Read Online Pacific Rim: The Official Movie Novelization by Alex Irvine - Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Irvine
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but had only seen Chuck on TV. They were cool and professional. Techs did the maintenance. Pilots did the piloting. Didn’t do anyone any good to get those roles confused. Chuck was tossing a ball for a bulldog, who happily left strings of drool on it at every exchange back to his master.
“You know Sergeant Herc Hansen and his son, Chuck,” Pentecost said. “They’ll be running point. The dog is Max.”
“Running point?” Raleigh asked. It wasn’t a term common to Jaeger deployments. Usually only offensive operations needed someone to run point, and it had been a long time since humanity had been on the offensive.
“We’re going for the Breach,” Pentecost said. His voice was determined but matter-of-fact. “We’ll strap a thermonuclear warhead on Striker’s back. Twenty-four hundred pounds, with a detonation yield of 1.2 million tons of TNT. You and the other two Jaegers will run defense for them.”
Raleigh was still hung up on the first revelation of the plan. He couldn’t quite process the operational details of his role yet.
“Where’d you get something like that?”
“Did you see the Russians?” Pentecost asked. “They can get just about anything.”
Nuke the Breach? Could that be done? Raleigh hadn’t kept up on the Kaiju Science briefings when he was active, and now he was five years out of date. From what he remembered, though, the energy fields outside the Breach repelled any kind of approach. Also, after spreading fallout all over Hong Kong, Sydney, and northern California, the world’s governments had lost their appetite for any more nuclear detonations. What was Pentecost doing here? Was this what it meant to be part of the resistance?
Too many questions. And no answers forthcoming. Again he looked at Mako for a cue. She didn’t seem disturbed by the idea that they were going to nuke the Breach. Maybe everyone here knew something Raleigh didn’t.
They went down a short set of steps to the floor level just as Chuck threw a ball for Max. Instead of going after it, the bulldog came galumping up to Mako, who knelt to receive his drooly adoration. Her hair fell around her face, and Raleigh noticed right then that the glossy black mane was dyed a deep blue where it framed her jawline. Which was, in truth, an excellent jawline, equaled if not surpassed by the rest of Mako. She moved like an athlete, she had blue tips, and she could rebuild decommissioned Jaegers.
Very interesting.
“Hey, Max!” Herc called out, following to make sure the dog didn’t get carried away. “Don’t drool over Miss Mori, you,” he said. Then looked up at Mako with a shrug. “He sees a pretty girl, gets all worked up...” Herc trailed off with a shrug and a grin that was half pride and half embarrassment.
Pentecost gestured from Raleigh to Herc.
“Raleigh, this is Herc Hansen. Best damn Jaeger jockey that ever lived.”
Standing, Herc cocked his head as he extended his hand.
“I know you,” he said. “We rode together before, yeah?”
Raleigh took Herc’s hand and nodded.
“Raleigh Becket. We did, sir. My brother and I. Six years ago. In a three-Jaeger team drop.”
He was a little surprised that Pentecost hadn’t remembered that. It was a big operation, touch-and-go even with the three Jaegers. Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger had just barely managed to save the lives of the Rangers in the third Jaeger, Horizon Brave, after it was pinned by the kaiju’s barbed tail.
“That’s right,” Herc said. “Manila. Three of us against a Category Four, right? That was before my son joined up. Tough fight.”
“Aren’t they all?” Raleigh said, nodding. “Saw you on TV yesterday. Another tough fight.”
Herc’s son Chuck whistled and Max swaggered back to him, the way only a bulldog can happily swagger. Raleigh could tell right away that Chuck didn’t like him. He hadn’t come over to join the conversation, he’d pulled the dog out of it, and now he was sitting at one of Striker
“You know Sergeant Herc Hansen and his son, Chuck,” Pentecost said. “They’ll be running point. The dog is Max.”
“Running point?” Raleigh asked. It wasn’t a term common to Jaeger deployments. Usually only offensive operations needed someone to run point, and it had been a long time since humanity had been on the offensive.
“We’re going for the Breach,” Pentecost said. His voice was determined but matter-of-fact. “We’ll strap a thermonuclear warhead on Striker’s back. Twenty-four hundred pounds, with a detonation yield of 1.2 million tons of TNT. You and the other two Jaegers will run defense for them.”
Raleigh was still hung up on the first revelation of the plan. He couldn’t quite process the operational details of his role yet.
“Where’d you get something like that?”
“Did you see the Russians?” Pentecost asked. “They can get just about anything.”
Nuke the Breach? Could that be done? Raleigh hadn’t kept up on the Kaiju Science briefings when he was active, and now he was five years out of date. From what he remembered, though, the energy fields outside the Breach repelled any kind of approach. Also, after spreading fallout all over Hong Kong, Sydney, and northern California, the world’s governments had lost their appetite for any more nuclear detonations. What was Pentecost doing here? Was this what it meant to be part of the resistance?
Too many questions. And no answers forthcoming. Again he looked at Mako for a cue. She didn’t seem disturbed by the idea that they were going to nuke the Breach. Maybe everyone here knew something Raleigh didn’t.
They went down a short set of steps to the floor level just as Chuck threw a ball for Max. Instead of going after it, the bulldog came galumping up to Mako, who knelt to receive his drooly adoration. Her hair fell around her face, and Raleigh noticed right then that the glossy black mane was dyed a deep blue where it framed her jawline. Which was, in truth, an excellent jawline, equaled if not surpassed by the rest of Mako. She moved like an athlete, she had blue tips, and she could rebuild decommissioned Jaegers.
Very interesting.
“Hey, Max!” Herc called out, following to make sure the dog didn’t get carried away. “Don’t drool over Miss Mori, you,” he said. Then looked up at Mako with a shrug. “He sees a pretty girl, gets all worked up...” Herc trailed off with a shrug and a grin that was half pride and half embarrassment.
Pentecost gestured from Raleigh to Herc.
“Raleigh, this is Herc Hansen. Best damn Jaeger jockey that ever lived.”
Standing, Herc cocked his head as he extended his hand.
“I know you,” he said. “We rode together before, yeah?”
Raleigh took Herc’s hand and nodded.
“Raleigh Becket. We did, sir. My brother and I. Six years ago. In a three-Jaeger team drop.”
He was a little surprised that Pentecost hadn’t remembered that. It was a big operation, touch-and-go even with the three Jaegers. Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger had just barely managed to save the lives of the Rangers in the third Jaeger, Horizon Brave, after it was pinned by the kaiju’s barbed tail.
“That’s right,” Herc said. “Manila. Three of us against a Category Four, right? That was before my son joined up. Tough fight.”
“Aren’t they all?” Raleigh said, nodding. “Saw you on TV yesterday. Another tough fight.”
Herc’s son Chuck whistled and Max swaggered back to him, the way only a bulldog can happily swagger. Raleigh could tell right away that Chuck didn’t like him. He hadn’t come over to join the conversation, he’d pulled the dog out of it, and now he was sitting at one of Striker
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