18:51 - Shatterdome, Hong Kong, 2026
Alright, you lot...Look...
It's been uh...Nearly been seven months since the clock was stopped. Seven months since we closed the breach. Seven months since we lost Pentecost...
Seven months since I lost my boy.
I know several of you have questions, even concerns, regarding my status as Marshall. I don't care if they're health concerns or whatever mental thing you think I've got. The simple fact of the matter is; we stopped the Kaiju coming through to our world. But we didn't stop the Kaiju. No way. I mean, crikey, we were lucky to even close the breach! But that's thanks to our research team. Geiszler & Gottlieb successfully drifted with the Kaiju hive-mind. And what they saw...What they experienced...Well, they told me everything they could about this...Other world. The masters of this world created the Kaiju directly beneath the breach. And that's where Gipsy Danger went off. The point is; she only destroyed that area. Our doctors told me it was only a little part of that world. It's a very good chance they're still alive, over there. And they'll be looking for revenge. Even though we kicked them square in the arse, I've got a feeling they won't take no for an answer. They're gonna try again. And we've gotta get the upper hand.
You all know Striker's record; eleven kills. Well, what if I were to tell you; one of those kills wasn't officially confirmed...? There was one...We detected it off the North coast of New Zealand; headed straight for Brisbane. My boy and I met it half-way. 'Axehead' we called it. Looked a bit like the one who stomped through San Francisco. But there was something immensely different about this one...The way it behaved. Obviously we know now about the hive-mind. It must've remembered us through previous Kaiju. They all must've done...But *this* one...Like it was fixated. We tried all our usual killing moves and all we got was a broken horn. Its life signs never went down. It just disappeared. Our comms were damaged, so when we got back, everyone thought it was another kill.
Like hell it was.
It's still out there...Probably part of the deep ocean ecosystem now; having a whale of a time. Probably actually having a few whales! And considering all the Kaiju that came after it and everything that's happened since...It knows the breach is gone. It's felt all the pain and defeat of all the other Kaiju...It'll be angry; stewing in its own rage in the deep black sea. But more importantly it'll know what's happening on its own world. It'll be in constant communication with its folks. We need to tap into that. If we do, we can find out exactly when and how they'll be trying to return. We'll also know what orders this lone soldier has been getting in the meantime.
And I think we know one or two of those orders, already. You'll have heard in the news that three oil tankers and two container ships disappeared beneath the Atlantic in the past few months. What you won't have heard is that none of them went down quietly. This bastard's gone to the other side of the world to cause maximum chaos without getting in harms way. So you'll understand if I've been a bit pissed off, lately.
And you'll understand why I had Crimson Typhoon's body fished out of Hong Kong harbour. No disrespect intended...But it's the second most intact Jaeger we've got. Coyote Tango, on the other hand, will soon be coming out of retirement with a radiation-shielding upgrade.
All you potential pilot candidates have got a second chance. We're going after the sneakiest, most dangerous Kaiju out there, so get ready.
- Marshall Hercules Hansen
((Many thanks for everyone concerned for Pacific Rim and NECA for another amazing figure! I tried to get a photo that captures a 'caught in the spotlight' moment for Axehead, adding to the whole 'one who got away' motif...Hopefully it's alright! ^^))
