It was a celebratory dinner that I invited him to, over at our house.” Phryne held the photo in her hand almost reverently, her eyes misting.
“Oh, and here is one of all of us. This is from the day we came down to Melbourne to see you for the first time. Both of you are just little tykes.” He put that one down for both of them to see. “You were just over a week old, Little Phryne. So small, your whole body was barely the length of my forearm.”
She picked it up, transfixed, handing the other photo to Chuck absent-mindedly. Chuck barely glanced at it, staring at Phryne instead. Herc knew he’d seen most of these photos already, especially the ones before the Kaiju War. Besides experiencing all of it in the Drift.
“You all look so young,” she paused and looked back up at Herc. “I mean there’s only so many pictures of Dad after this, but Mum and Aunt Angela and you … You’re not much older than we are now.” She gestured between herself and Chuck.
“Not much, no.” She looked like she was about to start crying. Chuck gave him a panicked look and Herc shuffled for another picture.
“Ah, here’s Chuck’s first time on a swing.” Phryne looked up, the mist in her eyes clearing a little. She put the group photo down and snagged the other from Herc’s fingers.
“You were such a chunky baby! Oh my goodness, look at those cheeks! And that scowl!” She looked up at him and laughed. “Yep, that’s the one.”
“Aw, for Chrissakes, Dad! Did you have to do that?!” Herc noticed the tips of his son’s ears go bright pink as he put a hand to his face. But for once, Herc knew Chuck wasn’t actually mad at him. He took pity.
“And, here’s the day we got Max.” Chuck practically ripped the photo out of her hand to swap it with the new one.
----
The photo sharing went on as they ate; until Herc paused at one, and seemed to need a second to compose himself.
“Dad? Everything alright?” Addie looked over at Chuck, surprised he had asked before she could.
“Yeah, son. Just uh- Just the picture of our wedding.” Uncle Herc had tears in his eyes. “I uh- Sometimes it just hi-”
“I know, Dad. You don’t need to say it.” Chuck put a hand on his dad’s good arm, and Herc twisted it so they could grasp each other’s forearms. Addie put a hand over her mouth as tears welled in her own eyes. This was the connection she had failed to understand. That Chuck had been struggling to describe to her.
I’ve never Drifted with anyone, how could I possibly ever understand?
Chuck looked up at her then, as if in response to her thoughts. And when he did, so did Herc.
“Get over here, girl.” Herc gestured with his head for her to come over. Addie practically fell out of her chair in her haste to hug what was left of her family, tears streaming down her face. Chuck pulled her in on his lap with his free arm, holding her around her stomach as she threw her arms around Herc’s neck.
“Thank you, Little Phryne.” She felt tears on the side of her head Herc was resting against. Chuck laid his forehead on the back of her neck and kissed the spot just above her shirt collar.
“Thank you.” She felt more than heard Chuck say, and it made her shiver.
After a few moments of this, Max grumbled and rested his drooly chin on her knee as well. She laughed wetly and put a hand on his head, the same time as Chuck.
It was the most loved that she had felt since she was eight years old.
And yet, she had never felt so desperately sad.
I can’t lose another person I care about. My heart won’t take it!
----
12 January 2025
0500 hours
Chuck’s eyes blinked open and he habitually sought out the wall screen with the Kaiju alert. Seeing none—and seeing how early it was—he started to close his eyes. He stopped at the sight of dark hair draped over his arm. Chuck almost thought he was dreaming, until he felt the numb tingling all along his right arm, where she was resting.
Phryne Addison Fisher was in his bed. His actual bed. With him.
She was facing him; an arm around his waist and the other pressed against his chest, holding his shirt. One of her legs was between his—her frozen toes tucked against his calf. And she was wearing one of his shirts.
She had spilled the last of the wine on herself when she got out of Chuck’s lap. His dad had suggested she clean up a bit before heading back to her room, and Chuck had offered his bathroom and clothes. His ears burned at the memory of the accidental glimpse he had of her.
Addie was standing in his bathroom, wearing nothing but his shirt. She was re-plaiting her hair and, with her arms lifted, the shirt rode up past the middle of her thigh. He could just see the curve of her rear when she must have seen him in the mirror and turned to face him.
“Chuck!? What are you doing back here already?! At least close the door behind you!” She pulled the edge of the shirt down and Chuck realized he had left the door open behind him. He quickly turned and slammed it shut, ears burning. He took a fortifying breath and looked back at Addie who was facing the mirror again.
He strode up to her, turned her around and pulled her into a searing kiss. She squeaked in surprise, but quickly returned it. His hands roamed down her back, grazing over her ass and slipping down her thigh. She lifted her leg to partially hook it around his own, and Chuck was lost. He briefly broke their kiss to scoop her up, wrapping her legs around him. She squealed as he walked them back to his bunk, kissing her once more.
There was almost no semblance of the plait she had been putting in. He liked to bury his fingers in her hair when he was kissing her. And he had done a good deal of that. ‘Making out’ was probably the more accurate phrase, but it didn’t carry the weight of emotion that had been thrumming through both of them.
And I still haven’t told her! He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration with himself.
It was on the tip of his tongue so many times! But every time he tried, his throat closed up, and he ended up just kissing her again. It did not help when she had started to cry, and all he could do was hold her tighter.
Nothing had happened beyond that. It hadn’t seemed like the right way to comfort her, and he didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Being raised by a single parent hadn’t been ideal.
Besides, he didn’t keep condoms handy; hadn’t ever had a need before that night.
He pulled her closer to him now, burying his nose in her hair, and took a deep breath. She stirred a little at that, and made a sleepy noise. Chuck leaned back just enough to brush some hair from her face. She mumbled something like ‘leave my hair alone,’ and nuzzled into his shoulder. Oh, he wanted to stay like that forever.
So, he closed his eyes and the peace she always brought out in him settled in his bones. He was asleep in seconds.
----
Addie woke up in a cocoon of warmth and safety.
She knew exactly where she was and with whom—she had never felt more safe than when Chuck was holding her. She felt so small in his arms, but not in a bad way. Not insignificant. He was just such a huge person! His arms were the size of her head, for goodness sake. Instead of being intimidating, it was reassuring. Because she knew he would never use it against her.
The past night had shown her that, if anything, he was overly cautious and aware of his size around her. He treated her as something delicate, which she would like to prove otherwise. If she ever got the time.
That made her pause. Remembering that she might not have time with Chuck beyond this. She had that same thought the night before.
She buried her face further into his neck, trying to hold the tears back this time and just enjoy the present moment. She must not have succeeded because Addie felt Chuck shifting. He took a deeper breath and his arms reflexively tightened around her for a half second before his hand started rubbing up and down her back.
“You’re thinking too loudly for this early in the morning, Addie.”
“Says the man who woke me up two hours ago.”
He snorted, but did squeeze her arm apologetically. “When do you have to head back to work?”
Addie turned over in his arms to look at the clock. “Now,” she sighed. “Technically, I was supposed to be on call all night. Your dad claiming me for ‘important PPDC business’,” which made them both chuckle, “is the only reason I didn’t have to sleep in the hangar.”
“I would not have let that happen, regardless.” He tightened his hold around her waist and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. She shivered, and felt him smirk. He was such a smug bastard, but she loved that about him.
Addie could freely admit that in her own head—that she loved him.
But she was worried about saying it to Chuck. She didn’t want to scare him with that level of emotion. She knew that he had grown emotionally in the last couple weeks, and that he cared for her deeply. And he was obviously attracted to her.
But love… That would be too big a leap for him. And she just wanted to spend the time she had left with him without a fuss.
“You’re thinking too loudly, again.” He pressed his forehead to the base of her skull, as if he could quiet her thoughts the harder he pressed.
“Sorry.” She turned back around to fully embrace him in a hug.
“It’s fine, Addie. I just don’t want you turning yourself in knots in your own head.” He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and pulled her close. Addie stayed like that, just breathing him in for one, two, three deep breaths, and then pulled away.
“I have to get dressed and go to work. I’m later than I should be, as it is. I need to go back to my room and change.”
As she sat up, Addie looked back at Chuck. Sighing, she leaned down to place a kiss at the corner of his mouth. Before she could pull back, however, Chuck buried his fingers in her hair and angled his head to press his lips to hers. Addie’s own hand moved to cup his cheek, stroking her thumb just under his eye.
“I’ll see you later, won’t I?” He asked when they finally pulled apart.
“Of course,” Addie replied, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. “I wouldn’t miss it.” She forced a smile, and she knew Chuck could see it. But he let her go.
She gave Max a scratch and pulled up her coveralls on the way out.
----
12 January 2025
1200 hours
Addie had to keep swallowing back tears as she and the rest of the crew ran final checks on Striker Eureka. Two hours before, they had gotten word of another double event, but the Kaiju were acting strange, simply hovering over the Breach. That was all Addie was told before the Chief told them all to stop lollygagging and make sure the Jaeger was ready for deployment.
At that word, ‘deployment’, it hit her harder than ever that Chuck might not come back from this. There were two Category 4 Kaiju, and both Striker and Gipsy would be walking down into their territory. Giving those monsters a home-field advantage.
It was terrifying.
“Oi, Tendo. Tendo!” Addie turned around, hearing Chuck’s voice. He was harassing Tendo Choi about something. She slid down the closest ladder and tripped her way over, as the men met up with Raleigh and Mako. She got stuck behind a troop, but when she was past, she saw Marshal Pentecost kitted up in a Drivesuit. Mako looked ready to be sick.
Crashing into Chuck, Addie tugged on his jacket. “Is he going to be your co-pilot?” Chuck didn’t get a chance to answer.
“Everyone, listen up!” The Marshal’s voice rang out through the hangar, as he stepped up onto the remains of Cherno’s left foot. As he spoke on, Addie’s eyes were drawn over to the candles lit for the Kaidonovskys. Someone had set up some of their photos as well, there was even a real flower.
Unbidden, other photos took their place in Addie’s mind. Those that she, Chuck and Herc had gone through just the night before. She shivered and Chuck pulled her against his side, where she clung to him.
“Today we are facing the monsters that are at our door! Taking the fight to them!” Addie looked back up at the Marshal. “Today we are canceling the apocalypse !”
Everyone cheered.
Everyone, but the Rangers and Addie.
----
Twenty-five minutes later, as soon as he had kitted up in his Drivesuit, Chuck realized he needed to talk to Addie. She had had to stay in the hangar for a few last checks and hadn’t accompanied him to the Drive-room.
It didn’t take him long to find her, she was waiting for him outside the door.
“Come here, I need you for a second.” He pulled her back in and shut the door behind them.
“Chuck I-” He cut her off with a kiss.
It was almost an exact repeat of their first kiss out on the flight deck. Chuck’s hands were framing Addie’s face and hers were finding any hand hold they could in his Drivesuit. As he pulled back, with small, lighter kisses, he leant his forehead on hers, eyes still closed. He took a deep, shaky breath as her hands came to rest on his wrists.
It’s now or never.
“I love you, Phryne.” He kissed her forehead, quickly stepped away from her and walked out of the room. He couldn’t stand there and look at her after he said that. If he did, he’d never be able to leave her.
He walked out into the hallway, took a breath, and called out to Marshal Pentecost as the man walked past.
“Hey, Marshal! That was a great speech, but uh- How exactly are you and I supposed to match up in there?” They fell into step in the way of life-long soldiers.
“I bring nothing into the Drift.” The man continued speaking, but Chuck got stuck on that. It made no sense to him. But then the Marshal stepped ahead and turned to face him.
“And as for you? Well you’re easy. You’re an egotistical jerk, with daddy issues. A simple puzzle I solved on day one.” Chuck was mildly offended, but seeing as it was the truth, he accepted it.
A dog barked, and both men turned to see Herc walking up with Max.
“But you are your father’s son, so we’ll Drift just fine.” He said quietly and much more sincerely.
“Works for me.” Was all Chuck could think to say as he shook his hand. Pentecost nodded at him, tacitly giving him permission to go say good-bye to his father.
Chuck took yet another deep breath as he turned and walked to his dad.
“Hey, now,” his dad said, close to tears already. This was the second time in twelve hours Chuck had seen his father like this. “When you Drift with someone, you feel like there’s nothing to talk about. I just don’t wanna regret all the things I never said out loud. I-”
“Don’t.” Chuck felt his throat tightening as he struggled to speak through the threatening tears. “You don’t need to. I know them all. I always have.” He took a shaky breath. But his dad continued anyway.
“I know. I know, you know them. But sometimes you need to say a thing out loud. Makes it real.” Chuck understood that urge. He had given into it not five minutes ago. His dad pulled him into a one-armed hug.
“I love you, Son. And I am proud to be your father.” His dad whispered in his ear and Chuck closed his eyes, letting the tears fall.
Max barked and both men broke apart. Chuck knelt down in front of his dog.
“Hey. Hey handsome!” He scratched around his collar. “Oh, I’m gonna miss you.” And then kissed the dog on the head. He ruffled his fur one more time, and shook his muzzle affectionately. Chuck stood up, picking up his helmet, and faced his father. He caught sight of dark hair over his dad’s shoulder and locked eyes with the man.
“You look after them for me.” He quickly turned around, walking back to the elevator where Pentecost waited.
“Stacker! That’s my son you got there!” Chuck stopped and turned to look at his father, tears falling once more. “My son.”
“And please, bring him back!” His gaze shot past his father to where Addie was looking at the Marshal, pleading. “There are people who love him!” Their eyes snapped together, and something uncoiled in his chest that he hadn’t even known was tight. Relief at knowing. But then, the reality of what he was about to do dropped back onto his shoulders, and it wound even tighter than before.
“I will do my best, Miss Fisher.” The Marshal replied, and Chuck finally walked into the elevator. The last he saw of his family was his dad pulling Addie to him to comfort her.
----
12 January 2025
1630 hours
The wait while the Jaegers were flown out to the Guam quadrant was terrible. Phryne had taken Max and gone off somewhere after the elevator closed on Chuck. Herc hadn’t minded at first, it left him free to assume his authority as Acting Marshal while Stacker was in combat. Which took all of five minutes in the LOCCENT, most of them were used to taking orders from him already.
Herc found Little Phryne in Chuck’s room, crying for Mako, Raleigh and Chuck. He managed to convince her to sleep, with the promise that he would wake her when the Jaegers were about to be dropped. It would be a good four hours at least. She asked him to sit with her for a little while, and he agreed. He needed the quiet moment with her just as much. She was asleep in minutes.
And Herc would have stayed there with her the whole time—maybe even taken a nap—but he had to make the call to the higher ups. The one about him being in charge and Pentecost in the jaeger in his stead. That was a hell of a ride.
The truly worrying problem? The two Category 4’s that were still just circling Breach. On one hand they would have a fresh Kaiju to stick the bomb on and drop back down the Breach. On the other hand…
No, there was no other hand!
There was dropping the bomb into the Breach, collapsing the Throat and keeping the world safe. That was all Herc would allow himself. He had to be the voice of authority, certainty. The fixed point, now that Stacker was back in a Jaeger.
Herc’s Jaeger, with Herc’s son.
“How we doing, Mr. Choi?” He asked as he came up behind Tendo’s station.
“Kaiju are in a holding pattern, circling the Breach. Jaegers Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger are 30 minutes from the drop off point.”
“Alright, give them another five and then engage the Drift.”
“Yessir, Lieuten— I mean, Acting Marshal Hansen.” Herc nodded as the man contacted the Rangers, and went back to wake up Phryne.
She was curled up around Max on Chuck’s bed. She looked so young when she slept. It really reminded him how young both she and his son really were. Barely more than children. They had lived most of their lives under the threat of Kaiju.
The bulldog whined when he saw Herc, and sat up a little. Phryne stirred at that, groaning and blindly patting Max to lie back down.
“Now, c’mon, Sweet-Pea.” Herc said as he came up to the edge of the bed and placed his hand on her shoulder. “They’ll be dropping in less than half an hour.”
She shot up like a rocket.
“I can’t believe I slept that long!” Herc could. She’d barely been getting any sleep since they left Sydney. She scrambled around the dog, patting down her hair, and Herc had to catch her before she fell off the bed. He put Max on his lead and opened the door for Phryne, who whipped past him.
“Neural handshake confirmed, sir.” Herc could hear Tendo say as he, Phryne and Max entered the LOCCENT. He stepped up to the mic.
“Two actives still in circle formation in the Guam quadrant. Codenames: Scunner and Raiju. Both category 4.” Stacker copied back that the brief was received. He listed off the distance to the jump down and from there to the Breach. Chuck’s voice came over next, complaining about visibility—the lack of it. Herc felt Phryne flinch forward from her position at his elbow upon hearing him. Raleigh also spoke up, repeating Chuck’s complaint.
“Sir!” Tendo shouted, pointing to the fast-moving signal of one of the Kaiju. He grabbed the mic again and shouted to Gipsy that it was at their three o’clock. It was moving too bloody fast for them to catch a glimpse of it in that darkness. Fastest bloody Kaiju ever and they were walking right into its territory! He hoped the other one would be easier to catch and stuff the bomb into.
Ever the Ranger, Chuck brought their focus back to their purpose, walking that bomb to the Breach, getting the Kaiju into an easier position to pin.
But then the Kaiju stopped on the other side of the Breach. Stacker pulled Striker to a halt, questioning why they would be stopping. Herc and Chuck were of the same mind. Not caring one damn bit why, only that it was giving them the opening they needed.
The scientists burst in at that moment. All eyes turning at the spectacle they made together.
“The Jaegers need to be careful! Stay away from the Breach!”
“It’s true! They can do it! The Precursors can do it!” Newt ran up, shoved Herc and ripped the mic from his hands. “Move, you fascist! It’s going to be a Triple Event!”
“I followed through on some of my other calculations!” Dr. Gottlieb leaned over Newt’s shoulder and spoke as well. “ This is going to be the Triple Event!”
“Sir, I have a third signature emerging from the Breach!” Tendo shouted and Herc repeated for the Pilots. Stacker asked for its specs. Tendo turned, white in the face and told him. Herc took a moment to process and then spoke into the mic. Goddamn, he wished he was the one down there with his son. Not the one having to give him this news.
----
“Striker, it’s a Category 5. The first ever.”
Chuck watched with apprehension as a dark shape emerged from the Breach. It was enormous. It completely dwarfed Striker Eureka. It swam forward, stopped in front of them and screamed a warcry. Chuck and Pentecost took the challenge, releasing the sting blades and getting in a fighting position.
They were going to take this thing down, and use its carcass to blow the Breach to hell.
They could hear Raleigh planning an assault from behind them. Gipsy was so much slower than Striker, they were still a hundred meters behind them.
“Just keep them busy for two minu-” He was cut off by one of the other Kaiju, Chuck assumed. He couldn’t pay any more attention. The Cat 5 was doing something worrying with its tails. Almost like it was winding it up.
“Brace for impact!” Pentecost screamed, as they both came to realize what was about to happen. It was barely enough time to get their guard up. Even then, the blow threw them back against the cliff-face.
They struggled to their feet as Chuck did a systems check. The strike had cracked open Striker’s chest, destroying the K-Stunners’ mechanisms. The wall they had slammed into had damaged the bomb release!
“The release is jammed!” He shouted over the gushing water spray and alerts. “We can’t deliver the payload, sir! We’re still armed, but the hull is compromised! Half our systems are offline, sir!”
The marshal started to plan a way to utilize the payload still, but was interrupted by the Cat 5 hurtling toward them. It tackled Striker around the middle, sending them flying through the gorge. They rolled, and spun in the water, wrestling for the dominant position. They managed to slice it across the neck, creating an opening. They heard Gipsy take down one of the Cat 4’s, which gave them something to rally around.
Pressing their advantage, Striker stabbed the Cat 5 in its shoulders. They drove the blades up, trying to sever its arms, but it managed to kick away before they came fully off.
It was so damn close!
Severely wounded, it screeched what seemed like sonar, creating pulses through the water. Chuck felt all the blood drain from his face as Tendo announced that both of the remaining Kaiju were converging on Striker Eureka. The monsters were coordinating attacks, working together. Taking bleedin’ orders !
Gipsy came over the comm, Raleigh shouting that they were coming for them, to help. Pentecost ordered them to stop.
“Gipsy is nuclear!” He shouted into the comm. “Take her to the Breach!” Chuck was only getting an impression of what the Marshal’s plan was through the Drift. The forced compatibility didn’t let him see and feel Pentecost’s thoughts and memories the way he could with his father.
As he listened to the Marshal good-bying Mako, he thought of Addie and his dad. His throat closed up, but he had already said everything that he needed them to know. He took a breath and looked at the Marshal, still having enough control of Striker to get it into a defensive position.
“What can we do, sir?”
“We can clear a path. For the lady!”
“Well my father always said,” Chuck pulled off his helmet. “He said if you have the shot, you take it! So let’s do this!” Under the bravado, Chuck wanted to scream at the unfairness of not being able to see Phryne again. Or his father. But at least they would get to live in a world that was safe from these monsters.
“And I assured a very insistent young woman I would do my best to bring you back alive!” Pentecost grinned almost cheekily.
“What?!” Chuck barely had a chance to scream the word before Pentecost slammed the eject button.
His rig pulled him off to the side, and he could see the Marshal disengage and input the commands to detonate the payload. He heard Mako say something over the comm, but couldn’t make it out as he was ejected from the Jaeger at a 45 degree angle. He felt the buoys release, and the ascent begin.
And then Chuck had a front row seat to a 2400-pound thermonuclear detonation. He was outside the blast radius, but the shockwave was immense. He was thrown around inside his pod as it tumbled, through the water. There was an impact, alarms sounding, and then everything went dark.
----
Addie listened with horror, as Chuck and Marshal Pentecost casually alluded to detonating the payload while it was still attached to Striker Eureka.
“So, let’s do this!”
“No!” She barely registered the scream ripping through her throat, as she lunged for the control board. Uncle Herc turned and caught her with his good arm, and she collapsed into his hold, sobbing.
“And I assured a very insistent young woman I would do my best to bring you back alive!” She looked up, stopping mid sob.
“One of Striker’s escape pods has been activated!” Tendo announced. Addie’s hands flew to her mouth, as she sucked in a ragged breath of hope. She watched the little blip in the holo-projector that represented Chuck.
“Sensei, aishitemasu . ” Mako’s voice could be heard on the comm. A second later that blasted bomb blew the two kaiju converging on Striker to kingdom come.
Addie’s eyes stayed on the blip that was Chuck.
That is, until it wasn’t there anymore. All the blood drained from her face, there was a roaring in her ears as she collapsed to the floor, clutching Max to her.
She was distantly aware of Gipsy’s Pilots still talking, and alerts going off. But all she could focus on was the thought that Chuck might have died anyway. The image of his signal going out kept replaying in her mind.
Addie tried to calculate whether or not he had been outside of the blast range. She knew the velocity of the eject capsule, the timing of the buoys popping, the ascent rate through water, and she could roughly calculate the blast radius of the warhead. He should have been outside the burn zone, but she wasn’t sure on the physics of how a shockwave from a blast like that would behave underwater.
It could have been the shockwave that knocked out the beacon! Not the blast itself!
Addie clung to that thought for all she was worth.
“Visual on Mako’s pod. Tracking is solid and vital signs are good.” Addie looked up at the word ‘pod’.
“Where are the other two?” Herc asked, distress clear in his voice.
“I’m tracking Raleigh’s, but I’m not getting any vital signs. Still no signal from Chuck’s.”
Addie listened as her friend panicked over her partner; he wasn’t breathing. Herc asked if Tendo could get anything on Raleigh, to help the poor girl out. But Raleigh’s voice came through, like the cheeky bastard he was, with a joke.
“And what about Chuck’s?” Addie leapt up, squeezing between the two men, and grabbing the mic. “Mako! Can you- can you see Chuck’s pod?!”
There was silence for a heart stopping moment.
“I see it! Yes, I see another pod! But it’s too far to swim in the Drivesuit. Roughly 50 meters from our current position.”
“Tendo, can you get an eye on it?” Herc asked, but it was more a command.
“Yeah, let me widen the viewing range.” Quiet descended as he fiddled with a couple dials. “There it is, fully intact! That’s Chuck!”
The cheers that resounded were just as loud as when Raleigh spoke. Addie almost dropped to the floor again with the release of tension. Uncle Herc came up behind her to take the mic.
“This is Marshal Hercules Hansen. The Breach is sealed. Stop the clock!” After announcing that, Herc pulled Addie aside in a one-armed bear hug. He shouted in her ear to be heard over the cries of joy ringing through the entire Shatterdome.
“I have never been more grateful for your insistence on those damn pods. You brought him home!”
----
13 January 2025
2000 hours
Chuck faded in and out of consciousness, hearing a steady beeping. His head was killing him, but he could feel all his fingers and toes so that was good. He started to open his eyes, but flinched at the bright light, groaning.
“Finally up, are you?” He blinked again at the voice, turning his head towards it. He managed to squint one eye open to see his dad sat in a chair near him. He flinched over to the side as much as he could, tension filling him.
“Did we seal the Breach? Did anyone else make it out?” He barely managed to croak out the words.
“Easy there!” Herc sat up to steady Chuck, a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, we did. It’s sealed. All of you but Stacker made it back.” Chuck sighed, and leaned back. Blinking his eyes again and getting them to stay open.
“How long have I been out?” He asked, looking back at his father. Herc settled into his chair again.
“A little over a day. You have a concussion and three cracked ribs. We assumed the shockwave of the blast threw your pod against something before it could get to the surface.” His dad reached over and grabbed a cup of water with a straw to give him. Chuck took it gratefully, best water he had had in his life.
He heard a loud snore he recognized as his dog. He looked over to the other bed in the room to see Addie and Max curled up together. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, and the heart rate monitor gave away his racing heart at the sight of her.
“It was the devil to convince her to sleep,” his dad whispered. “Only settled down a half hour ago.”
“Have you all been here the whole time?”
“She has.” A small smile on his face. “Been at your side since the chopper brought you in. I would have, but I’m the Marshal now. I had to talk to the higher ups. Arrange this and that with them. They want Raleigh, Mako and you to go on a victory press tour. I told them I’d think about it and hung up on them.”
Chuck barked out a laugh at that, but it hurt and turned into a groan of pain. He grasped his ribs, feeling the layers of bandages around his chest.
“Chuck!” Addie was up and over in an instant, taking his hand. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”
“Sore, and like my head was cleaved in half by a machete. But I’m alive, which I didn’t think I’d be, so I’ll ta—”
“I heard you, you self-sacrificing idiot!” He winced, at the fury and pain in her voice. “You bloody Hansens and your stupid death and glory mentality.”
“I wasn’t looking for bloody glory!” Chuck ignored the pain in his ribs and sat upright. “I was thinking about you! I was thinking at least you and Dad would get to live in a world that was safe!” He shouted back at her.
“Oh.” Addie blinked and sat down on the edge of his bed. Chuck clutched at his ribs as the small spike of adrenaline drained and pain returned full force. She shifted forward to arrange his pillows so he could sit up more comfortably.
“Well, Mr. Hansen, you’re awake.” A nurse walked in and his dad walked back from the doorway. Chuck hadn’t even noticed him getting up, but he must have let the nurse know. It was the same nurse that had set his dad’s arm, so they must still be in the Hong Kong Shatterdome.
She went about her job, asking him a battery of questions about his current state. Addie hadn’t let go of his hand, and he was grateful for it.
----
“Alright,” Nurse Yuen concluded as Addie watched her inject something into Chuck’s IV. “Everything is within acceptable limits, for your injuries, but you need to rest, Mr. Hansen. No physical exertions.” She gave Addie and Chuck a sharp look. Addie felt her cheeks heat, and noticed Chuck’s ears turning red.
“Yes, Nurse Yuen, I’ll make sure he sleeps.” Addie replied, barely managing to make eye contact with her.
The nurse nodded, told Chuck to use the call button if he needed anything and that the doctor would be in to see him in the morning.
“I think I’ll hit the sack, myself.” Uncle Herc said. “I’ll take Max with me.” He left them with a quiet smile and nod. They sat for a couple moments, Addie absent-mindedly rubbing circles on the back of Chuck’s hand. He took a breath and spoke.
“I was ready to sacrifice myself, if I thought it would keep you and Dad safer, but-” He waved her protest. “Let me finish, Addie. It’s not like I wanted to die. The thought that I wouldn’t get to- to-” He paused and took in a ragged breath.
“How I felt in that moment…” He trailed off, but then looked back at her. “I can’t put it into words, Phryne.”
She leaned forward, putting a hand against his cheek. He leaned into her, closing his eyes.
“I was terrified, and I was safe and sound in the LOCCENT. I can’t imagine what it was like for you, facing that creature at the bottom of the ocean. I’m just glad you are back, safe, if not entirely sound just yet.” They both chuckled and he opened his eyes, holding her gaze.
Chuck reached up and put a hand on the side of her neck—giving her goosebumps. He pulled her down for a kiss. It was slow, but intense and full of all the things they didn’t have the words for at the moment. She wrapped a hand around the back of his head and he winced, hissing through his teeth.
“Ah, sorry, Chuck.”
“It’s fine, I didn’t even know I had a bandage back there.” He pulled her against his uninjured side, and Addie was careful not to jostle anything. She felt the tension ease out of him as they both settled into the hospital bed. He sighed and silence reigned long enough that she thought he had fallen asleep. Then he spoke so quietly, Addie felt the rumble more than heard the words.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t get to do this ever again.”
“Me too.” She sat up and looked at him. “I love you, Chuck. I didn’t say it properly before. I love you.”
“I love you too, Phryne.”