[IC] The Jaeger Program (Always Open)

[Avanhelsing]

Jack nodded. It was a bit odd that she and Josh were already going on dates but he was in the mood for this. Nightclubs were crazy places. He loved crazy places. "I would love to go! It will be fun!" He said smiling at her. "So when do we have training anytime soon. Might have a bit of challenge trying to pilot it." He said shrugging slightly He was so going to have fun tonight. Didn't matter who he just was gonna have fun.

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo took the hit, his laughing cut out certainly. "Dont like seeing a recruit happy," he asked a little hurt that she didnt enjoy his happiness.

"Either way, night out sounds fun."

[Shadowcatcher]

"I enjoy seeing you upset." she said to Milo jokingly, with a smile. Looking to Jack she said "Well we can do training tomorrow if we're not too hung over." she said leaning against the wall. "Oh and i forgot to mention. You two need to talk to Marshall about getting sized for your Ranger jackets. Its really not official until you have one. " she paused then, thinking she'd be the only one unfortunate enough to have two.

She kept her expressions neutral as she thought about that last part. "Um...where do you all want to meet up? My room at 8?" she checked her watch. It was just after 2 pm. That sounded reasonable in her mind. She could get done what she needed to in that time.

[PhoenixEye9]

"Alright sounds good, I'm gonna go trying to convince the tech team to hook in a sound system. Enjoy" He said turning and throwing his hand in the air

[Avanhelsing]

Jack looked around. He had no idea what to do right now. "Uhh what should do now? Go get the jackets now? "He asked slightly confused as to what they should do.

[Shadowcatcher]

"I dont care what you do, really. But i have some stuff to take care of. See ya!" Iris said jogging off, heading to the simulation room. She took a shortcut through the sleeping quarters and paused when she went past an all too familiar door. Walking backwards, she looked at the door number. 100... that was Leonardo's room. With a sad sigh, she pushed open the door and walked inside.

There was nothing unusual about it. It looked the same way she remembered since the last time she was in here.

She noticed his Ranger jacket hung on the back side of his door. She could see the words "Iron Hunter" written across the back. She took it off the hook and slid it on, it was a bit too big for her like she'd expected, but it smelled like him. It was so familiar...

With another sigh she decided to keep the jacket, no matter how big it was. Leaving everything else untouched, she left heading again to the sim room. She kepf her expression neutral as she shoved her hands into the pockets of his jacket. She felt something and pulled them out. They were his leather gloves he often wore. Slipping them on, she was surprised they fit alright. They showed her fingers, just stopping before her knuckles on each digit. She smiled then, thinking about her friend.

It had only been a day but, Iris was sure she wouldn't cry about him. He was still there in her mind, he would always be there.

[CallaLily180]

Molly sighed and turned to leave the room, this is the time of her crash. All sugar highs had a crash to end them. With a small and steady giggle she started to move sluggishly to her room. Why was she feeling so bad? Oh my. What have I gotten into today? I feel like a woman high on bad alcohol...mm. I need to rest. She thought s she continued on her slow walk to her room.

[Garrison]

Josh was now fully suited up in the signature Jaeger Pilot uniform. Just wearing it was an honor to him, and his parents. "I'll make you both proud." he thought to himself, envisioning his mother and father. He now waited patiently for miss Mori to return to begin the simulation. There was no way to know just how real the simulation would be but he'd take it serious no matter what.

[Shadowcatcher]

Iris had been sidetracked by her thoughts and had completely forgotten about Joshua's simulation. Hurrying over there, she spotted him and Mako getting ready to start it up.

"Miss Mori!" she said walking over and giving a bow. Mako had returned the gesture and clutched her clipboard tightly. "Hello Iris. I showed Emmet to his Jaeger, i'm sure he is really excited to have the one you chose for him." she said with a smile.

"Thats great. Well, you can take a break now, i'll take over from here if thats okay with you." Iris said.

"That is acceptable." she said, turning. "I'll leave it to you then."

As she started to leave, Iris remembered. "Oh, Mako, i'm planning a little get together with all the Rangers tonight, did you and Marshall want to join us?" Mako gave her a questioning look. She knew Iris had something more fun planned, and she was unsure if getting involved would be the best move. She hesitated, thinking it over.

"Oh, and did i mention, Joshua here is paying for everyone." she added, pointing to Josh over her shoulder with her thumb. That seemed to be the little push her mentor needed. "In that case, yes. I'd love to come. I'll tell Raleigh." With a smile she left and Iris turned to Joshua. "So...you ready to get started?"

[Garrison]

Josh was pleased to see that Iris was here, unsure if it was out of the kindness of her heart or her obligation. Either way, it was still a pleasant surprise. He heard her talking to Mako and mentioned he'd be buying, he did his best to pretend he didn't hear that comment and adjusted his bracer and gloves. "I believe so." he replied, acting as if he now heard her speak. He walked through the security door and into the cockpit of the simulator and got himself strapped in. The lights dimmed and only the essential ones remained active. This was officially the closest to being in a Jaeger he'd ever been. It was exhilarating. Josh maintained his composure and didn't let it overwhelm his senses. He'd need to be focused in order to get through this last test before he too could be called a Ranger.

[Shadowcatcher]

With a nod, Iris went to the control panel and looked around.

"Where the hell is tendo Choi?" she called.

"Right here, calm down." he said casually walking in.

"Okay, lets get this done. Start it up."

After a few minutes of waiting until the engineers got Josh situated in the pod, she slowly saw them come out one by one, and the doors closed behind them.

"Kaiju Simulation Fight Sequence 1 of 5, up and ready to go." Choi said once they stepped away a bit.

"Initiate." she said stepping up to the mic to talk to Josh. "Hey Josh, if you can hear me. We just started it up. In about 45 seconds, 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. To pass, you must either kill four out of the five, or protect the city successfully three times. Easy as pie. I'll leave you to it, and if i see any mistakes, i'll let you know. Make sure you familiarize yourself with all your wepons in there, they're all labeled."

She crossed her arms and watched the screen that showed her exactly what Josh was seeing. This was pretty exciting, watching a candidate go through simulation was an amazing oppourtunity. It fascinated her how one could go in knowing little to nothing about fighting in a Jaeger, but when you came out of that pod, suddenly you feel like you do, and you can do anything. She smiled as she remembered her first sim test. It had gone horrible, but the second time around she kicked Kaiju ass like never before. Her foot tapped te ground as she started to see the faint blue glow of the approaching beast.

(Okay, there you go Garrison. Have fun writing your battle! I look forward to reading it soon!)

[C W St J Nobbs]

He had found the cafeteria eventually and ate his first meal back in the Shatterdome alone, which didn't really bother him too much. He got directions to his room after his meal, expecting to read and go to sleep early to counteract the jet lag, but none of his things had been moved in yet except for his carry on bag, which was stuffed with clothes, toiletries and The Doors of Perception which he had read twice on the flight over. He enjoyed the collection of essays, but twice in what Vladimir considered to be the same day was too much.

He left his room and began roaming down the labyrinthine hallways without a particular destination in mind. He considered going back to the Jaeger bay, but figured he should probably try to get a gauge on his fellow Rangers. He knew Molly and Iris well enough, but they probably wouldn't have called him back if they were confident of who they had now. He saw Mako stepping out of a doorway ahead and start walking down the hallway away from him.

'She usually only goes into important rooms,' he thought to himself 'I bet there are other Rangers in that room.'

He poked his head into the room and saw this is where the simulations were being monitored from. Whoever was in the sim now was just staring ahead, waiting for the Kaiju to start spawning.

“So who is it?” he asked nobody specific as he stepped into the room.

[Garrison]

OOC: You didn't specify anything about what weapons we can have so I'm improvising.

Josh assumed the guise of the Jaeger, even though it was technically the first time he'd been in a Jaeger, whether it was a simulation or the real thing was indistinguishable. He looked down at his hands and slowly made fist's, it was a spectacular sensation. The blue glow of the incoming Kaiju was drawing closer and closer while he stood on the outskirts of the town by the pier. He snapped out of his drooling session and focused on the incoming threat. Josh snatched up the largest vehicle he could find with his right hand, a cement truck, and then leaped into the ocean to head off the beast. It looked a lot like a hammerhead shark in appearance, perhaps one that had mixed with a gorilla. It dove deep into the water before shooting up out of the water like an explosion. It's claws and jaws all bearing down on Josh.

"Unpredictable." Josh heard Iris's voice in his head, a brief memory from their training. It gave him an idea though. As he just reached the optimal range, he dropped to his knees and allowed his body to sink into the ocean. Now, in this instance, the Kaiju was mere moments away from being directly over head of him with his right hand primed. He then shot his arm upwards for a devastating upper cut, the cement truck adding some pressure to the punch. It exploded upon contact, nothing dramatic as their wouldn't be much fuel in it anyway. The Kaiju was temporarily stunned and fell into the water but perhaps that was a rouse because it's glow started to swerve in the ocean before diving out of view. "Come out and fight me you little bastard." he mumbled, scanning the area with the powerful lights on the shoulder of the Jaeger.

Josh was now standing, to get a better look of the ocean, he suddenly felt something around his ankle pull him under. The Kaiju had used it's tail to pulled him down and into a trench. There was no worry of pressure damage from this depth but being trapped underwater wasn't in his favor, especially with what seemed to be an aquatic natured Kaiju. It swerved in the water with great ease before turning round and gunning right for him. Josh had to think fast and luckily came up with a plan that seemed solid enough. He raised his hands in a criss cross manor, almost as if to block but just before impact would occur. Long blades shot out from the forearm on both arms and he pushed forward. The Kaiju's momentum and his pushing force carved the creature into 4 halves.

The sliced chunks drifted past him and rested on the ocean floor just beyond him. He retracted the blades and made his way back to higher elevation. Just as he managed to get half his body out of the water, a Kaiju that resembled that of a Pterodactyl swooped in and landed on his shoulders. Digging it's powerful talons deep into his metal body. This damage was of course reflected in Josh's body, he screamed in pain but did his best to fight back. He quickly move his hands up to grab it's thin legs firmly and began to squeeze. The skin of a Kaiju was thick, their muscle sturdy and their bones nearly unbreakable but he was able to deal enough damage to the slender legs of the beast for it to loosen it's grip on him. Just then, it started flap it's wing's violently and did it's best to usher Josh towards the city.

"I don't think so." he managed to speak over the pain surging through his shoulder blades. Josh released his arm blade again and swung over his head to cleave the creature but it released him and managed to be just out of reach. They were back near the pier at this point, Josh refused to let it get to the city so he glanced around at what was closest. A boat load of shipping containers, literally. He grabbed a handful and hurled them at the airborne beast, none of which connected. "Alright then." he muttered, not wanting to cause this much collateral damage during his defense of the city but not seeing another choice. He grabbed the boat by it's side and spun around to build momentum before releasing the massive ship and all it's contents towards the cocky Kaiju. It was flying just out of his reach which made it difficult to escape the boat clipping it's wing and bring it down to the water.

Josh couldn't allow it to get airborne again so he darted towards it and jump towards it. It was fighting to get up when he came crashing down on top of it. Josh quickly grabbed it's neck and gave it a couple strong rights. These wouldn't be enough to kill it but they were enough to unbalance the creature long enough for him to adjust his hands to now be grasping both upper and lower jaws. The Kaiju panicked and started thrashing violently, it's wings had some sort of talon on it' ridge, these managed to catch Josh's midsection but this only motivated him to pulled as hard as he could to separate it's lower jaw from it's head. It screamed in it's menacing and pained roar, fumbling around for a moment before nearly falling under the water. This could be perceived as a victory to some, but not Josh, he wanted to make sure it died. He raised his foot and stomped the head of the Kaiju down into the ocean floor below them. Holding it there.

Josh stood there for at least a minute before he was convinced the Kaiju was completely dead. He let out a sigh of relief in happiness but it was short lived because the final three Kaiju appeared all at once. They were on the attack before he really had a chance to identify them, he preferred to see what kind of creature they resembled so as to forge an attack plan but they weren't giving him that luxury. Before he knew what hit him, he was on his back in the water with several beastly fist's and sharp claws bearing down on him. Josh screamed in pain as nearly every part of him was struck. "This...can't be...the end!" he yelled, activating his chest canon barrage. The plate over his chest separated and multiple canons rose slightly. Then, like the saving grace they were, they all fired at once.

With the Kaiju so close to him, the explosions only amplified each following rocket. Unfortunately, the damage from their attack and his own, cost him severely. Their bodies absorbed most of the damaged but it also reflected enough back at him to scorch his outer areas. The only thing that helped mitigate the damage was the rushing ocean over his body. The Kaiju had backed off for the moment, rocked by the multiple explosions but definitely not down for the count. Now was the only opportunity he was going to get, it was now or never. He mustered all his strength and forced himself up, pushing through the pain. He deployed his arm blades and with extreme prejudice, he hacked away at the nearest one. Not caring what creature they resembled, only knowing that his blades would carve them to bits.

After several slashes that left the Kaiju nearly dead, he made sure to end it with a stab through the brain that penetrated deep into it's chest. He withdrew from the beast, it's blue blood splattering across the ocean as he turned to take down the next one. It had already jumped at him, he didn't have time to make a solid counter so he did the next best thing. He fell backwards and let it fall onto his blades, they burst through it and out the back of the Kaiju. He rotated his wrist's from left to right a couple times for good measure, to inflict the most damage. He rolled to his side and pushed it off of him. His breathing was heavy, he made it to one knee before the last Kaiju tackled him. It dug it's teeth into his left shoulder area, missing his neck by what would be inches on the human body.

Josh cringed and yelled at the pain, managing to push the beast off with it's own momentum from the tackle and simultaneously brought his right blade around to meet with the top the Kaiju's skull. The part of the head from the mouth up, was now separated from it's body and the entirety of it's being fell into the ocean. Josh now rose to a full stance, retracting the blades for the last time. Sparks illuminated the dark sky and black ocean, he was banged up pretty bad but at least he still had all his limbs. The following simulations went similar to this one, only varying in minor details. Just as he exhaled deeply, the simulation faded out and he could now see the inner room like it was before. All the lights were back on and the mount that held him in place adjusted so he could be released. "That was for you mom, for you dad." he said quietly with a much needed sigh as he approached Iris in the control room.

[Shadowcatcher]

Iris watched as Josh went through simulation. With each Kaiju he took down, she was reminded more and more of Leonardo. The way they moved was very similar, so familiar to her it was, but different at the same time. As he finished and was helped out, she made her decision as to which Jaeger was the best for him. It was a moment later she realized that he was staring at her, and her at him. She raised her brow trying to seem nonchalant as her face started to turn red. Clearing her throat, she spoke, breaking the unwanted silence.

"Oh, um, hey." Ugh that was a stupid thing to say, try again. "Um...you did great in there. Your officialy a Ranger now!" she said smiling and raising her arms up above her head. Yeah...much better Iris.

She turned slightly then and said "I'll show you to your Jaeger." With a gesture with her head to follow, Iris turned and started walking to the Jaeger bay. She didn't say much on the way, she was still trying to figure out exactly what emotion she was feeling. It was wierd...like, really weird. It kinda freaked her out.

The walk seemed unnaturally long, but when they arrived, she let out a quiet sigh of relif. Saying hi to a few passerbys gave her a reason to not talk much until the reached the Australian made Jaeger.

"This...is Slayer. He's all yours now. Not the toughest Jaeger of the singles but the only one with a certain unique skill." she pointed to the back of it where a set of wings was attached. "This big guy has advanced flight capabilities. Along with the standard cannon and missle attachments, the wings serve two purposes, one of which is obvious, and the other is their detachable quality. Should you have no other resources, theres a switch in the head that detaches the two. One becomes a sword, the other a shield. Notice how they are made slightly different?" she paused. Part of her envied the single pilots. She always wanted a Jaeger to call her own, but she was Russian. She didnt fuss about those kinds of things.

"So. What do you think? Pretty cool huh?"

[Garrison]

"Cool? It's bloody awesome." he said with a smile. He felt the urge to hug her but right as he realized it was showing, he turned around and put his hand on the Jaeger. His Jaeger. He cleared his throat before speaking. "So I guess I did alright then, during the simulation. Looking back now, I guess I was fairly silly screaming like that. I didn't suffer any nerve damage." he said, trying to steer the conversation away from anything too mushy. He felt like Iris may be feeling weird right now, after loosing Leo not that long ago. He shouldn't be jumping into her life or making her feel uncomfortable. That's not a healthy working relationship and everyone here needed to be on point and one cohesive unit. It was their job to succeed when everyone else failed, at least that's how Josh took it. "Oh, and when is our night out. Now that I'm an official Ranger." he finished with a wide smile.

[Shadowcatcher]

She hugged herself, smiling at her friend. "Everyone's going to meet up at my room. Room 114. 8 oclock. Dress uh...nice, but not suit and tie, ya know?" Iris said. She was happy he liked the Jaeger she picked for him. She was sure it would be a good pairing.

"Well, i'm going to go find Molly and Vic. See you at 8." she said, winking and waving before walking away from him. She headed to her room, assuming she'd find Molly there but didn't. There was a note on the bed.

Moved across the hall for your privacy. :3

Iris sighed and tossed the note before going across the hall and banging on the door. She wasent even sure Molly was in there.

[CallaLily180]

Molly heard banging on her door, with a wide smile and small groan she stopped her cleaning and looked over her room. Everything was practically sparkling but she was so bored she wanted to continue until it was a diamond. Maybe she could finish afterwards, maybe she would stop cleaning and just collapse on her stupid bed for awhile. The stupid bed she had spent half an hour working on.

"Yes?" She asked as she opened the door to find a most likely angry Iris. Her smile grew even brighter and her eyes twinkled. "Ooh, hello there Iris. What are you doing in my humble abode? Did you get the note I left you? Funny eh? I assure it was for the best." She giggled and sat down on the edge of the bed. Then she got up and went over to one of her closets. Opening it she revealed a nice collection of dresses, ranging from cocktail to ball.

[Shadowcatcher]

Iris frowned at Molly when the door was swung open and her friend smiled down at her.

"Yes i got your note." she said walking in and looking around. "It was a stupid idea for you to leave, but its okay. At least your close so i can find you if i... need you." her expression became vulnerable for a moment then returned to its normal look afterwards. "I wanted to let you know, we're...as in all the Rangers...are having a night out today. Its mandatory because i said so." she stated, hands on her hips. She watched as Molly went to look in her closet, nearly drooling at the beautiful dresses it contained. "Um...anyway, its not formal or anything, just look your best. We are gonna grab a bite then head to a club. In other words, wear something that'll make you look sexier with a hangover." she laughed then and turned to leave. "We're meeting up at my room at 8 so dont be late." she said. Iris wasent worried about it though. Molly was aware of Iris's pet peeve of tardiness. With another smile and a wave, she left and went back to her room.

She got two sticky notes and wrote a message out for Emmett and Vladimir, the two she didnt remember telling about the get together. She wrote down the time and place, to wear nice but casual clothes, and to seal the deal: Josh was paying. With a smirk she walked to their rooms and put each sticky note outside their doors before returning to her room.

---

Iris was waiting, sitting on her bed, dressed up in a simple black dress with her hair down. Her trench coat hung on the door and she made a mental note to grab it in case it was cold. It was about 7:45 and after staring at her closet for nearly two hours before picking a dress, she seemed very proud of herself. She felt a bit conscious of the scars on her left arm and leg. The tattoos covered them a bit, but they were very noticeable. With a sigh, she lay back on her bed and closed her eyes. She would be patient until exactly 8:00. Then she would rage on anyone who came late. Hopefully she wouldn't have to. She didnt feel like getting violent this early in the night.

[Avanhelsing]

Jack figured he should head to Iris' room. This little outing was rather important he thought. He had to make sure everything went perfect. He grabbed a tight fitting white polo shirt and jeans. It was his usual outfit. He had even combed his hair to get it under control. It showed off his looks which he figured would help things. He walked out the door and then arrived at Iris' door. It was 7:48. He was early. "Hey Iris. Just figured I should be early. " He said before she opened the door. "Wow. You look amazing! I mean it. This is going to be a lot if fun. " Jack said leaning against the door.

[Shadowcatcher]

Iris blushed when he complimented her. He looked great too, really great. Why was this guy even a Ranger? He should be a model. A very sexy model. Or maybe a porn st- WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING!? she screamed at herself in her head, stopping her thoughts right there. Her face got hot and she turned to lead him inside. She turned to him nonchalantly and said "You look really good too." she crossed her arms. "We might just be the hottest Ranger team ever." she said jokingly with a laugh.

"And the most dangerous." she said making a fist. "I hope you have fun with everyone tonight. Afterward, we have a lot of training to do. ....Have you been out in the city yet?"