Atlas Destroyer's History
Early Combat History:
Atlas Destroyer is a Mark-3 Jaeger, launched in 2017.[1] After an unspecified period of service, Atlas was retired from active combat and reassigned as a training Jaeger. It underwent a refit at the Brisbane Shatterdome where was stripped of its weaponry.[2]
As a training Jaeger, its was used to acclimate cadets to the systems of a Jaeger over a period of six months. Its operations were overseen by Loa[note 1], the Jaeger's onboard artificial intelligence.[3] Atlas Destroyer was stationed at Shadow Basin, located on the outskirts of Meridian City.
Pacific Rim: The Black
(Operation Blackout)
Following the Uprising War, the Pan Pacific Defense Corps execute Operation Blackout. All personnel and civilians evacuate, and steps are taken to "bury" all operational bases to protect vital data and weaponry created for the PPDC.
Atlas Destroyer is among the sensitive material considered expendable, and is abandoned inside Shadow Basin which is buried. However, the base remains largely intact, Atlas Destroyer's hangar undamaged.[3]
Captured by Bogan:
After its power cell is exhausted, Atlas Destroyer shuts down. Taylor and Hayley enter Meridian City in search of a replacement and find one in the PPDC Recruitment Center powering a tank holding a little boy. Though they rescue the boy, the power cell is damaged.[4] Spotting a pair of PPDC trucks in the distance, Taylor and Hayley follow them and inadvertently draw their attention. Taken to the group's camp (called Bogan), Taylor gives away that they're looking for a power cell. Bogan's leader, Shane, interrogates Taylor using the Drift and discovers the whereabouts of Atlas Destroyer.[5]
Returning to Meridian City, Joel Wyrick, a former J-Tech officer working for Shane, replaces the depleted power cell. He's ordered to find a Drift compatible co-pilot in order to relocate Atlas Destroyer. When his endeavor fails, Shane allows Taylor to pilot with his right hand, Mei, in order to leave the city before the approaching Copperhead can catch up. Mei and Taylor choose to fight Copperhead in the hopes of killing it, but the Kaiju overpowers them, tearing the right arm from the Jaeger. Atlas Destroyer leads Copperhead through a minefield, and barely escapes.[2]
Joel works to repair the Jaeger while suffering the effects of a multiple Drifts, and is given the end of the day to fix Atlas Destroyer before Shane kills him. Mei sneaks Taylor back into Bogan to steal Atlas Destroyer back. Joel devises a plan help Taylor pilot Atlas Destroyer on his own while Mei goes to retrieve his sister and the Kaiju Boy from Shane. After retrieving his sister, the boy, and Mei, Taylor collapses. Hayley and Mei pilot Atlas Destroyer, destroying Bogan's vehicles to ensure they're not followed.[6]
The Boneyard:
Atlas Destroyer is nearly swallowed by the opening of a Breach following the disappearance of Kaiju Boy. Taylor and Hayley are barely to return to the Conn-Pod to escape the maw the portal. Following the last known position of the boy, Atlas Destroyer is lead into a boneyard full of fallen Kaiju and Jaegers from the Uprising War. Moving toward an active Breach, Atlas Destroyer attacks Acidquill as it emerges, but is easily bested by the Kaiju.[7]
Atlas Destroyer is saved at the last minute by Apex, a roaming Kaiju-Jaeger Hybrid previously encountered in Meridian City. Taylor and Hayley assume the worse when Apex approaches Kaiju Boy, and try to retaliate. Apex overpowers Atlas Destroyer, prepared to destroy the Jaeger. His attack is halted by the Kaiju Boy, who keeps its fist at bay in show a superhuman strength. Apex bonds with the boy through the Drift, and chooses to spare Atlas Destroyer. Before leaving, Apex gifts the siblings the arm of the Mark-4 Jaeger, Chaos Nemesis.[7]
Clayton City:
Picking up on a distress signal in Clayton City, the Travis siblings enter the city, and leave Atlas Destroyer at the Clayton City Café at the request of Mei.[8] They discover the abandoned Hunter Vertigo, and Atlas Destroyer is attacked by Copperhead who happens upon the Jaeger.
When Hayley is injured by Copperhead, Taylor and Mei fight the Category IV Kaiju alongside the boy, a Human-Kaiju Hybrid. Atlas Destroyer uses its Saber Chain to pierce Copperhead's chest, and cleave its paw from its arm. With the help of Hunter Vertigo's nuclear missile, Atlas Destroyer is able to kill Copperhead.
