Judgement Day

Also known as "How Hannibal Chau Lost his Eye (and also his wallet.)". 
Alternatively, "How Chief Sergeant First Class, Marshal Xiong Li-hua became the single most capable person on planet Earth". 
==Remember==
* Stacker and Mako having breakfast
* Mako in the Rec with Chuck
* Mako dissociating, trying to ground herself with her bottle of icewater (a strategy she and her psychologist've developed), she's also brought back by Max barking and licking her, and is soon swarmed by cats. 
* Mako's psychologist joins them with another bottle of icewater.
* Peacock 
* Xiong talking to Kirra
===Numbers===
* 55 minutes / 1000 people to evacuate a building
* Mong Kok district has a population density of 130,000/km2 but an area of less than a km2. Divide that by, say, 2? because people don't want to be anywhere near the coast atm? 65,000 which would take 59 hours to fully evacuate if it were a skyscraper. 
** MK to Dome: 14 minutes (1h)
** from Disney to Dome: 14 minutes (1h 16m)
** to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: 17 minutes (1h 23m)
** to Disney: 22 minutes (1h 18m)
** from HKU to Dome: 24 minutes (2h 20m)
** from HKU to Disney: 30 minutes (2h 35m)
==Text==
At this point, Reckoner's been in the water for a long, long time. The Jaegers have all been out on patrol, except the Braves because they kinda (really do) suck. 
===Going to Town===
[Chau wakes up to mockery-via-mobile from Liu; Tang rugrats break into his room (pancakes for breakfast; they're excited and the seven year old knows how to pick locks), he herds them out, gets ready for breakfast]
.
[Triplets discuss what they'll do today]
.
[Chau; breakfast, getting ready, leaving]
.
[Min wakes up]
.
[Chau makes his way through Customs and to a Mainland-Hong Kong highspeed train. Chau gives his passport and his weapons' license. The customs agent scans the latter.]
「It shouldn't take long.」
「Thank you.」
A beat. 
「You look tired. Are you eating well?」
「Not as well as I should be.」 Sighs, 「We've been busy recently.」 
「I imagine you earned a lot though.」
「I did! My fiancé is very proud of me.」
「Oh good, you have someone. I was going to offer a name or three.」 
「Are you married?」 
「To my job.」 
They chuckle.
「My boss would like me to be. She keeps asking.」 
「Are you on your way to meet her?」 
「No, she's in the Caribbean. Keeps hinting I should join her.」 
「The attendant looks again at his passport. 「You're barely fifty!」
「That's what I said!」
The computer pings. 
The Customs agent clicks, shifts back to center. 「You're cleared to go.」 Returns his passport and carry card. 「I'm sorry for the delay.」 
「It's fine.」 Tucks away his ID. 「Have a good day.」
「Thanks, you, too.」 
.
[People in the washroom are terribly jealous of Min's day off.]
.
[A person falls asleep against Chau on the train.]
.
[People at breakfast are jealous of Min's day off, and Min says that if the rumours of a 'show of faith' are true, she'll head out. Kirra rolls her eyes.]
.
[Daiyu prepping to leave.]
.
[Stacker and Mako have breakfast, discuss what they're going to do today]
[Marshal Xiong sends out a 'show of faith', including Min. Kirra tells her it's a bad idea while the triplets are evasive and slink away. Min goes to get her bag, Kirra heads off to Medical.]
===Around Town===
[Chau meets up with Daiyu, gets a summary of the situation.]
.
tis_a_q!: I have a feeling
tis_a_q!: Its very bad but I don’t know why
Yeung_TM: Want me to come over?
tis_a_q!: NO
tis_a_q!: Fuck no
tis_a_q!: Just
tis_a_q!: No
tis_a_q!: Don’t come over
Yeung_TM: OK
Yeung_TM: I miss you 
tis_a_q!: I miss u too
.
[Kirra gets herself set up in Medical.]
.
[Chau and Diayu find the hacker, hacker freaks out, Daiyu subdues the hacker while Chau guards, and then they end up in a firefight with a gang also trying to get the hacker.]
.
[Min trying to cheer up Siqi by text, checks stuff off her list, heads for a teaching hospital to drop off a textbook for a nurse.]
Min wanders up and down the aisles, pausing occasionally when something vibrant caught her eye or to send a picture of a particularly tacky shoe to Siqi. They always make her feel better. 
Aha! Trainers and flats!
In short order Min barricades that end--no one could guarantee manufacturers would continue making a certain shoe by the time a pair wore out and these are their feet! No one had the time to find an as-comfortable pair. She only has enough size sevens for two and a half sets per person but she can see a few more waaaay at the top. 
Min drags over the bench--even standing on it her hand only brushed the bottom edge. 
"Allow me," says a young person.
"Thanks, the sevens please."
"Both of them?" 
"Yea," she waves in the direction of the pile. "We're on our feet all day; might as well stick to the tired and true. Comfy and true?" 
The person stacks the boxes with the others. "I think it's tried and true, actually, but I imagine all that running about would make things tired." They offer their arm. 
"Thank you very much--" 
Her right leg folds--
The person catches her, helps her to the floor. "Are you alright?
"Yea, I think I just slept on it funny." 
"May I help you load all those?"
"That'd be great, thanks." 
The process plays out a bit like a game of Tetris, but eventually all the shoe boxes, seven colouring books, four sets of coloured pencils, two hoodies, three balls of baby pink yarn, and a set of sewing machine needles makes it into the cart. 
Min takes a picture, 'cause that was impressive. 
"Back to the hospital, then?" 
Min shakes her head. "First stop of many." 
They reach the cash. 
"I work for the PPDC," says Min, offering her badge, "is it at all possible to get this delivered?"
The cashier tries to reply but only came across as fish-like. 
"Is that a yes?" Min offers.
The cashier nods reverently. 
"Thank you very much." Min hands him her company card. 
[The person asks Min to coffee, Min declines, citing her errands, the person suggests maybe Min should accompany her purchases back to the ‘Dome, Min excuses herself, and they part ways.] *** describe the person a little more
.
[Triplets doing stuff.] 
.
[A sighting report of Reckoner from the other side of the Pacific.] 
.
[Accountant secured >accountant?<, Chau and Daiyu wonder how they're going to get them into the car because there's a group of young, male-looking people hanging about. A young person in a BuenaKai red dress is handing out flyers on campus, shoves one into Chau's hands, wanders over to the group. There're two train tickets inside the flyer with orders from Liu to leave /now. Chau dismisses it, and he and Daiyu make use of the distraction and send the accountant on their way.] PENDING
.
[Xiong and LOCCENT learn that what the spotters /thought was Reckoner wasn't, meaning they have no idea where it is]
.
[Min checks the textbook off her list.]
===Crisis===
[LOCCENT (or whoever) confirms that Reckoner is on a collision course for Hong Kong. Xiong orders the alarm, asks for the status of all in-service Jaegers, orders the Braves back to port, and accepts the fact she'll have to make a plan to save Hong Kong with three pieces of junk (the /Braves haven't received their update yet and still suck)] 
.
[All cadets are asked to come to LOCCENT; Kirra heads up.]
.
[Kaiju alarm goes off; Min heads to a shelter]
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[Chau and Daiyu head to a shelter]
.
[Triplets head for their hideout.] 
.
[Chau and Daiyu get in the queue for a shelter.]
===Planning===
[Xiong asks for Reckoner's vector to be projected onto a map of the the city.]
"Ma'am? The Braves have returned to port." 
"Thank you, Officer Kam." Li-hua takes a deep breath. "Please display this on their HUDs."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I would speak with K-Science, as well. Please ask if Kaiju can hear and see colour. " 
"Yes, ma'am." 
"Thank you, Officer Wong."
"Calling K-Sci." 
"I would like a status report on Team Cherno Alpha's auxillary support team, please."
"Copy, ma'am."
"Thank you, Officer Lui."
"Calling Cherno's Quartermaster for a rollcall."
"LOCCENT, how is our show of faith?" 
"We have forty six people on their way back and twenty seven unaccounted for." 
"Thank you, Officer Tai. Braves?"
""Brave One, copy.""
""This is Brave Two.""
""Brave Three here."" 
Li-hua folds her hands behind her back. "Reckoner is heading towards the city at a vector that will have it slam through Kowloon in twenty minutes. Spotters believe its face is one, single plate, and that its body has very few externally moving parts." Deep breath. "We have no possible way of stopping Reckoner before it reaches Hong Kong, however we may be able to minimize the damage and slow it down long enough for reinforcements." 
""Brave One; do they have an ETA?"" 
"Six hours." 
Ambient LOCCENT sounds. 
""This is Brave Three; Understood.""
""Brave One; copy.""
""Brave Two, also copy.""
"I trust you've received Reckoner's projected attack vector?" 
""Brave One; yes, ma'am.""
""Brave Two, same.""
""Brave Three has eyes on the map..""
"We will lay out a course for Reckoner to follow along its current vector and we will do our best to keep it to that vector." Li-hua continues: "We will proceed with a plan of four parts: The Braves will corral it while it remains in the ocean and then slow it, giving J-Tech time to finish evacuating. Finally, we will attack." Exhales. "Do we have an answer from K-Science?" 
"Yes, ma'am--Kaiju /can see colour but K-Sci doesn't know whether they care about it." >to be pedantic, K-Sci would know they have the necessary structures to perceive colour in their eyes, but I'm not sure K-Sci would be able to confirm they could actually /see colour; also you probably need to mention something about their hearing here, since Xiong seems to take it into account in the next orders< PENDING 
"Understood. LOCCENT, please locate at least two waterbombers and speak with Team Shaolin Rogue about mobilizing paint. I would also have you identify which shelters are in the affected area, as well as gather the details of those buildings. Finally, please contact Disney; I would ask them to stay their music and to inform them of a possible refugee camp in their park. I would like to have Team Cherno Alpha >and now I think it's important to at some point before this make VERY clear the Jaegers are far, far away and make it clear here, these are just the support teams, otherwise folks (like me) will be wondering why a kickass Jaeger like /Alpha isn't helping if it's there<and the Jumphawks collaborate on a sound system facing the ocean, and I would have it along the attack path twenty meters back from shore. As for the rest of J-Tech, please assemble all non-essential personnel with driver's licenses in the Staging Area. Am I clear?"
Scores of 'clicks' from the LOCCENT survey system-- PENDING
"Marshal, J-Tech is scrambling." 
Tse calls, "Marshal, LOCCENT is proceeding as instructed." 
"Thank you, Officer Mo, Officer Tse. Braves One and Two, please arrange yourselves one hundred meters from shore." 
""Brave One heading to coordinates.""
""Brave Two following.""
"Brave Three, please form a series of thin ice walls along the east side of the harbour, and when it looks uninviting enough, do the same to Disney's, and leave a gap behind Braves One and Two.""
""Brave Three, copy, ma'am.""
"Spotters, I would ask you announce when Reckoner is within sight of the harbour. Braves One and Two, on their signal, please fire multiple icebergs on either side of it."
""Brave Two, copy.""
""Brave One; yes, ma'am.""
""Red leader, copy."" >make clear somehow/earlier that this is a helicopter team; also, if you want, the US military uses the pattern shown in "First Responders" for labeling support helos, with 'one' indicating the leader and 'one actual' indicating the commander of that lead vehicle; it's also typical for them to start the call signs with the same letter as that of the strike group they're supporting (not sure that would apply here, but.)< PENDING
"Thank you." 
"Ma'am, J-Tech's awaiting orders." 
"Thank you, Officer Mo. I would have J-Tech assign itself to as many land vehicles as the Shatterdome maintains. You will divide yourself and proceed from the Shatterdome in three groups: the largest of these will evacuate the shelters in Reckoner's attack zone to either Disney or the Shatterdome, whichever's convenient--two camps will be perfectly acceptable. You will put to use any other vehicle you find, be they buses, subways, trolleys, horses with or without carriages, rickshaws, et cetera. You will do this until the shelters are empty, at which point you will join the second, smallest group combing the streets for stragglers, human or otherwise." Li-hua .... "If you should find a giraffe, please contain your surprise until this day is done." 
Weak chuckling. 
"The third group will locate as many explosives and as much fast-drying cement as possible. You will then fill the buildings with cement and set the explosives with remote charges on the flight path side of those buildings. When the shelters are empty and when the subway tracks are no longer in use, you will do the same to the shelters. You will keep the subway tracks clear but you will run a line of explosives down the middle of each ceiling." Li-hua [scans] the space. "Are there any questions?" 
Scores of /clicks. 
"J-Tech copies; it's mobilizing." 
"Thank you, Officer Mo." 
"LOCCENT's on it."
"Thank you, as well." Li-hua gazes out over LOCCENT, at the people looking to her for a miracle; she thinks about the J-Tech scrambling the Garage and the civilians they’re going to save, about the populace out of harm's way and relying on her to lead them through this disaster, about the Braves and the Rangers who jockey them despite knowing they were as maneuverable and useful in battle as a porcelain bathtub, and then she thinks about the fourteen members of the PPDC who left the safety of the Shatterdome at her command and remained missing. She says, "We formed the Defence Corps to defend the Pacific against the Kaiju." Deep breath. "Today, we will earn that name."
.
… including ones at goddamn universities with goddamn idiot hackers with a talent for moving money. And then the ‘hour until landfall’ alarm got to shrieking which turned out to be the ‘quarter our until landfall’ because goddamn Reckoner had reached “never before seen speed” (after this much time in the water, the spotters could say that) and plowed a small tidal wave into the harbour so now he and Daiyu were stuck in the throng heading to the shelters and nearly tripping over a trio of kids. 
“Sorry,” he grunts—
“Sorry!”
Goddamn motherfucking Canadians. 
And he's lost Daiyu. 
Guard doesn't even glance at his ID.
Chau shuffles along with the crowd until he can break off, then tucks himself against a far wall. 
Daiyu, by his elbow, reports, “Three BuenaKai.” 
Shit. 
Chau takes off his jacket and dress shirt, drops his shoulders, tries to be less obvious and that is the sound of heavy metal on flesh and of a body hitting concrete. 
The doors clang shut. 
Chau scans the shelter; a hundred or so civilians, all cringing and pretending a part of the shelter doesn't exist. 
Fine with him. 
.
"Ma'am, the paint and music teams are in position."
"Good. Please bomb the strip and let Team Cherno Alpha at the sound system."
""Red; ma'am, Reckoner's beginning its approach.""
"Thank you."
"'Orange Hard House' is a 'go'." 
"Braves One and Two, prepare to fire."
""Brave One; yes, ma'am. Prepping cryocannons.""
""Brave Two, same."" 
The horizon swells. 
""Red leader; Reckoner approaching.""
"Braves One and Two, begin firing on either side of Reckoner. Do not aim to hit but to guide."
""Brave One; yes ma'am. Firing cryocannons.""
""Brave Two, copy. Firing.""
"Brave Three, please put yourself in firing range of Braves One and Two."
""Brave Three moving into range.""
"Thank you." 
""Red Leader; Reckoner remains on course. Brave interception in T minus one minute.""
"Thank you, Red Leader. Countdown at twenty seconds."
""Red Leader; yes, ma'am. Reckoner remains on course.""
""Brave Three in range of Braves One and Two.""
""Red Leader; twenty seconds. Ninteen--""
"Braves One, Two: brace for impact."
""Brave One; bracing for impact.""
""Red; Reckoner prepping to ram.""
""Brave Two, copy.""
An impact--grunts from the Braves--
"Brave Three, please fire on Reckoner's back legs."
""Brave Three, copy. Firing.""
""Red; Reckoner's slowing.""
A LOCCENT, "Put yer back in to it!"
""Brave One; suck a prune, blockhead."" 
""Red; Reckoner appears to have stopped.""
"Brave Three, please freeze Braves 1, 2 in place."
""Brave Three, copy. Firing.""
Grinding. 
""Bastard."" 
Li-hua clears her throat. 
""Brave One; this asshole's a right bastard. Apologies, ma'am, for not identifying.""
"Thank you, Brave One. Brave Three, please barricade the harbour. Use whatever boats and piers are available." 
""Brave Three proceeding with pillow fort-building. Boat fort-building? Hodgepodge-ing?"" 
"Thank you, Brave Three. How are you doing for fuel?""
""Brave Three; we're down to a third and two fifths.""
"Understood. Please have J-Tech scramble a refueling team. In the meantime, Brave Three, please make liberal use of your cryocannons."
"Scrambling Team Brave."
""Brave Three, copy.""
.
[Neither Chau nor Daiyu have any plans to intervene lest they spark a panic--and then a cultist pulls knife. Chau clears the way for Daiyu, trips, gets slashed across the face, hits /something, hits something else; Daiyu tells him the situation's resolved. Med students come to the officer's rescue who turns out to be the thing Chau tripped over. They stabilize the officer, patch them up as best as they can.]
Yelling, probably from the BuenaKai, probably kicking and stomping on their miserable target. The human body could take an awful lot of punishment for quite a while and they seemed focused; Hannibal isn’t keen on interrupting, igniting a frenzy, panicking the crowd, and dying in the crush of the stampede with a hundred other people in a tiny, locked, bunker—
And that is the sound of a knife. 
Hannibal sighs. 
A knife could do a lot more damage than a person could take. 
Daiyu shifts. 
A knife made all that bystander shit moot.
All the makings of a blood bath. 
Chau covers the distance in five quick steps—
The crowd vanishes from his path.
--knocks one BuenaKai away—
BuenaKai with a small-ish knife lunges—
Hannibal throws up an arm—
BuenaKai with a pipe—how the /fuck did that get in here?
--dodges the pipe, tangles in something on the floor—
Knife—
Fire across his face, his eye; lashes out—connects—follows through—
The crack of a skull against concrete—
--punches again—
““Vanguard.””
Chau regroups, presses a hand to his eye. 
““All are incapacitated, two should live.””
Chau grunts, squints at the floor. 
Body on the floor, curled around the head, one leg bent the wrong way in the wrong place. 
““I can’t read her ID.”” Presses it into his hand. 
Chau tries to focus his good eye. 
She-her-hers, PPDC, but picture, name, employee number, and any other identifying information torn, mangled, blood-soaked, or otherwise indecipherable. 
“Dog tags?” 
““I could only find the chain.””
A Canadian says, ""Uh, 'scuse me.""
"What."
The Canadian eeps, continues shakily, ""Are you okay? Is he okay?""
"Do I /look okay?"
""Uh, well, no. 's why I asked--we probably can't stitch that laceration up here--""
""We are running a shortage of medical professionals,"" says Daiyu.
""About that, I'm a med student--my friends and I, actually--I meant I don't know if we have needles here--""
"Take care of the kid, first."
""The kid--oh! /Oh. Uh, okay--"" The lead Canadian moves away. ""--can we get some privacy--do we have any plastic sheeting? Or duct tape? Could we cordon off an area over here?""
Farther away, a Canadian calls, ""Do we have a body board?""
""I don't know--could we make one out of the supply boxes if we don't?""
By his arm, a Jamaican-Canadian tugs his sleeve. ""Would you come this way, please?"" 
Daiyu takes his other arm and they cross the shelter to another wall. 
""Just sit here, please."" 
Daiyu bumps his hand into the wall and Chau sits. 
""Found some!""
Rustling of plastic. 
""Duct tape?"" 
""Yep, catch!""
""Ow!"" 
""Sorry!""
===Break===
[Nang lets Xiong know the Kitchen's sent up tea and insists Xiong have a seat (she's been on her feet for at least two hours) and a cat.]
.
[The triplets' hideout is smoke bombed; they emerge, coughing and wheezing into blaring sirens and orange rain. Liu grabs them, herds them away.
"You will come with me." 
Jin shifts out of form. 
"No," says Cheung. 
Liu's shoulders say, 'frustrated', and then nothing as Liu faces them.
Cheung's guard creeps higher.
"You will come with me." 
Hu says, "We'll go with you." 
Liu looks at Cheung. "You will come with me." 
Cheung--!
Cheung sets his teeth--
Cheung ....
....
"We'll go with you."]
.
In short order the med students, duct tape, and the lids of supply crates've gotten the kid over beside Chau, and have closed up a corner of the shelter with tarps and plastic sheeting taped to the ceiling. 
The lead Canadian asks, ""So what should we call you?""
"James Smith."
A Canadian says, ""Nobody's actually called 'James Smith'--""
Another Canadian says, ""That's 'John Smith'.""
""--you in the mafia or something?""
Daiyu scoffs, ""Of course not.""
The lead Canadian says, ""Can you take notes?"" 
Another Canadian says, ""Ready when you are."" 
""Okay, patient identifies as female, in her late teens, presenting a very bad, open, and probably comminuted Crus fracture. It's not bleeding much--""
""I don't think we should move it--elevate it or otherwise.""
""Neither do I. Moving on, patient has a seriously messed head and face, probably some internal damage too but we don't have an endoscope--""
The Jamaican-Canadian says, ""I have one!""
A Canadian asks, ""Why're you carrying around an endoscope?""
""I dunno.""
The lead Canadian says, ""Okay, well, we're going to try to avoid anything particularly evasive--""
Another Canadian say, ""'Invasive'."" 
""I hate words. We're going to try to avoid anything particularly in-vasive because we can't guarantee sterility.""
""I don't think that's a word.""
A beat.
""Sorry.""
""Anyway, the patient has at least one chunk of scalp torn, and we can't ascertain the damage there yet because it's literally in pieces and we can't yet tell what attaches where. That sounds worse than it is. Part of her scalp's torn; we can't tell how bad anything is because of the blood and her hair. First thing we're going to do is put her head back together. We have skin glue but I don't think it's going to work given the blood. We need to get rid of her hair, too--do we have scissors or a knife or something? And how much gauze do we have?"" 
Chau nudges Daiyu. 
She digs around his jacket and offers a knife: ""It's quite sharp."" 
The Jamaican-Canadian says, ""Do we want to use all the gauze--"" Squees in Chau's direction, ""It's so pretty!!""
""Great--ooo, it /is!--can you start cutting her hair, please?""
A Canadian says, ""On it.""
The kid says, clear as day, ""The sevens, please.""
"She's still conscious?"
Another Canadian says, ""I wouldn't exactly say she's conscious.""
""Tired and true--comfy and true?""
The Jamaican-Canadian says, ""Christ, she talks like you.""
The lead Canadian grumps, ""Can it.""
""Thank you very much--""
A Canadian says, ""Can we, like, duct tape her or something? She's creeping me out.""
The lead Canadian says, ""If you want her to suffocate, go for it.""
""I think I just slept on it funny.""
""Can we tie her hands down, then? I can't actually get at her hair.""
""Let's make sure her ribs are okay, then we'll figure something out.""
""That'd be great, thanks.""
""Wish I had some chloroform."" 
Daiyu shifts. 
A Canadian says warily, ""Why exactly do you have chloroform?""
""Self defense.""
""Ooookay, then.""
The Jamaican-Canadian asks again, ""Do we want to use all the gauze?"" 
""Uh, probably not--see how we go?""
""Then we may have enough. Can't find any fasteners, though.""
""We're Canadian. We'll just use duct tape.""
Another Canadian asks, ""Does it work if the recipient isn't Canadian?"" 
The Jamaican-Canadian says, ""Gawd, you can't just ask why someone's Canadian--wait, no, that doesn't work--""
""We'll make it work. What can we use as a splint?""
""If we break up the crate lid we can use it.""
""Good enough for now. Who can do that?""
Daiyu says, ""I will.""
""You are /awesome, Ms Smith, thank you.""
Daiyu makes her soft, 'laugh' sound, moves away.
===Round 2===
Xiong gets the 'all clear', has Braves One and Two hooked up to their tethers, then takes a deep breath, and orders them hauled away.
Reckoner lunges free of the ice and barrels from the ocean, between two walls of ice, and right for the orange zone. 
Brave Three freezes its tail to the shorefront.
Reckoner halts.] 
.
""Okay, Mr Flesh Wound--""
"Deal with the kid."
""Kid's being dealed with. You're giving people a complex."" 
Chau sighs. "Fine."
The lead Canadian pokes about Chau's face for a few minutes, then asks, ""Good news or bad?""
"Bad."
""Okay, bad news: with all the blood, I can't tell how your eye's doing. Good news, though, the sclera's super-tough, so that may not be vitreous fluid bleeding down your face.""
Chau sighs. 
""I'm just gonna put a compress on it for now.""
He grunts.
===Rounds 3 - 7===
[Reckoner breaks free, Xiong topples the first buildings. Reckoner goes down.]
.
""Hair's done.""
""Okay, change your gloves, and see if you can fold her scalp back in place.""
""On it.""
""How's the leg?""
""The break's really close to the fibular artery.""
""God flipping damnit--""
""'Flipping'?""
""Can it. Okay, what're we looking at if we splint it as is?""
""Ischemia in the foot, leading to necrosis and osteonecrosis, and then gangrene.""
""And if we apply torsion?"" 
""We nick the fibular artery and it looks like an axe murder in here.""
The Jamaican-Canadian adds, ""And then with the tourniquet, ischemia in the foot leading to necrosis and osteonecrosis and then gangrene.""
""If the tourniquet even works, otherwise the hemorrhage'll lead to hypovolemic shock.""
""Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Is there any chance there's any of that shrimp foam?""
""HMC? That non-compression stuff?"" 
""Yea, that stuff.""
""I'll check.""
.
[Reckoner rumbles free, topples a few buildings of its own. Brave Two's Jumphawk team drops it right in its path, Brave Two freezes it and Reckoner into place.]
.
The Jamican-Canadian says, ""We have HMC."" 
""Awesome--"" 
A Canadian mutters, ""Aw fuck."" Louder, ""Her eye lid's torn."" Curses more. ""Her entire ear's wrecked.""
""Is it just the external ear?"" 
""I think so? I mean, I can't tell if the bleeding's doing anything to the inner ear.""
""Okay, once her head's stabilized, we'll get to her leg.""
.
Brother and Jackson sit near the entrance to LOCCENT, Eyes and Feng lean against the wall nearby.
On the multitude of screens, Reckoner throws /Horizon Brave the Second from its path and onto its backside.
Feng cringes.
「This's embarrassing,」 grumbles Eyes.
""Midas Three; Dropping tea cups.""
Eyes huffs, 「Fuck this. Let's go,」 grabs Feng by the shawl, and hauls him out the door and along the corridor.
Feng chokes, 「Where—」
「Out.」
「But—」
Eyes stops—
Feng bounces off him.
—pulls him upright, a familiar brightness in his eyes—
Feng braces for it.
—says, 「Look, we can sit in there with the nerds or we can go out and see the action for ourselves.」
「But—」
「I've done this before.」
「When?」
「Scissure. Got within a block of it.」
Feng's stomach drops. 「And you're alright? Completely?」
Eyes rolls his eyes. 「/Obviously.」
「I still don't think—」
「I'm going.」 Crosses his arms. 「With or without you.」
Feng swallows.
「Fine.」 Eyes turns away, starts walking. 「See you later!」 Waves over his shoulder.
Feng ....
Eyes vanishes around a corner.
Feng—「Heaven protect fools.」—runs after him.
.
Daiyu says softly, ""They're almost finished with the gauze.""
Chau grunts.
The lead Canadian asks, ""How much do we have left?""
""Several meters at least.""
""Cool. Duct tape?""
""About that ....""
""We don't have any?""
""Yea.""
A Canadian chirps, ""My wallet's made of duct tape!""
""Then give it!""
""But it's my wallet.""
Chau sighs. 
Daiyu digs about in his jacket, fishes out his wallet, empties it into a pocket. ""Here.""
""Oh, wow, thanks!"" Footsteps, then, ""Gimme a sec."" 
""Okay, when you're done with it, get to unsticking.""
.
[Xiong blasts open the first shelter. Reckoner lurches, shudders, lumbers back to the ocean.
"Braves."
The Braves fire at its side until it turns back around, and then at its back until it crawls back on land.
Xiong orders more bombardment.]
.
""Wallet's unstuck.""
""I'm done bandaging!""
""Okay, duct tape time!""
.
Telly's mobile shrieks.
Thomas focuses on the continuing fiasco in the harbour.
Telly squeaks, fumbles—
"What's wrong?"
—drops the mobile, croaks, "Logan. Out."
His heart stutters. "What?" 
Telly gets the mobile in hand, passes it over.
Thomas scans its screen, takes a deep breath. "AGNIS, please display Cadet Jones' current position in a secondary window."
""Loading.""
A sub-window opens on a map of Tsing Yi and its surroundings.
A nightmare-red dot flares southeast of the 'Dome, moving steadily away.
"On the /bridge?" whimpers Telly.
""Cadet Jones' location is approximate as even his personal tracker has an uncertainty bubble of two meters.""
"Thank you, AGNIS."
""Is now a good time to mention GLITTER tags indicate Cadet Lin Feng has joined Cadet Jones on this little adventure?""
"No, it's not, but thank you," says Thomas with remarkable calm. "I assume Marshal Xiong is aware of this development."
""Of course.""
"What're we gonna do?"
"Nothing," sighs Thomas.
"But—!"
"All the troopers have been deployed into the city and everyone else is sheltering. Those two are on their own."
Telly meeps.
===Rounds 8 & 9===
""Okay, decision time: do we splint the leg as-is or do we apply torsion?""
""Since we have the anti-compression stuff, I think we should try setting it.""
""Seconded.""
.
Eyes jogs to stop just past the midpoint of the bridge, gazes across the water to Jaegers' losing fight. 「Fucking hell, those guys are slow.」
Feng is forced to agree.
/Horizon Brave the Second tumbles across the port channel.
「Goddamn things're deathtraps, moving like that.」
Reckoner heaves itself onto land, pushing /Horizon Brave the First into a block of flats.
Feng swallows.
「Let's get closer,」 says Eyes. He resumes running toward the mainland through air thickening with dust and smoke.
Feng offers a quick prayer and sprints to catch up.
.
Jackson glances around LOCCENT as Reckoner plods back into the city. He frowns, nudges Chao.
He attends.
"Where're the idiots?"
"They left some time ago," sighs Chao.
"Left? For where?"
"Trouble, no doubt."
"Think we should look for 'em?"
"I'm sure Brother will—"
Jackson raises an eyebrow.
Chao clears his throat. "I'm sure they'll be fine."
Jackson rubs his neck and drags his attention back to the screens.
.
[LOCCENT confirms that all but fourteen people are accounted for.]
.
The pavement shudders under Feng's shoes as he and Eyes run side-by-side along an empty street.
「We need to get higher if we want to see anything.」
The ground jumps.
Eyes whines, 「We're missing all the action!」 Seizes Feng's arm and drags him into the lobby of an office tower.
Feng heads for a stairwell, trips—doesn't fall because Eyes catches him by the elbow—says, 「The stairs are—」
「Yea, but the power's still on in here, so the lift'll work.」 Pokes the call button.
「Is poor Wogan tired already?」
He scoffs. 「Was worried about you, Small Fry.」
The lift /dings and the doors slide open.
Eyes bows him inside.
Up up up they go—
The building shakes.
—Eyes bouncing on his toes, eyes locked on the indicator, until the doors open on the top floor. He makes a bee-line for the roof access stairwell and takes the steps two at a time.
.
Jackson huffs, "Fuck this. I'm going," pushes to his feet.
Chao tugs his sleeve, queries.
"Can't concentrate with those idiots missing."
Chao acknowledges, puts his attention back on the paint drop.
Jackson slinks out and over to the security desk.
"We've won?"
"Not yet. Just need my mobile for a sec."
The desk officer plucks it from a cubbie, hands it over.
"Thanks." Jackson retreats around a corner, tucks himself in an out-of-the-way alcove, thumbs on his mobile, and takes a deep breath. "Computer, where's Logan?"
""This base—""
"Cadet Logan Patrick Jones. My stupid little brother."
""Cadet Jones is currently in Mong Kok—""
Jackson's mouth goes dry.
""—approximately twenty stories above ground level, give or take two meters.""
Jackson fights down rising panic.
""Never fear, Cadet Lin Feng is with him and Marshals Xiong and Nguyen are aware.""
Jackson remembers how to breathe, croaks, "Thanks, Computer."
""Also, Marshal Nguyen orders you to remain in LOCCENT until he explicitly dismisses you on penalty of, and I quote, 'an exquisite punishment yet to be determined'.""
"O-okay. Thanks."
""You're welcome, Jackson.""
He plods back to the checkpoint, surrenders the mobile—
"Are you feeling ill, Cadet?"
—hauls himself back into LOCCENT, slumps down beside Chao.
"Did you find—" Chao blinks rapidly, colour draining. "Oh my sky, where are they?"
Jackson swallows. "Outside. About—" Clears his throat. "About four blocks—" Nods at the screen. "—from that."
Chao goes perfectly still, chanting something under his breath.
===In Progress===
She has the Jumphawks and the Braves throw anything they have at it, so a few Jumphawks clue in to the conveniently pick-up-able tea cups from Disney's tea cup ride, steal them, and smash them over Reckoner.
Reckoner stumbles on the second one, and basically continues like that until it starts to slow, at which point there's enough time for the foam cement to activate so she has a few shelters blown open and filled just as Reckoner passes by so it winds up with cement shoes and has to stop. Xiong fills the area underneath with cement, too. 
Rubber cement >is rubber cement the proper name? all this time I've been picturing that gummy stuff one uses to stick bits of paper together< takes a few minutes to dry, says a quick google search. What I'm imagining they use is a mind of rapidly expanding stuff--kinda like that compression-free blood stopper (I think I tagged it as 'da future'). PENDING
LOCCENT confirms that all but fourteen people are accounted for.]
.
[Liu patches up the triplets. >how did they get hurt?<] PENDING
.
[With it immobile, Xiong considers having people drill holes and pump in neutralizer so Reckoner's heart will pump it into its muscles and organs and stuff.
LOCCENT reports that J-Tech has found eleven more of the Show of Faith.]
.
Eyes rests his elbows on the parapet, sighs into his palm. 「Deathtraps, the lot of 'em.」 Turns to Feng, smiles brightly. 「Good thing we'll have Mark IIIs, yea?」
Feng swallows, nods as another tower block falls in Kowloon.
「The /paint's doing more good than they are.」
「I've been meaning to ask: what do you plan on doing if the battle moves this way?」
「Run like hell.」
「Brilliant,」 sighs Feng.
「Besides, we know where it's going.」 Grins. 「Exactly where Her Marshalness wants it to.」]
「This is true ....」
「Relax, Drapes. We're /fine.」 Shifts his attention back to the cloud of snow in the distance and gestures expansively. 「Enjoy the show.」
.
"They've stopped," offers Telly. "Haven't moved for a while now."
Thomas acknowledges, counting the time until reinforcements arrive and resolutely not thinking about crushed buildings or AWOL cadets.
"Do you think they're okay?"
Crushed cadets are /right out.
"If they're not, I don't want to be the one to tell Xiong."
""Cadet Jones' vital signs monitor indicates a person who is excited, not deceased,"" says AGNIS.
Telly exhales.
""There is a slight lag in my information, however. Wait a—""
Telly—
""False alarm. Still alive.""
—grumbles, "If you weren't omnipotent, I'd hate you."
""Lucky for me I am, then.""
Telly rolls her eyes.
===Dying and Dead===
[The officer's condition takes a turn for the worse. If they stay in the shelter, they /will die, if they leave, might die and also Chau should really get to a hospital. The volunteer learns Reckoner is not over top of their shelter, Blue contamination is minimal; Chau gets the officer and Daiyu navigates them from the shelter.]
.
[Tacit Ronin finally arrives.]
.
Tacit ±0
The silhouette of a Jaeger suspended from its net of Jumphawk wires appears in the smoke hanging over Kowloon.
「Looks like the cavalry's here,」 drawls Eyes.
/Tacit Ronin drops.
The building trembles.
「At least they sent someone with a little speed.」
/Ronin picks its way over the downed buildings to Reckoner and buries a fang-blade nearly to the hilt in its side.
Reckoner whines pitifully.
Feng thinks of small animals.
「Sounds like someone stepped on its tail,」 snickers Eyes.
「Did Scissure make that sound?」
「Not really?」 
/Ronin strikes with their other blade.
Reckoner wheezes.
「It fucking /cackled, like the missile were /tickling it.」 Barely controls a shudder. 「Kinda unnerving really.」
Feng rallies. 「You? Scared of a little Kaiju?」
「I said 'unnerving', not 'scary'.」
/Ronin straightens, kinda shrugs at a /Horizon Brave.
Eyes sighs. 「Guess the show's over.」 Stretches his arms over his head. 「We might as well head down.」
.
Tacit +.10
[Tacit confirms the kill.] 
Jackson exhales shakily; beside him, Chao's shoulders drop their tension.
Xiong and the LOCCENT folks briskly arrange for cleanup, pickup, and un-evacuation. At least, that's what Jackson assumes they're doing since he still doesn't understand Cantonese beyond 'hello', 'please', and 'thank you'.
"Shall we go?" asks Chao.
"I have to wait for Nguyen to dismiss me."
"This is because of our brothers?"
"Yep."
"I will wait with you."
"Thanks." Jackson lets himself sprawl a little.
""Chief Tse, please detach one security team to recover our wayward cadets,"" says Marshal Xiong in crystal clear English. ""Have them escorted directly to the brig.""
"I have a very bad feeling about this," whispers Chao.
"Ditto."
===Denoument===
[Tacit +.15 Kirra leaves for Medical.]
.
[Stacker learns that the same person who got hurt getting Mako's papers is missing and he would like to help, but his priority is Mako.]
.
Tacit +.20
「I bet we can get right up to it,」 says Eyes as the lift descends.
「I don't think that's a good idea.」
「What? Are you /scared? Of a /dead Kaiju?」
「Of course not!」 scoffs Feng. 「But the fact remains it is highly toxic.」
「So we don't touch anything blue or glowing.」
Feng sighs.
Eyes grins and bounces on his toes.
The lift doors slide open, they step out and stroll in the direction of the carnage.
.
"Uh oh," says Telly.
Thomas checks the map.
The red dot is moving again. /Toward the Kaiju.
"Does he have a death-wish?"
"Right now, I honestly don't know," sighs Thomas. Considers. "Though, if he does, I may be willing to grant it."
Telly snorts. "And if you don't, Xiong might."
"Yup."
.
[As Xiong crosses the Staging Area, the peacock honks at her. Xiong snaps back, proceeds with outlining the situation and coordinating search parties.]
.
Feng and Eyes merge with a PPDC crew moving to release citizens from the municipal anti-Kaiju shelters and guide them to safety.
Safety far, far away from the downed Kaiju.
As they draw near, the air is choked with dust, ash, and an indescribable stench.
「Kaiju,」 explains Eyes. 「Cover up with your shawl so you inhale less of this crap.」
Feng does so, noting Eyes has pulled the collar of his t-shirt over his nose and mouth.
「「Cadet Jones,」」 says a voice behind them.
Eyes keeps walking.
「「Cadet Lin.」」
Feng stops, grabs Eyes' arm, spins them around.
He stumbles, yanks free, and rolls his eyes. 「Boy scout.」
Feng shrugs helplessly.
「You two are to accompany us—」 Indicates five other officers in Security colours. 「—back to the Shatterdome.」
「What if we don't want to?」
Feng hisses, tugs his sleeve.
「We have Marshal Xiong's permission to use whatever means necessary to ensure your timely arrival.」
Hands—ah, he should've expected a full squad—clamp down on their shoulders.
「Help! I'm being—」
「That won't work this time either, Cadet,」 sighs the squad leader.
Eyes shrugs. 「Worth a shot.」
.
[Stacker returns glumly to their suite, tries curling up with Mako but,]
"Are you worried?" asks Mako. 
Stacker nods. "One of the people who went out on the supply run's missing." 
"Who?" 
"Yeung Tang Min." 
"Is she the young lady who helped you?" asks Mako. 
"Yea." Stacker scrubs his face. 
"Then you should go," insists Mako. "She helped you and now you help her."
"Okay." He stands. "I'll be back soon, though."
"I know," says Mako. 
Stacker heads for the halls. 
.
[Liu gets the triplets into their quarters, then leaves.]
. 
[Kirra prepping more first aid kits.]
.
Eyes and Feng get dropped off in the brig, are given a lunchbox each, and left alone. 
"Maaaaaau," greets a cat, worming in from ... somewhere. 
And they wait. 
.
[Xiong gets an update on the Odd Couple.]
===Recovery===
Daiyu unholsters her gun. ""Please take three steps back and two to your right.""
Hannibal does as she says and the air changes so he must be behind a building. 
Daiyu fires--unloads the clip--joins him. 
Distantly, metal pings. 
"Did you just fire on the Horizon Brave?"
""Yes.""
They wait--Daiyu tenses. 
"The fucking idiot," mutters Hannibal. 
""She's dissociating,"" Daiyu corrects. ""She can't be blamed for walking around on a broken leg."" 
"She's still an idiot." 
Daiyu takes his wrist. "Someone's coming." Leads him from the drop. 
.
[Stacker finds Min; she's chatting away happily to someone only she can see. He flags down the Brave, Brave picks them up, lowers its hand to the loading bay of Medical. Min's taken into Emergency, they need a bigger team so Chuck's ordered by a doctor to keep Min's leg steady but the bone nicked an artery so Chuck plugs it with her finger and puts as much pressure on it as she can while people flit around trying to keep Min alive and soon she's free to go.] 
Chuck has a lot of experience wearing soaked clothes until they dried and for a while even after that, so the blood plastering her shirt and trousers to her skin? Not terribly uncomfortable if she cared enough to think about it. 
Rather like the fucks she gave to the folk scattering from her path. 
"Not quite what they meant by 'wet t-shirt contest', Rapuz--"
And he goes down with the imprint of a rusty fist over his diaphragm. 
She steps over him, finds herself strolling through the Hong Kong Cadet wing in short order. A few doors rest ajar; she kicks one open in particular. 
They look up- 
"Found your cousin," she greets. 
Cheung, wrist in a splint and Jin, squinting through a black eye. 
Chuck saunters to the washroom. "What's left 'a her, at any rate; they ID'd her by her fingerprints."
"How the fuck would you know?" growls Cheung, getting to his feet. 
"I was holdin' her leg shut so the doc could glue her face together," she spits. "Maybe if ye hadn't been goofin' off 'n helpin' me with chores like ye were supposed t', y' coulda done somethin'." She slams the door in his face. 
.
[Stacker checks in with Mako]
.
[Nang gets off the phone, tells Xiong she maaaay want to talk with Kirra.]
.
[A scene, or Xiong may arrange for someone to redirect Kirra and then she calls for an update from Medical]
.
Kirra squelches through the halls to her quarters, trying to get Tang Min's glassy, vacant eye to stop staring at her. 
An MP, shoulders saying, 'no danger', approaches from the front. 
Kirra attends. 
"Marshal Xiong would like a word." 
"Sure." Kirra squelches through the halls towards the marshal's office. 
.
"Cadet."
"Marshal."
"You may remain standing."
"Good plan." 
"What do you think I'm going say?"
"'Please don't make like a fucking walking biohazard again'."
"Perhaps not in so many words." A beat. "Will you?"
"Depends." 
Xiong concedes, then, "I still have to note a punishment."
Kirra shrugs. 
"I'll extend your volunteer term in Medical a week." 
"Do you want me to act upset?"
"Please."
Kirra drops her head back and sighs heavily, "Fiiiiiiine."
"Thank you, Cadet. That will be all."
"Cool." Kirra turns to leave--"Did Cadet Lin ever make it back?"
"Yes, he and Cadet--"
"Great. Later." 
.
[A scene, or after Kirra leaves, Li-hua asks the Odd Couple to be escorted to Medical and heads there herself]
.
Officers Lee and Castro frog-march the Cadets into Medical exactly as ordered.
「Thank you, Officers. I'll take it from here.」
They bow, depart.
Cadet Jones, dust-streaked, rocks on his heels, hands tucked behind his back.
Cadet Lin, equally dirty, hunches nervously and worries the hem of his shawl.
"Come along." Gets the door from the anteroom.
The Cadets shuffle through, hover near the wall. 
Li-hua strides down the hall. "I apologise for the delay, Cadets."
"It's fine," says Lin. 
Jones shrugs. 
"I was overseeing the search teams looking for the employees sent out before the drop." Leads them around a corner. "We've since found the last of them." 
"That's great!" chirps Lin. 
Li-hua gets the door to a patient room. "We found the last of them—"
Lin claps a hand over his mouth. 
"—beaten half to death, wandering around on a very badly broken leg with her head duct taped together."
Even Jones has gone a bit grey. 
["I've been trying to comfort her parents over the phone; Miss Yeung's grandparents have ordered them to stay in the Safe Zone under threat of being disowned. They've signed over her care to me but are understandably distraught not being able to attend their eighteen year old."] 
Machines hum to themselves. 
"I was also speaking with the Nobel committee; they want to reward me with /something, they're just not sure what yet, so." Shifts. "On the one hand, I saved Hong Kong at a cost of only some bumps, bruises, and property damage. On the other, I put an eighteen-year-old kitchen aide in harm's way and now she's in a coma." 
The artificial lung wheezes loudly. 
"You signed on to be Rangers, not to be killed in a back alley. If you two leave the Shatterdome, together or separately, you will take a security team with you. If you want front-line experience, you will join one of the volunteer rescue groups."
Another machine hisses.
"Do we have an understanding, Cadets?"
"Yes, Marshal," squeaks Lin.
"Yes, ma'am," croaks Jones.
"Good. Now go get yourselves decontaminated."
"Yes, ma'am," they say and slink out.
===Story Time===
[Chau wakes to more mockery from Liu, though this time it's in person. Eventually,]
Wei says slowly, "I am sorry this happened."
Hannibal shrugs. "Sucks it happen, but it could be worse." 
Wei makes a soft, nose noise. "I apologize for putting you in that situation." 
"Don't get emotional on me, Lulu, you know how awkward you get."
Wei huffs--fluffy hair across leather. 
"And 'Wei the Omniscient' returns." 
The creak of well-worked leather nearly masks a quiet, long-suffering sigh, combat boots stride across the weird floor of the medical wing, and then a door opens--
Squeaks and tinkling--children and lockpicks? How does Wei hear these things--Omniscient, dumbass, you just said so. 
A moment of dead quiet, then Wei's weight shifts. 
""Cousin!"" cheers one of the five year olds. 
""Hi--Hello--Cousin! Hi, Cousin!"" chorus a number of voices Hannibal assumes don't belong to anyone over the age of ten. 
""What have I told you about picking locks?""
""Torsion?"" offers the four year old. 
""Goes where?"" 
""In the wound tingy!"" bursts the five year olds. ""And then the pin-y sing goes in de staight bit!"[1]
The seven year old says with disgust, ""No, it doesn't--""
Wei's weight shifts. 
The seven year old goes quiet. 
""The torsion wrench goes in the bottom of the lock and the pick goes in the top."" 
A beat. 
""Wrong,"" says the four year old with sad realization. 
""I knew that--""
Wei's weight shifts. 
""Now, besides informing me that I need to sit down with the lot of you and refresh your lock picking skill, why are you here?""
""Uncle Mr Chau?"" asks the four year old. 
""We heared he's home!"" pipes one of the five year olds. [1]
""Mama says we're to greet everyone who comes home,"" says the seven year old. ""And if he's home, we're supposed to greet him."" She's crossed her arms, Hannibal just /knows she has, and she's got that tilt to her chin that /dares anyone--even Wei!--to disagree with her and /dammnit he can't see the standoff. 
""He /is home,"" agrees Wei, opening the door a little wider. 
A /tiny bit of shuffling. 
""Uncle Mr Chau?"" wibbles the four year old. 
Hannibal greets, "Hey, kids." and goes for 'I'm staying in bed until late because I'm a grownup and can do such things'.
""We may come in?"" asks the five year old. [1]
"Sure! I have a story for you guys."
""Be gentle,"" Wei warns. 
The seven year old huffs. 
Tiny footsteps, grumbling, then the mattress dips once, twice, three--four--five times, all near the foot of the bed. 
""What happened to your face?"" asks the seven year old, her voice inflecting like she's wrinkling her nose. (He wouldn't be surprised if he was, he probably looks awful.)
"I got scratched fighting the Kaiju."
""Big,"" frowns the four year old. 
"Okay, it wasn't /the Kaiju, but it /was Kaiju-related."
The kids wait with bated breath. 
"I can't tell the story if you're all over there," he scoffs. 
The seven year old plunks down by his chest, the four year old crawls across his shins and settles near his shoulder, and three bodies whispering in tongues tuck themselves in by his feet so three of the five year old twins showed up. 
"Well, your cousin sent me to Hong Kong to coordinate stuff--" 
""Yes,"" says the seven year old. ""We know that.""
The four year old grumps at her. 
"So I was in the city with Diayu when the Kaiju hit."
The three twins' chittering stops dead. 
""You did what?"" breathes a different five year old so apparently they /could speak something other than twinspeak, they just never did. 
"What else could we do? We went to a shelter." 
The kids don't have a high opinion of this. 
"But it was safe /and we met a princess."
Five sets of eyes laser on him. 
"We're in the shelter; the princess's bodyguards get separated in the rush and she's left with /one guy--"
""/One?"" squeaks the four year old. 
"Only one. But it's okay--shelters are these concrete boxes sealed tight with /huge metal doors. We're safe from /everything--" Nudges with his foot. "Stop biting your nails."
A five year old grumbles in twinspeak and pulls the blanket up to their chin. 
"Where was I?"
""Box,"" supplies the four year old. 
"Thanks, kid." Ruffles their hair. 
The four year old coos. 
"So we're in this poured concrete--"
""Why's zat matter?"" asks the five year old. [1]
"It's stronger than blocks of concrete."
""So it's really strong,"" says the five year old. 
"Really, /really strong."
""I broke one of those once,"" boasts the seven year old. 
"That's very impressive."
""That's what Mama said.""
""Story!"" insists the four year old. 
"We're in this poured concrete box, fifty feet underground, sealed shut with steel--"
""Steel's not /that strong.""
"The shelter was sealed shut with doors made of black box stuff."
""Wow,"" breathes the four year old. 
""We wanna goes to a shelter!"" 
"We're in this poured concrete box, fifty feet underground, sealed with doors made of black box and there's a groaning-grind-y sound, an /enormous crash, and a part of the ceiling collapses--"
Gasps. 
"--and the Kaiju's lackeys burst in!"
The five year olds burst into chittering. 
A tug on his sleeve--the four year old tugs his sleeve. ""Lackey?"" 
"Underling. Subordinate. Henchpeople."
Not getting it. 
"I'm your cousin's lackey." [2]
""Ooooooo.""
Hannibal would kick himself if he wouldn't get squawked at by three five year olds. "Minions." 
""Le jori e’ tu,"" sings a five year old. [3]
Giggling. 
"So we're sealed in the shelter when the Kaiju's minions burst in. There's a bunch of them and the fight goes bad for the princess's bodyguard pretty quickly--"
A five year old squeaks. 
"The Kaiju's picking up the princess all gentle-like--it's specially-designed to carry people--and her bodyguard's yelling and trying to get her back but there're too many minions and they're too badly hurt to get to her which is when Diayu and I storm over, she takes on three of them, I knock out two of the minions in one hit and snatch the princess back--"
One of the five years squees, another one applauds. 
"The bodyguard gets a burst of energy; I give them the princess, keep both behind me and protect them. Daiyu and I fight off the rest of the minions and the Kaiju's /so /angry it /screams and we all flinch the noise is so loud and I don't see a minion stagger to their feet and slash at me until it's too late." 
""Ow,"" says the four year old. 
"'Ow' is right, kiddo."
""It still hurts?"" asks the five year old. 
"Nah, I'm tougher than that."
""Want?"" 
"Why did the Kaiju want the princess?"
A beat. 
"I can't see, kiddo, sorry."
""Sorry,"" says the four year old. ""Yes.""
"The Kaiju wanted to take her back to their world and marry her to their king so he could win the war right away and rule the Kaiju and the humans."
""Where were the Jaegers?"" asks the seven-year-old. ""If there was a Kaiju, there should be Jaegers. Why didn't they help?"" 
"I'm getting there, kid," says Hannibal. "But maybe they were already there. The hole in the ceiling wasn't very big, and besides, the Kaiju's too big for me to see much." 
""Jaeger?""
Hannibal sighs internally. "I get the princess and her bodyguard away from the concrete and hole, as far away as we can in a back corner and /more falls in!"
The five year olds shift.
"'Jaeger!' someone yells and even more debris rain down! The concrete groans and grumbles, and then the biggest, yellowest heel--"
""Hohizon Bwave!"" shouts the five year old. 
"It's one of the Horizon Braves," says Hannibal--
""But they don't work,"" says the seven year old.
Hannibal pulls her close and tucks her under his arm. 
She grumps and crosses her arms but snuggles against his side. 
"The biggest heel you'd ever seen shoves through the hole and stays there. It jerks--the concrete rains down--we hear a crash from far away and then a /roar--"
""Cywo cannon!"" shouts a five year old. 
"It's firing its cyro cannon at the Kaiju--the Kaiju does /not like that one bit--and we hear a faint /thump thump thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump-thump-thump, the heel rolls, a thud, and the Kaiju /screams."
""Taffit!"" cheers a five year old says brightly. 
"It's /Tacit Ronin but we won't know that for a bit. Daiyu and I make sure the princess's okay while the bodyguard raises the others, and then we gather the princess and leave the shelter." 
""Kaiju!"" protests the four year old. 
"We have to sneak behind the /Horizon Brave /and its recoil--every time it fires a shot!--and /Tacit Ronin's pummeling the Kaiju and we make it behind the buildings and out of sight without a problem."
""Wow,"" breathes the five year old. 
"I'm amazed we managed it," Hannibal agrees. "The Defense Corps meets us and takes the princess and her bodyguard away with them, and your cousin picks up Daiyu and I--do you guys know how Wei is with hospitals?" 
""I know Cousin /hates hospitals."" 
"Aren't you not supposed to say 'hate'?"
""Mama says not to, but Cousin doesn't like hospitals too much to doesn't like them."" 
"That about sums it up. But keep not saying it."
""I know /that."" 
Nonslip shoes across the floor. 
""Children, Mr Chau,"" greets a nurse. 
""Good evning, Auntie,"" chorus the kids. 
Hannibal waves. 
""I believe you five have prayer, correct?""
The kids shift. 
""Okay,"" Hannibal huffs. ""But watch your elbows."" 
The seven year old twists around, pecks his cheek, and hops off the bed. ""Goodbye, Uncle Mr Chau!""
The five year olds extricate themselves. 
The four year old plants their knee--right on a nerve in his shoulder--nuzzles his forehead. ""Night night."" Rolls away. 
The five year olds kiss his ear, forehead, and give his head a hug. 
""Poopaye!"" chirps one of them. [3] 
""Bye~"" sings another one. 
The third twinspeaks, and they spring over the rail--one of them lands with a squawk--and scuttle after the others. 
"Bye, guys!" he calls. 
""Goodbye!"" they chorus. 
""Goodbye, Mr Chau,"" adds the nurse. 
"Thank you.""
A door closes. 
Hannibal sighs, suddenly exhausted. Apparently he's in worse shape than he thought. 
.
Eight years, four months, twenty seven days later, and thirty six hundred (or so) kilometers east
-- wakes It wakes Small Thing wakes
Min rolls away from the light behind her eyelids and onto her front, a gaping hole yawning for food in her stomach--
-- hurts hurting Small Thing hurting--why is Small Thing hurting--Small Thing hurt what hurts?
She grimaces, forces open an eye--
The colours are wrong.
==Meta==
===Notes===
[1] overcorrecting (interestingly, happens with grammar and morphemes but never sounds, as seen with the 'Wug test'), they haven't learned how to invert wh-questions, and the delta of 'that' is a /pain to articulate.
[2] this leads to many a picture of a Hannibal-like blob fighting off a bunch of similarly-sized and shaped yellow and Kaiju blue blobs. 
[3]: "for better or worse" and "goodbye" in Minion (tentative source, and Google 'goodbye in minion')
===Vocabulary===
* HUD: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8A%AC%E9%A0%AD%E9%A1%AF%E7%A4%BA%E5%99%A8
* ETA: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%B0%E7%9D%80%E4%BA%88%E5%AE%9A%E6%99%82%E5%88%BB
===Cut===
Reckoner has a single-plated armoured face and very few externally moving parts. Xiong's like, we're not stopping that thing before it hits the city, so she orders Brave 1&2 to corral it with shots from their cannons and then to brace from impact. The third Brave puts up walls of ice around the harbour with one obvious gap, hoping Reckoner'll head that way. Reckoner does and slams face-first into the two Braves. The 3rd then freezes the two and Reckoner to the sea bed. 
The closest Jaeger's six hours out. 
Xiong knows they don't have six hours.
But she knows where Reckoner's going, which is almost as good. 
"We will lay out a course for Reckoner to follow along its current vector and we will do our best to keep it to that vector. The Horizon Braves will corral Reckoner while it remains in the ocean. Do we have an answer from K-Science?" 
"We will proceed with a plan of four parts. We will begin by creating a path for Reckoner to follow. The Braves will then slow it, giving J-Tech time to finish evacuating the plan. Finally, we will attack."
"We will proceed with a plan of four parts. We will lay out a course for Reckoner to follow along its current vector and we will do our best to keep it to that vector. The Braves will corral it while it remains in the ocean and then slow it, giving J-Tech time to finish evacuating the plan. Finally, we will attack." Xiong exhales. "Do we have an answer from K-Science?"
.
It's less of a wall the Braves build and more like a bunch of fence posts (besides freezing the potential tsunami caused by Reckoner's approach if I decide there's to be a wave). They're not trying to stop Reckoner with the ice, just make every other avenue look really undesirable so it goes where they want it to. 
.
[Braves 1 & 2, and Reckoner are frozen in place, though Reckoner does its best to continue plowing. Brave 3 drags over boats and piers and makes a barricade behind the other two. Meanwhile, the buildings in the flight path taped with explosives and the empty shelters are filled with explosives]
.
She gets the jumphawks teams to scan a strip from the water's edge and back a few kilometres for stragglers. RFIDs in ... oyster? cards mean they have a pretty good idea of where almost everyone is, and the Jumphawk teams clear out a few more people. Xiong then has any JTech who can drive commandeer any sort of bus they can find, empty out the shelters in the area and stash the people and supplies in the 'Dome/Disney (whichever's easiest). Once they're clear, she locates and orders the retrieval of two water bombers and has them filled with orange paint after confirming Kaiju /can see colour (though KSci doesn't know whether they actually /care). KSci knows they care about noise, though (otherwise there still would be plenty of reason for Cherno's foghorn XD ) so a few Jumphawks grab speakers and start blasting show tunes as the bombers douse the area in orange, hoping Reckoner will be even more willing to continue its charge in that direction. Xiong then orders the buildings filled with foam cement and explosives places in such a way that the buildings will topple towards the middle of the strip. Remote charges go in the shelters and will blow at her signal.
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