god, he called for rain

[shooteverything]

[ the shatterdome is too loud, smells of seawater and sweat, and half the time k-science won't even let him stay in the lab, one of the few quiet places in the entire base. but it's home, in some ways, because heine has lived here for more than half of his life.

and that reason is also the reason why he's doing the introductions for the new pilot arriving today. she's not new new, but new to this shatterdome. heine has read her file.

now he's in his fatigues, arms crossed as he waits on the tarmac for her to arrive. there's a lot to go through before her jaeger even arrives. ]

Comments

thanks for setting this all up. /o/

[armored_heart]

[She had dressed in lighter clothing because any place compared to Vladivostok would be warmer, but she hadn't taken into consideration humidity. It felt like her clothing was all stifling and uncomfortable, though just out of sheer stubbornness she keep her scarf wound tightly around her neck. It had been a going away present, and it seemed rude to pack it away just because of some unreasonable weather and because the gift giver was miles away.

Her steps slowed as she spotted one of the shatterdome's pilots lounging around. From what she had gleaned from his files, he was one of the most battle hardened veterans here, and he had started at a young age. Naoto stopped a few feet in front of him, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, her free arm loose and relaxed near her side. She inclined her head respectfully, since it seemed he would be the welcoming party.]

Naoto Fuyumine, reporting in.

np!! o/

[shooteverything]

Fuyumine. [ he gives her a once-over, only commenting, ] It's too hot here for that.

[ but he moves on just as quickly, waving for her to follow him. ]

Heine Rammsteiner. I'll be showing you around for now. You can put your bag in your room when we pass it.

[armored_heart]

[The only answer she has to that is a small downward twist of her lips, but she made no move to take it off. Instead she followed him inside, looking around the dome curiously, nodding as he introduced himself.]

I read your file.

[Which might be an odd thing to admit, but it wasn't unheard of. She had tried to review most of the personnel here, if only to get a better sense of who she was working with.]

I'm surprised one of the best would be doing this.

[She had been transferred here because this shatterdome saw a lot more kaiju activity. Perhaps the reports had been mistaken or exaggerated?]

[shooteverything]

[ heine doesn't react until she says 'one of the best'. at that he snorts dismissively, not turning around as he keeps walking into the shatterdome. ]

Everyone else is busy.

[ it's not like he has much to do outside of keeping up with training and getting in his jaeger when there are kaiju attacks.

he comes to a stop inside the first part of the hangar. busy is an understatement. there are multiple jaegers, some under maintenance, some surrounded by their crew and their pilots. heine points them out in turn. ]

Silver Helios, piloted by Mihaeroff. Blue Thunder—you probably know them. The rest of your crew will be here within the week.

[armored_heart]

[Naoto makes note of Heine's reaction to such an observation, mostly because it's somewhat surprising to her. Most jaeger pilots she's been exposed to enjoy praise, enjoy the fame that comes with being a jaeger pilot, and most suffer from ego problems. She wonders briefly if Heine's dismissal is commonplace here or unique.

She nodded as pointed out the jaegers and their pilots, adjusting the strap of her bag restlessly. She's not very good at socializing anything farther than being polite.]

I look forward to meeting the others.

[It's one thing to read someone's files, but it's another to actually meet them. And some rather talented pilots resided here.

Still, at the thought of another week rolling by without her crew to support her...]

So I'll be grounded until then.

sparring scene. let me know if i need to edit o/

[armored_heart]

[It had taken her longer to find Rammsteiner again than she would have liked, considering it had become apparent rather quickly that he was the pilot to beat around here. Even Mihai hadn't argued that he deserved his reputation, and Naoto was truthfully a bit angry to learn of this. Why had Rammsteiner not said anything? Maybe he had already written her off as one of those people who was just going to boast then die an unremarkable death. Perhaps he hadn't wanted to waste his time with someone as undistinguished as her and had sent her out on a goose chase.

It hadn't helped her mood in the least that Magato had pounced on her fairly quickly, and that his idea of a family reunion was to recreate their last fight, right down to the knives. To add insult to injury, when they had been caught, Magato had taken the blame for the whole ordeal. Now she was indebted to him, and that thought did little to quell her temper.]

Rammsteiner.

[It was fortuitous that she would find him in the training hall. Her bare feet padded against the mats, her expression grim and tension radiating from her squared shoulders, her fists clenched.]

Fight me.

WE ARE ALL GOOD :|b

[shooteverything]

[ he might be fed up with his job, dislike getting into his rig, and a great deal of what he has to do, but he'll be damned if he doesn't at least do it well.

so the training hall is his usual haunt, other than his room. heine is wearing a tank top and sweatpants, already starting to perspire from his routine. he wipes the side of his face half-heartedly and straightens up when she approaches. ]

What?

[ this is rather abrupt. ]

Your fight with other Fuyumine not enough?

[armored_heart]

[Bringing up Magato makes her bristle, a frown marring her face. She's not even going to grace that with an answer.]

You're the best here.

[As if that explains everything.]

Why didn't you say anything?

[shooteverything]

[ a sore spot, then. he heard the gossip about her fight with magato—someone pulled a knife, and then both of them had blades, and he's slightly sorry he wasn't there to see it—and he doesn't really want to have one with her. heine shrugs vaguely. his automatic response is, ] I don't know.

[ more accurately, he doesn't like to talk about himself, let alone say something that might be beneficial to his reputation. ]

You seemed pretty set on beating the best pilot—whoever it was.

[armored_heart]

[The answer is unsatisfactory, and she's already heading over to the weapons rack, picking out two wooden staffs. Using those at least wouldn't get them in any trouble.]

That hasn't changed.

[She held out one of them to him, her face brooking no room for an argument.]

Or do you not waste time on people who make those boasts?

[Because she was ready to prove here and now that her words weren't empty.]

and she's been living on the highest shelf.

[shooteverything]

[ the fight had been a fucking disaster. they'd needed artillery support after he'd lost use of the left arm of his jaeger—the machinery is jammed, or something like that, and it'll take weeks to fix. his own, physical arm feels numb from the half hour of agony he'd fought through to finally take down the kaiju.

heine's plastered with sweat when he finally stumbles out of the cockpit and takes off his helmet, left arm hanging at his side. it's not seriously injured, probably only sprained, but the feeling of his jaeger's arm, sent to him through the neural link, being nearly torn off by the kaiju's massive jaws is the kind of thing to stick in someone's mind. things aren't as awful as they could have been, at least. the kaiju, aegaeon, is dead and bleeding on the shore, and damage to the waterfront is actually in the midrange of his long and colorful record, according to mission control.

but there's still a clusterfuck to deal with. the main problem here is the pilot he'd been deployed with. jaw tight, he stalks towards her station. people get out of his way. ]

[armored_heart]

[Between the two of them, that kaiju should have been nothing. Between the two of them, it should just be one more notch on both of their records. Between the two of them, neither of their jaegers should have been sufficiently damaged, but here Naoto is, staring blankly at the mess that is Avenger Eden's legs, her own having given out beneath her as soon as the support mechanisms had retracted.

For some reason, staring face to face with Aegaeon had caused her to freeze. Her sister and Magato both would say it was because she lacked that killer instinct. She could fight until it was time to actually finish something, and now without her sister here as her safety net, was this all she was capable of?

The sounds of people skittering nervously away from them cause her to glance up briefly, her shoulders tensing as if waiting for a blow. She would deserve it. She had nearly gotten them both killed.]

Rammsteiner.

[She doesn't know how to apologize or to thank him, or where to even begin. It's too much to process, all at once.]

[shooteverything]

[ he bares his teeth at her greeting, looking (probably not for the first time) like the kind of hellhound his jaeger is named after. the indifferent languidness that usually characterizes his body language is gone, replaced by a tight fury that has the area cleared out of all but the most necessary workers. this isn't the first time heine's had a very visible, public confrontation. ]

What the fuck. [ for all his sharp edges, he doesn't actually swear too often; all the same, the word tears its way out between his teeth. ]

What the hell—you almost got us both killed. You tell me you want to be the best there is? You'll get nowhere but the bottom of the goddamn ocean freezing up like that.

[ he lets the tense silence stand for a moment, teeth gritted as he glares at her. ]

And you won't be there alone. I can take care of myself, but if that happens again and whoever you're fighting with isn't ready—

[ he tightens his grip on his helmet again, trying to put the sheer frustration and anger (and, quietly, disappointment and old regret) he's feeling into words. after another second he just turns and starts to walk away. ]

[antisheep]

[She deserves every bit of his anger, but that doesn't stop her from scrunching up tighter, as if she makes herself smaller it might spare her from some of his rage. Naoto turned her face away from him, trying not to flinch when her words are thrown back at her. They seem hollow now, as they've always been. He's right of course. The only reason they're both alive right now is because he was with her. The only reason she had managed to get this far was because of other people. If it had been someone else...

The sound of Rammsteiner stalking off jolts her out of her stagnant state, and she stumbles to her feet to follow him. She's terrible at killing, and even more terrible at apologies but she will at least try. She owes him that much, and she will feel guilty.]

Wait.

[It might not be the best idea to follow after him when he's so obviously angry, but so far he has been rather reasonable and kind to her.]

I'm sorry. [More hollow, meaningless words.] I'm really sorry.

[She faltered, her eyes darting anywhere but to the person she was talking to.]

[shooteverything]

[ when he hears her voice, he stops in his tracks for a beat, and then keeps walking. he doesn't want to talk to her. heine doesn't want to say that he expected better, but—he can admit to himself later that he did, because her cool self-confidence and burning desire to prove herself reminded him of something in himself.

for now, though, he doesn't want to hear it. heine half-turns at her apology and fails to make eye contact. ]

I don't care if you're sorry.

[ apologies don't mean anything to him (especially if he ends up giving them to someone long gone). ]

I don't want you in a Jaeger again unless you're prepared to actually do something.

feel like a stone in deep water

[antisheep]

[It's been quite a few weeks since Naoto's last terrible showing, and after that eye opening debut, she'd thrown herself back into training. She ran simulations until they kicked her out, had fought with Magato incessantly, and had even sought advice from some of the other Jaeger pilots. Mostly their advice had consisted of something along the lines of being bucked off a horse. It was either get back on or quit.

And while most of them were understanding and some even kind, there were few who were willing to risk going out with her. It was frustrating, more than words could convey, to know that this was her own doing.

Whether it was because he had an unshakable faith in his own abilities or if he just pitied her, Mihai was the first to agree to accompany her back into the field. When that familiar terror had hit her when facing down one of those monsters, she had squashed it through sheer willpower, and while the fight wasn't anything to be particularly proud of, it filled her with a sense of exhilaration. She could do this. She was capable of doing this, and she would continue until her disastrous start would be forgiven, or if not, forgotten.

It was with trepidation however that she suited up this time, her anxiousness having little to do with the kaiju she was soon to be facing. Rammsteiner had avoided her, and his anger towards her made her both wary and determined to prove she wasn't all talk.

As her jaeger was launched into the churning water, Naoto steeled herself, sword at the ready.]

I can take point.

[shooteverything]

[ gladiator cerberus has been repaired, and though he's been in it for diagnostic tests and dozens of sims before this, it's the first time he's been deployed for battle in his jaeger since that last disastrous mission. heine arms his cannons as they get ready, staring grimly through the viewport into the tumultuous waves. ]

Can you?

[ he sounds more resigned than challenging, despite his words, and after a second he adds, ] Fine. I'm on your six.

[antisheep]

If I can't, leave me.

[Her tone is brisk, unshakeable. Either she will prove herself or die trying, and she's accepted this fact. If they somehow find themselves in the same situation that they were in last time, she hopes Rammsteiner will save himself and leave her. One time was understandable, even if it was inexcusable. There was no guarantee a second time that they both would escape with their lives.

At the sight of Hound ascending slowly from beneath the waves sent a chill down her spine.]

I'm beginning.

[Right as Hound reared his two pronged head, the juts on either side resembling ears and hence the name, Naoto was rushing toward him, managing to land a deep blow to his chest. There were four limbs to keep track of, five if she counted his tail, which seemed to be far more mobile than his other appendages.]

[shooteverything]

[ heine goes quiet for a second at that, both faintly surprised and wary. if she's saying stuff like this, she's either ready to die, or confident that she'll succeed.

or both. heine loads both cannons and hangs back, grunting a vague assent to her statement. he watches as the kaiju sweeps out of the water.

he can already tell—she's certainly doing better than she had during her first mission, and she has the accuracy and strength she'd had in their spar. still, he keeps aim carefully through the viewport, widening his stance just as the kaiju reels back and spins to whip its tail around. ]

[antisheep]

[That tail is going to be a problem. It's far quicker than the rest of Hound's other limbs, and seems twice as deadly, and it manages to land a blow to her Jaeger's face, almost knocking her down. She managed to grab a hold of it, but it's tenuous at best. She raises her arm to hack at it, but it's already out of her grasp by then.]

Can you do something about his tail?

[There's a bit of annoyance in her voice. It's not weak to ask for help, but if she needs it, she still has a long way to go.]

i will be a gun and it's you I'll come for

[antisheep]

[She's nervous, her hands trembling involuntarily as she goes through the motions of piloting, trying to keep her breathing deep and even. It feels like talking about closing the rift had been ages ago, some distant dream.

Yet she's faced more kaiju in the past few weeks than she had known what to do with. Stronger and faster had been an understatement, and her boasting about becoming one of the best was what had gotten her here. No one was calling it a suicide mission, but that didn't mean it wasn't one.]

Rammsteiner.

[Her voice sounded a lot less shaky than her hands, and for that she was pleased.]

Have you given any thought to what you'll do after this?

[Because that sounded like a dream too or a bad joke.]

[shooteverything]

[ the two payloads on their jaegers must be heavy, but cerberus takes the weight. heine stares straight out through the viewport, watching the thunderheads darken over the water. he doesn't quite jump at the voice coming through his comm system, but he does blink. ]

...thought I told you what I thought about that last time.

[ the rift isn't closed yet. but he does give a better reply, after a second of thoguht. ]

Probably nothing.

[antisheep]

[She's a bit surprised he even bothered to answer, but she supposes she's not the only one who is a bit apprehensive. To say the fate of humanity lies on this is no exaggeration, and while she had improved by leaps and bounds, they're vastly outnumbered and this time there is no real back up. If they fail there might not be another chance.

She'll accept that answer, but it doesn't mean she doesn't have a comment.]

Even though if we succeed you'll be a hero?

[While she wouldn't delude herself into thinking they'd have a free ride for the rest of their lives, she's sure they'd come close. Not to mention all the pay she'd never really spent since going off site was rare.

Then because she should focus, she exhaled.]

I can take point.

[shooteverything]

[ this time his only response is a wordless grunt. he doesn't want to think about the future outside of where they're going right now, at least partially because he can't remember a time when he wasn't somehow working with the jaeger program. even when he was young, the professors worked at the base. leaving the base seems... strange.

heine readjusts his grips on the controls and slides a control panel out of the way. ]

Yeah. [ and, almost grudgingly: ] ...I'll be right behind you.

[antisheep]

[Naoto doesn't have a moment to feel grateful or to heave a sigh of relief to know that she has Rammsteiner watching her back, because her systems are going haywire, alerting her to the presence of three level three Kaiju. She briefly takes note of the names before she's drawing her sword, the metal chinking into place.]

I'll take the left one.

[They're approaching rapidly in a triangular formation, and while normally she would meet them head on, the nuclear payload makes her Jaeger less responsive and not as acrobatic as it usually is.]