(no subject)

[makesthings]

Sam's savoring some proper sweet and milky tea and a warm afghan biscuit as he mutters over his datapad.

There must be a better way to make Death's shoulder joints move smoothly and with more power but he can't see it.

On the pad, 3D mock ups of tendons and complex engineering mathematics trade places, he can do this.

Comments

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck wanders past in a tank top and jeans, dog tags tucked into his shirt, drinking a smoothie. It's hot outside, and he's been running, okay.

Then he stops, and back up several steps, looking at Sam for a long moment -- or more properly, Sam's outfit. Down, up, brow furrowing.

"Hey," he says. "Are you PPDC?"

[makesthings]

Sam looks up, tries to gauge Chuck and fails, Ellie's always telling him, he should be better at reading people but Jaegers are easier, "Yes, Sam Stone, Auckland Shatterdome, mechanic."

Its one of those titles that covers a lot and he does technically have a rank but he never remembers it. Everyone in Auckland knows where he's meant to go.

[andinfluencepeople]

"Auckland's not got a Shatterdome, mate," Chuck starts, and immediately catches himself. "I mean, I guess not in my world."

A PPDC in a different universe?

He sits down. "Ranger Chuck Hansen, Striker Eureka. Most recently out of Hong Kong. What's your year?"

[makesthings]

Sam stands up straighter because of course they have a Shatterdome, there's nothing else in their part of the Pacific.

Then he sags and straightens as he hears Hansen, he can't tell a Hansen off, Ellie would do something and his mother would sigh, "2019, sir, nearing the end of the year."

[andinfluencepeople]

"Yeah?" Chuck asks, eyebrows raising. "Huh. Early 2025, for me."

He's just a kid, in Sam Stone's world. A jaeger pilot, but a kid.

"So you don't have a Sydney Shatterdome in your world?"

[makesthings]

Before Sam answers, he thinks about the name Chuck Hansen and swallows, this keeps getting messier.

He's heard of similar but not the same worlds, this is a mess, "Yes, we do in Perth and I know of you and your family."

[andinfluencepeople]

"Yeah," Chuck says. "I bet. Striker Eureka's the best out there."

He's grinning, a little. This kid's awkward as fuck.

"What's your specialty?"

[makesthings]

"Movement especially getting that smoothness and speed. Striker's a pleasure to watch but Death's beautiful,"

He pulls up his pad and what he's currently working on which is improving an arm and hand to transition from punch to cannon. If there are Jaegers to talk about, Sam does fine, its more issues of the whys of worlds and where people are and Jaegers are easier.

[andinfluencepeople]

"Yeah?" Chuck rubs at the back of his neck. He sounds like a senior hydraulics engineer, but who knows. "Well, I've got Matador Fury and Nova Hyperion down in the bay -- the garage, they call it here. They're in about the shape they were in when decommissioned, but some insight into joints really wouldn't go amiss, mate. I know some fair amount of mechanics, but I mostly just pilot Striker and help keep her running."

Pause.

"I got Tacit Ronin, too, but she's pretty fucked up. Personal project more than anything that'll help Pentecost."

[makesthings]

Sam goes by various titles but he doesn't put much stock in them, he knows what he does and gets the work done.

He stares at Chuck before grinning because he had no idea there were Jaegers here and especially not those ones, "I had no idea they were here. I'll do everything I can. Back home, I've got some of their specs but not on me."

[andinfluencepeople]

"Hey, that's more than me," Chuck says, grinning. "I've been trying to figure out Matador's diagnostic codes -- I've never seen them before."

He stands. "They're in pretty good shape. Nova Hyperion has water damage -- not sure yet if it's just pocking or it extends into her joints."

He waves Sameth over to follow him as he heads toward the elevator.

[makesthings]

"I'll see what I can figure out. How did you find them?"

He hasn't been in the garage a lot but remembers how huge it is.

[andinfluencepeople]

"The Marshall did most of the leg work," Chuck says. "And we've got a friend here who's a wizard or something, so she could... scry?"

He didn't really ever figure out how Ysalwen helped, but he knows it was really important.

"I found Tacit Ronin just exploring with a guy I know. I'd only been here a month or two."

He gets into the elevator when it opens, and hits the button down to the garage.

[makesthings]

"Huh, that's a useful skill,"

He's good at reading Jaegers but sometimes he wishes he could predict what might happen.

[andinfluencepeople]

"Yeah, right? It's like magical map making or something."

Once they get to the ground, Chuck waves Sam over to a golf cart. He'd had to take his trash up today, so he'd brought the thing with him.

[makesthings]

"I wonder how specific she can get,"

The golf cart's easy and Sam sits down peering around at everything, its a good space.

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck points to Tacit Ronin, in passing -- the Jaeger in ripped up shape, supported by a competent scaffold Chuck took close to a year building.

They're discussing how to source and move parts when Chuck pulls into Nova Hyperion's row.

The Jaeger looks all right from down low, steady on her feet, but Chuck waves Sam to follow him. There's a few harnesses at the foot of the spikes jutting out the side of her, so when they get to the joints they can secure themselves.

"Ready to check her out?"

[makesthings]

"Yeah."

This is home, a harness to climb a Jaeger and he follows Chuck to the knee. Knees always get a lot of damage and they start talking and working. Engineering is a hell of a lot easier when there's a Ranger who can talk about the feel of a joint and gets the mechanics.