Pacific Rim: Terror Australis

The pilots of the first Australian Jaeger can defeat a Kaiju – if they can stop fighting each other.

[Author's Note: This story follows the collection The Southern Line. It takes place about three years after the first appearance of the Kaiju.]

"Now!" shouted Eun Park into the radio. "Plasma cannon!"

"On it!" said Dorothy and Beatrice together. Terror Australis raised its left arm, the weapon embedded in its hand crackling with energy.

The Kaiju, a Category Two codenamed Ren, was already staggering backwards, after the avalanche of punches that had hit it. The blade-like structure on the top of its head was cracked open, spewing blue blood.

The bolt of energy exploded out of the Jaeger and smashed into the Kaiju. It howled.

Terror Australis fired again. The Kaiju went down, crashing onto its back into the shallow water of the Indonesian beach.

"Scratch one!" said Summers, next to Eun in the UH-95 helicopter.

"Done and dusted," said Dorothy.

"Don't think so," said Eun. "Hit it again. Woomera. Head shot."

"You're the boss," said Beatrice. The Woomera missile-launcher snapped up from Terror Australis' shoulder.

Ren began to move. The fuel-air missile leaped out of the launcher and smashed into the Kaiju's skull. It exploded with a flash and a roar.

"Now it's down," said Eun.

"Third kill," said Summers. "Outstanding."

"I would not necessarily say outstanding," said Eun. "Adequate. Maybe better than adequate. Good. Maybe very good."

Eun and Summers watched the Jaeger crouch down. It reached into the Kaiju's mouth. It wrenched the Kaiju's tongue out.

"Want a souvenir," said Beatrice.

"Add to the collection," said Dorothy.

Summers turned off the radio link to the Jaeger. "There's a lot of anger under those shy country-girl exteriors," she said.

"You read the psych reports," said Eun. "Resentment about their family keeping them on the farm. Resentment that their parents hardly let them see any men until they were nearly twenty. Resentment that when they were selected for the Jaeger program they almost had to run away from home to join up. Resentment that their parents have hardly spoken to them since."

"I know they're not exactly happy little Vegemites," said Summers. "But you always said that the best pilots were ones with … issues."

Eun sighed. "Yeah, I did," she said. She pushed buttons on the communications console to call the transports in, and to tell Pacific Command that one more Kaiju was down. She saw that a priority message was coming in, addressed to her in her capacity as Commander, Australian Jaeger Force. She read it and then showed it to Summers.

Summers hit the radio command to the Jaeger. "Guys," she said. "We're going to Hong Kong."

The Shatterdome in Hong Kong was a hive of activity, with several Jaegers under construction and a number more undergoing maintenance and upgrade.

Eun and Summers were walking through one of the massive hangars, being guided by Wu Lao-Shi, the commander of the base. He pointed to the bay in which Terror Australis stood, a small army of technicians buzzing around it.

"A fine piece of tech," he said. "Our people are doing some re-fueling. It was a battle to get past your pilots. They are very protective of it. I suppose that is understandable."

Eun nodded, looking around. "That's Cherno Alpha, the Russian Mark One, isn't it?" she said, pointing at a steel-grey, heavily-built Jaeger. The right leg had been removed and was being reconstructed.

"Yes, it is," said Wu. "The pilots are a husband-and-wife team, Sasha and Alexis Kaidonovsky. They already have several kills. And there is Coyote Tango, an American Mark One. The pilots, Stacker Pentecost and Tamsin Sevier, are not related, which is unusual. But they have been very successful to date. That's Major Pentecost over there." He pointed to a tall black man, sitting on a pile of equipment and apparently playing with a Japanese girl of about ten.

Dorothy and Beatrice walked up to them. They did not look happy.

"We don't like these Chinks," said Beatrice.

"They keep doing … things," said Dorothy. "To Terror."

"They're just topping up the fuel systems and performing some basic maintenance," said Summers. "They won't hurt it."

"They'd better not," said Beatrice.

"Well, maybe we should sort them out about it, anyway," said a male voice. A young Australian man, blond and well-built, came up to the group.

"Dorothy, Beatrice, you probably haven't met Charles Hansen," said Eun. "He is the son of Herc Hansen and the nephew of Scott Hansen, the guys who drive Lucky Punch, who you know, of course. Charles is temporarily doing some tech liaison work here in Hong Kong."

"Please call me Chuck," said Hansen, shaking their hands and flashing his most charming smile. "I hope to get into a cockpit myself one day."

Dorothy and Beatrice both stared at him, their mouths open.

At that moment, Sasha and Alexis Kaidonovsky walked by, all bleached blond hair and Russian swagger. Sasha was wearing a slash of startlingly bright lipstick.

Eun saw Hansen follow them with his eyes. "Whoa," he muttered. Then he turned again to Dorothy and Beatrice. "Well, let's go and make sure that our Chinese friends don't put any scratches on your tinkertoy, eh?" He led them away.

"Hmm," said Summers.

Eun, Summers, Dorothy and Beatrice, and a number of other pilots were sitting in the briefing room of the base with Wu and a number of other officials. Dorothy and Beatrice, Eun noticed, were fidgeting, as if they wanted to be somewhere else.

"We have gathered a number of Jaegers together for a special and very important mission," Wu was saying. "As you know, we do not have much information on the Breach itself. At the moment, we can only determine when a Kaiju has come through by tracking the surface wake, which is not very reliable. We don't even know how many Kaiju there currently are. Our best guess is that there are at least four swimming around, but we really don't know.

"To rectify this we are planning to construct a network of sensors around the Breach, on islands. The sensor package is large and will take some time to install, so each team will be accompanied by a Jaeger for guarding. The location for the Terror Australis team is the northern tip of the Philippines island of Luzon. That's the one that's closest to Hong Kong."

Eun stiffened. The Philippines. There was not much left of it. As the country closest to the Breach it had seen some of the heaviest fighting, and there was not a single city or town still standing.

"When?" said Eun.

"Tomorrow," said Wu. "I emphasise to the pilots that this is not a hunting mission. Only engage if necessary to protect the tech team and sensor package."

"You got that?" said Eun to Dorothy and Beatrice.

They said nothing, staring at the table and, Eun thought, pointedly not looking at each other.

"I said, you got that?" said Eun.

Dorothy glanced at her. "Yeah," she said.

It was the next day. Eun and Summers were standing at the foot of Terror Australis. The other four operational Jaegers, which had further to go to reach their designated islands, had already left.

Summers looked at her watch. "They're late," she muttered. "They've never been late before."

Dorothy walked up to them. She looked at them for a few moments, and then got into the elevator. It started to ascend.

"Huh," said Summers.

"Huh, what?" said Eun.

"Huh, I've never seen one of them without the other," said Summers.

"Huh," said Eun.

Beatrice walked up to them, a sour look on her face.

"Is there a problem?" said Eun.

"Not with me," said Beatrice.

The elevator had returned; she got into it and it again ascended.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Summers, as she and Eun went to the control room. They passed Chuck Hansen on the way.

"Is there a problem with my pilots?" said Eun to him.

He started a little. "A problem?" he said. "No, course not. We had some beers in the bar last night, the three of us, and then we went to the two-up game in the hangar. Won some money, had some laughs. They had a pretty good time, I think. I've got to say that it's good to spend some time with some Aussies, there aren't any others here. Even if they're Tasmanians."

"Hmm," said Summers.

When the two women reached the control room, one of the technicians, a young American-Chinese called Tendo Choi, was running through the prep routine for Terror Australis.

"All systems good, preparing for neural handshake," he said. "Connecting … now."

Eun checked the monitors. No green lights.

"Preparing for neural handshake," repeated Tendo. "Connecting … now."

Nothing.

Eun noticed that the intercom to the Jaeger cockpit had been turned off. It could only have been done by the pilots. She hit the over-ride.

" – happened in high school, you did exactly the same thing then!" one of the women was saying.

"Me!?" said the other. "You've always been the one who – "

"Dorothy, Beatrice!" snapped Eun. "Shut up and focus!"

"It's not my fault!" said Dorothy.

"Mine neither!" said Beatrice.

"I don't fucking care who started it!" said Eun. "Get with the program!"

The two of them fell silent. After a few moments, Tendo said: "Neural handshake initiated. Not exactly the strongest connection I've ever seen, though."

The Shatterdome roof opened and the transport choppers came in; they connected to Terror Australis and began to lift it out. Another transport chopper was carrying the sensor package, about the size of a shipping container, and the installation crew. They headed for Luzon.

Wu, next to Eun, pointed to the satellite surveillance monitor. It showed a Kaiju heading for the island of Guam, where another sensor was being installed; Coyote Tango was in the guard role.

Wu lifted the radio control. "Mister Pentecost, Miss Sevier, you have company on the way," he said. "A Category Two, Iguana-type, I would say."

"Understood," said Stacker. "The techs say they need another ten minutes or so."

Wu pointed to another area of ocean, not far from the Philippines. There was a Kaiju wake visible on the surface. It was circling slowly.

Eun glanced at the radar. Terror Australis had reached the northern tip of the island, and the technical team were down, beginning the installation work.

Long minutes passed. Then, the voice of Tamsin Sevier: "Engaging."

Eun pressed the switch to connect to Terror Australis. "How are you guys going?" she said.

"Fine," said one of them. That was all.

"The installation team on Luzon says they will be done in fifteen minutes," said the tech at the communications desk.

The wake of the Kaiju was gradually moving closer to Luzon. But not in a straight line.

"As if it's just sniffing around," muttered Summers.

"Handshake connection is weakening," said Tendo. "Down to twenty per cent. Fifteen."

"Dorothy, Beatrice, keep it together!" said Eun.

"They're … trying, I think," said Tendo. "But … ten per cent."

The wake was definitely closer to Luzon now, in a meandering way.

"There's a Kaiju not far away from you," said Eun. "Go combat-ready."

"Charging plasma cannon," said Dorothy.

"No, we should use the Woomera," said Beatrice.

"Cannon," said Dorothy.

"Missile," said Beatrice.

"I said: cannon!"

"And I said: missile!"

There was a long moment of silence.

"Handshake … gone," said Tendo. "Connection between pilots and Jaeger lost."

"Installation team says six minutes," said Comms.

"Kaiju landfall estimated in four minutes," said Satellite.

"So now Terror Australis is not much more than a really large paperweight," said Summers.

"Beatrice, Dorothy, re-initiate the handshake!" said Eun. "There's a Kaiju heading your way!"

"We're … trying … " said Dorothy. "But … it's not working … "

"Choppers going in, extraction in five minutes," said Comms.

"Not so much a paperweight as a sitting duck," said Summers.

They watched as the Kaiju wake swung closer to the coastline. If it went ashore now it would tear the frozen Jaeger apart and make very short work of the tech team.

But it didn't. Instead, the wake began to move out to sea.

Eun realised she had stopped breathing. She let herself exhale.

"Looks like we dodged a bullet," murmured Summers.

"Choppers moving in to recover Jaeger and installation team," said Comms.

The voice of Stacker Pentecost came over the speaker. "We've seen it off but we've taken some damage," he said. "The installation team says they're done."

"Extraction choppers on the way," said Wu. "Well done, Mister Pentecost, Miss Sevier."

All the sensors were installed now. With a surge of power, they came online. In new equipment in the control room, a detailed map of the area a thousand kilometres around the Breach appeared. And a holographic representation of the location of the Breach itself.

There were cheers and congratulations all round. Someone opened a bottle of champagne.

But on the satellite monitor, the Kaiju wake near Luzon stopped meandering. It became a straight line – heading towards Hong Kong.

Eun and Summers were waiting for the elevator carrying Dorothy and Beatrice to reach ground level.

Sasha and Alexis Kaidonovsky came up to them.

Chuck Hansen joined the little group. "G'day," he said. "How's it goin'?"

"Thanks to you, we almost lost Terror Australis, not to mention Dorothy and Beatrice and the tech team," said Summers.

"Me!?" said Chuck. "What did I do?"

"Too much, or not enough," said Eun.

The elevator doors opened and Dorothy and Beatrice emerged. They stared at Chuck.

Sasha looked at them. Then she looked at Chuck. Then she looked at Dorothy and Beatrice again.

"Ha!" she said. "Old problem, easy solution."

Then she grabbed Chuck by the front of his overalls, pulled him to her, and kissed him. It was a very hard kiss.

When she finally let him go, he staggered backwards, a smear of red lipstick across his mouth. Alexis gave a laugh.

"Ha!" said Sasha again. "I thought so!" She turned to Dorothy and Beatrice. "He is not for either of you, this one," she said. "He is … sometimes, we say, golden … I do not know the English word … we say pidoras … " She glanced at her husband for help with the translation.

"A man who prefers other men to women," said Alexis.

"Sure," said Chuck. "It's not a secret or anything."

"You should trust my wife in this," says Alexis. "She has a sense for these things."

"Yeah, we call that gaydar," said Summers.

"Ha!" said Alexis, with a laugh like a roar. "A good word, that! We will take that one back to Russia with us!"

Dorothy and Beatrice both had their jaws hanging open. "But … but …, " said Dorothy to Chuck, "you're such a – "

"A bloke," finished Beatrice.

"Hey, we're not all fashion designers and interior decorators," said Chuck. "Sorry if you got the wrong idea. But, well, you didn't ask. And hanging out with you two is a good time."

"But we saw you looking at Sasha when she walked past the day we got here!" said Dorothy.

"What makes you think I was looking at Sasha?" said Chuck.

"Ha!" said Alexis.

Sasha jabbed her finger into Chuck's chest. "Is mine!" she said. "So hands off!" Then she leaned forward and whispered: "But he has brother who is almost as good-looking."

"Er, thanks," said Chuck.

Dorothy and Beatrice looked at each other.

"Huh," said Dorothy.

"Huh," said Beatrice.

The roof doors of the Shatterdome swung open again and the damaged Coyote Tango was lowered into a bay. The pilots were sitting on its shoulder; they waved. The others waved back.

An emergency siren went. "Kaiju approaching Hong Kong harbour," said the loudspeaker. "Defence teams to stations."

"All the other Jaegers are not back yet," said Summers. "And Coyote Tango doesn't look like it can go another round at the moment."

"And we still have a leg not on," said Sasha.

"One Kaiju?" said Beatrice. "No problem."

"None at all," said Dorothy.

"Last time I looked, you couldn't even keep the lights on," said Eun.

"That was … before," said Dorothy. She and her sister turned and walked into the elevator, and it began to ascend.

"And when we get back," called Beatrice to Chuck, "we'll buy you a beer, mate!"

Eun and the others ran to the control room. They arrived as Tendo was saying: "Neural handshake initiated. Full connection. Everything showing hot and strong."

Summers let out a long sigh of relief.

"Transport choppers being organised for you now," said Wu into the radio.

"No need," said Beatrice. "Just open the front door and we'll walk out. Let's bring this fucker down."

"Uh, alright," said Wu. He hit a series of switches and the huge front doors of the Shatterdome swung open.

Terror Australis walked out of the bay, through the hangar, and in a few massive strides was in the water, knee-deep. It was moving fast, almost at a run.

The Kaiju, a Category Two Bear-type, appeared at the harbour entrance. It saw the Jaeger and gave a howl. Terror Australis smashed its mighty fists together. Dorothy and Beatrice activated the external loudspeakers – and the Jaeger gave a huge roar of its own.

"Oh, so that's why we have those," said Summers.

The Kaiju, still at the mouth of the harbour, had stopped. It almost looked as if it might turn and go back out to sea.

Terror Australis also stopped. It extended an arm, the hand palm up. Its fingers made a gesture: come and get it.

The Kaiju hesitated.

The Jaeger moved its fingers again. So that the middle one was pointing straight up.

The Kaiju gave a huge snarl.

"Charge the plasma cannon," said Eun over the radio. "And load the Woomera."

"Not this time, boss," said Beatrice.

"This time, we show this prick how we do things down Davenport way," said Dorothy.

Chuck laughed.

"Then go for it, girls," said Eun.

The Kaiju charged. So did the Jaeger – and it landed the first punch, right into the Kaiju's jaw. Teeth went flying into the water.

The Kaiju lashed out, whacking Terror Australis in the abdomen and driving it back several steps.

"Ha!" said Dorothy. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Our mum can hit harder than that!" said Beatrice. They punched the Kaiju again … and again … and again.

The Kaiju swung at the Jaeger. But Terror Australis took the hit and grabbed the Kaiju's arm. It swung the creature around and into the water. Before it could get up, the Jaeger was on it, punching. Blue blood began to flow.

The Kaiju pushed the Jaeger back and managed to get to its feet. It looked towards the open ocean – but now the Jaeger was between it and the harbour entrance.

It charged again. But Terror Australis grabbed it by the throat, and lifted it up with its left hand.

"Elbow jet!" cried Dorothy. The jet in the right arm activated, and the fist smashed into the Kaiju's face with incredible force. The Kaiju gave another howl – in pain, this time.

Terror Australis punched into its body, tearing layers of armour off. It thrust its hand into the exposed flesh, and tore a chunk away. There was a gush of blood.

"Finish it now," said Eun into the radio.

But Dorothy and Beatrice were not in a mood to end the fight. They continued to smash into the Kaiju.

"Gosh, you almost feel sorry for it," said Summers.

"Do all Australians like a fight this much?" said Alexis.

"More or less," said Chuck. "Damn, there's not going to be much left for Hannibal Chau and his boys."

Finally, the Kaiju was clearly dead. Terror Australis threw the body down. Then it lifted its huge arms into the air and gave a roar of victory.

Chuck said into the radio: "Guys, I think it's me who should be buying the beers tonight."

"And we will buy the vodka," said Sasha.

It was the next day. Eun was sitting in the helicopter bay, reading messages from Uluru Base on her laptop computer. The chopper that would take her and the others back to Australia was being prepped.

Summers came up to her. Despite the fact that they were inside, and the overhead doors were closed, she was wearing sunglasses. She sat down beside Eun, and gave a groan.

"Hangover?" said Eun to her.

Summers gave another groan.

Chuck joined them. "Quite a party last night, eh?" he said. "Chinese beer and Russian vodka, quite a kick in it."

"One way of putting it," said Summers. "Er, where are Dorothy and Beatrice? They're supposed to meet us here, I think."

"Haven't seen them since last night," said Chuck. "I saw them going off with two Chinese guys."

"Well, that's good," said Summers. "I guess."

"You know, I'm going to miss you guys," said Chuck.

"No, you won't," said Eun. "Because you're coming with us." She handed the laptop to Chuck. There was an email on the screen.

He read it. "Huh," he said. "So now I get to see if my dad and I are Drift-compatible."

"I'm sorry about your uncle," said Eun. "It just shows that there is only one thing that's certain in this business. Eventually."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But I've still got to give it a shot."

"Tell me," said Summers. "Does your father know about … your preferences?"

"If he didn't before, he will as soon as we're in each other's heads," said Chuck. "Don't think he'll care. Much."

Dorothy and Beatrice came up to them. They both had big smiles on their faces.

"Ready to go?" said Eun.

"Yes, but if you want to stay an extra day, we wouldn't mind," said Beatrice.

"Or even two days," said Dorothy.

"Sorry, we have duties at home," said Eun. "Especially as Lucky Punch was badly damaged in a fight yesterday."

Chuck handed them the laptop and they read the message.

"Then," said Dorothy, "let's go home."

END