Hi, Dad

Hi, Dad
(Into the Blue: Two)
1 October 2017
Anchorage, United States
-October 1, 2017-
Romeo sighed as he slid into the familiar coding of Dad's tablet after a long day of patrol. He wasn't sure whether or not he liked the non-Kaiju walks along the coastline and slogging through the water's edge or the Kaiju run-ins that get him all banged up. Right now he's just tired.
Patrol sucked. Slogged damn near the entire line. California was nice from a distance. Bruce was reminiscing with Trevin about the bomboras they used to get on the Cali [coast, he sighs. 
Brawler groans quietly. All the way to the Russian side. Ugh, Coyote, I can feel you lurkin' in the ethernet waves. Get your sorry coding over here. {comes the gripe from the proto-Jaeger.}
Tired? I wish I was out there but my reactor leaked and that's why Stacker and Tamsin are out of duty permanently. I'm still up and running. [new paragraph] 
The sobering reminder makes both of them wince. [new paragraph] 
At least they were still standing on their own two pedes. I've just gotten new pilots. I'm not sure I want to talk to them either. They seem alright from the Drift but you can never tell.
New pilots? Oh. That's gotta be difficult to manage. Romeo doesn't even want to contemplate having any other pilot aside from the brothers.
Yeah. Coyote murmurs with a hint of hurt in his voice. I don't think our frames are gonna survive this war. Call it what you will, intuition or instinct or whatever, but I'm pretty sure that it's gonna happen.
I think we're lucky enough to be here. Enough with the existential crisis stuff; you're making my processors ache. You wanna tell him now? No attacks and no particularly difficult Breach models tonight; probably not another chance for the next two weeks, dudes. Romeo observed as the other two pause mid-sending after what he said registers with the older Jaegers.
You got us there. I don't think there is a better time. He can process it without any distractions.Coyote responded sheepishly.
Good point. Check the camera feature, see if he's alone. Brawler added as he perked up. Romeo peeks out, barely tapping into the camera as he looks at Dad. The man looks tired but busy as he scribbles down the formulas for the Mark IVs.
The slim shoulders look weighed down and Romeo debates silently whether or not to even tell the man. He looks tired.
It can't be helped. We can't physically cart him off without alerting the entire base.
We might be able to do something. Coyote, you think you can make up a plausible reason to get him into the Jaeger Bays?
What about the tablet thing?! Brawler protests as he zips through the coding to halt beside Romeo.
We're gonna need him to SEE us moving by ourselves. Trust me. Something tells Romeo that their Dad needs physical proof.
We do. That's the scary part. Coyote mumbled as he sent the notification. You two need to get to your Jaegers and notify your pilots. Go! Romeo eases his way back into Trevin's mind and mentally taps Bruce's mind as well.
Romeo? Thought you were hanging with Brawler and Coyote- Bruce started but he huffed as he pushed the new plan down the bond. Oh. You need us to keep him from thinking he's totally nuts. Not a good plan but it'll work... Hopefully.
That being the key word. Caitlin will be more help than us but it's worth a shot. You're one crazy Jaeger. Trevin snorts as he walks down the hallway with his brother to the Jaeger Bays.
I just hope it works and we don't spin out. Romeo replies anxiously. I don't want him to fear us.
He won't. You guys are great.
Yeah.
Their comments boosted his flailing confidence as they entered the Bay to find Hermann leaning on his cane with a severe expression. "Rangers Gage, what is the meaning of this spurious meeting at this late hour?"
"Ain't up to us to tell you, Doc." Trevin murmurs as he leans against the foot of the welding platform.
"Wish we could." Bruce inputs as he mimics Trevin's pose on the opposite side of Romeo's Bay.
"Now listen here-" Romeo slipped into his frame and slowly began to kneel down. "This is highly-Dear Lord."
"This is not a joke." the metallic voice that grates from the LOCCENT speakers makes him cringe on the inside even as he continues, "We thought we should tell you that we're awake."
"We?! There are more?" Dad sounds terrified at the thought while Romeo detects pheromones typically associated with anger/awe.
"Three of us have awoken over the last year and a half." he finishes with a low purr rumbling through his systems.
"Mein Gott. I made them. I... I need to sit down now." Trevin scooted out a squishy chair and Dad sat with a muffled thump. "When did you know?" he directs this question at Romeo's pilots with wide eyes.
"About a month ago. Romeo woke up and told us everything he knew. He stumbled a bit over his words, which was kinda cute, and learned real quick. He had lessons with Brawler and Coyote for a while so he sounds much better." Bruce replies with a shrug as he stretches.
"As in Coyote Tango and Brawler Yukon?" Hermann asks with incredulity lacing his every word.
"Yes. Brawler is coming with his pilots and Marshal Pentecost has a tablet so that Coyote can talk to you." Romeo fiddled with the programming of the LOCCENT speakers so that he sounded like he did with his pilots and his friends. "We rigged the cameras so that anyone who's looking can't see anything."
"Or they've been given a directive to stay away from the Bays. Something about a leak in the hydraulic fluids." Brawler chuckled dryly as he also sits down to get to a comfortable distance so that Hermann doesn't have to crane his neck.
"I am having a strange dream. Tendo put something into my evening tea and-Ouch!-this is real." Dad pinched himself and Romeo wanted to soothe the reddened area on the slim hands. "I am not going crazy. My AI program is in fact talking to me about manipulating the Shatterdome's cameras and electronics."
"It gets better, Doctor. The AIs all refer to you as-" Sergio starts to tell Hermann of the name they'd chosen for Hermann all by themselves.
"Don't even think about spilling that piece of information, my Ranger, or I tell Cat about that party in your earlier years." Brawler growls over the man, his Conn-pod glowing. "My apologies. He doesn't know, as you say, when to quit while he is ahead."
"Is it embarrassing?" Hermann asks with a tilt of his head that's not entirely human. Brawler and Romeo share a glance over the human's heads. Something to discuss with each other later.
"Yes." Romeo admits as he shuffles his arm to invite his pilots into the crook of the armored elbow. "Extremely so." Bruce and Trevin take the opportunity with ease so Romeo cradles his pilots gently to his chest plate. The jutting fin makes it hard to see Dad but he deals with by leaning forward a bit. "Is there anything you would like to know?"
"Which of you is the oldest?" Dad asks as he leans back in the chair with the brittle cane clasped between his fingers.
I am. Sorry I'm speaking via tablet but I'm out of country at the moment. I woke up in Toyko when Stacker solo'd Onibaba. Coyote answered from the tablet hologram screen.
"My goodness, that was almost two years ago."
I took a long time to form coherent sentences with Stacker and Tamsin's help. Brawler's pilots gave him lessons when they could and still do when we all come across a topic we haven't seen before. Romeo got the benefit of our experience. We're all pretty quick learners but Romeo seems to soak it in faster than either of us. I'm not sure if it's because of residual knowledge we leave in our comm. links or he's programmed that way. Coyote
explained as fast as the tablet could type. Since you created our coding, I was wondering if you knew.
"I am afraid I cannot give you answers in that regard, Coyote. Something about your pilots, the Pons system and the program itself must have combined to allow you autonomy. Is it just the three of you?" Hermann asked with reserve.
"Yes. Coyote was alone for a long while. Brawler only woke up in June. We think the next one might be a Mark II or III." Romeo voiced his suspicion out loud and Hermann nodded.
"If the pattern continues your hypothesis may be correct Romeo." He wants to wrap himself in the warmth that floods his systems at the compliment. Bruce and Trevin hum as he shares his happiness. "Can you tell yet which Jaeger?"
"No. We wake up or don't; we don't know why we become aware. It makes my processors ache so I leave it to those two." Romeo points to the tablet and Brawler with the thumb of his servo. "Existential crisises have been had in the coding of your tablet."
"Is that why it has been running faster than the rest in the Shatterdome?" Hermann asked as he looks between them.
I may or may not have fixed it so that your tablet has access to the fiber-optics network. the smugness is practically visible through the text.
"Coyote." Romeo has to say that Dad has the tone down pat.
"He has no shame. He pranks a Dr. Gottlieb's phone with glee and upsets Tumblr blogs that say stupid crap about the Jaeger Program." Romeo informs their Dad as he checks on his sleeping pilots. "I think we should discuss more when our pilots aren't sleeping the sleep of the dead. We're always reachable via your tablet if you have any other questions." He sets his pilots on the ground and prods them awake with a single servo digit. Go to bed, my pilots.
"Mmmm. 'kay, Romeo." Trevin hums as Caitlin and Sergio support his partners-in-arms.
"Hey, did they tell him that they all called him Dad before they found each other?" Bruce asks with a sleepy giggle.
Romeo's sigh rattled his protruding fins as Hermann looks up with an expression torn between hysterical laughter and exasperation, "Please tell me he isn't telling the truth."
"No can do, Doc! It was adorable to hear him talk about you." Bruce sing-songs back as Romeo carefully places his Conn-pod into his servos in embarassment.
"I adore my pilot. He's an idiot but I adore my pilot. I need him so I cannot make him hang ten over the oceanic partition if the Bay platforms. Brawler, it's not helping!" he complains to the proto-Jaeger and the rich laughter only makes him groan. "Not funny you piece of scrap!"
"I'm sorry. That's your mantra?" Brawler keeps laughing but turns down the volume for his speakers.
"It works with Trevin. Apparently I have to make a different one for Bruce." he quips sourly before realizing that Dad is avidly listening to them snipe back and forth with an interested expression. "We make a mantra for when our pilots do something stupid. Sometimes it works."
"I take it the other half of the time, something else distracts you?" Hermann asks as he settles back into the squishy chair.
"Some Jaeger, more like it. I do more misdirecting than I would like every two weeks. We help each other and you are under our protection. If you do not like what we call you, we will change it." Brawler smoothed over as Romeo peered out from between his digits.
"Call me what you wish. I am confused but flattered by your trust in me." Hermann answers quietly.
"Dad it is then." They hum as Coyote's tablet reads the same.
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