The Big Idea

Date/Timing: 8 and 15 September 2014
Setting: Shinohara Heavy Industries Headquarters, Tokyo; convention center, Seoul, South Korea
=== 8 September 2014 ===
Tokyo, Japan「Ideas! Answers!」 shouts Chief Barclay-Harvey, striding into the room. 「/Now, Doctors!」 He throws himself into the seat at the head of the conference table, smacks his palms flat on the tabletop.
Takako jumps.
Everyone else exchanges nervous glances or fiddles with their notes.
「Look,」 Chief says, not unkindly, 「I know /I'm still shaken up about what happened last week, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if you are, too.」 A deep breath. 「But I want a way to make those big, grey fuckers /hurt for what they did to my city and I want it now.」
Silence, aside from some papers shuffling.
「Doctor Hisakawa?」
「We're engineers, Chief, not soldiers. There's nothing we can do.」
「With respect, Doctor, /bullshit. We do two things really, /really well.」 Holds up a finger. 「We build things.」 Raises another. 「We make money to pay other people to build or do things.」 Leans forward. 「Now, tell me how we can do those things to kill Kaiju.」
Tsukuda digs his elbow into Takako's side, hisses, 「Tell him!」
Chief lasers in on them.
/Shit.
Takako clears her throat. 「Well, uh, sir—」
「'Chief', please, Doctor Yamamoto.」
She ducks her head. 「Chief, I've been running some simulations and I think—」 Steels herself. 「—I think that a suitable means for confronting Kaiju would be powered exoskeletons of similar size.」
Chief ponders, then a slow smile creeps across his face. 「You're talking about giant robots.」
「Yes, sir—Chief.」
He steeples his fingers. 「Can we do it?」
Takako ....
「Doctor?」
Takako shakes herself back into the moment. 「The exoskeleton itself would be no problem—aside from sheer cost—for Shinohara and our usual contractors, but we would need assistance on the control systems.」
「Help from whom?」
Takako frowns thoughtfully. 「DARPA and Carnegie Mellon University have a promising neural net which may suit and Stark—」
Chief rolls his eyes.
「—Industries is having some success with a system combining eye-tracking and tactile feedback. We would also need a team to create software for the computerized systems.」
「We don't have anyone who can do that in-house?」
「No one has the necessary level of skill.」
Chief barks, 「Doctor Tsukuda!」
He snaps straight. 「Chief.」
「Start headhunting programmers. The best from anywhere. Money's no object.」
「Yes, Chief.」
Chief grunts, 「That's sorted.」 
「Chief, if I may speak frankly?」
「Go ahead, Doctor Hisakawa.」
「You can't /seriously be contemplating this plan. It's utter—」
「—genius,」 finishes Chief.
Hisakawa's jaw drops.
Chief leans back. 「Think about it. Direct human control means accuracy better than any computer guidance system. Beating the things to death—which I assume would be the plan, Doctor Yamamoto?」
Takako nods.
「Beating the Kaiju to death means less of that toxic blood splattered everywhere and, best of all, they're not goddamn nuclear bombs.」 Chief's voice drops to a growl. 「I don't want the world to lose half of /another city when the next one comes lumbering out of the ocean.」
Hisakawa swallows. 「Yes, Chief.」
「I want numbers, rough specs, and a splashy presentation ready by the end of the week.」 Grins with all of his very white teeth. 「We're going to present this at that fancy conference in Seoul on the fifteenth.」
「Chief,」 says Hisakawa, 「I can't, in good conscience, let you do this. You'll be laughed out of the room.」
「We'll never know if we don't try, ay?」
Hisakawa hangs his head and a silent moment passes.
「Right, then. Doctor Yamamoto, you're in charge. Take anyone and anything you need.」 Chief stands. 「Make this happen, Doctors.」
「Yes, Chief,」 says the chorus.
He snaps a nod, strides out.
Takako slumps in her seat, exhales shakily.
「That went … well?」 offers Tsukuda.
.
=== 15 September 2014 ===
Seoul, South Korea
Takako perches on her seat in the auditorium at the Seoul Conference, picking at her cuticles.
Chief leans closer, whispers, 「Relax, Doctor. You've got this.」
She smiles weakly.
""We will now hear a proposal from Doctor Takako Yamamoto, representing Shinohara Heavy Industries of Tokyo.""
「Break their legs, Yamamoto.」
Takako smiles, stands, straightens her jacket, and strides to the stage.
"Doctor Yamamoto." Mr Wilson yields the podium in a manner Takako would call 'grudging' if she were completely honest.
"Thank you, sir," she says sweetly instead, bringing up the presentation on the laptop and the big screen behind her. "We at Shinohara respectfully suggest anti-Kaiju weapons constructed by a coalition of industry, academia, and government." Advances to the next slide. "These weapons would be powered exoskeletons comparable in size and power to the Kaiju to engage them directly in battle."
""Giant /robots?""
""You're /mad.""
""Do you take us for complete idiots?!"" 
Takako wants to melt into the floorboards.
""You've /clearly watched too much anime, Miss.""
""That's 'Doctor' to you, ye asshole!"" bellows Chief.
""Oh, you're here, Harvey. You put the poor thing up to this, didn't you?""
""Doctor Yamamoto and her idea have my full support, yea.""
""Figures.""
""You've got something better? Or maybe you just want to nuke everything? Been doing a bloody good job with that so far. You've wrecked more than the goddamn Kaiju!""
A painful, silent beat.
""I think the good Doctor and Mr Barclay-Harvey may be on to something with this plan.""
""Thank you, Schoenfeld.""
Takako can hear the silent addition of 'ye philandering, cradle-robbing asshole' and does not smile.
""That's 'Doctor Schoenfeld' to you,"" he smarms.
.
"Richard!"
"Schoenfeld."
"Ouch. Is that how you treat an old friend and colleague?"
"No." Richard sips coffee.
"May I sit down?"
Richard shrugs.
Schoenfeld huffs—
Richard smiles into his mug.
—settles in, sprawling a little.
Richard sips.
"So ... when—"
"If."
"/When they give me the Jaeger—"
"You've already named them."
Schoenfeld smirks, shrugs. "It seemed to strike the proper chord."
Richard scoffs.
"Anyway, when—"
"If."
"/When they give me the Jaeger development program, can I count on you and yours to play nice?"
Richard sets down his mug with a solid /thunk. "I'd play nice with the bleeding devil to hurt those things." Holds Schoenfeld's gaze. "Oh look. I already am."
Schoenfeld heaves a sigh, spreads his hands. "What did I ever do to you to deserve this?"
"You fuck your students and steal their—and other people's—ideas."
Schoenfeld rolls his eyes. "That's how academ—"
Richard bangs a palm against the table top. "No, it's not! It's /you."
"Tell me how you really feel, Harvey."
Richard sits back, picks up his mug, takes a dainty sip.
"Is this because I stepped in and made sure the big guns in there took your gir—"
"/Doctor Yamamoto isn't '/my' anything. She's one of the most brilliant hydraulic engineers in the world and Shinohara's lucky to have her."
"Just because /you think—"
Richard /bangs down the empty mug, sits straight. "Ye know what, ye little toerag? Shinohara's going to give Doctor Yamamoto /everything she needs to prove it to you and your old white boy's club. /Then we'll see who's thinking what."
"I look forward to seeing that." Tilts his head with another smirk. "You realize you're an old white man, too, right?"
"I had no /clue. Thanks for enlightening me." Leans forward. "I'm an old white man who makes sure a female, Japanese lead engineer gets credit for /her idea. I make sure her bills get paid and stay the hell out of her way." Glares daggers. "And I /definitely stay out of her bed."
"Not your type, is she?"
"Yea, I've got exactly one 'type' and her name's Lindy."
Schoenfeld nods in a 'yea, sure' way and says, "Speaking of your family—"
Richard's jaw tightens.
"—I heard about what happened to your daughter. Is she doing alright?"
"Her trainer assures me she can incapacitate a man in two seconds flat and kill him in another twenty-five. She's working on cutting those numbers in half now." Grins, all teeth. "No one's /ever going to hurt her again."
"Impressive."
Richard regards Schoenfeld. "And I'll bury anyone who tries so deep he'll have to have sunshine pumped down to him and the Aussie fauna I'll send him for company."
"Consider me warned," drawls Schoenfeld.
"Spread the word."
Richard's watch beeps and he pushes to his feet.
"It's time for my victory lunch with Doctor Yamamoto and /her team. You're not invited."
"I'll have my people call your people when it comes time to take bids."
"You do that." Richard spins on his heel and marches out, muttering, "Ye cradle-robbing, exploitative, thieving ratbag."
Category:Ficlet
Category:Tokyo (setting)
Category:Seoul (setting)
Category:Shinohara Heavy Industries staff
Category:Shinohara Heavy Industries
Category:Shinohara Heavy Industries (mention)
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Category:Takako
Category:Takako's POV
Category:Takako (ficlet)
Category:Tsukuda
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Category:Hisakawa
Category:Hisakawa (ficlet)
Category:DARPA (mention)
Category:Carnegie Mellon University (mention)
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Category:Schoenfeld (ficlet)
Category:Ficlets with images
Category:2014 Seoul conference
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Category:Tales from Year Zero