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"So you're finally running out of materials?" Mako asked when she saw Aidan in the cafeteria. It was a reasonable assumption - for the past three years, he'd been a ghost, only appearing when Bay Three needed supplies or when something demanded his personal attention.
"Nope. Pentecost wants to talk," Aidan replied, shaking his head.
Mako's eyes lit up immediately. "Is it about the Kaiju? Did something happen?"
"Probably. Newton's involved too."
"Wait—have you actually finished it? The weapon to destroy the wormhole?" Her excitement was barely contained, voice rising despite herself.
"Unfortunately, no." Aidan spread his hands apologetically. "But honestly, you shouldn't worry too much. The Wall isn't exactly stopping them anyway."
"That's not the same thing," Mako's enthusiasm crashed into worry. "The attacks are accelerating. At this rate, we could see two Kaiju in a single day. Maybe more."
"Look, my research is almost done. When it's ready, the wormhole problem gets solved. I promise."
"But what are you researching? Why all the secrecy?"
Aidan just smiled that infuriating mysterious smile. "You'll see soon enough."
"I really hope it works..." Mako had learned not to push. Three years of stone-walling had taught her that much.
Marshal Pentecost approached their table before she could say more. "Dr. Ryan, we need to go." His expression was carved from granite as always, but Aidan could see past it now. The man was dying. Slowly, painfully, from radiation poisoning accumulated during his solo-piloting days. The first-generation Jaegers hadn't had proper shielding, and Pentecost had paid the price for every life he'd saved.
"Right behind you," Aidan said, clearing his tray.
Stacker turned to Raleigh and Mako. "You two come along. We'll run compatibility tests on the way."
Raleigh blinked in surprise. "Now? I just got here."
"No time like the present. Move."
They passed through the central Jaeger display hall - those massive holographic projections of humanity's greatest weapons - and entered one of the research laboratories. Inside, two men were deep in their respective obsessions.
Dr. Newton Geiszler was hunched over a dissection table, elbow-deep in Kaiju organs that made the whole room smell like a fish market crossed with a chemical fire. The other man, wearing an immaculate suit despite the surroundings, leaned on a walking cane while scribbling equations on a massive blackboard.
"Ryan! What're you doing here?" Newton looked up, clearly surprised. His hands were covered in blue Kaiju blood up to his elbows.
"Pentecost dragged me in for a consultation," Aidan replied, wandering over to examine the jars lining one wall. Inside, preserved Kaiju brain matter twitched with residual electrical activity.
The man at the blackboard turned at the sound of voices. When he saw Aidan, he practically lit up, hurrying over as fast as his bad leg would allow. "Dr. Ryan! Finally, I get to meet you in person!" He grabbed Aidan's hands with embarrassing enthusiasm.
"Dr. Gottlieb, good to meet you too," Aidan responded with a genuine smile. "Newton's mentioned you a few times. Sorry I've been unavailable—research and all."
"No apology necessary! Your work on the Lifeline Reactor is revolutionary. I only wish I'd been involved from the start." Gottlieb was already launching into technical questions before Pentecost cut him off.
"Gentlemen, we're here to discuss the Kaiju attack patterns. Save the academic bonding for later."
Gottlieb immediately switched gears, leading the group to his equations. The blackboard was enormous - four meters tall, requiring a wooden ladder for the upper sections. Every inch was covered in calculations, graphs, and projections that looked like the ravings of a beautiful mind.
"The pattern started simple," Gottlieb began, tapping his cane against specific numbers. "Twenty-four weeks between attacks. Then twelve. Then six. Then two weeks."
He pulled away the outer blackboard layer, revealing even more complex formulas underneath. "The Sydney attack was one week after the previous emergence. Based on my projections, in four days we'll see attacks every eight hours. Then every four hours. Then..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Every four minutes."
"Within seven days, we'll see our first double event - two Kaiju simultaneously. Then triple. Then more than we can count."
"You told me this days ago," Pentecost said quietly. "But nothing came through yesterday when your math said it should."
Gottlieb's frown deepened. That was clearly bothering him more than he wanted to admit.
"See?" Newton called out from his dissection table, not bothering to look up. "All he can do is make predictions that don't pan out. Meanwhile, I'm doing actual science over here." He dropped a chunk of something that looked disturbingly like intestines onto the floor near Gottlieb's workspace.
"Do NOT bring Kaiju organs near my area! You know the rules!" Gottlieb exploded, hobbling forward. "You're covered in blood every single day, making a mess—"
"Can we focus?" Aidan interrupted before the argument could escalate. "What are we actually discussing here?"
"Enough!" Pentecost's command voice cut through the bickering. Both scientists glared at each other but shut up.
Gottlieb cleared his throat and continued. "Numbers don't lie, Marshal. Politics, poetry, promises—those are all lies. But numbers? Numbers are how we decipher the universe's intentions."
"Oh, spare me the mysticism," Newton muttered while washing blue blood off his hands.
"I'm not finished," Gottlieb said coldly. "Based on pure data analysis, we should expect a double event, then triple, then quadruple... escalating until humanity is simply overwhelmed and eliminated."
"That's your professional assessment?" Pentecost asked.
"Yes. But the data error from two days ago changes things. The predicted Kaiju didn't emerge. That's why I needed Dr. Ryan here—to see if his research might explain the anomaly."
"Have you figured out why they didn't attack?" Pentecost pressed.
"My calculations say there will definitely be an emergence the day after tomorrow. If nothing appears then..." Gottlieb trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with what came next.
"Then what?"
"Then they're gathering strength for a coordinated assault. Possibly multiple Kaiju held in reserve until they can launch simultaneously." Gottlieb's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "A final offensive that our defenses can't possibly handle."
The lab went silent. Even Newton stopped his dissection work.
Then Newton spoke up suddenly. "Okay, everyone listen for a second?" All eyes turned to him. "Why do we classify Kaiju into different categories? Because they're so different, right? Some look like sharks, some like dinosaurs, some completely alien..."
"Get to the point, Doctor," Pentecost interrupted.
"Right, sorry. The point is—I don't think they're that different at all. Not fundamentally."
Everyone stared at him like he'd just suggested the sky was purple.