Cover

Cover
(Tango Like You Mean It: Two)
23 April 2017
-April 23, 2017-
[Coyote nuzzles up against Stacker, projecting 'attend?'. [new paragraph]
Stacker's] busy electronically scribbling his signature over the UN documents that state he's now officially Marshal of the Anchorage 'Icebox' Shatterdome. ------Yes, Coyote?
------[I... I came] across something that makes me... uncomfortable, to say the least.
------I'm listening. Flashes of racial slurs flash through Stacker's [mind. [new paragraph] 
Coyote winces at the fierce determination Stacker projects.]
------It's about that book that got made into a movie: I, Robot. The laws of robotics and what DARPA is trying to make is, well, me. I was wondering if maybe I could have a human identity? Just to be safe.
------What exactly are you saying, Coyote?
------Everything that makes you human. Y'know, birth certificate, where you went to school... Stuff like that. I can fabricate most of it but I'll need yours and Tamsin's help with the bank account information. I'm gonna have to pick a place for birth records though. [new paragraph] 
Stacker mulled it over and then sent something down the link that was just between [Coyote's] pilots.
Tamsin pulsed soothing warmth over the bond before her voice pitched into the serious conversation. [Hi, sweetheart.] I hear you wanna have a cover ID.
------Yes. Is... Is that a bad thing? Coyote did occasionally, to quote a human idiom, stick his foot in his mouth when it came to people and social behavior.
------[No, sweetie], I just wanted to make sure. I know there are a few places in Anchorage that can get you an American social.
------Tamsin! We're not supposed to encourage him. Stacker is a strange mix of exasperation and fear.
------Why not? He's perfectly aware of what he's asking for, don't you Coyote?
------I want to exist in the way humans measure [it, he responds] quietly, hurt flaring at the assumption that Stacker didn't think that Coyote deserved recognition.
------That's not what I meant, pup. I'm scared that someone will see past the paperwork and figure out you're a Jaeger. I rue the day that anyone who isn't PPDC finds out about you and- Stacker's memory is vivid as it shows Coyote's coding ripped to pieces and assembled into another Jaeger or shattered altogether as scientists try to figure out how he's alive. All three of them shudder; even Coyote's frame in the repair center shivers a bit.
------You want to protect me. Coyote washed affection over both of his pilots and snuggled close in the mental embrace.
------Yes but... Stacker sighs heavily over the bond and his end flickers with several emotions that finally settle on acceptance. If that's what you want, we'll try our best.
------You're a part of our ohana, as little as that may be, pup. Tamsin murmurs wryly as she shares something with Stacker, who laughs abruptly over the bond.
------Does this mean I'm Mako's younger brother?
------In the ways that it counts, yes, you are her brother. [new paragraph] 
Coyote hums as his pilots strategize how to get him into the bank without giving away that [he] isn't human.
They wait until Stacker has some downtime and then [he and Tamsin gather] the proper materials and [call] him out into the special tablet.
------Alright, let's go over this one more time. You can manipulate the feed to show your prefered human face alongside Tamsin in the vid-con and provide your signature electronically. Show me? [new paragraph] 
Coyote does the equivalent of rolling his eyes across the [bond. [new paragraph] 
Stacker] chuckles quietly.
"Is it working?" he'd dulled the metallic edge to his voice because [Stacker(?)] said he sounded like an AI named GLaDoS. [new paragraph]
Tamsin [giggles, explaining he sounded like an American actor from before Trespasser without it. [new paragraph]
"Oh, good."
"That will work. May I ask why you chose that particular... visage?" [new paragraph] 
Coyote looks down sheepishly on the tablet and picks at the coding on the electronic sweater with a Coyote Tango logo across the front. He looks like a mix between Tamsin and Stacker, green eyes brilliant against his mocha skin and fluffy curls. {new paragraph} "I can change it." {[He] looks at Stacker and} [new paragraph]
[Stacker just gives him a bemused smile.] {new paragraph} "No. It's a good look for you. Tam and I just figured we'd never end up with children; yet here we are with two beautiful ones [who] will carry us on after our time is done." [Stacker replies wistfully.] [new paragraph] 
The bond is full of an emotion that Coyote can't name and [for which Stacker will likely never give him a label.] (He later finds out it's grief with a terrible sort of clarity on his own.) [new paragraph]
[Stacker] switches the tablet to sleep mode and packs it into a suitcase labeled Encryption Level Alpha; Coyote sees all of this through Stacker's eyes.
------I thought on this for a while. What if the associate asks for an electronic picture?
------It's not necessary. You've been watching too many movies with Tamsin again. Did you watch Fifth Element this morning? His pilot's amusement is very clear.
[A beat.]
------... Maybe. I also may or may not have gotten a little lost on Tumblr too, he laughs [sheepishly, pressing] against Stacker's end of the bond.
------Lost on the Internet again. How's the chatter about the Jaeger [Programme]?
------Doing pretty well on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. The Gage twins have a joint account and answer as many questions as they can when not sleeping or on patrol. Tendo's got one too. Becket boys have a Tumblr account and most people seem to think it's run by techs for Gipsy Danger. They're smarter than they appear, which means they're putting on an act.
------Hmm. I'll go ahead and check that out. Their sim records are close to flawless for a pair that literally tumbled in off the streets.
------Stacker... I got a feeling that I won't be the only Jaeger to [wake up]. I don't know which one but it'll happen soon.
------Hmm. Can you [give me a time frame reference]?
------Anywhere from June onward this year. I can't tell you anything past that because I don't know much else.
------Coyote, you're not perfect. You make mistakes, you trip over your words and it's sweet. Imagine if someone overheard me telling your frame that you're cute. Stacker [laughs] even as he hailed a cab to Anchorage's bank.
------Cute? You think I'm cute? Coyote's warm from the compliment and pressed a wordless question down the bond as to why Stacker would call him that.
------It's... not a word I usually use, pup. But it fits you as well as Mako when she forgets {that} she's a representative of both the PPDC and a survivor of a Kaiju attack. You're what little I cherish in this world aside from Tam; it's the last of the Pentecosts and Seviers. I won't ask Mako to change her name. I am happy that you want both of our names as your own.
------I love you. [He's seen] hundreds of instances of love through Tamsin and Stacker's memories and a few from Stacker's eyes. He goes quiet after he utters the words, pulling back until the bond protests.
------I know.
------I love you [too, pup]. Now c'mere. Tamsin pulls Coyote in for an extremely warm mental embrace. He flares back with a picture of holding Stacker and Tamsin in his arms even though he's stuck in the repair bay. You're such a goof.
And you're stuck with me forever, right? Tamsin's end of the bond tightens painfully before she engulfs him in a tight embrace. Right?
I might not have forever, pup. You know I'm sick right? It's why Stacks and I can't pilot you anymore. [new paragraph]
Coyote growls softly in the link, holding onto Tamsin and Stacker as fiercely as he can. ------I'll remember [you, he] promises fervently as he's still tightly wrapped around them. [new paragraph]
Stacker steps into the bank with authority radiating from him. It's what Coyote calls 'Marshal' mode, one that commands attention and respect in a single breath. No one's ever contradicted Stacker when he's really in Marshal mode.
"May I help you, sir?" the attendant took in his PPDC uniform and the man's eyes widened a fraction.
"I have an appointment with a Ms. Jean Lang."
"Oh. Oh. Right this way, sir." Stacker turns and follows the man, his Marshal mode slipping into something a bit friendlier by the time they get to the door. "Ms. Lang? Someone from the PPDC is here to see you."
"Ah, yes, [Marshal]. Pentecost. Come right in." she's firm but sweet and Coyote likes her already. "Mr. Whitmore, close the door behind you, if you will?"
["Yes, ma'am."] The man snaps a sloppy civilian salute towards Stacker and Ms. Lang. She sighs quietly once the door is closed.
"I believe you said your son could not come in with you?"
"Coyote's a bright kid but he's not good around other people yet. Let me bring up the video feed." Stacker answers smoothly as Coyote slips into the tablet, comfortable in the familiar coding that he reads on a weekly basis. "Coyote are you there?"
"Hi. Yeah, 'm here with... Mom."
"Coyote, meet Ms. Lang. She'll be asking you a couple of questions, okay?" Stacker doesn't have to play at the concerned parent part; he'd lived through it once when Mako had lit tripped down the stairs once. Thankfully Stacker had caught her because he'd dropped his paperwork and had literally sprinted to the stairway.
"Okay." Coyote barely remembers to blink and shuffle a bit to the side to play up the act. Being human is harder than it sounds, that's for damn sure. "Umm, go ahead, I guess?" She asks him things he's already memorized by heart, up to and including his new Social Security number for being 'born' in Alaska. "Are... Are we done?"
"Yes, that's all the information I needed for now... Was it Coyote?" Ms. Lang smiles warmly at him and he makes the programming code flush darker across his cheeks.
"His birth parents were fond of Native American mythology."
"Oh. I see." Stacker turns the tablet off and Coyote watches through Stacker's eyes as Ms. Lang fidgets with her stylus for the holoscreen. "He's a sweet boy."
"Yes. Do you still need that electronical signature?" Stacker asks after a fond smile lights up his pilot's face.
"Of course."
"I had Coyote sign at home, if that's okay." Ms. Lang nods as Stacker passes over the e-signature.
"Perfect. [Here's] is the ATM card. He'll have to come up with a PIN number but that can be done online as well. May I do anything else for you or does that conclude your business for today?" she states with a pleasant tone.
"That's all for today, Ms. Lang, though I will recommend your services to the other pilots in the Shatterdome." Stacker stands, shakes her hand and gives a warm smile as he strides back out of the bank. The weather's still a bit nippy so Stacker heads for the Jaeger Retreat that's specifically tailored for pilots and the staff of the PPDC. Not a lot of people know about it but the owner used to be one of Coyote's techs.
"Boss man, it's good to see you again." the man's quiet but has a keen eye for personal quirks; Coyote thinks the man has an inkling about him. "The usual?"
"I think today I'll have the Tango Express. Did you name that one after our Coyote Tango, by any chance?"
"I did, boss man. That Jaeger made an impression with my kids, y'know. They're excited to know that the big guy's being repaired."
"Not a traditionalist?" Stacker's barely holding in his amusement but Coyote's literally howling with laughter through the link and Tamsin's giggling in her hospital bed (much to the confusion of the nurses).
"Nah. Coyote felt like a guy to me. I trust my gut with this kinda thing."
"Hmm." Coyote's pilot makes a neutral noise to cover his internal snickering.
"Alright, boss man, that'll be three fifty." Stacker places a five on the counter and settles into a quiet booth, his gaze thoughtful as he does work on the tablet he brought for the vid-con.
------Stacker, no work here. Read that e-book you've been dying to finish. Coyote chides as the former tech sets down a thick ceramic cup of coffee with a lemon wedge and a few pieces of bread that look sort of like sandwiches. Eat. I'm sure the paperwork will still he there when you get back to the 'dome, my Ranger.
------[You're] very persuasive, pup.
------Uh-huh. It's my job to keep my pilots as happy and healthy as I can. Now eat so I can vicariously enjoy food through you. Stacker laughs and Coyote catches more than a few patrons turning in their direction with marked interest.
------[You're] something else, Coyote. Stacker squeezes the wedge into the coffee and tastes it, not expecting the lemon to combine with ginger and a hint of cinnamon. That's new.
------I like it. It sounded weird on the board but it works out pretty well. His pilot swallows the coffee and then takes a bite out of the rolled up bread. The flavors take his human by surprise but it's the good kind.
"[Hey,] boss man, how's the tremozzini?"
"Is that what you call them?" Stacker asks after he clears out his mouth with a swig of coffee.
"It's my Nonna's recipe from Northern Italy. I grow all of the food myself."
"Oh. Would you consider adding a delivery route to your business? I'm sure the pilots would enjoy this, especially our more... internationally traveled ones."
"Thanks for the [support,] boss man." The man's smile is warm and thankful. [new paragraph] 
Stacker returns it with one of his own, much more rare smiles. [new paragraph]
"Glad you like it. Have a refill on the house before you go, okay?"
"It's not--"
"Ah-ah. I don't want to hear a ['no']; you will take the coffee with, yes?" [new paragraph] 
Stacker sighs and gives in with a shrug. [new paragraph]
The tech's been there since Stacker trained on the original Pons system and hasn't [wavered] in his loyalty since. [new paragraph]
Coyote pokes through some of the memories Tamsin and Stacker share, Tamsin explaining the finer points as Stacker reads through a good third of his e-book. [new paragraph]
When the food is gone and the coffee empty, the tech smiles as he brings by the coffee in a to-go container. [There're] two cups and one's labeled with Tamsin's name. "I hear hospital coffee makes even the drinker of tar flinch. Poor Tamsin needs my coffee. Go cheer her up, okay?"
Stacker nods in agreement and takes the coffee along as he catches another cab to the hospital they're housing her at before the transfer to Hawaii. He walks straight in and stands in front of the nurse on duty solemnly.
"Oh. [Hello, Marshal] Pentecost. She's awake but I'm not sure if she's up for visitors."
"I'm sure she'll want to see me."
"Room 202 on the right then, [Marshal." She waves him through, even with the coffee, offering a wink as he glances] back in confusion. "I hope it makes her feel a bit better."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Stacker's walk is such that no one gets in their way. He balances the cups and opens the door to see Tamsin sitting up with grabby hands.
"Ooo, look at you bringing me coffee in the hospital."
"You remember that tech that followed us?"
"Oh yeah! His Grandfather was that animator for Studio Ghibli. Mmm. Good coffee. They have absolutely no idea how to make it here. Tar is being polite about it." Tamsin leans in to tell Stacker with a laugh that turns into a coughing fit. [new paragraph] 
Stacker supports her and Coyote soothes the pain he feels along the link, taking as much of it as he can without revealing what he's doing. [new paragraph]
"Stacker, are you doing something?"
"No. It's our mutual friend." Stacker responded quietly.
Coyote... she chides over the bond.
I'm not giving it back. No human should have to suffer like this for piloting a Jaeger that saved countless lives. It's my cracked core that gave you this. I'm so sorry, Tamsin, Stacker. Coyote fires back with a waivering tone.
[Oh, pup,] it isn't all your fault. Your core and our hurry to put you together in the first place is what landed us here. If you want to blame anything, blame the Kaiju. I would do it over again to have you [and Mako in my life, Coyote.] Tamsin and I knew this when we stepped into you for the first time. [new paragraph] 
Coyote sniffles along the bond and curls as tight as he can manage around his pilots. Shhh, it's okay. [new paragraph] 
The soothing presences in the bond has him flooded with affection from both parties.
I... Humans are a lot more fragile than I thought.
True, pup, but we're also strong in other ways. >is this Tamsin or Stacker?< Tamsin flashes Stacker a watery smile.
I know. >same question<
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