"Professor Ikari," the man himself speaks over the intercom. "How much longer until the new recruit is ready for a show?"
Mako slams her fist against the speaker button and talks while trying not to breathe, not an easy task. "I'm just about to begin Gideon."
"That's not what I asked Mako," Pryke's tone is one of slight disapproval.
She sighs and coughs, "Two hours, maybe. Its size is the factor we're not sure about. Could be longer."
There are seconds of static before Pryke answers, "Get it done ASAP...Please."
The decontamination finishes with high-powered fans sucking up the excess mist, the sudden gust of wind blows her hair around and Mako giggles as the door slides open and she walks into her home away from home. Asset Containment.
#
"Should have learned from Uncle Walt," Gideon Pryke mumbles as he stands on the edge of the long wide pier. The island has two docks; the southern one is the smaller of the two and is used for loading and unloading cargo, assets and personnel. The one he stands on is three times the size and has only one purpose, load and unload the guests.
He squints and looks up at the sky, his Panama hat helping to keep the sun out of his eyes. All his life Pryke has wanted to beat his childhood idol, Walt Disney. Both his parents never understood it but were happy with the drive it gave their son in school and then university. "Sir," the dock master, Bob, says trying his best not to disturb his boss. "The ship's almost in."
"Excellent! Thank you Bob," Pryke says before moving closer to the edge of the pier. He glances into the clear inviting water and his mind goes to Disney. The story that gave Pryke the younger the million dollar idea was when Disney opened the original Disneyland. Even now, with all the tension and pressure, it still makes him smile. Nineteen fifty-five and Uncle Walt opened the original park in Anaheim, California. One could say it was a disaster; over twenty-eight thousand people showed up with more than half sneaking in or buying fake tickets. A plumber's strike forced Disney to choose between either working fountains or functioning toilets. The great man chose the facilities. Freshly poured asphalt was still soft and trapped many women's high-heeled shoes all while the entire shindig was being televised.
For Pryke, hearing about one of the world's great entertainers failing so spectacularly, was just the right catalyst. But even with all of his money, the best people and top of the line technology and equipment, there are still things going wrong; whether it's new assets, the asset not being prepped yet or power fluctuations plaguing certain systems. "It never ends."
His private superyacht's horn announces to everyone there that it is time for them to get working. Pryke steps aside and watches as the dock workers ready the heavy-duty ropes, check their phones and generally wait.
Gideon Pryke smiles as the bow of the yacht comes into view, cutting the water easily. He can see the five suited men standing on the starboard side. Each one is in full business attire. Pryke chuckles, Hope they brought shorts.
The workers get to work, tossing the ropes to the seamen waiting on deck, guiding the large vessel close enough to the pier. We'll have to automatize all of this, he thinks and Sean Drummond's favourite saying pops into his head; Spare no expense. Yeah right, look where that got you. His eyes go to the five men and he chuckles as the gangway is lowered and his VIPs begin disembarking. Pryke smiles broadly and extends both arms openly, "Gentlemen! Welcome! Welcome to--"
"--Cut the pleasantries," Emmerich barks. "I need solid fucking ground." He pushes past Crichton who is helping Winston. The older man stumbles from the sudden movement and nearly topples over the side but Tull and Crichton catch him by the arms.
Pryke holds out a hand but the German ignores it, instead he turns and looks back out to sea. In the distance the faint outline of a city can be made out. "Is that Tokyo? Doesn't look that far away," Emmerich says with a snort.
As the other four men step onto the pier, Pryke shakes each of their hands enthusiastically. "No, that's Chiba," he says offhandedly. "Gentlemen!" his voice rings clearly and Emmerich has to turn to listen. "I know that the journey from Tokyo to here was hard. But now, how about a pleasant drive and we'll get you settled?"
Beacham spots the open topped customized Hummer, "I thought we'd go by limo or a train system."
"Where's your spirit of adventure?" Pryke sounds incredulous. "Part of this endeavour is to get people back in touch with Mother Nature. Besides," he pats Beacham's back, "a little time away from civilization is good for the soul." He is all smiles as he climbs easily into the vehicle. Without a word, the group of investors struggle to get in. Winston, even with his girth, is the first to make it in. The others soon follow. "Right! Let's crack on!"
"So, if we're escaping civilization," Tull says as the Hummer hits a still needing to be paved dirt road. "Then where are we headed?"
As they bounce and try not to slam into each other, Gideon Pryke looks back at them and smiles mischievously, "Where there be monsters."
#
"Wow...that's huge!" Lathrop Preston whispers after a few minutes of stunned silence.
Mako has to agree, though for her she still hasn't recovered the ability to speak. From the moment Johann delivered the container to now, every member of her team has been absolutely gobsmacked. It must be at least one hundred fifty meters tall, she thinks.
From inside the container, rumbling can be heard. It sounds almost like purring. Mako glances at the rest of her crew standing around her. All of them have the exact same expression; shock, awe and just a little bit of pee-their-pants fear. The purring breaks Mako's reverie and she snaps her fingers, "Okay ladies and gents." Her voice instantly grabs the attention of her people, "You know the drill. Only difference is size. Let's start with the measurements. General ones."
Without any other sound the control room erupts into a flurry of movement, some are quickly recalibrating the more finicky scanners, others start warming up the cranes and robotic arms. Only Mako remains motionless, her eyes fixated on the large container that is vibrating rapidly.
"Professor?" Preston's voice sounds faint. "Shouldn't we sedate it?"
She stands, saying, "Not until we weigh it." Her hands glide over the control panel until she finds the main crane control. "Once we do that, then we can figure out the correct dosage," Mako stares at the man. "Or do you want to kill it?" That is the thing about her, around most people she is demure but put her with her team and she opens up and has no problems speaking her mind.
Preston says nothing as he goes over to his station and watches the life signs and vitals of the creature. So far they all read normal. Bur for what they are dealing with, normal is an extremely subjective term. He doesn't bother watching his screens; unless something catastrophic occurs then the readings shouldn't change much.
His eyes stare at the giant container. Every eye is on it, and why shouldn't they be? Five years of waiting for a sign, any detection and then the hope that after capture the asset will be suitable. Even after all of the tests, probing and scanning, the final decision always goes to Gideon Pryke. There have been many that he deemed not worthy enough; whether it be the abilities are not eye-catching, not powerful enough or most importantly, completely unappealing to the eye. If he says no for any reason...then Mako gets a dissection partner.
Mako is able to control the cranes easily. Growing up with a father and brothers in construction helped. Her hands glide with the joysticks and they move smoothly, the hooks catching the rings expertly. Her crew are amazed with the skill she has and the fact that they cannot hear a single thing on the other side of the blast proof glass. There are microphones laced throughout the warehouse sized centre which feeds them the purring.
"How heavy is the container?" Mako asks as the heavy-duty chains strain and stretch.
Slowly the container begins to rise, inching off of the ground. Mako can see the cranes bend slightly. "How heavy?" she barks.
Julayne answers quickly, "At least a hundred tonnes."
&nb
sp; "Okay," Mako says, feeling a little calmer now. "Is the scale ready?" She doesn't wait for an answer and swings it to the right. The chains groan under the stress.
"Don't drop it yet!"
Mako ignores Julayne as her eyes are focused on the chains. Even though these are similar to the type of chain used at the shipyards, she can tell that each link is close to the breaking point. "No choice."
The container sails down towards the giant digital scale. Mako prays that the steel structure doesn't crack. "Hughes," she addresses Julayne by her last name. "What is the probability that--"
The loud crash shakes the building and instinctively a few of the team dive under their consoles. Even Mako is a little unnerved by it, "Is it cracked?"
Carsten uses the 4k cameras mounted on the underside of drones to perform a quick inspection. "No signs of damage." The image is clearer than real life and the technogeek loves his job.
The collective sigh is followed by a wave of giggles. Not one asset inspection has gone smoothly. It seems to be the tradition and Mako should have been expecting it.
"There it is," Brad Carsten says, wiping a foam moustache from his own bushy magnum.
Mako Ikari is over and bending slightly to see the large twenty-seven inch screens. "Where?"
Carsten doesn't need to point it out as the drone gets closer to the jagged slash of metal. "Good," Mako says. The crack is nowhere near being big enough for the asset to escape through. Unless it can shrink its physical form, Mako thinks with a slight shudder.
"Hey, check this out," the video expert says just loud enough for everyone else to hear. They glance at his screens and gasp.
There is a slight glow coming from inside the dark container. It is a deep blue and seems to pulse as the source moves about rapidly. "Is it radioactive?" Preston asks softly.
"What the..." Mako breathes.
The giant eye opens, exposing the brightly shining ocular orb. The blue is coming not from the iris, but the entire organ. The whites are a slightly lighter blue while the veins and scar tissue are darker shades of blue. There is not one area that is not the unholy blue.
Mako looks around in horror. "Lower the blast shields!"
It takes a moment for the lead-lined heavy duty shields to begin their descent and as they do, the rest of her team start to look around and some of them scream in fright and disgust. Their skeletons are visible in the light from the eye and the sight of half and quarter skeletons moving about and wearing clothes is an extremely disturbing thing to behold.
When the shutters finally close, Mako is the only person to speak, "Everyone needs to get checked out by Medical. No excuses and no working until I see the report saying so. There is no way of telling how much radiation we were just exposed to."
As her team begins to calm themselves, Carsten trembles, "Mako, you really need to hear this..." Without warning he turns up the speakers and the most terrifying sound any of them have ever heard fills the control centre.
It is that deep rumble again but this time it is mixed with a coarse, slightly higher pitched scratching. The sounds remind Mako of the old well wheel on her grandparents' land. The entire thing is rhythmic in its pulsing tone. It sounds almost the same as...
"Is it laughing?"
#
The black Hummer bounces roughly as it speeds along the dirt path. Gideon Pryke whoops and he has to clamp a hand down on his Panama hat. To the driver, his boss looks like a cowboy who also happens to act like one. For the five suited men crammed into the back two compartments, the entire act is starting to wear thin.
"Don't you have fucking roads here?" of course Emmerich is the one to share his thoughts.
Pryke says nothing but points at the side of the road where all of the equipment needed to lay asphalt and then pave the road waits. "We've already started, oh don't you worry. It'll all be done before we open."
A sharp turn and they careen down a slope. The investors close their eyes and wait for the inevitable crash.
Instead the large tires smack into a lip of fresh laid road and they hear the low growl of the tires on asphalt. "Ah," Pryke chirps happily. "Now, any questions?"
His cheerful smile infuriates all but Winston and Crichton who are used to the billionaire's personality. Most of the men look to Emmerich again to be their collective voice. He looks at the lush green foliage whipping past them; a sigh escapes his mouth as Emmerich enjoys the breeze.
"What are you doing here?" Beacham speaks up.
Pryke's laugh is loud and a little childish. "Taking you to our five star hotel." He waits for at least one of his investors to crack a smile. When he realizes that won't happen, Gideon Pryke presses on, "Yes. Well, this little weekend getaway is to show you exactly where your money went--"
"--All four point eight billion dollars," Tull exclaims.
Pryke nods, "Exactly. So, firstly allow me to welcome you to Maikeru Island. Two billion dollars went to purchasing the land rights. No way would I rent, the rates would be astronomical." Now that the road is smooth, his audience has visibly relaxed. "Luckily we have plenty of governmental contacts at Chiba, a mere seventy-two odd kilometres from us. The rest of your money and some of my own has gone to setting up this nature reservation," he explains.
"What kind of reservation?" Winston growls.
"Ah, that is the sixty-four million dollar question." Pryke is having the time of his life. "Do you remember the attack on Tokyo from about ten years ago?" He isn't surprised one bit by the blank stares. Most people don't care to remember the tragedy. All of Japan does and every year they have a national day of mourning.
"Something came out of the water and destroyed almost seventy percent of the city," Pryke is now sombre. "A joint effort between nearly all of the Pacific Rim took almost three weeks and millions of lives to bring it down. It took Japan close to five years to rebuild. Our payment for the island helped massively which is also why we have been left alone."
"What was it?" Tull asks with the same tone as that of a child. "What attacked?"
Pryke chuckles as he speaks, "A giant creature that they thought was an undiscovered dinosaur, then there was the idea that it could have been a mutation caused by contaminated water in the bay." He wipes his face. "In English we have no name for what it is. But, the Japanese?"
He lets the question hang in the air as the vehicle crests a small incline and the facility comes into view; every single building is modelled on Japanese architecture. Each one has red tiled roofs and varies in sizes. The men gasp as they see the main gate, it is at least thirty meters tall, the sign written in a distinct font; it looks just like a paintbrush but the edges are too sharp.
"Kaijus," Pryke says. "We're a Kaiju reservation."
The Hummer passes under the gate and each man reads the sign: KAIJU WORLD WELCOMES YOU.
CHAPTER FOUR
The woman stalks down the wooden pier. Her dark eyes dart back and forth, scanning her surroundings for any possible hostiles. Even with her training there is always the possibility of a surprise attack. Ellen Scott stops and stares at a collection of fishermen. Each one holds up an odd looking marine animal and speaks rapidly, then at the end of their story the others laugh loudly.
Fucking Tokyo, she thinks. No respect for any living creature. Part of her wants to spit at the men, kick their buckets into the water and watch the catches swim away. Then again, the rest of her does understand that with the reconstruction and slow rebirth of the city and its economy that these men need to find any reason to laugh. Ellen shakes her head and reminds herself about the job and that animals come first, so she continues on, her combat boots pounding on the wood.
Where's the boat? That is one of the more pressing questions plaguing her mind. Even after the tragedy of ten years ago, she expected Tokyo Bay and its harbor to be organized and well maintained. The complete opposite is the case; there are clumps of trash and plastic floating in the water that is mixed with oils and petrol. How many turtles and fish are going to die? Elle
n's nose wrinkles up as the foul stench of decaying flesh and fish scales bombards her sinuses. How did it all come to this?
Her thoughts crash through her mind and just to distract herself, Ellen glances at the screen of her phone, she hasn't closed the message app since receiving the all-clear. There is only the one which reads: TOKYO BAY. PIER 50. BERTH 12A. NOON. So far she has been to five different Pier 50s and naturally Ellen has begun to lose her patience. One more try, she thinks. Again.
Ellen's eyes dart out to sea and she frowns. The waves are large and ominous looking with the water looking a dark aqua. "Fuck," she says as the tall woman hopes that the boat they've rented will be sturdy enough for the journey.
She continues along the pier ignoring the cat-calls and whistles from the old and young alike. As she keeps searching for the right pier and correct berth, her mind wanders and absently she touches the sewn-on patch that covers her right breast pocket; it looks like something out of 'Animal Farm' only more stylized. A series of animal paws and hooves form a circle, each one touching the other in a show of unity. Below that is a motto in Latin: MORS PRIUS SERVITUTEM and below that is the name of her organization: ANIMAL ALLIANCE.
Since she was a teenager her life has always been about the Alliance. It started since she saved a Golden Retriever from being stomped to death by a group of hooligans. She joined PETA but hated the political machinations of the group, that was when her Aunt introduced her to the Alliance and immediately Ellen joined. Her Aunt was proud as punch, but both of Ellen's parents were furious, so much in fact that they disowned her and severed all contact. The tall blond hasn't had any contact with them for over twenty years. Naturally there have been times when she has wondered how they are or what their lives have been like. Then there is a new job and the thoughts disappear.
"Ellen!" the voice grabs her attention.
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