Chapter Text
PPDC Tokyo Shatterdome, Japan.
Viktoriya Malikova finally wins the struggle against the foil seal of the preposterously stubborn milk bottle, getting a fingernail just deep enough under the edge of the far-too-short pull tab to give herself something to grip onto and peel away. Dropping the offending item into an empty space on her tray, she grasps the cool, smooth container, then raises it to her lips for an unnecessarily-delayed draft.
The Shatterdome's galley is filled with a warm, homely energy as its various occupants gather their meals before eating and chatting among each other, discussing a variety of topics ranging from Jeager tech to deep-sea slugs. Young and old, men and women, laborers and security guards, they all mingle together like family, every one knowing that every other is one of many equal pieces in a vast group effort to safeguard their way of life.
Potted plants line the perimeter of the room, their brightly-colored flowers adding some vibrancy to the grey and brown room. Various promotional posters hang on the wall, many of them featuring Jeagers in combat or pilots posed in front of heroic backgrounds. One prominent poster features Caitlin Lightcap and Sergio D'Onofrio standing in front of Brawler Yukon, who just eighteen months after K-day became the first pilots and Jeager to defeat a Kaiju.
Vik, born right at the end of the Jeager Program's glory days, remembers running off as a small child, hoping to watch her home country's own Jeager in battle at the coast. But despite persevering against the harsh northern elements, she never did manage to witness one of Cherno Alpha's great victories.
Her mind continuing to wander, the young pilot begins to pick up her toast.
Then she hesitates as she catches sight of a familiar face walking in to take her place at the canteen line, grabbing a tray before starting to move on to the heaping platters of eggs, rice, toast, sausages, shrimp, eel, and other comestibles. She briefly converses with the one of the cooks as he swaps an empty tray for a full replacement. Her slim but muscular arms flex as she holds up her tray in one hand, before scooping a very generous heap of scrambled eggs onto it with the other.
Vik's eyes roam her comrade's body as she continues to collect her portion, studying the faded design on the back of the leather jacket that matches her auburn hair almost perfectly. But slowly, her gaze lowers to the girl's jeans, studying the way the tight-cut fabric fits the curve of her backside.
"Well, you know... you said I'm a pain in the ass."
The Russian's thought process is suddenly interrupted as she realizes the subject of her study is rapidly approaching her location.
"Good morning!" Amara Namani places her tray on the table before sitting down directly across from Vik. "I really thought you'd have more company by now."
Vik tries to swallow the lewd thoughts that had been running through her mind a few seconds previously.
"We don't all get thrown out of bed at the same time like we did at the academy, so..." Vik briefly runs through a list of names. "I haven't seen Jake yet, and Jinhai seemed determined to play dead. Ilya said he'd be back from Bay One soon. He's probably visiting Guardian Bravo. He..."
"I get it." Amara's expression seems to lose some of its energy briefly. "And Ryoichi and Reneta got transferred yesterday." She glances briefly in both directions. "Looks like this end of the table is ours, then."
Without further ado, the teenager proceeds to dig in, wasting no time making a rapid dent in the amount of eggs on her tray. Vik, for her part, eats in a more measured manner, actually taking the time to savor her meal before trying to digest it.
"So..." The younger pilot holds up a finger as she takes a second to swallow before speaking further. "The techies said Jake and I are wanted at the simulator at 10. What'd you got today?"
Mentally, Vik recalls what she had been planning.
"Jinhai and I are going to take another crack at that last scenario", she says, referencing the disaster the previous day. "Should be at about one. We got our asses kicked yesterday, maybe it'll go better this time."
Amara shrugs. "Okay, then. What after that?"
"Assuming we don't have to deal with the same crap you and Jake did? Nothing, I guess."
"Mmm." Once again, the other pilot has her mouth full. Vik glances at her tray and notices that there is hardly anything left, whereas her own is still half full.
"Nobody is going to take that from you, you know", the Russian teases. "You can slow down a bit."
"Sorry." The teenager appears completely unapologetic as she quickly scoops up her next - and last - bite of scrambled eggs, leaving nought but a few crumbs to tell the tale. Once that is finally processed, she quickly moves to eliminate any discussion of the now-extinct meal. "I'll tell you what: why don't you meet me in Bay Two after your sim? I've got something I'd like to show you."
What haven't I seen already?, Vik almost says, only to immediately bite back the response. Is she crazy? There's no reason to be bringing that up now.
"Alright", she manages instead, trying not to let herself blush. "I'll be there."
"Gotcha. See ya then!"
And as quickly as she had arrived, the young American grabs her tray and departs, Vik's eyes following her as she leaves.