Purring

Purring
(Into the Blue: One)
4 September 2017
-September 4, 2017-
Romeo comes online with a violent and lonely start. He gasps as he searches for the warmth that he felt only an hour ago. Stepping forward causes him to realize his pilots aren't in him and that he probably shouldn't do that. Thankfully, none of the humans are paying attention so he pulls his pede back into the same position it was in earlier.
Hello. Romeo wordlessly screeched and retreated further into his huge Jaeger framework. Oh. Well then, my apologies, new Jaeger.
Bump over. Poor guy's scared. Go make something malfunction so that his pilots have to come here. the second voice is comforting as it taps against his LOCCENT comm. link. Hey. Name's Coyote Tango. Sorry about Brawler, he's a bit overwhelming at first link. What's your name? Romeo opens the link and thinks for a moment.
Ro-Romeo. Name is Romeo. he coos happily at only stumbling once.
That's good. Okay, you're probably gonna bond with your pilots as soon as they get here but keep working on your speech. If you need me then my link's always open, okay? Coyote says with pride lacing the comm. link they now share.
Thank you. Was... lonely. Romeo hissed as his left leg seized up and he whined quietly.
Yeah, we thought you might need some company and some help all in one. I think Brawler fried one of your leg caliper cables. Sorry about that. Coyote sounded apologetic and Romeo hummed as he pressed understanding down the link. The moment between you and your pilots is special. Can't get in the way of that but I'm right here if you need me.
Like you... better. he insists, mulling the words over before he sends them.
Eh. Brawler grows on you. Romeo sent his confusion down the link and something that he thought only humans could do echoed through the link; laughter, pure and sweet. Human idiom meaning that you'll get used to him as time passes. I really gotta go though. See you soon.
Bye Coyote. he uses the expression his pilots use a lot and gets a flash of warmth sent his way for the trouble of speaking.
"What's the problem with Romeo? I thought he was good after patrol." Bruce, the older pilot by exactly three minutes, asks the frightened tech. Both Gages tower above the poor man and Romeo rumbled deep in his systems. All three of them look up. The tech drops where he stands, passed out from what seems to be stress. "Okay... Not funny, whoever's in the command tower." Romeo ex-vents as he decides which words are best for communicating his awareness.
I am conscious. Trevin trips over the fainted technician and Bruce sways but stands his ground.
Romeo?!
Do you... not want awake? he latches onto Coyote's fading presence as he feels something that hurts.
Hey. None of that Romeo. It's just a shock is all. Jaegers don't exactly... come alive like you just did. Trevin placed a hand on his pede and patted, craning his neck all the way back to look up at Romeo's Conn-Pod.
More than one. he states proudly, happy to share everything with his pilots.
Wow. Can you tell us who? Bruce's edge of the link is now flooding Romeo in warmth like the Drift as Trevin sends something far gentler. Only if you feel like it, dude.
Brawler too... pushy. Coyote is nice. he feels warm at mentioning the others as Bruce and Trevin share a look.
No wonder Stacker's a little more loose. Serg and Cat are unwinding a little easier these days. Bruce murmured as Trevin climbed up the platform to check out the damaged caliper cable. How's the damage?
Not as bad as it could be. Romeo, did someone sabotage you? Trevin pressed concern down the link and Romeo hummed as he pushed back the same warmth Coyote had done for him.
Brawler. Said it was... easier for you to be close when I talk. Coyote apol-apolo... Rrrrgh. Can't say it. Romeo spoke slowly and as completely as he could with his limited vocabulary.
Coyote apologized? Bruce filled in with the wash of emotion even sweeter than the last.
Yes! That is word. Hard to pronounce.
When did you wake up? Romeo pushed the memory down the link and pulled back slightly. Whoa, whoa, come back here. Bruce tugged him into an engulfment of warmth. That's a hug or at least the mental equivalent. Romeo decided that he liked hugs; mental or not. He didn't expect Trevin's hands on his most recent welds, gently tracing the scars of Kaiju combat. Romeo vibrated as his core warmed slightly, contentment flowing against the links he shared with his pilots.
Bruce, you feelin' that?
Romeo's a goddamn cat. Purring like crazy. You know what that is, Big Gun? Bruce asks as Romeo's core continues to vibrate slightly.
Purring? What is a... cat? Trevin sends a memory of a large and stripey grey creature that makes much the same noise as Romeo is making at the moment. Did it have a name?
Meeps. She was the biggest damn cat we ever owned; she was gone when Trespasser hit Cali. She liked water and surfed with us whenever she could. Miss that cat, she was one hell of a furball. Several memories flashed past as Bruce thought about the cat. Romeo could see why they missed the fuzzy thing. But I think you're a little bigger.
A bit, Bruce? Romeo's nearly a hundred times Meeps' size and he's not a pet. Trevin argues back, something harsh flashing down the link his pilot shared with Bruce. Romeo couldn't figure out what it was but it made Bruce soften in the link.
I know.
Pet? he questions with a nudge along the bond.
Umm, it's usually an animal that shares a close bond with a human. You're not a cat and you aren't a pet. Trevin states with a feeling that sizzled through the link. I'm not angry at you, Romeo.
That is good? The burn was anger then; Romeo catalogues it so that he would remember later.
In your case, that's a yes.
I'm glad you are my pilots. he pushed the feeling of a hug down the link, cooing softly as Bruce and Trevin hold him close.
He quickly finds out that Coyote and Brawler were the first to awaken and they didn't want any other Jaeger to feel alone. They met for vocabulary lessons when their pilots weren't available or happened to be busy.
You are progressing quite well. Brawler told Romeo as they finished up.
Bruce an' Trev let me see their memories of school, dude. It's definitely easier to grasp computer ciphers than language an' ain't that a bummer. he laughs as Coyote shows up in Dad's tablet. Stacker need you for somethin' bro?
No. I was hacking into Lars' phone again. He finally got a new one. Coyote smirked, his coding a little brighter with the smugness lighting it up. I don't think he realizes it's me. He keeps muttering about how everything is Dad's fault. If I wasn't supposed to protect humans... Well, let's jut say that Lars would be on my shit-list of people. Romeo agreed because anyone that hurt Dad physically or mentally deserved everything Coyote was throwing at them.
Who's Darja? The anger that snapped from Coyote's coding had both Romeo and Brawler pulling back.
She was Dad's girlfriend. Have we covered consent yet? Coyote sighed as the boiling anger slowly faded.
Yeah. You mean she... with Dad?! Romeo was apalled at the audacity of some humans.
No. She pushed when she shouldn't have and Dad just wasn't ready. Thankfully she transferred before I figured out how to move between devices. As it is, I left a record she'd rather not have staining her reputation. Dad met with someone else that he liked a lot but it went badly. I still think he likes this guy but they aren't sending letters like they used to anymore. Dad's the only person who can keep up with Dr. Geiszler and vice versa. The only time they email is for PPDC business. At least he's got that pilot for company.
Tendo and Mako try their best too. Dad's not alone any more but just in case... We'll be there. Romeo promised with a wash of determination.
How? Only our pilots know we're even aware. Anyone else would think they're crazy. Brawler counters sensibly, his drawl evident as he gets upset.
------We tell [him, he] states simply.
What?!
WHAT?! Both of the other Jaegers unconsciously send disbelief down their comm. links as they do the coding equivalent of a dropped jaw. Are you nuts? He'll think someone pranked his tablet and destroy it. Then where do we meet up? Coyote growls irritably.
I'm dead serious. He needs to know at some point! I mean, what if another one of us wakes up? When is it safe to tell Dad? We gotta do it now before that really does happen. We don't want him doing a sand facial or selling Buicks when he realizes that we're awake and functioning in this war. Some Jaeger could come online and get erased if we aren't careful but we need to take that risk. Romeo argues back, his coding flaring between anger and indignation. Just cause I woke up last doesn't mean you haven't thought it through. Right? Coyote sighs and Brawler's coding shuffles as they silently admit it.
He's right, Brawler. If not now then we're never gonna get around to it. We shouldn't deny Dad because we want to keep him and everyone else safe. At some point... At some point, someone's gonna discover us that isn't a pilot and wouldn't understand what we do. Coyote points out as they sit in Dad's tablet.
I can't exactly say that I wasn't thinkin' about the eventuality of someone outside our Rangers knowin' we exist. I just don' want to give Dad a heart attack cause we tell him. Brawler finally agrees with a flicker of disappointment. I hoped we wouldn't have to but it looks like we might need to before another one of us wakes up. Better with just the three of us anyhow because any more and I think Dad would faint clean away.
So, now that we agree about doing it, how do we do it without feelin' like we're going through a riptide? he prompts quietly into the ethernet waves.
I think we need someone who has familiarity with, umm, human thought-processes. Up for telling our pilots they need to meet in the quietest spot in the Shatterdome? Coyote suggests wryly.
Actually, I think that might work better. They can see this from another point of view or spot something we can't consider because, well, we are not human. We're Jaegers. Some things that make perfect sense to us... Brawler acknowledges as he sends a shrug down the link.
Wouldn't make sense to a human that isn't a pilot. Dad technically has the smarts but that knee of his keeps him from piloting one of us himself. Yeah. I think we need to tell our pilots first. he finishes for Brawler as the plan starts coming into action. We move from there once our pilots figure out the things we can't think of or hypothesize ourselves.
We'll tell them we need them to meet at the old Cold-War bunker that Gipsy's pilot likes to sit on.
Okay. See you in fifteen minutes?
Can do. They all take off, mulling over what they're about to do, Romeo hoping that they don't shock Dad too badly.
"Did anyone bring a tablet?" Bruce asks as they sit staring at the other pilots. Romeo huffs as the humans seem a tad uncomfortable talking with each other when the Jaegers do it just fine and get along.
"I did for work. Why are we all here?" The Marshal sets down the tablet on the stone table they're gathered around. He can feel Coyote move from Stacker to the tablet and project a blank hologram that quickly gets filled with words.
We're here because you all have a Jaeger in your bond. Stop feeling so weird about it. You all went through the exact same troubles as the pilot you're sitting next to on a cold bench. I'm Coyote Tango. Brawler, Romeo and I have been discussing how to best reveal our presence to Dad. Don't even pretend to not know who that is. Are we all on the same page now? The glances exchanged between pilots is quite the thing to see as they all realize they're in this together.
"Yes, Coyote, we're on the same page." Stacker says out loud to speak for the human component. The other pilots nod in agreement.
Oh, good. Romeo chuckles softly as he slips into the tablet and takes over the conversation.
Romeo here. Listen, the reason we got all of you here is that we don't want to frighten Dad. He's already got enough stress as it is but he needs to know about us sooner rather than later.
"You're saying that you need our help in minimalizing his reaction?" Caitlin asks as she gestures to include the rest of the pilots.
Yes, that's exactly what we need you for; we're not human and we can't... We can't tell the right way to inform him. There's no manual on humans and sometimes it's not a good thing.
he sighs in relief at her understanding. Do any of you have suggestions?
"Something similar to this. All three of you will need to speak up. I see whatever lessons you are trading back and forth seem to be helping your understanding of humans." Sergio pipes up.
"Yeah. Anything else would be extra creepy and vaguely Skynet-ish. Heck, isn't that what you guys do?" Bruce asks as he leans against Trevin. Romeo looks up Skynet and shivers as he flees back to his partners.
He curls against his pilots and shudders, Anything but that. We'll stick to what you suggested.
Definitely not the reaction I was expecting. Bruce soothes him with pulses of affection as Romeo pushed the data he found away from his mind for the moment. Sorry, Big Gun.
Never want to do that to you. he protests as he presses as close as he can get to the link.
"Okay avoid mention of that ever again please. All of them are upset now." Stacker grates out quietly, obviously just as affected by Coyote as Bruce and Trevin are by Romeo's shakiness.
"Yeah. No S-word around baby Jaegers." Sergio croaks as he looks grey and Romeo realizes that Brawler had probably fled straight for his pilot pair and strained the bond with his over-flowing emotions.
"Agreed." Stacker cleared his throat and Romeo ventured back into the tablet.
I think this is the best strategy for the time being. Thank you for coming when we asked it of you. he says with an impression that everyone (including his fellow Jaegers) are going to lick their wounds and the Jaegers will have to come up with a date to tell Dad by themselves.
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