FIC: Ghost in the Machine - 1/3, Pacific Rim, PG, gen (Chuck, Raleigh, Herc, Tendo)
Title: Ghost in the Machine
Author: Jo (jo@fadedink.com)
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Pairing: Chuck Hansen/Raleigh Becket (sort of), Chuck Hansen & Raleigh Becket, Chuck Hansen & Herc Hansen
Rating: PG13
Word count: 17000
Summary: Chuck Hansen's first Drift is a disaster. But what Tendo discovers several days later shocks the entire Shatterdome. Soon enough, they discover that you don't necessarily need a body to co-pilot a Jaeger.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just playing with them for a while. Eternal love and devotion to Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro for creating this universe.
Author's Notes: My contribution to the Pacific Rim Reverse Big Bang, based on this beautiful art by -lokeloke-.
Now just a few quick things to keep in mind. The timeline in this fic doesn't match the timeline in the film (which is hinky anyway). Also, certain events don't happen. Others do, but with different outcomes and different people involved. Things like this happen when you're writing an AU.
All the love EVER to azewewish for the fantastic beta work on this. My first draft was a far different (and inferior) creature. I think it went through 5 drafts before it became what you see here. And while I bitched about it pretty much incessantly (and had more than one anxiety attack because I loathe editing with a passion), I made 95% of the changes she wanted, listened to what she said, and tried to make it better. Hopefully you agree.
Part I: November - December 2019
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"Really?" Chuck screwed up his face as he listened to the AI while the techs finished locking him into the pilot motion rig. "GLaDOS? Who thought that was a bloody good idea?"
Herc huffed out a quiet laugh that was echoed by Tendo's voice in Chuck's ear. "Focus, gentlemen."
Focus, hell. Chuck had played Portal - mastered the game, even - and he knew all about GLaDOS and its homicidal and megalomaniacal tendencies.
"Do they not know that crazy AI wants to destroy humanity?" Chuck's annoyance with the computer's voice allowed him to ignore the way his stomach rolled. He had graduated top of his class at the Jaeger Academy, highest scores ever recorded, and he could do this. Nerves were for people who washed out of Ranger training.
"They know, kiddo," Tendo said. "Consider it Dr. Lightcap's reminder that we're fighting for humanity."
"Because the bloody big alien sea monsters aren't enough of a reminder?"
"Chuck," Herc said, but Chuck could tell he wanted to laugh. "Come on, focus. First drifts are hard enough."
"Whatever, old man."
Then the Conn-Pod dropped. And it was nothing like the simulations at the Academy.
Chuck jerked in his harness, then plummeted so fast he could swear his stomach was trying to relocate somewhere near his sinuses. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. It was made even less pleasant by the way his body swayed in the motion rig.
"Oh, fuck me."
"Language, Chuck," Herc said absently.
When the drop ended, it did so with a gentle glide. Chuck swallowed several times and listened to the Conn-Pod lock into place.
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"Doing okay in there, kiddo?" Tendo asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Chuck took a few deep breaths to quell the urge to vomit, clenched his fists, then forced himself to relax. He could do this. Nothing to it.
"Okay, then, let's get this show on the road. Herc?"
"Ready when you are." Herc looked over at Chuck and offered a small smile. "Just let it flow, okay? Don't fight it."
"And don't chase Thumper," Tendo added.
Chuck's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Thumper?"
"RABITs. Don't chase 'em."
"I know." It was one of the first things they taught cadets at the Academy. Memories - or Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers - could ruin a Drift faster than anything else, and it was stressed over and over to let them go by and not latch on to any of them.
Chuck had never failed a Drift simulation.
"Relax, gentlemen, and enjoy the ride. Initializing neural handshake in three, two, one..."
Chuck was sucked into the blue of the Drift. Energy crackled over him. The smell of burning ozone filled his lungs.
"Looking good, looking good," Tendo said. "Right hemisphere calibrated. Left hemisphere calibr- Chuck, can you hear me? Kiddo, talk to me, what's going on in there?"
"Tendo, we're not synching," Herc said, sounding far away.
Chuck opened his mouth.
"We're losing it," Tendo said. "Disengage, Rangers, it's not working -"
Someone screamed.
*
"Chuck? Chuck?"
"What the hell happened?"
"Chuck!"
"Med team to Striker Eureka, stat!"
"Mr. Choi, report!"
"Sir, I don't know! The handshake, it just, Chuck was-"
"He didn't chase the RABIT, I'd've known."
"Ranger Hansen, let the medical team do their work."
"Get yer goddamn hands off me! My son-"
"Sir, we're going to take care of your son. But we need you to let go of him now."
"Chuck!"
*
"How's he doing?"
Herc looked up as Tendo entered the hospital room. "Still no change."
Tendo's mouth turned down and he shook his head. "Damn. I'd hoped..." He trailed off and raked a hand through his hair. "What'd the docs say?"
"There's nothing physically wrong with him." Herc took a breath, let it out slowly, and refocused on the bed and the still form of Chuck lying there, hooked up to all those machines. "All his vitals are good, strong even, but he's not responding to anything."
"Coma?" Tendo rubbed his mouth when Herc nodded. "His brain -"
"Is fine," Herc snapped, then took another breath. He nodded to the small machine by Chuck's bed where a spiked graph from the electrodes fastened to Chuck's skull was steadily scrolling. "No swelling and there's a lot of activity. They don't know."
He reached out to curl his fingers around Chuck's, silently cursing himself for ever agreeing to let Chuck enter the Academy, for agreeing to the Drift compatibility test, for agreeing to step into a Conn-Pod with his sixteen year old son. "What the hell happened, Tendo?"
"I don't know," Tendo replied quietly, stepping closer to look down at Chuck. "I've got the entire J-Tech branch working on it and the Marshal's cancelled leave for everyone until we figure it out. We're still studying all the data and telemetry. Herc..."
Herc's eyes shifted, but he kept his hand snug around Chuck's fingers. His son might not be awake, but somewhere deep down, he'd know Herc was there.
"We're going to figure out what caused this." Tendo's hand came to rest on Herc's shoulder, patting once before falling away. "If I have to crawl into Striker's Conn-Pod and rip it apart myself. We'll fix it."
"Maybe." Herc nodded and tried to believe Tendo's words. He couldn't.
*
Tendo sat down at his station and called up all the reports on the disastrous Drift test from the previous week. They'd run every diagnostic they could, and each test said the same thing - that the Jaeger, the operating system, and the pilot motion rigs were operating flawlessly.
This morning, a team was inside Striker Eureka's Conn-Pod, running more tests even though no one expected different results. No matter what they did, no one was unable to explain what had happened.
And Pentecost was breathing down his neck.
Striker Eureka's designer and software programmer had arrived the previous night. Their assessment?
Wipe the Jaeger clean and reload the software before running extensive diagnostics to make sure it didn't happen again. Never mind that they needed to know what had happened and why, or they'd possibly end up with more Rangers in Medical alongside Chuck.
Coffee in one hand, eyes on the reports lying beside the keyboard, Tendo logged into the system.
When it dinged, he finally looked at the monitor.
< [] not recognized. Continue y/n?>>
"What the hell?" Tendo tried again, paying close attention to what his fingers were typing, even though he'd typed the exact same thing every morning in Shatterdomes all around the Pacific for the last five years. He received the same error message.
Rolling back from the monitor, he glared around the room at all the techs studiously bent over their tasks. "Okay, who's the wise guy?"
"Sir?"
"Who changed my login?"
Blank looks and confusion greeted him. "Sir, the only person who can change your login is you. And Marshal Pentecost."
Tendo knew that. It didn't stop him from giving them all another steady look before he turned back to his monitor. He tried again.
< [] not recognized. Continue as user [] y/n?>>
"What the actual fuck?" Only one person called him 'Elvis' and that person... With fingers that were not at all steady, Tendo reached forward and typed in <>.
And held his breath while trying to convince himself that he wasn't crazy.
< [] logged in. About bloody time, you stupid wanker.>>
*
"Sir, we have a problem."
"I'm aware of that, Mr. Choi."
"Uh, no, sir, I don't think you understand. You need -"
"What I need are answers. Do you have them?"
"No, sir, but we have a bigger problem."
"Mr. Choi, what could possibly be worse than a sixteen year old boy in a coma?"
"That same sixteen year old boy inside of our operating system and now in charge of it, sir."
"What did you say?"
"He's in the mainframe, sir."
"That is not possible, Mr. Choi."
"Sir... Could you please just come down to LOCCENT?"
*
Tendo watched the Marshal stalk into the room and the tension in the room practically vibrated off the chart. Coming out of his seat, Tendo stood at attention. "Sir."
"Alright, Mr. Choi, I'm here." Stacker clasped his hands behind his back and looked around. The techs on duty were blatant in their efforts not to meet his eyes. "Now will you please explain to me why I shouldn't order you to Medical for a full psych battery?"
"Sir." Tendo swallowed before gesturing at the monitor behind him. "Could you, uh, try to log in?"
"Mr. Choi -"
"Please, sir, just... just humor me."
Stacker's expression never changed, but Tendo saw several people duck lower behind their own monitors. It felt like the entire room exhaled when Stacker sat down at the terminal and started typing without saying another word.
< [] not recognized.>>
Stacker stared at the screen for a long moment. Tendo waited, fists clenched tight as Stacker slowly started to type in his login once more.
<> [] not recognized. Continue as user [] y/n?>>
Stacker stood up so abruptly that the chair fell over and half the room jumped. "Who," he said, voice shaking, "is responsible for this?"
"Chuck is, sir," Tendo said quietly, fighting the urge to fidget when Stacker's gaze landed on him.
"That is impossible. Ranger Hansen is in -"
"The mainframe, sir. I tried to tell you -"
"Mr. Choi!" Stacker's voice thundered through the room. There were several squeaks, a few thumps, and at least one dropped coffee cup. Tendo didn't turn to verify the number of shattered mugs. "Charles Hansen has been in a coma for six days. He is not in this Shatterdome's mainframe."
"Sir..." Tendo lifted his chin. He was right. Every single tech in LOCCENT knew it. They'd all crowded around him as he'd carried on the bizarre conversation with the computer system. "The only person with the authority to change your login is you. No one else can do that. I can show you the security logs if you like, sir. The logins weren't changed. They just stopped working."
"Get Hercules Hansen up here now."
"He won't leave Chuck alone, sir."
"Send Mako to sit with him."
Fifteen minutes later, Herc sat in the newly righted chair. He flashed Stacker a sullen look. "Right then, why the hell am I up here?"
"Log in to the system," Stacker said, once more the picture of perfect calm.
"What?" Herc looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Look, Marshal, I've got better things to do -"
"Ranger Hansen, log in to the system. Now."
Tendo had a moment to wonder if he might pass out from lack of oxygen as he found himself holding his breath again. Then, muttering, Herc spun the chair around and started typing, his fingers stabbing at the keys.
< [] not recognized.>>
Herc frowned and leaned closer to the screen. "The bloody hell?"
Tendo and Stacker shared a look.
"Try it again, Herc," Stacker said, his voice softer now. For a long moment, Herc just looked over his shoulder at Stacker before he shrugged.
< [] not recognized. Continue as user [], y/n?>>
Tendo caught Herc's arm as he violently flailed away from the monitor. The chair crashed to the floor as the keyboard rattled from Herc's thighs hitting the edge of the desk when he bolted. "What the fuck, Stacker?" Herc snarled, rounding on Stacker before Tendo could stop him. "That's not fucking funny!"
"He didn't do it." Tendo put himself between the two men. "Herc, listen to me. The Marshal didn't do it!"
"Then who the fuck did?"
"We think Chuck did."
Herc jerked back like he'd been slapped. The look he gave Tendo was that of a wounded animal. "That... That's really not fucking funny."
Tendo just leaned around him and typed in <> before gesturing for Herc to look at the screen.
< [] logged in.>>
Herc crossed his arms over his chest and just looked at the monitor. "Who changed it, Tendo?"
Before Tendo could answer, the screen flashed and words started to appear. The silence in the room was deafening, so much so that Tendo could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
<>
Herc went pale as he collapsed onto the chair.
*
"Herc, calm down -"
"Fuck you, I will not calm down!"
"We think Chuck's in the mainframe. His... I don't know, his awareness? His consciousness?"
"That's impossible."
"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but. Chuck, whatever we're going to call it - answered questions when I asked them. And I asked a lot of questions before I called the Marshal in!"
"What's the point of -"
"They were answers only Chuck would know! And then... Then I started getting responses when I talked out loud."
"How the hell did this happen?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
*
Herc didn't look up when the door to Chuck's room opened. He just sat there and held Chuck's hand, eyes focused on his son's face. If will alone could get Chuck to wake up, then Herc had enough will power for an army.
"Herc," Stacker said, voice low, maintaining his position by the door. "The Breach alarm went off five minutes ago."
"Doesn't concern me."
"You're a Ranger."
"I'm a father first," Herc growled. "And my place is right here. I lost my wife, because I couldn't be there for both of them. I'm not going to walk away when my son needs me."
"We need you out there. We're deploying Gipsy Danger and Horizon Brave, but we need a third Jaeger."
"Yeah, well, I'm not getting back inside Striker Eureka," Herc said as he turned his gaze back to Chuck. Wake up, kid, c'mon, just open your eyes. "And I reckon I couldn't even I wanted to. Got no co-pilot."
"Lucky Seven is ready to go," Stacker said. He took a few steps closer, stopping on the other side of the bed. "And we've got the police looking for Scott -"
"No." Herc came out of his chair as an icy fist clamped around his heart. "My brother wanted out, and I gave it to him. You're not dragging him back into this."
Stacker just looked at him, head tilted, like Herc had answered an unspoken question. And maybe Herc had, but he'd go to his grave standing by the official story. Then Stacker inclined his head. "We have an entire group -"
A low ding from the monitor in the corner interrupted them, and Stacker and Herc turned to look at it.
Nothing displayed except a screen of snow, accompanied by a low hiss of static. The static quickly resolved itself and the AI spoke.
<>
"Chuck," Herc whispered, turning back to the bed. The fragile hope blooming in his chest died when he saw that Chuck's eyes were still closed. But that was definitely Chuck's voice.
<>
"Language, Chuck," Herc said absently, eyes still on Chuck's form as it started to blur.
"Chuck," Stacker said, "what did you mean by your father has a co-pilot?"
<>
"I'm going to assume that you're fully aware of your situation, Mr. Hansen. And you cannot pilot a Jaeger like this."
<>
"That doesn't negate the fact that you need two pilots to share the neural load of the connection."
"Marshal -" Tendo broke off as he stuck his head in the door and looked at them.
<>
"Chuck?" Tendo's face went white. His eyes darted to the bed and Herc. "Uh -"
<>
When Herc looked up, Tendo's eyes were wide. Then he nodded slowly. "It's..." He gave the monitor a hard look. "He's not entirely wrong, if you believe Dr. Lightcap. But it's just a theory."
<>
*
"Tendo, is it true?"
"I don't know, Herc. No one knows. It just -"
"Mr. Choi, explain."
"Okay, okay, look. It's like this. Dr. Lightcap has always theorized - with pretty good reason if you've studied J-Tech in-depth - that only one body is actually needed to move the Jaegers. The neural bridge between the two minds is the important thing."
"Bloody fucking English, please."
"Herc, shut up. Yelling will not solve anything at this point. Tendo, continue."
"Simply put, as long as you have two minds in the Drift, you only need one body to do the actual fighting. Which... we already have proof of that from Tokyo."
"Tamsin was unconscious and out of the Drift."
"Yes, sir, but you still managed to pilot by yourself in there for several hours. What Chuck is suggesting... Well, it's basically the same thing, only he's implying that, that his consciousness is inside the mainframe and if he actually can access any of the systems like he says - then it just might work."
"And just how do we know for sure? I will not contemplate sending a Ranger out on a solo run without hard proof."
"We do the only thing we can, sir. We initiate a neural handshake between Herc and whichever Jaeger Chuck, uh, decides to take over for this."
"Herc, I can't ask you -"
"I'm fucking volunteering."
*
"Chuck?" Herc stood straight and shrugged to settle the circuitry suit more comfortably around his shoulders and chest. Techs moved around him. "You there?"
<>
"Is this gonna work?"
<>
"Sound pretty confident there, kid."
<>
Herc's mouth, opened to reply, closed with an audible snap as Stacker strode into the room. "Ranger Hansen? Not you, Herc."
<>
"I am allowing this to proceed only because Mr. Choi assures me that he will initiate the failsafe the second it looks as if your father is in distress. Do you understand?"
<>
"You will make no attempts to override that failsafe, Ranger, is that understood?"
<>
Stacker nodded, his eyes on Herc's. Herc couldn't decipher his expression. "This... This test will be conducted in Lucky Seven. If - and that is a very big 'if', Rangers - if it proves successful, the Jumphawks will transport Lucky to the drop point."
<>
"That is not an option, Mr. Hansen." The way the muscles of his arms bunched beneath his uniform jacket told Herc that Stacker's fists were clenched behind his back. "They're still running diagnostics on her systems in an effort to figure out exactly what happened to you. It will be Lucky Seven, or I will order the techs to stop what they're doing, which means your father will not be suited up, and then we'll see if you're able to pilot a Jaeger solo and without a body."
<>
"Do I make myself clear?"
<>
Stacker left the room without another word. Herc slowly released his breath, only then aware that he'd been holding it. No wonder he felt light-headed. The techs bustled around him in silence, locking the pieces of his body armor into place. "Chuck, don't push it, okay? We're lucky the Marshal's even allowing us to attempt this."
<>
"Then I suggest you go learn them, boy," Herc growled as he tried to drop into his pre-fight headspace. "You've got about twenty minutes before they get me locked into the rig."
Twenty-two minutes later, the door to Lucky Seven's Conn-Pod closed behind the last tech, and Herc was left alone. His nerves jumped like water droplets in a hot skillet. Counting to ten silently, he forced himself to focus.
"How we doing in there, Herc?"
"Doing good, Tendo."
"Chuck? You ready?"
<>
Herc couldn't help the smile that formed. The famous Hansen stubborn streak had manifested in Chuck early, and his confidence had been unshakeable from the time he'd been a little tyke. It was a large part of why the kid had done so well at the Academy.
"Alright then, Chuck, I need you both logged in."
<>
"We're going to have to talk about that, you know," Tendo said, clearly amused. "We need those user names changed back to -"
<>
"We'll see," was all Tendo said. Herc focused on the spot right in front of his face, refusing to look to his left. "Dropping Conn-Pod now."
There was a loud thunk as the locks disengaged, followed by the seconds of freefall that were still enough to make a cold sweat break out down Herc's back. Then the mechanism slowed and he listened to the motors whirring as Lucky Seven's head joined with her body.
"Still good in there?"
"Fuck, Tendo, I'm good, can we just get this bloody show on the road already?"
<>
"Chuck."
"Gentlemen, if we could proceed," Tendo said, sounding slightly strangled. "Chuck, kiddo, if you've truly got control of those systems, it's your show now."
<>
Herc shook out his hands in an effort to loosen tense muscles.
"Show time, Rangers," he said. "Remember, at the first sign of distress, we're shutting it down, so just relax and let it happen. Herc, we've got Medical here monitoring your vitals."
"Understood."
"Initiating neural handshake in three, two, one..."
The Drift washed over Herc. He let it play out, seeing the images pass in front of him, through him, but he refused to latch onto to any single moment. Even the ones that he knew weren't his - the ones of the Shatterdome from perspectives he'd never been able to achieve, images slightly pixilated around the edges with the colors not quite right - but Herc couldn't help wondering if those were Chuck's from his time inside the complex's systems.
Then, without warning or fanfare, reality coalesced around Herc again.
"Looking good so far," Tendo said. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm -" Herc's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "I feel good. Normal."
"Good, good."
Herc watched the displays in front of him. "Right hemisphere calibrated, Tendo."
"Good job. Now, just stay relaxed, and let's see if we can get the rest of this to line up smoothly. Chuck?"
There was no response. Herc felt something clench tight around his chest. Fuck, why'd he agree to this? The silence stretched out and grew thicker with each passing second. Herc started to count silently and reached ninety before anything happened.
<>
"Jesus Christ, kid," Tendo said as Herc gasped harshly. "Give me a heart attack, why don't you? You okay?"
<>
At that, Herc closed his eyes and smiled. That... Now that sounded like Chuck. Snarky and stubborn to his core.
"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Tendo muttered. "Okay, let's just do a few basic moves -"
Fuck that. Herc squared his shoulders, felt Chuck's mind settle quietly against his. "Tendo, didn't you say there's a kaiju in the water?"
"Yeah, heading for Manila, why -" A sharp, indrawn breath came through the comm link. "Herc, no. We don't -"
"We ain't gonna kick its arse doing pirouettes and katas in here," Herc said. "Get the Jumphawks ready."
"Herc -"
<>
"Ready for your first kaiju, Chuck?"
<>
It was an indication of just how relieved Herc was that Chuck was still there in the mainframe that he didn't mention Chuck's language. Instead, he just started to walk down Scramble Alley.
Five hours later, they crouched in front of Horizon Brave's disabled body as Gipsy Danger put two plasma cannon bolts into Kanahebi's head. Lucky Seven was battered, deep gashes scoring her torso and Conn-Pod and one arm hanging nearly useless at her side, and Herc knew it would be her last battle, but Chuck's whoop of victory was the sweetest sound Herc had ever heard.
chapter 2
Author: Jo (jo@fadedink.com)
Fandom: Pacific Rim
Pairing: Chuck Hansen/Raleigh Becket (sort of), Chuck Hansen & Raleigh Becket, Chuck Hansen & Herc Hansen
Rating: PG13
Word count: 17000
Summary: Chuck Hansen's first Drift is a disaster. But what Tendo discovers several days later shocks the entire Shatterdome. Soon enough, they discover that you don't necessarily need a body to co-pilot a Jaeger.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just playing with them for a while. Eternal love and devotion to Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro for creating this universe.
Author's Notes: My contribution to the Pacific Rim Reverse Big Bang, based on this beautiful art by -lokeloke-.
Now just a few quick things to keep in mind. The timeline in this fic doesn't match the timeline in the film (which is hinky anyway). Also, certain events don't happen. Others do, but with different outcomes and different people involved. Things like this happen when you're writing an AU.
All the love EVER to azewewish for the fantastic beta work on this. My first draft was a far different (and inferior) creature. I think it went through 5 drafts before it became what you see here. And while I bitched about it pretty much incessantly (and had more than one anxiety attack because I loathe editing with a passion), I made 95% of the changes she wanted, listened to what she said, and tried to make it better. Hopefully you agree.
Part I: November - December 2019
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"Really?" Chuck screwed up his face as he listened to the AI while the techs finished locking him into the pilot motion rig. "GLaDOS? Who thought that was a bloody good idea?"
Herc huffed out a quiet laugh that was echoed by Tendo's voice in Chuck's ear. "Focus, gentlemen."
Focus, hell. Chuck had played Portal - mastered the game, even - and he knew all about GLaDOS and its homicidal and megalomaniacal tendencies.
"Do they not know that crazy AI wants to destroy humanity?" Chuck's annoyance with the computer's voice allowed him to ignore the way his stomach rolled. He had graduated top of his class at the Jaeger Academy, highest scores ever recorded, and he could do this. Nerves were for people who washed out of Ranger training.
"They know, kiddo," Tendo said. "Consider it Dr. Lightcap's reminder that we're fighting for humanity."
"Because the bloody big alien sea monsters aren't enough of a reminder?"
"Chuck," Herc said, but Chuck could tell he wanted to laugh. "Come on, focus. First drifts are hard enough."
"Whatever, old man."
Then the Conn-Pod dropped. And it was nothing like the simulations at the Academy.
Chuck jerked in his harness, then plummeted so fast he could swear his stomach was trying to relocate somewhere near his sinuses. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. It was made even less pleasant by the way his body swayed in the motion rig.
"Oh, fuck me."
"Language, Chuck," Herc said absently.
When the drop ended, it did so with a gentle glide. Chuck swallowed several times and listened to the Conn-Pod lock into place.
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"Doing okay in there, kiddo?" Tendo asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Chuck took a few deep breaths to quell the urge to vomit, clenched his fists, then forced himself to relax. He could do this. Nothing to it.
"Okay, then, let's get this show on the road. Herc?"
"Ready when you are." Herc looked over at Chuck and offered a small smile. "Just let it flow, okay? Don't fight it."
"And don't chase Thumper," Tendo added.
Chuck's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Thumper?"
"RABITs. Don't chase 'em."
"I know." It was one of the first things they taught cadets at the Academy. Memories - or Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers - could ruin a Drift faster than anything else, and it was stressed over and over to let them go by and not latch on to any of them.
Chuck had never failed a Drift simulation.
"Relax, gentlemen, and enjoy the ride. Initializing neural handshake in three, two, one..."
Chuck was sucked into the blue of the Drift. Energy crackled over him. The smell of burning ozone filled his lungs.
"Looking good, looking good," Tendo said. "Right hemisphere calibrated. Left hemisphere calibr- Chuck, can you hear me? Kiddo, talk to me, what's going on in there?"
"Tendo, we're not synching," Herc said, sounding far away.
Chuck opened his mouth.
"We're losing it," Tendo said. "Disengage, Rangers, it's not working -"
Someone screamed.
*
"Chuck? Chuck?"
"What the hell happened?"
"Chuck!"
"Med team to Striker Eureka, stat!"
"Mr. Choi, report!"
"Sir, I don't know! The handshake, it just, Chuck was-"
"He didn't chase the RABIT, I'd've known."
"Ranger Hansen, let the medical team do their work."
"Get yer goddamn hands off me! My son-"
"Sir, we're going to take care of your son. But we need you to let go of him now."
"Chuck!"
*
"How's he doing?"
Herc looked up as Tendo entered the hospital room. "Still no change."
Tendo's mouth turned down and he shook his head. "Damn. I'd hoped..." He trailed off and raked a hand through his hair. "What'd the docs say?"
"There's nothing physically wrong with him." Herc took a breath, let it out slowly, and refocused on the bed and the still form of Chuck lying there, hooked up to all those machines. "All his vitals are good, strong even, but he's not responding to anything."
"Coma?" Tendo rubbed his mouth when Herc nodded. "His brain -"
"Is fine," Herc snapped, then took another breath. He nodded to the small machine by Chuck's bed where a spiked graph from the electrodes fastened to Chuck's skull was steadily scrolling. "No swelling and there's a lot of activity. They don't know."
He reached out to curl his fingers around Chuck's, silently cursing himself for ever agreeing to let Chuck enter the Academy, for agreeing to the Drift compatibility test, for agreeing to step into a Conn-Pod with his sixteen year old son. "What the hell happened, Tendo?"
"I don't know," Tendo replied quietly, stepping closer to look down at Chuck. "I've got the entire J-Tech branch working on it and the Marshal's cancelled leave for everyone until we figure it out. We're still studying all the data and telemetry. Herc..."
Herc's eyes shifted, but he kept his hand snug around Chuck's fingers. His son might not be awake, but somewhere deep down, he'd know Herc was there.
"We're going to figure out what caused this." Tendo's hand came to rest on Herc's shoulder, patting once before falling away. "If I have to crawl into Striker's Conn-Pod and rip it apart myself. We'll fix it."
"Maybe." Herc nodded and tried to believe Tendo's words. He couldn't.
*
Tendo sat down at his station and called up all the reports on the disastrous Drift test from the previous week. They'd run every diagnostic they could, and each test said the same thing - that the Jaeger, the operating system, and the pilot motion rigs were operating flawlessly.
This morning, a team was inside Striker Eureka's Conn-Pod, running more tests even though no one expected different results. No matter what they did, no one was unable to explain what had happened.
And Pentecost was breathing down his neck.
Striker Eureka's designer and software programmer had arrived the previous night. Their assessment?
Wipe the Jaeger clean and reload the software before running extensive diagnostics to make sure it didn't happen again. Never mind that they needed to know what had happened and why, or they'd possibly end up with more Rangers in Medical alongside Chuck.
Coffee in one hand, eyes on the reports lying beside the keyboard, Tendo logged into the system.
When it dinged, he finally looked at the monitor.
< [] not recognized. Continue y/n?>>
"What the hell?" Tendo tried again, paying close attention to what his fingers were typing, even though he'd typed the exact same thing every morning in Shatterdomes all around the Pacific for the last five years. He received the same error message.
Rolling back from the monitor, he glared around the room at all the techs studiously bent over their tasks. "Okay, who's the wise guy?"
"Sir?"
"Who changed my login?"
Blank looks and confusion greeted him. "Sir, the only person who can change your login is you. And Marshal Pentecost."
Tendo knew that. It didn't stop him from giving them all another steady look before he turned back to his monitor. He tried again.
< [] not recognized. Continue as user [] y/n?>>
"What the actual fuck?" Only one person called him 'Elvis' and that person... With fingers that were not at all steady, Tendo reached forward and typed in <>.
And held his breath while trying to convince himself that he wasn't crazy.
< [] logged in. About bloody time, you stupid wanker.>>
*
"Sir, we have a problem."
"I'm aware of that, Mr. Choi."
"Uh, no, sir, I don't think you understand. You need -"
"What I need are answers. Do you have them?"
"No, sir, but we have a bigger problem."
"Mr. Choi, what could possibly be worse than a sixteen year old boy in a coma?"
"That same sixteen year old boy inside of our operating system and now in charge of it, sir."
"What did you say?"
"He's in the mainframe, sir."
"That is not possible, Mr. Choi."
"Sir... Could you please just come down to LOCCENT?"
*
Tendo watched the Marshal stalk into the room and the tension in the room practically vibrated off the chart. Coming out of his seat, Tendo stood at attention. "Sir."
"Alright, Mr. Choi, I'm here." Stacker clasped his hands behind his back and looked around. The techs on duty were blatant in their efforts not to meet his eyes. "Now will you please explain to me why I shouldn't order you to Medical for a full psych battery?"
"Sir." Tendo swallowed before gesturing at the monitor behind him. "Could you, uh, try to log in?"
"Mr. Choi -"
"Please, sir, just... just humor me."
Stacker's expression never changed, but Tendo saw several people duck lower behind their own monitors. It felt like the entire room exhaled when Stacker sat down at the terminal and started typing without saying another word.
< [] not recognized.>>
Stacker stared at the screen for a long moment. Tendo waited, fists clenched tight as Stacker slowly started to type in his login once more.
<> [] not recognized. Continue as user [] y/n?>>
Stacker stood up so abruptly that the chair fell over and half the room jumped. "Who," he said, voice shaking, "is responsible for this?"
"Chuck is, sir," Tendo said quietly, fighting the urge to fidget when Stacker's gaze landed on him.
"That is impossible. Ranger Hansen is in -"
"The mainframe, sir. I tried to tell you -"
"Mr. Choi!" Stacker's voice thundered through the room. There were several squeaks, a few thumps, and at least one dropped coffee cup. Tendo didn't turn to verify the number of shattered mugs. "Charles Hansen has been in a coma for six days. He is not in this Shatterdome's mainframe."
"Sir..." Tendo lifted his chin. He was right. Every single tech in LOCCENT knew it. They'd all crowded around him as he'd carried on the bizarre conversation with the computer system. "The only person with the authority to change your login is you. No one else can do that. I can show you the security logs if you like, sir. The logins weren't changed. They just stopped working."
"Get Hercules Hansen up here now."
"He won't leave Chuck alone, sir."
"Send Mako to sit with him."
Fifteen minutes later, Herc sat in the newly righted chair. He flashed Stacker a sullen look. "Right then, why the hell am I up here?"
"Log in to the system," Stacker said, once more the picture of perfect calm.
"What?" Herc looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Look, Marshal, I've got better things to do -"
"Ranger Hansen, log in to the system. Now."
Tendo had a moment to wonder if he might pass out from lack of oxygen as he found himself holding his breath again. Then, muttering, Herc spun the chair around and started typing, his fingers stabbing at the keys.
< [] not recognized.>>
Herc frowned and leaned closer to the screen. "The bloody hell?"
Tendo and Stacker shared a look.
"Try it again, Herc," Stacker said, his voice softer now. For a long moment, Herc just looked over his shoulder at Stacker before he shrugged.
< [] not recognized. Continue as user [], y/n?>>
Tendo caught Herc's arm as he violently flailed away from the monitor. The chair crashed to the floor as the keyboard rattled from Herc's thighs hitting the edge of the desk when he bolted. "What the fuck, Stacker?" Herc snarled, rounding on Stacker before Tendo could stop him. "That's not fucking funny!"
"He didn't do it." Tendo put himself between the two men. "Herc, listen to me. The Marshal didn't do it!"
"Then who the fuck did?"
"We think Chuck did."
Herc jerked back like he'd been slapped. The look he gave Tendo was that of a wounded animal. "That... That's really not fucking funny."
Tendo just leaned around him and typed in <> before gesturing for Herc to look at the screen.
< [] logged in.>>
Herc crossed his arms over his chest and just looked at the monitor. "Who changed it, Tendo?"
Before Tendo could answer, the screen flashed and words started to appear. The silence in the room was deafening, so much so that Tendo could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
<>
Herc went pale as he collapsed onto the chair.
*
"Herc, calm down -"
"Fuck you, I will not calm down!"
"We think Chuck's in the mainframe. His... I don't know, his awareness? His consciousness?"
"That's impossible."
"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but. Chuck, whatever we're going to call it - answered questions when I asked them. And I asked a lot of questions before I called the Marshal in!"
"What's the point of -"
"They were answers only Chuck would know! And then... Then I started getting responses when I talked out loud."
"How the hell did this happen?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
*
Herc didn't look up when the door to Chuck's room opened. He just sat there and held Chuck's hand, eyes focused on his son's face. If will alone could get Chuck to wake up, then Herc had enough will power for an army.
"Herc," Stacker said, voice low, maintaining his position by the door. "The Breach alarm went off five minutes ago."
"Doesn't concern me."
"You're a Ranger."
"I'm a father first," Herc growled. "And my place is right here. I lost my wife, because I couldn't be there for both of them. I'm not going to walk away when my son needs me."
"We need you out there. We're deploying Gipsy Danger and Horizon Brave, but we need a third Jaeger."
"Yeah, well, I'm not getting back inside Striker Eureka," Herc said as he turned his gaze back to Chuck. Wake up, kid, c'mon, just open your eyes. "And I reckon I couldn't even I wanted to. Got no co-pilot."
"Lucky Seven is ready to go," Stacker said. He took a few steps closer, stopping on the other side of the bed. "And we've got the police looking for Scott -"
"No." Herc came out of his chair as an icy fist clamped around his heart. "My brother wanted out, and I gave it to him. You're not dragging him back into this."
Stacker just looked at him, head tilted, like Herc had answered an unspoken question. And maybe Herc had, but he'd go to his grave standing by the official story. Then Stacker inclined his head. "We have an entire group -"
A low ding from the monitor in the corner interrupted them, and Stacker and Herc turned to look at it.
Nothing displayed except a screen of snow, accompanied by a low hiss of static. The static quickly resolved itself and the AI spoke.
<>
"Chuck," Herc whispered, turning back to the bed. The fragile hope blooming in his chest died when he saw that Chuck's eyes were still closed. But that was definitely Chuck's voice.
<>
"Language, Chuck," Herc said absently, eyes still on Chuck's form as it started to blur.
"Chuck," Stacker said, "what did you mean by your father has a co-pilot?"
<>
"I'm going to assume that you're fully aware of your situation, Mr. Hansen. And you cannot pilot a Jaeger like this."
<>
"That doesn't negate the fact that you need two pilots to share the neural load of the connection."
"Marshal -" Tendo broke off as he stuck his head in the door and looked at them.
<>
"Chuck?" Tendo's face went white. His eyes darted to the bed and Herc. "Uh -"
<>
When Herc looked up, Tendo's eyes were wide. Then he nodded slowly. "It's..." He gave the monitor a hard look. "He's not entirely wrong, if you believe Dr. Lightcap. But it's just a theory."
<>
*
"Tendo, is it true?"
"I don't know, Herc. No one knows. It just -"
"Mr. Choi, explain."
"Okay, okay, look. It's like this. Dr. Lightcap has always theorized - with pretty good reason if you've studied J-Tech in-depth - that only one body is actually needed to move the Jaegers. The neural bridge between the two minds is the important thing."
"Bloody fucking English, please."
"Herc, shut up. Yelling will not solve anything at this point. Tendo, continue."
"Simply put, as long as you have two minds in the Drift, you only need one body to do the actual fighting. Which... we already have proof of that from Tokyo."
"Tamsin was unconscious and out of the Drift."
"Yes, sir, but you still managed to pilot by yourself in there for several hours. What Chuck is suggesting... Well, it's basically the same thing, only he's implying that, that his consciousness is inside the mainframe and if he actually can access any of the systems like he says - then it just might work."
"And just how do we know for sure? I will not contemplate sending a Ranger out on a solo run without hard proof."
"We do the only thing we can, sir. We initiate a neural handshake between Herc and whichever Jaeger Chuck, uh, decides to take over for this."
"Herc, I can't ask you -"
"I'm fucking volunteering."
*
"Chuck?" Herc stood straight and shrugged to settle the circuitry suit more comfortably around his shoulders and chest. Techs moved around him. "You there?"
<>
"Is this gonna work?"
<>
"Sound pretty confident there, kid."
<>
Herc's mouth, opened to reply, closed with an audible snap as Stacker strode into the room. "Ranger Hansen? Not you, Herc."
<>
"I am allowing this to proceed only because Mr. Choi assures me that he will initiate the failsafe the second it looks as if your father is in distress. Do you understand?"
<>
"You will make no attempts to override that failsafe, Ranger, is that understood?"
<>
Stacker nodded, his eyes on Herc's. Herc couldn't decipher his expression. "This... This test will be conducted in Lucky Seven. If - and that is a very big 'if', Rangers - if it proves successful, the Jumphawks will transport Lucky to the drop point."
<>
"That is not an option, Mr. Hansen." The way the muscles of his arms bunched beneath his uniform jacket told Herc that Stacker's fists were clenched behind his back. "They're still running diagnostics on her systems in an effort to figure out exactly what happened to you. It will be Lucky Seven, or I will order the techs to stop what they're doing, which means your father will not be suited up, and then we'll see if you're able to pilot a Jaeger solo and without a body."
<>
"Do I make myself clear?"
<>
Stacker left the room without another word. Herc slowly released his breath, only then aware that he'd been holding it. No wonder he felt light-headed. The techs bustled around him in silence, locking the pieces of his body armor into place. "Chuck, don't push it, okay? We're lucky the Marshal's even allowing us to attempt this."
<>
"Then I suggest you go learn them, boy," Herc growled as he tried to drop into his pre-fight headspace. "You've got about twenty minutes before they get me locked into the rig."
Twenty-two minutes later, the door to Lucky Seven's Conn-Pod closed behind the last tech, and Herc was left alone. His nerves jumped like water droplets in a hot skillet. Counting to ten silently, he forced himself to focus.
"How we doing in there, Herc?"
"Doing good, Tendo."
"Chuck? You ready?"
<>
Herc couldn't help the smile that formed. The famous Hansen stubborn streak had manifested in Chuck early, and his confidence had been unshakeable from the time he'd been a little tyke. It was a large part of why the kid had done so well at the Academy.
"Alright then, Chuck, I need you both logged in."
<>
"We're going to have to talk about that, you know," Tendo said, clearly amused. "We need those user names changed back to -"
<>
"We'll see," was all Tendo said. Herc focused on the spot right in front of his face, refusing to look to his left. "Dropping Conn-Pod now."
There was a loud thunk as the locks disengaged, followed by the seconds of freefall that were still enough to make a cold sweat break out down Herc's back. Then the mechanism slowed and he listened to the motors whirring as Lucky Seven's head joined with her body.
"Still good in there?"
"Fuck, Tendo, I'm good, can we just get this bloody show on the road already?"
<>
"Chuck."
"Gentlemen, if we could proceed," Tendo said, sounding slightly strangled. "Chuck, kiddo, if you've truly got control of those systems, it's your show now."
<>
Herc shook out his hands in an effort to loosen tense muscles.
"Show time, Rangers," he said. "Remember, at the first sign of distress, we're shutting it down, so just relax and let it happen. Herc, we've got Medical here monitoring your vitals."
"Understood."
"Initiating neural handshake in three, two, one..."
The Drift washed over Herc. He let it play out, seeing the images pass in front of him, through him, but he refused to latch onto to any single moment. Even the ones that he knew weren't his - the ones of the Shatterdome from perspectives he'd never been able to achieve, images slightly pixilated around the edges with the colors not quite right - but Herc couldn't help wondering if those were Chuck's from his time inside the complex's systems.
Then, without warning or fanfare, reality coalesced around Herc again.
"Looking good so far," Tendo said. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm -" Herc's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "I feel good. Normal."
"Good, good."
Herc watched the displays in front of him. "Right hemisphere calibrated, Tendo."
"Good job. Now, just stay relaxed, and let's see if we can get the rest of this to line up smoothly. Chuck?"
There was no response. Herc felt something clench tight around his chest. Fuck, why'd he agree to this? The silence stretched out and grew thicker with each passing second. Herc started to count silently and reached ninety before anything happened.
<>
"Jesus Christ, kid," Tendo said as Herc gasped harshly. "Give me a heart attack, why don't you? You okay?"
<>
At that, Herc closed his eyes and smiled. That... Now that sounded like Chuck. Snarky and stubborn to his core.
"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Tendo muttered. "Okay, let's just do a few basic moves -"
Fuck that. Herc squared his shoulders, felt Chuck's mind settle quietly against his. "Tendo, didn't you say there's a kaiju in the water?"
"Yeah, heading for Manila, why -" A sharp, indrawn breath came through the comm link. "Herc, no. We don't -"
"We ain't gonna kick its arse doing pirouettes and katas in here," Herc said. "Get the Jumphawks ready."
"Herc -"
<>
"Ready for your first kaiju, Chuck?"
<>
It was an indication of just how relieved Herc was that Chuck was still there in the mainframe that he didn't mention Chuck's language. Instead, he just started to walk down Scramble Alley.
Five hours later, they crouched in front of Horizon Brave's disabled body as Gipsy Danger put two plasma cannon bolts into Kanahebi's head. Lucky Seven was battered, deep gashes scoring her torso and Conn-Pod and one arm hanging nearly useless at her side, and Herc knew it would be her last battle, but Chuck's whoop of victory was the sweetest sound Herc had ever heard.
chapter 2