Shatterdome

Six in the evening.

X Harbor District, Jaeger headquarters, code name: Shatterdome Base.

The black helicopter carrying the three men and their guards arrived above the massive base's harbor.

"This base looks bigger than the ones we used to have elsewhere," Raleigh said, his eyes flickering with nostalgia as he looked through the helicopter window at the sprawling base below, with its futuristic, wasteland aesthetic.

The weather here was overcast too. Heavy raindrops fell from the sky, striking the helicopter windows and leaving trails down the glass.

The base backed onto a mountain and faced the sea. Six steel gates stood along the harbor for Jaegers to enter and exit. Above and behind those gates lay a broad platform where aircraft carrying base personnel could land. Farther back, a passage led straight into the mountain, where the base itself lay hidden.

Even from above, a single glance at the weathered base conveyed its overwhelming grandeur.

This base brought together countless examples of humanity's cutting-edge technology. It was also humanity's final line of defense against the invaders in this apocalypse.

"Do you have harbors like this back home?" Raleigh casually asked Natsuki. Now that he had confirmed Natsuki really was an alien, he was even more curious about his home.

"Something similar."

"Bigger than this, though they're usually used to receive spacecraft from other civilizations."

"It's called the Ultra Spaceport. It's iridescent," Natsuki replied, glancing through the helicopter window at the base below.

"Iridescent?"

"That's a strange color scheme." Raleigh raised his eyebrows. He tried to picture an iridescent building, but no matter how he imagined it, it didn't seem to fit with technology. Perhaps aliens simply had their own unique aesthetic.

The helicopter settled onto the landing pad.

The cabin door opened.

Night had not fully fallen yet, but the overcast weather left everything looking gray.

The moment they caught the damp scent in the air, they knew they had reached their destination.

Marshal Stacker stepped out first to lead the two men. "Come along, gentlemen."

They descended the steps beneath the cabin door and set foot on the wet landing pad.

Looking around, they saw large numbers of busy personnel moving sealed cargo. Some containers were transparent, revealing pieces of kaiju tissue inside.

Ahead stood a woman in a black coat, holding a black umbrella. The ends of her short black hair were streaked with blue, and her delicate features suggested Japanese ancestry.

Mako Mori.

The three men opened their umbrellas as well and walked forward through the rain.

"This is Mako Mori, a key member of Shatterdome Base. Much of our Jaeger maintenance is carried out under her supervision," Marshal Stacker said, introducing her to the two men as he approached.

"And, Raleigh, she's also responsible for selecting your copilot."

Both men studied Mako Mori.

But after one glance to memorize her appearance, Natsuki shifted his attention to the base buildings behind her, seemingly more interested in the base itself.

Raleigh, on the other hand, found his gaze riveted to Mako Mori the instant he saw her.

It wasn't just her appearance. He also sensed something he couldn't put into words, a feeling that came from the soul.

It was as though they could understand each other without exchanging a single word.

A harmony between souls.

"You two make a good match." Natsuki had been examining the sealed kaiju organs nearby. When he turned back and found Raleigh and Mako Mori communicating through their gazes, he couldn't resist teasing them with a smile.

"Ah..." Hearing Natsuki, the pair belatedly looked away. Raleigh even let out an awkward murmur.

Neither noticed that Marshal Stacker's expression behind them had grown darker still.

"You must be the honored guest the marshal mentioned." Mako Mori reacted quickly. She smoothed the ends of her hair with one hand, replacing her expression with a polite smile as she addressed Natsuki.

While aboard the helicopter, Marshal Stacker had already sent word to the base that an honored guest would be arriving.

"Just call me Natsuki." Seeing her shift to business, Natsuki smiled faintly and nodded. If she treated him with respect, he would return the courtesy.

"Please follow me."

Mako Mori exchanged a glance and a nod with Marshal Stacker, then turned toward the base's outer passage to lead them inside.

Before long, they stepped into an elevator leading underground.

Amid the hum of machinery, Marshal Stacker began to speak.

"A few years ago, countries around the world had plenty of bases like this."

"But after the Jaeger Program was suspended and the United Nations diverted funding to the Wall of Life project, the bases were abandoned one after another."

"Now, Shatterdome Base is the last Jaeger base in the world."

As he spoke, the elevator came to a stop.

The four of them passed through a long corridor lined with steel pipes and reached a large door.

The door opened, and bright light spilled out.

Before them lay an immense underground space packed with mechanical piping and structural frameworks. Several enormous Jaegers stood secured in place along the walls, while countless maintenance workers tended to them with tools in hand.

Large numbers of technicians also emerged from a door on the other side, discussing their upcoming tasks as they crossed the main floor of this Jaeger hangar.

This was the busiest place in the entire base, and one that perfectly embodied the romance of science fiction.

The Jaeger hangar.

No man could resist the sight before them.

"Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon, Eureka Striker... and Gipsy Danger." After stepping through the doorway, Marshal Stacker stopped and looked up at the four towering, magnificent Jaegers, naming them in a low voice.

"After our funding was cut and we went from a military organization to a private one, these became the only four Jaegers I had left."

At those words,

Raleigh immediately frowned. "Only four Jaegers left?"

"I remember... we used to have more than twenty Jaegers."

Before Raleigh retired, over twenty Jaegers had been stationed across various countries, ready to respond to kaiju attacks at any moment.

Back then, people had still been full of confidence that they could wipe out the kaiju.

"Thirty at our peak," Marshal Stacker corrected him.

A trace of sorrow crossed his face as well.

"But that's all in the past."

"The reality is far worse than you imagine."

From thirty Jaegers to just four. Only they knew what they had endured over those years.

"I... I didn't realize things were this bad." A pang of guilt rose in Raleigh's heart. He had actually hesitated over whether to help Marshal Stacker.

"Exactly. That's why our next plan has to succeed. Failure isn't an option." As he spoke, Marshal Stacker looked at Mako Mori.

"Show Raleigh around the base, then take him to see the Jaeger he used to pilot."

"Mr. Natsuki and I have something to discuss."

"Understood." Mako Mori nodded.