Search Mission

"This place is the best. This is the thinnest place in this region," Raleigh radioed to the other Jaegers.

"Should we try grenades? At least one", a woman's voice was heard on the radio. It was one of the pilots of another Jaeger.

"We can try, but we still don't have enough shells to clear the road," Raleigh said, opening a hidden compartment on his leg and pulling out a grenade. After activating it, he threw the grenade with all his might towards the mountain of ice in front of them. Gipsy Danger hummed with a metallic sound as he threw, and the grenade flew forward quickly.

It was a sunny day and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Only beyond the ice mountains were black clouds. But it seems that the mountains prevented the clouds from spreading. The five Jaegers stood on the flat ice in front of the white mountains. These mountains were formed by the explosion of a meteorite and played the role of a wall that surrounded the continent.

BOOOM

When the grenade fell into the gap between the "dragon's teeth" (the mountains resembled dragon's teeth), there was an explosion and the ice immediately cracked.

KREECKK BOOM

One of the ice spikes, which was the size of a skyscraper, cracked and fell, piercing the ice and plunging into the ocean.

"Perfectly. Now this zone is unstable. We have to find another place," said Raleigh.

"Sorry," replied the author of the idea.

The five Jaegers continued along the mountains. After a few kilometers, they stopped and started working. They cut the ice into pieces and moved huge blocks of ice in an effort to clear the road.

Working with plasma cutters, they quickly moved forward. The mountains in front of them were shrinking, and a lot of ice debris was gathering around their work place. It was boring work, but no one complained.

"Okay, boys and girls. Keep going at the same pace and you'll be done by tomorrow. We have another task," said Raleigh.

"Good luck to you," answered the other Jaegers.

"Let's go, Mako. It's time to find our little turtle," Raleigh pressed a few buttons on the panel above his head and began to move the Jaeger, directing him towards the wall of ice.

"Are we going to climb up? Will the ice hold us?" Mako asked.

"Let's check."

Gipsy Danger approached one of the "teeth" of the ice and stuck the fingers of his left hand into it. Jaeger's thick metal fingers easily broke through the ice and went deep into it. Jaeger did the same with his right hand. The ice cracked and creaked as they began to pull themselves up.

"Shall we call the planes and just fly over the mountains?" For Mako, this method was easier and faster.

"Even if we fall, nothing will happen to us. The ice will play the role of a pillow."

"I don't care about this."

"I know, but isn't it cool? Feel like a climber. Look! We have already covered half of the way. A little more and we will rise to the top."

"Yes, but it's slow. What if Torterra needs our help and we need to hurry? What if all the Kaiju didn't die and he's out there fighting them by himself? These thick clouds prevent us from seeing clearly what is going on there."

"Then we don't have to worry any more. He will manage." For Raleigh, Torterra was unbeatable. The way he easily broke Kaiju's necks was too easy.

Every step their Jaeger took made the ice crack. After a few minutes, they climbed to the top. Pushing away from the ice, they got to their feet and a gap between two other "teeth" of ice opened in front of them.

The surface they were standing on was uneven and fragile, so they walked carefully. It was like an ice maze. Sometimes they went up, and sometimes they went down. These mountains were formed from all the ice that was in Antarctica, so they were big.

It took them several hours to cross the mountains. When they came out of the cleft between the mountains, a very strange sight opened before them.

There was no ice or water here. It was dry land that was slowly covered with ash. Here it was as dark as night, for thick black clouds covered the sky, and mountains of ice blocked the light from the low polar sun. Sometimes lightning flashed in the sky. But what surprised Raleigh and Mako was that the land was far away from them. It seemed that the land was lower than the ocean level. Which, in fact, was the case.

In some places, water was leaking from cracks in the mountain. It was ocean water trying to return to Antarctica, but the mountains prevented it. These streams of water formed beautiful waterfalls and rivers.

Despite the fact that a wave of fire passed here a few days ago, it was still very cold here.

"-55C. Is our Jaeger designed to work in such a climate?" Raleigh asked.

"Are you asking me?" Mako was shocked by this question.

"Yes… I know you've read all about our Jaeger. Oh, so we have hull heating? Never used it." Mako only had to mention the instructions to Gipsy before Raleigh started pressing the buttons on the panel. He read it in her mind.

"What am I to you, the Library? And you know everything I know, you're just too lazy to remember!" Mako said with fake indignation.

"What can I say? I fight well, but you have a better memory. Everyone has their own talents."

"But I have more victories in sparring. I fight well too!"

"Look! There's a path down there!" Raleigh quickly changed the subject.

Their Jaeger jumped down. Turning on the additional jet engines, he quickly began to slide down the mountains as if he were on skis. After making several jumps, he very skillfully moved down, changing paths. He glided along the rivers and sometimes took short runs. The ice cracked and the ground shook as the huge colossus descended the mountain quickly.

"You can hardly see anything here."

"We'll have to go looking at the monitors." The sensors scanned the area and displayed images of solid surfaces on the monitor.

The further they went, the lower the air temperature was. The ash continued to fall. Zero visibility forced them to focus exclusively on sensory indicators.

"There's a gap in the ground ahead," Mako said.

Coming closer, they stood on the edge of the crack and looked down. At the bottom of the fissure, they noticed a bright orange light from the lava.

"Let's try to jump over it."

Stepping back, Jaeger froze for a second and then started to run forward. When they were near the cliff, they turned on the engines and jumped. Having flown a hundred meters, they landed on the other side of the gorge.

"I think the further we go, the more cracks in the ground there will be," Raleigh frowned. They continued towards the center of what was once Antarctica.

"Raleigh. How do you think people will cope with this disaster?"

"What do you mean? Already done. It has already happened and people did not die out."

"Yes, but that's it for now. It was already difficult for people to live, and now even this. Many people lost their homes and jobs. The world has changed too fast. The ocean level rose and many of the world's largest cities flooded. And what's next? Famine? Working people give almost everything to the government, and the government divides it among the refugees. You know this can't go on for much longer.

There is a limit to what people can take. And... And soon it will be winter in the north. People will not be able to survive the winter without homes. Even if they survive, there will still be no work for them to feed themselves in the future. Many went to work on farms for food, but with today's technology, everything is done with tractors and combines, and there really isn't that much work."

There was silence after Mako's words. The Jaeger hummed and continued his movement in this realm of darkness and cold.

"Don't worry so much. That is what we are here for. When the ocean comes back here and fills this crater, then the ocean level will drop and people will be able to return to the cities. There will be a lot of work to restore everything, but modern houses are very strong and some water will not be able to destroy them. Life will soon be as it was before."

"Nothing will be like before..." Mako was sad.

The road to the place where the meteorite fell took almost a whole day. Due to the ash in the air, planes cannot fly here, so it was decided to send Jaeger. The ground here was cracked and uneven. There were both cracks in the ground filled with lava and sharp rocks. Sometimes Jaeger passed by active volcanoes that were constantly spewing lava.

"How do we find Torterra here? He can be anywhere. He could have fallen into a crack, or maybe he left here a long time ago." Mako doubted their mission. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"We need to eat something. We've been on our feet all day."

BDRRR

The sky was constantly thundering. Sometimes there were blue flashes and sometimes red. The ash in the clouds made strange lightning. From time to time, Raleigh and Mako experienced light earthquakes. The tectonic plates at this location were unstable, causing earthquakes. Fortunately for them, it was safe and warm to sit in the Jaeger. Disconnecting from the drift, they got their military rations to eat and sat down on the floor.

"What is your country of manufacture?" Raleigh asked.

Mako turned the military ration package over and read the label: "Canada."

"Take another one. This is have low protein."

"I don`t want. I like it."

"But this is food for princesses. There are only sweets! You must eat meat."

"Go away!"

"Here, take these canned."

"Phew! There is only fat, who can eat that?!"

"As you wish, but don't complain because until we find Torterra we won't stop again." Raleigh took a plastic fork-spoon (a spoon with teeth like a fork) from the bag and dipped it into a metal can with meat. Pulling out some white substance with a few brown pieces, he put the spoon in his mouth.

"Phew! You are like a pig. This food is definitely not good!"

"OK. Let's make a bet. If I get heart disease from cholesterol, then you win. But if you get diabetes from too much sweets, then I win."

"Agreement. The loser will grant one wish of the winner." Mako supported the idea.

"One wish? What wish? Any wish?" Raleigh was suspicious. He had many ideas in his head. `What wish could Mako offer?` She could even ask him to run naked around the Jaegers base.

"Yes. Any wish. Any one." Mako said with a big smile on her face.

Putting a fork-spoon into the canned food, Raleigh began to worry. He put his lunch on the floor and stood up. "I am looking for another ration. They say Polish or Australian are tasty and healthy."

Mako on the other hand continued to eat her ration. She diluted a special powder with hot water and got sweet colored water and drank it like tea. It seems she wasn't too concerned about diabetes or not afraid of her Jaeger colleague's wishes.

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