Highest

== Revised text ==
NOTE: a merger of "Highest", a new scene, "Dizzy", "Intangible", and "Pop!"
Date/Timing: 7 January 2019
Setting: The Shed; Vaucluse, NSW, Australia
.
Pietr finishes the questionnaire with a twirl of his pencil, scribbles a note, and hands the paper over with a flourish.
Chuck peels herself away from her screen full of data on Pietr's magical, unbreakable brain, scans his paper.
- Coffee now? -
Pietr bounces on his toes.
"And I thought Choi was bad ...." She sighs. "Yeah, grab me some while you're out, please."
Pietr waves at Ducky.
"Yea, me, too."
Pietr salutes and nearly sprints from the room, all the way to the canteen and—
Chantell!
Hugs her and her plate of biscuits.
She pats his back as well as she can with hardly any arms.
He squeezes, flies—
Chantell taps his arm.
Attends.
"Finally got your coffee?"
.::Nope!:: Then makes like the happiest of birds in a Disney cartoon and skips to the kitchen.
Chantell giggles, frees a hand.
sing/tell_nguyen: Pietr's finally getting his coffee!
ray_a_drop_of_sun: >___<
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Jackson never stopped
sing/tell_nguyen: short and nice people problems, ay?
ray_a_drop_of_sun: pushed me right on by. Twice!
sing/tell_nguyen: that's the worst--
""/FUCK!""
Andrea leaps a foot off the couch, remote flying even higher—
Sunshiney Rainbow halts mid-warble.
"What?" calls Jackson from where he's slouched beside her on the sofa.
A towel-clad Logan storms from the washroom. "I'd avoid taking a shower anytime soon." Flops into the easy chair. "Unless you feel like being Icy Snowflake, of course—"
"Her name is 'Frozen Snow Prism'," Andrea grumbles.
Logan rolls his eyes. "Unless you feel like being Princess Frozen Snow Prism of the 'Why Am I Watching a Kids' Show Kingdom', go right a-fucking-head and partake in the spray of 'Hot Water Isn't Fucking Working'-ium."
Andrea gets a funny look on her face.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"Oh, nothing." She plasters on a smile. "I need to—Jackson, you stink." Makes for her room—
Lachlan left her a happy face on a sticky note!
She melts a little, sits on her bed—
""Minionfucking pipes,"" growls Logan.
Andrea yanks her phone from her pocket.
ray_a_drop_of_sun: I am so sorry about earlier
ray_a_drop_of_sun: *sorry again about earlier
ray_a_drop_of_sun: I would've stopped but I figured you'd rather drink coffee than wear it
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Copilot will be appropriately punished
Pietr snorts at his mobile, buzzing and projecting messages on the tray.
AGNIS: Would you like me to compose a reply?
Pietr whistles a descending interval.
AGNIS: I will keep something suitably scathing in your file if you change your mind.
AGNIS: Ranger Hill's message continues:
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Also, would be be so kind as to say hi to darling for me please? Thanks!
Pietr smiles.
AGNIS: It would be polite to reply now.
Pietr whistles another descending interval.
AGNIS: Very well. 
Pietr rolls his eyes, thumps on the door to the sim with his forehead.
Another Chuck gets the door. "That was fast."
Pietr, grinning, floats across the control room with an awfully familiar tea service complete with a full pot of coffee, a selection of mugs, a container of cream, a box of sugar cubes, and some spoons.
"If jockeying doesn't work out, you'll make a decent waiter," she grumbles.
Pietr slips by to set the tray on an empty desk.
"He'll do great," huffs Ducky. "Better than /you probably."
Pietr fills a mug to the brim—
Chuck scoffs, "I've seen his transcripts."
—gulps a mouthful—
Ducky puffs up. "So?"
—folds himself into a chair with his mobile, sighing happily.
p_a_vos: Andrea!
"Are you sure he's smart enough to be a Ranger?" Grabs a mug, fills it, adds cream. "His Academy grades were absolute crap."
p_a_vos: Its ok--better, even!
"Well, he's definitely got more brains than you do now!"
Pietr sits, coffee in one hand, mobile in the other, oblivious to them.
p_a_vos: Coffee = bad test
Chuck slams down her cup. "And who's fault would that—"
"We have results~!" sings Caitlin, twirling to a stop between them.
Chuck and Ducky glare.
p_a_vos: Test done
p_a_vos: Now I have whole pot! ^u^
Caitlin scoots a chair next to Pietr's, perches, and beams. "Ready for the good news?"
Pietr looks away from his mobile, smiles.
Chuck waves.
Pietr attends.
.::Lightcap news for you.::
Pietr beams to Chuck—puts down his coffee, waves to Chuck, signs slowly, ::Andrea says hi.::
Chuck gets a funny look on her face.
Pietr queries.
.::I—:: Thinks for a moment. ::I note A back?::
.::Text?::
.::I text A back.::
Pietr gives her a thumbs up, then attends Lightcap and takes another sip of coffee.
"Okay! Let's start with the simplest one. The numbers after the period are your CORO, which is the way your brain is structured to process information. They're ranged on a spectrum from one to ninety-nine. Yours is just about in the middle: forty-four. We use these to estimate how likely it is a pair are Drift Compatible. Usually pairs with COROs within twenty points of each other are at least somewhat Compatible—unless you're a Kaidanovsky and then all bets are off. You and Chuck are a little outside that—he's a sixty-six—but you're stable together so it doesn't matter. This zero marks a physical or mental condition that has to be taken into account when Drifting. Again, it doesn't matter much in your case."
Pietr [nods, 'of] course not'.
"The letter's pretty easy, too. It's a KTSTR; measures the probability of breaking down in the Drift or chasing a RABIT, with 'Z' being the most likely. You're among the most stable, an 'A', and one of only a handful in the entire Corps."
- Good? -
"Very good."
Chuck sniffs.
Ducky scowls at her.
"And /this number is your HSP. These range between one hundred and nine-hundred-ninety-nine. The higher the number, the more flexible you are in terms of the different types of minds you can successfully Drift with. You're a /nine-ninety-one."
- High -
Chuck digs her fingernails into her palms—fuck, the psychologist made sure her nails were short—
"The highest we've ever seen." Caitlin dances a little. "We didn't think we'd /ever see one that high. We didn't think it was /possible to score that high."
Pietr blinks.
- Wow -
Caitlin nods absently, eyes middle distant. "We've seen a of couple nine-eighties and a few nine-seventies, but—" Beams at Pietr. "—/nothing like you."
Chuck's clothes feel like sandpaper and her ears ring; there must be /some way out of this lecture—monitor!
"Here's the awesome part. This means it's not just Cadet Hansen you're Compatible with; we could connect almost /anyone to you with a neural bridge and you'd create a stable handshake. Not only /that, but you'd be able to maintain it no matter /what their subconscious threw at you. You're unshakable. You're ... a key that can fit any mental lock."
"No fuckin' way," breathes Ducky. "He's Compatible with /anyone?"
"Looks like it," Caitlin chirps. "If the models he just broke still apply, of course. We'll have to test him against some other partners to make sure." She looks at Chuck.
"On it," she mumbles, focused on a terminal. 
"That's fantastic!"
Chuck glances—"Oh no, no /fucking way."
Pietr quirks an eyebrow.
"He--"She points to Ducky. "--happened."
Ducky flinches. 
"We looked Compatible, COROs should've worked together, but, nope. He tossed me out of alignment—"
"Didn't do it on purpose!"
"—did my best to hang on and fried my brain for my troubles; so thanks for that, Ducky, really appreciate it."
"I /did /not do it on purpose!"
"Of course you didn't!" snarls Chuck. To Pietr, "So, yea, no more Drifting for me."
"It's not entirely out of the question," Caitlin says.
Chuck puts her entire self into her eyeroll as she wheels around. "Neural scarring. Bad. Do you really want to risk your Hypothetical?"
"Well, you might end up drooling, but it's a really small chance, vanishingly small, /so small it almost doesn't exist—"
"Like the chance I'm going to say 'yes' to this?"
Pietr nods vehemently.
"I will convince you, mark my words—"
Pietr's stomach whines; he frowns and shushes it.
Lightcap giggles. "I think that's a hint you need lunch."
Pietr beams, pops to his feet, grabs Ducky's arm and—
""Be back in an hour!"" hollers Lightcap.
"Yea, yea," Chuck throws back as Pietr picks up speed.
At the canteen, Pietr bounces through the line, collects enough food for /two Rangers, three /more cups of coffee, and a sappy smile from the person behind the counter.
Chuck gathers his own mountain of calories, follows Pietr to Team Lucky territory.
Pietr plunks them down next to the Squire.
"Vos," he greets.
Pietr frowns.
"Pietr, right." Shakes his head. "Youngsters these days have no manners."
Pietr sticks out his tongue.
Squire chuckles—lights up (he can /glow?), pulls out his mobile—
Pietr makes grabby hands.
—leans away—"Easy there, Simba! Lemme get this opened."—passes it over.
Pietr melts.
Squire pokes him—"Give."—holds out a hand.
Pietr flutters out /his mobile and presents it to the Squire.
Who melts.
Chuck tugs Pietr's sleeve. "What're you looking at?"
He shows Chuck the screen. 
A blanket covered in little yellow ducks—oh, and a blob of a baby peeking out.
Chuck grunts, hunches back into his meal.
His tray's clean and Pietr and the Squire are still gooping over babies so Chuck plods off. 
Maybe Max wants a walk.
Halfway there—
""Shortstack!""
"/What."
Scarface leans on the doorframe, hands in pockets. "Your copilot dump you already?" Clicks his tongue. "You go through 'em like socks."
Chuck charges—
Scarface slides out of the way.
—past into Klingon--
A Trooper dives out of the way.
--and they hit the floor and it's /on.
The crowd in the Rec cheers.
"Yay," mutters Bilawara, tapping her mobile. 
Dargan_105: There's a situation in Main Rec 00. 
AGNIS sighs, triggers an alert in Central Monitoring. 
AGNIS: Thank you for the update. 
AGNIS: Even though it seems you think I don't have eyes and ears everywhere. 
"We've got a fight!" calls Kneeshaw, transferring the camera feed to the main screen.
Dargan_105: Just doing my job. 
AGNIS: I would say 'poorly' except notifying me of incursions is part of your job description. 
Dargan_105: :D
"Joneses versus Younger Hansen /again?" whines Aikenhead. "This's getting old."
"This /never gets old." Smacks a bill on the console. "Ten on the kid."
"Pfft! He's got /no chance." Slaps down another tenner.
"I'm betting Vos shows up to rescue him."
""Officer Vos is unlikely to intervene,"" drawls AGNIS. 
"Why's that?"
""He is currently squeeing over babies with Officer du Croz.""
"Fuck."
Aikenhead cackles, "Too late now!"
"Aww, duuuuude."
""You should take into account all available information before placing wagers, Officer Kneeshaw,"" AGNIS chides and pings S-CDAR_533.480-G's COMMUNICATOR.
Chuck digs out her mobile, continues her stroll to the canteen.
AGNIS: Have you already forgotten your promise to text Ranger Hill?
Chuck stutters to a halt.
AGNIS: 'Hi' will suffice. 
not_a_monkey: K
AGNIS: Your mood does you no favours. 
Chuck frowns, types carefully, 
not_a_monkey: Pietr said you said hi
AGNIS: You should get more sunshine.
ray_a_drop_of_sun: That I did!
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Hi! again XD
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Welcome back!
not_a_monkey: Thanks
AGNIS: You may also wish to choose an alternate route to the canteen.
not_a_monkey: ?
""'ey, Rapunzel!"" yells Logan.
ray_a_drop_of_sun: Having a good stay?
AGNIS: That's why.
"/What, Jones."
"C'mon over and sit a spell!"
Chuck glances over.
The Jones brothers sit, rather comfortably it looks like, atop a squirming, hissing Ducky.
Chuck stifles a bubble of laughter, says instead, "I have work to do." with a flip of her braid, and continues down the hall—
"Didn't know you /could work any more, seeing you're missing so much've your brain," says Logan.
Chuck freezes—drags herself around. "What did you say?"
"Oh, you're hard of hearing, now, too, sorry; What is with you, Chuckles, and these copilots of yours?" Jones clears his throat, says loudly, "Rapunzel, I didn't think you /could—" 
Chuck stuffs away her mobile, charges—
"/Fuck!" Dives out of the way.
—collides with Jackson and they hit the floor and it's /on.
Chuck scrambles to his feet, yanks Scarface away from Chuckold, and lands a solid shot on his cheek, but the asshole laughs it off and connects with Chuck's ribs. He rolls with it, lines up a gut shot, punches—flies backwards, whumps into a bunch of arms which octopus on, hold him tight.
Pietr stomps past, catches Scarface's arm, and spins him to the opposite side of the circle.
Then he shoves himself between Chuckold and Klingon—she slashes at him /over Pietr's back—and pushes them out of striking range. He glares at Chuck, lips thin, hands snapping.
Chuck sulks, grinding his teeth.
Pietr rolls his eyes, signs some more.
Chuckold wipes blood from her upper lip. "He—" Jerks a thumb at Chuck. "—started it."
He makes a strangled noise.
Pietr sighs.
Chuck glares at him defiantly.
Pietr frowns, crosses his arms over his chest, and taps his foot.
Chuck keeps glaring.
Pietr throws up his hands. He grabs both Chucks by their upper arms and drags them away to a chorus of catcalls and foot-stomping from their audience of troopers.
After the short and embarrassing march back to the simulator room, Pietr throws them in and kicks the door closed.
"Chuck, what happened?"
Chuck and Chuckold say--
Lightcap holds up a hand for silence. "My Chuck, what happened?"
Chuck pouts.
"That little menace—"
"Who're you callin'—"
Chuck gets a hand clapped across his mouth and squirms with fury as Pietr gives Lightcap a thumbs up.
"—picked a fight with the Jones brothers and I got dragged in to save his ass."
Chuck wrenches himself out of Pietr's grip. "I was doing just fine before you stuck yerself in!"
"They were sitting on you!"
"I was getting ready for my next move!"
"Which would've been getting your teeth knocked in!"
"Shut up!"
"Make me!"
"Both of you! Be quiet! Little Chuck—"
"Oi!"
"Fine, Young Chuck—"
"/Oi!"
Lightcap rolls her eyes. "Just get in the sim. I've got all the data I can from Pietr solo."
Chuckold snaps, "You're not getting me anywhere near his head!"
"Not you, Chuck. /You."
Chuck shifts smugly.
Chuckold blinks in relief and starts adjusting the simulator's settings.
Four twenty-minute Drifts of doing nothing later, Caitlin pipes over the intercom, ""Okay, boys! Time to add a Kaiju and see what you do. Chuck's coming in to help with the motion-capture gear.""
Chuckhold shtumps in, stuffs stiff gloves into Chuck's hands, drops a pair of rubber boots at his feet, everything trailing ribbons of wire and cable.
""I've turned the buzzers down to their minimum so no matter what happens—even if you 'die'—it won't hurt. You've got no special weapons and, since we don't have the armatures connected, you're at full speed, so just punch it 'til it dies. Got it?""
Chuck finishes jamming his feet into the boots, flashes a thumbs up.
Chuckold's still helping Pietr with his gloves, grumbling something about expecting him to be more coordinated.
Chuck growls.
If she hears, she ignores him and finishes.
Pietr grins at her, and she stomps back out.
""Neural handshake initiating,"" AGNIS warns.
/Blue, a softness, /together, a twitch. 
""Pilot to Jaeger connection complete,"" announces AGNIS.
"Where the hell are we?" Chuck scans the simulated environment. "Is ... is this fucking London?"
""Just hit the Kaiju, Ducky.""
"Don't call me that!"
A bare handful of punches later, the thing slumps over.
""Aaaand it's dead. Shutting you down,"" says Lightcap.
AGNIS drawls, ""Neural handshake terminated.""
""Nice work, gents. We're gonna wash, rinse, repeat. Same as before.""
/Blue, a softness, /together, a shiver.
""Pilot to Jaeger connection complete.""
"Jaeger Academy?"
""Just hit it, Ducky.""
"Stop /calling me that!"
A tug at his attention.
Chuck looks to his left and squares up to face the rapidly approaching Kaiju.
Down it goes, quick as the last.
""Neural handshake terminated.""
There's barely time for a deep breath before Lightcap's asking, ""Ready?""
"Bring it on."
/Blue, a softness, /together, the slightest wobble.
""Pilot to Jaeger connection complete.""
"What the hell is this?"
""Don't know your geography, Ducky?""
"Shut. It."
Oh look. Another dead Kaiju.
""Neural handshake terminated.""
""Next!"" chirps Lightcap.
/Blue, a softness, /together, a /slosh.
Chuck flicks his head clear.
""Pilot to Jaeger connection complete.""
""Any complaints this time, Ducky?""
Chuck grumbles wordlessly.
They make quick work of the Kaiju.
""Neural handshake terminated.""
"Can't you give us somethin' tougher? These all went down easy."
""I'll give you 'somethin' tougher,' you little—""
Lightcap interrupts, ""Ready for round five?""
A bolt of fear and Chuck's skin breaks out in goosebumps; he twists to face Pietr. ::You okay?::
Pietr shakes his head slowly, then freezes.
.::What's wrong?::
.::Dizzy. Sick.::
Chuck yanks off his gloves—
""What're you doing?"" snaps Chuckold.
—takes hold of Pietr's arm, guides him backward to the bench along the wall, eases him down.
Pietr sags, swallows hard..
""What's going on in there?"" calls Lightcap. ""Cadet!""
Chuck ignores her. ::You gonna puke?::
.::Maybe.::
.::Any idea why?::
""What's happening? Talk to me guys!""
.::Drifting. Start. Drop. Dizzy.::
Chuck blinks. ::That doesn't happen if you brace for it.::
.::How?::
.::Well, when the countdown—::
.::What countdown?:: Pietr swallows again.
Chuck face-palms. ::It's an audio count:: He pivots on the bench. "Doctor Lightcap!"
""What? What's happened to Pietr?""
"He can't hear the handshake countdown—"
""He hasn't had any warning it's starting? /Crap.""
"No, and now he's dizzy and thinkin' of throwin' up."
""/Crap! New assignment, Chuck! Rig up a visual interface for him. You have 'til tomorrow morning. I'll try to salvage /something from this data.""
"Lemme get unhooked an' I'll—"
""Not you, the other Chuck.""
""Let him do it. I could use some sleep.""
""Nice try. Get to work. Chuck, take Pietr to Medical and have him checked out. I've got more tests to run on him tomorrow.""
Chuck's stomach lurches.
Pietr slumps against the wall, eyes closed. 
He taps Pietr's shoulder.
Pietr cracks an eye.
.::Want help with the gloves?::
.::Boots.::
Chuck nods and sets to work on the footgear, while Pietr tugs at his gloves, and then Chuck tucks himself under Pietr's arm and helps him stand.They have to stop twice for Pietr to throw up, but they make it to Medical in one piece.
The doctor listens to Chuck's explanation of the problem, turns a little greyer than strictly necessary, and announces Pietr will be spending the night.
Just in case.
Pietr sighs, shuffles into the room a nurse indicates, perches on the bed.
Chuck smacks his hands away from his boots, undoes the laces, slides them off.
Pietr smiles weakly. ::Thanks.::
"How're ye feelin'?"
.::Awful::
"What's it feel like? Without a countdown?"
.::Drop tower ride.::
Chuck winces. "Over 'n over?"
.::Yea.::
"And you still fought?"
.::Yea.::
"/Jesus. Can I bring you anything?"
.::Water.::
Chuck hops up and returns with a plastic cup.
.::Thanks.::
"Welcome. Anythin' else?"
Pietr shakes his head a smidgen.
"Umm ... can I hang out here?"
Pietr shrugs as he drains his water. He presses the cup into Chuck's hand, and then slowly lowers himself to the mattress, closes his eyes, and curls up on his side.
"You're one tough bastard," Chuck mumbles. He flops into the visitor's chair and—startles awake at a gentle tap on his arm.
Nurse Frost says, "Sorry, Cadet, but you need to leave so your copilot can rest."
Chuck digs in. "He's sleeping just fine with me here."
Pietr sighs.
"See?" Chuck smugs.
"Well, I didn't want to mention it, but you're pretty obviously late for dinner."
"What're you—?"
Chuck's stomach agrees loudly.
Nurse Frost smiles. 
Chuck huffs, heaves himself to his feet, plods to the door, glances over his shoulder—
Pietr's still sleeping.
—sulks out of Medical, through tertiary halls, all the way to the suite, and sticks his head in the door. "Max!"
Max trots over, tail wagging happily.
Someone's rattling around in the washroom.
Chuck grumps.
Max whuffs.
Chuck crouches, cups Max's chin, kisses his forehead.
Max licks his face.
"C'mon, Handsome, let's get outta here."
Max barks.
Chuck leads the way to the canteen, collects a bowl of Rainbow Rings, looks for an empty spot—"You've gotta be shitting me."
He drops his tray as far from Chuckold's as he can in the tiny island of empty space next to her.
She ignores him.
He ignores her right back.
Max wedges himself between them.
They eat.
Scott sits down across the table, bobs his chin. "Chuck, Chuck."
"Scott."
"Ranger Hansen."
"Oof, that /stings, Chuck."
"I always call you Scott."
"Little bit of a rank gap, now," Chuckold says flatly.
"I was talking to older Chuck, Chuck. 'Scott''s fine."
"Evening, Scott."
"Evening, Chuck. Herc ever tell the two of ye he was hoping you'd get married some day?"
Chuck spews cereal across the table.
"Yup," says Chuckold.
Chuck's indignant.
"You were a baby."
"I was /fourteen!"
"/Being a baby."
Chuck pouts.
"Kinda like now," smirks Chuckold.
Scott joins in.
Chuck slams to his feet—"C'mon, Max!"—storms out, passing Doctor Lightcap—
"Cadet Hansen!" she greets. 
Chuck grunts something of a reply. 
"I've finished scoring Pietr and I'm off to give it to the Marshal and this is so exciting~!" Floats into the Administrative area. "Chantell!" 
"Doctor Lightcap!" grins Chantell, getting to her feet. "How're things?" 
"Awesome~!" sings Lightcap. "May be some corrupted data, though."
Chantell leans against her desk. "Problem with the equipment?" 
"No, Pietr—he's in Medical now—"
Chantell's eyes go kinda wide and her skin greys. 
Lightcap's heart skips a beat—"It's just nausea! He couldn't hear the handshake countdown, Chuck—Darling Chuck—'s working on an interface with what she can find around DriftSci—by the way, where /are Jim and the others?" 
"In light of your grand discovery, they thought it best not to interfere with their own particular ways of doing things." Offers the visitor's chair. 
Lightcap declines, says, "I have—" Squeezes the report. "—/this to give to the Marshal." 
Chantell nods, tilts back—
"That's so sweet of them." 
She agrees, yells, "Dad!" 
""Titles, Officer."" 
"Marshal, Doctor Lightcap's here to see you if you have a minute or three which I know you do so stop with the baby pictures and kick your boyfriend out already."
A beat. 
""Thank you, Officer.""
"You're [welcome~!"
Lightcap stifles a giggle. 
Chantell grins. 
du Croz comes from Nguyen's office. "Doctor."
Lightcap beams. "Officer." 
du Croz nods to her, narrows] his eyes at Chantell. "Officer."
She grins wider. "Officer." 
He shakes his head, but he's also smiling, and he leaves.
"Go forth!" says Chantell. 
"Thank you~!" Nearly skips into Nguyen's office. "I've got Officer—or is he a Cadet now?—Vos' classification report!"
Nguyen straightens a file, closes it very gently. "And you're hand-delivering it? Must be exciting, Doctor." Offers the visitor's chair.
Lightcap grins and sits. "You've made the discovery of the year."
"Lovely. What did I do?"
"You found Pietr Vos." She passes him a memo.
He reads it. 
Lightcap attempts to refrain from squeeing. 
"My Drift Science is a little rusty, but these numbers seem rather high."
"They're the highest we've ever found. Pietr is closer to universally Drift Compatible than we thought possible."
"Universally Compatible? Well, that certainly explains what happened with Hansen."
"That's only the /beginning. Pietr's a walking /revolution in Drift Science and we never would've found him if it weren't for you."
"Good thing I was getting desperate for a pilot, then." He smiles. "And, no, you can't have him. I still need a pilot and he still needs a lot of training."
"Can I borrow him during his downtime?"
"He's not going to /have any downtime. You know what it's like to build a uniquely specialized Jaeger, Doctor."
"Dear god, not that third arm, not on the SE."
"Only the feet, I promise." Nguyen sighs. "Her AI and control systems will need a lot of work to compensate for Vos' disability."
Lightcap brightens. "We're already working on a speech-to-text HUD for LOCCENT audio. That should shave off some development time."
"Doctor." Nguyen presses the pads of his fingers together. "I appreciate your research interest in my new Cadet, but I have a rather large section of Pacific coast to protect and I need that man and his Jaeger in fighting shape as quickly as possible."
"I should be clearer, then." Lightcap leans forward. "If I can figure out what it is about Pietr's brain that lets him score this high, we might be able to make anyone Compatible."
Nguyen mulls this over.
Lightcap does her best to focus on the 'now' and not on what could be but there are so many—
"You're talking about artificially inducing Drift Compatibility."
"That's one possible application of the research."
"So if I give you Vos now, you might—/might—be able to give me any pair of candidates I want in the future."
"That's another possibility, yes."
Nguyen sighs. "I need you to appreciate my position, Doctor. I have the largest patrol area of any Shatterdome, the first—and, if there is any sanity in this world, not the last—Mark V Jaeger under construction and in need of pilots, and ten months to make a perfect fighting machine from a man whose first Drift was /barely three days ago with a disability that nearly ended his PPDC career before it began and the most brilliant and most difficult Cadet we've ever seen who just happens to be the fifteen-year-old son of one of my Rangers."
"But the possibilities—!"
"Doctor, I sympathize, but I have to prioritize combat readiness over research. If you can find me someone else capable of a stable handshake with Hansen, I'll revisit my decision."
Lightcap considers a response.
"I'll even settle for a matched pair of equal capability."
Lightcap opens her mouth to reply.
Nguyen holds up a hand. "Look, I'm already losing Vos for two weeks next month. I can't spare him. At least not until the SE is online."
"You're giving him leave? Cancel it and send him to Anchorage!"
Nguyen shakes his head, "I can't do that, Doctor. The man hasn't seen his wife and children in over a year. I have responsibilities, but I'm not a monster."
"A /year?"
"A year." Nguyen nods. "He was a valuable commodity among the Marshals even before your discovery. Well-behaved Fightmasters are hard to keep. I'm lucky to have gotten him at all."
"We almost lost him."
"/Missed, Doctor, not lost. If he's what your numbers say he is, someone would've found him eventually."
"But you're the one who did."
Nguyen shrugs. "If you want to thank someone, thank Jackson Jones. He's the one who put the idea of testing with Vos in Hansen's head."
"Jackson Jones."
"Yes."
"The same Jackson Jones who's made it his life's mission to torment the kid."
"The same."
"I think I'll stick with thanking you."
"Probably wise. Wouldn't do to stroke Jackson's ego too much. He might become insufferable."
Lightcap snorts.
"Is there anything else, Doctor?"
"You're /sure I can't borrow Pietr? Just for a week? Or two?"
Nguyen sighs. "No, Doctor, but I will make sure you receive all the data we collect on him."
Lightcap deflates.
"Thank you for this." Taps the memo.
"You're welcome, Marshal." Lightcap pushes to her feet.
""Have a pleasant evening, Doctor.""
"You, too," she replies and sulks out the door.
"What happened?" asks Sergio, digging himself from a visitor's chair.
"Nguyen won't give me Vos even though he could provide the breakthrough we need for-for /so /much!" Throws out her arms. "He just wants him as a /soldier! What a /waste!"
Sergio steers Cait from the offices toward their guest quarters. "Got a problem with 'just soldiers'?"
"Of—Well, /no, but—" Frustrated noise. "I could do /so /much with him!" she whines.
"You've got another day where he's all yours, Eleven."
"Right!" Cait lights up. "Time to—"
"Celebrate our find." Sergio grins. "I'm opening the champagne as soon as we get back to our rooms."
"We have champagne?"
"You made Monkey pack champagne."
"I did?"
"Yep." 
"Cool!" Oozes against Sergio's side. "I'm so smart."
"Yes, you are."
They stroll for a bit—
/pop!
A cork flies by inches from Sergio's nose. 
Multiple people inside the rec room cringe.
"What's—?"
"Ranger! Doctor!" greets someone Sergio /almost remembers (Leslie? Langlie? Langtree?). "Hope you don't mind we started the celebration without you." Offers a paper cup. 
"Nooo ... that's just fine." Sergio accepts his champagne.
"AGNIS let us know you've made a breakthrough worthy of a party, Doctor, and suggested we all celebrate together."
"Did she now," mumbles Sergio into his drink.
"We did!" sings Cait. "We found my hypothetical—well, formerly-hypothetical now—universally Drift Compatible person."
"Really?!"
Cait nods fervently.
"You have to give Doctor Donnelly the latest! He's over here!" Person grabs Cait's arm and whisks her away through the crowd.
Sergio scans—
"Ranger D'onofrio!" greets Nate, sliding between bodies like a shark.
"I'm not sleeping with you."
"Can't a girl just say 'hello'?"
"I'm still not sleeping with you."
"Message received and acknowledged, Ranger." Takes a dainty sip. "How fares Officer Darling?"
"She's not sleeping with you, either." 
Nate rolls her eyes. "I do /occasionally think of matters beyond the confines of a bedroom. I'm inquiring about her recovery."
"Ah, of course." 
They sip, Nate eyeing Sergio over her cup. 
"She's had a nice string of good days, a couple not good days, and only one very not good day." Snorts. "Had a very good day today; She and Littlest Hansen apparently held their own in a brawl with the Jones brothers this afternoon."
"Really, now," sighs Nate.
Sergio quirks an eyebrow.
Nate waves it away. "Everything is as it should be, then."
"Seems like." 
They sip. 
"I think," Sergio says quietly, "it would be best if Chuck didn't connect the 'you' in Anchorage with 'you' here."
"I agree."
They sip. 
Nate suddenly lasers in on something across the room.
"Target acquired?"
"False alarm." Nate returns her attention to Sergio. "I must, however, temporarily abandon you. I can't appear /too monogamous."
Sergio bobs his head. "See you 'round, Ms Barclay-Harvey."
"Most definitely, Ranger," she purrs and sashays away.
Two more cups of bubbly and some small talk later, Cait floats over, blushing and giggly. "Where's Chuck?"
"Haven't seen her yet. Hold this while I go find—"
""Or you could ask me, Ranger D'onofrio,"" sniffs AGNIS from Sergio's pocket.
"Yes, of course, Miss," says Sergio, freeing his phone. "Where's Monkey?"
""Officer Darling is in the Jaeger simulator control area soldering assorted bric-à-brac to a spare Ranger helmet.""
"Would you ask her to join us, please?"
""One moment, please.""
Sergio and Cait sip, basking in the quiet of their little corner. 
""Officer Darling regrets to inform you that she will have to pass on your most kind offer of intoxication.""
"What she actually said was more like 'that sounds like fun so I'm not going', right?"
""Her exact answer was, quote, 'No', unquote.""
Sergio sighs long-sufferingly. "AGNIS, please /order Officer Darling to report for champagne and a break."
""I will do my best, Ranger.""
Cait and Sergio sip.
""Officer Darling is grumping along a vector which will have her arriving in the next five minutes.""
"Thanks, AGNIS."
""You are welcome, Ranger.""
"AGNIS?"
""Yes, Doctor?""
"Where's Pietr? He should be here, too."
""The newly-minted Cadet is in his quarters discussing the cuteness of Cousin Bram's new puppy with his daughter.""
Cait coos.
"Think we'll leave him to that."
""A wise course,"" drawls AGNIS.
"Thanks for your help, Miss."
""You're welcome, Ranger.""
Sergio puts away the phone, takes another sip of champagne.
Cait leans against him, glowing.
Sergio frowns at his cup. "You know, I don't think we packed this much champagne."
Cait hums. 
Sergio shrugs, sips. 
Cait yawns. 
Sergio considers the room. 
Cait snags another cup. 
"I don't think we owned this much champagne /to pack."
Cait tucks herself under his arm, giggling into her cup. 
Sergio considers, takes a sip. 
Cait sways a bit. 
Sergio reflects on the taste. 
"Five syllables~!"
"I really don't think we owned this much /good champagne to pack."
Cait giggles. "Why question it?"
"I don't like mysteries."
They sip.
Nate glides up. "Enjoying the champagne?"
"Of course, silly me," murmurs Sergio.
"It's /great!" chirps Cait.
"I'm very glad it meets your approval. I'll admit I was a bit worried it was too young for the occasion."
"It's /perrrrrfect."
Nate smiles warmly, returns to the party.
"Did you say something?" asks Cait.
"Nothing, Eleven. Enjoy your drink."
They sip.
Chuck and her personal stormcloud appear—
"Monkey!" Cait cheers and squishes Chuck.
She glowers. 
"You need a drink! C'mon!" Cait drags her over to the bottles.
They're back in a moment. 
"Do I have to?" 
"Pleeeeease?" 
Chuck sighs heavily, pointedly drains her cup in a single swallow. 
Cait cheers. 
"Can I go now?"
"Miiiingle, Chuck."
"Hypothetical? HUD? Building?" Throws a dark look over the room. "Certainly not gonna happen /here," she sneers.
"Hypothetical!" Cait blinks. "Why isn't my Hypothetical here?"
"Because he's talking to his family, Cait."
"Oh. Riiiight."
Chuck inches back. "Are you /drunk?"
Sergio says, "A little."
Cait hiccups.
Chuck lowers her chin.
"Maybe more than a little," Sergio concedes.
"So ...?"
"Soooo, I'll put her to bed while you finish soldering?"
"Sure." Chuck turns on her heel and she's gone.
Sergio sighs. "C'mon, Cait. Bedtime."
"But the party's just gettin' started!"
"Not for you."
Cait pouts, but lets Sergio steer her from the room, from the hall, all the way to bed.
Go, Team DriftSci! arc: (Hypothetical) | Pons Made of Garbage | A Distinct Lack of Caffeine | Highest | Grooming | Plushie | Interface | Safe | Sync | Cake | Aye, Aye, AGNIS | Exclusion | Jockeying | Sleepytime | Go, Team DriftSci! | Go! | Up | Rubber and Glue | (Go Over) 
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