[IC] The Jaeger Program (Always Open)

[Phloem]

Growing up in a dusty old town in rural Oklahoma, the Hong Kong Shatterdome was the last place Emmett ever expected himself to be. The man was a mechanical whiz, even from an early age. From mastering Erector Sets to modifying toy cars, Emmett just had a knack for wires and parts. His family, unfortunately, had little money. The only hope he had of ever getting into MIT was through a scholarship, and that dream of his quickly dissipated when he got rejected.

Briefly attempting to make an MMA career for himself, Emmett earned his "Southpaw" nickname for his tendency to lead with his left, but walked away with little else.That was when the PPDC stepped in to scoop him up. Brilliant, unknown, and desperate to get out of where he was; the perfect recruit. Stationed at the Los Angeles Shatterdome as a Jaeger engineer in the J-Tech division, he spent a good couple of years there, until the Jaeger program was shut down by the government in favour of building an allegedly Kaiju-proof wall. Before he knew it, the only fully-functional Shatterdome left was the one in Hong Kong.

And that was how Emmett found himself here in this windowless 10-by-10 room, flopped over on a creaky, old bed. Suffice to say, his internal clock was pretty messed up from arriving just two days ago. Right as he was about to doze off, a knock at the door startled him awake. Sitting up, he quickly pushed himself off the mattress and strode the short distance over to the heavy metal door. Pulling it open, Emmett blinked at the sight before him. Despite the fact that he stood a whole head taller than the lady at his door, he was suddenly overcome with something akin to awe. Mako Mori was standing in front of him. The Mako Mori. He'd heard so much about her that it almost seemed surreal that he was now meeting her in real life.

Snapping himself out of a daze, he awkwardly cleared his throat and tried his hand at a greeting. "Ma'am."

[Shadowcatcher]

Beckett looked at Jack when he came out. "You look ready. At ease." he said. "I can tell your uneasy and thats good. Better to be nervous now than in a fight with a Kaiju. Trust me, if you really have what it takes you dont have to worry about making a mistake. You wont." he shrugged his shoulders then and waited for Milo. He didnt mind waiting. It gave him a chance to breathe.

---

Mako accepted Emmett's hand. "My apoligies Mr. Hauser. We were delayed a notification of your arrival." she stepped back and wrote down his room number. 120. It was just down the hall from Iris's room...and speaking of Iris...

"If you are ready, we are having Jaeger candidate trials now. Please follow me." she said walking away. She led him to the training room and saw Iris sitting with her eyes closed. She gestured to her. "There she is. Good luck trying to impress her. I would stay but i am needed elsewhere." she gave him a smile and left, making herway to where the simulation would take plae.

---

Iris heard her mentor come into the room, likely with someone as she heard Mako talking.

Iris stayed quiet until she heard her leave then she opened her eyes. Before her was another man, older than her without a doubt as his appearance was of one who had survived alot. She held her head high as she called him over. "Hello there..." she looked at his folder. "Emmett Hauser." She stood and noticed he was also, like the others, quite taller than her. "My name us Iris Dvorak, and im here to see if you have the skills to be a Ranger. Shoes off and step forward, please." she added the please at the end hoping to show though she was in badass mode, she was polite enough to respect his age.

Iris was used to meeting other pilots and candidates older than her. She beat Marshall Beckett for the title of youngest Jaeger pilot to date. Since she was 10, she trained with Mako Mori and even after suffering a broken leg at 15, she became one at age 16, a year younger than the current Marshall. In the years before many people didnt take her seriously because if her age. Now 19, she had adopted her act of appearing more mature to avoid the laughter of candidates, who at the end she would beat to a pulp and then reject.

As she stepped up to him she raised his arms, looking at both. His muscle tone was good. She walked around him like she usually ded with her recruits. The physical attributes helped her form the idea of the best Jaeger for them, assuming they could pass the tests. "I need you to tell me why you want to be a Ranger. Convince me with words that you have what it takes..." she returned to the front of him and crossed her arms. "And, tell me what you would eat in any given day."

[Avanhelsing]

Jack needed to wait to calm himself down. Eventually he did and was looking around waiting for Milo to show up. Time was money if they were poaying them for waiting. It was odd it was taking Milo so long but he could wait for as long as it had to. He had never been good at small talk so he just stood there looking around quietly.

[Phloem]

Emmett simply nodded in agreement when Mako spoke to him about the basic training. Honestly, it was mostly because he didn't trust himself to speak, at the moment. "Star-struck" would probably the best word to be the best word to describe his current state. Pacing a few feet behind Mako, he soon found himself in the training room. His attention was immediately diverted to a young woman sitting along the benches at the side of the room. Emmett wasn't quite sure who she was, but he quickly found out from Mako. Apparently, she was going to be the one to decide whether he was fit to be a ranger or not.

Murmuring a quick thanks to Mako, Emmett made his way over to where the young lady from before now stood. When he got a closer look at her, he was more than a little surprised. If he had to guess, he'd wager that she was no older than Mako Mori herself. He managed to mask his surprise, however, and kept a neutral expression as they went through the customary introductions. Quickly taking off his shoes when instructed to, Emmett took a step forward.

All of a sudden, his arms were lifted and just as quickly dropped again. Chancing a quick glance over his shoulder, he watched as Iris circled him. Her eyes were scrutinising and Emmett couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. But this wasn't anything he was a stranger to. Back in his MMA days, his manager seemed to find a sick pleasure in screaming at him about how he wasn't bulking up enough after giving him a once-over much like this. Fixing his gaze straight ahead of him, he stayed like that until she was done with her inspection.

"I need you to tell me why you want to be a Ranger. Convince me with words that you have what it takes..."

Emmett wasn't really expecting there to be an interview portion to this, and he'd never been the most eloquent, either. A few moments passed as he thought up what he hoped was a good answer. And if it didn't get him in as a ranger, well... at least he did his best.

"Honestly? I guess I've just always wanted to be important, y'know? I didn't wanna spend every single day of my life fixing cars back home." Emmett began, making some sort of vague gesture with his hand to get his point across. He had a feeling he probably wasn't phrasing it as well as he could've, but you didn't need a silver tongue to pilot a jaeger. There was a short pause before he continued. "And I still don't. So if becoming a ranger means I'll be able to save lives and make a difference, I'm up for it."

"I've worked on a few of the jaegers here." Emmett wasn't really the bragging kind, but it wasn't bragging if someone asks you, right? Soon, he began talking about his in-depth knowledge of machinery, and his eyes seemed to light up. He knew a lot about how the inner machinations of the jaegers worked and how to use them to his full advantage. Well, theoretically, at least. Apart from his engineering knowledge, he also mentioned his amateur MMA background. He never really got anywhere significant with it, but he had a good number of wins under his belt. Technique and execution were his strong points.

"And, tell me what you would eat in any given day."

At this point, the conversation topic quickly took a sharp, screeching turn. But Emmett supposed it was important what his meals usually consisted of, since good health was one of the most basic requirements of a jaeger pilot. Back when he was a younger, he didn't really have the resources to eat healthy. But his previous job at the LA Shatterdome paid a decent wage. He definitely had a lot of protein in his diet; meat, fish, eggs, stuff like that. All of those usually came in the form of an overstuffed sandwich. Rattling off the list of foods he usually ate, Emmett casually left out the fact that he wasn't a huge fan of any kind of vegetables. Though he does force himself to choke down a serving of leafy greens every now and then.

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo came out, smelling a little bit like marijuana but nothing extremely strong, old habits die hard. "Alright sorry for that delay, was washing up some and lost track of time. Time to start?" He asked eager to begin

[Shadowcatcher]

Beckett nodded to Milo as he came out. "Better late than never." he said. "Follow me."

He turned and began walking to the the Shatterdome where the Jaegers were held. "I want you two to have a good look at those. One of them is going to belong to you if you do well on this test." he stood there for a moment, looking at his Jaeger Gypsy Danger and feeling an amazing sence of pride. He looked back at the men then and smiled. "No pressure though." with that he gestured for them to follow and he started walking towards the sim room. The room was large and there was a set of double doors that were open, people were inside setting up the Jaeger tech and collaborating the screen that replaced the window. "That right there is where you'll do your simulation. Inside you will find two heads of two Mark 3 Jaegers. We replaced the glass with a screen where you'll see the simulation. The rest of the gear is all the same. Movements will be the same. You'll feel everything a real Ranger feels, just without actually being in a Jaeger. By the time your done here, you'll likely know everything you need to about piloting."

He walked over to a cabinet that held various sized Ranger uniforms. Looking back at the two of them, he picked some that he knew would fit them. "Put these on over your clothes. The fit might be snug but thats how its supposed to be. Each of you will be doing the same simulation. 5 Kaiju, all category two, will simulate one by one. Each will be timed by five minutes. You have five minutes to either kill the Kaiju or keep it from damaging the city. If you choose not to kill it and simply prevent damage, that one will be scored on how much damage was caused to the city."

Beckett walked over to the com system. "From here i will talk to each of you and guide you through the simulation. To pass, you must kill either kill four out of the five, or protect the city successfully three times." he paused and thought. "There is nothing more i can tell you before you get into your gear. Lets set it up." he said.

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo put on the gear, forcing the helmet on with his beanie still refusing to take it off even with the right fit. "Ready," he said stepping into the Conn-pod. His pulse rising slightly, but his excitement dulled slightly due to his "earlier resting". He stepped inside prepared to go and as the process finished and the screen came on, his first thoughts and words technically in a Jaeger came out, "Round One- Bull fight"

[Avanhelsing]

Jack put his suit on his body and looked around.He got into the suit and looked around. He was ready to go and he clearly looked excited. "Alright. Ready to go." He said stepping into his pod. He had no idea how this would go.

[Shadowcatcher]

The two men appeared ready to go as they both walked into their respective pods. Helpers came in and attached various chords to their bodies, simply going through the motions of what they would do in a real situation. "Alright. Choi, initiate Simulation Sequence." Beckett said.

"Kaiju Simulation Fight Sequence 1 of 5, up and ready to go." Choi said.

"Alrighty boys. Let's see how you do." he reached forward and pushed the red button on the panel.

The sequence started and the locks of the feet moved in to connect to the metal shoes the had stepped into. The lights in each pod came on and slowly, the doors behind them closed. Two control disks rose up into the hands of each of them and the pod rumbled, simulatiing the sensation of being dropped into a Jaeger. Noises were heard and the screens came on, showing they were already outside. If they were to turn, they would see the entire form of Hong Kong city behind them.

"Alright. You have thirty seconds until Kaiju contact. Look over the buttons in the pod. Their all labeled so I wont go through the trouble explaining them. Remember what Iris told you during your matched. Remember that your control disks are there to initiate plasma guns and move the arms of your Jaegers. When you move your legs, it will move with you, when your hit you will feel a rumbling other than pain. Remember that the one thing this cannot simulate is the drift. In real time you feel the pain of your Jaeger." he stopped talking and let them get acquainted to the feel of it. He noted he had said "Remember" quite a lot when really, they wouldn't know half the stuff he had said. This was going to be all just feeling their way through.

"15 seconds." he said. Knowing that the blue glow of the Kaiju was going to be approaching them soon.

[Avanhelsing]

Jack turned around and looked at the the city around him. He was ready for this. He grabbed the control disk and walked a bit. He knew he was suppose to get the Kaiju in the sea."We are allowed to work together right? So Milo and I could work as a team to kill it or are we in a different simulation?" He asked out loud getting ready to face the Kaiju. if they were in the same on team work would work well.

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo did quick scans ready for a Kaiju to come from anywhere. "Wait, what's my weapon set-up?" Milo quickly looked around to see anything to tell.

[Shadowcatcher]

Beckett said in the mic. "You two are in there together both of you will see the same thing. Seperate Jaegers helps with seperate grading. Milo, look in front of you, a rectangular bar shows your wepons. The highlighted one shows what your currently using. " As he finished speaking, the Kaiju burst out of the water and let out a loud howl. It was the one that hit Hashirama, Japan 12 years prior. It wasted no time charging at them to attack.

[Avanhelsing]

He knew what he had to do. Keep the Kaiju entertained by that he meant keep it busy and away form Hong Kong. "Milo. I know we should be competing but team work will serve us better. We need to keep it out of Hong Kong and kill it quickly. I have an idea. We tag team it. Keep wailing on it till it dies. " He said not sounding nervous anymore. He waited till the Kaiju was close enough to him and punched it with an uppercut. He figured that would keep it back.

[Shadowcatcher]

~Back to Iris and Emmett~

Iris casually listened to Emmett speak. She did not interrupt him, actually findung herself interested in what he was saying. Her arms still crossed, she looked at him for a moment before she spoke.

"Becoming a Ranger means you get a chance at a new kind of life. No one is ever always happy at what they do, but i know you understand that. A Ranger needs ro have one purpose: to protect the lives of the innocent. While your here, it is best to keep yourself occupied, else you may find yourself still wishing for more. " she paused and raised her hands up to pull her hair back into a ponytail. "If you pass the tests and become a Jaeger pilot, i promise to help you get into the repairing team we have here. We could use you and it should keep you busy. Second...remind me to give you my green juice recepie. I assume you dont like veggies. I am the same, but you will be surprised at how much it helps." Walking to the side of the room, she knelt down and pulled out a crate. Inside were two sets of kickboxing gloves which she took out.

"That said, you told me you did MMA for a bit? I'm no pro but i think a kickboxing match might be the best kind of match for us to do." she handed him a pair.

Putting hers on she said to him. "This wont be a test of how hard you can hit, i'm looking for form, balance, thinking, defence, etc. Show me how you fight and at the same time, watch how i move. Adapt and do not fall for the same tricks twice." she smiled at him then. "And i promise no cheap nut shots if you swear not to break me, i'm a little sore today." With that she took some steps back and prepared herself.

Raising her arms to about chin level, she said. "When you are ready. Take the first shot."

[PhoenixEye9]

"I got ya man," Milo said back. He looked around didn't do any backwards scanning he knew they'd be coming from ahead not behind and he doesn't need to admire a city he saw before coming into the country

[Avanhelsing]

The Kaiju was pissed off now. The punch slammed it into the sea. Once it got up it decided this time to charge Milo and his Jaeger. "Heads up, dude. The wee beasty looks pissed off." Jack said chasing after the creature. It would teach Milo before he would get to it. "Try to hold it down or something. If we kill it now we get more points for killing it at sea. Read that while I was waiting." He said to Milo.

[PhoenixEye9]

"Alright sweet," He said charging towards the Kaiju hitting with a Sweet Chin Music . "Your move now I believe" Milo spoke his inner smartass clearly coming out, with a smile

[Avanhelsing]

"No need to show off Milo. Simple moves are always best. Or shooting it. " He said as he powered up his plasma cannon. "No need to torture the thing." He said grabbing the Kaiju and slamming it back into the sea with a thud and a punch. This was easy. "Let's end this soon. We still have four more to go..." Jack said stopping his cannon. Might as well let Milo get the kill. If he wanted it. Jack picked the Kaiju up and managed to hold it for a bit to allow Milo to kill it.

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo turned to the computer to double check sting blades were on his left arm, "Alright, 1st verse," he said jabbing the Kaiju 3 times before hitting it into the throat killing it. "Ready for round two?" he asked turning to see the second coming towards them, activating the chain sword on his right arm.

[Avanhelsing]

Jack nodded. "Second verse same as the first." He said and they got in the same pattern. One would distract and the other would kill it. Eventually they had killed all five of them. They each got a few good kills. The last was was a team kill. He and Milo did seem to work well together. "All right, boss. Are we done? Five for five. " He said sounding oddly proud of their kills.